COVID-19 ----LATEST MESSAGE FROM GARY LOCOCK SECRETARY 29th June 2020
15 weeks into Lockdown and 4 weeks into gradual Easing, and we are exchanging the draconian certainties of the former for a whole range of confusing uncertainties as a result of the latter. Has the attitude changed too, or is it just down to the seasonal heat? Or does it follow from that infamous 60-mile eye-test? Politicians are paid to make political choices, and for all our sakes we must hope they are making the right ones.
Let’s start (as usual) with a look at the score-sheet. As of Thursday, the South-West remains the best English Region by a country mile, with an infection rate of 141.6 cases per 100,000 population. Second in this sorry league table is Eastern England with 244.4, substantially more than here; ninth and worst is the North East with 396.5, three times our rate. Somerset in general is almost spot-on the South-Western average, while Sedgemoor is a bit higher; 180.8 per 100,000 population (222 total cases). To put this in perspective, several Northern local authorities number their cases at over a thousand with infection rates of over 500 per 100,000. Full information here
Internationally, the World Health Organisation ranks the UK third in Covid-associated deaths at 43,081, after Brazil (52,645) and the USA (120,955) -which is not good company to be in. This means we have outstripped all the previous hotspots in Europe; Italy is ranked 4th with 34,644, France 5th with 29,655 both with similar population to ours. We can’t take these comparisons too seriously; there are different counting methods (and efficiencies) in different countries, but the numbers are disturbing. If you are thinking of booking a late holiday (!) take note of the underlying trends; Europe in general and (most of) the USA are heading downwards, while Mexico, Brazil and Iran are still on the way up. You can see the graphs here.
So this is the background to last week’s UK Government announcement about further easing the Lockdown. What does it mean for us? Probably not as much as you might think…
1. Nothing changes till Saturday 4th July, despite the beach crowds who think it already has. And it only applies in England, not Wales or anywhere else.
2. Pubs, cafés, libraries and a range of other businesses are allowed to reopen on Saturday, but it won’t be anything like business as usual.
3. You can stay overnight away from home, which is good news for hotels, campsites and caravanners (and Dominic Cummings.)
4. Last time (Bulletin No. 6) the big news was that small meetings could be held outdoors. From 4th July, it will be possible for very small meetings to be held indoors as well. How small is open to interpretation, but no more than the members of two Households (or two support bubbles to be more exact). Bigger numbers (up to 30) are allowed for weddings and funerals and other ‘major life events’
Full details at the end of this message.
The Community Centre will re-open on 13th July with a number of Covid restrictions as you might expect. The wasp in the jam is the Government rule limiting indoor meetings to members of two households. We will tell you when this changes, but meanwhile here is a summary of the Community Centre’s Covid plans:
When you visit the Centre, you will see that Mike the Caretaker has been busy, and Room 3 and the bottom corridor have been completely redecorated!
Community Centre Supporters
Janet Hill was mentioned in the last Bulletin; she tells me she has now raised nearly £600 for the Centre funds from books, jigsaws, bedding plants and bric-a-brac sales in her front garden! She asks that anybody finding pieces missing in a jigsaw please to let her know and put a note of it in the box. The stock of books for sale in the Community Centre has been replenished by a donation of stock from West Huntspill Model Engineering Society. Many of these (not all) are Railway titles, so if you are interested, pay a visit to the Community Centre bookshelves or (in due course) to Janet’s front garden - 15 Westfield Drive, telephone 782337. Donations of anything she can sell are always welcome.
Finance
I said last time I would say a few words about the (related) finances of the Community Centre and U3A. They are completely independent Charities as you might know, and (for the most part) Charity Law prohibits one charity from making donations to another, even when, as here, U3A depends heavily on the facilities provided by the CC, and the CC depends heavily on the rental payments which U3A makes to them.
The Lockdown is challenging on both counts. The rent is an agreed flat rate, which does not come from your subscriptions; it is paid from the £1 per attendance charge that Groups collect who meet there, plus the income from refreshments at Coffee Mornings. Both are calculated to cover the rent, and both were abruptly cut off on March 18th.
We take the view that we have an interest in supporting the Community Centre through this crisis, and moreover we have a favourable landlord and tenant relationship that we should not jeopardise. Nonetheless, we don’t have the means to pay rent at the full rate for an indefinite period, so we have negotiated a 50% rent rebate while restrictions last.
