Around town magazine upminster edition may 2015

May 2015 Edition 2 Delivered to 10,000 Homes and Businesses in the Upminster area aroundtownmagazines.co.uk

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...to Upminster’s NEW Community Magazine!

Features

The month of May is one our favourites at Around Town HQ! We are all looking forward to the beginning of the summer beer festivals and a second Bank Holiday weekend. Let’s hope the weather plays fair so we can all enjoy some time ‘around town’ this month.

When & Where...

Around Town magazine is a community magazine - your ideal handbook for local businesses and trades, stories and services available in Upminster. Our advertisers rely on local people using their services and visiting their shops and venues.

It’s important for them to know Around Town readers value their services – so please mention Around Town Magazine when contacting any of our advertisers. It means more to them than you may think.

8 What’s On

10 On Your Plot Gardening Tips 14 Around Town Sports Focuses on Boxing 18-19 Martin Lewis

“We have seen great results from our adverts with Around Town Magazines, since day one! We are extremely pleased with the professional and friendly service too”

Ken Butler

The Money Saving Expert 22 Auto-Biography New Ford Mondeo

Why Advertise?

We deliver 10,000 copies every month to homes and businesses throughout Upminster and the surrounding area. We are also online, take a look at our digital editions via our website: www.aroundtownmagazines.co.uk

To Advertise Contact our Sales Team today, 01277 658444.

Booking deadline for our June edition of Around Town is: Monday 1st June.

So read on and enjoy.

From the Around Town Team

What Our Customers Say...

Copyright 2015. Around Town Upminster 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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What’s on in May 2015?

21st Annual Art Exhibition The Brentwood and Billericay Group of the Essex Wildlife Trust is again mounting its popular Art Exhibition and Sale at Thorndon Countryside Centre from Saturday 4th to Sunday 19th July. This event is open from 10am to 5pm daily. The pictures are for sale at reasonable prices, and profits will support the Trust’s work of securing a better future for Essex wildlife.

Counselling A counselling service based in Upminster at Cranham Community Centre. Sue & Karen are registered counsellors covering a wide range of issues bereavement anxiety low self esteem depression relationship difficulties. Feeling lost/alone please contact taking that first step is often the hardest 0758 1634063 / 07428 911002.

RSPB Havering Local Group 30 May - Coach trip to RSPB Minsmere Nature Reserve, Suffolk The RSPB’s flagship reserve has a wide range of habitats with several large hides for easy birdwatching and a modern visitor centre with café/ toilets/ gifts.

Excellent bird-watching for all ages; £17 per seat. Contact; Ed Neller 01708 558399.

The Rotary Club of Hornchurch and Upminster The Rotary Club of Hornchurch and Upminster meets over lunch every Thursday at 12.30 for 1.00pm, at the Railway Hotel, Station Lane, Hornchurch. For further details please contact the Hon. Secretary, Brian Taffs telephone: 01708 250855 or e-mail: btaffs@btinternet.com On Saturday July the 4th, from 1pm until 5pm, the club will be running a fete on the Queen’s Theatre, Green,Billet Lane, Hornchurch. There will be children’s amusements,live music,craft stalls and refreshments and entrance is free!

The Club will be running a fete on the Queen’s Theatre Green,Billet Lane,Hornchurch on Saturday,4th July, from 1pm until 5pm. Entrance is free and there will be children’s amusements,live music,craft stalls and refreshments.

members are welcome.

Regular club outings help to keep us all motivated and new members are assured of a warm welcome at our regular Tuesday evening meetings at 7.45 for 8.00. at The Cranham Community Association.

Get in touch via e-mail at: info@upminstercameraclub.co.uk and check out our website at: www.upminstercameraclub.org.uk

Upminster Tithe Barn Museum of Nostalgia We are open two weekends a month between April and October. We are open from 10.30am to 4pm and entry is free.

While we have thousands of exhibits the key focus is on a collection of First World War postcards that passed between a parlour maid at Belhus Park estate and her ‘beau’ fighting in France.

The group comprises postcards, Christmas cards, medals and some ‘Trench Art’ made from spend bullets and shell cases.

Barn open days 2015

Upminster Camera Club

May: 2-3 and 30th

This year, we are celebrating our 60th anniversary.

June: 6-7 and 20-21

Our extensive programme of competitions and interesting lectures encourage our members to advance their skills in all aspects of photography.

We have various skill levels from preliminary to advanced and new

July: 4-5 and 18-19 August: 1-2 and 15-16 September: 5-6 and 19-20 October: 3-4 Entry Hall Lane Upminster RM14 2TX All enquiries Ian 01708 500 600 or ups.tithebarn@btopenworld.com

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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9

on your

PLOT

Expand your horizons

Summer, sunshine and strawberries, June is a truly wonderful month! In this time of plentiful growth we take a look at making the most of your waste clippings by turning them into lovely rich compost to use next year, and also how to make the most of every inch of your space.

