Into the Mailbag

00:06 S1

This is studio one on Vision Australia Radio.

00:17 S2

Hello, I'm Sam.

00:18 S3

And I'm Lizzie.

00:19 S2

And this is Studio One, your weekly look at life from a low vision and blind point of view. Here on Vision Australia Radio.

00:25 S3

This week, did you know that we have an email address? Really?

00:28 S2

What is it? Um, well, yes, we say at the top and the tale of each episode and. Well, you know what? Sometimes people actually email us. Do you believe that?

00:39 S3

Oh, no.

00:41 S2

Oh. So heaven forbid. Yes. So to celebrate Studio One's renewal for another three years. Yes. Cue the applause. We dive into the mailbag and give you some of our listeners insights, as it were.

00:56 S3

As we always say at this point, please do get in touch with the show. Whether you have experience of any of the issues covered on this week's episode of Studio One, or if you think there's something we should be talking about. You never know. Your story and insight may help someone who's dealing with something similar.

01:11 S2

As I said, you can email us studio one at Vision Australia. Org. That's studio number one at Vision Australia.

01:16 S3

Org or of course, you can drop us a note on the station's Facebook page by going to facebook.com Slash Radio network.

01:29 S2

Hello, Lizzie.

01:29 S3

Hello, Sam.

01:31 S2

You're sounding a lot better than last week. I believe you were really down in the dumps.

01:36 S3

I did not have a good week. I had bronchitis really bad. I think it's the most sick I've ever been in my adult life. In fact, there's part of me that still thinks, oh, I'll never be the same. My lungs especially.

01:50 S2

And I was terrible. I got you to work on your sick week, so. But I think the show turned out okay.

01:56 S3

I mean, thank goodness I didn't talk very much. Thank goodness it wasn't one of those weeks where I was required to talk very much because my throat hurt and I was. Yes, I sounded as if I was coming down from the depths of who knows where.

02:12 S2

But it all works out. And we had some good news last week.

02:16 S3

Yes we did. Oh, how exciting is that? That our funding has been renewed for the next three years. So guess what, people? You can't get rid of us that easy unless you just turn off your radio. Um, we wouldn't encourage you to do that.

02:30 S2

One of the big things that has helped us out over the last five years or so that we've been on the air is the input from our listeners. And yes, it's nice that we've actually got listeners as well. So thank you, everybody for listening. But also thank you for those who've actually got back in touch with us and made comments occasionally. That's led to other stories, but, well, there were these emails here that didn't quite fit in. And I thought, well, we might as well let these people have their say but maintain the anonymity of the email.

03:04 S3

Yes. In fact, I think it's really nice the fact that we promote our email address and now we're going to read your emails. So we actually do pay attention to this email box.

03:14 S2

Or try to at the very least. Yes. All right. So where are we starting? Ah, yes. Ricky.

03:21 S3

Ricky, I am just getting the shakes all over again just thinking about what could have gone wrong. But luckily for me, it didn't.

03:30 S2

Well, you might have been able to find someone who can help you out, and they might have been, um, a little unhelpful. Yes. So the reason why I have named this episode the Boy Scout Syndrome is I came up with this a number of years ago, and that is. So if you picture there's a Boy Scout wandering down the road, he's after his badge in helping ladies across the road, and he comes across an old lady and helps her across the road, then wanders off thinking, I've done that. I've given my my, um, badge for wonderful doing this. Not really asking if the old lady wanted to be helped across the road, or even wanted to go across the road in the first place.

04:18 S4

Yeah, you know, even when you have got the dog in your left hand. I've been grabbed and dragged onto the train. I used to get really cranky and just say, let me. You need to let me go. This is what the dog's for and whatever. And I used to yell at them. Well, I don't do that anymore. I realize that's not the right thing to do. So someone does go to grab me. I'll usually just pull my hand away and say, no, it's okay. And just in future, just ask me first.

04:44 S5

But yeah, when I think, uh, probably the biggest change was when I did my guide dog training, they told me that if someone offers you a seat on the bus or the train, you should take it because you want them to offer it and you should should thank them. Be positive. Appreciative. Uh, because if they don't do it next time for the the old person with diabetes and neuropathy in their feet and visual impairment. Well, that's a problem.

05:10 S6

If they're always up close in my space, I have to say, look, I'm okay. Please, I don't need your help. I can manage, but sometimes, well, a lot of the time when people help, they're they're great. I really do appreciate their help, especially when it comes to road crossings, which I hate with a passion. I hate crossing roads if I can help it.

