Sunday 23rd June 2019 See page 7 for more information!
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Issue Number 68 June 13th - July 18th 2019
Häfele Awards Nominations Furniture fittings and architectural hardware specialist Häfele has announced the shortlists for its fifth annual Studio Partner Awards, which will take place at Scotland’s iconic Gleneagles Hotel this June. The Häfele Studio Partner Awards celebrate the achievements of Häfele’s studio partners - a select network of over 200 premium, independent kitchen, bedroom and bathroom studios across the UK. This year’s ceremony will see Regal Kitchens shortlisted in the following categories: • Best Customer Service • Best use of Digital Media • Best Showroom Experience
Robyn Berry, Marketing Manager at Häfele, comments: “Here at Häfele we are passionate about combining top quality products with outstanding customer service and we handpick our studio partners based on their shared commitment to these values. “Our Studio Partner Awards are the perfect opportunity to celebrate our partners’ exceptional achievements and to thank them for their continued dedication to excellence. “The standard of entries this year has been particularly high and deciding upon the final shortlists hasn’t been an easy task! We’d like to say a huge congratulations to all those who made the selection in what has been an outstanding year.” Häfele connects customers to its nationwide network of studio partners via its Ideas for Living platform (www. ideasforliving.co.uk). Regal Kitchens’ Director Nicola Martin added: “It is an honour to be shortlisted for the third year in a row. This is testament to the entire team at Regal who work tirelessly to give our customers the Regal treatment at every stage of their kitchen transformation.” Regal’s beautiful showroom in Navigation Road, Chelmsford, is open 7 days per week 10am - 4pm. www.regalkitchens.co.uk
CT Welcome Hello readers,
Welcome to the June/July edition.
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This is festival month, so plenty going on including the 3foot People and Fling festivals - fingers crossed for dry weather! Please also remember to tell our advertisers that you saw them in this magazine. Enjoy your month! Regards Nick & Paul www.thecitytimes.co.uk | www.moulshamtimes.com
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CT Fashion - Dressing up for the Occasion There’s something about summer that makes people want to celebrate isn’t there? Whether it’s a soirée, a ceremony or a good old fashioned shindig, it’s likely you’ve got at least one special occasion in your diary for the apparent warmer months. Of course, that then brings the age old question on everybody’s lips: ‘what do I wear to so-and-so’s shindig/soirée/ceremony?’. How does one find something that is comfortable (there’s nothing worse than a dance in shoes that bring a new meaning to the term ‘killer heels’), affordable (nobody wants to break the bank for something you might only wear a handful of times, let’s be real) but chic and sophisticated (you want to be the belle of the ball, naturally)? Luckily for us, the high street is literally overflowing with options for occasion wear this summer season. It’s like the shops can hear the nuptials and smell the champagne on the warm(ish) air. You can’t strut past shop windows without seeing a sparkly heel or a floor length frock. Sometimes the sheer variety of options in occasion wear shopping can send us into a sticky sweat - what is the right heel height, what would not offend your grandma but still be the right cut for your shape, what if you buy that safe dress from Topshop that at least three other safe guests have gone for too? well, fear not, fashionista - here’s a sensible, not too shabby, catwalk of your options to suit any occasion: The Statement Dress: Now, let me be clear: a statement dress is not for the faint hearted, but will make you feel pretty darn wonderful. Got your eye on the best man/ bride’s brother/ best mate? Or maybe you just want to stand out from the crowd. Then the statement dress is for you.
with flats and a satchel for that BBQ you simply must attend. If I had a pound for every time I have been caught out by afternoon showers when ‘it was fine earlier’ I’d be sipping cocktails in Marbs… who’d be with me? So, with the who-knowswhat-the-weatheris-going-to-do-next situation we have on our hands at the moment, I have been teaming my floral dresses with biker boots and a leather jacket for an uncertain summer safety option. That’s a fashion hack right there. The Skirt and Top Combo: Perhaps usually saved for work, the trusty skirt and top can also be a fantastic occasion wear coupling. It really does depend on the occasion - and in my opinion, is best saved for the ‘day sessions’ you might have scheduled. This season’s skirt and top for occasion wear includes a satin bias cut midi skirt with a simple boxed T-shirt or cami. You can team your combo with chunky trainers or boots or a slip on sandal for a fresh take on these skirts that have been around since spring. My advice is to mix up your T-shirt wearing by tucking in, tying or knotting according to preference and then popping a smart blazer or cropped jacket on over the top. The All in One for All Occasions: Do not be afraid to wear a playsuit or jumpsuit to a special occasion. In fact, there are so many tailored, beautifully crafted pieces out there on the high street now, you wouldn’t be able to swing a Gucci crossbody without bumping into at least two jumpsuit wearers at the next wedding you go to, trust me (just don’t share a loo with someone you don’t know very well there’s no elegant way of getting out of a jumpsuit/playsuit).
Best saved for really special occasions, like your best friend’s wedding, prom or a gala, these are the backless, or interestingly structured dresses (perhaps a tiered tail, for instance) that you find in the designer section of Debenhams or John Lewis. Make sure you choose a block colour - such as emerald green, cobalt, or this season’s paler options such as lilac or sage green - then team with a high, nude strappy sandal and plain clutch. Simple. Just let your dress do the talking. Then all you have to do is stand near the bar and wait… (pricey perhaps, but an hour into the party and your dress will have paid for itself in free drinks. You can thank me later). The Go-To Floral Dress: The floral dress is one of my favourites; it’s versatile and suits any special occasion. This season’s floral dresses are small pretty prints on pale white or pastel backgrounds. Mango, River Island and Miss Selfridge are the best places to spot a floral dress. Lots of floral dresses on the high street right now are flatteringly cut just above the knee to show off a simple wedge or flat sandal. But this summer it’s all about the nipped in waist and midi length cut. The best thing about opting for a floral dress? They can be worn with heels and a clutch for a really special occasion, or coupled
John Lewis and Warehouse offer some beautiful, tailored pieces to suit any special occasion. Make sure your jumpsuit is the right length, just touching your ankles, so that you can show off a pretty heel - keep these simple and nude for a chic look. See, I told you I had the answers for all occasions. Now all you need to worry about is where the bar is located… Rebecca Forde is a writer with a penchant for fashion, great literature and drinking a lot of coffee. You can contact her by emailing rebeccaforde@hotmail.co.uk. All Images: ©River Island
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Sober Is Fun?
Sober Is Fun is a new events company delivering high quality entertainment, in alcohol-free environments. Following the success of past sell-out Professional Sober Comedy Club Nights, they are now hosting bi-monthly shows at The County Hotel in the city, with the opening night occuring on Sunday 1st September. The stylish Crystal Ballroom will be transformed into an intimate comedy club - but with no alcohol being served or permitted into the show room. Martyn Davies from Sober Is Fun said: “It’s all about giving choice to the public. There are a number of comedy nights in the county to choose from, but this is actually the first regular Professional Comedy Night in the UK that will not be serving alcohol during the evening. There are a number of reasons why people are starting to refrain from alcohol, and our nights are perfect for these people who want to enjoy high quality entertainment, but away from the necessity of alcohol and what can sometimes come with it. All the acts in our shows are professional comedians from the prestigious UK and international comedy circuit; enhancing and sober, it is a really uplifting experience. Come and have a night off the booze, you may just be pleasantly surprised! Sober IS Fun... who knew!” Tickets are available online now at www.soberisfun.co.uk starting at £13.
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Music and Ramblings - by Nick Garner
Chelmsford Arts and Cultural Festival The festival is taking shape for 2020, and there will be an event at the Cramphorn Theatre in Chelmsford on the 27th June. The Jewish Society are putting on an evening of Klezmer, Israeli and Yiddish Music with Shir - an internationally renowned music group. Be ready for an uplifting and joyous evening cabaret style in the Cramphorn Studio! The show is presented by the Chelmsford Jewish Community, and we would encourage you to attend as this is a very uplifting event which will put a smile on your face. Tickets are just £15 from the Cramphorn or Civic Theatre in Chelmsford. There are other activities in the planning for the coming months, and grant applications are underway to enable us to put on a truly spectacular festival in 2020 for everyone. We are always looking for volunteers to help in many areas - all our contact details are below.
the merchandise manager for the Rolling Stones). The festival is a cross genre festival of country, rockabilly, blues and Americana, all on just two stages. They have a wonderful shopping mall with vintage clothing at very affordable prices as well as a great selection of food stands catering for all. There were people setting up and just playing acoustically around the grounds which is always great - it was encouraged by the festival organisers as well. The weather was fantastic and I met up with lots of good friends, including two guys I have not seen for over 40 years which was fantastic.
