For nearly 40 years the Kenilworth Talking News Association has been keeping disadvantaged members of the community connected, right from Waverley day centre.

Christmas 1987 was the first edition of the town's talking newspaper. Recorded on a cassette and posted to the visually impaired and the print disabled in Kenilworth, the edition carried stories from local publications.

Now one of 300 talking news associations nationally, the Kenilworth branch still records on a fortnightly basis from upstairs at Waverley and is one the many local community groups which hires the day centre on a regular basis.

As edition number 939 has just been finalised and sent out on USB sticks, local volunteer and newsreader Roger Davies told Nub News more.

"At each record at Waverley, we'll have sourced material, which will be sent to me a couple of days before," he explained. 

"So, I'll present myself at the studio, which is on the top floor of Waverley day centre. "There are three of us on the news team who read, there is also the editor who produces the material. 

"So, four of us sit in the studio and read something like seven or eight articles each. "Outside we have a sound engineer who records - and then deletes our mistakes - and sorts it all out and puts it on a memory stick. 

"The memory sticks are then sorted by an administrative team who sort them into envelopes."

Around 80 recordings are then sent out free of charge via the Royal Mail to residents across Kenilworth, and Warwick district.

Users can also log on to the website to hear the recordings there, with stories now being sourced from Kenilworth Nub News as well as the local Leamington Courier series.

"It really is a great resource for people who are visually impaired," Roger continued. 

"In terms of local news - you can get national news in all sorts of places - but you can't get local news.

"And the volunteers are contributing and also making people more aware of the difficulties that people with poor sight have to face every day. 

"So it's been brilliant, really, in terms of what it offers visually handicapped people."

All run by volunteers, the group has benefitted from funding from local community groups including Kenilworth Round Table and Kenilworth Lions over the years.

Roger was also quick to thank the team at Waverley.

"It is an absolutely wonderful facility," he said.

"Lots of people go there every day and it is a great resource.

"We're fortunate enough to have the top floor space for the studio and recording.

"And we are also very grateful to Kenilworth Nub News and the Courier series for allowing us to use their content."

Kenilworth Talking News Association is one of the many community groups which benefits from the affordable rooms available for hire at Waverley.

There are four rooms of various sizes available at the Waverley Road site, available for one-off bookings or with discounted rates for regular slots, smaller local groups or charities.

These range from the cosy lounges which each seat 10 people, to the more spacious Helen Dore Suite which boasts room for up to 40.

More information is available on the website here.

Centre manager Holly Hewitt said: "Kenilworth Talking News Association are one of the many local community groups and organisations to make the most of the space on offer here at Waverley. 

"There's a great synergy between the service they offer and the needs of some of our day group clients

"We are delighted they have been able to call Waverley home for such a long time.

"While KTNA uses the space on a regular basis, our rooms can be hired on for one-off dates or semi-regularly.

"All our rooms are spacious, comfortable, affordable and there are a variety of options available.

"Best of all, the small fees we charge are then reinvested by the Waverley charity into improving the lives of our regular guests and the elderly in Kenilworth."

And as Kenilworth Talking News Association also reaches out for more volunteers - in administrative and reading positions - those interested are asked to reach out by calling 01926 852365 or emailing [email protected].

Find out more about room hires at Waverley day centre on the website here.

Waverley sponsors Kenilworth Nub News.

Without community-minded partners like them, we would not be able to share clickbait-free news to the people of Kenilworth.