Around Town Magazines Rayleigh September 2014 Edition by Black Square Print Media Limited

“WE’VE GOT YOUR TOWN WRAPPED UP!”

www.aroundtownmagazines.co.uk

If you are looking to give your garden the time and energy it really deserves then please get in contact with us. We are Bay Tree Gardens, a young and dynamic team who can be relied upon to make your Garden space beautiful once again. Our passion is gardening, whether you simply want your garden mowing or a complete overhaul, we will never leave you feeling disappointed. For a no obligation free quote please call Lewis on:

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Adult Community Learning (ACL) Essex ACL are opening a new learning centre above the library in Rayleigh High Street

Lots of exciting courses available including: ★ Art

★ GCSE’s

★ Crafts

★ General Interest including History

★ Cache Support Work in Schools ★ Digital Photography

★ Information Technology/Computing

★ Fitness

★ Languages

★ First Aid and Food Safety

★ Supported Learning ★ And lots more...

Don’t miss out - Call 01702 544900 now to enrol

Come along to our Grand Opening event Saturday 13 September 10 till 3 www.essex.gov.uk/adultlearning twitter.com/aclessex facebook.com/aclessex

BEAUTIFUL DOORS FOR EVERY HOME Wooden Doors Composite Doors Bi-fold Doors French Doors Back Doors Stable Doors House Numbers Integrated Blinds

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... Around Towners to YOUR Rayleigh community magazine! ‘Back to School!’ is the cry for September, by relieved parents and excitable kids, heading out on a new adventure. Whether it be a new class or new School, let’s hope they settle in well. Congratulations to everyone who received GCSE and A-level results over the past month too - we hope you all got the grades you wanted and accepted into the Sixth forms, Colleges and Universities you applied for! Education doesn’t have to stop there though – Around Town’s Jo Cook investigates available opportunities for Adult Community Courses in Essex (P.25) proving it’s never too late to learn something new or refresh what you already know. So dust off those pads and pens and take a seat – class is about to begin.

From the Around Town Team

Features

What Our Customers Say

11 Martin Lewis The Money Saving Expert 14 Mark Francois MP Political Update 17 Know Your Tradesmen Aaron Paving Essex 21 Nature Notes EWT Volunteer Neil Sumner

Why Advertise?

22 A View from the Church Rev. Mike Lodge 25 The Cook Report Back to School 28 Recipe Big Spud

We hand deliver 15,000 copies every month to homes and businesses covering the whole of Rayleigh. This includes several thousand copies available from venues throughout the town and an online edition. To Advertise

30 Lions Club / Rotary Club of Rayleigh Mill Organisations ‘Around Town’ 31 Useful Numbers

“Having advertised with Around Town, I have found it to be one of the most effective forms of advertising, with its vast local coverage, it offers a fantastic ability to reach our target markets. ‘Lewis Hackney’

Contact our details below.

Sales

Team

Booking deadline for our October edition of Around Town is: Friday 19th Sept.

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

01277 658444 www.aroundtownmagazines.co.uk sales@aroundtownmagazines.co.uk

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Overdrafts are a debt like any other, if you don’t manage it, it will spiral out of control. While there are methods to cut the cost, they’re often far less talked about than the common techniques for cutting credit card bills – but are just as important. In a nutshell your aim should be to cut the cost and repay what you owe. Here’s my tips on how… Get paid £100 to take a free overdraft. There are two big players who offer decent deals for those with overdrafts who switch account. Though you’ll need to pass their credit score. Move to www.firstdirect.com, which is the no. 1 rated bank for customer service (92% of my web users rated it ‘great’) and you get an ongoing £250 overdraft. Crucially it also gives you £100 sign up bonus, which you should put straight towards your debt. To get it you’ll need to pay in your salary or income, which must be at least £1,000 a month. Shift your overdraft to a 31 month 0% card. While you may have heard of credit card debt shifting deals called balance transfers, a few cards also offer a ‘money transfer’ where it simply pays cash into your bank account, so you can then pay off your overdraft, meaning you then owe it instead. This is a good option if you’ve a bigger overdraft and will need more than a year to repay it. My top pick card right now is www.mbna.co.uk, which lets accepted customers do it at 0% for 31 months for a one-off 4% fee (it’s just 2.88% for normal balance transfers). However, it’s credit score dependent, so use the www.mse.me/eligibility tool which will show you which money transfer cards you’ve the best chance of getting. If you are doing a money transfer do follow these golden rules: a) Don’t assume all cards do this, most charge a fortune. b) Always repay the monthly minimum or you’ll lose the 0% deal. c) Plan to clear by the end of the 0% period or it jumps to the full rate - with

