January is the month to try something new and challenge yourself, with annual events like Dry January, No Spend January and Veganuary. According to Veganuary 9% of British adults have taken part in Veganuary at some point since the campaign was first launched in 2014. Veganuary themselves have estimated that is around 6 million people.
The idea of a “new year, new me” inspired me to try Veganuary for a week. On the whole, I am a dedicated carnivore, so the idea of going vegan for a week was daunting. After getting some reassurance from my aunt I headed out to the shops and brought myself a weeks’ worth of vegan friendly food.
I started off my first day by having a croissant with some ham and applewood smoked cheese. I was surprised by how fluffy and buttery the croissant tasted and pleasantly surprised at the taste of cheese. I was off to a flying start, none of my fears were true and I started to think “I can do this!”. Later on I made myself a chicken and bacon toastie for lunch which had a rubbery texture and a very salty taste but was otherwise extremely bland. For dinner I made sausages, broccoli, pasta with some Philadelphia mixed in, I honestly wouldn’t have been able to tell the sausages were meat free if I didn’t know and the Philadelphia tasted a lot creamier although it was very bland and slightly watery.
I can definitely do this.
But then came lunch time day two… I made myself a cheese and ham toastie with some cheese tortilla crisps. The meal would have been great had it not been for the melted cheese. That cheese that had tasted nice the day before now tasted horrid it was like liquid plastic. I thought I would try and improve my day by having a kit kat. Unfortunately the kit kat had a very grainy taste and dinner wasn’t an improvement either, with the fish tasting sour.
Maybe I can’t do this.
However, day three was a slight improvement with the pizza having a creamy texture but again not having any flavour even from the onions or peppers. Day four was similar with the garlic kievs have a strong smell of garlic but strangely not tasting like it. Day five however did bring a bit of flavour back into my pallet with the burgers have a peppery taste and rubbery texture.
No, I can do this.
Day 6 was some dinosaur nuggets which had a rubbery texture and were very dry with no real flavour. Day 7 was the day I used up what I hadn’t eaten involving cracker and Philadelphia, crisps, croissants and biscuits. All of which had a very bland taste, dry texture and occasionally a powdering texture.
I actually did it!
I can definitely see the appeal of going vegan, with the diet resulting in 75% less climate-heating emissions and pollution. I very much enjoyed having meat and flavour back in my meals.
Harmony of the Seas is a member of Royal Caribbean’s Oasis class of ship. Measuring 1,181ft 1in overall and with a gross tonnage of 226,963 this ship can accommodate 6,296 passengers in total with 2,300 crew members. Aside from the size there are 3 key features that distinguish Oasis class from other classes which are: the Central Park area on deck 8 forward, Boardwalk area on deck 6 aft and the 8 different neighbourhoods the ship has.
Harmony of the Seas docked in Saint Kitts
Royal Caribbean is a US based cruise line which was part of the reason we decided to go on holiday to Orlando the week before. As the cruise sailed from Miami we got a private transfer down to Miami on Friday 18th August and stayed at the InterContinental overnight.
Saturday 19th August dawned and we prepared to embark on our cruise. When we got to the cruise terminal me and my sister were surprised that we would be staying in one of the Aqua Suites, As we were in one of the Aqua Suites it meant that we got assigned a ‘Royal Genie’ as well as earlier access to the ship and our cabin. For me personally this really helped as the early access was only for Suite guests so the only real people around were crew members; it also helped as the Royal Genie takes you to your Suite. As a blind person this helped me to memorise the way to the cabin in a less stressful and quieter environment.
We entered the ship in the promenade area which is home to many of the bars such as Bolero’s, On Air and Boot and bonnet there are also some food options on this deck including Café Promenade and the infamous Sorrento’s Pizza.
As an Oasis class ship Harmony of the Seas had a plethora of activities for guests to engage with. Granted a lot of these activities are universal across the oasis fleet but that didn’t make them any less enjoyable.
There are two main places to look for activities on an Oasis class ship the first is the Lido deck and up which would be decks 15 and 16 and potentially deck 14 if you were interested in the kids clubs. The other place to look would be the entertainment place which is on decks 4, 5 and 6.
Starting off at the entertainment place on decks 4, 5 and 6. on deck 4 there is an ice skating rink, art gallery, casino and of course the royale theatre. On this cruise their where two shows on at the theatre; at the start of the cruise Grease was on and then towards the end Columbus the musical was on. At the ice skating rink there were also to shows; at the start of the cruise there was a show called journey through time and towards the end of the cruise it was the ISkate ice showcase where the skaters performed to there favourite songs. The ice skating rink was also open at certain times for guests to use. There was also a silent disco and comedy nights which were based in the Attic also located on deck 4.
As I stated earlier Deck 5 (the promenade) is where a few of the bars were; however, deck 5 is also host to lots of different activities all the way from quizzes to games shows, karaoke to dance classes. Deck 5 also hosts the parties on board such as the welcome aboard party and balloon drop or the 70s disco party.
Deck 6 is where the Boardwalk is located at the aft of the ship, with a carousel, rock climbing walls, netted climbing for children and the aqua-theatre. This is also where the Ultimate Abyss slide ends which can make deck 6 a busy place especially with the shops, hot dog house and Johnny Rockets.