It is hardly necessary to say that neither U3A nor the Community Centre can continue this way for a long period; so we will continue to support all avenues for fundraising. The aim is to help preserve the CC as a going concern, without even beginning to think about the roof repairs. Fortunately a ‘holding operation’ was carried out on the roof just before the Lockdown, so there should be no immediate danger of catastrophic leaks or failure.
Subscription Renewals by post
If you have not yet renewed, this would probably be a good time now that things are easing up a little. If you did not receive your April-May U3A Magazine in mid- March, you should be getting it in the next few days as our wonderful team of Distributors swings into action; inside the Mag is a green Renewal Form which you can send with a cheque; either to the Community Centre address as on the form, or better still, direct to Veronica: Mrs V Richardson, 5 Cowan Close, TA8 2TG
For most members the subscription remains at £11.00, but if you are already a current full member of another U3A you can qualify for £3.50 off. Cheques should be payable to Burnham U3A.
Subscription Renewals Online
New this year, you can now renew your subscription online, using a credit or debit card via PayPal. To do this, log on to to the Members Portal from our website (it’s the big button labelled “CHECK YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION OR GET MORE DETAILS ABOUT GROUPS” on the front page ; or go there direct from this link.) Once renewed you will be able to print out a Membership ‘Card’ as a receipt which you can exchange for a normal Card next time you see Veronica.
Let’s finish with a poem, from the most recent Forum magazine:
“If you can talk with crowds but, keep your distance
Or walk with friends - nor lose the common touch,
If people stay away on your insistence,
If you can drink alone, but not too much
If you can fill each unforgiving minute
With books and music, writing, song and dance,
Yours is the Earth, and everything that's in it,
(Just cancel this year's holiday to France.)”
with apologies to Rudyard Kipling
Gary
Secretary, Burnham U3A tel 783928
15 weeks into Lockdown and 4 weeks into gradual Easing, and we are exchanging the draconian certainties of the former for a whole range of confusing uncertainties as a result of the latter. Has the attitude changed too, or is it just down to the seasonal heat? Or does it follow from that infamous 60-mile eye-test? Politicians are paid to make political choices, and for all our sakes we must hope they are making the right ones.
Let’s start (as usual) with a look at the score-sheet. As of Thursday, the South-West remains the best English Region by a country mile, with an infection rate of 141.6 cases per 100,000 population. Second in this sorry league table is Eastern England with 244.4, substantially more than here; ninth and worst is the North East with 396.5, three times our rate. Somerset in general is almost spot-on the South-Western average, while Sedgemoor is a bit higher; 180.8 per 100,000 population (222 total cases). To put this in perspective, several Northern local authorities number their cases at over a thousand with infection rates of over 500 per 100,000. Full information here
Internationally, the World Health Organisation ranks the UK third in Covid-associated deaths at 43,081, after Brazil (52,645) and the USA (120,955) -which is not good company to be in. This means we have outstripped all the previous hotspots in Europe; Italy is ranked 4th with 34,644, France 5th with 29,655 both with similar population to ours. We can’t take these comparisons too seriously; there are different counting methods (and efficiencies) in different countries, but the numbers are disturbing. If you are thinking of booking a late holiday (!) take note of the underlying trends; Europe in general and (most of) the USA are heading downwards, while Mexico, Brazil and Iran are still on the way up. You can see the graphs here.
So this is the background to last week’s UK Government announcement about further easing the Lockdown. What does it mean for us? Probably not as much as you might think…
1. Nothing changes till Saturday 4th July, despite the beach crowds who think it already has. And it only applies in England, not Wales or anywhere else.
2. Pubs, cafés, libraries and a range of other businesses are allowed to reopen on Saturday, but it won’t be anything like business as usual.
3. You can stay overnight away from home, which is good news for hotels, campsites and caravanners (and Dominic Cummings.)
4. Last time (Bulletin No. 6) the big news was that small meetings could be held outdoors. From 4th July, it will be possible for very small meetings to be held indoors as well. How small is open to interpretation, but no more than the members of two Households (or two support bubbles to be more exact). Bigger numbers (up to 30) are allowed for weddings and funerals and other ‘major life events’
Full details at the end of this message.
