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| Welcome to the 90th issue of the Sunday Email – the first of 2022.
I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and I sincerely wish you all have a happy, healthy and prosperous new year.
Doug
07785 223707 |
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Next soup and sweet lunch
The fortnightly soup and sweet lunches at the Village hall start again on Wednesday 5 January at 12 noon. An announcement about which charity or organisation will benefit from the funds raised will be made on the day.
The last lunch of 2021 (22 December) raised £65 for Cancer Research. |
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Fish & chip van
The fish and chip van will not be visiting Topcliffe until Friday 28 January. |
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Volunteers needed for vaccination hubs
The NHS is calling for volunteers to help with a number of roles supporting the vaccination programme across North Yorkshire. The roles to be covered at the vaccination hubs include vaccinators, marshalling of cars and helping with administration (data entry skills would be useful). People interested in helping can apply via this website:https://nhsvolunteerresponders.org.uk/i-want-to-volunteer |
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Catton Kitchen winter opening hours
- January – Friday and Sundays 10am to12 noon.
- February – Closed – as the team are very busy getting everything seeded and prepped for spring!
- March – Thursday 3 and Friday 4, 9am to 2pm; Saturday 5, 10am to 2pm; Sunday 6,10am to 2pm.
Opening times will be reviewed again in the spring. |
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Services at St Columba’s
- TONIGHT! 2 January at 6.30pm – Choral Evensong for Epiphany
- 9 January at 10.45am – Holy Communion
- 16 January at 10.45am – Choral Matins
- 23 January at 10.45am – Holy Communion
- 30 January – No Service
Message from John Phillips
"Could I just say how wonderful it has been for us to be able to put on a full programme of Christmas services this year. This could not have happened without a lot of help from a lot of people, both seen and unseen. Those who helped to get the church cleaned, lit and beautifully decorated. Those who organised and prepared for services, rehearsed the choir, played the organ, and provided drinks and refreshments. A special thank you to the brass quartet that added a very special extra touch to carols around the village Christmas tree: John, Sarah and Martha Barber, plus John Hewlett. Thank you all for your generosity of time and hard work, and to everyone who was able to join in our celebrations. As for the coming year, may I wish you all a very happy, blessed and healthy 2022." |
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| Parish Council meetings
Village Hall Committee meeting
- The next meeting will be at 7.15am on Tuesday 25 January 2022.
Both parish councils and the Village Hall Committee meet at Topcliffe & Asenby Village Hall. |
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Why it’s important to action software updates
Owners of electronic devices regularly receive software updates from the companies that made the equipment, but how many of us activate these updates straight away? The fact is that software updates are an important part of staying secure online. As well as containing new features or performance improvements, they often include bug fixes and security improvements.
Out-of-date software and apps contain weaknesses, making them easier to hack. Companies fix the weaknesses by releasing updates so when you update your devices and software, this helps to keep hackers out.
Devices contain a lot of personal data that is highly valuable to fraudsters. The likelihood is your device will contain your full name, date of birth, address, bank details, passwords, as well as many other forms of personal data such as private photos or videos.
It can sometimes be annoying to remember to update devices every time a new update is released and that’s why it’s sensible to enable automatic updates, if they are available. That means you don’t have to manually install updates every time they’re released.
For more of the government’s latest advice on how to stay secure online, visit the Cyber Aware website: http://www.cyberaware.gov.uk |
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- To Thursday 6 January – Ghostbusters: Afterlife – when a single mom and her two kids arrive in a small town, they begin to discover their connection to the original Ghostbusters and the secret legacy their grandfather left behind.
- Friday 7 to Thursday 13 January (with matinee Wednesday 12 January) – West Side Story – an adaptation of the 1957 musical, which explores forbidden love and the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds.
- Friday 14 to Thursday 20 January – Spider-Man: No Way Home – with Spider-Man’s identity now revealed, Peter asks Doctor Strange for help. When a spell goes wrong, dangerous foes from other worlds start to appear, forcing Peter to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.
- Friday 21 to Thursday 27 January – The Matrix Resurrections – return to the world of two realities; one, everyday life and the other, what lies behind it!
Important Notes:
1. Under the latest government instructions patrons over the age of 11 are asked to wear a face mask at all times, i.e. when both standing and seated. Patrons are thanked for their co-operation.
2. Normal adult/concession ticket pricing will be in operation on Monday nights. The upstairs seating will be closed; Downstairs seating only.
Please keep checking the website for the latest details – https://www.ritzcinema.co.uk/ |
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Events on at The Forum
- To Saturday 22 January (various performance times) – The Northallerton Variety Company present the pantomime Cinderella – undoubtedly the best known and most popular panto of them all.
- Wednesday 19 January at 7pm- Tosca – (live-streamed from The Royal Opera House) – into the romantic world of an idealistic painter Cavaradossi and his sensuous lover Tosca comes the malevolence of Baron Scarpia, Chief of Police, with fatal results.
- Thursday 27 January at 7pm – Leopoldstadt – this new award winning play by Tom Stoppard is a passionate drama of love, family and endurance. (Live-streamed from the National Theatre).
Enquiries 01609 776230. Tickets online at http://www.forumnorthallerton.org.uk |
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| Topcliffe & Asenby Village Hall
Under the recently introduced Plan B rules, face masks must be worn by users of the village hall, except when eating, drinking or undertaking exercise.
1. Weekly Activities
Monday
Art classes – 10am to 12 noon.