MBNA that’s 22.9% rep APR. d) If you’re unsure of what you’re doing use the step-by-step help in www.mse. me/moneytransfers.

income. Do ensure you can make monthly repayments to clear the card before the 0% ends though or the rate jumps to 34.9% representative APR.

Organise incoming cash and move it into bill pots at the start of the month so you’re not tempted to spend unnecessarily, it’s called piggybanking. Use this technique to make payments - eg, £100 a month - to your overdraft, treating it like any other bill. Use my free automated budget planner to help at www.budgetbrain.com.

“I got £1,560 in unfair bank charges back.” If you have an overdraft the nightmare scenario is exceeding your limits and getting stung with bank charges – these transaction fees can be £6 per day or up to £25 per transaction. Get it wrong and they can add up to £100s or £1,000s a year. Do everything you can to avoid them and communicate with the bank if there’s no solution. However, if you are or have been hit, do remember reports of the death of unfair bank charges reclaiming have been exaggerated. Admittedly now it’s mainly for those where charges put you into financial hardship, yet some do get money back, Alice emailed me to say: “I sent your template... a day later the bank refunded £1,560. Thanks.” For full help and template letters on how to reclaim bank charges for free see www.mse. me/bankcharges.

Use savings (if you’ve any). Having overdrafts and savings isn’t sensible. Think about it: a £1,000 overdraft at £20 a month equals £240 a year, but the same in easy access savings, after tax, earns a paltry £13 at best. So repay debt with savings and you’re £229 per £1,000 up each year. Once the overdraft’s paid off, you can save more freely. You may think: “But I’ll have no savings if the boiler packs up or the roof falls in.” True, but in an emergency, access the overdraft you’ve paid off again and you’ll be no worse off. To beat the fear of being without savings, read: www.mse.me/repaydebts. Poor credit? Get 0% respite from bank charges. The options above won’t help if your score’s poor, but there is one card that offers 0% on spending until October even for those with a poor credit history. The www. luma.co.uk card accepts some with CCJs or defaults over a year old to get it. Now as this isn’t a debt shifting card, you have to play clever and be disciplined to take advantage of it for reducing overdrafts. The technique is you do your normal, budgeted, dayto-day spending on the card up to the credit limit, instead of from your bank account. This builds up the debt on the card, but allows your overdraft to be repaid by your

In dire straits? If the debts are all too much for you, it’s worth considering non-profit debt help from agencies like www.stepchange.org, www. citizensadvice.org.uk, and www. nationaldebtline.org. Don’t be scared to speak them, they’re there to help not to judge.

ROCHFORD HUNDRED RUGBY CLUB Rochford Hundred Rugby Club is a local rugby club formed by three local residents in 1962 and today showcases rugby across all ages, ability and both genders covering over 20 teams. The 1st XV play in the RFU London 2 North East league and the clubs main focus is developing local players to as high a standard of rugby as it possibly can.

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REMEMBERING THOSE FROM WWI WHO KEPT US FREE On Monday 4th August, across the country people participated in special ceremonies to commemorate Britain’s entry into World War One, a hundred years ago. As your local MP I attended a service in Southend on the 3rd August, where we gathered to pay our respects to the fallen and to hear a sermon from the Bishop of Chelmsford on why Britain fought to keep Europe free.

By Mark Francois MP State for the Armed Forces. This was particularly poignant for me as my father, Reginald Francois, served in the Royal Navy in WWII, including at D-Day and my grandfather, John Matthew Francois, served on the Western Front in WWI. In this, I am like many other Essex families who can recall relatives who served in the Great War.

As an ex-serviceman, I’ve always believed that we should never take living in a free country for granted and recent events, not least in the Ukraine, are a clear reminder of that. The men whose names appear on our war memorials across the country never took it for granted either - that’s why their names are there.

