The Lion King (audiodescribed)

Last Thursday, Nicky, Darragh, Emma and myself went to the
Bord Gais Energy Theatre
to see an audio described performance of
The Lion Kingmusical. I’d seen it in London on my birthday two years ago, but we couldn’t go to an audiodescribed version. I was nine when the film came out, and being crazy about animals, i loved it, and had almost every type of Lion King merchandise you could think of.

The highlight of the evening for me was the touch tour before the performance. People who were blind or visually impaired had the opportunity to touch some of the amazing costumes that would be on stage, and these are partly what makes the musical so brilliant. They are so colourful and elaborately designed, its impossible to imagine what they are like without touching them, so this was a great bonus. I particularly like Rafiki’s costume! The staff were great at describing them, and answering all my questions about the cast and the performance. I was very curious!!

After dinner we returned to the theatre where we were seated in the circle and given headsets. There were two audio describers who described half of the show each, so this provided an interesting mix. They read through the show notes beforehand, and did a fantastic job throughout the performance. It added so much extra to the story that I was already so familiar with. The fact that it was live was very effective, and the describers were down to earth and sometimes funny, without meaning to be. Everything made so much more sense when we had seen some of the costumes.

The musical is so much different to the film, yet never straying from the original story. One of the most amazing things about The Lion King is the music. The african music and singing gives me goosebumps, particularly in the opening five minutes during ‘the circle of life’. If you’ve seen the musical, you’ll know what I mean. The animals come into the audience and the atmosphere is brilliant from start to finish. I can’t recommend it enough, especially if you have children who love animals.

The staff in the theatre couldn’t have been more helpful, from the minute i booked the tickets, to ensuring that our seats were okay, to checking during the interval that we were happy with the headsets and the description. The dogs were welcomed, with no fuss being made of them at all, the way it should be. O.J lay down before the performance started and never moved until it finished three hours later.

There were a few other blind and visually impaired people at the touch tour and the performance, though I’m not exactly sure how many. Its a pity there weren’t more, since opportunities like this rarely happen in Ireland. I’d advise anybody to go and experience at least one audio described performance of a show if you get the opportunity.

Disability Studies

Today I handed in my final assignment, completing the disability studies course I started in October. It was something I’d considered doing for a while, but the course was always only run in Dublin, so this was the first time it was taught locally. It is a higher certificate run through NUI Maynooth, taught by a tutur who I have known for a while and have great respect for. It was a very enjoyable course, completely different to anything I’ve studied before.

You might think an 8 month course would be easy, but there was a lot of work involved in this one. We did a group project in which we did an access review of a building, wrote a theory essay, wrote a 4000 word research essay and submitted a learning journal. Just encase anyone wonders why I haven’t been blogging, you could say after working on assignments, I’m never really in the mood to write anything else. We had the freedom to choose our own essay topics, so I chose autism for my theory essay, and I looked at the experiences of professional blind musicians in Ireland for my research. I might write about this in more detail if anyone’s actually interested. I put as much work into these essays as I would have in my college course, so its just a matter of waiting for results now.

The course was taught in such a relaxed informal style, that I felt that I was learning so much without even realising it. The eleven other students were great fun, and I enjoyed talking to them. We all learned from each other, and there was no higherarchy between students and lecturer, unlike a lot of other courses, especially in university.

I’m really glad I’ve had the opportunity to do this course, and to learn from so many interesting people. While the course content was useful, it was other people sharing their experiences that taught me the most. I learned so much on a personal level, and I wasn’t expecting that to happen at all when I signed up for this. I’ve also been asked to assist a trainer to deliver philosophy of independent living training to colleagues during the summer when the school awareness program finishes. This sounds terrifying, because I’ve only ever taught children, but I’m ready for a change. If I hadn’t done this course, I wouldn’t even consider doing this.
I know that whatever I do in the future, whether it involves working with people with disabilities or not, things that I learned on the course will always stay with me.

