Staying Safe as lockdown restrictions ease slightly

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From Leeds City Council:

“We are working hard to make sure the city centre is ready to reopen on 15 June, and the safety of those returning to the city remains our biggest priority.

In the meantime there are lots of things you can do to stay safe when travelling in and around Leeds

No photo description available.

Before you use public transport consider whether it is necessary. Instead you could reduce pressure on public transport by walking if possible.

If it is necessary to use public transport, plan ahead and look for the most direct route.

Public transport capacity is limited and will be running to maximum 20% occupancy. Delays and longer waiting times will be expected so please only use public transport if this is really necessary.

If you do have to use public transport you should allow more time for your journey and;
Wear a face covering and carry hand sanitiser- From 15 June, face coverings will be required while using public transport (bus, coach, train, tram, ferry and aircraft passengers). There will be exceptions for very young children, individuals with disabilities and those with breathing difficulties
Pay by contactless if you can;
Maintain social distancing;
Wash your hands before and after travel;
Follow instructions from transport staff.”

National Theatre at Home

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Showing this week: The Madness of George III.
The acclaimed Nottingham Playhouse production of Alan Bennett’s award-winning drama, with Mark Gatiss and directed by Adam Penford, is streaming from 7pm tonight and until 7pm Thursday 18 June

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fofiKCV9wGc

“1788. King George III is the most powerful man in the world. But with his mind unravelling at a dramatic pace, ambitious politicians and a scheming prince threaten to undermine the power of the crown.

The Madness of George III is written by one of Britain’s best-loved playwrights, Alan Bennett ”

The running time is 2 hours 10 minutes with a very short interval. BBFC rating for cinemas: 12A.

Shared moments: ‘Snapshots in times past’ written by Ben Anson

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Dear all

I seem to find myself walking along Woodhouse Ridge a lot in these Covid times..I remember the summer of 73 working as an assistant gardener..There were three full time asistant gardeners and a head gardener in those days..As I was pondering about this whilst out strolling on the aforementioned Ridge an oncoming pedestrian gave me a wide birth as she passed..Coronavirus rules I guess but suddenly ….I had Madeleine moment!..in other words I was suddenly transported back in time like Jimmy and his Magic Patch in the Beano..
My first day as a gardener on the Ridge..7.30 am start..first job of the day go out and litter pick and sweep the path..As members of the public passed I cried out a friendly hello, good morning’nice day but everyone gave me a wide berth and scuttled past without saying a word..I mentioned this to Brian another gardener later in the day.
“Oh that’s Jack’s little joke “he said
Jack was the head gardener by the way.
“What do you mean Jack’s little joke?”
“Well”said Brian “Jack told folk last week there’s a new bloke starting on Monday but don’t go near him because he can be a bit funny…”
” You’re joking!”
“No .He told them you had been working in Roundhay Park but you kept wandering off to the woods and drinking meths so they sent you to Woodhouse where he’d be able to keep an eye on you..Jack usually tells you himself eventually ..one of his ways of keeping himself amused..He told everyone to stay clear of me when I first started said I had head lice and fleas..”
“Well what did he say about Braham?”(he was the other gardener.)
“I don’t know he won’t tell me but blushes whenever I ask”
Ah happy days..as they say…take care and keep your distance..ben

Written by Ben Anson

This made me smile Ben, thank you so much, until next time…..

Poetry Corner: ‘Missing You’ by Bronia Sawyer – 10th June 2020

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Dear all
Missing You

I wish I could sit on your sofa
and half chat while we watched the tv
I wish we could sit and play scrabble
or have cake and a nice cup of tea
I wish we could sit in your garden
and talk about the plants and the weeds
watching the flowers all blooming
visited by sweet honey bee’s
I wish I could come for a visit
and hug when we met at the door
I wish we could sit on your sofa
the way that we used to before

Oliver…going viral written by Oliver Cross

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Dear all,

I think if I could live my life again, and was granted some additional brains, I would have become a virologist.

