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Published: Sept. 15, 2018, 11:01 a.m.

Show Summary:

(Full Transcript Below)

Blind Abilities presents this chat with Jo Fishwick, as Jeff Thompson caught up with her in Teignmouth, england. Joe is the Chairperson of VI Talk, a Charitable, Incorporated Organization (CIO). VI Talk is aimed at people with a visual impairment, anyone who knows someone with a visual impairment, or someone who has a connection with an organization or group that offers services or support to visually impaired people. VI Talk is on Facebook, with seven individual groups for your choosing and on twittersharing ideas, information and support.

Jo shares her story of growing up in the UK with a visual impairment, her schooling, her journey into volunteerism and employment, her work at Cliffden Hotel in Teignmouth, and her challenges as a VI parent. Join Jeff Thompson as he chats with Jo, an old and dear friend, as only Blind Abilities can present.

Thank you CheeChau for your beautiful music.

You can follow CheeChau on Twitter.

Thanks for Listening!

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Full Transcript:

Meet Jo Fishwick: Charitable Pioneer, Assistive Technology Coordinator, Wife and Mother

Pete Lane:          

Welcome to Blind Abilities. This is Pete Lane. We'd like to introduce you to our guest, Jo Fishwick. Jo is visually impaired an assisted technology instructor, a wife, and a mother. Jo is also the chairperson of VI Talk, an ongoing charitable organization who's goal is to equip blind and visually impaired folks in the UK to not only manage their blindness, but to thrive.

Speaker 2:

Welcome to VI Talk. Sharing ideas, information, and support.

Jo Fishwick:
We started just as a Facebook group, as a voluntary group in January 2014. Then we got an Audioboom channel in March 2014. We started doing link days, which basically is an opportunity for blind or partially sighted people, or anybody who works in that field to get together. I had to transition from using print to braille and I was so glad I was prepared for that. Although it was still difficult, you know, it was great. So I run a braille support group on Facebook for anybody who's learning braille, or just wants a bit of extra help, drop me a message on Facebook, and I'll approve your request to join. The same with the VI Talk groups. We've got seven of those now. A glutton for punishment, us.

Pete Lane:
Jo is also a good friend of our own Jeff Thompson, who had a chance to catch up with Jo while he was visiting the UK.

Jeff Thompson:
Indian summer?

Jo Fishwick:
Yeah, it's lovely isn't it?

Jeff Thompson:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Glad I'm here right now.

Jo Fishwick:
Yeah, you couldn't have picked better.

Pete Lane:
We're at the Clifton Hotel, which is in teignmouth.

Jo Fishwick:
Six or seven acres now, yeah. It was owned by Guide Dogs back in the day. Well, owned by Guide Dogs, but run by the RNIB.

Pete Lane:
Sharing her story.

Jo Fishwick:
It is lovely. I feel very lucky to live here. Been here for six and a half years now.

Pete Lane:
And her advice.

Jo Fishwick:
You've got to be patient with yourself. Don't expect everything to happen in a day. It is a grieving process. Losing your sight, it's a form of grief. Because you're losing something. It's very precious to you.

Pete Lane:
Now, let's join Jeff Thompson, and our guest, Jo Fishwick.

Jeff Thompson:
Welcome to Blind Abilities. I'm Jeff Thompson, and I'm in Teignmouth, England, and I'm sitting here with Jo Fishwick, and she is the ... what title would you call that for the VI Talk?

Jo Fishwick:
Chair of VI Talk, because it's a charity. A charitable incorporated organization, which is just a different form of charity.

Jeff Thompson:
And you got a big event coming up here this month.

Jo Fishwick:
We do. We started doing link days, which basically is an opportunity for blind and partially sighted people, or anybody who works in that field to get together during the day, at an event, and we're going to have speakers. So we've got one at Bradbury Fields, which is a local blind society up in the northwest of England, in Liverpool. So, we've got four speakers coming along. So we've got somebody talking about employment, and they're going to be offering opportunities for people in that area to get some employment, hopefully.

Jo Fishwick:
We've got somebody talking about sports and activities, hopefully motivate people to get involved with that kind of thing. And we got some technology, and we've got Bradbury Fields themselves talking about their services.

Jeff Thompson:
A big day?

