Around town magazine billericay edition may 2015

May 2015 Edition 30 Delivered to 22,000 Homes in Billericay and the surrounding area aroundtownmagazines.co.uk

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Bring in your old jewellery, and we can help you design a brand new modern ring.

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... Around Towners to Billericays’ leading community magazine!

Features 10 Round Table / Rotary

The month of May is one of our favourites at AT HQ! The beginning of summer beer festivals, TWO Bank Holiday weekends and sunshine, warmth and a general good feeling all round! Let’s hope the weather plays fair, so we can all enjoy some time ‘around town’ this month.

Club / Lions Club

Following last months ‘Election Special’ edition, we have approached your prospective MP’s once again and offered them a final chance before voting day (on Thursday 7th May) to explain why your vote for them would count. Have your say and make it count – after all, one of them WILL be representing our community very soon.

EWT Volunteer Neil Sumner

We would also like to mention the start of our third magazine – Around Town Upminster – which successfully launched last month.

If you’d like more details on the titles available from the Around Town series, then please contact us on the number below.

With all the regular reports, local businesses, events and more inside, we hope you enjoy this edition of Around Town Magazine.

Until next time...

From the Around Town Team

Organisations ‘Around Town’

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16 Martin Lewis

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The Money Saving Expert

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23 - 26 Election Edition General Election - 7th May

Why Advertise?

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We hand deliver 22,000 copies every month to homes in Billericay and the surrounding area. This includes several thousand copies being available from venues throughout the town and an online edition.

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Booking deadline for our June edition of Around Town is: Friday 15th May.

Copyright 2015. Around Town Billericay is an independent magazine and does not endorse the products or services that appear in the magazine. Opinions expressed in Around Town do not necessarily represent those of the editors of Around Town Magazines. Around Town Magazines are published by Black Square Print Media Ltd produced by Black Square Litho Ltd.

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MAYFLOWER ROTARY CLUB Planning for Summerfest on July 12 and Christmas Market on Dec 6 are well under way and stall positions are already well booked. Email djr66@aol.com to participate.

However, before that there is a full programme of events, some social, some fund raising, some a bit of both.

Key dates are: April – Scatter week – visits to other clubs. There is a trophy for the club that clocks the most miles. Mayflower has won this trophy for the past 11 years resulting in many interesting tales of happenings in the process.

Apr 17 – Charter Night – Black Tie Dinner – this is our birthday - we will be celebrating 25 years of Mayflower Rotary.

May 9 – Murder Mystery Evening – tickets still available – email frtn15@keme.co.uk Jul 12 – Summerfest on Sun Corner Sep 13 – Bell Boat Race – get your entry in for this fun event on the River Chelmer email barrymhowe@yahoo.co.uk for details.

Dec 6 –Billericay Christmas Market Casino Evenings: Mayflower offer a fun casino evening at competitive rates with all proceeds going to charity. Email colin.breathwick@btinternet.com for details.

Why not join Mayflower Rotary? Applications welcome from all ages and genders. Why not use your energy, skills and enthusiasm to help raise funds for charitable causes? Join Mayflower Rotary and be a part of the team that delivers Christmas Market, Summerfest and many other events like the Quiz, Magic Night and Bell Boat Racing while enjoying social evenings in the company of like minded people. We meet 8pm every Thursday at Burstead GC. Email: andy.hunter@perficiam.com

BILLERICAY LIONS CLUB Hi Folks, rest up for a while.

As I write excitement mounts on the forthcoming Taste of Caribbean Night. This is due for April 18th and has been fully booked since before Christmas! Late cancellations have been swiftly replaced by those eager for a place at the tables. We run it just like a normal quiz but with more emphasis on the food and less on the questions. This year we have 6 Taste courses plus a quiz all for just £13 per person! How do we do it for the money?!! Well, we forecast a profit of approximately £450 plus a really enjoyable evening, so we must be doing something right.

For those of you who visit our bookstall in the High Street on Saturdays, I’m pleased to say that we have had an influx of books recently. Sadly, we cannot take hard backed books as these are too bulky to store, but we are always happy to take clean, complete paperbacks of all kinds. It’s amazing the books we take in – anything from the complete works of Shakespeare to Fifty Shades of Grey! Finally, another reminder about our Beer Festival held on the last weekend in June. This year we are delighted to have the services of The New Crawdaddy Blues Band who will be performing through the weekend with guest appearances by Split Whiskers on Friday and Bad Influence on Saturday. As usual the festival will be held at Billericay FC. I can’t wait!

For details of all Lions events please visit our website www.billericaylions.com or telephone 0845 833 9849.

I write this article on the morning after the night before…last nightwas our AGM and a celebration of all that we achieved in the last 12 months. I’d forgotten just how much we’d done!Some hilarious moments, cracking days and nights out and fantastic donations to very worthy local causes! …and so begins a new tabling year!

