News Updates

The number of persons with Covid is increasing in Herefordshire, and there are cases in & around your parishes (Penyard, Goodrich and Llangarron) + Ross-on-Wye.

‘Stop the Spread’ is simple.  When mixing with/meeting people who don’t live in your household:

• Wear a mask
• Keep 2m distance
• Wash your hands (and surfaces) after contact

Follow the rules on getting tested and self-isolating:

• Get tested if you develop symptoms and self-isolate whilst awaiting the test result.
• Self-isolate if you test Covid-19 positive or are a contact of someone who has tested positive. When self-isolating you must stay home, shop online, ask friends and family for support.
• Respond to NHS Track and Trace and identify your contacts.
• If you need support Contact the Talk Community on: 01432 260027
• The NHS web site advises on reducing the risk of infection spread at home – go to
• https://www.nhs.uk/conditions  – and then follow coronavirus-covid19/ self-isolation.

Minimise the number of in-person contacts:

• Connecting with friends and family is important but connect online whenever possible. If meeting in person keep to the rule of 6 and keep 2m from anyone outside your household.
• Fresh air is important – it helps to remove the virus in the air. So open windows, wear warmer clothes, and when meeting friends, do so outdoors whenever possible.
• Wear a face-mask in indoor places if not at home, and in busy outdoor places.

STAY SAFE!

Click on the image to open full PDF version

Click on the image to open a full PDF version

Since the commencement of COVID-19 social events have not been possible and was reflected by all such events showing as “Cancelled until further notice” on our parish calendar.

As the lockdown is eased some events are returning gradually to our village halls and beyond.  Many, due to their nature will not be returning for some time.  The parish calendar is being updated to reflect those activities and events that are now taking place.

Currently numbers at events are restricted so do not just turn up.  Please contact the organisers to ensure you understand any special conditions of attendance, and to book your place.

Fraudsters are back in action claiming to be from the police, banks and fraud squads in order to extort money from the  vulnerable.

There have been a couple of incidents in Hereford where couples in their eighties have been targeted.
One man was conned into withdrawing an amount of cash from his personal bank account after being told his credit cards had been cloned. They then sent out two separate couriers to collect the cash from his home address.

In a second incident they asked for an amount of cash which has been collected by a “courier”. Before the individual was about to send over a much larger amount of cash West Mercia Police officers were able to step in and offer the support needed to the victim and prevent the transaction taking place.

Detective Inspector Emma Wright said: “This type of fraud often targets older and more vulnerable people and we would urge everyone to tell someone, by passing on the information about the bogus callers to relatives, friends and neighbours who may not have heard about the local telephone scam in operation.

“There are many alias’ that the imposters use but always remember that no police officer from any force or department will ever ask you to hand over money or transfer funds, regardless of their name or unit.”

The deception can also be carried out in several ways, such as –

• A phone caller pretending to be a police officer who is investigating unidentified activity/ fraud in their bank account and that they must cooperate with the ‘investigation’.
• The victim is then persuaded to withdraw funds and hand them over to the ‘investigators’, either by some remote means or in person to a courier.
• The victim is told that if the bank cashier queries the large withdrawal that they are to say it is for a large purchase e.g. work/repairs in the home.
• Alternatively the victim may be asked to hand over bank cards, vouchers or other valuable items. They may also be asked to transfer funds to another account, which is controlled by the fraudsters.

“These scams can be extremely convincing and manipulative. The fraudsters may give (alleged) crime numbers, investigation details, and job titles. They will always claim that the transaction must be done in secret. The fraudsters condition their victim not to trust bank branch staff, which can make it hard for those staff to help.”

“These calls are not genuine and payments should not be made. No legitimate bank/building society, police officer, or business will ever phone you to ask you to give them your card, your PIN, or your cash in the way we’ve described above.”

“Don’t trust anyone who calls you about your bank details. Always hang up and wait 10 minutes to ensure the call has disconnected.”

Stay Safe!

The Walford Community Support Scheme has really shown how a rural support group can make such a difference to its’ parishioners who maybe isolated or lonely especially during the recent months of Covid-19.

The scheme was established in 2016 and has developed a fantastic group of volunteers who support our service users with everyday tasks in their homes for example collecting medication, taking people to appointments and encouraging service users to engage in our regular social gatherings and outings.

