Welcome to the Granta Grapevine Website

www.grantagrapevine.org.uk

Granta Grapevine is the Talking Newspaper for the village of Linton and the surrounding district in South Cambridgeshire. It is a Registered Charity No. 1013086

The Talking Newspaper is a 90 minute cassette tape distributed free each month to blind and visually impaired people. It is also available to anyone who by reason of disability, cannot read the Linton News. It comprises a news side based on the editorial content of the Linton News, produced in the village, and a magazine side where general interest items appear. The magazine includes interviews mainly with local people, covering topics varying from personal experiences and holidays, to local events and businesses.

The first edition produced was for March 1990 and the latest in January 2012 was number 263.

The group behind Granta Grapevine include in addition to the committee, 2 teams of 4 readers, who dictate the news on alternate months, a news editor, a magazine editor, and technical staff who do the recording and multi copying of the tapes. The group is trialing digital recording and distribution using memory sticks, but is still mainly using cassette tapes.

If you are registered blind, partially sighted, have difficulty reading the Linton News for whatever reason, or you know someone who is and might like a copy of the tape, please contact:-

Tape Duplication and Distribution Manager, Roger Lapwood
Telephone:- 01223 971797.

If you would like to join the team by reading, helping to record, serving on the committee, or you would like further information about us, contact:-

The Chairman, Mike Crofts
8 Rhugarve Gardens, Linton, Cambridge CB21 4LX
Telephone:- 01223 893619
e-mail:- mikecrofts (at) gmail (dot) com

Support Granta Grapevine

Granta Grapevine make no charge for recordings but is supported by donations from individuals and also from organisations listed at the foot of this page. Income is used for replacing old tapes, insurance, Federation membership, maintenance of equipment, and expenditure on equipment to eventually replace the cassette tape method of production and distribution. Should you wish to send a donation to the group, cheques should be made payable to Granta Grapevine, and sent to:-

The Treasurer, Jim Foster
11 Emsons Close, Linton, Cambridge CB21 4NB.

Click below for the magazine side of the Granta Grapevine for January 2012 split into tracks

track 1

track 2

track 3

track 4

track 5

track 6

track 7

track 8

track 9

Links to organisations supporting Visually Impaired People - VIP's

• National Links
  • Royal National Institute of Blind People
  • Insite Radio from RNIB
  • Action for Blind People
  • Infosound audio magazine from the team that produced Soundings includes material for Talking Newspapers.
  • Talking News Federation
  • National Talking Newspapers and Magazines
  • Guide dogs for the Blind
  • British Wireless for the Blind Fund
  • Vocalise - audio described performances
  • Seeing Ear - online books for visually impaired people
  • Portset - Electronic products for visually impaired people
  • Soundaround - Audio magazine for blind and partially sighted people
  • The Audio network - Website for blind and partially sighted computer users
• Local Links
  • Cam Sight - The Cambridgeshire Society for the Blind and Partially Sighted
  • BDAN - The Bedford Talking Newspaper

The name Granta Grapevine was coined from the river Granta which flows through the village, the Grapevine being the informal transmission of information and the local Chilford Hall Vineyard

Organisations who have provided financial support include (in no particular order):-

The Charles and Mary Anderson Benefaction
BBC Radio Cambridgeshire Trustline
Linton Women's Institute
Linton Parish Council
Linton Fire Station
Linshare
Sainsbury's
The Shell Company
The Cambridge Evening News
Granta Masonic Lodge Cambridgeshire
Waitrose Community Matters (Saffron Walden)
The Alper Charitable Trust based at Chilford Hall

Website by Mike Crofts

© Granta Grapevine January 2012