Charities

Tractor enthusiasts dig deep to help others

Flashback to 2020 – some of the charities who benefited from last year’s pre-pandemic event From pristine condition to those in need of some tlc – the show organisers welcome all exhibits

orGANISErS of the annual Somerset Vintage and Classic Tractor Show have donated more than £10,000 to charity –even though Covid-19 prevented them from having an event this year.

Committee members nominated their favourite charities to benefit and were each given £1,500 to donate. dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance and Time is Precious each received £3,000 (some committee members are partners), whilst Great Western Air Ambulance, Cots for Tots and Hot rock Carnival Club were granted £1,500.

The two-day event at the royal Bath and West Showground attracts thousands of visitors to admire the displays of vehicles, with a different manufacturer showcased each year.

Tom Vailes, one of the team, said: “It became clear last year that we would be unable to hold a show in 2021 but we have always supported various charities and felt it was important to carry on doing so.

“over the years, we’ve managed to build up some reserves in the bank. Everyone is struggling at present and we are delighted to be able to do a little bit to help.”

Lockdown hampers Channel swim preparations

SIANAndrews, a children’s nanny from Long Ashton, is planning to swim the English Channel as part of a relay team to raise money for Aspire, a charity which helps people with spinal injuries.

But lockdown has hampered her preparations, with swimming pools shut and travel restrictions stopping her usual trips with friends to swim in the sea at Clevedon or in Henleaze Lake in Bristol.

Instead she’s been using a family’s ten-metre backyard pool for her training, saying: “It feels so much colder on your own, without the banter which takes your mind off it.”

She decided to support Aspire after watching a short video on their website about the channel swim. Her own father, who had been an army PT instructor, had severe problems later in life.

She said: “Tears starting rolling down my cheeks. I became very emotional, but couldn't understand why. I knew in that moment I wanted to aim for it, never believing I would actually pass the medical, and swim assessments.”

She says she’s in her 50s, only 156cm and overweight. Having passed all of the tests so far, she now faces three more mandatory swims at dover to be accepted for the channel swim from July 11-16th.

Teams of six are expected to take up to 24 hours to make the crossing, with each member swimming for an hour in turn.

Sian said: “We hope to average 3kms an hour and I may have to swim two or three times. This is such a worthwhile cause. How health can be impacted in an instant is what I learned from living through the New Zealand earthquakes. one minute you’re fine and dandy, the next . . . who knows?”

Sian (left) with a friend, Rachael Adorisio, at Clevedon last November

Second time is just as precious

MENdIP district Council has chosen Coleford-based Time is Precious to be their Charity of the Year for the second year in a row.

In 2020, staff raised £820, plus £121 in gift aid, for the cause. Since the March lockdown last year, many council staff have been working from home, posing significant fundraising challenges when compared to previous years.

A vote was taken to either continue supporting the current charity or nominate a new one for 2021. But Time Is Precious remained the firm favourite and will be the focus of fundraising at the council for a further 12 months.

Time is Precious was set up by Neil and Nicky Halford in memory of their son Ben who died from cancer in 2010. The charity aims to create a more comfortable and relaxed atmosphere for ill and disabled children and their families in hospital or at home.

Council chief executive, Stuart Brown, said: “despite Covid-19 restrictions, and with many working from home, staff were still able to band together and fundraise over £800 last year, which is frankly incredible.

“However, their resounding vote to back Time is Precious again for 2021, shows they feel there’s a lot more they can, and want, to do for this special, local charity.

“We know that many such organisations are struggling due to the prolonged pandemic. The work they do is vital and valued by communities, and they need our help.”

Last year’s funds will go towards a specialised MrI dVd player in Bristol Children’s Hospital to take patients’ minds off the procedure by watching their favourite film.

Nicky and Neil Halford said: “We are absolutely thrilled to be the chosen charity for the second year in a row.

“This year we intend to expand our ‘Ben’s Gift’ appeal, where we purchase equipment for disabled children in their home. Any funds raised by Mendip staff this year will be going towards that appeal.”

For details about Time is Precious, visit: https://timeisprecious.org/

Scout’s hospice gift

oNE of 1st Blagdon Scouts newest members has raised £427 for Children’s Hospice South West by making Christmas decorations. Tommi, aged 11, said: “I chose this charity because it is local and has helped my friends’ families before. The charity helps poorly children’s families by giving them support and help.”

His efforts also earned him his Fundraising badge.

Scout leader, Andrew Barnes, said: “Tommi’s efforts are quite outstanding and he fully deserves our congratulations on what he has achieved.”

New director for arts charity

CrEATIVITY Works, the arts and health charity based in radstock, has appointed Sarah James as its new director.

