Somerset Insight
Issue 54 January 2016
A Magazine for sight impaired people in Somerset
Somerset Sight,
Northfield House,
51 Staplegrove Road,
Taunton, TA1 1DG
Registered Charity Number 1154472
Main telephone number 01823 333818
Website: www.somersetsight.org.uk
Email: admin@somersetsight.org.uk
Somerset Insight is published in January, May and September and is
distributed free to visually impaired people living in Somerset. It is
available in large print, Braille, audio cassette and CD formats.
Pictured on the front cover:
Anne Mitchell from Rumwell Farmshop wearing SimSpecs with Tom
Gray and Hollie Newton from Somerset Sight. Anne wore these glasses
for a whole day to raise money for Somerset Sight and to raise
awareness of National Eye Health Week.
Somerset Sight Ltd is a registered charity and company limited by
guarantee, registered in England. Company no: 8432686.
CEO Report
Welcome to the January edition of Somerset Insight.
My first few weeks at Somerset Sight have been a huge learning curve
and I have enjoyed every minute of it so far. I have been warmly
welcomed by those who are integral to the running of this wonderful
organisation and by those whose well- being depends on it for which I
thank you all.
I have learned there is an appetite in Somerset to improve the support
offered to those with sight impairments and I am looking forward to
building on what Tom Winsborough, my predecessor, has already
achieved.
I have spent the last 10 years working in the not for profit sector, mainly
in fundraising and development, and prior to that I worked in the city.
I have lived in the West Country for most of my life and enjoy the many
rural and art related pursuits it has to offer.
I look forward to meeting you and working with you all in the future.
Jackie Sopwith
Chief Executive Officer
01823 366150
jackie@somersetsight.org.uk
[Image: Jackie Sopwith]
Magazine in Other Formats
Our magazine is available in large print, audio (CD or cassette), Braille
and on email.
If you would like our communications in any other format please get in
touch with our administrator on 01823 366143 or
admin@somersetsight.org.uk
DeafPLUS visits
DeafPLUS will be at Somerset Sight, Northfield House, 51 Staplegrove
Road, Taunton, between 10.30am and 1.00pm on the following dates:
 Friday 15th January
 Friday 19th February
 Friday 18th March
DeafPLUS will once again be giving advice and information on all
aspects of hearing loss as well as servicing hearing aids.
For more information please call DeafPLUS on 01225 446555.
Parking
Visitors to our building, Northfield House in Taunton, may have noticed
that we have more cars parked in the car park. This is because we have
new tenants but also because we are renting out space to people
working nearby. Spaces for external users are clearly marked. Please
avoid using these spaces when you visit.
Farewell to our CEO Tom Winsborough and Trustee and Treasurer
Russell Parsons
On Friday 20th November we held a joint bring and share goodbye party
for Tom Winsborough (who has been our CEO for the last five years)
and Russell Parsons who has been a trustee of Somerset Sight since
1998 and treasurer for the last 5 years.
A huge party gathered to celebrate everything they had both achieved at
Somerset Sight and tributes were given by the chair of trustees, Bella
Flood and others.
Tom was presented with a range of gifts including an Exmoor Safari and
a caricature by Ian Lloyd who runs the Taunton craft groups. Russell
was presented with the 2 copies of Wisden which were missing from his
collection. He is thrilled as he now has a complete set from 1945 to the
present day.
Russell has been with the charity for nearly 20 years. He has seen the
charity grow from being in just one room to an organisation which
employs 10 staff and has in excess of 200 volunteers. He has been
heavily involved with fundraising and walked the entire length of the
River Parrett not once but twice, in a sponsored challenge, raising
thousands of pounds.
Tom joined Somerset Sight as Volunteers Manager in 2009 and was
made Director when Linda Wilson retired in 2011. He has steered the
charity through an eventful five years with patience, good humour and
perseverance. He was overwhelmed by the number of people who
came to his farewell party and by his gifts. He said that we could not
have given him a better send off.
