Hello friends and family,

It has been a while since we have posted any news on how the lockdown is affecting ND. So, it is about time!

The first thing and the best thing – Newton Dee is still doing well. We have been Corona free throughout the lockdown, and we are working hard to keep it that way. Thank you to all the families and friends who have been so supportive.

We still have many people living in Newton Dee with underlying health conditions that make them particularly vulnerable. Because of this, we have been moving cautiously as the restrictions are eased. We have been prioritising opening things up within the community before we open to the outside.

We have been able to open our workshops internally (with a range of modifications). And we are working on a plan to open some of the workshops to the those who live outside the community. This needs careful planning to ensure we can open things safely and keep social distancing in place. Our Welfare Group is working with Health Protection Scotland, the Care Inspectorate and local authorities to develop a roadmap for re-opening workshops to Day Placements living outside the community. We intend to open this up as soon as we can do so safely.

We have also started a system to enable family members to visit their loved ones in Newton Dee. We had set up a Gazebo outside and had bookable times where socially distanced meetings could take place. This sometimes needs a bit of support – for our villagers, and maybe sometimes for the family members too 😄. We understand though, really, it is hard not to give a hug to a family member you haven’t seen in a while. But I hope you understand our situation too, we are trying to ensure that the whole community remains safe and free of Covid-19 so that people living here can have as much freedom as possible to move about within the community.

The unfortunate reinstatement of the lockdown in Aberdeen meant we had to cancel those meetings for now ☹. This is an important reminder to us about why we need to maintain social distance. We hope the current lockdown will be lifted soon. Fingers crossed, as these visits have been immensely appreciated for the adults we support and their families.

Lastly, we get many questions about our Store, Café and Bakery – When will they open?

The old Store - this is pre-corona, by about 25 years

The honest answer is we don’t know. They remain closed to the public for now. The Store is still working as a workshop for some of our villagers, and they are filling orders for the houses in ND and the other Camphill Communities in the area. This has been immensely appreciated and is only possible if we remain closed to the public.

The situation is the same for our Café. We have set up outside seating, and the house communities in ND are able to book slots where they can go for an outing to get drinks and snacks. This has been very popular and appreciated, especially as we have felt that it is not safe enough for us to venture out to more public café’s this early on.

And last, but certainly not least, the Bakery. The team is a little smaller than usual, but they are busily making bread for all of us in Newton Dee. This is great for the houses, as we get fresh bread, and it also provides meaningful work for some of our residents in the community. And having meaningful tasks is more important than ever during these times. When the store can open to the public, I’m sure the bakery will be ready to make even more bread, but there isn’t a clear way for us to open to the public while maintaining the safe and open environment we need to support the most vulnerable in our community.

Thank you for all your loyal support and understanding. The fact that so many of you want to come to our Store and Café is a blessing – it means so many of you want to support us, and we are grateful. We will open again when the timing is right.

Stay safe everyone.

This is from our last big play - also pre-corona, and I only post it because it makes me happy - enjoy!