moulsham times july 2014

MoulshamTimesDelivered to 6750 homes and businesses monthly Issue Number 19 - July 2014

O’connors7 Hall Street, Chelmsford,CM2 0HG www.oconnorschelmsford.com

princeOf OrangeReunion5th July2pm tillate

Summer BeerFestival 15th-19th July see

page 15

Expiry 31/7/14

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AdvertisingNick Garner

07970 [email protected]

MT WelcomeHello readers,

Welcome to the July issue of the Moulsham Times. This month, look out for Independents Day on Moulsham Street on Saturday July 5th - details on page 30.

Also this month we have the CAMRA Beer Festival, more details on page 15 - fingers crossed the weather will stay fine for this great event.

We attended Boys Toys at Hylands Park and had a great time. Look for the photos of the day on page 16.

Whichever festivals and events you visit, enjoy. Paul & Nick

AdvertisingNick Garner

07970 [email protected]

EditorialPaul Mclean07595 949701

[email protected]

Disclaimer: It’s Your Media publish the Moulsham Times. The opinion expressed in each article is the opinion of its author and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of It’s Your Media. No part may be reproduced without the prior written permission of It’s Your Media.

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Rayleigh Hi-Fi Sound & Vision have superb demonstration facilities, including a dedicated home cinema room, in their Moulsham Street store in Chelmsford. Rob Goddard, general manager, says

“we are very impressed with the 4K screens from Panasonic. The level of performance is awesome and cannot fail to impress and our installation team knows how to set them up to get the very best performance – and that’s why we deliver and install them ourselves.”

With over 40 years in business, Rayleigh Hi-Fi Sound & Vision is a specialist retailer that is able to thrive in today’s competitive environment by providing exceptional service. Besides a superb range of hi-fi and home cinema systems on demonstration, they also have a custom installation department that specifies and installs home entertainment and home control systems, such as Control 4, to many of the finest homes in Essex and surrounding counties. For further details, contact Rob Goddard or a member of his team on 01245 265245.

www.moulshamtimes.com 5MT

You can follow me at danskeates.com

Around the World on a Motorbike by Dan SkeatesThere are only so many times you can hear ‘no’ before it starts to wear you down!

There are many ways to prepare for travel - everyone has to make the decision as to how they go about this. For me, I was comfort-able with my level of preparation, the bike, the miscellaneous clothes, camping gear, IT and paperwork. Some people just ‘head off’ and deal with situations as they encounter them and others procrastinate so much they never start their trip. I feel I sit in-be-tween these extremes and, whilst prepared, I have much planning and decision making to do en route.

I was only 2 weeks into my travels on April 20th when I found out the Iranian visa I applied for back at home in March had been denied: there had been a change in requirements and now British passport holders along with Canadian, American and a few other countries have to have a guide for the entire time they are in the country. Iran was always one of the countries I wanted to travel in, not just because there are few alternative ways of heading east from Turkey to India, but because I had heard so many wonderful stories of the Iranian friendliness and hospitality.

It’s been 2 months now since I realised I had a problem and in that time I have been to Iranian Consulates in Istanbul and Trabzon in Turkey and Batumi, Georgia. All confirmed I had to have a guide. In itself, a guide whilst expensive, isn’t a problem but finding one is! I contacted maybe half a dozen agencies in London and Tehran and whilst they tried hard, they couldn’t get a guide to accompany my Canadian friend and me from the Turkish border across Iran to the Pakistan border.

I worked hard doing all I could with consulates, agencies and many forums but no joy. There are only so many times you can hear ‘no’ before it starts to wear you down, but I had a strong desire to find a way. Could I have applied for the visa earlier in my preparations?

Yes. Could I have found an alternative passage? Yes. I’m still com-fortable with my preparations as I have had to make the most of this additional time. I may not have visited Iraq, Armenia & Georgia and certainly wouldn’t have seen as much of Turkey as I have if the Iranian visa situation had been straightforward!

Many years ago I realised that ‘no’ doesn’t always have one mean-ing, sometimes ‘no’ is ‘NO’, but sometimes it means that more information is required or you need to come at the situation from a different angle. I’m hoping the many ‘no’s I have had will turn into a ‘yes’. However, through the whole process there hasn’t been one moment when I would have traded this adventure - the highs the lows are all part of it. Five days ago an agency found us a guide and my visa application is currently with Tehran for consideration, who knows what decision will be taken?

I am currently back in Georgia on the Black Sea relaxing and wait-ing to hear if I can continue east further into Asia. Whether I travel through Iran or have to make alternative plans, I’m loving experi-encing our amazing world - I will never tire of the wonderful people I meet and the beautiful landscapes I pass through. I’ve only ridden 7,500 miles, zigzagging around and I’ve hardly scratched the sur-face: what wonders are in-store for me over the next few months?

This month I am going to be rather self indulgent as Paul and I have so much going on. Firstly I must start with Jamie Williams and the Roots Collective, we had one of best ever gigs when we played at the Ale House. We had to do four encores and were only stopped from doing more as the pub had to close. Then I had one of the very best folk artists in the UK play at Asylum - Boss Caine, who amazed and mesmerized all with his amazing voice and great meaningful songs. Jamie and I did a duo support which was also well received. Next was my monthly night at the Bassment, a first for Chelmsford, we had The Sharpees playing. A trio who are one of the tightest acts I have heard with great original tunes that everyone just wanted to

go on forever. They were supported by the Earls of Essex another first for me and a great act with original music

What’s coming up next? On Saturday 28th we (It’s Your Media) will be running a stage in

conjunction with Chelmsford Community Radio at the Fling. We have 8 great acts playing for us. On Monday 7th July we will be running another live music stage this time in Admirals Park as part of the Tour de France event passing through Chelmsford. This will run from about 10.30am to 4.30pm there will be a large screen in the park to watch the event along with many other activities going on.

On Wednesday the 9th July I am pleased and excited to be welcoming back Wille and the Bandits to Chelmsford. These guys went down so well on their last visit and I am thrilled they want to play for us again. These

guys are used to playing much bigger gigs. So come and see this rare Essex appearance of this great band. They will be supported by Chelmsford’s very own Little Donkey. See the poster in the magazine for details.

Finally, I must remind you about the Blues in the City Festival. This year it’s from Friday 26th to Sunday 28th September with all profits going to the Helen Rollason Cancer Charity - see the poster in the magazine for the great full line up and details of the whole event. I am looking for sponsors for this festival which will then help us raise more much needed funds for the charity. If you are interested in helping to sponsor the festival then please either email [email protected] or call me on 07970 206682.

Remember, with you and your friends coming to watch great live music in and around our city it helps the promoters to keep it going for you. For more information visit www.bluesinthecity.co.uk.

From the House by Simon Burns MP

All doors conform fully to EU safety directives

MT

With the football World Cup in Brazil in full swing, I am still amazed at how many people in Chelmsford play football at a local level and am delighted to see that the 3G pitch which was opened in July last year and is funded by the Football Foundation is still being used regularly today, a year after being installed.

The Football Foundation is the UK’s largest sporting charity and is funded by the Premier League, the Football Association and by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. Through these partners the Football Foundation directs £30 million into grassroots sports all over the nation with the aim to improve facilities, create opportunity and also build communities. Not only this but the Football Foundation uses this money to gain leverage and to improve partnership funding.

