A team from Crouch Friars care home has won Colchester’s 2022 World Cup, after residents took part in games delivered by FaNs (Friends and Neighbours) and Colchester City Council, with NHS funding.
The competition, which was hosted at Colchester Sports Park, saw 54 residents and 22 carers from seven Colchester care homes enjoy a series of football-themed activities.
Participants were given team uniforms and warmed up with a routine tailored for older persons. There was penalty football from Colchester United FC; football-themed Top Trumps card game; a craft session; a tense foosball table competition; the FIFA videogame on PlayStation, and a football themed quiz. Winners were awarded trophies for each activity.
For lunch, Colchester Sports Parked cooked hot dogs for all residents to enjoy at a World Cup themed party lunch.
Joyce, 86, one of the residents who took part in the games, said: It was lovely, and so nice to be invited. It was nice to be out of the home seeing other people and trying something new.”
Rebecca, a relative of one of the residents attending, said: “What a fabulous few hours! Thank you so much. We had no idea that his hand/ eye coordination was so good. You've given us something to do with him –I've never seen him smile so much.”
Tony Lee, Communities Network Lead for Essex from FaNs, said: “It’s important that older people in care homes can enjoy the benefits of fitness and movement, no matter their mobility, which is why we always run multiple activities. It has been proven that benefits to mental health can be attributed to physical exercise, and we want to deliver this in a fun and free way that engages a large number of Colchester’s eldest residents whilst
inspiring care homes to continue with their own activity in the future.
“I’d like to thank Colchester City Council for donating four foosball tables to care homes after the event, continuing the legacy of getting older people up and active.”
The ultimate prize was the Street Tag Care Home World Cup – sponsored by Street Tag – which was awarded to Crouch Friars for the best performance on the day.
Seun Oshinaike, Founder of Street Tag, said: “Supporting older people in care homes to enjoy the benefits of being physically active gives me great joy. Everyone should reap the rewards of being physically active regardless of age and mobility. I am happy that we can do this in Colchester. We hope to do more in the future.”
Cllr Julie Young, Colchester City Council Portfolio Holder for Housing & Communities, said: “Projects in Colchester such as the Care Home World Cup and Commonwealth Games, Park Play, Street Tag, and much more, encourage those who might otherwise be inactive to benefit from physical activity.
“Activity can help prevent illness and pain, improve sleep, lessen anxiety, improve brain and heart health. I’m proud of Colchester for running such events and know that in 2023 more is planned to get residents up and moving.”
The event is just one of the activities made possible by £1.5m funding from the NHS. The money has been awarded to Colchester City Council and Active Essex to support their work in encouraging physical activity and healthy lifestyles among the most disadvantaged communities in Colchester.
Led by Active Essex, the partners have been brought together as part of the Sport England Local Delivery
Pilot (LDP), which also includes Tendring District Council, to test new health and wellbeing projects such as free-for-all Park Play, Street Tag and Beat the Streets in Colchester and Tendring from 2018-2025.
The funding links directly to the costs of the LDP already incurred over the past four years and to the delivery of
the following projects which are either happening or are proposed:
Essex Pedal Power; the Tendring Wheels for All Project; activities celebrating The Commonwealth Games; Park Play; Beat the Street; suicide prevention; investment in open spaces for ‘green prescribing’; youth facilities and Street Tag.
run by a group of committed volunteers. Today, CARA has a team of 30 full and part-time staff and 21 sessional counsellors providing a wide range of clients to all genders and ages.
When asked about the grant, CEO Helen Parr commented on the grant;
CARA (Centre for Action on Rape and Abuse) a charity that supports people affected by any form of sexual violence, including rape, and sexual assault has received a community grant of £20,000 from the social enterprise healthcare Provide Community.
A sexual assault charity in Colchester has received a community grant to support the development of a new pilot project that addresses the current gaps in services for victims of sexual assault. The community grant, gifted to the charity by Essex-based healthcare social enterprise Provide Community, which works closely with Essex Sexual Health Care Services has recently trebled its charitable giving through monetary initiatives.
Formed in 1989, the charity was originally a rape crisis helpline for women in the Colchester area and was
“We are very grateful for the funding from Provide Community. This funding has helped CARA to set up a new project – the Integrated Support project. The project will deliver a range of additional support services particularly aimed at victims and survivors of sexual violence and child sexual abuse who have a level of immediate need, including those with complex mental health problems.
“These new services include an emotional support service tailored to the individual client’s needs and a programme of regular support groups. This is an important new initiative for CARA and one that we hope will significantly improve the lives of many victims and survivors.”
