Moulsham Times - February 2021 - Online Only

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Issue Number 98 - February 2021

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MT Welcome Hi readers, Welcome to the February edition of Moulsham Times.

Unfortunately this edition is once again online only due to the ongoing restrictions. Please share our link as much as you can to enable as many of our regular readers to be able to view this magazine online. You can find both this magazine and the City Times at www.issuu.com/itsyourmedia.

Fingers crossed we can be back in print soon!

Regards Paul

Advertising & Editorial Paul Mclean 01245 262082/07595 949701 paul@moulshamtimes.com

It’s Your Magazines Ltd

Disclaimer: It’s Your Magazines Ltd publish the Moulsham Times. The opinion expressed in each article is the opinion of its author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of It’s Your Magazines Ltd. No part may be reproduced without the prior written permission of It’s Your Magazines Ltd. Reg Co No. 12080535. Printed by Warners (Midlands) PLC.

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3

Chelmsford

by Vicky Ford MP

My thoughts are with the many Chelmsford residents who have been sick or have lost loved ones due to this dreadful pandemic. However, it is good news that, at the time of writing, all our GPs practices are working together in networks to deliver the Covid vaccine. They were initially running centralised clinics at Whitley House Surgery, Rivermead Gate Medical Centre, and Parkside Medical Centre in Melbourne.

GPs are prioritising the over 70s, frontline care staff, care home residents and clinically extremely vulnerable people.

Many Chelmsford residents have already received the vaccine at other sites, for example at the Basildon Hospital centre which was rapidly established in the first week of the programme.

The Mid-Essex Clinical Commissioning Group reiterated to me the message that your surgery will contact you regarding vaccination and not to contact surgeries directly. A new rapid testing centre has also opened at Central Baptist Church, Victoria Road South, Chelmsford, CM1 1LN. You do need to book first and can do so here: www.essex.gov.uk/gettingtested-for-covid-19/if-you-dont-have-symptoms - or you can call 0333 772 6144 to arrange an appointment; lines are open from 8am to 8pm. The tests are only for people who do not have symptoms and results are given in around 30 minutes.

Our Royal Mail postal workers have done an exceptional job during the pandemic and have recently had a very challenging time with a number of staff off sick or self-isolating; my thoughts are with all of those affected. Royal Mail are taking steps to ensure that vaccination letters are delivered as a priority, so we are able to get as many people vaccinated as possible.

The Government has offered grants to businesses affected by the pandemic, and these are being distributed by Chelmsford City Council. They are offering four different types of grant, one of which is a discretionary grant where businesses who do not fall into the categories for alternative funding can apply. I understand some local businesses have not received the grants that they are eligible for and I would urge business owners to contact the city council if they are eligible.

For those people on a low income whose work has been disrupted by COVID-19 because they are required to selfisolate, the £500 grant from the Government is being distributed by local councils. Essex County Council also has a discretionary grant if you are unable to apply for the selfisolation grant.

I know people were very distressed by the images of unacceptable lunch boxes for children that circulated on social media. As Children’s Minister I immediately acted, calling in the caterers at the centre of the row and demanding improvements and I also set up a hotline for complaints at the Department of Education. Lunch parcels should be of a high quality and nutritionally balanced. We have actually had

very few complaints from parents and each one has been investigated. Schools are doing an excellent job of managing many challenges. Our National Voucher Scheme for free school meals has also gone live again and appears to be working well.

Our Covid Winter Grant Scheme provides food and help with other essential bills at this difficult time. It supported children over the Christmas period and is there to give support this term and during half term. Over £4 million has been allocated to Essex County Council from this scheme. If you need urgent assistance you can call them on 0300 7900 124 between 8.45am - 5pm. From Easter, our Holidays Activity and Food scheme will be offering disadvantaged children fun activities as well as food all across the country in the Easter, summer and Christmas holidays this year.

I would like to thank all NHS and frontline staff - it is vital we continue to follow the guidance in order to protect them. I am in regular contact with our local NHS and the Essex Resilience Forum and post updates on my Facebook page. I know just how hard all of those in our NHS and in our social care have been working throughout the pandemic, as well as our key workers in other sectors and I would like to thank all of them for all their hard work at this difficult time.

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Lingaury Is a New Upcoming Brand Featuring Uniquely Designed Products

Who We Are Lingaury is a new brand, with uniquely designed products, ranging from the graphic range of hoodie dresses and matching handbags to the most daring, yet equally sophisticated ladies’ heelwith the ultimate kick.

We also specialise in our own extraordinary range of sunglasses and brightly coloured wigs, geared towards those who love to stand out as being truly different.

Lingaury welcomes all!

What Is Our Story?

Our story is one with a difference. Too often we are content to just wonder what it is like to dare to be different in our style and our fashion sense, and to contemplate what a move away from the fashion norms might be.

The intent behind the incredible unique Lingaury brand is to allow you to do just that, regardless of whether your style and personality are naturally daring.

We have sought to fuse fashion with creative design and imagination aimed at capturing the attention of everyone.

In essence, winter does not have to be dreary, and as for summers, well the sky’s the limit!

Lingaury’s aim with each of its unique designs is to facilitate those who want to have either the best of both worlds, as professionals maintaining their own sense of fashion, and to compliment those who simply wish to be noticed and stand out from the crowd. By the way, Lingaury does also cater for those who are not so daring too...

Our idea is that being daringly different is the power to accept that you love everything about you and love everything about the difference in you. This is exactly what Lingaury has sought to capture with our handbags and hoodie dresses as well as our handpicked sunglasses, brightly coloured wigs and perfectly styled shoes with a kick.

When personally designed and branded by Lingaury, our products capture our specific customer’s individual and daring personality, charisma and charm. Lingaury seeks to present to you something which is not just unique, but bold, untamed, loud, soft, diverse - and best of all - it’s you!

So regardless of who you are and where you are from, whether you’re big or small, short or tall, youthful or maybe slightly less youthful, whatever your background or inclinations are, Lingaury caters for everyone.

The packaging of our products also exemplifies the same vitality, personality and difference of our founder. We believe that each customer deserves an experience upon purchase and that is why every item purchased from Lingaury comes uniquely packaged as its own brand, for the ultimate retail experience.

Join us on this incredible journey and receive 20% off storewide by visiting our website at www.lingaury.com.

Please do follow us on social media too!

We at Lingaury aim to empower women to not only love themselves, but also to accept that there are no boundaries as to where a strong sense of self can take you.

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MT Health: Is Sitting Too Much Causing Heart Disease? - by Chris at Forté Physical Health Our understanding of sitting and heart disease dates back to 1953 where a study was carried out on bus drivers and conductors. The bus drivers sat down all day, but the conductors were standing up and walking up and down the stairs checking the passengers’ tickets. The researchers found that the drivers were 30% more likely to have a heart attack and that they had them much younger and with worse outcomes than the conductors.

patients because I am always telling them to get up often and move around. This has wonderful benefits for your joints, but now you can think that you are helping to prevent heart disease too.

