Category: Uncategorised

Many readers will know that Matthew Horspool has been Secretary of the Braillists Foundation since it was registered in January 2020, and latterly has also acted as Treasurer. However, he also maintains a very busy lifestyle at Coventry Cathedral and, with the number of services and events there increasing following the easing of COVID-19 restrictions, he has decided that the time is right for him to step down from these roles. His official final day as a Trustee was last Friday, and the Board are now finalising plans for his succession.

This is not quite goodbye, though: some of the grant funding from the newly renamed Churchill Fellowship announced in June has been put towards a new role of General Manager, which Matthew has agreed to fill. Starting today, he will be working for the Braillists for the whole day on Tuesday and half a day on Friday, and in this new capacity will still be monitoring the Help address, producing the Braillecast podcast and keeping the website and newsletter up-to-date. He will also be responsible for other day-to-day management functions and driving forward some exciting new projects which we will be announcing over the coming months.

We look forward to working with Matthew in his new role and continuing to shape and develop the Braillists in the coming months.

We wish to apologise to anyone who received a “registration closed” error whilst attempting to register for our Computer Braille Masterclass last week.

During the weekend of 18 September, Zoom introduced a new feature to limit the maximum number of registrants for a meeting. This appears to have been toggled on for all meetings by default, with a limit equivalent to the maximum number of participants allowed on the host account. Since not everyone attends every session, there are more people registered for our Masterclasses than the maximum number of allowed participants, and hence no further registrations were being accepted. Unfortunately, however, Zoom did not inform us of this change and we only identified the issue yesterday afternoon.

We have now reverted the change and disabled registration limits for our Masterclasses. We have subsequently tested the registration page and everything appears to be working as normal again.

We will publish the recording of the Computer Braille Masterclass no later than Monday 4 October 2021, and would encourage everyone who was unable to register to visit the Media page or subscribe to the Braillecast podcast to obtain this recording.

Once again, please accept our sincere apologies for the inconvenience caused, and rest assured that we are doing everything in our power to ensure that such problems do not occur again in the future.

Capita is a delivery partner of the Department for Education’s Standards and Testing Agency; with the responsibility to manage the administration and processing for primary school national curriculum assessment tests in England. We are looking to recruit a number of braille and transcriber markers to mark key stage 1 and 2 tests scripts in May and June 2022.

Joining this year’s cohort of key stage 1 and 2 markers provides a great opportunity for professional development and can foster better understanding of the national curriculum test processes and procedures.

Markers will be paid for their time and be able to work remotely: You must have the following qualifications an experience to be eligible to apply:

• Relevant qualification in Unified English Braille;
• have qualified teacher status with a minimum of one full academic year’s teaching (preferably at primary school).

To find out more and apply, please complete a short online expression of interest, by 31 December at: https://capita-sta.co.uk/

The following has been sent to Braille Library members and is reproduced here for the interest of other braille readers:

Dear Braille Library member

In April 2021, RNIB’s Braille Library began offering readers braille books produced on-demand. We would like to thank those of you who have got in touch to let us know how much you are enjoying the new system. You like the smaller individual volumes which are more easily stored and handled. You appreciate receiving freshly embossed and more hygienic braille with fewer faded dots. You also like keeping the books for as long as you need before recycling rather than returning them.

Recent service disruption

Unfortunately, we’ve recently been experiencing some difficulties which are affecting the time it’s taking us to produce and dispatch book requests. Under normal circumstances, you can expect to receive your book around one week after requesting it. However, some of you may have noticed some delays in receiving your books. This falls far short of the service we want to offer. I am truly sorry for any service disruption or inconvenience you may have experienced. Please be assured everyone in our Reading Services team is working extremely hard to improve this as quickly as possible.

These delays stem from an issue with the new computer system we are using to place and prioritise book requests and report progress. We have identified the problem and are working to fix this as soon as possible. We’ve also been impacted by reduced staff numbers due to self-isolating requirements, like many other organisations and businesses at the moment. We are doing everything we can to get braille books out to you. We very much appreciate your patience and, in the meantime, if you have a book you need urgently then please contact our Reading Services team. Email [email protected] or telephone 0303 123 9999.

New development to help you identify volumes more easily

We’ve been listening to your feedback and are working to add the volume number to the first line of the title page which will be readable above the wrapper. This aims to help you identify volumes more easily without having to open every wrapper and should be available shortly.

Your feedback about how we can further develop the Braille Library is always very welcome. We will continue to make improvements and will keep you informed.

Opportunity to receive a free digital braille display

A number of our Braille Library members are now accessing their books using a digital braille display. The Orbit Readers from RNIB come pre-loaded with over 2,000 electronic braille books and have massive advantages in terms of accessibility and storage. If you don’t have a braille display and would like to register your interest in receiving one for free, please contact our Reading Services team. Email [email protected] or telephone 0303 123 9999.

