Chelmsford the City Times July 2014

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Issue Number 10 - July/August 2014

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CT Welcome Hello readers

We hope you are having a great festiival season. The Fling, 3 Foot Festival, Walthamstock and The Tour de France in Essex have all been and gone (see our photos on pages 10 & 11). We still have a bit of the beer festival, Bay Days, Blues in the City and Brownstock to go.

We have had a very busy month distributing the magzine at as many local events as possible and hope to continue to do so.

We have launched our Braintree magazine and are also working on some music based events via It’s Your Music with our first gig on 12th September see page 13 for details Enjoy the sunshine!

Paul & Nick

www.chelmsfordthecitytimes.co.uk & www.moulshamtimes.com Advertising Editorial Nick Garner Paul Mclean 07970 206682 07595 949701 ads@itsyourmedia.co.uk editorial@itsyourmedia.co.uk Disclaimer: It’s Your Media publish Chelmsford The City Times. The opinion expressed in each article is the opinion of its author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of It’s Your Media. No part may be reproduced without the prior written permission of It’s Your Media.

Bi-monthly Beer Festival 24th-27th July 2014

From country wide cask ale and cider, to imported German lager and worldwide bottled beers, no matter what you drink, The Ale House is the place for you!

Saturday 19th July - 8pm Full Mental Racket- Classic Rock Covers Band Thursday 24th July - 8pm Kick off the beer festival with 'Meet the Brewer' Skinners.

Saturday 26th July - 8pm Beer Fesval Live Music - Coyotes- Blues Rock Saturday 2nd August - 8pm - Flashbax- 60's Saturday 9th August 8pm Riddled With Booze Orchestra

24-26 Viaduct Road, Chelmsford, CM1 1TS 01245 260535 www.the-ale-house-chelmsford.co.uk Page 3 www.chelmsfordthecitytimes.co.uk

CT Fashion - Festival fever

It’s festival season! You may have been one of the lucky ones that attended Glastonbury and the mud is still fresh on your wellies, but that same weekend, Chelmsford hosted the very brilliant Fling Festival at Hylands Park. I went to check out the best dressed festival goers on site.

Lucy Dress she made it herself (Lucy has her own label called Lucy Can’t Dance, based at Battlesbridge) Hat - eBay

Chloe Hat - Primark (customised, check out the light bulb) Top - Primark Shorts - Zara Ring - Wallis (Other jewellery from India & Turkey) Boots - Hunter

Susan Dress - Gap Jacket - Nike runner’s Jacket Bag - Nine West (borrowed from a friend) Face Jewellery - (Play Date her own stall)

Ellie Top - Primark Jeans - River Island Boots - Doc Martens Jewellery - Primark, Forever 21, River Island Face Glitter - Tent at The Fling

Gabby Dress - Lindy Bop Ophelia Dress Sunglasses - Peacocks Flower accessory - Vivien of Holloway Earrings - Boutique in Bishops Stortford

Steve Shirt - eBay Waistcoat - eBay Jeans - eBay Cap - eBay Sunglasses - eBay

Sue Working for Easy Tiger Vintage, Owns Leaping Hare Vintage Boiler Suit - 80s Vintage Belt - 80s Vintage Puma Trainers - 80s Vintage

Ben Peter Lead singer of the Midnight Barbers.

Outfit - Going Underground Ben’s outfit - he can’t remember where Halstead,Camden Market he bought it from and has accumulated Warrior Clothing. his clothes over the years.

Emma Smith lives in Chelmsford and is a style consultant. She offers personal shopping and wardrobe planning. You can contact her via her website www.emmasmith.co.uk or email her emma@emmasmith.co.uk.

Page 5 www.chelmsfordthecitytimes.co.uk

CT Cooking

By John Jacobs

Baked whole Lemon Sole with Summer Vegetable Risotto.

I’m giving up smoking. Again. A large part of me - and there is ample provision for such a part that doesn’t want to. Some of my formative years were spent growing up on the sunny island of Cyprus, a place rich in the antioxidant and healthy Mediterranean diet, yet conversely a place one could buy cigarettes in family packs and novelty stockings for Christmas. I’m doing this on the down low though, intent in avoiding the added pressure of proclaiming myself a non-smoker then weakening like a England defence. Apparently every smoke takes 5 minutes off my life. If I take 10 minutes to smoke one, is that a 5 minute net gain? What is clear is that smoking is a major cause of statistics worldwide.

I’m also trying to avoid the cheery helpful platitudes from cheery helpful non-smokers, you know, “you’ll save a fortune, get your taste buds back.” I can do both those things by giving up fast food from Duke Street without excising yet another vice. I bought an e-cigarette to assist my quest, that ironically is becoming as socially unacceptable and unwelcome in pubs and restaurants as the real thing, though it does look a little gimpy sitting in a bar puffing on something that looks like a Dr Who sonic screwdriver. I thought about filling the void left by my smokey carcinogenic friends by taking up a hobby, growing a beard perhaps though I recall I did once and just looked like a fat George Michael.

olive oil and add the garlic. Once the onions have turned nicely translucent add in the garlic and uncooked rice. Slowly continue to fry on a low heat until the rice has absorbed the oil and flavour of the onions.

In a separate jug, make up your chicken stock, using a bullion cube is absolutely fine. Now, here’s the controversial bit, all the recipe books and risotto artisans tell you to slowly add the stock and stir gently until absorbed by the rice, repeating this for the best part of 45 minutes. NO. NO, NO. NO. Frankly, I have better things to do. I could smoke 4.5 cigarettes in that time, complete the Telegraph cryptic, start and finish a Dan Brown novel.

Add in all the stock, the beans and spring onions, turn onto a low heat and give a very gentle stir every minute or so to prevent sticking.

Trust me, I cooked a beetroot risotto for the Italian delegation of Slow Food Movement this way and I wasn’t prosecuted by the Escoffier police. Not even cautioned.

In the meantime, using the sharpest knife in your possession score 2 or 3 cuts across the top of your fish and drizzle some olive oil into the flesh. Season lightly with salt and pepper and sprinkle some fresh dill over the top. You can use dried dill if you have this in the cupboard but to me it tastes like tobacco and I’m trying to give up.

Place them on a heated baking tray (to avoid sticking) and pop in a hot oven for 12-15 minutes.

Finish off the risotto by stirring in the parmesan cheese and season to taste. When the fish is cooked, settle it on top of the risotto and garnish with a little dill.

Enjoy.

I digress. Sadly the longest day has been and gone, the Fling has flung and today I saw a restaurant advertising bookings for Christmas. But lets fight it good people of Chelmsford. The summer sun is strong in the sky and whilst we are bereft of Wimbledon and World Cup glory there is still plenty to enjoy in the city. Check out the fantastic Blues in the City on Facebook for one. This month’s recipe is a blinder to impress. You can use fillets if the thought of whole fish would be too fiddly to eat without harming yourself on bones. Have a wonderful July dear readers.

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www.chelmsfordthecitytimes.co.uk

CT Gardening These are exciting times for Writtle College as at the time of writing we zoom towards the 7th July Tour de France! Ben Wincott, Course Manager for L3 Horticultural, and his final year students have been very active assisting Nicola Burrell in mowing her 10-hectare design at North Weald Airfield.

Nicola said: “There is a great tradition during the Tour de France of memorable meadow art for the Tour de France and I’m very proud to have been asked to create something to help show Essex off to the world. “The airfield is a perfect space for my design which is aimed at encapsulating the feeling of speed. The juxtaposition of the actual racing bikes and the static land art will express a sense of motion, and create an exciting moment in the race. I’ve taken inspiration from the shapes of the bicycles, riders and slip streams, and I think the design represents the dynamism and excitement which is the Tour de France.”

by Tom Cole

The students were all able to use a wide range of mowing machines pedestrian and ride-ons - to cut through swathes of waist high grass.

