onionbagblog

Published as part of the Keep Colchester Cycling project.

Round Four of the Halfords Tour Series rolled out along Colchester High Street as the Town Hall clock struck 7 ‘O Clock on Thursday evening. Ten pro-racing teams competed in the town centre series of criterium races that is being stages across eight locations this summer.

The idea is for a circuit race through some of the leading UK town centres, to showcase cycling in areas that have demonstrated a real commitment to cycling as a sustainable form of local transport.

A combination of Colchester’s Cycling Town status and the historic backdrop for the town was the appeal for the race organsiser to stage the Tour in Britain’s oldest recorded town.

The layout of the town centre provided the perfect sprint course for the race organisers. Taking in the High Street, Head Street, St John’s Street and Queen Street, the 1.6km course presented a technical challenge for the riders.

Queen Street in particular provided a relatively steep climb for the sprinting pelaton. The tight turn past the Castle and into the High Street tested the technical road handling skills of the riders..

With the formalities of the riders signing on (it’s a cycling thing…) the countdown was underway for the 7pm roll out. A large local crowd turned out to watch the criterium, having been treated to an all day celebration of cycling in Castle Park throughout the afternoon.

Nothing quite compares you for the thrill of watching fifty pro-riders speed along your local High Street in a tightly packed pelaton. It was true blink and you’ll miss it moment, with roughly seven seconds being the duration it took the riders to pass by.

An early break away of three riders soon became five, as the pack was left chasing the frontrunners for the rest of the race. Team tactics were crucial here. Five of the teams had placed one of their riders in the breakaway, happy for the sprinters to sort it out for themselves come the finish line.

The structure of the Tour Series still meant that there were plenty of points left to be won in the pack. The klaxon sounded the start of various sprint laps with extra team points up for grabs. The final placings also added an overall tally for each team.

Dean Downing of Rapha Condor crossed the line first shortly after 8pm as the overall race winner. Niklas Gustavsson (Team UK Youth) and Jeroen Jansen (Team Raleigh) joined him on the podium for a smile and a kiss from Mayor Chuah and a Roman Centurion.

Speaking after the race with Councillor Nick Barlow, the cabinet member for Culture and Tourism, it became clear why Colchester had been chosen by the race organisers to stage a race:

“They were very impressed with both the town centre layout, and the backdrop that we can present in our town centre. Our plans for the afternoon of cycling at Castle Park were also well received.

Local businesses are in the main very supportive of this event. The local restaurants and bars all seem to be having a fantastic evening.”

You can watch the highlights from the Halfords Tour Series in Colchester on ITV 4 at 8pm on Friday 3rd June.

Full flickr feed over here.

This piece was first published in the brilliant Colchester 101 magazine. Copies are available for free around pubs, shops and other public places in the town.

Did you get the chance to vote in the recent Colchester Borough Council local elections? Was your ward one of the twenty seats that were rotated in the rather bizarre Election by Thirds system that is operated in Colchester? Notice any change overnight?

Welcome to the new boss - same as the old boss.

No seats changed hands. A big civic congratulations to the seventeen Councillors who retained their seats, plus the three incoming Councillors replace their retiring colleagues from the same party. Colchester Borough Council is still made up of a ruling coalition of 26 LibDems and 7 Labour seats, with 24 Conservatives and 3 Independents in opposition.

So what the chuffers was that all about, then?

Accountability, keeping Councillors on their toes, and working for every single vote are the arguments in favour of asking the residents of Colchester to vote three years out of four in a ward rotation system. The electorate also has the chance to kick out any party that isn’t performing, rather than wait once every four years in the traditional all up for grabs system.

It can also lead to instability if the Council changes hands each year and there is insufficient time to implement the manifesto. Which may just happen to be very convenient for a local political party…

But here in Colchester and there is a tradition of consensual local politics. Some tribalism exists come election time, but when it comes to making Colchester a better place to live and work, most local politicians present a rather united front.

The coalition may be a little rocky at Westminster, but the current Colchester coalition between the LibDems and Labour seems to have found a positive, working compromise. Decisions are made in an almost apolitical vacuum with the good of Colchester genuinely being the driving force for local political policy.

