Feb toApr 2022 Issue 90 Funded by Myland Community Council FREE TheMylander K E E P I N G T H E C O M M U N I T Y I N F O R M E D Council Updates – what has your Council been doing? Festive celebrations – how Myland brought the New Year in Church services return
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3 Keep up to date with local news, updates and events on Facebook: facebook @Myland Community Council MYLAND COMMUNITY COUNCIL Office: 101 Nayland Road, Colchester, CO4 5EN Office Hours: 8.30 - 11.00am (Monday to Friday)* Tel: 01206 853400 Website: www.mylandcommunitycouncil.gov.uk *Due to the current situation, the office is closed to the general public but can be reached via phone or email during these hours. The Mylander Keeping The Community Informed The Mylander is funded by Myland Community Council as a community service. It is issued quarterly and distributed to every household in the parish. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of Myland Community Council. Articles and information are reproduced in good faith. Contents 5. Chair’s report 6. Council reports 14. Churches 16. From inside the community 26. Learning and growing
Myland Community Council The Chair Alison Jay 07761 729054 Vice Chair Pete Hewitt 853942 Office: 01206 853400 Email [email protected] Clerk: Katherine Kane [email protected] Editor: Katie Maddocks [email protected] Anglian Water Emergency Services 0800 771 881 Age UK – Free call 0800 055 6112 NHS Blood and Transplant Donor Information 0300 123 23 23 Camulos Academy 588588 Childline – Free call 0800 1111 Colchester Borough Council – Enquiries 282222 Colchester Police Station 101 Colchester Community Policing Team [email protected] Crimestoppers – Free call 0800 555 111 Gas Emergency Services – Free call 0800 111 999 High Woods Country Park, Turner Road 853588 Mile End Methodist Church, Rev. Ken Chalmers 545253 Church Hall Hire, Keith Thompson 844252 Mill Road Surgery, Mill Road 845900 Myland Parish Halls Hire (Sarah King) 07518 437488 Myland School, Mill Road 852109 NHS Advice Line 111 NSPCC – Free call 0800 800 5000 Priest-in-Charge, Parish of Myland, Revd Ray Gibbs 843926 Queen Boudica School 844654 St Joseph Church, Mgr. Chris Brooks 866317 Samaritans, Walsingham Road 116123 Phone numbers are 01206 unless otherwise stated Pauline Bacon 07929 903484 Clare Bailey 842327 Gary Braddy c/o 853400 Catherine Clouston 07785 987 734 David Clouston 07748 064 562 Marina de Smith 07791 463 080 Jocelyn Law c/o 853400 John Dickson c/o 853400 Martin Goss 07912 396335 Phil Coleman 07808 530587 Alan Hayman c/o 853400 Alison Jay 07761 729054 Robert Johnstone 853204 Clare Williams c/o 853400 Jackie Lester c/o 853400 4
Chair’s Report As I write this in early January, I wish you all a happy and healthy 2022. We are all looking forward to the real possibility of the community being able to gather again safely at events we are planning, such as the Platinum Jubilee celebrations, our annual summer fete and bulb giveaways. In the last Mylander, we included an invitation to residents to become a Community Special Constable, and I am delighted to say that we have had an applicant who will keep us informed of his progress. The Essex special constable co-ordinator will track the application to make sure that, should he be successful, he is allocated to our Parish. There is a long way to go in terms of both application process and training, but this is an incredibly positive start. Good luck to our applicant! As I hope you will see from this issue, we continue to take steps to ensure that Myland remains a community we are pleased to live in and are proud of. We invite comment either via our website, email, or calling the office. Please join us and take part in meetings where time is set aside for residents to make suggestions or to ask questions. Cllr Alison Jay Chair of Myland Council 5
Your guide to Myland Community Council Meetings Myland Community Council (MCC) currently has three standing committees; Planning & Highways; Resources, Policy & Strategy; Community Engagement. 1. Planning & Highways MCC has the statutory right to be consulted on all planning applications, within the boundary of the parish. The Committee will look at each application and agree the response to be submitted to Colchester Borough Council, who will make the final decision. The applications range from small household extensions, right up to larger developments. Currently the Committee is also tracking progress on the Severalls and Chesterwell developments. Upcoming meetings: 2nd March, 6th April 2. Resources, Policy & Strategy This Committee is responsible for keeping an eye on Council finances; making sure the Council is within budget and making plans for future years. The Committee each year will make recommendation to the full Council regarding the amount of the precept, which pays for MCC services. Upcoming meetings: 16th February, 16th March, 20th April 3. Community Engagement Through the Health & Wellbeing survey, the CEC has been able to engage with residents to find out what issues concern them and work towards these as goals. The Committee organise the annual Myland Bulb and Tree Giveaways and theMyland Fete, as well as maintain theMCC owned noticeboards, purple bus shelters and grit bins. The CEC has an ongoing programme of adding planters in Myland to enhance the local environment and is working on rolling out defibrillators across the Parish. Upcoming meetings: 14th February, 14th March, 11th April 4. Full Council Meetings Full council meetings take place at Mile End Methodist Church. Upcoming meetings: 23rd February, 23rd March, 27th April Agendas are posted on the council website the week prior. Council Reports 6
