Oh my god I can't believe it, I've never seen Ronson and Allen this far from home.

'Stop me if you've heard this one before', but it's nice to 'Smile' at the 'Littlest Things', like Mark Ronson and Lily Allen playing at the Eden Project!
My sis and I were privilaged again to have free tickets to one of this years Eden Sessions gigs. The Lovely, wonderful, beautiful, kind, generous (I do hope they are reading for next year) people at the Sensory Trust gave us some tickets to assess the arrangements. It was Bretts first gig and he seemed to like it, sometimes wagging in time to the music. Luckily the weather held out and it was a pleasant evening all round. Much better than the reports on the previous nights gig with Amy Winehouse. Living up to her surname she turned in a shambollock performance, shouting at her stage hands, pissed up swaggering and at one point hitting herself on the head repeatedly with the mic. Ronson and Allen were a much more polished affair, with some pleasing trademark horniness. The evening flew by, possibly helped by the intake of some Rattler. For those that don't know, this is the devils own arse juice, a locally made cider of some 8 percent. In fact there were quite a few Rattlered up revellers bouncing around.
Brett as usual got loads of attention being the people whore that he is, being in the family enclosure made sure he had the kids fussing over him, and at one point eyeing up a nice ladies ice cream.
We will be back at Eden next week for our look around the garden that we had an input into. And of course are looking forward to next years sessions, come on Eden planners, where are the really big acts like Scooch?

Watch the video of Oh My God here

Track of the day = Mark Ronson - Just

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!

Oh! Suit you sir!

Today we decided to chance the weather and venture into Falmouth for the day with young Natalie as our guide. We were on the hunt for the elusive white suit that I had been looking for for months. It is like rocking horse poo trying to find a white suit in Cornwall. The only one I located before was online at Top Man. and the sizes were obviously geared up for the gayers amongst us men.
Brett worked very well in the narrow and busy streets, but Nat had to point out at one point when Brett was pulling to my left at a crossing. It turned out that there was a small child with a donut aimed at Bretts head!
My good friend Scotts dad Pete had pointed out that there were white suits in Fal, and believe it or not, we bumped into him and Arlene there!
Whilst being shown to the changing room to try on the suit, Nat waited with the dog whilst I took the arm of the giant assistant. We looked like father and toddler as I walked along on the 7' freaks arm.
Hopefully it should stand me in good stead for next weeks wedding.

Album of the day = Phil Collins - No Jacket Required

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

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

The B-boy's B-day

Today is Bretts birthday, having reached the grand old age of 2! Thankfully, Brett is a dog and doesn't have a concept of his own mortality, and as such doesn't get depressed at another year passing. I hope to get another 8 or so years of work out of Brett before he retires, so its early days yet for our partnership.
I was going to get a card for him with a snazzy "I'm 2 today" badge to wear. I didn't get the chance though as we had an early start to head off to the Royal Cornwall Show. I'm sure this was treat enough, read on...

Track of the day = Stevie Wonder - Happy Birthday

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

Royal Cornwall - pictures and video

Brett checking out a fellow steam engine loving dog

Brett and Edgar

Brett and me

More to follow

Strike a Pose

Picture of Rhi, Me and Kez



Today was the re-meeting (if thats a word) with Kezia. She wanted some photos of us to accompany the article she was working on from last month, or so she says. I think it is a cunning ploy to get some snaps of us without paying for our official photos from the fan club, if she thinks I am going to sign them as well she has another thing coming.
Seriously though, she brought her photography student friend Rhi along to Truro to meet us for photos. As before we had a drink and also some food in Weatherspoons, for students this is obviously the equivilent of a Michelin star restaurant.
We had a chat and were snapped whilst we waited for the food. Some more snaps were taken as we walked back to the car, this showed us in more 'natural' poses.
We were a little late in arriving as Brett was having a bad ears day. He couldn't decide on whether to wear them up, down, or one up one down. In the end he went for the traditional and formal ears down style.

