I need light to hear

Happy 1st of September to you!

September to me means shorter days, colder weather but also crisp sunny mornings as summer finally decides to put in a last-minute, somewhat hungover appearance.

It's also a time for change. New schools for 11 year olds, first schools for little kids, university and college, new jobs – everything is changing

Another two big changes are the end of the Waterstones book store 3 for 2 offer – gutting as the third freebie book often turns out to be the best one – and the end of the production of the 60-watt lightbulb, due to a ruling by the EU.

But how can they get rid of something that virtually every household in the UK uses?

And another thing, can’t the UK just say no? Wouldn't this enforced environmental decision be better elsewhere such as compulsory recycling for all counties in the UK with a system that actually works, and rules and facilities to ensure people dispose of batteries and household goods correctly?

I mean, I can't remember the last time I changed a lightbulb in my flat and I've been there two years and have an excellent memory, but I'm willing to bet, when I do, it'll be a 60-watt one.

And why am I so attached to this energy-guzzling outlawed creature? Well, being deaf and a lipreader, good lighting is as essential as air to me. Without light, I am senseless. All that's left is smell and touch, and last time I checked, these two senses do not aid everyday constructive conversation.

In dull light – the energy-saving kind – people's faces are harder to see, and therefore lips are harder to read and I'm left in the dark… literally.

Don't get me wrong though, I'm not some illuminating yuppy intent on ruining the planet. I have energy-saving bulbs in my table lamps, just not in my ceiling lamps. And while I know there are some excellent arguments for energy-saving bulbs – the internet is littered with them… I need light.

And I believe we should have the right to choose whether we have that light in the form of 60-watt or energy-saving lightbulbs.

If the EU has decided this ban, it means it could be as successful as oooh… I don’t know, the Euro, or being part of EU, and neither are looking too fabulous at the moment.

I'm all for change, but when my survey says ‘No!’ and I have spoken to a lot of people about this, then surely the voice of the masses deserves to be heard.

Because unless they invent a new, affordable, bulb that truly does what the 60-watt one does, and in NO way harms the environment, I will not hear your voices… your voices will not be heard.