The City Times November/December 2017

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Issue Number 50: 17th November - December 14th 2017

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CT Welcome Hello readers, Welcome to the November/December edition.

Be sure to look out for all the Christmas events that are happening in the What’s On guide.

We have one last show at Chelmsford City FC this year on Saturday 9th December with Whos Next, plus support on the night from The Sharpeez.

Enjoy your month!

Regards Nick & Paul www.thecitytimes.co.uk | www.moulshamtimes.com

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

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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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CT Fashion - Sparkle in to the Festive Season ‘Tis the season to get dressed up, fa la la la la… Yes, it’s upon us already: The countdown to Christmas is real and the party invitations are coming thick and fast. There’s the work do, the kids party, the obligatory turkey curry buffet… not to mention the cosy nights in wrapping presents (or indeed, scanning the Internet and some last minute online shopping!) There’s definitely an outfit for that...

Here’s a rundown of the trends that will keep you festive on the countdown to Christmas - and hopefully, beyond!

Deck Yourself with Sequins: It wouldn’t be the festive season without the Sequin Appreciation Society appearing in every restaurant, bar and club on a Saturday night, would it? Yes, the sequin is back with a vengeance this year, and we would be fools not to dabble in a few sparkles here and there (it is Christmas after all). Winter 2017 is about darker shades of sequin - green, red - even black offerings are popping up all over the high street - tops just waiting to be teamed with black jeans, and dresses dying to be completed with a killer heel. River Island, Primark and Debenhams have some really affordable styles. If you’re feeling brave, team the sequin with the offthe-shoulder or one-shoulder styles that have been hanging around to be updated with sequins for 2017.

Red Velvet: Not only kept for cupcakes, try bringing red velvet into your festive attire.

Velvet can have a bad rep for being outdated and ugly, but this festive season velvet is another great option to update your wardrobe.

You can create an outfit that Mrs Claus would be proud of by teaming a red velvet top with killer heels and either a skirt and black tights or high waist trousers. New Look have some beautiful puff shoulder (yes, you read that right, trust me) velvet tops for just under £16. The trick is to keep the textures of the rest of your clothes quite minimal so that your velvet really speaks for itself. Tasty!

Cold Shoulder: Baby, it will be cold outside and yes you can expect to need to team a ‘cold shoulder top’ with a suitable jacket to ensure you’re not completely frozen. But these tops are definitely staying around over the festive period. Demure and sophisticated, the cold shoulder top for your Christmas party will make sure you stand out in the crowd. Cold shoulder styles include Bardot, slit sleeves and off-the-shoulder styles that look great teamed with a high waisted skirt or simply with jeans and statement heels. Dorothy Perkins have updated their styles for the festive season with sparkles, glitter and sequins at really affordable prices.

Leather and Lace: ...and all things with grace. Perhaps you’re feeling like you really want to stand out this festive season? Well, the best coupling I can think of for that is the leather and lace combination.

Lace and mesh is still very in for the festive season, with the high street shops offering some fantastic lace dresses and tops. Why not team your top with a pair of leather trousers, or my personal favourite, a faux leather pencil skirt and heels? Some great options on the high street include Oasis and Topshop for the perfect lace top, and River Island have some really classy dresses hanging on their rails. Perhaps you have a leather jacket you could team with a lace dress to vamp it up - honestly, the combination will turn heads and definitely make you the belle of the ball.

Christmas Jumper: Perhaps your Christmas party is more of a relaxed affair, or maybe you are planning something for the kids… we all know everybody needs a Christmas jumper for those chilly winter nights, or the obligatory Christmas Jumper Day at work. My advice on these would be to invest early and reap the benefits for as long as you can - I often see some great styles in the shops only for them to disappear within a few days. Some of the best picks are the ones that are cute and functional - George at Asda often have some affordable styles, they even have one with flashing lights for £18! If you’re into Christmas carols and find the fun in a pun (like me) you’ll enjoy Debenham’s offering of ‘All the Jingle Ladies’ complete with sequinned Christmas tree (very on trend!) for just over £30. Or maybe you’re a bit of a Scrooge and want everyone to know it? If so, get a ‘Bah Humbug!’ jumper from Etsy for around £20.

Here’s to a very merry and stylish festival season!

Rebecca Forde is a writer with a penchant for fashion, great literature and drinking a lot of coffee. She writes for pleasure on her blog and is creator of Scribble Panda - a small business offering tutoring and writing services. You can contact her by emailing rebeccaforde@hotmail.co.uk. © All images: Primark

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Music by Nick Garner Chelmsford Arts and Cultural Festival 2018

So now Chelmsford is a city it’s time to put it on the map from June 23rd - July 1st 2018. Yes, we are delighted to confirm that these are the dates now fixed for Chelmsford to host its inaugural Arts and Cultural Festival, which I is hope will grow over the coming years to become one of the biggest and best in the country (or even in the world!) and will go on to support Chelmsford’s bid to become City of Culture in 2025.

On Saturday November 18th at Chelmsford City FC we have the incredible Los Pacaminos, a Tex Mex band featuring Paul Young.

Special guests are Jamie Williams and the Roots Collective, so if you like to dance this is the gig for you. Doors are 7.30pm and the show starts at 8.15pm.

This festival will be inclusive to all, regardless of age, gender and ethnicity and will include in its programme circus, dance, music, storytelling, spoken word, comedy, mime, an arts trail, food, drink, crafts, tai chi, yoga, theatre, poetry and much more. The rich industry heritage that Essex has will be featured too! If all that’s not enough, during that same period the River Festival will take place.

The festival is set up to be non-profit and run by a committee of volunteers, so any profit that is made will be reinvested back into the festival to help it grow and benefit even more people. Already onboard and committing their support are BBC Essex, the City Council, members of the County Council, Aquila, the Bond Street retailers, High Chelmer and Quadrant. We are also in talks with others. So if you want to be part of something special then get in touch at chelmsfordfestival@gmail.com.

Music News

On Saturday 25th November we have a very special night at the Bassment with those industrial folk superstars from Hartlepool, The Jar Family, featuring five singer songwriters - so expect a night of interesting singing and harmonies. Guest on the night will be Sheri Kershaw and her band. Doors open 7.45pm and entry is just £10.

Coming up in December we have Who’s Next supported by The Sharpeez at Chelmsford City FC on Saturday 9th and on Tuesday 12th December at the Bassment it’s The Dave Ferra Allstars with guests Jack Hutchinson and Tom Brundidge. There are flyers for the last three shows and full details in this publication.

It is very sad that we have just learned that we have lost a great independent venue in Chelmsford - Asylum. Eddie and Denise ran the venue and put on some memorable nights with acts from all around the world playing. It’s sad news as there is nothing like it in the area, so a big loss to all of us. We wish Eddie and Denise luck for the future and hope to see them around the city.

To find out what is coming up in and around Chelmsford see the adverts and our What’s On guide in this edition of the magazine. As ever, please do try to come out and support the great live scene that we have in Essex, because if you do not we may lose it - just as we have now lost Asylum.

We put on a two day event at the Bassment last month, starting on the Friday with The Jamie Williams Collective - we had great fun and everyone seemed to enjoy us. The main act was Elles Bailey and her band who blazed the night away as part of the album launch for Wildfire. Wow, every time I see this band they are amazing. It was a great set and we were pleased to see it nice and busy.

On the Saturday we did our first Rock the Bassment day with four great bands playing from 3pm to 9pm. We opened with Heavy Load, who are three members of Split Whiskers playing a mix of covers with Alex on bass and vocal (and humour) and Tony keeping it tight on the drums while Magic Johnny played some amazing guitar as always. Next on was a band I have been following for a while now, The Hot One Two. They are an originals rock outfit from Cambridge and we think they will do very well, they remind me of a combination of Metallica and AC/DC. We then had the return of Red Butler, who always deliver a great set and with their excellent musicianship they always go down very well. The final act was The Dirty Strangers, who have been around since the 80s - a cross between The Clash and The Rolling Stones. They have a great edge to their music and Alan Clayton is a great singer songwriter. A fine live act who on occasions have had the likes of Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood turn up and play with them.

As this edition comes out, on the 16th November at the Bassment we have the Welsh powerhouse Toriah Fontaine who will blow you away, along with special guests Mississippi MacDonald and the Cottonmouth Kings. Doors are 8pm and the show starts at 8.45pm.

For more information on all of the above and more, see the links below. If you go to Facebook page ‘Events’ you can preview the up and coming acts. www.bluesinthecity.co.uk www.facebook.com/bluesinthecitychelmsford Twitter: @BluesintheCity1 www.itsyourmusic.co.uk www.facebook.com/itsyourmusic Twitter: @itsyourmusic Pictured: Left Elles Bailey and above Red Butler

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Chelmsford Library News - All About the Groups Within the Chelmsford group of libraries we have a number of smaller branches. These libraries play a just as important role in serving the community. Regular meetings on a variety of subjects are held on a regular basis, so come along and discover something new.

Springfield Springfield Library is a volunteer led community library. Can anyone spare a few hours? We are looking for volunteers for Saturday mornings and also to deliver Baby Rhyme Time on alternative Thursday afternoons. Full training and support will be given.

Applicants need to be 18 years plus. Contact Chelmsford Library for further details.

Have you ever wanted answers to your questions about local issues?

Now is your chance. City councillors will be on hand to answer your questions every last Saturday of the month between 10am -12 noon.

Writtle Library Writtle hold a Community Teatime every 1st Tuesday of the month between 2-3.30pm. They have different speakers talking about local interests, so come along and enjoy a cuppa and cake and meet new people. All are welcome.

Broomfield Christmas is just round the corner: Children, bring your adults to a morning of Children’s Christmas Crafts. This is a drop-in session between 10-11.30am on Saturday 25th November. The library is situated at 180 Broomfield Road.

