And here we are again. This morning I stood in the queue at the baker’s, said ‘hello’ to Stuart in front of me, made friends with Sue behind me and continued with a joke and a catch up with the baker himself once it was my turn. We waited patiently, all dressed up in scarves and masks, chatted about the weather and the tempting iced buns, and thanked our lucky stars for the exceptional quality of the local shops in our area. It was a happy queue of positive people, determined to make the best of a bad situation. Yet again.

Within sight of the baker’s is Ipswich Hospital where cases of COVID-19 are relatively low, but starting to rise. Our usual freedoms have been taken away in order to fight this virus, save lives and protect the NHS, and if my encounter buying the bread this morning is anything to go by, we desperately need this sense of community to see ourselves through, as the winter nights draw in.

Enter stage left your local radio station, Ipswich Community Radio, who launched a new show during the previous lockdown, The Coronavirus Update, and have just started it up again for Lockdown 2. Two of the station’s star presenters, Stephen Spencer and Elene Marsden, have come together to present an hour of interviews, advice, updates and music to help us through this time. The aim of the show is to keep us all connected, listen to each other’s stories and concerns, provide a support for the local community, but also to focus on any positives that come out of this unprecedented time. In addition to this, the presenters give regular updates from Ipswich Borough Council regarding COVID restrictions and health advice.

Feedback for the show during the last lockdown was phenomenal, with large numbers of the community tuning in each week and also listening on catch-up, and we are thrilled that this dynamic duo are teaming up once again for another month of Covid support for the community of Ipswich.

Tune in to The Coronavirus Update every Tuesday at 9am on 105.7FM or online at icrfm.com, or download the Radio Player onto your phone and find ICR FM.