Irish Adventures

Last weekend we made a trip to see friends in Ireland. We flew from Luton airport to Belfast International. There were 4 of us traveling, Myself, Will, and 2 of our friends. Now this sounds like a pretty average trip doesn’t it? Well, now factor in the fact that there was not a scrap of eyesight between us and it gets interesting! We were driven to the airport at 5 in the morning by my dad and uncle. We had booked assistance beforehand, so when we got there, it was just a matter of reporting to the assistance desk and giving our names. Dad came with us to check in, but the assistance were there too. In the few times I’ve traveled with other blind people, its been a relief to find that the airport assistance is far better than that on trains. For one thing, they don’t say they haven’t got the staff to help, they don’t put you somewhere and forget to come back for you or forget to ring ahead to let the next place know you’re there, and they don’t forget to turn up! A complete opposite of train assistance in my experience. We were taken through all the security checks, left to wait with drinks etc, then escorted onto the flight. On the flight, we had a demonstration of all the safety equipment and were encouraged to feel the oxygen mask, life jacket, and shown where the call bell was. We were also told how many rows forward or behind us the exits were if there was an emergency. Much more interactive and useful than watching a video on safety. When we landed in Belfast, we were escorted to the entrance hall, where we had arranged to meet a friend. He is also partially sighted. We were piled into 2 taxis and driven to Antrim train station, where we were helped onto the train by an assistant, and our partially sighted friend Ian then had the job of finding us all seats! A very helpful conductor got our connecting train to stop on the same side of the platform that we were pulling into, so that we would not have to all file over the bridge in a train of people, white canes, suitcases and back packs! We were shepherded off one train, scrambled aboard another, and finally arrived in Portrush station! We met our friends there, and were driven back to Irene’s house (don’t panic, these friends could see!) after all that traveling it was nice to have a cup of tea and relax! But the experience wasn’t as harrowing as it might have been. I really really like traveling by air because of the help fullness of the staff. I have never felt comfortable on trains because of my own experiences, and friends stories, but airports are different. I still don’t know if I would fly alone, but I could contemplate that, where as a train journey alone would be a flat out “no!” Our weekend passed in a blur of shopping, Chinese take away, fellowship, carol singing, and food! Will gave his testimony at Portrush Baptist church, and I sang. There were 6 of us with sight impairments, and enough sighted people and cars to go round everybody! It was so much fun and we laughed so much! We first met our irish friends at Torch Holiday and Retreat Centre in June 2012. They have watched our relationship flurish, and it was while we were in ireland last year that Will proposed. So it was very special to go back and see everyone again! Before we even realized what was happening, it was time to return home. On the way back, we decided that it would be sensible to book a taxi as there were now 5 totally blind people, for 1 partially sighted person to guide. Although this is relatively easy in a place that is well-known, its impossible to have a train of people following you when you don’t know and can’t see where you’re going yourself. At the airport we were guided in by our taxi driver, and then handed over to the assistance again. This time, was as smooth as the last time, and we were home before we knew it.

october speakings

I have been a bit quiet on the speaking engagements lately, so thought I’d share the goings on of the last 2 or so months. In October, I was asked to go back to my former Upper school, Sandy Upper, to make a short presentation about my school life and work to encourage the students. I was thinking that I would just be doing the 5 minute talk and was prepared for this. Then I got a phone call with general info about how the evening would run, and in the middle of it, my former teacher said “and that’s when you’ll be giving out the prizes”. Instant panic! At least that’s how I felt, even if its not how I sounded. I have never given out prizes in my life! And it was a doublely weird feeling because I could remember being part of that award presentation myself, on the receiving end, as a student. I was highly honored! Couldn’t believe I’d be asked. I just prayed I wouldn’t drop any awards on anybody’s foot!! This prayer doubled when I reached the school and saw the size of some of the shields! Wow! I sat up front with the teachers who were announcing the nominations, and watched the choir file in. They sang songs which I remembered from my school days! I couldn’t get over the feeling of déjà vu as I sat there. Then came the time to give my presentation and for the students to receive their awards. I have to say it was one of the most nerve racking times of my life, but one of the proudest as well. I was really pleased to be helping to reward the students for their hard work and effort. I was also pleased to tell them all about TTr and my work for the charity, as well as one or two jokes about the teachers in my time. Overall, it was a humbling evening! And it was great to hear familiar voices and see the familiar surroundings. Though somethings have changed, we didn’t have a cafeteria in my day! :-) That weekend was a busy one. After the award evening on the Thursday, I was asked if I would be interviewed about my life and testimony and work at an evangelistic outreach event at ST Neots Evangelical church on the saturday. This consisted of a 45 minute interview of quite difficult questions. I was asked if I had ever been angry with God, and if I found it hard day to day being blind. I tried to be completely honest about the hard times, because there are a lot of hard times, a lot of frustrations! But I also wanted to draw people’s eyes off this to God. After the interview, Will and I sang and played in the refreshment break. Then there was a gospel message. We were up early the next morning and traveling to Borne mouth to a church called Cornerstone. There again I was asked to give my testimony, tell about Through The Roof and give words of encouragement for their disability Sunday. Altogether three very different types of engagements, but all equally as important, humbling, and hopefully helpful to the people who heard them. I pray that these have all brought glory to God and also promoted the name of Through The Roof. If you wish to book a similar talk or training session please contact me on Philippa@throughtheroof.org Or 07841087806

