Do you like our front cover – Heaton Moor straight out of the 1970s? Perhaps you are even in one of the pictures in our history feature. If so we’d love to hear from you: tell us what you remember about the parades and what you are up to now at hello@moormag.com.
This is a tricky welcome to write as it is hard to know exactly what will be going on in our community a few weeks from now when MOOR drops through your doors. As I write this, Italy’s 60 million residents are in shut-down to try and halt the spread of coronavirus, whilst local Heatons social media already has reports of panic buying leaving some without provisions.
Perhaps we should all follow the advice of Jane Fox in our feature, which suggests how important kindness is – at all times, not just in moments of crisis. Treating other members of our community well is one of the things that makes us strong. Obviously I hope things won’t get so bad that schools close or people have to self-isolate. But, if they do, then we need to remind ourselves how close a community we are by sharing resources and checking on neighbours who may have trouble getting to the shops or feel lonely or scared.
What I do know is that, as a magazine set up to support businesses and help keep our local economy vibrant, we appreciate how difficult it is for small businesses to survive in any situation – crisis or no crisis – and that they all (service providers, shops, bars and restaurants) need our support every day. Now more than ever we need to show why this area is such a great place to live by supporting each other and the businesses that help our area to thrive.
Melissa
A neighbour matching service has been set up to link people with others on their road for help and support if the situation worsens. Search on Facebook: Heatons Covid-19 virus – self isolation neighbourhood outreach