A dancing dinosaur and community heroes: Here are 10 Banburyshire stories from 2020 that will make you smile
Yes, 2020 has been a terrible year, but there is still room for hope.
By Matt Elofson
Published 29th Dec 2020, 18:43 BST
Updated 29th Dec 2020, 18:50 BST
Every year we put together a review of the year for the Banbury area. Admittedly things have been a bit different for most people in 2020. So we thought it was best to reflect on the things that have made us smile.
Here's to a happy 2021!
9. Banbury takeaway business delivers 300 fresh meals to key workers and vulnerable people in community
This year has seen a number of local business owners step up as heroes in the community, and Adam Ahmed and his team at the Banbury Spicy Kebabish takeaway are no exception. The takeaway business cooked and delivered 300 fresh free meals to key workers and vulnerable people during the pandemic in late March. Employees from the Banbury Spicy Kebabish restaurant and takeaway volunteered to deliver the fresh meals to NHS workers at Horton General Hospital, to the Banbury Police Station, to the Banbury Fire Station and to a care home in town. The hot fresh meals included vegetable rice with lentils and vegetable samosas. Adam Ahmed said: "While we have the time we thought we'd show our support for some key workers like the NHS, fire and police. This is our way of giving back and showing our appreciation to the nation's heroes. It's just to show our support for everyone on the front lines because at the end of the day they are risking their lives for us." The Spicy Kebabish was not the only local takeaway to help
10. Chipping Norton girl left amazed with response from Prime Minister in her appeal to introduce clear face masks across country
Emma Church, who is deaf and lives in Chipping Norton, sent a homemade see-through face mask to Prime Minister Boris Johnson, together with a letter asking him to introduce clear face masks across the country. The vast majority of face masks currently make lip-reading and the understanding of facial expressions much more difficult, leaving deaf people struggling to understand what is being said to them. Emma’s mum, Liz Church, said the following about getting a response from the Prime Minister: "When she opened the letter, the first words out of her mouth were 'Wow!' We read the letter together and there were tears in my eyes when I read, ‘Your attitude is brilliant and your hearing loss neither defines you nor will prevent you from achieving whatever you want in life.’"
(Photo: Chipping Norton, teenager Emma Church, holds the letter she received on behalf of the Prime Minister)