Chelmsford The City Times October/November 2014

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Issue Number 13 - 17th October - 13th November 2014

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CT Welcome Dear readers

Well it is our birthday, we started Chelmsford The City Times a year ago. How quickly that year has passed. We would like to thank all our writers and advertisers for their support over the last year and of course all of the readers!

This month the Ideas Fest starts and runs for 2 weeks from the 20th October. See a list of all of the events on page 7. We are a proud sponser and hope to attend a few of the events which we will report back on in the next issue.

Lastly, our next music event is November the 14th with LaVendore Rogue and Roadhouse at Jardins in Braintree.

Regards Paul & Nick

www.chelmsfordthecitytimes.co.uk, www.moulshamtimes.com & www.braintreelife.co.uk Advertising Editorial Nick Garner Paul Mclean 07970 206682 07595 949701 ads@itsyourmedia.co.uk editorial@itsyourmedia.co.uk Disclaimer: It’s Your Media Ltd publish Chelmsford 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, Chesmford. Reg No 9154871. Printed by Imagery UK.

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CT Fashion - Menswear Autumn Trends

The other evening I watched the last episode on BBC4 of ‘Oh You Pretty Things - The Story of Music and Fashion’ what a fantastic piece of television. If you get the chance, do check it out on the iPlayer, it’s a must see. They covered fashion and specifically New Romantics from the 1980s.

What struck me was how inventive fashion was at that time, especially when it came to the boys. Girls have always dressed up, but during that era, it was the boys that led the way when it came to fashion and music. With bands around like Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet, Adam and the Ants and Culture Club, these were boys that took risks. They weren’t afraid of a bit of ‘guyliner’ and really went to town on their outfits. David Bowie paved the way and lots of those eighties bands took their inspiration from him, but really there were no limits when it came to men’s fashion; ornate military jackets, Breton tops, leather trousers, frilly shirts, ridiculously pointed shoes and not forgetting mad make-up and big hair.

Steve Strange of the band Visage used to run a club night on a Tuesday at The Blitz Club. This night was hugely important when it came to the scene and anybody who was anybody would want to be seen there. In fact Steve Strange himself would be on the door and would frequently turn people away if they weren’t cool enough. Can you imagine a bloke going to a club these days and getting turfed out for crimes against fashion!

I think it’s a shame that men don’t dress up to that extent anymore and menswear has become a lot tamer, but it doesn’t mean men can’t try a new look once in a while. Last month I covered women’s trends, so this month, it’s the turn of the guys. Men’s fashions don’t tend to move as fast as women’s and you will find some trends repeating, like layering, but often there is another twist on something from last year.

Autumn/Winter Trends Best of British This is an easy trend to pull off for young and old, and this is a trend that was around last year, it is classic British style at it’s best.

Barbour style waxed jackets, caps, tweed blazers and Fair Isle knits.

Bottle and army green will feature for this trend.

Go to M&S for their Luxury Sartorial, Pure Cotton Tailored Fit Bold Checked Twill Shirt (£35.00) or their Luxury Sartorial Pure New Wool Tailored Fit 2 Button Herringbone Jacket (£139.00).

are really not sold on this trend. Topman’s Long Sleeve Floral Shirt (£28.00) is a good place to start, as the colour is muted.

Photo Topman

Double Up This is a reincarnation of the layering trend, but just using jackets and coats.

This is a great look and really practical for the colder weather. Try a biker jacket with wool overcoat on top or a denim jacket with a parker. Go to Gap for their Fur Trim Parker (£99.95).

Blue Monday The colour blue will be everywhere this season, from classic workwear, to formal wear and casual wear. Layer the colour blue using different shades.

For a great work wear look, try wearing a powder blue tailored suit with a darker navy shirt underneath or vice versa, dark navy suit with pale blue polo neck underneath. For a casual look, try indigo jeans, light blue denim shirt, navy jumper and navy duffle coat. You could also bring blue into your outfits in small doses, buy a blue beanie hat or royal blue scarf and it will go with any other colour combinations.

Emma Smith lives in Chelmsford and is a style consultant. She offers personal shopping and wardrobe planning. You can contact her via her website www.emmasmith.co.uk or email her: emma@emmasmith.co.uk.

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New Yorker You will see a huge trend for everything stateside; New York City retro t-shirts.

American football shirts, bomber jackets, puffer jackets and hoodies.

If you want to do the whole look, here it is… jogging pants, baseball boots, retro logo t-shirts, check lumberjack shirt and wooly beanie hat (think Rocky). Head to H&M and Topman to recreate this look.

Frankie Says The slogan and the logo t-shirt will be big news this season, everything from French Connection’s Katherine Hamnett’s ‘Choose Life’ inspired t-shirts to Topman’s ‘Worn By’ Joy Division t-shirt.

The Floral Dance Florals will be seen on the high street, but you don’t have to make a bold statement, so step away from that Hawaiian shirt!

This trend is more about the ditsy print floral (which means small to the rest of us). Bring florals into your wardrobe subtly in the form of a tie or socks, if you

Mini beer festival every two months

Beer Tourism by Simon Tippler of www.roundtowerbrewery.co.uk Many of us who enjoy a really great beer make it a feature of our holidays too. In the July/August issue of City Times, I wrote about taking a trip to the Bermondsey Mile in London and this month I am going to look at taking your passion for great beer even further into Europe.

If you are a beer fan, you may well have heard of Podge’s Belgian Beer Tours and if you haven’t then you need to! You may have seen Podge at the Chelmsford CAMRA Beer Festivals. He is the guy you see running the popular Belgian Beer Bar or, for those of you who go back a bit further, you might remember him for his remarkable gourmet pickled eggs. As well as bringing Belgian beer to Chelmsford, he also takes Brits to Belgium with his tour company that he runs from his base in Old Moulsham, Chelmsford.

Back in 1994, after over ten years of organising Chelmsford CAMRA’s Real Ale Runabouts to pubs throughout Essex, he decided to take beer tourism to the next level with a tour to Antwerp. Since then, over the past 20 years, there have been over 70 beer tours from Essex to all parts of Belgium visiting breweries, blenders, monasteries, specialist cafes and having some unique tastings and beer experiences.

Belgium is a great destination for beer tourism as it has such a history steeped in beer as well as a thriving beer culture to become immersed in. Even in these days of international trading, some of the great Belgium beers are difficult to get hold of in the UK.

This year is a big year in Belgium with the anniversary of the start of the First World War and to mark the occasion Podge is running several Beer and Battlefields tours. These tours will be guided by Siobhan McGinn who has written her dissertation on the Great War for her masters degree in British First World War Studies and has a specialist interest in the role beer played in the First World War. Another of the popular tours that Podge runs is the Lambic Land tour.

Lambic beers are made by leaving the beer open to the air to be fermented by whatever wild yeast happens to float by in the air.

These beers are them blended together so that the final beer often contains two, three or more different beers. In fact, many producers of Lambic beer are not brewers themselves, but simply buy in beers to blend and form their own beer. Lambic beers are an acquired taste and are characterised by a sour after taste.

It would be hard to beat the knowledge and expertise available to you if you attend one of Podge’s Belgian Beer Tours but if you fancy organising your own beer holiday on the continent then you could consider finding a good beer festival to visit such as Borfets in The Netherlands or Alvinne in Belgium (6-7 March 2015), where you will be able to sample a wide selection of some of the best beer in the world.

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The Ideas Festival is back with two whole weeks of creative cultural events between the 20th October and the 2nd November.

With CREATE as the focus, there is a week of half term creative kids events, as well as a number of craft events, events focused on creating change, as well as two Rasberry Pi events for those with a technical bent and a whole host of events for creating new understanding and connections from history to cultural treats.

Radio is a strong theme this year, with radio past and present well represented. Professor Francesco Parasce Marconi, grandson of Guglielmo Marconi, the founder of the world’s very first wireless factory in Chelmsford, is coming to Chelmsford on the 29th of October to talk about his grandfather and how Guglielmo’s discoveries and inventions continue to play an important role in modern communications both here on Earth and far out into space. James Whale will be hosting an evening focused on current radio broadcasting, while the amateur radio society will show you what the current state of the art is and two young artists will be involving kids in recording their own radio programmes the best of which will be aired on Chelmsford Community Radio. Kids will also

be able to make their own crystal radio sets in the original Marconi hut at Sandford Mill Museum on the 29th of October.

So what makes a happy city? Ideas that can change the way we live for the better will be explored in the newly refurbished Anne Knight Building opposite Chelmsford Station during three events on 30th Oct. “What helps bring heart and soul alive in a place?”- will be the topic of the morning session. After lunch, a walk around the central city precinct will visit places where creative enterprise is finding expression. And in the evening a distinguished panel including two leading thinkers will consider how planning and policy can encourage a socially just, accessible, environmentally sustainable, healthy and happy city.

You can pick up the programme booklet from your local library, Festival venues and the Ideas Hub in Market Square, High Chelmer opposite Bell Meadow Park (open mon-sat 10am-4pm). You can also download it from www.changingchelmsford.org/if2014. Be sure to book your place via the website, or if you don’t have access to the internet you can phone 07899 066292.

You can pick up your copy of the Ideas Festival programme at your local library and at the Ideas Hub which is in the High Chelmer shopping centre in Chelmsford, on the corner of the Chelmsford multi-storey car park market and Bell Meadow Park. The Ideas Hub is open Monday through to Saturday from 10am to 4pm and the phone number is 07899 066292. Many of the events are free or reasonably priced, however booking is required for many. Please book events online via www.changingchelmsford.org/if2014. If you don’t have access to the internet, the folks at the Ideas Hub will be happy to help so feel free to drop by.