Precision marking-out skills were embraced by all to produce, what from the ground was difficult to comprehend, a truly topical effect. Look out for it; around a 1/3rd acre in length! If you’re viewing the tour as it passes by at North Weald or watching on TV, I am hopeful you’ll find the whole display staggering!

In other news, tutors have been working with final year students to create a wildlife haven and new teaching zone for Kings Road Primary School, Chelmsford. Over the last few weeks the group have razed an area to the ground and re-instated a wildlife pool complete with viewing platform and all - weather teaching zone. All sat marvellously within a secluded area of the school. Planting will follow in the autumn.

And finally...

A few gardening tips for success as we meander through the month of July. Continue to de-side shoot cordon tomatoes to concentrate energy into remaining fruit trusses. Summer prune restricted fruits, always cutting back vegetative growth to around 2.5-5cm in front of the basal cluster; a whorl of leaves growing just in front of fruitlets.

This will enable more light to access fruit and aid ripening and also enable the form of the plant to be maintained.

The site for the meadow art has been carefully chosen so it can be seen from the air.

Good luck and happy gardening!

For any gardening tips why not contact Tom Cole, Head of Faculty for Land & Environment, Writtle College, Chelmsford, CM1 3RR by post (including a SAE) or by email at tom.cole@writtle.ac.uk.

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Beer Tourism by Simon Tippler of Round Tower Brewery

As interest in beer and brewing grows, increasing numbers of people are willing to travel to try really great beer. Essex has some excellent breweries as well as outstanding pubs where you can get a good range of fantastic beers, but a beer trip can widen your horizons (and taste buds) on what is available.

As a starting point, the Bermondsey Beer Mile is perfect for a resident of Chelmsford.

It’s easy to get to and although slightly longer than a mile, has some of the best drinking in the country in such a small area.

The breweries are all open on a Saturday afternoon and are all set up for discerning drinkers to call in and get a drink or two or what ever is available.

Although it is equally valid to walk the other way, on a recent trip I started at Four Pure Brewery in South Bermondsey (SE16 3LL).

Four Pure started brewing in November 2013 and produce a range of keg beers all of which were available to sample in the large industrial unit. This included a session IPA and an oatmeal stout, both of which were very palatable. There were several picnic tables to sit on and some large shiny brewery equipment and piles and piles of grain sacks

to look over as you enjoy the beer. Recently, they have been at the forefront of breweries who are producing beer in 330ml cans.

The next stop is one of the breweries located in a railway arch. Partizan Brewing (SE16 3LR) produce great bottled beer with fantastic artistic labels. The labels wouldn’t look out of place if they were framed and hung on the wall. There was a good crowd of people hanging around outside the brewery drinking their beer and it was a nice touch that the beer was served by Andy the brewer.

There is a good link between Partizan and the next brewery in the itinerary as Evin O’Riordain at The Kernel gave Andy his old 5 barrel kit when he upgraded.

The Kernel (SE16 3SF) is worth a visit on its own even if it wasn’t in the middle of the Beer Mile. When I arrived, there were no seats left and a large queue to get some beer. The beer was well worth the wait.

Inspired by the micro brewing scene in America, Evin produces strong and punchy beers mainly heavily hopped IPAs which are as good on tap from the kegs in the brewery as they are in bottles, which if you are lucky, can be bought from selected retailers across the country. The beers are often just named after the hops they contain and no tasting notes are provided. It is worth noting that in the arch next door to The Kernel there are some fantastic cured meats and cheese to purchase.

The next stop on the route is Brew By Numbers (SE16 3RA), also set in a railway arch. Here I had a chat with one of the brewers and sampled an imperial stout which was one of the best beers of that style that I have ever tasted.

The final brewery on the Bermondsey Beer Mile is Anspach and Hobday (SE1 2HH).

Anspach & Hobday have not been open for very long and are still finding their feet but are producing some good beers.

To keep up to date with the latest on the Bermondsey Beer Mile follow @BermondseyBeerM on twitter.

If you fancy travelling further afield then there are specialist beer tour companies like www.podgebeer.co.uk who offer guided trips to try some of the best beer in the world.

Watch out for an article on this later in the year. www.roundtowerbrewery.co.uk

Tour de France

It’s a surreal experience watching such great athletes in one of the world’s biggest sporting events at such close quarters speed through Essex, but one to remember forever more. The chances are that this is not going to happen again during any of our lifetimes.

So there we have it; all that build up and anticipation gone in a flash of gleaming bikes. Was it worth it? Of course it was. The sense that somehow we had become more European and less keep-yourself-to-yourself British for a moment in time prevailed for the day. Even the weather was more Southern France than Yorkshire or Essex!

If you search online you will find exhilarating footage recorded by some of the various onbike cameras that this year’s Tour de France boasts – it’s well worth it; it gives a real sense of what it must have been like to ride through the vast crowds that turned out on the Monday to greet the peloton as it glided through leafy sunny southern England.

In central London for the climax of the stage, the crowd was 20 deep in places and Richie Porte, Team Sky, described the feeling as “absolutely unbelievable, hairs on ends”.

Though the craze of people wanting to take selfies with the peloton in the background was universally condemned as irresponsible and dangerous. Maybe this is a legacy of cycle racing being new to the majority of Brits and people not quite understanding how far they can step over the imaginary line between rider and crowd. Don’t do it, it’s not safe and it’s not clever.

Cycling the route to Great Waltham the other day it was nice to see the bunting and flags still up - and if you’re the owner of the property on the outskirts of Great Waltham with the Tour de France logo painted on the front of your house, please don’t remove it; it already serves as a fantastic reminder that Le Tour passed this way in 2014. I look forward to seeing that on chilly damp autumn rides and hot summer ones for years to come.

After the Olympics there was much talk about ‘the legacy’ and what it would mean to cycling in the UK. Well, I did indeed notice that more respect and awareness was accorded to cyclists for a time after Wiggins’ Olympic win before it gradually reverted back to normal, with impatient drivers pulling out of junctions while bikes are cycling past, unfathomably unable to wait mere seconds to let the rider pass in complete safety.

I hope that overall, the idea of a Tour de France legacy builds on the Olympics legacy and that this can eventually lead to a time when motorists and cyclists can share the roads equally and with mutual respect.

By Sean Neylon

My day started early, plenty of sun protection and a bottle of water followed by a stroll through the lovely countryside of Roxwell in near silence apart from bird song and the breeze. I was pleased to find my chosen spot was clear apart from two other early-birds not knowing just how crowded the side of the road might be.

Watching road racing is unique, the build up starts about an hour before the riders appear with the Tour de France Caravan speeding through the streets ahead of the leaders. It must be the only time that police motorbikes ever get cheered.

The excitement rises steadily as each group of vehicles that passes - throwing free energy gels and caps to the eager crowds – just might be the one that signals the big arrival. Then it happens, a cavalcade of support vehicles and police bikes - some the gendarmerie - with sirens wailing making sure the way is clear and safe. The adrenalin rises as hot on their tails the leaders of the Tour de France fly past and you know the peloton must be seconds behind them.

