This paper is a joy to many of us - to sit down with a cup of tea perhaps, and pick up your local Observer. Had you thought how lucky you are? Just to be able to read it yourself? To still have your eyesight and to enjoy all the benefits that gives you?

To make the point, try this. Put down the paper and close your eyes. Stand up and turn around; pick up your cup (your eyes are still closed, of course), walk to the kettle and pour yourself a ‘top-up’. Did you get it all right? - no spillage, no bumping into furniture, no nothing? Aren’t you lucky?

Do you know someone who has lost their sight, or never had it? Don’t you know of someone - a relative, a neighbour, a friend or simply an acquaintance - who is not blessed with this simple gift? Someone who can’t pick up the local paper and read it for themselves?

The volunteers at Tenby Talking Newspaper are a body of people who are ready to help with this one benefit at least. Every Friday morning, one or other of their five teams meet together; take up the paper; edit is sufficiently to trim to one-hour (or so) presentation of the news; then read this and record this on a memory stick, which they then post, courtesy of the Royal Mail, to each home of a receiver. Those receivers will be provided with a boom box to listen to it whenever they wish. THERE IS NO COST AT ALL TO AMNY RECEIVER.

Before the first lock-down of the pandemi no fewer than 70 people were in receipt of their very own ‘news reel’. That number is now halved, due to the various restraints on having enough volunteers to be able to work togather for total continuity.

Our invitation now is that you, our sighted readers will not hesitate to tell someone who will benefit from this to contact us. Perhaps you will help them to make that contact. Anyone who offers to help either you, or your nominee or both can be assured as our volunteers are retired people with the time and expertise to give ample confidence in the use of memory stick and boom box.

No cost at all, and all help you can receive - and you/their horizons will widen.

To make this first (non-obligatory) step and be assured that this will be help, call the Tenby Observer on 01834 843262 and ask for the Tenby Talking Paper contact numbers.