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Monday 20th October An Historical Walk of Moulsham Street | 2pm-3.30pm | Ideas Hub Festival Launch | 6.30pm-7.30pm | Anglia Ruskin University Mental Health and War, Past, Present and Future | 7.30pm-9pm | Anglia Ruskin University Tuesday 21st October One Day Bookbinding Workshop | 10am-4pm | Essex Record Office Why should you meditate? Because there’s some questions you cannot Google! | 7pm-9pm | Ideas Hub A View from Space | 7.30pm-9pm | Anglia Ruskin University Wednesday 22nd October Impossible! | 10am-12pm | Anglia Ruskin University The Value of Service User Research | 12pm-1.30pm | Chelmsford Library Lunchtime Music Event - Swapsies | 1pm-2pm | Cramphorn Theatre The Cultural Aspects of the Commemorations of the First World War | 6.30pm-8pm | Anglia Ruskin University The Hidden Reality of Racism, an Interactive Presentation | 7pm9pm | Ideas Hub Passing the Turning test: How to Create a Character | 7.30pm-9pm | Anglia Ruskin University Thursday 23rd October Ebarts - the Social Currency | 12pm-2pm | Ideas Hub Fascinating Hidden History for Black History Month | 7pm-9pm | Ideas Hub Re-imagining our Community and the Rules We Live By | 7pm-9pm | Anglia Ruskin University Friday 24th October Whole Pleasure Ice Cream | 10am-4pm | Anglia Ruskin University Wild Food Walk 1 | 10.30am-11.30am | Anglia Ruskin University Wild Food Cooking Demonstration and Tasting | 12pm-1.15pm | Anglia Ruskin University Wild Food Walk 2 | 2pm-3pm | Anglia Ruskin University Community Festival of Music | 7.30pm-9pm | Salvation Army Citadel Saturday 25th October River Celebration Day | 10am-4pm | Chelmsford City Centre Improv Factory | 10am-4pm | Ideas Hub Freehand Cutting Dressmaking with Chinelo Bally | 10am-4.30pm | Make Do & Mend The Changing Face of Chelmsford | 10.30am-3pm | Essex Record Office Wellbeing Weekend | 12pm-4pm | Marconi Social Club The Origins of the First World War | 2.30pm-4.30pm | Trinity Methodist Church Creatives Supper Club | 6pm-8pm | Ideas Hub Sunday 26th October Purely Essex - Local Food Producers Market | 10am-4pm | Chelmsford City Centre Sound and Electronics with Scratch, Python and Sonic Pi! | 10am4pm | Ideas Hub Wellbeing Weekend | 12pm-4pm | Marconi Social Club Monday 27th October Big Draw | 11am-4pm | Hylands Estate Treasures of the Essex Sound and Video Archive | 12.30pm- 1.15pm | Ideas Hub An Historical Walk of Moulsham Street | 2pm-3.30pm | Starting from the Ideas Hub Introduction to the Sewing Machine | 6pm-8pm | Make Do & Mend Broadcasting Now, in the Birthplace of Radio | 7.30pm-9.30pm | Ideas Hub Tuesday 28th October Magistrates in the Community | 10am-12pm | County Hall Radio Show Time | 11am-1pm | Ideas Hub Create a Fairtrade Cake and Build a Fairer World | 1pm-3pm | Anglia Ruskin University

Tuesday 28th October Radio Show Time | 2pm-4pm | Ideas Hub Paper Cutting | 6pm-9pm | Make Do & Mend Community Land Trusts - Getting the “Right Kind” of Development | 7pm-9pm | Ideas Hub The Consequences of Conflict | 7.30pm-9pm | Anglia Ruskin University Staying Safe Online | 7.30pm-9pm | Anglia Ruskin University Wednesday 29th October 3D Tudor Chelmsford | 10am-12pm | Essex Record Office Creepy Claymation | 10am-1pm | Ideas Hub Learn to Make a Shambala Style Bracelet | 10am-2pm | Ideas Hub Marconi’s Magic Hut | 10am-4pm | Sandford Mill Museum The Hidden Reality of Racism, an Interactive Presentation | 12pm1.30pm | Anglia Ruskin University Lunchtime Music Event - Stave House Music Education | 1pm-2pm | Cramphorn Theatre 3D Tudor Chelmsford | 1.30pm-3.30pm | Essex Record Office Creating a Fitting Funeral Ceremony: Busting Myths and Explaining Choices | 2.15pm-5pm | Ideas Hub Making Waves: How Marconi’s Wireless Legacy takes us ever further into Space | 7.30pm-9pm | Anglia Ruskin University Thursday 30th October Creating a Happy City | 9.30am-1pm | Anne Knight Building 50 Things To Do Before You’re 11 3/4 | 11am-3.30pm | Bell Meadow Park Happynomics – Inventiveness and Resourcefulness in Community Building | 2pm-5pm | Anne Knight Building Happiness as a Way of Life | 7pm-8.30pm | Anne Knight Building Creating History. A Civilian’s Experience of the 2nd World War in Essex | 7.30pm-9pm | Anglia Ruskin University Fascinating Hidden History for Black History Month | 7.30pm-9.30pm | Anglia Ruskin University Friday 31st October Whole Pleasure Ice Cream | 10am-4pm | Anglia Ruskin University Magistrates in the Community | 10am-12pm | County Hall The World of Amateur Radio 10am-4pm | Ideas Hub Bringing the Outside In | 11am-2pm | Ideas Hub Saturday 1st November Animate! Create! |10am-3pm | Ideas Hub The World of Fred Spalding: Photographs of Chelmsford Past 11am-12pm | Essex Record Office 3D Printer | 1pm-4pm | Chelmsford Library The 30th Anniversary Year of the UN Convention on Torture | 2.30pm-4.30pm| Quaker Meeting House Sunday 2nd November The World of Amateur Radio | 10am-4pm | Ideas Hub Build a Working Alarm System with a Raspberry Pi Computer | 10am-4pm | Ideas Hub

CT Gardening by Tom Cole

Griffin Estates

This s an excellent time of the year to start thinking about planting and or looking after beds and borders before the onset of winter.

During October I tend to bring tender plants, such as fuchsia, argyranthemums and geraniums, into a porch, greenhouse or conservatory before the first frost falls and causes them damage. Watering needs to be reduced and plants routinely checked for mildew or grey mould and removed.

If you haven’t done so already, get bulbs into the ground (leave tulips for November planting). Plant them as deep as possible for a better chance of them flowering again in future years, but if the ground is too wet, plant in black plastic pots for transplanting in the new year.

Bury holly leaves with bulbs if squirrels are a problem… it sort of works!

At the college we are planting a few new hedges. Prepare ground well; if very dry add well rotted organic matter such as garden compost, leaf mould or well rooted manure. If soil is moist and rich in colour there is no need to add this bulky conditioner. Don’t feed at this time as this can lead to lazy root syndrome… add a general purpose feed in late March for a boost. Try and consider a mixed native hedge using such examples as hawthorn, quick thorn, guilder rose, hornbeam or beech to give a tapestry effect and a wildlife haven.

Towards the end of this month and moving into November it’s ideal to plant bare-root and container-grown trees and bare-root roses. Check that you aren’t planting too deeply. No deeper than the pot you by it in…or where the nursery mark is (when plants are removed from soil as bare rooted there will be a colour change just above the root system – known as the nursery mark).

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Get that bedding out now to make best use of the summer heat still retained in the soil. Plant wallflowers without delay. If these don’t take your fancy try Brompton Stocks: lovely foliage all through the winter period, and then there will be an explosion of colour and sweetly scented fragrance for spring.

At our new site at Abberton Reservoir, we will be planting soft-fruit bushes. Check they are certified virus-free before buying. Consider a successional supply of fruit by using a range of cultivars to spread the harvest.

Want strong sweet peas for next year? Then sow sweet peas in a cold greenhouse this month – I use long tom pots to enable deeper rooting, or you could use root trainers. These are excellent internally ridged ‘split-apart’ pots super for sweet peas, long stemmed cuttings and trees/ shrubs raised by seed.

Fill gaps in flower borders. Plant wallflowers for bright shades and to fill the garden with fragrance, as well as tulip bulbs for contrasting colour and height. Also consider splitting and dividing perennials where they have become diseased; compost poor plants, plant your best ad give away the rest!

Lastly, why not join staff and students to raise funds for The National Garden Scheme at our garden open day on Sunday 26th October between 10am-3pm. Autumnal colour is beginning to develop on a range of maples, cherries and birch. Herbaceous perennials are displaying their fabulous seed heads and autumn hues. Check out the ornamental grasses; Miscanthus cvs., and Pennisetum to name but a few…. and of course there are the myriad of fruiting plants across the campus.

Good luck and happy gardening!

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Dying to Be There by Simon Culleton I had the sad honour of attending a funeral the other day of which to no fault of my own, I arrived late. There were at least three funerals taking place at any one time at this particular crematorium and as I hurriedly joined the back of the line of mourners before they filed into the chapel it struck me as alarmingly relevant that they all looked the same and I could quite easily be at the wrong one.

Here in the UK the average person may attend up to 11 funerals in their lifetime and one of which will be unavoidable. In England and Wales in 2012, 484,367 funerals were recorded, an increase of 1.3% on the previous year. With the average funeral costing between £3,456 and £7,622 it is no wonder that the Institute Of Fiscal Studies voted the funeral business as one of the most safe investments; although they also stated the same with the sex toy industry; both being recession-free and with an endless supply of customers.

Yet, the face of funerals does seem to be changing as the cultures that exist amongst us also change. Eco, Islamic and Jewish burials are all common practice now. Even the Hindu open air cremations are being considered by some councils although mercifully the tradition of the wife throwing herself upon the flames to join her husband should he die first is has long since gone. Although to be honest if that tradition existed in England and included ex-wives, most funerals would be a fire hazard.

Some people request that their funerals are to be of a lighter nature with poems or most often selected music: in the top 30 most played

songs at funerals My Way by Frank Sinatra comes in at number one closely followed by the Monty Python classic, Always Look on the Bright Side of Life. Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven is at number 21 and is a more unusual choice, though my personal favourite is at number 18 and I’m sure in some circumstance may be quite apt: From Walt Disney’s The Wizard of Oz, Ding Dong! The Witch is Dead.

Incidentally Walt Disney was never buried, choosing to have his body frozen until such a time that he can be re-heated into life. (I just hope no-one accidently switches the freezer off.)

Some people prefer to mark their passing with an individual and often striking headstone, something that was prevalent during the 18th century with ornate cavings of angels perched atop over dominating gothic structures. Others prefer a more subtle approach with a simple inscription chipped into their head stone. In loving memory or gently sleeping. I prefer Spike Milligan’s I told you I was ill.

Now-a-days, flowers are used to great effect to enhance the funeral day, often spelling out the names of dearly missed loved ones or forming a motif to remember them by, like a fire engine or a train according to their likes or profession. I can remember driving past a cemetery in London who’s landscape was dominated by a large flower trellis work formed in the shape of a travellers caravan. It would have been ironic had somebody nicked it.

Whether lavish or simple, the one thing that all funerals have in common is the pouring of grief, love and of course the finality. If I had accidently happened upon the wrong funeral the other day I feel sure I would have still been in a room full of dignity and love with professional staff who’s difficult job doesn’t allow them to smile or joke (a bit like the staff at McDonalds) and they certainly can’t say “have a nice day” or “come back soon.” Though to be fair at some point all of us will have to. Simon@limepad.com.

