Archived Newsletter - Summer 2006

Hello everyone and welcome to the summer edition of the Devon Newsletter. Whilst writing this we have been having gorgeous sunny weather but I wouldn't like to predict what it will be doing when you actually receive it!! Anyway, I am working on the assumption that summer is here and I really like this hot weather, it can't go on long enough for me! I have some sad news to start this edition I am afraid and that is that Rod Keat, our Resource Centre/Office Manager, has resigned due to ill health. We are very sorry to lose him as his knowledge of IT and assistive technology was vast. Pat and I enjoyed our time working with him, he has a great sense of humour and is a lovely person but his health has to come first and I am sure you will all join with us in wishing him all the best for the future. I am hopeful that the next edition will bring news of new staff but in the meantime please be patient if you ring the office and find you get the answerphone because when we are a staff member down it is difficult to get everything done, particularly during holiday times when we are two down. We have to deal with people in the shop first and will get to the phone whenever we can. Please leave a message and we will get back to you as soon as we can. We are grateful to Carole, who is our member of staff in Totnes, for working extra hours to help us out some weeks on a Thursday and Friday so if you come into the shop on a Thursday or Friday, you may well see Carole. Our thanks also to our wonderful volunteer Christine who is helping us out on a regular basis now and you may well see her if you come into the shop on a Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday. Being a staff member short is, I am afraid, the reason for the lateness of this edition of the Newsletter. I'm sorry but I just can't do everything and have had to fit this in when I can. I hope you enjoy reading it anyway.

I've had the pleasure of meeting quite a lot of you recently during club visits and must say I've really enjoyed the visits and hope I will be invited back again, perhaps next year. It's very easy to get bogged down with paperwork in the office and it's lovely to get out and about to different parts of the county and to meet you, the members. It's also very nice to sample the various biscuits and cakes you all partake of on a regular basis but don't think I had better make it too regular a basis for my waist line! My skirt seems to have shrunk in the wardrobe over the winter!! One lady told me I look different now that I am married but we decided in the end it was because I have my hair different now than when I saw her last! News in the last edition that David and I had got married prompted Muriel Biggs of Seaton to ring and tell me about her wedding, she got married during the War and had to wear black, have any of you got any unusual wedding stories? I'd love to hear them and share them with everyone in the next Newsletter. Many thanks for all the good wishes received, they are much appreciated.

Congratulations are due, once again, to Carol Brown of Tiverton who has been crowned British champion at the BBS national shooting championships at Aldersley. Carole equalled the British record in Class A of the championships with a score of 599, made up of a 99 followed by five 100s. A tremendous score once again so well done Carol.

Congratulations also to Barry Goodfellow of Exeter who has had his art work displayed at The Thema Hulbert Gallery in Honiton to rave reviews. I turned up just a week too late to see it so was very disappointed but was told that it had been an excellent exhibition of art by disabled artists from all over Devon. We are very fortunate here anyway in having a painting by Barry on display in our Resource Centre room.

One of our members in Torquay, Nigel Timbrell, has asked me to bring to your attention the fact that the Coalition of Disabled People in Torquay are able to help with IT skills and information, they are located near the town centre, library and Town Hall and the number 12 bus stops on the opposite side of the road, the 42 only a two minute walk away. The staff there are extremely helpful and can advise on computer equipment, software etc. as well as providing computer lessons. If you would like to contact them, the telephone number is 01803 215871. Thank you for this information Nigel.

Shirley Stevens, our Chairman, has given me this review on an audio described performance and she says "On the hottest Saturday of the year I went to The Manor Pavillion, Sidmouth, to see Alan Ayckbourn's It Could Be Any One of Us, a comedy thriller. This was audio described, I was anxious to know how this worked so I sat with my eyes closed and my loop attachment in one ear. Initially the scene was slowly described - 20 minutes before the play started and then again 5 minutes before curtain up. All the important movements in the play were described and, once I had got myself used to listening first with one ear to the description and with the other ear to the dialogue, it worked very well. I can't say that it was one of his best plays - someone said it was one of his earliest ones and, like Stilton and Port, he has greatly improved with ageing. A warm afternoon, a comfortable chair and my eyes both closed, the inevitable happened and I think I had a short doze just before the interval!! After the play I was taken to the audio visual room to see how the audio description was done. There are two describers present at any one time, one to listen to the dialogue through head phones while watching the action on the stage, and the second to do the describing on to the loop system. This is in case the actors go horribly wrong and skip pages of script!! They both have a video of the play and work out at home the actual wording and timing of the description. They then try it out at the dress rehearsal. They do an audio description during the Charles Vance summer season, a new play each week at the Wednesday matinee performances. If you haven't been to the theatre because you think you are going to miss the action then it's certainly recommended that you try audio description. It is also done at The Northcott Theatre in Exeter and The Theatre Royal in Plymouth." Thanks to Shirley for this information.