Which all makes the farce and cost of mounting a campaign three years out of every four something slightly unnecessary. There is almost the danger of manufacturing division within what is a relatively unified borough. With major events such as the city status bid, the Carnival and the Colchester Free Festival all coming up, consensus politics is vitally important for our town right now.

Add in the uncertainty of economic funding from central government - something that all borough councils of all persuasions around the county are having to confront - and you can see how doing the dirty on your Colchester coalition partner on the door step can’t be a positive approach for the challenges that lay ahead for us.

And so if you did get the chance to vote in the recent Colchester Borough Council local elections, then here’s hoping that you actually took the opportunity to participate. Political apathy is even less preferable to Election by Thirds.

If you weren’t in one of the twenty wards that had the opportunity of a trip to the polling station, then no worries - your time will come round, sooner rather than later. But for a unified borough, I can’t but help think that we need a unified system of an election system.

To @15QueenStreet in Sunny Colch on Thursday evening for the Creative in Colchester meet up for May. I dislike deserting Wivenhoe once a month, especially so with Thursday night being something of a social high spot around these parts.

Apologies once again to poetrywivenhoe and the Funny Farm. Future dates are in my diary and if I ever feel the need to substitute my Sunny Colch socials with either Wivenhoe prose or punch lines, then I promise to make an appearance.

My social membership @15QueenStreet has become a working one of late. A bit of business upstairs first with the fine company of Bruce Burgoyne, and then it was back down to the serious business of booze.

As I’ve blogged before, I think that the perfect pace is now in place for these monthly gatherings for any folk with an interest in creativity. The wall-to-wall chundering [that we don't really talk about...] is now subdued into a social sandwich.

The filling either side of the alcohol intoxication this month was a couple of talks from local artists. @AndyWinmill explained more about his theatrical and production business, whilst Jamie Moakes came clean with a Colchester confessional.

Cripes.

Mr Winmill is the man behind much of the madness that you might be experiencing at the KGV this weekend when the May Fair brings peace, love and misunderstanding to Wivenhoe. Trained as a theatrical actor, Andy has progressed to producing both theatre and live music.

He spoke with passion about a new project he is currently putting in place involving setting up a Colchester based theatrical company. Much like the vision that @WillRevWright enthused about last month, the idea is for the whole company to have Colchester connections.

Mr Moakes meanwhile left the entire room, himself included, scratching their heads and giving back a cheeky wink in recognition of the mischief that the naughty, naughty young man is currently creating.

I’ve come across Jamie before on m’blog as part of the Ram Man project. He also runs his own Talent Agency, @HESAIDTalent, successfully sourcing bookings for various live art performances and contributors.

The talent roster is extensive as it is fictional. I’ve been given the nod and wink to blog about this: HE SAID Talent has no talent, apart from Mr Moakes himself. He has been fooling producers for a number of years, which to be fair, is probably the right thing that one should do.

What followed @15QueenStreet was something of an existential conversation where Jamie tried to explain himself, with the audience asking more questions that probed the inner working of the Puck like mind of the performance artist.

“He’s a North Essex Tony Clifton,” as @AnnaJCowen commented to me as I tried to understand the merry dance that Mr Moakes has been guiding us through of late. As ever the girl has good judgement, and Colchester is all the better for having the tease that is HE SAID Talent.

Apparently Bowie is on the books and is booked in for blah blah blah…

Definitely booked in to play the *ahem* main arena of @15QueenStreet, and making a spectacular sound that shook the windows was the three-piece Agitpunk-skiffle flamenco rock of Animal Noise.

The Colchester based band reminded us throughout their short set that they were playing a mellowed down acoustic performance to fit the laid back occasion. I’d hate to see these boys when they are angry then.

Finger picking flamenco, a tight bass and a backbeat that made me want to take up playing the drums - Animal Noise are playing live this weekend at the Love Stock festival being staged at the Minories gallery.