Sound of Music

Some of you may know that I have produced 2 CDs to raise money for Through the Roof. To record a Cd was a long-held dream of mine. 

I grew up loving to sing. From a young age I sang the songs in Sunday school, and was about 5 or 6 years old when I did my first solo for our local church’s carol service. 

I tried to learn the piano, and used to have endless hours of fun just playing tunes with 1 hand, and later on trying to do a very basic harmony. Most of them were tunes that I heard and picked up by ear. I am though, in no way a pianist! I leave that to the professionals. When I was in middle school I had lessons for a while, and took them up again later, but singing has always been my main instrument. 

When I went to my last school, I took up singing lessons. I started taking graded exams and later went to Junior Trinity music college on saturdays for 3 years. Her I had singing lessons, piano, and trombone. I ended by passing my Piano grade 1, and my singing grade 5. 

I will always remember the sounds at music college. I would always know I was nearly there when I heard music floating from somewhere head of me. Sounds of brass, woodwind, pianos, guitars, drums, and singing all mixed together creating something that might have sounded terrible, but actually sounded really nice. 

When I left school and Junior Trinity I took up singing locally again and passed my grade 6 7 and 8. 

Throughout this time, I had great pleasure in singing for my church on lots of occasions, and singing in various concerts for charity and carol services, including in ST George’s chapel Windsor. This was a real privilege for me. 

I loved singing songs from the shows such as “I could have danced all night”, “just you wait ‘enry ‘iggins” “these are a few of my favorite things”...you get the idea! But what I really lived to sing were the hymns. Anything that could sing of my love of my saviour, or of his love for me, or could tell the gospel was a true honor to sing!

I was supported by many people who were a great inspiration to me. One in particular was the professor of harpsichord at senior Trinity college. We met on a course to learn how to use Sibelius Speaking(the composition software my school were using for music GCSE). He is blind himself and we emailed for many years!

Singing is a great part of my testimony and I love to sing the hymn “Some day the silver chord will break” by blind hymn writer Fanny Crosby. The chorus says “and I shall see him face to face, and tell the story saved by grace”, which sums up that the first thing I will ever see is Jesus. How wonderful is that?

This hymn is the title track of my first CD, “I shall see him face to face”. This was recorded using my Mac, in my parent’s garden shed! I won’t go into the technical details of the program, or the simplicity of the whole experience of recording on the mac or we will be hear for hours. What I will say though, is that I never thought I would be recording my CD, as studios were far to expensive for me, and the ones I contacted were not interested in recording hymns. The Mac enabled me to just press a button, pick up a mic, and go! Ok, so I might have had to do some editing (particularly the time when dad forgot I was in the shed and started to mow the grass!) but at least I could do it myself and I really enjoyed it. 

Its funny how tense you feel when you hit record. Out of nowhere comes an urge to take my hand off the braille page and scratch my nose! Or suddenly I desperately needed to sneeze! I remember recording 1 hymn 4 times, because each time I couldn’t manage to turn the page quick enough!

The next CD “A few of My Christmas Favorites”, was recorded when it was slightly colder. I didn’t venture out into the shed, but instead converted my bedroom into my studio. This was fine and worked just as well. Except when, half way through “calypso carol”, one of my mum’s chickens started squawking for all it was worth! At the time, I thought nothing of it, assuming the mic would not pick this up, it was so far away. However, when I played it my parents, half way through there was a definite “cluck! Cluck!” so it was back to the drawing board (or possibly sound board) for that song. 

