‘Monday Mind Workout’ – Monday 2nd November 2020

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Dear all,

Happy November! Grab a mug of whatever you enjoy and get ready for our November-themed workout to find out how well you know the 11th month…

  1. Can you fill in the blank?Remember, remember the fifth of November,Gunpowder _______ and plot.  

a) Veggies    b) Explosions   c)Treason

 2.Who was the ringleader of the gunpowder plot?   
a) Guy Fawkes   b) Robert Catesby   c) James Tenick

3. What are the birthstones of November?

a) Peridot and spinal b) Pearl and Alexandrite c) Topaz and Citrine

4.On the 13th of November John Montagu was born… But what was named after him?

a) The Bus     b) The Sandwich      c) The Speedboat

5. Who had a hit  with ‘November Rain’?

6. November was originally the ninth month?

True or False

7. Bonfire Night is celebrated on the 5th of November, but in which year was the Gunpowder Plot?

a) 1405      b) 1505     c) 1605

8. November has always had 30 days

True or False

9. How many times was November mentioned in Shakespeare’s work?

a) 1     b) 10     c) 0

10. What is it you are supposed to grow in November?

a) Carrots      b) A beard      c) Parsley

11. On November 22, 1990, which British Prime Minister  resigned after 11 years in office, the longest term of any British Prime Minister in the 20th century?

12.If you were born on the 26th November, what would your Zodiac sign be?

a) Leo     b) Sagittarius       c) Capricorn     d) Gemini

13. Which famous British children’s author was born in November?

a) Ian Fleming       b) C S Lewis        c) Edgar Rice Burroughs      d) Charles Dickens

14.Up until 1959, it was illegal to not celebrate Bonfire Night in the UK

True or False.

15. Which century were fireworks invented?

a) 10th     b) 12th      c) 14th      d) 15th

Below are 5 firework anagrams:

16.WHEEL IN TEACHER (9,5)

17. REP LARKS (8)

18.  NORMAL DANCE (5,6)

19. CAMP JUNK JIG (7,4)

20. A FUNNEL VISITOR (6,8)

Online talk “Transport Policy in West Yorkshire”

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If you have an interest in transport in the region both how it’s working during the current covid crisis and the future plans you can attend this Café Economique talk on Zoom to hear more and have an opportunity to ask questions

Photo by simon follin on Unsplash

Speakers:

Liz Hunter is currently the Head of Transport Policy at the West Yorkshire Combined Authority

Councillor Kim Groves has been Chair of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority’s Transport Committee since June 2018 working to improve public transport in West Yorkshire.

Be it tackling the climate emergency, enabling inclusive growth or boasting productivity – transport has a role to play. Our speakers, Liz Hunter  and Kim Groves, will talk about  the very immediate transport challenges during the Covid19 pandemic and the investments which are already being worked on as well as looking to the future of transport for the region from the major schemes such as High Speed Two and Northern Powerhouse Rail to the regional and local connectivity needs.

This talk is organized by Café Économique, as part of a monthly series of talks and debates on current social, economic and environmental topics. There will be opportunities for questions after each talk.

PLEASE NOTE

Due to Covid 19, the talk will be online using zoom. Anyone wishing to join the talk needs to join the Café Economique members’ list  by emailing a request to: cafeeconomiqueleeds2019@gmail.com.

A zoom link and password will be sent to the email list close to the date of the talk.

New National Covid Restrictions from Thursday

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Following the Prime Ministers announcement last night, we will try to summarise the new rules as they apply to our area:

1.The announcement of the new rules means that West Yorkshire will NOT move to Tier 3 on Monday.

West Yorkshire Council Leaders said “​For our residents and businesses, we must clear up understandable confusion: the region will now NOT be moving into Tier Three (Very High) measures on Monday as planned; we will remain in Tier Two (High) restrictions, and then follow the national measures from Thursday 5 November until Wednesday 2 December.”  Full statement from the council leaders is here: West Yorkshire Council Leaders Statement 31st October

2. From Thursday the national measures will apply – a summary is below

  • People will be told to stay at home except for education, work (if it can’t be done from home), exercise and recreation, medical reasons, shopping for food and other essentials, or to care for others
  • All pubs and restaurants will have to close (takeaways and deliveries can continue)
  • All non-essential shops will have to close (supermarkets can sell non-essential goods)
  • Households will not be allowed to mix with others indoors, or in private gardens
  • Individuals can meet one person from outside their household in an outside public space
  • Support bubbles for people who live alone and households made up of single parents and children can continue
  • Children will be able to move between homes if their parents are separated
  • Schools, colleges and universities will remain open
  • Workplaces will be asked to stay open if people cannot work from home – including construction and manufacturing
  • Outdoor exercise and recreation will be allowed, but gyms will have to close
  • Shielding as practised in the spring will not currently be reintroduced. The clinically vulnerable, or those over the age of 60, should be especially careful to follow the rules and minimise contacts with others. Those who are clinically extremely vulnerable should not only minimise their contacts with others, but also not go to work if they are unable to work from home.

