Category: Uncategorised

George Bell has been at the helm of Techno-Vision Systems for at least 35 years. In that time, he has brought many blindness products to the UK market, repaired numerous machines which would have otherwise been condemned, and provided countless hours of technical support. He is particularly well-known for his involvement with the Duxbury Braille Translator, not only as UK sales and support but also through his tireless oversight of the documentation.

As we approach the end of George’s long and established career, we thought it would be fitting to spend some time in conversation with him, picking out the highlights of the past three and a half decades and thinking about what the future might look like.

There will also be an opportunity for the audience to ask their own questions and pay tribute to the vast amount of work that George has done to benefit blind and partially sighted people in the UK and around the world.

The event will take place at the usual time of 7:30 PM, but on Thursday 1 December instead of our usual Tuesday slot. The details, however, remain the same:

• Registration link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYpcO-sqzktG9TvgYRqSttK4_cqV7zNAiby
• Phone number: 0131 460 1196
• Meeting ID: 824 7645 2710
• Passcode: 123456

From 8:30-9:00 PM, TAVIP members can participate for their monthly get together on any aspect of Technology. Others are free to join and encouraged to join TAVIP. Membership is free: www.tavip.org.uk

If you are passionate about braille and have always wanted five minutes of fame, look no further!

Various regions of ITV News are preparing reports for World Braille Day on 4 January and, as part of this, they would love to interview braillists about how they use braille, the role of braille technology and the future of braille.

The interviews will be recorded in advance at the braille user’s location, and they would like to be able to show the user engaging with braille in some way – either reading or writing.

If you live in:

• Norfolk, Suffolk or Essex
• Cambridgeshire, Bedfordshire or Northamptonshire

Please contact Callum Fairhurst at ITV East Anglea: [email protected] or 07717 361864

If you live in:

• Devon or Cornwall
• Bristol, Somerset or Gloucestershire

Please contact Graham Lewis at ITV West Country: [email protected] or 07799 861526

We look forward to seeing the finished reports!

The Tactile Times, the world’s first newspaper by young braillists, for young braillists is pleased to announce that its 2022 online advent calendar is now open for business! With a festive, braille-themed surprise waiting behind every door and an interactive countdown to the 25th, it’s set to be the perfect way for young braille enthusiasts all around the world to celebrate the build-up to the big day!

If that’s not enough, following a successful pilot in 2021, the Tactile Times elves (who are all braille users and experts in assistive tech themselves) have been busy behind the scenes making sure that the calendar works with as many different kinds of devices as possible including BrailleNotes, iPads, laptops and much, much more.

You can access the calendar using the below link: https://is.gd/JmoVz0

The Tactile Times is a fun, online newspaper edited by Ellie, Lexy and Theo. United by their shared love for all things braille, it first came into being when they collectively realized that there was no newspaper that published articles about the sort of things that they were interested in as young braillists.

Free to read online and with ambitious plans to begin hardcopy circulation in 2023, the newspaper has developed a loyal, international audience of blind children and teenagers, all bound by their appreciation of the paper’s eclectic selection of tech, jokes, sports and event listings with coverage geared towards fellow blind readers in a way that only The Tactile Times knows how.

You can learn more about the paper and subscribe by visiting https://www.tactiletimes.org.

The Beacon Centre for the Blind in Wolverhampton is looking to pay a braille teacher for a few months in 2023. Mary Spiers says:

We are hoping to run a weekly course, daytime, between the hours of 10am-3pm, starting in 2023, April time, term time only. We wanted a beginners course, it is a paid role. The Centre is in Wolverhampton. We will provide the room and service users.

If you would like further information, please email Mary Spiers on [email protected].

Do you struggle when controlling your iOS or Android smartphone? Is text entry slow and cumbersome using the touch screen? Or, are you tired of having to carry a large external device around with you just to use your phone?

If the answer to any of these questions is yes then you need to meet the Hable One. This tiny Bluetooth keyboard allows you to fully control your smartphone and enter text using contracted and uncontracted Unified English Braille.

What’s more, the device will fit in your pocket and has enough battery to last weeks!

