Karen's ActivEyes Blog

A Holiday to Scotland, 15th to 29th May 2010

I thought I would tell you about our recent holiday, in Scotland, our main aim to see White Tailed Sea Eagles.   I have added a couple of links here and there, so you can investigate further if you want.

The weather was much better than the forecast had predicted, rain, rain, and more rain with cold temperatures.  And although I wore my thermals all but two days, we had little rain.   On and off, whilst on Mull, but nothing that really got in the way of our plans, and none in the second week in Kilchoan, except for a few spots during the night.

Our holiday started at 5am on the Saturday for the journey to the Isle of Mull.  At 7.55am, we hit the Scottish border.  The sky was so blue by then it was amazing, and the traffic so light all the way, nothing stopped our progress.  We stopped for breakfast at 8.30am at a service station, and I was anticipating a traditional Scottish breakfast, with haggis and lorn sausages, but all we got was a normal sausage, bacon, egg and a few beans with a slice of toast, so I was a bit disappointed.  Never mind, we made up for it on other days, after going to the Tobermory Co-op on Mull and acquiring such items, with Dearly Beloved being the great breakfast chef.

After breakfast, I grabbed the camera, and took some photos along the continuation of our journey.   We took time to take in the sights, stopping here and there.   I have never been so overwhelmed with the mountains as I was that day.   We stopped for a tea break around 11am, and took a short stroll along a stretch of Loch Lomond.  Then off again, through Glencoe, many more photos, a stop at a car park with a man in full Scottish Dress playing the bagpipes, and on again towards the Corran Ferry, going over Loch Linnhe, saving the extra two hours needed to drive round it.  Our next stop, for our packed lunch, overlooked a part of this loch that led to the sea.  Then on again to Loch Sunart, along the single track road with just one cottage dotted here and there, travelling on to Lochaline to get the ferry to Fishnish on the Isle of Mull.

Finally, we got to Dervaig and found our cottage along its main street of tightly packed buildings, a little around 5pm, after a visit to said Co-op in Tobermory.  It is 8 miles from Tobermory to Dervaig and took around 45 minutes, ‘cos the road was single track with passing places, with many twists and turns, and scary hair pin bends up and around the mountains.  Most roads on Mull are like this, and the coastal roads can be even more precarious.

We unpacked the car, and settled in, quite exhausted from our travels.   The next morning was lazy with a decision to go a walk around 2pm.  We went to investigate the River Bellart, famous for sea trout and salmon, just five minutes walk away.  We saw many wading birds, two herons, and wait for it, the white tailed sea eagles!  OK. So they were tiny dots floating around in the sky above, but they were the SEA EAGLES, and……Two of them!  They were so majestic, as tho they were just floating. Gliding. So peaceful, and, in control.  Dearly Beloved took some photos, but it is hard to make out too much detail, just an outline against a bright sky.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdguide/name/w/whitetailedeagle/index.aspx

The next couple of days were spent driving round, investigating lochs, part of the coast road, Calgary Bay, Ulva Ferry, local churches and stone circles, whilst generally watching out for birds, deer, butterflies, flowers.

 http://www.scotland-inverness.co.uk/mull.htm

Thursday was a trip to the Sea Eagle Hide on Loch Frisa in the morning, and although we saw both birds, they were at a great distance, and, sadly, the eggs had failed so no chicks for this pair this year.

Friday was a four-hour boat trip from Tobermory harbour, out to sea in the hope of seeing porpoise, minke whale, seabirds.  

 http://www.sealifesurveys.com/boat-trips.shtml

It took a lot of courage for me to agree to book our places, I am not good on a boat, panicking at the merest sway and I ascertained it was not some sort of speedboat on booking.  Once aboard, it took me ages to calm down and not to get back off

before it actually left the harbour.  My mind was racing, four hours, four hours and the boat won’t turn back just for me!  I had visions of everyone laughing at an hysterical me, and being taken away by the Air Sea Rescue.   Luckily, it turned out OK, as the sea was exceptionally calm, and the day started clear and bright.  I sat froze in my seat inside the cabin for an age, and then decided I was being silly and had to get out to catch a glimpse of anything at all, so I moved to the open back of the boat.  There were also steps leading onto the roof of the cabin, where everyone else had moved to by now.  I was forced up as the guides said they were doing a talk to everyone, and once up there, it was not as bad as expected and I did start to relax.  People were calling, porpoise, eagle, gannet, but I did not see them.  Dearly Beloved tried to help me, but I still saw very little.  I did see Manx Shearwater, about 50 in a group, tho to me they looked like black dots floating on the water, but the sight of them taking flight together was amazing.  Dearly Beloved also spotted some puffins and a seal.

