Moulsham Times - March 2021

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Issue Number 99 - March 2021

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

Unfortunately this edition is once again online only due to the ongoing restrictions.

Please share our link as much as you can to enable as many of our regular readers to be able to view our magazines online: You can find both this magazine and the City Times at www.issuu.com/itsyourmedia.

Fingers crossed we can be back in print next month for our 100th edition!

Regards Paul

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

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

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3

Chelmsford by Vicky Ford MP

As I write, the first signs of spring are appearing, and it isn’t long now until the clocks go forward. I know how enormously difficult this past year has been for so many people, and I am so very thankful to all of those who have played their part in helping to defeat this awful virus.

I have been in regular contact with the Minister for Vaccine Deployment, and I recently visited the vaccination centre at Whitley House Surgery which was an incredible experience.

Volunteers were greeting and supporting patients as they arrived, and most of the NHS staff were giving up their time for free in order to vaccinate 1,000 people in one day. All of our local surgeries are working together as groups in Chelmsford.

Over 20 million people across the country, including over 30,000 in Chelmsford, have now had their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine. This is an enormous achievement and I extend my deepest thanks to all those involved in the vaccine rollout, especially across Chelmsford.

Thanks to the hard work and enormous sacrifices of the British people, as well as the incredible success of our vaccination programme, I am delighted that the Government is now in a position to cautiously start easing lockdown restrictions. I welcome the Government’s roadmap to guide us cautiously, but irreversibly, towards reclaiming our freedoms and way of life.

From 8th March restrictions will begin to be eased in four steps, starting with a return to face-face education. At all stages, any easing of restrictions will be guided by the latest data, not dates, to assess the impact of previous steps, ensuring restrictions do not have to be reimposed. There will be four tests that must be passed before progress can be made: the vaccine deployment continues successfully; vaccines are reducing hospitalisations and deaths in those vaccinated; infection rates do not risk a surge in hospitalisations which would put unsustainable pressure on the NHS; and the assessment of risk is not changed by new variants of concern.

I know many Chelmsford residents are suffering deeply as a result of issues relating to the EWS1 form on fire safety. I would like to assure those who are in this position and their loved ones, that I am working extremely hard to resolve this issue for those affected. I can understand the deep concerns about both the financial situation and the safety situation of their property. The good news is that the situation has improved for some Chelmsford residents, but I know that there are still significant concerns for many others which need to be resolved. I recently held a second roundtable discussion between leaseholders, freeholders and management companies to further discuss concerns and I am in contact with property owners and developers for the buildings most affected in Chelmsford. The Housing Secretary has now announced an unprecedented £3.6 million support package

to help remediate properties and protect leaseholders.

If you do have concerns about this, or are directly affected by it, please do get in touch with me at vicky.ford.mp@ parliament.uk.

Recently it was Children’s Mental Health Week, and I wanted to share some useful information about some of the support available in Essex for children, young people, families and adults. The Essex Child and Family Wellbeing Service deliver a range of child and family services and they have a very helpful resource hub on their website with information on how to talk to children about the pandemic, emotional and physical wellbeing, bereavement support, etc. They are operating primarily by phone at the moment, but will go out to visit vulnerable/at risk families. You can find their website here: www.essexfamilywellbeing.co.uk. It is so important to look out for our mental health, the mental health of those around us, and especially the mental health of our young people.

The NASA Mars Perseverance Rover recently landed on Mars, and it was extremely exciting to learn that it has two products made in Chelmsford on board. The Super Cam and the Sherloc (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics & Chemicals) will convert Martian light into radio waves to be sent back as signals to Planet Earth. This is a huge success for Teledyne e2v congratulations to the team.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, my small team and I have helped answer over 10,000 individual inquiries from Chelmsford residents on a huge range of subjects. I cannot promise that we will solve every problem, but we do always endeavour to find a solution and will always prioritise urgent cases. The easiest way for us to help you is if you email vicky. ford.mp@parliament.uk. If you have a complex problem, every two weeks I hold a virtual surgery. If you need an appointment please call 01245 352 872.

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5

Hylands Update from Rob Gisby – Moulsham Dad and Hylands Petition Organiser

I am writing with a brief update on our campaign to prevent the unfair parking charge at Hylands.

The response to the petition is overwhelming and has clearly resonated with many. To date the petition has attracted more than 7,500 signatures. A huge thank you to everyone who has joined our campaign and contacted me about this unfair charge.

This petition was set up to bring this prospective charge into discussion and create debate. Like many others, I have benefitted much from Hylands, having lived in Chelmsford all my life. I have visited the part in one way or another for over 35 years, with many memories attached to the place as a child - learning to ride my bike down the hill towards the lake being a big one (well, ride, or perhaps just crash gracefully).

It is now a firm favourite as a place to get some fresh air in safe and beautiful surroundings with my own young family.

Large numbers of people from Chelmsford as well as friends of Chelmsford further afield are sharing their concerns about the impact of this charge for parking, which will apply even for shorter visits like dog walking and will impact on equality of access, with many concerned how the charge may be an obstacle to some of those who need Hylands the most.

Hylands has an award-winning, fully accessible play area which is one of only three in Essex with this status - designed for children with disabilities to enable them to play inclusively alongside other children. Local charities confirm that not all families of children with disabilities are eligible for blue badges which may therefore present a barrier to access.

There remains very real concerns about the impact of rogue parking in Writtle and other areas surrounding the park with Writtle Parish Council speaking out strongly against charging for parking.

With people from outside Chelmsford now set to pay an even greater charge to park, it sends a message about how open Chelmsford is as a city. For those familiar with the surreal BBC comedy series League of Gentlemen, the local shop sketches have been mentioned more than a few times: ‘This is a local park for local people’ - I for one do not want us to be seen that way.

I presented the petition at the Chelmsford City Council meeting on the 24th February, doing my utmost to ensure the views of everyone who has reached out to me were reflected

in the allotted time. Thank you again for the many messages I received contributing to the speech and offering words of support.

Unfortunately and despite all of our efforts, the budget, including the Hylands Park parking charge, was voted through by the Liberal Democrats. Despite the clear signal from the 7,500 signatures from people of all political persuasions, the council chose to ignore us and voted through this unfair charge while the opposition parties stood with us and did not vote for this charge.

The issues of this charge creating inequality of access especially at this time, impact on children with disabilities and the impact on Writtle are yet to be mitigated by the Council.