Alongside the new Integrated Support project, CARA continues to provide an Independent Sexual Violence Adviser (ISVA) service which supports victims who report to the police through each stage of the criminal justice process, specialised counselling and therapeutic support for adults and young people.
by Josie Silver
It's the time of year for a feel-good romantic novel, one that can be enjoyed curled up under a blanket with a nutmeg-spiced hot chocolate.
Laurie is unlucky in love and stuck in a career rut. One day she is sitting on a bus when she spots a man reading
at the bus stop. He looks up, their eyes meet and somewhere there is a spark. Laurie can't stop thinking about him, wondering if they will ever meet. Her best friend and roommate Sarah is Laurie's opposite. She introduces Jack, her new boyfriend to Laurie, anxious that they will hit it off except... her boyfriend is the man from the bus, the guy that Laurie has been dreaming about. No surprises here...classic romantic chick-lit so far.
Cue heartbreak and hiccups, and the quest not to hurt a friend while pursuing your own 'happily ever after'. But this novel actually spans a decade (unusual for a romance) of friendship, fate, unrequited feelings, forgiveness, heartache, and love. It's not a typical love story...there's good character development. It's told both from Laurie and Jack's perspectives, with the reader privy to their thoughts and feelings. It has all the nostalgia (and a few of the cliches) of a Richard Curtis film, but the trio of central characters clearly care deeply about each other. Their friendship feels genuine, which in turn makes us care about them and gives the story its heart.
If this book doesn't get made into a film at some point, I'll be surprised.
This enthralling tale tells the story of Father Christmas as a boy. It's touching, funny and packed with memorable characters
Nikolas and his lumberjack father Joel are poor. Miika (a mouse) is his Nikolas' only friend. In his whole life Nikolas has only received two Christmas presents: a sleigh and a turnip doll.
Then Anders the Hunter comes to recruit Joel to work on a mission for the King. If they can prove the existence of Elves they will be rewarded handsomely.
Keen to improve their circumstances, Joel heads off, leaving Nikolas to be looked after by his horrible Aunt Carlotta.
When Joel doesn’t return Nikolas begins to worry and eventually sets out with Miika on the long and treacherous journey to find his father.
Along the way there is Elf Village, a kidnapped elf, a naughty Truth
Pixie that likes to watch people’s heads explode, and an unpleasant Troll named Sebastian. There is also of course, a flying reindeer. Haig does not disappoint with the ending, explaining how Nikolas finally finds his purpose, by becoming Father Christmas.
A Boy Called Christmas is the perfect festive story to read to children on the run-up to Christmas. As a bonus it is beautifully illustrated by Chris Mould. One you will return to each Christmas.
By Tash Donovan
winter, particularly now we're all trying to use the heating less. Bed socks and Hygge-style lounge socks are making a big comeback this year as we all try to keep warm.
And socks wear out, they also have a propensity for disappearing. It's a rare person who can claim to have too many socks!
As a child growing up in the Seventies, I thought socks were the most boring Christmas gift possible until the year my Aunty Glenda bought me a rainbow-striped over-the-knee pair with individual toes. She was the coolest aunt and they were the coolest socks. I was the envy of my friends and my obsession with socks began.
Socks are actually the perfect Christmas gift. They are great for stocking fillers, brilliant for Secret Santa, and just the thing for those awkward relatives and friends.
Everyone needs a pair of socks in the
They are affordable too. Even if you have a friend who favours designer brands, a pair of socks is usually within budget. Admittedly cashmere socks are super-expensive, but the recipient will love you forever.
And there’s a sock for everyone: witty, pretty, glittery, bright, pastel, practical, and luxurious. The choice is endless.
And every time the recipient wears your gift, they'll think fondly of you.
So, sock it to everyone this Christmas.
By Kate McCarthy
Are you looking for new opportunities in 2023? You can do good to feel good in the new year by volunteering with St Helena Hospice!
Whether you’re looking to develop your CV, expand your skills, get out and meet new people or put your free time towards a good cause, there are a variety of opportunities to be had by volunteering with your local hospice.
Did you know that volunteering can be great for your mental and physical wellbeing? By volunteering with St Helena you can enjoy feeling part of a community, combat social isolation by getting out of the house and meeting new people, improve your confidence and communication skills and enjoy the feeling of giving back and making a positive contribution on the lives of others.
St Helena’s Voluntary Services Manager Wendy Marcon said: “St Helena couldn’t do what it does without the incredible passion, dedication and individual experiences of volunteers we have from all backgrounds and all walks of life. No matter their role, our volunteers all contribute towards making a huge difference to the lives of patients, their
families and the general running of our organisation. Volunteering has also proven beneficial for health and wellbeing and in a recent survey, over 80% of our volunteers have said they felt their volunteering improved their mental and physical health and wellbeing. Sign up to volunteer in 2023 and find out where volunteering will take you!”
