Moulsham Times - October 2020

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Issue Number 94 - October 2020

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

Doesn’t this year seem to be going quckly? In case you missed them, see Councillor Goldman detailing the latest (as we go to print) COVID-19 guidelines on page 8.

We also would like to welcome Derek Threadgall, who will be writing about his times working in a film studio in the 1960s.

Stay safe!

Regards Paul

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

It’s Your Magazines Ltd Disclaimer: It’s Your Magazines Ltd publish the Moulsham Times. The opinion expressed in each article is the opinion of its author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of It’s Your Magazines Ltd. No part may be reproduced without the prior written permission of It’s Your Magazines Ltd. Reg Co No. 12080535. Printed by Warners (Midlands) PLC.

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Chelmsford - by Vicky Ford MP It has been a very busy few weeks at the Department for Education focusing on the return to school.

Much work is going into plans for the term ahead and how to manage local lockdowns and next year’s exams. I would like to thank Chelmsford head teachers and many pupils for their thoughtful insights and their hard work preparing for the return to school. Two weeks into term across the country and over 99.9% of schools are open and 92% are open to all students in all year groups.

Many young people have found that the pandemic has affected their mental health and well-being. It is so important to make sure they can get back to school and we’ve asked all schools to focus on the well-being of students as they return. The Government has provided school staff with advice and training to support this, as well as an £8 million project fund to make sure all schools can access specialist training in their local area. There is also now a new dedicated helpline for any schools to get advice if they have a student has a positive test for COVID-19.

We are all aware that cases of COVID-19 are increasing. In some parts of the country this has been more significant than in other areas, but it is a risk everywhere. Please do remain alert to the threat and please do follow the 6-person rule and the important ‘Hands, Face, Place’ guidelines: wash your hands, cover your face when social distancing is not possible, and keep a distance from others.

I know some Chelmsford residents have had challenges getting COVID-19 tests due to the very high demand. Please only go for a test if you have coronavirus symptoms or if you have been asked to have one as part of a Government programme. Advice on who should get a test can be found at www.gov.uk/guidance/coronaviruscovid-19-getting-tested. The Government is continually rolling out more testing capacity and I am pressing for more capacity in Chelmsford.

As Children’s Minister I have been concentrating on support for the most vulnerable children, including those with special educational needs and disabilities and children at risk of harm. I have also been working on the Civil Service Care Leavers Internship programme.

Care leavers are amongst the most vulnerable young people in our country and do not have the support of a loving family as they start their working life.

The internship programme offers them a paid role within senior Government departments and agencies across the country and gives them the chance of a first step of a career. This year nearly 500 places are being offered, more than double that of last year.

In the House of Commons, we have been debating a number of important pieces of legislation. These include the Fisheries Bill, the Fire Safety Bill and the Internal Markets Bill. The Fisheries Bill will replace our membership of the Common Fisheries Policy. The Fire Safety Bill will implement the recommendations of the inquiry into Grenfell Tower fire and will lead to improved safety for all.

The Internal Markets Bill is important to make sure goods can still move easily around the UK market on a single set of rules after the end of this year when we are no longer bound by EU Market Rules.

There were rightly many concerns about the way the first draft of this bill was worded and whether certain powers in the bill could lead to a direct conflict with the Withdrawal Agreement Treaty that we have recently agreed with the EU. Therefore, I am glad that the Government has agreed to amend the bill to make sure these

powers could only be used subject to a parliamentary vote at that time.

Recently, I met a number of Chelmsford charities for an online catch up. This was a chance to thank them for the outstanding work they have done to support people locally during the pandemic. We spoke about more actions to help tackle some of the issues ahead. It would help many of our local charities if they had more younger volunteers, so please do get in touch if you can help out.

I was delighted to hear that Chelmsford College is receiving £588,231 as part of the £1.5 billion of new capital in England for further education colleges. This money will be used to continue the refurbishment work at the Princes Road campus. Overall, this should allow them to teach an additional 110 full-time students and about 50 apprentices.

More good news is that the number of students studying to become nurses, midwifes and paramedics at Anglia Ruskin University has increased this year, and the number of medical students studying to become doctors in at the Chelmsford campus is up from 100 to 120. This year, 17 per cent of students have decided to do all their studying online and others will have a mix of face-to-face learning in small groups plus online. The university has introduced staggered start and finish times, one way systems, and face masks will be worn. The 6-person rule is being followed very closely and all students have signed a community pledge to respect social distancing both on and off campus. ARU ranks fifth in all the country for the proportion of students that move on to employment or further study.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, my small team and I have helped over 6,000 Chelmsford constituents with individual queries on a huge range of subjects. I cannot promise that we will solve every problem, but we do always endeavour to find a solution and will always prioritise urgent cases. The easiest way for us to help you is if you email vicky.ford.mp@parliament.uk. If you have an extremely complex problem then every two weeks I hold a socially distanced surgery. If you need an appointment please call 01245 352 872.

Deadlines for the November edition: Articles - 14th October Print ready art work 22nd October

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MT Health - I went Without Food for 6 Days - by Chris at Forté Physical Health Howdie Moulshamites! Before I start on today’s strange topic, I may need to introduce myself. Regular readers will know me as the local osteopath who talks about back pain, injury and health philosophy, but if you’re new here I’ll give you a quick bit of background.

I run a clinic in Old Moulsham and there we treat back pain, sports injuries and all manner of aches and pains. I have been writing in these pages for nearly 5 years (how did that happen?!) and I like to cover topics ranging from back pain to creating healthy habits.

I often use these editorials as an excuse to write about ideas I have been exploring to help my own health. I think it was Stephen King who said ‘I write to find out what I think’, and I find writing here helps me consolidate things.

So this month you will be treated to a story about how (and why) I went without food for 5 days. My hope is not that I inspire you to try the same, (honestly, don’t try it!) but maybe it will motivate you to question your relationship with food and try less extreme versions, which can also be very helpful for health.

I have been trying various forms of fasting for about 6 years. I started because the evidence became very clear of the health benefits.

Fasting helps to regulate your weight, it balances your hormones (for example, it makes insulin more effective at dealing with blood sugar, which is the opposite of what happens in type-2 diabetes), it stimulates cell repair and it reduces inflammation around the body. Along with all these benefits, the research has linked fasting to longevity and has shown that regular fasts can increase one’s likelihood of living a longer life.

Over the years I have experimented with different types of fasts. I started just by skipping breakfast and going 16 hours without food.

The definition of a fast, by the way, is that you don’t have any calories - so you can have water, black coffee, black tea and herbal teas, but no milk or any food. Once I got the hang of the 16-hour thing, I tried something called the ‘OMAD’ diet - I ate ‘one meal a day’ for 3 months. That was tough! Some people do this all the time, but I found I just couldn’t get the calories in and I became way too skinny and lost all my energy, so I went back to the 16-hour fasts.

I do this 5 or 6 days a week and I still find it the most effective strategy to maintain my lean weight and get the benefits I mentioned above.

However, I’m a bit weird when it comes to experimenting on myself, and I’m normally drawn to trying something a bit extreme. After a while, I started to question whether there was anything more I could do.

Research shows that 72-hour fasts can be very effective, so I gave this a go. After about 48 hours of fasting, a process known as ‘autophagy’ kicks in. If you break that word down, ‘auto’ means ‘yourself’, and ‘phagy’ means ‘eat’, so you are literally eating yourself!

This is governed by the immune system, and it does it in a very clever way. The immune system floats around looking for damaged, dying and inefficient cells to break down for fuel. You have a good clear out of old cells so that they can be replaced with new ones.

I tried a few 3-day fasts and I always felt amazing afterwards. On my last 3-day fast which was during lockdown, I experienced a deep sense of calm and clarity. This is the other benefit of fasting - it not just helps your body, but it also helps you connect with your mind. I think this is why most ancient cultures have some form of fasting as a spiritual practice.

It was during this moment of calm that I had the thought to try my

first ever 5-day fast. I planned it for my birthday - what a treat! I would take the week off and go 5 whole days without food.

I had read that on day 4 things get a lot easier. When going through the hardship of day 2 and 3, I didn’t believe it! But as they said, I woke up on day 4 full of energy and feeling a deep sense of calm and stillness in my mind. I felt amazing! This was actually my birthday, so I’d timed it just right. On day 5 things changed, and although I didn’t have any of the normal feelings of hunger, I felt very slow and weak.

I was ready to break the fast that evening when the full 5 days were up.

The benefits I gained from the fast were that my body feels loose and clean (extended fasts reduce inflammation, so they can get rid of any low-level pain you have in the background). My skin feels babysoft - there’s the cell repair in action! I also have a renewed sense of gratitude for something we totally take for granted - food!

