Category Archives: Caring Together

Backstage tour of The Grand Theatre

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East Street Arts have got an event coming up with Opera North. They would like to invite you to come and have a backstage tour of The Grand Theatre, including on stage to see their amazing stage set up close, and then stay for the dress rehearsal of their brand new show ‘La Traviata’. This is a perfect visit for anyone who has never been to the opera, or who is curious about what happens backstage! The event is on Monday 26th September 2022. The tour will take place from 16:30 – 17:45. The dress rehearsal will take place from 18:30. It finishes at 21.30pmIf this is of interest to you you can book a ticket using this link.

Register on Eventbrite
On stage with Opera North

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Bank Holiday – need to knows

You will be aware that Monday 19th September has been designated a bank holiday for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

If you are due to be paid your Pension or any benefits on Monday 19th, they will be paid into your bank on Friday 16th.

Many shops, including most supermarkets, and cafes/restaurants, food outlets and even some pubs will be closed – even those who usually open on bank holidays, so if you need shopping plan to do it beforehand. If you were expecting an online grocery delivery on Monday 19th it is likely to be cancelled, hopefully the supplier will have been in touch – if not it’s probably best to contact them and find out what alternative arrangements you can make.

Most GP practices will close as on a normal bank holiday but you will still be able to access health care if you need it – call 111 or use https://111.nhs.uk/. If you need a pharmacy on Monday you should be able to find out which are open on https://www.nhs.uk/service-search/pharmacy/find-a-pharmacy.

Leeds Teaching hospitals have said they are trying to continue with planned appointments and operations as much a possible so if you have an appointment and haven’t been contacted to say it is cancelled please attend as normal.

LCC bin collections will be suspended on Monday 19th and so bins will all be collected one day later this week – including Sunday 25th September.

Finally, the queens funeral will be shown on most TV channels – coverage will be most of the day but the funeral itself is 11am. You can also watch it on the big screen at Millennium Square. This is free and will be from 10am – 6pm more details here https://www.millsqleeds.com/…/live-coverage-of-the…/…

Cost of living/energy bills help – update

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Government today announced the new energy price guarantee. This will start on 1st October and will cap the energy costs for a household with ‘typical’ use at £2500 (it is currently £1971). The Energy Price Guarantee limits the amount households can be charged per unit of gas or electricity. So your exact bill will continue to depend on how much energy you use.

If you have fixed your tariff you can either stay on this, or can leave and switch to the new subsidised tariffs with no exit penalties. There will be some discount applied to existing fixed rates as part of this scheme so you may have to work out which tariff benefits you most.

The £400 payment to all homes this winter will still be paid – this is to be spread over 6 months, as a credit on your bill, a reduction in direct debits or by voucher for those on pre-payment meters.

For those who pay electricity costs via their landlord, equivalent help is promised but there are no details yet.

The other, previously announced, cost of living payments for those on means tested benefits, people over state pension age and those who receive disability benefits will go ahead as planned.

While this is welcome news compared to the £3549 cap that was due to come into effect in October it is still an increase of more than 25% on top of the already extremely high cap. If you are struggling to afford your energy bills please reach out for help.

Contact your supplier first – they have an obligation to try and help you and many suppliers have set up hardship funds.

Caring Together members – or anyone over 55 in Woodhouse, Little London or Leeds city centre – speak to us and we will help you to explore your options re getting help with your bills or seeing if you are entitled to any additional income.

We will also be hosting some information sessions with the Energy Efficiency Worker from Green Doctor Leeds, where you can come along and have a cuppa and have a chat about your current energy bills and energy efficiency:

Monday 12th September at Caring Together premises, 127 Woodhouse Street – 11am -12.30pm

Thursday 27th October and Thursday 24th November at Little London Community Centre 2.30pm-4pm

Little London Community Fun Day

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An absolutely fantastic day at the Community Day In Little London on Saturday. Given that there was a gap of 2 years when the day was unable to go ahead due to the pandemic we were all unsure what the turnout would be like. We needn’t have worried! The crowd in fact was bigger than ever. There was a great number of stalls present catering for people of all ages and the talent show, as always, was a highlight of the afternoon.

A big thanks to all who were instrumental in the organising of the day, who volunteered, who ran a stall, and no lesser thanks to all who attended, making the day the success that it was.

RED Warning Extreme Heat / Level 4 RED Heat Health Alert !!Leeds Impacted!!

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Update received from Leeds Older People Commissioning Team

! Update. Previously issued warning for EXTREME HEAT has now escalated to RED status. Parts of the Leeds District area are included in the warning area.

Additionally, the Heat Health alert has also escalated to Level 4 RED = national emergency status. The first time ever issued in the UK.

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Warning type:

Extreme heat RED warning – valid from 00:00 Mon 18 Jul to 23:59 Tues 19 Jul.

Heat Health Level 4 RED warning – valid from 00:00 Mon 18 Jul to 00:00 Weds 20 Jul.

Extreme Heat AMBER warning (locations outside the RED area) – valid from 00:00 Sun 17 Jul to 23:59 Tues 19 Jul. 

Weather summary: An exceptional hot spell on Monday and Tuesday leading to widespread impacts on people and infrastructure.

Potential impacts: 

  • Population-wide adverse health effects experienced, not limited to those most vulnerable to extreme heat, leading to serious illness or danger to life. Government advice is that 999 services should be used in emergencies only; seek advice from 111 if you need non-emergency health advice.
  • Substantial changes in working practices and daily routines will be required
  • High risk of failure of heat-sensitive systems and equipment, potentially leading to localised loss of power and other essential services, such as water or mobile phone services
  • Significantly more people visiting coastal areas, lakes and rivers, leading to an increased risk of water safety incidents
  • Delays on roads and road closures, along with delays and cancellations to rail and air travel, with significant welfare issues for those who experience even moderate delays.

Keep updated at: UK weather warnings – Met Office.