NewsletterApril 2007

Oxfordshire Association for the Blind

OABOABOAB

“Allow me to treat you to lunch!” Thatwas the generous reception I receivedon my first day as the new Director ofOAB, from my predecessor , TimStreatfeild, who has been inducting me.What with that and the warm welcomefrom the team, it got me off to a flyingstart.

Of course, it was a working lunch andwe were joined by our Chairman, AdrianHill, for a briefing about progress. Andwhat progress there has been. I’ve beenimmediately impressed by thededication and commitment of thetrustees, st aff and volunteers of theAssociation. I can see that it’ s not beenan easy road to where we are now , buteveryone has ret ained their enthusiasmand I’m sure that we have the firmfoundations to build upon the excellentwork that has been done previously . Iwould also like to thank all of you whosegenerous donations have helped theAssociation to achieve so much.

So where have you come from, Colin?, Ihear you ask. My previous role was asCommunity Access Service Managerwith the Surrey Association for V isualImpairment. I was responsible for arange of services to visually imp aired

Hello from the new DirectorColin Cure

people in Surrey , and I hope to bring myexperience here to enhance ourdevelopment. I originally trained as aRehabilit ation W orker for People withVisual Imp airment and have worked inthe public and charit able sectors, andin residential and community services.I also have a Certificate in Educationfrom Brookes University , here in Oxford.I find that quite amusing as I haveactually never been to Brookes! In fact,they accredited the course that I did overat Croydon College in London.

I’m hoping to get out and meet as manygroup s, members and supporters as Ican over the next few months. I knowhow import ant it is to listen to people’ sideas for how we can move forward. Infact, we’re already discussing plans fora survey of the circumst ances, needsand interest s of visually imp aired peoplein Oxfordshire.

For the present, I’d just like to thank allof you who have already made me sowelcome here at OAB. I’m lookingforward to working with you for thebenefit of visually imp aired people inOxfordshire.

With good wishes, Colin Cure. nnn nnn nnn nnn nnn

Opening hours 9-5pm weekdays (24 hour message service)Chairman Adrian Hill Vice-chairman Nigel Parsons Treasurer Chris Brand

Director Colin Cure Administrator Teresa Bennett Accounts Michael Ling Senior Fundraiser, Libby Smith

Home support officer Marian Small Community Fundraiser Andrew MorleyWelfare Group Officer Mary Gregory Information worker David Thomp son

Volunteer Manager Liz Hunter (Tuesday and Thursday)

OAB’s access to e-mail and the worldwide web is generously sponsored byAltohiway Ltd. of Newbury, West Berkshire. Contact Altohiway on:

Tel. 01635 573300 e-mail info@altohiway.com Web site: www.altohiway.com nnn

Bradbury Lodge, Gordon W oodward W ay, Rivermead Park,Abingdon Road, Oxford, OX1 4XL.

Telephone 01865 725595 lllll Fax 01865 725596 lllllE-mail : vision@oxeyes.org.uk lllll Web site www .oxeyes.org.uk lllll

Registered Charity 273559

Your Newsletter is written, compiled and edited by David Thompson

The Oxfordshire Association for the Blind

Some useful information

KKKKKeeeeeeeeeeping itping itping itping itping it short and sharpTWO abbreviations appear in every newsletter . OAB is our pet name forThe Oxfordshire Association for the Blind and VIP stands for visuallyimpaired person and its other meaning is just as relevant. nnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

Every Thursday

“Oxpot s” Pottery Class for V isuallyImpaired People meets duringschool term time, at W oodstockbetween 1.30 pm and 4.00pm.Contact Margaret Dawes on 01865558131.nnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

V I B N OThis social group for young,visually impaired people meets onthe first T uesday of the month.Contact Nicola and KevinPamphilon 01869 331778. nnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

In order to give you the best possibleservice, we need to know you arecoming to see us! Then we canensure that the right person is hereto give you the best possible help.So please ring us on 01865 725595and make an appointment!

By specialappointment..

.....its you!

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You may well have heard latelyabout new drugs that arerevolutionizing the treatment ofvision loss. Now brace yourself asthis story has more twist s than themaze at Hampton Court!

