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Anna Tylor presents a series of very funny stories that spotlight everyday experiences of visually impaired people to reveal the absurdities of what lurks just below the surface.

The stories are beautifully illustrated by her friend Siobhain Santry, who delivers even more joy to a good read.

New episodes every Tuesday and Thursday. All views expressed are those of the author.

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theblindtruth.co.uk

The Blind Truth

Anna Tylor
Personal Journals
151 episodes
150: Postscript
Postscript. These blogs emerged from endless hours of storytelling with my friend Siobhain Santry, who's illustrated so many of the early blogs and the last one. It's been a joint endeavour and I credit her with helping to create so much of the humour and the spirit around what I've wanted to say. There's light and there's shade, in just about every situation we find ourselves in in life. Wh...
2m • Jan 18, 2024
2m
149: The Last Word
Over the last year I’ve been plagued by my nemesis Anne Taylor. She pops up everywhere but has now met her match in the shape of that well known medical professional “Unauthorised”, who has dropped me a note to tell me it’s all looking good. This is one sorry chapter I’m glad to see the back of, along with Anne Taylor, impenetrable letters and being spoken to as your actual bonified half-wit. ...
4m • Jan 18, 2024
4m
148: My Natural Colour
“How did you dye your hair that colour when it’s so short?” “This is my natural colour,” I said. “Nahhh. No one has hair that colour.” “I do,” I said. “What colour was it before you had chemo?” she wanted to know. “This colour. This is my natural colour.” “Well it looks dyed,” she said before heading off to take her pick of people to chat to who really did have dyed hair and had the good ...
4m • Jan 16, 2024
4m
147: Smashy and Nicey
My friend Sceptic Tank thinks that a house should be minimal. I think that a house is not a home without stuff. The stuff I like is not the stuff she likes. My old creaking furniture is one thing but why would anyone who can’t see much want to fill up their house with china? It’s a good question and weirdly, I know the answer. My house is full of the china of my long dead realities. This is th...
5m • Jan 11, 2024
5m
146: A Big Black Car
The Grand, is obsessed with cars. He lamented the lack of cars in this house. He’s not bothered about reverting to the use of my bus pass, but rather the lack of toy cars to be lined up on the kitchen floor for me to break my ankle on. In this desert of motoring delights, he was extremely impressed to watch a large black car pull up outside his house to whisk me, and my suitcase, away to my ne...
4m • Jan 09, 2024
4m
145: Hold The Line
Now that I am feeling less nauseous, I’m trying to get through the jobs that I’ve been putting off for months. These range from emptying the waste paper baskets and relieving them of old banana skins, to making sure I’m up to date with my pension contributions. Neither of these activities have much to offer when it comes to any form of gratification, be it long term or instant, so I thought I’...
4m • Jan 04, 2024
4m
144: Call Me By My Name
I’ve been called some choice things in my time. I don’t suppose I will ever be privy to the full range. The Son, who was a Red Dwarf fan, hit upon the idea that henceforth his Mother, should be known as R’mere. In his mind, this was the perfect response to his love of the lead character Rimmer, known for his intergalactic adventures, and the French for Mother. He was rolling down the side of a...
4m • Dec 21, 2023
4m
143: The Van
Vans are a contentious issue. My friend Malc had a van for nineteen years that he loved, until it got squashed between a Chelsea tractor and a small lorry while he was in it. My friend P loves her van, and so do I. It’s got it’s own shower and heating and it’s not bad for a slumber party on the beach. That said, when we slumbered on the beach, someone set fire to the caravan next to us and I en...
4m • Dec 19, 2023
4m
142: More Hot Stuff
Food is the new obsession in my life. I’m always cooking it. I don’t always eat it. Sometimes I give it away. Sometimes, I am ashamed to say, it goes to waste. Waste is a sin in my world of zero food waste tolerance. I pride myself that nothing goes to waste. It is with some pleasure then, that I am able to bring together twin interests of hot and spicy food and the desire to cook everything i...