The last of my CDs was released just after my wedding in September. Its called “Philippa’s Sunday School Favorites” and is full of songs that are not heard much these days. Songs I grew up with such as “Come Listen To My Tale of Jonah and the Whale”, “Only a boy called David” and Wide Wide as the Ocean”. So I am hoping it will be a trip down memory lane for some, and a chance for children to learn different choruses. 

All these cds are available for £5 from ww.throughtheroof.org 

All the proceeds go to Through the Roof. 

Will is on the playing rotor for our church now. Some of our hymns are strange to him so if there is a hymn that he doesn’t know I sing it while he plays along! I love to sing the hymns and sometimes find it easier to remember a hymn than a Bible verse. Must be something to do with it being set to music. But now I’m looking forward to carol singing! Its always one of my favorite parts of Christmas, singing the carols in the open, in houses, in church! I might even blow the dust off my trombone and attempt to play jingle bells! So if you hear a horrible noise, that’s probably what it is!!  

The Wedding!

If i’m describing my wedding I need to  start with the night before When the flowers arrived. my bouquet was heavy and it consisted of roses, carnations, lilies and a lot more lovely smelling blooms! All the flowers smelt! even the corsages! My bouquet was done up with a ribbon. The whole kitchen smelt of flowers. I always think that flowers make weddings smell like weddings, probably a strange concept for anyone with sight, but if you think of the amount of flowers at weddings, you’ll get my meaning.

We left for the rehearsal at around 7:45, and when we arrived at the chapel the flower smell was present there too which made it feel like we should be doing things for real, not just rehearsing. It felt odd to walk down the isle in trackies and a hoodie! but I had the same flutter of nerves that I imagine every other bride  experiences! The same excitement and apprehension and butterflies in my tummy, even though I could only hear and not see the people watching us rehearse. It sounded like there was a lot of people there, but having 5 bridesmaids, and 3 page boys, as well as ushers, parents, best man etc  didn’t even come close to the 130 guests we’d invited for the actual wedding. 

The next day things started quietly, for me anyway! i enjoyed my 3 cups of tea, and listened to the bridesmaids and page boys getting ready. Sounds of hair driers, clothes rustling, and the smell of make up and hair products, and nail-varnish filled the air in my mum’s large kitchen. I was quite calm. then i decided to have a bath, and as soon as I decided to do that, the nerves racked up a bit! I had my bath whilst keeping 1 ear on the iPhone which kept announcing the time. I then went down to the sitting-room and had make up applied. Its a strange feeling. i never use make up, so for my wedding day i thought it would be different to ware some. It was skillfully applied for me by 2 of my friends, in between my nervous sips of tea and nibbles of biscuits. My tummy was churning! 

My hair is long and curly, and for the day, after a lot of deliberation and different styles, we’d all decided on half up half down. I had the front of my hair pulled back, and split into 2 sections which were twisted and put into a ponytail, leaving the rest of my hair to curl down my back. The ponytail made sure that none of my hair would fall in my face, and the back of my hair was decorated with flowers and butterfly hair slides. Into the top of the ponytail my veil was pinned, and round the front of my head sat my tiara which was all one hight rather than the crown stile tiaras. It was covered with pearl beads. 

My dress, which i’d practically starved (at least it felt like that!) to get into, was fitted at the top, with flowers on the shoulders at the front, and lacy sleeves which were decorated with diamonte beads. Just at the top of the skirt there were flowers which were pink, and then the skirt flowed out! It was covered in lace and frills, and brushed the floor on its own, without the yards and yards of lacy train spilling out behind me. At the back were about 30 little buttons which all had to be done up! My shoes were low heeled sandals with diamontes on them. I felt like a fairy-tail in the dress!especially when i walked and heard the swish of the material all round me! I have never felt more special. and I use the word “felt” in two different ways, One was the feeling of being special and of knowing i was in a dress that everyone would notice, and that I was getting married. The other, is that the dress felt special to the touch! It was tactile, it was detailed, and i felt special in it because I’ve never worn anything like it before. No, i couldn’t look in a mirror, but I felt a million dollars, as people assured me I looked it. but I could feel every detail, and hear every Russell of the dress, veil, and my hair. I could smell the flowers, the hair spray on my hair, and my perfume. All together, it was a wonderful aroma, and one which will always bring back memories of my wedding. 

