Around Town Magazine Rayleigh June Edition 2018

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CONTENTS 04

Nature Notes

06

Mark Francois

12

Recipe Smokey Bacon & Tomato Pasta

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James Blower

As a local company we offer Awnings, with competitive p

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A View from the Church

22

Rotary Club / Lions Club

23

What’s On

23

EWT Volunteer Neil Sumner

Political Update

The Savings Guru

10

Rev’d David Oxtoby

Organisations Around Town

When and Where...

Useful Numbers

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

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www.worthbli

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.

Unit 13 Parkside Centre, Potte

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

Nature Notes Written by Neil Sumner

Beautiful Stone and Quartz made to measure for your home

Neilsumner123@aol.com twitter.com/neilsumner123 One of my memories of this year’s Springwatch was of the sound engineer telling of the loss of his local Nightingales. His nine-year-old son wanted to hear a nightingale and he could only oblige using his phone. As he described this he became tearful. We then learnt that Nightingales have declined by 91% since the 1970s.

It’s a shocking statistic. And it’s not just Nightingales that are in trouble. Two years ago, the State of Nature Report revealed that more than half of a section of UK species it studied have declined.

It’s unsurprising that a walk in the countryside sometimes includes periods where you see or hear very little.

There are still positive surprises though, ones that give us opportunity and hope. I was recently taken to a flood management area along one of the county’s many rivers. Essex has large estuaries that, though upstream from the coast they become mere brooks, can still overflow at low lying pinch points. This was one such place, where three streams converge. The Environment Agency own and manage the site which includes concrete culverts, wide banks of vegetation, a sluice and a boggy basin to collect overflow. A few dog walkers passed by but most of the ground seemed rarely disturbed.

Water Voles are here, confirmed by the county expert, Darren Tansley.

We enjoyed several species of damselfly, dragonflies and many butterflies including colourful Common Blues.

There were birds, including some warblers that are quieter than usual in this topsy-turvy spring. The most attractive plant was the non-native Purple Goatsbeard, also named Salsify or Tragopogon (see picture). We resolved to look for more wildlife and to try to influence the management regime to promote more grassland species.

I returned home to find our baby granddaughter in the garden, looking intrigued at the House Sparrows chirping and flitting around the nest box. Let’s hope that there will be Nightingales for her to enjoy in her lifetime. (links: https://www.essexwt.org.uk/ news/2016/09/14/state-nature-2016. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragopogon)

4

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the Brexit negotiations. The main concern has, in fact, been over the state of the roads and in particular the growing number of potholes in and around the constituency.

This year’s rather harsh and extended winter has had severe consequences on the local roads. Freeze and thaw cycles combined with heavy rain and run off have weakened roads surfaces resulting in potholes of varying depths. Highways authorities across the country are reporting pothole levels of three to four times higher than the average winter.

MARK FRANCOIS Conservative Parliamentary MP for Rayleigh & Wickford

As a road user myself, I completely agreed with the concerns residents raised with me, so I wrote to the Cabinet Member for Highways at Essex County Council to express both my concerns and those of my constituents. Many of these potholes

Whilst I was out canvassing recently for the local elections, the main issue that has been raised on the doorstep has not been the NHS, the international situation in Syria nor

have been “marked up” with spray paint but have still yet to be filled in.

The Government provided Local Authorities with around £100,000,000 to help repair the road surfaces across the country. Essex County Council have informed me that they have accessed these Government funds which have enabled them to deploy 10 extra pothole repair teams since January who have repaired over 5600 defects already. I am very pleased to hear that Essex County Council have announced they will be investing an additional £2.5million to target potholes and surface defects. In a county the size of Essex it will clearly take some time to address all the potholes but I will be keeping up the pressure on County Hall to address this challenge as quickly as possible.

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11

RECIPE

Smokey Bacon and Tomato Pasta Ingredients: 400g of spaghetti 120g of smoked bacon (cut into cubes) 1 onion, finely chopped 1 garlic clove, finely chopped 1 400g can of chopped tomatoes 500g of passata 1 tbsp. olive oil 2 tsp smoked paprika Grated cheese or Parmesan (optional)

Equipment: Large pan, non-stick frying pan

Method: 1. Fill the large pan with water (adding

3. Then pour in the chopped tomatoes

a pinch of salt) and bring to the boil.

and passata, bring to the boil for 5

Then cook the spaghetti following

minutes until the mixture thickens.

any instructions on the packet. Keep

Make sure to stir often to avoid

checking throughout and turn down

anything sticking to the bottom of the

the heat when cooked.

frying pan.

2. While you leave that to boil, heat the oil

4. Then drain the pasta before putting it

in the frying pan and cook the bacon.

back in the large pan and adding the

Do this for just under 4 minutes until

tomato and bacon mixture. Stir the

the bacon is crisp. Then add the onion

mixture and the spaghetti together.

and cook until crisp again for 3-4

Finally, serve by adding either grated

minutes before adding the garlic and

parmesan or cheese on top depending

the smoked paprika. Stir together well.

on your preference.

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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17

Savings and banking round up PLUS THE

REVOLUT CARD In this month’s column, we look at: Why Bank of Cyprus’ easy access account paying 1.32% might not be the best choice Virgin Money’s new instant business savings account paying 1.20% – the pros and cons Why you should pack a Revolut card if you are going on holiday this summer Bank of Cyprus 1.32% Easy Access We’ve had a few enquiries at Savings Guru HQ from savers wondering why we haven’t included the new Bank of Cyprus easy access account in our best buys. The account pays 1.32% which is the best paying savings account which allows withdrawals without notice. It’s the best rate in the market in 2018 so far.

There is one principle reason we haven’t included it and that is because it is a bonus account. The actual interest rate on the account is 0.85% but it comes with a 12 month bonus rate of 0.47% - this is more than half of the underlying rate.

When bonus accounts originally came in to being, they were often

18

used as a way of rewarding customers with a top up. This was sometimes for loyalty (e.g. to retain their customer when another product finished), for longevity (e.g. limited to customer of five years or more), or a short term sweetener to thank them for switching.

Now, we feel they are used increasingly with lengthy periods for the bonus to apply in the hope that customers will forget about them at the end of the time restriction and not move their money.

If savers are disciplined enough to diarise and switch when the bonus period ends, then the rate on this account is very attractive. However, for those who are not, both RCI Bank and Shawbrook Bank pay 1.30% on their instant savings account. Both have spent much of the past year in our best buy tables.

Virgin Money 1.20% Business Access Account Business accounts traditionally pay much lower interest for instant access than their personal counterparts. The best paying business instant savings account that we’ve been able to find at Savings Guru HQ this year is the 0.90% available from One Savings Bank owned, Kent Reliance.

We were naturally intrigued to see

Virgin Money launch an account paying 1.20% and blowing everything else in the market out of the water. On top of a great rate, internet banking and a low minimum balance of £1,000, Virgin are also offering some great freebies – Virgin Money Lounges and Concierge.

The lounges are in eight locations around the country (with more on the way), including two in London, and offer free refreshments and Wi-Fi, newspapers, networking events and a great place to host a business meeting. The concierge service offers free membership for 18 months with assistance booking hotel, travel, restaurants and sold out music events and much more.

We decided this was all too good to be true but, unable to find a downside, we thought we’d open an account to find out. The online application was easy enough but, at the end of it, you then have to go through another process to register for online banking. We did this, only to be unable to see our new account. After contacting the savings team, we were advised they were very busy and would be in touch soon. 13 days later we are still waiting…

By contrast, we applied for an account with Kent Reliance which was opened there and then and took less than five minutes to

complete the application and we were able to fund the account the same day and start earning interest straight away. The interest rate isn’t quite as good but amazing interest rates and perks aren’t much good if you can’t get to them!

The Revolut Card We managed to sneak away from the Savings Guru office for a short holiday (Santorini as you ask – and yes it is beautiful!).

Having long tired of paying expensive bank fees for overseas transactions or trying to guess the right amount of currency to take abroad, stumbling across the Revolut card in 2015 was a life changer for travelling.

One Revolut card can be loaded in Sterling, Euro and US Dollars with separate screens to manage each. Cards are topped up from your current account so you can limit the money on the card for security if you wish. Currency is bought at Interbank FX rates – which is as good as it gets for individuals – and the rate moves in real time so you can watch it and choose when you buy if you wish. £200 / 200 euros can be withdrawn free each month from ATMs and there are no payment fees or commission for presenting the Mastercard to pay. You can also see analytics on where you spend your money, should you want which can be quite revealing!

The Visa payment issue impacted just about every card provider and occurred while away. Revolut’s communication on this (despite its own Mastercard not having problems, customers topping up with Visa weren’t able to) was far better than any other bank or card provider with alerts in their mobile app to advise and prompt help from their chat service.

James Blower Founder Savings Guru Ltd

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

A card that will definitely be travelling with us in future!

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------As always, this article will be reproduced on our website with links to the providers and accounts mentioned.