It began to rain very heavily after a couple of hours, and the fog came down limiting our view and the guides ability to take the boat as far out as they would have liked for our safety, us being mere wildlife watchers.  Sadly, this prevented us from seeing whales.  Instead, we went very close to a Sea Eagle nest and stayed there some time, observing the bird sitting in the tree.  Here we had a better view of the bird than that at the Sea Eagle Hide.

And then, all of a sudden, it was back to the harbour, and away from the open sea, the day was warm and sunny again.  On our journey in, another boat came hurtling past us, Dearly Beloved thought it was a life boat, but it turned out to be an alternative company we nearly booked with.  I was so relieved we had not gone with them.  I could not have coped with that!!  Our boat rocked furiously in its wake, making us all need to hold on tight and the guide concerned we were all OK.

The roads tiring us, Saturday we abandoned our original plan of getting to Kilchoan by returning to the mainland on the ferry to Lochaline, and driving back through the cottage dotted road, along Loch Sunart to its end, to travel its opposite bank to reach Kilchoan, about a four hour drive, just to look at the sights, and took the Tobermory ferry direct to Kilchoan instead.  This took a little over half an hour.  We left Tobermory on the 2.30pm ferry after doing some shopping and having lunch in the pub.  This was the start of our second week.

Here we stayed in a large log cabin, very peaceful, needing a telescope to spot the neighbours.  It was heaven.  We did not realize how tired we were from the escapades on Mull, and spent the whole of Sunday sitting on our sheltered terrace, watching the many birds that came to the feeders on the tree in the middle of our garden, siskins, gold finch, blue tits, amongst others, all with many fledglings, also reading books, drinking wine and I wrote a couple of letters.  We decided to eat out so I rang the local hotel as booking was needed, and was lucky enough to get a table.  That was funny, ‘cos when I rang, I nearly said that it did not matter, as the hotelier said he was really busy and could get us in early, at 6, or late towards 7.30.  I imagined it to be heaving, but took the 7.30pm as it was already 5 ish and we certainly did not want to rush – not after two glasses of wine and hot sun, yes, hot sun!!.  Wow!  We arrived around 6.45pm thinking we would have (yet another) drink and peruse the menu, we were seated at 7pm, with some tables empty.  There were only three other couples, and a table with 5.  And that’s A RUSH???? Lol.

Walking to the hotel, we saw a golden eagle, just flying overhead.  I could not get over its size, in comparison to the buzzard close by, which was the bird I thought Dearly Beloved was trying to steer me to.  All of a sudden the eagle was over our heads, it was awesome.

On the way back to our cabin, we were dawdling along the main road, when a small herd of cows came stampeding towards us, being herded by two dogs and a 4 by 4.  We stepped onto the verge and the cows ran round us, thank goodness, and the dogs stopped to sniff to see why we were not running with the others.  Then they were off, when they realized we were humans!!

In Kilchoan, our pace slowed.  The roads, still single track, but easier to negotiate, less bendy and meeting another vehicle was scarce.  The biggest road block we had was another, rather larger, herd of cows being walked along the roadway from one field to another, causing a five car tailback at either end, over the course of half an hour.  It was brilliant.

And I could not believe how long the daylight lasted.  It was still like mid afternoon at 9pm, heading towards dusk around 11pm.  

There was a local shop, selling basics, but nothing exciting like haggis, or decent whisky, or nice highland milk.  The next nearest was 30 miles away, and likely to be the same, so we did not bother to visit.   I had bought most of our supplies with us anyway, in tins and packets.  Instead, we busied ourselves with the Ardnamurchan Lighthouse, and sat for hours in the hope of seeing whales.  Dearly Beloved saw a puffin, but that was all.  The sea was quite turbulent, not the best day for catching fins splicing through the water.  We drove along Loch Sunart, but could not find a way to walk to its edge, unless we did a route mountain hike, which was a shame ‘cos this is supposed to home harbour porpoise.  We drove through mountains that were formed from volcanoes to Sanna Bay, and visited a local history and wildlife centre.  We kept looking for deer as this area is supposed to house them.  We gave up, knowing we were not in the best season for them but our early morning journey home at 7am proved they were there.  I think we must have been first on the road that day, no other cars having frightened them back into the woods high on the hills.

http://www.visithighlands.com/fort-william-lochaber/ardnamurchan/

The fortnight went far too fast as we were soon on our journey home.    I usually like to bring local produce home, meat, cheese, bread, vegetables, but there was little in the local shop, and no other major shops along our route home.  I did get some Isle of Mull cheese and some oatcakes, but not a bottle of whisky.  Disappointing choice of whisky, tbh, to say we were in Scotland, even on Mull it seemed to be the cheap Bell’s type stuff, except for the Tobermory Co-op where we got a bottle of MacCallan, the other choices being Glen Fiddich, Jura, Tobermory and Highland Park which were not unusual to us.  The local Kilchoan shop did Tobermory too, but we tried that when we visited five years ago, and were not particularly keen, but other than that it was the same Bells or Whyte and Mackay stuff, or similar.  Not to our tastes at all.  I did not buy anything on Mull the previous week as fresh produce would have gone off by home time, and we expected to get whisky elsewhere.