I maintain that if this debate is simply about Hylands’ costs, there are other more creative, less inequitable ways to raise funds through the estate itself without the negative impacts of introducing a charge to park. I have no issue if people are happy to pay and I do not pretend services must be paid for, but we do need to pause and ask ourselves: who is really bearing the burden of these costs before we leap ahead to charging for parking?

I will bring further updates on this issue and others of local interest. Follow me on Facebook (‘Robert Gisby - Moulsham Dad’ - or search @moulshamdad). As we head towards the May elections, I look forward to speaking to and hearing much more from all of you across Chelmsford, especially in Moulsham Lodge.

In the meantime, especially as the spring sunshine seems to make all things just a little better, we are so very lucky to have spaces like Hylands to enjoy. Stay safe.

Rob Gisby Moulsham Dad and Conservative Party Candidate for Moulsham Lodge

Next month is our 100th edition!

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MT Health: Avoid Temptations by ‘Surfing the Urge’ - by Chris at Forté Physical Health I was listening to The Knowledge Project podcast about business and productivity, where Nir Eyal, the author of Indistractable, was interviewed. His book teaches us to stay away from distractions so you can do your deep work, but as I was listening to him talk, every time he said ‘work’, I replaced the word with ‘health’ - and it worked exactly the same!

Eyal speaks about how distractions are not extrinsic, but intrinsic. We love to blame Facebook and Instagram for wasting hours of our lives, but what we are actually doing is trying to escape the intrinsic feeling of discomfort. Discomfort of trying to write something on a blank page, discomfort of solving a hard problem, of having a tough conversation, discomfort of growth.

If we can master the intrinsic feeling of discomfort, we can avoid distraction. Or when it comes to our health, we can not give in to temptations.

I had two key take-homes from the podcast: 1. The opposite of ‘distraction’ isn’t ‘action’ - it’s ‘traction’.

We often think that when we procrastinate over doing something we are not taking action, but even

procrastination is a form of action, just in the wrong

direction! Eyal explains that once we realise that everything we do is a form of action and that it has a direction, we can make sure our actions have ‘traction’ with our greater purpose, not dis-traction from it.

2. If you feel yourself being distracted and going in the wrong direction, ‘surf the urge’!

Urges to go against your purpose are just feelings, and feelings come in waves. Typically an urge to do anything only lasts 10 minutes, so give yourself a 10 Minute Rule.

Want to eat that cake? Do it in ten minutes. Don’t want to exercise? Do ten minutes of exercise first then you can quit.

Knowing that all urges pass and that all you have to do is aim for ten minutes will make it so much easier not to give in when all you want is that one chocolate Hobnob (which accidentally turns into five).

There were plenty of other lessons I took from the podcast, but I think these are two good starting points that will help you master your intrinsic discomfort and gain traction towards a healthier life.

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Quiz Time by John Theedom 1. What does the acronym RADA stand for?

2 What is the national fruit of India?

3. How many dots on a die?

4. What is measured in pascals?

5. AIan Partridge is played by which actor?

6. What, who or where is a bodega?

7. What was the name of our national hero who died recently, aged 100?

8. In which English county was Horatio Nelson born?

9. What is the birth name of the TV character Trinny Woodall?

10. How many times was the famous film star Lana Turner married?

11. What is a negus?

12. Which continent is home to more than half the people of the world?

13. Apart from an animal trap, what else is called a snare?

14. What is the capital of Turkey?

15. Who played the part of Richard, the hen-pecked husband of Hyacinth Bucket?

16. Each player begins with how many pieces in a game of chess?

17. In which UK city was Sir Sean Connery born in 1930?

18. Which two oceans are linked by the Panama Canal?

19. The damson tree is a subspecies of which fruit tree?

20. Who broke the four-minute mile record in 1954?

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

26.

27.

28.

29.

30.

31.

32.

33.

34.

35.

36.

37.

38 39.

40.

What type of drink is Amontillado?

What is the name for a male hawk?

Which engineer built the Suez Canal?

What was Cliff Richard’s first hit single?

Which sport was Joe Louis very good at?

From which English county did the group The Wurzels come?

Which cartoon bear had a friend called Boo Boo? Which infectious disease is also called hydrophobia?

How many children did Celine Dion’s parents produce?

What was actress Jane Seymour’s birth name?

How many pins are used in the game of skittles?

How many farthings were there in a pre-decimal £1?

What type of food is mortadella?

What is the name for a male ferret?

Apart from an animal or a mark on your skin, what else is a mole?

What or where is a clank?

What number is hurricane on the Beaufort Scale?

Apart from a bad mood or behaviour, what is a strop?

How many pounds are there in 3 stones?

How many lines are there in a limerick?

(Answers on page 31) 8

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Mother’s Day Gift Idea for a Socially Distanced World Remus Horse Sanctuary are offering to include a Mother’s Day card with a handwritten personalised message within their sponsorship packages this year, to assist those unable to get out and shop or visit a post office during the current lockdown.

This year, Mother’s Day will fall on Sunday 14th March. Under current lockdown rules, non-essential shops such as card and gift shops, restaurants and pubs, will remain shut. Indoor socialising will still be banned and people will still be advised to stay at home.

The team at Remus Horse Sanctuary are always looking for creative and imaginative ways to boost fundraising for the charity and the idea of adding a greetings card within the sponsorship package is highly relevant right now. Furthermore, funding continues to be problematic during 2021 and fundraising even more important than normal.

gifts due to their own particular stories, and orphans such as Dante and Charlie.”

For further information, visit www.remussanctuary.org or contact Sue Burton on tel: 01277 356 191.

The sponsorship gift packages are popular at the Sanctuary all year round and offer a unique and different type of gift.

Once lockdown rules are relaxed later in the year, the sanctuary will be able to reopen to the public, and sponsors and recipients will be able to visit and meet their animals.

Details of the animals available for sponsorship and dates of all events are shared on the charity’s website at www.remussanctuary.org. To ensure delivery of the pack and greetings card in time for Mother’s Day, orders should be placed with first class post no later than 12 noon on Thursday 11th March. If orders are placed after this time or on Friday, a voucher can be emailed.

Sue Burton, Founder of the sanctuary, said: “We find that horses such as the blind mares Holly and Grace and their two youngsters are particularly popular as Mother’s Day Remember to tell our advertisers you saw their advert in the MT

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9

MT Gardening Isn’t it just fabulous to be out in the garden.

