100 Years Young - Congratulations Jack!

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1 Your local charity supporting blind & partially sighted people ISSUE 45 AUG & SEPT 2016 Editor: Jo Wood 100 Years Young - Congratulations Jack! Member Jack Willmott attended our recent Garden Party, where we celebrated as he reached his milestone 100th Birthday. Jack is an inspiration, still living independently and exhibiting a positive outlook that allows him to enjoy life to the best of his abilities. He has certainly crammed a lot into his 100 years! As a local boy he went to school in Winton and then worked as a car mechanic in Wallisdown before embarking on a career in the aircraft industry that took him all over the world. He initially worked in Kent building Spitfire wings before moving to Hertfordshire with De Havilland Aircraft company, building the first metal planes before War broke out. Jack spent the war in Hamble, repairing Spitfires, as well as (continued page 2)

2 volunteering with the Air Force Reserves. He explains, after D -Day I returned to De Havillands, working on every plane they built between 1937 and 57 except the Mosquito. I ended up in Nottingham as an engine fitter. I ve lived in lots of different places and kicked around a bit! Jack later became a Pub Landlord, first in Hatfield, then Redhill. He looked after his first wife for many years after she suffered a stroke; returning to work at Gatwick Airport for British Caledonian as a fitter for 20 years, until retirement in I travelled all around the world with them fixing aircraft, it was really interesting - I would just pick up my tools and go, you never knew what you d find when you got there! With his cheeky smile and sense of humour, Jack loves to tell his stories, such as when he mistakenly drove down a runway at Heathrow to go to fix a plane so they had to cease flying. I can actually say I brought Heathrow to a standstill! Jack moved near to Alicante, Spain for 11 years with his second wife. We came back to Bournemouth for a holiday and she decided she wouldn t mind living here so that s what we did! We moved back in 1997 and I ve been here now for longer than the first time! Jack has been on his own for the last 11 years but remains independent in his flat and still uses public transport. What s his secret to reaching such a great age? He has kept fit over the years and was a keen Spartan, going winter sea swimming right up until 3 years ago. I ve looked after myself, I only gave up the swimming because my knees got bad! Jack was diagnosed with Macular Degeneration about 5 years ago. He jokes I can see your outline but not your actual features, if you did a robbery, I wouldn t be able to pick you out or describe you! It frightened the life out of me when I first got this and had to sell my car straight away! We congratulate Jack and wish him many more happy birthdays and social days with us all here at Bournemouth Blind Society. We thank Councillor Nicola Greene for allowing us to use her garden again this year for our annual party. 2

3 Staff Changes Caretaker Jerry Shears (above left) retired at the beginning of June. We thank him for his dedication over the past 11 years, when he has cared for both the members and our building. However, we are very fortunate that Jerry has agreed to stay on as a volunteer driver, so we will still see him most Monday and Thursday afternoons. We welcomed Mark Everard (top right) as our new caretaker on 1st July and wish him success in his future career with us. Mark s teenage daughter is visually impaired so he has understanding and empathy with the needs of those with sight loss. Cricket After Dorset Dolphin s June fixture in Gloucester was cancelled due to wet weather, this T20 match was played on 3rd July. Unfortunately the Dolphins were narrowly defeated but a great day out and team spirit was enjoyed, with safe travels in the Bournemouth Blind Society minibus. The bus was also used to travel to London to play Metro Devils on 16th July. Archery Our Archery Group meets outside at Canford Magna on Tuesday evenings during the summer. Huge progress has been made by members, with lots of fun taking place. We thank Sagittarii Archery Club for their ongoing support and encouragement. 3

4 Sight & Hearing Resource Centre Opening Hours: Monday - Friday 10am - 1pm No appointments necessary Our friendly staff can offer full demonstrations of specialist equipment for sight/hearing impaired people which they may then order or purchase. Please visit to discover the range of equipment available to help you. Geemarc have kindly donated a CL555 Amplified Telephone with an Answering Machine for demonstration purposes in our Hearing Centre. This has a Big Button Talking Keypad, with amplification up to 50dB, talking caller ID and is hearing aid compatible. We now have RNIB Stay Put Matting ( 9) which helps to provide contrast on surfaces. It is also pressure sensitive, easy to cut and comes in 3 different colours - red, yellow and blue. We remind you we are local agents for British Wireless for the Blind Fund, a national charity helping to improve the daily lives of visually impaired people by providing them with a lifeline to the world. The Fund supplies specially adapted audio equipment on a free loan basis to those who meet their criteria. Last year more than 3,000 radio sets were supplied. Please ask in our Resource Centre for more information if you feel you may qualify for one of these. Living Paintings Living Paintings has a growing range of touch and sound books for blind and partially sighted people of all ages. For adults, these cover diverse topics such as Modern Art, Architecture, Garden Design, tours of popular British Cities and Nature. There are also children s classic story books and Teacher Resource Packs. For more information, please phone or library@livingpaintings.org 4

