Tracks of My Life is a show on RNIB Connect Radio presented and produced by Toby Davey where he invites a guest to take us on a journey through their life, sharing the tracks that mark important moments which bring back memories to them. Their chosen tracks of their life might include the first track they can remember hearing, the first track they bought, a number of tracks that mark moments in their life and the final track, a track that they would like to pass on which might give people hope for the future.  In this trimmed down podcast version of Tracks of My Life Toby is joined by Mark Upton the first blind Chief Executive of OxEyes, the local sight loss charity supporting blind and partially sighted people in Oxfordshire. We will start Mark’s Tracks of My Life journey at the age of 14 with a rock album that featured many great guitar solos which could be described as the best air guitar album in the world and one that kick started his love of rock and heavy  music.  this album also started his discovery of as he says  real music for him to with a certain Queen track that was featured famously in that classic 80s film Wayne's World. We then move to GCSE exam time for Mark and school days that were perhaps not the best for him with a track that takes him back to those spring days when he knew school was almost over and that sense of freedom which was just a couple of months away.  Although with maybe a bit of an unknown future  ahead for Mark. Then to College for Mark which he says were his lost years in a way doing a practical course in wood work that probably was not the best choice thinking about a future career but a choice that his parents fully supported him in.  Although Mark had a small group of good friends at College in some ways, he felt that he did not really fit in.   College was very different to school and there was again that sense of freedom during this time marked by another heavy rock track from an album that Mark  used to listen to and get lost in on the train journey in and out to college. We then come to a change in Mark’s  musical tastes which was  influenced by one of his house mates when he  was living in Chichester working in retail for a short period of time before starting on his career in the sight loss sector.   One day by chance Mark came across a job at 4Sight (formally West Sussex Association for the Blind) when browsing the internet and joined 4Sight  as an Assistant Out Reach Worker.  A job that Mark  says he could be good at , he could enjoy and one where he felt he was Abel to give something back to other visually impaired people and an amazing start to his career in the sight loss sector. Before we come to Mark’s final track, we have one for his wife Erika who he met through a dating site when he moved to Oxford to join OxEyes and a track  for their son who arrived in to the world in the autumn of 2020 from one of Mark's favourite films, O Brother Where art thow,   which mark used to sing to him when he was in the womb and as a baby to. You can catch the hour-long version of Tracks of My Life with Toby’s guest’s music tracks in full by tuning in to RNIB Connect Radio every Tuesday at 7pm, repeated on Thursday at 1pm and Sunday at 8pm.

Tracks of My Life is a show on RNIB Connect Radio presented and produced by Toby Davey where he invites a guest to take us on a journey through their life, sharing the tracks that mark important moments which bring back memories to them. Their chosen tracks of their life might include the first track they can remember hearing, the first track they bought, a number of tracks that mark moments in their life and the final track, a track that they would like to pass on which might give people hope for the future.  In this trimmed down podcast version of Tracks of My Life Toby is joined by easy listening music fan and presenter of Connect Radio’s Sunset Melodies show, Gary Moritz. Gary’s Tracks of My Life journey will start with his preschool days and time spent round at his Grand Parents home.  Garry’s grandmother had a profound influence over the years on his musical taste and feeding his fascination with nostalgia which would later form the foundation for his Connect Radio show Sunset Melodies. We will then move to teenage years for Gary and his discovery of the music of Elvis Presley which then lead Gary to appreciate his  mum’s record collection and introducing Gary to easy listening vocalists.  Then later to the discovery of Frank Sinatra which started with a track from what might be the very first concept album.  With fond memories also of spending many hours in a local record shop collecting rock n roll records and later of course Frank Sinatra records too. At the age of 16 Gary  was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) which came as a shock to Gary and his Mum at the time.  Being diagnosed at an early age and knowing that he wouldn’t be able to drive Gary decided to travel and at the age of 19 Gary along with a close friend went on an Elvis inspired trip to Hawaii.  Sadly towards the end of their time in Hawaii a hurricane hit which forced them to stay in their hotel watching old films on the TV and seeing the musical An American In Paris really started Gary’s love of old movies. Gary will then reflect on his time playing cricket at Stanmore Cricket Club under the captaincy of his Dad who was a pretty good Cricketer.  