VV_June July Web 20-compressed

Continued from p.27 Dominic Raab, brought up in
Gerrards Cross, took his place.
Local cemeteries and St Margaret’s
churchyard were closed. The fire brigade dealt
with more out-of-control bonfires as people
burned garden rubbish, and dairy farms in the
area poured away hundreds of gallons of milk
because of the drop in demand following the
closure of coffee shops, restaurants and cafes.
The number of confirmed coronavirus cases
jumped by 40 per cent in Buckinghamshire over
Easter week but the number of total confirmed
cases and deaths was well below those in
neighbouring counties.
13 April to 19 April
The Penn Street gin distillery Griffiths Brothers
converted its production line to make hand
sanitiser which it distributed to local GP
surgeries. The Sir William Ramsay School and
Holmer Green Senior School produced over
200 visors with their 3D machines for
Wycombe Hospital.
The Red Lion in Penn began a “call and
collect” service from a limited menu on
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Customers
collected from the door and paid by contactless
card. JJ’s began similar morning service with
hot drinks, sandwiches and bread. The Old
Queen’s Head, The Crown, and the Horse and
Jockey remain closed, with staff furloughed.
Bucks Council introduced instant fines as
flytipping became increasingly prevalent and
charity food bank boxes began appearing in the
village streets to help the increasing number of
people in the Wycombe area unable to feed
themselves. Hazlemere Community Centre
appealed for funds because with bills to pay and
no income it feared for its future.
The former Old Cottage Bookshop in Elm
Road put the remaining books from its stock
outside for people to take, with a donation to
NHS charities. By the end of May it raised
£950. Our local MPs failed in an attempt to
persuade the Government to stop contractors
working on the HS2 high speed rail sites while
www.pennandtylersgreen.org.uk
Village Voice June/July 2020
the pandemic raged.
The glorious weather continued: in the
Gomm Valley the birdsong was said to be
louder and more varied than ever. At Puttenham
Farm the skylarks also seemed more plentiful
and noisier than previous years.
20 April to 26 April
The start of the summer term, but under very
different circumstances. At TG Middle School
teachers attended on a rota basis to teach
children of key workers, all safely distanced.
The vast majority of pupils were working from
home and the class teachers made a video for
their pupils to view via the school website.
The health authorities launched a campaign to
help people with mental health problems caused
by the lockdown. They also urged people not to
stop attending GP surgeries with noncoronavirus
symptoms after figures showed
numbers were down by 30 per cent. Local bus
drivers were instructed not to give change to
passengers who insisted paying by cash instead
of contactless.
Jack Peck, a 21 year old university student
from Elm Road, Penn ran seven marathons in
seven days to raise more than £10,000 for NHS
charities. After he and a friend in Berkshire
completed the feat he said:”It’s been a hell of a
week…but if you’d asked me every morning
whether I’d rather be a nurse in a Covid-19
hospital or running a marathon, I’d pick the
marathon hands down.”
The Bucks Free Press put a paywall on its
website because it, and other newspapers, had
suffered a dramatic collapse in advertising
revenue. Wycombe Sound community radio
station launched a £3,000 appeal to stay on the
air because of a similar advertising drop.
St Margaret’s churchyard, maintained by the
parish council, and the Cock Lane cemetery
reopened after the Government had a change of
heart about closing cemeteries. There was much
criticism that people were unable to tend the
graves of their loved ones.
At Windsor Castle it was announced that
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