MCC—What have your Council been doing? • Litter: We are working hard on making sure that the areas visited regularly by our own Street Officer are those where there are most litter problems. We are working closely with our Ward Councillors to look at providing replacement litter bins, for those that are damaged. In October we paid for the installation of a plastic and can recycling bin on Mill Road Playing Field to encourage recycling. We also have a supply of high vis jackets and litter pickers available. Please contact our Clerk if you feel you could do your part in keeping the street tidy. • Recycling: From late December we agreed to be a recycling click and collect pick up point for Colchester Borough Council, for replacement garden and recycling bags and boxes. Our Clerk will be available Wednesdays and Fridays from 8am until 11am for those needing to collect items and will need you to provide an order code from the CBC website: https://www.colchester.gov.uk/recycling-containers/ • Bus shelters: We are responsible for a number of bus shelters around the Parish, and as well as regular cleaning if reported to us via the Clerk, we can arrange for broken perspex to be taken away and quick repairs. Council Reports 7
Council Reports • Open space and greening our Parish: Councillors are looking forward to the Boulevard from Mill Road to the Northern Gateway development being open, once the works on demolishing the old rugby club are completed. Plans are underway for the design of the Village Green, which will be managed by MCC on a long term lease. In the meantime, we continue to look after our planters with changes to planting and regular watering. • Hedge cutting and pathway clearance: By next month, subject to Council approval, we should be able to start work on cutting and clearing a small number of identified locations, using our budget from Highways. This, we hope, will be the start of our increasing responsibility for our local environment. • Garden project: Repair works to the pathways, driveway, patio, and back garden to the Parish Office, at 101 Nayland Road, have recently been agreed to improve access and safety and to allow us to increase and maximise our utilisation of the premises, whilst ensuring it remains in a good state of repair as a community asset. After site visits, we received detailed quotations from three contractors and soon Alex Willis Building & Landscaping will be starting works. • War memorial flooding works: Councillors John Dickson and Pete Hewitt, working with County Councillor David King, actively pursued Highways works at the war memorial on Mile End Road, to prevent the regular flooding which takes place. This was completed in time for Remembrance Day. We now have some additional budget to fund similar works in other locations. Please let us know if there is anywhere near you that we can help with. • Website: We have been working on our website to make it easier to navigate and find information about meetings and our Councillors. Don’t forget you can always see what is going on from our Noticeboards in several locations around the Parish, or our Facebook page. Our hope is residents have some input to our decisions. Cllr Alison Jay Chair of Myland Council 8
Council Reports Planning and Highways Committee Over winter and the Christmas period, planning applications have kept on rolling in for this committee to review and comment on. One that we recently spent a great deal of time over, was the refusal of Colchester Borough Council, (a decision agreed with by the Planning Inspectorate), to grant a permanent vehicular access into the southern part of Chesterwell from Bartholomew Court, off Mile End Road. The applicants, Mersea Homes and Countryside Properties, wished to have some of the conditions attached to the original planning application for Chesterwell in 2014, removed. I went to the planning appeal, which was held in the studio theatre at the Mercury Theatre and was extremely impressed with the diligence and professionalism of the Inspector – he queried any point that he wasn’t clear on, and offered both Colchester Borough Council and Mersea Homes plenty of time to come back with further arguments. His decision, which was announced just too late for the previous Mylander, was that the conditions attached to the original permission to build 1,600 homes, were necessary to encourage non-car usage and support people choosing to walk, cycle or use public transport. This is fully in accord with the Local Plan, adopted by Colchester Borough Council. Although this appeal was dismissed, there will still be temporary access via Bartholomew Court for cars going to and from 160 houses. This temporary permission will expire when the spine road has been built linking the north and south sections of the site. Another decision yet to be made, is regarding Phase 2 of the Rapid Transit Route – otherwise known as the Northern Approach Road. This application, to incorporate a cycle path on the western side of the NAR, was made in July last year and has a “target date” of November 2021, but to date it has not yet been decided on, one way or another. There are over 90 objections to the design of this route, with issues around land ownership, the acoustic fencing and the potential removal of a pedestrian crossing to the south of the Mill Rd/NAR junction. We commented on this aspect that this would lead to increased footfall on the northern side of the junction – where the pedestrian island is already somewhat inadequate, especially at peak school journey times. Interestingly, a note from the Highways Authority, (ECC), said they had no comment to make regarding these plans! We await a decision. Also, currently awaiting to be decided, is the design for the remainder of the “spine road” 9