Come along and find out why we are so excited about this great little gadget, and, if you like what you hear and see, you can avail of a 15% discount on the night!

Please register in advance: https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5FMPSrraSkqKioP1LL-wLg

The Braillists Foundation is thrilled to announce that it is now accepting registrations for “Braille for Beginners On-Demand”, the most recent iteration of its highly acclaimed remote braille tuition. This innovative and accessible programme will equip blind and partially sighted adults with the skills to read and write braille letters, numbers and punctuation, promoting unparalleled levels of independence and raising their confidence and self-esteem.

Dave Williams, Chairman of the Braillists and himself blind since birth, said: “For me, there is no greater privilege than being able to read bedtime stories to my son. Without braille, I’m certain I would not be able to do this. I’m therefore delighted that we are able to mark National Braille Week at the Braillists by unlocking the world of reading by touch for so many people who have never had the opportunity before.”

The course will be delivered by highly qualified tutors with extensive experience of teaching braille to adults who are losing their sight, and is offered at no charge. Hard copy resources will be provided by post to anyone living in the UK, and peer support and 1:1 assistance from the tutors will be available by email and monthly support sessions on Zoom, with a telephone dial-in option for those with limited or no access to the internet.

Further details and the registration form can be found at www.braillists.org/beginners

Please join us this Tuesday (15 November) at 7:30PM UK time for what promises to be an incredibly informative panel discussion around writing software and working in the technology industry in general when using a braille display.

We’ll be hearing from people in a variety of different IT rolls about the techniques they use, when they use braille and when they use speech, along with leaving plenty of time for your questions.

You can register for the event here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYpcO-sqzktG9TvgYRqSttK4_cqV7zNAiby

To join by telephone, please use these details:

• Phone number: 0131 460 1196
• Meeting ID: 824 7645 2710
• Passcode: 123456

Join us for our now traditional Braille and Beer event after Sight Village London, starting shortly after the event finishes (between 6:00 PM and 6:30 PM).

Address: Prince of Wales, 8 Kensington Church Street, London, W8 4EP

Call 020 3893 3392 for assistance on the day.

If you’re attending Sight Village London, why not also pop along to see us at the exhibition? Thanks to generous sponsorship from Bristol Braille Technology CIC, the Braillists Foundation will have its own stand where we will be promoting the work of the organisation. We would love to catch up with people who we’ve met virtually on Zoom over the past few years.

N.B. Braille and Beer replaces online events this Tuesday.

When: 10:30 AM-12:30 PM Monday mornings, term time

Where: Adult Learning Lewisham, to Brockley Rise, SE23

Further details: our class is very flexible, people come to learn the basics of braille and learn at their own pace. We encourage people to find ways that braille can help them in their lives, some of our learners want to read their medication, label things in their homes or play braille card games/board games and others go on to read novels. We have a section at the end of each lesson where we share experiences of sight loss and discuss assistive technology, audio description and other related topics. We are very supportive and if learners are unable to attend due to illness or travel issues we can do tuition over the phone instead. Many people qualify for the class with no fee depending on the type of benefits they receive and others pay a subsidised fee for the class.

Visit the website for more information.

Contact: Sarah Matthews, 07813 389250

Since 2020, the Braillists Foundation has helped over 250 people learn braille through its revolutionary Braille for Beginners programme. Taught remotely by expert braille tutors, it has increased the independence of dozens of blind and partially sighted adults by teaching them to read the entire braille alphabet, numbers and punctuation, and equipping them with the skills to develop their braille writing.

We are now ready to lift the lid on the next phase of this pioneering project, which will allow us to reach hundreds more blind and partially sighted people who wish to learn to read braille by touch. We will be holding a special launch event for this new course during National Braille Week, and we’d love to see you there!

At the event, you will hear first-hand from the people who put the course together, alongside past participants and established braille users. We will demonstrate the profound impact that braille has had on the lives of people who have learnt it and explain how this new incarnation of Braille for Beginners will work.

Join us on Zoom at 7:00 PM BST on Monday 10 October and help us change the lives of blind and partially sighted people.

https://is.gd/4E2SvF