Redmond Széllhttps://redszell.com/https://redszell.com/a-dream-come-true/https://redszell.com/a-dream-come-true/It’s one of the top multi-pitch trad routes in British climbing; a true classic and a masterclass in route-finding. A Dream of White Horses on the North Stack of Gogarth in Anglesey stitches its way across the imposing, off-vertical cliff-face and hanging slabs above a zawn. With sketchy, infrequent footholds and the constant risk of […]Sat, 28 Sep 2024 11:53:01 GMTextreme_sportshttps://redszell.com/my-life-in-books-reds-new-podcast-with-ami/https://redszell.com/my-life-in-books-reds-new-podcast-with-ami/I’m delighted to announce that I have been commissioned by Accessible Media Incorporated (AMI), Canada, to record a series of radio shows and podcasts titled My Life in Books, with Red Szell. Each month I will invite a well-known author to let me riffle through their back pages and explore some of the books that […]Mon, 20 Sep 2021 22:19:49 GMTwritinghttps://redszell.com/latest-news-6/https://redszell.com/latest-news-6/For all my latest news follow me on Twitter @redszell Shared Vision continues its world tour! Despite lockdown, Shared Vision has continued to reach an ever-growing global audience. After its warmly-received premiere at the 2019 Banff Mountain Film Festival, the film has been a finalist at the Wasatch, Bilbao, Trento, New Zealand, London, Dutch, Korean, […]Fri, 19 Mar 2021 22:30:00 GMTbroadcastingextreme_sportswritingseeingredhttps://redszell.com/latest-news-5/https://redszell.com/latest-news-5/For all my latest news follow me on Twitter @redszell Help Support Your Local Climbing Wall During Lockdown If like me you are climbing the walls at home and itching to get back to your favourite climbing centre, here’s a great way you can show your support and help them prepare to reopen. The Association […]Mon, 01 Jun 2020 22:47:03 GMTbroadcastingextreme_sportswritingseeingredhttps://redszell.com/a-tribute-to-tom-patey/https://redszell.com/a-tribute-to-tom-patey/Shortly before lockdown, my climbing partner Matthew was halfway up an overhanging 6b at The Castle Climbing Centre in London, with me belaying and offering nothing in the way of helpful advice other than the occasional ‘go-on!’, when I tuned into a conversation between another pair of climbers nearby. ‘Yeah, Tom Patey put up the […]Tue, 12 May 2020 01:30:55 GMTextreme_sportshttps://redszell.com/latest-news-4/https://redszell.com/latest-news-4/For all my latest news follow me on Twitter @redszell ***Shared Vision coming to London and Salt Lake City*** Following a sold-out world premiere screening at The Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival in Canada last November, Shared Vision is heading to London and Salt Lake City! The 22-minute film was made by award-winning adventure […]Sat, 18 Apr 2020 22:46:27 GMTbroadcastingextreme_sportswritingseeingredhttps://redszell.com/the-blind-man-of-stoer/https://redszell.com/the-blind-man-of-stoer/Video footage of Red Széll, Martin Moran, and Nick Carter’s 2014 ascent of the Old Man of Stoer.Sat, 18 Apr 2020 22:05:14 GMTextreme_sportshttps://redszell.com/latest-news-3/https://redszell.com/latest-news-3/For all my latest news follow me on Twitter @redszell ***Shared Vision coming to London and Salt Lake City*** Following a sold-out world premiere screening at The Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival in Canada last November, Shared Vision is heading to London and Salt Lake City! The 22-minute film was made by award-winning adventure […]Wed, 12 Feb 2020 01:48:05 GMTbroadcastingextreme_sportswritingseeingredhttps://redszell.com/e-bike-anarchy-hampstead-village-voice-issue-40/https://redszell.com/e-bike-anarchy-hampstead-village-voice-issue-40/In 1967, British psychedelic rock band Tomorrow released their debut single My White Bicycle – a song I really must ask Hampstead rock legends Mad Dog Bites to perform at the next Gayton Road street party. The song was inspired by a bike-share scheme organised in