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Newsletter February 2020

Find out about John’s spitfire adventure on page 5

A flight to remember

Also in this issue:

Meet OAB’s new Director

Local events and activities update

Meet Jill, OAB’s volunteer counsellor

Children’s activities and more...

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1. Front cover image of John in the spitfire

2. Contents, Director’s article

3. Director’s article continued

4. Donated CCTV magnifiers

5-6. A flight to remember - John’s story

7. Social clubs and activities

8. Meet Jill Loveday and Diabetic Talk

9. Fundraising update and Henley Library drop-ins

10. News from the younger ones

11. Thank you to OxPots and Feedback

12. Clubs and groups, sensory services, Carers Oxfordshire

Oxfordshire Association for the Blind

Bradbury Lodge, Gordon Woodward Way,

Oxford, OX1 4XL.

Telephone: 01865 725 595 Email: admin@oxeyes.org.uk

Website: www.oxeyes.org.uk

Opening Hours: 10am to 3pm Mon-Fri

OAB is a registered charity (No: 1140556) and limited company (No: 07465300)

Contents

Message from the Director

Hello everyone. I’m Helen, and I’ve recently taken over as Director of OAB. It’s early days - so what are my first impressions? I feel overwhelmingly at home, which I think is down to two factors. First of all, there is a wonderful team here of staff, trustees and volunteers who are

absolutely committed to making life better for anyone in Oxfordshire living with a visual impairment. There is that vibe of excitement and determination, despite the uphill struggle we have to find funding to keep the show on the road. The second reason is that I am familiar with the “territory” – that is, I have previously spent six years as the Director of the West Sussex

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Association for the Blind. I have very happy memories of that time, remembering the challenges as well as the successes.

In my first few weeks here, I’ve met many volunteers and members, at the clubs and coffee mornings, at the bucket collection on Oxford Station and at the Great Brook Run. Amazingly, everyone has had a smile on their face, even though we are in the middle of a very wet and grey winter. I take my hat off to you all. I’ve begun to think of plans for how we can improve and extend our services, and to look at ways to raise funds to do that. So here is my plea to you: please help! This is such a worthwhile cause,

as many of you have reason to know. We need to move forward in three ways:

Our services are great – but we need to reach right across the county with all our services and make them accessible to those who can’t travel. We want to offer a personal service to everyone who needs it, in their town or even in their home.

We need volunteers to supplement our tiny staff team. We have seven staff, of which all but one are part-time, and there are estimated to be 21,000 visually impaired people in the county. That’s one staff member for every 3,000 people! If you can volunteer some time, let us know, and let us see if we can fit you into a “you-shaped gap”. Please ask your families too – there are so many talented people out there, and we need their skills.

While we see a growing need, with 30 new people each month being registered as visually impaired, it is frustrating to find that we can’t increase our services as much as we’d like to, since our finances are always on a knife-edge. We can never be sure that we shall have enough to cover our existing costs, since we rely almost entirely on voluntary donations. That is the way of the world at the moment.

Helen Roseblade

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So we are looking at Lottery funding, trust funds and council funds, but all of them are stretched to their limits. That leaves the community. If you are able to contribute we should be so grateful, however small the gift. Could you hold a raffle or a coffee morning? Make a regular contribution? Mention OAB in your Will? All of these are invaluable, adding to the future sustainability of our services. Perhaps you (or your family or friends) belong to a golf club? Or a choir? Being the “charity of the year” for a community group of this kind raises both funds and awareness. And lastly (but not least), do you know of anyone who is involved in producing a

community newsletter of any kind? Churches, surgeries and all sorts of clubs have newsletters where we might be able to place a small advertisement which would help us to be better known locally. Any contacts would be very welcome.

I’m sure I’ve already exceeded my word-limit, but I am excited about the potential in OAB and our team needs all the help it can get to fulfil that potential. The next newsletter will update you on our progress, but meanwhile, thank you for all your support! I wish you all the best for 2020.

