Monthly Archives: November 2020

Tier 3 restrictions for Leeds from December 2nd

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Councillor Judith Blake, leader of Leeds City Council, said: “The government has today (Nov 26) announced that Leeds will move into Tier 3 restrictions after the current lockdown ends. The new restrictions will come into force on December 2.

“Whilst local councils have not been involved in discussions around which tier they will move into, we have been working closely with our partners and communities in Leeds to ensure we are prepared for changes to restrictions and that support is in place that will minimise the impact on our residents and businesses as much as possible.

“I would also like to once again thank the people of Leeds for their patience, diligence and compassion over what has been an incredibly challenging time for the city.

“There is light at the end of the tunnel and if we continue to do all that we can to protect ourselves and each other, we can and will emerge from this crisis together.”

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Below are details on the government’s Tier 3 restrictions. More detail can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/local-restriction-tiers-what-you-need-to-know

Tier 3: Very High alert

This is for areas with a very high or very rapidly rising level of infections, where tighter restrictions are in place.

In Tier 3:

  • you must not meet socially indoors or in most outdoor places with anybody you do not live with, or who is not in your support bubble, this includes in any private garden or at most outdoor venues
  • you must not socialise in a group of more than 6 in some other outdoor public spaces, including parks, beaches, countryside accessible to the public, a public garden, grounds of a heritage site or castle, or a sports facility – this is called the ‘rule of 6’
  • hospitality settings, such as bars (including shisha venues), pubs, cafes and restaurants are closed – they are permitted to continue sales by takeaway, click-and-collect, drive-through or delivery services.
  • accommodation such as hotels, B&Bs, campsites, and guest houses must close. There are several exemptions, such as for those who use these venues as their main residence, and those requiring the venues where it is reasonably necessary for work or education and training
  • indoor entertainment and tourist venues must close. This includes:
    • indoor play centres and areas, including trampolining parks and soft play
    • casinos
    • bingo halls
    • bowling alleys
    • skating rinks
    • amusement arcades and adult gaming centres
    • laser quests and escape rooms
    • cinemas, theatres and concert halls
    • snooker halls
  • indoor attractions at mostly outdoor entertainment venues must also close (indoor shops, through-ways and public toilets at such attractions can remain open). This includes indoor attractions within:
    • zoos, safari parks, and wildlife reserves
    • aquariums, visitor attractions at farms, and other animal attractions
    • model villages
    • museums, galleries and sculpture parks
    • botanical gardens, biomes or greenhouses
    • theme parks, circuses, fairgrounds and funfairs
    • visitor attractions at film studios, heritage sites such as castles and stately homes
    • landmarks including observation decks and viewing platforms
  • leisure and sports facilities may continue to stay open, but group exercise classes (including fitness and dance) should not go ahead. Saunas and steam rooms should close
  • there should be no public attendance at spectator sport or indoor performances and large business events should not be taking place. Elite sport events may continue to take place without spectators
  • large outdoor events (performances and shows) should not take place, with the exception of drive-in events
  • places of worship remain open, but you must not attend with or socialise with  anyone outside of your household or support bubble while you are there, unless a legal exemption applies
  • weddingsand funerals can go ahead with restrictions on the number of attendees – 15 people can attend wedding ceremonies, wedding receptions are not allowed, 30 people can attend funeral ceremonies, 15 people can attend linked commemorative events
  • organised outdoor sport, and physical activity and exercise classes can continue, however higher-risk contact activity should not take place
  • organised indoor sport, physical activity and exercise classes cannot take place indoors. There are exceptions for indoor disability sport, sport for educational purposes and supervised sport and physical activity for under-18s
  • you can continue to travel to venues or amenities which are open, but should aim to reduce the number of journeys you make where possible
  • avoid travelling to other parts of the UK, including for overnight stays other than where necessary, such as for work, education, youth services, to receive medical treatment, or because of caring responsibilities. You can travel through other areas as part of a longer journey
  • for international travel see the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office travel advicefor your destination and the travel corridors list

Exemptions from gatherings limits in all tiers

  • as part of a single household, or a support bubble
  • for work or providing voluntary or charitable services, including in other people’s homes
  • for childcare, education or training – meaning education and training provided as part of a formal curriculum
  • for supervised activities provided for children, including wraparound care (before and after-school childcare), groups and activities for under 18s, and children’s playgroups
  • for formal support groups, and parent and child groups – up to 15 people aged 5 and older
  • to allow contact between birth parents and children in care, as well as between siblings in care
  • for arrangements where children do not live in the same household as both their parents or guardians
  • for prospective adopting parents to meet a child or children who may be placed with them
  • for birth partners
  • to attend a funeral – with no more than 30 people present – or a commemorative event such as a wake for someone who has died – with no more than 15 people present
  • to see someone who is terminally ill or at the end of life
  • to attend a wedding or civil partnership – with no more than 15 people present
  • to provide emergency assistance
  • to avoid injury or illness, or to escape a risk of harm
  • to fulfil a legal obligation, such as attending court or jury service
  • to provide care or assistance to someone vulnerable or to provide respite for a carer
  • to facilitate moving home

Shared Moments: ‘Oliver went to town’ written by Oliver Cross

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This week, my most interesting activity was picking up a pair of repaired glasses from Boots opticians in Leeds city centre, which doesn’t sound convincing unless you’ve noticed what else has been happening over the past ten months or so.

