Moulsham Times November 2020

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Issue Number 95 - November 2020

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

Fireworks and Halloween nights will be a little different this year, just as the majority of 2020 has been - stay safe!

To advertise and reach 9,000 readers, please contact me using the details below.

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

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Chelmsford - by Vicky Ford MP Since the beginning of the pandemic, the vast majority of the people of Chelmsford have taken great care to prevent the spread of the virus. I know lots of people in Chelmsford have been extremely worried by the news that Essex have moved into Tier 2 of coronavirus measures.

Some good news is that a local walk-in test site for Covid has opened here in Chelmsford at Sawyers Car Park on the Anglia Ruskin University campus. This site will be for use by Chelmsford residents as well as university staff and students. This is an excellent location close to the city centre, as well as the bus and rail station.

Presently, there have been no outbreaks of Covid at the university in Chelmsford.

As MP for Chelmsford, I have been monitoring the data on information about cases locally very closely. In the first 11 days of this month the cases rose dramatically in Chelmsford from 15 per 100,000 to now touching on 60 per 100,000. This is an exponential increase of over three and a half times in a very short period of time.

Similar rates of very high increase have been seen across most of Essex. If cases continue to rise at these rates we risk being in a similar situation to that seen in areas of the north/north east within a short period of time.

More good news was the recent announcement of grants to our cultural sector, including to Chelmsford theatres. Our local theatres are greatly enjoyed by audiences and performers and these grants will make a huge difference in making sure we will be able to enjoy them again in the future.

I have also spoken to our local hospitals and providers of health services, where we know that increases in hospital admissions tend to lag behind increases in the disease. We do not want to get back to a similar position to that which we faced in the spring when medical staff had to be diverted away from other services such as cancer care and heart operations in order to care for high numbers of Covid patients.

Another concern in Essex is our close proximity and commuter links with London, where cases are also rising rapidly, as well as the very high numbers of care homes we have in the county looking after vulnerable elderly people. These are the reasons why our leading medical doctors have recommended moving into Tier 2.

This is a very difficult time and these new measures will impact on all of us. I know how much we all value our social contact with family and friends, and some local businesses will struggle even further.

However, by taking action now we stand a better chance of being able to keep more local businesses open, protect the NHS and save lives, both from Covid and non-Covid illnesses, as well as jobs.

We don’t want to go back to a lockdown like which we faced earlier this year. In Tier 2, schools will remain open as can businesses, but households should not meet inside with other households unless they are in a support bubble. Families can also set up a childcare bubble with one other family in order to provide care to children under the age of 14, which is extremely important for many families.

The Chancellor announced new support to protect jobs and support businesses whose premises are legally required to close as part of local or national restrictions. This support will be vital for those areas that are required to enter into the Very High Covid Alert Level. Support measures include an expansion of the Jobs Support Scheme to pay wages of staff who cannot work and increasing cash grants for businesses. Thank you to the very many Chelmsford businesses who have let me know about their own situation; this has been extremely helpful in making sure that I can make the case to Government for support where it is needed most locally.

Children with special educational needs and disabilities and their families have had a particularly challenging time in the pandemic, but I recently visited Thriftwood School in Galleywood for a socially distanced catch up in their playground. I was struck by how happy and engaged the Thriftwood pupils were.

In the playground outside Tanglewood Nursery in Melbourne it was uplifting to see smiling parents dropping off excited children for the afternoon session, where over 180 2-4 year-olds are back enjoying this nursery. I would like to thank all the staff in our schools for all they are doing to support young people and families. Please folks, let’s stick to rules and get this virus back under control so that kids can keep learning.

This is such a challenging time and my thoughts are continually with those who are struggling financially or emotionally. Please do contact me if you need my help with an issue or advice.

Sleeping Beauty at Chelmsford City Theatres Chelmsford’s Civic Theatre is getting ready to stage Sleeping Beauty this winter. The Covid-secure panto is planned to run at the theatre between 27th November and 3rd January as long as Government restrictions allow. Only 30% of the 500-seat auditorium will be used, with a special seating plan to allow households of different sizes to sit together. A whole range of measures will be in place, from oneway systems to extra cleaning to keep audiences and performers safe.

Although this year’s run will be a little different than before, the co-production with panto specialists One From The Heart will be as magical as ever, with sparkling sets, catchy tunes and a script written by CBeebies actor and presenter Chris Jarvis. The score is in safe hands with Ben Kennedy who arranged the music for last year’s memorable version of Peter Pan. The talented cast includes Will Haswell as Prince Dickie, who takes on the role fresh from Back to the Future - The Musical. Frances Dee stars as Princess Rose and Neil Bromley appears as Nanny Nutkins; regulars to the Civic panto will remember Neil as the dame in their 2016 production of Jack and the Beanstalk.

Box office staff have been contacting existing tickets holders to allocate seats in the auditorium, and any surplus tickets will be released later in November if they become available. Customers may have a full refund at any point if they wish. For the latest on Sleeping Beauty, check the Chelmsford City Theatres website at www. chelmsford.gov.uk/theatres.

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5

MT Health - How to Stretch After Running (or Any Exercise) - by Chris at Forté Physical Health Howdie Moulshamites!

In this month’s instalment from your local osteopath I would like to offer some advice to help you with your exercise.

The world is still a strange place, and for many of us our lifestyles have changed from what they once were. From my perspective as an osteopath, I notice a strange paradox in that people are both more sedentary and more active in any given day.

People aren’t commuting as much, which gives them more time to exercise (which is great!) but when they sit down at their home desk, they are glued to video calls all day so they don’t stand up for hours at a time (not great!).

This causes a problem, because one thing the human body doesn’t like is contrast. The body is an incredible machine and with the right conditioning, it can be trained to run marathons, dance like a ballerina or work hard cutting down trees all day. But when the body has an environment of contrast - lots of activity and lots of sedentariness - this predisposes injury.

In the clinic, I have sounded like a broken record for the last few months (this is not an uncommon occurrence!) and I have been reminding people that if they want to be active, they must also drip feed movement into their day. Sitting down for big chunks of time will not do their muscles and joints any favours when it comes time to run their favourite 5k loop.

Below I share a simple stretch routine that I do after my runs and most workouts. I may tweak these exercises slightly depending on what training I have done, but these four stretches in the image below cover all the key players involved in running. This routine would also help after gym training, or indeed, after sitting at the desk for 8 hours!

the spine. My left foot is hiding behind my hands and, with that leg position, it really helps to mobilise the hips. This is a fantastic antidote to sitting too!

Down in the bottom left corner, I am stretching my ‘posterior chain’.

This is the group of muscles that run down the back of the body - the calf muscles, hamstrings, glutes and the back muscles. I start with the Downward Dog, a movement I have stolen from yoga. To focus the stretch to one side, I reach one foot across the other. This really winds up the back leg!

The last one, in the bottom right corner, I think is my favourite. I like to be time efficient with my training and this stretch kills two birds with one stone. It is a combination of the Pigeon Pose which gets the glutes of the front hip, and by holding the back foot it also gets the quads at the front of the back thigh. I often get little back clicks in this one too because there is quite a lot of spinal rotation going on, so there’s even more bang for your buck!

Depending on where you are in your fitness journey, these stretches may seem ridiculously easy and you may need to find harder ones (progressions), or they may look a bit impossible and you may need to find easier ones (regressions).

My point isn’t that you need to follow this routine exactly, but I hope to show you that with four simple movements you can help most of the key players in your body.

When you do a routine like this regularly, you will start to find things easier and you’ll need progressions. And from time to time you may feel a bit beaten up from a little niggle and you may need regressions.

Listen to your body and do what’s right for you on the day. As long as you follow the principle that ‘nothing should hurt’, you can’t go too far wrong. I teach my patients the difference between good pain and bad pain. Stretching isn’t always that comfortable, but our intuitions are very good. If your brain says, ‘that hurts, but I like it’, it’s probably doing you good. But if your brain says, ‘I’m not sure about this’, or, ‘I don’t like that one’, then stop and try something else.

YouTube is a fantastic resource for learning how to look after your body, and if you want ideas like this in video form, search ‘Chris Branch’ on YouTube and you’ll find my channel.

In the meantime, if you have any niggles that you are struggling with, I run a clinic in Old Moulsham where we have a fantastic team of osteopaths, a sports massage therapist and a nutritionist. I like to say we’re ‘keeping Chelmsford moving!’. You can learn more at fortephysicalhealth.co.uk.

Have a happy and healthy month.

Both this magazine and the City Times are also available online at: In the top left image, I am in a wide kneeling position which opens the hip joints and stretches the inner thigh muscles (the adductors).

By reaching forwards with my hands, I am also opening the lower back joints. Here I like to have a good wriggle and take nice deep belly breaths, and I sink into the stretch for up to a couple of minutes.

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Stretch 2, in the top right corner, is to open up my hip flexors - the muscles at the front of the hip which also attach to the front of 6 www.moulshamtimes.com

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Pregnant in a Pandemic - by Hayley at Togethernest Hypnobirthing

the best available evidence.

For many in the clinically vulnerable category, the pandemic has been a particularly anxious time. One such group are women who are pregnant.

With COVID-19 being a new and unknown virus, the medical profession has been learning and studying it’s effects on pregnant women in real time, with results and guidance offered from

According to the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) current research suggests that healthy pregnant women are no more likely than others to contract COVID-19. Some research indicates that pregnant women with underlying medical conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure, a high BMI, and women aged over 35 and women from a BAME background, could be at greater risk of becoming seriously unwell if they contract COVID-19.

Regulations across the four UK countries differ, and pregnant women are advised to follow the latest government guidance in their country.

In England, the advice is to stay alert and safe (following ‘wash hands’ - ‘cover face’ - ‘make space’ guidance) and avoid anyone who has symptoms suggestive of coronavirus.