Amsterdam by the Dutch anarchist group Provo. In the summer […]Wed, 12 Feb 2020 01:25:27 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/al-alvarez-a-tribute-hampstead-village-voice-issue-40/https://redszell.com/al-alvarez-a-tribute-hampstead-village-voice-issue-40/Al Alvarez, writer, poet, critic and self-confessed adrenaline junkie: born 5th August 1929; died 23rd September 2019. Only one book has moved me to tears on its first page – The Savage God by Al Alvarez, who has died aged 90. A frank, insightful study of suicide it was typical of Al’s approach to life […]Wed, 12 Feb 2020 01:18:14 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/736-2/https://redszell.com/736-2/For all my latest news follow me on Twitter @redszell ***STOP PRESS***Shared Vision will receive its world premiere at The Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival on Saturday 2nd November. The 22-minute film was shot on location, edited and produced by award-winning adventure cameraman Keith Partridge, and documents my Holman Prize expedition to climb Am […]Tue, 02 Jul 2019 20:18:33 GMTbroadcastingextreme_sportswritingseeingredhttps://redszell.com/foot-tips/https://redszell.com/foot-tips/With just a fortnight to go until my Extreme Blind Triathlon style attempt on Am Buachaille I’m climbing well and feeling confident of success – Scottish weather and nesting fulmars permitting. This is the culmination of weekly training sessions at The Castle (often under the watchful eye of our unofficial coach Dan Clemson) and a […]Sun, 16 Jun 2019 12:59:58 GMTwritinghttps://redszell.com/latest-news/https://redszell.com/latest-news/For all my latest news follow me on Twitter @redszell The Holman Prize – Latest My training is almost complete and the date of my Holman Prize adventure is nearly upon us… Project Extreme Blind Triathlon will begin on 18th June, when my climbing partner Matthew and I will board a plane to Inverness. With […]Sat, 18 May 2019 13:39:21 GMTbroadcastingextreme_sportswritingseeingredhttps://redszell.com/climbing-by-numbers/https://redszell.com/climbing-by-numbers/The question I get asked most often as a blind climber is: ‘How?!’ The glib answer, that I tend to use outdoors when I just want to get on and climb the crag, is: ‘I follow the cracks like tramlines and hope they don’t run out, or lead me into trouble.’ And for that reason […]Sat, 18 May 2019 13:17:53 GMTextreme_sportshttps://redszell.com/latest-news-2/https://redszell.com/latest-news-2/For all my latest news follow me on Twitter @redszell The Holman Prize – Latest My Holman Prize adventure is underway! You can keep up to date on how my training for Project Extreme Blind Triathlon is going by following me on Twitter. And applications for the 2019 Holman Prize for Blind Ambition are now […]Sun, 13 Jan 2019 17:55:32 GMTbroadcastingextreme_sportswritingseeingredhttps://redszell.com/epic-fail/https://redszell.com/epic-fail/With so much emphasis on success nowadays, failure has become a dirty word. The media in particular wants winners. Failure is not ‘inspirational’. It’s easy to forget that we learn by our mistakes. But in a rollercoaster year Matthew and I have a scarily bad day on the hill to thank for teaching us a […]Sun, 11 Nov 2018 17:45:31 GMTextreme_sportshttps://redszell.com/holman-prize-latest-news/https://redszell.com/holman-prize-latest-news/I’m just back from San Francisco Lighthouse for the Blind – the organisers of the Holman Prize. During this welcome week I met my fellow prizewinners, conducted a climbing lesson at Mission Cliffs, learned how to salsa and visited Alcatraz (see pictures below). The countdown to my Holman Prize adventure has begun… For more information […]Thu, 04 Oct 2018 21:52:37 GMTextreme_sportshttps://redszell.com/stop-press-2/https://redszell.com/stop-press-2/The 2018 Holman Prize I am delighted to announce that I have been awarded this prestigious international prize for blind adventurers. Launched in 2017 by the San Francisco LightHouse For The Blind to ‘support the emerging adventurousness and can-do spirit of blind and low vision people worldwide…the Prize provides financial backing for three individuals to […]Wed, 11 Jul 2018 13:46:28 GMTextreme_sportshttps://redszell.com/all-party-parliamentary-group-speech-25th-april-2018/https://redszell.com/all-party-parliamentary-group-speech-25th-april-2018/Speech made to the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Eye Health & Visual Impairment Committee Room 4, Houses of Parliament Wednesday 25th April 2018 Thank you for this opportunity to tell my story of being one of the 2 million people in the UK with sight loss. Imagine opening your front door, stepping out into […]Sat, 28 Apr 2018 13:28:55 GMTbroadcastinghttps://redszell.com/extreme-blind-triathlon/https://redszell.com/extreme-blind-triathlon/Since becoming the first blind person to climb The Old Man of Hoy in 2013, I have not been idle – and have continued to climb at every opportunity. At home in London, I’ve had the pleasure and support of training at The Castle – the best indoor climbing centre I have ever used. And, […]Sat, 03 Mar 2018 15:59:09 GMTextreme_sportshttps://redszell.com/486-2/https://redszell.com/486-2/I could not hope to climb to the level I do without the training facilities and support provided by The Castle Climbing Centre. For the latest on how my training is going and some great climbing-related articles, check out their blog.Sat, 03 Mar 2018 15:32:01 GMTextreme_sportshttps://redszell.com/493-2/https://redszell.com/493-2/Sat, 03 Mar 2018 15:17:30 GMTextreme_sportshttps://redszell.com/mad-dogs-and-parakeets-hampstead-village-voice-issue-33/https://redszell.com/mad-dogs-and-parakeets-hampstead-village-voice-issue-33/An Arctic wind rakes my face with sleet and threatens to perforate my Parka. It’s so dark that I scuttled back into the house to check it really was 8 a.m. Unfortunately it was, so now I’m picking my way along pavements strewn with the stripped corpses of outcast Christmas trees; their erstwhile owners displaying […]Sat, 03 Mar 2018 15:04:17 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/bbc-radio-4-in-touch-christmas-presents-2nd-december-2017/https://redszell.com/bbc-radio-4-in-touch-christmas-presents-2nd-december-2017/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09gzjf1Sat, 16 Dec 2017 15:16:19 GMTbroadcastinghttps://redszell.com/happy-heathen-christmas-hampstead-village-voice-issue-32/https://redszell.com/happy-heathen-christmas-hampstead-village-voice-issue-32/Lo! and it came to pass, in the rain of North West London, that a love was born unto me for the festival of Christmas, that once I did dread! Yea verily, the holly spirit has entered me, banishing forever the imp of ‘bah humbug’. I have seen the lights! Yes, even as Camden’s elves […]Sat, 16 Dec 2017 15:14:22 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/acid-test/https://redszell.com/acid-test/What do blind people have to do to be seen? In reporting the recent trial of a man who carried out an acid attack the media focused exclusively on the disfiguring injuries suffered by victims. Both TV and radio reports chose to focus on the life-changing scars inflicted on the young women caught up in […]Sat, 16 Dec 2017 15:10:56 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/466-2/https://redszell.com/466-2/Sat, 16 Dec 2017 14:59:44 GMTextreme_sportshttps://redszell.com/bbc-radio-4-intouch-going-on-holiday-when-youre-blind-5th-september-2017/https://redszell.com/bbc-radio-4-intouch-going-on-holiday-when-youre-blind-5th-september-2017/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b092jw1pSat, 16 Sep 2017 13:41:20 GMTbroadcastinghttps://redszell.com/rnib-connect-radio-the-weekly-connect-interview-with-jocelyn-close-of-driving-miss-daisy-a-companiondriver-service-for-those-who-cant-drive/https://redszell.com/rnib-connect-radio-the-weekly-connect-interview-with-jocelyn-close-of-driving-miss-daisy-a-companiondriver-service-for-those-who-cant-drive/Sat, 16 Sep 2017 13:37:32 