4m • Dec 14, 2023
4m
141: Hot Stuff
A tasty meal is like the hunt for Red October. I just have to keep going with the drive to hit that sweet, or in my case, that hot spot. Not everyone shares my ambition but I keep going, undeterred by the disappointment of having no taste buds and little saliva left. “That is the hottest chilli you will ever have. You just need to shave a tiny bit off and that will do you,” said the log man as...
4m • Dec 12, 2023
4m
140: Turn Up The Heat
You might imagine that the demise of taste buds would rule out a craving for food. On the contrary, not even nausea can do that, and Lord knows I feel nauseous quite a lot of the time these days. However, nausea is no match for steroids. They have the ability to create feelings of hunger that are unrivalled. I have been, quite literally, shaking with hunger. Round one of chemo, of this new and...
4m • Mar 14, 2023
4m
139: The Invisible Woman
“Oh Granny, What are you wearing?” said a horrified looking Grand as I showed off my beach attire. I said nothing when he elected to come to my Birthday lunch in a multicoloured tutu, rugby shirt and jeans. He might not approve of my sense of style but I admire his nerve in mixing his. He’s a boy who knows his own mind and what he likes, well, he likes. We took a photo of ourselves before we s...
4m • Mar 09, 2023
4m
138: Fame
I’ve been doing a bit of media lately. (https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0db4h3z) I’ve got the face for radio and I’m comfortable with it. What I can’t stand is listening to myself. I don’t mind the sound of my own voice when I hear it inside my head and I’m spouting about something I’ve got the wind in my sails about. Hearing it back as others hear it, is a different matter altogether. I mig...
4m • Mar 07, 2023
4m
137: Passing the Gauntlet
At the first sign of a swollen arm you should definitely head for help if you have had your lymph nodes removed. I did this just before chemo number one. I phoned the breast nurse. On balance, she thought it best to avoid the hospital while I was on chemo. I said I’d like to come to see her immediately after chemo happened and that’s what I did. I dragged my dizzy, wobbly, walk like a drunk an...
4m • Dec 08, 2022
4m
136: Blonde and Bald
The blonde bob has long since departed. Jackie, “hairdresser to the stars and your humble servant”, cut it short in an Audrey Hepburn homage. She is deluded. My friend Ranni, bought me three meters of navy blue lining cotton which I wound into a turban and practiced wearing about the house. There is a You Tube video for everything and when it comes to head coverings, I’ve done my fair share. I...
4m • Dec 06, 2022
4m
135: John West Ward
I am not in Kansas anymore. Actually, it’s fair to say that I’ve never been to Kansas, nor have I ever had much of an urge to go there. It’s isn’t covered by my railcard and getting there would definitely involve wearing compression stockings, which don’t come in 15 denier. When I say that I’m not in Kansas anymore, I mean that nothing is normal, in it’s place or playing out as I had expected ...
4m • Dec 01, 2022
4m
134: How to Spend Money
I’m secretly curious about what it would be like to be bald. Baldness is not necessarily the preserve of old men. I’ve been on line, investigating head coverings, for fear that my own imminent baldness should cause others to run for the hills. My sleuthing has revealed a world, of wigs and turbans and scarf tying lessons, that I’m now watching on repeat. I don’t yet care too much about losing ...
4m • Nov 29, 2022
4m
133: The Three Stooges
I’m still living season 1 of my live streaming dark comedy “my left breast”.  It’s a cracking little mini-series that has now been running for three months and promises to keep on running for at least another eight. I really hope that there is never a season 2. In the drama so far, I have given up a big old chunk of me that I thought I could never live without. It turns out that having a lumpe...
4m • Nov 24, 2022
4m
132: Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
The Halloween wig I have bought myself at a bargain price is destined for the Grand’s dressing up box. Too scratchy! Yesterday I woke up to find that the short back and sides that I had a few weeks ago, were attached to my face and not to my head. This wasn’t a migration of rootstock during the night, but a jettisoning of my locks, to reveal a pinker scalp than I imagined. I text Jackie, “hair...
