BODORGAN COMMUNITY SUPPORT GROUP
NEWSLETTER 16th June 2020.
Since the last newsletter of May 5th, some things have changed, but not a lot. The lockdown is still in place, and it’s likely that Wales will be some way behind England in terms of easing restrictions. Maybe this will be a good thing, maybe not. Only time will tell. Although there have been isolated spikes in Covid cases, in Llangefni for instance, the general trend appears to be downwards, which is good news for everybody. For those in self isolation, home deliveries are now a little easier than they were 5 weeks ago, but Jude Williams and her contacts are still there if needed. The WI seamstresses are seeing a slight easing in their workload, and there is a slight but perceptible shift towards normality. But we must still be cautious - sometimes the light we see at the end of the tunnel is on the front of a train !
LOCKDOWN UPDATE from Cllr Bryan Owen.
48% of Council staff are working from home and there is no one within the authority being furloughed.
There are 222 people tested positive on the island. The authority have sent out 3398 shielding letters of which 80 have not reacted and we have not been able to contact them by phone.
The council have 44 employees working on contact tracing. This is working well and is a necessity as we look to come out of lockdown.
Re-opening of caravan parks and tourism will be a Welsh Government decision.
17.320 million pounds has been paid to Anglesey businesses to date.
Some schools have remained open to accommodate children of front line workers and vulnerable children are being catered for.
Refuse collection has been carried out as normal.
Yellow lines have been painted in Bethel and Malltraeth and there are plans to resurface the road through Bethel in the coming weeks.
MALLTRAETH YMLAEN
As reported in the May 5th Newsletter, Malltraeth Ymlaen is once again an active company, and we are looking forward to resuming the good work that has been its trademark over the last 17 years.
The 10 directors who voted at the closed meeting on February 12th to close the company have been invited to tender their resignations, on the basis that they have made it clear that they have no further interest in Malltraeth Ymlaen and its activities. As soon as we hear from them we can arrange for the appointment of replacement directors, and start to catch up with company business. We have made it clear that any or all of them are welcome to put themselves forward for re-election if they wish, but until we hear from them we are unable to proceed with the continuation of Malltraeth Ymlaen that you voted for.
OUT & ABOUT
Philip Snow reports regular sightings of three immature (non-breeding) Ospreys wandering the area. This is a real cause for celebration in wildlife terms, and a first for the Cefni Estuary. (Although I can remember twenty-odd years ago seeing a pink flamingo mixing with the swans down by the bridge).
It bodes very well for breeding in the future. Philip has been able to identify the birds by their leg rings. One is from England, one is from Scotland, and the other is from Wales.Sounds like the first line of a joke.
There have also been sightings of Red Kites all across Anglesey. They’re now quite common in Wales, and also down the M40 corridor, but quite unusual on the Island.
If you're interested in Philip's work, you can see more of his sketches on www.snowartandbooks.co.uk
150 CLUB
The 150 Club continues to suffer from the lack of communal fund raising activities, with membership currently at 73, approximately half of last year’s total. Membership is creeping up slowly, but at the moment we can’t organise the usual monthly draw because we can’t meet in the Community Centre, and we don’t have access to the bingo machine. Looking on the bright side, the prizes will get bigger as time goes by. Anybody wishing to subscribe is welcome to do so, the list is still open, and we still need to fund the Pensioners’ Christmas Lunch.
GRIPES
(Feel free to send in your suggestions)
There is a huge backlog of rubbish waiting in people’s houses for the day when the recycling centres are open to the public. In spite of the backlog, YMCC has opened only one of the two centres, on restricted hours, and subject to prior booking of time slots. These slots are only bookable on line for limited hours each week, and having entered your details – address , car reg number,(no vans or trailers allowed ) type of rubbish (only certain types allowed) you generally get the “no slots available” message. Question (1) If it’s safe for one site to open, why not both?
Question (2) If you want to avoid extensive fly tipping, why so many restrictions?
Over to you, Peter and Bryan !
AND FINALLY – (FOR THE OVER 60s)
An independent Group for older people called Silver Voices has been campaigning for the BBC to keep the free TV licence for over 75s. They say that making elderly people pay for keeping in touch with the outside world is callous, especially at the moment. As a civilised form of protest, they are urging everybody aged 60 or over to cancel their Direct Debit instruction, and pay by cheque instead, causing disruption to the licensing payment system.
NB The late great Sir Patrick Moore, himself a bit of a rebel, recommended adding a nominal sum, maybe £1 or even 10p to any payment that you object to making.This requires manual intervention to prevent it sitting on their system and causing accounting problems at year end.
On behalf of the Bodorgan Community Support Group
Alan Smith
If you wish to join the 150 Club, or have a say in the next newsletter – whether news items or gripes- please email