That’s all from us this month, enjoy the predicted heatwave for June and see you again in July. Please do drop us a line at hello@thesavings.guru if you have any questions or any topics you’d like us to cover in future columns.

19

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the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord ordained his blessing, life forevermore.”

Rev’d David Oxtoby

By the time this is read there will be either much inward groaning, or great euphoria; what am I meaning, well England will either be still in the World Cup or have been knocked out in the early stages (again.)

For myself I’m not an avid football fan like I know my predecessor was, I sometimes follow how The Tigers are doing (Hull City), but just in a fleeting casual manner.

Though I must admit when it comes to the World Cup I do get much more interested, seeing all the different nations do battle on the football pitch is inspiring, especially seeing the vastly different tactics and playing styles; and there’s always something thrilling about seeing the underdog do well, and sometimes win against all the odds. It is one of those few occasions in world events that sees nation come together with a common interest and act (most of the time) humanely towards one another, sharing a common goal; it’s just a shame we don’t see this played out on the world stage very often.

Psalm 133 says this “1How very good and pleasant it is when kindred live together in unity! 2It is like the precious oil on the head, running down upon the beard, on the beard of Aaron, running down over the collar of his robes. 3It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on

There isn’t a lot we get united around, I think maybe our collective observations about the weather, and how “a cup of tea makes things better”, and the necessity of queueing etiquette. I wonder how different much of our world would be if world leaders where united around vital issues of poverty, climate change, health, education, to name just a few. Yet time and again we see from those who lead us, personal agendas and self-interest getting in the way; to be truly united requires us at times to recognise our own wants and how they are influencing our decisions and actions and look instead to the good of the whole community. Of course, the church is just as guilty as the world in not being united, we need only look at my own church, the Church of England, to see how many fractures there are; so we are as guilty, but this isn’t what God desires, as it does not reflect the nature of God and His desire for us.

Unity starts with putting aside our own selfish wants, and seeing the needs of the other, whoever they maybe, it starts will humility and listening. Being united doesn’t happen by accident, it must be intentional, a conscious decision. I pray for our new Civic and District Councils that they indeed maybe united as they lead our communities; and may we as the churches of Rayleigh likewise be united in sharing the love of Christ in both word and deed; and how may you dear reader seek to be united with someone in your community, be that someone sick, in need, or isolated.

Parish Office 01268 742151 info@parishofrayleigh.org.uk

www.parishofrayleigh.org.uk

ROTARY CLUB OF RAYLEIGH MILL For most weeks in the year, we meet on Mondays as a club, with our members enjoying a meal at The Rayleigh Club near Hullbridge, Essex.

It is followed by a particular kind of meeting such as ‘committee’, ‘business’ and ‘speaker’ - the latter gives us an opportunity to invite a well-known personality or charity organisation to keep us informed about their work or life.

We have a members’ raffle at the end of the evening and our Sergeant-At-Arms is an appointed member of the club who manages to extract small amounts of money from us in friendly fun from personal observations of us which goes to our charity box.

The evening is run by our President who sits at the top table with his Secretary and we welcome our visiting guests too. Toasts are made to the Queen and our Rotary organisation.

We have a Treasurer to manage our accounts and appointed officers to involve us in the more gentle sports, a press officer to publicise our events, an IT specialist to handle our information, a webmaster to run this website and particular members who take on responsibility for an event eg. our Charity Golf Day and our social trips and dinner dances. Our Foundation officer looks to promote the work of Rotary eg. Purple Pinkie support to End Polio Campaign.

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

11th July - 8pm-10.30pm Tribute to Kenny Ball Admission £15 on the door

Belvedere Jazz & Music Club 20th June - 8pm -10:30pm Dutch No1 Jive & Swing Band: Jazz Connection Admission £15 on the door

Chelmsford Jazz Club Cramphorn Theatre Chelmsford Doors open: 11.45am Gig starts: 12.15pm Advance booking: 01245 606505 £12 / £16

27th June - 8pm -10:30pm Pianorama – 3 pianos

Admission £12.50 ~ Meals Available www.belvederejazz.co.uk Tel: 07850 607075 or email: belvederejazz@gmail.com The Chichester Hotel, Old London Road, Rawreth, SS11 8UE

Sunday 9th September Sara Dowling Quartet: Sara Dowling (vocals), Gabriel Latchin (piano), Dario di’Lecce (bass), Steve Brown (drums)

4th July - 8pm -10:30pm Iain Mackenzie from Strictly Come Dancing

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.

USEFUL NUMBERS

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

0845 603 7628

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