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ISSUE 12
Autumn/Winter 2015
ISSUE 12
CHRISTMAS CAROL CONCERTS
This year Nugent Care’s Carol concerts are in aid of homeless people :-
Friday 4th December 7.30pm:
SS Peter & Paul Church, Liverpool Road, Crosby L25 5TE
Featuring:
Great Crosby Catholic Primary School Choir, Holy Family Catholic High School Choir
and Liverpool Voice
Saturday 12th December 7.30pm:
Our Lady of the Annunciation Church Bishop Eton, Woolton Road, Liverpool, L16 8NQ
Featuring:
St. Austin’s Catholic Primary School Choir, New Era, plus other special guests
Come and join us and sing some of your favourite Christmas carols.
Ticket price: Adult £5, children free (inclusive of refreshments)
Proceeds from this concert will support people living in
poverty.
There will be a raffle and a stall selling Christmas decorations
during the interval.
The “Hear Here” Team wishes all our readers a Happy, Healthy,
Peaceful Christmas & Best Wishes for 2016
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ISSUE 12 Autumn/Winter
TATTON PARK TRIP
Lipreading class members from Southport, Formby and Liverpool went on a coach trip to
Tatton Park. The weather held out for us and a good time was had by all.
The house was as beautiful as ever
and the gardens were in full bloom.
You cannot beat a bit of English
heritage on a lovely summer’s day.
There were several cafes to
choose from and some members
did partake in all of them, as it
would have been rude not to !
The cream tea looked delicious.
Some members used the free mobility scooters around the gardens and the staff were
very helpful with their instructions and guidance. The gardens are a must see attraction
at Tatton anytime of the year.
During the summer, Tatton Park had an exhibition
of the work of Cristina Rodrigues which we were
able to view on the day. Cristina is a Portuguese
artist who has made her home in Manchester.
The exhibition was called 'Guardian Angels.' The
pieces were said to reflect her Portuguese origins
but also her own integration into the British
culture. Cristina’s art celebrates the role of women
in society, across different cultures and tells their
combined stories.
We are hoping to put on another trip in early March 2016.
If you have any suggestions please mention them to a “Hear Here” member of staff.
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END OF TERM LUNCHES
ISSUE 12 Autumn/Winter
In July, the Formby group descended on Formby Hall & Golf Club which is set in
beautiful grounds and has a lovely formal dining room so we were on our best behaviour.
Brie, Mary's hearing dog, naturally
was the best behaved! She is a real
PR dog getting lots of pats and
attention wherever she goes with
Mary. Other groups there were most
interested in Brie. She is a real
ambassador for Hearing Dogs.
Our meals were delicious and we all
agreed it had been a lovely venue.
Joyce Trueman Not to be outdone, the Old Swan
group went to The Adelphi Hotel for
their end of term lunch. They had a
three course carvery. The staff
arranged a quiet area and were very
helpful on the day - ‘thank you’!
These lunch outings arranged by
Louise give us all a chance to get to
know each other better and it is wonderful to enjoy a meal where everyone gives each
other the opportunity to speak and lipread. Bring on more social events, Louise !
Some of you will remember Philip Graves from our Old
Swan Lipreading group. He now lives in Formby.
He had a significant birthday recently, he was 50
years young in October.
Love and best wishes from all your ‘old’ friends in the
Old Swan Lipreading Group
Philip with Eileen, Louise and Anne, taken during the celebration meal with Philip’s family.
HAPPY 50TH BIRTHDAY PHILIP !
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ISSUE 12 Autumn/Winter
LIVERPOOL EMPIRE ‘ACCESS FOR ALL’
Liverpool’s Empire Theatre held an “Access for
All” Open Evening in the theatre’s circle bar on
the evening of Monday 20th July. Alison,
Louise, Graham and I attended the event.
The theatre’s disability officer opened the
proceedings. She told us about her role and
introduced the people who describe and
interpret stage performance. They gave
presentations about audio description,
captioning and signing. All methods are designed to give access to live performances
for those who are blind, visually impaired, Deaf, deafened or hard of hearing.
Audio description is a verbal commentary for the blind or visually impaired, which
describes what is happening on stage. This description will include the scenery,
dress, facial expressions and actions. The audience listens through a headset or
earpiece. Touch tours may also be available for audio described performances.
The BSL interpreter for Deaf people, described how he signs the words spoken and
sung by the actors. The interpreter usually stands at the side of the stage. He
signed and spoke throughout his presentation which included visual expression.
The captioner described how he would prepare the captions in advance and cue them
live at a performance. He is likely to know the production very well. The captions are
similar to television subtitles and give Deaf, deafened and hard of hearing people
access to a live performance. When making a booking it is necessary to check where
to sit in order to have a good view of the captions.