It’s certainly not a time to rest on my laurels and I’ve been pruning like crazy to get all the climbers and ramble roses sorted before their buds burst. I thought I’d completed it all, when I turned around and had to deal with the scarlet stems of Cornus alba ‘Sibirica’ - all of last year’s growth cut down to between 10-15cm from old stumps. Do it now to ensure good winter colour at the end of this year. Aside from this, I’m also undertaking the following: Mulching Mulches are layers of material spread on the soil surface that are increasingly used in horticulture to carry out a number of functions: • They conserve soil moisture by cutting down on the amount of water lost by evaporation from the soil surface.

• They suppress weed growth; many annual weeds can be prevented from growing and weed seeds are less likely to germinate if covered with a thick layer of mulch. A depth

of around 5cm to 7cm is optimum.

• Mulches help even out soil temperature fluctuations, helping soil to remain cooler in the summer and warmer in the winter.

• They protect the soil surface from capping, acting as a physical barrier preventing damage by heavy rain or Over 25 years experieince coarse sprinklers.

20% discount when you • Mulches usually end up being cultivated into the soil, and mention Mousham Times! so help to improve soil structure.

• Trees • Pruning • Hedges • Roots Removed • Topping • Patios Use any well-rotted materials such as leaf mould, well-rotted • Rotovating • Turfing • Fencing • Garden Design • Decking farmyard manure or good olde garden compost; the latter can • Block Paving • Tar & Shingle • Guttering • Chimney Repairs • Building Work• Roofing • Fascias & Soffits • Drainage solutions at times be a haven for weeds, so take care!

Naturalised Bulbs Bulbs will need feeding in poor soil. Top dress with sulphate of potash at 70g/m² as shoots are emerging. Never use high nitrogen feed as this produces leaves at the expense of flowers. A liquid feed would be even better, as it gets into the plant very quickly at this time of year when in leaf.

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• In a very dry spring/early summer, bulbs may need watering.

• Do not mow grass until at least 6 weeks after flowering has finished.

• Never use selective herbicides on grass planted with bulbs.

• Avoid spiking and slitting the lawn during annual maintenance.

• Avoid walking on the area when bulbs are in growth.

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Production of an Annual Border • The border should be single or double dug in early winter when conditions are suitable. If it was too wet then, do it now. Organic matter may be added to improve soil structure and nutrient status.

• The soil should be forked over, roughly raked level, light soils Building & carpentry rm that specilaise in garden studios. trodden to consolidate then raked to a fine tilth.

Contact: olivertrewturner@gmail.com or 07581 878880 • A balanced fertiliser such as or visit www.trewturner.co.uk Growmore at a rate of 100g/m2, or blood, fish and bone at 70g/ m2 may be lightly raked in.

• Leave the bed for a couple of weeks and in this time remove germinating weeds.

• The planting plan should be drawn out on the soil surface either using a cane or dry sand.

• Use a draw hoe to make parallel V shaped drills of a depth appropriate to each species The optimum time for sowing annuals varies with the site, in each planting area. This allows weed seedlings that soil, latitude, and with seasonal variation, but is usually March germinate outside the rows to be easily distinguished. or April. On favourable sites annuals may also be sown in Alternatively, seed may be broadcast.

September for earlier flowering the following year.

• Thinly sow the seed in the bottom of the drill, cover with soil and label.

Check out this link for a load of great plant examples: www.

• Water lightly with a fine rose. rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=718.

Lastly, check out this link for further jobs for the garden as we move through March www.rhs.org.uk/advice/in-month/march.

Happy gardening For any gardening tips, please contact Tom Cole, Horticultural Lecturer, Capel Manor College, Bullsmoor Lane, Enfield, Middlesex, EN1 4RR, or email tom.cole@capel.ac.uk.

Deadlines for the April edition: Articles - 25th March Print-ready art work - 1st April Edition available from - 8th April

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11

Nick Garner’s Music & Ramblings Well, it now hopefully looks like we have a light towards the end of this very long tunnel.

With over 20 million of us now vaccinated, we are moving forward at a pace.

We have also now had the announcement from the Government of slowly unlocking restrictions (all being well of course; as long as people behave and do not go mad). I have to say I cannot wait until the end of March when hopefully I can go and visit my family and see my daughter and son-inlaw’s new house and see my grandchildren. I’m also looking forward to being able to see my son and their mum, my exwife, who I am pleased to say is still my very good friend.

The kids go back to school next week (or at least they do as I am writing this!) which I know my grandchildren are looking forward to very much, as they have missed their friends and they both like learning in school. There seems to be pretty good precautions in place for them and us, so let’s hope it works for all. We are now heading in to spring, and let’s hope that people do not go crazy again as we (hopefully) get the better and warmer weather once more. We all still need to be careful, but I hope we can enjoy this as well as being cautious enough to protect us all.

It is looking likely that towards the end of June we will be pretty much getting back to the ‘new normal’. An area I am very much involved in of course, is music - and it is starting to look like we can hopefully start to get going again from June 21st. I have my first show booked for the Friday of that week on 25th June at Chelmsford City Football Club featuring Ronnie Lane’s old band Slim Chance - most of this current band were part of Slim Chance along with Ronnie too. Special guests for the night are The Ugly Guys who are made up of some Essex greats, including Paul and Vic from The Kursaal Flyers. This is the first of what we hope will become a regular weekly event in Chelmsford; the venue is great and has plenty of free parking, and inside it is comfortable with plenty of seating and good care taken by a great team making sure your visit is very safe and enjoyable. We have some amazing acts lined up and we are also waiting on some others still to confirm dates with us.

We look forward to announcing new bookings very soon.

As you will know by now, I have been telling stories from my involvement in music over the years; I have been privileged to have worked with, and be friends with, some of the greats from the past.

Many I know probably think I make it up, but I have worked in the music industry for years, as well as growing up in an area where such musicians were also my friends, with some becoming famous and some not - I am happy to say I have remained friends with many.

In more recent times there have been occasions when I have been somewhere with more recent friends, and I have bumped into old friends there. I have always introduced them to each other, as to me it does not matter who you are as we are all flesh and blood in the end.

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I remember I was once with my friend John Bentley who was from Hull and grew up and played with most of David Bowie’s band the Spiders, before they joined David. I remember John looking in The Melody Maker and seeing two jobs asking for bass players. He applied and auditioned for both - and he got them both! The one he turned down was with Suzi Quatro, and the one he accepted was with Squeeze.

