Darlington Talking Newspaper celebrated its 25th anniversary on Saturday with a party at Willow Road Community Centre. Sam Strangeways and Gavin Havery look back at the history of the charity in the town.

A SMALL advertisement nestling in the classified section of The Northern Echo launched Darlington Talking Newspaper 25 years ago.

Those interested in volunteering to put stories from this newspaper on to audio tapes for the visually impaired were asked to attend a meeting in the town hall.

Two of the people who did, Margaret Harrison and Paul Greenwood, are still involved with the charity a quarter of a century later.

They have seen what started as a tiny operation that issued cassettes once a month to only 20 people turn into a vital community resource.

"It started off with 20 a month for a while and it just took off," said Mrs Harrison, the charity's chairman.

"We now send out between 280 and 300 tapes a week.

"We had nothing to start with and really we didn't know what we were doing.

"Volunteers had to use their own equipment, but we have moved on a great deal."

The first edition of the aural newspaper was recorded on Friday, September 28, 1979, in the vice-principal's office at Darlington College of Technology, and copied at the Darlington Council for Voluntary Service in Bennet House, Horsemarket.

"We took the news from The Northern Echo and put it on one side of a 90-minute tape and put messages on the other side," said vice-chairman Mr Greenwood.

"At the time, we had about 25 volunteers to do the reading and the copying. Now, we've got 60."

The format of news on one side of the tape and general information on the other remains to this day. Side two features the "lighting service" - letting blind people know when they should draw their curtains at night and switch on the lights.

There is also information on the best bargains to be had in local shops and listings from theatres and cinemas in the region.

The group moved its operation into Bennet House basement in the 1980s, followed by a stint at Darlington Arts Centre, in Vane Terrace.

"But my ambition from the start was to have a purpose-built studio," said Mr Greenwood.

Two years ago, his wish came true when Newsquest North-East - The Northern Echo's parent company - invited the charity to move into its Priestgate premises rent-free.

"That generosity meant we could afford to buy things that we had never been able to before," said Mrs Harrison.

Mr Greenwood said: "It would cost about £25,000 to set up again. That's all the recording equipment and copying equipment."

The new recording equipment means the quality of the tapes is better than ever, and last year the group won a Rainmark award for quality reading.

Volunteer Susan Gibson, who is registered blind, said life would be much harder without the tapes.

"You can hear the national news on the wireless or TV. But what we need to know is what's happened to the lady two streets away or round the corner.

"It gives us the hazards that are in town and all the pavement and roadworks. It's marvellous the information it provides."

James Partridge, 83, of Lancashire, the first person to record a piece for the town's talking newspaper, said: "I am really chuffed to see what it has become today.

"In the beginning, it was all done at the volunteer bureau and everything had to be done there.

"We did it all ourselves, and there is a tremendous difference to what it is today with all the new technology.

"I have still got the tape of the very first talking newspaper."

Mayor Roderick Francis said: "Today we can access news from around the world as it actually happens, whether it is via the television, radio or the Internet.

"But it is equally important that we also reach those who, for whatever reason, are unable to enjoy what we often take for granted due to some impairment.

"From an initial audience of 20 listeners, when this service was first established in 1979, to 300 listeners today clearly demonstrates the need for such a service.

"To those who have given their time and effort through volunteering to ensure this service has continued, I offer my sincere thanks and I commend you for your work.

"My late wife, Marjorie, used to receive these tapes on a weekly basis and I know how much she enjoyed and valued them."