In our own words...

The Herald’s deputy editor Chris Smith, news editor Simon Woodings, and reporter Ben Lugg were behind the microphone for the special edition.

Every week, stories exclusively from the Herald are recorded on to memory sticks and sent to 140 blind or partially-sighted people who subscribe to Stratford’s Talking Newspaper.

They are now read from a new studio at Stratford Methodist Church — the volunteer group’s first permanent home in its near 40-year history.

The Herald featured the official opening of the studio in April last year and was delighted to send Chris, Simon and Ben back for a stint as readers.

“Talking Newspapers provides such a vital service to people living in Stratford and beyond, who wouldn’t otherwise be able to keep up with what’s going on in the news, and it was a fantastic experience to get behind the microphone to read our stories, if a little daunting!,” said Chris.

“The Herald is very privileged that the Talking Newspaper team chooses to use our newspaper as the only source of news for its weekly editions, and we’re happy to support them with copies of the paper every week and, on this occasion, a team of readers.”