Fireworks 2015 Update It may seem a long way off, but planning for the 2015 Billericay Fireworks display is coming on apace. After using entrance scanning software for the first time last year, we are now down to a shortlist of suppliers that will provide a new and improved online ticketing system and many more scanners for this year’s event. Artist bookings are already being made and we look set to get an even bigger and better line-up. Canyou help? We are looking for guys to helpus onFriday 6th and Saturday 7th November building the fire…and in return we’ll feed and water you. We are also looking for sponsors and advertisers. With approx. 18,000 people attending one of the biggest and most popular local events, this is a fantastic opportunity to get your brand out there. So please get in touch at fireworks@billericay.roundtable.co.uk.

Are you looking for something new to do?

• Sun 10th May - GT Racing at Brands Hatch, watching what promises to be a high octane, adrenalin fuelled day of motorsport.

• Weds 13th May - Jack the Ripper Walk followed by a few beers and a curry in London’s Brick Lane.

• Sun 17th May - 7 of us are taking part in the Nuclear Rush at the Brentwood Nuclear Bunker, raising funds for local charity BOSP.Mud, sweat and beers (rather than tears) hopefully!

• Sat 30th May - Major Generals Review (basically a dress rehearsal for Trooping of the Colour)…and a day that will genuinely make you proud to be British!

So a busy month…and there is a load more to come! We’d love to show you what we do and for you to share in the fun. So if you’re an active and adventurous guy aged 18-45 who wants to get out and DO MORE,come and try us out! Get in touch by emailing us at domore@billericay.roundtable. co.uk or contact us via Facebook!

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15

Don’t bitch about your bank, switch.

HSBC’s hit the headlines for moral failing, but that’s nothing Barclays, Lloyds and others haven’t done in the past. My ears regularly burn with people growling about their bank, yet last year only 1 in 50 people punished theirs by leaving.

Yet now is the perfect time to do it, many banks are salivating for new business, pushing out lucrative perks for switchers on fee free bank accounts. Here are the 10 need-to-knows...

1. Seven-day switching means it’s mostly no hassle. Seven-day switching is now over a year old. Within seven working days your new bank will switch your direct debits and standing orders for you and close your old account and make sure any payments to it are forwarded to your new one. I did a snap poll on my Facebook page of people who’d used it 82% found it “easy and hassle free”.

2. What counts as switching to get the perks? For most accounts, you usually need to not just open it, but switch. That usually means: a) You need to pass a credit check, though they’re not normally too harsh. b) Most require a ‘min monthly deposit’.

In reality it’s just how they ensure you pay your income in there. Eg, £500/mth = £6,000 salary. c) Many require you to have a couple of direct debits set up.

3. Get paid £125 to switch. Some banks want you to switch so much they will pay you to do so, and this bribe is tax-free.

A full list (and some short lived special deals) in www.mse.me/bankaccounts, but here’s a taster: - Free £125 + £5/mth: www.halifax.co.uk Reward pays you £5/mth if you’re in credit.

- Free £100 + top service: www.firstdirect. com has won every customer service poll I’ve ever done, plus it offers a £250 0% overdraft and 6% linked savings. You must pay in £1,000/mth (equiv £13,500 salary) to avoid a monthly fee.

- Free £100 + £25 to charity: www.cooperativebank.co.uk also gives £25 to one of seven charities.

- Free £100 M&S gift card: www.bank. marksandspencer.com it also has a £100 0% overdraft and linked 6% regular savings account.

4. Top for savings interest – get up to 5%.

Instead of cash bribes, other banks try to suck in customers by paying switchers loss-leading interest rates on savings (taxed like normal savings) to keep you with them.

- For bigger savers 3% interest + up to 3% cashback: www.santander.co.uk 123 is the only one which pays strong rates on a decent whack. You get 3% AER variable interest if you’ve £3,000 to £20,000 in it - more than double the best buy normal easy access savings account.

It has a £2/mth fee but for most that’s more than covered as it also pays cashback on direct debits paid from the account. You get 3% back on mobile, phone and broadband, 2% on energy and 1% on water, council tax and Santander mortgage payments. As Stefan tweeted: “Since the account opened 18 months ago £484.80, 2/3 cashback 1/3 interest. Happy.”

Yet for smaller amounts there are others out there paying up to 5% interest, and if you’re willing to play you can combine them to earn more. Full list and help doing that in www.mse.me/savingsloophole.

5. Which pays more - free cash or the bank savings interest? As a rough rule of thumb, if you’ve got £10,000+ then Santander always wins. Below that, we need to get a little nerdy... a) How often will you switch? You could switch annually (or more often) to keep bagging free £100s. To earn more in bank savings needs £3,000+. Yet if you just want one account to stick with, as savings pay each year it wins. b) Where’d you save it otherwise. The top savings accounts pay 1.4% AER so you can earn that without switching bank. So if bank savings is paying, for example, 3%, then the gain from choosing it as your bank is just 1.6%. c) Tax. The free cash for switching is tax-free, but interest is taxed like income tax, eg, at basic rate you lose 20% of it (higher rate 40%). So £100 free cash is £100, but £100 interest is £80 (£60 at higher rate).

