There will be a fund raising night in aid of Guide Dogs on the 21st of Feb at "On the Rocks" in Newquay.
Organised by Catriona and her guide dog Ike, although I think Cat has done a bit more towards it than Ike has.
It will be an open mike music and entertainment night with prizes donated by the generous local businesses etc and performances from anyone wishing to turn up and play. For my sins, I will be attempting to take control of the DJ decks and provide the musical interludes between the fundraising and live acts, but dont let that put you off!
From around 8pm, it would be great to see everyone there.
Showing posts with label Guide Dogs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Guide Dogs. Show all posts
Thursday, February 12
Sunday, March 23
Write on!
Well, eventually here we have the finished article that Kez wrote about me last year. Very good job I reckon for a young student, apart from one thing... It makes mention of my drinking a shandy, a vicious slur on my character... enjoy...
It’s not all dark glasses and white stick tapping
Stuart sips a lager shandy as his dog, Brett, gratefully flops onto the pub’s garishly chequered carpet. Since meeting 12 weeks ago the pair have spent every waking minute together, and have built up a vital relationship.
“You get looked at differently when using a cane or using a guide dog. With a cane people try and keep out of your way, they think you’ve got some kind of disease. But when you’re with the dog, people stop and make a fuss,” says Stuart.
95 per cent of people with sight problems in the UK are 65 or over, so at the age of 32, Stuart is unusually young to have lost his sight. He had glaucoma for 15 years, the raising of eye pressure from liquid in the eye, crushing the optic nerves. He lost the sight in his left eye 10 years ago but had some sight in his right eye so was still able to do most things.
Stuart had an operation at world-renowned Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. A high powered laser was rested on top of his eye ball which would essentially burn to the back of the eye which is where the fluid is coming out of. A side effect of the operation was that it damaged the cornea in his eye and left him blind.
“I’ve got no sight in the left eye at all, in my right I can see lights and big blocks of colour, it’s like being trapped in a fog,” he describes.
Stuart feels he is a unique case, because finally losing his eyesight turned out to be the best thing to happen to him.
“After 15 years of it going and going, to wake up the morning after the operation and have it gone was a relief, because I knew where I stood then,” explains Stuart.
Stuart is one of two million blind people in the United Kingdom. Contrary to the stigma he doesn’t spend his days bumping into lampposts or sitting in a darkened room, eating microwave meals.
“It can be isolating if you haven’t got anybody to see or do, but I made a point of saying to my friends not to treat me any differently, they don’t think about it anymore. I’m the same person I was before,” he says.
Stuart continues to dream like a sighted person, “I don’t have a dog and I don’t have my cane, I can visualise things, it’s quite strange to have sighted dreams, but then if you’re blind from birth I don’t know if you get that.” Having had sight he says, “When I go shopping and someone picks up a shirt they can describe it to me, I get a picture in my mind, but if you’ve never really known what colour looks like I don’t know how you can describe to someone what a colour actually is, so I’m quite lucky.”
Stuart volunteers for the Cornwall Blind Association, and works for their advocacy service, which helps people with sight loss secure their rights, represent their interests and obtain the services they need. Stuart used a cane for two years with a roller tip where changes of gradient on the pavement and bumps are picked up by rolling the tip from side to side. It is a very time consuming way of walking, the cane has to be swept in front of every step taken.
The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association was set up in 1931 to give blind and partially sighted people greater independence. After being matched with a suitable guide dog the visually impaired owner and dog spend up to four weeks of intensive training together until they qualify together. The owner proudly hands over a token 50p for their dog and the guide dog is awarded a white harness.
Stuart’s guide dog Brett has an imperative role in helping Stuart keep the independent lifestyle that he is used to. Stuart enjoys comedy stand-ups and is in the process of writing his own sets and searching for a willing audience. He is also a member of a shooting club and takes part in national shooting competitions, using pitch changes to signify where the target is. Everywhere Stuart goes, Brett, goes too.
Stuart is taking computer classes and is six weeks into learning Braille, “If you can imagine sic dots on a domino, Braille is made up of those but just in different proportions, you have to relearn the alphabet,” he describes. Talking software on computers and mobile phones means that Braille is not depended on as much as it used to be. “Gadgets and gizmos are very important to me, I can voice record peoples names and addresses on my mobile phone, its an organiser and has built in personal satellite-navigation,” explains Stuart.
Stuart owns his own house and is extremely self-sufficient. He planned ahead while he was going blind, doings things like putting dials on his washing machine so he can feel the different settings. Stuart’s wide screen television remains in his lounge and his dark eyebrows rise as he jokes how its only use now, is that it heats up the room.
He goes on to describe how while out for lunch with friends he managed to spear himself in the eye with an asparagus stick. Being blind is a portion of Stuart’s character, but it’s not what defines him, its humour and banter that make up the most part of his personality.
