Interactive Poll
What would you lose most if you lost your sight?
What Would you lose?
Check our video clips to see what people have said so far
Kenneth Steven - World Book Day
My name is Kenneth Steven. I'm first and foremost a poet but also a children's writer and a translator among other things. This is the place I come to work, to think and to work, my writing cabin.
Way back in early childhood days of growing up, my absolute favourite series of books was 'The Narnia Chronicles' by CS Lewis. I won't say hand on heart that they were the first books I ever read, but they were certainly my favourites, and my favourite among them was was 'The Silver Chair'.
I can remember, actually, one of the few times my father actually punished me, he was the one who detailed to do the punishing. in those days, one of my various crimes was reading after hours and I remember my father coming home from a church meeting and seeing my bedroom light on. This was me reading under the covers, i'd been found out, so I did get into trouble, not so much for reading but for breaking the rules when the light should go out.
I'm profoundly thankful for the sight that I have and for the ability to read as much as I want, when I want. And I realise, because I have it, I take it absolutely for granted. It's very different for me to say, because I read a lot, what my favourite book would be. I think what's easier to say what a current favourite is.
Earlier this year, in 2010, I read over three or four days Cormac McCarthy's wonderful and terrifying new novel 'The Road', which has been brought to great prominence through the cinematic version of it. 'The Road', for those who don't know it, tells the story of a man and a boy wandering through this devasted landscape. Some kind of terrible disaster has befallen the world, and as they are just walking on they come across various little disparate groups of refugees.
It makes me prfoundly, amazingly gratetful to be living in a world that we've been given to look after and care for. And in a sense it's an intensely grey novel, a gret story. There are tiny, little points of light and one is profoundly thankful for these.
One comes out of the experience of reading it so hugely thankful, being aware of everything in sharp relief around one.
Lari Don - World Book Day
My name is Lari Don. I'm a children's author and a storyteller, and Diana Wynne Jones' 'The Power of Three' is a book that I loved as a child, and I have re-read it every couple of years since, even in the decades when I wasn't a child or a children's author. I love this book so much I keep re-reading it.
I love it because Diana Wynne Jones is a writer who creates lots and lots of magical and fantastical worlds, but this is one of her worlds that is set mostly in the English landscape. And I love the world, I love the story, I love re-reading it. I think I can say that it's one of the books that inspired me to be a writer. I love creating worlds that are set in the Scottish landscape.
If I was to lose my sight, and not be able to read the book again, it's almost impossible to say I'd miss reading the book in my own head because I probably know almost every single word. But what I'd miss most is reading the book to my children.
I love reading bedtime stories to my kids. I've read this book to my older daughter, but my youngest daughter isn't old enough yet. I'm looking forward in about two years time to cuddling up to her at night and reading this book to her.
That, I think, is what I would miss most, sharing books with the people I love.
Julie Lacome - World Book Day
Hello, I'm Julie Lacome. I'm a children's book illustrator and this is a book, 'Skimp'. that really inspired me to be an illustrator.
It's by one of my favourite artists, John Burningham, full of big, lovely creatures. I love his drawings!
Thoughts from Jonathon Miller (Haggeye)
Hi, I am Jonathan Miller and I am 18 years old and live in Bishopbriggs in Glasgow. I have had a visual impairment since I was born. My left eye has a cataract, which is my worst eye. My right eye is slightly better as it doesn’t have a cataract. I also have aniridia in the pupil and that affects different light conditions. I also have nystagmus which is shakiness of the eye - making it hard to concentrate on different documents such as reading a book or reading music.
With the music, I am studying at John Wheatley College in Glasgow doing an HNC Sound Production course. It wasn’t my preferred choice of course, simply because of my visual impairment. I did want to be a music teacher, but because I couldn’t read music, I couldn’t actually do the course and the tutors couldn’t teach me. So, I had to go down the technical side of music and that’s where the sound engineering came in.
