Around Town Magazine Rayleigh February Edition 2018

H L E I G R AY N T I O E D I 5 1

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06 08

CONTENTS 08 Travel

of Rayleigh

Suffolk

Mark Francois

Creative, competitive, conscientious Political Update

S •10 DRIVEWAYS FENCING Steak and Sweet Chips •Potato • DECKING • PONDS NG • TURFING • CONSTRUCTION & MAINTENANCE Recipe

14

James Blower

16

Nature Notes

20

Your Yoga

22

Rotary Club / Lions Club

23

What’s On

The Savings Guru

EWT Volunteer Neil Sumner

Child’s Pose

Organisations Around Town

24

A View from the Church

27

Useful Numbers

Rev’d David Oxtoby

23

16

When and Where...

Front cover picture by: John Haywood - JH Photography @jh.photohtaphy.jh JH Photography

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Copyright 2018. Around Town Rayleigh 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.

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TRAVEL - DUKE COTTAGE The

By Tim Saunders – www.travelwriter.biz One family has stayed in the same holiday cottage on a Suffolk farm nine times.

Numerous others have stayed on almost as many occasions.

That’s what the visitor book at Duke Cottage at Easton Farm Park reveals; there are two selfcatering Victorian cottages on the farm – the other is Duchess Cottage. With so much to do here it really is not necessary to go anywhere else. And that is why so many families return to stay in the cottages. These families benefit from free access to the farm and not just during opening times but when it is shut. It is also possible to help the staff with various duties such as mucking out the horses and feeding the hens. This is all very refreshing news indeed.

the moment but when the time comes it is nice to know that rabbits, guinea pigs, ducks, chicks and goats can all be purchased from the farm at attractive prices.

It is an educational experience too because both children and adults can learn how a traditional farm works as well as how an egg is produced. We enjoy eating numerous Easton Farm free range eggs. Incidentally having not brought our trusty egg poacher we experiment with simply breaking an egg into a pan of boiling water and poaching it for three minutes and to our surprise it works a treat, tasting better than using our egg poacher! The staff are so polite, friendly and knowledgeable, too.

“I also love the pony ride,” adds Harriett. She is very at home in the saddle and enjoys four pony rides in total.

The farm at Woodbridge in Suffolk opened as a family attraction in 1974, at a time when such attractions were few and far between, compared to today. Since that time over one million visitors have poured through the gates.

During our stay in The Duke we certainly do relax, which is quite a rarity on such jaunts.

Like many before us we do not feel a desire to leave during our stay because there is a full day of events planned. This ranges from hug a bunny at 11am to the Barrel Bug ride at 12noon, pony rides at 2pm and the family train at 4pm. Clearly a great deal of thought has gone into how to entertain a family throughout the day. Each event runs for half an hour, which is just long enough for little ones. There is very little queuing and waiting around, too. A barn full of green blue and red pedal tractors – even a mini John Deere - for the children to ride ensures they never get bored. Harriett insists on riding Tractor Tom to every destination on the farm.

“My favourite thing is cuddling the rabbits,” says Harriett (3). “Can I have a rabbit?” We feel she is still a little too young for such responsibility at

Perhaps the most ingenious ride is the Bug Barrel, which consists of a number of converted barrels on wheels each with their own steering wheel and seatbelts, towed by a quad bike.

Creatively made it features an innovative use of golf balls for antennae. It is a joy to see both Harriett and Heidi clinging on to their steering wheels, laughing and giggling. Caroline and I finally let them go round unaccompanied the second time round because we’re out of breath from all the running!

When the girls have explored the farm to their hearts’ content we then enjoy the adventure playground complete with zip wire, sandpit and diggers. The walks around the farmland let us savour the views over the Deben valley.

Tim Saunders is an author, journalist and businessman. He meets celebrities, goes on holiday and road tests cars.

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an important issue.

Abellio were recently awarded a long term franchise and, in return, they are promising to invest in a brand new fleet of trains, which are due into service in 2019/20 and which should be more reliable than the old trains they will replace. As reliability has been a considerable issue on the line, this should be good news.

mark francois conservative Parliamentary mP for rayleigh & Wickford

A lot of my constituents commute into London on the Southend Victoria line and, as such, the standard of service they receive from the train operator, Abellio Greater Anglia, is

However, long-suffering commuters have also had to endure frequent breaks in service at weekends and weekdays after 9:30pm as Network Rail carry out engineering works to upgrade the overhead lines into London and to prepare for Crossrail (the new Elizabeth line) as well.