Going up 9 Decks we reach Deck 16 (there is no deck 13 as it is seen as unlucky). Deck 16 is where the Ultimate Abyss slide starts; it is also where the zipline and flowriders are located. The zip line goes diagonally across the boardwalk and is quite fun but can also be quite busy. The Flowriders produce stationary waves where guests can boogie board, body board or surf.
Deck 15 is where the pools, waterslides, minigolf, sports court, teen area and video arcade are located. there are 3 pools for guests to use and a splashpad known as splashaway bay which babies and children can use. Access to the waterslides can be gained on deck 15; there are 3 waterslides known as the perfect storm these slides are called Cyclone, Typhoon and Supercell. The minigolf is located at the aft of the ship and has 9 holes and a variety of obstacles to get through. The sports court can host anything from Volleyball to football and anything in between. The living room is the designated teen area where teenagers can go and do activities designed for them or play things like video games; the main video arcade is around the corner from the teens club and holds all kinds of different games.
Deck 14 is home to the other kids clubs from the nursery all the way up to pre-teen. Deck 14, 15 and 16 all have the adult only solarium at the front of the ship.
I mentioned earlier about the shows that where put on but there was also bands and soloists playing at different points throughout the ship. There were also a lot of different dinning options which I look at more in depth in my Suite blog post.
Overall I really like Harmony of the Seas and whilst she isn’t the biggest cruise ship she is still big enough to host everyone comfortable; it didn’t feel as if you were being squashed in even on sea days when everyone was in the same places it still felt comfortable even if there wasn’t as many seats.
I have lived with Aniridia since birth; and no matter how many ‘specialised’ doctors you see or how many other people with visual impairments you meet, you still feel isolated, different, and misunderstood. Now I don’t speak for everyone when I say that this is the exact reason Aniridia Network is important.
So, when I received an email invite to an in-person conference on the 2nd of September in Birmingham; I jumped at the chance to attend.
When I was booking my place, I noticed that it started early in the morning, so I decided to book to stay at a Premier Inn from Friday 1st to Sunday 3rd September, allowing me to make the most of this opportunity. Something I was also grateful for when train companies announced a strike on the 2nd.
There was a mixture of emotions leading up to the conference, excitement, fear, apprehension. I was excited to be able to engage with other people similar to me but at the same time I was scared of meeting these people because what if they didn’t accept me? What if I came away regretting going? All sorts of what ifs and doubts plagued me. Looking back all of the fear and worrying was unnecessary but hindsight is a wonderful thing.
Remember how I said I booked to go up the day before because it would be easier and there was a train strike on the 2nd? Well, that train strike was extended to cover the 1st and 2nd. Which wasn’t great especially as at the time I happened to be over in America. This added to the stress of the event slightly but thankfully I still managed to make it up to Birmingham with the help of family.
The amount of information provided by the Network to help people was amazing from attaching an agenda of the day all the way to giving instruction on how to get to the venue in a variety of ways from walking all the way to bus and tram information. I have never been to an event where that much thought and detail was giving to help attendees. This helped ease my fear slightly and made me feel safer knowing that at any time I could check and re check the information as much as I liked without bothering anybody.
Finally, the day arrived, ironically, I think I was more nervous in the lead up than I was on the actual day. I arrived at the Library of Birmingham at about 9:25am and found a seat at a table. Now admittedly at the start of the day I didn’t really talk to people because I was still a bit scared but that soon changed.
We started out the day with a talk from Helen Campbell who is a MSC genetic engineering counselling student at Cardiff university. Helen was looking at the experience of people with sporadic and familial Aniridia and those experiencing further sight loss and the psychosocial impact this has. I found this talk particularly interesting as it is something I myself have experienced and gave me hope for the future and how Aniridia and sight loss will be viewed and treated.
The next speaker was Emily Nash who was talking about the improvements that needed to be made to public transport. This again was a talk that really connected with as someone who travels regularly and has often been let down by the current system that is in place.
There were also talks from Vivienne Kit and Dulce de Lima Cunha from Moorfields Eye Hospital who were talking about research into Aniridia, Bernie and Abbie Reddington who were talking about Auditory processing disorder.
This was followed by lunch which got a bit chaotic (though it wasn’t anyones fault) because although we were told what was available it was a buffet lunch which I personally struggle with (mostly due to the amount of people trying to get food at once). Even when I know what is available I still wasn’t sure where what I wanted was. During this break I spoke to other people who were attending on a variety of things; from just getting to know them to talking about hospital experiences and what needs to be changed.
Emily Sterling also from Cardiff university talked about knowing that you’re not alone and the use of the internet in Aniridia patients. I found this talk interesting; finding out about the different themes found when looking at this such as transformational and empowerment. Many of the quotes given about this topic were also very relatable; this one quote in particular resonated with me, “in my teen years it was hard to accept my visual impairment”. Considering this talk was about knowing you’re not alone I would say it was very successful; even hearing the research and quotes made me feel less alone.
Following this we had talks from trustees and patrons as well as Permjit Bhachu from Focus Birmingham.