There is also an infrared sound amplification system at the theatre. The theatre
provides neck loops for the use of hard of hearing people.
We were shown a stage show on a small screen to see, hear and watch the
transcribers and interpreters at work all at the same time! They were very
professional, well trained and entertaining. It was fascinating to see how they were
able to combine different forms of communication in such detail.
We then split into groups and fed back our thoughts. There was then an opportunity
to have a look around other parts of the theatre whilst ‘out of hours’. The evening
was very useful and there will be further meetings to ensure the accessibility needs
of theatre-goers are met.
Val Eden
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Autumn/Winter ISSUE 12
Chris and Peter from MSDP were guest speakers at
the Old Swan class in October. This was a very
informative talk on the referral and assessment
process for specialist equipment. Specialist
equipment can make a huge difference to those
living with a hearing loss.
Merseyside Society for Deaf People exists to
promote and advance the quality of life for all
D/deaf, Deaf Blind and Hard of Hearing people.
The Society exists as a guiding hand to support and promote independent living and
access to services.
For further details please contact MSDP :
Phone (Voice or minicom): 0151 228 0888
Email: [email protected] Fax: 0151 228 6021
Find us at our Head Office: 3TC House, 16, Crosby Road North
Waterloo L22 0NY
We are very pleased to be able to
offer exercise sessions for our
members and others with a hearing
loss.
The sessions are chair based and
suitable for most people.
The sessions will start in the New Year
(date to be confirmed).
Please contact Clare for more information (contact details on page 12).
A short health check will be undertaken to ensure suitability before commencing.
We offer our sincere condolences to the families of Dorothy
McGauley and Sylvia Jackson who passed away recently.
They were visited by “Hear Here” Volunteer Visitors in the
Southport area.
MSDP VISIT OLD SWAN CLASS
COMING SOON ! CHAIR BASED EXERCISES
CONDOLENCES
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ISSUE 12 Autumn/Winter
HEARING LINK “HEAR & NOW” EVENT
A large group from “Hear Here” attended this event in “The Devonshire Hotel &
Conference Centre” Liverpool. All the professional speakers were superb.
Helen Dowber from “Resound” brought
us up to date on the research they are
doing to improve hearing aids by
suppressing feedback to give clearer
quieter sounds, free of the noises
surrounding the listener and cutting out
whistling.
She highlighted that Skype allows lipreading and improves communication.
Smart phones and Bluetooth can be linked to hearing aid systems and this can make it
possible to personalise sound input.
Laura Arends from “Stagetext” said they are encouraging theatres and cinemas (even
museums and conferences) to install equipment which makes it possible to follow what
is happening on the stage/screen. (A later speaker highlighted it was essential for each
actor to have a microphone as central microphones would not work satisfactorily).
During the lunch break I told her about the sub-titled films shown by the Mount
Pleasant pub in Southport and she will follow this up - the pub may get more people for
lunch if they provide subtitled films - Southport trendsetting!
Gaynor Chittick reported on the
special developments at Aintree
Hospital Audiology. Awareness
courses have been held so that
nurses can test hearing aids, fit
new batteries and insert the aids
when a patient is unable to do this
themselves.
Every nurse and doctor is now
trained in this way.
Vibrating devices alert people
when it is their turn at
Outpatient clinics.
Clinics have loop systems and wards have bedhead notices for patients which include
details of hearing needs. Each ward has a deaf ‘champion’ who knows how to arrange
language interpreters.
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ISSUE 12 Autumn/Winter
HEARING LINK “HEAR & NOW” EVENT
Dave Barratt on the BT stand had a lot of enquiries about specialist equipment and gave
lots of tips on best phone reception, T-switches, hands-free systems, cordless phones,
on-line chat “Livechat”, “Next Generation Text” - an app direct giving speech text links
see http://ngts.org/uk
Dave suggested before buying equipment, ask to try it or borrow from friends, ask
around and find out what helps other people.
Nicola Robinson from “Cochlear” described how cochlear implants work. No longer is it
necessary to be profoundly deaf to be considered for a cochlear implant as they
endeavour to see that each person receives the best equipment for their personal
circumstances. They also teach people how to cope with tinnitus and balance
problems. New users have a three month assessment period to give a good
diagnosis. Though expectations must be realistic, family support and understanding will
assist towards a successful outcome. Contact with other users is very
helpful. www.cochlear.com
The final speaker was Lyndon Thomas who said each person needed to work out what
they found difficult or impossible e.g. hearing a sat. nav., a passenger in the car, TV, in
restaurants, in a crowd. Then they should ask audiologists what was available to solve
these problems.
