Blind man with a backpack

Blind man with a backpack Creator of Altered View
Blind writer • Podcaster • Accessibility advocate
Technology, resilience and life beyond sight loss

20/06/2026

Come join me building my new bbq.

14/06/2026

Sunday update.

My old foe, Charles Bonnet Syndrome, was around again today, so I had to cut my swim short. The visual hallucinations caused by CBS can be really debilitating, and today they were worse than they’ve been in a long time. It felt like people were swimming into me, like I was hitting the wall, and in the end it just got too bad.

So the best thing to do was stop, take a breath, and try again another time. It’s not about winning or losing. It’s about knowing when to take a break, and this morning was definitely break time.

13/06/2026

Introducing Altered View

It’s time for the Blind Man with a Backpack to retire, thanks for the walks and the memories but we’re ready to move on to the next chapter.

On the face of it not much will change, I’ll still be talking access, mobility, working life, family. There’ll still be the same posts and articles. It will all be in a new home.

Same world, different perspective.

www.alteredview.co.uk

Video of Chris sat in the garden talking to the camera which fades into a black background with an eye outline. The words Altered View surround the centre with a white cane as the iris.

10/06/2026

It was wonderful to catch up again with the lovely just recently. Among other things, we chatted about mobility and the enormous impact of Chester being withdrawn on my mental health and independence.

You can listen to the full of cast on YouTube
https://youtu.be/sr76c3kG-rA?si=8VyEaIZ_jb-AKf-W

And please follow Dawn as she takes on her latest challenge for walking the Jurassic Coast.

07/06/2026

We salute the humble cane

Video description

Chris sits talking to the camera holding his folded up cane with cartoon graphics popping up beside his head as he talks

31/05/2026

Adjusting back to “cane life” takes so much more effort and concentration than you might expect.

Not only is there nobody around to share the load, but that effortless flow through busy spaces — weaving around people, bins and bollards without really thinking about it — is no longer an option.

For now, I have to accept that this bumper-car of a cane is my way of navigating the world. Instead of naturally avoiding obstacles, I’m actively sweeping for them. The things I once instinctively moved around have become my points of reference.

It’s impossible to completely switch off when using a cane. You’re constantly listening for changes in surface, feeling for the dramatic drop of a kerb, or noticing the subtle incline that tells you a dropped kerb is nearby.

So how do you use all of that to board a train?

First, you take the arm of the member of staff standing beside you. Then you wait for the train to stop. Together, you walk towards the door and use the cane to find the platform edge.

With the cane resting on the edge, you position your feet carefully, your toes just over the drop. Then comes the tricky bit.

One hand holds your guide’s arm. The other holds your cane. You reach forward, searching for the grab handle, and then take a small leap of faith onto the train.

The whole process takes less than 30 seconds.

But in those 30 seconds there’s concentration, planning, trust, and more than a little courage.

For most people, it’s an ordinary part of the journey.

For me, it’s a reminder that we can all experience the same world very differently.

Altered View.

Same world. Different perspective.

24/05/2026

Over the years slow cooking and smoking has steadily become more of an obsession. It’s not without its challenges and I do have to be extremely careful around gas and naked flames, but the end results are (usually) worth the risk.

This time round, it’s a slow-cooked ham with sticky glaze. I muddle my way through using a combination of accessible tech to weigh out ingredients and monitor temperatures, and extremely heat-resistant gloves to avoid any lasting burns.

There’s definitely a lot more trial and error involved these days, and I can’t exactly rely on “does that look done?” anymore 😅 but I’ve learnt to trust timers, temperatures, smell, and instinct instead.

Truthfully, cooking like this has become about more than just the food. It’s proof to myself that sight loss doesn’t mean giving up the things I enjoy — sometimes it just means finding a different way of doing them.

And for the record… the smell coming off this thing while it was cooking was incredible.

23/05/2026

For any VI people in Surrey who fancy getting into cricket, you may want to check these guys out

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Tilehurst

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