Who we are
Contact Us
Wealden Talking News
1 / 2 Bank Buildings
Cherwell Road
Heathfield TN21 8JT
Our answerphone number is 01435 862304
Email: [email protected]
Board of Trustees
Amanda Sizer Barrett MBE
(Chairman)
To be updated
Lynsey Penfound FCA
Treasure
I am 73 years old married to Clive with 2 children Laura 42 and James 40 and four grandchildren Charlie 9 and Poppy 7 in the UK and Atticus 7 and Ambrose 5 in Australia.
I qualified as a chartered accountant 50 years ago and worked in the profession with Pannell Kerr Foster, KPMG and Price Waterhouse Coopers.
I worked overseas for 4 years briefly in Iran and Belgium and then mainly in Papua New Guinea. In PNG I was chief executive for a company that had a motor dealership (Mercedes, VW, Ford & Fiat} office machinery, electrical and HiFi and an indent operation. I oversaw 19 ex patriates and 50 staff over 5 locations in PNG. On my return to the UK, I worked for Rentokil and then as Company Secretary and Group Accountant for an oil and gas exploration company which was AIM listed.
I have been involved in the charity sector for over 40 years acting as Treasurer/Accountant for Friends of Sussex Hospices, St George’s Community Children’s Project Ltd, Tunbridge Wells Volunteer Bureau and The Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Centre in Croydon.
My interests are reading, watching football, music and looking after my grandchildren
Richard Foster
Magazine editor, presenter and producer
Richard joined what was then called Heathfield and District Talking Newspaper Association in 1987 and has been producing and recording a talking magazine (Richard's Roundup) since August 1989.
Richard has been totally blind from birth. He ran his own business tuning and repairing pianos from August 1971 until March 2018. At that point he left Crowborough and retired to Aberdeen to be with Amanda who is now his wife. Richard comes down regularly to look after a few long-standing clients and, when possible, attend trustees meetings. He has been Chairman of the Association of Blind Piano Tuners since April 1997.
He is also volunteer for RNIB Scotland and am PVG (People in Vulnerable Groups) checked. This is the Scottish equivalent of DBS
Heather Halit Vice-Chairman and Editing supervisor
Heather went into retail banking following university and lived and worked (managing the general office of a branch) in West London until her husband was seconded to the Middle East in 1992, where she had two children and was involved with two of the local animal welfare charities. The family came back to the UK and her husband continued to travel for business so when they moved to Sussex she studied diet and nutrition and set up a business from home making ‘free from’ treats, her main area of expertise being gluten free diets and sugar substitutes.
Heather grew up with Talking Newspapers in the background as her Mum read for a TN for many years, so once her youngest son went to school it was natural for her to join WTN as an editor and reader. She became a trustee in 2016 and is now responsible for the editing teams.
Heather is keen to produce as good a product as possible for the listeners and is very proud to have been part of the team that kept WTN and SWP running during the lockdowns.
She is married with two grown up sons and lots of dogs and cats, in her spare time she is the book-keeper for Friends of Sussex Hospices, loves crafts (especially sugarcraft) and is an avid reader.
Mike Hollis (Technical manager)
Mike grew up in London in the 1960’s where the new emerging music scene captured his interest and led him to a lifelong interest in music and the recording industry. With no connections to enable him to progress a career in this field, Mike moved to his second love of photography and worked for 30 years as a professional technician. When the digital camera revolution brought the demise of the photographic industry, Mike took the opportunity to move to Sussex where he was able to work for the Talking News Association UK, reverting to his chosen career path and giving him the opportunity to extend his already extensive knowledge of recording.
Aware that a local charity, Wealden Talking News, needed recording engineers Mike became a volunteer and soon became a trustee and Technical Manager. With the help of a lottery grant, Mike oversaw the upgrading of the studio, installing state-of–the art equipment. Mike is currently responsible for in-house training of recording engineers and running workshops to constantly enhance skills and techniques.
Dianne Steele
Studio & Production Manager
Dianne qualified as a State Registered Nurse in 1968 and continued her education to qualify as a midwife in 1970 before choosing to specialise in the Operating Theatre (Cardio-Thoracic) at Kings College Hospital, South London. In 1972 she married and moved to East Sussex where she became the District Nurse/ Midwife for Hawkhurst on the Sussex/Kent border.
In 1974 Dianne had a daughter after which she qualified as a Podiatrist and embarked on a 40 year career in the private sector.
Dianne has always contributed to community service - initially through the Heathfield & District Lions Club. She became the Medical Loan Officer for the Heathfield Branch of the British Red Cross in 1991 and in 1993 became a volunteer reader for Wealden Talking News – now serving as a Trustee, Secretary and Studio Manager. She has been an fundraising committee member of the Friends of Sussex Hospices since 2009, becoming a trustee in 2015. Whilst working for this charity, Dianne developed a keen interest in web and graphic design and currently works as the web master, brand manager and designer of fundraising literature, programmes etc.
Dianne has had a life-long love of opera and has served as an usher at Glyndebourne Opera House since 1994. Other interests include skiing, Scottish dancing, needlepoint, and bridge.
Amanda Foster
Blind awareness consultant
Amanda Burt was born and brought up in Aberdeen. She was appointed a Trustee in 2016 and serves as the Blind Awareness Consultant. Amanda is married to fellow trustee, Richard Foster. Amanda advises the board on all aspects of digital technology for the sight impaired and blind.
Amanda has a life-time experience of volunatry work particularly with RNIB and Poverty Alliance - Scotland’s anti-poverty network bringing together campaigners and communities to rebalance the distribution of power and resources. She is also a volunteer and advisor for the Scottish Human Rights Commission.
Amanda really enjoys her work as a trustee. She is in a unique position to understand the problems and requirements of the severly visually impaired when using computers and other technical devices that offer communication.
Fiona Blyth
(Partial sight adviser)
To be updated
Graham Baldwin- Lions Club rep
To be updated