Page 10

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The Fling Festival

3 Foot People Festival

CT What’s On In Chelmsford July/August July 18th Bassment - Grizzly Bears + The White Gospel CAMRA Beer Festival Civic Theatre - The Wiz Cramphorn Theatre - The Patience Stone (15) Fleece - Adrenaline The Loop - Friday Vibe 19th Alehouse - Full Mental Racket- Classic Rock Covers Band Bassment - Alternative Disco - Darryl Butcher - Dan Floyd - Randy CAMRA Beer Festival Civic Theatre - The Wiz Cramphorn Theatre - Edinburgh warm ups Fleece - Andrew McClaire - Dave Hams - Keeley Denman – Handle with Care The Loop - Sound In Motion - Nicky Blackmarket & Friends 20th Civic Theatre - Essex Dance Theatre Annual Showcase 2014 21st Cramhorn Theatre - Her (15) 22nd The Loop - Work Hard, Play Hard 23rd Bassment - Jazz funk with Zak Barrett Cramphorn Theatre - Lunchtime concert Cramphorn Theatre - Kill Your Darlings (15) Fleece - DJ Darryl Butcher 24th Alehouse - Beer Festival Bassment - The Two Ronnies - Jon Ruskin - Stuart denney - Alex Fox Fleece - DJ Darryl Butcher 25th Alehouse - Beer Festival - Meet The Brewer (Skinners) Bassment - Indie Disco with live bands Fleece - Bay Days - Strike it Zero – KLOQ – F.O.X – **** & the Gang The Loop - DJ Paul Mawson presents Classic House 26th Alehouse - Beer Festival - Coyotes - Blues Rock Bassment - Alternative Disco - Darryl Butcher - Firat - Dan Floyd Fleece - Bay Days - Happnin Boy & Harmonica Mike - Guide Dogs for the Dead - The Lemoncurd Kid - Buried by the Thousand - Muertos Killatrix - Anger is a Gift - The Hype Theory - Villains - Tek One The Loop - DJ Uniques Club Classics 27th Alehouse - Beer Festival 29th The Loop- The Loop - Work Hard, Play Hard 30th Cramphorn Theatre - Lunchtime concert Fleece - DJ Darryl Butcher 31st Bassment - Girls and Guitars Fleece - DJ Darryl Butcher Make a Silver ring day - Contact Amy info@rawjewellery.co.uk

August 1st Bassment - Secret Company Fleece - Sammy Lizard Marconi Cub - 80s Night - See advert on opposite page The Loop - Friday Vibe 2nd Alehouse - Flashbax - 60s Bassment - Staple Diet Summer Carnival Fleece - Hilary Cornell – Marcus Brown – Amie Craven – Squabbler The Loop - Amplified Rabbit 5th The Loop- The Loop - Work Hard, Play Hard 6th Bassment - Back to Mine Fleece - DJ Darryl Butcher 7th Bassment - Richard Capener Fleece - Jam night with Paolo 8th Bassment - Indie Disco with live bands Fleece - Indigo Hammer The Loop - Friday Vibe 9th Alehouse - Riddled with Booze Orchestra Bassment - Bassment Alternative Disco Fleece - Leanne Louise – Jamie Williams – Keeley Denman – Repertoire Dogs The Loop - Intense Records Presents 12th The Loop- The Loop - Work Hard, Play Hard 13th Bassment - Blues In The City - Julian Burdock (24 Pesos) - Cold Norton 14th Bassment - Acoustic Underground Please note, all events are subject to change. Please visit their websites or facebook pages for more details.

Please send details of your events to editorial@itsyourmedia.co.uk.

Events can be charity events, jumble sales, dance classes, school reunions, garden parties, live music, local theatre etc.

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Chelmsford

Blues in the City Festival 2014

Blues, Booze, Rock & Roots 26th to 28th Sept 2014

Pleaseget in touch for more info on our superb disco services!

For more info go to: www.bluesinthecity.co.uk For Tickets go to: www.wegottickets.com/f/7755

CT Business

sponsored by:

Zorba the Greek - Viaduct Road by Darren Lerigo

“Just can’t get enough of the excellent food and friendly service at this place. If you’ve not tried it you have missed out on what is simply Greek heaven in Chelmsford”.

“Had dinner here tonight after reading such great reviews online and wasn’t disappointed. We went for the meze and so glad we did, it was full of flavour and tasted so fresh. The atmosphere itself was very warm, welcoming and friendly and made for a great night. Definitely will be visiting again soon.”

“It’s an event now. I plan my nights out around this restaurant.”

Who are these reviews talking about? Zorba the Greek – the only Greek restaurant in Chelmsford. So I thought I would go and see proprietor Harry and find out what he is doing that makes so many people rave about his restaurant.

“We opened Zorba last January because there was no Greek restaurant here or beyond. Greek food culture is strong, it is one of the healthiest cuisines in the world and people love it. They go for holidays to Greece, they come back home and they are not catered for. Now they can come back from holiday and taste it here”.

“It’s all word of mouth. People encourage others to go, they talk about us, they take pictures of their food and post it on Facebook, they come back and bring friends. That’s how it’s growing. The other night half the people came here from Trip Advisor”.

it has to be the best quality meat… It is not like the kebab you have late at night.”

Will we get to hear some of your songs?

“We plan on adding some bouzouki music, my son and I will play…

Maybe we do Greek nights? I try to teach a little Greek to the customers – come for the food, get a free language lesson!”

Harry is laughing about this, rattling off a few Greek phrases.

“It is for people that enjoy the Greek atmosphere. It will not be for everyone, you can’t be all to everyone. We now hope to retain the quality, stick to our guns, try to keep things here as simple as possible, for people who want this… We have so many lovely customers, they are absolutely wonderful.”

Do you have any advice for people setting up a business in Chelmsford?

“Be prepared for hard work. Sleep will not be in your vocabulary for a while. See who your friends are because you’ll need them, you can’t do it alone.

But you have to work it, see how it is going to go. Doing it this way – I can honestly say I have done the best I can do and am pleased with the outcome…”

“People are so excited. They call up and say ‘we didn’t know, we didn’t know about you! We’ve suddenly found out and we’re so looking forward to it!’ This enthusiasm, you don’t expect it. They wanted something different in Chelmsford and the people of Chelmsford have brought us into their lives…”

The last word goes to another customer review of Zorba the Greek, Chelmsford’s only Greek restaurant…

Harry trails off, almost lost for words about how people have taken to his restaurant.

You Know you have a Great Business by bestofchelmsford

“It leaves you with a sense of gratification at the end of the night. We are giving because the more you give the more you get back, and we try to respect and really enjoy what we are doing.”

Why did you start the restaurant?

“I was self-employed for many years, songwriting all my life, but I was on the entertainment side of the catering industry, not this side - the food. Then it kind of just happened overnight – I was looking around with a friend, saw this place…”

“Now I live here in Chelmsford and I love it. The people, its more laidback, you can breathe here, there are some lovely parks and the atmosphere here is different”.

Has the restaurant changed much since you opened?

“At first it was bring your own. Now we have added the bar, which I built myself. Problem is its small… but you can concentrate on people then, even though it can be chaos on a Saturday night! Friday’s and Saturday’s you will have to book early to get a table. We say to people come on Thursday and Sunday nights – book, but we have more space then.”

What plans do you have now?

“Open four days a week, fully booked and we’re onto a good thing. I want to earn a good little wage at the end of the week to look after my family. Get the people who really want to come, to pay for good food. I specify always to my butcher we want the best quality and only the best quality we can get – to serve to you – pork, lamb, chicken –

“Harry and his family are tremendous hosts who welcome you and care for your every need. Please give it a go”.

You know you have a great business but how do you let people know?

Here at thebestofchelmsford we help the best local businesses get noticed locally. We’ll do what you don’t have time for, market your business, manage your reputation, let local people and businesses know how good you are, and why.

We’ll use our website to showcase your business, network for you, use social media, promote your offers and events, respond within 24 hours to any changes you wish to make. It’s our flexibility that enables you to change what you wish to promote at short notice.

At thebestofchelmsford you get real people who’ll meet with you and who you can call and speak to we’re not a web directory. With us it’s personal we’ll only work with a limited number of businesses in each category.

We’ve just introduced our new village pages covering Burnham on Crouch, Danbury, Hatfield Peverel and Boreham, South Woodham Ferrers, Stock, Ingatestone Great Baddow and Writtle. It gives businesses in the surrounding areas a platform within Chelmsford city and beyond.

We believe in buy local and have proved it with our campaign stickers found on nearly 400 local businesses, we support and promote our local business people, their staff and of course, their customers.

If you’d like to know more just call us on 01245 701020 or contact us through our website at www.thebestof.co.uk/chelmsford we look forward to hearing from you.

Page 14 www.chelmsfordthecitytimes.co.uk

Sarah Brockwell sarahBee marketing have just been nominated to win Best Growing Business in Essex. We wish them best of luck in that contest.

