Cam Sight

Cam Sight’s Glasses Group has been set up to help establish whether people with learning disabilities also have a visual impairment, and then to develop the best way of overcoming or adapting to this.

The Glasses Group is being held every Monday over a six week period at Horizon Day Centre, Coldhams Lane, Cambridge.  It is run by Cam Sight’s Rehabilitation workers Paula Bird and Helen Shepherd-Wilson, two Optometry students from Anglia Ruskin University and two support workers.

Each week is a different theme.  The group started with an explanation of who everyone was and an introduction of what the group was hoping to achieve. The first game was a bit of an ice-breaker; the memory game.  Different articles were placed on a tray with an explanation about each object.  The tray was then covered up and the group was asked to recall what was there.  This was a great way to start interacting with the group.

The next activity served as an introduction to visual impairment; an array of glasses were passed around the group and tried on.  This caused some amusement and led to a discussion on why people wear glasses, sunglasses, safety goggles and onion glasses.

The next game continued the ‘eye’ theme; titled ‘Build an eye’ the participants took turns throwing a specially designed dice which showed a picture of each part of the eye of each side.  This way an eye was gradually built up in the centre of the table.  The students then explained what each part of the eye was for.

At the beginning of the session the group had informed staff that they loved to colour.  When the ipads were introduced, the group was fascinated with different colouring Apps and the participants were truly amazed about how they could colour something without using a crayon.  Whilst doing this, the Optometry students and Cam Sight staff were able to work out how well the participants could identify colour and also observe their hand eye dexterity. 

The sessions have been a great success and have demonstrated there is a real need for this type of group.

Action for Blind People is committed to delivering a hotel service that best meets the needs of people affected by sight loss, and they need your help.

In order to do this, they need to research the attitudes of people affected by sight loss in relation to hotels and holidays. This research will enable Action to direct the future of the hotels offering so that it best meets the needs of blind and partially sighted people.

They’ve created a survey which has been co-produced with people who are visually impaired. The survey is open until Friday 22 February, and results will be analysed and interpreted by people affected by sight loss. They aim to improve their Hotels offering based on this analysis.

They need your help

To date they have 100 online responses but they ideally need ten times that number to give meaning to the research. Those who complete the survey can enter a draw to win either a three-night, full-board break, or a £250 Marks & Spencer voucher.

If you would like to help please visit their website  www.visionhotels.co.uk/vision-hotels-survey/

Please remember, Action needs robust evidence from blind and partially sighted people to make the right decisions about the way that they provide hotel services in the future.

Thanks very much for your support.

We have started our programme of events for 2013 and are delighted to be starting off with a concert by the Sampson Orchestra. This years concert which will be benefitting Cam Sight will be held onSunday March 17^th at 7.30pm at West Road Concert Hall. 

The programme is:

Schubert Unfinished Symphony
Mozart Horn Concerto No 4 with Soloist Guy Llewellyn
Bruckner  Symphony No 7

Tickets are available from Cam Sight and priced at £15; £13 & £5

For further details please contact:

Sally Nott on 01223 420033 or sally.n@camsight.org.uk

Earlier last year, Cambridge Consultants adopted Cam Sight as their Charity of the Year.  Inspired by talks from Warren Wilson and Cam Sight’s Chair of Trustees, Paul Auton who was once the CEO of Cambridge Consultants, the staff set to their fundraising activities with great dedicated and enthusiasm.

Regular cake stalls took place at the offices on the Cambridge Science Park and the company also had a team running in Chariots of Fire this year, generously matching the amount of sponsorship money raised by their runners.  A Christmas shopping fair was also very successful.

Cambridge Consultants obviously have the knack for raising funds as they presented Sally Nott with a cheque for £10,000 last Thursday.

Everyone at Cam Sight is both delighted and overwhelmed by such a magnificent donation which will be put towards our Centenary Appeal to raise £500,000 for our proposed Information Technology Centre.

We should like to extend our very grateful thanks to everyone at Cambridge Consultants for such tremendous support.

Cambridge Consultants who presented Sally Nott with a cheque for £10,000. Earlier last year, Cambridge Consultants adopted Cam Sight as their Charity of the Year.  Inspired by talks from Warren Wilson and Cam Sight’s Chair of Trustees, Paul Auton who was once the CEO of Cambridge Consultants, the staff set to their fundraising activities with great dedicated and enthusiasm.

Everyone at Cam Sight is both delighted and overwhelmed by such a magnificent donation which will be put towards our Centenary Appeal to raise £500,000 for our proposed Information Technology Centre.

We should like to extened our very grateful thanks to everyone at Cambridge Consultants for such tremendous support.

Amongst the many files and books stacked in the Cam Sight office is a large green folder filled with letters and newspaper cuttings from as far back as the 1920′s.  It seemed a shame to leave them all hidden away so we came up with the idea of having a history of Cam Sight written to commemorate our Centenary.  Who better to do this than a group of history undergraduates from Anglia Ruskin University, including none other than Warren Wilson whose face has been very much a part of our Centenary celebrations this year.

Led by their history Tutor, Rohan McWilliam and with some advice from local historian Mike Petty, the group began to sift through the wealth of archive information.  They conducted interviews with staff and clients; delved into the Cambridge Collection and produced a fascinating history of our Charity.