Getting in the car was interesting! All the layers of the train were piled on my lap when I had slid in, and the flowers were placed on top. I had to try and stop my bracelet catching on the folds of dress! Then getting out? Finding the ground through all the folds of dress was hard, but once I was out, i had time to notice the sun was shining and it was a lovely day! The bridesmaids and page boys took their places, and dad and me stood ready to enter the chapel. I’ll never forget hearing the first notes of the wedding march, and how my dress swished behind me as we traveled slowly as possible up the short isle. I could sense and hear people all round me, and could tell the chapel was full! When we all arrived at the front and the first hymn was announced, I could hear from the singing that there was a lot of people there! 

The vows said, it was time to put on the rings. Will and I had discussed how we would know which finger to put them on. I pointed out that will would have a clue, because I would be waring my engagement ring. Each time Stan (who was performing the seromony) needed us to do or say something  in turn, he would touch our hands so we knew when to speak, and who should speak. Everything went smoothly, and it was time to sign the register before we knew it! 

Since we can’t read print, the details from the register were read out to us, and we were shown where to sign. I don’t have much of a signature, but it must have been enough because the registerer soon announced “Philippa and William, your marriage has been registered”. Throughout the signing, the sweet sound of my sister in law’s singing filtered through to us. We then had a slide show of photos shown for the guests to watch of us growing up. 

After the service, we walked out of the chapel arm in arm and unaided, as any other couple would. We had practiced the root and it was simple enough, we just walked straight out, followed by the rest of the wedding party. This made us feel independent. 

we were then lead over to the grass field for the dreaded photographs! But the sun which made everyone else squint was no trouble for us. So for what felt like an hour but was really only about 20 minutes, we stood and smiled in every direction, following the shouts of “this way!” “Phil, Will, look at me!”    “jest one more!” 

We traveled to the reception, met our guests, and then were lead into the reception hall for the meal. I will never forget the round of applause, or the sound of my heels on the floor, accompanied by the swish of my dress as we made our way to the top table. 

We had chosen an informal reception with no seating plan, just letting guests choose who they wanted to sit with. This was our idea, because of weddings and formal occasions we have both attended in the past where we have been sat with people we didn’t know and were not able to start conversations. We wanted people to feel comfortable. 

The reception smelt of food mostly. We had a buffet, and it was lovely food! The hall was full of chatter and everyone seemed to he having a lovely time. Music played low in the background. 

We had arranged for a synthetic ice rink for our guest’s entertainment. All the afternoon we could hear the sounds of skates in the background, and the happy sound of people enjoying themselves! 

Our wedding cake was 4 tiers high, and was very tactile, with butterflies all over it! We cut the cake, and then changed to go ice skating! We had previously had some photos in full wedding outfits on the ice, and W was amazed how much like laminate floor it felt to walk on. But after we were changed, we asked for the rink to be cleared and instead of a first dance, we had a first skate. We have never liked dancing, and didn’t want to make ourselves feel stupid on our wedding day by just shuffling around waving our arms, so we ddid something we both knew we could do. to skate on synthetic ice was an experience! my feet seemed to go sideways instead of forwards! Still it was a lot of fun! 

It felt strange without the folds of dress everywhere,! Earlier when we had been opening some of our wedding cards, and feeling each card in turn as they were all tactile, I’d been taking it in turns to admire the cards and my dress train, which was easier to feel when I was sitting down. 

We set off for our honeymoon in style, with all the guests lining up to sing “congratulations!” while forming an arch with their hands which we passed underneath. 

We couldn’t have asked for a better day. It was wonderful in every way and I shall remember the sounds, smells, and everything my whole life long. We have a video as well, which helps us to remember. since photographs are useless to us, this is our way of remembering. plus as its a video we can show it to whoever wants to see while following the audio ourselves. We have also kept things like pressed flowers from my bouquet, ribbon off the bouquet and the cake, my veil and dress, shoes, hair slide, tiara, will’s suit and cufflinks, and a whole load of other things which will be our photographs of the day. Not only that, but when we arrived home, we found mum had left the balloons from the reception in our flat, as well as the flowers that were still alive. This enabled us to feel the arch of balloons which had been over the top table. 

So though we couldn’t see our day, and though we couldn’t see each other, we will both remember it for the rest of our lives in so many different ways. We can’t gaze at our photos, but we can remember our wedding each time we feel the dress or smell flowers. We couldn’t see each other, but we love each other. and we will see in heaven. And  though the planning was not accessible for us, the wedding was.  

