Moulsham Times - March 2020 by Itsyourmedia

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Issue Number 85 - March 2020

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MT Welcome Hi readers, Welcome to the March edition of Moulsham Times. Remember the clocks go forward this month, which means that spring must finally be on its way! Look out for the advert for the Preloved Community Fair on page 27. This is an event in aid of charity and, unlike our yard sale last year, it will be held in just one venue. You can also view our magazines online at www.issuu.com/ itsyourmedia. Enjoy your month! Regards Paul

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

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Chelmsford - by Vicky Ford MP There has been a very busy start to the year in Westminster, where MPs passed the Withdrawal Agreement Bill, the Queen’s Speech, and MPs also started work on many other areas. In the recent reshuffle, the Prime Minister has asked me to take on the role as Minister for Children and Families. I am hugely honoured and especially grateful to the many Chelmsford organisations who have told me about their work in this area over the past couple of years. There is a huge amount to learn and much to do in this very challenging area.   The NHS Funding Bill will result in a record £33.9 billion increase in funding for our health service. In addition to this, there will be funds to train more doctors, nurses and other related staff. New legal measures to strengthen sentences for the most dangerous crimes are also being introduced. The landmark Environment Bill has also been launched. This will create a step change in cleaner air and water and also introduce measures to reduce emissions affecting climate change and tackle plastic waste. The Agriculture Bill has also now started its way through Parliament. Police funding has been increased with an additional £23.1 million coming into Essex Police this year. Last month, a further 22 officers joined the ever growing Chelmsford and Maldon policing team. Along with this, information from the public has helped lead to many arrests across Chelmsford in recent months. School funding for the year ahead has now been agreed and funding for Essex has increased by 4.86%. This levels up funding across the country, so that schools in areas such as Chelmsford, which have traditionally not received as much as many other areas, will benefit most. For example, secondary schools are guaranteed at least £5,000 per pupil funding, and every primary school at least £3,750 per pupil. In Chelmsford I have been very concerned about the recent performance on our trains, so I called Greater Anglia into the House of Commons and arranged for MPs representing constituencies along the Great Eastern Main Line (GEML) to quiz them. In order to hold monitor performance, we have asked for with monthly data on the number of delays and short-forms. I will also be meeting with Network Rail later this month to discuss the plans for Beaulieu Park Station. Work to dismantle the Army and Navy flyover has finally now started, which is good news, and Essex County Council are working urgently with the Department for Transport on developing further details on the five possible longterm solutions.    We recently launched Essex 2020 in Chelmsford - a year of science and creativity. With that in mind, we will be hosting the British Science Festival this summer; the first time it’s ever been

held in Essex. Thank you to the large number of Chelmsford residents who contacted me about the Back Inn Time restaurant. This is a very popular local venue and part of our heritage and I am supporting this important local business - the planning application for redevelopment into residential flats was rejected by the council. As we leave the EU, it is important that we continue to work with our friends in other countries. I travelled to Sweden to meet with the Swedish Moderate Party. We have a strong history of working with Sweden on issues such as free trade and well regulated markets. It was good to discuss ongoing cooperation, especially in areas such as environmental policy. I continue to keep a close eye on foreign affairs matters, including the situation regarding Iran and the spread of coronavirus. I recently attended an event for Holocaust Memorial Day in Chelmsford, and this year marked the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. It is vital that we all continue to remember the horror that mankind is capable of unleashing when fuelled by hate. In Chelmsford we were honoured to hear the testimony of Henri Obstfeld, who told his story of life as a very young child in Nazi occupied Holland and being hidden and cared for by a non-Jewish family. Thank you to everyone who came to my Apprenticeship Fair in Chelmsford as part of National Apprenticeship Week. Apprenticeships provide an excellent way to learn new skills whilst also earning at the same time. It was so good to meet with many Chelmsford residents and people from all across Essex who came to hear about work opportunities. Thank you to Anglia Ruskin University for letting us use their stunning facilities, to Teledyne e2v and Stansted Airport for their sponsorship, and to the many local businesses and organisations who took part. As ever, please do stay in touch. My email is vicky.ford.mp@ parliament.uk.

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Essex Police Welcomes the First New Officers of the Decade

Essex Police held their first Passing Out Parade of the decade welcoming 68 new officers into the force.

The new recruits completed their training by proudly passing out during a special ceremony surrounded by their family and friends at Essex Police headquarters in Chelmsford. They were welcomed into the force by Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington, Deputy Chief Constable Pippa Mills, Deputy Police Fire and Crime Commissioner Jane Gardner, plus other chief officers. Mr Harrington was also joined by an extra special guest, 11-year-old Cameron, who is undertaking his Duke of Edinburgh Award and has been invited to be a journalist for the day with his local hero, the Essex Police Chief Constable. The 68 officers started their journeys in the Essex Police College and have been put through their paces over the last 18 weeks as they trained to become police constables. Their journey started in Chelmsford but it will take them across the county, as the officers are posted to different stations to help keep Essex safe. At the ceremony, after pledging their commitment to protect and serve the residents of Essex, they were welcomed into the force in front of their loved ones. Mr Harrington welcomed them and thanked the officers for their hard work during their training. Chief Constable Ben-Julian Harrington said: “It’s an honour for me to welcome and congratulate another 68 new police constables in to the Essex Police family. “The passing out ceremony is a celebration at the culmination of 18 weeks intensive training before our new officers go out on patrol to serve our communities by helping people, keeping them safe and catching criminals. “The officers passing out today are our first recruits for 2020. They are starting their journey in a new decade with Essex Police, ready to join their colleagues on the frontline. We are all excited to see where

their journeys will take them with the force.”

Together with chief officers, the officers thanked the trainers and staff for their support and hard work during their 18 weeks at Essex Police College. During their training, the 68 new officers held fundraising events for their chosen charity. All intakes chose to raise money for Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity, which provides emotional and practical support to families who have a child with a life threatening or terminal illness. Together they raised a total of £4,332 and were able to present a cheque to a representative of the charity. Essex has always been a great place to live and work and the police force gives people the chance to have a career where you can save lives, lock up criminals, deliver justice to victims and really make a difference to our communities. Officer numbers at Essex Police are at a four year high with more than 3,000 full-time equivalent police officers, as well as the fastest growing special constabulary in the county with more than 500 special constables. Essex Police want even more people to be part of their journey. If you want a life changing career this new decade that is both challenging and rewarding, you could ‘Fit the Bill’ as a police officer (#FitTheBill). To find out more about starting your journey, joining the police family and helping to keep Essex safe, visit: www.essex.police.uk/fitthebill. Want to fight crime and live your ‘Other Life’? Volunteer to become a Special Constable and make a positive change to your community today (#MyOtherLife). Specials have the same powers and equipment as regular police officers, and are valued, supported and integrated into the wider policing family. Find out more at: www.essex.police.uk/ specials.

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MT Therapy - by Chelmsford Therapy Rooms I am writing this article on the sad day that news of the death of Caroline Flack is being reported and discussed on the TV, in newspapers and online. Unfortunately much of the conversation is centred around who is to blame, rather than how this terrible tragedy could have been prevented. Many people are asking whether her management is to blame; should they have gotten her help? And then there’s the fact that this is the third suicide linked with the TV programme Love Island. Help is offered to the contestants, but I fear that therapy isn’t understood enough for many people to realise it would be of benefit to them. In this article I want to explore what therapy means for our clients, and how you can find and see a private therapist in as little as 24 hours. I just want to get something clear: You don’t need to be suicidal, hearing voices, or rocking in a corner to benefit from therapy. When you see a therapist it’s nothing like talking to friends and family. Your therapist is completely objective, non judgemental, and rather than having opinions on your problems that come from interpretations that have been formed over many years and interactions with the people you know, we encourage you to look at things from a different perspective. There’s no such thing as ‘not being sick enough’. But how do you know that you would benefit from therapy? Most therapists I’ve met would agree that everyone can benefit from therapy. The reason for this is that a lot of therapy is about learning about yourself and understanding yourself better. I have a huge array of clients from those suffering with severe anxiety, and those with self esteem issues to people suffering with intrusive thoughts and overthinking - but also clients who genuinely enjoy coming in for a chat every few weeks to get things off their chest and gain a different perspective on what’s going on for them at the time. Life doesn’t come with a manual, and yet our mental health still isn’t seen as important as our physical health. Let me give you an example: If you have a physical injury such as a bad back, you go to a chiropractor or a physiotherapist or an osteopath. If you have toothache you go to your dentist. All of these fields are well established in private practice. Most people think nothing of picking up the phone and calling their local physiotherapist and paying for the privilege. But when it comes to private psychological therapy, even though the NHS sometimes has long waiting lists (as do some charities), private therapy is never mentioned as an option when mental health is being discussed. Some people might be embarrassed to go to their GP and talk about their mental health, afraid that the doctor will just offer them drugs. A wide range of therapies are now available on the NHS, but counselling over the phone and CBT are often offered as options and these don’t necessarily suit everyone. And yet there are hundreds of private practitioners in your local area, trained in various psychological therapies and approaches, who would be able to see you within a week or so, sometimes even the next day. Mental health is discussed all of the time on the TV, radio, in magazines and newspapers and online and yet nobody stands up and says: ‘I had therapy privately. I just picked up the phone and called a therapist for an appointment and the rest is history’. I believe in the interests of fairness. Private psychological therapy should be talked about alongside other options such as the NHS and charities. If people understood how easy and normal it is to call and book a therapy appointment, then perhaps future tragedies could be avoided.

offer lower price sessions for those struggling financially, Life Force in Colchester offer sessions from as low as £8 per therapy session. Nobody is going to judge you, we’re just happy to help in any way we can. You don’t need a referral from your GP to see a private therapist. It’s so easy to find a private local counsellor. There are loads of directories out there, here are the websites of a few of them to get you started: www.psychologytoday.com www.counselling-directory.org.uk www.findatherapy.org www.findatherapist.co.uk www.betterhelp.com (for online therapy) Also the BACP and the NCS are two membership organisations that counsellors are registered with. They have their own lists of their members on their websites. There are many membership organisations out there, you can find a full list on the counselling directory website. On these directories you can find therapists in your area and read their profiles. You just type in your location or postcode and search, We also have profiles of our therapists at Chelmsford Therapy Rooms on the ‘Choose a Therapist’ section of our website. The address is: chelmsfordtherapyrooms.co.uk/choose-a-therapist. Once you’ve chosen your therapist, just give them a call or drop them an email. Please remember to keep an eye on your junk mail in case your chosen therapist replies to your email and they end up in your spam folder! Although private therapists are not an emergency service, many of us can see you quite quickly. For example, I have just booked someone in for tomorrow because I had a cancellation, so I could fit them in. I hope that one day booking to see a private psychological therapist is seen as being as normal as booking to see a private physiotherapist. I also hope that private therapy will be talked about openly as an option, so that more people know they can book to see a therapist quickly and easily. Until then, myself and the rest of the therapists at Chelmsford Therapy Rooms look forward to helping as many people as possible. Jenny Hartill is a therapist and owner of Cloud9 Therapy and Chelmsford Therapy Rooms. She is a counsellor and hypnotherapist and can help with a multitude of issues. Please see the therapist list on the website at www.chelmsfordtherapyrooms.co.uk. Or email info@chelmsfordtherapyrooms.co.uk, or call 0330 100 5162 to enquire about an initial consultation. Alternatively, Jenny’s own company website is www.cloud9-therapy.co.uk, her email is info@ cloud9-therapy.co.uk and her telephone number is 07507 307 170.

