Fareham and Gosport Basics Bank provides vital supplies despite closure

Fareham Borough Council would like to thank the Fareham and Gosport Basics Bank for providing vital food supplies for those in need. The Basics Bank was forced to temporarily close last week as a number of its volunteers identified as vulnerable. Despite its closure the organisation worked with the Council and local voluntary groups to ensure that none of its food was wasted.

All food has now been moved ready for distribution

On Monday a large group of Acts of Kindness volunteers spent the day collecting and transporting many tonnes of supplies from the Basics Bank in Fareham and put it in storage in a warehouse provided by Fareham Borough Council

Yesterday the Council mobilised a team of officers to collect several more tonnes of food from the Basics Bank storage facility in Segensworth and transferred it to its newly set up distribution centre. Acts of Kindness and Waypoint Church will play a crucial role in helping to ensure that essential food is delivered to those in need across the Borough

Since 2003 the Basics Bank has been providing practical help such as food and toiletries for people in crisis in a caring and welcoming environment. In the last year alone they have helped nearly five thousand people. They will reopen to continue their vital work as soon as it is safe for them to do so.

Executive Leader of Fareham Borough Council, Councillor Seán Woodward, said:

“The coronavirus pandemic has created enormous challenges for every element of society including the voluntary sector. We know it was an extremely difficult decision for the Basics Bank to take to close last week, but the health and wellbeing of their volunteers is important. I would like to thank the Basics Bank for their agreement to ensure their supplies will still go to people who need it and for their hard work over the last 17 years. I know this hard work will continue once the pandemic is over.

"It was wonderful to see first-hand our community pulling together on Monday to move vast quantities of food and I am pleased that Council staff were able to continue that effort yesterday. This work is critical to ensure that those most in need are able to receive the food they require to enable them to stay safely at home.”

Acts of Kindness can be contacted on 07766 521314 or ActsofKindnessTeam@outlook.com
Waypoint Church can be contacted on 07934726212 or help@waypointchurch.org.uk

Clapping for our carers

UPDATE

Right across the village people stood at their doorsteps tonight to applaud NHS workers and all others helping to keep the country running.

A round of applause for our NHS staff and all those caring for us at this time is being proposed for later this week.

At 8pm on Thursday, March 26, people across the country are being asked to stand at their windows, front doors, balconies for a round of applause.

Many streets in Titchfield are already bedecked with flags and banners to show our support and defiance in the present crisis.

While the majority of people are now safely working from home and social-distancing to lower the chances of ourselves and our loved ones catching the deadly virus, for those working on the front line this isn't possible.

Doctors, nurses, porters, emergency call workers and other NHS staff are still going to work every day to keep the health system working - putting themselves at risk of getting sick.

Give them a big round of applause on Thursday!

Coronavirus: Sainsburys shopping arrangements

A statement to Sainsburys customers about opening hours.

I wanted to write to you again to update you on the steps we are taking to make sure everyone has access to food and essential items. I'm also sharing more information about how we are supporting our colleagues in these challenging times and how you can help.

An increasing number of you have told me that you're not always able to get the items that you need when you need them. We are working with our suppliers to get even more stock of essential items and we are adding warehouse capacity on a daily basis. You will have seen that we put restrictions in place this week to ensure that more products are on shelf for longer.

From Monday 23rd March, we are consolidating our opening hours and all our supermarkets will be open from 8am to 8pm, Monday-Saturday, including those with an Argos store. Sunday opening, Sainsbury’s Local and petrol station opening times will stay the same.

This means we can focus our store colleagues’ time on keeping shelves stocked and serving our customers well during the times that most of you are already shopping.

Last Thursday, we set aside an hour for elderly and vulnerable shoppers in our supermarkets. Many of you have told me how much you appreciated this and that you would like this to become a regular event. Some of you also said we should extend this to members of our hardworking NHS and Social Care workers. And we will be doing just that.

Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, all our supermarkets will dedicate 8am - 9am to serving elderly, disabled and vulnerable customers, as well as NHS and Social Care workers. They will just need to show us their pass or ID when they visit. Some of you fed back that you couldn’t find what you wanted during that hour, so we will try our best to have essential items on shelf for these customers. We will be working to keep our shelves well stocked and would encourage customers to arrive throughout the hour to prevent queues forming and to help everyone keep a safe distance.

Hundreds of you have written to me to thank our amazing colleagues who are working around the clock to serve our customers. A number of you have also shared your concerns for the safety and wellbeing of our colleagues. I want you to know that we are doing all we can to support everyone who works in our business. We have committed to paying all colleagues who are unwell or need to self-isolate for the full period of fourteen days. We have also committed to paying vulnerable and elderly colleagues in full if the government decides they should isolate for 12 weeks.

We hope this will go some way to helping our teams through this uncertain time and we are looking at other ways to thank our colleagues for their extraordinary efforts.

To keep our colleagues safe, I need to ask again for your help. Please do your best to stand one metre away from colleagues in our stores where you can. And we would prefer you to pay with card rather than cash at our tills. Please also treat our colleagues and other customers with kindness and respect.

These are unprecedented circumstances and our colleagues are being asked to come to work every day while so many others are being asked to stay at home. We all need them to keep coming to work to feed the nation – a small thank you goes a really long way.

I hope you will join us in looking out for each other and the communities that we serve.

Coronavirus: Bin collection update

Recycling and rubbish collections are currently continuing as normal and Fareham Borough Council will do everything possible to continue this service.

Residents are being asked to protect our staff by taking precautions when disposing of their rubbish.

• Please can all rubbish be disposed of in sealed bags and make sure your bin lid is firmly closed.

• For people with symptoms associated with coronavirus (COVID-19) or self-isolating at home, please seal personal waste such as tissues and disposable cleaning cloths in smaller plastic bags and store them for 72 hours before double bagging your waste and placing it in your refuse bin.

• Recycling must remain loose in the blue-lid bin as usual. No absorbent paper, such as tissue or kitchen towel, is recyclable.

The Council is aware that glass banks are filling up fast. We are currently running this service, but please do not leave glass on the ground around banks, where it poses a risk to people and animals. If the bank is full when you visit, please take your glass back home and re-visit at a later date.

The garden waste service has been suspended, so the Council can focus on rubbish and recycling collections.

The fridge/freezer collection and bulky waste service have now been suspended and there will be no collections.

No new bookings will be taken for fridge/freezer or bulky waste collections until further notice.

Do you need help - Can you help

Village support group being set up to support the vulnerable during the Coronavirus crisis.

“To update you as to where we have got to with setting up our Titchfield Village group, to offer support to those isolated and without family support and in need.

We have agreed that we can manage to cover Titchfield centre and out to Prosbrook Lane to the end of Bellfield.

We are now setting out a leaflet which will give a telephone number for people to contact.

These leaflets will be delivered from Tuesday onwards.

Please bear with us and remember that we are all volunteers.

The Titchfield website www.titchfieldnews.com has set up a page which will give links to other support groups as well.

Thank you all who have come back to me re. volunteering, I will be in touch with you further this weekend.

I will also be asking for volunteers to cover certain streets, yet to be covered so please watch this space.”

Thank you all Pat Shirley

Visitor guidance at QA Hospital

We are asking the public to limit visiting Queen Alexandra Hospital (QA) and to consider other ways of keeping in touch, like phone calls.

From Thursday 19 March 2020 and until further notice, visiting is now restricted to one hour per day between 6pm and 7pm.

Visitors must be immediate family members or carers.

Visitors should not visit any health and care settings (including all inpatient, diagnostic and outpatient areas) if they are:

• unwell, especially if they have a high temperature or a new, persistent cough

• vulnerable as a result of their medication, a chronic illness or they are over 70 years of age

Visitors should be limited to one per patient unless:

• the patient is receiving end-of-life care

• the visitor needs to be accompanied – accompanying visitors should not stay in patient, ward or communal areas, and this applies to inpatient and outpatient settings

• they are a partner and birthing partner accompanying a woman in labour

No children under 12 should be visiting without the ward sister or charge nurse’s prior permission.