4m • Nov 22, 2022
4m
131: A Wake up Call
Setting aside the demise of the blown fuse, and the kettle, before 6am. I’ve been to have my surgically induced fluid bubbles drained. I’ve been waiting for this moment since the last time I went out of the house in a state of heightened emotion and came home minus a vat of “lovely and clear” lymphatic fluid. This morning’s trip out also served as yet another training opportunity for someone w...
4m • Nov 17, 2022
4m
130: Things Can Only Get Better
It seems that this really is a country for old men.  Contrary to all expectations the favourite Uncle is now installed in a house round the corner. This will enable him to make a garden at my sisters and come round here with stale packets of biscuits and instant coffee while telling me tales about smoke alarms, fish sticks and moles. He has been digging flints out of the Sisters’ garden in ord...
4m • Nov 15, 2022
4m
129: The Fridge Slut
There is nothing like sitting in bed in the early morning, with a pot of Earl Grey Supreme, chatting to girlfriends on the phone. I was happily doing just this when the doorbell rang. Short expletive at the prospects of being doorstepped by local politicos or evangelists. What a faff it was to haul myself into an upright position, stick the now compressed heart shaped cushion, made by the loca...
4m • Nov 10, 2022
4m
128: The C Word
The best things in life begin with the letter C. They include but, as manufacturers often say, are not limited to: Champagne. Pale imitations won’t do. Canapes which are about the most indulgent way that people, who enjoy a good networking event, sustain themselves while coiffing the afore mentioned drink. Countryfile because I’m a country girl at heart. Cats, and here I can be even more specif...
5m • Nov 08, 2022
5m
127: Doctor Knows Best
She didn’t get up but indicated the chair for me to sit in. I sat down. She introduced herself and I said how nice it was to meet her. Given the circumstances, I might have happily lived into old age and never felt I’d missed out by not meeting her. “Now I’ve had this nice letter from your doctor. It’s says your suffering with your eyes.” I raised my eyebrows. This was probably not the moment ...
4m • Oct 13, 2022
4m
126: The Best Life
The Grand was on his second babycino of the afternoon when he had a lightbulb moment: “Granny, I don’t think you can see very much can you?” “You’re right,” I said. With just a hint of caution he suggested; “Have you thought of wearing glasses?” “It wouldn’t help,” I explained. “Not shades on your head but glasses on your face like Mummy.” “I have tried it….” I began “Because then you could giv...
4m • Oct 11, 2022
4m
125: Fishing for Compliments
“A pop of colour does the trick”, or so I have been recently instructed. Even the most rudimentary of t-shirts can be dressed up with the addition of an ill-fitting jacket. It might work for Zoom but would it be good enough for real life? Would it work for a real evening out? Experience has taught me that the fish, I know I will order, often comes dressed in butter so it’s wise to give thought ...
4m • Oct 06, 2022
4m
124: Danny the Guide Dog
Not that this has ever happened to me, but if I were to find myself in a long and boring zoom call, I might feel inclined to do a bit of online shopping at the same time. The sort of thing that I might find myself bidding for would be books about working animals. I could work myself into a lava in the search for Lloyd, an illusive police horse, probably long since dispatched to the knackers. I...
4m • Oct 04, 2022
4m
123: How I spent Monday
Everyone loves a bit of personal administration. Don’t they? There is nothing like changing arrangements for paying your rates charges or changing your direct debits. You can do it on-line and if that fails, well it fails. You will be accumulating charges, with no apparent means of stopping them, from here until way beyond next Monday. Searching the website for telephone details will not help...
4m • Sep 29, 2022
4m
122: They think It’s All Over
The Baby Grand has arrived. I was so moved by the miracle of new life, that I went to an actual shop and purchased a small floppy rabbit suitable for babies under three months old. For clarity, this was not a real rabbit, but a stuffed toy rabbit. Then my largesse got the better of me and I decided that what every baby brother needs is a Superhero older brother, so I invested in a Batman outfi...
4m • Sep 27, 2022
4m
121: For the Love of Lenny
It might have been the colour of nobility and power in the world of the ancients but purple been on the back foot in public life over recent years. It’s not fashionable to wear your ambition on your sleeve these days. Purple though, is making a comeback. No longer are old men reduced to exercising a love of luxury in their secret choice of purple underpants. These days it’s everywhere. Not und...
