Festive Streets – a new St Albans District community project happening now!

Decorate your windows

We’re very excited to let you know about our new community project in St Albans District called Festive Streets.

The project encourages residents in St Albans, Harpenden and the villages to decorate the windows on their streets during the winter Festive Season, enabling them to celebrate as a community in a contact-free way and bring cheer to their neighbourhood. Neighbours in each street safely co-ordinate their displays so that everyone has the opportunity to be involved if they want to – whether just taking a daily walk to see the latest display or joining in and decorating their own windows. The Festive Street concept could equally be applied to residential homes, community buildings, faith buildings, school classroom windows, or an office block or a parade of shops.

Nearly 300 people have already signed up for our free electronic information pack to start their own Festive Streets. We are hearing from dozens of streets, plus community centres and churches, who have already started their displays.

Festive Streets invites everyone

The underlying principle of Festive Streets is that those who get involved invite all their neighbours – or nearby neighbours – to join in if they want to. We’re taking people beyond WhatsApp or Facebook chat groups so that they reach out and make connections to all the people who live near them, particularly those not on social media. Building community where they live. Brightening people’s lives.

Get involved in Festive Streets

We are writing to community and support organisations like yourselves to invite you to spread the word about Festive Streets. Perhaps you are community organisation targeted at the “third age”. Perhaps you are a residential home and your residents would enjoy creating window displays. Perhaps you are an community or outreach organisation and your members or customers would benefit from being involved in such a scheme where they live. Perhaps you can simply help us promote Festive Streets through your own communication channels so that as many people as possible hear about it.

Please help us spread the word about the project.
It is for all residents of St Albans District, it is free and it encourages neighbours to reach out to one another which is a of vital importance at this difficult time.

Festive Streets has been started by the team from Playing Out St Albans District, which is a project run by the environmental charity, Sustainable St Albans. We are grateful to Hertfordshire Community Fund, St Albans District Council Community Fund and Playing Out CIC for their support.

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Further detail about the project
Please see the attached Word document for the full announcement.

Please feel free to use the attached marketing materials.

Logos (banner/square)
PDF printable poster/flyer
Square flyer in jpg for online use
Festive Streets window photo (with the Sustainable St Albans logo/tree).

Social Media

We will be using the hashtag #FestiveStreets.

Our social media accounts are:

Facebook @PlayingOutStAlbansDistrict
Twitter @PlayingOutStA
Instagram @SustainableStA

We have a blog about how to create window displays here.
We have also created a Pinterest board for inspiration here.

Please do contact us if there is anything specific that we can send you to help you get involved in Festive Streets.

Thank you in advance for your help and support.

Kind regards
Nicola

Now is a great time to invite colleagues, friends and family to the Soroptimist charity quiz night on 23 Jan. Something to look forward to in the new year!

Thanks! with best wishes and season’s greetings, Jane Slatter

Soroptimist International St Albans & District’s Fun Charity Quiz Night goes virtual!

We will all be appearing on Zoom 7.30pm to 9pm Sat 23 Jan 2021

Click here to book on eventbrite:

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/soroptimist-international-st-albans-and-district-zoom-quiz-tickets-130876698729

When you book you will be asked to make a donation to the St Albans & Hertsmere Women’s Refuge  plus charities supported by the Club’s projects – we can send you bank details if you prefer.

Join in for a much-needed light-hearted fun evening for everyone!

For more please visit the website:

www.sigbi.org/st-albans/2020/zoom-quiz

Soroptimist International St Albans & District

Web: www.sigbi.org/st-albans

Facebook: @SIStAlbans

Twitter: @SIStAlbans

Women inspiring action, transforming lives

Winter pressures on health services and invitation to session on 15 December on the new 111 first booking system for urgent and emergency care.

Patients are being asked to help protect essential hospital services by using the NHS111 appointment system as an alternative to going to the emergency department at Watford General which is currently experiencing major seasonal pressures.

The new NHS111 appointment system for urgent and emergency care has been introduced across the country from 1 December to keep urgent NHS services safe and ensure they are available for everyone who needs them.

In Hertfordshire and west Essex this is a result of successful partnership working between our hospitals, local NHS 111 provider (Herts Urgent Care) and NHS England.

Unless you are very seriously ill or injured and need 999 emergency services, you should now go online to www.111.nhs.uk or ring 111 for advice before leaving home. Using the 111 service instead of going to A&E is the best way of ensuring you receive help in a timely manner.

Anyone arriving at an emergency department or urgent treatment centre without an appointment will be assessed by a senior nurse to see if they need immediate emergency treatment; if not they will be asked to contact NHS 111 to be triaged. NHS 111 online and phone service can already make booked appointments with GP surgeries and pharmacies, or divert a call to the ambulance service if necessary. Callers can also get directly through to a specialist mental health team by selecting option 2. The addition is that from 1 December, NHS 111 will be able to make someone a booked appointment at an A&E too.