The comedown came from @cantcutcarwyn, Colchester’s finest mixer of all things soulful and sweet. A little samba was thrown into the set for the evening.

The excitement was all too much for a young Colchester groupie lady, who wandered past @15QueenStreet and was inspired to show us her sweater meat as the samba beats carried through the Colchester night. I made a mental note to start my own vinyl samba collection the very next morning.

Speaking of shameful acts, I had the front to finish off the very last bottle of booze for the evening, before boarding the 11:07 back to Wivenhoe.

I’ve got a month to recover, before the first birthday party of @15QueenStreet is staged next month. It may seem strange to celebrate the birthday of a building, but it is much more about how the physical shared working space has enabled many to connect creatively within Colchester.

The message continues to spread - it was great to see the good @zemblamatic coming along this month. More members, both resident and flexi are always encouraged.

My creative vision is to bring both poetrywivenhoe and the FunnyFarm over to @15QueenStreet for one Thursday evening only. My suspicion is that @HESAIDTalent is probably behind two of Wivenhoe’s leading artistic events. He was probably behind the angel cake dance by the samba groupie as well.

*I* said talent, etc…

Published as part of the Keep Colchester Cycling project.

Did you catch the high-speed thrill of the Halford’s Tour Series on TV on Wednesday evening? ITV4 showcased the first round of criterium racing with Durham staging a demanding course, as well as something of a celebration of cycling.

It was all rather uplifting, presenting a healthy picture of both professional cycling in the UK, as well as the equally important grass roots support for a more sustainable transport policy around our towns and cities.

And here’s where Colchester comes in - next Thursday (2nd June) sees the Tour road show roll right into the centre of our hometown. We have blogged extensively over the past few weeks about the developments as the build up the Colchester criterium continues. We’ve even secured some hospitality tickets (hurrah!) and hope to catch up with some of the riders on the evening.

Meanwhile, Colchester Borough Council has just announced news of the programme of cycling events that will support the criterium next week. It is an incredibly well thought out and inclusive afternoon and evening of activities:

Castle Park will play host to an exciting afternoon of FREE cycling, sports and Olympic themed activity on Thursday 2 June culminating in a world-class cycling race as the 2011 Halfords Tour Series comes to town.

Head to Hollytrees Meadow, Castle Park to trial the amazing 54 metre Northshore mountain bike track. Bikes and helmets will be provided.

Budding BMX riders can freestyle on the BMX Park or brush up tricks with the skills sessions; bring your own bike!

Drop in on the Halfords Hub Arena where there will be all sorts of entertainment going on throughout the afternoon. Prepare to be amazed by the tricks and flips of Triple World Champion Ben Savage as he tackles the VooDoo Bikes Stunt Rig. There will be an opportunity to improve your cycle skills with some coaching from Ben himself.

Cllr Anne Turrell, Leader of Colchester Borough Council said: We are excited and thrilled to once again host this event. Colchester Borough Council, Essex County Council, the University of Essex, Colchester Institute and Sport England have joined together to deliver this spectacular event free, for the enjoyment of residents and visitors.”

Durham did rather in starting off the Tour Series, showing the way forward in how to simultaneously host and support the series. Here’s hoping that Colchester can deliver, and cycling in our town can become even more firmly established.

OK, Comrades - so here’s the calling card to signify that THE biggest weekend is almost upon us. I have some grubby fivers stashed away in the arse end of my jeans, a fridge full of Special Brew (blimey) and a weekend away ticket back to the mean streets of South London.

Only joking.

There is something of a mini May Fair fringe weekend, dahhhling, becoming established around Wivenhoe this year. Wilds horses wouldn’t keep me away - or even pneumonia, as is the case for a close friend that is coming to recuperate from a recent run of ill health by taking part in the Wivenhoe Run.

Good luck, fella.

But why wait until Bank Holiday Monday for all the madness to begin? The May Fair Fringe (NOT a haircut and NOT a phrase that you would be wise to repeat at The Station come closing time) starts on Thursday.

Where can you look for the highest cultural delights that can be found within Wivenhoe during a weekend when the whole town looks likely to fall over before the Bank Holiday comes crashing down?

