News and Events

If you want to find out what Julie's been up to, it's all here! This page gets updated regularly with photos, articles and events. For even more stuff, head to my facebook: http://www.facebook.com/thatblindwoman

July started off with  the fulfillment of a long term ambition of mine – to be interviewed by Kim Hill on Radio NZ. Kim was my intellectual sanity when the boys were young and I was a stay at home Mum. Then when I went blind Radio NZ featured even more in my life. I tried to get a spot on with Kim last year when I launched my book but wasn’t successful then. However – when I said “why not” to being involved in the Science Festival – bang – their publicist Merrin Bath managed to land me an interview with Kim Hill!

Merrin and I headed down to the Radio NZ recording studio’s in Dunedin on Saturday 3 July, arriving early just in case, I was sat down in front of the mike at around 9.20 am, ready to go on at 9.30 am. Unfortunately the earlier interview ran over time so  I was sitting their anxiously……. waiting….. it ended and then Kim read out some emails. She kept reading them, what seemd to be really slowly….. I could feel my heart leaping out of itself, I thought when they finally switched over to Dunedin there would have been this blind woman, fallen off her perch with heart failure! For eight minutes she read her emails and at exactly “12 minutes to 10” I got my turn……..

You can hear the interview with Kim here.

http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/national/sat/2010/07/03/julie_woods_blind_dining

When I came out – here’s what was in my cell phone’s inbox!

“You came across as very insightful”

“You were brilliant. You must be so proud. We listened intently”

“Just heard interview with Kim. Well done”

"Julie loved your interview on National Radio today. It was great that I know a famous person . "

“Hi Julie, wasn't quite awake this morning at 9.30 so have just listened to the interview now.Well done.It was fresh and valuable”

Thanks everyone for your support.

And thanks Kim for being interested in Dining in the Dark!

The NZ International Science Festival began with a bang on Monday 5 July at the Otago Polytechnic. Part of the opening included a “blind tasting” so I was asked to do a five minute slot which included the large crowd all putting on a pair of ‘that blind woman’ glasses and after being given one of “those bl**dy truffles again” they were asked to use their four other senses to try and identify what they were eating. Check out the largest gathering of people blinded by that blind woman glasses yet!

The next day I took a Cooking Without Looking workshop for 10 – 12 year olds. See how they all enjoyed the unique occasion!

 
You can also check out a story in the Allsorts section of my website

Another Festival event I was involved in was a Cooking Without Looking demonstration held at Wall Street Mall in Dunedin.
This was a public event, kindly supported by Fisher and Paykel who set up the demonstration kitchen ready for some Cooking Without Looking. With the Panasonic microwave labelled with tactile dots and previous instruction given on the operating of the Cook space oven, I demonstrated three of my favourite recipes.

The oven was first tested out with cheese scones. I could tell when these scones were cooked by using both timing and sense of touch. Two eggs were cracked open to make A butter cake with white chocolate which was then placed in the oven. The cake took a bit longer so this time I employed a knife to determine whether the cake was cooked or not. When the knife came out clean to touch then I knew it was ready.

Lastly there were some more of those famous truffles.  Popularised through my constant making of them when I went blind, I melted butter and chocolate in the microwave, identified ingredients in my baking containers through their braille labels and lastly cut Licorice with the kitchen scissors.

The food disappeared with the viewing crowd enjoying what they ate.

“You’re awesome”

“You are so inspirational”

“Amazing”

“I loved seeing your demo I’ll be in touch”

“What a true inspiration”

A competition was held asking what other senses Julie uses in Cooking Without Looking – here are just some of the responses

“She uses her fingers as eyes”

“If she doesn’t know what it is she smells it”

“She would use everything but sight”

Fiona Wood was the winner of the competition receiving a copy of Julie’s book - How to Make a Silver Lining – 8 keys for adapting to extraordinary change.

Special thanks to Anna Fraser and the team at Fisher and Paykel for making this event such a success.
 
The Science Festival was punctuated on Friday 9 July with a Dining in the Dark dinner held at Otago Polytechnic’s Technique Restaurant.

