Moulsham Times February 2015

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Fling tickets on sale 3rd Feb

Issue Number 26 - February 2015

MT Welcome Dear readers,

Welcome to the February edition of The Moulsham Times.

There is lots going on this month with Fling tickets going on sale on February 3rd. We are pleased to be sponsoring this event again this year along with the other events the city council are putting on; more details in the coming issues.

On the subject of festival build ups, March sees the V2015 line-up annonced and we also hear Walthamstock is back again this year.

For the younger readers, 3 Foot People is celebrating its tenth year in late June/early July - again more about this in the next few months.

Regards Nick & Paul

Editorial Advertising Paul Mclean Nick Garner 07595 949701 07970 206682 ads@itsyourmedia.co.uk editorial@itsyourmedia.co.uk Disclaimer: It’s Your Media publish the Moulsham Times. The opinion expressed in each article is the opinion of its author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Its Your Media Ltd. No part may be reproduced without the prior written permission of Its Your Media Ltd. Reg Co No. 09154871. Printed by Imagery UK.

NG

MT

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Chelmsford Then and Now - Photographs Supplied by Doug Bacon

1945 High Street

1960 Duke Street

Baddow Road Corner 1960

1960 Baddow Road

1958 Tindal Street

Moulsham Street 1920

1955 Rainsford Road

1910 Springfield Road

New London Road 1950s

The Hop Beer Shop in Moulsham Street, Chelmsford. It is not only a craft beer bottle store but a Micro Pub offering a variety of ales straight from the cask.

The shop showcases a wide variety of bottled beers from Essex and beyond, including Europe and the USA, all of which can be consumed on the premises or taken away.

Polypins available to order 4 pint carry kegs Massive range of ales Traditional ales served from the cask Belgian beers Wine and soft drinks

www.moulshamtimes.com

Open Monday to Saturday 12pm to 9pm.

Find us on 173 Moulsham Street, Chelmsford, CM2 0LD www.thehopbeershop.co.uk 01245 353570

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From the House

by Simon Burns MP - Start Up Loans

Last year, I wrote in this magazine about a wonderful visit to meet Jennifer Davies, who received a Start Up Loan to set up her business project Get Customized in Viaduct Way. The Start Up Loans Company is a positive initiative that seeks to help entrepreneurs make self-employment a viable career path and give enterprising individuals the support they need to start up their own business and equip them with the tools needed to make their business a success.

I was full of admiration for the vision which Jennifer had to start up her business, supported by the Start Up Loans Company. In July last

year, the Start Up Loans Company reached a significant milestone in supporting its 20,000th business.

Locally, in Chelmsford, the company has provided business loans and mentoring support to 37 individuals, totalling ÂŁ157,545.

I am confident that the success of Start Up Loans will continue in the future and would urge anyone who is over the age of 18 with a vision to set up their own business, or has gone one step further and have a viable business idea with no access to finance, or has even got as far as trading within the last twelve months to look into the opportunities that Start Up Loans present. (www.startuploans.co.uk)

Apparently, the same statistics indicate that we’re the least likely to have close friendships and a survey in 2010 found 60% of people aged between 18 and 34 described themselves as lonely. They have hundreds of virtual friends but not many real ones. Older people, also lonely, resort to TV. Many say it is their principal source of company. This news disturbs me. What can be done?

And what does Valentine have to do with this? Well according to my Celebrating the Saints book, Valentine was a priest or a bishop of Terni (Italy) who was martyred at Rome under the Emperor Claudius around the year 269. The association of his commemoration with lovers seems to have originated either from the traditional day in medieval belief when birds mated. Or more likely, from a link with the pagan Lupercalia festival in Rome, which occurred on the Ides of February. For Christians, February 14th - Valentines Day - marks an acknowledgement of an all-loving God who blesses those who love one another, as Jesus taught his own disciples and implores them to do.

So whether we come at the celebration of Valentine’s Day from the angle of nature or of the Christian faith, love is the common feature and we humans are social beings who all need interaction with other people. You will know yourself that as wonderful as social media is, it can never be the same as meeting people face-to-face at the gym, in the coffee bar or local pub, or wherever.

The Vicar of the Moulshams What will February hold for you?

Will Valentine’s Day increase the possibility of love being in the air?

According to Bishop Stephen of Chelmsford (who in his New Year 2015 message quotes from George Monbiot, The Age of Loneliness is Killing us, The Guardian 14.10.14) statistics from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development indicate that we’re the loneliest country in Europe. And the number of people in the UK living on their own has doubled since the 1970s. www.moulshamtimes.com

If you are looking for friendship, fellowship, support or simply some contact with other human beings, don’t forget your local church: both Moulsham St John’s (on Moulsham Street) and Moulsham St Luke’s (on Moulsham Lodge) have coffee mornings - St John’s on a Thursday and St Luke’s on a Saturday, and as you might expect, we meet on Sundays too! We would love to see you. Why not take a look at our websites and check out what’s on? We believe that Jesus’ love is in the air not just on Valentine’s Day but every day and it’s given to us to share with others where we live.

Yours, with every blessing, Canon Carol www.stjohnsmoulsham.org.uk www.stlukemoulsham.co.uk

Deadlines for March Edition Articles 13th February Print ready art work 19th February 7

It’s All About the People

My daughter, Bethan arrived in Bangkok in November, we hadn’t seen each other in 8 months and the tears were flowing. It was wonderful. We travelled, backpacker style, for the following 6 weeks, which meant leaving my motorbike with a friend in Bangkok and buying a small rucksack.

centuries was the centre of the Khmer Kingdom.

I’ve spent the last two days exploring the site and tomorrow I’ll return again.

We initially travelled south and stayed on various islands, Koh Samui, Koh Phangan & Koh Tao. I have to admit I was one of the oldest backpackers and everyone was great in welcoming both Bethan and I wherever we went. Bethan has made so many new friends and I’ve caught up on reading! We spent 3 days learning to scuba dive and then headed north to Chiang Mai and the jungle.

On 4th January Bethan went to Australia to travel and I was reunited with my motorbike, I headed into northern Thailand and across a small border into northern Laos where I spent the following 10 days heading south riding along the banks of the Mekong river, stopping at towns and villages en route. The Laos people, like most people in South-east Asia, are so friendly and continually smile.

By the time I had reached southern Laos I was ready to relax and went to one of the 4,000 islands in the Mekong, Don Det. Getting there was an adventure in itself, riding down the dirt river bank, across the sand up a plank of wood onto the makeshift raft, it was so small there was no room for a second bike! My motorbike didn’t end up at the bottom of the Mekong! Don Det is really small, about 1 /2 mile x 11/2 miles so I relaxed and spent lazy days on a hammock looking out over the Mekong.

I’m now in Cambodia staying in the chilled out city of Siem Reap, 3 miles to the north is Angkor Wat, the largest religious monument in the world and one of the most important archaeological sites of Southeast Asia built by the Khmer King in the 12th century. Angkor Archeological Park extends over 400 square kilometres and consists of many temples. Angkor Wat is the main temple which for several

2014 has been an amazing year, I have been doing what I want to do escaping the real world of paying the mortgage and washing up. I have travelled 20,000 miles through 27 countries across mountains, deserts and tropical forests, the roads haven’t always been the nice flat tarmac that we have at home, on many occasions I have had nothing more than dirt, sand and rocks to ride over. I’ve loved every minute of it - even when the temperatures were above 45 degrees in Pakistan.

My adventure in 2014 will be remembered by the hundreds, maybe thousands, of people I have met. The people of the world smile, are happy and have been wonderful to me wherever I have been. I have been offered places to stay, food & drink wherever I have been and with modern technology I am in contact with many of them today.

It’s all about the people.

You can follow me at danskeates.com

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MT Gardening Trees and shrubs are important, both environmentally and aesthetically. They form the bones of any garden. Planting a tree is something to be done with future generations in mind - it is a longterm investment. Careful planning and consideration must be used when selecting and planting a tree to ensure it is a species with characteristics which make it suitable for the chosen site.