House Hunting

house hunting for blind people is a little more tactile than Wedding planning. this is, of course, after you get past the process of searching the internet for a suitable property. I remember looking online at houses that sounded perfect! right town, right number of bedrooms, good rent. but then we would have to ask sighted people questions such as: 

“where abouts is this road in relation to the shops, church, doctors etc?”  we found a lovely house once, only to be told by mum and dad that it had a huge garden which would require a lot of maintenance. while we wanted something with a small garden to accommodate the guide dog and so we could sit out in the summer with our children (God Willing), a massive garden with lots of flowers, acres of grass and 20 or so trees was just not practical. I had visions of us either having to use scissors to cut the grass, or one of those manual push along mowers with one of us pushing it up and down, and the other on hands and knees on the lawn trying to find out if we’d missed any patches of grass. 

what we were looking for was simple. a 2/3 bedroom house, with access to a back garden/area for the dog etc, and near the shops and other amenities in Potton. 

we had chosen Potton because it is a small town, which isn’t too much of a jump for me from a tiny village, and it has all the shops you would need for day to day things, a butchers, bakers, Londis, grossers, tescos, co-op, chemist, etc etc etc. it has a post office too, and the doctors which I am registered at are in the town. plus, we would be attending Potton baptist church, and our plan was to walk to church on a sunday. 

the bonuses are, a fish and chip shop, Chinese, and indian take away, and a hairdressers and barbers. the only thing it lacks is a bank, but after all, its rear we need to pay money inn, and it seems to leave the bank account all on its own.  

the other thing that drew us to Potton was the community spirit. because we would be shopping locally, people would soon get to know us. plus we have a lot of c friends in Potton. 

so having chosen our location, we just needed to figure out where abouts in Potton we should live to be close to everything. 

I remember one night finding a house that was on the same street as the church. i went into my mum’s room and asked excitedly 

“mum, how long is Horslow street?” her reply was, “from one end to the other”. not helpful, but she was half asleep!  

we were looking for private rented accommodation, as being blind does not get you far up the priority list for social housing, and since we are hoping to have a family, we didn’t want the risk of being put into a 1 bed house for a while, then moved to a 2 bed, then a 3 etc as required. its important for us to have a base point to work with. we can’t just have a stroll around town and work out where things are, we have to be taught. it requires someone coming out to us each week to show us repeatedly how to get to the same location, until its ingrained in our minds. moving around a lot is not really an option for us as blind people. 

My parents were the ones who spotted our new home. is a 2 bedroom ground floor flat, with a back yard which is concrete. it was right on the market square, and all we need to do to get to the shops is cross the road and they’re there. 

the front door opens straight into the lounge, which is a long room. off to the right is the kitchen, which is another long room, and is quite narrow. the space has been really well used though, and there are loads of cupboards, something which Mum and nearly every other cook we’ve shown it to is impressed by. going back into the lounge and turning right out of the kitchen door gets you into the small hall. on the right is the bathroom, to the left is a massive walk in cupboard, and facing you are the spare room and the master bedroom. 

its strange as blind people, walking into an empty house and trying to imagine furniture there. when we first saw it, it felt small to Will, and I imagined a lot more furniture fitting in it than actually did. 

measurements mean nothing to us, so we had to try and imagine how big sofas and tables etc were in relation to the room. sometimes you can make something fit in your mind, but when you ask someone sighted they say “you think that’s going to fit? you’re joking!” 

its taken me since April until now to begin feeling confident walking to the shops. I love the fact that everyone is helpful, and everyone looks out for us. its nice to feel among friends where ever i go. I have also learnt the way to church and decided that it has the longest steepest drive in the world! 

it will be lovely to begin our new life together from Saturday, and we can’t wait. 

choosing appliances is an interesting adventure too. for example, our cooker needs to be one which is as safe as possible. an induction hob is the safest way for us to cook, and it is magnetic, and so are the saucepans we use on it. this means that the only place it gets hot is the place where the saucepan is. it effectively uses it as a hotplate. the hob around the saucepan is cold, so if anything spills or if we touch     it by accident it doesn’t burn us. 

there is no way of protecting ourselves from oven burns, just being sensible. we have labeled the oven with tactile bumps, so we know where settings such as 180C are. we had a job to find an induction hob cooker without touch controls, but we eventually found one with dials and were bought this as a wedding present. 