Helen Roseblade

We have a number of donated CCTV/video magnifiers in the Resource Centre. They are great for those who find regular print difficult to read as they can magnify and change colours to find a workable solution.

As they are donated, we are happy for our members to borrow them on a long term basis as long as they are being used.

If you would like to come in and try them, please call us and ask to speak to Nathan.

Donated CCTVs

Video magnifier

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Meet John Pollard, from Didcot. John, who is registered as Severely Sight Impaired/Blind, lost his vision in June 2015 after a triple by-pass that went wrong. He is now left with 5% peripheral vision out of his left eye. Over the last few years John has worked extremely hard to regain his independence and to stay active; he has received support from several OAB services and is a keen member of ActivEyes, attending VI tennis sessions and sailing; he also goes along to our Didcot Coffee Morning once a month.

Last year John celebrated his 70th birthday, in style! His family gave him the experience of a lifetime, flying a World War Two spitfire. John loves all things aviation and he certainly has the stomach for it! On 21st September 2019 a limousine was ready to collect John and his family to take them all to Biggin Hill Airfield; when they arrived they were well looked after, with reassurance to them all and a description of what would happen and all the safety elements that went with it: this still didn’t put him off and he was ready to hit the skies. John was helped into the cockpit, sitting behind the pilot, Don; they were also flying in tandem with Mark, John’s son. A chaser plane went ahead with the rest of John’s family in, ready to watch the action close up!

A Flight to Remember!

John in the cockpit ready to go!

John in the barrel roll

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John says of the experience: “The

smell and the sounds were

absolutely amazing: you could

feel the vibrations of the plane as

the engine started up; as we took

off the adrenaline was flowing

through my body, it was an

absolute buzz!”

With the beautiful clear day, John

could make out the other planes

around him: although not seeing

the detail, he had a small glimpse

and even got a chance to wave to

his family as he went by! The pilot

- who was obviously feeling brave

– gave John the controls, as it

was his turn to have a go. Finally

before they came in to land the

pilot asked John if he was ready.

He said “of course, I’m here for

the whole experience!” and the

pilot took them into a victory roll.

Once they’d landed they had their

photos taken and the family

enjoyed an amazing day out.

John says “It was an absolutely

amazing and unforgettable

experience: although I couldn’t

see everything that was going on,

I could feel and enjoy the

adrenalin and atmosphere of the

flight, I absolutely loved it!” John

and his family would like to thank

Don the pilot and all the other

staff who made it such an

enjoyable experience.

John and his son side by side in

their spitfires

The whole crew

standing in front of the

spitfire

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NEW – Banbury Coffee Morning

Come along on the first Wednesday of each month and enjoy great coffee and great company. We’ll be meeting at The Rustic Bean Café, 61 Parson's St, Banbury OX16 5NB from 10.30am-12.30pm.

Upcoming dates: 1st April, 6th May, 3rd June, 1st July.

Didcot Coffee Morning

Meeting on the 2nd Wednesday of the month at the Cornerstone Arts Centre, Nourish Café 25 Station Rd, Didcot OX11 7NE. From 10.30am-12.30pm.

Upcoming dates: 11th March, 8th April, 13th May, 10th June, 8th July.

Oxford Coffee Morning

Come along to OAB’s Bradbury Lodge on the 3rd Tuesday of every month from 10.30am-12.30pm.

Upcoming dates: 18th Feb, 17th Mar, 21st April, 19th May, 16th June, 21st July

ActivEyes

ActivEyes is a social group for anyone across Oxfordshire who has a visual impairment or their friends and family. ActivEyes takes part in the following activities:

VI tennis, cycling, walks, sailing, pub socials, bowling and more.

Lifts are now available from the Banbury area for all of

these activities.

To find out more contact OAB on the details on page 2 or email Guy Lawfull: guylawfull@oxeyes.org.uk.

Thame & District Society for the Visually Impaired

Meets on Wednesdays in Thame; contact us to find out more.

