Welcome to the Christmas 2020 bumper edition of the BlindGuysChat podcast. We’re back, and all feeling merry and happy, as we take you with us for what is a longer than normal show, so be warned!

You’ll be familiar, if you listen regularly, with the warm female voiceover at the start of each of our shows, welcoming you in and introducing the Blind Guys. Well, that’s the voice of the lovely Jan Ní Fhlanagáin, and she’s come along this week to hang out with the Blind Guys, along with Clodagh, who has joined us for the entire show!

Now, just to add to the confusion that is the BlindGuysChat, our own Jan (pronounced Yan) and our guest Jan, spell their names the same, but of course they are pronounced differently; So what happens when Jan meets Yan?

As well as finding out a little about Jan and her wonderful ‘You OK?’ podcast, we play Jan and Jan’s true or false game, with Clodagh keeping an eye on the scores. Óran and Stuart battle it out and these guys, it turns out, are rather competitive!

We had a few listeners asking about Christmas traditions in the Netherlands and who better to ask to tell us more than Jan himself!

Christmas is always a time for flaking out in front of the TV, and Óran and Clodagh are recommending the West Wing, a show that while it does not have audio description, should be very easy to follow. Stuart’s going to check it out and will report back. Ireland’s national broadcaster RTÉ has a number of audio described movies showing over the festive season and Óran highlights a few for us.

We’d been hearing for a while about the Spinrockers, a group from the Texas School for the Blind. Well, it turns out they are ultra-cool and they’ve been doing some really innovative things to help people learn keyboard shortcuts, by making up very catchy songs! They’re here to hang out with us and have a chat.

The whole team have been on tenterhooks since the start of the show, waiting for a phone call from the North Pole. When it comes, well, just keep listening to find out what happens when we’re joined on the show by Santa himself.

This episode is also peppered with some lovely Christmas greetings from some of our previous guests, and we thank them very much for their very kind words.

Finally, a BlindGuysChat episode would not be complete without Clodagh’s emails, complete with a new jingle!

BlindGuysChat returns on January 13th and in the meantime, we wish you a happy, peaceful and safe Christmas, and a much brighter and happier new year. Thanks for listening!

Welcome back and thank you for tuning into episode 7 of Blind Guys Chat.

Christmas is very definitely in the air on this week's show and the guys are thinking of gift ideas. Not sure if they're buying for each other, or just throwing out suggestions, but regardless, we hope you may find something of interest from their selection.

Jan recently invested in Sonos speakers and is very impressed. Stuart is exploring the world of Android accessibility and Oran loves his Apple TV.

Staying on an Apple-related topic, the recent launch of the iPhone 12 mini, 12 PRO and 12 PRO Max has stirred up a lot of interest as you might expect. We asked friends of the show, Brian Dalton and Derry Lawlor, who are the lucky owners of these devices, to join us and give us the lowdown.

The Blind Guys are loving 'The Crown' on Netflix, and everyone agrees that the audio description is particularly good.

Eric Damery is Vice President of Software Product Management at Vispero and something of a legend in his own lunchtime in the Assistive Technology industry. With a career spanning well over 25 years in the sector, Eric joins us to talk about some of the high points, and, Eric challenges the Blind Guys to a bit of fun in our "True or False" game!

Clodagh has returned with your emails and this time we've received more feedback on the Buymie service, Christmas gift ideas for Larry and Sjef and, what's this about Stuart having made contact with the North Pole?

Greetings Blind Guys Chatters! ..that's what we call you, our loyal and ever-growing band of listeners!

The Blind Guys are thrilled to release episode 6 of our little show and we've just under an hour's entertainment waiting for you.

Online shopping, or challenges around accessing it, is often a conversation that exercises many blind and low vision people. This week, Stuart is talking about a relatively new service on the scene called Buymie. It’s not all sweets and roses however, as the service, via its mobile app, has some serious accessibility issues. So if it’s that challenging, are the Blind Guys using it?

Clare Whelan returns for another Braille Bite, and if you've been confused about the use of brackets in UEB, then fear not, because Clare will put your world to right.

Stuart is immersing himself in season 4 of The Crown and is loving it thus far, and Óran is recommending a show called 'Little Fires Everywhere' on Amazon Prime, but is the audio description up to the job?

We meet Lenore Good, who is about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime - she is preparing to climb Kilimanjaro, all to support the wonderful work of Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind, Shine Centre for Autism and Sonas Junior Special Primary School. Please support Lenore by visiting her fundraising page.

Finally, Clodagh is back with more emails, and a particularly interesting query about whether paper or Refreshable Braille is easier to read as a Braille beginner.

Please don't forget to share this podcast with your friends, and we would love it if you'd submit a review on our podcast via your favourite podcasting platform. Thank you!

Contact the Blind Guys at [email protected], or find them on Twitter - @BlindGuysChat. You can also subscribe to their mailing list to find out about new and upcoming shows: tinyurl.com/BlindGuysChat.

Hello faithful listeners, and of course those who are joining us for the first time. It’s a bumpy ride, so fasten your seatbelts!