4m • Sep 22, 2022
4m
120: Permit Me to be Rude
I’m incandescent with rage. It might be more accurate to say that I’m florescent with rage because I can feel my colour rising. It’s not that a lack of access to an on-street parking permits will result in the towing away of my hugely expensive car. I don’t have one to tow away. I’m much more concerned that my friends will stop popping in for cups of tea and even the odd glass of wine because ...
4m • Sep 08, 2022
4m
119: The Real Thing
“Let’s go to the supermarket and buy oats so we can make flapjacks,” I proposed. The Grand moved like grease lightening. I think it a prerequisite that any trip to the shops should be made fully clothed and in shoes. Sensing that I was unlikely to yield on this point he sat down, stuck his foot out and handed me a shoe. “Hold Granny’s hand” the DiL instructed. He nodded. “Hold my hand and don...
4m • Sep 06, 2022
4m
118: The Massive Hoover
The Son and the DiL are having a night off. They are going to wear grown up clothes, for possibly the very last time in a couple of decades, before driving half way across the south of England to attend a wedding, on a Wednesday. I am now in training to step in and offer soothing words when the inevitable happens and the Grand wakes up just as I am reaching the limit of my ability to stay awak...
5m • Sep 01, 2022
5m
117: Where the Wild Girls Go
My friend the Doctor, the one who wore her contact lenses in the wrong eyes for longer than she could reasonably be excused for, is a keen wild swimmer. I watched a film about Hampstead Pond and ever since then I thought I’d like to get into it. The Doctor offered to take me, not to Hampstead Pond but a lake near Andover in a location I am keeping secret. She even said she could lend me a wets...
4m • Aug 30, 2022
4m
116: No One Is Listening
She didn’t say so, but my kitchen is a bit of a disgrace. What the Goddaughter did say was “Yeah, the doors are all chipped. It looks nasty. I could paint those for you.” “How difficult is it to paint kitchen doors?” “Not difficult,” she said. Then she shrugged and stuck out her bottom lip. I’m not slow on the uptake. “What do you mean by not difficult?” I asked. “Not difficult,” she shrugged a...
4m • Aug 25, 2022
4m
115: How To Be A Public Servant
The Goddaughter, and her various assistants, have been helping to keep my house in order. Reputation is everything and without it, she says, she would not have a cleaning round the envy of the most energetic of entrepreneurs. She keeps her clients. Our shared desire to live in a clean house is one of those bonding experiences that she ensures and I take her word for. Taking her word for it is ...
5m • Aug 23, 2022
5m
114: An Eye For Detail
I got the call on Tuesday. I’m not talking literally. It came in a text message and instructed me to follow the link to online booking. I did as I was told but it didn’t like my text enlargement. It would be a best guess then. If I had more of an eye for detail, I might not have made such a hash of it. A ten-minute car journey could be anything from twenty minutes or an hour on, that Emperor ...
4m • Aug 18, 2022
4m
113: Jabs And Jibes
I’ve had THE jab. Jabs and jibes were the theme of the day. The mysteries of temporary signage that declare where to go, remained just that, a mystery. It was a good job the Physio Witch had provided fulsome direction of how to access a community hall that was at the far end of a Sainsbury’s car park, behind a doctor’s surgery with a walkway to it, so grand, it rivalled the spot where I keep t...
4m • Aug 16, 2022
4m
112: It’s A Doggy World
There are not many winners in the time of Corona Virus, but dog breeders seem to be amongst them. This has generated a proliferation in the extendable dog lead. The extendable dog lead, which is my enemy, is not the only thing that has proliferated. Where there are extendable dog leads there are frequently dogs attached to the other end, busy relieving themselves of their breakfast. Where once ...
5m • Aug 11, 2022
5m
111: Introducing The “Back Swipe”
The superlight walking poles have really come into their own since round three of lockdown. I’ve spent the last year perfecting my cane and pole techniques and I’ve been feeling pretty smug about where they have landed. I’m choosing my words carefully here. I could never have imagined converting the cane or the pole in a way that you might hanker after a nice bit of cashmere or a beautiful sil...
