They’re back! Matt, Lynne and Jerry return after an extended break to discuss attacks on guide dogs, the importance of social networking and the consequences of sex in the woods in today’s surveillance society.

Here are some links relating to topics discussed in the show.

David Blunkett on campaign to stop attacks on guide dogs, from the Sun

Information on reporting attacks on Guide Dogs, from the Guide Dogs website

‘Adapt and overcome is my new motto’: Jack Osbourne is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis

Wildlife camera catches Austrian politician having sex in forest, from the Telegraph

Internet companies warn over government email surveillance plans, from the Guardian

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Our actual 100^th birthday is almost upon us.  We reach our Centenary on 28^th October.  To celebrate this marvellous achievement we are holding a Formal Centenary Dinner and Auction and we hope that you, your family and friends would like to join us.

The Dinner is to be held on Friday 5^th October from 7pm in the beautiful setting of Madingley Hall.  Guests will be offered a glass of sparking champagne and canapés in the gallery then move on to the formal panelled dining hall for a three course dinner with coffee and mints.  There will be a short musical interlude before the Auction takes place.

Our Auctioneer for the evening will be Lord Jeffrey Archer who is a master auctioneer and is guaranteed to help us raise a significant amount of money towards our Centenary Appeal.  We have a range of superb auction prizes donated by local businesses.

 Tickets for the evening are priced at £50 per head.  This includes a glass of sparkling wine; canapés; three course dinner; coffee and mints and a bottle of red wine and a bottle of white wine on each table.  Vegetarian options are available.

For tickets and further information, please contact Sally Nott on 01223 420033 or email sally.n@camsight.org.uk

A Cam Sight first – a chocolate tasting evening run for us by Chocolat Chocolat of Cambridge on Tuesday 11 September at 7pm.

For those of you unfamiliar with the shop, it is a small independent family owned and run business.  Isabelle Chappell is a french master chocolatier who trained in France and who has now brought her own unique style of chocolate making to Cambridge.  The evening will be an opportunity to learn more about chocolate, how it is made and the many types of chocolate made around the world as well as have a chance to taste, enjoy a glass of dessert wine and mingle in the beautiful setting of the Cambridge Masonic Hall in Bateman Street.  There is the added bonus of free parking on site.

Tickets are £15 per head to include the wine and are available from me from today. Payment may be cash, cheque or credit card.

Tell all your friends, I think this is going to be a great evening!

See you there!

Sally

01223 420033 or sally.n@camsight.org.uk

Cambridge  Arts Theatre has a wonderful season of accessible performances this Autumn. Kicking off the Audio Described season is the West End smash-hit ‘The Ladykillers’, from Monday 22 October to Saturday 27 October. Starring Michele Dotrice (Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em), Shaun Williamson (Extras and EastEnders) and Clive Mantle (Castualty and The Vicar of Dibley) this is a comedy about Professor Marcus and his gang, who pose as amateur musicians, and rent rooms in the lopsided house of sweet but strict Mrs Wilberforce, plotting to involve her unwittingly in Marcus’ brilliantly conceived heist job. The police are left stumped, but Mrs Wilberforce becomes wise to their ruse and Marcus concludes that there is only one way to keep the old lady quiet. With only her parrot, General Gordon, to help her, Mrs Wilberforce is alone with five desperate men. But who will be forced t face the music? An Audio Described performance will be on Saturday 27 October at 2.30pm with a Touch Tour at 1.30pm. Do not miss this hilarious and thrilling new adaptation of an Ealing classic.

English Touring Theatre returns to Cambridge Arts Theatre after the sell-out success of ‘Anne Boleyn’ and ‘The Real Thing’ with W.Somerset Maugham’s classic play, ‘The Sacred Flame’ which runs from Tuesday 20 November to Saturday 24 November. This is a classic murder mystery but with a twist that explores love, devotion and family. Audiences are left wondering what happened on the night to the young Great War hero, Maurice Tabret, died at home in his bed. His doctor says he died from natural causes, but his nurse points a finger of suspicion at his beautiful wife, Stella. ‘The Sacred Flame’ will have an Audio Described performance on Saturday 24 November at 2.30pm and a Touch Tour at 1.30pm.