For further information contact Chelmsford Library on 03330 132 634, or visit our website at www.essex.gov.uk/libraries.

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Great Baddow Library Every Thursday between 3-4pm, board games are played including Chess, Dominoes and Scrabble. If you’ve never played before now is the time to learn with the winter months ahead! .

Tablet Taster Sessions are held the first Thursday of each month - the next one is on Thursday 7th December. A great chance to learn more about what tablets can provide in the way of information, and to pass on your new found knowledge to family and friends.

Great Baddow’s regular book talk group, Baddow Bookworms, meet in the library every second Monday of the month.

December/January Issue Deadlines: Artwork - 11th December Articles - 5th December

CT Gardening by Tom Cole

What a cold start to the month - windy, wet at times and now a frost!

It’s time to do some general cleaning to set the garden up for winter...

Continue to clear up fallen leaves around the garden, especially where there are ponds, lawns and borders. I tend to suspend a net over the pond to catch leaves and periodically flick them off the net and collect for composting - this will keep the water fairly clear.

With lawns, use a rubber tined rake rather than a spring tined one as the latter can be a little harsh if you’ve got a lot of leaves to clear over the next few weeks, raking can start to tear up grasses etc.

All those leaves on the beds and borders can be cleared off and all material added to a separate leaf mould area (if you’re lucky to have the space), or incorporated into the general composting pile and turned regularly. Use a seasonal bonfire (where this is allowed) to get rid of excess debris if required.

Prune bush roses to reduce wind rock; simply cut plants by half and return in spring to reduce further to knee height. Climbers and ramblers can also be trained and tied in to stop those long whippy

growths from catching you as you move past them and also prevents any damage to their limbs.

Clear off patio areas and reposition pots and containers in order that water can drain freely as we move in to winter.

There’s nothing worse than a container sodden and potentially rotting off your prize plants. I simply use bricks or pot feet. This allows free flow of water and stops potential freezing of the container and cracking. Most importantly, it reduces root rot.

Another consideration at this time of year is to keep protecting your brassicas by using netting to deter the pigeons. The same net can be used next year in the growing season to stop the spread of cabbage white caterpillar, flea beetle and cabbage moth. Net needs to be fine gauge. I tend to clad a frame and place over the beds. For weeding just lift off and return when you’ve finished, maintaining the plants.

You’ll be blessed with super clean veg!

Other Gardening Jobs for November

Continue to plant up tubs and containers with spring flowering bulbs.

Don’t forget to also under plant deciduous shrubs to extend season of interest - just plant within the drip-line of the plant, this will give you a burst of colour from the bulbs and the shrub will take over for the growing season.

Lift and divide perennials to discard pest and disease ridden parts, and for multiplication of stock and the potential to redesign areas.

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Do try to relax at some point and think about the next growing season: is there anything you could change further in the garden, on the patio or balcony? Check out seed catalogues and visit a garden or nursery or two.

Good luck and happy gardening!

For any gardening tips contact Tom Cole, Senior Horticultural Lecturer, Writtle College, Chelmsford, CM1 3RR by post (including a SAE), or by email at tom.cole@writtle.ac.uk.

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CT Food by John Jacobs A Year in the City Happy November good persons of Chelmsford. Halloween over, Guy Fawkes a distant memory and by the time this column goes to print it’ll be six weeks until Christmas. I’m excited. I’ve always been a fan of Christmas - the lights, the warmth, the cheesy music, carols, the obsession with Dickensian London. Most of all the food. Plus, this year we get to announce the names of the restaurants new and old that you the foodies and we the reviewers recognize as the best in the city.

Over the last year Chelmsford has witnessed a mammoth growth in the number of restaurants to meet the demand of the expanding retail sector. In the last six months there have been twelve alone, not counting takeaways. As development spreads outwards, the competition becomes ever fearsome and consumer choice is driving up quality and the need for more diversity. Italian food still dominates the city centre. Twenty four in total with Olio and Vita Bella still occupying spots one and two on TripAdvisor - yet not one in their top ten has made it onto the City Times ‘best of’ list as recommended by readers and our reviews... Pleasingly, Côte Brasserie is edging into the top ten. In terms of the tricolor of dreams, Côte stands out in terms of food, service and value as well as décor, ambience and knowledgeable, well informed staff.

Zorba the Greek, one of my west end favorites, changed hands and promptly dropped off the radar. That’s not to say the food isn’t still very good, but certainly never underestimate the power of a larger than life owner and his family whose sole, deeply ingrained cultural hope is that every diner has an unforgettable experience.

Amongst the biggest surprises (though in truth there were hardly any) was Borgaz in Moulsham Street, which we reviewed in the summer.

It’s hard to even estimate the value put on attention to detail, but in the case of Borgaz it’s definitely in the hundreds of thousands.

Normally when you see that kind of investment, there’s a trade-off which is sadly in the quality of ingredients or scant service. Not so here. I hope they continue to deliver a dining experience that stands out.

Deliveroo and Uber Delivery finally made it into Chelmsford and more takeaways are signing up. Small tip: unless you’ve ordered gazpacho or sushi, check the distance from home to the restaurant. Lastly, one of the famous names that came to Chelmsford is Carluccio’s. It arrived to Tindal Square with little fanfare belying the stature of its namesake. Antonio Carluccio, widely considered to be the godfather of Italian cooking, sadly passed away this month at the age of 80. His philosophy a simple one: ‘minimum of fuss, maximum of flavour’.

His final tweet was of course a recipe. It simply read: ‘A winter warming soup for the first frost of the year.’ - and that recipe I would like to share with you here.

Serves 4 300g dried cannellini beans, soaked overnight 5 tbsp olive oil a few pieces of cured Italian ham (prosciutto) and, if you can find it, a piece on the bone, or a handful of lardons 2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced 10 cherry tomatoes, halved 1 litre beef or chicken stock 200g mixed short dried pasta 2 tbsp fresh basil leaves salt and pepper, to taste extra virgin olive oil, to finish Drain the beans, and cover with fresh water (do not add salt). Cook them for 1½ hours until soft. Drain and reduce half of them to a paste in a processor.

In a large saucepan, heat the olive oil gently, then add the pieces of ham and the bone (if lucky enough to find one), and fry for about 2–3 minutes, then add the garlic, and fry very briefly.

Add the tomatoes and the stock and bring to the boil. Add both the whole and crushed beans and the pasta, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is soft, about 10 minutes. Add the basil and salt and pepper to taste. Divide the soup between warmed bowls and serve with a little stream of extra virgin olive oil.hopped fresh chilli (if liked), to finish.

Have a great month Chelmsford.

Our next issue will be our Christmas issue when we will share the City Times Best of the Best.

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What’s On in the Area

November Friday 17th Bassment - Wet Dream Records: Black Doldrums + Vinyl Staircase + Moon Balloon + Harry Houseago Cathedral - Lunchtime Concert: Leigh Opheus Civic - Signed, Sealed, Delivered Cramphorn - Soho Cinders The Golden Fleece - Cadence Star & Garter - The Sounds Saturday 18th Anglia Ruskin University - Festival of Cultures Bassment - Marcus Szabo Memorial Gig with The Franklys + These Lips + Magic Seas + The White Gospel Chelmsford City FC - Los Pacaminos (featuring Paul Young) + Jamie WIlliams and the Roots Collective Cramphorn - Soho Cinders Galleywood Heritage Centre - Essex Society for Family History (monthly meeting) The Golden Fleece - Steal Star & Garter - The Stents Sunday 19th Galleywood Heritage Centre - Exhibition, Remembering 1917 Star & Garter - Open mic/jam Tuesday 21st Boreham Village Hall - Ballroom and Latin American Dance (classes for beginners & improvers - www.danceasy.co.uk) Wednesday 22nd Bassment - Katy Hurt UK Tour + Sonia Leigh + The Healers + Amy Westney + Two Ways Home + Melanie Greggain The Chichester Hotel, Rawreth - Belvedere Jazz & Music Club Big Screen Take Two - Dave Newton trio Thursday 23rd Bassment - Dayz Of Purple Presents: Psychic Lemon + Thee Telepaths + Cowboy Flying Saucer The Golden Fleece - Quiz night Friday 24th Bassment - Elixir + Ronny Rosado and the Vagumundos Clay Pigeon - Jamie Williams Collective Intense Records - Black Friday The Golden Fleece - Mischief Star & Garter - The Strides Saturday 25th Bassment - BRITC Presents: The Jar Family + Sheri Kershaw Bond Street - Mencap Continental Christmas Market Cathedral - The Sixteen: Choral Pilgramage 2017 Chelmsford City Racecourse - Christmas Gift & Food Fair Christchurch - Essex Symphony Orchestra concert The Golden Fleece - 6 String Makeover Star & Garter - The Statins Transition Chelmsford - Pop-Up Family Fun Sunday 26th Chelmsford City Racecourse - Christmas Gift & Food Fair Galleywood Heritage Centre - Christmas Craft Fair High Street - Christmas lights switch on Hylands House - Elite London Wedding Fair Star & Garter - Open mic/jam (3-7pm) Tuesday 28th Boreham Village Hall - Ballroom and Latin American Dance Page 12

