Queen Edith’s news 2020 vol.11: November

6 November 2020

Free bike repairs return

Dr Bike is back next Saturday (14 November) as part of CyclingUK’s Big Bike Revival, providing a free repair session for local residents. Book a 30 minute slot now, then bring your bike along and a friendly mechanic will carry out an inspection, make necessary repairs and fit any minor necessary parts such as cables or inner tubes. Located outside the local shops on Wulfstan Way. More details and a booking form here.

Remembrance Sunday at St John’s

Remembrance Sunday is always a day when many from across Queen Edith’s gather to remember those who have lost their lives in war and conflict. This special Remembrance Sunday there can be no services at St John’s church, but there will still be plenty of opportunity to remember those who have given their lives and to pray for peace. The church website has a 15-minute film of its annual Act of Remembrance, recorded earlier, which includes the choir singing the anthem ‘Greater love hath no man than this’ while the names of the war dead from the parish are read out. It also includes the Last Post and two-minute silence. It would be lovely to see pictures of poppies (and other symbols of peace) filling the windows across Queen Edith’s! More details here.

Latest Coronavirus news

Busway webinar next Tuesday

The first of two online presentations takes place next week about the Cambridge South East Transport scheme to build a busway from the Biomedical Campus out to a car park the other side of Babraham. It’s next Tuesday (10 November) from 6pm. You can sign up for details here. Find out more about the whole project here.

Calling bakers and home cooks!

The Queen Edith‘s Community Food Hub (see last item in this newsletter) will be accepting baked goods and preserves next week for that week’s Food Hub. If you’d like to donate something, you can deliver it next Friday (13 November). Please note that we’re required to have strict rules for this, which you must read first. Details here.

Light Cinema closed during national restrictions

Our local cinema has had to close for now, but tells us: “During this difficult period, we have been so grateful for your loyal support and that of our teams who have shown that cinema is still to be enjoyed. We more than believe in the big screen experience and we can’t wait to welcome you back as soon as we can.” Cinema gift cards, which might make a good Christmas present, are available online and can be delivered to someone’s door or as an email.

Buying any books this Christmas? Read this first!

At the moment, the only real way to buy books is online, whether they’re for your own pleasure or for Christmas presents. But we know many people aren’t that keen on further contributing to the profits of the world’s largest online retailers when so many independent booksellers are struggling. There’s now an answer to this, called Bookshop. Buy yourbooks online here, and profits go to independent booksellers and people who run their own ‘storefronts’… like us. So, visit the Queen Edith‘s Community Forum branded store, order your books for home delivery, and profits go straight to the Queen Edith‘s Community Food Hub! We bought one of this year’s bestsellers on Tuesday, it was delivered by Royal Mail on Thursday, and £2 appeared in the Food Hub account the same day. Find out more here.

National Trust outside spaces open

The National Trust’s gardens and parklands will remain open during the restrictions, with cafés open on a takeaway only basis. This includes Wicken Fen and Wimpole Hall grounds, but no houses and shops. Please continue to book your visits online.

Recycling Centres and Freecycle

All nine of Cambridgeshire’s Household Recycling Centres remain open during the restrictions, but there is significantly reduced capacity so do avoid unnecessary visits. One good way of disposing of unwanted items is Freecycle, which facilitates  giving (and getting) stuff for free locally and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Find out more here.

New Asian Grocery specialist

Recently opened on the Clifton Road estate (at unit 42), Retour UK looks to be one of the biggest Asian supermarkets in the area, and includes a fresh seafood counter. The shop is open to the public from 10am to 6pm seven days a week, and will also deliver locally the same day for a small £1.50 charge. We wish the venture every success.

Scotsdales open

All Scotsdales garden centre stores will remain open during the lockdown period, although the cafés will be closed until further notice. From Monday (10 November) the Great Shelford store will have extended late night opening hours. The current hours can be found here.

EACH Charity Shops

East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices’ care and support to children and families will continue during the current restrictions, but its shops (including the Cherry Hinton Road branch) will be closed and will not be staffed during this time, so are unable to accept donations. Please do NOT leave anything as this will incur a disposal cost for the charity.

