Portsmouth 2020 September review: School bubbles, Pyramids plans and McDonald’s woe

School pupils returned to classrooms, some for the first time since March, after the febrile summer that followed spring’s lockdown.

Youngsters in uniform marked the resumption of a sorely-missed bit of day-to-day life, with children seeing their friends each day and parents achieving a bit more of a work-life balance.

But the absence of a throng of children piling through school gates from September 3 wasn’t down to a lack of enthusiasm.

Covid-secure measures were rolled out, at great expense and the result of careful planning, across schools in the area.

‘We aim to get schools back to as much normality as possible,’ said Portsmouth City Council education cabinet member Suzy Horton in a bid to urge pupils to return.

Stewart Vaughan, headteacher at Priory School in Southsea, went further. He told us: ‘While I’m delighted that pupils are back, this has been the biggest logistical reorganisation of a school I have experienced, in what has been the shortest possible available time.’

Bubbles, staggered starts, breaks and lunches, along with designated areas for each year group - these were all measures to help stop the spread of Covid.

Returning to school did however carry a risk. Classroom bubbles had to isolate when a single pupil tested positive.

Around 27 schools reported cases in this month alone. Cases city-wide increased after the return of schools.

Just two new cases were reported on September 1, but this increased to 12 in on the final day of the month before peaking at more than 100 a day less than two months later.

Nurseries continued to provide childcare, but spoke out saying how Covid had badly hit budgets and a lack of funding was leading to a staffing crisis.

A plea was also made to protect care homes as we revealed 25 patients with Covid had been discharged into homes at the start of the pandemic.

Infections continued to affect all of city life, with a handful of £3bn aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth’s crew testing positive for Covid-19. That meant a delay to her departure, with some 100 sailors isolating at one point.

When she did leave people gathered to bid her farewell, just as minehunter HMS Ledbury was welcomed home after 1,000 days away from UK shores in the Gulf.

The criminal courts continued to whir into action trying to clear a backlog pre-existing before lockdown and worsened by delays.

Among their unhappy customers was menace Stephen Fisher, 64, who admitted harassing the senior Portsmouth City Council anti-social behaviour officer tasked with handling him. Fisher admitted falsely branding the man a paedophile.

Lucy Holland, 22, of Lucknow Street, Landport, was jailed for a botched fake kidnap blackmail plot trying to squeeze cash out of her victim.

Chief inspector Rob Mitchell told councillors that three suspected stranger rapes were ‘shocking and unnerving’.

Elsewhere, a group of up to 30 Leigh Park residents stood guarding a pensioner couple’s home after we reported Peter Haines, 76, and his partner Debbie Darling, in Hordle Drive had been subjected to thugs throwing rocks and bricks at their home.

The group of defenders stood in groups of no more than six - after the rule-of-six came into force in the middle of the month - keeping a watchful eye out.

The ever-changing Covid regulations kept us all on our toes. Face coverings became mandatory in pubs and restaurants on September 24.

Unfortunately for disabled man Mark Waite, 50, McDonald’s drive-through staff in Gosport didn’t know their own rules.

He was, as we reported, refused a triple cheeseburger in his roadworthy mobility scooter after being unable to sleep at 3am.

‘No disabled person should have to feel like their disability is their fault,’ Mark said. The restaurant apologised and said staff have been reminded of the rules.

Early lockdown saw a huge drop in cars on the road. But this month saw the rise of arguments over Portsmouth having an e-scooter trial. They’re already widely used illegally across the city - but the council wants to bring in a legal rental scheme.

Heated discussions were fuelled after one young rider was spotted on his phone in Winston Churchill Avenue just days after a supplier made its case in The News for running the council’s pilot programme.

Commuting has been slashed this year with people cycling and walking to get from A to B instead.

But Network Rail was forced to condemn a mother pushing a pram taking a shortcut attempting to cross the tracks at Hilsea station - as a train hurtled at speed towards the station.

The CCTV image released showed the woman and her child were inches from death.

Travel further afield remained risky. But that did not stop Portsmouth mourning the loss of its resident monarch.

Sayyid Jamshid bin Abdullah, the last sultan of Zanzibar, was deposed in 1964. Since then he has lived a modest life in Southsea.

But in September he finally flew to Oman, where he was previously refused permission to live.

For the remaining non-royals making up the city’s population, the city council announced it splashing £2.5m on converting the Pyramids Centre pools in Southsea to a soft play and gym.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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