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Trevor Hackney, of Aaron Paving Essex Limited, was inspired to start his own business offering landscaping services to Essex residents after training as a bricklayer. Based in Hutton, Aaron Paving offers a vast range of bespoke driveways and patios designed to suit personal tastes and varying

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paving manufacturers personally recommend us to install their products. They have made us members of the ‘Register of Qualified Tradesmen’ and members of the ‘Guild of Master Craftsmen’’. In his spare time, Trevor enjoys socialising, and when he gets the opportunity, playing golf with his son Lewis.

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HANDYMAN DAVE For all your general property maintenance, call Dave! As its September, back-to-school month, lets consider the 3 R’s. But not the usual Reading, (w)Riting and ‘Rithmetic. Let’s pick 3 R’s for nature lovers, and there are lots of choices. For this month in particular, the transition of summer to autumn, I’d like to propose Robins, Red Admirals and Ripening fruit. Robins get rather vocal at this time of year. Their songs come in little bursts, sporadic twitters, slightly melancholy, sometimes tinkly, sometimes whistley, and no two repertoires the same. Robins sing at this time because they claim their own winter territory for their feeding and survival, and they will keep this territory throughout the winter months although its boundaries may be fluid and they will tolerate each other in very harsh conditions. A robin is a companion around the garden, following you as you disturb insects and worms, perching on lookout posts and fluttering down to the ground to grab a meal. Next R: the red admiral butterfly, surely one of our brightest and best, a black butterfly with striking bright orangeyred bands and white patches on the wings. They are around throughout the summer and numbers swell in June as more migrate in from the continent. They are most numerous now as the new adults emerge. Look for them anywhere, on buddleia, bramble, and thistles but especially on flowering ivy. Ivy is a vigorous plant and does need ripping from the beds but it provides cover and food for so much wildlife so should be encouraged. I hide old plant pots in the creepers of the ivy and these are sometimes used by nesting robins. As autumn progresses, ivy flowers will turn to berries which brings us to the 3rd R, ripening fruit. Autumn’s bounty of berries allows our mammals and birds to gorge themselves and fatten up for winter. One misty morning I found an elder bush that was full of blackcaps. The low visibility had probably forced them down from their migration so these grey warblers, with their black or brown skull caps, took the break from flight and the opportunity to feed. Us Homo Sapiens like some of the berries too, blackberries in particular, which some of us enjoy picking and taking home to make crumble or jam. Whilst out picking, you may spot little piles of purple poo; the droppings of foxes who are also foraging for the same fruit. As the month progresses more fruit ripens, including hawthorn and holly, which add vivid red to our hedgerows. As per last year, we can expect a good crop of autumn fruit. Good news for our local wildlife, especially the dormice in the woodlands around Daws Heath, which need to fatten up before the winter hibernation.

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Don’t miss out in your lifetime… Did you know, in 1752 Britain decided to abandon the Julian calendar in favour of the Gregorian calendar? By doing so, 3rd September instantly became 14th September - and as a result, nothing whatsoever happened in British history between 3rd and 13th September 1752. Many people believed their lives would be shortened. They protested in the streets, demanding “Give us back our 11 days!” This loss of eleven days highlights the importance of making the most of the days we have on our life’s journey. September can be seen as the month of new beginnings and journeys, especially marked by the new school year, with children starting school for the first time, or moving from primary to secondary education, as well as students preparing to go to college or university, at any age! Our lives are a journey of a lifetime, in whatever direction we may choose to go, however adventurous we might decide to be, fulfilling our hopes, our dreams, our ambitions and our freedom… And it was for freedom that the Mayflower sailed from Plymouth, England, on 16th September 1620 to Plymouth, Massachusetts, United States. On board were 102 men, women and children and a small crew, a large group of whom were Puritans (who become known as the Pilgrim Fathers). Their hope was to

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reach the New World, where they could have religious freedom, and continue using their native language, culture, and customs. After 65 gruelling days they dropped anchor off Cape Cod on 21st November, before landing on the coast of Massachusetts on 21st December 1620 at a spot now called Plymouth Rock, where they established their own government… As well as making the most of our days, and continuing last month’s theme of ‘Peace in our Time’, on Sunday 21st September, millions of people around the world will participate in activities, events, concerts and festivals to celebrate the International Day of Peace. At noon in every time zone, a moment of silence will be held, sending a Peace Wave around the world. Established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1981, “Peace Day” is an opportunity for individuals, organizations and nations to create practical acts of peace on a shared date. Since its beginning, Peace Day has marked our personal and planetary progress toward peace. Events range in scale from private gatherings to public concerts and forums where hundreds of thousands of people participate. Anyone, anywhere can celebrate