Now I know that not everyone can afford private therapy. I get that. But lots of people can. Also, many private therapy organisations 6 www.moulshamtimes.com

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Moulsham and Central Ward

funding are no exception.

Bus Update Whenever you want to make fun of the erratic frequency of something, it’s pretty common to compare it to buses. You know, ‘such-and-such are like buses; you wait ages for one and then two come along at once!’ - well, it turns out that government announcements about bus

In fact, we’ve recently seen several announcements from Number 10 about the future of buses in Britain. It started off with the pledge of a £50m fund to create Britain’s first all-electric bus town. That was coupled with funding for so-called ‘demand responsive’ services (think Uber for buses), and then, just a week or so later, another £5 billion to overhaul bus and cycle links. Now first things first. I have made it very clear at Chelmsford City Council that I would very much like to see Chelmsford be a recipient of some of that money. Our buses and public transport infrastructure in general have been woefully underinvested in for many years - and that needs to change. I would absolutely love Chelmsford to have a brand new, all-electric fleet of buses, and I’ve already had a meeting with First Bus Essex to kick off conversations about this. Even if electric bus funding isn’t available to us, we should be bidding for some of the other available funding too. Sadly, Chelmsford City Council isn’t in charge of public transport, that’s Essex County Council - so we need to lobby the County Council, as the Transport Authority, to work with us to put forward a strong case and register an Expression of Interest in these funds by the www.issuu.com/itsyourmedia

deadline, which I believe is sometime in April. So no time to waste; we’re trying to set up a meeting between Chelmsford City Council, First Bus and Essex County Council as soon as possible. Of course, if any Chelmsford residents would like to help us persuade ECC that Chelmsford is the place in Essex most in need of these funds, please write to your local county councillor - you can find their details here: bit.ly/2P2tWMc. It would be great to get better buses with new funding, but realistically, it could be a way off before we see any of that. In the meantime, we need to keep pushing for better services with existing resources. Many local residents have contacted me since the beginning of the year complaining about cuts to existing bus services, and in particular the 51 route. When I met with First Bus recently, I raised these issues. Among other things, I have asked First Bus to reconsider whether they could at least extend the hours of the 51 to cover the morning and afternoon school run times. We need more buses, not fewer! If you’d like to read more about my meeting with First Bus, please read the note I posted on my Facebook page here: bit.ly/39zp35g. If you’d like to get in touch with me or my City Council ward colleagues about any local issues, you can send an email to: mandc@ cmld.org.uk. Alternatively, contact us through our Facebook page here: www.facebook.com/LDCouncillorsForMoulshamAndCentral. Marie Goldman Deputy Leader, Chelmsford City Council Lib Dem Ward Councillor for Moulsham & Central 7

MT Health

What Pillow Should You Use and Other Questions to an Osteopath - by Chris at Forté Physical Health With so much information at our fingertips these days, looking after our health can be confusing.

As an osteopath, part of my job is to help you navigate this landscape (or minefield, depending on your level of confusion!) of information and help you on your health journey. Today I’m going to run through some of the most common questions I get asked related to back health. 1. What mattress should I use?

My rule is, if it doesn’t cause pain at the time, or cause more ache after training, you’re good to go. If, however, you feel acute, ‘catching’ pain with exercise, or it makes you ache a lot after training, you know you’ve crossed the line. Depending on how severe your injury, or what stage of recovery you’re in, will dictate how much you have to adapt your normal training routine. I treat some people who are in acute pain but still manage to do some gentle exercise, it just has to be regressed a lot from what they normally do. People who have more mild niggles can almost do their normal workouts with only a few small adjustments.

The answer to this question is so simple, you’ll kick yourself for ever having questioned it. Here goes...

Seeing an osteopath not only gets you better faster with our hands-on treatment, but we also offer advice so that you can feel safe that you can get back to training quickly and safely.

Whichever mattress feels the most comfortable!

4. Does clicking in my joints cause arthritis?

It doesn’t have to be memory foam, but it could be. It could have springs, or have a topper on it. Try them out, and the one that is the most comfortable is the one for you. Comfort is your brain’s way of saying, ‘that works for me, pick that one!’.

Thankfully, no. As one piece of information taken on its own, clicking is really nothing to worry about. Some people are just clicky! It’s most likely little pockets of gas being created within a joint, or sliding surfaces of connective tissue unsticking from each other. It can sound weird, but it’s nothing to worry about.

My only piece of advice when it comes to buying a new mattress is to choose one that has a trial. Many come with a 30, 40 or even 100day trial now, so choose a brand that offers this before you invest.

If you have clicking and pain however, that’s worth getting checked out, but this doesn’t happen very often.

We must also remember that many neck and back problems ache more during the night and first thing in the morning, it’s just the nature of them. If you are experiencing this, I always say, ‘fix your back before you blame your mattress’. A healthy spine can sleep anywhere.

5. What’s the best sitting and desk posture?

2. How many pillows should I use?

Getting up from a chair regularly is by far the most helpful thing you can do to look after your joints if you have a desk job or find yourself sitting at home a lot. Our bodies crave movement. Weight bearing movement squishes fluid in and out of joints which brings nutrients and clears waste. It helps unstick our connective tissues and it sends neurological information up to our brains.

Much like the answer above, it comes down to whatever’s the most comfortable. Don’t buy into the idea of needing to keep your spine perfectly straight. Adverts keep popping up on my Facebook feed selling the ‘perfect’ pillow that keeps your spine precisely aligned. It’s a myth! You don’t need it. Even when you are asleep, your brain has enough awareness to move you when things become uncomfortable. We move anywhere between 40 and 70 times a night, so even if you start with a perfectly straight spine, you’re not going to stay there! Most people just need one pillow that feels comfortable to them. Some people with flexed upper backs or really broad shoulders may want two, but let comfort be your guide. Don’t worry about the fancy adverts that tell you about spine alignment, just do what works for you. 3. Should I exercise through pain? In the clinic, we treat many people who are passionate about their sport and exercise. When they come in with injury, their first question is often, ‘when can I get back to training?’. Thankfully, in the vast majority of cases, the answer is straight away. There are a few caveats though and it’s important to follow them. It’s well documented that movement helps us heal (regular readers of mine can parrot my mantra: ‘movement is medicine, motion is the lotion’), but you must be a bit careful when injured.

The research is very clear on this; there is no such thing as a perfect sitting or desk posture, you just have to vary your position as much as you can.

Often, when I explain this, people say, ‘yeah, but slouching is bad though, right?’ - and my answer is ‘not necessarily’. I tell my patients to implement something I call ‘systemised fidgeting’. It’s okay to slouch for a little while, as long as you counter it by sitting up nice and straight. You can sit twisted slightly to the left, as long as you then spin so you are twisted to the right. You can have your legs stretched out, but then spend some time with them tucked right underneath you. The worst thing is to have a ‘habit’. If you sit in the same position day in day out, that’s what can turn into a problem over time, so embrace the fidget! The list of questions could go on and on, but that’s enough for one day. If you have a specific question about physical health that you would like answered in these pages, always feel free to email chris@ fortephysicalhealth.co.uk. If you would like treatment to get over pain, check out our website at fortephysicalhealth.co.uk.

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MT Gardening Well, it’s been a mixed bag when it comes to the weather over the last few weeks. As I write, we’re experiencing rain, wind and storms of varying severity... take care everyone. Weather conditions like these do make us focus on what’s essential and so force us to wait for better times to complete our usual chores. For one thing, I’m leaving the lawn well alone until it’s a little drier. Simply put, with a clay soil like mine, compaction will likely result in even more moss developing, and puddling! Yet there’s still plenty to do. Here’s some jobs for the next few weeks: Take a look at late flowering Clematis and prune hard, leaving just two pairs of healthy buds above ground. These are the ‘group 3’ types that all flower on new growth. My favourites include Clematis viticella cultivars (a deciduous climber with open bell shaped flowers with four broad purple or violet-blue tepals and creamy yellow anthers in summer and early autumn) and I would not be without C. ‘Jackmanii’ (Free-flowering up to 10cm across in late summer, with four textured rich velvety violet-purple sepals and greenish-cream anthers).

back hard to two buds to concentrate and restrain the framework for flowering (they flower on 2-year old wood or older). Where there is a gap in the structure, tie in a well positioned whippy shoot securely and tip the end of the shoot to an outward facing bud. Try Wisteria floribunda ‘Domino’; the early summer flowers are scented, lilac blue and produced in short trusses about 20cm long. Later this month, start applying general based fertilisers around the base of woodies and perennials. There’s loads of examples on the garden centre shelves such as Fish, Blood and Bone, Growmore and Vitax Q4 to name but a few. Rates do vary, but roughly 35-50g/m2. Once applied, lightly fork in to the soil and add a good well rotted compost as a mulch to keep weeds down and retain moisture. This is an ideal time to move plants before they begin to shoot. Ensure new planting hole is excavated, plant to correct depth, firm in to position and water in for good soil contact. If you’re into moving plants, don’t forget herbaceous perennials. They’ll need lifting, splitting, dividing and replanting back in the same place or elsewhere in the garden. Discard pest and diseased sections. And on the same theme of perennials, only move grasses when they are in active growth. At this time of the year they’ll only need cutting down hard; sedges, rushes and evergreen grasses will just need raking through with gloved hands to pull out old flowers and weak leaf blades.