Considerations when choosing a tree or shrub: Aspect and soil The first task is to carry out a site analysis. Establish how much sun the tree or shrub will receive, any prevailing winds, drains and other services. Carry out soil tests to establish fertility and pH. Type of garden Make sure tree choices are in keeping with the surrounding environment. In a rural area, choose native species or cultivars of native species such as Viburnum opulus ‘Sterile’. In an urban setting a more structured look may be more appropriate; e.g. Carpinus betulus ‘Fastigiata’.

Available space The ultimate size of the tree must be taken into consideration.

Establish how much room is available, as a rule of thumb, trees must be no closer to a house or building than their eventual height.

Aesthetics Once the practicalities are dealt with, details such as leaf colour and shape, flowering and fruiting time and colour should be considered.

The overall effect of a tree or shrub will be determined by its shape or form.

Container grown With the rise in popularity of gardening and garden centres, plants are increasing sold in containers. It is the most expensive way to purchase trees and shrubs. Large mature trees may only be available as container grown specimens.

Most shrubs are sold container grown, when the size of plant is determined by the size of the container and categorised according to the volume. For instance small shrubs may be in 2L pots, and medium-sized shrubs in 10L pots.

Checkout this really useful site on planting techniques: https://www. rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=237 Also, if you want to develop your garden/landscape skills further, or indeed want to know more about everything we offer at the college, why not pop along to our information event on Wednesday 4th February between 6-7:30pm. Turn up to the main campus or book a space online following this link: http://www.writtle.ac.uk/InformationEvents Good luck and happy gardening!

For any gardening tips why not contact Tom Cole, Head of Faculty for Land & Environment, Writtle College, Chelmsford, CM1 3RR by post (including a SAE) or by email at tom.cole@writtle.ac.uk.

Purchasing trees and shrubs The availability of bare root, root balled or container grown trees and shrubs will depend on the time of year, the type of plant and the size required.

Bare root Bare root specimens are grown in the open field, and are ‘under cut’ several times to encourage a fibrous root system to develop.

When they reach saleable size, they are lifted in the autumn (when dormant) and are available for immediate planting. Once lifted, the roots must be kept protected at all times to prevent drying out. They are usually heeled in (planted temporarily) in nurseries or garden centres and wrapped in sacking when being transported or stored short term and must be kept moist and preferably in a shaded area until planted in their final position. They are available up until March.

Trees and shrubs sold as bare root specimens are usually deciduous species such as beech (Fagus sylvatica) and mountain ash (Sorbus aucuparia). Some evergreens such as young box hedging plants (Buxus sempervirens) are also sold bare root. This is the cheapest way to purchase trees and shrubs, particularly when buying hedging plants.

Root balled Root balled plants are grown in a similar manner and are also lifted in the autumn. Their root ball is wrapped in hessian or plastic webbing in order to keep the soil around the roots damp, moist and intact.

discount when you mention Moulsham TImes

Evergreens, such as conifers, are often sold as root balled specimens. They are often more expensive than bare root specimens.

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FROM COUNTY HALL

by Cllr Dick Madden

I write to you on a Sunday evening, I have just returned from church wrapped up warm, as the temperature is below freezing and I need to share with you. I have just seen a man strolling along a road wearing flip flops a pair of shorts and a t shirt. I am not sure if I am impressed or just shocked. As I was wearing clothing including a jumper, two coats, scarf, gloves and my faithful flat cap. It has made me think of what this cold weather can do to our elderly neighbours. Do me a favour please and check your neighbour to make sure they are warm enough. Over the next few months ECC is developing a community campaign entitled ‘Stepping Up.’ It is encouraging members of the community to engage and help, where they can, other residents in their neighbourhood. #steppingup is all about simple steps you can take which make a real difference. Things that benefit you, benefit communities,and help public services as well. All you need to do is take the first step. Have a look on the ECC website to find out more details.

I was at the meeting between Chelmsford City Council and Essex County Council regarding the Chelmsford City road signs that has been a major item of news it seems. Well I am pleased to state a constructive and productive meeting took place and the outcome was excellent. Chelmsford City Council will provide the brown signs marking the boundaries of the district with the wording ‘the birthplace of radio.’ Essex County Council will provide white signs at the entrance to the city itself reading, ‘City of Chelmsford, County Town of Essex since 1250’ - the sign will bear the seaxes and

Chelmsford coat of arms.

With regard to the tragic fatal stabbing in Oaklands Park on the 18th December 2014, firstly on behalf of all the community I send our heartfelt sympathies to the family and friends of the young man who died. I have met with the Police Chief of Chelmsford who confirmed that now the park has reopened, as a community we can continue to go about our business as we did before the park was closed.

Here is some good news; Chelmsford City Council has been nominated in the prestigious National Local Government Chronicle Awards in the categories of Council of the Year, Entrepreneurial Council of the Year, Driving Growth and Partnership of the Year. Well done to Chelmsford City Council. We will have to wait until March 2015 to find out how they got on.

In a few days time it will be Valentine’s Day, I hope you all have a Valentine and enjoy the day, BE SAFE Dick Madden

Find out the latest with ECM! In October Essex Community Messaging (ECM) was launched, to give residents in Essex a chance to receive up to date information on crime incidents and crime prevention advice via email, text or voice message. This information comes directly from Essex Police officers, Essex Watch liaison officers and other partners, including Neighbourhood Watch.

Free of charge and specifically designed for Essex, the messaging system is jointly funded by the Police and Crime Commissioner and money seized from criminals under the Proceeds of Crime Act. ECM gives you the option to select the information that you want to receive, including issues that you might have a particular interest in.

This is used to make you aware of crime trends where you live, advice on issues happening in your area, and encouraging you and your neighbours to report suspicious activity to us.

Nick Alston, Police and Crime Commissioner for Essex, said: “Essex Community Messaging will get key crime and crime prevention information out to communities faster than ever before. It will also improve the two-way flow of information about community safety between Essex Police, Neighbourhood and other watch groups, and the people of Essex.

“We need to help communities join Essex Police in the fight against crime. Whether it’s through reporting suspicious behaviour or learning about simple measures to take to prevent crime, ECM will provide a crucial new channel for keeping our communities safe. I urge everyone to register now for ECM”.

Essex Police reduce the level of crime across our county”.

Whether it’s alerting a community to a specific developing crime trend in their area, involving local people in the search for a vulnerable missing person or simply to pass on advice on how to keep safe, ECM will transform the speed and effectiveness of communication across Essex.

You can sign up to ECM on www.essexcommunitymessaging.org.

175 Years of Essex Police 2015 marks 175 years of policing in Essex - watch this space for news and events on how we’re going to celebrate this amazing milestone!

Did you know that Essex Police has a museum, with a varied collection dating from 1840 to today?

Our aim is to preserve the history of Essex Police and provide our visitors with a friendly and educational service, with information on how Essex Police has developed to become what it is today.

Many people have contact with the police when they are either a victim or the culprit of crime. The Museum gives the public an opportunity to discover more about the police and what they do in a relaxed atmosphere.

Alan Johnson, Chair of the Essex County Neighbourhood Watch Why not step back in time and see for yourself? Please visit www.

Association, said: “we’re delighted that we now have a brand new essex.police.uk/museum or telephone 01245 457150 to find out messaging system and look forward to improving our ability to help what’s on over the coming months.

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Soundstock - a Festival for Family and Community Soundstock is a brand new festival taking place in Chelmsford this year. It aims to provide a family-focused music and entertainment event as well as raise vital funds and awareness for Essex Air Ambulance, CCR and Stanley’s Heroes.

