The fabulous weather prompted many people to take the plunge and step outside to support the Eat Out to Help Out scheme in August.

Encouraged by the increased footfall and the great holiday vibe the promotion created, some of our local restaurants have decided to carry on with a customized version of Eat Out to Help Out to keep the social activity going during September.

So far, Pasta Remoli, Rangrez, and Franco Manca are extending the offer, and others are joining them with fun promotions! Keep your eyes peeled on Instagram, which seems to be the advertising channel of choice, closely followed by the Make It Ealing offers page.

If you need track & Trace software, download free evePass here.

Samantha's work covering four large windows illustrates Selfridges #ProjectEarth messaging, Lets Change The Way We Shop, support Sustainable Shopping and Sow The Seeds Of Change. All the creations including a two-metre-long scaled model of the Selfridges department store, a detailed small lemon tree, 200 makeup bottles and many large yellow dustbins originated from sheets of recycled, and FSC certified paper stocks. Everything painstakingly put together in a tiny office in Saunders House on The Mall, Ealing. Find out more about #ProjectEarth here. 

The Guardian Newspaper has printed some research from the Oxford COVID-19 Impact Monitor showing how footfall on high streets has struggled to return to pre-lockdown levels, with visitors to inner-city areas down by half at the start of August. Tourists have helped boost footfall in some seaside towns recently, but these areas are still facing shop closures.

Ealing was part of the benchmark model against St Ives, Kendal, Sale and Spinningfields. As data takes a while to compile it is always a couple of weeks behind. However, the retail side of Ealing is recovering well. Read the article here.  

The ONS (Office of National Statistics) has launched two new sets of statistics better to understand business dynamism in the UK and to track the impact of the pandemic on the longer-term health of the economy.

In collaboration with Companies House, they have begun publishing weekly indicators of company creations and closures in the 'Faster Indicators' publication.

They are also publishing new quarterly estimates of business creations and closures from the Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR), which captures all businesses registered for VAT or PAYE, up to the end of June.

ONS has also introduced a monthly digest of the latest data here

The Government has updated advice on where people should wear their face masks, and it covers most areas outside the home. It is challenging to enforce, but more and more shops are requesting people wear face masks, and people are in the main compliant.

However, there are a few anti-mask protesters in the area, and they have been quite aggressive and rude to shop staff who have insisted on a no-mask no-entry rule. The BID office would be keen to know if these are isolated incidents, or are other shops experiencing an aggressive response if they ask customers to wear a facemask?

Please don't stop logging on to book your First Mile collections, as advised, as the First Mile drivers will not pick up your recycling if you are not on the pick-up list.

Also please note that if you order recycling bags and tape through the First Mile portal, you will be billed for them at the Make It Ealing price of £27 per roll. (£1.08 per bag /sticker). The next Make It Ealing free allocation will be delivered at the end of September.

If you need to register for collections, head to the portal, fill in your email address and click 'email me a link to log in'.

Track and Trace usage is increasing every day, find out what you have to do if Track & Trace contacts you.

If you have any queries, please contact Gerry by email or call 07943 720227