Hi & welcome. You've reached the Summer 2009
Feel
free to sign or view our Guestbook
Visit our 2009 TAFN Members in the News page
To all our website guests, we're glad you've stopped by this website, and we hope that you enjoy your visit here. There's been some great weather so far this year and we hope it continues!
TAFN - The Accessible Friends Network - is a small but growing independent national charity with over 90% blind members that aims to make the internet a friendlier & more enabling place for all blind & visually impaired people.
Despite our being spread out geographically, thanks to the internet through teamwork and online volunteering we have been able to ensure that a whole hub of activities and support is available to blind people via their own home computer, courtesy of their peers. And we have great fun doing it! Here are details of just some of the latest things happening:-
1. TAFN's first ever CAMEO Weekend a huge success!
2. Multi player Screen reader accessible GOLF is catching on at TAFN!
5. Members of The Accessible Friends Network in the News
6. Past TAFN Publicity: from BBC Radio Humberside, BBC In Touch, & Soundings Magazine.
8. Sad News: Geoff Grant our former Treasurer, has passed away (May 2007).
9. We Cordially invite you (internationals included ) to join the TAFN Mailing List.
10. Wanted!! Website feedback & contributions.
11. New TAFN Committee elected at our 5th AGM, November 2008.
This page is maintained by TAFN Webmaster Leon Gilbert.
Our first ever CAMEO weekend, was a rip-roaring success and everyone who attended had a fantastic time. CAMEO is an abbreviation for Come And Meet Every One, and the the event was held at a 5 star hotel in Leicestershire with around 50 TAFN members present. Our special thanks to the hard work of the organisers and volunteers, who all helped to ensure that this historical and pioneering occasion went well. Especially Bob Whiteside, our former Vice Chairman whom all at TAFN have wished a happy retirement.
Such a fantastic time was had by all at CAMEO that everyone is already talking about when, we can do this exciting event again! More pictures, and sound recordings from this event-to-be-remembered will be available in the Members Area of this website soon.
Our members area contains member profiles, postcards from members on their travels, private audio & more.
Find out more about TAFN membership
Blind golfers are playing eachother online by VoIP, from up & down the country & across the world!
There is a free accessible Golf Game made by Kitchens Inc, which TAFN members have recently started to play in a big way. It is easy to learn, compatible with all screen readers and combined with our high quality VoIP server, members are able to play live against eachother online, sharing the same course hole by hole and listening to eachothers shots.
The popularity of this game led to our first Golf League in Summer of last year which was won by Ian McNamara from Sutton Coldfield. The latest league of 2009 was won by John Hinchliffe from Yorkshire.
A new league has started since, and almost every day now there are several players on our server, battling it out against eachother - plus of course having lots of fun at the same time! For more information about TAFN Golf, including help files to get you started, free downloads, TAFN Golf League scores, audio and more, please visit our new golf pages at www.tafn.org.uk/golf
You will have to be a member of our VIP Communicator server, but that's free and easy to set up. The main things you need are a PC running Windows XP or Vista with a broadband connection and microphone. For more information please send an email to the address below and we'll get back to you and let you know what you need to do. Or call the TAFN helpline on 0845 838 2369 during UK office hours.
Please note, the VIP Communicator client program cannot be tested without you signing up for a free 1 month guest account minimum.
Come join people from all over the world for fun and games on a Friday night. What better way to start the weekend? We hope to see you soon!!!
Click here to go to the quiz page or Click here to Email the Quiz organisers Chris & Teresa.
Various members of the accessible friends network, have made it into the news for different reasons, in the past. As the number of incidences of this has grown, we've now made a special page on which we feature them all.
Visit the 2009 TAFN "Members in the News" page
(all audio links now fixed!)
Leon Gilbert and The Accessible Friends Network, won the IT4 Communities "Best Accessible IT Project" 2007 award in late November. Congratulations!
Find out more about the I T4C award
Jim Welch had an excellent article
published in the Northern Echo in July 2006. Click here to
Watch
the online video, called
"Blind, but with the world at his fingertips".
