Insight

Editorial

Thank you to everyone who sent comments and suggestions about the structure and appearance of Insight. We have taken them to heart and made some changes to this issue.  Please keep your comments coming. We would like to provide a space in the magazine for you to add your contributions. Have you got a funny story, some useful information, a poem you were impressed with? Please e-mail your contributions to morag.morrison@grampianblind.org

or post then to the address on the front page.

In the last issue we asked how many of you would be interested in our resource centre being open on Saturdays to enable more people to use the fitness room.  Unfortunately we have had only two positive replies so far and are therefore unable to change our opening hours just now.  We are interested to hear from you further regarding this.

Norman McKay has asked us to thank those of you who responded to his appeal for wooden bowls.  He has received donations from far and wide and is in no doubt that the children at the Royal Blind School will have many happy hours playing the game. 

GSB News

Smoking Policy

As you will all now be aware the Scottish Executive brought legislation into force resulting in a total ban on smoking in public places, with effect from 26 March 2006.  This means that smoking is prohibited in places of work. 

You may have already received a letter from your local authority explaining the implications of the smoking ban and the duties that employers have to protect their staff while at work. The Society has such a duty by law to abide by the new legislation.

When a member of staff from the Society visits you in your home he or she is at work, and therefore cannot be exposed to passive smoking. We would therefore be grateful if you could refrain from smoking while a member of staff is visiting you at home.  Unfortunately staff cannot continue with their visit if someone is smoking in their presence.  We hope that this doesn’t cause undue difficulties for you and thank you in advance for your co-operation.


Clubs, Groups and Activities

Just a reminder to you all that the fitness room is open from 10am until 1pm every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.

If you haven’t already paid us a visit, please feel free to come along to any of the sessions.  The volunteer on duty will be delighted to show you around and let you try the various pieces of equipment. You don’t have to be a fitness fanatic to take part. You may choose to have a gentle cycle or walk on the treadmill or you might want something more challenging. The choice is yours!
For those of you who have used the facility in the past but haven’t visited for a while, we look forward to seeing you again.

If you would prefer to book a time for a visit instead of just dropping in, please telephone the Society on 0845 2712345.


Fundraising by Neil Skene, MInstF

I must start this time with some great news for the Society.  Some of you may know that the Society has a van which has come to the end of its life. The van is used to support our charity shop, and a decision was taken to seek funding for a new vehicle to support the shop, but also to be able to assist us with our growth in other services.  We heard in early April that we had been successful with a bid to Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland’s 21st Anniversary Awards and had been granted £21000 for the purchase of a People Carrier.

As you read, listen or even get this read to you, Drive of Your life 3 will have taken place and hopefully in the next edition of Insight I’ll be able to report on another great day full of fun, the customary nice weather and not forgetting to mention the burgers!

Now for the fit and young at heart among you, we have both the Society bike rides coming up; remember Sunday 18 June for the Moray ride and Sunday 20 August for Stonehaven.  Both these are well established and are very well supported by their local communities.

Both our Skydivers continue to fundraise tirelessly and Andrea and William have asked me to thank those of you who have already sponsored them.  If you haven’t done this yet and would like to, there’s still time, so if you want to support these two brave souls, just give me a call on 0845 2712345.


 
Friends of GSB

Thanks to those of you who took the opportunity to join! The lucky May Draw winner was Ms M Ritchie from Portsoy who won a meal for two at Tiger Tiger.  The year runs from April to March, but you can join at any time and remember your £10 is used solely to fund the Society’s charitable work.

If you would like to support the Society’s work by becoming a Friend please contact me on 0845 2712345 or if you are already a Friend, why not encourage your own friends and family to join.

Finally, I’m going to end with some more good news. I attended the AGM of the Swedish Exercise Group on Saturday 13th May.  The group had chosen the Society as its Charity for 2005-06 and Gunilla Smith, leader of the group, handed over a cheque for £3,002.31p!  Thanks must go to the group and especially to Anne Tunstall from the Board for nominating us.

If you want further information on any of the Society’s fundraising, or if you have a fundraising idea please don’t hesitate to call me on 0845 2712345.


Humanware Update

You will notice that Humanware are again sponsoring this issue of Insight and they have kindly agreed to offer £50 off their Colour Pocket Viewer to anyone who is a paid up member of the Friends of GSB scheme. This means; for £10 joining fee, you can potentially save £50!  Also, as part of the Humanware sponsorship, you will have received a leaflet enclosed with your copy of Insight. If you are interested in finding out more about Humanware’s products, all you have to do is to fill in the tear off slip on the back of the leaflet and return it to Humanware; for each one received Humanware will make a small donation to the Society. As well as getting information on their products, you will also get a booklet entitled "The Art of Living Well with Low Vision". It's free of charge and gives some sound practical advice about learning to cope with low vision.
There will also be an opportunity to see many of the Humanware products first hand on Tuesday 11 July.  On this day, Lucy Naismith will be at the Society’s 21 John Street office between 9.30am and 3pm and she will be able to give practical demonstrations of some of the equipment available! 


