In Touch Folgen

As lockdown is relaxed, Peter gathers three people of different ages and walks of life to consider the impact of the last 12 weeks - and what the future holds. Elin Williams of Look UK is at the start of her working life. Emma Williams is part of the Independent Living Skills Team at New College Worcester, and Kevin Mulhern is a writer and producer of TV and radio. Together they sum up how lockdown has affected them, from enjoying the accessibility of online communications, to feeling that vital navigation skills have waned through lack of use. Emma imagines the challenge of teaching young blind people living skills if you can't touch them - and Kevin considers how blind people's assertions of independence will be tested in a world where direct help may be less forthcoming. Looking to the future, Elin raises the question of whether the ease of online protest and blogging may have to be replaced by a more forthright activism. Presented by Peter White. Produced by Kevin Core.

Many visually impaired people are still struggling to do a regular shop but a new scheme may help. The RNIB has joined with other visual impairment charities and DEFRA to provide help to those who have not been able to access priority shopping slots online. We hear how sports students Kali Holder and George Williams have been continuing their sports studies while their college is closed. Lucy Proctor is Executive Principal at the Royal National College and she tells us about the challenges of re-opening for students while maintaining social distancing. To access the shopping scheme, you can telephone 0303 123 9999 or visit rnib.org.uk.

Last year the High Court branded arrangements for voting for blind people "a parody of the electoral process". But the Scottish Parliament has approved a new pilot which will see blind and visually impaired people able to vote in secret in devolved elections. Previously many blind people have described being forced to take someone into the booth to vote for them because tactile voting devices have been unavailable in polling stations. Scotland's Minister for Parliamentary Business Graeme Dey explains how the pilot will work. And there's a new resource for music teachers who don't know how to set about working with a blind or visually impaired child. Adam Ockelford, founder of The Amber Trust takes us through the challenges and rewards, and we hear from nine-year-old Eleanor Stollery about her singing lessons - and work on the stage. And Anna Brook tells us why she took issue with an email she thinks made the assumption blind people did not work. We hear about how an email about concessionary travel in the West Midlands got to a much bigger audience. Presented by Peter White Produced by Kevin Core