Owner: I look so I can hear URL:http://funnyoldlife.wordpress.com Join Date: Thu, 22 Mar 2007 18:48:34 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: Living with a hearing loss in London's rat race Site statistics:Click here
Audiology’s freedom pass to be rude and inefficient 2008-03-14 19:06:04 My Freedom Pass expires on 31 March and my local council kindly sent me a renewal form in January. A Freedom Pass means I can travel around London for free, subject to some restrictions. I went to my local hospital on 30 January and my audiologist Mirza took my renewal forms and accompanying evidence (copy [...]
Bite me 2008-03-18 19:18:01 I tried to contact my hearing aid centre today, to find out whether they had sent a letter that had been promised to be sent to me last Friday, as it’s been four working days and no sign of a letter. Using Typetalk, I called the different numbers on the letters I had received from [...]
Freedom Pass update 2008-03-20 07:53:21 Transport for London have informed me that the expiry date for using Freedom
Passes will be extended until May 30th 2008. They have today sent out new forms to disabled Freedom Pass holders for them to take to their GP for renewal. I asked why. Apparently these new forms mean the Freedom Pass will now [...]
Wasabi fire alarms 2008-03-21 10:45:23 Have you ever tried wasabi, that hot green Japanese stuff? The Japanese have invented a smoke alarm that releases a horseradish scent which is strong enough to waken people … without making a sound at all. Prototypes of this smoke alarm that sprayed canned wasabi extract into a room succeeded in waking 13 out of [...]
Fire alert systems 2008-03-21 10:17:37 There is a petition to try and make sure businesses and public places fit the right fire alarm systems for deaf and hard of hearing people. The petition is to create legislation by statute to include deaf people in the general regulations concerning the fire and emergency alarm systems in all public, commercial and industrial [...]
Wise words of advice 2008-03-26 18:30:44 Dave Hingsburger has written a wonderful post, ‘10 bits of advice‘
This post related to my experiences of hearing loss in a very profound way. But it’s also good advice for any parent and child.
I urge you to read it.
And pass it on.
Apology 2008-03-25 16:37:56 My post on 15 March inadvertently insulted hearing people and for that, I sincerely apologise.
I’m now wondering, what gives hearing people the idea that they have a right to be condescending and arrogant towards deaf people?
What I SHOULD’VE said was ‘What gives people the idea that they have a right to be condescending and [...] Read more:Apology
Chin chin 2008-03-29 18:56:26 We went to the British Museum today to see The First Emperor exhibition. We had booked online about a month ago, and it wasn’t too crowded when we arrived - only 500 tickets are allocated for each day and they had been sold out hours earlier. I brought my Hearing Dog and not a single [...]
Access to Work 2008-03-31 11:37:56 Wednesday 2nd April, BBC TWO 1.00pm
In a special investigation that goes to the heart of government, Memnos Costi uncovers the shocking truth behind a company claiming thousands of pounds intended for their deaf and disabled staff.
It’s a story of lies, deception, unpaid bills, taxes and wages - and it raises huge questions about the way [...] Read more:Access
Healthy Deaf Minds London Group 2008-03-31 06:05:53 The next meeting of the London Healthy Deaf Minds Forum will be on Wednesday 2nd April 2008 from 6.30 till 9pm.
The venue is the Small Meeting Room at Friends Meeting House, Euston Road, opposite Euston station. Tea & coffee and BSL communication support will be provided. The evening is sponsored by BBC “See Hear” so [...] Read more:Group
RNID = 2008-04-03 18:31:06 = Really Not Interested in Deaf
Why?
Here’s one reason. A friend received her copy of RNID’s magazine ‘One in Seven’ today and she says -
Just opened up my One in Seven mag. Amongst all the junk mail/leaflets they put in there is a “welcome gift” catalogue offering a free radio if I purchase something.
She’s annoyed.
Annoyed? [...]
Deaf people calling for better telephone access 2008-04-03 07:00:35 Today, the BBC filmed the Video Relay Service (for BSL deaf) and the WebCapTel Captioned Relay Service (for deaf with speech) in action. This will go on BBC Online News, hopefully today. An article has been written about it, you can see the link HERE on BBC News Online. This is in aid [...] Read more:people
, better
, telephone
Online captioned telephone calls 2008-04-02 18:29:01 Attempting to use telephony for business purposes is very frustrating. I’ve used Typetalk for a number of years and wasn’t happy with the service, it was good but not quite appropriate in the fast moving corporate world. Don’t get me wrong, Typetalk is fantastic and the operators are usually helpful. What I don’t like about [...] Read more:telephone
, calls
Just plain tired ….. YAWN! 2008-04-05 18:04:00 I wonder how many people realise how tiring it is to not be able to hear properly? Most days I am so totally zonked when I get home from work that I’m quite happy to shut the door on my social life and veg out in front of the TV laptop. Plus, I’m blitzed all [...] Read more:tired
Are you a new parent? 2008-04-09 11:02:14 Lots of my friends have become new parents and so a lot of conversations revolve around coping strategies and communication. I came across Deaf Parenting UK which offers workshops and also has a forum/noticeboard. Perfect!