Pressure on Maternity Services As the spread of the virus began to reach it’s peak in early April 2020, the RCM began to urge NHS leaders to protect maternity services as midwives were redeployed to care for COVID-19 patients.

Gill Walton, Chief Executive of the RCM, said: “While other areas of the health service can postpone and cancel procedures, there is still an ongoing need for maternity services. Women are still pregnant, still having babies, and they need the care and support of properly resourced maternity services.”

For pregnant women in Chelmsford there is positive news on the horizon. As part of the NHS Better Births campaign, women can access a newly launched ‘continuity of carer’ initiative. 3 teams of midwives have been set up in the Chelmsford area to ensure the same midwife (or their buddy) provide care for a woman throughout her pregnancy, labour and the postnatal period. So far, the Lotus Team and the Sunflower Team, each consisting of 8 midwives, have been building strong relationships with expectant mothers something that the Better Births campaign advocates and has a more positive outcome for the well-being and safety of mothers and their babies.

But with strikingly concerning figures relating to mental health in pregnancy, could there be more help needed if you’re pregnant in a pandemic?

When I was pregnant I stumbled across ‘hypnobirthing.’ My initial assumption (and subsequent misconception) was that during birth you would be surrounded by candles, incense and might float away on a cloud in a zen-like state and perhaps simply wake up to meet your newborn. But hey I was willing to try anything! With my anxiety level skyrocketing (thinking about birthing a watermelon, or was it a jackfruit... I digress), I decided to take a hypnobirthing course and dragged my then sceptical husband along for the ride.

What I discovered was an awakening, an essential education, that every pregnant woman should have. Hypnobirthing, despite its name, is a very practical, logical and informative programme. It is designed to equip women with birth know-how, learn essential comforting techniques to use in labour, and even facilitates a quicker and calmer birth.

couples for the birth of their baby in a calm and confident way, helping them to feel knowledgeable and in control of their birth choices. At the heart of the Togethernest Hypnobirthing Course is togetherness. Each live online class is sociable, relaxed and informal. As couples nest, prepare and imagine meeting their babies, they will be supported by the Togethernest community. Alongside other parents to be they will learn, discover and bond on their pregnancy journey, creating everlasting friendships that will support them into parenthood.

This is especially important as the perinatal period (during pregnancy and up to a baby’s first birthday) sees 1 in 5 mothers and up to 1 in 10 fathers experiencing perinatal mental health difficulties. According to the NSPCC, women are currently experiencing increased social isolation and feelings of uncertainty due to the pandemic. This type of antenatal support in pregnancy becomes ever more important and helps expectant couples to get off to the right start.

With advocates of hypnobirthing as famous as the Royal Family, with the Duchess of Cambridge describing hypnobirthing as ‘hugely powerful’ and fathers such as England football international Harry Kane stating he and his fiancée both learnt a lot from hypnobirthing, there is so much to be discovered - even for the sceptics.

The Togethernest Hypnobirthing Course provides coaching to release fear and focus the mind on positive outcomes - all of which transforms the psychology of birth and gives mothers-tobe tremendous confidence. It’s about the female body and how it functions during labour - the physiology of birth. It promotes birth choice; choice if an induction is offered and educates couples to make their own informed decisions if faced with interventions in labour.

Any type of birth? YES! You can use hypnobirthing tools for any type of birth; hospital birth, home birth, caesarean, twins… every birth is different, just like every mother. Togethernest is a complete and supportive antenatal education that aims for every woman to look back positively at their birth experience.

And yes it does include some gentle relaxation (I’m sure we probably all need this right now!) and maybe a candle or two, but couples will receive much needed up-to-date clinical guidance on COVID-19 and pregnancy waylaying any fears or anxiety in the process.

Throughout November and December, Togethernest is running introduction consultations for FREE. So if you’d like to learn more about having a calm and confident birth - get nesting and give them a call07581 024 442 or visit www.togethernest-hypnobirthing.com For more information on pregnancy and coronavirus, visit www.nhs. uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/people-at-higher-risk/pregnancyand-coronavirus.

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9

MT Gardening What a lovely month we’re all having as I write!

It’s been great weather, which is perfect for getting loads of jobs completed before the end of October start of November.

Here are just a few to keep you going: •

Plant drifts of spring bulbs informally in a lawn, including crocuses, daffodils and snake’s head fritillaries, to give naturalistic displays. Excavate holes and pop in 3-5 bulbs at the required depth to enhance a natural ‘feel’ to the garden.

Don’t forget to plant under deciduous shrubs/trees to enhance seasonal interest.

Lift tender cannas to avoid frost damage, dry off the tubers and store in cool dark conditions until spring. Simply use a lined tray to hold the canna, remove any dying leaves and spent flowers.

Pot up in the spring in preparation for going back into the garden for May. Plant up bright container displays with winter colour, such as cyclamen, winter pansies, heathers and shrubs such as Skimmia japonica ‘Rubella’.

Lift and pot up tender perennials, such as chocolate cosmos, gazanias and coleus, to protect over winter.

Plant evergreen shrubs and conifer hedges while the soil is still warm. With the soil still warm, these plants will thrive and develop extensive root systems.

Remove any pot saucers and raise pots up onto feet to prevent waterlogging over winter.

Transplant deciduous shrubs that are in the wrong place or have outgrown their current position.

Lift out overgrown aquatic plants from ponds, leave on the side in order that any fauna can crawl out and get back into the pool

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before removing vegetation to the compost heap. If near trees, net pond to capture leaves.

Collect seeds from hardy perennials, such as astrantia, achillea and red valerian, and sow straight away.

Reduce the height of shrub roses to avoid windrock damage over winter; cut back bush roses by half, coming back next February/ March to complete the job.

Empty spent summer pots and hanging baskets and compost the contents. Clean containers, store and plan for next year’s displays.

Lastly, check ou:t this link for other jobs for the garden as we move through October www.rhs.org.uk/advice/in-month.

Happy gardening and keep safe!

For any gardening tips please contact Tom Cole, Horticultural

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Black Friday Record Store Day @ Intense Records

If you love your vinyl, then you will be well aware of Record Store Day, a special celebration when independent record stores come together with artists to celebrate vinyl. Artists and bands release special limited edition records, with vinyl junkies queuing round the block outside their local record shop to get the hands on their favourite artists. Record Store Days ‘Black Friday’ event falls on Friday 27th November 2020 and Intense Records in Chelmsford will be taking part.

This year Intense will be stocking a whole host of exclusive releases from iconic artists including: * ALANIS MORISSETTE * BEASTIE BOYS * CHRIS CORNELL *EDITORS * GEORGE HARRISON * JARVIS COCKER *THE COMET IS COMING *MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE *NICK CAVE *NORAH JONES *EDITORS *GEORGE HARRISON *FLEETWOOD MAC *SUNN 0))) *THE WEEKND *U2 AND SO MO MUCH MORE! These rare and in demand titles will be available on the day in store so make sure you get down to Intense early before they sell out!!!

If you can’t make it on the day, they will be listed on the intense website, check out www.intenserecords.com.

Intense Records can be found just round the corner from Chelmsford Train & Bus Station under the arches. For more info contact them on 01245 347372 or pay them visit at 33/34 Viaduct Road, Chelmsford CM1 1TS. Follow them on Facebook for updates search INTENSE RECORDS. www.intenserecords.com

Chelmsford Community Radio broadcasts on 104.4FM to the city and surrounding areas as well as online via www.chelmsfordcommunityradio.com or your smart speaker.

CCR is a not-for-profit organisation run by volunteers who are passionate about providing a truly local radio service and platform for the people and residents of Chelmsford, embracing our diverse culture, promoting community events, and helping hundreds of talented performers from our area to be heard.

Local Radio Day Monday 12th October was a national celebration of everything good about local radio. The theme this year was reducing loneliness and isolation amongst the community. CCR took part and produced some special programmes showcasing some of the great interviews and shows our volunteers have produced.

There was a chance to relive the wonderful feel-good story of Auntie Ethel, a resident at a Chelmsford care home who wanted to receive 102 birthday cards for her 102nd birthday. CCR was able to get all of our presenters behind this and encouraged listeners to send Ethel a birthday card. Of course, one was sent from the radio station as well. On the day of her birthday Ethel revealed live on-air that she’d received 151 birthday cards... so far! This powerfully demonstrates how radio can make someone’s special day even more special and help to stop a person feeling isolated during the current period.

Maxine Jones also spoke to Mayor of Chelmsford Jude Deakin for the Good Morning Chelmsford Breakfast Show about the opening of the Ideas Hub in the Meadows Shopping Centre. A special programme during the afternoon contained highlights from the past year and included a chance to enjoy the recent interview with celebrity actor and singer Lee Mead talking about his Songs at the

Civic performances. These are available through Lee’s official Twitter account at @leemeadofficial, and the @ChelmsfordCR feed.

Listener Survey During the month of October 2020, we want your help to tell us what you think of CCR by filling in the Chelmsford Community Radio Listener Survey. It only takes a few minutes to complete the survey on our website at www.chelmsfordcommunityradio.com. Your thoughts will help shape local programmes made in your city and broadcast on Chelmsford Community Radio live from Chelmsford.

Deadlines for the December edition: Articles - 14th November Print ready art work 22nd November Edition is out from 3rd December

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11

Nick Garner’s Music & Ramblings Well how are you all now as we are stuck in the middle of this new situation? I hope you are all coping and keeping safe and well.

The first thing I have to do is big up two of our advertisers who’s services I have used and have so far been more than happy with, so praise where praise is due I think. I would not recommend them if I thought they were not any good.

