Today (July 1) marks 100 days since the start of lockdown across the UK on March 24.
From often major lows to some rays of light in the darkest of times, here’s a month-by-month look back on the some of the events that took place over the past few months here in Gedling borough as we coped with life under lockdown…
March
The “Giving for Gedling” Volunteer Network was launched just days after the lockdown was announced to help the most vulnerable and elderly residents affected by the coronavirus outbreak . The network was set up by the council to co-ordinate and facilitate offers of help from local residents and community groups to support the most vulnerable in the community such as the elderly and those with pre-existing health conditions.
On March 27, Gedling Borough Council announced it was closing several of its car parks near play areas and open spaces to reduce the spread of the coronavirus. The moves came following government and police guidelines on social distancing and how people should be exercising.
Teams from Gedling Borough Council’s leisure services stepped in to help out on bin rounds across the borough after the coronavirus outbreak caused staff shortages that threatened to impact collections.
Neighbourhood police officers were put on patrol across Gedling borough to enforce social distancing measures.
The officers were asked to enforce the government’s latest guidelines to help stop the spread of coronavirus.
People were told during the early days of lockdown that they could only leave their homes for one of the four following reasons: shopping for basic necessities; one form of exercise per day; any medical need or to care for a vulnerable person; or for travel to work if absolutely necessary.
Gedling borough’s bulky waste and glass collection services were suspended due to council staff shortages.
Gedling Borough Council made the decision to stop all bulky waste and glass collections from Tuesday, March 31 ‘to ensure its critical waste collection services continued to be prioritised’.
The council blamed reductions in staffing levels and an increase in the amount of waste being created due to people staying at home in response to the Coronavirus outbreak.
April
Mourners were told they must keep two metres apart at funerals being held in Gedling borough and only members of the same household and close family should attend. Public Health England (PHE) said that funerals had to be conducted in a manner consistent with social distancing principles to avoid the further spread of Covid-19.
Gedling Borough Council suspended all car parking charges to reduce the risk of Coronavirus spreading to free up staff to work on maintaining the council’s critical services.
Leader of Gedling Borough Council, Councillor John Clarke said: “We would normally offer two hours free parking so, for the time being, people can park for longer without having to display a ticket.”
A kind-hearted farmer from Papplewick donated 20 bags of potatoes to help feed those in need during the coronavirus crisis.
Alex Marshall, who operates a farm in the Papplewick area, put together the 12.5kg bags for distribution to food banks and care homes in the borough.
The generous people of Gedling borough dug deep to support a fundraiser set up to help feed people across the area during the coronavirus crisis.
The ‘Giving for Gedling Food Bank Appeal’ was launched on Friday, April 3 to help support vulnerable residents in the borough during the Coronavirus outbreak. A target of £20,000 was set, with all donations being given directly to registered food banks supporting residents across the borough, or to be used by Gedling Borough Council to purchase food and essential items for distribution to those food banks or directly to residents in need.
Residents helped the council, who set up the fund, hit the £20,000 target in just 48 hours with their generous donations.
Residents across Gedling borough who were struggling to meet their council tax bill in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic were offered help from a hardship fund.
Gedling Borough Council used £870,000 of government grant funding to establish a hardship fund to assist residents who need support with their finances.
The Council Tax Hardship Fund helped families who in receipt of Council Tax support, meaning they could receive a reduction of up to £300 in their Council Tax.
Police in Gedling borough had to step up patrols at a number of locations across the area following reports of people defying social distancing rules.
Local police teams committed to targeting these areas and encouraged local people to continue reporting those that are breaking the rules.
The areas targeted were Colwick Park, Kingsley Drive, Carlton Cemetery, Digby Avenue and Carlton Willows.
The outside of the newly-established Gedling Borough Council Humanitarian Centre in Carlton was lit up blue on April 9 as part of the nation’s recognition of our NHS staff and key workers who are working on the front line in response to the Coronavirus outbreak.
A 20ft banner thanking the NHS staff and key workers was also displayed on the side of the Richard Herrod Centre, which housed the operation, to coincide with the national ‘clap for carers’ campaign.
Police asked people in Gedling borough to help them crackdown on drug dealing in the area by reporting any suspicious activity they see in their street during the lockdown.
