Toby is a freelance radio reporter / audio producer, visual awareness and sighted guiding trainer, website access consultant and arts access ambassador.
Toby was born with an eye condition called retinopathy of prematurity which damaged the retina at the back of his eyes causing loss of most of his central vision. He also suffers from astigmatism (eye ball shaped like a rugby ball rather than a football) and severe myopia (short sightedness).
Toby spent most of his early education in a special school for visually impaired people before going on to study Business Studies and Art in the form of GCSE Photography at the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford. It was with the encouragement of John Everritt the Head of Art at the college who suggested to Toby that he should further his studies in Photography to a higher level when he finished at Hereford.
After leaving Hereford and working for almost two years in office roles in Bristol, Toby secured a place at Falmouth School of Art and Design on their BTEC Ordinary National Diploma in Photography. Toby really enjoyed his time in Falmouth soaking up the atmosphere of Cornwall and much of his photographs included seascapes and landscapes of the county. Coming up to the end of his time in Falmouth Toby decided to continue his studies in photography and successfully gained a place at Cheltenham and Gloucestershire College of Higher Education on their new Professional Media degree course. While at Cheltenham Toby had an exhibition at the Cheltenham Everyman Theatre of photographs documenting what goes on behind the scenes at the Theatre which included; rehearsals of the Theatre’s production of The Sound of Music, a visit by Northern Ballet and their production of Swan Lake plus portraits of the late great actor Brian Glover who was in a visiting touring production.
Toby’s portrait of Brian Glover along with one of the artist Sir Richard Long can be found in the online library of the National Portrait Gallery.
After graduating from Cheltenham in 1996 Toby moved to London to set up his own business as a freelance Photographer which he ran for a few years before finding his way into working at the BBC on arts radio programmes such as Saturday Review, Night Waves and Front Row. While at the BBC Toby started reporting for Radio 4’s In Touch programme which he has continued to work for as a freelancer.
In early 2006 he joined VocalEyes a national charity providing access to the arts through live and recorded audio-description for blind and partially sighted people as their Deputy Director. He produced most of the charity’s audio content from recorded introductory notes for described theatre performances, recorded museum audio-described guides, website podcast interviews and features as well as the award winning ‘London Beyond Sight’ project. One of the other major parts of his role at VocalEyes was delivering visual awareness and sighted guiding training to a wide range of arts organisations from theatres to art galleries and museums. Toby was pinicle in setting up the first ever audio described guided architecture tours for the annual London Open House Weekend giving blind and partially sighted people the opportunity to explore many of London’s iconic and historic buildings from the Royal Albert Hall and the Reform Club to the Gherkin and Portcullis House. During Toby’s time at VocalEyes he did step out onto the stage at the Victoria Palace Theatre with his Guide Dog Dixie to mark the first audio-described performance of Billy Elliot – The Musical which had around 70 blind and partially sighted people in the audience and also onto the stage of the Queen’s Theatre in 2008 with his second Guide Dog Kerrie to celebrate VocalEyes’ 10th anniversary and set the Guinness World Record for the largest number of blind and partially sighted people attending a musical theatre production this time with 168 blind and partially sighted people in the audience.
Toby, his wife Sara and his current Guide Dog Willow moved out of London in the autumn of 2018 to the West of England and currently live in Wiltshire not far from the London to Bristol mainline train line and the M4 motorway giving quick access to Bristol, Bath and London for trips to the theatre and visits to art galleries and museums.
Toby’s eye sight has deteriorated over the years but this has not stopped him enjoying all aspects of the arts and taking up the sport of sailing in the early 1990s. Toby is an active member of Blind Sailing GBR and has successfully represented Great Britain at national, international and world blind sailing championships winning a number of silver and gold medals over the years.