Author Archives: Caring Together

Wednesday 12th May 2021: Mass Observation Day

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Would you like to keep a one-day diary for Mass Observation?

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On the 12th May 2021, the Mass Observation Archive will be repeating its annual call for day diaries, capturing the everyday lives of people across the UK. The written diaries will be stored in the Archive at The Keep and be used by a wide range of people for research, teaching and learning.

In 1937 Mass Observation called for people from all parts of the UK to record everything they did from when they woke up in the morning to when they went to sleep at night on 12th May. This was the day of George VI’s Coronation. The resulting diaries provide a wonderful glimpse into the everyday lives of people across Britain and have become an invaluable resource for those researching countless aspects of the era.

We don’t know how life will be on the 12th May, but we would like your help to document it. Please tell your family and friends. It will be valuable to have a collection from people of all ages across the UK.

Last year we received over 5000 diaries.

We would love to hear from you again to find out how your life is a year on.

We understand it has been a very difficult year and we were touched that so many people chose to share their stories with Mass Observation.

If you didn’t send a diary in last year, why not join in this year and tell us about your life now in 2021?

Diaries can record 12th May and reflect back over the past year and look forward to the future and life beyond this year.

Share your lives, your hopes and your dreams with Mass Observation for future generations.

All details about how to take part are here: http://www.massobs.org.uk/write-for-us/12th-may

Over 5000 diaries were sent in last year and there are a series of short films reflecting some of the themes here http://www.massobs.org.uk/learning/12th-may-resources

Dying Matters Week 10-16 May 2021

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Dying Matters Leeds
This year the Dying Matters Awareness Week theme is focusing on the importance of being ‘in a good place to die‘. Where people die is changing. More people than ever are dying at home, and the pandemic has accelerated this trend. In 2020, 28% of people in the UK died at home.
With gaps in support structures for people when they die, and for those that are left behind, people are dying without being in the right place. Often, people don’t feel prepared and they haven’t fulfilled their wishes or communicated them to loved ones.
Dying Matters Leeds want to raise the profile of the care that does exist and the benefit that it gives to dying people and their families. And to raise our voices to highlight what needs to change for people at the end of life.

There are a number of events happening this week around the theme- see below, and there is always lots of advice information and sources of support on the Dying Matter Leeds website: http://dyingmattersleeds.org/

Leeds Bereavement Forum
Leeds Bereavement Forum is holding a virtual Death Café on Tuesday 11 May at 2pm. For more details please visit their website. http://lbforum.org.uk/…/leeds-bereavement-forum-dying…/
Full Circle Funerals
Tuesday 11 May at 11am and Thursday 13 May at 6.30pm

Full Circle Funerals is hosting two Facebook Live events called “Time to Remember and Light a Candle” – people can send in poems to be read, or simply join us at the time and ask for someone to be remembered – https://fb.me/e/6YtLN9omB

For further details, please visit their Facebook page
Friday 14 May at 11am.
“I am a mum of four, but only two walk beside me.”
Guest speaker – Natalie Dimelow – Natalie shares her personal experience of bereavement and how the work she is now doing to support others is part of her girls’ legacy. To join the webinar, please go to https://fullcirclefunerals.co.uk/learning-together/webinars/
Friday 14 May at 1pm
‘ Live instrumental “Golden Oldies” performance for people living with Dementia’ – details here https://www.facebook.com/events/352553276090768/ 
MESMAC
Thursday 20 May at 5.15pm and Sunday 20 June 11am
MESMAC are hosting a Death Café to encourage an open conversation about death. This is not a bereavement group, this group is to talk about death, anything from your experiences and thoughts on death to practical advice about death. There is no agenda and where the conversation goes is down to the participants. The link on the death café website for the first one is https://deathcafe.com/deathcafe/13293
Swan Song Project
Thursday 13 May at 7.30pm
The Swan Song Project invites you to join them for a Dying Matters special edition of their virtual singing group. The group meets virtually every Thursday evening on Zoom to share the joy of singing. All participants are muted (Due to time lagging issues with Zoom), the songs are taught using a vocal loop pedal meaning you can hear all of the harmonies and simply choose which one you would like to sing along with. As part of Dying Matters week their session on Thursday 13 May will be reflective in nature. Beautiful songs that can help us remember those we have lost and bring us closer to those with us.
The session is free to attend and you can register via eventbrite – https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/…/the-swan-song-project…
Leeds Museums and Galleries
Friday 14 May at 10am
“All that Remains: Death and Dying in the Museum” will go live on Leeds Museums and Galleries’ YouTube channel on Friday 14 May from 10am – link to be confirmed.

Local Councillors re-elected

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Election results are in for the two wards that include Caring Together:
Cllr Al Garthwaite has been re-elected in Headingley and Hyde Park and Cllr Javaid Akhtar has been re-elected in Little London and Woodhouse.

All our local councillors are supportive of Caring Together (Cllr Garthwaite is chair of our Trustees) and we look forward to continuing to work them.

Council results are coming in over the course of today and you can see them all here: https://www.leeds.gov.uk/…/leeds-city-council-election-resu…

Results of the West Yorkshire Mayoral election are expected tomorrow and will be available here: https://www.leeds.gov.uk/…/west-yorkshire-combined-authorit…

Election Day – make your vote count

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Today is the day!  In Leeds, local elections for Leeds City Council are taking place and also the first election for a Mayor of West Yorkshire.