Since then, other studies have started to explain why: we have started to discover that excesses of a type of fatty acid known as triglycerides can cause heart disease.

Triglycerides float around our bloodstream, particularly if we over-eat high carb meals, but the body has a solution to this. When we use our muscles in exercise (including gentle exercise like walking), our muscle activity uses an enzyme called lipoprotein lipase. Scientists nickname this enzyme the ‘triglyceride vacuum cleaner’ because it scoops up the triglycerides in its chemical reactions and therefore takes them out the bloodstream.

So, despite all the long fancy words, it’s actually quite simple: If we eat too much, our levels of triglycerides build up in our blood, but if we exercise and move, chemical reactions mop up the excess and help prevent heart disease. Wonderful!

Now here’s where it gets interesting. It’s not just about how much movement we do, it’s also related to how we rest.

Researchers followed a hunter-gatherer tribe called the Hadza tribe in Africa. They found that although they are active when they are searching for food, building their homes and being social, they also rest for ten hours a day, which is even more than us westerners! The big difference though is that their resting position is mostly sitting in a deep squat, rather than sitting on chairs.

Although they find it perfectly comfortable to sit in the squat because they do it so often, it requires much more muscle activity in the legs and core than sitting in a chair where the muscles are completely passive.

This muscle activity activates the lipoprotein lipase and scoops up the triglycerides and is one of the reasons this tribe have almost non-existent levels of heart disease.

What can we learn from this in the developed world? I appreciate it’s unlikely you are going to adopt this deep squat as your preferred resting position, but thankfully we don’t need to - we just need some muscle activation to do the work.

The simplest strategy for this is to use a standing desk or get up from sitting every 20 minutes to do some light exercise.

If you are working from home and no one can see you, you can even do a few squats or lunges (this might look a little odd in an office, admittedly).

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Quiz Time

by John Theedom 1. Who is the patron saint of sailors?

2 Where is The Isle of Dogs?

3. What colour is the horse in the Lloyds Bank TV advertisement?

4. From which European country does the cheese brie originate?

5. In which sport is Max Whitlock well known?

6. What is the name of the newest ‘Chaser’ on TV’s The Chase?

7. What is the only anagram of the word ‘English’?

8. Which golfer is known as The Great White Shark?

9. Which one was the oldest of The Spice Girls?

10. What was the name of John Lennon’s killer?

11. How old is Victoria Beckham in 2021?

12. What is the first name of the Scottish leader Ms Sturgeon?

13. Who is the man who is quitting the TV show Countdown after 10 years?

14. What year was the film Home Alone first shown?

15. Where is the location of Britain’s first all-electric forecourt?

16. Which London railway station shares It’s name with a pop song from 1974?

17. For how much has Bob Dylan sold the rights to his entire song book?

18. What happened to Frank Sinatra’s son when he was 19 in 1963?

19. What has the furniture company Ikea stopped doing after 70 years?

20. Royal Mail is increasing the price of

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1st class stamps from 76p to what?

Who uses a tiebreak?

Who created the book Thomas The Tank Engine?

In the ‘smellies’ department, complete the name, Dolce & ………?

In which county is the Lake District?

Montevideo is the capital city of which country?

What is a tisane?

Who starred as the boxer in the film Ali? How long was Joan Collins married to her fourth husband Peter Holm?

What does Michael Buble do for a living?

You’ve seen the diggers, but what do the initials JCB stand for?

Which castle was chosen for I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here?

What is a billet-doux?

Which star played the character Aunt Sally in the latest Worzel Gummidge?

In Scrabble, how many points is ‘K’ worth?

Which country gave the USA the Statue of Liberty?

Which well known female star of Eastenders died recently aged 83?

What connects ‘Boom’, ‘Ghost’ and ‘Market’?

How many dots are there in total on a pair of dice?

In motoring, what does MG stand for?

In which year did Britain’s first heart transplant take place?

(Answers on page 31)

8

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Have Your Say On Neighbourhood Issues and Local Councils in Chelmsford A review is underway regarding the most local level of decision making in the Chelmsford area. Chelmsford City Council wants to hear your views as part of what is called a Community Governance Review.

consultation and a report will be put before the Full Council in July 2021 to decide upon the next stage of the review process.

62% of the population across the Chelmsford district have a parish or town council, as well as Chelmsford City Council and Essex County Council. The other 38% (within the urban centre of the city) do not have that very local voice.

There are two main aspects to the review: a. Should the 38% currently without local representation have a change (eg, set up community/parish council or an alternative such as area committees), or remain as they are? b. Are changes needed to existing parishes? Boundaries of existing local councils may need to change, especially in areas which have seen a great deal of development that may have crossed boundaries.

Have your say at www.chelmsford.gov.uk/cgr by Thursday 18th March. If you want to change things, especially within your own neighbourhood, it’s vital to get involved and tell those in power what you want. If you think that we could change or improve your parish arrangements, please take part in this consultation and make your voice heard.

Chelmsford City Council will consider the results of the Remember to tell our advertisers you saw their advert in the MT

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9

MT Gardening We’ve now zoomed all the way to the end of January and are now entering the fab month of February. Take care if undertaking border work, as the ground conditions are such that walking over sodden ground often leads to compaction and possible issues for our precious plants.

Problems such as rotting roots due to lack of oxygen at the root zone, leading to pale, stunted and often wilted growth.

damage is not often seen until much later in the season.

Aside from weather conditions, there’s loads to do. For one thing I’ll be pruning a number of shrubs that flower late summer/early autumn and those that are grown for coloured stems later this month. Before you start, check you have bypass secateurs (these have a scissor-like action and slice rathee than crush stems when cutting), a good pair of extendable loppers with the same action as the secateurs, and a sturdy pruning saw (one that folds into the handle for safe keeping).

Here are a few plants that can be pruned this month:

1. Plants such as Buddleja davidii (butterfly bush), Spiraea japonica and Perovskia This type of atriplicifolia (Russian sage) from Over 25 years experieince Pruning Group 6, 20% discount when you can be hard pruned mention Mousham Times! this month as they all flower on new • Trees • Pruning • Hedges • Roots Removed • Topping • Patios growth. Take growth • Rotovating • Turfing • Fencing • Garden Design • Decking from last year and • Block Paving • Tar & Shingle • Guttering • Chimney Repairs cut down to the • Building Work• Roofing • Fascias & Soffits • Drainage solutions ground or where there is a stump from the previous years’ growth. Yes it’s harsh, however this type of pruning helps to control vigorous growth and maintain a smallish plant. There are others in this group such as Fuchsia spp, which I’d do around April. This is only to protect those thin frost susceptible shoots from being burnt.