CT Cooking

By John Jacobs

I’m off to Germany for a long weekend. Oktoberfest. A celebration of all things Teutonic, namely bratwurst, beer steins and drinking songs that are surprisingly easy to learn whilst stood on a wooden table with 300 like-minded Stuttgarters enjoying electro-oompah rock played at sufficient a volume to cause massive internal hemorrhaging.

Whilst that’s finishing, sauté the wild mushroom in a frying pan and add the pak choi. At this point you can also add the noodles to cook through. Prior to servicing heat up the cherries and dress your plate.

The last time I went to Oktoberfest I awoke after the first night, face down on a hotel bathroom floor with a broken rib and geometrically perfect tile marks across my forehead. I don’t recall much but do recollect struggling to order food in German and being served something that I can only describe as a severed limb in glue. I understand now that it was Schweinshaxe, boiled leg of pork in sauerkraut. Knowing its identity doesn’t make it any more palatable.

This year, I’m older and wiser. I intend on eating in restaurants displaying backlit images of food that I can point to like those unfortunate dribbling lab chimpanzees pointing at pictures of bananas, or as they’re also known, Brits in Magaluf. Alternatively I could simply take a phrase book. Actually, come to think of it, myself and a friend did end up in a swanky eatery where I was convinced I could read everything on the menu only to come to the realisation we were in a Greek restaurant.

Enjoy

September has gone and I hope some of you had an opportunity to go to one of the many beer festivals in Chelmsford over the summer with more heading our way as the evenings draw in and the leaves turn russet and ochre. There’s usually live music thrown in, but unlike Oktoberfest, a distinct lack of busty serving wenches in traditional Bavarian costume. Well done Nick Garner for another successful Blues in the City keeping the vibe alive. Chelmo welcomes its first marathon this month, good luck to all of you brave enough to be running and well done to Saturday morning’s park runners who create such a great spectacle and buzz in Central Park.

View all of our magazines online at www.issuu.com/itsyourmedia

Lastly, I hate to mention it but that thing we’ve all been avoiding is nearly here. Christmas is not far away. Last year I thoroughly enjoyed your recipe ideas and comments on my Yuletide top tips. E-mail them to me at cctfood@gmail.com so I can sift through them in time for our festive edition. Have a great month Chelsmfordians, and in the spirit of German cordiale and Oktoberfest, here’s something Chinese...

Honey & Soy Pork Belly With Wild Mushrooms, Pak Choi and Black Cherries Feeds 2 Ingredients: 1 pork belly (approx 400-500 grams) Pak choi Honey and soy sauce Mixed wild mushrooms Tinned black cherries Fresh vermicelli noodles Method Start off by getting that pork belly to the point of falling apart. Place it in a roasting tin on a wire rack and pour about a pint of water into the bottom. Cover the skin with greaseproof paper to avoid sticking and then seal the roasting tin with tin foil. Leave to cook slowly in the oven for 3-3.5 hours on a medium heat.

Whilst that’s steaming away, put the cherries in a saucepan with the juice and add a couple of healthy tablespoons of brown sugar, and a teaspoon of Chinese five spice. Reduce the syrup down to gravy type consistency. Take off the heat and leave to one side.

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When the pork is cooked, take off the paper and foil and leave to cool slightly. If it’s too hot the glaze will simply drizzle off. In a jug mix about 300ml of honey and soy sauce in equal measure and stir until well mixed. Pour over the pork belly and put back in a hot over for 10 minutes.

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CT What’s On In Chelmsford Oct/Nov October 17th Asylum - Shakey’ Sessions - Failing to Fly + The White Gospel + This Broken Empire + Andy Stock Bassment - Suburban 100 + Velettes + Indie Alt Disco Civic Theatre - Sherlock Holmes - The Scandal of the Scarlet Woman Cramphorn - Jimmy’s Hall (12A) Faces - Over 21s party night The Fleece - Captain Fleecey’s Birthday Bash - Red Leaf + DJs 18th Asylum - Metal ‘n’ rock all dayer Bassment - Hot Sauce! Indie Alt Disco Civic - Steeleye Span Cramphorn - Comedy Club 4 Kids!

Faces - Over 21s party night Fleece - Under Ether plus DJ Captain Fleecey 19th Ale House - Irish music session Civic - Stringfever Faces - Jazz Sunday - Sunday Roast Med Fusion - Meet Your Neighbour 21st Civic - Horrible Histories: Barmy Britain Cramphorn - In Bloom (15) Fleece - Ale & Cheese society – all ales £1.95 + FREE cheese Fultons on the Green - Keeley Smith singing 22nd Asylum - Insanity Syndrome + Horror Pandemic + Far From History Bassment - Tall Dark Friend + Jakob Deist + Khanyisa + Luke Fisher Civic - Horrible Histories: Barmy Britain Cramphorn - Lunchtime Concert Cramphorn - Vikings at the British Museum Faces - 80s night Fleece - The 195 Club – selected drinks £1.95 from 5pm 23rd Asylum - Three Birds Blind + Matt Poole + Good Spirits + Oink Bassment - Blues Jam with Laura Tuckey Civic - Horrible Histories: Barmy Britain Cramphorn - Chelmsford Film Club - The German Doctor Faces - Live Lounge acoustic Fleece - Quiz Night - £1 per person entry, plus Jackpot round too Med Fusion - Jazz with Nicole Peach 24th Asylum - Benzokayn + Chasin Vegas + Witchingseason Bassment - Missing Andy (acoustic) + Looking For Liam + Indie Alt Disco Civic - Horrible Histories: Barmy Britain Cramphorn - Hanging Hooke Faces - Over 21s party night Fleece - Charlies Aunt plus DJ Captain Fleecey Little Baddow Memorial Hall - Quiz Night - £12.50 inc supper contact - info@wildernessfoundation.org.uk 25th Ale House - Gary Hall Bassment - Surfer’s Delight + Qtrons + Indie Alt Disco CCFC - Chelmsford City V Wealdstone Civic - Horrible Histories: Barmy Britain Faces - Over 21s party night Fleece - Scooby Plus DJ Captain Fleecey 26th Alex House - Ale House Jam Civic - London Mozart Players – M&G Concert Cramphorn - Legends of Love Faces - Jazz Sunday - Sunday Roast

27th Asylum - Raw In Sect + Mercury Rising + Barbora + Osmium Guillotine Bassment - Live music & comedy hosted by David J Harvey Chelmsford City FC - clairvoyant night Civic - I due Foscari 28th Bassment - Ethno jam night Civic - Joe Brown in concert Cramphorn - The Wind Rises (PG) Fleece - Ale & Cheese Society – All ales £1.95 plus FREE cheese boards Fultons on the Green - Tony Vegas singing 29th Asylum - Pool competition Bassment - The Delta Jacks + Flying Vees + Happning Boy & Harmonica Mike Cramphorn - Lunchtime concert Faces - 80s night Fleece - The 195 Club – selected drinks £1.95 from 5pm Woolpack - Beer festival 30th Asylum - Playground + 3 Foot High Civic - The Ben Cox Band Faces - Live Lounge acoustic Fleece - Quiz Night - £1 per person entry, plus Jackpot round Woolpack - Beer festival 31st Asylum - Halloween Fancy Dress Party - Mouth Full of Ashtrays + Voodoo Prayer + Distorted Ale House - Andy Poole’s Riddled With Booze Orchestra Bassment - Frere’s presents Cirque Du Freak HALLOWEEN Grizzly Bears Civic - Room on the Broom Cramphorn - A Touch of Sin (15) Fleece - Spooky School Silent Disco Faces - Over 21s party night Indigo - Shakey’s Halloween - Wolves in Sheeps Clothing + Killatrix + Up & Go + White Pony Med Fusion - Halloween party Woolpack - Beer festival November 1st Ale House - The Jives UK Asylum - Oxjam - Little Donkey + Emily Tuttlebury + Drowned Atlas + Be Still Bassment - 1st Birthday - Don Letts + Sylvain Sylvain (New York Dolls) Civic - Room on the Broom Faces - Over 21s party night Fleece - Halloween Part 2 – The Earnshaws + Silent disco 2nd Civic - Room on the Broom 4th Bassment - Leddra Chapman + support Cramphorn - A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum Fleece - Ale & Cheese Society – All ales £1.95 plus FREE cheese boards Fultons on the Green - Diane Moore 5th Bassment - Lianne Kaye / Guy Jones + support Cramphorn - A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum Cramphorn - Lunchtime concert Fleece - The 195 Club – Selected drinks £1.95 from 5pm Faces - 80s night 6th Bassment - Richard Capener + Robert Castellani + Stuart Masters Royal Corinthian Yacht Club Burnham - Vintage Tea Party Cramphorn - A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum

6th 13th Faces - Live Lounge acoustic Bassment - Acoustic Underground Fleece - Quiz Night - £1 per person entry, plus Jackpot round Little Baddow Memorial Hall - Christmas shopping extravaganza 7th Faces - Live Lounge acoustic Asylum - Oceans Aside + Thirteen + Metal Priestess Fleece - Quiz Night, - £1 per person entry, plus Jackpot round Bassment - Shakey’s Sessions - Little Donkey + Fuze + Roisin O’Hagen Civic - Private Peaceful Cramphorn - A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum Faces - Over 21s party night Fleece - Set in Stone plus DJ Captain Fleecey 8th Asylum - Anarchistwood + The Three Mothers + Hooligan Collective Bassment - Indie alternative disco Please note, Civic - Private Peaceful all events are Cramphorn - A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum subject to Faces - Over 21s party night change. Please The Rising Plus DJ Captain Fleecey visit the relevant 10th websites or Cramphorn - Chelmsford Film Club - Paths of Glory (PG) Facebook pages 11th for more details.

Civic - Jeremy Hardy Fultons on the Green - Sarah O’Shea singing Fleece - Ale & Cheese Society – All ales £1.95 + FREE cheese boards 12th Asylum - quiz night Bassment - Blues In The City - Fran McGillivray Band + Happnin Boy & Friends Cramphorn - Lunchtime concert Cramphorn - National Trust talk Faces - 80s night Fleece - The 195 Club – Selected drinks £1.95 from 5pm

Danbury Fireworks – Saturday 8th November The skies of Danbury will again be illuminated with colour on Saturday 8th November 2014 as the Friends of Danbury Scout Group hold their annual fireworks display event at Danbury Outdoors, off the A414. This event has been running for over 46 years and keeps its title as one of the best, largest and oldest displays in the area.