My Time Yoga – 1.30 to 2.45pm.
Boot Camp – 7 to 8pm.
Tuesday
Boccia Club – 1.30 to 3.30pm.
Library – 1.30 to 3.30pm.
Squirrels – 5 to 6pm.
Beavers – 6.15 to 7.15pm.
Wednesday
Soup & Sweet lunch – 12 noon to 1pm (alternate Wednesdays).
Cubs – 6.45 to 7.45pm.
Thursday
Pammy’s Pilates – 6 to 7pm.
Indoor Carpet Bowls – 7.30 to 9.30pm.
Friday
Boot Camp – 6 to 7pm.
Scouts – 7.30 to 10pm.
Saturday
Salsa and Bachata dancing 6 – to 8pm (currently fortnightly).
2. Regular meetings and other events
- Asenby Parish Council meeting – 7.30pm on Wednesday, 19 January.
- Topcliffe & Asenby Village Hall Committee – 7.15pm – Tuesday 25 January.
- Topcliffe Parish Council meeting – 7pm on Thursday, 3 February.
The Big Race Night and Challenge Quiz & Curry Night will hopefully be rescheduled in the spring. |
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Local traders
Most of these traders also have a Facebook page where you can check out latest information.
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| Bin Collections
Hambleton (Topcliffe):
- Refuse – Monday 3 and 17 January.
- Recycling – Thursday 13 and 27January.
- Green waste – There’ll be a special one off green bin collection on 13 January to take Christmas trees. Trees must be cut and fully contained within the bin. Normal garden waste is accepted during this collection.
Harrogate (Asenby)
- Recycling – Wednesday 5 January (changed due to a Bank Holiday) and Mondays 17 and 31 January.
- Refuse – Tuesday 11 January (Changed for operational reasons) and Monday 24 January.
- Green Waste – Subscriptions for 2022 will open in January. Watch out for an announcement soon!
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Hambleton Green Waste 2022/23
Subscriptions for Hambleton District Council’s garden waste collections for 2022/23 are now open for residents. The cost has been held at £40 for the third year running. New and existing customers can now sign up at http://hambleton.gov.uk or call 01609 779977.
Garden waste collections will resume mid-February for those who have subscribed to the current year’s service which runs until March 2022. |
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| LATEST INFORMATION & NEWS ABOUT COVID |
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The week’s Covid statistics
- 51.8 million first doses given. 47.4 million second doses. 90% of the population aged 12+ has now had the first jab and over 82.4% the second.
- 33.9 million have now had a booster or third jab. That’s over 59% of those eligible.
- There have been more than 12.5 million confirmed cases of Covid in the UK.
- There were 162,572 new Covid infections yesterday and 1.1 million people tested positive in the last week. That’s a 48% increase on the previous week.
- 9,937 people were admitted to hospital with Covid in the week to 27 December.
- Up to 90% of Covid patients in intensive care have not had a booster jab
- There were 154 deaths reported yesterday and 911 in the last seven days. An increase of 216 compared with the previous week.
- The total number of UK deaths within 28 days of a positive Covid test now stands at 148,778..
- 172,657 deaths registered in the UK had Covid-19 mentioned on the death certificate.
- England has seen the majority of UK deaths since the pandemic began, with the total approaching 130,000.
- Worldwide, the global death toll is 5,455,981.
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Mask wearing in schools
Face masks are to be worn in secondary classrooms in England’s schools to reduce the spread of the Omicron variant, the government has announced. The temporary reintroduction of face coverings aims to address concerns about schools remaining open for face-to-face learning this coming term. Until now, England was the only one of the four UK nations where face masks were not recommended for pupils in classrooms. Teachers will not have to wear them under the new guidelines. The policy will be reviewed on 26 January. |
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Get tested…but there are few test kits available!
In the weeks after the government urged everyone to regularly test for Covid, particularly if they were planning to gather together to celebrate, it has been difficult to get access to testing appointments and home testing kits.
During much of last week there were no walk-in or drive-through PCR Covid test appointments available across all of England and home lateral flow tests and PCR tests were also unavailable online for the general public and essential workers. Pharmacies also voiced concerns over demand outstripping supply with chemists running out of lateral flow tests to handover at the counter.
Not surprisingly, the government is under massive pressure to rapidly up the capacity of Covid testing. |
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Omicron forces new look at Nightingales
The rate of infection from the Omicron variant of Covid has broken all records during the last week and daily totals continue to top recent highs. The situation is impacting hospitals to such an extent that the NHS is now setting up eight new Nightingale "surge hubs", each with a capacity of 100 patients, at hospitals across England. Further sites could be identified to add a further 4,000 "super surge" beds at a later date. Hospitals are already being forced to use hotels, hospices and care homes to safely discharge as many people who are medically fit to leave as possible – freeing up beds for those who need them most. |
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Self-isolation rules – a reminder of what is required
People with Covid in England can now stop self-isolating up to three days early – if they test negative twice. You must self-isolate as soon as your symptoms start, or when a positive test is taken if you do not have symptoms. You are now only required to self-isolate on the following seven days, instead of 10.
Two negative lateral flow tests are needed to end self-isolating – the first no earlier than day six of isolation and a second 24 hours later. If both tests are negative – and you do not have a high temperature – you can stop self-isolating immediately (on day seven). If the first tests are positive, further tests can be taken on other days. |
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| That’s all for this week. Keep safe and remain well. |
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