I am going to set you a challenge this week by asking you to do some soul searching. This has come about through a conversation I had recently with a neighbour who is registered blind.

Now, to me, not to have sight is inconceivable so I was surprised when he said he was much luckier than me because he could walk. In my opinion I was better off than him.

This set me off thinking very deeply about what it would really be like to have no, or very little, sight. I was reminded about a conversation that I had with a lady a few days ago when she said how lucky she was not to have been born blind. She wasn’t focusing on her present life but taking a positive view of how her life had been enhanced by her past life.

She said: “When I hear any mention of a colour I can picture that colour because I have seen it. When I walk by the sea and listen to the sound of the waves I can picture what it looks like. Oh yes, how lucky I am.”

It is said that 90 per cent of palatability is in the eye. I think this figure is a little high but it is true how much we rely on how attractive the food looks like. How do people with no experience take that leap of faith and taste?.

Why is it then that we don’t take more care of the conditions that are there to make life more difficult for people with visual difficulties? The carelessly left out dustbins; the rubbish bags scattered about; the A-boards in the middle of the pavement and overhanging branches. Yes I know I have said this before but I am not going to apologise because it needs to be said over and over again.

Guide dogs for the Blind is running a campaign to bring the problem of street clutter to the attention of MPs and councillors following the results of a survey they ran last month. What a shock it was to find that 97 per cent of respondents reported having a problem with street clutter. So now is the time for concerted action by us all.

Do you think that we, in Oxford, are as bad as the results of the survey showed? I am not sure but I know there is a long way to go before we achieve perfection and that is what we should be aiming for.

I don’t think our councillors help as much as they could so, councillors, if you are reading this then pull your socks up. No excuses about money please because we have heard that old chestnut too often. It doesn’t cost anything to enforce the ban on cars parking on pavements or cyclists riding in areas that are banned to them.

And, my readers, can you put your hand on your heart and say with conviction that you are not guilty of making life more hazardous for those less fortunate than yourselves. Do some soul searching before you answer.