Whether you are looking to volunteer in one of St Helena’s 21 shops across north east Essex; within the complementary therapy team; as part of the maintenance team; or on the ward, there is a role out there to suit everyone. Regardless of whether you can volunteer four days a week, or four hours a week; no amount of time is too little.
Finding satisfaction in volunteering is all about matching your individual skills, interests, passions and personality with the perfect role which suits you and your lifestyle. If you have specific skills that you would like to offer to St Helena or simply want to find out more, please get in touch with the volunteer services team on 01206 931 466 or email volunteer@sthelena.org.uk or view all current vacancies at www.sthelena.org. uk/volunteer
Across 2
Santa's helpers (5) 5 _____ Christmas! (5) 6 _____ ____ fairy (5,4) 8 Frozen rain (4) 9 Circular decoration (6) 12 Santa's means of entry (7) 13 Tree decoration (6) 16 Striped sweet (5,4) 19 Tree topper (4) 20 Film starring Martin Freeman (8) 21 Santa's lead reindeer (7) 22 Kris _______ (7)
Dr Seuss's green Christmas villain (6) 24 Little _______ Boy (7)
Down 1 ______ Bells (6) 2 Traditional dairy drink (6) 3 Charles Dickens' anti-hero (7) 4 The Holly and the ___ (3) 5 You might get a kiss under this (9) 7 Three Kings Day (8) 10 A girl's festive name (5) 11 The Christmas ballet (10) 14 Used to build festive houses (11) 15 Famous snowman (6) 16 Christmas song (5) 17 Where Santa lives (5,4) 18 Santa's transport system (6) 19 Hung over the fireplace or at the end of the bed (8)
If there was a Top Twenty for aromas then surely the smell of freshly baked bread would be number one. Top three at least.
But how many of us have the time to bake our own bread? Enter the bread maker. I bought one twenty years ago and have never regretted it. It’s still working, but I’m tempted recently to upgrade, and bread makers have moved on light years since my initial purchase.
you – in the evening with supper, or first thing with your coffee.
Viewing window - A few new models offer this. I managed for 20 years without one but it’s a cool feature for checking on the progress of your loaf.
Keep-warm - This setting keeps your freshly baked bread warm for up to an hour after the programme has finished. Handy if you're delayed.
So goes the vintage Pinky and Perky song. A kiss under a sprig of mistletoe is a well-known festive tradition. But why?
Mistletoe is a parasitic plant which attaches itself to a tree by means of something called a haustorium, and through this it extracts water and nutrients from the host plant. So how did it become associated with romance?
Mistletoe's medicinal uses can be traced back to Ancient Greece, where they used it as a cure for everything from menstrual cramps to spleen disorders, and the Romans used as for epilepsy, ulcers and as a poison. No obvious romantic overtones there!
Enter the Celtic Druids around 1st century A.D. Mistletoe thrives during the coldest winters, so the Druids adopted it as a sacred symbol of vivacity, and used it in both humans and animals in the hope of restoring fertility.
Then there is the Norse myth of Odin’s son Baldur, who was prophesied to die, so his mother Frigg, the goddess of love, went to all the animals and plants of the natural world to secure an oath that they would not
puzzle solutions:
harm him. But she forgot to ask the humble mistletoe, so the god Loki cunningly made an arrow from the plant and used it to kill the otherwise invincible Baldur. But the gods were able to resurrect him, so (somewhat counterintuitively perhaps) Frigg declared mistletoe a symbol of love and vowed to plant a kiss on all those who passed beneath it.
Mistletoe’s associations with fertility and health continued through the Middle Ages, and by the 18th century it had become entwined with Christmas celebrations. Unusually the kissing tradition spread upwards from the lower classes of servants to the middle classes.
The old custom was that men were allowed to steal a kiss from any woman caught standing under the mistletoe, and refusing was viewed as bad luck. Some versions have the men pluck a single berry from the mistletoe with each kiss, and to cease their amorous intents when the mistletoe was bare.
Do you love or hate the tradition of kissing under the mistletoe?
By Tom HancockMy old Panasonic is a bit of a behemoth. It takes up a lot of counter space, and I was surprised that some newer models are even larger! But there are compact appliances available now too.
So, what do modern bread makers have to offer?
Well, they will all cook standard white and wholemeal loaves, and if that is all you require, a basic model is all you will require. Why pay more for features you won’t use?
