RADIO JOY FOR ANNE

Tuning into her favourite music station or listening to her latest audio book has just got easier for Edinburgh woman Anne Dignan.

She’s one of the first people in the area to get a specially adapted DAB radio, CD, cassette recorder for blind and partially sighted people.

Anne, 55, received her set known as the Concerto from the charity British Wireless for the Blind Fund (BWBF) on free permanent loan.

She became partially sighted in 2008 due to the eye condition macular degeneration.

“I’m thrilled to bits with it,” said Anne. “It’s so easy to use. I wouldn’t be without it now. It’s a real companion to me.”

Anne, 55, who has a passion for arts and music, uses her set to keep up to date with everything going on in and around Edinburgh.

“I love listening to talking books and newspapers for the blind on CD and have access to audio theatre listings so I don’t miss a thing.

“I’ve got my favourite radio stations – BBC Radio Scotland and Radio 4 – both on pre-set so tuning in to them couldn’t be simpler.

“Music is very important to me and I use my Concerto set to listen to classical composers such as Mozart and Beethoven and operas such as Aida.”

The Concerto set comes in charcoal with contrasting yellow controls to help people with some residual vision.

Key controls have raised tactile symbols and a bookmark facility helps listeners get back to their “page” in an audio book.

The player has up to ten pre-set radio stations and an SD card memory card player and stereo cassette player and recorder.

“One of the things I most like about the set is that it’s really compact and has all the things I need: radio, CD, cassette recorder all in one player.

“It’s very intuitive to use and I very quickly found out how to work my way round all the functions.”

Anne is a keen member of the Hillside art group at the Royal National Institute for the Blind’s headquarters in Edinburgh and the Blind Photography Group.

The BWBF has supplied more than a million specially adapted sets since it was launched by Winston Churchill in on Christmas Day 1929.

To make a donation to help the BWBF provide more blind and partially sighted people with radio and audio sets visit the charity at: www.blind.org.uk.

ENDS

Issued by Empica Ltd on behalf of the British Wireless for the Blind. For further information contact Judith Skorupski on 020 8983 0779 or Martin Powell on 01275 394400.