In Touch Folgen

On the centenary of Armistice Day, over 100 blind veterans assembled at Horse Guards Parade in London. Some were blinded in action. However, most started to lose their sight well after their service had ended. Reporter Dave Williams went to talk to them as they assembled for this historic event - we hear just some of their stories.Also, Peter White visits 97-year-old blind veteran Peter Van Zeller. He is a resident at a Blind Veteran’s UK care home, and shares the story of when he first discovered a previously-unknown family connection to the home, and the charity.Presenter: Peter White Reporter: Dave Williams Producer: Lee Kumutat

Over the next 12 months, In Touch is planning a series of stories and interviews looking at the changing landscape of our streets, and the ways in which councils, rehabilitation trainers and technology can help visually impaired people cope with this fast-changing picture. Professors Anna Lawson and Rich Romano are both leading on different projects looking at the future of towns and cities. Prof Lawson’s is focusing on the elements that cause people to feel excluded from the streets, while Prof Romano’s is looking at using virtual reality and digital means of putting planning in to the hands of the people.National Braille Press, a non-profit organisation in the United States, offers a prize of up to 20,000 US dollars to people inventing new ways of getting braille and tactile information in to the hands of visually impaired people. Peter White speaks to President of National Braille Press Brian MacDonald, and 2015 winner Betsy Flener. Presenter: Peter White Producer: Lee Kumutat

What help can you get if you struggle to recycle your rubbish? Listeners talk about the problems they have with recycling their rubbish: from knowing which bin to put the right rubbish in, to finding it again once it has been collected. We talk to Wayne Priestly from the Association for Public Service Excellence about what help visually impaired-residents can expect to receive from their local council.Professor Christopher Tyler from London City University believes he has found evidence artist Leonardo da Vinci had an eye condition called Strabismus – where the eyes are misaligned. He thinks this may have had an impact on the way Da Vinci represented three-dimensional art on a canvas. Ross King, biographer of Claude Monet, says Monet's cataracts impacted his work later in life. Presenter: Peter White Producer: Lee Kumutat