>From: "Pat Tynan" <[log in to unmask]>
>To: <[log in to unmask]>
>Subject: Guide Cats
>Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2005 08:35:46 +0100
>X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook, Build 10.0.6626
>Importance: Normal
>
>GUIDE CATS FOR THE BLIND Vol 2
>
>
>
>THE MISSING PERSIANS FILE
>
>Songs & Poems of Les Barker
>
>
>
>A CD released to raise funds for
>
>The British Computer Association of the Blind
>
><http://www.bcab.org.uk/>http://www.bcab.org.uk Reg  SC023234
>
>
>
>Les Barker writes strange poems and comes originally from Manchester, but 
>he's now Welsh.
>
>He was an accountant before he became a professional idiot.
>
>
>
>Release Date. Monday September 5, 2005
>
>Catalogue Number. OSMO CD 032
>
>Distributor Proper Music.
>
>
>
>The Players
>
>John Humphrys, Joss Ackland, Harvey Andrews with John Shepherd, Prunella 
>Scales Timothy West, Les Barker, Emma Chambers, Tom Paxton, Jeremy Vine,
>
>Nonny James, Genevieve Tudor, Ed Stewart, Steve Tilston, Frank Hennessey, 
>Ryan Kelly, Roger Lloyd Pack, Rodney Bewes, Sic Transit, Desmond Carrington,
>
>Gerard McDermott, Trevor Peacock and last but not least The Mrs Ackroyd Band.
>
>
>
>Songs & Poems of Les Barker Poet & Professional Idiot
>
>The Stealth Comma - John Humphrys, If - Joss Ackland, A Crufts 
>Conversation - Prunella Scales, Cosmo The Fairly Accurate Knife Thrower- 
>Les Barker (Genius),
>
>I Don t Like My Boomerang Emma Chambers, Will the Turtle Be Unbroken - Tom 
>Paxton, My Snails Have Not Yet Arrived - Timothy West & Prunella Scales,
>
>Napoleon s Circular Retreat from Reading Jeremy Vine, Lorna the Library 
>Book Burglar Nonny James, Travel Iron Genevieve Tudor,
>
>Spot Was Not Like the Rest Ed Stewart, Dipsticks & Seals Steve Tilston, 
>Death by Daffodils Frank Hennessy, Self Knowledge Ryan Kelly,
>
>Non Sequitors Roger Lloyd Pack, One Way Cul De Sac Rodney Bewes, The King 
>of Rome Sic Transit, The Undead Parrott Desmond Carrington,
>
>King Harold Was a Ventriloquist Gerard McDermott, A Very English Thing 
>Trevor Peacock, The Lemmings Reunion The Mrs Ackroyd Band.
>
>
>
>Les Barker. A short biography from the age of three until nearly teatime.
>
>Les Barker writes strange poems and comes originally from Manchester, but 
>he's now Welsh. He was an accountant before he became a professional idiot.
>
>
>
>His poems include Jason and the Arguments, Cosmo the Fairly Accurate Knife 
>Thrower, Captain Indecisive, Spot of the Antarctic, An Infinite Number of 
>Occasional Tables', 'A Cardi and Bloke', 'Up the Creek Without a Poodle' 
>and 'The War on Terrier' to name but two.
>
>
>
>Les began his career as assistant to Mrs Ackroyd, a small hairy mongrel 
>who lay around in folk clubs, bit people and became famous. Mrs Ackroyd 
>was the only dog ever to own her own record label.
>
>
>
>Since her sad demise, Les is mainly a solo performer, though he has taken 
>to working with humans from time to time.
>
>
>
>Les is well known for his cardigans and cuts a dash in the fashion world 
>where he is much respected as a leading exponent of the woollen garment in 
>all its splendour.
>
>If he is not at home when you phone, his ansaphone will tell you that he 
>has gone into Oswestry to have a good time, but do leave a message.
>
>
>
>CD Booklet notes by Paul Donovan Radio Columnist of The Sunday Times.
>
>I have a confession. I never thought Guide Cats for the Blind would be a 
>great success. A mixed bag of radio folk reading strange poems by a 
>relatively unknown Mancunian called Les Barker? Happily I was quite wrong. 