What started out as a small gathering of people and a £20.00 box of rockets 46 years ago has now developed into event with a fireworks budget in excess of £10,000. As always, the stunning aerial fireworks display will be set to music, fired by an awarding winning fireworks company, providing a constant riot of sparks, colour and sound, culminating in a spectacular finale.

The beer tent will be making its return, serving a selection of beverages including real ale, lager, wine, soft drinks and of course mulled wine to warm you up. There’s plenty of space in the beer garden giving a perfect view of the display. There will also be a host of catering outlets to suit every taste.

This year we are joined by Heart FM who will be hosting our live entertainment stage including music from live band Twisted Logistics who are making a welcome return. Be sure to tune into Heart FM’s Breakfast & Drive Time shows as they will be running competitions for free tickets to the event.

Other entertainment is on offer in the form of our traditional giant bonfire and our usual funfair providing additional entertainment for all the family with a happy hour from 5:30 to 6:30pm.

To get tickets for Danbury Fireworks

2014 you can either buy them at a reduced rate in advance from one of the many local businesses around Danbury and Chelmsford, including Manor Farm & Chelmsford Star Co-op food stores, or alternatively, tickets are available on the gates.

A free car park, run by the Danbury Fireworks team of volunteers, is open from 5pm and you are urged to arrive in good time as the fireworks will start promptly at 8pm.

All profits from the event are used to support Scouting in Danbury and other local supporting charities and organisations.

CT Business

sponsored by:

Clovis Point Productions by Darren Lerigo of www.modernmint.co.uk “When I was seven or eight I had all these film posters on the wall in my bedroom. But we didn’t have a video player, so I would just look at the posters and imagine what the film was about. I’ve been hungry for cinema ever since…”

This month I have taken a break from working at Modern Mint (www.modernmint.co.uk) to speak to Benedict Coen of Clovis Point Productions - Chelmsford’s very own independent film production company.

This year they have made a number of short films (which you can see at their website www.clovispointproductions.com) and also provide production for corporate and commercial videos – so if you are a business needing a short film for your website, for staff training, or just to help educate your clients on a new product, Clovis Point Productions is your answer.

Where did you get into making films Ben? “I studied filmmaking in London, where I was taught by Ken Russell.

I then continued learning about film by going on to do a masters, still in London. The reason for continuing to study was that I could use the resources and equipment the school had – we were supposed to make 3 films in our time there, I ended up making 11.”

“Clovis Point Productions is now 1 year old. We have made 4 short films, the latest of which ‘Johnny Chance’ has just won an award.

We are making another short in November. We thought if we write a bunch of short films and make them it would give us this CV of great little films that can help us get good gigs. Then we can arrive in front of producers with a full length synopsis for a feature length film, which is the dream, and get people interested in giving us the money to make it.”

Where does the name Clovis Point Productions come from?

“Clovis Points were fluted spear points made by the Clovis people in North America. These people were the first stonemasons of the new world and the Clovis Points interest me because they had two functions – they were not just for hunting, but also ornamental.”

What made you set up the company?

“I want to make films. You have to ask the question – are you living for you or for someone else?”

Talking with Ben you quickly realise how much he loves what he does.

It is inspiring to speak with him.

So if you are interested in films do go to his website – www.clovispointproductions.com – and watch some of the award winning short films they have made, while if you are a business looking to improve your SEO speak to him about how Clovis Point Productions can use their skills to help you promote your company.

We’re hoping over the next few years to discover Ben and his company have kickstarted a New Wave in British cinema – keep your eyes glued to the screen!

By Darren Lerigo www.modernmint.co.uk

‘Sing and Sign’ and a Happy Re-invention

by Linda McNeill

This month I had the pleasure of chatting to Martine Brockman who runs Sing and Sign classes in Chelmsford and the surrounding area. Martine has made a transformation both in terms of her career but also her quality of life.

It is easy sitting here with Ben, who is incredibly relaxed and easygoing, to want him to succeed.

“The dream is to make my own Withnail and I. Do you know Withnail and I?” “I love Withnail and I. For those of you who don’t know it, it is a British film written and directed by Bruce Robinson, famous for Richard E. Grant saying ‘I must have some booze. I demand to have some booze!’ then drinking lighter fluid. It is well worth sitting down to watch.”

“I think that film is perfect, if you were to move just one thing out of place it would tumble. I would be happy to make just one film as good as that, just one, and then go off and do whatever else.”

“People say Hitchcock was a genius filmmaker, but I don’t think everything he did was amazing. He made so much it is hard to focus on doing the best job you can all the time. That’s why my biggest influence is Stanley Kubrick, in terms of the zeal I have to make films.

I’m influenced by Kubrick because instead of making lots of films he took his time. Made 13 films, but made them well.”

Like Kubrick, do you write and direct?

“I do write the films, I write and write and write. You know the joke about the sculptor who has a block of marble and just chips away what shouldn’t be there. Writing these films is the same. It is exciting, because you write out all the rubbish, all that stuff that clings to you.”

“I write about everyday circumstances, then twist them with a dramatic emphasis. Always question the scene – what is the interesting point? What makes us want to watch these characters?

Writing is also a good way to learn the language of film…”

An undeniable pattern has emerged throughout all the articles I have written and ladies I have interviewed over the last few months – their transformations have brought them happiness and changed their lives in really positive ways. Some career transformations have been due to redundancy, others due to having a family or some just that an opportunity has arisen and they have been brave enough to take advantage of it. Having a career is a funny old business – it can make you feel valued, important and obviously provide you with some useful cash but sometimes when change comes it makes you re-evaluate the important things in your life.

Talking to Martine was really thought-provoking and I found myself reflecting on her story in the days after I interviewed her. Martine has always been an achiever – she worked hard at school and came out with good grades and then decided to go out to work rather than to university at 18. She started locally working at a chartered accountant, but after 9 months went to work in Canary Wharf. ‘I started at the bottom but worked my way up really quickly. I was a supervisor at Bear Stearns by the time I was 21 and then I moved into client services. I worked really long days but I loved it’. Despite the financial crisis, Martine managed to continue progressing, transitioning her role to JP Morgan and then moving to Societe Generale starting in Paris then London where she was promoted to vice-president – a real achievement. However, Martine’s turning point was deciding to start a family. She found being pregnant ‘was almost taboo’ in the industry she was working in and she worked increasingly hard to prove that she was still a professional and up to the job. After her maternity leave, Martine again found it almost impossible to pick up her career as her request for flexible working

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was turned down and meetings to discuss it were intimidating. This made the decision for her – she was not prepared to never see her son due to the hours she would have to work (and commute) so she handed in her notice.

Martine was very frank during our chat. She found being a mum hard at first (as so many of us do). When you go from a full-on career to being on your own at home with an undeniably gorgeous but often very confusing small bundle who cannot tell you what they want or need, it can be really tough. ‘I became almost a recluse for 6 months, I was not confident about breastfeeding in public so I stayed in’.

However, her transformation was just around the corner. Martine started taking her son Riley to Sing and Sign classes but the classes were only on for a few sessions as the lady running them was selling her franchise. This presented itself as an opportunity to Martine. She is a linguist and has a modern-languages degree (she studied for this while working fulltime – amazing!) and she is also a musician, so to learn sign language and teach it through music seemed to be a perfect fit.

Martine took the plunge and bought the franchise enabling her to teach Sing and Sign locally. She trained in Brighton and then began offering classes. She started small, teaching in Chelmsford and South Woodham Ferrers. In the beginning she had just 9 Mums and their little ones coming but gradually the classes started to grow and now, just over a year later, she has 180 parents, has employed two teachers to help her teach, and classes have branched out into Braintree and Dunmow as well as in Chelmsford and South Woodham Ferrers. Impressive!

Sing and Sign is a musical baby and toddler class which helps arm parents/carers with the tools to enjoy great communication with their little ones. I have been taking my daughter to Martine’s classes since she was 9 months and her communication is fantastic. Martine’s Sing and Sign babies are now signing for their milk from as young as 5 months which is just the beginning of an amazing journey. It’s not only great fun to learn but hugely rewarding and useful too, eliminating any frustration of misunderstanding as they can make

themselves understood from at such a young age. It doesn’t stop when they start babbling either as the signs continue to support their speech and language development.

Martine says that Sing and Sign saved her. It has given her a business that enables her to care for her son but has also given her a huge challenge – which she needed. After having a high-flying career, being at home alone with a baby was a huge bump which knocked her confidence. Sing and Sign is her business so she had to make it work – taking risks, hiring teachers, hiring locations to teach in. In her own words ‘being a mum is a massive achievement but no-one ever says that, you aren’t told that at school and it took me time to realise this’.

I think Martine has done amazingly well and has achieved a huge amount in a short space of time: ‘it has given me and the other teachers such a new lease of life. I have had such good feedback which is invaluable as it fills you with confidence. I have great teachers and Sing and Sign has become a little community. We now cover every day of the week across our section of Essex which is fantastic. I did it for the challenge and the sanity and I absolutely love it’. Sing and Sign won Essex Mums Toddler Group of the Year and came runner up in the Baby Group of the Year. If the Mum’s are voting for her, this says it all!

It was such a pleasure chatting to Martine as it really highlighted the importance of being brave and daring to transform your career – in her case it has definitely paid off! If you are interested in finding out more about Sing and Sign please contact Martine at martinebrockman@singandsign.co.uk. You can find her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/pages/Sing-and-Sign-Chelmsford-DunmowBraintree/228564923899296 or you can find out more at: www. singandsign.com If you are a woman who has reinvented her career and would like to be featured in my, please contact me at linda@bunintheovenbirthing. co.uk. I look forward to hearing from you!

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Angel Broomfield City detective NEWS FLASH “The case of the accumulating bottle box” We interrupt this months episode of Angel Broomfield to address the pressing matter of a legitimate and concerned reader that has written to the detective agency via the ‘City Times’ with a disturbing problem of which I shall attempt to solve:

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“Dear Mr Broomefield, “I read and enjoy your exploits each month and am very impressed by your powers of deduction and athleticism in search of justice.”

“I would like to ask you for some advice regarding a criminal matter in my neighbourhood. It concerns my glass recycling box. As you know, we are very keen on recycling here in Chelmsford and my wife takes care to make sure all our waste is separated into the various categories. My problem is that each time we put our glass box (with the empty wine bottles in) out in the front garden to be collected the next morning, there seem to be more bottles present in the morning than I remember seeing the night before. I have concluded that one or more of our neighbours is putting their bottles in our box in an attempt to disguise their drinking habits.”

