CHATTY volunteers who read the local news to blind and poorly-sighted people have been bowled over by the generosity of their new hosts.
The Rugby Talking Newspaper (RTN) has moved to a new studio at the Rugby Thornfield Indoor Bowling Club after having to move from its previous home due to rising rent – ending a year of uncertainty for the vocal venture.
Every week RTN makes a digital recording of the news, sourced from local outlets including The Observer, and distributes it to around 80 visually-impaired people who would otherwise miss out on what is going on in Rugby.
RTN chairman Martyn Priest said: “After months of searching we were offered use of a perfect space here in the Bowling Club. We’ve been here for a couple of months now and things are going really well.
“We have been bowled over by the welcome we have received and feel we have really landed on our feet.”
The club’s chairman David Murley, said he was pleased to welcome RTN.
He said: “We’ve had a long association with RTN over the years – a lot of the volunteers have been bowlers here at the club – and we are delighted to offer them a secure home so they can carry on with their important work. It’s one of the many ways we feel we support our local community.”
RTN started in 1973 when the local Rotary Club and Rugby Rokeby Lions got together to produce a taped reading from a makeshift studio in the Old Police Station in Railway Terrace.
Since then the cassette tapes have been replaced by digital memory sticks which, with the help of the Royal Mail, are sent out to residents who are unable to read small print. In the 47 years since it began, the charity has sent out more than 300,000 recordings to over 6,000 listeners.
Visit www.rugbytalkingnewspaper.org or call Simon Ainley on 07793 072889 for more information on RTN.