Radio Documentary Training

Last weekend I attended a radio documentary training course in the radio centre in RTE. The course was delivered by the “doc on one team”, made up of six documentary makers and producers. For anybody who doesn’t already know, a 40 minute documentary is broadcast weekly, as well as a short documentary as part of a series called ‘the curious ear’. There is a great variety of topics covered, and the documentary team have won many awards. You can find out more about the work that they do, and listen to over 1000 documentaries on their website
here,
which is definitely worth checking out.

The course ran from 9.30 until 6 PM both days, but it was so interesting that it didn’t feel long at all. We explored everything from coming up with the initial documentary idea, to recording and interview techniques, script writing and structuring the documentary, editing, choosing the music, use of sound effects and pitching ideas to RTE. This was something I found interesting, because I wasn’t aware that so much of their work comes from independent producers and members of the public. If your idea gets chosen, the documentary team will help you to put the documentary together. I’d love to do this sometime, because if you’re working in documentary making, these are the best teachers you could have in Ireland. There was an opportunity after every session to ask questions, and I learned a lot from this, as people often asked things that I was curious about myself. Their was an audio equipment company there who had equipment on display for people to look at and ask questions. I avoided it completely as I would only be tempted and don’t have the spare money I would need to buy all the things I want. They raffled a digital recorder, but of course I didn’t win.

Everybody was so helpful to myself and O.J during the weekend. Going into a big studio with at least 130 people that I didn’t know at all was a bit scarey at first, but I wasn’t going to let it put me off, and after about two minutes we were both completely relaxed. The staff brought my tea and coffee so we didn’t have to move around much, and accompanied me to the canteen for lunch, spending time talking and getting to know us. I met some very interesting people during both days. O.J behaved very well, considering he was sleeping on a hard floor for so long. He was happy to get back to my uncle’s house in the evening, where he could run around outside and get lots of attention.

The weekend was very informative and educational. It was one of those ones that you pay your money for, they deliver it, and you can take as much as you want away from it. It has made be listen to documentaries in a different way, paying more attention to particular things. It has also made me think about how I can record, edit and produce audio as a blind person. There are some limitations, and I wouldn’t be able to use all the equipment and things that they recommend, but its still definitely possible. Its the area of radio I’m most interested in, so hopefully someday I can do more of it. So many people in Ireland have so many great stories that are just waiting to be told.

Church Gate Collection 2013

I did the annual Irish guide dogs church gate collection last weekend in Buncrana. It was a week later than usual, which meant it took place over St. Patrick’s weekend, which was probably a good thing. Nicky helped with it this year, so it meant that we had another dog for people to see when they passed the gate.
We did the usual two masses on Saturday evening, and three on Sunday. There were four masses on Sunday, so Nicky and I went to two different churches which had masses around the same time. The weather was cold and wet, but I’ve collected in much worse weather.

I know I say this every year, but I honestly can’t get over the generosity of people in our town, whether it’s offering to collect, or donating money. Its a recession, people don’t have much, but we still managed to raise 1,924 euros, our highest amount ever! It means a lot, especially since I am currently the only guide dog owner in the town, so it isn’t exactly a local charity that affects a lot of people here.

Apart from an amazing amount of money, collecting was enjoyable, because it was so entertaining. We had lots of friendly chats with people on their way into mass. Some of the comments and things people said included:

“God, its a terrible day. You must be freezing. You could have picked a better day.
How olds the dog? God, he’s on the go a long time!
How did you teach him to be so good. I wish mine was that good.
I hope you feed that dog well.”
And my favourite:
Woman: “He’s lovely. Is he your best friend?”
Me: “Yeah, one of them.)
Woman: “Oh, so you have two guide dogs?”

People are brilliant! I honestly wouldn’t want to live anywhere else.

IPhone

I’ve finally given in and bought an IPhone. Many blind and visually impaired people would say I should have done it ages ago, but I was being stubborn, until I saw that there really isn’t a phone available that is as accessible.

I bought the blackberry curve and installed the free screenreader
last June
The phone had a faulty battery and i got a replacement two months later. Overall, I liked the physical appearance of the phone, and the way it worked, but the screenreader still has some issues that caused the phone to freeze any time I needed it to do something online that took a bit longer than using twitter. I would rarely go online or use apps, and I didn’t even consider connecting it to my email account. That would confuse it completely! I sold the phone at the end of January, used my ten year old one for a while, and bought the IPhone 4s at the end of February.

