Dear all,

Please find below a link to the West Yorkshire Trading Standards Newsletter Scam Alert. This weekly alert will outline trending fraud patterns during the current COVID-19 pandemic and what we can do to stay protected. Unfortunately there has been an increase in reports of scams, doorstep Crime and business complaints all relating to the COVID-19 pandemic here in West Yorkshire. This news alert will give you an indication of the current situation here in West Yorkshire.

Newsletter: WYTS news alert issue 3 17.04.2020

Last week, (06/04/2020 – 12/04/2020) WYTS had 103 COVID-19 complaints and queries. A further 47 intelligence reports were submitted through our intelligence database relating to COVID-19 during this time period.

“THE three-day week happened between January and March, 1974, as I’ve just found out from Google, although I was 24 at the time and should have been able to remember it without consulting something that hadn’t yet been invented.

But things that seemed tremendously memorable at the time can fade. I could remember that the three-day week was daily described as unprecedented and historic and that it had something to do with the price of oil, the wages of miners and Mr Heath and Mr Wilson.

The only image that has stayed with me, though, is of an impromptu visit to a pub in Liverpool. There was a power cut that night and the pub was running entirely on candlelight and pre-electronic tills (the introduction of electronic tills having been followed a few weeks later by the introduction of  Google  – or so it seems  when you get to my age).

The pub was heaving with Liverpudlians loudly displaying their sadly   unquenchable spirit under difficult circumstances, as is their wont. It was a kind of Jimmy Tarbuck Hell and I think the trauma of it may have caused me to confuse the Three-day Week with the Winter of Discontent (1978-9), or some other event which we thought would change our lives for ever, although we’ve since forgotten exactly why.

It would be good if we could, a few decades hence, absorb the coronavirus crisis  into that list of things we can look back on with equanimity, which is to say  a laugh or a shrug.

But this, with  a few exceptions – football on the  Somme, the Blitz Spirit or Guy Fawkes Night  for example –  this isn’t appropriate when it involves the deaths of many people, particularly you or me.

I  TALKED a few days ago about my glum and paranoid  cat Kitty, who has now become the only cat on the block not alarmed by some suggestions that cats should be put in lockdown as a coronavirus precaution.

Kitty only ventures outside as a result of being thrown through the back door or because we are enjoying the garden sunshine and she wants to check we’re not plotting something behind her back.

Even then, she doesn’t get too close, having decided unilaterally that a safe distance between herself and other life forms is roughly 2 meters, or 6.561 feet.”

Oliver Cross, Caring Together member kindly sharing a little more with us all. 

“Wondering how to pass the time?….why not take up painting and create that masterpiece you’ve always been meaning to do”

Ben, Caring Together member and volunteer

Check out Gary Barlow’s ‘Crooner Sessions’ every week day at 5pm

He links up with a different artist each time. Check out his twitter account to catch them all from the start.

https://twitter.com/garybarlow?lang=en

Anagrams are words that contain the same letters but arranged in a different order. For example, act is an anagram of cat. The answers to the clues below are anagram pairs.

“Hello everyone, first of all I hope you are all well.

For those of you who I’ve not yet met, I am a Police Community Support Officer, with 11 years of service, working predominantly in the Woodhouse and Little London area of Leeds. I have met many people through Caring Together and delivered a number of crime prevention talks to their regular groups. I have also enjoyed many social gatherings over the years and especially love the ones with tea and cake!

We are currently working a little differently, whilst still trying to deliver our messages. Social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, is a useful tool at this time, and lots of other information is also available online.

It’s been a trying few weeks with the changes that we have had to endure. I understand the emotional and physical impact that this pandemic is having on people. Looking out for each other with a wave (from a safe distance) and making phone calls does make a massive difference to someone who is normally used to lots of social contact. Hopefully by taking the necessary measures around social distancing, and for some, 12 weeks of shielding, we will continue to stay well and keep safe. Staying in doors will help to stop the spread of the virus and play a part in protecting the healthcare system and save lives. 

I look forward to a time when we can all sit together with a cuppa for a proper chat. 

I have added some links that you may find useful but if you have any other concerns please the Caring Together team.

Scams https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/uk/consumer-advice/a31702083/coronavirus-scams-fraud/

https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/alert/coronavirus-scam-costs-victims-over-800k-in-one-month

Report a crime https://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/report-it

General Crime preventionhttps://www.westyorkshire.police.uk/advice/10-principles-crime-prevention/10-principles-crime-prevention/10-principles-crime-prevention

Social distancing https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-guidance-on-social-distancing-and-for-vulnerable-people/guidance-on-social-distancing-for-everyone-in-the-uk-and-protecting-older-people-and-vulnerable-adults

Facebook www.facebook.com/wypleedsnorthwest

Twitter www.twitter.com/wyp_leedsnw

Best wishes to you and you families. Stay safe.

PCSO Sam Pemberton

To report a crime, please ring 101. Always dial 999 in an emergency.

Day to day living in lock down. Our members wanted to share a bit of what they have been up to. For some they have been baking as we have already mentioned. For others its completing sudoku, art work, gardening, listening to the radio, face time with family and friends, writing, being challenged by exceptionally difficult jigsaws and exercise that includes walking from one room to the other. And a few have talked about doing knitting and crafts for others.

One member said she was currently knitting scarves for our bingo box (for when we are back) and sleeves and blankets for premature babies in Leeds.  And another member is knitting outfits for newborns. I have seen some of these items prior to us sadly having to go into lock down and they were beautiful. And finally another of our members is currently whiling away her time making Christmas cards with hand stitched designs for us for later in the year. I have put a picture below of some she had already given us. Everything is made with such care and attention to detail and love. We appreciate this immensely, as I know the community does too. We look forward to seeing the others once things have settled.