S1: From Vision Australia. This is talking vision. And now here's
S1: your host, Sam Colley.
S2: Hello, everyone. It's great to be here with you. And
S2: for the next half hour, we talk matters of blindness
S2: and low vision. A lot of blind and vision impaired
S2: people don't have a lot of confidence. So if somebody
S2: says no, you can't do that, they go, oh, okay,
S2: I can't do it now. I'll walk off and find
S2: something else to do. So if anyone listening out there
S2: wants to get fitter or whatever, be confident, say, hey,
S2: I want to go and into this gym, I want
S2: to go hiking, I want to experience this and you
S2: should find a way of doing it. Welcome to the program.
S2: This week we're heading over to South Australia to have
S2: a chat with a couple of show hosts from Vision
S2: Australia Radio in Adelaide. It's Sam Richard and Lizzie Eastham
S2: from Studio One who are taking part in the 100
S2: K Your Way challenge, and there's still time to join them.
S2: If you're interested in walking, running, swing riding or moving
S2: 100 K your way over the month of April to
S2: raise vital funds for Vision Australia Radio and the services
S2: they provide to the blind, low vision and print disabled communities.
S2: That interview is coming up very shortly, so make sure
S2: to stick around and after you hear from Lizzie and Sam,
S2: Frances Caitlin is back on the program for a reader recommended,
S2: and we finish up once again with a little bit
S2: of news and information. I hope you enjoy this week's
S2: episode of Talking Vision. In the past couple of weeks,
S2: we've spoken to a couple of people from Melbourne and
S2: Perth taking part in the 100 K Your Way challenge
S2: to feel good, get moving and raise funds to support
S2: people who live with blindness or low vision. In case
S2: you haven't heard of the challenge, by now, people across
S2: Australia are walking, riding, swimming, running or moving 100 K
S2: their way across the month of April. And two such
S2: people from Adelaide this week are Sam Rickard and Lizzie Eastham,
S2: the co-hosts of Studio One on Virgin Australia radio in Adelaide.
S2: And it's my great pleasure to welcome them. Now, Sam, Lizzie,
S2: welcome to Talking Vision. Thanks so much for coming back
S2: and having a chat.
S3: Well, we're glad to be back. Mr. Sam C.
S4: Thanks for having us.
S2: Now, as people are well aware, you're both the hosts
S2: of Studio One. So tell us a little bit about
S2: the show before we jump into the 100 K chat.
S4: So Studio One is a show that looks at life
S4: from a blind and low vision point of view. Yeah,
S4: we cover topics that are experienced by blind, vision impaired
S4: people on a daily basis, such as, you know, public
S4: transport and technology and all sorts of other stuff.
S3: The general idea is that we're going out to a
S3: wider audience plus, so it provides some degree of education
S3: to people who may not know everything there is to
S3: know about being vision impaired or blind, but also if
S3: you are vision impaired and blind or blind and listening,
S3: it will give you this sort of ah, yes, I
S3: understand that. So this is this wry smile as you
S3: hear some of the stuff we're talking about. So we
S3: aim to entertain and inform.
S2: And some of course, this month is an opportunity to
S2: entertain and inform people out there across Australia in another way,
S2: through the hundred K Your Way challenge, where they can
S2: follow all the participants, including yourself and Lizzie, on social
S2: media and various other channels as you walk, run, swim, ride,
S2: do whatever you want to do to get up to
S2: those 100km. But also there is a vital purpose to this,
S2: of course, to raise important funds for Vision Australia and
S2: get people thinking about the challenges that people who are
S2: blind or have low vision face when they want to
S2: get fit and healthy. So you know, what sort of
S2: motivated you to get involved, Sam? What really sort of
S2: kicked that off for you?
S3: I've got an email from our volunteer coordinator, Guillaume, who said, oh,
S3: am I? We're raising a team. Would you like to
S3: be on it? So I said, all right, we'll give
S3: this a go. And because I can be sort of
S3: physical if I need to be, I used to do
S3: a little bit of running when I was younger, so, uh, yeah,
S3: I sort of thought, oh, I'll give that a go.
S3: And that's why I've been sort of hobbling around like
S3: an old man building up about seven K's per day
S3: or thereabouts.
