Wednesday 10th February 2021 – Some Positive News

 Hello. I hope you're doing okay. Please don't be too hard on yourself if you're not achieving everything you want to. Celebrate the tiny victories. 

I know that the news and the media can be quite dark at times, so quit the doomscrolling (a word that was coined last year) and do something that'll make you feel better. Read this blog post. 

Today, I'm going to be sharing some positive news with you. 

Lucy Purdy, from Positive.News, has shared that pregnancy tests for women with sight loss could be set to change the future. This means that they could be the first person to find out the result of their own pregnancy tests. For most of us, we have the opportunity for privacy, but for women who cannot see or who have sight loss, this privacy has been taken away from them. This new pregnancy test could allow them the privacy they have been longing for. 

The prototype, which was created by Josh Wasserman, is bright pink making it easier to see for women with partial sight loss. If pregnant, a tactile area on the pregnancy stick would raise large bumps allowing the women to be able to feel the result for themselves. The pregnancy test also has a (50%) larger absorbent tip and turns pink when urine has been absorbed. This means that women would have that independence of finding out for themselves, rather than relying on others. 

This fills an essential gap in the market that really should have been filled a long time ago. However, it is better late than never. 

The second bit of positive news is more important and relevant for those living, commuting, working and making their way through London. Everyone is familiar with the tube and the tube map.

However, now an overground tube map, called a London Greenground map, has been created by Helen Ilus. For someone like me, who struggles with crowded tubes, trains and buses, this is comforting. It connects people to nature, allows them to appreciate the world around them, provides exercise, and helps protect the environment.

The map includes parks, waterways and railway tracks. And although exact routes aren't provided and distances may vary, it reminds us of the beauty of nature. More and more people are spending weekends outside and appreciating what planet Earth has provided for us. Green spaces and green travel are becoming more important for the health of the people and the planet. 

Haines, Gavin. “'Tube Map for Walkers' Links London's Green Spaces.” Positive News, 12 Jan. 2021, www.positive.news/environment/tube-inspired-london-map-links-londons-green-spaces/. 

Ilus, Helen. “London Greenground Map with Distances.” Helen Ilus Design, 29 Jan. 2020, www.positive.news/environment/tube-inspired-london-map-links-londons-green-spaces/. 

Purdu, Lucy. “World First: the Pregnancy Test for Women with Sight Loss.” Positive News, 22 Jan. 2021, www.positive.news/society/the-pregnancy-test-for-women-with-sight-loss/. 

Wasserman, Josh, et al. “Design for Everyone: Creating an Accessible Pregnancy Test Prototype.” RNIB, 2020.