Ten days after he joined Squeeze, Cool for Cats hit the top ten, and he remained with them throughout the Jools Holland and Paul Carrick days. He left for a while and remained good mates with the band. When they reformed in 2007 he played with them until he departed again in 2015 to pursue his solo career.

Myself and John have remained good friends for almost 50 years now and we are still in regular contact. John also played with many other acts during his career as well but that is for another day.

Of course, I am currently still stuck in my house with not much live music going on. In the meantime, I did find the Mars landing exciting as well as the recent full moon known as the snow moon. I wonder, would we have paid as much attention to either of these events if it was not for the current situation?

I wonder, how will it all change us and our interests for the future?

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

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

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

We are also now on YouTube as well: www.youtube.com/ blackfrogpresents.

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

Both this magazine and the City Times are available online at: www.issuu.com/itsyourmedia

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Moulsham Street Closure Scrapped and Local Elections - By Cllr Marie Goldman Moulsham Street Closure Scrapped A couple of months ago, I alerted you to Essex County Council’s Active Travel plans. The main aim of these is to improve infrastructure for more active forms of travel, such as cycling and walking. I’m fully supportive of this goal. If the incessant rain and flooding of recent months has reminded us of anything, it’s that climate change is real, and we absolutely must change our habits. Getting out of our cars, wherever possible, and switching to other, greener modes of transport is one way that we can all help.

But - and it’s a big ‘but’ - plans have to be thought through properly, and they absolutely mustn’t make the situation worse. Which is why I’m relieved that ECC’s proposal to close Moulsham Street to cars at the junction with Parkway has now been removed from these plans. Like several local businesses who expressed concerns about the proposal, I couldn’t understand how this would work for Moulsham Street traders, many of whom not only rely on ‘pop in, pop out’ trade, but also have no choice but to receive deliveries during the day. I was also worried that far from reducing traffic, and the resulting pollution, this proposal may well have made things worse with traffic being diverted up New London Road and then onto New Writtle Street, potentially leading to more queuing traffic - and more pollution.

The revised plans should still enable a new cycle route to be created that includes part of Moulsham Street, which I think is good news. I hope that alongside this, safe and secure bicycle storage/parking is also provided.

The final plans should be released for public consultation soon. Please watch out for them here: www.essexhighways. org/getting-around/safer-greener-healthier/safer-greenerhealthier-chelmsford.aspx.

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

So I thought - lets do a competition. There are 3 categories: Under 11s 12-17s 18s and over

May 2021 Local Elections I’m not quite sure where the last two years have gone, but it’s soon time for another major set of local elections. This year, it’s a bumper crop. Not only do we have elections for the whole of Essex County Council, but also the Chelmsford City Council by-election in Moulsham Lodge and the postponed Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner election from 2020.

In the spirit of transparency, I will be standing as a candidate in the Essex County Council elections, so I freely admit that I have a vested interest in what I’m about to say next, but please bear with me.

My one big request is that we all play nicely. The run-up to elections often seems to mark the start of the silly season, where too many people forget that we’re all real human beings.

Yes, we may not all agree on the best way to run our city (or our country), and yes, it can be frustrating when we disagree with each other, but I believe it’s possible to do all of this and still remain civil and courteous - it’s certainly possible to do it without name-calling and trolling. If we want a better society, we have to start closer to home.

But whatever happens, don’t forget to vote on 6th May - as ever, this is your chance to have your say.

Good luck to all the candidates!

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

The poems will be judged by Rosie from www. personalpoems.co.uk and the winners from each category will have their poem published in the Moulsham Times.

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

Closing date for your poem will be 15th April with the winning poems will be published in the May edition of the Moulsham Times.

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Moulsham Times Poetry Competition

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

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

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

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Pilates for the Love of… Pilates Spinal Flexibility for your Love of GOLF! - By Erica Foulds I hope you all had a great February and managed to continue to get some fresh air during lockdown. However, there were a few chilly weeks so I don’t blame you for staying in a bit more!

For those who read my February article, I hope the walking tips made for a safer trudge though the snow and that your legs are now on their way to feeling much stronger for the lovely spring walks that we can finally look forward to.

So welcome to my March edit and an extra welcome to those new to my articles. For a brief overview, I love using ideas that have come from my wealth of experience in the fitness industry, along with understanding of how the body responds to everyday life stresses and strains, to create little plans with pilates-based moves to improve how your body works in simple everyday activites.

Everything I suggest is doable away from a class or studio environment, without any equipment, and at any time that suits you - from a few stretches that take under 5 minutes (great for every day), to a mini series of exercises that you can do in 10 to 12 minutes a few times a week. Because pilates is all about working the body ‘from the middle outwards’, working on the muscles that support your spine upright, your joints together and ultimately allowing us to move effectively, there is definitely something in there for ‘every body’! I have designed a series of articles from helping you with basic activities like walking, to when you are sitting at a desk for too many hours, and preparing for the upcoming golf season, to next month’s article directed at those who’ve discovered the joy of jogging/running as part of keeping fit during lockdowns.

This month, I’m excited to address the pastime/hobby/ whole body exercise and excellent cardiovascular sport of GOLF! The ‘coiled spring’ rotational movement of the body which creates a good efficient golf swing relies on: a) stability thoughout the lower body, b) a powerful yet flexible rotation movement from the hips to mid spine, c) shoulder and arm strength finishing up at the club grip.

The following movements are all equipment-free and will help to get your body ready for a good swing and a strong round, come spring!

Standing Pelvic Tilts: Stand with feet hip width, slight bend to knees, hands on hip to waist area locating the boney projections front left and right of the pelvis, keep upper body standing upright, shoulders relaxed. Tip the pelvis tucking

the tailbone down and under whilst squeezing the buttocks and scooping belly button to the spine, then release and tip the pelvis forward feeling like you are sticking your tummy forward and bottom out, creating an exaggerated curve in the lower back. Rpt this tucking and rocking move forwards and backwards 10 times slowly.