The two-day music and comedy event will be held on the weekend of 2nd and 3rd May 2015. Aimed directly at families, it will offer plenty of activities for children to enjoy, including The Magic SOUNDAbout - a designated area (suitable for children up to 12 years of age) providing inflatables, rides, arts & craft and entertainment, all included in the price of your child’s ticket. With special appearances from Queen Elsa & Princess Anna, George Pig, Mickey & Minnie Mouse, your children will have plenty to keep them amused.

Ingenious Rock’s Sharon Alford said: “Soundstock is aimed directly at families, in order to provide a great day out with music and entertainment”.

Tickets are on sale now, to get yours, visit the website www. soundstockfestival.com.

We are currently seeking Sponsors for the event. If you or your company would like to get involved & have your brand seen by 5000 people each day, then please send an email to: info@ soundstockfestival.com.

For further information and updates: www.soundstockfestival.com | www.facebook.com/Soundstockfestival | Twitter: @SoundStockFest

As well as providing a truly family-focused event, Soundstock has also been set up to support a number of great local causes: Essex Air Ambulance - a charity providing free life-saving helicopter emergency medical service for the critically ill and injured.

CCR - a not-for-profit community radio station, which is entirely run by volunteers and aims to provide a voice and platform for the city of Chelmsford.

Stanley’s Heroes - set up

by Rob and Laura Newman to provide their 2-yearold son, who has been diagnosed with Congenital Muscular Dystrophy, with equipment and aids in order to help him live a better than basic life.

The festival was created and is being run by record label, Ingenious Rock. CCR and Essex Air Ambulance will also be involved in the event.

Soundstock has already got some great names in the entertainment field linedup to appear. Music acts confirmed so far include The Midnight Beast, former X-factor contestants Next of Kin & Lydia Lucy, as well as Toyah, Ultimate Eagles, Johnny Cash Roadshow and The Simon & Garfunkel Story. www.moulshamtimes.com

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MT Baking by Alison Motley

I don’t know about you, but at this time of the year when the days are so short and the weather is so cold, I love nothing more than a comforting hot pudding. I know that I should be striving to eat my five - or is it now seven, or some say even ten(!) - portions of fruit and veg a day but as much as I try, a pear or a banana just doesn’t do the job of afters as easily in February as maybe in July or August.

Many imported citrus and exotic fruits are at their best right now and great for both eating and cooking with, but I think one of the best British fruits we have is the good old apple.

Did you know that the 2nd to the 8th of February is National Bramley Apple Week? Seems like a perfect excuse to make a pudding that not only ups my fruit intake, but also feels satisfying and indulgent.

So I thought I would share a top-secret family recipe with you. At the risk of being ostracised from said family for revealing it, I think it is too good not to share.

Gache Melee - roughly pronounced as ‘Gosh M Lay’ - is the Guernesiaise (or Guernsey French) name for a traditional local dish made on the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands, where I was born.

It’s surprising how a few simple and inexpensive ingredients can taste so good. It is equally good served hot as a pudding or left to go cold and sliced into squares. Traditionally, it was served with local cream but I quite enjoy it with a dollop of low fat Greek yoghurt - the yoghurt freshens it up somewhat and saves a few calories (which means I can have a bigger serving, right?)

No-one in our family seems to know where our recipe originally came from - it has just been passed down through the generations and probably tweaked here and there by each recipient - and that is what I love about it, it has truly become unique to us.

Many Guernsey families will have their own version of this, each one probably arguing that theirs is the original and best, so in that spirit feel free to change it if you like. Perhaps add a handful of blackberries, blueberries, walnuts or pecans, change the mixed spice for nutmeg or ginger or maybe add some sultanas or grated lemon rind.

If you do not have a Pyrex or stoneware dish suitable, use a greased baking tray, the Gache Melee will turn out a little crisper, which is ideal if you want to serve it cold.

I think recipes like these are really special and should be treasured, and passed on, and I’m sure many of us have them tucked away somewhere. They might be local regional dishes like this one, or a

family favourite from over the years. Either way, why not see if your family has one and have a go at making it. I would love to hear from any readers who might like to share their recipes and we may be able to feature them in a future edition. I’m sure there are some real gems out there.

And talking of gems, there are plenty of great tasting British apple varieties available in farm shops, markets and supermarkets at the moment so don’t feel you have to stick to the good old Bramley to make this, try Russets or Cox. Did you know there are even apple varieties from right here in Essex including Discovery and Chelmsford Wonder!?

As the recipe is so old, it was originally in pounds and ounces so I have adapted it slightly to metric weights.

Guernsey Gache Melee 450g Bramley apples (weight after peeling and coring) 140g self raising flour 140g demerara sugar 70g vegetable suet 1 teaspoon mixed spice 85ml milk 1. Preheat oven to 170C/150C fan/gas mark 3.

2. Chop apples into small pieces and mix with the sugar in a large bowl.

3. Add the flour, suet and spice to the apple and mix together.

4. Gently stir in the milk.

5. Spoon into a greased 18cm square Pyrex or stoneware oven dish.

6. Sprinkle over a little extra sugar and bake for approx one and a half hours until apples are tender and top is golden brown.

I would love to hear from readers with any suggestions and ideas for recipes they would like to see here or any hints and tips. Drop me an email at motleybakes@aol.com.

James Burrage crowned Open Mic UK Winner!

Joining a long line of prestigious Future Music winners, James Burrage from Colchester, Essex has been named as the winner of the national singing competition Open Mic UK at The NEC in Birmingham!

James Burrage was crowned champion in front of a capacity crowd at The NEC in Birmingham on Saturday night. His original song called “Rumours” won over the judges seeing him being awarded the winner of the 16-20s age category.

James Burrage now joins a long list of previous winners as Open Mic UK through the Future Music competitions are behind the discovery of artists such as Jacob Banks, Warner Music’s Birdy, Columbia Record’s Lucy Spraggan, Union J’s Jaymi Hensley and Jahmene Douglas, both of which are now signed to Sony Music and TeenStar competition winners Luke Friend and Emily Middlemas.

James battled against more than 9,000 acts who entered for Open Mic UK this year across the UK. Battling through both regional and area final heats to make it to the national grand final.

The judging panel for the grand final included record label representatives from Sony and Universal, as well representatives from music management companies, recording studios, professional vocal coaches and the examination board, Rock School. Also picked by the judging panel as winners were Tom Auton from Cardiff who won the Under 16s age category, and Iain Scott from Southampton who took home the title for the 21 and over age category.

Future Music is also about to start auditions for TeenStar which you can find more information and enter TeenStar now at www. teenstarcompetition.co.uk. Along with a brand new Future Music Songwriting Competition, which is specifically for songwriters of any age and genre. To find out more go to: www. songwritingcompetitionuk.com.

If you would like to write for any of our magazines or have a one-off article to send us please email editorial@itsyourmedia.co.uk www.moulshamtimes.com

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Music News / Review and Blues in the City Well we started January with a bang, having two great bands play.

First were the Blues Spiders who played a great set of original uptempo Chicago style blues. Next on was a welcome return for the Sharpees, now with Brendan O’Neill on drums (ex Rory Gallagher and Nine Below Zero). These guys are great, again with original Rhythm & Blues songs that just make you want to dance.

Next month we have two firsts with my friends the Delta Ladies who have the great Alan Glen on harmonica. They are regarded as some of the very best players in the UK today. Clive and Simone will be supporting.

The Delta Ladies play mainly original material, or songs done in their own way. This is something you have to see, with a mix of Americana and Blues. They play guitar, violin, keyboards and accordion and more You just know it is going to be different and fun. Clive and Simone are both locals and are fab, with Clive doing some singing and playing guitar and Simone’s amazing voice.

The Essex Delta Blues Day is fast approaching and with the line-up near enough complete, I am just waiting on two final confirmations - the day will be amazing. Tickets are on sale online, or direct from me or the Bassment, The Ale House or the Hop Beer Shop and at only £10 for twelve hours of great live music you will not find better value for money. Remember, tickets are limited due to the size of the venue. The Bassment have arranged for Woodleys Pizzas all freshly made and wood fired to be there for the day and night, yummy!