GMTbroadcastinghttps://redszell.com/what-i-did-on-my-summer-holidays/https://redszell.com/what-i-did-on-my-summer-holidays/Going away on holiday when you’re blind can be a mixed blessing. Sure, it’s great to escape the daily grind of work and chores for a week or two; but I seldom find it relaxing. At home I’m on familiar ground. I know where everything is. And if I want to go out, to the […]Sat, 16 Sep 2017 13:36:04 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/gaining-the-edge/https://redszell.com/gaining-the-edge/There’s something about coastal climbing that really does it for me. Maybe it’s because I grew up near the sea, in Sussex. Or maybe it’s the association with childhood holidays that often began with a ferry trip from Portsmouth or Dover. Certainly those trips led to a fascination with coastal rock formations. I’d stand on […]Sat, 16 Sep 2017 13:32:47 GMTextreme_sportshttps://redszell.com/cuts-and-bruises-hampstead-village-voice-issue-31/https://redszell.com/cuts-and-bruises-hampstead-village-voice-issue-31/Sometimes it’s like I’m in a real-life game of Donkey Kong. Negotiating Hampstead’s pavements, assailed by a host of objects and obstacles – not all of them stationary – that seem designed to sap my energy levels. Now, I know I’ve ranted about our cluttered pavements before! The Parisian-style cafés that have co-opted the public […]Sat, 16 Sep 2017 13:25:03 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/bbc-radio-4-intouch-lovers-not-carers-23rd-may-2017/https://redszell.com/bbc-radio-4-intouch-lovers-not-carers-23rd-may-2017/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08qxfksSat, 16 Sep 2017 13:12:32 GMTbroadcastinghttps://redszell.com/dog-gone-hampstead-village-voice-issue-28/https://redszell.com/dog-gone-hampstead-village-voice-issue-28/Hampstead truly is a wonderful place to live. People round here really do look out for each other. Since Ella and I separated I’ve lost count of the number of lovely local residents who have come up to me, patted me on the back, enquired after her well-being and offered their sympathy. They all tell […]Sat, 16 Sep 2017 13:11:36 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/bbc-radio-4-in-touch-returning-a-guide-dog-23rd-march-2017/https://redszell.com/bbc-radio-4-in-touch-returning-a-guide-dog-23rd-march-2017/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08g2tnz#playSat, 16 Sep 2017 13:08:11 GMTbroadcastinghttps://redszell.com/winter-climbing-at-the-arch-north/https://redszell.com/winter-climbing-at-the-arch-north/I knew I should have slotted in a session at Arch North between Christmas and New Year. Because the first week of January slipped by to become the second and now here I am struggling up a V3 with my winter stomach providing a bulge more difficult to work round than any of the volumes […]Sat, 16 Sep 2017 13:06:44 GMTextreme_sportshttps://redszell.com/community-centred-activities-hampstead-village-voice-issue-30/https://redszell.com/community-centred-activities-hampstead-village-voice-issue-30/The words Annual General Meeting once bored dread into my heart. But in the case of our resident’s association at least, they now fill me with anticipation. Founded in 1984 The Gayton Residents Association (GRA) has an illustrious history. It’s thanks to the GRA that Gayton Road (although alas not Gayton Crescent) has retained its […]Sat, 16 Sep 2017 13:04:50 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/the-arch-north/https://redszell.com/the-arch-north/It was curiosity born of happy childhood memories of Peek Freen’s biscuits that first led me to climb at The Arch. I have to confess I’d always been a bit sniffy about bouldering. It’s probably my age (just turned 47) but when I was learning to climb in the 1980s there were no indoor climbing […]Thu, 14 Sep 2017 13:18:25 GMTextreme_sportshttps://redszell.com/stop-press/https://redszell.com/stop-press/I am delighted to announce that from January 13th 2017, I will be presenting ‘Read On’, RNIB Connect Radio’s