Community News

The UK government is considering the idea of introducing an extra bank holiday, possibly in October around the same time a half-term.

The original idea was put forward by the United Kingdom’s tourism agency Visit Britain.

Its acting head, Patricia Yates, told MPs that the industry has lost the benefit of the two bank holidays in May due to the current coronavirus pandemic and sub sequent lockdown.

The government did, however, warn that having an extra holiday break could have an economic downside.

Downing Street said that the government was supporting the tourism industry through this “challenging period” and would “respond in due course” to the proposal by Visit Britain.

A spokesperson said it was “worth acknowledging that extra bank holidays do come with economic costs”.

Ms Yates said an extra day in October would enable the UK tourism sector to extend the season. She said that the industry could not keep up with developments and it was very difficult to estimate the amount that would be lost because of the coronavirus lockdown.

She told the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee: “Every time we do the modelling the figures get worse. So for inbound, I mean we were looking at the beginning of this year at about £26.6bn coming from inbound tourism, we reckon a £15bn drop on that.

She said ordinarily, the domestic tourism contributed some £80bn a year, but she was expecting that to be down by £22bn.

UK Hospitality, the trade group that represents leisure businesses from bars to hotels, approves of the move, but struck a note of caution.

Kate Nicholls, its chief executive, said: “A bank holiday in October may provide a welcome boost for hospitality businesses, not least at a time when consumer confidence will hopefully be returning to healthy levels”.

As the UK government have declared their intention to open an inquiry into the inexplicable inequality, the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has called for the ethnicity of people who have died through the coronavirus pandemic to be recorded on their death certificates.

With people from Black, Asian, or of other ethnic backgrounds being prominent in Covid-19 fatality figures, Mayor Khan is set to gather some of the city’s leading figures to discuss the issue and to look at the best way forward.

He recently said: “The disproportionality of people who have been affected by coronavirus coming from a Black, Asian and/or other ethnic background is unacceptable”.

The increased impact on these communities has become increasingly clear with the Institute of Fiscal Studies estimating that hospital death rates are highest among people from these groups; although, they say, it is not possible to understand the full extent of this inequality as, unlike Scotland, in England ethnicity is not recorded on death certificates.

Mayor Khan has successfully lobbied ministers to routinely collect and publish demographics of those who are dying in hospital and welcomed the government’s review into the disproportionate effect of the virus, but only by adding ethnicity onto death certificates will we be able to get a complete picture of the impact on those from Black, Asian and/or other ethnic backgrounds.

Deputy Director of The Runnymede Trust, Dr Zubaida Haque, said: “We know from recent improvements in the official Covid-19 data that particular ethnic groups are oer-represented among hospital deaths with coronavirus, but we don’t know about deaths with Covid-19 in the community or in care homes.

“This is wholly inadequate during a pandemic. It is critical that we get the whole picture of who is being affected so that we can identify and shield the most vulnerable from Covid-19.

“We agree that it is important to have ethnicity recorded on death certificates, as it will allow us to identify any differences in mortality rates between ethnic groups”.

The Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, will be hosting a national online Iftar, the meal that marks to Muslims the ending of daily fasting during Ramadan.
 
The event has been organised by the Ramadan Tent Project which since 2013 has been holding huge events at locations including Wembley Stadium and Trafalgar Square, attracting crowds totalling over 100,000.
 
This year, due to the government’s restrictions around coronavirus, they have organised online Iftars, using their hashtag #MyOpenIftar which they have been running during Ramadan. The virtual platform brings together families, friends and community groups alongside guest speakers.
 
On Friday 15 May the online Iftar will be hosted by Mayor of the West Midlands, Andy Street, in conjunction with Islamic Relief. The panel of guest speakers will be discussing what Ramadan means to them and what it means to be a leader during a crisis.
 
The Mayor said: “I am delighted to have been asked to host the Iftar on Friday.
 
“The current ban on gatherings to control the spread of coronavirus has resulted in the cancellation of religious services and gatherings for all faiths.
 
“However, it is so important that faith groups promote togetherness whilst apart and these virtual Iftars organised by Ramadan Tent Project fulfil this need by giving people the opportunity to come together during Ramadan – albeit through the use of technology.”
 