It was my first trip to the city centre for in ages and I suppose I should have been excited by being once again at the heart of a vibrant city. Instead, I just felt worried.

I’ve worked in city centres for most of my life and, through slumps and booms, I’ve never felt any need to worry for them. They’re tough, noisy, often aggressive unpleasantly places which can look after themselves.

But during my visit to the opticians, at which the opticians and their associates outnumbered me by about ten to one, I worried that the staff, probably half relieved and half bored by the quietness around them, would become unsettled  by the possibility that this might not be a freak lockdown moment; it might be the future.

Anyone living in the old industrial north will know that, in cities particularly, times change with alarming speed; Victorian mills  built to last hundreds of years mainly lasted, at best, until the 1960s or 70s but at least left behind magnificent shells such as Temple Works in Holbeck, Leeds, or Salt’s Mill in Saltaire.

The worry is that the next wave of industrial readjustment will leave no monument other than acres of boarded-up pubs, sandwich bars, trinket stalls and maybe even opticians.

Off-line shopping in the big city stores could become a niche activity, like uni-cycling, and, as I noticed on my recent city centre visit, there will be a miraculous lack of litter and drunkards. This struck me as rather eerie, like the final scene in Planet of the Apes or, so I’m told, living in Liechtenstein, but I’m sure we’ll eventually recognise it as a huge improvement.

The downside is not, so far as we yet know, that city centre workers, along with the transport systems, feeding stations, entertainments, posh stores and other enterprises that depend on them, will disappear. It’s that they will scatter into cyberspace and the suburbs, leaving, say, Briggate in Leeds looking as much an archaeological site as an abandoned tin mine.

The factory system which shaped the north, gave way to an office system built on the same organisational principles; regular hours and a machine-driven division of labour which meant you could be in the typing pool or answering the telephones or working the Xeroxes but were not expected to do them all at the same time.

Now those limitations have gone; home workers – which quite soon might mean most workers – don’t have to keep factory hours, nor confine themselves to 20th century technologies, which means they’ll soon become hugely productive operatives, except, sadly, in the fields of enjoying  their lunch breaks or gossiping to colleagues.

Thank you once again Oliver, until next time…..

Photo of Leeds, Briggate 1951 - Francis Frith

Picture: Francis Firth.com – Leeds Briggate 1951

‘Lockdown Patchwork’ A Soundscape of Nature Sounds

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Leeds Art Gallery are putting out a call to the people of Leeds to contribute to a new ‘audio artwork’  of nature sounds and celebrating the importance of nature and greenspace to us – especially during lockdown.  You don’t need special skills or any specialist equipment, see the information below from the organisers:

Two autumnal landscapes or hill scenes are placed side by side

“We need your help to create a soundscape of nature sounds recorded during lockdown, for a new crowd-sourced collaborative artwork by electronic musician Leafcutter John.

To raise awareness about issues of access to greenspace and to celebrate the important role that nature has played for many of us in a uniquely challenging year, Leafcutter John has been commissioned by Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival and Leeds Art Gallery, to create an original audio artwork entitled Lockdown Patchwork. Drawing on our current Natural Encounters exhibition, which explores how artists have responded to nature, the piece will use submissions, videos, field recordings and interviews to capture and share the experiences of people who have been connected by their enjoyment of nature, parks and greens spaces during the pandemic.

What we need from you

If there’s an outdoor space that matters to you, no matter where or what it is, we want you to capture sounds from it. You might not think of yourself as a sound recordist, but if you have a smartphone, portable recorder or any other recording tool, then you most definitely are. Your submission could be birdsong recorded on your balcony, chatter on your allotment patch, a river flowing or a dog in the park. It’s anything you like, captured anywhere you like. The only requirements are that you must have made the recording yourself and you must be happy for Leafcutter John to use it as an ingredient in his final work.

More information and how to apply

The deadline for submissions is 11 December. If you fancy getting involved, download our information pack (PDF, 150KB) and follow our simple step-by-step guide.”

White Ribbon Day Today!