(classes for beginners & improvers - www.danceasy.co.uk) Wednesday 29th Bassment - AudioGiggle - A Night Of Comedy & Music The Chichester Hotel, Rawreth - Belvedere Jazz & Music Club: Fever! (Jo Harrop pays homage to Peggy Lee) Civic - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Thursday 30th Bassment - Hemmingway present On The Pulse Civic - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Cramphorn - A Woman of No Importance The Golden Fleece - Quiz night Star & Garter - Acoustic Jam December Friday 1st Bassment - Shakey’s Sessions: F.O.X Civic - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Cramphorn - Final Portrait (15) The Golden Fleece - Barney and the Rubbles Star & Garter - Rewind Saturday 2nd Bassment - Little Cub + Snow In Slow Motion + San Jua Chelmsford Cathedral - Christmas Market and Open Day Civic - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Hylands House - Crafts at Christmas Star & Garter - TBC Transition Chelmsford - The Christmas Trade Fayre UB - Rough’n’Ready Sunday 3rd Chelmsford City FC - Etsy Christmas Market Civic - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Cramphorn - Chelmsford Jazz Club: Alan Barnes, Bruce Adams, Robin Aspland, Dave Chamberlain and Matt Home Hylands House - Crafts at Christmas Millennium Centre, Great Baddow - Cheeki Monkeys’ Baby and Children’s Xmas Market (10.30am-12.30pm) Star & Garter - Open mic/jam (3-7pm) Woolpack - GC’s Jazz Club: Simon Spillett (saxophone) & Peter Lemer Trio (8pm) Monday 4th Cramphorn - Whitney: Can I Be Me (15) Baby Cinema Tuesday 5th Boreham Village Hall - Ballroom and Latin American Dance (classes for beginners & improvers - www.danceasy.co.uk) Civic - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Old Court Theatre - The Merry Wives of Windsor Wednesday 6th Anglia Ruskin University - Anglia Ruskin Orchestra and Chorus Bassment - Wallop! Presents: San Blas (Argentina) Civic - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Cramphorn - Lunchtime Concert Cramphorn - National Trust: Salisbury Hall & de Havilland Aircraft Museum Old Court Theatre - The Merry Wives of Windsor Thursday 7th Bassment - Bassment Blues Jam Civic - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Cramphorn - City of Ghosts (18) Old Court Theatre - The Merry Wives of Windsor

Please note, all events are subject to change. Please visit the relevant websites or Facebook pages for more details

Thursday 7th Continued The Golden Fleece - Quiz Night The Star & Garter - The Phil Ball Band Friday 8th Bassment - Electric Jam Presents: Paolo Morena + KOYO + Stranges Civic - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Old Court Theatre - The Merry Wives of Windsor Star & Garter - The Class UB - Delta Ladies Saturday 9th Bassment - Wet Dream Records Presents: Bad Nerves + More Kicks + Suspects + Graves Chelmsford City FC - Whos Next + The Sharpees Civic - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Cramphorn - The Nutcracker: Bolshoi Ballet The Golden Fleece - Dawgfish Old Court Theatre - The Merry Wives of Windsor Star & Garter - TBC UB - Boomers Sunday 10th Civic - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Transition Chelmsford - Resonance: Electric Jam Star & Garter - Open mic/jam (3-7pm) Tuesday 12th Bassment - The Dave Frra Allstars Band + Jack Hutchinson Boreham Village Hall - Ballroom and Latin American Dance (classes for beginners & improvers - www.danceasy.co.uk) Civic - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Hylands House - Christmas Soiree Old Court Theatre - The Merry Wives of Windsor Wednesday 13th Civic - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Hylands House - Christmas Soiree Old Court Theatre - The Merry Wives of Windsor Thursday 14th Bassment - Jazz Funk with Paul Higgs (trumpet), TV Theme Tunes Special!

Civic - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Cramphorn - Lady Macbeth (15) The Golden Fleece - Quiz night Hylands House - Christmas Soiree Old Court Theatre - The Merry Wives of Windsor Friday 15th Bassment - Rubber Soul with Eddie Piller (The Modcast/Acid Jazz Records) Civic - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Cramphorn - A Christmas Carol The Golden Fleece - Expose Old Court Theatre - The Merry Wives of Windsor Star & Garter - Rockhouse Saturday 16th Bassment - Oh Maddie Xmas Special Civic - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Cramphorn - Santa in Love The Golden Fleece - Sax on Fire Galleywood Heritage Centre - Essex Society for Family History monthly meeting Old Court Theatre - The Merry Wives of Windsor Star & Garter - Lithium UB - Jamie Williams Collective Sunday 17th Civic - Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs Star & Garter - Open mic/jam (3-7pm)

The Bearded Gypsy’s Trade Fayre Is Back Just in Time for Christmas!

Over the summer the event has grown, attracting local artists, businesses, designers and musicians, offering Chelmsford a shopping experience like no other.

This December it’s going to be even bigger and better!

Join us on Saturday 2nd December from 12pm7pm to celebrate the season in style with artisan designer popup shops, street food, live DJs and music, all while sipping on warm mulled wine or cider!

The Bearded Gypsy’s Trade Fayre will be held at The Transition, right by the train station (directly behind The Railway Tavern Pub).

Check us on Facebook www.facebook.com/thebeardedgypsyvintageco.

Address: The Transition Chelmsford, Anne Knight Buildings, Fenton Court, Chelmsford.

Please send us your events for the next edition (for events between 17th November and 19th December) to: editorial@itsyourmedia.co.uk

CT Business Marriage of Old and New: Moulsham Tap - by Lindsay Whitehouse Moulsham Street’s newest pub, the Moulsham Tap, was 6 months in the planning and 6 weeks turning the premises around.

The pub specialises in craft beer and gin, which is a growing market. Partners Jim Hollas and Ben Norton have done their homework too, they looked at what was happening in London and North America before coming up with their new business in England’s newest and probably fastest growing city, Chelmsford.

They bring something different that is not part of a national chain and which you will not see on other high streets. It is the ideal value added local business to run side by side with the multi nationals.

This type of development adds diversity to our wonderful city.

Jim and Ben met many years ago at Bishops Stortford college and they both now have a number of business interests. For this venture Jim focussed on the property, purchasing, building, planning and licensing, whilst Ben contributed his knowledge of the pub trade and his considerable IT skills. Like all good business partnerships, their skills complement each other.

The net result is a business that combines the best of traditional beers and gin with modern technology. Drinks are delivered, stored, and dispensed maximising all the benefits of state of the art equipment. A happy drinker will get a perfect pint served chilled with a nice head, while gin drinkers will be able to choose from up to 60 different varieties.

Investing in a new business is always a risk and Ben and Jim decided to focus on product quality and availability. Their cold room, from where all the beer is dispensed, is the engine room of the Moulsham Tap. They believe that a top quality, well maintained clean delivery system will keep their customers coming back for more.

Inevitably, there were some unforeseen problems when they were getting ready to open. The beer taps, which were hand made in Italy specifically to order, were mysteriously delayed in transit. They still managed to open as planned on 12th October using temporary taps, but Jim was mightily relieved when his brand new taps finally arrived and he was keen to show me how good they looked. These taps are key to the delivery of a perfect glass of beer.

The biggest challenge for Jim in his refurbishment of the building has been the floor and he is still waiting for his traditional floor timbers to arrive. Of course, like any refurbishment project, the builder found unexpected glitches which added to the stress of getting ready for business. All that is behind them now though.

Jim feels that central government does not do enough to enable small local businesses to flourish. If he had a magic wand he would wave it all over the business rates model, which he believes is in need of urgent revision because the business relief rate simply does not work. The cost of property in our area makes it increasingly difficult for new local businesses to start trading. That probably explains why there are so many online businesses now popping up. However, the heart and soul of any city is its high street and entertainment zone.

We need to protect this and to help people like Jim and Ben enhance our leisure time by keeping them open for business.

Two weeks in and they are delighted with business (at the time of writing), and Friday and Saturday evenings see their bar completely full with people enjoying the vibrant, lively and enticing atmosphere.

They are realistic enough to know that this could just be a honeymoon period so they are not getting too carried away; they want a sustainable long term business and are building a strategy to ensure this.

Ben uses social media to let people know that they are open for business. He also uses an app, Untappd, to tell their story and show his customers where to find them. Their location and proximity to other craft ale outlets is turning Moulsham Street into a must visit hub for enthusiasts and newcomers alike.

Jim is particularly proud of the fact that he sourced all the furniture through eBay and other recycling outlets. I found it a real comfort to sit at a solid oak table knowing that it was not going to wobble and spill my drink.

They use the most modern software to monitor what is selling so they can always keep up to date with their customer’s preferences.

They have 12 current beers for sale listed on their blackboard.

This changes daily and within a week or so is likely to have totally changed.

The Moulsham Tap appeals to a wide market with lots of younger professionals going to this particular pub for a drink and chat with their mates. It offers free Wi-Fi and dogs and children are welcomed in the day time, then in the evenings it becomes an adults only zone.

The pair have also worked hard to make the environment female friendly and are delighted to note how many ladies are enjoying the environment. It is also a perfect place for couples to chill together.

Ben and Jim both like to source as much as they can locally: their wonderful pies come from Felsted and Ben’s share in a brewery from Leigh-on-Sea ensures that there is plenty of great local beer to serve.

They have a team of 8 staff, but either Jim or Ben will always be available during opening hours. They can ensure that standards are high and they can be responsive to their customers. If there is a problem they can sort it out instantly.

The opening and running of the Moulsham Tap could be a perfect case study for my leadership students - I emphasise to them that planning and preparation is vital in any task. Jim and Ben did their research, planned their project, and managed to overcome the inevitable unforeseen difficulties.

Once you are open for business you have to constantly monitor what is going on and respond to your market. Ben can sit down at home with his mobile phone and know instantly what is selling, what needs to be reordered and what he needs to get rid of. As one of them is always on site, they can also respond face to face with their customers. This is good old fashioned management and when combined with the use of modern software, is a perfect marriage of the old and the new.

Beer, Birthdays & Christmas

The Car Change is an independent, family run used car dealership based in Essex providing a wide range of quality used vehicles. All of our vehicles are available for you to view online and at our new Chelmsford showroom. We have over 40 years experience in the motor industry and are well equipped to offer you the best possible service when it comes to the purchase of your next car. We pride ourselves on providing all of our customers with outstanding customer service and we truly believe that there is no one better to assist you with the purchase of your next vehicle.

