East Suffolk Association for the Blind

RECREATION AND LEISURE

Below is a list of organisations and groups both national and local who provide social and leisure activities including holidays and outings, mixed social groups, men’s groups, craft classes, bowling, rambling, sailing, fishing, tandem riding, pottery, quiz events and much more. Local groups are always looking for new members with new ideas!

NATIONAL ORGANISATIONS

BBC In Touch Programme Radio 4 Tuesday evenings 8.40pm, gives advice and news relevant to sight impaired people.
British Blind Sport	01926 424247
RNIB Leisure Services www.rnib.org.uk	0303 123 9999
English Blind Golf Association	01276 512538
Gardening Advice for visually impaired gardeners can be obtained from RNIB direct and from THRIVE who can be contacted at ‘Blind Gardeners’ Helpline’	0118 988 5688

COUNTY ORGANISATIONS

East Suffolk Association for the Blind have Social Groups that meet at eight centres in Suffolk variously meeting between once and twice a month as well as having special events and outings. For details of your nearest group and transport arrangements, please contact the ESAB office on 01473 611011.

Optua (previously known as Rethink Disability)

Provides information and help on leisure and sporting activities for those with disabilities in Suffolk. Ipswich 01473 836777 www.optua.org.uk

Mid Suffolk groups

Stowmarket Bowls Club

01449 720531

East Suffolk groups

Felixstowe Blind Shooters Club	01473 278047
Ipswich Town Football Club	01473 400500
Ipswich Blind Society	01473 219712
East Anglian Sailing Trust www.east-anglian-sailing-trust.org.uk	0333 088 3278
The Woolverstone Sailing Project at Woolverstone and Alton Water www.woolverstoneproject.org.uk	07507 906719

North Suffolk groups

Lowestoft Blind Bowls Club	01502 589624
Lowestoft VI Activities Group	01502 513371
Lowestoft Activities Group	01502 513335
Lowestoft Blind Shooters Club	01502 585329
Lowestoft Focus Group	01502 586863
Lowestoft Live Arts	01502 585329
Waveney Bowls Club	01502 586863

Holidays

Action for Blind People Holidays www.actionforblindpeople.org.uk	0800 915 4666
Vitalise www.vitalise.org.uk	0845 330 0149
Royal National Institute of the Blind www.rnib.org.uk	0303 123 9999
Creative Travel www.creative-travel.co.uk	01503 220422

Other general services

Equipment

RNIB sell a variety of useful aids for people who enjoy woodwork, gardening, knitting, sewing, etc.

Games

A variety of well-known games such as dominoes, snakes and ladders, scrabble, and easy to see playing cards are available and can be purchased through the East Suffolk Association for the Blind or direct from RNIB.

Internet – Radio

ACB Radio showcases and nurtures the creativity and talents of the blind/low-vision community from many parts of the world. ACB Radio is heard by a global audience via the internet, and has visitors from over seventy countries. http://www.acbradio.org/

Talking Newspapers and Books

Please see page 29 in this information pack for contact details for Talking Newspapers and Books both locally and nationally.

Radios for the visually impaired

Some visually impaired people qualify for the long-term loan of radio or radio/cassette/CD system supplied by the British Wireless for the Blind fund. Speak with your ESAB Community Worker or contact East Suffolk Association for the Blind 01473 611011 for advice on this.

Audio Description Services.

A large number of TV programmes, Cinema and Theatre Shows now support audio described performances. This is where a narrator describes supplementary information in the silence between the spoken words to help visualise all that is going on. For TV, there are specialist TV sets or set top receivers and recorders that have this functionality built in. Please contact East Suffolk Association for the Blind 01473 611011 or speak to your Community Worker for more details. More and more Cinemas and Theatres are putting on shows with specific performances that provide this service. Please contact your local Cinema or Theatre to find out more.

Cinemas

If you are in receipt of Disability Living Allowance or Attendance Allowance or you are registered as severely sight impaired (blind), you can apply to the Cinema Exhibitors Association for a national card that entitles you to one free ticket for a person accompanying you to the cinema. The card is valid for 1 year and is subject to an annual fee of £5.50. Application forms are available from participating cinemas or you can contact the Card Network on 0845 123 1292 for details.

To find out what audio described films are being screened in your area, you can phone 0845 056 9824 or if you have a computer with built in speakers you can have the cinema listings read aloud to you at http//www.yourlocalcinema.com/ad.speech.html

Theatres in East Anglia having Audio Described Performances

The New Wolsey Theatre -Ipswich www.wolseytheatre.co.uk	01473 295900
The Theatre Royal - Bury St Edmunds www.theatreroyal.org.	01284 769505
The Mercury Theatre - Colchester www.mercurytheatre.co.uk	01206 573948

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