Beckley & Area Community Benefit society Limited (BACBS)

EVEN MORE THAN A PUB Programme

Talks: BACBS is delighted to announce a programme of ‘Even More than a Pub’ activities, starting with a ‘virtual’ public interest talk in the familiar Sunday evening slot. We are honoured to welcome Beckley resident Andrew McMichael to give the first oh-so-topical Zoom talk.

Date & time: Sunday 26 April, 6.30 to 8.30pm

Speaker: Sir Andrew McMichael, Professor of Molecular Medicine, and previously Director of the Weatherall Institute of Molecular Medicine at the University of Oxford.

Title: ‘Immunity in the time of coronavirus’

Chair: Tony Strong

If you are interested in attending the talk, please click on the following link 10-15 minutes before 6.30pm, entering the Meeting ID when requested:

https://zoom.us/j/93801587224

Meeting ID: 938 0158 7224

We advise that you select ‘Speaker View’ (top right of the Zoom window for PCs and MACs,. See below for other devices and operating systems).

Andrew will give an illustrated talk for 30 to 40 minutes, then will take questions. The meeting will finish at 8.00pm at the latest.

Access to Speaker View

For Windows and MAC, the Speaker View button is at the top-right of the Zoom window.

For Android phones and tablets, iPads and iPhones, Speaker View is the default view. If Speaker View is not shown:

For Android phones and tablets, and for iPhones, swipe-right or swipe-left to switch between Participants View and Speaker View. If necessary, click on the small window that shows you or the speaker to switch between viewing yourself or the active speaker.

For iPad, click anywhere on the screen and select the button Switch to Active Speaker

Walks: Plans are afoot (literally) to promote a number of local walks from The Abingdon Arms – not led group walks, but routes which can be followed by individuals or small family groups in an hour or less – consistent with Government advice about the permitted ‘single daily exercise’.

And more: We are also in negotiation to initiate a virtual Pub Quiz. Other suggestions are welcome.

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The Abingdon Arms

As you know The Abingdon Arms is closed as a public house, but Alex and Suzy are now running a greatly appreciated takeaway business for meals and drinks, with a small village shop selling mostly pub-made items – see the sample menus below, but do check up to date menus on line at https://www.theabingdonarms.co.uk/coronavirus-updates

This innovative service provides a very welcome respite for the residents of Beckley, surrounding villages and nearby Oxford, offering a pub meal with drinks in one’s own home. Although the pub’s employees are now on furlough, Alex is maintaining his reputation by offering an extensive menu of dishes; and his legendary Sunday lunches are now available to take home! The takeaway draught ales are proving very popular, but it’s also easy to take home a bottle of wine (and other drinks too) to complement your meal.

Suzy and Alex are observing strict hygiene and social-distance protocols. Of course, without their destination and in-house trade, Suzy and Alex’s business is greatly reduced, though it’s ticking over well. Nevertheless, they rely on the loyalty and support of local customers. Please do give them your custom, so that they and The Abingdon Arms come through this critical time intact.

Current opening times are as follows. Please pre-order meals and drinks, for Sunday lunches at least a day or two in advance. Suzy will take card payments at the time of ordering: 01865 655667.

Mondays: closed

Tuesdays: shop and takeaways 5 to 8pm

Wednesdays to Saturdays: shop 12 noon to 8pm, takeaways 5 to 8pm

Sundays: shop and takeaways 12 noon to 4pm

If you - or a friend or neighbour - are really unable to collect your takeaway, it may be possible to arrange delivery to Beckley or nearby villages. Please ask Suzy at the time of ordering whether this will be possible.

The pub’s website is at http://theabingdonarms.co.uk/

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COVID-19 Volunteer Support

The Beckley Covid-19 Support Network was formed soon after the government imposed the necessary lock down, and is an initiative of the BACBS Good Neighbour Scheme and some local residents. There are 24 volunteers linked through a WhatsApp group who can respond to requests for help. They are strategically placed around the village and keep a watching eye on their immediate neighbourhood. Requests for help should come either by word of mouth, email BACBSgoodneighbour@gmail.com, or by text/phone call on 07514 791910 (if there is no reply leave a message, or email instead).

There have been a few requests for shopping, takeaway deliveries from the pub and Stanton shop, posting items, medicine and prescription pick up, and help setting up online services. Overall, there have been relatively few requests, and this is a tribute to the kindness of neighbours, family and friends who were already looking out for those in need of some assistance. We remain fully operational and if you need help, particularly if you are elderly or in poor health, or you are a key worker in need of support, please do contact us. If you have any anxieties or questions about the current situation do call the above number.