Aids and Equipment by Charles Clark

Hello to you all from your I.T.C.O.  For the curious, I.T.C.O. stands for Information Technology and Communications Officer but for most of us, the computer mannie!

Since my last update a few new items have arrived at the Society. I would also be delighted to hear from you about any products you feel would be useful to other visually impaired users.   Please feel free to phone me at any time.
I also hope that those of you who attended the Sight and Sound Exhibition in Glasgow enjoyed the event and found it worthwhile. The Society may consider providing transport in the future if there were sufficient numbers.

The latest additions to our equipment are as follows:

Chatter Box Scanner
This is a stand-alone device with built in speech to talk back the text that it can scan. It is very compact and has very few controls.  It also comes in an attaché case for portability.
There are two versions available, the basic, which we have purchased, only allows you to scan and have the document read back to you while the more expensive version can save documents.  The unit costs around £1,150 and is supplied by a company called Modern World Data. If you would like a demonstration either at home or in Aberdeen or Elgin, please give me a ring and we can arrange a time.

For the more adventurous among you, the Sight Village Computer Exhibition takes place in Birmingham from 5th  to 7th July 2006.  This is the flagship of exhibitions in the United Kingdom. I have not attended this event myself so would be happy to hear from anyone who has.

Since our refurbishment the John Street Centre has now been completed and  we are almost ready to begin a new venture with Aberdeen College.  We are due to start very soon with a computer class. This will hopefully be a 20 week course and will be one three-hour session every Wednesday. This day may change to suit those taking part if required.  We are excited to work in partnership with the college in this new venture and I am looking forward to its opening.  We are only able to accommodate five users at any one time and we would hope to have a rolling process of the 20-week course. A waiting list will therefore be introduced.  This initial course is aimed at people who have little experience of the Microsoft Word program. I will still be able to give basic computer skills lessons to any person at all other times. As the venture is new to us I would be delighted to hear your thoughts and ideas of such schemes.

At the time of writing this article the weather is wonderful.  Let’s hope this keeps up for another few months and I hope you all have a nice time on your sun loungers.


Resource Centre

The Resource Centre at 21 John Street now has a Daylight Classic Bench Magnifier light on display.  The light can be ordered through the Society for £59 and comes supplied with a metal clamp. For an additional £21 you can also get a large table base for it. We also have wallets for the new travel pass.  They are free of charge and can be collected from 21 John Street. 

Some of you are looking for more information about mobile phones which are suitable for people with a visual impairment. If enough people are interested, we may be able to arrange for a demonstration from different companies. Please let us know if you are interested.

The Resource Centre is open from 9am to 4pm, Monday to Friday.


Conference on employment for blind and partially sighted people

GSB and partner RNIB Scotland are organising a major conference to be held in Aberdeen on Thursday, 31 August 2006 at the Aberdeen Business School, The Robert Gordon University, Garthdee Road, Aberdeen. The conference aims to address the issue of the current 75% unemployment level amongst people with sight loss by informing on new developments in government and employers’ initiatives. Employers from the public, private and voluntary sectors are invited to attend and we are expecting delegates from all over the UK and Europe. Speakers include representatives of both the UK government and Scottish Executive, employers who can demonstrate examples of good practice and researchers. Sponsorship has been received from Shell, the Scottish Executive, The Robert Gordon University, Bank of Scotland Corporate and Aberdeen Journals.
An exhibition featuring major suppliers of specialist equipment will run throughout the day. This exhibition is free of charge and anyone is welcome to visit this.

Other News

Home Fire Safety

Every year Grampian Fire and Rescue Service deal with around 827 fires in the home, of which 122 result in injury or death.

They offer a free home safety visit to help you make your home safer.  They will issue free smoke alarms if necessary.

A visit takes approximately 20 minutes and the officers will identify areas of risk in your home, give advice on how to stay safe from fire, including kitchen hazards, electric blankets, candles, heaters and help you make a fire escape plan.

To book a visit please contact Grampian Fire and Rescue Service on 01224 696666 or e-mail info@grampianfrs.org.uk. You can also arrange a visit by contacting your local fire station.

Travel Pass Update

It has been brought to our attention that some of you have experienced difficulties using your new Scottish Entitlement Card on the train. We have contacted the Public Transport Units in all three Councils and they have promised to send us a letter stating that the trains are still free for people registered blind or partially sighted. However companions still have to pay. Cardholders are advised to carry this letter with them to show to staff on trains if necessary.
The Society has also written to all major train operators in Scotland asking them to make sure all their staff are informed of this. First ScotRail and GNER have now replied assuring us that this is the case.

