FOREST talk, the charity providing a free, weekly talking newspaper service for blind and visually impaired people in the Dean, has now upgraded its recording system allow for digital listening – replacing outdated cassette tapes.

"We were finding it increasingly difficult to obtain cassettes and repair our ageing recording equipment, so we took the decision earlier this year to upgrade our recording process to a digital format" says Forest Talk's Treasurer David Bramall.

As well as upgrading the recording equipment in the Forest Talk studio, the management committee pledged to supply each of their listeners with a suitable 'sound box' free of charge so that they could continue to receive Forest Talk on a USB stick each week instead of a cassette tape.

"It has cost us a lot of money but we think the investment is worth it as it means we can continue providing our much needed service for the foreseeable future", continued Mr Bramall.

It was no mean feat finding a suitable sound box that blind and visually impaired people can easily use and choosing the appropriate studio equipment.

"We worked closely with a small group of our listeners to take advice about how best to meet the needs of those with varying degrees of visual impairment. We wanted to make sure we approached this big change with our listeners' needs in the forefront of our minds. Our objective was to retain as many of our existing listeners as possible and help them feel comfortable with the change", explained Mr Bramall.

Forest Talk received funding from the Gloucester Community Foundation Grassroots Grant along with donations from the Forest of Dean Round Table, GlaxoSmithKline's charity committee and the Forest of Dean Lions to help purchase the necessary equipment. However, fundraising continues so that Forest Talk can honour the ongoing commitment to supply each new listener with a free sound box as they join.

"We're a small, local charity run completely by volunteers with no external funding. We rely on donations and our own fundraising efforts to cover our costs and every penny we get is spent on providing our service. We've been in operation for over 25 years and hope to continue recording the news for our listeners for the next 25 years", said Chairman Bill Hobman.

If you know of anyone who is registered blind or partially sighted who you think would benefit from receiving Forest Talk each week, contact Forest Talk's secretary Jo Smith on 01594 542062.