Nicki Guy

Come along to our Let's Get Active day on Saturday, 25 October. Watch Steve in the video below to find out more!

Two male participants wearing sim-specs, one is trying to read medicine packaging, the other a hospital letter.

Three female attendees sitting at the table in sim-specs. Two are trying to read hospital letters/prescriptions, the other is holding a medicine packet and trying to read what it says.

Two male attendees during the sighted guiding session. One is wearing sim specs and being guided by the other, in a narrow corridor.

During the sighted guided session, a volunteer is practising guiding someone to a chair. The lady she is working with is wearing sim specs, and sitting in a chair.

Yesterday, London @slcouncils.bsky.social delivered a #VisionAwareness session to Hillingdon Hospital volunteers.

Volunteers learned how to support blind & partially sighted patients and sighted guiding techniques.

A brilliant start to a new partnership to #MakeHealthAccessible 💙

Attendees gathered on the platform at Sutton station, listening to Antony Merlyn, accessibility engagement manager talking.

Mary, SLC volunteer, Anthony Merlin, accessibility manager at GTR, and Liam, London SLC coordinator. They are stood at the bottom of a staircase at Wimbledon station discussing accessibility.

Group shot of some of our try a train attendees in the cafe at Sutton station. They’re looking forwards towards the camera, smiling.

Lovely day in SW London for @slcouncils.bsky.social’s ‘Try a Train’ event with Govia, South Western Railways & TfL.

Participants toured Wimbledon station, took a short journey, and wrapped up with drinks & a Q&A in Sutton.

Feedback from attendees and staff was great, more to follow…

London site loss Council volunteers standing with attendees of our coffee and chat event last November, at London Blackfriars

Join #London @slcouncils.bsky.social on Tuesday 20 May at our follow-up Coffee & Chat event with @thameslink.bsky.social at Blackfriars.

Learn what our year-long project with GTR has entailed, discover more about our new resources & connect with other BPS people

Book now:
bit.ly/3GTPUyR

Hal being guided by a colleague, whilst wearing Sim specs. They are navigating through the middle of two parking bays which are overcrowded and spilling onto the walkway.

Hal Stevenson, Head of Policy UK, coming face to face with a parking bay of e-bikes during the sim Spec walk.

Group shot of Lime staff and London SLC volunteers in front of a large e-bike parking bay.

Today was a powerful, hands on reminder for the team at #Lime of the real-world challenges VI pedestrians face.

The overcrowding of designated parking bays and pavement parking stood out as key issues which the team are keen to tackle.

Will share more soon. #StreetsForAll

Close up of the green baskets on a row of parked Lime bikes in central London.

London @slcouncils.bsky.social have invited staff from the policy, operations & product teams at #Lime to participate in a sim-spec walk today. We will highlight some of the challenges e-bikes present to blind & partially sighted pedestrians as part of our ongoing work to make our streets safer.

Can’t wait to host our second Coffee and Chat event today @suttonvision.bsky.social where we will update the local VI community on our work this past year with #Govia to increase accessibility of their stations.

See you there!

#VisionForChange

Two male staff members, wearing simulation glasses, and trying to read labels in small print.

Two male lifeguards, wearing yellow T-shirts and red shorts, during the sighted guiding session. One is wearing simulation glasses, and being guided by his colleague through a door.

Staff members in the dance studio, putting into practice their sighted guiding techniques. They are working in pairs, one person is wearing stimulation glasses, and being guided by their colleague.

A great shot of Southeast London site loss, council volunteers with staff members from Sidcup leisure centre. They are standing in the line, smiling at the camera.

2/2 SE London @slcouncils.bsky.social is working to make sport and leisure more #accessible for blind and partially sighted people.

If you’d like to break down some of these barriers, we’d love to work with you - please do get in touch!

#SportForAll #MakeSportAcceasible

1/2 SE London @slcouncils.bsky.social had a great #VisionAwareness session with staff at Sidcup Leisure Centre this week.

Harry, an instructor, said:

“Today has given me much more confidence, especially when you don’t support VI people on a daily basis. It was really important learning today.”