We offer a number of benefits at The Car Change. From competitive finance rates to a car buying service. We also run a CarFinder scheme, in which we can source a wide range of vehicles to suit your complete requirements. Furthermore, all of our vehicles are verified by an independent HPI report and all vehicles come with a warranty as standard, giving you total peace of mind and full confidence in your new car.

We respect and understand that buying a car is a significant commitment, and we believe that making a decision in your own time is the best way. So why not come on down, view, take a test drive, have a cup of tea and take your time in the comfort of our lovely showroom?

We very much look forward to meeting you. www.thecarchange.co.uk 01245 860 555 Gloucester Avenue, Chelmsford, CM2 9LG.

The clocks have changed and the days are short.

It can mean only one thing… Christmas is fast approaching. However, before Christmas arrives, we have the Hop Beer Shop’s third birthday.

John had a great vision when he opened the first micro pub in Chelmsford (and also Essex).

Modelled on an idea originally seen in Kent, the micro pub aims to distil the essence of a traditional pub down to its essential minimum of good beer and a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere to meet friends and chat over a pint or two. Key elements of the micro pub are, obviously, its size and since a change in the licencing laws it has become easier to turn a shop into a pub. The first example of this is The Butcher’s Arms, which in a previous life was a butcher’s shop.

So what are we doing to help John celebrate three years and two CAMRA Pub Of The Year awards? Well, we are having a Tap Take Over on Friday 25th November. So come along and toast the shop’s birthday with a pint or two of Round Tower beer. See you there!

If you are looking for something fun to do for your Christmas party this year, then you could do worse than to arrange to meet in The Ale House on Friday 15th December where we will be having a mini Tap Take Over and Meet The Brewer. We will have six casks set up on gravity and Sam and I will be there to serve the beer and answer any burning questions you may have.

Just to keep it interesting, at both events we will have one-off casks when they are gone that will be it!

Once again we will be opening a Pop Up Bottle Shop in the run up to Christmas. So why not pop along on Saturday afternoons in December and pick up some beer for Christmas? www.roundtowerbrewery.co.uk

www.chelmsfordthecitytimes.co.uk

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City of Chelmsford Mencap Bring ‘Joie De Noel’ to City Centre!

A glittering Continental Christmas Market will arrive in Chelmsford’s Bond Street on Saturday 25th November. Organised by City of Chelmsford Mencap in partnership with Bond Street, on behalf of the Mayor and the Mayor’s charities, the market promises to be a fantastic way to usher in the festive season.

The market will feature a host of stalls selling everything from jewellery and vintage clothing to seasonal food including cakes, German bratwurst and glühwein. There will also be a live music stage sponsored by Shakster Records and the Bassment, showcasing performances by local acoustic music stars and bands, including singer Katy Forkings. The aim is to bring a spirit of joie de Noël to the city and add a new dimension to Christmas shopping in Chelmsford.

Confirmed stallholders include Polignanos Deli & Coffee Shop (selling delicious hot focaccia), Amy’s Apothecary (with products made from the finest natural ingredients), the Bearded Gypsy Vintage Company, the Maldon Soap Company, Anvil and Ivy Jewellery and many more artists and craftspeople.

contribution that people with a learning disability can make to the community.”

Aktar, an Independent Designs artist at City of Chelmsford Mencap with a keen eye for illustration said: “I’m excited my work will be sold at the market! I really enjoyed working on stencilling the bird boxes.”

All funds raised on the day will go towards the support of the Mayor’s charities; City of Chelmsford Mencap, Age Concern Chelmsford and Columbus School and College. The charities, their members and supporters, look forward to welcoming shoppers and helping to make Chelmsford city’s festive season joyful and prosperous.

About City of Chelmsford Mencap City of Chelmsford Mencap, established in 1951, is a local independent charity for people with a learning disability. It provides social clubs, respite schemes and lifelong learning services as well as information and support services for members and their families and carers. The charity relies entirely on grants and donations to fund its services.

About Learning Disability Learning disability is a reduced intellectual ability and difficulty with everyday activities which affects someone for their whole life. It is often confused with learning difficulty and mental health issues.

However, learning difficulties, such as dyslexia, do not affect intellect.

Mental health problems can affect anyone at any time and may be overcome with treatment, which is not true of learning disability.

It is important to remember that with the right support, most people with a learning disability in the UK can lead independent lives.

For more information, please contact Grace Lidstone on 01245 268 303 or 07910 339 099.

Social enterprise students from Mencap’s Independent Designs will be selling their range of handmade gifts and decorations, including charming wooden snowmen, chutneys, candles and cards.

The Continental Christmas Market is set to be a great source of inspiration for shoppers looking for original and unusual Christmas gift ideas.

Frederick J French are supporting the event. They said: “As a local company, Frederick J French Building Contractors are proud to be sponsoring this year’s Christmas market on behalf of the Mayor of Chelmsford’s three wonderful charities and look forward to helping to raise as much money and awareness as possible. What a fabulous way for Chelmsford to kick off the festive season!”

Students from City of Chelmsford Mencap will take an active part on the day, helping out all round as well as performing their Christmas musical repertoire, and dance and movement students will be delighting all with their latest routines and choreography.

Helena Nussey, Event Co-ordinator at City of Chelmsford Mencap said: “We are excited to be organising this joyful event and bringing our charity to the very heart of the city. Our students will play a huge part selling the goods that they’ve made and entertaining and welcoming shoppers. We hope more people will recognise the great

Pictured: Left top - Michael, one of our students with a wooden snowman and left bottom - Michael, Ellie and Dan

Wishing all our customers a Merry Festive Season and a Happy New Year

Black Friday Is Coming to a Record Store near You! If you love your vinyl, then you will be well aware of Record Store Day, a special celebration held in April, when independent record stores come together with artists to celebrate the art of music.

from the Intense stall, so go check it out! Search facebook.com/ chelmsfordrecordfair.

Artists and bands release special limited edition records, with vinyl junkies queuing round the block outside their local record shop to get the hands on their favourite artists. The people behind Record Store Day decided to mark another special day on the calendar - Black Friday, which this year falls on Friday 24th November, and Intense Records in Chelmsford will be taking part.

Record Store Day’s version of Black Friday is an excuse to celebrate both the exclusive releases and artists themselves and the special indie record stores who carry them. This year Intense will be stocking a whole host of exclusive releases from iconic artists such as Queen, Lee Scratch Perry, Paul McCartney, Gorillaz and more.

These rare and in demand titles will be available on the day in store, so make sure you get down to Intense early before they sell out!! If you cant make it on the day, they will be listed on the intense website at www.intenserecords.com/music/record-store-day-17.html.

Intense Records can be found just round the corner from Chelmsford train and bus station under the arches along Viaduct Road, in between the Ale House and Asylum club.

For more info contact them on 01245 347 372 or pay them visit at 33/34 Viaduct Road, Chelmsford CM1 1TS (www.intenserecords. com).

If the Black Friday vinyl fix wasn’t enough to ease the cravings, make sure you check out the Chelmsford Record Fair the following week on Saturday 2nd December, held at The Ale House just a few doors down from the Intense store. At this monthly event you can expect good beer, burgers, live DJs, guest bands and loads of that lovely black vinyl from a selection of record collectors. If you are lucky there may be some of these rare Record Store Day releases still available www.chelmsfordthecitytimes.co.uk

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Wildlife Corner by Nick Green October experienced rainfall sporadically throughout the month but river water levels typically remained low. Internationally, the fierce weather systems coming west from the United States dumped American species on the Azores like redhead, green heron, baybreasted and hooded and blackpoll warblers, upland sandpiper amongst many others. American species were also found on the UK southwest approaches. A national influx of hawfinches was apparent with records from Kent and Essex, East Anglia to the Outer Hebrides and the Shetland Isles.

The brambling is an attractive member of the finch family that breeds in the upland birch forest of FennoScandinavia. In Essex the species is an uncommon passage migrant and winter visitor in variable numbers with peak numbers generally in October and November.

Coastal sites like The Naze, Colne Point and Bradwell are typical passage sites. However, birds often visit bird feeding stations in towns in association with the commoner and superficially similar looking chaffinches - look for the diagnostic white rump and distinctly orange tinged upper breast and carpal to distinguish. The calls are distinctive and alert the observer initially to the presence, so listen for a ‘sh-weee’ - birds typically perch near the top of a tree.

Insects on the sunnier warmer days included: red admiral butterflies, red darters dragonflies.

Abberton Reservoir: great white egret, 22 little stint, Wat Tyler CP: cattle egret, Langdon Hills: 11 Hawfinch (plus other county sites), Holland Haven: red-breasted flycatcher.

Nationally, notable selected highlights included: Shetland Isles: eastern species like pallas’s grasshopper warbler, Siberian rubythroat, White’s thrush, white-winged scoter, an American white-crowned sparrow, Orkney Isles: Siberian blue robin (4th UK record), Scilly Isles: (American species) rose-breasted grosbeak, cliff swallow, cedar waxwing, Wilson’s snipe, yellow-billed cuckoo, (European) eastern orphean warbler, Gwent, Wales: male rock thrush.

Left: Brambling © Glyn Evans

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Me and Chelmsford by the Hairy Monster 1969 was a memorable year for mankind. Concorde made its maiden flight, astronauts walked on the moon, The Beatles released their Abbey Road album and I arrived in Chelmsford.

My arrival was neither as auspicious as those other events nor as widely reported, but it was a pivotal time in my life. I had declared independence from my parents in Brentwood and was now about to become a fully fledged adult. I had managed to find employment with Marconi Research at Baddow as a computer operator which, considering my studies at Braintree College bore no relation to any sort of technical subjects, came as quite a surprise to everyone who knew my academic record. My parents had persuaded my brother Mike to share his room with me at a Marconi house in New Street and I duly arrived in my beat up Ford Anglia van at 8pm on the night before I started my new job.