Every bite I take now fills me with awe for how amazing it tastes. It’s such a joy to have flavour and texture after a few days without it. And lastly, it taught me that in a world of abundance, that it is good to go without from time to time. It builds resilience.

As I said at the beginning, I’m not trying to motivate you to try an extended fast, but maybe this has got you interested enough to do a bit more research on the topic and assess your own relationship with food. You may find that skipping the odd meal is just what you need to feel healthier and more energised!

And until next time, have a healthy month!

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6 Months in - 6 Months More (at Least) - By Cllr Marie Goldman

Yet again, I find myself in the position of having to write an article which may well contain outdated information by the time you read it. However, some of the recent developments are so important that I feel it would be wrong not to talk about them. So, bearing in mind that I’m writing this on 23rd September and don’t (sadly) have a crystal ball able to predict the future with any certainty, here goes…

Restrictions We’ve just been told by the Prime Minister that the new restrictions being brought in (pubs and restaurants closing at 10pm, the rule of 6 applying to indoor sports, encouraging people to work from home (again), further guidance on face coverings, etc) are likely to be in place for the next six months. Realistically, none of us know whether they will, in fact, last longer than that and I have to be honest - I fully expect even more restrictions to be in place pretty soon.

other people and alert us in the event they test positive for COVID-19.

You can download the app from the Android or Apple app stores by searching for ‘NHS COVID-19 app’. More information can be found here: www.covid19.nhs.uk.

We are continuing to live through very uncertain times. Please look after yourselves and your loved ones - and remember: the precautions we each take don’t only protect us, but they protect others too.

Keep well.

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

None of this is welcome news. Much as we may appreciate the need for it, none of us want to see this happen. But we’re caught between the proverbial rock and hard place: allowing the devastating exponential growth of this awful virus on the one hand, and causing untold damage to our economy with the awful consequences of that on the other.

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One thing is clear: this virus isn’t going away any time soon, but we don’t - yet, and in the absence of a vaccine - understand it well enough to work out how to stop it killing people other than by preventing us from catching it in the first place.

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Long COVID But death isn’t COVID-19’s only long lasting physical health effect.

Far too many people are being diagnosed with ‘Long COVID’ - a truly horrible condition where even previously very healthy people with no underlying health issues are finding themselves unable to walk up the stairs - even months later - without struggling for breath. This is worrying and is often overlooked when pundits discuss the relative merits of restrictions being imposed or lifted. Until we know what is really going here, we must be cautious.

NHS COVID-19 App In all the frenzy over the announcements of restrictions, local authorities have also been told to prepare for the launch of the much anticipated test and trace app. As I write this, the app is finally due to be launched tomorrow (Thursday 24th September). It will replace all privately created apps for testing and tracing purposes. Certain businesses in tourism, leisure, hospitality or close contact industries, such as hairdressing, will be required to create and download a unique QR code from the government website here: www.gov.uk/createcoronavirus-qr-poster. This must be displayed at their premises and when we as customers visit these locations we can ‘check in’ using the app.

Using Bluetooth, the app will also log when we are in close proximity to

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Panther PA - Local Chauffeuring Service From the age of 14, I worked as greengrocer after school and at weekends in the small village of Ingatestone, where I had to learn to deal with all customers requests.

For 5 years that was the only job I thought I could do. It taught me greatly how to converse with and enjoy the public. After a family friend offered me a job as a trainee in office product engineering, I then embarked on a journey I thought not possible.

Repairing photocopiers and fax machines was a complete game changer. After spending a year in workshop training I was put out on the road. I felt like an emergency service; if customer machines broke down I had to get there asap to get them copying again - a different level of stress from the greengrocer world, but again I enjoyed the interaction with different kinds of people.

In 1996 I was offered a job as a service manager in a new line of business for a sales company that was new to them - they wanted to start servicing and maintaining their equipment, large format printers somewhat larger than your average photocopier!

It was a success and I spent the next 16 years working with the same company. In 2012 I was offered by the company to Go it Alone and contracted me to look after the complete service base - I felt rather honoured. I started my limited company and here I am now still directing my business. It has been a joy being able to provide all the customers my personal professional services.

www.panthera-pa.co.uk Alternatively Call or Message on 07973 258463

Working from home has seen me not going out on the road as much, so I wanted to include into the business more personal services so that I could meet-and-greet people the way I have been used to, so I have embarked on the private hire luxury chauffeuring road. It fits perfectly in line with the current business and allows me to be taking care of customers requests in my local and surrounding areas. Oddly enough, I still miss the busy bustle of the greengrocers, especially at Christmas, but I’m sure I wouldnt be able to keep up the pace, that was a long time ago!

Jamie www.panthera-pa.co.uk

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MT Gardening

It’s autumn! This is such a great time of the year to enjoy the change in leaf colour for all those deciduous trees and shrubs, plants burgeoning with a myriad of fruit and various seed heads. All this extends the season of interest. Check out this great link for further information on plants with superb interest during the autumn: www.rhs.org.uk/plants/articles/ misc/enjoy-a-blaze-of-autumn-colour.

These are busy times and so without further ado, I’ll give you a couple of key tasks for the next few weeks...

If you’re cultivating the soil on your vegetable plot, don’t forget that by turning the soil you’ll be undertaking a great cultural control for sorting out those pesky annual weeds. Burying this unwanted group of plants at depth will kill them off. Weeds such as Stellaria media (chickweed), Cardamine hirsuta (hairy bitter cress) and Senecio vulgaris (groundsel) fall into this category. However, perennials will need to be removed as they can overwinter - eg, Aegopodium podagraria (ground

elder) and Elymus repens (couch grass) both have creeping underground shoots known as rhizomes; just one little section left behind after weeding is all that these plants require to keep them going for the next season.

One thing I love to see at this time of the year is a good flowering display. I know that some of you will have some great dahlias, rudbeckias, and other composite flowering types.

However, just this week I was bowled over buy a fantastic display of Alstroemerias (Peruvian lily). They absolutely adore sunny sites and moist but well drained soil and are great for the front and middle of borders. An additional point is that they are perfect cut flowers; once ready for displaying in a vase, pull the long stem from the ground and trim to size.

Over 25 years experieince Pulling helps 20% discount when you invigorate mention Mousham Times! the plant and can lead • Trees • Pruning • Hedges • Roots Removed • Topping • Patios to repeat flowering.

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Nick Garner’s Music & Ramblings Here we are in autumn already, I do love this time of year in the countryside seeing the amazing colours and the mists, all of which I find quite magical. I am not into the cold and the rain though hopefully we get a bit more of an Indian summer to help make us cheerful and see the year out.

I have had it suggested to me that I tell you a few of my stories from my past as I have had quite and eventful life, from living in an embassy for a while to partying with Keith Richards and Ozzy Osbourne, and lots more in between and before. The problem is where do I start? I suppose near the beginning is best - when I was in single digits.

I remember one story from when I was in my first junior school, I must have been about 8 years old so around 1961. I lived in Kent, which is where I grew up, in place called Coney Hall near to Bromley.

I travelled to school each day by coach. We had some small animals at the school too. As it was coming to end of the summer term I remember my teacher asking if anyone was able to look after any of the animals for the holidays? The next day was the last day and I said yes I can take Duke who was a big grey fluffy rabbit (I had not asked at home - though they thought I had).

Knowing that they did not allow animals on the coach, I hatched a cunning plan to put Duke in my duffle bag and went to the back of the coach quickly and got away with it. When I got home my sister was unwell and in our parents’ bed, so I went in to see her and opened the duffle bag and got Duke out, who climbed into the bed with my sister (she loved him). Our mum appeared and was quite shocked and a little annoyed. I had to come clean and l said ‘I told them at school you said it was ok for me to bring Duke home’ then pleaded, ‘please can we keep him? I will look after him.’ Mum gave in, and so the next problem was where do we keep him? Luckily my best mate who lived opposite had a run for a guinea pig which was not currently in use - so we kept Duke and he lived in the garage and came out for runs in the garden each day and indoors sometimes too until he sadly passed away (that was the first time I was heartbroken).

That was the beginning of an artful and cunning life. When I moved up to my next school with my elder brother, I discovered how to trade and make money. It was a private part-boarding school, although we were day boys my brother and me. We had once had a tuck shop at the school which had closed. We used to be able to buy sweets, drinks and all sorts there. I saw a gap in the market and grabbed it!

I lived on the edge of the countryside, so I used to go up to the woods where the heather was and capture slow worms and lizards and then take them to school in a box where I would sell them. Then I would ask one of the teachers who lived in if I could take their dog for a walk - they normally said yes. I would quickly go into the town and buy sweets and the like, go back to the school and then sell them for a profit. I was often up before the discipline master; not really for being ‘naughty’, more for being ‘entrepreneurial’ which they did not seem to appreciate. I was often to be found in detention or getting a smack as you did in those days (it did me no harm). So that was the start of my trading life with animals and from there it went on. You will have to wait to see what comes next and how my life developed and grew.

