Hi All,
Plan for Sunday is to meet at Trafalgar Square at 1130. There will be some
walking that will eventually end up at the Harrison where we can have
drinks/food. Likely to be a later lunch of about 2, though we may arrive a
bit before then for drinks.
If you haven't already said you'd like to come, please let me / Martin know
so we can make sure there is space on the table we're booking.
Looks like public transport is generally running as it should, and plenty
of nearby docking stations for anyone that would prefer to cycle.
Looking forward to seeing you on Sunday!
Hannah
Hello ravens,
Thanks to everyone who has got back to me regarding how they feel about dancing again! I'm sorry it's taken me so long to collate the information, I wanted to give as many people as possible an opportunity to feedback and then this week was so hot making a decision seemed way too challenging! I've talked through some issues raised but read the few bits in bold if you don't have time!
Given everyone's feedback, I propose we reconvene for our first practice on Monday 6th September.
There was a real mixture in feelings, confidence levels, suggestions for precautions we would take etc. but there was a real feeling of wanting to get it right for as many people as possible. Many people were in favour of waiting until September to allow people to get double vaccinated, or just to see how this unlocking affects everything. Some people just wanted to wait to allow a larger group of ravens to meet at the same time, given August is always a bit problematic given holidays etc.
Almost everyone was in favour of testing the day prior or day of practice as a precaution. While I'm not going to ask for you to show me pictures of tests or anything like that, we will all be relying on that mutual trust to help us all feel confident to get back to it. There are rumours that the tests will be charged for after July. If this is the case, we will explore what we can do to make sure everyone can access tests so affordability isn't an issue.
The hall has said they are happy to have us back when we are happy to do so but have mentioned that ventilation is really just one way, from the front door. Obviously, we will leave that open, we often do anyway, and we can make the most of the space outside as well. Although it's not ideal to dance on we can spread out a bit.
Personally, I don't fancy the idea of dancing in a mask, and think given the nature of rapper it probably wouldn't help given an entire practice. No-one has requested mask use, but if you do want to use a mask that is also 100% fine.
Depending on how we all feel nearer the time, we might just start with a stepping practice. That's a bit less intense, still super useful, and allows lots of socialising and a chance to feel more normal before we actually start to get close and personal.
I'm sorry that this is later than some people wanted, and sooner than others. I'm really hoping this works as a sensible compromise!
Hope to see some ravens on the 8th of August or back in the hall on the 6th September!!
Becky xx
Hello folks,
So, I'm sure there are some mixed feelings about the lifting of restrictions but it does mean we can actually contemplate dancing again.
I'd be very interested to hear your thoughts so I can get an idea of people's confidence levels, so we can make a plan that takes into account how people feel rather than just going yes, we can dance again! Please email or message me privately so no-one feels pressured to say anything in favour of one way or another.
* Anecdotally, I know several teams are waiting until September before getting back dancing. This allows people to have had both vaccinations and also for the natural lull that is August as people go away.
* We could do smaller gatherings, although I'd rather avoid that when getting back dancing. We're a whole team and I'd hate to fracture that with a rota system or something.
*
* We could commit to all do lateral flow tests the day of practice? That way we hopefully keep risks to a minimum.
*
* Alternatively, we can get back to it sooner and with less caution!
On a personal note, I am still rather nervous, my interactions have all been fairly minimal and I haven't even spent much time on public transport, never mind properly socialising. While the idea of dancing again is really amazing and something I want to do, I genuinely find the idea of that close contact a bit overwhelming. Saying that, I don't want my nervousness to hold us back as a team, so I'm hoping collating opinions will give a clearer idea of how the team as a whole feels.
Hoping to see you all soon!
Becky
Hi All,
Let's go with 8th August for our next in person meet up (though feel free
to organise mini-meet-ups in between if that's just too long for you!)
I propose walking from Finsbury Park to Ally Pally via the Parkland Walk,
and then to have a picnic / drinks in All Pally park. It's probably an hour
and a half walk or so however if you would prefer to just catch up with
everyone in the park, an approx meeting time and location will be provided.
Very easy to get to both ends via the Victoria line - on the way back from
Ally Pally it's a cross platform change onto the Victoria line at Highbury
and Islington. Hopefully that works ok for most of you.
More info closer to the time, and if you want to know more about the
Parkland Walk the website is here:
https://parkland-walk.org.uk/
Hopefully see some of you zoom soon!
Hannah
Hi All,
Given how lovely it was to see everyone, let's do another meet up. Suggest
this time perhaps a walk and picnic - though other suggestions / walk
locations very welcome ☺
Even if we are able to start practicing after 21st June, it might be nice
to have a social thing to look forward to, and if we still can't dance
then, we won't miss out on each others faces...
Please fill in the doodle below with some dates over the next few weeks:
https://doodle.com/poll/mki7e9d3ugxq7gtr?utm_source=poll&utm_medium=link
Thanks,
Hannah
Hi All,
Really looking forward to seeing you all next week! I suggest meeting on
York Bridge (possibly just off to the side in the park) at 2pm on Sunday
30th and then seeing where we can find a good place to sit / walk. We'll
share location for anyone who needs to join after that so you know where we
are. I'm not sure where the busiest parts of the park are on a Sunday...
🚂 York Bridge is the entrance roughly half way between Regents Park and
Baker Street tube stations; there is a santander cycles docking station in
the park just off York Bridge; and there are several buses that run along
Euston Road/Marylebone road and probably other useful places.
Hopefully easy enough for you all to get there.
See you soon!
Hannah ☺
Hi folks,
Didn't want to interrupt tonight's chat but wanted to acknowledge the proposed change in rules for May 17th.
30 people can meet outside so please do fill in hannahs doodle re. Availability for a ravens meet up somewhere!
I was surprised to see we can now hug? Although advises caution etc. It made me wonder re. Getting back dancing, even outside but I'm not clear what the implications of the rules are, nevermind how individuals would feel. So, I'm going to suggest we wait for advise from jmo/similar and stick to aiming for a social!
Hope that sounds ok, happy to chat but think we're still better to be cautious than dive back in before its really safe to do so.
Becky xx
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Hello Ravens!
In theory from 17th May we'll hopefully be able to have up to 30 of us
outdoors, so I've created a list of all the Saturday and Sundays for about
5 weeks to see if there is a date that suits everyone (I miss all your real
life faces!). Given dispersal probably a central one (maybe Regents Park?
open to suggestions) and afternoon to give plenty of time for waking up and
getting home after... exact times TBC ☺ Obviously we'll only do this if it
is safe and sensible to do so at the time.
Please fill in doodle below:
https://doodle.com/poll/i7nhbe43tiue2zw5?utm_source=poll&utm_medium=link
Hannah
I've shared an item with you:
Emergency Contact list
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1eNBBPJNWDTufd-jG3XWtf_WXNtj03f1L4AZ…
It's not an attachment – it's stored online. To open this item, just click
the link above.
Hi everyone,
As discussed yesterday, here's the emergency contact list. Please fill it
in with the details of any person you would like the team to contact in the
event of an emergency.
I hope everyone can access this and edit it. Please let me know if not.
Thanks!
R-a x