⏩ The Gloucester Start: Monday May 12th
NHS jobs at risk | Quays 'theme park' approved | Things to do
Good morning, welcome to Monday’s Start. I’m ever grateful for any shares or recommendations to your friends if you’re finding it useful - word of mouth really is the best way to help it spread. Here’s today’s edition.
⛅ Today’s weather: Warm with some overcast skies and a chance of rain through the middle of the day.
🚆 Train services between Gloucester and Chepstow face a week of disruption starting today. Work to replace a drainage system, clean a tunnel, replace a section of track and update a level crossing means passengers will need to use replacement bus services. - BBC Gloucestershire
🇵🇱 Polish Heritage Day filled Gloucester Park with activity as thousands enjoyed live music, food stalls and much more on Saturday. It’s been taking place since 2017. - BBC Gloucestershire
↪️ It was one of several events across a busy weekend, including a VE Day Tea Dance in King’s Square 👇 plus separate celebrations of Filipino culture and Italian cars, which took over the Docks, on Sunday.
🛝 Gloucester Quays upper deck can be transformed into a ‘theme park meets climbing wall’ area after planning permission was granted. Soft play areas and a cafe form part of the plans. - Gloucestershire Live
💰 Gloucester man Ricky Naylor is £850,000 richer after winning an online competition. He pocketed the cash alternative to a prize of a new home and a Bentley car. - Gloucestershire Live
🚪 One of Gloucester’s ‘secret gems’ can now be accessed freely through the daytime. The door to Maverdine Lane, beside Gloucester Antiques Centre, is now accessible as part of work that has seen the historic building fully restored. - Gloucestershire Live, via LDRS
🛍️ The Midlands Air Ambulance charity shop in Eastgate Shopping Centre is open again after a refurb. A better layout and an ‘increased fashion offering’ are among the changes. - Gloucester BID
✌️ Wartime memories of sacrifice and survival were shared as part of VE Day commemorations in Gloucester last week. The beacon lighting at Robsinswood Hill saw dozens of people hike up to the summit late on Thursday, with a flag raising ceremony at Hardwicke RBL also marking the 80th anniversary. - Call Me Will
🚨 A CCTV image has been released of a man police want to talk to about an assault in Fever where a man was hit with a bottle. It happened in February. - Gloucester News Centre
⚽ Gloucester City AFC have a new manager. Dafydd Williams has taken charge after Mike Cook left following defeat in their play-off final 👇
🏥 Health and NHS news
There’s an unusually large amount of articles about Gloucestershire’s health services from the past few days, so it makes sense to give it its own section for this bulletin.
💼 ‘Significant reductions’ in non-clinical NHS staff in Gloucestershire are expected under plans for health authorities to merge. The running costs of Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) need to reduce by about 50% according to a government blueprint. - BBC Gloucestershire, via the Local Democracy Reporting Service
🚨 Hundreds of incidents of violence and aggression between staff at Gloucestershire’s hospitals have been reported over the last three years. They were among more than 3,000 reports of staff being attacked or abused, meaning body-worn cameras are now being used in some of the highest-risk areas. - Gloucestershire Live, via LDRS
🚼 A mother’s death and a spike in the number of stillbirths at the county’s maternity units has prompted an investigation. In the last four months of 2024 there were nine stillbirths recorded in Gloucestershire, more than half of the roughly 15 expected annually. - Gloucestershire Live, via LDRS
👓 Long-term patients at Gloucestershire Royal and Cheltenham General hospitals are able to visit landmark locations without leaving their ward thanks to a virtual reality trial. Headsets mean people can be transported to Gloucester Cathedral or Puzzlewood with the immersive technology. - BBC Gloucestershire
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📅 Things to do today and tomorrow
🖥️ Computer Buddy, Story Time, Book Club and more sessions at Gloucester libraries | All week, various times | Free | Details
📽️ Mr Burton, Four Mothers, Six: The Musical Live!, The Penguin Lessons all showing at Sherborne Cinema | All week, various times | £6/£7 | Details
🖼️ Art Trail throughout Gloucester city centre | Daily through May | Free | Details
🍵 Library Tour and Tea Package at Gloucester Cathedral | Tuesday, 2pm | £20 | Details