“The Quirky Bird is in Business” by Linda McNeill This month I had the pleasure of meeting Sarah Warner of Pelican Business Psychology.

Knowing little about business, psychology or pelicans(!), we chatted over a cup of tea and Sarah explained all.

Business psychology? “It’s about improving working life - by understanding how people behave at work, you can help them perform better, reach their full potential and contribute to their organisation’s success.“ Sarah is particularly passionate about psychological wellbeing, helping employees become mentally stronger so they survive and thrive in today’s challenging work environments, where people are expected to do more work with less time and fewer resources. “The brain is your mental muscle, and everyone can learn psychological skills to keep their brain fit. For example, resilience is about ‘bounceability’, being able to overcome and be strengthened by adverse events and experiences - at work, events like organisation re-structuring can be stressful, so becoming more resilient can help prevent undue stress that affects performance and leads to long-term sickness absence.” Sarah believes both individuals and organisations are responsible for workplace well-being and - great news, you can have both!

For 18 years, Sarah worked in the international Defence, Aerospace & Security industry. “I was fascinated by people’s behaviours at work; it provoked so many questions - what qualities made for a great leader? How come some teams worked

well together and others didn’t? How come people’s working styles were different? “ While working full-time, she studied for a BSc Psychology with the Open University and then an MSc in Organisational Psychology at City University London. Although a tough longterm commitment, working and studying at the same time gave Sarah the opportunity to learn theories, apply techniques and conduct research in the workplace. In April 2013 Sarah flew the corporate nest and hatched her own business, putting her passion for psychology at the forefront. “From my own experiences and from watching others, I have a real appreciation of the pleasures and pressures of corporate life, a unique context from which to set up my own business, helping people to perform, develop AND stay well at work.”

Working with clients, on a one-to-one basis or with teams, Sarah combines her business background with psychological tools and techniques to help people identify and resolve work-related issues, and make positive sustained changes in their working lives.

Sceptical about psychology? We are naturally suspicious of things we know little about and often undervalue their ability to help us. I asked Sarah about the sceptics: “psychology doesn’t belong to experts, we’re all psychological beings every moment of every day, I like to give it away to everyone, to explain things about our thought processes and behaviours so that ultimately people can readily use that information to help themselves. Often, once they see the benefits they wonder how they managed before!” This definitely resonated with me as I often get a similar response with my own

business.

I thoroughly enjoyed chatting to Sarah and learning more about using psychology at work. If my own business continues to progress as well as it has done so far I may well be hiring her myself soon!

If you would like to know more about Sarah and Pelican Business Psychology please visit the website at www.pelicanbp.co.uk or get in touch at sarah.warner@pelicanbp.co.uk.

Finally, what’s the pelican connection?

“Walking through St James’s Park, London, a while ago I was umming and ahhing about leaving work to go self-employed... I saw the pelicans on the lake - these quirky birds are more often on exotic beaches yet they seemed quite at home in the city… well, that struck a chord, perhaps there was something of the quirky bird in me, and I too could fit in this new role…!”

If you have started your own business or reinvented your career and would like to be featured in my column I would love to hear from you! Contact me at: linda@bunintheovenbirthing.co.uk. Catch me again next month with another inspiring tale of women in business!

View all of our magazines online at www.issuu.com/itsyourmedia

Page 15 www.chelmsfordthecitytimes.co.uk

Angel Broomfield City Detective Agency Episode 7: The Case of the Gay Australian

by Simon Culleton

Angel Broomfield, Chelmsford’s very own private detective was raised by nuns in a secret monastery in Boreham with only the complete volumes of Sherlock Holmes for company.

Angel is now a resident at 221½ Moulsham Street at The City Detective Agency. With his trusty side kick John and the radiant Helen, Angel is ready to serve the City.

In episode 6 we left Angel in an Irish theme bar about to be punched by an almighty barman. Helen and John cowered behind Angel unable to escape from the two advancing policemen with handcuffs at the ready. Suddenly Angel noticed the verses of a limerick framed on the wall and he read them out loud in his best Irish accent. Within a moment the barman’s swinging fist had turned to a hug as he repeated the limerick with watery eyes, “let’s put down the sword and drink to the lord”. Angel managed to duck from the bear hug and the two policemen that were following accidently ran into the Irish man’s arms. This soon turned into a fight and Angel seized the moment and grabbed Helen and John and sprinted up the stairs and ran out into the fresh air of Waterloo Lane.

They were in such a hurry that they didn’t look where they were going and ran straight into a man carrying a backpack, sending him skidding along the pavement. The three were very quick to help him to his feet.

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“Struth mate”, exclaimed the man with an Aussie twang, “ You got me right in the billabongs” he said struggling to straighten. He then replaced his hat with dangling corks upon his bearded head.

Angel thought for a while then exclaimed: “I deduce you are an Australian..”

“Brilliant” exclaimed Helen as she smacked a hand upon her forehead.

“Cobber’s me name, kissing Sheilas is me game.” Answered the Australian with an outstretched arm.

“What a gay chap you are” said John shaking his hand.

The Australian turned red “na, only Sheilas for me mate, don’t believe what they say about Australian men liking it in the out back.”

John looked quite confused as the Australian continued: “I’m here to work for my long lost German Uncle ‘Hoffman.”

Angel, Helen and John exchanged knowing stares recognizing the name of the man they had been searching for.

Helen ventured a question.

“What kind of work?”

“I’m an entertainer. Why else would I leave my beloved Oz? “You must like it down under” asked John trying to be friendly.

“Yeah, but I told you, only with the Sheilas.” came the reply. And with that the Australian raised his hat, turned and continued on his way. Within a moment the three had hurriedly agreed to secretly follow. The Australian walked quickly and occasionally looked behind causing them to dive for cover behind a lamp post, in a bus queue, even jumping into a bin. John was an expert at this having spent his days at private school hiding from Perky Upton the school bully and thus avoiding another de-bagging and embarrassing trip to the school nurse.

They followed the Australian until he walked onto a building site in New Street, the exact location of the original Hoffman’s factory.

By the time they reached the site entrance the Australian, had disappeared into the hustle and bustle of the working construction site. Angel scanned his eyes over the scaffold that rose up on both sides, searching for the Australian but he was lost in the confusion of carpenters, plumbers and painters all working and walking in different directions

and some were standing on the scaffold comparing builder’s bums.

When suddenly a siren pierced the airwaves and the whole site stopped and looked towards the sky. Helen had not seen such an audience of men since she had tripped and split the back of her tight running shorts at the start of the Hylands cross country race, yet had continued the race to the cheers of the men who were behind her all the way. No men were looking at her now.

Suddenly Angel looking up pointed towards a crane. “It’s the German spy”. He shouted. And there sat in the cock pit of a crane that over shadowed the whole construction site was a man wearing a trench coat and pointy helmet pulling on the levers. A large wooden container was suspended on the end of a tense metal cable as the long arm of the crane lowered it down to the middle of the site to the cheers and whistle of the men. The wooden container looked more like cupboard or even you could say… a closet.

“This is what us men have been waiting for”, shouted one of the work men that had ignored Helen’s attributes. And as it was lowered to the ground two doors flung open and out of the closet came the Australian, only this time under his corked hat and bearded face he wore a glittering red dress.

Within a moment the whole site of men had linked arms and was in a singing along to ‘ Waltzing Matilda’ as the Australian whipped his audience, sometimes quite literally, into a frenzy, occasionally lifting his dress above his hairy knees to add to the excitement. John couldn’t help but get carried away with the moment, screaming like a girl as the Australian passed him and winked. In the distance a bearded Austrian Eurovision song contest competitor was taking notes. While all this was going on Angel had not noticed that the hook of the crane was now suspended directly behind him. Helen screamed a warning from the ground but was drowned out by the noise of the crowd. It was too late, Angel was hoisted high into the air by the back of his trousers which made him screamed in such a high pitched way that he had not heard since sister O’Donnerhall had slipped off the ladder while decorating the Christmas tree and had momentarily become the star on top.

