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I wanted to set out for all our members the policy that Bromley
Art
Society has in response to the “opening up” in England scheduled
for 19<sup>th</sup> July. Your committee has had a very intense
debate on the issues which reflected many shades of opinion, which
is
probably representative of the wider Society’s views and indeed of
the nation. On your behalf, I should like to thank the committee
for
their contributions and hard work on this topic on top of all the
usual work of running the Society. I shall first state what we are
going to do, and then for those that wish to read them, set out
the
reasons. </p>
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</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%"><u>First Friday
demonstrations at Ripley</u></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">As in previous
years, we do not have a First Friday meeting planned for August.
The
next one will therefore be in September and will be online with
Zoom.
We have not yet made plans for subsequent months whilst we see
what
happens. We have discussed hybrid meetings, with some attending in
person and some on line, but it is not yet clear that we have the
resources to provide that. We would not be able to have
refreshments
as things stand. </p>
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</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%"><u>Art Matters
meetings
online</u></p>
<p>These will continue
in their present form, but probably only once a month and only for
as
long as interest is maintained. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%"><br>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%"><u>Wednesday
Painting
Sessions at Ripley</u></p>
<p>These sessions are
open to all members, but in practice there is a group of regular
attendees whom we wish to prioritise until we can safely open them
up
further. We shall continue with three sessions of two hours each
and
six members per session as our basic model. However we shall try
varying this, starting with some flexibility on letting up to nine
members join per session in a gradual process to see how it feels.
All participants must wear masks throughout a session – this is a
slight tightening of the rules. Paul Stringfellow is principle
organiser of these meetings and holds the booking system. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%"><br>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Please feel free to
send your thoughts, criticisms, suggestions for improvement to me
or
any other member of the committee</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%"><br>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">-- <br>
<b>Adrian Fowle<br>
Chairman, Bromley Art Society<br>
<br>
<br>
</b></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%"><font size="+1"><b>Our
Reasons</b></font></p>
<br>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">The wording below
is
entirely mine, but I hope I have captured the sentiments of the
committee’s deliberations. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%"><br>
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%"><u>Freedom,
personal
responsibility and safety</u></p>
<p>The headlines are
all about freedom, but the Governments’ actual advice is more
nuanced. Several ministers have talked about wearing masks on
crowded
trains but not on quiet ones. Personal responsibility is a concept
at
odds with the fact that masks protect other people in the room
more
than the wearer. A community society like ours is a way of pooling
personal responsibility to achieve a shared aim and we ask members
to
respect the Society’s rules. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">On a personal note
- Electing a working doctor as chairman during a health crisis has
consequences, but members are free to change that at the next AGM
or
hold an EGM!</p>
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</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%"><u>Masks</u></p>
<p>Most of the
criticism of the unlocking arrangements centres around masks in
crowded places. The criticism comes both from the health
professions
and from transport unions – many of whose members died in public
service earlier in the pandemic. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">I have heard it
said
that members cannot be expected to wear a mask for a whole 2 hour
session. I routinely wear one for 11 or 12 hour shifts and am
expected to communicate with patients including those who are hard
of
hearing or whose understanding of English is imperfect. I take it
off
only for brief periods to eat and drink. Other healthcare staff
have
far more onerous work than mine, in having to wear multiple layers
of
protection too. Get used to it!</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">The commonly
available masks are designed to protect other people (originally
patients) not the wearer. Masks to protect the wearer are more
expensive and hard to put on properly. Wearing masks in the small
studio at Ripley (Wednesday sessions) will reduce the risk to
members, some of whom are in vulnerable groups. Some regular
attendees at this group have had to stop going because of the lack
of
masks.</p>
<p><br>
</p>
<p><u>The Risk
</u></p>
<p>The lowest estimate
I have heard is that there will be a surge in Delta variant Covid
cases of 50,000 PER DAY. Other estimates being used are 100,000
per
day or even 200,000 cases. Vaccines will make many of these cases
much milder, possibly reducing the death rate from 1 in 100 to 1
in
1000. However with such large numbers of cases that is still 50 –
200 deaths per day in England, including in some people who were
both
previously healthy and vaccinated. The vaccines are not 100%
effective. Some of those who do not die will still require
admission
to hospital or even ITU and the NHS is already struggling. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">About 20% of people
will develop long Covid, which lasts at least 12 weeks and often
much
longer. That’s 10,000 to 40,000 people added per day to a pool of
people who are economically unproductive, personally very unwell
and
further swamping the NHS. The less any of us contribute to that
the
better. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">I have not seen
direct estimates of how long this is expected to continue, but
reading between the lines I think only a few weeks of “surge”. For
some people the loss of livelihood in lockdown means they have to
take these risks. Valuable and lovely as it is, no one depends on
BAS
for their livelihood and we can afford to wait a little longer to
open up, especially as our online events have been so successful,
and
we have at least some capacity on Wednesdays. </p>
<u>
</u>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%"><u>The Benefits</u></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Like the rest of
the
world, BAS members are fed up with living under Covid’s
restrictions and want freedom. Being able to get out more, meet
friends and socialise in person will be wonderful. Zoom (and its
rivals) is brilliant and will remain for some things, but does not
match the real thing. Creating and sharing art can be a very
physical
experience and we are missing out. Many of our members will have
been
lonely and possibly frightened during lockdown and freedom will be
good. And yes I understand that not wearing masks will be an
additional freedom. We have to recognise too that some people did
not
understand the necessity for the restrictions and lockdowns and
regarded them as tyranny. It is not a view that I can develop
empathy
for, but the small proportion of people who hold it increase our
wish
to throw all caution to the winds. </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%"><u>The Advice</u></p>
<p>The formal advice
from HM Gov for step 4 of the unlocking is at
</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">
<a
href="https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-response-summer-2021-roadmap/coronavirus-how-to-stay-safe-and-help-prevent-the-spread">https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-response-summer-2021-roadmap/coronavirus-how-to-stay-safe-and-help-prevent-the-spread</a></p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">Here are some
quotes
that seem particularly useful to us</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">“The more fresh
air you let into your home or other enclosed spaces, the less
likely
a person is to inhale infectious particles.”</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">“Wearing a face
covering will reduce your risk and the risk to others, where you
come
into contact with people you don’t normally meet in enclosed and
crowded spaces.”</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">“You may choose to
limit the close contact you have with people you do not usually
live
with. “</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">“We should …
provide the opportunity and space for others to reduce close
contacts
if they wish.”</p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">”Employers will
still have a legal duty to manage risks to those affected by their
business. “ </p>
<p style="margin-bottom: 0cm; line-height: 100%">(we are not
employers of our members, but should still manage risks)</p>
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</b></div>
<div class="moz-signature">-- <br>
<b>Adrian Fowle<br>
Chairman, Bromley Art Society<br>
</b><br>
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