Slightly different rules apply to paediatrics and neonates.

In the paediatric department, only one parent or appropriate adult is able to be with their child at any given time and currently no other children will be able to visit.

We ask for the public’s help in respecting these rules.

Moviola Film Nights cancelled until September

The Moviola team have announced that In light of the Governments latest guidance Titchfield Moviola has taken the decision to cancel 'Film Nights' until September.

They say, “We hope by then that 'Film Nights' will be able to continue and we will be back in touch.

“We will give full refunds for the 9 tickets purchased in advance for 'Downtown Abbey', please email annette.devoil@btinternet.com so that we can arrange for this to happen.

“We hope that all our cinema goers stay fit and well during hese uncertain times.”

Update on Breast Cancer Haven's Big Tea Cosy

In the interest of reducing risk and keeping everyone safe during the COVID-19 situation, Breast Cancer Haven has made the very difficult decision to postpone their Big Tea Cosy at the centre on 24 March until further notice.

Following the current NHS England advice, your own personal health and safety, and that of our wider community, remains our key priority.

Community Fundraising Officer, Ellie Hughes added, “This turn of events does leave Breast Cancer Haven in a vulnerable position as we are an events-based charity and all our fundraising events are now postponed for many months.

“If you feel you are able to help us during this time, so we don’t have to stop our vital services when people need us the most, I would be most grateful if you would consider donating to our urgent Fundraising Appeal.

“This appeal was launched to coincide with Mother’s Day but now becomes vital for our charity.

“I would like to take this opportunity to offer a heartfelt thank you for your continued support at this difficult time.”

LINK

Breast Cancer Haven Wessex

FBC suspend garden waste services

Due to the Coronavirus outbreak Fareham Borough Council is suspending its garden
waste collection service with immediate effect.

This is so that the Council can focus resources on the most important collections.
Residents should not put out any garden waste at this time.

Executive Member for Streetscene at Fareham Borough Council, Cllr Simon Martin,
said: “In these unprecedented times, we need to take steps to prioritise our most
important services. This measure will ensure that we can continue to empty waste
bins.

We would like thank residents for their understanding, and please be assured
that we will return the service to normal as soon as possible.”

Services at St. Peter’s on hold until further notice.

Following the Archbishop of Canterbury’s announcement on Tuesday 17th March we are saddened to announce that there will be no public church services at St. Peter’s Titchfield until further notice.

The Vicar, Revd. Susan Allman added, “Please be assured that we shall continue to hold everyone in our prayers and will do all that we can to enable people to pray in their own homes.

“Information about resources to help with this will be made available as soon as possible.

“We shall work in co-operation with other local organisations for the well-being of all members of our community at this time of crisis, especially those who are most vulnerable.

“The church building will continue to be open every day for private prayer. May God bless you.”

Surgery needs your correct phone number

The Jubilee Surgery have called for patients who have recently changed their phone number to let the surgery know.

Patients can update or confirm their details on the Jubilee website.

www.jubileesurgery.co.uk

• Click on the Repetition and Enquires green title

• Scroll down and you welcome to ‘Keep Updated’

• Click on ‘Change of Personal Details’.

• Simply complete the form.

Coronavirus advice from the Jubilee Surgery

Jubilee Surgery PPG Open Meeting 24th March has been postponed.

As it is currently sensible to restrict the number of patients attending the surgery other than for immediate and necessary treatment, we have taken the decision to cancel the March Open meeting. When normal service has been resumed at the surgery we will notify you of the new date.