Tom will remain involved with Somerset Sight as he has generously
agreed to be lead volunteer on the acoustic rifle shooting.
We wish them both well.
[Images: Tom with his caricature and Russell with his books]
Low Vision Exhibition
On Wednesday 18th November we held our Low Vision Exhibition and
AGM at Junction 24 near Bridgwater.
It was a very popular event and over 100 people came to the exhibition
including several who had travelled from Cornwall!
The stall holders were very happy. The representatives from Optelec
said that it was the busiest event they had attended in a year.
We also held our AGM where we welcomed two new trustees; Ian
Pinder has replaced Russell Parsons as treasurer. Ian knows Somerset
Sight well as he was our accountant before he recently retired. We also
welcomed Zdenek Gregor a retired ophthalmic surgeon with 40 years of
experience at Moorfields Eye Hospital.
[Image: Somerset Sight Volunteer Visiting Co-ordinators Sandra Harris
and Claire Packwood]
British Wireless for the Blind Fund
The British Wireless for the Blind Fund (BWBF) provides high quality,
easy to use audio equipment which has been specially designed and
adapted for listeners living with sight loss.
All our radios are made available on free loan to blind and visually
impaired people who meet our criteria. If you don't qualify, our radios are
also available to purchase through BWBF Direct.
BWBF offers a range of sets to meet different needs, from the simple
Duet digital radio to the comprehensive Concerto 2 and the Sonata Plus,
our unique wireless internet audio player with an audible programme
guide.
The units will be delivered and demonstrated in the comfort of your own
home. Please contact your local BWBF agent for eligibility and further
information:
Gloria Williams
01823 366146
gloria@somersetsight.org.uk
Emotional Support Service
Early in 2015 we launched our Emotional Support Service with the
support of Graham Glover who is a fully trained emotional support
worker. Since then we’ve supported many individuals with sight loss, as
well as relatives and carers. We truly believe that this kind of support is
vitally important to people and are very proud Somerset Sight is helping
people in this way.
Would you like to talk to someone about how your sight loss affects your
life? Please do get in touch. Graham is also happy to attend talks
across the county to explain the service he can offer.
For more information please contact Heidi on 01823 366 141 or
Heidi@somersetsight.org.uk
[Image: Graham Glover]
Technology Advice Sessions – Helping you get the most out of
information technology.
The technology advice sessions run at Northfield House, 51 Staplegrove
Road, Taunton on the last Tuesday of the month.
Come along and meet Darren Walker. Anyone with a visual impairment
can book in for a session. The next sessions will be on
 Tuesday 26th January
 Tuesday 23rd February
As usual, bookable one hour sessions will be available between
10.00am and 3.00pm. Please call Heidi Linegar on 01823 366141 or
email heidi@somersetsight.org.uk to book your place.
If you cannot make these dates and times you can book a session with
Heidi at a time convenient to you.
Brain Tumour Support Group
A new brain tumour support group will be opening at Somerset Sight this
year. The group will meet on 3rd Tuesday of the month from 10.30 –
12noon.
The first dates are
 19th January
 16th February
 15th March
The group is to support anyone affected in anyway by a brain tumour
diagnosis. It is a welcoming, friendly, relaxed group, sharing
experiences and information. Refreshments will be provided.
Please contact Amanda Love on 01454 422701 or
amanda@braintumoursupport.co.uk
Gwen and Jan
Yeovil based volunteer Jan has been visiting Gwen, who also lives in
Yeovil, since 2011 and they have become firm friends. Jan, a long
standing volunteer with Somerset Sight, has been a volunteer visitor for
many sight impaired people over the years. Jan says that she has
become friends with each one of them and she finds it very rewarding
and great fun. Gwen says that having a volunteer from Somerset Sight
has been life changing, as she is now able to get out and about.
[Image: Gwen and Jan]
Our Volunteer Visitors are here to help you
Somerset Sight provides a volunteer visiting service to assist sight
impaired people with their day to day life. Each person is carefully
matched with a volunteer who can provide regular companionship, help
with reading or correspondence, trips out and many other things.