I am also now getting the Blues in the City festival planned for October 2-4th 2015. This is going to be our 5th year - amazing! I am going to make it special as always with only the very best acts. Sadly, we cannot put on everyone or it would be a month long! To find out more about all the Blues in the City events go to www.bluesinthecity. co.uk or like our Facebook page; Blues in the City Chelmsford - or follow us on twitter @BluesintheCity1.

There is plenty more going on in around Chelmsford including the Woolpack on Sundays. Last Sunday of the month is their open mic night, the first Sunday is Jazz and the third is Irish music night. With the Star and Garter also hosting live music every weekend there is much going on this end of our city.

The Blues Jam is on at the Bassment on the 5th Feb. Last month there was a surprise when none other than Suzi Quatro turned up and played. The Fleece reopened on the 23rd Jan and there is also Asylum, The Bassment and with Shakey’s music nights all over Chelmsford that gives lots of great live music to enjoy. To find out more of what is going on, pick up a copy of our Chelmsford the City Times with all the listings.

See you all on the other side and have a great month and Valentine’s Day and keep supporting live music in our city.

MT

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Roadmaps for the Soul - Art Therapy/A Visual Magic Cosmology. by Jon Power Like Surrealism, art that seeks to mine and record images from the depths of the deep mind has been employed by art therapists and psychic explorers to understand their own psycho-physical makeup and make it intelligible to others in many ways throughout history.

Some have used such art as teaching aids to others, wishing to follow similar paths of exploration. This can take the form of pre-determined iconography of a tradition which allows little scope for variation, such as Russian Orthodox religious icons or even Tibetan thankas, or more creative expressions of personal growth of psychic unfoldment as is found in art therapy or individual fetishes. I have seem the art therapist referred to as being a modern Shaman, (Shaun McNiff Art as Medicine), with a mode of operation that goes on - or takes another participant on - an inward journey of soul recovery.

Then using art - either visual written or encapsulated into music, dance and drama - to record the discoveries of that journey. That comparison seems to fit well. But you don’t have to be a medicine man to be a psychic explorer. Such art is for the individual for self discovery as well as recovery.

Crucial to all forms of art which has its origins in psychic exploration is the diary, sketchbook, or notebook to record the discoveries from the inner world. The best place to keep this document is beside your bed to write down dreams and ground them before the memories fly away. The analysis of their content can wait for daytime and the conscious mind. Its also useful to carry a notebook on your daytime travels too to record daydreams, meditations, and reflections on the dreamtime symbolism. From this raw psychic energy you can then work up images to be employed in finished art forms.

In the 21st century we are fortunate to be liberated, if we wish to be, from the confines of religous dogma and able to partake in creative paths of self enquiry, but we will still need some form of cosmology in which to frame our discoveries and for me this came in the broadest and non-sectarian framework for interpretation that is to be found in the psychological analyses of Swiss psychologist Carl Jung (18751961), who sought to get behind the cultural veneers that overlay the common symbols of psychic unfoldment that lay behind them; these he called archetypes. His sources for research include the writing and diagrams of alchemists from Egypt (the science of Khem, an old name for Egypt) like Zozimos, to Paracelsus and Quabalists and Hermetic Philosophers like Agrippa, Chinese Taoism and the I Ching, Oriental and primitive religious manifestations generally and Western religious imagery - in a non-sectarian way - as a complete cultural overview of religious and philosophical thinking and its associated artistic manifestations.

Archetype is only one word that has passed into common usage thanks to Jung, who actually coined several terms now used in psychological jargon: another example being ‘persona’, which means the external image of ourselves that we present to the world, or others see us as. Jung extended Freud’s idea of the unconscious to include not only the personal pool of remnants of personal experience that make up dreams in encoded forms, but placed that pool on the edge of the oceanic collective unconscious, where the archetypes exist and have an ordering function around which personal psychic material gathers to create personalised symbolism. These he concluded, could be recovered from the unconscious by intiatory rites of passage or analytic psychology leading to Individuation as he named it, establishing growth towards self discovery and enlightenment. The archetypes, he decided, were formed through evolution by the persistent effects of primitive experience. Genetics and Austen Spare’s Atavistic Resurgence seem

to confirm this assertion.

The main archetypes Jung identified were: the Earth Mother; Divine Child (Krishna, Horus, Jesus etc.); the Sun; Moon; Sky; Anima (man’s idea of woman) and Animus (woman’s idea of man), giving rise to Gods and Goddesses; the Shadow (all that we don’t like about ourselves driven into the unconscious, from where it must be recovered in order to regain psychic wholeness; the Daemon, or higher self, that guides the individual through initiation, or individuation in Jungian terminology; and the Wise Old Man or Magna Mater (the life guide or Guru who teaches from practical experience).

All of these can be identified as stages of psychic unfoldment once cultural veneers have been peeled away. For instance the Wise Old Man might appear as a ship’s captain as a symbol of a guide for a journey, (that is life.) The word archetype has at times been given broader meaning to include terms like ‘hero archetype’ and so it is possible to regard all of the Tarot trumps as archetypes. Indeed there is a Jungian tarot set designed by Robert Wang, although I don’t agree with all his attributions. The very multiplicity of tarot decks displays how archetypal patterns can appear in a variety of individual dialects.

Thanks to Sting and The Police (the rock group) the word synchronicity has passed in to more common usage.

Jung coined it to mean a meaningful coincidence with no obvious causal connecting principle, suggestive of forces not explainable by, and therefore appealing to known science.

Oracles like the Taoist I Ching, or tarot cards seem to be operated by such forces and pre-suppose spiritual rather than just materialistic dimensions to the multiverse. Salvador Dali’s Paranoic Critical Activity, where multiple layers of imagery overlay each other, mimic such a universe.

Herman Rorscach’s ink blot test, where psychiatric patients are asked what images they see in random shapes, and thus reveal their own inner mental workings in a similar way. These projected internal images can be worked up into art which is unique to each person’s perceptions, although related to the same stimulus if more than one person uses it as a starting point. Recourse to other source material of the material world may be needed to transform the psychic

Sponsor MT History

material into recognisable art, rather than using only imagination to create objet d’art. Automatic drawing and writing like that of Austin Spare or other Surrealists, or the cut up poetry that William Burroughs and others employed also works in this way, once meaning is attached to it.

After the stage of initiation or individuation reintegrating the disliked personal personality traits that have built the shadow archetype, Jung identified the mandala archetype, which can appear in art, or even in dreams as symbols like the crossroads. He found examples of this not only in the oriental meditation icons which he took the name from, but in such culturally diverse places as circular stained glass windows and the magician’s working space of the magic circle. The archetype is that of balance and is typically built around the equal armed cross of the four elements balanced at the centre as the quintessence and is often sub-divided into eight sectors on which figurative or abstract patterning is repeated. Jung also associated the four main psychic activities with these elements: intuition thinking feeling sensation which are also brought back into balance, where previously people tend to function in dominant and less in subordinate areas. This state of restored psychic balance Jung experienced himself after the turmoil that accompanied his break with Freud and his limited observations that had taken on the form of a patriarchal dogma. Not only did he find himself building mandala

shape constructions in his garden, but like many in the same state of recovery, experienced visions and dreams of wholeness as life’s initiation process became complete.

Mystics have a variety of models of the universe, such as the quabalistic tree and a relation to them by which to judge progress, but to me, Jung’s model seems to have been gleaned from the most far-reaching and cross cultural sources. So if you are a psychonaut or are encouraging others in self discovery, keep a lookout for the archetypes we have mentioned, in your own and other’s art, drama, music or dreams and if you see through the camouflaged symbolism through which they are appearing, they can prove useful signposts on your inner journey. Spontaneous creations are always the most fruitful ones, rather than those created by being led, but if the signs appear be ready to read to read them.