Council Reports through Chesterwell – Cordelia Drive. ECC’s plans for this were apparently disrupted by the Government’s publication of “Gear Change”, which does not approve of cycles and pedestrians sharing the same space. Another awaited decision. Have a good 2022. Robert Johnstone Chair, Planning and Highways Committee Myland Access Group We told you in the previous issue of The Mylander, that we had received from Essex County Council their latest Definitive Statement. This Statement lists every public footpath and bridleway in Myland; where it starts and finishes, and sometimes an indication of its width. ECC have a legal duty to keep such records up to date and also to inform the relevant parish (and the public), of any changes. There were three such changes, of which Myland Community Council were not aware. Public Footpaths 46, 79 and 224 have all had lengths removed – we most certainly would have raised them earlier if we had known about them. Footpath 46 runs from Nayland Road at the mini-roundabout towards the west where it meets footpath 38, near the golf course, – at least it used to until quite recently when ECC decided that it had been “subsumed into adopted road” at Fords Lane (by Essex County Council I presume!) This happened about twenty years ago when Howards Croft was built. Footpath 79 used to run to the east from Turner Rd into Highwoods Country Park – it now only starts at the entrance to Highwoods. Again this development took place around twenty years ago and yet ECC decided in 2019 that a length of this footpath, along the adopted road, should be deleted. Finally, footpath 224 runs in a large loop from the station roundabout past ASDA to the edge of Highwoods Country Park and then through the Turner Rise development, finishing in Turner Road. This was obviously far too inconvenient, and so the section along Petrolea Close has been deleted and a further two sections in Turner Rise have been deleted, making footpath 224 into three sections. 10
Council Reports The annoying thing about each of these deletions, is that ECC were statutory consultees to each of the planning applications. As ECC are the Highways Authority, if they had wished to protect and enhance these footpaths, they could have objected to them at the time (on highways grounds). Instead they did nothing, and continued to do nothing for about eighteen years, and then deleted them. Sigh! On a far brighter note, the annual Boxing Day Walk went ahead as planned at the end of last year. There were not as many people as usual, due to quite obvious and understandable health concerns, but a gallant handful, including Eve the dog, set off – and most of them completed the walk! Time to start thinking about the LSW, ‘Last Saturday Walks’, which will be on Saturday 26th February and 26th March. Always meeting at 10am on the last Saturday of the month. I hope to meet up with you then for a shorter stroll and a natter! Robert Johnstone Myland Access Group Myland gets more defibs The 4th defib purchased by Myland Community Council has been sited at the new Co-op store on Chesterwell, which brings the first batch to a close. The other defibrillators were placed at Bergholt Road garage, Queen Boudica primary school and Camulos Academy. Plans are on-going to site the next one at Myland Primary school, on the Raven Way fencing, which will support the bungalows in Raven Way, Defoe Crescent south end and the Mill Rd Recreation ground, as well as the areas of Tranter Drive and Cambie Crescent, but we need to do some extra electrical work to get this in place. The old Rugby Club building on Mill Road is being demolished to make way for a new purpose-built Community Centre, so the defibrillator that was sited on that building has been collected by the Community First Responders, who organised that fitting. They are looking to relocate it somewhere else in the local area. I am open to suggestions of new places to fit new defibrillators to and I am happy to speak to anyone with ideas for suggested locations. Please email me at pauline.bacon@ mylandcommunitycouncil.gov.uk with suitable sites. We want Myland to be the safest place in Colchester if you have a cardiac arrest. We know the hospital is nearby, but you have to 11
be in a good position to survive when you reach the hospital, and these defibs will give us all the best chance of survival. I am also going to approach a provider to try to get a new Basic First aid course in the spring. This will include cardiopulmonary resuscitation, often known as CPR, and a demonstration of how to use an Automated External Defibrillator, similar to those purchased by Myland Community Council in the last year. The last course was in the spring of 2019 at the Hall of The Well Methodist Church in Nayland Road, opposite the North end of Defoe Crescent. Councillor Pauline Bacon Neighbourhood Plan Please don’t forget to complete the Myland & Braiswick Neighbourhood Plan survey. This is an important opportunity to provide your comments on the future of your neighbourhood. The survey should only take a few minutes and can be found via the following link or QR code: https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/L7SXQN6 Council Reports 12
Churches The Well Methodist Church The Food Pantry, which we plan to operate on a Tuesday, has still not started due to our food supplier, FareShare, being unable to supply food until they find larger premises. In the meantime we have a ‘Drop In’ between 9 and 11am on a Tuesday, and adults and children are welcome to come for a free ‘Cuppa’ and cake. It also provides an opportunity to collect any surplus food we have to give away. We restarted our charity Coffee Mornings on 20th November, when £75.15 was raised for Samaritan’s Purse. Some shoeboxes were also received, (with more given online), for Operation Christmas child. On Sunday 21st November, we had our annual Caring Service, when we collected donations for three local charities; Beacon House Ministries (an agency for the homeless in Colchester), Next Chapter (formerly Women’s Aid) and Colchester Engagement & Next Steps (formerly Colchester Night Shelter). Mark Snelling was our guest speaker, telling us about his work with refugees in Colchester. Our Candlelit Carol Service on Sunday 19th December was an enjoyable occasion. A retiring collection raised £61.50 for the Colchester Korban Project – a Christian charity which provides supported housing for 16 – 25 year olds. As we write, there is still uncertainty about the spread of the coronavirus and as to whether we can hold our planned events. Please visit our website for up to date information: www.thewell-myland.org.uk Whatever events we hold, risk assessments and procedures are in place to keep everyone safe and comfortable. Keith and Di Thompson Tel: Col 844252 Email: [email protected] 14
