STRICT MEASURES TO SLOW SPREAD
Last night, the Prime Minister and the First Minister put strict measures in place to enforce social distancing and to help slow the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19). As a result all shops and businesses have been told to close with immediate effect.
All social events have been cancelled (except funerals) and only key workers who cannot work from home are permitted to travel to and from work. These rules will be reviewed again in 3 weeks, but for now everyone is told to stay at home and only to leave home to shop for essentials such as food and medication, to drive to and from work, if absolutely necessary, and to limit exercise out with the house to once a day. Only two people from different households or those living in the same household are able to go out together and they must also stay 2m apart. These strict rules will be enforced by the police if necessary, but it is hoped that everyone will act responsibly and stay at home to save lives.
What does this mean for The Crichton?
All of our venues have already been closed as a precautionary measure to protect our people and all of our events have already been cancelled or postponed until the end of June.
From today, our staff must stay at home, and where possible are required to work from home, albeit with a certain degree of flexibility to look after those around them. All employees should speak directly to their line manager regarding their own personal circumstances and concerns. We will stay in contact with our colleagues and we are currently exploring ways in which colleagues can remain engaged in the work of the Trust and/or in supporting frontline services during this crisis.
Easterbrook Hall, Fresco Cafe and Easterbrook Bistro, Bar & Spa are all now closed for business.
Event organisers who are having to reschedule events or who are planning events for later in the year can still contact our events team. In the first instance and to allow our team time to adjust to homeworking and to deal with a number of enquiries, please email: events@crichton.co.uk. If urgent please call 01387 702020 and we will do our best to respond as quickly as we can.
Spa members will be credited for any weeks they lose as a result of the closure, so please do not amend your payments.
We are very grateful to our tenants, for understanding the importance of continuing to pay their rent during this crisis. As a charity, we rely heavily on our rental income. We understand how difficult this is for everyone, so we will continue to liaise with tenants and be as flexible and supportive as we can, but we urge tenants to seek any financial support that is available to them directly to enable them to continue to pay their rent where possible. Tenants should continue to direct any queries or concerns they have to Gordon Clark in the usual way.
The grounds and gardens will remain open and are still free and accessible to the public, although social-distancing is essential, so we insist that these new rules are followed in order to respect others and save lives. Given that we have sent our gardeners home, we apologise that over the coming weeks our grounds and gardens will not be maintained to their usual high standard, but we will address this as soon as it is safe to do so. Our team must come first.
Once again, we acknowledge the support and understanding of our colleagues, customers, tenants, partners and suppliers and we send our very best wishes to you all.
#StayHome #SaveLives #TheCrichton
23RD MARCH 2020
The advice is clear, we all must stay at home as much as possible to help save lives and we are doing our best to encourage this.
Most of our venues are already closed and many of our colleagues are already working from home on a flexible basis.
As we continue our efforts to reduce social contact, we are taking further steps to encourage everyone to comply with the current advice regarding social-distancing.
We will therefore offer a limited take-away service from Easterbrook Bistro from 11am-3pm today, but thereafter, Easterbrook Bistro will be closed until further notice.
Please do your bit to help save lives and stay at home. If you have to go out, please keep your distance.
Sending our best wishes to all our colleagues, customers, partners, tenants and suppliers and of course to all those key workers who are working hard to save lives and maintain essential services.
21ST MARCH 2020
IMPORTANT CUSTOMER NOTICE
It has been a challenging week for everyone, but thank you to colleagues, customers, tenants, partners and suppliers for their patience and understanding while we have had to made difficult decisions and changes to our operational arrangements this week.
CURRENT STATUS:
The Crichton Grounds and Gardens are still free and accessible to the public and we encourage you to enjoy some fresh air and exercise and make the most of our outdoor space. Please keep a safe distance from others.
Crichton parkrun is cancelled until further notice, but this does not stop anyone enjoying the grounds as long as they take on board the current social-distancing advice.
Fresco Cafe is closed until further notice.
Easterbrook Bistro is only operating a limited take-away service during the week from 11am-3pm. This is being reviewed on a daily basis.
