RealSam UK

02/06/2026

Reading is for everyone, and there are now more ways than ever for blind and partially sighted people to enjoy books, newspapers and magazines.

We're delighted to see Henshaws highlighting the different accessible reading options available, including RealSAM BookClub, in their latest article. The guide explores a range of audiobook services and technologies that help make reading more accessible through listening.

RealSAM BookClub offers unlimited access to audiobooks, news, podcasts and more, all through simple voice control on RealSAM Pocket, Alexa-enabled devices and the Alexa app.

Take a look at the article and discover the reading option that works best for you.

Henshaws RNIB Library

Find out how you can listen to audiobooks. Discover different formats, and both mainstream and specialist audiobook providers.

29/05/2026

📲 📵 Most social media posts are invisible to blind and partially sighted people.

Not because the content doesn't exist, but because it hasn't been made accessible: no alt text on images; captions missing from videos; text embedded in graphics that a screen reader can't find.

RNIB has a helpful guide on how to address this, and we’ve written it all up: alt text, captions, colour contrast, how to write for screen readers, and what each platform actually supports.

Read the full list via this link: https://realsam.co.uk/how-to-make-your-social-media-accessible-a-practical-uk-guide/

28/05/2026

30 degrees tomorrow. In May.

We are not complaining. We are simply noting that this is unusual and we're going to make the most of it.

Whether you're heading out to somewhere green, sitting in the garden, or wisely staying exactly where you are with a cold drink and a good audiobook — this weekend has the right idea.

What are you doing with it? 🌞

21/05/2026

Today is Global Accessibility Awareness Day 2026

It is also, for us, a moment to look back. Because 2026 marks eight years since RealSAM Pocket launched in the UK.

We launched with one button and your voice. Because we believed the problem wasn't that blind people needed to learn to use technology differently. It was that technology needed to be designed for them adequately in the first place.

Eight years later, still one simple button and your voice. Now on the Samsung Galaxy A17. Steadier, lighter, and still as reliable as the day we launched.

Because some things shouldn't change.

To everyone in our community who has been with us for any part of those eight years: thank you. And to everyone discovering RealSAM for the first time today: welcome.

Read the full story on the blog via this link https://realsam.co.uk/eight-years-of-independence-realsam-pocket-and-gaad-2026/

30/04/2026

This month’s discussion question: In This, My Second Life, how did you interpret the idea of a “second life”?

Do you think that Jago is trying to return to who he was before his injury, or is he becoming someone new?

More broadly, what do you think recovery looks like in the novel? Is it about going back, or moving forward into something different?

Keen to hear your thoughts! Jump into our BookClub forum here: https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1HHRqzDiPE/

22/04/2026

Spring arrives in the senses before anything else. 🌷

The smell of blossom. Warmth that wasn’t there last week. The sound of a park on a Saturday morning—different from every other season, if you stop and listen.

For blind and partially sighted people, spring is as full as it is for anyone. Richer, sometimes. When you’re not filtering the world through sight, the season is hard to miss.

We’ve put together a practical guide to making the most of it—sensory gardens and National Trust properties with proper accessibility, how to find audio described theatre near you (VocalEyes lists around 180 performances a year), walking groups, accessible cultural visits, and what’s actually worth planning ahead for.

Specific resources, named organisations, the information you’d actually need. Read more via the link in our bio.

22/04/2026

🌷🍀🌱🌿♻️🌍 Happy Earth Day!!🌾🍂🪴🍃🪺

Spring is easier to feel than to see. The change in temperature of the breeze, the sound of the park on a weekday afternoon, the smell of new growth that wasn’t there last month.

For blind and partially sighted people, nature in April isn’t a lesser version of the visual experience. It is its own thing—and often richer for the attention it asks of you.

If you have been wanting to get into gardening, make your own garden more accessible, or just spend time in nature, but you are worried you might struggle on your own, Thrive UK ( https://www.thrive.org.uk/ ) runs accessible therapeutic gardening sessions (among other services) at centres in Reading, London, and Birmingham that are designed to “bring about positive changes in the lives of people living with disabilities or ill health, or who are isolated, disadvantaged or vulnerable”.

If you want to explore somewhere further afield, many National Trust properties publish detailed accessibility information on their websites, including path surfaces and sensory garden provision.

Make sure to get out of the house and into the garden this Earth Day. 💚