Shining the Light of Torch

PUBLISHED - 3rd November 2025

This June, Janice Tillet went on a Torch Together holiday in Poole. She has very kindly allowed us to reproduce a slightly shortened version of an article she wrote about her experience… 

I became a member of Torch after I connected with a local Torch Fellowship Group and went on my first Torch Together holiday held in Staffordshire in 2022. Initially, I was not sure about the holidays, but in 2023, I was offered a lift to the Poole holiday from a volunteer living in Northamptonshire. I took it that I was meant to give the Torch Together holiday another chance, and 2025 has now been my third trip to the venue in Poole! 

The centre has lovely gardens and a great outdoor heated swimming pool. The staff made us all feel very welcome, and nothing was ever too much trouble despite having to clear up my room when I knocked the hospitality tray flying during a hunt for my mobile phone! This was before the centre staff were called out-of-hours due to a small accident I had during the same week!! A member of staff remembered me from last year, and I liked the fact that the centre staff pray for each person in a group by name, and they leave a Bible verse for each person in their room. 

We arrived on Monday and had time to settle and unpack before dinner. The centre offered lovely home-cooked food! We all introduced ourselves during the Monday evening. There were about 10 of us with sight loss, plus staff and volunteers, meaning that there were plenty of interesting people to speak to, and we could be guided when needed! 

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, we started our day with prayers before breakfast, which was followed by our devotional and worship slot, and the afternoons saw trips to Compton Acres, privately owned gardens, a trip to Poole and a trip to Boscombe, where we enjoyed a walk down the pier and coffee ice cream. My favourite! 

I asked Mike, a volunteer, why he volunteers on Torch holidays, and he told me,

“My Christian faith – in the Bible we are asked to do good work and I believe Torch to be a good work so when I was asked to be involved, I could not refuse!” 

Friday was a little different as we had to clear the bedrooms in the morning, but we still had a lovely breakfast and a couple more sessions and lunch before saying goodbye to old and new friends, before heading back to our homes. 

I spoke to Peter, a first-time guest on a Torch holiday. He explained what he liked about the week in Poole, “I can talk about my Christian faith and about Jesus Christ without people rolling their eyes or wincing and during the week we learnt about spiritual discipline.” 

Sue, another guest who had been on other Torch holidays, told me why she came to Poole again. She said, “We have wonderful fellowship with fellow Christians – lots of teaching, fun and laughs.” 

Finally, I have found Torch Trust both locally and nationally to be a great support, so if you live with any degree of sight loss or you support someone living with sight loss, then do feel free to contact Torch Trust, they will be pleased to hear from you!