Please be assured that we are happy to take forward any issues or concerns that you have; simply phone or email:
Email ppgchair.jubilee@gmail.com
Mobile 07532 168454

Suzy Jackson, Jubilee PPG Chair

If you are looking for advice or guidance in relation to Covid-19 please click here https://111.nhs.uk/corvid-19/

All other urgent problems during surgery hours will be dealt with via our Same Day Access team as usual. Please telephone the surgery to speak to a member of our Care Navigation team

If you have non-urgent issues please consider whether it need to be address at this time. Can you seek advice from the NHS website or a pharmacist, for example.

If you decide you need non-urgent advice from the surgery, whether it is a medical concern or any other query we are asking you to submit a request via the e-consult service, found on the left panel of the website home page or click here https://jubileesurgery_webgp.com it will be reviewed by our team within 2 working days.

We are making the change to reduce the risk of passing the virus between patients and to ensure you get the best advice from the right person first time. We thank you for your on-going support and patience at this time.
Please check the website and the PPG Facebook page for further updates.

If a patient has a new, persistent cough that has lasted for 4 or more hours or they have a temperature exceeding 37.8 degrees Celsius they should self-isolate and see further advice from NHS 111 online webpage. Patients should not contact the GP surgery, Pharmacy or Hospital. https://111.nhs.uk/covid-19

Titchfield and the coronavirus

Some village meetings, events have been cancelled as coronavirus takes hold across the country.

The Arts Society Solent have cancelled their next meeting scheduled for Tuesday 17th March at the Titchfield Community Centre.

Also on the 17th -The Titchfield History Society meetiing has been called off.

St Peter’s have also decided not to continue with today’s Lent Lunch at the church.

All Jiveasy Dance Events and Classes are now closed. This evenings dance at Titchfield Community Centre is cancelled.

No cases of the virus have been reported locally, although the Office for National Statistic at Titchfield is on alert. A senior manager from ONS Wales who visited the Titchfield site and has since been found to have contracted the coronavirus.

Civil Service union official has called for both Newport and Titchfield sites to be closed immediately to allow a ‘deep clean’ to take place.”

If you have news of clubs or meetings being cancelled or postponed due to the coronavirus email Titchfield News and we can help keep the village updated with the latest developments.

As of today Public Health England are reporting just 15 confirmed cases in Hampshire.

LATEST HEALTH ADVICEHow to avoid catching or spreading coronavirus

DO

• Wash your hands with soap and water often – do this for at least 20 seconds

• Always wash your hands when you get home or into work

• Use hand sanitiser gel if soap and water are not available

• cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze

• put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards

• ry to avoid close contact with people who are unwell


Don't

• Do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth if your hands are not clean

On their Trolley

You may have seen Sandi Jones trundling around the village on a Friday with a very old, wayward shopping trolley.

Well now Stewarts Abbey Garden Centre have stepped in and provided the chairman of the Titchfield Country Market with a replacement trolley so she can deliver Country Market produce to shops and businesses in the village.

Sandi Jones tries out her new trolley with Jackie Avis, manager at Stewarts Abbey Garden Centre.

The new trolley even has brakes!

Every week Sandi gathers together a selection of cakes, pies, flans, cookies and savouries for the people of Titchfield to enjoy fresh homemade fare.

Sandi enjoys her tour of the village and says, “What should takes ten minutes actually takes thirty as I always seem to meet chums for a chat.”

Back at The Parish Rooms there are still plenty of items on sale including, knitwear, cards, handbags, plants and shrubs.

Apart from all the lovely produce visitors can also stop for a chat with friends over a cup of tea or coffee.

Titchfield Country Market is open on Fridays 09:30 - 11:30 in The Parish Rooms, Titchfield

Tel: 01489 574510 or 01329 847930

Wuthering Heights at Festival Theatre

Wuthering Heights is one of the literary classics and this March a brand new stage adaptation comes to Titchfield Festival Theatre.

When orphaned Heathcliff is brought to Wuthering Heights as a child, he can little imagine what kind of torment young Catherine Earnshaw will bring into his life, even twenty years after she is gone.

Once an outcast, Heathcliff uses his new found wealth and intelligence to exact revenge on the two families that destroyed him. But whatever he does, he finds he cannot escape Cathy...