The Football Foundation has various different schemes that help promote grassroots football. One such example is the Build the Game scheme which provides grants of up to £100,000. The aim is that through this money the Football Foundation wants to help make small scale facility improvements like pitch improvements or refurbishment of changing rooms and club houses. To achieve a grant through the Football Foundation you must be able to show that you can support the growth of your club and also you must show growth and retention of grassroots football.

Last year the Football Foundation gave an amazing grant of over £300,000 to Chelmsford Youth FC to build a new 3G football pitch in Melbourne Park with floodlights and top grade Astro Turf. This will give a considerable boost to grassroots sport in Chelmsford and will enhance the opportunities for residents to improve their health, develop their skill and most importantly enjoy a good kick around.

Football Investment in Chelmsford

Saturday July 5th is looking set to be a great day out for all the family in your local Independent Shopping Area, Moulsham Street!

As a group of traders, we are very proud of a rich historical heritage, going back many hundreds of years. Moulsham Traders Association is actually 41 years old this year, and we are delighted to have the backing of Chelmsford City Council to enable us to celebrate Independent Traders and the shops in Moulsham Street in this way.

As we go to press, we have a number of enticements for you!

Firstly, we want to make it easy to come and visit us, so we have arranged to have 100 free car parking passes for the Moulsham car park in George Street, which will be valid for 3 hours on Saturday July 5th. These passes will be distributed on a “first-come-first-served” basis. These tickets can be claimed by popping in to either The Lemon Tree, The Futon Company or McCartney’s Estate Agents anytime between now and July 5th. (Only one ticket per household will be allowed.)

We also want to make it really easy for you to actually get into the shops and see what

they have to offer. Many of our traders have agreed to have special bargains on that day, so July 5th would be an excellent time for you to browse and buy in a pedestrianised environment as we will be closing the road from Parkway up to St John’s Church from 7am to 7pm. The event proper will start at 12 noon, and we have a great line-up for you. There will be stalls up and down the street, fairground rides in the rear car park of The Bay Horse, and the Jesters Show Choir, back by popular demand, will be treating us to some foot-tapping show stopping songs!

Again back by popular demand is our family Punch and Judy Show, and there will be 2 performances during the afternoon, starting at 12:30pm, in Orchard Street (next to the Chelmsford Carpet Centre.

One of the new treats we have for you is Mike Dodsworth, Local Professional Storyteller, who will be hosting a Story Trail throughout the afternoon. He will be doing FIVE 20-minute slots at various places along Moulsham Street, starting at Hall Street (next to the Life Church Free Face Painters!) at 1:15pm.

If you fancy a quick bite to eat throughout the day, there are many cafes on Moulsham Street itself, and we will also be hosting

a small number of external local caterers located outside St John’s Church. St John’s will also be holding a bazaar on the day, and Life Church in Hall Street will also be hosting a bouncy castle and ball pool, together with other craft stalls and refreshments. They are also showcasing the Footprints Day Nursery, so it will be a great opportunity to come and view this excellent Child Care facility.

Chelmsford’s brand new mayor, councillor Villa, will also be paying us a visit, and will be helping us launch our Balloon Release Finale from outside The Anchor Pub at 5:30pm. There will be a prize for the owner of the balloon that travels the furthest, and also one for the kind person who returns that information to us!

Keep your eyes open for posters about the event – the winning design comes from one of our local schoolchildren, who will have just won a PlayStation 3 for their design! As I am writing this, I have the entries ready for our local hard-working councillor, Dick Madden, who has kindly agreed to judge them at County Hall tomorrow.

Moulsham Street is a fantastic place to visit, browse and buy that extra special something that can’t always be found in the

Independents Day

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in Moulsham Streetlarger stores. We have traders with specialist knowledge, skills and expertise to give you a really good deal.

In the last few months I have re-decorated my lounge, and it gave me great personal pleasure to be able to buy both curtains and carpet from 2 shops in the street – thank you Roger and thank you Bob and Helen – it looks great! As Chair of the Association, I don’t just try to promote the hard working traders we have – I am prepared to “put my money where my mouth is”! It is my sincere hope that you will too – the best way we can encourage footfall, and encourage you to back your local traders is to give you the best chance we can to visit us and see what we can offer. Internet shopping is taking a huge toll on the specialist, independent trader – so we need you to not only come and visit, but come and buy!

See you on the 5th!

Drinks earl grey, green tea peppermint & many others Mocha Italia coffee Marimba hot chocolate

FOOD Homemade soups Jacket potatoes with a range of fillings homemade veg quiche homemadeveg lasagne toasted sandwiches ciabattas homemade cakes gluten free cakes

The Lemon Tree Cafe Come in to the warmfor lunch or a drink!

Open 8am-5pm Mon - Sat34F Moulsham Street

Story Trail

12.30 - 13.00 - Punch & Judy13.15 - 13.35 - Mike Dodsworth Hall Sreet13.55 - 14.15 - Mike Dodsworth New Writtle St14.30 -15.00 - Punch & Judy 15.00 - 15.20 - Mike Dosworth - Orchard St15.25 - 15.45 - Mike Dodsworth - Grove Road15.55 - 16.15 - Mike Dosworth -Hamlet Road16.30 - 17.15 - Jesters Show Choir with Joanne Lee - Grove Road17.25 - Balloon release at The Anchor pub

Celebrate Moulsham Street with us on“Independants Day”

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If you want to increase your plant stock, this is a great time to take stem cuttings of a number of woody perennials. One technique that works well for me is to take semi-ripe cuttings. These are taken from the current season’s growth that has started to become woody, but still has leaves. Propagating plants by semi-ripe cuttings is a fast and simple way to produce large numbers of genetically identical plants in a relatively short period of time.

Semi-ripe cuttings are used to propagate a wide range of plants but it is a particularly good method for propagating flowering shrubs such as Philadelphus, Weigela, Viburnum, Cistus, and Rosmarinus spp. Many of these plants can be rooted in a cold frame but others such as Camellia spp, may require a mist bench in a protected environment to root, otherwise success will be low.

Steps to SuccessThe parent plant selected for propagation should be healthy, vigorous, pest and disease free and true to type. Sappy, damaged, spindly and flowering growth should be avoided. If the only material available has flower buds ensure they are removed when the cutting is prepared.

Collect cutting material early in the morning when the plant is turgid. Further water loss can be minimised by placing the material in a damp plastic bag, and using as soon as possible.

The timing and method used varies between species but the majority of semi-ripe cuttings are taken in late summer (July to September). Conifers are propagated in February/March.

Use a suitable growing medium for rooting most cuttings. I use a 50/50 horticultural sand and peat or peat substitute mix. For slow to root cuttings, such as conifers, a more sandy 3:1 mix is preferableSmall numbers of cuttings can successfully be grown in 13cm half pots with the cuttings inserted around the outside. Single cuttings can be placed in individual 9cm pots. Better still, use modular trays as these are ideal for most types of cuttings and are easy to handle and ensure minimal root disturbance when the rooted plants are potted up. Care must be taken with watering as modular trays dry out more quickly than seed trays.

Most importantly, use a good quality, clean, sharp pair of secateurs (to remove material from the parent plant) and a propagation knife (for preparing the cutting).

All plants should be clearly labelled to avoid confusion and waste. Ensure the pen is waterproof. Record the name of the plant and the date the cuttings were taken.