The conference was then ended, and many people joined the social at the Rep bar where drinks and conversation flowed before some of us went for dinner at the Novetel Gourmet Bar. Again, here food, drink and conversation continued.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my time at conference and as soon as I got talking to people all of my fear and apprehension disappeared. I would definitely recommend attending a conference to others; not only can you engage with research you get to know other people and everything you have ever felt isolated, different, misunderstood, all seems to fade away just for a while.
At the end i also managed to pick up a few books and leaflets to try and help me explain Aniridia and how it affects me to those around me.
I personally will definitely be attending more events that are put on by Aniridia network, whether that be a meet up or a conference.
If you are considering attending an Aniridia network event I would recommend attending even if you only go for a short time. The feeling of being around other people with Aniridias one that cannot be replicated easily.
When we arrived at Miami Cruise Terminal me and my sister had no idea what was about to happen. We had no idea that we were about to embark on a cruise where we were staying in an AquaTheater Suite, which is part of Royal Caribbeans Star Class.
Depending on what class you are in you get certain amenities. In Star class you are entitled to complimentary gratuities, complimentary speciality dinning, complimentary minibar and laundry/pressing services, complimentary beverage and refreshment packages. You are also entitled to some of the best seats in select entertainment venues, VOOM Wifi, priority entrance to onboard activities, suite lounge and sun deck and of course you have access to your own Royal Gene!
We were in cabin 9330 which was on the starboard side of the ship in the aft. As we were in an AquaTheater Suite it meant we were able to see/watch the AquaShow whilst onboard. Our Royal Gene was called Wendy and she was absolutely amazing throughout our cruise from the little things like making sure the cabin had enough snacks all the way to organising behind the scenes tours of the bridge, galley and even organising a special behind the scenes tour of the theatre for my sister who loves musical theatre.
When we first arrived there were balloons on the door and as we entered there was a happy birthday banner and cake for my dad and mum (me and my sister also got a cake but later on in the cruise). As we had priority boarding it allowed us to unpack and get to lunch before anyone else was allowed in the cabins which made the whole boarding experience stress free and a lot quieter.
As I mentioned earlier Star Class guests have complimentary access to speciality dinning, and we definitely took advantage of this. We didn’t go to every single speciality restaurant onboard as we didn’t really like some cuisines like izumi which is a sushi restaurant. We did visit: Johnny Rockets, Coastal kitchen, Chops grill, Jamie’s Italian, 150 central park and we accessed room service/Starbucks as this was also complimentary. Whilst this may seem like we has similar things every night I can assure you we didn’t and we even tried things we wouldn’t have thought to try had we not been there. Now as someone who was only expecting to go to one speciality dinning for one meal and then spending the rest of the time in the buffet or main dinning room, the concept of going to a speciality restaurant for every meal took some getting used to.
I still can’t decide if I liked Jamie’s Italian or Chops grill better.
Wendy (our Gene) made sure we knew what we were doing each day and when we were doing it, even sending us reminders 15 minutes prior to the event. Like I said Wendy was amazing and she would even take time to come see us at least two times a day to make sure everything was ok. It was more than ok.
With our star class status we could go along to the flowrider session put on for star class guests only and whilst I didn’t take part my dad and sister did. I was quite happy sitting getting gently sprayed with water as even though it was 8am it was already about 30 degrees. We also used to Suite deck a lot more than we did the normal pool deck as it was just a lot quieter and there was more shaded seating which was appreciated.
The priority embarking and disembarking from the ship was also an amazing perk for us especially when we had excursions booked, or when we got to Coco Cay as this meant we were some of the first at the loungers on the beaches.
Now the big question everyone is probably thinking. Is it worth the price?
From my point of view I believe it is worth the price, If you utilise as much of it as you can then it is definitely worth the price. Now we may not have necessarily utilised what we had as much as other people do but we utilised what we needed to. I think for us the biggest positives were the access to the Royal Gene as this helped our holiday run a whole lot smoother: this includes the prioritised seating we got, early access and the behind the scenes tours and all of the opportunities Wendy helped provide us with throughout the cruise. The access to laundry as we had already been on holiday for 9 days prior to embarking on the ship. Of course the speciality dinning really helped us to try things we might not have tried had we been in the buffet we probably would have stuck with what we knew we liked.
I think we probably could of used more of everything involved in the experience but we like to be able to go out and explore and experience things on the cuff rather than having everything in black and white. Whilst our schedule had been planned ahead of time for somethings we were able to adjust the timings to suit us, a brilliant example of this is when we moved our dinner to a later time a couple of hours prior as my sister wanted to go and perform at karaoke.
If you are planning on getting a suite which includes a Royal Gene I have two pieces of advice for you
Be nice to them they are human and they are amazing with everything they do behind the scenes.
Don’t feel as if you can’t change anything. If you don’t like that restaurant or the menu that day as to switch it out and if possible it will happen. If you don’t want to do that show it is completely fine
Overall if you can do a suite experience like this even if it is only once do it. I loved it and as a blind person it made my holiday so much more relaxing and I am sure it would make anyone holiday more relaxing.
I recently went on holiday to Orlando, specifically Universal Orlando. I thought I would give my ranking for all of the rides in the Universal Studios Park..
There are 13 different rides in this park some of which are rollercoasters and some of which are simulators. You can view the full list here.
