Interview with VI Talk

I was kindly asked to take part in an interview with VI Talk for their audioBoom channel before Christmas. The interview covered many aspects of my life including my illustrations as the RNIB's Young illustrator of 2014, campaigning work, recent match to my Guide Dog and the training we would be undertaking throughout December, as well as my aspirations for the future.

You can listen to my interview below via the embedded player. I have also provided a transcript underneath.

VI Talk Interview

listen to ‘We speak to Kimberly Burrows, She is currently RNIB's illustrator of the year, ’ on audioBoom

We talk to Kimberley all about the wonderful and inspirational things she does for the RNIB, Henshaws and various other organisations and we wish her luck as she starts
training with her first Guide Dog.

Transcript

VI Talk: We would like to introduce Kimberley Burrows who is currently the RNIB's 'Illustrator of the Year' amongst other things. So, hi Kimberley!

Kimberley: Hello! 

VI Talk: HI Kimberley!

Kimberley: Hi Jo!

VI Talk: Do you want to start off by telling us a little bit about yourself, I know that you have many accomplishments - which we are hopefully going to cover all of them! Can you tell us a little bit about your background? You obviously are visually impaired...

Kimberley: I am, yes. I've been visually impaired all of my life. I was born as a premature baby with Congenital Cataracts but those weren't noticed until I was 4 years old so my optic nerves never developed properly and they had to do what they could with the cloudy vision that I had. So when I did have the Cataracts removed at Great Ormond Street Hospital, in London, I only had 10% vision in one eye and just a little bit of light perception in the other.

Since then, I lost my confidence a bit and it's only recently that I've actually started to achieve things thanks to the help of Henshaws Society for Blind People and also the RNIB. I do various things with both of those - for example, I'm the RNIB's 'Young Illustrator of the Year' for 2014, I have a work placement with Henshaws and I'm also a volunteer and fundraiser with them and with the RNIB I do a lot of campaigning and I'm a Co-Chair of their young person's campaigning network, called Envision. It's an acronym and stands for the English Network of visually Impaired Spokespeople for the Improvement of Obstacles Nationwide! I'm the only person that remembers that as I'm the one that came up with it!

VI Talk: Oh wow!

Kimberley: So I do campaigning as well and I also do a lot of blogging. I run my own blog and also do contributor blog posts for Henshaws, Living Paintings, and the Huffington Post. I think that's a brief overview of everything!

VI Talk: So if we start with being the RNIB's 'Young Illustrator of the Year', how did that come about?

Kimberley: Because I did the campaigning stuff first (in October last year I went to the Houses of Parliament with some of the campaigning team and some of them learned that I was interested in art and illustration) when it came to the time in November that the magazine were looking for their new illustrator and columnist, one of the staff members forwarded that information onto me and I then had 4 or 5 weeks to complete my piece, get that sent off to enter the competition and it wasn't too long, probably 4 or 5 days, that I received a response that I won the 'Young Illustrator of the Year' and would continue to do 6 more pieces throughout the year - so that was brilliant!

VI Talk: That's really exciting!

Kimberley: Definitely! I was so, so happy!

VI Talk: So what does that involve as part of that role?

Kimberley: Every 2 months I was given a different theme to work with. I had 6 pictures to do altogether, for the 12 months, which would be different themes such as; support at the time of sight loss or achievements and goals for the year, and how you've built up your confidence and skills. So I was given a very vague theme and then had to plan which colour palettes I wanted to use, which imagery to use and then I'd sketch some ideas and get the final one drawn. I had a deadline and had to complete before then and when it was e-mailed off I would share the illustration on my blog and on my Twitter.

VI Talk: So that must be quite difficult as a visually impaired person, particularly having very little sight, the concentration and everything must be hard.

Kimberley: Absolutely, yes!

VI Talk: How do you go about doing that; in small stages?

Kimberley: Yeah, thankfully I was given a good deadline where I had about a month and a half to complete each one and it does take me about a month to complete just one piece of A4. So everyday I would just work at it because I can only focus for 15 to 20 minutes at a time so I can only concentrate for a little bit and build it up, as you said, and get it completed and sent off.