programme for those passionate about books and reading. As the new host of this well-established radio show I will continue to bring listeners all the latest news about books in all their accessible formats, interviewing authors, […]Sat, 17 Dec 2016 21:30:48 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/bbc-radio-4-in-touch-whats-in-a-word-6th-december-2016/https://redszell.com/bbc-radio-4-in-touch-whats-in-a-word-6th-december-2016/BBC Radio 4 – In Touch – What’s in a Word? (6th December 2016)Sat, 17 Dec 2016 21:27:24 GMTbroadcastinghttps://redszell.com/word-up/https://redszell.com/word-up/I’ve heard it so often that it shouldn’t still bother me, but it does. “Oh, so you’re not completely blind then?” As if somehow this makes the ordeal of sight loss so much better. I’m tempted to reply; “Oh, do you think zombies feel happier knowing they’re not completely dead?”; but instead find myself explaining, […]Sat, 17 Dec 2016 21:24:50 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/forthcoming-events/https://redszell.com/forthcoming-events/2016 has been another busy year of touring the country with the story of The Blind Man of Hoy. From The Edinburgh International Book Festival to The Petworth Literary Weekend, via disability awareness symposia and broadcast round table discussions I have been delighted to find audiences full of people eager to hear a blind person’s […]Sun, 13 Nov 2016 02:01:49 GMTwritinghttps://redszell.com/bbc-connect-radio/https://redszell.com/bbc-connect-radio/Red talks with triple Paralympic medallist Steve Bate about cycling, climbing and focussing on what you can achieve rather than on what Retinitis Pigmentosa has taken from you.Sun, 13 Nov 2016 01:58:11 GMTbroadcastinghttps://redszell.com/the-arch/https://redszell.com/the-arch/I am delighted to announce that the owners of The Arch Climbing Walls have kindly offered to let me do all my training at their excellent facilities. With winter approaching and the outdoor rock climbing season coming to an end what better way to maintain your hard-won climbing fitness and work on technique than with […]Sun, 13 Nov 2016 01:55:54 GMTextreme_sportshttps://redszell.com/unpleasant-developments-hampstead-village-voice-issue-27/https://redszell.com/unpleasant-developments-hampstead-village-voice-issue-27/It would seem that all-out war has been declared on New End. The levels of noise and destruction, of heavy machinery and boots on the ground certainly indicate that an army of occupation has moved in. The old nurse’s home has been reduced to rubble, the road closed for at least six weeks, The White […]Sat, 12 Nov 2016 18:14:03 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/bbc-radio-4-in-touch-guide-dogs-11th-oct-2016/https://redszell.com/bbc-radio-4-in-touch-guide-dogs-11th-oct-2016/BBC Radio 4 ‘In Touch’ – Guide Dogs (11th Oct 2016)Sat, 15 Oct 2016 23:59:28 GMTbroadcastinghttps://redszell.com/edinburgh-international-book-festival-17th-august-2016/https://redszell.com/edinburgh-international-book-festival-17th-august-2016/To celebrate the recording of ‘The Blind Man of Hoy’ by the RNIB Talking Books Library, I was invited to speak to a packed audience at the Festival. The event was recorded live and broadcast on RNIB Connect Radio. You can listen to or download by clicking on the link below and looking for The […]Mon, 03 Oct 2016 18:55:03 GMTwritinghttps://redszell.com/the-curious-incident-of-the-dog-in-the-tavern-hampstead-village-voice-issue-27/https://redszell.com/the-curious-incident-of-the-dog-in-the-tavern-hampstead-village-voice-issue-27/People have started ignoring me, giving me a wide berth when I approach and those who do stop to talk show little interest in me. Take the day-before-yesterday. Harness in hand I let the guide-dog lead me to The Wells for an ale and a burger. Anna, the lovely manager, threw open the door in […]Mon, 03 Oct 2016 18:50:27 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/bbc-radio-4-in-touch-blind-people-on-stage-film-and-tv-5th-july-2016/https://redszell.com/bbc-radio-4-in-touch-blind-people-on-stage-film-and-tv-5th-july-2016/BBC