The Start of a New Era
I have had a hearing loss for as long as I can remember. It was uncorrected until I was in my early 30s. My mother recognised it when I was a child, but failed to convince the medical world. So I just...
View ArticleEarly Days of Retirement
When I first retired, I decided I wanted to learn to fly. I went along to my local flying school, and had a trial lesson. I had to wear headphones, and could just about hear my instructor with the...
View ArticleBritish Sign Language or Sign Supported English?
When Jan has a very weak voice as a result of asthma I find it quite impossible to know what she is saying. We have both been to lip-reading classes for a couple of years, and this certainly helps, but...
View ArticleOne Small Step for a Man
I’ve noticed that since attending a Hearing Link course in Nottingham I don’t carry as much change in my pocket as I used to. I have been told that I am not alone in this; that many hearing impaired...
View ArticleAn Unexpected Holiday
Jan and I both love walking. Point us at a mountain, and we won’t stop until we get to the top. We had to cancel our planned holiday this year at the last minute, so when a member of our walking group...
View ArticleCommanding Hands
I mentioned earlier that Jan and I have decided to use more Sign Supported English when we are talking to each other. We found it surprisingly difficult to find any courses specifically for SSE rather...
View ArticleA Walk in the Dark
I cannot lipread in the dark. Well that’s obvious really, isn’t it? But it really posed a few problems recently.Jan and I are both honing our map reading skills and attending courses on navigating in...
View ArticleWhat is a Chird?
Jan and I were out walking with two of our grandchildren. There was a light breeze that completely swamped my BAHAs (Bone Anchored Hearing Aids), so I was not communicating at all well. My...
View ArticleNow That's Magic
When I was a teenager, one of my hobbies was performing magic. It was a skill that was useful during the early years of fatherhood, and again when the grandchildren started to arrive. It’s a way of...
View ArticleAnother Day, Another Target
A few years ago I enrolled on a philosophy course, and in spite of putting a great deal of effort into ensuring the college understood my difficulties and how they could help, I had to withdraw after...
View ArticleDriving
I really love driving. Winding country roads can be great fun, and there are plenty of those around here, but towns and motorways can be enjoyable too – most of the time. Just before Christmas we were...
View ArticleLearning to Sign
When Jan and I are chatting, it’s often obvious that what I think I heard makes no sense at all. When that happens I repeat back to Jan what I think I heard. She can then see where I’ve gone wrong, and...
View ArticleEating Out
Nine months after Hearing Link’s programme, I am still amazed, and surprised by some of the changes in me.I’ve never enjoyed eating out. Well, that’s not completely true. On a few occasions the company...
View ArticleUpdating My First Aid Skills
I thought it was time to update my First Aid skills. A few things have changed since I got my certificate in 1956! They hadn’t invented CPR back then, and as a St John’s Ambulance Cadet I had to carry...
View ArticleThe Best Laid Schemes of Mice and Men
My background is in technology, so it is perhaps not surprising that I look to technology for answers to problems, where Jan may consider a simpler solution using sealing wax and string.These are some...
View ArticlePraise for the National Theatre
About six years ago Jan and I went to a play at the National Theatre at the South Bank in London. We were provided with infra-red receivers, but I had no real expectation that they would help much. So...
View ArticleLoopy? Me?
I mentioned last time that Jan and I recently went to a concert at a venue strange to us. It was to hear a new piece of music, and there was to be a pre-concert talk given by the composer. It was...
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A Very Special Holiday
A few weeks ago I could be found taking photographs of everything from the moon to butterflies. I had bought a new camera in preparation for what I hoped would be the trip of a lifetime, and wanted to...
View ArticleA Christmas Concert
Just before Christmas Jan persuaded me to go to a concert at Symphony Hall in Birmingham. It wasn’t my cup of tea at all. I don’t sing, dance, or generally enjoy concerts that require a lot of audience...
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