Garry even played alongside a famous England Cricketer and he has fond memories of great times in the club bar after the games listening to engaging stories from some of the older members of the club.  Due to the deterioration of his sight there came a time for Gary when he had to give up playing Club Cricket which gave him the opportunity to spend his free weekends painting in his art studio which included painting portraits of Rock ’n’ Roll and Pop stars while listening to the Des Carrington show on the radio which furthered Gary’s love of easy listening music. Gary will then reflect on the time when he started out as a mobile DJ with 15 years of Disco work which expanded his musical tastes further into 70s and 80s music and recalling how a certain disco track which was always a good floor filler! Before we come to his final track Gary will talk about the time when he decided to take medical retirement from his office job to bring up his children  at home.  With very fond memories of fun times with the kids and playing at full volume one of his easy listening tracks  that his kids would also sing along to. You can catch the hour-long version of Tracks of My Life with Toby’s guest’s music tracks in full by tuning in to RNIB Connect Radio every Tuesday at 7pm, repeated on Thursday at 1pm and Sunday at 8pm.

Tracks of My Life is a show on RNIB Connect Radio presented and produced by Toby Davey where he invites a guest to take us on a journey through their life, sharing the tracks that mark important moments which bring back memories to them. Their chosen tracks of their life might include the first track they can remember hearing, the first track they bought, a number of tracks that mark moments in their life and the final track, a track that they would like to pass on which might give people hope for the future.  In this trimmed down podcast version of Tracks of My Life Toby is joined by Actor Ryan Kelly who has been playing the character of Jazzer in the long running BBC radio drama, The Archers for over 20 years now and he was the first blind student to attend the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. Ryan’s  Tracks of My Life journey will start  with what might be his  debut as a performer singing ‘I want to be a punk Rocker’ by Andy Cameron in church to the Priest at the age of 2 which his Mum was not too impressed with at the time, but he was only 2 then. Then we will move on a couple of years to when Ryan was 5 or 6 and an introduction to folk music on long Taxis journeys to and from blind boarding school on a Monday morning and Friday afternoon with a track by Foster and  Allen which was constantly played on the cassette player by  the Taxis driver Mrs Flanagan and Ryan was known to sing the song at home in an Irish accent.  At school to fit in Ryan perfected an English accent but would revert back to his Scottish accent at home and maybe good practice for his chosen career as an Actor later in life. We will then come to a track that is dedicated to his wife Sonya.  Ryan and Sonya were childhood sweethearts at school for about a year and a half before Ryan went off to the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford to start his studies in the performing arts.  It was not until a couple of years while Ryan was at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School that Ryan and Sonya got back together again and got married.  Ryan will then reflect on his time studying the Performing Arts at the RNC with  the support and grounding in the arts from both Amanda and John at Hereford who really helped Ryan to successfully gain a place at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School which not only provided Ryan with training in Acting but also in living too. Then we will come to a track that is dedicated to Ryan and Sonya’s daughter Bethany and memories for Ryan of a phone message from Sonya while Ryan was in Bristol acting in a play to tell him that she was pregnant with Bethany   and a real magical feeling for Ryan of not only the news of Sonya being pregnant but also an acting performance that had gone so well that night too.  A feeling that he has not had before or since that magical night.  Before we come to Ryan’s final couple of tracks Ryan will reflect on his time in that long running BBC Radio drama, The Archers playing the role of Jazzer.  What it is like for him as a blind Actor playing a sighted character which many listeners may not know about  when they tune in to Radio 4 and get their regular fix of The Archers.  how much Jazzer has changed and grown as a character over the years and whether there is a bit of Ryan’s  own   personality and character in his performance at all when he is playing Jazzer. You can catch the hour-long version of Tracks of My Life with Toby’s guest’s music tracks in full by tuning in to RNIB Connect Radio every Tuesday at 7pm, repeated on Thursday at 1pm and Sunday at 8pm. Please note that for Christmas 2021 the normal Sunday 8pm repeat will be on Christmas Day Saturday 25 December 2021 at 9pm.