Music and Ramblings Sadly we have had postpone our next two shows at Chelmsford City FC, these being Robbie Gladwell and his Sidemen and then Des Horsfall’s Kuschty Rye. We are returning in October when we have the 70s legendary band Kokomo playing. They still feature 8 of the 10 original members, and boy, they still have a great groove. With the amazing Felix Rabin from France opening the night, this will be a night to dance away to. This is always a busy time of year for everyone, with festivals of all types coming up. Hylands Park will shortly be hosting the 3foot People Festival followed by The Fling, then there is the Summer Beer and Cider Festival in Admirals Park and then Fake Fest in Central Park, as well as well as a host of country shows. In July an exciting new country music festival is coming to Chelmsford: Dixie Fields is bringing a taste of America to Essex and will be the first festival of its kind in the county, taking place between July 12th and 14th. The event will be set in farmland bordering Hylands Park - Hylands Park was of course home to the hugely popular V Festival for 22 years. Visitors will get to experience an outdoor cinema, a campsite acoustic session, a full country music line-up as well as a big American-style brunch on the Sunday morning. Top American award winning artist Lauren Alaina will be headlining. If you’re interested in Dixie Fields and you would like to find out more about the festival and who is playing, check out www.dixiefields.com. We also have a local act, The Jackson Line, playing Dixie Fields. They will be playing their warm-up show at the UB on Thursday 4th July - all rather fitting, being that this is American Independence Day as well. It will be free to enter and will start at 8.30pm. Also remember that The Connor Selby Band will be playing a warm-up show on Friday 26th June from 9pm before opening for The Who at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 6th July at Wembley Stadium along with Imelda May, The Kaiser Chiefs and Eddie Vedder. This is a big one for these four guys. Following this, Connor is going on to open (playing solo) for the British Blues legend John Mayall on his 85th year tour in the autumn. Mayall helped launch the careers of so many musicians, like Eric Clapton, Peter Green and Mick Taylor. Some of the things we have lined up at the UB for the coming year are SNAFU, the 70s rock band who had Micky Moody from Whitesnake on guitar and Bobby Harrison on lead vocals and keyboards (who was also part of Procol Harum). Later, We also have Denny Newman returning, Dave Sharp, Longy (with a full band show), Redwood, and also Medicine. Keep your and ears open for more announcements. I have just returned from another festival near Thetford called Red Rooster which was a sell-out with a maximum of 5,000 people - a good sized festival. It runs from the last Thursday in May to the Saturday night and is just wonderful and very family-friendly. Red Rooster is set in the grounds of Euston Hall, the seat of the Duke of Grafton (or Harry as he likes to be known - who also used to be
Old Friends Meet after 40 years There is just so much that happens in and around Chelmsford and further afield - it is not just about music; to illustrate this point, we have just had the Old Moulsham and Writtle Open Gardens event, which was well attended and beautiful. I have also just heard that Toploader are going to play at The Hideaways later in the year as well. As ever, please do try to come out and support the great live scene that 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 go to our What’s On pages to see what else is happening in your area. Check the Internet too to see what’s on locally - Facebook is always good as is Twitter as well as your local papers and community boards. Please check out the links below and please ‘like’ our pages on social media and help us by inviting your friends to ‘like’ our pages as well. Chelmsford Arts and Cultural Festival: hello@chelmsfordfestival.org www.chelmsfordfestival.org Online festival programme: www.issuu.com/chelmsfordfestival www.facebook.com/chelmsfordfestival Twitter: @chelmsfordaacf www.bluesinthecity.co.uk www.facebook.com/bluesinthecitychelmsford Twitter: @BluesintheCity1 www.itsyourmusic.co.uk www.facebook.com/itsyourmusic Twitter: @itsyourmusic
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Blackwater Country Show - Sunday 23rd June 2019 Chigborough Road, Heybridge, CM9 4RB
The show warmly welcomes thousands of visitors from miles around. This is a local, big show in its 14th year with a friendly, bustling atmosphere surrounded by soft hedgerows and wildlife. The show is in support of the Essex and Herts Air Ambulance.
The huge range of attractions at the 2019 show includes the chance to watch Newfoundland dogs do what they do best in the water saving humans in trouble, watch the paddlesport team showcase the speed and agility of lightweight canoes across the lake, meet the vikings in their living village, and handle birds of prey. New for 2019 the Tigers Children’s Motorcycle display team performing tricks, stunts and jumps! watching the show.” For those who enjoy nostalgia, a variety of colourful vintage tractors will be driven, and looking forward to the latest developments, some modern machinery will be on display. Together, these fascinating displays show how farming has moved through the ages.
Garry Hills, one of the show organisers, adds: “There will also be a chance to watch a superb, lively display by the Essex Police in the Main Ring capturing a fugitive with an informative and entertaining commentary.” Foodies will be delighted to see a range of artisan pastries, juices, hand made jams and preserves, award winning cheeses and pies, olive oils and vinegars, cupcakes, homemade cream and butter fudge, and a great variety of hot food to enjoy. New for this year you can enjoy a tipple or two with artisan British flavoured spirits - and by popular return, wines from local vineyards. There really is something for everyone. Skilled craftsmen and local producers come together at this popular event in the heart of the countryside to display and sell their creations. There are marquees and exhibits from painters, potters, walking stick makers, blacksmiths, bakers and brewers. There is flora and fauna, home and garden country gifts, handmade jewellery and nautical wares too.
Around the showground, little ones can meet animals that are sleek, prickly, furry, shorn and curly! Enjoy activities in the children’s area with lots of space to have fun and laughter with the family. Adventurous youngsters can have a go at clay shooting, or try using a bow and arrow with professional archers. What a great way to spend a day in the country! Advanced tickets can be bought from Maldon TIC on 01621 856 503 and Point Graphics at 21c High Street, Maldon at discounted prices. Tickets will cost a little more on the day. Visit www. blackwatercountryshow.co.uk for more details.
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There are so many opportunities for children too. Why not take them into a canoe for the first time? There will be experienced staff and instructors on hand to help navigate the beautiful lake. And if Crufts inspires you, your furriest members of the family are also invited to join in the fun! You can enter your four legged friend to race against time in Flyball; a thrilling agility relay game. Or maybe enter them into the agility course or dog show for the chance of winning a rosette. Michelle Watkinson, show organiser, says: “In our 14th year there is lots of fun and entertainment for the whole family to enjoy in the countryside surroundings. By the lake, visitors can relax to Victorian music or acoustic guitar melodies with a refreshing drink, while
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CT Gardening - by Tom Cole
The warmth that normally arrives with the coming of June and the longer days helps to spur our plants on - however, it also creates the perfect conditions for a whole range of pests and diseases. Pests such as box tree caterpillar, aphid, saw fly larvae and diseases such as powdery and downy mildew (the latter usually occurs when the temperature gets higher and the humidity levels have risen), plus rust and black spot. Be vigilant and be prepared to fight off these problems with a range of cultural, chemical and/or biological control solutions. If you know the problem but are unsure of your control options, go to any search engine, type in the pest or disease name followed by the letters ‘RHS’, and you’ll be whisked to the profile page of that problem together with an arsenal of possible solutions at your disposal. Tips for June: • Continue to earth up over the crowns of potatoes to keep developing tubers out of direct light. This has the added bonus of bringing to the surface any possible pests which will picked off by the local fauna. • Continue to weed beds and borders. Manually remove annuals by digging out, burying or using a Dutch hoe to sever tops from roots. Dig out all perennial weeds in borders and/or use a gel based weed killer; always following manufacturers guidelines. Don’t forget to then use well rotted organic matter such as leaf mould or garden compost as a cover (mulch) to a depth of 15cm (6”). This will keep moisture in when sunny and help reduce weeds. For the best results, undertake weed control before flowers are produced to reduce the further spread of these pesky plants by seed. • If you haven’t done so already, make sure that venting systems are fully operational as the weather further improves. It’s imperative that vents allow for good air flow and reduces overly humid areas of your greenhouse. This has the added bonus of reducing the chances of grey mould and downey mildew. Failing
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this, just open the door of the greenhouse! Mow your lawns regularly removing any clippings as you go. This will reduce thatch build up. Keep weeds down by using selective herbicides, but take care, as these should be applied 3-4 days either side of mowings for the best results and avoiding any chance of killing grasses or burning. With grass clippings, leave them to one side if a weedkiller has been used before incorporating them into your compost heap - I’d leave them for 6-8 months before using them.
This is a great time to feed containerised plants like rhododendrons, azaleas, skimmias and magnolias with iron based feed, especially if the young leaves are beginning to yellow. This feed also works well on all evergreens, particularly box.
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: For RHS Level 2 Certificate in the Principles of Horticulture (1 year, day release on Thursdays), RHS Level 2 Certificate in the Principles of Plant Growth, Propagation & Development (September - February on Thursdays), RHS Level 2 Certificate in the Principles of Garden Planning, Establishment and Maintenance and for RHS Level 2 and 3 Certificates in Practical Horticulture, 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 this September we’ll also 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, there is 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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Chelmsford & District Fuchsia Society For an event to last 34 years it must be pretty special, the fact that it is run by volunteers to raise money for a local school makes it amazing. The annual Chelmsford & District Fuchsia Society Display, which takes place on Saturday 3rd and Sunday 4th August, has raised an incredible £95,000 over the years and the group are working hard to add to that figure this year. However, visitor numbers has been dropping over the past few years and the Display Committee are keen to encourage visitors back to this stunning event. The colourful fuchsia display takes place at St John Payne School and the society raise funds for the local Columbus School, previously know as the Woodland School. When the event started it was for the Woodlands School respite holidays held at St John Payne School for one week during the summer holiday, the classrooms were turned into dormitories and the sixth formers became a buddy for the children of Woodlands. The money raised was spent on taking the children out on coaches for the day. When the holiday scheme stopped, the money was spent by Woodlands School on extra curriculum activities from adventure playgrounds to music lessons. The fuchsia display is made up of hundreds of plants grown by the members who have years of experience. There are so many varieties on display and it is a wonderful sight. There are also fuchsia plants for sale as well as local craft stands, a tombola, raffle and secondhand books. Food and drinks are
served all day. There’s plenty of free parking as well! The event takes place in August on Saturday 3rd (10am - 5pm) and Sunday 4th (10am - 4pm) at St John Payne School, Chelmsford CM1 4BX. If you’d like to find out more, please call Janet Wall on 01245 281 962.
CHELMSFORD & DISTRICT FUCHSIA SOCIETY 34th FUCHSIA DISPLAY
Sat 3rd & Sun 4th Aug 10am - 5pm Sat & 10am - 4pm Sun Come & See 100s Fuchsias Craft Stalls/Tombola/Raffle/Plants Sales /Plant Auction Sun 3pm Refreshments All Day/Plenty of Free Parking Adults £1.50-Children Free
St John Payne School, Patching Hall Lane Chelmsford, Essex CM1 4BS For Information Tel 01245 281962 In Aid of Columbus School & College
CT Food: Vegan Chelmsford? - by Lisa Whittle As you can see I’ve taken over CT Food in the wake of John’s departure. Welcome! I plan a mix of food, restaurant and ‘food linked to health’ topics. I’m indulging in one of my favourite topics this month, but fear not - although I’m vegetarian I’ll be covering broader subjects than just this. I am a lover of all things food and know from first-hand experience that good food and how we eat plays a big part in creating good health - and that means both physical health and mental health. A few tweaks can make a real difference to energy levels, focus, sleep and levels of happiness, as well as give a glowing inner radiance - and I hope to inspire you.
healthfood shops or online - and I feel very well. I mention this in case it helps you or someone you know who wants to be veggie to do so. I hear horror stories of people starting vegan or vegetarian ways of eating and feeling dreadful but battling on regardless. The full extent of the environmental issues connected with animal rearing globally have been an eye opener to me - watch Cowspiracy on Netflix for more info - essentially, in terms of land, water, pollution and greenhouse gasses, animal rearing for food is unsustainable to feed upwards of 7 billion people. This, apparently is the biggest driver for the recent surge in veganism and flexitarianism and Cowspiracy, the film, has been a big influence. Many food companies have taken notice of increased demand. In the UK commercial food from plants is widely available. Think sandwiches, wraps, salads and ready meals all available as veggie and vegan. Vegan food ranges for example by M&S ‘Plant Kitchen’ and vegan quorn products are part of life now.
