‘It’s like Covid II’: Canterbury’s student hangouts left empty by meningitis scare

At The Cricketers pub in the centre of Canterbury, staff had been geared up for lively St Patrick’s Day celebrations. The pub’s “Paddy shots” were on offer: two for £7. Irish music played in the background. But, on Tuesday lunchtime, there were few revellers.“Normally, as soon as the doors open on St Patrick’s Day, we’re full,” said the manager, Ash Bolonghe, casting his arm around the near-empty pub, with only a handful of matinee theatre-goers sitting by the window for a pre-performance snack

Meningitis B: what are the symptoms, how is it spread and is there a vaccine?

Health officials have confirmed that meningitis B is the strain identified in some of the cases in Kent, in an outbreak that has killed two young people and left 15 others seriously ill.Meningitis is an infection of the protective lining of the brain and spinal cord. It is caused by different bacteria and viruses. Meningitis B, known as MenB, is the most common form of invasive meningococcal disease. It is caused by the Neisseria meningitidis bacteria, also known as the meningococcus

Sally Berry obituary

My friend and former colleague, Sally Berry, was a psychotherapist who spent many years engaged in two pioneering projects in London – at the Arbours Association, where she lived and worked with people with emotional difficulties, and at the Women’s Therapy Centre, where she provided counselling to women experiencing struggles in their personal lives.Sally, who has died aged 85, began living and working at the Arbours Association in one of their homes in Crouch End, north London, in 1971, and eventually headed up one of the Arbours houses elsewhere in London while also serving as chair of its training committee, which oversaw the mentoring of therapists and residents alike.In 1976 she also joined the Women’s Therapy Centre, where I was a co-founder with Luise Eichenbaum, as a one-day-a-week psychotherapist, juggling that role with her continued presence at the Arbours community and becoming the centre’s part-time clinical director in the late 1980s. The Women’s Therapy Centre closed in 2005 and she retired from the Arbours Association in 2018, after which she ran her own small private practice until 2021.Born in Oklahoma City in the US, Sally was the daughter of Alma (nee Payne) and Max Berry, a broker for a grocery store

Kent meningitis outbreak: a timeline of the health authorities’ response

Two young people have died in an outbreak of meningitis in Kent as private supplies of vaccines run out. Here’s what we know about how the disease spread and what the authorities did to tackle it.All the cases of the meningitis outbreak are linked to those who attended the Club Chemistry nightclub in Canterbury, Kent, on 5, 6 or 7 March. The club has since closed voluntarily. Anyone who attended the club on these dates or who believes they were in close contact with someone who was, has been urged to take up the offer of antibiotics

I help people with psychosis off the streets. Sometimes, their minds won’t let them leave

The apartment came up on the city’s alert system: a studio on a leafy street, one block from Prospect Park in Brooklyn.The location is extremely desirable – it would be a score for any single person hunting for their first New York rental, let alone someone who had spent years in the shelter system.But Diane, my client, rejects it outright.“As I’ve told you,” she says, “the prophecy apartment is on 40th and Amsterdam.”I remind her again that the intersection of 40th Street and Amsterdam Avenue does not exist in New York City

Tell us: how is the meningitis outbreak in Canterbury being handled?

A meningitis outbreak in Kent has been linked to a strain that most young people are not routinely vaccinated against, with two people confirmed to have died and 11 more in hospital. Health officials have offered antibiotics to those at risk, as authorities work to contain the spread.We want to hear from people living in Canterbury and the surrounding area whether the outbreak is being well managed by the authorities.How is it affecting you and your community? How has the response from the university, schools and health authorities been handled? How are people around you feeling, and what support is available? Have you or someone you know been affected?You can share your responses with us in the form below or by messaging us. We will contact you first before we use your submission