Radio 4 ‘In Touch’ – blind people on stage, film, and TV (5th July 2016)Wed, 13 Jul 2016 16:05:08 GMTbroadcastinghttps://redszell.com/my-telly-vision/https://redszell.com/my-telly-vision/I don’t see myself represented on TV. Despite the much-vaunted policies announced by the BBC and Channel 4 to quadruple on-screen representation of disabled people by 2017, there is still scarcely a white cane or guide dog on telly. With 2 million Blind and Visually Impaired (BVI) people in the UK 1-in-35 characters in TV […]Tue, 28 Jun 2016 20:08:24 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/bbc-radio-4-in-touch-a-discussion-about-the-pros-and-cons-of-getting-help-from-others-who-can-see-17th-may-2016/https://redszell.com/bbc-radio-4-in-touch-a-discussion-about-the-pros-and-cons-of-getting-help-from-others-who-can-see-17th-may-2016/BBC Radio 4 ‘In Touch’ – a discussion about the pros and cons of getting help from others who can see (17th May 2016)Tue, 28 Jun 2016 20:06:00 GMTbroadcastinghttps://redszell.com/ich-bin-ein-brrliner-hampstead-village-voice-issue-26/https://redszell.com/ich-bin-ein-brrliner-hampstead-village-voice-issue-26/Though The DDR officially ceased to exist in 1990 The East German flag is still proudly on display in and around Highgate Men’s Pond. Warum? It’s a symbol of resurrection, of a return from the dead. On 18th December 2009 Hampstead resident Tom Kearney was standing on the pavement at the edge of a pedestrian crossing […]Mon, 09 May 2016 19:28:30 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/295-2/https://redszell.com/295-2/Mon, 09 May 2016 19:25:19 GMTwritinghttps://redszell.com/taking-the-lead/https://redszell.com/taking-the-lead/I don’t like dogs, never have done, at least not since next door’s Alsatian jumped up and bit me on the face when I was three years old. They smell, foul the pavement, cruise the park looking for things (and people) to chase; and the little mutt over the road yaps incessantly. No, I really […]Mon, 09 May 2016 19:21:15 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/out-in-force-hampstead-village-voice-issue-25/https://redszell.com/out-in-force-hampstead-village-voice-issue-25/It was my daughter who pointed it out. “Dad, all these cars on Fitzjohn’s. All these people marching along in uniform, hundreds of them – it’s creepy.” We were on our way to school, they were all on their way to school. And it’s not just Fitzjohn’s Avenue. It’s Willow Road, New End, Heath Street, […]Mon, 09 May 2016 19:19:33 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/bbc-radio-4-in-touch-red-on-the-perils-of-shopping-3rd-november-2015/https://redszell.com/bbc-radio-4-in-touch-red-on-the-perils-of-shopping-3rd-november-2015/BBC Radio 4 In Touch – Red on The Perils of Shopping (3rd November 2015)Fri, 13 Nov 2015 21:59:33 GMTbroadcastinghttps://redszell.com/game-boy/https://redszell.com/game-boy/Bananas, eggs, milk and trout. Time was I didn’t need an excuse to leave the house and stroll up to The High Street, but just now I find myself dreading the prospect and putting it off for another day or until I have someone to walk with. Why the sense of dread? Well partly it’s […]Fri, 13 Nov 2015 21:57:25 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/bbc-radio-4-in-touch-red-on-risk-taking-11th-august-2015/https://redszell.com/bbc-radio-4-in-touch-red-on-risk-taking-11th-august-2015/BBC Radio 4 In Touch – Red on Risk-Taking (11th August 2015)Thu, 20 Aug 2015 20:48:52 GMTbroadcastinghttps://redszell.com/reds-ted-talk-a-story-worth-telling-at-tedxasl/https://redszell.com/reds-ted-talk-a-story-worth-telling-at-tedxasl/‘A Story Worth Telling’ – Red Széll at TEDxASLMon, 17 Aug 2015 18:45:21 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/splash-down/https://redszell.com/splash-down/It’s been a month of ups and downs. At the start of June I headed up to the far North West corner of Scotland to tackle Am