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The City Times Including: Boreham, Broomfield, Danbury, Great Baddow, Maldon, South Woodham Ferrers, The Walthams and Writtle 10000 copies distributed monthly Issue Number 75 January 16th - 19th February 2020
Regal Kitchens Workshop Chelmsford based kitchen studio Regal Kitchens has teamed up for the second time with leading international manufacturer and supplier of furniture fittings, Häfele, to host a workshop for design students from University Centre South Essex.
forward as they develop their careers.”
The event, hosted by Regal Kitchens - a Häfele Studio Partner educated the group on how lighting can change the look of textures and colours used in a kitchen before being set a brief to design a fresh, bright kitchen in a space with limited daylight.
www.regalkitchens.co.uk
Regal Kitchens showroom in Chelmsford, which is situated in Navigation Road, is open 10am - 4pm seven days per week.
The workshop, which was led by Matthew Lissaman, Häfele’s Regional Sales Manager, and Darren Bull, Häfele’s Local Area Sales Manager, introduced the company’s Loox lighting range and considered how various shades of white light ranging from 3000k to 5000k impact on different materials and finishes. They also learnt about maximising space using intelligent storage solutions from Häfele such as Vauth Sagel. Armed with their new knowledge, the students were tasked to design a full kitchen, including cabinetry, lighting, worktops, tiles and splashbacks, which was then presented to a panel from Häfele and Regal and a winner chosen. Emma Mcloughlin, Business Development Manager at Regal Kitchens, said: “We were extremely impressed with the designs. The student’s presentations were amazing and it’s easy to see that they are all going to do brilliantly well in whatever career they choose after their course finishes.” Lissaman added: “The standard of work was incredibly high, and it made choosing a winning concept very difficult. However, the winning team managed to follow the brief to the letter, showed a very good use of light and incorporated AluSplash, an innovative splashback solution from Häfele into their design. “Lighting can often be overlooked when designing a kitchen, but it was clear from the day’s presentations that the students really grasped the concept and we hope they’ll take what they’ve learnt
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CT Welcome Hello readers,
Welcome to the January/February edition - and here we are in a new decade - the new roaring 20s! There are lots of events happening as we look forward to spring, so please do remember to check out the Events pages to see what’s occurring where you are. This month we are pleased to announce that we have a new fashion writer, so please welcome Tillie (page 17). We are also pleased that this magazine can also now be picked up in the new Sainsburys in South Woodham Ferrers as well as all of our other outlets! Regards Nick & Paul www.thecitytimes.co.uk | www.moulshamtimes.com
Advertising Editorial Nick Garner Paul Mclean 07970 206682 01245 262082 / 07595 949701 ads@itsyourmedia.co.uk editorial@itsyourmedia.co.uk Disclaimer: It’s Your Media Ltd publish 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 Ltd. No part may be reproduced without the prior written permission of It’s Your Media Ltd. Registered offices: 15 Hayes Close, Chelmsford. Reg No 9154871. Printed by Printwize.
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Slimming World Visits Broomfield Hospital As Slimming World consultants, throughout the year we also do fundraising for charities and work in the community.
Recently at Broomfield Hospital, we spent a couple of hours surprising staff with fruit hampers as a way of saying thank you for all their hard work throughout the year - especially over the festive season when many staff will have likely been working instead of spending time at home with friends and family. Communications Manager Tom and Charity Co-ordinator Charlotte took us round maternity, a few wards, and then to some departments who although deal with patients rarely get donations. These included operating theatres, the pharmacy and PALS, as well as those unsung hereos of the hospital; domestics and the postal team. We also donated a whole cage of toys, books and selection boxes to the St Andrew’s Childrens Burns Unit for those children that were in hospital over Christmas. these were all donated by members.
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WEDNESDAYS Writtle Community Association, Longmeads House, 12-14 Redwood Drive, Writtle, CM1 3LY 3:00pm, 5:00pm and 7:00pm Jennifer 07792 516866 Boreham Village Hall, Main Road, Boreham, CM3 3JD 5:30pm and 7:30pm Marie 07988 426728 MONDAYS Millennium Community Centre, Recreation Ground, Baddow Road, Great Baddow, CM2 9RL 9:00am, 11:00am, 1:00pm Lucy 07801 433626 Danbury Village Hall, Eves Corner, Danbury, CM3 4NQ 9:00am and 11:00am Sarah 07494 408634 Springfield Bees Preschool, Perryfields School, Lawn Lane, Springfield, CM1 7PP 5:00pm and 7:00pm Angie 07814 992628 Millennium Community Centre, RecreationGround, Baddow Road, Great Baddow, CM2 9RL 5:00pm and 7:00pm Keeley 07930 231386 TUESD TUESDAYS Newlands Spring Community Hall, Dickens Place, Chelmsford, CM1 4UU 9:30am Jennifer 07792 516866 Broomfield Village Hall, 158 Main Road (behind Angel Pub), Broomfield, CM1 7AH 3:00pm, 5:00pm and 7:00pm Victoria 07823 441198 Millennium Community Centre, Recreation Ground, Baddow Road, Great Baddow, CM2 9RL 3:30pm, 5:30pm and 7:30pm Samantha 01245 266442 Danbury Village Hall, Eves Corner, Danbury, CM3 4NQ 5:00pm and 7:00pm Sarah 07494 408634 WEDNESDAYS Church Of St Augustine Of Canterbury, St Augustines Way, Springfield, CM1 6GQ 9:30am and 11:30am Emma 07887 692906
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Springfield Park Baptist Church, Springfield Park Road, Springfield, CM2 6EB 5.30pm and 7:30pm Angie 07814 992628 St Michael's Church of England, Junior School, Barnard Road, Galleywood, CM2 8RR 7:30pm Lena 07939 675034 THURSD THURSDAYS Millennium Community Centre, Recreation Ground, Baddow Road, Great Baddow, CM2 9RL 9:30am Samantha 01245 266442 North Springfield Baptist Church, Havengore, off Pump Lane, Springfield, CM1 6JP 5:30pm and 7:30pm Victoria 07823 441198 Newlands Spring Community Hall, Dickens Place, Chelmsford, CM1 4UU 5:30pm and 7:30pm Jennifer 07792 516866 Moulsham High School, Brian Close, Chelmsford, CM2 9ES 5:30pm and 7:30pm Emma 07738 278911 FRIDAYS The Church Of Ascension, Maltese Road, Chelmsford, CM1 2PB 9:15am and 11:15am Samantha 01245 266442 Fit n Fab Studio, Village Square (Near Asda), Chelmer Village, CM2 6RF 5.30pm Emma 07887 692906 SATURDAYS Springfield Park Baptist Church, Springfield Park Road, Springfield, CM2 6EB 8:30am and 10:30am Emma 07887 692906
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Nick Garner’s Music and Ramblings First thing to do is to wish you all a very happy, healthy and safe 2020 and beyond. January already seems to be flying by, so I can already see Easter on the horizon... then Christmas again! It has been busy as always for me, what with the magazine, booking acts for gigs - and the new Jamie Williams & the Roots Collective album, Do What You Love, which is due for release on Friday 22nd May. The album will be available in all the usual formats, including CD, vinyl and download. If you are interested in coming along to the album launch, it will be on Friday 22nd May at the legendary Half Moon in Putney, London. We will have BJ Cole, Robbie McIntosh and Naomi Poole (all who feature on the album) playing too, along with Connor Selby and Joe Anderton opening the night, fresh from their tour with The Who. You can find ticket info via our website at www.jwroots.co.uk, or call me direct (my number is on page 3 of this publication). It is good to see Moulsham Street coming back to life with more independent businesses opening rather than the normal high street names and chains you tend to see. Of the many current delights, we have Chelmsford’s first vegan café called Eat Plant Café which has just opened up by the Cricketers pub. There is also a really good new restaurant called Smoke in Shed which is all about smoked food. Everything they create is fresh and cooked from scratch. If you have any special requests and they can source it, they will cook it for you - there are not many places I know of like that - except for Mark at the United Brethren: I went to The UB for Sunday lunch the other week and asked Mark what he had. He asked what I would like. Unsure, I picked a country (Greece) and he created a stunning, unique Greek meal for me. Music We kicked off fully loaded at The UB. What a week it has been already. Firstly we had Joe Anderton’s open mic night, which had to be one of his best so far. There was some of the usual regulars as well as some new faces - one having come from as far away as Glasgow (to be fair, he was working here but now wants to return to play). Young Josh Brough amazed us with his voice and his guitar playing as well. Open mic night is on the second Wednesday of each month and starts around 8pm. Our first live show was with Bex Marshall and her band. Bex played a duo show in December and was amazing, but the set she played with her band on Saturday January 11th was just jaw dropping. I had people coming up and asking me how I managed to get someone with such awesome talent to play. To be honest I don’t know. Often they are mates, I just ask - and they say yes!
