Despite losing her sight at university, Victoria Harrison has risen through the Civil Service to become the new British Ambassador to Slovenia.



RNIB Connect Radio's Allan Russell spoke to Victoria about her education, career and favourite assistive tech, not forgetting her guide dog Otto of course.



#RNIBConnect

Image Shows Victoria and Her Guide Dog Otto, Posing on a Very Grand Staircase

S2 Ep490: Sight Loss Hasn't Stopped Britain's Ambassador To Slovenia

RNIB Connect Radio is the UK radio station for blind and partially sighted people to find out what is happening in the community. You can also contribute and share your stories by emailing radio@rnib.org.uk (mailto:radio@rnib.org.uk) . Get involved and join the conversation.

Other great podcast channels from RNIB Connect Radio

Conversations (https://audioboom.com/channel/conversations) - Blind and partially sighted people speaking about a wide range of topics.

Read On (https://audioboom.com/channel/readonair) - The Audiobook show all about accessible reading.

Tech Talk (https://audioboom.com/channel/techtalkpodcast) - Technology for blind and partially sighted people.

Sport (https://audioboom.com/channel/sport) - See sport differently.

The Happy Hour (https://audioboom.com/channels/5022411) - Mental health, mindfulness, and overall wellbeing.

Tracks of My Life (https://audioboom.com/playlists/4634228-tracks-of-my-life) - Take a journey through our guest's life.

Support (https://audioboom.com/channel/rnib-support) - Other podcasts from RNIB.

TV Guide (https://audioboom.com/channel/tv-guide) - Daily audio TV listings

Non-Profit

Government & Organizations

National

Regional

Government

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 the next in his regular Connect Radio theatre reviews.



This week we have one of Vidar’s favourite musicals with Willy Russell’s legendary musical Blood Brothers at the Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre with description by Professional Audio Describer Jonathan Nash. 



About Blood Brothers:



Blood Brothers tells the captivating and moving tale of two twins who, separated at birth, grow up on opposite sides of the tracks, only to meet again with fateful consequences.



Few musicals have received quite such acclaim as the multi-award winning Blood Brothers. Bill Kenwright‘s production surpassed 10,000 performances in London’s West End, one of only three musicals ever to achieve that milestone. It has been affectionately christened the “Standing Ovation Musical”, as inevitably it “brings the audience cheering to its feet and roaring its approval” (The Daily Mail).



The superb score includes Bright New Day, Marilyn Monroe and the emotionally charged hit Tell Me It’s Not True.



To find out more about access at the Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre including details of audio described performances do visit the access pages of the theatre’s website - https://www.birminghamhippodrome.com/plan-your-visit/access/





(Image shows RNIB logo. 'RNIB' written in black capital letters over a white background and underlined with a bold pink line, with the words 'See differently' underneath)

S2 Ep548: Vidar Hjardeng MBE - Blood Brothers, AD Theatre Review

Each month, RNIB Connect Radio's Allan Russell is joined by some of the RNIB Campaigns Team to discuss some of the big projects they’re involved in and ask for your input to bring positive change to the lives of blind and partially sighted people, throughout the UK.



This month’s topics include an update on the Out Of Sight Vision Rehab campaign and some great accessibility news from London North East Railways (LNER).



If you’d like more information on campaigns or want to get involved, email campaigns@rnib.org.uk



Visit rnib.org.uk/news or call our Helpline on 0303 123 9999



If you like your socials, follow @RNIB_Campaigns on Twitter for campaign specific updates.



#RNIBConnect

Image Show RNIB Logo, White Background, RNIB in Bold Black letters with a Solid Pink Line Underneath

S2 Ep547: UK Sight Loss Charity’s Monthly Campaigns Update

On Tuesday 28 May 2024 Tate Britain unveiled to the press Grace, a major new commission by Alvaro Barrington, bringing sound, painting and sculpture to the dramatic architecture of Tate Britain’s neo-classical Duveen Galleries.



At the press view in the Duveen Galleries RNIB Connect Radio’s Toby Davey caught up with Hannah Marsh, Assistant Curator Contemporary British Art at Tate Britain to find out more about Alvaro Barrington’s work and the inspiration for Grace.



About Grace by Alvaro Barrington at Tate Britain



Through Grace, Alvaro Barrington takes visitors on an intimate journey through time and place. Addressing the profound impact that women and their care within Black culture have had on his upbringing and artistic practice, this site-specific installation centres three key figures – his grandmother Frederica, a close friend and sister-figure Samantha and his mother Emelda. Staged in three acts, the installation brings together the artist‘s personal history, drawing on his experiences of Caribbean carnival culture and memories of his upbringing in Grenada and New York.


Visitors enter the Duveen Galleries at the heart of Tate Britain under a suspended corrugated steel roof that offers cover from a tropical rainstorm heard above. This multimedia work is inspired by Barrington‘s childhood memory of seeking shelter in his grandmother’s home in Grenada during a storm. The sound of rain hitting the roof is combined with a soundtrack featuring NTS radio programmes selected with Femi Adeyemi, newly commissioned compositions by Kelman Duran, Andrew Hale, Devonté Hynes and Olukemi Lijadu and songs by Mangrove Steelband. Under the roof are ratan and plastic seats embellished with braided elements and draped with plastic quilts containing embroidered postcards and works on paper by Barrington’s longtime collaborator Teresa Farrell. Wooden walls containing windows and textile works transform this vast, open hall into a series of more intimate spaces. Evoking feelings of safety and protection from his childhood, the artist invites us to take a moment to pause as we shelter together under the same roof.


