Phill's Story
Phill Jones was born at 26 weeks old – weighing 1lb 11oz – less than a bag of sugar.
He had to remain in the special baby care unit at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd for four months.
His mother, Sonia, was only 19 at the time.
Phill’s family soon realised he had sight loss.
Because Phill was born prematurely, his optic nerve hadn't formed properly.
He also has nystagmus which causes the eyes to move permanently.
Phill said: "My eyes move but it doesn't affect me as much in terms of what I see. It’s other people who notice it."
Phill can't see further than two meters in front of him or can see either side of his eyes.
He uses magnifying glasses to allow to read print and change it to size 36.
Phill said: "There's no treatment to improve my condition but I know it won’t get any worse."
He soon received support from the North Wales Society of the Blind in Bangor and their officers Steven, Dafydd, Marian, Bethan and Nick.
Now aged 21, Phill, from Caernarfon, is a positive and confident young man and is very grateful to the Society for continuing to provide him with support.
He said: "The Society has been a great help to me over the years. They have enabled me to form groups of close friends and have day-to-day independence in my personal life."
"I owe a big thank you to Steve, Dafydd, Nick and the rest of the team."
Phill added: "Thanks to the Society, I have learnt numerous new skills – for example how to type correctly and use programmes such as Zoomtext and others that enable me to read."
Phill received his primary education at Ysgol yr Hendre, Caernarfon before moving to the local secondary school, Ysgol Syr Hugh Owen in 2014 where his aunt Tania worked.
He said: "In terms of my education – Tania has been a great help.
"I've had a lot of help from the family – all very supportive towards me."
Phill said: "I met Elidyr Glyn who was a teacher at the school in 2015 and who gave me one-on-one attention. Elidyr worked with me for two years."
Elidyr is best known as the singer of the popular Welsh band Bwncath.
The relationship between the two has lasted to this day and they are great friends.
Phill said: "I only have a huge thank you to the North Wales Society of the Blind, Elidyr, Bwncath and everyone who has helped me over the years."
In 2019 Phill attended the Royal National College for the Blind in Hereford, England - more than 130 miles - or four hours - away from his home in Caernarfon.
While there he learned how to live independently and expand his computer skills.
But it wasn't all plain sailing.
Phill said: "I felt lonely. I felt that people were looking down their noses on me because I was Welsh and I heard them talking about me in English. I was the only person who spoke Welsh in the whole college.
"I travelled home every weekend by train and really looked forward to coming home and speaking Welsh."
In 2021 Phill left the college in Hereford and started working in the reception for solicitors Pritchard Jones and Lane in Caernarfon.
In his spare time Phill is a top pool and snooker player.
He started playing at the age of 10 - competing in World Disability Billiard and Snooker tournaments and travelled to Germany and the Netherlands.
But now he's focusing on singing and playing the guitar.
He said: "On the weekends, I gig and sing round local pubs."
This came to be, Phill said, because his former teacher Elidyr Glyn had a "great musical influence" on him. That's also true, too, he said of his daily life.
Phill said: "Elidyr bought me a guitar on my 18th birthday. After that, I said to myself: 'Right, I need to give my everything to learn how to play this guitar' – and that's what I did – spending hours and hours listening to Elidyr and Bwncath's songs and slowly learning how to play them.”
Phill now regularly gigs and sings folk songs by bands and artists such as Bwncath, Bryn Fôn, Iwcs a Doyle and Gwilym Bowen Rhys.
Elidyr said: "We're still good mates. I helped Phill learn to play the guitar at first with the chords and lyrics, but he's developed a lot himself.
“Now he's giggling a bit and I'm really proud of him.
"I always thought he could. Confidence is half the job, then comes the enjoyment.
“Phill has proved himself and he's done fantastically well."
Nick Thomas, of the North Wales Society of the Blind, who has been working closely with Phill, said: "To be part of Phill's development from being a shy young boy to the confident young man he is now has been a pleasure.
"His approach to learning new skills has really helped him with his development. He is always willing to listen to advice and feedback before daring to take his next step.
"Phill is a strong and likeable character who is a good example to children and young people with sight loss on how to live life with a disability."
Society chief executive Steven Thomas said: "It has been a pleasure to know Phill and see him develop over the years. He’s a credit to his family.
"Phill has worked incredibly hard to overcome the barriers and limitations placed on him due to his sight loss.
"He has grown in confidence and ability. His success, independence and resilience are testament to his strong personality.
"Over the years the Society has been extremely fortunate to have been able to work with Phill to help him along the way to overcome the difficulties he has faced with sight loss.
"We look forward to continuing to work with Phill and to sharing his story in the hope that he inspires others to never give up the things they want to do in life.
"From playing snooker to learning "touch typing" - to learning to play the guitar and having the confidence to sing in public - Phill is the epitome of not giving in, of adapting to overcome the challenges he faced from losing his sight and coming out the other side with a smile.
“We wish Phill every success in the future."
Phill's employer, Wyn Jones, added: "It is a pleasure to employ Phill Jones at Pritchard Jones Lane, The North Wales Society of the Blind has played a vital role in ensuring his employment has been a success.
“They have provided Phill with the necessary tools to get his job done without difficulty by delivering a large screen so that Phill can make appointments and so on.
"Phill is an integral part of the team and has made friends with the rest of the staff and partners here."
