April 16, 2025 • 57 mins
On FOCAL POINT:
- Ben Rowe, musician; singer and recording artist, is about to release a new song "Feeling Like Home"
- Frank Cirillo, Member Engagement Officer at Beyond Blindness, with an update on events and activities from Whyalla and Port Augusta, to the western suburbs of Adelaide; Adelaide Hills and the South-East.
- Milly Hart is a member of the Australian Women's Blind Cricket Team. The Team is about to host their first ever international series in Australia against Pakistan in Qld, from April 20th
- Maureen O Reilly, from the Vision Australia Library, with invitations to participate, either in person or online, in the Melbourne Writers Festival events and the National Simultaneous Story Time, 21st May, everyone will be reading The Truck Cat, and and more
Resources:
Beyond Blindness: http://www.beyondblindness.org.au
Vision Australia Library: https://visionaustralia.org/services/library
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
S1 (00:15):
Good evening and welcome to Focal Point here on Vision
Australia Radio 1190 7 a.m. in Adelaide, online at VA radio,
also through the Reading Radio Network and also through the
Community Radio Plus app at your favourite streaming service. Peter
Greco saying Welcome to Focal Point on behalf of Philip
van ERP and a big shout out to Wendy McDougall
(00:37):
listening in a very happy Easter to you. This program
comes to you from garden the land come to you
very shortly. We'll catch up with Ben Rowe, who's just
released a song. We'll get the chance to hear a
little bit of it and chat about Ben's music career,
then catch up with Fractured In-law from Beyond Blindness. He's
today's answer to the I've been everywhere man. He certainly
(00:59):
has groups for support and activities all over the place.
thanks to Frank. So we'll chat to Frank about that.
We'll catch up with Millie Hart, a member of the
Australian Women's blind cricket team. They're about to make history.
We'll find out how their preparation is going. Playing Pakistan
and a bit about Millie's career. And Maureen O'Reilly will
join us from the Vision Australia library. Always. Lots happening.
(01:23):
Plenty for the young and the young at heart. If
you're listening through 1190 7 a.m. at 8:00. For your
listening pleasure. Lizzie and Sam are here with studio one.
Just before we hear what's on their programme, a note
through from Guide Dogs SA. And they've just launched an
interesting little campaign or big campaign. Could this be the
(01:44):
most valuable dog toy? We'll chat more about it on
the program next week that's just been launched. You may
hear about it in other quarters. And also Tuesday sees
the opening of early voting and more importantly, the opening
for registration for telephone voting. So if you're blind or
have low vision and would like to register. Please do.
For telephone voting from Tuesday morning, call 1800 913 993. 1800 913 993. The
(02:14):
wonderful staff there will tell you what to do as
far as registration goes. Then it's up to you to
go away. Think about who you're going to vote for.
Ring back and vote. Please do so. Uh 1800 913 993. What's
coming up on studio one tonight?
S2 (02:33):
As we're heading into Easter, we explore the role of
faith in our lives, particularly how it influences our perspective
on living with a vision impairment. How does faith shape
our outlook? Especially when we're faced with questions like, why me?
S3 (02:47):
So join us at 8:00 for Studio one.
S1 (02:51):
We've spoken to Ben down the path at Champion Tennis Player.
Maybe he's even a better musician. Let's find out. Ben.
Great to catch up again.
S4 (02:59):
Hey, Peter. How are you?
S1 (03:01):
Pretty good. Is it feeling like home when you write music?
S4 (03:04):
Oh, sometimes. Sometimes you get, uh, a good track across, but, like,
all of them are kind of like, uh, a journey of, um,
I don't know, um, getting better at music or getting more, um,
precise in what you want to say, I guess. Firstly, this.
S1 (03:20):
Track and your newest music. How's that all happened?
S4 (03:23):
Well, it's this one's kind of. It's got a bit
of a story around it, so I'll kind of go
back a little bit. So I run a, um, music
inclusion program. Well, I started at inclusion music program at, uh,
the City of Cockburn at my role when I was
working there as the disability officer. And part of that,
we we had a facilitator named Chris Thompson, who's a
(03:49):
touring artist around Australia and international. Um, and I had
him facilitating the program, and he invited the group, the
inclusive Group, to a concert of his. And we all went.
And the night before he sends me a message, he goes, hey, mate,
do you know tour door by Paul Kelly? And I'm like, yeah,
I know a little bit. He goes, good, because I'm
(04:09):
going to get you up on stage and you're going
to play it with me. And I'm like, oh my God.
S1 (04:12):
Oh wow, what a great song that is too, by
the way.
S4 (04:15):
Yeah, yeah. So um, like so he so when I
get there I'm like sort of sort of prepared and unprepared.
But he introduces me to the band, and the band is, um,
a fellow named, uh, Dave Johnson, who's a great blues
artist around Fremantle and another guy named Nathan Gaunt. So
(04:35):
I get up on stage with these guys and rock
out and, you know, standing ovation because, you know, they
love to see, um, you know, someone like, I don't know,
a blind person, get up there and mix it with
the with the crew. So that was really cool and
cool fun. But meeting Nathan Gaunt, he's a big time
artist himself and he's also a producer. And he says
(04:56):
to me, hey, mate, well, you should come and record
a song with me. And I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah,
let's do it. So this feeling like home was the
first track that we, um, did together, and the song itself,
like I did a demo of it, which is, you know,
has some similarities to it. But when you break it
(05:16):
all down with a producer such as Nathan Gawne, it, um,
it feels different, but now it's feeling like home. Yeah.
S1 (05:24):
So the kind of, uh, the idea and the origins,
if you like, was within you. And then kind of
Nathan brought a bit more, more to it and out
of you from it as well.
S4 (05:33):
Yeah. Really kind of drew the. Yeah. The, the feel
and the, the music, um, into a bigger, a bigger
picture and bigger, more precise picture too. So when we
first talked about this song, he goes, I reckon you've
got like two awesome choruses here and we only need one.
(05:53):
So we need to work this out right? Yeah. So.
So that was pretty funny. But yeah, we decided on
which way it would go. And and thus it is.
S1 (06:02):
What was it like playing at that concert? I mean,
you know, 24 hours notice. That's not much. And, you know,
it's it's a big deal. You must have been a
little bit nervous. Uh, that's what I'm saying is your
your talent would have even shone through, given the lack
of preparedness and the nervousness of the situation.
S4 (06:17):
Oh, it was. Yeah, it was pretty, pretty scary. Like, um,
when we he messaged me and I'm like, going, oh, God,
I better go and flip the song on and have
her play along, like, just to make sure I got
got that sort of right. But on on the day,
like he introduced me to everybody and he's, um, got
me up on stage to kind of get my bearings
a bit because I can't see anything like absolutely nothing.
(06:40):
So he gets me up on stage and he sat
me in because they had a keyboard. Uh, Nathan was
playing keys. He's also a great guitarist, you know. So
he was playing keys at the time. So he sat
me next to him and hands me the Fender Strat
and he goes, yeah. Here you go. Right. And so
they had a feel. And so I got off stage
and waited for the time that he was going to
(07:01):
call me up. I had no kind of inkling of
when that was. So we were listening to to Carus
and his concert, which is, which is cool. Everyone's getting
into it and I'm like, oh, I've got to go
to the loo, you know, go to the loo. And
you know what? I'm in the toilet and I hear
him call my name up.
S1 (07:17):
Of course, of course.
S4 (07:20):
So I.
S1 (07:21):
Go in.
S4 (07:22):
Yeah. And there's this like, silence in the room, like,
is there any is there a Benny in the room? Like,
what's going on? So I step out and he's like, oh,
here he is. Here he is. And yeah, up I get.
And look, there was, you know, a hundred people there.
And and it was like the type of concert that
was organized. It's more like a dining. So you have
dinner and then, um, you know, they, they, he performs
(07:46):
and sometimes, you know, you might have a bit of
a gig afterwards, but when we got up there, like,
everyone started getting up for a bit of a jam,
you know, like a dance. So we had and and
characters during the, during the show while I was up there,
he goes, hey mate, everyone's dancing. Like I'm like, cool, cool,
you know? And he got me to play. I played
the solo, you know, the no, no, no, no. You
(08:08):
know that bit of the. Yeah. The song. So they
weren't expecting me. So I just started playing the solo
and then Nathan's like, oh is he going to do
the high bit. Yes he did the high bit you know.
So it was pretty fun. Like it was a great night.
And um, yeah, everyone had a good time. And yeah,
the crowd went off at the end of that song.
S1 (08:27):
So on a serious note, Ben, like you talked about,
you know, the crowd was kind of, um, into the
fact that here's this guy who's blind sort of playing with,
with the group and obviously, you know, very good at
his music. I mean, that's an important kind of message
to be sending to the crowd, isn't it, about the
abilities of a person who's blind that the musical abilities,
I mean, you're kind of blind, but that's a secondary thing.
(08:48):
The fact that you're a talented musician is the primary
sort of reason for you being there?
S4 (08:52):
Yeah, well, look, I think people kind of, you know,
think laterally a bit. He says, oh my God, he's blind.
And see, look how he's doing that. Like, yeah, it's
pretty surprising for people. Um, how does he find the
notes on the fretboard without even, you know, looking? Yeah,
without looking in a sense, you know, but like, we
(09:12):
talk about this, um, socially amongst friends who are blind
to into music and, you know, some concerts that are
played like, the crowd sometimes don't even realize. Right. So.
And it's hard because if a guy, let's just say
a performer doesn't let the crowd know, then how does
the crowd know if he's engaging with them and or
(09:34):
is he being a bit boring? You know what I mean?
S1 (09:37):
Right.
S4 (09:38):
Yeah. Yeah. So it's really important, I think, for us, um,
performers who are blind to just make it super obvious. Like,
I try to make it obvious. I Basically go out
there and say, hey mate, I can't see you guys,
so let me know you're having fun. You know what
I mean? So. So otherwise we don't know, like some
some people are just head boppers and groovers and we
(09:59):
don't even know.
S1 (10:00):
So that's a that's such an important point though. And
I guess, you know, those of us on this side
of the stage or in the audience, maybe don't think
of that. But you're quite right, isn't it? You if
you can't see what our reaction is, then you need
some sort of audio cue to know that we're enjoying
it or having a good time.
S4 (10:18):
Yeah. Or someone in your band is saying, you know,
they're getting into it. And Kara's working out in our
exclusive group live performed with him once before he did
his a concert at, uh, one of our International Day
of Disabilities events, and I brought my, um, snare drum and,
and percussion stuff, and I was just, I, you know,
(10:38):
I said, oh, jam, jam with her, you know?
S1 (10:41):
And how'd you get into music? How did you kind
of discover music?
S4 (10:44):
Uh, yeah. Good question. So I think I was God.
I was in like grade 4 or 5 where I
first had my first guitar and I did guitar lessons,
but I was music for me as a kid. I
loved the Beach Boys. I used to get up in
the middle of the morning, you know, early morning, like,
(11:05):
you know, as the sun came up and I'd put
on the old, um, Beach Boys records and my, my
parents used to hate it because I'd like, couldn't help myself.
I'd put on the record and and play it. It's
5:00 in the morning and I'm singing along already. You know,
I just I just loved it, you know? And eventually
that translated into, uh, buying my first guitar. And dad
(11:28):
bought me a first, my first acoustic guitar and. Yeah,
sort of got a few lessons.
S1 (11:33):
And you play a few other instruments as well.
S4 (11:35):
Yeah. Well, I slowly pick up on, you know, I
play a little bit of drums. I've got a piano.
Like I'm not trained in piano at all. I just
do it, you know?
S1 (11:44):
Yeah yeah yeah yeah. I like to say.
S4 (11:48):
Yeah. Play by ear. Um. And just have a have
a go. I can't play any particular songs.
S1 (11:53):
One of the things that's been discussed on this program for, uh,
the 30 years that I've been doing it is whether,
you know, there are more people who are blind that
are or that are born blind, that have got perfect
pitch compared to the conventional population. I'm not sure if
you got perfect pitch.
S4 (12:07):
I'd have to say probably not.
S1 (12:09):
I don't.
S5 (12:10):
Well, yeah, you shot down that argument.
S4 (12:12):
Look, I don't know. I can hear, hear music, but
I think perfect pitch is is a trained. I think
most people are trained into perfect pitch early because like
some notes like, well, I might hear it, but I
can't sometimes I can't get it, you know, as in
reach it. You know what I mean? Yeah. But yeah, definitely. Yeah.
(12:33):
It's a skill that can be really honed quickly, I think,
for blind people. Well, I don't know. It's. Oh, it's
a myth maybe.
S1 (12:41):
Yeah, well, someone should do a PhD Ph.D. on it.
Maybe they already have, but I reckon that'll be a
good one to take on board. Hey, Ben, what about
as far as, uh, the song itself? Uh, where is
it available? How can people access your music?
S4 (12:54):
So at the moment I've released, uh, Feeling Like Home
on my Bandcamp site. Um, I'm, you know, trying to
be a bit more direct to customer these days. I
know the streaming platforms aren't, uh, really, uh, I don't know,
loving of indie small artists. Um, that's a whole nother
big debate argument, uh, about about making a career out
(13:17):
of it, but I am putting it up there. Uh,
it should launch on the streaming platforms. Um, on my birthday,
the 22nd of April.
