Coronavirus update: 8 May 2020

As we end our seventh week of lockdown, I want to again express my thanks to the vast majority of you who are doing your bit and following the national guidance to stay home, keep yourselves and others safe, and protect our NHS.

The Council continues to work hard to keep services going, protect our most vulnerable residents and support local businesses, and the fantastic community spirit we’ve witnessed across Hounslow continues to inspire us all.

Evidence is mounting that the UK has passed its peak and we can hopefully begin to see a time when some semblance of normality will return. The Government is expected to announce its plans for easing the lockdown on Sunday. Whatever these plans are, we should be in no doubt that there is still a long and difficult road ahead.

A major challenge will be the damage to the economy and job losses. We will feel that particularly acutely in Hounslow with the impact on Heathrow and the associated businesses on which the livelihoods of thousands of our residents rely. The Council will be working closely with the aviation industry, the wider business community, other partners and central government to support the borough through these tough times ahead.

Today is the 75^th anniversary of VE day and the nation is being urged to come together to mark the occasion. The celebrations won’t quite match the street parties in 1945 – the shared revelry will have to be virtual and at home – but hopefully we can capture some of that spirit and draw inspiration from remembering that no matter what the situation, if people and communities work together and support each other, anything can be overcome.

Have a great weekend, keep following the rules, and stay safe

Today Britain is commemorating the 75^th anniversary of VE Day, when the guns fell silent at the end of the war in Europe. There will be a national two-minute silence at 11am.

Though there won’t be any street parties this year, there are many ways to mark the occasion at home, including holding your very own VE Day party.

People are also being urged to get creative and make their own bunting to display in their windows or gardens at home. You can access a toolkit which provides a range of ideas and posters you can download to mark the occasion.

Don’t forget to share your photos on social media with #VEDayHounslow so we can share them too.

Parents and carers who are home-schooling young people can use the VE Day Heritage Pack for inspiration and information on war history, with ideas for how you can celebrate from your own home.

Hounslow Heath Junior School have also put together some great resources for children to learn more about the history of VE Day and lots of fun activities including cracking some Morse code and spitfire arty fun. Find out more here.

Celebrate in style with your dancing shoes and show off your cooking skills! Try out some 1940s recipes and dance to a VE Day inspired Spotify list. Find out more here.

You can explore the archives of BBC Word War 2 People’s War to read about the different memories of the people that experienced the war in their own accounts. We found a short piece written by Carole Watts from Laburnum Grove, in Hounslow. You can read her story here.

We wanted to say a huge thank you to everybody that is following the guidelines and staying at home. However, it is important that we continue to keep these efforts up in weeks to come and especially during the May bank holidays. Please do not be tempted to gather in groups, arrange picnics, have bonfires or sunbathe at this time. Remember to only leave your home for essentials such as food or medicine, for work, or to exercise alone or with members of your household.

If you are using a park or green space for your daily exercise, you must follow the Government guidelines:

• If you have a garden please make use of this to help reduce visits to parks and green spaces
• Stay local and use open spaces close to your home
• Only go outside alone or with members of your own household
• Keep at least 2 metres apart from anyone outside your household at all times
• Keep moving and spread out when you are in parks or green spaces
• Do not arrange picnics, have bonfires or sunbathe at this time
• Gatherings of more than two people in parks or other public spaces have been banned, this will be enforced by the police
• Follow hygiene advice when you are outside, don’t touch your face, and wash your hands as soon as you are back indoors

To find parks near where you live, use our parks finder

Your efforts will help protect the NHS and save lives.

If you see people ignoring these rules you can inform our Enforcement Team here or call 020 8583 4141. Please also tell us of any gatherings you are aware of in public places or anyone you consider to be behaving irresponsibly.

Do not have a bonfire this weekend. Lots of people will want to use their gardens and domestic bonfire smoke can be very irritating and cause great stress to those who are exposed to it. The fumes from bonfires can aggravate respiratory problems such as asthma and bronchitis and affect those with heart complaints. Smoke caused by bonfires could be a statutory nuisance and people causing a serious problem may be fined.

It’s important to take the pressure off the NHS whilst they deal with the coronavirus pandemic, so please be considerate to your neighbours and keep everyone around you safe by not having any bonfires. You can find out more information here.

A range of traffic-management measures are being rolled out across Hounslow to help keep pedestrians and cyclists healthy and safe during the coronavirus pandemic.

The projects, which will create more space for people to follow social distancing guidelines, include closing some roads, widening pavements, improving cycling routes and introducing more ‘school streets’.

The Council is also launching a public consultation to get ideas from residents on ways they think traffic can be managed better and streets made more pedestrian and cycle friendly.

