The City Times June/July 2020

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The City Times

Including: Boreham, Broomfield, Danbury, Great Baddow, Maldon, South Woodham Ferrers, The Walthams and Writtle 10000 copies distributed monthly - this edition is online only Issue Number 77 - 18th June - 16th July 2020

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CT Welcome Hello readers, Welcome to the June/July edition. We hope you are all staying well.

Unfortunately, due to the current situation this edition is again available online only. As mentioned previously, while we could still have the magazine printed, we would not be able to deliver the 10,000 copies to the usual pick-up points and businesses that we normally deliver to.

Therefore we would be incredibly grateful if you could share the link, www.issuu.com/itsyourmedia, to regular readers and any friends and family who would usually pick up a physical copy of the magazine.

(printing and distribution) are obviously not relevant this month. We have also enlarged the font slightly so that it’s easier to read on a screen.

Please also remember to let our advertisers know that you saw them in this magazine.

We will be back in print as soon as we can.

Stay safe!

Paul & Nick

All of the adverts in this issue have been charged a minimal amount to cover the cost of proofreading. Our largest costs www.thecitytimes.co.uk | www.moulshamtimes.com

Advertising Editorial Nick Garner Paul Mclean 07970 206682 01245 262082 / 07595 949701 ads@itsyourmedia.co.uk editorial@itsyourmedia.co.uk

it’s your media Ltd

Disclaimer: It’s Your Media Ltd publish The City Times. The opinion expressed in each article is the opinion of its author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of It’s Your Media Ltd. No part may be reproduced without the prior written permission of It’s Your Media Ltd. Registered offices: 15 Hayes Close, Chelmsford. Reg No 9154871. Printed by Printwize.

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Derek Celebrates Four Special Decades at Essex Police Breaking the wrist of his writing hand during a football match, Derek Hopkins trained his other hand to write by filling in the coupons at the back of newspapers - including an application to become a special constable.

That was back in 1980. Today Derek is the Deputy Chief Officer within the Special Constabulary and continues to keep Essex safe with our Road Crime Team. The 67-year-old regularly carries out roadside stop checks and has helped our communities over many decades. He said: “I’m a police officer 24/7 and I have been for many, many years - so much so that I think people are starting to recognise my face. Earlier this year I popped into a fish and chip shop in Witham and saw two men in there that I pulled over for not wearing a seatbelt. They were understanding and supportive!

“I don’t believe in barriers. I might be a lot older than I was when I first started, however, I still feel physically and mentally fit and I’m still making a difference.”

Derek was born in Forest Gate, East London, before moving to Leytonstone and leaving school to work on a farm in Cornwall and then a petrol station forecourt in Chingford.

He always had a passion for cars and wanted to be a traffic officer but was initially told he was too short, so he ended up working in the parts department for Jaguar and Rover.

Derek married in 1975 and moved to Silver End and worked in the water section for the Essex Fire Brigade.

His role was to make sure the fire engines had another water supply - and in this job he helped to start to create safer communities.

It was following a Sunday morning football match with a local team in Silver End that he broke his wrist and saw an

advert for special constables in the back of a national newspaper: “I had someone turn up really quickly and they went through the process with me,” he says, “before you know it, I had trained and attested and started my special journey. I’ve been a big advocate for improving the special constable experience and since then there have been some really great changes.”

Derek’s memories of being a special constable many decades ago included managing the Witham Carnival and managing scene guards. His first ever job was to make sure a well known comedian was looked after in Hatfield Peverel.

Derek became a DCO in 2017 and thanked many other leaders within the Special Constabulary for their support and enthusiasm, including Superintendent Cat Barrie, who heads our specials, and former head, Chief Superintendent Simon Anslow.

Derek continued: “Special constables can do anything right now. They are volunteering in all areas including our Operational Support Group, Dogs Unit, Marine Unit, Drones Team, Roads Policing Team and within community and local policing teams. They’ve even helped our detective based departments. The opportunities are endless - it’s a fantastic time to join.”

Derek, who is a keen sailor, thanks his wife Julie, who continues to support him in his role. His youngest son, Ben, was also a special constable along with his step-daughter Natalie.

Our special constables help to keep Essex safe and make a difference to our communities each and every day - just like Derek does.

Do you want to join them in catching criminals, helping people and keeping people safe?

Join our Essex Police family as a special constable and make a real difference by visiting the website here: www. essex.police.uk/specials #MyOtherLife.

Please share the link for this online issue enabling as many of our regular readers to be able to view the magazine as possible: www.issuu.com/itsyourmedia Page 4

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The Meadows Shopping Centre Announces Reopening Plans The Meadows Shopping Centre has remained partially open for essential stores to trade throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, but on learning that non-essential stores can reopen from 15th June, the team has been working hard to provide a safe and clean environment that shoppers can feel confident in visiting.

The Centre has been deep sanitised from top to bottom with bio-fogging and a range of safety measures introduced to protect the health and wellbeing of customers, retailers and staff. These include social distancing guidance in the mall and on stairways, limiting the lifts to one visitor group at a time and providing hand sanitiser stations at centre entrances and key points in the malls.

Although many stores plan to trade and some food and drink retailers will be offering takeaway and delivery services, some are not yet able to open or may have reduced hours, but The Meadows will keep everyone fully informed via the website and social media. Entry to the centre and stores will be monitored to protect us all during these unprecedented times. Access will also be available to disabled and baby change facilities.

Sue Patel, General Manager of The Meadows, said: “We

take great pride in the high standards of our cleaning across the shopping centre. Shopping safely, providing social distancing guidance and ensuring that we protect our visitors is paramount and part of the steps being taken to build a ‘new normal’ in our local community. We hope everybody understands the nature of our guidance and we thank you all for following it fully, helping us stay safe in and around the shopping centre. Our underlying message is to be considerate, be patient and be safe.

David Baker from Chelmer Radio will broadcast from The Meadows on Monday 15th and Saturday 20th June between 11am and 3pm, celebrating the reopening of stores and saying a socially-distanced ‘hello’ to as many people as possible. The Meadows will have free vouchers for some of the lucky centre visitors on these days.

The Meadows wishes to extend a huge thank you to all of the staff and management who have kept essential stores open and running in the centre during lockdown, and to the other amazing frontline NHS and key workers.

The Meadows team and their retailers look forward to welcoming people into the centre and to embracing the ‘new normal’. themeadows.co.uk

Great Baddow Man Completes His ‘May Miles’ at Home for Children’s Hospice Charity An 84 year old man from Essex raised £2,000 for his local children’s hospice by walking a mile a day in his garden.

Peter Egleton, from Great Baddow and a member of Writtle Bowls Club, walked 12 laps of his garden every day in May for the charity after the club’s bowls tournament had to be cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Writtle Bowls Club has a long history of raising money for the children’s hospice, which looks after babies and children with complex or incurable conditions across Essex.

Over the last decade the club has raised over an incredible £35,000 for the charity.

Peter has raised over £2,000 through sponsorship for his walking challenge. He said: “We have been raising money for this incredible charity for a very long time and when my wife died two years ago, we also had a collection for Little Havens at her funeral. After having to cancel our usual bowls tournament at the club I wanted to do something to help and continue the club’s fundraising efforts. My grass is now very worn from where I have been walking so much!

Thank you to everyone who has sponsored me.”

Rachel Hawksworth, Voluntary Income Area Team Leader said, “When I heard that Peter had walked a mile a day in his garden to raise money for Little Havens, my heart warmed - what a wonderful thing to do after their fundraising activities had been cancelled. Our charity’s income has taken a big hit since the coronavirus pandemic with all our major fundraising events cancelled or postponed, so we really appreciate our supporters’ kind donations during these difficult times.

“Peter, along with the rest of members at Writtle Bowls Club, are such fantastic supporters of our charity, and if it wasn’t for their generosity - and that of our thousands of other supporters - our hospice care would not exist. They are true Havens Heroes.”

Little Havens Hospice remains open to care for patients at the end of their life but has suspended all face-toface respite, treatments Peter Egleton in his garden during his and social walking challenge activities, as it’s currently safer for these vulnerable patients to stay at home. However Little Havens is still offering telephone and video call support where they can, along with online music therapy, even if they can’t be there in person.

The charity’s hospice care doesn’t stop, so neither can its fundraising. For those inspired by Peter’s fundraising efforts, join the charity’s virtual fundraisers taking on the 30 in 30 challenge till the end of August.