Peace Day. It can be as simple as lighting a candle; Holy Trinity Church is open every day during the week for you to be able to do this, from 10.00am until 12.30pm, and every Sunday. You might also like to sit in silent meditation, or do a good deed for someone you know or don’t know. Or it can involve getting your colleagues, organisation, community or government engaged in a large event. When millions of people in all parts of the world come together for one day of peace, the impact is immense and does make a difference. Peace Day is also a day of ceasefire—personal or political. Take the opportunity to make peace in your own relationships all year round and for a lifetime… Yours in the love of Jesus… 01268 742151 info@parishofrayleigh.org.uk www.parishofrayleigh.org.uk

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Going Back to School this September It’s that time of year again, when the parents out there amongst you are rushing around preparing your little’uns for the start of the new school year. This includes, but is not limited to, spending hours online finding a uniform that your child/ children won’t grow out of by December, and spending a small fortune in a crowded stationery store on the latest must-have accessory (in my days, a pencil case, in 2014, probably Apple’s latest offering). While children across Essex anxiously/ excitedly await the start of a new school year, and their parents breathe a sigh of relief, those yet to experience parenthood note the change with little more than a curse that rush hour traffic is about to increase. But how about looking at things differently this year? As someone who, selfconfessedly, always enjoyed academic pursuit, and to this day still gets a kick out of learning something new (albeit the latest Buzzfeed ‘17 things’ list), this September I’ll be looking

at the Adult Community Learning (ACL) courses available from Essex County Council in the local area. Whether you are looking to improve your literacy skills, gain key examinations/ professional qualifications, or like me are simply looking for a new challenge, ACL in Essex offers a wide range of courses suitable for new and/ or returning learners. Course guides and full listings can be found at www.essex.gov. uk/Education-Schools/AdultLearning with details of term times and local centres in the Essex area. The autumn term for the South and West Essex areas begins on 1 September and run until 19 December, with centres in Broadmayne and Felmores End, Basildon, 132/4 High Street, Rayleigh and Bishops Hill, Brentwood. Essex County Council tailor the courses available throughout the year according to demand, following feedback from learners, and pride themselves on delivering excellent courses led by experienced tutors, with 95% of learners being satisfied with the quality of teaching

(2012/2013, source: ACL Course Directory South Essex). Information and Enrolment Sessions are also run at each ACL centre at the beginning of the new term, with autumn’s events being held on 3rd and 4th September. As well as offering opportunities to learn a trade and gain English / Maths GCSEs, courses available range from the creative, such as jewellery making and floristry, to the practical, like First Aid and IT for beginners, and the downright bizarre, like microwave cooking… And as for me? I’ll be looking to learn a European language. I just need to decide which. Perhaps I’ll check Buzzfeed for the latest ‘17 useful languages’ list… By Around Town Journalist Jo Cook

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Roast Chicken Legs with Creamy Chorizo Butter Beans Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t fancy the full faff of a roast chicken dinner? This chicken recipe is very indulgent and a real treat. Juicy chicken with crisp skin, on creamy butter beans spiked with chorizo to keep everything lively. You could swap chicken breasts for legs if you prefer, but do keep the skin for the extra flavour it gives and reduce the roasting time by about 20 minutes.