The journey home was manic.  It was Bank Holiday weekend, and I have never seen so many cars in Scotland.  Glencoe did not have a parking space in any of its designated areas, and Loch Lomond was bumper to bumper snails pace crawling.  A total opposite to our inward journey, where seeing a car was an event.  And, after the week in Kilchoan, it caused us to feel sheer terror and panic at the mass onslaught of traffic.  But…..it only took 12 and half hours to get home! Lol, with a half hour break for lunch and twenty minutes for a coffee from the flask in the afternoon.  We were done in on the Sunday, and Dearly Beloved was glad he did not have to go to work til Tuesday!!

Regards,

Karen.

10 June 2010.

A Walk round the Park

Hello again, and how are you feeling today?  A bit better now we are having some slightly warmer weather?  And a bit of sun too.  I know I am, and I have been able to potter in my garden, a bit of weeding, a bit of chopping. Oops that wasn’t a weed.  Oh dear, never mind.

And yesterday, Tuesday 20th April, some of us met up for a walk around West Park, some meeting for the first time.  It’s always good to meet new people, find new interests.  And what an enjoyable day it was.

We met by the Victorian Tea Room, and discussed how windy and chilly it was, regardless of the sun.  There were two ladies already there when I arrived, who I met for the first time.  They knew each other and noticed the white pavement mate I was fashioning, so came over and introduced themselves.  Next to arrive was the Boss Man with another jolly Activeyeser.  Guess what?  He had forgotten his coat.  AND!! Was donned in short sleeves. Silly Boss Man.  The rest of us, of course, were sensibly dressed in warm fleeces and coats.  Well, I suppose the Boss Man is a car driver where us V I’s have to rely on feet and public transport and can’t nip here and there so easily in the luxury of a warm car. 

Boss Man read some facts about the park he had printed off from this here Internet thingey.  He informed us that the park was made in 1861 but did not open til 20 years later as it took the council that long to get it ready.  No change there then.

Then we started our walk.  Guess where Boss Man wanted to go?  Yeah, you got it!  In the warm plant house, The Conservatory.  What a wuss.  Lol.

Walking along the large, flat and easy paths of the park, we chatted along the way, moving onto lawned areas here and there to feel the flowers, bellis daisies, jillys, primroses, in their beds as we passed.  We then came to the Clocktower, from 1883, all stopping to observe it while Boss Man gave us more info from his printed sheets, plus a verbal description of the clock.  Alongside it was a fantastic magnolia tree, so off we went to have a feel of that as well.

We continued along the paths, twists and turns, trees and bushes either side, then onto the cast iron bridge, dating back to 1880, where we stopped to admire the ducks and geese on the Boating Lake beneath, also observing how windier and colder it was by the water.  MMmm. Poor Boss Man! Lol.  Then off the bridge and round the bend, down the slope and The Conservatory, built in 1896, and now a Grade 2 listed building, was ahead of us.  Some of us braved the steps through the nearest entrance we came upon, while others went a bit further round the corner to a path that led directly into an alternative entrance.  And we all met back in the middle.  

Wow, our glasses steamed up!!  We are all hot stuff, you know.  The first thing we found were some very prickly cactus, and Boss Man gave a description.  Some of us were brave enough to have a feel.  We continued on, finding an array of various shaped, coloured and textured leaves, some hiding flower heads, sticking our noses in here and there to gain their scent.  Suddenly, as we turned one corner, there was a little pond containing some fish, hidden under the foliage. Then it was back outside, all of us choosing the easy path out, with no steps, this time.  

Out of The Conservatory, and along a path to the left, I knew there were some plinky plonky things, a square of nine tiles in the ground that when you stand on and walk over, make different plinky plonky noises.  So, we had a go on those, and at the same time, was befriended by a cute dog who wanted us to throw her stick.  That was fun, especially when one thrower missed, throwing it up into the air to just miss landing it on his head.  Try again, that Activeyeser – the dogs right in front of you, she doesn’t have wings!!!