Music Well it is still tough out there for all types of entertainers and artists.

I have now managed to get to only four live gigs since this all started and the last was to see my good friends in Bishop’s Stortford. This was a new venue for me, the South Mill Arts Complex. What a great venue it is too with everything from a museum to a dance studio, cinema, venue and bar, plus an outside area. They put up a stage and sound system and my friends The Dave Jackson Trio entertained a socially distanced audience for a good couple of hours. There was good few there too - I would think around 60 people, maybe more even, and we were lucky to have great weather as well. I will be going back there for sure and maybe get involved, who knows.

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Black Frog is continuing onwards and moving forward with our online music. We will soon have put on our first live show which will feature Jamie Moses who plays with Paul Young in Los Pacaminos and was also with Queen and Brian May for seven years as second guitarist, among many others. We are also looking into hosting monthly opera shows as well, so as you can see we plan to be pretty diverse and hopefully have something for all to enjoy. With all the uncertainty and changes that are constantly going on I am still waiting to see what we do about future planned shows for the football club this year. We will decide very soon.

Myself, I continue to write and have what I think are some good tunes which are now with the wordsmiths, so lets see what comes out of them - and maybe I will have something to show before the end of the year.

I am looking forward with hope that we will be back up and running with proper live shows in the not so distant future, but I also see that the online stuff is here to stay. It is though a good way to get seen by more people around the globe.

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

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

The Isolation Festival - Black Frog Bands Facebook page can be found at www.bit.ly/3cDoCYW. We are on YouTube as well - go to www.bit.ly/3dEG4wK. Finally, my new band page is at www.facebook.com/yesitis.

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Personal Finance Clinic: Understanding State Pensions

In later life, most of us expect to receive a pension income from the Government. This is known as a State Pension - but what exactly is it and how much do you get and when do you get it?

State Pensions have not been around forever. There was a time when people who did not have the financial means to support themselves in older age would be expected to continue working until they dropped dead.

Then in 1908 the Old Age Pensions Act introduced a small pension for those who needed it as long as they were at least 70 years old and only if they were people of ‘good character’!

The concept of a State Pension for everyone was established in 1946 and the age for payment was set at 60 for women and 65 for men. In order to receive the State Pension, people were expected to make National Insurance contributions across their working lives.

Today, both men and women need to have built up 35 years of National Insurance contributions in order to receive the full State Pension and they need at least 10 years’ worth in order to receive anything at all.

It is also possible to be awarded National Insurance credits towards your State Pension if you are in receipt of certain benefits, including Jobseeker’s Allowance and Employment and Support Allowance, amongst others.

The State Pension is a ‘pay as you go’ system. In other words, all the National Insurance contributions collected from the working population are immediately paid out as pension income to those drawing their State Pensions. There is no pot of money being built up for the future.

When Do I Get It? From this month, the new State Pension age is 66. It has been increasing from 65 to 66 for both men and women for the last couple of years and is scheduled to increase from 66 to 67 between 2026 and 2028.

It’s highly likely the State Pension age will continue to be increased, perhaps to 70 or even older over the next few decades. You can find out your State Pension payment date by visiting www.gov.uk/statepension-age.

How Much Do I Get? Calculating the State Pension was deemed too complicated because it was made up of several components which could include: the Basic State Pension, the State Second Pension (S2P), the State Earnings Related Pension Scheme (SERPS), and Graduated Pension.

To simplify things, a new flat rate State Pension was introduced in 2016. This is currently £175.20 a week, but it will take many, many years before everyone is actually receiving a flat rate.

Will It Be Enough to Live on?

Even at the top rate of £175.20 a week, this is not going to provide the kind of lifestyle most of us are looking for in our retirement. £175.20 a week only equates to £9,110 a year - or £759 a month.

Once you’ve paid for your council tax, your electricity, gas and water bills, TV and phone bills, insurance, food etc, there probably isn’t much - if anything - left.

Relying on the State Pension alone in retirement is not recommended. It’s always worthwhile building up additional retirement provision via a work or personal pension.

A financial adviser can help you with work and personal pensions, particularly if you want to look at consolidating schemes, making additional contributions, changing your investment strategy and/or drawing money out of pensions in a tax-efficient and suitable way.

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

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The best thing to do is to check your individual record by obtaining a State Pension Forecast via www.gov.uk/check-state-pension.

What Is the Triple Lock?

Currently, the State Pension is protected by the ‘triple lock’. This means that, each year, the State Pension income is increased by the higher of 2.5%, inflation or earnings growth.

Please note we are currently only able to attend for emergency repairs

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13

MT Therapy: Chelmsford Therapy Rooms

Hello folks! Jenny here. A subject I haven’t written about for a while is bereavement, and how therapy can help with the grieving process. Coming through the pandemic recently has been difficult for many and lots of people prematurely lost their lives to COVID-19. There are of course couples that have unfortunately broken up because of the pressures of the pandemic. Therefore I felt it the right time to to write on this subject to see if I could help anyone out there currently going through the grieving process.

Loss is something all of us have to deal with at some point in our lives. Some people seem to be very adept at processing loss, whereas some people seem to find loss very difficult to cope with.

In my therapy practice, people come to therapy for lots of different types of loss, from breaking up with a partner to losing a loved one. Sometimes processing the loss is more complicated. For example, the person may have suffered multiple bereavements in a short space of time, or perhaps multiple people being ill (including themselves) and haven’t had chance to process these experiences.

Or perhaps they had a complex relationship with the person lost and are struggling to process what they are feeling. Of course we also have to bear in mind how others around the person are coping. Many people who come to therapy refer to themselves as ‘always being the strong one’ and so they find it difficult to cope with their own so-called ‘weak’ moments because they’re always helping everyone else deal with their grief. This could especially be the case at the moment given that there have been so many restrictions on events such as attending funerals and even weddings. Not having your loved ones at a wedding, or even having to cancel it all together, could be a huge loss not just financially but emotionally too.

It’s important to explain to the client that their grief is just as important as anyone else’s. Personally I would encourage and teach my client how to validate their emotions so they learn how to get through the tough times - and also that they can get through the tough times. As therapists, It’s important to know our boundaries and know when we’re OK to work and when we’re not. Most of us therapists have our own therapists and a supervisor to help us do that. Processing a loss can be hard and it’s ok to admit you miss the person, it’s ok to ask for help. One thing I’ve noticed is that when people understand the loss process they seem to be able to deal with it better. I think this is because sometimes it’s very helpful to know there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and also knowing that what you’re going through is normal and being able to recognise and identify with the emotional and behavioural symptoms is beneficial.

There is a process we all go through to cope with grief. Usually the most difficult thing to deal with is the first reaction: Shock. Many of us don’t like change, we like to feel comfortable in our environment and know where we are because this gives us a feeling of security. That first burst of shock can rock your world and suddenly make you feel very insecure and unsure about life.

Next we have denial or a feeling of numbness. There are different situations in which we feel grief, and as unique individuals one person might react differently to another in certain situations. For example, if someone has suddenly died, one person may be more likely to feel a sense of denial, especially if they just spoke to the person recently. Someone else might simply feel numb - a feeling of numbness is your subconscious’s way of protecting you until you feel ready to process what has happened.

things to find a better understanding; it’s the mind’s way of trying to come to terms with events so we can move on.

It’s normal to feel anger or guilt as a reaction to loss. Anger comes from fear, so you may be angry at the situation or the person that’s left you but actually you might be afraid of feeling lonely, having to cope now the person’s gone etc. Guilt is a common symptom and is where some people might start ‘what-iffing’ - for example: “What if I had made more of an effort with …….”

The lowest you’re likely to feel is a feeling of depression and/or lonliness. You may also feel ill more often as this is a common side effect of depression. This is the bit where you wonder whether this awful feeling of being low will ever end. Will you ever be happy again?

Will you ever be bothered about life again? The answer is (hopefully) yes, but the grief is still being processed. Understanding this can be crucial for a client.

When a client is ready to leave behind the depression there can be ‘re-entry troubles’. Sometimes the thought of moving on can lead back to feelings of guilt. Many people struggle to get their foot on that first step, but once you have, the next bits are much more enjoyable…

Hope is an important step in the grief process. You begin to find that you want to feel better which makes you hopeful for the future.

Perhaps you begin to make plans, looking forward to the future.

This leads onto the next step, acceptance. If you’re able to make plans for the future, that would indicate you’ve begun to accept the events of the past. Sometimes this phase can last a while, it’s hard to accept something that’s painful but once you have, you can move on. Acceptance and moving on may be some of the final stages of processing grief, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still have feelings of guilt. It’s hard to move on from a loss, the key is to understand this and to allow yourself to move at your own pace.