For those of you with wisteria, you’ll need to prune whippy young growths

Lastly, if you want to further your knowledge and understanding of these or other gardening jobs, please consider one of the following courses at Writtle University College:

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For RHS Level 2 Certificate in the Principles of Horticulture (1 year, day-release on Thursdays from this September), RHS Level 2 Certificate in the Principles of Plant Growth, Propagation & Development (this September - February on Thursdays - still a couple of places available) and for RHS Level 2 and 3 Certificates in Practical Horticulture, email tom.cole@writtle.ac.uk for information on availability of days and times. If you’ve got more time, we also offer full time Level 2 & 3 programmes and apprenticeship schemes. New for this September we’ll be offering part-time garden design programmes. Contact ben. wincott@writtle.ac.uk for more information.

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If you’d like a shorter programme for say 1 or 2 days, then give our Short Courses team a call. We’ve got courses on construction (erecting fences, paving and brickwork), and general garden tasks such as pruning, propagation, container gardening, successful care of lawns and growing fruit and veg. For the professional we have a whole load of competence based certificates covering arboriculture, pesticide application and use of various machinery and equipment. Happy gardening For any gardening tips please contact Tom Cole, Horticultural Lecturer, Writtle College, Chelmsford, CM1 3RR by post (including a SAE) or by email at tom.cole@writtle.ac.uk.

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Nick Garner’s Music & Ramblings Ramblings It’s the end of an era in Chelmsford as demolition has finally begun of the Army & Navy flyover. First we lost the pub, one of the UK’s iconic music venues, and now it is the flyover - which in truth really does need sorting out. Let’s just hope it is not the catastrophe that replaced the pub and that this is done with thought and looking towards the future and better flow of traffic in and around our city.

I have to say there seems to be roadworks everywhere at present as they seem to dig up an area one week then a few weeks later someone else is digging up the same area again. I don’t know why they do not communicate with each other so all the work is done at once! It is not just Chelmsford either; I was in London the other day and it is just as bad there. Why is it in other countries they get on and do it and are out of it yet here it seems to take forever? Music I have just heard that we have another festival coming to Chelmsford in mid August featuring Tom Jones, Grace Jones and Imelda May among many others. It is called the Hideaway Festival, but confusingly, I have discovered it’s nothing to do with Chelmsford’s Hideaways venue. Locally, it has been busy lately, and thankfully there are no signs of the music scene looking to slow down. Do remember that listings can be found in the City Times which, like this magazine, is also available online at www.issuu.com/itsyourmedia. Recently, Robbie McIntosh and Steve Wilson graced the UB and were also on BBC Essex. Tony the presenter was in awe of these two, then later at the UB a room full of us older musicians as well as young ones were wowed by their playing and singing as well as their choice of covers. As ever, Robbie and Steve were happy to talk to everyone after the show before their long drive home to Weymouth. They will be back playing for me again in Chelmsford later in the year. At the football ground we had im V’s Sham 69 with Twister opening the night. Twister are a hard rock band with a touch of punk, but boy were they good and the audience loved them - a band we will be having back if they do not outgrow us too soon. They are off to Europe with The Quireboys soon. Tim V’s Sham 69 are still every bit as good as ever, playing all the hits and more - they really got the audience going. It has been a few years since I last saw people pogoing! We return to the UB with That Blue Patch arriving from London. They mainly play covers, including some less common choices, like those of Tom Waites for instance. The crowd really enjoyed them and were up and dancing along. I was not here for Steve Hooker, but all the feedback I’ve received has been great and I know that Jamie got up and sang with the band at the end as well.

William Dashwood (Woody) who is over from Holland. He is amazing: a top mime artist, a singer/songwriter, a poet and an actor too. Some say he reminds them of Roy Harper. The audience loved him and purchased his poetry as well. He is well worth checking out. The other Monday Jan and I went to the Hammersmith Apollo (I still call it the Odeon) for Eric Clapton’s tribute to the late Ginger Baker who Eric played with, with John Mayall, Cream and Blind Faith. Ginger was a great drummer who I worked with in the early 80s when my friend Keith formed a band with him called Ginger’s Nutters. It was fun as well as being hard at times, as you never knew how Ginger was going to be that day. Still, onto the show. Eric pulled in some heavyweights for this including the man known as the human metronome on drums, Steve Gadd, who is incredible. Along with Steve we were treated to Sonny Emory, Kofi Baker, Kenny Jones and Henry Spinetti all on drums too, as well and Roger Walters and Chris Stainton on bass, and Katie Kisson and Sharon White on backing vocals, and on keyboards and vocals Steve Winwood, Paul Carrack, and Willie Weeks, and then on guitars and vocals Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood, Ronnie Wood, Nile Rogers and Will Johns. They played lots of Cream and Blind Faith songs too. It was a great night, one I am so pleased I managed to get tickets for. We also met up with a few friends while we were there which was fun. When they came on to play the encore it could only be one song - they performed Crossroads with everyone joining in on stage - yes, five drummers at once! Coming up we have Connor Selby who, along with his band and his mate Joe Anderton, is about to go on tour with The Who across the UK. The official warm up show two days before they start is at Chelmsford City FC and tickets are now available with details available in this magazine. A great new live venue is raising its head in our city. The Compasses public house in Broomfield Road has great staff and a very friendly atmosphere, and soon a full kitchen. Marc and his team love music and want to put more music on in the pub. On 21st March at the pub is The Ouse Valley Singles Club and on the 28th it is Medicine, with lots more to come. If you go to our Facebook pages look at the ‘Events’ tabs where you can see who is playing and preview the up-and-coming acts. www.itsyourmusic.co.uk www.facebook.com/itsyourmusic/events www.facebook.com/essexgig www.visitessex.com/events

I was thrilled to bring back the Jackson Line to the pub. They are not a band you get to see a lot of locally and they are certainly a band on the way up. They are currently a six-piece band - and what a band. The harmonies are out of this world as is the great choice of songs. Opening the night for them was Two Ways Home, a duo from London again, great songs and great vocals and all in all a very busy night. On the night of Valentine’s Day it was the turn of 12

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Is Planning a New Kitchen on the Horizon for You in 2020? Whether you are planning a complete redesign or just want to modernise what you already have with some easy updates, here are 5 ideas to get you started. Clever Storage Devices In a time when we strive to declutter for our overall wellbeing, storage is key. Nowadays we seem to need so many things in our kitchens, from ingredients to cooking equipment, to help prepare meals. Well placed, concealed storage is a saviour for the aesthetic of our kitchens. John Martin, Head Designer at Regal Kitchens in Navigation Road, Chelmsford, predicts that one of the most desired design features in 2020 will be the kitchen larder. Rather than being tucked away in a closed off cupboard or utility room, larders and pantries are taking centre stage this year: tall pull out larders that can hold all your dry goods in one place and can easily be seen will make you more organised and less wasteful when shopping. Greens and Blues For a long time, the interior design colour of the moment seems to have been grey, but dark blues and exciting greens look set to overtake it in the popularity stakes. With Pantone choosing Classic Blue as its colour of the year in 2020, you’ll be likely to see a lot more of it in interiors magazines and featuring on property development shows on TV. Navy kitchens look elegant and stylish. Always think about contrasts when it comes to colour to maintain a balance between light and dark. You can also expect to see more green in kitchens going forward; this could be in the form of accents or wallpaper, but its increasingly likely to take the form of tiles and cabinetry in emerald tones and forest greens. The trend for bold dark hues was prominent throughout 2019 and as we move in to 2020, green kitchen cabinetry is set to be a new, key style. Green can be equally dramatic and luxurious when used in the kitchen and many manufacturers have started producing cabinetry in deep forest greens which can be balanced out with latte shades, smoky glass and soft metallics to bring opulence to the kitchen. Design aspects like lighting and worktops, or even accessories, help to bounce the light around the space and offset the heavier hues. Statement Lighting Lighting has more freedom within the modern kitchen than it did a few years ago. Statement pendants are being used to finish most open-plan living spaces. While the use of spotlights or down-lights are still key, there’s a trend for making the kitchen feel more like our living rooms - lighting plays a key role in this. Stylish light fittings will look great

whether they’re switched on or off, but its also worth bearing in mind how light can affect the mood of a room - the colour of your lightbulbs will make a big difference. It is also worth including some lighting that’s bright and functional so that you can see what you’re doing when preparing food and another fitting for a more ambient glow when its time to relax. Statement Floors The trick here is to let the floor do all the talking, and keep everything else relatively minimal. A modern kitchen can be styled with handlefree cabinetry in one of the colour tones that feature in the tiles. Statement tiles can be extremely effective when zoning an openplan kitchen. They can contrast beautifully against wooden planks or carpet which can help bring warmth to the bright space. Avoid wall cabinets with statement floors - use open shelves instead and top any strong colour base units with a sleek white work surface. Open Shelving In kitchen design, the use of raw materials which are rich in tones and texture will definitely continue to rise in popularity for 2020 and will still be in keeping with an ‘industrial style’ Having some open shelving with crockery, pans or dry food stuff on display can be a nice way to add charm and character, especially if you’re not a fan of a sleek and clinical look. This is also a good trick in smaller rooms, where the light and space can make your kitchen feel a lot bigger. Having some open shelves is a welcome chance to release your inner interior designer. Wherever it is in your kitchen, leaving some space for artwork, plants and other decorative objects helps the room look less functional and more lived in. If you are in the market for a new kitchen during 2020, why not visit Regal Kitchens large showroom, where knowledgeable and friendly designers are on hand to help you transform your space and create your dream kitchen? You can find Regal Kitchens at 2 Navigation Road, open 7-days per week between 10am and 4pm.

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Moulsham Junior School At Moulsham Juniors we are very lucky to have a team of talented staff whose primary aim is to make learning fun! This was certainly the case earlier this term when our Year 3 team ran a Spy Day to launch their new topic, Secrets and Spies. During the day, the children designed their own spy gadgets, explored secret messages, and cracked codes.

The children had an absolutely amazing day and their favourite activity was the spy training obstacle course where they needed to get through lasers, climb the bars and complete a maze, as well as other tricky tasks! Sherya and Eliza from 3 Hughes both loved spy day which was “super and we all became fully qualified spies!” The curriculum has been rewritten across all year groups and the theme each half term runs across all lessons, so in Year 3 this half term children have looked at coding in computing, finger printing and forensic science and have also been reading and writing spy stories. Through such innovative and creative methods, learning at Moulsham Junoir School is certainly fun!

