The LINK June 2020 : simplebooklet.com

2 Dear Friends, It has been the best part of 2000 years since Jesus’ Crucifixion, In that time the world has changed a great deal, we can now communicate with people all over the world, we have sent people to the moon and there is a perma-nent presence of astronauts in space. The church has grown and changed, from a small group of Disciples to a faith that encompasses the globe, is present in every lan-guage and every country. But there are some things that have stayed the same, the Church now, as then, believes in Jesus, the only Son of God. The Church now, as then, commits itself to prayer and praise of God and to living according to the teaching of Jesus Christ. The Church now, as then, tries to show the love of God to all. There are some quite stark differences though. For the past few months we have not been able to meet in the church building due to COVID-19, the Coronavirus which has swept into our country and our lives with such profound effect. Currently (at time of writing) the Church (national church) is working out how to re-open safely so that we may be able to gather again and worship together. But just because the building is closed does not mean that the church is closed. The Greek word Ecclesia which is used in the original text of the Bible is translated as church, but ecclesia does not mean a building it means an assembly of people. Church is not a build-ing it is the people of God. The congregation of St Mary’s Church may not be meeting together in the building, but we are still a praying and worshipping community of God. We have gathered virtually on Facebook and YouTube to pray together, to give praise together and to be the Church together. These last few months have been unique, but we will adapt, and we will endure, whatever the next few weeks or months will hold there are some-things which are constant. God is constant, His love is constant, Jesus is constant, His sacrifice for us upon the Cross is constant. One day we will look back on 2020 as a most unu-sual year, but we should also look forward to what is to come. Night cannot last for ever, we must look for the rising of the sun and the dawn-ing of the new day. We can weather this night and we will. We must not forget those who died but we must also remember the living. Please look after yourselves and support each other. God bless. Fr. Darcy Useful Contact details–I F YOU W O U L D L I K E TO J O I N US F O R S E R V I C E S T H E Y A R E ON F A C E B O O K AND Y OUT U B E AT 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday And 10am on Sundays https://www.facebook.com/DatchetStMarysChurch YouTube channel: St Marys Datchet and St Thomas Colnbrook https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOL0Nkc5vHN6OoXSRA_xUXw/featured?view_as=subscriber 0744 219 7723@StMarysDatchetChurch

Page 3

3 Who knew that when we published the March LINK that in a matter of days our world would have changed so dramatically? But de-spite the fear, the sadness, the worry over work, finances, future and loved ones, and coping with the frustrations of living in Lockdown, with everything on hold - in many ways this unique period has helped to draw us closer together as communities, and reconnect to things, people, new, and old, hobbies and all the ‘round to-it’ tasks we never quite managed to find time for previously, despite best intentions. It has allowed us and our world to pause, breathe fresh air, recover a little and to marvel at the beauty of the natural world - and see the stars clearly at night for the first time in a number of years ! (Did you get see the International Space Station and, if you were very lucky, the Space X Dragon Crew heading to meet it, making history as the first commercial system to launch a manned flight in close collaboration with NASA?) It is a time of inspiration and support, re-energising our Community Spirit demon-strated in the weekly clapping for the NHS and other Key Workers, the many willing volunteers sewing scrubs and other essential garments, making visors, cooking meals for NHS, registering to vol-unteer, checking on neighbours and help-ing each other out. The teachers and other school staff who have continued to provide support and education for children, both in school for those children of Key Workers (so that they can do their essential roles) and redesigning their work for delivery online all through the period until ’normal’ resumes. Of course, there is always a darker side to life in all situations and this pandemic has highlighted the vulnerabilities within communi-ties and nations that tend to be glossed over or ignored. Living in lockdown, as well as making us seek new ways to connect also increases anxieties and tensions and, as we have seen, can over-spill into violence and abuse. Datchet is not immune but does have a good Community, members of which can help if aware of the need and good support through many organisations the Churches, schools and DCV groups can all help. The Datchet Corona Volunteer Group explain their role on pages 4-7 and how you can still join them ( if like me you are shielding, then this service is an essential lifeline). In Trading Standards (p 22) find out how to avoid, be-coming a target for scams and what to do if you are concerned. Read about the impact of this time on those in poverty or suddenly pitched into no or low income bracket, in the Slough Foodbank arti-cle (p28-30) When we first talked about still producing a June Edition, there was concern it would be thin, all about Covid 19 without much to balance against it. But the reality has proven that even in crisis we still find ways to continue with regular routine, just develop new ways to do it—read about how Fr Darcy took Church to the people in his ‘Behind the webcam’ (p 14 & 15) and how Churchmead ( p 8) and Eton End (p 31 ) Schools have managed to make learning fun despite the restrictions . You will also find many of our regular contributors– an update on The Bridge (p27) and FOSM, Janet Kennish has written about Datchet in World War II (p10-13) with some interesting snippets of life at that time. Datchet Parish Council (p 18-21) have taken the opportunity to update you with information about how they are contin-uing to work on your behalf looking after Datchet’s in-terests during this unprecedent-ed period, as well as the Annual Reports that would have been presented at the AGM cancelled, like so much else, due to Covid 19. The Datchet Neighbourhood Plan (p 24-25) outlines the next stages and their survey is avail-able on p27 If you want something little lighter there is the Wild About Datchet article (p34 &35), a brief outline of Florence Nightingale’s life, a lady of great determination - but read about her on page 7. Matthew’s Objects with Tales is covering a watery topic this time - find out what on pages 16 & 17 There are many examples of acts of random kindness Large and small, and some humorous stories too from this period. Looking ahead to September’s edition, we’d love to publish some of your experiences of living in Lockdown, and we also hope to have a ‘special memories section’ within it : Please send any items to the Editor sa_j2@btinternet.com by 14th August … Our thanks go to you all - especially the volunteers helping in so many ways and ALL the key workers, too numerous to name but all very much appreciated. We wish you all the very best. Stay safe, stay well and keep finding humour in every day !

Page 4

4 for food which is suitable i.e, 'gluten free' and also ensure the excess or incorrect food is sent to others in need, so nothing is wasted. We have had such a wonderful response both from volunteers and also our local stores. Tesco Express Datchet and Windsor Farm shop are working with us to prioritise our elderly, vulnerable and self-isolating by putting aside any shop-ping lists sent to them the night before, for pick up the following morning by volunteers. Both business donated groceries to enable us to kick-start our free meal service for the NHS and Emergency workers. We would also like to give a special thanks to the many generous donations we have received from both residents and the many trusts, charities and organisa-tions who have all helped support our cause and will enable us to keep support-ing our residents throughout this pan-demic as it continues. We would ask residents to use the volun-teer group as an extra level of protection from infection rather than expose them-selves to the virus. Volunteers are here to help and support you and reduce the traf-c, risk and keep you safe. So please ask them rather than putting yourself at risk. Datchet Corona Volunteers was set up on 16th March 2020 by local residents in response to the Covid -19 pandemic, and within 2 weeks of launching we had over 100 volunteers covering 5000 residents. This has now increased to 150 volunteers throughout the village, providing the following services to the elderly, vulnerable and self-isolating residents in Datchet: shopping of groceries or urgent supplies, prescription deliver-ies, postal services and our newly launched cooked food delivery service. The cooked food service supplies freshly cooked food which is pro-duced in Nibbles, Datchet and is then delivered by our volunteers to the NHS and Emergency work-ers in Wexham Park hospital on a weekly ba-sis. We have also set up a support chat line for anyone who may feel isolated and need to hear a friendly voice. This service is manned by volun-teers and operates from 10am to 7pm. Tel: 01753 905247 All village residents should have received a card through their door with contact details for their local volunteer or they can either contact our main support line 01753 905247, where we share the request with the group of volunteers closest to their home. Our main request has been for grocery shopping and deliveries. We also help with redistributing government food parcels (which are sent out to our shielded and vulnerable residents) in cases where the food sent has not been matched to the dietary requirements of the resident in need. We replace the unwanted food