RNLI Shop

Geoff Heathcock’s home-based RNLI merchandise shop will be closed for lockdown, but if you’d like any calendars, Christmas cards or diaries, call Geoff on 01223 244901 to arrange delivery.

Go Glass ‘click and collect’

Cherry Hinton Road-based Go Glass is continuing to manufacture all of its cut to size glass, double glazing and mirror products during the restrictions. Chat with the team on the phone or by video and they can provide the normal advice and quotes, and arrange for you to collect when ready. More information here.

Cambridge Cookery for take-away

Popular local café Cambridge Cookery is operating as a take-away only, with opening hours still 9am to 2pm Thursday to Sunday. There’s the usual delicious abundance of hand-made breads, cakes, brunch and lunch dishes to take out. The Gourmet-to-go dinners will continue, offering a choice of 3 seasonal starters, mains and desserts every week, which you can collect and dine in style at home! Find out more about the café and Gourmet-to-go dinners here.

Cambridge Wine Merchants still open

Although the Cambridge Wine Merchants wine bar on Cherry Hinton Road has had to close during the current restrictions, the shop is very much open, and there’s free local delivery for orders of £50. They tell us: “You might remember the fantastic Burgundy deals we had earlier in the year (around the time of the first lockdown to be exact!). Well, we’ve saved some for the festive season and we’re now rolling them out. Get your hands on some lovely wines at very cheeky prices, all from top estates!” See all the deals here.

Food Vans at Cambridge Wine Merchants

The popular 5.30pm to 8.30pm Thursday and Friday night food vans in conjunction with Cambridge Wine Merchants on Cherry Hinton Road will continue through the restrictions. Coming up in November are:
6 November (tonight) – Toast on Cheese
12 November – Steak & Honour
13 November – Azahar Spanish food
19 November – Steak & Honour
20 November – Kura Kura Sri Lankan street food
26 November – Steak & Honour
27 November – Chai Walla Indian vegan food

Finding employment courses

C3 has a course covering a wide range of work-related topics from ‘Finding Your Motivation’ to ‘Writing CVs and Applications.’  It is completely free and is open to all those individuals who are seeking employment. Once the course is completed regular support sessions will be offered to course members whilst they continue to search for employment. More details here.

Breast Cancer lecture from CUH

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has an online public lecture next week (Wednesday 11 November) by Dr Jean Abraham, titled Precision breast cancer medicine: What is it and can we deliver it?. There will be a live Q&A to follow, with your questions and comments via Zoom or Facebook taken during the live stream. More details here.

Food Hub open tomorrow

The Queen Edith‘s Community Food Hub remains open as usual every Saturday morning, with free fresh and packaged food supplies and household goods for anyone experiencing hardship. We really appreciate any food donations, which can be dropped off on Fridays. Top of our needs list at the moment is breakfast cereal! The full list of what we need is here.

The Food Hub is open to all, from 10.30am to 12.30pm every Saturday morning at St. James Church in Wulfstan Way.

 

 

13 November 2020

Road restrictions consultation now open

Luard Road and Nightingale Avenue have had through traffic restricted to cyclists and pedestrians, as an experimental measure, for a few weeks. As promised, the Greater Cambridge Partnership now wants to know what people think. The consultation page can be found here.

Christmas in Queen Edith‘s!

The Queen Edith‘s Community Forum team are starting to put together some plans for how we can make Christmas special, despite the limitations that are likely to be in place. As well as a Christmas tree organised for Wulfstan Way, we thought it might be fun to create our own advent calendar walking tour. In fact, we want to make two: one in the north of the area around Joy’s Garden; and one in the south around Wulfstan Way. But to make this work we need yourhelp! Would you (or your children) like to produce one of the pictures for our advent calendar? We also want to create a dramatic ‘final piece’ for 24 December. We’d love to hear from anyone who would be interested in creating something large, visually exciting and waterproof, either by themselves or as part of a small team. More details here.