I think it's all down to organisation as well; I definitely have to do a lot of organisation of my different equipment and tools. Everything has to be Brailled, like my pencil crayons, paints, watercolours and chalks, so I can know which mediums are which and also which colours are which! I have, in the past, put the wrong colour somewhere and had to try and make it work! I wasn't able to see the colour properly and just had to go with it. So there are surprises with my visual impairment but you've just got to work with it!

VI Talk: You said before that you do a lot of campaigning and you've recently been in Brussels, haven't you? Do you want to tell us more about that?

Kimberley: Sure! Myself and another person from the young person's campaigning network that I'm a part of, Envision, were personally requested to go to this event - myself because of my interest in social media and technology, and the other young lady because she's originally from Spain and is very good with languages. So it was in conjunction with the European Blind Union and they set up a two-day event at European Parliament in Brussels called a High-Speed Bling Date event. It was where MEPs, journalists and researchers are matched to their 'dates', who are blind, and we would then demonstrate some of the difficulties that we face - using interactive objects to show them how hard it is to use LED and touch screens, manufactured goods and services, websites and apps.

VI Talk: Wow, that sounds really interesting!

Kimberley: It was, it was fantastic. I was so glad that I went! It was a really wonderful event and hopefully we did showcase that we really need a strong European Accessibility Act.

VI Talk: Yes, awareness is so important isn't it?

Kimberley: It is, yes!

VI Talk: So, really exciting this bit, you were recently nominated for an award, weren't you?

Kimberley: I was! With Henshaws Society for Blind People.

VI Talk: And you got the award, didn't you?

Kimberley: I did! I'm so happy I just couldn't believe it. I was told that I was nominated for 3 of the awards on the night but then I found out that I wasn't actually the finalist for those awards - but then the big surprise of the evening was that I was a finalist for the main award of the evening, which was the Gillian Lawrence Award, and as soon as they read my name out that I'd won I just burst into tears. I just couldn't believe it! I was so happy and everyone was just so wonderful; I couldn't stop hugging everyone! It was just fantastic to be recognised for everything that I do for Henshaws and all of the achievements and how much I've changed as well. About a year and a half ago there's no way that I would have even been able to do this interview! I was so shy and so reserved and now you can't shut me up!

VI Talk: You also just about to embark on a completely new venture next week. Do you want to tell us about that?

Kimberley: Yes, definitely! So excited! I have just been matched to my Guide Dog, she's tiny, tiny, tiny as I'm tiny myself. She's absolutely gorgeous, she's called Tami and she's a gold Labrador-cross-Retriever. I got the news 2 days before my birthday, and I got to meet her the day before my birthday - so it felt like the best gift ever. We start training next week on December 1st. She's my first Guide Dog and I'm just so excited for this next chapter of my life to start being more independent, going to places on my own, and using public transport. I just cannot wait!

VI Talk: Aww, it's fantastic - so exciting when you get your first dog!

Kimberley: I know!

VI Talk: I've had mine just 4 years and it's a completely new way of life. It opens so many doors. So, will you tell us how you get on in a couple of months?

Kimberley: Absolutely! I don't mind at all. I'm so enthusiastic about Tami and I love her to bits already. I can just tell it's going to be an amazing partnership and she's certainly the dog for me! So I'll definitely keep you posted!

VI Talk: Aww! Definitely do, we'll have to do an update when you've worked with her a little bit and see how it's going on. You can tell everybody what it's like to have a first Guide Dog. There will be people out there who will be umm-ing and ahh-ing as to whether it's the right thing for them.

Kimberley: I'd say definitely go for it! You don't know until you try and it can only do good things for you - so definitely give it a go!

VI Talk: Aww, you sound so excited!

Kimberley: I am really excited!

 VI Talk: You were telling us before we started recording that you also have started working with the survivors of the Holocaust?

Kimberley: Yes, it's for the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and it's the next project that I'm working on in my illustrating career. Obviously i's the end of the year and I'm no longer the RNIB's Illustrator of the Year - they're now running the contest for the new one, so I've already had quite a few offers to expand my career and start doing some other different projects.