Visit www.havenshospices.org.uk/30in30 to find out more

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Nick Garner’s Music and Ramblings As I am writing this, I have just heard a quote on the radio which resonated with me: ‘Is that a light I see at the end of the tunnel or is it a train coming?’ To me never a truer word spoken. It still scares me when I am out and see how many people seem to be acting like they think this is all over...

Believe me - sadly it is not. If we do take care, I am sure we can beat it, but looking at some people’s reactions I fear it will soon be back with a big bite. I do hope I am wrong.

So what else is going on? Well, lockdown is getting relaxed by the powers tha be and more people are getting back to work, and some of the kid’s are back in school - and I have managed to get a new battery fitted in my watch! I have to say it was very strange for a couple of weeks without a watch, as I always wear one and I love my watch which my kids gave me for my 50th birthday - I’m sure you must be thinking it’s getting a bit old now! I am really looking forward to being able to go up and see my family, as I am on my own at present, although I have seen a couple of my friends which has been nice. I am missing the Thursday night clap for the NHS - I found it morale building.

Do you have anything planned for the rest of the year? Any holidays or trips? I am looking forward to some time away in my caravan at some point (I hope), as all the festivals seem to have been cancelled or will shortly be. I have sadly been having to postpone shows until next year when hopefully the situation is improved.

As I am writing this article we are celebrating a big anniversary, as on 15th June 1920 Guglielmo Marconi made the very first radio concert broadcast from The New Street Works in Chelmsford Essex. The Daily Mail sponsored this first scheduled British radio concert by the famed Australian opera diva Nellie Melba. It was reported that she was paid £1,000 which in today’s money is around £45,000 - not bad. This transmission was heard throughout much of Europe, including Berlin, Paris, The Hague in the Netherlands, Madrid, Spain and Sweden. Also on this same day in 1215, King John signed the Magna Carta in Runneymede in Kent! If you do not know about this piece of history, it’s really worth reading about. This is also of course, the day in 2020 that many of our shops reopened after lockdown in England...

Music I have been part of Jamie Williams & the Roots Collective for over ten years, but sadly no more. I am now looking forward to getting back to producing my own music rather than playing someone elses, and being able to create and play what I want to play. After having been playing music on and off for around sixty years, I think it is maybe about time for you to hear me and what comes from my heart and soul. My thoughts at present are that it won’t be for playing live, but purely recorded music. I am also now the ‘harmonica player with a difference’ for hire - even if I do say so myself, I am pretty good at it!

It was good to see Robbie Williams back with Take That

doing a live socially distanced show. I too have been putting on a regular festival for twelve weeks from the 28th March 2020 to 14th June 2020 of course. 13 festivals with 195 acts playing for me. We had over 80,000 watchers for one show with Hazel O’Connor!

The Isolation Festival was something I thought I would do for just one weekend, but it just grew and grew and I had so many acts asking to play that I had to continue it. It should be said that they all played for free and we put it on for free as well. I had well known artists like Hazel O’Connor, Zoot Money and Chesney Hawkes appearing, and from the world of folk, Tim Edey. There were many too who are well known in the music world and loved and respected by their peers, like Robbie McIntosh, Geraint Watkins, Boo Hewerdine, Jamie Moses and many more. We also had a lot of local up-and-coming artists like Josh Brough, Connor Selby, Joe Anderton and Izzy Kershaw (daughter of Nik) and many more amazing acts than I cannot mention as it would take up too much space. We featured three different cellists and an opera singer, as well as jazz, Americana, boogie, blues and rock musicians - so you can see, we mixed it right up.

So what next? My plan is to still put on some online festivals, but not every week. We will also put on and share some shows from our friends.

I am working on pay-to-view concerts with a friend. Hang on, don’t jump out of your prams yet, as we plan to keep this cheap for you all! We will be featuring many of the acts and bands who have played the festivals, and some who should have been playing at the Chelmsford City Football Club. We believe it will not be until 2021 before we are able to put on any proper live shows. At the moment, who would want to be in crowd of people even if restrictions were lifted - and will the venues open in any case or even survive?

I am talking with many artists who want to play for you in the comfort of your own home live on your TV. We have the platforms to do this relatively easy these days with smart televisions and the many other smaller devices, and we have acts across the globe - some well known and some soon to be known - and some just great new acts. When we launch you will be able to see a sample of the act at a very reasonable price of less than a pint of beer - it will be more than worth it, we hope you will agree.

Do keep an eye on social media and the City Times and Moulsham Times publications, and I hope more of the local radio and press will give us a voice to promote what we have planned for you to enjoy.

I just want to say please keep safe and stay well and keep your social distance, so we can all beat this sooner rather than later.

Please do share both the City Times and The Moulsham Times online. We will continue to publish both online and hope to be back in printed form before too long. If you are

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interested in contributing or advertising with us, then please contact us at ads@itsyourmedia.co.uk and we will reply to you promptly.

The Isolation Festival can be found at www.facebook.com/ isolationmusicfestival.

You can find the magazines online at www.issuu.com/ itsyourmedia.

A Year in the Life of the Mayor

Sanctus My third is Sanctus, a small charity based about 200 metres from the Civic Centre. They feed and offer a safe and warm environment where homeless and vulnerable individuals feel comfortable and open to request help. sanctus-home.com

All three charities are very community focused.

I am honoured to have been elected as Mayor of Chelmsford and am looking forward to actively supporting local residents, businesses, community groups and charities during this challenging time.

With COVID-19 affecting us in so many ways we hadn’t even thought of, my theme for the year is wellbeing. With this in mind, I have chosen three charities who all strive to help improve wellbeing for those they serve: Helping Hands Essex The first is Chelmsford-based Helping Hands Essex. I was a trustee of HHE in its infancy and continue to fully support the work they do, focussing on those who are homeless or facing homelessness. They are the only charity in Essex offering free residential and non-residential rehabilitation for recovery against alcoholism and addiction. hhe.org.uk Mid and North Essex Mind I have chosen Mid and North Essex Mind as there is limited mental health support in Chelmsford. The emotional wellbeing of our young people is just as important as their physical health. I am delighted that Mind will soon be opening a subsidised counselling service for Chelmsford children and young people to allow the most vulnerable families the opportunity to access high-quality counselling.

Good mental health helps children and young people to cope with whatever life throws at them and grow into happy, healthy adults.mnessexmind.org

I have a dedicated team of volunteers (lovingly referred to as ‘The Motley Crew’) who are keen to help raise funds for the Mayor’s charities. The crew are currently working on a variety of virtual fundraising events as well as reaching out to businesses and local organisations such as the WI and Rotary.

If you would like to donate to any of the Mayor’s charities, you can send a cheque made payable to ‘The Mayor of Chelmsford’s Charities’ to The Mayor’s Office, Chelmsford City Council, Civic Centre, Duke Street, Chelmsford CM1 1JE. We are also in the process of setting up an online JustGiving page (details to follow).

Facebook: Search ‘Mayor of Chelmsford’ Twitter: @MayorofChelmsford Instagram: Chelmsford_mayor

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CT Gardening - by Tom Cole

How is everyone feeling at the moment? These are interesting and challenging times for all.

Thank goodness for plants, that’s what I say! Whether you’ve got a garden, patio, balcony or just a well loved house plant, plants bring us joy and help our wellbeing. They’ve certainly kept me going during the lockdown. For me, whilst nurturing choice perennials and edibles, I’ve been able to lose myself and relax... even if that’s just for a few hours a day.

affording some resistance to tomato/potato blight; it’s a cordon type.

The key with vine/cordon types is too remove side shoots/ laterals. These will appear between the leaf and main stem. By doing this energy is concentrated towards the flower trusses forming at each stem junction. Sometimes the plant develops competitive leaders; remove these as soon as they’re seen. Once the plant gets to between 1.5-1.8m (5-6’) in height, remove the tip to enable all remaining fruits to ripen. As fruit ripens remove any leaves above them to ensure good even ripening.

Monitor tomatoes closely for blight - it’s around at the moment! Look out for brown/yellow patches appearing in the top of the plant. This die-back will move down the plant and spread to fruit. Sometimes removing leaves below fruit can help slow down the spread. Try this link for more information on the disease: www.rhs.org.uk/advice/ profile?pid=217.

For those with bush types, ensure you’ve got a good sturdy cane to support the plant. Don’t remove side shoots as fruit yields will be reduced. Try ‘Raspberry Ruffles’; up to 25cm tall and ideally suited for growing in containers rather than in the ground. Use 1-litre pots as this variety can get top heavy. The red fruit are juicy and mild-flavoured; an ideal variety for an area short on space.

