Hello
everyone, it is time to check in with you lovely people again and give you an
update from me. Though I must say it has come round far too fast, the last few
weeks have flown by. It would be wrong of me not to mention how London has been
fortunate to be basking in some rather glorious sunshine recently, after all,
we Brits are known to start many a conversation on the weather!! The weather
forecast takes great pride in telling us when Britain is warmer than countries
abroad, so it seems we were hotter than Rio De Janeiro on Tuesday (30 June) and
Barcelona on Wednesday (1 July), making it the hottest day of the year so far,
and I reckon it will stay that way too, 36.7C is a rarity after all. Don’t
panic I’m not about to become a weather forecaster, but I’d say I’m pretty safe
in saying temperatures over the weekend will be slightly cooler, but still warm
and sunny!
Since my
last update I’ve been rather busy working with the ActivEyes Redbridge
committee on various matters to try and get some regular activities up and
running. I’m please to say that weekly tennis sessions will commence on
Wednesday 22 July, 11.00-13.00 at the Redbridge Sports and Leisure Centre, the
monthly breakfast club continues to be held on the first Friday of each Month
at Snax Cafe, and some possible gentle exercise sessions to start shortly, but
further details to be confirmed on this. 24 and 25 August will see the group
working with young people from NCS The Challenge for drama based activities at
Woodbridge High School. The young people will also carry out a day’s
volunteering as part of there Real Challenge Design day on 19 September, where
ActivEyes Redbridge members will have a picnic and quiz put together by the
young people. I attended the ActivEyes Redbridge meal to the Harvester in June,
which was a great afternoon enjoyed by all, you can read the full article on
our website.
I also
delivered two Vision Impairment Awareness Training sessions to Greenwich
Leisure Ltd staff in Hackney, and continue to work on several future programmes
to be delivered to various organisations such as Thomas Pocklington Trust (TPT)
and Hackney and Redbridge Library staff. It is great to see the uptake and
demand for our Vision Impairment Awareness Training programme by organisations
and for them to acknowledge the value and benefit it holds in being able to
provide a high quality service to blind and partially sighted people. In
advance of Lloyds Banking Group staff volunteering for us at our Sight
Information Day event, we will be putting them through their paces with a short
sighted guiding workshop on 22 July.
Attending
the accessible iPad session at Gants Hill Library as part of Make a Noise in
Libraries fortnight, clearly highlighted how many blind and partially sighted
people are not making the most of current mainstream technology out there, and
the importance of such sessions. We have been fortunate to receive a grant from
the Greater London Fund for the Blind for our technology support project, which
will allow us to hold sessions of this nature. As well as work with community
centres to ensure technology is accessible to blind and partially sighted people.
Staying
on the technology theme, we will be holding a Technology session for complete
beginners on 6 August, 13.30-16.00 at the ELVis offices, 90 Crownfield Road.
This session is part of the RNIB Online Today project, which will deliver
training and advice on how to browse the internet and use smartphones, tablets
and computers. Spaces are limited, so please book early if you are interested
in attending.
Along
with Metro blind Sport met with Motivate East to continue working on the bowls
project following the success of the taster session held in June. Watch this
space for further details. Also as part of the interview panel I assisted in
interviewing for the Project Coordinator post for the Collaboration Team for
TPT. Congratulations to Hassan Khan who was successfully appointed. Hassan will
continue to work with ELVis, SelVis and North London as part of his
collaboration role.
With less
than 3 weeks left, Final preparations for ELVis’s Sight Information Day are
well and truly underway with floor plans in the process of being completed,
auction sheets being created, refreshments being stocked up, etc. We look
forward to seeing many of you at the event on 23 July 10.00-16.00 at the
Epicentre, 41 West Street, E11 4LJ. You will have the opportunity to explore a
range of daily living, technical, communication and mobility equipment that is
suitable for people experiencing some form of sight loss. Come and meet experts
on the day that can provide you with a practical demonstration of equipment on
display. Confirmed exhibitors include:
- ELVis
- Guide Dogs
- Humanware
- Metro Blind Sport
- Optelec
- RNIB Reading Options
- Transport for London
- Waltham Forest Sensory Team
Also for
those of you, who like me have a sweet tooth, we will have light refreshments
on sale including some rather delicious cakes. You’ll know where to find me
then!! a tombola and auction will help raise funds and there will be various
giveaways too.
All funds
raised will be match funded by Lloyds Banking Group, up to the value of £500.
Have a
great weekend all, stay cool, and I’ll be back before you know it, but it only
seems right to end with a summer joke:
Q: What
did the air conditioning say to the man?
A:
I'm your biggest fan.
No comments:
Post a Comment