Following the great success of last year’s production of ‘Cinderella’, Cambridge Arts Theatre’s traditional pantomime is back! Full of the usual thrills, spills, magic and laughter, this is a giant of an adventure for the whole family to enjoy.

The Trott’s are in trouble and Dame Trott needs her two sons, our hero Jack and the ever-so silly Billy, to help her make some money….and fast! Jack does his best and sells his beloved cow, but when he returns home with just some measly beans for payment, his mother is furious and tosses them out in the garden. But these beans are not what they seem and soon an enormous beanstalk mysteriously takes root in the Trott’s garden. It appears Jack’s adventures are only just beginning.  ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’ will have an Audio Described performance on Thursday 3 January at 2pm and a Touch Tour at 1pm.

For further assistance or to book your tickets, please call the Box Office on 01223 503333.

www.cambridgeartstheatre.com

This latest little update is more of a thank you to a number of people who have been working hard to raise money for Cam Sight.

Firstly a huge congratulations to Julie, Gail, Sally and their team of visually impaired cyclists.  We now have the final total for the 100 Miles for 100 Years Bike Ride which raised a magnificent total of £4,000.  Special thanks are due to Julie who spent so much time in devising and planning this event, all her hard work paid off!

A team of volunteers braved the wind and rain and a flying gazebo at the Chesterton Fair and raised £61 in the sale of books and cakes.

At the same event the 12^th Cambridge Beavers raised £152 for Cam Sight with the sale of home-made smoothies.  We are really grateful to the Beavers for all their hard work and for wishing to raise money for Cam Sight.

Cambridge Regional College did a superb Dining in the Dark at the Park Restaurant on 27^th June which together with a raffle raised a magnificent £450.  We should like to give our thanks to Beth Elkins and her team for such a fabulous evening with truly wonderful food!

We were also delighted to receive two cheques totalling £500 from the Cambridge Masons Kynaston Lodge.

We have more fundraising events lined up for later this year including our Chocolate Tasting Evening on 11^th September – further details next time.  If you are going to the Cambridge Rock Festival in August, keep a look-out for our stand on 3^rd August – Cam Sight get everywhere!

Thank you,
Sally

Come and see Dave ‘Boy’ Green MBE open Cam Sight’s Centenary Fete in Chatteris.

Saturday 28 July, 10.30 – 1.30pm at Bricston Hall (behind St Peter & St Paul’s Church), Market Hill, Chatteris.

Join in the fun with sight awareness games, stalls, refreshments, raffle, tombola, displays and much more!

To celebrate the 2012 Paralympics the Sports Development Team are running a series of Paralympic sport taster sessions aimed at children and young people with and without a disability.

These sessions will be a fantastic opportunity for friends and siblings to take part in sport alongside children with a disability.

The programme runs from Monday 13th August until Friday 24th August and culminates in a full day of family fun and competition at Netherhall Sports Centre at the Paralympic Relay Flame Celebration.

For ages 8-25

All sessions £3. Booking is essential – please contact:

Cambridge CityCouncil Sports Development Team on 01223 457000 or sportsdevelopment@cambridge.gov.uk

Goalball

When: Monday 13th August 1.00pm – 2.00pm
Where: Netherhall Sports Centre

Swimming

When: Tuesday 14th August 1:30 pm –2:30 pm
Where: Chesterton Sports Centre

Wheelchair Basketball

When: Wednesday 15th August 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Where: Cambridge Regional College

Archery

When: Thursday 16th August 3:00 pm – 4:00 pm
Where: Kelsey Kerridge
Notes: Max 12 places. Direct booking with City Council essential

Visually Impaired Football

Date: Friday 17th August 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Where: Abbey Sports Centre

