I have found, as a lipreading tutor, that it is good to go out and see how we get on socialising outside of the classroom.

My class have been on a few outings, one to the Garden Centre, then another to The Kelpies – it is so good for the class members to have a chat and share all our news and stories from our past.

While we are out, we find ourselves looking for the best table for communicating. It is surprising to see that not many places have round tables, which are best for communicating, ensuring eye contact and sitting face-to-face to see the lips of everyone at the table.

We managed with the rectangular tables at both outings and discussed all the issues of background noise and communicating with staff at the cafes.

At The Kelpies, it was amazing to see the silver statues of the horses. In the grounds, there were also other sculptures, and at this time, the garden centre was decorated for Christmas, so we had a look around the store.

Soon we will be going on another outing, and we are all looking forward to this as it really helps to go out to various places where we can learn more about coping strategies in different venues. The best thing of all is the conversations and laughs we have.