Feel good news: Devine Buskers jam online for hospice

MAIDENHEAD: The Devine Buskers, who usually busk in shopping centres and supermarkets to raise money for Alexander Devine, have put together a lockdown virtual performance.

Due to the current restrictions and social distancing, The Devine Buskers have had to cancel their summer events.

Instead, they have put together a performance of ‘Love Train’, individually filmed and edited together by the band’s Cajon-player and vocalist Steve Archer.

The buskers performance can be seen at the following YouTube link: https://youtu.be/PV44u-0PNZ0

WALTHAM ST LAWRENCE: Personal trainers from Maidenhead and Waltham St Lawrence have raised over £1,500 for Meals from Marlow, enabling the delivery of daily free meals to vulnerable families.

Annie Dorward and Helena Shirley raised the money via live-streamed fitness and yoga classes, as part of a scheme set up by celebrity chef Tom Kerridge.

“With it being unlikely we can open our studio to clients in the near future, we have decided to run another 50 classes starting on June 1 until Friday July 3 and this time we will donate our profits to The Link Foundation,” said Helena.

Helena and Annie aimto sell 100 class passes. Details of all 45 classes and booking information can be found at: https://bookwhen.com/vitalityhealth-fitness

MAIDENHEAD: A life coach and trainee counsellor in Maidenhead has been hosting workshops online, interviewing different wellness experts.

Kayleigh O’Connor started delivering one-to-one workshops at Saints Cafe two years ago. Since lockdown, she has moved them online and made them free to view.

Guests have included gut health specialists, cranio-sacral therapists, yoga teachers and life coaches.

“The workshops have been really successful so far and have had great engagement from the local community as well as the online community. I would love for more people to attend because they’re free and looking after our wellbeing is so important at this time,” said Kayleigh.

To attend, login to Facebook and visit Facebook/groups/thegoodgriefgang

MAIDENHEAD: Long-standing volunteers for Alexander Devine, Martin and Silvia Little, organised ‘26 minutes of fitness fun’ as part of the 2.6 challenge (any challenge related to the numbers 2.6 or 26).

Doing high intensity exercises and Pilates via a Zoom group, the class raised more than £2,759, including gift aid, across 80 supporters.

“People were very generous, especially at the moment when money might be tight,” said Martin. “People around here are very passionate towards the cause and very aware of Alexander Devine, so we find that in our fundraiser events people are always happy to donate what they can.”

ROYAL BOROUGH: Children without appropriate IT equipment will soon be able to access online learning after two charities teamed up to the tune of £20,000.

The Prince Philip Trust Fund and The Royal Albert Institute Fund (TRAIF) have each contributed £10,000 to fund the supply of tablets and laptops which will be loaned to pupils in need.

The Prince Philip Trust Fund is a grant-giving trust which aims to make a difference to the quality of life of people from the Royal Borough and TRAIF promotes education through grants to individuals and organisations in Windsor and Eton.

Schools, or school clusters in Windsor and Maidenhead, will own the equipment and be responsible for its procurement, allocation and use.

Charities, projects or community groups specifically working to support local residents during the COVID-19 crisis can apply for a grant at theprincephiliptrustfund.org within the next four weeks.

Applications should include details about what the funding is for and should be marked ‘COVID-19 Emergency’.

MAIDENHEAD: A thriving camera club has moved its meetings online during the lockdown – with more than 60 members taking part.

Maidenhead Camera Club has so far held 12 online meetings via Zoom, with a mix of external speakers, competitions and internal presentations.

It has now announced an extended season and has taken advantage of the online format to include a number of internationally-renowned speakers.

For June and July, the Zoom programme includes Mike Winsor, one of Canada’s foremost landscape and wildlife photographers.

A tuition style workshop in editing images will come live from Florida and an inter-club photographic competition between Maidenhead and Pretoria Photographic Society is set for July 7.

Continuing with this international theme, Jill Sneesby will give a talk on her stunning wildlife photography live from South Africa and Martin Osner will share his Fine Art photography from Cape Town.

The programme rounds off with an Inspirational Photography talk from Paul Hassel live from Knoxville, Tennessee.

Full details of the programme and details about the club can be found on the website www.maidenhead.cc