>The combination of his extraordinarily clever wordplay, his stature on the 
>folk circuit - even if the London-dominated literary and media worlds have 
>yet to discover him - and the presence of names like Terry Wogan and 
>Charlotte Green, was such to ensure healthy sales. That double CD has now 
>raised over £21,000 for the British Computer Association of the Blind, a 
>charity that helps people across a whole range of visual impairments to 
>get the most out of their computers. In my experience this community, if 
>it can be called that, contains the most erudite and enthusiastic radio 
>listeners anywhere.
>
>
>
>That was two years ago. The Missing Persians File is the sequel, again 
>created by Clive Lever. It follows the same successful format: surreal and 
>funny verse from the prolific Les Barker read (or sung) by stars of music 
>and broadcasting. I'm not a member of the BCAB, just a maverick critic, 
>and my personal view is that it's rather better than Volume 1 - the 
>imagery sharper, the music more tuneful, the puns more inventive.
>
>
>
>JOHN HUMPHRYS begins it, just as he so often begins the day for Radio 4 
>listeners. His reading of The Stealth Comma reflects both his own keen 
>interest in punctuation and Barker's hostility to "smart" bombs. Today's 
>senior presenter might also approve of the second poem, If, read by JOSS 
>ACKLAND, which is as savage about lying politicians as it is faithful to 
>Kipling's great work on which it is based.
>
>
>
>HARVEY ANDREWS and JOHN SHEPHERD come next, using vocals, jazz piano and 
>whistling to render the title track, and they're followed by the first of 
>two appearances from PRUNELLA SCALES, adopting her best Morningside accent 
>to engage in A Crufts Conversation about dogs. LES BARKER himself follows, 
>regaling for an appreciative live audience the saga of Cosmo, The Fairly 
>Accurate Knife-Thrower in the style of Marriott Edgar's lugubrious classic 
>Albert and the Lion.
>
>EMMA CHAMBERS, best known as the dim blonde verger from The Vicar of 
>Dibley, continues in comic vein with I Don't Like My Boomerang, before 
>American folk legend TOM PAXTON sings - in his beautiful mellow voice and 
>with marvellous string accompaniment - Will the Turtle Be Unbroken.
>
>
>
>PRUNELLA SCALES now returns to partner her husband TIMOTHY WEST, she as a 
>French waitress and he as a remarkably patient man who spends his entire 
>life in a restaurant because, as he says, My Snails Have Not Yet Arrived. 
>JEREMY VINE reveals in Napoleon's Circular Retreat from Reading that it 
>was in fact the county town of Berkshire rather than the capital of Russia 
>that engaged Bonaparte's attentions in 1812 - when its hellish one-way 
>system prevented him from getting out of it.
>
>NONNY JAMES, presenter of the blues and folk show, Fretwork, on BBC Radio 
>Shropshire and BBC Hereford and Worcester, paints a sensual portrait of 
>Lorna The Library Book Burglar, a well-read kleptomaniac "who hides James 
>Joyce in the place of his choice", and then her BBC Radio Shropshire 
>colleague GENEVIEVE TUDOR recalls a wandering Travel Iron - again in front 
>of a live audience in Birmingham.
>
>
>
>In Spot Was Not Like the Rest, ED STEWART chronicles the travails of an 
>unusual zebra called Spot, a full-stop among barcodes. Folk guitarist 
>STEVE TILSTON nods affectionately towards those who love messing about 
>with rusty old motors in Dipsticks and Seals, FRANK HENNESSY spoofs one of 
>Wordsworth's most celebrated ballads in Death By Daffodils, and RYAN 
>KELLY, the blind actor who plays sighted Jazzer in The Archers, ponders 
>Self-Knowledge.
>
>
>
>ROGER LLOYD PACK who, like Emma, is best known for The Vicar of Dibley, 
>has a pair of Non Sequiturs, which he uses for not pruning the roses; 
>RODNEY BEWES lives in a once pleasant road that is now, sadly, a One Way 
>Cul-de-sac; and SIC TRANSIT, the Kent folk duo consisting of Clive Lever 
>and Don Thompson, sing, unaccompanied, the saga of The King Of Rome, who 
>is not a potentate but a pigeon.
>
>The avian theme is maintained by DESMOND CARRINGTON in The Undead Parrot, 
>though this particular bird is one to be avoided, since it comes from 
>Transylvania and eats sparrows by the score.