K. Clark 2007
It’s not all dark glasses and white stick tapping
Stuart sips a lager shandy as his dog, Brett, gratefully flops onto the pub’s garishly chequered carpet. Since meeting 12 weeks ago the pair have spent every waking minute together, and have built up a vital relationship.
“You get looked at differently when using a cane or using a guide dog. With a cane people try and keep out of your way, they think you’ve got some kind of disease. But when you’re with the dog, people stop and make a fuss,” says Stuart.
95 per cent of people with sight problems in the UK are 65 or over, so at the age of 32, Stuart is unusually young to have lost his sight. He had glaucoma for 15 years, the raising of eye pressure from liquid in the eye, crushing the optic nerves. He lost the sight in his left eye 10 years ago but had some sight in his right eye so was still able to do most things.
Stuart had an operation at world-renowned Moorfields Eye Hospital in London. A high powered laser was rested on top of his eye ball which would essentially burn to the back of the eye which is where the fluid is coming out of. A side effect of the operation was that it damaged the cornea in his eye and left him blind.
“I’ve got no sight in the left eye at all, in my right I can see lights and big blocks of colour, it’s like being trapped in a fog,” he describes.
Stuart feels he is a unique case, because finally losing his eyesight turned out to be the best thing to happen to him.
“After 15 years of it going and going, to wake up the morning after the operation and have it gone was a relief, because I knew where I stood then,” explains Stuart.
Stuart is one of two million blind people in the United Kingdom. Contrary to the stigma he doesn’t spend his days bumping into lampposts or sitting in a darkened room, eating microwave meals.
“It can be isolating if you haven’t got anybody to see or do, but I made a point of saying to my friends not to treat me any differently, they don’t think about it anymore. I’m the same person I was before,” he says.
Stuart continues to dream like a sighted person, “I don’t have a dog and I don’t have my cane, I can visualise things, it’s quite strange to have sighted dreams, but then if you’re blind from birth I don’t know if you get that.” Having had sight he says, “When I go shopping and someone picks up a shirt they can describe it to me, I get a picture in my mind, but if you’ve never really known what colour looks like I don’t know how you can describe to someone what a colour actually is, so I’m quite lucky.”
Stuart volunteers for the Cornwall Blind Association, and works for their advocacy service, which helps people with sight loss secure their rights, represent their interests and obtain the services they need. Stuart used a cane for two years with a roller tip where changes of gradient on the pavement and bumps are picked up by rolling the tip from side to side. It is a very time consuming way of walking, the cane has to be swept in front of every step taken.
The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association was set up in 1931 to give blind and partially sighted people greater independence. After being matched with a suitable guide dog the visually impaired owner and dog spend up to four weeks of intensive training together until they qualify together. The owner proudly hands over a token 50p for their dog and the guide dog is awarded a white harness.
Stuart’s guide dog Brett has an imperative role in helping Stuart keep the independent lifestyle that he is used to. Stuart enjoys comedy stand-ups and is in the process of writing his own sets and searching for a willing audience. He is also a member of a shooting club and takes part in national shooting competitions, using pitch changes to signify where the target is. Everywhere Stuart goes, Brett, goes too.
Stuart is taking computer classes and is six weeks into learning Braille, “If you can imagine sic dots on a domino, Braille is made up of those but just in different proportions, you have to relearn the alphabet,” he describes. Talking software on computers and mobile phones means that Braille is not depended on as much as it used to be. “Gadgets and gizmos are very important to me, I can voice record peoples names and addresses on my mobile phone, its an organiser and has built in personal satellite-navigation,” explains Stuart.
Stuart owns his own house and is extremely self-sufficient. He planned ahead while he was going blind, doings things like putting dials on his washing machine so he can feel the different settings. Stuart’s wide screen television remains in his lounge and his dark eyebrows rise as he jokes how its only use now, is that it heats up the room.
He goes on to describe how while out for lunch with friends he managed to spear himself in the eye with an asparagus stick. Being blind is a portion of Stuart’s character, but it’s not what defines him, its humour and banter that make up the most part of his personality.
K. Clark 2007
Friday, July 13
Back to the old school
Are we sitting comfortably? This is a tale of a guide dogs visit to Penryn School to see 30 excitable children...
My old school friend Lynn is a teacher at Penryn and asked Brett and I to pay a visit to educate the kids and answer any questions they had. Didn't really know what to expect, and with Lynn telling me that the kids were excited about the visit, if slightly confused, I prepared for the worse. One of the kids asking her when the guard dog was coming didn't help much either, they were only around 5ish so anything could happen!
It actually went really well. There was the expected awwws when we entered, and they had a crowd around to have a stroke. The questions followed, and were varied to say the least. "does he go in the car?", "yes, he came with me in the car today", "How does he know where to drive you though?", "Ummmnn...".
