With Pubs now set to close and nothing in the shops, you can still get a takeaway from the Royal Oak with a 15% discount and free delivery.
Mar 19
POYNINGS PARISH COUNCIL – response to Covid-19
Dear neighbours,
As your Parish Council, we have a part to play in ensuring residents in and around Poynings are supported as much as possible in the uncertain times which lie ahead. A lock down of some sort seems inevitable, so we plan to build a support network to get through this.
We will coordinate help and support for those who may be ill, self-isolating or otherwise impacted by Covid-19. We are compiling two lists; one for those who require any form of assistance and one for people who can help. Clearly this situation is evolving, so we’d like to try and keep communication channels open as safely possible.
We offer this in the capacity of your Parish Council, we are not trained in this type of response but we welcome suggestions on things we could help coordinate, improve or do differently. We feel a coordinated response will be most productive, so please get in touch via email, WhatsApp, FaceBook or telephone.
Ways we imagine the community support:
● Collecting food and shopping
● Collecting prescriptions
● Dog walking
● Transport
● Contributing to a local food bank
● Providing company and conversation, albeit remotely
Here’s how we plan to coordinate our response; contact Will on 07790 936570 or Nigel on 07967381341 so we can add you to the WhatsApp group or message you directly.
We’ve created an email specifically for this; cv19poynings@gmail.com we’re monitoring this inbox daily.
Please state your name when you email or text, so we know who you are, and if you would like help, or are able to help.
We will use the ‘Poynings Community’ Facebook page and WhatsApp to communicate updates from the Parish Council. Connect with us to make sure you get these. Facebook is a valuable resource for sharing information from local providers of food and other vital services. Working alongside Fulking and Newtimber, we will deliver as much useful information as we can.
Let’s make sure we’re there for each other, and get through this safely. We hope you’ll get in touch and get involved.
Many thanks in advance.
Nigel, Will, Neville, Mike and Colin
Poynings Community FaceBook can be found by using the search bar. Ask your Friends and Family to join if you want them to be able to see what’s happening in the village.
The Royal Oak, Rushfields, Swains, Jeremy’s, Jermey’s Too, Truffles, Shepherd & Dog and plenty of others are looking to provide delivery services, so we’ll post contact info and most can also be found on FaceBook.
Jan and Clare from the Royal Oak are looking to put support in place and options of food hampers, takeaways and maybe even a cheeky bottle of wine will be available. Details to follow.
Milk & More already deliver to Poynings www.milkandmore.co.uk
We plan to talk to Hurst and Henfield surgery to see about prescription services and if they can be delivered direct to your door.
If you knock on a neighbour’s door then the suggestion is to then take two generous steps backwards, but do take care!!
Currently, all Poynings 650th Anniversary celebrations are on hold. Rev Tim will be reaching out to the Parish directly too. Church services are also suspended for now. Rev Tim Harford available 01273 857456 and revtimharford@gmail.com
All delivery services will now sign their own delivery notes, so don’t handle them if you don’t have to!
Zoom is an excellent bit of video calling software to connect with friends and families. It’s free to use, and is the most likely way we’ll conduct Parish Meetings for the time being. The APM will be postponed, but if we have your email address then we’ll invite you to join the video call for the normal meeting.
We will update you as best we can, but the news channels will continue to give you regular updates, as they do. At a Parish level, we simply want to help everyone get through this with the least amount of interruption as possible.
NHS advice is not to attend a surgery unless you have an appointment.
If you would like a pdf of this, you can download it here
Mar 19
Sign for front door if you are avoiding contact
If you are self-isolating or do not want to have contact with people there are some signs you can put on your front door, they are at https://www.certuk.org.uk/covid-19 .
If you want one but do not have a printer let me know and I will print one off and stick it in your letterbox (untouched by human hand)!
