Blind Life In Durham
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BLIND is a Registered Charity
No: 1124381
Limited by guarantee company
No: 6567582
Patron: Mr. D V Inglesby F.R.C.S.
(Consultant Opthalmic Surgeon)
20 people attended our 4 night break at Windermere Manor. The hotel is set in beautiful grounds surrounded by trees. We arrived at the hotel for lunch on Tuesday and afterwards Sherie, the activities co-ordinator, suggested various tours for our 3 days of excursions by minibus.
We had 2 minibuses for excursions. On Wednesday we went to Brockhole National Park Visitor Centre, situated between Ambleside and Windermere. It is set in 30 acres of magnificent terraced gardens stretching down to the shore of Windermere. While we enjoyed refreshments Sherie, who used to work at Brockhole, gave us a detailed talk on the history of the house and gardens. The house was built by wealthy Manchester silk merchant William Henry Aldolphus Gaddam in 1895.
Sherie then gave us a leisurely guided walk down to the lakeside. We then returned to the hotel for lunch. Afterwards we went to Hayes Garden Centre at Ambleside followed by a boat trip from Ambleside to Bowness. The minibuses were waiting for us at Bowness to take us back to the Hotel.
After our evening meal we had an entertainment evening provided by a male singer who was very good and some members enjoyed a dance.
Friday dawned warm and sunny and our outing took us to a working farm near Kendal. We split into two groups and were taken around the farm.
After our tour we ate our lunch of soup and sandwiches, which was delicious. We then had an hour or so to visit the Farm garden centre, gift shop, wine shop and small pottery shop. Then we had a lovely ride back to the hotel.
Portion sizes were generous at every meal: for breakfast plenty of choices; the Hotel also provided our lunches; and for the 3 course dinner a delicious and creative menu with silver service.
Other evenings we played bingo with a difference provided by Ben who was also a comedian (or should be), as he loved winding people up and made everyone laugh.
Some impressions from members:
"Everything is so wonderful"
"Put our names down for next year (again!)"
"There was such a good atmosphere"
"The en-suite bedrooms are such a generous size"
"The food was great and beautifully presented"
"Well worth the money"
"The outings were well thought out and enjoyable
First we went to Strikes garden centre which is where Lambton Lion Park was, we met up around 11.00a.m.
After a look around everyone had a drink and a bite to eat in the café, the home made scones and sausage rolls were delicious.
We then moved on to the winter gardens we arrived there around 1.00p.m and Janet our guide was waiting for us. She took us to a large room and introduced us to her colleague Lee and two students who were going to help assist us on our tour. There were 23 people in our group so Janet said it would be better if we split into two groups. One group would go around the gardens while the other group had a seeds and nuts hands on session. Then we would change over.
She told us about the history of the museum and that there has been a museum in Sunderland for two hundred years.
At first privately run, it was taken over by the Borough Council in 1846 and was the first publicly funded museum in the country to be established outside London. The original winter gardens were destroyed in the 1940s when a German parachute mine landed nearby, shattering the glass. The museum received a mayor heritage Lottery grant to improve all its facilities it was completed in 2001 transforming the buildings, making it accessible, including a new entrance and new Winter Gardens.
The Winter Gardens houses an excellent botanical collection of exotic and unusual flowers and trees; under the single - span 30 metre, glass and steel structure, dome. It also includes water features and a lift which takes people to the treetop walkway from which visitors can look down on the plants below.
Some of the plants we saw were tea plants, coffee, citrus fruits, date palms, bananas, pineapples mangos and bananas.
The hands-on session was also very entertaining as these seeds and nuts were passed around the table, most of them are used as African musical instruments and shakers. We all enjoyed having a go making music.
Unfortunately we did not have time to explore the rest of the museum, as it also houses past textile crafts, Sunderland pottery, coal mining, glassmaking and shipbuilding. Maybe a further visit is required sometime?
We were picked up at 3.30p.m by our mini buses and off we went to Lowry's fish restaurant at Seaburn for fish & chips. Everyone seemed to enjoy the day our and the weather was lovely.
Over the holiday weekend which started with the Royal Wedding a group of eight from Blind Life in Durham took part in a New Age Kurling competition in Widnes (Cheshire). Everyone competed to the best of their ability and one pair of players came away with runner up cups after a final that went right to the wire (see Achievements).