Deadlines for the April edition Articles - 18th March Print ready art work 26th March

Essex Symphony Orchestra Essex Symphony Orchestra have our first concert of the year on Saturday March 7th and we are very excited to be performing with the lovely and talented mezzo-soprano, Hannah Poulsom who is set to give a sparkling performance of Edward Elgar’s beautiful song cycle, Sea Pictures. The piece consists of 5 stunning songs which are words set to music by Elgar and each written by various poets: Sea Slumber Song - by Roden Noel In Haven (Capri) - by Caroline Alice Elgar (the composer’s wife) Sabbath Morning at Sea - by Elizabeth Barrett Browning Where Corals Lie - by Richard Garnett The Swimmer - by Adam Lindsay Gordon The rest of the evening’s programme is as equally exciting and consists of Suppe’s vivacious Poet and Peasant Overture and Sibelius’ Symphony No. 1 - the latter of which is one of my personal favourites. It contains everything; lushly romantic passages and a ‘divine logic’. As Sibelius once said: “Music is, for me, like a beautiful mosaic which God has put together. He takes all the pieces in his hand, throws them into the world, and we have to recreate the picture from the pieces.” This will be our second concert with new Conductor and Musical Director, Robert Hodge. Full details are below and I hope that you will be able to help us share them. Date/Time: Venue: Tickets:

Saturday 7th March at 7.30pm Christ Church URC - 164, New London Road, Chelmsford, CM2 0AW £14/under 18s get in for free!

Liquid refreshments will be served during the interval and we hope to attract a large audience for the event. The interval will be a perfect opportunity for both audience and orchestral members to mingle. We would also like to invite our audience members to become Friends of ESO if they wish to do so. We also have some free tickets on offer for new audience members! Details of how to join as a Friend of ESO can be found on our website at www.essexsymphony.org.uk/friends.html. Becoming a friend of ESO is a great way to add social value to your local community in Chelmsford by supporting a long standing local orchestra and cultural scene. You can also become a corporate sponsor of ESO and offer support for further communal outreach activities, such as our annual children’s event. By becoming a corporate sponsor you will be able to advertise with us in our concert programmes and promote your own business or ventures. Please email us at esofeedback@gmail.com if

you are interested. You can also see our programme on concert night for more details. ** FREE TICKET OFFER! ** We will be giving away 20 free tickets to the first few lucky audience members to step through our doors on the night of the concert. For those who have never seen the Essex Symphony Orchestra in action before, we would love to offer you the chance to see your first concert with us for free! If you are a newcomer, just let us know on the night as you come through the door, and if you are one of the first 20 people who have never been to one of our concerts before we will happily give you a free ticket and show you to your complimentary seat. Tickets available to buy from the following sources: • Allegro Music: 95 High Street, Chelmsford, CM2 0LD - 01245 359 899/websales@allegromusic.co.uk. • Pam Gladwell: 01245 601 418. • Online at Ticketsource - www.ticketsource.co.uk: Just type ‘Essex Symphony Orchestra’ in the search box. • On the door: Simply turn up at the venue on concert night and buy tickets on the door. essexsymphony.org.uk You can also find the Essex Symphony Orchestra on Facebook and Twitter

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Christchurch Who Am I? At the height of his popularity, during his second term as President of the United States Ronald Reagan visited an old people’s home. He went up to one lady sitting on her own and asked, “How are you?” She looked confused and so he then said “Do you know who I am?” She replied, “No dear, but if you ask one of the kind nurses she will tell you.” Who am I? This is perhaps one of the big questions which every one of us asks at times during our lives. It is closely associated with other big questions like Where am I going? What is the purpose of my life? How can I find meaning? Now of course these concerns are not on our lips every time we get up in the morning - at least I hope not! - and most of the time we immerse ourselves in the day to day business of living; we just get on with life. But such questions are not just the profound preserve of philosophers. Scratch the surface and issues of identity, belonging and the search for meaning lie nestling within all of us. Perhaps the popularity of the television programme Who Do You Think You Are? is testimony to this. It is interesting, isn’t it, how many of the personalities whose family backgrounds are explored, or in some cases exposed, become so emotionally overwhelmed. There is a sense that they are rocked to their core by revelations that they go to the very heart of who they are. This search for identity, for belonging and how to cope with life, is experienced as much by those who are successful as those who struggle against great odds. So, for instance, the great Russian novelist Leo Tolstoy, the literary superstar of his day, in his 80s cut a forlorn figure, fleeing to an obscure railway station, and on his dying lips doubting that his life had any meaning. Great and small, high profile or obscure, the search for meaning and self-understanding is, then, part of the human condition. We struggle to make sense of our journey and understand ourselves in the face of what we experience in life. We seem to ride this meaningless roller coaster where one minute we are on a high and enjoying success, and then the next we are cast down, with things falling apart and in despair. As Christians the good news and great solace and comfort, is that we do not struggle alone in isolation. Because Christ shared our humanity he also experienced the anguish and helps to show the way. Through the Christian message we learn the paradox that we discover ourselves, who we really are, through self-sacrifice; by laying down our lives in faith, and in helping others, we discover life’s purpose and meaning. As Luke records Jesus saying: ‘For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it.’ Graham Handscombe To find out more about what happens at Christ Church please visit www.christ-church-chelmsford.com

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The Singing Chef

Sauvignon Blanc - yum!

Happy spring everyone, it’s going to be much easier to eat healthier once the days get brighter, or so I keep telling myself. This salad is really healthy - and can be assembled really quickly and if by some miracle it’s super-hot in March, you can leave the dressing and prawns to cool and serve in the garden with a crisp

I’ve been trying to crack the Keto Diet for the last month, that’s no sugar and under 20g of carbs a day, it’s so hard to keep carbs that low, and I’ve actually put on half a stone… whoops. Oh well, I’m sure I’ll crack it eventually, oh and lose all the weight I put on since my divorce, find a man, go to the gym, win the lottery and clean out under the stairs...

Salad Courgette Fennel Lemon juice (to stop the fennel from discolouring) Garlic and Chili Prawns on a Shaved Fennel and Courgette Salad With a Warm Vinaigrette • Fry your prawns in plenty of olive oil, chili flakes and garlic • Remove the prawns once cooked • Add white wine vinegar, lemon juice and Dijon mustard to the pan and whisk • Assemble your crisp fennel and courgette salad, adorn with the prawns • Pour over the bubbling warm dressing. I like to add some Parmesan, salt and pepper Sarah is a singer and vocal coach based in Chelmsford and offers singing lessons to people of all ages and abilities. You can email Sarah at sarahmtfood@gmail.com or search for ‘Sarah Beth Vocal Coaching’ on Facebook.

Garlic and Chili Prawns With Shaved Fennel and Courgette Salad Served With a Warm Dressing Prawns (Serves 4 as a starter or 2 as a light lunch) 20 uncooked tiger prawns - thawed from frozen are fine 2 tbsp olive oil 2 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced 1 tsp dried chili flakes Dressing White wine or cider vinegar 1 tsp Dijon mustard 1 tsp lemon juice Finely grated Parmesan salt and pepper

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Personal Finance Clinic: End of Year Tax Planning

Yes, it’s that time of year again! As the weather (hopefully) starts to warm up, we head towards tax year end. It officially ends on 5th April 2020, so here are the top three financial tasks to tick off your list this month.

1. Credit Your ISA Each year, an adult in the UK can save or invest up to £20,000 in ISAs. An ISA is known as a ‘tax wrapper’ because you can hold cash or investments in this type of account without tax being due on interest or investment returns and without declaring it on your tax return. Over time, you can build up quite a substantial pot within ISAs, so it makes sense to contribute every year if you can afford to. If you don’t use this year’s allowance, you lose it, although you will have another £20,000 allowance available to you in 2020/21. There are many different ISA types available now, including Cash ISAs (which are basically tax-free savings accounts), Stocks & Shares ISAs (enabling you to invest your money), Junior ISAs (Cash or Stocks & Shares ISAs available to children) and Lifetime ISAs (ISAs openable by under 40s, paying a 25% boost on contributions if used towards a qualifying first property purchase or left for retirement from 60). Your £20,000 annual allowance can be split across various types of ISA, although you can’t open more than one of the same type each tax year. Remember, if your money is being invested it will be subject to investment market risks, so the value of your account could go down as well as up. You should never invest money you need back in the short term, and see point 3 below!

Annual Allowance being tapered for these people; in some cases, down to as low as £10,000 a year. If you think you are in this group, see point 3. 3. Seek Financial Advice The rules around pensions carry forward are complicated, and ISA investing can be daunting if you are an inexperience investor, so it makes sense to seek financial advice. A good financial adviser will listen carefully to what you are trying to achieve and what you want out of life. Next, they will help you to prioritise your goals and then create a ‘road map’ for achieving them. Perhaps you are aiming to stop work at 62 with a household retirement income of £40,000 a year. But, in the meantime you might be concerned about how your family will survive if you were too ill to work or died young. Your financial adviser would use their knowledge of taxation, pensions, insurance products and investments to design a plan tailored to you. They would also take into account changing pension, taxation and legislation rules, including the next Budget due on 11th March 2020! Lauren Peters is a Senior Consultant at Brooks Macdonald, 21 Lombard Street, London EC3V 9AH. She is a Chartered Financial Planner and provides independent financial advice. You can contact Lauren via lauren.peters@brooksmacdonald.com.