City Slickers by Nick Schofield

John who was trying get the Australian’s autograph had not noticed a thing and Helen was spinning around a scaffold pole in a vain jealous attempt to attract attention back on her.

Angel was hoisted higher and higher until suddenly……

Tune in next time to see if Angel will ever hit the ground again? Can Helen regain her femininity and will John follow the Aussie back into the closet? All this and more in ‘Angel Broomfield, City detective.

CT CHARITY Samaritans, can I help you… This was said to over 21,000 callers to the Chelmsford and Mid Essex branch in 2013. 1,170 emails were also answered. Calls, emails and texts are received from all corners of the world. We even have a correspondence branch for the old fashioned way of contact and you can come in and talk to us face to face. Confidentiality is our keyword; our callers can contact us knowing that their calls/texts/emails stay within Samaritans. Some of our callers may only need to contact us once, others may need longer support and plans can be put into place to help these callers get through the darkest days, maybe following a bereavement, redundancy, rape, abuse, coping with coming off addictions. No-one is ever judged but given the time and space they need to talk about their emotions and feelings openly and freely.

Our branch is celebrating over 50 years in Chelmsford; we currently have around 70 volunteers, from all walks of life and age. We rely totally on donations and fund raising to keep our branch open. The people of Essex are always generous at our flag days in the high street, outside various Tesco branches and through the sale of second hand books. We have a happy band of non listening and listening volunteers working together to arrange fund raising events throughout the year, ranging from quiz and race nights, sponsored walks and social evenings.

We are proud to have been supporting Chelmsford prison for over 21 years and our dedicated team spend hours there training prisoners to become listeners, which are like in-house Samaritans and over the years our team has trained between 500 and 700 listeners. We are hoping by the end of this year to be able to support their families and friends too on a monthly basis at the prison.

to tell us why, how and sometimes even when they plan to end their lives. The decision is finally theirs. Yes, there are cases when a caller will tell you they have pills at hand. They will also tell you that at the end of the call they are throwing them away because they now feel much better for talking. That’s why we are there 24/7 because we never know when someone will need us.

We work hard to reach out to high risk groups and communities and work in partnership with other organisations, agencies and experts to achieve our vision to help our callers.

If you would like to enquire about how to become a volunteer – call 01245 357357, or visit www.samaritans.org/volunteer-us Our next Selection Day in Chelmsford is on Sunday September 21st.

We are holding a fund raising dinner on 7th August at Indian Night restaurant near Hylands Park. Indian Night approached us to offer us this amazing fund raising event. There will be live entertainment, magic at your table, and a raffle. Come and have a fun evening and meet us to discuss joining our amazing team. Indian Night will donate 50% of all the food takings from this evening. To book a table for Indian Nights call –07983 521981.

We hope this has given you an insight into what we do and we look to meeting lots of you over the coming months at our events.

We are lucky to have the SamVan to take to events in and around Chelmsford; V Festival fans know where to find us each year to get their playlists for the weekend. We have met MANY interesting festival goers over the years; some have become regular visitors, donating some of their beer money into our bucket. We have the means to talk to unhappy visitors inside the van in privacy if necessary.

Each year we attend the Barleylands Country Fair in September, taking our second hand books to sell, a bargain from 50p to £1 from childrens books, fiction, non fiction and humorous titles.

We also attend Essex Pride in Central Park each July, enjoying the party atmosphere and offering support to this colourful community within our county and beyond.

We have another team who go out to give talks in schools, WI, British Legion etc. This spreads the word about our services. We’ve even been known to do a talk in a local church on a Sunday during morning service.

The Samaritans’ vision is that fewer people die by suicide and to alleviate emotional distress or despair. We are committed to the values of listening, confidentiality, people making their own decisions, being non-judgemental and providing human contact. Because giving people time, undivided attention and empathy meets a fundamental emotional need and reduces distress and despair.

Where else can you talk openly about taking your own life or to talk to someone without being judged or dismissed? We allow our callers Page 18

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Hypnotherapy by Jenny Hartill

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Today I will be looking at the use of hypnotherapy for pain control.

This article does not discuss hypnosis for childbirth as the approach to this is completely different. Hypnosis for pain control is one of the oldest uses of hypnotherapy. There are two main types: hypnotic analgesia (to lessen pain) and hypnotic anaesthesia (to numb the pain) although generally this type of hypnotherapy is known as hypno-anaesthesia. Numerous formal accounts of the technique can be found in early literature, one of the most well known being the work reported by John Esdaile who worked in India in the mid-nineteenth century and carried out major operations without using chemical anaesthesia apparently with no pain being experienced by his patients. Records are described to have shown that his patients survival rate was better by a factor of ten compared to what would have been common at the time. Over here in England his accounts were dismissed by medical professionals who deemed his patients “unsophisticated and primitive” – unfortunately these medical professionals seemed to have overlooked the fact that a number of Esdaile’s patients were actually British government officials!

Personally I wouldn’t go as far as to say that hypno-anaesthesia could replace chemical anaesthesia but one thing I will say is that I don’t believe hypno-anaesthesia is fully understood by the medical community. This comes not just from my own research and training but from personal experience, I have a good friend of mine who is a nurse and she was positively alarmed at the concept that major operations had been performed just using hypnosis, and until I explained the concept to her she had assumed that the point was to simply “distract” the patient from their pain. Admittedly I do believe that distraction plays a part, mainly because the patient has to concentrate on the pain control as opposed to the pain, but hypnotherapeutic techniques for pain relief is much more than just giving the patient something different to think about.

Our minds and bodies are without doubt connected. As I have mentioned in previous articles, and in my counselling articles in the Moulsham Times, the more we concentrate on something the bigger it feels. As my dad would say, “don’t wish it on yourself”, meaning “don’t convince yourself that something is worse than it is” when someone is suffering from chronic and/or recurrent pain hypno-anaesthesia can be an effective tool. Not just on its own, it can be used in conjunction with chemical therapy as well. I am not a surgeon (nor do I ever want to be!) so today I’ll be describing a couple of the techniques that can be used for people suffering with common types of pain, for example muscular pain, menstrual pain, etc. One technique for hypno-analgesia and one for hypnoanaesthesia.

Hypno-Analgesic Technique My tutor taught me the “dial” technique when I was training and wanted to use me as an example because I suffered from severe menstrual pain (to the point where I was taking days off work and no amount of prescribed drugs seemed to help). Although she didn’t get chance to teach me in front of the class, she took me aside and guided me through the steps so I could use the technique on myself. At this point I will add that the different techniques seem to work on different types of pain in different people. The dial technique didn’t work with my menstrual pain, but I severely tore a muscle in the gym in my arm (although my nurse friend suggested it was more likely a tendon due to the amount of pain I was in and where the injury was… Holy cow it was painful though…) and the dial technique worked fantastically for this. The dial technique is commonly used in self-hypnosis as it is quick and easy to learn:

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Dial Technique Imagine a dial in your head. Something you can turn with numbers on it. Mine looks like something you would find on a massive safe and it’s silver with black lines and numbers on it (yes, I watch too much CSI). The dial must be completely clear in your mind. Set the dial to the level of pain you are feeling now. It could be any number, but set the dial to that number. Now, imagine that dial is connected directly to your body and to the pain you are experiencing. If you turned the dial up the pain would go up, if you turned it down it would go down.

Imagine this happening in your head. Once you feel the dial is directly connected to your body and to the pain, start to turn the dial down.

You don’t have to turn it all the way down immediately, you can stop in increments and see how the pain has turned down as the dial has.

Turn the dial down until you get to a level of pain you can handle or until you feel comfortable. Because you are in control of the dial you can leave it there and the pain will remain where you left it. You may have to do this a few times to allow the dial to be completely in touch with your body, but the more you practice it, the better you will get.

