Archive for 2020
Little Street Applauds the NHS
Thursday, April 16th, 2020HS2 construction gets green light despite lockdown
Wednesday, April 15th, 2020
15th April 2020. Work resumes on fencing off the Marston Road near footpath AY12
COVID 19. URGENT MESSAGE FROM SULGRAVE PARISH COUNCIL
Monday, April 6th, 2020
CORONAVIRUS: How to request support from volunteers if you are self-isolating in Northamptonshire and need help.
Friday, April 3rd, 2020Who can request support?
You should be self-isolating if you:
- are over 70
- have existing health conditions; or
- are pregnant
Northamptonshire County Council are working to try to support people in these categories, in partnership with district and borough councils, voluntary organisations and volunteers in the community.
What support can you request?
If you are self-isolating due to the Coronavirus situation and have no other forms of support, you can contact us to request help with:
- Urgent food deliveries
- Prescription medication collection (delivered by our staff or district/borough council employees)
- General support with loneliness
- Help to get online
- Posting mail
How do I request support?
Call 0300 126 1000 and select Option 5 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm).
How does it work?
When we receive your request we will pass your details to your local borough or district council who will match you with local volunteers or voluntary organisations.
They will respond to you directly within 48 hours of you contacting us.
The volunteer will confirm with you:
- what help you need
- any special dietary or medical requirements you may have
- how you will pay
- a date and time for your delivery
We cannot guarantee that you will be offered help but we will do our best to make sure you do.
Urgent requirements
Please be aware that we will prioritise people in urgent need of food.
If you are in urgent need of food, we will check if:
- you are already on the list of high risk people who need to be shielded
- we can access anyone living close
- you can make use of local food banks
- your District or Borough Council can assist by putting you in touch with a volunteer in your area or a voluntary organisation
What about people with more serious health conditions?
The Government has tried to contact all shielded people and asked them to contact a call centre or register on a government website if they need support with any essential shopping or medication. Those that have said they need help will receive help directly from the Government based on their registration form.
Find out how to access support if you have a serious health condition
This group includes:
- people who have received an organ transplant and remain on ongoing immunosuppression medication
- people with cancer who are undergoing active chemotherapy or radiotherapy
- people with cancers of the blood or bone marrow such as leukaemia who are at any stage of treatment
- people with severe chest conditions such as cystic fibrosis or severe asthma (requiring hospital admissions or courses of steroid tablets)
- people with severe diseases of body systems, such as severe kidney disease (dialysis)
If you were contacted and haven’t yet registered for help you can still do this on the Gov.UK website or by phoning 0800 028 8327.
If you need help with a food delivery, and have received an NHS letter, please make sure you contact the number provided to arrange this.
If you are in an at-risk group but haven’t received a letter, please contact your GP surgery to request that you are added on the register.
PLEASE NOTE: The village shop will be taking telephone orders on Saturday 4th April between 9am -12 noon for delivery or collection that day.
Friday, April 3rd, 2020March on the Farm (2020)
Monday, March 30th, 2020
Richard Fonge writes:
As I write these notes, Spring has finally sprung, after what has been a long and very wet winter, with February being the wettest on record. In the midst of this pandemic we certainly need some sun to make us feel better. How fortunate we are compared to so many that we live in a rural area, with its footpaths and countryside to enjoy and the most pleasing of those must be the arrival of lambs in the fields on the Weston side of the village, to see them and watch them as they have their races certainly lightens the gloom. When farming I used to lamb some 350 ewes every March and at its peak you often had thirty plus lambs in one day, but at the day’s end after some sixty odd lambs being born, there was still that sense of wonder at the arrival of the latest one.
The fields up the concrete road as far as the bridge were half prepared for sowing last October before it came too wet to plant. I suspect they will now go in spring barley, or oats, or even left fallow to be planted wheat in October. Economics obviously come into the equation, so when costed out, is it better to leave or to grow a crop. There is no point in growing a crop if you can’t make a return and late spring planting compromises yield. So I will wait with interest to see what happens with all those unplanted fields around the Parish.
This worldwide pandemic of the coronavirus has brought home I think the need to produce as much food from our own country as is possible and shop locally. The last crisis to hit the countryside was the 2001 foot and mouth outbreak which put great restrictions on our movements for a short time, but what was shown was the great resilience of those small communities, often very isolated whether up in the dales of Yorkshire or the Welsh mountains, or Exmoor they all recovered in the course of time. I was one of a group of farming volunteers dispensing grants through a charity and whilst we heard many distressing stories, there were always lighter memories to take away, with that countryman’s down to earth philosophy.
