Explorez tous les épisodes du podcast RNIB Connect

Each week, RNIB Connect Radio's Allan Russell sits down with Simon Antrobus, CEO of RNIB, to look at some of the big stories coming from the UK sight loss charity.

This week Simon talks about RNIB’s Cost Of Living report, a move for RNIB Northern Ireland and Christmas at the RNIB Online Shop.

If you, or someone you know, would like information on the support and services available from RNIB, go to www.rnib.org.uk

You can call our Helpline on 0303 123 9999 or ask your Smart speaker to call RNIB's Helpline.

#RNIBConnect
 
Image a headshot photograph of Simon Antrobus smiling for the camera. He is a white man with neat, short brown hair, dressed in a white shirt and charcoal suit jacket.

Every year, the top under-18 Braille readers and writers from across the English-speaking world gather in Los Angeles to compete in the Braille Challenge. 

In a new feature film BRAILLED IT, blind and low-vision young people document their experience of the competition using go-pro cameras.

Designed with integrated audio description and accessibility at its core, the film lets young people tell their story.

Amelia spoke to Executive Producer David Grabias from Production Company Artifact to learn more.

Learn more on the BRAILLED IT Website - BRAILLED IT—A Documentary Filmed by the Blind, for the Blind

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RNIB Connect Radio’s Toby Davey is joined again by Vidar Hjardeng MBE, Inclusion and Diversity Consultant for ITV News across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands for another audio described theatre review.

This time we have Birmingham Royal Ballet’s revival of a true ballet classic with ‘Swan Lake’ at the Birmingham Hippodrome with description by Professional Audio Describers Julia Grundy and Jonathan Nash.

About ‘Swan Lake’

Birmingham Royal Ballet revives Sir Peter Wright and Galina Samsova's glorious journey into Swan Lake – with the Royal Ballet Sinfonia performing Tchaikovsky’s superb music live alongside BRB’s spectacular dancers.

Prince Siegfried is out hunting one night when he happens upon a flock of graceful swans. When one of them turns into a beautiful woman, the Prince is utterly smitten – but Odette explains that she has fallen under an evil spell cast by Baron von Rothbart, which keeps her in swan form from dawn to dusk. Can Siegfried’s love break the spell?

Find out in this exquisite production of a true ballet classic.

There is another audio described performance of ‘Swan Lake’ at Sadler’s Wells in London on Saturday 31 October at 2pm with the touch tour at 11.15am. and to find out more about Birmingham Royal Ballet’s access programme including described performances of their productions do visit - https://www.brb.org.uk/whats-on/access

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Toby Davey can be heard on RNIB Connect Radio, keeping listeners up to date on what’s going on in the world of accessible arts.
He’s also an accomplished, award winning, blind sailor, competing for GB around the globe.
RNIB Connect Radio’s Allan Russell spoke to Toby ahead of his latest European Championship competition in Portugal.

#RNIBConnect

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What does the UK's tiniest bird sound like? Amelia is back for the October almanac.

Learn more about bird song and the nature you can enjoy each month on the RPSB website - www.rspb.org.uk

The UK Government is looking to make changes to the welfare system, including Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
Although changes are still under discussion, there are some suggestions to make PIP fit for purpose.
RNIB Connect Radio’s Allan Russell spoke to Ross Megan, from RNIB, to look at what we know so far.
If you’d like more info on welfare payments for blind and partially sighted people, go to www.rnib.org.uk
You can also call the Helpline on 0303 123 9999.
#RNIBConnect
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Ivan Rodriguez Deb is a Visually Impaired Tennis player, concert Pianist and organist who after winning every match in his category (B4) was crowned World Champion at the VI Tennis tournament in Vilnius, Lithuania earlier this summer and as well as starting his 3rd year at the guildhall School of Music and Drama has already performed on stage at many prestigious places including The Royal Albert Hall, Downing Street and St. George’s Hanover Square in London.

RNIB Connect Radio’s Toby Davey caught up with Ivan to find out how he got into playing VI tennis and getting into music at the same time, how his Mum, Brother and Tennis Coach helped him to succeed in the sport and be crowned World Champion in the B4 VI Tennis category this summer, how he has become an accomplished pianist at such an early age and his advice for other visually impaired people on getting into sport and music.

