Stuart has been blind since he was a young man. He and his black retriever guide dog are regular walkers along the Tarka Trail. Guide dogs stop working at about eight years old and, as his dog is nearing that age, Stuart has recently heard that he should be prepared for his dog to go into retirement. Unfortunately, a shortage of dog trainers means there is a wait of up to two years, for new dog. Stuart wonders how he will cope without his four-legged guide which allows him to get about and to exercise. 

There’s plenty of national and international news for the visually impaired on websites and radio but for the really local news Stuart listens to Torridge Talking Newspaper. This is produced by a volunteer group who take over the conference room in Bideford Bridge Trust office on Friday mornings to read news from local papers. The hour-long recordings are posted out on USB sticks. The subscribers get to know the voices of readers and look forward to hearing the inevitable mistakes that creep in, and the resulting muffled laughter caught on microphone. These are rarely re-recorded, apparently listeners find these some of the best bits of the news. The USB sticks are reused after they have been listened to – they are posted back and collected at the post office. The proposed closure of the Bideford post office poses a real threat to this service.  

When Stuart is on the Tarka Trail it’s always good to take a moment to update him on what is going on around – things on the bridge or the trail which might be an obstacle. And then to hear some of his stories. Recently he recalled the demolition in 1998 of the Eagle Tavern Café and Fish Bar, which stood in what is now the car park of the Royal Hotel. First, a cherry picker took the eagle off the top of the roof (whatever happened to the eagle he wonders?) before the digger moved in to demolish the building. Unfortunately, it cut straight through a gas main, there was an incredibly loud high pitched whistling noise from the escaping gas, and all the surrounding houses had to be evacuated. 

Way of the Wharves plans to re-site the phone box in Torrington Street onto the station, refurbish it and install an audio archive with local history memories like this. 

www.phoneeastthewater.co.uk