Author: Matthew Horspool

We’ve been making some changes under the hood to try to make it easier for people to listen to our Braillecast podcast on smart speakers, especially those powered by Amazon Alexa.

Unfortunately, we still haven’t found a perfect solution. However, as a temporary workaround, we have added some more keywords to our feed title so that it now reads: “Braillecast: Connecting the Dots for Braillists Everywhere”.

Smart speakers should have now registered this change, so if asking for Braillecast doesn’t work, try asking for “Braillecast Connecting the Dots” or other permutations of keywords from the feed title.

On Alexa devices, the following phrase seems to work the most consistently: “Alexa, play the podcast Braillecast, Connecting the Dots for Braillists Everywhere.”

We are continuing to work on a better long-term solution, but we hope this change makes our podcast more accessible in the meantime.

P.S. we’ve also received a message from HumanWare to say that they have fixed a known issue with our episodes not downloading properly on Victor Reader Streams. If you’re a Victor Reader Stream user and you’ve been having trouble with our podcast, please try again, and let us know at [email protected] if it still doesn’t work for you.

Almost a year ago to the day, in the height of the first UK national lockdown, we launched our Clever Cooking group. A vibrant and enthusiastic community quickly emerged and, in spite of many changes, it’s still going strong today!

It’s now being facilitated independently by a group of Clever Cooking members, who are currently deciding when the sessions will take place and what topics will be covered. They are always on the lookout for new people to join the sessions, so if you’re handy in the kitchen or want to improve your culinary skills, please get in touch with them.

Their email address is [email protected]. Once they’ve heard from you, they can add you to their mailing list where they will announce the date of the next session once it’s been decided. If you provide your mobile number, they can also add you to their WhatsApp group.

We’re really pleased to see this community continue to flourish.

Happy cooking!

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been working with a local transcriber who’s been busy creating text transcripts of our Masterclasses. The first six – which took place before Christmas – are now available on our Media page:

• Getting Around the Orbit Reader 20
• An Introduction to the Slate and Stylus
• Using Braille for Language Learning
• An Introduction to Braille Music
• An Introduction to Braille Labelling
• An Introduction to the Abacus

A text transcript of our panel event for World Braille Day is also available.

These transcripts will be especially useful for DeafBlind individuals, but you might also appreciate them if you’d like to find a particular section of a Masterclass, English isn’t your first language, or simply if you find it easier to learn from text rather than audio. They are currently available in Microsoft Word format, but we’ll be adding more formats in the coming months.

If you have any feedback about these transcripts, we’d be delighted to hear from you. Please email [email protected]. The remaining Masterclasses in our “Braille for Academic and Career Development” series, which took place after Christmas, will be available soon.

And one more thing – the Media page is now completely up-to-date, so if you’re looking for a recording of, or handout from, any of our previous sessions, you can find them there.

We’re delighted that Goalball UK chose to feature us in their latest “Shining a Spotlight on …” article. You can read their interview with Holly, our Head of Courses, here – and thanks very much to Goalball UK for the publicity!

For some time now, we’ve been running our Book Club on a Thursday at 6:00 PM. The idea is that anyone who wants to improve their braille reading can come along, read a page or two of a book to the rest of the group, and get help from other fellow members when they get stuck.

The current book is “Kensuke’s Kingdom” by Michael Morpurgo, available in both grades 1 and 2 on the latest Orbit Reader SD card, and also available in hard copy via the RNIB library.

Numbers have been steadily increasing over time and, as such, we’re now able to divide people up according to reading speed – so quicker readers don’t feel held back, and more leisurely readers can keep reading at a pace that suits them. The two groups are called “Intermediate” and “Advanced” and, thanks to the magic of Breakout Rooms in Zoom, they both take place simultaneously using the same Meeting ID and join link.

When you come for the first time, you’ll be asked which group you’d like to join. If you’re not sure, you can always join one group and switch to the other one the following week if you think it would suit you better.

Everyone is made to feel extremely welcome, and there’s an opportunity for the two groups to meet together at the start and end of each session.

So whether you’ve given us a try before but didn’t get on with the format, or you’ve never heard of the Book Club before but think it sounds like something you’d enjoy, please consider joining us on Thursday at 6:00 PM GMT. Sessions last an hour and can be joined by computer, smartphone, tablet or telephone.