S1 (13:25):
Oh, it's going to make you.
S4 (13:26):
That coming up.
S1 (13:27):
I know she has a birthday coming up.
S4 (13:29):
Yeah, yeah. So that's, uh, I usually release a song
on some sort of, you know, day that I remember.
S1 (13:35):
I normally eat a birthday cake. You release a song?
S4 (13:38):
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Something else to celebrate.
S1 (13:43):
Yeah. Well. That's fantastic. Hey, great to catch up. It's
a really it's a really great story. And we'll go
out with a little bit of your song feeling like
I'm so, uh. Is it an easy thing to do?
I guess you have to get the sort of planets
have to align for you to write a song that
you're happy with.
S4 (13:58):
Yeah, well, look, writing takes a bit of time. Like
to get the. Get the feeling right, get the the
words right. Like, you can bang out a song pretty quick,
but recording it and getting translating the, the sounds and
sort of things from your head onto computer, onto onto
the system these days it's it's tricky and it's hard.
(14:21):
And look, the accessibility for me is, is like, you know,
you can get half of it. But working with another person,
which is really what music's about, is working with others
to try and bring out the best ability in you,
like musically and and all that. So it does take time.
Like a good quality song, I think. Yeah, yeah.
S1 (14:43):
Terrific. Ben. Great to catch up. Happy birthday for next week.
Good luck with the launch of the song. We'll play
a little bit as we leave you, and also we'll
put the details up as to how people can find
it with our show notes. But it's great to catch
up with spender. Well, it's been fun, but it's also
been very educational. You've really raised some interesting points, so
we appreciate that. We wish you well.
S4 (15:03):
Great. Thanks a lot, Peter, for having me and enjoy
the tour.
S1 (15:06):
Ben Ray there with his latest song Feeling Like Home.
S4 (15:12):
I'm sure in my veins like a puffing Billy train.
S6 (15:22):
One step beyond.
S1 (15:30):
It go right into the offices of Beyond Blindness and
find out the latest news. Speak to Frank Villa, who
looks after the western suburbs summit and beyond. Frank, always
great to catch up. Thanks for your time. Hi, Peter. Good.
Good to chat with you again. Now, you've been a
very busy person.
S7 (15:45):
Uh, sort of. But you did say that. Yes, yes.
I've just, uh, returning back from my trip to Whyalla
and Port Augusta. Uh, which, uh, our members and volunteers
in Whyalla, that a day trip, uh, to Port Augusta
had lunch at the cafe. Yeah, they had a they
had a fantastic day. The weather was perfect. That background
(16:08):
of the Flinders Ranges of where we were at Apple
Valley and, uh, yeah. Uh, and I tried I went
around and did a bit of networking as well, leaving
a few leaflet while I was there. And Port Augusta
as well.
S1 (16:21):
As that would have been new for a venture for
you and and beyond Borders. How's that going? That sort of, uh,
you know, that's a wider region.
S7 (16:29):
It's doing well, but we're always, uh, wanting to have
more members and, uh, well, here, the members, especially if
they want to increase that. I've got about 5 or
6 irregular numbers there, but uh oh, I welcome more more.
Obviously I'm trying to expand into Port Augusta as well
because there are members in Port Augusta, which we haven't
(16:52):
heard from yet. Uh, we'd love to, uh, increase there
as well.
S1 (16:56):
And I guess the thing is, Frank, I mean, there
might be a lot of members there or a few
members in that area, but I guess there'd be even
more people who are blind or low vision who could
benefit from becoming a member and connecting up with people
like you and and your other, uh, fellow people that
are meeting up in that wider area?
S7 (17:12):
Oh, definitely. The I mean, I know that, um, everyone there,
they all have their routines and but, um, they were
sure that they will get, uh, some benefit one way
or another, whether they're doing with their vision or just
wanting to get out of the house, or is there
a positive vibe that they'll get when they go out
(17:33):
with the group.
S1 (17:34):
Also keen for volunteers. Frank. So I guess transport in
that area would be a bit of a a challenge. Uh,
not not too much transport, I wouldn't imagine.
S7 (17:42):
Definitely. That's right. That's that's the one of the main problems,
especially having to do a, uh, a day trip like
we just did. I had just gone up and we
was a volunteer, and I. And we drove one of
the 12 Peter van til we can't do that all
the time, but, uh, but they did have, um, some support. Uh,
(18:06):
they do. They have their own, uh, family that will
drop them off as well, but they did a longer
day trip, so that's a big problem. Yeah.
S1 (18:14):
And you talked about doing a leaflet drop in the
Port Augusta area. I guess, you know, we hear about
country areas and kind of everyone knows everyone. And it's a,
a cross community. So you drop off a leaflet and
you never know even if that particular house or business
doesn't have someone with a vision impairment, chances are they
might know someone that does.
S7 (18:34):
Exactly. That's right. Then a lot of it is word
of mouth. Yeah, yeah. We've been in the newspaper. We've
done the radio there, and we've done here with this radio.
But a lot of them have just. Yeah. Word of
mouth picked up. Who knows and who knows that. But yeah,
it's been stable. But we're always looking for more members
(18:55):
and volunteers down there.
S1 (18:56):
In fact, yesterday spoke to another radio station.
S5 (18:59):
I do.
S1 (19:01):
I thought we had you exclusively.
S7 (19:05):
I can't even give you the name. There's one that
covers everyone.
S1 (19:10):
Uh, in all seriousness. That's great, isn't it? Because a
lot of people would rely on the radio in that
area to get information. So it's great that you have
that sort of access as well.
S7 (19:19):
Exactly. The more, the more the better.
S1 (19:22):
We'll let you off for that one, Frank. Are you
doing it for the community? So that's that's okay. Uh,
what about more? What? What about more likely in your
sort of backyard, as it were, the western suburbs. What's
happening in those areas?
S7 (19:36):
Yeah, I've got a little bit of news there, but uh, my, uh,
Western group, we've got, um, Dowling up next term. There's
a group. They're going to the brothel on the 3rd
of May. Okay. Yeah. Yeah, some of them will draw that.
Enjoy that. Uh, I would ever drive up there and
visit a bakery or winery, maybe. Yeah. Any on time
(20:01):
so that my tea drinking, uh, you know, you've got
to walk back onto the bus in one piece.
S1 (20:08):
So lead by. Lead by example, Frank.
S7 (20:11):
Yeah, yeah. Always, always. Uh, I got it down to it, but, yeah,
we'll get away from that subject. Yes. Also, the young,
the young adult groups still going strong and and and
we're looking still again. All the groups looking for more members, volunteers,
volunteer drivers as well. Female and not that. But we're
(20:34):
a bit short on female drivers. But. Yeah, yeah. We're
looking for anyone. Yeah. The the Greek they're going to.
And tend to have a lunch at the garden on
the 11th of May. Then I've got the, my, the
Friday social group are doing a short walk around the port.
And then the lighthouse walk for lunch. Oh, terrific. They
(20:56):
ended up maybe they didn't enjoy that. That walk along the, uh,
the river there. And last but not least, there is the.
On the 22nd of May. We're going to be. There. Well,
the the minimum social clubs I think. But I'll sort
that out later if it gets closer. But yes, it's
(21:16):
there should be a good trip as well. If you
enjoy the little trip, if you get to Langhorne Creek
or Murray Bridge and things like that. And again, not
bad enough that we need more members up there as well.
We've got a good group there, but they want to
spread their knowledge of their, uh, their experiences in life.
(21:38):
So all are welcome.
S1 (21:40):
I mentioned this a few times, but you're targeting areas
where the population is growing, so chances are there's people
there who are blind or have low vision that could
really benefit from becoming a member and getting the social
engagement and that, you know, shared lived experience as well.
S7 (21:55):
Definitely good enough. It's, uh, yeah, getting out of the
house is the first step and then the rest. We
just have a after effect, the flow on effect, so
to speak. So, yeah. And, uh, I haven't heard too
many complaints. Everyone seems to be having a good time.
S1 (22:11):
Uh, that's that's good. Yeah. I'll tell you what, people,
the way they the way we all are, we're quick
to complain and and slow to praise. So if you're
not hearing any complaints, you must be doing a good job. Hey, Frank,
you were telling me a bit earlier about a walking
group that you've also got going.
S7 (22:26):
Yes, sir. We've got the gentle walk that happens on
the first on the Mondays, every Monday. They had a
bit of a change this year in the summer times,
because we've changed this time to an earlier time. We're
now at the beginning of the next term. Will be
going back to the regular time with the 10:00 start,
and then after lunch later on and then back home.
(22:47):
So but yeah, hopefully you get some nice weather. Not
too hot now, although we are having a bit of
a warm spell at the moment.
S1 (22:54):
Yeah.
S7 (22:55):
But uh, but yeah, back to regular times for the,
for the Monday group which they will be happy with
I hope. So yeah, that was just, uh, another that was. Yeah.
We thought we'd do the earlier one because of the,
because of the heat. And everyone get home by 12:00
if we get leave 3840 and yeah, it's not not
too much fun going out there. So back to normal
(23:16):
next time.
S1 (23:16):
When you say gentle walking group, what do you mean
by that? Is sort of a bit more sort of
relaxed and more for, uh, sort of social engagement rather
than sort of a physical thing.
S7 (23:26):
Right? That's right. It's just a just a bit of
a stroll. No, a couple of kilometres. Three kilometres maybe. Uh,
the limit? No more than 3 or 4km. You know,
just just to just to enjoy the environment going out and. Yeah.
In the company and, uh, and then a nice lunch afterwards.
S1 (23:46):
Terrific. Hey, Frank, you've been with us for a little
while now. Has it kind of changed you as a
person or not? It changes the person. But I guess
the way you interact with people, the way you conduct
the the various groups that you do because you've covered
most of the state. It's that kind of been good
for you sort of professionally as well as, you know,
just on an individual basis.
S7 (24:06):
It has, it has because it's for one, it's got
me out and about in the places I've been before.
I've been up to Port Augusta, but I've never gone
to Whyalla, so, uh, yeah, that's an eye opener. And
people there are fantastic. And, and that's what the A
sort of teased me a little bit. Other than I've
(24:27):
been used to everyone here in the city and how
we all have our routines, but up in the country
it's just a totally different life. And and the people
are just more relaxed. I can say, yeah, you get
the yeah, you opened my eyes up anyway. You could say, yeah,
and I can't speak highly enough of everyone in the
country and that people back Gambia as well, which you've
been doing well and they're all lovely people and then
(24:51):
get the different range of how everybody thinks the under
the one umbrella, everyone speaks the same. But you know,
there's certain things that are, uh, differing about the country,
which I like. But yeah, they're very, very welcoming.
S1 (25:05):
Because earlier in the earlier in the year you went
down to Mount Gambier, didn't you? There was an expo
down there as well, wasn't there?
S7 (25:10):
Yes. Yeah.
S1 (25:11):
How did that go?
S7 (25:12):
Yes, that's going on. Uh, well, again, I can't do
no more members, volunteers. And uh, here I go to
the group there as well, and, uh, I'm hoping to
build that up as well in the future.
S1 (25:27):
So we did we did hear a bit of a
rumor that, uh, a couple of the bakeries were, uh, well,
shall we say, impressed with your orders?
S7 (25:36):
Well, I've had to wear an elastic for that one, but.
S1 (25:43):
Uh, that country cooking, there's nothing like it.
S7 (25:46):
Nothing beats it. Yeah. But one of the reasons I
enjoy going to the country. Yeah.
S1 (25:51):
Oh, terrific. Well, Frank, if people want to find out
more about any of the things you've talked about, there's
been quite a few, obviously. Um, how can we get
in touch with you?
S7 (25:59):
Yeah, they can. They can call the office, or they
can call myself myself or Marion. And we'll be quite happily, uh,
oblige and help out many in any areas we can.
S1 (26:11):
Alright. 836760. Double eight is the office number 836760. Double eight.
As I said, you know, western suburbs that you talked
about the hills. I mean, you got people that might be, uh,
interested in the Mount Gambier, the southeast area of Port Augusta, Whyalla,
so pretty much anywhere in South Australia. If you think
that some of these activities might suit you or indeed
(26:34):
someone you know or as you say, if you'd like
to get involved as a volunteer, you can hear that
Frank's a very gregarious character and would have a bit
of fun. It'd be good to, uh, work with. So
if you want to get involved, um, give the office
a call and take it from there.
S7 (26:48):
That's right.
S1 (26:48):
Good.
S7 (26:49):
You can't.
S1 (26:49):
Go wrong. They can't go wrong. Yeah, well, happy Easter, Frank.
I know you will both be closed over the Easter break, but, uh, back, uh,
as per normal from, um, Tuesday next week. So happy
Easter to you and all. And, uh, we'll catch up
again soon.
S7 (27:03):
And thanks to you, Peter, and everyone out there.
S1 (27:05):
That's a real idea. Who, uh, is, uh, member engagement
officer at, uh, beyond a great deal of work and
certainly covers some kilometers. I think next time we might
ask him how many kilometers he's done. Uh, in a year,
if you want to find out more beyond blindness or 83676088.
You're listening to Focal Point on beating.
S8 (27:26):
Australia Radio 1190 7 a.m. via radio, digital and online@radio.org.
S1 (27:35):
With the Australian Women's Blind cricket team is about to
make history again. Can you make history more than once? Well,
certainly our Australian women's blind cricket team can. Let's chat
about it with one of the stars of the team. Millie. Hut! Millie,
great to meet you. Thanks for your time.
S9 (27:49):
It's amazing to meet you, too. Thank you for having
me on.
S1 (27:51):
Congratulations on your selection.
S9 (27:53):
Thank you so much. It's a real honour and I'm
very lucky to be selected.
S1 (27:57):
Now, we spoke to Locky Wallace a few weeks ago
when the cat was in Adelaide. Actually, I can't remember
the exact numbers, but it was something like 20 players
were there. Only 15 were going to be selected. So, um,
did you have to kind of bite your fingernails or, uh,
calm yourself down to just find out if you've been selected?
S9 (28:14):
Yeah, it was a real nail biter. Alberta. I found
we fortunately found out the day after, so it wasn't
too long of a wait, but it was a bit
of a stressful time for me to be honest. I
was just sitting there biting my nails, waiting for the
phone call to come.
S1 (28:28):
And how did you feel when that happened?
S9 (28:29):
Amazing. I have never felt more honored or better in
my life. It was the most exciting phone call I
think I probably ever received.
S1 (28:36):
Oh, terrific. Well, it's just a bit about how you
got involved with, uh, blind cricket. And have you tried
other sports?
S9 (28:42):
Yeah, I got involved through the blind sports camp. So
savvy as the blind school for SA in SA. And
they hold, like, blind sports camps where they bring out
kids and go through different sports. I've played tennis, tennis
and a bit of goalball as well as cricket.
S1 (28:58):
What appealed about cricket? Why have you stuck to cricket
and obviously excelled at cricket?
S9 (29:02):
I love the community and I love how lovely it
is to play with everyone, and I'm very competitive and
cricket has just allowed me to be competitive in a
friendly environment. And to be honest, I really play for
the batting. I love the batting. I love the challenge
of batting and I just love the sport altogether, to
be honest.
S1 (29:23):
Isn't Bali more fun? At least you get six chances
at it. Batting one mistake and you're out. Yeah. Do
you or do you bat for a long time so
you never get out?
S9 (29:30):
I try my best to bat for a long time. Um,
I've definitely been out once or twice, but no, definitely
love batting more than bowling.
S1 (29:38):
And the T20 format because you mainly play T20, don't you?
S9 (29:42):
Yeah, we've only really played T20 as a women's team. Yeah.
S1 (29:46):
What about if there is, uh, the tour or the
trip to Queensland playing against Pakistan? I guess you don't
know much about the Pakistan team or do you?
S9 (29:54):
No, not really. I haven't personally seen them play. I
don't think any of us really have. They're quite a
new team to playing internationally. I know they've had a
team for a little while, but no, we haven't really
seen them play before, so it'll be exciting to meet
them all and be able to reverse them. I think
it'd be great.
S1 (30:11):
That's one of the very exciting things about something like this,
isn't it? The fact that, um, you know, I mean,
we all know some of the struggles that Pakistan full
stop have had, but then for a women's team and
for a blind cricket team with this thing to be
able to play internationally, that's obviously a great thing for
the country and obviously a great thing for the individuals
that are playing.
S9 (30:29):
It's amazing. I know every single one of the girls
in the squad, and the girls who were selected regard
it as one of the highest honors to be selected
in the team, and it's just an amazing feeling to
be able to represent your country and doing it in
a sport you love.
S1 (30:43):
As I said, history making because first time Australia would
have hosted an international match.
S9 (30:48):
Yeah, it's our first time playing on home soil. It's
just amazing to think that we'll be able to play
such a high level of cricket on our home ground.
To be honest, it takes my breath away. I can't
even put it into words.
S1 (31:01):
What about your preparation though? Will you know about the
camp a few weeks ago? What about some of the
other things that you've been doing? I guess maybe on
your own or sort of more individualized to get good
suit for you for this?
S9 (31:11):
Yeah, I do exercise. I have an exercise physiologist that
I do twice a week.
S1 (31:16):
Okay.
S9 (31:17):
I train with our SA blind cricket squad twice a week.
We do one training session and one game, usually within
the cricket season. And outside that, I try to do
as much cricketing by myself as I can, either in
the backyard or the local park, having my family members
come and help me out.
S1 (31:32):
Oh really?
S9 (31:32):
Yeah. Are you.
S1 (31:35):
Involved? Are you?
S9 (31:35):
Yeah. To bowl to me. To maybe hit a few
balls so I can practice a little bit of fielding,
throwing at the stumps, a little bit of bowling practice
as well. Keeping up that skills. Um, yeah, they're very helpful.
I'm very lucky to have such a supportive family.
S1 (31:50):
Do any of your family members think that you're their
bunny because they find it easy to get you out?
S9 (31:55):
Ah, my dad likes to think he finds it easy
to get me out. Uh, definitely. He tries his hardest.
And when he does, he does do a big celebration.
A little bit.
S1 (32:05):
Of. What do you know about the tour coming up
or the trip to, back to Queensland to play Pakistan,
because you got to be pretty busy, aren't you? You're
playing a lot of matches in a short period of time.
S9 (32:15):
Yeah, it's five matches over six days. So we put um,
we start on the 20th of this month and then
go to the 25th. It's held at Crombie Knights Cricket club.
So if anyone is looking to come out and watch
a game, you'll feel free to come out. We'd love
the support. If you want to find any more details
about our tour or anything like that, you can always
(32:36):
visit the blind Cricket Australia Facebook page and they have
all the information.
S1 (32:41):
All right, that sounds like a commercial, Millie, but we'll
let you get away with that. Actually, another thing you
talk about, uh, if people are listening and want to
get along to watch, because we do go around Australia
on the Vision Australia and also the, uh, Reading Radio Network.
So I'm sure people would be listening in Queensland on whatever, uh,
device they might be listening to that might like to
(33:01):
get out there. Well, what about away from cricket? What
do you do? Millie talked about having a go at
goalball as well. What other things do you do? Away
from cricket?
S9 (33:10):
Yeah, I do play quite a bit of goalball with
the Aussie Belles. I'm very lucky to be a part
of that squad as well. I like to do a
lot of art in my spare time and playing with
my guide dog. Bixby is one of my favorite pastimes
as well. I'm currently in year 12, so that's taken
up a lot of my time as well. So it's
mainly just school and cricket.
S1 (33:28):
What about, uh, sort of post-school? Have you got any
thoughts as to what you might like to do there?
S9 (33:32):
I'm thinking about doing veterinary nursing. So it's basically what
a human nurse does for people but for animals. Um,
I thought quite interesting.
S1 (33:41):
What about to get into something like that? Uh, do
you think that, uh, you know, there's some pretty good marks?
S9 (33:47):
Yeah. It does. It needs, I think, like a 98. Ah,
to get into hell. Fingers crossed.
S1 (33:56):
Okay.
S9 (33:56):
Hardest.
S1 (33:57):
That might be a nail biting. Like being selected for
the Australian team to get into your chosen course. That
might be some more nail biting. I hope you got
long nails.
S9 (34:07):
Oh, yeah. I hope they grow out.
S1 (34:08):
I think.
S9 (34:10):
The call was enough.
S1 (34:13):
To tell us a little bit about your vision impairment.
S9 (34:15):
Yeah, so I was born with my vision impairment. I
was born fully blind. I have currently I have no
peripheral vision. I have ocular albinism, photophobia, nystagmus. And I'm
also red green colorblind. So, yeah, a lot of quite
a few vision, um, issues, unfortunately. But it allows me
(34:39):
to play this wonderful sport. So there are ups and
downs to it I suppose.
S1 (34:44):
Yeah. What about in terms of, um, I guess, sort
of prognosis or the future regarding your eyesight? Do you
sort of. Well, I know much about or think much
about it.
S9 (34:54):
Um. Not really. It's so the reason why I have
my vision impairment is because of a gene. It's like
a 1 in 1,000,000 chance that a child, that your
parents have that gene passed down? I was just basically
very unfortunate. And yeah, there's not much else we really
know about my vision, unfortunately. Um, technology is improving every day,
(35:15):
so hopefully in the future we'll find out a bit
more about it. But that's all I know really so far.
S1 (35:20):
So you went to Santa Fe for your early schooling?
S9 (35:23):
No, I didn't, I went to I did mainstream schooling,
so I went to Pembroke and Saint John's for primary school,
and now I'm at Concordia College for my high schooling.
S1 (35:32):
Okay, so all the says he was a cat that
they kind of held and kids who they know might
be interested to come along and play at different activities
come along.
S9 (35:40):
Yeah. So I've, I work with Sasb through school and
they advocate a lot for me. And so they invited
me out in year seven. And I went out and
tried a whole heap of different sports. And that's really
where my sporting love came from, was from those camps,
because I had never really had much of an interest,
because I couldn't really play many sports.
S1 (35:58):
It's interesting, isn't it, because often we hear about that, that,
you know, kids who might be blind or have low
vision or just have disabilities, kind of where you sit
on the sidelines because of your disability. You can't get involved.
But obviously you've kind of proved that theory wrong.
S9 (36:11):
Yeah, I think that is a major thing that happens
is where PE teachers go, oh, well, you can't really
see the ball. So how are you supposed to play
or join in? I was very fortunate through my schooling
that where I could I joined in, but sadly really,
really helped me with those blind sports camps, finding ways
I could play sport and just enjoy being outdoors and
(36:31):
the competitive nature and the community that comes along with it.
I'm very lucky to have found that.
S1 (36:37):
Now you're in year 12, so you couldn't have had
a guard dog for too long because you conquered them
at a young age. Can you.
S9 (36:43):
Know? So you have to meet very certain qualifications to
get a guide dog. I luckily got my dog in
December last year, so just about four months I think.
S1 (36:54):
Okay. Have you gelled?
S9 (36:55):
We really have. She's sitting right by me at the
moment with her head on my knee being like, mum,
why can't you play with me?
S1 (37:02):
Oh, okay. Now you're doing a radio interview. That's really,
really important.
S9 (37:07):
No, uh, she's very smart, but she hasn't won yet.
S1 (37:12):
Well, hopefully, you know, when this goes to where she
can listen to it. Bixby. Is it?
S9 (37:17):
Yeah. Her name's Bixby.
S1 (37:18):
She's like Bixby. Thanks for listening in. We need all
the listeners we can get. So we're going to count
you as part of our listenership. So well done on that, actually.
On a serious note, Milly, what sort of a difference
has it made to your life?
S9 (37:29):
It's made a major difference to my life. It's made
a difference to my confidence. Being able to go out
and as a as like an almost an adult, a young, um, adult,
I suppose it's just being able to have that freedom
to not have to depend on anybody giving me so
much independence. And she's honestly become one of my best friends.
(37:50):
And it's every like I've had to leave her at the, um,
home one day, the other day, because it was too
hot to take her out. It just felt so wrong
leaving her behind, I couldn't imagine my life really without her.
S1 (38:01):
What about in terms of technology? What sort of technology
do you use? Not for mobility, but I guess mainly
for school or also for school.
S9 (38:08):
I currently use an app to a laptop, not a laptop.
And on that laptop I have fusion, which has a
mix of screen readers. It changes the colors on my laptop,
so I have it in like almost like a dark mode.
So black and white text. I used lots of, um,
zooms with my laptop and my phone. Yeah, just a
(38:29):
lot of screen readers, mostly.
S1 (38:31):
Just going back to your eye condition. So do you
have to be careful in the sun?
S9 (38:35):
Yeah, I have to wear pretty dark sunglasses when I
play cricket, and the glare definitely gets to me sometimes.
So it's really that auditory, listening to the ball and
making sure I'm switched on, or else I really just
won't see it. I have to be very careful in
the sun, because if I'm in the sun for too long,
visual fatigue, mental fatigue, yeah, it can be really tiring
(38:56):
and painful for my eyesight.
S1 (38:57):
What about as far as the category? Of course you
know the various categories in blind sport. Which category are you?
S9 (39:03):
I'm a B2, so I'm just below. So I have
some functioning vision. So I don't know how much you
know about the categories, but there's b1, b2, B3, b1
have no functioning vision. B2 is kind of the next
level down and then B3 has some functioning vision. All
vision impairments are quite bad and quite impaired to play
(39:24):
the sport on this level. But yeah, I'm a B2.
S1 (39:27):
What about as far as you've got a new captain,
the Australia team haven't they. The last year's blind Australian
of the year I think is captaining the side isn't it.
S9 (39:34):
Yeah. We're very lucky to have Courtney Quebec, um.
S7 (39:37):
Wooed.
S1 (39:38):
Away from tennis.
S9 (39:39):
No. Yeah we did very fortunately. We're very, very lucky
to have her captaining. I couldn't have seen really anyone
else doing it, to be honest. She's amazing. Her knowledge
of the sport is fantastic. Yeah, I regard her very highly.
S1 (39:53):
And another other interesting name, is Katie Kelly. I don't
know if you know much about Katie, but an incredible
Paralympic career and now playing blind cricket.
S9 (40:03):
Yeah. Um, I believe she was a triathlon.
S1 (40:06):
Yeah. Yeah.