As you can see there are a lot of variables, but in a nutshell, if you don’t want to regularly switch and have above say £4,000 then the high interest current account wins.

6. How to cut overdraft charges to 0%.

An overdraft’s a debt like any other, so if you often go into the red, cutting its cost makes it easier to clear. www.firstdirect. com has a £250 0% overdraft and you can put the £100 it pays switchers towards it too. www.nationwide.co.uk FlexDirect may give a bigger 0% overdraft, credit score depending, but only for a year (it’s 50p/day after so try to clear by then).

If your overdraft is bigger, a few credit cards will pay them off for you at 0%.

Full info on that at www.mse.me/ moneytransfers.

7. Free travel insurance accounts. The www.nationwide.co.uk FlexAccount is feefree and includes Europe travel insurance for the account holder(s) and crucially this goes up to age 74 – useful as older people pay a hefty whack for travel insurance.

You can upgrade to world cover for £40.

8. Fed up with banks? Want something different? For a real change use a credit union. These are local savings and loan non-profit co-operatives. But while there are 500 credit unions, only around 25 offer current accounts to check if your nearest does go to www.abcul.org.

9. Changing bank doesn’t stop you reclaiming for mis-selling. You can still ditch, switch, then reclaim if you were mis-sold. For help reclaiming packaged accounts (those where you pay a monthly fee see www.mse.me/ packagedaccounts) and if you’re in financial hardship you may be able to get bank charges bank see www.mse.me/ bankcharges (avoiding bank charges in the first place is even better though).

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Having trouble voting?

Action38, the independent campaigning organisation, have a quiz to help you choose which party’s politics are most relevant to you. I took the quiz but got stumped very early on. First question: “place the following topics in order of importance”, these included economy, environment, health and education. Of course we all want a strong economy and many people would put this top of the list because the other topics are dependant on it.

But the dependency is both ways. If people aren’t healthy and well educated they are not going to be employable and productive. And what about the environment?

I’ve written before about the economic benefits the environment can bring and Tony Juniper’s recent book “What Nature does for Britain”* emphasises this even more, giving real examples of how, if used correctly, it could save us billions. The environment naturally provides us with clean oxygenated air and water. Plants do this, as does the soil they grow in: 10 billion tonnes of carbon is stored in soils in the UK, more than in all the forests of Europe. Soil purifies and stores water and regulates water flow. Mr Juniper informs us that the wettest soils, in bogs, marshes and fens, provide around £350m worth of flood defences every year and this could be even better if we diverted more of the taxpayers’ contributions to farming into managing the land to regulate the water flow. $1trillion of sales annually worldwide depend on pollinating insects. And yet some useful insects are under threat from pesticides. We have many natural antidotes to pests. We should think outside the box, specifically the nest box. At an orchard in Holland nest boxes for Great Tits gave a great apple harvest, as the tits moved in and hoovered up the caterpillars. The Great Tit song is described as ‘”teacher, teacher” – and we should listen and learn.

And there is wildlife tourism. In Scotland this is worth around £276million per year, providing thousands of jobs. White Tailed Eagles on Mull have brought real benefits to the local community. And there is health - a report by Natural England concluded that £2.1 billion could be saved in avoided health care costs if every household had access to open and green spaces.

And there is wildlife for its own sake. Like art, music, architecture, vintage cars etc, which we are all interested in to varying degrees, it enhances the quality of life, and is a heritage worth conserving. In May, do we want to walk in a silent countryside, with no butterflies and flowers? No, that would be like visiting an art gallery with no pictures, its a “blandscape” not a Living Landscape.

Professor Sir John Lawton in the paper ‘Making Space for Nature’ said “our natural world is not a luxury, it is essential to our health, well-being and economy”. The RSPB’s “Vote for Bob” campaign (www.voteforbob.co.uk) advocates that whichever party(s) are in government, they should put nature higher up the agenda., *“What Nature Does for Britain” is ISBN: 9781781253281

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In 2010, the Coalition came together to sort out the chaos caused by the Labour Government. Britain had suffered the deepest recession since the Second World War, unemployment increased by almost 500,000 whilst Labour had more than doubled the National Debt – they love to spend taxpayers’ money, even when they don’t have it!‘ After five years, the Government is turning the economy around. It is now the fastest-growing of the world’s major economies, the deficit has been halved and mortgage rates kept low, whilst 1,000 jobs have been created every day since 2010 - meaning there are now 2m more people in work. The unemployment rate in Basildon and Billericay has almost halved since the last General Election.

We should not put these achievements at risk by changing course.

The Government also has a good record at cutting taxes, particularly for the lowest-paid, by raising the income tax threshold. Three million people no longer pay tax, whilst over 25m people have had their tax cut - someone working fulltime on the minimum wage has seen their tax bill halved since 2010. If elected, the Conservatives will continue

to raise the tax threshold to £12,500.