Chipping Norton Friends of the Blind

Meets on alternate Thursdays. Transport available in the local area; contact us to find out more.

Witney Friends of the Visually Impaired

Meets four times a year across Witney. Contact us to find out more.

Social Clubs and Activities

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As you may know, Judith Wood, OAB’s counsellor, sadly passed away in April 2019. Counselling and emotional support is an important part of OAB and the work Judith did over 25 years helped change many lives. We are proud to continue Judith’s legacy and build on her great work and we’re introducing Jill Loveday, who has recently started volunteering as a counsellor at OAB’s Bradbury Lodge.

Jill is herself visually impaired due to degenerative myopia and has been involved with OAB for a number of years. Back in the 90s she worked with Judith in setting

up the Sight Desk at the old Radcliffe Infirmary Eye Hospital. Jill went on to set up her own counselling practice, working closely with University of Oxford senior staff members. In more recent years she provided counselling supervision for counsellors working in local schools across Oxfordshire.

Jill has lived in Oxford her whole life. She is a keen water colourist and loves to get out into the countryside for long walks.

She is currently providing face-to-face counselling sessions one day a week for anyone with a visual impairment or their family members. If you feel you would benefit from meeting with Jill please contact Mark Upton on the contact details on page 2.

Come along to a talk by Dr Gurjeet Jutley and Dr Gemma Ching-A-Sue on the topic of diabetes and vision loss. Both doctors have a wealth of experience in diabetes and sight loss so this is a great opportunity. This is on Friday 24th April 2pm at OAB’s Bradbury Lodge in Oxford. Please book ahead; contact Mark Upton on the details on page 2.

Jill Loveday:

New Volunteer Counsellor for

OAB

Diabetic Talk

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Christmas Appeal

A huge thank you to all who donated to our recent Christmas Appeal: we raised a fantastic £3,146.43! Thank you for all your support.

Out and About

Our volunteers have been hard at work over the past few weeks: on 20th December we held a collection at The Oxford Train Station and raised £296.78. On 24th January we held a collection at Tesco in Didcot and raised £371.39, On February 20th we’ll be at Tesco in Abingdon: come along and say hello and give our fantastic volunteers some encouragement!

Membership

We’ve included a membership and Gift Aid form in this newsletter. If you haven’t received it please do get in touch and we can send you the form in the post. Membership is an important element of OAB’s fundraising - just £10 a year can help support our ongoing work and we can continue to support the 21,000 visually impaired people across Oxfordshire.

The Great Brook Run

A big thank you to Roger Chapman and Mary Gregory for organising another fantastic Great Brook Run in Chadlington. A

fantastic £987 was raised at the event.

Waitrose - Community Matters

Look out for OAB in your local Waitrose, we’re hoping to feature as a chosen charity for their community matters scheme. In February we’ll be in the Botley Road store, Oxford.

Bike Oxford 2020

Would you or a member of your family fancy taking part in Bike Oxford? We’re looking for tandem riders and single riders to join Team OAB in tackling one of the three routes - 25, 50 or 80 miles. To find out more please contact us or if you’d like to sponsor a member of Team OAB go over to the team fundraising pages at: www.justgiving.com/campaign/BikeOxford2020

Sadly last year the Henley VIP group closed; however thanks to a kind donation from the club’s final proceeds, we’ll be holding three drop-in sessions at Henley-on-Thames Library. You can come along, meet a member of the team, take away up-to-date information for people with sight loss and have a look at a small selection of daily living aids and equipment. We will be there from 10am-1pm on the following days:

12th March, 9th April, 14th May.

To find out more contact us.

Fundraising Update

Henley Library Drop-Ins

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By Laura Finnis

Wow, here we are in 2020! And it seems ages ago that some of us tried our hand at knocking down the white pins at Hollywood Bowl. Rory came into his own here and didn’t we know it? I’m sure you could hear his shouts of delight in Banbury and Wantage! It was great to see such excitement and just good fun to participate together and share the strikes and the dot balls. Or is that the wrong sport? Anyway, whether we needed to celebrate or commiserate at the end, the milk shakes at Frankie and Benny’s next door did the trick!