Full government rules and guidance is here https://www.gov.uk/guidance/new-national-restrictions-from-5-november

3. After 2 December, different regions will return to the tiers one to three, depending upon the rates of infection.

This is all subject to approval by Parliament when they vote on Wednesday

Letters from a Generation Dreaming – online event 4th November

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Wednesday 4th November 7pm-8pm

Letters from a Generation Dreaming follows on from the sell-out Windrush Day event, Generations Dreaming. It will feature extracts from the musical Sorrel & Black Cake, discussion around the significance of letters and a live musical performance.

Letters have been used to connect African-Caribbean families and friends for generations. Letters pass on joy, grief, opinions, advice and instructions. They document lives.

Join Khadijah Ibrahiim and Emily Zobel Marshall as they explore the value of letter-writing in passing on family history and cultural traditions.

To book tickets: https://www.gcfoundation.co.uk/Event/letters-from-a-generation-dreaming

This is an online event and will take place on Zoom. Please book a ticket and you will be sent the details for how to join the event. Tickets to the event are free but there is an option to donate to the Geraldine Connor Foundation if you wish to https://www.gcfoundation.co.uk/about-us

Four black and white photos on a yellow background. Three photos feature family members and one is a pen lying on a piece of paper.

Shiver Fest – Virtual Halloween Book Festival

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STARTING FROM 10AM TO 6PM SATURDAY 31st October:

Shiver Fest is a Halloween book festival that encompasses thrillers, horror and ghostly cooking. Do you dare let it into your home?

The line-up includes authors: Allie Reynolds, CD Major, T.J. Payne, Laura Purcell and Matt Ruff, SJ Watson, Helena Garcia, Isabel Ashdown, Lisa Howells & Louise O’Neill.

Enjoy the treat with these direct to Theatre links and invite the authors into your home – if you dare!

All FREE!  You do have to register with My Virtual Literature Festival in order to access this event – this is also free at https://myvlf.com/  . Once registered click on the shiverfest poster in the virtual lobby or you can see more details about each of the events here and the authors taking part here:  https://myvlf.com/blog/shiverfest-october-31st

10am: CD Major
11am: Headline panel: Allie Reynolds, Louise O’Neill, & Isabel Ashdown
12pm: SJ Watson
2pm: Laura Purcell
3pm: The Wicked Baker – Helena Garcia
4pm: TJ Payne
5pm: Matt Ruff

Midnight Tango – The Shows Must Go On this weekend

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The Shows Must Go On this weekend brings us Strictly Come Dancing’s Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace with their hit show ‘Midnight Tango’

Showing from 7pm tonight (Fri 30th) and then available to view for 48hrs

Midnight Tango: Vincent Simone and Flavia Cacace have dazzled television audiences for six series of the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing with their stunning Tango routines. Now they have created their own live show – Midnight Tango – a breathtaking evening bringing all the drama, sensuality and elegance of this most exciting of dance forms to life.

Set in a late night bar in downtown Buenos Aires and featuring some of the finest Tango dancers in the world, Midnight Tango, takes you on a journey into the heart of this intoxicating city. As danger and excitement, joy and jealousy, pain and passion all combine – this is a spectacular and explosive evening not to be missed!

Joggers and drinkers: what a day in the life of a Leeds park tells us about modern Britain

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During lockdown, parks became more important to us than ever – as gyms, pubs and nightclubs. From dawn to dusk at Woodhouse Moor, is so essential now.

If you have not seen this already please click on the link below an article in The Guardian from late September 2020.

https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2020/sep/29/joggers-and-drinkers-what-a-day-in-the-life-of-a-leeds-park-tells-us-about-modern-britain?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other

Joggers and drinkers: what a day in the life of a Leeds park tells us about modern Britain

Musings of Oliver Cross: ‘Who will be Second?’

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Dear all,

I’ve long, well since about the 1960s, been a close follower of  American politics, so I can remember the names of several defeated US presidential candidates without consulting Professor Google, which I think makes me Mr Geek.

Usually they were uninspiring party workhorses like George McGovern, Hubert Humphrey, Walter Mondale, Michael Dukakis (cousin of the more famous film actress, Olympia Dukakis) or Bob Dole and made little lasting impression on non-geeks, even though coming second in the world’s most scrutinised and significant leadership election ought to be something to be remembered.

