Stories Magazine - Positivity

WELCOME TO THE DAWN OF A NEW DECADE – JANUARY 2020

o9 POSITIVITY

“If you look at what you have in life, you’ll always have more” Oprah Winfrey

Stories IN ASSOCIATION WITH DISCOVER HARLOW

REAL STORIES ABOUT REAL PEOPLE

No ads.

No clutter.

Harlow Stories Magazine is created by Magnificent Stuff www.magnificentstuff.net

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Issue o9

“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass, but learning to dance in the rain.”

Vivian Greene

Hello and welcome This time of year can be hard on many, the fallout from the Christmas cheer and of course the spending, the shift from indulgence to abstinence, the gloomy weather and the inevitable disappointment associated with the inability to stick to the copious resolutions made… the list goes on!

One smart PR firm even calculated that the most depressing day of the year, Blue Monday falls in January. All-in-all, as time goes January isn’t the most positive of months. Which is why we decided outright that the red thread running through this issue would be oozing POSITIVITY! As I enter my 7th year of coming up with smart strategies to make people or organisations famous in their sector I’ve learnt a lot about having a positive outlook. Whether you are self-employed, looking for work, employed, retired, a student or whatever to get the most out of your life and to generate the relationships, business, and life that we want we must have a positive outlook.

Produced with thanks to: Magnificent Stuff Content curation www.magnificentstuff.net MW Studio Design & Layout www.mwstudio.uk BMS Mailing & Fulfilment www.bestmailing.co.uk

This is our 9th issue of Stories and our 2nd working with the team at Discover Harlow who are working hard to promote positive stories from Harlow. One of the major local employers, and therefore a very positive asset to Harlow, is global organisation, Raytheon’s story on their association with Harlow. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Raytheon for supporting this issue of the magazine and would also like to encourage you to have a jolly good read of their story later on.

In the meantime, please do get in touch to share your stories, support the magazine and the help promote the Discover Harlow initiative.

THIS ISSUE OF STORIES MAGAZINE HAS KINDLY BEEN SUPPORTED BY

Enjoy the read….

Emma www.magnificentstuff.net

CREATED BY

Story telling marketers

07834760627

@harlowstories

@harlowstories

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Dear Reader John Keddie Chair of Harlow Place Board

Welcome to the January edition of Stories Firstly may I start by wishing you all a very happy, healthy and positive 2020.

2019 brought some exciting news for Harlow. These include the announcement of a new hospital, our shortlisting to submit a bid from the Town Centre Development Fund, the invitation to bid for a share of the Future High Street fund and the development of exciting plans for Harlow and Gilston Garden Town. At the start of a new decade, we have much to look forward to as these plans develop and turn into actions.

Harlow Ambassadors is now an established group and offers a great opportunity for organisations and businesses of all sizes to get involved in the positive promotion of the town. At each meeting we are forging new links that will enhance our community and showcase Harlow as a great place to live, work and visit. We have a great story to tell, and our network of Ambassadors will spread the news and champion the vibrant work that’s happening within the town and its communities.

Our next Ambassador meeting is on 5 March, 8 - 9:30am at the brand new Anglia Ruskin University Business Innovation Centre, Harlow Science Park Harlow, CM17 9LX where we will hear from Aideen McCambridge, Anglia Ruskin’s Innovation Centre Manager, Chris White, Director of Wrenbridge, the developers of the Science Park, and Places for People, Developers for the new Harlow Gilston Garden Town.

Finally, I’d also like to thank Raytheon UK for generously sponsoring this edition of Stories, and our Ambassadors Emma Knewstub of Magnificent Stuff, Mark Welby from MW Studio and Lyn Reed of Best Mailing Services for producing and distributing the publication.

If you would like to be an Ambassador or would like more information email discoverharlow@harlow.gov.uk or follow us on Twitter @DiscoverHarlow If you or your organisation would like to sponsor an edition of Stories, please email discoverharlow@harlow.gov.uk

Best wishes John Keddie Chair of Harlow Place Board

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The Council is also leading the work on the Town Centre Area Action Plan (AAP) which will provide the planning framework for the town centre’s future development and regeneration, and the business case for Future High Streets Fund will enable parts of the AAP to be progressed.

Positivity around Harlow as a place of significant opportunity has once again attracted Government recognition Illustration: Nerea Bermejo Olaizola, Social Media @missbermi

THE BID BUSINESS This is a time of great opportunity for Harlow.

ITS LOCATION IN THE UK INNOVATION Corridor between London and Cambridge gives Harlow unrivalled connectivity. In addition to this, recent large scale investment from Public Health England, the development of Harlow and Gilston Garden Town, the promise of a new hospital and the progress of Harlow Science Park means Harlow stands poised on the edge of a bright future.

Positivity around Harlow as a place of significant opportunity has once again attracted Government recognition for its potential development and growth now and in the future.

Harlow Town Centre has been shortlisted for the Government’s Future High Street Fund and invited to develop proposals to renew and reshape the Town Centre in a sustainable and transformational way enabling it to play a positive role, supporting the above developments and projects.

Harlow Council and partners are working together to develop regeneration plans and put forward a business case for the Future High Streets Fund. The proposals must demonstrate deliverability and prove that they will secure transformation of the town centre

The town has also been shortlisted to bid for funding from the Government’s Town Fund, another signal that Harlow is a location of significant economic and housing growth; although at the time of writing further guidance on the Fund is awaited. Harlow stands ready!