This group represented the 20+ people that take part in our regular sessions at Crook and Wolsingham, if you would like us to put on an event near you let us know. If interest is shown we would like to extend this accessible sport to groups in other parts of the county. We have a fun social time in addition to a little healthy exercise.
A Blind Awareness Competition is held annually by ourselves where sighted teams can compete against a Blind Life team, however they have to do it blindfold. So far the Blind Life team have won, but will they win this year??
We arrived at the museum around 10.40a.m we had a tour guide booked for 11.15a.m so we decided to go for a coffee first in the café and the lady guide said she would meet us in the foyer at 11.15a.m.
The guide told us about the history of the museum. The original colliery in the village of Woodhorn opened in 1894 and closed in 1981. The Woodhorn Colliery Museum opened in 1989 using the original pit buildings.
From 2002-2006 new construction created a new museum building called "The Cutter" as it is designed in the shape of a coal cutting machine. The new building is also home to the Northumberland County Archives. If you are researching your family tree in Northumberland this is the place to visit.
We then went back into the new building to travel back in time taking us on a tour around the different decades in mining. Starting in 1918 … walking to work, at one in the morning, when young lads of 13 would work down the mine.
We all stood in a area that represented a cage if you listened, you heard the audio noises you would have hear as you went down the pit in a cage.
We toured through the changes over the decades. They had demonstrations on, showing you how 'Proggy Mats' were made and samples for you to feel made from different materials.This brought a lot of memories back for some of us.
After we had some lunch we moved on to Heighley Gate Garden Centre to view on an individual basis.
We had enough time to have a look around the garden centre, visit the shops and maybe have a cuppa.
I think nearly everyone had an ice cream to cool them down as it was very warm. We left the garden centre around 3.30p.m after a very enjoyable day and the weather was glorious.
If you would like any further information or opening times for the centre. Please visit their website : www.experiencewoodhorn.com or telephone 01670 528080
We arrived at the museum around 11.00a.m and met our guide Janet who had arranged for tea & coffee to be provided on our arrival. She talked a little about the itinerary for us for the day starting with saying that the museum's main theme is the Victorian era.
The handling session she provided us with was connected to washdays in the Victorian years. This brought a lot of memories back for some of us about how hard people worked in those days. It was not just a flick of a switch on wash day back then. We passed different items around such as wash boards and soaps, different types of pegs and flat irons of all different shapes and sizes, a glove stretcher, starched collars and of course a blue bag. Some of us had some funny stories to tell and we had a good laugh. We then had a break followed by another cup of tea and a sandwich.
Janet returned after lunch and gave us a talk on the history on Preston Hall. She told us it was built by David Burton Fowler in 1825; it began as a Georgian gentleman's residence, located between Yarm and Stockton.
It was not until 1882 that the estate and lands were sold to Robert Ropner for the princely sum of £27,500. Ropner had a shipping empire and wanted a home fitting his status, so added a Winter garden conservatory, entrance porch, billiards room and extensive landscaped parkland. The Hall and Park was served by legions of staff, from a butler and cook, through to maids and stable hands. Gardeners would tend the grounds and supply the kitchen with produce from the walled garden.
In 1937, the Hall & Park passed into the hands of a number of companies, before being purchased by Stockton Corporation (now the Borough Council) in 1947 for a mere £12,000. The site officially opened as Preston Hall Museum and Park in 1953. In the near future it is going to have a major refurbishment.
Janet explained to us on our guided tour what each room had been, what it is used for today as well as what is planned for the refurbishment. She told us it will be March 2012 before the work is fully completed and we said we would love to return when the work is done. We also enjoyed wandering around the cobble streets looking in the windows of the Victorian shops. Some of the shops were open and you could go in and have a chat to the shopkeepers. The weather was excellent.
At the end of the tour we were all ready for our fish & chips at the restaurant on the sea front near Seaton Carew. After our meal we came out of the restaurant and walked over to the sea wall to get a breath of sea air. It was now getting on for 6.00p.m and it was a lovely evening. After a short while we make our way back to the bus for our journey home. Everyone said they had thoroughly enjoyed the day out.
