The City Times - Sept/Oct 2022

The City Times

Hello readers,

Welcome to The City Times September/October edition.

Our writers’ articles were all received before the sad news of the Queen’s passing on September 8th. Our wonderful Queen Elizabeth II has left us, and we felt we needed to say something about this sad event before this edition went to press. Both Paul and I are so proud to have been alive during her reign.

May she rest in peace, having now left King Charles III to take over. We are sure he will do a wonderful job as he will have learnt from the best. Long Live the King - and God rest our late Queen.

We are sure that some of our writers may wish to reflect on her in the next edition.

If you would like to publicise your business or event in our What’s On section, please contact us using the details below.

Please do also remember to let our advertisers know that you saw their advert in The City Times

Paul & Nick

www.thecitytimes.co.uk

Advertising

Nick Garner 07970 206682

ads@itsyourmedia.co.uk

Editorial

Paul Mclean 01245 262082 / 07595 949701

editorial@itsyourmedia.co.uk

Here is a photograph of Her Majesty in Chelmsford outside the Cathedral on the 6th May 2014. The photograph was kindly sent in by Alan Pamphilon.

Nick’s Music and Ramblings

Hello. Well, summer is over now and the kids are back at school and we also have a new prime minister, our third female PM, with Liz Truss. I do hope that people give her a chance before they have a go as I know I would not want to have to face what she is facing right now.

At last! Hoorah! Here in Chelmsford we are seeing some rain! Not enough of the ‘right type’, but at least it is wet and it’s still pretty warm as well - and my grass is green again and needs a cut.

Time for some to get the flu jab and if we want to, the covid booster jab too if we can (I will certainly have it). It reminds me that I am getting older, and the problem with getting older is that I find the mind is willing but the body just does not always want to play along sadly - but I strive on regardless.

Now as we begin to move towards the colder months, I plan to wear more jumpers. lf you have friends you can go to and have round to your place, why not share your energy? That will help to reduce energy bills.

We have lots of things going on in and around Chelmsford which is great. So all we need to do is to get people to all the events at the museum, the parks, the churches, the pubs, village halls and other places. There are so many things being put on all over Essex and beyond. How do we find out what is happening? Well, we can only put in here what we know of and are told about, but you can also look online as well - and perhaps look through that pile of flyers that comes through the letterbox.

I am noticing some worrying changes in Chelmsford with some businesses closing, but I think some are continuing online only, which reduces their overheads. I see Rustic has closed but is reopening as an Italian deli and takeaway. I also see that Home Partnership, the estate agents, has rebranded and opened a new branch. I suspect changes are afoot elsewhere too - if you hear of anything, please do tell us.

Music

Black Frog Presents is back after a little break, during which I went to some festivals and I know all the others I work with have been busy as well. It has not stopped us booking and organising events during this time though. One of our main and most important events is on Sunday 30th October, when we will celebrate the life of our own Claire Hamlin who we lost in June (see the advert in this mag). Claire was widely regarded as one of the top boogie-woogie pianists. Playing on the day we have the likes of Zoot Money, Geraint Watkins, Diz Watson and many more. The event will also include her band mates from over the years, from The Alabama Slammers, The Alley Cats, The Kingsmen and more. Steve English, who played with Claire for many years, will be arranging the house band for us. Entry is just £10 with all money taken being split between Farleigh Hospice and Cancer Research. All of us working or playing on the day are giving our services for free. We plan to run the day from noon to 10pm, and we are planning for a lot people wanting to play. You will also be able to come and go as you wish throughout the day.

You will have noticed that our parks in Chelmsford have been well used for events of all types throughout the summer. The Racecourse has been hosting many events too, as well as Hot Box and other venues like Hylands House, and various pubs and museums. The Museum of Power in Maldon has hosted some events and in Writtle we had the annual Jazz Festival.

Now all we need to do is get some of those people to continue to

come along and support the regular live events that we all put on. This includes Black Frog Presents, Hot Box and also Acanteen and others. I know it’s the same for other towns and cities all over - we all need people to book in advance for events.

For events by Black Frog Presents, you do not have to actually pay in advance as you can reserve your place and then pay on the door. Without customers prebooking we and others may have to pull some events as we will simply not be able to cover overheads, such as paying the crew, the acts, or venue hire. We are not worried about making a profit, but we cannot afford to lose money either. If we don’t get advance bookings, you could potentially lose local venues which means acts having fewer places to play, which could in turn lead to them ceasing to play live - so use us or lose us please, which we would all hate, I am sure.

We have started back with a bang with none other than Chesney Hawkes opening this part of the year - and what a great show it was. Charlotte Cox (Lottie) opened the night with Tom Greaves playing some great guitar as well as an array of other instruments with her. Lottie has a great voice, and she sung a mix of originals and covers. We know she sold out her merch on the night as well.

Chesney came on, played a bit of the chorus of The One and Only - and then went to walk off saying ‘that was my hit’! He came back of course, and played a stunning set include a couple of his dad’s songs from The Tremeloes, the band he is fronting at present for his dad Len ‘Chip’ Hawkes. Chesney was a true trooper, as he stayed afterwards and met everyone who wanted to meet him, signed stuff for them and had photos taken with them - and he even did a happy birthday quick video for my daughter (she loved it).

The next day it was back to The Orange Tree with my friends The Sonic Journeymen, which is Izzy from Florida and Jevon from Brightlingsea and part of my team. They now also include Jacquie of Florida and Brightlingsea. The Sonic Journeymen were great, and all who were there loved them - even with me blowing some harmonicas, no-one heckled or left!

Do visit our What’s On guide in this magazine to see what is going on in the area for you to go and see. We know others are busy booking acts for the this and next year too. If you visit our website or Facebook page you can see who we have coming up for this and next year so far - this includes Lindisfarne, Spike (The Quireboys), Rosalie Cunningham, and Albert Lee to mention a just few. At The Orange Tree we have a solo set from Connor Selby, The One Tree Hillbillies, and Dave Sharp (The Alarm) booked so far.

I know that many others across mid Essex and beyond are also booking ahead, and we are all hopeful that things will pick up because like you, we love it.

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

For updates and information on our Black Frog Presents shows at the Chelmsford Social Club or The Orange Tree, go to www.linktr. ee/BlackFrogPresents, or scan the QR code on our poster in this magazine. You can also prebook for paid shows with a text or call to 07508 496 411 and then pay cash or card on the door at the advance price.

Elderberry Bonanza - By Lisa Whittle

Elderberry Bonanza

If you look along the hedgerows you will see the frothy cream-coloured elderflowers of spring have turned miraculously into the rich, shiny clusters of black elderberries of autumn.

Elderberries are incredibly rich in nutrients that boost the immune system and are more nutritious than the flowers that precede them. If like me you have watched these black beauties ripen and disappear, year after year, without knowing quite what to do with them - then you have been missing a trick. Not only are they good for you they are tasty too and make a change from blackberries, our more well-used autumn foraging food.

remember to remove any stems or green berries. The taste is more mellow than other berries - not sharp or even sweet. The taste of elderberries is deep and rich and very pleasant, but it tastes better with sugar added or a sugar alternative.