Problems with loss occur when the person is stuck at a certain point or they yo-yo between two points constantly. You must give yourself time, sometimes support groups where people have been through something similar can be of a great help, as you may identify with people in your situation and they can give the right kind of support.

Jenny Hartill is a therapist and owner of Cloud9 Therapy and Chelmsford Therapy Rooms. She is a Counsellor, Hypnotherapist and MnemodynamicTM therapist and can help with a multitude of issues. She and the other therapists at CTR are seeing clients online via Zoom or Skype but are now also beginning to see clients face-to-face again. Please see the therapist list on the the website at www.chelmsfordtherapyrooms.co.uk, or you can email info@ chelmsfordtherapyrooms.co.uk, or call 0330 100 5162 to enquire about an initial consultation. Alternatively, Jenny’s own company website is www.cloud9-therapy.co.uk, her email is info@cloud9therapy.co.uk and her telephone number is 07507 307 170.

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

Questioning the situation is a natural progression, why did this happen? What have you/they done to deserve this? We question 14 www.moulshamtimes.com

Record Store Day Is Coming!

Record Store Day 2020 is the busiest day of the year for Chelmsford’s only independent record shop - Intense Records under the arches by the bus and train station. The event grows year on year with a queue of customers lining up by the viaduct.

This year, due to the pandemic RSD has been rescheduled from its regular spot in April and split into 3 dates (or drops): The final drop is coming up on October 24th to reduce the amount of queuing on any one particular day.

We will be open from 8am-5pm, then all the releases become available online from 6pm. For those that can’t make it on the day, Intense will also be opening up on Sunday the 25th from 10am-4pm.

There will be hundreds of limited edition releases catering for every taste and genre, and on the third drop we have Alice Cooper, Daft Punk’s Tron Soundtrack remixes, Eminem (Slim Shady), Miles Davis, Austin Powers soundtracks, Suede, The Specials, The Rolling Stones, Hospital Records and a deluxe 17-LP Clutch box set.

You can check out the full list of release on www.intenserecords.com and also submit your wish list there too.

For more info pop into Intense Records, 33/34 Viaduct Road, Chelmsford CM1 1TS (under the arches by the bus station).

Alternatively, call them on 01245 347 372 or check their website at www.intenserecords.com.

rom f ies u dio r o St e St th

In the early 1960s, Shepperton Studios hosted the three horror kings, Peter Cushing (1913-1984), Christopher Lee (1922-2015) and from America, the often deranged Vincent Price - only in his movies, I hasten to add - (1911-1993).

His fellow American, director Roger Corman, had cornered the Edgar Allen Poe market and was holed up with Vincent Price in the studio’s small stages complex. As this was the 1960s, CGI and video assist were in the future. Special effects were conjured up by specialist movie technicians, one of whom was Mr Ted Samuels. The Special Effects Department was an Aladdin’s cave of all kinds of visual chicanery.

On one occasion, one of the several horror films being shot required a male hand severed at the wrist and able to crawl by itself, presumably to strangle a few people. Ted drew the short straw to produce this hand. Later, Ted joined me in the canteen for lunch. We sat at a table opposite two secretaries who already were tackling their respective lunches and were in earnest secretarial conversation.

After a few minutes, Ted pulled from his pocket his version of a severed hand. It was horrible. Unfortunately, Ted decided to test it out. He placed the hand on the table and spotted the two secretaries opposite still deep in conversation. He pointed the hand in their direction, pressed something on it, muttered softly, ’...kill’. The hand obeyed its master and crawled across the table and into the remains of a secretary’s lunch.

That corner of the studio canteen erupted into a mini earthquake.

The two secretaries screamed hysterically, their lunch plates zoomed skywards (luckily, the hand fell off the plate it had invaded) and was

scooped up by Ted who studied it for a few seconds, put it back in his pocket, muttered to me, ‘well that works OK’, and left me to help the canteen staff clear up the mess. I understand that the two secretaries were sent home to recover.

A few days later, I asked Ted how he had made the hand crawl across the table. He had inserted tiny batteries under each finger and thumb joint, synched them together and then isolated them to work independently for each finger and thumb. I soon learned that you don’t argue with the Special Effects Department, they could do you serious damage without batting an eyelid. Eat your heart out CGI! The icing on the cake however, was the visit of the grandaddy of the horror film genre, Boris Karloff (1887-1969) real name William Pratt.

British-born Mr Karloff was to make a film in the studio. Although he had fought against being typecast, he later admitted that the monster (Frankenstein - 1931) was the best friend he ever had. However, he had insisted that ‘...you could heave a brick out of the window and hit ten actors who could play my parts. I just happened to be on the right corner at the right time’.

My job in management at the studio (1960-65) allowed me free access to all parts of the studio. I decided to meet Mr Karloff - it was too good an opportunity to miss. I met him with his minder in a corridor between stages. He was in a wheelchair. I did not know whether he was ill or whether the wheelchair was part of his film character. I was introduced to him and he held his hand out to shake mine. For a split second I hesitated fearing that as he was Boris Karloff, I might not get my hand back and with the required number of fingers and thumb. A smile slowly crossed his lips; he knew what I was thinking. I grasped his hand and he playfully held my hand a fraction longer than was normal before releasing it... I shook hands with Boris Karloff and lived to tell the tale!

Derek Threadgall

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15

I Like Music - by Evie McLean (Aged 13) If I had to choose a favourite musician, it would definitely be David Bowie, and that is who I am going to be talking about this month.

David Bowie was the second artist I really got into after Queen, and I started listening to his music around late last year. I had always known his name, as a lot of my family - especially my uncle - have been fans for years. I can vaguely remember the day Bowie died, but it didn’t really phase me because I didn’t really know who he was nor had I listened to his music.

It all started when my friend suggested I listen to Life on Mars? and I watched the video - although I was slightly confused because I had never seen anyone like him before, the whole idea of expressing yourself through your music and clothes was quite new to me.

However, I continued listening to the song and then moved onto songs like Space Oddity (which I happen to be listening to as I write this), Ziggy Stardust and Starman.

Starman would definitely have to be my favourite Bowie song, as

it is quite sentimental to my family and I - for instance it is also my mum’s favourite song by him. Some of my other favourites include Time (which probably has my favourite lyrics of any song), Soul Love, The Prettiest Star, Be My Wife and Black Country Rock. My favourite album is torn between Hunky Dory, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, and Aladdin Sane, probably due to the fact that I would regard them all as masterpieces. If I had to choose a Bowie era, I would again be stuck between the Ziggy Stardust and The Man Who Fell To Earth eras, as both were great for music and they were very important points in his career.

The three things that I admire most about David Bowie is that, one; he gifted the world with his music, two; he used his platform for good - a significant example being when he was interviewed by MTV and he questioned why there was little to no representation of black artists on the channel - and three; which is the fact that no matter how many times he reinvented himself, from ‘Halloween Jack’ to ‘The Thin White Duke’ and then his more ‘pop’ era, to Tin Machine, he always made sure he was being true to himself and no one other than that.

15:00 - Ignition with Ben Kearns 17:00 - Drive at Five 20:00 - Shakey’s Sessions

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

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

Here’s your chance to help Chelmsford Community Radio by telling us what you think of of the station. During the month of October 2020, we want your help to tell us what you think of CCR by filling-in the Chelmsford Community Radio Listener Survey.

It only takes a few minutes to complete the survey, which you can find on our website at www.chelmsfordcommunityradio.com and by clicking on the ‘News’ tab. Your thoughts will help shape local programmes made and broadcast in your city on Chelmsford Community Radio live from Chelmsford.

CCR 104.4FM Schedule: Monday 06:00 - Early Breakfast with Dave Daniels 07:30 - Good Morning Chelmsford with Michelle Durant 10:00- Retro Chart Show with Dave Wilkinson 12:00 - Lunchtime with Jane 15:00 - Ignition with Ben Kearns 17:00 - Drive at Five 20:00 - City Talk with Nita Jhummu 23:00 - One Year on with Luke Woolley Tuesday 06:00 - Early Breakfast with Dave Daniels 07:30 - Good Morning Chelmsford with Paul Morrish 10:00 - Motown and Soul with Mo Stone 12:00 - Lunchtime with Jane 14:00 - The 80s Show with Gareth Jones

Wednesday 06:00 - Early Breakfast with Dave Daniels 07:30 - Good Morning Chelmsford with Michelle Durant 10:00 - In the Middle with Scott, Greg and the Tea Boy 12:00 - Lunchtime with Jane 15:00 - Ignition with Ben Kearns 17:00 - Drive at Five with Paul Morrish 19:00 - Off the Beaten Track with Lee Shuttlewood 20:30 - Transmission with Paul Dupree 23:00 - Mop Tops and the King with Steve Chelmsford Thursday 06:00 - Early Breakfast with Dave Daniels 07:30 - Good Morning Chelmsford with Michelle Durant 10:00 - Half and Half with Jared Bates 12:00 - Lunchtime with Jane 14:00 - The 90s Mixtape with Josh, Ignition with Ben Kearns 17:00 - Drive at Five with Dave Wilkinson and Owen 22:00 - After Hours with Ben Kearns Friday 06:00 - Early Breakfast with Dave Daniels 07:30 - Good Morning Chelmsford with Michelle Durant 12:00 - Lunchtime with Jane 15:00 - Ignition with Ben Kearns 17:00 - Drive at Five with Lauren Underwood, Josh and Daisy.

