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CONTENTS N
O SS
08 Mark Francois LE Political Update
12 Recipe Risotto
16 Nature Notes
06 19Coached23 We Offer Classes fo
EWT Volunteer Neil Sumner
18 Rotary Club / Lions Club Organisations Around Town
20
Martin Lewis
Money Saving Expert
23 What’s On
When and Where...
30 Travel
Covent Garden
Ages to Learn the Sport
Disability & Special Needs
Pre School Cl Under 5’s
Adult Classes Recreational
Keep Fit Clas Parent/Tod
Nokes & Co, Squire House, 81-87 High Street, CM12 9 Competition & Development Group Edition 44 Billericay, Essex 01277 633971 07949 266321 mark@nokesandco.co.uk www.nokesa To advertise contact our Sales Team today, details to International Level below. Booking deadline for our August edition is:
Monday 24th July Copyright 2017. 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.
Contact us for more information Useful Numbers 1a London Road, Wickford, Essex SS12 info@ultima-tc.club www.ultima-tc.c 01268 906269 Ultima Trampoline Club is a reg CASC Around Town Magazines 01277 658444
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General Election, I would like to take this opportunity to thank my constituents who live in and around the Rayleigh area for their support in re-electing me as their Member of Parliament. During the six weeks of the election campaign I canvassed in all parts of the constituency, mark francois including in Raleigh, conservative Parliamentary mP although given the for rayleigh & Wickford thousands of properties it Thank you for your was not possible to knock on every individual door. support Now that the dust has Nevertheless, I generally settled on the recent received a positive
Project2_Layout 1 01/12/2015 12:14 Page 1
reception, for which I am very grateful. I was very pleased that the turnout increased to over 70% and my majority increased but I realise of course that not everyone reading this article will have voted for me and I will do my best to serve my constituents, whatever their own personal politics maybe. Yours faithfully, Rt Hon Mark Francois MP Member of Parliament for Rayleigh and Wickford
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advertorial
Cloudy2Clear Announce Trusted Trader Partnership Consumer champions Which? have now joined the thousands of customers who recognise that Cloudy2Clear Windows really are a business that you can TRUST. The company which specialises in repairing windows which are steamed up, broken or damaged by replacing the panes – not the frames has received the coveted ‘Which Trusted Trader’ status after going through a rigorous accreditation process entirely focussed on customer service. Group Managing Director Marcus McGee believes that Which? have endorsed Cloudy2Clear’s long standing company
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
manager Chris Miller agrees that this approach is a major factor in his success. ‘The truth is that it’s not just the personal satisfaction that I get from doing a good job but also it makes good business sense. I get a huge amount of business from friends and family of people I’ve done work for, which just goes to show how much a little bit of effort is appreciated as both my customers and, obviously a body as nationally important as Which? now recognise.’ So, if your windows are steamed up, broken or damaged give Chris a call for a free quotation on 0800 61 21 118 and he’ll be happy to help!
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RECIPE Risotto (2 Servings) Ingredients: 1 small onion, finely chopped 1 clove garlic 2 small sticks of celery Half a red pepper, chopped into small pieces 1 vegetable stock cube 200ml boiling water 4 small handfuls of risotto rice Bacon (optional to make a non-vegetarian version) Parmesan cheese to top (if required)
Method: 1. Heat some oil in a pan.
couple of minutes.
2. Lightly brown the onion and add the garlic 3. Add the rest of the chopped ingredients and fry for a couple of minutes until slightly softened. 4. Add the risotto rice and fry, stirring regularly for another
5. Add the stock cube to the boiling water and pour onto the rice dish. 6. Cover with a lid and reduce the heat. 7. Once all the liquid has been absorbed, your dish is ready to serve.
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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Flat Roofing Guaranteed for Life Advertorial
Around 70% of homes in the UK incorporate a mineral felt flat roof. Mineral felt generally has a slow breakdown often allowing water ingress to cause unnecessary damage before anything can be visibly detected within the home. A failing roof & the warning signs - Look for signs of cracking around the roof edge, pipes, upstands and roof lights etc. Beware of blisters on the roof surface, during colder months they can become brittle and crack. Felt will attract moss and algae further degrading the roof surface.