One of the e-mails I received was from the Holocaust Memorial Day Trust and I had the opportunity to Sabina Miller who is 92 years old from Poland, who now lives in London and has done since the War ended. It was just an incredible opportunity to speak with someone so inspiring and so positive! We did that meeting so I could then translate her story into an illustration to then be presented and exhibited at an exhibition in London. This will be on the Holocaust Memorial Day on 27th January, so I'm in the process of getting my piece finished now. I believe that Stephen Fry has just joined the campaign while he met with another survivor, so he's really spearheading it and getting a lot of media attention.So it's quite exciting, definitely!

VI Talk: That's brilliant! So, what does the future hold for Kimberley? As if you haven't got enough on your plate! But what are your goals and what do you see for the future for yourself - because you're still very young!

Kimberley: This year has been absolutely crazy but I've loved every minute of it! I've been so busy every day, there's been something different and I love that variation that I've got. So over the next few years, definitely continue with the campaigning with the RNIB, continue with my illustrating because that's my passion, continue writing - whether it's through blogging or writing columns and who knows what opportunities could arise, continue my work placement, volunteering and fundraising for Henshaws; they've done so much for me and I want to give them everything that I have to say thank you, train with Tami and graduate with her, and take over the world with her!

VI Talk: Do you know something, if you said you were going to I think I'd believe you as well! So if people want to follow your take-over of the world, how can they follow your blogs or things you're posting?

Kimberley: On Twitter I'm @Glittered, and if you'd like to follow my blog I do post about once a week  - sometimes more, and I'm gleamed.blogspot.co.uk. Thank you so much for your views, I really appreciate them!

VI Talk: That's brilliant Kim! It's been an absolute pleasure talking to you and you are so inspirational and I'm sure anybody listening, any youngsters, will be so inspired!

Kimberley: Aww, thank you! Thank you very much!

VI Talk: And follow your dreams, I guess! Go for it and we'll watch out for when you take over the world!

Kimberley: Thank you very much, thank you!

I would like to thank Jo and Michael for the lovely interview!

You can visit the VI Talk website, Facebook group, Facebook page, Twitter and AudioBoom to keep up-to-date with the latest discussion, information and support for visually impaired and blind people.

Guide Dog Home Training

 Tami and I have been undergoing home training for the past 3 weeks, in my local area, since returning home from our residential training at The Mercure Hotel, in Bolton.

I already have a foundation route which I built upon for 8 months during my mobility training with a long cane, from August 2013 to April 2014, with a mobility instructor based within the Salford Sensory Team. This route enables me to go from my house to the top of the road where the butchers, hairdressers, and convenience stores are located - with the library, post office, Co-op and Tesco Express further down the main road.

With this in mind, I began by learning newer routes such as to my Grandad's house - which is a good 20 minute walk away - with my Guide Dog Mobility Instructor. It was a route new to me and to Tami so we could work on it together and break it down into chunks. The main bulk of the route was already there from my previous mobility training, so I could guide Tami to start with. Now that I have repeated the route many times, Tami even knows which gate belongs to my Grandad and pokes her nose through to push it open!

My GDMI and I worked on a few more routes including to my Auntie's, the swimming baths, the Pharmacy, the Doctors, and then tackled public transport. There are only two buses that come in and out of Irlam - the 67 and the 100 - with the 67 going to the Manchester town centre and the 100 going to the Trafford Centre. The 67 is the bus I will use often as it stops at the Eccles Interchange where the trams are. This opens up a lot of options to me in terms of routes that I will use regularly; going to Salford Quays, MediaCity UK, Old Trafford, Piccadilly station and various points in Manchester city centre such as St. Peter's Square, Market Street and Piccadilly Gardens.

I then looked at making my own way to Henshaws in Old Trafford; by taking the bus to the Eccles Interchange, boarding any tram (as they all go to Cornbrook) allowing me to then change for the Altrincham tram and waiting for the Old Trafford stop. I can then make my way over to the tactiles, cross the tracks, walk towards Talbot Road and cross the sets of lights. There is a pen in the back of the car park in Henshaws, so I can spend Tami before undertaking my work placement or social groups.