But if you’re interested…
Automatic ingredient dispenser - I paid a premium for this feature twenty years ago but it's more common now and I would definitely recommend it for adding dried fruit and nuts easily.
Alarm – You can't add moist ingredients like cooked onions of grated cheese or ingredients that might melt like chocolate chips, into the automatic dispensers of most bread makers, so an alarm to let you know when to do it manually is useful.
A delay timer – My delay timer is now a bit temperamental, which is one of the reasons I'm looking to upgrade. A delay feature means you can add ingredients to the mixing bowl several hours ahead, so you have freshly baked bread at a time to suit
Speciality breads - Modern bread makers have mastered brioche, rye, sourdough, Italian and French (though not baguettes obviously because of the shape!). Some have even mastered gluten-free, though some models manage this better than others (The Tefal PF240E40 Bread Maker has many GF fans). Some bread makers make a great pizza dough and /or fresh pasta dough (Gastroback 62823 Automatic Bread Maker Advanced, Morphy Richards 48281 Bread maker, Sage the Custom Loaf Bread Maker). I love making pizzas and I do love fresh pasta, but find it a faff to make the doughs by hand, so they would be bonus features for me.
Yoghurt - I learned to make yoghurt in a thermos over lockdown. Apparently it's a similar process in a bread maker but how useful it would be for me I'm not sure.
Jam - Some models promise to cook the sugar and fruits at the right temperature to make jam, so that it can be decanted straight into jars. If you’re into jam-making as well as bread-making it’s something to consider.
If you’ve always wanted to have a go at making your own bread but never have the time, try putting a bread maker on your Christmas list this year. It’s the gift that will keep on giving.
By Louise AddisonPreparation time: 30 mins
Cooking time: 2 hours plus chill time
Serves: 8
1 tbsp. olive oil, plus extra to brush
1 onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp. brandy, (optional)
12 rashers smoked streaky bacon (optional)
2 skinless chicken breasts, cut into small pieces (about 1cm)
500g minced pork or turkey.
50g frozen peas OR 50g roughly chopped pistachios OR 50g chopped walnuts
50g dried cranberries OR 50g chopped dried apricots OR 50g chopped dried prunes
¾ tsp freshly grated nutmeg leaves from two sprigs of fresh thyme. Plenty of seasoning.
Cook the onion gently for 10 minutes until softened and translucent. Pour in the brandy if using and cook for 30 seconds. Empty the onions into a large bowl and allow to cool.
Preheat oven to 180°C / 160°C fan / Gas mark 4. If using the bacon, line a 2lb loaf tin with 10 of the rashers making sure you leave part of the rashers hanging over the edge of the tin. To the cooled
onion in the bowl, add the chopped chicken, minced pork or turkey, and the rest of the chosen ingredients, with the thyme leaves, nutmeg, and a generous amount of seasoning. Mix thoroughly. Press the resulting mixture into the loaf tin, levelling off the surface. If you're using bacon fold the overhanging rashers over the filling. Fold any overhanging bacon over the filling and cover with the remaining rashers. Press down again. Cover the top with a lightly oiled sheet of cooking foil and press this down on top of the loaf tin. Then wrap the tin securely in a double layer of foil and place put into a roasting tin.
Boil the kettle then half-fill the roasting tin with boiling water and carefully transfer to the oven. Cook for 90 minutes until the terrine feels solid when the top is pressed. Lift tin out of the water, remove the outer layers of foil, leaving only the greased foil layer in place. Then carefully pour out any liquid from the terrine to prevent it setting as jelly. Leave to cool. Place a weight on top of the foil layer (tins of beans or even a house brick will do) and chill overnight.
Remove the terrine from the fridge and release it from the tin a couple of hours before serving, to allow it to come to room temperature. Slice and serve with chutneys, and warm crusty bread.
were more conventional woollies though. As Christmas became ever more commercial, ‘novelty’ jumpers appeared decorated with snowmen, snowflakes, Santas, and popular cartoon characters dressed in festive attire.
The charity Save the Children started Christmas Jumper Day in 2012. Every year since then, millions of people don gaudy festive knitwear in their school or office and donate £2 to a good cause.
The Christmas jumper has grown in popularity, going from ‘hideously misjudged gift’ status to a desirable festive fashion statement. Some 12 million Christmas jumpers are sold in the UK in the run up to Christmas every year.
With the rise of consumer advertising in the fifties and sixties, jumpers had always featured heavily in Christmas adverts. The models’ usual suits and dresses were replaced with cosy knitwear to encourage consumers to buy seasonal goods. These
In the film Bridget Jones’s Diary, Colin Firth’s character sported a classic ‘ugly’ Christmas jumper with a giant reindeer's head emblazoned on the front, and the ugly Christmas jumper entered British consciousness. Almost everyone from celebrities to politicians own at least one item of silly festive knitwear.
