Author: Helen Kirby

Celebratory Afternoon Tea Party

On Saturday, 11 September 2021, volunteers, listeners and friends of Three Rivers Talking Newspaper met to celebrate their move from Bungay Honeypot Centre to the smart new studio at Bungay Community Centre.  Scroll down to see a selection of pictures.

Emma Welton, Chair, praised the way Three Rivers readers and technical officers had adapted to remote recording from home during the first lockdown, thus keeping blind and visually impaired listeners in touch with local news as much as possible.

Above all, the celebratory afternoon tea was a chance for everyone involved with our talking newspaper to meet up for a long awaited chat over tea, sandwiches, scones and yummy cakes.

Huge thanks go to everyone involved and especially to Maisebrooke Farm in Shipmeadow, who kindly donated a very generous hamper full of delicious local goodies as a raffle prize.   The raffle raised £130 for Three Rivers and this will be spent on the purchase of new boomboxes for our listeners.

 

Getting Ready
Maisebrook Farm hamper
So many goodies!
Welcome from Emma
Shy Alan!

 

Our First Day in New Studio

Helen, Robin, Vaughan, Emma & Charmian. Photo taken by Alan

Well, it felt like our first day at a new school!   Not only was June 3rd 2021 our first day back in the studio following lockdown – it was also our first day in the  NEW studio.   We’re delighted to say that we’ve now settled into our new home at the brand new Bungay Community Centre.

Huge thanks to Martin for ensuring a seamless transfer.

Three Rivers Wins Again!

The Darbies with Sylvia Knights (left) and Three Rivers Chair Emma Welton (right)

The annual three-way quiz between local Talking Newspapers was held on Thursday last week at Bungay Golf Club, hosted by Three Rivers. Eleven teams vied for the trophy and Bungay’s Deputy Reeve, Sylvia Knights, did the honour of being Quiz Master for the evening. The friendly rivalry concluded with a win for Three Rivers team, The Darbies, with K9 Crew coming a close second. The Committee of Three Rivers Talking Newspaper would like to thank Bungay Golf Club for a super buffet supper, the teams from Sound East (Lowestoft) and Grapevine (Gt Yarmouth) who travelled to Bungay for the event, and especially to Sylvia Knights for proving a fair and humorous Quiz Master.

Quiz 2021 will be hosted by Grapevine.

Anne Frith RIP

Anne receiving her Long Service Award from Chair Vaughan Shea
Anne receiving her Long Service Award (25 years) from Chair Vaughan Shea
Anne Frith, one of our listeners and a long serving member of our Committee here at Three Rivers TN, passed away recently.
Although she was probably best known in Beccles as a historian and author, Anne was involved in several local and  national organisations, including Guide Dogs for the Blind and, of course, our very own Three Rivers Talking Newspaper.   She served as Listener Representative from the foundation of Three Rivers TN back in 1991, and continued in this role for a staggering 25 years.
Those of us who were lucky enough to work alongside her on the Committee appreciated her sharp wit and practical advice. Anne never shied away from calling a spade a spade and was instrumental in bringing about many improvements to the way we do things at Three Rivers.  As for our annual quiz, Anne was not just a regular participant; she was an avid competitor and frequently ended up on the winning team.
Above all, Anne will be remembered as a fiercely independent, intelligent and capable woman who achieved far more than many of us could ever dream of.
Our thoughts and prayers go to her family and especially to Anne’s devoted husband John who has also been a huge supporter of Three Rivers.
May she rest in peace.

Talk by Torch Trust for the Blind in Topcroft

There will be a talk by Torch Trust for the Blind in Topcroft church this coming Sunday, July 7th, at 11am.  The talk will take place during the Sunday service and be followed by refreshments.  All of our listeners and their family/friends are invited to attend this interesting talk.   The church grounds and the building itself have disabled facilities.  There is no need to book your place for the talk  – just come along to Topcroft church and help will be on hand for anyone who needs it.

The Torch Trust for the Blind enables people with sight loss to discover the Christian faith and lead fulfilling Christian lives. To this end, they provide Christian resources and activities for blind and partially sighted people, including a free lending library and a range of magazines, in various accessible formats.  People of all faiths or none are welcome to use the services of the Torch Trust and you can find out more about them on www.torchtrust.org 

Winners Again!

Rodney Scase (right) of Sound East presents the trophy to winners, Ne’er Cast a Clout.

We’re delighted to announce that, after a nail-biting finish, our brainy colleagues on the Ne’er Cast a Clout team ensured that Three Rivers TN galloped home with the silver once again at the recent Annual 3-way Quiz, hosted by our Lowestoft friends, Sound East.