My constituents have had to cope with frequent interruptions to the normal service they pay for via their

season tickets and replacement buses are a poor substitute for a train home after a long days work.

I previously called on Abellio’s management to introduce a season ticket discount, to take account of this, but so far the company have failed to do so.

I have been in regular correspondence with Abellio’s Managing Director, Mr Jamie Burles, about this situation and have passed on frequent letters of complaint from constituents. I also met Abellio’s management last autumn to press home the point in person.

While I realise engineering works have to take place, I don’t think Abellio sufficiently appreciate the disruption of service which my constituents are experiencing and I intend to continue pressing them to give something back as a result.

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policy of delivering the highest standards possible at all times. ‘Our service is simple. If your double glazing has misted up we can replace the glass at a fraction of the cost of a new window, in any type of frame, and with a new 25 year guarantee. But it’s not just about saving people money, although that obviously helps. Whilst a number of tradespeople perhaps don’t focus on customer care as much as they should do, we make sure we turn up when we say we will, do the job the customer requires and leave their house as clean as a whistle.

Locally Cloudy2Clear service the Rayleigh & Eastwood areas and

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RECIPE Steak and Sweet Potato Chips Ingredients: 2 x 200g sirloin steaks 350g sweet potatoes 1 tbsp rapeseed oil 50g bag mixed spinach, watercress and rocket Handful of cherry tomatoes 1/3 cucumber, sliced 2 spring onions Coarse ground black pepper.

Dressing: 1 tsp balsamic vinegar 2 tbsp rapeseed oil ½ small garlic clove, crushed

Method: 1.

2.

3.

Preheat oven to 200c. Half fill a medium saucepan with water and bring to the boil. Add in the potatoes once chopped and cook for 4 minutes.

Drain and return to the saucepan.

Pour the oil over and season with a little black pepper. Toss until the potatoes are all lightly coated with the oil and seasoning.

Tip the potatoes onto a baking tray and cook for 15 minutes. Turn them all then cook for a further 10 minutes or until crisp and golden.

Whilst the chips are cooking, prepare your steak. Trim off any hard fat and then rub all over with the remaining

oil. Season with 1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper. Using a griddle or non-stick frying pan, put over a high heat and then add the steaks. Cook for about 2 minutes each side or done until your liking.

4.

Set aside and mix the salad leaves, cucumber, chopped spring onions into a bowl. Whisk the vinegar, oil and garlic together.

5.

Lovingly lay out the chips and steak onto your plates and add the salad to one side.

6.

Drizzle with the dressing just before serving.

If you would like your recipe to appear in Around Town Magazines then contact our sales team on: 01277 658444 or email: sales@aroundtownmagazines.co.uk

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What next for savings rates and where’s

the best place to save?

The most frequently asked question I get asked, by savers, banks and the media, is ‘where are savings rates are heading?’

How was 2017?

2017 was a significantly improved year for savers, compared to 2016.

The best one and two year fixedrate bonds paid 1.40% and 1.60% respectively in January 2017, whereas 1.90% and 2.10% per cent were available by the end of 2017 – a full half a percent higher.

The best easy access (accounts that don’t require notice to make withdrawals) rates also improved from just over 1% in January 2017 to 1.30% at the end of the year with a peak of 1.45% achieved in December.

While these rates are some way off the heady days of 2008 when over 6% could be found on a one year fixed rate, it’s a big step in the right direction.

Are rates moving up?

Several financial commentators are getting highly excited about two things happening in the market this year. Many of these commentators predict a boom in savings rates because of these.

Firstly, two government lending schemes come to an end this month – the Funding for Lending Scheme (known as FLS) and the Term Funding Scheme.

These have provided £80bn and

14

£140bn respectively to banks and building societies.

very little happening in the short term, and 2018 specifically.

Secondly, open banking has begun.

Open banking enables you to give access to banks and companies to your accounts so that they can provide new products and services to help you securely move and manage your money better.

Is there any good news?