There is more about Ivan and his music career on his website via the following link and to keep up to date with his continued success on the tennis court do follow him on Instagram @IvanRDeb - https://www.ivanrdeb.com

Image shows an action shot of Ivan playing tennis on the court, crouching low hitting the ball backhanded with his left hand.

Do you use smart glasses in your everyday life? Maybe you have concerns about the technology and the way it’s being used. No matter your position, RNIB wants to hear your thoughts. Hywel Davies has been hearing about a new survey that’s gathering public opinion.

You can find out more information on the survey here, Take part in our survey on AI smart glasses | RNIB

RNIB Connect Radio’s Toby Davey was joined by Ross Meegan, RNIB Policy Lead shares some of the findings of the RNIB Cost of Living survey report, launched today (Monday 28 September 2026) showing the impact the increases in food prices and energy costs are having on the lives of blind and partially sighted people. 

All the comments and feedback from visually impaired people who took part in the Cost of Living Survey will help to form RNIB policy and campaigning work over the next few months and into 2027. 

The RNIB Cost of Living report can be found by clicking on to the following link and if you would like to find out more about other RNIB campaigning work and how to get involved do either email campaigns@rnib.org.uk or call the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999. https://www.rnib.org.uk/news/

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Each week, RNIB Connect Radio's Allan Russell sits down with Simon Antrobus, CEO of RNIB, to look at some of the big stories coming from the UK sight loss charity.

This week Simon talks about The Scottish Vision Strategy Conference, Invictus Spirit Awards and some great news for RNIB Connect Radio.

If you, or someone you know, would like information on the support and services available from RNIB, go to www.rnib.org.uk

You can call our Helpline on 0303 123 9999 or ask your Smart speaker to call RNIB's Helpline.

Image a headshot photograph of Simon Antrobus smiling for the camera. He is a white man with neat, short brown hair, dressed in a white shirt and charcoal suit jacket.

See Work Differently Placements can be a great way for blind and partially sighted people to get into employment, but what’s a placement actually like? David Hogg spoke to Devin Adams and Campbell Chalmers from Stirling District Citizen Advice Bureau to find out

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At this year’s Rock en Seine festival, VI concert goers could experience audio description of some of the headliners. David Hogg learns more….

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Follow Visually Impaired people on a fateful train journey in a new production from VICS called ‘Four Out Of Five’.

Amelia spoke to VICS Founder Kirin Saaed and Four Out Of Five Contributor Matthew Clarke to learn about the show.

Four Out Of Five takes place from 7.30 to 8.30 pn on the 3rd October, book tickets and learn more here - Four Out of Five | The MAC Belfast

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Jamie MacDonald is a multi award winning blind comedian, writer and actor, from Glasgow.
He’s back on the road with a new show and told RNIB Connect Radio’s Allan Russell about the idea behind it and why everyone has a mask…
If you’d like to learn more about Jamie, go to https://jamiemacdonaldcomedian.com/about/

#RNIBConnect

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The Visionary Annual Conference is taking place in Birmingham, where local, national, and international sight loss organisations come together to share knowledge and ideas.

Amelia spoke to Dr. Beverly Deguid about how sight loss inspired her to create an inclusive mindfulness practise, how to develop self-compassion and how the sight loss sector can better serve the whole community.

Learn more about Dr. Beverly here - The mindful poet | Linktree
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The Visionary Annual Conference is taking place in Birmingham, where local, national, and international sight loss organisations come together to share knowledge and ideas.

Amelia caught up with Kerry Firth from Fight For Sight who sponsored the livestream of this year's conference.

Learn more about Fight For Sight here - Fight for Sight | Funding research breakthroughs and social change to Save Sight. Change Lives
Learn more about Visionary here - Welcome to Visionary - Visionary

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The Visionary Annual Conference is taking place in Birmingham, where local, national, and international sight loss organisations come together to share knowledge and ideas.

Amelia caught up with Visionary CEO, Fiona Sandford, for her highlights from the conference.

Learn more about Visionary here - Welcome to Visionary - Visionary
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The Visionary Annual Conference is taking place in Birmingham, where local, national, and international sight loss organisations come together to share knowledge and ideas.

