Portsmouth November 2020 review – Businesses call for support as lockdown returns

JUST five days in to the month of November, England went back into lockdown meaning many businesses had to close their doors once again.
Dad Simon Hughes from Portsmouth planted 1,000 cardboard poppies at Horsea Island in Portsmouth at 3am on November 7 ahead of Remembrance Sunday.Dad Simon Hughes from Portsmouth planted 1,000 cardboard poppies at Horsea Island in Portsmouth at 3am on November 7 ahead of Remembrance Sunday.
Dad Simon Hughes from Portsmouth planted 1,000 cardboard poppies at Horsea Island in Portsmouth at 3am on November 7 ahead of Remembrance Sunday.

But unlike the first lockdown, schools, hardware stores, garden centres and dental practices were among the places allowed to stay open.

Businesses that were forced to shut called upon the community to support them online during the four weeks including Ollie Shilling owner of the Rolling Scones cafe in Gosport, who delivered food directly and through Just Eat.

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Pigeon Books owner Mel Davies said that while online trading was a bonus, it was no substitute for physical footfall.

Flames tear through Anglesey Lodge in Gosport. This is the view from the fire service's aerial ladder platform. Picture: Rob Gargaro
Flames tear through Anglesey Lodge in Gosport. This is the view from the fire service's aerial ladder platform. Picture: Rob Gargaro
Flames tear through Anglesey Lodge in Gosport. This is the view from the fire service's aerial ladder platform. Picture: Rob Gargaro

She told The News: ‘When people buy a book from us they are supporting a local business which is what is going to get the economy going.

‘Amazon doesn’t pay council tax in Portsmouth.’

But there was some good news for local businesses as the team behind The Merchant House, in Highland Road, announced plans to open a street food market in the Knight and Lee building in Palmerston Road in spring next year.

The completed Albion House in King Street. Picture: Portsmouth City CouncilThe completed Albion House in King Street. Picture: Portsmouth City Council
The completed Albion House in King Street. Picture: Portsmouth City Council

As people got to grip with living in more restrictions Covid-19 rates soared up to 314.1 per 100,000 people across the Portsmouth City Council area during the middle of November before dropping down to a rate of 138 in just 12 days.

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Council leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson praised residents for helping in the fight against coronavirus.

But despite many people following the new lockdown rules, a group of about 40 anti-lockdown protestors was seen marching and chanting through Southsea and Fratton on November 14.

Their actions angered hundreds of residents including care home worker Tom Loveday.

Anti lockdown protestors marching through Southsea. Picture: Tom LovedayAnti lockdown protestors marching through Southsea. Picture: Tom Loveday
Anti lockdown protestors marching through Southsea. Picture: Tom Loveday

The 29-year-old from Portsmouth said: ‘I strongly disagree with the actions of these protesters. I work in a care home, which has seen deaths from coronavirus and care homes across the UK have seen a terrible spate of deaths in this pandemic.

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‘We should all be doing our part to reduce the spread of the virus, as difficult as it may be.’

Portsmouth South MP Stephen Morgan also condemned the actions of the group.

He told The News last month: ‘We all want to come out of this public health crisis with a clear conscience knowing we did everything we could to stop the spread of the virus.

John Hoskin performed CPR on an elderly woman after spotting her collapsed on the floor while picking his son, Harvey up from school.
Pictured:  John Hoskin at his home with his son, Harvey, eight, at their home in Crookhorn
Photo: Habibur RahmanJohn Hoskin performed CPR on an elderly woman after spotting her collapsed on the floor while picking his son, Harvey up from school.
Pictured:  John Hoskin at his home with his son, Harvey, eight, at their home in Crookhorn
Photo: Habibur Rahman
John Hoskin performed CPR on an elderly woman after spotting her collapsed on the floor while picking his son, Harvey up from school. Pictured: John Hoskin at his home with his son, Harvey, eight, at their home in Crookhorn Photo: Habibur Rahman

‘That means all of us in Portsmouth continuing to do our bit during this second national lockdown and reducing the demand on our local health services by staying away from protests and other large gatherings.

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‘These protesters should think very carefully about the implications of their actions today on the most vulnerable in our city and those who are working day in and day our on the frontline to keep us safe.’

Those on the frontline of the fire service were called to Anglesey Lodge, in Anglesey Road, Gosport on November 6 and around 40 firefighters spent more than six hours to save the derelict building which was engulfed by flames and destroyed about 80 per cent of the property.

Police launched an arson probe into the lodge’s destruction and officers appealed to the public to help them with their investigation.

Although he no longer fights fires, former volunteer firefighter John Hoskin from Crookhorn leapt into action to perform life-saving CPR on an elderly woman.

The aftermath of the fire at Anglesey Lodge in Gosport on November 6. Pictured on the morning after the blaze on November 7. Picture: Adam MPThe aftermath of the fire at Anglesey Lodge in Gosport on November 6. Pictured on the morning after the blaze on November 7. Picture: Adam MP
The aftermath of the fire at Anglesey Lodge in Gosport on November 6. Pictured on the morning after the blaze on November 7. Picture: Adam MP
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The 44-year-old had just picked up his eight-year-old son, Harvey, from Newbridge Junior School, when he heard a desperate cry for a ‘first aider’.

John said: ‘I’m really pleased that I managed to bring this woman back to life. It’s an amazing feeling. It’s absolutely brilliant.’

From saving lives to changing lives – despite the challenges of the pandemic, key workers and builders were able to finish work on the five-storey Albion House development, on the site of the former Southsea Community Centre in King Street, and this month saw the first tenants move into their new homes, which have been rented out at affordable rates.

The News can the Stand Out for Heroes campaign to encourage everyone to stand at their front door on Remembrance Sunday as a mark of respect, as the usual organised Remembrance Sunday parades were cancelled.

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And Portsmouth resident Simon Hughes decided to pay his respect by creating a sea of 1,000 poppies in a field on Horsea Island for Remembrance Sunday.

The 54-year-old, who works for the ambulance service, planted the cardboard flowers at 3am on November 7 with his three sons Alex, George and Dylan, as his way to mark Remembrance after many events had to be cancelled due to Covid-19.

He said: ‘I saw the field in Horsea Island and it had all the support posts for the trees and I thought it would be a really nice place to create my own field of poppies.

‘I spent four days using paper and card to make a thousand poppies. I know a lot of people who have been in the forces.

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‘Armistice Day is a way of bringing everyone together to remember those who have been lost – not just in the military but also for me, people I have been close to.’

Elsewhere, plans were revealed for a new leisure centre and swimming pool at Bransbury Park in Milton, Waterlooville’s Dave Friday came second on The Great British Bake Off, and the Royal Navy revealed that it had seen a rise in the number of people applying – to the extent where HMS Collingwood was to be used to train 500 of the next intake in 2021. And the long-running saga of the former Royal Marines Museum in Eastney took a step forward when it was revealed it had been bought by Excelsior and was to be turned into a five-star hotel.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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