The original Broadwalk in 1966.

WHSmith is the only remaining shop

Harlow & Gilston Garden Town Public engagement phase begins for project.

Harlow and Gilston Garden Town (HGGT) will enter a public engagement phase in the New Year when they showcase plans around their Transport Strategy and Healthy Town Framework.

The emerging Transport Strategy encourages residents, visitors and businesses to travel by bike, foot and public transport and promotes the provision of fast, frequent bus services.

Granted Garden Town status in January 2017, Harlow and Gilston will see the delivery of 23,000 new homes across four new neighbourhoods, 26 hectares of employment land and town centre regeneration.

Bolstering HGGT’s plans around healthy living in the community will be a proposed new hospital for Harlow plus Public Health England’s new life science facility.

For more information on HGGT visit www.harlowandgilstongardentown.co.uk

GILSTON VILLAGES

EAST OF HARLOW

WATER LANE

H

E Z

LATTON PRIORY

S T C

G A

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PRODUCTIVITY = POSITIVITY @ WORK Positivity isn’t just about mindset in personal life, it’s imperative we maintain positive in all we do. Peter Henegan from Optimus Learning discusses: This time of year whilst we’re all working towards or simply ignoring the resolutions made, we’re mindful that the road to improved productivity is paved with good intentions and it’s not the creation of a resolution that’s important but the motivation AND action needed to carry it through. Let’s look at a brief summary from Forbes and give our take on them: ACKLE TOUGHER TASKS WHEN T YOU’RE MOST ALERT Makes sense naturally. I’d add ‘get the toughest task done first’, but then I’m a morning person.

CHEDULE ADMINISTRATIVE TIME S Deal with your e-mails, admin chores and phone calls in an allotted period and don’t touch them outside of that period. More creative and productive time guaranteed.

TAKE REGULAR BREAKS There are lots of studies on this. Taking 15 minutes every hour and a half or so can give you a boost and re-energise your focus.

S TOP MULTITASKING It’s no revelation to discover that focussing on one project at a time leads to a more successful conclusion.

So far so good, if a little obvious. But let’s consider the four bullet points in addition to the ‘pleasure/reward’ syndrome that affects us all in relation to resolution.

• Tackle tougher tasks when you’re most alert – tough tasks are never pleasurable, but the completion of them is. How often have you worried overnight about a problem you didn’t want to face head-on, only to be incredibly pleased when it’s completed?

• Schedule administrative time – Apparently it takes up to 26 minutes to re-focus after an interruption, being able to avoid them has to help. Similarly we are all creatures of habit – scheduling a set period each day creates a sense of calm and wellbeing.

• Take regular breaks – Try this for yourself. A cup of tea or a walk, or chatting to friends or family every hour or so can give your mind a real boost when you get back to work, and you’ll soon make up for the time you’ve missed in productivity. It also makes work feel ‘less like work’ which is an added bonus if you don’t like your job!

• Stop multitasking – A reward again here.

Get something achieved and move on to achieving something else. Nothing is more stressful than trying to multitask and failing on numerous levels instead of just the one!

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Nothing is more stressful than trying to multitask and failing on numerous levels

Will this advice help 2020 be more productive? Well that’s down to an individual’s own personality, but it can’t hurt, that’s for sure. One other thing is important to consider though: Don’t beat yourself up. We all have good days and bad days, productive days and otherwise. But, if it goes wrong perhaps taking a break and re-reading these tips may help.

If you’d like to maximise your productivity and keeping focused and positive at work, the Harlow Stories team strongly recommend using the Pomodoro Technique, information can be found here: www.francescocirillo.com/pages/pomodorotechnique To find out more about the services Optimus Learning provide, visit their website: www.optimuslearningservices.com

YOU R H AR LOW:

“Local newspapers may be heading for the same door as Kodak Cameras and Blockbuster Video”.

Keeping it local

By Michael Casey You may be familiar with the on-line newspaper www.yourharlow.com (YH). It is now the only Harlow-based news source left in the town. the house (office in spare room) and dealt directly with distributor. I may never be a millionaire but my product is my own.

For the first couple of years, YH didn’t set the world on fire. 2014: 300,769 page views and in 2015: 255,920 but I felt I was adding to the total sum of news items in the town plus my filmed items were an added bonus.

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N 2019, WE PUBLISHED 4,000 STORIES and gained over 2.75 million page views however, we still need your help to promote all that is good in the town.

Here is a piece about YH, it’s origins, it’s achievement and its hopes for the future.

In May 2013, Your Harlow was selected to be one of six projects to win funding from the Carnegie Trust as part of their Neighbourhood News project.

At that time, I had been running YourThurrock.Com for five years. Before that, I had been working in regional print media but from the late nineties, I had been looking at the decline of print and the opportunities on-line and wanted to fully explore them.

I was born and brought up in Harlow and as I was living here, it seemed a natural place to launch a second paper. In 2013, there was no intention to compete with other papers, I just wanted to add to the sum of news.

In 2007, when I started planning YourThurrock, there were still three printed newspapers in Harlow (Harlow Citizen, Harlow Herald and Harlow Star). My business model was similar to the music artists I liked.