2. Another group of plants to prune towards the end of this month, or before shoots start emerging, are those grown for coloured stems. For example, scarlet stemmed Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’, the yellow-orange stems of Salix alba var. vitellina ‘Britzensis’ and the super silvery-white stems of Rubus cockburnianus. These belong to Pruning Group 7 and also includes all those plants that are pruned hard for increased leaf shape. Large plants such as Paulownia spp (foxglove tree), Catalpa bignonioides (Indian bean tree) and Sambucus Free written quotes and advice 10 year guarantee on all work

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spp with the coloured stems. If they are young plants, I’d leave for a couple of seasons to establish and then in subsequent years the shrubby dogwoods and willow examples should be cut down to 5-7.5cm (2-3”), known as coppicing, often referred to as stooling. Any side shoots can be tipped to encourage more branching. Moving forward, every year or alternate years, continue to cut back hard to stubs off the old stool/stumps.

With the ornamental bramble (Rubus), cut to the ground.

Once pruning has been completed, it would be worth top dressing with a compound fertiliser anytime from March onwards. Examples such as fish, blood and bone, Growmore and Vitax Q4 are all fine. Check rates of application on the

packaging. Something like 50-70g per square metre (up to 2oz per square yard) would work. Broadcast around the base of the plant, lightly turn in and follow with a generous layer of well rotted organic matter to a depth of 10-15cm (4-6”), avoiding going right up to any growth points to avoid any chance of compost burn.

Aside from the plants above, do complete apple and pear pruning on unrestricted firms. Check out this link for further details: www.rhs.org.uk/Advice/Profile?pID=858&cID=758.

All pruning material can be shredded and chipped ready for recycling back into your garden. Take care with material that has bacterial or fungal residues on - this should be incinerated. If difficult to do, or space is not available, pop into your recycling bins. Material from the dogwoods and willows can be easily propagated by taking hardwood cuttings to produce more plants - for free! Here’s a super site for further details: www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=387.

Lastly, check out this link for other jobs for the garden as we move through to February: www.rhs.org.uk/advice/in-month/ february.

Happy gardening and keep safe!

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

New Shows on Chelmsford Community Radio Spring is just around the corner and Chelmsford Community Radio 104.4FM has been hitting bigger and bigger audiences in 2021.

It’s always great to have new listeners joining us and enjoying our live and local broadcasting service.

Lindsay KJ has joined Chelmsford Community Radio 104.4FM to present Monday’s edition of Good Morning Chelmsford.

She’s brightening up the start of the week with a great mix of music and chat to wake you up ready for working from home or for a busy day of home schooling.

We’re always keen to hear from new people interested in getting involved with radio; please drop us an email at studio@ chelmsfordcommunityradio.com, especially if you have

previous experience of broadcasting.

New shows to listen out for on Chelmsford Community Radio in February 2021: Fresh Friday with Luke Barnard from 10am, The Blueprint with Danny Bounce on Fridays from 11pm and a revamped Good Morning Chelmsford 7.30am each weekday morning.

Follow our social media accounts (@ChelmsfordCR) to find out details of all our programmes and also check our website - link below.

Remember, all you need to do to support community radio in Chelmsford is switch us on and listen!

104.4FM in Chelmsford Online at www.chelmsfordcommunityradio.com

Deadlines for the February edition: Articles - 23rd February Print-ready art work - 1st March Edition available from - around 4th March Remember to tell our advertisers you saw their advert in the MT

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11

Nick Garner’s Music & Ramblings What a start to the year! Lockdown continues and meanwhile the vaccines are rolling out pretty fast thankfully. I will not go on too much about this only to say, yes we have had colossal death rates (in fact the biggest per capita in the world), but let us hope that we are getting to grips with it now and that we can beat it. It is good to see the vaccine roll outs going ahead so quickly and new vaccines coming out all the time to help beat the new strains as well. Sadly I know of people who have had and currently have COVID-19 - and some that we have lost to it. My thoughts and heart goes out to them all and everyone who has sadly been touched by this awfulness.

Hazel to Chelmsford at some point in the future.

I also have friends who are dealing with serious issues like cancer - and none of these things are going to stop because of COVID-19. It all just adds to the overall current sadness and misery going on and that is why I feel it is important to try to stay upbeat for these people and help and support them.

I would also like to offer myself at anytime if you need an ear juts to listen to you or chat. I am available 24/7 for you and my contact details can be found on page 3 of the City Times.

To my surprise I got a phone call to say I am one of 5 finalists in the UK 2021 Blues Awards for the best blues-based festival or event of the year - live or virtual. This is run by the UK Blues Federation. To say I was amazed is an understatement, as I had no idea I was in the running, let alone a finalist!

I am now trying to think of stories I have not already told you either in the Moulsham Times or the City Times... I don’t think I have told you the one below before...

Back in 1981 I was working with Hazel O’Connor. We toured all over the UK and Europe and at one time we went to southern Ireland to play the first big music festival at Slane Castle - it was around the time of the H-Block riots I remember. Playing the festival as well was Thin Lizzy (who were headlining), U2, Rose Tattoo, Sweet Savage, Mama’s Boys and The Bureau. I also remember the stage was the same one that the Pope had used just a couple of weeks before when he visited Ireland and held a service on the estate of Lord Alfred Mount Charles.

It was a great day and quite a lot of my music buddies were there who I worked with and also who played in other bands, including my friend who was the sound engineer for Thin Lizzy.

I do recall that Hazel and the band played a great set and went down really well as it was at the time when she was flying pretty high. I was her brother Neil’s guitar roadie (and yes, it is a real castle).

I remember being at the sound desk for Thin Lizzy’s set and Phil Lynott’s stepdad was there with us; he was a nice guy as was Phil. I remember his stepdad had been drinking that day and we were all invited up to the castle after the festival for a party. Phil’s stepdad said: “I can take you up there, I’ve a new car Phil has just got me...” It was a top of the range Ford Granada Ghia. We piled in after the show and had to go up this track with banks that were lined with old bricks to hold the earth back. Well he just bounced off one side then the other all the way up, and when we reached the castle we could not even open the doors and had to climb out of the windows - the car was a mess! We had a good night though. All in all a great day, and all the acts were great and nice people.

We returned to the UK the next day to continue our tour and I completely forgot about the car until I saw Phil in London some months later and asked how the car was. He said it was written off and the insurance did not cover it as it was on private property, but being the nice person he was, Phil got him another one. There are plenty more tales from that trip - for another day maybe... Incidentally, I am still in touch and friends with both Hazel and Neil O’Connor, and I hope to bring 12

I have nothing really to show for all my years in the music industry except for the great memories, which I would not swap for anything.