The first is PTH Plumbing. Pascoe firstly came to sort out a couple of taps for me and did a great job. Then I needed my old boiler replacing which he also did. Not only is he efficient, but he is also friendly, clean and tidy - one night he was working until 10pm! His recommendations to me were not to spend a fortune but to get the best for what I could afford. Pascoe is local and I would say go to him for any plumbing and boiler work as I was very pleased with the service he gave.

Next up, I have had double glazing fitted and a new front door. I looked around and got a few quotes, then I called EZ2 Own Windows, which is a family business of father and son who do the fitting and quoting. This was something I had to sort urgently, as I only had single glazing and my front door had split. So after the new boiler, I knew this needed to be done - not only to keep me warmer, but also to reduce my bills (I hope). Dad Paul came round and gave me some good advice and was able to deliver what I wanted at a price that was affordable. Again, they were very good and were clean and tidy and very friendly. They did a great job that I am very pleased with. They also removed all of the rubbish and offered to help me move back items. I highly recommend them if you are looking for windows or doors.

I must say that I think all of our advertisers are superb in both the City Times and the Moulsham Times - because if you complained, we would look into it and if justified, we would not have them advertising again. We are community publications and we do care about you and all of the community.

Next I am going to talk about my enterprising daughter Amber, who during lockdown was put on furlough. With the kids at home and while home-schooling them, she wanted something else to do too (Amber likes to be busy). One of her greatest passions is cooking and she is very good too. With her husband’s family originating from Burma, her mother-in-law has shared some family cooking secrets with her and she does a great job with them!

So Amber has decided to offer a home-cooked meal service to her friends which is all made from scratch including the sauces. Well I’m plesed to say that it has been a massive success - she had thought that it might tail off after lockdown, but that has not happened.

So now she is looking at possibly stopping her regular work to concentrate on this full time when they shortly move to a bigger house with a bigger kitchen. She has even had a restaurant enquire about her services!

I am sorry to say that she is not around here - she is near Beckenham in Kent. I tell you this tale as I hope that it may inspire others who may be at a loose end and not knowing where to go next. There are opportunities to be grabbed if you have the courage and initiative and are able and brave enough to take the risk.

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Now a story from my musical past which I hope you enjoy - and I can promise you they are all true!

I think it’s fitting as I was talking about Amber, that I tell you about when I was working with Gallagher and Lyle. We were on tour in 1978 and were in Edinburgh about to play at the Playhouse. I was the guitar roadie and we were all good friends as well. In those days we did not have mobile phones of course, and I was trying to call home to see all was well - but was not getting any reply...

So after a few attempts I called a neighbour who lived below our third floor flat. Reluctantly, they told me that my Amber, who was 18 months old, had fallen out of the window. It had been left ajar a little by her 5-year-old brother. She had climbed up and fell to the ground outside. I ran back to the band to tell them what had happened, although I had been assured that she was fine, but being so far away you still tend to panic and worry. The band told me to go immediately back to South London, they said someone else can do the guitars for me (though they said later, they were glad when I had come back!).

The tour manager called the airport and booked me on the next flight back home and even got the plane held on the runway for me which was amazing. I got picked up at Heathrow and driven directly to the children’s hospital in Sydenham only to find Amber sitting up laughing. My wife said ‘I told you she was fine!’ Being so young she was relaxed as she fell and didn’t even have a bruise - amazing. The band’s wives told my wife off for not calling them and I rejoined the tour a couple of days later. Life on the road was never dull!

I have been to two live concerts in October which is great. The first was at The Venue (formally Riga) in Westcliff-on-Sea where I saw Kimberly Rew and Lee Cave-Berry along with Tony Hills play a great socially distanced set. They are always a treat, as Kimberly is one of the best pop songwriters around, having formed and written all of the Katrina and the Waves songs and Going Down To Liverpool for The Bangles. Next stop was the Epping Social Club for another socially distanced show with Roy Mette’s Dangerous Daydream, which was once more another great show that everyone seemed to enjoy.

I am now looking into putting on some shows in venues that we will also stream online as I think this is the way forward to get artists seen around the globe. I am of course already putting some shows online and have put on a few with Jamie Moses, who was part of Queen as second guitarist, and also with Brian May for 17 years. He now plays with - and formed - Los Pacaminos with Paul Young. He was also in Mike and the Mechanics and a few other others. By the time you read this, we will at Black Frog have just put on Brother Sea - a truly great folk act full of top players and writers. You can see below the page links to find out all that we are doing at Black Frog and who we are putting on. There is plenty to come, so if you like live music keep us on your radar.

I am looking forward with hope that we will be back up and running with proper live shows in the not too distant future. I also believe that online shows are here to stay though, as it is indeed a good way to get seen by people around the globe.

It would also be fantastic if you could share our magazines The Moulsham Times and City Times for us. We will also continue to publish both magazines online at www.issuu.com/itsyourmedia.

If you are interested in advertising with us please contact paul@ moulshamtimes.com, or if you have a comment or an article please send to editorial@itsyourmedia.co.uk and we will reply to you as soon as we can.

Black Frog Bands is where we will now be putting on music. For all the info and links go to www.blackfrogbands.co.uk or www.facebook. com/blackfrogbands.

Finally, my new band page is at www.facebook.com/yesitis.

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Coronavirus Restrictions and Cladding - By Cllr Marie Goldman So, what shall I write about this month? It’s always a bit of a dilemma because, as I’ve said in this column before, by the time it’s written and gone to press the chances are that much of it is already way out of date.

As I type this Essex has moved into Tier 2 restrictions and parts of the north of the country are moving to Tier 3 restrictions. Other nations in the UK are imposing ‘circuit breaker’ restrictions, although the Prime Minister is still saying that this will not happen in England. We’ll see…

What we do know is that the situation is very difficult for businesses, the NHS, key workers and everyone else. At the City Council, we are doing our very best to support people through this. If you need help and advice, please have a look at the coronavirus section on our website here: www.chelmsford.gov.uk/coronavirus.

So with that said, this month I’m not going to focus on the pandemic.

What I’d like to do instead is highlight a serious issue that I know is affecting local residents, including right here in Moulsham, and which in normal times would - and should - be getting far more airtime.

The Cladding Scandal Several months ago, a couple of local residents drew my attention to an issue that they had discovered is essentially trapping them in their own homes: cladding.

We all remember with horror the tragedy of Grenfell Tower in 2017, which is still rightly making headlines as the public inquiry continues (www.grenfelltowerinquiry.org.uk). In the aftermath of the disaster the Government instructed the owners of all highrise buildings to ensure that they were inspected to check the safety of the cladding and other building materials used in their construction or subsequent refurbishment. Many were worryingly found to have the same type of combustible cladding as that used in Grenfell, so a fund was set up to help pay for the remediation works for buildings over 18 metres high.

And here’s where Chelmsford comes in. Surveys confirm that we are fortunate not to have any buildings that fall into this category (over 18m with combustible cladding). However it turns out that mortgage lenders have started applying the same tests to buildings under 18m, of which there are many in Chelmsford. Lenders are requiring a specialist survey to be carried out, resulting in something called an EWS1 form being completed indicating whether remediation works need to be done.

This is the situation that the Moulsham residents who contacted me find themselves in. They live in a building which has been deemed unsafe according to the EWS1 form, meaning that they can’t sell it, and they are reliant on the building owner to carry out the remediation works. Because this is specialist work and LOTS of buildings around the country require this, there is a severe shortage of both funds and expertise to carry out the works. So they are stuck and understandably worried about the safety of their homes.

Other residents have also started contacting me about similar situations. In some instances, they are facing repair bills that they themselves will have to pay - sometimes estimated to be up to £20,000 per flat!

This is a scandal of huge proportions. It is affecting thousands of people around the country, yet the funds set aside by government are only available for buildings over 18m, and even then it won’t be enough.

We need to do more to draw attention to this. I have recently met (virtually) with the National Housing Federation to discuss this issue, and I have raised it with the Lib Dem Deputy Leader, Daisy Cooper MP. I also have been pleased to see the issue raised more than once at Prime Minister’s Questions as well as in the national media from time to time. But with so much else going on at the moment, coverage of this - like undoubtedly so many other issues - is getting drowned out.

You can find out more about one of the campaigns on this issue at Inside Housing’s End Our Cladding Scandal campaign here: bit. ly/3kjz0JV. Sadly, I’m pretty sure that by the time you read this, this article about the cladding scandal will not be at all out of date.

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

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13

MT Therapy: Chelmsford Therapy Rooms

Hi everyone, I hope you’re keeping safe and well! I know it’s been tough recently and with us going into Tier 2 we have experienced a surge in enquiries. We are still open and able to see clients. We have a deep clean twice per week, sanitise after every client, keep two metres at all times and are well ventilated. Therapists usually wear face masks and visors and we sanitise hands before and after the therapy session. We want you to feel safe if you would like to come for therapy with us!

We have had lots of enquiries about anxiety recently. COVID-19, lockdown, and everything associated with it seems to have been a trigger for many people. I specialise in anxiety and self esteem issues and I always find that a little psycho-education goes a long way! In particular, understanding the biology of anxiety and why we feel anxious seems to help people realise that their anxiety isn’t their fault. So today I’d like to share some biological facts about anxiety with you and hopefully you’ll find this information useful.

Anxiety has been around for as long as mankind has walked the earth. It’s the basic biological mechanism that has kept us alive for aeons. The part of the brain responsible for anxiety is called the limbic system and it’s the most primitive part of the brain. In order to understand anxiety, we need to understand the limbic system and how - and why - it works the way that it does.

The limbic system consists of a set of structures in the brain. Each structure is responsible for something different, but they work together to regulate autonomic and endocrine function. The autonomic part means unconscious, which is why we can react to something without having to think about it. For example, lets say I have a client with a phobia of buttons. The client probably had a traumatic experience involving buttons and this has been saved in the unconscious mind.