Semi-ripe cuttings should be treated with a medium strength routing hormone. These sometimes contain fungicides to reduce the possibility of fungal infections – check out your local garden centre for best buy products.

Semi-ripe cuttings are less prone to desiccation (water loss) than softwood cuttings but are slower to root. As they are less prone to desiccation they require less environmental protection than softwood cuttings.

Place the cuttings in a cold frame, or more difficult to root specimens on a mist bench with soil warming cables, or in a propagator. This will increase success rates and speed of rooting, but most will root quite satisfactorily in a cold frame.

The Technique:

1. Cut off a shoot to include all current season’s growth.2. Remove the tip, if it is soft, just above a node.3. Shorten the cutting to 5 - 7.5cm, cutting just beneath a node (with

Clematis cut the stem just above a node and 4cm below - known as an inter-nodal cutting).4. Remove the leaves from the lower half of the cutting. 5. Dip the bottom end of the cutting in rooting hormone.6. Insert the cutting to half its length in the growing medium, firm the compost around the cutting7. Label and water.

Or, hold the bottom of a side shoot between the thumb and forefinger. Pull down sharply.

Neaten the long tail of the heel and remove leaves near the base of the cutting. This gives you a semi-ripe heel cutting. If in any doubt use this technique for any woody shrub or climber.

Have a go and let me know how you get on. If you’d like a fact sheet on propagation send me an email and I’ll reply.

Good luck and happy gardening!

For any gardening tips why not contact Tom Cole, Head of Faculty for Land & Environment, Writtle College, Chelmsford, CM1 3RR by post (including a SAE) or by email at [email protected].

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Old Moulsham Open GardensWe visited a few of the gardens in the Old Moulsham Open Gardens event on Sunday 22nd July which is in aid of Farleigh Hospice. We especially enjoyed the guided tour of the open cemetery in New London Road. Thank you to all who made us welcome at Southborough Road, The Mildmay Almshouses and Sunways. Hopefully next year we will be able to attend all of the gardens involved. We visited mid- afternoon and there had already been lots of visitors. Hopefully the rest of the day was a success too.

by Cllr. Dick MaddenFROM COUNTY HALL


Well the football World Cup has started and our national expectations are once again raised. However, have you noticed, unlike previous competitions not many flags are on display? In particular hardly any vehicles displaying the obligatory two flags. Has football reached a tipping point? We wait and see. What of England? At this moment in time still in the competition but by the time this article is published who knows? Coming soon: Saturday July 5th in Moulsham Street - Independents Day. The street will be closed for the day and our independent shops will have stalls along the street with assorted festivities. Please come along and support the Moulsham Street Traders ably led by their Chairman, Pat Kennett. Here at County Hall, there is excitement in Chelmsford for the 7th July when the Tour de France skirts around our city. Details of the route will be shown in local newspapers and on ECC and Chelmsford City websites, if you get the chance pop along to see these professional cyclists and their support teams touch Chelmsford city. I have recently with the Chief Constable of Essex police Stephen Kavanagh, launched a domestic awareness campaign entitled Standing Together. Below is the main message of the campaign and why such a campaign is necessary: Tweet your feet - This will be the initial launch of the campaign and will encourage the wider community to get involved by standing together and ‘tweeting their feet’ and uploading a photograph of their feet to Facebook and Twitter using #tweetyourfeet and #notodomesticabuse to show that they believe domestic

abuse is wrong.

Life after domestic abuse ‘A light at the end of the tunnel’- the campaign has been put together with the help and support of survivors of domestic abuse, and focusses on the positive difference it has made to women and men who have left abusive relationships. The posters, advertising and all communications reflect this.Key messages:

• Last year in Essex 78% of domestic incidents reported to the police were from women, while 22% were from men.The campaign has been heavily influenced by real life survivors in Essex.• In Essex 28,000 people reported an incident of DA last year.• Often a taboo subject - we want to raise awareness and get people talking about it.• Domestic abuse can be physical, psychological, sexual or financial.• It can happen to anyone and nobody should live in fear.• Committed to reducing incidents and helping victims.• In Essex there are a number of agencies and charities working together to help victims and raise awareness.• For more info www.essex.police.uk/standingtogether.•To report domestic abuse please call 101, but always call 999 in an emergency.

Let’s all enjoy the coming summer and remember BE SAFE.

FROM COUNTY HALL

MT Cookery by AndyStarling

Summer has arrived apparently, the rugby season has now come to a finish. After nine months of fantastic rugby two teams came to the fore; Saracens and Northampton fought out a pulsating Aviva premiership final which after extra time, Northampton won. Finishing first and second it was very apt and they had played the best rugby all season, with Leicester third and The Mighty Harlequins scraping in fourth. It was not a good period for Saracens as the previous week they had lost to Toulon in the Heineken Cup final in Cardiff, with the last game on British shores of the iconic fly half Jonny “Oh Jonny” Wilkinson.

Now looking forward to the start of the new season at The Stoop, and a new European competition.

As I mentioned summer is here and these recipes are classics using fantastic summer produce for a great summer twist….

Fig Tart

Sweet Crust Pastry

Ingredients:

250g plain flour75g icing sugarA pinch of salt 120g unsalted butter (diced and at room temperature)2 medium egg yolks5-10g maximum of cold water

Filling:

150g fresh or frozen blackcurrants100g fig jam150g semi dried figs blitzed in food processor10-12 fresh figs quartered50g warmed fig jam for the glaze, and a dusting of icing sugar

Method:

Sweet Crust Pastry

Put all the ingredients into the food processor, in order, pulsing for 20-30 seconds no longer.

Knead the dough into a ball for 10 seconds to bring the dough together. Take a small piece of pastry and wrap in cling film. Roll the rest into a cylinder and cut in half, wrap 1 piece in cling film and put into freezer, the other roll out a little and put in cling film in the fridge for 30mins.

Pre-heat oven to 170c.

Take pastry from fridge, have 2 sheets of cling film, place the dough on 1st and put the 2nd on top. This makes it easier to roll out without sticking or using extra flour. Once it is about 3mm thick discard the cling film and drape over a 20cm tart ring, lift and press into the tart ring and using the small piece of pastry that you wrapped in cling film push and press into the tart ring. Trim the edge, and then raise the edge by about 2mm to allow for shrinkage.

Allow to rest in fridge for 1 hour, prick the base with a folk and bake in oven for 25mins take out and allow to cool.

Filling:

Pre-heat oven to 175c.

Place all ingredients, apart fromthe fresh figs, into a food processor and whiz until smooth. Put into pastry case, and arrange the fresh figs on top and bake for 25mins.

Remove and allow to cool to room temperature, glaze the figs with the warmed fig jam and a dusting of icing sugar. Serve with crème fraiche.

Summer Fruit Pavlova

Ingredients:

3 x egg whites1ml lemon juice100g caster sugar75g icing sugar, sieved

For fruits:

150g strawberries halved150g raspberry150g blueberries25g blackcurrants20g caster sugar1 squeeze of lemon juice

Mix together for flavour to infuse for 30mins.

For the coulis:

250g raspberries30g sugar Puree together and strain

Method for meringues:

Pre-heat the oven to 120c/250f/gas mark ½.

In an electric mixer on full power, whisk the egg whites with lemon juice for 1 minute until you reach soft peaks. Then slowly add the caster sugar in small amounts. When all added whisk on full power for a further 3mins. You should end up with shiny, smooth and stiff peaks.

