Put the flags out, it’s all over (I hope). It’s been 18 long months since we were able to resume any sort of a normal life. We were hoping to resume Coffee Mornings in July but that went by the board, in June, when Boris decided to add another month on the prescribed lifting of social distancing etc. It was a bit of a bummer at the time, but I think all of us oldies appreciated another month to be about right. I think we needed to get as many people vaccinated against these nasty strains. I felt sorry for people that were booked up to go abroad and had to cancel again, but in my eyes losing a holiday this year is small beer to having a third wave set upon us.
Now in September, we are set to have our booster jab, what a wonderful start to the winter. Last year a young man said to me well there’s always next Christmas to look forward too. My reaction was to say we should be the ones that should feel the most aggrieved, in that our years are getting more smaller than yours. Though I suppose we would have felt the same if it was us at that age. I said 12 months ago we should write that year off, I know I’m repeating my words but surely it won’t be the same as last year. It gets better; we have articles in the Chronicle on different subjects in Wyrley, with thanks to our Secretary in putting them in. A big thank you from me, to the Committee in standing together in these last horrible months. Anyway we’re up and running, on the fourth Thursday of July we held an open day and a few people attended, it was lovely, no more than August when we had over 20 members for our first Coffee Morning in 18 months. Smashing to have all of you wonderful people there. Thanks to Steve Geale in talking about Sit Coms, next month Kath Reynolds talks about Food Glorious Food.

Coffee mornings 10am – 12:30 noon
September 17th – Kath Reynolds; Food Glorious Food
October 21st – Barry Picken; Red flowers and a bag of old bones
November 18th – Kevin Reynolds; Love and War (changing attitude to birds)
December 16th – Christmas Bash
Held at the Senior Citizens Centre, Broadmeadow Lane.

EXCITING NEWS, we are re-opening the centre on July 22nd from 10:30-12 noon for members to view our photos, maps and records. Government guidelines will be followed and PPE will be used. We request members to wear face coverings, unless exempt.
Then on August 19th we will be having our first Coffee Morning in 18 months, we look forward to seeing you all there.

In a couple of weeks, we are hoping the all clear will sound, well I know that sounds fanciful and I know it sounds like the end of a war, even though, to be flippant, the bombs have stopped dropping but the virus is still out there, we still need to be careful, we have been locked down, opened up to be put on tiers, then after Christmas locked down again till April, when then the rest of the none essential shops opened up. Pubs with beer gardens or outside facilities came to life, together with cafe’s and restaurants on May 17th we could eat and drink inside and finally mix (to a degree). It all seemed like we were coming out of a nightmare that we were blindly led into. Rates of deaths through Covid-19 were worse the second time round and in the UK deaths
per million people were second only to the USA in total. Then the vaccine came on board and through the lockdown new admissions and deaths began to tumble, the virus touched every part of our area, whether through just illness or sadly deaths, the vaccine once rolled out there would be no way in stopping us, by March over 20 million doses were given, the most across Europe, while we immunised the EU were still prevaricating, by now all of us who had the first vaccination in January and February has had our second by the end of April and the rest of the population are getting it or going to get it, hopefully by the end of July the rest of the adult population.

Our last coffee morning was February last. Hopefully, with a strong wind behind us, our next Coffee Morning will be August. We shall open the Centre on the fourth Thursday for photos etc. It will be great to welcome each and every one of you and to carry on where we left off and my saying is onwards and upwards. Lastly, and very personally to me, my aunt, Alice Bamford, who was a member with her late sister Mary from the early days of the Society, has passed away peacefully at the grand old age of 99.

Twelve months ago we were all looking forward to a new year, we wanted to do so much but in the end it all came crashing down around our ears. I wanted so much in promoting our Society in so many ways, but it wasn’t to be, we lost 11 months to that dreaded virus, on top of this unfortunately our Secretary, Diane lost her daughter to it, a week before Christmas the lass was only 54. It seemed everything stopped; it was almost like a dystopian dream with every one walking around and looking like zombies in face masks. We did all the right things and followed the rules; face, space and wash hands, we went out of spring into a lovely summer under a lockdown but to see another one rear its ugly head in November last.

Thank fully with the vaccinations that started last December (I had mine in late January) and to be given out to all later on the this summer, so hopefully we can look at the world now in a different light, even though we’d been hit with a variant to the Covid strain and shut down again for six weeks at the beginning of January. We were hoping to resume Coffee Mornings in later in the year and looking forward to resuming a normal life again for the Society, but looking at it now it’ll probably be the autumn before we meet, but as we say ‘watch this space’. Mind you winter came back to bite us on the rear end after Christmas, arctic temperatures, ice and snow, so much for planet warming, at least days are getting longer, we shall come out of this horrible virus I’m sure, so let’s get back together, we’re missing you all. Wishing you all a good health and stay safe.

The year started off so normal, weather mild, no sign of winter as yet, then we were to meet only twice in 2020. Who would have thought we were to go through such a year. The rumours that came out of China of a possible outbreak of flu like symptoms, a funny name I thought at the time, CORONAVIRUS. January went into February and some European countries were starting to get nervous of what was going on, Italy was the first to consider this to be a bad one, Woohan in China had locked down and so the pandemic spread across Europe and into the UK.

It’s silly to repeat, who did what and who didn’t, we just got on with it. The Society opened up the Centre in August, on the fourth Thursday for members. Unfortunately within the next fortnight the Government issued more restrictions and reduced the amount to six people that could congregate. It was a shame that only a few could come to the open morning, but it was nice to see them. We did all the right things and used PPE but to no avail.

I know it has been scary, and still is, as we now entry into yet another sprike, and the depth toll over 75k since the pandemic started. I think the majority of us have lived by the rules and continue to do so. At the end of the year we was informed of the death of Phil Evans, he was one of the early members and a good friend to the Society. We shall miss him very much.

I was hoping we could resume our meetings, now we are in the New Year, but unfortunately with the new strain of Covid-19 virus unveiled over Christmas, within two weeks, we have gone from tier 3 to tier 4 and now into a National Lockdown, for the third time. There is hope though, with the new oxford vaccine being approved for use in the UK from today (05/01/2021). There may still be abit of a wait, until we can have the injection, but if we all work together and stay at home for abit longer, then maybe this will be the light at the end of the tunnel.

Chairman and Editor – Gary Smith

If you have any stories or articles that you would like to be fetched in the Great Wyrley History Social Magazine, please send to: winsongary@aol.com