Guide dog Zooby enjoys outing to afternoon tea
Guide dog Zooby could not stop wagging his tail when he went along to the Argyll Talking Newspapers afternoon tea.
Like ‘mum and dad’ Val and Neil Gay, Zooby is a big fan of talking newspapers. So much so, that when the wallet containing the weekly Argyllshire Advertiser recording drops through the letter box, Zooby grabs it and Neil, who is visually impaired, cannot sneak it away from the dog until he falls asleep.
‘He carries that wallet around all day,’ laughed Val. ‘We can’t speak highly enough of the talking newspapers service. We look forward to listening to the recordings each week – eventually.’
Strachur couple Bob and Betty Acklam travelled to Lochgilphead’s Baptist Church hall to attend the afternoon tea on Saturday October 19.
Betty, who is visually impaired, said: ‘We couldn’t believe it when we recognised the voice of the man who reads the Dunoon Observer which we receive each week.
‘We tracked him down and introduced ourselves. It was so nice to put a face to the voice we know so well.’
The voice is that of regular reader George Burns, of Ardrishaig, who reads the Dunoon Observer, Isle of Bute News and The Ileach with a team of volunteer readers who record twice weekly in Ardrishaig Parish Church hall.
The afternoon tea was a great success, raising nearly £600 in two hours, and thanks go to everyone who came along and supported it and to the volunteers who made it happen.
Argyll Talking Newspapers is a free audio service for people who are visually impaired or find it difficult to read their local newspaper for any temporary or permanent reason. For information or to register for the service, visit www. facebook.com/argylltalkingpapers or call 07710 242915.
‘We can’t speak highly enough of the talking newspapers service. We look forward to listening to the recordings each week – eventually.’