On December 17th I had a Christmas lunch to attend with the ladies of the marketing team at Henshaws, so I wanted to learn the route to Manchester Piccadilly station next so that I could make my way with Tami independently without having to rely on having a lift - as I previously would have done. My GDMI and I worked a full day orientating myself around the station as to where the tram pulls in, where to go to the steps to access the main level of the station, locating where the information help desk is, where the platforms are and where the seating area is. I'm pleased to say that Tami and I did fantastically well and used the bus, tram and train to make our way to Leeds and back for a lovely meal. The staff even offered a bowl of water for Tami, which was a really kind gesture after her busy work!

My training halted in time for Christmas Eve and I used this opportunity to go to the small Tesco Express on my own and get some last-minute bits and bobs for Christmas. I have never been shopping on my own before so it was slightly scary to start with, but Tami was brilliant in finding the main checkout so that I can ask for assistance - and in the 3 times I have been, they have been so helpful in locating my items for me.

I continued training today, on New Year's Eve, to learn the route to my brother's flat located on the Salford Quays waterfront. It's a good 10 minute walk from the tram stop but I now know to cross and walk up the main road with the traffic on my left-hand side and then turn right to the Abito building where he lives with his girlfriend. There are a lot of restaurants nearby, including Chiquito and Matchstick Men, so I can go and visit him with Tami when he's off from work and go out for lunch!

I am so incredibly impressed with what Tami and I have achieved so far and I cannot wait to start the New Year and continue travelling with Tami by my side!

Audio Diaries

As with my residential training, I created audio diaries (and will continue to do so until my training is complete!) on my audioBoom channel documenting the progress in my home training. You can listen to my recordings below:

Guide Dog Residential Training

I have been undergoing Guide Dog training with my dog, Tami, for the past 10 days as part of a residential training course at the Mercure Hotel in Bolton with the Manchester Mobility Team.

During the 10 day course I've learned a variety of new skills when working with Tami, including; using clear commands, kerb work, navigating crossings, stairs and lifts, off-kerb obstacles, traffic training and using public transport.

The residential stay began on the morning of December 1st and, after unpacking and a quick run through of orientation in the hotel, I met with the fellow handlers on the course and we introduced ourselves. The Guide Dog trainers began the day with an introduction to house rules, spending and feeding routines of my dog as well as my own daily routine for the coming days, and then talked through the agreement and signing procedure which I will be completing after qualifying at home. The session was concluded by receiving my needed equipment; a dog lead with velcro hi-vis Guide Dog band, a whistle, two bells, a spare Guide Dog disc (each dog has its own individual ID number on its allocated disc), grooming equipment, flea treatment, a hi-vis Sam Brown belt and reflective stickers for the harness.

After lunch, the Guide Dogs were then brought in to the handlers and I and they were our responsibility from then on! Feeding, including weighing of the food, spending and grooming were all things I had to do independently right from the beginning of the course. I was taught basic obedience commands and also had the chance to walk Tami around the hotel on the short lead to familiarise her with her new surroundings. The rest of the first afternoon and evening were focused around myself and the others on the course bonding with our dogs through affection and play; with both dog and handler getting used to each other.

On the second day, the morning was mainly focused around the basics of using the harness and the trainers used an empty harness as an example, with us handlers giving the correct hand gestures and commands from kerb to kerb. This formed the foundation of my training. I then practiced again, this time with my Guide Dog, to put into practice what I learned so far and to get a clear picture of what it's like to be guided when using the right voice commands, hand gestures, and foot positions.

As each day passed on the course, more techniques and skills were learned in various locations; from a precinct, busy main street and large grocery shop to a park, train station and bus stop. I tackled 2 walks a day which extended to hour-long walks further on in the training process, both morning and afternoon, in all weather conditions. Towards the end of the course, I also tried being guided at night to experience the polar opposite of the conditions I had trained in.