I also pointed out the Hedgehog House that I knew about along this path, and the large stones that have been there since time immorial.  We did not venture further round into the stones as the walkway was just a trodden path at this point, so turning around, we went back to the Boating Lake and walked round it, heading back to the Victorian Tea Room  passing the Bandstand dating back to 1882 along the way, as we decided it was a good time to get a drink and a sandwich.

Sitting down, around a large table once inside, Boss Man attempted to decipher the menu, then went to ask the assistant. Us girls wanted cheese toasties that did not seem to be on the menu, but were available.  The boys had chip butties and tuna sandwiches, one of them wanting to pretend to be a boy again with a milk shake, and yes, you guessed, he had the straw to prove it!!

A good old chin wag, this and that, time rushing on, as it always does when you are enjoying yourself, home time comes around far too soon, and off we go, each on our own way.

Me?  I put me feet up once I got in, with a cuppa, taking a rest before me usual Pilates class on a Tuesday evening.

Our next Activeyes walk at West Park is on Tuesday 18th May 2010, meeting by the Victorian Tea Room at 11am. Hope you can make it.  There should be some fantastic rhododendrons by then.

Here is one website for the park if you want to learn more, but there are others, if you’d care to search for them.

http://www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/leisure_culture/parks_green_spaces/parks/westpark/visit_west_park.htm

Toodle hoo for now,

Take care,

Karen.

xx

29.03.2010

This Internet Thinggey.

Well, hello again.  I hope you are just fine and dandy.

I have realised just how much I rely on my P C and Internet connection, and how I both love, and hate, them.

I have always used a keyboard, learning to type at night school on an old rackety manual typewriter at the age of 15, and feel this stood me in good stead for this technology age.  But do you remember those old typewriter things?  They weighed a tonne, made a dreadful clatter and were temperamental.  Or was that just me??  Lol.  There was one in the museum last week.  Am I really that old?

I then had a series of clerical roles, but the launch of the word processor and computer took over many tedious letter writing and mailing tasks, like measuring envelopes, counting lines and characters, deciphering unreadable handwriting, and sticking on stamps. You had to be good at maths to be a typist!!  

Today, of course, like so many others, I use a standalone P C, or a laptop, that connects me to anywhere in the world along my telephone line via the internet, eliminating the need for maths, paper, envelopes or stamps, as it produces documents, correcting spelling errors as I type, and formats the layout at the click of the mouse, or preferably for me, the press of a series of keys, as long as I can remember them correctly, otherwise it goes off and does something I did not expect!   My poor brain has so much rubbish to retain, no wonder it aches.

I found Word an invaluable medium in which to communicate with my friends independently when I started losing my sight.  I always preferred letter writing to telephones.   Most friends had P C’s then, so I wrote them a letter on a floppy disk and they replied the same way.  I could then change the font to something I was able to read, well…. attempt to guess!  However, I did miss my pictorial and scented papers, and brown, magenta and green coloured inks, that I so much loved and had previously used.  Now all my friends have this internet thinggey too, and I have ZoomText magnifier and screen reader, making an emailed letter just a few keyboard strokes away, et voilà!  -  an email to send instantly - providing I ain’t lost me Internet connection, of course!  Grr.  

I also love the internet for its wealth of info that I could not otherwise access independently, local councils, libraries, events, holiday accommodation, bus timetables, recipes, news articles – the list is endless.  There are many sources to gain the same knowledge, many websites, so if I find one too taxing, I just leave it alone and go onto another until I find one I can use to gain the information I need.  Those I do find particularly useful and easy to access, I record in the bookmark facility, enabling me to go back to them easily at a later date. There is no space left inside my simple brain to remember website addresses. after having inwardly digested all them keyboard commands!  

Browsers also make a great difference to how you view a website, and how accessible it is.  But which one do you choose?  Internet Explorer seems to be the one you hear about, and promises oh, so many things, and fails miserably.  It is regimented.  I cannot get the keystrokes to work, I cannot manipulate the webpages inside its window to even have a chance of guessing what is happening on screen, and I admire those who can.  No matter what advice I take, I just cannot get it to work for me.  I absolutely hate it and avoid it like a bargepole, using Opera instead.  I can change colours, fonts, zoom, page size, with its many keystrokes by default, which can be changed to your own preference, and download my emails directly to it.  However, it is not infallible, as most web designers produce their sites for the more known browsers like Internet Explorer, and do not even contemplate someone wanting to use an alternative or view it in a different way.  Sometimes Opera is not aware of anything on a website, or cannot display it in any useable form.  Again this is likely to be a site I would discard and look elsewhere.