I find that different charities such as RNIB help greatly with this because they are able to put sheets of documents into different print sizes for me such as specialised documents like music. That helps me learn music and get on my way to be doing music teaching. Also they are there to be like a backup person to speak out for me, let me know my rights as a visually impaired person and get my points of view across when I need it at colleges or universities or in the workplace.
Thoughts from Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond
I have been thinking quite a bit recently about what it would mean if you weren’t able to see or if you lost your sight. A lot of it has been because of my dealings with Glencraft workers in Aberdeen who have produced such wonderful product ranges and hopefully we have managed to find a way of sustaining that wonderful social enterprise for the future.
The reason I have been thinking about it is because I have been meeting people and have seen how they have overcome their disability to make such a great contribution and who have been busy fighting for their jobs, and it does focus your mind on how people have been able to overcome challenges.
I have been about what would happen if I lost my sight or wasn’t able to see actually through the experience of other people in terms of how they have dealt with, overcome and coped with that challenge.
It does make you feel very humble and certainly concentrates your mind.
Thoughts from Paralympic Gold Medalist Aileen McGlynn
Well, I am partially sighted at the moment but it doesn’t stop me from doing most things, you know getting about - I am quite independent. I can still cycle on my own, I can get on the buses, I am quite independent as I said.
But if I was to totally lose my sight it would be a totally different matter. I am so grateful for the amount of sight that I have got at the moment. I have got about 10% but just that is enough to make me feel independent.
Being totally blind, well I just admire people that I have met who are totally blind and just get on with it and do what they have got to do.
It would be such a dark place I feel, my world and life would be so dark and quite hard I would say.
Thankfully, touch wood it isn’t going to happen.
Thoughts from Stuart McMillan MSP
I am one of the MSP's for the west of Scotland region. If I lost my sight I would certainly miss seeing my family grow up. I would miss the general day to day aspects of seeing my kids progress, seeing them develop and I think in general that would be the most important thing that I would miss.
I would also miss lots of other family aspects, other family people. Particularly my wife as well of course! But I think certainly I would miss seeing my kids develop.
Charities that do support people with sight loss are vital in terms of the message and the communications that they actually have with politicians with all parties and all parliaments as well as local authorities.
I think the opportunities that the charities of sight loss actually provide to people that actually do have visual impairment are enormous and I think that one of the core aspects I think that they do provide is to actually allow people to live their day to day lives once again, if they have actually been affected by visual impairment.
So I think that it is vital that there are charities that provide vital support and information to people that who have a visual impairment.
Thoughts from Scottish Green Party leader Patrick Harvie
I am the Co Convenor of the Scottish Green Party and Regional MSP for Glasgow.
I live alone and my independence is very important to me, and the prospect of not being able to go out the door and simply go for a wander without really knowing where I am going would be very scary to me and that would be a real loss.
Last year my summer holiday was a week with a Railway Rover ticket. I simply went out the door with a bag and hadn't decided where I was going to stop each night. That kind of independence, that kind of make it up as you go attitude must be hugely difficult for people who have got impaired vision or who have lost their sight, and that I think would be the most important thing that I would worry about losing, that sense of independence that to be honest I take for granted in my own life.
Chick Young
My name is Chick Young and I’m the Football Correspondent for BBC Scotland, as far as I know I’m still the Football Correspondent for BBC Scotland (you never know in this place, that’s the jovial bit). The serious bit what would I lose if I lost my sight? Everything, absolutely everything – the very thought of it is absolutely dreadful to me. You could be jocular and say you might not need to watch some games I have to see in the Scottish Premier League this season but it’s too easy to be flippant about a thing like your sight. I used to have perfect sight actually and the last few years I’ve had to start wearing these (shows glasses) to help me along life’s highway and actually it is literally along highway when I have to drive with them now. I just can’t imagine what it must be like for people who don’t have the gift and it is a gift of vision to be able to appreciate all the things that we see in this fabulously beautiful country in the summertime in Scotland, I know it can be a miserable place in the winter but to look at the scenery, the sea – I couldn’t even sail my boat could I, well I could sail it but would probably keep hitting rocks which I sometimes do in any case or to ride my motorbike as that would be a dangerous thing to do as well. The more you think about it, going to a Restaurant and reading the Menu or reading a book. Look at the beautiful lady I live with, look at everything. It’s a great exercise, put it to yourself and think what would I not be able to do without these things – it’s absolutely petrifying to me and I think we have to do everything we can to help people who aren’t blessed with vision. Glasses will hopefully see me through the rest of my days; there you go see me through (again everything is about seeing and vision). It petrifies me not to have the vision of sight and to go back to where I started if I did lose my sight I’d lose my job.
