Around town magazine billericay edition february 2015 by Black Square Print Media Limited

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... Around Towners to Billericays’ leading community magazine!

Features

Wrap up warm Around Towners! It seems the cold winter weather has finally arrived and is set to stay for a while yet - although, it won’t be long until the warmer climate reaches us and we’ll be enjoying BBQ’s, beers and fun in the sun. However, before we get lost in thoughts of heat and serenity, February does have some perks. Kids ‘around town’ will be jumping for joy, with the school half term approaching later this month and there’s lots to keep the little tikes busy, as Jo mentions in her article. These events are fun packed and won’t break the bank, which freesup a little extra cash for you to treat that special someone in your life to a takeaway or meal out this Valentines Day. With this and lots more inside, please read on and enjoy the February edition of Around Town Magazine.

12 Martin Lewis The Money Saving Expert

From the Around Town Team

10 The Cook Report Ways To Celebrate February

19 Know Your Tradesmen Ace Vision 21 Nature Notes EWT Volunteer Neil Sumner 27 John Baron MP Political Update 30 Round Table / Rotary Club / Lions Club Organisations ‘Around Town’ 33 A View from the Church Rev. Paul Carr 36 Around Town Sports Focuses on Go Karting 40 What’s On When and Where...

We hand deliver 22,000 copies every month to homes and businesses covering Billericay, Ingatestone, Ramsden & Stock. This includes several thousand copies being available from venues throughout the towns and an online edition. To Advertise

42 Recipe Apricot & Passion Fruit Flan 43 Useful Numbers

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Contact our Sales Team today, details below. Booking deadline for our March edition of Around Town is: Thursday 12th Feb.

Copyright 2014. Around Town Billericay is an independent magazine and does not endorse the products or services that appear in the magazine. Opinions expressed in Around Town do not necessarily represent those of the editors of Around Town Magazines. Around Town Magazines are published by Black Square Print Media Ltd produced by Black Square Litho Ltd.

Around Town Magazines Graphic House, Radford Way, Billericay CM12 0DE

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On the 13th February we will be 20 years old! Come and say hello or have a hair cut. Be part of our celebrations, we would love to see you all there! From all of us at the Billericay Barber Shop.

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Finding Ways To Celebrate February Still in the depths of the cold, bleak winter, with Christmas a forgotten memory, New Years resolutions fallen by the wayside, and Spring seeming a million miles away, a lot of us will be feeling thoroughly fed up. With a lack of public holidays, dark nights, and possibly even some snow bringing civilisation to a standstill, February doesn’t seem to have much cause for celebration. But it doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom. February 14th brings us the Feast of Valentines Day, originally a celebration of one or more Christian saints named Valentine. While, I, like a large proportion of the population, see this as nothing more than an overhyped, over commercialised excuse for greeting card companies and florists to hike their prices and try and flog us trashy gifts in the name of romance, I will be trying to look at it a little differently this year and

heading to one of Essex’s many nightspots for a spot of fun and dancing with my friends. And for those of you out there looking to celebrate with your significant other, they are plenty of local restaurants offering tailored menus to make your evening that little bit more special. See the magazine for further details. Also in February, we have half-term week which begins for the majority of local schools on the 14th February. While the thought of venturing out of doors for some nature based physical activity and education may not seem the most appealing prospect for us grown ups, this half term local wildlife centres have an abundance of activities available for families to participate in, which will inspire creativity and educate them about their natural surroundings. Hanningfield Reservoir Visitor Centre, in Downham Billericay, has a number

of events planned over the week, including a Wetland Birds Workshop, a hedgehog club, suitable for 4 - 8 year olds and a Wildlife Discovery Club, suitable for children ages 8 and up. All activities aim to educate children through interactive games and crafts. Alternatively, Belfairs Wood Centre in Leigh-on-Sea are also holding events during the week, with a Family Funday on the Sunday 15th, and a Tree-mendous Tuesday on the 17th, a drop-off day for 8-13 year olds, with games and activities with an ecofriendly slant. And the fun isn’t just limited to these sites. They are plenty of goings-on in other Essex Wildlife Trust centres too, in and around the local area. Visit www.essexwt.org.uk for further details. So how about heading out ‘around town’ this February and trying to shake off those winter blues? By Around Town Journalist Jo Cook