They had left the major label (I left a large publisher), they set up recording studio in

A few weeks later, we were contacted by the BBC’s One Show who wanted to run a feature on a town of 80,000 that had just lost its last printed newspaper. They followed me for the day. The reporter that interviewed me had cut his teeth on the Grenfell tragedy. One of the key points that came out of Grenfell was that area had not had a newspaper for a number of years. There wasn’t a platform for residents concerns and fears.

We were very proud of our appearance on BBC1 at 7pm at night but my key statement is a key part of the Discover Harlow mission.

I said “In order to be a local newspaper, you need to be attending and reporting on the community events, council meetings, sports event and the theatre. If you think you can do it all from thirty miles away then call yourself what you like but you are not a local newspaper, you are just a karaoke version.”

Tragic events put YH on the newspaper map in 2016. The tragic death of Summer Grant in a bouncy castle and the killing of Arek Jozwik in The Stow. Yes, our coverage went all over the world but I am proud that our coverage was respectful, accurate and measured.

“If you think you can do it all from thirty miles away then call yourself what you like, but you are not a local newspaper, you are just a karaoke version” In June 2017, I wrote a piece announcing that we would commit to publishing 60-70 stories a week, dedicated to the town of Harlow. I promised that less than 10% would be crime. The rest would be communityfocussed. We were aware that the Harlow Star was “losing its focus” and wanted to commit to making sure every organisation in Harlow had a platform.

In 2019, we may well publish over 4,000 stories and surpass over 2.7 million page views but we feel we have so much more to give and this is where you come in.

We thank all those who send us stories.

From jumble sales in Churchgate Street to rock school in Katherines but we implore every club, charity, society, organisation to send us their news. I still think we are scratching the surface of all that is good and great in the town. The Discover Harlow programme is a fantastic platform to showcase and sell Harlow but we need every club, business, council, individual to say: “Have I told Your Harlow about this?”.

Managing Editor: Michael Casey Unit 68, Nicholls Field, Harlow, Essex CM18 6EA www.yourharlow.com Facebook: YourHarlow Twitter: @yourharlow

In 2018, we gained 1.4 million page views.

In January 2019, the last printed newspaper went. That month a year long government review on local news called The Cairnross Review concluded that for the big companies

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POSITIVELY DIGITAL MARKETING IN THE NEW DECADE I get it! Everything’s a mess. But it doesn’t have to be. The world has changed completely since 2010, and this change has opened up new and amazing opportunities for digital technology to help us reach out to people. As we enter a new decade, Adam at MW Studio explains all.

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HE ONE THING I CONSTANTLY HEAR and read about is the general lack of understanding of what digital marketing is. It’s no wonder then, that businesses struggle to see the value in it.

Let’s rewind a little. The phrase ‘digital marketing’ has become a bit of a bug bear of mine, as it has for many of our contemporaries, clients, and various innocent bystanders (like my mates when I start going on about it again). I find this especially frustrating, given that I’ve spent more than a decade preaching the value of online communications.

Don’t get me wrong: I still believe as much as I ever did in the work and the impact it has on a company’s bottom line. I just cringe a little every time I hear someone use the phrase ‘digital marketing’ out of context or in the wrong way, because they read it on a blog somewhere but didn’t really get it.

It’s become an excuse for sloppy marketing.

Lazy practices and short-term goals. It’s become a way for snake-oil salesmen to con uninformed business owners into parting with cash to fund the growth of the consultant’s business, not the client’s.

And now I find myself, as I often do in life, thinking ‘there must be more’.

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Well, there is. I’m going to explain to you in simple language what digital marketing is and, frankly, why you should give a damn.

A DEFINITION Put simply, digital marketing is the combination of strategies, channels, and tactics that a business uses to help them engage with their past, present, and potential customers. That tends to mean using any communication that is delivered

Of smartphone users

82%

consult their phones while standing instore deciding which product to buy

1 in 10 of those end up buying a different product than they had planned

‘online’ (or via the internet) and involves electronic devices like desktop computers, laptops, mobile phones, and an increasing number of ‘smart’ devices, from the television in your home, to the watch on your wrist, to that new whiteboard in your office that no-one has shown you how to use.

But Adam, you’ve already lost me…

OK, let’s break this down and explore what I’ve written in the above paragraph. I hope that by the end of this post you’ll have a better understanding of what digital marketing is and why it’s important for your business.

STRATEGIES, CHANNELS, AND TACTICS Firstly, it’s important to understand the difference between these terms. Part of the problem with using the word ‘digital’ is that it’s so broad. No wonder it’s confusing!

By its very nature, the new digital world has disrupted traditional marketing and advertising fields and created new ones all of its own. If you think PR isn’t digital, think again! If you think search engine optimisation is just part of building a website, you’re unfortunately misguided.

If you want to have the most engagement with your customers in this modern age, and win more business, you need to take

The steps that matter 01

02

03

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MEET Customers

MATURE Relationships

MONETISE Engagements

MATTER In the long term

advantage of many of the practices you are already familiar with, in combination with some of those born in the brave new world of digital.

STRATEGIES (MODEL) A strategy is an overarching approach to your marketing plan that incorporates both digital and non-digital elements. It’s the fundamental model around which all of your communications are built, from how you define the members of your target audience, to the messages you create to tell your brand story, to the mediums on which you share your creative work.

There are many, many strategies out there, and I’d argue that, whichever model you use, what’s most important is how you implement it. While failure to prepare is indeed preparing to fail, I’d argue that, until it’s deployed, a plan is just a plan.