Page 5

Page 6

Page 7

7 As we are constantly reading and talking about nurses who are important super-skilled professionals and the NHS what better than to remember Florence Nightingale. She was born on the 12th May 1820 in her namesake city, Florence, Italy. Her parents were William and Fanny Nightingale and he was a wealthy banker and was able to provide his family with a very privileged life. Most girls in those days didn’t go to school but William wanted his daughters to have an education which Florence thrived upon. It was when she was 16 years old she believed she heard a voice from God calling for her to carry out important work to help those suffering. It was then that she realised she wanted to become a nurse. Her parents weren’t keen on this and tried to persuade her against it but it soon became obvious that this was her calling so they sent her to study nursing at a Christian school for women in Germany. There, she learned important skills in caring for patients and the importance of hospital cleanliness. It wasn’t long before Florence put her new skills to the test and by 1853 she was running a women’s hospital in London, where she did a fantastic job im-proving the working conditions as well as patient care. It was in 1854 that the Crimean War broke out – a war with Britain, France and Turkey on one side, and Russia on the other. The then Minister for War, Sidney Herbert, asked Florence to lead a team of nurses and sent them to Scutari. There she found that soldiers were dying from infection due to the unhygienic conditions. With funds from home she imposed improvements which were life-saving. Florence truly cared for her suffering patients and at night when everyone was sleeping she would visit the soldiers to make sure they were comfortable. The soldiers would call her The Lady with the Lamp. After the war, in 1856 Florence met with Queen Victoria to discuss ways to improve military medical systems which were implemented. In 1860 the Nightingale Training School for Nurses opened at St. Thomas’s Hospital in London which made nursing a respectable ca-reer for women for wanted to work outside the home. Florence suffered from illness for much of her later life but was the first woman to receive the Order of Merit for her super-special work. Florence Nightingale died on 13th August 1910 but she will forever be recognised as the founder of modern nursing and known as The Lady with the Lamp.

Page 8

Page 9

Page 10

10 Evacuated children arrive in the village Almost as soon as war was declared, contingency plans for evacuating children form the cities to the country were put into action, even though there was no immediate danger during the months of the ‘phoney war’. By October 1939, two schools from the east end of London with sundry younger brothers and sisters, were scattered among the parishes of Datchet, Colnbook, Horton and Old Windsor. The ef-fects on the village school were immediate; the Datchet children attended in the morning and the evacuees in the afternoon, although soon all were accommodated by using the scout hut, the Mission Hall and the Working Men’s Club as classrooms. The cultural collision must have been tremendous, and before long the evacuees were being blamed for all the mischief in the village. Several did admit to damaging trees on the riverside and throwing the six benches there into the river, but it was pointed out that before they arrived the local children were hardly considered to be angels. After the Battle of London in September 1940, more evacuees, mostly mothers and young children, poured into the district and the need for accommodation became desperate as the population increased by over 40 per cent. But safety was not guaranteed here either, and air-raid shelters were being built in many homes as well as at the school. Area targeted by enemy aircraft Slough’s factories became enemy tar-gets and the rst casualty in the vil-lage was Jimmy Hill, of the shop on the Common (now Ocean Blue), who was killed in an explosion at the High Duty Alloys factory in Slough. His brother-in-law was killed in the same incident which was suspected to be due to sab-otage. Even nearer was Langley aireld and the Hawker Aircraft Company, where 15,000 Hurricanes were produced during the war, and where many people from Datchet were employed. Smouldering drums of foul smelling oily rags were positioned on the road to-wards Langley as part of a protective dense smoke screen around the Hawker factory. Also as protection for Langley there was an anti-aircraft gun post situated on the Guards’ polo ground in Horton Road, where the old pavilion became the ofcers’ mess. The Royal Artillery requisitioned both Church-mead House and Holmwood House (site of Ruscombe Gardens) in Slough Road, from where they conducted the anti-aircraft operations. One night a bomb fell on this gun post, severing commu-nications between the control centres, and two motorbike despatch riders sped in opposite directions along Hor-ton Road in the dark with vital mes-

Page 11

11 To contact Janet :-  janetkennish123@gmail.com  07778 455706 sages. Both were following the white line in the middle of the road and both were killed in a head-on collision. Other bombs did fall on Datchet but there were no further fatalities ex-cept a large number of chickens at Riding Court Farm where the bomb made a great crater behind the house. To the great excitement of the village, especially the children, a German plane which had been shot down in the Great Park was displayed outside the school and could be clambered over at the cost of one penny. Top-secret work at Ditton At Ditton Park, top-secret work continued to produce compasses for all three services, especially the new remote transmission gyro compass, and the staff there in-creased to over one thousand. Even more signicant was the develop-ment of radar at the Radio Re-search Station in the grounds of Ditton Park, later to become the Appleton Laboratories. Radar was rst demonstrated in 1935 by Wat-son Watt who lived in Datchet, and it was realised how vital a role it could play, so that by 1945 radar was described as ‘the most decisive weapon of the war’. Home Guard From the beginning of this war, the population at home was acutely aware of the threat of invasion and determined to ght with anything that might come to hand. Early re-cruitment to the Local Defence Vol-unteers exceeded all expectations and the War Ministry had to organ-ise and equip them much more seriously that they had intended, soon changing their name to the Home Guard, although they are immortalised as ‘Dad’s Army’. After the war, Datchet’s Home Guard were presented to Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother), Princess Elizabeth and her sister Margaret. Volunteers from Wraysbury and Horton were combined with those from Datchet where the platoon was based, at rst under Captain Wilfred Good, and then Captain Hathaway. Their ofcial headquarters was at Church-mead House, though the Royal Stag was their unofcial base and Datchet House’s stables were also used for stor-age. Their main duties were to guard vital local points; the Victoria and Albert bridges, which were used for troop and tank movements, and the water pumping sta-tion in Pocock’s Lane. There was also a Special Section of the Home Guard patrolling the Thames between Old Windsor and Romney locks, manned by those who owned their own boats, including Mr Killick of the Manor House. Children assist the war effort Local fund-raising was often for specic and tangible targets, the Spitre Fund particularly catching the imagi-nation of the children, one of whom made a model plane to surmount the school’s collecting box, which raised the huge sum of £50. Children’s activity was also harnessed in the autumn of