Hypno-Anaesthetic Technique This is usually done by a trained hypnotherapist. The idea is to encourage a feeling of anaesthesia (numbness) in the part of the body that is in pain, hence lessening discomfort. I have read that this technique is helpful with such disorders as spinal disk degeneration (or Degenerative Disk Disease or Degenerative Disk Disorder, all essentially the same thing) in terms of managing the chronic and debilitating pain that sufferers can endure. One of the most common

ways to do this is to encourage numbness in one part of the body and then transfer that anaesthesia to the part in need of pain relief.

As the hypnotherapist I would deliver a suitable induction before creating anaesthesia. I would then suggest something along the lines of: I would like you to turn your attention to your right hand… Notice how limp and relaxed it feels… Limp and loose… Notice how it rests heavily on the arm of the chair… Notice the feeling of the chair under your hand… The feeling of the cloth… The texture of it… Now imagine how it would feel if I were to inject a nerve block at your wrist…

(At this point I would gently touch the wrist with the tip of a pencil mimicking the “injection” )… So that as each injection is given you begin to lose all feeling in your hand… Perhaps it’s going cold… Or tingling a little… As it gets colder you will feel it become numb… More and more numb… Until you have lost all sensation…

I would ask the client to let me know when they have reached the point where their hand is completely numb. For them to answer I can put an ideo-motor signal trigger into the screed beforehand meaning the client can communicate with me by lifting their left index finger for example. Once the client’s hand is completely numb I would work on transferring the numbness, this depends on where the pain is. I may ask them to directly place their numb hand on the point of pain, or if the pain is in a difficult position to reach I could ask the client to envisage the numbness travelling there.

On an ethical note, it is important to ensure the client has been to their doctor about their pain. Hypnotherapists must do this because we could end up getting rid of a pain that was a symptom to something the client needed to get treated medically! I would only help a client with pain relief after they had seen a medical professional and been fully checked out.

If you need any further information please visit my website www. counsellinginchelmsford.co.uk. Next time I’ll discuss hypnotherapy for childbirth.

Make Fitness Part of Who You are by Keith Porter

I have a friend who is always into a new fitness thing.

He’ll sit with me and tell me all about the new martial art he’s taken up.

He’ll buy the gear. Sign up for membership. Go four or five times a week - and then let it slide.

And then BAM! He’s taken up CrossFit. He’s signed up for membership. He’s bought the gear. He’s going on about muscle ups, and he’s going four or five times a week. And then he lets it slide. Because it was too much too soon. He’s exhausted. Work got busy. His kid was sick. Life got in the way. I could go on with more examples from over the years. The

point is this. Each time, something kick starts a desire to get fit or to address something that he’s unhappy with, so he throws himself into a programme, which seems to lead to inevitable failure. Why? Because I think most people over react in the short term and under react in the long term.

When you throw yourself into something like he does it’s not sustainable. Training has to become a gradual part of life; part of who you are. A cornerstone of ‘the new you’. But you can’t go from nothing to everything. You have to develop the habit over a long time, making a commitment to lifelong health and wellbeing, rather than jumping gung-ho into Zumba Warrior CrossPump Attack Dance (I should develop that.)

For me, exercise has always been something I’ve just done. I played lots of sports as a kid, ran to a decent club standard during my

twenties, then realised everything about the way I trained was rubbish in my thirties! Even so, I had developed a fitness habit. It was, and still is, a big part of my life.

If you’re struggling, then start small by picking one thing and sticking to it - maybe an hour of walking every week. And make that thing something that lights your fire - find the exercise that you just love to do. For me, it’s lifting weights or sprinting. For my wife, it’s pilates. Just take the time to find your thing and exercise will never be a chore.

Last point? Just start. Get out there and do something. Not next week. Not ‘sometime’.

Now. Ready?

To find out more about Personal Training or paleo eating, visit www.liveasimplelife.co.uk.

Festivals, Garden Partys and All Things Sunny I love this time of year, I was born this time of year. 1970 was the year over 600,000 descended on the Isle of Wight to watch an endless list of musical talent from Joni Mitchell to Jimi Hendrix. Its just in my bloodstream to embrace all things festival and sunny and even my singing teacher seems to love giving me Joni’s hippy songs to sing.

6. Sparks creativity in ripe imaginations 7. Teaches discipline and responsibility 8. Encourages kind peer and social interactions 9. Enhances body awareness 10. Gives tools for stress management

So having already attended 3ft People and Fling Festival, I am off to see Black Sabbath at Hyde Park tomorrow for some heavy metal madness!

Saturday, Team Hummingbird are all set for some chilled out fun in the sun at Walthamstock, a community based music festival set in the picturesque village of Great Waltham, Chelmsford.

Founded by a small group of friend’s in 2011 to indulge their love of good local music and to raise money for their community and Chelmsford based charities. So far in the last three years they have raised over £15,000 - Big wows!!

Sign-up for our newsletter via our website www.hummingbirdpilates. co.uk, find out what’s going on from our Facebook and Twitter pages or do it 1970s style and give us a call on 01245 422556.

See you outside in the sun somewhere soon, Love Kellie x

Then we have Le Tour de France on the 7th, (my birthday yay!), so as the Roxwell Road is shut we are indulging in a day off to join the crowds.

After a little time for meditation we are off to support Vikki, one of our awesome team, at The Yoga Garden Party in Kent on the 26th. An annual charity event in aid of The Hope Foundation helping the street and slum children of Kolkata out of the cycle of poverty. To date, Vikki has helped Hope patron Simon Low to raise over £20,000.There is still time to book and come and join us or we have raffle tickets for sale with amazing prizes!

Finally family yoga classes are taking place with our very own Wonder Woman, Susan Myers, at 5th Avenue Park and Hummingbird Pilates & Yoga studios over the summer holidays. This can give you and kids of all ages a taster of what’s in store for September when Rocket Kids Yoga classes begin!

Ten Super reasons why kids will benefit from yoga classes: 1. Maintains flexibility and strengthens growing bodies 2. Increases concentration 3. Increases self-esteem 4. Teaches present moment awareness 5. Cultivates a peaceful & relaxed state of body and mind Page 22

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CT History Hylands House and its Estate by John Power In the article about Robert the Bruce and his family’s connection to Writtle, I mentioned that his father’s lineage as desendant of French nobilty rewarded with lands in the British Isles after the 1066 invasion, with added estates gained through marriage, made him Lord of Annandale, Earl of Carrick, Lord of Hartnes, Writtle and Hatfield Broad Oak. The elder Bruce, Sir Robert de Brus, supported the English monarchy, unlike his son in later years, and 1274 found him in the company of King Alexander III of Scotland’s court in London to attend the coronation of Edward I of England. Robert Junior as a result was born at what is now the site of Shaxstones Farm in Writtle near the Royal Hunting lodge, which was in the grounds of what is now Writtle College, all part of the Brus’ Writtle estate. Robert junior himself became involved in the Wars of Scottish Independance during Edward’s reign, and was crowned King of Scots in 1306.

400 years later there was still a Scottish connection, and a lawyer, Judge and MP (after some rotten borough style ballot rigging), Sir John Comyns purchased the then larger estate of the Manor of Shaxstones, which became eventually the Hylands estate we now know. At the time of the Wars of Scottish Independance in the 13th and the beginning of the 14th centuries, John Comyn’s namesake and clan forebear, John Comyn, was prominent in the conflict and was a contender for the Scottish crown but was eventually murdered

by Robert Bruce in order to press his own claim which prevailed after the Battle of Bannockburn. However, swapping sides and treachery seemed to have been par for the course in those days as witnessed

by William Wallace’s betrayal also, and Marlene L. Luystr, writing in this century about the Comyns/Cummings clan, states that “the Comyns family survived with the aid of Edward I.” Robert Bruce would not have been welcome on his father’s estates in England during Edward I’s reign, so it follows that his blood fuled opponents would - and short of lengthy genealogy we can assume that this is why the Comyns maintained a connection with Writtle. Sir John of the 18th century held the Shaxstones Estate from 1730 to 1740 and began the building of what morphed over the years from his original Queen Anne style red brick building into the later, more grand, Hylands House. This building took four years to build and had a geometric decorative garden attached. Sir John is buried in Writtle Church.

target practice and experiments in railway demolitions, rather than for general use.