At MW Studio, we use a very simple ‘4M’ strategy that describes how a brand will meet their past, present, or potential customers in the moments that matter, mature their relationships with those customers, monetise those engagements profitably, and finally, matter to their customers in the long term

to encourage loyalty and therefore repeat business and referrals.

CHANNELS (MEDIUM) Channels are the mediums through which you share your marketing messages with your audience members. There are the traditional channels that you’ll be well aware of, such as television, radio, billboards, brochures, magazines, and so on. Digital channels would include your website, your emails, Google, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat… this list goes on, too.

What’s important is that the channel mix is forever changing. But hasn’t it always?

Hasn’t each one always served a discrete, yet meaningful purpose? The debate as to whether to place your media spend on the TV vs the radio, or in a newspaper vs a magazine, is the same as the decision as to whether to invest in Google over Facebook, or LinkedIn over Instagram. It’s a marketing challenge that’s as old as time, and yet, timeless. What’s changed is the opportunity to measure the impact of each channel in relation to the others and make meaningful decisions on where you’ll get the most bang for your marketing buck.

Maximise Leverage an understanding of customer and channel behaviour to optimise performance on an ongoing basis

The process

• Data driven decisions • Test and learn • Start small and grow

Map

01

03

Connect all marketing activity to key touch points, to ensure an effective multi-channel strategy • Annual strategy plan •M onthly implementation plan

Measure Implement and monitor modern marketing analytics tools to track the performance of each tactic

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• Live dashboard • Weekly WIP • Monthly meetings • Quarterly business reviews

TACTICS (METHOD) Still with me? OK, here’s where it gets tricky.

Tactics are the exact methods through which you can share your marketing message across digital channels. Some of these you’ll have heard of; some of these you may not have encountered. I’ll give a summary for the moment, but we’ll be diving into each one in more depth in future posts.

The devices involved in digital marketing change almost as quickly as the ads that cross your TV screen Digital marketing tactics include: SEARCH ENGINE MARKETING This is among the best-known digital marketing tactic, and includes other practices that you might be familiar with.

Search engine optimisation, or SEO, is a way of helping search engines like Google to better understand the content and purpose of your website so that they can deliver the right content to the right audience at the right time. Paid search, or PPC – which stands for pay-per-click – is a method of advertising that was developed following the invention of the search engine, and allows you to pay for your message to appear when people search for specific terms rather than waiting until Google ‘ranks’ your website naturally.

SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING Another well-known but often misunderstood (and mis-sold) tactic is social media marketing. These practices focus on how to most effectively share your messages in a way that will engage your target audience in the places where they spend so much of their time, like Facebook for many ‘consumers’ and LinkedIn for many ‘professionals’. (The quote marks here indicate likely audience stereotypes for each platform, although this may spark some debate!)

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Have you seen the augmented reality (AR) technology embedded in the latest IKEA Place app? This type of tech is no longer hidden in labs or the minds of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs: it’s the new Gold Standard of communication

Social media practices include the scheduling of ‘organic,’ or non-promoted, posts to reach your followers at a time when they are most likely to engage with your content, community management (which is how you respond to both positive and negative comments from users), and advertising, or ‘paid social’, which is the ability to pay to show certain types of content to an audience outside your existing network.

EMAIL MARKETING Frequently overlooked, email marketing is a fundamental tactic to get right if you want to maximise your conversion rates and encourage advocacy from your customers. Practices here include how to store and manage your customer information (customer relationship management) and how to effectively schedule different types of message to engage customers in key moments. Examples include ‘basket abandonment’ emails for websites that sell goods online and ‘birthday reminder’ emails to encourage gifting.

AND MANY MORE… There are other tactics of course, such as Content Marketing, Display and Native Advertising, Affiliate Marketing, and Marketing Automation, but these come under what I think are the ‘core’ digital marketing activities outlined above. (They are

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topics for another day, and if you have time, we would be more than happy to discuss them with you!)

DEVICES The devices involved in digital marketing change almost as quickly as the ads that cross your TV screen. If it’s not the new iPhone, it’s the latest tablet or the latest fitness watch that can also play funny cat videos right there on your wrist...

The truth is, there are going to be even more, crazier experiences coming your way in the very near future. In fact, some are already here. Have you seen the augmented reality (AR) technology embedded in the latest IKEA Place app? This type of tech is no longer hidden in labs or the minds of Silicon Valley entrepreneurs: it’s the new Gold Standard of communication.

MEASUREMENT One thing that digital marketing has given us over and above anything that has existed before is the ability to accurately measure the effectiveness of various channels and tactics in relation to one another. This has often been used poorly, to focus only on channels that deliver an immediate return on investment (ROI), perhaps quite incongruously by companies that have specialised in that particular method.

With the latest AR technology, the IKEA Place lets you virtually place true-to-scale 3D models in your very own space

However, by using the measurement tools now at our disposal to look at performance across the entire marketing mix, we can make informed decisions about where best to spend the budget over a meaningful period of time.

And there you have it: an overview of what ‘digital marketing’ actually is and some ideas of how it can help your business. Hopefully, this article has helped you start to unpack the big, confusing world of digital marketing so that you can realise the opportunities such strategies, channels, and tactics will afford you in the months and years to come.

