Everything is Ukraine...


...in Upton on Severn, where my Mum lives. The Baptist Church has been very supportive in helping to settle 90 Ukrainians in Upton. They are welcomed to a drop-in 3 times a week and the church service every Sunday morning. We saw the house with the Ukrainian flag on our way to blackberry-picking in the hedgerows this afternoon.

Meanwhile, our last Ukrainian family (for now) arrived in Trawden yesterday: a mother and her 4 year old son. We wish them well and are sure they will be made as welcome as all the other families in the area.

Things have not been as easy for the families in our house. The new washing machine that we bought is broken and won't be fixed for another week. Our neighbour, Gail, has kindly offered the use of her washing machine.

And, tomorrow, they are required to go to the job centre, which is in the next town, Nelson. This is to prove their identity so that they can claim universal credit. They were at the job centre a day or so after they arrived with their passports, etc, but no-one thought to check their identity then. Instead, because we're not there, they have to find their way by bus. It's another unnecessary hurdle for people who have already been through too much.

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