Jo Fishwick:
Yeah, it's good. Then we've got another one in London in November. Similar kind of theme. Just a chance for people to get together, but with some social time as well. Because the feedback we get is people want to learn from each other. It's that kind of thing, isn't it? When somebody's done something and they pass that on. Someone thinks, "Well, if they can do it, maybe I could have a go?"

Jeff Thompson:
Oh yeah, experience is the best teacher.

Jo Fishwick:
Absolutely.

Jeff Thompson:
And you started this back in the Audioboom days?

Jo Fishwick:
I did. We started just as a Facebook group, just a voluntary group in January 2014. Then we got an Audioboom channel, well audio boo as it was then, in March 2014. It was actually you who kind of gave me the heads up on how to proceed with that. So, thank you very much for that. Then two years down the line, more or less, February 17th, 2016 we were granted charity status. The rest is history.

Pete Lane:
Welcome to VI Talk, sharing ideas, information and support.

Jo Fishwick:
Hi everyone, it's Jo, and I have with me Dawn.

Dawn:               

Hi.

Jo Fishwick:
It's a pleasure to introduce the first time on VI Talk, Ben, who I met at Sight Village, and he has a really interesting project to talk about. Hi Ben.

Ben:                

Hello. Hi, thanks for having me.

Jeff Thompson:
Now Jo, a long time ago we talked about braille, and you gave this great talk about braille. Braille is very important to you.

Jo Fishwick:
It is, yeah. Very important. I learned braille when I was 12, and thank God for that, because I lost ... well, I kind of knew I was probably going to lose my sight, but nobody knew exactly when. They insisted I learned braille at 12, and I got a detached retina at 14. Smack bang in the middle of my O levels in CSE's for those who remember those days in Britain. So I had to transition from using print to braille, and I was so glad I was prepared for that. Although it was still difficult, it was great.

Jo Fishwick:
So I run a braille support group on Facebook. For anybody who's learning braille, or just wants a bit of extra help. Maybe they're changing from what we call standard English Braille, to UEB, which means that everybody's kind of together in braille, I guess. I love it, I love having notes in front of me. If I'm doing meetings, committee meetings for VI Talk, I just like to have notes in front of me, and braille just allows me to do that.

Jeff Thompson:
How can they find that Facebook page?

Jo Fishwick:
If you search braille support group, you'll find it. There's a couple of questions to ask you why you want to join, and if you're visually impaired, or work in the field of visual impairment. And just answer those questions. Or drop me a message on Facebook, and I'll approve your request to join.

Jo Fishwick:
The same with the VI Talk groups. We've got seven of those now. Glutton for punishment, us. So, we've got our main group. We've got the resources group, we've got sports travel, book club. Just recently we've opened a music one, and also arts and crafts. So people can share their idea of what they do for hobbies and things in the arts and crafts field. And hopefully encourage other people to have a go.

Jo Fishwick:
So there's people that already post about knitting, crocheting, sewing, all sorts of things.

Jeff Thompson:
You guys have got it all locked up?

Jo Fishwick:
Yeah, just if somebody comes to us and says, "What about this?" We'll think about it and we'll go. Yeah, we did get asked to open a dating group, but we kind of said no, it's a bit too complicated, the whole dating scene. Yeah, we thought the whole kind of safeguarding thing and you know.

Jeff Thompson:
It's where they can find people by other interests like knitting. Hey, go for it, you know?

Jo Fishwick:
Yeah, definitely. Sport, you know, get on the sport group or travel group. With travel it doesn't have to be that you've gone on some accessible travel or anything, it could be that you've gone mainstream, but you found it particularly useful, and helpful and that maybe staff at the hotel or something, or in a resort have been great. Come and tell everybody about it.

Jeff Thompson:
And you have a guide dog sitting next to you.

Jo Fishwick:
I do. I have Bruno. He's a golden retriever. He's a bit hot, it's very hot here today. So, he's a bit warm

Jeff Thompson:
Indian Summer?

Jo Fishwick:
Yes, lovely, isn't it?

Jeff Thompson:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Glad I'm here right now.

Jo Fishwick:
Yeah, you couldn't have picked better.

Jeff Thompson:
We're at the Clifton Hotel, which is in Teignmouth. We're sitting down on the ground and some people are coming by, but we found a bench way down here. What is there, six acres, seven acres?

