Henley and District Talking Newspaper

THE Henley and District Talking Newspaper’s annual meeting took place on July 25.

In his report, chairman Richard Hodgkin said: “Firstly, I would like to say a big thank you to our committee and readers for helping us complete another successful year.

“We really do have a good group of very loyal volunteers working for the charity and it still gives me a huge amount of pride when occasionally I hear from some of our listeners about how much they value and enjoy our weekly recordings.

“I am, however, sorry to report that our long-term treasurer, Jeni Wood, has decided to ‘retire’ and I would like to thank her for all the work she has done for us over the years.

“I am happy to announce that Jane Smewing has agreed to take on this role. Thank you, Jane.

“Over the past 12 months our listener numbers have remained fairly steady and currently stand at 38.

“This includes six local care and nursing homes plus Henley library, where multiple people listen to our recordings.

“I would also like to say thank you to Townlands Memorial Hospital, where we make our weekly recordings, and to Steph Greenwood in particular who goes out of her way to help when we need to book the room.

“Thank you also to the Henley Standard for continuing to provide us with early copies of the newspaper and to The Henley College which continues to receive all our returned wallets which are collected by the on-duty controller each Thursday morning.

“Thank you also to all our listeners. We do get occasional feedback and it is always very positive, which is very gratifying.

“We have an excellent group of dedicated volunteers who turn out every week, whatever the weather.

“We can look forward to another year with confidence that all is in order.

“We would welcome more listeners to our service, which is free to those who are registered as visually impaired. We do also provide the recordings to anyone else who is unable to read, for whatever reason, and we provide, also free of charge, a listening device if required.

“So if you know of anyone who could benefit from receiving our weekly recordings, please let me know.

“Henley Talking Newspaper is an independent, registered charity which is and self-funding.” If you are interested in receiving our weekly recordings of the Henley Standard, please call Richard Hodgkin on (01491) 573192.