S9 (40:07):
Yeah. She was amazing. Um, at in Tokyo. She was amazing.
I definitely watched her sitting on my couch at home.
And it was just amazing to have someone with that
experience in the team. And she's just such a lovely,
down to earth person. It's been really amazing getting to
know her, and I'm very happy that she's been selected.
S1 (40:26):
I've had the privilege of interviewing Katie a few times
over the years, and of course also lives with a
hearing impairment. So, uh, a great sort of role model
for anyone who might have dual disabilities.
S9 (40:36):
Yeah, we have a few girls with hearing, um, impairments
on the team. And, yeah, it's still an amazing sport
for those girls as well. They're able to play at
a very high level, as you can see, by Katie
Kelly being in team and being selected. Yeah. It's just
amazing to see what they gave you.
S1 (40:54):
Well, Millie, good to meet you. For the first time.
I'm sure we'll speak many more times in the future
as your career goes from strength to strength for you
and all the, uh, the Australian team. We wish you
well against Pakistan. We'll keep our listeners across how we
go and hopefully catch up with, uh, one of the
two of the athletes when the series is over. But, uh,
enjoy it. And thanks for coming to speak to us.
It's been really wonderful.
S9 (41:14):
Amazing. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.
S1 (41:16):
Yeah. One of the members of the Australian Blind cricket
team for women as they prepare to play Pakistan in
Queensland next week.
S10 (41:28):
Yo, Holmes, what up? What up with you? What we
gonna say? What we gonna do? Where are we gonna go?
Where we gonna see? We're going to the library.
S1 (41:37):
Let's catch up with the latest news from the Vision
Australia library. Always plenty happening. The best person to talk
about it is Maureen O'Reilly. Maureen. Happy Easter.
S11 (41:47):
Happy Easter to you, Peter. I love Easter. It's one
of my favorite times of year.
S1 (41:52):
Yes, the chocolate is pretty hard to say no to.
S11 (41:55):
Oh, I think it's also. And I know that you
shouldn't celebrate religious events on the basis of a holiday,
but it's just so nice having just when the summer
holiday benefits are starting to wear off a little bit.
You get a four day weekend in there as well.
S1 (42:10):
So very true. Yeah. So, you know, catch our breath
and move on to the next part of the year.
S11 (42:15):
I think so.
S1 (42:16):
Speaking about the next part of the year, what's the
biggest Australian library coming up is the Melbourne Writers Festival
high on your agenda?
S11 (42:22):
It is very high on my agenda. That is my
all consuming baby at the moment. We are very excited
about the Writers Festival. I can't believe it's 12 months
since we last hosted.
S1 (42:34):
Mhm. So we are. Yeah. When is it, where is
it and what, what what can we look forward to.
S11 (42:39):
Well it is on the 9th of May so it's
less than a month away now. And it is a
hybrid event. So we are hosting authors in person at
the Vision Australia offices in Victoria in Keong. So we
are really encouraging all of our Melbourne based clients to
(43:00):
come over to Keong and be part of the Melbourne
Writers Festival. But for all of our clients who live
in more regional areas or live in interstate, or live
right up north or out west, then we are encouraging
them to join us on live to watch the events
being streamed. So it's a very accessible event. Either people
(43:21):
can come in and really feel that vibe of being
part of the festival, or they can sit down in
the luxury of their own home, possibly with a little
cheese platter and a glass of wine, which seems very
Melbourne festival ish to me. Maybe a little beret to
look very, you know, I don't know, very literary and, um,
be part of the festival as well.
S1 (43:42):
Fantastic. Now we're very as in Vision Australia, Radio Vision Australia.
We're all very closely involved with the Writers Festival had
been for quite some time.
S11 (43:50):
That is correct. So we're very proud sponsors to the
festival as a library. We really like to support authors because,
you know, it is the authors who write the books
that fill our libraries. So between them and our readers,
that's what keeps our lives ticking over. And the Vision
Australia Radio have always been very, very supportive of the
(44:13):
festival as well, because it's one of the things that
actually lends itself very nicely to radio, because you can
have interviews with the authors, you can play recordings of
our own conversations. So it's really just another way to, um,
make the whole festival more accessible to our members.
S1 (44:35):
You've been very good to get some very high profile,
very eloquent speakers as part of your own conversations over
the journey, haven't you?
S11 (44:43):
Oh we have. We've been actually incredibly fortunate, and this
year is no exception. We have someone who I would
say is arguably one of the most popular authors in
the Vision Australia library at the moment, in terms of
inquiries that we get and requests for assistance to load
books and so forth. And that is Kate Grenville. So
(45:05):
Kate is an amazing author and we are very, very,
very fortunate to have her joining us. So she will
be with us on the 9th of May from 6 p.m.
till 7 p.m.. So she will be discussing her latest novel,
which is called unsettled A Journey Through Time and Place.
(45:26):
So unsettled is actually it's a memoir of family legacies
and truth telling, and Kate reckoning with what it means
to have a past which is built on land that
was taken from other people. So it's entwining her personal
family's history with the broader story of First Nations people's
(45:50):
dispossession and displacement. And it's really just Kate processing and
coming to terms with what it means to be descended
from people who are very much on that sharp edge
of the blade of colonization. Hard work's sake actually speaks
about historical facts, historical fictions and, you know, writing very
(46:14):
challenging histories and confronting those traumas of the past. So
she will be in conversation with Daniel James, who's a
Yorta Yorta Melbourne based writer and broadcaster. So that's going
to be really, really interesting. I think Kate Kate is
an amazing author, and it's a really interesting perspective to
(46:35):
have it written by, I suppose, somebody from a white
person's perspective who Historically were part of that colonization, but
struggling with what it means to her today.
S1 (46:50):
Great point. Now people have to book for that event
May 9th.
S11 (46:53):
They do indeed. So they need to book. There's two options.
When they go to the Vision Australia Library website. They
can book either online, which is fine, and they will
get sent a zoom link. And we would love to
have all of our members nationally join us online if
they want to come in in person. Can we actually
(47:15):
are booked out in, oh, less than 48 hours? However,
I retained a critical number of tickets for our Vision
Australia Library members, so any our library members or Vision
Australia clients who want to come into Kiyonaga's Cate, they
just need to register for in person on the waitlist,
(47:39):
and then they just need to either phone or email
the Vision Australia library and I will allocate them tickets.
So although it tells them that we're sold out, I
do have a secret little stash for our vision Australian clients.
S1 (47:53):
Oh that's fantastic. Will it be available online afterwards?
S11 (47:56):
It will indeed. So for our library members, it will
be on the access catalogue. And then for our Vision
Australia clients who for reasons beyond me, aren't library members,
there will actually be a podcast as well that Vision
Australia Radio will put out.
S1 (48:12):
It'll be very worth listening to. Now you've got something
for the younger, younger audience.
S11 (48:18):
Before we move on to our younger ones, after Kate,
because Kate is on from 6 to 7, we then
have the wonderful Nadia Simpson joining us from 8 to 9,
and Nadia will be again in person. Or you can
join us online. So if you come into Keong, you're
more than welcome to come in before 6:00, settle in
(48:40):
and then just stay between the two events, have a
chat to the authors, have a bit of a relax
and then stay on for the second one. And if
you're at home again, you can have a bit of
a break and then come back home for Natty. So
Natty is an indigenous writer, or she's actually also a
brilliant singer, so she's a very creative person. And Natty
(49:04):
has a newly released novel called The Bellbird. And that
is actually a fictional novel. And it's a story of motherhood,
of creation, of belonging and connection to country. So it's
a beautiful, beautiful novel. And it's also comparatively unusual in
(49:25):
that a lot of the indigenous writers that we do
feature in our own conversations often are writing non-fiction pieces.
It's really a beautiful piece of storytelling. She discusses place,
she discusses identity and belonging and all of that with
Daniel James, who's also interviewing Kate. So I would love
(49:47):
people to join us for the entire evening. But as
you said before, if that's getting a bit late in
the day, then we will also have that event on
the AXS catalog and then it will also be a
podcast through Vision Australia Radio.
S1 (50:03):
Terrific. Then what about for the younger folk?
S11 (50:05):
Oh young folk. They have one of my favorite children's
library events coming up. We have the National Simultaneous Storytime now.
National Simultaneous Storytime is a beautiful event put on by
the Australian Library Association. And it is a day when
(50:26):
all across the country, we have children sitting down to
read a beautiful children's book together. So they read the
same book at the same time, on the same day.
creating this wonderful sense of community and celebrating a shared
love of reading between each other. So it's oh, it's
really beautiful. And you find that people gather, um, in libraries,
(50:50):
they gather in schools, in childcare centres, in bookshops and
also in their family homes. So we're really keen for
all of our, uh, Vision Australia Children's Library clients, who
may otherwise find it difficult to be out at some
of those larger venues. Or perhaps it's not a day
(51:12):
when they normally go to school or to childcare, and
that they can join us online with their family, or
with their friends or their carers or whoever's with them
on that day. So the book is a gorgeous book
called The Truck Cat, and it's a story of a
cat who travels around Australia with a lonely truck drivers
(51:35):
and they explore the beautiful travels throughout Australia. Until one day,
Tinker chases off after a butterfly and gets lost. So
then we have this gorgeous story of Tinker the tracker
trying to reunite again with his owner and his friend.
(51:57):
So it's a wonderful story of belonging. It's a wonderful
story of connection, which is consistent with the National Simultaneous Time.
And it's really about people reaching out and then finding
these new connections that they didn't expect to find on
that journey, to try to reunite with their loved ones.
(52:19):
So it's really beautiful. And the Vision Australia Storytime reading
is particularly special because it will be enhanced with audio
descriptions of all the beautiful illustrations of cats Katz travels
throughout Australia.
S1 (52:34):
I want to find out what happened, but don't tell me.
But I might have to join in to find out
that the the way the story ends. What date is that? Maureen.
S12 (52:42):
That is a 10.
S11 (52:43):
A.m. on the 21st of May. And one of the
things that we really encourage our children to do and
our students to do, is that if they go to
register on the Vision Australia Library website, they can actually
download some instructions on how to make their very own
tactile version of the truck cat, using a whole lot
(53:05):
of household items that are easily sourced at home. They
can make a beautiful, tactile book, just like we have
in our field. Kits to read along with the live storytime,
and we also have a lovely video. Kylie, our children's librarian,
has excelled herself, and there's a YouTube video sitting on
(53:28):
the library website as well, explaining to children and their
carers how they can create one of these tactile books,
just like we have in our Felix kids.
S1 (53:37):
Oh, what a brilliant idea. And great, but kind of
the broader community can kind of get a bit of
an idea as well. Maureen, we never have enough time,
so we're out of time this time. Give us your details.
If people want to find out more about the things
that you talked about. I know you've got other things.
Such as, uh, opportunity for people to help with their
own writing, etc.. Where can we find you? How can
we get in touch?
S11 (53:57):
So everybody could go to Vision Australia forward slash library.
And if they just skim down the page a tiny bit,
they'll get to what's on. And that shows all of
the programs and events of Vision Australia Library are running
at the time. And if you have any problems with registering,
(54:17):
then just call the library on 1300 654 656. And one of
our wonderful librarians will help you register. Or they can
register on your behalf.
S1 (54:29):
Maureen. We'll catch up again soon. Thank you so much
for speaking to us.
S11 (54:33):
Oh, Peter, thank you so much for your time.
S1 (54:35):
That's the Maureen O'Reilly there. Maureen. Got to get a
little more enthusiastic, doesn't she? Doesn't she love working at
the library and celebrating our anniversary about now? All those
details up in our show notes. But 1300 654 656 is the
library's phone number. An audio description of the week. It's
(54:55):
coming up this Tuesday afternoon. 550 on the SBS main channel.
The Scarlet and the black. This features a Vatican priest
who has hidden away escaped prisoners of war and Jews,
and has defied the orders of a Nazi colonel. So
(55:15):
that is coming up this Tuesday afternoon. 550 SBS Main Channel.
The Scarlet and the black. And what about this for
a cast Gregory Peck, John Gielgud and Christopher Plummer. plumber.
They are the creme de la creme of acting, particularly
of the era, so that should be pretty good. Rated
PG with audio description. Some birthdays before we go. Ogata. Mervin.
(55:39):
Montoya having a birthday. Ogata. We spoke to her on
the program last week. This week she has a birthday.
Happy birthday to you, Janelle Cahoon. Having a birthday. What
a wonderful advocate for a particularly artist with disabilities. Chelsea Bartlett,
a great artist. Full stop having a birthday. Happy birthday
to you, Chelsea. Lee Van Poppel having a birthday certainly
featured in some very high profile roles of advocacy in
(56:03):
different organizations. Happy birthday to you, Leah. Christie Stigter I
often say Christie is the kind of the unofficial president
of the Focal Point Fan club down in Tasmania, does
great work promoting the show. Happy birthday to you, Christie.
And Lauren Watkins having a birthday. Spent quite some time
at Humanware, a regular on our program for a number
of years. Lauren Watkins A big happy birthday to you.