my washing machine was supplied with an braille control panel by hotpoint. its made of plastic and is durable and was supplied with a braille key of the symbols on the dials. this can be done for any dial operated washing machine. so there is no excuse for either of us about doing the washing. we have to sort it with a color detector which tells us roughly what colors things are.  there are a lot of other things we have, such as talking freeview box, a talking phone, and a braille thermostat for our heating.

the flat is just right and a real God Send. its centrally located, small enough to be manageable housework (we can hoover the whole flat without unplugging the hoover once), and it is big enough to suit us for a few years yet. we are really blessed to have found it. 

now we are in the middle of the final preparations for our wedding. will let you know how it all goes.   

Preparing for Marriage

Since this blog has begun, it has mainly been about my work for Through The Roof, but I thought i'd have a change. i'd like to share with you some of the things that are happening in my life. maybe this will give a new insight into what its like to live as a blind person, perhaps it will make you think in a different way, but I hope that whatever you get out of it it will be interesting.

at the time of writing this, it is just under 5 weeks till my wedding day (saturday september 7th at 11 am, Potton Baptist Chapel Horslow Street Potton Sandy Bedfordshire SG19 2NS).

for most people, planning wedding is filled with constant decision making. its a time to look round at every type of dress, suit, every sort of flower and every hairstyle imaginable. for me though, its been rather more difficult. rather than being bombarded with choice, there has been nothing for me to choose from.

I was filled with excitement when me and mum headed out to the shops to start looking for bridesmaid's dresses. we happily wandered into the first shop and discovered that they no longer had their wedding section in store. instead, we were offered a catalogue and told that anything we wanted could be ordered in. the only things they had was a rack of last years clothes which they were selling off cheep. we looked, but since i have 6 bridesmaids, and all the dresses were individual and not available in different sizes, let alone large quantities, it was hopeless.

we made our way round each shop, but at each one, the story was the same. they had all given into demands of online trading. by this time, i was getting pretty fed up, and so was mum. we exhausted all the obvious shops, and even tried some highly priced, "proper" bridal shops. we even went down to Oxfam's bridal department, but there was nothing. the day was fast going down hill.

we were trying to find the last shop in a vain hope that that would be better than the others, and mum stopped to ask a lady for directions. the lady directed mum and then turned to me and asked "who's going to be a bridesmaid then?" i was somewhat stunned, but i eventually replied, "well actually, i'm the bride". there was a surprised "oh!" and the conversation moved on. it reminded me of the day we had gone to a wedding fair to gather ideas. I had been walking with my sister and mum. at each stand that caught our interest we stopped. i asked the questions, but each time they turned to Jenny and asked "so, you're the bride? do you have a date?" I almost thought about waring my engagement ring through my nose, or having a sign saying "bride" on my forehead.
me and mum returned home disappointed. mum said that she would look on the internet for bridesmaid dresses. my response was to burst into tears of frustration! I had never even considered the possibility that I would be unable to feel each dress and help make the decision on the right ones. I had never thought it would be so impossible. I was now completely unable to participate in this part of the wedding. I could only see the dresses when they had been chosen, ordered, and had arrived. I couldn't even help look. a screen reader is good, but it doesn't have the ability to describe pictures. it was left to my mum and sisters to search the web for suitable dresses.
several dresses were ordered and sent back. my mum was faced with so much choice from the internet that she was undecided on what color to have. nothing was quite what she was looking for. I said, it didn't matter to me, and switched off at each discussion of color (and there were many). I have to say my dad switched off too, which seriously irritated my mum!

mum finally decided on the dresses, and the color (a grape color so i'm told). next thing on the list was to choose balloons for the reception. we had decided on balloons rather than flowers on the tables as flowers are not easy to find homes for after the wedding and don't last very long. balloons can be given away to the children and give the reception a slightly unique twist. mum and I went to see the balloon lady together. here too though, i was sidelined. there were slideshows of different arrangements of balloons, different examples of color to be shown and pictures of different weights to hold the balloons down with.
it has been very hard to help with most of the wedding preparations as most of the things have been ordered online, the cake design was found in a book, the flowers were again just a list of colors I couldn't understand. mum and my sisters did their best to describe the cake, the wedding invites, the balloon arrangements and the dresses and accessories. my aunty who is doing the flowers promised to choose flowers that have a smell to them. all this however, was largely out of my control.