Jobs for June:Take off the side shoots from tomato plants to avoid them becoming too bushy and overburdened with fruit. Water regularly.

Garlic that was planted in the Autumn should be maturing now. Lift when the leaves start to shrivel and leave to dry in a warm spot.

Keep planting - the moist soil, higher temperatures and long days are ideal growing conditions. French beans, courgettes and salad crops can all be sown now.

Watch out for pests! Think about protecting brassicas before caterpillars start to become a problem.

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Every year it amazes me how the plants respond so dramatically to the arrival of the warm weather.

Anything sown or planted out in May seems to positively leap out of the ground and shoot skywards, in many cases quickly catching up with earlier sowings!

Of course the lawn is no exception and if you don’t already have a composting system in place then why not set one up now and make use of some of those endless grass clippings?

Ideally you want to have two (or even three) compost bins so that when one is ready to use for the garden you have another filling up and rotting down. You can buy allsorts of nifty looking, ready made, compost bins some even have clever devices that make it easy to turn the whole bin to help the waste break down - but you don’t need anything fancy.

You can just start a compost heap in an out of the way corner, enclosing it with old pallets, or wire mesh wrapped around four stakes if you want to keep it looking a little neater.

So what should you compost? Well any dead organic matter will decompose naturally but you should aim for a good mix of ‘green’ and ‘brown’ ingredients. Lawn trimmings, veg leaves and peelings provide the green element and you should add a reasonable balance of brown items such as shredded paper, straw, eggshells and even the contents of your vacuum cleaner bag. Turning the heap occasionally will accelerate the breakdown and covering with an old

carpet when it is full will also help.

Leave for several months and you should have some great compost!

June is also the time of year when it is easy to start to run out of space on your plot. Everything puts on amazing growth spurts and you are suddenly left wondering where you are going to plant out those tomatoes that you’ve been nurturing in the greenhouse, or finding you’ve no room for the cabbages that you’d like to be eating later in the year.

Time to expand your horizons and make full use of containers and of your borders. Look at the different varieties of lettuce and salad crops many of these, along with cabbages, can add a splash of decorative, coloured foliage to your borders (and be eaten too!!!). Grow bags are wonderful for crops such as tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers.

They’ll be happy in a sunny spot on your patio but do remember to water and feed regularly. Larger pots can house courgettes and pumpkins, with the exotic looking flowers adding a bright splash of colour. Even hanging baskets can get in on the grow your own act!

Look for suitable strawberries or tomatoes and you could be treated to a bumper crop of luscious fruit tumbling down from above.

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01277 227988 or Freephone: 0800 0111 222 PLEASE MENTION AROUND TOWN MAGAZINE WHEN RESPONDING TO ADVERTS

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Take advantange of our special Spring Sale with 10% off * Pop in to one of our showrooms and see how our windows and doors stand out from the crowd.

Our friendly staff would be pleased to listen to your requirements, offer advice and provide ideas of cost.

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13

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.

Belhus Park Boxing Club www.facebook.com/belhus.park.5

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PRIVATE PENSION CHANGES Easter Monday saw the most radical changes to private pensions for a generation. The political spin is it’s ‘freedom and choice in pensions’. Yet more choice means it’s far easier to get it wrong, so here’s what everyone needs to know in 5 minutes…

Pension freedom sounds like something from Braveheart – what’s actually happening? I suspect George Osborne does picture himself as a financial freedom fighter.

Yet only time will tell whether these reforms will paint him as the man who liberated older savers, or who exposed them to huge risk.

This is all about how you use your pension savings. As always you can take a quarter of it as a tax-free lump sum. Yet for decades most people have effectively needed to use the remainder of the money to buy an annuity - a product that pays you an income each year until you die. Now anyone aged 55 and over can take the whole amount as a lump sum, paying no tax on the first 25% and the rest taxed as if it were a salary at their income tax rate.

Does it apply to all types of pension? No, we’re only really talking private pensions where you and/or your employer saved up a pot of cash for retirement. Technically these are known as ‘defined contribution’ or ‘money purchase’ pensions.

It doesn’t apply to the state pension, nor in the main part does it apply to pensions where what you’re paid is a proportion of your final salary – known technically as ‘defined benefit’ pensions.

There are ways to convert these final salary pensions into a pot of cash (be very careful

of scammers), but don’t do it without genuine independent financial advice Is it worth taking out my pot as soon as I can? Usually not. If you’re in your 50s or early 60s you’re probably still working towards retirement and should be focusing on putting yourself in a position to have enough income when you do retire – so you want your pension to keep growing.

Plus by accessing your funds earlier than needed you can reduce your ability to make future contributions.

Yet you’re saying if I want to, I can just take out all the cash? If you choose to yes, but remember only 25% of it is tax-free. The rest is taxed at your current income tax rate like salary, and if you take a huge whack, just like if you earn more, some of it will push you into the higher tax bracket. See the income tax calculator at www.mse.me/taxcalc to see the various levels.