BBC Radio Humberside interviewed the late Chris Cant about TAFN on 8th April 2005. Sue Palletts v i cookery guide "Sues Kitchen" (a part of the TAFN website) was featured on BBC In Touch on 19th April 2005. And Steve Pallett did a phone interview with Soundings Magazine, in August 2005.
"TAFN on Soundings Magazine" interview (6:56)
BBC Radio Humberside interview, with the late Chris Cant (10:49)
BBC In Touch programme, which featured Sue's Kitchen (18:48)
Our thanks to all Accessible Friends Volunteers, for their hard work.
As from 1st January 2006 TAFN has got a new web shop, where people can shop online from a choice of over 90 major retailers, and through various offers & promotions earn money for The Accessible Friends Network at the same time! Please tell your friends about it! The address is www.buy.at/tafn
(TAFN is a UK Registered Charity, No 1108043. Over 90% of our members are registered blind people, and 100% of every donation, no matter how small, goes directly to help with our running costs. We have no paid staff).
Click here to visit the brand new TAFN web shop!
Bill Cox, an early TAFN member, from Norfolk has sadly passed away in November 2008. Our sincerest condolences to Bill's friends and family.
Ann Flynn, one of our members recently lost her husband Mick. We set up a tribute and eulogy page here.
Geoff Grant, who was a pioneering volunteer and former Treasurer of TAFN, sadly left this world in May 2007. Click here to visit our Geoff Grant tribute page, with condolences book
Click here to visit the all new TAFN memorial page, where we honour all of the members who are no longer with us.
Anyone with TAFN mailing list enquiries, please e-mail our Secretary for information and/or assistance.
If you are not already a TAFN Communicator Voice Chat server user but would like to be, instructions & details are available on our Voice Conferencing page. To request a user ID and password, please use the link on this page to fill out an application form, a FREE 1 month trial is currently available to all blind or visually impaired people over the age of 18, internationals included.
Thank you and look forward to meeting you.
Audrey Tonge
TAFN Chairperson.
On our Voice Conferencing server there's a dedicated room where we hold TAFN members meetings on the second Sunday of each month at 3.00pm. Meetings are minuted and members and friends get to catch up with what TAFN has been up to, as well as have a say in it's future! For further details please contact us.
Find out more about membership of the Accessible Friends Network
(A word from the TAFN Webmaster) There's so much happening within TAFN nowadays that's it's a constant challenge keeping the website up to date with it all. We're always adding new stuff, so guests please do come back and remember to refresh the page! Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this site so far. TAFN this is our space, and you're welcome to have anything you want put on here, just email it over anytime. We especially welcome audio clips, technical tips, game reviews, written pieces, jokes, or even pictures. Anything you think that other v i p's & website visitors may like or find useful! Thanks again to all the contributors so far, it's you each doing your bit that's made this little network of ours the great place that it is. email Webmaster
New Executive Committee as of our Fifth AGM, November 2008
As our 5th AGM in Hertfordshire in November 2008 we now have a new executive committee of 7 trustees. We welcome the new members who are Lee Garrett Vice Chairman, Paul Weston Online Events Co-ordinator and Michael Payne, Membership Administrator.
Our special thanks to Robert Whiteside (vice chairman 2006-2008) Steve Pallett (co-Founder & vice chairman 2004-5 ), the late Geoff Grant (Treasurer), and the late Chris Cant (founding chairman) who have now retired from the committee, for their hard work and dedication. The work of these volunteers has been foundational.
TAFN first started in 2003 and our latest Annual Report, is available on request.
Support, training and social activities run by and for blind and visually impaired people via the internet and voice conferencing. UK Registered Charity No. 1108043. Welcome to our website!
This page & all pages at www.tafn.org.uk copyright The Accessible Friends Network 2008.
To contact T A F N please Email us at info at tafn dot org dot u k
All rights reserved. UK Registered Charity No. 1108043.