“I have tried to catch these people. On one occasion, by keeping watch using my powerful night binoculars. As I explained to the officers, I was so focused on the bottle box that I did not even notice that the bedroom curtains of number 111 were open and the light was on. Got away with a caution, but no progress on the bottle depositor. I tried hiding the box, the bottle rascals found it, but the bin men didn’t, so an even fuller box the next time. I thought about covering the top of the box with cling film so that their bottles would bounce off, then I remembered I had painful memories of when I tried something similar with our bathroom sink as practical joke at a party, and got soundly chastised by a wet rugby playing guest.“ “So, I was hoping that you and your team could let me have the benefit of your spectacular sleuthing and come up with a solution. I look forward to hearing from you.”

Best regards John from Chelmsford Dear Recycling Resident, You will be happy to know that I have spent some time under cover outside your house, (hiding in a wheelie bin), and am now confident in solving the mystery of the accumulating bottle box.

On Tuesday evening, the day before recycled bottle collection I spent an uncomfortable night squashed inside the wheelie bin of your next door neighbour, who incidentally did not recycle their food waste, in particular chicken tikka. By making a small spy whole in the side of the bin I was able observe your recycling bottle box at all times which I have to say is the fullest in the street apart from number 111, who having recently held a bring a bottle fancy dress party, have a good excuse. You however were not invited due to them seeing your binoculars though the crack in your curtains when you were allegedly spying on your bottle box. At 11.26pm precisely, an old man staggered up your street going through all the bottle boxes including your box. Alas this was not to add to your bottle collection but to drink the remaining drips and slurps that could be had. He only made it as far as number 76 where he can be generally found sleeping in

the rose beds. Then at 2.07am I observed the first culprit of the extra bottle mystery - the young and beautiful Slovakian pole dancer that lives opposite, who after an exhausting night sliding up and down a pole, arrived home late to the anguish of her jealous husband. She was in no mood to argue with him so instead began to throw empty wine bottles at him as he ran for cover across the road hiding behind your bottle box. He, being a decent chap and not wanting to wake the neighbours managed to catch all the bottles before they smashed on the ground and of course put them in your bottle box thus adding to the number in the box… but that’s not all: finally at 6.23am I spied the final culprit, namely your lovely and adoring wife, who dressed in her tiger feet slippers and father Christmas night gown, slipped out into the early morning to place some bottles into the box which she had carried under her night gown. I thus deduced after further investigation that she, like you, is a secret drinker who also unbeknownst to you keeps a private wine distillery in the shed at the bottom of the garden, a business that she used to be in partnership with the man that now sleeps in the rose beds of number 76.

I thus have solved your mystery of the accumulating wine box. I further deduce that to avoid it happening again you have two choices: go to the pole dancing bar and over pay your Slovakian neighbour thus allowing her to go home early and dissuade the jealous husbands feeling, or join your wife distilling wine in the garden shed, failing that you could always sleep in the rose bed at number 76.

Next month we will continue where we left off with the fast running capers of Angel , Helen and John in “The case of ‘A Titanic Struggle’.

Yet, if you have any mysteries that you wish The City Detective Agency to solve, do not hesitate to write in. We are here to serve.

CT CHARITY

Little Havens Hospice, based in Thundersley, cares for seriously ill babies, children and teenagers from Chelmsford and across Essex.

When a family has been told there is no cure for their child’s illness Little Havens helps by controlling pain and medication, offering respite and caring for babies, children and teenagers at the end of their lives. This free, specialist care is there for as long as it’s needed, within the home and at the hospice.

Little Havens is a registered charity – not part of the NHS – and receives limited government funding. The organisation must raise over £46,000 every week to be there for everyone who needs its care.

Reggie was diagnosed with the most severe form of Spinal Muscular Atrophy when he was two months old.

His parents were told it was unlikely he’d live to see his first birthday.

Reggie was four months old when he died peacefully at Little Havens Hospice in September 2013.

Carly, Reggie’s mum, said, “I just remember the sadness in the consultant’s face and hearing the words short life expectancy. There was no treatment, no cure.

“Our world completely changed. Reggie needed feeding by pump every hour through the day and night, our drawers were filled with medicines and syringes and we were always at the hospital. We went to Little Havens for respite and they took over Reggie’s care. I was so nervous as Matt and I were the only ones who had done it before.

After that, I can’t explain how it felt - they were angels who just let me be mum. Every day, Reggie was a little worse so they offered us time to stay longer. He had lost so much weight and was in pain, it

was awful but Little Havens kept him comfortable the whole time. We even managed to take him swimming and he liked the multi-sensory room.

Reggie died in my arms and we stayed at Little Havens until the day of his funeral. Family and friends visited, sat with Reggie or held him. We released sky lanterns for him whilst the nurses sat by his side. Two days before the funeral I held Reggie for the last time. I never dreamed what Little Havens would be like but from the very beginning they looked after our whole family and they gave us longer to be with Reggie. It wasn’t a relief, by any means, but he wasn’t suffering anymore. I was so glad we were there in the end”.

The care Little Havens offers to families like Reggie’s is free of charge and this wouldn’t be possible without the support of the community.

Peter Hall, Community Fundraiser for Little Havens, said: “there are so many ways that local people can help Little Havens to continue caring for families from across Essex. Whether you want to fundraise on your own, with friends or family, at school or at work you can find a fun activity to raise money for your local children’s hospice. You could organise a fundraising party, cake sale or quiz to take place at home, school or work. Or challenge yourself to complete a walk, run or bike ride and ask for sponsorship.

“Whatever you decide you want to do we will be very pleased to help you along the way. Just let us know what you have planned or request our fundraising pack for more ideas. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank everybody from Chelmsford and beyond who have supported Little Havens in the past”.

If you are interested in fundraising for Little Havens Hospice please contact the Fundraising Team on 01702 220305 or visit havenshospices.org.uk. You can keep up to date with the charity’s news on Facebook at facebook.com/havenshospices or on Twitter and Instagram @havenshospices.

Text LHAV00 £3 to 70070 to donate to Little Havens and make a difference today.

Bassment’s Birthday It’s been a year since the Bassment doors re-opened and during this time they’ve seen the likes of Mr Thing, Squarepusher, Snowboy, Ian Wright & Mr C grace the decks and stage along with over 30 of the most talented acts the local scene has to offer each month! To celebrate this momentous occasion Bassment is throwing a 70s inspired Punk Rock Reggae partyon Saturday 1st November!

Joining our illustrious residents Sir Darryl Butcher & Irie ‘One Love’ Firat in celebrating this momentous occasion we welcome two legends of the punk reggae era..

Don Letts In the late 70s he was credited as the DJ that single-handedly turned a whole generation of punks onto reggae. It was whilst DJing at the first punk club, The Roxy, in 1977 that Don adopted the punk DIY ethic and began to make his first film The Punk Rock Movie. This led to a period directing over 300 music videos for a diverse range of artists, including Bob Marley, Elvis Costello and Beenie Man. After that he went on to form the group Big Audio Dynamite, with Mick Jones (ex-Clash) in the 80s. Today, amongst other projects, you can find Don hosting his regular reggae & soul show on BBC 6 music.

Sylvain Sylvain (New York Dolls) - LIVE Along with the Velvet Underground and the Stooges, the New York Dolls were one of the first bands in the early punk rock scene and are credited with influencing bands such as the Sex Pistols, Kiss, the Ramones, Guns N’ Roses, the Damned, and The Smiths.

So on this we’re super excited to be featuring New York Dolls member Sylvain Sylvain who’ll be playing a very special live set of music that not only inspired but also shaped the 70s New York underground scene.

You can currently catch Sylvain touring his SEX DOLL acoustic rock show with Sex Pistols member Glen Matlock.

But it doesn’t stop there... on top of this we’ll be launching our brand NEW cocktail menu and as a special treat to say thank you for all the support received, there will be FREE cocktail testers running from 8pm - 10.30pm so you can be the first to experience our delicious new taste sensations.

We hope you can join us for what promises to be a unique and historic occasion!

8pm - 5am £5 advance tickets: http://www.wegottickets.com/ event/292985 £7 on the door. www.twitter.com/BassmentBar

All doors conform fully to EU safety directives

01245 396910 01245 396910.

CT

Hypnotherapy by Jenny Hartill

This is the first in a series of articles all about hypnoanalysis. I wanted to do a series on this because one of the most popular myths surrounding hypnotherapy is the idea that a therapist can “enter your mind” and then “mess with your thoughts”. No therapist would ever do that, but hypnoanalysis is certainly the section of hypnotherapy that is much more in depth in terms of actually talking to the subconscious and revealing information hidden by the client for many years.

Hypnoanalysis is a combination of investigative analytical techniques and hypnosis. It’s used to uncover incidents and/or emotions that accompany incidents that have affected the client in the past and are continuing to affect the client today. The client may be affected subconsciously or consciously, either way an initial sensitising event and the aftermath of the emotions and subsequent behaviours from these emotions are to blame and are causing the client distress.

This distress might manifest itself in thoughts, actions or patterns of behaviour. In particular where a client does not consciously associate a behaviour pattern to an incident, hypnoanalysis can be incredibly helpful. Common symptoms and/or conditions where hypnoanalysis can be used include: • Panic attacks • Phobias • Anxiety • Sleeping problems • Relationship issues • Psychosexual Difficulties • Addictions • Some types of depression I’ve mentioned many times in my articles about how the subconscious stores all of our memories and the emotions associated with those memories. Our belief systems are built around what we have learned from a young age and stored in our subconscious minds. Think of your subconscious mind as a filing system, some files are right at the back of our subconscious, buried deep but still accessible when needed or triggered. The subconscious will create behaviours designed to reduce any anxiety caused by these buried files because being buried alone isn’t enough due to the fact that these files can be accessed easily via an outside trigger at any time and it’s these behaviours that are the symptoms that bring my clients to seek therapy.

Hypnoanalysis is a very powerful tool, and here I must give a word of warning.

To Clients: If you have been to a therapist who has used hypnoanalysis with you, has uncovered deep memories that are of significant emotional distress and then has not offered further therapy please seek help immediately! It is not fair for a therapist to unleash deeply buried memories and then not continue therapy with a client or at least recommend the client to a counsellor or other hypnotherapist to help the client deal with what has been uncovered. This can be dangerous as the subconscious mind buried those memories for a very good reason - leaving you hanging with no psychological or emotional support is unethical and, frankly, downright cruel.

