VISUALLY IMPAIRED IN CAMDENc/o Somers Town Community Centre150 Ossulston Street, NW1 1EETel: 07980 328 959Email: Rosemary@somerstown.org.uk

Newsletter – July 2017

Contents

1. July Members’ event 2. New Camden Council Strategy for Older and Disabled People – Focus Groups3. Macular Society London Conference 16 September4. Have you experienced visual hallucinations?5. Magnetic implants used in nystagmus research trial6. Henshaws App Guide: 24 of the best apps for people with a visual impairment7. General Election 2017: New intake brings number of disabled MPs in Commons to five8. Manifesto for disability rights in a post-EU UK9. Using personal assistants works, research concludes… but it can go wrong10. July’s quick quiz

…and finally – What do you call a group of…?

Plus the VIC Newsletter Supplement: Things to see, places to go

1. July Members’ event

18 July - This will be the annual informal (buy-your-own) pub lunch at The Garden Gate in South End Green, NW3 (full address: 14 South End Road, NW3 2QE), at 1pm.

(Please note: There will not be a Members’ event in August and the newsletter will also be taking a rest that month!)

2. New Camden Council Strategy for Older and Disabled People – Focus Groups

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The Council is holding a number of focus groups for adult social care users, potential users and voluntary and community groups to introduce the idea of a new Camden older and disabled people’s strategy and a proposed new ‘strengths based’ approach for delivering adult social care services.

Dates: Monday, 24 JulyWednesday, 26 JulyThursday, 27 JulyMonday, 31 July

Venue: Charlie Ratchford Resource CentreBelmont Street, NW1 8HF

The exact timings for each focus group have yet to be confirmed.

For more information and to book transport, please call Michael Bond, Strategy Officer, Corporate Services on 020 7974 1459 / email: Michael.Bond@camden.gov.uk. p.s. You only need to go to one focus group!

(Editor’s note: Camden says it “wants Camden to be a place where everyone can succeed and nobody is left behind. High quality sustainable adult social care is central to our ambition”.

Yet, the new strategy is being developed on the back of a council decision to close a number of services for older and disabled people and to increase service users’ financial contribution to their care package, in some cases by up to £70+ per week, leaving people less able to meet their disability related costs.

While change strategies for social care and health feature the word ‘Transformation’, the principles that this word encompasses – for example, joined up care; prevention (rather than only jumping in when people are ill or can’t manage anymore); and sustainability – are those that have been espoused for many years with seemingly little effect. Why should it work this time around? What is different this time around? Except that we know the context is a whole lot less money.

The other part of transformation that care and health services propose is building the ‘Resilience’ of individuals, families and communities so that

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they can care for themselves and make less use of the statutory sector’s diminishing resources. In one council report this was referred to as “putting people in the driving seat”.

On a certain level this objective can seem mildly offensive, as though people have been sitting around waiting to be done unto rather than as they have been defying and overcoming barriers in order, not just to be able to stand on their own two feet, but to live life on as equal terms as possible with other people.

For example, people with a visual impairment have to overcome many barriers on a daily basis, inaccessible transport, guide dog refusals, people’s perception and lack of accessible information to name but a few. ‘Resilience’ becomes second nature.

At what point is the council going to ask and deliver on the question ‘what would most help people who are blind or partially sighted to do all they may be able to do, independently, with dignity, while exercising maximum choice and control?’

Without going into tedious detail, as the wit and wisdom of VIC members and hundreds if not thousands of other users, carers etc. have been sourced ad infinitum to greater or usually lesser effect, here are a few of overarching pointers:

At the top of the list has to be disability awareness training for all staff, whatever service they are delivering and wherever they are delivering that service.

It needs to be embedded in the culture of every single organisation which provides care, health and other services.

Policy makers and service providers are not aware enough of how visually impaired people live their lives or what they are capable of.

You cannot assume people can empathise; empathy often needs to be taught.

In addition, all service providers need to be aware of the practical, emotional and technical support services that will make the journey clearer for people with sight loss.