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Car insurance prices have fallen 40% over the past two years, according to the AA. But with a rise in fraudulent claims, its latest index predicts an increase of up to 8% in 2015; others think 10% is possible. So to help you drive down costs, let me answer your most common questions… Q. Is this only something you can do if you’re at renewal? A. No, everyone should be checking their price right now, even if you only signed up to a new deal a few months ago. Unless you’ve claimed, you can usually cancel a policy for a fee of around £50 and get a refund for the rest of the year (though you won’t earn no claims for that year). It’s worth checking if it’s worth it. Q. My renewal’s only six weeks away, should I just wait? A. It’s likely if you did try and cancel and get a new policy now, the cancellation fee will diminish any savings – so that’s a bit futile. Yet there is another trick – www. aviva.co.uk, www.postoffice.co.uk and www.lv.com quotes last 60 days, so why not grab them now and you’re effectively locking in those prices in case they rise in the meantime. Q. Are the savings that great? Can’t you just auto-renew? A. Never just auto-renew without checking elsewhere, often it just lets insurers smack a price rise on you, as it knows apathy means many will keep paying more and more.

cover the same insurers, so combining a number of sites is the best way to really make a meaningful saving. My current top picks for a typical driver are www. moneysupermarket.com, www.confused. com, and www.comparethemarket.com Check insurers that comparisons miss. Comparison sites let you compare 100s of insurers quickly but they don’t capture the entire market. The biggies, including Aviva, www.directline.com and www. zurich.co.uk only offer their products directly.

― saved £500.” - Tweaking your job description can cut costs. I’m not saying lap dancers should call themselves cabinet ministers (or vice versa, heaven forbid). But these days many people have such specific job descriptions car insurers don’t list them, as Fabsternation tweeted: “Thanks. Changing from creative director to marketing manager saved £300.” See my fun car insurance job picker tool www. mse.me/jobpicker.

More than one car at home? Comparison sites can only cope with one car at once so don’t include multi-car discounts. Therefore you should always manually check those that offer it. The big one is www.admiral.com multi-car, but www. churchill.com, www.directline.com and www.privilege.com also offer it. I’m not saying they’ll win, but that you should check.

- Beware paying monthly. A monthly payment plan for your insurance is essentially a high-interest loan. For example, if your premium is £1,000 but you’re paying an APR of 25%, your insurance will actually cost £1,140 once you factor in the interest. So either pay in full, or if you can’t afford it, use a credit card with a lower APR or better still, a 0% credit card for spending, ensuring your repayments are big enough to clear it within a year.

Difficult to insure? Use a broker. If you’ve difficult circumstances (eg, past bans or big accidents) that make getting insurance difficult, a comparison site is less likely to help as these are mainly focused on ‘normal’ policies. You may be better off finding a local broker - see the British Insurance Brokers’ Association website (www.biba. org.uk), as these can sometimes find a cheaper deal for you.

I’m not saying auto-renewing will never be your cheapest option just that it should never be done without checking and comparing elsewhere first. Q. So it’s just a question of getting on a comparison site? A. That’s the route many use, but there are steps to really kick it up. It’s important to understand that there’s no one cheapest provider, so it’s a case of following a system. Never just do one comparison, you need a benchmark of a few comparisons to find out where’s cheapest. There’s a system to follow fully explained at www.mse.me/ carinsurance. In a nutshell… Combine comparison sites. They don’t all

Q. So it’s all pretty straightforward? A. Ah if only. Common-sense doesn’t always do the job… - Third party’s not always cheapest. Merely selecting comprehensive makes some insurers see you as a lower risk. So always check both. - Adding a responsible second driver can cut your costs. This can bring down your risk average and price ― of course, it must be someone who may drive your car. As Mazzyb5 tweeted: “Took your advice and added mum

Q. And any special tips for young drivers? A. With the average premium for a 17-22-year-old at an eye-watering £1,194 per year, young car drivers can be priced out ― all the techniques above will help, but if you’re not getting there, check ‘pay how you drive’ (telematics) this involves a device being fitted inside your car that monitors your actions behind the wheel. Full info in www.mse.me/youngdrivers.