To Therapists: I know most of you reading this are absolutely amazing and would never unlock something the subconscious had buried without a blooming good plan as to how to help the client deal with it. If you’ve had clients come to you after seeing a therapist who has used hypnoanalysis with them and then let them go without further therapy or providing any coping mechanisms - I feel your pain, I know it’s unfair that your client had to go through what they did and then find another therapist but you know what? You would never do that to a client, you’re a skilled, competent therapist and I have every faith you will help your client to the best of your ability. Good luck!

Another thing to remember about using hypnoanalysis is that it’s not always relevant. I certainly do not use hypnoanalysis with every client.

Unless it is obvious that this method will be of significant help I will use more conventional methods first. So how do I know when to use hypnoanalysis? Here are a few examples: • Client cannot associate their behaviour or cognitions with an event or course of events, even when the therapist has investigated thoroughly.

• Little progress has been made with traditional suggestive hypnosis, indicating that there is an underlying cause buried deep in the subconscious that is not allowing the suggestions to make the positive changes the client needs.

• Client has resolved an original issue, but anxiety has moved to another issue similar in nature. This is called Substitution (of symptoms) and is due to the fact that the real issue has not been resolved. The client may not be aware of the true issue, but clearly the subconscious is still alarmed by it and therefore is still trying to protect the client.

As I mentioned earlier, with hypnoanalysis we are looking for the ISE (Initial Senitising Event), or a series of events which is referred to as “Cumulative Trauma”. This is quite common for example in clients who have very low self esteem. Perhaps they were bullied and were the target of many damaging comments for many years that effectively become many similar traumas that build up in their psyche. In order to look at this further we need to look at a concept called “Repression”. I have many clients who ask me “have I repressed this” and “do you think I’m repressing that” and “what’s the difference between repressing something and suppressing something” and then there’s “I think I’m repressing something but I don’t know what!”. Repression is a concept first identified by Sigmund Freud, and we will look at Repression and Cumulative Trauma in the next article.

In the meantime if anyone would like to contact me, please note my phone number has changed - please visit my website www. counsellinginchelmsford.co.uk for up to date contact details.

Train Like a Hunter-Gatherer by Keith Porter Back in the mid 2000s, I was on my way to being a half-decent runner. I was getting really into it, training hard and was starting to knock minutes off my PBs. With a workplace 5K as an incentive, I really went for it in 2007, smashing my 10K PB six weeks into training, and ending up with a 5K time to be proud of. Oh, and I was the most sick, tired and achy that I’d ever been in my life.

When I began following a Paleo diet in 2011, I dramatically changed my approach to training. Out went the long, slow runs, and in came a very simple approach which I still stick to these days. In short, I trained like a caveman.

Walk loads I still think this is the best, cheapest, and easiest thing you can possibly do to improve your health. Just walk. Hunter-gatherer tribes would walk long distances while foraging, scouting or looking for meat, and would also move slowly with herds, only upping the pace when necessary.

Sprint as fast as you can every now and again When the hunters came across their prey, they had to act - and fast.

If they didn’t catch the beast there was no dinner that night. Survival depended on it. And if they were something else’s dinner, sprinting was even more important!

Pick up heavy stuff What did they do when they took down that large animal? They lifted it or dragged it back to camp. And those things were heavy! The stronger they were, the more they could take for the tribe. Not only that, but they were moving boulders to build shelters, or climbing to higher ground to escape danger. The women carried their babies, as well as whatever they’d gathered or foraged. Everyone pulled their weight, and that weight was heavy.

And that’s it. Adopting this approach to fitness changed my life. It made it supremely simple - I started out by walking as much as possible, then I picked up heavy stuff (myself!) with bodyweight exercises, then I added sprints. The weight fell off and my health transformed.

So don’t be blinded by the latest fitness fad. If you’re looking for something to take your health forward, maybe you need to look to the past.

To find out more about personal training or outdoor fitness in Chelmsford, visit www.liveasimplelife.co.uk.

Dinosaurs & Digestion by Kellie Jones

So what the heck do dinosaurs have to do with our digestion? Well I had no idea either but to encourage my clients in class to stretch their stomach muscles after spending an hour contracting them, (after all, you’d stretch your legs after a run, I hope), I started looking for the benefits of this idea. Wowsers, I kind of knew this stuff already but just didn’t put it all together and now the epiphanies are like New Year fireworks!

So back to the dinosaurs… it would be a real state of emergency if we were suddenly confronted by a Tyrannosaurus Rex, an angry lion or a hungry crocodile - at this point it would be advisable to either fight or take flight. This is where our amazing bodies switch on the sympathetic nervous system, (SNS) causing our heart rate to increase, our blood pressure to go up, our digestion to slow down and glycogen turn into glucose using up our energy stores. This all originates from the thoracic and lumbar areas of the spinal chord.

When in a state of panic we experience fast shallow breaths in the upper chest and clavicles. I feel that I need not list the amount of physical and mental health issues these symptoms cause.

Now I know you are thinking that the likelihood of being attacked by any of the above is either remote or impossible but I believe that we are being confronted with little dinosaurs every day without even realising we are! Just for a moment take a look and listen around you for the evidence: taxes, bills, speed cameras, CCTV, parking inspectors, terrible diseases, bad news, wars, politicians etc. Not to mention the media bombarding us with what we should look like, smell like, sound like and possess! Did you ever feel like you’re in a permanent state of panic?!

So if the opposite of depression is vitality what’s the opposite of panic? Check out these unusual words: peacefulness, contentment, confidence, security, calmness, assurance… when we’re occasionally in this state our parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) is switched on and we are in a state of rest and digest. Blood pressures goes down, pulse slows, digestion starts and most importantly the vagus nerve is stimulated.

Vagus is now at the top of my bucket list of places to go and here’s why….the vagus nerve is the mind-body connection! Mainly stemming from the cranial nerves it wanders around the body via the tongue, pharynx, vocal chords, stomach, intestines and the glands that control our anti-stress enzymes and hormones, which ultimately allows digestion, metabolism and the relaxation response.

So finally some top tips on how to stimulate your vagus and switch on your PNS: Try splashing your face with freezing cold water, (great for tightening up your skin too!)

Breathing out without opening your mouth and pinching your nose, like popping your ears.

Singing. For those of you who don’t already know I’m currently having singing lessons, yay!

Diaphragmatic breathing which is what we teach you in yoga and pilates classes.

So there we are, back to my original plan for stretching your abdominals and it seems that all we need to do in 2014 to fight the dinosaurs is just breathe.

Please contact us for more info on this subject at: www.hummingbirdpilates.co.uk - 01245 422556.

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

Essex Auctioneers Opens New Valuations Office in Chelmsford

Boningtons Fine Art Valuers and Auctioneers are pleased to announce the opening of a new valuations office in Chelmsford. The office will be open for valuations of fine art, antiques and collectables on Monday 20th October and will compliment Boningtons current saleroom in Loughton. The office is located at 101 Lower Anchor Street Chelmsford and will be open for valuations between Monday to Friday between 9 – 5.30. Brett Tryner will be the senior valuer at Chelmsford and has recently joined Boningtons from Bonhams, New Bond Street where he was a member of the valuations department.

He brings considerable expertise in the field of fine art and antiques.

As well as valuations for sale, Boningtons can also carry out professional valuations for insurance and probate and are also happy to make home visits if there are too many items to bring into the office. There is a special two day valuation event at the Chelmsford office on November 7th and 8th where people can meet Boningtons’ team experts.

Boningtons are pleased to announce the opening of their new Chelmsford Valuations Office on Monday 20th October.

A rare Majolica bear, sold for £17,000

The Chelmsford office will provide clients with the advantage of a professional valuation service without having to travel to London whilst the saleroom in Loughton offers access to the international art market through live internet bidding ensuring the best prices possible.

The opening of the office will further add to Boningtons reputation of being one of the country’s leading regional salerooms. The company having recently achieved some significant sales of important individual pieces as well as prominent single owner collections. Recent highlights have included a Chinese jade brush pot which realised £25,000 and a painting by the highly regarded American painter Alfred Thompson Bricher which made £19,000.

For more information or to arrange a home visit, contact Brett at brett@boningtons.com or call the office on 01245 352213.

Contact Brett Tryner: brett@boningtons.com 101 Lower Anchor Street, Chelmsford, CM2 OAU - 01245 352213 Open for valuations Monday - Friday 9am - 5.30pm www.boningtons.com

CT History

Waltham Abbey: Harold’s Last Resting Place in 1066, by John Power

Although the Abbey was one of the last to suffer destruction at the Reformation the town that bears its name can be found in the SouthWest of Essex on the border with Hertfordshire and in the Epping Forest District. The ruins of the Abbey stand in extensive ornamental gardens next to the River Lea Valley conservation area and wildlife habitat.

It was the Abbey church of Waltham Holy Cross that originally gave the area its name: ’weald’ or ‘wald’ is a Anglo-Saxon name for a forest, and ‘ham’ means a homestead, although there were prehistoric and Roman settlements previously in the area. The last battle of Boudicca took place north of the area and she was said to have taken her life by eating hemlock near Cobbins Brook. Roman Ermine Street ran 5 kilometers to the west and a causeway of the River Lea was probably of Roman origin. The Waltham Holy Cross was credited with miraculous healing powers. It was discovered in Montecute in Somerset and set on an ox cart which was left to wander until it came to rest. That place was where the church was built to house it. Nearby Waltham Cross preserves the name. Tofi the Proud, King Canute’s standard bearer, rebuilt the church to house the cross. When he died in 1045 the local lands reverted to the Crown at the time of Edward the Confessor, who gave it to his short lived successor, King Harold Godwinson.

After Harold’s defeat by William and the Normans in 1066 it is said that his body was brought to the fledgling abbey and buried by the high altar, which is a spot marked in the present abbey gardens.

The Bayeaux Tapestry of the battle and associated events appears to show Harold twice: once pulling an arrow from his eye then being cut down by a sword blow to the thigh delivered by a Norman on horseback. The two events were not immediately linked in time, but Harold’s housecarls surrounded the wounded king until mounted knights broke through and cut him down. One stabbed him in the chest, another cut of his head, another disembowelled him and finally a blow to the thigh removed his leg and sexual organs. His mistress identified him after the battle and the body parts were originally buried by the beach but later moved to his foundation at Waltham.