There’s a Christmas jumper to suit every taste, from ‘techno-knits’ covered in fairy lights, which connect to your phone and play musical clips, to jumpers bearing whimsical dachshunds in Santa hats, through to elegantly beautiful sparkly numbers that wouldn’t look out of place at a cocktail event.
Pull on your Christmas pullover on December 8th and help raise money for a good cause.
By Sarah DaveyA delicious and easy terrine that looks impressive
In the UK, poinsettias have become as entwined with Christmas as holly and mistletoe. Yet poinsettias are actually subtropical plants, native to Central America and Mexico, requiring temperatures of between 10 and 21 degrees centigrade to survive.
The bright red ‘flowers’ are really bracts, surrounding the real flowers, which are tiny and insignificant.
They are notoriously difficult to persuade to flower again so it is with some pride that I tell you my current poinsettia is seven years old, huge, and flowers every year.
If you want to try this, fertilize the plant once a month then cut back the stems in February to promote new growth. In May repot it to a larger container.
From late September to 1st December cover the plant between 6pm and 8am as poinsettias need long periods of darkness in order to persuade the bracts to turn red. Around December 1st you should have a beautiful flowering poinsettia.
But if this sounds too much like hard work...well, you can always buy another one!
As it’s the festive season I thought I’d finish with a traditional Christmas story, explaining how the poinsettia came to be associated with this time of year.
If you buy a poinsettia for someone this year it might be nice to tell them the story when you give them the plant:
In Mexico, there once lived a little girl called Pepita who came from a very poor family.
Every year, she and her brother Pablo looked forward to the big Christmas festival in their village. A manger scene would be set up in the church and the days before Christmas were filled with parades and parties. On Christmas Eve the whole village would attend church and all the children would place a gift for the baby Jesus next to the manger.
One year Pepita’s family had no money at all to buy such a gift so it was with a sad heart that Pepita walked to the
church that Christmas Eve and as they drew closer she began to weep.
“Little Pepita, why do you cry?” asked her older brother Pablo.
“Because I have no gift for the Christ child,” she answered.
“Oh Pepita, even the most humble gift, if given in love, will be accepted by him,” said Pablo, comforting her.
Pepita considered this for a while then gathered a handful of weeds from the roadside verge and fashioned them into a small posy. But as she entered
the church her heart felt heavier than before.
With her head bowed she approached the altar and knelt to lay her posy before the manger.
Suddenly the tiny bouquet burst into blooms of brilliant red starry flowers and all who saw them were sure they had witnessed a Christmas miracle.
The flowers are known as Flores de Noche Buena in Mexico which translates as Flowers of the Holy Night Happy Christmas,
By Rachael LevertonRun, run, fast as you can,
You can’t catch me, I’m the gingerbread man!
Who hasn't eaten a festive gingerbread man? You may even have attempted to make a gingerbread house. Gingerbread is strongly associated with Christmas but how did that happen?
Ginger root originally came to Europe via the Silk Road, which was an ancient trade route, and in the Middle Ages it was used for medicinal purposes and in the preserving of meats.
By the late Middle Ages, Europeans had begun to bake sweet gingerbread biscuits. These were shaped like animals, kings, and queens, and were sometimes gilded with gold leaf. They were a staple at Medieval fairs across Europe, particularly in England, France, Holland, and Germany.
Queen Elizabeth I is even said to have had some made to resemble the dignitaries visiting her court.
So popular was gingerbread that the fairs became known as Gingerbread Fairs, and the gingerbread biscuits were named ‘fairings.’ As the fairs took place throughout the year the shapes of the gingerbread changed with the seasons: flowers in the spring and leaves in the autumn.
The gingerbread houses we know today originated in Germany during the 16th century. Bakers created elaborate buildings were decorated with foil and white icing in addition to gold leaf. The Brothers Grimm penned the story of Hansel and Gretel, who discover a house made entirely of sweet treats, deep in the forest, but it's unclear whether the popularity of gingerbread houses were a result of the fairy tale, or whether the fairy tale borrowed from an already established tradition.
Quite why gingerbread became associated with Christmas is also unclear but is probably due to a number of factors. Christmas markets were big 'whole town' events, and gingerbread is easy to make, and
keeps well, so it’s ideal for selling on a stall. It's likely that the combination of white icing and foil decoration was easily adaptable to create miniature snow-covered dwellings which provided pretty centrepieces for the festive dinner tables of middleclass households. The longevity and structural integrity of gingerbread also lends itself well to creating edible decorations for hanging on trees or giving as gifts. Historically diets of ordinary people were simple and bland because sugar was an expensive
luxury. People could only afford to splash out on ingredients for cakes, biscuits, and sweets occasionally, and Christmas was the time when even less well-off people spent a little extra on fancy food and drink.