The Government has helped pensioners by introducing the ‘triple lock’ guarantee, which means the basic state pension increases each year by the greater of earnings, inflation or 2.5%. As a result, the state pension has increased by over £900 a year since 2010. We will continue to protect pensioners’ ‘universal benefits’.

A growing economy helps to resource strong public services, which are the mainstay of our communities.

At a national level, a Conservative Government will continue to make realterms increases to the NHS budget. If re-elected as your MP, I will continue to work to ensure Basildon Hospital keeps improving, school standards continue to rise, and crime keeps falling.

Whilst accepting that we need more homes for local people, I share concerns about development. Any proposals must have local consent and contain appropriate infrastructure improvements – the money for which must be ‘on the table’ from the outset. It is

essential that health services, schools and roads can cope with the increased demand.

I am a long standing Eurosceptic, and led the back bench rebellion in Parliament which persuaded David Cameron to change party policy and offer an in/out EU referendum after a renegotiation which must include ‘Freedom of Movement’ reform.

Conservatives tried to pass legislation in the last Parliament for a referendum by 2017, but were thwarted

by Labour and the Lib Dems - only the Conservatives can and will offer an in/out EU referendum. Labour and the Lib Dems will not, and UKIP can not.

Finally, if re-elected I will continue to do my best to help constituents in need, and to assist charities and community groups further their ambitions in our area - these are key responsibilities for an MP. Having been prepared to vote against my Government when appropriate, I can also promise a strong and independentlyminded voice for Basildon and Billericay.

JOHN BARON

Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Basildon and Billericay

GENERAL ELECTION THURSDAY 7TH MAY 2015

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appointments within 48 hours and cancer tests within one week.

Basildon is my hometown. I love living here. I’m proud to be from Essex and I’m proud to be standing for parliament in a town where I know I can make a real difference.

CONTROLS ON IMMIGRATION I will vote to change the law to mean people who come here won’t be able to claim benefits for at least two years and we will introduce fair rules making it illegal for employers to undercut wages by exploiting workers.

A COUNTRY WHERE THE NEXT The crux of my plan is simple; as GENERATION CAN DO BETTER THAN your Member of Parliament, working THE LAST As a 26-year-old I am dedicated to people will be my absolute priority. speaking up for my generation so I To that end, I will do five key things. will vote for tuition fees to be reduced to £6,000, an apprenticeship for every A STRONG ECONOMIC FOUNDATION school leaver who gets the basic I will balance the books and cut the grades, and smaller class sizes for 5, 6 deficit every year while securing the & 7 year-olds. future of the NHS. None of Labour’s manifesto commitments require Unlike John Baron who lives in London additional borrowing. and George Konstandindis who lives in Bedford, Basildon and Billericay is HIGHER LIVING STANDARDS FOR my home. I’m going to fight for it and WORKING FAMILIES defend it in the House of Commons.

I will freeze energy bills until 2017 and give the regulator the power to cut bills this winter, ban exploitative zero- Labour’s hours contracts, raise the minimum Parliamentary wage to £8 and provide 25 hours free Candidate for childcare a week to working parents.

AN NHS WITH THE TIME TO CARE I will vote to put 20,000 more nurses and 8,000 more GPs into the NHS. We will join up services from home to hospital, guaranteeing GP

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Basildon & Billericay

Gavin Callaghan

GENERAL ELECTION THURSDAY 7TH MAY 2015

Martin Thompson is the Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Basildon and Billericay. Martin knows the area well having stood for the Basildon and East Thurrock seat in 2005 achieving third place.

that will protect our valuable green spaces, trees and wildlife. We must also ensure that Britain continues to lead in the fight against climate change.

HEALTH CARE

As a Liberal Democrat, Martin has been working to ensure there are equal opportunities for everyone and feels that we need to build a stronger economy and a fairer society. Martin wants to see a cut in income tax of £400 for low and middle earners to ease the pressure on family household budgets.

As the Liberal Democrats’ parliamentary candidate in Basildon and Billericay, Martin is keen to work to guarantee equal care and waiting times for mental as well as physical health by increasing spending on the NHS to give it the extra £8bn a year it needs by 2020.

EDUCATION Martin places great emphasis on family links and wants to ensure that a qualified teacher teaches every child in Basildon and Billericay. He wants to protect spending on nurseries, schools and colleges. Martin says “We have proved in government that we can stand up for fairness by blocking Tory plans to run schools for profit.” Martin would also like to give under-21s twothirds off their bus fares so they can afford to travel to college or work.

FINANCE

Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for Basildon and Billericay

HOUSING The pressures for new housing in Billericay need to be met in a way

Martin Thompson

GENERAL ELECTION THURSDAY 7TH MAY 2015

25

The UKIP manifesto launched last week has been costed independently: we are the only party that can find extra money to meet Britain’s needs. Savings can be made by leaving the EU, reducing foreign aid, scrapping HS2, replacing the Barnett formula, cutting the cost of government, and stopping health tourism.