Gina McKie
Hi, my name is Gina McKie and if I lost my sight first of all I can’t even begin to imagine what I think that would be like, I don’t even think I want to imagine what that would be like but it does take me back to a time when I was cycling in New Zealand for Charity and I was cycling with an incredible guy who was looking after a guy who was blind. I remembered cycling beside this chap who was blind and the guide if you like he was on a tandem with the chap who was visually impaired and he gave him a running commentary of this beautiful scenery of New Zealand and it was incredible. South Island, I can still using all my senses see, feel, hear, taste to be there and it made me realise how much I/we take for granted our sight and I think looking back to that time I can clearly remember in my head I can clearly remember what it was like to see some the most beautiful parts of the world in New Zealand where they filmed a bit of Harry Potter, you know really big movies and I can’t imagine what it would be like to not have that memory in my head, to see the mountains, seeing people fall off their bikes. The poor visually impaired guy fell off his bike because the guide was talking to me so much and I was asking him so many questions and he wasn’t concentrating and then I felt so guilty but actually seeing him fall off the bike and laughing about it and probably he was enjoying the fact that I was I am so sorry, you can’t see and don’t know what you’re doing and actually he was back on his bike quicker than me and cycling and I was the one who was left looking like an idiot. So that is just a little memory I think I wouldn’t have and wouldn’t be able to remember it as clearly as hopefully I can explain as clearly as you. I do think we take our sight for granted, I wear contact lenses and it’s something I think I am slightly paranoid about from wearing glasses from such an early age from having the patch over the eye etc so I think what it is like when you feel people judge you even slightly on your sight if you are visually impaired or indeed blind.
Saqib Ahmed
Hi, Saqib Ahmed from Glasgow. If I lost my sight it would be a total nightmare as I have a one year old son and I love going home from work and playing with him, laughing with him and suddenly if I lost my sight I would miss all of that.
Glasgow St Enoch's Roadshow
Mikey Hughes
Hi, it's Mikey here. You might know me from being the runner up in the Big Brother house.
I am very pleased to be supporting the RNIB's 'What Would You Lose?' campaign. Go to the website whatwouldyoulose.org.uk.
I know it might seem a bit weird here but if it wasn't for the RNIB, I probably wouldn't have made the Big Brother House because I was kicking around in the house for 2 years not knowing what to do and a bit of rehabilitation and here I am now.
Sharon Wilson
Hi my name is Sharon Wilson and I am from Glasgow. If I had to lose my sight the thing I would miss most is the sunshine and the beautiful sky.
Bryn Merchant
Hello I am Bryn Merchant and I live in Edinburgh. Losing my sight would be a devastating experience because I would miss so much of the things that go on with my family. I'd probably have to change my job in some way and I'd miss the ability to travel independently.
Margaret Bean
Hi I am Margaret Bean and I am from Glasgow. If I lost my sight I would lose seeing my grandchildren growing up and my love of reading books.
Aileen
My name is Aileen and I am from Denniston and what I would miss most in losing my sight would be not being able to see my children.
James Duff
My name is James Duff from Castlemilk and if I lost my sight I don’t know what I'd do. At Christmas you want to see the happiness in folks faces. Events like concerts you won't see everybody crowded up and having a good time. You won't be able to see that at parties and just like having good times. You won't be able to see your family and I wouldn't be able to live with that. So basically if I lost my sight that's what I would miss.