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This three bedroom property is in fantastic condition with a brand new fitted bathroom, downstairs W/C and stylish kitchen. Throughout the house is decorated in a neutral colour with all new spot lighting which gives a light and airy feel. Upstairs there are three good sized bedrooms and a newly designed and fitted bathroom suite. Over the years the property has also been extended to the rear and the sizeable 6.15m x 4.74m living room/ family room which in turn has patio doors looking onto the rear garden.

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Bill Deane started up Ace Vision almost ten years ago, after deciding to pursue a career in a line of work which he knew and loved, music, cinema and as such, home entertainment systems. Ace Vision offer a wide range of services to customers in

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premises in Noak Hill Road is the ultimate one stop shop for anyone needing assistance with technology repair or installation’.

Bill said ‘We’ve grown the company and the services in line with the products available in the market. We’re unique because we offer our customers the full range of services, be it a full installation of a home entertainment system or a simple screen repair of a smartphone. Our

For Bill, Ace Vision is not just a full time job, it is his passion. ‘Everything I do even in my spare time all comes back to the business. I love keeping up to date with technology and enjoy spending time in my own cinema room and relaxing with a movie’.

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When woken in January by a singing thrush, I pondered why he chose to sing today, when most of winter is still to come. Maybe mild weather and lengthening days told him he could go beyond daily survival and to start to define his territory in readiness for spring. Alas, this thrush territory will soon be no more as the site is marked for three new houses. We are philosophical about it and the developer is sympathetic, promising not to clear vegetation during the breeding season. But nevertheless it will be one less family of these iconic garden songbirds which have been declining steadily in the last few decades. This is the problem - there is no mitigation in the planning system for its loss. The song thrush is one of the â&#x20AC;&#x153;squeezed middleâ&#x20AC;? species. It is not seen as really threatened, as are the Great Crested Newts and Dormice which attract special protection endeavours and funding. Nor is it one of those animals, like the Crows, Woodpigeons, Blue Tits, Foxes and Grey Squirrels, that adapt to our environment without much deliberate help. The squeezed middle species Yellowhammers in the farmland, Hedgehogs, Common Frogs, Toads and many others decline inexorably, reducing variety and causing imbalance in the ecosystem. Leaving the garden for a walk in the countryside, the woods and farmland are quieter than recent winters, as we have fewer visitors due to warmer conditions in the east. A flock of fieldfares on the golf course, some resplendent bright pink bullfinches in a hawthorn next to fishing lakes and a very distant Brown Hare by a field margin gave some interest. As I write now we are at the beginning of a cold spell and the birds respond with almost frantic feeding. Sparrows and starlings, more of the squeezed middle species, are on the fat balls. Suddenly a blue tit gives a loud long trill, a warning, and all the birds dash for cover. I look up at the sparrowhawk as it flaps and glides nonchalantly over the gardens. The hawk powers upwards and soars away, looking for other hunting grounds. First out of the cover is a robin, perched on a cane, its orange breast glowing superbly in the low winter sun. I forget the worries for our wildlife and enjoy that moment, as a child might do, and am grateful for the wildlife we still have and to those who work to retain it. The sparrows have taught us that we cannot be complacent, common species can disappear rapidly from under our noses. We must watch, record, monitor, count. 4 Great Tits, 3 Blue Tits - then a small grey tit with a white patch on its neck snatches a sunflower heart and takes it into a low shrub. A Coal Tit, not seen everyday and it is these little unexpected additions to the regulars that add excitement to the gentle pleasure of watching wildlife.