Churches St Michael’s Church, Mile End Myland ParishHalls is currently open forWeekday Services as follows: • Tuesday 9.15am for Morning Prayer • Wednesday 10.15am for Morning Prayer with coffee/tea after • Friday 9.15am for Holy Communion Sunday Services in Church start at 10.15am and follow a monthly cycle: • First Sunday: Holy Communion with prayer for Wholeness and Healing • Second Sunday: Family Service currently with Baptism • Third Sunday: Holy Communion and exploration of a current Big Issue • Fourth Sunday: Baptisms and Holy Communion • When there is a fifth Sunday in the month we will have a Family Service Special Services and Activities (Meet in the church unless otherwise stated) March 9.30am & 8pm Weds 2nd March (Ash Wednesday): Holy Communion with Ashing 10.15am Sunday 27th March: Mothering Sunday Family Parade Service Easter Services and Events 12 noon Friday 15th April: Good Friday Quiet Hour 8pm Saturday 16th April: Easter Eve Vigil 10.15am Sunday 17th April: Easter Day Family Communion Service Lent Lunches Myland Mothers’ Union will be serving a simple lunch of soup, bread, cheese and fruit at 12 noon on the following Fridays during Lent: 4th,11th, 18th, and 25thMarch and 1st and 8th April. Rev’d Ray Gibbs 01206 843926 [email protected] Rev’d Hazel Greenland 07707 894526 [email protected] Rev’d Sarah Hayward (Severalls) 07828 046193 [email protected] Sarah King, Church Office Admin. 01206 855040 [email protected] Lesley Hindle, Churchwarden 07708 954990 [email protected] 15
From inside the community Women’s Institute How time flies! Here we are at the start of another New Year, which we hope will see a return to normality. The W.I. members spent an enjoyable meeting in November with Dorothy O’Grady, as she showed us various ways of wrapping up gifts. Many of the ideas included using what would normally be considered ‘rubbish’, but hopefully our wrapping of Christmas gifts gave an unusual approach and certainly will have given a new meaning to recycling! Instead of a Christmas Party, many of the members enjoyed an early Festive Lunch at ‘The Cricketers’ at Eight Ash Green. The venue was beautifully decorated, the meal was superb and the service was great. It was a really happy occasion and made us all feel ready for the lead up to Christmas. Isobel held a coffee morning in her home nearer to Christmas, which gave those who attended a chance to relax. Although only a few members turned out for our January meeting, those who did were given many tips by Carrie Ransom on how to change our lifestyles to enable the reduction of aches and pains in our lives. In February, we shall be welcoming John Jones again for a showing of films from East Anglia. His evenings are always very popular and we look forward to watching his choice of films for us. The March meeting sounds intriguing! Andy Bennett will be presenting Social History through the Eyes of Mildred, my Austin 7. We eagerly anticipate what revelations Mildred will have for us. In May, our AGMwill be held, when various elections of officers will be made. It’s never too late to make a New Year Resolution, so why not make yours to come along and sample the W.I.? We meet on the first Friday of each month at the Highwoods Community Centre at 7.30pm. Visitors are always welcome so why not come along and meet some friendly faces. You won’t regret it! Sandra Jones 16
From inside the community Mother’s Union We start our first meeting of the year on the first Wednesday in February, with our A. G. M., at which the committee and all the other jobs are allocated. On March 2nd, we have an Ash Wednesday service led by Rev. John Chandler. From 4th March until 8th April, we shall be holding our Hunger Lunches every Friday at 12 Noon and all are welcome. Payment is by donation, so will cost you what you want to give. On March 4th this will be followed by the World Day of Prayer service at St Michael’s Church at 2.00pm. The lunches will be held in the Church each Friday. Our next M. U. meeting on Wednesday April 6th will be a pre-Easter Communion led by Rev. Ray Gibbs. Sunday April 17th is Easter Day and there will be the usual Easter service in St Michael’s Church at 10.15am. Our next meeting will be our Annual Lunch at the Cricketers at 12noon on May 4th. As we have said before all are welcome to our monthly meetings on the first Wednesday in each month starting at 2.30pm, mostly in the Large Hall. Further details are available from our present Leader Ivy Dix. Don’t forget we have our A.G.M. on February 2nd when things might change. There could be even bigger changes if the Government so wishes. We must wait and see. June Chandler Mothers’ Union Secretary 17
Art Group Alternate Fridays Jenny Goodey - 01206 751077 Morris Dancing Fridays 8.00pm The Well Methodist Church Hall Martin Theobald - 01206 853500 Mothers’ Union First Wednesday monthly Ivy Dix - 01206 851743 Myland Foodbank Tuesday & Friday 10am-12pm Myland Parish Hall Mile End Road, CO4 5DY [email protected] 01206 621998 Myland Parish Halls Sarah King - 07518 437488 www.mylandparishhalls.org.uk Myland Singers Wednesdays 7.30pm (term time) Katrina Brooks - 07539 321348 Severalls Bowls Club League matches Tues afternoon/Weds eve Club Night Friday 6.00pm Mill Road Peter Weeden - 07785 114348 Women’s Institute First Friday monthly H/Woods Sandra Jones - 01206 853594 From inside the community 18
Girlguiding Myland Rainbows Myland Brownies Myland Guides www.girlguiding.org.uk/joinus Myland Pre-School (Myland Parish Halls) Monday 9.00am-3.30pm Tuesday 9.00am-3.30pm Wednesday 9.00am-12.00pm Friday 9.00am-3.30pm (Term-time only) Diane Woodrow - 07592 548335 or 07544 830780 [email protected] Rainbow Pre-School Monday 9.30am-3.00pm Wednesday 9.00am-3.00pm Thursday 9.00am-3.00pm Friday 9.00am-3.00pm The Well Methodist Church Hall Gina Oxford - 07779 349128 Rainbow Toddler Group Tuesday 9.30am-11.30am The Well Methodist Church Hall Di Thompson - 01206 844252 Scouts 1st Myland St Michaels’ Scout Group Beaver Scouts Thursday Cub Scouts Thursday Scouts Thursday 1stmylandscoutgroup.org.uk Stmix Kids Saturday 10.00am (Various term-time) Myland Parish Hall Karen Appleby - 07468 480110 Learning and growing 19
