Scroll below to see what’s in today’s Bucks Free Press
Dear reader,
We might be in lockdown, but it is still Friday – and that means it is time to celebrate (and pick up the latest copy of Bucks Free Press, of course).
With many people now isolating at home, I’m writing to you to explain all the great things on offer in your weekly newspaper.
As we stand shoulder-to-shoulder with you during this pandemic, we hope you will continue to support local journalism by buying a paper on your weekly shop, or daily walk.
And please don’t forget the elderly relatives or neighbours who may not be able to get out but rely on the service we provide to find out essential advice and information – plus everything that’s going on in their community.
As always, we are #ThereWithYou
What is in today’s Bucks Free Press?
VE Day:
Today (Friday, May 8) is the 75th anniversary of VE Day and we’re marking the occasion with a special commemorative edition of your award-winning Bucks Free Press.
It starts with a front page which we hope you will love. There is so much important news and coverage in this week’s paper, but we decided to dedicate the front page and honour our war heroes.
As part of our special coverage, you can get all of this (and more) inside this week’s BFP:
- Souvenir front page
- 8-page supplement
- Poster honouring heroes past and present (including NHS workers)
- Cut-out bunting to show support
- Special stories from the past
- A feature of old adverts from 1945
- Pictures of celebratory street parties
- Untold stories from those who lived through it
- Views from our five Buckinghamshire MPs
General news:
Headlines this week include:
- Council tax breaks to be rolled out
- Recycling centres finally reopen
- Ross Kemp filming in Downley
- Street stabbing rocks town
- Reaction to calls for River Wye reopening
- Thug jailed for horror hammer attack
- Manhunt after ‘flasher’ goes on the run
- Council cabinet diversity row
- Iconic Bond prop valued at £30,000
- Heartbreak at tree arson
- Fresh 11-Plus fears are raised
- Another old pub bulldozed
- Profile on new council’s leader
- Plus, much, much more – you’ll have to get your copy to see it all
Covid-19 latest:
Parallels are being drawn this week between wartime Buckinghamshire and the plight we currently face.
In this week’s paper we bring readers all the essential information and news relating to Covid-19.
We start with fears from residents that quieter roads have resulted in serious safety concerns with some people treating streets like a ‘racetrack’.
Wycombe Park and Ride was also turned into a virus testing centre, as it is revealed more than 600 fines have been handed out and hundreds more people are claiming Universal Credit help.
Plus, there’s celeb chef controversy as TV’s Phil Vickery was slammed for sending food on a bike from his countryside home to This Morning’s London studios.
In other coronavirus news, PennFest has been cancelled and Wycombe MP Steve Baker has hit the headlines, blasting Boris Johnson’s lockdown as “absurd, dystopian and tyrannical”.
Positive news near you:
Where there’s bad things happening, we’re pleased to see the good often shines through.
Amongst our ‘good news’ coronavirus stories this week are:
- School gets rock band’s approval
- Groundsmen’s unique tribute to NHS
- Restaurant’s ‘click and collect’ service
- £15m given to council to help fight Covid
- Green waste collections to start again
Campaign:
We’re backing Bucks and the NHS every week.
Pick up a paper for a free VE Day-themed NHS poster which you can cut-out and display in your window.
Make sure to show support and send your pictures to andrew.colley@newsquest.co.uk There’s also a guest column from Oliver Picard, director of Newdays Pharmacy Ltd based in Marlow, and a list of essential community contact numbers.
We also shine the spotlight on newsagent heroes, with a feature of all the independents you can support. This week, we catch up with Marlow Post Office about how they are tackling the coronavirus.
Freetime, TV, Puzzles & Horoscopes:
Embrace bank holiday weekend! Yes, there may not be as much to do, but there’s plenty to keep you entertained and some events to look forward to.
We start in Freetime, with a look ahead to the visit of ‘Rod Stewart’. This theatrical production recreates the career of the music icon and will be stopping off at Wycombe Swan in September.
Sticking with the music theme, another tribute act will be heading to Buckinghamshire. We look in on the people behind the unmissable ‘Whitney – Queen of the Night’ show at Aylesbury Waterside Theatre in November.
We have more than 50 brainteasers in our weekly Puzzler supplement too.
Our popular 7-day 8-page TV guide is also back – no longer do you need to pick up your BFP, puzzles book and TV supplement (we’ve got the lot in one!).
Plus, horoscopes celeb Russell Grant writes in our pages to deliver your latest star signs.
Nostalgia:
Our team, led by the brilliant Mike Dewey, have been incredibly busy this week.
As well as their usual offering of must-see archive material, they’ve been trawling through the history books to bolster our VE Day pages.
From public gatherings, to royal visits and a look back at how it was all reported in the BFP – it really is a great read for your bank holiday Friday (if I do say so myself).
To accompany this, we look at other pictures and stories from 1945 – including the mayoral weigh-in (always fun!), the Women’s Land Army and we go back to school with the pupils of Downley Primary School.
Opinion:
It’s another busy week on the Bucks Free Press letters’ pages.
Topics include:
- Diversity and the NHS
- Thanks to carers
- Bins not being emptied
- Council tax nightmares
- EU cooperation on health
- Heathrow disruption woes
- Lockdown, lockdown and more lockdown
- MP letter from Aylesbury’s Rob Butler
Sport:
EFL chairman Rick Parry leads our back page this week as the sporting world looks for a way out.
And we have news from Gareth Ainsworth and why he’s told players to switch off during lockdown.
What next?
We want to hear from you! My team is working hard to keep you informed and entertained, but what else do you want from your Bucks Free Press newspaper?
Get in touch by emailing andrew.colley@newsquest.co.uk or call 01494 755089.
And don’t forget your elderly neighbours – where possible, please get them a copy of the BFP for their weekly shop.
For many people, certainly those without the internet, Friday’s title will be an essential guide to everything going on around them.
For new readers, the Bucks Free Press costs just £1.10 and is available at all good local newsagents, supermarkets and convenience stores.
From myself and everyone at Bucks Free Press, we wish you and your family well. Keep safe!
Andrew Colley, Bucks Free Press editor
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