COVID-19 information
It’s vital that if you develop symptoms, no matter how mild, that you book a test and isolate immediately. Anyone else you live with must isolate too. This is the current road-map for England: What's already changed? Schools and colleges have reopened, and university students can return for practical courses Two people from different households can meet outside for recreation, which can include "a coffee on a bench" Care home residents can have one nominated visitor, with testing and social distance precautions From 29 March: People will be allowed to meet outside, either with one other household or within the "rule of six", including in private gardens The stay at home rule will end, but the government will urge people to stay local as much as possible Outdoor sport facilities will reopen, including golf courses and tennis and basketball courts, and formally organised outdoor sports can restart Weddings attended by up to six people can take place in any circumstances Stage two (no earlier than 12 April): All shops allowed to open, along with close-contact services, including hairdressers and beauty salons (including in people's homes) Restaurants and pubs allowed to serve food and alcohol to customers sitting outdoors Gyms and spas can reopen, as can zoos, theme parks, libraries and community centres Members of the same household can take a holiday in the UK in self-contained accommodation Weddings attended by up to 15 people can take place Stage three (no earlier than 17 May): People can meet in groups of up to 30 outdoors Six people or two households can meet indoors Pubs, restaurants and other hospitality venues can seat customers indoors Up to 30 people can attend weddings or other life events, like christenings Remaining outdoor entertainment, such as outdoor theatres and cinemas can open Indoor entertainment such as museums, theatres, cinemas and children's play areas can open Performances and large events can restart, but with limits on audience numbers Hotels, hostels and B&Bs can reopen International leisure travel may resume Adult indoor group sports and exercise classes can restart Stage four (no earlier than 21 June): All legal limits on social contact will be removed No legal limits on the number of people who can attend weddings, funerals and other life events Nightclubs will be allowed to reopen Village Those on the village email list have been circulated with contact details of villagers offering help to their neighbours. If you are a resident who has not received this then please email wardenws@gmail.com for guidance. Sites that may be helpful:
Home deliveries, etc.
St Giles Church There are such stringent regulations attached church opening that, sadly, St Giles will, for the most part, have to remain locked. The only services have been funerals on 10th and 13th August, Holy Communion on 12th September, Harvest on 18th October and a largely carol-less Carol Service on 18th December. The lockdown from 5th November prevented the Remembrance Service on 8th November from taking place, though the central Act of Remembrance was said by a single person within the locked church. Christmas services were severely curtailed. On each Sunday in January and February 2021 Revd Paula is holding a single benefice service via Zoom, starting at 10.30am. If you would like to join her, please email westbucksrevd@gmail.com and she will send you the link, or you can attend via a telephone link if you prefer, again email Paula and she will provide you with the information. The following system may allow a tiny amount of individual access for private prayer. Email wardenws@gmail.com suggesting a day and time that you would like to go in. If the church has been locked for 72 hours previously and can be locked for 72 hours subsequently, then the church will be unlocked for two hours at the time requested. Fill in a track and trace form at the back of the church and be ready to put on a face mask if anyone else appears. Links to online services past and present appear HERE. The Link, the magazine of the West Buckingham Benefice, was not distributed in paper form during the worst of the pandemic but reappeared in that form with the September 2020 issue. It returned to online-only form from the February 2021 issue. A page for The Link has been created on this site where entries most relevant to Water Stratford have been accumulated. The Annual Vestry Meeting and the Annual Parochial Church Meeting were scheduled to take place on 27th April 2020 but face-to-face meetings were then banned due to the pandemic. Ours eventually took place at 2pm on Monday 12th October 2020 in the churchyard. The annual reports for 2019 were adopted and are shown HERE. The PCC remains unchanged. Useful links Member of Parliament Local government Buckinghamshire Council (unitary authority replaced District and County Councils on 1/4/20) Neighbouring
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