Set on the bleak Yorkshire moors, Emily Brontë’s first and only novel is a tale of obsession, romance, and revenge, which has haunted readers for generations. Now brought to life in this new stage adaptation, Wuthering Heights will have you wondering if the dead really stay buried.

Charly Armstrong is director and author of this version and said, “I read Wuthering Heights for the first time last year and I found it fascinating, inspiring me to write a stage adaptation. The characters, such as the principal leads Cathy and Heathcliff, are wonderfully complicated and dark, possessing many different motives that shape their relationships with others.

“I love the macabre feel of Wuthering Heights, so there are plenty of ghostly and gothic elements within the play. It’s also fair to say it is more of a ghost story than a romance. Wuthering Heights is a great piece of storytelling – and I want the audience to feel like they have opened a book and stepped into it.”

Wuthering Heights is part of Titchfield Festival Theatre’s New Play Season. The cast includes a number of new and younger actors making their stage debuts at Titchfield. 

Wuthering Heights opens on Wednesday 4th March until Saturday 14th March 2020 at 7.30pm in the Oak Theatre, Titchfield Festival Theatre, St Margarets Lane, Titchfield PO14 4BG. Further details of our productions can be found on our website: https://www.titchfieldfestivaltheatre.com/whats-on including the full 2020 brochure.

For more information, please go to http://titchfieldfestivaltheatre.com/or contact our Box Office on 0333 6663366 (24 hour service) or for Group Bookings 01329 600010.

Far reaching changes to on street parking

From 1st April there will be some changes to parking in the Fareham Borough.

Hampshire County Council have ended the agreement it had with Fareham Borough Council and so will be taking over on-street parking enforcement.

Fareham Borough Council will continue to be responsible for parking enforcement within its own car parks.
A parking management company will be appointed by the County Council to manage on-street parking enforcement. This company will be responsible for any Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) issued for on-street parking offences. The new enforcement officers employed by Hampshire County Council will be clearly distinguishable from Fareham Borough Council’s officers.  

Hampshire County Council will also be taking over residents’ parking and visitor permits and may introduce changes to their terms. This means:

• Any residents who need to renew their permits will need to apply to Hampshire County Council once the changes have come in;

• permits that expire up to the end of March can be renewed by Fareham Borough Council in the normal way;

any permits that expire between April and June this year can be renewed by Fareham Borough Council during March, after that time all renewals will be undertaken by Hampshire County Council.

Cllr Trevor Cartwright, Executive Member for Health and Public Protection at Fareham Borough Council, said: “Although Hampshire County Council haven’t confirmed all the details of their new on-street parking service, we wanted to inform our residents and visitors at the earliest opportunity. We have written to all our parking permit holders to inform them of the changes and will publicise further details regarding the new on-street parking service once we have them.”

From 1st April requests for on-street parking restrictions, such as new yellow lines, will also be processed by Hampshire County Council. The County Council plan to create a new webpage for the new on-street parking service. Fareham Borough Council will link to this page its own website once this is live.

Police appeal for witnesses following runner and motorcycle collision in Titchfield

Police appeal for witnesses following runner and motorcycle collision in Titchfield
Hampshire Police have issued the following appeal…

We are appealing for witnesses and dash cam footage after a runner and a motorcyclist were in collision on Coach Hill just before 7.30pm on Friday 21 February..

The runner, a 58-year-old man from Whiteley, was crossing the road when he collided with a motorcyclist. The incident happened at the junction of Garstons Road.

The man was transported to hospital having suffered a serious head injury.
The man on the motorcycle, a 28-year-old from Gosport, suffered minor injuries.

We would like to hear from anyone who witnessed this incident, or anyone who was in the area at the time of the collision with dash cam footage.

If you think you can help, please call 101 and quote 44200067102.

Hauntings: when the past comes back to haunt us…

Hauntings are two plays written and directed by local author Johnny O’Hanlon and are part of Titchfield Festival Theatre’s New Play Season.