Diners joined in the restaurant’s foyer where they were greeted by the Festival’s director Sue Clark. After being given a few tips on being blind, the diners were then blindfolded with that blind woman glasses and guided to their unlit table by the Otago Polytechnic staff.

The menus were in braille and different wines from Maude and Grasshopper Rock were served with each course.

Diners enjoyed a three course meal prepared by international chef Julie Biuso who cooked the entrée and main meal. After the first two courses Julie Biuso came out to the diners giving them an opportunity to guess what they had just eaten.

“Zucchini fritter”, “Crostini with white bean puree & sugared tomatoes”,” Dolmades with rice, currants & pine nuts”

“Lamb short loins with cumin”

Dessert was a favourite recipe of mine – Baked apple dumplings and the diners yet again got to guess what they had just eaten.

“The food was better than the San Francisco blind dining restaurant”

“What an amazing evening”

“I kept on discovering there was nothing on my fork”

“I even licked my plate”

“You can hear so much”
 
“You’ve got to do this again”

Proceeds from the evening were donated to Retina NZ, a scientific based peer support group for New Zealanders with conditions of the retina.

There was one Guide Dog in attendance.
 
Special thanks to the Otago Polytechnic staff who did a superb job 

To see the Nightline story –

http://www.3news.co.nz/Blind-dining-a-culinary-experience/tabid/368/articleID/164973/Default.aspx

Or to hear Julie Biuso talk about the event you can listen to her with Jim Moira here -

http://www.radionz.co.nz/audio/national/aft/2010/07/23/one_stop_shop_-_food

On Wednesday 21 July I had the privilege of speaking to the Dunedin Travel Club. Over 80 wonderful people filled the Savoy here in Dunedin where I got the opportunity to share our Paris, Egyptian and Jordan Travel story. 
 

You can find out about our next adventure here.

Finally – on a personal note – Ron took me away on a mystery weekend last weekend and after heading down to the Otago Peninsula, going for a ride on the Monarch (a big boat with a big local view), and checking into a B & B at Macandrew Bay we headed down to the Portobello Pub for tea.  After we had eaten our meal Ron leaned over towards me. I thought I had spilled some tea on my top and he was about to clean me up (a somewhat annoying habit of his) but hooray – I had not spilt my Moroccan lamb salad down my front. Instead – I was greeted also by the noise a man makes when he gets down on one knee to propose to a woman! This is the sort of action usually reserved for the movies but on Saturday night it was reserved for me!

I said…… “yes” and the rest is history!

We left the pub after being congratulated by Tony the barman, with a photo to record the occasion.

As we came out of the Portobello Pub Ron knelt down again. This time his action was more familiar. No sooner had he knelt downand he was up again.

“I just found 50 cents on the pavement” he announced proudly.

“Give it to me” I said instantly grabbing the coin from his grasp. Too happy to protest, he still has know idea why I want it!

That’s now the new mystery – what could I do with that coin!

Watch this space until next month.

The month of June started off with a real bang! We  cooked up a storm on 1 June with 12 teenagers from CanTeen in a peer support workshop at Otago Polytechnic.

CanTeen’s Otago/Southland Team Leader Donna Helliwell was an ex colleague from the Foundation of the Blind so it was wonderful to get the opportunity to work with Donna again.

“Earlier in the year Maureen and I put on ‘that blind woman’ glasses and made our very own truffles, using Julie’s famous recipe” said Donna. “It was such a sensational experience; we couldn’t wait to have our own teens do the workshop themselves.”

 
The 12 teenagers all scored the workshop highly with one participant giving it a 10+ out of 10.” Comments ranged from You never give up. I give up so often. I WILL try harder”, “hands on with a great message” to “Trust yourself and your senses”

The workshops are aimed at focusing on what you can do rather than what you can’t do which is such a key factor in staying positive. This was a message I was keen to share with the members of CanTeen.

CanTeen is a peer support organisation that supports, develops and empowers young people living with cancer through a national support network.