Martial Arts

When: Monday 20th August 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Where: Cherry Hinton Village Centre

Seated Volleyball

When: Tuesday 21st August 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Where: Netherhall Sports Centre

Wheelchair Tennis

When: Wednesday 22nd August 12:00 pm – 2:00 pm
Where: Hills Road Tennis Centre

Boccia

When: Thursday 23rd August 4:30 pm – 6:30 pm
Where: Meadows Community Centre

Disability Sport&Arts Festival
Sunday 28th October 2012, 10am-4pm
Netherhall Sports Centre

This October will see Cambridge’s second Disability Sports and Arts Festival. This event will be open to all – children and adults, parents and carers. Most mportantly, it is open to people with any disability. The build up to the festival will begin in with Disability Awareness training for coaches and volunteers, and culminate with a series of sporting, cultural and arts activities. The highlight of the festival will be a funpacked day of activities at Netherhall Sports Centre.

Look out for posters and flyers advertising the events from the summer.

Visit www.cambridge.gov.uk/getactive for the most up to date information.

Register in advance at: www.surveymonkey.com/s/distsportsfest12

Cam Sight Needs Your Vote!

Please can you take a second to vote for Cam Sight on the Lloyds Banking Group Community Fund website. The programme supports local organisations throughout the UK who help young people. The two organisations with the most votes in each community will receive a £5000 award.

https://www.lloydsbankinggroupcommunities.com/CommunityFund/cf_org_vote_profile.asp?CFOIDS=10000890

Many thanks!

Would you like to learn the Tango? Mike Wilkinson, of CamTango is looking to teach visually impaired people at St Paul’s Church, Hills Road, Cambridge on Tuesday evenings, 7.30 – 11pm.

Initially Mike will teach two people at a time; ideally a man and a woman but gender doesn’t matter too much.  When they are proficient they will join the main group, who are very helpful and supportive.

Mike may be able to provide transport to and from the venue  – free if within a reasonable distance.  The cost for each lesson is £5 per person. 

Please contact Mike Wilkinson for further information on 01763 274010 or 07983 514021 or mchl.wilkinson@gmail.com

http://www.camtango.com/ct/

Come and join us at The Old Vicarage Grantchester. St Catherine’s Girls’ School Choir are performing a concert for Cam Sight at The Old Vicarage Grantchester on Sunday 15th July from 6.30pm. Tickets are just £10 per head to include a glass of wine and a chance to wander around the stunning gardens prior to the concert. Please phone Sally on 01223 420033 or sally@camsight.org.uk for tickets.

Centenary Life at Cam Sight continues to be extremely hectic. The Sponsored Bike Ride by Julie, Gail, Sally and their team of visually impaired riders was a huge success. The weather remained fine, BBC Radio Cambridgeshire did a live broadcast and they were cheered along the way with celebratory stop-offs at each Rural Group Centre. They are still counting the proceeds but reckon to have raised over £3,000 such a wonderful achievement and marvellous to have had the company of Warren, Alec, Mick, Jean, Paul and their guiding riders Rob, Richard, Alistair, Chris and Charlotte. Certainly worth the sore backsides. We would like to thank Haywards Bikes – also 100 years old, for providing, not only Rob and his tandem but for giving support with any technical problems; Richard and Alistair from Bikes To Be who provided tandems as did Chris. ScreenPrint Colour works provided the fabulous purple t shirts that gave the riders a great professional image.

Sally’s office is now full of second-hand books ready for the Chesterton Fair on Saturday 30th on Pye Rec. Do come along, we shall be selling the books and cakes to raise some funds as well as having an information stall on our work and our appeal. We shall be doing the same at the Cambridge Rock Festival at Haggis Farm from 2nd-5th August with a stall on 3rd August at the kindness of the organisers so come along for a bit of rock and roll. Our next blog will give you details of our next round of activities which we hope you will be able to support.

That’s all for now,
Sally