I worked as a nutritional educator in drug and alcohol rehabs for 13 years and witnessed many incredible transformations, as clients ravaged by malnutrition from months or years of poor eating came back to life! I have also experimented with myself a great deal and helped friends and family make changes that give results. I work more as a counsellor and psychotherapist these days, but often I notice that my clients are suffering in ways that a small dietary change could help.
But vegan food in restaurants is still not so common. Even veggie food on the menus of some of our top Chelmsford restaurants can be sparse and feels kind of an afterthought.
For example, someone recently was having trouble sleeping. On listening to the details, I said ‘drink more water!’. Full hydration is a greatly underrated thing. She duly obliged and began drinking 2 litres of plain water a day - slowly through the day from morning to night. Disliking water is a symptom of dehydration and as she persisted her liking for water went up. Five days later she was sleeping through the night.
Next month, following a visit to The Hawk at Battlesbridge I am doing a full review - so it remains to be seen if there is a ‘vegan Chelmsford’.
I hope to make this monthly food piece interesting, useful, maybe even fun! I can’t promise John’s charisma and humour, he is a hard act to follow, but together we - you and I - will cover some wide ground both probing topics that cross my path and a few restaurant reviews. I welcome comments and suggestions and look forward to hearing from you - you can find my email address below. First off is that trendy subject of veganism. Does a vegan Chelmsford exist? I wondered this as I headed back to live in Essex earlier this year after many years away… I am more of a vegetarian and aspiring vegan than a proper one - I am a work in progress - but the cause itself I am on board with. I have been astounded by its dramatic rise in popularity in the last decade especially in the young, and its move from fringe to mainstream last year. I am a sensitive soul and eating my animal and fish friends never sat well with me, that’s been my main reason. Some people do it for health reasons. It didn’t work like that for me. Although I wanted to do it, being vegetarian actually made me feel unwell and ‘odd’. I could do about three months and I’d gradually have less and less energy and start craving meat. The most known solutions for this are a combination of making sure you have enough protein, taking vitamin B12 supplements (as this is in meat) and also taking extra iron. I tried all of these but none helped. I had about 8 attempts over 20 years at being veggie. The longest I managed was 9 months after which I was virtually on my knees. It was a mystery why my body couldn’t do it and I settled for eating red meat about twice a month. Five years ago I was on my ninth attempt, and someone by chance told me about taurine; the sulphur-containing amino acid supplement. I took some and miraculously, the next day I felt back to normal. I’ve since discovered it was sulphur that was missing for me. I either take taurine, cysteine or MSM or DIM - all available from
Imagine my delight to stumble across a whole dedicated vegan menu at the Premium Country Pub chain. Apparently it’s a well kept secret spread by word of mouth - they don’t pop up for ‘vegan food’ on a Google search.
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Compasses Pub, Broomfield Road Under New Management The focus here is family and the local community, and a warm welcome awaits you as you step through the door. There is a generously sized saloon bar for those who prefer a quiet drink or maybe want to bring along the family, plus a spacious public bar with Sky, BT Sports, a pool table, dart boards, cards and dominoes. Free wi-fi is available in both bars. Additionally, there are regular social events such as the ever popular soul and ska nights, live bands, bingo, quiz nights, board game nights and family functions (keep an eye out for the A-boards outside and the website!). This a pub which seeks to serve all sectors of the community, so if you want to form a new crib, darts, pool team, get involved in pub football or hold/book club events, then you are very welcome to do so here. We are looking forward to being able to offer a full menu service in the near future and there is also chalet accommodation available to rent. Easily accessible, the pub is situated directly on Broomfield Road virtually opposite the Girls’ Grammar School with bus stops close by and free parking. So please come in and say hello! We look forward to welcoming you in.
Contact: 01245 292 051 hello@thecompasseschelmsford.com www.thecompasseschelmsford.com
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What’s on in the Area June Friday 14th Bassment - Come As You Are: Alternative Club Night Braebourne Community Centre, Elmswell (5th East Anglian storytelling festival - www.eastanglianstorytellingfestival.co.uk) Civic - Grease: The Musical Cramphorn - Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me (14+) The Golden Fleece - Grounds for Divorce Star & Garter - The Signs United Brethren - Blues Spiders Saturday 15th Bassment - Club Night (from 11pm) The Black Horse - Move on Up: reggae, ska, funk and motown Braebourne Community Centre, Elmswell (5th East Anglian storytelling festival - www.eastanglianstorytellingfestival.co.uk) Civic - Grease: The Musical Cramphorn - Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me (14+) Galleywood Heritage Centre - Essex Society for Family History meeting The Golden Fleece - Cakehole Mafia Star & Garter - Fishing for Robots United Brethren - Beyond The Lights Sunday 16th Braebourne Community Centre, Elmswell (5th East Anglian storytelling festival - www.eastanglianstorytellingfestival.co.uk) Cramphorn - Romeo and Juliet (pre-recorded from The Royal Opera House) Star & Garter - Open mic/jam United Brethren - Brian McGovern B-Day bash Monday 17th Civic - Chelmsford & District Junior Schools Music Festival Danbury Sports & Social Centre - Strictly Solo (learn how to dance, 9.15am & 11.15am) Tuesday 18th Boreham Village Hall - Ballroom and Latin American Dance (classes for beginners & improvers - www.danceasy.co.uk) Civic - Chelmsford & District Junior Schools Music Festival Cramphorn - Girl (15) Transition - Power Yoga Wednesday 19th Civic - Chelmsford & District Junior Schools Music Festival Danbury Sports & Social Centre - Zumba class (10.45am) The Golden Fleece - Summeroke! (Karaoke in the garden) Thursday 20th Bassment - Fyresky + Walk In Coma + Goat Monsoon Civic - Chelmsford & District Junior Schools Music Festival Cramphorn - The Fight (12A) The Golden Fleece - Quiz night Transition - Festival Make Up class United Brethren - B&RITC presents: Booga Red hat collection Friday 21st Bassment - Come As You Are: Alternative Club Night Cathedral - Lunchtime concert The Golden Fleece - The Nook United Brethren - Emjay presents: Munky Saturday 22nd Bassment - Wet Dream Records Showcase: Aleber Jupiter + Deja Vega + Magic Seas Channels - Summer Fest Civic - The Greatest Show On Earth The Golden Fleece - Kinetic Transition - Tomo On Set (photography expo) United Brethren - Delta Ladies Page 12
Sunday 23rd Blackwater Country Show - Chigborough Road, Heybridge, Maldon, Essex, CM9 4RB Channels - Summer Fest Civic - The Greatest Show On Earth Transition - The Yoga Co: Summer Solstice sessions United Brethren - Clare Free (4.30pm) Monday 24th Danbury Sports & Social Centre - Strictly Solo (learn how to dance, 9.15am & 11.15am) Tuesday 25th Boreham Village Hall - Ballroom and Latin American Dance (classes for beginners & improvers - www.danceasy.co.uk) Transition - Power Yoga Wednesday 26th Bassment - The Confessions The Chichester Hotel (Rawreth) - Belvedere Jazz & Music Club: Derek Nash’s Sax Appeal (admission £15) Civic - The Magic of Motown Cramphorn - Relaxed Concert Danbury Sports & Social Centre - Zumba class (10.45am) The Golden Fleece - Summeroke! (Karaoke in the garden) Thursday 27th Civic - The Magic of Motown Cramphorn - Klezmer Concert (see page 28) The Golden Fleece - Quiz night St Michael and All Angels Church (Main Hall, 62 Leigh Road, Leigh-on-Sea, SS9 1LF) - John Seeley’s Jazz and Saxophone Group present a Summer Concert Transition - Blicken Synths modular night Friday 28th Bassment - You’re So Retro: Nostalgic fun Civic - Islands in the Stream The Golden Fleece - The Hit List United Brethren - Connor Selby Band (Wembley Stadium warm-up show) Saturday 29th Bassment - Rudy Warman & The Heavy Weather Civic - Tomorrow’s Talent The Golden Fleece - Charlies Aunt United Brethren - Dave Ferra’s All Stars Band Sunday 30th Civic - Vogue Cramphorn - Chelmsford Jazz Club: Zak Barrett with Gunther Kurmayr (piano), Manuel Alvarez (bass) and Marc Cecil (drums) Golden Fleece - Exposed Acoustic Sessions Star & Garter - Open mic/jam United Brethren - Doozer McDooze (4.30pm)
July Monday 1st Danbury Sports & Social Centre - Strictly Solo (learn how to dance, 9.15am & 11.15am) Unit 16, Ekersley Road, Chelmsford - Judo class (1st lesson free - tel: 07768 364 435) Tuesday 2nd Admirals Park - CAMRA Beer Festival Transition - Power Yoga Hylands Park - 3foot People Festival Old Court Theatre - Lillies on the Land Widford Village Hall - Natty Chatty Ladies Club (1.30pm3.30pm)
Please note, all events are subject to change. Please visit the relevant websites or Facebook pages for more details
Wednesday 3rd Admirals Park - CAMRA Beer Festival The Chichester Hotel (Rawreth) - Belvedere Jazz & Music Club: Kevin Fitzsimmons Quintet Danbury Sports & Social Centre - Zumba class (10.45am) The Golden Fleece - Summeroke! (Karaoke in the garden) Hylands Park - 3foot People Festival Old Court Theatre - Lillies on the Land Thursday 4th Admirals Park - CAMRA Beer Festival Bassment - Bassment Blues Jam 2001: A Space Odyssey (U) The Golden Fleece - Quiz Hylands Park - 3foot People Festival Old Court Theatre - Lillies on the Land United Brethren - The Jackson Line Friday 5th Admirals Park - CAMRA Beer Festival Bassment - Come As You Are: Alternative Club Night Cathedral - Lunchtime concert The Golden Fleece - Expose Hideaways - Minerva Falls + Goat Monsoon + Manic Blackout + A Palindrome Theory Old Court Theatre - Lillies on the Land United Brethren - Downtown Roundabout Saturday 6th Admirals Park - CAMRA Beer Festival All Saints Church (Writtle CM1 3EN) - Summer Concert: All Creatures Great and Small Bassment - Come As You Are: Alternative Club Night Central Park - Fake Festival Cramphorn - Dance Trix Summer Show 2019 The Golden Fleece - Lithium Hideaways - Lost Revelation + Artisans + Junction 28 + Reveal The Road Hylands Park - The Fling Old Court Theatre - Lillies on the Land United Brethren - The Velvet Tree Sunday 7th Chelmsford High Street - Bearded Gypsy Trade Fayre The Golden Fleece - Asylum Sunday Sessions United Brethren - Lyz Le Fay (4.30pm) The Woolpack - GC’s Jazz Club: Tracey Mendham (saxophone) & Graeme Culham Trio (8pm) Monday 8th Civic - Rhythm of the Dance Danbury Sports & Social Centre - Strictly Solo (learn how to dance, 9.15am & 11.15am) Tuesday 9th Boreham Village Hall - Ballroom and Latin American Dance (classes for beginners & improvers - www.danceasy.co.uk) Civic - Chelmsford Gotta Dance Transition - Power Yoga Wednesday 10th Bassment - Asylum Rocks The Bassment The Chichester Hotel (Rawreth) - Belvedere Jazz & Music Club: Hot Club de France Aussie Style with George Washingmachine Qrt Civic - Chelmsford Gotta Dance Danbury Sports & Social Centre - Zumba class (10.45am) The Golden Fleece - Summeroke! (Karaoke in the garden) United Brethren - Joe Anderton’s Open Mic (8pm) Thursday 11th The Golden Fleece - Quiz night Friday 12th Bassment - Come As You Are: Alternative Club Night The Golden Fleece - The Repetoire Dogs Hideaways - The Fishes and I + Brave the Day + KYU + The White Gospel United Brethren - Andy Twyman