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KEEP IT LOCAL

For Improved Quality & Convenience Your friendly Essex Ford dealership in Billericay has offered the very best value for money in terms of quality and convenience right on your doorstep since 1997, and now we’ve gone even further by making it possible to just drop in for a service or MOT on any make and any model at a moment’s notice. Essex Ford’s commitment to exceed expectations each and every time – as summed up by our ethos of “Doing it even better for you” – means we place a high value on the loyalty of locals and going the extra mile for customers’ complete satisfaction and trust. Our Billericay dealership sells the whole range of new Ford vehicles and has access to our stock of hundreds of approved used cars of all makes, each sold with our unique used car guarantee. It is also an approved service centre for Ford.

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Ford has been on a roll in recent years and the latest models reflect this. Included in the range are the restyled and technologically-advanced new Ford Focus and All-New Mondeo, plus Britain’s best-selling car of all time – the Ford Fiesta. The Fiesta features the Ford SYNC connectivity system, which lets you control the music, phone calls and text messages using simple voice commands. Additionally, SYNC can even ring the Emergency Services in the event of an accident. The model’s award-winning 1.0-litre EcoBoost petrol engine (with amazing fuel efficiency of up to 65.7 mpg) and exceptional engineering, makes for a truly satisfying driving experience. For further information call 01277 525327, visit EssexFord.com, or just pop in. Essex Ford – Billericay is open six days a week.

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intended for comparisons between vehicles. Therefore these figures may differ from those obtained through real-world efficiency. Retail only. Finance subject to status. Guarantees may be required. Freepost Ford Credit. Subject to availability, contracted between 1 January 2015 and 31 March 2015 and registered between 1 January 2015 and 30 June 2015. Price includes metallic paint. *Payable with the first instalment. **Payable with the Optional Final Payment if you wish to own the vehicle at the end of the agreement. Further charges may be made subject to the condition of the vehicle, if the vehicle is returned at the end of the finance agreement. ‡Deposit Allowance only available when financed with Ford Credit. Essex Auto Group Ltd trading as Essex Ford only offers finance products from Ford Credit. Head Office, Dunton Ford Link, Basildon, Essex, SS15 6GB. †The customer must supply a written quote from any Ford Retailer for verification to price match. The vehicle quoted is brand new and unregistered. The price matching is against a vehicle of identical specification. The vehicle is for registration in the same month as price matched apart from an order for a plate change month. Excludes special factory orders and online purchases. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other published offer from Essex Ford. We reserve the right to refuse to match prices on such orders where it would be uneconomical for us to do so, but would offer free of charge our Smart Reward Card as a gesture of goodwill. Essex Ford reserves the right to suspend or remove this offer without prior notice. ▲Available with Ford Scheduled Services and Ford Motorcraft 4+ Minor and Major Services. ▼In-Dealership quality checks are conducted by the RAC on any service and repair work that has been completed on customer-owned vehicles to ensure that Ford Motor Company’s high standards are met.

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Sudden Cardiac Arrest â&#x20AC;&#x201C; when the heart suddenly loses the ability to pump blood to the brain and around the body â&#x20AC;&#x201C; kills far too many people each year. It can strike with little or no warning, and can affect people regardless of their age or background. An electric shock from a defibrillator is often essential to get the heart going again, and time is of the essence. To improve the chances of surviving such an attack, a network of defibrillators are being installed in public places across the country, often by community groups and local charities. Locations can include

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By John Baron MP train and bus stations, sports stadia and on high streets, allowing life-saving treatment to be applied even before ambulances arrive. In our area, the Billericay Street Pastors have hosted such a project in line with their Community Involvement initiative. Raising money from Burstead Golf Club, Essex Police, One Stop Shop, Hazles Pottery Barn and the Fun Walk Trust, the Street Pastors have

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installed defibrillators outside the Billericay Police Station and in a public phone box in the High Street, in conjunction with the British Heart Foundation and local first responders. I was proud to help launch the project. The defibrillators are prominently mounted, and in an emergency individuals can dial 999 to receive a code enabling them to access the unit. Full instructions are provided, both from the machine and from the 999 operator. Let us hope they are rarely called upon, but our thanks go to the Street Pastors and donors for their work on behalf of our community.