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Today is the start of White Ribbon Day – it runs for 16 Days around Action to end violence. Each year thousands of people stand up, speak out and say no to violence against women. This year is more important than ever with a significant increase in violence, harassment and abuse towards women during the coronavirus pandemic
https://www.whiteribbon.org.uk/day

See services in Leeds
https://ldvs.uk/
https://leedswomensaid.co.uk/
https://www.behind-closed-doors.org.uk/

2 Weeks to Go - White Ribbon Day — White Ribbon UK

Poetry Corner: ‘Coming Together’ by Robert Longley

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Ever try to measure
The power of a dream?
Ever sit and wonder
Where water becomes a stream?
In ways there is no difference
From nothing it begins
The pieces come together
And it ebbs and flows and spins
In time it becomes power
No force may stop its flow
None may know its beginning
But all may see it grow
A tiny drop of water
Or a simple little thought
Can change the world we live in
Rewriting rules we’re taught
 
Sourced sacred poems

Shakespeare’s Sonnets – The Shows Must Go On

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Week 4 of Shakespeare Season from The Shows Must Go On and the mysteries and marvels of Shakespeare’s Sonnets are revealed as never before in these vivid, compelling and accessible performances.

All 154 Sonnets are performed by a stellar cast of actors including, Fiona Shaw, Sir Patrick Stewart and David Tennant.  Other contributors include actors Simon Callow, Simon Russell Beale, Kim Cattrall, Dominic West and Stephen Fry, as well as prominent experts on Shakespeare such as Professor James Shapiro and voice coach Cicely Berry.

Available to watch until Monday 30th November

‘Monday Mind Workout’ – answers for Monday 23rd November 2020

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Dear all,

Below are the answers to yesterday’s Monday Mind Workout, how did you do?

1. The voices of Mickey and Minnie Mouse got married in real life.

True: Wayne and Russi were married for 18 years until Wayne’s death in 2009.

2. A group of bunnies is called a “fluffle.”

3. The largest sand castle in the world measured 54 feet high.

It took 168 trucks over a week to deliver enough sand for the carefully constructed masterpiece

4. Sea otters hold hands when they sleep – True

5.A team of six women programmed the first digital computer.

While historians have only recently recognized their achievements, the female mathematicians participated in a World War II program coding instructions into the revolutionary Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer (ENIAC).

6. High heeled shoes were originally created for Men.

7. Bubble Wrap was originally intended to be used as 3D wallpaper.

8. A group of flamingos is called a “flamboyance”.

9. How many hours sleep can you lose when you have a new baby in the first year?
Anywhere between 400-750 hours of sleep in the first year.

10. Since 1945, all British tanks have come equipped with tea making facilities. True

11. Many lipsticks contain fish scales. True

12. Elephants can Jump? False

13. It takes light from the Sun 8 minutes to reach Earth.

14. There’s a village in Norway called Hell, and it freezes over every winter. True

15. Orange was first used to describe the fruit not the colour? True

Questions 16 – 18 are clues to chocolate e.g. Cinderella’s friend – BUTTONS

16.A subject for discussion – TOPIC
17. A path in the universe – MILKY WAY
18. 100% precious metal – ALL GOLD

Questions 19 – 20 are anagrams of sweet desserts
19. Is it a rum – Tiramisu
20. He tackle cocoa – Chocolate cake

Alcohol awareness week (16-24 November)

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Alcohol awareness week

This week (16-24 November) is Alcohol Awareness Week, A recent survey has found that nearly a third of the UK public are drinking more alcohol than usual during the pandemic.

If you are interested in cutting down your drinking, the Drink Coach Alcohol Test is a quick and confidential way for you to check out how risky your drinking is.

Taking the test also provides information on local face-to-face support options to reduce your drinking. To take the two minute test visit the Drink Coach website.

‘Monday Mind Workout’ – Monday 23rd November 2020

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Dear all,

Today’s ‘Monday Mind Workout’ is a mixture of questions, all the best?

1. The voices of Mickey and Minnie Mouse got married in real life. True or False

2. A group of bunnies is called a

a) herd      b) bundle      c) fluffle

3. The largest sand castle in the world measured

a) 54 feet high.   b) 30 feet high    c) 24 feet high

4. Sea otters hold hands when they sleep – True or false

5.Was it men or women who programmed the first digital computer?

6. High heeled shoes were originally created for Men or women?

7. Bubble Wrap was originally intended to be used as

a) Insulation      b) 3D wallpaper.    c) Pillow contents

8. A group of flamingos is called a

a) flamboyance   b) Go’s     c) Flames

9. How many hours sleep can you lose when you have a new baby in the first year?

a) between 100 – 300 hours    b) between 300 – 600 hours   c) 400-750 hours

10. British tanks come equipped with tea making facilities. True or False

11. Many lipsticks contain fish scales. True or False

12. Elephants can Jump? True or False

13. It takes light from the Sun ? minutes to reach Earth.

a) 2 mins    b)  4 mins     c) 8 mins

14. There’s a village in Norway called Hell, and it freezes over every winter. True or False

15. Orange was first used to describe the colour not the fruit? True or False

Questions 16 – 18 are clues to chocolate e.g. Cinderella’s friend – BUTTONS

16.A subject for discussion
17. A path in the universe
18. 100% precious metal

Questions 19 – 20 are anagrams of sweet desserts
19. Is it a rum
20. He tackle cocoa

 

Warmly, Lisa