How to celebrate VE Day in Peterborough and raise vital foodbank funds

As a result, this year Victory in Europe Day (VE Day) has been declared a Bank Holiday and prior to the Covid-19 outbreak a long weekend of celebrations was planned.

Many of the events have now been cancelled because we cannot celebrate with others in the way we perhaps would have done, but I want to join the many voices nationally who are calling on people to find different ways of marking VE Day at home, to reflect on the enormous sacrifice, courage and determination shown by so many people, from all walks of life.

People are being encouraged to host parties at home, or in the garden, for those they live with and then connect with friends and family online.

My wife Barbara has demonstrated her Blue Peter skills by showing me how easy it is to make bunting out of old card and bit of string. You could try it too or maybe task children in your family to create VE Day posters to display.

Or if you’ve taken to baking during the isolation period, why not bake VE Day inspired cakes? You could even wear your poppy, if you have one in a drawer from a previous Armistice Day.

You can also join in with the “Nation’s Toast to the Heroes of WW2” by raising a glass of a refreshment of your choice at 3pm.

Locally, a virtual service will be hosted by Peterborough Cathedral, led by the Dean Christopher Dalliston and Canon Ian Black, the Vicar of Peterborough. During the service there will be a reflection from the Bishop of Peterborough, the Rt Revd Donald Allister, and the Last Post will be played by Ollie Maynard, a student at The King’s School.

This will be broadcast as a live stream from 3pm on the cathedral’s Facebook page and also as a video via the cathedral’s website at www.peterborough-cathedral.org.uk

Our cathedral is also asking people to take part in the Big Picnic for Hope to celebrate VE Day heroes and the heroes of our current time - those risking their lives on the “front line” - NHS staff, carers, delivery personnel, workers in food stores or public transport, and the remarkable collective effort of the nation to stay home and play our part in combatting the coronavirus pandemic.

The picnic aims to raise £5,000 for the Trussell Trust, the charity that supports a nationwide network of foodbanks (including Peterborough Foodbank).

You can find out more by searching for Big Picnic for Hope on Facebook.

We’ll be sharing suggestions for how you can get involved in marking VE Day on our social media pages, including how to make your own bunting, plus links to resources you can download to teach our younger generation about VE Day.

Whatever you are doing, please share your photos with the council on social media with the caption “To those who gave so much, we thank you”.

I know not everyone will be in the mood for celebration during these worrying times, but I hope residents will be able to look back in years to come with pride, that even through a pandemic the people of Peterborough still managed to come together to mark a special day in history.

And don’t forget to save the bunting you make for VJ Day in August too, the date in history when World War II came to an end.

Our Peterborough support hub is continuing to support those most affected by the coronavirus outbreak on a daily basis.

Since it launched at the start of April we have been contacted almost 500 times - these are all people who need help at this difficult time who we have been able to support.

A large number of the calls we receive every week are from people who need help accessing food or to afford to buy food. Our hub is supporting those people in this situation who do not have friends, family and neighbours to ask for help. We’re also helping people to get medicines and prescriptions and in lots of other ways,

Please, if you do need help, let us know. You can get in touch with the Peterborough hub by visiting www.peterborough.gov.uk/coronavirus or by calling 01733 747474. The hub is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm.

Organisations offering help city-wide can also be found on our website.

And finally, Ramadan Kareem to our Muslim community. I appreciate that Ramadan is a very special month for many of our residents and that this time it will be a very different occasion because of the requirement for everyone to stay at home.

I know it must be difficult not to spend this time with family and friends, but please enjoy Ramadan at home and stay safe for your family.