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Again there are not enough people among them that do so at the moment.

And, on top of all of that, there is often a marked difference between service providers’ perception of what is happening and how well they are doing, and the experience of service users and carers themselves. This gap needs to be acknowledged and addressed.

Second, ensure compliance with the Equality Act 2010 and the NHS England Accessible Information Standard (SCCI 1605), so that people’s information or communication needs are met.

Anyone providing a service on behalf of NHS England or in adult social care must provide information in a format service users can access.

This is mandatory, not optional as some service providers seem to think.

It is simply not acceptable for a provider to say that it does not have systems to systematically record when information should be provided in a different format and what that format is.

Third, really listen to visually impaired people and involve them fully and equally in policy and planning processes, at the earliest opportunity.

There is a tendency to think of people who are visually impaired in relation only to health or social care, but it is often other issues that have a far greater impact on their lives.

For example, contra-flow cycle lanes, floating bus stops, badly placed A-boards, overhanging branches, or the battalions of wheelie bins that are now permanently stationed on the borough’s pavements making it much more difficult for blind or partially sighted people to get out and about independently and so having a direct impact on their quality of life.

Camden says it aspires to be a place where everyone can succeed and nobody is left behind.

Yet the background papers for the Camden Commission rarely feature the words disability or disabled people or give any impression that disabled people feature much in Camden’s vision. It would be a lamentable situation if the people who most need help and support become the least likely to receive it.)

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3. Macular Society London Conference 16 September

Details of the Macular Society’s London Conference are as follows:Date: Saturday, 16 SeptemberVenue: Grange Tower Bridge Hotel

45 Prescot Street, E1 8GP

Featuring: The latest on treatments and research Low vision equipment exhibition Practical workshops Specific working age member sessions

Tickets cost £22 and include refreshments on arrival and a sandwich lunch.

Book tickets online at www.macularsociety.org/conference, call 01264 350 551 or complete the form included with your summer edition of ‘Sideview’.

4. Have you experienced visual hallucinations?

Later this year the Macular Society is launching a campaign to help raise awareness of visual hallucinations, known as Charles Bonnet Syndrome, and encourage people to talk more about their experiences.

Up to half of all people with macular degeneration are thought to experience Charles Bonnet hallucinations at some time and many worry unnecessarily that there is something wrong with their mind.

Charles Bonnet hallucinations can be simple unformed flashes of light, colours or shapes. However, many people see geometrical grids and lattices. Other people also report seeing landscaped gardens or vistas, animals, people or other vivid images.

The Macular Society is always keen to highlight the fact that the hallucinations are a natural experience and not a sign of mental illness. As part of its campaign the society is looking for people to talk openly about their hallucinations to help it raise awareness.

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If you have experienced, or still do experience Charles Bonnet Syndrome, and would be willing to talk to the Macular Society please email Felicity Crump at felicity.crump@macularsociety.org.

5. Magnetic implants used in nystagmus research trial

In June doctors revealed they had treated a patient with “dancing eyes” by fitting magnets to his eye sockets.

The pioneering treatment, involving University College London, Moorfields and Oxford University, is the first to use an implant to control eye movement.

The patient, a man in his late forties, developed nystagmus – involuntary movement of the eyes – after developing the cancer Hodgkin’s lymphoma. His visual impairment was so severe that he lost his job.

A magnet was implanted in the bone at the bottom of each eye socket, and smaller magnets were stitched into the extraocular muscles that control the eye’s movement.

The strength of each magnet’s force was sufficient to overcome the involuntary movement caused by nystagmus but not enough to prevent the patient moving his eyes as normal.

Now after four years of follow-up checks, doctors have reported the improvements in his sight had been maintained, to such a degree that the man had been able to return to work. There had been “substantial improvement” in daily activities, such as reading and watching television, they said. Lead researcher Dr Parashkev Nachev, of the UCL Institute of Neurology, said: “Our study opens a new field of using magnetic implants to optimise the movement of body parts.

“Until now, mechanical approaches have been elusive because of the need to stop the involuntary eye movements without preventing the natural, intentional movements of shifting gaze.”