Throughout the course I regularly visited the Guide Dogs Training Centre in Atherton, Leigh, where I had my work placement in August as part of the Henshaws employability course, Skillstep. I used various facilities including the indoor arena, outside obstacle course, off-kerb obstacle set up on surrounding pavements in the centre, and the car park which is implemented with small islands used for traffic training.

The handlers and I also had visits from key staff members and volunteers based at the training centre. Allan Drysdale (Guide Dog Mobility Instructor) assessed one of our earlier walks, Nicola Smith (Dog Care and Welfare Advisor) touched upon checking our dogs for ailments, registering with our local veterinary clinics, first aid and emergencies, foods to avoid, and so on, and Mike Tupper (Service User Representative) gave a brief overview of the Guide Dog service in the North West as well as volunteering and campaigning opportunities and his own story of sight loss.

Now that I have finished my residential training, I now move on to domiciliary training at home until Christmas Eve - looking at routes in my local area and using public transport, mainly buses and trams, to get to the places I visit regularly in Manchester city centre and Old Trafford.

I look forward to keeping you updated during the next stages of my training with my Guide Dog, Tami!

Audio Diaries

Throughout my residential training, I posted daily audio recordings to my audioBoom channel documenting the beginning of my journey with Tami. Listen below to find out more:

Henshaws Fashion Fundraiser

The Henshaws Fashion Fundraiser took place on Wednesday, 26th of March, at Alderley Edge Cricket Club in Cheshire. I was kindly invited along to the event, to give a speech about my sight loss, how Henshaws has transformed my life over the past 7 months, and also tying in the fashion aspect of the evening by sharing how I purchase and select clothes as a visually impaired person.

The event began with the Henshaws Short Film being played to the audience, introducing the charity to those who may not have heard about it before and to also represent the service users and how the charity has benefitted them - and how the funds from the event will continue to make a difference.

It was then time for my speech, briefly explaining my sight condition and how Henshaws has helped me since I started visiting the Manchester centre, as well incorporating the theme of fashion and providing insight into how I piece together an outfit with the help of handy organisation skills and the RNIB PENfriend - an electronic device for the blind and visually impaired. This may have been something that people never gave much thought to before, so hopefully it was quite interesting and informative! I gave a demonstration of how I use the PENfriend, with machine-washable labels, to differentiate between similar clothes that feel the same - which I have trouble with. Some items can be identified due to the weight of the fabric and any tell-tale details stitched onto the item of clothing, and accessories can be distinguished from one another - such as my jewellery and hair bows - from the particular elements featured including rhinestones and sequins.

My speech is now available on the Henshaws YouTube channel. You can view it below:

I received such a wonderful response from my speech and had some especially lovely comments from people who came up to me towards the end of the night. That really made my evening, particularly since I was quite nervous to start with! This was only my second speech with Henshaws (and my second venture into public speaking overall!) but already I am feeling a lot more comfortable with it.

Great speech from Kim @Glittered about how she picks her clothes using a Penfriend to tell her the colour of the item pic.twitter.com/QwmQWsIuHo
— Henshaws (@Henshaws) March 26, 2014

After my speech and demonstration, the fashion show rolled out with full force. Clothing was kindly donated by local brands for the evening and the models strutted their stuff on the catwalk. Key pieces integrated colour palettes and patterns from the upcoming spring and summer trends, including soft pastels, bold patterns and loose fabrics. A big thank you to Helen for being so kind as to describe each outfit to me!

Halfway through the fashion show, we were treated to a make-up tutorial from freelance make-up artist, Frank, who demonstrated some of the latest looks for the spring and summer including make-up from MAC and Sleek; with winged eyeliner, contoured features, peach blush and a light pink lip.

After the fashion show wrapped up, it was time for the raffle prizes to be handed out! I drew out each winning raffle ticket and the wonderful prizes included afternoon tea, John Lewis vouchers and a champagne experience. Well done to everyone who won something, including our very own photographer for the evening, Keith Ogden!