The quiz took place in the Masonic Hall in Lowestoft on Monday, 25 February 2019 and was supported by listeners, family and friends from Three Rivers TN, Sound East TN and GrapeVine TN (Gt Yarmouth).

Once all the scores were tallied, it emerged that two Three Rivers TN teams – Ne’er Cast a Clout and The Darbies (winners from a previous year) tied for top position.  This led to a series of four (yes, four!) tie-breaker questions before Ne’er Cast a Clout were finally declared winners and The Darbies runners-up.

Huge congratulations to everyone who competed but especially to our winners: Vaughan (Team D), Rebecca and Sally (Team B), along with Sally’s husband, John.

Our thanks go to Rodney Scase and his team of seasoned professionals, who ensured that everything went smoothly and efficiently on the night and thanks also to the staff at Masonic Hall for keeping us well fed and watered.

Next year, it will be our turn to host the Quiz and, hopefully, to ensure that the trophy makes its way “back home”.

 

Three Rivers Triumphs on Quiz Night

Winners The K9 Crew

Our annual 3-way quiz, involving Grapevine from Great Yarmouth, Sound East from Lowestoft and Three Rivers, took place on Monday, 19 March at the Kensington Hotel, Great Yarmouth.    And we’re delighted to announce that the trophy was won by Three Rivers, thanks to our clever colleagues, The K9 Crew, led by volunteer, Jill Bennett and friends.

It was a hard-fought quiz with only three points between the eventual winners and the runners-up from Grapevine.  Thirteen teams, comprising a total of 50 entrants,  were kept in order by a fast-paced quiz master, Simon Partridge, assisted by his wife Jean. The topics covered were wide-ranging and included ‘well-known Alans’ and the more familiar subjects of sport, geography and food.

The raffle raised nearly £80 for the Talking Newspapers and everyone dined on a delicious buffet supper, ensuring that a most enjoyable evening was had by all.  Huge thanks to Grapevine who hosted the quiz this year and to The Kensington Hotel in Great Yarmouth for their excellent hospitality.

Free, lifelong support for vision-impaired ex-Service personnel

Learning to adjust to life with sight loss can be extremely difficult. Blind Veterans UK provides vital and free training, rehabilitation, equipment and emotional support for blind and vision-impaired veterans, no matter when they served, or whether they lost their sight due to accident, age-related illness or in service.

Each veteran is supported with their particular needs to enable them to discover life beyond sight loss and live independently. This could be anything from rehabilitation, specialist equipment to help them make a cup of tea, bringing veterans together at its social events or on holidays to respite weeks at one of Blind Veterans UK’s centres in Brighton and Llandudno.

Blind Veterans UK currently supports 114 veterans in Suffolk but know there are many more. The No One Alone campaign is reaching out to the estimated more than 700 vision-impaired ex-Service men and women in the county who could be eligible for support but don’t currently realise it.  A similar situation exists in Norfolk. Most of these veterans completed their service many years ago, and have since lost their sight due to conditions such as macular degeneration or glaucoma.

Lara King, No One Alone Campaign Manager, said: “We want to promote the lifelong support offered for those who have served our country and for those who care for them. We strongly encourage families to ask the vision-impaired person if he or she ever served in the Armed Forces, including National Service.  If so they can apply for our support.”

If you, or someone you know, served in the Armed Forces, including National Service, and is now battling severe sight loss, find out how Blind  Veterans UK could help by calling 0800 389 7979 or visiting www.blindveterans.org.uk

 

Thrilling Final at Annual 3-Way Quiz

 

Three Rivers Talking Newspaper hosted the local talking newspaper quiz night on Monday, 20 March at Bungay Golf Club. Having won the quiz for the last few years against their rivals Sound East and Grapevine, the Three Rivers teams did really well until the very end, drawing in first place until after three tie-break questions they were finally defeated by a Grapevine team with a cunningly tricky question posed by 3RTN chairman Vaughan O’Shea – how many miles is it from John O’Groats to Lands End?

The evening saw every table full for the quiz, with 21 teams taking part. Bungay Golf Club prepared a delicious buffet supper and Vaughan entertained everyone with his unique style of holding the raffle at break-neck speed allowing no one to return a prize if they won more than once! Special thanks to Kaye and Helen who were the quizmasters, Sally for organizing the raffle and huge congratulations to the winning team from Grapevine, The Nomads. Runners-up The K9 Crew took home the David Wuyts trophy for the highest scoring Three Rivers team.  The money raised will be shared between the three talking newspaper groups represented at the quiz.