TODAYS DIARY BY FIONA CUMMINGS

It’s 2.09pm, on the day of the 25^th of June in the year of 2019. It’s a Tuesday. Today is our wedding Anniversary. Where have all the years gone? Well the weather is so different today to the wonderful day we married. It’s pouring with rain non stop today but on our special day, the sun was shining and it was really hot. How it should be in June.

 

France is to have 40C and they are opening special rooms for the public to receive air conditioning before heading off again on their busy days. In the UK we are to get up to 39C in parts. Not where I live. Well about time summer started as it’s been awful.

 

Our news of late has really angered me. So, in my days and my Sons days, there was after school clubs. Now? kids are encouraged to visit certain churches (AFTER) school…. to hand in their knives.

 What is wrong with that? Firstly, that word, after. The word after, before the word school. Kids carry knives all day at school that’s fine? And church being used for something quite sinister.  Though in principle, I think it’s a great idea, I didn’t think it would work, but apparently, it is working, so now I know it’s working, great, but, why not before school. And why such a place like a church?  Can’t they be handed in before school in a specialised dedicated room, where no judgement will be made? And get some kind of reward for doing so. Not in monetary but in kindness?

 

Air Canada, a passenger woke up from a long sleep to find she was the only one on the flight… Well that isn’t good for security, is it? Where were the staff, how did they not realise that there was someone left on the plane? Scary. And if that was you, what would you think? I would think the plane had crashed and I was the only survivor.

 

In US waters, a giant squid has been found the size of a car….

Oh, this is funny news, a cup of coffee helps to burn calories so, helps with weight loss…. Hmm. Well it may, if you don’t have a KitKat with it….

 

It’s written that in the UK, 2 million people have sight loss. Well what about those who have never lost their sight but are blind? I hate the words Visual Impairment. Again, what if you were born blind there is nothing to impair.

 

I much preferred it when we were blind or partially sighted. So many people say they are blind now days and then they take a photograph or do something to show that actually they are not blind at all, but can see even if it is just a small amount. No wonder the public get confused. If someone asks me how much sight I have, I always say none, I’m totally blind. Even if we say we are blind, we get so, how much do you see? Well this is because so many people with sight say they are blind, and they are not, they may be registered blind, that means their eyesight doesn’t allow them to see enough to do most jobs or they can’t see more than I think it’s four lines on the eye chart. And you normally are on some kind of register with your social services. This can help you a lot. If you are registered blind, this doesn’t mean your eyesight will get worse but you see bad enough to be labelled and by being labelled, may help you financially.

 

My Husband told me the other day that only 10% of people who are blind are in the work place. Isn’t that terrible? And of those who do work, those I know of, they are so capable of doing so much more, but find themselves just working at that job because it’s better than not working at all.

 

We were talking about this last week with our friends who are sighted. She said a funny thing that I have had to learn to just except from people.

“Well I must say Fiona, since meeting with you two, my eyes have been opened just how clever people who ar blind actually are. I never thought you could get someone who is blind and is clever…””

 

I didn’t have the energy to say, actually, you can get some very intelligent people who are blind. Some average people and some very stupid people just like you can get stupid people who can see. And you can get very clever people with sight too.

 

Imagine if we were to say to sighted people. Gosh, for a sighted person, you are very clever? Haha.

 

In life as a person who is blind, you do hear some funny things. Only yesterday on FaceBook, a man who I have known for five years, made a strange comment. He was talking about living in Sweden saying it was light until 11 in the evening and he couldn’t see the sun though it was light at that time of night because it was cloudy. I said jokingly I wish I could see the sun at 11 am, never mind 11pm… he replied. Fiona, may be if you took off your sunglasses? Haha, firstly, I don’t wear sun glasses, secondly, I told him as I was sure he knew, I have been blind for 20 years. He apologised and said he never knew…. Five years? Not only that, he likes my blogs, how can he read my blogs and not know I am blind? And he is a really clever person, mind you, he is fully sighted. Haha.

 

So, we hear things when we are first either diagnosed or realising that our vision is getting worse. It hurts us. How can people be so cruel? Then over the years we get like water off a duck back. Comments are just those, comments and people just need educating. There are people who are blind who are solicitors, teachers, judges, journalists and more. There are also people who are blind who have additional needs, just like there are sighted people who are Doctors and people who can see but also need special needs help.

 

I’m just pleased that now days, kids who are partially sighted and blind, can attend schools for all. And not be sent off to a boarding school, locked away as if we have leprosy! Though I just hope the kid’s education doesn’t suffer because they are still in some schools, not all, considered the blind person in the class and what on earth can they achieve? Teachers are like Gods. I wonder if they know just how their actions affect the children they are teaching? Things that happen in our classrooms, stay with us for life.

 

The cruelty my Husband and I went through at our evil boarding school has stayed with us forever and we will die with those scars. But when I was freed and I went to college, there was one, only one, tutor who really changed my life. I will forever thank her for that. Again, I did come across a tutor who wanted me back in my box and she hunted for that key to lock it. But by then, I was strong enough to hide my key and she never found it. Though she did stop me from progressing in that particular subject even though in my exam with her I received extinctions. I was stronger but not as strong as I should have been if she was a good tutor, I would have been someone totally different now. as she was the last stop of my college life of six years of study. She was the one that I would have gone onto University. but, would I have got a job? That depends on the person interviewing. The employers who ar prepared to give people a chance people who have better or the same qualifications than those with sight who also applied for the role!

 

OK must dash now. Whatever you are doing, I hope you don’t feel sad or alone. I shall be back later to keep you company. X