It’s been a year we will all remember for the virus which has changed our lives. But 2020 wasn’t all about Covid.
January
Upminster lost one of its best known shops when Swan Books closed down after 83 years. The independent bookseller in Corbets Tey Road blamed “changes on the high street, aggressive competition online and evolving customer habits”. It said parking charges introduced by the council the previous summer were “the final straw”.
A Gidea Park family were celebrating after winning £1million on the National Lottery’s Merry Millions scratchcard. Midwife Hayley Parker said buying a scratchcard was a Christmas tradition for the family. The money would be shared by seven of them.
Celebrity chef Jon Jones, who has cooked for the Queen, opened a breakfast and brunch café, Burnt Toast, in Market Place, Romford. He said: “Our ethos is to use the best possible local ingredients to create original dishes whilst still keeping the food affordable.” The former Emerson Park Academy pupil vowed that profits from the café would go to Heart & Soul’s community projects.
February
Romford actor Micheal Ward, 22 – who starred in Netflix hit Top boy and the critically acclaimed film Blue Story, won the Rising Star award at the Baftas. After receiving his award he said the film industry was going in the right direction when it came to increasing diversity.
Clarion Housing Group was granted permission to build 717 homes in New Road, Rainham, as part of the Beam Park development.
Romford GP Dr Manish Shah was handed three life sentences after being convicted of 90 sex offences against 24 female former patients.
Unaware that a pandemic was just around the corner, Brookside and Queen’s theatres announced the pantomimes they planned to stage for Christmas 2020. Brookside, Romford, planned to present The Wizard of Oz while Queen’s, Hornchurch, wanted to stage Aladdin.
March
Amazing Spaces TV presenter George Clarke visited Squirrels Heath Junior School to officially open its biodome. The enclosed eco-system came with solar panels, hydroponics, planting boxes and a weather station so that the children could learn more about plants and the environment.
Havering lost three popular political activists. Terry Hurlstone, of Rise Park, died aged 80. Former Labour councillor Wilf Mills died aged 90. And former Conservative and then Ukip councillor Fred Osborne died in his mid-80s.
A woman in her sixties became the first person in Havering to die of Covid-19. Queen’s Hospital said she had suffered significant other health conditions.
But as the country went into lockdown , the crisis started to bring out the best in our communities. Volunteers teamed up to help those in need through Mutual Aid groups, and restaurants forced to close delivered food instead to NHS workers.
April
A plea was made to nail bars, beauty salons and tattoo artists to donate their protective equipment for NHS staff after the coronavirus outbreak created a national shortage. Havering Council called on the businesses to either donate masks and gloves or sell them at cost price.
Havering Volunteer Centre, which was co-ordinating the voluntary response the pandemic in the borough, had half a year’s worth of volunteers come forward in just 10 days. More than 500 people offered their services. Schools were making face shields for frontline workers and New City Havering College teamed up with its former student Elliot Dervish to make “pullers” he had invented to enable NHS staff to open doors without touching handles.
With places of worship closed and people confined to their homes, 22 churches across the borough broadcast 24 hours of prayer online. The Rev Kevin Browning, of St John’s and St Matthew’s in Rainham, said: ”We have got one of the largest groups of the elderly I the area, which is one reason why we wanted to do this.”
May
The borough celebrated the 75th anniversary of VE Day despite the lockdown restricting large gatherings. Residents decorated their homes in red, white and blue and socially distanced street parties were held.
An Upminster couple won £10,000 a month for a year in the National Lottery’s Set for Life draw. Unable to do anything with their winnings during lockdown, Rich and Kim Pearson said they would save the bulk of it as a deposit to buy a house.
The Mayor of Havering praised residents who came to the aid of a man attacked with a baseball bat and a cricket bat in South Street, Rainham. Cllr Michael Deon Burton said he had little doubt that residents from Lowen Apartments who came of their homes scared off the attackers. Some brought first aid kits to help treat the injured man. London Ambulance Service said paramedics treated the man at the scene but he did not need to go to hospital.
June
The notorious Gallows Corner flyover – built in 1970 and designed to last 15 years – marked its 50th birthday with still no sign of improvements or a replacement. City Hall said it was considering the feasibility of serveral options after the pandemic hit TfL’s income. For years the junction has been an accident blackspot and the cause of traffic jams but decades of political promises to fix it have amounted to nothing.
Non-essential shops reopened, albeit with one-way systems, hand sanitizer stations and limits on the number of customers at a time.
BBC One aired a documentary series about the nursing staff at King George Hospital, Goodmayes, and Queen’s in Romford. The five-part series focused on an initiative by the hospital trust designed the reduce the number of nurses leaving their jobs.
Non-essential shops were allowed to reopen after lockdown, with social distance markers and one-way systems.
