A thank you to our key workers: special pullout poster inside
THEY’RE the heroes keeping South Wales running through these most challenging of times.
Key workers – whether on the NHS frontline, in care homes, shops or emptying our bins – have deserved our gratitude time and again during the coronavirus pandemic.
And, as these pictures show, communities across the region keep rising to the challenge of finding new and heart-warming ways of showing appreciation.
Villagers in one corner of the South Wales Valleys have transformed their street into a rainbow road, with an amazing line-up of flags.
Chris Small, 36, ordered rainbow flags for all his neighbours on Sirhowy Road, Wattsville, to boost morale.
Chris and dad Roger, 74, handed them out to neighbours in the village where he has lived all his life.
Chris said: “It is a lovely place to live and it’s been quite emotional seeing everyone coming together.
“Me and my dad wanted to do something to thank the NHS because I suffer from epilepsy and he suffers from MS.
“We ordered the flags online and people started putting them on the front of their fences. It’s great to see.
“The response has been really positive and it has given me something to focus on during this time.”
Meanwhile, one Cardiff hotel manager has inspired a national chain to beam up giant hearts and the NHS logo in lights across Britain.
Premier Inn manager Adrian Andrews lit up his Cardiff Bay hotel in support of the NHS, as a personal mark of respect to a nurse in his own family.
His aunt Kaye Walters spent the last four years studying to become fullyqualified just three months before the start of the lockdown.
The day he lit the hotel was due to be his aunt’s graduation ceremony.
But instead of a cap and gown she was working in protective equipment alongside her NHS colleagues at Bradford Royal Infirmary.
His tribute has inspired dozens of other hotels in the 800-strong chain.
Hotels from Gatwick to Glasgow are now putting on their own light shows in support of NHS and key workers.
The hotels are lighting up their windows either by spelling out the letters “NHS” or displaying lit-up heart shapes.
Adrian said: “Our team wanted to show how proud we are of our NHS and key workers in whatever way we could. It was especially important to me, as my aunt now works as a nurse and so we wanted to celebrate the important work that she and all key workers are doing.
“By lighting up our hotel we are able to show in our own unique way how much their commitment means, and based on the local feedback and messages we have received we know lots of keyworkers driving past or living nearby were able to see our lights”
As Cardiff Bay Premier Inn shows its support with the light display, Andrew’s other managed hotel at Cardiff City Centre Premier Inn remains open for key workers including NHS staff.
Elsewhere in the capital, rainbow road markings have appeared at the University Hospital of Wales and landmarks such as the Wales Millennium Centre have turned blue to reflect the NHS logo’s colour.
As we prepare to mark another Clap for Carers at 8pm today, you can add to the occasion by putting our special Echo “Thank You” poster – which you’ll find on pages 24 and 25 – in your window.
In the meantime, let’s all make sure we show our full appreciation for those who wear the uniforms, drive the lorries, collect our unwanted waste, and deliver our supplies.
They protect and save lives during the pandemic, and in doing so risk their own.
We can never say “diolch” enough. And when this is all over, let’s make sure we never never forget their selflessness, their courage and their sacrifice.
■ Coronavirus latest: see pages 4-11
■ Keyworkers “thank you” poster: pages 24&25