S4: Like I say, a little bit of running. Yeah.
S2: Just, you know, casually. An Olympic bronze medallist. No big deal.
S4: Yeah. That's it.
S3: But also. But, uh, as things will start going along
S3: and it's like, well, my work wife over here who
S3: does a lot more exercise than I do and probably
S3: is better connected than I am, and I got her
S3: involved as well.
S2: And Lizzy, has that been going for you, apart from
S2: the encouragement from Sam and, you know, getting involved that way,
S2: what was your motivation in particular?
S4: Well, I'm very passionate about people with blindness or low vision,
S4: gaining fitness and mobility and keeping that fitness. Unfortunately, a
S4: lot of people with blindness or vision impairment are conditioned
S4: to believe that there is this barrier that stops them
S4: from being able to be mobile or fit. And for me,
S4: as someone who's had struggles with their health and someone
S4: who is now, I think I would consider myself to
S4: be fairly, you know, I'm fit enough, you know? So
S4: I just thought this challenge would be a good way
S4: to show others that you can be fit. You can
S4: be mobile despite your disability. And, uh, I have actually
S4: already done my 100 K. In fact, I did it
S4: within four days, so I had to. Yeah, I had
S4: to reset my goal to 250 K, and it looks
S4: like I'm probably going to get that by the end
S4: of this week. So I'm going to have to keep
S4: pushing the goal up.
S2: That's incredible. Wow. That's unbelievable. You've already smashed that 100 K.
S2: That's amazing. And it sounds like you've overcome any sort
S2: of barriers or challenges that might have kept you from
S2: perhaps in the past, getting as fit as you like.
S2: Have either of you experienced any sort of accessibility challenges
S2: or barriers or obstacles to getting as fit as you'd
S2: like in terms of, you know, walking, running, biking? How's
S2: that been for you both with your lived experience? Of
S2: blindness or low vision. What sort of that experience being like? Sam,
S2: I'll start with you.
S3: So I found it interesting that the higher you go
S3: up as far as qualification, as far as an athlete goes,
S3: for example, the easier it does become for you because
S3: you have a lot of stuff thrown at you. It's
S3: the casual fitness person or the person just getting started
S3: out that has problems getting access to gyms and things
S3: like that. When I got to a certain stage as
S3: an athlete, I could actually pick and choose training groups
S3: to be involved with and get discounts at gymnasiums and
S3: stuff like that. So for me that no, there hasn't
S3: been a lot of problems, but that because there was
S3: a particular life that I was leading at the time,
S3: if I decide to get back into it now, who knows?
S3: But as I said, I'm an old man. I don't
S3: want to do things like that anymore.
S2: Oh, well, let's see. What about you? Yeah.
S4: So I actually experienced quite a number of challenges. I
S4: was about four years ago. I was pretty overweight, about
S4: 20 kilos heavier than I am now, and I wanted
S4: to get into hiking and nobody wanted to hike with me.
S4: You know, I was volunteering and working with a lot
S4: of blindness organisations here in Adelaide, and there weren't too
S4: many people that were willing to take the risk to
S4: take a blind person hiking. Fortunately, I was able to
S4: meet up with another volunteer at Beyond Blindness. He was
S4: my hiking partner at the time, and he agreed to
S4: take me three times a week on these massive hikes,
S4: 20 to 25 days, and I used to be completely wrecked.
S4: But before then, yeah, actually going to a gym and
S4: engaging with the class and training was quite difficult for
S4: me to find people that were reliable or that were
S4: willing to take the risk to, to take me to
S4: do those sort of activities. Now, of course, I'm in
S4: para cycling. I compete. So, you know, I have a
S4: regular pilot both on the road and track. I have
S4: a seeing eye dog who is fantastic, and I have
S4: lots of people that are willing to walk or hike
S4: with me if need be. So yeah, whilst it's I've
S4: been able to overcome those challenges, I think I'm one
S4: of the lucky ones. There are a lot of people
S4: that meet a lot of barriers and then, you know,
S4: because of that, it's more it's easier to just give up.