This can make me extremely frustrated, especially when shopping, ‘‘cos I can’t find what I need easily but it does mean that those sites lose out on my custom. A big loss, for some companies, as I do my main grocery shopping online now.  Somewhat easier than navigating round the supermarket, struggling to identify the products and needing assistance whilst in the store, and also to get there and back home safely.

I also get frustrated by the way some websites insist on displaying their information.  There is supposed to be this accessibility thing under the D D A.  Yeah right.  Well, the designers of a lot of websites need to go back to school and learn how to undertake instruction.  ‘cos they don’t comply with my needs, and probably those of many others, but hey, they are the ones who don’t get my money!!  

P D F’s are also a great pain.  Whoever invented them should be shot!  Zoom Text reader cannot even acknowledge anything there.  It seems that pamphlets or leaflets are popular P D F’s, as they can be scanned easily into a P D F file but then end up as an image. Why cannot this information be just displayed in plain text? Then there are websites that put things in columns or tables.  ZoomText does not understand columns or tables, it reads straight across, thinking it is one complete line, or stops dead ‘cos inside the table the text is image format.  You need your wits about to realize what is happening. Urgh, it drives me bonkers.

But still I keep returning to it, sometimes it is a bit of a lifeline, on the days I can’t get out, like all those snowy days we had earlier this year. And after all my frustrations, I still both love it and hate it, and probably always will.

Toodle-hoo for now, 

Take care,

Karen.

10.02.10 

Audio Book Reading.

Do you enjoy reading?  I do.  Well, that’s how I still refer to it, but actually it is listening to Audio Books.

My first experience was via the RNIB Listening Books.  Remember those great big devices? Bigger than an old style video recorder, with large flick knobs and a length of cable only about two feet long that had to reach an electrical wall socket?  And those cassettes!!?  As big as video tapes.  Good grief. Lol.   And it didn’t come with headphones, so everybody had to listen!!  I later found out you had to buy the headphones, surely I could have been informed of that at the outset?

I was so excited when my helpful Rehab Worker told me about the service after I was explaining that I was giving up on large print books from the local library, as I could no longer tolerate the effort and energy needed to decipher the print, plus the selection was tedious, being in the main Mills and Boon type romances, or Westerns.  But my excitement was short lived once the player arrived, and even more so when I got my first Audio Book, something about the experiences of a mans travels on foot through India.  The second was not much better being a similar thing but about a long train journey.  Oh dear, great reads I had during my sighted years were but a faint, and highly desired, memory.  I am a biker, for Goodness sake, or words to that effect, and I go camping in a small tent secured to the back rack and panniers for my essentials.  Where the heck am I going to pack this talking monstrosity along with its cable and big video sized tape on my bike, correction, my partner’s bike, now with me as a pillion and said tent, sleeping bags, cooking equipment, four pairs of knickers and deodorant.  AND!!  Where the heck am I supposed to obtain the electricity supply?  Come to think of it, how do I take my book to my local park?  Am I supposed to find a three-mile extension cable somewhere and hope no other poor soul trips over it on their outing across my route?  Dear God!!   And how big is my bedside cabinet supposed to be to accommodate it?   Am I supposed to lug it back downstairs for an afternoon read?  To get it into that accessible socket behind my settee that the cable does not quite reach, else I will be sitting on top of the sideboard cos that’s where my other sockets are placed?    Does the RNIB not know I am blind?  And do they not know that I am was only 35 and not interested in the trials and tribulations of a fantastic gun fight at the pigeon ranch?  Whatever happened to that form that was filled in for me, and sent to them, stating my age, gender and reading preferences?

I enlightened my Rehab Worker with my frustrations yet again.  It seems I was continually solving one problem to create another.  She then suggested another company, a Charity this time, Calibre, who produced books on cassette tapes suitable for something like a Walkman.    

http://www.calibre.org.uk/

This time I did not get so excited, but to my surprise, they had a wide and varied selection of genres, even the ones I preferred - gruesome horrors - and I set about choosing some books with the help of Beloved.  

I have not looked back, after joining Calibre, and I cannot thank them enough, tho it takes practice to learn to read by Audio.  Sorry RNIB, but that player was so not me. 

I do use RNIB now tho, I love the navigation features of the DAISY Disks, bookmarks, move back or forwards one sentence, paragraph or chapter, but still find their current players cumbersome. My present one is a Plextalk, and not very transportable in my opinion, but a minor improvement on my previous Victor Reader Classic.   I find the Plextalk heavy to carry around, therefore I cannot take it on the bus nor take it camping as I have no electricity supply.  It is supposed to work off the mains for 22 hours, but I have never been able to make one last more than 5.  After killing my first two Victor Readers, I was advised by RNIB to leave my replacement permanently plugged into the mains, even when not in use, as it cannot re-charge itself after long periods of not being plugged in.  Have you been told that?