If you are sight impaired and feel you would like to benefit from this
service, or you know someone who would, then please get in contact
with us.
Visits are flexible and can be for a couple of hours a week or fortnight or
as frequently as you and your volunteer decide. All our volunteers are
fully trained and police checked.
This service is available to every sight impaired person throughout the
county and can be put into place irrespective of where you live. If you
do not meet the eligibility criteria for the council funded service,
Somerset Sight can still offer you a service but there will be a small
charge. This service is heavily subsidised and is only made possible by
the generosity of our supporters to whom we are most grateful.
Please contact:
Gloria Williams
01823 366145
Gloria@somersetsight.org.uk
Activities
Riding
In the last edition of Insight we told you about our trip to Lower Ford
Equestrian Centre in Stoodleigh in Devon where sight impaired people
were able to learn about horses and spend time riding. For many it was
the first time they had tried riding or been around horses. They
enthused about how wonderful it was to feel the soft muzzles and to
have the freedom of riding in the open countryside. Since then we have
run more trips to this centre and in September seven sight impaired
people attended!
[Image: September riding outing]
Activities Weekend
At the end of August Jo accompanied a group of sight impaired people
to Weymouth to join an adventure weekend with Dorset Blind
Association. The weekend was a huge success and people had the
chance to meet other people and to try new activities like rock climbing,
sailing and archery.
Karen Genge, 39, from Glastonbury said “I thoroughly enjoyed the
weekend. We all really jelled really well. I enjoyed all the activities but
my absolute favourite was sailing.”
[Images: Group shot – Archery]
Groups
Glastonbury Group
We have started a group in Glastonbury which meets at 3pm at Tor
Leisure on the second Thursday of the month to socialise and plan
activities. The group is reaching out to more visually impaired people
and is developing really well thanks to the wonderful support of
community groups in the town. Their first outing was a living history tour
of Glastonbury Abbey. The group had a guided walk exploring the
grounds and learnt about the legends of the abbey. A highlight of the
tour was listening to group member Nicholas de Lange from Street,
singing Gregorian chants similar to those that the monks would have
sang.
The group welcomed Andrew Lee from Compton Dundon who joined the
group for the first time. “The tour exceeded our expectations. It was
especially enhanced by our extremely knowledgeable guide who was so
descriptive. It was almost as if he, or we, had time travelled!”
[Image – The Glastonbury group at the abbey]
Activities in Taunton and Bridgwater
We have people interested in a range of activities including swimming,
walking and running in Taunton and Bridgwater. If you are interested in
joining in or in supporting sight impaired people to access these
activities then please get in touch with Jo Thomas on the contact details
below.
More groups!
We have funding to build more social and activity groups across the
county but for that we need you! If you are sight impaired and/or would
like to help start a group in your local area then please get in touch with
Jo.
Weekend in Weston-super-Mare
On the horizon is a weekend break in Weston-super- Mare with Dorset
Blind Association in February. We will bring you details of how that goes
in May’s edition. If you would like to join a break in the future then
please contact Jo on 01823 366145 or jo@somersetsight.org.uk.
Acoustic Rifle Shooting
We are delighted to tell you that we are able to start an Acoustic Rifle
Club. A group in Milton Keynes have very kindly loaned us an air rifle,
acoustic sight and target.
We have also been given the use of an aisle at the Air Training Corps
shooting range near Shepton Mallet and we can now set up our own
acoustic rifle club! Our outgoing CEO, Tom Winsborough, has
generously taken on the role of lead volunteer for this project.
We are looking to build up this club which will allow visually impaired
people in Somerset to compete in national competitions or enjoy this
activity with friends. Our chief instructor John Lee claims it provides
achievement, escapism, enjoyment and exercise.
If you are interested please contact Jo Thomas on 01823 366145 or
jo@somersetsight.org.uk for further information or you can email Tom on
twinsborough@yahoo.co.uk.