The key thing with elderberries is to cook them, as if eaten raw they contain toxins that can be poisonous. But 10 minutes or so of boiling renders these toxins destroyed, leaving the nutritious properties of the rich red-black-purple juice and flesh of the small berries, which contain anthocyanins and vitamin C, both powerful antioxidants. Also,

Boil the elderberries with sugar, I used erythritol here as it is natural and calorie-free

There are two approaches with elderberries - either make a healthboosting syrup that you make and keep in your fridge for 3 months or so and take every day as a health tonic; think Sambucol - this is the commercial version of the traditional elderberry syrup recipe, traditionally used to ward off the colds and flu of autumn. Our ancestors would no doubt have been making and storing elderberry syrup at this time of year... Another approach to use elderberries to make jam, wine or chutneys, and when added to other fruits, such as apples or pears, they can be used to make delicious stewed fruit or pies and crumbles.

Elderberry Syrup

Ingredients:

• Elderberries, removed from their stems (this can be a fiddly job).

• Water.

• Sugar (or a sugar alternative such as erthrytol).

• Lemon juice if desired (this can act as a preservative too).

Gather your elderberry clusters

Wash and remove the stems

Sieve the liquid and press the excess from the berries

• Adding spices when boiling the elderberries can give a warming glow to your elderberry drink, making it taste rather like mulled wine; consider fresh ginger, a cinnamon stick, a few cloves, or grated nutmeg.

• Sugar or sugar alternative.

• A small amount of water.

• Elderberries, removed from their stalks.

Method:

Put the chopped and peeled fruit in a saucepan along with the elderberries and sugar or sugar alternative. Add a small amount of water and put on the heat. Bring to the boil then simmer gentle for 15-20 minutes. Flavourings you could experiment with adding are lemon juice, lemon zest, orange zest, cinnamon, cloves and other spices.

You can eat this stewed fruit warm or cold - it’s lovely with ice-cream and also great wrapped in pancakes. Use as a basis for crumbles and pies, or make with the raw fruits which will cook in the oven with the pie.

Method:

There are no specific amounts with this recipe - experiment to discover the proportions of water, sugar and elderberries you like best.

Cover the elderberries with water to a depth of a few centimetres. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes. The liquid will be a rich red colour, looking very much like red wine. Let it cool to some extent, then pass it through a sieve and further press the remaining juice from the berries with the back of a spoon. Add the sugar, or sugar alternative, to the sieved liquid and return to the heat to allow this to dissolve. You could add this to the elderberries initially when you first boil them - your sieving mixture will be more sticky however. The liquid can be drunk warm or left to cool. Keep it in the fridge or freeze it (it will keep for a year in the freezer). You could always add alcohol at the end of cooking if you wish.

The finished stewed fruit is really delicious and can be used as a basis for pies and crumbles, or eaten with ice cream

Stewed Fruit (Which Also Can Be Used to Make Crumbles or Pies)

To make stewed fruit with elderberries add them to peeled chopped fruit such as apples or pears and boil then simmer with a little water

Ingredients:

• Peeled and roughly chopped apples or pears (any variety).

The finished syrup, bursting with nutrients, looks very much like red wine but tastes mild

City Times Gardening

Unfotunately Tom could not write his article this month, so here are some garden photos from readers in its place. Tom will be back next month.

Hyde Hall’s Dry Garden

Teddy Bear sunflower Sunflower

Miss P had big plans for her new kitchen and scoured the internet and local retailers before deciding which companies she might want to use. After reading some of the positive online reviews left for Regal, she decided to visit the showroom for a look around and gather more ideas.

She was introduced to one of our designers, Stacey, who immediately grasped the brief and understood what Miss P wanted to achieve in the space. As her home is very traditional she wanted the kitchen to follow the same path, so she opted for a shaker-style door in Rose - this pink shade of door contrasts really well with the dark grey mirror sparkle quartz worktop and the Belfast sink completes the look she was hoping for.

Top of Miss P’s wish list was a kettle tap which she is very pleased with, but she also owns a lot of kitchen and baking equipment, so it was important to find the right storage solutions to suit the design. Internal drawers, large larder cupboard as well as a corner larder and the open shelving, give her all the storage she needs.

We especially love the oak and lighting details inside the cabinetry which ties in well with the theme of this room. We have provided Neff appliances as well as a range cooker, which make this kitchen practical as well as beautiful, and the client couldn’t be happier with the result.

She says: “Regal understood the specific and unique needs of my design choices from the start. The design showed clear consideration of the information I’d provided and wasn’t a generic solution. All the team are extremely friendly and approachable, with a keenness to explain anything I was unsure about.

“The installation team have done a great job and kept everything as neat and tidy as possible throughout. I’m extremely happy with my new kitchen and would highly recommend Regal to friends and family who want a quality kitchen with solutions designed around their needs.”

#whereclientisking

Tel: 01245 351 151

www.regalkitchens.co.uk

Regal Kitchens

2 Navigation Road Chelmsford

Essex CM2 6HX

Pretty in Pink!

Individual Savings Accounts (ISAs)

Saving means different things to different people, but we can all agree that in the current economic climate it has gained a sense of urgency. If you are looking to save for the future in ways other than the proverbial keeping cash under the mattress, please read on.

ISAs: we’ve all heard of them, some of us have them and others still are curious as to what they are and how to take advantage of them.

In a nutshell, ISAs enable you to save and at the same time protect your savings from personal tax. They allow you to invest (currently maximum of £20,000 per annum) in an array of savings and investments with no income or capital gains tax liability. Bonus: there is no need to declare them on your tax return.

The different types offer different benefits and your independent financial adviser will be able to recommend the most suitable one for your unique set of objectives.

Stocks and Shares: Mixture of investment instruments, eg, individual shares, bonds, investment trusts or open-ended investment funds.

Cash ISA: Bank or building society savings accounts, either instant access or fixed term.

Innovative Finance (IFISA): Peer-to-peer lending (P2P). This relies on investors lending money to borrowers in exchange for interest and is not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Lifetime ISA (LISA): Created to help savers aged 18-40 to save for retirement or a first home. Maximum annual allowance is £4,000 with governmental bonus of 25% on top.

Junior ISA (JISA): Parents or guardians can invest (on top of their own annual allowance) for the eventual benefit of minors under the age of 18, with the option of the child taking ownership at 16. The annual limit is currently £9,000.

The beauty of ISAs lies in the fact that you can spread your annual allowance of £20,000 between different types of ISAs and you can use different providers to limit institutional risk.

Withdrawals - full or partial - of cash or investments within the ISA is tax free and can be requested as and when the need arises.

Whilst ISAs present a neat solution to some savings conundrums, please note that as with any investments, the value can go up as well as down and you may not get back your initial capital invested. Any income generated is not fixed and there are no guarantees to the performance of such savings - do not rely on past results as an indicator of future returns.

The most important point to bear in mind is that even if ISAs are relatively easy to understand as a stand-alone product, the underlying investment strategy should be fully developed with the help of your independent financial adviser to ensure that the chosen investments are precisely matched to your circumstances and suited to your personal risk profile.

If any of the above piqued your interest and you would like more information, we will be pleased to help.

Royale Thames Wealth Ltd is an Appointed Representative of New Leaf Distribution Ltd which is authorised and regulated by Financial Conduct Authority number 460421.

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

Wills and Estate Planning are not regulated by the FCA.

Jump Street Chelmsford

Jump Street Chelmsford is a huge indoor adventure park with not only Essex’s biggest trampoline arena, but also the UK’s largest Clip ’n Climb and a full scale softplay! It is the perfect family day out with over 60,000sq ft of activities for all ages.