S3: I think one of the things that, uh, something that
S3: me and Lucy have in common is our confidence. We
S3: are extremely confident people. So if there's a door thrown
S3: our way, we'll push the thing open again. And a
S3: lot of blind and vision impaired people don't have a
S3: lot of confidence. So if somebody says no, you can't
S3: do that, they go, oh, okay, I can't do it now.
S3: I'll walk off and find something else to do. So
S3: if anyone listening out there wants to get fitter or whatever,
S3: be confident, say, hey, I want to go and into
S3: this gym, I want to go hiking, I want to
S3: experience this and you should find a way of doing it.
S3: Now this with this wonderful NDIS, then you should be
S3: able to find at least a worker that will help
S3: you out anyway.
S4: And that's the thing I just wanted to add to.
S4: The benefits of physical fitness and mobility far outweigh the
S4: the few rejections you might get. Or you know, the
S4: the discomfort that you might experience trying to engage with that,
S4: or even just trying to get fit. At first, the
S4: benefits far outweigh any of the cons.
S2: And, you know, with, um, with the hiking, there's that
S2: added element of, you know, having the uneven ground and
S2: different surfaces and different terrains. Lizzie, how did you go
S2: with that? And, you know, navigating that sort of thing
S2: when you're hiking and if you're comfortable sharing the nature
S2: of your vision condition and how that impacted on your hiking,
S2: tell us a little bit about that, if that's okay
S2: with you. Yeah, yeah.
S4: So I have September optic dysplasia, which basically means that
S4: the optic nerve that connects to my eyes to my
S4: brain is not fully developed. It's sort of like a
S4: frayed television. Cable is how I like to explain it.
S4: So that means that for all intents and purposes, I'm
S4: totally blind. Luckily for me, the hiking partner that I
S4: had for a number of years was, um, Polish and
S4: an X mountain tour guide slash mountain rescue. Uh, so
S4: he was quite inventive and out of the box when
S4: it came to his thinking. So he actually rigged up
S4: a system whereby I was connected to him via a
S4: length of climbing rope and a tent tube, and I
S4: was connected to his backpack. So I was directly behind him,
S4: and he could direct me just by steering himself. And
S4: I also had Nordic poles to hike with. So I
S4: had my balance, and he was pretty good at warning
S4: me of obstacles. So that's sort of how I did that. Unfortunately,
S4: he passed away a couple of years ago, so I
S4: obviously I don't hike with him anymore, but I still
S4: enjoy hiking. So now I go with Lacey, my seeing
S4: eye dog, and I have a support worker, and we
S4: tend to pick the trails that are a bit more safer,
S4: things like Anstey Hill. Where there's lots of fire roads
S4: and just gravel tracks and not so many rocky surfaces
S4: to trip up on.
S3: I think that's a good trick, really, is that, yes,
S3: we've got a good excuse. If we want to do
S3: things a bit easier, then start with the easier things.
S3: So start with the easier trails. That's what I yeah.
S3: When I go skiing I go I stayed on the
S3: the learning slope there because I wasn't confident to do
S3: anything further.
S4: Unfortunately I didn't get that luxury. Sam, this guy, Mark
S4: was my hiking partner. It was a bit of a
S4: he liked to really push my boundaries and limits. And
S4: I remember the first hike we went on. We were
S4: climbing down rocks like big boulders and climbing up these
S4: really steep banks and crossing streams and all sorts. So wow,
S4: I never got to start out easy, but as a result,
S4: I can now enjoy the easier trails. Yes.
S2: Do that.
S3: Do anything.
S4: Yeah, that's certainly that's it.
S2: Yeah. That was probably the approach he was taking. And
S2: you know, it's wonderful to have those sort of people
S2: that really boost your confidence and your self-belief and give
S2: you the opportunity to surprise yourself and be like, oh
S2: my God, I can't believe I just did that. I'm
S2: Sam Culley and you're listening to Talking Vision on Vision
S2: Australia Radio, Associated Stations of Reading Radio and the Community
S2: Radio Network. I hope you enjoyed the first half of
S2: my conversation with Sam, Richard and Lizzie Eastham. They're chatting
S2: to me all about 100 K your way and their
S2: challenge and how it's gone so far. If you're interested
S2: in hearing from Sam and Lizzie again, or you've missed
S2: any part of our conversation today, Talking vision is, of course,
S2: available on the Vision Australia Radio website, RVA radio.org. That's
S2: RVA radio.org, where you can find all past episodes of
S2: Talking Vision, including this one. But if podcasts are more
S2: your thing or you're a Vision Australia Library member, Talking
S2: Vision is also available on the podcast app of your
S2: choice or through the Vision Australia library. And now back
S2: to the second half of my conversation with Sam and Lizzie.