Its true that the IPhone can’t be beat when it comes to accessibility. Apps and emails are easy to use, and everything works without any bother. I did prefer using twitter on the Blackberry and found it much quicker. The bluetooth keyboard is much easier than texting on the phone, but I hope to look at Flexi soon, because I’ve heard good things about it. The phone is definitely slower, and it has taught me to have more patience, but I’m sure things will get faster the longer I have it. The touch screen is less of a learning curve than I expected, but it helped that I was able to look at other people’s phones first. I would advise anybody getting one to try and do this, or just get it and be determined to figure it out. Sometimes the more you ask, and the more you think about getting something, the more you put yourself off it, and that’s what happened to me. When I bought the phone, I wasn’t excited about it at all, but I’m glad I have it now.
For piece of mind, its definitely worth the money, but its still annoying that they are rediculously expensive on pay as you go, and not everyone wants another bill every month, which costs more than they would normally spend on credit.

I’m never going to become one of those Apple crazy people, who constantly talk about the latest app or the latest new thing their phone can do. There’s enough of them out there! Seriously though, for me, its just another thing I use to help me to communicate with people.
I don’t want to dismiss the Blackberry completely. I think Research in Motion are doing fantastic work, and I hope they can continue to improve on what they have done. In the meantime, they are great at replacing broken phones within a short space of time, and that’s one good thing

Edinburgh

Make yourself a cup of tea or coffee first, this is a long post!

Last weekend, Nicky and I went to Edinburgh. It was something I’ve wanted to do for years, and the flights were my birthday present. The whole trip was brilliant from start to finish, everyone was so helpful and lovely and it couldn’t have gone better.

I got the bus to Dublin on Friday morning and met Nicky and Orrin there. The assistance in Dublin airport was fantastic. The people bringing us around were friendly and professional, we didn’t have to queue at all, and had an hour for coffee before they brought us on the plane. The dogs did great, and O J was a good example to Orrin, who was flying for the first time. Again the assistance in Edinburgh were great, and brought us to a bus to the train station when we got our luggage. My parents got me a very handy suitcase for my birthday that you can just wheel and walk with it beside you, which I’d definitely recommend for anyone travelling with a guide dog.
The only minor problem we encountered was at the train station, because we hadn’t booked assistance in advance. We told them that we’d just got off the plane from Ireland, and they said it was a busy station and that there was nobody free to take us. We had to wait almost an hour for the next train, and were brought to it by a man who worked in a different department. I completely understand that you have to book assistance in the UK, and the station is obviously busy on a Friday, but it’s not nice to be made feel like an inconvenience because you need help that wasn’t planned in advance.

We spent the first night in North Berwick, which is a small seaside town. My cousins took us for dinner and drinks after, and it was lovely to spend time with them because I don’t see them often. I was surprised by how many people had pet dogs in the pubs, just lying there being well behaved. I wish people could do that here.

We visited my cousin’s flat on Saturday, and they brought us to visit my uncle’s grave. I’d never been before, so it was nice to finally go and say a prayer there. Then we all drove to Edinburgh and had lunch together, before checking into our hotel there. The hotel was in a great location, and it was very easy for us to find our way around for the next couple of days, when people gave us directions. My cousin Sharleen helped us to find grass for the dogs, but it couldn’t have been closer. Sharleen and Ben gave us a walking tour of the city, including the graveyard, going near the castle and reading me the plaque outside ‘the elephant house’, where the first Harry Potter book was written. We went to the cinema with them, before they went home, and I’m glad to report that O J wasn’t sick this time!

