In Touch - 24/11/2009

Naj Fraser is a partially sighted physiotherapist from Cockermouth, Cumbria, who tells Mani Djazmi of the difficulty she has contacting her clients as she has been unable to use her CCTV during a two-day power cut as a result of the floods. Lee Kumutat talks to Michael Whapples, the first of three volunteer job seekers willing to share their experiences with the programme. Michael is a graduate from Nottinghamshire and is trying to find a job but, despite having been on a graduate scheme and applying for eight positions a week, is still without work after 18 months. He tells Lee that he feels that some employers need him to be more outgoing than he naturally is - and he finds this daunting. Mani's studio guest is Isaac Lidsky. Isaac came to London after being awarded the Temple Bar, which recognises the most talented contemporary American lawyers. He is now working at the international law firm Akin Gump in London on US appellate litigation. He began to lose his sight aged 15, just as his career as a child actor was taking off. Isaac then went to Harvard University aged 16 where he studied maths and computer science. He later went back to do a law degree and is now a highly successful lawyer. He and his wife have also set up a charity to fund research into sight-loss prevention through gene therapy.