The unconscious mind is like a filing system and it links to the limbic system because the limbic system deals with emotions as well as memory. In fact, you could say that the limbic system links emotions and memory on a biological level. This link is very basic. The limbic system isn’t concerned with detail, it doesn’t understand that buttons are harmless, it just links the traumatic emotion to the object. When the traumatic event occurs the unconscious mind creates a file based on the experience and the physical information from the limbic system. So in our client’s case, let’s say that buttons are labelled as traumatic. Trauma is potentially deadly, so buttons are stored in the ‘THREAT TO LIFE’ file. This means that when the client encounters buttons, the file labelled ‘BUTTONS: THREAT TO LIFE’ is pulled from the unconscious mind and the limbic system reacts accordingly with anxiety and panic, etc. This is where the endocrine function comes in. The endocrine system relates to glands that secrete hormones directly into the bloodstream. In the case of a stressful situation that is a threat to life, cortisol and adrenaline are released to prepare the body to fight or flee danger. Going back to our phobic client, the limbic system links the buttons to the emotion they felt when the trauma occurred and the limbic system responds by secreting the same hormones in order to save the client’s life.

This system has worked incredibly well. It’s kept us alive long enough for us to build skyscrapers, put people in space, and invent the laptop I’m writing this article on amongst other amazing things!

lives countless times, and I thought it would be helpful for you to have a real life example of how brilliant the limbic system can be.

The Bear and the Cave Let’s say that we’re foraging in the woods and we come across a cave. We don’t know anything about the cave, but there might be some yummy berries in there that we can feed our family with, so we approach the cave... We’re feeling anxious because we’re not familiar with the cave. Humans are programmed to be anxious, or at least ‘on edge’, with new or unfamiliar situations just in case something does happen. Our stress levels have risen and cortisol and adrenaline are being released into our bodies. Suddenly, a bear comes out of the cave and roars at us, giving us one hell of a fright. The limbic system kicks in, cortisol and adrenaline floods into our bloodstream and we flee (unless you fancy your chances fighting the bear) and we get away safely. Immediately a memory file is being created in our unconscious mind: ‘BEAR = THREAT TO LIFE’. We saw the bear coming out of the cave though, so another memory file is formed: ‘CAVE = POTENTIAL THREAT TO LIFE’. The amazing thing about the limbic system is that it can remember these experiences for a very, very long time. It could be decades before we encounter another cave, but as soon as we do we feel anxious. That’s the limbic system warning us to avoid the cave in case a bear is resident and might attack us.

Our anxiety reactions go further than this. Have you ever come across someone that has learned to be scared of something they’ve never encountered? Let’s say that we go back to our tribe and we tell them all about the bear and the cave. The adrenaline is still pumping, we re-enact the story of the bear and how we got away. We’re still actually scared ourselves and our tribe can see how freaked out we are. So now their own limbic systems are kicking in as they empathise with our story and their unconscious minds are forming their own files. Our tribe don’t need to encounter the bear, they just need to feel the way that we did and imagine what happened. We have potentially saved their lives (yay!) and it is this reason that people don’t need to encounter something in order to be afraid of it.

Jenny Hartill is a therapist and owner of Cloud9 Therapy and Chelmsford Therapy Rooms. She is a Counsellor, Hypnotherapist and MnemodynamicTM therapist and can help with a multitude of issues. She and the other therapists at CTR are seeing clients online via Zoom or Skype, but are also beginning to see clients face-to-face once more. Please see the therapist list on the website at www.chelmsfordtherapyrooms.co.uk, or you can 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@cloud9therapy.co.uk, and her telephone number is 07507 307 170.

If you have a one-off article of local interest that you wish to submit, please email paul@moulshamtimes.com

Unfortunately, the limbic system hasn’t evolved along with the rest of our brains. Hence we can develop phobias of things that aren’t dangerous. Originally though, the limbic system would have saved our 14 www.moulshamtimes.com

Regal Kitchens Case Study: Mr and Mrs V - Danbury

Mr and Mrs V had recently moved to the area; a European couple who were keen to keep a flavour of home and wanted German quality but with a more continental twist with their choice of door colour. They were interested in having hidden storage solutions if possible and hiding some pipework and an old boiler which was unsightly.

When Mr and Mrs V first visited our Chelmsford showroom, they had already knocked down internal walls and had everything plastered so were ready to have their new kitchen fitted as soon as possible. They didn’t think they had many options with layout, so wanted the designers help to give them some inspiration. They love open-plan living and they were trying to make the space more of a social area. They didn’t really have a wish list, but they really wanted Schuller as they loved our showroom displays.

They wanted to move forward quickly and have the kitchen completed within about 8 weeks. Mr and Mrs V loved all the different storage solutions that were available and wanted their kitchen to be practical as well as beautiful.

This had been an unloved house for a number of years, there were large boiler cupboards and exposed piping which were unsightly. Instead of trying to build around these older features we decided to hide them behind tall housings and still use the space to incorporate as many storage solutions as possible (see the photographs). This was very important to the client when thinking of a growing family in the future. The client opted to have no draining grooves on their stunning white worktop to keep all the lines of the kitchen clean.

Our clients really enjoy cooking, therefore a full set of Neff appliances were provided, including pyrolytic oven, flexinduction hob, integrated dishwasher, washing machine, fridge and freezer helping them get the most out of their new kitchen.

Regal Kitchens Showroom is situated at 2 Navigation Road and is open 7 days per week between 10am and 4pm.

Where Client is King www.regalkitchens.co.uk Remember to tell our advertisers you saw their advert in the MT

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15

Personal Finance Clinic: Five Tips for Financial Peace of Mind

Looking after loved ones is vitally important to most of us. We want our families to be looked after should anything happen to us.

couple of weeks) and do not form part of your Estate for Inheritance Tax purposes.

Yet, how many of us have written a will? How many of us have enough life insurance in place to pay off the mortgage in full should we die early?

Where a life insurance policy is not held in trust, it is added to the rest of your taxable Estate and can increase your Inheritance Tax bill - or create one where one didn’t exist before. Inheritance Tax must be paid on an Estate before probate can be granted and the assets released to the beneficiaries.

Below, I’ve set out five tips that, as a financial adviser, I believe are vitally important. By working through these tips, you will gain far greater peace of mind that your loved ones will be looked after if the worst were to happen.

Talk to Your Family Have a discussion about Power of Attorney forms and ask your prospective attorneys if they understand and wish to take on the responsibility before nominating them.

Write a Will I can’t stress enough how important it is to write a will when you have young children. It’s imperative that you set out, in your will, who would become the guardian for your child or children. When children are orphaned and there is no guardian nominated for them in a will, the children usually end up in the care system until suitable guardians can be found.

When it comes to wills, let people know you have one - and where they are!

Beyond childcare, a will is useful for setting out whether you wanted to be buried or cremated and, of course, who you wish to inherit your possessions.

Complete Power of Attorney Forms There are two types of Power of Attorney form. One gives power to make decisions around your health and welfare and the other gives power to make decisions around your property and finances.

Tell your loved ones what kinds of insurance you have in place, what it covers and how to make the claim.

Whilst it is always a tricky subject to raise with loved ones, it is much better for all involved if they understand your wishes and your plans ahead of anything happening.

Lauren Peters is a Senior Financial Consultant and Chartered Financial Planner at Brooks Macdonald Financial Consulting Ltd, 21 Lombard Street, London EC3V 9AH. She can be contacted via lauren. peters@brooksmacdonald.com.

It’s a common misconception that an individual has the automatic right to make decisions about their spouse, should their spouse lose capacity to make their own decisions. This is not true. If your spouse, civil partner or significant other loses capacity to make their own decisions - and they did not complete Power of Attorney forms ahead of losing capacity - you will have to go through the Court of Protection to obtain the right to make decisions. This is costly and very time consuming!

Review Your Insurance If the worst were to happen, how would your family cope without you? Do you have life insurance in place to pay off the mortgage in full? What about childcare and schooling - can this be covered too?

How about if you were too ill to continue working or had an accident that made it difficult to return to work? Do you know if you get sick pay from work? If so, how long does it last for and at what rate?

It’s worth considering policies like Critical Illness Cover (CIC), which provides you with a lump sum on diagnosis of a specific disease or illness. This can be paid out whether you need to stop work or not.

Income Protection Insurance (IPI) is a type of insurance that covers up to 75% of your salary should you become too ill to continue working. This is an expensive but very valuable type of cover that can be arranged to commence when work sick pay ends.

Use Trusts It’s essential to put life insurance policies into trust. When they are held in trust, they can be paid out quickly (normally within a 16 www.moulshamtimes.com

Hi everyone. I hope you are all well. As I write this we have just gone to Tier 2, well some of us have. For some reason Southend and Thurrock are not included. I thought that I would take a trip to either and have a drink with a couple of mates, but then I discovered that, even though they are at Tier 1, we would have to abide by the Tier 2 rules. So much for that plan.

On the day before T2 day, I did manage to meet my mate John in a pub. Masks on, social distancing and: Oh no! The need to order drinks on the app... My little potential scenario I wrote about recently turned out to be pretty accurate. Fortunately John is much more media savvy than me and was able to do it with ease. I tried - but without success. Ah, I thought, can I take advantage of this and get him to pay for all the drinks? Well, guilt got the better of me and I persevered, finally ordering a round. As a result, we ended up with two rounds, because I was so engrossed using my newly found app skills,that I missed the fact that John had ordered some too. Had to drink them both, I’m afraid. Every cloud, as they say.

Anyway, I now feel equipped to get my target drink ordering time down to 15 minutes.