Susan
I am Susan and I'm from Glasgow. The thing I would miss about losing my sight would be seeing my children growing up, the sunshine, seeing flowers, lots of things. I couldn't begin to imagine what it would be like to lose my sight actually. I think it would be the worst thing that could possibly happen to me.
Gerry, Craig and Mikey Hughes
I am Gerry from Cumbernauld.
I am Craig from
I am Mikey from the Big Brother show and for their sins they came up "Mikey can we get a photo?" and I said "Guys, here's the deal, the RNIB are running a campaign 'What Would You Lose?' So, what would you lose if you lost you're sight?
Gerry: I don't know where to start. I'd miss my mum, family, the xbox.
Mikey: You'd miss the xbox. It's funny you say that. Because when I lost my sight all these games consoles, they were just developing and now it's all 3D this that and the other and I'm thinking Aw I just wish I could play all these games. What about yourself, what would you lose?
Craig: Everything. Playing American Football, playing sport, playing everything.
Mikey: What kind of sports do you play?
Craig: American Football
Mikey: Well you know, I don’t know any blind people that play American Football but this year it is the Blind World Cup, so it just proves there is life after sight loss, but without the RNIB it will be an extra struggle. Admittedly, without RNIB I certainly wouldn’t be standing here today chatting to these guys and certainly not chatting about whatwouldyoulose.org.uk
Beverley Gray
Hi my name is Beverley Gray and I am from Glasgow. I think the most thing I would miss if I wasn't able to see would be my kids when they are growing up. My children's children, reading and watching television. Justveryday things that you just take for granted and you wouldn't be able to.
Ethel Laird and Eileen Sweeney
I am Ethel Laird and I stay in Paisley.
I am Eileen Sweeney and I stay in Glasgow, Springburn and I think what I would miss most if I lost my sight would be reading, and going out in the countryside and being able to be independent. I think mostly I would feel being independent. I think relying on other people to go anywhere, that might sting.
Hayley
I am Hayley and I am from Clarkston and if I were to lose my sight I would miss seeing my friends and family and going to gigs, cos it's all about sight as well as listening to the music.
Mikey:
Hi I am Mikey, the runner up from Big Brother. Like you were saying, Hayley, about going to gigs, I've only been to a few gigs, once I lost my sight I found it quite busy with everybody. Although once you are blind, you needn't miss out on music.
Hayley: No of course not, that’s good, at least you've still got your hearing.
Mikey: So what else do you think you would miss out on if you had no sight?
Hayley: Going out would be different I suppose. Getting ready, clothes as well because you really wouldn't be able to appreciate them as much.
Mikey: Well I know what you're saying with that, but I don’t know, feel how nice and cosy these sheepskin gloves are.
Hayley: They are very soft actually, I wish I had some of these.
Mikey: Well they are only £7 in the sales at the moment. That's us, we are just promoting whatwouldyoulose.org.uk
Acquil
Hello, my name is Acquil and I am from Glasgow. The thing I would miss most if I was blind would be my family probably. Everyday things I think, seeing where I was going, where I was walking, what I could see basically in the morning when I get up, I wouldn't be able to see anything, I would feel a bit lost. My friends as well.
Gary Smith
My name is Gary Smith and I am from London. If I lost my sight I would miss my 2 daughters growing up, my son growing up. I would miss watching Tottenham play, and Celtic. I would miss my partner, seeing her enjoying herself and stuff, I would miss most things in general, so that's about it.
Voiceover
There are about 200,000 people in Scotland with significant sight loss. What would you lose from your life if you lost your sight?
Your job, your income, your independence. Every day in Scotland 10 people begin to lose their sight. RNIB Scotland supports people with sight loss but can only reach less than 1 in 3. We need your support to rebuild lives devastated with sight loss.