This year I’m growing a couple of tomato varieties, ‘Sungold’ F1 and ‘Alisa Craig’ as cordon types in a greenhouse and outside using a wall and wire supports to assist training. I’m growing them as indeterminate (also called vine) rather than determinate (bush) types. The type will be clearly marked on seed packets. It’s not too late to still propagate from seed. Why not try a variety called ‘Ferline’? It’s a beefsteak tomato with large red fruits and

Aside from diseases, keep on top of your watering and feeding. Irregular watering can lead to blossom end rot.

This is a calcium deficiency brought on by lack of water.

Fruit develops brown sections on the end the maturing fruit. Keep compost moist at all times, feed on a regular basis using a high potash liquid feed and improve ventilation to reduce humidity levels, especially if growing in the greenhouse. Please note that this can also occur on chilli and sweet peppers. Checkout this link for more information: www.allotment-garden.org/vegetable/how-togrow-your-own-tomatoes/tomato-troubles-diseases-causescures/tomato-blossom-end-rot-causes-cures.

Lastly, don’t forget the following garden jobs: • Continue to weed and top up mulches.

• Keep on top of watering containers, liquid feeding on a regular basis to boost plants.

• Try to keep on top of box tree caterpillar. Take a look at this great link: www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=760.

• Tie in whippy climber and wall shrub limbs.

Also, check out this link for some other jobs for the garden for the remaining days of June: www.rhs.org.uk/advice/inmonth/june.

For any gardening tips please contact Tom Cole, Horticultural Lecturer, Capel Manor College, Bullsmoor Lane, Enfield, Middlesex, EN1 4RQ by post (including a SAE) or by email at Tom.Cole@capel.ac.uk.

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Stay at Home, Grow Your Own in Chelmsford!

To support the wellbeing of Chelmsford residents, the Chelmsford Community Voluntary Services and Abberton Rural Training (ART) are working in partnership to bring a new community initiative to encourage residents to ‘Stay At Home, Grow Your Own’

Deputy Leader of Chelmsford City Council, Cllr Marie Goldman, Portfolio Holder for Connected Chelmsford, said: “Staying at home and shielding shouldn’t prevent anyone from being able to adopt healthy lifestyle behaviours.

Cooking with fresh ingredients and being active at home can play a big role in maintaining good physical and mental health. This initiative is an excellent way to encourage the most vulnerable individuals and families to be part of something positive in the community. I am delighted to see that Abberton Rural Training are now working with Chelmsford CVS volunteers to deliver 50 free Grow Your Own starter kits to those who most need them.”

Abberton Rural Training is a rural training charity operating across NE Essex and has created the free packs, along with a range of online learning resources and tutorial films on YouTube for people to access for free.

Jacqui Stone, the Chief Exec of ART said: “Growing your own produce at home can happen from your windowsill, a window box, on a balcony, a courtyard or garden. You can create seed trays from newspaper, planting tubes from toilet roll inserts and recycled household waste, including yoghurt pots, margarine containers and plastic bottles.

Being able to pick fresh lettuce for your salad or sandwich is unbeatable!

“Anyone can grow their own. It is very satisfying to grow something from seed and rewarding to look after your plant until it is ready to eat!

“Everyone can take part in the online learning for free (even if you don’t have a pack); we would really encourage people to go to www.abbertonruraltraining.org and visit our ‘Grow Your Own’ page to see how easy it is.”

The initiative hopes to show how growing your own can bring a more nutritious, diverse and healthy diet. Fruit and vegetables are excellent sources of vitamins and minerals, and herbs can be used for seasoning to replace added salt.

Working in the garden provides a light form of physical activity to keep active at home, which brings a range of benefits to mental and physical health. Being outdoors boosts vitamin D levels (under certain sunlight conditions) and offers stress relief and support for emotional wellbeing.

The hope is that residents across Chelmsford will get involved with growing their own, and will take what they have learned forward into the future which will save money on fruit and vegetables, as well as having wider environmental benefits.

Lorraine Jarvis, CEO of Chelmsford CVS said: “We wanted to support the scheme to help people who are struggling and feeling isolated at this difficult time.

Our team of volunteers have been working really hard to support some really vulnerable people who haven’t left their homes now for many months and who have been unable to access their usual support networks due to the restrictions. We are looking forward to seeing their delight in using their Grow your Own pack, growing in skills confidence and connecting with volunteers who are happy to share their gardening knowledge.”

Cllr Goldman in her front garden veg patch

To get involved, please visit ART’s YouTube channel for online tutorials (which are easy to follow) - search on www. youtube.com for ‘Abberton Rural Training’. ART’s website to access information and activity sheets is at www. abbertonruraltraining.org.

If you are growing your own then please join the Abberton Rural Training online community at www.facebook/ abbertonruraltraining to help spread the word about how much better you are feeling for getting involved in growing your own.

Don’t forget to tag your photos and social media posts to encourage others to grow their own too: #StayAtHomeGrowYourOwn #livewell #abbertonruraltraining @ChelmsfordCVS Abberton Rural Training are encouraging people to think about what’s next after COVID-19 and suggest those that want to boost health and wellbeing, as well as expand knowledge about growing and planting, should consider signing up for one of their online qualifications or join one of the courses in September.

ART courses are FREE for people 19+ who are not in education, employment or other training, and residents can register their interest or find out more by emailing info@ abbertonruraltraining.org.

For any further support for physical or mental wellbeing, please contact Live Well Link Well on 0300 303 9988 (Monday to Friday from 8am to 7pm) or email livewell. linkwell@nhs.net.

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CT Food: The Budwig Protocol - by Lisa Whittle With British strawberries now at their peak I have a surprising, delicious and healthy way of using them for you. It’s not often a truly health giving food tastes divine - but this one certainly does. Devised

by Dr Johanna Budwig, a German biochemist known for researching natural health methods in the 1950s, it’s a mixture of quark, or cottage cheese, and flaxseed oil blended up with berries and a banana for extra sweetness.

Dr Budwig claimed it could even help reverse and prevent cancer* as well as having many more conventional benefits such as helping the heart and circulation system, the joints, brain, blood-sugar balance and eyesight.

dinner party dessert. But fortunately it is quick and easy to make, so you won’t need to.

It tastes like an extra creamy yoghurt, but in this case the flaxseed oil that makes it creamy is super good for you and fresh British strawberries work particularly well in it…

What you do is simply measure out twice as much quark or cottage cheese to flaxseed oil, add fruits and blend.

Six tablespoons of quark and three of flaxseed oil is the serving Johanna Budwig recommended, but four and two works well too.

Put the ingredients together and pour in the fresh coldpressed flaxseed oil It’s best eaten on an empty stomach and makes a great breakfast. If you use frozen fruit instead of fresh, it turns out rather like a scrumptious ice cream.

What is quark you may be thinking? It’s a virtually zero fat soft cheese that is higher in protein than yoghurt. It’s more common on the supermarket shelves than it used to be because bodybuilders are fond of it - you’ll find all supermarkets from Aldi to Waitrose have their own branded quark. I find it easier to use a hand blender because it’s easier to clean, and if you do, I recommend blending in a deep container to avoid splattering the kitchen, but any blender will do.

Here it is ready to blend You will probably have to get the flaxseed oil from a health food shop or order online. Make sure you get one that has been ‘cold pressed’ which means it has more health benefits as it will not have been heated during the production process, unlike most refined oils, and therefore not damaged. Also, keep it in the fridge and use the bottle fairly quickly as it will go off. Definitely do not use it if it tastes bitter - this means it has become rancid.

All you need to make the delicious, creamy health giving Budwig mixture The key thing is to eat it fresh, specifically within 20 minutes. The reason for this is the flaxseed oil reacts with the oxygen in the air and loses its potent ‘healing powers’ within this time - it will even taste different. So this isn’t something to batch-produce or make ahead of time for a

Dr Johanna Budwig had a particular interest in researching ways of fighting cancer and she believed that getting oxygen right into each cell was an important part of this.

She found that there was something particularly special about flaxseed oil for helping do this, but by combining the flaxseed oil in the specific ratio with the sulphur-rich protein of quark/cottage cheese, the flaxseed oil is helped to get right into each of our 50 trillion cells.

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Blending now…

Dr Budwig herself was nominated for the Nobel Prize seven times although sadly didn’t win, but her work built upon the 1931 Nobel Prize win by Dr Otto Warburg who believed that oxidation of cells to be the best way to turn cancer cells into healthy cancer-free cells - he discovered that cancer cells survive without oxygen. Just because there is oxygen in the blood doesn’t mean it can get right into the cells of the body and give them the life-giving oxygen where they need it.

