Newsletter ¦ 24th September

Dear friends

I hope you and your loved ones are well.

Next week at the Jubilee Centre, Melanie will be returning with Yoga on Monday morning and Yoga & Mindfulness in the evening. We will be getting ready for our Party Night on Friday 1st October - you can find out more in part two of the newsletter.

In part three, there is a link on how to get help with energy bills, a call for the government to fund social care immediately and our weekly quiz! Happy reading.

Part One: Coronavirus in Bury

As of Wednesday 22nd September, 233.9.people per 100,000 tested positive for coronavirus over the last 7 days – that is a decrease of 23% from the previous week. On the same day, the England average was 263.9 people testing positive per 100,000 over the last seven days– a decrease of 11% from the previous week’s figure.

If you are feeling unwell, please help us to stay open by not coming to the Jubilee Centre or our shops. We are asking everyone to use the sanitiser provided and be considerate in giving each other space.

Booster Jabs

The Government has announced that all adults aged 50 and over will be offered a booster jab to help protect them against coronavirus.

Am I eligible for a booster vaccination?

These people are eligible for a coronavirus booster jab:

People living in residential homes for older adults
All adults aged 50 years and over
Health and social care workers
People aged 16-49 with certain long-term health conditions
Carers
Those who live with immunosuppressed people

When will I be offered a booster jab?

The vaccinations will start being offered from 20 September, but you'll need to wait at least 6 months after your second dose to get the booster vaccination.

Not everyone can be offered a booster vaccination at the same time, so it's likely that they'll first offer it to people who received their initial dose of the vaccination early – with care home residents and adults aged 70 and over being offered their booster jab first – but this may vary.

You'll be contacted directly by the NHS with more information on how to book your booster jab.

Why do we need booster jabs?

Research has shown that the protection the vaccines provide starts to lessen as time goes on. While protection levels still remain high, a precautionary approach is being taken to make sure that people who are more vulnerable to coronavirus still have a high level of protection during the winter.

Which vaccine will I receive as my booster jab?

Most people will be offered a booster of Pfizer or Moderna vaccines, regardless of which vaccine you had for your first and second jabs.

Part Two: Our services

Party Night

Our next event is our Party Night on Friday 1st October. The doors open at 7.00 pm and the event ends at 11.00.

This is our second disco night, following the tremendous success of our first, two years ago. Paul will be our DJ and he will be playing music from 60s to 90s (All the good stuff!). There will be a bar and a raffle.

Tickets are £10 per person and the price of the ticket includes a pie supper (with a vegetarian option). People aged 14-50 must be accompanied by a responsible parent or grand-parent! There will be a full refund on all tickets if the event gets cancelled, due to covid restrictions or any other reason. Tickets purchased for the disco cancelled in April 2020 will be honoured for this event.

Dress is smart casual but if you would like to come in fancy dress, there will be a prize for the best one. All proceeds go to our Befriending Service.

Jubilee Centre activities

Yoga with Melanie Mason returns on Monday morning. Melanie also runs a evening session from 6.00 to 7.30 pm.

Next week’s activities at the Jubilee Centre are available in this link.

Our Covid-19 Risk Assessment is available in this link (PDF)

We are asking anyone who feels unwell with Coronavirus symptoms not to come to the Jubilee Centre at this time. Such symptoms include a high temperature, a new, continuous cough and/or a loss or change to their sense of smell or taste.

The Jubilee Centre Cafe

Our café is open next week from 10 to 4.00, Monday to Friday.

Our Charity Shops

Our Ramsbottom charity shop is open from 10 am to 4 pm, Wednesday to Sunday and our Bury charity shop is now open on Tuesday to Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm.

Readers of this newsletter can also bring donations to the Jubilee Centre between 10 and 2.30 and we will get them to the shops. We are unable to collect donations at the moment, but we can accept over-the-counter donations if you are able to bring them to the shop.

We are asking our shoppers to wear facemasks and keep their distance from others. We really need our staff and volunteers to stay healthy and our shops to stay open.

Our services

During the pandemic, we are keeping essential support services open. These include:

Part Three: And in other news

Tell Rishi Sunak that Care can't wait

Sharon just wants the best support for her mum, June. But the new Government care plans do nothing to help her.

Millions of older people and carers are desperate for better care but they’re being ignored by the Government who, despite raising taxes, have delayed any real changes or funding for care until 2023. It’s simply not good enough.

June can't wait. She needs help now.

One man can stop the delay and fund care now - the Chancellor, Rishi Sunak.

If he provides decent funding for councils in his Spending Review on 27th October then there will be the money for older people to get high quality care, for carers to get support and for care workers to be paid better.

If he doesn’t, June and millions like her will be left without the help they need.

Please sign the Age UK petition here: https://campaigns.ageuk.org.uk/page/90529/petition/1

Energy advice

With energy bills set to rise rapidly, everyone needs advice on how to reduce their bills. A good place to start is the website Money Saving Expert at https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ The website offers a free weekly email which is worth signing up to.

We will be starting our new Home Energy Check campaign next month and more details will be in future emails.

Our Information and Advice service can assist you by checking you are receiving all the financial help to which you are entitled. For more information, click onto https://www.ageuk.org.uk/bury/our-services/information-and-advice/

National Eye Health Week

Certain eye diseases become more common as we age, but they can be treated successfully if they're detected early. It's best to have regular eye checks.

This National Eye Health Week, find out more about looking after your eye health - click onto https://bit.ly/39oSDwc

Unwanted disability equipment

Do you have any Disability Equipment issued to you by Bury Council that you no longer require? To arrange collection of unwanted equipment, please call 0161 253 6858 (option 1) or send an email to Community.EquipmentService@bury.gov.uk

The Weekly Quiz

The answers to last week’s Quiz (dated 17th September) is in the link.

This week’s Quiz brings you another 30 questions to test your knowledge. This quiz is just for you and your friends to enjoy. The right answers will be sent out with next week’s newsletter.

If you have any news to share, please send to news@ageukbury.org.uk

Below are some more pctures from the Let's Celebrate / Drumathon Day on 11th September.

Keep Safe

Andy and all at Age UK Bury