Hip Flexor Stretch With Rotation: Come to the floor kneeling up, with arms stretched out wide to your sides shoulder height, keep RIGHT knee down but take the LEFT leg onto the foot. Sink your hips forward and down to create a gentle stretch feeling in the front of the RIGHT thigh to just about pelvis level, hold, rotate your upper body to the LEFT (facing away from your stretching thigh). Come up release the stretch feeling and then repeat this 5 times slowly. Do the same on the other leg - LEFT knee down, RIGHT foot down, rotate RIGHT. Glute Bridges: Lay on your back, knees bent, feet flat and tucked in close to your buttocks, arms down next to your body. Tilt the pelvis lifting the tail bone, start to squeeze your buttocks to continue lifting and continuing to lift your back until you are on the back of your shoulders. Slowly lower back to the floor and rpt 10 times.

Superman From Quadraped Position: On the floor hands under shoulders, knees under hips, scoop up into your tummy at the abdominal muscles and slightly lift from the center of the sternum to keep your body still, then extend your RIGHT arm forward and LEFT leg behind you, straightening the limbs out, rather than going high! Lower the limbs to floor without rocking, repeat same limbs up to 10 times then rpt other sides.

Next month I am planning Pilates for the Love of… Building Strength and Learning to Run. If you would like to request a sport for my series then get in touch with me on Facebook or Instagram - @hummingbirdpilatesyoga. Or for more details on the 12-person group pilates classes which I run on Zoom, search ‘Hummingbird Pilates & Yoga’ in Writtle, visit www.hummingbirdpilates.co.uk, or email us at info@ hummingbirdpilatesyoga.co.uk. All classes are online on Zoom until it is safe to open our studio again. We still have a full schedule and can do 1-2-1 sports-specific pilates on Zoom too, call 01245 422 556 for more info.

Erica xx

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Hello everyone. How are you doing? I don’t want to tempt fate, but I think I can see a light at the end of the tunnel. We’ve had our first jab. We went to the Chelmsford racecourse and it all worked very well.

It was a cold day, but there were plenty of people there to help point the way and look after us inside the building. The volunteers were absolutely fantastic, giving advice in a cheery manner and they were all so caring. A big thank you to you all.

As I write this, we are hearing about the roadmap; the way out of these terrible times. As it has seemed throughout this pandemic, the devil is in the detail. To me though, it is worrying that they call it a ‘roadmap’ - on most road journeys we face delays and diversions. I hope the Government’s sense of direction is better than mine. I would be hopeless!

A sign of the times? I joined the queue outside Tesco the other day, and in front of me was a woman with a toddler. Every two metres, there was yellow and black tape on the ground for social distancing. It amused me that the little girl, without any prompting from her mum, moved forward as the people in front moved off and carefully stood exactly on the next line.

She did it each time. Made my day.

My latest fight with technology reared its head this month.

A message came up on my iPhone (get me, iPhone) telling me that my protection has ceased. It told me to log on to my account. After searching my memory for my password, I am ready to take up the challenge of the installation procedure.

In goes my email address, then my password. Am I a robot? It asked. No, surely I’ve got that one right. Then a page appears with about twelve photos. ‘Click on the squares that contain traffic lights’. Ah, there’s one, and another and another, then there is a photo showing just a small piece of the traffic light.

Do I count this one, I decided yes. Press verify. Click. Another set of photos appear. Click the photos that contain pictures of cars. Click verify. Then another set appears. What am I doing wrong? Surely it’s not rocket science. After eight attempts, I give up. I’ll have to risk it. Is it me?

Another ‘interesting’ TV ad turned up recently. The screen is full of mechanical things spinning round and round up in the sky. Wow... What is it advertising? Space travel? Engineering apprenticeships? No, neither - Barclays Bank. Is it me? A much better one opens with an urban street with lots of household pets running around. While the viewer tries to work out what’s going on, the camera cuts to a women on the phone to her insurance company, explaining that she had just crashed into a pet shop. Now that appeals to me because it is quite humorous (not the crashing bit) and gets the message over. Very good.

Printer cartridges. One of my pet hates. The ones used in my printer cost a fortune (I think they all do). It seems to me that the manufactures sell the printers at a loss, or at very low margins, and then recoup that loss in the cartridge cost.

I suppose that’s business. What annoys me though, is the

packaging of the cartridges. For my printer it’s horrendous.

Very thick, and sharp when you have to use scissors to get into it, then the actual thing is in it’s own little bag, also needing scissors to open. I always wonder it I am going to survive the unpacking operation with my fingers intact. I guess I should go back to handwriting letters and the like, but my ability to write a readable document seems to have deserted me!

I had a nasty experience recently. I was having breakfast, just cereals and toast of course, and the mandatory cup of tea. I was watching the news, and just picked up the tea mug and took a good swig. I suddenly felt something soft and spongy against my tongue. Oh no, I thought, something had crept into my mug without me knowing. I quickly went to the sink and extracted the offending object and realised that I had left the tea bag in the mug. What an awakening experience that was. Horrible. I am more observant now, carefully checking for offensive objects with a spoon.

Bin End Chuckles What’s the difference between ignorance and apathy? I don’t know and I don’t care...

The world tongue-twister champion just got arrested. I hear they’re gonna give him a really tough sentence...

Keep well and safe and join me in looking forward to better times soon.

Great Baddow Charity Races

Owing to the current pandemic and for a second year, the Rotary Clubs of Chelmsford Mildmay and Chelmsford Rivermead are replacing the Great Baddow Charity Races by organising a Virtual 10 Mile Road Race, (under UKA licence) and a Virtual 2 Mile Family Fun Run over the weekend of 2223 May 2021.

Simply by downloading one of the free designated apps that will certify timing and gain entrants a free medal and certificate, runners will be able to compete on their own course locations.

It is important to remember these are charity races and this year the main beneficiaries are City of Chelmsford Mencap and PARC. All runners are welcome to gain sponsorship for their own charity and the Rotary organisers encourage a donation to their nominated charities as listed on the website at www.baddowraces.co.uk, where all information about the virtual race conditions/entry details can be located.

“We know that many runners would like the opportunity to run and also to raise money for charities which are currently hard pressed for funds. Going virtual is our way of supporting our loyal athletes and in consideration of the health and safety of both runners and volunteers.”

Run safely and good luck! In 2022 we will celebrate the 40th year of the Great Baddow Races.

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The word ‘psychedelic’ implies experimenting with mind (psyche) expanding drugs, often referred to as hallucinogens.

Humans in indigenous communities worldwide with shamanistic seers have been doing this as long as there have been humans exploring food values of natural flora.

