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.
It’s hard to believe, with all the advances in healthcare, science and technology, that cancer still exists today. Sure, we have made great strides in treating it and finding out more about it, which has helped to save and extend many lives, and for which we must be extremely grateful. But there are still far too many fatalities – just one is too many – and there is still so much more work to be done.
Of course, there is no single magic bullet that will cure it, especially as there are many different types of cancer that have to be treated in different ways. But the more research we can do, the more effective weapons we can develop and have in our arsenal to keep it at bay. No matter how stubborn and resilient it tries to be, we can tame it and beat it, and ultimately we will. It may take a great deal of time, money and effort, but it’s well worth it, because it will save and improve millions of lives.
Cancer has an impact on pretty much everybody at some point in their lives – even if you never get it yourself, chances are you’ll know someone who does. I’ve lost a good friend to the condition, and that’s what I want to tell you about here.
I made a post and a video about this a couple of years ago, for Stand Up To Cancer. But now I’ve improved as a blogger and Youtuber somewhat, I’ve decided to scrap those and extensively re-edit the text for a blog post that I can share in support of any cancer campaign, not just one specific one. And I’ve chosen today to do it, having become aware that the 4th of February is World Cancer Day. So I hope you find the post interesting. I know it’s not a nice or comfortable or entertaining subject to read about, but it is a very important one.
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 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.
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!
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!
The topic of disability misconceptions comes up regularly, so it’s always an interesting one to talk about. So I nominate anyone who wants to join in with it, as I know many great disabled writers and Youtubers in amongst the many blogs I follow. Thank you to Holly for nominating me, and I hope you like my answers to the questions!
As if nominating me for the Liebster Award wasn’t generous enough, Holly from Life Of A Blind Girl has also nominated me for the Blogger Recognition Award twice this year, in January and October, which is very kind indeed, thank you Holly! Do go and check out Holly’s blog, as she publishes lots of great posts about visual impairment, disability awareness and her hobbies and interests.
The Blogger Recognition Award simply requires you to write a bit about your blog and give advice to new bloggers, and then nominate other bloggers to do the same, to share the love and give them some exposure and recognition. So that’s what I’m going to do here. Thanks again to Holly for nominating me!
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!
Last year I was nominated for the Liebster Award, which was very surprising and flattering considering I was a relatively new blogger at the time. It’s a fun way of showing your fellow blogging friends that you appreciate and enjoy their work, by giving them valuable exposure and promotion.
If you’re nominated, the rules are simply to thank the blogger who nominated you and answer the 11 questions they’ve set you, and then set a list of 11 new questions and nominate 11 other bloggers to respond to them.
And this year I’ve been nominated for the second time, with huge thanks to Holly at Life Of A Blind Girl! Holly recently graduated from university, which is fantastic, so congratulations to her! I remember how wonderful that feeling is, seems a long time now since my own graduation. Anyway, Holly writes lots of wonderful posts about her experiences being visually impaired, as well as advocating and educating around sight loss and disability, and posting about other things she enjoys too. So do go and check her out, there’s a lot of great stuff to read there.
I’ve been meaning to write my response post for a while, and I’m sorry it’s taken so long. But here are my answers to Holly’s questions, and I hope you enjoy. Thanks again Holly! 🙂
Well Eye Never 
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