A lot can happen in a decade. What used to be adventurous small-scale startups are now multi-billion-dollar industries that have changed the world, and many of them have made their mark by helping people connect with one another. Though times may change, there will always be that need to connect with other people, and as we do so, we encounter more ideas and opportunities.

Here’s to the next decade!

mwstudio.uk

Confidence and motivation “ I’ve been overweight for years and tried every diet known. It had really affected my confidence. After only 6 sessions with Toby I cannot believe the change.

Happiness is a mood Positivity is a mindset

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OSITIVITY IS A MINDSET, being the best version of you, looking after yourself physically and mentally. Being mindful of how you feel, recognising when you need help and being brave enough to seek it.

The majority of challenges we face are created by the brain, meaning our mind can be assisted to overcome those challenges That’s where I come in. Employing a combination of cognitive behavioural therapy, psychotherapy and deep relaxation techniques, along with hypnotherapy and positive suggestion, I help people of all ages tackle their demons. The mind is a powerful thing.

Over the last few years I have helped so many different people. I love being a part of each journey.

I have lost a stone, but it’s more about the way I feel. I am motivated to exercise and feel so much more confident.”

Public speaking Whether it be battling chronic pain, losing weight, quitting smoking (or any other addiction), or simply relieving stress and improving the amount and quality of sleep, I am so proud of the results my clients and I have achieved together. There really is nothing I can’t work on with an individual, once they are ready to commit.

Clinical Hypnotist, Toby Wallden runs POSITIVITY throughout Essex and London, using hypnotherapy and psychotherapy to help people with live happier lives.

“After many years working as a Paramedic I am really enjoying now building my practice as a Clinical Hypnotherapist. Watching my client’s journeys as they reach their potential, overcoming issues that have troubled them for years is incredibly rewarding”

“ I have always struggled with public speaking and it was starting to hamper my career.

In a presentation my mouth dries up, I trip over words and forget what I’m saying. Not any more. I saw Toby for a number of sessions. I didn’t think it would work but I was desperate.

The results have been incredible. I got a promotion along with a payrise a few months ago – you can’t say better than that for a success story.”

To speak to Toby about your anxiety, stress, weight loss, sleep problems, phobias, or anything else please contact him directly on 07870 207 482 or email toby@positivityforyou.co.uk www.positivityforyou.co.uk

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H A RLOW:

HOME OF RAYTHEON Raytheon and Harlow share a commitment to technical excellence.

THE HISTO RY OF RAY T HEO N

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T IS HARDLY SURPRISING THAT RAYTHEON has called Harlow home for more than 60 years. The town and the business are both avowed backers of new technology.

Now known as Raytheon UK, A.C. Cossor had started out in 1896 from a humble workshop in Clerkenwell, on the edge of the historic City of London. The business manufactured cathode ray tubes, before transitioning to manufacturing essential wireless equipment for the British forces during World War I and consumer radios during the inter-war period.

When World War II broke out in 1939, Cossor led the way in the development of new technology to push back the threat of Nazi Germany. One particular development was radar, which saw the growth of the business rapidly accelerate from there-on.

And just as Harlow was being designated a New Town, and a target for substantial construction in the aftermath of the war, Raytheon, too, was dramatically growing, and looking for a new home.

The twinned fates of the small town and the burgeoning manufacturer were thus aligned long before 1958, when Cossor moved to the expanding town of Harlow.

Fittingly, Raytheon now resides in Kao Park, the industrial estate named proudly after Sir Charles Kuen Kao, the Chinese-physicist known as the father of fibre-optics.

Kao – who was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2009 - earned his PHD while working at Standard Telecommunications Limited in Harlow, where he and his colleagues were fundamental in the creation of broadband internet.

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Raytheon was the first of the new tenants to arrive in the park that bears his name.

It now sits alongside other world-leading businesses, like Arrow, Virgin Health Care and Pearson.

Raytheon’s work in Harlow has generated more than 100 highly skilled jobs and, although its parent company resides in the US, the business continues to build its presence across the UK, with sister sites in 12 locations including London, Manchester, Broughton and Waddington.

And in each location, the business continues to innovate – providing opportunities in STEM careers and working to bridge the UK’s skills gaps with programmes at a wide variety of levels.

These include the ground-breaking Quadcopter Challenge, which has seen school pupils from across the UK work with Raytheon volunteers to learn how to build and fly unique aerial vehicles.

Now in its fifth year, the most recent competition saw seven schools from across Essex competing in Harlow for a place in the national final at RAF Cosford, with Colchester’s St Helena School representing the region in the last stages of the competition.

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The Quadcopter Challenge is Raytheon’s flagship STEM initiative, designed to educate and inspire school pupils from across the UK, instilling in pupils a belief that they too can be engineers.

However, it’s not just the students who have to put the work in. During the course of the challenge, over 200 Raytheon employees volunteered their time as STEM ambassadors.

Throughout the course of the competition, they mentor the teams, visit schools, host workshops and guide pupils on how to

improve the aerodynamics and control of the quadcopters. Their dedication to the competition is just proof of why the event gains more and more popularity each year.

But it is not Raytheon’s only campaign in Harlow – strong ties also exist between the business and the STEM Academy at the Burnt Mill Academy Trust, where Raytheon’s Harlow’s site lead sits on the board of trustees. The BMAT school offers a unique curriculum and serves as a STEM education

centre of excellence for the region and Raytheon’s partnership has included the donation of a customised flight simulator, as well as continued support for STEM events at the school itself.

