Mary Reid

The AGM of the Kingston Association for the Blind was the best attended of all the AGMs I have been to this year!  It is a well supported organisation which is highly valued by its members, who include both visually impaired people and sighted volunteers.

KAb isthe umbrella body for the Surbiton, New Malden, Social Eyes and Eye Contact clubs, they produce the local Talking Newspaper. A number of buddy schemes have also emerged, including Eye Buddies, Tandem Buddies (cycling), Running Buddies and Dog Buddies.

The presence of Jacqueline Wilson as the guest speaker was undoubtedly a draw at the AGM. She started by explaining about how she became a children's writer, and the famous story of how Jackie magazine was named after her.  Then spent some time telling us about her support for the RNIB's Right to Read campaign, which aims to increase the number of books published in braille, large print and audio versions.