Free bike repairs return

At the time of writing, the Dr Bike session tomorrow (14 November) had just two slots left for FREE repairs to your bike. Book now, then bring your bike along and a friendly mechanic will carry out an inspection, make necessary repairs and fit any minor necessary parts such as cables or inner tubes. Located outside the local shops on Wulfstan Way. More details here.

Latest Coronavirus news

Get your real Christmas tree locally

You can now order a top quality, locally sourced, Christmas tree with all profits going to the Morley Memorial Primary School Association! Why go anywhere else? Deadline for orders is Saturday 28 November, and you can collect on Sunday 6th December between 9.15am and 12noon at the school. Trees start at just £30. More details and an order form here.

Hills Road Fruit Stand back next week

With a special lockdown “Apple and Pear Celebration”, the Hills Road Pop-Up Fruit Stand will return NEXT Saturday (21 November), through pre-order and with a choice of take away or delivery. Email your order, or ask for a full list of varieties available, by midnight next Friday (20 November) and it will be ready at 253 Hills Road from 10.30am the next morning for collection, or delivery over that weekend. All profits to the Queen Edith‘s Community Food Hub.

Busway webinar next Tuesday

The second of two online presentations takes place next week about the Cambridge South East Transport scheme to build a busway from the Biomedical Campus out to a car park the other side of Babraham. It’s next Wednesday (11 November) from 6pm. You can sign up for details here. Find out more about the whole project here.

E-Scooters: what you need to know

There’s some confusion about the legality of the electric scooters you may have seen around, so here’s what you need to know. In general, they are currently illegal to ride anywhere, except on privately owned land with permission …so don’t be tempted to buy them as Christmas presents. Here’s a police flyer on the subject. However, Cambridge is a location for trials of an electric scooter rental service, from a company called Voi Technology, supported by the Cambridgeshire mayor’s office. These heavyweight, hi-tech scooters are legal, and the scooters can be used in certain areas around the city, including the Cherry Hinton Road – Hills Road – Mowbray Road triangle, and on the Biomedical Campus. Riders should be over 18, and are asked not to use pavements. Sign up to get the app and try out the service here.

Fendon Road roundabout

Several local residents are monitoring the activity at the new Fendon Road roundabout, and we’ve been notified of a collision on the roundabout this week. This was between a circulating cyclist and an entering vehicle, and the police and an ambulance attended. Please continue to be careful as people get used to the new design, and if you do see (or are involved in) any incidents, don’t hesitate to report them to Cambridgeshire County Council and/or the police.

Books for kids at our online bookshop

Buying books for Christmas? Visit the Queen Edith‘s Community Forum branded store, order your books for home delivery, and profits go straight to the Queen Edith‘s Community Food Hub. Just like any other online store, but helping local people instead of the richest man in the world’s bank account! We bought one of this year’s bestsellers on a Tuesday, it was delivered by Royal Mail on Thursday, and £2 appeared in the Food Hub account the same day. And if you’re looking for gift ideas, our team are creating their own recommendation lists. This week, take a look at ‘Bronwen’s Great Books For Kids’, a tried and tested selection they’ll love. Browse the bookshop here.

Help the Arthur Rank

If you’re of Asian heritage, the Arthur Rank Hospice Charity would love 5 minutes of your time to complete an online survey about how they might improve access to their services. Help them out here.

Socially distanced shows at the Junction

Apart from its online events, Cambridge Junction is offering three in-person live shows in December: spoken word with Inja and Hollie McNish; comedy with Lou Sanders, Luke Kempner & Travis Jay; and theatre with Daniel Oliver’s Weird Séance. Book now at the Cambridge Junction website.

Online ballet

We’ve had a reader recommendation for online ballet classes for all ages at the Jill Bridger School of Dance. Anyone interested is recommended to email Jill or call her on 01480 469711.

Our MP reports back

South Cambridgeshire MP Anthony Browne has produced a new constituency newsletter, covering his response to the lockdown, the location of East-West rail, click-and-collect beer sales, and details of a Facebook Q&A in a fortnight’s time. You can read the newsletter here.

