Tuesday 1st October

There will be a Coffee Morning held in support of the Society at the Post Office in Niton. All are welcome from 10.30am till 12.00 noon.

The Swimming Group are swimming at the Waterside Pool in Ryde from 8.00pm till 8.45pm. The pool is closed to the public whilst the group swims. There are male and female volunteers to help you get in and out of the pool as well as Lifeguards to ensure your safety. To join the Swimming Group, please call Sight for Wight first to notify us of your swimming ability. You need to register with the office at Millbrooke House first to be able to swim with the group.

Wednesday 2nd October

The weekly coffee morning will be held at Millbrooke House this week from 10.00am till 11.30am.
There will also be our Low Vision drop in between 10.00am and 12 noon. This is a weekly event to allow you to view and try the Low Vision equipment we have at the Society without the need for an appointment.
At the Coffee Morning this week we will have a guest speaker, we are pleased to welcome Tom McInulty from the Macular Society, who will be joining us at 10.30am to let us know what the society is up to, pass on any news and updates and answer any questions you may have about Macular disease and living with sight loss.

This month’s SingAbout session on will be held at the Newport Methodist Church, Quay Street in Newport. The various Island groups will be joining for an afternoon of Abba – Thank you for the Music! If you would like to join the Singabout group for this event, please contact Laura on 522205.

Thursday 3rd October

There will be a coffee morning held at Costa Coffee, High Street, Cowes. Laura will be there between 10.30am and 11.45am. Refreshments are available to purchase direct from the coffee shop.

The Thursday Social Group are meeting at Millbrooke House. The group meets from 10.30am till 2.00pm. With the help of a volunteer, the group enjoy a number of activities, crosswords, catching up on news and trivia, knitting and crochet. They are currently making pompoms to make into a rug, as well as decorations for the Sight for Wight Christmas Tree. This very friendly, mixed group also love to chat and enjoy lunch together. Later in the afternoon volunteers come in and read to the group on different topics. If you would like to join the group then please contact Sight for Wight on 522205.

Any Other News

We have received two messages from the Isle of Wight Against Scams Partnership.

The first is that a month-long awareness raising campaign against scams has been launched by the Isle of Wight Council, highlighting scams and doorstep crime, as well as encouraging businesses and organisations to join the partnership. More information is available here: www.iow.gov.uk/news/Scam-partnership-campaign-launched

The second is to advise that Trading Standards are warning residents to be aware of a new scam call that has hit the Island this week. Residents have reported receiving calls purporting to be from Amazon Prime and they appear to vary slightly. One states that your Amazon Prime account is about to be shut down and press 1 for further details.
The other states that the subscription of £39.99 will renew automatically unless you ring to let us know that you are not renewing. In most instances the residents who have received these calls don’t have an Amazon account so have realised it is a scam; for anyone with an Amazon account this could be quite worrying. This is definitely a SCAM – do not respond, hang up immediately.

2020 Diaries and Calendars – it’s time to order your VIP Diaries and Calendars. Please note that the suppliers of VIP diaries have now imposed a minimum number for orders that we place on your behalf, therefore we will place orders on the following dates: 21st October, 11th November, 25th November and then a final order on Wednesday 3rd December. Any orders after this date will be need to be made directly by members to the diary company. Prices are as follows:
Pocket Diary A6 with cover , week to a view £5.75
Pocket Diary A6 insert only, week to a view £5.30
Midi Diary A5, week to a view £7.65
Jumbo Diary A4, week to a view 2 days per page £21.00
Desk Diary A4, week to a view £9.45
Wall Hanging Calendar A3 £6.25
Wall Hanging Dates Reminder £5.75
To place your order please contact Laura by email: members@iwsb.org.uk or phone 522205.

Sadly, the West Wight coffee and chat which takes place at the End of the Line café in Freshwater has now ended due to declining numbers. We apologise for any inconvenience.

An Audio Book Group meets at Ryde Library on the second Friday of each month, from 11.00am for about one hour. Their next meeting is on 11th October. This book group is not run by Sight for Wight so, if you would like further information about joining the group, please contact Jo Dodd on 823825. This group is also looking for a facilitator for the group so if you know someone who could help please contact Jo.

Possible New Audio Book Group- “Alistair has run the Freshwater Library audio book group for many years and is now looking to start a new one at Sandown Library. If you would be interested in joining the group please contact Sandown Library on 402748 with your name and contact details and they will pass on your details to Alistair. Days and times to be arranged once we have an idea of interest.” Please note that this group is not run by Sight for Wight, we are just advertising on Alistair’s behalf.

Christmas Tree Decorations – If any member would like to make a Christmas Tree Decoration for our tree to be displayed at Brighstone Christmas Tree Festival in December preferably in blue and gold colours, but not essential, they are more than welcome to either drop them off at Millbrooke House or send in by the end of November that would be fantastic.

Sight for Wight has the following donated second hand items for sale. All items are in working order and are sold as seen.

RNIB Pen friend version 1 with instructions and labels £25.00.

Cobalt Speechmaster Talking Microwave 2016 model in good used condition £80.00.

Daylight Standing Floor Lamp on wheels, so able to move around. Good used condition £20.00.

Enhanced Vision Smart Reader with control handset, good used condition £300.00.

If you would like to view or purchase any of these items please contact Laura by email: members@iwsb.org.uk or phone 522205

Raffle Tickets – are now available for our annual raffle which will be drawn on the 31st October. The tickets are £1.00 each and come in a book of 5 tickets. Please contact Sight for Wight on 522205 or email enquiries@iwsb.org.uk if you would like to purchase tickets.

Visit to the Isle of Wight Distillery – Monday 11th November. Meet first at 10.30am at the Old Barracks Tea Room in Puckpool Park, Ryde, followed by a talk and tasting at 12noon for approximately 45minutes to 1 hour at the IW Distillery, Pondwell Ryde. No charge for the talk or tasting. Minibus transport may be available depending on location and will cost £2.00. Closing date for applications is Friday 25th October. For further details or to book your place please contact Laura on 522205 or email members@iwsb.org.uk

Murder Mystery Night – Join us for an evening of murder and mystery at Millbrooke House on Thursday 31st October at 6:30pm. Ticket price is £10.00 which includes a simple two course supper, glass of wine, coffee and mints. We will also be drawing our annual summer raffle so there’s still a chance to buy a ticket and be in with a chance of winning some great prizes including a first prize of £100 cash!
Parking available via Castle Road (PO30 1DT).
For booking enquiries please contact Sight for Wight on 522205 or email: fundraising@iwsb.org.uk

Short Story Writing Competition 2019 – Yes, it’s back! This year’s theme is ‘the sound of Christmas’. Entry forms are available from Waterstones, Newport or downloadable from our website: www.iwsb.org.uk. This year’s celebrity readers are Edana Minghella, Kate Weston, Melvyn Hayes and, new to this year’s line-up, Michael Maloney, a versatile actor from film, television and audio dramas. We hope that you will support our competition and look forward to your entries. Closing date is Friday 8th November. If you would like further information then please contact Chris on 522205 or email: fundraising@iwsb.org.uk