The trampoline area offers a huge open jump arena, the infamous Toxic Wipeout, slam dunk lanes, two AirBags, two Dodgeball courts and two wall trampolines within a dedicated performance area.

If jumping isn’t your thing, you can relax in the café overlooking all activities and enjoying a selection of food and drinks.

Clip ’n Climb provides adults and kids with healthy, action packed fun thanks to 32 individual and unique multi-climbing challenges varying in design and difficulty, testing agility and courage in different ways.

Kendrick’s Kingdom soft-play extravaganza will guarantee your little one’s safety while providing them with full access to four levels of exclusive innovative activities to explore for hours on end. Let them loose to explore a range of portholes, challenge decks and levels, as well as tackle a Giant’s Causeway, Treasure Chest and have bundles of fun in the Battle Zone featuring ball cannons.

At Jump Street, you can mix and match activities. For instance with the Jump & Climb Combo, or Jump & Play, adding on extra attractions like the Drop Slide or go for the All-Inclusive Half Day Package.

Got a birthday party to plan? Then take the stress out of party planning with Jump Street’s 100%-Fun-Zero-Stress Kids Parties! Simply select a party package, pick the date and time, invite your guests and leave the rest to the Jump Street party team.

Silvia Johnson BSc(Hons) DipPFS EFA CertCII (MP)

is

a Director & Independent Financial Adviser at Royale Thames Wealth Ltd.

www.royalthameswealth.co.uk

silvia@royalthameswealth.co.uk

020 8720 7249 / 07908 109 741

All parties come with your own party room/area, food options and party host - plus, you can add on various party extras like more food, or party bags etc.

www.jumpstreet.co.uk

How Do You Want to Grow?

Hi there! I’m new to writing in The City Times - how’s everyone doing?

As I write, the most recent heatwave has broken and lots of delicious rain is falling… Spot the person who’s big into gardening these days.

Growing is the theme of my new coaching website actually, and my new imagery reflects it too.

I’ve had lots of coaching myself over the years and it’s really helped me ‘grow’ the life I want. It’s not perfect of course, but I’m definitely more grateful, resilient and happier as a result of the coaching I’ve had. I coach myself all the time now - it’s become second nature!

When you look at your life, how are you doing? What makes you happy? Are there things you’d like to change, different choices you’d like to make? Is everything ‘fine’ but you feel a bit stuck? Where might you want to go next job-wise or in your career?

Perhaps there’s something you’ve always wanted to do but you haven’t got round to it... What’s stopping you and getting in the way? What could you do to finally enact that dream, or at least feel differently about it?

I’ve bombarded you with questions there, but I think they’re good ones to get you thinking and they provide a little hint of where you could find coaching helpful.

I qualified as a coach a few years ago but it’s taken me a while to get my website live, not least because of my full time job in the NHS. But I changed my hours recently to make more time for seeing coaching clients.

Is it time for you to give coaching a go?

I’m running a free taster session and well-being evening at Mirabella Beauty Salon, Moulsham Street on Wednesday 12th October, 7-9pm. Treats and goody bags on offer! The session is free to attend but places are limited, so you’ll need to book via my website contact page or phone 07973 105 890.

Louise

Grocott

07973 105 890

www.louisegrocottcoaching.co.uk

All events are correct at time of going to press. Please check with the venue for updates

September

Friday 16th

The CloudFM County Ground - The History of Essex Cricket Club Talk (chelmsfordhod.co.uk)

The Courtyard (Baddow Road) - Happy Days (live music & DJs)

Hot Box - Oscillate

RAFA Club (Hall Street) - Chair yoga

Woolpack - Beer Festival

Village Hall (South Hanningfield) - Bingo evening (7pmcomedy bingo - bring your own drinks. Tickets £8 - call 07396 546050 or email shvhall@gmail.com)

Saturday 17th

The Courtyard (Baddow Road) - Happy Days (live music & DJs)

Farleigh Hospice - Garden Fête and Heritage Display

Hot Box - Bloodline

Hylands Estate - New World Festival 2022

Hylands Estate - National Country Show Live

Orange Tree - Connor Selby

RAFA Club (Hall Street) - Coffee morning (10am to 1pm)

Woolpack - Beer Festival

Sunday 18th

Hot Box - Jazz Sundays with Zak Barrett and friends

Farleigh Hospice - Cycle for Life

Hylands Stables - Jamie Williams & the Roots Collective

Hylands Estate - National Country Show Live

Hylands House - Restoration Exhibition (chelmsfordhod.co.uk)

Monday 19th

The Clay Pigeon - Bingo night

Hot Box - Chelmsford Chess Club night

The Orange Tree - The One Tree Hillbillies

Tuesday 20th

Widford Village Hall (turn left at Chandlers) - Country Dancing (barn dance - 7.50pm - £2 - 01245 475 660)

Woolpack - Quiz

Wednesday 21st

Hot Box - Hedvig Mollestad Trio

Woolpack - 80s bingo

Thursday 22nd

Hot Box - Third Dart + Mandeville

The Clay Pigeon - Poker night & quiz

Friday 23rd

Chelmsford Social Club - Lindisfarne

The Courtyard (Baddow Road) - Happy Days (live music & DJs)

Hot Box - The Kubricks

RAFA Club (Hall Street) - Chair yoga

Saturday 24th

Civic Theatre - The Very Best of Burt Bacharach

The Courtyard (Baddow Road) - Happy Days (live music & DJs)

Hot Box - The Utopiates

Monday 26th

The Clay Pigeon - Bingo night

Hot Box - Chelmsford Chess Club night

Tuesday 27th

Widford Village Hall (turn left at Chandlers) - Country Dancing (barn dance, £2 - 7.50pm - 01245 475 660)

Woolpack - Quiz

Wednesday 28th

Woolpack - 80s Bingo

Thursday 29th

Hot Box - Future Hits Presents: The Great Leslie

Friday 30th

Central Park - Oktoberfest presents: Bingo Loco XXL

Chelmsford Social Club - Spike (Quireboys) + Chris Helimann

The Courtyard (Baddow Road) - Happy Days (live music & DJs)

RAFA Club (Hall Street) - Chair Yoga

October

Saturday 1st

Central Park - Oktoberfest

The Courtyard (Baddow Road) - Happy Days (live music & DJs)

The Globe - Shakey’s Sessions - 5 ‘n’ Drive + Slumber + TBC

Hot Box - Atalhos

RAFA Club (Hall Street) - Coffee morning (10am to 1pm)

Woolpack - Rewind

Sunday 2nd

Hot Box - Jazz Sundays with Zak Barrett and Friends

Monday 3rd

The Clay Pigeon - Bingo night

Hot Box - Chelmsford Chess Club night

Tuesday 4th

Hot Box - Tom Peplow + Mamma Bear + Gas Hound

Woolpack - Quiz

Wednesday 5th

Woolpack - 80s Bingo

Thursday 6th

The Clay Pigeon - Poker night & quiz

Hot Box - Radio City Sessions

The Lion Inn - Chelmsford Comedy Club

Friday 7th

Acanteen - George Michael Tribute

Chelmsford Social Club - Rosalie Cunningham + The Tuppenny Bunters

The Courtyard (Baddow Road) - Happy Days (live music & DJs)

Hot Box - Alison + Sheer + Under the Sun + Metroglow

RAFA Club (Hall Street) - Chair yoga

Saturday 8th

Barista - Smiley Culture Present: Danny Clockwork

The Courtyard (Baddow Road) - Happy Days (live music & DJs)