Remove the bowl from the machine, sieve in the icing sugar and fold in with a spatula little by little.

With the spatula, drop six lumps of meringue onto a tray covered with greaseproof paper, or if you prefer you can pipe smaller round cases. Dust with icing sugar and bake for around 2 hours. When the meringues are cooked to a light blond colour (hard on the outside and soft on the inside) and allow to cool for 30mins.

To serve

Arrange meringue on a plate, spoon the summer fruits in the coulis on top and around the meringue. Some toasted hazelnuts, pistachios would add great texture to the dish.

Enjoy…

Andy



As you sit down to watch the World Cup Final, a band of volunteers will be putting the finishing touches to this year’s festival, as always now in Admiral’s Park which is handy for Moulsham residents since it’s just a walk in the park away along the river from Central Park. It takes place a week later this year because of the football in Brazil so the weather should be even hotter and sunnier than usual, and of course all English people will be celebrating!

What better place to do it than in one of our gigantic marquees or sitting outside in the park. You’ll have a massive range of real ales and ciders to choose from, as well as the usual selection of foreign beers, especially Belgian, and local wine. The same as usual then, except that each year the festival gets a little bigger and - we like to think - even better.

We’ll have over 300 real ales from all over the UK including a wide selection from the West Country and Wales. We should have some ales brewed especially for the festival from both local and other brewers.

All styles of beer will be available - including the golden ales so popular at this time of year. We’ll also have plenty of bitters, milds, stouts & porters, fruit beers, IPAs and real cask lagers.

As well as the CAMRA bars we have 9 brewery bars. Brentwood with their Gold and Chockwork Orange, Bishop Nick, run by Nelion Ridley - the 7th generation of the Ridley family, Black Sheep from Masham, North Yorkshire and run by the latest generation of the Theakston family, Felstar with Franco’s extraordinary range of ales, Wibblers with their renowned Apprentice, Woodfordes with Wherry of course, Camerons famous for their Strongarm bitter, Oakham Ales with JHB and other special ales and Round Tower Brewery Chelmsford’s own micro-Brewery whose ales have met with immediate success.

Our Cider Bar is pleased to have sponsorship from the Essex Cider Shop in Moulsham Street who have supplied much of the stock for our Cider Bar which will be the biggest in East Anglia. Thanks to Cliff and Sue for chasing around fetching scintillating cider to tantalise the taste buds. We shall have award winning ciders from Amargh in Northern Ireland made by The Amargh Cider Company, Toby’s Cider and Mac Ivors which will subsequently be available in their shop. New this year there will be, from Scotland, award winning ciders from Thistly Cross, East Lothian and also we hope to spread some Happiness with the medium dry and medium sweet ciders from the Loch Ness Cider Company. As always there will be many favourites and new ones to sup including several single variety speciality ciders and perries and we plan to have all the Camra National Championship winners (Perry from Oliver’s, Kent Cider Company and Cider from Sheppy’s, Dove Skye and Wilce’s).

The Belgian Beer Bar offers the usual great range of beers including Trappists, Lambics and a full selection of the ever-popular fruit beers. This year there will also be the best of international beers from United States, Germany, Czech Republic and Holland including the rare, proper draught Budweiser Budvar yeast beer.

Feeling hungry you can choose from burgers, hot dogs and curries at Hopleaf, German and vegetarian sausages, also pizzas this year, from Bratwurst, a hog roast, pasties, olives (& things) and by popular demand fish and chips, Pipers Crisps and Merry Berry Chocolates.

We know many of you like to listen to some music and once again we have a very varied programme:

On Tuesday at 8pm TRULY ACOUSTIC. Bringing a fresh new twist to the songs people know and love.Wednesday at 7pm JAMIE WILLIAMS & THE ROOTS COLLECTIVE. A rare stripped down acoustic trio show from the feel-good maestros Jamie Williams & the Roots Collective.Followed at 9pm by D’UKES. The finest ukulele band in the universe.Thursday at 8pm ONION BAND. Folk music for people who don’t like folk music.

Friday at 4pm JUNK FOXX A sassy, energetic, three-piece rock band from Essex. If you haven’t heard them, it’s time to check out THE FOXX THAT ROCKS.Followed at 8pm by THE DAGGERS. The most smoking, energetic, and rocking unit to come off the South Coast in years. Look out... The Daggers are coming.Saturday at 1pm THE HUGH RAINEY JAZZ BAND. A long established, versatile, 6 piece trad jazz Band providing quintessential music for your entertainment.At 4pm FOX & THE TROTS. An 8 piece soul band with an extra seasoning of funk.And at 7pm LOADED DICE. A 7 piece rock & soul band who play rockin’ soul, dancin’ rhythm and blues and rock covers.

As always Saturday until 6pm is Family Fun Day including a fun fair with children’s rides (a £5 wrist band gives unlimited rides), face painting and an ice cream van. So, mums and dads, if all other excuses have failed, what are you waiting for?

I hope we’ve whetted your appetite. Regulars will know the ropes but you’ll find lots more information on our website regarding opening times, admission costs, how to get there, etc.

www.chelmsfordbeerandciderfestivals.org.uk, or if you’re “smart”, you’ll scan the QR code in our advert on page 19.

Chelmsford Summer Beer and Cider Festival

Sale Starts Saturday 28th June 2014

Prices reducedby 10% onall items!

Local manufacturers of madeto measure bespoke furniture

To write for us please email [email protected]

Nick and I attended Boys Toys at Hylands Park and had a great day, as you can see from the photos. Well done to all the team at the Hylands Estate for a great day!


007 Went to Kegs! by John Power

Sponsor MT History

Well not quite KEGS, King Edward VI Grammar School didn’t quite exist in 1535 when (later, doctor) John Dee attended the fledgling grammar school that had begun on the site of the Dominican Friary that stood between Moulsham Street and where New London Road grew and where Parkway now runs. Dee was born to Roland, a wealthy Welsh wool merchant and his wife Jane, near Mortlake on the Thames in 1527. He remained with the friars until the age of 15 when, in 1542 he gained a place at St. Johns College, Cambridge where he studied up to 18 hours per day he later claimed, to receive his BA Degree in 1546, and was elected Fellow and Under Reader in Greek at Trinity College. King Edward, Henry VIII’s shortlived heir, was born in 1537 became King at the age of ten and died of tuberculosis six years later in 1553 having inherited, with two adult protectors, the Protestant Kingdom his father had set up at the Reformation. His half-sister Mary, grandaughter of the King of Spain, a staunchly Catholic country, took over the crown from Edward’s named heiress, his cousin, Protestant Lady Jane Grey after only a nine day reign. Jane was beheaded and Mary earned the nickname ‘Bloody Mary’ for persecutions of Protestant heretics, sending hundreds to the bone fire including three bishops. She too had a short reign of only 5 years before the crown passed to the best known of Henry’s daughters, Protestant Elizabeth I. These were difficult years for those close to the monarchy to live through, but Dee managed to change horses a couple of times well enough to prosper, especially under Elizabeth.

