Newsletter ¦ 20th November

I hope you and your loved ones are safe and well. We are now on the third week of the English lockdown although it seems so much longer.

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 Black Friday scams, singing to help your breathing and art exhibitions. There is a new campaign called Walking Stick Week and a chance to win a prize for your photography.

Coming up this Tuesday is a special workshop on how to cope with uncertainty. I joined the last Healthy Minds online session on how to get a better night’s sleep and it worked for me. As life has so many uncertainties at the moment, I am looking forward to this workshop.

Part 1: Coronavirus in Bury (20^th November)

This week, the good news is that the number of people being tested positive for Coronavirus is now falling on a daily basis in Bury.

In the week ending 14th November, there were 881 people in Bury testing positive for Coronavirus. In the previous week, there were 1,093.

The fall in the number of people is welcomed but sadly the number of people in local hospitals with COVID-19 remains above the April peak.

The number of people testing positive is still double the average in England and we still have a long way to go from beating the virus and reducing the rate of infection.

To keep the infection rate down in Bury, until Wednesday 2 December, 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 and charity shops) will remain closed.

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

The Bury Council / Bury CCG update (dated 19th November) is available in this link

For help with shopping and the collection of 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/coronavirus-guidance/coronavirus-faqs/

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

Due to government restrictions, our café, charity shops and Diana’s Nordic Walking group have closed.

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 can not help, we are sure to find someone who can!

As our services will remain the same for the next three weeks, I have created a list that you can download. Click this link.

The services that are available through the lockdown include

Part Three – In other news

Three Ways for Learning to Tolerate Uncertainty

We often believe that worrying about uncertain situations will increase our ability to cope but this can have a negative impact on our well-being. In this session participants will learn alternative ways of dealing with anxiety about the future.

This will take place on Tue 24th Nov from 11:00-12:30 via Zoom (We got the date wrong last week – sorry!)

If you would like to join us, please send your email to news@ageukbury.org.uk and we will send you the log-in details. This is a free workshop and is run by Susana, Senior Psychological Well-Being Practitioner at Healthy Minds.

Shop with Amazon and help raise funds for Age UK Bury

If you are shopping for Amazon Black Friday Week deals from today to 30th November, you can raise funds for our charity at the same time.

Simply shop at smile.amazon.co.uk/ch/1141901-0 or with AmazonSmile ON in the Amazon Shopping app, and AmazonSmile donates to Age UK Bury at no extra cost.

Walking Stick Week

"Would you drive a car with a worn tyre? Then why use a walking stick with a worn ferrule?"

A new initiative has been launched to 'give walking sticks an MOT'. A damaged ferrule – the rubber bit at the bottom of the walking stick - can cause falls and injury. At the moment, the last place anyone wants to be is in hospital.

The campaign is urging people who use walking sticks to check the ferrule and replace it if it has worn out.

Replacement ferrules are available from a wide range of online suppliers including Boots and Amazon. Click here for more info

Black Friday Scams

Black Friday has grown rapidly year on year, since being introduced to the UK from the US. It has quickly become the biggest shopping event of the year, with huge discounts being offered by most retailers. The criminals love this day and as most people have to shop online now, they are coming up with new ways to scam shoppers.

The Take Five to Stop Scams website explains how people have been scammed and issues good advice on how to protect yourself.

Be suspicious of any “too good to be true” offers or prices.
Use the secure payment method recommended by reputable online retailers and auction sites.
Where possible, use a credit card when making purchases over £100 as you receive protection
Contact your bank immediately if you think you’ve fallen for a scam and report it to Action Fraud. https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/

More at: https://takefive-stopfraud.org.uk/advice/general-advice/purchase-scam/

Singing For Better Breathing

These free resources are designed to support people who want to improve their health through the joy of singing. Using warm up videos to start, you can develop through 12 songs that gradually require better breathing, with instructions from experts. Watch other participants who have improved their health through this simple process and be inspired.

Click onto https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-IiTbuZ7zr1F4jZYocKQ5pALmBH_1FEg

National Trust Art and Collections

Enjoy a free private viewing of various artefacts and paintings owned by National Trust, alongside detailed descriptions of their history and relevance to our modern lives. Carefully curated, these webpages are updated each season to reflect significant dates and events.

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/art-and-collections

Old Frame New Picture Photography Competition

Greater Manchester Older people’s Network is inviting all photographers, both professionals and amateurs, to submit images which celebrate the diversity of older people’s lives and their contributions to society.

The deadline for entries has been extended to 5pm, Friday 27 November 2020.

More at :https://manchestercommunitycentral.org/old-frame-new-picture

The Quiz

The last quiz was a P ot Luck & True or False Quiz. The answers are in the link.

This week’s quiz is a Pot Luck & True or False Quiz Part Two.

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 us on our toes.

Keep safe and keep strong.

Andy and all at Age UK Bury