Everything I try to do on the I phone seems to be traumatic. I should have stuck with my last phone which actually was just a phone. No apps, games, or music and no getting involved in embarrassing situations where, because I have a smart phone, people think I can actually use it! With WhatsApp for example, I frequently send messages to the wrong group which can be confusing - especially when I send a message to my doctor that asks if they are free tonight for a drink! I should really give it all up. I now have built up a reputation within the family. When I sent a video call message to my son, he said to my granddaughter: ‘I’ve just had a call from granddad on video, but he didn’t say anything’, she just said, ‘you know granddad, he probably did it by mistake’ - she was right!

Just to confirm my ineptitude on these matters, I’ve just been to the supermarket, having downloaded the relevant app which I can use to get a discount. Needless to say I got it wrong. So, no 10% off. Oh well, there’s always next time. The good news is that I was able to get some lockdown medicine - they do several flavours and I chose Sauvignon Blanc.

I guess we are going to hear much more about Brexit now the big day is getting closer. I’m not sure how that’s going to go now. The latest seems to be that we will go for a no deal. I guess we must have someone around that has some experience of these things. I understand the Government has managed to contact Noel Edmonds and that he is coming back from down under to join the cabinet. The trouble is, if I remember rightly, some of the outcomes of that game show left the contestants with just £1. Oh dear.

On the subject of the B word, I have received the email I have been dreading ever since they announced that we were leaving the EU. Yes, Calais Wine confirmed that they would be closing at the end of the year. We would be welcome there until then, but we would have to quarantine for two weeks when we come back. This would probably mean that I would have drunk half of the wine stock by the time it was over. So sadly, I had to admit defeat and start to get my stocks from this side of the Channel.

Us Brits can be a bit reckless at times. It has been reported that in Peckham, London, the 10pm curfew was broken by a crowd of people playing cricket in the street. Outrageous! Before we know it, jumpers will be placed on the ground in the gutters and there will be an outbreak of football matches after 10pm. Don’t get too exited though, if you wanted to watch any of the games it would cost you 15 quid...

In another report, a baby was born prematurely on an aircraft in India. The baby and mother were both fine, having been delivered by the cabin crew, one of whom stood in the aisle and kept everyone up to date with the birth using hand signals. The mother was disappointed though; she had to pay for a ticket for the baby before being let off the plane.

In yet another report, a burglar accidentally left a bag containing his name and address at the scene. He was subsequently sentenced. He was also bombarded with 25 junk mail letters and had 5 attempts to steal his identity.

Going back to the L word, I must say the newspapers seem to doing a good job in trying to clarify the ever-changing rules and statistics. Lots of graphs, line graphs, bar graphs, column graphs. I am disappointed though - very few pie charts. They’re my favourites. They also show lots of quotes from the array of ‘experts’ who only agree on one thing, that they disagree with everybody else. I think I missed my vocation and should have been an ‘expert’. All you have to do is read the results of this or that survey, and say the opposite. Great, I wonder how much they get paid? I could also produce charts with so many graphics on them that they resemble an abstract painting by Van Gogh. Not many people will understand it, but it could be worth a fortune in 50 years time.

Bin End Chuckles He said: ‘you remind me of a pepper pot’. I said I’ll take that as a condiment...

How come Miss Universe is only ever won by people from earth?

Please stay well and safe.

Remember to tell our advertisers you saw their advert in the MT

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17

Sixties British Blues and R&B Boom: 8 - by John Power

The Bo Street Runners Originally called The Roadrunners after a Bo Diddley song, the outfit had to change their name when they realised that a Merseybeat band already had claimed the name, so in 1963 the Bo Street Runners emerged consisting of Gary Thomas on lead guitar, Bob O’Brien(on keyboards, Dave Cameron on bass, Nigel Hutchinson on drums and John Dominic on vocals. The Bo Diddley influence was still highly in evidence.

At first they were a local act around Harrow, but in 1964 entered the Ready Steady Go! TV programme’s Ready Steady Win! competition, staged over several weeks as part of the trendy mod programme.

They won first place with a song called I’m a Bo Street Runner. The resulting single, with Tell Me as the b-side, sold over 20,000 copies in the UK - plus 99 copies of an EP sold at gigs, and they then got to support The Rolling Stones. Keeping up the success did not prove so easy, and they moved to Columbia Records in 1965 after being dropped by Decca. Thomas, Dominic and Cameron remained in the band and were joined by Roy Fry on keyboards and Glyn Thomas on drums for a second single Tell Me What Your Gonna Do, a James Brown song, which made no impact so Fry and Thomas left to be replaced by Tim Hinkley on keyboards and Mick Fleetwood on drums.

A move to a more jazzy sound provided the next single, Baby, Never Say Goodbye, which although managing to chart on a pirate radio top 40, Fleetwood and Dominic left to be replaced by Mike Patto on vocals to cover The Beatles’ Drive My Car before they disbanded in 1966. A compilation CD was released in 2004 called Never Say Goodbye - The Complete Recordings 1964-1966 on Cherry Red Records.

The Birds The band member that makes this group significant is Ronnie Wood, whose later work with The Jeff Beck Group, The Faces, and The Rolling Stones we have already mentioned, as we did The Artwoods, formed by Ronnie’s elder brother Art.

The band, which originally came together in 1964, consisted of Ali MacKenzie on vocals and harmonica, Tony Munroe on guitar and vocals, Ronnie on guitar and vocals, Kim Gardner on bass and vocals, and Bob Langham (and later Pete McDaniels) on drums.

They always seemed to have a bit of a problem with a name for the band, first calling themselves the Thunderbirds, until they wound up backing Chris Farlowe and the Thunderbirds and realised they’d have to change it. So they just shortened it to The Birds as a joke about having long hair. Later in 1965 that also proved to be a problem, or maybe a good publicity stunt, when folkrock/psychedelic band The Byrds arrived from the States to promote their hit cover version of Bob Dylan’s Mr Tambourine Man. They were served with legal papers by The Birds management, which were just ignored, and they returned to the States after their tour. But their chart entries did tend to put The Birds somewhat in the shadows.

Philips on guitars and Mike Thompson on rhythm guitar. They had two records released on Mercury Records: Rock Around the Clock and Try It Baby in 1964. The original bassist went off to replace Pete Quaife in The Kinks so was in turn replaced by Tony Cooke. Mike Thompson left too but was not replaced. The group released two more non-charting singles in 1965 and 1966 when they changed management to Tony Stratton-Smith, who replaced Cooke with Bob Garner from the Tony Sheridan Band, while Pickett came up with the name ‘The Creation’ for the band.

The band’s style of playing went beyond the blues to an art school, pop art-inspired image similar to the early Who. Their first single as The Creation went to number 49 in the charts before a couple of more line-up changes occurred. The next single in 1966 reflected the art school image with Painter Man, later covered by Boney M. Pickett took to playing guitar with a violin bow, before Jimmy Page (I can testify to having seen that), and spray can painted canvasses on stage amidst other ‘action painting’ techniques.

Several singles followed - some successful in the States and in Europe, where they toured. More personnel changes occurred in 1967, when Kim Gardner took over bass, while Bob Garner took over vocals as Pickett left, only to return the following year when the band reformed after a short haitus when Eddie Phillips left. When they reformed in 1968 Ronnie Wood was part of the group until they disbanded.

The value of the band to musical evolution has been recognised by younger musicians, and reunions have been staged between 1980 and 2016 despite Kenny Pickett dying in 1997. A form of the group with Eddie Phillips continues to tour.

There have been 13 singles, 3 albums, 15 compilations and various live albums.

The Paramounts The musicians that made up The Paramounts will be best known to the public as Procol Harum. But during the blues boom they were a successful R&B group from Southend. Their first incarnation was as The Raiders in the fifties working the youth centres circuit doing rock covers. The name change to The Paramounts came in 1961.

Keyboardist, Gary Brooker and guitarist Robin Trower were the two consistent members of the line-up. Chris Copping came and went and returned as organist when Diz Derrick took over on bass in 1963.

They played on the same bill as The Rolling Stones at a gig in Deal in Kent, and the Stones announced on ITV’s Thank Your Lucky Stars that they thought that they were ‘the finest R&B band in England’, and used them as opening act at many gigs. EMI Records signed them up in 1963, and released Poison Ivy/I Feel Good All Over, which reached number 35 in the charts. That was followed by Little Bitty Pretty One/A Certain Girl and four more singles. But by then many of the songs they had featured in their act had become stock-in-trade for many other groups and they got lost in the boom and wound up as the backing group for Sandie Shaw. Robin Trower left to form a group called The Jam (before Paul Weller used the name). Gary Brooker decided it was time to start writing original material and teamed up with Keith Reid to do this until they decided that it was time to form The Creation a band to perform their material. That group in 1967 became Procol In addition to Ronnie and Kim, most of the rest of this band had been Harum and all the members of The Paramounts came and went in The Mark Four from Hertfordshire: Kenny Pickett on vocals, Eddie amongst its ranks. The original line-up under that name was Gary 18 www.moulshamtimes.com The band were also in the Ready Steady Go! battle of the bands and impressed Decca Records enough to give them a contract. The first two singles were You Don’t Love Me and Leaving Here, after a third single they moved to Robert Stigwood’s label Reaction for ‘That’s All I Need You For. They were highly regarded by audiences as a live act but their early promise didn’t seem to be fulfilled - despite sharing bills with the likes of The Who - so they split in 1967 as things went psychedelic. Ronnie and Kim Gardner both joined The Creation. Since 2010 Ali MacKenzie has gone on the road again using the name of The Birds. The Collectors Guide to Rare British Birds CD on the Deram label gathered all their recorded material together in 1999.