Tracks of My Life is a show on RNIB Connect Radio presented and produced by Toby Davey where he invites a guest to take us on a journey through their life, sharing the tracks that mark important moments which bring back memories to them. Their chosen tracks of their life might include the first track they can remember hearing, the first track they bought, a number of tracks that mark moments in their life and the final track, a track that they would like to pass on which might give people hope for the future.  In this trimmed down podcast version of Tracks of My Life Toby is joined by Steven Scott, who has just hung up his RNIB Connect Radio microphone and headphones to concentrate on other broadcast work and to launch his new channel Blind Guy Talks Tech.  In Steven’s Tracks of My Life we will start with both his love of good quality sounding music and of course technology too with the first audio CD single he was given  as a present from his Mum and the first time he really sat down and concentrated hard on listening on headphones to music CDs on his Dad’s HiFi system at his Grand Mother’s house and being blown away by the sound quality of CDs  when listening through headphones.    Steven will  then share with us what life was like for him growing up in tenements in the east end of Glasgow and how music also played a big part in his early family life.  Then we will come  to School life for Steven with his Mum fighting hard at the time for Steven to go to a mainstream Primary School and how she worked hard to support him through those early Primary School days.  Next, we will come to High School life for Steven again at a main stream school but this time with a resource centre for visually impaired children.  With Steven Recalling how back then if there were classes that were felt not suitable for a visually impaired childlike PE then it was off to the VI resource unit for you.  For Steven spending time in the unit  gave him the opportunity to start getting into technology, sorting out the unit's computers  and finding out how they worked which would prove good for the future.  All set against the background of an iconic 1980s album track that Steven and his school friends used to sing along to! We will then hear the very first track that Steven played  out on his first commercial radio show back in 2001 which was the starting point for his radio and broadcasting career and how maybe at that time not having such a very strong Glasgow accent may have helped him a bit to get into radio back then. Steven will then reflect on his early life growing up with his Mum and sister as a single parent family before at the age of six his Step Dad or as Steven  says his ‘real Dad’ came on board and took over.  With a favourite track of his Mum’s which was played on the radio back then which may have sowed the seeds for Steven’s love of Country Music later on in his life. Before we come to Steven’s final track, we will hear an exclusive RNIB Connect Radio recording from a British Country Music band which went on to be a very big hit for them.  Over the years when they did hit the big time, Steven did keep in touch with the band and has even been invited backstage to meet up with them again when he has been to see them in concerts.  To find out more about Steven’s new channel Blind Guy Talks Tech do visit the following website -  https://blindguytalkstech.com  You can catch the hour-long version of Tracks of My Life with Toby’s guest’s music tracks in full by tuning in to RNIB Connect Radio every Tuesday at 7pm, repeated on Thursday at 1pm and Sunday at 8pm.

Tracks of My Life is a show on RNIB Connect Radio presented and produced by Toby Davey where he invites a guest to take us on a journey through their life, sharing the tracks that mark important moments which bring back memories to them. Their chosen tracks of their life might include the first track they can remember hearing, the first track they bought, a number of tracks that mark moments in their life and the final track, a track that they would like to pass on which might give people hope for the future.  In this trimmed down podcast version of Tracks of My Life Toby is joined by Stuart Lawler, Head of Content Creation and Business Development Manager for Sight and Sound Technology Ireland. Stuart’s Tracks of My Life journey starts with ABBA winning the Eurovision contest in 1974 with their track Waterloo which launched their successful pop music career and the same year that Stuart was born.  Stuart also has a connection with Eurovision as he joined the Irish judging panel for the 1995. Contest    Early life for Stuart was spent growing up on his parents farm in Kildare, rural Ireland, being treated by his parents the same as his two sighted sisters which gave Stuart a great growing in life and work ethic too     Then Stuart will talk about his life at  boarding school and then College life for him in Dublin and a track that is strangely on a lot of radio station Christmas playlist that takes him back to those boarding   school days.  While Stuart was studying Music Technology in Dublin he also spent time on community radio station NEAR FM (North East Access Radio with fond memories of presenting his very first live music show with a certain boy band track that featured very heavily on the stations playlist back then.  Before we come to Stuart’s final track we have a track that he has dedicated to two close friends who were work colleagues too who sadly suddenly passed away a couple of years ago which had a real lasting affect on Stuart’s life and his career path too..  We will end with a very up lifting track which some people might think is a bit of  a strange choice coming from someone who graduated with a degree in music technology but a track for Stuart that he will put on if he is not feeling great that certainly lifts his spirits. You can catch the hour-long version of Tracks of My Life with Toby’s guest’s music tracks in full by tuning in to RNIB Connect Radio every Tuesday at 7pm, repeated on Thursday at 1pm and Sunday at 8pm.

