Blind darts player (thanks to the archives at Blind Veterans UK for the image)
A query landed on The Phraser, linked to a piece I wrote seven years ago about an organisation that supports blind veterans.
No, I thought when I read the question. Surely not.
Then I thought again. If I’ve learnt one thing it’s that you should never underestimate an old soldier.
Here’s the query:
Seaview on the Isle of Wight
The sun shines, the island is brand new to us, and the day is ours…perfect for a wander. We decide to search for Priory Bay.
“Our favourite, not far, and you can probably get a cup of tea at the hotel there,” was the advice from a frequent visitor to the island.
So off we set, via the High Street and the purchase of a few supplies.
In the summer of 2012 I visited Blind Veterans UK. Its story fascinated me…this is what I found.
The logo for Blind Veterans UK
Changing names is never easy. St Dunstan’s has had to move very carefully. Nearly a century old, and trusted by the blind, it shed its name in February to become Blind Veterans UK.
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Gelato Village Leicester, England
The trip to Leicester was an impulse – something to do with the heatwave, and meeting Antonio De Vecchi and Daniele Taverna in Turin. All we talked about in Turin was food, and their passion was gelato…so much of a passion that they started Gelato Village in Leicester, England.
I’d never been to Leicester. Now I had two reasons to go.
The cold breath of Storm Emma reaches Cornwall
Should we go? Shouldn’t we go? Mad to go! Mad not to go! Outside the window the snow drifts … ominous and unsettled.
“If we can get out of here the middle looks quiet.”
“No storm here yet,” they assure us in St Ives.
Gargoyle on Gloucester Cathedral, England
Gloucester is a city with heart and a sense of self. It knows its bones, and lays them out with pride.
Sidmouth, Devon, England
Happiness … a folk festival set in a patchwork bowl beside the sea.
Early August means FolkWeek when Sidmouth, in Devon, ties bells below her knees, plumps her seafront with craft stalls, and flies a few tunes up her hillsides.