05:31 S2

Hi. In terms of the first part of last week's program about helping, yes, this was the Boy Scout syndrome that we was talking about. I'm not really a tactile person, and obviously it's not meant to be malicious or hurtful, but I'm not really a tactile person and I don't really like being touched for no reason. Sometimes I'm sure it's out of love or whatever. Sometimes people touch my shoulders or slap as a greeting, but I'm not really in favor of that either. But I don't mind being helped across the street, for example, I'm really not comfortable touching women. Ricky. All right, so where do we go with this one?

06:12 S3

Well, you know what? I will say this. I had an experience a couple of weeks ago. Thank you. Ricky, by the way, for writing in because I am the exact same. Unless I know you. Don't touch me. I had an experience a couple of weeks ago which kind of unsettled me, and it actually had me quite angry for a couple of days. My support worker, Chris and I had just been to the gym and we were going to lunch, as we do, and we were sitting in a cafe and this old guy, uh, old Italian guy came up and started talking to Chris like, oh, my niece is vision impaired. That's all he said. Then he started stroking my back and stroking my hair and playing with my plat and getting all sort of, like, close and stuff. And I was just like, I don't really like being touched. And I leaned away and, um, he then continued to try and touch me. Uh, luckily he walked away when he did because Chris was ready to intervene. But it really got my goat up because what right have you to touch me? If I was a normal woman and I say normal in quotes, if I had no disability and I was just your average Joe woman sitting in a cafe, you wouldn't dare come up to me and touch me. But because I'm disabled or because I'm other than you think that it is acceptable to come and do that. Like, it got me really mad. Actually. I found it really hard to let it go. And now that we've just rehashed it, I'm getting mad all over.

07:37 S2

Again, getting it all stirred up. Yeah. All right, talking of all stirred up, we have a another email, this time all the way from Macedonia.

07:45 S3

Aha. Okay. I'm going to do my best to read this. Hi I am a blind teacher from North Macedonia and enjoy your show much, but was wondering if you could make it easier for us to read the content of podcasts on podcast apps. For example, when you put out the episodes, you can first introduce the Introduced a topic instead of saying the hosts are that way, we can go faster, especially if we need to catch up on podcasts. And that's from Adriana.

08:15 S2

Okay.

08:16 S3

Well, there's a reason we do that.

08:18 S2

It's not we've not really had any complaints about it, but we're following a format that's actually quite tried and tested over in the UK at least. So, um, some podcasts do things slightly differently, but the vast majority will introduce, um, who's hosting it and then go into it to give you an idea of what we're talking about. I know sometimes I can be a bit cryptic when I choose the subjects, but that's the is the title of the podcast because each week there is a different podcast title. And what's your take on this one, Lizzie?

08:49 S3

Well, I think especially because I think, uh, Adriana, you probably forget that this goes out to air. It's not just in a podcast format. If it were, perhaps there would be some way around it. But the fact is, if we are going to be engaging with the community and there are potentially new listeners. We want the listeners to know who the hosts are so that we they can engage with us so they know I'm Lizzie and that's Sam, and we are both very different people with very different perspectives, but we are coming together for the purposes of this show. So it does go out to air on a national radio network. It's not just a podcast. So therefore there is kind of an extra element of needing to introduce ourselves as hosts.

09:34 S2

Mhm.

09:39 S7

I was giving a seminar up in the Adelaide Hills, so it was a very big fair and the taxi refused to come when they found out that there was a guide dog. And I mean I was the person leading the session, I had to be there and it took the involvement of a lot of people to actually get me there on time by the skin of my teeth. Of course, my stress levels were absolutely through the roof, but every time there's a refusal, it's stressful. Anytime I actually book a taxi, I'm stressed because I'm always concerned as to whether or not it will turn up, especially if I'm travelling interstate. And will I or will I not make the plane? Make the flight?

10:18 S8

Did you know that? Let's pretend that you're an Uber driver, that every time you get into because it's your personal car, every time you get into your personal car and log on to your Uber platform? Did you know that a thing comes up stating that you have to allow God fearing citizens dogs in your car?

10:37 S7

Well, no I didn't.

10:38 S8

Well, they do, but no one bloody reads it because they just scroll and then hit the tick button, the tick box, you know, to say, yes, I've read it. And people have a go at me and say, well, Janice, you should have ordered a pet friendly Uber. And it's like, well, you've got to wait longer because not all Ubers say yes to pets. And plus you've got to pay extra money. And thirdly, my guide dog is not a pet.