Brooker, vocals and piano, Matthew Fisher on organ, David Knights on bass, Roy Royer on guitar and Bobby Harrison on drums. That grouping only did four or five gigs and put out one single, but that one single was of course the worldwide best seller Whiter Shade of Pale in 1967. Later that year Harrison and Royer were replaced by BJ Wilson and the return of Robin Trower to create the line-up for three albums. By that time they were a psychedelic/prog rock band and

faired best in the US. There have been many line-up changes, re-unions and albums over the years as Procol rather than The Paramounts. Gary Brooker joined the all star line-up of Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings, and amongst many other ventures has also been involved in solo projects with a choir and orchestral backing.

Online Exercise Classes, Where Are We Heading Now, Are You Getting Enough ‘Me’ Time!? - by Erica Foulds As I finished my last class at lunchtime and sat down to think about November’s article I had pinging updates on my phone - London and Essex are being placed into a higher ‘tier’ regarding Covid. 7 months ago the brand new concept of ‘lockdown’ was such a huge jump into the unknown that most of us had no idea what to think or how to process it, but as guidelines get synced back in again I sincerely hope you are able to use recent experiences to create some coping strategies. We’ve been there, done it, got the T-shirt. This time I’m trying not get as swept away in the storm but will find my wellies and take the puddles one at a time. But which puddle do we step in and tackle first? I wish someone had the answer, but when it comes to the puddle of your body and mind in times like this I feel I do actually have some answers and tips from experience in the fitness and wellbeing industry.

Its not a surprise when you see and hear headlines that the mental well-being of our nation is being severely challenged. It’s a huge mine field of a topic, but its also not a hidden fact that physical fitness and mental well-being are inextricably intertwined, so where we face mental uncertainty I feel right now helping you forge a routine for your physical body might also help settle the mind. If you followed my articles earlier in the year you’ll know I love breaking down the exercise world, especially pilates, into bite size chunks of info and making sure I tell you the best bits - the bits that could be really useful to literally everyone!

If I had a penny for every time I had heard the phrase ‘I don’t know where I would have been if I didn’t have my online classes now’ whether that was pilates, yoga, HIIT etc... I know there would be no need to buy a yacht to sail round the world at the moment, but... The online world of fitness has utterly exploded, and like I was saying in my last article (mid-lockdown) its has proved to be one of the most superb, lesser known before, inventions I’ve come across in 17 years of teaching. So, what exactly do we/you need from a fitness class? One of the huge things that I personally found teaching and participating was that it really wasn’t as different as I feared! In fact it was nothing short of a brilliant replacement for the ‘real thing’.

It gives routine, familiarity, support, guided movements to iron out stresses and new annoying lockdown niggles - and all without having to leave the front door as an option for a satisfying ab and butt muscle burn.

The movements were the same albeit in the living room, the faces on the screen were the same. The words, encouragement and teaching was all the same. I even used my own fun music in the background the same and encouraged others to do similar at home (with mute on their screen of course) and most importantly it felt just as brilliant at the end of the hour to have done something for my body and mind and got the same endorphines as always!

At Hummingbird in Writtle (yoga, pilates and 121 training) we started our online offering as soon as Boris showed the red light in March.

We had 12 spaces per class, different levels, beginners keeping basic skills ticking over, gentle classes keeping achey ‘desk posture’ shoulders at bay, intermediate/mixed sessions where we were even using home props like tea towels to give resistance where studio kit would usually be used, and 121 sessions where injuries needed a bit more attention!

5 months later with the green light to open our doors, we exchanged

half of our schedule to ‘back into studio’. It felt like the first proper day of summer, when you feel the warm sun on your face. We had all been desperately waiting for it! However, curiously people were finding they missed the online classes and the convenience, and happy secure routine theyd built up over the last 5 months. In fact we all realised how much we had adjusted and loved online classes - me too! The new routine where they were getting to more classes a week, taking early lunches fitting in gentle pilates/yoga stretch class, the class when kids had bathed and were asleep, the class that would usually be too early to get home for due to commuting, now needed 3 minutes to close down emails, role out the mat and open the Zoom…

So much so that we’ve reintroduced online classes again! We have lots in studio, but now many also streamed on Zoom, fully interactive from us to you whether home or really there/here! I am so grateful for this option. Whatever the next few months brings I know I can still see my clients, still offer what your body needs - and I still get my endorphine fix too!

For more info, please search us online and on social media with ‘Hummingbird Yoga Pilates Writtle’. Email us at info@ hummingbirdpilatesyoga.co.uk, or call 01245 422 556. Our media posts will hopefully give you some daily positivity and encouragement too!

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Spot 10 Differences (Answers on Page 31)

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Charity of the Month - Support 4 Sight We are a local Chelmsford based charity that supports people living with sight loss along as their families. Our resource centre in Chelmsford is at 17 Cottage Place (above Age Concern) and we are open Monday to Wednesday from 10am until 2pm. Currently, clients can come into our centre by prior appointment and we follow the required social distancing rules. For those unable to come to us we can offer home visits.

If you or a family member would like any further information, or would like to come in and see us, please call on 01245 933 572 or 07949 676 126, or email community@support4sight.org.uk.

We have a fully stocked resource centre where we can demonstrate and supply equipment ranging from magnifiers, through to daily living aids and kitchen equipment, all of which are very useful and lead people to a greater degree of being able to become independent. We offer emotional support, help with benefit claims, and a telephone befriending service. We also run help desks in several of the Essex hospitals eye clinic departments, including Broomfield.

As well as this, we provide a strong social calendar of events, as social isolation can be a real problem for people who are coming to terms with sight loss. Examples are pub lunches, boat trips and quiz nights and we also hold a Christmas party, and we even arrange a popular weekend away each year.

Our centre is a great place to just drop in for a cup of coffee and a chat with other people who are also living with the same challenges of sight loss. Our staff and volunteers are friendly, knowledgeable and are understanding and respect how sight loss affects people in different ways. In our centre we hold different groups such as a book group, a walking group, we also help people get to grips with the latest technology and are happy to offer training where needed.

All our activities are volunteer led. This year we were honoured to be awarded the Queens Award for Voluntary Service - the highest honour available to a charity in recognition of our work in supporting our community. It’s an award we could not have won without the support of our fantastic group of volunteers, who generously give their time to support us in everything we do. We are always looking for more volunteers, so if you are interested please do not hesitate to contact us - all our volunteers are DBS checked for the safety of our service users. www.moulshamtimes.com

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The Singing Chef

It’s Nearly Christmas!! Hooray!

This is always such a hard time of year for me. The minute the spooky Halloween dec’s come down I feel such a void and struggle to not put up the Christmas decorations straight away.

I absolutely love autumn and this month’s recipe uses seasonal veggies, which I am sure some of you might have grown yourself. Again, feel free to change from beef to lamb or leave out the meat all together. Change the vegetables if you wish, just get your biggest oven-proof pot or slow cooker and fill it to the brim. This stew will keep really well for a few days in the fridge or can be frozen and turned into a pie filling at a later date.

Irish Soda Bread 500g of plain or wholemeal flour, or mix of the two 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda 1 tsp salt 25g butter, cut in pieces 500ml buttermilk Method Add cold cubed butter to all the dry ingredients and rub together until this resembles crumbs. Stir in the buttermilk with a knife, form into a mound on a baking tray, cut a cross on top and bake in the oven at 200C for 35/40 minutes.

This was my Grandad Jim’s favourite. My Nanny Wilson made this with pearl barley - and definitely no garlic or balsamic! I’ve changed the recipe slightly adding garlic as it’s so good for you this time of year. Unfortunately though, no pearl barley as the kids won’t eat it.

In replacement I have made Irish soda bread and bought a block of Kerrygold butter - it’s amazing.

Ingredients 750g stewing beef tossed in seasoned flour 2 potatoes (cut like roasties) 2 carrots in chunks 3 sticks of celery in chunks 5 shallots or small onions whole and peeled 2 garlic (crushed) 1 tablespoon each of mustard and honey A swede cut in to long segments to distinguish from the potatoes for the fussy eaters Stock to cover to the top (or a mix of stock and red wine, you know me) Bottle of Guinness 2 tablespoons of balsamic to deglaze Fresh thyme and bay leaves Salt and pepper to taste

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.

Method Do not rush the prep here guys it will pay off.

Fry your floured beef in batches in a pan; don’t rush this you want them crispy, golden and totally sealed on every side. Add to your oven proof cooking vessel or slow cooker along with all your vegetables apart from the shallots.

Add your shallots, garlic and balsamic to the pan to deglaze, add stock, gooiness, honey and mustard.

Pour over your meat and veg, cover and pop into the oven at 160C for 6 hours.

Serve with fresh soda bread and Kerrygold butter. www.issuu.com/itsyourmedia

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Quiz Time - by John Theedom

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Who is the rocker who died at the beginning of October from throat cancer?

How much was being asked for the Hockney portrait of David Webster?

What is the nickname of the mascot at Arsenal FC? Blackadder star Rowan Atkinson has a daughter named what?

What are ‘Silver Splitters’?

How old was Adrian Mole in his first book?

In the world of slang, how much is a pony?

Who was the author of the novel Prisoner of Zenda?

What is the name of Harry Hill’s new BBC2 TV series?

Which character did Ross Kemp play in Eastenders?

What is a hoopoe?

What do the Americans call a full stop?

On a standard dartboard, what number is between 7 and 8?

Who was the lead singer in the band Spandau Ballet?

What is the term for the edge of a flag that is nearest to the flag pole?

Why does the metal lead have the chemical symbol Pb? What, who or where is esperanto?

Why was the revolving restaurant in the Post Office Tower closed?

What was The Beatles’ first album?

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What was the first Beatles single called?

In which English town was William Shakespeare born?

What precisely does a weather barometer measure?

Who is the female star of the TV programme Great British Bake Off? What is the capital city of Peru?

What is an area of 4,840 square yards?