His death did not mark the end of the battle, as the housecarls, thegns and mercenaries fought on until cut down, while other conscripts fled. Anglo-Saxon resistance continued in pockets after the battle but was brutally suppressed wherever it appeared. The Viking settlers around York were completely devastated.

Before Henry VIII’s monastic destructions at the Reformation, the Abbey had become the richest Augustinian Priory in Essex with 16 canons and a prior. It grew to this stature when Henry II expanded it to atone for the murder of Thomas Beckett at Canterbury Cathedral in 1177. It became an abbey proper in 1184 with an abbott and 24 canons. It was demolished in 1540 at the Dissolution of the Monasteries. A subsequent 17th century oak beam vicarage still stands nearby and is a grade 2 listed building. The town also had a gunpowder mill from the 17th century, which became the government owned Royal Abbey Gunpowder Mills which narrowly missed a hit by a V2 bomb in World War 2. It was closed in 1943 to prevent such a catastrophe, but survives as the Royal Gunpowder Mill Museum. After the war, the town first developed as a centre for market gardening, before developments began that transformed it into a commuter dormitory town for London. Another local museum is housed in a building dating to 1520. Apart from the Lea Valley conservation area, there is another conservation visitor’s centre at High Beach in Epping Forest to the North East.

Harold Wood, further into Essex, is a name that first appeared in 1237 and took the name again from Harold Godwinson, who owned the surrounding manor of Havering-atte-Bower. Several old local roads bear the names of Anglo-Saxon kings such as Aethelstan and Alfred the Great. The commuter developments in Harold Hill in the nearby borough of Havering also took its name from the last AngloSaxon king. When talking of Cressing Temple Barns near Witham in a previous article, I mentioned further lands granted to Harold. It is clear that the lands of the East Saxons (Essex) were an important part of Harold’s territory before they passed to the Normans by means of conquest.

The International Sculptor Chelmsford Never Knew it Had

TB Huxley Jones FRBS practiced sculpture between 1932 and there is a reward given back to you depending on the level of 1968, producing many public works from his studio at High House in donation: Broomfield, Chelmsford, Essex.

• Cambridge mug with Essex Seax and Chelmsford printed on it Examples of his sculptures modelled in Broomfield: • Acknowledgement in the book •The Joy of Life fountain in Hyde Park • Sculpt a mini head day • Reclining figure fountain at Hornsey Library • The BBC Television Fountain This needs the support of Chelmsford residents. Profits from the run • The statue of David Livingstone at the Royal Geographical Society of 250 books will be used to set up a sculpture prize in the artist’s • The St Peter with Yale Key Chelmsford Cathedral name for art students in Essex. You can read more on the Crowd

Funder and Facebook pages:www.crowdfunder.co.uk/TB-Huxley Huxley Jones received many awards for his work such as The Otto Jones---An-Essex-Artist/ Beit award for the mother and child fountain Chelmsford, The RBS www.facebook.com/pages/T-B-Huxley-Jones-An-Essex-Artist Silver Medal, Jean Masson Davison International award Shelley could No don't and the Constance you put this Fund award during bother, put memo where his lifetime. it on

the staff will A book is currently the clock. see it. being prepared on the artist that will hopefully be funded Sure I'll by a CrowdFunder put it on campaign to raise funds to pay for the board. image copyrights, an editor and a graphic designer to put the book together. For every donation made City Slickers - www.nickschofieldart.co.uk

God’s Jukebox; Top Tens of Everything: Songs about Books Richard M Wilson, singer with Sound Mirrors and occasional disc jockey with God’s Jukebox, tries really hard to think of ten songs that are based on literary works, without relying on too much prog and heavy metal!

1. Kate Bush – Wuthering Heights – KB’s breakthrough hit from 1978, written at the tender age of 18, was initially inspired by a TV mini-series. She did then read the actual book apparently and discovered that she shared her birthday with Emily Brontë. The challenge is to listen to it without waving your arms around and doing that pointy finger thing like you’re Jack Frost in a primary school music and movement lesson.

2. Marillion – Grendel – Oops, I’ve already fallen into the prog trap.

Marillion displayed their literary pretentions up front. Their name is a corruption of The Silmarillion, JRR Tolkien’s pseudo biblical history of Middle Earth. Grendel is a character from the Anglo-Saxon epic poem, Beowulf. Clocking in at a mighty 18 minutes, it’s almost as long as the source material.

3. David Bowie – 1984 – Bowie originally planned for the album, Diamond Dogs, to be a concept album based on George Orwell’s dystopian master-piece. It didn’t quite work out that way but elements of the original concept remain, most obviously in this glam-disco footstomper from side two. One of my favorite Bowie songs.

4. The Skatalites – Guns of Navarone – A sixties ska classic, also revisited at a swifter tempo by Two-Tone heroes, The Specials, a decade later. Some might argue that the track is a cunning and irreverent re-imagining of Alistair MacLean’s WWII novel about conflict in the Aegean Sea, which expresses the bravery of the allied soldiers against the futility of war. Others might point out that is a top dance track where someone shouts, “Guns of Navarone!” occasionally because it sounds kinda cool. The jury’s still out on that one.

5. Shirley Bassey – Goldfinger – And while we’re at it, every Bond theme after that, but Goldfinger was the biggy. After the derisory sum that John Barry was paid for his arrangement of Monty Norman’s Bond theme in Doctor No. Barry secured full control of the soundtrack to its sequel. Movie number two, From Russia with Love, featured the smooth but polite tones of Matt Monro. Barry’s brainwave for Goldfinger was to exploit his contacts in the Soho cabaret scene and get his pal Shirley to do the honors on the title track.

6. Jefferson Airplane – White Rabbit – Heaven knows what Lewis Carroll, stiff-necked mathematician and the unlikely author of Alice in Wonderland, would have made of this acidic, West Coast anthem.

Bummer.

7. Jeff Wayne – War of the Worlds – At the height of punk Jeff Wayne, a moderately successful advertising jingles writer, somehow managed to assemble one of the most ambitious concept albums ever made. Richard Burton narrates HG Wells’ classic tale of a Martian invasion while Justin Hayward, Phil Lynott and even David Essex join in the fun. Owners of the original 70s double LP will also recall the impact of those startling pictures in the gatefold sleeve.

The whole thing gave me the willies. Ooooh-laa!

8. The Cure – Killing an Arab – Robert Smith’s attempt to condense ideas from Albert Camus’ existential novel, The Stranger (L’Étranger).

9. Dire Straights – Romeo & Juliet – It’s like a boy and a girl right, and they’re in love and that makes them like Romeo & Juliet from that play by Shakespeare innit, you know, the one with Leonardo DiCaprio, yeah?

10. Metallica – For Whom the Bell Tolls – US heavy metal overlords wrote this one about events described by Hemmingway set in the Spanish Civil War. I guess that it was inevitable that heavy metal would creep in sooner or later. At least there was no Iron Maiden!

Rotary District Conference – A Weekend to Remember What a showcase for Rotary, friendship and fun. Our 2014 District Conference was in Stratford-upon-Avon. This is probably the major event of the year for our district. Over two years in the planning for a weekend to live up to the chosen theme “Be Inspired, Meet The Challenge” and we certainly did. As district governor, I was like the father of the bride – nervous but excited at the same time. I need not have worried (easy to say afterwards) because everything went perfectly and there was nothing but praise from all the delegates. The hotel could not have been more helpful, nor the audio visual people more accommodating. The speakers were truly inspiring, some talking about Rotary projects and some on challenges they have met, most with lots of great humour and the entertainment was superb – a real mix of music, dancing and theatre.

“On both Saturday and Sunday we were entertained by first class speakers. We re-lived the many humorous moments of finding Richard III remains with Dr. Richard Buckley and Sally Kettle rowing across the Atlantic with her mum was hysterical.

Eric Knowles led us down memory lane in the north of England and what a story he had to tell. We were all laughing so much sides were aching and the hall was alive with laughter.”

Rotary is about putting something back into the community, but it is also about enjoyment and I attach a short report below from Rotarian Ann Holmes on her views of the weekend.

We were blasted out of our seats by The Jacob Project and joints, hips and knees were slowly brought back to life with the gyrations.

They ended the evening with The Proclaimers hit I’m Gonna Be (500 miles). I am sure we would all agree if we had walked 500 miles to our district conference in Stratford it would still have been great fun and a huge success. The whole weekend was held together by district governor Stan with his humorous comments and thanks you’s. There was some excellent food and lots of little touches that made it a conference to remember.

“We arrived to a perfect venue close to town and by the river.

The sun was shining when we all grouped for Pimms on the terrace.

The fun had started and the laughter echoed around the hotel garden.”

“More laughter with bouts of despair as many wandered into Town to find the clues to Stan’s quiz. Many jokes were exchanged as to where the clues were, or not, and we were all delighted to hear it had produced a good sum of money for End Polio.”

“In the evening a few Rotarians put on their fancy dress and what a variation on a theme. Shakespeare would have had an evening of inspiration and we may be booking tickets for his later productions of ‘Zorro and Bo-peep’ or ‘To win or not to win’.”

If you feel inspired and would like to be part of Rotary then visit www. chelmsfordrotary1240.org or phone me on 01245 260349.

Stan Keller

The Essex Police Choir Silver Jubilee Annual Charity Concert Essex Police Choir are celebrating their Silver Jubilee this year with a programme of 11 concerts spread around the county with the major charity concert taking place in Chelmsford Cathedral on Saturday 25th October.

This concert sees the choir performing alongside Essex Police Band and they will be joined by the Glenfaba Chorale from Isle of Man - a mixed choir who will add around 25 voices to the Police Choir. The programme will consist of a range of songs from the shows and many standards and will finish with a rousing, audience-participating tribute to the World War One Centenary.

This year, the proceeds will be donated to the Choir’s chosen charities, SSAFA and Cancer Genetics Research at the Royal Marsden Hospital.

The concert starts at 7.30pm and tickets, costing £10 each, can be obtained by e-mailing tickets@essexpolicechoir.co.uk or contacting the chairman, Mark Lawrence on 07802 414793.

The objective of the choir is to enable charities, churches and other organisations to raise money for themselves and the choir have helped raise over £250,000 since their inception.

The choir was formed in 1989 when Norman Eastbrook, a forensic police photographer, based at Police HQ, (who was and still is both musical director of the choir and choirmaster at Tiptree Parish Church), had a chance conversation with a member of the Essex Police Musical Society who said it would be “a nice change to be able to stand still and sing rather than appearing on a stage”.