We are now in the process of recording and brailling the history to be circulated to our clients.  We are also trying to secure funding to enable the history to be published in a leaflet to be available to the general public.

 A couple of the students, together with Rohan came to the office in December for some celebratory cake and Buck’s Fizz so that we could say thank you for their achievement.  They all thoroughly enjoyed the process and are rightly proud of the result.  We are equally pleased to have our history in print and for our clients to be able to learn a little more about our Charity.

We will let you know when the leaflet will be available; we shall also publish it on the website too.

For the last 18 months I have been giving lifts to people attending Cam Sight’s rural and emotional support groups. For me it has been a voyage of discovery, and also one of great enjoyment and interest.

The composition of the groups has been hugely diverse – in age, disability, mental state, personal interests, severity of sight impairment, and ambition. From teenagers to pensioners, from the poorest and most disadvantaged to the well-off, from the morose and inhibited to the outgoing and effervescent, from copers to strugglers, from the lonely to the socially adept. However, they all seemed to have various things in common: a need to come to terms with their sight impairment (and possibly a need to face the prospect of losing their sight altogether), a desire to lead as far as possible a life of independence and normality, and a determination to seek ways of improving their lot.

As a driver, I merely observe people “before” and “after” their visits to such groups. I have never attended one of these groups so I do not know what magic is woven by the Bridgets, Julies, Paulas, Annettes, and Helens at these Cam Sight sessions. However, I do notice the apparent effects and am continually amazed by the results. I cannot recall any one of my passengers expressing anything less than enthusiasm when taking them home afterwards.

If I am allowed to be non-PC and to generalise, here are some “before” and “after” observations.

Before

Teenagers: bored, dispirited, self-centred, feeling sorry for themselves

Middle-aged men barely coping: depressed, despondent, worried about the future, lacking in confidence

Middle-aged men coping quite well: wondering whether the session was going to be a waste of their time

After

Teenagers: enervated, garrulous, enjoyed themselves, more positive about the future, talking about other people (not about themselves), developing the ability to be more objective (though they are not aware of that fact)

Middle-aged men barely coping: surprised by the things that they can do, encouraged by the prospect of being able to do more than they thought they would be able to do, grateful to learn from others how better to cope. They also seem to benefit from the prospect of improved social contact and, in many cases, improved social activity that these sessions afford.

Middle-aged men coping quite well: pleased that they went, not in a hurry to admit that they have learnt anything new but pleased that they have had an opportunity to share their experience with others and the satisfaction of being appreciated.

Summary

I never ask my passengers what they think of the sessions. I just drive and listen, and marvel at the apparent benefits that accrue simply by bringing together a group of people in a neutral environment, where they can share their experiences – good and bad, where no one is going to be judgmental, and where there is the opportunity to make friends, pick up a domestic hint or two, and learn about a surprising range of opportunities that are available to them for improving their quality of life.

All of my passengers, without exception, heap praises on Cam Sight and the contribution Cam Sight makes to the quality of their lives, be it though their expertise, their caring, or simply the companionship afforded by the support groups. “I wish it didn’t have to end” is the commonest remark I hear about these sessions, which sums it up so much better than any of my ramblings.

Bill Walston

PS  On re-reading the above, there is one critical and hugely important element that I have omitted to mention: HUMOUR.  One of the lovely things about Cam Sight is the good nature and humour that seems to underpin all that they do. Its staff may have lousy husbands, rotten pay, dreadful teenagers, inadequate budgets, overlong hours, or even bunions. But they never miss a chance to have a good laugh – even if it is at my expense – and that is another reason why it is a pleasure to be associated in a small way with their work and with their clients.

Kettle’s Yard, the University of Cambridge’s modern and contemporary art gallery, run workshops for blind and partially sighted people and their friends.

The next workshop involves a descriptive tour of the Kettle’s Yard exhibition, Winifred Nicholson: Music of Colour, followed by a practical art session that will further explore Nicholson’s theories on the relationship between colour, music and emotion. The session will be led by artist Filipa Pereira-Stubbs.

We still have places left for this workshop which is on:

Tuesday 11 December, 10.30am – 12.30pm

Please come and join us. These wonderful sessions are free of charge. Please contact Becky Cawdry on 01223 420033 or becky@camsight.org.uk.

We are now exactly 100 years and one day old!

Our Centenary Dinner and Auction went very well and we were delighted to see over ninety friends, supporters, volunteers and clients of Cam Sight join us at Madingley Hall in early October.  We dined in style with delicious food and wine and were entertained by violinist Steve Bingham who played a range of music to please all tastes.

Lord Archer was magnificent as the Auctioneer and we were delighted to have raised £4,030 towards our Centenary Appeal.

Now all our focus is on the Festival of Carols at Ely Cathedral on Friday 7^th December at 7.30pm.  This promises to be a stunning and festive evening that will mark a perfect end to our Centenary Year. 

If you have not already done so, please book your tickets from the Ely Cathedral Box Office on 01353 660349.  Visually impaired guests should mention they are clients of Cam Sight when booking as certain seats have been set aside.  The more people attending means more money raised for Cam Sight so please encourage your family and friends to come too!

www.elycathedral.org