Buachaille – the third and ‘most serious of the big three British sea stacks’. Lying 100m offshore it involves a bit of swim before you can start climbing. […]Sun, 21 Jun 2015 12:15:29 GMTwritingseeingredhttps://redszell.com/climbing-photos/https://redszell.com/climbing-photos/On the cliff top, facing Am Buachaille Grabbing a dip in Sandwood Bay, Am Buachaille in the background On Marram, a VD*** at Sandwood Bay. Very gneiss!Sun, 21 Jun 2015 12:04:51 GMTextreme_sportshttps://redszell.com/tandem-photos/https://redszell.com/tandem-photos/Simon and Red on the South Downs Way Simon (ahead) with Mark and Red near Amberley on the South Downs Mark and Red pushing up an uphill sectionSun, 21 Jun 2015 11:58:05 GMTextreme_sportshttps://redszell.com/midsummer-madness/https://redszell.com/midsummer-madness/Midsummer Madness, June 2015: Scottish Cliff Climbs and The South Downs Way To celebrate the second anniversary of reaching the summit of The Old Man of Hoy and having bagged The Old Man of Stoer in April 2014, I decided to go for the hat-trick and attempt Am Buachaille – the third and, according to […]Sun, 21 Jun 2015 11:53:51 GMTextreme_sportshttps://redszell.com/out-for-the-weekend-bbc-scotland/https://redszell.com/out-for-the-weekend-bbc-scotland/BBC Scotland’s “Out for the Weekend”: Red talks about the ups and downs of his life rock climbing, in a programme that also features a fascinating interview with Sir Chris Bonington reminiscing about his ascnents of The Old Man of Hoy in 1966, 1967 and then in 2014 when he celebrated his 80th birthday!Mon, 25 May 2015 15:35:06 GMTextreme_sportshttps://redszell.com/review-by-undiscovered-scotland-magazine/https://redszell.com/review-by-undiscovered-scotland-magazine/An excellent review of The Blind Man of Hoy by “Undiscovered Scotland” Magazine.Mon, 04 May 2015 10:30:48 GMTwritinghttps://redszell.com/bbc-world-service-weekend-break-interview/https://redszell.com/bbc-world-service-weekend-break-interview/BBC World Service – Weekend Break Interview (19th April 2015). Red appears for the last 5 minutes of the episode. Click here to download the episode as a podcast.Tue, 21 Apr 2015 20:08:09 GMTbroadcastinghttps://redszell.com/the-independent-feature-by-simon-usborne/https://redszell.com/the-independent-feature-by-simon-usborne/The Independent: Feature by Simon UsborneWed, 15 Apr 2015 10:41:49 GMTwritinghttps://redszell.com/bbc-radio-4-in-touch-blind-writers-9th-april-2015/https://redszell.com/bbc-radio-4-in-touch-blind-writers-9th-april-2015/Blind Writers – In TouchWed, 15 Apr 2015 10:40:17 GMTbroadcastinghttps://redszell.com/the-scotsman-feature-article/https://redszell.com/the-scotsman-feature-article/The Scotsman Feature ArticleWed, 15 Apr 2015 10:38:47 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/ham-high-feature-article/https://redszell.com/ham-high-feature-article/The Blind Man of NW3 who Conquered a Sea GiantWed, 15 Apr 2015 10:37:09 GMTwritingseeingredhttps://redszell.com/word-up-2/https://redszell.com/word-up-2/Last week I got all hopeful. I was watching Broadchurch and hurrah, there’s a major character who’s dealing with encroaching blindness in a credible way! I was about to send ITV a letter of congratulation when the commercial break came and what should I hear but klaxons and “Oh no, he’s noseblind!” Cue remedial action […]Wed, 15 Apr 2015 10:34:40 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/red-wins-christmas-day-highgate-pond-swimming-race-camden-new-journal/https://redszell.com/red-wins-christmas-day-highgate-pond-swimming-race-camden-new-journal/Red wins Christmas Day Highgate Pond Swimming Race (Camden New Journal)Wed, 15 Apr 2015 10:30:01 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/day-began/https://redszell.com/day-began/I was a first-year undergraduate when I discovered I was going blind, studying English Literature – possibly the least sympathetic medium through which to learn what life without sight would be like. From the source texts onwards blindness is seen as