5 Tuesday Drop in Cafe Our Tuesday café serves cooked breakfasts from Roast lunches can be booked for the last Tuesday of each month. Either make your own way here or phone a few days before to book the Minibus. ALL visually impaired people are very welcome to attend. Arts & Crafts Our Arts & Crafts group is busy creating work for the exhibition. A new project, an Eye Collage Collaboration is currently being developed by our new volunteer Natalie, with Jackie s assistance. This piece aims to enable a group of members to work together on a larger scale, allowing much greater freedom of expression. The exhibition is on 10th 14th October at the Bournemouth Library - please visit! Hard of Hearing Club Our Hard of Hearing Club will meet on Wednesdays 10th August and 14th September ( ) Small groups share their experiences over a cup of tea or coffee. Everyone welcome. In the Community Geraldine and Marie attended a Living with Low Vision event at the Eye Unit Outpatients Department at Bournemouth Hospital on 2nd July. This marked the Macular Society s Macular Week and featured exhibitions, speakers and demonstrations from relevant services and charities. Philip is giving several talks about sight loss and our charity in the next few months. On 6th September he is with the Christchurch Angels at the Christchurch Library; on 7th September at West Parley Townswomen s Guild; 15th September at Brendoncare in Boscombe and 17th October at the Trefoil Guild in Winton. During August Philip and Geraldine will be visiting Bournemouth Airport to advise on accessibility for visually impaired travellers. If you know any group who would like a presentation about visual impairment and our work, please contact Philip on or philip.tarrant@bournemouth blindsociety.uk 5

6 Fundraising Thanks We thank everyone for their continued generosity raising and donating funds for us. Donations have included: 468 raised by a sponsored walk/run from Sandbanks to Hengistbury Head by member Rita Keeley s granddaughter Claire Andrews, who works for Nationwide, Richmond Hill. 887 from our June Quiz Night - thank you to everyone who took part. 475 from the Queen s 90th Birthday Tea Party. Thank you to Tesco, Castle Lane for providing food for the tea. shoppers who voted for us in their Green Token schemes. 500 was received from Asda. Sally and Philip received a 320 cheque from Waitrose (pictured above). 600 was donated by the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Masonic Charity (see Sally receiving cheque below) 220 from Margaret Hebditch and the Christchurch Royal British Legion from their Christmas & New Year Dance. Over 400 was raised from the July Wessex Chorus Concert. Thank you to Martin and the Choir for a superb evening of musical entertainment. Assistive Technology Suite Donations: Thank you to all the Waitrose Winton and Asda Castlepoint The Independent Order of Foresters donated 173. As an independent charity, we rely on donations to continue providing our vital services to local blind and partially sighted people. 6

7 Volunteers We have been pleased to welcome two new Centre based volunteers recently. Natalie Zermani, (above left) an Animation Production student at the Arts University will be with us on Mondays during the summer. John Plumbe, (above right) previously a History teacher at a secondary school in London, moved to Bournemouth earlier this year and has joined us as a Hearing Centre assistant on Mondays. He has also joined the Befriending service. Walks We look forward to a walk and picnic in the New Forest on 29th July. The dates/venues for the last 2 walks this year are: Friday 26th August - Hengistbury Head Friday 30th September - The Chines Minibus transport costs 5 Please call the office on if you would like to join us. Activities Bookings Entertainment highlights from our 2016 August/September calendar: Thursday 4th August - Marion s Garden Tea Party Thursday 11th August - Summer Party - BBQ & Games Monday 15th August - Ollie & Dom s Music Thursday 1st September - Talk: Dorset My Dorset by Bonny Sartin of The Yetties Monday 5th September - Beach Hut ( 15) Monday 12th September - Paul Evans Music Please remember to book early for these very popular activities as transport places may be limited. We wish you all a happy and healthy 7

8 Please call to book for either of these events taking place in our Rooper Hall Summer Dance Saturday 27th August 7.30pm 10 (includes Supper) Enjoy dancing to a range of music styles Quiz Night Saturday 24th September 7.30pm 9 (includes Fish & Chips) Prizes for winning team Raffle/Cash Bar Bournemouth Blind Society 5 Victoria Park Road, Bournemouth BH9 2RB Tel (General Enquiries) Tel (Community Services) Supporting blind and partially sighted people to remain independent and part of the community Company No: Charity No: