Belper's mass moo returns for second lockdown

A town's mass moo to bring positivity and fight boredom during the first lockdown has made a comeback.

For 83 days from March, hundreds of residents in Belper, Derbyshire gathered on doorsteps and leant out windows at 18:30 for a two-minute moo.

For the next four weeks, bellow organiser, Jasper Ward said they had vowed to return.

He said it would "give people something to look forward to in these long dark nights".

The chorus which became known as The Belper Moo ended on June 14, the night before non-essential shops reopened in England.

"Back then it was all very novel, the sun was shining and the togetherness was very intoxicating," said Mr Ward.

"We were all cheering Captain Tom and applauding the NHS, but eight months on everyone's stamina has been really tested and we are all a bit worn out with it, but it's defiance in the face of that overbearing gloom."

The original concept of the moo was to have fun and be silly but Mr Ward said it had brought the town together.

"It's good fun to be moo-ing again but I really wished we weren't," he added.

"Once the weather really turns there is every chance that some people behind closed doors won't interact with another person that day or step out the house, so if nothing else, it gives them a reason to open a window and let off some steam or connect with a neighbour for a few seconds."

Belper, which also boasts a quirky Mr Potato Head statue, even saw people in Australia, Japan and the US joining them with the moo.

Mr Ward said: "You can't see people but last night a man who lives opposite came out. I recognised his moo through the darkness."

Back in April, resident Isabel Kennedy said the moo had become "the highlight of my day."

"It brought our little four house, Quarry Road comoo-nity together in a way that sustained beyond lockdown and is tighter than ever now."

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