Mar 19
What foods can you freeze if you can’t get out
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I pinched this from Marks and Spencer’s! |
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There are lots of foods that you can put straight in the freezer instead of the fridge. This includes meat and poultry, ready prepared meals, fresh pasta, bread – and did you know you can even freeze butter and cheese? Here’s some examples: Milk: All milk can be stored in the freezer and defrosted before use. Just make sure it’s still sealed. It should be defrosted fully in the fridge before using. Cheese: Some hard cheeses freeze very well, firmer types like cheddar, gouda and Swiss cope well with the freezing process and maintaining their structure. You can freeze in blocks or grate it and freeze in handy portion sizes. Bread: Baked goods like bread, rolls, pittas, bagels and crumpets can all be easily frozen. Loaves of bread can be bought ready-sliced or whole to be sliced yourself before freezing. Most toasters have a defrost function so you can toast baked goods from frozen. Pasta: Fresh pasta is a great option to keep in the freezer. Some pastas won’t have to be defrosted before use either, they’ll defrost once put in boiling water. Fruit and vegetables: Our frozen fruit and vegetables in the freezer aisle are not the only option; some fresh fruits like bananas and berries when frozen make great ingredients for smoothies and for baking. Batch cooking: Consider cooking a larger portion at mealtimes to freeze for a later date. Make sure you freeze the leftovers as soon as possible, once they’ve fully cooled and mark clearly the date it was cooked and frozen on the container for later reference. And only defrost or re-heat the meal once. Around three quarters of our ready prepared meals and over half our desserts are suitable for freezing and have the logo on pack. Simply freeze on the day of purchase and follow the guidance on packaging for the length of time it can stay frozen. Look out for the ‘suitable for freezing’ logo on product which also includes guidance for how long you can freeze each item for. |
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Defrosting food safely: The Food Standards Agency website has everything you need to know about freezing and defrosting food safely, including: • Place food in an air-tight container or wrap it well in freezer bags or freezer wrap. • If the food has been defrosted it must be cooked before being eaten to be safe. • Once defrosted, food should be consumed immediately. |
Mar 17
Downland Churches
The decision has been made that public worship will be suspended for the time being. The four Benefice churches will remain open for private prayer during normal opening hours.
Weddings, baptisms and funerals will still be able to take place but with as few people as possible in attendance.
We hope we will be able to get back to normal as soon as possible but in the meantime please hold one another in prayer in these challenging times.
Stephanie
Mar 17
Fulking Toddlers Group
I think it is wise to follow government policy & close the Toddlers in Fulking until it is safe to reopen!
We will reopen when it is safe!
Thanks Tricia
Mar 16
Community Help
The Parish Council have been looking at practical ways we can support the community, especially the vulnerable members of our village. We’re putting together a list of support services we hope to provide and will distribute this as soon as we can.
We have been talking to West Sussex to see what assistance is available from local government, but in the meantime please follow all precautions necessary and further updates will come from this email service, as well as the Poynings Community FaceBook group at https://www.facebook.com/groups/203301100613890/?fref=nf , which we’d encourage you all to join.
Thank you
Nigel Evans
Chair
Mar 16
Cybercriminals exploit the spread of coronavirus
You have probably read about this, but in case you haven’t.
Since February 2020, the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) has identified 21 reports of fraud where coronavirus was mentioned, with victim losses totalling over £800k. It’s expected that reporting numbers will rise as the virus continues to spread across the world.
What are the risks?
The two most common risks are:
- Viruses — These are malicious software programmes loaded onto the user’s computer without their knowledge and performs malicious actions, leading to corruption of data/files, or even altogether disabling the computer.
- Phishing — This is the fraudulent attempt to obtain sensitive information such as usernames, passwords and bank details by disguising oneself as a trustworthy entity in an electronic communication.
Of the reported coronavirus related fraud cases, ten of these reports were made by victims that attempted to purchase protective face masks from fraudulent sellers. Fraudsters are also sending out coronavirus-themed phishing emails in an attempt to trick people into opening malicious attachments or revealing sensitive personal and financial details.
Some of the tactics we’ve identified from victim reports include fraudsters purporting to be from research organisation’s affiliated with the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO) contacting potential victims over email. They claim to be able to provide the recipient with a list of coronavirus infected people in their area. To access this information, the victim needs to click on a link which takes them to a malicious website or requested to make a payment in Bitcoin.
What should I do next?
- Watch out for scam messages — Don’t click on the links or attachments in suspicious emails, and never respond to unsolicited messages and calls that ask for personal or financial details,
- Protect devices from the latest threats — Always install the latest software and app updates to protect devices from the latest threats. The National Society for Cyber Security provides useful information on how to update your devices.
- Shopping online — If you’re making a purchase from a company or person you don’t know and trust, carry out some research first and ask a friend or colleague for advice before completing the purchase. If you decide to go ahead with the purchase, use a credit card if you have one, as most major credit card providers insure online purchases. Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, has produced advice on how to shop online safely.
Mar 16
Community WhatsApp group
If anyone wants to join the community skills swap WhatsApp group they can through this link https://chat.whatsapp.com/JqwwmSzYXOFCZLTAswhI3V
It’s a group of people who are offering help or who would like help with anything, anything at all. You won’t have previous messages in the group but there are tools for loan, for instance.
Thanks,
Rob Delacour
Mar 16
Village thefts
It would appear that there have been more sightings of dodgy characters being seen in the village (I haven’t been out much so not me) The garage has had stuff stolen so make sure you lock up your outbuildings and sheds.