S2: I'm back now with Sam, Richard and Lizzie Eastham, co-hosts
S2: of Studio One on Vision Australia Radio in Adelaide, having
S2: a chat with me today about their hundred K Your
S2: Way challenge and how they're progressing so far. Now let's
S2: have a little bit of a chat about your favorite
S2: spots so far, where you've gone and exercised and got
S2: in your way towards 100 K, or in your case,
S2: Lizzie smashed it already in the first week. That's unbelievable.
S2: But Sam will come to you. What's been your sort
S2: of location of choice so far or series of locations?
S3: Most of it has actually just been going to and
S3: from work. I got a choice of two ways of
S3: getting to work. One is to sit on a bus
S3: for an hour, and the other is to, uh, sit
S3: on a train for half an hour and then walk
S3: for half an hour. So I've usually gone for that option.
S3: So really nothing as much has changed. It's a case
S3: of just going to and from work. It keeps me
S3: relatively fit. But no. The other location, of course, is
S3: if anyone has watched has looked on Facebook. Um, we
S3: did a few publicity shots of me running around the
S3: car park. And yes, if we talk about barriers, the
S3: barrier for me was it's been a very long time
S3: since I've done sprints, so I was aching like nothing.
S2: Else.
S3: After that.
S2: Oh no, I'm good.
S4: I remember seeing you on the Thursday too, and you
S4: were like, oh, I can barely walk. So I feel old.
S2: I am old.
S5: Oh yeah. One thing.
S2: And Lizzie, what's been your, um, your biking spots of choice?
S2: Where have you like to cycle around?
S4: Well, unfortunately for me, most of my training during the
S4: week is done on an indoor trainer. So, uh, in
S4: my training room is my prime location. But I was
S4: fortunate enough to get out on Saturday. We had some
S4: really glorious weather here in Adelaide, and we rode to
S4: a place called Waterfall Gully, which is a lovely little
S4: hiking slash lunching spot in the Adelaide Hills, and we
S4: just sort of rode around there for a while, and
S4: the smell of the plants and the feel of the
S4: breeze and the sun and and seeing all the other
S4: hikers and cyclists out was just absolutely amazing. And it
S4: just reminds me of how lucky I am to be mobile,
S4: to be able to ride or hike wherever I like. Hey,
S4: I'm a poet. There you go. I love it and
S4: be able to experience this, you know, this prime sort
S4: of area.
S2: Okay, now let's see. We've already established you've broken your
S2: 100 K barrier, but how many KS have you done
S2: specifically so far?
S4: 174. Wow. I'm okay tonight. I've got another training session
S4: and I think I'll be getting about 35 K done,
S4: so that will probably put me at about 210. Wow.
S2: Okay Sam how many have you done so far? It
S2: sounds like both of us have a bit of catching
S2: up to do.
S3: Yeah, if I calculate it properly. So as I said
S3: on average since Monday. So yeah, it's a fair bit
S3: to go. Let's put it away a fair bit to go.
S3: Come on.
S4: Slacker.
S5: Let's go. Oh I'm the same again.
S2: Yeah I've only I've only done 20. I really need
S2: to step my game up. But um, it's still plenty
S2: of time to go. A lot of wonderful walking spots. Like, I've, um.
S2: I took a few photos the other day. I walked
S2: to the local lake, about half hour walk one way
S2: from my house, and that's, um, two thirds of it's
S2: mostly through parkland. And there's an absolutely beautiful, big natural, like,
S2: natural steps down. And but you can take a ramp, um,
S2: which I actually do. It's much more accessible than trying
S2: to judge where the steps are. And with no depth perception.