Saturday 13th Bassment - Jar Records Showcase The Compasses - All Day Family BBQ (raising money for Farleigh Hospice and Parkinsons Society) The Golden Fleece - Red Leaf Hideaways - Foxymophandlemama (Pearl Jam Tribute) Tendring Show (Lawford House Park, Bromely Road, Lawford) United Brethren - Hardy Perennials Sunday 14th Star & Garter - Open mic/jam United Brethren - Rich Young (4.30pm) The Wine Cellar - Jazz Festival Monday 15th Danbury Sports & Social Centre - Strictly Solo (learn how to dance, 9.15am & 11.15am) Tuesday 16th Boreham Village Hall - Ballroom and Latin American Dance (classes for beginners & improvers - www.danceasy.co.uk) Transition - Power Yoga Wednesday 17th The Chichester Hotel (Rawreth) - Belvedere Jazz & Music Club: Rhythmn & Blues with the Cosimo Matassa Project The Golden Fleece - Summeroke! (Karaoke in the garden) Thursday 18th The Golden Fleece - Quiz night United Brethren - B&RITC presents: Ministry of Mojo Friday 19th Bassment - Come As You Are: Alternative Club Night The Golden Fleece - The Earnshaws Hideaways - Bled The Fifth + Job + Supercharge + The Lightscopes United Brethren - Lee Live Trio (Doll Set Tones) Saturday 20th Bassment - Backwater Channels Showcase The Golden Fleece - Handle with Care United Brethren - Steve Hooker Sunday 21st Civic - Essex Dance Theatre United Brethren - Paul Steven Wood (4.30pm)
Please send us your events for the next edition (for events between 19th July to 18th August) to editorial@itsyourmedia.co.uk
CT Business Interview: Holicity Health - by Derek Threadgall According to my Little Oxford Dictionary, acupuncture ‘is pricking of body tissues with needles as medical treatment’. For a wimp like me who has suffered with needle phobia since I was nine years old (don’t ask), the thought of my body tissues being pricked by needles sends my blood pressure into my socks.‘Nurse, oxygen for this wimp’.
Some basic tips from Alexandra for people beginning to think about starting a family include:
But then I met Alexandra O’Connor (LicAc, MBAcC), Licensed Acupuncturist, who, with her husband Nick, (Registered Osteopath British Medical Acupuncture Post Grad Diploma), run Holicity Health based in Burnham-on-Crouch, and also with a branch in Danbury. (www.holicity.co.uk). If a tradesman charges £50 to knock a nail into a wall and is challenged about the exhorbitant cost, he will explain that it cost £5 to knock in the nail and £45 to know where to knock it. This principle could well apply to the acupuncturist. It is not just sticking needles in all over one’s body, it is knowing where to stick the needles.
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So how does acupuncture work? Let Alexandra enlighten us. “Scientific evidence shows that stimulating acupuncture points has an impact on the central nervous system; acupuncture triggers the release of endorphins and other natural biochemicals which encourage the body to function more smoothly by reducing pain and tension and encouraging a sense of deep relaxation.
“I advise men to switch to boxer shorts, stay out of the sauna, keep your phones out of your trouser pockets and don’t use your laptop on your lap. If you are even considering the possibility of IVF, we would recommend regular acupuncture for 2-3 months prior to starting the process”.
“The ancient Chinese knew nothing of endorphins, but they did know that they could proactively maintain and improve health if they treated acupuncture points according to these subtle signs and symptoms.” Alexandra has a particular interest in, and expertise with, the use of acupuncture to support both natural fertility and assisted reproduction. With personal experience of fertility issues and the IVF process, she has huge respect and empathy for anyone on that journey. Fertility problems affect about 15% of couples in the UK. 23% of infertility is defined as ‘unexplained’. “Acupuncture helps your body to respond more appropriately to hormones, both natural and artificial. It is a gentle therapy which can also provide emotional support to help people through a time that can be fraught with stress. As a member of the British Acupuncture Council and the Acupuncture Fertility Network, I undertake regular post-graduate training courses. I have attended CPD courses in the use of acupuncture to treat polycystic ovarian syndrome, endometriosis to support natural fertility and to support the IVF process and the use of acupuncture for the whole of the antenatal period from conception to birth.” As a mum of three, Alexandra has had personal experience of many pregnancy related conditions and felt the frustration of trying to cope with pain and discomfort without resorting to over-the-counter medication. Acupuncture through pregnancy has been shown to be a safe, effective therapy for many conditions. A standard set of acupuncture points can be treated weekly from week 36 to help prepare the mum’s body for labour. Alongside Alexandra in their the Danbury clinic, Gillian Hind (Registered Osteopath, Cranial. Visceral and Paediatric Osteopath) specialises in cranial osteopathy to support pregnancy and recovery from birth. There is no ‘empty space’ in the body for the baby to develop - so as the baby grows other organs and tissues are pushed out the way so pregnant women often experience discomfort as their bodies try to adapt. Heartburn, digestive problems, increased frequency of micturition, constipation and breathlessness are just a few of the many issues that can develop. “If your body is having a tough time adapting to the changes,” says Gillian, “or need a bit of help getting back to normal after the birth, gentle osteopathy or cranial osteopathy can help. If you think your newborn may need a bit of gentle support, I hold a Postgraduate Diploma in Paediatric Osteopathy and love helping the little ones to get off to a good start!”
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Clean up your diet, reduce intake of sugar and starchy processed carbs like pasta and white bread; increase your intake of fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts and seeds. An egg takes about three months to ripen and a sperm takes about nine weeks to mature, so it is important to make changes sooner than later. Women who smoke 20 cigarettes a day are 20% less likely to conceive. Most babies are conceived on holiday. Stop contraception long before you want to conceive - ideally a minimum of six months before. Caffeine intake is linked to women taking longer to conceive and has been associated with an increased rate of miscarriage.
For a free half hour chat with Alex, phone for an appointment and take a this article with you! Danbury 01245 226 007 Burnham 01621 786600 www.holicity.co.uk www.essexfertility.co.uk
companies and businesses from the area, but this is not just a car show, there are many other things for the family to do and see: Demon Drome Wall of Death, a display of Rolls Royce cars, supercars, car clubs, car and motorcycle dealers, Essex Police drone flying display, birds of prey, rocket cars for children to build and run, the real Herbie VW Beetle from the movie (on the Saturday only), Sporting Bears Dream Rides, and Moto Gymkhana (motorcycle skill riding). There will be trade and dealer stands too, from jewellery, cakes, specialist wood carvings, face painting and much more.
BrakeHorse Power 2019 is a two day charitable car show for all the family on 27th and 28th July. In November 2016 Steve Dunster’s wife Sharon died of a very rare cancer called mucosal melanoma. After her death, Steve found out that no one was researching for a cure for this particular cancer, so he set out to raise £88,000 to pay for a 3-year PHD research project researching this specific cancer at the Imperial College in London. This research is now underway with some successful results already being achieved after one year. Sharon and Steve were dedicated petrol head car enthusiasts, so it seemed inevitable that money could be raised through the car community and after a meeting with Chelmsford City Racecourse it was agreed to stage BrakeHorse Power 2019.
On the Saturday night there will be a Evening Dinner Dance (dress casual) with a very special guest speaker in Richard Noble OBE - World Land Speed Record Holder and Director of Land Speed Record Teams. Public entrance tickets are available from www. chelmsfordcityracecource.com. If you would like to show your car, please contact sharondunsterfoundation@gmail.com. For Evening Dinner Dance tickets, contact Steve Dunster at sdtooling@tiscali.co.uk. For more information on the charity, please go to www. sharondunsterfoundation.com. Facebook: BrakeHorse Power 2019
The show is being supported by many car clubs, groups and car
Local Arts for Arts Sake - by Kenneth Louis Sheppherd
HI Readers,
I have been invited to write a regular piece for this prestigious magazine upon the subject of art with a focus upon local events. I live in Maldon and visit Chelmsford often. My qualification for doing this is that via the OU, I received a BA degree with honours in the Humanities, with a focus upon art related subjects. I have had two books published upon this subject and a third will be published shortly. My first book is called Streets Ahead and deals with townscapes as seen in works of art. My second book is called Job Opportunities and speaks of people seen in a professional capacity in works of art, be they farmers, clowns or prostitutes. These are both available to purchase via Amazon and in Waterstones, Foyles, Red Lion Books Colchester and elsewhere. I will speak of my third book next month. I would like to tell you about an art exhibition which is now taking place at the Hayletts Gallery and lasts until at least July 13th. The gallery is at the top of Maldon High Street and can easily be reached on a 31 bus which stops nearby; do your bit for the environment and leave the car at home. The artworks displayed at this exhibition are by a much acclaimed British artist named Michael Rotherstein, who sadly died in 1993. For most of his life he lived alongside other artists at Great Bardfield near Braintree. He was totally dedicated to various forms of printmaking, becoming a pioneer by freeing up and experimenting with the whole process. He was versatile too, as during the 1950s he was involved in the Pop Art movement. Over the years, he played with woodcuts, lino, cuts, www.chelmsfordthecitytimes.co.uk
monotypes, etchings, photolithography and screen prints. In some of his works he mixed these together, which was controversial. He is still regarded as the most exciting British printmaker of the 20th century. He has exhibited at various prestigious art galleries, including a solo exhibition at the Royal Academy plus the Tate’s permanent exhibition at the British Museum, as well as the Museum of Modern Art in New York Among the works which you will see in Maldon is a colour woodcut called Red and Blue, which I personally find to be confusing and interesting in a welcoming way - I like it. Perhaps my favourite work in this exhibition is his accurately named descriptive wood cut called the Giant Cockerel. This animal has his feet placed firmly upon the ground while cars whiz past him. He is alarmed by a noisy aeroplane which we see in the sky above him. This style of art was first produced in the east; the Chinese and the Koreans both argue as to who invented it, but it was the Japanese who used it to any great degree. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries It was used extensively to advertise events at the notorious area near Tokyo called the Floating World. Like those of the Floating World, the art works in this gallery are all for sale. This is the only similarity which the services provided in these places have. I hope that you have enjoyed reading this and that we will meet up as old friends in future editions of this magazine. Ken
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Hairy Monster - Random Thoughts
It’s great that McDonalds now do home deliveries in Boreham. It saves all that tedious driving and - for a further £1.50 - they’ll put your entire order in a blender and deliver it complete with feeding tube to save you the effort of chewing. Bon appétit!
that it will outlive us all.