Ingredients: 2 chicken legs 1 head of garlic, halved A few sprigs of thyme, leaves picked Pinch of paprika 100g chorizo, diced 100ml chicken stock 100ml double cream 1 220g tin butter beans

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180Â°C. Mix together half the thyme with the paprika and a generous dose of salt and pepper. Blend with a glug of olive oil and smear this paste all over the chicken legs. Pop the garlic halves in a baking tray and pop the chicken legs on top of the garlic. Bung in the oven for 45 minutes to an hour, until the juices run clear when poked with a skewer. When the chicken is about 15 minutes away from done, fry the chorizo in a pan until browned. Remove to one side and add the remaining thyme, cream and stock to the pan. Turn the heat up to get everything bubbling away. When the liquids have reduced by half, drain the butter beans and throw them in the pan, and the chorizo too. Simmer for 10 minutes and check for seasoning. Serve with wilted spinach. Recipe supplied by Big Spud www.bigspud.co.uk

recipes@bigspud.co.uk

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Early Supper Special – mas Christ ow 2 courses £14.95 gs n bookin ken! 3 courses £17 g ein ta Monday – Thursday 5pm-7pm b Friday 19th September – Soul Seduction Night with MJ & Bully Phil Cavill LIVE at the Woodmans Thursday 11th September direct from the West End Les Miserables and Miss Saigon

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ROTARY CLUB OF RAYLEIGH MILL August is often a quiet month due to holidays but that has not been the situation during the last month with many events being organised. We even have a new website and Facebook page that you can use to keep track of us! www.rotary-ribi.org/clubs/ homepage.php?ClubsID=1797 or put ‘Rotary Club of Rayleigh Mill’ into Facebook. . A Comedy Night is planned for 8pm on October 25th at the Hullbridge Community Centre, £10 tickets will be sold at various shops in Rayleigh – look out for the posters. Club members are also having a shooting range evening and our annual club golf championship will take place at the end of August. One of our members, who is lucky enough to spend the winter in South Africa, organises a fund collection for the Masizame Children’s Shelter Appeal in South Africa. He has pledges of £500 so far and has four more speaking events in October to further increase the fund. We are hoping to obtain a matching grant from the Rotary district organisation to double the funds which are raised. We meet at Mamma’s Romantica Restaurant in Rayleigh High Street at 7.30pm on Monday nights. If you wish to visit us to see if you would be interested in joining please contact Andrew Shackleton on 01702 201783 or robertashackleton@googlemail.com.

RAYLEIGH LIONS CLUB The Lions Club of Rayleigh have once again been very busy during the Month of August, despite a holiday month, we have raised funds and donated proceeds to the following organizations , including The Sunday Club of Rayleigh who requested help towards the hire of 2 minibuses at to Croyde Bay in September. We donated the full sum required. The Rochford Citizens Advice Bureau & Rochford Old Peoples Day Centre: requested help towards installing CCTV to cover at both premises as they have had a lot of vandalism to building and mini bus. Police have advised them to have it installed and it will be monitored directly to them. We donated the full amount requested to cover the installation and a year’s maintenance Our fireworks preparations are progressing nicely which is being held on the 8th November, more information to follow in the next edition. As always should anyone be interested in becoming a member of Rayleigh lions then visit our website http://www.rayleighlions.org.uk for further information.

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Why not try one of our sumptuous Afternoon Teas, or a traditional Cream Tea treat today? For really special occasions, we can serve a bottle of Chilled Champagne or Cava to start your afternoon off. The original traditional tea rooms, serving loose leaf teas and freshly ground coffees.

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POLICE Rayleigh Police Station

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HOSPITALS Brentwood Hospital Basildon Hospital Broomfield Hospital Essex Nuffield Hospital Queen’s Romford Southend Hospital Spire Hartswood Hospital

01277 695000 0845 1553111 01245 443673 0800 688699 0845 1304204 01702 435555 01277 232525

HELPLINES Alcoholics Anonymous Childline DIAL Disability Helpline Drugline Essex In Focus (family disabilities support)

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CHEMISTS Boots the Chemist, Rayleigh 01268 771883 Audley Mills, Rayleigh

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ROAD & TRAVEL UPDATES Essex Travel www.bbc.co.uk/travelnews/essex COUNCILS Rochford District Council

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TAXIS Rayleigh Taxi Bestax Abba Cars Cab Call

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UTILITIES Anglian Water 0345 145145 Electricity – Power Supply Problems 0800 7838838 Gas – Urgent Calls / Gas Escapes 0800 111999 Minicom – Transco 0800 371787 Thames Water (Supply or Wastewater Services) 0845 9200800 Three Valleys Water 0345 823333 Water – Essex & Suffolk Water 01245 491234 VETS YourVets Vets4Pets Rochford Veterinary Surgery Downes Vets Medivet LIBRARIES Rayleigh

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