Instead, UKIP will: • Take control of our borders by introducing an Australian-style points based system.

• Raise the personal allowance to at least £13,000, taking anyone on the minimum wage out of tax altogether; raise the 40% threshold to £55,000, and introduce a 30% tax rate on income between £45,300 to £55,000.

• Abolish the inheritance tax.

• Meet our NATO obligation by spending at least 2% on defence.

• Put more money into the NHS to fund 8,000 more GPs, 20,000 more nurses and 3,000 more midwives.

• Put GPs into A&E departments, and make hospital parking free.

• Phase out Labour’s PFI scandalous contracts.

• Integrate health and social care, and offer a better deal to home care workers.

• Scrap the bedroom tax, and help people who need food banks.

• Protect the green belt and incentivise brown-field development.

• Reduce business rates for small businesses.

UKIP is the only party that has made a positive contribution to British politics over the last 3 years. As a result, Conservatives pledged a referendum that would be meaningless, as there will not be any substantive change to put on the table, and Labour said they would take control of our borders, even though they know they can’t whilst the UK remains in the EU. Having achieved all this without being in office, imagine what a number of UKIP MPs could do for you.

Believe in UKIP. Believe in Britain.

George Konstantinidis - UKIP Candidate for Billericay & Basildon

26

GENERAL ELECTION THURSDAY 7TH MAY 2015

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Mark Winn builders offers a full design and build service for anything from a full house extension to a complete

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‘We’re friendly and really try to get to know our customers. We make sure when we’re carrying out the work they can carry on their daily lives pretty much as normal, without any major disruption’.

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Working For The Common Good There is an admirable tradition of Christian political involvement in this country with people such as William Wilberforce campaigning to bring an end to the global slave trade and the philanthropist, Anthony Ashley Cooper, better known as the 7th Earl of Shaftesbury, who reformed the child labour laws and was instrumental in bringing education to the inner cities through his sponsorship of the ‘Ragged Schools.’

These reforms, and many others like them, have enhanced the well being of many and given opportunities to those who, previously, had little, if any, ambition and hope for their lives.

They are a legacy of which we can be justifiably proud - even if you don’t share their Christian faith or political stance.

On entering politics, Charles de Gaulle is reported to have remarked: “I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians.” Last month the Bishops of the Church of England issued a pastoral letter urging church members to engage in the political process and use their vote. And, whilst some might argue that Bishops should keep their views to themselves, it is worth noting that more people attend Anglican churches on a wet February Sunday morning than the combined membership of all

political parties.

Dave Landrum, of the Evangelical Alliance, echoes these sentiments when he comments that Christians of all denominations have a responsibility: “... to speak truth to power.” The Bishops argued that Christians who are ‘trying to make the world a better place’ simply cannot allow cynicism or apathy as an excuse to disengage themselves from the political process and said: “The privileges of living in a democracy mean that we should use our votes thoughtfully, prayerfully and with the good of others in mind, not just our own interests.” And prayer is something each one of us can do at this significant time. We can pray: for our nation and its leaders; for those participating in the General Election; and for a campaign built upon issues of justice and compassion.

Some people often ask if there anything distinctive about how Christians cast their vote. If there is, it is probably that we vote not seeking what is best for us; but what is best for our neighbour; what is best for our community; what is best for the nation as a whole; and what is best for our world. It is what Christians call working for the ‘common good.’

On 7th May 2015 many of you will be asking: ‘How can I make my vote count?’ and ‘Which

party should I vote for?’ As you reflect on these important questions, why not consider the following: • Don’t be ashamed of supporting Christian values - because those values are best for Britain!

• Vote, don’t abstain - make your vote count!

• Don’t blindly vote for a party look for the personal values of your constituency candidate!

• Vote for the local candidate first and the party second - politics, like faith, is best lived out locally!

May God bless you as you engage with these important decisions and as you seek to support the ‘common good’ of our community, constituency and nation.

Web: www.emmanuel-church.info Email: paul@billericaychurches.org Tweet: @EmmanuelCM12

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Close To High Street and Station . Ground Floor L-Shaped Entrance Hall Lounge / Diner 5.58m x 3.82m (18’4” x 12’6”) Bedroom One 3.41m x 3.64m (11’2” x 11’3”) . Bedroom Two Kitchen 4.13m x 1.89m . Bathroom . Balcony

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Boxing is making a return to the back pages, and I suspect will even trump football on May 3rd when the fight of the decade takes place in Vegas between American Floyd Mayweather and Fillipino hero Manny Paquaio finally enter the same ring.

Super fights like this one don’t come around very often, but many different weight divisions are littered with British world title contenders as well as world champions, capable of participating in such super fights.

Britain could even host one of the world’s biggest fights if world champion Kell Brook and former world champion Amir Khan decide to get it on.