Send your letters to editorial@itsyourmedia.co.uk, we would love to hear from you.

Hop to The Hop Shop The hot topic now is The Hop Shop (as it is commonly known) micropub at 173 Moulsham Street, Chelmsford. The charm of this cosy little one room pub is the combination of companionable camaraderie of the customers and the proprietor John Prior and the fact that it is also a shop selling bottled beer from around the world (well, Europe, USA and Essex).

Apart from beer, there is red and white wine to whet your appetite, but none of the usual array of pub drinks - although bar snacks are available. Keeping it simple works and being open from noon until 9pm Monday to Saturday and closed on Sundays gives John a chance to rest as he seems to be constantly busy.

Using his carpentry skills, John made the tables and seating to be at a height that is compatible with those standing, so it keeps everyone happy to be able to converse on the same level. To the left as you enter are two half barrels converted to tables to park your pint. The simple wooden furniture and the chilled cask cabin where 4 casks of real ale are dispensed were made by John who welcomes everyone as if he is inviting you into his home. It is so compact and friendly that if you were not friends when you arrive you soon are as the customers chat about the range of the beers and subtleties of whatever they are supping. Having hung your coat on the wooden coat stand in the middle of the left-hand wall, you can choose what you would like to drink in or take away from an impressive range of bottled beers on the right. The most local LocAles are from Round Tower Brewery in Chelmsford; Crouch Vale from South Woodham Ferrers; Farmers Ales from Maldon and Wibblers from Mayland. Yet you can choose continental beer from Belgium and Germany at very reasonable prices. Coming very soon will be bottled beer from various London breweries and a keg line for London beers so with racking for 10 firkins and 100 bottles of beer customers will be even more spoiled for choice. www.moulshamtimes.com

Although affectionately known as The Hop Shop, the proper name for this micropub is The Hop Beer Shop, which is registered with whatpub? Therefore you can score the beers you drink. For more details see www.thehopbeershop.co.uk or follow on Facebook or Twitter and www.whatpub.com.

By Claire Irons. Publicity Officer and Cider Rep for Chelmsford and Mid-Essex Camra.

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MT Therapy by Jenny Hartill In this article I will discuss drug addiction. Many people simply do not understand why anyone would take drugs in the first place, never mind become addicted to them so that they end up destroying lives. I want to provide some insight into this self defeating behaviour, I have discussed alcoholism in the past and yes technically alcohol is a drug. However, non-alcohol related drug addiction can be a different beast - it all depends on the type of drug the person is addicted to. Firstly, let’s look at some of the different types of drugs people can become addicted to. Certain kinds of drugs that act on the nervous system are sometimes loosely classified. Usually there are the following categories: • Hard drugs are drugs that lead to physical addiction. Many countries do not allow people to make, sell or use some of them, other than for medical purposes. Examples of such drugs are heroin, methamphetamine (meth), cocaine, alcohol and nicotine.

• Soft drugs are not thought to cause physical addiction. Examples of soft drugs are cannabis, mescaline, psilocybin (the chemical derivative from “magic mushrooms” - it causes hallucinations), LSD, and DMT (another substance present in the plant kingdom that causes hallucinations). While they do not cause physical addiction, some of them may still lead to psychological dependence.

• Some drugs cannot be classified that way, as they have characteristics of both hard and soft drugs. Examples for such drugs are MDMA (known as Ecstasy), ketamine, synthetic cannabis (known as Spice) and caffeine.

• Prescription drugs such as paracetamol and other pain killers. It has also been known for people to become dependent on antidepressants and anti-anxiety drugs - the person believing they cannot function without them.

When we look at drug addiction we need to examine firstly the type of drug the individual is addicted to and then why they started taking the drug in the first place. This is important because addiction is a self defeating behaviour and something has perpetuated this behaviour in the first place. Here are a few reasons commonly attached to drug addiction: 1: Ostrich Syndrome: head in the sand and backside in the air, some people take drugs simply to escape so they don’t have to look at, acknowledge or deal with what they need to in life. Sometimes the person may tell themselves that everyone else is better at dealing with things anyway.

2: Self-Anaesthesia: this occurs when we use an external or internal influence to produce a situation where we simply do not feel. This is the most common reason I’ve found, that individuals become addicted to drugs. This is also called de-sensitisation - a person doesn’t have to have been abused to use this method of coping.

This is actually quite common in people suffering from loss or extreme stress - why do you think sales people, bankers, hedge fund managers etc have the reputation of drinking and drug taking in the city?

3: Nihilism: “there’s no point anyway” syndrome. This, I have found, is common in teenagers that can turn to drugs because ‘why bother?’. As much as I hate to pigeonhole people, some of the music groups that sing about “carry on as you want to because there’s point anyway” can encourage this type of self-defeating behaviour. Also, when I’ve met clients that are very immature and remind me distinctly of a ‘typical moody teenager’, they tend to be suffering with this type of self defeating behaviour. This type of mindset can cause individuals to become addicted to drugs because they also tend to be easily led, prone to an incapability of decision making, and seem to have no hope, no inspiration, and therefore their behaviour reflects this belief.

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The problem with all of our minimising of problems, ignoring life, or pretending nothing matters, is that there’s still that small voice in the back of your head telling you that this behaviour is not right. Ironically, although this voice is trying to help, it can lead to the person taking more drugs to shut it up! Although disowning our behaviour takes away the stresses of decision making in the moment, actually what it does is lead the person into a situation where they are trapped by their own behaviour - like an animal in a zoo - governed by the situation both past and present. The reason I say this is that a drug addict wants to stay in the moment when they’re high, but then they always have to look for their next fix. The most dangerous phase of a self defeating behaviour, especially with addiction, is where the individual blames everyone else. By completely separating themselves from from their behaviour, in effect ‘letting themselves off the hook’, this can truly lead to long term psychological, emotional and physical damage because they are not taking responsibility for themselves and they can become reliant on others, unfortunately sometimes these others are people that will take advantage of the addict and use them for their own volition.

This brings me to what I call ‘the art of disowning’. An issue with any addict is what they tell themselves, they become adept at convincing themselves of certain beliefs and situations. This is something I have found drug addicts are particularly good at because the drugs they’re taking change the chemical make-up of their brain anyway. This can affect cognitive function and therefore the individual may be less able to resist the urge to take the drug.

Usually the art of disowning begins with a statement such as “if only...” Here are a few examples: • If only I didn’t have to put up with… (usually a physical ailment this one is common with those addicted to prescription drugs such as painkillers.)

•If only I’d been more fortunate with my upbringing… (this could to the belief they have a lack of boundaries and so didn’t know any better.)

• If only my family/friends weren’t so critical… (could lead to the person saying they take drugs to escape the emotional torment.)

• Trying harder would only end up with the same result, so what’s the point? (This could lead to the person believing they cannot change and therefore is an excuse to carry on taking drugs.)

The only way to tackle drug addiction is to take responsibility for your actions. Taking responsibility means you can change these self-defeating behaviours into self-empowering ones. Sounds simple, right? Wrong!! Drug addiction is hard to treat because, as mentioned previously, the drugs themselves change the chemical makeup of the brain. Not only does the person psychologically believe they are dependent, the fact of the matter is that they are likely physically dependent. Treating drug addiction is a long, hard road. I’ll discuss the types of drug addiction, based on the type of drug, individually.

If I can be of any help or if anyone has any questions, please feel free to contact me via my website www.counsellinginchelmsford. co.uk.

www.moulshamtimes.com

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Wine Corner Hi everyone, we’re halfway through January already, with snow and strong winds forecast. Just the sort of weather to stay indoors and try some of the wines left over from Christmas!

Looking around the supermarkets, it still seems that the price of wine is increasing, whilst almost everything else is coming down. It was not that long ago that a reasonably tasting wine was priced at below £4.00. Now you have to search the shelves to get one under £5.00.