When Mrs Hanbury died, 574 acres passed into the hands of the Borough Council, and it was opened as a public park and the house was given Grade 2 Listed status. Despite an opportunist theft of the lead from the house roof in the 1960s, a 20 year period of restoration took place from 1986 to 2007, and was aided by lottery funding in 2005. The East Wing was opened in 1999. Restoration now consists of a guilded drawing room, banqueting hall, grand staircase to the Repton room for spectacular views, with a social history room next to that. As well as the upstairs, there is a view of life downstairs in the restored basement wine cellar and butler’s pantry.

Outside there is a courtyard stable block with a cafe, souvenir and bookshop. Above these are artists workshops. The visitor centre was expanded in 2013-14 by building an events venue. The flint-faced gamekeeper’s lodge is freestanding, away from the main building.

In 2004 the house doubled for Washington’s White House in a movie, due to security issues surrounding the real US presidential residence.

In 2005 it hosted the 21st anniversary Scout Jamboree, resulting in a commemerative garden. V music festival has used the park as a venue for over a decade, but the 60s night that for a few years followed it using the same facilities had to be abandoned due to local government finance issues. James Wilkinson, the artist in residence above the stables was named official ‘V’ artist in 2012 (you can read about James on page 30). The house is also used as a secular wedding venue, not for the first time, as aeroplane stunt wedding events took place in the grounds for a while earlier in the last century.

The house has openings from 1st April to 30th September but is closed from 1st October to 31st March. The stable block is open throughout the year. For times visit www.chelmsford.gov.uk/hylands.

From 1740 to 1760 the estate passed to another namesake, John Comyns, nephew of the former owner. Then from 1760 to 1797 his son John Richard Comyns owned the estate. Between 1797 and 1815 Cornelius Kortright was the owner and had Sir Humphrey Repton re-design the gardens. From 1816 to 1839 it was the property of a Dutch banker Pierre Cesar Labouchere and he added the neo-classical fascade, more pleasure gardens, stables and a coach house. Between 1839 and 1858 it was John Attwood’s turn to enlarge, redecorate, add ironwork to the house and the 3,500 acres to the estate. When the estate was of the greater size and the railway line from Romford was being extended to Colchester between 1839 and 1842, Attwood agreed to the line being run through his land in exchange for his own station stop near Widford. Then between 1858 and 1904 Arthur Pryor, a partner in the brewers Truman, Buxton and Hanbury, had his chance to redecorate the banqueting hall during his tenure. From 1904 to 1920 Sir Daniel Gooch, one of the team on Shakleton’s first South Pole explorations, had the chance to add electricity and a telephone line to the house. However, under his ownership the First World War saw the house turned into a military hospital, caring for 1,500 patients. This lead to a local syndicate taking over the building to deal with repairs before the estate passed into the hands of John and Christine Hanbury in 1922. John was the Chairman of Hanbury’s Brewers, but died in 1923 in a flying accident, leaving Christine as resident until her death in 1962, aged 89. She added tennis courts and the rhododendron borders. During her residency she experienced the effects of World War II, as the house became an SAS headquarters and a prisoner of war camp. (I presume this was for officers as Chelmsford Prison in Springfield was used for non-commissioned soldiers. There was also a holding camp for arrivals near Chelmsford station). The SAS built another railway line across part of the Hylands grounds, but it was only a mock up for

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Gig Review Little Donkey/Wille & The Bandits The Bassment - 9 JULY 2014 A packed house saw two sensational yet diverse acts at the Bassment on Wednesday night. First up, local act Little Donkey who put on a gutsy roots show. An acoustic band, they showed an intensity that was equally matched with subtlety and quite a remarkable combination of light and shade.

Highlight for me was Jack which really showed Mat Frost’s vocal range. I’m looking forward to seeing these guys again.

One of the best bands on the circuit at the moment, Wille and the Bandits were a sensation. A 3 piece from Cornwall, these guys have a definite blues base but the music is infused with different genres. There’s folk music, latin rhythms, rock, reggae and roots in the mix and if it sounds all a bit much, then I can tell you it works and brilliantly too. If there’s any song that sums these guys up, it’s Try To Be Yourself. This band certainly do.

Strangely enough, the highlight for me was a cover of the Santana hit, Black Magic Woman. Hearing this number played to devastating effect by a three piece band really outlines their talents particularly Andrew Naumann’s drumming and percussion. This was a lesson in timing while Matt Brooks jazz infused bass playing gave Wille Edwards guitar playing more than enough space to go off into orbit.

This was truly remarkable gig for both bands, and it was great to see a younger audience... now if only they’ll come more often.

Next month 13 August Julian Burdock (from 24 Pesos) and Cold Norton Mike Lightfoot SAINT FM

Tickets also available from The Alehouse, Chelmsford

Crafts by Gemma Peacock - Sewing

Sewing is undoubtedly the most widespread and popular craft of all. Whether it be machine sewing or hand sewing, anyone can do it.

From dressmaking to creating home furnishings and gifts, the possibilities really are endless.

Sewing was the first craft that I began with upon my creative journey on the love of crafts, by making a patchwork blanket. It’s also one of the crafts that I dip in and out of. I tend to take a break from it for a while to try out something new or focus my time on other projects, but my trusty sewing machine is always there at the ready should I need it or when the urge to make something quick and easy occurs.

dressmaking courses all of which are offered at The Make It Room and Make Do and Mend. So there are no excuses for you not to be able to sew up a storm this summer.

The array of sewing courses offered at both of these establishments is worth a look if you want to develop your sewing skills or want to learn something new. You could learn how to create pictures using scraps of fabric or even how to make your own clutch bag. You can find out more about what courses and workshops they have on offer on their websites themakeitroom.co.uk or makedomend.com.

Happy sewing.

Fabrics are by far what makes a creation when sewing and with a huge array of options available your limits as to what can be done with some fabric, a needle and thread or a sewing machine are non-existent. We are lucky to have a large selection of haberdashers available to us either in Chelmsford or very close by. I always feel like a kid in a candy store, never knowing where to look next and met with a beautiful display of products around every corner. Not to mention all the products available to embellish those creations from bows to buttons and anything else that may take your fancy.

There is also a large selection of craft workshops and courses available to suit all kinds of sewing abilities. From the very basic of learning how to use a sewing machine all the way through to six week

All Change at the Top of Rotary

It’s been three years since I was elected to take over as District Governor for the year 2014/15 and finally the day has come as the Rotary year starts 1st July. Looking back, the time has passed in a flash so I have always worked to the adage “never put off today what you can do tomorrow, because tomorrow never comes”.

All over the world the individual Club Presidents are moving on and this is true at the higher levels of Rotary for District Governors and other international posts because in order to thrive and progress there must be fresh ideas. Continuity is equally important, however, so the trick is to include your successors in the policy making and the decisions and discuss whether you have their full backing. This is applicable to all organisations with a leadership structure, whether it be the government or the bowls club. There is little point passing a law or rule if the next lot in throw it out at the first opportunity.

Nothing would ever be achieved.

Therefore, there has to be a balance between continuity and change.

The society is unrecognisable now from what it was in 1905 when Rotary was established so there is the need to adapt and this has been a gradual process, albeit one that is now speeding up. Young people at work have far less time these days so it is impossible for the majority to belong to the traditional clubs that meet over lunch. But that’s all right because we also have evening clubs and breakfast clubs which probably far outnumber the lunchtime ones these days and even those afternoon clubs can adapt by having a sandwich and a drink instead of a regular sit down meal. All clubs give you the chance to network. After all, who better to do business with than a member of an organisation whose lynchpin is high ethical standards. Business is though, just a side issue. Rotary is all about making a difference, The Big Society in action.

There are other ways that someone can dip their toes in the water to help Rotary to help others. There are now the options of Associate Members and Friends of Rotary where the commitment is far less and yet the help equally valuable and welcome. The hope is that as one gets the self satisfaction and social enjoyment from putting

something back into the community, both locally and internationally, there is every likelihood that they will become full members in time.