As a blind person I am going to have different experiences on these rides as I interact with all of these ride differently to how everyone else would.
13 Illuminations villain con minion blast
This is the newest ride in Universal Studios, in fact it opened when I was in Florida on the 11th August, however, for me this ride was very underwhelming. for a new ride the line was short we only waited 30 minutes; this could of been because the ride is a moving walkway meaning the queue is constantly moving but it could also be a lack of interest in this ride. As I said this ride has a moving walkway which moves you through the building where you have to shot things that come up on the walls. Now the shooting aspect could be another reason I personally found this ride underwhelming as I had no idea what to do all I know is there were flashing colours. But I did overhear comments from other guests in the park about how underwhelming this ride was. for me personally this ride is definitely not worth the wait. One aspect of the ride I did like was the queue because it allowed you to interact with some of the replicas of the villains devices, it was also very cool which was a nice break from the heat.
12 Dispicable me minion mayhem
Another minions ride, this one is a lot older but is still a bit underwhelming. It is a nice calm ride to go on but it is very similar to a lot of the rides in this park and I have definitely grown out of these kinds of rides. Again I feel I could be missing crucial parts of this ride due to my sight loss and the fact this ride is a simulation. I can definitely see the appeal of this ride for younger guests or families.
11 fast and furious supercharged
This ride is very much like King King Skull Island. The ride is a party bus which is very jerky and is very loud and for me was very overstimulating with the noise, lights and movements. I really didn’t enjoy this ride and personally I think a lot more could have been done for this ride; they could of had a rollercoaster (which they are planning for Universal Hollywood) which in my opinion would have been a lot better and more exciting.
10 Race through New York starring Jimmy Fallon
This ride is very similar to the Minion Mayhem ride only with a tad more excitement. Again I feel I missed out on some elements of this ride due to it being a very visual ride. Again I loved the consistent theming throughout the queue and being given a colour which was represented on the NBC logo.
This is essentially the Studios version of Red Fish, Blue Fish, One Fish, Two Fish but it is themed to the Simpsons genre. A fun classic theme park ride, I have witnessed smaller children being scared of the ride due to the aliens and the sound they use for the alien voice. other then that this is a great classic theme park ride.
8 Hogwarts express
You may be thinking Amy you have already reviewed this but as the train goes both ways i am reviewing it again. This ride (like I have said previously) is a great way to stay cool for a few minutes and transfer between parks. I do like the fact the storyline changes depending on which way you are going. But again I missed out on part of the ride due to its visual nature. It would be great if Universal could offer visual impaired guests an audio description headset for the journey.
7 Transformers the ride 3D
This ride is again a visual ride whoever it is more like the Spiderman ride over in Islands of adventure meaning that their were 4D elements during the ride. despite this ride being mostly visual I still enjoyed although I did remember it being more exciting than it actually was. I did struggle with the queue as it was very dark and the lighting in the queue was red or blue which would change unexpectedly; as a blind person I really struggled with the lighting in this queue and even turning a torch on wasn’t helpful..
6 The Simpson
This is another simulation ride which is very visual but also physical as the ride vehicle moves around in conjunction with the visual aspect of the ride. For me personally this was one of the better rides as i could see the bright colours that they used in the film and the audio and physical movements of the car helped me gage what was happening.
This ride is another ride where you have to shoot something in this instance you have to shoot aliens. Now I love this ride its like a mini rollercoaster but a simulator at the same time. and honestly I just randomly point and shoot and it has never failed me so far. Do I get the best scores no. But I did manage to beat my family, don’t ask me how.
4 ET adventure
This is a classic Universal ride its calm yet still entertaining and interactive. For me personally the ride was just pitch black but I was told there were lights throughout the ride. Even though I couldn’t see the visual aspects of the ride I still really liked this ride and would definitely go on it again.
3 Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit
This is probably the most daunting ride universal studios offers, but like we say in my family “if you can do rip ride rockit you can do anything”. I do really enjoy this ride and although I can get stressed going on it due the moving walkway and how quick you have to get in your seat. I also sometimes feel as if I am not secure in the seat but that is mostly in my head. This ride is enjoyable and you do get to chose music (although I didn’t as I was unable to access the touch screen). I would do this ride a few times maybe not all in a row but definitely a few times spread out over the course of a visit.
2 Harry potter and the escape from Gringotts
Escape from Gringotts was definitely in the running for first place, With the high speed rollercoaster section mixed in with 3D and 4D elements this ride was definitely one of the best. I loved the fact that even though I couldn’t see the 3D parts I still knew what was going on because of the audio, sound effects and 4D effects like fire and water. I would go on this ride all day if I could.
1 Revenge of the mummy
This ride most certainly deserves 1st place. Very similar to how the Gringotts ride works the Mummy has high speed rollercoaster sections which also go backwards. If my memory is correct I believe the Mummy has had some more parts added in as there were a few parts that I didn’t remember being in the ride previously. Again this is a ride I could go on continuously and never get bored of.
I recently went on holiday to Orlando, specifically Universal Orlando. I thought I would give my ranking for all of the rides in the Islands of Adventure Park.
There are 18 rides in Islands of Adventure. You can see a full list here.
