One of my mottos (I have many) is try, try again.
This is relevant to the battle I've had with getting an induction loop installed in a building known as The Old Court House near to where I live. As I've mentioned before in my blog, I did agitate for one a few years ago but did not succeed then. As my friend Bill Shakespeare put it, 'There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures.'
More briefly, there are times when you can't get things done and other times when you can. And so, I return to the fray with renewed vigour about a year ago. The task was to persuade the Council to install an induction loop in The Old Court House. It's quite an imposing building and it's used for theatrical productions and also as a lecture venue for the University. It's in the centre of what the Council now calls the 'Cultural Centre' of the town.
However, it has not had the benefit of a functioning induction loop or even satisfactory microphones and loud speakers. All that has now changed. The Council had a change of heart and there's been excellent co-operation in the last few months. The Council really wanted to make the 'theatre' a good place for people with hearing impairment to visit.
The first step was for a competent induction loop analyst to visit and to report on what there was there (and what there wasn't) and to suggest an installation. We had the good fortune to have a hearing loop expert as the assessor. As usual, he furnished an excellent and comprehensive report.
To my joy, the Council accepted the report and commissioned an installer to do the work. The next step was for the expert to return to ascertain whether the installation had been done to his high standards and to make recommendations. It was very good news that the expert gave the installation a clean bill of health. He also concluded that the Council managers for the OCH were competent and would be able to train their colleagues in maintaining the induction loop and advising speakers on the proper techniques.
This latter phrase incorporates the essential matter of telling the audience that there is a functioning induction loop in the theatre and asking hearing aid wearers to turn on the 'T' switch. Further, the presenters should ask the audience to check whether their neighbours, who perhaps couldn't hear him at this stage, got that message.
I was invited to test the induction loop at the OCH late in March this yearand I was delighted to find that it worked perfectly. Now it's up to the Council to tell the world about this advance. 'If you've got it, flaunt it'.