By David Gledhill, Marketing & Communications Lead At last some seemingly good news about the coronavirus pandemic, with hopes being pinned on a vaccine being available within months. It can’t come too soon for most of us who have been in and out of lockdown for the last eight months, but it won’t be in time for Christmas and that is depressing news for many. … Continue reading Keeping safe this Christmas

SUPER volunteer Bob Ward is stepping out again to raise money for festive hampers for families who need a little help this Christmas. Bob is hoping to raise £1000 to pay for the hampers which will be distributed by Eat That Frog, by walking non-stop for 12 hours later this month, come rain or shine. He intends starting his coastal walk at 4 am on … Continue reading Super volunteer Bob Ward is back

By David Gledhill, Marketing & Communications Lead Two weeks into the second lockdown of this coronavirus crisis and some people are finding it tough going. We went into the lockdown better prepared in all sorts of ways – we all learned a lot during the first lockdown and organisations, working together, had planned for it, just in case. The Helpline is staffed by experienced and … Continue reading Taking responsibility during Covid-19

PEOPLE are being urged to help light up Torbay and spread a little extra cheer this Christmas. Organisers are hoping that some of the gloom of the coronavirus crisis will be lifted as householders and businesses spread sparkle across the Bay. Patrick Cain, who lives in Torquay, came up with the idea and plans to produce a map of the trail so that others will … Continue reading Torbay Christmas Trail aims to light up the Bay

By Simon Sherbersky, Lead Officer The last six months has seen a coming together on a level I have never experienced in 18 years of working in Torbay. I wanted to take this opportunity to celebrate the different elements of this. First, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit us, we saw huge numbers of people offering to help their neighbours with the 1st lockdown. Over 900 … Continue reading Torbay coming together in times of need

By David Gledhill, Marketing & Communications Lead SOME might say it was inevitable, but as of tomorrow we all face further restrictions because of the rising number of cases of COVID-19 Over the last few weeks, the number of cases in Torbay has risen steadily, and sadly there have been more deaths at Torbay Hospital, but we remained Tier One until much tougher rules were … Continue reading One call, that’s all

THE TORBAY Community Helpline is gearing up for a massive increase in calls as new restrictions are brought in to tackle coronavirus. The Helpline which is staffed by a variety of charitable, voluntary and statutory organisations has already taken more than 15,000 calls since it launched in March from people needing help or people offering help. More than 4,000 people have been in touch and … Continue reading Community helpline braces for second spike

People are being encouraged to become Good Neighbours to help each other in case new restrictions are brought in to tackle coronavirus More than 50 Good Neighbour schemes were launched during lockdown as people looked after each other in their communities with everything from phone calls to practical help. Torbay Community Development Trust and Ageing Well Torbay have been providing support for the scheme and … Continue reading Renewed need for Good Neighbours

The first ever virtual Ageing Well Festival took place on Saturday 24th October – and is now available to rewatch online. Typically, the Ageing Well Festival would welcome hundreds, if not thousands of visitors through the doors of a large venue, such as the Riviera Centre, site of last year’s festival, and where we were all due to be celebrating last Saturday. But then a … Continue reading Now available to rewatch – Ageing Well Festival @Home 2020

By David Gledhill, Marketing & Communications Lead And so it begins – the clocks have gone back, the nights are drawing in to the point where evenings are immersed in darkness, and Christmas is just around the corner. But what sort of Christmas are we looking forward to this year? I am not sure any of us know the answer to that other than the … Continue reading Christmas with Covid-19