Whatever its history, gingerbread is now firmly entwined with the festive season, from sweet little gingerbread reindeer to gingerbread lattes, the sight, smell, and taste of gingerbread is synonymous with Christmas.
By Sarah Davey
This year I asked what everyone wanted to do. The consensus was that last year was great but there were some aspects of our previous Christmases that my kids and my husband missed. So, we took the chance to recalibrate the festive season, and this is what they came up with.
New things we’d like to try this year:
Go to a local stately home to see the lights (everyone)
Go to a German market (husband and me)
Make a gingerbread house! (the kids)
Things we loved about Christmas last year:
Ispent Christmas 2019 working hospital shifts until Christmas Eve.
Using logistical planning worthy of the British military I shopped, attended two concerts and a Nativity play in three different schools (on the same day of course), bought and wrapped gifts, decorated the house, attended two work parties, entertained my extended family, offended my mother over our choice of food, and my aunty over allowing our 17-year-old to have a beer, and I cried myself to sleep on Christmas Night.
I spent Christmas 2020 working on the front line in COVID care. My family celebrated the day without me or a
turkey and I cried myself to sleep on Christmas Night.
Last year, in early December, while discussing how much of a 'normal' Christmas might be possible, my husband announced, 'I don't want to go back to normal Christmases.' And suddenly I loved him more than ever.
Last year we kept Christmas small, just us and the kids and a small twinkly tree. We ate chocolate for breakfast, played board games, went for a walk, watched a film, ate my husband's amazing sticky Chinese chicken wings for lunch, read books, played cards, then ate Christmas pudding for supper followed by marshmallows toasted on the fire...I relaxed completely and shed no tears.
NO HOUSE GUESTS (everyone) Playing board games (everyone) Toasting marshmallows (the kids) Long walk (me and husband)
Things we missed about Christmas last year:
Singing in the church carol service (my husband)
Ice skating (everyone)
Going to see The Nutcracker (balletmad ten-year-old)
Attending the Christmas lights switchon (everyone)
Family tobogganing night in the snow dome (everyone)
We're still hosting immediate family for a couple of days between Christmas and New Year, and extended family are invited to visit for one of those days. Not everyone is happy about this state of affairs but I'm not going back to the pre-2020 madness of festive martyrdom, trying to be all things to all people and stressing over whether everyone else’s Christmas is perfect at the expense of my sanity. If Covid showed us anything, it's that life is precious, fragile, and unpredictable. It forced us to make decisions about who we wanted to spend our time and energy on. The pandemic was a catalyst for change for our family, and I suspect it might be the same for other folk too.
Will Christmas ever be the same? I don't know, but different doesn't mean worse. We can make new traditions that are more personal and meaningful than before and may even look back and wonder why we didn't shake things up earlier.
Merry Christmas, By Tania Brown
Fill in the grid so that each row, column and 3x3 box, contains the numbers 1 through to 9 with no repetition.
You don’t need to be a genius. These puzzles use logic alone.
Watch out! Sudoku is highly addictive.
Residents are being reminded of the amended opening times of Colchester City Council services and venues this festive period.
While key council services will continue operating over the Christmas and New Year period, the council’s main offices will be closed on Friday, 23 December and will re-open at 9am on Thursday 29 December. They will also be closed on New Year’s Day –reopening for normal business from Tuesday, 3 January 2023.
To find out more information about all the council’s services, visit www. colchester.gov.uk.
Residents wishing to access council services via their online account will be able to do so 24-hours a day over Christmas at www.colchester. gov.uk/online. This is the place to set up a Direct Debit quickly and easily, check Council Tax, apply for a Single Person Discount and switch to e-billing. Housing Benefit recipients can also view their entitlement, check correspondence and the income on a claim.
The key information and dates of council services over the Christmas period are as follows… Recycling and rubbish collections
Garden waste collections across Colchester will pause for two weeks over the festive period. There will be no collections between Tuesday, 27 December and Friday, 6 January. Find out more here: Christmas and New Year collections
As collection days will remain the same across the city, residents are advised to put their recycling and rubbish out by 7am on their normal collection day. Any resident needing to check what to put out can view their recycling calendar online.
Information about Essex County Council’s Shrub End Recycling Centre opening times and items accepted can be found here.
