Portsmouth May 2020 review – VE day spirit lives on and community spirit triumphs

Rainbows and colourful rocks popped up everywhere, with creative members of the community adding brightness to everyday life.

Portsmouth players Christian Burgess and Sean Raggett cooking up meals for the community, a couple rescuing a group of ducklings from a drain and Fareham youngster Lily Bond’s rainbow driveway tribute are just a handful of the kind moments of May.

The ripple effects of lockdown on business were starting to show however, as the sad news came of Pallant House Play Cafe in Havant announcing it would not reopen after restrictions eased.

Artist My Dog Sighs unveiled his artwork titled Even Apart We Are Together, which was to be auctioned for The News’ Help Our QA Heroes campaign, with other artists joining to offer their own creations for the cause.

While everyone sat at home watching Netflix’s Tiger King, support for Queen Alexandra Hospital also came from Baffins dad Chris Coyne, who vowed to change his middle names to Joe Exotic after the tiger enthusiast who shot to fame in the documentary.

Socially-distanced communities showed they were still together at heart as bunting filled the streets for VE Day celebrations on May 8.

Marking 75 years since the end of World War Two in Europe, unique parties adhering to Covid rules sprung up across the area, complete with games, food and festivities.

Gosport veteran Ron Cross, 99, raised a glass to those he fought alongside during the Second World War, while reflecting on the reality of war and the sacrifices made.

He told The News: ‘I remember exactly where I was when we heard the war was over,’ adding: ‘The news broke and we were all so happy. We knew the end had finally come.’

Meanwhile, Cosham great-grandmother Sheila Webster, who was born on VE Day, was overjoyed to be part of a street party on her 75th birthday.

Controversy hit Hilary Avenue in Cosham as the street appeared on a BBC News report, where the footage made the residents look as if they were much closer together than they actually were.

One resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said: ‘The BBC told us to move in our family units and ensured we were strictly apart.

‘It was due to the lens angle, that made an appearance that we were closer together than we were.’

Prime Minister Boris Johnson revealed the tentative first steps out of lockdown, announcing some primary school pupils could return to class by June 1, workers who cannot work from home are urged to return and the hospitality industry could partially re-open in July.

The public showed how keen they were to return to normal when large queues with waits of up to 90 minutes were seen at tips in Portsmouth and Hampshire as the household waste recycling centres reopened.

Kindness was still at the forefront of the community, proven by hero Billy Prowting, 37, who dashed into the home of an elderly neighbour in Plaitford Grove, Havant, after a microwave with food inside had caught fire.

Thousands of music fans were left disappointed halfway through the month as summer highlight Victorious Festival joined the list of cancelled 2020 events.

Organisers have pledged it will be back, better than ever, in 2021.

The government published its guidelines for Year R, 1 and 6 pupils to return to schools from June 1 and its aim to have all primary age children returning before the summer holidays.

School bosses including Medina Primary School headteacher Howard Payne expressed concerns about the ability to keep children and staff safe.

A major police search was launched for Leigh Park teenager Louise Smith, who went missing on May 8.

After numerous appeals and 13 days of searching, the 16-year-old’s body was found in Havant Thicket after a search involving 306 people, drones and dogs.

In December, 30-year-old Shane Mays was sentenced to 25 years in prison for her murder.

Portsmouth’s first BAME Lord Mayor Rob Wood was elected under the ‘strange’ setting of a virtual council meeting, expressing his pride and determination to lead the city through the pandemic.

Kindness continued to reign as eight-year-old Shay Glenton cycled for two hours straight, to raise money for University Hospital Southampton – a huge challenge for him after major brain surgery.

Friends Justina Haddigan, Bev Vaughan and Amanda Perry set up online shop Jussy’s Lockdown Love to support the community and bagpiper Matt Reynolds was spotted performing along the length of his Horndean street in full Scottish regalia during the Clap For Carers.

This weekly tradition came to an end after 10 weeks in which millions of people stood on their doorsteps at 8pm every Thursday to thank key workers.

On the final event, Katrina James, who is a ward manager at Queen Alexandra Hospital caring for patients with Covid-19, said: ‘The clap for the NHS, and all the staff that have been caring for Covid-19 patients at QA, has given us the courage to continue to do our best.’

Hope was on the horizon at the end of the month, as data showed Portsmouth had one of the lowest rates of new coronavirus cases in recent weeks.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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