From inside the community Nature Notes The winter months can often be drab and dreary, but there are occasions when nature still pops up with an image that gives you a lift. I looked out one December morning and caught sight of the sun’s kiss sparkle on the fleeting frost that had come in the still, silent night and laid its silver coat over the summerhouse roof. The image was soon gone but it stays locked away in my memory now. A couple of days later, this time in the late afternoon, another moment occurred. Again I looked out and this time there was the setting sun refusing to settle down by throwing a final display of colour across our Myland sky and using the clouds to paint us a picture. Readers of these notes will know I have shown a similar photo of the sky. I have quite a collection now and it just goes to show what you can still see, even in an increasingly urbanised setting. The garden looks different now that the leaves have fallen from the deciduous trees and shrubs, however it does enable us to see more of the birds arriving at the feeders or just visiting the garden. The greater spotted woodpeckers have a family and we see both parents and the two juveniles arrive singly from time to time. They come to the apple tree for a moment or two before using the feeder, perhaps to ensure the coast is clear. After feeding and drinking from the bird bath they return to the apple tree, before leaving for their roost. Now that vegetation has died down around the base of the apple tree, I spotted three chaffinches grazing on seeds on the lawn that spilt from another feeder. This was pleasing, as I had not seen these once common finches in the garden for sometime. Perhaps they have been regularly visiting to the same spot, but I had not seen them for too much garden growth? 20
From inside the community I have at times written about how our linked gardens can provide a green corridor for wildlife, for birds, small mammals, butterflies, dragonflies, bees, bats foraging etc. There seems to be growing recognition of this among nature writers and presenters, who are promoting a degree of wilding our gardens, whether it is simply leaving seed heads as winter food, planting bee and butterfly friendly flowers to those pollinators, or actually dedicating a portion where nature looks after itself. Although this has the objective of doing something to help conserve wildlife, it also has the great benefit of bringing nature into our gardens and boosting our own health and wellbeing. When we take those few moments to look out, we might see more than sparkling frosts and setting suns, we might spot other creatures going about their business. I reflect on the fleeting glimpse of blue wings of the holly blue butterflies, the honey bees busying round the lavender, the sun’s sparkle on the gossamer wings of dragonflies seen from my favourite bench. I heard or read someone say recently that when they are in their garden they regard themselves as just another creature amongst the rest! Pete Hewitt 21
From inside the community Essex Police Over Christmas you may have been lucky enough to have received some new IT and other gifts, but have you helped protect them yet? Where applicable, have you registered your purchase with the relevant company? It may help with future possible updates and the serial number will be assigned to you with the company. Depending on the item and value, have you also considered adding it to your home or other insurance? Have you thought about recording the serial numbers or property marking it? Be it a cycle, electrical goods, tools, garden equipment or mobile phone, it may have a serial number. There are a number of secure asset recording companies such as: www.immobilise.com or www.bikeregister.com 07568 553784 [email protected] @sjdglassandmirrors SJD Glass and Mirrors Colchester based supply and install glass company with 18 years experience Free quotations given in and around the Colchester area 22
From inside the community Property can also be marked in a number of different ways depending on the item of property such as engraving, marking with indelible or UV pens, and there are marking products such as: SelectaDNA, SmartWater, CRE mark by CRE products to name but a few (always check the suitability of the method of marking for the property item). With jewellery and antiques, don’t forget to take photographs of it, include an “Object ID card” or ruler in a photograph to give it a scale. Some of these property marking products may also be suitable for these and you can now upload photographs of your property to Immobilise too. Many TVs, personal music devices, computers and other electronics come pre-loaded with security and/or tracking software; make sure that it is activated. If you are storing valuable college work or other on a laptop or mobile device, don’t forget to back up your work elsewhere, just in case you lose it or it is stolen. Smart phones/mobile devices: Don’t forget to make a note of the IMEI number of a mobile phone, to find it key in *#06#, with this if it’s stolen you can block it. You can download an app on mobile phones to find your phone and more importantly wipe that data stored on it, (check your app store or mobile phone provider). A little reminder –when texting or talking on phones or listening to music, remain “in touch” with your surroundings; a number of road accidents, thefts and assaults occur when we fail to note what’s going on around us, don’t forget to pass this advice on to children. For further crime prevention advice see: www.essex.police.uk/cp/crime-prevention/ www.securedbydesign.com/guidance/crime-prevention-advice And for suitable security products see: www.securedbydesign.com/ www.soldsecure.com/ Stephen Armson-Smith Crime Prevention Tactical Advisor 23