Some of these are rollercoasters and some are motion simulation rides. Unfortunately I will not be including the Cat in the hat ride, One fish Two fish Red dish Blue fish ride, The High in the Sky Seuss Trolley Train Ride or the Caro-Seuss-el ride as I have not been on this as these rides are recommended for 12 and under.
As a blind person i am going to have different experiences on these rides as I interact with all of these ride differently to everyone else.
14. King Kong Skull Island
This is probably a controversial one. But I personally don’t like the King Kong ride. Personally I wasn’t a fan of the party bus style of ride especially as a lot of the ride is very visual so i didn’t really get the full experience of what was going on around me. I did like the queue aspect of the ride as this was themed very well and all though most of the queue was inside the lighting was pretty good. This was good for me as a blond person as i really struggle with changes in lighting. However this wasn’t enough for me to rank this higher on my list.
13. Flight of the Hippogriff
This is a classic simple rollercoaster. This is a ride mainly aimed at younger guests but is definitely worth a go. I personally now find the seats cramped and and the ride is very jerky which causes a lot of movement which the seat. If this ride wasn’t as jerky as it is I would definitely go on it again.
These are probably only this low because of the amount of other rides available in this park. The Pteranodon flyers are essentially a suspended swing which has the top part shaped like a Pteranodon. This is a classic theme park ride and for a very long time was the only sort of ride my sister would go on.
11. Hogwarts Express
This ride transports you between each park however what makes this ride ‘pop’ is the visual aspect something which I can’t appreciate as much as other people. I do still like this ride as it is a calm way to get between the parks and the sounds that are played along the way are very realistic of what it may be like riding the train either to Hogsmeade or to Kings Cross.
A video of the Hogwarts Express pulling into Hogsmeade station
10. Storm Force Accelatron
This is a classic theme park ride and is essentially a glorified version of the teacups. Now whilst I do enjoy the teacups they do have a habit of making me incredible dizzy something which can impact one of the eye conditions that I have. I personally also feel there are better rides throughout the park.
9.. Dr Doom Fearfall
This is another classic theme park ride; where you as the rider are shot straight up into the air and then back down. For me personally I think this type of ride was one of the first theme park rides I went on and whilst they may not give me the same type of adrenaline kick they once did they still do give me an adrenaline boost. I loved the atmosphere of this ride the sound effects played throughout the line and as you boarded the ride added an extra layer of atmosphere to the whole ride.
This is a 3D simulation ride which takes you on a trip through New York as you try and rescue the Statue of Liberty from the villains. Again this is a very visual ride but even with that in mind I still really enjoyed this ride there was a lot going on audible so that I could still have a vague idea what was going on during the ride. and even during the queue there was audible aspects such as the Bugles editor telling you what the mission was. there was also some aspects of the ride such as water spray or fire being unleashed which I was able to feel. I did also like the lighting in the queue as it wasn’t overly dark or overly bright which for me as a blind person was really great.
7. Jurassic Park River Adventures
This is one of three water rides in Islands of Adventure. This is a tame river ride through the Jurassic period where you encounter numerous different dinosaurs; the ride suddenly gets caught going into the raptor area which is classified as dangerous before you finish going down a steep incline narrowly escaping a TREX. For me this ride wasn’t as exciting as it could be and I seemed to remember it being scarier than it actually was; whether that was because the ride has changed or whether it was because I was a lot younger the last time I went on I couldn’t tell you.
This is the second of the water-rides in Universal Islands of Adventure. This ride is more like a log flume which makes in my books makes it more exciting than Jurassic Park River Adventures the final drop down is definitely steeper and higher up. Whilst this ride gives me less auditory feedback than Jurassic Park River Adventures Dudley Do Right Ripsaw Falls gave me more adrenaline and excitement. I did struggle queuing for this ride as parts of the flooring can be wet and therefore slippery; for me as a blind person this wasn’t the best.
5. Hulk
Now I already know that this ranking is going to be a controversial one. Whilst I do like the Hulk I always come off the ride feeling dizzy and faint; this is the only ride I have ever come off feeling like this. I also struggle with the lighting in the queue for the Hulk not only is it dark but the little lighting that is in the queue also happens to be green which makes the whole queue seem even darker. Now I get that the queue is themed to the ride but for me as a blind person this is probably one of the worst queues for me to go through, As I said earlier I do like the Hulk but it doesn’t seem to like me.
This ride is one of the rides in the parks which has a moving walkway when you board the ride; the staff were lovely on this ride and directed me to the stationary boarding area so that I wouldn’t have to tackle the moving walkway. The queue for this ride does go from light outside to dark inside which was very hard for me to adjust to. For the ride itself it is one of those rides that I personally could go on again and again without getting tired of. Whilst the majority of the ride is visual there are a lot of audio aspects which accompany the visuals and add more to the story. The same can also be shown in the queue for the ride as whilst it is dark there are things like talking portraits. I have loved this ride since I first went on it in 2014.
3. Popeye and Bluto bilges-rat barges
This is the third and final water-ride in Universal Islands of adventure and for me this is the best out of the 3 in this park. This is a rapids ride which sends you over waterfalls and into caves. Now I don’t know if it was just me who felt this but at certain points of this ride such as when you go into the cave I could feel cold air being blown about making you feel as if you were truly stuck in a cave. This ride just felt entirely more immersive.
