Nick’s Music and Ramblings

Music

Our good friends at Hot Box in Chelmsford are struggling to keep going and they need all our help, they have launched a crowdfunding page as they need to raise £12,000 - and I for one do think that we cannot afford to lose this, a purpose-built venue in Chelmsford situated in the Viaducts.

Hot Box is a not-for-profit venue and besides all the live music, Hot Box does so much more and Dave and his team help lots of good causes. Go to the fundraising page to find out more and see if you can give a little - or maybe even a lot - every penny will help to keep them afloat. Simply go to www.crowdfunder.co.uk/Hot-Box-RecoveryFund where you will find all the information you need - and please do share this for them.

Black Frog Presents has been busy booking acts for later in the year and we are preparing to be busy after a couple of weeks off. Just take a look at our advert to see some of the great acts we have coming up. Some of these include Who’s Next playing on Friday 19th May, and then for lovers of folk rock, the Julie July Band on Friday 26th May. We also have Sandy Denny playing a not to be missed show with Dandelion Charm opening with their spine-chilling harmonies. Next up we have Eric Bell and his band on Friday 2nd June - Eric is the man who founded Thin Lizzy and played on Whiskey in the Jar; he also discovered Gary Moore too, so you really need to hear and see him play!

We are then hosting a night at Hot Box on Thursday 8th June with Bob Colum and the Welfare Mothers - and then, we have Noasis on Friday 9th June at the Social Club! I need say no more you will know what to expect and they do deliver it so well. Back to Hot Box for Matt Woosey who returns to play on Monday 12th June - it’s only £10 entry for the Hot Box shows, which all start at 8pm.

We have the ultimate festival and party band Town of Cats on Friday 16th June. Then on Friday 23rd June we have Back Street Crawler, the band formed by the late Paul Kossoff (also known as Kossoff The Band Plays On) after he left Free. They still have original singer Terry Slesser with them, and with John Buckton on guitar, John ‘Rhino’ Edwards (Status Quo) on bass and his cousin Clive Edwards on drums, plus Mark Taylor of Simple Minds, Elton John and The Alarm on keys, this is a great band.

As if all this was not enough, on Friday 30th June we have Gerry McAvoy’s Band of Friends along with Brendan O’Neill on drums. They were Rory Gallagher’s rhythm section and also played with Nine Below Zero. They are now joined by Jim Kirkpatrick on vocals and guitar and Paul Rose on guitar, and together they celebrate the music of Rory Gallagher.

Our final show, before we take a break and return in September, is with Hamish Stuart of The Average White Band. Hamish has played with Paul McCartney and also Chaka Khan, and for the past 17 years he has been part of Ringo Starr’s All-Star Band. Hamish does not play many live shows here in the UK, so we are lucky that we have him and his excellent band on Friday 14th July. Opening that night will be a great local act, Katy For Kings.

A few of the names we have just secured for later in the year are The D’Ukes - if have not seen D’Ukes before I can highly recommend them to you. We also have The Kast Off Kinks with former members of The Kinks and the Rubettes, and a great sixties and seventies covers band, The Carnaby Army. We then welcome back The Korgis. We have some more great shows at Hot Box coming up, but more about all of that in future editions.

We have had some of excellent shows of late, two being with Robbie McIntosh (Paul McCartney, John Mayer, The Pretenders and many more): The first McIntosh gig was on a Friday with his full band and with the awesome Mim Grey opening with her guitarist - Mim impressed us all so much we are hoping to have her back with her full band to headline later in the year. Mim also joined Robbie for a couple of songs as well and we all are looking forward to hearing much more of her - she is even said to be Sir Tom Jones favourite singer. Then on the Saturday we had Robbie and his best buddy Steve play an acoustic show at Hot Box, which the audience just loved, as did Robbie and Steve.

Just before Robbie’s gigs, we had another night at Hot Box with our three folk friends from Finland who took the room by surprise with some great playing and great songs - I will definitely look at booking them all again. We also had our American rock night with Take It Easy, who got many up and dancing and singing along - a good fun night was had by all.

There has been lots of other music going on besides al the great events at Hot Box. Recently, I have been going to The Queen’s Head in Burnham-on-Crouch on a Sunday afternoon to see some bands, so do keep an eye on our What’s On guide and across the internet and social media.

Ramblings

There is just enough space to mention that we have had two bank holiday weekends so far with the extra one being for the Coronation of King Charles III, which I personally quite enjoyed - I don’t think anyone else does it as well as us Brits! Did you get involved with a street party or with the Big Help Out on the Monday or anything else?

I did my bit on the Monday. We have also had the local elections going on as well, plus Easter last month. My granddaughter is doing her exams now which can be stressful, so please be mindful of this for all those in the middle of exams and good luck to you all.

We are nearing the beginning of the festival season now. Here in Chelmsford we once again have Concrete Canvas taking place and if last year is anything to go by, it is going to be great.

Who has taken part in No Mow May? I have, and not because of being lazy and not bothering to cut the lawn, but because I care about the little creatures and plants in my garden. Everything has been blooming, but sadly due to the harsh winter I have lost a few plants. I will move on though and get some new ones and take better care of them next winter if it is likely to be as severe again.

As I am writing this we have just had a deluge as the heavens opened with rain the likes of which I cannot remember seeing for a very long time, and some very loud thunder and lightning as well. I know some people suffered like my neighbour did with a leak, though I was lucky thankfully.

