Postcards from Lockdown

Postcards from lockdown – highlighting children and young people.

It’s been difficult enough for the average adult to cope with the personal repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic and lock down – but what has it been like for children and young adults?

There must have been high and lows, and for many it will have been difficult. Those who are younger and have access to safe outdoor space may have enjoyed playing out in summer weather but others will have spent a lot of time indoors.

A report by the Childhood Trust published recently highlighted the effects to children’s mental health. They found worries about the virus, children missing their friends, school and concerns about their parents who may have lost jobs and be struggling to pay rent or buy food. Young people have had their futures thrown into uncertainly, exams cancelled, the university experience radically changed and career or job prospects uncertain. Sea Mills 100 and Sea Mills and Coombe Dingle Together have joined forces for a project to focus on the experiences of children and young people and highlight them to others. Mary Milton of Sea Mills 100 says “We have been unable to open our museum during lockdown so we wanted to find a way of supporting our local community by using our window displays in creative way. We are inviting children and young people to send us a ‘postcard from lockdown’. We want to hear what they are doing and how they feel about what is happening right now.”

The postcards will be displayed in the Sea Mills Museum – (AKA the old phone box in Sea Mills Square) and on notice boards around Sea Mills and Coombe Dingle as well as online. Research shows that children and young people benefit from finding ways to express their individual experiences. Dr. Georgina Taylor, clinical manager of The Bridge Foundation Psychotherapy Service in Bristol says: "When children can express their thoughts and feelings to others, in words or pictures, it can help them to process their experiences and to feel that these are valued and heard by others. It can also help them to feel more connected to other people”.

All children and young people are invited to participate, regardless of where they live. The postcards will be kept together as an archive so will

also become part of the record of this time. Templates are available to download from www.seamills100.co.uk/postcard but you don’t need to use them. Just send a postcard sized piece of writing or artwork to Sea Mills 100, 28 St Edyth’s Road, Sea Mills, Bristol BS9 2ES. Alternatively, you can email it to info@seamills100.co.uk or post to twitter or Instagram tagging @seamills100 using the hashtag #LockdownPostcard

Sea Mills 100 is a heritage project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Bristol City Council celebrating 100 years of Sea Mills

www.seamills100.co.uk

Government announcement provides hope for Bristol hoteliers

This week’s Government announcement that hotels can re-open their doors to guests from July 4 has been welcomed by the Bristol Hoteliers Association (BHA).

Many of its member establishments are now working to ensure that they are ‘Covid safe’ in order to be able to welcome back paying customers and begin to get back in business.

Like many businesses in the hospitality sector nationwide, the coronavirus pandemic has had a huge impact on BHA members.

But the Government’s easing of the lockdown rules, and of the two-metre social distancing requirements, means the BHA is keen to look to the future.

Raphael Herzog, BHA Chair, said: “The Government’s announcement that the hospitality sector re-open from July 4 is, indeed, very good news.

“Ideally, we would have preferred it the announcement to have been made sooner, but now that we have a date, we can all focus on getting ready to re-open our hotels.

“We will all need to implement new procedures and measures, to ensure that we are Covid-safe. As always, the health and safety of our staff and our guests is of utmost importance.

“That means that not every hotel will be opening its doors on July 4, as each business will have unique characteristics and challenges to overcome, but the Government’s announcement this week gives us the green light to start properly preparing.

“Many hotels are planning to open in early July, with others aiming for August or even later, depending upon demand in the city.

“Many, many, people – those who have been confined to their homes for many weeks as well as others who have been working flat-out during the crisis – will feel that they want, need and deserve a break but they will also want to know that the place they choose to stay in is going to be as safe as possible. We really welcome to words from the PM on people to Staycation this summer in order to boost the UK economy.

“All our members will be working hard to ensure that when they re-open their hotels, they will be as safe as they possibly can be. 34

“This has been an extremely difficult time for many businesses, and we have a duty to ensure we take every possible precaution to reduce the risk of a further spike in coronavirus cases, while at the same time trying to get our hotels back in business as much as possible.

“Some premises have been completely closed during the lockdown, while others have provided accommodation for essential key workers.

“Undoubtedly there will still be some difficult times ahead for many businesses, but we are all very much looking forward to welcoming back guests – old and new – to our hotels.”

He added that the experience of visiting any hotel is going to be very different to what it was before the pandemic.

He said: “Many hotels and other tourism operators will need to adapt, using technology such as on-line check-ins, apps to enable people to order food and drinks, even drive-through check-ins.

“We are all going to have to adapt and re-think the way we do things.”

Mr Herzog said while this week’s announcement is a welcome one, much more needs to happen before hotels can be more confident of being able to survive in the longer-term.

“We need to see the larger meetings, conferences and weddings return, which make a vital contribution to the economic viability of many hotels in the city.

“We are allowed to accommodate weddings involving up to 30 people in July, which will be reviewed hopefully in August.

“Spa and leisure facilities are also an important income generator for many hotels, and the sooner these can be re-opened, the better it will be, so there is still a very difficult road ahead for many businesses.”

He said there are measures that the Government can introduce which could help, including reducing VAT to 15 percent, and extending the length of time that the furlough scheme can be used by the hospitality and leisure sector, which is one of the last industries to benefit from a lifting of lockdown restrictions.

The Bristol Hoteliers Association represents 40 major hotels in the city, with around 4,000 rooms. Hotels put an estimated £200 million into the local economy.

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