Was the midwife who helped deliver Piers Morgan ever prosecuted?
There are people and there are legends. Here are three of the latter. Tom, of the Vodafone shop in the High Street, who patiently explained my new phone contract in terms that a four year old could understand. After signing the agreement I returned the four year old to his worried parents.
On a road trip ‘up north’ my grandkids were having fun finding anagrams of place names we travelled through. As we approached Newark, I thought it would probably be a good idea to play I-spy instead. Where did all the nail bars in the town come from? And eyebrow threading - what is that and why? I’m amazed they still exist and didn’t go the same way as those fish pedicure shops. I was driving through town one Saturday evening, obviously avoiding the ‘Money Bridge’ in Duke Street, and it struck me that nearly every other car was a taxi yet there were still dozens of people waiting patiently, and not so patiently, to hand over cash for a lift home so I reckoned I could set up a cab firm with my mates and make a fortune. It would be a new concept: The journeys would be super fast as the cars would be crewed by ex-getaway drivers. The cars wouldn’t have trackers but the drivers probably would. They would all carry written references from their probation officers. And if you want a female driver, my mate Barry would be happy to cross-dress for you. Anyone interested in investing in this venture can send me a cash advance c/o HMP Springfield.
Ladies; never ask husbands, boyfriends or mothers if you look fat. Ask your gay friend - you’ll get the brutal truth.
My good friend Rose, who corrects me even when I’m not wrong and makes allowances for my stupidity in not understanding her logic. Last, and not least, Kordian of Chelmsford’s Caffè Nero fame, who has served his loyal band of customers over the past few years and is now moving on to another venue in North London. Good luck mate, you will be missed. I have a friend who always adjusts the temperature in my car. No matter what I’ve set it at, she immediately adjusts it to 19.5C. As an experiment I set it at precisely this setting a few days ago. As soon as she got in, she leaned forward to adjust it and then her finger stopped in midair, clearly unsure of how to proceed. After a few seconds of suspended animation, she lunged at the radio, changed stations and breathed a huge sigh of relief. It’s called OCD.
An easy way to explain the mystery of the universe is to compare it to the DFS Sale. Nobody knows when it began, nobody knows how long it will last and nobody knows when it will end - we just have to accept
To advertise in our June/July issue please email ads@itsyourmedia.co.uk
All Saints Church, Writtle CM1 3EN - All Creatures Great and Small Writtle Singers are currently preparing for their summer concert to be held on Saturday 6th July. All Creatures Great and Small is a musical menagerie from bees and nightingales to ewes and lions featuring Janet Wheeler Stevie’s Pets, Richard Rodney Bennett Insect World and Janequin Le Chant des Oiseaux. The concert for voices and piano takes place in All Saints Church, Writtle at 7.30pm, conducted by Christine Gwynn with pianist Birgitta Kenyon. Full information and tickets can be obtained from www. writtlesingers.org, or call 07815 966 978.
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Wildlife Corner - by Nick Green
May weather was unpredictable initially but generally calm and dry and river levels were low again. Thanks to becalmed cyclonic conditions, the end of the month was again quite dry.
The grey wagtail (Motacilla cinereaI) is a local resident, passage migrant and winter visitor to Essex. Distribution generally follows river valleys, hence the absence on the Dengie and Tendring Hundreds. In Britain, the species is most abundant in the north and west, preferring upland areas with fast flowing water which is bordered by
The grey wagtail has a prominent yellow undertail with the adult male having a jet black throat, while the female (see image) has a much paler throat. I tend to record them in Chelmsford town centre in the winter period and usually identify them first by their very distinctive, unique call that can be described as a sharp ‘zi-zi’ and that they tend to land on the top of buildings by the riversides. Our commonest wagtail is the pied wagtail, which is also found in town centres just to confuse matters! I am frequently asked what bird field guide to use. May I recommend the following (please check online at Amazon etc or any good book store): Britain’s Birds (2016). An identification guide to the birds of Britain and Ireland - Hume R, Still R, Swash A, Harrop H, Tipling D. Collins Bird Guide (2nd Ed - 2009) - Svensson L, Mullarney K, Zetterstrom D. Essex Selected May Wildlife Highlights: On the warmer days, butterflies were represented by brimstones, speckled woods, orange-tips, peacocks, commas, small whites, small copper, green hairstreak, etc. Other early insects included typically hairy and large red dragonflies, plus azure damselflies.
Adult female grey wagtail (copyright: Glyn Evans) broad leaved trees. Breeding in Essex was first confirmed in 1970 in the Colne and Lea Valleys and numbers have slowly continued to rise.
National Selected May Migration Highlights: Shetland Isles: a fall of Scandinavian/eastern migrants with citrine wagtail, icterine and subalpine warblers, bluethroats, thrush nightingales, red-backed shrikes, golden orioles, collared flycatcher, rustic buntings plus a great knot (6th British record). Western Isles: American bittern, snowy owl (St Kilda). Musselburgh, Lothian: American white-winged scoter. Yorkshire: collared flycatcher, brown shrike. Lancashire: American stilt sandpiper. Norfolk: little bittern, great spotted cuckoo. Cambridgeshire: Baikal teal. Dorset: 6 beeeaters. Isles of Scilly: red-rumped swallow - and the rock bunting in April proved to be an Escape!!
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CT History: Norman St John Stevas MP - by Stephen Norris The general election in 1964 saw Norman St John Stevas stand for the first time after the retirement of Hubert Ashton. He was given the Christian names Norman Panayea St John by his parents - his mother hyphenated St John to the Stevas surname after she divorced his father. He went to St Joseph’s Salesians School, Sussex and then the Catholic Radcliffe College, Leicester. In these early years he was active on both Catholic and Young Conservative platforms. He once reported Gordon Reece (later the journalist, TV producer and strategist for Margaret Thatcher) for atheism. Stevas started to train for the former Roman Catholic priesthood at the English College, Rome but found he had no vocation. He then went to Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, graduating with a first class honours degree in Law. Whilst there he won the Whitlock prize and served as President of the Union in 1950. He then went to Oxford where he gained a Bachelor in Civil Law degree. Later, he obtained a PhD at London University on the early work of Walter Bagehot and a Doctor of Judicial Science degree from Yale University. In 1952 he was called to the bar at Middle Temple. For most of the 1950s he followed an academic career, lecturing at Southhampton University and Kings College London, as well as receiving fellowship at Yale. His book Obscenity and the Law was later referred to regularly as legislation gradually removed ‘the pulpit from the law’ and this was followed by several other books on difficult questions of law. Between 1966 and 1986 Stevas produced 15 volumes on Walter Bagehot. Bagehot is principally known for his book the English constitution which explored the nature of the parliamentary constitution, but he also wrote on the nature of financial crises. In 1959 Stevas joined The Economist as its legal and political correspondent. It was perhaps inevitable that such a high achiever and egotist would enter politics. If it hadn’t been for his private life, which prevented him from standing against Margaret Thatcher for the leadership of the Conservative Party, it is entirely conceivable that he could have gone on to become prime minister. Stevas had first contested a parliamentary seat as early as 1951 in the Labour stronghold of East Dagenham. The 1964 election was seen as a possible marginal in Chelmsford, despite the previous 10,000 majority, and was fiercely contested. In September George Brown spoke at an open air meeting in the Tindal Square, and the Foreign Secretary RA Butler gave a speech at the Corn Exchange. Brown’s meeting only attracted 150 people. During October 1964, Sir Alec Douglas Home made a helicopter visit to Chelmsford, Maldon and Colchester. In the event, Stevas won comfortably with a majority of over 7,000. The Essex Chronicle noted that the Chelmsford result was in contrast with the prevailing swing in East Anglia in general. Stevas was certainly busy in his first year in the constituency, writing 1,500 letters for his constituents. In 1966 he introduced a bill of rights for illegitimate children. He was always on the liberal wing of the Conservative Party, had long been an opponent of capital punishment and the limiting of immigrations on race grounds and was in favour of a relaxation of the obscenity laws. Stevas however, opposed both Leo Abse’s Divorce Bill and David Steel’s Abortion Bill because of his Catholic beliefs. He was however, co-sponsor of Abse’s Private Members Bill to permit homosexual acts between consenting adults which became the Sexual Offences Act of 1967. The 1966 election saw Stevas’ majority cut to just under 5,000. 1966 also saw him clash with a constituent when he would not discuss the Vietnam issue at his surgery because he said it was not a personal problem. In the 1970 general election, which saw the Conservatives returned to power under Ted Heath, Stevas increased his majority to just over 13,000. This time George Brown was consistently heckled when he spoke at the Civic Centre. By the time of the next election, the Liberals were a much more powerful force in the constituency: this was almost entirely due to the
fact that their candidate Stuart Mole was a councillor and very well known locally. In the election of February 1974, Mole managed to poll 21,929 votes, but with 28,560 votes Stevas still had a majority of over six thousand. Mole did however defeat the Labour candidate by well over five thousand votes. The second election of 1974 saw a good deal of tactical voting with probably several thousand Labour voters switching to the Liberals. This time Stevas’ majority was reduced to just over four thousand votes. A late straw poll in the constituency had actually put Mole ahead. Towards the end of Edward Heath’s government Stevas was Under Secretary of State at the DES when Margaret Thatcher was Minister of Education. Between 1973 and 1974 he was Minister for the Arts for the first time. Stevas supported Heath in the first ballot of the 1975 Conservative Party leadership election but switched his vote to Thatcher in the second round after he had originally considered standing himself, but was advised against doing so. He then served as a member of the Shadow Cabinet from 1974 to 1978 when he was the Shadow Spokesman for Education. Stevas later became the Shadow Leader of the House of Commons. The 1979 general election, which saw the Conservatives return to power, was predicted to be close in Chelmsford and the campaign saw Stuart Mole prematurely predicting victory. In the end Stevas slightly increased his majority to almost five and a half thousand. It was this sixth time he had been returned in 15 years. Boundary changes the following year saw the whole of Boreham and Springfield return to the constituency but South Woodham Ferrers, Ramsden Heath and Rettendon go to the Rochford constituency. In 1979 Stevas was appointed by Margaret Thatcher as Minister for the Arts for the second time and in addition, he was given the roles of Leader of the House of Commons and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. It was during the next two years that he was the driving force behind the creation of the current system of Select Committees. Select Committees today play a vital role in making ministers more accountable to backbench MPs than they would otherwise be. Stevas was the first of the Tory ‘wets’ to be fired in 1981 as Margaret Thatcher gradually exerted her authority. ‘Cabinet ministers recalled St John Stevas, as he sat at the end of the cabinet table, drawing laughter from other dissenters, often invoking his nicknames for her, including the ‘leaderene’ and, most irritating for Mrs Thatcher, ‘Tina’, coined from her battle cry at the time ‘There is no alternative’.’ On one occasion he asked to be excused from a meeting at 10 Downing Street because he had a meeting to attend. “But I’m going to the same meeting...” Mrs Thatcher replied. “Yes,” he said, “but it takes me so much longer to change.” Stevas refused the role of Arts Minister as a non cabinet role. The 1983 election saw Mole stand for the fourth time, for the new Social Democrats. This time the seat was a genuine marginal. A number of high powered visitors were drafted into the constituency including Norman Lamont and Shirley Williams. In the end Stevas survived but his majority of 378 was the smallest in the new House of Commons. Three years later Stevas announced that he was retiring at the next election realising that he was unlikely to win. He had already tried without success to get selected for the safe neighbouring seat of Rochford. Stevas went on to become Chairman of the Royal Art Commission from 1985 to 1999, causing a good deal of controversy. Some thought that he put his own views and choices above those of other people. Paintings from national collections were hung in his office, documents were presented in red boxes and he had a chauffeur and ex-civil servants doing his bidding. One commentator said ‘if he cannot have power, he must have the trappings’. A governmental review was very critical of the way the Arts Commission was run. The commission strongly criticised the plans for the Millennium Wheel although three of his fellow commissioners had been in favour of it. Despite this, he was re-appointed for a third time.