Kegs was named for Edward during his short reign and Dee did meet the King. Kegs proper was named and set up on the Friary site by Royal Warrant in 1551, during the King’s lifetime “….for boys to be educated in Anglian religion (which would have not been made public during Mary’s reign) and classical languages...”, but Dee was long gone by then. After earning his degree he first drew public attention through the theatre when he staged Aristophanes’ play, Peace with theatrical effects that led to what turned out to be a forerunner of accusations of sorcery, as the science involved was beyond the comprehension of audience members. He then began the travels that would play a large part in his later life, studying law in Brussels and teaching in Paris. In Brussels he met cartographer Geraldus Mercator, whose projections are still used today in map making. This also initiated his role in industrial espionage, as he was able to impart what he had

learned to naval navigators and thereby strengthen the skills of the English Navy. He was presented to King Edward in 1551, and his talents were employed in the service of the Earl of Pembroke and then the Duke of Cumberland. Also, while on the continent, Dee was exposed to writers of texts on natural and hermetic (after Hermes) magic, such as Cornelius Agrippa. Such activities were considered in the Renaissance as coming from God, and in many respects bordered on scientific principles not understood in that era, as opposed to black magic which was seen as the works of the Devil.

Dee’s career went into partial eclipse during Mary’s reign. Part of the esoteric study he had undertaken was serious astrology, based on the axiom, ‘as above; so below. What’s below above will show.’ He managed to stay on the fence of preference between monarchs, providing horoscopes for both Mary and her Spanish husband, but also got to know Elizabeth while she was imprisoned at Woodstock, and when it was found that he had shown her Mary’s horoscope he was charged with treason. A useful man with friends in high places he managed to secure release after three months and was sufficiently forgiven by Mary that he was invited to submit plans for a National Library, two years before the end of her reign, even though his father had been imprisoned in the Tower of London too. Elizabeth had also been impressed by Dee’s gifts and asked him to cast horoscopes to find an auspicious time for her coronation.

It was during Elizabeth’s reign that Dee’s career was to really flourish. He continued to advise the Queen as Royal Astrologer: not the ‘twelfth of population will have the same happenings on the same day’ nonsense that blights our present tabloid press, but by comparing the position of planets at the time of birth to their ongoing movements for beneficial or malevolent influences. He also proved his worth as a remarkable scholar and embryonic scientist, advising the navy on the use of optical lens for telescopy. Mathematically he distinguished himself when he wrote the Forword to Euclid’s Elements in 1570, and more covertly, he functioned as an espionage agent under Lord Burghley and Sir Francis Walsingham who was in charge of Elizabeth’s Intelligence Service, where he was given the agent’s code 007, no doubt inspiring James Bond author Ian Fleming.

Undercover in this role Dee was sent on

many mysterious missions to the continent. When Elizabeth was contemplating marriage to the Duke of Anjou he was sent to the Duchy of Lorraine, where he cast the horoscope of the Duke’s birth to see if he would be a compatible partner for the Queen. In 1563 in Antwerp, Dee’s interest in mystical philosophy broadened when he discovered a rare manuscript by Trithemius called Stenographia and within twelve days of reading it completed a book of his own devising, called Monas Hieroglyphica which he had been working on for seven years. Both dealt with quabalistic style ciphers: mathematical codes and symbols used in natural magic. Lord Burghley regarded Dee’s conclusions and associated coding methods as “Of utmost value to the security of the Realm”. Dee’s methods also alleged to employ telepathy and ‘universal knowledge’. On the day that Dee’s first wife of only a year died in 1574 the Queen visited him and asked him to show her the magic glass of which she had heard. She may have been referring to lenses as there is no written record of his experiments with crystal ball scrying until 1581 when he referred to ‘sight into the crystallo.’ Or maybe the Queen knew more than what he had committed to writing, as this activity was to take up much of his time in years to come and crystal balls owned by Dee can be seen in the British Museum engraved with geometric devices we would call sigils.

Dee never claimed to have ‘the sight’ for scrying himself and so had to employ intermediaries who claimed this gift. This, to the present day, is fertile soil for charlatans. Dee’s first accomplice, Barnabus Saul, soon proved to be of this ilk, and the second was also a shady character, Edward Kelley, aka Talbot, whose ears had been clipped in a form of branding that marked him out for having shaved silver from coins to melt down. This is probably the nearest he got to precious metals in his claimed alchemical experiments too. He also had knowledge of herb lore and did seem to have bursts of success at scrying enough to impress Dee. He promised Dee that he would only use his gifts for ‘conversations with angels, not demons, who only served to confuse and mislead scryers.’ Kelley would sit in front of the consecrated crystal and Dee record his visions and ‘conversations.’ One ‘spirit’, ‘half elfin, half angel’, Madaime, appeared in the crystal for seven years for them. The sessions began with a series of ‘calls’ like the invocations of magicians such as Agrippa. A complete Angelic Language which they called Enochian emerged from their

experiments that had its own alphabet, grammar and syntax beyond the invention of Kelley. It also revealed a cosmology on concentric circles of angelic hierarchy.

In 1583, Count Laski, representative of the King of Poland, had been received by the Queen and became interested in Dee’s work and Kelley’s alchemy, so he invited them to Poland. Emperor Rudolph also invited them to Czechoslovakia, but they were eventually accused of necromancy (converse with spirits of the dead), and expelled from Prague. They finally returned to England in 1589 having had ample opportunity for espionage around foreign courts. In their absence, vigilantes who suspected Dee of sorcery had broken into his house in Mortlake and destroyed his library. A further trip took the duo back to Trebon, in Czechoslovakia at the invitation of Count Wilhelm Rosenburg, but they turned down an invitation from the Czar to visit Russia. By this time Kelley had become increasingly erratic and unpredictable, and told Dee that the angels had told him that they should partake in wife-swapping. Although greeted with horror by the remainder of the quartet they seem to have been afraid to disobey the angelic instructions, however this led to the end of the scrying and Kelley and Dee parted company. Adverse reports of the pair’s antics seem to have reached the Queen and Dee fell out of favour. He was offered only a teaching post at Christ’s College Manchester, away from court. Dee did not like the posting and returned to Mortlake, where he petitioned King James for removal of slanders after Elizabeth’s death in 1603. His final seances were with the aid of Bartholomew Hickman in 1607. He died in 1608.

Dee was a genuine Renaissance Man and polymath rivalling Leonardo da Vinci in breadth of knowledge and willingness for scientific experimentation, but seems to have been unfortunate in his choice of assistants.


MT Therapy by Jenny Hartill

After a hugely successful event in 2013, the Dukes Polo is back at the lush green pastures of Hylands House in Chelmsford.

Set for the weekend of 12th and 13th July, the event is even bigger than before. Alongside two days of top grade polo, family fun and a VIP enclosure fit for a King, Dukes Polo are delighted to announce that legendary soul sensations Earth, Wind and Fire Experience featuring Al McKay will be performing live on stage on Saturday 12th July.

Whether you’re a polo enthusiast, family or a group of friends looking for a day out, the Dukes Polo have created what is set to be one of the most unforgettable two days of 2014. Show jumping, aerobatics, live arena displays, funfair rides and some of the finest food and drink around will offset the main polo event followed by evening entertainment for all the family to enjoy. As a special treat for the kids, Ben and Holly will be coming down on Saturday 12th and Fireman Sam and naughty Norman Price coming along on Sunday 13th July. But the best bit of all…

KIDS UNDER 10 GO FREE!

The Dukes Polo team is also thrilled to announce that the full scale model of the world’s fastest car, the Bloodhound SSC (SuperSonic Car), will be on show at this year’s event in July offering visitors the chance to get up close and personal with what is set to be a truly iconic slice of history. This unique piece of British engineering will be there at the event in advance of making a world record attempt in 2015 and 2016 where the sole aim is to break the 1,000mph barrier and set a new land speed record.