Well, I got a big surprise the other day. As some of you may be aware I put on a series of online festival events during the first lockdown; 12 in fact, with 195 acts playing. Some artists were well known and some not. Some were local and some from all across the globe - artists covering most genres.

With so many other events that went on at the time and to be amongst some amazing well-established festivals is truly humbling. Now I am in the running I think it would be nice to win but I would be genuinely amazed if I do though. It is not just me locally either; also from Chelmsford Joe Anderton is up for and award as is Connor Selby and When Rivers Meet - as this is a national event there are 4 of us from Essex in the running. Coincidentally, we are all good friends too which is great. Voting takes place from the 1st to 15th February and can found via this link: www.ukbluesawards.com. Good luck to everyone nominated.

I am continuing online on a Sunday between 5pm and 6pm with live streams. We will have a couple of very special weekday shows coming up, and all the info can be found on my Facebook page - just search ‘Isolation Music Festival’ - or on YouTube at ‘Black Frog Presents’.

My buddies and myself at Black Frog will be continuing to put music on online via our various outlets for now - some will be free and some costing just a nominal amount to give the musicians a small income. Our record label Black Frog Records now has its first three releases available. The first is The SharpeeZ Live at Leo’s, the second is for the band Wilson, and the third is by our very own Old Moulsham musician and composer Paul James Stevens who has just written his first symphony simply titled Symphony No 1. It is in 4 parts and is wholly performed, mixed and mastered by Paul. Just go to his page at www.pauljamesstevens.com for more information about Paul and his music.

It would be fantastic if you could share our magazines the City Times and Moulsham Times for us. We continue to publish both magazines online at www.issuu.com/itsyourmedia. If you are interested in advertising with us please contact us at ads@ itsyourmedia.co.uk, or if you have a comment or an article please send to editorial@itsyourmedia.co.uk and we will reply to you as soon as we can.

For all my updates and information go to Black Frog Bands www.blackfrogbands.co.uk.

The Isolation Festival/Black Frog Presents Facebook page can be found at www.facebook.com/isolationmusicfestival.

We are now on YouTube as well - go to www.youtube.com/ blackfrogpresents.

My new Yes It Is band page is www.facebook.com/yesitis.

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Army and Navy, CGR and K9 Bins - By Cllr Marie Goldman I want to give an update on three things this month. They aren’t necessarily all connected, but they are all local issues that affect residents of Moulsham, so I hope this is helpful.

Army & Navy Junction Options First up is the final list of options for the revamp of the Army & Navy junction. A new, two-way flyover has now been discounted due to it being the most expensive of the options, the longest to construct, and the one that would likely add to congestion and pollution.

There’s no time to waste: Chelmsford must be greener.

Dropping any idea of a new, environmentally damaging flyover at this junction is the right decision.

My Lib Dem colleagues and I are keen that any proposals address the transport and traffic issues right across Chelmsford and genuinely support sustainable transport, including a third Park & Ride site to the west, at Widford.

So, the remaining options are: • An enlarged roundabout • Separate T-junctions • A hamburger roundabout There will be a public consultation launched by Essex Highways in the summer, but in the meantime, please familiarise yourself with the options and find out more here: www.essexhighways.org/transport-and-roads/highwayschemes-and-developments/major-schemes/army-and-navytaskforce.aspx.

If you just want a quick summary and a visual representation of how each of the options might look, there’s a good video here: youtu.be/UgFapXeoIHE. Community Governance Review (CGR) I wrote a few months ago in this column about the Community Governance Review (CGR) that Chelmsford City Council (CCC) is currently carrying out to check to see whether current local

governance arrangements are working well or whether any changes are needed. In particular, this will consider whether the centre of Chelmsford should have its own parish council giving residents of Moulsham a more locally-focused voice.

You will hopefully have recently received a leaflet from Chelmsford City Council telling you more about the CGR and explaining how you can contribute to the review and make your voice heard. You have until Thursday 18th March to comment by completing the survey. More details and a link to the survey are on the CCC website here: www.chelmsford.gov.uk/votingand-elections/community-governance-review.

Dog Fouling Several residents have been in touch and commented on local forums about the increase in dog fouling on our pavements.

Residents have also pointed out that K9 bins are fuller than perhaps they were in the past.

I think we’re all aware that the pandemic has meant more people working from home, and perhaps walking their dogs more frequently and closer to home. The vast majority of dog owners are very responsible and always clear up after their furry friend, but for those that aren’t, please be aware that there is a substantial fine should irresponsible owners get caught. I have asked for the City Council to put out some messaging reminding people of this, so please watch out for it. I’ve also asked for a close eye to be kept on bins that are getting very full to see if we can add in extra bins or change the frequency of collection.

On the plus side, I’ve recently become the proud owner of a black labrador puppy and I’ve discovered that dog walkers can be some of the friendliest people around. Please do say a socially-distanced hello if you see me and my puppy out and about.

Keep safe and well.

Cllr Marie Goldman Deputy Leader, Chelmsford City Council Ward Member for Moulsham & Central

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Moulsham Times Poetry Competition

The categories are: Under 11s 12-17s 18s and over The poems will be judged by Rosie from www.personalpoems.co.uk and the winner from each category will have their poem published M in the Moulsham Times in May. You can submit one poem per person and email paul@moulshamtimes.com with your entry.

The poem can be on any subject you wish. If you are in the under 11s or 12-17s category please include your age.

Closing date for the competition will be 15th April with the winning poems being published in the May edition.

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Pilates for the Love of… By Erica Foulds Pilates for the Love of Walking!

I hope you are feeling positive after the first month of 2021.

Perhaps you’rre getting to grips with a new resolution and possibly even reaching some early goals?

Whether you have managed to keep to the path you planned for 2021 or not, I’m feeling that this year, being kind to yourself and respecting what your body and mind can manage should be a simple aim. In the pilates, yoga and fitness world we are taught about finding our limits, meeting our own limits and helping others with theirs, and we understand little wins are as important as big celebrations, so this is how I am looking at 2021; celebrating the small wins big!

So well done; that’s January done and dusted, now we can celebrate. What’s not to love when we enter the beautiful month of February? Hearts and flowers at every turn, love and chocolate filled with, right slap bang in the middle, St Valentine’s Day. Yes the month of love! This got me thinking. We have all had to adjust this last year in many ways, discover new things to love, even fallen in love with new things you’d never expect (yes, that’s the puzzle addicts amongst us). But one thing lots of us have discovered is the glorious outdoors and nature. I wouldn’t like to guess the percentage of us that openly admit they enjoy the simple purity of walking, but knowing how muddy and well trodden the pathways around me are there’s certainly a few more boots treading these paths than before.

As a pilates instructor and personal trainer I am highly aware that pilates compliments and works well with lot of other sports, from ballet to rugby, from Thai boxers to golfers... I regularly find people who are suffering undiagnosed back issues being told to try pilates - and then 6 months later the pain is gone and they’re hooked. Pilates is incredibly diverse and it can be modified and done with or without equipment.