Others asked "does he do tricks?", "how does he know the names of the shops?", Does he dig holes,run fast, eat sticks etc.". I also overheard one of the little innocents comment whilst Brett was on his back "I can see his willy". We finished off with a few demonstrations on how he works, and their favourite, the recall with the whistle. Mum took him out of the room and I said about the magic whistle, a quick blow and he came bounding in like a nutter. They loved seeing him run in and gave a little round of applause and asked to do it again, well, who are we to disapoint our adoring public!
Hopefully some of them will take away a little information about blind people and guide dogs.
In the evening we had a visit from Kelly who I hadn't seen for a few weeks. We went into town to the Hollies for a few drinks. Whilst there we bumped into Steve and his dog Buddy. Buddy and Brett were trained together and this was the first time they had properly met since leaving Exeter. When we got home Brett put himself to bed, he obviously knows he will have a late night again tomorrow for the weding!
Track of the day = Boo radleys - C'mon Kids!
My old school friend Lynn is a teacher at Penryn and asked Brett and I to pay a visit to educate the kids and answer any questions they had. Didn't really know what to expect, and with Lynn telling me that the kids were excited about the visit, if slightly confused, I prepared for the worse. One of the kids asking her when the guard dog was coming didn't help much either, they were only around 5ish so anything could happen!
It actually went really well. There was the expected awwws when we entered, and they had a crowd around to have a stroke. The questions followed, and were varied to say the least. "does he go in the car?", "yes, he came with me in the car today", "How does he know where to drive you though?", "Ummmnn...".
Others asked "does he do tricks?", "how does he know the names of the shops?", Does he dig holes,run fast, eat sticks etc.". I also overheard one of the little innocents comment whilst Brett was on his back "I can see his willy". We finished off with a few demonstrations on how he works, and their favourite, the recall with the whistle. Mum took him out of the room and I said about the magic whistle, a quick blow and he came bounding in like a nutter. They loved seeing him run in and gave a little round of applause and asked to do it again, well, who are we to disapoint our adoring public!
Hopefully some of them will take away a little information about blind people and guide dogs.
In the evening we had a visit from Kelly who I hadn't seen for a few weeks. We went into town to the Hollies for a few drinks. Whilst there we bumped into Steve and his dog Buddy. Buddy and Brett were trained together and this was the first time they had properly met since leaving Exeter. When we got home Brett put himself to bed, he obviously knows he will have a late night again tomorrow for the weding!
Track of the day = Boo radleys - C'mon Kids!
Saturday, June 16
Guide Dog of the year
Nominations for Guide Dog of the year are gathering pace. Despite Brett being an excelent worker and quite possibly the biggest thing to happen to me since losing my sight, I still feel that he doesn't do anything that out of the ordinary to deserve nomination.
I have been trying to convince my family to moch up a house fire or car crash to allow Brett to heroically drag me away from danger in the nick of time. This should secure him the top slot, but I can see their point in the whole false glory senario.
Without getting all sappy, It's good enough for me that he is allowing me to live my life the way I used to as much as I can. I am still just a little bitter that he gets the attention from the ladies more than I do! Check out the nominations
proceedure and last years winners below.
Guide Dog of the year nominations via BBC.
Track of the day = Foo Fighters - My Hero
I have been trying to convince my family to moch up a house fire or car crash to allow Brett to heroically drag me away from danger in the nick of time. This should secure him the top slot, but I can see their point in the whole false glory senario.
Without getting all sappy, It's good enough for me that he is allowing me to live my life the way I used to as much as I can. I am still just a little bitter that he gets the attention from the ladies more than I do! Check out the nominations
proceedure and last years winners below.
Guide Dog of the year nominations via BBC.
Track of the day = Foo Fighters - My Hero
Tuesday, June 12
Guide Dogs? Rubbish, hit me up with an MFing guide horse!
For those of you tired of the run of the mill conventional boring guide dog, what you need is the new, improved guide horse. Pretty much every thing I read about this subject makes me laugh. For example this jem of a minor downside - "Guide horse users may also find difficulty in transporting a miniature horse on limited-spaced
public transportation, such as on buses or taxis."
Not being funny, but I have enough trouble getting Brett into a taxi, let alone a flipping horse, no matter how miniture. I also have come across the problem of staff coming up to me in shops and restaurants when his harness is off. They usually ask " Is this a guide dog?". I cant quite imagine a member of staff coming over and asking " excuse me sir, but I do hope that is a guide horse? Cause if you have dragged a normal horse in here I'm afraid you will have to leave."
For those of you non believers then check out the link below.
Guide horse details at Wikipedia.
Track of the day = Wonderland Avenue - White Horse
public transportation, such as on buses or taxis."