Page 12

12 1942, when they gathered ve hundredweight of conkers to be sold for the production of glucose, and many senior boys and girls were sent to help with crucial agricultural work. Billingsgate sh market in Datchet For a time, traders from Billingsgate sh market came out to Datchet, a relatively safe place with easy access, where their vans occupied the North Green and Slough Road. The problem of feeding the swelling community at a time when mothers were employed in war work all day led to the rst provision of school meals at the scout hut. At the same time, infants’ nutrition was improved by free cod-liver oil and orange juice dispensed from the Working Men’s Club. The only photo of the shmongers’ vans on North Green (above) is very poor quality, but there is also a Christmas card cartoon (below) showing the shmongers carrying their baskets, who are interested in a group of Red Cross nurses. Declaration of peace When peace was declared there were immediate spontaneous celebrations, the church bells ringing after the broadcast was heard, and crowds gathering on the Green in the evening around an enormous bonre outside the school. On the following days there was a torchlight procession and dancing on the Green, the village was decorat-ed, buildings oodlit, and Victo-ry tea parties were given for the children. A special service was held on the next Sunday when the church was lled to capacity, and as people came out they cheered the King and Queen who were just then driv-ing into London Road on their way to the service at St Paul’s in London. Remembering the fallen The total of men killed on ac-tive duty was 26, just half the number who fell in the First World War, but many families had to wait for the safe return of prisoners from the Far East. Fifteen did return but the Lewin family made the sad discovery that their son John, from whom they had recently received postcards, had in fact died two years earlier from cholera. The urge to commemorate those killed in this war was not felt as it had been after 1918 and in common with most other plac-es no new memorial was erect-ed. Although plans were being discussed in 1947 to record the deaths on the obelisk on the Green, it was not until 1990 that a plaque was placed on its base by the British Legion.

Page 13

Page 14

Page 15

Page 16

16 the Sun also had an influence. Isaac Newton explained that the gravitational effects of astronomical bodies causes tides. Sea water nearest the Moon rises because its gravi-tational pull slightly counteracts Earth’s gravity. As gravi-tational pull decreases with distance, the Sun only has about half the Moon’s pull on ocean waters. When the Sun and the Moon are pulling 180 degrees apart it causes the Spring Tides (nothing to do with the season but in the sense of springing up). When the Sun is pulling in a direc-tion 90 degrees different to the Moon it causes the lowest tides or Neap Tides. Spring Tides occur roughly every 16 days near to both New and Full Moons. Neap Tides occur roughly every 16 days close to the first (waxing) and the last (waning) lunar quarters. Pierre-Simon Laplace formu-lated a system of partial differential equations relating the ocean's horizontal flow to its surface height, creating the first major dynamic theory for water tides. The Laplace tidal equations are still in use today. Tides are complex and can be affected by the weather, atmospheric pressure variations, local coast topography and many other factors causing significant variations sometimes in timings and tide heights. However the Mediterranean Sea’s tides are much diminished as the sea water flow is so constricted at the Straights of Gibraltar. Do remember the seaside and sea can be hazardous. Riptides are hid-den, narrow flows, sometimes shown by a line of muddy/sandy water, that can suck people out to sea faster than they can swim back. Call for help, wave an arm, stay calm, if your feet can touch the bottom wade out of the streams flow sideways, don’t try and swim back against the current (as that’s how most people get into difficulty), rather swim parallel to the shore as these flows are usually never more than 30 metres across, if you cannot swim float. Riptides normally subside 50-100 metres from the shore. As a child I enjoyed holidays, near Barmouth in Wales with some time on the beach (chance would be a fine thing now!) One knew that on beaches the mysterious tide goes out reveal-ing a much larger beach at low tide, dithers and then returns taking your sandcastles and submerging the beach, smashing on to the huge defensive rocks (most put there to protect the coastal railway) with great force. Stand on Barmouth Train Bridge over the river Mawddach estuary and the water would tear by on the tides with giant jellyfish and whirlpools as there is almost a 5m difference between high and low water. This happened twice every day, but on each successive day the tides, and therefore beach availability, would start slightly lat-er. It was good that there were even tables you could buy giving the high and low tide times for every day for coastal towns, because by just looking at the sea it is difficult to work out whether it is going out or coming in. A rough rule of thumb is that a tide would take about 12.5 hours (exactly 12 hours 25.2 minutes) in most places around the world. Hence, with 2 tides daily, to find the beach in the same state as the day before one would have to return about one hour later the following day. If you don’t have a copy of Reeds 2020 Nauti-cal Almanac, you may find these links useful to work out whether there will be a beach when you arrive https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/coast-and-sea/tide-tables or http://www.ukho.gov.uk/Easytide/easytide/. The UK Hydrographic Office is a world authority on tides with free 7-day tide predictions, but it provides more detailed paid services for sea traffic whether leisure, commerce or defence. It provides help with planning routes. It has detailed knowledge of ocean currents and provides tidal atlas charts showing the water depth, current speed and direction for each of the 12 tidal hours at a location – invaluable in some treach-erous places. Around Britain there are many dangerous cur-rents and riptides that can imperil both sailors and swimmers. Consider the Spanish Armada defeated almost entirely by our tricky coastal waters and bad weather. What causes tides, making the local sea inexorably ebb then flood back, fall then rise again? If you had a Lunar calendar it was probably more obvious that tides were connected to its phases. Only hundreds of years later did anyone suggest that

Page 17

17 https://rnli.org/safety/know-the-risks/rip-currents The famous tale about king Cnut memorably illustrates the proverb ‘time and tide wait for no man’, even though the UK monarch owns the ‘foreshore’, the land between hightide and lowtide. Old English (Saxon) Tid was used for ‘time’, ‘tide’ and ‘season’. It is even relat-ed to the German word ‘zeit’ (time). We still have words like Easter-tide and eventide. We know that sea levels are rising around the globe, due to global warming, but this is not just due to ice melting in polar regions, but with warmer oceans water expands to occupy a greater volume. Although we are told the UK can no longer afford to sustain all its artificial sea defences against flooding and erosion, there are other places that must be defended. After the North Sea Flood in 1953, 58 people died just on Canvey Island alone. The Thames Barrier was eventually built at Woolwich and opened in 1984 at a cost of £534m to protect Central London from freak 1000 year tidal flood threats until 2030. North Sea Surge events are a combination of a high spring tide, bad weather, strong winds that can raise Thames water levels by at least an additional 3.5m. Without it such a surge could inundate 45 square miles (117 km2) of London, put hospitals, power stations and the London Underground out of action, and cause damage estimated at £2 billion in 1966, at least £50 billion at 2020 prices. The circular floodgates lay flat until the piers raise them by rotating them upwards. Between September 2013 and May 2014 the gates were protectively raised 50 times! In ‘Brothers in Arms’ (book), the Barrier is referred to as the “King Canute Memorial”! When in charge of a sea vessel, one must plan the course to avoid hitting hidden hazards or getting stuck on sandbanks as the tide changes. Tide charts will give a Chart datum (CD) figure (the sea level is never usually lower than this); a mean sea level; and detailed figures for mean high and low tides, for both Neaps and Springs. Clearance from the bottom will be estimated by subtracting the draft of your vessel below the waterline, which will vary according to load and will vary between sea and fresh water. Look out for the Plimsoll Line (now the International Load Line) found amidships on cargo ship hulls. A safety measure introduced after too many ships and lives were lost because of ship overloading in the 1860s. The mark was named after MP Samuel Plimsoll who, after many years of investigation, designed it and led Parliament to pass the Merchant Shipping Act in 1894 that made a mandatory maximum water level with a marked watermark line. By 1930 it was the international standard and it has been regular-ly enhanced since. The early simple diagram shows marking of the deck line, LR stands for Lloyds Register (of shipping insurance) a maximum normal waterline is marked below these. F shows an adjustment for fresh water, and WNA for Win-ter North Atlantic. Thinking of the future, the Rance Tidal Power Sta-tion in Brittany was built in 1966 and generates on average 57MW (500GW a year). A hydro dam was built across the estuary with a maximum 13.5 metre tidal range. The rising tide water is let in, but can only exit as the tide ebbs, by passing through 24 turbines that generate electricity. The scheme took 20 years to pay for itself. There is only one other of a similar scale in South Korea. The power is still cheaper per unit than nuclear power, but concrete dams on a coast don’t look good, the tidal lake behind suffers from increased silting, some fish species have vanished from the river and bird populations vanished as their feed-ing sites were lost. Turbine maintenance may also be costly with the powerful abrasive force of pres-surised salt water and any sand etc. it carries. Postscript I have not covered Tidal Waves as the term is ambiguous. The freak waves of Tsunamis, often caused by under sea earthquakes, are not part of routine tides. However tidal bores, are a form of routine tidal wave, experienced on some rivers, that usually have a hide tidal range, whereby the returning tide often funnels from a broad bay into the narrowing, shallow, estuary and builds a large wave that travels roaring up the river. On the River Severn it can be 2 metres high. The train of

