Day 81 of (easing) Lockdown – the ‘Wot, no kick-off?’ edition

Day 81 is when we should have been gathering around TVs seeing the EURO 2020 kicking off – hey ho. Instead, we can:

St Mary’s Church

St Mary’s is pleased to announce that they will be reopening, for private prayer and reflection only, from Monday 15th June. The doors will be open daily between 9 am – 1 pm, visitors are asked to please observe all the social distancing rules as HMG have specified here. In summary, it says:

Individual prayer within a place of worship is defined as a person or household entering the venue to pray on their own and not as part of a group, led prayer or communal act. They should be socially distanced from other individuals or households. Collective or communal prayer and regular scheduled services are not permitted at this time as set out in Regulations. This includes a Minister of Religion or lay person leading devotions or prayer of any sort.

Colchester Orbital Maps Improved

New and improved downloadable maps of the Colchester Orbital have been created and are now available at www.colchester.gov.uk/better-colchester/colchester-orbital.

The picturesque Colchester Orbital is a nearly 15-mile circular walk and cycle route around the edge of the town that connects a network of footpaths, cycle paths and green spaces to make an idyllic way for people to enjoy the countryside.

With restrictions on daily exercise lifted, residents are encouraged to use these new maps to come along and discover the Orbital route on foot or by bike.

Launched in 2018

The Colchester Orbital route was officially launched in 2018 under the Walk Colchester initiative – part of the Jane’s Walk programme, an international initiative of local walks led by local people on local themes and honouring the legacy of the urbanist, writer and activist Jane Jacobs. Colchester Borough Council has worked with a range of partners to support this community project, which has sought to promote, preserve and protect the circular route around the borough since 2015.

The project has been led by members of Walk Colchester, Essex Local Access Forum, Colchester Ramblers, Colchester Natural History Society, Myland Community Council and Essex Bridleways Association with support from Cycle Colchester.

Getting Greener

Colchester Borough Council is looking at adding more greenery to the orbital route as part of the Colchester Woodland Project. It hopes to be able to find areas for new tree planting and the creation of new wildlife habitats. The Colchester Woodland Project was launched in 2019, when the council announced it would plant 200,000 trees across the borough over the next few years as part of the Better Colchester campaign.

The Colchester Woodland Project continues to evolve and over the following years is committed to:

Making the borough greener.
Planting trees and helping biodiversity to flourish.
Managing spaces without harming existing habitats.
Enhancing environments to create more space for nature to grow and thrive.
Encouraging the community to love and care for the environment, from wildflowers and meadows, to woods and parks.

The project is currently running a #Loveyourtrees campaign on Facebook. Visit @enjoycolchester to get involved. Lots of other initiatives are planned as the project heads towards the second year of planting in November, including seed gathering events and more work to map and promote the Oribital.

Walking maps

Cycle map

Colchester Orbital cycle route with instructions (PDF, 8.24MB)

What’s Your State of Life?

If you have a few minutes to spare then you can help Active Essex and University of Essex with their study. The want to find out how the current situation with COVID-19 makes us feel about

work,
health,
money,
other people and
life in general.

If you have the time then click here to complete the short survey.

Benefits Advice from CBC

Are you finding it hard to pay your rent or council tax?
Has COVID-19 left you unemployed or on a low income?
Have your circumstances changed recently?

If you would like to know what support is available to you CBC’s Welfare Support Specialists are there to help you though:

Benefits advice,
Local Council Tax Support,
Discretionary Funds, and
Employment Support.

Please either call 01206 505855 or email [email protected].

The Only Way is Reading podcast

Essex Libraries are excited to announce their new podcast! The Only Way is Reading is perfect for book lovers with each episode bringing you great book recommendations and interest stories with a library twist.

In our first episode we are finding out the top 5 authors borrowed from Essex Libraries, giving you short and snappy reviews of the books we are reading, and introducing book bingo, a new, fun way to choose your next read.

Essex Libraries also offer some reading lists for our times:

BLM & LGBT+

If you want to understand more about race, racism and experiences of racism, this new list of books may help. All the titles are available to borrow in e-book and e-audio format with your library card. There’s a mix of fiction, non-fiction and titles for all ages including children and young adults.

See the list here.

It’s Pride Month so why not immerse yourself in the love and culture of the LGBT+ community by reading their stories. Explore the thrilling, romantic, thought provoking and hilarious tales on BorrowBox! Available as both e-book and e-audio format and free of charge with your library card!

See the list here and on Borrowbox.