This week, Óran regales us with the antics of his guide dog, Larry, who wanted to do his own bit of trick or treating for Halloween, and why not!

Stuart has a free and very powerful tool to keep all your passwords safe and secure for those who use any apple devices.

Clare Whelan is back to talk sequencing in UEB. If you don't what that is, don't worry, we didn't either!

We meet Otis Stroup from Baltimore, who talks amongst other things about accessible voting in the US, how music has been central in his life and how it’s not just guide dogs that are impacted by Halloween-related noises!

Stuart binge watched Netflix's Bly Manor and has completely reversed his opinion of that show since our last episode.

Clodagh is back to read more email, and the guys talk accessible emoji, stickers in messages, we give a big thumbs up to the Queen's Gambit on Netflix and, who wants some Blind Guys Chat Merchandise?

Please don't forget to share this podcast with your friends, and we would love it if you'd submit a review on our podcast via your favourite podcasting platform. Thank you!

Contact the Blind Guys at [email protected], or find them on Twitter - @BlindGuysChat. You can also subscribe to their mailing list to find out about new and upcoming shows: tinyurl.com/BlindGuysChat.

Welcome back to another hour of madness that is the Blind Guys Chat!

Just when you thought Stuart's fridge/freezer problems were finally sorted there's another twist in the tale. We meet Ulla Quayle, a guide dog user from Dublin, who shares how on-going disturbances caused by bangers and fireworks have had a detrimental impact on her dog. Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind want to hear your experiences of pre-Halloween bangers and the impact it has on your dog. Please complete their survey and have your voice heard.

The guys have a few recommendations for things to check out on Netflix and Apple TV, including 'The Haunting of Bly Manor' and 'Little Voice'.

Clare Whelan is back for another Braille Bite, and this week, we're talking about the removal of the dot 6 N and Y contractions, as well as discussing the recent ICEB 7th General assembly.

The Blind Guys want to visit the moon and we wonder if there's WiFi readily available; and do the guys think that it could be time to switch to Android?

Clodagh is back to read more emails, and we have feedback from contributors in Dublin and the United States of America!

Please don't forget to share this podcast with your friends, and we would love it if you'd submit a review on our podcast via your favourite podcasting platform. Thank you!

Contact the Blind Guys at [email protected], or find them on Twitter - @BlindGuysChat. You can also subscribe to their mailing list to find out about new and upcoming shows: tinyurl.com/BlindGuysChat.

Welcome to another instalment of Blind Guys Chat. The Blind Guys are in top form once again, and Jan loves the Autumnal weather!

On this episode we’re meeting Robbie Forde from Dublin, who amongst other things, has been doing stand-up comedy and motivational speaking, proving that while he may be blind, he most certainly has vision.

Stuart had an incident recently where his fridge freezer stopped working, and he tells the other Blind Guys all about it.

Clare Whelan is back to talk lower J and the old BLE sign in our Braille Bite, and we preview the 7th General Assembly of the International Council on English Braille (ICEB), which takes place later in the month.

Finally, it wouldn’t be a Blind Guys Chat episode without Clodagh, who is back to read more emails this week, complete with her own brand new jingle!

Please don't forget to share this podcast with your friends, and we would love it if you'd submit a review on our podcast via your favourite podcasting platform. Thank you!

Contact the Blind Guys at [email protected], or find them on Twitter - @BlindGuysChat. You can also subscribe to their mailing list to find out about new and upcoming shows: tinyurl.com/BlindGuysChat.

Welcome back. The Blind Guys made it for their second show! This week, we're delighted to meet Danlami Bashru, from Nigeria. From falling into open drains, and jumping onto moving busses, Danlami shows us that life in Nigeria can be challenging when you're blind. Clare Whelan is back to introduce us to another couple of UEB contractions, and Óran, Stuart and Jan talk about fear of dogs, GPS and a few interesting observations about iOS 14. We got some nice emails, and Clodagh is here to read them out. Finally, what are you watching on TV these days? The Blind Guys have a few recommendations.

Please don't forget to share this podcast with your friends, and we would love it if you'd submit a review on our podcast via your favourite podcasting platform. Thank you!

Contact the Blind Guys at [email protected], or find them on Twitter - @BlindGuysChat. You can also subscribe to their mailing list to find out about new and upcoming shows: tinyurl.com/BlindGuysChat.

Welcome to the first Blind Guys Chat podcast! This week, the Blind Guys introduce themselves and the show. We talk Covid-19 and home working - how are the Blind Guys managing? Clare Whelan is here to talk about UEB (Unified English Braille) in the first of a regular series called Clare's Braille Bite. We meet Clodagh who will be reading our emails and making sure that the Blind Guys behave, and Óran and Stuart are rather frustrated with some features of the iPhone, can you help the boys to be more productive?

Please don't forget to share this podcast with your friends, and we would love it if you'd submit a review on our podcast via your favourite podcasting platform. Thank you!

Contact the Blind Guys at [email protected], or find them on Twitter - @BlindGuysChat. You can also subscribe to their mailing list to find out about new and upcoming shows: tinyurl.com/BlindGuysChat.