2. Consider Increasing Pension Contributions Most of us would like more money for our retirement, but too few of us maximise tax relief available on our pension contributions. A basic rate taxpayer’s £1,000 contribution is boosted to £1,250 with tax relief. In other words, instead of your income tax going to the government, it goes into your pension account. Higher and additional rate taxpayers receive even more tax relief, due to their higher income tax charge. If you are in a position to affordably increase your pension contributions, do consider it, but remember this money will be locked away for a period of time and will be subject to investment risk. Do also be aware of the Annual Allowance, which is the maximum you are permitted to contribute and receive tax relief on per year. For most people, the maximum contribution per year is either £40,000 gross (if you earn more than £40,000 a year) or capped at your salary level if you earn less. Where you are a higher earner, it may be possible to contribute more than the £40,000 Annual Allowance by ‘carrying forward’ unused portions of your Annual Allowance for up to three previous tax years. This can be really useful, particularly where you have received a bonus or if you are planning to retire soon - although it is not for everyone! Complex rules were introduced a few years ago to restrict the amount of tax relief receivable by higher earners. These rules result in the www.issuu.com/itsyourmedia 19

No Break for Rotary The Premier League, in its infinite wisdom, has decided that its highly paid footballers (some would say obscenely paid) needed a winter break. Time to recharge the batteries, to massage away the muscle aches and niggly injuries that occur from playing ninety minutes once a week, or perhaps even twice. Now don’t get the impression I don’t like football. On the contrary, I confess to being a Millwall season ticket holder (yes I know the joke, ‘I thought you said football!’). However, with large squads I find the need for time off to be an unnecessary nuisance. Imagine if Rotarians decided that all their projects should be put on hold. Sorry we can’t help this month, we’re on holiday. Rotary is one of the leading service organisations, perhaps the leading service organisation, in the world and although made up of volunteers, the work never stops.

decided to continue the link with Brainwaves and use it as their local charity for this year. On Friday 7th February they held a cake sale with the proceeds going to the eradication of polio campaign. So as you can see the cycle continues without a break, and whilst the youth competitions may be the main focus at the moment, that certainly does not mean to say that there are not other important events going on at the same time. These projects don’t happen on their own, so Rotary is always on the lookout for like-minded people to join them, to become People of Action.

In Chelmsford where there are five clubs - with another possibly on the way - there is a huge range of activities in progress. Christmas may have just finished but immediately the next focus of attention locally is on youth competitions. The Chelmsford heat of the Young Musician competition was organised by Keith Otter on 17th January at St Cedd’s School. There were 12 competitors, 6 vocalists and 6 instrumentalists. The Deputy Mayor was in attendance. Ryan Wuyts won the vocal section and cellist Issy Howell won the instrumental section, and they will go forward to the District Final to be held at Chelmsford Cathedral on Saturday 29th February. The changed format of the Youth Speaks. A debate was arranged by John Scammel on the 21st January and the new school in Chelmsford, Beaulieu Park, won the Intermediate section with Hylands School winning the seniors. The District Final will be held at the Council Chambers, County Hall, Chelmsford on Wednesday 4th March, starting at 6.30pm.

Beaulieu Park – Intermediate winners of Youth Speak with Mayor of Chelmsford, Bob Massey

Rotary is always looking to be inclusive and another innovation this year will be the Special Young Chef for children with learning difficulties and arrangements are in hand for the event which will be at Thriftwood College in Chelmsford on 10th June. This is a supplementary competition for the existing Young Chef competition where the national winner came from a school in Essex last year - a lot to live up to. More good news from the Rotary Club of Chelmsford was the formation of a Rotakids Club at Chelmsford Cathedral School on Monday 13th January 2020. It was attended by the District Governor Pauline Dean, District Youth Chair Peter Dowse, District Rotakids Chair Bryan Davenport and club Rotarians Keith Otter and Janice Goodman. Rotakids is for children aged 7-11. They learn about being community spirited and helping others perhaps less fortunate. One of the children at The Cathedral School has submitted an entry for the Young Photographer competition, and they are also keen to enter the Young Writer competition which is a very exciting start for them. This is the second Rotakids club in Chelmsford, the other being Baddow Hall Junior School. The age group in Rotary above Rotakids is Interact and there is a thriving club at the County High School supervised by the Chelmsford Rotary Club. Interact President Sophia & Vice President Ruby went to Witham to present Brainwaves with their donation of £167.07 personally. This was during their Christmas holiday which showed great commitment. They were shown around the centre and have 20

Hylands School – senior winners of Youth Speak with Mayor of Chelmsford, Bob Massey To learn more about Rotary visit www.rotary1240.org or give me a call on 01245 260 349 if you would like to find out firsthand what being a Rotarian is all about. Stan Keller

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Hi everyone. I hope you all escaped the windy weather this month and that your fence panels didn’t end up in next door’s garden! During storm Ciara, we were in Kent in our motorhome - an experience! As the afternoon wore on, we were rocking more and more. Then the cover on the outside of the windscreen started to flap, so I had to go out and take it off. You probably don’t know, but the cover is a big sheet of insulation about ten foot long, so, yes you guessed it, when I took it off, I was suddenly almost on my first hang gliding trip - I only just managed to get it indoors. Later I had to retrieve the water cans from under the motorhome and the step stool outside the door. To be fair, once inside it’s very cosy and has everything we need. We ensured that we chose a pitch away from the trees, which was just as well, as a 50 foot tree came down on the site. Great few days away. The facilities on site are extremely good, with heated shower blocks which are always clean. One thing though - toilet roll holders. Most are OK, like the ones that we have at home. Some, not so good. One design is a circular casing with a very small piece of the paper poking out of the centre. The idea is to save frequent replenishment as they have a very large roll in them. However, as a user, they are a nightmare, unless you pull the little poky-out bit very carefully, it comes away from the next sheet and makes it impossible to use. The ones on this site were basically normal, but have two rolls in them, one on top of the other. The cubicle I was using was jammed, but of course I did not find this out until I tried to use it. Oh dear! Does anyone else find the music played on the telephone when you are told that ‘our agents are all busy at the moment, please hold until one is free’ is not particularly soothing? Recently a company had so many complaints about the hold music (it was Vivaldi’s Four Seasons) that they had to change it. The point was that it was not the whole thing, it was just a four second segment repeated over and over. It made me start thinking that they should use songs that are aligned with the service they provide. Utilities companies could have Electric Avenue (Eddie Grant), or Jumpin’ Jack Flash ‘...it’s a gas, gas, gas’ (Rolling Stones). Grocers could have Window Shopping (50 Cent - he’s one of them rappers) or Queen of the Supermarket (Bruce Springsteen). Perhaps travel agents would choose Holiday by The Kinks or Madonna. That would be much better, don’t you think? Or perhaps better still, let you choose your own. Actually, come to think of it, wouldn’t it be good if they just answered the phone after three rings, then they could dispense with the music altogether! I was looking though the paper recently and came across a full page advert. Not too surprising you may say, but this one had very few www.moulshamtimes.com

words on it. It said ‘The UK has now left the EU’. Well my jaw dropped. How could I have missed this breaking news? This advert was taken out by HM Government, so I guess they have only just noticed that we have left and thought they had better let us know. In these days of financial cuts, I think I could have thought of better ways to spend our money. Another from the ‘you couldn’t make it up’ section I think! I have heard they are to take out another such advertisement next week announcing that the world is not flat. I drove to Northampton the other day, which involves about a 45 mile stretch of the M1. For a good number of these miles there are road works, as they are installing the ‘smart’ motorway system. Now, whoever dreamed up this idea must have had a brainstorm. Even on roads with a hard shoulder there have be a number of incidents where people have been injured or killed waiting to be rescued when they have broken down. I am not at all surprised that without the hard shoulder the chances of incidents are very much increased. Now there is to be an investigation into the smart motorway safety. I think that any of us could have saved them a lot of time and money, but more importantly, could have saved some lives. Talking about the roadworks, for mile after mile there is a 50mph speed limit. What I want to know is whether, when people buy their expensive SUVs, do they get exempt from speeding tickets? Lots of them seem to go roaring past me when I’m keeping to the limit. On the subject of ‘smart’ things, we were listening to music on a smart speaker the other day when our conversation went to eating and the word recipes was mentioned. Immediately, the speaker stopped the music and asked which of the 600 odd recipes we wanted to hear. Be careful if you have one of these, they seem to be developing a will of their own! I’m amazed what you can buy on the Internet. There is loads of stuff I wouldn’t have even realised there was a demand for, but as soon as you want it - there it is. We were at our friends at the weekend, they have two cats, one of them likes to drink water from the kitchen tap. Now this is OK, but he hasn’t learned how to switch it on or off. A quick look on the Internet, and there is the solution. Water fountains for cats, yes really. There were loads on there, some costing over fifty pounds. I was astounded. So remember if you want to buy something unusual, that’s the place. Alternatively, if you have something unusual to sell, someone will be looking for it online. Bin end chuckles: I ate a clock the other day, it was very time consuming... I see they have updated an age old game. It is now I spy with my little eye-phone....

Spot 10 Differences (Answers on Page 31)

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Neighbourhood Watch - March Update Hi All, Ayman Syed here. I’ve had a couple of our other co-ordinators write this month’s article. I hope you like it: Dear neighbours, With the evenings starting to draw out it feels like we are properly into 2020 and Christmas is a distant memory. Data shows that Chelmsford city remains one of the safer places to live and work across Essex, and Moulsham is no exception. However, it is still important to be vigilant and having had a couple of burglaries in the area over the last few weeks, we thought it would be helpful to set out this Burglar’s Top Ten, which the BBC’s Crime Roadshow published a little while ago:

10. Holidays Leaving the newspapers building up on the doorstep or forgetting to cancel the milk are all sure-fire signals to a burglar that the house is empty. If you are not involved in Neighbourhood Watch yet and you would like to be, please contact Ayman Syed - aymansyed@gmail.com, and he will either put you in touch with your local co-ordinator or, if your street doesn’t have a group yet, help you set one up. Neighbourhood Watch isn’t just about crime reduction; it is about getting to know your neighbours better and creating strong communities. Keep watching! Kim and Rob Gisby, on behalf of the Old Moulsham Neighbourhood Watch co-ordinators

1. Spare Keys Think it’s still OK to keep a spare key under the flowerpot? Think again. Burglars know all the hiding places - better to leave your spare keys with a neighbour or friend you trust. 2. Patio Doors and Ground Floor Windows These are a particular favourite for burglars. Keep them shut and locked, especially when you leave the room. If you have patio doors make sure you invest in secure glazing and locking systems. 3. Small and Expensive Your 42-inch TV might be safe because burglars these days tend to target small, expensive items they can easily grab. Keep cash, watches, jewellery, laptops, mobile phones and games consoles safely hidden.