>
>
>
>The partially-sighted actor GERARD McDERMOTT, in the last of the 
>recordings in front of an audience in Birmingham, offers the fascinating 
>but little-known fact that King Harold Was A Ventriloquist and met not 
>only the Normans at the Battle of Hastings in 1066 but also Cosmo the 
>dodgy knife-thrower. That's one in the eye for you, Harold!  TREVOR 
>PEACOCK, the third member of the Vicar of Dibley cast to appear, recalls a 
>clifftop picnic interrupted by a man who falls over the edge - in a very 
>English way, of course. The final track is Les's own MRS ACKROYD BAND 
>singing The Lemmings' Reunion, a somewhat sparsely attended event. It's a 
>poignant, harmonious and in its own way rather lovely end to a delightful 
>album.
>
>
>
>What Is The British Computer Association Of The Blind?
>
>BCAB is an UK organisation of visually impaired people who use information 
>and communications technology. Their membership ranges from experienced 
>computer professionals, to people who are beginning to explore the use of 
>information and communications technology for leisure, study or 
>employment. Please go to the BCAB web site 
><http://www.bcab.org.uk/>www.bcab.org.uk/  for further information.
>
>
>
>Eye-T 4 All
>
>
>
>By Dr. Mike Townsend, Chair BCAB.
>
>Blind and partially sighted people are being left behind when it comes to 
>information technology. Computers and internet connections can be more 
>beneficial to them than for sighted people.
>
>
>
>Many blind and partially sighted people experience social isolation. This 
>results from difficulties in getting out of their homes, finding their way 
>around, and getting information including communicating with other people.
>
>
>
>Take, for example sending a letter. This presents huge challenges for 
>blind people. Difficulties include: Writing the letter, correcting it, 
>getting an address on to an envelop, putting on a stamp (the correct way 
>up!), finding a post-box and getting to it. When a reply comes, some one 
>must be found to read it.
>
>
>
>Blind people just love email. It can be read out immediately through 
>speech synthesis, and replying is just the press of a key.
>
>
>
>The vast amount of information on the world wide web can replace a 
>personal library of unreadable print books.
>
>
>
>Information technology has so much to offer blind people. The EyeT4All 
>programme is being developed to show blind people what is possible, to 
>enthuse them, and point them in the right direction with affordable 
>solutions and training.
>
>
>
>The work so far has included seeking and evaluating suitable solutions. 
>This has involved evaluations according to a template indicating usability 
>and affordability. The programme will not give a theoretical technical 
>approach, but a practical solutions based presentation.
>
>
>
>A small pilot based on a limited product range, has been run. A one day 
>presentation has been defined and developed.
>
>
>
>The programme will be rolled out across various locations in the Autumn. 
>Links have been established with local voluntary societies for the blind 
>who are keen to host the days.
>
>
>
>How Can You help?
>
>The BCAB will benefit from any exposure you can offer via press, radio 
>play or word of mouth. Benefits will come to the BCAB and its members in 
>two ways. The first benefit will be financial as all proceeds other than 
>the manufacturing and the very minimum administration costs will see the 
>bulk of all earnings going to the BCAB. The association will also be able 
>to sell the CD direct to the public through their many fund raising 
>activities.
>
>
>
>++++++++
>
>Interviews:
>
>To assist with the promotion of Guide Cats For The Blind, Les Barker will 
>be available for interviews after October 4. (USA Tour Aug 19 to Oct 4)
>
>
>
>We can also provide Clive Lever the brains and energy behind the whole 
>project and the person who can explain best what the BCAB do. Clive is 
>blind; he has been a member of the BCAB for twenty years and uses a 
>computer in his daily job. (Normal keyboard with speech programme)
>
>
>
>Both Ryan Kelly (Jazzer in The Archers ) Gerard McDermott (Actor partially 
>sighted)
>have also agreed to make themselves available for interview.
>
>++++++++
>
>The British Computer Association of the Blind wishes to thank all the 
>artists and everybody involved for your total support of this project in 
>your own time and at no cost.
>
>
>
>We would like to thank all those performers who contributed to the 
>original Guide Cats album which has since raise in excess of £21,000.
>
>
>
>(BCAB Registered Charity - SCO23234)
>
>++++++++
>
>
>
>Pat Tynan Media: Office: +44(0)1895 636935 Mobile: 07985 400297
>
>[log in to unmask]
>
>Pat Tynan Media
>
>PO Box 785
>
>Ickenham
>
>Uxbridge
>
>Middlesex
>
>England UB10 8WQ
>
>Office: +44 (0) 1895 636935 Mobile 07985 400297
>
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