Former motoring journalist tells how life changed after he lost his sight - and how guide dog Illya is helping him live life to the full

A former motoring journalist who had to give up driving after suffering sight loss has told of his experiences – and how a guide dog is helping him live life to the full.
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Les Oliver, 74, served as motoring editor and deputy features editor during a long and distinguished career at the Sunderland Echo, test-driving everything from Porsches to camper vans.

But after an optician discovered he had glaucoma in 1999, his sight gradually deteriorated, and by 2014 – some years into his retirement – he was registered blind.

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Les, who lives in the Barnes area of Sunderland, said: “I had a fantastic job – test driving about 100 cars a year – sometimes on famous racing circuits.

Les and Illya.Les and Illya.
Les and Illya.

"I covered car launches from America and Europe to Japan and South Africa. I stayed in top hotels and ate at the finest restaurant across the globe – what a life.“Little did I realise that one day, I’d be experiencing life in a blind alley.”

He went on: “Specialists at Sunderland Eye Infirmary said that with treatment my sight was still good enough to continue driving – and in fact it was for another 20 years – until I retired in 2012.”

By 2014, Leslie was certified partially-sighted, and within another three, was considered ‘severely sight-impaired’.

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“My consultant ophthalmologist recommended I apply for a guide dog but I hung back for years, thinking that I could walk around without bumping into people and objects,” he said.

Illya the guide dog.Illya the guide dog.
Illya the guide dog.

Eventually, Les decided to apply for a guide dog in January 2020 – just before the start of the pandemic. With lockdowns and restrictions on training due to social distancing, everything was put on hold.

But Les was placed on the waiting list and he remained hopeful that the right dog would come along.

“I had been attending monthly coffee mornings at Sunderland and Durham Blind Society for two or three years so I knew it could sometimes take a long time – an amazing amount of preparation and work goes into training and matching up a dog and an applicant to ensure they are the right ‘partnership’,” he said.

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“Just before the first lockdown, I’d had a single brief walk with a lovely golden retriever and was told further assessment was needed – presumably to establish whether I was right for a guide dog.

Les and Illya.Les and Illya.
Les and Illya.

"Then 10 months later, out of the blue came that phone call: ‘We’d like to try you with a dog. I was expecting it to be much longer’.

“A few days later there was three-year-old black Labrador Retriever cross Illya, outside my front door, in the company of trainers Jonathan and Darren.

“We started training there and then. I made loads of mistakes at first. In the wake of Covid, hotel-based group classes had been suspended.

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"Instead, the team from Guide Dogs visited me pretty much every weekday for five weeks to put me through my paces with Illya until I qualified.

“It’s many months since that milestone and I feel that Illya knows it all, but I still have my ‘L-plates’ on!

“In the early days there seemed to be so much to remember – not just the dance steps that you have to learn at the down kerbs, but everything from judging near and far traffic, to knowing that Illya was trying to tell me she needed to ‘spend’. And would it mean a poo bag or was it just a wee!”

“As the weeks passed, I found I needed extra training with public transport. The team from Guide Dogs were brilliant.”

Away from cars, Les’s main hobby has always been music. He joined his first brass band aged 11 and has played in bands for over 30 years and played harmonica in folk clubs.

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He said: “When I retired, I had decided to learn to play the guitar and had been making weekly 20-mile round trips via bus and Metro to the Sage Gateshead for guitar classes.

"But as my eyesight deteriorated, it was becoming more difficult, especially in winter months - setting out in darkness at 6pm for a 90-minute class and getting home well after 10pm.

“All this changed with Illya’s arrival. She took me there and back on buses and the Metro.

There were a few problems initially – I would have managed if there was just Illya and me, but when you have a full-sized acoustic guitar strapped to your back on a crowded rush-hour train, it’s a different proposition!

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“How do I get Illya securely tucked in without blocking an aisle while at the same time swinging my guitar case off my back without taking out two or three fellow passengers?

“Darren and Debs from Guide Dogs had the answers. They specially arranged a visit to Walkergate bus depot on Tyneside where we worked to perfect these manoeuvres. Now Illya takes me every week to the Sage where the music is so entrancing that she usually curls up and goes to sleep – unless we play something by Bach!”

“My life now is very much changed - Illya’s arrival has not only transformed my day-to-day mobility, but more than that, she gives me the confidence to make my own way to the Sage, enabling me to continue my life-long love of making music. She gets me up early, instead of sleeping through the best part of the day. And complete strangers now stop and talk to me.

“I am so fortunate to have Illya in my life. How could anybody resist that unconditional love she shows me dozens of times a day, which that wagging tail and frantically wiggly bum can never disguise?

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“I’d particularly like to thank Illya’s Puppy Raiser Linda Lane and Illya’s boarder for five months, Helen Redhead, as they made huge contributions.”

Guide Dogs is inviting one and all to get into the festive spirit this December and help make Wishes come true.

The charity’s Christmas Wishes Concert takes place at St Mary’s Church in Marylebone, London, at 7pm on December 14.

For anyone who can’t make the event in-person, Guide Dogs is also giving supporters the chance to cosy up on their sofas to watch a special recording that will premier online for virtual ticketholders on December 21. For more information and tickets, visit www.guidedogs.org.uk/christmas-wishes

Find out how you can help fund 12 new life-changing guide dogs at www.guidedogs.org.uk/12-dogs-of-christmas

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