Your public library …online

Did you know, you can join Cambridgeshire Libraries, search for titles, and read books, without leaving home? You can borrow eBooks and eResources, access business resources, and attend online events. If you like reading on an iPad or eReader, the whole world is available. The incredible PressReader service, for example, offers you hundreds of newspapers and magazines every day, completely free of charge….and all you need to do is to enter your library card number! More at the libraries website here.

Cambridge Cookery weekend meals now delivered

Popular local café Cambridge Cookery is now offering its Gourmet-to-go weekend dinners with a cycle delivery option, as well as for collection. There’s a choice of 3 seasonal starters, mains and desserts every week. Find out more about the café and Gourmet-to-go dinners here. The café is operating as a take-away from 9am to 2pm, Thursday to Sunday. There’s the usual delicious abundance of hand-made breads, cakes, brunch and lunch dishes to take out.

Food Vans at Cambridge Wine Merchants

The popular 5.30pm to 8.30pm Thursday and Friday night food vans in conjunction with Cambridge Wine Merchants on Cherry Hinton Road are continuing through the restrictions. Coming up in November are:
13 November (tonight) – Azahar Spanish food
19 November – Steak & Honour
20 November – Kura Kura Sri Lankan street food
26 November – Steak & Honour
27 November – Chai Walla Indian vegan food

Food Hub open tomorrow

The Queen Edith‘s Community Food Hub remains open as usual every Saturday morning, with free fresh and packaged food supplies and household goods for anyone experiencing hardship. We really appreciate any food donations, which can be dropped off on Fridays. Top of our needs list at the moment is breakfast cereal! The full list of what we need is here.

The Food Hub is open to all, from 10.30am to 12.30pm every Saturday morning at St. James Church in Wulfstan Way.

 

20 November 2020

Queen Edith‘s magazine is on its way

The latest quarterly Queen Edith‘s magazine has just arrived, and our amazing team of volunteers should be delivering it to your door over the next few days. For those wondering, Government guidelines do allow our deliverers out for voluntary work like this! The new issue includes articles on the streets closed to through traffic, property developers’ proposals to double the size of Queen Edith‘s, and the story of Pink Floyd, the rock superstars who grew up on these streets. If you haven’t got a copy through your door by this time next week, do let us know.

Our walkable advent calendar

Thank you to the readers who responded to last week’s message about creating a walkabout advent calendar. However, we do need more of you to get involved to make this a viable proposition so please don’t be shy! You don’t have to be a professional artist, it’s just to create something that yourneighbours will find fun through the month of December. Let us know if you or your family want to get creative! More details here.

Wednesday is now Red Cross Lane Pizza night

We’ve been hoping for so long to get more street food in the south of QueenEdith‘s, and great news – La Biga Pizzeria will be offering its sourdough pizzas outside the Bell School on Red Cross Lane, every Wednesday night, starting next week (25 November). Ideal for everyone in Ninewells or the Red Cross area. As with all these things, use it or lose it, so give them a try. Open 4pm to 8:30pm.

Latest Coronavirus news

Christmas draw at Maggie’s

Our local Maggie’s cancer care centre, located on the Addenbrooke’s grounds, is promoting the national Maggie’s Centres 2020 Prize draw. Prizes include a Mallorca getaway, a ski holiday in Switzerland, a spa break for two and Champagne afternoon tea at the Dorchester! Get your tickets here.

Recycling your real Christmas tree

Booking is already open for Christmas tree recycling in January 2021 by the Arthur Rank Hospice team. In exchange for a small donation, they’ll collect and recycle your tree between 7–10 January.

What a great combination with a top quality, locally sourced, Christmas tree with all profits going to the Morley Memorial Primary School Association! Deadline for your tree orders is Saturday 28 November, and you can collect on Sunday 6th December between 9.15am and 12noon at the school. Trees start at just £30. More details and an order form here.