(56:26):
Happy birthday and happy Easter to you too. Also with
this program coming to you from Ghana. And Sam Rickard,
thanks so much for your help. Pam Green, thanks so
much for yours. Reminding you that Focal Point is available
on your favorite podcast platform. If you like the show,
tell a friend. Tell your guide dog, tell anyone. We
love to have listeners on behalf of Philip. Fanfare and
(56:49):
a big show to Wendy McDougall. This is Peter Greco saying,
be kind to yourselves, be thoughtful and look out for
others all being well. Focal point back at the same
time next week on Vision Australia Radio and the Reading
Radio Network. This is focal point.
Good evening and welcome to Focal Point here on Vision
Australia Radio 1190 7 a.m. in Adelaide, online at VA radio,
also through the Reading Radio Network and also through the
Community Radio Plus app at your favourite streaming service. Peter
Greco saying Welcome to Focal Point on behalf of Philip
van ERP and a big shout out to Wendy McDougall
(00:37):
listening in a very happy Easter to you. This program
comes to you from garden the land come to you
very shortly. We'll catch up with Ben Rowe, who's just
released a song. We'll get the chance to hear a
little bit of it and chat about Ben's music career,
then catch up with Fractured In-law from Beyond Blindness. He's
today's answer to the I've been everywhere man. He certainly
(00:59):
has groups for support and activities all over the place.
thanks to Frank. So we'll chat to Frank about that.
We'll catch up with Millie Hart, a member of the
Australian Women's blind cricket team. They're about to make history.
We'll find out how their preparation is going. Playing Pakistan
and a bit about Millie's career. And Maureen O'Reilly will
join us from the Vision Australia library. Always. Lots happening.
(01:23):
Plenty for the young and the young at heart. If
you're listening through 1190 7 a.m. at 8:00. For your
listening pleasure. Lizzie and Sam are here with studio one.
Just before we hear what's on their programme, a note
through from Guide Dogs SA. And they've just launched an
interesting little campaign or big campaign. Could this be the
(01:44):
most valuable dog toy? We'll chat more about it on
the program next week that's just been launched. You may
hear about it in other quarters. And also Tuesday sees
the opening of early voting and more importantly, the opening
for registration for telephone voting. So if you're blind or
have low vision and would like to register. Please do.
For telephone voting from Tuesday morning, call 1800 913 993. 1800 913 993. The
(02:14):
wonderful staff there will tell you what to do as
far as registration goes. Then it's up to you to
go away. Think about who you're going to vote for.
Ring back and vote. Please do so. Uh 1800 913 993. What's
coming up on studio one tonight?
S2 (02:33):
As we're heading into Easter, we explore the role of
faith in our lives, particularly how it influences our perspective
on living with a vision impairment. How does faith shape
our outlook? Especially when we're faced with questions like, why me?
S3 (02:47):
So join us at 8:00 for Studio one.
S1 (02:51):
We've spoken to Ben down the path at Champion Tennis Player.
Maybe he's even a better musician. Let's find out. Ben.
Great to catch up again.
S4 (02:59):
Hey, Peter. How are you?
S1 (03:01):
Pretty good. Is it feeling like home when you write music?
S4 (03:04):
Oh, sometimes. Sometimes you get, uh, a good track across, but, like,
all of them are kind of like, uh, a journey of, um,
I don't know, um, getting better at music or getting more, um,
precise in what you want to say, I guess. Firstly, this.
S1 (03:20):
Track and your newest music. How's that all happened?
S4 (03:23):
Well, it's this one's kind of. It's got a bit
of a story around it, so I'll kind of go
back a little bit. So I run a, um, music
inclusion program. Well, I started at inclusion music program at, uh,
the City of Cockburn at my role when I was
working there as the disability officer. And part of that,
we we had a facilitator named Chris Thompson, who's a
(03:49):
touring artist around Australia and international. Um, and I had
him facilitating the program, and he invited the group, the
inclusive Group, to a concert of his. And we all went.
And the night before he sends me a message, he goes, hey, mate,
do you know tour door by Paul Kelly? And I'm like, yeah,
I know a little bit. He goes, good, because I'm
(04:09):
going to get you up on stage and you're going
to play it with me. And I'm like, oh my God.
S1 (04:12):
Oh wow, what a great song that is too, by
the way.
S4 (04:15):
Yeah, yeah. So um, like so he so when I
get there I'm like sort of sort of prepared and unprepared.
But he introduces me to the band, and the band is, um,
a fellow named, uh, Dave Johnson, who's a great blues
artist around Fremantle and another guy named Nathan Gaunt. So
(04:35):
I get up on stage with these guys and rock
out and, you know, standing ovation because, you know, they
love to see, um, you know, someone like, I don't know,
a blind person, get up there and mix it with
the with the crew. So that was really cool and
cool fun. But meeting Nathan Gaunt, he's a big time
artist himself and he's also a producer. And he says
(04:56):
to me, hey, mate, well, you should come and record
a song with me. And I'm like, yeah, yeah, yeah,
let's do it. So this feeling like home was the
first track that we, um, did together, and the song itself,
like I did a demo of it, which is, you know,
has some similarities to it. But when you break it
(05:16):
all down with a producer such as Nathan Gawne, it, um,
it feels different, but now it's feeling like home. Yeah.
S1 (05:24):
So the kind of, uh, the idea and the origins,
if you like, was within you. And then kind of
Nathan brought a bit more, more to it and out
of you from it as well.
S4 (05:33):
Yeah. Really kind of drew the. Yeah. The, the feel
and the, the music, um, into a bigger, a bigger
picture and bigger, more precise picture too. So when we
first talked about this song, he goes, I reckon you've
got like two awesome choruses here and we only need one.
(05:53):
So we need to work this out right? Yeah. So.
So that was pretty funny. But yeah, we decided on
which way it would go. And and thus it is.
S1 (06:02):
What was it like playing at that concert? I mean,
you know, 24 hours notice. That's not much. And, you know,
it's it's a big deal. You must have been a
little bit nervous. Uh, that's what I'm saying is your
your talent would have even shone through, given the lack
of preparedness and the nervousness of the situation.
S4 (06:17):
Oh, it was. Yeah, it was pretty, pretty scary. Like, um,
when we he messaged me and I'm like, going, oh, God,
I better go and flip the song on and have
her play along, like, just to make sure I got
got that sort of right. But on on the day,
like he introduced me to everybody and he's, um, got
me up on stage to kind of get my bearings
a bit because I can't see anything like absolutely nothing.
(06:40):
So he gets me up on stage and he sat
me in because they had a keyboard. Uh, Nathan was
playing keys. He's also a great guitarist, you know. So
he was playing keys at the time. So he sat
me next to him and hands me the Fender Strat
and he goes, yeah. Here you go. Right. And so
they had a feel. And so I got off stage
and waited for the time that he was going to
(07:01):
call me up. I had no kind of inkling of
when that was. So we were listening to to Carus
and his concert, which is, which is cool. Everyone's getting
into it and I'm like, oh, I've got to go
to the loo, you know, go to the loo. And
you know what? I'm in the toilet and I hear
him call my name up.
S1 (07:17):
Of course, of course.
S4 (07:20):
So I.
S1 (07:21):
Go in.
S4 (07:22):
Yeah. And there's this like, silence in the room, like,
is there any is there a Benny in the room? Like,
what's going on? So I step out and he's like, oh,
here he is. Here he is. And yeah, up I get.
And look, there was, you know, a hundred people there.
And and it was like the type of concert that
was organized. It's more like a dining. So you have
dinner and then, um, you know, they, they, he performs
(07:46):
and sometimes, you know, you might have a bit of
a gig afterwards, but when we got up there, like,
everyone started getting up for a bit of a jam,
you know, like a dance. So we had and and
characters during the, during the show while I was up there,
he goes, hey mate, everyone's dancing. Like I'm like, cool, cool,
you know? And he got me to play. I played
the solo, you know, the no, no, no, no. You
(08:08):
know that bit of the. Yeah. The song. So they
weren't expecting me. So I just started playing the solo
and then Nathan's like, oh is he going to do
the high bit. Yes he did the high bit you know.
So it was pretty fun. Like it was a great night.
And um, yeah, everyone had a good time. And yeah,
the crowd went off at the end of that song.
S1 (08:27):
So on a serious note, Ben, like you talked about,
you know, the crowd was kind of, um, into the
fact that here's this guy who's blind sort of playing with,
with the group and obviously, you know, very good at
his music. I mean, that's an important kind of message
to be sending to the crowd, isn't it, about the
abilities of a person who's blind that the musical abilities,
I mean, you're kind of blind, but that's a secondary thing.
(08:48):
The fact that you're a talented musician is the primary
sort of reason for you being there?
S4 (08:52):
Yeah, well, look, I think people kind of, you know,
think laterally a bit. He says, oh my God, he's blind.
And see, look how he's doing that. Like, yeah, it's
pretty surprising for people. Um, how does he find the
notes on the fretboard without even, you know, looking? Yeah,
without looking in a sense, you know, but like, we
(09:12):
talk about this, um, socially amongst friends who are blind
to into music and, you know, some concerts that are
played like, the crowd sometimes don't even realize. Right. So.
And it's hard because if a guy, let's just say
a performer doesn't let the crowd know, then how does
the crowd know if he's engaging with them and or
(09:34):
is he being a bit boring? You know what I mean?
S1 (09:37):
Right.
S4 (09:38):
Yeah. Yeah. So it's really important, I think, for us, um,
performers who are blind to just make it super obvious. Like,
I try to make it obvious. I Basically go out
there and say, hey mate, I can't see you guys,
so let me know you're having fun. You know what
I mean? So. So otherwise we don't know, like some
some people are just head boppers and groovers and we
(09:59):
don't even know.
S1 (10:00):
So that's a that's such an important point though. And
I guess, you know, those of us on this side
of the stage or in the audience, maybe don't think
of that. But you're quite right, isn't it? You if
you can't see what our reaction is, then you need
some sort of audio cue to know that we're enjoying
it or having a good time.
S4 (10:18):
Yeah. Or someone in your band is saying, you know,
they're getting into it. And Kara's working out in our
exclusive group live performed with him once before he did
his a concert at, uh, one of our International Day
of Disabilities events, and I brought my, um, snare drum and,
and percussion stuff, and I was just, I, you know,
(10:38):
I said, oh, jam, jam with her, you know?
S1 (10:41):
And how'd you get into music? How did you kind
of discover music?
S4 (10:44):
Uh, yeah. Good question. So I think I was God.
I was in like grade 4 or 5 where I
first had my first guitar and I did guitar lessons,
but I was music for me as a kid. I
loved the Beach Boys. I used to get up in
the middle of the morning, you know, early morning, like,
(11:05):
you know, as the sun came up and I'd put
on the old, um, Beach Boys records and my, my
parents used to hate it because I'd like, couldn't help myself.
I'd put on the record and and play it. It's
5:00 in the morning and I'm singing along already. You know,
I just I just loved it, you know? And eventually
that translated into, uh, buying my first guitar. And dad
(11:28):
bought me a first, my first acoustic guitar and. Yeah,
sort of got a few lessons.
S1 (11:33):
And you play a few other instruments as well.
S4 (11:35):
Yeah. Well, I slowly pick up on, you know, I
play a little bit of drums. I've got a piano.
Like I'm not trained in piano at all. I just
do it, you know?
S1 (11:44):
Yeah yeah yeah yeah. I like to say.
S4 (11:48):
Yeah. Play by ear. Um. And just have a have
a go. I can't play any particular songs.
S1 (11:53):
One of the things that's been discussed on this program for, uh,
the 30 years that I've been doing it is whether,
you know, there are more people who are blind that
are or that are born blind, that have got perfect
pitch compared to the conventional population. I'm not sure if
you got perfect pitch.
S4 (12:07):
I'd have to say probably not.
S1 (12:09):
I don't.
S5 (12:10):
Well, yeah, you shot down that argument.
S4 (12:12):
Look, I don't know. I can hear, hear music, but
I think perfect pitch is is a trained. I think
most people are trained into perfect pitch early because like
some notes like, well, I might hear it, but I
can't sometimes I can't get it, you know, as in
reach it. You know what I mean? Yeah. But yeah, definitely. Yeah.
(12:33):
It's a skill that can be really honed quickly, I think,
for blind people. Well, I don't know. It's. Oh, it's
a myth maybe.
S1 (12:41):
Yeah, well, someone should do a PhD Ph.D. on it.
Maybe they already have, but I reckon that'll be a
good one to take on board. Hey, Ben, what about
as far as, uh, the song itself? Uh, where is
it available? How can people access your music?
S4 (12:54):
So at the moment I've released, uh, Feeling Like Home
on my Bandcamp site. Um, I'm, you know, trying to
be a bit more direct to customer these days. I
know the streaming platforms aren't, uh, really, uh, I don't know,
loving of indie small artists. Um, that's a whole nother
big debate argument, uh, about about making a career out
(13:17):
of it, but I am putting it up there. Uh,
it should launch on the streaming platforms. Um, on my birthday,
the 22nd of April.
S1 (13:25):
Oh, it's going to make you.
S4 (13:26):
That coming up.
S1 (13:27):
I know she has a birthday coming up.
S4 (13:29):
Yeah, yeah. So that's, uh, I usually release a song
on some sort of, you know, day that I remember.
S1 (13:35):
I normally eat a birthday cake. You release a song?
S4 (13:38):
Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Something else to celebrate.