The Dunedin City Council contributed funds towards this peer support workshop along with CanTeen’s key partner, Foodstuff’s and the Pams brand who kindly donated the truffle ingredients.

While standing idle after a speaking engagement at Dunedin Host Lions in late April, I was approached by Sharon Bain from Parent to Parent, a peer support organisation for parents whose children have been diagnosed with medical illness or a disability.

“Hey Julie,” she introduced herself, “it’s Sharon Bain from Parent to Parent and I was wondering if you’d be keen to come down to our office and conduct a Cooking Without Looking workshop by video link with our other offices round the country.”

I was flabbergasted! I had no idea how this was going to work – I’d never used a video conferencing link before, besides – how would everyone be able to follow what to do? How would they know to get the ingredients they needed to make the truffles?

Having none of the answers to the above questions I simply responded with

“Why not.”

Later that week Sharon and I spoke to each other on the phone to discuss the workshop and how it might work. Sharon was after something different and fun and had it all worked out in her own head.  I agreed to send through the recipe containing the ingredients for “those bl**dy truffles again” which Sharon distributed to the branch offices around NZ! She then collected registrations and we then distributed that blind woman glasses to each branch office.

Wednesday 16 June, 2010, came around and we headed down to the CCS Disability Action premises where Sharon’s Parent to Parent office and the video conferencing unit were housed.

We were joined by 8 other CCS Disability Action and Parent to Parent staff in the Dunedin office and were then connected to other offices.

“Come in Northland”
“Are you there Auckland?
“What about you Hamilton?”
“Are you there Wellington?”
“Let’s hear it from Canterbury”

We were all linked up!

After showing the staff how to meet and greet a blind person we then introduced ourselves to the other branch team members.  I then got on demonstrating making the truffles, with them following. The staff were split into pairs with one of each pair wearing “that blind woman glasses” for the first part of the truffle making process.

The pair then swapped around after I showed them how to chocolate dip their truffles and I completed the demonstration by boxing up some truffles for Sharon who had organised the whole event.

The same truffle recipe that had been made for the celebrations of my 10 years blind party were used three years later to say thank you to a very special person with a great vision!
 
Thank you Sharon Bain for your vision!

Go Parent to Parent!

On Wednesday 23 June two of our local radio stations got to try out ‘that blind woman’ glasses in two promotional interviews for the upcoming ‘Dining in the Dark’ dinner on July 9. Damian from More FM gave operating his consul a go while being blind and both him and Owen Rooney from Radio Dunedin experimented with dining in the dark through eating a piece of bread with a knife and fork. This was one of the first lessons I had when I went blind in 1997. I fondly remember chasing a piece of bread around a plate, trying desperately not to cut a huge chunk off that I would then have to put in my mouth! The bread is to simulate a piece of steak and teaches you to navigate your way around a large cut of meat in a dignified manner. Well – that’s the theory. Both the announcers gave it a  real crack!

Lastly - my sister gave me my most recent “why not” moment.

“I’m going to do the Polar Plunge – do you want to do it with me?” she asked.

The thought of racing, half dressed, into the Pacific Ocean in the middle of winter at our local beach was not something I had ever rush to do but it was always something I’d wished I’d done!

“Why not” I murmured reluctantly.

So putting my wishing aside, my sister, Amanda and I ventured off on Sunday 27 June to Dunedin’s popular beach resort – St Clair.

I had decided to take my spare and very well used white cane – so well used in fact it had lost it’s tip and half it’s elastic handle. Sebastian my 14 year old pointed this out as I was leaving – “Hey Mum, that cane doesn’t have a tip”

“Oh – that doesn’t matter Bas” I responded, “I’m taking it into the sea”

“What the” his teenage mouth replied. But there was more...

“What are you going to find in there” he smirked, “rocks?”

The day was overcast and cool – about 6 degrees. Wearing our ‘that blind woman’ t shirts we were joined by my sister’s colleague Barbara who also agreed to adorn a hot pink gerbera top! We gradually shed our layers until the point of hanging around was over –

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Race in……

From the back of the pack we dashed with 500 other mad people into the sea. We splashed our way into the water, feeling the freezing liquid at our feet. Then it got higher and higher until my sister called out –

Watch out Ju – here comes a wave!”

