SPOTLIGHT Weddings
LOVE UNDER LOCKDOWN
Charity
SLEEP OUT TO HELP OUT The Big Bath Sleep Out will be an at-home event this year. For their biggest annual fundraising event, Bath homeless charity Julian House are calling on families and households across Bath and the local area to spend a night in the garden on 5 March to raise vital funds. “The fact that the Sleep-Out is at home this year provides a stark contrast to the dangers men and women living on the streets must face – especially during this ongoing pandemic,” says Jessica Gay, organiser of the event. “People taking part in the Big Bath Sleep-Out: At Home may be cold and a little wet. However, the next morning people can go indoors, have a warm bath, a cooked breakfast, chat to family and friends about their experience or just catch up on lost sleep. The big difference for people who are forced to sleep rough is that they don’t have that option.” Yes, sleeping out will be different this year, but there’ll be an optional series of live-streamed events on the night so you can still share your sleep out experience. For more: www.bigbathsleepout.co.uk
married lives together any longer, and so with restrictions beginning to tighten and weddings becoming smaller and smaller, we decided to push back our big plans to 2021 and have a small ceremony in a place that was meaningful for us both – Bath! “When I realised that my parents and sister wouldn’t be able to make the wedding I was devastated. It was really my only non-negotiable amongst all of the unknowns and instability. However, for us, the main thing had always been about starting our married lives together, and so with my parents’ encouragement and absolutely all of the stars aligning for us, we were able to marry!” For more: www.teambath.com/netball
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Wrap up warm and spend a night in the garden to support Julian House
Team Bath Hall of Fame star Stacey Francis wed her wife and fellow netballer Sara Bayman in a magical ceremony just three days before Tier 3 restrictions began. “We were originally meant to marry in West Sussex at a family property on 24 October 2020. Due to the pandemic, we pushed our day back as my netball season in Australia was delayed and I was not expected to return in time,” Stacey explains. “Given how much of our lives are spent apart – I’m a professional netballer in Perth, Australia for the West Coast Fever, whilst Sara is director of netball at Loughborough University – we didn’t want to delay starting our
A beautiful story with a happy ever after
Walking
ESCAPE TO THE COUNTRY
Why not use lockdown to start exploring the local countryside?
Just before Christmas, The Bathscape Landscape partnership conducted a survey of 100 local people to get an idea of how the pandemic has influenced our relationship to the countryside. Unsurprisingly, they found respondents revelling in time spent out of doors, with 80 per cent admitting restrictions had them getting out into the country more than they were previously, and around 90 per cent visiting once a week. Mental health as well as exercise was mentioned often as a factor driving people out to explore, the tranquility of nature a decent salve to an anxious mind. If you’re looking for inspiration for your explorations, Bathscape offers a multitude of trail guides and an interactive map that highlights some well-loved local beauty spots. For more: www.bathscape.co.uk
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