Entertainment – Page 25 – Well Eye Never

Winter At The Young Vic

If you live in the UK like me, you’ll be well aware that we’re getting another blast of winter from the weather gods right now, including some snow. Which is lovely to look at if you don’t have to go travelling in it – yay to being a homeworker! – but on the whole I think we’re all looking forward to spring and some warmer weather more than ever.

But as we’re still in the winter season at the moment, it felt like a very appropriate time to go and see a play called Winter by Jon Fosse, which was on at the Young Vic theatre from the 14th-24th February. Granted, it’s got nothing to do with the weather, but the title and timing is appropriate. And it is quite an unusual play compared to the ones I’ve attended so far. So I wanted to tell you a bit about my experience.

Before I do, there are a couple of important points to note for transparency:

I was among a few visually impaired bloggers very kindly offered complimentary tickets by the theatre to see the show, as they were extending their accessibility services for this production and wanted our feedback. However, all ramblings and opinions here are my own, the theatre have had no input into this post.
This is a spoiler-free review. Although the play’s run at the Young Vic has finished, it will appear in other venues, just it has done in the past. So there’s a chance other people interested in the show will find this post, and I don’t want to ruin anything!

Now that’s sorted, let me tell you how things went last Friday. I hope you enjoy reading about it.

January 2018 Favourites

After a very eventful and successful 2017, I’ve been looking forward to seeing what 2018 would bring. And for this first month of the year I’ve been mostly doing things indoors, given the cold weather outside.

So I’ve been going out to various museums, and have also been to the theatre, while at home I’ve been watching a couple of the DVD sets I bought last year. I’m also making an effort to start listening to more audiobooks this year, as I only did one in 2017, which was bad of me – although, to be fair, book-reading wasn’t top of my to-do list having just moved to a huge city!

So I’ve been keeping myself entertained in various ways, and I hope you enjoy this recap, for which I’ve also produced a video as well.

Harry Potter – A History Of Magic

As well as the Harry Potter Studio Tour I explored earlier this month, I was also lucky enough to go to the British Library last Monday, for their exhibition on Harry Potter: A History Of Magic. This has proven to be extremely popular, because all of the tickets are now sold out online for the rest of the run (though it may be possible to get a ticket on the day you go to the library if you’re lucky). So I feel very fortunate to have had a chance to see it. Big thanks to Emily Davison from Fashioneyesta for inviting me to explore it with her, as we had a lovely afternoon.

Harry Potter Studio Tour

Harry Potter has been cropping up with some regularity in my London itinerary over recent months. Back in October I saw The Cursed Child at the theatre, complete with a touch tour on stage and audio description during the show, which was amazing, And shortly after that I did the Tour For Muggles, which was a very enjoyable walking tour around filming locations in London. And later this month i’ll be going to the British Library’s History Of Magic exhibition.

But last weekend I did something which trumps all of that in the Harry Potter stakes, by visiting the Warner Bros Studio Tour: The Making Of Harry Potter. So in this extensive post I’m going to tell you all about my experience, including some of my thoughts from an accessibility perspective, and the merchandise I picked up.

I’ve also been posting some photos on my Instagram during the week, along with an extensive Facebook album as well. Plus there a few videos to go with this post, featuring my review of the tour, footage from the studios and my merchandise haul. So there’s plenty to get through, and I hope you enjoy it all!

Christmas 2017 Favourites

Happy New Year everybody! I hope you all had a lovely Christmas, and that 2018 is a joyful and prosperous year for you. 🙂

This Christmas marked my first anniversary of moving to London. It’s hard to believe it’s been that long already. And 2017 has been an amazing year! Although I was already used to getting around the city from my previous visits, it was still a leap into the unknown in many respects to actually live here. I had no idea how well it would work out, how safe or comfortable I would feel, how accessible events and attractions would be, and how easy it would be to make friends.

But it’s been more than worth the effort, and I’m extremely happy with how well it’s gone, given all the friends I’ve made, places I’ve explored, new things I’ve tried, and the opportunities I’ve taken up. A year ago I never imagined that I would be doing many of the things that have transpired in the months since.

I’m also pleased that my blog, Youtube, Instagram, Facebook and Twitter pages have had a steady increase in followers over the year. Sure, I don’t have big numbers compared to the bigger bloggers out there, but relative to where I was a year ago it’s been a substantial leap. And my goals for this haven’t been about the numbers anyway. Making connections, sharing my experiences and spreading a bit of awareness was always my aim, and I’ve been achieving that. It’s resulted in numerous opportunities and new experiences, including guest posts, a public speech (with another planned for next year), participating in a research study (which is continuing next year), being interviewed by a journalist, and more. My efforts have been paying off more than I could ever have imagined, and I’m loving it.

But above all, thank you so much to everyone I’ve met and interacted with during the year, whether it be in person or online. By reading, liking and sharing my content, leaving comments, asking questions, sending me private messages and emails, giving me opportunities for guest posts and public talks, and even meeting up in person, you’ve helped to make this year a very special one for me. Especially Aniridia Network UK, Nystagmus Network, London Vision, Thinking Bob, VocalEyes, RNIB, Scope, Fashioneyesta, Life Of A Blind Girl, My Blurred World, Luke Sam Sowden & All The Stations, but also everyone else that I’ve had any kind of contact with during the year.

Everyone has been very positive and supportive, and your involvement has enabled me to start this new chapter in my life with confidence and comfort, and fun and friendship. And for that I’ll always be very grateful. 2017 will forever be one of the most significant and happy of my life, nothing will take that away.

And I’ve had a lovely Christmas to finish it off in style, so I wanted to bring you up to date with how it went and the various things I enjoyed. This is quite an epic post as a result, and I’ve also filmed a video that mentions some of the stuff here along with my general reflections on 2017 as a whole. So I hope you enjoy!

Beauty And The Beast & Rapunzel Pantomimes

Having not been to a pantomime for quite a long time, and with plenty of them taking place across London, it’s been fun to attend a couple of them during my first proper Christmas as a resident of the city. Especially as both shows had audio description as well.

So I figured I’d combine my reviews of them into one post, and I hope you enjoy reading about them!

The Colours Of The Rainbow Tag

This is the last in my triple bill of tag response posts to finish off the year. And this is the Colours Of The Rainbow tag by Luke Sam Sowden, which asks for the meanings that you associate with various colours. So I thought it would be something different and fun to do, and I tag anyone else who wants to respond to it as well. I hope you enjoy my answers!

Getting To Know Me Tag

Today’s post is the Getting To Know Me Tag, which is basically 20 questions about me. This is in response to the tag video by How Casey Sees It, a great visually impaired Youtuber who I recommend you check out if you’re not aware of her already. And I’ve made a video to go with this post as well.

So I hope you enjoy finding out a few things about me. And I tag everyone reading this who wants to do the tag themselves too.

Christmas With The Stars

This week I finally went to my first concert since moving to London. I’ve been to a few musicals this year, but not an actual concert. And this was in arguably the most iconic concert venue in London – The Royal Albert Hall. I went there with the family in my youth for a Christmas concert, though I don’t remember it now of course. So going to a Christmas concert there this year felt like the first time really. And it was all for a good cause too.

November 2017 Favourites

Hello again, welcome to my latest Favourites roundup. Once again it’s a varied package, with some disability blog posts and events, a museum tour, no less than three musicals, another outing with Fashioneyesta, my first trip to a Lush store, the delights of the Lord Mayor’s Show, and more. So I hope you enjoy looking through it al!

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