organ), on the 18th is Big Joe Bone (bluegrass and blues). Then on Friday 24th January we are please to say that we have Robbie McIntosh and Steve Wilson. Steve is a great singer-songwriter and as for Robbie, well if you don’t know already, he has played with the likes of Paul McCartney, The Pretenders, John Illsley, Tom Jones and Mark Knopfler to name just a few. He also plays most of the guitar in the film Rocketman as well. Steve Hooker is back on 7th February and The Jackson Line the following day. William Dashwood arrives from Holland on the 14th February and we have Spencer M Taylor’s round table event on the 15th February. Also booked for the UB we have Michael Ortel from Germany, Tom Hingley (Inspiral Carpets), Longy, The Ouse Valley Singles Club, Dave Sharp, Cherry Lee Mewis and the wonderful BJ Cole. This is just a few of the acts that we have in store for you during 2020. Confirmed so far for Chelmsford City FC in 2020 are Sham 69 on the 31st January, Imagine The Beatles on the 21st February, Connor Selby on 19th March, The Hot Rods (in memory of Barrie Masters) on 17th April, Albert Lee on the 8th May, U2 Tribe play on 16th October, The Strawbs acoustic on 13th November and Kokomo on the 11th December. All will have support acts except for Albert Lee, and tickets are on sale now via the football club, or online at www.wegottickets. com. I think you will agree it is looking good so far. Make sure you keep an eye on this publication for all of the latest about what is going on in and around our city. Check out the What’s On listings pages - not just for music but for everything that is open to the public. If you know of something going on then please check out the deadlines and drop an email to editorial@itsyourmedia.co.uk. As ever, please do try to come out and support the great live scene we have in Essex because if you do not - we may lose it. For more information on all of the above and more, see the links below and pick up a copy of the City Times each and every month to check those What’s On pages and see what is happening in your area. If you go to local Facebook pages, look for the ‘Events’ tabs where you can see who is playing and preview the up-and-coming acts. www.itsyourmusic.co.uk www.facebook.com/itsyourmusic/events Twitter@itsyourmusic www.facebook.com/theunitedbrethren/events www.facebook.com/essexgigguide www.visitessex.com/events
I have to say though, this does rate as having been one of the best gigs in the history of The UB to date; but we have much more to come and Bex will be returning. We ended the year in Chelmsford with a bang with Los Pacaminos and the Ugly Guys at the football club getting everyone up dancing and singing. Meanwhile back at the UB we played, as did Paolo Morena, Katy Forkings and Kimberley Rew of Katrina and the Waves - and yes, they did that song as a request from landlord Scott... There was also a few great DJ sets during December and the year was rounded off with Trevor Gentry. Trevor was ill but still courageously got up and played a great show with his bass player Jon Durno. Worth noting too that Hot Box has now taken on Denholm Ellis full time to run the music side of things. He is a good man who knows his music well. At The UB on the 17th we have the Dave Jackson Trio (with Hammond Page 6
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CT Gardening - by Tom Cole
Well, I’m not sure about you, but I was so glad to get back to work after the festive break... even for just a change of scenery! Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed myself but think I need to get into a garden now and work off the excesses of Christmas and get fit. With that in mind, I’ve got a whole load of tips for you to get on with for the remainder of the month. Here are just a few of them:
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Continue to rake up any leaves and stack them to one side or bag up for leaf mould later in the year. This is an excellent gentle warm up exercise to get you in the mood for taking on other jobs. For those with soft fruit such as gooseberries, currants and cane fruits, this is a great time to prune and train them in readiness for next year. Treat gooseberries, red and white currants in the same way; cut all new growth back to 2 buds, tip leaders and keep centres clear of growth to reduce disease. For blackcurrants, minimal pruning is required; cut back branches close to neighbouring plants and reduce older stems if surrounded by new growth. For raspberries, prune back hard all stems of autumn fruiting cultivars. However, summer types need only have cropping stems raised to the grown retaining new growth for next year’s crop. New growth needs to be tied in securely leaving 10cm (4”) between stems, any other growth should be cut out. This is an ideal time for adding new plants to the garden. We’ve now started to plant a number of trees in the grounds at Writtle University College as it was too wet prior to the festive break. Contact your local nurseries for bare rooted trees and remember the following: Check root systems aren’t damaged, stem or trunk needs to be upright and lateral branches are in the required position. Check you have a suitable stake, tree tie and consider using irrigation bags to help during the hotter times of the year. Check your local garden centre for suitable examples. Propagate bush fruits (gooseberries and currants), coloured stem shrubs such as dogwood and willow, and evergreens like Garrya elliptica by hardwood stem cuttings. Take pencil thickness stems of 1 year growth. Make a cut above and sloping away from a side bud towards the top of the stem followed by a flat cut roughly 20-25cm (8-10”) down the stem underneath a bud. These prepared long stems can then be pushed into the ground to about two-thirds their length. Come back in the autumn and dig up to reveal a rooted plant. Pot on or plant out.
Lastly, if you want to further your knowledge and understanding of these or other gardening jobs, please do consider one of the following courses at Writtle University College:
01245 422804/07711 606561
For RHS Level 2 Certificate in the Principles of Horticulture (1 year, day release on starting September 2020), RHS Level 2 Certificate in the Principles of Plant Growth, Propagation & Development (September 2020), RHS Level 2 Certificate in the Principles of Garden Planning, Establishment and Maintenance (this coming February - June 2020) and for RHS Level 2 and 3 Certificates in Practical Horticulture (September 2020), email tom.cole@writtle. ac.uk for information on availability of days and times. If you’ve got more time, we also offer full time Level 2 & 3 programmes and apprenticeship schemes. New for September 2020 we’ll be offering part-time garden design programmes. Contact ben. wincott@writtle.ac.uk for more information.
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If you’d like a shorter programme for say 1 or 2 days, then give our Short Courses team a call. We’ve got courses on construction (erecting fences, paving and brickwork), general garden tasks such as pruning, propagation, container gardening, successful care of lawns and growing fruit and veg. For the professional, a whole load of competence based certificates covering arboriculture, pesticide application and use of various machinery and equipment. Happy gardening For any gardening tips, please contact Tom Cole, Horticultural Lecturer, Writtle College, Chelmsford, CM1 3RR by post (including a SAE) or by email at tom.cole@writtle.ac.uk.
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CT Celery Miracles - by Lisa Whittle Fresh celery juice: This might not be something you’ve ever thought of drinking, but believe it or not it’s catching on as a worldwide health phenomenon. According to Anthony William, a medical intuitive in America, celery juice has very special healing properties that can significantly improve people’s health with continued use over time. Apparently celery is unique in that it contains ‘sodium cluster salts’, a biologically active and beneficial form of sodium that is highly antiinflammatory and over time helps kill low level viruses, bacteria and fungus that can be living in our bodies undetected yet be dragging us down. Likewise, it can effectively help the body detox pesticides and other pollution residues and nasties including heavy metals such as mercury and aluminum. William says these can be implicated in the many modern illness and conditions that people suffer from such as autoimmune conditions, allergies and food intolerances, digestive tract disturbances and even mental health conditions such as anxiety and addiction. In other words, celery juice can make a very real positive difference to people’s lives and there are many testimonials on the Internet to this effect. It was some friends of mine who inspired me to try celery juice a couple of years ago and look at the work of Anthony William the so-called ‘Medical Medium’. It took me a while to take on board the subtleties of making and taking the daily juice in the right way but the benefits were obvious to me in terms of a calmer state of being, smoother and more comfortable digestion and a greater feeling of aliveness, energy and stamina. Taking the juice means making it yourself, either with a juicer or blending the celery with absolute minimal water then straining it and squeezing it in a mesh bag (such as a nut milk bag you can buy on Amazon). The idea is to separate the juice part from the fibre and only drink the juice. William also says it is imperative that the celery juice is undiluted and not mixed with anything else - this way you get the full benefits of those ‘sodium cluster salts’. As part of this it must be taken only on an empty stomach so it does not mix with anything else you’ve eaten or drunk, even water. Then once you’ve drunk it don’t swallow anything else for at least 30 minutes by which time it will have left your stomach and gone into your small intestines out of the way to do its good work.
blender. I reduced it to just enough to get the blender moving, with some added shaking from time to time from me. This produced a more concentrated, potent juice with a stronger more salty taste, which felt like it was doing more good. Williams is at pains in his book Celery Juice the Most Powerful Medicine of Our Time (published by Hay House) to stress that this form of sodium is only helpful to our body and not harmful in anyway, unlike the salt we add to our food (sodium chloride). Williams recommends a glass of 16 ounces (450ml) of celery juice for most people everyday. I find that the juice from one bunch of celery just about produces this amount - this is nearly the size of a small bottle of water. This means that I get through 7 bunches of celery a week, which in my supermarket trolley looks like quite a lot! I drink it first thing in the morning - it only takes 5 minutes to prepare, drink and clear up. There are very few calories in celery so it doesn’t fill you up, it’s more of a ‘medicine’ in this context than a food. This means after 30-45 minutes I will have a smoothie with fruit, spinach and plant protein powder to fill me up and be my breakfast. You can have the celery juice at any time of day of course, as long as it’s on a completely empty stomach. It will also keep its beneficial properties for 24 hours in the fridge if you juice ahead of time - and remember, you are drinking it for its health properties, not its taste! That said, its not too bad and I’ve definitely had worse… If you eat celery in a meal or mix it with other fruit and veg in a smoothie it is still good for you, it’s alkalising, contains electrolytes, its trace mineral rich (especially with silica which is good for bones, nails and hair), loaded with vitamins A, K and C and rich in plant enzymes which help you digest. It’s just that eating it this way you miss out on the miraculous powers of the sodium cluster salts because they need to be undiluted or otherwise contaminated for their work. In his fact-packed inspiring book, William lays out more details and a 30 day daily celery juice challenge - 30 days is usually enough time to notice the benefits and embed and this new positive habit enabling you too to become part of the global celery juice movement! Let me know how you get on: lisactfood@gmail.com
When I first started making it I was using too much water in my
Cut it up and blend...
Pour into a nut milk bag over a bowl...
...and squeeze.
The finished celery juice!
