Socialising – Well Eye Never

January 2026 Favourites

Hello again, I hope your year’s got off to a good start. For me, as noted in my recent update about my career and being a carer, my circumstances are set to change due to my mother’s ongoing support needs and funding cuts for my current job role. But Mum is much better than she was last year, I’ve already secured a new freelance position, and I have other financial support, so there’s good reason to be positive and hopeful about the year ahead.

I’m also celebrating 10 years of blogging and YouTubing, and that decade has really flown by! Thank you so much if you’ve played any part in that, whether it’s quietly reading my posts or interacting with me in some way, I really appreciate it!

But to focus on January, I have started going out and about more again, now that my mother’s situation has eased a bit. So I’ve met a couple of friends, eaten some delicious food and taken a few nice walks. Meanwhile at home, alongside my usual favourite TV programmes, I’ve been having a stand-up comedy binge by watching several specials and finishing an autobiography. So there’s quite a bit to mention as usual, none of which is sponsored to appear here, and I hope you enjoy!

Ten Years Of Blogging

Incredibly, this month marks the 10th anniversary of my blog, as I registered with WordPress and started rambling away here at the start of February in 2016, talking about my conditions aniridia and nystagmus. The old journal posts listed before then were added and backdated retrospectively during the Covid lockdowns as something to do, although in that regard I’m impressed that I’ve been able to fill a blog with content spanning over 25 years, and that people have been so interested in reading about my past as well as the present.

I’ve also just started my 10th year of living in London, so while my anniversary of the big move isn’t technically until next Christmas, and I will probably say more about that particular milestone when the time comes, it’s practically a double celebration.

And on top of all that, thanks to some fortuitous timing, I’ve managed to ensure that this particular post is my 500th to be published here. Sure, there have been more than that in total, as a few posts have been merged or deleted over time, and I’m not counting the index pages. But in terms of currently published posts on my homepage, there are now 500 exactly.

Christmas 2025 Favourites – Part 1

It’s been a long year for my mother and I, so we’re glad that Christmas has finally come around, and thankfully the preparations have been going well, just as I hope they have been for you. Granted, there is the potential loss of my job next year hanging over my head, through no fault of my own, but that won’t affect me as severely as the friend I provide support for. And given everything that’s already gone on at home during 2025, my mother and I just want to relax, forget about our problems and over-indulge to celebrate Christmas, as you’re supposed to do. And we’ve got everything we need for that.

So I’ve actually been able to go out and about in London a few times this month, now that Mum’s more comfortable being on her own in the house again, having got some of her independence and confidence back. Sometimes it’s just been for walks, but I’ve also met up with a friend as well.

And then at home I’ve been enjoying a lot of entertainment, including dramas, comedies and music. Some things are still ongoing or are on my to do list, so I won’t mention them just yet, but there are already plenty of bits and pieces I can talk about already. So with the usual disclaimer that none of this is sponsored or gifted, I hope you enjoy this varied selection.

Carer’s Journal – October 2025 – Part 1

Welcome to the next part of my carers journal, in what is set to be an important transitional month for us, as my mother is hopefully coming out of her cast in the second half of October. We’ve also had some very significant news this month that will greatly enhance her ability to get out and about again, and we’re still looking into her long-term care options as well. So there appears to be light at the end of the tunnel if everything works out. Here’s what’s been happening during the last few weeks.

Carer’s Journal – September 2025 – Part 1

Here’s the latest update on how my mother and I are doing, as part of my series of journal posts about being a carer. She’s still recovering from her broken wrist, having sleepless nights, and experiencing moments of anxiety and panic. But she’s also regaining some confidence and mobility, which has been great to see, and things are moving forward in terms of the help and support she’s getting from healthcare professionals, which is reassuring.

Caring For Mum – Part 3 – My Wellbeing

As explained in my last couple of posts, my elderly mother’s physical and mental health has declined significantly in recent months, as she’s been struggling with the impacts of going blind and having falls, including anxiety, panic attacks, sleep disruption, confusion and visions.

That’s required me to be much more attentive as her carer, which in turn has had an impact on my own wellbeing, as seeing her change so quickly has been heartbreaking and a shock to the system, and therefore difficult to come to terms with. And even though I know I’m one of 6 million unpaid carers in the UK (many of whom are in far worse positions than me), it still feels like the loneliest job in the world, because I’m having to do it all by myself, unwitnessed in secret behind closed doors.

