Sudbury Newstalk celebrates its 40th anniversary

Above: a photo of the team celebrating their 40th anniversary at a recent Garden party.

Jane Chambers writes: It all began around 40 years ago. A small group of like-minded people decided to provide a local information service for the visually impaired. This would be in addition to print news prepared and produced locally. It followed the establishment of a Talking Newspaper the like of which were being set up around the country. The founding fathers (for want of a better name) began recording on tape in a private house. The first product was a fortnightly recorded newspaper with content being drawn from local print news and of interest to residents in and around Sudbury. With the success of this venture a bi-monthly Magazine was subsequently produced with contributions from volunteers and recorded in the same way as the Newspaper.

Little has changed over the years although we now provide USB stick recordings, duplicate them locally (where we used the services of Bury St. Edmunds Talking Newspaper for many years). As our listeners well know we use and reuse plastic wallets to distribute the recordings and these are posted free of charge by the Post Office Authorities. Being a small Charity totally reliant on fund raising this free postage is of great value to us. Our major expense has always been free provision of the USB player which was previously a tape recorder but now very 21st Century.

Like many hundreds of small local charities around the country we are as I said above totally reliant on fund raising and volunteers who give their time freely. Additionally, we are always seeking new volunteers as our current team have been working for Sudbury Newstalk for many years and are themselves ageing. New people are increasingly needed to keep us going.

In the 40 years since its inception SNT has seen the welcome expansion of a myriad of ways the visually impaired can receive up to date news and information. For the time being however our efforts seem well received and enjoyed by those able to listen.

With ageing volunteers at Bury St. Edmunds they are now using our Magazine recordings as are those in Newmarket, Stowmarket, and some parts of Ipswich. So, we are confident we still have a role to play. If you are interested in our story and wish to join us, we would be delighted to hear from you.

For more information do not hesitate to contact Jane Chambers 01787 468535.