Make some money from your car

We’re quite excited that the international car sharing service Turo arrives in Cambridge this month; think of it as an Airbnb for cars. Offer your car when not using it, and like existing members, you could be earning an average of £574 a month. As part of Turo’s Cambridge launch, all Queen Edith’s residents will receive a bonus £100 once they list their car and their first trip is completed. Find out more about how it works here.

Hills Road Fruit Stand back tomorrow morning

A reminder that the Hills Road Pop-Up Fruit Stand will be open from 10.30am this Saturday (21 November) for collection of pre-orders. To enjoy a wide range of apples or pears just email your order, or ask for a full list of varieties available, by midnight tonight (Friday). All profits to the Queen Edith‘s Community Food Hub.

Do something amazing: Give Blood.

The Cambridge Donor Centre, located outside Addenbrookes Hospital has 40 additional appointments that need filling next week. Please visit www.blood.co.uk for more information and to register and book. Appointment times and days are Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 8:05am to 4:20pm and Saturday 8:05am to 2:50pm. Blood donation is considered essential travel, and there are safety measures in place to allow for social distancing. Alternatively, download the app on App Store or Google Play – ‘NHS Give Blood’.

Volunteer to help in Cherry Hinton Hall Park

The City Council’s Streets and Open Spaces team will be undertaking various tree works at Cherry Hinton Hall next Thursday (26 November). Volunteers can join our council officers for the morning session (9am – 12pm) or the afternoon session (1pm – 3pm) …or both! Tasks to be tackled include preparing and weeding; filling mulch bags for applicants for the Trees for Babies scheme; oak tree weeding/mulching; creating a ‘Bug Hotel’; young tree maintenance; tree trail labelling maintenance …and much more! For information, please email the team or call officer Ed Nugent directly on 07815 746114. Please ensure you wear sensible footwear and clothing, and bring refreshments.

Calling all local artists

The brilliant Susan Abbs provided the front cover for the latest issue of QueenEdith‘s magazine (above), and you can find out more about Susan and her work at her website here. If you’re a local artist or craftsperson of any sort who sells your work online, we’d be delighted to let people know about you in this newsletter. Local art can be a wonderful Christmas gift! Just send us an emailwith a link to your website.

Takeaway delivery by bike

There are a number of home delivery food services available, but Foodstuff is worth supporting. It delivers the best local independent food brands, from the great names in the city centre to local favourites like Taj Tandoori. Best of all, it’s delivered responsibly with zero emissions. More here.

Cambridge books at our online bookshop

Buying books for Christmas? Visit the Queen Edith‘s Community Forum branded store, order your books for home delivery, and profits go straight to the Queen Edith‘s Community Food Hub. Just like any other online store, but helping local people instead of Amazon’s profits! We bought one of this year’s bestsellers on a Tuesday, it was delivered by Royal Mail on Thursday, and £2 appeared in the Food Hub account the same day. And if you’re looking for gift ideas, our team are creating their own recommendation lists. This week, take a look at Antony’s Cambridge History Selection, a set of recommended books from local historian Antony Carpen. Or browse the whole bookshop here.

World-class comedy from Cambridge Junction

Irving McCormick is hosting a night of free comedy online tonight to raise money for a new fund to support local young people with disabilities to enjoy the arts. The incredible lineup includes Richard Herring, Harry Hill, Rosie Jones, Lost Voice Guy, Simon Panrucker, Jonathan Pie, Lucy Porter, Aaron Simmonds and The King’s Singers. Tickets are not required. You can watch the live streamed comedy event either on the Cambridge Junction website or on its Facebook Page. For ages 16+.

Who deserves some recognition?