Looking through a supermarket’s special offers on wine recently, there was one bottle at £3.99, about 20 at just under £5.00. It is becoming quite an expensive hobby!

A bit about the wine regions of Chile. The country is situated on the west coast of South America. It has a coastline stretching about 6,400km and borders Argentina.

The wine regions are spread over about 800 miles north to south, about a third of the way down the country. The most northerly area is Atacama where grapes are grown in the Copiapo and Huasco valleys.

They are mostly used for making Pisco (a brandy) and Table grapes that seem to be more suited to non alcoholic fruit juices. So much for that area then!

Next is the Coquimbo region which includes Elqui, Limari and Choapa Valleys. Serious wine production in the area only started in the 1990s, mostly with Syrah grapes. The Limari valley has been producing wine since the 16th century, but only recently growing Sauvingnon and Chardonnay whites and Syrah and Pinot Noir reds.

The climate is similar to that of the famous Marlborough area in New Zealand. The Choapo valley is where the grapes are similar to those of the Atacama region, but do produce a wine from Syrah grapes.

The Aconcagua region includes the valley of the same name which is a small wine growing area mostly known for its red wines, some of which were judged better than some from Bordeaux region in 2004. Praise indeed! The Casablanca valley, which, again, is a fairly recent producer (1980s) is mainly known for it’s Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. The small region of San Antonio valley is also here producing the same range.

Just going back to the Christmas period. It is a time for the good old nativity play at the schools, when teachers and staff manage to get even the youngest pupils up on stage and recite or sing. Fantastic.

One of my grandchildren was very keen to play the part of Joseph in his school event. This incidentally was the nativity play which includes the stable, wise men and shepherds, not, as I have been reading, including Elvis or Wrong, sorry, One Direction. Anyway my grandson did not get his wish regarding casting. His was overlooked for Joseph and got the part of the innkeeper instead. Although bitterly disappointed, he worked hard to learn his lines. As I said, this was the classic version with manger and straw, ready to receive the baby and show its humble birth in the stable. So, at the rehearsed point, Joseph knocks on the door of the inn and says “have you any room at the inn please?” to which a still very disappointed little boy replied “sure, we got loads, please come in...”

Now we get to the region that I am most familiar with: the Central Valley. This includes the vineyards around the Maipo River. The area is across the Andes from the famous Mendoza region in Argentina.

Maipo is split into three regions, Alto, and Central, producing Cabernet Sauvignon, and Pacific Maipo, which includes the Rapel Valley, one of the largest wine producers in the country, supplying about 25% of the whole country’s production. The north of the regions is the Cachapoal Valley which grows Cabernet Sauvignon and Carmenere. To the south lies the best know area of Colchagua which includes the Curico valley that grow the same grapes, alongside the lovely Malbec.

grapes from the other areas here as well as newer introduction of Merlot and Cabernet Franc.

Southern Chile contains two wine growing areas, the Itata and Bio Bio Valleys. The main varieties, until recently, were Moscatel de Alejandria (a sweet Muscat grape) and Pais, again mostly sweet. Now, with it’s Mediterranean climate, it grows, as you might expect, Pinot Noir, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

I really enjoy the wines from Chile and generally, they can be found at reasonable prices in the supermarkets.

Eastern Europe is producing some nice wines, often cleverly labelled with international type wine region names. You can find most of the popular wines at reasonable prices.

They produce all the favourites like Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio and Chardonnay, along with Merlot, and Pinot Noir. I notice that some of these wines are being sold under some supermarket’s own label range; that must tell you how far they have come. So next time you are looking for a bit of a change, look out for these on the shelves.

Bin end chuckles.

I phoned up the local ramblers club the other day, the person who answered the phone just went on and on...

I heard the postman at the door the other day and saw a big envelope on the floor. In great big red letters is said DO NOT BEND. I thought, oh dear, how am I going to pick that up!

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Finally, we have the Maule valley, which is one of the largest wine growing regions. It is also one of the oldest. We find most of the 22

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Presents

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MT Charity What could be better than spending a spring-time Sunday cycling through Essex villages enjoying the early May sunshine, absorbing the beauty of the countryside and perhaps enjoying a short stop for lunch or a drink at one of the village pubs or cafes en route? The J’s are inviting couples, families, friends and colleagues to take part in Pedal for The J’s - a successful charity bike ride, now in its sixth year, that draws people from across Essex with excellent reviews for it’s organisation and variety of routes.

The event will take place on Sunday 3rd May 2015 and promises to be a great day out for experienced cyclists and novices alike. The ride takes in some of Essex’s most beautiful scenery with a choice of three distances; 15, 35 or 50 miles. All routes will start and finish at Admirals Park in Chelmsford with the 15 mile route taking in Mashbury, Pleshey and Great Waltham and the longer ones travelling west towards Hatfield Heath, returning through the Easters then all three rides join up at Pleshey. The spirit of the event is taking part, so you can go as fast or slow as you like. This year, riders will be getting plenty of vocal support from Heart FM’s Heart Angels - Martin & Su from the Breakfast Show were also there to lend their own encouragement at the launch of Pedal for The J’s 2015, though it remains to be seen whether Martin can be tempted onto a bicycle! (pictured).

Heart Breakfast presenter Su Harrison said: “cycling’s always been a popular hobby, but since the Tour de France came through our county it seems more people than ever are getting on their bikes!

“I can’t think of a better way to raise vital money for such a brilliant cause than pedalling for The J’s Hospice!

“We’ll be entering a team - it’ll be a challenge but loads of fun… and hopefully not as strenuous as my last cycling challenge - which was riding to Paris!”

Traditionally, Pedal for The J’s is viewed as one of the most familyfriendly rides in Essex - the 15 mile route is on quiet, picturesque country roads and attracts a large number of parents with children.

“We took my youngest out for his first charity cycle ride, it was a beautiful day, we took it at our own pace and the encouragement of the other riders and marshals really kept a smile on his face! He was really proud of his medal and took it into school for show and tell the next day.”

This year’s event is proudly sponsored by Beaulieu, the exciting new residential development by Countryside and L&Q in Chelmsford, who are entering a team of staff and friends. Training has already begun and they are looking forward to the challenge. Andrew Carrington, managing director of Countryside, said: “we are delighted to be sponsoring this year’s Pedal for The J’s and our team of keen cyclists can’t wait to take part. It is a great community event that not only encourages everyone to get fit and healthy, but most importantly helps raise money to support The J’s Hospice, which is such a worthy charity helping to support young adults in need of hospice care throughout Essex.”

Due to be launched this spring, just in time for Pedal for The J’s, Beaulieu is set to make a huge impact on Chelmsford, bringing new homes and community facilities, including schools, shops, health and enhanced transport connections to the area. Residents at Beaulieu will have a range of amenities on their doorstep reducing the need for car travel and a network of cycleways and footpaths to encourage healthy lifestyles - perfect for the type of active cyclist that takes part in Pedal for The J’s!

The J’s Hospice provides hospice care in the home for young adults throughout Essex.

Due to improvements in medical care and technology, the population of young adults with life limiting conditions is growing.

But at 19 years old, these patients have outgrown children’s services and need age appropriate care and support. The J’s Hospice team provides hospice, medical, nursing and respite care for patients, carers and their families. They also provide emotional and bereavement support. The long term aim is to build a stand-alone hospice building in Essex.

You can register to take part in Pedal for the J’s online by visiting www.thejshospice.org.uk or call the office on 01245 475474 to request a registration form to be sent to you. Registration starts at just £14 (£7 for under 16s) and this includes refreshments; there is no minimum sponsorship. but of course please try to raise as much as you can! Registration is open now, so hurry as places will fill quickly...

Calling local charities! As regular readers will know we feature a charity in each of our magazines every month.

We need to fill our spaces for 2015.

If you work or volunteer for a charity and would like to be featured, please email editorial@itsyourmedia.co.uk.

