Let’s support local during lockdown

Enjoy a roast dinner, chicken curry, healthy lasagne or more... delivered to your door contactlessly by Top Nosh Queen of Catering. Check out their Facebook page for more details.

Try Haselden's on Slag Lane, Lowton, for all your fresh meat... you might not ever look back! With full social distancing measures in place to protect customers you can shop safely and enjoy great quality too. As well as meat Haseldens also stocks other essentials including bread and other sundries. Take a look at their Facebook page for more information.

Grange Farm have a range of fresh, locally sourced produce available for sale.  Check their Facebook page for more details.

Morton's Dairies can bring milk and other essentials right to your doorstep. Due to increased demand, they are limiting the number of new customers who can sign up each day, but check their website to see the range of produce they offer and find out if you can sign up.

This Leigh town centre based butchers is currently selling meat packs and offering delivery to Lowton and Golborne. Choose from a family pack, lean pack or OAP pack - and more, available to browse on their Facebook page.

Newton-le-Willows based Tom comes highly recommended on our Facebook page! His delivery slots are limited due to such a high demand, but if you can get a slot booked he is well worth a try. See the Facebook page for more details.

Book a fresh fruit and veg box delivery using this local company on Facebook. If you have a sweet tooth, they're even offering sweet hampers too!

The farm, off Winwick Link Road inbetween Lowton & Newton-Le-Willows has been open throughout the Coronavirus pandemic, providing local people with a chance to pick up fresh produce and other essentials from their farm shop seven days a week, 9am – 5pm.

They completely re-configured their farm shop, closing their cafe and doubling the floor space, creating lots of space for social distancing and safe shopping. They sell everything you would expect from a farm shop including all your essentials – fresh fruit, veg, milk, eggs, butter, bread and meat as well as a large range of dried, frozen and tinned goods and alcohol. They are also selling homemade cakes and quiches.

Read more about Kenyon Hall farm and their plans for the pick-your-own season.

Take some time to contact people in your neighbourhood who might be struggling - whether that's in getting essential food and supplies, or just with loneliness.

A phone call and a chat can make a big difference to someone's day.

The old 'Clap for Carers' is being revived, but this time the idea is to clap for all those who are out working and supporting people during the lockdown - this includes NHS workers and carers, but also teachers, nursery workers, refuse collection workers, social workers, delivery drivers... all those people we rely on for help.

A simple thing. But it will mean a lot.

If your child's teacher has been really supportive, or your postman has been a real lifeline lately... tell them!

Send a quick email, leave them a note, or tell them face to face (from a distance, of course!) It's a simple gesture which will go a very long way.

Ashton Churches Together (ACT) Food Bank are able to help with emergency deliveries of food for families in need.

To get help, you'll need a referral from your GP, Job Centre, Start Well, social worker, health visitor or local minister of religion. Schools can also contact the foodbank to get referral forms for families in need.

If you would like to donate to the ACT Foodbank, there are collection boxes at Asda in Golborne, All Saints Church in Golborne and Haseldens Butchers in Lowton.

Donations can also be dropped off at All Saints Church in Golborne between 10am - 2pm from Monday to Friday. Leave any food outside the presbytery door, ring the bell and it will be collected.

You can also bring donations to the food bank, which is based out of St Thomas’s Church in Ashton town centre. A collection takes place in the car park every Friday morning, and there is a box for donations made at other times.

You can email actfoodbank@gmail.com for more information.

If you look after a family member, friend or neighbour who cannot manage without your support, then you are a carer. The Wigan and Leigh Carers Centre is here to support you  - whatever your age.

The centre is still offering help and advice throughout the lockdown, too.

Call 01942 705959, email info@wlcccarers.com or visit their website www.wlcccarers.com.

Lowton-based Emotional Wellbeing Group are a not-for-profit organisation who are offering free relationship and mental health counselling to people affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

They are offering a weekly online 'drop-in' service and can signpost you to other sources of information and support, too. Read more.

Visit the Emotional Wellbeing Group website for more information and to find self-help tools as well as details of their counselling services.  You can also find them on Facebook.

If you, or a loved one is in need of extra help or care, the care givers from Right at Home North Cheshire and Leigh can make a big difference.

Whether its companionship or round-the-clock care, there's a service to suit everyone. Read more about the care options provided by Right at Home. 

Chalk & Steel Gym is closed during the lockdown, but is offering online training and nutrition packages with head coach Paul Mason.

So if your New Year's resolution was to get in shape, you don't need to put off your plans because of the lockdown.

To find out more, send a WhatsApp message to Coach Paul Mason on 07960 231178,  or search for @chalk_and_steel_gym or @coachpaulmason on Instagram or Facebook.

Tumbles Academy of Gymnastics, based on the Moss Industrial Estate in Lowton, are doing all they can to keep their young gymnastics active during the lockdown.

They have been running online classes to help keep the young people fit and happy - and for those gymnasts who hope to be entering competitions this year, to help keep their standards high!

You can read more about Tumbles Academy of Gymnastics here.

It's too easy to turn to the fridge when lockdown bites and boredom, or anxieties kick in.

Instead, why not enlist the help of Paula Brown and the 1:1 Diet to help you shed the pounds, rather than pile them on.

The 1:1 Diet is a meal replacement plan, which makes cooking and shopping so much easier, too!

Read more about Paula and the 1:1 Diet.

Gemstone Cheer are a local cheerleading troupe. They can’t currently meeting in person to rehearse due to social distancing regulations but are working hard on their routines and fitness from home, instead!

In fact, Gemstone Cheer are continuing to offer all their competition dancers training via online classes – keeping the dancers connected during this difficult time. With the troupe used to seeing each other up to three times per week, they’ve formed very strong friendships – so continuing online has been great for them to keep in touch, too.

You can even join in with Gemstone Cheer!

Gemstone Cheer are also offering all their members and anyone else who wishes to join in, the chance to access a private Facebook group called Gemstone Dance at Home.

The group has daily dance videos, fitness videos, skill drilling videos and even games and competitions to keep participants and their parents busy at home. Anyone who is interested needs to contact Gemstone Cheer and Dance via Facebook.

Jessica Siobhan, who usually runs beginners yoga and legs bums and tums classes at the Broadmead Centre, is offering free exercise & nutrition advice during lockdown.

The personal trainer says she knows how hard it can be to motivate yourself to exercise at thome, but has set out on a mission to help you look after your fitness and wellbeing during this time.  So, for advice or support with exercise or nutrition or even someone to talk to you can get in touch via her Facebook page.

Zumba Feel the Heat classes, which usually take place at Lowton Social Club on Wednesdays, are now taking place on Zoom!

Find out more on their Facebook page.

If your child needs a little extra help with their schoolwork, the Kumon Centre in Lowton is offering online lessons at the moment. Currently, registration is free, saving you £30 per subject per child.

After that, you pay a flat monthly fee of £60 per subject – and for that, your child will receive weekly classes and daily worksheets, all tailored to your child’s individual ability.

For more information, contact Instructor Elizabeth Forrester on 07585 667518, email lowton@kumoncentre.co.uk or visit the centre webpage. You can also follow the centre on Facebook.

Monkey Maths tutoring are offering a free maths club on Zoom for primary children (aged 5 – 11) on Thursdays at 2pm.

Email monkey.maths.tutor@gmail.com to register your child.

They also have helpful videos on their YouTube channel for parents who are struggling to support their children with maths work – you'll also find them on their Instagram account @monkeymaths.