MY neighbours have organised themselves to make two amazing contributions during the lockdown: they have brought smiles to the tired faces of hospital staff and they have raised more than £500 to put supplies on the shelves at the Colchester Foodbank.

I have lived in the same road for 35 years but never known the neighbours as well as I do now.

Who would have thought that could happen in a time of self-isolation, shielding and social distancing?

Apart from Thursday night’s clapping for the NHS and Tea at the Front to mark VE day we have seen very little of each other in the flesh.

I think the Neighbourhood WhatsApp Group must take much of the credit.

It has spread the word, co-ordinated efforts and helped us feel connected.

It has enabled us to support one another better and do something to make a difference to the lives of others, in this case our health workers and those who need the food bank.

Every Monday and Thursday my car boot fills with cupcakes, brownies and other treats for the hospital staff.

They go to the junior doctors’ mess, the intensive treatment unit, Accident and Emergency and the main office.

Some go to the tray at the back of the Chapel, always stocked as a gesture of welcome to anyone going there to find stillness and quiet.

For some years there has been an internet support group for young doctors called Tea and Empathy.

We felt the addition of cake might make it even more attractive to share a real cuppa and a chat with a colleague.

These are times to support one another through long tough days, scarred by the sadness of seeing patients dying without their families able to say goodbye, of being exhausted physically and mentally and anxious about one’s own family.

A shared tea break is the opportunity to ask for help if you aren’t coping, or find the right words to comfort a colleague who is feeling alone with their fears.

Along with the cakes there has been colourful, witty artwork made by children and the children of essential workers being schooled nearby - rainbows, messages, sweet little jokes.

When Maria, living in our road, started her plant stall in aid of the Foodbank she broadcast the word instantly at the touch of the WhatsApp send button.

Since then her front garden has been visited by a steady stream of socially distanced gardeners selecting their plants and paying either by donation or with food items suitable for the Foodbank.

Her stock is constantly replenished by donated plants from other gardeners.

Through the Lockdown, though a seismic shock for our society, I have realised that a WhatsApp group acts as a speeded up version of word of mouth and has proved of immense value in a time of emergency.

Other neighbourhoods have experienced the same but if your neighbourhood doesn’t have one I would recommend trying it - we are stronger together and all that.

Some people point out drawbacks and think the phone will fill with trivia and gossip, but then belonging is a matter of choice.

I have seen the benefit for problems as diverse as returning stray dogs, rescuing a cat off a roof, and recycling goods.

One neighbour provides a book bank and recently the group acted as a Neighbourhood Watch following shed breakins and sleuths even set up video cameras.

Since the lockdown confined us to our homes and immediate surroundings we have experienced a fresh appreciation of the natural world and the beauty around us - birdsong, greenery, clear skies.

But as the restrictions relax and we heave a sigh of relief we also hear the unwelcome traffic noise building up again.

How timely that our WhatsApp group has struck a blow for our shared environment by spreading the news of an application to turn a small grassy area of churchyard into car parking spaces.

Views were gathered and as a result the new plan proposes no cars but parking for ten bicycles.

Here’s a neat example of our community acting together to protect what we care about, literally at grass roots level.

Covid has shown us it is even more important to us than before, a painful way to learn we must protect it but a valuable lesson to take forward.