September/October 2025

Hello and welcome to the latest audio edition of the St Albans Macular Support Group newsletter.
We hope you’ve had a restful summer and are ready to join us for an exciting autumn ahead. In this edition, we’ll share updates from our July Afternoon Tea, look ahead to upcoming meetings and a special community fair, and share news about a new clinical trial opportunity. Let’s get started!

Audio version available – press play to listen to the newsletter

June/July 2025

Welcome to the June–July edition of the St Albans Macular Support Group Newsletter. With summer now upon us, we’re pleased to share some recent updates, upcoming events, and exciting developments within our group. From a successful outing at the Harpenden Seniors Fair to our upcoming Afternoon Tea in July, there’s lots happening. Read on for all the latest news and helpful resources.

Audio version available – press play to listen to the newsletter

As we embrace the arrival of spring, we’re excited to share updates and upcoming events in our April-May 2025 newsletter. Our recent meeting faced challenges due to a misaligned presentation from Age UK. However, they’ve promptly addressed our concerns, and we’re pleased to announce that Adam Thurpar, a senior team member from Age UK, will be our guest speaker on May 13th. Additionally, Sue Drew, our Regional Manager from the Macular Society, will join us on April 8th…

Welcome to the November & December Newsletter! We’re delighted to share the latest updates, events, and resources from the St Albans Macular Support Group. Our recent Hints & Tips workshop was a fantastic success, and we have more engaging events lined up, including a special visit from Ed Hollway, CEO of The Macular Society, on November 12th. Stay tuned for details on our Christmas gathering, helpful initiatives, and future meetings. Thank you for being part of our supportive community!

Welcome to the September/October 2024 edition of the St Albans Macular Support Group Newsletter!
The canal boat excursion this week was very successful and from the feedback I’ve had everyone enjoyed the trip. I have sent a thank you to the staff at Waterways experience who went above and beyond to look after us.

Welcome to the June 2024 edition of the St Albans Macular Support Group Newsletter!

I hope everyone enjoyed our Afternoon Tea. Thank you to everyone who provided very positive comments which I have given to the staff at Aldwickbury Golf Club.  I’m delighted so many of you were able to attend.

Welcome to the April 2024 edition of the St Albans Macular Support Group Newsletter!

Thank you for your engagement at our recent talk on Security and Fraud; your feedback is invaluable. Kindly ensure your £15 annual fee is settled to support our upcoming events, including the Canal Boat Trip on August 20th.

For our Afternoon Tea, bookings are in progress, and transportation arrangements are available. Contact Barbara Jeffrey for reservations or inquiries. We anticipate opening bookings for the Canal Boat Trip in May; stay tuned for details.

Your involvement is vital to our community’s success. If you need assistance, please reach out. We’re here to ensure your experience is enriching.

Thank you to everyone who attended our Annual General Meeting. Your feedback was very positive and important to us. Your discussion has provided the committee with some ideas and you will see some of these are reflected in the latest members meeting schedule which is included with this letter.

Welcome to the Jan/Feb 2024 issue of the St Albans Macular Support Group Newsletter! We’re thrilled to kick off the new year with an exciting lineup of events. On Tuesday, January 9th at 2:00 pm, we have the privilege of hosting Sue Drew, our Regional Manager from the Macular Society, who will provide us with valuable insights into the recent developments within the Society and our ongoing affiliation. In February, join us on Tuesday the 13th for our Annual General Meeting, where we’ll conduct a brief formal session before indulging in delightful scones and tea. Your input and participation are always valued, so please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or suggestions. We look forward to sharing this exciting year ahead with you!

Welcome to the December 2023 edition of the St Albans Macular Support Group Newsletter! As the year draws to a close, we’re excited to share updates about our upcoming events, including our eagerly anticipated Christmas Party and the plans for our next year’s gatherings. In this edition, we reflect on the insightful session by Geraldine Hoad from the Macular Society and bring you the details of her enlightening talk. Plus, discover how you can benefit from joining the Macular Society and engage in their Winter Warmers talks. Looking ahead, we have our AGM in February and a much-awaited Canal Boat Trip in July 2024. We’re also eager to hear your suggestions for future meetings as we compile our 2024 program. Stay connected, and let’s make the most of our community’s support and activities.

Our next two meetings will be in Homewood Road Church Hall at 2:00 pm as follows:

Tuesday, October 10

Reflections of a Magistrate Peter Spencer

Tuesday, November 14

Latest Developments in Macular Research

Geraldine Hoad, Research & Development Unit Macular Society

I hope this finds you all well and you have enjoyed the summer.

Our next meeting will be in Homewood Road Church Hall on Tuesday September 12 at 2:00 pm.

Our speaker will be Mark Chapman who is the Eye Clinic Liaison Officer at Luton & Dunstable Hospital. His talk is entitled “Are you getting enough support?”

Mark will talk about benefits, aids and services for people with visual impairment. He has kindly provided a summary of his talk which I have included.

I hope this finds you all well and that you enjoyed our afternoon tea last month. I think everyone appreciated having a chance to socialise. We had thirty-six people attend, including some new members.

Our next meeting will be in Homewood Road Church Hall on Tuesday, June 13 at 2:00 pm.

I hope this finds you all well and keeping warm after some very chilly weather. I hope you all enjoyed Just Dave at our March meeting.

 We have a number of exciting events planned for spring and summer. I have attached a timetable of events for the forth coming months. Please remember there is a meeting every month except August…

Unfortunately, due to the snow we had to cancel our Christmas party and meeting in December.  This was very disappointing for everyone however we will reorganise the party.

I am sending this letter to cover both January and February as the postal strikes look set to continue.

We have some very good speakers lined up…

I hope this finds you well.  We had a great turnout at our last meeting and it was lovely to see you all. Thank you for your support. I know everyone enjoyed the talk by Sue Drew. She asked me to say how much she enjoyed visiting us and she thought we have a fabulous group…

I hope this finds you well. We had quite a small turnout at the September meeting but I think those of you attending found Linda Randall from the Talking Newspaper very interesting. I any of you were not able to come but would like some information on the Talking Newspaper service please let me know and I will put you in touch…

I hope this finds you all well after a very warm summer. I was surprised to see that it is a year since I attended the first committee meeting and after a delayed start, I think we have had some very interesting and enjoyable monthly meetings. I’m including the schedule of meetings for the rest of the year and please let me have any suggestions for the future…