Amelia spoke to Steven Johnson, endurance challenge lover, Project Manager and Black Lens app Developer about what challenging physical competitions bring his life and how used AI to code for the Black Lens app.

Learn more about Steven's work here - Steve Johnson - Warrington, England, United Kingdom | Professional Profile | LinkedIn

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The Visionary Annual Conference is taking place in Birmingham, where local, national, and international sight loss organisations come together to share knowledge and ideas.

Amelia spoke to some of the 'What it takes to sustain ourselves and eachother panellists' for their highlights from the discussion.

Here she is speaking with Dr. Beverly Deguid - Freelance Mindfulness Teacher, Susanette Mansour - Transformation Consultant and former CEO, and Mark Upton - CEO of MyVision Oxfordshire.

Learn more about Dr. Beverly Deguid here - Seeing Differently: My path into mindfulness and inclusive teaching by Beverly Duguid | The Mindfulness Network
Learn more about Susanette Mansour here - Susanette Mansour - Eastside People
Learn more about Mark Upton here - Mark Upton - MyVision Oxfordshire

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The Visionary Annual Conference is taking place in Birmingham, where local, national, and international sight loss organisations come together to share knowledge and ideas.

Amelia spoke with David Scurr from CAST (Centre for the Acceleration of Social Technology) to learn more about how charities and individuals can start to explore AI responsibly and critically.

Learn more about CAST on their website - Home - CAST
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The Visionary Annual Conference is taking place in Birmingham, where local, national, and international sight loss organisations come together to share knowledge and ideas.

Amelia spoke with Kelly Taylor - Volunteer, Andrew William Barnes - Sensory Support Officer (Trainer) and Carolyn Greig - Children and Young People Lead about their workshop on Good Working Practice for People Living with Deafblindness.

Learn more about Deafblind UK on their website - Deafblind UK | Supporting Deafblindness in the UK

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The Visionary Annual Conference is taking place in Birmingham, where local, national, and international sight loss organisations come together to share knowledge and ideas.

Amelia spoke with Janiece Wallace, who fell in love with VI tennis after lockdown. She shares how it's enabled her to find community and even compete at Wimbledon.

Learn more about LTA on their website - The Official Home of Tennis For Britain | LTA
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The Visionary Annual Conference is taking place in Birmingham, where local, national, and international sight loss organisations come together to share knowledge and ideas.

Amelia spoke with Sandi Wassmer, the UK's first blind female CEO with ADHD, about the interaction between visual impairment and neurodivergence and her tips for women who want to take up leadership roles.

Learn more about Sandi on the Onvero website - Sandi Wassmer - Onvero

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For this months RNIB Cymru Campaigns Monthly update RNIB Connect Radio’s Toby Davey was joined by  Rosaleen Dempsey, RNIB Education and Children Training and Engagement Manager for news on the RNIB policy and campaigns work relating to children and young people in Wales.

To find out more about the RNIB’s campaigns work in Wales and across the country do either email campaigns@rnib.org.uk, call the RNIB Helpline on 0303 123 9999 or visit - https://www.rnib.org.uk/campaign-with-us/ 

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The Visionary Annual Conference has begun in Birmingham, where local, national, and international sight loss organisations come together to share knowledge and ideas.

Amelia spoke with the 'Navigating Uncertainty' panellists about the discussion highlights. She gained insights from Debra Allcock Tyler - Chief Executive Officer of Directory of Social Change, Harbi Jama - Philanthropy and Partnerships Leader, Sandi Wassmer - CEO of Onvero, and Tilly Dowler - The Blind Stylist.

Learn more about Debra Allcock Tyler here -  Directory of Social Change - Staff
Learn more about Harbi Jama here - Harbi Jama - Helen Bamber Foundation | LinkedIn
Learn more about Sandi Wassmer here - Sandi Wassmer - Onvero
Learn more about Tilly Dowler here - Styled by Tilly: Personal styling, body shape & colour analysis

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The Visionary Annual Conference has begun in Birmingham, where local, national, and international sight loss organisations come together to share knowledge and ideas.

