#026: It's raining men & women

09/08/21 • -1 min

Hello blind guys chatters! We start the show with a request for sighted partners who would like to take part in an interview this coming Thursday September 9. Clodagh is going to have a light-hearted chat about the trials and tribulations and funny experiences sighted partners have when living with someone with sight loss. Do you know someone who would like to take part? Email [email protected]!

The guys are talking about the weather again. This time it’s about the names for the upcoming storm season. Will there be a Jan, Stuart or Óran or even a Hector from HR storm? Jan is worried about needing a snorkel soon to live in the Netherlands. He lives 5 meters below sea level and is wondering how much above sea level Dublin is. He might need that zipline to make his escape after all!

We are talking to musician and singer Nicky Kealy about his time working on a cruise ship, how he has been dealing with COVID-19 and about his guide dog Phoebe.

Óran is getting on his high horse (again – cue eye roll!) in our TV corner section. He feels the Blind Guys should talk about content that is badly audio described as well as content that is well described. Have you any thoughts on this? Let us know! Talking about well-described content, Óran also tells us about a new crime drama starting on RTÉ ONE this coming Sunday, Sep 12 at 21:30.

We’ve got emails from our Dublin correspondent, Derry, who tells us about his new podcast ‘The Book Lovers Show’ - give it a listen, it’s great. Stuart has a book recommendation of his own, 56 Days by Catherine Ryan Howard. Fred in Margate is sympathizing with what Clodagh must put up with when we are very cranky. Blind Gordon lets us know his views on Soundscape. Gary in South Africa has a very special gift for the guys and Óran has great news about his Apple Watch. Clare McLaughlin tells us about SÚIL, Lines of Longitude on Rathlin Island.

So lie back, switch on the autonomous self-drive mode on your couch, take the curlers out of your hair and slip into a vat of double whipped cream while you listen to the greatest show on earth: Blind Guys Chat.

We are talking to musician and singer Nicky Kealy about his time working on a cruise ship, how he has been dealing with COVID-19 and about his guide dog Phoebe.

Previous Episode

#025: Fancy a Curry?

We have some nostalgia on the show this week as we are interviewing the legendary Adam Curry. Yes, the PodFather – co-inventor of podcasting.

Jan and Sjeff are beside themselves with excitement because Adam is their favourite DJ/MTV VJ. Adam talks to us about his life growing up in the Netherlands, his new life in Texas and all about Podcasting 2.0 and his No Agenda podcast.

We asked Jade McCormack to give us a demo of Microsoft Soundscape. Perhaps she can help Stuart find his way home so he can get to that piano for the email jingle. (Boo to the new jingle - Óran)

We have news on a new podcast from HIMS called Sensecast and we’ve got an email question asking the Blind Guys about their favourite music. Does Jan really dislike Run DMC?! And as for Stuart, The Lighthouse Family, really Stuart?!!

We've also got info on the Greenwich Docklands International Festival

So come on - kick off your shoes, whip off your bra, put on a pot of coffee, and give Blind Guys Chat a whirl!

Next Episode

#027: Woman's Hour

Don’t worry, the BBC haven’t taken over this podcast and this is not the official Woman’s Hour show, but we do have a Woman’s Hour of our own on this episode, or at least half an hour or so. Anyway, welcome to another show where the guys are in something of a reflective mood, because, believe it or not, it is our first anniversary. Of course the question is, who bought the flowers?

If BBC’s Woman’s Hour are looking for a stand-in presenter, they really need look no further than our very own Clodagh O’Donovan, who has dragged herself away from the email box for a while, to bring together a panel of partners of two of the blind guys and our very own Blind Gordon!

Joining Clodagh are Chantal de Vette and Alaine Anthony. There’s some gems in this piece and we hope you and your sighted partners and family will enjoy it. For example, did you know that Óran O’Neill likes to smack pedestrians with his cane if they don’t move out of his way quickly enough? That Jan Bloem got malaria and had to spend two weeks with his then very new girlfriend? Or, that the wonderful Blind Gordon doesn’t have what it takes to cut it on the dance floor?

Here are links to things that were mentioned during the chat:

The Ramble tag is available here: rambletag.co.uk
The iron guard mentioned by Alaine doesn't seem to be available on RNIB.co.uk anymore. We found it on Amazon at this link. It's currently unavailable but hopefully will be back in stock soon.
We also found a handy page of tips on how to do your ironing safely from Guide Dogs UK which includes a video - check it out here.

After all that, the guys are ready for a few emails and we’ve a request for a follow-on piece to our Soundscape review, which is currently being actioned.

As it is our anniversary show, the guys and Clodagh share some of their highlights over the last year and there’s a quick shout-out for JAWS version 2022, which is now in public beta.

Otis emailed from Maryland (we love hearing from Otis) and talked about how Clodagh could be inspired by Ireland's legendary female pirate queen, Granuaile (Gron-ya-wail).

Don't think we're finished after the emails though, because our wonderful producer Óran O’Neill has been in the archive room and has put together a little montage of some of our best bits over the last year to play us out. Tell us which bit is your favourite!

Remember to keep in touch with us on Twitter and Facebook and email [email protected] with any feedback or complaints. Seriously, we love to hear from you, complaints and all!