How about some poetry?

Cripes.

Poetry Wivenhoe (or is it poetry wivenhoe, poetrywivenhoe or even poetrywivenhoe? These literary adjustments matter to the wordsmiths, apparently…) are putting on The Joy of Six.

I’ll ‘av a bit of that, thank you very much.

“The Joy of Six offer much more than a traditional poetry reading. Their vibrant multivoice performances blend five very different voices and styles into a seamless, unpredictable whole. Their style has been likened to a great jazz quintet, only with voices.”

Upstairs at The Greyhound, and another grubby fiver on the door should gain you entry on Thursday evening from 8pm.

The good folk of the Bookshop are staging the second of their Unplugged nights on Friday. This doesn’t mean a book reading with no words, but a very, very intimate acoustic performance in the back room across the sofa.

Hot Club / Tub Gitane will be performing, ahead of an appearance at the May Fair itself on the Sunrise Stage:

“The extraordinary Hot Club Gitane are purveyors of Manouche Jazz (Gypsy Jazz), and play an intriguing melange of Hot Club de Paris swing (Django / Grappelli) and French / German cafe standards of the 1930s / 1940s (Edith Piaf / Marlene Dietrich).”

Smells Like Teen spirit ropey covers probably aren’t included in the set. My sources tell me that only a few tickets are remaining, on sale at the Bookshop for the bargain price of a fiver.

But it’s not all about Gypsy Jazz.

Phew - Rock’n Roll and all that, which brings us nicely to Saturday evening and the Moving Image screening of The Runnaways. Billed as “an in-your-face look at teenage life and the rock scene in the 1970′s” - the setting of the Philip Road Centre seems perfect.

Essentially the story of Joan Jett, expect sex, drugs and rock ‘n roll. But probably not on the back row of the Philip Road Centre.

Assuming that the pneumatic friend is still standing, then it’s time to sit down once again on Sunday afternoon. Moving Image is staging a double bill, a feat in itself that requires stamina of epic rock ‘n roll proportions.

Separado! and Oil City Confidential are being screened, in a carefully thought out mini May Fair season of films that seems to fit the mood perfectly.

But sometimes you just need to get back to the music, man. Which is why I plan to shoot off down The Station (steady) sometime on Sunday evening to catch the very good Mr Mule and friends performing some Beatles covers.

Ace.

“There is a Beatle-ish gig at The Station Hotel, night before the May Fair. Probably about 8 to 8.30. I must point out here, that this is not MY band per se. It’s a fun occasional project. There are five of us, Roddy, Darryl, Dan, Phil and me. What we do, as we did for one night only last Christmas, is to try and recreate about 20 Beatle songs, from the entire canon, 1963 -1969, as accurately as we can.”

Well shake it on baby now, etc.

Which all leaves the rather minor event of May Fair itself on Monday. The line-up of local artists is impressive. Ady Johnson is the rising star of the Sunny Colch circuit. The former Fuzzface singer looks set for wider recognition, and so now is a good time to catch him in Wivenhoe.

CAV OK are a little more than OK, and Housework are a damn hard working and tight funk rock band. Local lad Lou Terry on the Sunrise Stage should also be put aside as a time to take it easy on the Special Brew and appreciate this incredibly special local talent.

Elsewhere around the site (oh OK - the KGV then…) and you’ll find Moving Image and Transition Town Wivenhoe working together and showing a series of locally produced films, all powered by the Revolutionary Pedal Powered Cinema.

The Open Mic stage is brought to you by the same good folk who have made such a success of late of the Open Mic nights down at the Black Buoy. Any local performers wanting to do a turn (oooh) should sign up from midday when the stage opens.

Stalls of course will be aplenty. Some will be selling ethical, worthy and rather worthless tat, but hey - it’s got to be better than a burger van. Some will be selling wonderful local Wivenhoe produce and deserve your loose change (hellooo Wivenhoe in Bloom.)

Others will be selling booze. You should pitch yer tent up here.