The Mayor of Cambridge, Cllr Russ McPherson, is launching the first Volunteer for Cambridge Awards to celebrate the incredible community spirit shown this year, and is asking residents to nominate their own community heroes for an award. Residents who would like to nominate a person, business or organisation for any of these award categories can complete a straightforward nomination form on the council website here. Printed copies of the form are available by phoning 01223 457878. Who’s been doing things for you this year who deserves a little recognition for their work? Over to you…

Food Vans at Cambridge Wine Merchants

The popular 5.30pm to 8.30pm Thursday and Friday night food vans in conjunction with Cambridge Wine Merchants on Cherry Hinton Road are continuing through the restrictions. Coming up in November are:
20 November (tonight) – Kura Kura Sri Lankan street food
26 November – Steak & Honour
27 November – Chai Walla Indian vegan food

Food Hub open tomorrow

The Queen Edith‘s Community Food Hub remains open as usual every Saturday morning, with free fresh and packaged food supplies and household goods for anyone experiencing hardship. We really appreciate any food donations, which can be dropped off on Fridays. The full list of what we need is here.

Huge thanks this week for their donations to KH Construction and to Taj Tandoori restaurant. We continue to be immensely grateful for the generosity of local businesses.

We’re welcoming donations of Christmas puddings, commercially purchased and labelled, in a variety of sizes.  Please drop these, together with anything else you’d like to donate during this special time of year, at St James Church (Wulfstan Way) on Friday 4 December between 3pm and 4:30pm.

Egg boxes (half dozen size only) are also welcome, if you’re passing St James Church on Fridays between 3pm and 4:30pm or Saturday mornings.

The Food Hub is open to all, from 10.30am to 12.30pm every Saturday morning at St. James Church in Wulfstan Way.

(Below) Thanks to everyone who donated baked goods and preserves last week! It was a great success.

27 November 2020

Countdown to Christmas

This Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent, and the Church of England has produced this informative calendar which lists the important dates through to Epiphany in January. Each date is accompanied by an idea of something to bring joy to others, and someone to think about. Nice to print out.

Development to the south of Queen Ediths

Queen Edith’s Community Forum chair Sam Davies writes: “You probably spotted the article in the recent Queen Edith’s Magazine about the multiple development sites on the edge of Queen Edith’s now being considered for inclusion in the next Local Plan. Following on from that, readers may be interested in the next batch of evidence recently released by the Greater Cambridge Shared Planning Service.
“These 18 reports cover everything from the area’s water resilience to its employment prospects in considerable detail. Taken together, they are important indicators as to which ‘spatial strategy’ is likely to be adopted and so which specific sites are likely to be identified for new development. The easiest way into the discussion is via the Summary Report. Let us know if you would be interested in us running some events exploring this further, as it is clearly of huge importance to the future of our neighbourhood.”
You can email Sam directly here.

12 small doors

This is lovely. The elves at Nightingale Garden have hidden 12 small doors around the garden – no climbing needed! Bring the kids down to the garden, at Nightingale Park, and see how many can you find. The garden is open everyday, from at least 10 to 3pm. More details at the website here.

Cambridge Junction puts The Snow Queen online

Cambridge Junction has announced its 2020 family Christmas show, streaming online from Sunday 20 December to Sunday 03 January. Audiences are invited to join Gerda on her quest to save her best friend Kaj from the Snow Queen in the frozen north. Early bookers will be able to play along with the show using an accompanying activity parcel with a map of the snow queen’s world, a piece of the ogre’s mirror and lots of fun activities to play at home. This is a really innovative event with tickets priced as “Pay what you feel”. More information here.

Street Food Pop-Up on Hills Road

For two days only, there’s a new street food pop-up opposite Hills Road Sixth Form College. Featuring pies, chicken wings and fries, with refreshments from Town & Gown Coffee, the stand is open tonight (Friday) until 10pm and tomorrow (Saturday) from midday right through until 10pm.