pitiable. In Greek tragedy blinding is a favourite form of divine retribution for unpardonable […]Sat, 18 Oct 2014 22:00:23 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/blind-man-hoy-red-szell/https://redszell.com/blind-man-hoy-red-szell/‘ From the moment I watched a documentary of Chris Bonington and Tom Patey climb the perpendicular flanks of the Old Man of Hoy I knew that my life would not be complete until I had followed in their footholds. That was in 1983 when I was thirteen. Within months […]Sat, 18 Oct 2014 21:00:19 GMTextreme_sportswritinghttps://redszell.com/constructing-torture-chamber/https://redszell.com/constructing-torture-chamber/Walking home across The Heath a couple of weeks ago I came across one of my neighbours weeping on a bench. I took over rocking her howling baby in his pram while she fumbled for a tissue. When at last the two of them had stopped crying, she told me what was the matter. The […]Sat, 18 Oct 2014 18:01:28 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/record-of-my-past/https://redszell.com/record-of-my-past/! have to confess to being somewhat of a technophobe. My year at school, born between 1969 & 1970, was the last not to have IT as part of the curriculum. I learned to touch-type rather than word-process and when I began work as a journalist you phoned in your copy (usually from a callbox) […]Fri, 10 Oct 2014 19:52:15 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/bbc-touch-tuesday-8-july-2014/https://redszell.com/bbc-touch-tuesday-8-july-2014/Audio-visual announcements on buses; Writer Redmond Széll on technologyTue, 08 Jul 2014 19:40:16 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/dont-scare-easily/https://redszell.com/dont-scare-easily/I don’t scare easily Last year I became the first blind person to climb The Old Man of Hoy, a sea stack in the Orkneys roughly the shape and size of The Gherkin. I’ve fought long and hard to retain my independence as my sight has ebbed away. Some days the challenge can seem overwhelming […]Mon, 07 Jul 2014 09:01:08 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/im-tired-pushed-around/https://redszell.com/im-tired-pushed-around/I’m tired of being pushed around. It seems I can’t leave London without some well-meaning soul fetching a wheelchair for me – ‘to make things easier’. Easier for whom?! Last time I checked, my visual impairment hadn’t spread to my legs. It’s bad enough losing one area of independence without having another snatched away. Recently […]Mon, 07 Jul 2014 08:57:05 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/old-man-hoy-training/https://redszell.com/old-man-hoy-training/Sun, 06 Jul 2014 22:10:58 GMTextreme_sportshttps://redszell.com/old-man-hoy-part-2/https://redszell.com/old-man-hoy-part-2/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=47_Jw5-Pbu8Sun, 06 Jul 2014 22:08:19 GMTextreme_sportshttps://redszell.com/seeing-red/https://redszell.com/seeing-red/See Old Man of Hoy Trailer here……Sun, 06 Jul 2014 20:00:49 GMTextreme_sportshttps://redszell.com/touch-tuesday-3-june-2014/https://redszell.com/touch-tuesday-3-june-2014/Blind Children; your feedback; Red Széll columnTue, 03 Jun 2014 19:30:20 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/blind-trust-red-szell/https://redszell.com/blind-trust-red-szell/On the face of it househusband Joe Wynde has it all – apart from his sight. Robbed of 90% of his vision by a degenerative eye disorder, Joe’s goals are simple; to raise his two sassy daughters properly while avoiding close physical contact with street furniture and bored banker’s wives. Compared to the lifestyles of […]Sun, 19 Jan 2014 09:08:20 GMTwritinghttps://redszell.com/127/https://redszell.com/127/Audio-visual announcements on buses; Writer Redmond Széll on technologyTue, 14 Jan 2014 20:40:38 GMTseeingredhttps://redszell.com/tuesday-12th-july-2011/https://redszell.com/tuesday-12th-july-2011/How to get the Visual Impairment message acrossAudio-visual announcements?Tue, 12 Jul 2011 19:40:16 GMTwriting