The Cumbrian farmer whom we had granted as much as we could in monetary terms, but knew it was not really enough, thanked us and said “Us’ll have to find another hole in the belt then”. The Dorset farmer who we refused as we felt he had some cattle he could sell to ease his situation, who succinctly replied “Well tell your panel to come down and help catch the B…..s”!
Here’s hoping that April will be kind to us, with some nice weather and whilst sadly the cuckoo no longer comes, watch out for the return of the swallows around the 10th of the month.
Richard Fonge.
PS. A Reminder.
At this time of year we are surrounded by flocks of sheep either with lambs at foot or expecting very soon. The gate into Castle Mound was left open a few nights ago, allowing the young Rams to escape, reminding me of the need to be vigilant at all times when walking through sheep especially with dogs. Signs are up so please respect them and the sheep they are there to protect.
Operational Changes at Sulgrave Village Shop
Thursday, March 26th, 2020
From next week the shop will no longer be offering a face-to-face service. It will become a hub for receiving telephone orders which will be made available for collection or delivery. A list of vulnerable/housebound villagers who will be eligible for delivery is presently being complied.
Closure of Sulgrave Pocket Park
Wednesday, March 25th, 2020
Councillor Neil Higginson fixes the notice informing the public that owing to the Coronavirus Pandemic the Sulgrave Pocket Park will be closed until further notice.
This closure follows government instructions. The Parish Council is further required to state that during the period of closure no safety checks will be carried out.
Richard Fonge. Chairman, Sulgrave Parish Council
Sulgrave Parish Council and the Coronavirus
Wednesday, March 18th, 2020
Richard Fonge as commentator at Kenilworth Agricultural Show
Sulgrave Parish Council Chairman Richard Fonge writes as follows:
“As we are all well aware the corona virus has impacted on all our lives. Therefore next months Annual Parish Meeting has been cancelled, along with the local elections on May 7th. When we meet again as a Council may not be till later in the summer.
Rest assured though, your Council members will be making sure that we will be doing our best to carry out our responsibilities. If you wish to contact with a particular concern or thought, our names and telephone numbers can be found on the Parish notice board at the shop.
In these extraordinary and unprecedented times, we as a community have an obligation to make sure all our residents are cared for, and to that end a group of people have put their names forward to make sure nobody is forgotten. Not only to provide a shopping service, if need be, but also as a contact. Self isolating is going to be very lonely for many, so a phone call from a friend or neighbour from time to time is of great comfort.
My experience during the foot and mouth epidemic of 2001 as a member of a National Charity made me realise how important a chat on the phone was to those living on isolated farms or small communities.”
Volunteers:
Richard Fonge: Home. 0129 768012. Mobile. 07500672081
Jane Lockwood: Home. 01295 760865
Rose Shillito: Mobile: 07779149319
Shrimp Christy: Home. 01295 760214
Kate Miles: Home. 01295 760957. Mobile. 07970921110
Matt Aucote: Mobile. 07771605833
Anna Faure: Mobile. 07966884445
Richard Fonge.
Website Editor’s note:
It has been my privilege to edit this website for more than fifteen years. I have enjoyed photographing and reporting on countless village events illustrating what a vibrant community we are. The advent calendar windows come immediately to mind! It therefore comes as no surprise that the village is responding to the coronavirus crisis in a positive way. As set out in Richard Fonge’s statement above, particular concern is being taken to care for the elderly and vulnerable to ensure that no one is forgotten. As 80 year olds, Molly and I have decided our duty to the village in particular and society in general is to self-isolate as far as possible. However, I do not intend to let this very sad withdrawal from society interfere with editing this website. I will continue to publish information in respect of the village shop and post office, church, parish council, HS2, the Star Inn, diary of events, local weather forecast and so on as it becomes available. Contributions and comments are always welcome.
Colin Wootton
Summary of the Parish Council Meeting on Thursday 5th March, including details of South Northants Councillor Caryl Billingham’s presentation in respect of Brackley Community Hospital
Monday, March 2nd, 2020
Architect’s perspective of the new hospital
Click here to see the summary of the Parish Council Meeting and the Community Hospital Presentation.
Click here to learn more about the Brackley Community Hospital Trust: