1959-03-07 — Page 7

:

THE CHINA MAIL, SATURDAY, MARCH

1959.

Page

A

blind man's reluctant rediscovery

of

the world of sight

by MERRICK WINN

Sidney Bradford gets used to seeing where he's going, of the wheel of a Dodgem car.

So this man, the first known and even, in a cafe, an antique to have recovered his sight alter soup spoca. And I felt he know being blind since before the too much, even conceding that jaya of CATS and planes and he had been seeing in hospital,

the past two months, to science.

SIDNEY BRADFORD, blind for more than 50 years, turned his pale but the legs of women, is important and for short lips out of it, for

seeing eyes up to the sky and said, with not much interest: "That can't be the moon, it's got a bit missing.

So I explained about the moon and its quarters and we got back in the car, on our way to London, and he went on telling me how he may go blind again in six months' time.

"As I was saying" he said, "if I do go blind again, I'll stay blind. No more operations. I don't think much cổ sight and Į was happler as I was.'

even

street of squat houses and four

with lamp-posts; happy

his

beer and pipe and dcaminces, with the feel and the smell of his garden.

It was a safe and sheltered He said it casually, tilaly, as though afraid to bo world, as the blind world often thought ungrateful. And hos. Then he was told he could went on peering at the world have back his sight. and at the people, but dütifully, "to please me.

In the dark

I said nothing. There was plenty of time. This was his first day cut of Wolverhampton Esintinntry where, two

months ago, they gave tim back at 52, the sight he lost when he was ten months old.

Now 1 was bringing him to London, intending to apend three days with him, to try to share his first experiences in the seeing world, aot knowing it would be ten days, because this would be harder than I knew, Harder even than two Cam- bridge scientists knew-the ones

we wore on our way to meet,

It was getting dark, sidelight

"There's a sheep," and "That's

He told me: "I refused at first. I'd never wonted sight how could I? I never knew what seeing meant,"

10.

He dabbed his left eye, silent. "But I decided 1 ought Then:

People kept talking about how wonderful seeing was and it seemed wrong to refuse. Now I'm not sure."

Lost world

But he said even this cheer- he is a cheerful, fully, for friendly man, though hard to going on et at, with a lot underneath, There is, almost certainly, no need to plly hiq. He had to wait three years,

single, sold object. He had to learn the different things-like

this:-

"I'd pick up a fork, feel it, and remembering huw a fork tell when I was blind 1 could Then I Ray: This is a fork. had to learn to remember it the next time I saw it.".......

When he looked up on that first day and "saw the aur geom's face he did NOT sey; "Ah, the wonderful surgeon.” What he did won this:-.

"I saw a

dark shape with a bump sucking out and heard a and voice, so I felt my nos0 guessed the bump was a nose. Then I knew if this was nose I was seeing a face,”

1

a

Sidney Bradford hos had to do this with everything stupendicus look. Similarly, he has had

Ideas of io adapt to height and depth and distance, all allen to the blind

This is why he would have stepped from the hospital window to the pavement, not

3011

understanding it was

below. This is why he sadd:--

because of the shortage of "People seemed at first

conces for grafting, and then analler than they really aC,

time, and stopped saying he was not cheerful. They were and buildings bigger, and stairs 日 bridge," and being dis- the worst years of his life. He highes and I felt I could resch

appointed, and susplelous, grew thin and old and brooding up and touch the sun,"

because he said simply "Yes," i

was to understand later.

He had been quiet, in the hospital, for some days, not wanting to leave. He was quiet now. He sat in the car, with his hat cn, dabbing his eyed, mostly the left one.

His eyes were a brilliant job, but to me they looked bud.

MID Bund eyes, elmoot. He aald, indifferently: "I think the left one's going "already." **Then it got to headlight time and he seemed happier in the dark. He talked a bit about the important things in his Blind years and the most

"It wasn't simply the wait- Now here is an important

ing," he said. "if don't know thing. In practically

what it was. Samehow I felt I'd lost something."

So he had. In 60 years he had built up his good world, complete and satisfying, and so won a victory. Now he was throwing it away. There would have to be sacrifices.

recorded casca It has taken up to six months to adapt to the world. It takes come seeing people weeks to recognise even the difference between a square and a triangle, without first having to count the corners.

which,

Sidney Bradford did it cl the hid the first operationsalmist at spec. And he did il and the bandages were taken with a state of vision oll. He saw. And we who can pending further operations, 560 may nalycly think this was fantastically distorted.

How did he do it? The theory the most momentous day of hu fe; that the blind given sight must want to fall on their knees is complex, and so far a bit un

In the

It scans sky, but possible important and ery: "Wonderfult"

that The Bradford Caso" will upect previous theories about how we see. Ard It may influence the future training of blind children.

thing was this: blind, he was happy. Or he seemed so, look- ing back,

He was happy in his boller- nooling lob. in the local gas- works, happy in his Burton-on- Trent home in the squat back

POCKET CARTOON by OSBERT LANCASTER

KINGERDSH

"What an earth, dors the

· Bishopej Partinjouch mean selling people ribe to judge Trúmily by appearanses? *

Lindo-Express Bervice

First face

ཐ ”

No. Most of than fall and cry all right, but they cry for help, because they cannot stand up, because they are OV whelmed by giddiness and fear of the enormous flood of sight,

Or they feel that the things they seo are reaching in, touch- ing their eyes, threaterling; they and some are so terrified have to be put back to bed and drugged to sleep, and 'so made "blind" again and safe.

The unsentimental truth is this: to regain, sight may be worse than to be blinded.

It was not this bad for Slaney Bradford-and this was signif)- cant but it was bad enoligh.

imow

He not caly did not what the world looked like, he did not apparently, even know. what looking was. His world of touch and sound and amell, and taste endod at the finger-tips, at the limit of his hearing. *

2

Now he had to lemn, to açe, to adopt to a world which to fin was as much a babet of eighte an Chinese to us is a babel of [souando, · Hè1had to' separate the "words" of light before, ho could tearth them, t

For his table" like for zdinner with folarien faasi Piektdi and dowers Univeren lyin

TARGET

How

R E

RC

A ES

words of four letter or more caz JOR MAKE from the feiters in

E un the left la

Maki

WORD 10ste In each of atte wallaguarde may be used ente only. Each word must contain the targe stige fo the' peitsw Puuare, and fiere; must be at

exit Dhe bine letter word in the.,

No plamis? no foreizzi words no proper Dâmes. TODAY'A TARGET: 44 | words, good 8 words, very poO4: Tá words excellent. on Monday

YESTERDAY'S COLUTION » Djai shre

London Express Service

CHESS

by LEOKAND BARDEN.

Solution, No SWEJYBNB? wins for VMAXBEBXR

This is why the two Cam-

bridge scientists, Mr Richard

Gregory and Miss Jean Wallace, of the Department of Experi- mental Psychology, spent three days with us. To write the first scientific paper on him.

But I understood nothing of all this coming up to London, and more important to me than science was this men, beside me with his hat on, chowing no surprise, or any emotion, at the things I showed him.

He showed real pleasure only ence, when the sun came out and he said: "That's lovely. 'It's a diriy world without the

sun."

A tragedy?

So I booked at this man, not liking him much, not knowing I would grow fond of him. And when we got to London I Look the two scientists aside and said: "I can't believe in him."

And they, who had already seen him in hospital, said: "Nor could we."

Then Richard Gregory sald: "But now we .can. He's an extremely intelligent man, even a big znan, and maybe he's na appalling tragedy."

Maybe. I was too soon to decide. He did not look a tragedy when I went to his he cald: "Are Once

those room to say goodnight, and put when forget-me-nois:"

he was on because they the light were crocuses, but obout the sitting in the dark,

thing he did not

He had his pipe and a pint of only, other

beer and if he drowned it was know was a chicken.

because he preferred the dark. Ho know it all-trolleybus But he seemed happy all right. wires, petrol pumps, TV aerials, I said: "Look about this black stockings, village pumps, going blind nguiti, vnd staying

One day,

blind. Lot's not decide. yot wait till we've soen Lew things,"

He looked up, but not at me. und saki: "Yes" But be said It courteously. To please me,

London Express Service.

MONDAY:

The Disappointment of London--and then the great experiment

Queen Victoria...

Over a 100 years ago, Queen Victoria of England honoured us by visiting our factory, which was then already famous all over Europe. Queen Victoria marvel----- led... but she was also much amused by the rustic simplicity of her guide: -strowing Her Majesty through the workshops; he would say: "Look, Quean,please,- come here! There are my engravers... and here, my painters on enamel... aren't they a jolly crowd!"

Today, the workshops of the good old days have grown into the Girard-Perregaux factory, one of the most up-to-date of the Atomic Age.

Gilman & Co.

GIRL WITH BOOK

LONDON BUS

MAN AT BUS STOP

The misty world of Sidney Bradford photographed as

he sees it now after fifty years in darkness

16

(“Saronnitie” watch of the barly XIX century,

charmingly engraved, and decorated..........

Queen Victoria admired it!

GP

GIRARD PERREGAUX