Jo Fishwick:
Six or seven acres now, yeah. It was owned by Guide Dogs back in the day. Well, owned by Guide Dogs but run by the RNIB. Now it's been bought by Starbud who are a company that holds some Holiday Inns, some [inaudible] hotels, and some Great Western, I think it is. They bought [inaudible] which is up in the late district in the northwest of England, and the Clifton, which is down here in lovely sunny, Devon.

Jeff Thompson:
This is my third time being here, and it's still a great place.

Jo Fishwick:
Yeah, it's lovely, it is lovely. I feel very lucky to live here, been here for six and a half years now.

Jeff Thompson:
What is unique about the Clifton Hotel if you are visually impaired?

Jo Fishwick:
So, the Clifton is, even though it's mainstream now, all the staff are trained in visual awareness. So if you come as blind or partially sighted person and you maybe need guiding around the hotel, you need to be shown the route to your room. They'll show you around the hotel. What they can't do is personal care, obviously that's a bit too much because they don't have the staff here to do that. But they have braille menus. There's braille on all the doors and large print as well. Large print menus. There are guide dog runs here. So your guide dog is catered for.

Jo Fishwick:
They can also order in dog food for you. So if you ring them in advance, rather than traveling on the train with a big bag of dog food, you can order it in from the hotel. They can also supply dog beds, dog bowls, and there's a grooming room here as well. There's even a dog shower. So if your dog's been on the beach, you can take your dog into the dog shower and give it a little wash down.

Jeff Thompson:
Oh, that's sweet, and we're not that far from the beach at all.

Jo Fishwick:
We're not. You can walk through the grounds and there's a gate at the bottom of the gardens, and there's a code for that. You put in the code, and you're probably about no more than 100, 150 meters I'd say. Walk down this pretty safe path, really. Then you're on to the sea front. There's an outdoor café there so you can grab yourself a sandwich or a breakfast or something. Or just sit and have a coffee and listen to the sea.

Jeff Thompson:
That's about five minutes walk?

Jo Fishwick:
Yeah, I'd say so. Yeah, no more than that really.

Jeff Thompson:
And Teignmouth is right on the English Channel?

Jo Fishwick:
Mm-hmm (affirmative), yeah, it's near to Torquay and Exeter. We've just been to Plymouth today, haven't we?

Jeff Thompson:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Jo Fishwick:
So that was nice. So, yeah, there's lots to do here. There's a zoo and there's other places of interest. There's a museum in Teignmouth, just a small museum that's quite interesting. Lots of pubs, and places to eat. Last night for example, there were 10 of us, went out for a meal weren't there, in one of the local pubs.

Jeff Thompson:
We even had some great musicians come in there.

Jo Fishwick:
We did, they were fab. You did a recording, didn't you?

Jeff Thompson:
Oh yeah, they were playing American folk music.

Jo Fishwick:
Yeah, and Lori got up and had a sing, didn't she?

Jeff Thompson:
Mm-hmm (affirmative), Crazy by-

Jo Fishwick:
Patsy Cline.

Jeff Thompson:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Jo Fishwick:
Yeah, yeah, it was really good.

Speaker 7:          

That's my wife from Minnesota.

Speaker 8:          

Thank you, that was the best one of the evening sweetheart. Better than this bloke down here, I'll tell you.

Jeff Thompson:
So, Jo, what was it like for you growing up and going to high school as you transitioned into your career and stuff?

Jo Fishwick:
So, I was born with a sight problem. So, they always knew that I would lose my sight. Although it wasn't kind of explained to me as a young child, because I guess it would be too scary I suppose. So I lost the sight in my right eye when I was about six or seven, although I don't really remember that now. When I got to 11, it was decided that my eyesight was deteriorating badly. So I was at school for partially sighted children. So I had to go to one that could teach me braille, teach me how to use a long cane. So I went to boarding school in Liverpool in the northwest of England, as I said before. Then I went to a residential college in Hereford, in England. Went there for three years, did lots of business studies. Audio typewriting, that kind of thing. Then I really struggled to find work afterwards. So I kind of just kept going and going back to college. Re-learning, getting new skills. I qualified as a complementary therapist. Qualified as a computer programmer, so jack of all trades, master of none.