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MAYFLOWER ROTARY CLUB A Happy New Year. Billericay Christmas Market The first meeting of the New Year was a presentation on the results of Christmas Market which in addition to providing a great community event for Billericay [everyone says what a marvellous atmosphere there is] and starting the Christmas Season for the High Street shops, many of whom report BCM as their best trading day of the year, raised £28,000 for charitable causes. The club agreed to run another BCM in 2015 and this will be as usual on the first Sunday in December. Sunday 6th December 2015 and planning has already started. Before that there is a full programme of events, some social, some fund raising, some a bit of both. Key dates are: Jan 31 – Quiz Night – Sold Out Apr 17 – Charter Night – Black Tie Dinner May 9 – Murder Mystery Evening Jul 12 – Summerfest on Sun Corner Sep 6 – Bell Boat Race – get your entry in for this fun event on the River Chelmer Why not join Mayflower Rotary? Applications welcome from all ages and genders. Why not use your energy, skills and enthusiasm to help raise funds for charitable causes? Join Mayflower Rotary and be a part of the team that delivers Christmas Market, Summerfest and many other events like the Quiz, Magic Night and Bell Boat Racing while enjoying social evenings in the company of like minded people. We meet 8pm every Thursday at Burstead GC. Email: andy.hunter@perficiam.com

BILLERICAY LIONS CLUB Hi Folks, welcome to our little corner. We finally managed to count all of our Christmas takings from our Sleigh run and realised that we had taken a grand total of £7921. Many thanks to all of you for your support in the last weeks before Christmas. We were pleased to bring a smile to faces of the youngsters and those older supporters who remember the sleigh when they were much younger; After all we’ve been running this event for over 30 years now and it’s still amazing when somebody, new to the town asks ‘What’s it all about?’ You may all be assured that the money will go into our coffers to be used on local worthy causes in and around the town. I mentioned last month that our Taste Night due in April sold out at the beginning of December. This has taken us very much by surprise as some of our club members cannot get a ticket! If you had planned to go this year to find out what the fuss is all about I can only suggest that you register you interest on our helpline below and we will try to fit you in should there be a late cancellation. So onward and upward! We are already making plans for the 6th Billericay Beer Festival – our newer members are quite bemused by the pace of things in the club, what wit our social evenings, Fellowship Nights and the like, but more of those next time.For details of all Lions events please visit our website www.billericaylions.com or telephone 0845 833 9849.

Do you tend to cocoon yourself and hibernate for the winter months, not really sure what to do with your evenings and weekends? Well, if you’re male, aged between 18 and 45, we might just have the solution – Join Billericay Round Table! We’ve been planning our year ahead and it’s already looking like a fantastic, (occasionally competitive) next few months! Karting over at Rayleigh, and Ten Pin Bowling over at Bas Vegas should separate the men from the boys, and we’ve also got our annual Ladies Night where we get to dress up for once and enjoy an evening shared with our other (better?) halves, as well as a whole host of other events, and no doubt the odd beer or two thrown in for good measure! We’re a bunch of ordinary guys from a variety of backgrounds, and all of us have the same goal, to have some laughs, make a few friends for life, and do some good for our local community, all happy to muck in when we get called on to help out at local events, and having a cracking time to boot! As well as the social aspect of Round Table, we’re very proud of the fact that our fundraising efforts really do make a difference to the people of Billericay and the surrounding area. We’re hoping to have some exciting news regarding some fairly substantial donations that we hope to be able to make in the coming months, so watch this space for more news! If you’d like to find out more, email us at membership@billericayroundtable.co.uk and we’ll let you know when our next meeting is. We’d love to meet you and welcome you in to what we think is the best club you could be part of – so what are you waiting for Be Part Of It!