Saturday 08:00 - Saturday Breakfast with Luke Barnard 12:00 - On the Move with Dave Daniels 14:00 - The Will Showwith Will Mackenzie 16:00 - Essential Anthems with Tony Knight 18:00 - In the Mix with DJ Dazza 20:00 - Paul Dupree Gives up the Funk 22:00 - Rubber Soul with Dave Arscott.

Sunday 07:00 - Wake Up On Stage with Jared Bates 08:00 - Sunday Breakfast with Dave Daniels 10:00 - Community Takeover monthly shows from: Gene Radio/ Rotary Roundup/Tracey May 12:00 - Chelmsford Chatting with Oliver Rogers 17:00 - Back to Backnang 18:00 - The Steve Chelmsford Show 19:00 - The Music Capsule with Andrew Alton-Read 20:00 - Chelmsford and District Talking Newspapers

16 www.moulshamtimes.com

Hello everyone, I hope you are all staying safe and well in these trying times.

Although I understand the need for the rules associated with ‘CV’, it is becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with them all. Why can I go to the pub and mix with countless numbers of people, who I don’t know and certainly would not know whether they have been following the rules or not, when I can’t have more than four visitors whom I know are following the rules round mine? Oh well.

Being British, I guess we will have to make the best of it!

and I realised I had forgotten my face covering. Who would have predicted that would be a problem 12 month’s ago...

Do you dream? Or more accurately, do you remember your dreams?

I dream a lot, oddly, and most of the time they are about things that are related to work. Odd, because I retired over ten years ago. I often dream about missing meetings, not being able to get information I need or getting lost and not being able to find where I want to go.

However, my dreams have been brought up to date. The other night,

As I write this, we are away in the West Country. I know, we were away just the other week, but we missed so much earlier in the year that we are trying to catch up.

The first few days were spent in Minehead, north Somerset. A lovely place with a great sandy beach - and of course, Butlins. I spent many happy holidays at Butlins in the sixties and seventies, when it was famous for its little chalets and entertainment. The first time was with my cousin in 1964, when we went to Skegness on the train and had a great week there. We were both just 17. A bit of an adventure. Not too many memories of the holiday to be fair, but I do remember that included in the price were three meals each day. Wow, I struggled to keep that going and by Wednesday we were avoiding the lunch.

Anyway, Butlins is still in Minehead, but we did not visit it.

Back to the present, and one day we decided to risk a short bus ride to the nearby village of Watchet. The buses ran every hour, and once we got there we realised that it was going to be a challenge to fill the time. One thing we did notice was a sign in a shop window saying: ‘If you choose not to wear a mask then you must remove all your clothes to enter. It’s all or nothing here’. Well, that made us laugh.

Later that week, we were surprised to see a photo of that sign on the Daily Mail’s letters page. Apparently someone from Billericay had seen it and sent it in. We went to get the next bus back but although there was plenty of room on the it, rules said we could not get on and had to spend another hour there. We had a nice cup of coffee sat looking over the little harbour, so we were not complaining.

We went from Minehead to Camelford in north Cornwall. First day, we had sunshine all day and a beautiful sunset across the moors.

Next day we had mist and could hardly see the edge of the campsite!

That’s the English weather for you.

We were close to Port Isaac and Tintagel, so we decided to visit both (not on the same day). Port Isaac is where they film the television programme Doc Martin. It’s a lovely little Cornish fishing village, but we hadn’t anticipated the number of people who would visit - it was absolutely packed. No wonder Martin is so grumpy! We found it difficult to get lunch and ended up eating a bap stood in an alleyway next to a shop. Having said that, the baps were very nice. We had no phone signal and had arrived on the bus. I’ll check the return times when we get there, I thought. But no. Just as we were wondering how to find the times, our eyes set on a pub which we had missed before.

We found a table in the garden, overlooking the harbour, ordered our drinks and, YES, they had WI-Fi! Onto the bus website, get the time for the next bus and away we go, even having time for a glass of wine.

Not a bad day out in the end.

Tintagel is said to have been the home of the legendary King Arthur.

Well it was in the thirteenth century; now, of course, it’s a ruin.

Fantastic views from the ‘castle’ out to sea, and lots of hills and steps to climb. As it happens, everywhere we went in the village, there were square tables, not a round one in site!

I dreamt that I had forgotten my mask, but although there loads of shops nearby none of them would sell me just one mask. I knew I had loads of them at home and didn’t want to get lots more! I dread to think what may happen next.

We went to a pub at Brixham in Devon, a small place, very friendly, doing the social distancing and all that. Then I noticed the distancing sign on the wall. Now, you go into lots of pubs (not me literally) and there are expensive looking posters around the place about keeping 2 metres apart, smart phones to log on to apps to record name and phone numbers and all that. It must be costing them a fortune. This pub had a book into which you put your details with a pen, and better than that, they had a handwritten sign about the 2 metre rule. That made my day - simple cheap and I think much clearer than all the other ‘clever’ stuff. The crab sandwiches were fantastic too.

Bin End Chuckles A cowboy asked if I could round up 18 cows, That will be 20 cows then...

The world triple jump record is just a hop, skip and a jump away...

Stay safe and well.

A sign of the times. I was half way to the paper shop the other day Remember to tell our advertisers you saw their advert in the MT

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17

Sixties British Blues and R&B Boom 7 - by John Power

Not all the discoveries of 1957 were due to talent. Many crept in as girl fan attraction, and had careers manipulated by management who hoped the artists would yield good cash rewards.

Such a case, when any artists could get signed, was Larry Page. He was a Welsh lad who had wound up packing albums and singles at the EMI warehouse. While there he entered for a TV Times talent contest called Find a Singer, did a test at Abbey Road Studios and was signed by EMI’s Norman Newell. When Newell found that he worked for the firm he began to treat him like a piece of merchandise to be manipulated to front a bunch of assembled old jazzer session men for a single Start Movin’ (in My Direction) and then a cover of Buddy Holly and the Crickets’ US number, That’ll Be The Day, that was so short of the original that it sunk without trace. Yet he still went down fairly well with audiences on a variety tour with covers of other rock songs. One of many stories of mediocre talent not being encouraged to shine but rather stifled by inept management. His backing group, the Page Boys, did uncover one member who was to go on to greater things. That was Jet Harris who was one of the original members of Cliff Richard’s Shadows when they were still called The Drifters. Then he managed a couple of top 10 hits with The Shadows’ drummer Tony Meehan when he pioneered the electric six string bass guitar on two instrumentals called Diamonds and Scarlet O’Hara.

Jet was not impressed with Larry, or being a Page Boy, so with guitarist Ian McLean soon left and joined the latest version of Tony Crombie and His Rockets as they headed for a package tour with Wee Willie Harris, Colin Hicks and the Cabin Boys, and The Most Brothers, while Page reformed with a group and called them The Front Page Men. One other face that emerged from Six-Five Special in 1957, after having been the compere for The Viper’s ‘never ending’ skiffle talent contest tour, was Jim Dale who followed Pete Murray and Freddie Mills as anchor men on the Six-Five Show and of course went on to play several parts in the Carry On films. He even received an MBE in 2003 in the Queen’s birthday honours for his acting skills.

Ghosts of variety continued to haunt the BBC, who claimed to be representing British talent but instead managed to quash the amazingly electrifying American music that they copied in slushy ‘Workers’ Playtime’ style, if they even featured it at all, leaving listeners craving the original sounds. A short trend for calypso was a sop to attract skiffle fans that fooled nobody. So the age gap grew as youngsters had to make their own sounds or try to hear the real thing through the fluctuating signals they struggled to pick up from Radio Luxembourg. It would take ten years and three more revolutions of Merseybeat, R&B and psychedelia before the levee broke.

