COVID-19 – UPDATE NUMBER 4 FROM THE REGIMENTAL ASSOCIATION

Dear Members

Though the severest elements of the national lockdown have now receded, we still find ourselves restricted in our daily lives to some degree. Unfortunately, our 75th anniversary year will be measured in future years by COVID-19 rather than celebratory activity but we will attempt to put this right in 2021.

We expect to be back to full staffing during the working week from early September.  We will continue to utilise virtual technology to conduct activity when we have to, however we are very aware that this cannot replace the ‘face to face’ style which is so important to us. All our decisions on postponement or cancellation of events have this in mind. Those who have visited the website of late, will have seen that we can now accept donations via PayPal and we can now accept payment ‘over the phone’ and ‘in person’ by Debit or Credit Card. The secure area of the website is currently being re-developed. We remind members that, in these unprecedented times, please contact us if you or someone you know are experiencing severe financial difficulties at present, we may be able to help.

You will recall from Update Number 3 that the decision was taken in May to cancel our social events up to the end of October 2020. Regrettably, we have now taken the decision to cancel the following events in November 2020. The Field of Remembrance Lunch on the 5th November and the Ascension Service Lunch on the 6th November. At present we are hopeful we can attend the Opening of the Field of Remembrance ceremony (albeit with reduced ticket numbers and with social distancing) and conduct the Ascension Service (again with restrictions). We await news from Westminster Abbey as to whether we can conduct the Service in the Cloisters in some way on the 5th November. We will update the membership as soon as we have news.

We have also decided to cancel the Annual Reunion on the 14th November due to venue restrictions and the heavy reliance on public transport for this event.

The Annual Newsletter is now at the printers. We are hopeful this will start to drop on your doorsteps during the first week in September. It is the largest Newsletter to date (20 pages) and includes articles on the 75th Anniversary of the Regimental Association, the SENTINELS Initiative, and adverts for a 75th Anniversary Regimental Association Print and the (now completed) Ascension Book. Raffle tickets for the Annual Christmas Draw and information regarding the AGM in October will also be included.

John, Tracy and Terri

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