Hot Box - Cosmology

RAFA Club (Hall Street) - Coffee morning (10am to 1pm)

Sunday 9th

Channels - Wedding Show

Hot Box - Jazz Sundays with Zak Barrett and Friends

Monday 10th

The Clay Pigeon - Bingo night

Hot Box - Chelmsford Chess Club night

Tuesday 11th

Hot Box - Big Music Quiz

Widford Village Hall (turn left at Chandlers) - country dancing (barn dance, £2 - 7.50pm - 01245 475 660)

Woolpack - Quiz

Wednesday 12th

Acanteen - The Black Heart Orchestra and guests, The Dark Moon Ensemble

Hotbox - The Big Music Quiz

Woolpack - 80s Bingo

Thursday 13th

Hotbox - Uber Jam

Friday 14th

Black Bull - Shakey’s Sessions: The March Fleet + Teresa of Calcutta + Barton Young

Chelmsford Social Club - Albert Lee and his band

The Courtyard (Baddow Road) - Happy Days (live music & DJs)

Hot Box - Louise Parker + Joey Clarkson + Ben Selleck

RAFA Club (Hall Street) - Chair Yoga

Friday 30th (continued...)

Saturday 15th

Civic Theatre - Voodoo Room

The Courtyard (Baddow Road) - Happy Days (live music & DJs)

Hot Box - Nero Kane + Teiger

Orange Tree - Dave Sharp

RAFA Club (Hall Street) - Coffee morning (10am to 1pm)

Sunday 16th

Central Park - Chelmsford Marathon and Half Marathon

Hot Box - Jazz Sundays with Zak Barrett and Friends

Send in your events between 13th October and 20th Novemnber for the next issue to ads@itsyourmedia.co.uk

Inbetweeners Fiat Cinquecento Hawaii Edition Sells at Auction

I honestly never thought I’d ever be writing about a Fiat Cinquecento here, but then I saw that the infamous gaudy yellow and red 1996 Hawaii Edition Cinquecento from Channel 4 sitcom series The Inbetweeners had headed off to auction.

While Aston Martin has an ongoing positive relationship with the James Bond franchise stretching back to 1965’s Goldfinger and the introduction to viewers of the classic DB5, Fiat has arguably achieved possibly less kudos from the association of being the first car of Inbetweener Simon Cooper, who openly expresses his unappreciative disgust at the reward for passing his driving test as presented to him by his parents… After all, it was bright yellow and had a tape deck for goodness sake!

Fiat must have cringed slightly as further mocking came as Simon (played by Joe Thomas) collected his friends Jay Cartwright (James Buckley), Will Mckenzie (Simon Bird) and Neil Sutherland (Blake Harrison) for the infamous trip to Thorpe Park - a reluctant trip from new driver Simon’s point of view; and rightly so as it turned out.

The Fiat Cinquecento itself is a front-wheel-drive 3-door hatch that was introduced in 1991 and lasted until 1998. Designed to be cheap and cheerful and provide an economical ride over an exciting ride, the Cinquecento was never going to be the stuff of a teenage boy’s dreams for a new car, especially as it featured basic rack and pinion unassisted steering too - though a sunroof and electric windows were an option... Engine-wise it was nothing to boast about; the market in Poland saw the release of the Cinquecento with a 704cc unit (31hp) while the rest got the larger 39hp 903cc (limited to 899cc in many areas) engine.

Possibly in league with those that provided sporty body kits for the Nissan Micra, Fiat also offered an Abarth kit for the Cinquecentothough just like the Micra body kits, purely cosmetic only. The Abarth kits consisted mainly of front and rear aprons and fog lights plus a rear spoiler fitted with a brake light.

Around Chelmsford, I sometimes see a replica Only Fools and Horses Reliant Regal van resplendent in replica Derek ‘Del Boy’ Trotter’s Trotters Independent Trading Co (no apostrophe) livery. It brings smiles wherever it goes, as does the fake-grass covered lawn maintenance company van in the area too (but that’s possibly another story). Clearly there is a point to owning such vehicles and I suspected that the guide price of around £2-3,000 might prove a bit low - after all, we’ve mostly been saving money lately due to not really being able to go anywhere for great lumps of time.

What makes The Inbetweeners’ Hawaii Edition Fiat Cinquecento stand out of course, is the red passenger door in contrast to the rest of the yellow bodywork. All thanks to Jay’s impatience with Simon’s fledgling parking skills and an ill-placed lamp post. The boys carry the broken yellow door around Thorpe Park with them before latter getting the car repaired with a red door. The ill-fated little car ended its days rolling pathetically into a lake in the last series.

The Hawaii Cinquecento was previously owned by a stuntman before undergoing bidding at East Bristol Auctions. And while there is not enough proof to claim anything other than it being a replica, there’s a widely held belief that this was indeed used as a stunt/supporting

vehicle in The Inbetweeners. Andrew Stow from East Bristol Auctions informed that when it arrived, there quickly formed a queue of people wanting to get a picture taken standing next to the little yellow Fiat. Its popularity will surprise some but not others, and bidding quickly rose to £7,000. But that queue was a hint of things to come, and in fact, the estimate of £2-3,000 did indeed prove to be a little low, as the yellow TV star eventually sold for a surprising £15,000.

Sean Neylon

Chelmsford Library

As we move into autumn, we have lots going on with something for everyone!

Our regular Rhymetime sessions for preschool children continue on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays and our new parents’ Rhymetime sessions on Wednesdays and Fridays. And don’t forget our Block Builders Construction Club every Saturday, and Pens and Puzzles every Sunday. See our website for all details and times.

Starting Your Family History: Would you like to learn about your family’s history?

Then come along to one of our Starting Your Family History sessions here at Chelmsford Library - a new course starts each month. We will be able to start your tree on the day (bring your birth certificate and any other certificates with you). You get free access to all the library resources online when in the library, including Ancestry, Find my Past, The British Newspaper Archive, and more. Booking required.

Community Tea: After choosing your books or doing your shopping, why not drop in to the library and join us for a cup of tea or coffee and biscuits? Come and find out more about what the library has to offer every other Saturday from 2pm - 3.30pm. The next event is 17th September.

POSITIVE ENERGY + MOVE YOUR WAY

Work Club: Are you looking for employment? Do you need advice and support with online job searching, applying for posts, CV writing? Just drop in to our Work Club - no need to book. Every Thursday 10am - 12 noon.

For full details of the above and all of our events and services, visit our website at libraries.essex. gov.uk. You can also follow us on Facebook or Twitter or by subscribing to our newsletter; all details are on our website.

The Development of Chelmsford (Part Nine) - By Stephen Norris

With regard to the development of Chelmsford as a whole, the last three decades of the century saw an increasing conflict between the local authority and both the county council and the government. Rural parishes in particular had to fight to keep their individual identity. As early as 1971 a government plan earmarked Chelmsford for medium growth expanding to a projected 220,000 people, just short of the accepted city size of 250,000. The plan for South Woodham Ferrers could only account for 20,000.

Some of the necessary house building was achieved in the North Springfield area surrounding Pump Lane. By 1976 the county was insisting that further development go ahead in Melbourne and North Springfield as well as South Woodham Ferrers, but the Chelmsford authority thought that existing public services were already overstretched. Continual rearguard actions by Chelmsford Borough Council managed to limit the number of houses actually built.

