In Touch

Can blindness be funny? This week In Touch discusses recent projects by two visually impaired comedy writers.
One is a new podcast called You've got Braille, co-written by visually impaired comedy writer and TV producer Reece Finnegan. The podcast focuses on a young blind man who is muddling through life's complexities, with the disability adding another tricksy layer. The podcast was produced by production company Hat Trick and RNIB.
Blind comic Aarian Mehrabani will soon be hitting the Edinburgh Fringe with his debut stand-up show 'How's your Head?'. Aarian has worked within comedy writing for a while, producing work with his own disability-led theatre company FlawBored. In the run up to Edinburgh, Aarian has been hosting comedy nights at Salford's Lowry Theatre, where he will also be previewing his debut stand-up show.
Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: Helen Surtees
Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image and he is wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three separate white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word ‘radio’ in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside of a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one is a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.

In Touch discusses braille's future and how it adapts alongside today's variety assistive technologies that can aid with reading, writing and consuming information. We are helped by young braillists from St Vincent's School in Liverpool and three seasoned braille users, Jackie Brown, Ian Macrae and Dave Williams.
Presenter & Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: Helen Surtees
Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image and he is wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three separate white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word ‘radio’ in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside of a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one is a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.

Passenger Assistance is a service rail users can book for help with things like navigating unfamiliar stations and catching connecting trains. When it goes right, it can be a service that boosts independence and travel confidence, but it can often go wrong. So now the Office of Rail and Road, who are the regulator for Britain's railways, are consulting on a new framework that aims to make the process of putting things right for passengers fairer. The regulator's Head of Consumer Jacqui Russell explains what is in their framework and how you can respond to their consultation. More details of how to do respond below:
Consultation webpage: orr.gov.uk/search-consultations/consultation-framework-determining-redress-booked-assistance-not-provided
If you need the consultation documents in large print, audio recording or braille, contact ORR on: 0207 282 2000 (select option 3)
You can also email consultation responses to: [email protected]
The Elizabeth Eagle-Bott Memorial Fund is provided by the RNIB and it helps visually impaired musicians with additional costs, such as access technology, instruments and music tuition. The fund celebrated its 25th anniversary recently with a concert in London and it featured performances from the fund's alumni. Kevin Satizabal Carrascal attended the concert for In Touch and spoke to musicians about the kinds of things the fund has helped them with. RNIB's Daisy Higman also provides information on how you can apply for next year's fund.
Presenter & Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: Helen Surtees
Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image and he is wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three separate white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word ‘radio’ in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside of a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one is a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.

Whether you are a confident cook or complete novice, In Touch provides tips on how to navigate the kitchen with a visual impairment. We have gathered a panel of blind and partially sighted people with an interest in cooking and who have a range of experience, levels of vision and kitchen set ups, to provide their tips, tricks and work-arounds.
Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: Kim Agostino
Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image and he is wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three separate white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word ‘radio’ in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside of a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one is a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.

In Touch explores the barriers faced by visually impaired students when sitting their GCSE and A-Level exams, when obtaining both exam papers and revision materials in braille and large print formats.
Presenter: Peter White
Producer: Beth Hemmings
Production Coordinator: Kim Agostino
Website image description: Peter White sits smiling in the centre of the image, wearing a dark green jumper. Above Peter's head is the BBC logo (three individual white squares house each of the three letters). Bottom centre and overlaying the image are the words "In Touch" and the Radio 4 logo (the word Radio in a bold white font, with the number 4 inside a white circle). The background is a bright mid-blue with two rectangles angled diagonally to the right. Both are behind Peter, one of a darker blue and the other is a lighter blue.