To tell us what you would lose from your life and to find out what you can do to support RNIB, go to www.whatwouldyoulose.org.uk
Roy Landell
At the moment I am at college and it's going really well. In day to day life one of the hardest things I find is basically being around. I don't mind being around people because I've got my white stick but sometimes I find that people, because of my disability, think that I can't move around that well and tell me to use the lift instead of the stairs, which is ok but you can get frustrated.
In day to day life I'm ok, but sometimes people can be a bit overly helpful but it's ok generally.
Grant Marshall
I am Grant Marshall, I was born in Canada and I am 24. The reason I went blind is because I had a serious brain tumour that surrounded the optic nerve. I went blind when I was 8. I missed the rality of my family and myself growing up and changing.
The image I still have is of my family being young, of my mum and dad being younger. The reality is that people change and grow up. It is extremely important for the RNIB to be out there for blind and partially sighted people who may not be able to live or survive on their own without the help that RNIB gives them. Gives them their independence in their lives.
Mhairi Thurston
I come from Dundee. About 10 years ago I got diagnosed with RP which is a degenerative condition that leads to blindness. I guess it came like a bolt out of the blue because I have no family history of it and within a very short space of time I went from being a very busy working mum, full time, to not working, not driving, not having an income and having to move to a smaller house, and feeling very socially isolated and very depressed. It was very dark days because I had 2 small children and a new baby at the time and it was very challenging to be told that you were losing your sight and my first thought was that I'm not going to see these beautiful children grow up and that was a terrible thing so I think sight loss comes into your life and it really blows it apart in terms that all that you know changes, for example, even getting about, to pick up a white stick and walk down a busy street is a very different thing from if you have been used to getting about without that. People change towards you and it's a very challenging thing to do.
So, 10 years on, I've come a long way and I've re-trained and I'm in a much better and happier place. I've also done research into the emotional impact on sight loss and the more people that I talk to the more I am aware that this wasn't just my experience but it happens to lots of people.
I think it's great that organisations such as RNIB do such great campaigning for blind and partially sighted people. It's really great to know that there is somebody out there that has a credibility and that is a big supporting force for visually impaired people.
Ken Reid
My name is Ken Reid and I have an eye condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa which is very common in people of working age. It came on in my mid twenties and by the time I was in my thirties I was registered blind and gradually over the succeeding years my sight has deteriorated to the point where there is very little that is useful.
Clearly the best thing is just to give an example of the sort of things that you lose with sight loss. Tonight we have met as a group where there are lots of people standing around, chatting, networking, interacting and as a visually impaired person in amongst that you have no idea who is there, where they are and who is talking, so actually you can be in a room full of people but you are entirely on your own and it's that kind of isolation and exclusion from activities that I find to be one of the biggest things that I have lost.
There are so many people who are really not engaged, or understood what their sight means to them, how important it is and therefore what they would lose if they were to have their sight affected, and having people like RNIB articulating that and bringing it forward and putting it before them in a way that they can grasp and understand and start to relate to, it's fantastic.
It makes life easier for people like me with a visual impairment because we start to deal with people that understand where we are coming from. It's a great help.
You can be in a room full of people and be entirely on your own when you are blind.
Thoughts from Scottish Lib Dem leader Tavish Scott
My name is Tavish Scott, I'm the member of the Scottish Parliament for Shetland and also the leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats.
If I lost my sight the most immediate impact of course would be on my children or my wife or my immediate family and I can't imagine how challenging that would be but there would be so many practical sides to my life which involve getting on a ferry, a plane and driving in Shetland never mind getting the airport bus in from the airport when I'm here in Edinburgh coming to Parliament so the impact would be absolutely enormous and I suspect it would take a huge amount of change in the way I basically run my life to cope with such a change.
Thoughts from BBC News Presenter Sally Magnusson
I'm Sally Magnusson, I'm a BBC presenter and that question what would I lose if I lost my sight, the first thing that swam into my mind of course I suppose is my children.