Page 18

18 Children's Play Equipment & Recreational Facilities - Update 11 May 2020 Whilst you can now spend time outdoors sitting and enjoying the fresh air, picnicking, or sunbathing you can only meet one other person from a different household and social distancing guidelines must be observed ensuring you are 2 metres away from any-one outside your household at all times. You CAN use the outdoor sports courts and tennis courts – see the individual signs on these facilities. You CAN NOT use the outdoor green gym or the play-grounds / equipment or gather in a group of more than two (excluding members of your own house-hold) In the light of the advice from the National Associa-tion of Local Councils (NALC) All meetings of the Parish Council have been suspended until further notice and delegated powers are in place for pay-ments and planning. See our web site for more infor-mation. You can view the monthly planning list on our web site and if you have any comments these can be emailed to clerk@datchetparshcouncil.gov.uk and will be passed onto the Lead/Deputy Lead Member for Planning. The Annual Statutory Meeting of the Council would have been on the 11th May. Regulation 4 of the 2020 Covid-19 Regulations provides that where an appoint-ment would otherwise be made, or is required to be made, at an Annual meeting of a local authority, the appointment continues until the next Annual meeting of the authority (i.e. May 2021) or until such time as that authority may determine (Regulation 4 (2). This applies to the election of the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and Lead / Deputy Lead Members of the Council and therefore these will remain in place until the Annual meeting is held next year, unless the Council decide to elect a replacement earlier. Parish Council office Following Government advice on COVID-19 the Coun-cil office is now closed to the public until further no-tice. You can still contact us by email or telephone and we will get back to you as soon as we can. This newsletter contains the annual reports which in a normal year, would usually have been given to residents in the Annual Parish Meeting. Obviously, this year no public meetings have been possible and the Hall is not open to the public, so we have decided to give all the reports in this newsletter instead. In the last few months, everyone’s life has been changed because of the Covid 19 pandemic. For us in the Parish Council, the government has had to bring in emergency legislation to enable us to carry out our statutory duties, and this seems to change nearly every day, as you will have heard if you follow the news. We have had to change the way in which we make decisions, for example about planning recommendations to the Borough and to make sure that all our bills can be paid on time. You will find more information about how we are managing to carry out our usual work and activities including making decisions about planning recommendations on our website at www.datchetparishcouncil.gov.uk Since we are no longer allowed to hold our meetings in the Village Hall as usual, we have agreed to give delegated powers to Lead and Deputy Lead Members of the council to make to make decisions about planning and also to make sure that our bills are all paid. These are all decided by email messages through the Clerk. Other decisions have also been made by this method. Day to day decisions about mainte-nance and other work needing to be done can also be carried out by Lead Members in consultation with the Clerk and Chairman. As it appears that the lockdown will continue for some time, all Parish and Town Councils have been advised by the National Association for Local Councils (NALC) that we should try to hold ‘virtual’ meetings via Zoom or some other similar platform. We have been using this for smaller Working Groups usually consisting of about four members which has been quite successful, and we will be probably holding a council meeting like this by July, and it will then by possible for mem-bers of the public to take part if they wish, the same as in any normal council meeting. More information about all of these arrangements will be available on the parish council website. One item which has come to our attention recently is that of the Datchet Hall Endowment Fund (DHEF). This was formed in January 1963, when the then DPC agreed to use the proceeds from the sale of the old Hall (on Priory Way) together with a sum of accumulated letting fees, to form a Trust. The Trust’s objective was, and is, to use the ‘clear income’ of the charity, to provide leisure and recreational facilities which benefit and improve the life of people living in the Datchet Community. Further details are on the DPC website: if you know of an organisation or group which may benefit from a small grant, please write to the Clerk of the Fund at Datchet Parish Council Office. Linda O’Flynn Chairman , Datchet Parish Council  Datchet Parish Office1 Allen WayDatchet,BerkshireSL3 9HR Tel. 01753 773499  www.datchetparishcouncil.gov.ukCLERK TO THE COUNCIL: Katy Jones  Tel: 01753 773499 Mob. 07819 750924  e-mail: clerk@datchetparishcouncil.gov.ukMessage from the Chairman Clerk’s Report You should not use the Recreation Ground or Facilities if you are showing coronavirus symptoms, or if you or any of your household are self-isolating