If you still want more (more? MORE?) then I’m sure you can navigate your way around to the back door entrances of the well know watering holes around Wivenhoe. I’ve been told that many will have a local’s only policy later in the evening - which may make it a little inbred, but yeah, I’m up for that as well.

And so that’s the Wivenhoe May Fair fringe weekend. If pulling a sickie at 7am on Tuesday morning is required, consider coming down to the KGV at 10am to help out with the clean up.

Oh yeah - *cough* Bowie, Comrades…

Rumours of the demise of the esteemed organ of truth and justice that is The Brightlingsea and Wivenhoe Chronicle are as premature as rumours of the demise of my king size courgette.

Sure, it took a bit of a battering the other day (courgette, not the Chronicle) but both still stand proud and mighty; both equally respected as they are eagerly awaited once a fortnight.

Recent conversations around the town have led to some doubt about the future of The Chronicle. Wivenhoe is built upon rumour and assumptions. If you were to dig a big hole at the foot of Black Buoy Hill, you’d find buried away some of the many myths that have been doing the rounds over the centuries, usually after an afternoon spent boozing away.

Is there a Roman bath along Bath Street? Is Bowie the *shhh* secret headliner for May Fair? Has the Chronicle chronicled local life around these parts for the very last time?

Two out of three ‘aint bad, my lovelies…

And so with a rusty squeak of the old letterbox, and a cheerful smile from Scoop as he wanders off into some magical Wivenhoe kingdom for dreamers and journos: it’s only the May 2011 edition of The Brightlingsea and Wivenhoe Chronicle.

Hurrah!

As is now customary on m’blog, I don’t give a blind man’s buff about those buggers down the road at Brightlingsea. Nice enough folk ‘n all that, but as ever, start yer own b****y hyperlocal blog, Comrades.

And so a turning of the grubby newsprint, and we’re straight in with all the local news and scandal that is fit to print about Wivenhoe. How about starting with The Local Election Results?

Oh Lordy.

Except there wasn’t any seismic change in the local political landscape in the May elections that have just passed. Smiling Councillor Steve Ford continues to smile away down at the Quay, doing his #workingforwivenhoe red flag waving. His Comrade in the Colchester coalition (cripes) - the young man about town Councillor Mark Cory - kept his LibDem seat up at the Cross.

Wivenhoe Town Council meanwhile is left with two spanners short of a full toolbox, with two new Councillors needed for co-option to complete the full quota of thirteen.

Scoop reports:

“At Wivenhoe, Steve Ford, Labour, comfortably retained the town’s Quay ward, securing 1,279 votes, more than double that of his nearest rival, the Conservative candidate Mercedes Mussard [ACE name.]

Waving the simple sword of truth and the trusty shield of British fair play, Scoop adds:

“It was an exceptionally good achievement by this particularly active Labour candidate, once described by the Deputy Prime Minister Harriet Harman during one of her visits as being one of the hardest working local councillors in the region.”

Hear, hear (to the hardest working, and not in praise of the fragrant Hattie. Phew.)

But don’t just look at little Wivenhoe; nope - move up the map and towards the bigger picture of the Cross. The Chronicle reports:

“Across much of the country there were dismal results for the Liberal Democrats, but in the Wivenhoe Cross ward, Mark Cory, the young 23 year old candidate [easy, ladies] helped to stem the tide against his party, retaining the seat with the support of 673 votes.”

It of course helped the cause of the “young” Cllr Cory (what is this - a Grace Brothers sitcom?) that the #workingforwivenhoe red flag flying comrades pretty much deserted the locals during the campaign, concentrating on the campus instead.

Whoops.

To complete the local political picture, the Chronicle lead concludes:

“There was no election for places on Wivenhoe Town Council as only ten candidates stood for the thirteen available seats.”

It was actually eleven candidates, but then that simple sword of truth and the trusty shield of British fair play probably got lost down a back seat at The Greyhound.

Passing over all the Brightlingsea puff, and then on p.2 we come across:

Art and Poetry in the Trenches.