Ironically, although New Orleans jazz had been the parent of skiffle, it was also to outlast it in popularity in England as electric guitars and amplification became more common and began to dominate the development of rock. According to Wally Whyton, who had been in the forefront of skiffle in its prime, by March 1958 it was all over. So The Vipers took time out to work out what to do next.

Other established groups took to opening coffee bars with juke boxes or other related fields on the scene, or went electric. Only Lonnie Donegan was left as a visible reminder of skiffle and kept the songs coming, though not necessarily the American themed ones that had got him started. Among his admirers that had followed in his footsteps were the Saints Skiffle Group from Norwich, who had found their way to London to find that things were past their heyday, so they split up and went home. Or in the case of guitarists Kenny Packwood and Tony Sheridan, hung around in London to see what would happen next. The name Tony’s parents had given him when he was born in 1940 was Terrence Edmond Sheridan McGinnity. He’d had a traditional musical background of orchestra, choir and even

operettas.

Seeing Lonnie in Norwich gave him the impetus for change. Stuck then in London, Tony infiltrated the 2i’s Coffee Bar and heard Roy Young screaming out Little Richard songs, which were a long way from skiffle, so he bought himself an electric guitar and jammed with the (post-Adam Faith) Worried Men. Kenny Packwood on the other hand was offered a job replacing one of Marty Wilde’s Wild Cats. Eventually Tony got to play guitar with Vince (original name Roy Taylor) Eager’s backing band. Later on, in their Hamburg era, Tony was to be backed on record by the Silver Beatles as they were then known. Vince Eager had been born in Grantham in 1940, and had had some early musical experience in a church choir. He then learned a few chords on a banjo as entry into a skiffle group after seeing Lonnie in Nottingham. They became The Vagabonds, as he changed to guitar, with Brian Locking - who was a later member of The Shadows - on tea chest bass, while John Holt thrashed away at the washboard. They entered a talent contest where the final places were announced on the BBC’s Come Dancing, and came second. That gave them enough recognition to do an hour’s slot at the 2i’s, leading to a residency, for only £20 a week between them, which meant some pretty slummy digs.

Paul Lincoln put them in touch with a Decca producer in April 1958.

Larry Parnes got to hear of them and offered them a gig backing Marty Wilde in Coventry. Then after the gig he offered to manage them, with the suggestion of the name change from Taylor to Eager.

Parnes put them on wages good enough to let them move into a flat shared with Tony Sheridan, while Vince got a room at Larry’s flat, as young men - not all musicians - came and went.

Vince’s first single with Decca caused a squabble with Parnes as he didn’t like it, so he filled the gap for him and The Vagabonds with a residency at a swanky Bond Street club called Churchills. When a 4-track EP did come out, including a track called Lend Me Your Comb, it had suffered the usual uncomprehending production of non-rockschooled production - and flopped. Parnes decided then to start his own record label for them with a then still learning Ron Grainer, but its results went the same way leading to the band reshuffling, with the added factor of the band’s dislike of Parnes’ gay advances. In came Tex Makins on bass and Tony Meehan, the future Shadow, on drums from the Worried Men, which by then included sax and piano in the line-up. Finally, in the recording stakes, George Martin took care of them on Parlophone, after a Six-Five Special appearance and provincial tour.

Colin Hicks first provincial tour started off with a cold wet tour of Scotland, but things looked brighter as Parnes sent him and his Cabin Boys off to Italy for a tour of seven major cities with The Platters and Ramblin’ Jack Elliott. The Platters had just had a number 1 hit in the States with Twilight Time. It was the Italians’ first taste of rock ‘n’ roll, so the boys put on some wild shows for them that released 2,000 years of repression. So Colin was a superstar in Italy, but when he returned to England he found that Parnes had decided to drop him from his stable, as his songs weren’t selling here after a couple of year’s exposure - mostly due to inept A&R men. Being Tommy Steele’s brother was no saving grace. That wasn’t the only split in the wind either; John Kennedy, who had done much of the hard work to get Parnes established finally had enough of him and decided to feather his own nest instead. So at that point the Parnes stable stood at just Tommy Steele, Marty Wilde and Vince Eager.

Tommy himself saw a year of changes 1958 too. A South African tour saw him harassed by upholders of apartheid for playing to mixed black and white audiences and a host of riotous Dundee girl fans mobbed him so badly in May that he was out of action for six weeks recuperating. So he parted company with the Steelmen who had backed him for two years and took to being a Radio DJ for a few

18 www.moulshamtimes.com

weeks when the BBC decided to fight Radio Luxembourg’s gains over musical listeners.

Once the Beeb controllers realised they could employ Pete Murray for less than half what Parnes was asking for Tommy, it was time to think again. Acting was certainly less trouble than touring and after The Tommy Steele Story he’d been cast in a double role as a member of the aristocracy and his rockin’ lookalike in The Duke Wore Jeans.

He’d featured in the film adaption of the Six-Five Special too and

done panto the previous Christmas. His fiance under an alias joined with the cast of Expresso Bongo on the West End stage to tell the story of a coffee bar kid who made it big. A role played a year later in the film of the same name by Cliff Richard. Its not one that gets repeated on TV very often as St Cliff’s rise to glory takes place in a strip club. In May John Kennedy had his bio of Tommy published and in September Tommy’s face appeared in wax on a model in Madam Tussauds. The first rock star ever.

Fundraising Target SMASHED for Moulsham Infant School – Despite Covid!

Outside space before...

Outside space after

SMILE PTA for Moulsham Infant School organised a variety of fundraising events this summer to raise money and update the outdoor spaces. We wanted a new outdoor classroom for our Early Years Foundation Stage classes.

some tall, permanent planting as well as the opportunity to grow seasonal vegetables and flowers.

We have worked with the EYFS Team, who had developed a fantastic vision for our outdoor classroom to be a more natural environment, providing opportunities to access all areas of the curriculum outdoors.

Thank you to Chelmsford Community radio for helping to advertise our JustGiving page.

Skewers Chelmsford donated meal deals which raised more money, but the event that raised the most, was our Ice Bucket Challenge. Our children were able to donate to nominate which MIS teacher they would like to see do this challenge, thank you to Headteacher Mrs Jane Landa-Arrese and Deputy Headteacher Mrs Emma Fagg for being such great sports!

Ice Bucket challenge: Headteacher Mrs Jane Landa-Arrese and We must also give a HUGE thank you to Adam Vaughan Landscaping Deputy Headteacher Mrs Emma for an amazing transformation and Fagg completed project. Also, thank you to Chandlers for providing the materials we needed at an affordable cost.

Finally, the BIGGEST thank you is to all the parents, children and our local community that donated to this project. You all helped make our children’s dream a reality, THANK YOU!!

Skewers Chelmsford cheque presentation Successfully, we have now created an outdoor learning environment which provides interest and learning throughout the year. There is

Sharon Wuyts Chairman SMILE PTA

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Spot 10 Differences (Answers on Page 31)

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Are you / or do you represent a charity in the local area?

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The Singing Chef

Spiced Duck Breast With Garlic Greens As I write this, the children are back at school and the cold from hell has broken out at our house as it does this same time every year.

I’m so hoping we are not going to need another national lockdown and that are children can safely stay at school and we can continue to work in this new challenging era.

The recipe this week is indulgent and medicinal to keep us strong to fight what the autumn throws at us. There is spice to keep you warm, some astringent Szechwan pepper to clean the throat and mouth, and citrus full of vitamin C all marinaded into those crispy sumptuous duck breasts. The garlic and the greens speak for themselves.

It’s an ideal meal to light a few candles, lay the table, grab some wine and enjoy this beautiful dish. Also duck is very cheap at the moment, so cheap its QUACKERS!!!

Sarah is a singer and vocal coach based in Chelmsford and offers singing lessons to people of all ages and abilities. You can email Sarah at sarahmtfood@gmail.com or search for ‘Sarah Beth Vocal Coaching’ on Facebook.

Ingredients 1 duck breast per person, scored.

Make a spice rub with all or any of the following in equal measurers: I’d use a teaspoon of each for 2 duck breasts and a tablespoon each for 4. Star anise, Shezshen pepper, salt, allspice, ginger - all ground together.

1 orange or two satsumas (oranges have a more flavour if you prefer stronger citrus notes).

Garlic.

Olive oil.

Greens of your choice.

Method Massage your duck breasts in the spice rub and sit them in a dish on top of the citrus slices and whole garlic cloves, drizzle with some olive oil, cover and leave to marinade overnight if possible.

Place the cold duck breast in a cold, dry pan and start to heat low and slowly. Do NOT turn over for 15-20 minutes.

Add in the marinade from the dish inkcluding garlic and oranges.

Turn and cook on the underside for 5 minutes then finish for 5 minutes in a low oven.

Take out your duck and leave to rest in a warm place.