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4. The Vulnerable Students, the elderly and people moving house are all particularly susceptible to burglary. 5. Tools Tools have long been a favourite of burglars because they can be easily sold or traded. There is a never-ending demand for specialty tools on the illegal market. 6. Unsecured Firearms If you have a licence to keep firearms, be responsible about how you store them. Firearms have a high black market value - don’t put them out there. 7. Electrical Equipment Electronics are also favourite targets for criminals because they can be easily sold or used for personal use. Electronics are not hard to find in the home as people often use them on a daily basis. Consider buying ‘lock down’ plates for your electrical equipment, back up your computer data regularly and look for products with built-in security devices when you buy. 8. Good Getaways and Hiding Places Burglars like houses that have easy escape routes or plenty of bushes to hide in should they be disturbed. Simple things such as placing flower pots beneath ground floor windows makes their lives harder as does putting good external lighting over any dark corners or bushes. 9. Scatty Residents People who leave their ground floor windows open or leave ladders carelessly placed against a wall are advertising their house to burglars. Do not assume that because you are in the house you can keep those windows open or let your guard down either, many burglars will go for occupied homes at night knowing that they will contain wallets and mobile phones. 24 www.moulshamtimes.com

Support 4 Sight Events Support 4 Sight and Redchurch Brewery Takeover at the Moulsham Tap Support 4 Sight are thrilled to announce that we have collaborated with Redchurch, an award winning Essex brewery, and we will be hosting a taproom takeover at the fantastic venue The Moulsham Tap in Moulsham Street, Chelmsford on the 14th March. There will be a raffle on the day with all proceeds being donated to Support 4 Sight. Prizes include cases of Redchurch’s finest craft beverages and a brewery tour and beer tasting session at the Harlow Brewery. For every pint that is pulled throughout the 14-15th March period, 25p will be generously donated towards the charity by The Moulsham Tap. The event will take place from 4pm, but doors will be open at noon. A Dark Canteen - Dining in the Dark Support 4 Sight are putting on a unique event at popular local restaurant, A Canteen, in New London Road, Chelmsford on Thursday 9th April where diners will have the opportunity to be blindfolded, guided and enjoy a 3-course meal specially made for the event. This gives diners an opportunity to have a brief understanding what it is like to have context removed and having to rely on senses other than their sight in order to enjoy food and an evening out. It doesn’t matter whether you eat meat, or are

vegan or vegetarian, we have it covered. We also offer gluten-free options as well. Tickets are selling at £35 each and they can be found on the charity’s website at www. support4sight.org.uk, or our resource centre based at 14 Cottage Place, Chelmsford, CM1 1NL. Support 4 Sight is an Essex based charity based in Chelmsford. Support 4 Sight challenge the attitudes and perception of how the public perceive what sight loss is. They are there to help accommodate and facilitate for anyone who suffers with partial or full visual impairment to give them the independence they deserve. The Essex based charity provide support to those affected by sight loss, their families and carers in Essex. Support 4 Sight provides information, advice and emotional support at hospital help desks and their dedicated resource centres. Trained staff provide community based home visits where support and advice is given on equipment and services available such as Support 4 Sight’s monthly coffee mornings in Chelmsford, Harlow, Great Dunmow, Braintree and Epping. Sight loss is an incredibly isolating experience, and we as a charity are there to make sure those affected are not going through this life-changing ordeal on their own. We are incredibly proud to have A Canteen get behind us to help support the charity by raising awareness.

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Mersey Beat Part Eight - by John Power The Mersey Poets The growth of the alternative poetry scene and other counter culture activity of the era can be traced to one postal district: Liverpool 8. In the middle of the urban conurbation of Merseyside, but with no catchy local name like New York’s Greenwich Village. It was the same kind of run down post-war area as its American cousin, where alternative artists of all persuasions were stirring the pot of creativity amidst cheap accommodation and coffee bars full of like-minds to cross fertilise ideas with. Foremost of these movers and shakers were Adrian Henri, Roger McGough and Brian Patten, who eventually broke the mould of academic poetry when Penguin Books recognised their lyrical, philosophical, innovative - and often comic talents - in the Penguin Modern Poets Series, no. 10, entitled The Mersey Sound, put them on the same footing as other emerging writers internationally, and closing the north-south divide in the UK at the same time. Later, northern and national writers soon became associated with the brave new movement, and the same year of 1967 saw the equally legendary anthology The New Love Poetry published by Corgi. Publishers had recognised the strength of all those that emerged in the wake of Lennon and McCartney, and for that matter, George Harrison. The titles The Mersey Sound and New Love Poetry took there inspiration from Mersey Beat and the by then emerging psychedelic wave. Mike English and Nigel Waymouth, aka Hapshash and the Coloured Coat, were asked to create the Love Poems cover from their swinging London studio in Kings Road. Names like Adrian Mitchell from Sussex, Pete Brown, who later wrote lyrics for the band Cream, Pete Morgan and Alan Jackson from Edinburgh, Tom Pickard from Newcastle, Pete Roach, Spike Hawkins and Michael and Frances Horovitz from London, soon found themselves elevated to popular status alongside McGough, Henri and Patten in the pages of The New Love Poetry nationally. American beat poets and French symbolist poets like Rimbaud and Baudelaire were cited by McGough, Henri and Patten as influential, and indeed Americans like Ginsberg soon found their way to the hive of activity and added their brand of celebrity, that had already shown itself in London in 1965, at the Royal Albert Hall when Ginsberg, Lawrence Ferlingetti and Gregory Corso joined English poets for the groundbreaking Wholly Communion readings. Cross-fertilisation with visual artists in poster-poems and magazines like Oz and performance artists at readings, soon began to develop in the heady mix of sixties cultural explosion. The Liverpool Scene This was in this case more than just a name about the location. It was the name of a poetry band started by Adrian Henri, the art school teacher with, at first, Andy Roberts on guitar, inspired by the beat idea of reading to a jazz backing. They were joined by Mike Evans, Mike Hart, Percy Jones and Brian Dodson. They managed to release an album on CBS Records, The Incredible New Liverpool Scene, with Roger McGough also along for the project. Liverpudlian disc jockey John Peel plugged the record on pirate radio station Radio London, then later in his cult programme, The Perfumed Garden on BBC Radio when he came ashore from the pirate ship. Peel later developed his own record label, Dandelion, and released four albums for the group from 1968, mostly of Henri’s work. They appealed mostly to university and art school audiences, but in 1969 toured the US with Led Zeppelin, showing the eclecticism of taste in those days. The Scaffold 1963-74 This grouping of talent consisted latterly of Roger McGough, John Gorman and Mike McGear (aka McCartney, Paul’s brother), but originally included Adrian Henri, and was known as The Liverpool, One Fat Lady, All Electric Show. One fat lady is bingo lingo for 8 and 26

refers to the Liverpool 8 postal area where it all began. In 1967 Scaffold scored a national hit when Thank You Very Much reached number 4 in the charts, and they even appeared on Top of the Pops. This was sung rather than spoken word and a second singalong, more of a drinking song than poetry, Lilly the Pink, reached number 1 with the help of Jack Bruce from Cream, Graham Nash of the Hollies and later Crosby Stills and Nash, and Elton John as backing. Grimms 1971-76 This was a fairly anarchic collection of floating performers who came from a much wider field than its Liverpool origins, and included Adrian Henri, Roger McGough, Zoot Money from the Big Roll Band, Dantalions Chariot and New Animals, Viv Stanshall and Neil Innes from the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band, Andy Roberts, Gerry Conway, later in Fairport Convention, Michael Giles, Kate Robbins, John Megginson, David Richards, Peter Halshall, Norman Smedies, Brian Jones (Liverpool, not Rolling Stones), Ritchie Routledge, Valerie Move, Pete Tatters and Timmy Bond amongst many others contributing performance or musical backing. The Main Movers Brian Patten (born Liverpool 1946) Brian became a reporter for the Bootle Times at the then school leaving age of 15, and his writing included a musical column, The MerseyBeat. He also edited his own magazine, Underdog, to spread alternative poetry. Several of his own poems that appeared in its pages were used by Penguin when they published The Mersey Sound. He also published American beat poets, and later got to read alongside Allen Ginsberg and Robert Lowell, as well as English writer Laurie Lee. Aged 18 he moved to Paris for a while and made a living by drawing elaborate chalk poems for the tourist franc. His own first poetry collection was in 1967 and called Little Johnny’s Confessions. He also wrote children’s stories and later became an editor for Puffin Books. He has survived operations for cancer and at the time of writing, lives in the West Country. He has now been given the Freedom of Liverpool City and is a Fellow of John Moores University and the Open University. Roger McGough (born in Litherland in 1937) Roger can claim to be a poet, performance artist, children’s book author, playright, and BBC Radio 4 presenter of Poetry Please. He is also Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, and of John Moores University. He is President of the Poetry Society. His poems are all

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and conceptual artists, and became prize winner at John Moores University in 1972 with a painting In Memory of René Magritte.

Roger is of Irish ancestry. He studied French and Geography at Hull University while Philip Larkin was librarian there. Larkin later got to include Roger’s work in the Oxford Book of 20th Century English Verse in 1973. His French training proved useful not only when studying the French symbolist poets, but also in 2008 when he translated three plays by Moliere. He taught as Fellow of Poetry at Loughborough University from 1973 to 1975 and became Honorary Professor At Thames University in 1993.

He was President of Merseyside Arts Association and Liverpool Academy of Arts in the 1970s and always remained in Liverpool instead of joining the drift to swinging London. But he could count John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Allen Ginsberg, George Melly and William Russell amongst his friends.

Roger, Brian and Adrian were all good friends of Dr Chris Challis from Ingatestone and Roger attended the launch of the Essex writer’s book Quest for Kerouac in London in 1984. Adrian Henri (1932-2002) Adrian was born the son of a Mersey seaman. He started playing washboard in a skiffle group when he was studying art at Newcastle University. He became a teacher, then lecturer at Manchester then Liverpool Art Schools. He was associated with pop art painters

After the success of the Penguin Mersey Sound volume with McGough and Patten, his other collections were Collected Poems1967-85, published in 1986, Wish You Were Here, published in 1990 and Not Fade Away published in 1994. He was President of the National Acrylic Painters Association from 1986 to 1991, followed by becoming a Fellow of the Association. He has also been awarded an honorary degree by the University of Liverpool. He suffered a stroke aged 66 and died in Liverpool aged 68. He had been made a Freeman of Liverpool the night before he died, but never lived to make use of the freedom.