Yours sincerely,
James Bartlett
RNIB Reading Services Manager

For the first time in nearly a decade, Sight Village will be held at its home venue of Queen Alexandra College, Court Oak Road, Harborne, Birmingham, B17 9TG. It will be open 9:00 AM-5:00 PM on Tuesday 17 August and 9:00 AM-3:30 PM on Wednesday 18 August, and pre-registration is essential.

A wealth of braille products will be exhibited over the two days from suppliers including RNIB, Sight and Sound Technology, HumanWare and, of course, Bristol Braille Technology.

Sadly, there is a limited number of exhibitors this year due to COVID-19, and the Braillists won’t have a presence at the exhibition itself. However, a few of us will be meeting for one of our “Braille and Beer” events after the first day, and you’d be very welcome to join us.

We’ll be meeting at The Old House at Home, 193, Lordswood Road, Harborne, Birmingham, B17 8QP. The pub is 700 yards from the College, with a bus stop just outside.

We hope to be able to demonstrate a small selection of braille products during the evening including the Canute and Orbit Reader. If you have a braille product that you’d like to show to other braille enthusiasts, please bring it along!

We will also be bringing A4 braille frames, styluses and 8-cell word forming blocks to give away to anyone who wants one, and offering free 1:1 training on the use of this equipment to anyone who needs it. If you have already obtained your equipment by post, but need help using it, this is an ideal opportunity for you to receive it.

The gathering will be very informal and there are no set start or end times, but you can expect a flurry of activity at about 6:00 PM, once people have packed down after Sight Village.

This event is being supported by Bristol Braille Technology CIC. If you would like to meet up at QAC and walk over to the pub in a group, or you have other enquiries on the day, please find Ed or Steph on the BBT stand or call 020 3893 3392.

N.B. this article is for historical interest only. All Perkins Braillers have now been taken and there are no more currently available.

Our partner organisation, Vision Through Sound, which has been managing our free equipment, has been offered a sizeable donation of Perkins Braillers from Portsmouth Association for the Blind, with logistics support from Bristol Braille Technology CIC.

Stephanie Sergeant, Proprietor of Vision Through Sound and well-known to many readers of this Newsletter, has generously agreed to make some of these machines available to Braillists members on free, long-term loan. They will be offered on a first come, first served basis, but with priority given to people who are learning braille.

It is possible that the first few machines will be available to collect at the Braillists’ “Braille and Beer” gathering next week. If you’d like to reserve one, please email Stephanie at [email protected].

We would like to place on record our heartfelt thanks to Vision Through Sound for allowing our readers to take advantage of this fantastic offer, and to Bristol Braille Technology and Portsmouth Association for the Blind for making this initiative possible.

We were extremely saddened to receive the message below from Mobeen Iqbal. Although Jim was not himself a member of the Braillists community per se, he was involved in a number of braille-related projects in his lifetime and many readers will have known him.

It is with great sadness that I report the death of Jim Taylor. He was resting after his breakfast. A member of staff looked in on him and he had sadly passed away peacefully in his sleep. I know that Jim touched the lives of many people. I have been in touch with Jim regularly over the last 10 years. He always looked on the bright side of life, a quality I greatly admired. His knowledge of Braille and music was admirable and second to none. He was very ill over the past couple of years. Jim, Your life was a blessing, your memory a treasure. You are loved beyond words and missed beyond measure. May you rest in peace. You will always be remembered in our prayers.

As part of the Sight and Sound/Freedom Scientific “Home Use” programme, the Focus 14 Blue 5th generation is currently on sale for £925 (reduced from £1295), whilst the Focus 40 Blue 5th generation is on sale for £2120 (reduced from £2650).

These discounts are valid until 31 August. Please use the links above or call Sight and Sound to order on 01604 798070.

As part of their “Unpacking Tech that Makes you Feel at Home” series, join Sight and Sound for a webinar all about the fifth generation of the popular Focus Blue braille displays. The session will be presented by Ron Miller, Blindness Technology Product Specialist at Vispero (manufacturers of the Focus line of displays), who is himself blind and a braille user.

The session will also cover other hardware products from Vispero including the Pearl camera.

Register for Unpacking Tech that Makes you Feel at Home: https://zoom.us/w/91508728603

The BrailleSense 6 is an extremely powerful and sophisticated device, offering all the features of modern Android smartphones and tablets with the traditional note-taker look and feel. Join Sight and Sound Technology for a series of four webinars where you can find out more about this incredible machine and start to learn how to use some of its features:

• Monday 23 August: Setting up and using email
• Tuesday 24 August: Using Google Drive.
• Wednesday 25 August: Downloading Android apps.
• Thursday 26 August: Using new features: Dictionary, Bookshare and Web Radio.

All the sessions run from 2:00 PM-3:30 PM, and you can register for them using this link:

Register for Getting to Know the BrailleSense 6: https://zoom.us/w/99064307639