Splat! I was under. A wall of icy cold water had hit me.   Gasping for breath me and my cane were covered! All of a sudden I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t catch my breath. Where had it gone? My hart too had disappeared!

“Here comes another wave Ju” my sis called out.

Under again! This time I really couldn’t catch my breath. In a desperate attempt to breathe I tried to talk.

“I I I I I I need need need need need to to to to get get get get out out out out!” I gasped!

So before the next wave came along my sister and Barbara took me to shallower waters.

“I could stay in here longer” Amanda announced.

“You go back in and I’ll just stay here” I advised her.

Barbara and Amanda carried on splashing around while I stood in shallower waters catching my breath!

A minute or two later they came back to collect me and we walked back out of the sea together.

We stopped on the way out and posed for the cameras.

Wow – I had survived.

We retreated back to the safety of the shore line where we were greeted by Amanda’s husband Russell who had been in charge of our possessions.

We then retreated to the comfort of Barbara’s hot tub where we were greeted by Barbara’s husband who had been responsible for filling and heating it up!
It was only then I got the opportunity to reflect on one of the keys I had identified for adapting to extraordinary change – try something once! Thank goodness I had the foresight to write ‘once’!

This month Julie met the Prime Minister of New Zealand. Find out what he said to her and check her out on the cover of the Foundation of the Blind’s Outlook magazine. She’s been speaking all over the place – find out where.

The 2010 autumn edition of the RNZFB's Outlook magazine is out now! Read their feature article on me and celebrate the RNZFB's 120th birthday by looking back on some key milestones. Meet their new Board Chair and read some inspiring member profiles. Check this out at my media room

Earlier in the month I spoke at Otago Career’s Festival at the Dunedin Public and Mosgiel Libraries.  If you watch to watch this, it's uploaded to youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H21e9OjcUq4

See what they said about me the community newspaper the Star at my media room.

Head to the newstands to check out an article I wrote in the Her Business magazine in June’s issue where one of my favourite Allsorts story is feature

I also had the privilege of being the keynote speaker at the Powertalk conference held in Dunedin on Friday 14 May 
 
I was also made to feel very welcome at the Dunedin Community Childcare Association’s “Celebrating Success” evening later in the month.  Check out the photo – I look like I’m giving a sermon!

Just to prove I wasn’t – here’s what some of the attendees said:

“Thanks for such an inspirational story”

“Could have listened for many hours”

“Kia ora KIA kaha hine”

“Thank you for your inspirational talk. It made me realise how much I say no because I’m scared. I’m going to try to change that. Thank you”

Thank you DCCA!

Then some braille arrived in the mail!

The Prime Minister John Key would like to invite Julie Woods to join him at the Launch of the Royal NZ Foundation of the Blind
Digital Library

At Premier House, Tinakori Road, Thorndon, Wellington
Wednesday 19th May 2010, 6-8pm

The Digital Library is an internationally recognised digital information system which will bring the written word of the sighted world to blind, partially sighted and print disabled New Zealanders.
A future proofed, sustainable solution to breaking down barriers and providing greater independence that’s long overdue.

I’d love to!

I was requested to arrive at 5.30 pm so ably assisted by my older brother Chris; we accessed the PM’s grounds.

We were stopped at a checkpoint at the gates of Premier House.

“Good evening Sir” said the policeman, “Can I have your names please?”

“Chris and Julie Woods” replied my brother.

We were instructed to park somewhere and then did. We entered Premier house up 10 steps a turn to the left and then 10 more steps.

Greeted by staff from the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind, our work began and we started mingling. The occasion was the launch of the digital talking book project and I had been asked to deliver my talking book story.   As I chatted with the Foundation of the Blind’s CEO, Sandra Budd, we were approached by a waiter bearing two types of white wine. Rather than asking me which wine I preferred he said

“Hey, don’t you live in Dunedin?   

“Yes” I replied.

