Updates from Friday 9 September 2016
Here are three stories from the Shropshire Star today:
BBC Shropshire
A Shropshire care worker has set up a crowdfunding page after she was left stranded in Tunisia.
Elizabeth Hazlewood, who is 51 and from Shrewsbury, has been in the country since the beginning of March and was due to fly back today.
Image source, Getty ImagesHer flight has been cancelled after the country suspended commercial air travel and she said she's "running out of money fast" and "feeling lost and alone."
The coronavirus lockdown is giving the BBC Weather Watchers plenty of opportunity to enjoy their gardens in this spring sunshine.
These photos were taken in Bicton and Edgmond in Shropshire.
Image source, Raj's Range
Image source, GrannyAnneThe Park House hotel in Shifnal has been chosen as a base for NHS staff and other key workers in need of overnight accommodation.
It said it was running on minimum staff and public areas, like its bar and restaurant, would be closed.
Image source, Park House HotelThe hotel also said it would be offering a “limited room service menu with limited contact.”
Oswestry’s Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt hospital is making an urgent appeal for catering staff, because a dozen have had to go into self-isolation.
The quality of the food at the specialist orthopaedic hospital has been rated the best in the country in the Care Quality Commission’s Adult Inpatient Survey for 13 out of the last 14 years.
Image source, RJAHThe shifts are between 06:00 and 19:00, seven days a week.
For obvious reasons, a lot of the photos from the BBC Weather Watchers today have been taken at home or in the garden.
But it looks like it’s been a beautiful spring day around the region.
These photos were taken at Barlaston in Staffordshire and Dawley in Shropshire.
Image source, Jon
Image source, Liam BallJuly's Newport Show has been cancelled because of the coronavirus.
The annual event was set for 11 July, but the organising committee said: “We discussed postponing or holding a different scale of event, but the decision was that there are still too many unknown factors to make these feasible options at this time.”
Image source, Newport ShowJohn Gough, president of Newport Show, said: “It’s very sad to not be holding the event this year but as one of many farmers on the organising committee our focus at this critical time is to concentrate on producing food to feed and support the nation.”
The Newport Show is due to return on 10 July 2021.
A Shropshire couple who embarked on a round-the-world trip in their campervan are self-isolating in Istanbul.
Chris and Marianne Fisher from Telford, Shropshire, sold all their possessions and have been travelling in their van since May 2018, but began a round-the-globe trip in January this year.
They arrived in Turkey early last week, but have remained on a campsite after borders closed.
Image source, Tread the GlobeForeign Secretary Dominic Raab says Britons going abroad should return to the UK as soon as possible because international travel is becoming more difficult, but the couple will stay where they are.
"The message was 'come home' to all people travelling on holiday, but we are actually living in our home, and that currently is Istanbul for the duration of our visa," Mrs Fisher said.
Mr Fisher added: "If we flew back, we would have to find somewhere to leave our van, be in close proximity to people on aeroplanes and in airports, then get public transport to somewhere, but we don't have anywhere to go, we can't stay with relatives because they are elderly.
"We think it helps the situation to stay where we are."
There appears to be some confusion over what counts as an “essential” store.
You can find out more about what the government considers "essential" retail here, including a list of non-food suppliers you're still permitted to visit.
Home and hardware shops, plus pet stores, are among them, but according to the Dobbies garden centres on the outskirts of Shrewsbury and Telford, they also should count.
Both have opened this morning, and an email sent to customers said they considered themselves essential.
Image source, DobbiesThey also said that sales of essential items made up 70% of their business.
The closure of places of worship has allowed the renovation of Shrewsbury Abbey's organ to start sooner than planned.
Because the building is empty, workers are able to move in now.
Image source, Satish GudduIt's the first major overhaul for the organ in 100 years and will cost £130,000.
Last night, the Prime Minister announced shops selling non-essential items would have to close.
And for an indoor market in Shrewsbury, that means while some stalls aren't trading, others remain open for business.
But like supermarkets, this still brings people together under one roof, so how is it being managed? In Shrewsbury at least, floor markings are being used to help people keep apart.
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Thieves targeted a hotel in Shropshire, stealing £1,200 worth of produce, bosses said.
Read MoreParticipants of cancelled events are choosing to carry on with their challenges alone.
Read MoreChurches says online services mean people can be a part of worship while apart from each other.
Read MoreA decrease in travel and an increase in staff absence has affected several routes.
Read MoreAs shoppers stockpile in response to coronavirus, how are independent shops coping?
Read MorePalethorpes in Market Drayton is recruiting temporary workers and says it will take on people who've been laid-off in the leisure and hospitality industries as a result of coronavirus.
The company says experience in food-manufacturing isn't essential, because full training will be provided.
Image source, GoogleFrom deliveries to leaving goods on tables, firms are changing while customers "socially distance".
Read MoreBBC Shropshire
Have you been struggling to get hold of repeat prescriptions?
We've been hearing about a huge increase in calls to the main numbers in Shropshire and Telford - with many people who rely on important medication left struggling to get through.
Let us know your experience, wherever you are in the West Midlands.
Image source, Getty ImagesThe Severn Valley Railway is cancelling all its services for the rest of this month and for April.
The heritage line, which runs from Kidderminster to Bridgnorth, is also closing all of its station tea rooms and the Engine House visitor centre at Highley.
Image source, Severn Valley RailwayIt is also cancelling a number of events including the Spring Steam Gala and it’s 50th anniversary event.