My wedding dress had been bought several years ago, when I attended Junior Trinity music college on saturdays. I wasn't planning a wedding back then, (my fiancee and I met last June on a Torch activity holiday) but the dress was in a charity shop window, priced at £25. i can remember feeling it and thinking "that's the dress"! i remember us cycling back to the car on our tandem with the dress balanced over the saddle bags. although i knew that it didn't fit, i was sure it could be altered.
another of my aunts is a dress maker, and we took it to her. she did a lot of thinking and managed to make the dress big enough for me. imagine my chagrin when i came back from a holiday recently and discovered i could not fit in it again! crash diet to the rescue! but I love the dress. its really tactile. i won't describe it in this post, but maybe after the wedding.
my hair and jewelry are another thing I could get involved in picking. all shops have jewelry, and it was fun to browse each shop with mum and choose from all the different types of necklaces, earrings and bracelets.

I have always done my hair myself. i've enjoyed learning and using different styles. i've always considered that since I don't ware make up, my hair is something I can make myself look nice with. for the wedding though, I get a pair of hairdressers! the decision is now if i should ware it up or down! its fun experimenting with the different styles.

My fiancee Will and I are both blind. so it is just as hard for him to be involved. one thing we did decide on though at the beginning, and were able to sort out ourselves, was the reception venue, the honeymoon location, and the decision to add a bit of unique style to our wedding by hiring a synthetic ice rink. this was brought about from us going ice skating in January. we decided that instead of a "first dance" we would have a "first skate". we don't like loud music, its disorientating for people who rely so heavily on their ears.
we thought that the children would love to skate (some of the kids in both our families have never skated) you may think its a bit odd to have an ice rink, but skating is something we can both do, whereas neither of us can dance to save our lives. the "first dance" question has been bothering a lot of people. when we replied "we aren't going to have one" we met with shocked responses of "but you have to!" along with the manager of the venue saying "where is the disco going?" we almost got cornered into having a first dance. but when we stepped back and thought about it, it was something neither of us was comfortable with. we both hate discos, and feel like twits trying to dance because we've never watched anyone else and don't know how its done. also there is a very great risk we could either tread on each-other's toes, bang into something, or trip over my dress!

I have to say that out of everything, the service has been the easiest to organize. apart from a slight disagreement on which isle i will walk down, how we're going to fit all the guests in, and where we will sign the register, its all been straight forward. we have asked Torch trust if they would produce some large print and braille orders of service, and they've agreed, so no one will be left out. there will be a slide show of videos while we are signing the register, and I am hoping we can put some music behind it so there is something for people who can't see to listen too.

Our feelings on photographs is "they are pointless! and they take ages!" we asked one of my brothers to video the wedding, so that as well as the audio, we have something to show to friends, and because of the audio track, we'll know what's going on. we're also getting the service on CD as the church will be recording it. after a lot of persuasion, we agreed to have 20 minutes at the most for photos. this should give people enough time to take some for themselves. there will be no official photographer though.

all in all, its been a roller coaster ride, but we know; its all going to be worth it! as long as God is there, and we are there, and the pastor and our close family, we'll be happy. in the end what it boils down to is, as long as we are married in the sight of God, never mind everything else! that's not to say that everybody's efforts to make the day special won't be appreciated, but for us, the vows are the most important things.

I will write and tell you how it all goes.

belated june blog post

since I last wrote, i have been busy. I have attended the first
regional network meeting in Bath. it was a privilege to see so many
people with different skills and interest in disabilities.

i also attended the national churches trust conference in Birmingham.
I felt a bit out of my depth, as everyone seemed to be someone
important, and all the talk was of buildings and their heritage. when
I stood up to do my joint slot on accessibility, i felt like a bit of
a fraud. I took a deep breath and prayed. throughout the conference,
access had been touched upon. however i tried to express to the
delegates that though it is important to have accessible buildings, we
should be inclusive in our attitudes to people. I have recently heard
one woman's sad tale of not being able to go to church since an
accident put her in a wheelchair. i explained this is sad and not what
we want to see. throughout the talk, God was laying on my heart that I
should stress the importance of attitudes. I gave them tips on what do
if a disabled person walks in unannounced to a sunday morning service.
i explained to them my own church experience of being totally included
in worship and church life. the talk seemed to be well received, and I
hope this will lead to new contacts for Through the Roof, as well as
new people being included in churches around the country.