Mike was nowhere to be found and neither were any of the other Marconi tenants, so I went walkabout in search of signs of life. It may come as a surprise to those readers under the age of 40 that Chelmsford, as with every other town in Britain, essentially closed down on Sundays. As a largely industrial town, it only operated on a Monday - Saturday basis, with Wednesday being half-day closing. My Sunday evening search for my brother proved fruitless, although I did spot a dog walker in the High Street who gave me a very angry look when I pointed out that his dog had just laid a cable on the pavement.

Whatever happened to white dog poo? Mike and the rest of the household eventually turned up at 10pm when the only pub to open on Sunday shut its doors. I opted for an early night but, as Mike had forgotten I was coming, there was no bed so I slept in the van.

My first day at the computer centre proved to be an indicator of how my employment at Marconi would pan out. I overslept and the van

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wouldn’t start so I had to walk to Baddow, arriving 25 minutes late.

Mr McClintock was unimpressed. He introduced me to the day team and for the next three weeks I spent my days filing papers, punching holes in pieces of cardboard and staring out of the tiny office windows, wondering whether life was always going to be this tedious.

Eventually, after what had seemed an eternity, I was transferred to the computer room on the night shift. This was something of a culture shock for me. I didn’t realise people worked after the pubs had shut.

In those far off days, a computer was the size of a garden shed and Marconi had several of them in their KDF9 facility. The computer room was the size of a small ballroom, with gigantic spools whizzing and whirring on the massive computers, like something from an early James Bond film. The other guys were on a bonus system and weren’t keen on slowing down to show me how the system operated, so my first task was to sit in a side office and shred a pile of print outs. I quite enjoyed it and spent several hours happily feeding the gigantic shredder. When I had shredded the first batch I found another pile in the corridor, which took me through till my 5am finish. Just as I was putting my coat on to go home, I heard a security man asking the chief operator where the all the wage slips had gone. Oops! So ended my career at Marconi.

I stayed in Chelmsford for another few years, bouncing from one job to another, until in March 1972 I joined Eastern National as a bus driver. I loved the job but it only lasted a few weeks before I was given the option of redundancy or a transfer to the Wood Green bus depot.

As a responsible husband and father of a new born son, I reluctantly said goodbye to my adopted town and moved to London.

My return to Chelmsford was to be seventeen years away. But more of that another time...

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Therapy by Chelmsford Therapy Rooms Hello readers! Last month we had an article written by nutritionist Sarah Day, one of the therapists at Chelmsford Therapy Rooms. As we are coming up to Christmas I thought I would write an article on how therapy can help with the various pressures of the holidays.

Traditionally Christmas is a time for family and friends, with lots of parties and celebrations. However, this festive time of year can also pose a number of problems for some of us anything from over indulging to family issues. Below I’ve explored some of the issues we face around the Christmas party and posed some possible solutions through the medium of therapy.

The Christmas Party Before the big day, throughout December companies up and down the country are hosting Christmas parties. Anything from a few drinks in the office to a full blown 3-course meal with hotel accommodation.

These parties can pose problems for some of us though. Firstly, some people are not the partying type and dread anything like this. There could be any number of reasons for this but the most popular one I come across in therapy is a lack of confidence, usually showing itself in form of ‘everyone is looking at and judging me!’. How can therapy help with this? Both counselling and hypnotherapy can be amazing for confidence and building self esteem, sometimes just airing your worries and talking through them can be enough to resolve some of these confidence issues. Hypnotherapy can help restructure the way you see these events and yourself within them, for example feeling confident instead of shy. Working through your confidence issues can also have a fantastic long term effect, leading to self awareness and improvements in various areas of your life as you begin to believe in yourself as a competent person capable of anything.

There are lots of ways that therapy can help boost your confidence, but here is a quick technique to practice that might help before the big company xmas do:

The problem with alcohol of course is that it lowers our inhibitions, so for some people putting these failsafes into action might be difficult, but for some people it can work very well. For example, when I worked in the city and we had our work Christmas do in a swanky hotel, I knew I would be around a bunch of sales people that drink like fish (I also drank like a fish) - and one year there was a FREE BAR. Although excited about the prospect of a free bar, I was also worried because I remember I had to get home to Essex from west London. I already foresaw the problem because I had an anxiety disorder at the time so of course my coping mechanism was to drink myself confident/ into oblivion. Luckily at the time I was having therapy and used the techniques I had learned to lower my anxiety and control my drinking.

I pigeonholed the event, taking note of each step of the evening. I knew someone who also lived in Essex that I could share a taxi and train with at a specific time. I still had a great night, didn’t have half the hangover everyone else did the next day, and still heard some amazing tales of drunken sales people dancing etc that entertain me to this day.

Of course for some people the Christmas party can be a particularly daunting thing. Those who are recovering from substance addiction may well find that the Christmas party is something to be avoided. If you’re not already in therapy, it may help to talk over your worries with a professional.

However you’re feeling about the impending Christmas party, the therapists at Chelmsford Therapy Rooms are here to help. We all hope you have a wonderful time at any Christmas parties you plan to go to - happy holidays!

If anyone is interested in seeing a therapist, Jenny Hartill owns and runs Chelmsford Therapy Rooms with a range of therapists that can help with a multitude of issues. Chelmsford Therapy Rooms offer many therapies from hypnotherapy to counselling to nutrition. Please see the website www.chelmsfordtherapyrooms.co.uk, or you can email info@chelmsfordtherapyrooms.co.uk. or call 0330 100 5162.

Close your eyes, focus on breathing slowly.

Imagine a time you felt calm, confident and happy. Take an image of this memory and make it brighter and bolder. As you do this, your feeling of confidence also increases. Do this over and over again until your image of the memory automatically invokes a feeling of calm, confidence and happiness.

Now, imagine being with your colleagues and overlay your confident, bright, bold image onto your image of your colleagues. If you don’t know where your Christmas party is yet, or haven’t been there before, the idea of this exercise is to link your feeling of confidence to your colleagues.

Whenever you get a hit of the nerves at your Christmas do, remember your confident image.

You felt this way before, you can feel this way again. You are worthy and deserve to enjoy yourself at your Christmas party!

Of course, some people simply have a few drinks to help with their confidence, but we all know (or have been there!) someone who has far too many drinks at the Christmas party. This can lead to all sorts of issues, from people making a fool of themselves to people being rude or making themselves ill. How can therapy help with this?

We can help you identify your trigger points, this is important because some people will drink more in certain situations and with certain people. We can also help you to plan the evening, to ‘pigeonhole’ and put in ‘failsafes’ to help ensure you stay safe.

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Raising Your Vibration (What the Heck Does That Mean?) - by Kellie Jones So what the heck is your vibration and why should you want to raise it? In some respects it’s just a fluffy way of raising your well-being and who wouldn’t want to raise that?

With the benefit of scientific evidence we can now see that all things that appear solid, including us, ultimately are just atoms, made up of vortices of energy, spinning and vibrating, each one radiating its own unique energy signature. This includes our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual energy which can be radiating high or low depending on our thoughts, environment, diet and beliefs. It is also fact that like attracts like and with this in mind, it makes sense to want to radiate out a higher vibration overall to attract the same back.

So let’s look at ways to raise your vibration so you can start today!

1. Physical Wellness: Unless you have hidden under a stone for most of your life then you will be well aware that you are most certainly what you eat, drink and do. Sadly, even though there are millions of people exercising and eating ’healthy’ foods, I’m pretty sure that only a handful of those are maintaining good practise to increase their vibration. Not because they don’t want to but mainly because they just haven’t been made aware that this is possible. Just by increasing the amount of organic, clean food and drink that you consume with the intention of putting loving energy into your physical energy body can make a huge difference. This was one of the reasons I have chosen a vegan, plant based diet. Infusing your food with love and gratitude may seem woo woo but if we can change the construct of water with our thoughts then I’d prefer to assume we can do the same with food. (Check out Dr Masaru Emoto’s Water Experiments on YouTube!)

2. Mental/Emotional Wellness: There is so much information surrounding this subject but still not from the perspective of vibrational energy. The repetitive thoughts we have shape the way we feel and act so therefore we must make the effort, (and it is an effort if you are feeling low and depressed), to

practise different thought patterns. We can become more aware of our thoughts by slowing down, breathing and meditating more. This gives us space to know ourselves better instead of reacting to our inner remote control buttons. Take a look at your environment, the people you spend most time with and what you listen to and read about each day. From the perspective of raising your vibration can you see that bad news, complaining, noise, fear and fumes cannot possibly be a high vibe!? Switch off the news, do things you love, listen to uplifting playlists, podcasts and people, get out in nature - it works, I promise.

3. Spiritual Wellness: I hear people say frequently that they are not spiritual because they associate it with either religion or alternative healing hippies. I love this description: “Being a spiritual person is synonymous with being a person whose highest priority is to be loving to yourself and others. A spiritual person cares about people, animals and the planet. A spiritual person knows that we are all One, and consciously attempts to honor this Oneness. A spiritual person is a kind person.” Margaret Paul, PhD (HuffPost) This surely cannot be so difficult to do, particularly if you are feeling physically and emotionally better.

So with all of the above in mind, what can you do today to start raising your vibration? I’ll be blasting mine through the roof tonight with some sound healing at our regular Full Moon Gong Bath. On the 26th November we have a Cacao Ceremony including kundalini yoga, meditation and heart opening raw cacao. We have a crazy sale coming up on memberships and £25 off Thai yoga massage on Sundays throughout the month. Oh yes, and check out the Cool to be Kind project on Facebook that I am part of, it will be part of your spiritual practise to get involved!

Sign up for our newsletter here: www.hummingbirdpilates.co.uk or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat. We also have a free app at Apple and Google Play stores.

