Hi Noreen

Just thought I would take this opportunity to say Hi and bring you up to date.
Glad Samantha is doing well and hope you are settling into your new home.

Hasn't the time flown since our trips to Greece and Poland. Glad you're still
keeping in touch with the European folks. I still receive and read mail between
you all.

Life has been good to me, I am still living in Strabane. I spent 3 years on the
Board of RNIB in London, I left the public library service to work full time for
RNIB in Derry and Belfast. I am Project Manage for Employability and Skills for
Blind and Partially sighted Women. We have 64 women on the project, six of whom
have gone into full time employment since our opening one year ago. I am
passionate that women are given every chance to achieve full potential
especially in the world of work.

Andrea is at University in Belfast doing Information Technology and Tony is
doing GCSE's, he is 16. I'm not sure if you knew I got a guide dog almost 2
years ago. Lark is a playful rascal but she gives me newfound independance. I
travel widely with her.

Kiki and I met earlier this year in Dublin. It was emotional after 7 years. We
kept in touch meantime. She is doing well and looks fantastic.

Enjoy your trip to Finland and say hello to Pekka and anyone else from the
original group. Keep us posted on how things go for you. Maybe see you in
September at Fighting Blindness AGM.

Regards to Dave and Samantha
Annmarie

Annmarie HoustonWork: 02871 366060Mobile: 07864067649


To: retinayouth@...: nrpower@...: Sun, 3 Feb 2008
22:42:30 +0000Subject: RE: [retinayouth] 15th Retina International World
Congress




Hi all from Ireland! Apologies that I have not been in touch for sucha long time
- I have been going through a lot of changes over the lastyear or so, including
moving house. I just want to say that I miss youall and I'm looking forward to
catching up with everyone in Finland.You won't recognise Samantha now as she's
grown quite a bit and is a bitof a bossyboots now :-) but adorable all the same
:-)Anyway, my love to everyone and look forward to seeing you
soon.xxxNoreenn.power-waldron@...-----Original Message-----From:
retinayouth@...[mailto:retinayouth@...] On Behalf Of
M.DebiecSent: 21 October 2007 20:36To: retinayouth@...: Re:
[retinayouth] 15th Retina International World CongressSounds delicious... This
time I think I can make this and go to themeeting. That is of course a question
of costs. Pekka - are You planningsomething or anybody according to our
group?Best regardsMike----- Original Message ----- From: Markus Georg To: RIY ;
Retinayouth Sent: Sunday, October 21, 2007 6:10 PMSubject: [retinayouth] 15th
Retina International World CongressHello everybody,Please find below the
information I have received from Maija fromFinlandabout next RI congress.Best
regards,MarkusDear Friends,The 15th Retina International World Congress will be
held in Helsinkinextsummer. Here in Finland the preparations are advancing in
their duecourseand presently we are starting to get to the final stage of the
work. Thescientific program for the congress is ready. The invitations have
beensentto the speakers.The exact dates for the congress will be Friday, the
4th, and Saturday,the5th of July, 2008. The time of the year is the most
luminous here in thenorth and, therefore, often said to be "nightless".We have
chosen Finlandia Hall in the centre of Helsinki as the congressvenue. The
building was designed by Alvar Aalto, a world-famous Finnisharchitect, and has
been the seat for several international congressesandmeetings of world leaders.
Finlandia Hall provides such occasions withexcellent technological
conditions.The official languages of the congress are Finnish and English.
Thankstothe technology we have the opportunity of arranging
simultaneousinterpretation in several languages. If a larger number of
participantsarecoming from your society to Finland and you wish to get
interpretationin,for instance, French, Italian or Japanese this will be
technicallypossible.You can bring your own interpreter with you or we can find
you one hereinHelsinki. You will pay for all the costs of the interpreter and
RetinaFinland will pay for the technical arrangements.We have succeeded in
negotiating good deals with two high class hotels,theCrowne Plaza and the
Scandic Continental near Finlandia Hall. Staying inthese hotels will cost about
110 Euros per night in a double room. Thepriceincludes a very generous buffet
breakfast. The walking distance toFinlandiaHall is 5 to 10 minutes. Opposite the
hotels is the big Hesperia Parkwherethe RI Running Club can go for their morning
jog.Besides these hotels we offer an even more affordable alternative
atDomusAcademica, a summer hotel, which is situated a bit further away.
Thewalkingdistance to Finlandia Hall is about 20 to 30 minutes. A single
roomcosts 50Euros and a double room 70 Euros per night. Rooms for three or
fourpersonsare also available. Domus Academica functions as a dormitory
forstudents inwinter. That's why there is no luxury in the rooms. Each room has
atoilet,a shower, a fridge and a small kitchen. In the lounge there isa TV-set
and some computers. The hotel has a sauna and a small swimmingpool.The social
program for the congress days has been confirmed. TheSpeakers'Dinner will be
held in Suomenlinna on Friday evening. Suomelinna is thehistorical sea fortress
on the islands just off the coast of Helsinki.Thearea was included in the
UNESCO's World Heritage List in 1991.On Saturday we end the congress in a
festive way with a Gala Dinnercelebrating also the 30-year existence of Retina
International.According to the tradition the business meetings of Retina
Internationalwill take place in connection with the congress. We have built up
theprogram so that we can arrange alternative programs for those in thepartywho
are not official delegates.The days for the business meetings are:Monday, June
30th, Retina International Management Committee MeetingTuesday, July 1st,
Continuous EducationWednesday, July 2nd, General AssemblyThe Management
Committee meeting on Monday will be held at a hotel. Thebusiness meetings on
Tuesday and Wednesday will take place at Iiris -TheService and Activity Centre
for the Visually Impaired.According to the feedback from earlier congresses we
have dedicated thewhole Thursday for social activities. The participants have
theopportunityof getting familiar with Finnish nature. We will make a trip to
anationalpark near Helsinki where we can canoe, hike and bathe in a
sauna.Alternatively participants can get acquainted with the colourful
historyofthe sea fortress of Suomelinna. A partly separate program has
beenplannedfor the Retina International Youth participants.More information can
be found on our websitehttp://www.retina.
<http://www.retina.fi/RI2008/congress.html.>fi/RI2008/congress.html.In the
beginning of December the First Announcement will be published onourwebsite. It
will contain more detailed information both on thescientificand the social
program as well as on fees and ways of payment.We are happy to answer any of
your questions.We Wish You All Welcome To Finland Next Summer!Retina
FinlandMaija LindroosPresidentmaija.lindroos@
<mailto:maija.lindroos%40pp.inet.fi> pp.inet.fi[Non-text portions of this
message have been removed][Non-text portions of this message have been removed]






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