Representative from DfT talking to Bhavini, Campaigns Manager at TPT, and Samantha, Engagement Manager for East England SLCs at the GTR Parliament event yesterday. Bhavini’s support worker is standing to the right of her, in front of the SLC banner.

Jen Sweeney, Corporate Engagement Manager at TPT, Angie Doll, CEO of GTR, Paloma, support worker, Bhavini, TPT campaigns manager, Sam, SLCs EM for East England, and Lauren, SLCs coordinator for South east England. They’re stood in a line in front of the SLC banner; smiling at the camera.

2/2 Can’t wait to share unveil our audio maps and train guides at our next #CoffeeAndChat events, and look at how we build on the momentum to drive this forward across the network 👏

@slcouncils.bsky.social @pocklington.bsky.social

#MakeTransportAccessible

1/2 A pleasure to join @thameslink.bsky.social yesterday at their MP drop-in event & a great opportunity to talk to GTR’s senior leaders in detail about the impact our year-long project will have on their blind and partially sighted travellers.

Great to have you on board 👏

I’m so proud of #London SLCs' for creating an e-bike charter that encourages operators & boroughs to commit to six key principles, to ensure the safety of BPS pedestrians.
Today, we're excited to share that @forestbike.bsky.social has joined us as our second signatory!

Learn more 👇

@pocklington.bsky.social pulled together a useful starter pack of sector organisations to follow which might be handy!

Good to see you on here, look forward to following along!

Liam O’Carroll, London SLC Coordinator is standing with Vicky, Haren, and guide dog Addie on the walkway at Sutton station. They’re smiling at the camera.

Note to self: Check the forecast 🥶

A huge shout-out to our brilliant volunteers from SW London @slcouncils.bsky.social who braved the chilly weather to test our first draft of the Sutton Station audio guide today as part of our #Govia project.

Lots of useful revisions to make 👏

Liam, London SLC coordinator, is standing with Paul, North London SLC volunteer, at Blackfriars station. They are in front of a wall which displays various destinations in gold writing.

London @slcouncils.bsky.social braved the elements today to test the first draft of our audio guide for #LondonBlackfriars station. It’s a complex station, and this guide will help BPS people navigate it with confidence.

#MakeTransportAccessible

Sight Loss Councils are now on BlueSky. Give them a follow to hear about all the amazing work that our SLCs across the country are doing to increase accessibility for blind and partially sighted people.

#VisionForChange

Five black dustbins are on the pavement. Two have been placed on the left side of the pavement, while the remaining three are in the middle, preventing someone from navigating without having to step onto the road.

Two bins have been placed on the right side of the pavement with a blue car parked on to the curve on the left, leaving a minimal path for someone to navigate the walkway.

Two, small grey bins have been placed in the middle of the path, blocking the walkway.

Bin Day poses major challenges for blind & partially sighted pedestrians. Here's some of the obstacles I encountered on the school run.

#SightLossCouncils work with local authorities to raise awareness of these challenges, recently working with Wandsworth Council: Learn more: bit.ly/4hW7Ir2

Nicki's journey with sight loss | Moorfields Eye Charity Nicki has been a patient at Moorfields since 2019. In the last 5 years, she has had various procedures and attempts to preserve vision in both eyes. Thanks to the care of Moorfields, her eyesight is c...

It was an honour to share my #SightLoss journey with @moorfieldsfriends.bsky.social.

After experiencing sudden vision loss abroad, #Moorfields has been my constant since 2019. Forever grateful for their incredible work in preserving my vision.

Read more moorfieldseyecharity.org.uk/impact-stori...

Happy New Year!

London Sight Loss Councils are excited for 2025. A year full of collaboration, raising awareness of #SightLoss, and driving change to improve accessibility for blind and partially sighted people.

Together, we can make a difference! 💪 #VisionForChange

Andrew Law, Campaigns Manager at TPT, Liam O'Carroll, Sight Loss Council coordinator for London, and Ashley, SW London SLC volunteer, are stood together holding TPT branded placards which says: 'I pledge to fight for a more accessible society for blind and partially sighted people.' Liam and Ashley are wearing white, SLC branded hoodies.

