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Newsletter ¦ 16th April

Greetings from the Jubilee Centre!

I hope you and your loved ones are well. 

Our newsletter consists of three parts – an update on coronavirus in Bury, an update of our services, a round-up of local news items and the weekly quiz!

HRH Prince Philip 

At Age UK Bury, we were sad to hear of the news of the passing of His Royal Highness, The Duke of Edinburgh. Our thoughts are with the Queen and her family at this sad time. We are grateful to Prince Philip for his lifetime of service to our country and inspiring millions of young people throughout the world to become volunteers. . 

We will be joining the national moment’s silence tomorrow at 3.00 pm from the safety of our homes. 

For more information, click onto https://www.royal.uk/ 

Part One: Coronavirus in Bury

In Bury, on Thursday 15th April, 31.4 people per 100,000 were tested positive for coronavirus – that is a decrease of 33% from the previous week’s figure. On the same day, the England average was 28 people testing positive per 100,000 – a fall of 13% from the previous week’s figure. 

Bury now has the lowest infection rate in Greater Manchester. The worrying news is that infection rates in Oldham (63.7/100K) and Wigan (48.7/100K) have increased by 7% in the last week. It is expected that with the relaxation of some lockdown rules, there will be a rise across Greater Manchester in the next few weeks. The best defence against this virus is the mantra of “hands, face, space and fresh air”. Let’s do it for Bury.

Last Monday saw the reopening of non-essential retail, hairdressers, and pub gardens. For a full list of what can open and where you can do, click onto  https://www.gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-coronavirus-restrictions-what-you-can-and-cannot-do

The Bury Council / Bury CCG Update (16th April) is available in this link 

Vaccination Update

By 11th April 2021, a total of 92,161 first doses of the vaccine had been delivered by Bury’s four community vaccination centres, hospital hubs and regional vaccination centres. That’s a tremendous achievement by our council, local health services, the army and local volunteers. 

The Bury Council website has a page about the vaccine at https://www.bury.gov.uk/coronavirus-vaccine

New: Second dose vaccinations

The second dose of the vaccine is given at 11 weeks after the first dose, and you will be contacted by letter, phone or text message to book an appointment when the time is right. If you haven't been contacted by week 10 after your first dose, please contact your GP Practice.

Free PPE for Unpaid Carers in Bury

Bury Council is offering free PPE for unpaid carers who are going into other people’s homes to provide care. 

For more information go to https://www.personasupport.org/support-for-carers/ppe-for-carers/

Part two: Our support to you

Nordic Walking

Diana is leading the Nordic Walking session on Wednesday afternoons from 2.00 pm till 3.00 pm. The classes are £5, payable by cash or cheque, on the day. We will supply the poles and Diana will give full instructions. You can just turn up on the day.

Our Charity Shops

We have taken the decision not to open our shops on the Rock and in Ramsbottom until our staff and volunteers have received their second vaccination. We hope to open Rammy later this month and the Bury Shop in May. 

We are unable to collect donations from your home until the rules for storing items change. Currently we must store all donations for 72 hours before we can put them on display, to protect both staff and customers. As there is not much space in either shop, it creates problems with storage. 

Telephone helpline and online support 

We will be answering the Age UK Bury office telephone – 0161 763 9030 - from 10.00 am to 2.00 pm every weekday. If we can not help, we are sure to find someone who can! If you get the answerphone, please leave a message and we will get back to you as soon as possible. 

We will update people with latest news on

During the Coronavirus pandemic, we are trying to keep essential support services open. These include: 

Tea and Chat with Sue on Zoom

Sue is running a Tuesday afternoon Tea and Chat session, giving people a chance to catch up with friends.  

Our free online chats will take place from 2.30 pm to 3.30 pm. To join us, send an email to Sue at taichi.college@yahoo.co.uk for an access code and link. Get your best china out!

This class is available on the Zoom platform. To download the free app, go to https://zoom.us/ 

Tai Chi with Sue

Sue also holds a Tai Chi class online on Fridays at 11.00 am. Send an email to taichi.college@yahoo.co.uk for an access code and link.