2. Jurassic Park Velocicoaster
This is one of the newest rides in Universal and it definitely was difficult deciding between the top to rides. But for me this ride felt like a mix between the Hulk and Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit. I liked the fact the queue had clips of recorded footage making it seem as if you were actually going on a mission involving dinosaurs. However the queue was again dark and what little light that was in the queue was coloured blue making it even harder to see. I probably did go on this ride the most but it was a worthwhile ride and for a newish ride it shocked me how short the queue was.
1. Harry Potter Magical Creature Motorbike Adventure
This ride was well worth the 75 minute wait I had to wait in at 8am. Theming for this ride is on point with the ride vehicles replicating Hagrid’s motorbike with the side car and buttons on the motorbikes dashboard, The ride would accelerate and slow down much like Hagrid’s motorbike did and at some points the bike would even go backwards. Along the ride at various points you would encounter different magical creatures from blast ended skrewts all the way to a unicorn. What i liked about these encounters is you would have a commentary from ‘Hagrid’ and some of the encounters would have an aspect you could feel such as fire. I loved all the aspects of this ride the only thing I didn’t really like was the darkness of the queue.
Now as I stated earlier my rates are going to be completely different due to certain circumstances that not everyone will have. I also know that a lot of what I found difficult about each of the rides is what a lot of people find engaging and what actually sets the rides apart. This is in no way an official rating of each of the rides and all of these are my own opinions.
Finally after 3 years of waiting I got to go on my 2020 summer holiday. If this is the first blog post that you are reading you may want to read ‘Is summer here??’. Now this holiday is going to be split into 2 parts; part 1 is going to be about Orlando Florida and the Universal parks, part 2 is going to be about my Caribbean cruise on Harmony of the Seas.
On Thursday 10th August I travelled to Heathrow airport and flew out to Orlando Florida. When we arrived at the airport we found out that for this flight my dad had upgraded us to premium economy as well as booking us into the Club Aspire lounge.
I will admit this did make the whole process of checking in and waiting at the airport less stressful for me and I felt a lot more relaxed going into the flight. We did sign up for assistance at the airport and got fast-tracked through security and we did get priority boarding for the plane but as my mum was with us we needed minimal assistance but what we received from the staff was great. Again this did make the process less stressful which is always a bonus.
We landed at about 8pm and got to the hotel around 9:30pm. We were staying at the Portofino Bay hotel which is a Universal hotel meaning we got early to the parks. For early admission you are allowed in from 8am and there were two rides you could go on at this time which were Hagrid’s Motorbike or Velococoaster. These are the two newest rollercoasters but there was a massive difference in wait time. For example Velococoaster was 15 minutes when the park was open to all guests but Hagrid’s Motorbike was 50 minutes long at 8am when the park is only open to early admission guests.
We decided to spend a couple of hours everyday either in Islands of adventure or Universal Studios. The heat was just too much to be spending full days in the parks; so we opted to spend a couple of hours and then head back to our hotel for a few hours before adventuring back out to City Walk for food.
I loved a lot of this holiday but the thing that both shocked and amazed me was the amount of knowledge and acceptance that the staff at universal seemed to have for visual impairments, well disabilities in general. The fact that I could walk up to a ride with my white cane and get help with the whole ride process made me feel included like I was everyone else. Yes at a certain point in the ride queue I would be asked if I wanted to use the lift to get to the ride station and at that point I would go a different way to everyone else. But on the whole I felt so much more included.
The kind of help I was offered honestly depended on the ride for some rides I would have the moving walkway slowed down, for others I would be able to have my cane one the ride but most I had to give it to a ride attendant. For a majority of the rides I would go to a different loading area whether that just be the opposite side to the normal loading area or a custom built one like they had on forbidden journey.
This amount of accessibility and thoughtfulness really did make my holiday that much better as it allowed me to be like anyone else who was visiting the parks.
There were some days when we didn’t visit the parks but on these days we still went out either to Universals waterpark Volcano Bay, walking down International drive, visiting SeaWorld or even Hotel hopping to different Universal owned hotels.
I enjoyed everything in the first half of my delayed holiday and there was even more to come.
If you want to know what I thought of each ride at Universal Orlando go the Islands of Adventure Ride Ranking or Universal Studios Ride Ranking.
Recently I visited Colchester Castle; as someone who is interested in history this is probably one of the best places to go to experience history. Admittedly as someone who lives in Essex I have probably failed massively as I have never actually been to Colchester castle before meaning this was an entirely new experience for me.
Before I visit anywhere I tend to check what the accessibility is like. On the website Colchester castle seems to be one of the best places for accessibility in general from having subtitles on videos and hearing loops for those with hearing impairments to having quieter times and ear defenders available for those with sensory issues such as autism.
A video of me navigating the Colchester Castle Website using my screen reader
For me personally, I was interested in what accommodations were in place for visually impaired guests. The fact my screen reader worked with the website was my first green flag. According to the website their were audio described tours and object handling sessions which would be available on the day, braille on many exhibits and interactive tablets with some accessibility.
