We are delighted to announce that from Monday 17th August, Holker Gardens will once again be open!

Available on our website, tickets are timed (计时) on arrival to ensure everyone can enjoy the wonders of our gardens while maintaining proper self-distancing measures. The time item tells you when to enter the gardens. Please book them in advance.

The gardens will present themselves in a most unusual and unique condition due to a number of factors including the hot weather over recent months and the focus by our team to preserve and protect our national treasures.

Alongside our gardens there will be a simple take-away service available from our cafe offering hot & cold drinks, our famous home-made scones, a selection of tray bakes and freshly made sandwiches. Everything will be served in bio-degradable (可降解的) disposables so you can enjoy what we offer right across the grounds.

We are taking every precaution (预防措施) to ensure both the safety of you and of our staff.

Before we open the gates we will have:

• Deep cleaned each open area

• Clearly placed distancing markers around where needed

• Fixed hand washing and/or hand sanitizer stations (洗手液台) around the site

• Provided our staff members with the appropriate PPE (个人防护装备)

• Timed tickets on our website

• Moved to contactless/card payments only

In return, we need some support from you:

• Please stick to the 2 metre social distancing guidance throughout your visit

• Wash your hands for at least 20 seconds after using the facilities (设备)

• Make use of the hand wash and hand sanitizer stations across the site

When Joy Warren’s husband of 50 years passed away, her confidence took a knock. Meeting new people and joining in again socially was a frightening thought. Fortunately, just doors away were friendly neighbours Janet and Michael Porter, who knocked on her door and invited her to join them at a local friendship group event.

And it all started from there, explained Joy, 75, “I’ve never been the type to sit still, so despite the fact that I was still sad for Graham, I knew I had to get out and socialise again, but it was difficult to know where to start. That knock on the door was the encouragement I needed.”

From that first neighbourly invitation, Janet and Michael have been there for Joy, inviting her along to take part in regular Oddfellows social events.

She continued, “They made sure I was never alone for too long, and if I didn’t fancy coming with them, there was never any pressure, just a gentle reminder that they were always there. I joined them at all sorts of group meetings and events, from visiting the local dogs’ home to having a catch up at the monthly coffee morning. I signed up to the Oddfellows as a result of the wonderful new friends I made there.”

Joy also found that after losing her husband, she was alone in making decisions about her home and finances, often struggling with what needed to be done.

She added, “Graham used to take care of all that, so it’s been tough for me to figure out what the right thing to do is sometimes. The Oddfellows was a huge help with this as they have a Citizen’s Advice Line for members, which has got me through some complicated times.”

Adolescent girls seem to use eye rolls as a means of daily communication. Adults on the receiving end often think it a rude manner. Actually, the meanings behind the manner tell us a lot about what it’s like to be a teenager.

Adolescents usually hate being told what to do, and will unconsciously resist even suggestions with which they agree. Imagine a girl who is planning to put on her warmest coat when her well-meaning mother urges her to bundle up. Not a cell in her body is willing to respond with a sincere “Great idea, Mom! I was just thinking the same thing.” But the girl still wants to be warm. With an eye roll the girl advertises her resistance while doing as she intended all along.

Since teenage girls desire independence strongly, taking orders can be especially annoying for them. So how should Mary respond when her parents say she can’t go out until she unloads the dishwasher? She sees no point in fighting back, but still wants to broadcast her objection. Again, by rolling her eyes while putting away the plates, Mary proves that she’s an independent young woman.

Girls also roll their eyes to cover their sorrow. Anna, who is hurting over a fight with a friend, might shoot a skyward look when her dad asks gently, “How’s Julia? She hasn’t come over for a while?” What seems to be a rude behavior might actually be the girl’s brave attempt to hold herself together. Unwilling to rely on her parents for support, Anna turns her dad away with an eye roll to avoid bursting into tears in his presence.

Of course, girls occasionally use eye-rolling as an immature act of aggression. But more often than not, teenage eye-rolling serves as an efficient solution to the typical challenges adolescents face. And it presents adults with a choice: you can take the. behavior personally, or you can try to see things from their perspective.

Internet has been a powerful force fueling economic growth across Europe, North America and Asia over the past several decades. Further globalization will bring far more profits in the future. To help those countries in poverty and expand trade worldwide to benefit all the mankind, Africa is the next frontier（地区）for the internet.

Digital reforms have taken off quickly in Africa, partly because the younger generation is more ready for adoption of new technologies. Compared to aging populations in developed countries, the average age in Africa is 19.2 years old. While less than half the population has access to electricity, two-fifths own a mobile phone.

With the growing demand for being connected, a number of mobile carriers are now seeking to expand network coverage in Africa. Governments of African countries are also pushing for the network construction as they recognize that communications and renewable energy play an important role in the development of their countries.

In recent years, the majority of the investment（投资）into Africa has come from China. Direct investment from China has grown 40% annually over the past decade, far more than investment from other economic partners, including the US. Huawei, ZTE and China Telecom have all entered the field. Huawei recently announced that it was launching a 5G transport network in South Africa, the first company to expand 5G network in this area. Meanwhile, Western governments are planning to do more to invest in Africa to maintain their economic relationships with it. That has received support from many tech giants like Facebook, which recently announced plans to lay a 37,000 kilometers of subsea cable network to build a direct high-speed internet connection between 16 countries in Africa with Europe and the Middle East.

Expanding network connectivity across Africa will open up digital services that many of us take for granted, like mobile banking, e-education and online shopping. Because the global economy is so closely linked, the increase in internet access will not only power economic growth and create new markets in Africa, but encourage development in other fields and around the world.