Avastin is a drug manufactured bya comp any called Genutech, anddistributed in the UK by Roche. Ithink it was originally developed totreat cancer of the bowel, howeverOpthalmologist s have discoveredthat it is very effective in treating“W et” Macular Degeneration, (M.D.)Genutech, seeing that there waspotential in this market, “developeda new drug” called Lucentisspecifically to treat “W et MacularDegeneration”. Now , before I carryon I must emphasise that bothAvastin and Lucentis are only reallyeffective in the early st ages of thecondition.

Although theoretically more suitedto work in the environment of theeye than Avastin. In practise thereis no appreciable difference in effectbetween Avastin and it s “refined”relative Lucentis. However thereis a marked difference in the cost topatient s, with Lucentis costing overa thousand pounds per dose andAvastin in the region of £300 per

A vast improvement in treatment forWet Macular Disease denied to poor

dose. (Prices vary according towhere you are treated and whatdosage is required.) Now here is thecritical factor , although Lucentis isbeing appraised by the NationalInstitute for Clinical Excellence,NICE, the cheaper alternative,Avastin will not be, as themanufacturer is not seeking alicence for it as a treatment for W etMD in the UK saying that it has notbeen developed and tested for suchusage. Some Primary Care T rust sacross the country are fundingLucentis but at the moment it is abit of a post al lottery . If a patienthas the funds both Lucentis andAvastin are available privately ,however many p atient s who couldbenefit are unable to do so becauseof the cost. At the end of the daythe cost of provision on the NHS isa very large factor in the decision ofNICE and it is very unfortunate thatGenutech feel unable to test andlicence Avastin in the UK, (asrequested by the Health Secret aryPatricia Hewitt) which would makeit much more likely to be used bythe NHS. We will let you know assoon as we have more information.Meanwhile if you would like to t alkto someone about this, or any othermatter call David on 01865 725595.

A personal observation by David Thomp son

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Professional V ision Services islocated in Hitchin, Hert fordshire.They sell & manufacture low visionaids. On the demonstration day theywill have on display , black & white,colour and split screen electronicmagnifiers. (Which are commonlyreferred to as CCTV’ s). They have awide range in manual and autofocusmodels. They have a new range ofport ables, which go through a laptopand st and-alone models. They alsohave a port able CCTV with a 7"screen, allowing you to look at a bustimet able and also read a book as ithas a dist ance and close up lens. Itwill magnify from 2 to 25 times andtake a picture, comes in colour andblack and white. This machine reallyis breakthrough technology . Theirlatest addition is Flat Screen CCTVport able and light with Autofocus asstandard.

Oxfordshire Association for the Blind members are invited toattend a free exhibition on May 3rd 2007 from 10.00am to3.30pmat the Oxford Centre, 333 Banbury Road, Oxford,demonstrating what equipment and technology has to offervisually impaired people irrespective of age or previousexperience.

OAB Information T echnologyDemonstration Day

Here the exhibiting firms describe their services:

DolphinComputer Access

ProfessionalVision Services

nnn nnn nnn nnn nnn

Dolphin develop sof tware whichenables people with a visualimpairment to use computers easily . This sof tware is ideal for the homeor office and popular with libraries,schools and universities. Whateveryour level of sight, spending budgetor computer interest our screenenlargers, screen readers and Brailletranslators will help you get themost from your PC. DolphinSof tware can be inst alled ondesktop s, laptop s and networks. Easy to use, with free technicalsupport and needing no specialequipment it can work with industrystandard W indows sof tware andhardware. You can choose from acombination of magnification,speech & Braille: see the screen inlarge print, listen to computerspeech and touch Braille at yourfingertip s. nnn nnn nnn nnn nnn

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Queen Alexandra College, QAC,islocated in a quiet suburb ofBirmingham, where student s have theopportunity to gain the skills andexperience that will enable them tofulfil their individual potential.