Now if you have read my article about the London Mithraeum you will know that similar accessibility was laid on their website but wasn’t necessarily available at the Mithraeum. The case was very similar at Colchester Castle.
When i arrived at the Castle I asked the staff on the front desk about audio described tours I was meet with silence. When i stated that the website said you could get an audio described tour by asking on arrival the staff responded by checking the website and then telling me (in a very rude tone i might add) that they didn’t do audio described tours and that if i wanted one I should have booked
Turning up and receiving assistance is something disabled people should have; the fact the website clearly stated that you were allowed to turn up and ask without booking gives a disabled person hope that this place is more accepting when in actual fact they aren’t.
Following on from this is was also told that the audio described handheld devices were unavailable because the museum had changed its layout. If your changing the layout of the museum and know you have handheld audio devices then you should update them either after you change the layout or as you change the layout. By not updating them it alienates disabled people further.
I am unable to tell you what accessibility the interactive tablets have as I am unable to use devices without a screen reader and the interactive tablets only seem to support magnification. However from the website description of the tablets having “some audio clips” seems to suggest they don’t even have magnification. I am in no position to say if this hypothesis is correct.
Moving on to the museum itself I found that there was a significant lack of braille compared to what was advertised on the website. Their only seemed to be braille on the replicas displayed. Meaning I was unable to truly interact with the museum and couldn’t actually follow the timeline laid out.
Whilst my nan tried to describe the items she doesn’t know everything about the items and at times struggled to find the item on display. When it came the the replicas the descriptions given were shockingly unclear say the the statue is in “bright colours” means absolutely nothing to me as a blind person, are they in red? Blue? Green? Pink? Give more more than just “bright colours” as the description.
The other problem I found with the braille was that it was either blocked by the exhibit, too low down, rubbed of and even blocked by sellotape in some cases.
I also found that the braille on the exhibit with different pots (which is shown in the picture above) that the braille on the plaques was somewhat misleading. In my mind if I am reading something I think it is what is directly in front of me. for this exhibit the plaque was talking about the replica to the right of the plaque however there was nothing to tell me as a blind person that I needed to feel to my right I had to be told by my nan.
This highlights that the braille needs updating and that the Castle needs to think about where they place the braille. For example the braille that was near to the floor was completely inaccessible to me due to the fact I have other disabilities which make it hard for me to bend that far down.
They also need to update the information on audio description tours and their handheld guides because not all Visually Impaired people can read braille.
As we were going round my nan told me that by the side of each exhibit case there were some information cards which got me thinking that really all the Castle would need Is a descriptive braille version of these cards which could be placed at each exhibit much like the print versions. This would mean I would be able to follow the timeline of the museum independently.
She also pointed out that there was a large print book in the gladiator exhibit. However she then pointed out that the print wasn’t that large in comparison to what a visually impaired person might need to be able to use these books.
The other thing I found was that the tactile maps were at the very end of the exhibit which made them useless to me as I had already been round the floor. It would have been a lot more useful if they were at the start so I would know where everything was.
So what is my opinion on the accessibility at Colchester Castle?
Personally I felt that Colchester Castle wasn’t as accessible as it portrays itself. I am saying this from the perspective of a blind person but there was a significant lack of access for someone who is blind. Even with the lifts you had to stand in the middle or it wouldn’t move this is something you might mot necessarily be able to navigate as a wheelchair user and is something I struggled gaging if I was in the middle or not. I think that there does need to be some thought put into how braille is placed and improving the braille throughout the museum. It also goes without saying that the audio devices need to be updated.
I do think this is a good trip out especially if you like history; but I did find myself become disengaged with the museum due to the lack of access.
What would I suggest to help the Museum?
1. Either create a braille version of the information cards or have a booklet that is available at the front desk.
2. Adding more description into the descriptions “bright colour” means nothing to me as a blind person; however, “the man is wearing a bright yellow cloth” or even “bright yellow like the sun” means a lot more to me
3 have your tactile maps in a open place at the beginning of the floor not at the end of the exhibit because then it is of no use to me
4 when you update your museum update your audio guides and/or make it that you can provide audio tour if your audio guides don’t work. it is also worth saying audio tours should NOT be reliant on staffing you should be able to conduct them no matter who you are.
5 when doing large print books it is good to have multiple sizes, every visual impaired person is different meaning what size they can read will differ this could be as low as 18 or as high as 48. Try and get a range of large print sizes.
Obviously I can’t speak for every disability but i would be intrigued to see if it was a difference experience for someone who is deaf or has a wheelchair.
A couple of months back I wrote an article, titled is summer here, about whether my 2020 summer holiday was finally here (3 years later). Well it is now officially summer; meaning it is now time to start preparing for my (delayed) holiday.
Going on holiday tends to mean one thing… shopping for holiday clothes/essentials. Now I am not the biggest fan of clothes shopping or shopping in general. As somebody who is blind but also isn’t fully comfortable in the way they look this task is made some what harder. The main point of shopping for clothes is to see how they look on you and how they fit. Shopping can cause me a lot of anxiety and stress especially as shops tend to be crowded, overly-loud and bright.