Latest Coronavirus news

  • As you’ll doubtless be aware, Cambridgeshire has been placed under the government’s ‘High Alert’ (or ‘Tier 2’) restrictions from next Wednesday (2 December). This means that previously-closed shops can reopen, as can gyms and hairdressers. Churches can reopen, as can restaurants (and pubs if operating as restaurants), cinemas and bowling alleys. We should have a better idea of how this has all worked out locally in time for next week’s email.
  • The “rule of six” will again apply for outdoor gatherings in all areas, but social mixing (other than households or support bubbles) will not be allowed indoors.
  • Cambridge City Council leader Lewis Herbert has written: “The only sane response in Cambridge is to continue work to stop the deadly virus spreading, make safe choices including through Xmas, and minimise risks for older relatives and during upcoming student movement.”
  • The city’s Food Hubs, including the Saturday morning Queen Edith’s Community Food Hub, are operating as usual through the current restrictions.
  • Our local parks, playgrounds and community gardens are still open! This includes places such as the Nightingale Garden and Joy’s Garden.
  • Cambridge City Council’s services update can be found here.
  • Cambridgeshire County Council’s services update can be found here.
  • Opening hours of local pharmacies, post office counters and banks are available on our site here. Please let us know of any changes.
  • Cambridge City Council is organising Christmas gifts for vulnerable families. Find out more and how you can help here.
After the very brief period in October when positive COVID-19 tests in Queen Edith’s were among the highest in Cambridge, our ward once again has the lowest incidence of positive tests in the city, as it did right through the summer. (Graph: Phil Rodgers)

RNLI shop reopens

Local resident Geoff Heathcock will have the RNLI Cambridge & District Branch shop in his garage open again next Thursday (3 December) between 2pm and 4.30pm. There are calendars, Christmas cards and diaries. Geoff’s house is at 52 Queen Edith’s Way, or call Geoff on 01223 244901.

Another chance to help with tree work

Cambridge City Council’s Streets & Open Spaces team has decided to have one more volunteering day this year, as there are some outstanding Tree Works in Cherry Hinton Hall Park, including prepping for the delivery of Trees for Babies. This will be on Thursday 3 December from 9am to 3pm if you fancy helping out. Please email the lead officer Ed Nugent for more information.

Business action on climate change

Over 150 individuals, representatives from business, academia, local government and community groups joined Cambridge Carbon Footprint (CCF) and Cambridge City Council in early September for the launch of the Cambridge Climate Charter for Individuals. CCF is now focusing on sign-ups to the Cambridge Climate Charter for Businesses and Organisations and is offering a series of free events, kicking off with a launch that includes speakers such as Richard Hales, Energy and Sustainability Manager at Cambridge University Hospitals. If you’re involved in a local business, reserve a place via Eventbrite.

Escape to our online bookshop

Buying books for Christmas? Visit the Queen Edith’s Community Forum branded store at online seller Bookshop, and profits go straight to the Queen Edith’s Community Food Hub. Just like any other online store, but helping local people! This week’s recommendation list from our team is Claire’s Escapism recommendations. We could all do with some of that. Or browse the whole bookshop here.

Sam talks about Queen Edith’s

For its next monthly meeting, on Tuesday 1 December, campaign group Camcycle has invited Queen Edith’s Community Forum chair Sam Davies to discuss cycling issues in Queen Edith’s, as well as community organising and engaging local people. Topics are likely to include the growth of Cambridge Biomedical Campus, Cambridge South station, new housing developments in the area, and campaigning for joined-up thinking from local authorities. Find out more about this Facebook Live presentation here.

Steak & Honour at Cambridge Wine Merchants

Unfortunately the Friday night food vans in conjunction with Cambridge Wine Merchants on Cherry Hinton Road have had to be suspended until the new year as the site they use is under construction. However, Steak & Honour will be continuing to serve up their Thursday evening favourites. The Steak & Honour van will be outside Go Glass just slightly further up the road.

Food Hub open tomorrow

The Queen Edith’s Community Food Hub remains open as usual every Saturday morning, with free fresh and packaged food supplies and household goods for anyone experiencing hardship. We really appreciate any food donations, which can be dropped off on Fridays. The full list of what we need is here.

We’re welcoming donations of Christmas puddings, commercially purchased and labelled, in a variety of sizes.  Please drop these, together with anything else you’d like to donate during this special time of year, at St James Church (Wulfstan Way) on Fridays between 3pm and 4:30pm, or on Saturday mornings. Egg boxes (half dozen size only) are also welcome, if you’re passing at those times.

The Food Hub is open to all, from 10.30am to 12.30pm every Saturday morning at St. James Church in Wulfstan Way.