Live entertainment was provided by local singer 'Chyrelle Addams' singing songs from the 60' to present day at Redworth Hall Hotel on Friday 21st May supporting our charity.
Councillor Brian Myers kindly opened the evening for us. The entertainment from 'Chyrelle' then commenced. The event was well received and well attended and the entertainment was excellent.
B.L.IN.D would like to thank 'Chyrelle Addams' for her superb performance and Councillor Myers for opening the charity evening.
The event raised the sum of £848 for Blind Life in Durham.
With support from Barclays we doubled the funds raised under the pound for pound scheme.
We used 2 minibuses for our Wednesday excursion. Our drivers gave us detailed commentary about the natural history of the land and lakes as well as the history of places we passed on the way to Hawkshead where Wordsworth had gone to school. After we had visited this pretty village we travelled up narrow winding roads to Tarn Hows for a picnic lunch. The weather was warm and the scenery stunning. We wound back down to finish at Coniston where the slate mining had changed the character of the hills that rose steeply behind the town.
On Thursday our drivers took us to Lake Windermere for a boat trip from Bowness to Lakeside from where we took the steam train to Haverthwaite Station. During this time the rain cleared and we were able to stretch our legs before eating our packed lunches on board the minibuses. We then returned by steam train and then on a smaller boat back to Bowness. The warming sun made the lake and its shore misty and mysterious. There was interesting commentary about the lakeside buildings and land.
Friday dawned warm and sunny and our outing took us to Borrowdale to the stone circle at Castlerigg, high above on a windy hill with peaks all around. There was a useful tactile map featuring the stone circle and the surrounding peaks. We then descended to Keswick and ate a picnic lunch in the lakeside park, a hungry duck watching our every move and birdsong was all around. We then went shopping in the historic town of Keswick before being taken back by our driver to the hotel.
Our drivers Bob and Cherie were wonderful and well organised, they brought the Lakes to life with their varied and interesting commentary. We had generous portions at every meal: for breakfast plenty of choice; for lunch on outing days a packed lunch of sandwiches, crisps, apple and a bottle of water; and for the 3 course dinner a delicious and creative menu. After dinner we had quizzes and bingo and on one evening a singer with a sophisticated keyboard. So social were our evenings that we could stay and chat in the bar until 11pm (or later). Some of us used the hotel swimming pool and found it just right in size and temperature.
Some impressions from members:
"Everything is so wonderful"
"I want to come back. Everyone's so friendly"
"Can we come for a week next time?"
"There was such a good atmosphere"
"It was therapeutic, my confidence increased so much"
"The food was great with a good menu choice"
We organise regular audio assisted film screenings at the Gala cinema in Durham.
Please ring 01388 763501 for news on the latest films.
We meet fortnightly at St Catherine's Centre, Crook. Phone above number for details
Are you disabled or an appointed representative of a disabled person?
Got something to say about the Police, Courts, Probation, Crown Prosecution Service, Prisons and Youth Engagement/Offending Services?
Want to make a difference?
Join our Independent Advisory Group.
Representatives from statutory agencies, voluntary agencies and a range of individuals already meet to try to make improvements to the Police, Courts, Probation, Crown Prosecution Service, Prisons and Youth Engagement/Offending Services.
We need additional independent disabled people to join this process.
Support and training will be made available.
This group is being set up after a period of consultation with disabled people from County Durham and Darlington and will meet approximately every two months.
Applications from people with visual impairments are particularly welcome as they are currently under represented on the group.
Expenses, including travelling, will be paid.
Interested but not sure? - get in touch for more information or an application pack.
Contact:
PC Chris Watkins or Sgt Chris Thompson
HQ Diversity Unit
Durham Constabulary
Aykley Heads
Durham
DH1 5TT
Tel: 0191 375 2969/2997
Fax: 0191 375 2170
Mobile/Text: 07785396705
e-mail:
chris.watkins@durham.pnn.police.uk
christopher.thompson@durham.pnn.police.uk
Visit www.nationaliag.org
Invetec is a locally based company offering home computer support, including repairs, networks and computer parts. This service is available to Blind Life members at beneficial rates after three months membership. Mobile number and email address available on request.