Not only this, it can be used to enhance and make easier some of the most normal everyday things we do too. This brings me back to that wonderful new found pastime of walking! Over the next few months I will be coming to you with a mini series of articles, Pilates for the love of… to offer a little selection of exercises that can help those who want to help performance and maybe make it a little easier.

stretching exercise) and can be done before you go for your walk or at any other time in your week, they will take no more than 2 minutes per pair, no more than 6-8 minutes total.

1. Calf Raises: Stand with hands on back of a chair for support, feet hip width, stand tall, look straight ahead, rise onto the ball of your feet, imagine you are pulling your ankles together so they don’t ‘fall out’, lower back to floor. This should be done steadily - x10.

2. Calf Stretches: Stand as above, take one foot back with a big step, toes all face forward, bend your front knee, press your back heel towards floor, if it meets the floor easily then step it back further. Hold the heel down for 20 seconds. Repeat other side.

3. Wall Sit: Stand facing away from a wall, lean your back against the wall, move feet at least 18 inches away from the bottom of the wall, slide your back down the wall until your knees are nearly 90 degrees, hands at your waist, relax shoulders throughout. Hold until you can feel your thigh muscles (quads) - approximately 1 minute if possible. You may only manage 15 or 20 seconds at first!

4. Quad Stretch: Stand facing the wall, one hand up on the wall, bend one leg at knee bring foot to buttock and hold with hand. Hold for 20 seconds each leg.

5. Superman: On all fours, hands under shoulders, knees under hips, imagine a tealight under chest and under waist, keep holding your torso away from these imaginary candles, reach your right hand forward and your left leg back, no higher than rest of body. Hold for 30 seconds, repeat other side leg and arm.

6. Cat-Cow: As above, all fours, arch your back to the ceiling with chin on chest, then let go allowing your back to hollow to natural curve. 10 times through.

My selection today comes from a place of personal experience doing a lot of walking myself and can really help your ankle stability, knee strength and back strength, especially for longer walks!

Next month I am planning Pilates for the love of… GOLF! If you would like to request a sport for my series, then get in touch on Facebook or Instagram - @hummingbirdpilatesyoga.

Or for more details on our yoga and pilates classes search ‘Hummingbird Pilates & Yoga’ Writtle, visit www.hummingbirdpilates.co.uk, or email us info@ hummingbirdpilatesyoga.co.uk. All classes are online on Zoom until it is safe to open our studio again, but we still have a full schedule and can do 1-2-1 sports-specific pilates on Zoom too. Call 01245 422 556 for more info.

These exercises are paired (a strengthening exercise with a

Erica xx

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Virtual Open Event to Champion Education for New Football Professionals A new alliance has been formed between Billericay Town Football Club and Chelmsford College, resulting in the launch of the Billericay Town FC Academy, ready for September 2021.

A special virtual open evening will be held on Wednesday 3rd February at 7pm online, where interested parties will be able to find out more about the academy programmes, register their interest in trials and apply directly.

The partners’ objective is to produce well balanced football professionals through providing a diverse range of education and career opportunities.

Principal of Chelmsford College, Andy Sparks said: “We are thrilled to partner with Billericay Town Football Club to create the Billericay Town Football Club Academy. Our aim is to create outstanding opportunities for our learners. Our team of specialist coaches, former professional footballers, goalkeepers and health professionals are excited to begin working with new academy players.”

BTFC Co-owner Nick Hutt said: “This initiative is something that we have been planning since we took over the club. Our new 3G pitches were a big step towards this becoming a possibility, and we now have an excellent facility to use for the Billericay Town FC Academy.

“One of the prime objectives was to partner with an educator who was flexible in terms of the qualifications that an individual could aim for. From a BTEC/NCFE Extended Diploma in Sport and Exercise Science, through to apprenticeships and studying subjects such as Business, Engineering, Electrical or gaining English and Maths

GCSEs - Chelmsford College provides the ability to ensure that we can provide an education to give students the best route into a career - be that inside the game, or out in the wider world.”

BTFC co-owner Greg Lake said: “We are delighted with our new partners and the opportunities that the academy presents for both the football club and the students within our community.

This will be an elite programme as we expect to have a large number of applicants to fill our limited first set of places. The football element will be exciting, but so are the education prospects that the academy will be able to provide. We hope that this balance appeals as much to parents as the students themselves.”

The Billericay Town FC Academy will be for U17, U19 boys and U19 girls to join, following completion of Year 11 at school (aged 16). Academy students will study on a daily basis and be brought to New Lodge for training for part of the curriculum on Mondays, Wednesdays (match day) and Fridays. Staff will be a mix of experienced footballers, coaches and specialists.

To take part in the online open evening please visit www. billericaytownfc.co.uk/academy-online-open-evening. To apply, please visit: www.billericaytownfc.co.uk/academy.

Chelmsford College offers courses in a wide range of subjects including Sport, Business, Engineering and Electrical. For more information, please visit www.chelmsford.ac.uk. You can also follow on Facebook at ‘ChelmsfordCollege’ and Twitter ‘@ChelmsfordCol’.

Six-Year-Old Builds a Den for 48-Hour Challenge in Support Local Hospice Charity A six-year-old boy from Chelmsford has raised over £1,200 for his local children’s hospice by challenging himself to stay in his self-made den at home for 48 hours.

George Cussell had recently had a lesson in building dens at school so decided to build one in his lounge one Friday night.

After George suggested he wanted to sleep in the den for a night, his father Richard had jokingly challenged him to stay in the den for 48 hours which George happily accepted for fun.

money for his local children’s hospice! We must raise over £40,000 each week to be there for every baby, child and young person who needs us, and it’s thanks to supporters like George we can continue to provide this frontline hospice care.”

The family then decided to set up a fundraising page to raise much needed funds for Essex’s only children’s hospice, Little Havens, which provides palliative nursing and supportive care to babies, children and young people across the county living with complex or incurable conditions.

Richard said: “We are so proud of George for taking on this challenge and raising such an incredible amount of money for Little Havens, a very special local charity. We weren’t sure if he would last the 48 hours, but he certainly persevered to raise money for a good cause and had lots of fun doing it - he only left the den for the bathroom and for 30 minutes of exercise.”

Rachel Hawksworth, Voluntary Income Team Leader at Havens Hospices said: “When I first heard of George’s fundraiser it certainly put a smile on my face - what a fun way to raise

Little Havens is part of Havens Hospices, which includes Fair Havens in Southend and The J’s - a community-based hospice service for young adults. All of the charity’s care is free of charge. Find out more about how you can fundraise for Havens Hospices and visit www.havenshospices.org.uk/ fundraising.