If you are looking to recycle your real Christmas tree following the festive period, you can ask St Helena Hospice
to take it away for a small donation. This year, they will be collecting trees from properties in CO1-CO9, CO11, and CO13 to CO16 on Saturday, 7 January 2023. Collections need to be booked by midday on 2 January. More information can be found here.
The emergency alarm, response and monitoring service, Helpline, will operate 24 hours-a-day, as normal, during the Christmas and New Year period, providing support and equipment for elderly and vulnerable residents.
Helpline users can contact the service, or find out more at www.helplineplus. co.uk or by calling 01206 769779.
Residents looking to burn off the extra calories consumed over Christmas, de-stress in the spa or who want to make the most of the school holidays will find plenty to do at Leisure World Colchester, Aqua Springs, and the Colchester Sports Park.
These venues will be closed on Christmas Day, the 26 December and New Year's Day, but open every other day over the festive period. Leisure World Tiptree and Leisure World Highwoods will close from Saturday, 24 December and reopen on 3 January.
Colchester Castle will be closed over the Christmas period from Saturday, 24 December to Tuesday, 27 December. It will be open as usual from Wednesday, 28 December and will close again for the day on Sunday 1 January 2022.
More information can be found here.
The Natural History Museum will be closed over the Christmas period from Saturday, 24 December to Tuesday, 27 December. The museum will be open as usual from Wednesday, 28 December and will close again for the day on New Year’s Day. More information can be found here.
The Visitor Information Centre and Hollytrees Museum will be closed over the Christmas period from Saturday, 24 December to Tuesday, 27 December. They will be open as usual from Wednesday, 28 December until Saturday, 31 December and will reopen on Monday, 2 January.
If you’re planning to blow away the cobwebs and take a traditional festive stroll on Christmas Day, Boxing Day or New Year’s Day – Castle Park, High Woods Country Park and nature reserves across the City will be open throughout the holiday.
High Woods Country Park visitor centre closes on Friday 23rd December at 1.00 pm. It will remain closed over the Christmas period from Saturday, 24 December to Thursday, 29th December. It will be open as usual on, Friday 30th December between 10.00am and 1pm, but will be closed on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. The visitor centre will then reopen on Monday, 2 January, from 10am to 1pm.
Colchester Cemetery grounds and Garden of Remembrance will be open as usual on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, but the Book of Remembrance Room and Prayer Room will be closed. There will be restricted cremations and burials between Christmas and New Year.
More information can be found here.
Colchester Market will take place seven-days a week on Culver St East and West until Christmas Eve, and for late night shopping every Wednesday from 10am to 9pm, up to and including 21 December.
The High Street Market will continue to operate every Friday and Saturday, except for Christmas Day.
More information about Colchester Market can be found here.
St John’s Car Park will be closed from 7pm on 24 December until 5am on 26 December and vehicles will not be able to enter or exit the car park during this period. Details of all the city centre car parks, can be found here.
All other car parks remain open and will be operating as usual over the festive period and customers are encouraged to use MiPermit to make contactless payments.
Further information about parking and travel in Colchester can be found here.
Office opening times are as follows: 23-28 December: Closed 29-30 December: Open 1-2 January Closed
The Greenstead Housing Office will be closed on 29 December. Customer Services: 01206 282514 For emergency repairs, please call 01206 282514
For anyone who finds themselves homeless or threatened with homelessness over Christmas, more information can be found here.
Cllr David King, the Leader of Colchester City Council, said: “While most residents will be celebrating the festive season, we will be ensuring the key services people need and rely upon are available.
“I’m immensely grateful to council staff for the work they do and have continued to do throughout another extremely challenging year, delivering frontline services on behalf of residents and businesses across the city and supporting some of our most vulnerable residents through the cost-of-living crisis. It’s during the Christmas and New Year period when their hard work and dedication can often be seen and appreciated the most.
“On behalf of the council, I would like to wish you all a very merry Christmas and best wishes for a healthy and happy year to come.”
I loved the arrival of the Advent Calendar when I was growing up. Every year we had a cardboard one from Woolworths, printed with a Christmas scene, each little door opening to reveal a tiny picture such as a teddy, a reindeer or a bauble. My brother and I would take it turns to be 'odds' or 'evens'. I always wanted to be 'evens' so I could open the Christmas Eve door which was always slightly larger and had a picture of the Nativity or Santa on the roof of a snow-covered house. When some of the kids at school started boasting about their 'chocolate' Advent Calendars we begged my dad for one and eventually he gave in. We were disappointed when we realised that once the chocolate was removed there was no picture, just an empty space where the chocolate had been. The 'open' chocolate Advent calendar had all the charm of a mouth with missing teeth. We never asked for another one.
