Stay safe, eat out to help out, free cycle training and Eid Al-Adha celebrations ✨

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Healthy holidays

Healthy Holidays – food support for families

This week, we launched our Healthy Holidays food programme. We are providing a mixture of hot meals and weekly food bags to support children and their families throughout the summer.

Eligible families will be able to collect meals from four locations in the borough until Friday 28 August. Families will also be able to collect activity packs full of ideas, advice and inspiration to keep active and eating well this summer.

Find out more >


Keep London Safe Test and Trace image

Book a Covid-19 test if you have symptoms

NHS Test and Trace is a national programme working to make sure that anyone who develops Covid-19 symptoms can be tested quickly. It also helps trace recent contacts of anyone who tests positive and if necessary, notify them so that they can stay at home and help stop the spread of the virus.

It is an essential feature of efforts to keep Tower Hamlets safe and drive down the rates of infection and transmission.

Mobile testing units are operating in the borough and are another way to get tested, alongside ordering a home testing kit. If you have symptoms of Covid-19, please book a test immediately.

Book a test >


Eat Out to Help Out image

Eat out in August and support local businesses 

Hundreds of businesses are offering discounts on food and non-alcoholic drinks on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 3 - 31 August.

Support your local traders by visiting a participating restaurant, pub or café to eat and drink, and get up to 50 per cent off your bill. 

If you own a restaurant, pub or café in Tower Hamlets: There’s still time to register for the government scheme, which will enable you to offer a discount to diners and support your business. Find out more and sign up today.

Find your nearest restaurant >


Face coverings protect people

Wear a face covering to help protect each other

A reminder that you are now required to wear face coverings in all shops and supermarkets, while using public transport and when you go to a hospital for an appointment or to visit someone (unless you have a health condition or are aged under 11).

You are also strongly encouraged to wear face coverings in other enclosed public spaces or where social distancing may be more difficult.

Wearing a face covering will help us all to protect each other and contain the spread of the virus as more premises are reopening.

Make a reusable face covering at home with the simple guides from the government and the BBC. If you have to use disposable gloves or masks, please do not litter – put them in the bin to stop the spread. 

Read more >


Idea Store Whitechapel

Welcoming you back to Idea Stores

Our Idea Stores teams have been working really hard so we can start to welcome back visitors.

We’ve resumed some services at Whitechapel and Chrisp Street with reduced opening hours and services, so you need to book your visit.

Don’t forget there are lots of great activities and online resources on the Idea Store website.

Book your visit >


Cycle training

Build your cycle confidence

To help more people get around the borough safely by bike, we’re offering free cycle skills training with our friends at Bikeworks.

You can book a one-to-one session or join a family course in Victoria Park during the summer holidays.

Transport for London has also created an online course for all abilities to build your confidence with a free Santander Cycles access code if you complete it.

If your bike needs repairs, from 11.45pm tonight (Tuesday 28 July) the government is offering a limited number of £50 vouchers towards the cost of fixing your bike.

Cycling in Tower Hamlets >


Eid 2020 safety

Stay safe during Eid

Eid Al-Adha will be celebrated by many people across our communities this Friday (31 July). Eid Al-Adha celebrates the end of Hajj and is an important event in the Islamic calendar.

If you’re observing Eid Al-Adha, please remember that you need to do so safely in line with the government’s Covid-19 guidance. We have put together advice for you on how to celebrate Eid safely, which covers worship, meeting friends and family, keeping a safe distance, maintaining good hygiene and what to do if you have symptoms of Covid-19.

Eid Mubarak to all those who will be celebrating on Friday and over the weekend. We hope that even though this will be a different Eid Al-Adha, that it brings peace, prosperity, and happiness to you and your family.

Celebrate Eid safely >


Helaine Blumenfeld, Fortuna sculpture

'Looking Up' at Canary Wharf

Looking Up, an exhibition by sculptor Helaine Blumenfeld, will be extending its stay in Canary Wharf until 2021.

The collection was installed just before lockdown, hampering the chances of many to view the more than 25 artworks.

Showcasing a lifetime of work, including pieces from the 1970s, the exhibition represents how through community, shared values and empathy, society can avoid division and exclusion.  

See the exhibition online >


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