In 1991 there was all-party opposition to a Chelmsford Borough Plan which was based on the premise that the town needed 10,700 more homes in the new century. The plan maintained that more residential development in the north west and north east of the borough was possible: ‘The town has reached its logical capacity. It just cannot take any more lumps on the edge of town. We do not have the highway infrastructure for anymore.’ The borough tried to limit this by proposing the extension of the green belt around the entire town. Despite this, a new scheme for Beaulieu Park was proposed in 1999 and in 2012 it finally looked as though this scheme would achieve fruition, with the first of 3,200 houses due for completion in 2013. Land was also allocated for a new secondary school, and the scheme has continued at a rapid pace since.

Another plan for a mini new town at Margaretting was eventually turned down by the County Council in 2000 because it was in the green belt. This was the second time the village had featured in such a scheme, having originally been considered for one of the post-war new towns in 1944. This decision led to pressure to find room for a further 7,000 houses. A new proposal for a mini town at Boreham in 2001 immediately raised the opposition of the newly formed Boreham Conservation Society. Resistance to the Boreham development continued well into the new millennium.

Despite the green belt being ‘under siege’ at villages such as Writtle, many local villages have more than held their own. In 2009 for example, Bicnacre was runner up in the Best Village in Essex competition. Some of the remaining land for development there had been given to the council to be used for open spaces in 2009. The village was raising £3 million for a local church and community centre. In 2010 Great Waltham won an annual award from the Rural Community Council: ‘although close to Chelmsford it retains a real village atmosphere’.

The rural area around Chelmsford has also managed to keep a number of substantial houses. Apart from Hylands these include Langley’s at Great Waltham, New Hall and Boreham House.

Boreham is of course home to New Hall, a palace of Henry the Eighth which he had rebuilt. It declined during the following two centuries but was converted to a Catholic school by the end of the century. The architectural critic Pevsner stated that New Hall is one of the foremost remaining brick built 16th century buildings, which accounts for its grade one listed status. It has retained this status despite its setting being affected first by the coming of the railway, then more recently the Boreham bypass and now in the 21st century, the Beaulieu Park Development.

In the grounds of New Hall, the Hoare banking family had Boreham House, now a grade one listed building, built in the early 18th century after which New Hall was sold. The two buildings have been separate ever since. In 1877 it was inherited by Lieutenant Colonel Tyrell

Tufnell. It stayed in the Tufnell family until Henry Ford bought it in 1931. He established Fordson Estate Limited with the house as its base, to show that British agriculture could raise itself out of the depression. Then, after 1937 it became a college. Since 1997 it has again been privately owned and is currently hired out, like Hylands, for private weddings and functions. Boreham House is now also a grade one listed building.

Part of Leez Priory lies in Great Leighs and is within the Chelmsford city area. This was the medieval house of the Rich family and is a Grade One listed building. Great Leighs also encompasses Lyons Hall, the long time residence of the Tritton family, with their close connections with Barclays Bank. It is a grade 2 listed timber framed building with 15th century origins.

Langley’s at Great Waltham was rebuilt in its present form to designs by William Tufnell, after the original Tudor house had been partly demolished. The park had been extended by 1875 and an elaborate formal parterre garden laid out.

Great changes have taken place in Chelmsford’s High Street apart from the two shopping centres, and superstores moved to the outskirts of the town. There was a decline in the number of shops in the 1900s from 87 to 67 in the new millennium. Even by 1955 the number of shops that were locally owned had fallen from 78 to 51.

In the 1900s households had shopped two or three times a week for fresh food. By the new millennium only Marks and Spencer sold fresh food on the High Street, and smaller shops had been replaced by banks and building societies, ‘today only three stores sell household items, but five sell mobile phones.’ Chelmsford’s centre still ranked fifth nationwide in 2003 for the number of shops. Though Bolingbroke and Wenley was not the only store to eventually close because of internet competition.

One positive effect of the relentless drive to redevelop Chelmsford was the archaeological finds that have been discovered as a result, particularly those which have given further proof of an extensive Roman development, Caesaromagus. Roman finds in the town started with excavations in 1849 by Frederic Chancellor, which had revealed the first signs of the bath house of the Mansion.

In the late 19th century, building in Moulsham had seen regular finds of Roman pottery, coins and burials. Immediately after the Second War, Major Jack Brinson carried out further excavations which unearthed more of the baths. The beginning of the construction of Parkway from the late 1960s made further excavation urgent, and Chelmsford Excavation Committee excavated 40 sites in Chelmsford up to 1978. Its work was then taken over by the Archaeology Section of the Essex County Council, and further excavation on the site of the present Godfreys Mews revealed the south gatehouse bank and ditches built in the 2nd century AD. In 1987 a stone coffin was found, which can now be seen at the museum. On the left hand corner of Rochford Road off Mildmay Road is the site of a Romano-Celtic temple. It was an eight sided stone building erected in the 4th century used for the individual worship of gods and goddesses.

One example of an old industrial brownfield site eventually being used against the odds to improve the local environment has been the establishment of the Marconi Ponds Nature Reserve during the new millennium. This is the area known by former Marconi workers as the Filter Beds or the Crompton ponds. Before Crompton established his second arc works there, it had been used as clay pits for local brickworks. After Crompton began building on the site in 1896, an artesian well was sunk nearby - ‘the waste or surplus flowed into tanks and ponds that supplied water for industrial plant and flushing water for lavatories’. All this water was piped to the filter beds that became the two pieces of water known as the Marconi Ponds. The ponds had ceased to be used as filter beds by 1959. After Marconi

Radar left the old Crompton site in 1994, the planning agreement for the development known as ‘The Village’, involved the Chelmsford Borough Council being given the strip of land that now makes up the wildlife site plus £80,000 for community participation.

After several plans came to nothing, progress was started by the clearance of bottles by the Essex Bottle Diggers Association in 2005. After the Chelmsford Environment Partnership took over the management of the project, the Friends of Marconi Nature Reserve was set up in 2007. The new group was allowed to use E2V’s sports pavilion for meetings which was next to the site. Kingfishers and herons were already present, and foxes and deer are being encouraged to return.

The Friends of Marconi Ponds have received National Green Flag awards in three successive years and they now justify the title A Rural Retreat in Central Chelmsford.

On balance, it is hard to disagree with some of the criticisms of the town in the controversial article which appeared in The Guardian in

August 2010: ‘In the 1960s it forgot it was a pleasant historic county town and threw in its lot with Los Angeles, covering the place with ring roads and pumping it full of commuters’. The author Tom Dyckoff did list the reminders of Chelmsford’s halcyon age, namely ‘its pretty Shire Hall, the water meadows and parks along the rivers, the tiny flint studded cathedral’ but rightly bemoaned the fact that these features were cut off from each other. Dyckoff praised the area’s schools as well as the local villages that had retained their character such as Sandon and Writtle. He was unfair with regard to the area’s transport never having experienced the dire congestion up to the 1970s.

Everybody will have different views on what has happened to the new city since 2012. The greater number and variety of restaurants is obviously a big plus for many people. My recent articles on the history of Chelmsford’s transport finished with the complaint of many that it doesn’t take much for the town to become gridlocked. Some feel that new development within the city, particularly Beaulieu, lack sufficient amenities and may put intolerable strain on local infrastructure.