Tracks of My Life is a show on RNIB Connect Radio presented and produced by Toby Davey where he invites a guest to take us on a journey through their life, sharing the tracks that mark important moments which bring back memories to them. Their chosen tracks of their life might include the first track they can remember hearing, the first track they bought, a number of tracks that mark moments in their life and the final track, a track that they would like to pass on which might give people hope for the future.  In this trimmed down podcast version of Tracks of My Life Toby is joined by visually impaired Theatre Director, Writer and Actor Christopher Hunter. In Christopher’s Tracks of My Life we will start with early life for Christopher growing up in India as his Farther went out there to work on a Tea Plantation and met his Mother in the 1950s.  Although Christopher was born in England and went to boarding school in England, he spent his childhood growing up in India with fond memories as a child of flying to and from England to India.  Christopher’s first language was Hindi as it was the policy among Planters at the time to teach their children Hindustani, although he would speak English at home to his parents. Christopher will then talks about boarding school life in England and spending his pocket money on his first single which was by Cliff Richard and the Shadows.  Cliff Richard at the time was marketed as the British Elvis Presley and due to Cliff’s Indian heritage his records seemed to be the only ones you could buy out in India at the time.  Then we will move to College life in Manchester for Christopher and his first steps treading the boards as an Actor.  With a track by the poet of those student years for Christopher and many others at the time  who could encompass the feelings of a generation in a song. Christopher will then talk about his best friend Duncan Gibbins who he met while they were both at  the National Youth Theatre School who went to Hollywood to make films after winning many awards for pop videos in the early days of MTV.  Duncan tragically died in a wild fire that swept down Topanga Canyon, Los Angeles in the early 1990's. Then we will come to some of his Theatre work including the recent production ‘States of Mind’ for Extant where Christopher took one of Shakespeare’s poems and turned it into a live performance with integrated audio description. As Christopher says he is a child of the 60s and a lover of folk music and before we come to his final track, we have a folk track by a British artist who certainly puts a modern twist on to old folk songs.  Christopher’s final track is one that demonstrates as a performer you can still be creative and leave a legacy even in those last few days of your life. You can catch the hour-long version of Tracks of My Life with Toby’s guest’s music tracks in full by tuning in to RNIB Connect Radio every Tuesday at 7pm, repeated on Thursday at 1pm and Sunday at 8pm.