Ramadan Tent Project is a non-profit organisation founded in 2013 with a mission of bringing communities together to better understand each other. Normally their Iftars attract huge crowds but this year anyone can attend their virtual Iftars by using the link https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0td-qhpjouEtflaVXP5XuXunZGtPwJBp4K  or following the live stream on Facebook.
Tufail Hussain, Director of Islamic Relief UK said: “Community iftars, where people have met and broken their fasts together have always been central to Ramadan. In these difficult times, it’s more important than ever for us to reach out.

“During this crisis, British Muslims have joined other faith communities in being some of the first to organise and respond – from delivering food parcels to the vulnerable and elderly, to setting up virtual counselling services to combat loneliness and isolation.”

Since the pandemic took hold West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) has been bringing together faith groups by holding weekly online meetings chaired by the Mayor. The virtual round tables provide faith leaders with updates on Covid-19 from local authorities and public health experts, and on funding such as the Government’s support for the charity sector. The forum also gives them the opportunity to grill each week’s panel about issues that directly affect their communities.

So far 272 people have dialled in to listen to the briefings on the COVID-19 crisis, which will continue until the end of May. The weekly briefings are held at 5.30pm on Wednesdays and anyone can listen in by using the link https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5851449557036121611

Friday May 8 marked 75 years since Nazi Germany formally surrendered to the Allied Forces and World War Two (WW II) came to an end.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson thanked the VE Day generation, when he said: “Our gratitude to you will be eternal”.

As the UK held a two-minute silence to commemorate VE Day, it was extra poignant also was also a day to remember the ‘war’ (against coronavirus) that people throughout the world are going through today.

Events did continue to take place throughout the day, despite the cancellation of public gatherings.

In Berlin, in Germany, though, residents were given an unprecedented public holiday, by Chancellor Angela Merkel, who led a ceremony to the Central War Memorial. The rest of the country, however, remained in lockdown as protection against the on-going coronavirus pandemic.

Many people are of the understanding that VE Day marks the end of World War II, but, My 8 was not the end, as imperial Japan was not defeated by the Allied Forces until three months later, in August.

The 75th anniversary comes at a pivotal moment, as the Covid-19 virus has, to date, infected over three and a half million.

World War II accounted for some estimated 50 million lives.

One sad and extra-poignant point was the confirmation of nine Chelsea Pensioners who were confirmed to have died after contracting coronavirus at their home; the Royal Hospital Chelsea, a home for hundreds of armed forces veterans – which includes WWII.

Lest We Forget? – We never will!

This year’s Notting Hill Carnival has been cancelled due to the on-going coronavirus pandemic.

About one million people usually attend the annual event in west London, which was due to take place on August 30 and 31.”

Organisers said that the pandemic meant that calling off the weekend celebrations was “the only safe option”, but said that they were working on holding a celebration during the same weekend but in an alternative form.

It is the first time that it will not take place in more than 50 years.

A statement said: “After lengthy consultations with our strategic partners and our Advisory Council, the Board has taken the decision that this year’s Carnival will not take place on the streets of Notting Hill as it has done for over 50 years.

“This will also mean that Panorama, the annual steelband competition, will not take place”.

A sculpture that honours the work carried out by NHS and care workers has been revealed in a park in the West Midlands.

The four-metre tall structure made from steel and other metals is of a winged medical worker and stands bright and gleaming in Lightwood Park, in Bearwood, in Smethwick.

The temporary structure – which bears the inscription ‘Thank You NHS and Care Workers’ and privately funded - was created by local artist, Luke Perry, at his factory and he worked alongside his local Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council to get it installed.

Of his creation, a proud Perry said: “I, like many other people, have friends and family members who owe their lives to the NHS. So, I just wanted to create a piece of public art that captures the huge public outpouring of thanks to our health and care workers during these troubled times.

“The structure also serves as a monument those who have lost their lives whilst fighting the coronavirus pandemic on the frontline. It’s a reminder of how important and vital that the NHS, key workers and everyone fighting this ‘was’ is.