Thankfully for me I happen to have a ‘fashion guru’ at home in the form of my sister Kim. I honestly do not know how she knows what suits each person and if it matches their skin tome based on colour theory. Apparently if you have green veins you are a warm toned person and will suit red, orange, or yellow-ish colours, if you have purple or blue veins you are a cool toned person and will suit blue, purple or green-ish colours and if you have all three colours of veins (blue, purple, green) you are neutral toned and will suit pretty much any colour. (I have fact checked what I just wrote with the guru herself so it is correct)
Although the shopping trip did make me exhausted, my sister did somehow get me through it in one trip eliminating any need for any more outings than necessary.
A few weeks have gone by since the dreading shopping day and it is now time to start packing ready for this 3 week holiday. My empty suitcase soon became full of clothes; one side of the suitcase holds clothes for Florida and the other holds clothes for the cruise
I have had this suitcase since my first trip to Florida back in 2014, I originally chose it because it was red and looked “cool”. But now I like this case so much because it is so tactile and I can feel the design on it and know it is mine. It also happens to be a bright red which is one of the colours I can see best.
Now the only thing left to pack is my carry on bag. Here is a list of all the things I take in my carry on for a long flight.
IPad
Charges for things like my phone, IPad ect
Headphones
Sunglasses
Any medication I may need that day
Light weight hoodie (in case it gets cold)
Snack food (in case I don’t like the food on the plane)
June 21st marked the second annual united in diversity event held by the Essex multi-schools council.This years event was held in Braxted Park an amazing venue with wide open fields and marquees; each part of the venue held different stalls which promoted different organisations which all aimed to help disability.
An empty marquee where ambassadors of the Multi-School council will hive speeches and different stalls will be held
Whilst at the event I had the opportunity to talk to Mufti-School council leader Kierran Pearce about the Multi-School council, united in diversity event and any plans there was for the future.
“The Multi-School council is all about promoting positive perceptions of difference and making sure we listen to young people. It’s about doing things that young people want us to do which challenges those perceptions. “
Kierran Pearce Multi-School council leader.
The Multi-Schools council was set up in 2012 and came about as Kierran was running a school council at a special needs school and a girl said “it was great to do it in school but one day she would have to leave and other children and adults didn’t understand difference”. This brought up a discussion about how this could be done on a wider scale and they decided that a Multi-School council needed to be formed which would bring different schools together and listen to children in different schools. Ever since it has grown and grown with the local authorities now funding the group and being part of the Essex youth service.
The Multi-School council hosts events throughout the year such as the special school games which invites all the special schools from across Essex and celebrates their ability in sports. They also hold ambassador meetings where young people come together and get involved in different services. A bug example of this was Kim Woodward who designed the logo for a new pathway in North-Essex for children to get the right support at the right time.
“Our work is decided by young people and then we go make it happen.”
Kierran Pearce Multi-School council leader
The Multi-School council has what are known as ‘ambassadors’. Ambassadors get involved in what they want when they want. They are all within what are known as ‘working groups’ which are based on what young people are interested in. These groups include things like public speaking, visual impairment, ADHD and Autism. The children in these groups then come up with ideas which the council makes happen. Some of these ideas include social media videos, midnight walks, climbing a mountain but it is all very dependent on what the children want to do.
The aim of the United in Diversity event, which was the idea of young people, is that it brings together children from different schools. There were pupils from infant school to secondary schools to special schools and a pupil referral unit. It is important to allow pupils from any background to get involved in the event. To create change in society we need to start woth young people so when they get older they understand those people who may be Hearing impaired or those that have autism.
“If they can understand it when they are younger, we hope that as adults there will be more awareness and more inclusion. And then the world can change”
Kierran Pearce Multi-School council leader
Kierran along with the rest of the council are hoping that coming to the United In Diversity event will help young people to be more accepting of each other and help schools become more inclusive.
You can listen to the full interview below.
There were loads of different stalls at the event from a therapy dogs to wildlife to music and games.
As is expected at a disability event their was an SEND (special educational needs department) stall. This stall aimed to help schools and young children learn how they can have their voices heard and promoted participation as well as events like united in diversity which children created themselves.
A picture of green grass with blue cones on and a blue pop ip tunnel which are part of the dog obstacle course
By far i think the most popular stall was held by the therapy dogs. Who not only gave children (and adults) a place to calm down and collect their thoughts but also gave them exercise as they ran the dog through the obstacle course.
One of the other popular stalls was the wildlife art stand. They are really hoping young people will take away how inclusive they are and get involved with them.
One of the other stalls at the event was Clearsteps. Clearsteps promotes a healthy toilet campaign called step ip to the challenge. Which hopefully will inform schools and pupils of what the correct position is yo take a poo and what the different poos are.
The games stand featuring connect four and jenga The music stand with loads of different instruments, including ukuleles, violins, cello, saxophone, trumpet, and tromboneUnited in diversity T-shirt, making standAutism stand where you could make your own rainbow with pom-poms
There were also 4 different speeches at the event 2 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. The speeches covered things such as how you could be more accepting of disability, all the way to how disability should be viewed.
Young girl making a speech to all the schools that attended the event
This event was thoroughly enjoyable, and hopefully a lot of schools get a lot of knowledge or ideas on how they can support their pupils further. When I was younger, I didn’t have anything like this, and I feel having something like this would’ve made all the difference.
The AWord 