July
Pubs were allowed to reopen, albeit with hand sanitising stations, protective screens around tables and strict limits of numbers of customers. Some, like the Old White Horse in North Ockendon, had introduced a successful takeaway beer service during lockdown.
Romford Market began operating on Sundays. The council said a survey of market shoppers found more than 80 per cent were in favour of it opening on Sundays. The move came after the permanent closure of Dagenham Sunday Market in June. More than 20 traders from there signed up to join Romford Market as a result.
Plans to build up to 37 homes on the Hall Lane Miniature Golf Course site in Upminster were given outline permission by councillors despite more than 880 objections.
Upminster’s 17th century Cranham Hall went up for sale for £4.25m. The mansion has six living rooms, a pool complex, a lake and a helipad.
August
Torrential rain left Rainham and South Hornchurch residents counting the cost. London Fire Brigade received 93 calls in two and a half hours relating to flood emergencies. Toni Stockley said that within five minutes of the rain starting she was up to her ankles in water and sewage in the front room of her Lambs Lane home. By the following morning the water was up to her knees. Harris Academy secondary school opened to residents needing shelter and access to electricity.
The Hobby Shop, Elm Park’s oldest store, closed down after 60 years. Owner Martin Sampson said he could not afford the increase in rent and was unable to find another affordable and suitable location. The DIY essentials shop opened in Elm Park Avenue in 1957. Martin’s father Ron had begun there as a Saturday boy.
A-level students were left confused and worried after the algorithms chaos meant many were not awarded the grades they had been predicted. There was such an outcry that the government made a U-turn and agreed students would be awarded the grades their teachers felt they deserved.
September
Hornchurch charity First Step was unable to reopen its acclaimed education service for the new school year after the council said it could no longer provide funding. The charity’s chief executive Mark Halls said it needed £200,000 for the next two years. The council said that, due to financial pressures caused by the Covid pandemic, it was unable to provide the money.
All Saints Church, Cranham, came up with a different way to celebrate harvest festival this year as it was unable to hold its usual service. The Rev Marion Williams launched a scarecrow competition.
Romford MP Andrew Rosindell urged people to continue visiting pubs and restaurants despite tighter restrictions announced by the prime minister, which included 10pm closure. Mr Rosindell said: “We cannot afford to let this virus scare us into hiding away. Our great hospitality sector certainly cannot afford it.”
October
The Recorder revealed that 80 per cent of Havering businesses marked as compliant with Covid safety rules were done so by the Health and Safety Executive without even being visited. They were only questioned over the phone. It came as council leader Damian White warned Havering’s infection rate was continuing to rise after the summer slowdown. The council said it had carried out 1,640 face-to-face visits to businesses and almost a fifth were found to not be complying with the rules.
Rainham nurse Michele Elliot was made an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for her efforts during the pandemic. Ashraf Uddin, a volunteer with the Rainham and South Hornchurch branch of the St John Ambulance was also made an MBE. Havering College student and sea cadet Apple-Jane Hayward, 17, and Andrew Rosindell’s constituency secretary Sue Connelly were awarded the BEM.
Michelle De Vido created a different Halloween tableau outside her Upminster home each day for a fortnight to raise money for Saint Francis Hospice.
November
The crowds were smaller and the usual parade through Romford town centre had to be cancelled, but Havering still paid tribute on Remembrance Sunday as a number of services and wreath-layings were held around the borough.
The hit and run driver who slammed into Rainham postman Jeff Hollis’ car in Dagenham, killing him, was jailed for four and a half years. Mr Hollis’ daughter said Karolis Andriukaitis’ sentence felt like an insult.
Eighty-year-old Hazel Sargent, of Cranham, raised £1,200 for a children’s hospice by posing nude for a fundraising calendar.
The borough’s MPs threw their weight behind the Recorder’s Shop Local campaign to raise awareness of the difficulties facing our local independent shops and encourage people to support them in these difficult times.
December
A developer revealed plans to build up to 1,050 homes on the former Romford Ice Rink site. The homes would be of “high sustainability modular design” and because Havering has the oldest demographic in London, a large number of residents would of retirement age. Therefore the estate aims to have 24-hour carers. A planning application has not been submitted but is likely to go before the council in the spring.
Two business owners set up the Upminster Virtual Christmas Market Facebook group so that people could shop safely from home. Michelle Harris, owner of personalised poetry and gift shop Rhymes for Reasons, and Nina Stiffel, owner of Harvey’s Handmade which sells bespoke wreaths, launched the virtual market to help local businesses struggling to reach their customers.
Covid-19 vaccinations began. A hub at Queen’s Hospital started vaccinating NHS frontline staff and care workers while GP surgeries began administering the vaccine to those aged 80 and over, care home workers and care home residents.
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