For so many the reality of Covid-19 and lockdown caused anxiety and confusion; the thought of not seeing friends and family was devastating.

But the WCSS swung into action with volunteers offering to go shopping or deliver much needed medication. The service users were all supported by regular befriending calls to check on their health and wellbeing. For many elderly service users modern IT technology is still to be mastered but a few challenged themselves with becoming more familiar with the internet and were amazed at the results – Zoom calls were deemed to be incredible!!!!

During the crisis the scheme was successful in applying for a grant from Herefordshire Community Foundation. As lockdown restrictions eased, we were able to ‘lift the spirits’ of our services users through our volunteers making special deliveries to their homes. Miffy’s Teashop in Ross put together the most delicious afternoon tea box, Audrey’s Fish Bar replaced our usual Fish ‘n’ Chip lunch with a home delivery and a ‘Treat Box’ containing local produce from Wye Valley Produce, Lodge Farm Kitchen and Franks Luxury Biscuits was gratefully received.  Service users were also provided with a material face mask and hand sanitiser to ensure their wellbeing when venturing out.

As time moves forward the scheme is hoping that it will be able to resume social gatherings under new guidelines, allowing friends to reconnect and to embrace any new members of the community who wish to join the scheme. Our hope is to use the grant funding to enhance our social gatherings, introduce new ‘ IT drop in’ sessions helping support service users with virtual appointments and to encourage younger members of our community who may also require support to be able to meet and enjoy the invaluable help our volunteers can offer.

The WCSS is so grateful to everyone who has supported the scheme since it was founded but particularly to our local volunteers who have reached out to help so many throughout the Covid-19 period, allowing our community to take care of those who are isolated or lonely.

If you know of anyone in the Walford Parish who may wish to be supported by the WCSS or if you would like to volunteer please contact us on 07493171430 or by e mail community@walford-pc.org.uk

Be Mackintosh

Community Support Coordinator

A few parishioners have experienced difficulties joining and taking part in council meetings being held by video conference.  It looks like we are going to be continuing with video conferencing for some time so the information below may provide assistance.

It is impractical to provide advice that will suit everyone as there are more than a dozen ways to join a meeting depending on your equipment, operating system and the meeting system being used.

Walford Parish Council currently use the Zoom video conferencing system.

Details of meetings and their joining information are shown on the calendar, normally, if you are joining from a computer, laptop, tablet or mobile phone you just need to click on the “join meeting” button.  If you are joining by phone then dial the number and follow the verbal instructions.

• A few minutes before the meeting is due to start click on the link you have been
  provided with the next screen should show an option to Join a Meeting and you need to click it.
  You may then be asked to type in the Meeting ID and then the Password which you
  will have been given by the session organiser.
  You are nearly there now!
• The next screen will ask if you want to join with video this will allow you to see others in the session and for them to see you, this can be turned on and off during the session if you wish.
• You will then be asked if you want to join with audio this will allow you to hear others in the session and for them to hear you, again this can be turned on an off during the session if you wish.
  You should now have gained access to your session.

During the session

• At the bottom of the screen there are some icons of a video camera and a speaker, by clicking those you can turn the video or sound on or off.
• If more than one person is talking at once or there is background noise this can make the conversation break up and be a little frustrating. Try and take it in turns to talk rather than all at once.
• There are some other controls that you can explore the more you use Zoom but for now enjoy connecting with people.

Problem solving

• If you have not downloaded the Zoom app first and just click the link the session host has provided you may be prompted to download the Zoom app. Follow the instructions on your screen to do this. If this does not happen follow the instructions at the start of this sheet to download the Zoom app.
• If you can’t see or hear the other people in the session your video and/or your microphone is switched off. Find the video camera icon and/or microphone icon at the bottom of the screen and turn the relevant one on.
• If you are still unable to hear and/or see the people in the session there may be an issue with your settings. Here you will need to come off the session and open up the settings on your device. Find the apps option and find Zoom in the list of apps. Open this up and look for permission and ensure that camera and microphone are selected

There is a new service which is available for all members of Herefordshire Libraries, and it is called “PressReader”.  You can access all newspapers and magazines from the UK and beyond and IT IS COMPLETELY FREE.  If you are a library member just go onto the Herefordshire.gov.uk website go to Libraries and start reading, if you are not a member it is easy to join online.