The Voice in the Room
Set during the severe winter of 1978, three young homeless people break into the basement of an old Victorian sweet shop. Their attempts to keep warm, in one of the coldest winters on record, are disrupted by a voice from the past seeking revenge on one of the group - who is hiding an appalling secret…

All That Remains
The second play is set in the present day and early events from her childhood in Berlin during the 1930’s haunt Rosa Goldberg, who sits in her room of a nursing home. A visitor linked to her past stirs aching memories – memories she would prefer to forget…

Director of Hauntings Johnny O’Hanlon said, “The Voice in the Room is based on my experiences as a student, living above a butcher’s shop in London. There was something really quite unsettling about the building; after the butcher shop closed up for the night, we could hear doors closing, floorboards creaking and people moving about. During the bitterly cold winter, and as students, we felt trapped in this small flat with little food.

“This gave me the idea of recreating the ambience of that time; three homeless teenagers spending a night in a basement of an abandoned shop. The Voice in the Room is based on the idea of sounds, things we can hear but cannot see. A strange manifestation appears from the past involving one of the group; and a dramatic ending to the play, as the fear and tension mounts…”

The second play All That Remains tells the story of Rosa. Johnny explained the inspiration behind this play, “Watching a BBC documentary last year, I was struck by the words of an elderly lady, a Jewish survivor from a concentration camp.

She said, “I dream endless dreams, they drift in and out of my head, they haunt me… you call this being alive?” So I took this idea, an elderly woman in sheltered accommodation, to write a piece which re-enacted part of her past. All That Remains is the result.”

The cast includes three former members of the Titchfield Youth Theatre making their adult debuts.

Hauntings opens on Monday 24th February until Saturday 29th February 2020 at 7.30pm in the Acorn Studio, Titchfield Festival Theatre, St Margarets Lane, Titchfield PO14 4BG. Further details of our productions can be found on our website: https://www.titchfieldfestivaltheatre.com/whats-on including the full 2020 brochure.

For more information, please go to http://titchfieldfestivaltheatre.com/or contact our Box Office on 0333 6663366 (24 hour service) or for Group Bookings 01329 600010.

Dennis causes flooding and road closures in Titchfield.

With fields and water meadows along the length of the River Meon, already saturated following Storm Ciara, Titchfield is set to suffer even more flooding as Storm Dennis rips across the south.

A fallen tree blocked Posbrook Lane and further on, towards Triangle Lane, a section of the road was flooded to the depth of six inches.

The Met Office issued a Flood Warning for the Lower Meon area, they advise…

Bridge Street closed

Water levels in the River Meon at Titchfield remain high but they have just stabilised.

In the last 24 hours, over 35mm of rain has fallen in Warnford, which is nearly half a month’s rainfall.

Currently there is out of bank flooding affecting land at Titchfield Mill, Titchfield Hill and near to the Tanneries Industrial Estate. Rain should clear the area by 17:00 (16/02/2020) but the river will remain very high over the next 24 hours.

Tomorrow (Monday 17/02/2020), much smaller amounts of rain are forecast, but it will be enough to cause water levels to increase further, even if they do start to slowly fall overnight.

Monday will be another windy day across the UK due to storm Dennis and flooding and road closure could still cause disruption to early morning commuters

Advance notice of Church Fete

The St Peter’s Church Fete is an annual local church/village event, with games for adults and children, lots of bargains and local crafts to buy, with plenty to see and enjoy.

The opening last year

The Fete is held in St Peter’s Church, Titchfield, and in the beautiful grounds of the Old Vicarage.

This year there will be the Swing World Band, a Community Choir, a Ukulele Band, a performance from our local school and a children’s fancy dress competition. Enjoy a  homemade tea and cake in our beautiful historic St Peter’s Church.

Cost is £1 per adult and 50p per child
Saturday 16th May 2020
1.00 pm to 4.00 pm

Parking in the village: Tennis Courts/Recreation Ground off A27, Community Centre and Bridge St, Barry’s Meadow (3 hrs)