We can design, 3 pa build, host and wberobchugree ÂŁ24 site 9 maintain your web site for you. We can design and supply your print too.

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Sadly, this is the last Toot page.

If you would like to write a kids page each month please email paul@itsyourmedia.co.uk.

Thank you to Toot for the last 18 months of stories and games

‘

Ami’s Diary

Before Christmas, I visited the Tower of London for the Ceremony of the Keys. It is the traditional locking up of the Tower of London and has taken place on each and every night - without fail - for at least 700 years.

The Tower has to be locked securely as the Crown Jewels and lots of other valuables are kept there, which I got to see.

I am excited because for Christmas, I got tickets to see One Direction at the O2. I saw them last year at Wembley Stadium and they were amazing, so I can’t wait to see them again, although it’s not until September!

I am waiting to see if I am through to the next stage of a great role.

It is for a children’s TV show and it is for one of the main characters.

I got sent a script for a schoolgirl who gets into trouble and I had to learn it in one night. I had to then do a self-tape audition, which means I had to video my acting of the script. I then sent it to my agent who sent it to the casting director. I am hoping I get through to the next stage, which will be to meet the casting director as it would be a regular part that would be on TV for a whole series and some of my friends watch the programme!

Please note our business is unaffected by the sale of our building.

I have also been put forward for a production that is filming in Japan and the UK. Initially they have cast from photos, so I am waiting to see if I get invited to meet the casting director.

The Director of the film Z-Listers, which I acted in, is directing another feature film called Set Me Free. He has asked what dates I am available for filming so that I can be in his new film, which I am looking forward to.

ST VALENTINES DAY Saturday 14th February 2015 Disco Dinner Dance £39.95pp Canapés on arrival with a glass of Prosecco Three course meal & coffee Red rose for the lady.

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Rotary Look Towards Youth for the Future The District Rotary Youth Co-ordinator and District Youth Services Chair, Peter Dowse, finds his job a real pleasure, because District 1240 enthusiastically embraces a whole range of youth activities. Saying this, numbers of young people entering Young Chef are quite low at the moment, so this might be an opportunity for schools and individuals to contact us if anyone would still like to enter.

I am very pleased that Rotakids clubs are growing, the latest being Quilters Primary School in Billericay where I had the pleasure of meeting a very enthusiastic Head Teacher. I am sure there are many primary schools which would love to set up a Rotakids Club. The only difficulty I had with the Head Teacher was his total support of West Ham FC. He even suggested that during ‘Purple Pinkie’ week he could get the claret and blue for all the school children!! A very go-ahead Rotakids club is at Baddow Hall Junior School and by the time you read this, the National President of Rotary will have met the children there, so more next time. Rotakids is Rotary for the 7-11 age group and it is a very exciting way of getting young school children involved with issues going on elsewhere in the world - especially in the developing countries. Baddow Hall Rotakids, for example, is collecting spectacles because they are aware that many children don’t have the luxury of a NHS to provide them.

The Billericay Rotary Club has found a school to host Young Technician. Speaking to the Bishop’s Stortford Club who run the competition (but later in the year), we have agreed to have simultaneous competitions.

Our Youth chairman Peter has listed the dates of the various competitions but please also note the Shakespeare Schools Festival which he is hoping to encourage for next year. As a Rotary Coordinator for Young Photographer and Writer, Peter is sure more schools would like to be involved and he is meeting a potential national sponsor shortly ,so hopefully these two activities will grow.

The theme is Light up Communities. It can be fiction or non-fiction and about a project or story about helping out in the community.

YOUNG CHEF: District 1240 Final - tba. Regional Final - 14th March

2015 in District 1260.

National Final: 25th April 2015 - District 1180 at Coleg, Cambria, Wrexham.

YOUTH SPEAKS: District Finals: Intermediate, County Hall, Chelmsford on 4th March 2015.

Senior Final, County Hall, Chelmsford on 11th March 2015.

Regional Final: District 1130 on 21st March 2015 at City of London School for Boys, St Paul’s, London.

National Final: District 1240 on 10th May 2015 at Brentwood School, Brentwood, Essex.

YOUNG MUSICIAN: District Final - 14th February 2015 at Chelmsford Cathedral.

Regional Final: District 1080 on 22nd March 2015 at St Faith’s School, Cambridge.

National Final: District 1190 on 16th May 2015 at Darwen Vale High School, Blackburn Road, Darwen, Lancashire.

YOUNG MUSICIAN AND YOUNG PHOTOGRAPHER: entries to be with District Co-ordinators by 15th April 2015. (Young Photographer Tony Sale tony@tonysalephotography.co.uk and Young Writer - Steve Wallbank steve.wallbank@btinternet.com).

RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards) Selection and Day Course 1 - Sunday 12th APRIL 0830-1700hrs at Bradwell Outdoor Adventure Centre.

Selection and Day Course 2 - Sunday 26th APRIL 0830 -1700hrs at Danbury Outdoor Adventure Centre.

District RYLA Finals Weekend - Friday 29th May 1700hrs to 31st May 2015 at Mersea Outdoor Adventure Centre.

Rotary has become involved in an exciting partnership with the Shakespeare Schools Festival. Details may be found on www. rotarygbi.org but basically, the Shakespeare Schools Festival (SSF) is to offer students the opportunity to perform Shakespeare on their local professional stage to a paying audience. SSF provides the tools; support and guidance necessary to enable students aged 8-18 to perform plays. The aim is to engage pupils in their education, inspire teachers in their jobs and create community ties through local theatres. This is offered to all children regardless of background, ability or location. SSF is the largest youth drama festival, so I am hoping to help as many young people in the district to become involved.

Why not come along to see the phenomenal standard of the young people in our District? The Young Musician final at Chelmsford Cathedral is on Saturday 14th February - a real treat for Valentine’s Day and just £5. Starts at 7pm. You could do a lot worse on that day.

If you would like to find out more about becoming involved with Rotary, not just about youth activities, visit www.chelmsfordrotary. org or phone me on 01245 260349. Always a pleasure to tell you what’s going on in the Rotary world.

Stan Keller

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Moulsham Lodge Community Trust New name for Police Station The local community has voted for the police station to be renamed the Community Station this was chosen as it signifies most that the building relates to both it’s new community use and it’s historical past as a police station. Whatever it’s name, we hope it will become a community hub that has a broad range of social and hobby interests as well as specific support group activities. If you think you have a group that could make use of it, please get in touch.

New Toddler Group We are starting a new community group that welcomes all parents, guardians, carers and children 0-5yrs. Coffee, tea and biscuits will be provided. We hope to create a relaxed and fun atmosphere where you can let your children play, whilst you enjoy a drink and a chat and share ideas with others in the same position.

We are still thinking of a name for the group and two have come to mind Little Peelers and Toddler Station. Perhaps we could choose a name on our first day. £2 per child or £3 for family. Any further donations welcome, which will be put towards toys and equipment for the group. If you have any baby toys or play mats to donate, they would be greatly appreciated

and if you have any unwanted under 5s toys, we will gladly accept them too!

Start date: Monday 23rd February 2015 Time: 9:45-11:45 CAN’T KNIT... WANT TO KNIT Come and join us for a taster in the craft of knitting all ages welcome at the Community Station, Moulsham Lodge on Sunday 22nd February 2015 from 2.00pm till 4.00pm - bring wool and needles if you want to continue knitting at home. Refreshments will be available. We also need knitting needles, do you have any spare? Just post them through the letter box or contact us to collect.

Community Choir - New City Voices We also have a new name for our choir - New City Voices. There are still tickets available for our joint performance with Men2Sing at the William De Ferrers Centre in South Woodham Ferrers on Saturday the 21 st of February - tickets £10 all in aid of The Gambia Project.

Contact - Mark Springett. Email: mark.springett@mlct.org.uk, telephone: 01245 351040, mobile: 07411 808731, website: www. mlct.org.uk.