And in London, more broadly, Raytheon is backing two landmark exhibitions designed to encourage a passion for STEM skills.

MathsAlive! UK opened in December at the RAF Museum in Hendon, while Top Secret is currently running at the Science Museum. While the former is designed to bring to life the hidden maths behind video games, sports, design, music, space and robotics, the latter showcases the history of British espionage, through never-before seen artefacts and interactive codebreaking games.

Raytheon supports all of these activities, in Harlow and beyond, because it is committed to boosting the UK’s STEM skills.

In fact, the business has invested more than £2m in programmes to boost technology education through pipelines including cyber workshops for university students and paid full-time apprenticeships.

Because the next Sir Charles Kao may already be in Harlow, but they will need support from all sides to realise that potential.

The Quadcopter Challenge is Raytheon’s flagship STEM initiative, designed to educate and inspire school pupils from across the UK

Apprentices Raytheon is keen to encourage STEM careers across all of its capabilities.

With over 90 years of worldwide training expertise, Raytheon’s apprenticeship programmes deliver innovative training and development opportunities to individuals, communities and businesses across the U.K. Apprenticeships are available in cyber, automotive, customer service and business management. Raytheon aims to place students into work while providing them an opportunity to learn new skills and gain a recognised qualification. To find out more about the apprenticeships on offer, visit www.raytheon.com/ourcompany/rpsuk/ apprenticeship-training

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THE SCIENCE OF SCULPTURE As development of our Science Park thrives Andrew Bramidge, Head of Environment and Planning at Harlow Council unveils the latest completed buildings on the site which include a cafe, office space for both start-ups and small businesses and an inspiring piece by award-winning sculptor Nick Hornby.

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HE HARLOW SCIENCE PARK continues to take shape with the completion of the first two buildings through the development team of Vinci UK Developments, Wrenbridge and McLaughlin & Harvey. These buildings are:

2) ARISE Anglia Ruskin University’s Business Innovation Centre with smaller units targeting start-ups and small businesses with unit sizes up to 1,000 sq ft.

For enquiries about space contact aideen.mccambridge@anglia.ac.uk

1) NEXUS 30,000 sq feet of high quality office space targeted at established science and technology businesses with unit sizes between 2,500 sq ft and 10,000 sq ft.

For enquiries about space contact chris.white@wrenbridge.co.uk

Additionally, the Nexus building will feature a café on the ground floor that will be open to all occupiers and visitors to the Science Park.

Discussions are currently underway with potential operators and it is hoped to have this open by Easter 2020.

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Harlow’s 100th sculpture Harlow is rightly proud of its public art collection. Containing pieces by Henry Moore, Barbara Hepworth, Auguste Rodin and many others it is probably the largest and most impressive collection in a town of this size. The collection was added to in November with the installation of Nick Hornby’s ‘Twoways’ at the Science Park in front of the completed buildings

on Maypole Boulevard – this now being the 100th public sculpture in Harlow. It sits 5m tall and is constructed from 2.3 metric tonnes of corten steel.

Nick is an up and coming young British sculptor who has created a piece that fuses lines from a Kandinsky drawing with the outline of Michaelangelo’s ‘David’ – which can be clearly seen from particular angles. Nick was selected from an open competition run by Harlow Art Trust and Harlow Council which attracted more than 40 entries.

What’s next at the Science Park?

The next development on the Harlow Science Park is the construction of six ‘mid-tech’ units which combine office/research space

‘Twoways’ at the Science Park is the 100th public sculpture in Harlow. with light manufacturing/assembly space.

This will create 50,000 square feet of new business space for growing businesses in science and technology sectors, with one of the units already pre-let. Preparatory ground works commence in January 2020 with the main construction work starting in February through Vinci Construction. The units range in size and can be flexible in terms of fit-out.

Further information can be found on the ‘Latest Downloads’ page of the Science Park website – www.helloharlow.co.uk

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LEAVING A REALLY POSITIVE TASTE

By Emma Knewstub, Magnificent Stuff

W

E COME INTO CONTACT WITH hundreds of businesses and organisations every week.

One of the biggest reasons I wanted to produce this magazine was to ensure there is a space where we can champion the best the area has to offer.

There are so many hidden gems and amazing spaces plus outstanding people – the magazine is here to showcase, champion and shout about them without alienating those with no advertising budget.

We don’t carry advertising because we want to retain some integrity, we don’t want to compete with the fee-paying publications out there and we want the publication to be inclusive, to share all and any good stories about the area and to share the hidden gems.

Given this issue is themed positivity I want to take the opportunity to focus on some organisations I have come into contact with who not only gives me a huge sense of pride in Harlow but also install further hope for a

very positive future. Sometimes we need to be reminded how much we have going on around us and how fortunate we are here.

This issue I want to focus on food… because that generally is the way to people’s hearts and the fuel we put into our bodies helps generate the positivity we need to function well!

“Sometimes we need to be reminded how much we have going on around us and how fortunate we are here”

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New Ground I CAME ACROSS NEW GROUND DURING ITS OPENING WEEK and I have to say it is one of my happy places. I cannot fault the friendliness, service and delicious coconut lattes.