As the sun sets over the family and VIP enclosure’s the nightlife will continue. Doors to the ‘Duke’s Club’ open and a line-up of DJ’s will take to their decks. For 2014, The Dukes Polo are proud to headline none other than the Essex Man himself… Marbella Sessions’ COLIN FRANCIS’!

But it doesn’t stop there on this winning weekend! On Sunday 13th the Dukes Polo will go all things Brazilian as the biggest footballing tournament in the world comes

to its climax. As the polo ponies retire for the afternoon, a team of famous faces from the world of TV, music and football will take to the pitch for a charity football match in support of the Rhys Daniels Trust. Dukes Polo will sensationally transform itself and screen the FIFA World Cup Final LIVE on one of the biggest screens in the world at 8pm.

The weekend of the 12th and 13th of July 2014 is set to be a truly spectacular International collaboration of polo, music and sport at Hylands House for one weekend only, so don’t miss out!

For further press information, please contact:

Phil Seeva. Email: [email protected]: 07746 815302.Tracey Zetter. Email: [email protected]: 07980 611 312.

For all the latest ticket information and event listings please go to:

www.dukespolo.com.Ticket Phone line: 08451 246 123.

Earth, Wind & Fire Experience Breeze into Chelmsford for The Dukes Polo 2014

Remember you can pick up Chelmsford The City Times from:

Chelmsford railway stationTesco - Princes Rd, Springfield Rd and Parkway HomestoreSainsburysMorrisonsMccartney Moulsham StreetChelmsford LibrarySpringfield Garden CentreRayleigh Hifi Plus many pubs around the city.

This month I’m looking at an overview of addiction. In the simplest sense addiction is a mixture of obsession and compulsion. There are many types of addiction, technically speaking you can become addicted to anything as addiction isn’t necessarily linked to a substance, it is a self defeating behaviour that can wreck lives if not treated. Addiction can appear as a result of a habit that has become out of control, a physical dependency on a substance, or a psychological dependency where the addicted person either believes they cannot live without their addiction or they are not aware they have an addiction at all. In my personal opinion the latter is the worst kind of addiction because if the person isn’t aware they have an addiction, they cannot address it and the addiction can take over their lives without the person realising it before it’s too late. This leads me on to an important aspect of addiction, the aspect that makes addiction so very dangerous. This is that most addicts lie, not just to those around them but importantly to themselves.

The nature of addiction is such that the sub-conscious mind may believe it needs the addiction so much that it will find any way to keep the addiction up. Addicts may find themselves inventing all sorts of weird and wonderful excuses so that they can indulge in their addiction and keep it alive. For example, someone who is addicted to gambling may visit a casino telling themselves that their child needs a new pair of shoes, so therefore it is more likely they’ll win. Logically this makes no sense as

gambling is based on luck not necessarily Karma but nevertheless the addict has found a way to indulge their addiction. The problem arises when this person has to explain away the blackhole that has developed in their finances. Addicts can become astute liars and are very good at remaining for long periods in denial. I remember a case study when I was training about a woman who came to therapy because her husband was divorcing her. Because they had to go through the finances for the divorce, she found out that he had been gambling for the last 10 years, had many credit cards she didn’t know about, various secret bank accounts, and he hadn’t paid the mortgage in months or any other bills for that matter. He had been declared bankrupt as a result, she had to foot some of the bills, and he still denied he had a gambling problem!

The most difficult thing to do for an addict is to admit they have an addiction. Sometimes the addict has been in a cycle for so long they’re used to it and they don’t know how to face life without it. The important thing to remember when treating any addict is firstly that they will need coping strategies to help them deal with life without their addiction. Secondly, if they are going to try and stop their addiction it is likely they will feel a loss, especially if their addiction has been part of their life for some time. Sometimes it is the very fear of this loss that keeps the addiction alive and the client may or may not be aware of this. As a therapist I would also bear in mind whether the addiction holds any secondary gain for the client, are

they gaining something currently unforeseen from having this addiction? I would certainly be looking at how their addiction manifested itself, where did it come from, how does it feel when they’re indulging in their addiction – there are many questions to ask the client to find out the nature of the addiction. This is because in my opinion, the better the client understands their addiction, the better equipped they are to deal with it.

Next time I’ll discuss various theories and approaches to addiction. If anyone has any questions please feel free to email me!

Cloud9 Counselling and Hypnotherapywww.counsellinginchelmsford.co.ukinfo@cloud9-counselling.co.uk.

MT Therapy by Jenny Hartill

Wine Corner


Hello again. Here we are in June and it’s supposed to be the start of summer, well at least it means that the rain will get warmer!

This month I thought that I would look at sweet wine, sometimes called dessert wine. Not to my taste really, but when drunk with a nice pudding it can be very good.

Sweet wine is made from grapes (Muscat for example) that have higher levels of sugar occurring naturally, although sugar or honey is added during the production process. The wine can also be fortified by adding alcohol using brandy, for example. In France you will find one of the most well known sweet wines, Sauternes. This is produced in the Bordeaux region using Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc and Muscadelle grapes that have been infected by noble rot, which causes the grapes to be more like raisins. These wines are often expensive, probably because the production is not too reliable, resulting in variable output levels.

Some ordinary grapes are left on the vine until very late in the season. This results in grapes being air dried before they are picked and therefore are more like a raisin. Not surprisingly, these wines are known as raisin wines, very sweet generally.

Another type of sweet wine is called ice wine, where the grapes are left on the vine until late in the season in areas where there are frosts. The water in the grapes freezes, but the sugars and other solids do not. They are then pressed before they thaw out, and a special yeast is added for the fermentation. These, too, are wines for a special occasion.

Why are some things we say a bit odd? Thunder and lightning for example, it’s the wrong way round, the lightening comes first doesn’t it? The other day I took my prescription to the doctors and they said it would be ready in two working days. That’s no good to me, I’m retired.

I am off on a holiday to Germany, (note for would be burglars, by the time you read this I will back home). We are entering the country from the north and intend to follow the Rhine south to the Black Forest. This, you may have guessed, is where the majority of wine is produced, from Ahr to Baden. So,as we are staying in several places for a number of days and the public transport systems are reported to be good, I must just visit a few vineyards to see what I can learn about the local wines. I guess I will also have to see some the sights around the Rhine as well though.

Bin end chuckles.

If you get an email telling you that you can catch swine flu from tins of ham, delete it, it’s spam.

We have a celebration coming up so I’ve booked a table for my wife and I. Bound to end in tears though, she’s rubbish at snooker.

Keep calm and carry on drinking (in moderation).

This month I have been sent my first letter.

Dear Jonny Merlot,I have been enjoying your column for a number of months now and I have a question for you; I have recently taken to drinking red (moderately) and had heard that the first £5 of any wine was the expense it cost to bottle, label and cork it, therefore a £7 bottle of wine is only £2 of content. Is this true and if so what is a good and reasonable price to be paying for a red?Yours trulyA Sensible Drinker.

Thank you for your question and I’m glad that you enjoy my little column.

Your information is pretty accurate on the cost of the wine. The breakdown of the cost of a bottle of wine in the UK is interesting. When you pay £7.50 for a bottle of wine (now the average price paid according to a large wine merchant), £2 goes to the government in tax. Then there are the materials, the processing cost of the bottling, shipping costs and profit, then the government take another slice with VAT. The average cost of the wine in the bottle is about £1.50!

If this is compared to Europe, the tax on wine is zero in some countries including Germany, Italy and Spain, and is just 3 pence in France. Therefore a bottle of so called cheap “plonk” in France could be said to be of equal (if not better) quality to the average cost of wine in the UK.

Regarding the price of a good bottle of red, there are loads available. One of my favourites is Malbec, which retails from about £6.70 or less when on offer. Unless you are a connoisseur I would pay around £7 - £8 and for that it will be a reasonable wine. Perhaps once in a while, splash out on a more expensive bottle and see if you can taste the difference.

Remember, ‘good’ wines are generally those that you like, depending on your preferences, an expensive bottle of red may not be a ‘good’ wine for you.

So, thanks to Mr or Ms AS Drinker, who prompted my research, I am moving to Burgundy in France next Friday. Jonny

ChelmsfordBlues in the City

Festival 2014Blues, Booze, Rock & Roots

26th to 28 Sept 2014

Wine Corner

www.moulshamtimes.com 23


MT Charity Event - Walthamstock Walthamstock Music Festival is a community music festival based in Great Waltham, raising money for local organisations and charities. 2014 is our fourth year and so far we have raised nearly £22,000!

Each year we have two stages, 14 bands and an open mic section. We aim to have locally grown talent each year!

It’s a family day too and we have lots to keep you entertained like shopping stalls, yoga, zumba, massage, storytelling, games, a bouncy castle, things to make and do, all day BBQ, Pimms, all day bar, Indian Food, pizzas and much more.

Walthamstock started 4 years ago when a small group of musically minded friends got together for a very mini festival for a friend’s birthday. Everyone enjoyed it so much that they decided to do something a bit more public the year after and do it for charity. We barely advertised the first year, we only had one little stage and a small bar, yet hundreds of people turned up. We were overwhelmed by how supportive people were and also pleased to see so many interested in local music! We raised just under £5000 that year and we realised that we could make a big difference to some of our local charities and organisations. From there on out, it’s just got bigger (and thankfully) more organised!

Walthamstock is now organised by a small group of family and friends who are assisted by some wonderful volunteers each year. We’re really proud of being part of an event that pulls the community together; we have stall holders that donate all their profits from the day such as, Keith at Walthambury Stores who runs our all day BBQ, or the New Chelmsford City WI who are selling cream teas all day this year and donating the profits. We have local organisations such as Repro House, who do all of our printing from our leaflets to our giant banners for free! We have Event Sound and Light who give us a huge discount on our sound equipment, as do Essex Frames and Marquees who have been amazing each year with our marquees. Both our sound technicians donate their time for free, as do all the volunteers. The bands play for nothing too, which we really appreciate!

It’s a real community spirit on the day and to see how people pull together and are willing to give their time is, we have to admit, pretty heart-warming! We hope people feel that community spirit when they attend!

Last year we were ‘feeling the love’ and spreading the word about mental health in our community; we donated £3000 to MIND and £3000 to CHESS and smaller amounts of money to local organisations. This year it’s all about shining a light on disability in our community and we’re pleased to be shining a light on Columbus School and College and Chelmsford City Mencap.

The whole team are passionate about live music and we pride ourselves on picking not only a wide variety of music, but also

musicians and bands that are talented, professional and exciting. We’ve had The Willows, fresh from their world tour and being touted on Radio 2, we’ve had Frett, currently being played on XFM and we’ve had other local artists like Little Donkey, Roisin O’Hagan and Crème De Chevre, that are really going places!

We aim to provide a legitimately good music festival, and the fact that we can raise money whilst doing so is just even better!

One of the best bits about being involved with a festival like this is our presentation evening; where the committee and volunteers gather to meet the charities and present them with our donations. It’s incredibly rewarding to see a years’ worth of planning result in making a difference to our community, and everyone that attends Walthamstock is a part of that!

If you can’t make it to the festival but want to support our causes this year, you can buy a Walthamstock hoodie or t-shirt from our facebook merchandise page. Every penny from their sale goes towards our final total.

To find out more about us you can visit us at: www.facebook.com/walthamstockfestivalwww.walthamstockfestival.co.uk


“Volatile Retribution” (Part 4) – A Detective Carter Mystery Written by JR BlakeThe last time we saw DS Carter and her colleague DC Reid they had realised whom their killer was. Now the race is on to catch her…Carter had just entered police headquarters when her boss Detective Chief Inspector Charles Maslow collared her:“Carter, a word...”DS Carter followed DCI Maslow into his office, a bright modern room apart from the old-fashioned mahogany desk smack bang in the middle of it. The desk was far too big for the room but nobody dared comment anymore because of the diatribe that would ensue from DCI Maslow about his entire family history in the police force. Carter didn’t have time to sit down before her superior began:“Carter, what do you make of this bomb? I’ve got the BBC and every other news channel, magazine, paper and the terrorist division on my back”.“It’s not terrorists sir. At least not directly, that’s what we’ve managed to surmise from the current evidence”.DCI Maslow’s shoulders lowered in a visible sign of relief “thank god. Do you have any suspects yet?”“Sir, I’ve only been to the crime scene this morning….”“For god’s sake Carter I’ve known you long enough, you have that…look, so you must have a suspect!”“What look sir?”“Your ‘I’ve got a suspect and I’m going to take him down’ look. It’s similar to the look you had when you decided to divorce your husband”.Thanks for that, thought Carter. She replied:“The suspect is a she, sir. DC Reid is looking into when she arrived into the country and when she’s due to leave”.“Who is this suspect of yours then? And where’s she from?”“Her name is Samantha Galvin. She’s from Ireland; I believe this murder is linked to an old case from about 10 years ago. Professor Redfern is the victim, he was accused of….”“Yes, yes I remember. The media had a field day with that one too. Let’s try and get this wrapped up quickly then Carter before the media convince us all we’re on the verge of world war 3….” Just then DC Reid popped his head around the already open door:“We may not have a choice in that one sir, Miss Galvin is due to leave the country in three days”.“Right then you two…” DCI Maslow announced as he sat in his dark brown leather chair behind the matching desk,“…better get a wriggle on!”