It would be fantastic if you could share our magazines The City Times and Moulsham Times with others for us. We continue to publish both magazines in print and online at www.issuu.com/itsyourmedia. If you are interested in advertising your business or event, then please contact us at ads@itsyourmedia.co.uk, or if you have an event or want to comment or maybe have an article that could be of interest, then please send to editorial@itsyourmedia.co.uk and we will reply to you as soon as we can.

For all Black Frog Presents updates and information for shows at the Chelmsford Social Club and other venues, go to www.linktr. ee/BlackFrogPresents, or scan the QR code in our advert in this magazine. You can also pre-book for the paid shows with a text or call to 07508 496 411 and then pay cash or card at the door at the advance price without commission.

BBQ Fish - By Lauren Capp

This time of year I start thinking about BBQs and the children can play outside as last - which for me means less mess in the house! I for one love summer food, by this I mean fresh easy salads and meat or fish grilled or cooked on the BBQ. And I love saving money and feeling that we have got good value; who doesn’t?

What I love to do is go to the supermarket in the evening and hit the meat and fish counter. At this time of day they are more often than not reducing the products as it will need to be thrown away otherwise. I then freeze the meat and fish and then just defrost when required. By doing this it can also make me try different types of meat and fish.

Last week I brought a whole black tilapia which I had never had before... I can safely say it is one of the tastiest, meatiest fish I’ve ever had! There are so many other types of fish available to us, sometimes it pays to be a bit adventurous and try something different.

A lot of people are put off by having to fillet a fish, but most supermarkets will do it if you ask them. For this particular recipe the fish doesn’t need to be filleted and because of this you get a lot more fish for your money as there’s less wasteage - it’s also quicker and easier. The fish we bought should have been £8 but we paid £3 and there was absolutely loads to eat as well!

I love having a stock of meat and fish in the freezer as it is so quick to throw together with potatoes, rice or even just salad. A lot of sauces and marinades can also be made well in advanced and frozen in batches.

This month, my recipe is spicy grilled black tilapia...

Ingredients spring onions.

1 black tilapia.

3 whole chillis.

1 red onion.

1 courgette.

2cm grated ginger. Squeeze of lemon.

4 garlic cloves.

Fresh rosemary.

1tbsp curry powder.

1tbsp dried thyme.

Method

Wash and clean your fish then pat dry and season with salt and pepper (you can actually use any fish you want).

Slice the fish on each side with 3 incisions. In a blender, add your onions, courgette, spring onion, lemon, fresh ginger and garlic and blend - add a splash of water but maintain a reasonably thick consistency.

Heat some oil in a pan and cook the sauce for 10 minutes then add the spices.

Using a pastry brush, cover the fish in the sauce, making sure to get the sauce in to all the incisions to get maximum flavour, cover the fish on both sides.

Put on a baking sheet and cook in a oven for 180°C for approximately 15 minutes (adjust depending on the size of the fish).

Eat Better to Feel Better - By Demelza Rayner

This month I thought I’d tackle the tricky topic of food cravings, which can be a key contributor to unwanted weight gain. We all have cravings from time to time - they’re very common and difficult to ignore. The key is to recognise what is actually causing them.

Often it’s because we are on something called the blood sugar rollercoaster and I’ll just explain a little bit by what I mean by that. When we eat a meal containing refined carbohydrates - for example jam on white toast for breakfast - the digestive system breaks this down into simple sugars. These are very quickly absorbed into the bloodstream because the meal contains next to no fibre. The body can only have a little sugar in the bloodstream at any one time - no more than a teaspoon - so it triggers a chain of reactions that cause large fluctuations in blood sugar levels. These peaks and troughs lead to mood swings, cravings, feeling ‘hangry’ all the time and eventually to chronic conditions such as obesity and type 2 diabetes. We can minimise cravings caused by fluctuating blood sugar levels by making sure we have well balanced meals that contain complex carbohydrates such as whole grains and vegetables, lean protein and healthy fat.

Apart from the blood sugar rollercoaster, cravings can also be triggered by stress, boredom, loneliness and hormone imbalances. The key is to recognise what’s triggering the cravings and then to take action. Often slowly sipping a glass of water and waiting 10 minutes can see the craving pass. If it doesn’t, then pop the snack in the fridge telling yourself you can eat it later. If you really can’t forgo that sugary snack, then eat it as dessert after a main meal, which won’t spike your blood sugar levels as much as eating it on its own. I’d also suggest setting yourself up for success by keeping some healthier snacks to hand for when cravings strike, particularly those that are high in protein and fibre - these have a high satiety value so will keep you feeling full for longer. Good snack options include oatcakes with nut butter, a hard-boiled egg, hummus with carrot and cucumber sticks, cottage cheese with apple slices and cinnamon, or natural full fat yogurt with fresh berries and nuts. If you’re craving chocolate then opt for dark chocolate with at least 70% cocoa solids and eat a couple of squares of this alongside a tablespoon of seeds or mixed nuts.

I hope you have found all my advice helpful. If you’d like to discuss your eating habits in more detail, then please book one of my free 30-minute health and energy review sessions. You can secure your slot at www.linktr.ee/demelzaraynernutrition. Alternatively, sign up to receive my free monthly nutrition tips and recipes at www. demelzaraynernutrition.co.uk.