Sue has kindly set up a new group on Facebook for all who are interested in Tai Chi - click onto https://www.facebook.com/groups/144906774110472 or search for “Age UK Bury Tai Chi Group”. Thank you, Sue. 

Diana's classes

Diana will be live on our Facebook page on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

  • Monday: 11.00 to 11.45 am: Gentle Exercise
  • Monday: 11.50 to 12.35 Chair Based Exercise
  • Tuesday: 10.00 to 10.45: DanceFit 
  • Wednesday: 11.00 to 12.00 am: Pilates 

If you can’t make these times, Facebook will let you watch at a later time.

Join us at https://www.facebook.com/ageukbury/ Thank you Diana.

Opening Up The Jubilee Centre

We plan to reopen the Jubilee Centre Cafe from Monday 17th May.

Once the government publishes its guidance on indoor activities from 17th May, we will see if we can get some classes back in the centre but it is likely that most activities will restart from Monday 21st June. 

Part three: and in other news...

Dentists in Bury - Tell your story 

During the Covid-19 pandemic, dentistry is one of the parts of the health service that has been hit the hardest. An initial shutdown for all but emergency appointments meant a system that was already under strain built a much bigger backlog or patients waiting to access them. Then when they reopened, strict rules and procedures meant that they were only able to cater for a fraction of the usual number of patients that they would usually deal with.

This has led to it becoming very difficult, and for some impossible, to access an NHS dentist. It is one of the complaints Healthwatch Bury receives most often, and it is a pattern that has been observed across Greater Manchester. 

Healthwatch Bury wants to hear your experiences of seeing an NHS dentist since March 2020, or your experiences of trying to get an appointment if you couldn’t. They want to know more about what the situation is really like in Bury and hear the stories of those that are trying to use the services. They also want to know what you think about the NHS online listings for local dentists – have they been useful?

You can email Healthwatch Bury at info@healthwatchbury.co.uk, call them on 0161 253 6300 or use the online feedback form at http://healthwatchbury.co.uk/contact-us/

Council Tax Refund Scam 

A Bury resident received this text offering a refund on their council tax. 

Bury Council does NOT text people about council tax refunds and this is clearly a scam. 

If you have questions about council tax, details are on the council website: https://bury.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=10378

Greater Manchester residents aged 50-70 wanted for filming

Would you like to share your experiences on camera and earn £50 for your time? The Centre for Ageing Better is looking for people aged 50-70 willing to chat on film around how you feel about later life. The result will be a series of short videos that tell stories around health, money and finance, social lives and connections. Filming will take place in person (COVID safe) during April, and will take a couple of hours. The Centre are keen to capture the experiences of the breadth of the population, including people from ethnic minorities groups.

Email Jess at jessica.taylor@ageing-better.org.uk to find out more or be involved.

Are you one of 10,000s of women missing out on £1,000s of state pension?

Tens of thousands of women are likely to have been underpaid the state pension, and  many could be owed £1,000s – some even £10,000s. Married women who hit state pension age before April 2016, including widows, divorcees and the over-80s – whether married or not – should check. While some women owed will now get an automatic payment, not all will.

Find out more: 10,000s of women missing out on £1,000s of state pension: how to reclaim - MSE (moneysavingexpert.com)

Last chance to get a postal vote

Elections for the GM Mayor and Bury Council take place on Thursday 6th May. Polling stations will be safe places to vote but you may miss out voting if you are required to quarantine on this day. 

In order to vote by post, click on this link, fill in the form and return it to Bury Council by this coming Tuesday, 20th April.   

Members News

We would like to wish Joan, who is the Chair of Age UK Bury, a very happy 80th Birthday on Sunday. We hope that you have a fantastic weekend despite the restrictions. 

Quiz-time 

The answers to last week’s General Knowledge Quiz (9th April)  is in the link. 

This week’s quiz is a mix of 40 questions and a picture quiz. There is no point cheating as there are no prizes  but you will be over the moon if you get all the answers before next Friday! Good Luck! 

Keep safe and stay alive! 

Andy and all at Age UK Bury

Our Nordic Walkers are out and about. Join them on Wednesday at 2.00