In the 1960s, the word became commonly used some 20 years after the Swiss chemist Albert Hoffman discovered a highly potent drug akin to the naturally occurring component of certain mushrooms containing psilocybin during his experimentation. Once knowledge of his discovery seeped into the public domain, for the first time many people got to experience what only shamanic seers had known - but in a stronger, chemically derived form known as lysergic acid diathliamide. Or LSD. English author, Aldus Huxley (1894-1963), wrote of his experiences with vegetable potions in his book The Doors of Perception in 1954 - the title of which gave Los Angeles group The Doors their name - and so reached a fairly wide readership. He did later experiment with LSD and asked to be given it when he was dying.

LSD was not made illegal for uncontrolled usage until 1966 and its foremost promoter for psychological and spiritual research before, and campaigner on behalf of after, was a Harvard University psychologist called Dr Timothy Leary, who had first tried psilocybin mushrooms in Mexico in 1957.

Leary began his experiments at Harvard, where at first he was allowed to proceed, but as his enthusiasm grew and reports of his drug ‘tripping’ parties with students began to reach the college authorities, he was asked to resign. The publication of the book The Psychedelic Experience by Leary and fellow academics Ralph Metzner and Richard Alpert in 1964, made their conclusions public and pointed out that the levels of consciousness experienced in structured sessions were identical to those written of by Tibetan mystics in the Bardo Thodol, a text designed to guide the post mortem spirits of deceased people though the stages of experience before rebirth. So they constructed their manual to do the same, where rebirth became the rebirth of a new personality - no recreational use was intended. But as popular use spread, less discerning users came to regard the lower levels of hallucination as a kind of mental playground for entertainment, which unfortunately started a downward spiral where any drug use was employed by some as a countercultural act.

Not all musicians of the sixties actually took LSD, but the bright colours and patterns encountered by those who had ingested the drug fed (from designers and artists) into clothing, decoration, graphics, fashions and the emerging cellular light shows, while noise distortions from amplifiers reflection auditory hallucinations experienced by those musicians who did experiment with hallucinogens.

The first known group to have linked music to psychedelics in the US were called The Charlatans (no relation to the UK band), who played in the Red Dog Saloon in Virginia City, Nevada, not far from the Californian state line. They employed light shows and used posters to reflect the drug experience’s

visionary motifs, as well as electronic noises in their music, while giving out fruit punch laced with the then still legal LSD to audiences, before they moved to the Haight-Ashbury area of San Francisco in 1965.

By 1966 that low rent area had grown into a bohemian community estimated to spread over 25 square city blocks, and amongst them were The Grateful Dead, Big Brother and the Holding Company, and Jefferson Airplane. The latter being the first of this wave of musicians to get a recording contract (with RCA) before Grace Slick joined the group, but who wrote their first two hit singles, White Rabbit and Somebody to Love.

People were learning what indigenous tribes had long known: that hallucinatory potions and music complemented each other in creating ecstatic mind states. The Grateful Dead earned their reputation in the company of author Ken Kesey, who had experienced LSD as a medical guinea pig in a programme he volunteered for and then taken a job as a night nurse in the same mental hospital and raided the pharmacy while patients were asleep to further his experience of the drug. He also wrote the novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest based on his experiences with patients and hallucinatory states. His royalties funded buying an old school bus which was decorated in psychedelic style and in which he, with beat writer Neal Cassady in the driving seat, the Grateful Dead, and a bunch of other friends called the Merry Pranksters, set off around the country organising events they called Acid Tests.

Kesey’s approach to LSD was not as solomn as Leary’s had been to begin with, but gained more popular support.

The Haight-Ashbury community began to organise itself on other levels than housing. First the San Francisco Oracle started up as an alternative newspaper giving voice to central figures beginning to appear in what was fast becoming a movement. Beat writers of an older generation, like poet Allen Ginsberg and other writers from that era like Gary Snyder who had been several years in world travels and a Japanese Zen Buddhist centre, all wrote for it. As did Zen academic Alan Watts, Tim Leary and Richard Alpert.

A more political paper, The Berkeley Barb, arose soon after from Berkeley University. While The Berkeley Barb was more cynical, some anti-capitalist attitudes to those of the predominantly mystical outlook came in the shape of the Diggers providing for practical needs - like clothing and surplus supermarket and restaurant food - to be redistributed. The first of what later were called ‘head shops’ began as the Psychedelic Shop which opened in 1966 selling incense, colourful exotic clothes, posters, books, alternative newspapers and other lifestyle commodities.

While all of this was relatively underground, the attention of more overground media arose after what became known as the Gathering of the Tribes on 13th January 1967 in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco - this was called the Human Be-In. Although there had been a Trips Festival in 1966 while LSD was still not illegal, that was on a smaller scale. The idea for the Be-In came from Allen Cohen and Michael Bowen from the San Francisco Oracle and the Psychedelic Shop. It took place on a sports field, surreally next to bemused practicing sportsmen, featuring talks and music with a comparatively low

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capacity sound system for the crowd it had drawn. The crowd were addressed by Allen Ginsberg and Gary Snyder, who had exorcised the field beforehand in response to warnings of a Satanic curse! Michael McClure, a second generation beat writer spoke at the event. Tim Leary, poetess Leonor Kandel, and for the Diggers, Jerry Rubin (in more political tone with reminders to the crowd to take their litter home) were also speakers.

Music was provided by The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Quicksilver Messenger Service. Older jazzers, Dizzy Gillespie and Charles Lloyd jammed with the Dead and Airplane. Security, less heavy-handed than at the disastrous Altramont Speedway Festival of 1969, was supplied by Hells Angels that Ginsberg and Kesey had befriended in 1966.

LSD was used to curb their aggression, and Stanley Owsley who had gone into LSD tablet manufacture before legal constraints, donated 3,000 trips and food to the event.

It was the first time Tim Leary used his soon to become catchphrase ‘turn on, tune in, drop out’ on stage in public.

Police harassment at this new phenomenon was zero. They were only interested in traffic control in the area not getting chaotic.

As news of the event reached other cities, New York’s Peace Eye Bookshop, which had opened in 1965, Leary’s Millbrook Centre, and Andy Warhol’s Factory, began to spread the word on the east coast. Groups like The Fugs and Velvet Underground began to emerge with either political poetic

observation, or sleaze (respectively), and things started to get organised in the Lower East Side, another low rent area.

Characters like William Burroughs and Warhol started to take an interest, and in the following year on Easter Sunday, New York saw its first Be-In. While on the same day back west in Los Angeles, a Love-In took place with music from The Doors, Buffalo Springfield, Love, Clear Light, Strawberry Alarm Clock and Peanut Butter Conspiracy. If some of the groups names were anything to go by, things were starting to get silly already!