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1 Bridge Street, Writtle, Chelmsford, CM1 3EY 01245 422 891 www.pakwaan.co.uk Mon-Sat 12pm-2.30pm & 5pm-10.30pm Sun 12pm-10pm
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What’s on in the Area
January Friday 17th A Canteen - Rubber Soul Bassment - Undiscovered Heat: 3 Foot High + Palps + Penny Arcane + Rebelion Band Cathedral - Lunchtime concert Civic - The Rolling Stones Story Golden Fleece - The Rising Hotbox - Deniers + The Penny Antics + We Punch Tigers United Brethren - Dave Jackson Trio Saturday 18th Bassment - Undiscovered Heat: Kill Bosco + Jellyfish & the Milkmen + Junction 28 + Deepcoma Dive Black Bull - Skafonics CCFC (home) - Chelmsford City v Eastbourne Borough Civic - Jack Petchey’s Perfect Pitch Golden Fleece - Rocks and Beggar Patina Audio Café Presents: Resonance United Brethren - Big Joe Bone Sunday 19th Black Bull - Jazz jam Inner Space (124 Gloucester Avenue) - World Meditation Hour (6.30pm-7.30pm) Monday 20th Danbury Sports & Social Centre - Strictly Solo (learn how to dance, 9.15am & 11.15am) The Church of Our Saviour (Chelmer Village) - Essex Chordsmen rehearsal Mulberry House (Chelmsford Road, High Ongar, CM5 9NL) Nationwide Christian Trust: Time out with God (10am) Chelmsford Library - Other Halves Dementia Group: Coffee at the Hub Transition - Yoga for Everyone Tuesday 21st The Black Bull - Free pool Boreham Village Hall - Ballroom and Latin American Dance (classes for beginners & improvers - www.danceasy.co.uk) Hotbox - Affstock Enterprises presents: Giant Drag + Deutsche Ashram + Lead Ashtray + Fretbear Inner Space (124 Gloucester Avenue) - Inspirational Talk & Meditation: Clear Your Mind (7.30-8.45pm) Transition - Power Yoga Wednesday 22nd Cramphorn - For Sama (18) The Chichester Hotel (Rawreth) - Belvedere Jazz & Music Club: Matthew Ford Quintet (£15) Danbury Sports & Social Centre - Zumba class (10.45am) Golden Fleece - Karaoke Transition - Mindful Yoga Chelmsford Thursday 23rd The Black Bull - Half price on main meals all day Civic - That’ll Be The Day! Golden Fleece - Quiz Inner Space (124 Gloucester Avenue) - Relaxing Thursdays: Guided Meditation (7.15-8.15pm) Friday 24th Bassment - Asylum takeover: The Mighty Fallen + Lost On Broadway + Memory Boy Cathedral - Lunchtime concert Civic - That’ll Be The Day! Cramphorn - The Great Dictator (PG) Golden Fleece - Hit List Hotbox - Cosmology with Sergio Vilas and Darren Bobby D Poore United Brethren - Robbie McIntosh & Steve Wilson The Village Hall (CM8 3JZ) - Wickham Bishops Jazz Club: The East Coast Wanderers Jazz Band (6.30pm for 7.30pm 07548 775 777) Saturday 25th Bassment - The Post Floyd Dream: Pink Floyd Tribute CCFC (away) - Hungerford Town v Chelmsford City Civic - Chinese New Year Gala 2020
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Saturday 25th (continued...) Golden Fleece - Sons of Southpaw Hotbox - Skinny Milk and Grand Guru (plus support TBC) Transition - Patina Audio Café Presents: Resonance Sunday 26th Cramphorn - Giselle (live from the Bolshoi Ballet) Inner Space (124 Gloucester Avenue) - Inspirational Talk: Living Spiritually in 2020 (6.30pm-8pm) The Two Brewers - Tall Tales & Short Stories Monday 27th Danbury Sports & Social Centre - Strictly Solo (learn how to dance, 9.15am & 11.15am) The Church of Our Saviour (Chelmer Village) - Essex Chordsmen rehearsal Mulberry House (Chelmsford Road, High Ongar, CM5 9NL) Nationwide Christian Trust: Time out with God (10am) The Hive Café (Oaklands Museum) - Other Halves Dementia Group lunch Transition - Yoga for Everyone Tuesday 28th The Black Bull - Free pool Boreham Village Hall - Ballroom and Latin American Dance (classes for beginners & improvers - www.danceasy.co.uk) Cramphorn - The Biggest Little Farm (PG) Inner Space (124 Gloucester Avenue) - Inspirational Talk & Meditation: Release Your Potential (free admission 7.30pm-8.45pm) Wednesday 29th The Chichester Hotel (Rawreth) - Belvedere Jazz & Music Club: Jazzin’ Jolson Julian Stringle/Enrico Tomasso Sextet (£15) Civic - The Illegal Eagles Cramphorn - Good Posture (15) Thursday 30th Golden Fleece - Quiz night Inner Space (124 Gloucester Avenue) - Relaxing Thursdays: Guided Meditation (7.15-8.15pm) Mulberry House (Chelmsford Road, High Ongar, CM5 9NL) Nationwide Christian Trust: Ladies Day, Reona Joly on The Bible; the World’s Best Seller Friday 31st Bassment -Bassment Club Night Black Bull - The Excellent Gifford CCFC - Sham 69 + Twister Civic - Roy Orbison & The Traveling Wilburys Experience Cramphorn - Shell Shock (12+) The Golden Fleece - Cadence
February Saturday 1st Alehouse - Record fair Bar & Beyond - Busta Bingo Bassment - Shakster Records - line up tbc CCFC (away) - Dulwich Hamlet v Chelmsford City Civic - The Jive Aces Big Beat Revue Golden Fleece - The Heaters Hideaways - Our of Space (featuring Leeroy Thornhill) Hotbox - Independent Venue Week (see www.hotboxskate.com) Inner Space (124 Gloucester Avenue) - Morning Workshop: What Causes Anger? (10.30am-1pm) Millenium Centre (Great Baddow) - Other Halves Dementia Group fish & chips Transition - Patina Audio Café presents: Resonance United Brethren - That Blue Patch Sunday 2nd Civic - Chelmsford Dance Centre Spectacular Hotbox - Independent Venue Week (see www.hotboxskate.com) Golden Fleece - Superbowl Sunday Woolpack - GC’s Jazz Club: Andi Hopgood & Graeme Culham Trio Civic - Chelmsford Dance Centre Spectacular Hotbox - Independent Venue Week (see www.hotboxskate.com) Golden Fleece - Superbowl Sunday
Please note, all events are subject to change. Please visit the relevant websites or Facebook pages for more details
Monday 3rd Danbury Sports & Social Centre - Strictly Solo (learn how to dance, 9.15am & 11.15am) The Church of Our Saviour (Chelmer Village) - Essex Chordsmen rehearsal Mulberry House (Chelmsford Road, High Ongar, CM5 9NL) - Nationwide Christian Trust: Time out with God (10am) Chelmsford Library - Other Halves Dementia Group crafts Transition - Yoga for Everyone Unit 16 (Ekersley Road, Chelmsford) - Judo class (1st lesson free - tel: 07768 364 435) Tuesday 4th CCFC (away) - Wealstone v Chelmsford City The Old Court Theatre - The Importance of Being Earnest Inner Space (124 Gloucester Avenue) - Inspirational Talk & Meditation: Inner Resillience (7.30pm-8.45pm) Widford Village Hall - Natty Chatty Ladies Club (1.30pm) Wednesday 5th The Chichester Hotel (Rawreth) - Belvedere Jazz & Music Club: Harlem Meer Cats (£12.50) The Old Court Theatre - The Importance of Being Earnest Quaker Meeting House - Chelmsford Retirement Action Group Thursday 6th Bassment - Blues Jam The Black Bull - Half price on main meals all day Civic - Oliver Cramphorn - The Report (15) Golden Fleece - Quiz Inner Space (124 Gloucester Avenue) - Relaxing Thursdays: Guided Meditation (7.15pm-8.15pm) The Old Court Theatre - The Importance of Being Earnest Friday 7th Bassment - Shakster Records - line up tbc Cathedral - Lunchtime concert Civic - Oliver Cramphorn - Judy (12A) Hotbox - Acid Under the Arches presents: Don Quong (live acid house set) (DJ support from Carwyn Jones and Matt Love) The Old Court Theatre - The Importance of Being Earnest United Brethren - Steve Hooker Saturday 8th Alehouse - Record fair Bassment - Jar Records night CCFC (home) - Chelmsford City v Tonbridge Civic - Oliver Cramphorn - What A Wonderful World Hotbox - Purple Pilgrims (+support TBA) The Old Court Theatre - The Importance of Being Earnest Transition - Patina Audio Café Presents: Resonance United Brethren - The Jackson Line Sunday 9th Cramphorn - What A Wonderful World Hotbox - Ethers Mulberry House (Chelmsford Road, High Ongar, CM5 9NL) - Worship evening with Christian singers, Vinesong Transition - Resonance Electronic Music Workshop Monday 10th Danbury Sports & Social Centre - Strictly Solo (learn how to dance, 9.15am & 11.15am) The Church of Our Saviour (Chelmer Village) - Essex Chordsmen rehearsal Mulberry House (Chelmsford Road, High Ongar, CM5 9NL) - Nationwide Christian Trust: Time out with God (10am) Transition - Yoga for Everyone Tuesday 11th The Black Bull - Free pool Boreham Village Hall - Ballroom and Latin American Dance (classes for beginners & improvers - www.danceasy.co.uk) Inner Space (124 Gloucester Avenue) - Inspirational Talk & Meditation: Living in The Now (7.30pm-8.45pm) The White Hart Inn (Little Waltham) - Other Halves Dementia Group lunch Transition - Power Yoga Wednesday 12th The Chichester Hotel (Rawreth) - Belvedere Jazz & Music Club: Soheim & Me - Joanna Eden Quintet (£15) Cramphorn - Abigail’s Party Danbury Sports & Social Centre - Zumba class (10.45am) Golden Fleece - Karaoke
Wednesday 12th (continued...) Transition - Mindful Yoga Chelmsford United Brethren - Joe Anderton’s Open Mic Thursday 13th The Black Bull - Half price on main meals all day Civic - Whitney: Queen of the Night Cramphorn - Abigail’s Party Golden Fleece - Quiz night Hotbox - Resonance workshop for electronic music/production Inner Space (124 Gloucester Avenue) - Relaxing Thursdays: Guided Meditation (7.15pm-8.15pm) Friday 14th A Canteen - Anti Valentines Party Bassment - Bassment Club Night Black Bull - Bingo Cathedral - Lunchtime concert Civic - Carpenters - Voice of the Heart Cramphorn - Abigail’s Party Hotbox - JAR Records presents: Glue Men + Blue Mean Eyes and Laurence Crow Braintree Bowling Club - Other Halves Dementia Group bowls United Brethren - William Woody Dashwood Saturday 15th A Canteen - Valentines Live Jazz Bassment - Bassment Club Night CCFC (away) - Dorking Wanderers v Chelmsford City Civic - Flo and Joan: Before The Screaming Starts (14+) Cramphorn - Abigail’s Party Eagle & Hind - Skafonics Hotbox - Used Filter Records Presents: A Day and Night Event (live music to take home) Hideaways - Skamite Transition - Patina Audio Café Presents: Resonance United Brethren - Spencer M Taylor’s round table event Sunday 16th Civic - The Glenn Miller Orchestra Cramphorn - Chelmsford Jazz Club: Nat Steele’s Modern Jazz Quartet (MJQ) plus from the USA Grant Stewart Hotbox - Sophie Clayton (a one woman stage show featuring cabaret and much much more) Inner Space (124 Gloucester Avenue) - World Meditation Hour (6.30pm7.30pm)
Chelmsford Mayor’s Award for Voluntary Service The awards seek to recognise some of the thousands of local people who give their time to help others by volunteering to support a local good cause and in particular, individuals who have made an exceptional contribution to local voluntary action across the city, villages and South Woodham Ferrers. Local charity Chelmsford Centre Supporting Voluntary Action launched the awards in 2014 to celebrate the achievements of local volunteers, to share your stories and inspire others to volunteer too! Nominate someone you know for an award and to find out more about previous award winners visit: chelmsfordcvs.org.uk/volunteer/ chelmsford-awards-for-voluntary-service, or call 01245 250 731. Deadline: 12 noon Monday 10th February 2020. The Centre Supporting Voluntary Action is an independent support and development charity (sometimes called CVS) set up to champion, support and strengthen local charities, voluntary and community groups. www.chelmsfordcvs.org.uk Registered Charity no 1112483 Company no 05586169
Please send us your events for the next edition (for events between 13th February and 22nd March) to editorial@itsyourmedia.co.uk
Jonathan Pie Sells out the Civic Centre With Rave Reviews Over 500 people crammed into the Civic Centre in Chelmsford on Friday January 10th to see the hotly anticipated Cool to be Kind comedy benefit gig starring spoof angry news reporter Jonathan Pie (aka Tom Walker).
