We have been made aware of a man in van turning up at homes in Woodhouse & Little London saying he has been sent to do repairs, in an attempt to gain entry.
Please don’t let anyone in if you are not expecting a workperson to come and carry out repairs.
And even if you are expecting someone, please check ID, and call the company you were expecting, to check if you have any doubts.
‘This week is Neurodiversity Week which aims to bring about worldwide neurodiversity acceptance, equality and inclusion in school, workplaces and community. It gives us some space to take a moment in the year to recognise all members of the neurodivergent community and celebrate the every day experiences and strengths of diverse thinkers’
See below for some stories and then below some events happening online this week
https://www.neurodiversityweek.com/events
They’ve created a diverse schedule of events for you to enjoy during Neurodiversity Celebration Week 2022! From introductory webinars, panel discussions and more, our wide range of events aim to educate and encourage conversations around neurodiversity, providing a safe space where you can join thousands of people in celebrating different minds.
All events are free of charge.
Please note that these events are not being recorded, to encourage our participants to speak openly about their personal stories and experiences
We are sharing some advice from Leeds NHS around older people keeping safe and concerns they may have as restrictions come to an end. Key points are below and you can read more at https://www.leedsccg.nhs.uk/health/coronavirus/take-care-of-you/
“As we enter a new phase of living with the virus we would like to share with you some key advice and messages that may make you feel a bit safer and secure, when adjusting to new guidance. We know many older people may have had difficult experiences during the pandemic and we would like you to know we are here to offer advice and signposting.
COVID-19 continues to be a feature of our lives, so this next phase is around learning to live with it and managing the risk to ourselves and others.
Rates of COVID-19 infection are high and we should all continue to be cautious, help to reduce the risk of spread and protect people at highest risk of serious illness.
If you have not yet had your vaccine, we are here to support you whenever you are ready.
You are no longer legally required to wear a mask, social distance or self-isolate, but our advice is to continue to wear a mask in enclosed and crowded spaces such as public transport and health and care settings. Public Health advice still recommends self-isolation if you test positive for COVID-19.
If you are still working you no longer need to work from home.
Where possible, meet outdoors and let fresh air into homes and other enclosed spaces.
Many people will be excited about the return to the way things were before COVID-19, whilst others, may be more cautious.
Please get both doses of the vaccine and the COVID-19 booster if you are eligible to make sure you have the highest level of protection.
It is also important to reduce the risk of spread by washing hands, getting tested if you have symptoms, and isolating if advised to do so.
We want to make the advice as relevant and as clear as possible. We have created these Top Tips for you to use:
If you wish to wear one, keep a mask handy – in a purse, pocket, the car or your bag
Do keep washing your hands for 20 seconds or more
Remember to carry some hand sanitiser and use it regularly
Avoid busy, indoor spaces and meet outside if you wish
Take an extra step – try to keep some distance from others where you can
Let the fresh air in – open more windows or sit near a door
Please ask friends and family to take a lateral flow test before they visit you
Please ask family members to take extra care and follow the hands, face, space guidance if you are helping out with child-care or going on trips.
What a fun and uplifting musical trip down memory lane this afternoon. We are back next week Wednesday 16th March 2022 at 1.30pm till 3pm, and Wednesday 23rd March at Little London Community Centre, Oatland Lane, Little London LS7 1HF if you wish to pop along. Thank you @luumusicimpactinthecommunity
Our local councillors for Headingley and Hyde Park ward (which also covers most of Woodhouse) will be holding their monthly Woodhouse advice surgery at our premises tomorrow.
They will be at Caring Together on Charing Cross shopping centre (Woodhouse Street, LS6 2PY – across from the Londis shop/Post Office) from 5pm – 6pm, Tuesday 8th March
Any resident who needs help or advice from the councillors is welcome to come along at this time.
Our latest Newsletter is here, along with inserts detailing some upcoming activities and special get-togethers:
Issue-95-Spring-2022 Nature-Filled-Spring-Get-Together-2022 Skills-Share-March-April-May-and-June-2022 Platinum-Jubliee-Get-Together-2022
Leeds Lit Fest starts today and runs until 6th March. The city’s award winning festival of words and thought returns for its fourth year and there is a mixture of online and in person events. Many of these are free or pay as you feel.