The condition affects about one in 400 people. It normally starts in childhood but can be triggered by disease. The eye movements are usually side to side but can also be up and down or in a circular motion.

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It is caused by a problem with the way the eye sends messages back to the brain or how parts of the brain which deal with eye movement make sense of the information.

The patient study, published in ‘Ophthalmology’ tells how the researchers decided to put the idea of placing a magnetic prosthesis behind the eyes into practice for the first time.

The magnets were encased in titanium, which can be safely embedded internally, enabling the magnetic force to be applied without causing damage. But the researchers warned that magnetic implants would not be suitable for patients who require regular MRI scans.

Researchers are now planning a larger study, led by Professor Rose at Moorfield’s, in collaboration with the Nystagmus Network.

6. Henshaws App Guide: 24 of the best apps for people with a visual impairment

If you have a visual impairment a smart phone has the potential to open up your world, enabling you to understand objects, to ‘see’ colour, to ‘read’ books, emails and letters, to connect with people and to travel round independently.

Ultimately, a smart phone (with the right apps!) can empower an individual with sight loss to get more out of life, to be more independent and to go beyond expectations.

Henshaws – a charity supporting people with sight loss and a range of other disabilities live life to the full, across the North of England – has pulled together a list of 24 apps (most are free, some paid for) and organised them into seven categories to help you navigate what you are looking for: Identification, Reading, Social Networking, Navigation, Entertainment, Shopping and Work.

Download the Apps eBook at: www.henshaws.org.uk/ebook-24-best-apps-people-visual-impairment/

7. General Election 2017: New intake brings number of disabled MPs in Commons to five

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The new House of Commons includes five disabled MPs, an increase of three on the last term.

Two new Labour MPs are part of the increase. Marsha de Cordova, who won in Battersea, is registered blind and spoke about disabled rights in her victory speech, while Jared O’Mara, who has cerebral palsy, won in Sheffield Hallam.

Lib Dem MP Stephen Lloyd, who is deaf, returned after losing his seat in 2015.

Conservative MPs Robert Halfon, who has cerebral palsy and osteoarthritis, and Paul Maynard, who also has cerebral palsy, were reelected.

But with the five MPs amounting to less than 1 per cent of the parliament’s total membership, the intake was described as “disappointing” by Jamie Szymkowiak, founder of the One in Five campaign for more disabled politicians.

“One in five of us self-identify as being disabled, which includes mental health, learning disabilities and long-term health conditions,” he said. “The biggest barrier is the cost of standing for election and getting through the selection process.”

He called on the government to start offering grants to disabled people to help cover those costs.

(Editor’s note: The Access to Elected Office for Disabled People Fund originally ran from 2012 to 2014, but then was extended to help cover the 2015 General Election. This fund, which helped disabled people with additional costs that a disabled candidate might face in standing for election as a councillor or MP, was closed after the 2015 election.)

8. Manifesto for disability rights in a post-EU UK

Disability Rights UK has produced a manifesto on what the disability rights sector should be seeking from a post-EU UK.

The main proposals of the manifesto are:

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1. All EU-based disability rights at the time the UK leaves the EU to be maintained, including those in relation to air and ship travel, web accessibility, accessible goods and services, public procurement and manufactured goods.

2. Maintenance of existing disability rights which are incorporated in domestic law at the time of exit, including primary legislation remaining unchanged unless there has been detailed parliamentary scrutiny (that is, no Henry VIII clauses which would permit change without scrutiny); and secondary legislation to be left in place with no watering down and no inadvertent discarding of, for example, disability equality rules and regulations as ‘red tape’.

3. Continued Government commitment to the UK being ahead of the curve on disability rights - fully committing to implementing standards equivalent to the new European Accessibility Act once passed, building human rights clauses into future trade agreements and at least matching future progressive developments in EU disability rights law.