“It’s Jeremy from No. 7 Balmac”

Turns out he used to work at my local café and had now turned up at the PM’s house.

Unbeknownst to me, two policemen were circulating the room to make sure it was safe for the PM to enter. And he did.

John Key very quickly took the microphone and spoke for his allocated 3 minutes. He told us of how he lived at Premier House in the week and usually arrived home at 12.30 am and slept there with a couple of policemen. He talked of the great work the Foundation of the Blind do and the importance of high speed broadband not just to the blind but to all of NZ!

Sandra Budd then spoke and what followed was a three minute video that included that blind woman and other blind people talk of the importance of talking book technology,

It was now my three minutes in the spotlight. 

I approached the lectern with trepidation but with my notes in my head I proceeded.

"Prime Minister, honoured guests and representatives from the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind. And that man who’s trying to slip out the back door coz he thinks I won’t notice him!

On March 27 1997 I sat in the waiting room of Dunedin Public Hospital about to be declared legally blind. I was 31 years of age, married with two boys aged 3 and 1. I was overwhelmed, powerless and terrified of how I was going to cope.
 
I asked for help at the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind and they asked me two questions - Can you pour a cup of tea and can you read print? I answered no to both.
 
So an instructor from the Foundation of the Blind came up to my house with a machine that was about to change my life. I became the proud new owner of a talking book machine which meant I now had my very own library.  

I was reunited with the written word and began going on new journeys. I went to England and Europe with Bill Bryson, I got to go to South Africa with Brice Courtney – I even got to travel to London and back to New Zealand with one of our own greats David Lange.
 
If success is the launch pad for success then my talking book machine was definitely one of my launch pads. I went on to learn how to touch type, use speech software on my computer and then to eventually learn braille.
 
Now my talking book machine lives under my bed.  It’s outdated and doesn’t fit with my new life which includes new technology.

Louis Braille, the doyen of literacy for the blind, said in 1841 –

“Access to communication in the widest sense is access to knowledge and that is vitally important for us. We do not need pity, nor do we need to be reminded that we are vulnerable. We must be treated as equals and communication is the way we can bring this about”

In 2010 communication is all about technology.

   My working day begins with turning on my computer and accessing information through speech software and my electronic braille display. I also use talk’s software to send and receive text messages.

The new digital machine has technology that is in line with the rest of the technology in my life. The new digital talking book machine will allow me to navigate my way around my new books with the ease in which I can navigate around my own computer. In time I will be able to upload books in real time just like sighted people can upload and download at their own convenience.

In 2001 when Helen Clark launched the Disability Strategy she stated that “the biggest barriers people with disabilities face are attitudes”

This old technology only reinforces those negative attitudes people have about blindness.  Remember what Louis Braille said about Pity. Or being reminded that we are vulnerable? This old talking book machine reminds us that we are vulnerable.

The new digital technology allows us to be treated as equals.

The new technology brings us equality and that is vitally important for us.

That is vitally important for us.
 
Thank you. "

I stepped away from the lectern. My job had been completed. After Greg Miller spoke for his three minutes we then listened to blind singer Caitlin Smith entertain the audience with her gorgeous voice and piano playing.

We then stood around chatting.

Sensing things were about to break up my brother approached one of the Foundation of the Blind reps and said I would like a photo with John Key! Go bro! So – I got to meet John.

“Hello Julie” he said taking my extended hand to shake.

“Hello John” I replied, “Thank you for inviting me to your house”

Wow – that was pretty original from me! I had hoped to come up with something a bit more stimulating than that!

“How old are your boys now” he enquired.

“16 and 14” I replied

“What year are they at school?”

“10 and 12 at Otago Boys High School”
We talked more about the boys

“How does your speech software work Julie” he asked.

So I told him.

“What do you think of the new stadium Julie?”

“I think it’s brilliant John” I threw out there

“So do I” he agreed. “That’s why we put money towards it”

I told him the topic was a taboo one in Dunedin.

Then I got a wee bit brave.

“We have your voice double at our BNI networking chapter in Dunedin so how would you like to come along and meet him?”