Quiz Time by John Theedom In which town was Fawlty Towers set? How old is the Strictly dancer Brendan Cole? From where do the initials J & D originate in JD Sports? What is the logo for England as worn by 4. sportsmen? What do the initials HMRC stand for? 5. Who wrote the comic novel Puckoon? 6. Who was the male star in Silence of The Lambs? 7. In 1970, Paul McCartney filed a High Court 8. lawsuit, but for what purpose? In archery, what colour is the centre of the target? 9. 10. In medicine, vasculitis is the inflammation of what? 11. Damask is a variety of which flower? 12. In the football world, the name ‘Kop’ originates from what? 13. On TV who is Bob Mortimer’s stage partner? 14. What was Harold Macmillan’s official title? 15. The oldest black rhino in the world has just died, how old was she? 16. 90210 is a ZIP code in which city? 17. Which cat does Dame Judy Dench play in the new Cats film? 18. In cricket, what is the informal name for the end of the day’s play? 19. What type of creature is an aphid? 20. What word connects clothes, flour and sailing? 21. Someone who shoes horses is called a...? 22.. To rappel is to do what? 23. What is the meaning of the word stellium? 24. When Madonna came to London at Christmas, how many luggage trolleys did she need for her cases? 25. When did the Sexual Discrimination & Equal Pay acts come in to force? 26. What nationality was Rudyard Kipling at birth? 27. What is the definition of the word refractory? 28. What is hessian? 29. In the railway world, what is CWT? 30. How many children does Gordon Ramsey have? 31. What is unusual about the robin spotted in Goringon-Thames, Oxfordshire, recently? 1. 2 3.

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32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40.

What type of creature is a cichlid? What does OXFAM stand for? Nectar points are named after who or what? Where in the world is The Pyramid of the Sun? Which musical film featured the pupils of Rydell High? What type of food is chicken of the woods? The word pauciloquent means what? What kind of animal is a serval? What does the ‘D’ stand for in PDSA? (Answers on page 31)

preloved Community Fair Saturday 14 March 2020 from 1pm - 5pm St Johns Hall, Vicarage Rd, Chelmsford, CM2 9PH A Preloved Fair with 20 + sellers comprising mainly of adult & children’s clothing, accessories & homeware. Join us for a fun community afternoon upcycling & re-loving. Come and grab yourself a bargain. Tea, coffee & homemade cake available. Raising money for two local organisations.

Stroke Unit at Broomfield Hospital in honour of a much loved member of the Old Moulsham Community

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All About Moulsham Lodge Moulsham Lodge Community Trust We are welcoming some special visitors at The Community Station next month as on Tuesday 3rd March 2020 the Chick family who have been travelling round the country on just £10 a day, are coming to visit. They were recently seen on The One Show (details below) and if you’d like to hear more about them you can see it again if you google ‘Chick family’. The family are mum Jem, dad Dave and children Grace, Evan and Irys, and they are travelling around in their converted Morris Traveller van named Mo and meeting local people who want to improve their communities - and that’s why they’re coming to visit MLCT. On the Tuesday they’ll join the Copper Potters coffee group from 10am - midday and chat about their experiences during the time they have been travelling, and hopefully give us some ideas for things we can do in the future. They will then cook lunch which can be enjoyed in the Copper Pot Café from midday-2pm.

From 3.15pm they will be outside the station with Mo to greet the children as they finish school. Here, they’ll answer questions from the children, so this is an ideal opportunity for children to see a totally different way for a family to live. If you’d like to come along and meet them at any time during the day then please do. See what its like to all live together in such a small space and manage on very little money while travelling. The family were recently on the BBC’s The One Show, which you can still view here on iPlayer (about 13 minutes in) www.bbc.co.uk/ iplayer/episode/m000f2jy/the-one-show-06022020. Our main event this year will be a Summer Showcase on Saturday 4th July 2020 and we hope this will lead to MLCT having a float at the Chelmsford Carnival on 5th July 2020. More details to follow next month. www.mlct.org.uk enquiries@mlct.org.uk 07411 808 731 Also, search for us on Facebook and Twitter

Cllr Mark Springett - Moulsham Lodge Ward Essex 2020 - What Is It? Essex 2020 is a year long, county-wide celebration of science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM). We’re bringing together hundreds of individuals and organisations to shine a light on our county’s enterprising past and inspire an even brighter future for science and creativity in Essex. The people organising Essex 2020 have a mission to inspire more people and communities to learn about (and get involved in) science and creativity, to encourage a sense of pride and well-being, with new opportunities to discover more and to involve people of all ages in learning through collaboration and participation in science and creativity.

The exciting programme of activities and events aims to engage more than 500,000 people of all ages. Supported by our media partners Newsquest and BBC Essex, they are attracting audiences from across Essex and beyond. I attended a meeting recently to get an update from the City Council team, they showed me a panel off ‘bright Ideas’ listing all the local events in and around Chelmsford throughout the year (see photo). If you want to know what events are going on as part of Essex 2020 or how you can get involved, check the website out at www. essex2020.com/about-essex-2020.

Essex 2020 is powered by individuals, organisations and businesses across Essex. The Year of Science and Creativity was the vision of Chelmsford Science and Engineering Society (CSES) which celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2020. To mark the occasion, CSES supported the successful bid from Anglia Ruskin University to host the British Science Festival. The international festival is coming to Essex in 2020 for the first time in its 189-year history. Essex 2020 has been commissioned by Essex Partners which is working in close partnership with other initiatives, including Essex Unites, This Is Essex, The South East Digital Skills Partnership and #EssexAndProud. Everyone is welcome to get involved in Essex 2020. Whether you’re a local resident, a community group or a multinational business, there’s room for you to take part in our Year of Science and Creativity. You can host an activity, volunteer your time or sponsor an event. However you choose to get involved, you’ll gain the opportunity to promote your work, expand your networks and contribute to the future of STEAM in Essex.

Also, coming back to Chelmsford is a carnival. It’s still in the early stages of being organised, but see here for details: www. chelmsfordcarnival.co.uk. MLCT will be creating a float for the carnival as part of a Summer Showcase. mark.springett@chelmsfordlibdems.org.uk 07411 808 731 www.markspringett.co.uk/blog Twitter: @markspringett (and also on Facebook)

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Tile Kiln Corner - by Linda Mascot Brownstock and Ibiza Rocks DJ Mat Format has joined The Clay Pigeon team in Robin Way for Saturday night DJ sets, which are going down a storm. Put 29th February and 7th March in your diaries for a great night out that will have you up and dancing. I was at the New Year’s Eve party and had a great time, although my feet were killing me the next morning! Mat told me: “Every Saturday the Clay Pigeon plays host to a melting pot of musical trends and styles from Johnny Cash to Jay Z. The idea is not to alienate anyone but to find a common dancefloor for everyone to come and shake a tail feather, and these have been really popular. Together with landlords Andy and Kate, I keep the ethos I helped create with Brownstock Festival by not being pigeonholed. Requests welcome! “The focus will be on more live music in the warmer months along with my infamous Rock ‘n’ Roll Bingo. Keep an eye out for some exciting events come up at the Clay soon.”

Moulsham Lodge Methodist Church

The Passion of Christ Through the Eyes of Peter At Moulsham Lodge Methodist Church we will be holding a series of Bible studies on Tuesday afternoons between 2pm and 3pm. The series will take as through Lent and beyond, starting from Peter’s perspective to help us look at ourselves today through what the Bible is telling us. The programme is as follows: March 3rd March 10th March 17th March 24th March 31st April 7th April 14th

Peter’s confession Peter caring Peter’s loyalty Peter sleeps Peter disowns Where is Peter? Peter reinstated

Mark 8 vs 27-30 Mark 9 vs 2-13 Mark 14 vs 27-31 Mark 14 vs 32-42 Mark 66-72 Mark 15 vs 21-40 John 21 vs 15-17

These are open to all, just come when you can; a warm welcomes awaits you. These are separate studies led by members of the church, so if you miss the occasional one you will not have missed anything other than the fellowship and the learning. Each Sunday we pray for the people living in different roads on the estate. During March we will be praying for those living in Waltham Glen, Loftin Way, Fairway and Westbourne Grove. During April we will be praying for those working in our local shops and businesses and those living in Lime Walk, Ash Grove, Holly Way, Linden Close, Whitehorn Gardens, Donald Way and Yew Tree Gardens. If you would like a specific prayer said, please email us at gillianpickett@btinternet.com, or post your prayer in our prayer box on the side of the church (in Lilac Close) and we will include you in our prayers. Alternatively, come along on a Sunday at 11am and join us for worship. You can find out more about our activities on our website at www. moulshammethodist.org.uk, or follow us on Facebook at Moulsham Lodge Methodist Church. If you would like to know more then please contact us at the email address below. With every blessing Clive Pickett - Senior Church Steward 01245 267 459 or clivepickett@btinternet.com www.issuu.com/itsyourmedia

The Clay Pigeon is open from midday daily and serves light bites and fresh filled rolls and pastries. Chelmsford City Council declared a Climate and Ecological Emergency in July 2019 and pledged to reduce it’s own carbon emissions to net zero by 2030 and encouraged others to do the same. The resulting plan, proposed by Councillor Rose Moore, sets out practical and ambitious steps which include reviewing planning policies to encourage zero-carbon build standards, integrating sustainable design and onsite renewable energy measures into new developments, improve cycling and walking routes and significantly increasing the number of trees which are key in absorbing carbon emissions. The Council is aiming to plant a tree for every resident of the city and needs your help! If you know of a location where you would like to see trees planted, please email me and I’ll pass these on to be considered for planting. I am hoping to arrange community planting days, so I’ll publicise these through this column and we can all play our part in this important project. Volunteers are also required for large planting sessions arranged for parks and other large, open spaces, so let me know if you’d like to be involved. mascotlinda@gmail.com Twitter: @lindamascot