The Community Centre will re-open on 13th July with a number of Covid restrictions as you might expect. The wasp in the jam is the Government rule limiting indoor meetings to members of two households. We will tell you when this changes, but meanwhile here is a summary of the Community Centre’s Covid plans:
- You will need to re-book a room with the Community Centre, because ‘usual’ arrangements are unlikely to be available. This is because for the time being, only the two biggest downstairs rooms (2 and 3) will be offered, so that social distancing can be maintained.
- There will be 6 tables in each of these rooms, allowing a theoretical maximum of 12 people to sit, one at each end of each table. (Note that the ‘4th July’ Government limit is not so generous, so we must wait for more easing before we can take advantage of this.)
- There are anti-infection procedures in place. (e.g, the kitchen is out of use, and there are special arrangements for entry, sanitising and toilets). You will be briefed about these at the booking stage.
- Singing, dancing, and exercise events cannot happen because of specific Government rules.
When you visit the Centre, you will see that Mike the Caretaker has been busy, and Room 3 and the bottom corridor have been completely redecorated!
Community Centre Supporters
Janet Hill was mentioned in the last Bulletin; she tells me she has now raised nearly £600 for the Centre funds from books, jigsaws, bedding plants and bric-a-brac sales in her front garden! She asks that anybody finding pieces missing in a jigsaw please to let her know and put a note of it in the box. The stock of books for sale in the Community Centre has been replenished by a donation of stock from West Huntspill Model Engineering Society. Many of these (not all) are Railway titles, so if you are interested, pay a visit to the Community Centre bookshelves or (in due course) to Janet’s front garden - 15 Westfield Drive, telephone 782337. Donations of anything she can sell are always welcome.
Finance
I said last time I would say a few words about the (related) finances of the Community Centre and U3A. They are completely independent Charities as you might know, and (for the most part) Charity Law prohibits one charity from making donations to another, even when, as here, U3A depends heavily on the facilities provided by the CC, and the CC depends heavily on the rental payments which U3A makes to them.
The Lockdown is challenging on both counts. The rent is an agreed flat rate, which does not come from your subscriptions; it is paid from the £1 per attendance charge that Groups collect who meet there, plus the income from refreshments at Coffee Mornings. Both are calculated to cover the rent, and both were abruptly cut off on March 18th.
We take the view that we have an interest in supporting the Community Centre through this crisis, and moreover we have a favourable landlord and tenant relationship that we should not jeopardise. Nonetheless, we don’t have the means to pay rent at the full rate for an indefinite period, so we have negotiated a 50% rent rebate while restrictions last.
It is hardly necessary to say that neither U3A nor the Community Centre can continue this way for a long period; so we will continue to support all avenues for fundraising. The aim is to help preserve the CC as a going concern, without even beginning to think about the roof repairs. Fortunately a ‘holding operation’ was carried out on the roof just before the Lockdown, so there should be no immediate danger of catastrophic leaks or failure.
Subscription Renewals by post
If you have not yet renewed, this would probably be a good time now that things are easing up a little. If you did not receive your April-May U3A Magazine in mid- March, you should be getting it in the next few days as our wonderful team of Distributors swings into action; inside the Mag is a green Renewal Form which you can send with a cheque; either to the Community Centre address as on the form, or better still, direct to Veronica: Mrs V Richardson, 5 Cowan Close, TA8 2TG
For most members the subscription remains at £11.00, but if you are already a current full member of another U3A you can qualify for £3.50 off. Cheques should be payable to Burnham U3A.
Subscription Renewals Online
New this year, you can now renew your subscription online, using a credit or debit card via PayPal. To do this, log on to to the Members Portal from our website (it’s the big button labelled “CHECK YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION OR GET MORE DETAILS ABOUT GROUPS” on the front page ; or go there direct from this link.) Once renewed you will be able to print out a Membership ‘Card’ as a receipt which you can exchange for a normal Card next time you see Veronica.
Let’s finish with a poem, from the most recent Forum magazine:
“If you can talk with crowds but, keep your distance
Or walk with friends - nor lose the common touch,
If people stay away on your insistence,
If you can drink alone, but not too much
If you can fill each unforgiving minute
With books and music, writing, song and dance,
Yours is the Earth, and everything that's in it,
(Just cancel this year's holiday to France.)”
with apologies to Rudyard Kipling
Gary
Secretary, Burnham U3A tel 783928
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