Shona Louise – Well Eye Never

Naidex is Europe’s largest event showcasing the latest technology, products and services for disabled people, helping them to live, work and travel with greater independence and comfort. The event is now in its 45th year and it’s absolutely massive, occupying a large hall in the NEC Birmingham for 2 days.

I first went to the show last year, having never heard of it before, and enjoyed having a good look around over both days. I took in as much as I could, even things that weren’t particularly relevant to me, to get a good sense of what was there. So this year, now that I knew what to expect, I was able to prepare more, and only went for 1 day. I knew that would be enough time to see everything that was of most relevance and interest to me, and I think it was a wise move. Other people may find going for both days very beneficial though, it just depends how much you want to look at.

Also for the second year running, I was proud to be an ambassador for the show. That simply means we plug each other on social media, so I give them shoutouts and they promote my blog in return. Beyond that, I’ve not been gifted in any way to promote or mention the show, I paid all of my own expenses to attend, and I’m not obliged to give any kind of review. Likewise, I’m not sponsored by or affiliated with any companies mentioned in this post. I just want to go through what I saw and picked up information about, and all opinions are my own as always.

So let’s get on with it, and I hope you enjoy my rundown of Naidex 2019!

Traditionally Christmas lasts for 12 days, and to some extent that remained true for my mother and I, as last weekend we did take our decorations and tree down and packed it all away, as it was a convenient time to do it.

However, the festivities didn’t actually conclude until a few days later, because we took the opportunity to see A Christmas Carol at The Old Vic on Tuesday. We had actually booked to go in January last year, but sadly had to miss it due to illness. So this time around, as soon as I became aware of the date for the audio described performance, I booked it again well in advance, crossing my fingers tightly that we wouldn’t get ill this time. And thankfully, touch wood, we seem to have escaped any colds so far this winter, which is a relief!

So we did finally get to see it, and had a touch tour and audio description as well. The play had been getting rave reviews everywhere, so we were really hoping that it would be worth the wait. And it absolutely was!

So I wanted to tell you a bit about it, without spoiling anything in case you want to see it (and you should!). If you can’t get to the last few dates this year, do look out in case in returns to The Old Vic again next Christmas.

As usual, all opinions are my own here. This post isn’t sponsored or endorsed by anybody connected with the theatre or the show, and my mother and I paid to see it out of our own money. I just wanted to share my experience, so I hope you enjoy reading about it!