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Stevas was also no stranger to controversy in his period as the Master of Emmanuel College, Cambridge from 1991 to 1996. He had a new conference centre built at a cost of £8 million, partly due to his insistence that the limestone had to be obtained from the same source from which the college’s Wren Chapel had been built. Stevas successfully promoted the college through House and Garden and Hello magazines, but relations between the Master and some of those at the college were strained. He was an eminent royalist and had a close relationship with the royal family. All his personal notes were written in purple ink and he only used official House of Lords stationery after he became a Lord. He died in March 2012, aged 82. Stephen currently offers the following talks about the history of Chelmsford to local organisations: 1. 4 QI Chelmsford MPs. 2. The Suffragettes in Chelmsford. 3. Chelmsford Lives, Memories of Chelmsford 1940s - 1970s (snippets of interviews with local people plus 100 photos in the background, for the Friends of Chelmsford Museum). 4. The Hoffmann Company in Chelmsford. 5. Life in the Wood Street Workhouse: The Chelmsford Poor Law Union 1835 - 1871. 6. The Poor and Society: The past 60 Years of the Chelmsford Workhouse and Infirmary. 7. QI Chelmsford Councillors and Mayors (in preparation). For more information or to book Stephen, please email: stephen754norris@btinternet.com.
D Day 6th June 1944 - Chelmsford’s Role In April 1944 General Omar Bradley set about establishing a plan to fool the Germans into thinking the invasion would be in the Calais area. The plan was to establish a ‘phantom army’ in the Dover area with its headquarters inland. Chelmsford was chosen, possibly because of the Marconi facilities nearby. The new HQ was situated in a building on the corner of Lower Anchor Street and New London Road, which at the time was the home of the US Military Police. The upper floors were equipped with radio transmitters which were used to send messages to the non-existent army units. These consisted of the 3rd Infantry Division based in Chelmsford and the 7th Armoured Division based at Hatfield Peverall. To add authenticity to this army a German spy (codenamed ‘Garbo’) who was now working for MI5, confirmed these troops to his German masters.
Chelmsford Library News
If you have thought about joining our Library Summer Reading Challenge as a volunteer, it is not too late. As long as you are aged 14 years and over you can apply online. The closing date for this is Sunday 16th June 2019. Join in the summer fun listening to children read and make a big difference to their reading challenge experience. Being a volunteer looks great on CVs and you get to meet lots of new people and be part of a team. The title of our Summer Reading Challenge is Space Chase and has been inspired by the 50th Anniversary of the Moon landings. This year’s challenge endeavours to be just as fun-filled as previous years. For more details on volunteering, visit our website: www.essex.gov. uk/libraries. Our launch day for the Summer Reading Challenge is on Saturday 20th July. Come along and enjoy some Space Chase craft making. On Tuesday 6th August in the Children’s Library we will be hosting a Children’s Author Day. For more information on these events, please visit our website or check in on our Facebook page. All our Block Building fans get your diaries ready, as we are holding a Block Builders Construction Club on Saturday 15th June and the 13th July. Both sessions are between 11am -12.30pm. For intrepid followers, we are holding an Advanced Block Builders session on Saturday 30th June and Saturday 28th July, both between 2pm-4pm. Have your creation put on display. Suitable for children aged 7 years and above. As well as our regular Baby Rhyme Times on a Tuesday and Thursday, we hold a French Language Rhyme Time fortnightly on a Saturday between 11am -11.30am. For all parents with children aged between birth and 19 years old, we have the Family Hub office in the Library public square. The Family Hub runs as part of the Essex Child and Wellbeing Service. Babies can be weighed here during the week, and if you have any queries about child services there are friendly professional staff on hand to help. Follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/essexlibraries. For more information on our events, visit www.essex.gov.uk/ libraries.
Other tricks employed were the placing of dummy tanks, lorries, jeeps and tents in areas around the Dover area where passing German aircraft could spot them as they were badly hidden with poor camouflage. They even had a machine that left deep tyre tracks across the fields. The officer in charge of this mighty (phantom) army was General Patton (known as ‘Blood and Guts’ Patton) a man the Germans respected as a fine soldier. In fact, he never even visited Chelmsford. The town can now claim its history as a participant in D Day but only as a phantom! Doug Killick
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Therapy - by Chelmsford Therapy Rooms An important part of any hypnotherapy script is the PMR. This stands for progressive muscle relaxation. This technique is designed the relax the body ready for the mind to relax. However, it is a technique that can be used by anyone wishing to learn how to physically relax. If you suffer from muscle tension for example a PMR can be incredibly helpful. Here is an example of a PMR: ‘Use your powerful imagination to visualise the chair beneath you. Imagine yourself sink into the chair as you relax. Think about the top of your head, and then imagine the muscles relaxing. They relax and as this happens think about the whole of your head relaxing. As your forehead relaxes the top of your head will also relax. Now your eyes will feel heavy as you feel the relaxation move down your face to your nose. Your jaw relaxes so your teeth part, and so the whole of your head is completely relaxed. Imagine your neck and shoulders relaxing. The top of your arms now relax, and your elbows relax, your forearms relax. This relaxation spreads all the way down your hands right to the tips of your fingers and thumbs. The relaxation now reaches your back and spreads all the way down your back. You now relax all the way around your chest and stomach and if you think about your whole torso it is now completely relaxed. You will now notice your hips relax, your thighs relax, your knees relax, this relaxation spreads all the way down your legs and feet right down to the tips of your toes. Give this feeling of relaxation a colour, and as this colour moves up and down your body you feel more and more calm and relaxed. As your relaxing colour is absorbed into every part of your body you feel more and more calm and relaxed.’ Every hypnotherapist is different, so some hypnotherapists will
perform a longer more in-depth PMR and some will have a quicker version. The power of the mind is incredible, if you think you can’t relax try practising a PMR. If you want to relax you will! You can use a PMR to physically relax yourself and then if you want to deepen this relaxation you can use the following method: ‘From the relaxed place that you are now, imagine yourself feeling twice as relaxed. See what you see, hear what you hear, feel how you feel. And from this place imagine how you would feel if you were twice as relaxed as you are now. See what you see. Hear what you hear. Feel how you feel. And from this place, imagine how you would feel if you were twice as relaxed as you are now. See what you see. Hear what you hear. Feel how you feel...’ This is a very simple method to deepen your experience of relaxation. You can go as deep as you like. For those that struggle to fall off to sleep, using a deepener like the one above can be incredibly helpful because you’re focusing on relaxing rather than falling asleep. This takes the pressure off and allows you to relax much easier. Jenny Hartill is a counsellor, hypnotherapist and owner of Chelmsford Therapy Rooms. She has experience in a multitude of issues but specialises in anxiety and self esteem. Please see the therapist list on the website www.chelmsfordtherapyrooms.co.uk, or you can email info@chelmsfordtherapyrooms.co.uk, or call 0330 100 5162 to enquire about an initial consultation. Alternatively, Jenny’s own private therapy company website is www.cloud9-therapy.co.uk her email is info@cloud9-therapy.co.uk and her telephone number is 07507 307 170.
Crimestoppers Charity Announces Another Record Year for Crime Info from the Public
Crimestoppers in Essex received another record number of crime reports during the 12 months to March this year - up 11 per cent on the previous record year. Between April last year and March this year, nearly 6,500 pieces of information about crime were given to the charity, that’s an average 125 every week.
Crimestoppers is an independent charity that gives people the power to speak up about crime - 100 per cent anonymously. The latest figures for the county include big increases in reports about possession of weapons, domestic abuse, drink driving, drugs and immigration offences. • • • • •
Possession of weapons up by 73% Domestic abuse up by 109% Drink driving up by 29% Drug trafficking up by 33% Immigration offences up by 33%
Crimestoppers in Essex Chair, Stuart Rawlins, said: “These figures show that our charity’s message is getting through to people who want to make a difference in their communities, but are reluctant to speak to police. “Very often people in those areas where crimes are committed hold the key to what is happening, yet they are too scared to take action for fear of being traced or reprisals. Crimestoppers gives them the chance to pass on that information 100% anonymously safe in the knowledge that they will never be identified.” Last year across the UK over half a million people trusted Crimestoppers with their information about crime.