Namaste, Kellie

r fe d f t O ite 5 n e im £3 i Cl Unl for w s ) Ne Day shipapply r s 30 mbe(ts &c Me

Pilates, Yoga, Meditation Book your space online or call: Small Classes & 1-2-1’s www.hummingbirdpilates.co.uk Inspirational Teachers 01245 422556 Friendly, Community Vibe Reeds Farm Estate, Writtle, CM1 2ST Page 22

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The History of Marconi in Chelmsford Part Two - by Stephen Norris This is the second of a number of articles on the history of Marconi in Chelmsford. It covers the company during the First World War and the early development of sound broadcasting.

Much of the early progress of the company was undone by the so called Marconi Scandal. Marconi submitted a plan to the Government to link Britain and the countries of the empire by a series of wireless stations. Initially Marconi asked for licences for the stations which it would erect and operate. It was decided however that Marconi should build the stations, but that a Government owned system was desirable.

A contract was signed between the Post Office and Marconi for the first six stations without the project first being put out to tender. The stations were seen as an urgent priority because of the rise of German power internationally.

Marconi’s shares, including those of its US subsidiary, rose sharply and then fell back. Suspicion immediately fell on members of the government including Rufus Isaacs, the brother of Godfrey, who was the Postmaster General. It was alleged that members of the government had used their ‘privileged knowledge of the negotiations for the contract to speculate on Marconi shares’. It was rumoured that Rufus Isaacs had made £160,000 out of the sharp rise in the value of a new Marconi share issue in its US subsidiary. Herbert Samuel, another member of the Cabinet, had made £250,000. It was also rumoured that Lloyd George had used this opportunity to add to his treasure chest.

Press hysteria forced the setting up of a select committee inquiry into the matter. It emerged that the company had been given a monopoly for five years and a virtual monopoly for 28 years. Critics said that the £60,000 cost per station was too high, as was the level of agreed royalties. In reply, Godfrey Isaacs argued Marconi was the only company that had maintained a continuous commercial service for distances comparable with those that would be needed. Isaacs said that the charges were low compared with what European governments had paid the British Post Office for long distance radio installations. Although the company was formally absolved of any wrong doing, Marconi became embittered at being embroiled in the controversy. The company suffered a big loss because various activities had to be suspended while the hearings took place. Marconi’s contract was finally cancelled in December 1914 because of the war. The company had spent £140,000 on the project and had turned down other work.

Before the first war, industrial relations at the works were not a problem in the normal sense. The original ‘brotherhood of engineers’ was now in control of the company. For them the constant source of irritation was not the workers but bureaucrats and red tape. The company had established a retirement age, a contributory pension fund and a sickness club.

Marconi had little time to recover from the scandal before the war put a stop to all commercial activities. After the British Admiralty had sent a message to its grand fleet, the government took control of all messages.

The commercial use of wireless telegraphy was stopped. Marconi’s New Street works were taken over by the Admiralty. All the company’s trained wireless operatives were used for military work. The need for more wireless sets caused a big increase in their production at the factory.

More operatives were trained at the Marconi College in Arbour Lane, Springfield. In all, 348 Marconi men died during the war, mostly at sea.

Marconi’s other major contribution to the war was the use of Henry Round’s direction finding equipment. Using it British warships could pick up German signals easily and pinpoint where they were coming from.

Victory at the Battle of Jutland, which established British supremacy of the seas for the rest of the war, was only possible because of Round’s painstaking research at the Chelmsford factories over the previous decade. By the end of the war his equipment was also being used on land and in the air. He was awarded the Military Cross for his contribution to the war effort.

At the beginning of the war the British Expeditionary Force in France had only 10 transmitters. The New Street works were immediately tasked with producing hundreds more. By 1916 all three armed services were

relying on the wireless for communication with aircraft, artillery and infantry. They had to withstand all conditions better than they had done during the Boer War. The Government gave the company a cash payment of £596,000 after the war as compensation for use of its factory and research developments. This by no means covered what the company had lost in terms of its patents.

Marconi himself had been called up by the Italian forces when that country entered the war. In 1922 the company erected a roll of honour at the company’s Strand headquarters to those Marconi men who had fallen during the war of whom many were from Chelmsford. The plaque is now in the Chelmsford Museum Marconi exhibition.

With the return to peace, the Marconi engineers in New Street turned their attention back to the transmission of intelligible speech. This was known at the time as wireless telephony as opposed to wireless telegraphy. In 1919 a six kilowatt telephony transmitter was installed and testing began using an experimental transmission licence in order to investigate long distance speech transmission. A long ‘T’ shaped wire aerial that was suspended between the two 450 feet tall masts was connected to the transmitter.

On the 15th of January 1920 Ditcham and Round started transmitting a programme of speech and gramophone music from the New Street research department’s laboratory. 214 positive reports came from amateur enthusiasts and shipping operators amazed to hear words and music on the airwaves, with the furthest report coming from 1,450 miles away. Immediately a 15 kilowatt transmitter replaced its smaller predecessor. Although the company still saw radio in purely commercial terms rather than entertainment, for six weeks their continuing tests became a regular series of 30 minute broadcasts consisting mainly of news with three or four short musical items. WT Ditcham organised the programmes and did the announcing with support from the Head of the Publicity department, Arthur Burrows.

The first paid artiste was a Mrs Winifred Sayer. She sang with the well known local group the Funnions. Sayer was an amateur soprano who happened to work for the Hoffmann Manufacturing Company in New Street. The instrumentalists who provided the first radio broadcasts were mainly drawn from the Marconi staff and the Broadcast studio was actually a packing shed next to the transmitting hut. Alfred Harmsworth (Lord Northcliffe), the owner of the Daily Mail, hired a top ranking professional singer to make a radio broadcast. The artist who was chosen by Harmsworth, Dame Nellie Melba, was arguably the most popular singer in the world at the time. It took an enormous fee of £1,000 to attract the temperamental diva. Sayer had received ten shillings for her broadcasts.

The heavy equipment and the aerials couldn’t be moved, so Melba had to come to the New Street works. “Amazingly she agreed to leave the bright lights of the London stage for one night, and travel to a remote Essex factory.” Initially the elegant Executive Directors and Senior Dining Rooms were chosen because of their mahogany panelled walls, carpets and stylish decor. It was planned to connect the transmitter at the opposite end of the works to the ’studio’ by means of a long cable.

Effort was quickly put into improving the quality of the microphone, an adapted telephone mouthpiece, and the transmitter circuits. Almost at the last minute however, the cable burnt out because of the high frequency current. Cancelling would have hurt the company’s image so it was decided to relocate the performance to a packing shed next to the transmitter hut. A thick pile carpet was put on the bare floor.

Melba was picked up from the station by chauffeur driven car and driven around Chelmsford, cheered by a large flag waving crowd. She was then given a tour of the works by Arthur Burrows, particularly the transmitter, and the huge masts. When Burrows remarked that her voice would be carried huge distances from the wires at the top she said “Young man, if you think I am going to climb up there at my time of life, you are very much mistaken.” When a bulb from a camera went off, an engineer pulled all the plugs thinking the system was overloading.

Ditcham however, quickly got everything ready again. The broadcast was progressing very well, but by the third song the transmitter began to

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cause problems. One of the valves began to fail and the broadcast went off the air. Repairs were quickly carried out but the third song had almost been entirely lost. When Melba was back on air, Round said “Madam Melba, the world is calling for more”. “Are they?” she replied “Shall I go on singing?” She went on to sing four more songs.

The broadcast was met with acclaim from everybody - except the Postmaster General, who sent a letter saying that a national service, such as wireless, should not be used for such frivolous purposes.

Marconi’s experimental broadcasts were suspended because, it was alleged, they were interfering with legitimate services. The Post Office was worried about their monopoly on communications in Britain. Later, Melchior’s concert from Chelmsford certainly did cause jamming. The company weren’t concerned at the loss of their broadcasts because of the burden of their cost. As the British airwaves went silent, the Americans started broadcasting with hundreds of stations to a rapidly expanding audience who demanded wireless sets. Demand from British amateur enthusiasts was such that eventually the Post Office relented and Marconi was allowed to start broadcasting again. Arthur Burrows gave the responsibility for the new broadcasts to its Airborne Telephony Research Department based at Writtle.

Immediately after the war Marconi had given a small group of ex-RAF wireless experts the task of installing and testing wireless sets in planes. The company thought that the development of commercial air transport was going to depend on significant progress in airborne radio communications. They had taken over an ex-army hut in a small landing field next to the Writtle sewage works. The young Writtle team had already received a favourable reaction to their designing and installing a new transmitter for the Croydon Air Terminal. It was made at New Street and the task of managing the new broadcasting venture, which was to become 2MT Writtle, fell to Captain Peter Eckersley.

Eckersley had fallen in love with the wireless whilst at Bedales School. Peter supported the Marconi system of radio transmission and this led in 1906 to a fight with a friend who supported the LodgeMuirhead system that was in competition with Marconi. This had been encouraged by William Preece of the Post Office, to stem Marconi’s alleged monopoly. Eckersley was not very academic but had a sound practical sense, in addition he acted and wrote poetry - talents which were to become useful later on. Eckersley came from a liberal dissenting background and was studying to be an electrical engineer when the first war broke out and he joined the Royal Flying Corps.

His qualifications as an engineer, who knew about wireless, were very attractive to the fledgling organisation which was desperate for wireless operators. In 1915 he became a 2nd Lieutenant (Equipment Officer Class) at the age of 23. Eckersley was told not to fly but since he couldn’t test wireless sets without being airborne, time and again he broke the rules. He was instructed by CE Prince, who had been a radio pioneer since 1907. Eckersley was present when the first telephony speech was successfully passed from Prince on the ground to a pilot overhead. Eckersley’s plane was shot down at the Somme but Prince saw afterwards that he was attached to the Wireless Experimental Station at Biggin Hill. Prince wanted ‘observers in balloons and pilots in aircraft to be able to talk to each other and to the ground without having to switch over’. After the war Eckersley initially wanted to become a regular RAF officer, but Prince persuaded him to join Marconi in 1919.