After the interval, we had the main event: Jonathan Pie took to the stage with his unique angry but concise poke at the political classes both left and right, which concluded a truly magnificent night. Here is just some of the feedback on social media:
The quality of all the performances was outstanding, co-founder of C2bK, Brian McGovern, opened events with tales of how he stalked Tom and his tale of how he was traumatised by his experience of being ‘the donkey’s hoofs’.
‘Just seen @JonathanPieNews performing for @CoolToBeKind1 in Chelmsford. Wow. My face hasn’t ached so much for a long time Billy Connolly levels of funny. Go and see him if you get the chance.’
Then the sensational Andy Poole took over the night’s proceedings and compèred the rest of the evening with his usual cutting edge wit. First up, Luke Poulton. Luke is an insight into his own autism with dry and laugh-out-load self mocking. Then it was the turn of Lia Rina who was outstanding, with her no holds barred take on the world finished off by a couple of songs which had the audience in stiches.
‘I was there last night with my husband- just wanted to say congratulations it was bloody amazing.’ ‘This was really good last night - and for charity too (Cool to be Kind). Great comedians. Do check them out.’ ‘It was a great night and we laughed our socks off’ For further information visit www.c2bk.co.uk
Get Fit During 2020 Without Joining a Gym Remus Horse Sanctuary in Ingatestone, Essex, is inviting people to step up and join their charity as a volunteer this year and save on those expensive membership fees at the gym! Remus is actively seeking adult volunteers (both men and women) to join the existing and dedicated team. There are many ways in which an individual can help, whether in the office, manning a stall at an event, helping with enrichment, working on the yard, helping with the animals, maintenance, cleaning, knitting or stuffing envelopes. Sue Burton, Founder of the Sanctuary, said: “we’re looking for people to help us at the Sanctuary and with fundraising. So whatever the fitness levels, we have something to suit! No experience is needed, and people will have opportunity to get away from their screens and out into the great Essex countryside to breathe some fresh air!” Located near Ingatestone in Essex, the Sanctuary’s first two induction days of the year will take place between 11am and 1pm on Sunday 16th February and Sunday 8th March. However, it’s important to note
that these dates are for adults only and everyone must complete and submit an application form in advance, which can be obtained directly from the Sanctuary or downloaded from the website at: www. remussanctuary.org/what-we-do/usefuldownloads. Sue says: “All we need is for a person to want to help us, to be able to spare a few hours and to be flexible and happy to work as part of a team. There is no long-term commitment or requirement for minimum hours.” The induction will give interested people an insight into the issues that Remus face and the support needed, including relevant health and safety information and offers the chance to meet other prospective volunteers. Sue concluded: “We have found that many lovely friendships are borne out of volunteering.” For further information visit www. remussanctuary.org, or contact Sue Burton on 01277 356 191.
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Come along and try our authentic 'Eastenders' Pie and Mash Available Every Friday and Saturday from 11.00 am Eat in or Takeaway 4 Corporation Road, Chelmsford CM1 2AR | Telephone: 01245 268008 Email: order.munch@hotmail.co.uk | Website: munchchelmsford.co.uk | find us on Facebook
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Wildlife Corner - by Nick Green December weather was actually wet and some rivers were nearly overflowing. A considerable change from the usual report!
and streams, plus ponds and gravel-pits. Populations suffer in severe winters when waters ice up. However, the ability to raise four broods with up to seven young each time can allow rapid population recovery. In the Chelmsford area, the species can be found typically along the rivers Can and Chelmer - but luck is needed! The bird’s call, likened to a dog whistle, often first gives the bird’s presence away. The male has an all dark bill (see photo), while the female has orange on the lower edge. Essex Selected Wildlife Highlights: The Naze: 2 shorelark, Lapland and snow buntings. Abberton Reservoir EWT: 11 great white egrets, cattle egret, 4 Bewick’s swan, 6 scaup, 2 long-tailed duck, ring-necked duck, 3 smew, swallow. Wallasea Island RSPB: 3 great white egret, 4 hen harriers, 7 shorteared owls, 5 twite. Rainham Marshes RSPB: 7 Caspian gulls, 4 water pipit, 2 short-eared owls. Lea Valley: 2 cattle egret.
Kingfisher (copyright: Glyn Evans) The kingfisher is a widespread species across Europe and Russia, favouring shallow and slow moving freshwater rivers with small fish and vertical banks of soft material in which they excavate their nest burrows. In Essex, the species breeds in the banks of rivers
Chelmsford Library News Welcome to a new year and a new decade! It is the time of the year where we pledge to try new things to improve our general wellbeing, and Chelmsford Library has a lot on offer to help with this.
On Saturday 15th February is Love Your Library Day. This month’s theme is STEAM, which stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. Come along and find out about micro bits, our code clubs and digital services. All are welcome to access our free Wi-Fi. If you are not already a member of the library, it only takes minutes of your time to join up to enable you to be able to access this service. This is a great opportunity to experience what your local library has on offer for the whole family. Raspberry Pi (sorry not the edible kind) is being held in our newly refurbished upper floor come along with all generations of the family. This is a computer coding class which has become a popular event for all ages.
National Selected Migration Highlights: Scotland: white-winged scoter. Orkney Isles: Steller’s eider. Western Isles: Richardson’s cackling goose. snowy owl (St Kilda), gyr falcon. Northumberland: black scoter, eastern yellow wagtail. Norfolk: lesser white-fronted goose, Siberian stonechat. Suffolk: eastern yellow wagtail. Bedfordshire: black-throated thrush (Whipsnade). Cornwall, Pacific diver. Isles of Scilly: American hermit thrush.
For more information on these events, please visit libraries.essex. gov.uk. www.facebook.com/essexlibraries Twitter: @essexlibraries essexbookfestival.org.uk
Send your events to editorial@itsyourmedia.co.uk for inclusion on to the listings page!
Love your Library Day is a free event for all the family. Please check the website for further details. Essex Book Festival has become a popular and renowned event throughout the county. This runs between 28th February and 31st March 2020, with over 100 events within 40 venues throughout Essex. Jess Kidd will be appearing at Chelmsford Library on Wednesday 25th March at 7pm. Jess is a Costa award winning author. Things In Jars is the title of her book which is set in Victorian London, capturing a time when the world was obsessed with the unusual - magical story telling at its best. Tickets: £7 Under 27 year olds tickets are priced at £5. Tickets are available through the Box Office at the Mercury Theatre (01206 573 948)
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Old Clothes, New Looks - by Tillie Peel of the Bearded Gypsy Vintage Co “Vain trifles as they seem, clothes have, they say, more important offices than to merely keep us warm. They change our view of the world and the world’s view of us.” (Virginia Wolfe) Clothing is a currency, a cultural statement, it’s what makes you belong to a group or stand out from the crowd. It’s a tool of self -expression, a confidence builder or simply, part of your identity. For hundreds of years, clothing has always told a story. It’s reflected an era, retold history, cast back memories and milestones in people’s lives. It can remind you of good times and have you reminiscing of the past. Clothes can be a comfort, they can be a hobby or a talking point between you and a total stranger.