In which country is the Aswan Dam? What is the first name of the snooker player Mr Reardon?

Cathay is the old name for which Asian country?

Which common food item is named after former First Lord Of the Admiralty, John Montague?

What is Chelmsford City FC’s nickname?

What was the birth name of TV personality Les Dennis?

Who was Labour’s first MP? What is ‘erse’?

John Keats is well known for what?

What condition can be fluvial?

Which is the highest volcano in Europe?

Where on your body is your patella?

What is a golf course near to the sea called?

Which American golfer has the name of an animal?

What type of animal stars in the TV ads for comparethemarket.com?

(Answers on page 31)

I Like Music - by Evie McLean (Aged 13) My favourite band of all time is Led Zeppelin, and they are who I am going to talk about in this article today. Although Led Zeppelin aren’t one of the first classic rock artists I liked, I wish I listened to them earlier since their music is, I think, better than what I had been listening to before.

I remember about 7-8 months ago I began to listen to other music rather than just Queen and David Bowie, and I recall my mum suggesting that I listen to Stairway to Heaven, so I did a while later.

used to at all. At first I remember liking Since I’ve Been Loving You and Trampled Underfoot, despite listening to the shorter songs like Communication Breakdown and Over the Hills and Far Away (which is still one of my favourites today - I adore the vocals) more often. One day I decided to listen to all of Led Zeppelin’s studio albums, other than Coda which I wasn’t aware existed at the time but which is more of a compilation album anyway, and I think at that moment I realised I preferred them more than Queen or the other bands I listened to.

For some reason I thought I disliked it, under the impression that it was too long and it was quite unlike anything I had heard before.

However, a bit later, I listened to it again and recognised it for the masterpiece it is. A month or so after that, I found songs like Heartbreaker and Going to California and because they wasn’t too out of my musical comfort zone, I listened to them frequently.

My favourite Led Zeppelin songs are probably Stairway to Heaven (of course), How Many More Times (especially the 1969 Denmark Radio version), Thank You, Bring it on Home and Hey, Hey What Can I Do. My favourite albums are Led Zeppelin II and Houses of the Holy. Led Zeppelin IV, or Untitled rather, also has a special place in my heart since it was the first album I bought on vinyl. My favourite song from it being The Battle of Evermore.

It was only at the beginning of lockdown when I started to become a fan, although it took me a while to really enjoy the songs as a lot of them were too long for my liking and pretty heavy, which I wasn’t

In conclusion, although I don’t always listen to their music and do try to listen to other bands, Led Zeppelin will always be my number one favourite.

24 www.moulshamtimes.com

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Moulsham Lodge Community Trust We’re now in to the November issue and its time to mention the C word – Christmas. We have had to make the decision that Breakfast with Santa in its usual format cannot go ahead this year, but Santa has agreed to come along to The Community Station to meet his regular guests and bring his sleigh like last year (see photo).

Santa will visit over the weekend of 12th and 13th of December for our Santa’s Holiday Hamper event. Instead of breakfast, we are creating a box of treats similar to our Cream Tea boxes for adults and children.

These which will be collected at a designated time and during the visit the children can meet Santa for a photo and to collect a present.

The Christmas boxes will include a choice of sandwiches, a piece of seasonal cake, a jumbo sausage roll and a mince pie and some other treats. You can also order a takeaway tea, coffee or carton of juice and this will be included in the price - there will be a vegetarian option available too, and each box will also include a surprise gift.

Each box will be £8, or £15 for two, and can be ordered and paid for via our website or by phoning Santa’s ordering hotline. Details will be available on Facebook as well. Details of how to contact us are below, however please wait for the notification to appear on our website and Facebook to confirm the booking site is ready to take orders.

natural as we can.

Finally, it will be Moulsham Lodge’s 60th anniversary next year.

Some of you may remember ML50 and a whole host of activities that went on for a week. Now while the coronavirus may well restrict any celebrations like we had before, it will be good to plan to do something. If you have any ideas for ML60 please get in touch.

Our planning for any event must be able to look at an activity that doesn’t need months of preparation and can be adapted to suit any guidelines in place. We are looking at digital and online activities at the moment that allow many people to take part, but could equally be held outside or in a hall. We must mark the occasion somehow, so all ideas welcome.

Please note, that should the coronavirus restrictions change before then, we may need to review the event to make sure it can still go ahead. If any money has been paid at this time we will arrange a full refund. We look forward to seeing Santa and his elves and all our visitors!

In other news, we have installed most of the new plastic cladding to the exterior of the building, as the old wooden cladding was rotting and looked very tatty. It now looks a lot smarter and won’t need painting year on year. New high definition CCTV has also been installed both internally and externally thanks to funding received from Chelmsford City Council. We’ve also decided to create a ‘secret garden’. Leading out from the bi-fold doors in the Copper Pot Café will be a decked space with external seating and eating, and whilst we have no grass out the back, we aim to make it look as green and

Contact us by email: enquiries@mlct.org.uk Search for us on Facebook and Twitter Mobile: 07434 678 999.

2020 Fatigue

results…

We’re all just a bit tired of it now, aren’t we? Tired of the virus; tired of lockdowns; tired of 3-tiers; tired of covidiots; tired of the media; tired of politics; tired of not seeing loved ones; tired of testing; tired of waiting for results; tired of still waiting for

It’s lockdown fatigue, we’re told. But it goes beyond that, doesn’t it?

This year has exacerbated all other uncertainties and anxieties. It’s shone a spotlight on some of the creaking already present in our society - from the way education works to the way we shop. Things are changing, and the way of life we lived before Covid, and now during Covid, is being seen in its true light, and it’s unsustainable.

What are we to do? Well, one of the promise of Jesus is that if you’re weary, you can go to him and he will give you rest. What does that mean? It is actually all about a way of life. Jesus used the metaphor of a yoke - think oxen in a field, yoked to a plough. Jesus said that his yoke is easy. This isn’t a literal yoke, but in the time of Jesus this was an expression describing a way of life. We might say that the yoke of lockdown is wearying, and mean by that that the way of life that lockdown has imposed upon us is hard and tiring.

burdensome. It’s intimately connected to knowing who Jesus actually is - God’s Son - and being honest about your own tiredness and need for rest. It’s also tied to following Jesus’ own way of life. But that way of life does not lead to fatigue. In fact, it’s a cure for fatigue! If you want to give it a try, you need only pray - that’s just another word for talking to Jesus. Go ahead, give it a go. And if you need any help, get in touch; I’d love to talk with you about this.

Christmas Christmas is not going to be normal this year. But it is still a time when comfort and joy are offered once again by Jesus Christ and his churches. At Tile Kiln Church we’re planning for our usual carol service to go online (more details to follow, so watch this space!).

We’re also planning an interactive, online Christingle and for our normal Blue Christmas service to be in-person. More details to follow on all of these, so keep an eye out in the Moulsham Times and on social media.

Tim Goodall, Pastor Please get in touch! tim.goodall@tilekilnchurch.org.uk https://tinyurl.com/y24qlkvx www.facebook.com/tilekilnchurch

But Jesus promises a way of life that is not tiring, not wearying, not 26 www.moulshamtimes.com

Tile Kiln Corner - by Cllr Linda Mascot As the COVID-19 restrictions continue, I am reminded of the old adage ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ as we adapt to this new normal - at least for the foreseeable future.

So many situations are being adjusted with added safety measures and Halloween festivities are no exception. Kris Miners has set up a Facebook group, ‘Pumpkin Trail Chelmsford’, inviting people to download a printable pumpkin picture to decorate and put in their window before registering their postcode on a map to identify where they are situated. Kris explains: “I’m reaching out to the community of Chelmsford to join in with some Halloween fun by placing a pumpkin in your window for walkers to see in the lead up to, and on, Halloween. The idea is that when a child spots a pumpkin display in a window, they are rewarded with a treat whilst out on their walks. Hopefully we can all add a bit of fun whilst observing social distancing.”

What a great idea: parents take treats with them to give as the children spot the pumpkins. If you look on the Facebook page, there are also opportunities to win signed copies of Hornbeam Hollow - The Hunt for Halloween Pumpkin written by Kris Miners.

Another innovative idea with Christmas fast approaching is again, decorating windows. This time suggested by Tile Kiln Church with James Bell, Youth Pastor helping to coordinate: “Last year we started Advent windows at Tile Kiln Church. This was a result of a local artist who attends the church, approaching myself with the idea of turning house windows into advent calendars. As a trial we designed and installed artwork at her house, the Clay Pigeon pub, The Kiln and Tile Kiln Church.

“After such a difficult year, what a great way to have fun and enjoy the creativity of others by decorating a window and lighting it up each night for others to see? Especially with current restrictions meaning we are unable to spend as much time socialising at this time of year. Here is a safe and enjoyable way of socialising with anyone who walks past. I am not looking at posting a map or trail, but just leaving it with people, so no pressure. I look forward to seeing how many windows I can spot on my walks.

“I have advertised on Facebook pages linked to the Church and Chelmsford community, Kindness.

I would love as many people as possible to join in - you don’t have to be arty and I am happy to offer some templates or ideas. Uou can use anything you like from lights to tissue paper. If anyone would like some more information or ideas, then please do not hesitate to get in touch with me either via Facebook or by email at james. bell@tilekilnchurch.org.uk. Let’s all join together in encouraging each other after a tough year by spreading Light, Hope and Love for all this holiday season.”

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

“These proved popular with local residents and school children who enjoyed seeing the windows on the run up to Christmas. The idea was to repeat the whole process again with 24 windows running up to Christmas. As with everything, COVID-19 has meant that things were delayed, also partly due to me breaking my leg and ankle and being off work.

“I think there were a number of reasons we felt it was successful.