The Advent calendar originates from Germany. It began with German Protestants marking the days of Advent either by burning a candle or marking a wall with chalk. This morphed into the practice of hanging a devotional
image every day and ultimately to the creation of the first known wooden Advent calendar in 1851. The first printed calendars appeared just after 1900. Small doors were added in the 1920s. Often short bible verses were hidden behind the doors alongside the picture. During the World War ll cardboard rationing put a stop to advent calendars but when hostilities ceased Richard Sellmar of Stuttgart obtained a permit from the US officials to begin printing and selling them again. He designed a calendar based on a German winter town scene. By the 1950s, they were mass-produced and affordable and exported across the world.
Chocolate Advent Calendars might seem like the new kids on the block but they have been around longer than you might think. Fry and Son produced the first chocolate Advent calendar as early as 1958 and Cadbury popularised them in the Seventies. Lego got in on the action in 1998 with a set that contained a Santa Claus minifigure and simple brick-made structures, which could be finally reassembled into a bigger model or scene. They've produced at least one every year since. My oldest teen begs me
for their Harry Potter one every year.
Over the past decade Advent calendars have gone 'luxury’ and become a key marketing strategy for many companies. This started around 2010 when Selfridges department store launched a beautythemed Advent calendar with the cosmetics giant L’Oréal. It was filled with product samples from fragrances to body creams. There is now a advent calendar catering for pretty much every taste, most of them marketed at adults rather than children. There are advent calendars for gin-lovers, tea-lovers, and nail-polish addicts; there is even one for pets, and they are not cheap! Some cost upwards of £150!
It's all a worlds away from SellmarVerlag, now run by Richard's grandchildren, which still produces traditional card Advent calendars to this day. The company’s most popular
advent calendar is still Richard's original design, called Little Town.
A few years ago my husband (knowing my love of traditional Advent Calendars) bought me a wooden one which is reusable and is a beautiful Christmas decoration in its own right...in fact my teens actually argue over which one of them will inherit it when I die (that's the festive spirit guys!).
However you choose to mark the occasion...Happy Advent!
By Kate McCarthy
On Thursday 2 December, Mercury Theatre in Colchester livestreamed their pantomime, Beauty and the Beast, to 30 hospices, care homes and hospitals across Essex. The theatre were keen to make sure that those who would not be able to attend in person were able to watch the show from the comfort of their own space. Organisations taking part included: St Helena’s Hospice, Little Havens Hospice and Colchester General Hospital.
As part of this opportunity, the theatre also invited other groups to attend in person who would otherwise be unable to access the production due to the cost-of-living crisis. This included residents from The Oaks Care Home, Refugee Action, Independent Age, Community360 and Balkerne Gardens Care Home.
Mercury Theatre have also been touring their community choir and
practitioners to care homes to sing Christmas songs across the county, to ensure that those residents who may be struggling at this time of year are able to enjoy some festive activities. This is all part of the Mercury For All campaign to ensure that everyone across the county is able to access the theatre.
Chief Executive Director, Steve Mannix, says: “We’re delighted to be able to spread some festive magic by sharing our pantomime with audiences that can’t make it to see us in person. Our recently launched Mercury for All campaign helps fund work just like this, to ensure our range of performances, workshops and activities are accessible to all, no matter their circumstances.”
In order to assist with the cost-ofliving crisis, Mercury Theatre also provides bursary places for all Mercury Young Company groups,
free family fun days and participation events, subsidised and funded activity for SEND young people, funded holiday clubs for those in receipt of free school meals, support for young people and emerging local creative talent and further activities in care homes and residential units. They also offer free or discounted tickets to all Mercury shows for low-income households or those on universal credit, and work closely with local community groups such as Refugee Action and Community360.
Beauty and the Beast runs at Mercury Theatre until Sunday 15 January 2023, starring pantomime royalty Antony Stuart-Hicks and Dale Superville. Best availability is now weekdays in January. It’s a tale as old as time and a panto that will be unmissable for the whole family. Discover what it takes for true love to conquer all and whether love is all you really need!
Balkerne Gate, Colchester CO1 1PT Box Office: www.mercurytheatre.co.uk 01206 573948
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST Until 15 January 2023
Press performances: Saturday 3 December at 2pm or 7pm
Relaxed: 13 December at 10:15am
Captioned: 6 January at 7pm
Touch tour: 7 January at 12:30pm
Audio described: 7 January at 2pm
Adult only performances: 10 – 13 January at 7:30pm
PINOCCHIO 7 -31 December 2022
RUN REBEL 24 February – 4 March 2023
Post-show Q&A: 1 March 2023 at 7pm
