22/03/2020
Be safe in Pembrokeshire
In the current situation with the self-isolation in our local area all businesses and social venues are now either closed or imposing social restrictions.
People are concerned about contact with petrol pumps, door handles and generally being out and about.
Yet we still have coach loads of visitors and other holiday makers either arriving or talking about arriving in our home towns. This is very clearly escalating peoples fears & concerns locally and there have been numerous heated discussions on social media to this end.
We ourselves have also received mixed responses to the posts that we have launched regarding the courses and activities that we posted on our site merely hours ago.
We would like to clarify that we have closed all but a select few of our courses and activities, leaving only those operated from our isolated woodland left open to local families. We have restricted this further to only local family groups in very small numbers. This is the same social restriction as being isolated at home.
With this being the case we encourage everyone to take every possible measure to stay safe until this crisis is over. If you feel safe then stay safe … if you are in any doubt then do not take the risk.
We have family ourselves and we would not be offering these courses if it was not considered a practical isolated option. However, it is important that everyone maintains a certain sense of morale, especially with the welfare of their children considered.
We have posted a few courses on our page which continue to run but we are also in the process of setting up other options such as Live Video sessions and online activities which people can do in the safety of their homes and back gardens, although we are aware that not everyone has access to a garden.
For those who have responded with interest we will continue to help and support you and your families in the current situation. However, equally we respect the opinions of those who have understandable concerns and as stated above … if you have any doubts at all then do not take the risk!!
We also recommend that if you are thinking about taking your families to the beach, the park, the local playground or any other location, even if when out for a walk, then consider to wear gloves, take hand wash (if you have it) or a bottle of water and soap … wash you hands at every time you are outside to minimise your risk.
The local social isolation measures are in their infancy in our community at the moment and it is only natural for a degree of panic to set in, as we have already seen in the local supermarkets and other areas in the community. Please remember that we are a community and need to support each other through this difficult time … this can be done in many ways whilst maintaining social distance. There is a lot of fear and distress out there and we must all be vigilant and take the situation seriously but we must also consider that others who are young, vulnerable, elderly and alone are also very scared and this is why it is important to continue to support each other as best we can and in the safest way that we can.
One example the benefit of what we are offering by way of our support, is the 2 hour long conversation on messenger in the early hours of this morning, that I personally had, with a gentleman who lives in our local area, who is now retired and lives on his own. He responded to our original post that we shared a few days ago regarding our 2 hour course for families. He had seen our post and had reached out just to talk to someone. We spoke about his time in the army and tours overseas, he spoke about his late family and his dog. Yet it was our original post that gave him the opportunity to do this … despite the late time it was a pleasure to converse with him and to be able to give that opportunity to someone locally with the need for contact during this time.
We have still advertised a reduced price on our active courses and activities but it is very important that people realise that our collective welfare in the community cannot not be about business or money, it needs to be about support and community spirit. We offer what we can to help, especially with the emotional welfare of families with children and when this whirlwind of chaos has passed … and it will... we will all need to be there to help each other recover.
Please remember that it is ok to be afraid and concerned but it is also more important to stay safe and be there for others who are even more scared than us
Be safe everyone!