S1 (13:43):
Yeah. Well. That's fantastic. Hey, great to catch up. It's
a really it's a really great story. And we'll go
out with a little bit of your song feeling like
I'm so, uh. Is it an easy thing to do?
I guess you have to get the sort of planets
have to align for you to write a song that
you're happy with.
S4 (13:58):
Yeah, well, look, writing takes a bit of time. Like
to get the. Get the feeling right, get the the
words right. Like, you can bang out a song pretty quick,
but recording it and getting translating the, the sounds and
sort of things from your head onto computer, onto onto
the system these days it's it's tricky and it's hard.
(14:21):
And look, the accessibility for me is, is like, you know,
you can get half of it. But working with another person,
which is really what music's about, is working with others
to try and bring out the best ability in you,
like musically and and all that. So it does take time.
Like a good quality song, I think. Yeah, yeah.
S1 (14:43):
Terrific. Ben. Great to catch up. Happy birthday for next week.
Good luck with the launch of the song. We'll play
a little bit as we leave you, and also we'll
put the details up as to how people can find
it with our show notes. But it's great to catch
up with spender. Well, it's been fun, but it's also
been very educational. You've really raised some interesting points, so
we appreciate that. We wish you well.
S4 (15:03):
Great. Thanks a lot, Peter, for having me and enjoy
the tour.
S1 (15:06):
Ben Ray there with his latest song Feeling Like Home.
S4 (15:12):
I'm sure in my veins like a puffing Billy train.
S6 (15:22):
One step beyond.
S1 (15:30):
It go right into the offices of Beyond Blindness and
find out the latest news. Speak to Frank Villa, who
looks after the western suburbs summit and beyond. Frank, always
great to catch up. Thanks for your time. Hi, Peter. Good.
Good to chat with you again. Now, you've been a
very busy person.
S7 (15:45):
Uh, sort of. But you did say that. Yes, yes.
I've just, uh, returning back from my trip to Whyalla
and Port Augusta. Uh, which, uh, our members and volunteers
in Whyalla, that a day trip, uh, to Port Augusta
had lunch at the cafe. Yeah, they had a they
had a fantastic day. The weather was perfect. That background
(16:08):
of the Flinders Ranges of where we were at Apple
Valley and, uh, yeah. Uh, and I tried I went
around and did a bit of networking as well, leaving
a few leaflet while I was there. And Port Augusta
as well.
S1 (16:21):
As that would have been new for a venture for
you and and beyond Borders. How's that going? That sort of, uh,
you know, that's a wider region.
S7 (16:29):
It's doing well, but we're always, uh, wanting to have
more members and, uh, well, here, the members, especially if
they want to increase that. I've got about 5 or
6 irregular numbers there, but uh oh, I welcome more more.
Obviously I'm trying to expand into Port Augusta as well
because there are members in Port Augusta, which we haven't
(16:52):
heard from yet. Uh, we'd love to, uh, increase there
as well.
S1 (16:56):
And I guess the thing is, Frank, I mean, there
might be a lot of members there or a few
members in that area, but I guess there'd be even
more people who are blind or low vision who could
benefit from becoming a member and connecting up with people
like you and and your other, uh, fellow people that
are meeting up in that wider area?
S7 (17:12):
Oh, definitely. The I mean, I know that, um, everyone there,
they all have their routines and but, um, they were
sure that they will get, uh, some benefit one way
or another, whether they're doing with their vision or just
wanting to get out of the house, or is there
a positive vibe that they'll get when they go out
(17:33):
with the group.
S1 (17:34):
Also keen for volunteers. Frank. So I guess transport in
that area would be a bit of a a challenge. Uh,
not not too much transport, I wouldn't imagine.
S7 (17:42):
Definitely. That's right. That's that's the one of the main problems,
especially having to do a, uh, a day trip like
we just did. I had just gone up and we
was a volunteer, and I. And we drove one of
the 12 Peter van til we can't do that all
the time, but, uh, but they did have, um, some support. Uh,
(18:06):
they do. They have their own, uh, family that will
drop them off as well, but they did a longer
day trip, so that's a big problem. Yeah.
S1 (18:14):
And you talked about doing a leaflet drop in the
Port Augusta area. I guess, you know, we hear about
country areas and kind of everyone knows everyone. And it's a,
a cross community. So you drop off a leaflet and
you never know even if that particular house or business
doesn't have someone with a vision impairment, chances are they
might know someone that does.
S7 (18:34):
Exactly. That's right. Then a lot of it is word
of mouth. Yeah, yeah. We've been in the newspaper. We've
done the radio there, and we've done here with this radio.
But a lot of them have just. Yeah. Word of
mouth picked up. Who knows and who knows that. But yeah,
it's been stable. But we're always looking for more members
(18:55):
and volunteers down there.
S1 (18:56):
In fact, yesterday spoke to another radio station.
S5 (18:59):
I do.
S1 (19:01):
I thought we had you exclusively.
S7 (19:05):
I can't even give you the name. There's one that
covers everyone.
S1 (19:10):
Uh, in all seriousness. That's great, isn't it? Because a
lot of people would rely on the radio in that
area to get information. So it's great that you have
that sort of access as well.
S7 (19:19):
Exactly. The more, the more the better.
S1 (19:22):
We'll let you off for that one, Frank. Are you
doing it for the community? So that's that's okay. Uh,
what about more? What? What about more likely in your
sort of backyard, as it were, the western suburbs. What's
happening in those areas?
S7 (19:36):
Yeah, I've got a little bit of news there, but uh, my, uh,
Western group, we've got, um, Dowling up next term. There's
a group. They're going to the brothel on the 3rd
of May. Okay. Yeah. Yeah, some of them will draw that.
Enjoy that. Uh, I would ever drive up there and
visit a bakery or winery, maybe. Yeah. Any on time
(20:01):
so that my tea drinking, uh, you know, you've got
to walk back onto the bus in one piece.
S1 (20:08):
So lead by. Lead by example, Frank.
S7 (20:11):
Yeah, yeah. Always, always. Uh, I got it down to it, but, yeah,
we'll get away from that subject. Yes. Also, the young,
the young adult groups still going strong and and and
we're looking still again. All the groups looking for more members, volunteers,
volunteer drivers as well. Female and not that. But we're
(20:34):
a bit short on female drivers. But. Yeah, yeah. We're
looking for anyone. Yeah. The the Greek they're going to.
And tend to have a lunch at the garden on
the 11th of May. Then I've got the, my, the
Friday social group are doing a short walk around the port.
And then the lighthouse walk for lunch. Oh, terrific. They
(20:56):
ended up maybe they didn't enjoy that. That walk along the, uh,
the river there. And last but not least, there is the.
On the 22nd of May. We're going to be. There. Well,
the the minimum social clubs I think. But I'll sort
that out later if it gets closer. But yes, it's
(21:16):
there should be a good trip as well. If you
enjoy the little trip, if you get to Langhorne Creek
or Murray Bridge and things like that. And again, not
bad enough that we need more members up there as well.
We've got a good group there, but they want to
spread their knowledge of their, uh, their experiences in life.
(21:38):
So all are welcome.
S1 (21:40):
I mentioned this a few times, but you're targeting areas
where the population is growing, so chances are there's people
there who are blind or have low vision that could
really benefit from becoming a member and getting the social
engagement and that, you know, shared lived experience as well.
S7 (21:55):
Definitely good enough. It's, uh, yeah, getting out of the
house is the first step and then the rest. We
just have a after effect, the flow on effect, so
to speak. So, yeah. And, uh, I haven't heard too
many complaints. Everyone seems to be having a good time.
S1 (22:11):
Uh, that's that's good. Yeah. I'll tell you what, people,
the way they the way we all are, we're quick
to complain and and slow to praise. So if you're
not hearing any complaints, you must be doing a good job. Hey, Frank,
you were telling me a bit earlier about a walking
group that you've also got going.
S7 (22:26):
Yes, sir. We've got the gentle walk that happens on
the first on the Mondays, every Monday. They had a
bit of a change this year in the summer times,
because we've changed this time to an earlier time. We're
now at the beginning of the next term. Will be
going back to the regular time with the 10:00 start,
and then after lunch later on and then back home.
(22:47):
So but yeah, hopefully you get some nice weather. Not
too hot now, although we are having a bit of
a warm spell at the moment.
S1 (22:54):
Yeah.
S7 (22:55):
But uh, but yeah, back to regular times for the,
for the Monday group which they will be happy with
I hope. So yeah, that was just, uh, another that was. Yeah.
We thought we'd do the earlier one because of the,
because of the heat. And everyone get home by 12:00
if we get leave 3840 and yeah, it's not not
too much fun going out there. So back to normal
(23:16):
next time.
S1 (23:16):
When you say gentle walking group, what do you mean
by that? Is sort of a bit more sort of
relaxed and more for, uh, sort of social engagement rather
than sort of a physical thing.
S7 (23:26):
Right? That's right. It's just a just a bit of
a stroll. No, a couple of kilometres. Three kilometres maybe. Uh,
the limit? No more than 3 or 4km. You know,
just just to just to enjoy the environment going out and. Yeah.
In the company and, uh, and then a nice lunch afterwards.
S1 (23:46):
Terrific. Hey, Frank, you've been with us for a little
while now. Has it kind of changed you as a
person or not? It changes the person. But I guess
the way you interact with people, the way you conduct
the the various groups that you do because you've covered
most of the state. It's that kind of been good
for you sort of professionally as well as, you know,
just on an individual basis.
S7 (24:06):
It has, it has because it's for one, it's got
me out and about in the places I've been before.
I've been up to Port Augusta, but I've never gone
to Whyalla, so, uh, yeah, that's an eye opener. And
people there are fantastic. And, and that's what the A
sort of teased me a little bit. Other than I've
(24:27):
been used to everyone here in the city and how
we all have our routines, but up in the country
it's just a totally different life. And and the people
are just more relaxed. I can say, yeah, you get
the yeah, you opened my eyes up anyway. You could say, yeah,
and I can't speak highly enough of everyone in the
country and that people back Gambia as well, which you've
been doing well and they're all lovely people and then
(24:51):
get the different range of how everybody thinks the under
the one umbrella, everyone speaks the same. But you know,
there's certain things that are, uh, differing about the country,
which I like. But yeah, they're very, very welcoming.
S1 (25:05):
Because earlier in the earlier in the year you went
down to Mount Gambier, didn't you? There was an expo
down there as well, wasn't there?
S7 (25:10):
Yes. Yeah.
S1 (25:11):
How did that go?
S7 (25:12):
Yes, that's going on. Uh, well, again, I can't do
no more members, volunteers. And uh, here I go to
the group there as well, and, uh, I'm hoping to
build that up as well in the future.
S1 (25:27):
So we did we did hear a bit of a
rumor that, uh, a couple of the bakeries were, uh, well,
shall we say, impressed with your orders?
S7 (25:36):
Well, I've had to wear an elastic for that one, but.
S1 (25:43):
Uh, that country cooking, there's nothing like it.
S7 (25:46):
Nothing beats it. Yeah. But one of the reasons I
enjoy going to the country. Yeah.
S1 (25:51):
Oh, terrific. Well, Frank, if people want to find out
more about any of the things you've talked about, there's
been quite a few, obviously. Um, how can we get
in touch with you?
S7 (25:59):
Yeah, they can. They can call the office, or they
can call myself myself or Marion. And we'll be quite happily, uh,
oblige and help out many in any areas we can.
S1 (26:11):
Alright. 836760. Double eight is the office number 836760. Double eight.
As I said, you know, western suburbs that you talked
about the hills. I mean, you got people that might be, uh,
interested in the Mount Gambier, the southeast area of Port Augusta, Whyalla,
so pretty much anywhere in South Australia. If you think
that some of these activities might suit you or indeed
(26:34):
someone you know or as you say, if you'd like
to get involved as a volunteer, you can hear that
Frank's a very gregarious character and would have a bit
of fun. It'd be good to, uh, work with. So
if you want to get involved, um, give the office
a call and take it from there.
S7 (26:48):
That's right.
S1 (26:48):
Good.
S7 (26:49):
You can't.
S1 (26:49):
Go wrong. They can't go wrong. Yeah, well, happy Easter, Frank.
I know you will both be closed over the Easter break, but, uh, back, uh,
as per normal from, um, Tuesday next week. So happy
Easter to you and all. And, uh, we'll catch up
again soon.
S7 (27:03):
And thanks to you, Peter, and everyone out there.
S1 (27:05):
That's a real idea. Who, uh, is, uh, member engagement
officer at, uh, beyond a great deal of work and
certainly covers some kilometers. I think next time we might
ask him how many kilometers he's done. Uh, in a year,
if you want to find out more beyond blindness or 83676088.
You're listening to Focal Point on beating.
S8 (27:26):
Australia Radio 1190 7 a.m. via radio, digital and online@radio.org.
S1 (27:35):
With the Australian Women's Blind cricket team is about to
make history again. Can you make history more than once? Well,
certainly our Australian women's blind cricket team can. Let's chat
about it with one of the stars of the team. Millie. Hut! Millie,
great to meet you. Thanks for your time.
S9 (27:49):
It's amazing to meet you, too. Thank you for having
me on.
S1 (27:51):
Congratulations on your selection.