In 1921 the newly formed Radio Society of Great Britain petitioned the Post Office for a special wireless transmission service. As a result a 15 minute programme of speech and music was authorised which Marconi successfully bid for. Eckersley had been made head of the Airborne Research Department when Prince retired. He and the team were given the task of running the new radio broadcast project in addition to their normal research duties. Peter and his wife Stella had settled in a cottage in Writtle village.

The hut which was the centre of the team’s operations was 16 foot wide and 66 foot long with no mains electricity; power was provided by a 100 volt generator. The radio apparatus it used was all manufactured at New Street. Prior to being given the radio broadcast project, the team had been quite pleased that the Chelmsford radio station had been

closed down because of the interference it caused with their work.

By 1921 the team was the company’s primary think tank for airborne wireless. Power was limited by the Post Office to 250 watts from two low power transmitters. Two portable Marconi masts that had been used in the Boer War were borrowed and set up in the field behind the hut, they decided to broadcast a single programme between 7pm and 7.30pm on Thursdays.

The first broadcast from 2MT Writtle went on the air on February the 14th 1922. It was followed by weekly broadcasts continuously for eleven months until the 7th of January 1923. The technical quality of the first broadcast was not a great success and there were complaints from amateur enthusiasts sitting patiently at home with their ‘cat’s whiskers’. The fault was soon found however, and the number of complaints fell.

To start with, Eckersley, having organised the programme, went home to listen to it himself. It was when he decided to become the ‘the power behind the microphone’ that the broadcasts came alive. Immediately the programme was under the control of a part time comedian, actor and singer. His first programme included songs, rhymes and pub stories and went on until 9pm. Trains were interrupted by imaginary fog on the line: “if the porter even breathes on the line at Stratford, the London and North Eastern trains run late for the next fortnight...”

The team was worried about the familiarity of the broadcast. It was possible to work at New Street for over a decade and still not know a colleague’s first name. Despite 50 post cards being received congratulating Eckersley on the broadcast, the man who mattered, Arthur Burrows, was concerned at the likely reaction of the Post Office.

Luckily Burrows soon left for the new BBC and the Writtle team did their best to ignore Marconi headquarters. At the time the Writtle programmes were remarkable for their ‘gaiety and irresponsibility’ and always contained a surprise; for example the broadcasts contained the first radio play Cyrano de Bergerac with Eckersley playing Cyrano, as well as the first children’s programme. The Weekly News commented: “The concerts which are now being sent out regularly from Writtle by wireless have become famous for the delights of listening to entertainments.”

Before the Writtle broadcasts finished, the Post Office issued another licence to Marconi. The 2LO station broadcast from Marconi House in London. This concentrated on much more formal broadcasting and featured only speech with no music. While the Marconi broadcasting stations were still operating, Marconi was one of eight companies invited by the Post Office to form the British Broadcasting Company (which would become the British Broadcasting Corporation in 1926).

The wireless companies involved agreed to pay Marconi patent rights and they were to be the only makers of wireless sets on sale to the British public - it was hoped that foreign produced sets would be discouraged. It was agreed with Mr Reith that the 2MT broadcasts would stop and the BBC took over the 2LO broadcasts. The Marconi Company was tasked with designing the radio sets to receive the new BBC programmes. Eckersley applied for and got the job of Chief Engineer to the BBC. Isaacs was annoyed at not being given one month’s notice but was anxious for commercial reasons for the new venture to be a success. Ten thousand pounds was invested by the Marconi Company in the new venture. June 1923 saw simultaneous broadcasts in the eight regions - by this time, there were over half a million radio licence holders. Marconi designed and built a huge transmitter for the BBC’s new Daventry station which started being built in 1925. Ironically for the ‘Home of Radio’, reception for the new BBC broadcasts was not ideal in Chelmsford itself.

Eckersley himself had a successful career at the BBC, but resigned in 1929. He then did very well paid consultancy work, including a contract back at Marconi, which was not renewed. The famous hut, which was the focal point for 2MT Writtle, eventually saw service at Kings Road School. Now it is one of the exhibits that take pride of place at the Chelmsford Museum’s industrial store and new education centre at Sandford Mill Museum.

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Page 25

Answers on our web site

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As this is our last full month before Christmas, we felt a Christmas quiz was needed!!

1. Who played the Prime Minister in Love Actually?

2. Which actresses swapped homes in The Holiday?

3. What year was Home Alone made?

4. What was the name of the character played by Eddie Murphy in Trading Places?

5. Who played the elf in Elf? 6. How many of Rudolph’s eight companions names start with ‘D’?

7. In what decade was the first Christmas card sent in the UK? 8. Who brings presents to children in Holland on the 5th/6th December?

9. What is the time difference between Lapland, Finland and London in December?

10. Can you name two of the three song titles of the 1990s UK Christmas number ones by the Spice Girls?

11. Who released Step into Christmas in 1973?

12. What song was Christmas number one in the UK in 2016?

13. When did Good King Wenceslas last look out?

14. What type of tree is mentioned in the Twelve Days of Christmas?

15. Which Christmas carol begins with the lyrics, ‘Sleigh bells ring are you listening...’?

16. Which country donates the Christmas tree at Trafalgar Square in London to Great Britain every year?

17. Who is the lead singer of Slade?

18. What type of red wine is typically made with spices and served warm during the festive season?

19. Who was crowned King of England on Christmas Day in 1066?

20. What are the two main ingredients of a snowball cocktail?

21. Which pantomime does Widow Twankey appear in?

22. In New York city, which famous centre is transformed into a huge ice rink?

23. What year was the Queen’s Christmas speech first broadcast on television?

24. Which New York city department store became the first to stay open until midnight on Christmas Eve? 25. What huge Christmas gift did France give to the United States of America in 1886?

Answers on page 29

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Rotary Around the World I write every month about various aspects of Rotary and the activities of the Chelmsford clubs, so I thought it would make a change to give you an insight into a few of the projects carried out by clubs from different points on the globe. In no way have these been picked as special or unusual, simply as examples to illustrate that Rotary is a worldwide organisation having in excess of 1.25 million members across nearly 200 countries, all benefitting less fortunate people.

four college scholarships for students pursuing agriculture related degrees.

Argentina The Rotary Club of Belle Ville Ideas in Argentina has transformed nearly 100 tons of discarded plastic - largely drink bottles - into ‘ecological brick’ used in local schools, government housing, art installations and other structures and also paving stones for playgrounds. Members oversee the grinding process as the machinery converts the plastic into bricks. Senior school pupils help with the collection of the plastic and now have a much heightened awareness of environmental issues.

New Zealand Six years ago members of the North Harbour club read that an old sand pit digger had reached the end of its life after being readapted for a children’s play area. They decided it could be redesigned and after literally thousands of volunteer hours they have donated a new, safe digger back to the children’s play area. Not just that though, they have manufactured a total of 30 such diggers which bring much joy to local children. The youngsters were amazed by the technical side of the project and became involved with a further initiative to improve water walls with colourful funnels, chutes and magnets attached to steel-plated plywood which enables them to direct water flow - and tap their blossoming engineering acumen.

South Korea Seoul Koreana Club helps young people get on the right career path by offering counselling and mentoring to students. The experience of the Rotarians in business or the professions is invaluable to the young people.

Nigeria About 90% of the population of Itamarun live in poverty so the Rotary Club of Lagos decided to improve conditions for them. They provided a $3,000 palm kernel cracking machine. It used to take four people two weeks to crack 100kg by hand, but with the machine this is done in just 2 hours, so this has drastically changed the prosperity of the village. Since then the club has also provided a system that pumps treated water to collection points and solar street lights to improve safety.

Philippines Over $41,000 has been raised by the Rotary Club of Cebu through its Gift For Life Races. More than 2,000 runners took part and since its inception money raised has paid for 60 heart operations for children.

El Salvador The Rotary Club of Cochrane, Airdrie and Brooks teamed up for a $25,000 district grant to provide dwellings through Shelter Canada, replacing mud huts with corrugated steel structures designed to repel heavy rain. People who received the new homes also participated in the construction and the accommodation had life changing effect.

Egypt All the clubs in the District 2451 in Egypt came together to raise aid for distressed areas in Tamiya. $350,000 was directed to refurbishment of Al-Fayoum Hospital and a further $22,000 was used to provide wheelchairs and artificial joints. Assistance was also given to empower women through training, small loans and equipment so they could produce and sell garments whilst hundreds more were issued with identity papers.

These examples show Rotary in action and I have written in the past of many similar projects accomplished by local clubs in Chelmsford.

If you feel you would also like to make a real difference to the lives of the community, both locally and further afield, visit www.rotary1240. org, or call me on 01245 260 349.

Stan Keller

Canada The Stettler, Alta club has honoured its livestock ranchers for more than 60 years with an annual dinner. Farming couples are invited as guests of the sponsors and the profit from the dinner supports

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Breast Is Best? By Eleanor Searle

Most mums have heard this phrase over and over again and as much as we may agree that breast feeding is the optimum way to feed our babies, it is not necessarily all that easy. As a physiotherapist with a special interest in the musculoskeletal side of women’s health, I always ask my ladies whether or not they are breast feeding and never understood until now why it could be met with such animosity. My reason for asking was simply to understand the potential influence of their hormones on their musculoskeletal system and to take into account the loading demands of their feeding positions. However, I now understand what a difficult subject it can be for so many women. For lots of women feeling that they haven’t mastered breastfeeding and have had to resort to formula feels like a failure on which so many people seem to have an opinion.

So I thought that I’d use this article to share the things that helped me to breastfeed successfully and to give those who aren’t in this position a chance to reflect on their attitudes to new mums and how they are feeding their babies.