Centre which is open 24/7, 365 days a year and is available by phone on 0800 555 111, or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org.
Alongside national campaigns, Crimestoppers in Essex has run awareness campaigns across communities from crime in the countryside to the challenge of county lines and cuckooing, where criminals take over vulnerable peoples’ homes. Crimestoppers UK also has a service for young people - fearless. org - an online resource which offers non-judgemental advice about crimes that affect young people and how they can pass on information about what they know if they have worries about crime. Crimestoppers charity also partners with business and industry to combat crime and wrongdoing within organisations. This protects reputation, staff, consumers and the wider community. These include the NHS, Environment Agency, Post Office and the Electoral Commission. The charity runs a Community Ambassadors Programme designed to increase awareness of Crimestoppers through partnerships with businesses, public authorities, charities and other agencies. Acting as our ambassadors, they enable us to spread the word about how we can help protect the people, places and communities that matter to you. The role of an ambassador is to promote Crimestoppers whether it be to employees, contractors, clients, service users, partner agencies or other stakeholders. If you would be interested in volunteering for Crimestoppers in Essex or becoming an ambassador, please visit the website, www. crimestoppers-uk.org. Crimestoppers is not an emergency service, and in the event of an emergency, you should always dial 999.
All information is handled by our professionally staffed UK Contact Page 20
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The Core of the Matter #2 - by Erica Foulds Hello and welcome to the next part of our move to understanding creating a stronger, more effective and also more toned physical you. We have been gradually winding our way through my suggested route of head to toe changes in the last five months and today brings us to part two of the matter of ‘core’. I hope you have managed to give some of those exercises a try for your abs and lower back; they are some of the most effective ones that, when my clients stick to them, they report of huge noticeable changes in how their back feels after a day of sitting at a desk or a long Sunday morning gardening. They are highly endorsed by physiotherapists so can be a great way to get stronger even if you have mild to moderate back pain or achy niggles. If you haven’t managed yet then it’s not too late. Today I will be adding a couple of extra exercises that will perfectly compliment those of last month and add to your waist strengthening and toning.
To recap: Last month we looked at the abdominal muscles, found on the front of the trunk, connecting the bottom of our ribs to the pelvis. The heel slides and table top hip rolls should have felt quite ‘strong’ whilst practising, especially if you focused on keeping your pelvis still/ not allowing your back to arch from the floor. Later in theis article, I’ve added a ‘curl up’ exercise which works well on the more superficial layer or common area of the ‘abs’. Although the abdominals are crucial for allowing safe forward and backwards spinal movement, our vertebrae (being like building blocks that sit on top of each other) enable our spines to also move in other directions. Unlike a hinge joint (eg, elbow) and a socket joint (eg, a hip), the level or articulation and movement we should be able to get through our spines is potentially huge. This brings me to introduce the wonderful muscle called the obliques which I often refer to like a ‘corset’, and why do I call it wonderful? Well, it really is a muscle of many talents and functions. The obliques also connect the space between our ribs and pelvis but travel diagonally allowing rotation of our bodies, lateral flexion (sideways bending) from our waist and also they act as a fantastic stabiliser to counter balance and protect our spines from over bending. Unlike the abs or back muscles, this muscle features both within our front and back of the core. Consider this; how does a golfer twist and create such power in their swing to launch a small ball many meters? How do we stand upright on a train or bus without falling at every
corner? Or how do we turn over in bed at night to find the cooler part of the pillow? This fascinating spinal support system should be given regular time in your week to not only relieve your back muscles from dominant function, but when regularly worked, contributes to a more defined waist shape, literally ‘a corset’. Here are some great ways to strengthen and tone the ab and oblique muscles: Abdominal Curl: a) Lay on your back, knees bent, feet hip width, b) softly interlace hands like a hammock behind your head, keeping elbows wide, c) exhale curl your head, neck and then shoulders from the floor continually folding your rib cage down into your body, d) with an inhale slowly reverse down. It’s key you don’t collapse your lower back into the mat, or tug the head chin collapsing onto the chest this is too far! Repeat 15 times. Superman: a) On all fours, hands under shoulders, knees under hips slightly tuck the belly up and inwards towards the spine, b) imagining you had a glass of water sat on your lower back so not moving too quick ending in you leaning and extend one leg directly behind until straight and off the floor, c) extend the opposite arm directly in front as though going to shake a friends hand, d) slowly return both limbs to floor, repeat on other side. The part that counts is when the limbs are both extended so don’t rush, holding there for 5-10 seconds can make it harder - and don’t forget the cup of water! Kneeling Side Bend: a) kneel up thighs together, b) extend right hand out to the side and lean down on that palm, arm straight, c) extend and hold left leg out creating straight line between left ankle, hip and shoulder, arm resting down against body, d) lower your right hip half way towards floor then pull back up to start position. It is not a big movement, continue for 12-15 reps. If you would like more core ideas, advise on back pain or other help with exercise, at Hummingbird we do 1:1s, small group pilates and yoga and physiotherapy. You can drop in for just one class or commit to more. View our full list of options online at www.hummingbirdpilates.co.uk, or email us at info@hummingbirdpilatesyoga.co.uk, or call us on 01245 422 556.
Bhramari Pranayama - by Mandy Haynes
At Hummingbird we believe that being positive and keeping your body and mind healthy are the secrets to a happy life. We’ve found that yoga, meditation and pilates have helped us to achieve our own balance and have equipped us to deal with anything that life chooses to send our way. We have a truly holistic approach and are passionate about promoting a healthy lifestyle, helping others and an ethical way of living. We’re advocates of regular meditation, yoga and pilates practices but also enjoy a burger and a glass of wine, giving us a realistic approach to life.
When you come to our studio we aim to make you feel good from the moment that you step through our door. Although we are serious about our practice, Hummingbird is a place where you’ll hear laughter emanating from the studios; after all, our greatest ambition is that you feel welcome and amazing, and laughter is part of that! As well as a varied daily schedule of yoga and pilates classes, we also host a number of different events. From Neal’s Yard facial clinics, full moon gong baths, pilates reformer courses and yoga and relaxation retreats, there’s something to suit everyone! Join Our Online Community! If you’re not already a follower, we would love for you to join our fast growing online community. Here you can learn more about us - our studios, our teachers, our classes and our ethos. You’ll also find our daily schedule of classes and information on future events. As well as all this, posts include fab tips, exercises and inspiration
- from poses we love, to how to factor simple pranayama into your working day and what yoga and pilates products we’re currently in love with! If all of that isn’t reason enough to get online and click ‘follow’ then maybe you’ll love the fact that it is the best way to find out about our latest offers, sales and incredible competitions. Already this year, our competitions have given winners a free month membership, a space on our retreats and a one-to-one session! All the lucky winners had to do to win was ‘like’ and ‘share’ the competition post - it’s that simple. Our website is of course also a great source of information, with a blog section that is currently being updated. Our blogs aim to provide you with useful information to nurture your health and wellbeing and to inspire your pilates and yoga practice and are written with love by our team of experts. If you’re already a member of Hummingbird then you’ll already know how welcoming we are and how amazing yoga and pilates makes you feel! If you’re new and would like to know more, then we would love to meet you! Why not give us a try with 30 DAY UNLIMITED YOGA & PILATES for only £45 (new clients only). Facebook: @hummingbirdpilatesyoga Instagram: @hummingbirdpilatesyoga Sign up for our newsletter at www.hummingbirdpilates.co.uk For a good, old fashioned chat, call 01245 422 556
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Spot 10 Differences (answers on page 31)
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Charity of the Month - Re-Cycle Bikes Changing Lives Take an unwanted bike from the UK, ship it to Africa where it is really needed and teach the local people the skills to fix and maintain it. Re-Cycle is a small charity based in Essex that takes unwanted bicycles and parts from the UK and ships them to trusted partners in Africa. We believe in an Africa unlimited by transport. Our sustainable bike re-use model has a dual benefit: • •
Bikes that have been languishing, unwanted in garages all over the UK are donated and put to good use, rather than ending up in landfill sites. These bikes are then shipped to Africa, providing a cheap, sustainable and eco-friendly form of transport for people and communities who have no other way of reaching each other. In 2018 we sent 16 container loads to Africa, containing 8,000 bikes.
Salifu’s favourite subject is English and he wants to become an education minister when he is older. He is also very happy that when he has finished his schooling, he will be able to give his bike to his brother so that he too tcan use it to travel to school. We aim to improve more lives, like Salifu’s, through bicycle re-use. Shipping over 100,000 bikes to Africa is no mean feat, but Re-Cycle are fortunate enough to be heavily supported by volunteers who are vital to the running of the charity. We receive no government funding and rely on the support of the trusts, corporate organisations, groups and associations, individuals and our own fundraising. For further information on how you can support us, or if you would like to make a donation of a bike or funds, visit www.re-cycle.org. The charity also offers talks about the work of the charity to groups/ associations, schools and churches. Please email lindsay.hurrell@ re-cycle.org.
The Need for Bikes 649 million people live in rural communities in Africa, and many of these people must walk for long distances to reach crucial services and social support networks. Not only does this take a toll on health, it can also prevent children from reaching their place of education, denying them a good start in life. Bikes provide an economical, easy to maintain form of transport. Having access to a bike can increase a family’s income by up to 35% and help to keep children in school. Other forms of transport can be either non-existent, or prohibitively expensive. Re-Cycle choose not to refurbish donated bikes in the UK. Instead, after being quality checked, they are shipped to Africa and refurbished there by qualified mechanics. In this way, our UK team have more time to source, check and ship bikes - and overseas bike mechanics (employed by partner organisations) have employment and can provide a place for new bike owners to take their bike for small repairs. Bikes are cheap to repair, can last a lifetime when well cared for, and can be used by the entire family. Salifu Bah is a 14-year old Grade 8 student and attends St Bosco basic school in Sintet in The Gambia. He received his bike on 1st October 2018. Before he got his bike, it uses to take him an hour to walk the 5 kilometres to get to school. He would sometimes have to leave before it got light and would often be late arriving. It’s not uncommon for African children to face a ten mile walk to school. This often results in students being exhausted before class has even started. With a bicycle, this journey time can be reduced by 75% so students have more time and energy to focus on their lessons.