Of course, meeting others regularly and face-to-face provides a life-line for some, and companionship and new friends for others. Deaf Parenting [...]
Arrghhh 2008-04-08 18:41:54 I guess there’s gotta be a first time for everything.
I was in the wee room and heard this noise, just before I pressed the button on the wall. It sounded like I’d dropped something. I looked and saw this funny shaped thing in the water. It looked like a brown crescent moon, with a bit [...]
Bone Anchored Hearing Aids (Baha) 2008-04-15 14:44:09 I asked Lyn, Chair of Baha Users Support and Honorary member of The Baha Professionals Group, about her Baha hearing aids. Here she very helpfully explains what a Baha is and how it differs from an air conduction aid - which I’m guessing most of us wear as the BTE (Behind the ear) is what [...] Read more:Hearing
Tag - you’re it! 2008-04-18 13:11:23 Sarah at Speakuplibrarian has tagged me. This is a fun way to get to know other bloggers better. So here are the RULES.
1) Each player must post the rules at the top.
2) Answer the questions in bold
3) Tag five people you would like to know better, go to their blogs, let them know they’ve been [...]
BSL Level 2 2008-04-24 06:01:35 I researched BSL Level 2 courses available in London. I thought, there must be loads. Boy, was I in for a surprise. No wonder ‘Deaf culture’ is in decline!
I found the following organisations advertising BSL courses - either on their websites or externally - and followed up the leads. The costs below are exclusive [...]
Dirty Dancing 2008-04-27 07:35:05 Spending the summer in the Kellerman’s holiday camp with her family, Frances ‘Baby’ Houseman falls in love with the camp’s dancing teacher. The original soundtrack sold over 41 million copies. Great dance routines and music with 1960s nostalgia…
If you liked the film, you’ll enjoy the theatrical production. I went to see it yesterday at [...] Read more:Dancing
, Dirty Dancing
Summer in the park ~ Romeo & Juliet 2008-04-28 07:47:46 If you would like to enjoy a summer evening at the Open Air Theatre in London’s Regent’s Park, grab this opportunity with Stagetext captioning. The first captioned production will be shown on 21 July. Romeo and Juliet
fall in love then try and conceal this from their families under the cloak of night - share [...] Read more:Summer
And the winner is… 2008-04-29 14:57:46 There is a company providing Speech-to-Text-Reporter [STTR] support (among other services), they’ll remain nameless here but I’ll call them Dunce Services. I’ve used Dunce Services on a number of occasions, and they invariably mess up the bookings. Now, this surprises me as my regular STTR provider (STTRs Direct) provides a stellar service, the people who [...] Read more:winner
Deaf Awareness Week 2008 : Look at Me 2008-05-01 17:24:39 May 5th - 11th is Deaf Awareness
Week. The theme is LOOK AT ME which happens to tie in nicely with my blog The aim is to raise awareness of the different methods of communication which deaf people use to communicate and therefore highlight the different types of deafness. ‘Deafness’ doesn’t just [...]
New emergency text services 2008-05-05 16:56:44 A new emergency text service has been launched by police in Sussex. You can read about it here. To call an emergency service, send a text to 65999, starting with the word POLICE, FIRE, AMBULANCE, or COASTGUARD.
A similar service has started in Kent, send a text beginning with POLICE, MEDIC or RESCUE to 60066. [...]
Film : In Bruges 2008-05-05 07:27:09 (Sorry - no subtitles on trailer)
This subtitled film promised to have a red hot dialogue and the two main characters were great Irish actors so I was looking forward to it, I knew it would probably be worth a few laughs. In Bruges is written and directed by Martin McDonagh, who has won numerous awards [...]
SprintIP Relay for Facebook - phone on the go! 2008-05-07 15:17:25 Sprint IP Relay makes communicating on-the-go easier than ever. You can now express yourself using SprintIP Relay through Facebook
. Place your relay calls on any computer with internet access using SprintIP.
Take traditional relay technology up a notch. Communicate comfortably and dependably using SprintIP to type your conversation to a Relay Operator. The Relay Operator then [...] Read more:phone
Adult Education fights for its life 2008-05-07 19:02:02 Calling all lipreading teachers and students!
The Government’s consultation on the future of non-skills based adult education ‘Informal Adult
Learning - Shaping the Way Ahead’ can be accessed at the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills website.
Please respond to this consultation - the deadline is 12 June. You have a chance to stop the government [...] Read more:Education
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