Student s aged 16 to 63 can join theCollege for a short period of workpreparation, social rehabilit ation andvocational t asters. Alternatively , theycan t ake a longer , individualisedprogramme of training, leading to avocational qualification. A wide rangeof NVQs are available in service andtechnical skill areas with a p articularfocus on Information andCommunication T echnology .QAC is the UK agent for RevolutionCarbon Fibre Canes. These whitecanes are made in California and soldthroughout the UK. Advant ageGraphite canes are designed toachieve optimum blalance for ease ofuse and comfort. They are highlyreflective, light and flexible but rigidat the same time to last longer thanaluminium canes.QAC is a national supplier of theaward winning UltraCane, anelectronic mobility aid, which is usedin place of other mobility aids. TheUltraCane uses ultrasonic sound tofind out where obst acles are aheadand at head height. It convert s thisinformation into vibrating buttons inthe handle which indicate where anobject may be and how far away theobst acle lies. nnn nnn nnn nnn nnn

QueenAlexandra College

We supply and support Index Brailleprinters and Duxbury BrailleTranslation sof tware enabling you toproduce and correct, high qualityBraille.We supply and support Index Brailleprinters and Duxbury BrailleTranslation sof tware enabling you toproduce, correct, high quality Braille.We also supply Jaws Screen Readerand ZoomT ext screen enlargement,both leading sof tware in their field.If you want to read print document swithout needing to use a PC, we havethe Port set Reader , a stand-alonescanner that will read your printedinformation back to you.

Techno-vision

Computer RoomServices

Computer Room Services supply awide range of equipment, sof twareand services, including ComputerGames, Hardware Peripherals, mobilephones, note t akers/PDAs Brailledisplays, Organiser sof tware,Computer tutorials, General computersof tware, Audio Sof tware, Audiohardware (accessible Radios etc), andComputer Screen reading sof tware.

nnn nnn nnn nnn nnn

If you require furtherinformation please call OABon 01865 725595 and we willbe glad to help.

Saturday April 28

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I would also, if I may, like to ‘flag up’a few Flag Days we have confirmed.As I write I am still awaitingconfirmation on some dates forstreet collections which I haveapplied to run. By the time you havethis newsletter in your hands orcassette player we will already haveheld flag days at Bicester towncentre and Templars Squareshopping centre in Cowley.Confirmed dates I’d like you to makea note of are:

Banbury Crossruns London

Marathon

I am once again looking for runnersto participate in the British 10KLondon run which this year takesplace on Sunday July 1 2007. I canhardly believe it’s been a year sincethe previous run. If you areinterested in taking part please callme, ASAP!

On the theme of run

Wendy Cross, from Banbury will betaking part in the London Marathonand hopes to raise lots of funds forOAB. She is 47 years old and liveswith her partner Martyn, who is herbiggest supporter and attends all herraces. Wendy started runningregularly around 5 years ago to getfit for a skiing holiday and has notstopped since.A member of the Cherwell RunnersClub, Wendy has made many friendsand runs with the club every week.She ran her first marathon last year– The New Forest. For the LondonMarathon Wendy has her owndedicated website: http://www.justgiving.com/wendycross;please visit her site and you cansponsor her online. Justgiving is asecure way to donate on the internet.Alternatively you can senddonations to OAB marked assponsorship for Wendy’s marathoneffort.

Down on the streetCollection dates

for your diary

As ever I appeal for more intrepidsouls to come and join our smallband of committed regularvolunteers – we are a friendly bunchso pop down to a collection day andmeet us!

Take care, and until next time,Goodbye

Abingdon Centre

Wednesday July 18

Oxford City

Saturday May 12

Witney

Saturday May 5

Chipping Norton

On the trot

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A partially sighted OAB client hastaken up the challenge of trekkingthrough ‘deepest darkest’ Peru toraise money for OAB! From April21st to May 1st this year, 71-year oldIrene Priestly will embark on anexpedition in Peru and the Land ofthe Incas. Irene will visit the ancientInca capital of Cuzco on her trek, andshe will explore the lost city ofMachu Picchu among other amazingplaces.

Irene says: “I read about Laila Allenthe 78-year old lady who did theparachute jump for OAB last yearand it really inspired me to dosomething extraordinary. I retiredfrom being a counsellor for Relateafter 32 years of service atChristmas, and I was ready for a newchallenge!”

Irene was registered partially sightedwith Macular Dystrophy in the 1970s,and first became aware of OAB whenshe was referred to us from the EyeHospital. She has been a client fornearly thirty years now.

It is the first time that Irene has doneanything like this, and she hopes heradventure will inspire other peoplewith poor vision to have a go!You can sponsor Irene’s epic trip anddonate to OAB; Irene has set up aspecial account. Cheques can bemade payable to: ‘I Priestly PeruTrek’.