Emerging from the rainstorm, a four-metre-high aluminium sculpture of a dancing figure greets audiences in the centre of the galleries. Based on and made in collaboration with Barrington‘s close friend, Samantha, the figure stands on a large communal steel drum and is adorned with 'Pretty Mas (masquerade)‘ jewellery by designers L’Enchanteur, costume by Jawara Alleyne and nails by Mica Hendricks. Paintings hanging from scaffolding depicting ‘traditional Mas’ characters and carnival revellers along with vast archway canvases overhead taking us from sunrise to sunset form a vibrant carnival streetscape. The scene refers to the Caribbean tradition of ‘J‘ouvert’, in which participants cover each other with paint, mud and oil and dance at dawn on carnival Monday. Barrington invites us into the protective space that the carnival community has created in the streets for Samantha to freely celebrate herself.


The installation concludes in the North Duveen gallery where light shines through a stained-glass window onto a boarded-up corner kiosk made to American prison-cell dimensions, creating a contemplative, cathedral-like atmosphere. The kiosk sculpture is fitted with moving shutters and surrounded by crowd control barriers with barbed wire, alluding to issues of mass incarceration. Church pews covered with plastic quilts containing pillowcases which feature drawings by Barrington face this somber scene. Inspired by the artist’s adolescence in New York, this final act references the unwavering love and fear felt by Black mothers for their children, who are frequently at risk of harm amid state violence.


Grace by Alvaro Barrington continues in the Duveen Galleries at Tate Britain until 26 January 2025. Description tours are available for blind and partially sighted people but need to be booked in advance via hello@tate.org.uk or on 020 7887 8888.



More details about Grace by Alvaro Barrington at Tate Britain can be found by visiting the following pages of the Tate website - https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/alvaro-barrington





Image shows the central Duveen, a giant silver female figure mid-dance wearing gold on her arms, a black durag with gold details, a golden top with purple, red, green and blue tassels and blue shorts, obscured from the knee down by pieces of corrugated tin.

S2 Ep548: Tate Britain Commission: Grace by Alvaro Barrington

What is a lay executor? How do they help RNIB honour the wishes of someone who has passed away? 



Amelia spoke to Daniel Pepper from the RNIB Legacy Team to learn more.



Learn more about leaving a gift in your will on the RNIB website - https://www.rnib.org.uk/get-involved/fundraise/gifts-in-wills/



Image shows RNIB Connect Radio logo. RNIB is written in bold black capital letters and underlined with a bold pink line. Underneath, 'Connect Radio' written in smaller black letters. 

S2 Ep545: How Do Executors Help RNIB Honour Legacy Wishes?

Jemma Davidson, RNIB Customer Voice Insight Co-ordinator shares the latest opportunities for blind and partially sighted people to get involved in with RNIB Connect Radio’s Toby Davey.



Opportunities highlighted this week included:



Sign up for RNIB’s Free Online Training Session – Working with Your Local Council 

Hear from a local councillor about their experience of standing for election as a BPS person - with opportunity for Q&A.;

Learn from an experienced RNIB Volunteer Campaigner about how to organise and run a guided walk with your councillor/s in your local area.

The Workshop will also include: 

An introduction to the structure of local government, the responsibilities of your local council and how you can influence local decision making.

This training session is open to all, and you can join either online or via phone.  Approximate duration of the workshop is around 2 hours.

There are two dates for the workshops-

Wednesday 29 May 2024, 2pm-4pm and to sign up do contact Bernie Reddington via email at bernie.reddington@rnib.org.uk or call 01733 972879.

And on Friday 31 May 2024, 10.30am-12.30pm and to sign up for this workshop, please contact Steve Hyde via email at steve.hyde@rnib.org.uk or Cyreeta Donaldson at cyreeta.donaldson@rnib.org.uk or phone 07563 373014



RNIB Volunteering Information Sessions – 7 June 

To mark the first of three days of Big Help Out 2024 we’re hosting two online information sessions on Friday 7 June. Come along at 10:30am or 2:00pm for 40 minutes and we’ll share what we do at RNIB and why, the difference that people make who donate their time to our work and the current opportunities to lend a hand or volunteer.

Do email volunteering@rnib.org.uk to find out more information and to register.



Would you like to help improve NHS England Healthcare Services?

Researcher Alice works for Thinks Insight & Strategy. Her team are delivering research on behalf of NHS England about how data could be used to improve health and care services. 

This work will inform the development of national policy around the use of health and care data. 

Alongside some large-scale public engagement, they want to make sure a range of seldom heard and under-served audiences have their say. This includes blind and partially sighted people - and they are hoping to find 2 participants based in England to take part in a 1-hour interview in May! 

To find out more information do contact Alice via email - ataylorburge@thinksinsight.com



To find out more about these and other Connect Voices opportunities along with how you can get involved with RNIB Connect Voices do visit-

https://www.rnib.org.uk/connect-community/connect-voices-network/connect-voices-current-opportunities





(Image shows RNIB logo. 'RNIB' written in black capital letters over a white background and underlined with a bold pink line, with the words 'See differently' underneath)

S2 Ep490: Sight Loss Hasn't Stopped Britain's Ambassador To Slovenia

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