Guitar Lessons at Somerset Sight
Nick Ham has a growing number of people learning the guitar at
Somerset Sight. The lessons are held at our building in Taunton and
Nick very generously offers the lessons free of charge
Nick can also supply the guitar in the first instance. It is a steel stringed
acoustic guitar which Nick finds the most versatile for beginners.
Nick still has space for a few new people. We are also hoping that his
current pupils are practicing hard and will be ready to give a concert very
shortly.
If you would like to learn the guitar please contact Somerset Sight on
01823 333818.
Advice on Energy Bills
Do you struggle with your energy bills?
Is your home cold, damp or draughty?
Do you struggle to control your heating system?
If the answer is yes then the WISH (Warmer Improved Somerset
Homes) project may be able to help. WISH is a Somerset based project
managed by the Centre for Sustainable Energy and offers free and
impartial energy saving advice to enable people stay warm and well in
their homes.
If you would like to talk to someone about your rising energy bills or if
your home is cold, damp or draughty then please call free on 0800
0822234 or email wish@cse.org.uk. For some it may be that a home
visit is necessary to offer the best service.
We are providing this article for information only on behalf The Centre
for Sustainable Energy. Inclusion does not constitute a
recommendation.
Mells Barn Social
The Mells Barn Social has a long history; we have managed to trace it
back to about 1954 although we sadly do not have a record of how it all
began.
Mells Barn is a beautiful old Tythe Barn which has been very well
maintained over the years and has good heating and a first class
kitchen. Our members come from Frome, Shepton Mallet and the
surrounding villages, most are collected by the Mendip Community
Transport mini buses and brought to the barn where they are made
welcome with a hot drink and then they chat for a while.
Some entertainment is provided which can be anything from
professional entertainers to a good old fashioned sing- a-long. This is
followed by tea which consists of another drink, a selection of
sandwiches and a large selection of cakes some of them home made.
We end the afternoon with our monthly raffle which is greeted with much
enthusiasm.
A member of The Frome Talking Newspaper is always present and we
often have a visit from a member of Somerset Sight. It is very nice that
they take an interest in us and keep in touch.
Fundraising News
Car Boot Sale
We are pleased to announce we had a great car boot sale at Yarlington
House in September. The weather could have been kinder as it rained
for the first hour and a half but we still had a queue of eager buyers!
Over £3000 was raised for our wonderful charity and we would like to
thank the staff and volunteers who helped on the day as well as our
patron Count Charles De Salis and his wife Carolyn for hosting this
event and for all their hard work in helping to make it happen.
Rumwell Farm Shop
The team at this wonderful farm shop, situated on the Wellington Road
on the way out of Taunton, are continuing to raise awareness and funds
for Somerset Sight as part of our charity of the year partnership. Coowner Anne Mitchell helped raise awareness of Somerset Sight and
National Eye Health Week in September by taking on a sponsored
challenge to don a pair of Sim Specs (which simulate Glaucoma) for the
day. Anne and Becky Fry, our Development Officer, went on BBC radio
Somerset in the morning to talk about why Anne took on this challenge.
We are thrilled to report that Anne has raised £500 from this challenge.
We were also invited to their lovely Christmas tasting event in
September and their Rumwell by candlelight event in December which
was very well attended. Staff and volunteers sold draw tickets for a
lovely hamper and spoke to people about the range of volunteering
opportunities on offer at Somerset Sight throughout the county.
[Image: Development Officer Becky Fry at Rumwell Farmshop tasting
event]
Libran Ladies
We were thrilled to receive a further donation of £1000 from the Libran
ladies in Wellington. This brings the total received from this group to
£2300 over the last 2 years. Bella Flood, our chair of trustees, attended
the group to thank them and told them all about our plans for the future.
Snowdon Challenge
Early in September Dave Ridgway a sight impaired man from Bridgwater
bravely climbed Snowdon to support sight impaired people in Somerset.