Wearing: The Bearded Gypsy Vintage Co (Photo by Nic Ford Photography) For me, it all started when I was willingly dragged around antique centres by my nan, she collected antiques and her house was my haven, it was like stepping back in time or entering a museum. I remember learning about the Tudors, Victorians and Georgians at school and I would endless glare at their clothing in any school books. I was fascinated. From an early age, I loved treasure hunting at the boot sale. I would swoon over trinket boxes, jewellery, ornaments, bags and shoes. Little did I know but this passion would end up shaping my career in fashion. I am really excited to welcome in the new year as the City Times’ new fashion columnist. I look forward to sharing looks, stories ,trends, tips and topics for 2020.
Wearing: The Bearded Gypsy Vintage Co (Photo by Nic Ford Photography)
Wearing: The Bearded Gypsy Vintage Co (Photo by Nic Ford Photography) The Bearded Gypsy is an online and pop up vintage fashion brand based in Chelmsford. We also host events, a pop-up marketplace and shops for artists, designers and small businesses in and around Essex. You can find us online at www. thebeardedgypsyvintageco.com and follow my business journey on Facebook/Instagram: @thebeardedgypsyvintageco @thebeardedgypsystradefayre
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CT History: Faith in the Chelmsford area since 1880 Part One - by Stephen Norris “We have a parish church cathedral and we want to make it less like a parish church and more like a cathedral” The last 140 years have seen a huge change in the role of religion in people’s lives. In a small town such as Chelmsford, most people attended church regularly in 1880. Even if they didn’t they would ensure that their children attended Sunday School. In the rural area around Chelmsford, church attendance was probably even higher; the established order being reinforced by the reserved pews for landowners and their families and the fact that they often paid for the building and alterations to their local church. We shall see that the various strands of nonconformity were well established in both the town and the rural area by the late Victorian period. The early years of the twentieth century saw the establishment of the Essex Diocese of the Church of England with Chelmsford as its cathedral town. Despite a wide number of alterations and improvements, the cathedral remains recognisably the same as the late nineteenth century parish church. The pronouncements of successive bishops were an interesting barometer, both of the changes that occurred in the attitudes of the church and the degree of influence the church has on people. A survey in the 1990s revealed that Chelmsford had the fourth lowest church attendance rates in the country, reflected the increasing secularisation of society. By the 1880s the temperance movement had a strong hold over the middle class trades people and administrators of the town and the promise of the occasional tea and excursion also attracted a large number of working people, whose diet was restricted and access to entertainment almost non-existent. In the 1890s there were up to a dozen temperance societies operating in the Chelmsford and Moulsham parishes. The plethora of public houses and drinking booths gave these societies a good target, as did the drinking habits of the expanding number of working people in the town. Some of these societies, like the Band of Hope which had been originally established in 1846, lasted a long time. In 1881 it had 500 members in the town and also had a branch in Great Baddow. The Church of England also had its own well supported temperance society in the town, which was even older and met at the Shire Hall and for which services were held at the St Mary’s Parish Church (now the Cathedral). A sermon in 1882 said ‘drunkenness was essentially the national sin’. One feature of these societies was a move towards total abstention. For example, the John Copland Temperance Association, which met regularly in the early 1880s, had turned into the John Copland Abstemers Army by the end of the decade. The Moulsham Teetotal Army met in the Roman Road Mission room. In 1887 it held a ‘successful entertainment there [with] many not able to get admission’ and ‘twenty pledges were taken during the evening’. By 1895 a Women’s Total Abstinence Union had been formed, with 200 regularly attending meetings at the Shire Hall out of a total membership of 450. The local papers regarded this development with suspicion, supporting the need to reduce the number of drinking places in the town but regarded the cause of total abstention as being rather extreme. In 1884 the first conference of temperance societies in the Chelmsford area was held at the Co-operative stores. Nine hundred sat down to tea at the Corn Exchange in 1888 after every society sent a contingent. In the late nineteenth century there were four temperance hotels in Chelmsford. The best known of these was the Roseberry Hotel on Mesopotamia Island. James Frost was born at the hotel and his parents ran it. He remembered it having 26 bedrooms and his parents employing kitchen and cleaning maids. Two permanent blacksmiths also worked for them. Of course, no hard drinks were allowed on the premises in marked contrast with the other hotels in the town. His father had to sell the business after he developed asthma during the First War. ST Shipman remembered the hotel and its yard being the hub of activity on the island. Thomas Thorne recalled political parties congregating outside the hotel during
election campaigns. Fred Spalding senior remembered a temperance hotel on the site of the old Black Boy public house on the corner of the High Street and Springfield Road. Another was the Red Cow at the junction of Rainsford Road and Broomfield Road. After the war there was a big fall in the popularity of the temperance societies due in part no doubt to the increase in both the amount of leisure time and the types of leisure activity available. The big organised teas and short trips out no longer seemed so attractive. By 1930 the True Temperance Association was one of the few still operating locally. Nevertheless the evils of drink remained a core theme of all the local church sermons, particularly those of Chelmsford’s first Anglican bishop (see a later article - Faith part 3). The need to refuse the temptation of drink was a common theme of another religious based organisation in the Chelmsford area, namely the Salvation Army. The Chelmsford branch of the SA was officially formed in 1886, 21 years after the organisation’s foundation in East London by William Booth and his wife Catherine. What is interesting is the amount of outcry the fledgling organisation caused in Chelmsford, as happened in a number of other places. This wasn’t due to its theology, which was mainstream Protestant, but its quasi-military structure. It was the military type of uniform and the preponderance of marching which supposedly caused much of the fuss in a country which had a long tradition of avoiding a standing army. In reality it was probably the brewery companies and publicans, alarmed by the organisation’s denouncement of drinking, which financially supported the establishment of a ‘skeletal army’ whose members were dedicated to opposing the ‘army’ by fair means or foul. The ‘army’ started holding meetings at the Red Cow public house in Coval Lane in 1885. In July 1885 the Essex Chronicle reported ‘a contingent of Salvation Army consisting of about a dozen ‘soldiers’ dressed in scarlet tunics passed through the town and along the Springfield Road yesterday afternoon. A large and imposing caravan with flags flying, drawn by three splendid horses, accompanied them.’ The following year the paper wrote: ‘On Saturday evening some vendors of the War Cry received somewhat severe treatment from the Chelmsford populace, small crowds hooting and jostling and following them up and down the principal streets’. Evidently it was the arrival of a Captain Brewster in the town and the opening of a ‘barracks’ on the Springfield Road that caused the increased conflict. They were soon attracting big audiences by a combination of marches through the town and music that at the beginning was of dubious quality. At the beginning of 1887 the army proceeding up Moulsham Street were met by a herd of bullocks turning the Baddow Road corner. ‘Some of the crowd accompanying the army saw this was an opportunity for a spree and drove the animals forward scattering the soldiers right and left’. The following month ‘Colonel Hayward, his wife and daughter were marching from the barracks to the primitive Methodist Chapel in Hall Street where they intended holding a service. On reaching the High Street however they were met by a large crowd of roughs, who formed in front and preceded them to Moulsham Street. Here they turned and charged the red jerseyed soldiers and completely routed them’. Hayward and his wife and daughter had to shelter for two and a half hours in a butcher’s shop before the mob left. There was mounting criticism in the local papers who blamed their ‘countenance’ for the trouble. After one concert in front of the ‘gun’ outside the Shire Hall, the ‘soldiers’ left their brass instruments at various shops for safety. The opposition seems to have been able to parade its ‘skeletal army’, with its flag unhindered. One aim was often to capture the army’s flag or to duck the leader in the pond or the river. The Essex Chronicle admitted that the SA did ‘great good amongst the dwellers in the slums and amongst the poorer classes generally’ but that ‘these ends.... it could attain without all this parade and noise’.
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This opposition was probably the reason why it wasn’t until 17 years after the arrival of the army in the town that it opened its citadel in Moulsham Street. This had a main hall and was built to accommodate 350 people, but also had a young people’s hall for a further 200. 150 sat down for the opening celebratory meal in 1902. The Chelmsford branch established a lodging house and a mission. In the early 1890s it invited the inmates of the Model and Kettle lodging houses in Moulsham, as well as a number of those who lived in the town’s yards, to an annual ‘knife and fork’ tea. By the early twentieth century the opposition to the army in the town had largely dissipated and when General Booth came to the town in 1905 he was met by Mayor Councillor Gepp and treated to a dinner at the Corn Exchange presided over by Carne Rasch. In 1936 the Salvation Army celebrated its Silver Jubilee in the town with around 300 members. Eight years previously it had built a hall on the Boarded Barns estate in the northern part of the town. A number of its followers were conscientious objectors during the Second War. Most went into nonmilitary occupations, but one Salvation Army insurance agent refused to be conscripted and was given three months imprisonment. In 2009 the organisation became slightly controversial again when it opened its new buildings in Baddow Road which, although the modern design received plaudits in the architectural world, divided the townsfolk of Chelmsford to say the least! The church was constructed entirely from laminated pinewood and made in Austria before being transported by a convoy of low loaders and slotted together by a giant crane. In 2011 the organisation celebrated its 125th anniversary in the borough. Nick Simmons Smith, a composer, who is a resident in the US but who was born in Chelmsford, wrote a piece Chelmsford 125 to commemorate the event. Next issue: The second article next month looks at church buildings in the Chelmsford area in the last 140 years.