4. At least matching current EU funding in real terms of DPOs and disability rights – this includes matching by the UK government of all EU funding that supports (a) disabled people’s voice and participation, including employment support, (b) independent living, (c) other UN Convention rights and (d) research on issues of importance to disabled people – with particular attention given to parts of the UK where loss of EU funding will damage the DPO sector.

5. A full equality impact assessment by Government of plans for freedom of movement, before those plans are agreed, ensuring no disproportionate impact on (a) disabled EU citizens living in the UK, (b) carers, (c) disabled British citizens living in other EU countries and (d) no detrimental impact on disabled people’s independence through reducing the PA workforce – this must involve detailed parliamentary scrutiny and public consultation on plans for EU citizens in the UK in terms of rules about ‘self-sufficiency’ and requirements for ‘comprehensive health insurance’.

6. Continued mutual recognition initiatives useful to disabled people – for instance badges to enable disabled people to park and cards offering other access and benefits.

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7. Giving the UNCRPD (United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) heightened status in domestic UK law – increasing the influence and impact of the UNCRPD on tackling discrimination and advancing equality.

8. Continued commitment to the European Convention on Human Rights.

Find the manifesto in full at www.disabilityrightsuk.org/news/2017/june/our-manifesto-disability-rights-post-eu-uk.

9. Using personal assistants works, research concludes… but it can go wrong

Enabling disabled people with support needs to employ personal assistants (PAs) – rather than relying on traditional care workers – can be empowering and liberating, but relationships with PAs “can sometimes go wrong”, according to new research.

The Personal Assistance Relationships study, led by the disabled academic Professor Tom Shakespeare, highlights the “complex” and “variable” nature of personal assistance relationships, and warns that they involve “a dynamic interplay of emotions, ethics and power”.

He told an event in London, held to launch the University of East Anglia research, that “personal assistance works” and that it provides disabled people with freedom and control.

But he added: “It is not straightforward, particularly for people who don’t come from the tradition of the disabled people’s movement.”

He told the launch event that personal assistance was “one of the revolutionary innovations of the disabled people’s movement”, alongside the concept of independent living.

As part of the study, the researchers interviewed 27 disabled employers of PAs, and three parents of PA employers, as well as 28 PAs.

In England, an estimated 65,000 disabled people employ 145,000 PAs.

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The aim of the research – also carried out by Dr Andrea Stockl and Dr Tom Porter – was to highlight “what makes a good PA relationship and how it can go wrong”.

Many disabled employers they spoke to said that the relationship with the PA could not be too formal.One said: “They’re doing quite personal things like showering you.

“They’ve got to be people you trust intimately and people that you know, very, very well, and because of that you’ve got that relationship going… I don’t differentiate between the friendship side of it and the work side of it. The two go together as far as I’m concerned.”

Another employer of PAs said that the need to disclose personal information to their PAs meant it was unrealistic to expect a distinction between “personal” and “professional”.

She said: “People know things about me that they wouldn’t know in any other circumstances.”

One PA said: “It’s not as if you are relating to your colleague at work or your boss at work, you are part of their daily routine and you get to know their most personal needs… you are in the person’s house and into their lives completely.”

But nearly all the employers and PAs who spoke to the researchers said they had encountered problems because of the informal nature of their relationships.

One PA said: “I was her sole employee, and everything rested on me and that wasn’t a good feeling. “I just got way too involved with her. I feel like I would do things differently now.”

Many of those interviewed spoke of how there had been at least some conflict in their relationships.

One employer told the researchers about a PA who had struggled to make the transition from working in residential care to becoming a PA.

She said: “She was quite challenging to work with. She got very upset because in her experience working in a care home she was used to

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having bleach and certain materials locked away in a cupboard, and of course this being a private house I just had my bleach under the sink…

“Her whole attitude was very much that she knew what she was doing and I didn’t know what I was doing.”

The study calls for both disabled employers of PAs and their personal assistants to be given the “skills and knowledge” they need to make their relationships work.

Relationships with PAs are inevitably “emotionally complex”, the study concludes, and adds: “Emotions arise because the connections between the disabled person and his or her personal assistant(s) are often long-term, intimate working relationships.”