IMPORTANT: - ALL PROPERTY OWNERS PLEASE BE AWARE When a flat roof is replaced there are Part L Building Regulations that the homeowner and the contractor must comply with. Please call for free information regarding the Part L Law. The home-owner should also be made aware that insurance companies will no longer accept any liability for any external or internal damage caused by a leaking flat roof which is over 10 years old. In 1999, High-Tech Roofing first introduced the most advanced flat roof technology to the
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Nature Notes Written by Neil Sumner
Neilsumner123@aol.com twitter.com/neilsumner123 I start with an appeal. It is tempting this month to cut back that hedge or shrub that spills over the lawn, or to get landscape gardeners in to start that desired project. But really these things should wait until the end of the month. Robins, wrens, dunnocks, thrushes and finches are still nesting. I was told one story last month of a gardener that found a robins’ nest whilst doing some heavy pruning. Although the nest was left intact the disturbance had taken place. And the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 makes it illegal to disturb nesting birds. Last year, I advised a housing developer of blackbirds nesting in ivy that they needed to cut back on a boundary fence. The developer duly delayed the pruning and the blackbirds raised young. Development does mean loss of habitat but, in the longer term, it doesn’t have to be bad for wildlife, it can be good. Buffer areas of scrub and unmown grass with catproof fencing, particularly along streams, can protect and even improve habitats. Well-planted gardens with native species trees that provide food and refuges, such as bug hotels, can become havens. The sterile silence that often pervades in new builds does not have to last. In my locale there is a prospective site for new housing next to a local nature reserve. Conservationists pointed out that, if this site was fully developed, many species in that reserve would become isolated, causing a diluted gene pool and local extinction. So the developer proposed a compromise, giving part of the site to extend the nature reserve. The ecologists are designing it now and proposing to protect ancient trees, enhance hedges, add wetland and create species-rich grassland. Add a network of permissive footpaths and both old and new residents will have this asset on their doorstep, if development goes ahead. So we hope that in a future July we will walk through the grassland on that site and the Meadows Brown butterflies will rise from the grass like leaves in a breeze, as they did on a hay farm I visited late last month. We hope to attract Marbled Whites, a butterfly that is becoming more common but still patchy in its distribution in South Essex. One to look for when you walk through grassy areas in the long summer days.
16
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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
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.
18
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of Rayleigh
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HOLIDAY BOOKINGS It’s cold, wet, and miserable, so no wonder this is the peak summer holiday booking period. However, with the pound recently at a 32 year low against the dollar, and matching the awful rates of 2013 against the euro, this year it’s likely to be a challenge to get a decent price. The weak pound not only hits holiday spending, but hotels, car hire and more, so here are my 10 top tips for keeping costs down. 1. Pocket the perfect plastic to make the pound perform. Spend abroad and most credit cards add a 3% ‘non-sterling transaction fee’ which means £100 of euros costs £103 and some then load other charges on top. However, there are a range of specialist cards that don’t add that fee. So, you get that day’s same near-perfect rate that the banks do, in every country. My top two long term picks, as well as good exchange rates, have low cash fees - the www.creation. co.uk Everyday card and www.halifax.co.uk Clarity. Spending on these is super cheap, usually easily smashing the best bureau de change rates. Yet only do this if you’ll repay the card IN FULL each month, to avoid the 18.9% ish representative APR. It’s worth noting if instead of spending on the card you withdraw foreign cash and spend that, you will pay interest even if you clear in full, but even with that added they’re still not that costly. For full info on top cards, and an eligibility calculator so you can see which you’re most likely to be accepted for go to www.mse.me/payabroad. 2. One hotel room can have hundreds of prices. Once you know what hotel you want, always check to see if it’s being sold cheaper elsewhere, use comparison sites www.trivago. co.uk and www.travelsupermarket.com for a wide-ranging search (and always call the hotel to see if it’ll beat the price). The difference can be £100s.
3. With car hire book it early and buy insurance elsewhere. If hiring abroad, generally early booking is cheaper, what costs £10 a day now can be £40 a day when you get there. Here’s the three key steps: a) Do a comparison to find your cheapest. I’d try www.kayak.co.uk, www.carrentals.co.uk and if needed www.skyscanner.net too. b) Check stealth fuel charges. Some try and make you pay for a full tank and return it empty adding £80ish if you don’t drive far. The above, apart from Kayak, let you filter by fuel policy. c) Don’t fall for their insurance up-sell. When you pick up a car they’ll often try and fear sell you up to £25/day insurance on top – to cover the large excess if you have any claims. If you’ll pay for this, instead use excess insurance comparison site www.moneymaxim.co.uk before you go and you can often find a policy from £2 a day. Yet if you do this, or don’t get the insurance, the car hire firm will ask you to leave a deposit on a credit (not debit) card which can be €1,000+.