The Budwig mixture made with frozen strawberries which resembles ice-cream the difference it made - much better blood sugar balance, better mood, softer skin, better memory and better tolerance of being in front of a computer screen in lockdown all day…

British strawberries now, at their peak, go well in the Budwig mixture The finished Budwig mixture Flaxseed oil contains what is known as essential fatty acids. The best way to get essential fatty acids is something over which nutritionists disagree - some say fish oil is the best approach and others say plant oil sources, especially flaxseed oil, is a better way. It all depends on whether you can rely on the body converting Omega-3, which is abundant in fish oil, to all the other ‘Omegas’ such as Omega-6, 7 and 9. Plant-based oils are rich in a wider selection of these Omegas, so if the conversion from Omega-3 is not efficient, there is a wide selection for the body to use.

I have been a user of Udo’s Choice, a proprietary blend of oils with flaxseed oil as the main ingredient, for some years now. I add it to smoothies but I also use it to make the Budwig Protocol quark mixture too - you may see I used it here in the photos. It just happens that recently I went without it for a number of months and have now in recent weeks been taking it again. I was able to notice

Apart from the quark and flaxseed oil, Dr Johanna Budwig recommended a fat-free and vegan diet. I highly recommend the Budwig Protocol and there is more to it than this mixture. If you would like to explore more, here are a couple of links: budwigcenter.com www.healingcancernaturally.com www.beating-cancer-gently.com *Editorial note: this article is for information purposes only, if you require medical advice always consult your GP. The opinions expressed and the external links provided in each article do not necessarily reflect the opinions of It’s Your Media Ltd.

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Wildlife - by Nick Green February weather proved to be the wettest on record - and both April and May the sunniest on record. In fact, spring (March to May) proved also to be the sunniest on record for more than a century with 626 hours (the previous high was 436). May was the sunniest calendar month ever and also recorded very low precipitation with 0.4mm. With little - if any - rainfall, there could be another hosepipe ban and drought on the horizon...

The coronavirus/COVID-19 continued to strike on an international and national basis. The UK death toll surpassed 39,000. Chelmsford town centre remained very quiet with the continuing lockdown and most buses could only boast 1-2 passengers.

Spring butterflies included a good crop of orangetips, brimstone, small white, small tortoiseshells, holly blue and peacocks. There was the welcome sight and sound of swifts screaming through the rooftops.

The holly blue butterfly’s expanding geographical range extends up to the midlands and further north. In Essex the species is widespread and common in woodlands and wood edges but commonly uses gardens - it is very active fluttering around head height. The usual food plants are the

Holly Blue female showing the upperwing (copyright: Glyn Evans) flowers and developing fruit of holly and ivy, but gardens are visited whether or not these plants are present. Other plants visited include spindle, dogwoods, snowberries, gorses and bramble. The holly blue has a wing span is 35mm.

Due to travel restrictions, all wildlife news will again not be reported this month, I will just continue to note any relevant significant sightings.

Local Hospice Pays Tribute to Loved Supporter and Elvis Fanatic Who Raised Thousands for Their Charity Havens Hospices is paying tribute to a well loved supporter of their charity and leader of the Elvis in Essex Fan Club after he sadly died from coronavirus.

Mike Davis aged 75, died on 29th March 2020 and had been fundraising with the Elvis in Essex club for Little Havens in Thundersley after choosing the charity as its Charity of the Year.

Over the course of last year, Mike and the club raised over £3,000 which funded music therapy and sensory story time sessions for children who have complex and incurable conditions. The club generously adopted Little Havens as its chosen charity again in 2020.

Mike was inspired to raised money for children’s charities

by Elvis Presley as he gave thousands of dollars to organisations and children’s charities in his lifetime. Mike said that the club would always fundraise for children’s charities in Elvis’ name and over the last 35 years, the organisation has raised £30,000 for a number of charities, including The National Holiday Fund, which enables terminally ill children to visit Disneyland each year.

His daughter Sam Henry, from Rochford, vows to continue raising money for Little Havens and terminally ill children in her father’s name as he would have wished. She also set up a tribute page for her father to raise money for Little Havens which has so far raised a further £3,500 to help the charity provide specialist palliative and supportive care Page 12

to children and their families.

Sam said: “It is my honour to continue my father’s fundraising and of course to continue the Elvis in Essex Fan Club. The support all our members have given me since my father’s death has been second to none, including their wonderful donations in my father’s name for Little Havens.”

Sally Bridger, community fundraiser at Havens Hospices, has been working closely with Mike and the club since 2018. She said: “On behalf of everyone at Havens Hospices, we are very sad to hear of Mike’s death. I had the pleasure of working with Mike for nearly two years and he was such a gentleman and so generous with his time and charity efforts. He always made me feel so welcome at every Elvis in Essex group meeting I attended, and we will always remember Mike’s generosity to our charity. I first met Mike after hearing him speaking on the radio in 2018, when Elvis in Essex was looking for a children’s charity to support. Since then, his fundraising efforts have made such a positive difference to the lives of the children we care for and it is this generosity that keeps our essential hospice services running.

“We look forward to continuing our relationship with the Elvis in Essex club so they can continue to fundraise in Mike’s name.”

To make a donation on Mike’s tribute page, visit www. justgiving.com/fundraising/sam-henry5.

COVID-19 and Your Legacy - Inheritance Tax Planning for After the Pandemic The prospect of looming recession, with asset values including property and investments diminishing… a few months ago this would have been unthinkable, but now?

Right now it is completely premature to speculate about the after effects of the pandemic on the economy as not all asset classes will follow the same trajectory. The speed and level of recovery is impossible to predict, as it is dependent on too many variables - but one thing is certain, the need for solid Inheritance Tax Plan is urgent and more important than ever.

There are many facets to estate planning and its needs are as varied as the estates it espouses, but there are commonalities too. Take residential property for instance.

A significant denominator of many estates, property values are, even now, in many cases, above the Nil Rate Band threshold of £325,000 and create an immediate need for IHT planning.

To Gift or Not to Gift?

From estate planning point of view, the current reduction in asset values presents a good opportunity to give those assets away. The beneficiary can enjoy the asset growth post-recovery and in the meantime the original gift will have left your estate during times of depressed values.

The famous 7-year survival rule still applies but with the benefit of the gift’s value being assessed at the date of gifting (now), rather than at point of death, the Inheritance Tax calculation looks more reasonable.

Conversely, any gain in value at the time of acquisition will potentially be subject to Capital Gains Tax. What Does It All Mean for Me? Simply put, with lower asset values compared to prepandemic levels, the possible Inheritance Tax liability will be smaller. Added bonus: with reduced gain the potential Capital Gains Tax will also decrease.

The cherry on top is that, if you are the donor, the inevitable future economic recovery will not impact your own tax position.

What Next?

What we have to bear in mind however, is the fact that the current financial support from the government will have to end at some point. This raises the question of how to pay for it all in the near future. Tax rates, reliefs and allowances will no doubt be the focus once more and may mean the reduction, removal or restriction of some allowances. With a proper financial planning strategy now, you can be ready and reap the benefits that will follow eventual recovery in terms of taxation and investments.

If in doubt, give us a shout

The arrival of coronavirus forced us to face up to our own mortality and the way we view and relate to the world at large. This should be your wake up call to prepare a watertight estate plan or revise and update your existing one. Don’t underestimate the fiscal and emotional benefits of a bulletproof financial plan - contact us today to arrange yours.

Silvia Johnson BSc (Hons) DipPFS EFA CertCII (MP) is a Director & Independent Financial Adviser at Royale Thames Wealth Ltd. www.royalthameswealth.co.uk silvia@royalthameswealth.co.uk 020 8720 7249 / 07908 109 741 Royale Thames Wealth Ltd is an Appointed Representative of New Leaf Distribution Ltd which is authorised and regulated by Financial Conduct Authority number 460421.

The value of your investment may go up as well as down and the value is not guaranteed. Past performance is not a guarantee of future performance.

Wills and Estate Planning are not regulated by the FCA.