Page 19

19 all points of the River Thames. However, the Borough emergency officer was able to provide a general indication of levels and issues relating to the County of Berkshire again a plus of additional info. I am pleased to record that the EA have made a significant improvement to their lock and level recording since 2001. The data of flooding in Datchet since 2003 is comprehensive and additional new and improved Data makes prediction easier and more accu-rate. This may be a helpful way of passing information to residents and avoiding excessive concerns by them when they receive an EA flood alert by telephone. Any views on the above would be welcomed. The Borough have pledged £54m to the River Thames Scheme for cost input into Channel 1 of the Scheme. This would give considerable flood protection to Datchet, Wraysbury, and Horton communities. Over the past 2 years Cllr Ewan Larcombe and myself have worked with the EA’s consultants at Redhill to formulate details of a Channel 1 design by inputting local knowledge. Now the Borough have admitted to a huge debt and short-fall of finance which may mean that they are very shortly likely to face a section 114, whereby special financial con-straints and conditions would be imposed. Under these present circumstances it is appearing to be highly likely that the pledge made cannot be honoured. If this occurred then Channel 1 would be unlikely to happen and the above three communities would continue to be unpro-tected, whilst the residents in Surrey would gain protec-tion from Channels 2 and 3. Currently Cllr Larcombe is representing our Communities on the Regional Flooding and Coastal Defence Committee and attending the House of Commons to keep tabs on the Political implications as circumstances change. At present the only flood protection that can be achi-eved within Datchet is the refurbishment of the under-ground, Barrel Arch storm water containment system running from Slough Road to Green Lane. Currently this system is heavily silted and a collapse within a section is noted together with loose brickwork. The Borough have pledged to repair the system with an intent to start this year. Attached to the Green Lane outfall is the recreation Ground ditch which jointly contains water with the Barrel Arch System, whereby the Recreation Ground acts as a soakaway for central Datchet as there is no outlet to the Annual Governance and Accountability Return 2019/2020 (AGAR) – Update. Due to the impact of COVID 19 the Statutory Audit deadlines are being extended and amended regulations are effective from 30th April 2020. These regulations extend the audit deadlines and remove the requirement for the public inspection period to include the first 10 working days of July. Instead, the public inspection period must begin on or before 1 September 2020, meaning that the Council has until 31 August 2020, at the latest, to approve and publish the AGAR. The date by which the completion of the final accounts and AGAR, together with any certificate or opinion issued by the local auditor, must be published has changed from 30 September 2020 to 30 November 2020. Katy Jones Clerk to Datchet Parish Council Herewith a list of items that have been undertaken under Grounds I hope I have captured most of them. • Replaced handrails on Recreation Ground ditch. • Replaced damaged pathway section on the Rec • Replaced pathway and landscaped Rec entrance at Horton Road. • Replaced unsafe pathway in front of Parish Office. • Installed new Remembrance bench on Memorial Green. • Installed new block paving beneath bench on North Green. • Repaired litter bins. • Cleaned and reset white posts on Greens as required. • Installed new Christmas decorations especially in Horton Road. • Extend flower baskets in Datchet. • Remove fallen tree in Cemetery. • Change of dog bin contractor and waste bin contactor in Cemetery. • Cleared fire risk dumped wood from Rec dog walk path-way. • Re-marked Doctors car park post flooding. • Cleaned up vandalised riverfront garden. • Cemetery paths re-surfaced Projects in hand or on Covid hold. • Riverfront vandalised ropes replaced. • Greens edging refurb. • Refurb and Replacement of white posts. • Treatment of Greens Grass. • Tree Survey and trim. • Rec ditch re-profile – see flooding • Replacement of flagstaff broken halyard. For just 6 months we have achieved quite A LOT. Grounds Team, Cllr Denny, Loveridge Lead Member for Grounds Cllr Ian Thompson, Deputy Lead Member for Grounds. Dean Smith, Grounds Contractor and Handyman. Dave Stickland, Grounds Contractor. Flooding and Drainage issues relating to Datchet Village during the past year Having weathered the threat of flooding during December into January the DPC introduced a new unofficial daily bulletin advis-ing residents via the Parish website regarding predictive and ac-tual water levels both upstream and at Datchet, as the Environ-ment Agency (EA) are unable to provide details of predictions in Grounds Flooding & Drainage issues Linda O’Flynn Chairman, Datchet Parish Council e-mail: linda.oflynn@btinternet.com or chairman@datchetparishcouncil.gov.uk

Page 20

20 Thames for central Datchet water. At present the DPC are in the throes of improving the containment of the Ditch and improving soakaway capacity in line with EA guidelines. In addition to this there is an intention to culvert part of the ditch adjacent to the Allen Way bridge for public safety and include a pump out chamber for the Fire Brigade in the event of flooding , as in 2014. A survey of the Ditch has been completed and passed to the DPC consultants that have now produced design drawings that can be used for construction. The process is now on hold due to Coronavirus shutdown, and this project will restart as soon as possible in the future. The Borough have promised that a back-flow protection valve will be fitted to the Recreation ground ditch branch from the Datchet Common Brook, this will stop other people’s water add-ing to Datchet flooding. All part of the Datchet ‘s own flood alleviation scheme linked to the above. I would like to take this opportunity to express thanks to the engineers on the Datchet Eel pass works in Southlea Road who have provided the opportunity to accurately measure river lev-els on a daily basis at Datchet for inclusion within the prediction notices above. Cllr Ian Thompson, DPC Flooding Spokesperson During the year, as Lead of Planning for the Datchet Parish Council I have been trying to develop the local focus on planning applications. Working with the Local Authority to create a clearer and more accurate solution for the public to understand and that would be more inclusive of local opin-ions and knowledge. As our normal Council meetings have been cancelled for the foreseeable future, we are currently looking to install an open online solution where all parties, councillors and the public can find planning information (including application notices, plans and past Borough deci-sions) on the Parish website. These will also be available as usual on all the local Parish notice boards. On the website it will be an interactive solution where all details of a planning application will be available to all at a click, in one place and will be delivered in a clearer and more detailed way. This "NEW" solution being added to the Datchet Parish Council website during June 2020 and we hope that the public and residents of Datchet will get more oversight of how plan-ning and their input works to maintain and improve the vil-lage. There may be issues arising on future development in the village as outlined in the Borough Local Plan or any plan-ning application which we would encourage feedback from the residents on in advance. Additionally, if you have a par-ticular interest in an application you can make comments directly on the application through the RBWM website. You can write to the Lead of Planning at the Parish Council by emailing the clerk@datchetparishcouncil.gov.uk Cllr. David Buckley Datchet Parish Council Deputy Lead for Planning Deputy Lead for Highways The year started with an appraisal of what was urgent and what was desired, however not Urgent? A continuation of the previ-ous year’s general repairs had already started. The Sports Changing rooms and Showers. All electrical work and 3 new heavy-duty Emerson Heaters were installed ready for the Football season.  01753 773499  e-mail clerk@datchetparishcouncil.gov.uk Cemetery Chapel Work began in earnest to obtain listed buildings Consent to save the Chapel from serious deterioration from the ele-ments via the roof and lack of rainwater goods. I would like to thank the Clerk for her selfless cooperation and dedication in procuring listed buildings consent. This was an interesting but arduous journey for us both never-theless , the elation when acquired was worth a journey made with cooperation and congenial work Ethics. The work entailed two contracts (1) a roofing firm (2) a specialist in cast iron rain water goods company. The roof-ing contractors were very generous, having a collection of the very same Victorian clay roof tiles they were able to replace many of the thinning tiles with these reclaimed tiles, at no cost to us. A surveyor has commented on the quality of the work. The cast iron guttering and down pipes are as original to complement the building and satisfy the recommendations of the Royal Borough While the contractors were working on the Chapel a special big thank you goes to a former Parish Councillor, Don Lyons Davis, who still looks after the Cemetery. Every day Don was there to open the gates letting the men in and out and giving access to the Chapel when required. As lead member for properties in 1993 Don was instrumental in the saving of this iconic building. The major structural work plus beetle treatment among many other defects were tackled in 1993 under Don’s supervision. There will be more work to do on the Chapel as a condition called rust jacking has been identified in some areas of the Masonry. The Bridge Café (24) and flat (24a) The Green Datchet. This building was hit by a truck a couple of years ago, and being a very, very old building should be treated with great care. Unfortunately hitting ancient buildings with trucks is not good. The position of the building (that shares an access with The Stag public house) does make the building vulner-able to Vehicle Damage. With peeling exterior paint large areas of the shop front were rotted being of wood construction the Victorian/ Ed-wardian style shopfront which is a replica installed in 1993. This year 2019 extensive restoration took place on all the shopfront and the side of the building, windows and doors. This is now safe again. Work will continue as and when the tradesmen can be found as lockdown is eased. A new lead pelmet /roof over the shopfront was installed in 2019 as water ingress was a problem. We very much hope to do repairs on the rendering and a fresh coat of paint this year. Grounds Properties

