THI Community Play

by Shaun McGarry, Vice Chairman on 4th May 2012 7:51 pm
Sections: General
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= = = Message from St. George’s Theatre Trust = = =

As part of the Great Yarmouth Borough Council’s THI Project, Seachange Arts are producing a Community play to be staged on Sunday
19th August 2pm at the newly renovated St George’s Theatre.

We are currently recruiting a cast for this community production and have a attached a letter that informs you about the project and
the play as it stands.

It would be greatly appreciated if you could circulate this amongst your relevant contacts and respective networks. We are hoping
that this production will be of interest to both you and your contacts or members.

The play is a beautiful piece of poetic and naturalistic drama set on and around King Street Great Yarmouth. No previous performance
or production experience is required – it is open to ALL.

Please do not hesitate to contact me with any questions that you may have concerning the process, the workshops or the project as a
whole.

With Best Wishes,

Thom Bailey

Artistic Director

St George’s Theatre, Great Yarmouth.

St George’s Theatre Trust

York Road

Great Yarmouth, Norfolk

NR30 2LZ

Telephone: 01493 745 461

Ext: 206

Email: thomas@stgeorgestheatre.com

Mobile: 07794 237286

Become a fan on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/pages/St-Georges-Theatre-Great-Yarmouth/149077988465033

Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/#!/StGeorgesGY>

Have a look at the venue on You Tube! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xoatph-iUc

THI Community Letter.docx

RNIB video with Siobhan Meade and PIP benefit

by Shaun McGarry, Vice Chairman on 24th April 2012 8:15 pm
Sections: News
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Dear Members,

The RNIB has produced a video (see the YouTube link below) with our member Siobhan Meade, talking and highlighting her ordinary and
normal need, to continue to be independent, looking for work and trying to feel confident that the government changes to the
benefit, will not affect her chances with her career in journalism.

YouTube video ..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTrNs_qu9CE

you can visit the RNIB web pages to find out the latest news of their PIP campaign and how to have your say, at the following
address

www.rnib.org.uk/pip

In this week’s Yarmouth Mercury, Siobhan has written an article describing the facts and issues surrounding the new PIP benefit
which will replace the DLA next year.

See her article at the Mercury’s web ..

http://www.greatyarmouthmercury.co.uk/great-yarmouth-life/letters/see_it_my_way_jury_s_out_on_welfare_bill_1_1355085

Good work Siobhan!

celebrating older people in the borough

by Shaun McGarry, Vice Chairman on 3:24 pm
Sections: General
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Hello

I am on the search for some inspirational older people (over 50 years of age)

The criteria for this is that they

* Must be over the age of 50 years

* Must live in the Borough of Great Yarmouth (Hopton all the way through to Martham?)

* Have inspired you or others in some way either in the past, or currently.

* or

* Have had an achievement, either sporting or otherwise, in the past. (for example we have one person who swam the channel for charity some time ago)

* or

* An outstanding volunteer, maybe that person who makes the tea or puts the chairs away ………

* or

* Overcome some challenges in their past…….in any way shape or form

* Or just simply a wonderful person who deserves some recognition

All I need is

* Their name

* Their dob or age

* Their contact details (I need to be able to contact them with an invitation to a celebration event)

* Your contact details

* A short piece about why you are nominating them, and why they deserve to be celebrated.

* Nominations must be with me by the 16th of May 2012.

The celebration event will be on the 16th of June held at the Masonic lodge.

If you have any questions then please let me know

Please send this on to your contacts so we can try and celebrate as many older inspirational people in Great Yarmouth as possible!!

Many thanks

Kind Regards

Rachael Hardie
Community Projects & Ageless Opportunities Co-Ordinator
Great Yarmouth Community Trust
Priory Centre
Priory Plain
01493 743042
www.priorycentre.co.uk/what-we-do/adults

1stjunefunday.doc

April 2012 – New 24 hour Passes for all VIPs has been issued!

by Shaun McGarry, Vice Chairman on 18th April 2012 6:35 pm
Sections: Bus Pass Concession,Information,News,Norfolk County Council
Comments: 1 See the Comment

From April 2012, the Norfolk County Council has allowed all Blind and Partially Sighted users of buses to travel at any time anywhere in Norfolk for free.

All users who already have a bus pass will have a replacement bus pass issued during March but sometimes this doesn’t quite work out.

Members are reporting that they are being issued with new cards with the clock symbol on them.

if you have not received your new bus pass or would like to apply for one then there are three methods to get in contact with the right department within the council ..

Telephone :
0344 800 80 20

Email :
concessionarytravel@norfolk.gov.uk

Web :
www.norfolk.gov.uk

All VIPs (and all disabled persons) can take along a companion to assist them on their journey and the companion will NOT be charged a fare either. The bus pass would show a C+ symbol to allow you this free service.

Dance! Dance! Dance!

by Shaun McGarry, Vice Chairman on 19th March 2012 6:20 pm
Sections: NNAB
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= = = Message from the NNAB = = =

Hello there everybody,

Roll up! Roll up! Join us with this new venture into the world of dance. We have music, a proper dance teacher and some great music so come along and have some fun.