It will include author talks, a literary quiz, songs from the commoners choir, storytelling, writers workshops, movie nights and lots more
You can see all the events here https://www.leedsinspired.co.uk/collection/leeds-lit-fest-2022 or visit the website for lots more information www.leedslitfest.co.uk
The next online event from M&S is tomorrow
Friday 25th February at 12.30-1pm
M&S on Film: Marketing M&S! Adverts, adverts and more adverts, looking at how cinema and TV were used to market products. Exploring the history of M&S advertising through archive film collection, from Swinging Sixties cinema adverts to iconic food campaigns.
Online Event
This is a pre-recorded talk featuring original archive images introduced by the Archivist, who will be available to respond to questions during and following the talk.
Running time – 30 minutes.
Click here to join the event, the talk will start automatically at 12.30pm.
Visit the M&S Archive website https://marksintime.marksandspencer.com
Earlier this week the government annouced it’s ‘Living with Covid’ plan meaning that almost all of the covid rules have now been relaxed.
From today it will no longer be a legal requirement to self isolate if you test positive for Covid 19, however the guidance is still to stay at home and avoid contact with others to prevent spreading the virus.
Covid is still around and while the legal restrictions are no longer in place the advice, from government and, emphatically, from health experts is to continue to take precautions to keep yourself and others safe
From 1st April free lateral flow tests will no longer be available. In the meantime you can still get free lateral flow tests online at https://www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests for home delivery (note you can now only order once every 3 days) or https://test-for-coronavirus.service.gov.uk/collect-lateral-flow-kits to collect from a pharmacy. You can also call 119 to get lateral flow tests.
Also from 1st April, not everyone will be able to book a PCR test if they have symptoms. Tests will still be available for some vulnerable groups, likely to include over 80s and people who are immunosuppressed. The exact list is still being drawn up.
Part of LBGTQ+ history month, Leeds City Museum are hosting a full day live and free event.
OUTing the Past is an international celebration of LGBT+ history and includes an excellent programme of speakers covering a wide range of LGBT+ topics.
The event is free to join via Zoom, you need to register here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/outing-the-past-2022-tickets-244338772847
You can also find other events going on this month https://www.leedsinspired.co.uk/collection/lgbt-history-month-leeds
OUTing the Past: Leeds Event Programme
Saturday 12 February 2022
09:50-10:00 Welcome and Introduction to Outing The Past – Leeds.
Councillor Hannah Bithell
10:00-10:30 Alex Holmes (she/her)
The Secret Lives of Scientists. LGBTQ+ representation and inclusion in the sciences has historically been erased or kept separate from the work and knowledge. This continues now with calls to keep science away from politics and topical conversation, but identity- either those doing the science or those having science done unto them – is key in the scientific process, interpretation of results and how they are fed into the wider community.
Interlude
10:40-11:10 Luna Morgana (she/her)
The Gallus of Catterick. The Gallus of Catterick was an ancient roman trans woman whose remains were discovered in 1982. Join us for a journey through how she would have lived in 4th Century AD Britain.
Interlude
11:20-11:50 Tilen Kolar (he/him)
Queer Memorials: disrupted space-time. Queer memorials bring past, present and future together – they disrupt heteronormative public spaces. This presentation will reveal some of the reflections from the fieldwork in Amsterdam – how activists and everyday users experience the Homomonument and how they interact with it. I will also share my personal feelings from the fieldwork.
12:00-12:30 Henry Kyem (he/him)
Growing up gay in Ghana. A personal story about growing up gay in an African country (Ghana). Having to come to terms with contracting HIV later in life and fleeing to the UK to avoid persecution from family and society for my sexuality.
12:40-13:00 LUNCH
13:00-13:30 Freya Stancliffe (she/they)
LGBTQ+ Archives. How can we move towards a more inclusive community history? I’ll be presenting my findings so far on a project looking to increase the visibility and accessibility of LGBTQ+ voices in the internal archives of the University of Leeds. The archives cover reports, correspondence, meeting minute notes and society materials. The presentation will also discuss the next phase of my work, which will be focused on outreach and community engagement, attempting to fill some of the gaps that we found in the archives and change the framing so that there is a more present narrative voice from communities themselves.
Interlude
13:40-14:10 Aleks Fagelman (they/them)
Presentations of gender in the ancient world: A discussion of the Dresden Satyr and the Hermaphrodite statue. I shall discuss the Dresden Satyr and Hermaphrodite statue, as well as comparing it with other examples of hermaphroditic statues in the ancient world. I shall use this to highlight how the history of intersex and transgender identity is something that is not a modern invention but exists for several thousand years.
14:15-14:20 Final comments and end of the event
