Barnsley fights back in spite of Boris Johnson’s Tier rules – Jayne Dowle

Like huge swathes of Northern England and the Midlands, the most draconian of restrictions were forced upon us with no consultation with civic leaders.

On these cold winter mornings when I look out across the valley where the pit once stood, it can feel like we’re slipping back in time, gradually descending, to be forgotten.

Tier 3 covers almost half of England now. The Prime Minister tells us that our tier is not “our destiny” and we have the means to escape if we wish. If there was a prize for the most inane and meaningless proclamation of the year, this would surely be a contender.

Once again, he puts us in charge. We all know that we can’t escape until a system of mass testing in Tier 3 areas is in place and the much-heralded vaccines arrive in our communities and start to be distributed.

Boris Johnson also tells us that this new stricter tier system is the only way to avert a third national lockdown. Many of us in Tier 3 are struggling to see the difference. We’re not supposed to travel outside our area, except for school or work, we can’t see friends and family unless we abide by a series of ‘bubble’ rules and forget theatres, cinemas, and any kind of organised fun in general.

It’s so quiet. In the evenings there is no traffic, even on the M1 away in the distance. And dark. Nightfall at 5pm. Defiant Christmas lights are popping up in the windows, but there is nothing festive about this season.

There is magic in the air, however, and it’s coming from the very people whose livelihoods are most at risk. When I think of some of the ingenious ways that local traders, restaurants, pubs and cafes are finding to offer their goods and services and keep afloat, I lift my head out of the gloom and remember that we are all still in this together.

I was heartened to hear last week that a local pub/restaurant, The Mill of the Black Monks, one of oldest pubs in the UK, has decided to offer a click and collect three-course Christmas dinner in a series of takeaway containers, for people to heat up in the microwave on Christmas Day. Talk about bringing together ancient and modern.

I’ve witnessed people who have lost their jobs finally decide to take the plunge and launch businesses, flying in the face of the pandemic. One woman has turned her kitchen into a production line, acquired the correct health and safety qualifications and now produces and delivers afternoon teas for a very reasonable sum. They are especially popular with older people, as my parents can testify.

And I’m hearing of countless acts of charity to help those less fortunate. One of Barnsley’s well-known barbers, finding himself shut down throughout November, got together with a friend to organise a massive collection of toys and gifts to distribute to local children living in poverty this Christmas. The appeal must have had more than a thousand donations now. People want to find a way to show that they care, even when they don’t have much to give themselves.

Also, it’s been brilliant to see how our town has come together to support independent traders. One friend has made it her priority to gather together information on local shops, including the town centre’s one independent bookshop, craftspeople and artists and share their businesses through social media as an alternative to relying on Amazon this Christmas.

The idea has spread and now there are scores of people involved, all sharing their wares and finding alternative ways to keep trade alive during these most testing of times.

Are we, in some way, becoming better people for it all? It seems an aeon since last December, but cast your mind back. Much of our region was struggling to recover from severe flooding and we were in the run-up to a General Election which, for many voters, offered two equally unpalatable choices. Some of us thought that life couldn’t get much worse, but it did, in ways we could never have imagined.

Can it really only be 12 months since an ebullient Boris Johnson was up here on the campaign trail, beaming at shoppers and glad-handing small business owners? He thought he could propel the country forward on a tide of sheer enthusiasm and bonhomie, but now all we see is misplaced optimism.

For all his appeal as Master of Revels, Mr Johnson – unlike his hero Sir Winston Churchill – was never cut out to deal with the world-altering challenges he has faced this year. The same cannot be said for those who have found so many innovative ways to bring about light in the darkness.

It has been their finest hour.

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