August 10 - Inverness, Scotland

We found Inverness to be a busy city. We shouldn't have been surprised because after all, the population is around 60,000 and growing rapidly. I didn't like walking here very much. The city core wasn't too bad but outside of this, the sidewalks were narrow and very uneven. Perhaps this is why I really enjoyed our river walk on our first day. The walking trails along the River Ness are excellent -  modern, wide, and smooth. According to Lyle's Fitbit, we put on just over ten kilometres along the river.

Of course we also did the typical tourist things. For instance, we took a city bus to the battlefields of Culloden. We liked this, but really, a person needs at least a moderate interest in Scottish history to make the most of what was presented.

I had my picture taken at the visitor centre. I am standing beside a Highlander dressed in traditional gear. He was very tall and even drew his sword for the photo op.

We also took a tour bus out to Loch Ness. It rained that day and the rain limited what I could see, but neither of us saw the Loch Ness monster! However, the commentary by the guides was very informative.

There are two pictures with this post. The first is me posing with the Highlander. The second is a partial view of Urquhart Castle on the shore of Loch Ness.

Sue with a Highlander

 

Sue in front of Urquhart Castle on the shores of Loch Ness

August 7 - Glasgow, Scotland

Lyle and I are in Scotland. Our first stop was the city of Glasgow. On Day 1, we took the hop on/hop off bus tour and it was a good way to acquaint ourselves with the layout of the city. We made two circuits with the bus and hopped off several times. Two of those stops were the Transportation Museum and the Art Gallery and Science Museum.

Now with my sight, I don't usually get much out of gazing at exhibits in either art galleries or museums, but I did enjoy both of these. At the Transportation Museum, there was an original tall ship docked on the river. We strolled along the deck and peered into the cramped interior. The mast was so tall I couldn't even see to the top. Sailing on one do these vessels must have been both exciting and terrifying. According to the ship logs, this particular ship had circumnavigated the globe three times.

At the Art Gallery and Science Museum, it was the building itself which impressed me. It was huge and magnificent both inside and out. I was delighted in the Museum section to come across a life-sized exhibit of an albatross. I remember how disappointed I was when we had visited the Dunedin Albatross Sanctuary in New Zealand. I had hoped to see an albatross there, but they were so distant I couldn't even see a white blur. Hence my excitement at seeing this closeup exhibit in Glasgow.

Possibly my favourite afternoon in Glasgow was walking along the banks of the River Clyde. There was a wide promenade that stretched for miles. Walking along the Clyde in Glasgow!  Who would have believed it!

Lyle and I have been very fortunate with our travel experiences. Tomorrow we will travel onward by train to Inverness.

August 5 - Toilets

Lyle and I have been travelling again, and over the past few days I have lost count of the different flushing mechanisms of the various toilets I have used. This is not an easy thing for someone with limited vision.

The toilet in our hotel room has a lever mounted horizontally on the wall behind the toilet unlike other levers, which protrude at a right angle from the wall. Some toilets have buttons against the wall above the tank.  Others have flush mechanisms on the tank itself either buttons or levers. My biggest surprise was a foot pedal, which I discovered quite by accident.

There are also sensory flushing mechanisms. Sometimes the toilet will flush while the person is sitting, sometimes standing, sometimes by opening the cubicle door, and maybe sometimes there is a delayed action where you might even make it to the sink to wash your hands before the whoosh of the flush is heard.

The trickiest motion sensory flush I came across on this trip was on our flight over the Atlantic. It must been hard to hide the motion sensor on the Boeing 787 aircraft, but the engineers managed it. Apparently there was a teeny black dot on the back ledge behind the toilet. Again, I found this quite by accident as I ran my knuckles along the ledge.

Oh the joys of toilets and travel!  Over time I have managed to flood the entire women's washroom at LAX Airport, locked myself into a cubicle in Mexico, and have wandered into the Men's in Alberta.  Different toilet flushing mechanisms can be tricky for anyone, but for a person with limited vision or no sight, they can be a real challenge.

July 18 - Dinner Guests

Summer is a great time to get together with friends and family. Lyle and I both enjoy these summer get togethers. We especially enjoy sharing meal times. However, sometimes either as a dinner guest or a dinner host, my sight presents challenges.

I was reminded of this last week when Brian and Marilyn came to our home for supper. We had planned an easy meal where most of the food preparation could be done in advance and I knew that Lyle would take care of the actual serving of the dishes. It was only at the end of the meal that Marilyn expressed her regret that she was unable to help in clearing the table. Marilyn has pretty severe arthritis in her one hand and she was worried that if she tried to carry the dishes she might just drop them.

I knew exactly how Marilyn was feeling. When Lyle and I are dinner guests in someone’s home, I feel a little useless when I am unable to help either set or clear the table. My eyes simply don’t see where dishes and glasses are placed, and rather than run the risk of breaking a host’s precious china, I choose to sit still and stay out of the way. This is contrary to the way I was brought up. It seems especially noticeable when there are other women guests and they are all able to congregate in the kitchen to help out.