WAX & Relax

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Volatile Descent: A Detective Carter Mystery by JR Blake - Part 2 Last time, we saw DS Carter called in to her boss, DCI Maslow’s office as an old friend of his had been murdered. Now we join DS Carter as she begins her investigation…

Detective Carter and her partner DC Reid arrived at the crime scene. Forensics were everywhere, the DCI had really gone to town on this one. Carter approached the team head of forensics: “Anything?” She asked “Nothing yet detective, we’re still working on it though. We’ve managed to persuade the priest here today to open the vault for us, in case anything fell down there through a grate or something.

Rather, DCI Maslow persuaded him. It would seem the DCI can be very …influential.”

“I can imagine. Have you investigated the scene from where the victim fell?”

“Just about to. We only had one volunteer...” the head of forensics gestured over to a familiar face who was striding over to them.

“Diane, what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be autopsying the body?” Carter asked her coroner friend Dr Diane Looker.

“Waiting on permission from the family, it’s only the governor and myself that think it’s murder, so Maslow sent me down here to help out. Also, it would seem I’m the only member of the team that isn’t a scaredy cat of heights” Diane replied, looking rather smug at her own bravery.

“Right, we’d better get on with it then. Reid - I want you down in the vault with forensics looking for anything that might have fallen down there. Hell, just bag anything that looks unusual...” Carter shouted over to her partner.

“The vault? Where all the dead bodies are?” Reid did not sound impressed at this prospect.

“You’re a murder detective with homicide, you’ve been around plenty of dead bodies and you don’t even have to look at these ones, so man up! Unless you want to come to the top of the tower instead?” Carter looked up to the tallest part of the building.

“I’ll stick with the bodies thanks” replied Reid, not overly keen on heights himself.

“Awww, honey I’ll hold your hand in the vault with you…” Diane flirted with Reid.

“That’s Ok Dr Looker, I’ve fully ‘manned up’ - looking forward to it!”

Reid grabbed a forensics consultant and scarpered off towards the vault. Dr Looker could be a bit much at times.

“Such a shame” Diane said to her friend Carter...

“He’s still married you know” Carter replied as they entered the church.

“And I’m still trying” Diane said. “I heard you might be going to Wales, to work with an old colleague...” she asked.

“Hmmmm” Carter grunted. She did not want to talk about this.

“Tell you what, I’ll tag along with you. I can provide wine, a friend to bitch to and also make sure you don’t commit murder whilst up there. Or at least knock his block off. Or Both. Most likely both.”

“Most likely,” Carter replied and as she entered the church, she started thinking about what had happened with her ex.

They were so happy in the beginning. Always a passionate, fiery

relationship, but with mutual love and respect. And then he started working late, working more, working away. Erin was a trainee detective at the time, she actually couldn’t believe that he would go as far as to insult her intelligence by having an affair. Not only that, but having an affair with his own assistant. She remembered the night she confronted him, in the pub all the coppers drank in, with a file with all the dirty details (she was a copper, she knew how to do things properly). Eric scarpered but she knew where he was going, slinking home to get a few bits then going off to his whore’s place no doubt. She followed him, by the time she arrived at their house Maslow had already called her cousin.

Miss Abigail, a red haired privately educated ex-stock broker now private investigator, had arrived on scene with her dark red Rolls Royce Phantom and her chain smoking Irish driver. Miss Abigail had tried to talk to Carter but she was in a rage, she’d lost control, Eric wouldn’t let her in the house.

“Erin, darling just calm down” Miss Abigail had said soothingly in her very posh private schoolgirl accent. “I know the best divorce lawyers in the country - we’ll take him to the cleaners!” Carter wasn’t listening: “we’ll have him begging for mercy!”

“Darling please, this is completely illogical. I know you’re hurt and angry, but what will you do once you get in there? Kill him? What good will that do?” Erin was ignoring her cousin, still trying to figure out a way into the property. In fact she was so preoccupied with this she hadn’t noticed her other cousin, Faith (also a PI) pull up in her midnight blue Subaru Impreza. Faith approached Miss Abigail.

“She’s a bit wound up then?” Faith asked in broad Yorkshire accent.

“Darling, she won’t listen to anything. She’s completely switched off… Oh God she’s going for the roof!” Miss Abigail exclaimed. Faith sighed.

“Third flamin’ roof this week I’ve scaled.” She got some climbing rope out of the car and set off to get up there before Erin did.

Faith surmised that Erin’s most likely plan was to get in via the loft, they’d had a window installed up there ages ago with a view of using it as another room. No problem, Faith could get there first with ease. She’d climbed up many more buildings than her older cousin…

Carter clambered onto the roof, sliding on a couple of roof tiles as she got up there. Somewhere in the back of her mind she thought she may have heard a gasp from below but she was too focused on her destination. The window they’d had installed - maybe she could use one of the roof tiles to smash through it? She approached the window and grabbed a roof tile. As she was about to smash through it when a familiar head and body popped up to greet her…

“Alright love - heard you’ve had a bit o’ trouble wi’ yer fella?” Faith announced, grinning at her stunned cousin, Erin looking down at her. For a second the shock seemed to work, but then…

“I have to get in, I have to confront the lying little….” “‘Hold yer horses - I know you’re hurt. I know you wanna kick the crap out of ‘im, but lets face it - I’ve got more martial arts belts than you’ve had hot dinners so the likelihood of you getting in here ain’t very high is it?”

“I don’t care!” And Erin launched herself at Faith who promptly decked her cousin. Faith had Erin Carter restrained and off the roof in under five minutes.

As soon as they were safely in the back of Miss Abigail’s Rolls, Miss Abigail gave Erin a large whisky and a cigarette. Erin broke down down - she’d realised this was the beginning of the end of her

marriage and her two cousins sitting either side of her would be her support and her world for the foreseeable future.

Tune in next time to see what evidence is found to prove Steve’s death truly was murder, setting DS Carter on a life changing trip to work with her ex-husband.

OPEN AUDITIONS Earthquakes in London by Mike Bartlett 9th and 10th February 2015 - 7.45pm at the Old Court Theatre, Chelmsford CTW are looking for a big-hearted and motivated cast to bring to life this re-working of one of the National Theatre’s most innovative and challenging pieces of recent times. Fast-paced, loud and brash (with a cracking soundtrack including live music), Earthquakes will be a rewarding challenge.

The principal characters are listed below, but overall a team of at least 14 actors will be required to deliver the project, with an equal number of males and females required.

Robert: male, mid-20s to 40s. Climate scientist and father to Freya, Sarah and Jasmine. Beard required and will be required to play a younger version of himself (hence the younger age range).

Freya: female, late 20s to early 30s. Pregnant teacher gradually descending into madness.

Sarah: female, late 30s. Government minister balancing ethics with business.

Jasmine: female, late teens to early 20s. Ex-uni student, wild and devil-may-care. A rebel. Role requires some partial nudity.

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Steve: male, late 20s to early 30s. Jasmine’s husband.

Tom: male, early 20s. Uni student and political activist. A strong character of African origin.

Colin: male, late 30s to early 40s. Sarah’s husband.

Peter: female, playing age early teens. A unique role for a young actress or actress with a young playing age. A student at Jasmine’s school who isn’t what she seems.

Mrs Andrews: female, late 40s to 60s. Robert’s Scottish housekeeper.

A number of additional actors covering a breadth of age ranges are required for a huge variety of speaking/non-speaking parts including a polar bear, doctors, businessmen/women, nurses, police officers, a World War 2 soldier, joggers and mothers dressed all in black who disappear (you’ll be interested to hear that the polar bear is a speaking part).

People of all abilities and experiences are encouraged to audition.

The play contains themes which some may find distressing including abortion, death and the extinction of the human race. The play also includes very strong language.

For more information or to discuss the project, contact Director Danny Segeth via dansegeth@googlemail.com (07891 197181) or Asst Director Vikki Pead via vikki.pead@gmail.com.

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