It’s not all bad news! I do expect interest rates to increase again in 2018 although I suspect at a lower rate than in 2017. There are three reasons for this:

I don’t subscribe to either of these creating a rise in savings rates in 2018. Although the government lending schemes will end this month, it will be some time before the banks that have used these schemes have lent all the money they have been given. Many of them also have deposits they haven’t loaned to customers to use after this money has been used.

Only then will they need to attract more money from savers. I wouldn’t be surprised if this wasn’t until at least 2019 before this happens.

With regards to Open Banking, Barclays, RBS, HSBC and three other banks had to ask for extensions to the 13th January deadline to comply with the law.

Many of the smaller banks and financial companies who hope to be the beneficiaries of open banking are not ready to fully take advantage of it either. Recent research by the Unlimited Group found that 91% of consumers had no idea what open banking was.

I believe open banking will have a profound impact in the banking market in the longer term but I see

1) Competition Ford Money, PCF, Redwood and Wyelands have all entered the savings market in 2017 and there are somewhere in the region of 30 firms going through the process to be awarded a banking licence from the Bank of England and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

This is on top of, by my count, 38 new providers who have come in to the market in the past decade.

It is competition from these new entrants that has driven the market in recent years and is likely to continue to do so.

Although rates have softened a little, since the turn of the year, I wouldn’t be surprised to see the best one year rates head towards 2.15–2.25% by the end of the year and easy access to be in the region of 1.50% 2) Rise of the cash managers There’s been significant interest in the savings market from many cash managers and intermediated savings providers, both from the UK and internationally. While companies like Savings Champion

have provided solutions for some time, they’ve been joined by the likes of Insignis Cash Solutions and Octopus cash in the UK and we’ve seen German market places such as Deposit Solutions and Raisen enter the market.

Savers tend to turn to these types of solutions when interest rates are higher so the increase in the number of them suggests there’s a more positive outlook for savings.

3) Switching will continue to get easier Approximately 80% of people have their current account with the so called big 4 banks (Barclays, Lloyds, HSBC, RBS), or Nationwide or Santander. A similar number also save with these large banking groups as well as the government backed National Savings & Investments.

However, there has been more regulatory intervention happening in the market in recent years with the current account switching service making it easier to move your bank account (in 7 days).

There will also be a rise in market places from new banking providers like Monzo and Starling who won’t provide their own savings accounts but will partner with the best providers who will offer this.

With open banking and other regulatory intervention almost inevitable, it’s likely to get easier and more attractive for those 80% to move their money to accounts paying more attractive rates of return. This is likely to force those larger institutions to compete more on price to hold on to their customers Where are the best rates in the market now?

Here is a selection of the top paying accounts from our best buy tables: Type of account

Bank

Interest Rate

Easy Access

RCI Bank

1.30%

One Year Fixed

Atom Bank

1.95%

Two Year Fixed

Atom Bank / BLME

2.10%

Three Year Fixed

Vanquis Bank

2.22%

Regular Saver

Saffron Building Society 3.50%

James Blower Founder Savings Guru Ltd

www.thesavings.guru hello@thesavings.guru @SavingsGuruUK

Rates can change quickly so always check on our website, www.thesavings.guru for the most up to date information and links to click through to the providers.

That’s all for this month.

Have a great February!

James

15

Nature Notes Written by Neil Sumner

www.BestsModeller.co.uk

07814 751547

Neilsumner123@aol.com twitter.com/neilsumner123 Most people wouldn’t normally welcome an invasion especially one that comes with a large bill.

But this winter, birdwatchers have been delighted by a particular type of invasion - of the locally rare Hawfinch. These colourful birds are here in some numbers. The reason for the invasion is thought to be a combination of a very good breeding season in continental Europe, which is presumed due to an abundance of their summer food of caterpillars and insects, and a poor yield of fruits and seeds in the autumn. In this country, our hedgerows and woodlands have been bountiful this winter; hence they have found their way here.

The Hawfinch’s Latin name is coccothraustes coccothraustes which means ‘seed-breaker’, a testimony to those large bills that can even crack cherry stones. They aren’t easy to see as they are shy and their call is a barely detectable ‘tick’.

They typically forage on the ground but fly away as soon as they are approached and then will fly around and perch in the tops of trees, usually at a distance requiring binoculars to identify them. So if you see a few birds, slightly smaller than Starlings, perched in the tops of mature trees near some open patches of ground in or near woodland it is worth checking them out. In flight, they are distinguished by a broad head, short tail and bright wing stripes.