I was thinking of my youngest and that sort of cheeky look he gives me when I ask him to do something that he doesn't want to do, I know he doesn't want to do, he knows that I know that he's not going to do it and it's all expressed in the twitch of a mouth and the raising of his left eyebrow and I just melt and I would miss that.
And then the other night I was driving home and I saw a sunset and the sky was streaked with fiery red and golds and yellows and it took my breath away and to miss something like that would be an extraordinary loss.
And there's one other thing I was thinking about as I plucked my eyebrows with a mirror and I was thinking what would I do, the other day I tried to pluck my eyebrows without a mirror and made a terrible mess and thought my goodness.
Thoughts from BBC Cameraman Charles Ross
Hi, my name is Charles Ross and I am a camera man for BBC News and if I lost my sight I would lose my livelihood.
I wouldn't be able to work anymore for obvious reasons, I wouldn't be able to create the images that I create and do the things that I love to do in my work also I wouldn't be able to see my children either and all those other things we take for granted.
Thoughts from Scottish Labour leader Iain Gray
I am Iain Gray, I am the leader for the Labour MSP's in the Scottish Parliament at Hollyrood.
If you think about losing your sight I guess not being able to see your family again is the first thing that you think of and we're expecting our first grandchild, a granddaughter in just a few weeks so the thought of not being able to see that grandchild that we're looking forward to seeing so much kind of brings home to me what a loss that would be but the other thing I would really miss being able to see is books.
I know that you can hear books, you can hear people reading books or on CD's or whatever but I love the way a book feels and I love the way that it looks.
I like the look of the words on the page and I like being able to flick back and forward between the pages.
Thoughts from STV
My name is Louise White and I am a presenter here at STV Studios in Glasgow.
Obviously losing one's sight would be absolutely catastrophic for somebody like myself - for anybody.
The thought of not being able to see my children grow up well it just doesn't bear thinking about.
There is also my job but the other day I was recalling a time when I was skiing down a mountain, I love skiing, I love the views that you get from tops of mountains and I was skiing along down this mountain and I came along side a skiier who was blind and he was being taken down the mountain by his guide by a chaparone and I stopped and I watched and I was completely in awe and that to me was total trust.
I think it is so important that charities like this are supporting blind people.
Thoughts from Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow 2
Hello my name is Olive Cameron and I would miss seeing the birds, trees and sky. I think it must be a terrible thing to lose your sight and I'm very lucky to have my sight.
Tom Boyd from Shawlands, I would miss being able to read books, comics, newspapers whatever.
My name is Gary from Glasgow, I'm a University student studing at Edinburgh University. If I lost my eye sight I think I would miss the most my family and friends, also the ability to see colours.
Two Close Friends
Hi, I'm Katie and I am from Barrhead.
I'm Chloe and I'm from Barrhead.
I think the most thing I would miss would be seeing all my family and stuff, like seeing all my friends and all the stuff life has to offer.
Yeah I would be the same.
Two Friends
Ann Gordon, I come from Glasgow and if I lost my sight I would miss my bingo games and going out to different functions.
Same with me, I'm Catherine Clarney and I'm from Glasgow and I would miss my bingo, I would miss going shopping and definitely miss looking at my grandkids.
Schoolkid
Hi I'm Harris from Glasgow and if I were to lose my sight it would be pretty crap because I wouldn't be able to do the stuff I would be doing everyday, playing football, going out with friends, driving around etc.
It would be just so boring basically.
Thoughts from Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow 1
Hi hello, I'm Rick from the Philippines I would miss my baby, my family, my wife and all my loved ones and friends who are the centre of my life.
Hi I am Elaine from Glasgow, if I lost my sight I would miss my family desperatly.
I'm George McIntosh from Glasgow and the thing I would miss most if I lost my sight would be the sight of my wife in the morning.
Hello my name is Barbara from Glasgow and if I couldn't read I would be finished, reading for me and seeing my children.
Hi I'm George McGhee and I'm from Larkhall and I would miss my wife and family.