Last week London SLC joined @pocklington.bsky.social & partners to deliver an unreadable mock appointment letter to Health Secretary, Wes Streeting.

SW London volunteer Ashley spoke to @rnib.bsky.social Connect. Listen now: bit.ly/3VuGE8Q

Share your views on the AIS: change.nhs.uk/en-GB/

SLC volunteers gathered around Catherine, our host, who is describing the drawing ‘Hercules and Antaeus’ at the Kings Gallery. This drawing was in the ‘blue room’

Catherine and volunteers at the entrance to the ‘Red Room’ - a vibrant red gallery with drawings from the exhibition framed on the walls

Dawn, our other host from RCT, is stood describing a drawing to north London SLC member, Paul.

A group shot at the entrance to the Kings Gallery in front of the Christmas tree - which is adorned with royal crown baubles. From left to right: Nicki Guy, senior engagement manager at Thomas Pocklington Trust, Liam O’Carroll, SLC volunteer coordinator, Nikki, Vicky, Denise from our London SLCs, and Patricia who joined us from Hampshire SLC.

2/2 Huge thanks to staff at The Kings Gallery who hosted us with such care, ensuring the session was accessible.

The Royal Collection Trust host monthly, accessible events - I fully recommend checking them out.

#MakeArtAccessible #VisionForChange

@pocklington.bsky.social

1/2 London Sight Loss Councils were delighted to be invited to a descriptive session on the new ‘Drawing the Italian Renaissance’ exhibition at The Kings Gallery today.

It’s an incredible exhibition featuring stunning drawings from some of the greats between 1450 and 1600.

The mock appointment letter delivered to Wes Streeting, overlayed by dark patches to simulate diabetic retinopathy. The NHS logo in the top right with Wes Streeting’s address at the Department of Health and Social Care and “Urgent Hospital Appointment” on the left. The date, time and location of the appointment are obscured. Below, the text reads “Failure to attend this urgent appointment will result in you being removed from the waiting list. Please note: If an updated and improved NHS Accessible Information Standard was published and implemented, this letter would be created in formats which can be understood by people with communication needs, including large print, easy read email, audio, British Sign Language and braille. Accessible information is a patient safety issue. When implemented it prevents risks to health and wellbeing, supports the privacy and independence of people with communication needs, and saves the NHS money – especially by avoiding missed appointments.”

The letter highlights how people with accessible communication needs still regularly receive health info we can’t read or understand.

London Sight Loss Councils supported @rnibcampaigns.bsky.social today as they handed an inaccessible hospital letter to Health Secretary Wes Streeting.

#SightLossCouncils are working to #MakeHealthAccessible for BPS people. An important moment to raise awareness on the importance of the AIS.

a portrait image of Nicki Guy, Dave Smith, Sam Leftwich and Guide Dog Lizzie, on the Red Carpet in front of a large sweeping staircase. Christmas

Sam's support worker, Linda, Anthony Merlyn from GTR, Sam Leftwich, Engagement Manager for East England, Carl Martin, Accessibility Lead at GTR, Nicki Guy, Senior Engagement Manager (South), and Dave Smith, Engagement Manager for South East England, are sat around their large table at dinner, facing the camera and smiling. The room is lit up in purple and pink lights

Last week, #SightLossCouncils & @pocklington.bsky.social attended the #CiTTiAwards2024 for our work with Govia Thameslink Railway on the AIRA app.

Sadly we didn't win on this occasion, but we're beyond proud of our partnership to #MakeTransportAccessible for blind & partially sighted people.

[Image: A pink love heart that looks hand drawn. The text says: Accessibility is a love note. It says "we want you here too."]

Nearly 2 million blind and partially sighted people in the UK miss out when content isn’t accessible.

Making your content accessible means everyone can join in. It’s like saying, “We want you here too!”

Here’s our guide to help: rnib.in/AccessibleSocialMediaGuide