Amelia spoke with 'The Blind Stylist' Tilly Dowler about her conference outfit and styling services.

Learn more about Tilly on her website - Styled by Tilly: Personal styling, body shape & colour analysis
Find her on social media @the_blind_stylist

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The Visionary Annual Conference has begun in Birmingham, where local, national, and international sight loss organisations come together to share knowledge and ideas.

Amelia is reporting from the event and spoke to the Visionary CEO, Fiona Sandford, at the start of the conference about what we can expect.

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David Hogg catches up with Visibility Scotland CEO Laura Walker ahead of her two speeches at the Scottish Vision Strategy Conference.

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How has optometry in Scotland changed in the past two decades, David Hogg spoke to Eilidh Thomson chair of Optometry Scotland to find out…

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Lets’s head back to Edinburgh where David Hogg spoke to RNIB’s Rob Cooper ahead of his speech at the Scottish Vision Strategy Conference

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Let’s head back to the SVS where David Hogg caught up with RNIB’s John Slade about the RNIB Sight Loss Data Tool….

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What’s it like volunteering at an RNIB conference, David Hogg spoke with RNIB volunteer Morag, to find out…

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Back to Edinburgh and the SVS where David spoke with RNIB’s Dan Fisher….

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Let’s head back to SVS and hear more about co designing digital platforms. David caught up with Chris Mackie and Kirin Saeed ahead of the discussion…

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More from SVS where David spoke with Amanda Hawkins from RNIB and Professor Mhari Thurston about their upcoming panel discussion

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More now from the Scottish Vision Strategy Conference, shortly before their opening speech, David caught up with Alison Thewliss MSP…

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Let’s head over to Edinburgh and this year’s Scottish Vision Strategy Conference. Before the conference began, David Hogg caught up with RNIB CEO Simon Antrobus and RNIB Scotland Country Director James Adams about their hopes for the day.

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News of some magical productions from Birmingham Royal Ballet that are being made accessible to visually impaired people through audio described performances and touch tours as RNIB Connect Radio’s Toby Davey chats with Hannah MacGregor, BRB Engagement and Access Officer.

Hannah began by giving an overview to the history of the company from its routes in London in 1931 to the company finding a permanent home at the Birmingham Hippodrome in 1990 and being very much a touring company too. 

Then to details about two magical classic ballet productions that have audio described performances and touch tours with ‘Swan Lake’ and ‘Nutcracker’ plus an overview of what the experience will be like for blind and partially sighted people. 

‘Swan Lake’ - Saturday 26 September, 2pm, touch tour 11.15am, Birmingham Hippodrome and Saturday 31 October, 2pm, touch tour 11.15am, Sadler’s Wells, London.

‘Nutcracker’ - Saturday 28 November, 2.30pm, touch tour 12.15pm and Tuesday 1 December, 12.45pm (AD, signed and relaxed performance), Birmingham Hippodrome.

For more about Birmingham Royal Ballet and the up-coming described performances of ‘Swan Lake’, ’Nutcracker’ and many more do visit - https://www.brb.org.uk/whats-on/access

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National Eye Health Week runs from the 21st to the 27th September, Amelia speaks to RNIB’s Louise Gow to learn why regular eye tests are so important.

Find Resources On Eye Health On the RNIB Webiste - Your eyes - find information on sight and conditions | RNIB

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As it is National Eye Health Week (21-27 September 2026) for our regular browse through the RNIB online shop with Charlee Jarvis, RNIB Shop’s Buying coordinator we have some great products around eye health and taking care of your eyes including, eye shields, optical and video magnifiers with lighting options plus a couple of useful gadgets for taking care of your eyes too

For more about all those great eye health products plus many more that you will find in the RNIB online shop do visit - https://shop.rnib.org.uk/connect

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Each week, RNIB Connect Radio's Allan Russell sits down with Simon Antrobus, CEO of RNIB, to look at some of the big stories coming from the UK sight loss charity.

This week Simon talks about National Eye Health Week, the Audio Is King conference and some exciting news from NaviLens.