Another thing we wanted to do while in Edinburgh was meet
Jes
who has guest posted here before. I’ve been reading her blog for a few years and really enjoy it. We had intended to meet on Sunday but when she texted to see if we were busy, and said she and Mr. K were in the area, I was very excited! They came and met us in the bar of our hotel for a few drinks, and within 5 minutes, I knew we were all going to get along well. Its great to meet someone unline and discover that they are just the same in reality. Its also nice to spend time around positive blind people, who do lots of interesting things and can talk about other things, apart from dogs and being blind! I don’t mean that to sound negative, but people reading this who are blind might understand what I mean.

Saturday evening was good fun, and Jes and her husband invited us to their flat on Sunday for the day. We started the visit by taking all five dogs for a free run, so that they could get to know each other and use up some of their energy. It was a good idea, because they were relaxed for the rest of the day. We had lunch in the lovely cafe Jes often writes about, and the three guide dogs were very quiet. Jes and Nala have just finished training together, and make a great team. She seems so settled and well behaved for such a new dog. That cafe sells the nicest rockie road I have ever tasted!
We spent the rest of the day listening to music and talking lots, with lots of furry company! That’s my idea of a perfect evening!! Ottis and Hermione are such cute dogs, and I couldn’t stop cuddling them whenever they came near me.
I hope we can all meet again soon, maybe in Ireland next time. These two like adventures, maybe I can convince them to move here

We spent Monday morning in a cafe near our hotel, before getting a taxi to the airport and flying home. Everything went as well as it did on the way over. Its great to be able to travel with the dogs and have everything go so well. Scotland is such a dog friendly place, and the people being so helpful made it a lot easier. One interesting thing I observed about Scottish people though, is how relaxed they are. So relaxed in fact, that even short distances seem further away and take them longer to get to. If you asked for directions, they might tell you something was two minutes walk away, when in fact it took 30 seconds. Or ifn the case of the train station, the platform for North Berwick was very far, which meant a five minute walk. It was just something we found funny!

I was expecting O J to be tired at work on Tuesday, but we were back working in schools and he was full of energy.

A musical Surprise

Usually when I go to see a band or performer, I’m familiar with their music and know what to expect. Sometimes I’m too familiar if I’ve seen that performer so many times, and can predict the next song by the tuning of the guitar! That wasn’t the case when Nicky and I went to see John Prine in Derry on Friday. I got him tickets for Christmas, and I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t know much about him really. I knew that Josh Ritter was heavily influenced by his music and song-writing, so chances are I would like him, and of course I did.

The gig began with some songs by Philip Donnelley. Imagine Bob Dylan singing while holding his nose, and you get the idea. During the interval I was really wondering what sort of evening to expect, but after a few minutes of hearing John Prine and his two accompanying musicians on stage, I knew I was going to really enjoy this gig. Prine had throat cancer in 1998, resulting in a gravelly voice ever since, and by the end of the first song I was wondering how he was going to make it through an intire performance. He played for two hours, and although he sounded strained at times, he was fantastic. I’d imagine him to be a great story-teller, but I think maybe he was saving his voice for the songs. He was polite and humorous, and seemed to enjoy being on stage. The audience had his attention from the beginning, and seemed very respectful towards him, giving a long applause after he left the stage for the final time I imagined it to be more country than it was, and since I prefer folk music it suited me perfect. The guitars sounded fantastic! I’ll try and find a set list and put it in the comments section. .

I couldn’t help wishing I’d heard John Prine play years ago when his voice was stronger. I knew about eight songs, which was more than I thought I did, and I’m looking forward to buying some albums. In a strange way, its good that I’ve seen him play live now and can go and discover the recorded music and enjoy it.
Its nice when you buy someone a present and enjoy it just as much as they do

On the subject of music, RTE Radio 1 broadcast a documentary about Fergus O’Farrell from Interference yesterday. Its definitely worth a listen. I found his attitude and outlook on life very inspirational.

Feeling Old

Its my birthday today, and even though I was in Thailand this time last year, I still had a lovely day, and a nice weekend of celebrating.
I went for dinner on Friday night with my mum, sister, aunts and cousins, a sort of “mothers and daughters” night. The food was lovely and the night was mostly good fun. Nicky was up for the weekend so we took the three dogs for a run on the beach with my nephews on Saturday. It was Orrin’s first time with O.J on the beach, and I think he loved having a big dog to play with again. He has slowed down a lot when he is playing, which is totally normal but something I hate noticing. They went into the water and got covered in sand, so my mum and I had to shower O.J and Orrin when we got home. They were still too wet for us to take them with us when we went for dinner in the evening, so we went on our own. Again the night was lovely and the food was amazing.