S2: That's much, much safer to just go down the little
S2: gravel ramp. But, um. Yeah. Beautiful. Like. Beautiful trays. And, um,
S2: so that's certainly a great sort of 5 or 6
S2: k round trip. Now, I believe those walking photos there
S2: of the lake that I was talking about, those have
S2: gone up on the social media 400 k your way
S2: in the past couple of days. But um, Sam, speaking
S2: of socials and, you know, pages for people to head
S2: to and donate to hundred K your way and your
S2: specific campaigns, what's the best way for people to do that?
S3: If you go to the Vision Australia Radio website via radio.org,
S3: there is a link to the uh 100 K fundraising
S3: uh page. And if you find you'll find us both
S3: on the Adelaide teams page there, so you can see
S3: how amazing my co-worker here is going. Or you can
S3: see me just plodding along. So if you want to
S3: support the winning team, then feel free to do that.
S3: And we I will not think anything less of you,
S3: but if you want to support the poor old man
S3: who is just plodding along, then feel free to support me.
S4: Sam, if I wasn't doing the hand required support, you
S4: are all right. I'll do the 100 K for you
S4: if I could. No.
S3: Yeah, that's.
S5: That's just a that's exactly what.
S3: I want to hear. Thank you very much.
S5: Yeah. You're welcome.
S4: Anytime.
S2: Uh, that's RVA radio.org. And head to the hundred K
S2: Your Way page, which is right up on the front
S2: page front and center. You can't miss it and go
S2: in there and support the Adelaide team. Or you can
S2: of course support the Melbourne team and go check us out.
S2: We're just as good, but we'll see how things go. Um,
S2: we'll get some healthy competition. We've already gone head to
S2: head with the Perth team with Kate and Co, so
S2: that's been an interesting one. But yeah, if people are
S2: interested in perhaps following, you know, your socials or stuff
S2: like that, where could they possibly follow to you know
S2: say a bit a few more action shots and bits
S2: and pieces.
S3: So we have well I've been posting a little bit
S3: on Facebook. So VA radio. Yeah. So the VA Radio
S3: Network page on Facebook, uh, you can see how someone
S3: like me does actually try to run I suppose. Uh, otherwise, yes.
S3: If these same, uh, pages will actually give you progress
S3: reports and things like that. I mean, Lizzy, have you been.
S5: Showing any.
S3: Action shots or fantastic.
S5: Things on upload, anything? Oh, yes.
S4: I can't.
S5: See someone's got someone's got.
S3: A new computer and hasn't worked out how to use
S3: it yet.
S4: So although I'm saying that I do have the most
S4: epic video from Friday night at the Village Room, so. Well,
S4: if I can get that uploaded. Yes, that was pretty impressive.
S2: Now we shall.
S3: See what we shall see. So, uh, but otherwise you
S3: may hear about our exploits in future on studio one,
S3: but we'll probably wait until the end of April to
S3: do that. Or as we're sort of halfway through right now.
S2: Well, that sounds incredibly exciting for our Studio One listeners
S2: out there to look forward to. So tune in in
S2: late April to hear a little bit more from Sam
S2: and Lizzy about how they've gone over this month of
S2: April in their hundred K Your Way challenge. I've been
S2: speaking today with the host of Studio One, Sam Richard
S2: and Lizzie Eastham, who have been wonderful enough today to
S2: join me to chat all about how they're going as
S2: they make their way towards 100 K over the month
S2: of April, or in Liz's case, well over. So it's
S2: been an absolute pleasure to catch up with you both
S2: and hear all about it. Thanks so much for your time.
S5: Thank you for having us.
S2: And now here's Frances Kelland with a reader recommended.
S6: This week's reader recommended is Bitter Wash Road by Gary Disher.
S6: When Hirsch heads up Bitter Wash Road to investigate gunfire,
S6: he finds himself cut off without backup. A pair of
S6: thrill killers has been targeting isolated farmhouses on lonely back roads,
S6: but Hersh's first thought is that backup is nearby and
S6: about to put a bullet in him. That's because Hirsch
S6: is a whistleblower, formerly a promising metropolitan officer, now demoted
S6: and exiled to a one cop station in South Australia's
S6: wheat belt called a dog by his brother. Officers with
S6: threats and pistol cartridges in the mailbox. But the shots
S6: on Bitter Wash Road don't tally with Hirsch's assumptions. The
S6: truth turns out to be a lot more mundane, and
S6: the events that unfold subsequently a hell of a lot
S6: more sinister. Let's hear a sample of Better Wash Road
S6: by Gary Disher. It's narrated by Ivan Neville.
