Travels with my blind aunt — An Introduction
A travel journal from illustrator Toby Melville-Brown and his two month journey around the world with his blind aunt
Message from Easle:
Toby came to us with his ambitious project for documenting and illustrating his way around the world as he travels with his aunt. We wanted to be a part of this amazing adventure and we’ve paired up to share his journey with our community. He’ll be posting weekly travel updates on our blog so stay tuned!
Read Toby’s first entry below.
26th September 2017 — San Francisco
I am writing to you from a hotel room in downtown San Francisco. It’s early morning and the sun has just risen. Yesterday, I flew from Heathrow. After a cautious dose of melatonin, I had a modest sleep, enough kip to get me up and ready, for the start of this mad adventure.
In this post I’m going to talk a tiny bit about myself, how I got here. About Penny and her boundless abilities. About this trip and the invaluable support from all those Easle folks.
For the most part, I work as an illustrator. Working out of my studio in Brighton, my subjects are a mix of conceptual architecture, illustrative maps and anything that allows me to transport the viewer somewhere else. And as a freelance creative, I’ve enjoyed the Easle platform since day one.
In the last couple of years I’d begun to spend time with an aunt Penny, who I’d seldom seen throughout my childhood. Penny would invite me over, to rigorously review my professional exploits. I would often leave, exhausted. But determined to come back next time, with the answers.
It should be said that Penny is someone worth listening to. She worked in the intelligence services, as a commander of the British Navy and worked up to become first female barrister of The Ministry of Defence. Penny was discharged from the Navy as a War Pensioner in 1999. In an effort to improve the opportunities for those facing similar difficulties, she started Disability Dynamics, an organisation that helps get disabled people into work.
Then at the start of this year, Penny decided she wanted to do something else. She started her own YouTube cooking programme called Baking Blind. The plan was to change the perceptions of what blind people are capable of, by demonstrating her ability to effortlessly assemble delicious meals in her own kitchen. As a freelancer with a little time to spare, I was employed to film and edit these videos.
About 2 months into the project, Penny applied for the Holman prize. The Holman prize is an award for blind people. They award $25,000 for the dreams and ambitions of blind people worldwide. There would be three winners. Penny auditioned. Her plan, if she won was to take her cooking show around the world. She did, of course, win. And so, I pledged to record her journey.
So, Starting in San Francisco, then onto Costa Rica, Virginia Beach, quickly back to UK before heading of to China, Melbourne and Kiama in Australia, then Lilongwe in Malawi.
So, that’s it. The necessarily long backstory to Toby Melville-Brown: Travels with my blind aunt. I’ve got to head out now, as we’re now leaving for our first cooking date, China Live in San Fran’s iconic Chinatown. My head is a mash of excitement, bananas and the awareness of expectations. I hope you’ll come back for the next installment!
BYE NOW X