Ct History: Chelmsford in the Second World War (Part One) - by Stephen Norris “There came a blinding flash, a roar then chaos” This is the first of a number of articles on Chelmsford during the Second World War. For a town of its size, Chelmsford was certainly not the worst affected by the Second World War. It was not the subject of the Baedeker raids which so grievously affected towns such as Norwich and Exeter. Chelmsford’s industrial strength however, which of course grew rapidly during the war, made it a target for predetermined German air raids. This and the fact that it was on the route of German planes on the way back from London meant that it received an amount of attention from the enemy roughly commensurate to a town like Ipswich. The area was on a likely German invasion route, resulting in very strong defences being built up around Chelmsford. In the early days of the war the biggest surprise was that Chelmsford, like Ipswich, was designated a receiving area for evacuees from London. The increasing needs of local industry meant that not only were more local women and women who were directed from towns like Bedford and Leicester, used in the big factories, but also that the war saw a big increase in their sense of independence. Chelmsford’s civil defences generally worked well and there wasn’t the conflict between those involved with the ARP (Air Raid Precautions) and the Home Guard which characterised towns such as Ipswich.

1934 had seen the establishment of a headquarters for the Anti Aircraft Searchlight Company in Market Road. The searchlights were to be used against nightime bombers during the war, but the early 1930s saw recruitment for the Territorial Army in Essex at a low ebb, as people clung to the hope that the League of Nations would keep the international peace. With a strong Quaker movement in the town the peace movement was well established. In 1934 a peace meeting at the Corn Exchange was so full that an overflow meeting had to be held at the Shire Hall. Colonel Macnamara, the Chelmsford MP, made a speech warning of a possible war in Abyssinia and the danger that if it started it could spread. The same week the Weekly News mentioned Churchill’s rearmament speech in its editorial.

In spring 1937 the first signs of a county Air Raid Precaution (ARP) scheme started with a the Chelmsford Borough Council holding a meeting involving all the local works, the local fire brigade, as well as the voluntary organisations including the Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD), the St John’s Ambulance and the British Red Cross.

Wing Commander Sparling, who had been appointed ARP organiser for the county, spoke at the meeting.

In the preparations for war the town was, not unusually, behind the local rural area. Carne Rasch, the son of an earlier Chelmsford MP, wrote a letter to the Weekly News in October bemoaning the council’s tardiness: ‘Must we wait for another war to be caught out through a lack of timely preparations?’ The need for a joint scheme for the town and rural area led to a joint council conference. At this it was agreed there was a need for ambulances, first aid stations, temporary hospitals, and decontamination

centres - gas attacks were considered to be an inevitable hazard. Premises had to be found for protective clothing, bleaching materials and temporary shelters. A post of local chief ARP organiser was advertised at a salary of £400 per year, and an ARP committee was formed with 5 representatives from each council.

After a Chelmsford Borough Council meeting in October 1938, an appeal for ARP volunteers was launched with large numbers needed for the Auxiliary Fire Service, first aid parties, decontamination squads, ambulance drivers and report centre staff. Major HS Doe was appointed the head of the Chelmsford ARP from 125 applications. He had 36 years service in the regular and territorial armies and was a British Legion worker and churchwarden at St John’s Church, Moulsham.

The initial response in the borough was disappointing and as a result an ARP exhibition was held at Bonds. Even though Germany had just taken Austria, many people still thought a war wouldn’t happen. Jack Macnamara publicly doubted the town’s preparedness for a conflict. At a public meeting on ARP in June 1938, the view was expressed that shelters could minimise the effects of blasts, but the Government’s then current strategy was to disperse large number of people with shelters only being provided for those caught in a raid away from home or work.

Chelmsford needed 250 wardens to first issue the gas masks, but in addition 220 volunteers were needed for first aid, 300 for the fire services and 60 special constables.

In all, 1,000 volunteers were needed for the town. By the middle of 1938 the rural area had twice as many volunteers as the borough.

The Munich crisis of September 1938 made a war seem highly probable. Trenches were immediately dug in Admirals Park, the Recreation Ground, Oaklands and Lionmede.

The most urgent task seemed to be getting the 66,000 people of the Chelmsford area fitted with gas masks. Seven lorries fitted with enough masks for most of the population arrived from Cambridge on September 27th 1938 and four distribution centres were set up. Most people however stopped taking them wherever they went during the Phoney War period, so called when the expected attacks from the air didn’t materialise.

Another problem was the lack of fire fighting equipment and personnel. Munich had at least had the effect of rapidly increasing the number of volunteers joining within a week.

The Poor Law part of St John’s Hospital was converted into a decontamination centre and similar centres were set up at the Manor Road and Corporation Road council depots.

First aid centres were established at Moulsham School and in the Civic Centre. At a public meeting in November 1938 the Mayor, Councillor Bellamy, said that the town’s ARP was still 60% below what was needed. In January 1939 the Borough Engineer was making ARP work the priority to the exclusion of everything else. The town was divided into 6 sections with each sections having between 9 and 17 sectors. Each sector had 6 wardens. The warden was

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usually a middle aged or elderly man and the warden service was under the control of the police.

The government had already ruled that Chelmsford would be a receiving area for evacuees. Its two councils were very unhappy at this decision and Jack Macnamara, the town’s MP, raised the matter with the Ministry of Health to no avail. The view in the town was ‘what is the point of transferring the children from one danger point to another’.

Some of the better off Chelmsfordians were already making plans to evacuate their own children.

A double shift system was agreed to accommodate the likely number of children in the areas’ schools. The 9,000 expected was downgraded to 7,000, but in the event considerably less arrived.

In the week war broke out several thousand evacuees arrived in Chelmsford and were billeted in the town and surrounding rural area. Many people were shocked by the verminous state of many of the children. In Writtle and Broomfield, premises were found for unbilletable people that households had refused to take. By the week after war broke out there were 1,400 new pupils in Chelmsford.

By May 1940, towards the end of the Phoney War period, most of the evacuees had returned to London, but there were still 610 London children in Chelmsford schools. John Marriage, the local historian, remembered starting at the newly opened Moulsham Senior School and joining pupils from Cann Hall School, Leytonstone, in otherwise empty

classrooms. The number of evacuees rose again with the start of the London Blitz which resulted in some of the homeless arriving in Chelmsford. By the end of October 1940 there were 466 official refugees in the borough, of which 177 had recently arrived. A further 1,107 refugees had however found a place in the town by private means.

One elderly man was evacuated to Upper Bridge Road next to the railway line - the house was then hit by a bomb!

As the war progressed, the role of the billeting officer had to change, as he had to find billets for the large number of workers who were directed towards Chelmsford to work in its factories. The rapid expansion of the big firms to meet the demands of war and the call up of so many existing workers meant that sufficient employees were never going to be provided by the local workforce, even with the drafting in of many local women. It wasn’t until June 1942 however that he used his compulsory billeting powers for the first time. Mayor Taylor sent a letter to the Home Office saying that the reason for the reluctance in the town to have more Irishmen in billets was the unsavoury reputation of their predecessors. After this, the Government made a decision not to send any more Irishmen to the town. Towards the end of the war the council compulsorily purchased properties for billeting hostels. A common complaint from those providing billets was the inadequate allowances given to them.

Next month’s article will deal with air raid precautions in the town.

Canon Tom’s E-Pistle

When you’re training to be a vicar, there’s a whole bunch of stuff they never tell you about! I suppose that’s because there are some things that a parish priest can become involved in that they can’t cover them all. One of the things I’ve found most enjoyable as a kind of add-on to parish work is chaplaincy.

There are lots of full-time chaplains that you can encounter, hospital chaplains, army chaplains, prison chaplains and many more, but I’m talking about something else.

As a vicar you get to meet all kinds of people through your work and the relationships you build can often, quite unexpectedly, lead to an invitation to become an informal ’chaplain’ to all kinds of groups. Currently I am chaplain to the new Mayor of Chelmsford, Jude Deakin. I consider this to be a great honour and an opportunity to serve the wider community in a variety of ways over the next year. This will be particularly interesting in the current circumstances. For example, the Mayor’s chaplain is invited to open full council meetings with prayers, and recently this had to be done online, which was an interesting experience.

them in any way I can - particularly if I’m invited to bless the beer at the club Beer Festival... I even get to see the occasional game and say grace at VIP lunches; it’s a tough life.

There are many other ways in which vicars serve their communities as chaplains, in the scouting movement, various cadet groups and all kinds of other clubs and groups - some of which you may be a member. So why not check out your group? You may have a chaplain hidden away in a cupboard somewhere. If you do, let them out and make some use of them, they’re often pretty useful!