“I’m in Dunedin a lot” he responded, “I always get met my protestors”

“Oh dear – that’s just lively students” I informed him “the city’s full of them.”

“Well – you wouldn’t get mobbed at our BNI meeting” I reassured him. “We meet every Tuesday morning at 7 am for breakfast and we could have a ‘guess the voice’ competition – what do you reckon?
 
“Why not” the PM replied.

My brother then manoeuvred John Key and me till we stood under the NZ flag.  I slipped my arm through John’s as we smiled for the camera!

Sigh! Goose bumps and all that warm fuzzy stuff!

Thanks for joining me in the amazing month of May!

Tune back in next month to find out all about my Cooking Without Looking workshop with CanTeen!

Welcome everyone to the month of May and this month is going to be a boomer! In fact April has been the same so let me share some of my news with you.
 
Let’s hear it for the three Yvonnes! Recently I’ve received amazing feedback from three ladies – all named Yvonne so I thought it extraordinary enough to share it with you here.

Are you ready?

“In the 41 years I’ve been a member of our club we’ve never had such an uplifting speaker”
- Yvonne, Taieri Women’s Club

“Thank you for your inspirational talk. You are truly amazing. It makes me realise the diversity in what life deals us yet the similarities in overcoming it. Thank you”
- Yvonne, Women affected by the bush fires, Australia

“Thank you for the experience on Saturday. You opened my eyes to many things, and my family really enjoyed those bloody chocolate truffles!!”
- Yvonne, Cooking Without Looking workshop attendee

Go the Yvonnes! Thank you so much for your positive comments. There must be something in the name! I’ll be keeping an eye out for the Yvonnes of the future!

Last month our family traveled to Arrowtown to attend my ex husband’s wedding. Yes – that’s right – my ex husband’s wedding! My two boys, Zachary and Sebastian, were part of the wedding party so it seemed only natural that we would support the boys by accompanying them along. The only reason Mark and Veronica were allowed to get engaged were if we got an invite to the wedding!  People think I’m queer for going – but to me it would have seemed queer not to be there. It was important for me that the boys understood I was happy that their father was getting re-married! Besides – I didn’t mind – so long as he wasn’t marrying me!

The day was a stunner! A clear, sunny Autumnal day allowed us to spend the glorious sunshine on a celebration that began at 11.30 am and ended at 11.30 pm! We listened to the blind organist Mark Wilson perform at the chapel at Lake Hayes as part of the service and headed down to a local winery for the reception. The day was punctuated with a dance at the local pavilion where we all enjoyed some Czechoslovakian traditions such as the best man throwing plates onto the floor with Mark and Veronica having to get behind a broom to prove that they could work together and clean up the broken mess.   And guess what – they did!

I couldn’t have been a prouder mother – check out these two boys in their dashing suits! Or is that my twodashing boys in their suits?

 
On Wednesday 28 April I had the delightful pleasure of being reunited with Jo Seagar. Jo is a Food writer here in NZ who also wrote the foreword for my book How to Make a Silver Lining. 

Jo has a huge personality, so when I heard she was going to be guest speaker at our Her Business lunch – I had to be there. The lunch took place at the Mercure Hotel on Princes Street in Dunedin where around 50 women enjoyed hearing how Jo went from nursing to nutrition! I thought I would share with you what I discovered from listening to Jo’s story:

• No experiences are wasted experiences – Jo trained as a nurse but switched to food after receiving a small lump of money from her Granny which she spent on a cooking course in London
• Investing in yourself is the best investment!
• Food is love!
• Follow your heart
• Be a wee bit naïve – “how hard can it be to run a restaurant?”
• Learn to write by writing – Jo got asked to write and when she said she didn’t know how she was told to “simply write me a letter each month” by the magazine editor. Jo did and something inside her flickered!
• Be persistent – Jo never let go of her dream of being on TV and after several persistent takes she finally made it on!
•  Believe in yourself and your dreams (Jo and her husband chucked in a reasonably good life style in Auckland to come down to North Canterbury)
• Mother always knows best! (Jo’s mother had her house sold and moved down to Oxford before Jo even blinked!
• Take risks – Jo and her husband Ross invested heavily in their dream of owning a Cooking School/restaurant/kitchen shop)
• Building from scratch is better than retro-fitting (it cost them $280000 to get resource consent  to revamp an existing building)     

I’ve just recently stepped down from a six month term as President of our local chapter of BNI – that’s Business Networking International and to celebrate my departure, BNI’s marketing manager Colin Kennedy wrote this following reflective article entitled “What a blind person can teach the sighted about networking” which I’d like to share with you now.