From inside the community Mill Road Surgery Happy New Year to all our patients from us all at Mill Road! 2022 promises to be another challenging year for us all here, as well as the NHS in general! We continue to be open to see patients, as we have been throughout the pandemic, and continually monitor the service we provide, making adjustments if necessary in line with demand and the ongoing Covid situation. We currently have more clinicians available than before the pandemic started and see as many patients face-to-face as we can, (bearing in mind we do still have to keep our patients safe in the waiting roomwith distancing measures). Telephone consultations also continue to be available as they suit many of our patients who don’t need to see a clinician face-to-face and are available throughout the day to fit in with busy lifestyles and work lives! If you have a telephone consultation booked please keep your phone close by though! We do appreciate it is frustrating at times to call at 8am and find you are a long way back in the telephone queue on hold, we would advise though to persevere on hold, because as mentioned above we have plenty of clinicians available so you should be able to get an appointment. If however you call back later in the day, the likelihood is that all available appointments will be booked and only emergency telephone calls remain. We do still welcome patients to make appointments face-to-face at reception at 8am too. Important note: if you have potential covid symptoms then we will continue to triage you first via a phone consultation, unless Highly experienced plumbing and heating engineer for all your domestic plumbing needs in Colchester and its surrounding areas. Call or text Tom on: 07801595692 Or e-mail: [email protected] “Tom was reliable, professional and made sure our new bathroom was just what we wanted!” R. Andrews, satisfied customer 24
From inside the community you have a negative PCR result, (at present we cannot rely on a negative LFT result). We do understand this is frustrating for some, but is vitally important we protect patients within our surgery as well as our staff. Thank you all for your patience and understanding throughout the pandemic so far, light appears to be at the end of the tunnel! Some are booking foreign travel already for this year, so if you are travelling to countries that need travel vaccinations then please use our online questionnaire on our website: https://www.millroad-surgery.co.uk/navigator/travel-risk-assessment/ and we strongly advise that you do this at least 8 weeks before your planned departure date. Take care of yourselves! Ashley Moore Paramedic Practitioner/Nurse Manager Colchester Trefoil Guild July saw our Guild meeting face-to-face for the first time after such a long time meeting on Zoom. We met outside at the Guiding Beach Hut at West Mersea and it was just wonderful seeing each other and catching up with so much news. The following month, on August 25, was the date that had been in our diaries for so long, as it was Girlguiding Anglia 50th Birthday. All Guilds had been asked to celebrate at 3pm with a Garden Party if at all possible. We had decided to meet at Highwoods, as both parking and access to the area we chose to hold our celebration was accessible for all our members. Everyone took something to add to our table. Ivy baked a wonderful 25
birthday cake, Judy made scones for us all, others savouries and more cake! We had a glass of bubbly to wash the cake down. We all wore hats, most more garish than elegant, with lots of hand-made decorations. We were blessed with good weather in the middle of a week that was wet and cold. Then of course we were able to meet back at the Parish Halls from September through to Christmas. We were able to make our special decoration for our tree in St. Michaels’s and several members went along and decorated it for us. If you want to know more about us or how to join in our fun please log onto www.trefoilguild.co.uk and click on ‘Find a Guild near you’. Esther Wilde Colchester Trefoil 1st Myland Guides It’s been great to be back face-to-face guiding this term after so long spent seeing our girls via Zoom. This term we focused on the theme of Space, so have completed several activities in line with this theme, such as satellite games, rocket phones, intergalactic snacks and solar simulation. In September we visited Essex Wildlife Trust’s Abberton Nature Discovery Park at night and the girls took part in pond dipping – finding juvenile newts (called Ents), ID’ing Moths as well as going on a bat walk, where we took bat detectors to be able to hear them fly overhead. We then took part in parliament week and tried different styles of voting amongst the patrols. Learning & Growing PIANO TUITION & MUSIC THEORY ALL AGES AND STANDARDS STUDENTS ENTERED FOR RSM IF REQUIRED TREVOR CORDWELL 01206 844087 26
Learning & Growing Our annual wide game made a re-appearance in October where we play essentially a huge game of tag in a wide-open space at night – the girls always love this. We returned to Zoom for one week, as we had another visit from Jumping Clay to teach us how to make air drying Christmas decorations. We also made paper baubles, which we then hung on the tree at the church. We took both 1st and 2nd Myland Guides camping to Thorrington for the first time in several years for a Christmas themed camp. We tried our hand at archery, as well as making lots of different Christmas crafts. A few weeks later we also took part in the Remembrance Day parade along the High Street; it felt like a very special ceremony to be part of. Our final trip of the year was a visit to the cinema to watch Encanto, the new Disney film. At the end of the term, we were very proud to be able to award our first Bronze award to Rachel, for completing two of the theme awards from our Girlguiding programme. Lizzy Steward 1st Myland Guides 2nd Myland Brownies We are really enjoying returning to a new kind of normality, now that we are able to meet back at the hall with the Brownies. The girls seem to be really enjoying working together again in their small groups and completing lots of activities, challenges and badges. Last term we enjoyed learning about subjects as diverse as languages, ballet, food testing (value vs top brand) and made our own golf course from junk modelling! We had a visit from a Girlguiding Peer Educator, where we spent the evening challenging gender stereotypes. We went to the cinema to see Disney Encanto, (which must have been good because none of the 16 girls asked to visit the toilets during the film!) In the spring term we are working on the “Skills for my future” theme and are excited to be off to Thorrington for a sleepover with our eldest Brownies. Sam Borroff Brown Owl 27