Rambling Among the Football ResultsBy Britain’s Oldest Angry Young Man

The BBC has once more shot itself in the foot; indeed, there are now so many holes in its feet, you could strain greens through them. The latest faux pas is securing the radio rights to broadcast a Saturday 5.30pm Premier League football match. Big deal! In doing so, the BBC has unleashed a backlash from football fans around the country and around the world. To accommodate this damp squib, Sports Report, the iconic and popular radio teatime summary of sporting activity that day, has been foreshortened - and worse, the traditional 5pm football results show has been unceremoniously ditched after some 70 years of sterling service to listeners, football pools addicts and to the game itself. Between five and seven minutes of football results have been callously airbrushed out of the BBC’s schedules and all for the sake of yet another Premier League broadcast. To compound this disgraceful decision, the BBC failed to summon up the guts to break the news to those who needed to know before it hit the fan.

Does anyone in the BBC live in the real world? This crass action has split the country into young and old...

The young, with their smartphones, social media and high-tech existence but who couldn’t care less about the BBC and its tired and predictable programming, endless repeats and so-called drama of right on rubbish designed to avoid upsetting the snowflakes inhabiting the sunny uplands of diversity, equality, inclusiveness, etc... Strictly Come Dancing springs to mind.

The old, many of whom are not tech savvy, don’t all use the internet, go online or indeed, all have a computer. What they do have is a simmering mistrust of the BBC and especially the over 75s who feel betrayed by the BBC who forced them into paying for a TV licence that is not worth the paper it is printed on. I am still waiting for someone at this tainted broadcaster to justify Gary Lineker’s £1.35 million BBC salary for just chatting with football mates as if they are in a pub. But, hey ho, it’s only our money.

Today, a television is more than something to look at; to many elderly people, including my late mother, the television was also a companion, a friend and in some cases a virtual lodger. The BBC didn’t want to know about the important social influence of a television on elderly and, in many cases, vulnerable people.

I am not surprised that the BBC is haemorrhaging presenters. The BBC is slowly morphing into a toxic mix of banality and vacuousness.

The rot began to set in during the disastrous reign of DirectorGeneral John Birt (1992 - 2000), and has continued to erode BBC policies, principles and judgements to the present day now under the stewardship of BBC Director-General Tim Davie, who is out of his depth and who will eventually go down with his ship.

The cold fact of life is that the BBC cannot compete with the streaming broadcasters both in money and product. It has become a broadcasting Marie Celeste drifting forever in a sea of mediocrity.

Former Crimewatch presenter Sue Cook has criticised the BBC’s ‘shameful’ reporting, claiming the broadcaster is concerned with ticking ‘woke boxes’: ‘You see all the woke boxes being ticked as the cast comes on’.

After an extensive period of campaigning, the country has a new Prime Minister, as Liz Truss takes the helm. She is the third woman to hold the top post and is indicative of the change in society since the momentous occasion when Margaret Thatcher assumed the role in 1979. Back then in Britain it was a truly mind boggling departure from the norm, whilst Ms Truss’s election is far less newsworthy, at least from a gender point of view.

Echoing this change in power, Rotary International appointed Jennifer Jones as its very first female president in July. So it too is moving with the times and based its choice of leader on ability and not purely on gender. Women have been allowed to be Rotarians since 1989 and I think it fair to say that without their invaluable input Rotary would be struggling even more with membership.

There have been steady advancements in the leadership roles achieved by women within Rotary. The breakthrough began at club level with female club presidents, then in the district tier where our own district covering Essex and bits beyond have been at the forefront of equality and diversity. In fact, several of our recent district governors are women. This takes us to national level where of the last eight national presidents, there were four men and four women. Finally, this year another glass ceiling was smashed with the appointment of Canadian Jennifer Jones as international president overseeing 1.2 million Rotarians and 200,000 Rotaractors.

Rotary’s effectiveness in helping the less fortunate and contributing to the community would reap high dividends. Her message is about positive change and she promises to deliver. Didn’t I hear Liz Truss promise to deliver when she gave her first speech outside number 10 as she came back from Balmoral after meeting the Queen?

Jennifer Jones has a rare ability to make everyone feel special, and if anyone can turn round the Rotary tanker of falling membership she is the person with the best chance. Volunteering through Rotary to make a difference whilst making long lasting friendships is as good a reason as any for joining Rotary. But let me make it clear, women and men are equally welcome.

If you would like to find out more, please visit www.rotary1240.org, or call me on 01245 260 349.

Stan Keller

Will she and Liz Truss have different perspectives because they are women, or simply because they are talented individuals? As Ms Truss might say, ‘the jury’s out’. Certainly Jennifer Jones brings boundless energy and is a little younger than most of her predecessors. The similarities in the depth of the problems they both face are striking. On the one hand Liz Truss needs to address the energy crisis, fallout from Brexit, shortages in the NHS, and high inflation, to mention just a few issues. Jennifer Jones has to reverse the decline in membership, changing the public perception that Rotary is for old men in suits and bring about a new relevance that appeals to the younger generation or risk seeing over a century of service gradually wither away. Just listing these I am not sure which of the ladies would be the happier if their jobs were switched.

Jennifer has been in post for a couple of months already and she has highlighted her approach. She introduced her own theme for the year which is Imagine. Imagine what Rotary could look like with foresight and hard work, Imagine what Rotary could achieve if its emphasis on diversity, equality and inclusivity started to bear more fruit. Imagine Rotary if all the seven areas of focus stepped up a few percent.

Did You Know That a Lot of How Chelmsford Develops in the Next 20 Years Could Be Influenced by You?

The council has a Local Plan to guide its future growth so that Chelmsford is a greener, fairer and more connected community.

The Local Plan affects every resident of Chelmsford. It sets out how Chelmsford will grow, where businesses and homes will be located, and how we will protect our green environment and heritage.

We’re Reviewing the Plan Councils have to review their local plan every five years. Chelmsford City Council adopted its current Local Plan in 2020 and has started a review to take it from 2036 to 2041.

This means we have to reassess our housing and employment needs to take into account projected rising population and growth in the city. We want you to be part of this process. This is the first stage of

consultation, and the closing date for comments is 6th October. Looking ahead, the council has developed five different approaches that could be followed to address the city’s growth. It is likely that the preferred approach might not be one of the five listed, but a combination of the most sustainable and deliverable elements.

The consultation is not a vote on which specific location is the most or least popular, but a way of assessing issues and finding the most sustainable overall strategy for delivering the area’s needs. That includes our environment, infrastructure, business and education opportunities.

If you register on our planning policy consultation portal, we will notify you about new consultations and you can read and comment on all our Local Plan consultation documents, including the current consultation.

There will be more opportunities to get involved and give your views along the way - visit www.chelmsford.gov.uk/ planningpolicyconsult.

You can view an online exhibition available during the consultation period - this can be found at www.chelmsford.gov.uk/lpexhibition - or visit our website at www. chelmsford.gov.uk/lp-review.

How to Respond With Your Views

You can respond via our consultation portal at www.chelmsford.gov.uk/ planningpolicyconsult, or by email to planning.policy@chelmsford.gov.uk, or by post to Spatial Planning Services, Chelmsford City Council, Civic Centre, Duke Street, Chelmsford, CM1 1JE.

All comments will be used to inform the next stage of the process which is when the council chooses its preferred approach.

What Has the Adopted Plan Delivered So Far?

Feedback from earlier consultations is already reflected in the current adopted Local Plan.