The choir rehearses each Tuesday evening from 7.30pm - 9.30pm at Police HQ in Chelmsford with just a short break each August and Christmas. The subscription is only £50 a year and music and uniform is provided.

New members are encouraged to come along for a few weeks to see if they like what we offer and you do not have be able to read music – although you must be able to hold a tune! If anyone feels the urge to join a friendly, supportive band of singers then you should visit their website for further information: www.essexpolicechoir.co.uk, email: joinus@essexpolicechoir.co.uk or contact Mark Lawrence as above.

For further information, contact: Tony Willson- Publicity Officer 01206 366100 (day) 01206 734870 (evenings) or email tony@helmsmanservices.co.uk.

The Burlesque Jems Charity Event

body and now I can’t believe I burlesque dance with Jem. The classes have increased my confidence and comfort in my body and have encouraged me to experience being sexy for the first time. This is the one class that I keep going back to. A great supportive class with such amazing women of all sizes and ages.”

The Annual Burlesque Jems Cabaret Student Showcase

Burlesque Jems Chelmsford participants The Burlesque Jems have always believed in providing dance classes for ladies of all ages, abilities, shapes & sizes and the fabulous classes champion this. Some of the members have gone from being too shy to wear a corset in class to revealing even more at the Burlesque Jems Boudoir Photoshoot. This confidence and boost to their self-esteem in a safe space has had a positive knock-on effect in their lives.

The Burlesque Jems are organising an event in support of Farleigh Hospice Chelmsford based charity as part of their £50 challenge that aims to support hospice care in community.

What?

Local businesswoman Jem Ayres accepted the challenge to turn £50 into as much money as possible for Farleigh Hospice. As well as raising funds which help to provide essential Hospice care in the community, she is dedicating her burlesque showcase to the Chelmsford based Farleigh Hospice.

Chelmsford ladies of all ages, abilities, shapes & sizes will be among over 100 women from local Essex Burlesque dance classes taking to the stage to shimmy and shake their way through some fabulous routines, providing an evening of feathers, frills and fun. There will be music and dancing, a bar, a cake stall selling homemade scrumptious delicacies and a host of stalls selling vintage, retro and handmade goods by local crafters and more! Tickets cost £8 in advance or £10 on the door and we can welcome up to 260 people to this wonderful event.

The ladies of Burlesque Jems are changing their own lives for the better and want to reach out to support women & young girls in their local community and encourage them to ‘own their curves’. We want to celebrate life with all its ups and downs in the same way that Farleigh Hospice does.

When and Where?

Saturday 25th October, 7:30 - 11:30 Great Parndon Community Association, Abercrombie Way, Harlow, Essex, CM18 6YJ. Why? Farleigh Hospice cares for patients and relatives from much earlier on in their conditions with the focus being on life rather than death.

The philosophy of hospice care, with its special approach to helping with the problems faced by the patients and their families, is not easily understood by people who have not experienced it. The Burlesque Jems also make it their mission to celebrate LIFE in all it’s glorious shapes and sizes, encouraging everyone to be the best version of themselves and rock their very own brand of gorgeous.

Cabaret is a great way of showcasing what we do best, so come and see what our Chelmsford ladies are made of!

The women who attend Burlesque Jems have found that as well as gaining dance skills they have been extraordinarily empowered and found new levels of confidence that they could never have dreamed off before.

“I’ve spent years not exercising because I felt uncomfortable in my

Burlesque Jems Chelmsford 8 week course starts on 27th October and the Jems will also be introducing a free taster session on 12th January.

Please help us to support Farleigh Hospice in their vital work.

Visit www.burlesquejems.co.uk.

For more details please contact Jem on 07903 188 404 or email info@burlesquejems.co.uk.

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Stargazing with Mark Willis November/December 2014

November - A probe called Rosetta will spend a week studying a comet and then send back images! Can’t wait!

5th November - The Taurids meteor shower peaks. Sadly, the full Moon will block out all but the brightest meteors. However, there is good news for December! November 17/18 - The Leonids shower will be better.

22nd November - New Moon, which means lovely dark skies and a chance to see galaxies, star clusters and the more distant planets.

13/14th December - Geminids. The king of the meteor showers with over 120 multicoloured meteors per hour. Don’t bother with telescopes or binoculars. This is best seen with the naked eye. Put down a beach mat, lay down and look up. Geminids are a leftover from Comet Phaethon which was discovered as recently as 1982!

Jupiter is the only planet of note on view this month. Sadly, the best time to see it is about 5:30am! If you find Orion, the Hunter, then look for the bottom star on the right. This is Rigel. Moving at 45 degrees left, about the same angle of the ‘backslash’ (\) on a computer keyboard, your line passes through a star called Procyon and this will point you to Jupiter. Clear skies and plenty of coffee! Jupiter is a gas giant. So there’s no solid surface like on Earth. Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. 6 inch telescopes with the right eyepieces will show it as a disk and you will just about see the bands. You will also be able to see 4 very bright spots around Jupiter. These are the 4 Galilean Moons, because Galileo spotted them in 1610 through possibly - the first ever telescope.

Feel free to e-mail me with any questions: mark.willis@chelmsfordcommunityradio.com Mark Willis presents ‘Willis Wireless’ every Monday at 7pm on Chelmsford Community Radio.

Chelmsford Theatre Association’s Evening of Food, Friendship and Fun On Friday 26th September almost half of the members of the association met in the hall of Trinity Methodist Church for, as Vice President Felicity Sturt who chaired the meeting said in her closing statement, ‘an evening of food, flowers, friendship and fun’.

Our president, the mayor of Chelmsford, was there with the mayoress and most of our vice presidents were there too. It was the annual general meeting, but one with a difference. Starting with supper, followed by the business meeting and finishing with a nostalgic and very funny talk by Brian Carline about his childhood in Salford - ‘Tripe and Trotters’. So there was good food, laughter and even a few proposals approved! The meeting approved the following: to increase the annual subscription from £8.00 to £10.00, to once again to split the Hammond Award and give £250 to the Civic’s Access Fund and the same to Eastern Angles who bring theatre to communities in Essex and also to add a further aim to the constitution – ‘to support any proposal for a larger auditorium suitable for theatre and concert performances’.

If anyone reading this loves going to the theatre then please contact linda.knock@ sky.com for more information.

From a Borough to a City: A History of Chelmsford 1888 - 2012 Book Launch The above book, published by Authors Online, is to be launched in November.

It is the first detailed recent history of Chelmsford. It reveals its remarkable transformation from a small market county town into a thriving industrial centre during the first half of the twentieth century. Chelmsford’s main firms, Marconi, Hoffmann, Crompton and Christy became nationally and internationally known. During the Second World War as many as thirty thousand people were working in the town’s factories. By this time industrialisation had affected almost every aspect of life in Chelmsford.

The second half of the century and the first few years of the new millenium saw all the main firms close. Today only e2v, itself an offshoot of Marconi, remains. Britvic, which had origins in the town in the late 19th century, has closed during the last year.

After a difficult period of readjustment in the 1980s Chelmsford is now one of the most rapidly expanding cities in the country.

In 2012, almost 100 years after local politicians thought city status was inevitable after the town was awarded a cathedral and after a closely fought contest with other Essex towns, Chelmsford was unexpectedly given city status.

The book uses a topic approach to explain all the economic, social and political aspects of the town’s development up to this point.

The Friends of Chelmsford Museum are hosting an invite - only launch for the book on Wednesday 19th November. There will be a launch and book signing hosted by the Chelmsford Civic Society on Friday 21st November at 7pm at the Ideas Hub, open to all.

By Stephen Norris

Next Issue Deadlines Copy - 1st November Art work - 4th November

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www.chelmsfordthecitytimes.co.uk

Classifieds • Guttering • Painting • PVCu Fascias • PVCu Soffits

01245 601056 07714 817974

To rent in Chelmsford Safe & Secure Site (all garages with metal up and over door) prices £15.20 - £21.50 p/w Two sites - 1.3 and 0.8 miles from Chelmsford station Si Size from 16ft long x 8ft wide Contact

For Very Competitive Prices

From £14.99 07877 776725

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• Window Cleaning • Grass Cutting • Roof repairs • Garden Tidying

---------------------------------Lock-Up Garages Imported Quality Part-Worn Tyres

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Need an odd job done and no time?

Unit 27, Waterhouse Business Park Cromar Way, Chelmsford, CM1 2QE

Rodwell Property Management 10% Discount On All Part-Worn Tyres And Fitting With This Voucher 01708 702800 / 07505 028727

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• Rewires • Fault Finding • Fuseboard Upgrades • Smoke Alarm Installation • CCTV & Fire Alarms • Access Control & Intercom Systems • Test & Inspect Certification

SCRUFTS K9 DOG GROOMING & ALL THINGS CANINE UNIT 7 BEEHIVE BUSINESS CENTRE BEEHIVE LANE CHELMSFORD CM2 9TE 0333 121 2559 INFO@SCRUFTSK9.CO.UK www.scruftsk9.co.uk FREE FOOD DELIVERY TO YOUR DOOR LARGE RANGE OF HANDMADE HERBAL SUPPLEMENTS AND SHAMPOOS

sales@euroloo.com

01245 475700

Kane Kitchens Local family business Over 40 years experience Supply or fit only

Please call 01245 600524 / 07930 347286 for an itemised quote. kanekitchens@btinternet.com 2 year guarantee for installation work.

www.myhair-affair.co.uk

Mobile Hairdresser Please call to book 07810 513316

5% off your meal before 15th of November 2014

Page 31 www.chelmsfordthecitytimes.co.uk

Moulsham St OIRO ￡160,000

Investors only annual yield of 5.12% - One bedroom apartment 125 year lease Allocated parking

Upper Bridge Road ￡245,000

Edwardian cottage Two bedrooms Many original features Rear garden in excess of 85ft

22 George Street - ￡155,000

First floor apartment 2 bedrooms Economy 7 heating Allocated parking space

Plots 1 – 4 Braemar Avenue – From £350,000 • Brand new spacious terraced town houses • Built to high specification • Four bedrooms • 60ft South facing garden • Two off street parking spaces • 10 Year New Built Warranty Manor Road - ￡309,995

Victorian character terrace house Three bedrooms Many original features Rear garden in excess of 60ft

Plots 1–5 The Picture House

Springfield Park Avenue￡250,000

From ￡375,000 Luxury New 3 and 4 bed homes Landscaped gardens, • Fitted alarm systems

Semi detached with corner plot Three bedrooms Requiring modernisation Double garage