Not being funny, but I have enough trouble getting Brett into a taxi, let alone a flipping horse, no matter how miniture. I also have come across the problem of staff coming up to me in shops and restaurants when his harness is off. They usually ask " Is this a guide dog?". I cant quite imagine a member of staff coming over and asking " excuse me sir, but I do hope that is a guide horse? Cause if you have dragged a normal horse in here I'm afraid you will have to leave."
For those of you non believers then check out the link below.
Guide horse details at Wikipedia.
Track of the day = Wonderland Avenue - White Horse
Saturday, June 9
Royal Cornwall Show
Its that time of year again,time to get sunburnt whilst enjoying everything Kernow related at the Royal Cornwall Show in Wadebridge. True to form I now have lovely red shoulders due to wearing a wife-beater at this years show.
My sis Amy took us up and despite an early start, we were stuck in traffic for an hour. Once I had refuelled myself with a bacon bap upon entering the showground we set off for the dog shows.
We got chatting to a couple whilst watching the Retrievers being judged who had moved to Cornwall recently. Strangely enough, they had been puppy walkers for Guide Dogs where they used to live and had walked some 15 dogs. They were now involved in fundraising locally instead. It was pretty much the hottest day so far this year, so Brett was thankful for the flask I brought with icecubes and water in.
We sought out the Guide Dog stand so Brett could catch up and have a chat to his fellow workmates. I knew a couple of the volunteers and their dogs their through previous telephone calls and emails. Tony was there with his dog Gunner and Jack was with Edgar. There were others I didn't know so well like Dorothy and her dog Holly, but the dogs all seemed to know that they were fellow Guide Dogs and had a good old sniff.
Along our travels we met up with our friend Kelly and her mum outside, surprise surprise, the Skinners ale tent. I had to refrain from drinking as I was dehydrated enough already. We didn't stop long as we decided to make a move home due to the heat. Whilst trying to find the exit we happened to wander past the exhibitions of steam engines. This was the only time that Brett made me clip other people whilst walking. This was partly due to the heat getting to him, but mostly the fact that he seemed to recognise the smells and noises of the machinery. His puppy walkers had told me that they used to take him to similar events, and he has been on traction engines as a puppy.
After finally finding the exit and reinforcing the stereotype that females cant follow a map, we headed to the car. My sisters attempts to exit the showground didn't fill me with confidence . Her quip of "I hope Brett knows where the car is cause I don't" didn't help much either. Luckily half way through the massive field filled with thousands of cars, Brett made a break off to one side. He picked up pace and I followed leaving Amy behind. After he took another turning in the somewhat baffling maze of cars, Amy said that she could now see the car. Brett the amazing dog he is went straight to it without any sort of indication from me or Amy. All this from over half a large field away!
All in all, I think Brett enjoyed his birthday day out and slept the rest of the day.
Track of the day = Girls Aloud - The Show
My sis Amy took us up and despite an early start, we were stuck in traffic for an hour. Once I had refuelled myself with a bacon bap upon entering the showground we set off for the dog shows.
We got chatting to a couple whilst watching the Retrievers being judged who had moved to Cornwall recently. Strangely enough, they had been puppy walkers for Guide Dogs where they used to live and had walked some 15 dogs. They were now involved in fundraising locally instead. It was pretty much the hottest day so far this year, so Brett was thankful for the flask I brought with icecubes and water in.
We sought out the Guide Dog stand so Brett could catch up and have a chat to his fellow workmates. I knew a couple of the volunteers and their dogs their through previous telephone calls and emails. Tony was there with his dog Gunner and Jack was with Edgar. There were others I didn't know so well like Dorothy and her dog Holly, but the dogs all seemed to know that they were fellow Guide Dogs and had a good old sniff.
Along our travels we met up with our friend Kelly and her mum outside, surprise surprise, the Skinners ale tent. I had to refrain from drinking as I was dehydrated enough already. We didn't stop long as we decided to make a move home due to the heat. Whilst trying to find the exit we happened to wander past the exhibitions of steam engines. This was the only time that Brett made me clip other people whilst walking. This was partly due to the heat getting to him, but mostly the fact that he seemed to recognise the smells and noises of the machinery. His puppy walkers had told me that they used to take him to similar events, and he has been on traction engines as a puppy.
After finally finding the exit and reinforcing the stereotype that females cant follow a map, we headed to the car. My sisters attempts to exit the showground didn't fill me with confidence . Her quip of "I hope Brett knows where the car is cause I don't" didn't help much either. Luckily half way through the massive field filled with thousands of cars, Brett made a break off to one side. He picked up pace and I followed leaving Amy behind. After he took another turning in the somewhat baffling maze of cars, Amy said that she could now see the car. Brett the amazing dog he is went straight to it without any sort of indication from me or Amy. All this from over half a large field away!
All in all, I think Brett enjoyed his birthday day out and slept the rest of the day.
Track of the day = Girls Aloud - The Show
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