Add a splash of stock (and wine if desired) to the pan, increase the heat, bubble and reduce the stock for 5 minutes, sieve the sauce for a smooth consistency.

Use the pan to cook your garlic and greens for max 5 minutes in a little butter.

Et voila!!! www.issuu.com/itsyourmedia

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Quiz Time - by John Theedom

1. Which role does Geraldine McEwan play in a TV show?

2 In which TV series was the catchphrase: ‘You’ve all done very very well’?

3. A kumquat is a kind of what?

4. If a situation is rife, what is happening?

5. Which is the odd one out of ‘Navy’, ‘Scarlet’, ‘Royal’ and ‘Sky’?

6. When was the city of London established by the Romans?

7. What is another name for abseiling?

8. What is the first name of the American actress Ms Wax? 9. How old is Bernard Cribbins?

10. In the USA, what exactly does the term ‘Dixie’ mean?

11. Which large English tree produces flowers called ‘candles’?

12. Hampton Court Palace is in which London Borough?

13. What precisely is whey?

14. Who was the actor who played the role of Number 6 in The Prisoner series?

15. Marc Bolan died in 1977 after a car crash - how old was he?

16. Who is the ex-MP who heads up the TV programme Great Railway Journeys?

17. In which part of the UK is the Gower Peninsular?

18. What do the initials TSB stand for?

19. In which sport is Serena Williams rather good?

20. Which football club plays at the Amex Stadium?

21. According to the well known phrase, curiosity killed which animal?

22. What does the ‘M’ stand for in the honour MBE? 23. In which sport did Sir Ian Botham once participate?

24. To which part of the human body does the term olecranal refer?

25. What type of fruit can be ‘hass’?

26. Which famous golfer has the name of an animal?

27. Who starred as Juno MacGuff opposite Michael Cera in the 2007 film Juno?

28. What is produced by the process of tatting?

29. What was the name of Bill Haley’s backing group?

30. Who wears a hat called a mitre?

31. How many players are there on an Olympic curling team?

32. What kind of creature is a pochard?

33. Which actor played the role of Humphrey Appleby in Yes Minister?

34. Who or what is the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street?

35. What is another name for rabies?

36. Red, Red Wine was a hit for UB40; from where did the group name originate?

37. How many sheets of paper are there in a quire?

38. Can you name the six suspects in the board game Cluedo?

39. What nationality was Errol Flynn?

40. What kind of creature is a orange roughy?

(Answers on page 31)

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Moulsham Lodge Community Trust We are now many months into this pandemic and if the news is anything to go by, we are a long way from getting back to normal. The trustees have had many discussions about reopening the Community Station, but each time we think we are getting nearer, the goal posts are moved and its no longer possible. We have used the time as best we can by finishing the building works that we started last summer and some of you will have noticed the cladding on the outside of the station being replaced and the decking stained ready for next summer hopefully.

find out when and how you can place your order.

We have undertaken some COVID-19 risks assessments in an effort to reopen the coffee shop or start hiring out our spaces, but the latest maximum of 6 people means that is just not possible. It is an ever-present problem that we cannot generate any income, but still have bills to pay. If anyone has a solution please get in touch.

Contact us by email: enquiries@mlct.org.uk Search for us on Facebook and Twitter We are also now available on mobile: 07434 678 999.

Next year, 2021 will see the anniversary of Moulsham Lodge turning 60. If things allow, we hope to celebrate in a way similar to 2010 when we celebrated Moulsham Lodge turning 50. We are starting to look at ideas that can be brought together quickly as this pandemic is not allowing us to make any long-term plans. If you’d like to get involved in any way or have any ideas for the celebrations, please get in touch - we’d love to hear from you.

Sadly, our annual Breakfast With Santa will not be able to go ahead as we cannot have groups of people meeting, but we have hopefully come up with something that will offer a solution. We are hoping to operate Santa’s Holiday Hamper on the weekend of 12th and 13th December. A box of Christmas themed food, similar to a cream tea, will be ordered in advance and collected from Santa together with a present for the children. Santa will be outside (lets hope the weather is kind) and the children will be socially distanced from him and his elves. This will hopefully allow those who enjoy our breakfasts with Santa to still come and visit the station and see Santa.

On 31st October, as long as rules allow, there will be a Halloween Cream Tea with themed food to bring about a change to a traditional cream tea. Check out our Facebook page over the next few weeks to

Cllr David Jones - Moulsham Lodge Ward

The Mayor of London came close to hitting the headlines when he announced that the New Year’s fireworks in London will not be taking place this year because of concerns about social distancing and the transmission of COVID-19. In fact, no one should be surprised at his decision and, sadly, it seems likely that many organised displays on and around November 5th will go the same way. In the light of this, many people may be drawn to having a few fireworks at home.

setting them off persistently.

The beginning of October may seem a little early to be discussing fireworks but in recent years we don’t seem to have had a ‘firework night’ but a ‘firework season’ dragging on throughout October and fading out after November 5th. While no one wants to spoil people’s enjoyment, this does bring with it a number of issues.

Thinking back to when I first became a councillor back in 1991, the subject of how to make better use of Chelmsford’s rivers has been an ever-present issue. There are several problems to overcome, including low bridges over the river. The main difficulty however, has been the fact that the automatic weir is not just an eyesore but also a barrier to boats, preventing downstream access from the town centre rivers. In the past a ‘cut’ from Springfield Basin seemed the best solution, but this would not only be expensive but also present construction difficulties.

It is always a busy time for the emergency services. Every year, hospital Accident and Emergency units are swollen with casualties from firework accidents, many of whom are children. Of course, the COVID-19 situation will cause additional problems for those dealing with the surge this year. Many of the fireworks sold in shops today are really ‘display fireworks’ designed to be used at least 25 metres away from spectators. Even those described as ‘garden fireworks’ generally have a safe distance of 5-8 metres, meaning that many Chelmsford gardens are really too small to safely accommodate them.

Often forgotten are the effects that bangs and other loud noises can have on some vulnerable people and animals. The RSPCA are very concerned about the effect on wild, domestic and farm animals and ran a campaign last year. As a result, many concerned Chelmsford residents contacted their city councillors and in response, Chelmsford City Council passed a cross-party resolution at Full Council.

The fact that we now seem to have a firework season rather than a firework night can mean that some people are suffering a genuine noise nuisance going on for days or even weeks. The City Council can investigate this as a noise nuisance but will only do so if someone is

Please remember that it is illegal to set off fireworks between 11pm and 7am, except for on Bonfire Night (November 5th) when the cut off is midnight, New Year’s Eve, Diwali and Chinese New Year when the cut off is 1am. If someone is letting off fireworks outside of the permitted times, you should report it to Essex Police on 101.

Also please remember that ‘firework parties’ are not exempt from the Government’s Rule of Six.

The automatic weir was actually built as a flood precaution in the 1960s and has been maintained by the Environment Agency. Without the weir, at times of low rainfall the water levels in the town centre would be unacceptably low - or even non-existent! The EA have now indicated that they can no longer justify the costs of its maintenance and so something has to be done. At the meeting of the City Council Cabinet held on September 8th, councillors agreed to commission a detailed feasibility study into replacing the weir and adding lock gates. This would allow boats to pass further west up the rivers Chelmer and Can. This proposal was supported by representatives of Essex Waterways, Chelmsford Civic Society and the Chelmer Canal Trust.

Finally, to end, if you do decide to have your own fireworks, please take care and follow the Firework Code!

Stay safe, everyone!

26 www.moulshamtimes.com

Tile Kiln Corner - by Cllr Linda Mascot Congratulations to retired ex-city councillor Freda Mountain who has recently celebrated her 80th birthday. Far from slowing down, Freda continues to volunteer with Age Concern at their day centre in Chelmsford. Since lockdown, they are now supporting elderly residents by supplying hot Meals on Wheels delivered to their homes instead of all coming together at the day centre.

However, as volunteer drivers have gone back to work, Freda explained the difficulties they are facing to keep people connected: “Age Concern Chelmsford is based close to the Chelmsford Cathedral and provides a daily cooked meal and good company for our clients every weekday lunchtime from Monday-Friday. We operate from our own purposebuilt building (also used by other community based organisations) with support of volunteers and friends.

meals and sends heartfelt thanks to volunteers Jean, Lisa, Edna and Eileen for their help in the kitchen and all the other volunteers who have helped deliver meals through this difficult time: “If you would like to add your name to our delivery service then please ring 01245 262 589 between 9.30am-11am, or email ageconchelmsford@gmail. com - or perhaps if you would like to offer to volunteer either in the kitchen or to deliver meals, we would be very pleased to hear from you.”

