The Talking Newspaper

The Henley and District Talking Newspaper Association

~ Keeping the blind in touch ~

Some forty local volunteers work together to enable those who are unable to read the news for themselves to receive an hour long audio tape of The Henley Standard through their letterbox each week.

Specially prepared pages are supplied on Thursday evenings for the recording How it all started

Who can benefit

No charge

How is it done?

If you know someone who would benefit from receiving the local news on tape each week, then please contact:-
The Chairman, Richard Hodgkin 01491 573192 or The Secretary, Scilla Rackham 01491 577069

How it all started

In 1982 Henley's Talking Newspaper, was launched. It was sponsored by the Lions Club of Henley on Thames and supported by other service organisations in the town. The initiative came from Arthur Hull, who was then President of the Lions and brought his energy and enthusiasm to the formative years as the first Chairman of Henley and District Talking Newspaper Association until his death in 1987. From a group of readers round a single microphone in Arthur's living room sending the first tapes to about twenty blind people, the Talking Newspaper developed rapidly.

Volunteer chooses which articles to read

It now has a large team working on a rota basis with an impressive collection of sophisticated equipment to get clear reliable tapes to many more listeners.

Although the work is done by volunteers, which normally means amateurs , every effort is made to achieve the best possible results for the listeners.

Who can benefit?

Regular listener enjoys her weekly tape The target listener is anyone who is interested in the local news but prevented from reading it themselves by sight problems. This means we have listeners from all over the area served by The Henley Standard and even a few who have moved away from the area but still like to keep in touch. The Royal Mail operates a free-post system for visually impaired people, but we can sometimes arrange hand delivery to individuals with other disabilities which prevent reading.

No Charge

The service is free to all listeners and the work is done by volunteers, but the equipment is expensive and audio tapes and the postal wallets they are dispatched in have to be replaced fairly frequently. These costs are supported by donations from well-wishers and sometimes charitable sources.

How is it done?

Each Thursday evening a controller and four readers prepare a master tape, using a specially prepared copy of the paper, courtesy of the Standard office. The next morning 80-90 copies are made on high speed copiers, turning out three copies every four minutes. They are checked, packed in special plastic wallets and delivered to the post office by 10.30 a.m. The tapes for hand delivery are also taken to listeners homes that morning.

Controller sets up equipment prior to recording

Listeners can play the tapes on an ordinary domestic tape player and then return by post, by simply reversing the address label on the front of the plastic wallet.