Detectives from Nottinghamshire Police have said recent intelligence revealed that drug dealers were working from home while the UK is in lockdown.
Detective Superintendent Mike Allen, who leads Nottinghamshire Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit, said: “Drug dealers’ business models are based around hiding in plain sight. In the current circumstances, that tactic has been taken from them, and while this poses a problem for them, it creates an opportunity for us.”
An army of scarecrows took over a street in Carlton to spread some much-needed cheer during lockdown.
Householders produced a number of imaginative creations that lined Orlando Drive and put smiles on the faces of passers-by.
NHS key workers join other superheroes like Spider-Man and Superman in the scarecrow line up and carried the warning to stay safe and stay home.
Gedling borough’s council leaders warned they risked having to issue P45s to the ‘heroes that are helping local communities beat this virus’ unless funding to help the borough fight Covid-19 was quickly increased.
In the letter council chiefs John Clarke and Michael Payne called on the government to urgently ‘deliver on the promise’ to reimburse councils for the cost of fighting the virus’ otherwise the impact on the council will be ‘crippling’.
In the impassioned letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson the council leaders said ‘you, rightly, told us to do what it takes, and you would back us. Now we’re asking you to deliver on that promise’.
Postmen in Carlton brought smiles to customers cooped up in quarantine when they did their rounds in fancy dress one weekend to help raise cash for an NHS ward who treated a colleague with coronavirus.
The fundraiser was the brainchild of postman Simon Stevenson, who had already been spotted making his way across the borough delivering mail as Superman. He persuaded others at the Carlton Post Office depot to also ditch their uniforms and carry out their rounds in costume.
An adorable video was filmed by a Netherfield singing school thanking the NHS heroes and key workers for all their work during the coronavirus crisis.
In the video, members of the Rebecca Lomas Academy of Voice sang and danced to their own version of Gary Barlow smash hit ‘Sing’.
The film was edited together by Academy owner Rebecca using the footage filmed by the families of the young singers in their homes.
A leading provider of supermarket packaging in Colwick created an innovative protective visor in just 24 hours, which it said could be rolled out to medical staff on the Coronavirus frontline.
Colwick-based food packaging manufacturers The Wilkins Group worked around the clock to create face protectors which could be rolled out on a mass scale.
A group of mummers from Calverton turned to technology in a bid to keep their ancient play performance tradition alive during the UK lockdown – and also raise cash for Arnold Food Bank.
Each year, the Calverton Plough Boys normally act out the traditional St George’s Play in pubs around the borough on the nearest Saturday to the saint’s day – a tradition dating back hundreds of years.
But with pubs being forced to shut their doors due to the lockdown, the group were forced to turn to YouTube so they can entertain the masses virtually.
The group managed to perform the play remotely, edit it together and then made it available online as ‘the Isolation Edition’ of St George’s Play.
In return for their efforts, the Plough Boys asked for donations to be made to the Arnold Food Bank in return.
It was announced glass collections would be reinstated across Gedling borough from Saturday, May 2.
The decision was made by the Leader, Deputy Leader and Chief Executive of Gedling Borough Council after listening to the concerns of residents balanced alongside the considerable pressure coronavirus has placed on frontline council staff, including refuse collectors.
A letter was also sent to the council by local MPs Tom Randall and Mark Spencer calling on the council to reinstate the collections.
The council planned to begin the process with a special collection on the Saturday, to deal with the backlog of glass boxes with staff working extra hours to meet the demand.
May
Residents in Mapperley showing off their creativity during lockdown by making some brilliant scarecrows.
The creations were part of the new Mapperley Scarecrow Festival, which was put in place to give the community ‘a positive way to come together during lockdown for COVID-19,’ said organisers.
Maria, who is also a Co-op member pioneer for Mapperley Co-op, told Gedling Eye: “Our community can enjoy them whilst on exercise walks or journeys to work or shopping. People who are shielding can also enjoy the scarecrows via social media as we’ll be sharing photographs on Facebook.
After being shut down on March 23, garden centres in Gedling borough were alllowed to reopen from May 13, with social distancing measures in place.
A number of places have been offering click and collect and delivery services, but now, some borough garden centres decided to reopened their doors to customers – albeit with social distancing measures in place.
People were reminded to only make ‘essential visits’ after huge queues formed outside of Calverton Recycling Centre on its first day of opening since lockdown.
Friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man swung in to lift children’s spirits during lockdown in Gedling.
The popular Marvel hero was spotted around the streets of the village, much to the delight of youngsters in the area.
The webslinger’s visit has been organised by TB Sport, which carries out sports coaching and activity camps in the area.
Two Gedling photographers captured unique images of life in lockdown across the borough.
Saul Morgan and Sue Simons run Trent House Studios in Gedling village, which provide wedding and portrait photography.
When the country went into lockdown and all gatherings were cancelled, the pair admit they were ‘left with with very little to do’.
So instead of capturing classic family portraits and weddings, the snappers were inspired to let their work tell different stories during lockdown by taking pictures of people on their doorsteps.
They journeyed around Gedling, Carlton, Arnold and Mapperley to capture the pictures, obeying social distancing rules at all times.
A Mapperley couple are took part in a non-stop 24-hour gaming marathon to raise cash for a local hospice.
Lily Jane Hickling and her fiancé Jasonwill started and finished with Minecraft, tackling Skyrim, Jurassic Park, Ninokuni and Jedi Fallen Order plus other video games along the way.
They took part in the challenge to raise funds for Nottinghamshire Hospice, which is based in the town.
Lily said: ““We were wondering what we could do that would challenge us whilst remaining safe and indoors and thought we could do this between us.
“We’re both passionate gamers. We’ve been gaming ever since our dad’s got us our first games consoles. We love that you can drift off into another world and get involved in the story.
“We’ve chosen to support Nottinghamshire Hospice because they are suffering at the moment due to the Covid-19 outbreak and losing vital funds through cancelled events and closed charity shops.”
Police stepped up patrols after reports of anti-social behaviour at Newstead Abbey.
Staff at the tourist hotspot reported receiving verbal abuse and encountering aggressive behaviour from members of the public who have refused to pay to enter the grounds over the past few days
Beer bottles and litter have been left all over the grounds by those paying a visit to the park to soak up the sun while pubs remain closed during lockdown.
A plea for help was made by a cat rescue charity in Burton Joyce which was battered by the Covid-19 crisis.
BJ Cat Rescue continued to provide care and rehome cats during the pandemic but said it is was now ‘under immense pressure’ to find funds so they can continue their work during lockdown.
The charity said the number of pets being rescued and treated had risen considerably during the recent pandemic.
A satirical cut-out mocking Dominic Cummings for breaching lockdown rules appeared one morning in Redhill.
The cutout, which was first spotted in Arnold last week, again appeared at traffic lights on Mansfield Road at the junction with Redhill Road.
It features a sign reading ‘Back to School’ in reference to pupils being asked to return to schools across the borough today by the government.
June
Gedling Borough Council sent a heartfelt thank you message to more than 500 people who signed up as volunteers as part of the borough’s pandemic response.
In April, the council opened the Giving for Gedling Humanitarian Centre to help those in need throughout the borough.
The council asked for volunteers to provide assistance preparing and distributing food parcels as well as carrying out neighbourhood checks and offering assistance to elderly and vulnerable residents.
Over 500 residents contacted the council to offer their help after seeing the request on the council’s website and social media pages.
To date more than 800 households have received support and 600 food parcels have been delivered to residents in need by volunteers and council officers.
A plucky pensioner walked around a village square for 72 hours non-stop to raise money for the NHS.
Ian West, who lives in Bestwood Village, began the epic challenge on Friday, June 12 at 10am and continued walking around the square until 10am on Monday morning.
The 65-year-old only rested during five-minute breaks he took every four hours.
The management at Victoria Retail Park thanked visitors for making the site a ‘safe and pleasant place to shop’ following the reopening of non-essential stores on Monday, June 15.
Stores that reopened include Argos, B&M, B&Q, Boots, Greggs, Halfords, JD Sports, M&S, McDonald’s (Drive-thru only), Oak Furnitureland (Click and Collect only), Pets at Home, Subway and TK Maxx.
A spokesperson from Victoria Retail Park commented: “Throughout the day a steady stream of shoppers visited the retail park, showing a pent up demand for the services on site. All visitors were extremely respectful of the new regulations in place and we would like to thank everybody who visited for helping to make it a safe and pleasant place to shop.”
