Herald - Issue 398

19th November 2020 • The HERALD • Page 41 v ENCOURAGING LOCAL ENTERPRISE v ANIMAL MAGIC Dooley’s Grooming Family run dog grooming business based in Fawley Contact Debbie for an appointment on 07895 626448 www.dooleysgrooming.com 38 Pylewell Road, Hythe, Southampton, Hants SO45 6AQ Tel: (023) 8084 1000 Fax: (023) 8084 5651 www.hythevets.co.uk An Independent Local Practice The Pet Healthcare Centre Adopt a Rescue Dog Beau, Sable and Frank looking for their forever homes. More dogs in need of good homes on our website www.dogs2fosteruk.org BK9Confident Canine Courses & Professional Advice FREE Courses & Resources Help with canine fears, phobias, aggression, socialisation, separation anxiety and lots more Fully Qualified, Experienced & Insured Advanced Canine Behaviourists Enquiries T: 023 8178 17 07 E: dogs2fosteruk@gmail.com in association with A free map lea et for dog owners and walk- ers is produced by the New Forest National Park Authority, who estimates that around 25,000 dog walks take place in the Forest every day. e lea et high- lights the code of prac- tice for dog walking throughout the Forest, with useful information on staying safe, dog friendly places to stay, visit or eat, the impor- tance of keeping dogs under e ective control and emphasising the need to protect wildlife, as well as keeping the Forest clean by picking up a er your dog, bag- ging and putting into a dog or litter bin, or tak- ing it home. Pick up a copy from information points around the Forest or pop into e Herald o ce in Hythe, where you can also pick up a free credit card size card with New Forest Dogs Emergency Hotlines. DOGS WELCOME Review of 2020 - What a Year !! From Testwood Lakes Sailability 2020 has been a very strange year for Testwood Lake Sailability (TLS). We had our rst meeting of the volunteers in mid March to get the dinghies ready for sailing which was quickly followed by the lockdown preventing any sailing. Once lockdown started to be eased in July some of us volunteers met at the lake for a few socially distanced walks and got talking about what we could do. As a result during September and October, taking the advice of the RYA, TLS have been at the lake sailing but only for the volunteer. is has enabled the volunteers to meet up, social distanced of course. It has also enabled the skippers to gain experience sailing our dinghy tted with electronic controls tted in March but not used. Another gain for TLS is that we have a few more volunteers who have become competent sailors, who will in the future be able to take people sailing when we get back to normal. During this period the TEALS group have been at the lake with TLS. is group have been an integral part of TLS and are both volunteers and sailors. e members of the group have developed skills to help the volunteers and at the same time learning to sail. is time at the lake has been invaluable to them as it has been a little bit of normal a er a very strange time. Debbie, who runs TEALS, has commented that: “After the lockdown of COVID-19 from March till July with our daily routines &activities ceased to then be invited to return to the Lakes has been amazing. The peace of being on the water & in control of the dinghies has helped to give our members the confidence to get back out & about. It’s been invaluable” e one positive that Testwood Lakes Sailability will take from 2020 is that we are ready for next season and all of the volunteers are already looking forward and hoping for a little more normal. We welcome people to call in at the lake on a Monday and ursday during the sailing season to see what we do. If you are thinking of volunteering or sailing nd out more about us on our website or facebook page or contact Eric, details below . To nd out more about sailing or volunteering please go to www. testwoodsailability. co.uk, www.en -gb. f a c e b o o k . c o m / Testwood-sailability or call Eric Blyth 023 8086 7438. The TEAL’s cleaning the safety boat after a day in the water. They and the volunteers enjoy each others company as it made it feel a little more like a normal day at the lake Many UK workers have returned to working from home a er the UK Government pulled its advice on heading back to the o ce, and with winter approaching and bills already set to rise as Brits reach for the thermostat, households could be about to see their outgoings soar. While home working may be the norm for some, many UK workers will be setting up a home o ce as a temporary measure to help curb the spread of Coronavirus. For workers who are usually o ce-based, tax relief is available to help o set some of the cost associated with working from home. Workers can claim £6 per week (that is over the course of a year) to cover additional costs such as rising energy bills. Steve Buckley, Head of Data Science at Loop, says: “A saving of over £300 is not to be sniffed at, and with so many of us setting up a home office, there are potentially millions going unclaimed at the moment. “It’s difficult to show exactly how much more energy you use while working from home, so HMRC allows workers to claim a flat rate of £6 per week. It’s worth looking at the government website or speaking to your employer to find out the easiest way for you to claim.” Martin Lewis, Money Saving Expert Founder, said: “Many firms have closed workplaces and that means across the UK millions of staff are temporarily required to work from home, even if it’s just for part of the week, and therefore are eligible to claim if you’ve had increased costs due to it.” To make a claim visit: www.gov.uk/tax-relief-for- employees/working-at-home Claim your £312 TAX RELIEF for Homeworkers!