Newsletter 9th October
I hope you and your loved ones are safe and well. In this week’s email, we include news about help with energy bills, a walking festival, free e-magazines and a list of our activities.
Coronavirus in Bury (9/10/2020)
There is no good news this week. On Wednesday, the number of people in Bury testing positive for coronavirus was 140% above the UK average.
It is clear that the government needs to act to prevent more people from getting the virus and restrictions will have come into force, very quickly.
It is best to keep a close eye on this Bury Council website, which will update you with the rules that apply in Bury. https://www.bury.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=15594
If the new restrictions mean we have to close any of our services during the week, we will send out a special email to our readers.
Protect yourself from flu
Free flu vaccinations are being offered to more people than ever before in Greater Manchester this winter.
The expansion of the flu vaccination programme, which is taking place across the country, has been introduced to both increase the number of people protected against flu and reduce the expected winter pressures on the NHS – as it continues to deal with coronavirus.
Currently those eligible for the free vaccination include people aged 65 and over, people with certain health conditions, including kidney disease, asthma and heart disease, carers and those in care homes, frontline health and social care workers, anyone living in a household with somebody on the NHS shielded patient list.
There is a possibility that later in the year the programme will be widened to also include healthy people aged 50 to 64.
Flu vaccines are free for all eligible people from GPs and local pharmacies. Social distancing measures will be in place at vaccination appointments.
Our Information and Advice Service
Our Information and Advice service is now running at full strength and can help anyone needing relevant local information and advice on older people’s issues.
Due to coronavirus restrictions, Louise and Ruth are offering help by telephone and video conferencing. When it is necessary to see people face to face, we can see people at the Jubilee Centre meeting room, where we have installed new screens to protect all parties.
Please email info@ageukbury.org.uk or call 0161 763 9030 for more details. Our service is free but we welcome donations to keep the service up and running.
Help with energy bills
If you have been struggling to pay your energy bills, please don’t think you’re alone. According to the official Committee on Fuel Poverty, over 10% of households in England are in fuel poverty. ‘Fuel poverty’ is defined as a situation where someone who is on a relatively low income lives in a house that cannot be kept warm at a reasonable cost.
LEAP (Local Energy Advice Partnership) is an energy and money saving service that is helping people keep warm during the colder months and reduce their energy bills without costing them any money.
Qualified energy advisors can provide energy saving advice, help with energy switching, refer you for money saving and debt advice and assess your eligibility for insulation and other larger energy efficiency measures.
This service is available free of charge to eligible residents in Bury. Eligibility is based on household income, receipt of state benefits, health conditions (including cancer, COPD, asthma, dementia etc) and your family situation.
For more details, go to https://applyforleap.org.uk/ or call 0800 060 7567
Let’s Walk
Today is the beginning of the Greater Manchester Virtual Walking Festival, offering a a fortnight of walking activities. The ‘Let’s Walk’ festival fortnight is an opportunity to set yourself (or your family) a walking goal and discover the simple joys and benefits of walking, with an option to raise money for local causes too.
For more details and inspiration of where to walk, go to https://gmwalkfest.co.uk/
If you would like to walk and raise money for Age UK Bury, our donation website is available here: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charity-web/charity/finalCharityHomepage.action?uniqueVmgCharityUrl=ageukbury
Free e-magazines from your library
Did you know that your library card gives you access to magazines for free from your local library? Download @RBdigitalUK to browse and borrow your library’s digital collection.
Find out more at: http://bury.gov.uk/emags
Trip a trip back….
Bury Archives Online contains thousands of historical photographs of the borough and a huge WW1 collection containing local newspaper articles, local soldier photographs, and obituaries.
Check it out at http://buryarchivesonline.co.uk
The Jubilee Centre Cafe
Until further notice, our cafe at the Jubilee Centre will be open every weekday from 10.30 to 2.30. For a full set of the rules and the menu, please click on this link.
If we must close our cafe, we will communicate this by an email newsletter, Twitter, and Facebook.
The Bury Shop
Our shop at 91 The Rock, Bury is now open on Wednesdays from 10.30 am to 3 pm and Thursday - Saturday: 10.00 am to 3.00 pm.
Customers to our shop at 91 The Rock must wear a face covering when entering the shop unless you are carrying proof of exemption. We are asking all customers to sanitise their hands before coming in.
We can accept a limited amount of donations at the Bury shop. We must store all donations for 72 hours before we can sort them and space in the shop is limited. Please phone 0161 761 2780 to check we have space before you set out.
We are unable to collect and we cannot receive and store items at the Jubilee Centre.
Foot Care Appointments
Dougie, our Foot Care Practitioner, will be at the Jubilee Centre from 10.00 am to 2.00 pm on Tuesday 13th October.
Each appointment costs £20.
Please call in advance to make an appointment. Call 0161 763 9030.
Online Activities
Diana will next be live on our Facebook page on Monday and Wednesday next week.
- Monday: 11.00 to 11.30 am: Gentle Exercise
- Monday: 11.40 to 12.10 Chair Based Exercises
- Wednesday: 11.00 to 12.00 am: Pilates
These sessions are free and many thanks to Diana for setting them up. Please tell your friends they are welcome to join us. If you can not make these times, Facebook will let you watch at a later time. Join us at https://www.facebook.com/ageukbury/
Sue holds a Tai Chi class online on Fridays at 11.00 am. This class is aimed at those who attend the 12.15 Tuesday class and 11.00 Friday class at the Jubilee. Send an email to taichi.college@yahoo.co.uk or message Sue via Facebook at m.me/taichiandwildgooseqigongbury for the access code.
The Quiz
The last quiz was on Food and Quotations. The answers are in the link.
This week’s quiz is on the topics of Brand Acronyms and Adverts.
The quiz is just for fun. We sadly don’t have any prizes but you get the warm glow of success, if you get all the answers right. Good luck!
And a big thank you to Eleanor for putting these quizzes together for us.
The Essential Stuff
For help with getting food deliveries and prescriptions, please phone Bury Community Hubs on 0161 253 53 53, every day of the week.
Our Keeping in Touch telephone service offers older people in Bury a regular friendly phone call from one of our volunteers. For more information, call 0161 763 9030 (Monday to Friday 10.00 am to 2.00 pm) or email jane@ageukbury.org.uk to sign up. Alternatively, call Jane Lees, our Befriending Coordinator on 07541 741891.
The Age UK Advice Line is 0800 678 1602 from 8 am to 7 pm, every day of the year.
If you would just like to have a friendly natter with another person, please call The Silver Line 24 hours a day on 0800 470 80 90.
Our previous newsletters are online at https://www.ageuk.org.uk/bury/about-us/coronavirus/
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/coronavirus-guidance/coronavirus-faqs/
We are in the office on Monday to Friday and our phone lines will be open from 10.00 to 2.00. Call us on 0161 763 9030.
We now have over 300 people receiving this newsletter. If you know of anyone who would like this newsletter, please send this this link, where they can sign up. https://mailchi.mp/38cd71011527/age-uk-bury-newsletter
Thanks for reading and I hope you have found the newsletter useful. If you have any news you would like to share to our readers, please send onto news@ageukbury.org.uk
Stay safe, get a flu jab and keep smiling. Wishing one and all good mental health
Andy and all at Age UK Bury