He was supported by his friend, Julian Brandon who was introduced to
Dave by Somerset Sight a few years ago. Dave, who has featured in
Somerset Insight previously, has also completed tandem bicycle
challenges with Julian’s support. Julian and Dave raised £300 which
has been split between the Somerset Sight and the county’s Visually
Impaired Cricket and Bowling teams. Well done Dave!
Skydive!
[Image: From left Zoe Salter, Rob Newton and Shelley Scribbins just
before their jump]
We’d like to thank Zoe Salter, Rob Newton and Shelley Scribbins for
facing the ultimate adrenaline rush and completing a tandem skydive on
3rd October.
Zdenek Gregor’s Marathon Fundraising
Zdenek has recently joined Somerset Sight’s board of trustees. We are
particularly grateful to him as he brings vast experience having recently
retired as consultant ophthalmic surgeon at Moorfields Eye Hospital. In
October he took part in The Clarendon Marathon which follows the
ancient pilgrimage route from Salisbury to Winchester. Zdenek has
taken part in 35 marathons previously however this was his first off road
challenge.
[Image: Zdenek following the marathon]
Collections
In the September edition we reported on a number of successful
collections in Minehead, Yeovil and Taunton. We are pleased to report
that we have had another successful collection in Wells Waitrose and a
further collection in Minehead Morrisons. Overall nearly £2500 has been
raised from supermarket collections this year and we are very grateful to
our wonderful fundraising volunteers who make this happen.
We are extremely reliant on fundraising and donations. Supermarket
collections can be very effective however we cannot do them without
someone local to co-ordinate the volunteer collectors and ensure the
money is safely banked or bought to Somerset Sight’s offices in
Taunton. If you feel like you would be able to co-ordinate a collection at
your local supermarket or high street we would be thrilled to hear from
you! Challenge events are also a great way to raise money and can be
great fun too! Please contact our Development Officer, Becky Fry, on
01823 366147 or becky@somersetsight.org.uk if you think you can help
to fundraise in anyway.
In Memoriam
In the last few months we have received donations in memory of Mr M
Hudson, Alice Langdon, Peter Good and Mr D Talbot. We are very
grateful to be remembered at such a difficult time and offer our
condolences to everyone who has lost family and friends.
Legacies
Legacy income is of huge importance to the future of Somerset Sight.
We cannot express how grateful we are to people who leave us a gift in
their Will. Since our last magazine we have gratefully received legacies
from the estates of Dorothy May Sydenham and Moyra Pollard. If you
would like to leave Somerset Sight a legacy to ensure we can continue
to support people with sight loss across Somerset then please contact
Becky on 01823 366147 or becky@somersetsight.org.uk who will be
happy to help you.
Resource Centre – Providing state of the art equipment and expert
advice to help you.
I’m not sure how January 2016 has arrived so quickly however Happy
New Year to you! I hope by now you have your large print diary and/or
calendar if not please get in touch.
As each year goes by the run up to Christmas seems to get busier which
is great! We really want as many visually impaired people across
Somerset as possible to hear about our services and activities so please
spread the word.
Did you know the centre carries a great range of accessible Information
Technology products? For example we have a Synapptic Tablet which
is easy to use and affordable!
The Titanium Tablet 7”






Features easy to use menus
Colours, Magnification and Voice
Voice Recognition as standard
Make free Skype audio and video calls
The tablet is the size of an average book but much thinner
Light and easy to hold with one hand!
£340 – training can be provided
For more advanced users we also have the Apple iPad to demonstrate
with speech and magnification.
You may not be aware but we also have some eBook readers at the
Resource centre!
The Kindle and the Kobo are great for sight impaired people to read font
in larger print. If you’d like to have a demonstration of these or even
borrow one for a week, to try at home, please do get in touch and we
can discuss this.
We also stock large print keyboards, keyboard stickers, bumpons for
marking keys on the keyboard and lots more!