Chelmsford Twinning Partnership Well, Christmas is over for another year and I hope you have all had a good time. It has been very busy on the Twinning front; we had a number of members travel to Backnang for the Weihnachtsmarkt, a wonderful Christmas market in our twin town. We also sent a plethora of Christmas goods to Backnang to sell to the locals who come back to our stand each year to buy English goods and practise their English. It also stretches our members to practise their German. There is hot gluhwein to drink and tasty rotwurst sausages to keep us warm as the weather at this time of year in Germany can be very cold. However, it’s a great fun event and well worth a visit at this festive time of year. The following weekend we had a number of German visitors over to the Cathedral Christmas Fayre. They had a stand at the fayre selling German wine, spirits and beer. They also brought chocolate and pretzel tasters and various Partnerschaft goods which they gave away to willing visitors to the event. Seven students from the Gynasium School in Backnang came to visit Chelmsford Community Radio at Moulsham Mill and Boswell’s School. They are all participating in a radio link and the Backnang students were interviewing visitors about their Christmas favourite things for their future radio programme in Backnang. A great initiative. The next Twinning event will be our Annual New Year Meal on the 24th January. This year it will be held at the Lantern House restaurant in Brookfield Road. If you are interested in meeting members of the partnership, please get in touch by calling 07798 687 046. We have several social events throughout the year including a quiz and a themed bingo evening, as well as meetings with other Twinning groups in Essex and Suffolk.
out more from our website: chelmsfordtwinningassociation.co.uk. Also look out for news of anniversary celebrations in Chelmsford in April 2020. If you have previously been involved in twinning, either individually or with a group, school or organisation, please get in touch by emailing: towntwinning@freenetname.co.uk. We would love to hear from you and to see you at one of our anniversary events.
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2020 will be the 30th anniversary of Chelmsford Twinning with Backnang and the 20th anniversary of Twinning with Annonay. Find
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Therapy - by Chelmsford Therapy Rooms Hi folks, and happy New Year! Are you already starting to feel the stress having gone back to work after the break? Hypnotherapy is incredibly helpful for those suffering with stress. Most of my clients are stressed to a certain degree because when we’re going through emotional pain and mental anguish, stress is undoubtedly going to be a by-product. Hypnotherapy not only is great for destressing, but it’s also a fantastic way to teach people how to relax. For those who genuinely don’t know how to relax, hypnotherapy can show you how by using a step-by-step technique that is easy to follow and to understand. In fact some CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) practitioners teach a PMR (progressive muscle relaxation) which is the first thing we do with a client when hypnotising them. This is because a PMR relaxes the body but also it helps the client to focus. Stress is normal, everyone has the ability to feel stress because it’s linked to our ‘fight or flight’ response that has been keeping us alive for thousands of years. The ability to deal with stress is partly genetic and partly environmental. We do need stress as it also motivates us, eg: eustress is short-term stress that motivates us and increases performance - a sales person selling on a deadline may book the best deal of their life under eustress. However, constant stress over a long period of time can lead to chronic stress, which is a very serious condition as it has physical symptoms as well as psychological ones, and it can lead to further physical problems. Stress can also lead to anxiety, as anxiety can lead to stress, because they are both connected to the fight or flight response that aims to ensure our safety. Some of the physical symptoms of stress include headaches, nausea, aching muscles, IBS and high blood pressure. Emotional symptoms include moodiness, irritability or short temper, agitation, inability to relax, feeling overwhelmed, and general unhappiness. Cognitive symptoms include memory problems, worrying lots and an inability to concentrate. Behavioural symptoms include change in sleeping pattern, developing a self defeating behaviour like excessive drinking, procrastinating and nervous habits like nail biting or pacing. There are many, many more symptoms, too many to list as I’ll run out of word count! In my opinion, the best way to treat stress is to learn how to relax. However, there may be underlying issues as to what is causing the stress, so a therapist might help the client to deal with those in the long term. Being unable to relax could exacerbate the physical and mental symptoms of stress. Remember that whilst you may not be able to change your world, you can change your reaction to it. A relaxed person will respond to a stressful situation very differently to an already stressed person and there will be more room in the calm person’s conscious to deal with the situation because they’re not already worrying about twenty other things at the same time. Hypnotherapy is so effective at treating stress that I offer it as part of my counselling practice. The relaxation sessions are shorter and don’t include any suggestions, I simply perform the PMR (progressive muscle relaxation relaxing your body one part at a time) and then the deepener (to relax the mind, usually imagining going down some stairs into deep relaxation is an effective way of inducing a trance, but more specific deepeners can be written) and then I encourage the client into their special place and allow them to relax there for a few minutes. When the client is reoriented they feel very, very relaxed. In total the Relaxation Hypnotherapy session takes about 20 minutes. The results I’ve seen from adding hypnotherapy onto sessions to treat stress has been phenomenal. These days, I send a relaxation recording to clients so they can listen to it at home. Just from listening to the hypnotherapy recording once per week where the client can completely relax and get away from any stress they may be feeling has resulted in clients feeling happier, more stable, able to cope better with life with a much more positive mindset and they’re a lot, lot calmer!
Another feature of stress is that when we’re really feeling it everything can seem worse, like the world is against us, therefore dealing with stress really can make life seem much better! In my hypnotherapy practice I would write a script specifically to deal with stress using suggestion therapy. There are two ways of doing this. I could encourage the client to identify the negative reactions they have to a stressor and then ask their subconscious to find a new positive response to this situation, for example if somebody is feeling stressed because they doubt themselves quite a lot I could thank their inner critic for wanting to help but remind it that perhaps some positive encouragement and reinforcement from the subconscious may actually be more beneficial than criticising negatively. I would also remind the subconscious mind of the client of the many positives of their personality and how and why they are a capable, competent person so they can relax. This would aim to encourage the client’s psyche to put less pressure on them. The second way of dealing with stress through suggestion therapy is to write some responses myself (this depends on the specific situation) and then incorporate these responses into the script to help the subconscious take them on so they eventually become habitual. For example, if someone feels stressed because they have a forthcoming exam I would give suggestions to encourage the subconscious to feel calm leading up to, within, and after the exam, and then I would paint a picture of them being wonderfully calm and relaxed in the exam so that all the knowledge they have learned flows easily to the conscious mind. If anyone is interested in seeing a therapist, I own and run Chelmsford Therapy Rooms. We have a range of therapists that can help with a multitude of issues, and we offer many therapies from hypnotherapy to counselling to nutrition. Please see the website www.chelmsfordtherapyrooms.co.uk or you can email info@ chelmsfordtherapyrooms.co.uk or call 0330 100 5162.
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The Fourth Trimester - by Mandy Haynes The fourth trimester starts from the moment your baby is born and lasts until they are three months old. The term is used to describe the period of time after birth when both parents and baby are adjusting to their new lives. It is often considered the hardest trimester - the first three may certainly have their challenges, but with regular midwife appointments and apps that show the development of your baby, there is a lot of support and knowledge about what is happening to your body and your baby during those 9 months. The fourth trimester by comparison, can feel like an absolute minefield - whether it’s your first baby or your fifth! People often assume it is a time of nothing but love, joy and newborn cuddles and it may lead a new mother to think that there is something wrong if it doesn’t feel exactly like that. For me personally, having just given birth to my second child (my lovely little boy, River) my experience of the fourth trimester so far is very different to when I had my daughter (Hope, now 2 and a half years old) and I felt compelled to write about it. I was looking forward to the birth - I’d read a really helpful hypnobirthing book, had my liquid yoga room spray at the ready and my playlists downloaded (Ed Sheeran for the early stages followed by the yoga and meditation tracks I use in my yoga classes for the later stages). When it came to it however, River gave me quite a hard time and, without going into detail, I was left quite traumatised by the experience as well as physically exhausted and emotionally drained. As well as it being quite a tricky birth, sadly my lovely dad passed away a couple of months beforehand after a short battle with cancer and the emotions and feelings of grief chose that moment to come flooding out.
newborn days away! As I write this, we are four weeks into this stage, and with lots of support from my amazing husband Toby and my family, as well as the postnatal care from the midwives and health visitors, things are gradually getting easier as we all settle into our new way of life. Here are my main tips for surviving this stage: • • •
Rest as much as you can (daytime naps and early nights) Eat and drink well and regularly, ask for help Most importantly - be kind to yourself (this is something I’ve never been very good at but I’m learning!)
Writing this made me think of that recent interview with Meghan Markle where amongst the usual questions of ‘is he a good baby?’ and ‘does he sleep well?’, journalist Tom Bradby asks how she is doing and she replies: “...and, also thank you for asking, because not many people have asked if I’m OK.” So if you’re reading this and you know someone who is pregnant or has a new baby - remember to ask how they are. And if you’re a mum reading this, please know that whatever and however you are feeling is normal and that there is plenty of support available, you only need to ask. It’s OK not to be OK! And finally, I would like to thank the lovely Vanessa Lee for covering my yoga classes at Hummingbird Pilates & Yoga whilst I take a few months off! I’m looking forward to returning to class in January. To see a full schedule, head over to www.hummingbirdpilates.co.uk.