Mayne Veterinary clinic is a small independent veterinary practice on Bergholt Road near North Station in Colchester. We’ve been making pets feel better since 1975, that’s just one reason why we’re such a popular family vet – we’ve looked after generation after generation of pets for local people. That special continuity of care and our famously warm personal service mean we get to know you and your pet well. We make every effort to make sure you see the same team member each time you visit, something that makes you feel even more comfortable and cared for. T : 0 1 2 0 6 8 5 1 3 3 8 E : r e c e p t i o n@ma y n e v e t s . c o . u k A SMALL VETERINARY PRACTICE WITH A BIG HEART 1st Myland Beavers, Cubs and Scouts So, Covid hasn’t stopped scouting in Myland and It’s been great to actually getting back faceto-face with the young people at last. We have even had some camping and nights away as well, slowly scouting in Myland seems to be returning to a bit of normality. The groups are continuing to do well and having fun; the Beavers have been to Highwoods Country Park, done nature walks, learnt different knots, learnt the phonetic alphabet and even learnt the Beaver promise in French, they have studied air activities and made poppies for the war memorial. The Cubs have been scientists, making switches, dissecting owl pellets and done experiments, they have had a martial arts evening and made pizzas, they even went on a winter camp with two other groups from the district in November to Thorrington. The Scouts have made woggles out of paracord, had a debate evening and bake-off night, Learning & Growing
Learning & Growing they have done a hike and worked on bearings and navigation skills and joined the district for Christmas winter camp in tents in December. We are looking forward to some more fun adventures in 2022. The Beaver and Cubs sections are currently full, however we do have a waiting list and as always, we are looking for new leaders to join us if you are interested, please contact me. Lastly, I would like to say a big thank you to all my volunteers who weekly give up their time to deliver an amazing programme to the young people in Myland. Michelle King Group Scout Leader www.1stmylandscoutgroup.org.uk [email protected] 1st & 2nd Myland Rainbows Happy New Year! Whilst 2022 hasn’t quite started with the usual fireworks and celebrations, Myland Rainbows are looking forward to another fun term as usual, despite our continued covid precautions. Having completed our Bonfire and Remembrance challenge badges, we were delighted more girls have continued to make great progress towards their Bronze, Silver and Gold awards. Girlguiding and Odeon Cinemas were once again able to collaborate in bringing Disney’s Encanto for a special guiding only screening in early December. Both units had a wonderful time and got a fantastic souvenir badge too. We were able to finish last term with unit Christmas parties. A Spring term is always extra special for members of Girlguiding as we celebrate our annual birthday on 22nd February andwe’re glad 10 newRainbows are joining us to start their Guiding adventures with both 1st and 2nd Myland Rainbows. If anyone is considering registering their daughter’s name, both units are often at full capacity with small waiting lists. So don’t wait until she turns 5 to get in touch, an early registration will definitely help a prompt start date. Lorraine Boyle Myland Rainbow Guider 29
Queen Boudica Primary School A very Happy New Year to you from the team here at QBPS. We hope that you’ve all had a wonderful Christmas, and that 2022 has started well for you and your family. We are so pleased to see the children back at school this week, and have really enjoyed hearing about everyone’s holiday adventures. Last term was as busy as ever at school. Children across school are greatly enjoying their weekly Forest School activities based at Highwoods Country Park, and have wrapped up extra-warm this week! The hot chocolate has been particularlywelcome. Thank you to the parents who have volunteered to help: we are really grateful. Pupils in Year 4 experienced a very successful trip to Colchester Castle, as part of their study of The Romans, Learning & Growing Reliable, high quality improvement, maintenance and repair in and around your home or property • Kitchen design and installation • Interior and exterior decorating • General ‘handyman’ services • No obligation quotes on request • Fully insured • References available Contact Steve Newton on 07963 753414 Email: [email protected] Take something o your ‘to do list’ by adding it to ours 30
and made some wonderful shields on their return. Our Year 6 pupils visited the Braintree Museum as part of their work on World War 2, and had a fantastic day being evacuees. They looked amazing and had a wonderful time. We came together as a whole school outside in November to mark Remembrance Day. It was really special to be able to take time together to reflect on the sacrifices made over the years, and the event was made evenmorememorable thanks to the beautiful trumpet playing of one of our parents. Thank you so much to him for making that possible. We had a non-uniform day for Children in Need in November, and raised a total of £413. We were really pleased to be able to support this worthwhile charity, and appreciated everyone’s donations. Our School Council organised a very successful campaign in order to support the Colchester Foodbank, and thanks to everyone’s generosity, we were able to donate 120kg of food goods to the Foodbank early in December. Well done and thank you everyone! Our Christmas celebrations were extra-special this year, andwewere delighted towelcome Revd. Gibbs to school on several occasions to work with different age groups. Year 3 pupils greatly enjoyed making Christingles, and pupils in Year 1 loved learning about the Posada. We held some very successful (and socially distanced) Christmas performances, and are really grateful to our families for helping us to ensure that these could take place safely. It was lovely to see the nativity story being told, and we really enjoyed singing carols at St. Michael’s church. Our Christmas Jumper Day School Lunch during the last week of term raised £73 for charity, and there were some amazing outfits! We all had lots of fun and the food was delicious. We all hope that 2022 has started well for you and your families, and we are looking forward to longer hours of daylight and the forthcoming Spring weather. Take care everyone. Clare Woodward Headteacher, Queen Boudica Primary School Learning & Growing 31