Shakespeare, Porter and Stockl say that this needs to be recognised by both employers and PAs.

It is also crucial to set boundaries, making it clear how the relationship between PA and employer will work in practice, as PAs may not want to share their private life, while the workplace is also the PA employer’s home.

And they say that conflict within personal assistance relationships is common. It is vital, they say, for both employers and PAs to be given “the skills and knowledge they need to manage these relationships effectively”.

They make a number of recommendations for disabled people employing PAs, for PAs themselves, and for policy-makers and public bodies.

Among those recommendations is a call for greater efforts to bring people into the PA workforce, as a lack of choice for disabled people can force them to employ unsuitable PAs.

They also call for funding for training for both PAs and their employers, which could include training PAs in the social model of disability, and peer support – again, for both PAs and employers – to help with the potential isolation caused by personal assistance and for both employers and PAs to have access to independent legal advice.

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10. July’s quick quizQ.1 Which American married couple were executed in 1953 after being convicted of committing espionage for the Soviet Union?Q.2. What is an alligator pear more commonly known as? Q.3. In Greek mythology, what was the name of the personification of the sun?Q.4. Which Shakespeare play opens with the words: “If music be the food of love, play on”? Q.5. Who was the youngest daughter of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia?Q.6. The confluence of the White Nile and Blue Nile occurs at which African city?Q.7. Which of the Seven Wonders of the World gave its name to any large, above-ground tomb? Q.8. True caviar is made from the eggs of which fish: (a) salmon, (b) trout, (c) lumpfish or (d) sturgeon? Q.9. What famous announcement was made by concert hosts to signify to fans that an Elvis Presley concert was over?Q.10. Sent into orbit by the Russians, what was the name of the first dog in space? And the tie-breaker question!Q.11. “The Great Gate of Kiev” is the final section of which composition by Mussorgsky?

The answers are given after ‘…and finally’

…and finally

What do you call a group of…?

Many of the following terms belong to 15th-century lists of ‘proper terms’, such as those in the Book of St Albans attributed to Dame Julia Barnes (1486). Some are fanciful or humorous terms which probably never had any real currency, but have been taken up by antiquarian writers, notably Joseph Strutt in Sports and Pastimes of England (1801).

PeopleA blush of boys; a drunkship of cobblers; a hastiness of cooks; a stalk of foresters; an observance of hermits; a faith of merchants; a superfluity of nuns, and a glozing (= fawning) of taverners.

Animals

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A bellowing of bullfinches; a bask of crocodiles; a skulk of foxes; a cloud of gnats; a pride or sawt of lions; a labour of moles; a pandemonium of parrots, and a knot of toads.

In the last issue of the newsletter we launched a competition to find the best term to describe a group of ‘councillor champions’.

Entries came in thick and fast.…Thank you!

Here are some of the best (printable) ones:

A cacophony of councillor champions (CCs)A chatter of CCsA gentillesse (= nobility or excellence) of CCs A modesty of CCs A necessity of CCsAn obedience of CCsA pandering of CCs A performance of CCs

Perhaps more in evidence-based exasperation, from a long-term supporter of VIC: “A group of councillor champions is known as CHUMPS”.

The answers to July’s quick quizA.1. Julius and Ethel RosenbergA.2. An avocadoA.3. HeliosA.4. ‘Twelfth Night’A.5. AnastasiaA.6. Khartoum in the SudanA.7. Mausoleum at HalicarnassusA.8. (d) sturgeonA.9. “Elvis has left the building”A.10. LaikaAnd the answer to the tie-breaker question!A.11. ‘Pictures at an Exhibition’

Thank you for reading the newsletter.

See you again in September.

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VIC Newsletter Supplement: Things to see, places to go

Yoga at Pancras Square

Who: For anyone with a sensory impairment or complex needs.

What: FREE accessible yoga delivered by an instructor with over 15 years’ experience.

Why: to get out of the house, have fun, learn something new and meet new people.