What a blind person can teach the sighted about networking
by Colin Kennedy

Public speaking and leadership roles can be daunting assignments for a blind person, but in taking on the leadership of her local BNI networking chapter, Dunedin blind woman Julie Woods discovered that the blind can lead the sighted – particularly when it comes to building strong relationships.

When she was asked by her BNI chapter to assume the chapter’s presidency, professional speaker and coach Julie Woods – who markets herself as That Blind Woman – took confidence from the fact that her fellow members believed in her enough to give her the job.
BNI is a networking referral organisation with more than 121 chapters from Dunedin to The Bay of Island. Each chapter comprises between 20 and 40 business owners who meet once a week to network and pass business referrals within a structured programme.

“It’s very difficult to stand up in front of a group of senior business people and talk to them and lead the meeting without being able to make eye contact and gauge audience response. They could be falling asleep or have slipped out the door for all I know,” says Julie.

In her leadership role, Julie focused on five skills most sighted people fail to practise but which, if they did, would vastly improve their communication, leadership and networking practice.

“I don’t have any visual distractions, so focus is key,” says Julie, listing the five skills as:
1.Focusing exclusively on the person you are talking to. “That’s why people close their eyes in church to pray – no distractions,” she says.
2.Really listen carefully to what the person is saying.
3.Learn to read nuances in tone.
4.Use humour to connect quickly – whether one-on-one or to an audience.
5.Make a special effort to remember somebody’s name. Using people’s names is always very powerful in building rapport and relationships.

Julie says assuming the presidency of the chapter was overwhelming to begin with, but she overcame nerves with preparation, rehearsal and simple statements – translated in to Braille – that she could drawn on.

“BNI attracted me as a networking group because it is the same people at the same venue every week – you have no idea how helpful that is, to somebody who is blind. BNI is networking friendly for the blind.”

Julie – who went blind at the age of 31 after being partially sighted since the age of 18 due to inflammation of the retina – is no novice when it comes to taking value from the details of life. As a mother of two young children, she had to learn new skills like cooking and cleaning, venturing out with a white cane, being gainfully employed and then owning her own business.

She also had to learn to touch type, read Braille, use speech software on the computer, operate a telephone keypad and an Eftpos terminal.

“As I say in my book – ‘How to Make a Silver Lining’ – the more skills you have, the more solutions you have. So I was in a good space to run the BNI meetings.

“The upside is I have no more worries about speeding tickets and bad haircuts. I can just focus on the good stuff. Being blind makes you less image focussed, less judgemental - it’s about appreciating people for who they are.”

by Colin Kennedy

Thanks Colin for your perception.

That’s all for this month folks. Next time we will meet I will have met with the Prime Minister of NZ John Key so look out John – you’re gonna get to meet that blind woman! Crikey!

On Sunday March 7, me and my 27 kilos of luggage headed over to Melbourne, Australia. I was accompanied by my friend Kirsty and an additional charge of $70 excess baggage as I carried over my Cooking Without Looking equipment in place of my usual 5 pair of travelling shoes!

We were sponsored over and hosted by Kirsty’s sister Fiona, director of FM Consulting and her partner James from Just Law.

Over the course of the next 9 days I toured around Melbourne and the Yarra Valley (pictures below)

(Me standing on the streets of Melbourne)

(Me at the Gerbera Farm in the Yarra Valley)

(Me at Federation Square, Melbourne, with more street art - this time pink!)