Hawfinches only arrived in Britain as a breeding bird in the 19th Century, being found first in Epping Forest. They flourished for a while then last century they declined and almost disappeared from Essex in the 1990s. There are now estimated to be less than one thousand breeding pairs remaining in Britain. The RSPB are currently investigating the cause of decline and an article by naturalist Ben MacDonald also provides some insight. http://www.ben-macdonald.co.uk/uploads/2/4/ 8/1/24815177/hawfinch.pdf A change in the structure of woodlands and a corresponding increase in predators are cited as the main causes.

So it’s been a delight this winter to see them throughout Essex in many of our woodlands with mature trees, including Mill Meadows in Billericay and Pound Wood near Daws Heath. This may not happen again for some time and it’s quite likely that we will look back fondly on this ‘Winter of the Hawfinch’.

16

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in between more complex yoga poses. It helps n and relaxes the muscles at the front of the

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YOUR YOGA

Child’s Pose

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Method: This is a gentle, serene and restful pose, often used in between more complex yoga poses. It helps to stretch the hips, thighs and ankles, calms the brain and relaxes the muscles at the front of the body.

Start in tabletop (hands and knees on the floor). Slow your thoughts down.

Position your legs together, knees touching. Sit back onto your heels, keeping your spine straight.

Breathe out and bow forward, placing your chest on top of your thighs. Gently

allow your forehead to come to the floor.

Close your eyes.

Extend your arms in front of you with your palms facing down. Press back slightly with your hands to maintain the contact with your heels and buttocks.

Allow all the tension in your shoulders to melt away. Soften and relax your lower back. Hold this pose for as long as you need.

To release from Child’s pose, gently use your hands to walk your body upright and sit back on your heels.

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ROTARY CLUB OF RAYLEIGH MILL Since Rotary Clubs do such good works in their local communities we sometimes forget that Rotary is a huge global organisation with 1.2 million members in over 200 countries and each year Rotarians are involved in hundreds of international projects to improve the health, education and wellbeing of many people in the developing world as well as providing much needed aid in times of natural and man-made disasters.

The Rotary Club of Rayleigh Mill is active in International projects and has, in this Rotary Year donated £600 to BuildAid to help to fund the building of a school toilet block in the Philippines, £600 to buy Aquaboxes to provide clean, safe water to the victims of the Bangladesh earthquakes, £1000 to Mercy Ships in which doctors from all over the world provide their voluntary services for life-saving and life-altering operations in some of the poorest countries in the world, £500 to the Myanmar disaster appeal and £1000 to the Hope and Homes for Children End the Silence appeal, All Rotarians also make donations to Rotary’s own charity, the Rotary Foundation, whose main project, at the moment, is the eradication of polio. Since the project was initiated by a Rotarian in the Philippines in 1985 the incidence of polio has dropped from 350,000 cases in 125 countries to 22 cases of Wild Polio Virus in 2 countries in 2017. 2.5 billion children have been immunised. 13 million cases of polio have been prevented.

See more about who we are and what we do and Rotary in general visit our website at www. rayleighmillrotary.org.uk

RAYLEIGH LIONS CLUB The Lions Club of Rayleigh is part of the International Association of Lions Clubs, and our primary aim is to raise and distribute funds within out local area.

The Lions Club Of Rayleigh was chartered in 1974 and serves the Rayleigh, Hockley, Hullbridge and Rochford areas. Our club is a Voluntary Service Organisation and a registered charity, we are always looking for people willing to help make their community a better place to live.

By visiting our website, you will be able to find out about the work of the international organisation of Lions and the Lions Club of Rayleigh in particular, including our activities and also details of forthcoming events, and who to contact for further information.

Our club meets on the 1st (business) & 3rd (social) Tuesdays in every month in Rayleigh.

Guests are always welcome. http://www.rayleighlions.org.uk

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Basildon & District Rambling Club The group meets every Saturday at 2.00pm.

The Saturday walks are 4-5 miles with a rest halfway, we have some longer walks on other days. New members are welcome and membership is only £6 per year which includes all walks. See our website www.basildonanddistrictramblingclub.btck.co.uk for full details Chelmsford & District Welsh Society Membership is open to anyone with Welsh origins or connections, or to anyone with an appreciation of Welsh heritage and traditions. Visitors and guests are warmly welcomed to attend our meetings. The Society’s monthly meeting is held in St Cedd’s Hall, Cathedral Chapter House, Chelmsford, CM1 1NX, and is usually on the fourth Thursday of every month.