When: Thursdays, 2.15pm – 3.45pm on the following dates –20 and 27 July3, 10, 17, 25 and 31 August7, 14, 21, and 28 September

Where: Pancras Square Leisure Centre, 5 Pancras Square, King’s Cross, N1C 4AG

Camden Community Festivals

Camden New Town Community FestivalSaturday 15 July, 4pm - 8pm (music and poetry)Sunday 16 July, 12 noon - 7pm (family day) Venue: Camden Square Gardens and Play Centre, St Paul’s Church and the Irish Centre Camden Square, NW1

Grange Park Kilburn Festival Saturday 15 JulyVenue: Kilburn Grange Park, Grange Place, NW6

SummerFEST 2017Saturday 15 JulyVenue: Castlehaven Community Park, Castlehaven Road, NW1

Camden Mela Sunday 16 JulyVenue: Coram’s Fields, 93 Guilford Street, WC1

Fly your Flag at the Calthorpe ProjectSaturday 9 SeptemberVIC Newsletter July 2017This issue is sponsored by Earth Natural Foods, 200 Kentish Town Road, NW5 2AE Page 15

Venue: The Calthorpe Project, 258-274 Gray’s Inn Road, WC1

West Euston Community FestivalSaturday 16 SeptemberVenue: Cumberland Market, NW1 (Green Space)

Buckingham Palace GardensGarden tour: Sensory and verbal description eventThursday 14 September9.30amThis event for blind and partially sighted visitors will explore the glorious garden of Buckingham Palace through scents and touch. With the help of a gardener who cares for this incredible royal garden, this verbal description tour will include the history and current role of the garden as well as the plants and flowers grown, in a unique sensory tour.

This event includes a visit to the Summer Opening of Buckingham Palace at 12 noon.

Ticket price: £19.50Box Office: Phone 0303 123 7323 or email learning@royalcollection.org.uk

Buckingham Palace, SW1 1AA

The National GalleryArt Through WordsSessions for Blind and Partially Sighted VisitorsThese sessions are held on the last Saturday of the month from 11.30am to 12.45pm.  Each session begins with a description of the painting and ends with a visit to the galleries. Please meet at the Sainsbury Wing foyer. All sessions are free. Please call 020 7747 2864 or email education@ng-london.org.uk to guarantee a place.   The next sessions are on:   

Saturday 29 July

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Constable: ‘Stratford Mill’ (1820)

Saturday 26 AugustChardin: ‘The House of Cards’ (1736-7)

Saturday 30 SeptemberGarofalo: ‘An Allegory of Love’ (probably about 1527-39)

Saturday 28 OctoberNardo di Cione: ‘Saint John the Baptist, Saint John the Evangelist (?) and Saint James (about 1363-5)

Saturday 25 NovemberCasper David Friedrich: ‘Winter Landscape’ (probably 1811)

The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square, WC2N 5DN

Wellcome Collection    Medicine NowThursday 27 July6pm

Medical advances enable us to examine, monitor and treat our bodies in a way not possible before. How well do we really understand ourselves? Can art help us talk about the emotional complexities of being healthy and being ill?

Join Visitor Experience Assistant Daniela, trained in audio description techniques by VocalEyes, on a tour designed for blind and partially sighted people. 

Places are free but limited. If you would like to come along, email access@wellcomecollection.org or call 020 7611 2222. Wellcome Collection, 183 Euston Road, NW1 2BE

Theatre highlights: audio-described performances

HamletTuesday 1 August – 7pm (Touch Tour: 5.30pm)Harold Pinter Theatre

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Panton Street, SW1Y 4DNTicket price: £21.66 each if registered on ATG access membership scheme as needing a companion (reduced from £65)Following a sold-out run at the Almeida Theatre, Olivier Award winning director Robert Icke’s new production of Hamlet transfers to the West End for a strictly limited season this summer.

Starring BAFTA and Olivier Award winner Andrew Scott as the Danish Prince, Juliet Stevenson as Gertrude, and Jessica Brown Findlay as Ophelia, Hamlet is brought to the stage by the critically acclaimed and multi-award winning creative team behind 1984 and Oresteia.