Brentford FC Community Sports Trust launched a new community initiative yesterday, which saw dozens of children receive free activity packs to keep them active and healthy within their homes during this period. The initiative, developed in partnership with Hounslow Council, will see 600 activity packs delivered across eight housing estates in Hounslow over the next couple of weeks. The first drop was at Brentford Towers.

At Brentford Towers, which is nestled between Brentford FC’s historic Griffin Park home and the Bees’ new stadium, youngsters emerged eagerly from their homes to collect their activity packs at allocated times. With Brentford FC Community Sports Trust’s involvement on the estate spanning more than three decades, the activity packs were created to replace the free sports and youth activity sessions it usually runs every week in partnership with Hounslow Council.

To help keep children safe from serious accidents whilst staying home, the Child Accident Prevention Trust are sharing their ‘Top tips for lockdown safety’ for parents of young children, including:

• Choose a spot in your kitchen or living room to keep hot drinks so they’re out of the reach of your children.
• Look out for small button batteries, as well as painkillers or pills, which can be dangerous if swallowed by children.

Read more tips on their Facebook page.

Not all of your neighbours have access to the internet to find guidance on the coronavirus pandemic. Why not help share the information to ensure everyone gets the support they need?

Pick up the phone and tell your neighbours how they can stay safe, find financial support, get food assistance, learn about service disruptions and much more.

Please refer to our Coronavirus webpages for the latest advice and tips you can pass on to someone offline.

Unfortunately, there is a minority of people who choose to take advantage of a crisis to cheat or scam people.

Sadly, these often target the most vulnerable in society.

Here are just some of the scams we are aware of, but please note that criminals come in all shapes and sizes and can contact you at the door, by phone, post or online:

• Be aware of people offering miracle cures or vaccines for coronavirus – there is no specific treatment for coronavirus (COVID-19). 

• People impersonating healthcare workers, claiming to be offering ‘home-testing’ for coronavirus – this is a scam and these kits are not currently available to buy.
• Emails saying that you can get a refund on taxes, utilities or similar are usually bogus and they are just after your personal and bank details.
• There are lots of fake products available to buy online that say they can protect you or cure coronavirus. These will not help and are designed to take your money.
• There are new mobile phone applications that claim to give you updates on the virus but instead, they lock your phone and demand a ransom.
• Your bank or the police will never ask for your bank details over the phone.
• People offering to do your shopping or collecting medication and asking for money upfront and then disappearing.

Remember: Stop; Challenge; Protect. You can find out more information and how to report any scams here.

Scared – are they fearful of their loved one, scared when around them?

Possessive – is their behaviour controlled by their partner? E.g. Who they speak to, where they go, what they wear?

Online and tech abuse – does their partner monitor their phone, computer or banking?

Threats – does their partner threaten to harm them, take their children, report them to immigration, or threaten to self-harm?

Demeanour – are they withdrawn, anxious, depressed or does it feel as if they are walking on eggshells?

Violence – are there visible injuries, has there been damage to property? Do you hear a lot of shouting and abusive arguments?

If you notice any of these signs you can help by calling:

The Police on 999 in an emergency, or 101 in a non-emergency

Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 to report anonymously

If you are concerned about anyone at risk of domestic abuse in the community, please let them know that our specialist domestic and sexual violence service for Hounslow is still open. They can be contacted on 07810 031780, Mon-Fri 9am - 5pm and we have developed new ways of working to support anyone experiencing domestic abuse during the coronavirus pandemic.

Download and/or share our safety card  with friends, family members, neighbours and colleagues and for more support and advice please visit www.hounslow.gov.uk/dvinfo.

The British Library is running a series of webinars for businesses. Topics include, business plans, communication skills, starting your own business and more.

View the upcoming events calendar here. You can also watch previous events on their YouTube channel.

As lockdown continues and schools are still closed, it’s never been more important to support educators, students and their families throughout this current period of uncertainty. To help, FutureLearn Schools, a new initiative in partnership with the TES Institute and Pearson UK has launched this week. Students aged 13-18 will be given access to over one hundred short online courses from world-renowned universities including The Open University, Coventry University, King’s College London and the University of Sheffield. Find out more about FutureLearn Schools, and get involved here.

If you want to upskill yourself then do it for free, with the Government’s new online learning platform The Skills Toolkit. Five of their courses made by the University of Leeds and Institute of Coding are featured, including:

• Create a Professional Online Presence to boost your employability
• build the skills you need to Thrive in the Digital Workplace
• develop your entrepreneurial skills with Digital Skills: Social Media (for business).

These digital skills are highly valued by employers and sought after in a wide range of jobs, and with many of us working and studying remotely, or placed on furlough, the platform offers an opportunity to keep up with essential skill development whilst at home. Find out more about the initiative and get involved here. Do you know someone who would benefit from FutureLearn schools or The Skills Toolkit initiative? Share this free resource with them. 