The Mulberry Alexa bag, in soft buffalo leather, was up next - generously donated by Mulberry. Congratulations to Sarah (@sarahmarginson) for winning the bag. Very well deserved, and the envy of everybody that evening!

Everyone who attended the event received a goody bag, filled with all sorts of wonderful items - including a Sebastian Shaper Zero Gravity hairspray, Hugo Boss Bottled eau de toilette sampler, Slater Heelis pen, and L'Occitane En Provence gifts; samples of Repairing Shampoo for Dry & Damaged Hair (Red's The Best of Beauty 2013 and The Ultimate Natural Beauty Bible Winner 2014), Immortelle Precious Serum (Harper's Bazaar's Beauty Hot 100 List 2012) and Immortelle Precious Cream. I've linked to all of the products and their official websites so that you can have a closer look at the ingredients, item descriptions and prices of the full-sized products.

Also included in the gift bag was a Henshaws leaflet, detailing the work that the charity does and how the money from fundraising and donations is distributed across the various services - such as Friendship Matters groups, the Children and Families service, the Patient Support service at the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital, IT training, Visual Impairment Awareness training, and independence courses. It costs £510,000 to run the Manchester centre in one year, which is just over £2,000 per day.

I had an absolutely fantastic evening, and want to give a big thank you to the team at Henshaws for inviting me to the event and for their wonderful support and encouragement for my speech - including Helen, Louisa, Jo, Glenn and Hayley. Also a big thank you to Keith for the photographs and to everyone who attended the event and helped to raise £2,000 for Henshaws!

I recently uploaded an AudioBoom snippet about the Henshaws Fashion Fundraiser, which you can either listen to here or by clicking on the player below.

Interview with Henshaws

I recently did an interview with Henshaws regarding the Living With Sight Loss enablement course that I attended in the summer of last year, and discussed the impact it had on my life. You can listen to it below.

listen to ‘'It made a big difference to my life and gave me more confidence'’ on Audioboo

Transcript

Helen: Hi! I'm here with Kimberley Burrows today, who is a Henshaws service user. She's been on the Living With Sight Loss course, also Braille, Arts & Crafts and she does the Relax course as well. So hi Kimberley!

Kimberley: Hello!

Helen: We just wanted to talk a bit about the Living With Sight Loss course and how you found it. So, first of all, how did you find out about the course?

Kimberley: I found out about the course through Manchester Eye Hospital, and about Henshaws as well - as I'd never heard of Henshaws before. I was at Manchester Eye Hospital for various procedures for my squint and my mum noticed that near the main waiting area there was a Henshaws side room. So, in there I met with Maggie and told her about my condition and that I'd never really had any support before. I was 24 at the time and I'd never really had any support from Social Services, so she rang them up and they visited me not long after. She also forwarded me onto the enablement course, or the Living With Sight Loss course, which was run for 6 weeks at my local community centre.

Helen: Great! So tell us the benefits of the course, how has it made a difference to you?

Kimberley: It definitely made a big difference! It was the first time that I was able to speak with other visually impaired people and that gave me more confidence. It was also beneficial because every week we would do something different. One week we had a visit from Guide Dogs, another week from transport, another week we had a visit from local police about how they can help us, and another week - which was one of my favourites! - was learning about all of the different mobility aids and magnification aids that are available. So it was nice to try those out.

Helen: So, what did you find from there? Is that when you started using the iPad, or had you been using the iPad before that?

Kimberley: No, I'd been using the iPad before that.

Helen: So it more about the other aids that are available?

Kimberley: Yes. I never knew that you could have LCD magnification that looks like a tablet. It's very expensive but I would love to save up for one after using it. I thought it was fantastic!

Helen: Oh, wow! That good. So, would you recommend it to other people who are in the same situation as you?

Kimberley: Absolutely! You can find out all sorts of different information and meet with other visually impaired people, if you've never talked with anybody before. There's just so much information; things like if you have talking news services in your local area, which I now get every week. Also, things like books@home, so the mobile library will come to visit you to give large print and audiobooks. It just adds another dimension to your life.

Helen: Sounds great! Thank you for talking with us today!

Kimberley: Thank you very much!