The owners are just lovely and have a strong, embedded desire to ensure the eatery is a space that can be shared by the community. As well as meetings, social events, baby groups, and co-working their events to date have included everything from meditation, Halloween, carols, ceramic painting workshops, mediumship, community walks, sculpture unveiling, you name it. They promote local shopping, sourcing local produce, creating a space for groups and events in the community and also cater for just about most dietary whims and requirements.

As a resident in Old Harlow, Church Langley or Newhall now its hard to imagine life pre-New Ground. To find out more about New Ground visit Facebook: @cafenewground Instagram: @newgroundcafe_ Sample their delicious, delightful and always served with a smile treats visit: 4-5 New Pond Street CM17 9FG Harlow, Essex NEW GROUND images courtesy of New Ground Social Media

Vegan Buddha LOOKING FOR INSPIRATION ON EATING vegan food after watching Netflix documentary, ‘The Game Changers’ I accidentally stumbled across The Vegan Buddha, a very unique culinary experience delivered by couple Quinton & Adele directly from their home in Old Harlow.

Upon joining their Whatsapp group I am messaged daily with a choice of that night’s takeaway option for a set price of £5.

It is beyond delicious and always feels like a treat not having to cook healthy and delicious food, plus it has also created a great community following.

Entrepreneur and ingenious chef Quinton explained to me that he started cooking Vegan dinners daily for his neighbours but by word of mouth this started to take over his day job. Eventually, he looked for premises for a restaurant and was put off by a number of factors so decided to have his own kitchen licensed, inspected and registered with Harlow’s Environmental

Steets 2 Homes

Health officers and is now proudly carrying a 5 food hygiene rating.

As well as the daily takeaway service Vegan Buddha’s Supperclub (Underground Dining experience) is situated in their wood cabin and serves innovative, modern Vegan courses from around the globe in an informal, sociable setting. “What makes us different from the rest is that you don’t know what you are going to eat until you arrive. It’s like a game of meal roulette!”

I especially love this story as Quinton identified a need in the area and despite adversity and numerous hurdles has made his dream a reality.

Instagram @veganbuddhauk www.veganbuddha.co.uk

STREETS2HOMES OFFERS A SAFE PLACE where the homeless in our community can rest, make friends and seek support with basic needs. Charity CEO Kerrie Eastman’s positive and very focused vision for them teamed with her relentless tenacity has helped the charity grow from strength to strength locally. Now supported by several businesses in the area and with a dedicated supporters following on social media. Streets2Homes continues to raise awareness and reach out to those most in need and provide ongoing support.

The team work relentlessly to relieve and prevent homelessness and have been very successful in reducing the number of rough sleepers in the town. Unfortunately, even though the number of rough sleepers has reduced significantly the issues have not been resolved as they still see the same number of new clients register for their services each month.

They are currently developing services further to meet the more complex needs their clients are facing.

To offer support or donations please contact via: Email: streets2homes@streets2homes.co.uk Facebook: @streets2Homes

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Harlow Playhouse NOE L T HAT C H E R :

Sport for all Harlow has always been a town with a great sporting heritage.

B

ACK IN THE EARLY 1970s the Commonwealth marathon trials were held with the Harlow Marathon and, when I moved back to Harlow from the Midlands in 1992 to prepare for the Barcelona Paralympics I remember that on Sunday mornings every green space would be full of people playing football, rugby or just out enjoying the nature for which the town is renowned. To see the Town Park recently voted one of the Uk’s top ten natural spaces was as brilliant and a real tribute to the volunteers who work so hard to maintain it.

Parkrun is a social movement which welcomes everyone regardless of age or ability in a safe and inclusive environment

point, when I was struggling to raise funds to travel to the Paralympic Games in New York in 1984 that I received an envelope containing a cheque from a pensioner in Old Harlow with a cheque for £25 to help me on my way.

Later, in the 400m final at the Games I thought of that cheque and the warmth and generosity that it represented and it helped push me to my first Paralympic medal.

One of the most heart-warming examples of how the community has come together to the benefit of everyone’s health and well-being is the growth of both adult and junior parkrun. Parkrun is a social movement which welcomes everyone regardless of age or ability in a safe and inclusive environment removing many of the barriers to being active. As a parent of a junior parkrunner it has been amazing to see the growth of the event and see the positive impact it has had on my son’s confidence and health.

At the recent Active Harlow Sports Awards it was an honour to hand our awards to such a diverse group of sportsmen and women from bowlers to International track and field athletes and to celebrate the town’s commitment to offering sport for all.

One of the main reasons I settled in Harlow was that it was and still is a great place to be active with great facilities and the network of cycle paths and surrounding country lanes making it a perfect place to run for someone with a visual impairment. The old track on the site of what is now the First Avenue development hold many fond memories of blood, sweat and tears spilt running lap after lap with friends from Harlow AC and Harlow Running Club, encouraged and supported by volunteer coaches Steve Stevens and Nat Fisher.

I also recently had the privilege of spending a day with the amazing Kimberlee Perry and the Bounce team at their HQ and see firsthand the great work they are doing to get more women active and providing support for those facing difficulties in their lives.

The support of the local community both individuals and business also had a huge impact on my success. I remember at one

Follow Noel Thatcher on Twitter @noelthatcher

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Harlow has produced its fair share of Olympic and Paralympic success stories but the real champions are the volunteers, coaches, parents and organisations which make the town somewhere that really offers sport for all.