Jo Fishwick:
That's where I met my husband in 1995, on a computer programming course. I just couldn't find work, just couldn't get a foot in the door really. So started VI Talk because I wanted to help people, but also I guess something to do, really. Then in 2016, there was a job going at the Clifton Hotel for an assistive technology coordinator as part of the RNIB online today project. It was a lottery funded project to help visually impaired people get online, to learn how to use mobile technology, and get started with that or advance further with it.

Jo Fishwick:
The then manager at the hotel said to me, "You should give that a go." I was like, "No, I'll never get it. I just won't get it." She said, "All joking apart, but you can do it with your eyes shut." So I went for it, and got the job. I was like, "Wow." I was in my forties and got my first job, first paid job and still doing that now. I'm contracted until the end of January next year. But I'm going out and about in different areas of Devon now, and Somerset, and Cromwell, so all southwest of England. Teaching other people how to do what I've been doing. So how to teach visually impaired people how to use technology and supporting local blind societies when they do events for blind and partially sighted people. So, helping with iPhones, Android, Alexa, all that kind of good stuff.

Jeff Thompson:
And you probably bring the VI Talk business card?

Jo Fishwick:
Well, you know, sometimes. In the process of braille and some of those at the moment. So you see, braille comes in again, so yeah.

Jeff Thompson:
Could you tell our listeners what it's like, because you're a mom.

Jo Fishwick:
Mm-hmm (affirmative).

Jeff Thompson:
What was it like raising a child as a visually impaired person?

Jo Fishwick:
Oh, wow, gosh. My daughter's 16 now. So she's gone off to college. It was interesting. My husband, Rob, was at home. He wasn't working at the time. So I guess I had help there. So we kind of worked as a team. Because we lived what for me was a struggle. We lived in a quite a rural village, in the northwest of England. And the transport links were pretty rubbish. So to get a daughter to nursery, or to get her to school was now an impossible for me to do. So Rob had to be around, really. I lost my mom before Jody was born, and so that was really a struggle for me. Because I obviously wanted her around for all her advice. So we were kind of a lot on our own. So it was just learning, just as you go.

Jo Fishwick:
I didn't have many VI friends, but then really I kind of left, not deliberately left I guess, but just dropped out of the blind community quite a lot. But I just think you just get on with it. I think you just get on with it. I think you've got to get stuck in. You just can't be afraid of it. You get all those silly questions. You'll be out and someone will find out you've got a child and they'll be like, "Oh, how do you feed a baby when you're blind?" And you'll be like, "Well, you try giving a baby Weetabix." You know, with your eyes shut.

Jo Fishwick:
I think you just have to be prepared. You have to be well equipped, you have extra cloths and water around to clean up mess and you just have to really just be determined I think, and just find work arounds, but you do. I think don't let anybody tell you that you can't be a mom or a dad. A dad as well. I've spoken to VI dads and you get ... on the school playground when you used to do pick up and some of the parents don't want to interact with you because they just don't know how. But it's the same old thing, isn't it? We all experience that at sometime in our lives. Whether we've got children or not. Which can make it a bit tricky because your child gets all the questions. "Oh, your mom's blind is she? What do you do? What can she do? How can she do things for you?" But I think your kids grow up really quickly, and they learn ... I mean, Jody's been able to guide since she was able to walk really. I used to be a hand on her shoulder and we'd go off and do things together.

Jo Fishwick:
Moving down here to Teignmouth has been the making of all of us I think. She's made so many good friends. She's sighted, but down here, and I think partly because of the hotel, everybody just takes it in their stride. Because they've all seen guide dogs and long cane users before. It's like, "Oh, it's just another guide dog. Oh, no, it's just another long cane user." And everyone's just really quite nice about it. There's not as much discrimination I don't think, in this area, luckily.

Jeff Thompson:
They get it.

Jo Fishwick:
They do get it, yeah, they really do. You go into a shop or a bar, or whatever and they're happy to help. And they're happy to carry drinks. I'm not saying that doesn't happen in other places, but I think they're just so used to it here. They just take it in their stride.

Jeff Thompson:
Yeah, like in Minneapolis we have two schools about a mile apart. So there's always about 20 or 30 students milling about, and interacting with society and stuff. So they get acclimated to it, and that really helps.

Jo Fishwick:
Yeah, I think it does. They just happy to go out of their way to just treat you like anybody else really, but to just give you that little helping hand if you need it.

Jeff Thompson:
So, Jo. What advice would you have for someone who is in the shoes you were in when you were younger? Or someone who is starting to have challenges with vision, or reading the printed word and stuff. What would you say to them?

Jo Fishwick:
I'd say give yourself time, it's little steps. I think you've got to be patient with yourself. Don't expect everything to happen in a day, and it is a grieving process. Losing your sight is a form of grief, because you're losing something that's very precious to you. So I think you've got to give yourself time. Don't be afraid to reach out to people to tell them how you're feeling, and to seek that help and support. There is support out there. Sometimes it takes a while to get that support. But tell your family, tell your friends. You may lose some friends along the way. People do, because they just don't know how to behave around you. But you'll also make some other friends along the way. And some probably good friends, and lifelong friends.

Jo Fishwick:
Persevere, but have patience with yourself. Just carry on, don't give up. You'll feel like it sometimes. I have moments when I lost my sight. I can remember being 14 and lying on my mom and dad's bed and telling them that I was not going back to school. I was not doing my O levels. I was jacking it, that was it, life was over, rubbish. My mom and dad were brilliant, and they just encouraged me. I went back and took my exams, and carried on. It is possible, things are possible, don't let people tell you. I mean, obviously there are things you're not going to be.

Jo Fishwick:
You're not going to be an airline pilot. And you might have to even, if you lose your sight later in life, you might have to change career. That's a challenge, and it is difficult. You may not find work, but there's voluntary work and there's a lot of things you can do to help other people as well. There's a lot of organizations, charities out there that you can get involved with.

Jo Fishwick:
I think just give yourself time, and don't be afraid to reach out and ask for help, and tell people what's happening. You'll get there, you will get there.

Jeff Thompson:
So Jo, here's a technical question. Since you're in the technology, iPhone, or Android?

Jo Fishwick:
iPhone for me, iPhone. That's a really tough one. I find Android quite tricky, I'm an apple girl. However, when I go out and do say Living With Sightloss courses that we have over here, I always take Android, Apple, and I also take a Synapptic phone as well. Which is something I don't know if you have in the US, but we have it here. If you've got limited vision, it kind of pairs everything down into one nice, neat menu. It's got really good contrast on it.

Jo Fishwick:
If you want a phone, or a tablet, just to do ... you don't want it singing or dancing, but you want to do things on it, Synapptic is quite good. So I do try and keep an open mind, but for me, it's iPhone all the way, I'm afraid.

Jeff Thompson:
So do you get a keyboard with it? Like a Bluetooth keyboard?

Jo Fishwick:
Yeah, I do. I have two Bluetooth keyboards. I have a full size one, and then I have a folding one, which is a tri fold, so it's almost full size when you unfold it. It's got an aluminum back, so it's quite sturdy if it gets a bit of a knock in your rucksack, or your bag. Yeah, I generally have a Bluetooth keyboard with me, because I'm a touch typist as well. So I can just chatter away on the keyboard.

Jeff Thompson:
Mm-hmm (affirmative). Now when you say touch typing, will you explain that do us?

Jo Fishwick:
Yeah, so touch typing is when you don't look at the keyboard. So I was taught to touch type when I was at primary school, which again, is one of the best things I've ever been taught. You know where all the keys are, so you know what finger does which key on a keyboard, typewriter, or a computer keyboard. So you can get up to really high speeds. It's great. If you've got sight, and maybe you're losing your sight and maybe you know that eventually it's going to go, then I would learn to touch type. Because I think it's a really, really useful skill.

Jeff Thompson:
Well, Jo Fishwick, thank you very much for coming on here, talking about VI Talk, talking about the changes that happened in your life, and all the paths that you traveled to get to where you are today. You've been successful at doing that. I really like what you're doing with your charity, VI Talk, and getting other people connected.

Jo Fishwick:
Thanks Jeff.

Pete Lane:
This concludes Jeff's chat, with Jo Fishwick. Thanks so much Jo, for joining us on Blind Abilities. Also, special thanks to Chi Choi for his beautiful music. Thanks so much for listening, and have a great day.

Pete Lane:
For more podcasts with the blindness perspective, check us out on the web at www.blindabilities.com. We're on Twitter, we're on Facebook, and be sure to check out our free app, in the apple app store, and the Google Play store.