Heidi Linegar
Resource and Rehabilitation Centre Manager
01823 366141
Heidi@somersetsight.org.uk
Volunteer Support Meetings
In October, volunteer visitors at the Taunton and Yeovil Volunteer
Support Meetings enjoyed a humorous and compassionate talk from
Simon Frackiewicz – an optometrist from Chard, and the son of one of
our volunteer visitors.
Simon spoke about the work he does in Africa for the Akamba Aid Fund
and all the volunteers were interested to hear about the difference in the
types of eye conditions common in Europe compared to Africa.
He showed slides of the people from the area where he worked, wearing
donated spectacles and smiling from ear to ear!
We also welcomed Zdenek Gregor to our volunteer support meetings in
West Somerset, Mendip and Bridgwater.
Zdenek has recently joined Somerset Sight as a volunteer visitor and a
trustee. He spoke both inspiringly and at times humorously to volunteer
visitors about various common eye conditions and their treatment.
Zdenek is a recently retired eye surgeon with 40 years’ experience of
surgery at Moorfields Eye Hospital in London, we are thrilled to have him
on board at Somerset Sight.
Meet Phillip Millington
Phil Millington is almost synonymous with Somerset Sight. He first
became involved with Somerset Sight as a service use and can
remember when the charity rented a small space in Belvedere Road in
Taunton, when there was just one room. When Somerset Sight moved
to Canon Street in Taunton Phil joined the hand bells group.
Phil later became a volunteer after he met Linda Wilson, the Assistant
Director at the time, at a Christmas Bazaar. Once we moved to our
permanent home at Northfield House on Staplegrove Road in Taunton
he helped on reception one morning a week. He very soon started
doing far more for the charity including supporting the fundraiser at the
time, Gail Bishop. He helped to manage all the donations which were
made by standing order. Phil was then in the office five days a week.
He now helps out with a range of roles at Northfield House including
reception, hospitality and is learning how to advise people on equipment
in the Resource Centre. Phil also helps out with charity collections and
fundraising events all over the county.
Phil says he sees Somerset Sight as a family, “Everyone is very friendly
and kind. Northfield House doesn’t feel like an office at all. Somerset
Sight has given me the opportunity to fulfil many of my dreams so I like
volunteering as it is my way of giving something back”.
Thanks to our wonderful volunteers
We’d like to say a very warm thank-you to all our volunteers for
everything that you do for us. You truly are the life blood of our charity
and we could not support people with sight loss in Somerset without you.
Advertising feature from Pamtrad
www.pamtrad.co.uk
0115 981 6636
TV-Eye
Uses any television as a screen
The TV-Eye folds up discretely when not in use.
TV-Eye is the ideal easy-to-use magnifier for anyone who is
restricted for space. It sits next to a television and uses the
screen as the display. TV-Eye magnifies anything put under the
camera, so reading letters, newspapers, doing a crossword or
cutting your finger nails is much easier to do. TV-Eye magnifies
up to 12 times and displays in full colour, black on white and
white on black. It has a built-in dimmable lamp and is
magnetically attached to its stand. TV-Eye switches
automatically between a TV program and the magnifier,
eliminating the need to use the remote control. Price £300
Mercury
Magnification/ text-to-speech reader
Using touch-screen tablet technology Mercury is available with
10-inch and 7-inch screens. Magnification 1 to 40 times with
full colour and different coloured foreground and background
colours. The text-to-speech is very clever and accurate and
reads out in clear English male and female voices. It sorts out
columns and blocks of text putting them in the right order.
Mercury folds up neatly into its felt case for easy transportation.
Price: 7-inch £995, 10-inch £1275
Mercury is NEW. It is fast and clear combining magnification
and text-to-speech all in one unit.
iZoom
Computer magnification
& speech access
iZoom is very clever computer access software for people with
visual difficulties. It works on all Windows platforms XP to
Windows 10 and doesn’t load anything onto the computer. Plug
iZoom into any USB port and it works.
No keys to press and no icons to click on. Get full access to the
internet, emails and programs on your computer without having
to remember lots of different key operations. Great for people
who want to use more than one computer.
Updates are free with free remote support. Price £300
THE END