It has delivered new space for business and employment, 5,000 homes to cater for different household sizes including affordable housing, and infrastructure such as schools and green spaces. It has expanded sustainable transport, including cycleways, with a new railway station in north Chelmsford planned to open in the next four years.

Can You Make a Difference in Your Community?

enjoy bar work. A sense of humor is vital!

Home Safety Admin Support - Essex County Fire & Rescue Service, South Woodham Ferrers

GAIA Exhibition Host: 12th - 30th October 2022 at Chelmsford Cathedral

Chelmsford Cathedral will display Luke Jerram’s spectacular artwork, Gaia, for 3 weeks between 12th and 30th October 2022.

Gaia is a touring artwork of planet Earth, measuring six meters in diameter and featuring detailed NASA imagery of the Earth’s surface. The replica of Earth will be suspended two meters above the ground, filling the nave of the Cathedral.

Volunteers are needed to help us deliver this exciting art installation.

Bookkeeper/treasurer at St Luke’s Church, Moulsham St Luke’s requires a treasurer who can maintain a simple excel spreadsheet of payments and receipts. Anyone interested in this post would be supported by the current treasurer and the PCC, and can become more involved should they wish to.

RAFA Social Club Bar Steward

RAFA is a charity that supports RAF veterans and their families though comradeship, and social and welfare services.

We badly need a friendly volunteer to help run our small Club Bar (no draught beer pipes!) for members and guests one or two evenings a week, occasional Saturdays if available.

Looking for a fun and energetic person with a lively personality to

We need a volunteer to help call members of the public that have requested a home safety check, and booking them in for a visit from one of our team.

This is a very rewarding and important role. We are a fun, friendly team and provide ongoing support and training to our volunteers.

Support people with mental health needs at a community garden

Are you patient, enthusiastic about helping people, and a bit knowledgeable about gardening?

Tennyson House GP surgery has a small community garden that welcomes adults with mental health needs or mild learning difficulties.

We need a volunteer to unlock and set up each week, make sure everyone is happy, and help plan gardening activities for the year. Training and support provided. Tuesday afternoons 1pm - 3pm.

Could you have a chat and a cup of tea with a lonely person in Chelmsford? - Age Well East

Do you have 1 hour spare a week? Could you support someone by calling them for a chat, or meeting them for a walk or cup of coffee?

Just a small bit of your time could make a world of difference to someone who has no one else.

Introducing Cabin Boy (Aka Roger Barcroft - Chelmsford Community Radio

Like a number of other presenters at CCR, Roger cut his radio teeth at Saint FM in Burnham on Crouch, which first aired in 2007 (and which recently morphed into Caroline Community Radioyes, another CCR!).

After a few years at Saint, Roger was asked to extend his regular Saturday morning Mr Miscellaneous Show from 2 to 3 hours. Rather than extend his existing show, he preferred to develop a completely separate - and very different - 1-hour format. Instead of a human voice, the show is presented by the station computer, Miriam, with her lack-lustre human operator (who is never heard), Cabin Boy.

Roger had been listening in to some small-time Californian radio stations where, instead of just regular playlist material, a whole stream of other sound material was being broadcast. So this became his approach to the new show, Almost Saturday Night.

As well as a broad playlist, from reggae and gospel through to classical and prog rock, Miriam introduces a whole range of additional ‘noise’. You can hear poetry, comedy, sound effects, fables,

speeches, old public information, retro adverts... Provided it is brief and entertaining, it will be there. In between, Miriam throws in her own brand of computer cod philosophy on the human condition, interspersed with her complaints about Cabin Boy. Roger comments: “Each 1-hour show has around 90 components, so assembly and editing is a lengthy business.”

Almost Saturday Night transferred from Saint FM to CCR in 2016, where it has played out every week since. You can catch it at 10pm every Friday evening.

www.chelmsfordcommunityradio.com

Healing and Meditation

This month’s pause for thought is on the metamorphosis of self. What does it mean to truly transform? How do we achieve this?

Metamorphosis of Me

I am that shard of glass the one that cut through to the marrow to the core of my beliefs to the centre of me.

I am that one who fed the beliefs the very shadows that haunted me the patterns that I created the shifts in me I cultivated. I am that girl who wept to be me the same one that sought to set me free to the depths she sent me

to the centre of me.

I am my very own version of truth.

I am the only one who truly knows what’s real the only one with the power to heal. The girl that was me. The girl that is me.

(SVJ)

It is my belief that we must taste the darkness and embrace it before we can truly step into our light.

We must acknowledge where we have been in order to see correctly where we are going. Our scars are the maps of our truth.

If you would like to explore your past in a safe way that allows you to express, release and move forward into your own metamorphosis of self, then please do get in touch.

As always I am available for in-depth readings via oracle and tarot every Wednesday evening at the Bay Horse Pub in Chelmsford. Contact me on 07909 078 030 to book, and receive a discount.

Crafts - By Magali Ellis and Scrap-Circle

Embellishments (Part 1)

Over the next two months, I would like to talk about embellishments. What do you use to embellish your projects? Do you tend to use the same type of embellishments over and over again? Or are you succumbing to the newest trend? Do you mix or do you tend to be single tracked? Here is a quick roundup of the different embellishment alternatives.

Buttons

Maybe a trend in decline at the moment, however buttons are a great addition to pages and cards. They are fun to use and they come in so many colours. They are versatile too and I have seen some fantastic cards made with buttons; one was a buttons Christmas tree card and the other was a birthday card with buttons styled balloons. Very effective on layouts too amid flowers and foliage, thus creating a 3D embellishment.

Ribbon and Twine

Flowers

They never date, do they? They always look lovely on a layout or on a card, as a single flower or a bunch of flowers. They come in different sizes and are ideal for clusters in a corner of the photo for example. The petals can be curled up to add a bit more texture and they can be stamped in the matching - or contrasting colour ink and then either left as is or coloured in. They are so versatile and I do enjoy using flowers, sometimes stamped directly onto the card or page, or sometimes fussy cut to create a different end product. You can also cut them out of patterned papers to use on their layout in a very effective way.

Foliage

I was talking to a friend the other day and was shocked when she told me that she hates using leaves and foliage in general. To me, foliage is the ideal gap filler, pocking out from under the photos or sentiments or draping itself around the corner on top of the photo. Leaves are great because they are strong shapes, there are so many different styles of leaves, and I particularly use foliage as die cuts. They add another dimension to the cluster of embellishments.

Another easy embellishment to use, simply stuck lengthways or widthways along the card or page, effectively bringing a touch of colour. Then of course, you can use ribbons and twine with bows and knots to add an extra dimension. I must confess I do not like making bows, I find them tricky and it is a bit of a faff to make a bow, especially if they are small ones. And they never turn out the way I want them, and they always kink the wrong way but, I must say that they are effective in lifting the whole mood of a card.

Using embellishments is great fun and sometimes we may feel daunted by them, especially with those we have not got into the habit of using. Come and join us in our monthly Craft Days at Highwood Village Hall to have fun using embellishments! Check out the website at www.scrap-circle.co.uk for more details and booking forms. Next crafting days this year are on Saturday 24th September, Tuesday 25th October, Saturday 26th November and Saturday 17th December.

Next month we will have a look at other types of embellishments. Remember the golden rule when using embellishments: always in odd numbers, like roses!

Happy crafting!