Read on .. ..

Put On Your Dancing Shoes for our Afternoon Tea Dance
at the Bradbury Centre NNAB

Thursday 26th April
2pm to 3:30pm

Entrance £5 (includes afternoon tea)

To book & reserve your ticket;
Contact: Diane Stewart
Tel 01603 629 558
emmapurdy@nnab.org.uk

Norfolk & Norwich Association for the Blind
Magpie Road Norwich. NR3 1JH
nnab.org.uk
01603 629 558

Issue 22 – The NEWS – March 2012

by David Wilkinson, Chairman on 18th March 2012 12:55 pm
Sections: Newsletters
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Issue 22 The NEWS March 2012

Next Meeting is Monday 26th March 2012, Wherry Way Communal Room from 2pm to 4:30pm

Call Town & Country Travel Taxi for low cost transport on 01493 301 759

Title: Black and Yellow StripeTitle: Black and Yellow Stripe

Friends, welcome to our Spring Newsletter!

Our Meeting in January was very informative and I am pleased that items we presented to Tracey and Karla from the Borough Council, were very warmly received and some items have been followed up as I will report at our Meeting on 26 March.

Next Meeting

Matthew Thubron, will be the speaker at our Meeting. Matthew represents Trading Standards. He will be informing us of the dangers of Debt Sharks who are targeting many vulnerable people in our community.

He will be accompanied by a colleague who will speak with about Pressure sales people and how to say No to them.

Wendy has a question and answer paper from DWP explaining about the forth coming changes to DLA. She may be able to answer some of your queries.

Bus Travel

From 1 April 2012 blind and partially sighted people will be able to travel at any time of the day in Norfolk, including the option of a companion to support you.

The passes at the moment do not have a symbol to show this entitlement to the driver, so passes will be re-issued during March to all pass holders registered as blind or partially sighted (the symbol will be a clock face).

Call Norfolk County Council on 0344 800 8020 if you have not received your new Bus Pass by April.

NNAB News

As you may already know, John Child director of NNAB, is retiring at the end of May, after nearly 20 years at the helm. His replacement as CEO is Brigadier Max Marriner.

We thank John for his terrific enthusiasm and solid contribution over the years and welcome Max to take up the gauntlet.

You will have the opportunity to meet Max Marriner at a special coffee morning at NNAB Great Yarmouth on May 18th.

The NNAB Mobile equipment and information van will be at Morrison’s Supermarket in Gorleston on Wed 20th and Thurs 21st of March

Benefit News

The Welfare Reform Bill has now passed into law, this means that our current DLA benefit will be changing into the new PIP which stands for Personal Independent Payment. Shaun will update us on the RNIB Campaign concerning this major change and how we still can get involved! I will update on my Sponsored Diet for the group’s funds.

Contact Us

Please don’t hesitate to ring us if you have any questions, concerns you wish to report, new gadgets and ideas discovered or just to chat. Call us!

David Wilkinson (chairman) 07 99 0 99 88 45

Shaun McGarry (Vice Chair) 01493 60 22 72

Wendy George (Treasurer) 01493 745 973

Wild Norfolk – Great Yarmouth Wildlife Activity Programme

by Shaun McGarry, Vice Chairman on 14th March 2012 2:18 pm
Sections: General
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Dear members and friends

Please find the latest activities being offered from Norfolk Wildlife Trust. See attachments (please note the 2nd attachment is an easy read word document, with details for all workshop this year to December ? it is 12 pages long)!

See their email below for some examples and contact details.

Enjoy!

= = = Notice from Norfolk Wildlife Trust = = =

From: Gemma Walker [mailto:GemmaW@norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk] Subject: Wild Norfolk – Great Yarmouth Wildlife Activity Programme

Please find attached the Wild Norfolk 2012 event programme for the Great Yarmouth area. We have lots planned this year including:

· Adult Wildlife Workshops

· Great Green Getaways

· Wildlife Walks

· Wildlife Talks

· Family Wildlife Activities

· Practical (Hands-on) Wildlife Tasks

Please help us promote these activities by forwarding this email to anyone who you feel may be interested. If you would like some hard copies of the event leaflet please email me your postal address and I will happily pop some in the post to you.

We hope to see you at some of the activities.

Best wishes

Gemma Walker

Wildlife and Community Officer

Tel # 01603 598 333

Gemma Walker People and Wildlife Officer

Office: 01603 625540 Fax: 01603 598300 Web: www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk http://www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/

Please click http://www.norfolkwildlifetrust.org.uk/Support-us/Donate.aspx here to support our urgent heathland appeal!

or text LARK26 £amount to 70070

http://twitter.com/#!/SupportNWT> Twitter: @SupportNWT

http://www.youtube.com/user/NorfolkWildlifeTrust YouTube: Norfolk Wildlife Trust

Norfolk Wildlife Trust, registered in England as Norfolk Naturalists Trust no. 217338. Registered charity no. 208734. Registered office Bewick House, 22 Thorpe Road, Norwich, NR1 1RY.