If you, or someone you know, would like information on the support and services available from RNIB, go to www.rnib.org.uk

You can call our Helpline on 0303 123 9999 or ask your Smart speaker to call RNIB's Helpline.
#RNIBConnect

Image a headshot photograph of Simon Antrobus smiling for the camera. He is a white man with neat, short brown hair, dressed in a white shirt and charcoal suit jacket.

On Thursday 17 September 2026 at the RNIB’s Grimaldi Building in London, CPI and the RNIB brought publishers, authors, accessibility specialists, technology providers and industry partners together for the ‘Accessible Publishing Conference – Writing a New Chapter of Inclusion’, giving people the opportunity to have have meaningful conversations, share valuable insights and spark new ideas ensuring that visually impaired people and everyone no matter how they read will have equal access to books and the joy they bring too.

RNIB Connect Radio’s Toby Davey was there and caught up with Beth O’Brien, visually impaired best-selling Author of ‘Wolf Siren’ who delivered the key note speech at the conference. 

To find out more about making books and reading accessible to blind and partially sighted people do visit the following pages of the RNIB website - https://www.rnib.org.uk/living-with-sight-loss/independent-living/leisure/reading-and-books/ 

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On Thursday 17 September 2026 at the RNIB’s Grimaldi Building in London, CPI and the RNIB brought publishers, authors, accessibility specialists, technology providers and industry partners together for the ‘Accessible Publishing Conference – Writing a New Chapter of Inclusion’, giving people the opportunity to have have meaningful conversations, share valuable insights and spark new ideas ensuring that visually impaired people and everyone no matter how they read will have equal access to books and the joy they bring too.

RNIB Connect Radio’s Toby Davey was there and caught up with Hannah Whitcombe, RNIB Corporate Partnerships Manager, to find out why it is so important for the RNIB and CPI to bring everyone from across the publishing and access sector together to ensure that there is equal access to books for everyone .

To find out more about making books and reading accessible to blind and partially sighted people do visit the following pages of the RNIB website - https://www.rnib.org.uk/living-with-sight-loss/independent-living/leisure/reading-and-books/ 

Image shows the RNIB Connect Radio logo. On a white background ‘RNIB’ written in bold black capital letters and underline with a bold pink line. Underneath the line: ‘Connect Radio’ is written in black in a smaller font.

On Thursday 17 September 2026 at the RNIB’s Grimaldi Building in London, CPI and the RNIB brought publishers, authors, accessibility specialists, technology providers and industry partners together for the ‘Accessible Publishing Conference – Writing a New Chapter of Inclusion’, giving people the opportunity to have have meaningful conversations, share valuable insights and spark new ideas ensuring that visually impaired people and everyone no matter how they read will have equal access to books and the joy they bring too.

RNIB Connect Radio’s Toby Davey was there and caught up with Laura Dolan from CPI publishing the main organisation behind the conference.

To find out more about making books and reading accessible to blind and partially sighted people do visit the following pages of the RNIB website - https://www.rnib.org.uk/living-with-sight-loss/independent-living/leisure/reading-and-books/ 

Image shows the RNIB Connect Radio logo. On a white background ‘RNIB’ written in bold black capital letters and underline with a bold pink line. Underneath the line: ‘Connect Radio’ is written in black in a smaller font.

On Thursday 17 September 2026 at the RNIB’s Grimaldi Building in London, CPI and the RNIB brought publishers, authors, accessibility specialists, technology providers and industry partners together for the ‘Accessible Publishing Conference – Writing a New Chapter of Inclusion’, giving people the opportunity to have have meaningful conversations, share valuable insights and spark new ideas ensuring that visually impaired people and everyone no matter how they read will have equal access to books and the joy they bring too.

RNIB Connect Radio’s Toby Davey was there and caught up with Emma Steel from Every Cherry a publisher of special educational needs books who took part in the panel discussion about equal access begins with accessible formats.

To find out more about making books and reading accessible to blind and partially sighted people do visit the following pages of the RNIB website - https://www.rnib.org.uk/living-with-sight-loss/independent-living/leisure/reading-and-books/ 

Image shows the RNIB Connect Radio logo. On a white background ‘RNIB’ written in bold black capital letters and underline with a bold pink line. Underneath the line: ‘Connect Radio’ is written in black in a smaller font.