Manufacturers will supply detailed answers to questions and tell people where equipment
is available.
Sheryl, the “Speech to Text” reporter was outstanding typing everything that was being
said. It must be VERY difficult to do this so rapidly. One speaker mentioned Ernest
Shackleton, the Antarctic explorer and it came up as ‘Ant Ark Tick’ - this was probably
her only anomaly all day — I thought she was brilliant !
I am grateful to “Hearing Link” for running the Conference, bringing in organisations to
answer questions and supplying lunch, tea and coffee.
There were some practical problems around the use of microphones, neck loops, video
sound quality and timings and our comments were fed back to “Hearing Link”.
June Hobley
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ISSUE 12 Autumn/Winter
THIS AND THAT
Tea dances at the Atkinson Gallery Southport
16th November 2015
14th December 2015
18th January 2016
Dancing 1.30pm to 4.00pm, entrance price £2.00.
Refreshments are available to buy throughout the
afternoon.
Free Subtitled Films
The Mount Films continue to be popular - different subtitled films every Thursday at
2.30pm. Recent films have included A Royal Night Out, Woman in
Gold, The Choir, Mr Holmes, Jurassic World, Danny Collins and
Spy. There will be a Christmas Lunch available nearer Christmas
but you need to book early as the food is good home cooked food
at reasonable prices.
For updated information on films contact: The Mount Pleasant,
107 Manchester Road, Southport, 01704 514131. Details are also
available on Southport Hear Here Facebook page and displayed in
the Southport office.
Coffee Mornings
Lipreading members met up at the Atkinson Gallery for coffee and a chat
during the summer holidays, it gave members a chat to still get out on a
Tuesday and keep in contact with other members.
Monthly Meals
The monthly meals are back up and running, a favourite haunt of the
members is the Old Ship Inn on Eastbank Street, Southport.
The food is good with 3 courses for £5.00 - a bargain!
The portions are not huge but with 3 courses who wants huge
portions? The Mount on Manchester Road also often does meals
which usually coincide with a good film to follow. The time to eat is
usually 1pm. For updates places contact: Alison 07717 788457
The Computer Club
The computer club continues usually on the 3rd Wednesday of the
month at 1.30pm to 3.00pm. They are always busy putting the world
to rights, chatting and laughing so the time flies by. The next
computer club is on 18th November 2015. So if you have a computer
problem that you would like sorting out, come along with your tablet,
phone or laptop and see if they can help you.
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ISSUE 12 Autumn/Winter
The new term of classes started in September and they are as popular as ever!
Following the retirement of Angela Jackson and Annie, the St Helens lipreading classes
have moved to Thursdays and are delivered by Alison Wareing.
Angela, her husband Alan and Annie are hoping to join the St Helens group for their
Christmas get together. A little note from Angela and Annie:-
“Annie is really missing everyone. ......and the extra fuss she got! I miss everyone too, but mostly not being at work.”.
Angela with the “Hear Here” Team Annie (Angela’s Hearing Dog) Clare, Alison, Graham and Louise
LIPREADING CLASS VENUES
Each term is 10 weeks (2 hours per week) and classes are held as follows:
St Oswald’s Presbytery Old Swan : Wednesday mornings 10.00 am to 12.00 noon
Chain Lane Comm. Ctr. St Helens : Thursday mornings 10.00 am to 12.00 noon
Chain Lane Comm. Ctr. St Helens : Thursday afternoons 1.15 pm to 3.15 pm
United Reformed Church Formby : Tuesday mornings 10.30 am to 12.30 pm
“Hear Here” Stanley St. Southport : Tuesday mornings 10.15 am to 12.15 pm
“Hear Here” Stanley St. Southport : Tuesday afternoons 1.15 pm to 3.15 pm
Donations are welcomed to support the work of the “Hear Here” Project
Interested ? In the first instance please contact Graham Maher (Project Leader) on
0151 261 2051 direct line, Mobile 07717 788458, or email [email protected]
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ISSUE 12 Autumn/Winter
SUPPORT GROUPS
Aintree Tinnitus Support Group Meetings
Meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month in Room 2.07 of the Clinical
Science Centre, Aintree University Hospital. The meetings start at 6 pm and finish at
7.30 pm. (no meeting in January or August). For enquiries: 0151 529 0328
Aintree Cochlear Implant Support Group Meetings