Remember, if you become ill, please pick up the phone or email and let someone know. Don’t suffer alone. If you need something that is not mentioned above, or you are alone and just want to talk, do please contact us. We may not be able to respond to all requests immediately, but will always do our best to help where we can.

John Stradling and Cathy Davies

Editor’s PS: Are there similar arrangements in other villages and neighbourhoods in the BACBS area? We would love to know, in part to be able to advise residents who might ask.

The Beckley & Area Covid-19 Mutual Aid Group has been set up on Facebook and now has nearly 90 members. Anyone is welcome to join it to post useful information for the community, or to request information or assistance, or indeed just to chat about the current situation.

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Good Neighbour Scheme: a reminder

The BACBS volunteer transport scheme serves residents of Beckley, Elsfield, Stanton St John and Forest Hill. Noke, Woodeaton and Horton cum Studley have their own GNS services. As might be expected during this lockdown, the number of requests for lifts remains low. If you know of anybody who might benefit from this scheme please give them our contact details: 07514 791910 or BACBSgoodneighbour@gmail.com

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BACBS: Future plans

We will emerge eventually from the coronavirus crisis. Although social distancing is likely to be required for some time, and self-isolation for some in our community, it will become possible again to meet family, friends and neighbours other than by phone, Skype and Zoom. What a joyful prospect!

In due course, The Abingdon Arms will re-open, and a big party is already proposed! It will take Suzy, Alex, Vicky and their staff time to re-establish their business. BACBS will be able eventually to resume its usual programme and wider benefits for the community. We will then be able to progress actions which are currently on hold, including:

1. A painting of the coat of arms or crest which features on the hanging pub sign has been donated to BACBS. Suzy will mount this in the pub’s porch, as near to the outdoor sign as is possible; and, with help from the artist who created both, Elizabeth Talbot, BACBS plans to draft and mount an adjacent plaque which explains the heraldic significance of the crest.

2. With the aim of limiting background noise in the barn during ‘More than a Pub’ talks and other events, we will install a sound-baffling curtain across the barn entrance. This will not cut out all background noise, but we hope it will help.

3. We will install a glass-fronted notice board on the outside wall of the toilet block in which BACBS and pub information can be displayed.

4. Adjacent to the notice board, we will mount a map display board. A few suggested local walks will be indicated on the map, with key points and relevant information.

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Community Engagement

As indicated previously, a useful information pack for new Beckley residents has been put together for BACBS by John Stradling and Susy Jepson, and will be delivered to newcomers shortly after arrival. If you know of newcomers or can suggest additional information for inclusion, do let us know at john.r.stradling@gmail.com or susy.jepson@gmail.com. Some long-established residents have expressed interest in the pack too - a copy can also be downloaded from the BACBS website, bacbs.org/local-information.

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Healthy Community Fair

On 19th February BACBS was pleased to host a Healthy Community Fair at The Abingdon Arms, organised and presented by researchers from the University of Oxford. The research team, from the Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at the University of Oxford, would like to thank everybody who attended and contributed to the Fair.

Research scientists Amadea and Stephanie write:

The event was attended and enjoyed by 43 people from the local area and slightly further afield. Tap dancing, museum object handling, crafts and board games were popular activities. Participants shared with us how much they valued meeting each other and having a chat.

The Fair was an incredibly useful opportunity for us to explore how social prescribing can help serve rural areas. Social prescribing refers to the use of ‘community assets’ (community groups, organisations, charities) to help with challenges that people may have with living well (www.oxfed.uk/social-prescribing). Those attending shared ideas about what kinds of activities they thought may contribute to the health and wellbeing of members of the local area.

We will use the feedback we received on the day to help us shape our future research on the topic of social prescribing (www.phc.ox.ac.uk/research/social-prescribing). It allowed us to run an innovative public involvement and engagement event. We received lots of positive and constructive comments, and have learnt how we may improve the running of similar events in the future (e.g. time of day and year to hold it, what type of activities to run).

If you have any other feedback you would like to share about the event, social prescribing or running public involvement events, please get in touch with Amadea Turk (amadea.turk@phc.ox.ac.uk) or Stephanie Tierney (stephanie.tierney@phc.ox.ac.uk)”.

Photos capturing the activities and sociable glow of the Fair are shown below.

BACBS would like to thank Amadea, Stephanie and their colleagues for arranging this very enjoyable and informative event. We also thank Suzy and Alex for providing such delicious refreshments!

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Community pubs: A Reuters article

An informative and interesting article about community-owned pubs, featuring The Abingdon Arms prominently, has been published by the international press agency Reuters. Sarah Shearman pursued her interviews with care and much encouragement. See her article here:

https://news.trust.org/item/20200414222127-z5cul/

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