Tom

I also have the privilege of being Chaplain to Chelmsford Rugby Club (come on the Blueboys!... and Bluebirds!). It’s a great club with good people and I’m very happy to support www.chelmsfordthecitytimes.co.uk

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Therapy - by Chelmsford Therapy Rooms Following on from my last article about nomophobia, this month I’m looking at another popular problem - anxiety. Lots of people suffer in silence from anxiety issues for many different reasons. Sometimes there’s a deep underlying cause, sometimes anxiety can crop up because of stress levels, and sometimes people feel anxious in very specific situations. Those that feel anxious in specific situations often suffer from anticipatory anxiety. This is where we feel anxious leading up to the situation because of a subconscious, or conscious, expectation of a negative outcome. At the moment I’m coming across clients whose anxiety levels have increased not just because of the current situation, but also the thought of coming out of lockdown and interacting with society again. The coping techniques below can be used both for anxiety in the moment and anticipatory anxiety.

Check the time. We are now going to pigeon hole your day.

The idea is to place the suggestion in your mind that time is moving fairly quickly and that the meal will be a relatively short amount of time.

Grounding Technique When you feel anxious, you can try to ground yourself using this technique. This is designed to remind your subconscious that the environment you are in is safe. The objective is to communicate to your mind that you really are ok. It is also helps us to externalise rather than internalise because focusing on the grounded and calm objects in the outside world can be a positive and constructive distraction rather than focusing on the internal anxiety and turmoil because when we focus on something it gets bigger.

3. On the way to the meal be prepared. If you need to get a train, get the ticket well beforehand - this can be on your ‘to do’ list. If driving, plan the route. However you’re getting there you could look out for landmarks on the way, again to distract yourself and keep your mind thinking about anything other than anxiety. For many anxiety sufferers their anxiety is always there in the background, so bear in mind that keeping busy might not completely get rid of the anxiety, but it will help you to not focus on it. The more you focus on anything, the more energy you give it, the bigger it gets so focussing on practical tasks can really help.

Look around you. Focus on the objects you see one at a time. Focus on solid, still objects. Then remind yourself that you are with this object, the object is fine, it’s still, there’s nothing making the object move or fall over, the object is fine and therefore you are fine. Try to pick out specifics about the objects you’re looking at as this should help distract you from the anxiety and builds a better picture in your mind. What colour is the object? Are there many colours? What shades are there? What is the texture of the object? What do you like about the object? Try to think of every angle possible for each animal/mineral/plant/ vegetable/synthetic (etc) you choose.

Pigeon Holing This technique is great for those that feel anxious for a long period of time (anticipatory anxiety) or who need to ‘get through’ something (feeling anxious in the moment).

Here is an example of pigeon holing, I’ve used ‘going out for dinner’ because this is something that my clients have communicated to me that they would be afraid of doing once we are allowed to. It’s also a common fear for anxiety sufferers, usually because they feel ‘trapped’ at the table, and other common fears come into play here like social anxiety and a feeling they need to ‘be normal’ which then puts pressure on the sufferer. The first example covers using pigeon holing to cope with anticipatory anxiety:

1. How many hours approximately do you have before the meal? Don’t ‘count down the hours’, we just need a quick check to allow you to plan your day and live in the moment. Once you have your pigeon holing plan in place, the idea is that you pay attention to what you need to do when within that period, living one pigeon hole at a time, so when you get to the meal this is just another pigeon hole where you can use other coping techniques if needed.

2. What do you have to do in your day before the meal?

You could make sure you have some tasks to complete as this will help you to not dwell on the anxiety, instead you can do something constructive that distracts you from feeling vulnerable. You can use the grounding technique throughout the day if you need to if you feel the anxiety coming on.

4. At the restaurant, think about what happens before you even order - meeting the people there, what conversation topics can you talk about? What will you drink? You might want to consider not drinking too much alcohol, although many people believe that alcohol is supposed to calm you down, it can also heighten your current emotional state, meaning you could end up feeling more anxious. Use the grounding technique, know where the toilets and exits are so your anxiety knows you have an ‘escape route’ rather than you feeling like a caged animal. Remember, anxiety is something we have had since the dawn of humanity, originally it kept us safe from being attacked by wild animals etc - subconsciously knowing you’re not trapped will help manage your anxiety levels.

5. After the meal is over, reinforce that you are ok physically and mentally. Even if you were anxious, nothing happened. You are safe. This will help reinforce that going for a meal is ok, it’s something you are capable of, it’s something safe.

6. When you have left, on your way back and when you are home, carry on the reinforcement. What did you enjoy about the evening? Try and maintain a positive

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mindset, even if your anxiety levels were quite bad, you got through it. You are ok. Who did you like chatting to at the meal? Did you enjoy your drink? What was nice about the food? Was there a good view from the window? Were the waiting staff polite? Pick as many positive things as possible, you may even want to write them down to remind you for next time and to solidify the positive sections of the meal.

Pigeon Holing in the Moment If you want to use this technique for a shorter length of time, this means that your pigeon holes will also be shorter.

Using this technique in the moment means you retain a certain amount of control. Rather than planning far in advance, you can plan just one pigeon hole ahead at a time. For example, if you’re feeling uncomfortable in our restaurant scenario above, you can plan to visit the toilet in twenty minutes. Then when in the toilet you can give

The Maeldune Heritage Centre Opening July With an Exhibition by Local Artist Jenny Newman

Local Artist Jenny Newman will be celebrating the gradual release from lockdown by showing some of her recent work at the Maeldune Heritage Centre from the 15th July to the 1st August. Jenny has been working from her Burnham-On-Crouch Studio for the last 6 years having moved back to Essex in 2014. Working through lockdown she has found her work changing and evolving, so with over 30 pieces of work on display, even if you are familiar with her art you will find something new to see.

yourself five or ten minutes before heading back to the table. You can use pigeon holing in the moment along with pigeon holing over a greater length of time - just adjust your pigeon holes as you need to.

If anyone is interested in seeing a therapist, Chelmsford Therapy Rooms has a range of therapists that can help with a multitude of issues both online via Zoom or Skype, or some of our therapists are now again working face to face.

We offer many therapies from hypnotherapy to counselling to nutrition.

Please visit the website www.chelmsfordtherapyrooms. co.uk, or email info@chelmsfordtherapyrooms.co.uk, or call 0330 100 5162. Chelmsford Therapy Rooms is owned and run by Jenny Hartill, an Integrative Counsellor, Hypnotherapist, and Mnemodynamic Therapist who is happy to answer any questions!

Please share the link for this online issue enabling as many of our regular readers to be able to view the magazine as possible: www.issuu.com/itsyourmedia

The Maeldune Heritage Centre is open Tuesday to Saturday and can be found at the top of Market Hill in Maldon.

Local Jazz Club Beats Lockdown With First Ever Online Event!

Enchanting jazz singer Sara Dowling will be holding a special online event on Sunday 21st June for music fans missing their regular concerts due to the lockdown restrictions.

Chelmsford Jazz Club has been bringing world class musicians to the city for over 30 years, but members were heartbroken when their monthly concerts had to be cancelled when the Civic Theatre was forced to close. After holding their AGM online, the committee members had the idea to hold a virtual Jazz Brunch - so they could bring a little joy to people isolated at home. The event will be held online using video conferencing service Zoom.

Committee member, Sally Leone says: “Anyone is welcome you don’t have to be a member of the jazz club! We want to welcome as many people as possible to this event - which is completely free.

in from your landline. The audience can enjoy meeting one of our most popular performers from the comfort of their own homes and could even have the chance to ask her a question about her career. Sara was voted Best Vocalist in the British Jazz Awards 2019 and often guests with the Ronnie Scott’s All-Star Band, so we’re thrilled to welcome her back to the club, albeit a virtual event.”

There will also be an informal interview where Sara will be talking about the journey into jazz music and the artists who have influenced her style, and later she’ll be accompanied by her husband, bass player Dario Di Lecce, to perform some of her favourite songs.

The event will be held live 12.15pm on Sunday 21st June.

All details of how to join this event can be found on the club’s website: www.chelmsfordjazzclub.co.uk or search for ‘Chelmsford Jazz Club’ on Facebook.

“You can either join via the Internet or listen in by phoning

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Spot 10 Differences (answers on page 21)

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Local Volunteers Received a Surprise Local volunteers received a surprise to their doorsteps during lockdown as awards, certificates and commendations for Outstanding Contribution to Volunteering in 2019/20 were delivered to local people by staff at the Centre Supporting Voluntary Action on behalf of the Mayor of Chelmsford.

Chelmsford Awards for Voluntary Service were formed seven years ago by the centre and are supported by the Mayor to recognise outstanding contribution in volunteering. Lorraine Jarvis from the Centre said: “Chelmsford is a place where people care about each other and are willing to give some of that most precious commodity - time! These awards shine a spotlight on some of the fantastic contributions volunteers make across the community and celebrate volunteering prior to lockdown.”

