If someone you know – a relative, neighbour, friend, patient or client – is visually impaired or otherwise has difficulty reading print but wants to keep in touch with what’s going on in their local area, please tell them about their local Talking News.

It’s a weekly audio programme posted to our listeners’ homes free-of-charge.  They can also listen through our website at the ‘Listen Online’ page.

This free service is for those with limited sight and others with temporary or long-term conditions which limit their access to the written word.

Our audio programmes help local residents of all ages to keep up-to-date with what’s going on in St Albans, Harpenden and all the villages and parishes within the District.

Each week, we cover up to 20 or more of the top news items and features from the local papers (Herts Advertiser and St Albans Times) and other local sources.  Our programmes also include a variety of material of local or general interest, including interviews, features, reviews of audio books, a preview of what’s coming up on national radio stations and a selection of audio-described TV programmes over the following week, wildlife recordings by members of the Wildlife Sound Recording Society (a national organisation), a preview of local events (talks, music, theatre, and other entertainment), ‘London Beyond Sight’ recordings by Vocaleyes, ‘This Week in History’ – all this and more.

Thanks to our music licence covering everything from classical to country, jazz to rock, and plenty of ‘the good old favourites’ including those chosen by listeners, our programme editors ensure that each week we offer two hours or more of entertaining and informative radio just for our listeners.

And it’s all totally free-of-charge to our listeners.