Sarah, who has been the director of the Arts development Company for the past three years, will start her new role on Monday, March 22nd. She will further develop the charity’s work as an Arts Council England funded National Portfolio organisation, and guide its work in the field of socially engaged arts.

Creativity Works runs high quality arts projects, increasing health and wellbeing for those living with mental health challenges, and from disadvantaged sectors of society. Sarah trained in the arts and has held director and senior management roles in internationally and nationally significant charitable arts, cultural organisations and social enterprises for the last 13 years. She said: “I’m so excited to take on the director role at Creativity Works – it’s a very well-respected organisation and will continue to play an essential role in Sarah has a wealth of experience in supporting and the arts improving people’s wellbeing post-Covid. I’m also looking forward to increasing and sustaining our support to artists right now and their key role in harnessing and celebrating everything that’s positive in our communities.”

Creativity Works trustee and chair Michael Whitcroft said: “We are thrilled that Sarah James will be joining us in March. Sarah comes with huge experience of socially engaged artistic practice and will, I am sure, help steer Creativity Works into a new and expanded stage of the charity’s development.”

Creativity Works is commissioned by Virgin Care to run the Creative Links Support Service, which delivers a wide range of activities aimed at supporting wellbeing and mental health through creativity including creative writing, visual arts, journaling, and photography. All have been run online since the start of the pandemic last March.

Grants available

THE richard Jones Foundation, which provides grants for educational and training purposes, is inviting applications to be considered at its next meeting on Monday, April 26th.

The Jones Charitable Trust was started in 1692 by the Jones family, who lived in Stowey. richard Jones is buried in Chew Magna. His family held high positions locally and nationally.

The grants are available to people under 30 living in the parishes of Chew Magna, Newton St Loe, Stanton drew, Stanton Prior and Stowey Sutton.

Support for struggling families

TrINAAnstey of Pensford was overwhelmed with the response after posting an appeal on Facebook for donations to the Bristol Baby Bank.

She said: “When I saw an email in work asking for baby bank donations I thought that the people of Pensford, Temple Cloud and Clutton would be able to help – how right I was!

“I was inundated with offers of help and had two cars full of donations, the back seats were full up in both cars too.

“I’m sure there will be many grateful young families on the receiving end of the donated goods. Amongst the donations were a cot, two mattresses, a swing, two Moses baskets, sterilisers, toys, clothes, books plus many other items that a new mum will need.”

The Baby Bank Network was set up in Bristol in June 2015 to help alleviate child poverty and support families at what might be a time of financial and emotional stress, whilst reducing waste and promoting re-use of items.

They receive referrals from health visitors, children’s centres and other local professionals who work with vulnerable families. Their service is provided free and all donations go directly to the families that they support.

It initially operated out of a donated unit in St Philip’s, Bristol but soon outgrew the space, moving on to temporary premises in Southmead and finally settling in Fishponds at Stoke View Business Park.

Details: www.babybanknetwork.com

Mendip Challenge to go ahead

WESToNHospicecare has confirmed the popular Mendip Challenge will take place on Sunday, June 6th and will feature 30, 20, ten and a brand new five-mile route along the West Mendip Way between Wells and Weston.

The last time it was held in 2019 the event raised £85,000 for the hospice with 1,200 people taking part.

Events and challenges manager, Grace dibden, said: “We’re delighted to announce our most popular event, The Mendip Challenge, is back with a bang! The charity has already arranged for measures such as social distancing on coaches, contactless registration and staggered start times for the five and ten-mile route.

“Participants will start and finish at Weston Cricket Club to ensure social distancing can take place on the coaches for the 20 and 30-mile routes.”

Details: http://bit.ly/MendipChallenge (https://www.westonhospicecare.org.uk/event/the-mendipchallenge/)

Advice goes online

THE charity, Families for Children, is continuing to run its adoption information sessions online via Zoom to give people considering adoption the chance to find out more.

The sessions will be held on Saturday, March 13th, 911am; Wednesday, April 21st, 9-11am.

Outdoor help for young people

MEMBErSof the rotary Club of Mendip are helping the SPACE charity, based in Cheddar, to create a community wellbeing garden in the Cheddar allotments.

The garden will provide opportunities for children, young people, and adults to mix socially, make friends and connect with others to improve their mental well-being.

A recent work party of rotarians and volunteers from the charity prepared raised beds in the allotment in preparation for planting later in the year. A trench was also dug to erect fencing around the project.

Ceri davies, president of the rotary Club of Mendip said: “We have chosen SPACE as this year’s charity. It supports local young people four 18 years who are suffering mental health issues, which have increased during the current pandemic.”

