Dear resident,

Many of you will have read in the press that calls to national charity helplines for those suffering domestic abuse have increased significantly during our self-isolation period.  The Government has set up help for people suffering such abuse; it’s called The Silent Solution.  Victims dial 999 and when the operator asks which emergency they want the caller taps the ‘phone or coughs.  The operator will then prompt the caller to press 55 and the operator then directs the call to the relevant police force as an emergency.  Please let anyone you know who might benefit from this service; more information on Rutland’s Facebook page (see below).

We all love our pets and they bring many people great comfort in times like these but please remember, when you are out walking your dog clear up its mess.  Sadly we have seen an increase in dog mess in parts of Rutland.  Please do your best to keep our pavements, paths and countryside clean. 

If you are an individual or a business and have any Covid-19 questions and haven’t yet looked at RCC’s web site I would urge you to do so as it is being updated regularly. https://www.rutland.gov.uk/my-services/health-and-family/health-and-nhs/health-and-support-services/coronavirus/  You might also want to have a look at the Council’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pg/RutlandCountyCouncil/posts/?ref=page_internal for up to the minute information.

Finally today I have a message from Alicia Kearns our MP. 

Dear Residents,

Thank you for all you are doing to keep our communities safe. I’m enormously grateful to you all for adhering to the Government guidance. In this pandemic each of us can save lives, simply by staying home.

Over the coming months our communities will lose people we love, people we used to wave at on the street, and those we hadn’t yet had the chance to get to know. We’re already mourning people this virus has taken from us.

Thank you for all you are doing to support each other. In particular an enormous thanks to all our keyworkers, from NHS Staff and Carers, to our Council Workers, Teachers, Refuse Men and Women, Delivery Drivers, and Shop Workers.

If someone is giving their all to support our local communities, please write to me and nominate them for a Rutland and Melton Unsung Hero Award. I’ve launched these awards to say thank you to those working tirelessly to protect our communities, and have already recognised Oakham School and Rutland Plastics for their substantial and heroic efforts.

Following Government advice my office’s ways of working are changing. I am working to come back to you as quickly as possible, but ask that you make all contact via email as I cannot guarantee that we will be able to respond to telephone calls or letters in a timely manner.

For frequent updates on new Government support for individuals and businesses to defeat COVID-19, and to sign up to my newsletter please email alicia.kearns.mp@parliament.uk <mailto:alicia.kearns.mp@parliament.uk> .

I remain completely committed to supporting every single one of you, together we can save lives and protect our communities.

Stay safe,

Alicia

Gale Waller

County Councillor, Normanton Ward

gwaller@rutland.gov.uk 01780 722169

Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic Ahimsa Dairy is running free weekly deliveries of fresh milk in the villages of Manton, Wing and North Luffenham.  Whole organic pasteurised or raw milk is available at a special subsidised price of £1.50 a litre throughout the lockdown period. 

For more details please contact:

Nikki mobile 07958 347629 or email nikkisemail2002@gmail.com

About Us

The Ahimsa Dairy Foundation is a not-for-profit company that was set up to provide entirely slaughter-free milk. At present our girls, who all have names, produce 23,000 of litres of milk a year. We distribute to the door in North West London and parts of Hertfordshire. We have drop-off points in other areas of London and the South-East and can distribute milk and other products when available nationally by mail. We also go to Queens Park and Islington London Farmers’ markets on Sundays and Stamford market on Fridays. Cows are retired to join their friends in the non-milking herd when they are past milking age where they spend their days eating grass and chewing the cud.

We are looking at a variety of ways of working with bulls. These range from ploughing the land to producing electricity and milling flour.

Our mission is to make slaughter-free milk a reality and establish sustainable dairy farms in Britain, which give people a real ethical choice.

Dear resident,

It is now official, there has been a recorded case of Coronavirus in a Rutland resident.  We in Rutland are not immune from this disease so I would urge you to take self-isolation and social distancing seriously.    This means restricting visiting a shop to not more than once a week, having shopping delivered if possible, using your village’s prescription collection service to reduce the numbers going to the surgeries and pharmacies, and staying indoors.  Some people have to go out to work, of course, and we are all allowed out for daily exercise but one session of daily exercise is just that.  It’s not a bike ride/jog in the morning and a walk with the family or dog in the afternoon; it is one or the other and walking your dog is your daily exercise as well as the dog’s!  It has been reported that young people have been seen playing football on our village open spaces.  This is not acceptable because it is impossible to play football and maintain the 2 meter social distance required by Government and it is enabling cross family mixing, again not recommended.  Don’t let your children and grandchildren out to play with other families till all this is over and if you see any football or other games going on, feel free to challenge the players.  The latest modelling suggests the death toll in the UK from Covid-19 will be lower that first feared, largely because of the success of self-isolation and social distancing but we all need to keep it up.  Look after yourself and if you need to contact me, or just want a chat, the details are below.

Gale Waller

County Councillor, Normanton Ward

gwaller@rutland.gov.uk 01780 722169

Please see the attached flyer setting out details of the events taking place at the Fox Country Dining Pub over VE Day weekend.

The first Anglian Water Music Festival taking place on the 13^th and 14^th June.

The festival is specifically aimed at families – with lots of activities around the theme of “Getting Active” – including water sports, climbing wall and nature reserve walks. We are very keen that it will be a celebration to showcase all that Rutland has to offer.

Headline acts are Scouting for Girls and The Hoosiers, but most of the supporting acts are made up of individuals and groups from across Rutland and Leicestershire. The majority of the food and drink stands will be local businesses too.

The festival will be held at Sykes Lane, so well away from the nature reserve.

Parking will be included in the ticket prices, and everything we’re doing is to try and minimise queues and disruption for the local community – people will be able to drive straight on site without having to wait at barriers to keep traffic flowing.

Our aim is to make the festival as plastic free as possible in line with our plastic pledge as a business and the way our water parks are run all year round.