However, on the other side of the coin, I was able to assure Marilyn that as a guest at my dinner table I was very happy for her to sit and not assist. It is a problem for me when other people move things around in my kitchen. In the past, I have broken more than one drinking glass when someone else has placed it in the sink and I have crashed down a dinner plate or saucepan right on top of it. I have also cut my hand/finger on a knife when unknown to me someone else had placed that knife in the sink.

Most of us know that we shouldn’t move furniture and large objects around in the home of someone who is blind or visually challenged, but I suggest that it is just as important not to move around smaller objects. I like enjoying dinner with friends and family but sometimes it is easy for both guests and hosts to forget about the small frustrations of someone who has sight or other physical challenges.

July 6 - Banking Response

At last I have a response from the CIBC Client Care Centre.  Some of you may recall the copy of the letter I posted on my blog dated April 29.  It has been just over two months since I mailed my letter but at last I have an answer to my question. The process has been a long and frustrating one. 

At the beginning of May I did receive two messages on my answering machine, giving me a name and extension number to call back. I called this number numerous times, giving all my pertinent information. I still was unable to speak to some one who knew anything about my problem.

This past week, Tara was the agent who happened to pick up when I called and I repeated my request for a response to my letter.  Tara did not know the answer but promised to call me back, and lo and behold, she did, even on the same day!

Now for the answer.  Apparently I should be able to pay any government bills without using a debit card. Of course, I will need to wait until next April to see if this is actually so when I again have to pay my income taxes.  Tara also contacted the manager at my local CIBC branch.  She said the local bank would be happy to grant me a debit card and keep the number on my file.  In that way I would not need to carry a card with me or use a pin number on a machine, the original problem being I cannot see you use that card.

I am pleased that I finally have an answer to my original concern.  It is not the answer I anticipated, but perhaps debit cards are the bank's attempts to thwart fraud.

I think that the lesson I have learned through all this is that if something is important enough to voice a concern or complaint, then it is important enough to persist until the issue is resolved.  Although I was not happy with the two month time lapse in answering my concerns, I am pleased with myself that I was persistent  to see the matter through.

June 20 - Using a White Cane

This morning I was having coffee with a friend who had only recently begun to use a cane. She spoke about how difficult it was to carry both a purse or handbag and to also use her cane. The conversation reminded me of my early days of white cane use.

When my sight first changed, I had been one of those people who carried everything in a large handbag. The kitchen sink wasn’t in it, but with the weight of the bag, it might as well have been. At that stage I wasn’t using a cane but I wasn’t driving any more either. I used to joke that when I couldn’t drive and so needed to walk to work and appointments, the first thing I did was to buy a good pair of walking shoes. However, when I walked, the weight of the bag I carried became quite onerous. It didn’t take too long before I began sorting out the inessential items that I was carrying around.

Then came the time that I started to use a white cane. Anything else that I carried in the other hand seemed to throw me off balance so I switched from a hand held bag to a back pack. Once again, the weight of the items in the backpack seemed way too heavy. I found that I could eliminate even more items from those I had thought necessary to carry around.

Eventually, even the weight of the backpack became too much for every day use. These days, unless I have a specific purpose for carrying more than my house keys, some form of ID, my cell phone and perhaps a few coins for coffee, I tend to wear clothing with big pockets. If I do need to take anything else, I try to find the smallest day pack or fanny pack that will accommodate the other items.

All this has come about in stages, but I now wonder whatever it was that I used to carry around in that big handbag. Today, the most essential piece of carry equipment that I use is my white cane.

June 2 - Supporting Guide Dogs

Last weekend I participated in a walk to raise funds for Guide Dogs of Canada. This is a Lions project and in our area the walk has been going on for the past seven years. While seven years presents the local picture, the national one is broader and of a much longer duration. Thanks to the Lions, people who need the services of a guide dog can apply to Guide Dogs of Canada and receive both the dog guide and the training free of charge.

Now, at this point in time I don’t feel that I need a guide dog, so why did I participate in the walk? I think that my inspiration comes from a family I met several years ago.

In 2012 when I was doing my walks across Canada to promote an awareness of the significance of white canes, I met a family in Kingston, Ontario. The family, two parents and three young boys, came to the walk to support me.  Of the three boys, the youngest was completely without sight and one of the other boys was quite visually impaired. Truly, this family faced many personal challenges and yet they had come to support me.

The dad explained that he felt it was important to support organizations and endeavours outside their own issues. He then insisted that I take $20 towards my personal expenses. I was quite humbled by this man’s positive and generous attitude, an attitude that was obviously shared by his wife and was being passed on to his children.

The common bond between us was that of vision loss. My own challenges of partial sight actually seemed trivial in comparison to the hurdles that were facing this family.  Yet, they still managed to reach out in support of someone else. That I was a stranger to the family of five melted away with our shared bond. I have kept the memory of them all over the past seven years. They are part of the reason I feel motivated to reach out.

I was quite pleased when two friends and others of our local vision loss support group also participated in last weekend’s walk in support of guide dogs. Below is a picture taken of four of our support group members. From left to right: Irma, Sue, Carol and Vern.

Sue with Irma, Carol and Vern at the walk 

You can learn more about Guide Dogs of Canada on their web site.

www.dogguides.com