I have now started to reach out for support, both for myself and for Mum, and consequently I’m feeling a bit better than I was, because I know that help is on the horizon. But it is very much a waiting game, during which we have no idea how long it will take for help to arrive, what support we’ll be able to get, and how useful it will turn out to be.

I’m also very fortunate to have close friends who are keeping in touch to see how I’m doing, allowing me to sound off to them about what’s happening, offer advice, provide information and meet up occasionally, despite having issues in their own lives that they’re dealing with. I greatly appreciate that, as I don’t feel so isolated and it’s comforting to know that people care.

So here’s an insight into what it’s been like from my perspective and the support I’m trying to get. I hope you find it interesting, and again feel free to comment here or contact me if you have any help or advice or just want to be supportive.

June 2025 Favourites

Hello again, I hope you’re all doing well. Those of you who saw last month’s roundup will know that I’m going through a difficult patch at the moment because of my mother’s health. We have started to get a bit of help, in terms of medical assistance and reaching out to support services, all of which takes time, and I will explain more in due course. Suffice to say for now that going totally blind has naturally had a big impact on her mental health and sleep, and by extension has affected my wellbeing as her carer. We are ok, but certain aspects are quite difficult to deal with

As a result, I’m not making videos to go with these posts for the time being, as it’s just not practical right now and I want to make things easier for myself. It also means I’m not doing as much out and about as usual, as my caring role is dominating my time much more than it used to – and I am therefore starting to explore the support that’s available for carers.

However, I did manage to go to the theatre a couple of times with friends early in the month, which I was really grateful for, as I needed to confide in them about what’s been going on, and the shows were great escapism, especially because of the touch tours and audio description.

So I’ve got those shows to tell you about, as well as some bits and pieces I’ve been watching at home, and none of it’s sponsored or gifted as usual. So let’s get on with it, and I hope you enjoy!

April 2025 Favourites

Hey there, hope you had a wonderful Easter and a lovely April in general. This has been my busiest month for a while, as there’s lots to mention in terms of outings, including social events, a musical and a concert, along with TV shows and films I’ve been watching at home.

The concert I went to was a PR invite for me to review, but otherwise nothing is sponsored to appear here, and in any case all opinions are my own as usual. So let’s jump straight into April’s post and video roundup, and I hope you enjoy!

Variety Is The Spice Of Life

During my first few years in London I joined a few social groups – mainly those for people with visual impairment like the London Vision communities, as well as the non-disabled group Thinking Bob. And they all helped me to settle in, make friends, try new experiences and build my confidence.

However, I got rather pulled away from that kind of thing as I formed my own social circle, had a relationship and dealt with the impacts of lockdown, as well as having to focus more on changes to my career and home life over recent years. So I haven’t been an active member of a social group for quite a while, and those I mentioned above have long since closed.

I’ve continued meeting up with my friends of course, which is always wonderful, so I still have good social interaction. And I’m also happy going out and about by myself sometimes. But there are certain things I can’t or wouldn’t do on my own, plus I want to have more variety and meet new people.

So I’ve been looking to get into more social activities again. And while there are still one or two friendly groups out there for people with sight loss, there aren’t as many as there used to be, and their understandably limited range of activities don’t really grab me a lot of the time to be honest. On top of that, I really want to meet more non-disabled people anyway, as my sight is still good enough that I can do activities with them, even if I need to ask for a little bit of help now and again.

There was one particular group I had in mind in that regard – Spice Social – who I’ve been aware of for quite a while, so recently I decided to give them a try, now that I’m in the age range they market themselves to. It’s still early days of course, and things could easily change as time goes on for all sorts of reasons, but it’s going really well so far.

For clarity, this post isn’t an advert for them, as they haven’t asked me to do it and haven’t even been aware that I’m writing it. I just wanted to fill you in on what I’ve been doing lately, as I’ve attended several events with this group over the past couple of months that I’ve enjoyed, and I have more booked in the near future. So it made sense to dedicate a post to them, and then I’ll probably talk about any future events in my monthly Favourites posts as usual.

March 2025 Favourites

Hey there, hope you’re doing alright, and welcome to my latest roundup. March has been a bit of a mixed month for me, what with losing our Virgin Media service for almost a week (thankfully now fixed), and hearing about the government’s plans to cut disability benefits (which I’ve talked at length about in a separate post).

But there have been good things too, as I saw a couple of my favourite entertainers live for the first time, and enjoyed a variety of bits and pieces at home. So I’m going to focus on all of that in this post and video, which is relatively short I know, but I hope you find it interesting as usual!

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