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that I’ll be too busy to go out...

Hello all, I hope you are all keeping well. January has come and gone and we’re still in lockdown. If you’re anything like me, you will be spending lots of time trying to find things to do to pass the time - I usually manage to find something and I seem to keep busy most days. I’m now getting concerned that when all of this horrible stuff is over

I see that more and more of the ‘celebrity’ programmes are appearing on TV. It seems that there’s stuff on baking, buying antiques, quiz shows and any number of other ‘reality’ shows available. I do like the quizzes. I have to make sure I watch the contestant’s introductions carefully so I can recognise them, or not. What I find interesting is the surprising number of these people are quite good at general knowledge. Some, however not so good. I’m not a great quizzer, but I do seem to know quite a bit more about British geography than many of these people. I would never have the bottle to enter one though - the public ones of course, as I’m not a celebrity. Straight away, if Bradley Walsh asked me my name, I would probable have to pass.

A quick look at the crazy news stories this month. Some candle holders have been withdrawn from sale because they may catch fire ‘if they come in contact with a naked flame’.

Bit of a basic flaw there. Another story was about a councillor who burnt his fingers while trying to light a candle during a Zoom meeting. The reason he was trying to do this was not explained in the report, I must say, I am not going out much these days for obvious reasons. When I do, I am pleased to say that the people of Chelmsford and surrounding villages seem to be following the lockdown rules very well. On our morning exercise walks, we manage to step aside when meeting other people. Mostly greeted with a cheery, ‘Hello, thank you’. When I read in the press that some people are attending functions that attract hundreds of people, I am amazed. It was reported recently that there was a wedding in North London attended by between 100 and 400 people (depending on which report you read). What is the matter with these people? It was said that the rules were too complex and that some people don’t understand them. Well, what is complicated about ‘stay indoors except for essential journeys’? It’s not rocket science, but I guess some might argue about the definition of ‘essential’. I just take the view that I will avoid going anywhere, especially if it involves being indoors, where I have to stand or sit within 2 metres of other people!

I am still surprised by the number of television adverts that go over my head so to speak. I thought the main objective of an advert being to encourage people to buy the product or service. One in particular at the moment shows a bull - or it may be a cow - shown in shop, a china shop apparently. Then it cuts away to the same bull, well it looks the same to me, in a window cleaner’s cradle which had broken away from it’s anchorage and is falling to earth. To think that a room full of highly paid people decided that this is the best way to make

us remember their product when shopping. Sorry, it does not work for me - unless they were promoting sales of beef steak!

We are trying to be positive in these trying times and have been looking at caravan sites in the UK for some breaks later this year. It is great to look at all the sites around the country.

Who needs the EU! We have booked a few days in north Norfolk in April - we are hoping that we will be able to go. Last time we went away the sites had all the Covid-safe rules in place and we felt really safe. Fire regulations mean that units must be 6-metres apart, and only a couple of people can use the onsite facilities at any one time.

In June, we are planning a trip to Yorkshire and the North East and some other stops along the way. It is good to arrange these outings and it will be great if we can get away, as this would mean the Covid risk has been lowered to manageable levels.

Through my working life, I worked at a number of different companies and, indeed, in lots of different departments within them. While it is daunting going to a new environment, the thing I always found difficult was the use of acronyms, they’re often known as a TLA (three letter acronym), although many are more than three letters. In every case, at the first few meeting I attended or discussions with new colleagues, these ‘codes’ were used continuously, and as a newcomer, they may as well been talking Chinese. In the last 11 months we have been bombarded with these in the Government briefings and in newspapers. Help!

The one that I was most disappointed with was COBRA meetings. I knew that this came up when there was an emergency, so I thought it stood for something like Committee to Organise Britain’s Response Actions. Not quite, it refers to Cabinet Briefing Room ‘A’. Nowhere like as interesting as mine...

Oh well, I guess we all need some bit of mystery in our jobs.

Bin End Chuckles I regret rubbing ketchup into my eyes. I guess that must be Heinz sight...

I’m amazed they can still get insured to make James Bond films. Every time the film starts, he shoots the camera operator!

Stay safe and well.

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Bluebeat emerged in Jamaica in the 1950s from a mixture of local roots and American jazz and blues influences. On the native folk traditions there were Nyabingi - Afro-inspired rhythms from communal drumming; Mento - rural folk dance and church influenced singing; Calypso - singing with acoustic guitar accompaniment. On the imported sounds side, Rudie blues was with a jazz influence.

What emerged was a kind of blues with a distinctive beat bass and drum downbeat, with an off-beat rhythm, often with brass instrument support and exotic inventive sounds like wobble boards. That was what developed into ska in the early sixties.

When bluebeat arrived in London, it was via a record label that bore its name, Blue Beat - an offshoot of Melodisc Records that had been been founded in 1947. Siggy Jackson was put in charge of the London label, and the first records released were by Laurel Aitken - Boogie Rock and Lonesome Lover. Like many subsequent releases from Jamaica they were re-releases of songs that had appeared on the Jamaican Downbeat label.

Soon, English acts like The Marvels started to be released, and early Prince Buster with Wash Wash. Buster later became their biggest selling artist with Al Capone. Over 400 singles and 12 albums were released between 1960 and 1967. Jimmy Cliff (who been singing since ‘62, aged 14) made several local singles in Jamaica for Trojan Records, but achieved his real success in 1967 when he recorded the album Hard Road to Travel on Island Records and came to England, by which time he had moved closer to reggae, although a figure of previous ska legend. In 1969 Many Rivers to Cross gave him a huge hit.

As the mod fashion swept around and out of London in the sixties, ska was alongside R&B and soul at the musical forefront. Georgie Fame, in his Flamingo Club days with the Blue Flames, promoted it, and he and his trumpet player Eddie Thornton were involved with the Blue Beat label, while Siggy Jackson started a weekly disc jockey session at the Marquee Club. Jamaican Independence Day was in 1962 and served to broaden the music’s exposure. Millie Small even scored a top ten hit My Boy Lollipop in 1964. The Blue Beat label lasted until 1972, but as the slowed down beat of rocksteady emerged in 1966, a new label called Fab arrived out of the Melodisc mother company.

The mod revival of the late seventies took more from ska than R&B, thanks to white kids like the Specials Jerry Dammers from Coventry, who started the Two Tone record label in 1979 with its distinctive young rude boy with pork pie hat (based on a photograph of Peter Tosh) and chess board background logo, that gave exposure to around 15 acts and launched the careers of Madness, Bad Manners, The Beat and The Selector as well as The Specials. Their discs were released through Chrysalis, a label with Jamaican connections. They lasted until 1986 but kept a back catalogue of 60 singles and 30 albums available for enthusiasts. The ska sounds were trendy not only for mod revivalists but skinheads and rudies as well, and they promoted ska revival discs too.

In 1987 the singer of Bad Manners, Buster Bloodvessel, revived the Blue Beat name with Blue Beat Records for a

couple of years. 2004 saw another revival of re-releases by the likes of The Pyramids and Eddie Thornton from Georgie Fame’s Blue Flames. Downbeat took over Blue Beat Records in 2011.

Reggae was the dialect that appeared at the end of the sixties, a name taken from ‘rege-rege’ meaning the ragged clothes found in Jamaica, and which also alluded to the ragged sound.

It was first used in 1968 by Toots and the Maytals in the song Do the Reggay. Toots employed jazz and rock into his version of reggae. A revival of the Rastafarian religion from the 1930s crept into lyrics to send social and religious protest messages, while lyrics were often delivered in Jamaican patois (native broken English). The beat was slower than ska but faster than rocksteady. Figures like Toots, The Skatalites, The Upsetters, and Bob Marley and the Wailers, with spin-off artists like Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer emerging outside the many other bands of Jamaica. Early pioneer survivors from 1968 were Larry and Alvin, and The Beltones who had morphed through ska and rocksteady, as had Marley, Tosh and Bunny since 1963. Prince Buster, Desmond Dekker and Ken Booth even longer.

Even The Beatles got the message and came out with Ob-LaDi, Ob-La-Da, featuring a reggae beat, on one of their albums.

John Peel gave the music much coverage on his radio programmes from the seventies, dipping into obscure and authentic sources. In 1973 there was a film called The Harder They Come featuring the music of Jimmy Cliff. In 1980 Bob Marley and the Wailers played in Zimbabwe, taking Afro sounds back to from where they came from. The seventies and eighties saw the music adopted by - or influenced by - not only the Two Tone groups but punk rockers like The Clash and The Ruts, as well as post punks like The Police and bands like UB40, as well as Anglo-West Indians like Third World, Aswad, Steel Pulse, Black Uhuru and Eddie Grant... and the beat continues to evolve to this day.

Poetry Competition Reading Jonny’s fantastic poem last month and having Rosie from Personal Poems advertise with the Moulsham Times on page 11 got me thinking that there must be lots of poets in the Moulsham area!

So I thought, lets do a competition. There are 3 categories: Under 11s 12-17s 18s and over The poems will be judged by Rosie from www.personalpoems. co.uk and the winners from each category will have their poem published in the Moulsham Times in April.

You can submit one poem per person and email paul@ moulshamtimes.com with your entry. The poem can be on any subject you wish.

Closing date for your poem will be Friday 12th March with the winning poems being published in the April edition.

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Spot 10 Differences (Answers on Page 31)

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The Singing Chef

Hi everyone. I was going to do a beautiful lamb and Moroccan style kebab, but unfortunately my pitta breads did NOT work and the lamb didn’t quite have the full Moroccan flavour - some things are better bought in, right?

of thick gravy. Season really well with salt and pepper.

I’ve got to say I am settling into this lockdown and I’m discovering how nice it is to not be rushing around like crazy all the time. Family time, preparing meals, home schooling and doggie walks are leisurely now and I am really enjoying it.

Financially it’s a little tough as a vocal coach and singer, but we’re getting by.

So anyway, I’ve turned it into an awesome Warming Spiced Shepherd’s pie! This recipe worked out really nicely in the end, not the prettiest dish, but wholesome and moreish.

Finish cooking for the remaining 3 hours and leave to cool slightly before shredding with a folk in the dish and remove the bone.

Make yourself a buttery mashed potato and put it on top of the lamb, and sprinkle with gravy. Bake again for a further 20 minutes at 200C, then grill your shepherd’s pie at the end for a crispy crispy top!

Serve it in a bowl and eat it all up with bread-and-butter and peas.

Ingredients Lamb shoulder.

Marinade: garlic, cinnamon, chilli, honey and soy sauce Vegetables (celery, onions, carrots, radish or other root vegetables of your choice.

1 cup of thick gravy.

Buttery mash potato (don’t tell, but I bought it).

Method Now, keep calm and sing while you cook like no one’s watching!

First marinade your lamb overnight with garlic, cinnamon, chilli, honey and soy sauce - trust me it makes a difference.

The next day slow roast your lamb in a covered dish in the oven at 160C with a litre of stock or wine or water (boring) for five or six hours, making sure that it doesn’t dry out.

Halfway through add celery, onions, carrots, radish and any other vegetables you may have, chopped up small, and a cup www.issuu.com/itsyourmedia

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Collecting Cars! - by Simon Inglis

I live in Victoria Australia; not too far from Melbourne but far enough to escape heavy traffic, pollution and too much road rage.

One of the interesting - or funny - things about regional life downunder is the demographic. As in America, regional Australia is generally less affluent, more conservative and in many ways more colourful in respect to car buying habits. To a car tragic such as myself I enjoy simply observing people’s motoring tastes.

I can say that generally car buying habits are similar to our city-slicker brothers and sisters, but given the financial issues, cars are a little bit older. The SUV obsession is pretty much everywhere now and regional Australian school zones are almost as filled with these things as in city areas. Since they all look pretty much the same to me, the badge and age barely registers in my eyes. Likewise in the supermarket carpark or at other local shops.

much about people couch-surfing used cars like never before.

As in Blighty, most new vehicles are company fleets while the second car averages about seven to twelve years old depending upon where you live. However I think it’s actually more than twelve out where I live. The venerable (and recently GM-induced closure of Holden) Commodore and Ford Falcons of various vintages are still everywhere to be seen. Never mind the distances we travel or the huge consumption of V6 or even American designed V8s, especially so long as petrol prices do remain so low.

Those lucky enough to be working (plumbers?) may have picked up a Ford Mustang along with the Ranger or Toyota HiLux ute for work purposes. Or maybe a Mercedes CLA, BMW 3 or some sort of Audi. As I’ve written previously, electric cars remain prohibitively expensive and under-promoted in the sunburnt land. And although it’s slowly improving, the supporting infrastructure is pretty dire unless it’s a Tesla you’re particularly after.

Despite the obviously older age of rural motor cars the accident statistics lean heavily on the city folk. Australians don’t use motorways as in Europe. Out here in regional Australia however they are a part of everyday life. Regional Aussies have a far lower percentage of motorway tragedies, most likely as they are well used to the higher speeds, the semi-trailers and the weather extremities as opposed to those venturing out for an annual holiday. It’s a sad but fairly true reality of Australian long-distance driving.

What I do notice though is a more exciting mix of metal filtering down the social scales. Since COVID-19 has led to a rather large percentage of Australia’s population being propped up by threadbare Government handouts, as many of us wait to see if long-term unemployment or the need to ‘retrain’ is another part of the ‘new normal’, we are hearing so

I’m not going to pretend that where I live is anything remotely like the famed outback of Hollywood or BBC documentaries.