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Love Is In The Air As Valentine’s Day approaches love, as the song goes: ‘is in the air’. But have you ever wondered what it is that sparks a relationship into life? Ed Sheeran contemplates this in ‘Thinking Out Loud’ when he sings: “I’m thinking ‘bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways.” What was the magic or secret ingredient for you? We live in a culture that would respond to that question in two ways. One answer would be that good relationships happen by luck, fate or by some arrangement of the stars! Another answer would be that finding someone to love is all about technique. We see this in women’s and men’s magazines that teach us how to persuade, captivate, even seduce, someone by dressing in the right way or by speaking the right kind of ‘lurve’ language. Love is a word that is always on people’s lips: there are more songs sung about it, poems written about it, and escapist books romanticising about it than any other subject in the world apart from Jesus, that is. Most psychologists agree that the greatest need of men and women is to love and be loved. A recent BBC survey confirms this when it found that 78% of people would rather be loved than have money in the bank! There are several meanings of ‘love’ and I often wonder if we use the word too easily, after all, love for a place, a love of music, love for one’s children, and love for one’s partner are all quite different.

We get a glimpse the true meaning of love in our Valentine Day celebrations when we look at its origins. Valentine was a thirdcentury priest who disagreed with the Roman Emperor Claudius II’s ban on marriage and continued to marry young lovers in secret. When Valentine was found out, he was executed on the 14th of February 270 AD. Valentine ‘the friend of lovers’ was canonised as a Saint because he sacrificed his life for the happiness of others. In celebrating Valentine’s Day it is worth recognising that love is both sacrificial and costly. Whilst that can be beautifully reflected in a romantic relationship, it is often the unseen sacrificial love of a parent to a child, a friend to another friend, a soldier who lays his life down for a colleague, a fire fighter who risks his life to save a life or, for the Christian, in the way Jesus laid down his life for our salvation. As St Augustine wrote: ‘God loves each one of us … as if there were only one of us.’ What an amazing thought! One of the New Testament writers reminds us: ‘We love each other, because he (God) first loved us’ (1 John 4:19). So sacrificial love is born out of an understanding of God’s love for us and, whilst it is wonderful to celebrate the gift of romantic love on 14th February, it is sacrificial love, demonstrated by Jesus and Valentine, that underpins the real meaning of the day. Most people agree that more

love is desperately needed in our world today. But how much more we need God’s sacrificial love in our lives, both on Valentine’s Day and each day before and after - a love that can melt even the hardest of hearts. Becoming a Christian, and receiving the love God has for us, is the beginning of healing in our lives and the start of the most exciting (and loving) relationship we could ever have. Although this may sound much less dramatic or ‘mysterious’ than falling in love it is, in the end, of much greater value and is a much better option than giving your heart to someone who may end up breaking it. With my very best wishes for a truly blessed, and memorable, St Valentine’s Day. Web: www.emmanuel-church.info Email: paul@billericaychurches.org Tweet: @EmmanuelCM12

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Motorsport is sometimes scoffed at by enthusiasts who follow the more curricular sports such as Football, Tennis and Rugby, as a sport that is just as much about the machinery as it is the individual. A point that has and will be debated for years to come. However, there is no doubting that this individual pursuit is not for a person looking for a joyride round a track. Certain attributes are needed to become a top class driver, stamina, precision, skill and relentless concentration. In addition Lewis Hamilton has proved that when you are the best driver in Formula 1, it is certainly given the recognition it deserves, as he is the reigning Sports Personality of the year. It is a wonder how exactly someone realises they are particularly good at driving in order to pursue a dream from a young age. Of course, step one is to enjoy it as a pastime. Whether it be a local go-karting track or a even a fair ground bumper car ride that has set you on the path, but taking the next step to have a go at reaching the elite has always been something that I am fairly uneducated on. However, I have been in contact with a young starlet

