#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!