Gone are the days where England’s solitary world title hopes rested on Frank Bruno’s heavyweight success and Chris Eubank’s dazzling skills.

Now we have Luke Campbell, Anthony Joshua, Kevin Mitchell, Carl Froch, Kell Brook and Amir Khan, all either holding a belt or knocking on the door.

I want to focus on the local scene of boxing. We know that if taught right, Boxing is another great way for people to exercise and more importantly have the sense of belonging to a club and also can teach people to act with a certain level of discipline and control in their everyday lives.

While I think, we as a country, are happy for our children and family members to train and perhaps partake in amateur boxing bouts, like at the Olympics, I feel that fighting events for adults on the local scene have a huge stigma attached to them.

I asked a local boxing enthusiast and amateur boxer, Paul Tredgold some questions about the local fighting scene. Paul trains at The Locker Room in Southend and competes in local events.

How did you get into boxing and why did you choose Boxing when you obviously played other sports?

“I got into boxing through a friend of mine that boxed locally. I have great memories of watching the boxing with my Dad from a young age, watching guys like Chris Eubank, Nigel Benn, and Herbie Hyde, when it was on terrestrial television. One day my Dad took me to my Uncle’s boxing gym, he put a pair of 8oz black boxing gloves on me and left me on the heavy bag, I didn’t move it much, but gave it a good go.

Boxing appealed to me because it brought out a personal motivation in me that other team sports failed to do.

It was a nice balance doing both, but as I have grown older it has helped me stay in shape and has made me work harder than I thought was possible to achieve certain goals.”

What would you say to someone who likes boxing, but does not get down to local fight nights?

“I would say give it a go. Boxing teaches respect, self discipline and much more, and this the staple of all boxing shows. Most local events lay on a nice meal, a good view of the boxing and allow you to be surrounded by your own family and friends, in your own area. Unfortunately, there seems to be a stigma about boxers, and boxing shows, but I believe they are incorrectly labelled. People think that the shows are full of intimidating fans that are just as aggressive as the loud brash boxers who want to fight everybody all the time. But the truth is most boxers that I know are usually very calm, respectful and humble people with an inner self confidence about them, which leaves them with a feeling of nothing to prove in a macho sense.”

Is it conducive to everyday life? How does your boss feel about going to work with a black eye?

“The philosophy of boxing can actually shape your everyday life

and definitely can go hand in hand with your current lifestyle whoever you are. It’s like my trainer and good friend James Chisholm often says, “We cannot make life any easier, but we can make ourselves tougher” what he means by that is by making us fitter and tougher mentally, life becomes easier, which is very true in my case. Where I work people are very supportive of what I do. My superiors always ask how I got on and see it as a very positive thing that I box. Boxing teaches a very ‘can do’ attitude and that it always welcome in any workplace.

I wouldn’t suggest fighting on an evening before an important client facing meeting where millions of pounds are at stake, but common sense should hopefully prevail.”

It is hard to sometimes look past the brutality of the sport and it is not going to be for everybody, however skill, courage, determination and agility are all things to be admired and Boxing ticks those boxes.

See below details of a local gym in the area that I am sure would welcome new members that either wish to compete or train.

Billericay and Wickford Boxing Club billericayabc.blogspot.co.uk

Why not treat Dad to a very special FATHER’S DAY on Sunday June 21st £23.95 per Person ~ 3 Courses Al Fresco Dining in Billericay Join us under the ancient walnut tree away from the traffic noise and fumes of the High Street for a coffee, a spot of lunch, a glass of wine or a full Al Fresco dining experience

New Summer Set Lunch Menu Tony, Natalia and the team have launched a new summer Set Lunch menu at just £7.95 for 1 course or £10.95 for 2 courses

Children Under 10: £9.50 2-Courses; £12.50 3 Courses

Dining times 12.00 noon to 4.30 pm (last orders) Call now to reserve your table (£10 pp deposit required at time of booking)

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THE HOOP BEER FESTIVAL 2015 Friday 22nd May – Monday 25th May

Come and enjoy sampling some of the 100 real ales and 60 ciders on offer.

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43

What’s on in April 2015?

Billericay Twins Club The Billericay Twins Club is a voluntary organisation, established by two young enterprising mums back in 1977. Today, its main function remains the same as 38 years ago, to provide support and advice to families with twins, triplets and more!! Our Nursery Group meets every Monday in term time, from 10.30am until midday, in the church hall at the rear of Christ Church in Perry Street and costs £4 per family per session. For more information about the club visit our website www.billericaytwins.co.uk or telephone Amanda Deacon on 01277 653752.

Buttsbury Billericay W.I. We meet at Canon Roche Main Church Hall, Laindon Road, Billericay, CM12 9LL – 8.00pm for 8.15pm start on the 2nd Tuesday each month. We have interesting speakers, Creative, Educational and Fun evenings. Come and give us a try. We are a very friendly group and you will receive a warm welcome. Contact JAN NASH 01277 630147.