If you, or someone you know wouldlike to take part in an overseas event,Such as a Peru trek similar toIrene’s, (there are still spacesavailable on a Peru Trek that takesplace from the 14th to the 23rd ofSeptember 2007).

Call Andy on 01865 725595 or visitthe OAB website:www.oxeyes.org.ukgo to the ‘fundraising’ section. Thereyou will find a link to ‘SkylineChallenges’, a list of the events onoffer and all the information youneed to get going on a range ofexciting experiences of a lifetime toenjoy while raising money for yourown local association.The next newsletter will have newson Irene’s trip and we will be hearingall about it from the lady herself!

Irene Priestly

Our star trekkerhopes to spot the Incas

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Our mobile phone appeal has startedwell but we are still on the lookoutfor more. So please ask friends andfamily for any unwanted mobilephones, send them to us and we willbe able get them recycled and raise,much needed funds! We are alsonow collecting used toner cartridgesfor printers. We are looking for asmany as we can get – they will berecycled instead of going into landfilland could potentially generate asmuch as £4 per cartridge for OAB.So please ask friends, family andwork associates to give us their oldmobile phones and printercartridges.

OAB is going green!We can re-cycle

so read on J.R. Hospital Pharmacist, DianeEvans, has just the prescription forOAB: She has kindly offered to runin the “Town and Gown”, 10Kilometre race, on Sunday 20 May,in aid of our funds. That’s just thesort of medicine that we need! Ifanyone would like to sponsor Diane,please contact our CommunityFundraiser, Andrew Morley on01865 725575. For anyone watchingthe race, Diane will be wearing oneof our special OAB T-shirts.Alternatively, if you want to raceagainst Diane, we suggest that youget into training right away. We’resure that we couldn’t catch her! Sheis certainly one chemist that coulddispense with speed!

Pharma-super-cool

April 17 Visit to the Lord Mayors Parlour.

May 8 Talk by Jean Collard. Names

June 12 Outing and tea at the Sisters of the Assumption Convent in Headington

July 10 Talk by Daphne Dorman. Visit to New Zealand.

August No meeting this month.

Vision Impaired Visually ActiveVIVA is a group for visually impaired people with active minds. Itmeets on the second Tuesday of each month at 2.00pm in the NorthOxford Associat ion, Community Centre, Diamond Place,Summertown, Oxford.

Here is what we have lined up for the next few months

You will get a friendly welcome at VIVA and keep your mind active!For further details ring Ron Sears on 01865 553063.

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As you may know, blister tactilepaving at pedestrian crossing pointsidentifies safe road crossinglocations. The buff coloured blisterpaving crossings indicates ‘this isthe safest place to cross locally’. Iexpect you know many of these onyour local routes.

Traffic light controlled pedestriancrossings are indicated by red blisterpaving. Their message to thepedestrian is ‘This is the safest placeto cross locally, please push the onthe button box and and wait for apedestrian crossing phase’.

Where two or more controlledpedestrian crossings are close toeach other, highways engineers areunable to use audible bleepersignals in support of the visual‘green man’ signal, (which indicateswhen it is safe to cross the road).However, all crossings inOxfordshire where a bleeper cannotbe used have a tactile (rotating) conefitted. These are about the size andshape of a thimble and located onthe underside of controlled crossing(push button) boxes. Once you havepressed the button to call thepedestrian phase, just slide yourhand to the underneath of the pushbutton box where you will find the

Traffic light controlled crossingsin Oxfordshire.

cone. Hold it lightly. When the traffichas stopped, and the pedestriancrossing phase has begun, the conewill rotate gently for the same periodthat a bleeper would have operatedand whilst the green man phaselasts. Every crossing installed sinceApril 2001 has tactile cones fittedeven where bleepers are in use.Older sites generally have tactilecones fitted as part of the CountyCouncil’s rolling programme ofrefurbishment.

It will be some years before all sitesoffer all features, due primarily thecost of refurbishment and thenumber of updates necessary. Thereis however some flexibility inprovision. Any individual who hasdifficulty making regular use of aparticular controlled crossing whichhas bleepers but no tactile device isinvited to contact engineers and askfor their crossing to be improved. Wewill do our best to have these sitesupdated quickly.