S7: On a Monday morning in September, three weeks into the job,
S7: the new copper Tibetan took a call from his sergeant.
S7: Shots fired on Bitter Wash Road. Know it vaguely, Sarge.
S7: Hirsh said vaguely. You've been sitting on your ass for
S7: three weeks, or you've been poking around like I asked.
S7: I'm poking around, Sarge. You can cover a lot of
S7: ground in that time. Sarge, I told you, didn't I?
S7: No dropkicks. Loud and clear, Sarge. No dropkicks on my watch,
S7: Sergeant Kropp said. And no smart asses. He switched gears,
S7: telling Hersh that a woman motorist had called it in.
S7: No name mentioned tourist on her way to look at
S7: the wildflowers. Heard shots when she pulled over to photograph
S7: the ten hut crop. Paused. You're with me. The ten hut.
S7: Hirsch didn't have a clue. Sarge. So get your ass
S7: out there. Let me know what you find, Sarge. This
S7: is farming country, the sergeant said, in case Hirsch hadn't
S7: worked it out yet. The Shake Shack is likely to
S7: take pot shots at rabbits, but you never know.
S6: That was Bitter Wash Road by Gary Disher. If you
S6: would like to listen to that book or read it
S6: in Braille, you can always call the library on one
S6: 300 654 (656) 613-0065 4656. Or you can email them at
S6: library at Vision Australia. Org that's library at Vision Australia. Org.
S2: And now to finish off this week with a bit
S2: of news and information and vision 2020. Australia are thrilled
S2: to announce that the speaker for their 2024 Barry Jones
S2: Vision Oration is summer and Winter Paralympic medallist Jess Gallagher.
S2: The annual oration recognises an outstanding Australian who has worked
S2: tirelessly to eliminate preventable blindness and vision loss, or played
S2: an important role in ensuring the full participation in society
S2: of people who are blind or have low vision. Jess
S2: was 17 when she was diagnosed with a rare degenerative
S2: eye disease, and although her diagnosis impacted her sporting dreams
S2: as a netball, just pursued multiple sporting ambitions to represent
S2: her country and become the first Australian athlete to medal
S2: at a Summer and Winter games and successfully represented Australia
S2: in three sports in 2023. RMIT University awarded Jess an
S2: honorary doctorate in Social Sciences, and she has been a
S2: past board director and advocate for vision 2020 Australia, as
S2: well as a Vision Australia Ambassador. Her oration will deliver
S2: a personal insight of the journey of resilience and reinvention
S2: for an athlete with low vision, hosted by a vision
S2: 2020 Australia chair, The Honourable Christopher Pyne. The oration will
S2: be held virtually and live from 1:30 p.m. Australian Eastern
S2: Standard Time on April the 23rd, with a Q&A session
S2: following the Barry Jones Vision oration is proudly presented by
S2: the Fred Hollows Foundation, one of Australia's leading international development organisations,
S2: which recently launched a new five year plan to tackle
S2: the growing eHealth crisis. You can register to attend the
S2: 2024 Barry Jones Vision Oration by heading to the vision
S2: 2020 Australia website and following the registration link to the
S2: event on the front page. That website is vision 2020 australia.org.eu.
S2: That's vision 2020 australia.org.edu. And that's all the time we
S2: have for today. You've been listening to Talking Vision. Talking
S2: vision is a Vision Australia radio production. Thanks to all
S2: involved with putting the show together every week. And remember
S2: we love hearing from you. So please get in touch
S2: anytime on our email at Talking Vision. At Vision australia.org.
S2: That's talking vision or one word at Vision australia.org. But
S2: until next week it's Sam Cully saying bye for now.
S1: You can contact Virgin Australia by phoning us anytime during
S1: business hours on one 308 4746. That's one 384 746
S1: or by visiting Vision australia.org that's Vision Australia call.