The November lockdown ended with Wokingham being placed not into Tier 1 as hoped but Tier 2, a placement that council leader John Halsall said was disappointing.
“We are planning for the winter and spring in the hope that next summer we will return to normal,” he said, adding that positive cases in Wokingham had been falling and hoped that when the Tiers were reviewed on December 16, Wokingham would drop down to Tier 1.
However, when the announcement was made, Wokingham was placed into Tier 3 – an effective lockdown – along with the rest of Berkshire. Rates were rising across the south east and a new covid strain, that spread more easily, had been detected.
As it turned out that was not enough. On Friday, December 18, we were in Tier 2, the next day we were Tier 3. That afternoon, Boris Johnson announced a new Tier 4 category and we entered it on the Sunday. Christmas was cancelled – households were only allowed to mark the big day in their own bubbles. Pubs and restaurants and non-essential retail had to close their doors again, although they could offer click and collect, and people were urged to stay at home unless necessary to leave it.
The next review of measures is due today, but with more parts of the country placed into Tier 4 on Boxing Day a change seems unlikely.
More libraries reopened at the beginning of the month, but these had to close just before Christmas as a result of the new restrictions.
Sir John Redwood was a lone voice in the borough calling for parliament to be recalled so a different approach could be found. He has been a critic of lockdowns and remains concerned over the economic impact they have.
Covid marshals, aimed at helping people socially distance and stick to other rules, started appearing on the borough’s streets.
While most schools in the borough have had to send pupils home to self-isolate, all remained open throughout the autumn term with the exception of The Emmbrook School. It had to close two weeks early after a member of its catering team tested positive for the coronavirus.
Possibly the best news of the year featured on our front page of December 17: the first doses of the Pfizer vaccine were being distributed in GPs surgeries in Wargrave and Finchampstead. Next week, these first patients will return to get their second dose and they should have immunity by late January.
The One Front Door scheme continues to operate and revealed that it had had a week’s worth of calls in a single day as demand soared.
The Link Visiting Scheme also pulled out all the stops to ensure that people on their own over Christmas would have access to at least a friendly voice
They also provided meals – the scheme was almost thrown into jeopardy on the Tuesday before Christams, when the chef tested positive, but thanks to a call for help via our website, a replacement was found.
Plans to build homes in Grazeley have to be scrapped after the Ministry of Defence objected to the plans following an extension of AWE’s emergency zone, announced in March. Cllr John Halsall said: “Grazeley Market Town may no longer be achievable; we are in the uncomfortable place of being in a limbo.”
He promised that the council was looking at alternatives.
Thankfully, there is no chance of Cllr Halsall walking naked through Westminster as his campaign to reduce the housing numbers from 1,635 was successful.
Christmas spirit remained undaunted: generous donations were made to numerous good causes including £4,000 worth of food donated to Wokingham Foodbank by Molly Millars Lane based company TaxCalc. It was the charity’s biggest-ever gift. Seven-year-old Alfie Ferguson sold his toys to buy a trolley’s worth of food to add to the festive collection.
Tesco also donated food for the Salvation Army’s hot lunch offering.
The success of The Giving Tree saw more than 800 presents bought.
Given the pressures on the campaign caused by Covid, this is amazing work and the charities are all so grateful that they posed with Thank You signs in last week’s paper to express their gratitude.
The replacement to the bikers’ toy run proved to be successful, with hundreds of toys making their way to Barnardo’s. Collection points were set up in the masonic temples in Sindlesham and Wokingham to ensure numbers arriving could be staggered.
School children once again created decorations for Wokingham town’s Christmas tree, but the annual presentation ceremony as switched to an online version.
However, a virtual Christmas market was held in lieu of the Winter Carnival and it was a great success according to organisers.
They are now considering adding a craft market to next year’s event.
Theresa May played good fairy to Twyford, by once again switching on the village’s Christmas lights. She also made a virtual visit to Sunrise of Sonning care home, updating residents on her work and answering their questions.
Father Christmas was also able to make a Covid-safe appearance at Hare Hatch Sheeplands, thanks to the hard work of the Rotary Club of Reading Maiden Erlegh.
And festive gifts were delivered by Santa’s little helpers from COATS, a Crowthorne-based day centre for the elderly.
There’s always someone who doesn’t like Christmas, and some mean-hearted person had been going around Shinfield stealing festive decorations.
They weren’t the only Grinches in town: the nutcracker decorations outside Strange the Jewellers in Bush Walk were vandalised, depriving shoppers of their festive cheer.
Another win in the battle to reduce single use plastics came from the news that the council is to use washable plastic trays in schools.
Each can last for up to 100 washes – at five days a week, that’s 20 weeks worth.
BBC Radio Berkshire’s Michelle Jordan was announced as a patron of domestic abuse charity Kaleidoscopic UK.
“I like to help in anyway to raise awareness of abuse,” she said.