Britain As news of these events started to spread abroad, it didn’t take the British underground long to follow course. In London Barry Miles opened a bookshop called Better Books and Indica Gallery, and John Hopkins began the alternative newspaper International Times (or It). A launch was held at the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm, North London in October 1966, where the original Pink Floyd and Soft Machine played to an audience of 3,000 people. A larger Free Speech benefit was held at Alexander Palace on April 1967 with 45 groups, happenings, and circus attractions despite the indoor location.

It went on all night - John Lennon was among those who attended. On Friday nights in an old Irish venue called the Blarney Club in Tottenham Court Road, John Hopkins and Joe Boyd opened the first psychedelic night club, the UFO. Jim Haynes ran the Arts Lab in Drury Lane. Paul McCartney, the last Beatle to try LSD, helped Barry Miles and John Hopkins decorate Indica.

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The Singing Chef

Aftenoon tea - it’s a thing right? I remember my first ever afternoon tea at Raffles in Singapore with my best friend before we came back to England when I was 8 years old. It was magical.

Reminiscing about Singapore and lovely mum reminded me of this amazing fairy bread she used to make for parties and our school bake sales. It was an incredible, multinational school and the different sweet treats from around the world filled the playground with super sweet smells from American, and vivid colors from Indian sweets.

My mum was not a cook - she hated it. I used to be so embarrassed with our offering, but was so greatly received and something I now make at parties alongside some more elaborate treats.

I’m going to do three recipes here starting with the simplest.

Perfect for afternoon tea. The perfect afternoon tea should also contain finger sarnies, crisps, booze and tea. I also add a few shop-bought bits, definitely a Mr Kipling slice, something chocolaty and something fruity.

So here it is.

Mum’s Fairy Bread White slice, without the crust cut into shapes Buttered

Dipped in hundreds and thousands. Voila!

Custard Tarts Rounds of puff pasty in a cup cake tin pricked with a fork at the bottom, filled with custard, sprinkled with brown sugar and baked for 20 minutes at 200oC. Tip: for a crispy bottom put the tarts onto of a preheated flay baking tray.

Scones 400g self-raising flour mixed with 2 tablespoons of caster sugar, a little salt and teaspoon of baking powder, rubbed together with half a pack of butter.

Slowey add half a pint of milk mixed with a teaspoon each of lemon juice and vanilla.

Don’t over mix! Push the dough out and cut, cleanly with a round cutter. Brush with egg and bake for about 15-20 minutes at 200oC.

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A Cool Start to the Year - by Simon Inglis

It’s a remarkable thing, La Nina. It has an enormous effect on us in Australia, as it does on the other side of the vast Pacific Ocean in Southern America. It has really struck me that not only are we running the heating in our house on most summer nights (yes it has been quite chilly!), but also the huge growth in vegetation here in south-western Victoria. We had a reasonable amount of rain last summer and our garden failed to dry out then - as indeed so many Australian gardens are seasonal and do indeed turn yellow. It is certainly not drying out this year however!

The other day the rugged beauty of this country really struck me as I took our oversized labrador retriever to run at a local reserve while running a medical errand. As we are so sparsely populated outside of the main cities, even rural Victoria - the small and most populated state per square kilometre - enjoys vast areas of natural bushland as we call it, between towns and ‘villages’.

This year the La Nina effect has brought extraordinary

amounts of rain to southern Australia, and with it much cooler than average temperatures - so far. The countryside is nature’s wonder. The usually brown hills are a rich yellow interspersed with a touch of green, the cows and sheep enjoy full dams and plentiful grasslands and my dog is dizzy with the excitement of birdsong! Indeed, every drive seems to be different and certainly very beautiful.

I am no fan of the normal summer brown - that time of the Australian year in which the green land turns yellow then slowly dries out to the stark brown as nature awaits the autumnal rains.

The gumtrees haven’t dried out this summer. They are bushy in their green hue and along with the European plants and trees, they grow tall over the skinny one-lane byways as well as in our little villages. The landscape is achingly pretty, not just in winter!

But this beauty may come at a cost. It’s only just over a

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year ago that some of Australia’s most popular tourist regions and farming land along its eastern coast was alight.

Those bushfires cost many lives, incredible property and infrastructural damage as well as the lives of countless animals. It was a horror which sent smoke billowing over the capital of Canberra, as well as over Sydney and Melbourne.

lifestyle properties often among beautiful and overgrown countryside. The roads I’ve had the pleasure of traversing of late has spelled that out to me in no uncertain terms. I’m at a complete loss as to why our city politicians are blind to the issue of land and property management in a country such as Australia.

As I’m writing this only in early February, I’m loathe to make predictions about what is left of the fire season. Yet if La Nina continues to bring rain and cooler averages, inevitably there will be greater growth prospects for Mother Nature. Australia’s politicians are, like others globally it seems these days, a trying lot of very average and mostly self-absorbed individuals.

Without getting into political flavours however, it seems many of them in their ivory towers in the cities agree on at least one thing: Let natural forests and bushland be.

On the other hand, I do enjoy nature’s wonderland and the seasons, now that I’m old enough to notice them! Where once they just passed by almost subliminally, I now rejoice in the changes - and am left in a sort of middle-aged awe at nature itself.

This ‘letting be’ rather than cutting excess growth, or more autumnal and winter burn-backs is a particularly odd policy for those of us who live closer to these pretty regional forests.

A wet winter last year followed by La Nina’s wet summer and a long, cool (and presumably wet) winter means even more growth.

While nature’s wonderland will no doubt flourish for a time, in an underpopulated country such as Australia, eventually things go wrong. Whether through climate change, bizarre environmental policies - or that particular evil that some people do, arson - eventually something gives, and growth is of course fuel.

The tiny townships or villages are the most vulnerable as are the ‘tree changers’ - people who have built fairly remote

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Like my dog shedding then regrowing a winter coat, there is so much in nature to stop and ponder! So the other day, along an overgrown road entering a familiar town, I pulled up and tapped ‘photos’ on my phone as we interrupted our journey to the reserve. My dog was of course rather impatient but I was quickly able to scroll down to shots of the same town I’d taken last winter as well as two autumns ago.

