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Zoom Visit from Cambodia – St Mary’s News Update

The McCann's work in Cambodia

OMF - missions in CambodiaZoom Visit from Cambodia

This coming weekend, St Mary’s congregation will be joined by the McCann family on a home visit from Cambodia. They have been serving as missionaries there for 3 years.

This update starts with a message from Revd. Mandy Elmes and also includes details of how to access Zoom services,  listings of services and contacts.  There is also a sprinkle of humour.

Message from Revd Mandy

Jesus ascended

On Ascension Day, I received a post on the West Bergholt WhatsApp chat group which said

“Ascension Day is when Jesus started working from home!” Continue reading “Zoom Visit from Cambodia – St Mary’s News Update”

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Day 70 of (surreally) Lockdown – the De-Lockdown edition

Older People Active at Home

Day 70 of (surreally) Lockdown

So, is this day 70 of Lockdown or is it day 1 of De-Lockdown?  Heathlands School saw around 70 children attending today so, for them, it is pretty much over until the Summer Holidays in just over 7 weeks.  Other news:

Older People Active at HomeOlder Adults Keeping Active

Sport England have published Active at Home, co-funded by them & PHE.  It aims to help older adults keep up their activity levels while isolating Continue reading “Day 70 of (surreally) Lockdown – the De-Lockdown edition”

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Day 67 of (un?) Lockdown – the Heatwave edition

Heatwave joke

Heatwave mapDay 67 of (un?) Lockdown

Day 67, several weeks into unprecedented weather and virus, HMG has issued a raft of information to prepare for a heatwave.  Some of the key elements of this are summarised below with a link to the full advice.  Other topics are:

Heatwave

Heat Exhaustion vs Heat Stroke
For heat exhaustion, cooling the patient will normally resolve, if not call 111. For heatstroke, you should call 999 and start cooling the patient.

As part of its’ daily advice output, our government have today issued quite a lot about risks of heatwaves. Continue reading “Day 67 of (un?) Lockdown – the Heatwave edition”

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Day 66 of (un?) Lockdown – the Crash edition

Crashed outside Treble Tile

Day 66 of (un?) Lockdown

Day 66 and we have news from the village first followed by:

So, on to the…

Crash

Drama this week as a local resident, allegedly under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs, came to a sudden unexpected stop. Continue reading “Day 66 of (un?) Lockdown – the Crash edition”

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Day 64 of (un?) Lockdown – the Spare Plants edition

Allotments Surplus

Allotments SurplusDay 64 of (un?) Lockdown

Day 64 seems to be full of controversy but not much news.  Here is what little we have, news relating to the allotments first and then a couple of health-related items from ECC.  As ever, some light relief at the end.

Spare Plants & Produce

Whilst COVID-19 has prevented the Allotments’ Charity Stall opening it is still possible to obtain surplus produce & plants.  A neighbour of the allotments on New Church Road is happy for their driveway to be used for plot holders to deposit their surplus and for villagers to take what they need. Continue reading “Day 64 of (un?) Lockdown – the Spare Plants edition”

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Day 63 of (un?) Lockdown – the Old Church edition

Old Church circa 1880

Tower of JewelsDay 63 of (un?) Lockdown

The main news item for day 63 is an update on the Old Church renovations followed by a few updates from our government, and some fun at the end.  But first, we have a tall story from Annie Neish.

For those of you who are unable to cruise the village she thought you would like to see the Echium Pininana Tower of Jewels flowering beside the fence of the allotment on New Church Road.  Several years ago John had one on the plot next to her so she knew it might be possible.

A quick search on Wikipedia reveals this plant is native to La Palma in the Canaries where it is endangered due to habitat loss (Laurel forests).  Fortunately, it is being cultivated quite widely in the British Isles and Northern California so should have some resilience.

St Mary’s Old Church

Agreement about the best way forward following the discovery of the wall paintings was reached just as the Coronavirus put us all into lockdown. The work can now continue. Continue reading “Day 63 of (un?) Lockdown – the Old Church edition”

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Day 60 of (is it?) Lockdown – the Elementary edition

Sherlock Holmes

Sherlock HolmesDay 60 of (is it?) Lockdown

Day 60 happens to fall on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s birthday.  So we turn to Sherlock Holmes’ for some light relief at the end.  First some Lockdown updates from the Environment Agency and Essex Council, then we have Parish Council updates and finally Sherlock – elementary.

Anyone for boating?

The latest Environment Agency update reports on progress made in preparing their waterways (including the Thames & Anglian waterways) for leisure activities: Continue reading “Day 60 of (is it?) Lockdown – the Elementary edition”

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Day 59 of (is it?) Lockdown – the eCargo edition

eCargo Bikes

Day 59 of (is it?) Lockdown

Day 59 sees updates from CBC, ECC & HMG:

Continue reading “Day 59 of (is it?) Lockdown – the eCargo edition”

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Day 58 of (is it?) Lockdown – the Life in Lockdown edition

Life in Lockdown

Life in LockdownDay 58 of (is it?) Lockdown

On day 58 we get the chance to finish what we started on day 57;  the Essex Life in Lockdown article inviting you to share your lockdown story. After that:

The People of Essex – share your stories

The Research and Citizen Insight team at Essex County Council are reaching out to residents of Essex to hear their experiences and share stories of what it has been like for you during this extremely challenging time. How has COVID-19 and the lockdown has impacted your life, how you’ve been getting on, how you have managed to stay connected with friends, family and your community and how you’ve been feeling throughout the lockdown period? Continue reading “Day 58 of (is it?) Lockdown – the Life in Lockdown edition”