To discuss this or to make otherenquiries about using traffic lightcontrolled crossings, please contactTim Atkinson, 01865 815096email:tim.atkinson@oxfordshire.gov.ukor Deborah Whelan 01865 815591,email: deborah.whelan@oxfordshire.gov.uk

This very interesting article comes fromTim Atkinsonand Deborah Whelan at Oxfordshire County Council

Dreaming Spires Ten-pin bowlingTeam news from Kevin Pamphilon

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Are you interested in joining visuallyimpaired people from theOxfordshire area to play Ten-pinbowling? We meet at the Bowl Plexin Oxford and play other visuallyimpaired teams from around Britain.

We are currently playing in the winterleague and we have two games leftand each one is a big one for theteam as we are currently in 3rd placeand the top 3 teams go to Sheffieldin May, which means an excitingfinale to the winter season!

After all this fun we will be startingthe Summer league in June!

Why not come along and try out thesport? It is not very strenuous andthere is no need for any training orto buy any equipment to play. Weare a friendly group of people and awarm welcome will be given to youfrom the team.

For more information about playingTen-pin bowling and to receive afixture list for the club please canyou contact Kevin Pamphilon clubcaptain, E-mail: kp16302@aol.comPhone 01869331778.

Visually Impaired But Not OldVIBNO is a social group for

people 18–50 in Oxfordshirewrites Nicola Pamphilon

We meet once a month on the firstTuesday of the month alternatingbetween meeting at a pub and thensomething completely differentWe are always looking for newmembers so if you are a VIP agedbetween 18 and 50 and want to havefun with people like you, come andjoin us. Partners, friends and familyare welcome to all events.

Since the last newsletter we haveenjoyed meeting up for a chat and adrink at the Fox and Hounds Puband we enjoyed a Chinese buffet at

the Dancing Dragon. We have beento see The Phantom of the Opera,which was excellent. It was anaudio described performance andincluded a touch tour before theshow on the stage where we got tofeel props and costumes.Future meetings areWed 2nd May: Skittles at Alvescot4th June: Fox and Hounds Pub3rd July: Aunt Sally7th August: Fox and Hounds PubFor more information contactNicola Pamphilon 01869 331778 ore-mail flashnp@aol.com

A dream flight over Oxford City and Blenheim Palaceis just one of a host of other wonderful prizes

Win an OAB sight seeing“flight of fancy”

Fantastic prize raffle to be drawn 21st July 2007Tickets £1 each, Call OAB on 01865 725595 or visit

Bradbury Lodge to get yours before they are all gone!

OAB has been busy beavering awaycollecting prizes for our best-everraffle! The winning ticket is to bedrawn on July 21 2007 at theBenjafield’s Race Day taking placeat Cornbury Park.

The Race Day is a spectacular eventrun by Benjafield’s Racing Club, andthe cars involved are many andvaried. They range from a 24 litre“W” twelve cylinder Napier Bentleythrough to cars dating from the mid1970s. Other makes enteringinclude Bugatti, Vauxhall, Lagonda,Riley, Aston Martin, Healey andLotus among others, so even themost experienced car spottershould be catered for!

The raffle will be drawn during theday and the fabulous first prize is aflight over Oxford City and BlenheimPalace, courtesy of Air Med, theaviation company based atKidlington Airport, for the winnerand three friends.

You don’t have to attend the RaceDay as winners who are not thereon the day will be notified bytelephone!

Another top prize on offer is anexclusive dinner for four includingtwo bottles of wine at the Tite InnChadlington and other prizesinclude:

· A reclining chair for thegarden and £10 voucher forBurford Garden Centre

· An Aromatherapy DeepTissue Massage

· A luxury food hamper· A collection of wine and

spirits· An item up to the value of £50

from the exclusive Porcupineoutlet in Chipping Norton

For more information pleasecontact Andy on 01865 725595 oremail: fundraising@oxeyes.org.uk.

majesty of Handel’s CoronationAnthems, and the energyShostakovich’s Festive Overture,there will also be a specialcommission,”The Serpent God” byOxford composer Roger Teichmann.

Tickets cost £14 (including wine orsoft drink) and are available fromOxfordshire Association for theBlind, the John Radcliffe Hospital,League of Friends, located in thenew West Wing, Churchill HospitalLeague of Friends, the OxfordPlayhouse Box Office, BeaumontStreet, Oxford,in person, (Monday-Saturday 10 am – 6 pm), by phone01865 305305 or online at thew e b s i t e :w w w. o x f o r dp l a y h o u s e . c o m /TicketsOxford/Booking.asp andfrom Blackwell’s Medical Bookshopin the John Radcliffe Hospital.The funds raised will go to helpsupport local medical charities andOxfordshire Association for theBlind.