5m • Aug 09, 2022
5m
110: Dukes And Ducks
There is a fine line between fame and infamy and oh how easy it is to cross that line and achieve infamy by mistake. It was with a bit of trepidation that I approached the idea of speaking to the nation, or at least the part of it that listens to radio four and has not tuned out for an evening of Netflix. Who wouldn’t tune out given the choice, when the viewing is as tempting as some of the st...
5m • Aug 04, 2022
5m
109: Clive Fell Out Of The Chimney
Famous for our love of animals, the Brits have been busy filling up refuges for unwanted pets for decades. It’s an improvement on drowning or leaving the runt of the litter on the side of the road to be squashed or taken home by some unsuspecting driver who, having felt compelled to give their break pad a good work out, cannot help themselves. We’re full of contradictions. I’m a fan of the dac...
5m • Aug 02, 2022
5m
108: Fit to Burst
The subject of blood pressure is enough to give you hypotension. In the quest to stave of hypertension, the GP now commands that all her patients over 50 have regular blood pressure checks. The annual summons arrived in a text message that demanded that I attend the surgery and use the blood pressure pod in the waiting area to ensure an accurate measurement. A phone call was in order, to check...
5m • Jul 28, 2022
5m
107: Getting An Upgrade
Having an IT upgrade is not that exciting to me. I know there are some people who are in heaven at the prospect of a five-point switch box. I’m more of a shoe girl myself. I accidentally pressed “command y” instead of the “t”. I never knew that this is the shortcut to checking out browsing history. I’ve never felt the need to have a shortcut function to look at what I was looking at yesterday,...
4m • Jul 26, 2022
4m
106: Past My Sell by Date
In the holiday between Christmas and New Year the stillness of short dreary days is punctuated with bracing walks and meals. Perhaps its more accurate to say that this is the time to run down the contents of the freezer and eat the left over Brussel Sprouts between strolls. At what point though, are leftovers beyond consumption? I usually palm off my leftovers on the Right Hand Neighbours. The...
5m • Jul 21, 2022
5m
105: How to have a Smashing Time
Some of my relationships have brought great joy. Some have been transitory. Some have been long lasting and deep. None has been quite as shattering as my relationship with glass. Glass is the unseen menace in my world. Its attentions are largely unwanted and unwelcome. Just when you think you are over it, there it is again, making its presence felt. An early encounter with toughened glass lef...
5m • Jul 19, 2022
5m
104: Parlour Games
The Artist, the one who drives the Rollscanardly, told me that her family played a lot of parlour games when she was growing up. Her siblings were keen on the Name Game. That’s the one where someone writes the name of a famous person on a post it note and sticks this to your forehead. By asking lots of questions you have to figure out who it is. It might have been Mary Queen of Scots or Florenc...
4m • Jul 14, 2022
4m
103: Professional Whispering
My friend, Septic Tank, likes to watch films with the audio description on. It saves her husband the bother of having to listen out for that often asked question “What’s happening now?” There will be no snoozing in the cinema for him without the sought after audio description. She and I had a concerted effort to see more theatre and despite our distain for the musical, we couldn’t resist #Fidd...
5m • Jul 12, 2022
5m
102: A Moment that Changed the World
“The moment has come. Centuries from now almost all human beings have lost the ability to see.” So says the trailer for #Apple TV’s new series “See”. To set the scene, “Some say that sight was taken from them by God.” “No kidding,” I say. “But something’s different. After so many years. The children. They have the ability to see.” “Whoopee do,” I marvel. No. The power of sight is what you migh...
5m • Jul 07, 2022
5m
101: Through the Big Door
“Where’s the exit?’ I asked, trying to beat a retreat from Café Nero Piccadilly. “First door,” my tea drinking companion replied. If you have ever been curious about what lives in the cupboards of cafes, I can put you out of your misery: There are more loo rolls than have ever been gathered together in one place. There are buckets, industrial quantities of cleaning material to deal with dirt a...
4m • Jul 05, 2022
4m

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