“...YOU’LL RISK A FINE OF UP TO £1,000” 4. Find best holiday cash in seconds. Just use my www.travelmoneymax.com site which compares 30 online bureaux to find which gives you the best rates in seconds, factoring all fees. 5. Speedily find the cheapest flights. The obvious start point again are comparison sites. My top picks are www.skyscanner.net, www.kayak.co.uk and www.momondo.co.uk which include most airlines and booking sites like Expedia and ebookers. Yet if you really want to slash flight costs, you need to get clever, such as using ethnic specialist travel agents and checking out airline code sharing deals. For full help see www.mse.me/cheapflights.
6. Don’t forget the good old fashion package holiday. Package holidays are where you usually get flights, hotels and transfers in one. They can still be the cheapest especially if you’re going away for 7, 10 or 14 days in a traditional holiday destination like Benidorm. Both www.travelsupermarket.com and www. icelolly.com have comparison sites. Then once you’ve got up a price, if you want to shave a little off, you can call up other agents to see if they’ll sell you the same holiday at a cheaper price. 7. Book travel insurance AS SOON as you book the holiday. Every year people email me saying something sadly akin to, “I’m due on holiday in a few months, but I’ve just been given a cancer diagnosis and can’t go, the airline won’t let me cancel, what can I do?” The answer is ‘that’s what travel insurance is for’. Yet many people only book it just before they go. Waiting defeats half the point of having the cover – which is to protect you in the event cancellation is needed due to illness, a death in the family or something else. Full help on the cheapest policies, including for over 65s in www.mse. me/travelinsurance. 8. Booked EasyJet – keep checking the price. If your EasyJet price drops after you’ve booked it – excluding in a sale – you can just call it up to ask for the difference back in vouchers. Jo emailed: “We got an £803 voucher... all thanks to you.”
martin L E W IS Money Saving Expert
9. Check if your European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is still valid. The free EHIC means if you’re in an EU (and a few others) country you can use a state GP or hospital for the same price as a local, so if it’s free for them, it’s free for you. It’s valuable extra protection (alongside travel insurance). Yet it’s not valid for millions, this is nothing to do with Brexit, but simply that it has a valid until date and 5.3 million expired in the last year. Check yours, if it is, go to www.nhs.uk/ NHSEngland/Healthcareabroad/EHIC to get a new one for FREE (don’t Google this, you’ll find shyster sites trying to charge you to do it who add nothing to the process). 10. Be careful boozing on holiday. A final thought. If you’re going to drink on holiday (and let’s be honest, for many people that’s half what it’s about), remember this may invalidate your travel insurance claim. So, take it easy, and if you won’t take it easy, at least think about what belongings you’re taking with you! Martin Lewis is the Founder & Editor in Chief of Money Saving Expert. To join the 10 million people who get his Martin’s Money Tips weekly email, go to www.moneysavingexpert.com/latesttip
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 Open Gardens for Essex Wildlife Trust in Upminster There are two gardens opening to the public on July 30 2017 from 12 noon to 6pm. Jan and Eddie Haley, 26 Courtenay Gardens, RM14 1DD and Tony Gunton, 8 Franks Cottages RM14 3NU Entry is £3 at First Garden you visit and 50p at the second. Refreshments will be available at reasonable prices all proceeds going to Essex Wildlife Trust. Information Joy Emerson 01708 440297
Music Theatre Essex SUMMER HOLIDAY OPPORTUNITY FOR YOUNG PEOPLE IN ESSEX- www.musictheatreessex.co.uk Music Theatre Essex are a company run by active theatre professionals, with experience in the West End, Uk Tours, Film and Concerts. With the aim of working with young people from all over Essex. MTE are offering 5 courses during this summer- @musictheatreessex 24th-25th July- ADVANCED AUDITION & SOLO PERFORMANCE WORKSHOP 14+yrs 26th July-4th August (wed-fri & mon-fri)- SEUSSICAL THE MUSICAL! 7-21yrs 4th August. 26th-28th July & 31st-2nd Aug- INFANT SUMMER SCHOOLS! 3-6yrs 5th & 6th July- MUSICIANS INTENSIVE grade 6+
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TRAVEL - LONDON The
By Tim Saunders – www.travelwriter.biz A day out in London’s going to be expensive. Right? Wrong. Well, you’re not going to have much fun then… Not so.
sister Heidi (six months) seems to be getting the same idea. So, for much of the way we carry our little ones while trying to push this monstrous buggy along London’s streets. But then Harriett decides to walk. “Wee wees,” she soon exclaims. Our hearts used to sink on such occasions but since we became the proud owners of a Carry Potty our nightmares have been banished. It does become dangerously full though by the end of the day!