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Do you know your Handelfrom your Shostakovich?

Well as long as you enjoy goodmusic, it doesn’t matter!As you may know Oxford’s famousRadcliffe Infirmary, where penicillinwas discovered and formerly homeof one of the leading Eye Hospitalsin the country, was closed down justbefore Christmas 2006 and theservices that this important hospitalprovided were transferred to theJohn Radcliffe Hospital inHeadington, Oxford.

To celebrate the significance of boththe history and the 237 years serviceto city and county by the RadcliffeInfirmary a concert will be held onthe 21st April 2007 at 7.30pm in theTown Hall, Oxford.

This is an occasion not to be missedby music lovers as the performancesby Radcliffe Orchestra, Headingtonsingers and Oxford CollutoriumChoir will include an excitingprogramme of orchestral and choralworks. The audience will enjoy the

Since the last newsletter Oxfordshire Associationfor the Blind has received donations in memory of

Mrs Christine Johnson,Mr C. W. Mannerings,

Mr Robert Young,Doris Kershaw,

Helen West,Mrs S. Castle,

Mr James Blundell,C. R. Miles,I. Redman,P. D. Jones,Ivy Barnes,

writes Team Captain Kevin Pamphilon

On 18 December 2006 the OABSight Advisory Desk at the RadcliffeInfirmary was temporarily closed,writes Judith Wood (OAB SightAdvisor and Counsellor).And the temporary closing has beena bit more permanent than I wouldhave liked! Unfortunately, The SightAdvisory Desk area is as yetincomplete as we are still awaitingproper storage facilities for ourgoods and chattels. However fearnot, there is light at the end of thetunnel. The powers that be are onthe case and it will not be very longbefore I am suitable ensconsed.Meanwhile, I will be based atBradbury Lodge, OAB’s MainHeadquarters, phone number 01865725595. I will continue assisting thestaff and I will be available also inmy counselling role. So please feelfree to contact me at any time evenif it’s just for a chat, a cup of tea andmaybe a biscuit, but don’t expect achocolate one as David usuallyscoffs them all!

A moving piecefrom Judith Wood

If you find spooning sugar inyour tea or coffee difficult,why not try using sugarcubes?

Tomo’s top tip

Shop onlineand support OAB

Here at OAB we try to keep up withall the latest trends. This includesboosting our fundraising potentialvia the internet.

If anyone you know has a birthdaycoming up, or you simply want totreat yourself, you can support OABwhile you buy. Simply make yourpurchases through the www.buy.at/OAB website and Oxfordshire Asso-ciation for the Blind will receive adonation at no extra cost to you.

The website www.buy.at/OAB is agateway to an online shopping cen-tre. Most of the high Street storesand some specialist stores can befound there. There are over 80 re-tailers involved, including manywell-known brands such as: Ama-zon, Virgin, Hertz, Comet, Teleflorist,John Lewis, DVD.co.uk, Marks &Spencer and other big names. Allyou have to do is put www.buy.at/OAB into your web browser and youcan start shopping right away.

Every time you make a purchase theonline stores donate a percentageof their marketing budget to us soyou don’t have to pay anything ex-tra and they do all the hard work foryou.It is a painless new way to supportyour favourite local charity. Pleasetell your friends about it and happyshopping!

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You may think that common orgarden stamps are valuelessand while most of them are notworth very much on their ownwhen added up, they add up! Forexample, just one black, bin linerbag full is worth about £30 to us!Whether they are used stampson a section of envelope; an

mm m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m

mmmmmmmmm

mmmmmmmmm

YYYYYour stamps helping usour stamps helping usour stamps helping usour stamps helping usour stamps helping usmm m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m m

unwanted collection of mintfirst day covers or vintagestamps in albums (or even allthree), we can put them to gooduse. So send us yourunwanted stamps, go greenand get into philatelicrecycling!.

The courses for people who havemacular disease themselves, whoare good at supporting andencouraging others to learn,possibly from an educationalbackground - but this is notessential.

