The public gets creative in lockdown, in the latest roundup of uplifting stories from across the UK.
Hitchin man makes squirrels an NHS-themed assault course
One man has turned his lockdown boredom to an unusual end by making a “Nutional Health Service” obstacle course for his garden squirrels.
Steve Barley, 55, from Hitchin, Hertfordshire, used pieces of old wood to make the quirky course, which is suspended from a washing line nine metres from the ground.
“If I can show my appreciation for the wonderful work our medical services do, and raise morale with a laugh or two at the same time, then I’ll be a happy squirrel man,” the retired school teacher said.
In a pun-filled video, Barley commentates as squirrels Dr Drey, “head of anutomy”, and Dr Dana Scurry, “nutrionist”, make their way across the course, which involves going under a microscope, through an X-ray machine and hopping across a “hopsital” bed.
Viral TikTok challenges boost morale in Birkenhead care home
A group of older care home residents are the latest to have a go at the TikTok dances that have gone viral in recent weeks.
Stephen Robinson, a care home assistant, enlisted the help of 93-year-old Mary Hurst and 82-year-old Brenda Finch to make a series of videos, which have been viewed thousands of times on the platform.
In one video, Robinson and Hurst take part in the “flip the switch” challenge, in which people swap clothes to the sound of Drake’s Nonstop. The clip has already received 20,000 views on TikTok.
In another clip, Finch acts out the lyrics to Dolly Parton’s 9 to 5, complete with an early morning glass of wine.
“We had a ball of a time making the videos with Stephen, and hope they bring a smile to people’s faces,” said Hurst, who praised the staff at Anchor’s Heyberry House in Birkenhead for their dedication.
Robinson said residents enjoyed keeping up to date with the latest social media trends: “I have a very close connection with both Mary and Brenda … When I told to them both about TikTok they were more than willing to jump onboard.”
Family distributes hundreds of plants to neighbours with home ‘garden centre’
When Craig Sullivan, a keen gardener, realised he had a surplus of plants, he put out a call on the hyperlocal social network Nextdoor to ask if any of his neighbours wanted any – and was inundated with more than 100 responses.
He and his 20-year-old daughter, Marcella, set to work growing and distributing, and in just a few weeks they have given 230 plants to more than 100 local people, prioritising those who are vulnerable or self-isolating and families with children.
“We’ve become a tiny two-person garden centre,” said Sullivan, 52, an internet consultant who has a large garden in Blackheath, south-east London. “But I sensed this need was about more than plants – it’s about people having something to look after, nurture and care for when all the world is in chaos.”
Many are first-time gardeners, or are growing with few resources on balconies, so Sullivan provides growing guides to help people care for their plants. “We’re just going to keep going until we run out of seeds,” he said.