S9 (27:53):
Thank you so much. It's a real honour and I'm
very lucky to be selected.
S1 (27:57):
Now, we spoke to Locky Wallace a few weeks ago
when the cat was in Adelaide. Actually, I can't remember
the exact numbers, but it was something like 20 players
were there. Only 15 were going to be selected. So, um,
did you have to kind of bite your fingernails or, uh,
calm yourself down to just find out if you've been selected?
S9 (28:14):
Yeah, it was a real nail biter. Alberta. I found
we fortunately found out the day after, so it wasn't
too long of a wait, but it was a bit
of a stressful time for me to be honest. I
was just sitting there biting my nails, waiting for the
phone call to come.
S1 (28:28):
And how did you feel when that happened?
S9 (28:29):
Amazing. I have never felt more honored or better in
my life. It was the most exciting phone call I
think I probably ever received.
S1 (28:36):
Oh, terrific. Well, it's just a bit about how you
got involved with, uh, blind cricket. And have you tried
other sports?
S9 (28:42):
Yeah, I got involved through the blind sports camp. So
savvy as the blind school for SA in SA. And
they hold, like, blind sports camps where they bring out
kids and go through different sports. I've played tennis, tennis
and a bit of goalball as well as cricket.
S1 (28:58):
What appealed about cricket? Why have you stuck to cricket
and obviously excelled at cricket?
S9 (29:02):
I love the community and I love how lovely it
is to play with everyone, and I'm very competitive and
cricket has just allowed me to be competitive in a
friendly environment. And to be honest, I really play for
the batting. I love the batting. I love the challenge
of batting and I just love the sport altogether, to
be honest.
S1 (29:23):
Isn't Bali more fun? At least you get six chances
at it. Batting one mistake and you're out. Yeah. Do
you or do you bat for a long time so
you never get out?
S9 (29:30):
I try my best to bat for a long time. Um,
I've definitely been out once or twice, but no, definitely
love batting more than bowling.
S1 (29:38):
And the T20 format because you mainly play T20, don't you?
S9 (29:42):
Yeah, we've only really played T20 as a women's team. Yeah.
S1 (29:46):
What about if there is, uh, the tour or the
trip to Queensland playing against Pakistan? I guess you don't
know much about the Pakistan team or do you?
S9 (29:54):
No, not really. I haven't personally seen them play. I
don't think any of us really have. They're quite a
new team to playing internationally. I know they've had a
team for a little while, but no, we haven't really
seen them play before, so it'll be exciting to meet
them all and be able to reverse them. I think
it'd be great.
S1 (30:11):
That's one of the very exciting things about something like this,
isn't it? The fact that, um, you know, I mean,
we all know some of the struggles that Pakistan full
stop have had, but then for a women's team and
for a blind cricket team with this thing to be
able to play internationally, that's obviously a great thing for
the country and obviously a great thing for the individuals
that are playing.
S9 (30:29):
It's amazing. I know every single one of the girls
in the squad, and the girls who were selected regard
it as one of the highest honors to be selected
in the team, and it's just an amazing feeling to
be able to represent your country and doing it in
a sport you love.
S1 (30:43):
As I said, history making because first time Australia would
have hosted an international match.
S9 (30:48):
Yeah, it's our first time playing on home soil. It's
just amazing to think that we'll be able to play
such a high level of cricket on our home ground.
To be honest, it takes my breath away. I can't
even put it into words.
S1 (31:01):
What about your preparation though? Will you know about the
camp a few weeks ago? What about some of the
other things that you've been doing? I guess maybe on
your own or sort of more individualized to get good
suit for you for this?
S9 (31:11):
Yeah, I do exercise. I have an exercise physiologist that
I do twice a week.
S1 (31:16):
Okay.
S9 (31:17):
I train with our SA blind cricket squad twice a week.
We do one training session and one game, usually within
the cricket season. And outside that, I try to do
as much cricketing by myself as I can, either in
the backyard or the local park, having my family members
come and help me out.
S1 (31:32):
Oh really?
S9 (31:32):
Yeah. Are you.
S1 (31:35):
Involved? Are you?
S9 (31:35):
Yeah. To bowl to me. To maybe hit a few
balls so I can practice a little bit of fielding,
throwing at the stumps, a little bit of bowling practice
as well. Keeping up that skills. Um, yeah, they're very helpful.
I'm very lucky to have such a supportive family.
S1 (31:50):
Do any of your family members think that you're their
bunny because they find it easy to get you out?
S9 (31:55):
Ah, my dad likes to think he finds it easy
to get me out. Uh, definitely. He tries his hardest.
And when he does, he does do a big celebration.
A little bit.
S1 (32:05):
Of. What do you know about the tour coming up
or the trip to, back to Queensland to play Pakistan,
because you got to be pretty busy, aren't you? You're
playing a lot of matches in a short period of time.
S9 (32:15):
Yeah, it's five matches over six days. So we put um,
we start on the 20th of this month and then
go to the 25th. It's held at Crombie Knights Cricket club.
So if anyone is looking to come out and watch
a game, you'll feel free to come out. We'd love
the support. If you want to find any more details
about our tour or anything like that, you can always
(32:36):
visit the blind Cricket Australia Facebook page and they have
all the information.
S1 (32:41):
All right, that sounds like a commercial, Millie, but we'll
let you get away with that. Actually, another thing you
talk about, uh, if people are listening and want to
get along to watch, because we do go around Australia
on the Vision Australia and also the, uh, Reading Radio Network.
So I'm sure people would be listening in Queensland on whatever, uh,
device they might be listening to that might like to
(33:01):
get out there. Well, what about away from cricket? What
do you do? Millie talked about having a go at
goalball as well. What other things do you do? Away
from cricket?
S9 (33:10):
Yeah, I do play quite a bit of goalball with
the Aussie Belles. I'm very lucky to be a part
of that squad as well. I like to do a
lot of art in my spare time and playing with
my guide dog. Bixby is one of my favorite pastimes
as well. I'm currently in year 12, so that's taken
up a lot of my time as well. So it's
mainly just school and cricket.
S1 (33:28):
What about, uh, sort of post-school? Have you got any
thoughts as to what you might like to do there?
S9 (33:32):
I'm thinking about doing veterinary nursing. So it's basically what
a human nurse does for people but for animals. Um,
I thought quite interesting.
S1 (33:41):
What about to get into something like that? Uh, do
you think that, uh, you know, there's some pretty good marks?
S9 (33:47):
Yeah. It does. It needs, I think, like a 98. Ah,
to get into hell. Fingers crossed.
S1 (33:56):
Okay.
S9 (33:56):
Hardest.
S1 (33:57):
That might be a nail biting. Like being selected for
the Australian team to get into your chosen course. That
might be some more nail biting. I hope you got
long nails.
S9 (34:07):
Oh, yeah. I hope they grow out.
S1 (34:08):
I think.
S9 (34:10):
The call was enough.
S1 (34:13):
To tell us a little bit about your vision impairment.
S9 (34:15):
Yeah, so I was born with my vision impairment. I
was born fully blind. I have currently I have no
peripheral vision. I have ocular albinism, photophobia, nystagmus. And I'm
also red green colorblind. So, yeah, a lot of quite
a few vision, um, issues, unfortunately. But it allows me
(34:39):
to play this wonderful sport. So there are ups and
downs to it I suppose.
S1 (34:44):
Yeah. What about in terms of, um, I guess, sort
of prognosis or the future regarding your eyesight? Do you
sort of. Well, I know much about or think much
about it.
S9 (34:54):
Um. Not really. It's so the reason why I have
my vision impairment is because of a gene. It's like
a 1 in 1,000,000 chance that a child, that your
parents have that gene passed down? I was just basically
very unfortunate. And yeah, there's not much else we really
know about my vision, unfortunately. Um, technology is improving every day,
(35:15):
so hopefully in the future we'll find out a bit
more about it. But that's all I know really so far.
S1 (35:20):
So you went to Santa Fe for your early schooling?
S9 (35:23):
No, I didn't, I went to I did mainstream schooling,
so I went to Pembroke and Saint John's for primary school,
and now I'm at Concordia College for my high schooling.
S1 (35:32):
Okay, so all the says he was a cat that
they kind of held and kids who they know might
be interested to come along and play at different activities
come along.
S9 (35:40):
Yeah. So I've, I work with Sasb through school and
they advocate a lot for me. And so they invited
me out in year seven. And I went out and
tried a whole heap of different sports. And that's really
where my sporting love came from, was from those camps,
because I had never really had much of an interest,
because I couldn't really play many sports.
S1 (35:58):
It's interesting, isn't it, because often we hear about that, that,
you know, kids who might be blind or have low
vision or just have disabilities, kind of where you sit
on the sidelines because of your disability. You can't get involved.
But obviously you've kind of proved that theory wrong.
S9 (36:11):
Yeah, I think that is a major thing that happens
is where PE teachers go, oh, well, you can't really
see the ball. So how are you supposed to play
or join in? I was very fortunate through my schooling
that where I could I joined in, but sadly really,
really helped me with those blind sports camps, finding ways
I could play sport and just enjoy being outdoors and
(36:31):
the competitive nature and the community that comes along with it.
I'm very lucky to have found that.
S1 (36:37):
Now you're in year 12, so you couldn't have had
a guard dog for too long because you conquered them
at a young age. Can you.
S9 (36:43):
Know? So you have to meet very certain qualifications to
get a guide dog. I luckily got my dog in
December last year, so just about four months I think.
S1 (36:54):
Okay. Have you gelled?
S9 (36:55):
We really have. She's sitting right by me at the
moment with her head on my knee being like, mum,
why can't you play with me?
S1 (37:02):
Oh, okay. Now you're doing a radio interview. That's really,
really important.
S9 (37:07):
No, uh, she's very smart, but she hasn't won yet.
S1 (37:12):
Well, hopefully, you know, when this goes to where she
can listen to it. Bixby. Is it?
S9 (37:17):
Yeah. Her name's Bixby.
S1 (37:18):
She's like Bixby. Thanks for listening in. We need all
the listeners we can get. So we're going to count
you as part of our listenership. So well done on that, actually.
On a serious note, Milly, what sort of a difference
has it made to your life?
S9 (37:29):
It's made a major difference to my life. It's made
a difference to my confidence. Being able to go out
and as a as like an almost an adult, a young, um, adult,
I suppose it's just being able to have that freedom
to not have to depend on anybody giving me so
much independence. And she's honestly become one of my best friends.
(37:50):
And it's every like I've had to leave her at the, um,
home one day, the other day, because it was too
hot to take her out. It just felt so wrong
leaving her behind, I couldn't imagine my life really without her.
S1 (38:01):
What about in terms of technology? What sort of technology
do you use? Not for mobility, but I guess mainly
for school or also for school.
S9 (38:08):
I currently use an app to a laptop, not a laptop.
And on that laptop I have fusion, which has a
mix of screen readers. It changes the colors on my laptop,
so I have it in like almost like a dark mode.
So black and white text. I used lots of, um,
zooms with my laptop and my phone. Yeah, just a
(38:29):
lot of screen readers, mostly.
S1 (38:31):
Just going back to your eye condition. So do you
have to be careful in the sun?
S9 (38:35):
Yeah, I have to wear pretty dark sunglasses when I
play cricket, and the glare definitely gets to me sometimes.
So it's really that auditory, listening to the ball and
making sure I'm switched on, or else I really just
won't see it. I have to be very careful in
the sun, because if I'm in the sun for too long,
visual fatigue, mental fatigue, yeah, it can be really tiring
(38:56):
and painful for my eyesight.
S1 (38:57):
What about as far as the category? Of course you
know the various categories in blind sport. Which category are you?
S9 (39:03):
I'm a B2, so I'm just below. So I have
some functioning vision. So I don't know how much you
know about the categories, but there's b1, b2, B3, b1
have no functioning vision. B2 is kind of the next
level down and then B3 has some functioning vision. All
vision impairments are quite bad and quite impaired to play
(39:24):
the sport on this level. But yeah, I'm a B2.
S1 (39:27):
What about as far as you've got a new captain,
the Australia team haven't they. The last year's blind Australian
of the year I think is captaining the side isn't it.
S9 (39:34):
Yeah. We're very lucky to have Courtney Quebec, um.
S7 (39:37):
Wooed.
S1 (39:38):
Away from tennis.
S9 (39:39):
No. Yeah we did very fortunately. We're very, very lucky
to have her captaining. I couldn't have seen really anyone
else doing it, to be honest. She's amazing. Her knowledge
of the sport is fantastic. Yeah, I regard her very highly.
S1 (39:53):
And another other interesting name, is Katie Kelly. I don't
know if you know much about Katie, but an incredible
Paralympic career and now playing blind cricket.
S9 (40:03):
Yeah. Um, I believe she was a triathlon.
S1 (40:06):
Yeah. Yeah.
S9 (40:07):
Yeah. She was amazing. Um, at in Tokyo. She was amazing.
I definitely watched her sitting on my couch at home.
And it was just amazing to have someone with that
experience in the team. And she's just such a lovely,
down to earth person. It's been really amazing getting to
know her, and I'm very happy that she's been selected.
S1 (40:26):
I've had the privilege of interviewing Katie a few times
over the years, and of course also lives with a
hearing impairment. So, uh, a great sort of role model
for anyone who might have dual disabilities.