locally that has set his eyes on becoming the next British racing car sensation. Luke Hilton is just 7 years old and is making waves in the world of Karting. Luke lives in Rayleigh and attends Thorpe Hall school in Southend and has amazingly been signed up by the Zip Kart racing team. For those who do not know, Zip Kart racing are the same team that signed, Lewis Hamilton, Jenson Button, Jason Plato and David Coulthard and Luke has broken the record of being the youngest ever driver to be signed at age 6, to out this into perspective Hamilton was age 8.

Luke now has his very own crash helmet design which was designed in partnership with Luke Hines the Zip team owner.

I spoke with Lukeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s father, Daniel, and he described how he started â&#x20AC;&#x153;Luke started karting when I took him to the Daytona corporate circuit in Milton Keynes and since passing his

learning he has not looked back. His natural ability has seen him win the Bambino championship races and he has now progressed to racing with 8-13 year olds and has won most of his races, I am so proud of him as he just enjoys racing and is only starting to realise how good he could be. It has all been about having fun, doing what he loves.â&#x20AC;? Luke is now trained by Luke Hines (Touring car driver) at Zip Kart whose father was Martin Hines, a famous world karting champion and founder of Zip Karting. While Luke is destined for great things, if others are looking to enjoy the thrill of karting with friends Rayleigh, Brentwood and Lakeside all have excellent tracks that make for a great day out. Please look online for further details.

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What’s on in February 2015? The Chequers

Monday 2nd February – Acoustic Night Thursday 5th February – ‘Lyra’s Daughter’ Sunday 8th February – ‘Georgia & Mark’ (4pm) Sunday 22nd February – Chinese New Year (4pm) Thursday 26th February – ‘The Delta Jacks’ – YeeeHaaaw!

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Ingredients for 4-6 servings: For the flan 120ml full fat milk 240ml double cream 100g full fat cream cheese 2 free range eggs 8 large moist dried apricots 1 tbsp honey One passion fruit 2 tbsp lemon juice For the roasted pears 2 pears Pinch ground cinnamon Pinch ground ginger 1 tbsp unsalted butter

Ryan Turner, real food and low-carb chef - www.thefoodbible.com

1. Preheat the oven to 300F/150c. 2. Place the milk and dried apricots into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Then remove from the heat and leave to rest for 20 minutes to let the apricots soak up some moisture and become plump. 3. Prepare the passion fruit by scraping out the seeds into a sieve above a bowl, use a metal spoon to scrape the seeds against the sieve to remove as much of the juice as possible, discard the seeds and add the juice to the mixture. 4. Place all of the ingredients for the flan into a blender and blitz on full speed for 2 minutes until all of the ingredients are well combined and smooth, pass this mixture through a sieve into a jug and then use this to fill 4 ramekins (or 6 ramekins if you want smaller portions). 5. Place the ramekins into a large roasting tray and pour in enough hot, but not boiling, water to come halfway up their outsides. (This is called a bain-marie or water bath). 6. Place the bain-marie onto the center shelf of the oven being careful not to spill any water into the ramekins which will ruin the flans (a tip to make life easier is to place the baking dish with the ramekins halfway into the oven before adding the water to the dish). 7. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until the custards are just set but still a bit wobbly in the middle. Remove the ramekins from the water and set aside to cool to room temperature. Chill until needed for at least 3 hours but preferably overnight. 8. When you are ready to serve the flans, prepare the roasted pears. Peel, core and slice the pears and place onto a baking sheet. Sprinkle the pears with the ground ginger and cinnamon and add the butter. Place into a preheated oven at 350F/180c for approximately 20 minutes until the pears are soft and the edges are turning golden brown and caramelized. 9. Spoon the roasted pears on top of the flans and serve.

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