RoadSaturday 2 September – 2.30pm (Touch Tour: 1pm)Royal Court TheatreSloane Square, SW1W 8ASTicket price: £15 (plus companion at the same rate)Bookings: 020 7565 5000A Road, a wild night, a drunken tour guide, a journey to the gutter and the stars and back. Jim Cartwright’s seminal play gives expression to the inhabitants of an unnamed northern road in Eighties Britain.

Jesus Christ SuperstarSaturday 9 September – 2.15pm (Touch Tour time: TBC)Open Air Theatre Regent’s ParkInner CircleRegent’s Park, NW1 4NUTicket price: £25Bookings: 0844 826 4242Following its overwhelming sell-out success in 2016, Jesus Christ Superstar is back!

AnnieThursday 14 September – 3pm (Touch Tour time: TBC)Piccadilly Theatre16 Denman Street, W1D 7DYTicket price: From £20Bookings: 0844 871 7677Set in 1930s New York during the Great Depression, brave young Annie is forced to live a life of misery at Miss Hannigan’s orphanage. Her luck soon changes when she’s chosen to spend a fairy-tale Christmas with famous billionaire, Oliver Warbucks.

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Meanwhile, spiteful Miss Hannigan has other ideas and hatches a plan to spoil Annie’s search for her true family…

AgainstSaturday 16 September – 2.30pm (Touch Tour: 12.45pm)Almeida TheatreAlmeida Street, N1 1TATicket price: £19Bookings: 020 7288 4999 Silicon Valley. The future. A rocket launches.Luke is an aerospace billionaire who can talk to anyone. But God is talking to him. He sets out to change the world. Only violence stands in his way.

Girl from the North CountryTuesday 19 September – 7.30pm (Touch Tour: 6pm)The Old Vic Theatre103 The Cut, SE1 8NBTicket price: £21Bookings: 0844 871 7628An electrifying new work from esteemed playwright Conor McPherson along with classic songs from the age of the Great Depression. A family adrift, their future on a knife edge. Lost and lonely people drifting through the rooms of their guesthouse. But Nick Laine thinks he’s seen a way out…

BoudicaSaturday 30 September – 2pm (Touch Tour time: 12 noon)Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre21 New Globe Walk Bankside, SE1 9DTTicket price: £10 - £22.50Bookings: 020 7902 1409Boudica is a brand new ancient history play that tells the story of one of Britain’s most infamous women: a queen, a warrior and a rebel.

The Play that Goes WrongSaturday 30 September – 2.30pm (Touch Tour time: 1pm)Duchess TheatreCatherine Street, WC2B 5LATicket price: £20

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Bookings: 0330 333 4815Stumbling through their third catastrophic year, The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society is putting on a 1920s murder mystery, but as the title suggests, everything that can go wrong… does! The accident prone thespians battle against all the odds to make it through to their final curtain call, with hilarious consequences. Much Ado About NothingSunday 1 October – 1pm (Touch Tour time: 11am) Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre21 New Globe Walk Bankside, SE1 9DTTicket price: £5 - £45Bookings: 020 7902 1409Shakespeare’s classic tale of antagonistic romance and madcap humour explodes on to the Globe stage with a fusion of Latin music, desert flowers and revolutionary politics in this bold new production.

ApologiaWednesday 4 October – 7.30pm (Touch Tour time: TBC)Trafalgar Studios14 Whitehall, SW1A 2DYTicket price: £14.99 - £29.99Bookings: 0844 871 7677 Kristin Miller is a firebrand liberal matriarch and eminent art historian. A birthday gathering should be a cause for celebration but the cracks in her family relationships are brought to the surface by the recent publication of her memoir. As the evening progresses questions are asked about the sacrifices she has made and about the price paid by those she loves.

Apologia is a witty, topical and passionate play about generations, secrets and warring perspectives.

How to book…To make a booking, call the number given against the individual show. Please ensure that you tell the operator that you are booking for an audio-described performance, so that you qualify for any ticket discounts and are allocated an appropriate seat.

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