Firstly was the level of interaction and response I had both with and from individuals. Also I felt it was successful as the designs were decorated by a large number of individuals involved within church activities even down to the toddlers and in some cases whole families who decorated a large number of baubles and stars for the pub decorations.

“This year, I though it would be great if we could encourage as many people as possible to light up their windows for the whole of December, and so #LIGHTUPCHELMSFORD was born. www.issuu.com/itsyourmedia

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Moulsham Junior School

When we closed our doors to the vast majority of children on 20th March, little did we know what the weeks and months ahead would bring. In true Moulsham Junior’s fashion, kindness, compassion and a sense of real humanity shone through.

We operated with reduced teams on a rota basis. Teams were flexible and showed an amazing commitment to support our families.

Each week, teachers prepared comprehensive work-packs for each year group which were emailed to the majority of families. We also produced paper copies which were posted or collected by our non email users.

We remained open for the children of key workers and our vulnerable children throughout the Easter and May half term holidays. We also organised food parcels and vouchers to support families who were most in need.

Teachers had their own section on our website and their presentations were creative and inspiring, and certainly gave an opportunity for the children to stay in contact and see our staff in a different light!

As the weeks passed and spring rolled into summer, a new normal evolved. Across Essex there was an average of 2,000 children attending 549 schools. On average nationally, 0.9% of pupils were actually in school. Our in-school attendance averaged 2.5% (approximately 20-30 children), with the vast majority of these children having parents who are key workers. We were proud to play our part in the national fight against the virus. We knew that learning at home is not the same as learning in school, but we were committed to providing an education for our children which also offered stability at an unprecedented time. We promoted well-being as we firmly believe that happy children learn best.

On 1st June there began a very gradual re-opening of school, with children in Year 6 forming small groups of 15 or less. It felt ‘more like school’ with around 80% of our 150 Year 6 children returning to school. Our numbers of children of key workers and vulnerable pupils also increased gradually to between 60 and 90 per day. Once again, joy and laughter filled the classrooms and corridors. We were disappointed not to be able to accommodate all children but physical space and staffing capacity did not facilitate this.

However, we were able to hold achievement and award ceremonies virtually and also welcomed all children back into school to meet their new teachers. Our ever-resourceful Year 6 team were even able to put together a production, socially distance of course, to enable the children to have a return to normality for the end of their time at Moulsham Juniors.

School returned to full opening in September and our attendance is now approximately 97%. Children are incredibly resilient and adaptable and ‘normal life’ has returned to our amazing school once again.

Moulsham Red - 2020 Vintage Report After last year’s downy mildew disaster (Moulsham Times, November 2019), we fully expected that this year’s vendenge would also have to be called off and there would be no 2020 Moulsham Red, our locally grown and produced red wine. Having suffered last year, we worried about a recurrence. Our scientific adviser warns that the downy mildew spores are always there and it is just a quirk of meteorology whether they are able to develop into a full-blown disease or not.

We were lucky, she says, that it had only got to our vines once in over a quarter of a century. That was good news but it was a great disappointment that the Farleigh Hospice Open Gardens annual event was cancelled, so that we could not have our usual chat with other local vinery fans nor sell the usual crop of cuttings to would-be wine makers.

The downy mildew did put in an appearance in August - not only in our garden but also elsewhere in Old Moulsham where vines were growing. We feared the worst but the spread was not as swift nor as extensive as last year. Perhaps it was the exceptionally hot and prolonged sunny weather that helped us. At the slightest sign of mildew on any emerging bunch of grapes we snipped off the bunch, taking care not to scatter the spores, and destroyed it. We also noted that most surviving bunches were growing and ripening much earlier than usual and that, once ripening was underway, they appeared to be resistant to the mildew. We seemed to be winning, the crop was saved and the anti-blackbird nets went on weeks before usual (as explained in previous Vintage Reports, blackbirds can strip a vine overnight and have an uncanny knack of knowing just when the grapes are ripe for eating). We finally had the earliest vendenge ever, on 12th September, and had to muster the helpers over a month before the date that we had put in their diaries. (It was interesting to note that all over the south of England and in France the grapes were of finer quality and ready for harvesting much earlier than usual). www.issuu.com/itsyourmedia

Friends who were growing locally from our cuttings were also doing well and contributed their grapes to our harvest for pressing.

The vendenge day was beautifully sunny but not too hot for the workers! The grapes certainly yielded more juice than usual and seemed to be much sweeter than in previous years. In fact, all helpers commented on the unusual stickiness of the job, indicating extra sugar in the grapes. Even so, as is usual, we still added a few kilos of sugar to the must, plus some wine yeast; just to ensure a quick and vigorous fermentation. This fermentation will last about two or three months before racking off and resting until bottling in the spring. For the present, we have the satisfying noise of the airlocks bubbling away in the kitchen and great relief that we have had a 2020 vintage. As the 2020 juice turns into wine, we have just started to open bottles of the 2017 vintage. It is remarkably good but, as usual, it is not for sale!

Unfortunately, something went wrong with the apple trees this year, so that the wine press was not also in use for cider. But last year’s brew has served us well, as an excellent drink on hot summer days with only a few bottles left!

There was also a bumper crop of tomatoes. We had so many that Prue has not only frozen kilos but has made tomato juice, tomato sauce and tomato soup; some of which has also gone into the deep freezers. There must be something special about the Old Moulsham ‘terroir’! Let’s hope that it will be possible to revive the Farleigh Hospice Open Gardens in 2021 so that we can all chat about our gardening experiences and we can again sell vine cuttings for the good cause.

Robert Jones 29

BMW E39 ICE - by Simon Inglis

In the opening weeks of our own lockdown in Victoria, Australia, I had the opportunity to finally purchase a BMW E39 which I had promised to myself back in early 1996. That it took a quarter of a century to fulfill that ambition is another story...

The model that I purchased in April is not some rare beast as such, it’s a rather ordinary looking old - but classically styled - saloon car.

The silver March 2003 build 530i came by way of a BMW dealership employee. It’s a well-specced but ordinary car by today’s standards with a few key things to make the old girl worth my while.

Firstly it’s ‘straight’. If it’s ever been in a dingle it doesn’t show and there are no signs at all of rot. A blessing downunder is that many older cars are fairly free of the tin worm I got used to seeing in my years back in Blighty. Even so, at 17 years of age rust is often an issue as is fading paint, worn rubber and a lifetime’s cosmetic spots.

This car isn’t exceptional at all but given I paid $4,500 with 150,000 kilometres it was very good. Such cars have usually been abused or badly modified by now as they become available lower down the price point. Another issue unknown when comparing Australian to British used car values is this country’s third party insurance process.

Virtually any car can be insured for damage caused to other parties at a fairly reasonable cost, therefore a 6 or even 8 cylinder BMW is often affordable to new drivers!

Everything works on my 530i and the seats and trim are in excellent condition as is the woodwork. It is widely believed that the cabin is the selling point of an E39; it’s quite gorgeously selfish in the way everything points towards the driver and all the major controls fall easily to hand. There are enough modernities such as steering wheel controls, a reliable cruise control system, a full suite of airbags and other safety tech as well as a strong heater and icy cold airconditioning within the dual zone climate control system.

After the car was delivered by semitrailer one evening, the very next day I took to plugging in an aftermarket receiver I had laying around the house. I have retrofitted Nulaxy 12V receivers to our entire used car fleet including a Mercedes we have that has inbuilt Bluetooth, but no capability to stream a Spotify playlist. This is not a plug, but I’ve found a decent Nulaxy KM18 or KM24 to do a rather excellent job.

It helps if your car comes with an inbuilt microphone, but these $30 units (or less on eBay or Amazon) do a wonderful job of converting a Spotify list to a cars’ speakers as well as a pretty decent call clarity.

I’ve tried the units across four different manufacturers so I will vouch for these products.

Back to my 530i: The 7-inch screen is now looking its age, and that may in fact be a good thing for the growing number of potential purchasers looking for a retro unmodified 5 Series. My colour screen shows the usual items such as radio stations, fuel consumption, outside temperature, average speed and so-on - indeed more if I am to believe the blogs or were I geekish enough to probe further at my little buttons. Perhaps I’ll try someday!

Yet the graphics are poor by today’s standards and at night I tend to switch my screen off. In a nutshell, my choices are to upgrade to a premium head unit, a cheaper Chinese built one, go the whole retrohog thing and have a period satnav unit and premium sound system added, or quite simply put up with what I have.

In more modern cars, such as the ones most of us mere mortals cannot afford to purchase outright, it’s all the rage to have a fancy touchscreen. The new fad of digital dials is gradually doing away with such niceties as silver dials. To me at least, it’s getting ridiculous.

Have a peek in a new Mercedes dealership if you don’t believe me.

Just as I wear a classic analogue watch, I rather like the speedometer/tachometer/temperature/fuel dials in my cars, and these are the settings most of us settle on in new cars. Likewise, most of us listen to one, two or perhaps three favourite radio stations and stream a playlist.

As new cars inevitably trickle down the food chain, I’m a bit worried that, like my beloved old BMW, I’ll end up with no choice but a faded old digital dashboard in a few years, and an overwhelmingly complicated and unnecessary entertainment system when all I’ll actually want is to hear the morning’s news service.

But like most 17 year olds it’s the lack of Bluetooth that is a huge bugbear. One gets used to taking calls or streaming music these days so the need to upgrade the BMW’s old widescreen colour display (without satnav) was immediate. Or so I thought...

I’m certainly not the first person to say that our cars are overloaded with unnecessary technology that is extremely distracting, and unlike my old BMW I doubt I’ll be able to switch it off on a dark motorway.

Perhaps digital dashboards can be de-optioned to a sensible analogue cluster which is just simple, intuitive and attractive to look at? Here’s hoping!

30 www.moulshamtimes.com

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