Then, after a useful and interesting working life, during which most people changed the subject if I tried to talk about my profession, I would suddenly have become as in-demand as, for example, Benedict Cumberbatch or a modestly-priced plumber – and it’s possible that Benedict Cumberbatch, in view of the reduced lockdown opportunities for actors, might decide to retrain as a plumber, which would make him a winner twice over.

Anyway, experts such as the assistant professor of virology (retd.) at the University of Seacroft can now make a first-class living telling us about the microscopic life that shapes all our lives, although we don’t recognise it under normal circumstances and, under normal circumstances, we don’t mistake virologists for media stars.

This is how things have been turned upside-down by the coronavirus; when we worried about the natural world, it was mainly about large endangered mammals such as white rhinos or pandas; now it’s about something so small that it takes a specialist to measure the difference between it and nothing at all.

Somewhere between the two, size-wise, is the Asian (also called the Indian) hornet, an ugly brute which enjoys eating our lovely English honey bees and is at present attempting to invade us from the Channel Islands (all together now: ‘Who do you think you are kidding Mr Hitler…’).

This has been rather overlooked during the bigger crisis, even though Asian hornets can – extremely rarely – kill humans, which is why The Sun calls them Murder Hornets, presumably on a par with Murder Falling Meteorites or Murder Loose Paving Stones.

Even worse, a hornet invasion, says The Sun, would cause ‘a staggering’  £7.6m in damage. Since the 2008 financial crash, I’ve given up being staggered by anything , so I feel quite relaxed about the Murder Hornets grabbing £7.6m, which might otherwise have bought  half a small primary school or taken you, at £307m a mile by official estimates, on a very short trip  along the proposed HS2 rail line.

The banking crash apparently cost us all £7.4 trillion in lost output alone, which is close to a million times less than the cost of the Murder Hornets, not that numbers, when they reach these heights, are comprehensible to the non-specialist, however much they may ruin our lives.

Coronavirus  particles, says Google, have diameters of  approximately 0.125 microns, which I find as impossible to picture as a trillion pounds, not being a virologist or a banker.

Written by Oliver Cross

Thank you once again Oliver for sharing this with us….until next time

‘Monday Mind Workout’ Answers for 8th June 2020

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Dear all

This week’s answers are:

General knowledge

1] Which motorway runs direct from London to Leeds? M1

2] What is the highest peak in England? Sca Fell pike

3] Who was the prime minister when Elizabeth 11 was crowned? Winston Churchill

4] In which county is Barnard Castle? County Durham

Music

1] Who had a hit with “Does Your Chewing gum Lose Its Flavour?” in 1959 – Lonnie Donegan

2] Who wrote the music for “Swan Lake”? Tchaikovsky

3] What kind of instrument is a bassoon? Wind instrument

4] How many weeks was the Beatles record “From Me To You” at No1 in the charts? 5, 6 or 7?  7

TV

1] In which fictional town was the sitcom Dad’s Army set? Walmington-on-Sea

2] Which actor portrayed Inspector Morse? John Thaw

3] In what year did long-running children’s programme Blue Peter first broadcast in the UK? 1958? 1959? 1960? – 1958

4] Which member of The Beatles narrated the first series of Thomas the Tank Engine on TV?  Ringo Starr

Food and drink

1] What are the two main ingredients of a “Bloody Mary” cocktail?  Vodka and tomato juice

2] What percentage of a mushroom is water? 50, 75 or 90?  90%

3]  What is Ravioli?  Small envelopes of pasta with a filling

4] How many segments are inside most oranges? 10

21st Century

1] Which non-European country competed in the Eurovision Song Contest for the 1st time in 2015?   Australia

2] Nelson Mandela died in December 2013. How old was he? 90 , 93 or 95?  95

3] What has been banned across England since July 1st 2007  Smoking in public places

4] Which country voted against independence in 2014?  Scotland

How did you do? My score was terrible yet I have managed Sca Fell Pike 🙂

‘Woodhouse, Little London and parts of Leeds Centre Sewing Bee challenge!’