Participants of this course must bewilling to pass their newly acquiredknowledge on to others.Don’t worry if you know little ornothing about Eccentric Viewing,Our team will ensure that you aremaking the best use of your visionas well as teaching the skills that you

Do you want to learn how to teachothers the basics of Eccentric Reading?

will need to work with others.

The four dates and locations for thisyear are:• 24th to 26th July in Birmingham• 4th to 6th September in Gateshead• 16th to 18th October in Warrington• 13th to 15th November inMaidstone

The course takes place over two anda half days. Places are limited soplease let Amanda Reeves know ifyou are interested as soon aspossible. Telephone her on 01264350551.

Although not run by OAB I felt that this item from the MacularDisease Society, MDS, may be of interest to many of ourclients. These course are for MDS members and have beendeveloped in order to train individuals to subsequently teachthe basics of Eccentric Viewing skills to others

Love music?Got e-mail?Get TunA

TunA the Day is a new onlinecommunity for people who arepassionate about music.TunA the Day is about allowingpeople access to fresh sounds,whether they were createdyesterday or in 1973, and aboutencouraging them to express theirpassion and knowledge for musicwith other people.

The music could be be rock, pop,soul, jazz, folk, world, countryvirtually anything goes. It may benew to your ears or it could be anold favourite.

The site is fully accessible,it’s FREEto join and we promise no spam andno pop ups. Go towww.tunatheday.com to register

Are you anOAB member?A great way to show your supportfor us is to join our membershipscheme. The more members wehave, stronger our voice in thecounty and being a membermeans that you have a vote at theAnnual General Meeting! On page19 you will find a membershipform or call us on 01865 725595for more information.

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Oxford Carers Centre,174a Cowley Road,Oxford,OX4 1UE.

01865 205192Fax 01865 242569

email info@carerscentre.co.uk

Residents of Oxford who have adisability or live with a person whohas a disability could qualify for a“disabled facilities grant” towardsthe cost of making their home moreaccessible. This means making iteasier to move around your home,putting in new, or improving existingfacilities. For example, wideningdoors and installing ramps and orsupport railings, providing orimproving access to rooms andfacilities, such as installing a stairliftor a downstairs bathroom,improving or installing a heatingsystem that is suitable to yourneeds, adapting the lighting systemto make it easier to use and getaround and to make it easier for acarer to look after the person wholives there. For more informationcontact John Exley on 01865252281.

Help adaptingyour home

If you are a carer living or workingin Oxford the Oxford Carers centreis here to help our contact details are

We care aboutcarers

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There are technological andmedical advances just about everyweek as we push back theboundaries of what is possible,writes David Thompson. This alsoapplies when treating blindness asdemonstrated by so-called bioniceye implants. Potentially suchdevices could help restore the sightof millions of blind people. Forexample, the Argus II system usesa spectacle-mounted camera tofeed visual information, in the formof tiny pulses to electrodes that“jump-start” the eye. Patients whotested early versions of the retinalimplant were able to see light,shapes and movement. Withoutwishing to put too much of adampener on people’s hopes I mustemphasise that these implants are,as they stand at the time of writing,not appropriate for the majority ofblind and visually impaired people.However, if such devices aredeveloped to provide higherresolution and a wider field of view,they may, potentially provide asolution for greater numbers ofblind people in years to come.

Bionic eyeon the future

A 77-year-old man who lost his eyeafter developing a rare cancer hasbeen given an acrylic replica whichfits onto his glasses. Eric Saffin wasnot able to have a glass eye fittedbecause surgeons had to rebuild hisface.

“It was so realistic that when I sawit on the doctor’s bench I picked itout straight away and said ‘that’s myeye’”, the grandfather-of-three said.

It was created by prosthetics expertsat London’s Moorfields Eye Hospital.

“When I had it fitted last month Inoticed the effect it hadstraightaway,” Mr Saffin said.“People on the train home were notlooking at me anymore. They starewhen you have a disfigurement, butnow I’ve got two eyes again anddon’t stand out.”

His wife, Sonja, 77, andgrandchildren have been delightedto see him looking like his old selfagain and Mr Saffin has alreadystarted using his eye as a new partytrick. “When someone’s beentalking to me for about 10 minutes Isuddenly take my glasses off - andit stops them dead,” he said.

The work of the OxfordshireAssociation for the Blind isassisted by funds from the Vale ofthe White Horse and SouthOxfordshire District councils.