Sandwell Council leader Councillor Yvonne Davies said: “This structure is a wonderful, visual symbol of the gratitude that we all feel to our NHS and care workers.

“I would like to thank Luke for creating this this inspirational piece of public art.

“We hope that when our medical and social care workers see the sculpture when driving to and from work along Hagley Road, that it would be a reminder of how much they mean to us and how much we appreciate them”.

A Birmingham city councillor has said that the UK government should hold a full public inquiry into the disproportionate number of coronavirus deaths in the Black, Asian and Multi-Ethnic (BAME) communities.

Councillor Paulette Hamilton, the city council’s Member for Health and Social Care, has demanded that an urgent public inquiry is needed, as a private inquiry would not go far enough.

The City Councillor for the Holyhead Ward, Cllr Hamilton, made the statement after reports came out which highlighted that the death rate of people from Black Caribbean African and Asian background, and because of the Covid-19 virus, in a British hospital stood at over two and a half times more than that of the indigenous white population.

The statement comes as Professor Chris Whitty, the government’s Chief Medical Officer, has commissioned PHE (Public Health England) to conduct a review into the health records following the deaths of people from a BAME background.

Based on the Inquiries Act of 2005, Cllr Hamilton said: “I am asking for a public inquiry – not something that is held privately.

“There are questions that the community are asking, which are simple. And deserve simple honest answers.

“We are going through one of the toughest times ever – and it is the disproportionality of the most vulnerable that has been most prominent in those who have suffered the most.

“As a politician, I would say that the government has been learning as they go along.

“If there’ve been found to be making mistakes, I do think that they should be held accountable for their actions.

“This is people’s lives that we are dealing with”.

Health Secretary, Matt Hancock, said: “All death caused by the virus is tragic. And every behind every statistic there’s a name – and a family that will never be the same again.

“As part of our efforts to reduce health inequalities, PHE is considering a variety of factors – which includes ethnicity – and how they may have impacted on people’s susceptibility to the virus.

“It’s a hugely complex task, but we owe it to the nation to find out it is affecting different groups, in different ways”.

Susan Hopkins, Deputy Director of the National Infection Service at PHE said: “Differences in the proportion of cases between ethnic groups can be due to multiple reasons, such as the difference in age and sex distribution, as well as the differences in the prevalence of co-morbidities, or where people live”.

The government has announced that it has put aside £30 million to keep trams and metro trains running for key workers for a further 12 weeks.

Millions of pounds have been lost due to the coronavirus lockdown.

But the Mayor of Greater, Andy Burnham, has said that the money was not enough.

The funding is split between Midlands Metro Nottingham Express Trains, Tyne and Wear Metro, Sheffield Supertram and Manchester Metrolink systems.

UK Tram’s Manager, James Hammett, said: There has been difficult times in securing a deal because of the different contractual obligations under which networks operate.

A DfT spokesperson added: “We are aware of the challenges faced by transport operators and continue to work closely with the sector and transport authorities to ensure that passengers can make essential journey”.

Transport Secretary, Grant Shapps, said that protecting transport was “vital”.

A true champion of the city, Birmingham lost a leader of men, women and children with the passing of a city legend, Ken Brown.

A council stalwart, he was known to go above and beyond in his pursuit of making his beloved inner city, in particular, and the greater, wider city safe, secure an prosperous for all who live there.

A keen footballer, he, along with his brother; Tony an Keith, was heavily touted to be a prominent and successful football from an early age, but, true to his eternal mind-set, when his ream was not going to bear fruit, his attention immediately turned to making sure that his family, friends and neighbours can nurture from the knowledge, integrity and commitment to the cause for good that was his raison d’etre.

His love for the game in particular, and sports at large, would work to his advantage as he would then use it as a platform to engage with school children as he used his love and knowledge gained as the perfect caveat to develop teachings with local pupils when working in schools and children’s centres.

Hugely supportive of all that is good in his Handsworth area, in the city, Ken was often seen at major events that took place in the city – from cultural and music festivals – especially those that takes place in his own Handsworth Park and Asian-led gala parades in the district’s streets, to inter-school, and international ‘star-laden’ athletics event at his nearby Alexander Stadium, in Perry Barr.