The winner of the Mayor’s Award for Outstanding Voluntary Service 2019 in the Adult Category is Paul Wilson.

Despite having a serious health condition that means he is unable to walk far without getting out of breath, Paul volunteers for several organisations - CHARMS The Essex Therapy Centre, Chelmsford Centre for the Blind, Farleigh Hospice, Air Ambulance, Chelmsford Men’s Shed, and he also organises quiz nights for a number of others as well. At CHARMS he volunteers as an operator of the Hyperbolic Oxygen Unit, making teas and generally keeping up member morale.

always enthusiastic and dedicated to the work he does.”

Highly Commended certificates in appreciation and recognition of exceptional contribution made to volunteering were also awarded to:

Holly Allwright and Anjali Verman - volunteers with Open Road’s SOS Chelmsford Project.

Tony Liversedge volunteer for Chelmsford Co-operative Funeral Services bereavement and aftercare support group.

Cliff Rainbird - volunteer car driver with Chelmsford Community Transport.

Olufunmilola Oni - volunteer with Chelmsford Community Support Centre.

Nigel Wood - volunteer with Chelmsford District Scout Council.

Photographs: Winner in Adult Category: Paul Wilson (left) Winner in Young Volunteer Category: James King (above)

Dr Ben Newman Wright, Director at CHARMS, who made the nomination, said: “Paul is definitely a people person - a ready smile and a quick wit to greet our members keeps their morale high. He is always cheerful and works not only for us but for a number of other groups as well - he is a real confidence booster to those who are lonely, disabled, and often very ill. For us we can think of no one who deserves an award more.”

Winner in the Young Volunteer Category is James King, in appreciation and recognition of his outstanding contribution as a volunteer with The Wilderness Foundation’s Down to Earth Allotment Project. Despite facing significant personal challenges, James helps with a range of things including weeding, planting, laying woodchips, watering, seeing to the flowers, fruit and vegetables.

His nominator, from Columbus College where he attends school, said: “James has become more confident since volunteering at the allotments; more willing to try helping with new tasks and working with unfamiliar adults. James is

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Yoga Practice at Home Part 2 - by Mandy Haynes Last month I shared with you a floor based movement meditation to practice at home - the purpose was to give you some poses to put together in a gentle way to get your body moving and, when practiced for a period of time (be that 5 minutes or 20), help to quieten your mind - hence the term ‘movement meditation’.

This month I thought I would expand on that practice by giving you some poses to add to the sequence, so that should you be feeling a little more energetic or have more time to spend on your mat, you can feed one or all of the below poses in.

Be sure to start in the same way, giving yourself a few minutes to settle and check in with yourself before going through the movement meditation at least 5 times.

Downward Facing Dog From your last Extended Child’s pose, move back to all fours and into Cow pose and tuck your toes under. On an exhale start to lift your knees from the mat and take your hips up and back. Keep your knees bent to begin with, pressing your belly towards your thighs, lengthening your spine, straightening your arms and widening across the backs of the shoulders. Pad the feet here, coming up onto the toes of one foot as you drop the heel of the other (Walking Dog) and then let the heels come down and start to straighten your legs without locking your knees or letting the back start to round. Hold this pose for 3-5 breaths.

Low Lunge (Three Versions) From Down Dog, on an inhale raise your right leg up behind you and as you exhale step the foot between your hands (pick it up and help it along if needed and be sure that your knee doesn’t overshoot your ankle) and lower your back knee down. Raise your right arm, stretching up with your finger tips. Place the right hand down and raise the left arm. Step back to Down Dog and repeat with the left leg.

Low Crescent Come back into Low Lunge with the right leg, this time sweep both arms forwards and up alongside the ears with palms facing each other - hold for a few breaths and then repeat on the left side.

Twisted Lunge Come into Low Lunge for the third time with the right leg, bring your palms together in prayer position and hook your left elbow over to the outside of the right knee. Keep lengthening the spine and turn to look over your right shoulder, holding for a few breaths. Come back to the centre and then twist to the left.

Half Monkey Pose From Down Dog, come into Low Lunge with the right leg and lower the left knee to the mat. Start to shift your hips back to stack over your left knee. Press your right heel into the mat and flex the toes toward your face so that the sole of your foot is off the mat. Straighten your front leg to a

place where you feel a stretch, but not a strain. Walk your hands back under your shoulders and keep the spine long.

Hold for 3-5 breaths then move back into the lunge and then into Down Dog before repeating on the left side.

To Finish From your last Down Dog, lower to your knees and sink your bottom back towards your heels for Extended Child’s pose.

You could close your practice here, taking a few minutes to rest and focus in on your breath, or after a few breaths move to Savasana (as described last month). Depending on your pace, this practice could take you anywhere between 15 and 30 minutes and is a great way to build up to Sun Salutations (which you could add on to this sequence for an even longer yoga flow).

Next month, we’ll take a look at some standing poses to add to this.

If you’d like to join me on the virtual yoga mat for a guided yoga class, you can book in at: www.hummingbirdpilates.co.uk

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Quiz Time - by John Theedom 1.

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In which sport was Arnold Palmer successful?

In which English county is the city of Carlisle?

Which actress played the role of Sybil in Fawlty Towers?

What is another name for a tass?

Approximately how many films did James Mason appear in?

When was Strictly Come Dancing first broadcast on BBC1?

What is a ‘what-not’?

Who is Sir Rod Stewart married to?

Singer Rihanna is now worth more than Sir Elton John, how much do you reckon?

What is a common name for the cranefly?

What type of bird is a godwit?

In the 1980s TV show Knight Rider what did the initials KITT stand for?

What type of creature is a kabaragoya?

What is the name of the blind MP who was formerly Education Secretary?

Who is the female host of BBC Question Time?

What is the name of the American woman driver who killed an Englishman while driving on the wrong side of the road?

Which English midlands city was famous for making lace?

What is Rodney’s girlfriend’s name in Only Fools and Horses?

When was the Summer Time Bill given Royal assent?

What was unusual about Charlie Chaplin’s death?

How tall is Toyah Willcox?

What is the meaning of the word phast?

What is the name of the majority shareholder in the Easyjet company?

Catherine Tyldesley played the role of Eva Price in which TV soap?

In which English county will you see the Seven Sisters cliffs?

26. On which part of the body do the French wear a chapeau?

27. From which country does Emmantal cheese originate?

28. By what common name are contusions more well known as?

29. To which sport do the Queensbury Rules apply?

30. What nationality was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle?

31. Who was the author of Les Miserables?

32. On a horse, where are its withers?

33. What is the term for the line behind which darts players stand?

34. In Monopoly, what colour is Leicester Square?

35. How many pennies were there in 2/6d?

36. What kind of animal is a keeshond?

37. What is the highest grade of olive oil that can be purchased?

38. Apart from a medical aspect, what do you do with a coffer?

39. What is a tuxedo?

40. In 1983, who had a hit single in the UK with Move Over Darling?

Answers on page 26

Spot the Difference Answers

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Page 21

Chelmsford Window Gallery Presents...

It’s the Window Gallery’s second birthday! We set up the space in June 2018 giving local artists a place to display their work. We usually host a new exhibition of local art in out window every month. Whilst these physical exhibition are on pause, we are creating virtual exhibitions instead.

This also means we can join forces with local musicians to find the perfect song for each video.

As a result, this month we are sharing three video exhibitions on the theme of portraits with music by David Arscott, Hell Feeder and Joe Thomas.

Gary Luxton Portrait Exhibition Gary Luxton has created pencil portraits for famous faces such as Rag & Bone Man, Amy Winehouse and Mick Jagger. The exhibition is available now on the Window Gallery Facebook page at www.facebook.com/ ChelmsfordWindowGallery.

Rachell Smith - Kim and Laura Music for this video is by David Arscott, arranged and embellished by The White Gospel.

Portraits for NHS Key Workers Exhibition Artists Thomas Croft created the Portraits for NHS Heroes project. After that, artists all over the world joined in to show our appreciation for key workers. This exhibition of portraits by local artists is available on Window Gallery Facebook page from 8th June. Artworks by Amelia Potter, Debra Weiss, Fiona Goldberg, Making Faces Illustration, Lynn Excell Art, Rachell Smith and Sharon Alderton. Music

by Joe Thomas. #portraitsfornhsheroes Collaborative Portrait Project Exhibition Each week during the lockdown, Chelmsford Creative Collective artists have been creating portraits. For example we have done portraits of David Attenborough, Grayson Perry and Russell Brand. In addition, the work of all the artists gets combined into crazy mash-up images at the end of each week! You can follow Chelmsford Creative on Instagram to see the work every week. All artists are welcome to join in. The project is ongoing, but meanwhile you can check out the video of the first 5 weeks of portraits on the Window Gallery Facebook page at www.facebook. com/ChelmsfordWindowGallery. Music by Hell Feeder.