My preferences have changed over the years, I read less horror and gruesome, more true life drama, romance, historical novels, art and history.  I joined RNIB Bookclubs, which has introduced new genres that I would have not contemplated otherwise. 

http://www.rnib.org.uk/livingwithsightloss/copingwithsightloss/talksupport/telephonebookclubs/Pages/telephone_book_clubs.aspx#H2Heading1

I have enjoyed this, now being on my third bookclub, although I would prefer to get out and meet to discuss a book over a cup of tea, but I find the local libraries that run book clubs are either unfamiliar to me, and I do not have the confidence to go on my own, else too far away or at a time not suitable for me. And I fear, they would not be able to come up with the book the group were reading in audio format at the relevant time.  Or maybe I am being a bit sceptical, putting the service down with no prior experience, but you get that way when many services state they conform to the DDA, promise this, that and the other, and then fail, inexcusably.  

Last summer, I discovered Playaway, not sure if you have heard of them.  

http://www.playawaydigital.co.uk/shop/faq.cfm

I think they are great and have had a couple for my bike holidays.  Tiny little players,  - ooohh, I can pack more knickers, socks and some soap into them panniers now!!  Not much bigger than a credit card, a bit fatter perhaps, that operates on a battery.  You just plug in your headphones and press play.  It starts where you last stopped.  But that’s about it for navigation, other than rewind and fast forward, very basic, but enough if you can suss and manage the buttons.   They are available in Birmingham Central Library on their shelves, and I have been advised Wolverhampton Home Library Service has a limited availability. Currently Wordsley Library has a pilot.  You will need a sighted person to help you choose the book, as it is the same as choosing a CD or DVD from a store.  

Happy reading.

Karen.

X

29.01.10

The Birds. 

You may remember from my last blog that I stated the snow was preventing me from going out.  Well, the good side of that is I have had reasonable time to spend watching the antics of my garden birds from my front room and bedroom windows.  I find them rather amusing.  And, as I have recently found out the dates for this years RSPB Garden Birdwatch, 30th and 31st January 2010, I thought I would let you know about it. 

Its aim is to gain information on the types and locality of birds, to note those thriving or declining.   It takes any hour you choose to observe and count birds during the relevant dates; birds that actually land in your garden are the ones to count, and then a bit of time to complete your results online.  This web address contains links to instructions and bird guides.

http://www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch/

You can join in by post providing you ring them in advance on 01767 693 690 for a survey form and instructions. 

I helped put out a few crumbs for the birds with my Nan as a child.  At that time, I suppose I did not really think about it.  But now, with so many declining and dying species, I feel it is important to support them if we can.  Regularly I put out dried mealworms, various 

bird seeds, seeds grown from my summer sunflowers, fat balls, fat cakes, bread, stale cake or biscuits, chopped up apples and pears, and fresh water.  This winter I tried dried earth worms, but they do not seem so enticed by those.  I also have a range of plants that encourage insects and birds, the birds getting a double whammy there!  And the little darlings also help keep my slugs under control, as does my hedgehog when not hibernating, and my toad.

As a result I have been rewarded with many species of birds.  This year I have a Fieldfare that visits my holly tree several times a day, taking the succulent crimson berries up to ten at a time – there will soon be none left!  I have a Wagtail too, he started visiting the week before Christmas, and I also get Dunnocks, Blackbirds, Magpies and the dreaded Wood Pigeon.  I say dreaded because they are so big and boisterous, they frighten off the smaller birds.  But I do allow them to stay late afternoon to finish off any seed that is left, after all, they are amongst the natural food chain for other predators, such as my local Sparrowhawk.  

As Spring arrives, I will be getting baby Starlings, several at a time, some still completely brown, some developing adult white spots.  They are real cute to watch as they stand and squawk impatiently for the parent to feed them.  And if the Blue Tits decide to set up home in a neighbours nest box again this year, the parents will be making several daily visits to my bird table.  They must do fifty miles a day, back and forth, back and forth, a quick blur of blue and yellow as they zoom around

I think the park and feeding the ducks on its lake also started an interest in me to observe birds wherever I went.  I particularly liked water birds, swans, ducks and those you see wading on the beach.  When I was able to ride my motorbike, I often took myself off for the day, with my small set of 10 X 8 magnification binoculars, a packed sandwich and hot, black tea in a kiddies Snoopy unbreakable flask.  It had to be unbreakable with all the jostling it got under my bungies to secure it to my pillion seat.  Oh yes, and my sunhat, I can’t cope without a hat in the sun!  I could just find a nice spot, anywhere I fancied, and sit for hours, observing any water or land birds, hearing their tuneful conversation or squawking ruckus, and at the same time, admiring the elegance and age of surrounding trees, any floating cottonwool clouds against the tones of blue, grey, red or pink sky, having a peaceful day to myself, away from the day to day life of the office and the home.