Deservedly described as a ‘true pillar of the community’, on his passing, Lozells Police (a neighbouring district of Handsworth) was just one of many who took to Twitter to pay tribute when he tweeted; ‘Really sorry to hear this’.

‘Ken really cared about the community he worked for and was an absolute pleasure to work with.

‘Our thoughts and condolences are with his family and friends’.

A father-of-three, Ken was 56.

The Mayor of Sandwell Borough, in the West Midlands, Councillor Dr Ann Jaron, has joined the thousands of former NHS staff who are returning to service in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cllr Jaron previously practised as a GP at the Sherwood House Medical Centre, which is just over the Sandwell border, in Edgbaston, in Birmingham, for over 30 years.

She stepped down, as a partner, from the practise last summer in order for her to focus, full-on, on her Mayoral duties during 2019 and 2020.

“I always wanted to go back in to medicine”, Cllr Jaron said, “in some capacity following my year as a Mayor.

“With the current situation being very difficult and extremely challenging for everyone, I decided to volunteer now to see what I could do to support my NHS colleagues during the current pandemic.

“I will be working with a GPs’ surgery, which is what I know best, supporting patients in our local area”.

The national medical director for NHS England, Professor Stephen Powis, confirmed that the number of former NHS professionals who have volunteered now stood at more than 15,000.

Cllr Jaron added that Sandwell Council was working extremely hard to support their residents who need help and urged them to look at the council’s website for the most up-to-date information about its services.

He was one of the ‘forgotten soldiers’ who served in the Far East.

As the majority of attention was being drawn towards gruelling, often tragic, battles in Europe and Africa, Captain Tom Moore was confronted by even harsher challenges fighting the Japanese rear-guard, in Burma, during World War II.

Some 75 years on and, approaching his 100th birthday, Cpt. Tom was at the fore again as, with walking-frame at hand, he raised well over £30 million for NHS charities, who are at the forefront in the UK in the global ‘war’ against the pandemic that is coronavirus, by walking 100 lengths of his garden in Marston Moretaine, in Bedfordshire.

A lot has happened to the war veteran since attention was first drawn to him.

He was meant to raise £1,000 – but that rose to an extraordinary £30m on his birthday – and still rising – he reached No.1 in the pop charts with his duet with Michael Ball, with their rendition of ‘Walk On’ (he became the oldest person to reach No.1), he was mad an honorary Colonel of the British Army, an honorary member of the England cricket team and, to top-of birthday celebrations, there was that memorable RAF Battle of Britain flypast as a Spitfire and Hurricane flew over his home.

And, of course, he, in reaching 100-years-old, received a telegraph from The Queen – not to take away the 130,000 plus birthday card he received from all over the world.

Colonel. Tom said: “It is extraordinary to turn 100, especially with this many well-wishers.

“Reaching 100 is quite something. With so much interest in me and the generosity from so many people is quite overwhelming.

The NHS, key workers and the UK at large ‘doft their collective caps to Colonel Tom Moore, because, as the ‘fight’ sees no immediate end, as a true hero said himself; “Tomorrow will be a better day”.

It will be a lot better if it was ‘Sir Tom Moore’?

This year’s Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) Chelsea Flower Show will be held virtually for the first time after it was cancelled due to the Covid-19 virus crisis.

The world famous event has taken place at the Royal Hospital Chelsea, in London, every year since 1913, apart from during World War I and World War II.

It was called off in March due to the lockdown but the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) will host free content including garden tours on its website.

The charity said that it hoped that it would “inspire more people to get growing”.

Celebrity gardener, Alan Titchmarch MBE DL, HonFSE, has been down that particular road after he shared a virtual tour of his private garden, at his family home in Hampshire.

To mark fifty years in gardening, forty years in broadcasting and seventy years of himself – on this planet Earth – the gardening journalist, poet, TV presenter and novelist took the opportunity to do so as he lends his on-going support for the National Garden Scheme’s campaign to keep its garden gates ‘virtually’ open and to continue raising funds for virtual nurseries and health charities during the Covid-19 crisis

“Whatever is going on in the world”, he said, “every spring is a new beginning, a chance for gardens to start anew, to realize just how important the garden is as a way of expressing ourselves artistically and a way of keeping in touch with nature – the one constant in an ever-changing and often frightening world.