The swimming pool and spa at Easterbrook Bistro are closed until further notice. Our team are liaising with spa members to advise them of this and to discuss their memberships.
Neuro’s Spa and Beauty has also now closed as a result of the latest advice. Please refer to their page for the latest advice regarding treatments, gifts and gift vouchers.
Easterbrook Bistro is closed for business over this weekend.
Easterbrook Hall is also closed until further notice. Our team are available during office hours to help reschedule/plan future events 01387 702020 or events@crichton.co.uk
It has been a quiet place this week as we have seen a significant reduction in customers, visitors, colleagues, businesses, students and partners on site, but we must put our health and wellbeing first and do what we can to help limit the spread of coronavirus and reduce the pressure on the NHS and other front line services as much as possible.
We send our best wishes to each and every one of you. Take care and look out for each other.
19TH MARCH 2020
EASTERBROOK BISTRO is providing a take-away service from 11am-3pm on Thursday and Friday this week and opening times will be reviewed after that. An on-site delivery service is also available. Call to pre-order 01387 702500.
SWIMMING POOL AND SPA The swimming pool and spa at Easterbrook Bistro is open to members until 2pm today (Thursday) and will be closed from 2pm until further notice.
BEAUTY TREATMENTS – please contact Neuro’s Spa and Beauty directly and we will update you here when we are aware if any changes.
FRESCO CAFE remains closed at this time.
All events at EASTERBROOK HALL have been postponed until the end of May, but the team are available to support event organisers reschedule or plan future events. Tel: 01387 702020 or Email: events@crichton.co.uk
We will keep you posted of any future developments, but thank you for your patience at this time.
17TH MARCH 2020
13TH MARCH 2020
- The Crichton Foundation has decided to postpone their Crichton Conversation with Professor Dame Anne Glover FRS PRSE which was scheduled to take place on 17th March at Easterbrook Hall.
- The University of Glasgow has decided to cancel their University Chapel Choir Spring Recital which was due to take place in the Crichton Memorial Church on Sunday 24th May.
- Absolute Classics has decided to postpone the concert due to take place at Easterbrook Hall on Thursday 19 March by Tabea Debus and Alex McCartney. In a statement they said:
“Absolute Classics has decided to cancel the forthcoming series of four concerts between Thursday 19 and Sunday 22 March by Tabea Debüs, recorder and Alex McCartney, lute. This is in light of the current coronavirus crisis and the fact that we do not want to put our audience members at unnecessary risk. Any pre-booked tickets will be refunded. We hope to engage Tabea and Alex to perform in Dumfries & Galloway in the near future once the situation is more stable.”
12TH MARCH 2020
The Crichton Trust continues to closely monitor the fast-developing advice with regards to its response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and the associated health risk to staff, visitors and tenants at The Crichton. Additional measures have been put in place across the estate to reduce infection risk including a targeting and upgrading of cleaning routines in all Trust properties.
Events and conferences are being reviewed on a daily basis, against emerging advice. The Crichton Trust, with partners, continue to take a measured view of risk based on the demographic of expected attendees and their likely geographic reach.
- As a result, it is with regret that The Crichton Trust and The Crichton Foundation have today agreed to postpone The Crichton Foundation’s Women of Dumfries and Galloway Lunch, due to take place on Friday 13 March at Easterbrook Hall. The event attracts over 230 people and considering the customer profile and the associated risks, the Trust has concluded that a postponement of this event is necessary as a precautionary measure to protect all those who planned to attend.
Gwilym Gibbons, Chief Executive, The Crichton Trust said: “It is with great regret that we have had to take this precautionary action to postpone The Crichton Foundation’s Women of Dumfries and Galloway Lunch. The Lunch is an important annual event and is thoroughly enjoyed by the hundreds of people who attend, so we look forward to hosting this event later in the year. Given the profile of those who attend the event and the heightened risk to individual attendees, I have concluded that we have no choice but to postpone at this time to ensure the safety of everyone involved”.
- The Crichton Trust and The Open University have also made the decision to postpone the Age-friendly themed workshops that were due to take place at Easterbrook Hall next week.