The ‘outback’ is as much a curiosity to most Aussies as it is to Brits. It’s often very cold where I live and Ballarat (population circa 100,000) and then Melbourne are very close. Bustling Melbourne of 5 million souls is a day-trip while Ballarat is local. Victorian regional towns are really just clusters of suburban life without the high rises and retaining more space of which Australian life was once famous for.

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A backyard is a great place to raise children and to keep a dog occupied. Most of us live like that here where I live. The Australian dream of a decent sized house at an affordable price still exists here outside of the state capital cities. What I enjoy seeing though are the Australian eccentric car collectors.

They are everywhere to be found in the outer suburbs of the big cities and in the towns. Absolutely everything can be found if you look hard enough.

I’ve seen a chap advertise his collection of turn-of-the-century luxury barges in various states of disrepair and decay for over a year now. It’s on both Gumtree and Facebook and features a huge assortment of old S-Class Mercedes nearly all with collapsed suspension and rust. He also advertises a few Australian Holden Statesmans of a similar vintage, Jaguars, very old 7 Series BMWs and a few American oddities. The mind boggles at why he has collected so many luxury barges in the first place, as very few such things were ever sold nationally.

Then there’s the backyard of old Volvos. Those big boxy things that many of us knew as children long before the Swedish designers discovered curves or angles. Almost every weekend the local shopping centres will feature a few current behemoths. A current shaped S-Class is common among the

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twenty-year-old Fords, or a well-kept Jaguar XF. These are often owned by the remnants of the Aussie upper crust - the well-to-do descendants of squatters that came from Britain to establish farms a long time ago.

I suppose it’s fair to say that the cars pretty much represent an Australia that is fast fading. It’s only a matter of time until the inner regions, those fairly well populated ‘green areas’ (as in colour of the countryside) follow their city cousins, losing that backyard and building up as the brave new world swamps us all.

For now, the eccentrics can remain. Their motoring tastes being just another reflection of the old Australia. I’ve come to like it, not just the cars but the Australian pub culture with the man and his dog on the ute tray for instance.

I’ll miss it when it’s gone.

Maybe I’ll go back to Gumtree and look up some old Holden prices - while I can still find them... Or see if my son can have a ride on a ute tray top.

I’ll be sure to photograph the experience for posterity!

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Moulsham Lodge Community Trust Things are difficult for most us at this time in one way or another. Home schooling is proving stressful for parents, grandparents and carers and we cannot go out and meet friends or treat ourselves. We all need something to help.

Here at MLCT some of the volunteers have come up with what we hope are two solutions to perhaps help some if not all of the community.

The first is a Tree Treasure Hunt being held on Moulsham Lodge - so when out for a walk, particularly with your children, you can look our for trees in peoples windows and enter our competition. Details are below and on our website.

Alternatively, if food is your comfort then look no further than our Community Bakes. Another initiative to try to help lift people’s spirits with a delivery of cakes and cookies.

There will be a selection of brownies, blondies, cookies and cakes to choose from that all go in a Treat Box and delivered to you door.

Each sale will help raise some funds for the trust as we are struggling whilst closed and unable to gain any revenue. For details of how to place an order search for our Facebook pages or our website. www.mlct.org.uk enquiries@mlct.org.uk 07434 678 999

Where Do You Turn?

We are in a strange in-between time. As I write, lockdown 3 is underway and, tragically, the number of deaths from Covid continues to hover around record levels. But amidst the grief and loss that this entails, there is the vaccine roll-out which gives cause for hope. How much hope we don’t know yet, but hope nonetheless.

But I just wonder whether there’s something more going on in the world with this pandemic. In any time of suffering, we look for answers. In a time of such widespread suffering, we search all the more. In lockdowns 1 and 3, more people have been turning to prayer - people who would never usually dream of approaching God, are doing so.

In the Bible, suffering presents people with a choice: where do you turn? Do you turn to God, and seek him for hope and explanation? Do you turn to yourself, or other humans, and seek them for hope and explanation?

Well, amidst many uncertainties and Government u-turns, more people are turning to God in prayer. But the question

then is, do you know the God you’re turning to?

The purpose of the Bible is to tell us who God is, and what he’s like - to describe his character. And what we find, if we actually read the Bible, is that God is completely known in the person Jesus Christ. And that his character, indeed his very heart, is full of compassion for people who are stuck in sin and suffering.

Let me invite you, in the midst of another year of uncertainty and grief and loss, to turn to the God who is compassionate and full of love and mercy. You can discover more about him yourself - just read the Bible. Start with the book of Mark which is a biography of Jesus.

Contact me for a free copy - or find it online here: tinyurl.com/ y5zvu4pj.

Please get in touch!

Tim Goodall, Pastor tim.goodall@tilekilnchurch.org.uk https://tinyurl.com/y24qlkvx www.facebook.com/tilekilnchurch

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Tile Kiln Corner by Cllr Linda Mascot

Parking issues in Tile Kiln, Widford and around Hillside Grove continue to be the main reason I am contacted as a city councillor. Often this is due to inconsiderate parking, without formal parking restrictions which causes anguish to pedestrians, wheelchair or pram users and other motorists. If a vehicle is parked in such a way as to cause an obstruction, I would advise reporting online via the police website or by calling the non-emergency police number of 101, if possible, take a photograph of the vehicle and registration to provide as many details as possible when phoning.

the location, description of the dog, walker, and if there is a usual time they are seen in the area. All information will be treated in the strictest confidence.

Take care and stay safe.

Twitter: @lindamascot Mascotlinda@gmail.com

If there are parking restrictions in place, then report this via Chelmsford City Council’s website at www.chelmsford.gov.uk/ parking-and-travel/parking-restrictions/report-a-parking-issue.

This will take you to the parking enforcement page where parking issues reported will be passed to enforcement officers who regular patrol areas and enforce any illegal parking they see. Note that they cannot investigate parking on pavements, private land or grass verges. Reports logged on the website require your name, contact details, location of illegally parked vehicle, registration number, make, model and colour. Officers will then acknowledge your request, visit the location to investigate as soon as possible and report back to you the outcome of the investigation. Â If you have a persistent parking problem and would like to request restrictions in your area, the South Essex Parking Partnership (SEPP) has an online form and is responsible for resident parking schemes and double yellow lines. You can fill in the online form via the website above.

During lockdown, many people have acquired dogs and whilst the benefits of companionship and exercise are proven, the downside is antisocial fouling left in our pavements and parks by irresponsible dog owners. If you witness a dog owner not clearing up after their dog in your area contact the City Council and help improve the area by stamping out dog fouling. Call 01245 606 606 or report online at www. chelmsford.gov.uk/ dog-fouling including www.issuu.com/itsyourmedia

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