Just as there are improvements intreatments for medical conditions,there are also constantlydevelopments in prosthetics.

Man’s joy atnew appearance

18

We have a lot of equipment ondisplay at Bradbury Lodge that couldreally make daily living easier. Forexample, liquid level indicators thatyou put on the rim of you cup or mugand it will bleep when you havenearly filled them. Incidentally thereis a new version out designed forpeople who have dual sensoryimpairment (which is vision andhearing loss), this sensor is colouredred to differentiate it from otherversions for those with residualvision. Anyway, as well as making anoise when the cup is nearly full itvibrates to give a tactile signal toyou.We have talking kitchen scales, veryhandy when preparing that specialbirthday cake. Then when you haveeaten the cake there are also talkingbathroom scales, that can give youyour weight in pounds, stones ornewfangled kilograms. You canchange the volume of the voice onthese so that the rest of thehousehold cannot monitor thosepersonal, little fluctuations in weightassociated with cake disposal. Wealso have a demonstration talkingmicrowave that has to be seen to bebelieved.We also have a couple of very gooddaylight lamps on display which canhelp with task lighting, at mealtimes,with reading, or serve as bedsidelamps.

As well as the daily living equipmentwe also have some electronicmagnifiers commonly known asCCTVs that you could come andhave a look at. These devices usea little camera to project an imageonto a screen. This image can bemagnified making it much easier toread text, fill forms in and evencomplete crosswords and drawpictures! The Clearview Plus hasproved very popular since we havehad it, with many clients being soimpressed that they have broughtone of their own.For those of you who are interestedin computers (PCs)we have anumber of solutions, we can showyou how to make your PC easier touse. We can demonstrate ComputerPrograms that can magnify thescreen, that can make the computertalk, even programs that can do both!For the complete novice there is aprogram that does most of the hardwork for you.Please don’t hesitate to give us a callto arrange an appointment to comeand have a look at what we have. Iftravel is difficult and you wish topurchase daily living equipment wecan send it out to you.Don’t forget that we are yourassociation, if you have a problemlet us know, call us on 01865 725595we will be glad to help and if wehaven’t got the answer we will findsomeone who has.

OAB is here for you

18

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To join our membership scheme just fill in the form below andsend it, with a cheque or postal order made out to OAB, to:

The Oxfordshire Association for the Blind,Bradbury Lodge, Gordon Woodward Way,

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£10 £25 £50 Other

Visually Impaired GroupWitney AreaMary Sitch 01993 811687

Banbury Society for theVisually ImpairedCall OAB 01865 725595

Bicester Friends of theVisually ImpairedMrs Peggy Clarke 01869 242290

Carterton Social ClubRosemary Gibbens 01993 773502

Chipping NortonFriends of the BlindMary Gregory 01865 725595

Faringdon representativeJean Young 01367 241467

Henley VIP GroupMike Pooley 01491 628284

Oxford Visually Impaired ClubO A B01865 725595

‘Oxpots’ Pottery ClassMargaret Dawes 01865 558131

VIVA, North OxfordLiaison OfficerRon Sears 01865 553063

Wantage Blind Social ClubSecretary Hazel Aldred 01235 765849

Didcot/Wallingford OAB affiliatedPam Organ 01235 813391 &Dorothy Drummond 01235 812614

Thame and District Society forthe Visually HandicappedNorman Lilley 01844 261041

Look OxfordshireSupport for families of VI childrenAlison Baker 01235 868262

Out of hours social services, emergency freephone 0800 833408.

Oxfordshire Social Services Sensory Impairment Team

A countywide team of speciallytrained staff who can assess, advise,support, teach and inform people ofall ages with sight problems:

Sensory Impairment Teams,

Oxfordshire Social& Community Services,Foxcombe Court,Wyndyke Furlong,Abingdon Business Park,Abingdon,OX14 1DZ

Telephone 01235 549395

Specialist workersJohn Fearn-WebsterPaul RichardsonBeverley DownsKate LaybourneNigel LewisElizabeth Jones,Meg Jones

ManagerHilary Grime

Visually Impaired But Not Old!Nicola and Kevin Pamphilon01869 331778e-mail flashnp@aol.com

Clubs and groups for VIPs in Oxfordshire

Abingdon & DistrictMacular GroupDaphne Baker 01491 835157