HARLOW PLAYHOUSE IS A LEADING creative hub and Theatre venue in the East of England. Harlow Playhouse aim to provide enjoyable cultural experiences for everyone, working in partnership to support healthier, happier and safer communities; and to stimulate opportunity, creativity and innovation around us.

In 2019 Harlow Playhouse launched ‘The Live Lounge’ an open mic night for all, in partnership with local theatre company Livewire. Sam Ashford (Founder of Livewire) and Kirstie Brough (Commercial & Development Manager of Harlow Playhouse) had discussed trying to encourage more local artists into the building and to keep music alive in the town and therefore ‘The Live Lounge’ was born. With some social media marketing and positive thoughts from the pair the first Live Lounge in April 2019 was a complete success with over 120 local people joining together to either perform or just enjoy the entertainment in the Harlow Playhouse Café bar.

The second Live Lounge had an even better turn out in July 2019 with nearly 200 people in attendance. The feedback was incredible and it was such a great opportunity for local talent to come to a safe space in Harlow and either play in a band, sing, recite a poem, share some spoken word, play an instrument or even try out some comedy stand up.

Both Kirstie and Sam are so excited to be bringing back ‘The Live Lounge’ in 2020 and encourage you all to come along and try out something new at Harlow Playhouse, support local talent or just come along and listen and enjoy a drink in our café bar.

Upcoming dates: Registration at 7pm First act at 8pm Friday 27 March Friday 15 May Friday 24 July For events at the Live Lounge and Harlow Playhouse please follow @harlowplayhouse on Facebook

MGM CL I N IC S :

Musical healing

I

T MAY COME AS A SURPRISE TO VISIT THE Chiropractor and be serenaded, but when the Clinic Director is also an accomplished and one time professional musician then the power of music to heal is only one of the tools at Miguel Gutierrez Martinez’s disposal.

A growing body of research attests that music therapy can improve medical outcomes and quality of life- as can a good hug! Being met with positivity and a smile seems to be the default state of the friendly team at MGM Clinics in Harlow who provide a range of therapies including Physiotherapy and Chiropractic.

The other Harlow based group that understand the benefits of positivity is Harlow Rock School- a youth music project established to support, motivate and empower young people through music

related and personal development activities.

When Marketing Consultant Fiona Sinnott who works with the clinic, (herself an exWest End leading lady,) read that two of the students had won Jack Petchey Foundation student achievement awards she used her West End connections to arrange a very special reward on behalf of the clinic.

Drummer Sam and guitarist Aaron were invited to join the band of the Lion King at the Lyceum Theatre in London, to shadow its drummer Dave Adams and guitarist Paul Dunne- a privilege only usually afforded to professional musicians.

“We wanted to say well done, to give something back and to acknowledge the fantastic work being done within the Harlow community” said Fiona, “and knowing the important role music has played in our boss’s life, we knew that Miguel would approve!”

The reviews which MGM Clinics have received attest to this positive attitude, that leaves their clients feeling supported and cared for well beyond the purely physical treatments their skilled team perform. Clients speak about “feeling like one of the family”, or sometimes the lengths the staff will go to support them- from staying late to accommodate an emergency appointment to even driving them home!

“You have to give of yourself with generosity and an open heart” says Miguel. “It’s very easy as a business to become focussed only on yourself but Harlow seems to have cornered the market in genuine community spirit. Harlow gave me a home when I came to this country with nothing and barely able to speak English. For us to give the gift of music and celebrate the next generation of Harlow talent is a huge pleasure for our whole team.” www.mgm-clinics.co.uk

Sam and Aaron pictured with drummer, Dave Adams

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HA RLOW AMBAS SAD O R S

PROMOTING THE POSITIVE IMAGE OF OUR TOWN Here we look back over some of the highlights of the year.

• We now have 400 Harlow Ambassadors – People from across all sectors who have signed up to receive our material.

• We held four events, with around 300 Ambassadors attending and hearing from speakers such as Raytheon and Harlow Art Trust at Harlow Cricket Club, Arrow Electronics and The Water Gardens at Harlow Study Centre, MGM Clinics and Paralympian Noel Thatcher at ((BOUNCE)), and the University of Newfoundland and Rainbow Services at the Civic Centre.

• We launched our online newsletter and relaunched Stories magazine in partnership with our Ambassadors.

• We continue to receive regular requests for the graphic design pack, and over 30 Harlow Ambassadors are now using the Harlow brand, which has been used on everything from road signs and construction hoardings, to websites, advertising and newsletters – don’t forget to request your free pack.

• And, our Ambassadors are using the programme to help facilitate their own projects, such as Harlow Showcase, new apprenticeship schemes, corporate social responsibility, and new groups with common interests in areas such as sport.

Anyone who is positive about Harlow can be an Ambassador, and you are free to invite any interested colleagues or contacts to join us.

With their permission, simply email their contact details to discoverharlow@harlow.gov. uk and we will get in touch with them. Or, when you receive your Eventbrite invitation to an Ambassador meeting, simply request the number of tickets that you need for you and any guests you wish to bring along.

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What do we ask of our Ambassadors?

Put simply, we have two asks: 1. To promote the positive image of Harlow through your networks and contacts, and 2. To put your location, Harlow, at the heart of your organisation’s thinking.

Stories

“Screw it. Let’s do it.”

SIR RICHARD BRANSON

IN ASSOCIATION WITH DISCOVER HARLOW

REAL STORIES ABOUT REAL PEOPLE