A world of audio books to choose from

PUBLISHING giant Bloomsbury have donated their entire audio book collection to the free Talking Books Library run by blind people’s charity RNIB

The worldwide publishing house’s collection includes around 600 titles and every future Bloomsbury audio book will also be added to RNIB’s Library

RNIB launched its online library two years ago, offering people with sight loss instant access to free books in formats they can read – including audio It now has close to 40,000 Talking Books in its collection

Sam Halstead, director of audio at Bloomsbury, said, “We have long admired the brilliant work of the Talking Books Library and it is great to know every audio book we publish will be available to the library’s users ” n RNIB helpline: 0303 123 9999

VISUAL PROBLEMS n ACCRINGTON

Tel 01254 233332 n BARROW Tel 01229

820698 n BIRMINGHAM Action for

Blind Tel 0121 665 4200 n BLACKBURN

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Tel 01253 362696 n BURY Tel 0161 763 7014 n BURNLEY

Tel 01282 438507

CARERS’ CENTRES

n ACCRINGTON

Tel 01254 387 444 n BLACKBURN with DARWEN

Tel 01254 688 www bwdcarers org n BLACKPOOL

Blackpool Borough Council, Tel 01253 477 716 nCUMBRIA

Carlisle

Tel 01228 542 156

Penrith

Tel 01768 890 280

Barrow-in-Furness

Tel 01229 822 822

Kendal

Tel 01539 732 927

Whitehaven, Tel 01946 592 223 n CHESHIRE & WARRINGTON

Helpline:0300 102 0008 n KNOWSLEY Tel 0151 549 1412 n LANCASTER

Tel 01524 66475 nLIVERPOOL

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Tel 0161 835 2995 n MORECAMBE

Tel 01524 833456 n PRESTON Tel 01772 200173 n RUNCORN

Tel 01928 580182 n WIDNES

Tel 0151 257 9673 n SALFORD

ABEST-SELLING title by fantasy writer

Ben Aaronovitch has been chosen by members of the Listening Books charity as their book of the year

Listening Books provides audio books to people who have an illness, disability, learning difficulty or mental health condition which makes reading print difficult or impossible

Actor Stephen Fry, the charity’s patron, presented the 2022 Members Choice Award to Aaronovitch for his urban fantasy Rivers of London: Amongst Our Weapons

Aaronovitch, pictured, said: “I listen to books all the time and I think it is a wonderful way to hear a story After all, when you write you are hearing it in your head, and so having it spoken out loud is practically an extension of what you are doing!”

Membership is free to those who would find cost a barrier n Listening Books: Tel 020 7407 9417

Help At The End Of A Phone

n CARLISLE: Action for Blind People Tel 01228 595121 n CHESHIRE & N WALES: Vision Support Tel 01244 381515 n CUMBRIA (West) Tel 01946 592474 n CUMBRIA (Sth Lakeland) Tel 01539 726613 n GUIDE DOGS Tel 0118 983 5555 n HENSHAW’S 0161 872 234 or 0151 708 7055 n LIVERPOOL: Bradbury Fields Tel 0151 221 0888: Action for Bind Tel 0151 298 3222 n MANCHESTER: Action for Blind Tel 0161 787 9252 n PRESTON: Action for Blind People Tel 01772 320550 n OLDHAM Tel 0161 682

8019 n ROSSENDALE Tel 01706 873256 n SIGHTLINE (North West)

Tel 0800 587 2252 n WIGAN Tel 01942 242891 n WIRRAL Tel 0151 652 8877

HEARING ISSUES n BIRMINGHAM Institute for Deaf Tel 0121 246 6101 n CHESHIRE Deaf Society Tel 01606 47831 n CUMBRIA Deaf Society

Tel 01228 606434 n LANCASHIRE (EAST) Deaf Society Tel 01282 839180 n MANCHESTER Deaf

Centre Tel 0161 273 3415

Genie Networks Tel 0161 941 4549

Text 18001 0161 941 4549 n MERSEYSIDE Society for Deaf Tel 0151 228 0888 n SOUTHPORT Centre for the Deaf Tel 01704 537001 n ST HELENS: Deafness

Resource Centre Tel 01744 23887 n WOLVERHAMPTON Centre for Deaf Tel 01902

Tel 0161 833 0217 n SEFTON

Tel 0151 288 6060 n ST HELENS

Tel 01744 675 615 n STOCKPORT

Tel 0161 442 0442 n WARRINGTON (WIRED)

Tel 01925 633 492 n WEST LANCS

Tel 01695 711243 n WIGAN & LEIGH

Tel 01942 705959 / 486923

MIDLANDS n BIRMINGHAM

Tel 0121 675 8000 n SOLIHULL

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Tel 01922 610 810

NORTH WALES n ANGLESEY

Tel 01248 722828 n BANGOR Tel 01248 370 797 n CONWY

Tel 01492 533714 n DENBIGHSHIRE: NEWCIS

Tel: 0845 603 3187 nDOLGELLAU

Tel 01341 421167 n FLINTSHIRE: NEWCIS, Tel: 01352 751436 n WREXHAM CARERS SERVICE

18 All Together NOW! MAY-JUNE 2023 www.alltogethernow.org.uk

Medical Notes

Keep You On Your Toes

YOU might think that our risk of falling as we grow older is all down to physical factors like frailty and limited mobility

But it seems the brain has a big say in the matter too

Researchers in the US say brain speed is a major risk factor for falls and that rewiring the brain can help people stay on their feet

Our brains start to slow down by very small amounts (measured in milliseconds – thousandths of a second) in our 20s

With each passing decade, the slowing grows, but may not be noticeable until our 40s or 50s, when we find ourselves increasingly pausing to think of a word

The same sort of slowing also impacts our processing speed and reaction time related to movement

Numerous studies have shown that slower visual processing speed puts us at a higher risk of falling and of suffering worse injuries as a result

But the decade-long ACTIVE study showed falls among older adults can be significantly reduced through a modest amount of a particular kind of computerised brain training.

Nearly three thousand people across the US took part in the study, which revealed that among those with a high chance of falling, training their brains to process thoughts more quickly lowered their risk by almost a third.

“Think about losing your balance and starting to fall,” said Dr. Mahncke, head of Posit Science, which makes the brain training app, BrainHQ.

“Your head suddenly begins to move through space in a downward direction, alerting your brain’s visual and balance systems that you are about to fall.