11:06 S2

We might actually break this one down into little chunks because the gentleman in question. Thank you. Ross has sent us a novella. Hello to you both. Hope 2025 is a better year for us all. Blind VIP folks and we don't need to keep revisiting these issues. First, I am a white cane user. No guide dog. But let me relate a few points. Way back in around 1992, I was on the Client Consultative Committee of Guide Dogs, New South Wales, where they were located in Kirribilli. North Sydney due to consistent negative experiences such as the refusals of taxis, Guide Dogs New South Wales convened a face to face meeting with the New South Wales Taxi Council. Taxis combine and a range of other stakeholders as clients. We were assured that the relevant and appropriate training was provided and the taxi council rep advised us that they did not think there was a problem anyway. It was not system wide and only a tiny few individual drivers. So you might note that this was a serious issue some 30 years or more ago, and nothing was being done to drivers, often other than the occasional fine. It is appalling that consecutive governments have not dealt with this in a more direct and meaningful manner for the last 33 years. Now, as a white cane user, I would in my professional career use dozens and dozens of taxis each year. I was a professional specialist vocational rehabilitation counsellor, and I hope you weren't saying that frequently. For well over 20 years and taxis were important. My experience was that numerous drivers would take you on the scenic route thinking that as a blind guy, I might not know exactly why I was. This was well before the navigation apps we have today. I would almost always challenge the driver, which led to a number of difficult situations, several resulting in personal physical threats. These were often rank pick ups and had minimal capacity to know who they were anyway. It was my word against theirs, so no point. I had one driver drop me halfway along my journey, saying he had decided to log off, and when I challenged him, he jumped out of his taxi, shouting and screaming at me in front of other drivers and passengers. Uh. He actually got into trouble? Apparently, yes. Like many, I have had rideshare drivers just stop and drop you off in totally awkward locations. Nowhere near the address, just where their map pin thinks you should be put. None of this is new, nor is the service delivery just an issue for guide dog handlers. It seems that just about everyone can access taxi licenses and become rideshare operators if they wish. Governments at the state level are clearly clueless and appear to accept the reassurances of taxi and rideshare groups. So, as my first salutation says, Happy New Year and let's hope someone in government grows a pair and something substantial to fix the problem. Kinda smiles to you both. Wow, that was a nice long one.

14:26 S3

Well done Sam.

14:27 S2

All right, so this was obviously in response to, um, our taxi episode from earlier on in the year. Now there's a lot to unpack there. And we did actually concentrate more on the issues with guide Dog users, but we're very keen to look back into that situation because it isn't just guide dog users that are affected. And I think anyone who is listening to that would have had similar issues. Um, certainly we've occasionally been looking out the window and going, where are you taking us? And the driver has misheard the suburb. So all of a sudden there's been this screeching U-turn and we've had to go in a completely different direction. There was, uh, one driver who, uh, we'd said, this is when we were living, um, up in a suburb called Oaklands Park, and he heard it as Oakden.

15:19 S3

Oh, no.

15:20 S2

So, dear listener, that is a completely different direction to what we were intending on going. And we.

15:24 S3

Were out of.

15:25 S2

Town. We were halfway there when we realized that we were actually going to the wrong place. So this is quite a common thing, and apparently it's all our fault.

15:35 S3

Yes. Well, again, I'm I'm super keen to get back into the meat and bones of this topic because. Yeah, I mean, you're right, it's not just guide dog users that get this. Um, I, as a white cane user, have had issues with cabs before and Ubers. And one of the things that Ross mentioned that I find interesting is the low barrier of entry to becoming an Uber driver. I dated an Uber driver for three months. Worst experience of my life. But we won't go there. Um, and yeah, the way that he was able to to get in to being an Uber driver and, you know, the the standards are low. There's no vetting process. There's no, you know, meeting the drivers and making sure that they are people, people, you know, so to speak. So yeah, there's quite a lot of work that needs to be done. But I think this is just an issue that we're going to keep battling for a while because unfortunately we are just a small cross section of the population.

16:34 S2

But it's also up to us to be as loud and vocal about this as possible. Yep, yep. We have a request both in with Uber and with, uh, one through cabs to, um, have a talk with them and so far have heard nothing. Olivia from one three cabs apparently is rather keen to talk about this and get some feedback on how things are going. So yes, if anyone from one three cabs is listening, please do get in touch because, uh, yes, we definitely want to chat and see how things are going.