Polling stations are open NOW until 10pm.
Many polling stations this year have changed due to Covid.
If you’re not sure where yours is go to https://wheredoivote.co.uk/

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You don’t need your polling card to go, just turn up to your polling station and give your name and address.
If you have a postal vote that you have not yet returned, if you complete the pack you can then drop it off at any polling station.
Remember that you will need a mask to enter.  Social distancing and other covid measures will be in place.

After The Interval and Before The Interval – a double bill from The Shows Must Go On

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After the Interval’ (2012) and its sequel ‘Before the Interval’ (2014), conceived and directed by Luca Silvestrini for award-winning HeadSpaceDance will be presented together for the first time giving you the chance to see them in their continuity.

‘After the Interval’ pins Silvestrini’s observational genius to satirising dancing life. A show about dance and dancers that opens with the performers’ curtain calls, who then answer audience questions, and continues with revivals of their past stage roles and steps. After the Interval brings to the fore the art of dance making and the backstage lives of dancers while celebrating Broom/Akrill’s 20 years joint career and the start of their company HeadSpaceDance.

After The Interval is available to watch now: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=02ZTS2eUCU4
And Before The Interval will be available from 7pm on Friday.

Legal challenge to inequality for ‘legacy benefits’

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This may apply to you if you are getting ESA or JSA or have been during the pandemic – since March 2020.

We will be keeping an eye on the outcomes and sharing information as we get it.

DWP court battle means millions could get £1,000 benefits back pay.:
People on older ‘legacy benefits’ could be in line for a payout as the Government faces a court benefits battle.
The legal fight centres on the £20 a week uplift given to people on Universal Credit at the start of the pandemic, The Mirror reports.
The payment didn’t go to those on older benefits, like employment support allowance (ESA), income support, and jobseekers’ allowance (JSA).
Many of those still claiming the older benefits are disabled, sick, or carers. According to Disability Rights UK, over 1.9million disabled people are still claiming ESA payments.
And this week, two recipients of ESA challenged this decision at the High Court for judicial review.
They argued it was discriminatory and unjustified to exclude people from higher payments just because their benefits were administered under an old system. On Thursday, the High Court agreed the issue could be arguably unlawful and will decide the case later this year.
The claimants have asked for the trial to be heard before the end of July 2021.
William Ford, of Osbornes Law, which is representing the claimants, said: “We are pursuing this legal challenge based on the proposition that the pandemic means those dependent upon basic allowances are facing higher basic living costs, and yet despite their very similar circumstances, only some of them receive a Covid-specific uplift to help meet those costs.
“This unfairness calls for a properly evidenced justification, particularly as almost 2 million disabled people are disproportionately affected by this decision and the pandemic generally. Thus far the Government has failed to provide any objectively verifiable reason for the difference in treatment of people in essentially identical circumstances.”
A DWP Spokesperson told The Mirror: “It has always been the case that claimants on legacy benefits can make a claim for Universal Credit if they believe that they will be better off.”
Helen Barnard of the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, said “everyone should have access to a strong social security system that protects them from harm when they are struggling to stay afloat.”
She added: “Disabled people and carers already face a greater risk of poverty, so there can be no justification for offering them less support than people claiming Universal Credit simply because they are in a different part of the system.
“Discrimination has no place in our social security system and every day we fail to act undermines public trust and intensifies hardship. Ministers must right this injustice by urgently extending the £20 increase to legacy benefits.

Check your polling station

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If you are planning to vote in person for the local and West Yorkshire Mayoral elections on Thursday, make sure you check where your polling station is – as it may not be the usual place.

Over 70 polling stations have moved from their usual locations during the coronavirus pandemic – check your poll card to see if yours is one of them or visit www.wheredoivote.co.uk/

For those who choose to vote in person, polling stations will be safe places to vote on 6 May.  Local election teams will be doing everything they can to ensure voting in person on polling day is safe for everyone. This means there will be safety measures in place at polling stations to prevent the spread of COVID-19, many of which you’ll be very familiar with!

  • There will be a limit to the number of people allowed in a polling station at any given time to allow for social distancing.
  • Please remember your face covering – you will need this to enter the polling station and will be expected to wear it throughout.
  • Make sure to sanitise your hands before and after voting. In many places, sanitiser will be available but it may be a good idea to carry your own!
  • Some polling stations will supply clean pencils for voters but it may be best to bring your own with you.
  • Polling Stations will be cleaned regularly by polling staff. You may need to wait while a booth is sanitised before you enter.
  • Polling Station staff may be working behind safety screens – this doesn’t mean you can’t ask for assistance if you require it!

With these new safety measures in place, it may take a little bit longer to vote than usual. Remember that if you are in the queue to vote before 10pm, you will still be able to vote even when polls officially close.

Voters are encouraged to keep themselves and others safe by:
• Wearing a face covering
• Bringing their own pen or pencil
• Cleaning their hands when entering and leaving the polling station
• Keeping a safe distance
Voters should not attend the polling station if they have symptoms of Covid-19, or if they have been asked to self-isolate. There will be provisions in place to apply for an emergency proxy vote if required due to health circumstances.

Polling stations are open from 7am to 10pm on Thursday May 6, 2021.

You don’t need your poll card to vote.

You must vote at your assigned polling station.

If you are registered to vote, but you don’t have your poll card, you can go to the polling station and give them your name and address.

In England, Wales and Scotland, you don’t need any form of ID. In Northern Ireland, you must bring photo ID.