I did an NCT breastfeeding workshop. It provided some information about positioning and highlighted that skin to skin contact with your baby early on can help both breastfeeding and the bond with your baby. However, the really useful bit was about watching for a baby’s feeding cues as, if you can recognise when your baby is a bit hungry, it’s much easier to feed them at that point than it is to miss their subtle cues and then have to calm down to feed them when they are starving! The things though that it didn’t cover, or that I didn’t appreciate until I was in the position of struggling to feed a starving baby myself, was that if your baby is congested when they are born (ie has loads of mucus in their nose) it is hard for them to feed; if their nose is blocked shoving a boob in their mouth obviously makes it difficult for them to breath and is not conducive to feeding or having a contented baby.

Equally, although we all have an idea that it takes a while for our milk to come in, the fact that it can take 3-5 days before a proper supply is established was wasted on me until I had a baby who was clearly not happy with the amount of milk on offer.

My baby was born on one of the hottest days of the year and after a good birth, I got him home and after 2 hours he was very unhappy and way too hot. He tried to latch on and then got so hot and bothered that he screamed and screamed. I had formula in the cupboard as a ‘just in case’ but was so engaged in trying to calm such an unhappy baby that I forgot. By the time I’d remembered and thought maybe I should just give him some formula so that he’s had something and would make it through the night (a bit dramatic I know but it was how I felt at the time) he fed a bit, enough to go to sleep and I thought right now I can hang on until the midwife comes in the morning.

Thankfully, she was amazing! She pretended not to be amused by the fact that in the middle of the night I’d been watching videos of women breast feeding and wondering why it wasn’t working for me.

She just said ‘well dear, your boobs don’t hang downwards, try this instead’ and so with a bit of repositioning and believe me I did exactly what I was told, breast feeding was established.

I knew that I was supposed to be lining up the baby’s nose to my nipple but what I hadn’t considered in the middle of the night was that instead of trying to follow the videos I needed to consider my own shape.

Once you’ve sorted out your position and your baby has latched, it is still bloody uncomfortable, even when you’ve got it right, for the first 5 seconds and then it feels ok. If it doesn’t you need to reposition.

This sometimes nailbiting discomfort goes on for about 8-10 weeks until you and your baby have sorted it and your body has adapted. In this period of time, Lansinoh cream and silver Breast Angle cups can be helpful. The latter allegedly helps healing but I think that it’s likely that they just stop your bra from rubbing against where you’re sore.

The other thing is how much/how long it takes to feed a baby. I’d heard about cluster feeding, but initially what that meant for me was that between 5-11.30am and 6-10.30pm I was feeding almost constantly. Everyone kept saying ‘are you sure that he’s feeding and not just using you for comfort?’ but believe me, I was sure and he went from the 25th to the 90th percentile so now I have proof!

Once, you get to 8-10 weeks breast feeding is easy and a nice thing to do, and how you hope it’ll be at the beginning.

So if you’re thinking about breast feeding your baby, go for it but don’t expect to just put them to your breast and for it to happen as it takes time and practice and while you’re both learning, it can be miserable for both of you.

Get help and support! Don’t think that you’re a failure if it’s not working, just do what feels right for you both and if you’re thinking of offering an opinion to a friend or relative about how she is feeding her baby… don’t! Unless she invites you to do so.

Breastfeeding helplines: National Breastfeeding Helpline - 0300 100 0212 Association of Breastfeeding Mothers - 0300 330 5453 La Leche League - 0345 120 2918 National Childbirth Trust (NCT) - 0300 330 0700 Equally, if you have a breastfeeding question, other than asking your midwife, you can sign into Facebook and message the Start4Life Breastfeeding Friendchatbot for trusted NHS advice anytime, day or night.

For more of my mummy blogs please check out www. hummingbirdpilates.co.uk.

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Hugh Grant Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslett 1990 Billy Ray Valentine Will Ferrell Three: Dasher, Dancer and Donner 1840s: by Sir Henry Cole in 1843 St Nicholas 2 hours 2 Become 1, Too Much, Goodbye Elton John Rockabye by Clean Bandit (ft. Sean Paul and Anne Marie) On the Feast of Stephen Pear tree Winter Wonderland Norway Noddy Holder Mulled wine William the Conqueror Advocaat and lemonade Aladdin Rockefeller 1957 Macys The Statue of Liberty

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Stargazing with Mark Willis - November/December November 24th - Conjunction of Venus and Jupiter: These two planets will appear to be very close together in the sky. A easy way of indentifying planets! The conjunction is merely a line of sight illusion.

Jupiter is the fifth planet out from the Sun and Venus is the second an impressive sight, nonetheless!

December 21st, 22nd - The Ursids Meteor Shower: Skies should be dark enough for a good show, even though the Ursids produces only 5 - 10 meteors an hour. The remnants of another comet, Comet Tuttle, first discovered in 1790. Remember, although meteor showers radiate from a certain point, they could appear anywhere in the sky.

December 22nd 04:19 UTC: The December, or Winter, Solstice occurs now. A very positive mental attitude to adopt on December 23rd is that you can truthfully say that the days are getting longer. Although you may not want to get those surf boards out just yet!

The Christmas Star - Latest Information: Grant Mathews, Professor of Theoretical Astrophysics and Cosmology in the Department of Physics at the University of Notre Dame’s College Of Science has studied the Star of Bethlehem for more than a decade: “Modern astrophysics is how we attempt to explain one of history’s greatest astronomical

Gym Enthusiasts Donate

events.” Studying historical, astronomical and biblical records, Mathews believes that the event that led the Magi-Zoroastrian priests of ancient Babylon and Mesopotamia was an extremely rare planetary alignment occurring in 6BC and the likes of which may never be seen again. According to the researcher, the Sun, Jupiter, the Moon and Saturn were aligned in Aries, while Venus was in the constellation Pisces, and Mercury and Mars were on the other side, in Taurus.

New Moon: On November 26th and December 26th 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 - and Merry Christmas!

Mark Willis presents Willis Wireless every Monday at 7pm on Chelmsford Community Radio on 104.4 FM and online at chelmsfordcommunityradio.com.

Twitter: @WillisWireless Email: mark.willis@chelmsfordcommunityradio.com

Samia Uddin, the founder of the project, said: “I’m delighted that GO30 gym have been supportive of this project and were able to host the event. It shows real community spirit still exists. I hope the donated items will make the lives of the service users at CHESS a little easier.

“A large proportion of the donations were from GO30 gym, my colleagues at Essex county council and also family and friends. The final amount of donations that have been recieved is 400.”

Jacqui Parker, from the CHESS night shelter said: ‘’CHESS would like to thank everyone who contributed towards this project including Samia, people at Essex County Council and the users at GO30 ladies gym in Chelmsford for their generous donations of goods to support the residents at CHESS.

Gym enthusiasts donated more than a hundred self-care items for the homeless, on behalf of the local project, A Small Good Thing.

“We rely on the community to enable us to continue the work we do in helping the homeless move on in a positive way.’’

The regulars had taken the challenge of donating a hundred items for the local charity CHESS night shelter on George Street in Chelmsford.

Yasmin from GO30 ladies only gym added: “It was a pleasure collecting donations on behalf of CHESS in order to support the local community.

The essential items which were donated were wipes, sanitary towels, combs, dry shampoo, clothes and food. There was 143 items raised altogether from the event.

“The ladies were fantastic and I was so proud of all of them at GO30. They were really keen to do as much as they could and it reflects our community feel within the club.”

All Aboard!!

The People’s Postcode Lottery have made it possible for many elderly and disabled residents to attend social day centres such as the one at Chelmer Housing scheme, Cotman Lodge.

With a grant for £10,000, local charity Chelmsford Community Transport have been able to purchase a new wheelchair accessible minibus.

Offering affordable transport options, the charity enables those who can no longer access public transport, or people who live in rural locations, the option to travel in one of their six minibuses or fleet of volunteer cars.

Gary Halpin (pictured), one of the full-time minibus drivers for the charity, said: “We’re thrilled with the new minibus. We can now transport more passengers to social or support groups, medical appointments or just down to the shops. It really matters to our

passengers that they get to stay independent.”

Covering the whole of Chelmsford, including South Woodham Ferrers and Danbury, the buses are vital to older residents, local community groups and disabled individuals.

Aiming to reduce isolation and loneliness in the community, Chelmsford Community Transport is often described as a ‘lifeline’ linking residents to the outside world.

Run mostly by volunteer drivers, the charity is fundraising to keep the buses on the road. Join them for a fundraising evening of Chinese food and Karaoke at Sam’s Karaoke Bar in Chelmsford on Wednesday 15th November at 7.30pm. Tickets are £23 which includes a delicious buffet and can be booked by calling 01245 477 789.

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YOUR LOCAL INDEPENDENT ESTATE AGENT SERVING CHELMSFORD FOR 25 YEARS FOR A FREE PROFESSIONAL VALUATION CALL 01245 266980 Goldlay Road Offers over £400,000

Victorian semi-detached Three bedrooms 80ft south facing garden Many original features Moulsham Street Guide Price £600,000

Victorian semi-detached 4/5 Bedrooms 50ft west facing garden Many original features Meadgate Avenue £150,000

• Ground floor flat • Ideal first purchase • One bedroom • Sole Agents

Moulsham Street £400,000

Extended semi-detached Three bedrooms Detached garage No onward chain Mildmay Road O.I.E.O. £650,000

• Victorian detached house • Three bedrooms • Improved and extended • Many original features Lower Anchor Street £299,995

Victorian end terrace Two bedrooms 40ft rear garden • Garage/off road parking STPP

Orchard Street £299,995

Victorian terrace house Two bedrooms South facing rear garden No onward chain Rothesay Avenue £685,000

Detached chalet style bungalow Four double bedrooms 60ft south facing garden Parking/detached garage Rookes Crescent £189,995

Top floor apartment Two bedrooms Off street parking No onward chain