My speaking tour also included the following stops:

Women affected by the bush fires
Where I told them how I had adapted to my own extraordinary change

 
“Thank you for your inspirational talk. You are truly amazing. It makes me realise the diversity in what life deals us yet the similarities in overcoming it. Thank you”

Yvonne

- Dixon’s Creek Primary School
Where I shared how to meet and greet a blind person, how to sighted guide and how to turn their “no” into “why not”

- Women in Business
Where I spoke to them about the 8 keys I have identified for adapting to extraordinary change!

“Your talk was fantastic. I do work with an organisation called Wheelchair Sports Victoria and there is so much of what you said which I will share with my wheelchair sports kids”

Kellie

- Kingston Council International Women’s Day
Where I shared with them how I went from the hospital waiting room to my 10 years blind party!

 
- Healsville High Tea celebration for International Women’s Day
Where I told the story of Cooking Without Looking including a demonstration.

“Move over Jamie– we have Julie and her truffles coming through!”

Donna

(Donna deserves a medal – she came to three of my events and then dashed off to see Jamie Oliver that night)

- Harmony Festival City of Port Phillip Council at St Kilda
where I had 10 minutes to demonstrate how that blind woman made those bloody truffles again! 

  As you can see the tour was full of amazing people, places and events. What a privilege it was to explore the different parts of Victoria, telling my story along the way.

I loved Melbourne City with all its vibrancy and street art! The worst thing about Melbourne was being arrested at Melbourne Jail – check me out with this obviously unreasonable guard who arrested me for “intent to corrupt minors with an excess positivity ” 

A special thanks to my friend Kirsty and the McAllister Family for making this such a worthwhile trip. You guys rock!

In the middle of the month an article appeared in the NZ Herald about my trip to Egypt and Jordan in January 2009 and travelling as a blind person in the Middle East. Jim Eagles interviewed me for this article and you can check it out in my media room here. 
 
On Saturday 27 March it was, yet again, another anniversary of my blindness! This time – 13 years!

I placed the annual ad in the Otago Daily Times thanking all those people who had helped me in my first 13 years as a blind person. But this wasn’t enough – how else could I celebrate.

With the rise of Cooking Without Looking, I asked readers in the Wish List section of my Silver Lining newsletter if they would like to attend a Cooking Without Looking Workshop at Otago Polytechnic. 8 of them replied saying yes so we all met at 2 pm on the anniversary of my 13th year of blindness.

Pink balloons guided in these special people as they gathered in the kitchen to get together and have a go at their very own Cooking Without Looking.  The participants were placed into pairs and given their very own “blind woman” glasses which meant they could see virtually nothing. While I demonstrated the truffle making process they returned in stints to roll and dip their way through their very own batch of blind baking. While one person wore the glasses the other supported them throughout the process.

The end result was a box of truffles they had made as a blind person. I finished the afternoon off with putting ribbons around the boxes so they were able to leave with a touch of that blind woman magic on what they had made.

Here’s what some of them thought of the workshop

“It gave me a small insight into Julie’s achievements on a daily basis. I learned to both introduce myself and tell her when I was leaving. I learned to appreciate other senses which were highlighted when blinded.”

“I learned to slow down and be more methodical when working.”

“Thank you for the experience on Saturday. You opened my eyes to many things, and my family really enjoyed those bloody chocolate truffles!!”

“Fantastic workshop – when can we book you.”

“You are a fantastic inspiration and wonderful role model for our young people. Go Julie.”

Thanks to Lyn, Moira, Donna, Maureen, Sue & Sue, Yvonne and Tonia for stepping up to the blindness plate. Your courage inspired me greatly and I can now look forward to rolling out the workshops.

Special thanks too to Tony from the Otago Polytechnic for his calmness and generosity, Casinda and Ange for assisting with the workshop and to Ron for coming in and taking the photos so you can all se how good looking Cooking Without Looking really is!
  
The Star (Dunedin’s Community newspaper), reporter Brenda Harwood, published an article in the edition, coming out on April 1 which you can find in my media room

Thanks to all of you who have made March such a special month. Tune in next month to find out how I get on at my ex-husband’s wedding!