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Dear all,

Calling on budding sewers, do it yourself type folk, and experienced ones too. Is anyone up for a challenge to make some face masks for us to share with our friends and neighbours who need them? Fancy patterns welcome 🙂
I will be attempting to make some myself yet all offers of help would be welcome as this is not one of my strong points. We are not looking for perfection (so yesterday…..), just good enough. They need to be made from washable material. I have noted two links below that offer some guidance. Please get in touch if you are up for it, or if you have already made some then we would love for you to share some of your success and skills. email: lisa@caringtogether.org.uk or call on 07436 530073

‘Monday Mind Workout’ – Monday 8th June 2020

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Dear all

This week’s ‘Monday Mind Workout’ is kindly shared with us by Lynne for you to ponder over whilst having your mid morning cuppa. Best of luck!

General knowledge

1] Which motorway runs direct from London to Leeds?

2] What is the highest peak in England?

3] Who was the prime minister when Elizabeth 11 was crowned?

4] In which county is Barnard Castle?

Music

1] Who had a hit with “Does Your Chewing gum Lose Its Flavour?” in 1959

2] Who wrote the music for “Swan Lake”?

3] What kind of instrument is a bassoon?

4] How many weeks was the Beatles record “From Me To You” at No1 in the charts? 5, 6 or 7?

TV

1] In which fictional town was the sitcom Dad’s Army set?

2] Which actor portrayed Inspector Morse?

3] In what year did long-running children’s programme Blue Peter first broadcast in the UK? 1958? 1959? 1960?

4] Which member of The Beatles narrated the first series of Thomas the Tank Engine on TV?

Food and drink

1] What are the two main ingredients of a “Bloody Mary” cocktail?

2] What percentage of a mushroom is water? 50, 75 or 90?

3]  What is Ravioli?

4] How many segments are inside most oranges?

21st Century

1] Which non-European country competed in the Eurovision Song Contest for the 1st time in 2015?

2] Nelson Mandela died in December 2013. How old was he? 90 , 93 or 95?

3] What has been banned across England since July 1st 2007

4] Which country voted against independence in 2014?

Thank you Lynne 🙂

Answers to follow tomorrow

Leeds Playhouse – Night of the Living Dead REMIX

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An imitating the dog and Leeds Playhouse Co-production

“Seven strangers take refuge from flesh eating ‘ghouls’ in an isolated farmhouse. As the night draws in, their situation becomes desperate, hope turns to despair, and the picket-fence American dream is smashed apart.

Seven performers enter the stage armed with cameras. Can they recreate the film, shot-for-shot before our eyes, using whatever they can lay their hands on?

50 years after the release of George A.Romero’s politically charged zombie movie, imitating the dog and Leeds Playhouse create a love-song to the original 1960s film, retelling it as a searing story for now.

NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD ™ – REMIX, the live stage show, was presented by courtesy of Image Ten, Inc. The production opened at Leeds Playhouse on 28th January 2020 and toured UK venues until 14th March 2020, when the tour came to an early end when restrictions were put in place due to Coronavirus. This recording was filmed during dress rehearsal at Leeds Playhouse in January 2020. This film has been spliced together out of different recordings made during dress rehearsals at Leeds Playhouse in January 2020 so please excuse any slight audio-video sync issues. We hope you enjoy it.”

Follow this link to stream the show online: https://www.imitatingthedog.co.uk/watch-living-dead/

 

WE ARE ONE: A Global Film festival

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A film festival like never before. Curated by 20 international film festivals and bringing films from around the globe for you to watch on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cft-wyhxl84

Each film has a first screening at a scheduled time but most are available to view for a time after. Full schedule can be seen here: http://www.weareoneglobalfestival.com/