Calibre Audio Library are now offering audio books on MP3 disk. The new service will run alongside the existing cassette service. Members can choose books on disk, on cassette, or both. Like the cassette service, the MP3 disk service will be free of charge. They currently send out more than 2,000 books every day, that is one every 14 seconds. New titles will be available in both formats. Calibre's cassette service offers a choice of over 6,000 titles for adults and 1,000 for children, all recorded unabridged. If you require any further information or would like to join the library, contact them direct on 01296 432339 or e-mail them at enquires@calibre.org.uk or visit their website at www.calibre.org.uk.

If you are interested in home security, you may like to know that there is now a talking intruder alarm. We have a burglar alarm here in the office and the visually impaired members of staff we have had working for us have all managed it without any problems but as this product is available I thought I would bring it to your attention! They claim that the panel gives clear voice prompts and there is the option of a Braille overlay as well as a Braille or large print manual. The sensors are selected to match your individual needs and the system is monitored to ensure rapid assistance from key holders. The panel voice will alert you to any windows or doors that are open when you attempt to set the system. If you are interested, there is a CD Audio Brochure available, you can obtain a free quotation tailored to your security needs, the quotation includes installation and installation only takes one day. The company are called Sentico and you can contact them on 0870 1200 900 or e-mail sales@sentico.co.uk .

The Big Print national weekly newspaper has now been taken over by RNIB and is available at £15.75 per quarter, £29.50 per half year or £56.50 for a year. Big Print gives you national and international news in large print, book reviews, giant crossword, horoscopes, sports news and recipes. It also includes a 40 page weekly TV and radio guide. If you are interested you can order by ringing their freephone number which is 0800 124007 or by sending a cheque made payable to RNIB to The Big Print National Weekly, P O Box 173, Peterborough, PE2 6WS.

The Patient & Public Involvement Forums for the R. D. & E. Hospital and Exeter PCT are independent groups of volunteers, they have a statutory role in reviewing and monitoring the services and care provided by the R.D & E and Exeter Primary Care Trust and they are keen to hear the views and experiences of patients and the public. They have provided us with feedback cards so if you have any comments to make, please give us a ring and we will send you a card to complete, they sent them to us with stamps already on so it will be a shame not to use them. It only applies to the Exeter Hospital though but if you have any recent experience of being in hospital, visiting someone, or having an outpatient appointment, perhaps you would care to comment on your experience. Give us a ring and we will let you have a card or two.

Mr. Attfield of Teignmouth has an Aladdin CCTV for sale, it is 11 years old and cost £2,000 at the time. It is in very good condition and is colour, he is looking for offers in the region of £300. Please give him a ring direct if you are interested, his number is 01626 775266. If you have a CCTV which is surplus to requirements, please let us know and we will do our best to move it on for you.

Do you have a hearing problem as well as a visual impairment? If you do then you may be interested to know that Deafblind UK have just appointed a lady to cover the South West by visiting people in their own homes to see how they can help. It sounds a very good service and it doesn't appear that you have to actually be registered as deaf as well as visually impaired to qualify for membership so if you are registered visually impaired but have a slight hearing problem as well then you can join. If you would like more details or would like to join Deafblind UK then just give them a ring on 0800 132320.

If you are a keen gardener then you should be a member of the National Blind Gardeners Club. Thrive and RNIB have combined to launch this club which is to bring together gardeners who are blind or partially sighted from all over the UK, to share information, tips and techniques. Club membership costs just £8 a year to those in receipt of benefits or £20 otherwise. Help with your gardening problem, or information on care of particular plants is just a phone call, letter or e-mail away. You also receive advance information on specialist events for blind gardeners, a quarterly magazine, access to a specialist gardening library, a range of booklets on gardening with a visual impairment and a national voice for blind and partially sighted gardeners. Further information on joining can be obtained by contacting Thrive on 0118 988 5688 or by e-mail info@thrive.org.uk. Thrive are also, once again, holding the Blind Gardener of the Year competition, categories are Inspirational, Wildlife, Small Space, Inventive and Young Blind Gardener of the Year. To request an entry form contact Lucy Morrell on 0118 988 5688 or e-mail bgoty@thrive.org.uk. You don't have a lot of time I'm afraid as closing date is 31st July, winners will be announced in September.

I only have two reports from Clubs this time, think they must be all sleeping through the summer! Come on Clubs, let me know what you've been up to, lots of cream teas and outings I expect.