The best thing about organising events is that you can choose the activities you like the most so we went from milkshakes to ice-cream at G & D’s in their Cowley Road café! I have to say it was very educational as we found out how ice-cream and sorbet are made and had a go at helping make our own Oreo ice-cream too. Then of course we had the official job of tasting it and our verdict was……delicious! Thanks to G & D’s for offering us this for free.

And we had a good laugh at the panto in January. It was great to

have something to look forward to after the festive season and it was quite a laugh, although sometimes I have to say that I didn’t have a clue what was going on – why was there an orangutan in Beauty and the Beast? And a teapot? Well, nothing mattered as it was all good fun and we were singing and dancing at the end – or some of us were! The pre-show touch tour was great too.

It’s always good to move onwards and upwards and to have new plans for the new year. In February with the SENSS team from the County Council, we are holding a one-off youth club to see if this is something that would be appreciated

News From the Younger

Ones!

Milkshakes!

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on a regular basis. Naturally, it’s a pancake event as the opportunity to eat lots of sugar and Nutella, at the same time as making a mess here at OAB, just couldn’t be turned down! Hopefully, it will give us a chance just to chill and chat too and get to know each other a bit better. If anyone’s interested in joining us, please get in touch.

And in half-term, we are aiming to bounce around at Rebound Revolution, the trampoline park in Bicester. Well, I think that might be a royal ‘we’ as there is a nice café overlooking the park which is where I’m heading! The park looks great though with over 50 trampolines! Again, if you can’t resist it, then give me a call.

Oh and if the panto whetted your appetite for drama, then come

along to the drama workshop run by the Oxford Playhouse taking place here at OAB on Saturday 25th April 11–12. You have to be young though - sorry!

I’ll let you know how it all goes in the next newsletter!

We’d like to say a very special thank you to OxPots, the charity which had been running pottery classes for visually impaired people for over 25 years. Sadly towards the end of 2019 they decided to close up shop. The members voted and decided to donate the remainder of the charity’s money to OAB. We gratefully received a cheque for £744.38, which will enable us to continue supporting visually impaired people across Oxfordshire.

Within your newsletter you should find a feedback form. If you’ve received help or support from OAB we’d love to hear what you think of the service you received. This helps us to shape OAB’s future and to tell donors how we are doing. You can also ring us up to tell us over the phone or go to our website and fill out an online form.

Thank You to OxPots

Feedback

Tea pot from Beauty & The

Beast

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ActivEyes – 01865 725595.

Banbury Coffee Morning - 01865 725595

Chipping Norton Group – 01608 810899.

Didcot Coffee Morning - 01865 725595

Dreaming Spires ten pin bowling – 01869 331778.

LOOK Oxfordshire – support for families of visually impaired children - 01189 722322.

Oxford Coffee Morning – 01865

725595.

Retina UK Group - 01235 511044.

Thame & District Society for the Visually Impaired – 01865 725595.

‘VIBNO’ – Visually Impaired But Not Old! - 01869 331778.

Wantage Blind Social Club - 01235 764646 or 01235 765849.

Witney Friends of the Visually Impaired – 01865 725595.

Local Clubs and Groups

OAB is assisted by:

The County Council has an excellent team of specially trained staff supporting people of all ages affected by sensory impairment.

Their telephone number is: 01865 894935.

Sensory Impairment

Team

A service for anyone who is caring for another person and would like some support. Their number is: 0845 0507666

Carers Oxfordshire

Macular Support

Groups

Abingdon - 01235 531857

Banbury - 01608 685293

Goring - 01865 725595

Kidlington - 01865 376482

or 01865 373104

Oxford - 01865 316245

Witney - 01993 771828.