Details: thespacesomerset.org.uk

Pandemic progress report

THEUK has made impressive advances not just in the creation, manufacture and roll-out of Covid vaccines (14 million and counting) but on finding drugs to treat established disease. The UK Recovery Trial found that the cheap steroid dexamethasone reduces risk By DrPHIL HAMMOND of mortality by 20 percent for those on oxygen and 35 percent for ventilated patients.

And the government-funded REMAP-CAP trial found that two drugs normally used to treat rheumatoid arthritis, tocilizumab and sarilumab, reduce the relative risk of death for patients entering intensive care by 24 percent.

Unpublished recovery trial results have just found a combination of dexamethasone and tocilizumab could reduce the mortality rate of some ITU patients by up to 50 percent.

We have improved our overall ITU management and ventilator use and developed early warning systems to spot Covid patients deteriorating outside ITU and at home. The use of pulseoximeters can spot patients with dangerously low oxygen saturation even when they appear to be well.

The NHS has made Vitamin D supplements free for those at high risk of Covid, in the hope of improving their general health and immunity.

Compliance with masks, hand-washing, social distancing, isolating, quarantining and lockdown rules has endured with the arrival of new variants and we have the most expensive test and trace system in the world.

The NHS Covid app had been downloaded 21,258,726 times by January 5th – that’s 62 percent of over-16s with a compatible smartphone in England and Wales – and analysis suggests it may have prevented 600,000 further Covid infections.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has backed the Oxford vaccine, confirming it can be given to adults of all ages and supported the UK’s strategy recommending that the two doses should be given eight to 12 weeks apart for the best immune response.

And yet despite all this effort, cost, sacrifice and progress, we have been unable to stop 116,587 people dying from Covid (as of February 12th), nor the economic and educational carnage that has accompanied it. Might it not have been better to try to keep the virus out at our borders?

We are an island nation and that’s a huge advantage in a pandemic. Had we taken the tough decision to stop all nonessential international travel a year ago, and test and quarantine all “essential travellers” on arrival, we might be in a much better position now. It certainly worked well in Australia, where half my family live.

We would have needed to support the international travel and tourism industries and other businesses affected by border control, but we may have been able to keep UK schools, businesses, travel and holiday venues open. Pubs and sports venues could be at least half full.

Other, admittedly less crowded, islands managed this at the outset, but only now are we taking border control seriously. Stable doors and horses spring to mind, but at least we have vaccines and better treatment for Covid, and hope for the future…

Plop the Raindrop

SHEmust have been one of the first bees of spring and she’s a very interesting person. I was sheltering in the pearly petals of a snowdrop when she called by. I’ll call her Betty the Bumblebee.

Betty had been hibernating in her nest all winter and had emerged with the first days of warm sunshine in early February, which was probably a mistake because it got freezing cold again soon after that.

After our day out together Betty went back to snuggle down in her nest – whilst I was turned into an icicle for a few days, which didn’t bother me. We water droplets are extremely adaptable.

But for that one nearly-spring day I enjoyed a wonderful outing, sitting just behind Betty’s huge hairy head, just in front of her four buzzing wings.

Betty was hunting for nectar in snowdrops, hellebores and primroses, some of the first flowers to appear after the cold of winter.

You probably have some of those flowers in your garden or your nearest park. See if you can find any; look for them when you go out. Snowdrops look like lovely white pearls; hellebores like miniature umbrellas; and primroses like small, yellow suntraps. Betty told me she had a pretty varied diet, depending on the time of year. After this first flush of flowers she said she would start looking for nectar in narcissi (most people call those daffodils), dandelions, wild garlic and bluebells, with rosemary if she could find any.

I found it quite remarkable that she could fly. Imagine sticking wings on a house brick and expecting it to manoeuvre so expertly into the hollow bowl of a tulip.

Betty could manage it very well, with the fierce buzzing of her wings echoing very loudly inside every flower she visited. She said one of the highlights of her year are fruit trees.

She loves cherry blossom, apple, then plum, strawberries and all the rest. I told her she was doing a very important job, helping to fertilise virtually every plant on earth. Betty said that she doesn’t stray much further than Priddy, but I think she got my point.

Without the insects, how could flowers and blossom get pollinated and bear fruit? It’s one of the things human beans are concerned about with climate change.

Betty said the best time of year was the summer, when so many plants are in flower. Her favourites are borage and buddleja.

We rested for a while in the sunshine in a sea of snowdrops on a hillside looking across to Glastonbury Tor. What a wonderful view!

Then Betty left me there, saying she ought to get back underground before the warmth went out of the day.

I snuggled up in a blanket of white petals, thinking what a wonderful day it had been. There’s something very soothing about the gentle hum of a bumblebee.

See if you can hear one this spring.