I did not tell anyone about my little hobby then, it was a bit of me time and relaxation, not serious at all. Birdwatchers can be considered a bit eccentric and I was not brave enough to be labelled, but when I met Dearly Beloved, and we started going on rides out, I just sort of pointed out some birds here and there.  It turned out he had a great interest in Birds of Prey, suppose I should have realised really, him having a bespoke painted image of a Hobby on his motorbike tank.  So now, together, we watch various birds over the period of a year, and organise some of our holidays and outings around them and other wildlife.  We get to visit some great places with fantastic walks - Mull for Sea Eagles, Seals, Otters and Deer, Norfolk for Pink Footed Geese, Avocet and Marsh Harrier, Rhayader and Elan Valley for Red Kites, Slimbridge and Sandwell Valley for Wetland Birds, to name but a few.

I have to use a telescope now, I cannot see down both sides of a binocular at the same time. My right eye does not focus much, and I have learned to restrict how long I look with my left, else I will have no focusing vision at all for the next bird.  I have the telescope on a tripod which allows the image to be stable, and very often, Dearly Beloved will find the bird for me, positioning and focusing the telescope, and then explain to me exactly what to look for when I look down it.  Sometimes it can be very frustrating, either I can’t find the bird at all, or it has moved.  But we have fun and lots of laughs along the way

In the house I leave the window open to hear calls and songs, and use a small monacle to spot them, hoping the neighbours truly believe I am bird watching!!!   

Go on, throw a crust or an apple core out, you might be surprised at who comes to eat it.

Karen.

 14.01.09

Hello Again

We were going on a Winter Walk yesterday, Wednesday 13th January.  And although there has been lots of winter, we have not been on a walk!  I am a bit fed up now, of all this wretched snow.  And, no, I DO NOT think it is wonderful.  I have never been very fond of snow and like it even less since losing my eyesight.

Unfortunately, it seems other Activeyes events had to be cancelled recently too.  The pictures last Thursday, the swimming group, and the new gym session starting  Tuesday.  What a disappointment.  And I bet the gardening group down on the allotment has not been able to do much digging.  At least the weeds won’t be growing!!

I have not been out of my home on my own since 22nd December, due to the wretched stuff. And I seem to remember having a taxi that day due to some residue snow.  When I have gone out since then, it has been only for essential trips, shopping or medical appointments, and only then with a trusty escort.   I have been forced to cancel several non-urgent medical appointments as I have not had anybody to escort me, and that is not good with the current waiting lists for re-booking of appointments.  

Consequently, I am now running out of cleaning, cos that is what us women do in the house apparently.  The oven is very sparkly, the bathroom tiles gleaming, not one single cat hair on the carpets, or so I think in my head, and woe betide anybody who tells me otherwise cos they’ll be given the relevant cleaning equipment.  And, no, thankyou, I do not wish to come and do yours!!  Definitely not. Thanks for asking but I think I deserve a well-earned rest.  Now, where’s that sherry left over from Christmas? Dum te dum.  Hoooow, maybe I’ll clean out this cupboard tomorrow, see what else I can find lurking.  ‘Tis the time of year for de-cluttering apparently.   I’ve already done some of that too.  Got dearly beloved to go in the loft and get some boxes down that have been up there since we moved here six years ago.  Needless to say, most of it is going to charity when the snow lets me out, the rest already being filed in the bin.  

I don’t go out much on my own – aarrr.   I sit here with a glass of sherry or two and my headphones, listening to, often swearing at, my Zoomtext, hoping somebody, anybody, has sent me an email.  When I do venture out, it is only to local venues and on routes that I am fairly certain of, and only in the daylight hours.  During the build up to Christmas, November, December time, I avoid going out unless I absolutely have to as I cannot cope with the crowded buses, streets and shops.  I am not an avid shopper anyway, I do my main grocery shopping online (oh yes, there’s that essential Zoomtext person again) and get it delivered these days, but I do like to browse the shops during the January sales, usually during the second week or so, when the mass panic for sale item buying has quietened off.  Mmmm - Browse, well that’s what it’s called. For me it is squinting through me magnifier (extremely beneficial aid, answer to all my problems according to those in authority!), guessing the size and price on the label once I have felt the product rigorously to decide what it is, and like it enough to contemplate buying it.  Now, aren’t you glad I get my groceries online?  But if this snow continues, as it appears to be doing, the January sales will be well and truly over, as we will be heading towards February.  The last few Februarys we have had some snow too.  Oh, doom and gloom.  I am sorry if I am spoiling your fun but going out in it absolutely petrifies me.  I find not being able to determine the footpaths and street furniture in the first place bad enough without having a covering of snow that your rollerball white cane refuses to roll in, so then you start dipping it around, tapping from side to side and end up looking like a windscreen wiper.   Not fun in my opinion.  So when are us Activieyesers going to get out do you think?