I was fortunate enough to be able to stay at WJC Birthing Unit for a couple of nights after the birth - I can’t recommend this highly enough! Having midwives on hand to ask all manner of questions (particularly at 3 in the morning - ‘why is he still feeding? It’s been 5 hours!’) and to have nothing to do but rest was invaluable. Despite this however, I found the first 5 days of River particularly hard. My body felt like it had been hit by a train, I was incredibly sleep deprived, but more than that was the emotional upheaval. I felt like I had failed (at what or who I’m not entirely sure) with the kind of birth I had, I missed my dad terribly and I found it hard to bond with River. It took me a few days to admit this last point - to myself and to my husband. It is hard to write that here as well, but I think it’s important for other new mums to know that if they have felt or feel the same, that they are not alone. Once I was able to talk about it, my feelings changed and I was able to start again with my beautiful boy. One of the biggest struggles I found personally, with both of my babies, was breastfeeding. This was one of the reasons the stay at WJC was particularly useful was that I was able to get support with every feed so that by the time I was discharged, I felt confident that both River and I had the hang of it. “It’s the most natural thing in the world” people say - that doesn’t mean that is easy however! It can be time and energy consuming, occasionally painful and very tiring! Of course it is lovely too - you are forced to sit down (and therefore rest) for a while as well as have a cuddle. The other thing that has been different this time around is not being able to give 100% of my attention to River, being the second child. It has been an adjustment, not only for us as parents, but for Hope as well. She is a very proud and helpful big sister, but she is also now having to share our attention and that is something we have all found quite hard. Guilt is an emotion that is now added to the mix of tiredness and hormones! Guilt that I can’t do a puzzle or colouring with Hope as often as I would have done previously, and guilt about the thoughts like ‘things will get easier when River is a bit older and in more of a routine’ and I feel like I’m wishing these Page 22
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No Signal Moments - by Teigh-Anne Shave
Sometime between noticing that consistently, spanning many years, I’d be folding the washing and realising the pillowcase was actually a pair of my knickers and my love for handy empty celebrations tubs, I stopped adding weight loss to my resolutions list. On the way home from Norwich with a friends ashes in the footwell, his close friend at the wheel, we considered our own mortality and he said: “When you think about it we only really have on average 80 summers to truly live, if we’re lucky.” We live in the UK so the whole resolution list went in the bin and a new ‘one day’ joy list was created.
I certainly wasn’t waiting for warm weather to live, but I needed to do something different with the limited time in the summer that I did have too. I wanted to go to more festivals than just V. It’s hard to do if you have little funds, but as luck would have it an opportunity presented itself in the form of a 1997 Microlite Freedom
Caravan. Short version - I transformed the interior into a meditation space with bright colours, a beaded door and yes, crystals got involved. I painted the exterior sunny yellow and started booking up festivals spreading a little joy on the road as my little yellow Corsa towed the little yellow caravan. For three years now I’ve been exchanging laughter therapy workshops or one-to-one sensory experiences for the price of a ticket, so I get to meet fantastic people, take them on a journey doing what I love. Win, win.
Whatever happens in the world, joy can be found in a field with no signal on your phone and a group of people round a fire - fact. What would go on your ‘one day’ list?
r fe d f t O ite 5 n e im £4 i Cl Unl for w s ) Ne Day shipapply r s 30 mbe(ts &c Me
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Spot 10 Differences (answers on page 31)
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Quiz Time- by John Theedom (answers on page 31) 1. Who presents the Radio 2 Breakfast Show? 2. If you were born on May 25th which star sign are you? 3. In the world of politics, who was ‘The Beast of Bolsover’? 4. In which UK county is the town of Ashby-de-la-Zouch? 5. Which tree is known as the Tree Of Life and grows up to 100 ft high? 6. What sort of creature is a chafer? 7. Barney Rubble is a character in which TV series? 8. In which UK county is the Haberdashers Aske’s Boys School? 9. What is the highest decoration for gallantry awarded to British armed forces? 10. Who was the first British astronaut? 11. From which animal’s milk is the cheese ricotta made? 12. Who wrote the novel in 1935 entitled The African Queen? 13. Who was responsible for creating the Christmas cracker as we know it today? 14. Which board game features chance cards and community chest? 15. What is Clarence Birdseye most famous for? 16. Towards the end of his life, the poet John Milton dictated his work, why was this? 17. In the world of computers, which common item was invented by the US scientist, Douglas Engelbart? 18. What does the word fidimplicitary mean? 19. What was the middle name of the British novelist William Thackeray? 20. What do the initials RPI stand for? 21. What is the term for a fox’s tail? 22. In homemade jam, what is added to make it gel?
23. What is the world’s largest rodent? 24. In which part of the human body is the vomer bone? 25. Who, in the nursery rhyme, was quite contrary? 26. What is distinctive about the singer Gregory Porter? 27. What is the name for a female ferret? 28. Which regiment or corps refers to its soldiers as sappers? 29. If a material is referred to as igneous what is it’s origin? 30. What is a rondeau? 31. What is more common name for apiculture? 32. What is a snifter? 33. What shape is the horn of an eland? 34. How many strings does a violin have? 35. The dromedary camel has how many humps? 36. For what do the initials BAFTA stand? 37. Another whale has died in the River Thames, what type was it? 38. Which sport is being played by the eldest son of The Beckham’s, Romeo? 39. In Monopoly, how much is the speeding fine? 40 What does RAC stand for? Correction: In the last quiz, question 23: P&O shipping line: what do the initials stand for? The correct answer is Penisular & Orient. Apologies!
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Readers’ Letters
This month in our occasional ongoing series, we feature a communication from City Times reader, Derek Threadgall. “In June this year, the BBC has threatened to deny huge swathes of pensioners free access to its services. To be precise, pensioners over 75 years old are being blackmailed into paying the Television Tax otherwise known as the Television Licence fee. The blackmaill threat is that without the licence fee being paid by the over 75s (some however, are exempt), the BBC will be forced to downgrade its levels of quality programming. “Clearly that is nonsense. The BBC has already downgraded its levels of quality programming. The last quality programmes (Bodyguard and Killing Eve) were, in my humble view, exceptional. Unfortunately, what followed has been bland, and predictable persuading me to abandon the BBC for the quality programming of Netflix. Granted, I catch the occasional programme on BBC 2 or BBC 4, but even this is now a
rarity - and don’t get me started on the inevitable problem of repeats. “The viewing figures for BBC programmes are a joke. Most programmes strain to get viewing figures into double digits. I have completely abandoned BBC 1 and all the commercial channels. I have seen enough rubbish television programmes and commercial dross - though Netflix dramas are excellent, with no commercials and - with one exception so far - no big expensive ‘named’ actors. Instead, we get very good actors, the names of whom I find elusive as Netflix, anxious for you to keep watching, dispenses with the end programme credits to the top left hand corner of the screen. This leaves plenty of room for the next programme to start within a few seconds. “The BBC now has lost its way. It has launched with ITV a streaming service, but that service will never be able to match the billions of dollars (some 12 billion last year for Netflix alone) poured into product by the American streaming companies. Netflix has based its production arm in Shepperton Studios (where I worked in management for five years and ran the successful public campaign to prevent the studio from being demolished for high density housing by city asset strippers). Are you listening Ted Sarendos, Netflix Content boss? As a matter of interest, in the 1960s I was turned down for employment with the BBC nine times. Not the ‘right’ type of chap you know. Never graced a university front step, left school with one ‘0’ level and has now become Britain’s Oldest Angry Young Man! Most definitely not the’ right’ type for the BBC. “There is, of course, a much more serious consequence of the BBC threat to the over 75s future viewing. I admit that the BBC should never have been put in this invidious situation by a government run by bean counters and wet behind the ears inhabitants of the Westminster Bubble all naturally obsessed with diversity and equality and the bed-fellow of political correctness. Regardless of the paucity of entertainment, the television is a fixture in many over 75s homes, not just for watching - but for company. How does the BBC and the government square that basic desire of elderly people with the damaging proposal being mooted by the BBC later this year? “Of course, the government must take back responsibility for financing the free television licence for the over 75s, many of whom have worked hard all their lives and paid their taxes and National Insurance costs. They do not deserve this disgraceful hassle towards the end of their lives. Is that a BBC subscription payment looming on the horizon? I do hope so.”
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Local Arts for Art’s Sake - by Kenneth Louis Shepherd Back in July last year when I had my first piece published in this prestigious publication, I spoke of the tragedy that this great city of ours does not have an art gallery. I have written to the leaders of the Chelmsford City Council regarding this matter and received no reply. I have spoken to local individuals and got a mixed reception. Then, in this very magazine I read a piece by a man from distant Burnhamon-Crouch supporting the idea. This inspired me to focus upon the idea the issue once again. If you agree with me about this matter please make contact and a group of us can set the ball rolling. Email kenlshepherd@btinternet.com. Thank you, Mr Roger Braga. By pure coincidence I recently learned that the Essex Register (based in Chelmsford) has an original interesting work of art by Pompeo Batoni (1708-87), an Italian painter who is regarded as the last great personality in the history of art in Renaissance Italy. This particular work is of special interest as a result of the expressions upon the faces of the family portrayed. It is sadly stashed away and is difficult to view. If we had the local art gallery which me, Mr Braga and others crave, then this and other works currently not on public display could be placed there on a permanent basis. This would attract visitors to our city and increase the footfall to great advantage. Chelmsford hopes to apply to become the National City of Culture in 2025. Surely the chances of success in this sphere will be greater if we have an art gallery? A few months ago I wrote a piece which focused upon the items of art to be found in Chelmsford in spite of the non existence of the facility spoken of above. This month, I will travel to distant Colchester upon a similar mission.
Various exhibitions are held there regularly. Anyway, I believe that much of the area of this centre is not being used for the purpose for which it was created. Much of the space is used as a restaurant which although it is excellent, I consider that this place could be used for artistic purposes - there is no shortage of places to eat and drink in Colchester. An equally large part of this building is used as a book and gift shop. I have been there and spoken to the manager regarding the sale of the books which I have had published and she was supportive and helpful. I feel that this section could be better used. Worth noting too that the Red Lion Book Shop in the High Street provides an excellent service. I have come across two shops in Colchester which sell works of art and I have no reason to think that they do not serve a useful purpose. They are both in St Isaacs Walk. One is called the Original Art Shop and the other the MP Gallery. Both have a team of art consultants who will advise you upon any items which you are considering purchasing at these outlets. I have not purchased anything from these outlets myself, but when I visited I found the staff to be helpful. As far as I know there are no other such outlets in Colchester surprisingly less than found in Chelmsford On my visit to Colchester I saw only art which was produced in the young 21st century. I enjoyed many of them and welcome this development. I fail to use the term ‘modern’ in regard to these as those that we place in this category were created a century ago, and even post-modern works are 50 years old! However, I feel that this narrow approach has its drawbacks. I believe that if and when we get an art gallery in Chelmsford, its approach should be broader.