Aberdeenshire and Moray Councils have in the meantime sent out letters to cardholders. If you have not received this yet, please let us know and we can forward you a copy. At the time of print the letter from Aberdeen City has not been received yet. If you live in the City and use trains frequently, please let us know and we will forward you a copy of the letter as soon as possible.

If you have not yet changed your Scottish Blind Persons Travel Card to the new smartcard, you will need to do this before 1st July 2006. After this the old card will no longer be accepted.

Road Works in Aberdeen City Centre

Bus lanes between Broad Street and Belmont Street will be temporarily suspended to provide pedestrian access while works are carried out on the footway. 

The work will begin on 5th June 2006 for up to 21 days and is to allow for a safe public pedestrian access during snagging works on the newly laid footway. The distance affected will be approximately 20 metres at any one time.

St Andrew Street will be one-way to traffic from its junction with George Street to its junction with Crooked Lane.  Only traffic travelling westwards from George Street will be permitted within the above area. 

The restrictions will take place from Monday 5th June 2006 for up to four weeks and is to allow for public safety during footway renovation works.

The alternative route for eastbound traffic will be via Charlotte Street, John Street and George Street.

Also during these restrictions, there will be a taxi rank on George Street, on the east/north side of the junction with St Andrew Street, for up to 20 metres from that junction. This is to replace the taxi rank in St Andrew Street during the time of the restriction.

iKiosks

You may have seen or heard of iKiosks which have appeared on some of our streets.   One is outside Marks and Spencer, another alongside the Lion and another outside the Music Hall to name but a few.

The idea is that members of the public can have instant access to information about Aberdeen City Council, Grampian Health Board and Aberdeen itself. The range of information available will increase and be updated regularly.

It is planned to have many more of these iKiosks situated throughout Aberdeen so we would appreciate if some of you would try to find and use one. We would then be very grateful if you would let us know if you managed, what difficulties you had and any suggestions for improvements. 

The Ikiosks are supposed to be accessible to everyone.  At the moment there is some concern about how easily they can be found and used by someone with a visual impairment. These problems need to be identified and if possible solved so your help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Please e-mail or phone the Society with your comments.

Knitting Wool

Some clients who enjoy knitting would appreciate donations of  wool which is not being used.  People knit squares and then have them sewn together to make knee blankets, shoulder blankets, etc.  If you have got whole balls or half balls of wool which will not be used please let me know and it will be put to good use.


Large Print Typewriter

Norman McKay has a typewriter which produces larger print than traditional typewriters. He does not use the machine and is prepared to “give it away to a good home”.  For further information contact Norman on 01224 324109.


Blind Gardeners’ Club

This new club brings together gardeners who are blind or partially sighted from all over the UK.
The club offers: gardening advice, advance information of specialist events, a quarterly magazine Come Gardening (produced in accessible formats including audio tape and CD, large print, Braille, floppy disc and email), access to a specialist gardening library, a range of booklets on gardening with a visual impairment, the Blind Gardener of the Year competition, an affiliation of local blind gardeners’ clubs and a national voice for blind and partially sighted gardeners.
Membership costs just £8 a year for those in receipt of benefits, thanks to a subsidy from the Big Lottery Fund, or £10 if you wish to receive Come Gardening in two formats. Otherwise membership is £20. The first 1,000 members will receive free vegetable seed tapes or herb seed mats and a £5 voucher, thanks to the generous support of Suttons Seeds.
Existing subscribers to the long-running Come Gardening magazine have automatically become members of the club.
The closing date for this year’s Blind Gardener of the Year competition is 31 July 2006; judging will take place in August and the prizes will be presented on 29 October.
The prizes will be presented on Thursday 27 October at the Royal Horticultural Society's Council Offices in London.
For further information please contact Lucy Morrell on 0118 988 5688. 

2006 MCofS Visually Impaired Course
The Mountaineering Council of Scotland will once again be holding a course for visually impaired people who are reasonably fit and keen to try something new or enhance their experience of an activity they already enjoy.

The course will be held from 10 to 16 September 2006 at Glenmore Lodge. Activities range from walking in the Cairngorms, rock-climbing, abseiling or paddling in the water, the highlight being an overnight camping trip.

For details of how to apply or how to become a sighted volunteer, contact the Course Coordinator, Norma Davidson at:
Tel: 01356 660 242
Email:piper.norma@virgin.net
Post: Norma Davidson, c/o MCofS, the Old Granary, West Mill Street, Perth PH1 5QP