On Thursday 17 September 2026 at the RNIB’s Grimaldi Building in London, CPI and the RNIB brought publishers, authors, accessibility specialists, technology providers and industry partners together for the ‘Accessible Publishing Conference – Writing a New Chapter of Inclusion’ giving people the opportunity to have have meaningful conversations, share valuable insights and spark new ideas ensuring that visually impaired people and everyone no matter how they read will have equal access to books and the joy they bring too.

RNIB Connect Radio’s Toby Davey was there and caught up with Simon Mellins Digital Publishing Consultant who works on accessible publishing and took part in the removing barriers through accessible design panel discussion. 

To find out more about making books and reading accessible to blind and partially sighted people do visit the following pages of the RNIB website - https://www.rnib.org.uk/living-with-sight-loss/independent-living/leisure/reading-and-books/ 

Image shows the RNIB Connect Radio logo. On a white background ‘RNIB’ written in bold black capital letters and underline with a bold pink line. Underneath the line: ‘Connect Radio’ is written in black in a smaller font.

On Thursday 17 September 2026 at the RNIB’s Grimaldi Building in London, CPI and the RNIB brought publishers, authors, accessibility specialists, technology providers and industry partners together for the ‘Accessible Publishing Conference – Writing a New Chapter of Inclusion’, giving people the opportunity to have have meaningful conversations, share valuable insights and spark new ideas ensuring that visually impaired people and everyone no matter how they read will have equal access to books and the joy they bring too.

RNIB Connect Radio’s Toby Davey was there and caught up with Elizabeth Kellingley Accessibility Manager at Bloomsbury publishing who took part in the Inclusion Creates Commercial Opportunity panel discussion. 

To find out more about making books and reading accessible to blind and partially sighted people do visit the following pages of the RNIB website - https://www.rnib.org.uk/living-with-sight-loss/independent-living/leisure/reading-and-books/ 

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Sight Support Ryedale have an event on Monday for National Eye Health Week.

The event is free and features variety of talks, technology demonstrations and more. Chief Officer Victorian Dean told Amelia what people can enjoy on the day.

The event takes palce on the 21st September 2026, at Sight Support Ryedale, Commercial Street, Norton, YO17 9ES, from 10.30-3.30pm.

Learn more on the Sight Support Ryedale Website - Home | Sight Support | Visually Impaired | North Yorkshire

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RNIB Connect Radio’s Toby Davey is joined again by Vidar Hjardeng MBE, Inclusion and Diversity Consultant for ITV News across England, Wales, Northern Ireland and the Channel Islands for another audio described theatre review.

This week we step into the dressing room of three comedy heroes - Tommy Cooper, Eric Morecambe and Bob Monkhouse as the current tour of ‘The Last Laugh’ visited the Wolverhampton Grand theatre with description by Professional Audio Describer Nicola Williams.

About ‘The Last Laugh’ 

The Last Laugh is a “brilliant” (The Telegraph) smash-hit, West End play which imagines three of Britain’s all-time greatest comedy heroes – Tommy Cooper, Eric Morecambe and Bob Monkhouse, in a dressing room, discussing the secret of life, death, comedy and what it means to be funny… really funny!

“Lovingly written and directed” (Sunday Times) by the award-winning Paul Hendy, The Last Laugh features Damian Williams as Cooper, Simon Cartwright as Monkhouse and Britain’s Got Talent finalist Steve Royle as Morecambe.

The show consists of an 80-minute first act, a 20-minute interval, and a 30-minute post-show Q&A with the cast – the full 2 hour and 10 minute experience includes the Q&A.

For more about the tour of ‘The Last Laugh’ do visit the productions’ website - https://thelastlaughplay.co.uk

Image shows the RNIB Connect Radio logo. On a white background ‘RNIB’ written in bold black capital letters and underline with a bold pink line. Underneath the line: ‘Connect Radio’ is written in black in a smaller font.

This week is Pension Awareness week and HMRC is encoring everyone to look at their state pension forecast. David Hogg finds out more…

Image shows the RNIB Connect Radio logo. On a white background ‘RNIB’ written in bold black capital letters and underline with a bold pink line. Underneath the line: ‘Connect Radio’ is written in black in a smaller font.