The Minories Art Galleries are housed in a handsome Georgian traditional building in the High Street, which is suitable for this purpose. It has a beautiful garden and a restaurant organised by the famous Tiptree Jam Factory. The gallery is run by the Colchester School of Art which is a part of the Colchester Institute and has regular displays of art works by artists both local and from further afield. Recently, I saw works of art created by a well established but little known versatile artist named Enid Crowther. I have seen landscapes and portraits by her and they are impressive. When I went there in December last year I saw many interesting items. However some of the rooms were empty unfortunately. The First Site Arts Centre is accommodated in a modern purpose built erection designed by Rafael Vivoly and opened in 2011. This area previously contained the main local bus depot. This development was controversial at the time and met with opposition, however I get the impression that people have now become used to its new usage and at best tolerate the changes. I feel that in the event of Chelmsford opening such a development there would be no problem, as suitable buildings are underused. The famous architect Rafael Vivoly has designed many incredible buildings worldwide, including the confusingly titled 432 Park Ave. New York. This is a skyscraper and stands 1,396 feet high and has 88 floors. A penthouse apartment will cost you 95 million dollars. Any offers? The only permanent work found at the First Site is the Berryfield Mosaic which is of Roman origin and was found upon this site when it was developed. It would be of more interest to the archaeologist than the art historian. A lady who is an expert in this sphere named Mary Beard had an exhibition there in 2018, and it was well attended. Grayson Perry organised an event there in 2017. When I attended in December last year I saw an impressive work by Antony Gormley called Field of the British Isles. This was fascinating; it reminded me of the Chinese Terracotta Army - its message was clear.
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others are remembering loved ones as in my case, and wanting to do some good by raising money for various charities. But for whatever reason it is that people walk the Camino, it certainly has an effect on you. It’s difficult to explain. Outlook on life and temperament can change. For me it puts life into a perspective. Material things are not important, it’s people and relationships that are.
Some Feat! Rotarian John Walks 600 miles for Charity On the 11th September Pamela and I left Stansted Airport; the goal to walk the way of pilgrims since the Middle Ages. The walk, known as the Camino, would take us the next six weeks covering just over 500 miles and take in the best part of Northern Spain. Our trek would begin In the French Pyrenees at Saint-Jean-De-Pied-Pont and end in Santiago De Compostela.
target of £1,000.
We obtained our passports at the Camino Office, which is run by all volunteers. You have to get a stamp every day from churches or bars or the hostels you stay in. Our first night was at the hostel Bellari run by a wonderful host Joseph and his son Matthew. At evening meal Joseph welcomes us all as his family and we each had to say why we were on the Camino. I explained that I was doing it in my sister Yvonne’s memory as she had died through leukaemia. I was also walking for Bloodwise, a charity dedicated to research into the disease. I had set a
After the delicious home cooked meal, we retired to our bunk beds. We were to get quite familiar with this form of sleeping over the next six weeks. After a good sleep we left in darkness to begin the slow but long, steep climb to Orrison in the high Pyrenees. This was the first taste of just how difficult the walk was going to be. For me, the second day was the most difficult and the climbs were long and hard. The mornings were quite cold but once the sun was up it was hot, so by around 2pm you really didn’t want to carry on. But the second stage to Roncenvalle was very tough. I crawled into the monastery around 4.30pm totally exhausted. The medics were concerned, but with a good night’s rest we were once again on the road. Most mornings we left in the dark wanting to put miles behind us before the sun really got up. This was a ploy we put into practice for most of the walk. We were having to walk between 20-25km per day. Pamela had a problem with a blister and she could barely walk for 4-5 days - she was taking pain killers to get through. Fortunately, we got to Burgos where we could get some wide trekking sandals. Once she had those and having treated the blister she could carry on. I had no problems at all, but there were many pilgrims who were not so fortunate. We were to meet some remarkable people during our time walking. People do the Camino for many different reasons. Some obviously religious (it is after all a pilgrimage), while some just walk to prove to themselves that they can do it. Many South Koreans we met do it as it counts towards their degree. Others are maybe recovering from a crisis, or medical problems and are just glad to have survived. Many
For the most part the weather was kind for us, though it changed once we entered Galicia - the rain was torrential for five days solid. Walking through Galicia was akin to England with beautiful woodland of pine and eucalyptus. It’s very rich agriculturally, and they say that there are 1,000,000 cows in Galicia. We didn’t count them, but they were everywhere - on the mountainsides and hills as well as lowland. If you couldn’t see them you could hear the cowbells! Eventually, the adventure had to end, and an adventure it certainly was. It would take too long to relate it all. We entered Santiago on a very wet morning. Making our way to the old city and to the great cathedral was exciting, but also quite sad that this was the end. Mixed emotions were being felt by both of us. The cathedral was a bit disappointing as it’s currently under heavy restoration. We couldn’t get onto the great steps so had to finish at the steps of the back entrance. It was all a bit of an anti-climax. After walking all that way you felt that someone ought to be there to pat you on the back, or shake your hand, but no, there was no one - just two very tired pilgrims soaked to the skin. The rain didn’t dampen our spirits though, spirits which couldn’t now be crushed no matter what. I did try to make a short video, but had to stop as it was all just too emotional. The thought of what we had achieved, what my sister might have said - it was just too much. There are many people to thank, not least all those who supported the cause for Bloodwise. I exceeded the target set, which is fantastic, so thank you all. Would I do it again? The answer is yes, but perhaps a different route. Completing the Camino is never the end, only a beginning. As Ernest Hemingway said: “It is good to have an end to journey towards, but it is the journey that matters in the end.” This is one example of one Chelmsford Rotarian doing something for a charity in which he believes - but that is the nature of Rotary; helping where help is needed and being supported by other members. If you would like to become involved in Rotary, visit www.rotary1240.org, or contact me by email: communications@ rotary1240.org, or even better give me a call on 01245 260 349. Stan Keller
February/March Issue Deadlines: Articles - 29th January Artwork - 5th February
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Stargazing with Mark Willis - January/February These are excellent opportunities to spot planets very easily (and also to impress your friends too!) 23rd January: Jupiter 0.4° north of the Moon. 24th January: Saturn 1.5° north of the Moon. 27th January: Mars 2.3° south of the Moon. 28th January : Venus 4.° north of the Moon. The equatorial diameter of Venus is 12,104 kilometres to Earth’s 12,756 kilometres. Up until the arrival of the US spacecraft Mariner 2 in 1962, most people believed Venus to be a slightly more balmy tropical version of Earth. Mariner 2 measured the temperature of Venus below its clouds at 500 degrees. A suffocating 98% carbon dioxide mixed with sulphuric acid rain! Venus started off like Earth billions of years ago. Venus, we now know, is about as close to hell as it gets. Venus became like that because of a ‘runaway greenhouse effect’. A View of the Milky Way Galaxy This is where we live, in one of the outer spiral arms of the Milky Way. During February, a combination of clear nights and our field of view affords us a sight of one of the other spiral arms. What we see here
is the core of the galaxy. Looking from the north-western horizon, we see the arm upwards through constellations of Cygnus, Lacerta, Cassiopeia, Perseus, Auriga, Orion until it falls on to the southern horizon. We are unable to see the individual stars that reside there, but we can see their mass. What stories would they tell us if we could? 27th and 28th February: We return to Venus, seeing it paired with our crescent Moon. A beautiful sight! New Moon dates: On 24th January and 23rd February there will be a new Moon. This means the skies will be extra dark which is a great opportunity to see planets, galaxies and deep space objects. As usual, email me with any questions about stargazing or the show. Mark Willis presents Lite Bites every Tuesday at midday on Chelmsford Community Radio.on 104.4 FM and online throughout the world. www.chelmsfordcommunityradio.com mark.willis@chelmsfordcommunityradio.com
Chelmsford Creative Collective - Maria Antoniou Chelmsford Creative Collective (CCC) is a group of friendly, local creatives. We have an active Facebook group where we share events, discuss collaborations and support each other’s creative endeavours. We meet on the last Tuesday of the month at a local pub. Please check Facebook or email chelmsfordcreativecollective@gmail.com for details. Everybody welcome for a drink and a chat. Who are you and what do you create? “Hi, I’m Maria Antoniou and I make luxury Belgian chocolates that can also be branded. We make award winning brownies, truffles, chocolate lollies and printed chocolates.” How would you describe your working process? “Lots of planning and lots of patience. We hand temper our chocolate, so getting it right is crucial. I spend a lot of time thinking about what needs to be made and the time frame it has to be done in to ensure the customer gets their product with the longest possible shelf life.” Who or what inspires you to be creative? “Other small businesses - the cake makers, bakers, chocolatiers, artists, fudge makers etc. I am fascinated by people’s stories and love to see their passions. We are all in the same creative boat and the support small businesses give each other is huge, I love it!”
“We recently made 200 chocolates for a client and getting their ‘blue’ to print correctly, plus matching the ribbon shade, was a task in itself! We hand delivered all 200 boxes and laid them out for the client and I must say they looked great and everyone was very impressed.” What does Chelmsford Creative Collective mean to you? “It’s so important to share talent and make people aware of how much talent there is in Chelmsford. I heard about the Creative Collective through a customer and its so great to see all the events and opportunities there are for people. Also knowing you can reach out with a question and it not fall into a black hole of silence is so important! You’re stranded on a desert island with three items of
your choice - what would they be and why? “A book: reading keeps the imagination strong and flowing. A solar powered radio: music to sing along to (even badly) and to dance to is a great stress reliever - and tweezers: I may be stranded but there’s no need to be hairy!” www.chocolate-moments.co.uk www.facebook.com/chocolatemomentslondon instagram.com/chocolate_momentsuk
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