The Zoom Meeting ID is: 893 5322 0947
Join Link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89353220947

We look forward to seeing you!

Some of you may know Alan Thorpe, and his partner Sandra, from Zoom meetings. They are both guide dog users and owners of Eyecan, a small organisation that is here to help visually impaired people.

As part of their work, Eyecan service and repair Perkins Braillers. This normally costs £30. However, for the month of February, they are offering a specially discounted price of £20 to anyone who receives the Brailists newsletter. This offer is for the service of one Perkins per person.

To place your order, please ring Alan on 07961406739 or email [email protected], quoting “The Braillists offer of £20”. You will then be sent a personalised postage label.

Alan and Sandra look forward to hearing from you.

The sustained downtime over Christmas allowed us to update several pages on our website and I thought I would take this opportunity to itemise the changes and, in so doing, draw some pages to your attention that you might not already know about:

• Our Braille Equipment page has been vastly expanded and now includes information about the Perkins Brailler, Braille Labeller, braille frames and styluses and much, much more!
• Many links on our Learn Braille and Braille and Tactile Consumables pages, which broke as a consequence of RNIB updating the design of its online shop, have been fixed, and a few extra resources have been added to both pages.
• Our Braille Tips page now lists many more symbols.
• Our Braille Communities page now lists many more email lists and Facebook groups.
• We now have a new Braille Suppliers page.
• Our Newsletter Archive has been brought up-to-date.
• We have added recipes for Spinach and Sweetcorn Curry and Microwave Spotted Dick – these were meant to be added in the summer as part of our Clever Cooking series.

We hope you enjoy browsing our website and very much look forward to welcoming you to a Braillists event soon.

The UK Association for Accessible Formats (UKAAF) is saddened to learn of the recent death of one of its honorary members, Bill Poole.

Known to many of us, Bill served as Chair of the Braille Authority of the United Kingdom (BAUK) for many years prior to that organisation – with others – helping to form UKAAF. His commitment to the rightful place of blind and partially sighted people in society was tireless, along with his enormous contribution to BAUK, realising only too well the need to integrate braille and technology if braille was to have a secure future.

He was also active in his work on RNIB committees over five decades helping to influence its decision-making. In particular he was part of the National Federation team in the 1970s which fought successfully to increase the proportion of representative blind people on RNIB’s Executive Council.

There will be other ways in which UKAAF will remember Bill as a person and his work in due course.

Roger Firman, 18 January 2021

We have been hearing of the many and varied ways in which the free equipment is being used. One lady is teaching her husband Braille so that he can communicate with her in this medium.

Another knitter is using the Abacus to keep track of the number of rows in a pattern. One learner is storing a phone number on her Abacus until it can be written down. The Abacus we are told, provides just the right toy during lock down.

Many are using the Dymo slots on the hand frame to do Braille labelling. This transforms the ability to find things around the house, and ensure that garlic is used for instance rather than ginger!

Rubik’s cube enthusiasts and young children are having fun with the word forming block.

To join in, or ask any question about using equipment on the Braille for Beginners course, read the item below and email [email protected] or telephone +4420 3893 3392.

In 1990, an idea was born and the Canadian Braille Authority, now Braille Literacy Canada (BLC) was established. Over the past 30 years, BLC has represented the strong voice of the Canadian braille community – braille readers, transcribers, educators, parents of blind children, proofreaders, and all those who share our passion for literacy. BLC has played an integral role in vital research, code development and public education initiatives both within Canada and on the international stage. We have much to celebrate as we reflect on this rich history and look to a vibrant future ahead!

On Saturday 30 January at 8pm in the UK (1pm Eastern, 10am Pacific, 11am Mountain, 12pm Saskatchewan/Manitoba, 2pm Atlantic), Braille Literacy Canada will host a special Presidential Panel in honour of BLC’s 30th anniversary. During this virtual event, we will be joined by a majority of our Past Presidents in a lively open conversation on where braille and Braille Literacy Canada (the Canadian Braille Authority) has been, and our hopes for the 30 years ahead.

This special event is free of charge and open to both BLC members and non-members.

To participate, you should register by writing to [email protected] by 25 January 2021.

Please share this announcement widely!