Laura and Dave have your morning update on essential information, available services in the Petersfield area, calls for help and generous offers to help you and other members of the local community through the Coronavirus pandemic.
A daily radio update of services and help available in the Petersfield area during the Coronavirus outbreak with Laura Sheppard and Dave Bowers.
Send your offers of help or requests for people to help you to team@petersfieldradio.uk or telephone us on 01730 555 500.
Today, the latest from Sheet and another entry from the Lockdown Diary of homeschooling teenager Nina Vennis.
Information transcript
Here’s a reminder of the the main elements – we must all stay at home, except when:
- Shopping for basic necessities, like food and medicine, and do that as infrequently as possible.
- One form of exercise a day, like a run, walk, or cycle – you can do that alone or with members of your household.
- Any medical need, or to provide care or to help a vulnerable person. 1
- Travelling to and from work, but only where this absolutely cannot be done from home.
Shops selling non-essential goods must shut – including, but not limited to, Sports Direct – gatherings in public of more than two people who do not live together are prohibited, and if we do not follow the rules, the Police have the power to enforce them.
It means many shops are now closed and the only stores which are permitted to trade are:
- Supermarkets for essential food
- Pharmacies for medical supplies
- Newsagents
- Hardware stores
- Banks
- Pet shops
- Post Offices
- Petrol stations
- Vets
- Retail shops in hospitals
- Laundrettes
- And funeral homes
Local information
The company that runs the gym at the Taro, Everyone Active, says it is happy to donate half your membership fee to the National Emergency Services Trust while the gym is closed. The Trust helps people most affected by the Coronavirus outbreak, but if you want your Direct Debit to be shared with the charity you should contact Everyone Active via its website at everyoneactive.com. If not your membership will be automatically frozen.
The Waste Recycling Centre on Bedford Road, like all others across Hampshire, is now closed.
EHDC has announced that all play areas and council-owned public toilets in the district are now closed
In addition to closing its houses, shops, cafes, parks and gardens the National Trust has now closed all its countryside car parks as well.
If you have young children who are missing their Jiggy Wrigglers sessions at Petersfield Community Centre then you might like to play them some Jiggy Wrigglers videos. Carol emailed to say they’ve put videos from the team on YouTube for the youngsters to enjoy at home. Just search for Jiggy Wrigglers on YouTube.
Yolande from Liss Forest Ballet School has been in touch with the Morning Report – she wants all her ballet pupils to know that they should take great care with one-way online classes; they are not aimed at the correction of personal faults or individual needs and you could injure yourself if you are not supervised.
Yolande says she will soon be contacting all parents with the ballet school’s own personalised online classes.
Following the latest Government instruction, families in need are required to phone ahead before visiting the PACT Food Distribution point, at the Salvation Army Hall in Swan Street. As a church, the Salvation Army Hall is now officially closed, but there will still be someone present between 9:30 and 11:30am, Monday to Friday, for as long as it is reasonably practical.
The Harrow pub, in Steep, is no longer offering a takeaway service.
SHOPS
TSB Bank on the High Street has been closed but plans to open today between 10 and 12.30 for counter transactions.
Morgan’s Butchers is now offering a home delivery service within 10 miles of the shop. Email Morganbutchers@yahoo.co.uk to place an order. Meanwhile the shop itself, in Lavant St, remains open. Check its Facebook page for times though.
Harting Stores is open seven days a week, and will post onto its Facebook page what supplies it has. It is receiving fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, bread, eggs and dairy daily. The number of customers is limited to 2 at a time inside the shop. It is also offering a free delivery service for those who are most vulnerable, and staff thank all the volunteers who have offered to provide that service.
Waitrose has introduced a number of new steps to protect customers and staff:
- The number of customers allowed into the store at any one time is being limited so social distancing can take place
- It has dedicated marshals to monitor the ‘two-metre rule’ in the busiest shops
- Screens at checkouts and extra cleanliness measures are being introduced
- Special protective visors are to be made available to staff
- Cashless and contactless shopping are being encouraged. [Alastair]
Check out Local Circles Petersfield – at localcircles.co.uk – an online directory set up as a community resource to order deliveries of freshly cooked meals, coffee, cake, food essentials and more. (Laura)
BOOKS!
Petersfield Library is now closed but book and magazine borrowing continues online via the BorrowBox service – just go to borrowbox.com with your library membership number or download the app. There are thousands of eBooks, eAudioBooks and eMagazines to be downloaded for free.
And to help you keep the kids quiet and happy at home, audio book retailer Audible has made available a collection of stories which can be streamed instantly and which will help them continue dreaming, learning, and just being kids.
All stories are free to stream on your desktop, laptop, phone or tablet. Visit stories.audible.com to start listening.
One Tree Books shop is closed but it is still taking orders by phone or email and will deliver. Email mail@onetreebooks.com or call 01730 261 199. And the message from the owners is “Thank you all for supporting us in these difficult times …”
Blackout Cycles, in Buriton Business Park, remains open as the Government has classified it as an ‘essential business’. However, please do not visit the workshop as the door will not be opened.
All bikes booked in will be collected and delivered by Blackout staff. Purchases can still be made, with a minimum order of £20, but, again, they will be delivered. ANd key workers’ bikes are being prioritised. Check out the company’s page on Facebook for further details.
Steve Bailey runs the Charles St Tap quiz on Monday nights – we can’t go to the pub so he’s uploading a quiz to the pub’s Facebook page. It’s a bit of fun and a welcome distraction in these troubling times, albeit for a few minutes every day. There is no prize, just the challenge of joining in and applying the old grey matter. If you want to take part, head over to the pub’s Facebook page and take a look.
TRAVEL
South Western railway is running a slimmed-down service with just one fast train and one stopping service, per hour, in each direction. The trains are for essential travel only and the only reasons to travel legitimately are for necessary work, or to get food or medicine.
WEATHER
Another dry, sunny day with moderate south Easterly winds and temperatures up to 13 or 14 degrees this afternoon. Still a chance of frost overnight so be careful of delicate plants which are just starting to come into leaf.
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