2021 Loosley Row Support Group

The work of this group is mentioned in Social Snapshots 2001-2022 inc.

Rafe Spearing

Hallmark June 2020 by Louisa Spearing. Loosley Row In Lockdown

“No one is useless in this world who lightens the burdens of another” Charles Dickens.

I think that this has been shown in. so many ways, with a plethora of big and small kindnesses, in this new world order where we find ourselves. The NHS, community and home are defining 2020, we have been forced to halt our frenetic lives and take stock; resulting, in the main, in a cleaner and a more gentle world.

I was approached by Diana Reder in early March, she thought that since the government was about to ask all over 70s to self isolate, because of the Covid19 pandemic, we needed to come up with a suitable Loosley Row style response. There ensued a flurry of whatsapps and a hastily scheduled meeting in my kitchen, for the next morning. The response was heartwarming and overwhelming: by the end of that Monday we had a flier designed, street reps and volunteers designated and a master plan of how to help those vulnerable, self isolating, sick and elderly within our community. We have a few key aims, we want to provide human contact - albeit at an acceptable distance - for those who are on their own, help with picking up shopping, prescriptions and other urgent supplies, or simply posting a letter. Our village has done this and so much more.  We have worked in conjunction with Lacey Green and Eileen Rowlands to pool resources, share ideas and build community links.

Helpful initiatives have popped up all over the place, whether it is how to recognise key birthdays in lockdown, offering ready made meals to those who need such support, to sharing eggs or excess fruit, and vegetables left out for you to help yourself as you pass on your daily exercise. Some of us have even turned into testers for a local scented candle business.

One of the most successful of all of these initiatives has been Kate Collet-Fenson’s ‘for the love of scrubs’ sewing and knitting group providing headbands, scrubs, woolly baby hats and so much more to our local, and not so local, care homes and hospitals. I know Kate is writing her own account of this adventure but

I wanted to acknowledge here what an amazing and generous contribution she and her family have made to our society in these strange times.

Thanks to the hard work of Graham Roberts and Kay Pallister we have also been included in the Risborough Baskets scheme. Our residents can place orders from the shops in Princes Risborough on a Tuesday and Friday, to be delivered by Rafe and myself to your houses in Loosley Row. Kay and Graham are in charge of the Lacey Green deliveries. Rafe and | have been kept very busy, as the idea has been impressively embraced by our village!

Hallmark May 2021. Loosley Row Support Group by Louisa Spearing

As we emerge from a long dark winter of lockdowns and restrictions, it is uplifting to be able to look forward to the blossoming of old freedoms. Also to a general lightening of the load of feelings of isolation and anxiety that many have been battling against.

As a community Lacey Green, Loosley Row and the environs have worked together on various initiatives over the last year.

We have created support groups to provide help to those who are vulnerable or isolating.

We have created a magnificent sewing cartel ‘For the Love of Scrubs’ that at one point seemed to provide most of the PPE to local care homes and hospitals! We have supported ‘Risborough Baskets’ by organising the delivery of produce to our villages.

The Lacey Green and Loosley Row Virus Action Groups have raised funds to help the Buckinghamshire Hospital Trust under their banner of ‘Acts of Kindness’. This effort was further supplemented by a generous cash donation from the Rotary. We celebrated VE day and clapped for the NHS, or played the trumpet!

We have all enjoyed and appreciated the lovely elf land houses that have magically appeared in our hedgerows. There is so much more that I have not mentioned here, so many small kindnesses and thoughtful acts that have supported us through dark times.

All this we have achieved as a united community. We have altered our covid Whatsapp group in Loosley Row to reflect the changing needs of our village. Therefore, it has become the ‘Loosley Row Community Support Group’ - it has been created to share local initiatives, support the vulnerable in our village and to provide local information. If you live in Loosley Row, or close by, and would like to be included please contact me, Louisa Spearing, on 07979 363316 with your name and address and I can add you to the group.

One of the many things that have been tough over the last year is that those younger members of our community have struggled to take part in forward. thinking initiatives such as the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme. This has not stopped two of our Loosley Row young people, who have been rubbish picking for the volunteering part of their awards. Rafe Spearing and Hazel Randall have spent many hours, in all weathers, rummaging around on the verges of Loosley Row, picking up a surprisingly large amount of litter, which has now been disposed of properly. They have made some quite interesting discoveries including various animal skulls, one of which Rafe is holding in the photo above. Sadly no valuable treasures as yet but they are still hoping.

As part of our fundraising initiatives for the Buckinghamshire Hospital Trust we had a request from the respiratory wards at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. Two wards were being used as ‘step down’ wards for Covid patients; those patients who were well enough to leave ICU but not quite ready to return home. This meant that all staff in these areas were having to wear full PPE at all times. To make this more comfortable for the staff, the hospital ordered hoods to replace masks and visors but they have to be washed by the staff after every shift: To enable this they needed a specific size of ‘washing’ bag.

We contacted Kate Collet-Fenson, founder of the magnificent sewing cartel, and asked her if she could rally her troops to produce 100 bags at very short notice! In less than two weeks Stoke was supplied with the donated bags. Thank you Kate and team for your outstanding efforts.

Finally, the Buckinghamshire Hospital Trust has asked us if we can help raise funds for their staff gardens, to enliven an existing peaceful green area. To facilitate this Loosley Row are holding a plant sale on Saturday 29th May, at the crossroads of Lower Road and Loosley Hill. We would appreciate any donations of plants to sell - please deliver these to Sarah at Loosley Dene during the Thursday or Friday prior to the sale on the 29^th May. We would also love to see you on Saturday 29th so pop the date in your diary and come on down. Please observe Government Covid-19 Guidelines.