My family and I live in Hampshire, under 100 miles away from the capital. One Sunday we get in the car and see what awaits us in the city. And we are pleasantly surprised. With two little daughters dictating what happens and when, we can end up feeling frustrated that our days do not show many achievements. Arriving in London at gone 1pm we expect this is probably going to be another of those occasions.
We park near Southwark and are surprised to find free road side parking. The weather is cloudy and overcast but there is a distinct air of calm about the place; not something that I have previously associated with the capital. It could be because most of the city types have packed up and taken their leave and now the tourists are in charge. As we amble down the road a scruffy Spaniard asks if we are locals and where hotel Ibis is. Unfortunately, his pronunciation of Ibis sounds much more like Ritz to me and I cannot help but Caroline assures me he is looking for Hotel Ibis and that it’s just around the corner. Anyway, when in town we always like to head for Covent Garden, the area near all the theatres and the cultural heart of London in many ways. Fortunately, the grey skies are clearing; a sunny day is finally ours. Eldest daughter Harriett (twoand-a-half years) really does not like sitting in the front of our tandem pushchair and behind her
Covent Garden is no more than five miles from where we have parked and we arrive, it seems, just as the afternoon’s entertainment is getting in full swing. Harriett instantly sits on the warm cobbles and beckons us to join her. It’s not long before an Australian Houdini takes centre stage and mesmerises us all. You can see a little of what he gets up to in the video at travelwriter. biz. An afternoon of completely free street entertainment follows, featuring everything from jugglers to comics. It really makes us realise what a richness of talent we have access to and that London is the venue for showcasing this. We’ve paid to see shows in theatres that were not even half as good as what we have just seen. Caroline’s mum and dad reckon they have seen these very acts in Florence, so perhaps they travel around the world wowing audiences. As we head back to our car with our spirits high we all become hungry. We decide to be extravagant and pop into a restaurant. Even here we are to be surprised. Vapiano, in Southwark, specialises in affordable Mediterranean dishes. Usually in London you’ll have to go a very long way to find a decent main meal in convivial surroundings for under £10 but this is Vapiano’s forte. There’s a good selection of dishes and the interior is spacious and comfortable. Because it’s self-service with all items charged to a single debit style card, the price point has been brought right down.
Tim Saunders is an author, journalist and businessman. He meets celebrities, goes on holiday and road tests cars.
Revd Nick Rowan
All in bloom As I write the churchyard at Holy Trinity has just been visited by judges from Anglia in Bloom.We are grateful to the volunteers in the church family who meticulously look after the churchyard and the flowerbeds at the front of the church. Last year we received a Gold award from Anglia in Bloom. We look forward to hearing what the result is this year. We are also preparing for the 19th Annual Friends of Holy Trinity Garden Trail.This will take place on Saturday July 22nd 10am to 5pm and Sunday July 23rd 2pm to 5pm. We are grateful to the owners of the 13 gardens who work so hard to prepare their gardens and who welcome visitors. There are some new garden for those taking part in the Trail this year.Including a garden that was visited by Monty Don, for the BBC 2 programme ‘Big Dreams Small Spaces’. Guides allowing entry to gardens taking part in the Trail on either or both days, are now available from the Parish Office (in the parish centre behind Holy Trinity Church).These cost £4 in advance and £5 on the day.
the Bible draws on examples from nature. Sowing, nurturing, reaping, harvesting all get mentioned. In John’s Gospel Jesus describes himself as ‘The Vine’. His followers, individual Christians are described as the branches of that Vine. One way of developing vines that might be grown in gardens is to graft on new buds by slicing a small section of the trunk of an established vine. The new bud is then attached to the open section and over time they are effectively fused together.In the same way when anyone chooses to follow Jesus they can be grafted in to him as a new bud. Christians experience spiritual restoration, sustenance and growth through being a branch of this Vine. By being a branch that is fed by this vine we can bear fruit.We can live fruitful lives. We can make a difference in the world and help make the world a better place. At a time when loneliness and disconnectedness affect so many in our society, it can make a real difference to know that you are a valuable part of something bigger.At times of uncertainty or when we are hurting Jesus stresses the importance of being part of that Vine, saying ‘remain in me….. remain in my love’. As you spend time enjoying all that that nature and gardens have to offer this summer, may you also know spiritual restoration, sustenance and growth. Best wishes
Thinking about gardens and gardening reminds me that much of Jesus teaching in
Nick Parish Office 01268 742151 info@parishofrayleigh.org.uk
www.parishofrayleigh.org.uk
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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)
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CHEMISTS Boots the Chemist, Rayleigh 01268 771883 Audley Mills, Rayleigh
01268 776479
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Grange Pharmacy, Rayleigh 01268 784192 Hambro, Rayleigh
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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
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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
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