S9 (40:36):
Yeah, we have a few girls with hearing, um, impairments
on the team. And, yeah, it's still an amazing sport
for those girls as well. They're able to play at
a very high level, as you can see, by Katie
Kelly being in team and being selected. Yeah. It's just
amazing to see what they gave you.
S1 (40:54):
Well, Millie, good to meet you. For the first time.
I'm sure we'll speak many more times in the future
as your career goes from strength to strength for you
and all the, uh, the Australian team. We wish you
well against Pakistan. We'll keep our listeners across how we
go and hopefully catch up with, uh, one of the
two of the athletes when the series is over. But, uh,
enjoy it. And thanks for coming to speak to us.
It's been really wonderful.
S9 (41:14):
Amazing. Thank you. Thank you so much for having me.
S1 (41:16):
Yeah. One of the members of the Australian Blind cricket
team for women as they prepare to play Pakistan in
Queensland next week.
S10 (41:28):
Yo, Holmes, what up? What up with you? What we
gonna say? What we gonna do? Where are we gonna go?
Where we gonna see? We're going to the library.
S1 (41:37):
Let's catch up with the latest news from the Vision
Australia library. Always plenty happening. The best person to talk
about it is Maureen O'Reilly. Maureen. Happy Easter.
S11 (41:47):
Happy Easter to you, Peter. I love Easter. It's one
of my favorite times of year.
S1 (41:52):
Yes, the chocolate is pretty hard to say no to.
S11 (41:55):
Oh, I think it's also. And I know that you
shouldn't celebrate religious events on the basis of a holiday,
but it's just so nice having just when the summer
holiday benefits are starting to wear off a little bit.
You get a four day weekend in there as well.
S1 (42:10):
So very true. Yeah. So, you know, catch our breath
and move on to the next part of the year.
S11 (42:15):
I think so.
S1 (42:16):
Speaking about the next part of the year, what's the
biggest Australian library coming up is the Melbourne Writers Festival
high on your agenda?
S11 (42:22):
It is very high on my agenda. That is my
all consuming baby at the moment. We are very excited
about the Writers Festival. I can't believe it's 12 months
since we last hosted.
S1 (42:34):
Mhm. So we are. Yeah. When is it, where is
it and what, what what can we look forward to.
S11 (42:39):
Well it is on the 9th of May so it's
less than a month away now. And it is a
hybrid event. So we are hosting authors in person at
the Vision Australia offices in Victoria in Keong. So we
are really encouraging all of our Melbourne based clients to
(43:00):
come over to Keong and be part of the Melbourne
Writers Festival. But for all of our clients who live
in more regional areas or live in interstate, or live
right up north or out west, then we are encouraging
them to join us on live to watch the events
being streamed. So it's a very accessible event. Either people
(43:21):
can come in and really feel that vibe of being
part of the festival, or they can sit down in
the luxury of their own home, possibly with a little
cheese platter and a glass of wine, which seems very
Melbourne festival ish to me. Maybe a little beret to
look very, you know, I don't know, very literary and, um,
be part of the festival as well.
S1 (43:42):
Fantastic. Now we're very as in Vision Australia, Radio Vision Australia.
We're all very closely involved with the Writers Festival had
been for quite some time.
S11 (43:50):
That is correct. So we're very proud sponsors to the
festival as a library. We really like to support authors because,
you know, it is the authors who write the books
that fill our libraries. So between them and our readers,
that's what keeps our lives ticking over. And the Vision
Australia Radio have always been very, very supportive of the
(44:13):
festival as well, because it's one of the things that
actually lends itself very nicely to radio, because you can
have interviews with the authors, you can play recordings of
our own conversations. So it's really just another way to, um,
make the whole festival more accessible to our members.
S1 (44:35):
You've been very good to get some very high profile,
very eloquent speakers as part of your own conversations over
the journey, haven't you?
S11 (44:43):
Oh we have. We've been actually incredibly fortunate, and this
year is no exception. We have someone who I would
say is arguably one of the most popular authors in
the Vision Australia library at the moment, in terms of
inquiries that we get and requests for assistance to load
books and so forth. And that is Kate Grenville. So
(45:05):
Kate is an amazing author and we are very, very,
very fortunate to have her joining us. So she will
be with us on the 9th of May from 6 p.m.
till 7 p.m.. So she will be discussing her latest novel,
which is called unsettled A Journey Through Time and Place.
(45:26):
So unsettled is actually it's a memoir of family legacies
and truth telling, and Kate reckoning with what it means
to have a past which is built on land that
was taken from other people. So it's entwining her personal
family's history with the broader story of First Nations people's
(45:50):
dispossession and displacement. And it's really just Kate processing and
coming to terms with what it means to be descended
from people who are very much on that sharp edge
of the blade of colonization. Hard work's sake actually speaks
about historical facts, historical fictions and, you know, writing very
(46:14):
challenging histories and confronting those traumas of the past. So
she will be in conversation with Daniel James, who's a
Yorta Yorta Melbourne based writer and broadcaster. So that's going
to be really, really interesting. I think Kate Kate is
an amazing author, and it's a really interesting perspective to
(46:35):
have it written by, I suppose, somebody from a white
person's perspective who Historically were part of that colonization, but
struggling with what it means to her today.
S1 (46:50):
Great point. Now people have to book for that event
May 9th.
S11 (46:53):
They do indeed. So they need to book. There's two options.
When they go to the Vision Australia Library website. They
can book either online, which is fine, and they will
get sent a zoom link. And we would love to
have all of our members nationally join us online if
they want to come in in person. Can we actually
(47:15):
are booked out in, oh, less than 48 hours? However,
I retained a critical number of tickets for our Vision
Australia Library members, so any our library members or Vision
Australia clients who want to come into Kiyonaga's Cate, they
just need to register for in person on the waitlist,
(47:39):
and then they just need to either phone or email
the Vision Australia library and I will allocate them tickets.
So although it tells them that we're sold out, I
do have a secret little stash for our vision Australian clients.
S1 (47:53):
Oh that's fantastic. Will it be available online afterwards?
S11 (47:56):
It will indeed. So for our library members, it will
be on the access catalogue. And then for our Vision
Australia clients who for reasons beyond me, aren't library members,
there will actually be a podcast as well that Vision
Australia Radio will put out.
S1 (48:12):
It'll be very worth listening to. Now you've got something
for the younger, younger audience.
S11 (48:18):
Before we move on to our younger ones, after Kate,
because Kate is on from 6 to 7, we then
have the wonderful Nadia Simpson joining us from 8 to 9,
and Nadia will be again in person. Or you can
join us online. So if you come into Keong, you're
more than welcome to come in before 6:00, settle in
(48:40):
and then just stay between the two events, have a
chat to the authors, have a bit of a relax
and then stay on for the second one. And if
you're at home again, you can have a bit of
a break and then come back home for Natty. So
Natty is an indigenous writer, or she's actually also a
brilliant singer, so she's a very creative person. And Natty
(49:04):
has a newly released novel called The Bellbird. And that
is actually a fictional novel. And it's a story of motherhood,
of creation, of belonging and connection to country. So it's
a beautiful, beautiful novel. And it's also comparatively unusual in
(49:25):
that a lot of the indigenous writers that we do
feature in our own conversations often are writing non-fiction pieces.
It's really a beautiful piece of storytelling. She discusses place,
she discusses identity and belonging and all of that with
Daniel James, who's also interviewing Kate. So I would love
(49:47):
people to join us for the entire evening. But as
you said before, if that's getting a bit late in
the day, then we will also have that event on
the AXS catalog and then it will also be a
podcast through Vision Australia Radio.
S1 (50:03):
Terrific. Then what about for the younger folk?
S11 (50:05):
Oh young folk. They have one of my favorite children's
library events coming up. We have the National Simultaneous Storytime now.
National Simultaneous Storytime is a beautiful event put on by
the Australian Library Association. And it is a day when
(50:26):
all across the country, we have children sitting down to
read a beautiful children's book together. So they read the
same book at the same time, on the same day.
creating this wonderful sense of community and celebrating a shared
love of reading between each other. So it's oh, it's
really beautiful. And you find that people gather, um, in libraries,
(50:50):
they gather in schools, in childcare centres, in bookshops and
also in their family homes. So we're really keen for
all of our, uh, Vision Australia Children's Library clients, who
may otherwise find it difficult to be out at some
of those larger venues. Or perhaps it's not a day
(51:12):
when they normally go to school or to childcare, and
that they can join us online with their family, or
with their friends or their carers or whoever's with them
on that day. So the book is a gorgeous book
called The Truck Cat, and it's a story of a
cat who travels around Australia with a lonely truck drivers
(51:35):
and they explore the beautiful travels throughout Australia. Until one day,
Tinker chases off after a butterfly and gets lost. So
then we have this gorgeous story of Tinker the tracker
trying to reunite again with his owner and his friend.
(51:57):
So it's a wonderful story of belonging. It's a wonderful
story of connection, which is consistent with the National Simultaneous Time.
And it's really about people reaching out and then finding
these new connections that they didn't expect to find on
that journey, to try to reunite with their loved ones.
(52:19):
So it's really beautiful. And the Vision Australia Storytime reading
is particularly special because it will be enhanced with audio
descriptions of all the beautiful illustrations of cats Katz travels
throughout Australia.
S1 (52:34):
I want to find out what happened, but don't tell me.
But I might have to join in to find out
that the the way the story ends. What date is that? Maureen.
S12 (52:42):
That is a 10.
S11 (52:43):
A.m. on the 21st of May. And one of the
things that we really encourage our children to do and
our students to do, is that if they go to
register on the Vision Australia Library website, they can actually
download some instructions on how to make their very own
tactile version of the truck cat, using a whole lot
(53:05):
of household items that are easily sourced at home. They
can make a beautiful, tactile book, just like we have
in our field. Kits to read along with the live storytime,
and we also have a lovely video. Kylie, our children's librarian,
has excelled herself, and there's a YouTube video sitting on
(53:28):
the library website as well, explaining to children and their
carers how they can create one of these tactile books,
just like we have in our Felix kids.
S1 (53:37):
Oh, what a brilliant idea. And great, but kind of
the broader community can kind of get a bit of
an idea as well. Maureen, we never have enough time,
so we're out of time this time. Give us your details.
If people want to find out more about the things
that you talked about. I know you've got other things.
Such as, uh, opportunity for people to help with their
own writing, etc.. Where can we find you? How can
we get in touch?
S11 (53:57):
So everybody could go to Vision Australia forward slash library.
And if they just skim down the page a tiny bit,
they'll get to what's on. And that shows all of
the programs and events of Vision Australia Library are running
at the time. And if you have any problems with registering,
(54:17):
then just call the library on 1300 654 656. And one of
our wonderful librarians will help you register. Or they can
register on your behalf.
S1 (54:29):
Maureen. We'll catch up again soon. Thank you so much
for speaking to us.
S11 (54:33):
Oh, Peter, thank you so much for your time.
S1 (54:35):
That's the Maureen O'Reilly there. Maureen. Got to get a
little more enthusiastic, doesn't she? Doesn't she love working at
the library and celebrating our anniversary about now? All those
details up in our show notes. But 1300 654 656 is the
library's phone number. An audio description of the week. It's
(54:55):
coming up this Tuesday afternoon. 550 on the SBS main channel.
The Scarlet and the black. This features a Vatican priest
who has hidden away escaped prisoners of war and Jews,
and has defied the orders of a Nazi colonel. So
(55:15):
that is coming up this Tuesday afternoon. 550 SBS Main Channel.
The Scarlet and the black. And what about this for
a cast Gregory Peck, John Gielgud and Christopher Plummer. plumber.
They are the creme de la creme of acting, particularly
of the era, so that should be pretty good. Rated
PG with audio description. Some birthdays before we go. Ogata. Mervin.
(55:39):
Montoya having a birthday. Ogata. We spoke to her on
the program last week. This week she has a birthday.
Happy birthday to you, Janelle Cahoon. Having a birthday. What
a wonderful advocate for a particularly artist with disabilities. Chelsea Bartlett,
a great artist. Full stop having a birthday. Happy birthday
to you, Chelsea. Lee Van Poppel having a birthday certainly
featured in some very high profile roles of advocacy in
(56:03):
different organizations. Happy birthday to you, Leah. Christie Stigter I
often say Christie is the kind of the unofficial president
of the Focal Point Fan club down in Tasmania, does
great work promoting the show. Happy birthday to you, Christie.
And Lauren Watkins having a birthday. Spent quite some time
at Humanware, a regular on our program for a number
of years. Lauren Watkins A big happy birthday to you.
(56:26):
Happy birthday and happy Easter to you too. Also with
this program coming to you from Ghana. And Sam Rickard,
thanks so much for your help. Pam Green, thanks so
much for yours. Reminding you that Focal Point is available
on your favorite podcast platform. If you like the show,
tell a friend. Tell your guide dog, tell anyone. We
love to have listeners on behalf of Philip. Fanfare and
(56:49):
a big show to Wendy McDougall. This is Peter Greco saying,
be kind to yourselves, be thoughtful and look out for
others all being well. Focal point back at the same
time next week on Vision Australia Radio and the Reading
Radio Network. This is focal point.
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