Weekly good news round-up and things to cheer us up

Here’s our weekly compendium of positive news stories to cheer us up and lift the spirits 💪

We also want to flag up all the positive ways that our readers are finding to deal with the crisis, from good deeds to witty photographs. Please email [email protected] with any contributions.

1. 99 year old WWII veteran gets Royal Mail birthday postmark

To celebrate Captain Tom Moore’s 100th birthday this Thursday, all mail this week will be marked with “Happy 100th Birthday Captain Thomas Moore NHS fundraising hero 30th April 2020.”

2. London bus stop is transformed into a children’s art gallery

A west London bust stop has been transformed into a children’s art gallery to cheer up passers by. Sarah Lamarr, a part-time teacher and mother of four-year-old Rosie, created the colourful community hub in Turham Green to help ease the anxiety and isolation caused by the pandemic.

independent.co.uk/life-style/coronavirus-bus-stop-art-gallery-west-london-turnham-green-lockdown



3. Government announces new ‘bounce back’ loan scheme for small businesses

A new ‘bounce-back’ loan scheme has been announced by the Chancellor Rishi Sunak (27th April). Small businesses will benefit from a new fast-track finance scheme providing loans with a 100% government-backed guarantee for lenders. The Bounce Back Loan scheme will help small and medium-sized businesses to borrow between £2,000 and £50,000.

Find out more: gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-a-coronavirus-bounce-back-loan

4. Smartphone contact tracing app could be ready in 2-3 weeks in the UK

A smartphone app which is hoped will help contain the virus spreading will be ready in “two to three weeks” in the UK. The app will alert users if they have come into contact with someone who then develops symptoms. More than 2.4 million people have now downloaded Australia’s coronavirus contact tracing app.

5. A Newcastle couple hold their virtual wedding on Zoom, complete with Haribo rings

A couple held a ceremony over Zoom using Haribo rings on the day they should have been married. Sophie Spong, 33, and her fiance Terry Compton, 34, from Leicester, were due to be married on Saturday but had to postpone because of the lockdown. More than 50 guests, dressed in wedding gear paired with shorts or pyjama bottoms, tuned in to watch the couple make vows and to take part in a singalong to All You Need Is Love.

leicestermercury.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/leicestershire-couple-hold-virtual-ceremony

6. Endangered Bumblebee see population bounce back 

The endangered rare shrill carder bee (Bombus sylvarum) is making a come back in Somerset and Essex thanks to the recreation of wildflower meadows that were wiped out when the meadows were replaced with farmland.

telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/04/27/endangered-bumblebee-sees-population-bounce-back-thanks-revival/

7. Stunning street art across UK thanks NHS workers

Some rather spectacular street art has been appearing across the UK, thanking our NHS workers for all they’re doing. Some of them are fab: bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-52381213

8. Thailand has found the largest number of rare leatherback sea turtle nests in two decades

With deserted beaches in Thailand, sea turtles have been able thrive one again. Leatherbacks are the world’s largest sea turtles. They are considered endangered in Thailand, and listed as a vulnerable species globally by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. They lay their eggs in dark and quiet areas, scarce when tourists thronged the beaches. People have also been known to dig into their nests and steal eggs.

theguardian.com/environment/2020/apr/20/coronavirus-lockdown-boosts-numbers-of-thailands-rare-sea-turtles

9. A teacher from Calverton in Nottinghamshire has been spreading cheer dressing up an an inflatable – with a new character every week

Sally Maddison, of Sir John Sherbrooke Juniors, in Calverton, Nottinghamshire, shows off a new costume every Monday morning during the schools virtual assembly with outfits including a lion, dinosaur, chick and rocket.

bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire

10. Human trials for a Covid-19 vaccine are under way in the UK

British scientists at Oxford University are busy working to develop a vaccine to Covid-19, which started last week and the first patients have been injected. Two volunteers were injected, the first of more than 800 people recruited for the study. The same team have already developed a vaccine against MERS, another type of Coronavirus.

bbc.co.uk/news/health-52394485

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