Tales From the Circle - By Sylvia Kent

Many people enthuse about the joy of writing, but what is this phenomenon? For some, the pleasure of putting thoughts and words on paper is achievement enough; for others it is the means of earning a living. There is certainly enjoyment in the art of researching and creating narrative, rather than simply producing it. Novels, articles, short stories, poetry - or often, merely writing a diary - can all be agreeable and satisfying.

Brentwood Writers Circle members are obviously aware of the benefits of belonging to a writers’ group that provides support, inspiration and guidance in their quest for success in this often complex world. Overnight success in the writing industry does happen occasionally, but on the whole, much time and energy are needed when dipping one’s toes into the business of entering this brave new writing world. Fortunately, over our 81 years, Brentwood Writers Circle has attracted a variety of members from a wide - mainly Essex - radius.

One member - a recent Chairman of the Circle - Patrick Forsyth, who lives in Maldon, began writing many years ago. His original choice of genre was specialist business material, leading him to publish more than 100 books, including two best selling titles, Successful Time Management and How to write Reports and Proposals (published by Kogan Page) reissued in their sixth edition. But, like numerous other authors, he has delighted in publishing in different styles and his trio of light-hearted travel books have been the result. All set in southeast Asia, First Class at Last compares budget and first class travel through a journey on the Orient Express from Singapore through Malaysia to Thailand; Beguiling Burma follows a river journey, and Smile Because It Happened is about things to make you smile in Thailand’s so-called ‘land of smiles’. One reviewer called his writing ‘Bryson-like’.

Patrick also writes fiction, has won short story competitions, and has five novels published. Tony Fisher (BBC broadcaster and writer) described Once a Thief thus: ‘Once again Patrick gives us charming characters who are in a world of trouble. A twisty plot that has you guessing till the final page’.

Active in the writing world, Patrick is a Fellow of the SWWJ and gives talks (especially about his travel writing) to Essex groups. He also runs writers’ workshops. His new book has just been published.

www.patrick@touchstone28.com www.brentwoodwriterscircle.com

Quiz Time - By John Theedom

The actor Frank Williams died recently, aged 90. In which sitcom did he play the role of Rev Timothy Farthing?

How many sides does a decagon have?

Who is the current Speaker of The House of Commons?

Which expesive spice comes from the crocus?

What is a bindi?

What word can be a famous London hotel or a vegetable?

Who does the actor Michael Le Vell play in Coronation Street?

Nurse Gladys Emanual was in which TV sitcom?

Where is the HQ of the RNLI?

Which Essex town was named Camulodunum by the Romans?

What is a nun’s garment called?

What type of creature is a Rhodesian ridgeback?

What is Joan Collins’ middle name?

What kind of vegetable is a frijoi?

Where does the flavouring vanilla come from?

In cookery, what does the term ‘en brochette’ mean?

Which car company produced a model called the Sapphire?

Cinemas in the UK have been turning away large groups of smartly dressed children from which film?

In which country is the town of Bremen?

King Edward VIII gave up the British throne to marry who?

What is the main problem with growing mint in the garden?

In cycling, what is a sag wagon?

Why do American footballers paint black marks on their cheeks?

What caused the Aberfan Disaster?

What was the former name of Sri Lanka?

Where in your body is there a labyrinth?

What colour is a New York taxi?

In Scrabble, which 2 letters are worth 10 points?

Which of the Bee Gees are twins?

How old must Scotch whisky be before it can be sold in the UK?

What is another name for the Northern Lights?

What is the only grass that can actually grow in water?

What type of skirt was a dirndl?

What would you expect to find in a sarcophagus?

What connects brake, fault and soldier?

What fraction of an inch is a barleycorn equal to?

Which country in the Mediterranean was awarded the George Cross in WW2?

When were the first decimal coins introduced in the UK?

What is a Battenburgh?

What is the Rose of Jericho?

(Answers on page 31)

Stargazing With Mark Willis - September/October

23rd September: Autumn Equinox occurs at 00:55 UTC. The Sun will shine directly on the equator and there will be nearly equal amounts of day and night throughout the world. This is also the first day of autumn (autumnal equinox) in the northern hemisphere and the first day of spring (vernal equinox) in the southern hemisphere.

26th September: Jupiter at opposition. This is the best time to view and photograph Jupiter and its moons. A medium sized telescope should be able to show you some of the details in Jupiter’s cloud bands. A good pair of binoculars should allow you to see Jupiter’s four largest moons, appearing as bright dots on either side of the planet. Look east south east at about 10:30.

4th October: The day the space age begins in 1957. The Russians (or in those days, the USSR) sent up Sputnik which sent a beep that could be received on a suitable radio receiver.

We’re enjoying two meteor showers this October...

7th October: Draconids Meteor Shower. The first quarter Moon will

block out all but the brightest meteors this year.

21st, 22nd October: Orionids Meteor Shower. The thin crescent Moon will leave nearly dark skies. As usual, look towards the constellations as the meteors tend to radiate from these parts of the sky.

New Moon: On 25th September and 25th October there will be a new Moon. This means the skies will be extra dark which is a great opportunity to see planets, galaxies and deep space objects.

2022 is the 50th anniversary of the last people on the Moon. Within the next three years people will return to the Moon.

Please feel free to email me with any questions. If I cannot answer them, then I will forward them to another astronomer.

www.chelmsfordcommunityradio.com mark.willis@chelmsfordcommunityradio.com

Wildlife Corner - By Nick Green

According to the Meteorological Office, this is the joint warmest summer on record, the UK’s warmest year so far on record (January to August) and the driest year so far since the drought year of 1976. And there was the record breaking temperature of 40.3C at Coningsby in Lincolnshire in July.

The clouded yellow is a migratory butterfly in variable numbers and is a regular visitor to Britain and Ireland. Some are recorded most years, occasionally there are mass immigrations and subsequent breeding. A small proportion of the females are pale yellow (form helice). We are dependent on the species’ breeding success in North Africa and southern Europe.

Habitat: May be seen in any habitat but the species tends to congregate in flowering places where caterpillar food plants grow eg, clovers, lucerne common birds-foot trefoil. Modern agriculture, however, has seen a marked reduction in the growing of lucerne crops.

Distribution: Anywhere but the species is most commonly recorded in coastal habitats in southern Britain.

Birds: The Naze: stone curlew, dotterel, wryneck. Holland Haven: Sabine’s gull, Temminck’s stint. Abberton Reservoir: 17 spoonbill, 11 cattle egret, 22 spotted redshank, wood sandpiper. Old Hall Marshes RSPB: red-necked phalarope. Hanningfield Reservoir EWT: purple sandpiper. Canvey Point: Cory’s shearwater, roseate tern. Wallasea Island RSPB: 3 little gull, osprey. East Tilbury: 3 stone curlew. Rainham Marshes RSPB: Caspian gull, spoonbill, wryneck.

Selected County August Highlights

Dragonflies: Southern emerald damselfly, willow emerald damselfly, southern migrant hawker.

Moths: Hummingbird hawkmoths have even been seen in gardenseven mine in Chelmsford, nectaring on valerian!

Clouded Yellow male butterfly (copyright Glyn Evans)

US divorcee, Wallis Simpson

It spreads rapidly

A support vehicle carrying spares and luggage etc

It helps protect against the sun

A slag heap collapsed onto a school

Q & Z Maurice and Robin

3 years

Arora Borealis Rice

A full skirt gathered at the waistband

Corpse, it is a kind of coffin

They can all follow foot

1 third Malta

1971

A type of cake

A mysterious plant that acts as an air-conditioner