Great Yarmouth 2012.pdf NWT – Great Yarmouth Workshops 2012 – text for website.docx

Great Yarmouth Audiences in for a treat

by Shaun McGarry, Vice Chairman on 29th February 2012 12:34 pm
Sections: GY Library
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= = = Message from Great Yarmouth Community Library = = =

‘My Week With Marilyn’ introduced by DJ Hilary Spinn

Saturday 17th March 2012

2pm

Great Yarmouth Community Library

Music and memories from the 1950′s followed by the screening of My Week With Marilyn

Audiences attending the upcoming screenings of ‘My Week With Marilyn’ in Great Yarmouth are in for a treat as the film will be introduced by the fabulous DJ Hilary Spinn! A character created by Norwich based actor and DJ Karen Hill, who will introduce the film with a musical trip down memory lane, talking about and playing a selection of her favourite music from the era on an original Dancsette record player.

‘My Week With Marilyn’ introduced by DJ Hilary Spinn will be shown on Saturday 17th March 2pm at Great Yarmouth Community Library

For further information please contact .. ..

Rachel Houghton Community Librarian

Library & Information Service Great Yarmouth Library Tollhouse Street Great Yarmouth NR30 2SH Telephone : 01493 844551 ext. 26 Mobile : 07767 387522 rachel.houghton@norfolk.gov.uk Everything starts with reading

My working hours are Monday, Tuesday all day and Wednesday mornings.

BrailleTouch — Texting Made Easy on Smart phones using Braille Input

by Shaun McGarry, Vice Chairman on 22nd February 2012 2:29 pm
Sections: Technology
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Here is a story about some latest technology research coming out of an university in the USA.

It is called BrailleTouch !

It is to enable blind users of the touch screen smart phones like the Apple’s iDevices and Google Android enabled phones to easily enter a text message without being hampered by the touchscreen! See the BBC story below or go to their page at

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-17105225#story_continues_2

Happy Texting!

= = = BBC Technology News = = =

New technology to help blind people text using touchscreen mobile devices has been developed.

Researchers at Georgia Tech produced the app – to be made available on Apple and Android devices – based on the Braille writing system.

It is claimed typing with the app is up to six times faster than existing methods for texting without sight.

Access to technology for the visually-impaired is a growing issue due to the proliferation of touchscreens.

Experts say currently available tools, such as Apple’s Voiceover technology, are functional but too slow to be used effectively.

Brailletouch, which the team hope to release in the next couple of weeks, uses a system that is controlled with six fingers and, crucially, does not require any movement of the hands.

“Users who know how to type Braille well never move their hands,” explained Mario Romero, lead researcher on the project.

“When users hold the phone they hold the phone with the screen facing away from them in landscape mode.

“They wrap the index, middle and ring finger in each hand around the phone.

“It’s not like the Qwerty keyboard where you move up and down. That’s why this thing works – we can get away with only six keys.”

Brailletouch will be free and open-source, its makers say, and it is hoped it could even become an “eyes-free” solution for fully-sighted people who want to text while visually pre-occupied with something else.

“Learning to type Braille is learning to memorise where the the dots fall,” Mr Romero told the BBC.

“It took me and my colleagues a few hours to memorise things so we could start typing at around 10 words per minute. It’s not something that takes years.

“We’re hoping that, if not Braille, a similar system may solve the issue of having too many keys that are too small that force everybody to look at the screen when they’re typing.”

However, Mr Romero was quick to dampen any possible hopes that the software could be used to text while behind the wheel.

“They need to concentrate on what they’re doing. This is not for texting and driving,” he said.

‘Truly blind’

Mr Romero highlighted a growing anxiety shared among the blind community that the widespread adoption of touchscreens for many machines and devices is making them “truly blind”.

“There is extreme concern about this new trend.

“A lot of equipment today – from copying machines to machines at the gym – is all coming with touch screens.”

He added that while research into tactile screens – which give users feedback by moulding – is taking place, we are still some way from having touchscreens which adequately cater for the visually-impaired.

“Blind people say I ‘see’ things with my fingers,” Mr Romero said.

“But on touchscreens they are truly blind.”

GYP Get Active event – Saturday 14th April 2012

by Shaun McGarry, Vice Chairman on 17th February 2012 6:45 pm
Sections: General
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= = = Message from Great Yarmouth People = = =

WANTED!

All Kinds of Activities for All Kinds of People

The GYP is searching for local groups in and around the Great Yarmouth borough to showcase what they do

at the GYP Get Active event on Saturday 14th April 2012 from 10am to 4pm

At Shrublands Youth & Adult Centre, Shrublands, Magdalen Way, Gorleston, NR31 7BP

The groups can fund raise and recruit. Places are limited

for more information contact ..

Call Miranda on 01493 660090

or email Greatyarmouthpeople@gmail.com

GYP Get Active Event 14th April 2012.doc