On the way to their detective’s communal office, or the “indoor assault course” as it was affectionately known due to the high volume of paraphernalia strewn around everywhere, Reid explained to Carter what he had found. Samantha Galvin had arrived into the country 5 days ago, only it wasn’t a usual journey. She hadn’t just come straight into London, from the hotel information Samantha had given them she didn’t check into the hotel until the 2nd day into her trip. Also, she had landed at Southend Airport when she could’ve taken a different flight and landed at London City Airport, saving her one hell of a trek into London. It would appear that Samantha’s movements for the first two days were currently a mystery. Carter asked Reid to look into any of her family members that may be in the country, especially in the Essex area. Carter’s thinking was that there had to be a reason she flew to Southend Airport specifically, and she must have a motive to have been in the country for two days and not inform them of what she was doing when questioned. The most likely answer was that she had a connection in Southend or the surrounding area. The easiest type of connection to search (and the most likely usually) was family connection. Reid had a talent for searching things like phone records, credit reports, electoral rolls, anything of list criteria. He was an excellent speed-reader. Hence Carter knew that Reid was likely already waiting on the phone company, bank, credit card companies etc to send over what they could but this was likely to take time. Lots of time. Time was something they didn’t have, so Carter had to go on instinct.“Nothing” Reid said after hours of searching electoral records “diddly squat. Maybe there’s a different spelling of the name Galvin or something?”Suddenly a lightbulb flashed on inside Carter’s head. Samantha was

Irish, if her family was old-school or particularly patriotic, perhaps there was a different spelling – could she have changed her name when she came to England all those years ago from the Irish to the English version?“Reid, when are those phone records due?”“Whenever they feel like sending them over usually….”“Chase them, I have an idea,” Carter said as she stood up from her chair and grabbed her coat.“Where are you going?”“To ask an old friend for a favour. And to check on the coroner’s report”.The morgue wasn’t exactly one of Carter’s favourite places to visit. She much preferred seeing her coroner friend Diane Looker in the pub after work, but visit what’s left of the body she must. Sometimes she would notice something about a body and get inspired to follow a new line of investigation, unfortunately in this case there wasn’t much body to go on. Carter entered the cold room via metal doors, there was a corridor lit my strobe lighting that made the tiles glow a light blue colour. Through another set of doors Carter found Dr Looker peering at some remains on one of the many metal tables lined neatly around the room.“Evening Diane, has our corpse spoken to us yet?”“Actually, yes he has. I found something very interesting on that finger you almost stepped on. That finger used to be attached to a hand that also survived the blast and it would appear to tell us what blew up our professor here”.“I’m intrigued...”“So our professor’s finger and hand harboured a reddish orange substance, my immediate thinking was that this could be linked to the explosive. I was hoping semtex as this has a detection taggant.”“I thought your thing was bodies not explosives? Or, have you been looking up random information on Wikipedia again to amuse yourself after working many dark hours with the cold, miserable clutches of death….”“Dated a CSI once.”Dr Looker interrupted her friend before she had her profiled as being a lonely single white female. Nothing could be further from the truth. She wasn’t even white. “Anyway, because of a myriad international agreements semtex has various detection taggants as they’ve been changed over the years so I sent it off to CSI and put a rush on it. Turns out this particular detection taggant is ethylene glycol dinitrate, which incidentally explodes when rapidly heated to 215 degrees Celsius and also reacts violently to potassium hydroxide. Ladies and gentlemen, boom, we have a winner. Forgive the pun.”“Forgiven. So now we have to find out who deals with semtex, especially if they’re around the London or Essex area”.“Oh, I didn’t realise you were searching Essex. My CSI guy mentioned a case he worked on where a terrorist cell years ago was using semtex – they had a small base in Essex, just a couple of guys working on some secret plot. I say mentioned, actually he banged on about it for hours. Literally”. DS Carter looked thoughtful. “Fancy a glass of wine or 5 after work? I need a favour”.“Does it involve cats?” Dr Looker had to ask, more often than not a favour involved a cat. Specifically rescuing one.“It doesn’t involve cats”.“You’re on” Replied a relieved Dr Looker.“It involves family trees of terrorists”.“Great”.At least it wasn’t cats.Next time Carter and Reid race against time to find the one person that could crack their case, and catch their killer.

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27

Ami’s Diary


I have had an exciting month. I spent two days in Norwich acting on the set of ‘Z-Listers’ - a film about a Z-List celebrity who gets in trouble with the BBC. I dressed as Princess Leia as I was in a sci-fi convention scene. One of the actors was also in Muppets Most Wanted like me, so you never know when you will work with

actors again. There was a choreographed fight in Z-Listers that was great fun as we learnt it in slow motion and then gradually built up the scene. The bad guy got hit by one of the props and got a cut face so we had to stop filming until it stopped bleeding. The film is due out on DVD in September so I will definitely be getting that.

The Assistant Director is also directing another film called ‘The Man in the Mirror’, so he asked if some of us would stay late and act in a scene for that too, so I did.

I finally got my IMDb profile which is a professional actor’s profile on the Internet Movie Database. It links my name to the official cast list of Muppets Most Wanted and I have five acting credits on there already.

I had to turn down a casting for another feature film as it is being filmed at the end of July, when I will be at guide camp.I saw One Direction at Wembley and it was amazing. I had to pinch myself to make sure I was really there.

The Essex Chronicle heard about me being the Inspirational Speaker at the Young Enterprise Awards and wanted to include my story about being an actress and running my business, Ami’s Candles. So I am hoping someone will see it and invest in my business.

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We have written in previous editions of MT about Neighbourhood Watch – so maybe we should apologise for banging on yet again… But no, no apologies, because we need to keep raising awareness and encouraging residents to become involved and be alert.

The latest development is that we had a meeting at Oaklands Infant School for interested parents (who can’t come along easily to evening meetings) during a recent Tuesday afternoon. From that we had more sign-ups and two volunteers to be local street contacts to distribute the Chelmsford Neighbourhood Watch newsletter. So we now have some 30+ local points of contacts covering 22% of Old Moulsham streets. The highlighted streets on the map shows which streets are covered (visit our website for more detailed information: www.moulshamfirst.org.uk).

Map showing which streets in Old Moulsham have Neighbourhood Watch contacts.

A quick reminder of benefits: quarterly newsletter, up-dates/alerts from the police, information leaflets, being part of a wider community. We are conscious that some residents don’t use email or access the website – please contact us via MT if you want to be involved.www.moulshamfirst.org.uk.

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Once again, members of local Rotary Clubs sponsored special needs children and carers from their local areas to have a day out in Southend on Sea. This is of course the annual Kids Out day organised by Frank Rush from Southend on Sea Rotary Club. We had gloriously sunny weather and over 850 children and carers spent a lively couple of hours in Talk Night Club, followed by a picnic lunch and then an exciting afternoon on the rides and attractions of Adventure Island on Southend seafront. Of course, you can’t go to Southend and not enjoy an ice cream so this was a fitting end to the day before everyone headed home.

Members of Rotary Clubs from all over the District joined together to accompany the young people. Southend on Sea Rotary Club, as the lead club, sponsored children from Westborough Primary School and Lancaster Special Needs School. Basildon Concord Club sponsored 96 excited children from Whitmore Way Primary School. Several other schools were represented. For most of these children, this is the first time they have ever been to Southend and certainly not when they have been treated so royally. For some, even the coach ride was an exciting first. Club Rotarians undertook marshalling duties with the support of Inner Wheel members who assembled the packed lunches for all participants. (Inner Wheel is a separate organisation from Rotary whose members comprise female relatives of Rotarians. Rotary is open to men and women to join).

Organiser Frank Rush said “once again this is an example of Rotary Clubs working together for the benefit of the community”. He also thanked Talk Night Club and Adventure Island for offering their facilities free of charge. A brilliant day was had by all and planning begins already for next year. This is the 24th year in succession that Rotary has organised a Kids Out event. Many of the Rotarians said that they had enjoyed themselves as much as the children. There is not much that is better than bringing a smile to a child’s face and the kids were given T shirts with the slogan ‘Future Rotarian’.

Rotary is all about events like this – making a difference to people’s lives but this can’t be done unless we continue to have an influx of new members. There is a Rotary club near you so if you would like to find out more on what Rotary does and how you could be part of it then visit www.chelmsfordrotary1240.org or phone me on 01245 260349.

Stan Keller

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