WEEKLY GOOD NEWS: 8th May
Healthier Fleetwood was established to help connect the community so approaching a Bank Holiday weekend with a difference, we are delighted to pass on some of the positive ways local residents are dealing with lockdown and the support available …
Many of our news items this week are opportunities for residents to show their talents and share work they’ve created in recent weeks. Local artist Heather Johnstone set up the From A Distance page on Facebook and the quality of paintings and sketches is amazing.
Anne Ward formed the popular creative writing group at the library and has read several of her original poems at our Open Meetings. We asked her to set a challenge, a theme for poetry or short pieces of prose and she’s started with “My Walk”. Now this could be what you think about on your daily exercise or what you miss about not being able to go further afield or anything to do with walking, getting out and about, safely and responsibly of course. To get you started there’s an example from Anne to on our website. Send in your own words and we’ll share them on the site and across our social media plus let you know about new themes.
By coincidence, another resident Maxine Garrett had a similar thought. Max has been helping to keep people active with her on-line fitness classes and her next challenge is also about using your daily exercise and discovering the Seven Wonders of Fleetwood! Wondering what they are? Find out more on Max’s Facebook page from tomorrow morning.
Again, very important to stress the need to be responsible about going out at this time but Lancashire Mind have another idea, this one for photographers. They want to celebrate our beautiful county by creating Lancashire's biggest collection of images taken by you to share create an album, called Love from Lancashire. Read more about this on the Lancashire Mind website.
Fleetwood Museum is also documenting this extraordinary time - how life in our town has changed and how Fleetwood people have responded to the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown. Find out more about how they would like to collect material on the Museum’s blog. You might want to record how you will be marking the events on the Bank Holiday …
… tomorrow is the 75th anniversary of VE Day and also Celebrate Fleetwood Day. Many of you will be holding ‘stay-at-home’ street parties and you can also now enjoy the Fleetwood Voice performance including the words of local residents and the music of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic. Thanks to Regenda Homes and composer John McHugh of Music In Mind, Fleetwood Voice is available to watch at 1.30pm on Friday on You Tube. The community is also encouraged to join at 3pm to clap, shout and make some noise for Fleetwood and to acknowledge those keeping us safe now and in the past.
A few on-line resources you may wish to check out and share …
The New You Lounge with Inspire was an opportunity for residents in recovery, needing support or just somewhere to go for a chat to meet on Thursdays at the YMCA Lofthouse building. It also included an art group and a boxercise session. The Lounge is now hosting a Zoom meeting on Thursdays at 11am to offer a place for a virtual get together. If you are familiar with Zoom, we’ve been asked to pass on the ID 994 2429 5945 and the password 050867 to get involved.
nCompass is offering a free online training opportunity for those working and/or volunteering in the Fylde and Wyre regions and you can access and share a brief video explaining the online training offer on the nCompass website.
The Mental Health Family Hour goes out every Tuesday morning at 10am for an hour and they have proven to be particularly useful for parents with teenage children. You can see last week’s, past and future sessions on-line here.
A reminder that if you need medical care for non-COVID illnesses do contact your GP surgery by phone as you would normally. The three Fleetwood practices will be open on Bank Holiday, Friday 8th May between 8am and 6.30pm to take your calls – please do not attend a practice without an appointment. The contact numbers are listed at the foot of this Newsletter.
Please do pass this newsletter on and if you know anyone not on email, perhaps give them a phone call and let them know what is happening. Keeping in touch had never been so important.
Back copies of the Newsletters are available along with much more on the Good News pages of our website and if you’d like to include something in a future edition, please email to listening@healthierfleetwood.co.uk by Wednesday midday each week.
As always, take care. Stay home … protect the NHS … save lives
Useful websites and phone numbers
NHS 111 coronavirus or call 111 if you are concerned about your condition - do not visit a GP surgery, pharmacy or A&E department if you have symptoms.
UK Government Advice & Information Updates on social distancing, what you can and can’t do, links to support available for businesses and voluntary groups and more.
Fleetwood Together or telephone 01253 774313 Co-ordinating the Town’s response, supporting local residents in urgent need of help with food or other essential items.
Wyre Together or telephone 01253 891000 Support for those on the NHS shielded list, those with no support from family, neighbours or carers. Signposting to groups and services.
Lancashire Volunteer Partnership or telephone 01772 416417 Providing befrienders who can call individuals on a regular basis for a chat and to make sure they are OK. Volunteers welcome.
Fleetwood GP Practices Mount View: 01253 951999 Fleetwood Surgery: 01253 957555 Broadway Surgery: 01253 957500