Meetings are held on the first Tuesday of each month in Room 2.07 of the Clinical
Science Centre, Aintree University Hospital. The meetings start at 1pm and finish at
3pm (no meeting in January or August). For enquiries: 0151 529 0328
Aintree Basic Hearing Aid Maintenance Course
Meetings are held on the last Friday morning of each month at 9.30am. The course
covers basic maintenance such as re-tubing ear moulds, fault finding and hygiene
The course starts at 9:30am. For enquiries: 0151 529 0328
Aintree Balance Support Group
Meetings are held on the first Wednesday of the month from 2:15pm to 4pm in the
physiotherapy dept, (gym 1) UHA at Aintree University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
(no meeting in January or August). For enquiries: 0151 529 0328
St Helens Deafness Resource Centre Tinnitus Support Group
First Wednesday of each month from 10.00am -12 noon
32-40 Dentons Green Lane, St Helens, WA10 2QB
For enquiries: 01744 23887
[email protected]
Widnes Tinnitus Support Group
Future dates not yet decided
Runneymede Court, William St, Widnes, WA8 6RN
For enquiries: 01744 23887 Mavis Lewin
www.deafnessresourcecentre.org
Runcorn Tinnitus Support Group
Future dates not yet decided
Hanover Court, Palacefields Ave, Runcorn, WA7 6EJ
For enquiries: 01744 23887 Mavis Lewin
www.deafnessresourcecentre.org
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ISSUE 12 Autumn/Winter
CAPTIONED THEATRE PERFORMANCES
Liverpool Empire Theatre
0844 871 7677; email: [email protected]
www.atgtickets.com/venues/liverpool-empire
Shrek the Musical Thursday 3rd Dec 2015 7.00pm
Dick Whittington Tuesday 29th Dec 2015 7.00pm
The Body Guard Monday 2nd May 2016 7.30pm
Liverpool Everyman & Playhouse Theatres
0151 709 4776; email: [email protected]
www.everymanplayhouse.com
Haunting of Hill House Thursday 7th January 2016 7.30pm
Rapunzel Saturday 16th January 2016 1.30pm
Manchester Palace Theatre
0161 245 6605; email: [email protected]
www.atgtickets.com/venues/palace-theatre-manchester
The Bodyguard Wednesday 30th December 2015 7.30pm
Royal Exchange Theatre—Manchester
0161 833 9833; email: [email protected]
www.royalexchange.co.uk/page.aspx
Pomona Thursday 19th Nov 2015 7.30pm
Into the Woods Tuesday 5th Jan 2016 7.30pm
Wit Thursday 11th Feb 2016 7.30pm
The Lowry
0843 208 6000; email: [email protected]
www.thelowry.com
The Sound of Music Tuesday 22nd December 2015 7.30pm
The Girls Friday 29th January 2016 7.30pm
Shrek the Musical Thursday 11th February 2016 7.00pm
How to check out the subtitled films available in your area each week:-
Go to www.yourlocalcinema.com Click on ‘subtitled’ films rather than audio described.
Scroll all the way down (past the London areas) to select your region
(Liverpool or Southport etc.)
The information for each cinema in your region will be there i.e. which film … on which day
… at which time. This site also provides subtitled trailers !
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ISSUE 12 Autumn/Winter
You can contact the team members at:
23a Stanley Street, Southport, PR9 0BS :
Alison Wareing: Project Worker & Lipreading Tutor
Tel: 01704 534102, Mobile: 07717 788457, Email: [email protected]
Louise Cantwell: Project Worker & Lipreading Tutor
Mobile: 07717 788456 (text only), Email: [email protected]
Clare Daly: Volunteer Co-ordinator
Tel: 01704 539927, Mobile: 07920 078194, Email: [email protected]
Nugent Care Head Office, 99 Edge Lane, Liverpool L7 2PE :
Graham Maher: Project Leader
Tel: 0151 261 2051, Mobile: 07717 788458, Email: [email protected]
NUGENT CARE’S ‘LIGHT UP A LIFE’ SERVICE
Nugent Care’s annual “Light Up a Life” service will take place at the
Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral on Wednesday 16th December at
12.30 midday led by Bishop Tom Williams (followed by refreshments).
Everyone who dedicates a light will receive a star at the service to
write a personal message. The star will be placed on the tree in
memory of their loved one and their name will be entered into our
book of remembrance which will be displayed at the Liverpool
Metropolitan Cathedral over Christmas and the New Year.
See a member of the “Hear Here” Team for a booking form (suggested donation £5).
Formby : 8th December The Pinewoods
Southport : 8th December Auberge
Liverpool : 9th December Dobbies Speke
St Helens : 10th December The Waterside
Volunteers : To be decided Dobbies Southport
Many thanks to all our members for the help
received with refreshments and for all your
donations which help to keep the project going.
LIPREADING GROUPS CHRISTMAS LUNCHES 2015
THE “HEAR HERE” PROJECT TEAM