Well, the next Activeyes event is Ice Skating at Telford Ice Rink.   So here’s hoping the snow will not still be keeping us in by then so those going can get there in their motor vehicles, failing that my Dad is an avid skier and I could ask him for his skies for you.   Mind you, he is rather protective over them.  

If you fancy joining in Ice Skating, or want info on any other events, don’t forget you can always call Tim for an update at the Beacon Centre on 01901 880111.  

Catch you next time, in the meantime, stay safe and warm.

Karen X

01.12.09

14 went to bowl,

Went to bowl an alley.

14 peeps, and one dog,

Went to bowl an alley.

(Hummed to the tune of one man went to mow).

However, I shall spare you the tedium of counting back down from fourteen to one, and one dog, by not creating fourteen verses for you to hum!!

So, as arranged, on Thursday 27th November 2009, we met at the AMF Bowling Alley in Bentley Bridge for 7pm, sat in some chairs and had a jolly good chin wag til everyone arrived.  It was good to catch up and meet everyone again.  Some of us sighted, some of us not, some of us couples, some of us singles, but we all fell in as a jolly band of Activeyes’ers as usual.

Then the Boss Man Tim stated it was time to go collect our shoes, so we all obediently trotted behind him – good little Activeyes’ers int we?? Yow cud tekuss enywea!  Bowling shoes on, and moving into our seating area facing our alley, Tim split us up into two teams of seven, and we took the respective seats.

The computer thingy that kept our score was set up by the staff.  And…  we were off!  Some of us had bowled before, some of us had not.  The dog thought she should aide her charge and tried to have a go along side him, but was marginally distracted by tickles from a kindly soul in the seating area until her charge returned, safe, to her relief. Phew!!  Her charge’s second bowl was not so traumatic for her, she knew he would be safe while she took a rest. After all, it was that Boss Man Person helping him, he should know what he is doing.  So she just observed this time.  Ooohh, what fun these balls are to watch.  Ears pricked, eyes darting, tail wagging.  And then they make a crashing noise when they fall off the runway taking some of those white sticky up things with them.  Tongue lollop, lick.  MMmm.  Strange creatures, these oohmans, what things they find to do.  Oh well, he doesn’t want the toilet yet, so I’ll just rest here a bit longer until I am needed.

As the game progressed, Boss Man Tim decided it must not be that hard for a blind person to do this hitting the skittles with a ball thing, as we all seemed to knock some down and score.  So, he acquired a scarf and donned it round his head, covering his eyes and was led to the end of the alley.  There he stood, poised for action, confident and proud, and rolled the ball.  It got well and truly stuck, wedged in the gutter, behind the bumpers that had been put up for us.  We all jeered and Tim removed the scarf and slunk away.  The ball remained there for the rest of the evening, as a reminder that he definitely needed more practice when wearing that scarf!

The sighted amongst us helped those who needed to be told where to aim their balls, and how many skittles had been knocked down, along with giving an update on the scores displayed on the screen.  It seems that I was one of the lower scorers, and was pleased that “the loser bought the drinks” idea was abandoned.  I would have been bankrupt!

And it got a bit silly when some men started showing off and bending over to throw their balls, backwards between their legs, of course.  Typical, boys have to play with their toys!

One game over, with us enjoying it so much, we had another go.  It was time for two of us to leave tho, at that point, and another two left about half hour later, so we are back to 14, 13, 12, 11, 10 peeps and one dog, now bowling an alley.  Groan!!!..  Sorry!  Just had to get that in somewhere!!

And finally, with the second game over, we all hastened back into our own shoes, gave the Boss Man our bowling fees to pay reception, said our goodbyes and headed in various directions over Wolverhampton to our cosy nests.

So once again, to all those who attended, it was great to see you, hope to catch you again soon, and to you that did not, why not come along and join us sometime.  

Regards

Karen

18.11.09

Who am I and why am I here?