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Myland Preschool CIC We would like to wish all readers a Happy New Year! As usual we had a busy lead up to Christmas with lots of things going on! The week of 15th -19th November saw us dressing up in our Pudsey tops and raising £36.50 for Children in Need. We decorated a Christmas tree in St Michael’s Church on 24th November, ready for their Christmas tree festival and light service on the 28th November. Monday 6th to Friday 10th December saw us taking part in the Christmas Jumper Day, organised by Save the Children fund. Everyone looked good in their Christmas jumpers, dresses and headgear and tinsel and we raised £45 for Save the Children. Term finished on Wednesday 15th December with our Christmas party. The children played pass the parcel, musical statues and musical bumps, and then had a party lunch, which was followed by Olaf’s Frozen Adventure and then a visit from Father Christmas’s helper, who had a gift of a book for each child. We also said good luck to Becca as she left to start her maternity leave and we are pleased to say that baby boy, (no name yet), decided to make a slightly early entrance to the world on the 1st January 2022, weighing in at a healthy 7lb 11oz. Our congratulations to all the family. We returned to pre-school on Wednesday 5th January 2022 and have welcomed several new children to our midst. They are settling in well. We also welcomed Angela to our staff team. On Monday 21st March, we will be having a Bag2School collection, so if you are having a sort out and have any bags of clothing you would like to donate then please bring them along to preschool for 9am that day. Through this term we will be celebrating RSPB Birdwatch week, Burns Night, National storytelling week, Chinese New Year, Valentine’s day, St. David’s day, Shrove Tuesday, World book day, Science week, St. Patrick’s day and Mothering Sunday. We are looking forward to doing lots of activities linked in to them. We also look forward to trying some different snacks too such as haggis and pancakes and rice and noodles! Learning & Growing 33
ar gar e gar e We stock a wide range of store cupboard essentials, fresh local produce and frozen meals, ensuring you can pop in and have something tasty ready for dinner. All food served at Fillpots is cooked and baked on the premises by our team of dedicated chefs. Meet up for breakfast, lunch or tea. Come to Fillpots and whip your garden into shape this Spring. We have a wide selection of plants and bulbs and all the tools needed to get the job done 52 Straight Road, Boxted, Colch ster CO4 5RB Telephone: 01206 273 834 www.fillpots.co.uk gar e gar e We stock wide range o store cupboard essentials, fresh local produce a d frozen meals, ensuring you can pop in and have something tasty ready for dinner. All food served at Fillpots is cooked and baked on the premises by our team of dedicated chefs. Meet up for breakfast, lunch or tea. Come to Fillpots and whip your garden into shape this Spri g. We have a wide selection of plants and bulbs and all the tools needed to get the job done 52 Straight Road, Boxt d, Colch ster CO4 5RB Telephone: 01206 273 834 www.fillpots.co.uk gar e gar e We stock a wide range of store cupb ard essenti ls, fresh l cal produce and frozen meals, ensuring you can po in and have something tas y ready for dinner. All food served at Fillpots is cooked and baked on the premises by our t am of dedicated chefs. Meet up for breakfast, lunch or tea. Come to Fillpots and whip your gard n i to shape this Spring. We have a wide s lection of plants and bulbs and all the tools need to get the job done 52 Straight Road, Boxted, Colchest r CO4 5RB Telephone: 01206 273 834 www.fillpots.co.uk gar e gar e We stock a wide range of store cupboard essentials, fresh local produce and frozen meals, ensuring you can pop in and have som thing tasty ready for dinner. All foo s rved at Fillpots is cooked and baked on the pr mises by our team of d dic ted chefs. Meet up for breakfast, lunch or tea. Come to Fillpots and whip y ur garden into shape this Spring. We have a wide selection of plants and bulbs and all th tools needed to get the job done 52 Straight Road, Boxted, Colchester CO4 5RB Telephone: 01206 273 834 www.fillpots.co.uk gar e gar e We stock a wide range of store cupboard essentials, fresh local produce and frozen meals, ensuring you can pop in and have somethi g tasty ready for dinner. All food served at Fillpots is cooked and baked on the premises by our team of dedicated chefs. Meet up for breakfast, lunch or tea. Come to Fillpots and whip your garden into shape this Spring. We have a wide selection of plants and bulbs and all the tools needed to get the job done 52 Str ight Road, Boxted, Colch ster CO4 5RB Telephone: 01206 273 834 www.fillpots.co.uk
We are registered with easyfundraising – www.easyfundraising.org.uk so if you shop online please register with them and support pre-school while you shop! It doesn’t cost you anything, but we get credited various percentages depending on who you shop with!! Our page is: www.easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/mylandpreschoolcic We are always on the look out for any scrap paper that the children could draw on or envelopes that get sent out in mailings that you never use, so if you have any or know anyone that could provide us with some then please let us know! Should you wish to contact us a reminder that our email is: [email protected] or you can call 07592548335 or 07544830780. You can follow us on Facebook by liking our page – @Myland Preschool CIC. Diane Woodrow Manager Learning & Growing 35
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