Peter’s address was followed by speeches from two of our most well- known patrons – broadcasters Bob Harris and Ed Stewart – who officially launched Concerto. Both celebrities praised the set and were impressed by its many new features. After describing his earliest experiences of listening to a radio that ‘was more like a large piece of furniture’, Bob described Concerto as “a brilliant set with great capabilities that I am sure blind and partially sighted people will enjoy. Well done to BWBF and to Roberts for creating something so advanced and so accessible.”

Our Chairman of trustees, Peter McDonagh, then welcomed everyone to the new premises and said:
“This is an exciting time for the Fund. Technology is moving faster and changing every day and, with this new space and new facilities we will be able to keep pace with that change. We are aiming to put in place a better support network for our agents and over the next few months we’ll be expanding the team to accommodate this. This wonderful radio, Concerto, is just the start; we’ll continue to look out for what technology has to offer so we can ensure we can bring people completely up to date with accessible formats.

To celebrate these momentous events – whilst also providing an ideal opportunity to get together with friends and supporters – we held a special lunchtime reception in our brand new Maidstone headquarters on Friday 30th May.

The opening ceremony was performed by the Mayor of Maidstone, Councillor Denise Joy who was supported by the High Sheriff of Kent, Richard Oldfield and the Deputy Lieutenant of Kent, Bill Cockcroft. The Mayor ceremonially cut our BWBF 80th birthday cake, created specially for the occasion by volunteers.