Page 21

21 The Library Has also has had some electrical work with more in the pipe-line. Guttering has been cleared with many trees surrounding the library this is a yearly necessity. I would like to thank • Cllr Denny Loveridge, Cllr Ian Thompson and Cllr E Larcombe All have been gentlemen and very supportive in a very busy year. • The Office staff and the Clerk all make things happen on time with accuracy. This is not an easy task, complex in its demands across many legal restraints. I have enjoyed this year, and again thank the Clerk for her sup-port. The Chairman is to be congratulated on her achievements, all done with patience. Cllr Mrs. M Davies . Environmental Awareness Working Group Prior to our enforced lock-down, Datchet Parish Council estab-lished an Environmental Awareness Working Group – the ‘EA group’ – as part of its response to environmental concerns. The aims of the group are to raise awareness of environmental issues within the council and the village community, and to encourage and promote activities that can be beneficial to im-proving our environment here in Datchet. We hope to bring together local clubs, groups, societies, schools and businesses to help support each other and raise awareness of the impact we have on our own environment. The DPC is also working in tandem with the Royal Borough which declared a Cli-mate Emergency last year and is currently working on new poli-cies to support their aims. Datchet Parish Council web-site address:  www.datchetparishcouncil.gov.uk Environmental Awareness How we can all contribute The intention of the EA Group is to raise awareness of how we can all contribute to environmental improvements. Simply put, it’s about understanding the BARE essen-tials: Biodiversity, Air quality, Rubbish (recycling and re-use), and Energy use. We are considering a number of initia-tives and would particularly appreciate your consideration of the following: Increasing the number of trees and flora within the village. Looking at ways to encourage a reduction in vehicle emis-sions. Investigate reduction of energy use in buildings throughout the village. Encouraging the reduction of litter generally. If you or your organisation would like to be part of this, please contact Cllr Allen Corcoran cllr.acorcoran@datchetparishcouncil.gov.uk Cllr Peter Hough cllr.phough@datchetparishcouncil.gov.uk And feel free to share any thoughts you may have. Thank you in advance for your support. Cllr. Allan Corcoran

Page 22

Page 23

Page 24

24 Designing the future Very many thanks to everyone who com-mented on the Datchet Design Guide (DDG) during the recent public consultation, and who came along to the drop-in session at the vil-lage hall with planning officers and the Datchet Neighbourhood Plan (DNP) team. During the six-week consultation, the DDG could be viewed online and initially paper cop-ies were available at local libraries, council offices and The Bridge. The DNP team had hoped to hold two additional, informal drop-in sessions but, due to the pandemic, these had to be cancelled and venues had to close. Tel-ephone numbers for RBWM’s planning officers were already included on the posters, articles, leaflets and social media posts about the consultation and we put up extra posters with our personal phone numbers for anyone wish-ing to see a copy of the DDG before the con-sultation closed on 7 April. We hope this gave everyone who wished to view it the oppor-tunity to do so. The purpose of the DDG is to help ensure that any new development, large or small, maintains and improves Datchet in ways which are in keeping with the character of our village, so it was important to hear residents’ views. We also received feedback from a number of organisations including Berkshire Gardens Trust; Environment Agency; Historic England; Natural England; Sport England and RBWM’s conservation officers. Overall, the responses were very constructive and supportive. The next step is to review the DDG based on this feedback. Thanks to video-conferencing software, the DNP team has been continuing to ‘meet’ online during the pandemic and, at the time of writing, the review process is well underway. This is being done in collaboration with RBWM planning officers and a specialist urban design, planning and development consul-tancy. Once this process is complete, an amended final version of the DDG will go before RBWM’s full council. If adopted, it will become a Supplemen-tary Planning Document, and will sit alongside the Borough Design Guide, helping to promote high-quality design in any new development through-out the village. Planning policy During the consultation process, it became clear that there is some confu-sion about the different levels of planning policy which affect Datchet, and about what can be done at each level. Some suggestions were beyond the scope of the DNP or DDG. There is a hierarchy in planning policy: National planning policy National planning policy takes the lead. Documents produced at this level provide a framework within which locally-prepared plans for housing and other development can be produced. The National Planning Policy Frame-work (NPPF) sets out the government’s main planning policies for the use of land nationwide, with details of how these policies are expected to be applied. The National Design Guide sets out the characteristics of well-designed places, demonstrating the principles of good design. Local plans In our area, the next tier of planning policy is the Borough Local Plan (BLP). This is currently being examined by the government’s Planning Inspec-torate. It will set out a planning strategy, in general conformity with national policy, for the whole of the Royal Borough up to 2033. The BLP will identify how much development is being planned throughout the Bor-ough, and will guide decisions on local planning applications. It will include Alison Crampin reports on the latest updates

Page 25

25 strategic policies on a range of issues related to the use of land, such as housing, transport, environment, em-ployment and infrastructure including flooding. The Borough-wide Design Guide is a supplementary docu-ment produced to support the BLP. It is a guide for plan-ning officers, developers and communities on the design of buildings, places and open spaces which can enhance the quality of life and prevent some of the poor quality developments which have degraded our settlements in the past. It covers, among other aspects, housing densi-ty, building scale and massing; architectural details, materials and colours; conversions and extensions; street design and boundary treatments; amenity includ-ing privacy, outlook and sunlight; and design in flood-risk areas. It is broad-brush and wide-reaching in scope as it has to apply to the whole borough. Both these documents, currently in draft form, will have an impact on future development in Datchet. They can be found on the RBWM website. Neighbourhood Plans The third tier of planning policies are those developed at parish or ‘neighbourhood’ level. Neighbourhood Plans allow communities to play a greater role in shaping the future of their area by setting their own local planning priorities and aspirations within the broader planning system. In Datchet, work is underway on a Datchet Neighbourhood Plan. This will be supported by the Datchet Design Guide. When complete, Datchet’s Neighbourhood Plan will sit alongside the Borough Local Plan and will be used to make decisions on new development proposals. It must conform to strategic policies in the NPPF and BLP, and focus on local issues concerning the use of land. Within these parameters, it can cover topics such as housing and the built environment; green and blue (rivers and lakes) environment; getting around (footpaths and cy-cle paths); heritage and community assets; business and economy; and sustainable development. Neither the DNP nor DDG are able to cover infrastructure issues such as highways, airport runways and flood alleviation schemes. Datchet’s Design Guide focuses solely on Datchet, on the finer detail and locally-specific, positive design elements which have evolved over time to give our village its unique character, making it distinct from its neighbours. The draft copy can be found on the DNP website. Next steps Planning policies put forward in a Neighbourhood Plan have to be justified and supported by evidence. The DNP team has been busy gathering evidence through research and a programme of commu-nity engagement involving surveys, drop-in sessions and character assessments. This work is still ongoing and we have now appoint-ed a professional planning consultant to help with the formulation of policies. When this is done, there is a set consultation procedure which must be followed, giving everyone an opportunity to com-ment, followed by a referendum on whether to accept the DNP. We will keep you updated on our progress. Further information For details about the progress of Datchet’s Neighbourhood Plan or to read the draft copy of the Datchet Design Guide, please visit: www.datchetneighbourhoodplan.org DEVELOPMENT AND CLIMATE CHANGE THE DNP TEAM NEEDS YOUR HELP Datchet’s Neighbourhood Plan team has started investigating how development could adapt to climate change but we are currently unable to meet with residents to discuss this. To help us progress with the plan, we would be very grateful to receive your initial feedback via our online survey. ONLINE SURVEY Could new development do more to reduce and adapt to the effects of climate change? Please visit our website www.datchetneighbourhoodplan.org and click through to the short survey to let us know what you think.