17:01 S3

Yeah. And if you're a driver, especially if you're a driver and you've, you know, confronted other drivers about this or you've had your own experiences, like let us know because we want to hear from you too. We want to hear from everyone. Yeah. All right. Um, I'll find the next email, shall I? Hi. I was born with no sight at all, and my late parents always got clothes and socks that match. So that's not the issue of color, but the issue is with texture. Things feel the same, and it seems that I end up always wearing the same items except for jackets or coats, and it is a matter of separating items that are freshly laundered and ironed from those I want to wear next and are clean. I was not sure what to do, so eventually I decided to leave a belt in a pair of formal trousers I was wearing while they're in the cupboard and before they go into the laundry. Then I decided to put objects into all of my trouser and shirt pockets, so I know which one of those I'll wear next. If I wear a hanging shirt more than once, I will fasten the top button and then feel for the hanger and the shirt with t shirts and folded items. I put objects underneath, including with underwear. Although I wasn't sure what to do with socks. How to separate the clean pairs of socks from those just washed. All my socks are paired in balls. So eventually I decided to put all my pairs of socks in a big hat I got during my last visit to Perth in 2020, just before Covid, and each time one comes out of the wash, it's put on the shelf where the socks are kept and the ones in the hat are those that I'll wear next, and I cover it with a smaller hat, though sometimes I still have to remind the sighted person who does my laundry that clean folded items have to be separated, those on top are freshly laundered, and those below the object are worn next. Sometimes, inevitably, some items fall out My tracksuit pants are different, so I don't have issues with those. Ricky again.

19:11 S2

A friend of mine, Bob Matthews over in England, used to do the same thing with his socks. Have them in a nice nice balls. Now what was interesting though, he's a guide dog, apparently had nicked some and that was his personal toy when he was not doing anything else. So anyway, I sort of saw this Labrador pushing this thing around the floor with his nose and having a great old time, and then picked it up and said, um, Bob, you're missing these. And he said, oh my God, I haven't seen these socks in about a year.

19:44 S3

Okay, so before I got with Stephen, I used to have all the same socks. So I had like about 20 pairs of the same nondescript black socks. And therefore, it didn't really matter as long as I had all 20 pairs or however many pairs I washed. I was good and I was super obsessive about putting things in the basket as soon as I wore them. I don't really have that sort of problem, because every shirt that I have has a different texture and I sort of hang them up. I've got systems for everything. Well, this is another thing that we're going to go over again, by the way, Ricky. So thank you. I really want to do a show about this because I'm collating some more people's, uh, tips and tricks. But yeah, there's definitely different ways to organize your clothes. That sounds a bit too complicated for my simple brain, but, um. Yeah, everything that I have has a different textures, and I know what I'm wearing because. Yeah, just that. And when I buy something, I always get the support worker to describe it to me and what other things it would go with.

20:52 S2

I actually do the belt trick, I've got to admit. Um, so if I'm wearing something the following day, then yes, the belt is already in there and it stays on the coat hanger. So yes, I wouldn't say great minds think alike, because mine is less great than it used to be, let's put it that way.

21:08 S3

I just put if I'm wearing the same clothes that I wore like that I'm gonna wear the next day. I fold them up and I put them on the couch, because that way I can come out in the morning, turn on the heater, go and sit, have my cup of coffee, and the clothes are like, right there on the single armchair, ready to be put on again. And all I have to do is just get fresh undies and socks, which I usually do the night before anyway. I'm a night before kind of gal. I like to have everything prepared. I'm like super. People would call me OCD, but as a totally blind person who now lives with another person, I need to be.

21:44 S2

Mhm. Well, um, my years of fashion faux pas touchwood are over simply because I don't have anything exciting to wear anymore.

21:53 S3

No. And you got to Heidi. I'm sure she won't let you leave the house looking like a complete idiot.

21:58 S2

No, no, not anymore anyway. Unless. Unless I've done something to annoy her. Anyway, we have one more email left, and this one's an interesting one, because our very own Maddie has asked us for some advice here, which, uh, well, okay, it's a different twist on things, but all right. It's about hobbies. So. Hi, Sam and Lizzy. I'm working as a peer support worker for See Differently. That is the Royal Society for the Blind in South Australia.

22:21 S3

It is Maddie.