The dogs got more walks and playing yesterday and today, since the weather has been lovely for the last few days. I had a very relaxing birthday, and got some lovely presents. They included flights to Edinborough and a necklace with my birth stone (from Nicky), money and flowers (from my Godmother), clothes and a picture for my house. The funniest and most surprising present was from my friend, who has become very dimesticated since she got married and moved house. She recently bought a drill, and knows that I need pictures put up in my house. She bought me a towel and toilet roll holder for the bathroom, and is coming out during the week to put it up, along with pictures, a coat hanger and anything else I need. These are the kinds of silly jobs I really want done to make my house look a bit better and less plain inside, so even though its a strange one, it was a very thoughtful and appreciated present!

My birthday was a nice excuse to take the weekend off from the essay I’m writing as part of my course. Tomorrow, I’ll be back researching autism and checking the wordcount until I get 1500 words!

Three Years Later

I started working in this office three years ago. I thought I was signing up to a two month job contract covering for someone on leave. I stayed for a year, then got an extention for another year, then another, and here I am. Today was my last day, and next week I’m supposed to start looking for other jobs and talking to people who can help me find a job.

I’m not doing any of those things though. People in work wrote a letter to someone, who passed it on to someone else, who kindly decided to extend my job for another eight months. I have a job until October, and I’m delighted! O.J will just have to continue getting on the bus, finding the office and curling up beside this desk for a while longer. He seems perfectly happy with that.

Aftercare

O J and I usually have our aftercare visits from a guide dog instructor during the summer, so I was a bit surprised to get a phone call last week from an instructor who would be in the area, and was wondering if he could see us on Sunday morning. That was this morning, and thankfully it all went well.

 

I didn’t get to walk O J much last week because I was working, so made sure he got a long walk yesterday to make him more relaxed for today. My five-year-old nephew stayed over last night, so the instructor arrived to a busy house and a table full of lego. I had to wait for my sister to collect him, so we had a bit of a chat about O J’s work in general and life in general. During this time O J was getting to know the new visitor, so when we began walking, he refused to go far without making sure he was behind us. When I got him past the first road crossing to town, he concentrated better and his work improved. We walked to the beginning of town, where I stopped to suggest either continuing that direction or walking around the park and doing a full circle back to my house, but the trainer said he was more than happy with what he’d seen and we could go home! O J made an enthusiastic pull towards the coffee shop on the way home, sure that this is where we’d be going since I walked past it without going in earlier. I don’t know what that says about me

We made O J rework an area with overhanging bushes, to prevent him from walking me into them. When he has to rework something, he does it great second time around. Its something I need to do more, instead of usually letting him away with it since I’m often in a hurry when he does it.

 

The instructor was happy with O J’s overall weight, appearance and willingness to work. He said he looked happy, responds to be well, and is very definite when he wants to go somewhere or find something. He certainly has his own way of working and doing things, but as long as it works for both of us and we’re both safe, then he can’t fault it.

He also brought up the topic of retirement, and was glad to hear that it was something I’ve thought about already. He said, that from what he’s seen from O J’s work, I don’t need to worry about it every day, but to be aware that its something to think about. Realistically we’re talking to to three years of work left, and I’d want to be back on the waiting list again before he retires.

 

Aftercare is always interesting for me, because since I’ve trained with O J, I’ve always worked with a different instructor. Its interesting to see their different approaches to dogs and their work. I know I could have had some interesting discussions with this instructor if we’d had more time. I liked his relaxed attitude, and the fact that whatevers working for us at the minute is good enough for him.

 

I’m just back from a walk with the dogs and my aunt, and I wanted to let O J run on the beach just to relax. I never work on Mondays anymore but have to work tomorrow, so he will have to wait until the weekend to get all sandy and dirty.