Tracks of My Life is a show on RNIB Connect Radio presented and produced by Toby Davey where he invites a guest to take us on a journey through their life, sharing the tracks that mark important moments which bring back memories to them. Their chosen tracks of their life might include the first track they can remember hearing, the first track they bought, a number of tracks that mark moments in their life and the final track, a track that they would like to pass on which might give people hope for the future.  In this trimmed down podcast version of Tracks of My Life Toby is joined by BBC Journalist and Audio Producer Emma Tracy.  In Emma’s tracks of My Life we will start with a track by one of Emma’s Dad’s  favourite Irish Artists Christy Moore and memories of going to see a Christy Moore gig with her Dad in Hammersmith not that long before her Dad passed, but a great gig, a beautiful evening, and a treasured memory for Emma. We then move back to teenage life for Emma and as Emma says at  '  School’ in Ireland, listening  to the first album that Emma really got into the lyrics and music of on cassette tape and a track that Emma could play on the guitar back then. Then we come to late teens for Emma  and entering talent shows in Ireland which were very well supported by her family.  Emma's Brother even said at the time that if Emma made it as a singer, he would offer to be her manager! We will then come to a track from a well-known Scottish duo that marks the time when Emma met her Husband Robin who introduced Emma to Scottish folk music.  Emma will then reflect on a long friendship with her friend Ellie who she first met at an RNIB get together many, many years ago which started up a Braille pen pal letter writing correspondence and how good it was during those teenage years to be able to write to another young blind person and share experiences with each other. Finally we will end with a couple of comedy songs that make Emma and her family smile including   her two young boys. You can catch the hour-long version of Tracks of My Life with Toby’s guest’s music tracks in full by tuning in to RNIB Connect Radio every Tuesday at 7pm, repeated on Thursday at 1pm and Sunday at 8pm.

Tracks of My Life is a show on RNIB Connect Radio presented and produced by Toby Davey where he invites a guest to take us on a journey through their life, sharing the tracks that mark important moments which bring back memories to them. Their chosen tracks of their life might include the first track they can remember hearing, the first track they bought, a number of tracks that mark moments in their life and the final track, a track that they would like to pass on which might give people hope for the future.  In this trimmed down podcast version of Tracks of My Life Toby is joined by Tokyo Paralympic Javelin Gold medallist Dan Pembroke who also smashed Paralympic records with his F13 Javelin 69.52metre medal winning throw. Through Dan’s Tracks of My Life we will go on a journey from early life at the age of 6 sitting on the sofa with his Dad and jamming along on the harmonica to a great Gary Moore track which as Dan says really showed the power of music to him even at such an early age.    Dan will then recall  some of the adventures and fishing trips he went on with his Dad along the Thames on his Dad’s fishing boat which with all the camouflage  netting would blend into the river bank. Then we move to late teenage life for Dan and great party nights out with his best friend Joe and reflecting  on life for Dan as a teenager at school which was not such a great time for him. Although Dan was diagnosed with the condition Retinitis Pigmentosa at an early age he had always been into sport and only missed out on competing at the London 2012 Olympic Games due to an elbow injury.  After missing out on London and feeling quite down  at the time, it was a track from the film ‘Into the Wild’   That jolted Dan to kickstart a burning ambition he had always had of going travelling to see the world while he still had enough good usable vision left.   Then we will hear from Dan as to how he first ended up in Sardinia, spending time in the wilds on his own fishing from a kayak and sleeping on beautiful beaches.   Dan returned back to Sardinia in 2015 this time working as a freelance personal trainer and massage therapist for the summer tourists.  After a few months Dan met a local lady working in her family's supermarket who he was instantly captivated by and managed to pluck up the courage to ask her for coffee, they hit it off, started dating and ended up travelling around the world together. It was in Tasmania while on their travels that Dan realised that his sight was really getting worse, and they decided to come back  to the UK for Dan to study at the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford and it was meeting a few of his old athletics mates that inspired Dan to get back into competing but this time for the Tokyo Paralympic Games. Finally Dan will reflect on how taking up sport again as a visually impaired athlete has turned around his opinion and feelings about his eye sight 180 degrees which has certainly  paved a pathway into the future for Dan where he feels free. You can catch the hour-long version of Tracks of My Life with Toby’s guest’s music tracks in full by tuning in to RNIB Connect Radio every Tuesday at 7pm, repeated on Thursday at 1pm and Sunday at 8pm.

