Couple reunited after year apart
THIS was the heartwarming moment a couple married for 60 years were able to hold hands for the first time in 12 months after being forced apart by coronavirus rules.
Thelma Barnett, 82, was finally able to see husband Basil, 83, following a difficult year of being separated after care homes began allowing visitors again this week. It had been the longest time the couple had ever spent
apart since meeting in 1958 and marrying two years later in 1960. Thelma was the first in line at The Lawns Nursing Home in Kempsey, near Worcester, on Monday to see her husband in person for the first time since Christmas.
Staff captured the emotional moment the couple were able to hold hands, which they had been unable to do for the past year due to Covid restrictions.
Retired food technologist Basil has been living at the care home since December 2019 after being diagnosed with dementia. It meant the pair had only seen each other a handful of times via Facetime or through perspex screens set up in the home during the summer. Thelma said it was a “joyous moment” to be able to hold Basil’s hand for the first time in months and to see him smile again.
COVENTRY City Football Club is to return to the city’s Ricoh Arena after being forced to play home games at St Andrew’s in Birmingham.
The football club and Wasps Group announced a new deal for the Sky Blues to return to the Ricoh, signing a 10-year licence.
Reacting to the news, Coventry City Council leader Cllr George Duggins said: “It is brilliant news for the city and I am pleased it has been confirmed. We had the speculation last week that this was going to happen but for the supporters and the city this is the confirmation that people were waiting for.
“It is good news at a time when we desperately need it.
“It will be interesting to see how the season pans out and then next year it will be very interesting to see where the club can go.”
Coventry City, who are currently 20th in the Championship, will continue to play matches at St Andrew’s Stadium in Birmingham for the remainder of the 2020/21 campaign.
But the new deal will bring them back to the Ricoh for the start of the 2021/22 season.
It is hoped fans will be allowed in stadiums for sporting events next season, with the government’s roadmap out of lockdown ending on June 21.
A series of pilot events will run in April with the English Football League for some fans to return, and if successful up to 10,000 people or 25 per cent of total seated capacity – whichever is lower – will be allowed in stadiums from May 17. While that does present optimism for fans to return next season, England’s chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty warned there could be another surge of Covid cases if restrictions are eased too early, an issue Cllr Duggins is cautious of.
However, Cllr Duggins believes the Sky Blues back in the city is one of a number of things to look forward to in Coventry post-Covid, and can play its part in boosting the economy.
He said: “We are looking at postCovid and one of the things we have tried to do as a council is combat the impact of Covid. Over the past few years we have had a number of things with the City of Culture announcement and we were quite rightly European City of Sport.
“We are now going to be City of Culture, have the Commonwealth Games and the Rugby League World Cup so there is lots to look forward to and Coventry is clearly on the map, so getting the football club back adds to that really good news.”
CONSTRUCTION work has started on one of Birmingham’s busiest roads – giving priority to new-style Sprint bus services.
The scheme is aimed at tempting more drivers onto public transport by creating faster routes into the city centre and other locations in the Black Country.
The routes will give buses priority along major roads, enabling them to beat traffic jams and reduce commuting times for passengers.
The lanes will be on the A45 from Solihull and A34 from Walsall and will go into Birmingham city centre.
Construction has now started on the A45 Small Heath Highway. Work will begin in Walsall, Sandwell and Solihull later in the year.
On the routes, there will be new and longer bus lanes, buses will be given priority at junctions and there will be 95 new shelters. All
Sprint buses will also be zero carbon emission.
Work is already under way on the first Sprint route, on the A34 through Perry Barr, and will be ready in time for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. It will link key venues at the NEC, city centre and the Alexander Stadium.
The project is being developed by Transport for West Midlands (TfWM), part of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA), in collaboration with Walsall, Solihull, Sandwell and Birmingham City Councils.
Funding for the £88 million first phase includes £42 million from the WMCA investment fund and £35 million from the Department for Transport.
Council leader Coun Ian Ward said: “With population growth and increasing traffic congestion we need to encourage more people to swap their private cars for more sustainable forms of transport. We know buses can be unreliable when stuck in traffic jams and that this is a key issue for some commuters.
“But with this Sprint corridor our buses will be able to beat the queues and save time on their journeys into our busy city and town centres.”
A PLANE left the runway for 450 metres after a second attempt to land during ‘challenging’ crosswinds at Birmingham Airport, a safety probe revealed.
The SE-MAO cargo plane, with two crew on board, abandoned its first approach amid “confusion” in the cockpit because there was “not a brief between pilots on who would be holding the control column”.
The aircraft touched down the second time, 13 minutes later, amid gusts of up to 40mph – but veered off to the left of the paved runway for 450 metres. The Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB), which carried out an investigation, said it was likely the “crew’s inexperience of landing in strong crosswinds contributed to the misalignment at touchdown”.
The inquiry also found it was “fortunate that the ground was hard due to a lack of recent rain” following the landing on May 22 last year.
“In windy conditions, the crew of an SE-MAO performed a go-around from their first approach to Runway 33 at Birmingham Airport,” the AAIB report said.
“On the second approach the aircraft departed the runway to the left after touching down.
“The crew had not applied or maintained into-wind aileron during the landing or landing roll and, despite the application of full rudder, could not keep the aircraft on the runway. The aircraft was off the paved surface for approximately 450m. There was no damage to the aircraft or the airfield, and the crew were uninjured.”
After stopping for an inspection by ground operations personnel, the crew taxied the aircraft to a stand.
Subsequent engineering inspections revealed no damage to the aircraft although one main wheel tyre was replaced, the report said.
The report added: “It is likely that the crew’s inexperience of landing in strong crosswinds contributed to the misalignment at touchdown.
“It is likely this application of right aileron was as a result of an inappropriate motor programme to steer the aircraft right. Neither attempt at landing used the crosswind technique as laid down in the manufacturer and operator manuals.”
The report concluded: “Recurrent simulator sessions across all the operator’s fleet were amended to include crosswind training.”