Our speaker, at the April members meeting, was Charles O’Hara of Southport Talking Newspaper, a very worthy independent voluntary organisation that reads and records newspaper articles for the blind and partially sighted.
The group was started 20 years ago by Mrs Marlyn Banham. The volunteers meet midweek to go through the local newspapers, picking out articles of interest to read out and record. Initially they used tape recorders, sending the tape to recipients by post.
With new technology they now use memory sticks, which can be loaded into a natty device called a Boom Box. This looks a bit like a cheerful owl and is very easy to use for people with sight problems.
The Southport Talking Newspaper also has a website that folk can access via an app on their phone and listen to both local & National news.
This wonderful organisation is unfunded and relies totally on donations.
For more information about Southport u3a, please get in touch using our contact form.