Buttsbury Ladies Choir We meet every Wednesday evening in term time from 7.30 - 9.30pm at Brightside School, Billericay. Our repertoire is varied and includes folk, musical theatre and popular songs. We hold our own concerts twice a year and perform to local clubs. If you enjoy singing why not give us a try?

No audition required!

For further information please ring 01277 840303 or 01277 651740

Cricket Season Begins Our league season starts Saturday 2 May. Our practice nets are Thursday evenings at the County Ground, Chelmsford. We are a friendly and well-run club, welcoming players of all abilities and enjoying the traditions of village cricket in the T Rippon MidEssex League. Further information is at stjohnscc.play-cricket.com or email jonfairclough281@aol.co.uk.

Fitness Class Wedneaday Eve @8pm.

Ramsden Heath Village Hall HIIT Class suitable for all levels £4 per session. If you want to tone and shred those inches for summer this is the class for you Contact Tina 07815815605 for any more details or just turn up look forward to seeing you.

Mayflower Wine (and social) Club The club meets on the first Wednesday of the month at the Day Centre, Chantry Way, Billericay at 8.00 p.m. New members always welcome. First visit this time free, and our annual subscription is £22.00. More details phone Paulette on 01277 652001.

Remus Memorial Horse Sanctuary Open Day

Little Farm, Buttsbury, Nr. Ingateston CM4 9NZ. Sunday 3rd May 1p.m.

- 5p.m. Admission Adults £4, Members with cards £3, Children up to 16 years FREE. First Open Day of the year. Come and see how our foals have grown and our new 6 months old pony Dante. Visit our goats, sheep and donkeys. Listen to Midnite Blue while enjoying your refreshments. Have a gentle stroll round the sanctuary meeting all the animals. Lots of stall, raffle, competitions - plenty to do for all the family. For more information contact Remus Memorial Horse Sanctuary on 01277 356191 or remusoffice@aol.com. If it has rained hard prior to the day please ring and check event is still on. Best wishes, Fran Smith.

Stock & Buttsbury Bowling Club Stock & Buttsbury Bowling Club (Common Road, Stock, behind the Bakers Arms PH), a friendly and sociable club, is holding an Open Weekend on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th May when anybody is welcome to come along and try their hand at bowls between 10am and 4pm (10am to 1pm on Sunday). Free refreshments.

Please wear flat trainers. For further information call Brian Sims (01277 840715) or Val Poel (01277 841553).

If you would like to promote your club or event then please email a maximum of 70 words to admin@aroundtownmagazines.co.uk. Please ensure that all contact details are included.

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The CoaCh & horses Chapel sTreeT, BilleriCay, CM12 9lU

01277 622873

Nige Kirby The Singing DJ

BILLERICAY’S PREMIER ALEHOUSE & EATERY

We Don’t Serve FaSt FooD, We Serve FreSh FooD aS FaSt aS We Can!

Party DJ Karaoke DJ Background Singer Open Mic Host

NEW MENU N O W AVA I L A B L E

Food served: Monday - Saturday 12 - 2:15pm & 6pm - 9pm

07778 353870 email: thesingingdj@hotmail.co.uk

C /TheCoaChandhorsesBilleriCay

INN ON THE GREEN Come & have a nosey and enjoy

20% off * your food bill

Soon Coming

NEW

WHAT’S AAT’S ON? Our Ale & Pie Festival is now on!

Menu Now Here!

NEW Menu coming soon • Join us from 28th April •

Delicious NEW dishes including our favourite Pulled Pork Burger

Inn on the Green, Mountnessing Road, Billericay, Essex CM12 0EH

T: 01277 658998 | innonthegreen-pub.co.uk

First Name: Email:

Surname: Post Code:

Terms & Conditions: 20% off food: *Offer valid for a limited time only. Details must be completed to be valid.

Minimum spend of £5. Maximum discount of £20 applies. Cannot be used in conjunction with any other offer.

Only one voucher per transaction. Offer subject to availability.

We reserve the right to amend or withdraw offers at any time. Images are for illustrative purposes only.

Promoter: Spirit Pub Company, Sunrise House, Burton-Upon-Trent, Staffordshire, DE14 3JZ.

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MON-SUN

BILLERICAY’S MICROPUB SOON TO BE OPEN IN EVENINGS. There will soon be a new place to drink real ales in the evening Billericay. Billericay Brewing will now be opening their micropub until 9pm on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings from 15th May. The micropub is situated next to their microbrewery at 52 Chapel Street (just behind the Waitrose Car Park and opposite Mayflower Hall) Micropubs are a phenomenon that is becoming increasingly popular. They are basically a very small pub and a place where people can meet to enjoy quality real ale and good conversation. The first micropub opened in Kent in 2005 and there are now over 100 nationwide.

Billericay

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Brewing’s

micropub

will sell their own real ales direct from the cask, guest beers from other local breweries and a wide range of bottled craft beers. The micropub also includes a retail area so you can take home bottles of Billericay Brewing beers and other local, national and international beers plus take home containers of their draught ales. In addition there is an outside drinking area to enjoy the beers in the coming summer weather. Billericay Brewing has been brewing on their own microbrewery since January 2014 and now have a range of 7 permanent beers such as Billericay Blonde, Billericay Dickie and Mayflower Gold and produce regular seasonal ales such as their

latest Norsey Gold. Brewery tours, tasting evenings and brewer for the day experiences are also available. With a number of other excellent pubs in the town and neighbouring villages, Billericay is rapidly becoming a destination to visit for real ale and craft beer lovers.

For further details see the website www.billericaybrewing.co.uk Opening times: Tuesday & Wednesday 10am-5pm. Thursday, Friday & Saturday 10am-9pm, Sunday 12-4pm.

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Friday 8th May

Italian Wine Tasting Friday 22nd May

Dinner and Live Music Friday 5th June

Italian Night

Friday 19th June

Italian Wine Tasting Friday 10th July

Dinner and Live Music Friday 24th July

AUTHENTIC ITALIAN CAFFÉ & DELI info@labottegaitaliana.co.uk | www.LaBottegaItaliana.co.uk

01268 525727 | 07557 546783 Barleylands Craft Village | Barleylands Road | Billericay | CM11 2UD

USEFUL NUMBERS POLICE Billericay Police Station

01277 631212

HOSPITALS Brentwood Hospital Basildon Hospital Broomfield Hospital Essex Nuffield Hospital Mayflower House Queen’s Romford Southend Hospital St. John’s Spire Hartswood Hospital

01277 695000 0845 1553111 01245 443673 0800 688699 01277 621130 0845 1304204 01702 435555 01245 491149 01277 232525

HELPLINES Alcoholics Anonymous Childline DIAL Disability Helpline Drugline Essex Home Start

01245 256147 0800 11 11 11 01268 294400/1 01708 749151

(Helping families under stress) 01277 263325

In Focus

(family disabilities support)

Narcotics Anonymous Parentline Samaritans S. Essex Rape and Incest Crisis Centre Victim Support Essex Women’s Refuge

Italian Night Book at -

nicky.08@live.com or call for more info.

BIRTH, DEATH MARRIAGES REGISTRATION

TAXIS Advanced Taxicall Billericay 01277 800001 Mayflower Cars 01277 624000 Swift Cars 01277 757473

CHEMISTS Boots the Chemist, Billericay Filmcroft Ltd, Billericay Lloyds Pharmacy, Billericay Moss Pharmacy, Billericay Shadforth M.W Billericay Shadforths Pharmacy, Billericay Shadforths Pharmacy Ingatestone

UTILITIES Anglian Water 0345 145145 Electricity – Power Supply Problems 0800 783 8838 Gas – Urgent Calls / Gas Escapes 0800 111999 Minicom – Transco 0800 371787 Thames Water (Supply or Wastewater Services) 0845 9200 800 Three Valleys Water 0345 823333 Water – Essex & Suffolk Water 01245 491234

0845 6037632 01277 233565 01277 221155

BLOOD TEST Booking Line NHS Direct

01277 655233 01277 624862 01277 622828 01277 653035 01277 622927 01277 652241 01277 352125 01268 242159 0845 4647

ROAD & TRAVEL UPDATES Essex Travel www.bbc.co.uk/travelnews/essex

01245 353575 01277 655352 0808 800 2222 08457 909090

COUNCILS Basildon Billericay Town Council Chelmsford Ingatestone Stock Parish Council

01268 533333 01277 625732 01245 606606 01277 353315 07757 114952

01375 380609 0845 4565995 01268 541140

TRANSPORT Bus Service Rail Service

0870 6082608 08457 484950

VETS Best Friends Veterinary Surgery House & Jackson Ingatestone Veterinary Centre Summerdale Veterinary Centre Vet Savers LIBRARIES Basildon Billericay Ingatestone Wickford

01277 651009 01277 655524 01277 353612 01277 631889 01277 652100 0845 603 7628 01277 624624 01277 354284 01268 561963

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BILLERICAY

WHILE-U-WAIT SERVICE & REPAIRS ANY MAKE | ANY MODEL NO APPOINTMENT NECESSARY MORE CONVENIENCE We’ve made more time slots available for services and MOTs

WE MATCH OFFERS ON:

Tyres, brakes, servicing and more

ARE YOUR TYRES SAFE?

Drop in to make sure they are legal

TEST DRIVE

The latest Ford models

01277 525327

NEED A MINOR FIX FOR YOUR VEHICLE?

Pop in and let us make it better for you

WE SERVICE AND MOT Any make and any model!

FREE WI-FI COMPLIMENTARY DRINKS

essex ford | BILLERICAY

Doing it even better for you

LONDON ROAD, BILLERICAY, ESSEX, CM12 9ET