Debra Weiss - Hannah Page 22

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Collaborative Portrait Project - Russell Brand

Fiona Goldberg - Intensive Care The music by local musicians Hell Feeder and Joe Thomas is available on the Four Walls album: Four Walls is a collaborative production from some of the artists of the Resonance Collective. resonancehq.bandcamp.com/album/four-walls All the proceeds will be going to the NHS and other charities that support people affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. These pieces are created from isolation, but still represent our ability to connect and work together. Four Walls takes us on a journey through ambient and cerebral music. www.windowgallery.org www.facebook.com/ChelmsfordWindowGallery

Collaborative Portrait Project - Grayson Perry

Please share the link for this online issue enabling as many of our regular readers to be able to view the magazine as possible: www.issuu.com/itsyourmedia

City of Chelmsford Mencap Receives the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service City of Chelmsford Mencap, a charity a charity providing specialist services for people with a learning disability, has been honoured with the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the highest award a voluntary group can receive in the UK.

school students to our trustees, give their time freely to ensure we are able to continue our important work.

“Without them, we would not have been able to take our services online in response to COVID-19. They are very much part of our close knit team and we are extremely grateful to them.”

Grace Lidstone, Adults’ Services Manager, continued: “Many of our members give their enthusiasm and commitment to our community projects, so the Queen’s Award also recognises their volunteering contributions. The benefits of volunteering are felt by everybody with whom we work and support.”

The charity runs a number of fundraising events throughout the year. Further information is available at cityofchelmsfordmencap.co.uk

Established in 1951, the charity supports over 350 people with a learning disability, together with their parents and carers, across mid-Essex. Its services include lifelong learning, social clubs and specialist support and advice.

The award particularly recognises the charity’s strong volunteer ethos; a network of 45 unpaid volunteers are essential to the smooth running of everything that the charity undertakes. Volunteers range from 16 to 70 years old and bring a wide range of skills and experience.

The Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service aims to recognise outstanding work by volunteer groups to benefit their local communities. It was created in 2002 to celebrate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee and recipients are announced each year on 2nd June, the anniversary of the Queen’s Coronation. City of Chelmsford Mencap was nominated for the Queen’s Award by former Chelmsford City councillors Duncan Lumley and Mike Holoway. Mr Lumley had previously recognised the group as one of his chosen charities during his term as Mayor.

Representatives from City of Chelmsford Mencap will receive the award from Mrs Jennifer Tolhurst, Lord Lieutenant of Essex, at a ceremony later this summer. They will also be presented with a certificate signed

by Her Majesty The Queen.

Nick Ross, Chairman of City of Chelmsford Mencap, said: “We are delighted that the huge contribution made by our volunteers has been recognised with such a prestigious award. All our volunteers, from

we recognise there is a trade off; you want the opportunity to market your services or products, and Rotary does not have an issue with that, not least because when it was established in Chicago in 1905 it was partly as a networking forum for local businesses.

Musings From the Club President

On 1st July last year, Francis Whitbread began his year of office as President of the Rotary Club of Chelmsford. Now, as his tenure is almost at an end, he looks back on an interesting and at times difficult year. There have been a number of challenges to face, not least those provided in the most recent months by coronavirus. However, there were challenges to be faced by Rotarians before the arrival of COVID-19, namely how to make Rotary a vibrant force in what is now the BC (Before Coronavirus) world.

As we look forward to AC (no prize for guessing what this stands for) and what is being called ‘the new normal’ which many think will be very different to what we had before - speaking in his personal capacity, Francis says he hopes we have a world that much more encompasses the ideals of Rotary: service above self and friendship and fellowship. Many others feel the same way based on the huge number who volunteered to help when lockdown began. To the volunteers in the Chelmsford area Francis poses a question; is your offer to help a one-off, or do you want to continue assisting your local community and beyond? If you fall into the latter camp, read on.

Last November, before anyone knew what was coming in 2020, Chelmsford Rotary Club held a showcase event.

Its purposes were varied: to attract new members, to debunk the myths that exist about Rotary clubs, to provide networking opportunities for local businesses and to identify businesses and individuals who would be interested in helping our club with one-off projects. We were planning to have a similar event in May this year to continue the momentum from the November one, but like so much else, it had to be cancelled.

However, the aims of the club remain the same: we want to get involved in projects in our area and beyond, and welcome anyone who wants to help, even on a one-off basis. As an example, Rotary clubs in Chelmsford have recently cooperated over a Rotary snood - very timely given the current requirement to wear face masks on public transport. Rotarians handed out snoods to commuters at Chelmsford Railway Station on 15th June, and requests for the snoods have been received from as far away as Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Australia and the USA. Any money raised from donations will be distributed to local charities.

This project could become much bigger, and we would welcome businesses or individuals who would like to be involved with it, so we can raise funds to acquire more snoods for distribution locally and further afield. There will be other many projects in the future where we would like to involve those with a community spirit. For businesses,

One of the points made at our showcase last November is that funds raised by local Rotary clubs for specific projects can be matched by grants from Rotary’s own charity, Rotary Foundation. Over the years, Chelmsford Rotary has raised funds for a water treatment plant in Pakistan which have been doubled by a matching grant from Rotary Foundation, while our most recent such project has been to provide support in Sierra Leone, which was identified as a result of two of our members going there to provide voluntary medical support. Foundation funding is equally available for local projects including a contribution towards our snoods.

Francis has a BC image of the Rotary Club of the future where it is two clubs within a club. On one hand, there is the traditional club, where we meet - either face to face or remotely - and participate in friendship and fellowship.

The other part is where we work with businesses and individuals who share our ‘service before self’ ethos to deliver one off projects such as the snoods.

The first part of that joint club already exists for Rotary Club of Chelmsford. Since our meetings have gone online by necessity, they have gone from strength to strength. What we now have to do is get the second part operational. If you are a business or individual who would like to work with us, please contact us via our website, or even better join one of our online meetings.

We would particularly welcome ideas from the younger generation on how you feel Rotary clubs should evolve and play an important role in the post COVID-19 world. In the meantime, we will continue with our traditional model of meeting, but welcome different ideas that can help us continue to do good in the community and the opportunity to work with anyone who cannot make the commitment of attending regular meetings, but still wants to make a contribution to help within the constraints of their busy life. We can all see that the recovery from the current crisis is going to be a long and difficult one and the voluntary sector will be a vital part of the process.

For those who have read to the end, thank you for reading the reflections of our outgoing President Francis, and we hope to have at least given you a direction for your volunteering in the future.

Stay safe and take care.

For information on how to join our meetings please email secretary@chelmsford.rotary1240.org.

Stan Keller

Page 25

Stargazing with Mark Willis - June/July Normally at this time of year, the skies aren’t dark enough to do stargazing. Solar observing is an option. Many astronomy societies offer online events where you look through a virtual telescope, during the lockdown. The North Essex Astronomical Society hold online meetings here: www.northessexastro.co.uk/live-astronomy-4th-april-2020.

This one was on 4th April, and you can still watch it on YouTube from the above site.

Lockdown learning is all the rage at the moment and there’s some wonderful free stuff from the Open University (www.open.edu/openlearn). These courses are completely free - the only thing you’d need to do is sign up for an account; that’s all!

Some readers asked questions about whether we can see the Apollo 11 Moon lander through the Hubble Space telescope. Sadly not. The best way of seeing the lander is via the lunar orbiters. You can see a recent photo from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter by visiting here: www.universetoday.com/113359/what-does-the-apollo-11-

landing-site-look-like-today.

To give you an idea of the problem, trying to see the Moon Lander from Earth is like trying to see a coin from 1,000 miles away. Coin example used was a US $1 coin. Similar sized coins would be a British 50 pence piece or a €2 coin.

New Moon: On 21st June, 20th July and 19th 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 me with any questions.

I would normally present LiteBites every Tuesday at 12 midday on Chelmsford Community Radio.on 104.4 FM and online throughout the world. Sadly, I am in the vulnerable group. I hope to return to the airwaves as soon as I can. www.chelmsfordcommunityradio.com mark.willis@chelmsfordcommunityradio.com

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