If I don’t want to take it all out what can I do? There are many options, some of them can be combined, here’s the main ones.

Option 1: Leave it in your pension for when you need it. Then each time you withdraw, 25% of that amount is tax free. Eg, if you had £100,000 and took £20,000 out you’d get £5,000 of it tax-free, the rest would be taxed at your current rate.

Option 2: Take 25% tax free, then buy a flexible income drawdown product. This is a product you buy to keep the rest invested so it can still hopefully grow, but you can also use it to take income when needed. Here you get the first 25% you withdraw tax free and then the rest is taxed when you take it –

possibly useful if you’re likely to be in a lowertax bracket once you’re older.

Option 3: Take 25% tax free, then buy an annuity. This gives you a guaranteed income each year for the rest of your life. There are different charges on all of these, and it’s important to check them out and always compare different providers.

Eh, I thought annuities were as dead as a dodo’s granny? Actually annuities are a decent concept, you get the security of knowing exactly how much you can spend each year, and that it’ll last for the rest of your life.

The problem is the rates have been crap, and 60% of people just got them from their pension provider rather than checking for better deals, especially people with poor health who could’ve got much better rates.

Yet done right, with some of your pension, it can be a useful option for security of income for life.

How do I know how much cash I should take out? That depends on when you’ll die.

I’m not being a smart arse (well maybe a little), but truly that’s the only way to know.

Yet the Office of National Statistics mortality stats do show likely odds. The typical life span for a man who hits 65 in the UK is another 18 years, a woman 21. Add a little on that for safety and it means unless you’ve bad health you probably want to spend around 4-5% of what you’ve got a year.

What’s this ‘huge risk’ you talked about – let me guess you’ll warn me not to buy a Ferrari? I don’t think I need to. If you choose

to do that you know you’re probably either rather rich already, know you’re being foolish, or that you ain’t got long left.

Actually, I’m far more concerned many will be nervous about releasing the cash in case they’re left with none in old age and will therefore sit on it, never spending it, depriving themselves of the benefit and living a worse life than necessary. We’re not an investing nation and are relatively risk averse, so I see this as being a real potential problem. There’s also the worry that there’s a lot of scammers about trying to tap people for cash too.

OK so it’s complex, but hasn’t the Government set up a free advice service?

No. It has set up a free guidance service called www.pensionwise.gov.uk. This isn’t just a semantic difference – this system will tell you what you can do, not what you should do. It won’t include help on your benefits, nor on what product to get.

If you’ve a sizable pension pot it’s worth spending the £300 to £1,000 it’ll cost to get an independent financial adviser who can tell you what to do (get quotes from a few first). You can find a local one through www. vouchedfor.co.uk or www.unbiased.co.uk.

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AUTO-BIOGRAPHIES The fifth generation Mondeo is now available with Ford’s range of economical EcoBoost engines and, for the first time in the UK, a hybrid petrol-electric option.

Introduced in 1992 to replace the Ford Sierra, the Mondeo went on to become a piece of popular culture.

At launch, I tested the Mondeo Titanium Estate 2.0 Duratorq TDCI. With 148bhp and 258 lb.ft of max torque, the Ford is able to dig deep at low revs, resulting in proper pulling power.

Certainly, it’s easy to be blinded by the kudos of a premium badge but the Mondeo is brilliant. It’s handsome, interior space is excellent, the ride is smooth and the handling is spot on.

The diesel estate, in particular, excels in every single area. It’s fantastic to drive, it has a refined engine and the boot is the perfect shape for carrying a range of everyday items,

from a family-sized weekly shop to a stack of suitcases. It’s good value and will be less costly to run than many of its competitors.

The car is crammed with entertainment tech and safety gadgetry too.

The Mondeo is the first car from the Blue Oval brand worldwide to offer Pre-Collision Assist with Pedestrian Detection. This is designed to detect people in the road ahead - or that could cross the vehicle’s path - and automatically applies the brakes if you don’t respond to warnings at the wheel.

Also introduced for the first time in Europe is Ford’s ground-breaking Inflatable Rear Seatbelt technology.

The seatbelts expand to disperse crash forces across a body area five times greater than that achieved by a conventional belt. This offers valuable extra protection to very young or old passengers with weaker chest areas.

On the entertainment front, Ford’s

SYNC 2 connectivity system boasts an eight-inch colour touch-screen to operate phone, entertainment, climate and navigation systems using voice commands.

For example, simply pushing the voice control button and saying “I’m hungry” will display a list of local restaurants. SYNC 2 will then connect you by phone to the restaurant to book a table and guide you there. Groovy, or what?

So, this Ford Mondeo is as good, if not better, than many of the eulogized German ‘premium’ cars.

Go on – hop in one and try one out.

By Tim Barnes-Clay www.carwriteups.co.uk

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