It’s important to take some time out for yourself and check in with yourself during this lockdown. Whilst we may be in differing situations, we are all experiencing highs and lows at this unique and unprecedented time.  Sometimes it’s the little things that can help the most. These mindfulness resources are packed full of useful information and guidance to help you to stay well and help you to look after your mental health.

NHS Mindfulness guide

Mind Mindfulness guide Mindfulness: finding time to relax and be present

Very helpful article on mindfulness activities for children

Nature inspired music and sounds (for a calm and refreshing start of the day)

Keeping fit is an important part of staying healthy as we all spend more time indoors, observing social distancing measures to slow the spread of coronavirus.

In these testing times, staying active is more important than ever. Physical activity keeps our bodies healthy and our minds happy. If you’re feeling in a slump, try getting a sweat on or having a stretch and see how it makes you feel. Even a little bit of movement can make a big difference; and remember that exercise is for everyone, so find what feels good for you and give it a try.

If you are struggling to stay physically active help is at hand:

The One You Hounslow Move More page provides support, tips on staying active and a variety of different activities for all age groups and abilities.

Join Watermans FREE Cinema Club

Watermans launched its brand new Cinema Club: No Ticket Required last Monday. Over 40 people discussed an Ealing Studio's film,The Titfield Thunderbolt. Host and resident cinephile Jon Davies asked: Is it a forgotten gem or a complete anachronism? And was it really like that in 1953? At the end, participants voted on the next film to be explored, which will be The Sense of an Ending, a 2017 movie featuring Charlotte Rampling and Jim Broadbent.

If you'd like to join in, here's how it works: simply sign up to Watermans' emails or follow them @WatermansArts on Facebook and watch out for their resident cinephile's video introduction next Thursday; then watch the film online over the weekend and join them on Monday 18 May at 8pm for the discussion. It's free and open to all, even if you've never visited Watermans before. Alternatively give their friendly box office a call on 020 8232 1010 (12-5pm) and they'll tell you all about it! And don't forget they're sending regular emails with recommendations on the best arts and culture out there each week, including for families. Sign up at watermans.org.uk.

Big Book Weekend
Check out the Big Book Weekend this bank holiday, a 3-day virtual festival that brings together the best of British book festivals cancelled due to coronavirus. Co-founded by authors Kit de Waal and Molly Flatt, it will take place at the online book festival site MyVLF.

National Theatre – Antony & Cleopatra
The National Theatre at Home series continues this week with the broadcast of Simon Godwin's critically acclaimed production of Antony & Cleopatra, which was filmed at the National Theatre in 2018. Starring Ralph Fiennes and Sophie Okonedo as the famous fated couple, Antony & Cleopatra is Shakespeare's tragedy of politics, passion and power, and one of his great historical love stories.

Hounslow AnyTime Fitness Blog
Thinking of getting active at home this weekend but struggling with motivation? The Hounslow AnyTime Fitness blog offers some useful tips and information on finding motivation to exercise during lockdown, how to do gardening safely without experiencing back pain and boosting your mental and physical health through a variety of different activities. Check out their blog here.

Virtual shared reading group with The Reader

The Reader is a national organisation which works to bring people together and books to life though shared reading. They normally host their sessions in libraries, but during the lockdown, they are inviting anyone interested to join the group on Zoom.

Shared Reading Groups offer a place for people to come together and connect through stories and poems. Find out more about their reader at home initiative and the online events here.
You can also contact london@thereader.org.uk or call 07483 972020 to book or get more information.

Company Chameleon dance and movement classes for children
The perfect way to start the weekend. The Saturday Sessions hosted by Company Chameleon are fun, physical and interactive, and present the opportunity for young people to discover Chameleon’s unique movement style and develop dance technique and creative skills.
The Saturday Sessions will be available on Company Chameleon’s YouTube channel from 10am each Saturday.
Classes are designed for the following age groups and are completely free of charge.
Level 1 | Age 4-7
Level 2 | Age 7-11
Level 3 | Age 11-16
Bringing dance and movement to the mix, The Saturday Sessions is part of Company Chameleon's online programme for April/May, which shares and celebrates the wonder of dance.

Disco Yoga goes Zoom
Let your stresses take a back seat with blissful energising yoga sequences to a glorious mix of disco classics, chilled to uplifting, rejuvenate your mind body and soul and take you to Boogie Wonderland. You can join in after the NHS clap every Thursday night or Sunday morning. Enjoy one hours Disco Yoga then stick around for a drink and boogie while DJ Darlo keeps the tunes rolling. Each ticket includes a 20% donation to NHS Charities Together. You can find out more here.