Track of the day = The Beatles - Paperback writer

Rachael and Steves Wedding

Today we attended the delightful wedding of friends Rachael and Steven. Brett and I shared a people carrier with Jo, Scott and his family to the Headland hotel in Newquay. We met up with our other friends Mike and Mandie and their young daughter Amber. There was the obligatory hiccup when Steve greeted us and told of the current hunt for a backup CD of the entrance music as the original didn't work. Luckily the hotel staff came to the rescue and it all kicked off without a hitch. I got to thinking about the entrance music I would have for my wedding. I know this should be the reserve of my yet to be decided on wife, but I would quite like something upbeat, a bit like a WWE wrestlers entrance music. Maybe Jay-Z's classic 99 Problems, I could time it so that my wife reaches the front just as the line "I got 99 problems but a bitch aint one" echoes out.
It was good weather, so after the lovely ceremony there were photos taken outside with the views overlooking Fistral beach. The ceremony and speeches after our sit down meal were simple, effective and heartfelt. I felt a lump in my throat during Steves speech as he declared his love for his new wife. It actually turned out to be a bit of lodged beef, not any sort of emotion.
The food was nice, a traditional roast and choc pudding, and they had Skinners ale at the bar so I was kept happy.
After the formalities we all found some comfy sofas, a pint and tried to fight the urge to fall asleep in the humid conditions.
We had a wake up walk along the cliffs and grounds of the hotel as a wake up technique. I had to drag Brett away from a little crappy yappy dog that was sat with its owners in the bar though, it would have only been a single mouthful for him given half a chance.
The evenings festivities kicked off and we all had a few more drinks whilst listening to the usual feel-good tunes spun by the rent-a-DJ. Brett tried to get some sleep, but the bow-tie I gave him was attracting attention from kids and adults alike.
A long day for us both. but an enjoyable one none the less, and we have it all to do again next month in Falmouth for Charlotte and Matts nuptuals.

Track of the day = Busted - Crashed the Wedding

Rachael and Steves Wedding - pictures and video

Brett looks stunning in his designer bow-tie, whilst I seem to have fallen asleep standing up



The bride in all her glory



Mike, baby Amber and the bride



Two pics of the happy couple






Scott, Jo and Me



Brett had his own name-tag for his place at the table!



Clip of the happy couple. But enough about me and my pint of Skinners, ignore us and look at the newly weds first dance....

Volunteer Week

This week is volunteers week, so I thought I would take the opportunity to thank all those people that give up their time for Guide Dogs for the Blind. I do a fair amount of volunteering myself, so I know the commitment involved. Any sort of volunteering where something is given back to the community is wonderful, but I have a special respect for those Guide Dog volunteers. Be it a simple thing like giving up a day a year to help fundraise, or the months of commitment given by puppy walkers. My thanks goes out to you all.
If you have any spare time and would like to give something back to your community then find out more below.
Timebank for volunteers.

Track of the day = The Beatles - Help!

No Deal!

You know that game of skill and strategy second only to chess? Thats right, its Deal or no Deal, and some other cheeky blind git has taken my place on it.
Admittedly I was never offered a place on the show, but I did apply but never heard back. At the time I didn't have Brett so they may have chosen this bloke and his dog because of this. I'm not bitter at all, I wish the guy the best of luck... in finding the 1p!
I have been told that he has the dog in harness during the show, I don't think this is particularly fair on the dog, I guess they did this for visual purposes. I suppose that we will have to hold out for Big Brother for our foray into television, "Would Brett pleawse come to the diary room"...

Track of the day = Living in a box - Living in a box

Bretts Bum Bag

If you can imagine those annoying plastic bag dispensers you get for putting fruit and veg in at your supermarket. Well, I was told by my mother when she came to pick me up this morning that a similar sight greeted her during Bretts spending. My mum deserves a medal. I'm sure when she gave birth to me she didn't expect to be pulling undigested plastic out of her blind sons guide dogs arse.
I was only in the bath for 20 or so minutes last night, but I could hear Brett doing something suspect. A short sharp call of his name resulted in him sitting outside the bathroom door for the rest of the bath. Upon leaving, a very sheepish creature was reluctant to come and make its usual fuss. I think my tutting as I put the spilt contents of the bin back in reinforced my displeasure as he sat in the doorway feeling suitably guilty.
The lounge bin has now been replaced with a Brett-proof one. After 3 months, why should he decide to rummage in the bins now? Maybe he has decided to eat plastic now instead to get down to a fashionable size zero!?

Track of the day = Salt n Pepa - Push it

Eden Projects

Had a brilliant email this morning from the Sensory Trust inviting Brett and I to the Eden Project. As per last year we have free tickets to the Eden Sessions to look at accessability arrangements, this year I will be with Brett so will be a different experience. The Sessions are where music acts come and perform in an open air venue at Eden with the biomes providing a visual backdrop. Last year I saw Snow Patrol and with the lovely free tickets I watched Muse, who were outstanding. This year I had a choice of acts and in the end went for Lily Allen on the 18th July.
The Eden project have a very positive approach to disability issues, and I have also had input into their new sensory garden. Unfortunately I am unable to attend the next phase of the gardens development next month. My sis has booked tickets for the family to see weed smoking bog lurker George Michael on the same day. I hope to get a chance to have a look whilst at the Sessions. Below are some photos of the gardens progress.







Track of the day = System of a Down - BYOB

Heartlands

The above picture of my mum and me is going to be used in the big bid grant application for the Heartlands Project. Lottery funding is being sought of around 20 million for the project to regenerate the area in Pool. It is an important area for the mining history of Cornwall and this will be preserved whilst creating new facilities and open areas for the public.
I have been involved in the consultations regarding acessability for the site along with others with disabilities. The picture taken at one of the meetings shows me destroing the planners scale model with my huge flappy hands. If Brett had got his paws on it I dread to think what would be left of their hard work. This did allow me to fulfill my Godzilla fantasy though.
Find out about Heartlands here.

Track of the day = Jamiroquai - Deeper Underground

Journalistic Ambition

Today we met up with the lovely Kezia for an interview over a drink in Weatherspoons in Truro. Kezia is a Journalism student at Falmouth. She wanted an interview to go towards her course and hopefully with an aim of getting it into print in the local magazine. The interview took nearly an hour and covered most aspects of someone losing their sight and day to day living with sight loss. Its good to see that students are interested in aspects of disability and are not all Jeremy Kyle watching Pot Noodle addicts.
I hope to put the finished article up here when I get a copy so watch this space.

Track of the day = Linkin Park - Papercut

The Celtic Crossover

Scott and Brett


James and Brett


Me and Brett in Falmouth


James and Amber have decided to leave the pastures of Wales and venture into Cornwall to stay for the weekend. These good friends of mine have yet to meet Brett, and it will be a good test for him to have others in the same house.
We killed some time in Falmouth and had a bite to eat before wondering the streets. It was Bretts first time in Falmouth and he did a good job of clearing people out of the way for our little party of travellers. There were of course the less observant, or just stubborn that didn't see him and so he did his stuff, weaving in and out of peeps. I bang into less people now than I did when I was sighted, I can only put this down to Bretts skills.
Our mutual friend Scott also came along, after a visit to Truro we went to his and Jo's place for some enjoyable bbq food. We are looking forward to a reverse visit in a few weeks.

Track of the day = Kaiser Chiefs - Oh My God

Mays Social Club

Each month we have a gathering of the great and the good of the blind and visually impaired, it takes place at Tyacks in Camborne on the first Tues of the month. Its for those that want to chat about issues affecting us and general day to day gossip. We mostly have a young at heart approach and so age isn't a restriction on who attends, a love of a drink and putting the world to rights is more important.
Below are some photos of this months reprobates.


Nancy and Brian


Joe and Laura


Me and Joe


Kerry, Paul, Me, and Amy

Track of the day = Wham - Club Tropicana

Radio Gaga

Picture of me and Tim


Picture of me and Rosie


International superstardom beckons for Brett. We had a very good piece on the highs and lows of blindism and guide dog ownership broadcast on local radio. We met Tim from Atlantic FM and Rosie from Skyfield Media in Truro. The interview was conducted in Costa coffee in the centre, we then did a bit whilst navigating the streets. Tim asked some questions that should be enlightening to the general public as we had coffee. what was impressive was that Costa coffee had menues in braille and large print. In Cornwall you are lucky to find such things, electricity is still a novelty in some parts. Brett was a little star struck at meeting a local radio celebrity so I did most of the talking. You can listen to the interview here.
Brett was asked the strangest question so far by a lady in Marks and Spencer. She was curious what the medalion was on his collar, he likes to wear it 80s stylee with his hairy chest. when I informed her that it was his guide dog identification she responded that she thought it was some sort of Christian symbol. I should have seen it coming, but my joking comment of `I dont think he has a religion` was met with a humourless `well, what about you?`. I was reliably informed that god loves us both, despite being an evil non believer. Do people actually adorne there pets with religious items? I wonder if the same could be said for groups such as the Ku Klux Klann,, hmm, dogs in white hoods, scary...

Track of the day = Donna Summer - On the Radio