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For more details please contact Gwenno on 07724144432 www.chelmsfordwelsh.org.uk/home www.facebook.com/chelmsfordwelsh Chelmsford Jazz Club Cramphorn Theatre Chelmsford Doors open: 11.45am Gig starts: 12.15pm Advance booking: 01245 606505 £12 / £16 Sunday 18th March ‘Searching for Hope’ with Herwig Gradischng (sax), Steve Fishwick (trumpet), Claus Raible (piano) Giorgos Antonia (bass) and Matt Home (drums) Sunday 15th April The Humphrey Lyttelton Band (7 piece band, line up TBC)

If you would like to promote your club or event then please email a maximum of 70 words to admin@aroundtownmagazines.co.uk or fill in the form on our website www.aroundtownmagazines.co.uk Please ensure that all contact details are included.

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Rev’d David Oxtoby

Being new to the area and town, then first impressions are what stick with you, and I’m sure will shape my time and ministry here for the years to come.

Warm, welcoming, friendly, generous, respectful, are just a few words that capture some of what Christina (my wife) and I have experienced since arriving. I was in particular moved by the reverential way in which our Holocaust Memorial Day was honoured in January, with strong support from all Civic dignitaries, local community, and schools. I was particularly moved by how Holocaust survivor Leslie Kleinman spoke during the service, speaking with grace, dignity and power. Yet despite the many horrific memories Leslie shared, there was a thread that ran through his whole address, how “God was with him,” not expressed in any forced way like we might hear on Radio 4’s Though for the Day, but in a real, and genuine way; a way than I’m sure made many in the room reflect on how this man could still know ‘God with him’ despite the appalling experiences.

I often find myself within funerals I conduct using

these words within my address “I will never leave you nor forsake you, neither height, nor breadth, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” And I of course know how easy it is to trot out set words and quotes as a means of giving comfort, but I do want to say this promise from the Bible is exactly that, a promise. It’s not based on how we feel in any given moment, it’s not based on if I’ve had my first coffee of the day or not, it’s not even based on how good I feel I may have been, it’s purely based on a promise God has made to each of us. Not that this promise means we are kept from trouble or danger or distress, as Leslie could well testify, but that we know God is with us through such times, and His promises can be trusted and stood upon.

I’m here in the town to journey with it as it grows, with families through their encounters with the Church and it’s life, and with the many organisations and communities that seek to help our town. And I look forward, as we journey together, seeing how we might work together for the good of each other, and the support of the broken. I look forward to helping others know the promise, that indeed “God is with us.”

Through times of sorrow and also times of great joy and celebration.

Every blessing, Rev’d David.

Team Rector, Holy Trinity & St Michael’s.

Parish Office 01268 742151 info@parishofrayleigh.org.uk

www.parishofrayleigh.org.uk

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BIRTH, DEATH MARRIAGES REGISTRATION

01268 361350 01268 361351

POLICE Rayleigh Police Station

0300 333 4444

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

01277 695000 01268 524900 01245 443673 08453 143350 0845 1304204 01702 435555 01277 232525

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

Narcotics Anonymous NHS non-emergency Parentline Samaritans S. Essex Rape and Incest Crisis Centre Victim Support Essex Women’s Refuge

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

01268 776479

Lloyds Pharmacy, Rayleigh

01268 771703

Grange Pharmacy, Rayleigh 01268 784192 Hambro, Rayleigh

01268 781623

Yardley Chemist

01268 743283

BLOOD TEST 01245 256147 0800 11 11 11 01268 294400/1 01708 749151 01245 353575 0300 9991212 111 0808 8002222 116 123 01375 380609 0845 4565995 01268 541140

Booking Line

01702 746511

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

01702 546366

Rayleigh Town Council

01268 741880

TRANSPORT Bus Service

0870 6082608

Rail Service

08457 484950

TAXIS Rayleigh Taxi Bestax Abba Cars Cab Call Cab 24/7

01268 531888 01268 777300 01268 771666 01268 777300 01268 778877

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

01268 745180 01268 772283 01702 545558 01268 776883 01702 413902

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