Community Flower Beds The community flower beds opposite the Clay Pigeon pub are in need of some tidying up and in more normal circumstances, I would arrange a work party with myself and local volunteers to come together to help weed and prune them before the winter. If you have an hour to spare, please email me and I’ll arrange a socially distanced work rota to keep us safe but enhance this area. All offers of help gratefully received, and if you are passing, please feel free to pull up a few weeds!

In these uncertain times please stay safe and look out for your neighbours. mascotlinda@gmail.com Twitter: @lindamascot

“Since March, due to COVID-19 and to maintain our vital work, we are now operating a Meals on Wheels service and so maintaining a good healthy balanced meal delivered to your door at the cost of £5 for a two course meal.

“Currently we are having an extension built to the second floor of our building so that we can offer more services to the community which we are very excited about. It will not be completed until the end of the year.”

Kitchen Manager and Chef Teresa feels passionate about continuing to support her elderly clients by providing hot

Testing Times I write on a day where testing is all over the news - and with the Government admitting that it will take a few weeks to iron out the bugs in the system, whatever they are, it’s likely that by the time you read this, testing will still be all over the news!

With schools, preschools, colleges and universities all returning, and encouragement for workplaces to open, some semblance of normality is returning. Of course, it’s not long before we realise that this isn’t normal at all - the rolling in and out of isolation for families, schools and towns shows us that. Of course, testing will help.

In these testing times, testing for COVID-19 isn’t the golden bullet some suggest it is. Actually, there are testing times ahead in so many ways, and reaching some level of what we know as normal is helpful - it brings stability and the comfort of not needing to cope with all the change all at once.

Fledgelings Pre-school has been open throughout the pandemic for children of key workers, but now has started term as they always would in September (if you’re thinking of sending your child to www.issuu.com/itsyourmedia

pre-school, and want to know more about Fledgelings, visit www. fledgelingspreschool.co.uk).

At Tile Kiln Church, we are reopening the church building for Sunday services from Sunday 4th October, which will also be livestreamed on our YouTube channel (tinyurl.com/y24qlkvx). If you’d like to come, book in by emailing me at the address below.

For all of us at Tile Kiln Church, and for Christians everywhere, this testing time forces us back to the truth of Jesus Christ, who died and was raised to life again, and the Bible’s testimony that he is the same yesterday, today and forever. In an ever-changing situation and in the midst of testing times, this provides stability, comfort and even hope in the face of sickness and death - Jesus gives us a way to face death with poise, peace and hope.

Please get in touch!

Tim Goodall Pastor tim.goodall@tilekilnchurch.org.uk www.facebook.com/tilekilnchurch 27

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An Old Saab Versus an Old BMW? a Used Car Comparison - by Simon Inglis I for one feel modern cars came of age in the 1990s - what we recognize today as the modern car that is. It was the 1990s when Mercedes-Benz finally decided to compromise quality (in some respects) in order to concentrate on technology. The famous W124 saloons are seemingly cut from granite - a car that could last a lifetime. Yet the technology we recognize today was coming and something had to give in order to pursue the safety standards that we now take for granted.

In my opinion, if a degree of quality was shed by the Merc boffins, the same was not happening over in Munich. BMW had spent the best part of a quarter of a century catching up to its great rival via the E3 of the 1970s, the fabulous 2002 and the introduction of the E12 5 Series is but a few great examples. In the 1980s BMW gave us the updated E28 5 Series, the upgraded E23 7 Series - a somewhat spirited effort to try to challenge the S Class, and of course the famous E30. I love that car - my mum had one which was the first car I was actually proud in that it graced our driveway!

That was a humble 318i 2-door which she kept for a decade. That former yuppie icon is now a cool classic and I for one would love it had mum been able to keep hers! Sometime at university I shed my Rover SD1 and purchased my first Saab - a 99EMS. My memory of that used gray example is one of perennial debt to my parents as there was a seemingly endless set of repairs bills. Of course, I drove it into the ground. That 99EMS would travel at least 100 kilometres every day as I lived in the hills and would thrash that poor car to its limits along little winding roads each evening on the way home. When I eventually sold it I tried to buy an E28 BMW, yet while short of the funds for a 528i I was wanting, I came across a lovely white Saab 900i. To this day I have no real idea why I would later sell it, it truly was a fantastic car even in non-turbo form which back then I had to insure as a young driver.

I could not of course afford the gorgeous Saab 9000 Aero I test drove, but I very nearly did apply to finance it without my parent’s knowledge! Then something happened which effects the motoring world to this day, it was around this time that I saw the first BMW E39 in the flesh... On a cold evening I peeped inside a parked model on a Cheshire roadside. A shivering and annoyed girlfriend was told: “I’ll buy one of them in a few years!”

It was to be many, many years... Life got in the way as such with marriage, work, a mortgage and of course more cars. Somehow 20 years have gone by and I’m now very much to be classified as ‘middle-aged’. My mid-life motoring crisis however has not been a return to youth thankfully for my long-suffering wife, who has no such

motoring obsessions! So thus far I have managed, narrowly, to avoid SUV ownership, instead my middle years have resulted in no ‘new’ cars at all. Our garage is old-ish. We still have a Saab of course ours being the later Saab 9-5TiD. As we live rurally, outside of these dreadful COVID-19 times we do cover long distances. The 9-5TiD isn’t as characterful as our old 9-5 Aero Estate but it is ‘still a Saab’. We have a superb Mercedes CLK280 - ours being a former genuinely over-serviced example which is indeed servicing us very well, but is being driven less with Mini-Me and the big labrador-retriever gracing our lives.

So during lockdown I bought another silver car, this one being a very straight 2003 BMW 530i. It was one of the last of the E39 models and although a stock Executive model rather than the Sport, I could not resist its condition; my fifth decade has finally taught me to source the better used cars! So after two long decades, my own midlife crisis car seems to be an old BMW E39 bought in the midst of a virus-induced government lockdown.

So to the original Saab 9-5. Back in 1997 it was a fantastic car and in my humble opinion the Series 1 9-5 can still be a nice choice.

They remain modern in regards to used car safety, which is quite staggering given our car for instance is now 11 years old. The 9-5 is quick enough, can be relatively frugal and has a high build quality very much lacking in nearly all newish cars of today. In a throwaway world the Saab 9-5 in good condition is no such thing. It is ageing well enough and of all its features it is the seats that takes the cake! They are so well upholstered and they don’t have any thinness in them.

Everyone loves a Swedish pew, surely? The 9-5, being a fairly heavy and quick front driver can’t really be enjoyed at the limits, but nobody really drives like that in an era of camera surveillance on seemingly every corner. So what is the problem with the 9-5? Well, it is the BMW E39 of course. It is very difficult to not think that the 1990s were indeed ‘peak BMW.’ Nothing the Munich marque has produced since has been so solid as the E39 5 and indeed its bigger sibling, the E38 7 Series. After this the 2000s have surely been all downhill from Munich?

So today I own a Saab 9-5 - albeit a diesel - as well as an E39. I love that BMW, the connection with its steering and the press-on feeling of confidence it brings about on even a mediocre stretch of road.

It does everything very well, even well into its second decade. The Saab 9-5 is actually very similar, and the Saab has an additional layer of character that only car people understand. Yes, both cars are well dated technologically, yet jump in either a good 9-5 or a well maintained E39 and you soon feel that today we are getting a very different type of car. Nearly everything I needed is in either car and modern essentials such as Bluetooth are easily added.

How do I separate the two four door saloons in my driveway? At the end of the day I simply no longer try. Both are superb examples of everything we are losing in the thirst for chunky SUVs, the excuse to automate by electrifying our cars and the current age of minimalism in regards to our car’s ergonomics. I guess I really am getting older as I’m no longer so sure of the future. The well built sedans with a nice door thud, real leather chairs and actual buttons were great. In the endless pursuit of tech perhaps we are losing something?

Sure, a modern car of today will be faster than the 9-5 and the E39.

It will handle better in hard cornering and likely use less fuel, but maybe that is missing the whole point in the actual joy of driving?

As car people we love cars for their character, that fine line where a machine can be just a little bit human. Quirks, foibles, however defined...

Would I buy a brand new Saab 9-5 were it produced today? Or a 5 Series were BMW to retool and remanufacture the E39? In all likelihood, I may well indeed!

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Miss Marple Are You Being Served Fruit It is widespread Scarlet, the others are blue AD 83, Lundinium Rapelling Ruby 92 in 2020 Confederate States of America Horse chestnut Richmond-on-Thames Watery liquid from the curd when making cheese Patrick McGoohan 29 Michael Portillo Wales Trustee Savings Bank Tennis Brighton

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Cat Member Cricket Elbow Avocado Tiger Woods Ellen Page Lace The Comets An abbot Four Bird Sir Nigel Hawthorn Bank of England Hydrophobia The number of the unemployment benefit application form 24

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