Newsletter ¦ 27th November

age uk bury logo and rose Ow Do Cockers. I hope you are enjoying a Happy Lancashire Day!

Lancashire Day is the county day of historic Lancashire in England. It is held on 27th November to commemorate the day in 1295 when Lancashire first sent representatives to Parliament, to attend the Model Parliament of King Edward I. Fingers crossed that next year, when all is back to normal, we will hold our first Lancashire Day celebrations at the Jubilee.

The week’s news that Bury will move from a national lockdown into Tier Three restrictions next week came as no surprise at all. Sadly, it means we cannot open our café until further notice. We are missing all our friends but until the infection rate reduces in Bury, it would be wrong to place people at risk.

This week’s newsletter is split into three parts. The first two parts are about Coronavirus in Bury and our services. In part three, there is information about a free 1980’s concert, help with saving money on energy costs, how to raise money for us by shopping at Amazon and much more.

Part 1: Coronavirus in Bury (27^th November)

This week, the good news is that the number of people being tested positive for Coronavirus is continuing to fall in Bury but we still have a long way to go from beating the virus

In the week ending 31th October, there were 568.1 people per 100,000 testing positive for Coronavirus in Bury. In the last week, this figure has fallen to 300.5 people per 100,000 (Figure for 26th November- source Manchester Evening News). This is still higher than the England figure which is 202.4 people per 100,000.

Numbers of people in hospital with COVID-19 have fallen, but do still remain above the peak in April.

To keep the infection rate down in Bury, you must:

stay at home (except for specific purposes)
avoid meeting people you do not live with (except for specific purposes)
Specific businesses and venues (like our Jubilee Centre) will remain closed.

After Wednesday, when the official lockdown ends, the same rules apply but some non-essential shops will reopen.

Please go to the Bury Council Website for more information about the rules. https://www.bury.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=15594

The Weekly Update from Bury Council and Bury CCG is in this link

For help with shopping and collection prescriptions, click onto this site https://www.ageuk.org.uk/bury/our-services/coronavirus/shop/

To find out about how to get a test for coronavirus, please go to the Bury Council website: https://www.bury.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=15451

For all those questions about Coronavirus, and how it affects your life, please check out the Age UK FAQ website: https://www.ageuk.org.uk/information-advice/coronavirus/

Christmas Bubbles

Between 23 and 27 December, you can form an exclusive ‘Christmas bubble’ composed of people from no more than three households to spend Christmas with.

The Government guidance is here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/making-a-christmas-bubble-with-friends-and-family/making-a-christmas-bubble-with-friends-and-family

Care Homes

On Monday, the Prime Minister announced that by the end of the year, care home residents can have in person visits. He said that ‘residents will be able to have two visitors, who can be tested twice a week’. This change will save the lives of many older people who were no longer able to cope without the support and companionship of their loved ones.

Our national partner, Age UK, led on this campaign compiling evidence from carers to put pressure on the government. We will support our national partner Age UK to ensure that the Government keeps to this commitment and that the guidance is implemented locally.

Part 2: Our support to you, your family and friends

Due to government restrictions, our café, our activities, Friends Together and Diana’s Nordic Walking group have closed until further notice.

We will be answering the Age UK Bury office telephone – 0161 763 9030 - from 10.00 am to 2.00 pm every weekday throughout the lock down. If we cannot help, we are sure to find someone who can!

A list of all our services is available here: Click on this link.

The services that are available through the lockdown include

Our shops will remain closed for the next week.

Part Three – In other news

Many congratulations to Dave

Dave, the young gentleman who volunteers at the Jubilee Centre Café, has given up alcohol for November and raised a fantastic £345 for our charity.

On his fundraising page, Dave says “I volunteer at the Jubilee Centre and I see the great things they do for all the community. Not drinking for a month in lockdown is hard but worth it if I can make a difference.”

There are still three days to go and you can support Dave by donating at https://www.gofundme.com/f/r5q3m-dry-november

Thank you, Dave, but watch out for the bitter shandy on Tuesday – it’ll go straight to your head!

Raise funds for us by shopping with Amazon

If you are shopping on Amazon for Black Friday deals and Christmas Presents, you can raise funds for our charity at no extra cost to you.

Simply shop at http://smile.amazon.co.uk/ch/1141901-0 or with AmazonSmile ON in the Amazon Shopping app.

AmazonSmile donates to Age UK Bury at no extra cost to you. The value Amazon will donate to us is 0.5% of the price of your purchases. So, a spend of £200 on Amazon Smile is worth £1 to us.

Christmas Card Writing Service

Our friends at Bury Society for Blind & Partially Sighted People are offering a personal Christmas card writing service.

They will write or braille your message on a beautiful home crafted cards, address it and send it on your behalf, all for just £5. Call 0161 763 7014 or email enquiries@buryblindsociety.org for more details.

Free Energy Advice

The Step in Project offers a webpage providing information and advice you can use to keep your home warm and reduce your electricity and heating costs.

In December, there are two opportunities to talk live online with expert energy advisors who can answer your queries and provided tailored advice on reducing your energy costs and get ready for the upcoming heating season.

The dates are 7th December from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon and 10th December from 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm

Go to https://www.step-in-project.eu/online-energy-cafe-manchester/ and click on the ‘Live Chat’ button in the bottom right of your screen to access this feature.

Health, care and wellbeing services during the coronavirus pandemic

Healthwatch Bury works with local health and care services to make sure they are working as best they can for the people who use them. They want to hear from you about how coronavirus / COVID-19 has affected you or your family members, so that they can let health and care services in Bury know what they’re doing well during the pandemic, and where people feel their care and communication could be improved.

They will share this information with providers, with the local CCG, and with Bury Council to help make sure that their response to the pandemic takes into account the needs and experiences of local people as the situation progresses.

The Survey is at this link: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/HCWBCovidBury

Celebrate light and hope this winter by sharing your Bury Star

Bury Town of Culture calling upon residents in the Borough to use the concepts of stars to display in homes and workplaces across the Borough to recognise the people who have lit up your year, been a star in supporting your community or to recognise individuals who are close to you. You could also use it to display your hopes for the future.

The template is available here: https://www.bury.gov.uk/CHttpHandler.ashx?id=21590&p=0

Share your stars on social media using the hashtag #BuryStars.

Let’s Rock Christmas

Let’s Rock, which specialises in promoting 1980’s music, will be live streaming a Christmassy Let's Rock show, which was filmed in 2017, for free, on Tuesday 1st December from 7:30pm.

The headline acts include Tony Hadley, Kim Wilde, Go West, Nik Kershaw & T'Pau, and there will be a sackful of hits and Christmas classics to dance around your living room to. They are raising donations on the night for Child Bereavement UK. Pour yourself a glass of your favourite tipple and join in for a bit of festive cheer.

See the show at https://www.facebook.com/letsrockshrewsbury

The Quiz

Last week's quiz was Pot Luck & True or False Quiz Part Two. The answers are in the link.

This week’s quiz is a General Knowledge Quiz. The quiz is just for fun and to keep you out of mischief. We sadly don’t have any prizes but you get the warm glow of success, if you get all the answers right. Thank you to Eleanor for preparing these quizzes for us and keeping up on our toes.

Keep Safe

Andy and all at Age UK Bury