22:22 S2

And multiple topics come up in my calls with my clients. The topic of hobbies came up and how my client could still enjoy hobbies like gaming and board games. Now they are losing their sight and he was interested to know of other hobbies enjoyed by blind and visually impaired people that don't require much or any vision. I was wondering if you guys might have some ideas or know of any resources. I thought it could also be a potential show topic. Looking forward to hearing from you. Well, Maddie, you've heard from us.

22:57 S3

Um, I'll send her a message to.

22:59 S2

Yes, definitely. I did a quick scan of the internet of the interweb. You know, this this world Wide Web thing. Uh, yes. I'm old. I say things like that. There were several Facebook groups for blind gamers, believe it or not. I did not know this existed, but, um, it's a good place to start. Is, uh, is there uh, as for board games, there are numerous Braille versions of board games.

23:24 S3

Yes. Um, in fact, last night, Stephen and I busted out the old snakes and Ladders. Mhm. That was so much fun. Um, Maddie, there are also lots of games. Audio games. I mean, they span a lot of different genres, but they are games which primarily work through earphones. You would wear earphones for them and it's 3D sound. There's quite a lot of them out there that don't require any vision. Um, Papa Sangre, Audio Defense, Blind Warrior, just to name a few. There's also games which has all your, you know, your card games in 1000 miles and all different other sorts of, um, like card games but digital. And then of course, you can still play things like Dungeons and Dragons and things like that, because you don't really need vision to know what you're doing. Again, I think we should do a show about this. Definitely. There's quite a lot out there. I will send you an email, Matty and I will send you some resources and some links.

24:28 S2

There used to be a thing called text games, which, yes, in the 1990s were used to. They used to have a couple that would come with, um, braille tablets and things like that as well. So just for people to have a go at and of course, they disappeared from mainstream, um, gaming after. Well, we had other flashier, um, titles, but I still think that they're actually pretty, pretty entertaining. They work. You can't necessarily do a lot of interacting active gaming with other people, but you can at least I don't know. Um, tell a story. It's like, kind of like a choose your own adventure book that I seem to remember.

25:09 S3

Yes. And there's some really good developers that do those apps as well. Choice of games being a big one. They've got a lot of text based games and you know, the story is preset, but you choose your own adventure, you choose your own person. And they've got so many different. I used to spend hours with choice of games. There's so many different games and things out there. So you know what, Maddie? There are definitely a lot of options for your clients. And yeah, we can we can definitely send you some links to some resources. And, um, I'd be happy to chat with you about that.

25:43 S2

It depends also on how much somebody can see if they're losing their sight then, um, yes. Some of the games that I like to muck around with might actually encourage more sight loss in some ways, but I personally like, um, strategy games like civilization and, uh, the city building games and things like that, which are, yes, very visual, but also don't necessarily rely on a lot of hand-to-eye coordination. I used to love playing doom, for example, the original 1990s version, which was just a straight up shooter. Nothing cerebral, nothing interesting. You just point and click and, um, you've got zombies and stuff like that.

26:20 S3

And there's definitely audio games like that out there too.

26:23 S2

But the new version of doom, I cannot get the hang of that in the slightest. It's way too quick, it's way too visual, and I'm always getting killed. But anyway, that is that for our mailbag. If you think that this is a successful episode, then let us know if you got tired of the sound of our voices. Well, also let us know because we're we're here for another three years.

26:44 S3

And the last thing we'd want to do is annoy you before that three years is up. We've still got three years. It's a long time.

26:51 S9

Three more years. Yay!

26:52 S2

Woo! All right, so that is a wrap for this week. A big thank you to Ricky. To Ross, to Adriana. Adriana and Maddie.

27:02 S3

And of course, a big thanks to you for listening. That includes our listeners on the Reading Radio Network. As usual, you can download a podcast of this program plus some extra content on Apple, Spotify, Google, or our favorite podcast platforms.

27:19 S2

Next week for Deaf Blind Awareness Week, we look at the world from a deaf blind point of view.

27:24 S3

But between now and then, please do get in touch with the show. Whether you have experience of any of the issues covered on this week's episode of Studio One, or if you think there's something we should be talking about. You never know. Your story and insight may help someone who's dealing with something similar.

27:39 S2

You can email us Studio One at org. That's studio number one at Vision Australia. Org.

27:44 S3

Or you can drop us a note on all the good social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram by searching for VA Radio Network. We want to hear from you.

27:54 S9

This program was made possible.

27:55 S2

With the support from the Community Broadcasting Foundation.

27:58 S3

Find out more at.