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Do you need a new website? Below are a few of the websites we have designed and built!
We also design and supply: business cards flyers roller banners brochures In fact, almost anything that is printed!!
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Quiz Time - by John Theedom 1. How wide is a narrow boat? 2. In which English county will you find lots of dogs? 3. Which insect can be praying? 4. What does REM stand for? 5. What is a sitar used for? 6. Apart from tin cans, where will you come across an ‘opener’? 7. What do you do with a torte? 8. Where would you use a loofah? 9. Who played the role of the king in the film The King and I? 10. On a fish, what is its milt? 11. In Star Wars, who or what ‘strikes back’? 12. Who was ‘the Oxo mum’ in the advert? 13. What was Bing Crosby’s real name? 14. What was the first name of the electrical pioneer Mr Faraday? 15. Who was the artist who created The Scream? 16. Who was the female French singer of No Regrets? 17. Doc Martin is played by which actor? 18. The Belisha beacon was named after which MP? 19. Where is The Devil’s Causeway? 20. Which creature is known affectionately as tiggywinkle? 21. Where would you expect to see a mizzen? 22. In the language of flowers, what do buttercups represent? 23. In the boxing world, what is the maximum weight in pounds for a bantamweight?
24. In money slang, how much is a bullseye? 25. Ranidaphobia is the fear of what? 26. In sushi terms, what is nori? 27. In Morse code, which letter is represented by dot, dash, dash, dash? 28. Which football team has the nickname the Toffees? 29. In chess, what is meant by sans voir? 30. In which year did The Beatles release I Feel Fine? 31. Who played the part of Dr Who during the period 1986 - 1996? 32. In Biblical terms, how much did a schekel weigh? 33. In the nomenclature of pencils, what do the letters H & B denote? 34. What was the name of John Lennon’s dog? 35. In German, what does kaffeeklatsch mean? 36. In the world of ballet, what does plie mean? 37. How many sides are there on a tridecagon? 38. In Roman numerals, how much is DCCC? 39. Which wedding anniversary is steel? 40. How long is an Olympic swimming pool? (Answers on page 31)
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In Young Writer and Photographer, we had enough entries to have a full representation on the National Final including some from Chelmsford. We had two Highly Commended in the writing section; Charlotte Perry and Ryan Johnstone. Next year’s themes are Connections for Young Writer and Through My Eyes for Young Photographer, so please think about getting your children involved.
Essex Youngsters Excel in Rotary Competitions In Rotary, May is designated Youth Services Month. This is particularly apt as it includes the culmination of several of the great competitions that Rotary organises. In previous issues of this magazine I have written about the progress of our young people in the heats and area rounds, but during May the National Finals were held and our youngsters had outstanding results. It’s not easy to get to the national final of any of the events, as there could be a thousand entrants, so that would be success in itself but this has truly been a year to remember. Our two Youth Speaks finalists, Colchester Royal Grammar School for Boys (Intermediate) and Brentwood School (Senior), entered the stage at Nottingham and gave their very best. Brentwood School won the senior competition with their subject, The Last Glass Ceiling. Their Chair, Hassan Bajwa, won the prize for Best Chairperson and the performance was both entertaining and informative. Colchester Royal Grammar School was not placed, but Ibraheem Sand won the prize for Best Vote of Thanks. This particular competition will be changing slightly next year and will be Rotary Youth Debate to bring it more in line with the school curriculum. For many years we have failed to put forward a candidate for The Rotary Young Citizen Award. Well this year Sophie Jane Alderton was selected and was a winner, with the BBC filming the winning interviews in Nottingham. Well done Sophie, who is doing excellent work for the disabled and raising funds - everything from Walkathon to Chinese Night.
performance is enough to lose points.
Our district hosted the Young Musician Final at Chelmsford Anglia Ruskin University. A lot of hard work went into the planning and we received plaudits from Rotary International for the way it was organised - ‘an example to all other clubs’ was how they described it. We had a vocalist, Madeline McCarthy, in the final but unfortunately Madeline had a bad cold which affected her performance and didn’t make the first three, although she still sang very well. As I mentioned, competition is fierce and anything detracts from a
We did however, have the national winner of Young Chef with Sasha Martin in Leeds. She produced some amazing food and won the overall prize as well as Best Dish of the Day. Sasha will be going to Tuscany to work with a top chef there.
Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) This year has been even more successful than previous very successful years. The scheme now includes the ILM (Institute of Leadership and Management) award and again our district is pioneering these changes. The final was on the weekend of 1st and 2nd June at Danbury Outdoor Centre and the entrants made their project presentation and outward-bound activities. We look forward to the first RotaKids Conference at Colchester United Football Ground on 21st June; we are only the second district to arrange such conference. Rotakids is for 5-10 year olds and provides an opportunity for these children to have an awareness of what life is like for their peers in other countries who may have a lot less in the way of material things and educational facilities. They can also forge friendships with children in other parts of the country or abroad. There are also Young Technician and Young Artist competitions organised in the district, but they haven’t reached the National Big Bang final but it’s early days still. In fact, the Young Artist will be adopted by Rotary in Great Britain and Ireland starting in July along with a couple of other new programmes, Young Environmentalist, Young Filmaker and Young Scientist. So, a wonderful year for young people in general and especially for the Essex area. These competitions don’t happen by themselves; there is a huge amount of work in the organisation and Rotary is always on the lookout for new members to ensure their continuation. If you would like to help, especially if you have any experience in the various fields, then please get in touch through the website www. rotary1240.org or give me a call on 01245 260 349. You will get as much out of assisting as the young people do from participating! Stan Keller
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Advertise your event or business with us this summer! • 10,000 copies of the City Times • 9000 copies of the Moulsham Times • Disconts available for longer runs or when advertising in both our magazines • Editorial/business interview for regular advertisers Email ads@itsyourmedia.co.uk for more information or call us on 07970 206682
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Stargazing with Mark Willis - June/July 17 June (00:30): Looking south, Saturn is close to the Moon, with Jupiter extremely close shining brightly to the right-hand side. 21 June (22:30): The Summer Triangle: Looking east, the three bright stars that describe the Summer Triangle are Altair, Deneb and Vega - the brightest stars in the constellations of Aquila, Cygnus and Lyra respectively. This triangle star pattern makes it easy to locate each of the three constellations. 21 June - The Summer Solstice: As mentioned last month, this is the night when the day is longest and the night is shortest. A very safe way of solar observing is to go to the observing days with the North Essex Astronomical Society. The members will have telescopes with the appropriate filters so that that you can safely look at the sun. You will see few sunspots as we’re heading for a sunspot minimum which occurs every 11 years. Remember; never, ever look directly at the sun through telescopes or binoculars (and that includes viewfinders as well). Blindness will result.
The easiest way to record sunspots is to draw a circle using an old CD for the circle. It takes a little practice recording sun spots accurately, but you’ll soon get the hang of it. On this day - Tuesday, 12 July 2011: Since its discovery on September 23rd - 24th 1846, Neptune has finally completed its first journey around the Sun. Each Neptunian year is equivalent to 164.8 Earth years. New Moon: On 2nd July and 1st August 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 any questions to mark.willis@ chelmsfordcommunityradio.com. Mark Willis presents Willis Wireless at the new time of 12pm every Tuesday afternoon on Chelmsford Community Radio on 104.4 FM and online at chelmsfordcommunityradio.com. Twitter: @WillisWireless
Chelmsford Creative Collective - The Happy Piano ‘Lynn, you must know someone who wants an old piano...’ It’s both a blessing and a curse that I come up with ideas before I think them through logistically. Fortunately, I also know a lot of people that can help me put my ideas into reality. And so was born ‘The Happy Piano’.
from, and I added who had helped me with the project. Time to varnish and then move it! Another ‘bright’ idea of mine was to move the piano by hand through the town centre to its new home in The Meadows Shopping Centre. In order to do this, I needed other people and somehow to move it. A friend gave me a piano ‘skate’ and the fabulous Helen Cave and Candy Joyce helped me (just us three!) wheel it through the town centre to much amusement from the public! (There a video of us doing it on my art Facebook page - ‘Lynn Excell Art’). It is now safely in its forever (or however long The Meadows want it) home. I have it on good authority (friends, family and students that I work with) that many, many people have played it. I’ve been told that the comments book is full up and that every time the staff at The Meadows look on the security cameras, someone new is playing it. And that’s what makes a community project like this all worthwhile. My Happy Piano has made others happy and that makes me very, very happy.
The idea of a community piano is not a new one - you can see them dotted all around the country, particularly at railway stations. So if it worked for them, why wouldn’t it work for me? So I rallied the troops from Chelmsford Creative Collective and immediately found help from Andy at Transition who said I could paint the piano there (and who also kindly moved the piano from Thriftwood College to Transition). A myriad of lovely people came to donate paint and help me sand, paint and put new wheels on the piano. We turned the piano from a darkly varnished, sad looking instrument to a bright, ready-to-have-adesign piano. I looked at several other painted pianos and me being me, I liked the most colourful designs. After discussing with some other creative types, I came up with a design which represented the colourful music ‘flowing’ out of the piano, dancing around a bit and then going back into the piano as musical notes. This design was... complicated! It meant hand drawing and painting the many different colours one by one, several times. It also meant that I couldn’t have any help for this part, as we would have been in each other’s way. It took much, much longer than expected. Good job Andy enjoyed having people play it when they came into Transition! Once the design was completed, a wonderful signwriter offered his services for free to tell everyone where the piano had been donated
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 others 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 is welcome for a drink and a chat. Chelmsford Creative Collective invites you to the Art Trail in shop windows along Moulsham street from 15th to 30th June. There will also be an open exhibition of local artists work at St John’s Church (11-4pm) on Saturday 29th June and on Sunday 30th June (12-4pm). Admission is £1. June 1st - July 5th: Artsylum Artists Exhibition. Window Gallery’s 1st Birthday July 6th - August 2nd: Puddle Paints exhibition August 3rd - August 30th: Group exhibition August 31st - October 4th: Photography exhibition: Windows Within October 5th - November 1st: Matthew Brazier exhibition November 2nd - November 29th: Skateboard exhibition November 30th - January 3rd: Flipping Zombies exhibition Art Trail is in 20 shops down Moulsham Street from 15th June - 30th June, and The Summer Exhibition is at St Johns Church on Moulsham Street on Saturday 29th June (11am - 4pm) and Sunday 30th June (12pm - 4pm).
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