2009-06

For many years now I have been
involved as a reader with Sheffield
Talking News (STN) which is a small
charity, producing, each week, over 500
audio cassettes and 100 CDs of local
news for subscribers who are blind,
visually impaired or unable to read a
newspaper.
Arrangements with the
Sheffield Star, Sheffield
Telegraph and Yorkshire
Post allow STN to include
the content of their
publications without
infringement of
copyright. An
occasional magazine is
also produced
throughout the year. There
is no charge for the service
and it is delivered free by
Royal Mail.
Every Monday an editor, who
has been carefully reviewing the
local papers, produces reading material
to the correct length (one hour). By
6.30pm that evening a team of readers
(two male, two female) supported by a
recording technician, is ready to record.
The recording, now computerised, is
usually finished by 8.30pm that evening.
On Tuesday morning, the duplication
and despatch team (one of whom is St
Chad’s member Vicky Harris), again
through the help of a computerised
system, copies and despatches the
tapes and CDs to subscribers. These
are sent in distinctive yellow pouches
(which are returned by listeners after
use).
At the moment all of this activity is
taking place in the temporary home of
the Sheffield Royal Society for the Blind
in Davy Markham, Darnall. STN is
S T
keenly waiting to return to the
refurbished headquarters in Mappin
Street.
It is very satisfying for the many of us
who volunteer for STN to get feedback
from listeners who regard the weekly
recording as a lifeline. We get a strong
sense of putting something back
into the community.
The process is much
modernised now and the
organisation has leapt into
the 21 st century. With this
in mind, it is worth noting
that many of the
volunteers are OAPs (I
am one of the
youngest!) so STN is
an excellent example
of the third age
encompassing
new technology!
The one thing we
can’t change, I am
afraid, is the news
itself, but our editors strain themselves
to ensure that we give a balanced
flavour of what is going on in Sheffield.
Occasionally we readers have to do a
little last minute editing ourselves,
when, for example, there are just too
many stories of the cat who travelled six
miles under the bonnet of a car, or
when we feel that several stories of
muggings and robbery on a cold
November night are just a bit too much.
We do have fun with some of the
pronunciations too!
If you know of someone who would
benefit from this service, please
telephone 0114 244 6164 or have a
look at the website www.sheffieldtalking
news.org.uk.
David Manning
St Chads Church, Linden Avenue, Woodseats
email: office@stchads.org
Church Offices: 15 Camping Lane, Sheffield S8 0GB Page 13 website: www.stchads.org
Tel: (0114) 274 5086