This time round, things might be different because the party workhouse candidate, trusty old Joe Biden, has a strong chance of avoiding  the runner-up position which, because it’s very hard to remove a sitting president, would be his expected fate if times were normal.

After 36 years in the senate and then eight as vice president, he can’t plausibly offer the nation a vision of a fresh beginning, as Kennedy, Reagan, Clinton and Obama (who are all big enough not to need forenames) did. Joe Biden’s slogan, although it doesn’t sound like an election-winner, would have to be something like: ‘At least I’m not a menace to public health.’

But President Trump, although he seems to have ballooned since his recovery from covid-19 (steroids?) isn’t about to be blown away by the ridicule of the liberal elite, who, judging by their failure to  combat the American right, have more in common with a bunch of wusses than with anything that deserves to be called an elite.

Trump’s great achievement is – I think through genius-level cunning rather than luck – to have built a base so solid that it’s like one of those heavy-bottomed tumble toys which, when you knock them down, stand straight up again, the grins still on their faces.

I imagine Democrat Party strategists might have convinced themselves over and over again that they had nailed the President, over, for example, hush money to Stormy Daniels, insults to war veterans, criminal convictions for some of his cronies and a trail of ludicrous lies starting with his inauguration and continuing through his imagined Nobel prize(s) and his apparently brilliant handling of the coronavirus pandemic.

But his support has barely shifted downwards since he was elected on a minority of the votes cast (which can happen quite legitimately under the American system) and is probably solid enough for him to wrangle a victory even if the opinion polls, which universally predict a Biden win, turn out to be wrong, or are overturned by presidential edict.

In which cast Joe Biden, a decent and intelligent man with decades of blameless public service (I don’t believe the lately-confected stories about his son’s business dealings) and some ideas on how to cope with a changing physical and economic landscape, will lose his hard-earned place in the public consciousness.

By contrast, Donald J Trump, whether he wins the election or not, will always get the attention he craves and demands.

Written by Oliver Cross

 

Further guidance from Leeds City Council as we move to Tier 3 restrictions

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Dear Resident,

Today we are sharing with you the latest guidance and restrictions to help control the spread of coronavirus in Leeds.

Latest updates to Leeds restrictions

The government has announced that from Monday 2 November, Leeds will move into the ‘very high’ COVID alert level (tier 3), with the latest seven day COVID-19 rate having risen to 416 per 100,000 people. The NHS is experiencing a significant increase in demands from the rise in COVID cases and we must all play our part to protect vital services.

Some of the restrictions are the same as those in tier 2, meaning it is still against the law to:

  • have guests inside your home (unless you are in a support bubble)
  • go inside someone else’s home (in or outside of Leeds)
  • meet people you do not live with outside your household or support bubble in any indoor venue (in or outside of Leeds)

Additional tier 3 restrictions mean it is now also against the law to:

  • meet with people you do not live with outside your household or support bubble in private gardens

The Rule of Six applies at all tier levels, so as before you should not meet with more than 5 other people outside in public spaces (such as parks or the countryside).

You must also now:

  • avoid travelling outside of Leeds, unless this is for essential travel such as for work, education or for caring responsibilities.

The new government restrictions mean that, from Monday 2 November, certain businesses will be ordered to close. This includes:

  • Pubs and bars unless serving alcohol with a substantial meal. All venues that remain open are still subject to the 10pm curfew
  • Betting shops, adult gaming centres and casinos
  • Soft play centres
  • Car boot sales
  • Indoor exercise classes should not take place, however gyms will remain open
  • Shisha bars must not serve shisha, but may operate as cafes

In addition to the above, wedding ceremonies with up to 15 people are permitted but receptions are not. Funerals are permitted up to 30 people.

Shops, schools and universities will remain open.

Playing your part in reducing the spread of coronavirus

We all have an important role to play to reduce the rising infection rates and we can all do our part to stay safe and save lives. Reducing contact with other people outside of your household across all settings is crucial to stopping the spread of the virus and bringing our infection rates down. The less people you come into contact with, the less chance there is of the virus spreading. We can all help to break the chain and reduce the R rate through:

  • Limiting the number of people outside our households we come into contact with
  • Making space and staying 2m from people outside our households or support bubble
  • Washing hands regularly and for 20 seconds
  • Covering faces in enclosed spaces
  • Isolating when you need to or are advised to

 

Shielding advice

Although Leeds has moved into the ‘very high’ tier, residents who were told to shield during the first wave of the pandemic do not need to shield at home but should take extra care to stay safe and follow government restrictions.

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