Tracks of My Life is a show on RNIB Connect Radio presented and produced by Toby Davey where he invites a guest to take us on a journey through their life, sharing the tracks that mark important moments which bring back memories to them. Their chosen tracks of their life might include the first track they can remember hearing, the first track they bought, a number of tracks that mark moments in their life and the final track, a track that they would like to pass on which might give people hope for the future.  In this trimmed down podcast version of Tracks of My Life Toby is joined by visually impaired Stand-Up Comedian and Actor Georgie Morrell who also presents Connect Radio’s movie music show Sounds of the Silver Screen.  Georgie’s Tracks of MY Life journey will start  with early life for her, although at the age of 3 being diagnosed   with chronic arthritis and  then a year later being diagnosed with glaucoma uvieyertus, Georgie was not raised  as a disabled child at all by her parents and was treated exactly the same as her sighted siblings.      Music has certainly played an important role in Georgie’s life, and one of her early memories is Being given her first album on cassette tape by her Brother which Georgie played until the cassette tape was almost worn   out.  Some of Georgie’s  chosen tracks have meant quite a lot to her over the years and she is fascinated by how   some tracks might have  different meanings to other people and how those meanings may change over time  too. We will then hear from Georgie about  how important it is for her as a performer to go and see live performances whether it is  a music concert or a theatre show.  Georgie will also talk about the first time she got up on stage as a 10-year-old and made the decision there and then to become a performer.  Then we will follow Georgie as she  moved from her suburban home town to the bright lights of  .  London at the age of 18 And As Georgie says, ‘London is full of weirdos and you can blend in with them if you like!’ Then we will come to a track that says a lot to Georgie now and one that she would have liked to have had when she was going through all the stuff that we all go through as a teenager along with having to manage her disability at the same time too. Finally Georgie will talk about the freedom she gets from being up on stage performing whether that is as a Stand-Up Comedian or an Actor, reflecting on her career so far but with still so much to achieve and so much further to go too. You can catch the hour-long version of Tracks of My Life with Toby’s guest’s music tracks in full by tuning in to RNIB Connect Radio every Tuesday at 7pm, repeated on Thursday at 1pm and Sunday at 8pm.

Tracks of My Life is a show on RNIB Connect Radio presented and produced by Toby Davey where he invites a guest to take us on a journey through their life, sharing the tracks that mark important moments which bring back memories to them. Their chosen tracks of their life might include the first track they can remember hearing, the first track they bought, a number of tracks that mark moments in their life and the final track, a track that they would like to pass on which might give people hope for the future.  In this trimmed down podcast version of Tracks of My Life Toby is joined by Mike Wood who has spent almost 40 years as a volunteer   with Talking Newspapers, joining his local talking Newspaper, the Swindon, and District Talking Newspaper Association in the early 1980s and then heavily involved in the setup of the Talking News Federation in 2004 / 2005  and Mike is the current Vice President of the association. Through Mike’s Tracks of My Life we will go on a journey from early life at home for Mike with his parents and his Mother’s parents all living together in the same house.  Fun times for Mike playing outside with his mates before having to go to school for the first time.  At the age of 5.  On that very first day at school Mike returned  home after the first break at 11am to a surprised Mum who asked, ‘what are you doing at home?’ with Mike’s reply ‘well I have tried school for a day, and I don’t like it!’ We will then move on a couple of years for Mike and a bit of a battle  for him between playing football on Saturday mornings with his mates and learning the piano with his Aunt where in the end he won the battle.  Looking back now Mike would maybe have liked to continue the lessons to be able to play the piano like some of the musicians on his chosen tracks.  As a teenager Mike’s parents would have preferred him to listen to classical music but it was Trad Jazz for Mike and following some of the jazz bands of the day with their toe tapping music. Then we will hear  from Mike as to how he got involved with his local Talking Newspaper in the early 1980s, the setup of the Talking News Federation in the early 2000s and how Talking Newspapers have evolved and developed over the years with the introduction of new technology such as memory sticks and now online digital presence too. Mike will then share fond memories of some of the great Jazz concerts he has been to over the years and one at Ronnie Scott’s which included a classical music performance that Mike’s parents might have been proud of! You can catch the hour-long version of Tracks of My Life with Toby’s guest’s music tracks in full by tuning in to RNIB Connect Radio every Tuesday at 7pm, repeated on Thursday at 1pm and Sunday at 8pm.