Dr Vishen Ramkisson, the GP leading on the introduction of this new approach to urgent care for Hertfordshire and west Essex said: “It’s vitally important that everybody who needs urgent care is seen and treated safely in the right place, first time. Waiting for hours in an emergency department to be seen for a minor injury or illness is not in anyone’s interests. By picking up the phone or going online before people make the decision to travel, they can be assured that the right medical professional is expecting to see them.”

An appointment system will help to ensure that everyone who needs urgent care help can be seen safely and comfortably. This new way of working will help our residents to get the help they need without spending time in a waiting room where the likelihood of contracting COVID-19, flu or other viruses is increased.

The advice remains that people should continue to ring 999 if they, or someone they are with, are very seriously ill or injured. No-one who needs emergency care will be turned away.

Invitation to find out more about the NHS 111 first booking system for urgent and emergency care

You are invited to a virtual session on Tuesday 15 December 1- 2pm to find out more about the new NHS 111 First initiative. To register for this session please email heather.aylward@nhs.net – the link will be sent to those registered prior to the meeting.

If you are unable to attend this session it will be recorded and the video, with any presentation slides, will be circulated after the meeting

Heather Aylward (I don’t normally work Monday or Thursday)

Public Engagement Manager

www.hertsvalleysccg.nhs.uk

TAVAH BRINGS AUTHENTIC PAKISTANI FOOD TO ST ALBANS

New Restaurant Pays Homage to Pakistan’s Rich Gastronomic Traditions

“Authentic Pakistani Food With Passion”

St Albans , October 2020 – A new St Albans restaurant launched by three local residents aims to celebrate the vibrant culture of Pakistani food.

Tavah opens in Hatfield Road this week and is the brainchild of Manny Nisar, Rehan Ul Haq and Aman Rahman , three friends who wanted to introduce the food they love to the residents of the City.

 Inspired by  the ‘tavah’ cast iron frying pans used by chefs throughout large areas of Asia this new venture  is St Albans first eatery specialising in this unique cuisine.

Tavah was officially opened in a ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday (27th October) by St Albans MP Daisy Cooper  who said, “The food at Tavah is absolutely delicious and it’s great to see this new restaurant opening up in Fleetville. I believe it’s the first explicitly Pakistani restaurant in St Albans and I wish them huge

 success.”

Combining an eclectic blend of traditional and contemporary surroundings that are perfect for communal dining , Tavah offers  a relaxed environment in which to enjoy the fusion of spices, herbs and seasoning that define this unique style of cooking. 

Open from 12 noon until 10pm for lunch and dinner every day of the week except Monday, Tavah also offers a dedicated breakfast menu from 9am at weekends. A  takeaway service is also available. 

Paying homage to Pakistan’s rich cultural history, Tavah takes the diner  on a journey though authentic freshly prepared , Halal Pakistani food with innovative twists and surprises. Serving traditional dishes made i

n-house using family recipes passed down through generations and utilising freshly sourced  ingredients,  Tavah offers a wide range of aromatic curries, clay oven breads, grilled and tandoori cooked meats, fish and vegetable dishes.

The restaurant is also proud to be supporting local children by offering free meals during half term to those in need. 

Co-founder Nauman Nisar said, “It has long been a dream for the three of us to bring the authentic food we love to our fellow St Albans re

sidents. For years we have had to travel a long way from where we live to just to find this amazing cuisine so in the end, with the support and backing of our families, friends and the local community  we decided to launch our own restaurant using the motto, ‘Pakistani food with passion,’  that could deliver the unique flavours of this incredible food. Obviously opening a restaurant during a global pandemic comes with significant challenges but we have been overwhelmed by the positive reactions and goodwill we have received from everyone who has come along to try our cooking. We are really looking forward to providing a friendly and welcoming environment for  people to experience the incredible flavours of authentic Pakistani food at Tavah.” 

Tavah is situated at:  187 Hatfield Road, St Albans AL1 4LG

Bookings and takeaway orders can be placed by calling 01727 833555

www.tavah.co.uk

-ENDS-

For further information please contact :

Nauman Nisar 

Co-Founder – Tavah 

Tel: 07896 568401

Email : nnisar@tavah.co.uk 

For more details please click on the link below:

http://www.oxfamstalbans.org/

~The HAWA Team

Please see below information regarding the Bike Voucher Scheme as part of the government’s plans to increase cycling and walking.

• Today the first batch of bike repair vouchers worth £50 will be released later tonight to the public in a pilot scheme to encourage thousands of people get back into cycling.
• Due to demand for cycle shops’ services during the pandemic, vouchers will be released in batches in order to help manage capacity across participating stores. The first 50,000 will be available just before midnight tonight (Tuesday 28th) on a first come first served basis to those who register online.

Fix your bike voucher scheme

Fix your bike voucher scheme: register as a bike repairer

PM kickstarts £2bn cycling and walking revolution

~The HAWA Team

How are you feeling? This website is designed to be a helpful source for you during the pandemic, please feel free to check it out in the link below:

www.howareyoufeeling.org.uk/

~The HAWA Team