Page 26

Page 27

27 DATCHET HELP POINT Is located at the back of the Tea Shop in The Bridge at the village centre. The services offered include  Photocopying at 10p per A4 sheet  Free telephone calls to the Borough  Datchet Parish Council information  Monthly Surgery with local Community Police Officer  Monthly Surgery with RBWM Councillor for Datchet Information and leaflets available on  Adult courses  Job searches  Tourist information  and bus and train timetables To speak to Help Point Staff  telephone 01753 544556 On the 19th March The Bridge closed its doors for the duration of the lock down and, as I write this report, there is no news about when we may be able to open again. I miss The Bridge enormously as do all our volunteers and many customers. Life isn't the same without the cheery welcome from people in The Bridge and the chance to enjoy refreshments over lots of village news and chat. Café Cinema has gone on hold for the time being but I hope we may be able to show films again in the Autumn. I have had the opportunity to test out some of the films I had planned and, one of them proved to be a lucky escape. 'Shutter Island' is a horror film in my view and we gave up watching it! On the other hand 'Mrs. Lowrie and Son' is brilliant and I will definitely get it as soon as we reopen Café Cinema. On Friday 22nd April we had a Zoom coffee morning for The Bridge volunteers and seventeen of us managed to attend. It was very jolly indeed and so good to see people and catch up with their news. Thankfully everyone is in good health. Some more good news is the support we are receiving from RBWM; Douglas our treasurer applied for two separate grants, one before the crisis and one during. I am delighted to report that both applications have been successful; this is a great relief as we need financial support more than ever at the moment as no revenue is coming in to pay the bills. Just before the lock down period there have been donations from a Borough Councillor's fund and two private individuals have also provided some welcome funds. There is also great support from our Parish Council and I hope that we will have the painting done, both inside and out by the time we reopen. I would like to give a huge thank-you to the Parish Council and RBWM; there is great support for The Bridge and all of us who volunteer for this important work are extremely grateful. I always end this report with a request for more volunteers; obviously these are not required immediately but once we reo- Caroline Cole Chair of Bridge Management Committee pen there will be a need for people who are willing to cover holiday and sickness days as well as a need for more regular commit-ment. If you are interested in volunteering please ring Gloria Thompson on : 01753 548232 or email me carolineatrosecottage@btinternet.com I am sure you will find that you gain even more than you give by volunteering at our wonderful village hub coffee shop.

Page 28

28 The Covid-19 pandemic has meant that Slough Foodbank has had to signicantly change the way that we operate. The speed and fre-quency of change has been incredible. Reinvention and adaptation have been abso-lutely critical. We’ve had to be brave and willing to exper-iment. Signicant changes to the way we run include:  Operating from behind closed doors  Social distancing at distribution centres and our warehouse  Only accepting e-vouchers from referral agencies  An increase of over 30 new referral agencies during this pandemic  Purchasing urgent re-quirements when ware-house stocks ran low – donations of food and basic toiletries decreased due to restrictions on purchases from super-markets  Pre-packing food parcels in an additional ware-house (Thanks to land-lords SEGRO) to speed up distribution to clients  Home deliveries to those isolating and shielding. The community – both indi-viduals and local companies – has also rallied to support us through offers of help and donations of food, services and money. This newsletter highlights some of the stories of positivity that we have seen during what continues to be a crisis with far reaching impact on the health, nancial hardship and food poverty in Slough. Throughout this pandemic, Slough Foodbank has continued to focus on our prime objective which is to provide three days’ worth of nutri-tionally balanced, non- perishable, emergency food to local people who are referred in crisis. This is testament to the hard work and dedication of our volunteers and everyone who has supported us. We are hugely thankful. a family sized parcel KEY STATISTICS: NUMBER OF PEOPLE HELPED DURING THE CRISIS We have published monthly statistics on the number of people we have helped during this crisis – see the table below. Slough Foodbank statistics: March to May 2020 (compared with March to May 2019) Slough Foodbank is part of the Trussell Trust Network who have recently published a press release highlighting that April was the busiest month ever for UK foodbanks. Sadly, Slough Food-bank is signicantly higher than the national average as the table below shows. National comparison: Key stats April 2020 (compared with April 2019) % increase Slough Foodbank % increase Trussell Trust National network People helped 123% 89% Children helped 178% 107% MARCH % increase (versus 2019) APRIL % increase (versus 2019) May % increase (versus 2019) Total 717 112% 687 123% 553 63% Adults 417 103% 417 98% 369 68% Chidren 300 127% 270 178% 184 55% COVID-19 Newsletter HOW WE’RE CONTINUING TO RESPOND DURING THE COVID-19 CRISIS AND MORE STORIES OF ENCOURAGEMENT MESSAGE FROM SLOUGH FOODBANK MANAGER, SUE SIBANY-KING: “It is incredibly heart-breaking to be reporting this huge increase in the need for our services in the first 5 months of 2020. For the full year of 2019 we saw a 19% increase in the number of food parcels supplied, so these further sharp increases are a real and stark picture of the effect Covid-19 is having on individuals and families within the Slough area. Whilst the pandemic is responsible for an increase in need, it has highlighted that so many were struggling in poverty before it took hold and therefore were totally unable to with-stand an extra crisis. Numbers have been increasing steadily since September last year be-cause many households just do not have sufficient income to pay costs like rent and buy food. This has to be addressed quickly and we should not accept that in the 6th richest country we still have poverty and homelessness.”

Page 29

29 BEV KINDRED APPOINTED DEVELOPMENT EXECUTIVE The foodbank relies almost entirely on volunteers for all our ac-tivities to support our clients, with the exception of the role of Manager, which is a paid position. The Trustees have been aware for some time that, for sustainability and risk mitigation, there is a need for a second employee in the role of Development Execu-tive. This position liaises with agencies, manages the voucher system and deputises for the manager during her absence. The work of this role has increased signicantly over time and is not suited to being shared across a pool of volunteers. The current pandemic has further highlighted the critical need for this role and, therefore, the Trustees decided to appoint into this position now. We are delighted to announce that Bev Kindred has accepted the role of Development Executive. The appointment is on a part-time xed-term contract, and dependent upon continued funding. COVID-19 IMPACT ON VOLUNTEER NUMBERS The biggest challenge during Covid-19 has been to keep the distribution centres adequately staffed. Many of our trained vol-unteers had to stand down due to self-isolation or shielding. Yet at the same time we have been overwhelmed by the response of the community and the number of individuals who have joined Slough Foodbank to work along-side our regular volunteers. Our Volunteer Co-ordinator worked hard to ensure we had experi-enced volunteers, together with untrained helpers. Whilst every day began and ended with a dif-ferent challenge, we now have a rhythm and are getting used to the ‘new normal’. SUPPORT FROM THE MEDIA Slough Foodbank Manager, Sue Sibany-King, has been incredibly busy, not only overseeing the operations of the Foodbank but also responding to the media requests and offers to highlight Slough Foodbank and our efforts. We are thankful to them for highlight-ing our cause and their readers and listeners for their support. Radio Berkshire Breakfast show with Andrew Peach The Slough Observer: https://www.sloughobserver.co.uk/news/18366123.slough-foodbank-needs-support-coronavirus/ https://www.sloughobserver.co.uk/news/18409961.welcome-gift-food-bank-langley-iver-rotarians/ The Foodbank Show https://www.youtube.com/watchv=bPuaKhFZR8E&feature=youtu.be&t=3035 and https://youtu.be/o-xlOj-xoko?t=3167 HUGE SUPPORT FROM THE COMMUNITY We have been overwhelmed by the number of people from the local community offering to help in so many different ways. We have been unable to record all donors to send a thank you, due to the changes we have had to make to operate effectively ensuring social distancing but also focus-ing on core efforts to get help to people who need it. We are hugely appreciative to everyone who has sup-ported us. We’ve highlighted below some of the support re-ceived, where we have been able to track it: Crowdfunder Covid 19 Crisis appeal We set-up a Crowdfunder Covid-19 Crisis appeal and in 68 days it raised £14,502 with 252 supporters. We are grateful to the Slough Observer, who helped to promote this and to every-one who donated. The effects of Covid-19 contin-ue to impact those who are already vulnerable and liv-ing in poverty, relying on benets and facing huge nancial hardships. This money will go a long way towards ensuring we are able to continue to get food and basic toiletries to peo-ple who need it most. Delivery of protective gloves We were so grateful for a delivery of food safe pro-tective gloves from Give Food and Slough CVS for our volunteers to wear when packing and delivering food parcels. These gloves, as well as hand sanitisers, were impossible for us to source by ourselves and have made a difference to ensuring we continue to work safely, helping to pro-tect both our volunteers and clients. INDIVIDUALS & GROUPS RAISING MONEY Community group ‘Paving the way’ raised £720 for Slough Foodbank when they did a sponsored run/jog/walk of 10km whilst they were fasting during Rama-dan - this means no food or water for 18 hours. Alannah Barazi, aged 7, had a wonderful idea to support Slough Foodbank and The Trusssell Trust by reading