I have visited some places in the last month which I have been to
before. obviously when I have already given my testimony, my
experiences, told them all about the biblical basis and Through the
Roof, its not wise to rehash the same talk again. I like to do
something different on these occasions.
I had happened to be looking through my phone a few weeks ago, on an
app called Christian. this is bible verses chosen by themes. I clicked
on the one on anxiety. psalm 46 verse 1 appeared. "God is our refuge,
a very present help in trouble" it reminded me, that in this last
year, we have all seen many changes. this is both in our own lives and
in TTR itself. God is the one who never changes, and will be the same
forever. he is the one we can run to at any time, under any
circumstance. he will always be there and will never go away. so
after updating people on the progress of TTR during the time since i'd
last been to see them, i then read Psalm 46 and spoke briefly about
God being our refuge, and being still to appreciate that he is God in
all the hustle and bustle of life.

please get in touch if you would like more information on my talks or
to speak to a group.

March update

On 12th February I went to ST John's Guild Croydon to give the hour long presentation i spoke about in January's blog. it went really well, and the slide show worked really really well! nobody was upside down or had missing limbs :-)

the group of approx. 15 responded well and seemed to enjoy the presentation, giving encouraging feedback. 

In the same week, I traveled to New milton to speak at the Torch Trust group for the fourth year in a row. it was lovely to see them again, and to catch up with their news as well as sharing all that Through the Roof has been doing in the last year. I also told them in my news including that I am now engaged. they were delighted. 

my next speaking engagement has been postponed until July.  it is to speak to two youth groups at ST James Church London. 

I have now been let lose on Twitter under the user name TTR_uk to post on Through The Roof's behalf. please follow TTR_uk if you have a twitter account and join in with our discussions. 

if you have a group you would like me to speak to, please get in contact by the usual methods, 

philippa@throughtheroof.org

07841087806 

@philippattr

or Facebook as Philippa Woodcraft TTR 

January Doings

on 13th January Nigel, the international missions manager, and I went to Dormansland baptist church on the outskirts of Surrey. we gave a joint children's talk, then I spoke briefly on my testimony and how i had become involved in the work of TTR. then Nigel gave a presentation on Wheels and Integr8. our contributions were well received and we had a lot of friendly and encouraging conversation in the hall over tea and cake after the service.

I also have a speaking engagement on 12th Feb. it is in Croydon and is going to be approx. an hour long. i've been preparing a presentation, and testing my rusty skills with Keynote. The group has not had a speaker before and i'm looking forward to telling them about all the work of Through The Roof. I shall get my dad to check over the slides, just in case anybody is upside down on the pictures!

I am due to speak on Feb 16th at the Newmilton Torch Trust group. this is an annual engagement, and it will be nice to share with them all that has been happening through out the year.

I have just received the encouraging news that part of an interview which Tim (CEO) and I were envolved in, that was recorded by Urban Saints for their Leaders TV in 2011, is being used in their workshops round the country. people at each workshop say they have found it very inspiring. I praise God for that, and pray the interview will continue to be used for his glory.

thank you for all your prayers and please get in touch if you have any questions or a group you would like me to speak to.
philippa@throughtheroof.org

Happy New Year

Firstly a very happy new year! just thought i'd give a brief update on what's been happening with me and my work.
well, i've been to grace Baptist church Hitchen, which was in early december. it was a very encouraging meeting and as well as talking about TTR and my own experiences, i showed the DVD of Guatemala 2011. i also had my CDs there and sold a good number. the prayers offered up for the work of TTR were very humbling and encouraging.

my christmas CDs have sold well, I have under 100 left and i am pleased with the funds this has raised for Integr8.

I have only been back at work for a day, but already God has blessed me with 2 new speaking engagements. I will be speaking to 2 groups of young people on 24th March, and to a ladies fellowship meeting in April. this is great.
I am also doing a double act when me and Nigel (international missions manager) go and speaks to a church on January 13th.

Once again this year I shall be returning to the Torch fellowship in New Milton, this year the meeting is in February. it will be lovely to see them again and update them on all that has gone on in the life of TTR etc.

some personal news for me is that I got engaged on December 1st and am getting married on September 7th this year.

all in all, it looks as if 2013 is going to be busy. i pray its also fruitful, and that whatever is in God's plan happens for his glory. I hope you had a wonderful christmas season and have a blessed 2013. I look forward to writing again soon.