Volume 2
Chapter 12: No longer Alone- December 2007
…It was then that we agreed that he return with me to Bute the next day, or as he put it, “Whilst in the area I have a little task to do for the Admiralty.” Our plans were laid. We would take the train to Wemyss Bay and the steamer across to Bute, but we would not acknowledge each other unless he used a password…
Chapter 11: A State of Flux - November 2007
For my part however, a seven-year-old, having confidence and naive trust in the wisdom of the ‘mature ones’, had no inkling of the radical events that were to follow. Yet, I sensed the difference that summer in 1939. My father could only join us for a short time and my oldest brothers and sisters not at all. The laughter seemed to have gone out of the family - everybody seemed so serious…
Chapter 10: To Begin at the Beginning - October 2007
I started my last book ‘I’m Beginning To Forget What I Look Like’ by reflecting on my working life. I now think the time has arrived for me to reflect, hopefully without too much emotion, on my personal life - after all, it started more or less 15 years before my working life and is continuing for, well only time will tell, hopefully, some years beyond…
Chapter 9: In Search Of A Reason For Being - September 2007
…Confidence gives way to uncertainty and fear. I hear you say, “But this hasn't happened to you?” Well, you bet it has! Now I know one does not have to be blind or disabled, but this feeling can so easily creep up on any of us…
Chapter 8: Single-Mindedness Of Purpose - August 2007
…If I stand accused of taking a simplistic view of what others see as a complex issue, then so be it. Asking the question is often a prerequisite to finding the answer. I do not feel the least bit guilty. I can only say in defence that in business we would often demand a ‘single-mindedness of purpose’ as opposed to ‘a diversity of interests’ as an approach to solving many of our major problems…
Chapter 7: What Would Sigmund Freud Have Said? - July 2007
…Man is insignificant when he puts himself against nature. But that said, there is much we can certainly do to manage ourselves in this so-called sophisticated society of Great Britain…
Chapter 6: Arts And Science - June 2007
…I rarely dream, but when I do, it is in colour and I can see - at least up to the point at which someone asks me to read or sign a document or what have you. At that point I have to admit to being blind and wake-up…Does that mean someone born blind, with no image of the world around them, would not be able to dream?…
Chapter 5: Perception or Reality - May 2007
…It is not only the politicians and their spin-doctors who have come to believe that perception is more real than reality. In their case it is necessitated by them creating expectations that can never be met. So what is my excuse?…
Chapter 4: Into The Unknown - April 2007
…It was a funny sensation; my very first attempt at being part of a so-called group of blind people. I felt distinctly less comfortable than I would have been in the company of sighted people…
Chapter 3: The Way Ahead - March 2007
…Joyce and I will also be flying out to spend a week with friends in Cyprus. In many respects this is my first big step out into the public world since losing my sight…
Chapter 2: The Winds Of Change - February 2007
…This shortcoming would be minimised by me accepting that my loss of awareness is a reality, but not a weakness. Otherwise I would become an all-round bore - and that will never do!…
Chapter 1: It Is Over, Let It Go - January 2007
…I had many occasions to be grateful to my family and friends for their warm help and consideration. It leaves me humbled - I am aware that my remaining senses are getting more acute and I recognise that some people, thankfully only a few, knowing that I am blind still expect me to see…