“Our gardens are the ultimate reality – created by man with the help of nature they offer us an anchor in time of turmoil, never more so than now”.

The face of gardening in the UK, he was the lead presenter of the RHS Chelsea Flower Show for BBC television for 30 years – from 1983 to 2013, as well as Gardeners’ World and, along with Charlie Dimmock and Tommy Walsh, fronted Ground Force.

One of the abiding memories for him and them would be when they did a make-over of the late Nelson Mandela’s garden.

Keen to see parks in the UK open and garden centres reopen, he said: “I is totally heartbreakingly sad to see an industry that is being brought to its knees with the perishability and seasonality of plants means that an estimated £200 million of seasonal plants will have to be scrapped.

“To be able to get out gardening and growing things is a massive part of our physical and mental health and well-being”.

This year’s ‘virtual’ RHS Chelsea Flower Show is on from May 18 to 23.
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The government’s chief medical advisor, Professor Chris Whitty, has said that the UK will have to live with some disruptive social measures for at least the rest of the year.

He said: “It was wholly unrealistic to expect that live would suddenly return to normal any time soon”.

He also said: “In the long run the ideal way out would be via a highly effective vaccine or drugs to treat the disease”.

But he also warned that the chance of having those within the next calendar year was “incredibly small”.

According to a new survey, people are said to be turning to reading books to help through the coronavirus lockdown, with board games also proving to be an ideal distraction.

The survey, carried out by The Reading Agency, shows figures compiled suggesting that 31% of people are reading more books in the UK since its lockdown restrictions were put in place.

Carried out to mark World Book Night, it highlighted that more people are reading fiction, with classics and crime novels proving to be very popular.

Almost half (45%) of the young people – aged 18-24 – who were asked said that they were reading more than they had been before.

Debbie Hick, from The Reading Agency, said that this will bring individual, families and friends together to connect a nation during self-isolation.

She said: “This year’s World Book Night celebrations prove the perfect opportunity to showcase the proven power of reading to connect people”.

With far more people today regularly turning to online games - families who are spending much more time together, during the lockdown, are also turning to board games to be just the thing to bring all factions of any family to enjoy their time together better.

Games like Monopoly Cluedo and Snakes & Ladders are become as popular, today, as back in its hay day to get everybody involved.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak has announced a £750m package to help to keep struggling charities afloat during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The move follows concerns that some charities in the UK are facing major difficulties – including, in many cases collapse – with income in the sector vastly shrinking as the frontline shops being enforced to close during the lockdown.

The move by Sunak follows growing concerns that some charities are facing collapse, with income shrinking considerably.

Larger charities, such as Age UK and Oxfam, have been forced to furlough two-thirds of their staff.

The measures involve cash grants which will go direct to charities that are providing key services during the crisis.

As part of the scheme, £360m will be allocated to those charities with another £370m will go to small local charities; including those who are delivering food and essential medicines whilst also providing financial advice.

Sunak said that the government could not match every pound of spending that the 170,000 charities in the UK would be likely to receive this year.

He did, however, say: “The government want to help the charities that were on the ‘frontline’ of the fight against coronavirus.

“To shut up shot at this moment would contravene their very porpose”.

A senior West Midlands Police (WMP) officer was back at his home after leaving Worcestershire Royal Hospital following him undergoing intensive care treatment (ICT).

Chief Superintendent Phil Dolby fell ill back in March before he was taken to Worcester Royal Hospital in an ambulance after his symptoms began to get increasingly worse.

He said that he had suffered “frightening episodes of breathlessness and dizziness.”

Following 13 days spent on a ventilator, he was discharged and reunited with his family.
In a tweet, Dolby, who is in charge of the force’s criminal justice service, said: that he had received “a lovely send-off” from NHS staff.

He also posted a video showing the surroundings of his isolation ward when he was first admitted to hospital.

Ch. Superintendent Dolby also said that he “cried like a girl” when he was allowed to see visitors through a window.