Page 30

30 55 books in a readathon. She raised £358 for Slough Foodbank and £146 for Trussell Trust. Two brothers Shailen (age 5) and Nayan (age 10) held an online auction of their artwork. Families and friends supported this initiative and they raised a fabulous £620, smashing their target of £250. Langley & Iver Rotary have donated £500 worth of food to Slough Foodbank. LOCAL COMPANIES PROVIDING SERVICES FOR FREE One of Slough Food-bank’s referral agencies, Radian, has kindly loaned us their van for six months. This means we can more easily move the extra sup-plies we need from the permanent col-lection points in su-permarkets, to the warehouse and to distribution centres as well as home deliveries. Aftab at Rapid Response Team has been doing a sanitising clean of our premises on a weekly basis for free. This has been an enormous help to us, especially during this time of increased focus on hygiene and cleanliness. Cliveden National Trust donated the Easter eggs that would have been used on their Easter Trail which had to be cancelled. We were able to give these to our clients over the Easter period as a little chocolaty treat in addition to their 3-day, nutritionally balanced food parcel. However, as we had more than we required, it was a privilege to be able to share the love and donate eggs to Wexham Park and Charing Cross hospitals 'Walk and Talk Upton' generously donated provi-sions to our warehouse SSE have allowed one of their employees who is currently on furlough, to use the company van and their fuel for charitable purposes. This has been a huge help as we have been making local home deliveries. Krisi's car wash Park Road, Farnham Royal cleaned the Slough Foodbank van for FREE – service with a smile and a heart. SCS (Sofa Carpet Specialist) who contacted the foodbanks that are part of the Trussell Trust network and which are closest to their 100 stores to offer a nancial donation to help during this time. In the longer term they are keen to create a partnership with us to support with food donations. WAYS YOU CAN SUPPORT SLOUGH FOODBANK: We would like to thank you for your contin-ued support of Slough Foodbank. If you would like to know how you can continue to support us we do have a shopping list of items that we currently need, this is pub-lished and updated regularly on our web site – see our current shopping list. If you would like to provide toiletries we have created a wish list with Eosho, which enables you to buy directly online and avoid the need to drop off at our warehouse. Financial donations can also be made in a variety of ways to suit you. Information is available on our web site. https://slough.foodbank.org.uk/give-help-2/donate-money/ SOME OF THE FEEDBACK WE HAVE RECEIVED  “Praying a blessing on everyone who is working to keep those in need fed. God Bless”  Would just like to thank you and your staff for all the support you’ve given to families at our school. It’s been great to see familiar faces at the collection centre and being able to deliver pack-ages and to see the reaction of families is an amazing thing and they thank you from the bottom of their hearts.”  “Thank you for your care, time and bravery”  “Thank you for looking after vulnerable people of Slough”  “You are providing a fantastic service at risk to yourselves. You have my admiration and support”  “Thank you everyone for your won-derful seless work”  “You’re doing a vital job, especially so at this time. Carry on, and my good wishes are with you.”  “I love and respect the work you do none stop, throughout the year, come what may. Thank you.”

Page 31

Page 32

32 God speaks to us in many ways, through the Bible, other people, music, the beauty of nature, art and also through our own experi-ences, some of which may be painful. When I am praying God sometimes speaks to me through pictures. I am a visual person, I relate better to seeing than hearing and the images I see during prayer are a great help to me. I tend to have the pictures when I am praying with another person rather than when I am alone which makes me think that God nds this pleasing, 'where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.' At the start of lockdown when the Covid 19 crisis really came home to us I felt anxious, not knowing what to pray – shadows of loss, emptiness and fear were present rather than any inspiration at all. While I was praying, or in fact, not really praying as I saw it, just coming before God in a fog, I had a powerful picture. I was brought up in Cirencester and many years ago a ne, new Waitrose super-market came to the town. It was in the early days of when it was a surprise to nd super-market staff bending over backwards to be helpful, smiling and doing their best to nd anything one needed. In those days there were some enormous, plastic swing doors at the back of the shop and if the assistant could not nd what you wanted on the shelf they disappeared through those doors to see if the item was in stock. The picture God gave me was those doors! I thought it seemed rather bizarre but kept with the im-age and felt the message was reassurance of God's huge resources and love for mankind. What I was see-ing in the 'shop' was not the full picture; God's 'warehouse' is limitless and full of surprises. The outcome of the picture for me was to be com-forted and I was able to continue praying, looking beyond the 'doors' rather than sit-ting in my bubble of fear. As I began to think about ideas for this page in The Link I reected about my thoughts. A pic-ture from a book I have, 'The World of Goya' came to mind. ( picture bottom left) It is a scary painting, full of threats and danger. During the lock down time I have sometimes woken in the night feeling anxious, then my husband, Douglas might give a little cough and my imagination runs riot! However, for many people these fears have been a reality and so many have suffered great pain and loss. In order to move on from the dark picture by Goya I try to think of opposites. For me that is pictures of mountains, a wonderful source of inspiration; getting to the top of a mountain is somewhere I can feel close to God, a picture of one is the next best thing. This is a small painting of Mount Errigal, the highest moun-tain in Ireland. Douglas and I were on holiday in Donegal and we found this painting which was really special because it was the view from our hotel. I had said I wanted to buy Douglas a Donegal tweed cap and he said he would like to get me a present too. I managed to choose something a lot more expensive than a tweed cap! The other picture I want to share with you is a painting I have of Cirencester Parish Church. It is modern and painted by a local artist. I nd it very uplifting to look up at when I am in The World of Goya

The LINK June 2020

Page 1

Page 2