In Touch

Listeners tell us why they think their sighted running guides should receive a medal on completing the London Marathon. Organisers tell us these policies are under review. The BBC's technology reporter Rory Cellan-Jones has been to Cambridge to see a new tactile innovation for helping teach visually impaired children how to write computer code. Listener Annie Rimmer has got back to In Touch to share some good news she heard from the National Lottery about plans to make their app more accessible to visually impaired users. And Listener Mike Kelly told the programme two years ago of his trepidation about his impending retirement. We caught up with Mike to find out how retired life suits him. Presenter: Peter White Producer: Lee Kumutat Reporter: Dave Williams Reporter: Rory Cellan-Jones

Dame Joan Plowright was discovered as a stage actor in the late 1950s before going on to have a stellar career – starring in The Country Wife, A Taste of Honey and as Saint Joan. She became Lady Olivier on marrying Sir Laurence Olivier in 1961. They were married until his death in 1989. Dame Joan took parts in film and television production up until 2014 when her worsening eyesight compelled her to retire. She lives in her home in Sussex where she and Sir Laurence came to live once he had retired. She openly speaks of her career, her life with her husband and family and her attitude towards her failing sight. Presenter: Peter White Producer: Lee Kumutat

Icons is an epic new history series for BBC Two profiling great people from seven different fields of human endeavour. It asks you to vote for your favourites, and ultimately decide who was the greatest person of the 20th century. Icons: Activists is on BBC Two, Monday 21 June, @ 9pm. If you want to find out how to vote for Helen Keller or any of the other nominees featured in the series then go to www.bbc.co.uk/icons, where you can also find Terms and a Privacy Notice. Extant theatre, a company of visually-impaired performers and directors, is about to start a new tour with ‘Flight Paths’ – the cast are Amelia Cavallo and Sarah Houbolt, actors and circus performers who perform part of the show on aerial silks. The show will be made accessible through creative audio description and new sound technology called spatialised tracking. The shows run from 5th Feb – 5th March. Peter White talks to two of the performers. Presenter: Peter White Producer: Lee Kumutat Photo description: Promotional photo for FLIGHT PATHS 2019 tour by Chris Andreou.

In 2013, Norway's equivalent Equality and Human Rights Commission was given the authority to fine both public and private sector organisations if they didn't make their websites usable to a certain standard. There are suggestions from campaigners in the UK that the same approach should and could be adopted. Robin Christopherson from AbilityNet believes it is something that would work in the UK. Malin Rygg from Difi, the Norwegian organisation tasked with auditing websites, says they haven't fined any companies yet, but they have issued warnings. While Arnt Holte from the Norwegian Association of the Blind and Partially Sighted thinks while accessibility is slowly improving, he is concerned that new EU legislation only governing the accessibility of public sector websites, and soon to be law in Norway, will water down the powers of Difi and only see them being able to enforce accessibility on public sector websites. The Netflix film, Bird Box, is its biggest hit to date, having been downloaded 45 million times since its release last December. It's a post-apocalyptic story where characters must wear blindfolds or they will contract a deadly disease. The film has spawned a social media craze called the Bird Box challenge where people are donning blindfolds and performing tasks and taking part in activities such as driving. Journalists Emma Tracey and Lucy Edwards discuss the film, and concerns raised by some blindness organisations, that the craze will have a negative impact on the public's perception of blindness. Presenter: Peter White Producer: Lee Kumutat

Sally Clay’s recommended audiobook: Before I Go To Sleep by SJ Watson Ryan Kelly ‘s audiobook recommendation: The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August by Claire North Peter White’s audiobook recommendation Thirteen by Steve Cavanagh Presenter: Lee Kumutat Producer: Peter White