We District Governors come in all shapes and sizes, male and female, short, medium and large, but always our aim is to try to make a positive difference to the lives of so many people. With the support of my team I am sure we will have a wonderful year and through this regular column I will keep you abreast of the projects and events going on and how you might like to become involved. In the meantime, if you would like to find out how to become a Rotarian visit www.chelmsfordrotary1240.org or phone me on 01245 260349 (office hours).

Stan Keller

Outgoing District Governor Peter Dowse congratulates Stan Keller.

From their expressions, they obviously work in harmony.

Reviewing the Situation by Simon Culleton

Be honest, would you stay here? The following piece is a review that I wrote back in 2012 for a backpacker’s accommodation in Cambria Australia. I had been persuaded to stay at this establishment by the enticing ‘friendly family’ slogan in its advertising: they hadn’t reckoned on a review...”

“Stating your accommodation as a ‘friendly family run business’ would have been accurate had your family grown up in 1970s soviet Russia and worked at the notorious Gulag labour camps. The long corridor prison lay out and the wire grill over the reception area helped lend itself to this thought as well as the staff that barked out the rules before marching us to our room which was sparsely furnished with single metal spring beds and a shadeless light bulb. Was the spine chilling scream in the middle of the night an intentional way of keeping us alert or had another customer (inmate) discovered the insect sanctuary that is also commonly know as a toilet? Also, is the barbed wire on the back fence to keep intruders out or us in?

Friendly family run business, my ass. I would

not have been at all surprised had we been awoke in the morning by a whistle.”

There was a time when leaving a complaint was a dirty business and the process that you would have to go through was so arduous and purposely complicated that you would give up at the first hurdle. Writing a stern letter would often end up in the bin.

Things have changed. Now-a-days we have the Internet to review and read reviews on everything from a cheap kettle to an over night stay in a fancy hotel, even this column has an email attached for your comments (flattery will get you everywhere). When I was last phoned by my bank I was asked to stay on the line to rate their service: press 1 for satisfied, 2 for not satisfied and 3 suicidal. Personally I miss the old lady that used to sit behind a thick glass counter at the complaints department in the co-op smoking. She couldn’t answer your problems but at least she offered you a cigarette.

Our own wonderful city of Chelmsford has had many reviews. The most noted review was one that I came across by accident and prompted this month’s subject. The famous playwright, Charles Dickens, stayed in Chelmsford as a necessary stop over on his way to London in the days before the railways. He lodged at the Black Boy Inn, now Next and while there he wrote a letter to a friend stating “that the most decidedly

dullest place on earth is Chelmsford”. He obviously had never been to Clacton.

Yet, however light-hearted his comment may have been it does seem to have stuck.

An internet review has a way of never going away whether it be bad or even good. Trip Adviser has had to black list over 20 hotels that bribed their customers into giving good reviews. Other accommodations have been broken by them. One hotelier in Callander Scotland early last year had complained to Trip Adviser that bad reviews had stripped him of his compassion and he will now forever be ‘a Basil’.

As for the review for the backpackers in Cambria, well I pulled it at the last minute; having worked as a day manager in a backpacker in Adelaide, I know how damaging these reports can be so I just left without saying goodbye (that’ll teach them). And for the reviews of Chelmsford, well we didn’t come off too badly; there were a few complaints about litter in the streets and parking and the odd one that sided with Charles Dickens’ point of view.

Yet, most people loved Chelmsford. Out of all the reviews that I read, Chelmsford is best personified by a review from two years ago from a Scotsman who had moved down here to live permanently: “it’s not as bad as you think. I grew up in a working class area of Glasgow, Chelmsford is paradise.” simon@limepad.com

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Chelmsford Jewish Community Annual General Meeting Chelmsford Jewish Community recently held their annual general meeting and garden party in the lovely garden of a member in Springfield Road. The chairman gave a resume of the events of the past year, a council for the coming year was elected. In glorious sunshine, a buffet meal was enjoyed by all.

PQA Chelmsford Rocked Her Majesty’s Theatre, London

Chelmsford Catering

Chelmsford Catering were at the Fling and 3 Foot Festival for the 2nd year in a row supplying the finest chicken from the Chicken Shack. This year they were pleased to launch the latest edition to the company – the Chip Shack. The finest potatoes are used and prepared daily from Robinsons allowing us to continue to use fresh food across all our products.

Along with the Chicken Shack and Chip Shack we also offer hog roasts, BBQ’s and drinks and coming soon our amazing ice cream van. Chelmsford Catering can supply all size events with a wide variety of products for up to 20,000 people.

Over the coming months we will be appearing at many events around Chelmsford including the Beer and Cider Festival, Brownstock, V Festival and Admirals Park Fireworks to name but a few so why not pop down and try what we have to offer.

The Pauline Quirke Academy of Performing Arts students from Chelmsford, Eastleigh, Guildford and Brentwood dazzled their family and friends with a spectacular performance of PQA’s very own home-grown show ‘Fright Night’ hosted by Pauline Quirke! As part of PQA’s curriculum, the students have the opportunity to perform at Her Majesty’s Theatre in London, home to Phantom of the Opera, and get to experience the You know where you get it best! thrill and buzz of performing on a West End Stage!

The story Fright Night is based around a group of kids who try to solve a spooky mystery when their car breaks down near a deserted village. The story was divided amongst the academies who then had the freedom to be as imaginative and creative with their part as they liked from wacky costumes, to the casting, staging and choreography. Pauline Quirke introduced the academy on to the stage and narrated the story throughout the show.

The Principal from PQA Chelmsford, Stephen Hawke, said “the students should be so proud of all their hard work over the past 5 months leading up to the show. Their professionalism, their confidence on stage and how their lines were delivered to perfection resembles the highest West End stage performer. Above all the students had fun and absolutely loved performing to a sell-out crowd”.

With another 3 academies due to perform at Her Majesty’s Theatre this year, PQA students continue to take the West End by storm!

www.robinsonscatering.com

For more information please visit www.pqacademy.com.

James Wilkinson Charity Exhibition - 8th August 2014 at Hylands House James is a portrait artist based at Hylands House, each year he takes to the stage at V Festival and creates images of the performers, audience and workers at V and creates an exhibition for charity.

Last year the exhibition was based on the relationship between the performers and their audience. This year the exhibition is called V-Scapes.

James has shared the stage with many major artists including Noel Gallagher, James Morrison, Tom Jones and McFly. He is also the official artist for the FLASHBACK Festival which comes to Hylands Park this year for the first time.

30 year period. Ronnie Wood let him use his Kensington Members Club for an exhibition and he has spent time on tours with both The Rolling Stones and Oasis. His work is owned by members of the Rolling Stones, Oasis, The Prodigy, James Morrison plus many more and has featured on TV and in national newspapers and magazines.

On sunny Sundays, James has musicians and buskers performing outside his studio in the courtyard at Hylands. The exhibition features live music from up and coming acts from Essex. There are five acts performing this year in a Jools Holland ‘Later’ style The 4th annual exhibition this year is at the brand new Hylands Pavilion in Hylands Park.

It is the 2nd V Festival exhibition of paintings and James was once again on stage and back-stage to paint some of the stars of last year’s V Festival.

For the past three years the exhibition has raised around £10,000 for the Helen Rollason Cancer charity based in Hatfield Peverel. This year, the money raised from the exhibition will be going to Little Havens Children’s Hospice.

His affinity with musicians has been over a Page 30

Tickets for the 4th year, which is on 8th August from 6.30pm, are only £5.00 once more and the event will, as ever, include the original paintings, exclusive first offer prints (1-5), exclusive first viewings of candid backstage and onstage photographs, live music, a fantastic raffle and food and drink. The event has grown and grown each year and thanks to the V Festival and local businesses tickets are in demand. Details of the event can be found at www.paintpop.com and tickets can be purchased by emailing angela.lodge375@gmail.com.

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