| Description | Track 1: sound effects of a group of people talking in a busy room, followed by people walking down a corridor 3.14 mins
Sound effects of people at the Scottish braille press transcribing a story from a magazine (tracks 2-4)
Track 5: sound effects of a group of people talking to Charles Parker and Philip Donnellan 1.54 mins
Interview with Cathy Craig, Jean Russell, and Pat Duncan, proof readers at the Scottish braille press. They talk about the lack of opportunities for getting work elsewhere and having to make the best of their situation, the school and local authority having control over their job prospects, the work of the National League for the Blind and feeling like a 'pawn on the chessboard'. Pat Duncan talks about facing barriers and feeling humiliated when trying to get a job and Cathy Craig talks about the perception that blind people also have learning difficulties or mental health problems. She talks about the ability of the League to campaign for better working conditions and to support individuals with a work-related grievance (tracks 6-9).
Track 10: silence 0.54 mins
Interview with John Broadley, Scottish braille press. He discusses the financing of the braille press, dependence on charitable organisations and the comparative wealth of ex-servicemen's institutions. He thinks that future fund raising should be focused on specialised research projects and gives his opinions on the Pearcey Report on blind welfare and the limited implementation of the principles and findings. He discusses the methods used for raising funds for the blind and the false image presented about the capabilities of blind people, with blind people being represented as helpless. He goes on to talk about his responsibilities in running the braille press, the content and output of magazines printed for different organisations, the type of books printed, the size of the average print run and the cost of braille books. He talks about the development of talking books and their use by people who cannot read braille, the educational role of braille and the production of braille textbooks, and the different demands of the American market for educational books (tracks 11-18).
Total: 48.15 mins
Dubber's reference number: PLA KF565D0730780 |