Ivy at BARNSTAPLE CLUB has sent me this report of their club activities and she says " You walk into our club and on the left hand side there is a gang of young ladies aged from 60 to 99, refusing to retire gracefully, knitting scarves, gloves and hats and crocheting shawls. There is a marvellous poet of 96 and others are making a model. They are noisy sometimes, you hear roars of laughter and you know that they are not behaving! If we have a quiz, they come up with saucy answers. Then there is the other corner of people who are quite clever with quizzes. Then there is our little group, a few whose eyesight is quite bad but we still pray for help. Some of us met again after 30 or 40 years and we love to talk and have lots of tales of long ago. We sing all the old songs and sometimes if my legs are alright, I will do a little dance! We have a lovely party at Christmas with music. Then of course, the helpers who look after us all, there is Brian, an ex sailor and Jill his Wife and Kath a friend. They are all so kind and dedicated in helping us, getting up outings, waiting on us and arranging speakers and entertainment. They have done so much that everyone looks forward to coming every week. We are all very grateful and appreciate the time they give us. Our most recent speakers have been a well know shepherd, David Kennard, who brought along one of his dogs "Swift" who gave us a demonstration of rounding up the sheep. Then Jonathan Marshall came with a golden eagle, a falcon and a Harris Hawk who flew around the room. We all put on a glove and let the hawk sit on our arms to pose for photos." Thanks to Ivy for that insight into their club. I can vouch for the fact that they are a very lively and active club!

Anne Decent has sent me the following report on activities at VISION OM and she says "cake bakers and chair arrangers are taking time out now at VISION -OM for since Easter they have exchanged these roles with those of bus attendants, wheelchair pushers and sighted guides, as our "out and about" season is in full swing. Simon has more confidence in members than I had when arranging the programme and leaves us to do our own thing when arriving at our destination, for our sighted guides have attached themselves to members and are aware of their individual needs which makes for a happy time for all. In April at Budleigh Salterton, after a cream tea serving the hugest scones we'd ever seen, we had the choice of returning to the minibus, thoughtfully parked immediately outside the café, taking a stroll of about 300 yards to a seat overlooking the bay, walking with a sighted guide to an assembly point on the sea front, or, for those of us more able, a walk along the promenade to meet up with the minibus in the car park. Miraculously no one got left behind, we compared our experiences on the homeward journey, especially the choice of the renowned Budleigh ice creams and were returned to our front doors by Simon, to whom we owe an enormous thank you for his expertise and for the time he devotes to us all. Even more ambitious and successful was the May trip to Dartmoor for lunch at the Badgers Holt, proving to be so delicious that plans are already being discussed for our return visit at Christmas! Again, we were able to assess our own ability, whether strolling or clambering before being brought safely home. We are fortunate to have the use of the League of Friends Hospital Ambulance on the last Thursday of each month at any time, making our arrangements very flexible. Gill has volunteered to relieve Simon of fund raising for future events and we thank her for this and all the sighted guides who have attached themselves to us over the years and without whom we couldn't operate as we do. I look forward to their company when we go to Beer in June." Thanks Anne and we look forward to hearing about the remainder of your activities in the next edition.

Don't forget, if you haven't already done so, to get your entry forms for the Show. The Show will take place at The America Hall, Pinhoe, Exeter, on Saturday, 2nd September from 10am and will be followed by the AGM. Trophies will be presented by the Lord Mayor of Exeter and home made refreshments will be available throughout the day, including cooked lunches. I hope lots of you will enter this year as it would be lovely to see the Show pick up again. I'm looking forward to receiving the limericks as I do enjoy reading them. The first line needs to be There was a Young Lady Called Pat. If you haven't got a Show Schedule, then give us a ring and we will pop one in the post for you. Don't be shy, it's only fun but the entries are judged by professional judges and in most cases, useful comments are given to help you improve next year! There are lots of trophies to be won - if you don't try you won't win one! We are looking forward to seeing lots of you at the Show and AGM, if you belong to a Club, why not organise a trip with a minibus or coach? It'll be a very enjoyable day out and a chance to catch up with friends old and new.

The group holiday from 16th - 23rd September is almost full now but if you are interested, give me a ring and I will put you on a waiting list if necessary. We will be going to The Lauriston Hotel at Weston Super Mare and having some very interesting trips out during the week.

Running out of space now so it just remains for me to say enjoy the rest of your summer, please do visit us in our shop here at Station House which is open from 10am - 1pm Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday or visit Carole in Totnes from 9am - 4pm on Tuesday or Wednesday. If you can't get into the shop but would like us to post you something, please give us a ring and we will send you whatever it is you require. You can then send us a cheque for payment. Also a reminder that we are still running our low vision assessments so give us a ring if you would like an appointment.
Our phone number 01392 876666
Best wishes, Sue, Pat and Carole.

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