Space, Time, Coronavirus and Lent Coronavirus continues to spread. Radio Five had a phone interview with the Labour MP Alex Sobel, who had placed himself in voluntary isolation due to the risk of being infected because he was at a conference where one person subsequently tested positive for the virus. It was interesting to hear his plans for his enforced two weeks inside: redecorate the lounge, finally finish that list of odd jobs, and if he ran out of things to do - there was always Netflix! It is telling that when we don’t know how to fill our time, we outsource it to entertainment companies like Netflix. We’ve lost something in our default to entertainment. There is increasing evidence that boredom is good for children - it encourages their creativity, amongst other things. I’m certain that it doesn’t just stop at children! We could all do with being a little bit more bored sometimes. Lent has not long started. For Christians, this is a time of preparation for celebrating Easter. Traditionally it’s associated with giving something up, replicating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert. But it’s not giving up for the sake of giving up - actually, it’s more about the refusal to default to things like Netflix. When we deny ourselves something, we create space to think deeply about our lives and our relationships. For Jesus, the 40 days in the desert wasn’t about giving up food per se, it was about growing his relationship with God, his father, and thinking deeply about his purpose in life. Alex Sobel had an unexpected opportunity to give space and time to the bigger things of life: Why am I here? What am I doing? What happens when I die? Questions that, Christians believe, Easter has the best and most plausible answers for. This Lent, perhaps you too could create space for these kinds of questions? Tim Goodall tim.goodall@tilekilnchurch.org.uk 29

Australia Isn’t Having Electric Dreams; Not yet Anyway - by Simon Inglis The global motoring and environmental media has taken note of Boris Johnson’s pledge to halt the sale of new petrol, diesel and hybrid cars by 2035, or perhaps earlier. In Australia the left is jumping up and down insistent that this country follows suit. Should it though? Since the conservatives were surprisingly re-elected last May, there certainly haven’t been any drastic policy decisions by the Prime Minister Morrison’s Government here. The economy is okay, with sluggish growth, however wages (and prices) are starting from a very high base. The Government defied every single poll and had trailed Labor for over 2 years when it was re-elected by the same so-called ‘quiet ordinary people’ that elected Trump and overwhelmingly denied Corbyn Britain’s prime ministership. Yet the Australian conservatives are far more split on environmental policy than their British colleagues. Climate change in this country is far more ruthlessly debated with recent conversations about such things as the relevance of sun spots, the Earth’s orbital changes, historical debate on the so-called ‘mini Ice Age’ and more. Despite what the world thinks, or what the Left says, the science as such, is not settled in this remote corner of the globe! Having said this, more wind farm propellers are popping up ruining the rural views where I live and we are certainly paying exorbitant prices for electricity. I understand motor vehicle usage accounts for some 19% of carbon dioxide emissions in Australia, given this is the gas responsible for the world’s recent warming period it doesn’t seem to matter to me whether warming is ‘good’ or ‘bad’ - we are having an effect on the environment and most Aussies do agree that we need to keep doing our bit to reduce emissions in some form.

As a car enthusiast I have my own stubborn opinions, such as keeping older cars longer or that simply, for most of their lives, our cars sit turned off while our homes emit 24/7. From a purely motoring perspective the instant torque provided by an electric vehicle is alluring. The first electric car I drove was the old Nissan Leaf back in Blighty - and back in 2013 it was competent enough, but expensive. This remains the problem for pretty much all of us. Reliable polls show that most punters in Blighty or Australia would dive into electric car ownership but for the price. As far as I am concerned, everything is electrically driven these days. My shaver, my power drill, obviously my phone, tablet and this very laptop are all charged up at day’s end. So it would be kind of sensible if my car(s) were charging this evening too! Additionally, I would like to reduce my own environmental footprint. I’m not obsessed by emissions targets or the far left agendas, yet we now know better than to be reckless. If there is a way to be able to sensibly do my bit - I’m in. Yet it’s back to prices isn’t it? Earlier today I had a touch of fun looking over a 2013 Mercedes CLS - what a beautiful car! With all the toys and a respectable mileage it was a Mercedes Approved Used Vehicle at under AUD$30,000 on the road. That was a $145,000 car not very long ago. But if I jump online I’ll find that a 2013 Tesla is selling for pretty much what it retailed at 6 or 7 years ago. We all know about battery longevity and the simplicity of the electric motor and single speed gearbox, but there are seats that wear out, suspension bushes, alloys, bumpers that get chaffed,

and more. A car is more than an engine and gearbox. Or maybe not? Some of us love the actual noise of a straight 6 revving or an Alfa’s scream, so there is more to this petrol banning thing than any government may initially think. Then there is Australia itself - the country-continent. Australia is supposedly responsible for just over 1% of global emissions. The recent fires were not the worst, yet they received so much attention as on this occasion they occurred not so far from the major population centres, and poor old Sydney received a devilish share of smoke haze, as did the bureaucrats who reside in Canberra, the nation’s capital. Perhaps for the first time in history these two cities witnessed ‘pollution’ rather than nice clear skies - and that dear reader, is quite a fair statement. Then there are those Canberra bureaucrats on their 6-figure salaries... So the shrieks about climate change from the country’s wealth belt have been piercing since the fires began. In short, those who can afford a 6-figure motor can easily call out that Australia must follow Britain - or heaven forbid, Norway. Why ‘heaven forbid’? Simply because Australia isn’t Norway or Britain. Indeed in fairness I suspect the current government doesn’t yet know what to do about electric car incentives. When a 350 kilometre range is lauded it must be remembered that 350 klicks isn’t anywhere here. For people who travel there must be some sort of super-duper battery or a tremendous boost in remote recharge stations. Goodness, the logistics are bewildering! So it won’t effect an inner-city resident who’s routine is to take Emily to her violin lesson, but for those who cover 1,000 kilometres-plus per week something big needs to happen in order to incentivise buying an electric car. Australia relies on its rather fraudulent outback image (fraudulent as hardly anyone wants to, or does indeed live in ‘the outback). Yet distances are a reality for a very large minority in this country so range issues matter. A lot. I’m quite sure that in time these problems shall be solved, but in the meantime Australia cannot copy small European countries as much as our so-called leaders would like us to. Electric cars are the future but the city-rural disparity is far more pronounced here than perhaps in any other developed country. Finally, there is currently the naughtiest word in the Australian vocabulary, one that only a few people or MP’s mention: The ‘N’ word - ‘Nuclear’. Australia holds about one third of the world’s uranium, it sells this product to many countries including India who is not a signatory to the Non Proliferation Treaty. Australia has only one functional ‘research’ based reactor outside of Sydney. I understand it also contributes radio isotopes for cancer treatment. If a country such as Australia is serious about cutting its enormous per capita emissions then surely nuclear power is the way to go on this extremely ancient and tectonically stable continent? Well, that has been my position since I first heard Maggie Thatcher speak about potential climate problems. Sadly in this luckiest of countries, seemingly personally chosen by God to shower its citizens in its riches, debate and action on nuclear power are currently moribund. I hope there is still a slight heartbeat. However, I would not at all be surprised if some bizarre policy flowed from Canberra, banning petrol machinery in some vain attempt to ape a tiny European country, or to copy the mother country. In recent years this seems to be the best Australia can do policy-wise. Alternatively, she may do nothing at all and the 20 year old diesel rattlers that cross the nation will continue on into the sunset. A ‘do nothing’ policy is also a sad recent reality. For the car enthusiast? Australia’s depreciation levels are starting to match those of other advanced nations. So until Mister Musk’s products, or mainstream electrics, start to depreciate like other cars I’ll keep looking at the various CLS’s and so-on on offer. ‘Eat, drink, and be merry’ is all a car-lover can do these days!

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HIGHWOOD ROOFING • roof/chimney repairs • new roofs/flat roofs • facias & soffits/guttering NO JOB TOO SMALL very competitive rates! All work guaranteed 07711606561/01245 422804

Great Baddow Barber Shop

Traditional & Modern English Barber Established over 6 years ago in Great Baddow, we have a reputation for a quality haircut by professional barbers at a reasonable price.

• Free Parking • Children welcome • No appointment • Credit cards taken

01245476975 www.greatbaddowbarbershop.co.uk 11 Maldon Rd, Gt Baddow, CM2 7DW (next to House of Flowers)

Sue Campbell MCFHP MAFHP

Home Visiting Foot Health Practitioner

Treatment of common foot problems • Routine nail care • Corn & callus • Ingrowing toenails • Hard skin

01245 917744 or 07583 477846

LEN’S LAWNMOWERS

& GARDEN MACHINERY SERVICES

SALES • SERVICE • SPARES • REPAIRS

REEDS FARM OFF MAIN ROXWELL ROAD

Tel: 01245 422571

www.lens-lawnmowers.co.uk

Quiz Answers 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29.

Torquay 43, in 2019 Company formed by John Wardle, (J) and David Makin (D) Three lions beneath a crown Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs Spike Milligan Sir Anthony Hopkins To dissolve The Beatles Gold Blood vessels Rose A war battle Vic Reeves The Earl of Stockton 57 In Scotland, from Fort William to Mallaig Old Deuteronomy Stumps Insect Plain A farrier Abseil Star activity in your star sign Two, (approx, 30 cases) December 30th 1975 Indian Stubborn A type of jute fabric Continuous Welded Track

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30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40.

Five He was an albino (no red) Fish Oxford Committee for Famine Relief Greek mythology; the drink of the Gods Teotihuacan, Mexico Grease Mushroom Terse African, tawny, black-spotted tiger cat Dispensary

Spot the Difference Answers

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SALES 74 MOULSHAM STREET, CHELMSFORD, CM2 0JA

LETTINGS 152 MOULSHAM STREET, CHELMSFORD, CM2 0LD

YOUR LOCAL INDEPENDENT ESTATE AGENT SERVING OLD MOULSHAM FOR OVER 27 YEARS FOR A FREE PROFESSIONAL VALUATION CALL 01245 266980 Danbury Palace Drive £550,000 St Johns Road £395,000 Gloucester Avenue £375,000

Semi-detached house Three bedrooms Off street parking Situated in Moulsham Lodge

Established property Three bedrooms Sought after area 60ft rear garden

Wicks Place £279,995

Avenue Road £700,000

First floor apartment Two bedrooms Master bedroom with en-suite Allocated parking

• Detached family house • Three double bedrooms • Master bedroom with en-suite • Off road parking

Petunia Crescent £1150 pcm

• Three bedroom house • Off street parking, Garage • Newly carpeted and decorated • Unfurnished – Available now

Contemporary style coach house 3 / 4 bedrooms NHBC Guarantee Parking Lady Lane £695 pcm

Available 14 March 2020 Viewings available One bedroom GF Flat Unfurnished

Clobbs Yard £875pcm

Great Gibcracks Chase £2750 pcm

Stunning Cottage Two bedroom Close to Broomfield Hospital • Unfurnished – Available 14 Mar

Unique Family House Six bedrooms – Period detached Extensive accommodation Unfurnished – Available Now

01245 266980