Nature is a gift, and as much as I love my cars and driving through it, it can be good to simply stop among it at times wherever in the world we happen to be living. Certainly in Australia it is ‘nature’ that can teach us many things as I think it is right now in being so beautifully overgrown. Yet the sad thing I realise is that despite all the noble words being thrown about around the globe on this very topic, we humans don’t really like to listen. We ignore Mother Nature - and very much at our own peril.

God bless this Australia summer.

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Moulsham Lodge Community Trust

Treasure Hunt Results We had 10 groups join in. Thank you for all your great feedback - people said it was a good way to get out and about and have a bit of fun. The correct answer (all house numbers added up) was 632, and 7 of the groups got it right, so well done everyone who took part.

Community Station Update Well we now have new double glazed windows thanks to Total Fix (see picture right). So hopefully we can keep the place a bit warmer than before as some of the single glazed windows had gaps in them and there were lots of draughts. We think they did a great job, so if you are interested and are considering new windows, doors etc, their website is www.totalfix.it, and let them know where you found out about them.

Another big internal project that has been finished is our new folding acoustic wall (see picture above) that divides our main conference room in two (the rooms are called Detective and Inspector separately, but as one big room it’s called Detective Inspector - another throwback to its previous life as a police station.

In other news, this week the Government announced its

plans for the easing of lockdown. If this timeline is kept to, the Community Station may be fully open again by mid June - let’s hope so, as the members of the Copper Potter’s coffee morning are really desperate to get back and meet on a Tuesday morning.

We also have a new project on the near horizon - a community TV station. This is an exciting opportunity for people to get involved and share stories and interests with the local community. Well, the whole world actually, as we will be going online both live and recorded. Details to follow, but if anyone is interested in getting involved - from presenting programmes to behind the scenes production and editing, then get in touch, as we need a team to lead the project and develop its programmes into something we hope a much wider community will be interested in.

The team at MLCT will be shortly discussing possible events, starting hopefully soon after lockdown finishes, so keep an eye on our Facebook page (search on Facebook) and website.

See you soon. www.mlct.org.uk enquiries@mlct.org.uk 07434 678 999

Life Expectancy?

I’ve recently had a birthday - and I had the realisation that I’m getting toward the mid-point of my life. Life expectancy for a male when I was born was roughly 72 years old. Of course, statistics change and a person is not a statistic - there are many variables that extend or lessen my specific life expectancy. However, if I am approaching the halfway point of my life, it got me thinking - have I lived it well, and how should I live the second half of my life?

In the pandemic, we have all had severe restrictions placed upon our lives. It has encouraged some questioning about what life is and how we should live it well. We have debated the merits of denying ourselves for the sake of the vulnerable and the NHS, versus the merits of getting on with life whilst we still can (do you remember Maureen from Barnsley who went viral back in October 2020!?).

All this brings into sharp relief what we’ve all lost over the pandemic, and how we can live well in the days ahead.

We have missed relationships. Loved ones have died, and we’ve not been able to comfort family and friends. Milestones have been missed - birthdays, holidays, celebrations of all kinds. Eating with friends, kids playing together. All these things build relationships - and that’s what, underneath

everything else, we’ve missed. Isolation is awful because it cuts off relationships.

What should we expect from life and how should we live it? For one another. But we crash straight into another problem - we all struggle to put others first, and we all struggle with being let down by friends, family, colleagues. Is there anyone we can turn to who can cut through all the fear and anxiety around deep, honest, vulnerable friendship? Who can cut through the loneliness of lockdowns and self-isolation?

I believe there is. Jesus Christ. Turn to him. If you’re wondering what the Christian message is, and why Christians believe you, too, should become a Christian, here’s one way (there are many!) of putting it from Dane Ortlund: “Here is the promise of the Gospel and the message of the whole Bible: In Jesus Christ we are given a friend who will always enjoy rather than refute our presence.” What do you expect in your life? Jesus Christ offers friendship that smashes all our expectations out of the park.

Please get in touch!

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

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Tile Kiln Corner by Cllr Linda Mascot At last, after a really difficult year, it looks like 2021 will bring us all some much needed hope with the staged lifting of Covid restrictions.

As we tentatively come out of lockdown, I’ll be supporting our local businesses who have suffered so much with closure during this lockdown, including charity shops, some of which still have eerily looking jaded Christmas trees adorning their windows as a stark reminder of their sudden closing in December. Please join me in shopping locally to help protect our local jobs and businesses wherever you can.

winter as the days become warmer and longer. I’ve enjoyed photographing some of these flowers and I’d love to see any pictures that you take in the area - please email them to mascotlinda@gmail.com and I’ll feature them in the next Moulsham Times.

What a strange month February was with such varying weather. It was lovely to have a few days of snow and hear children squealing with laughter as they played outside although many elderly people feel more isolated when it’s too icy and slippery for them to go out. A week after the snow melted the temperature rose and the daffodils came out.

I was fortunate to be a member of The Tile Kiln Residents’ Association volunteers who worked closely with the City Council to plant daffodils and crocuses in green areas all around Tile Kiln. Every year they become more abundant and the vibrant colours herald the much awaited emergence from

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Great news; after reporting a deterioration in the road service of Robin Way and huge potholes in several places, our County Councillor Jude Deakin finally had this good news for residents: “I can report that from the 19th July for 4 days, from the junction with Linnet Drive to outside 28 Robin Way, the road is to be closed for repairs. Hopefully this will commence on the due date and not be delayed further. It has been an uphill struggle to get Essex Highways to repair or resurface estate roads in this part of Chelmsford.”

You can report roads, footpaths and street lights in need of repair here - www.essexhighways.org/tell-us/report-all-issues. aspx.

Take care and stay safe. mascotlinda@gmail.com Twitter: @lindamascot

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Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Mango 21 Pressure Steve Coogan Spanish wine shop Captain Sir Tom Moore Burnham Thorpe, Norfolk Sarah-Jane Eight A hot drink of port, S sugar, lemon and spice Asia A drum, with wires Ankara Clive Smith 16 Edinburgh Pacific and Atlantic Plum Roger Bannister Sherry www.issuu.com/itsyourmedia

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Tercel Ferdinand de Lesseps Move It Boxing Somerset Yogi Bear Rabies 14 (yes, fourteen!)

Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg Nine 960 (£1= 240p) Sausage Hob Spicy Mexican sauce made from chilli & chocolate A Medieval prison in Southwark, London 12 A razor sharpener 42. 14lbs = 1stone 5

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