Walk it like you talk it, Comrades:

“A one day course entitled Art and Poetry in the Trenches, presented by Graham Slimming and Colin Padgett, will be run by the WEA in Wivenhoe next month. This course will be held on 11th June at the Congregational Hall, from 10:30am to 4pm.”

Janice Allen on 824470 secures you a booking.

My eyes were momentarily fixed upon the big blueness that is the advert for Brightlingsea Open Air Swimming Pool as the p.3 pin up. I am historically a man suited to an outdoor aquatic lifestyle. Fifteen summers have been spent swimming in unheated lidos.

I spent one spring afternoon walking past the Brightlingsea Open-Air Pool / oversized duck pond, and thought, nah - that’s no pool, my friends: that’s a large hole in the ground with a bit of a drainage situation.

There’s Plenty of Entertainment at the May Fair [*cough* Bowie] is the p.4 headline. It’s pretty much a run through of the May Fair Committee press release, covering the fact that a rather ace line up including Ady Johnson (see) local lad Lou Terry (MUST see) Cav OK (pals) and Housework (hardest working band in, um, Sunny Colch) will all be helping you to get tired and emotional at the KGV, come Bank Holiday Monday.

Pages 10 and 11 cover a couple of lovely, lovely local stories, which although haven’t been picked up the nationals, they certainly represent the charm and quality in which the Chronicle is so respected for locally.

Hearing Dogs for Deaf People… is all about the Hearing Day Centre which runs a weekly hearing clinic at the lovely Wivenhoe Eyecare. The target of £5,000 has just been reached to help sponsor a hearing dog:

“The centre has been raising funds over several years for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People, through donations from its clients, and larger events such as golf days.”

Meanwhile, Deans’ Nursery and Garden Centre Celebrates Fifty Years of Trading pretty much Tells It Like It Is in the headline for a story with a very proud local Wivenhoe history:

“In the late 1950s two young brothers, having just completed a horticultural course at the Writtle Agricultural College near Chelmsford, started to grow outdoor tomatoes in Wivenhoe. The brothers, Anthony and Steve Dean, son of the Wivenhoe GP, the late Dr William Dean, ran this modest enterprise behind the old cemetery just off Belle View Road.”

The business is now based on the Harwich Road at Great Bromley. It is managed by Sarah Dean, the granddaughter of Dr Dean. It may be a puff piece of advertorial, but it’s a lovely read in The Chronicle, rightfully celebrating half a century of trading from a local business.

An Afternoon Upstairs with Martin Newell on p.12 once again tells you all you need to know. With locally baked cakes being promised upstairs at The Greyhound on the afternoon of 11th June, tickets are selling like… hot cakes. Seriously - get yourself down to the Bookshop for a £4 bargain.

Wivenhoe’s Funny Farm for this Thursday (26th) gets a plug on p.15.

“Headliner is the outrageous Californian comic Scott Capurro, familiar to watchers of 8 out of 10 cats. MC will be Wivenhoe’s very own [and most splendid] Hazel Humphreys. The show starts at the Cricket Club at 8pm with £6 on the door.”

And finally…

Mrs. Ackroyd at the Wivenhoe Folk Club.

Cripes.

“On 2nd June, Wivenhoe Folk Club are hosting Mrs. Ackroyd as their main guests. Mrs. Ackroyd is a band, not a person.”

Blimey.

It is this type of bonkers news in brief that separates the wheat from the chaff, and also separates the exceedingly splendid Brightlingsea and Wivenhoe Chronicle from some of the crap that gets pushed our way via the nationals.

The Chronicle may be in rude health, but that’s a fine position in which to preach from.

The Brightlingsea and Wivenhoe Chronicle is distributed free amongst local households. Additional copies are 25p from local newsagents.

Published as part of the Keep Colchester Cycling project.

With less than two weeks to go before the Halfords Tour Series rolls into Colchester, the final preparations are being put into place. High profile riders such as Tour de France stage winner Magnus Backstedt will be racing around our historic town on the evening of 2nd June.

ITV will be televising the race live, creating the perfect opportunity to raise the profile of cycling in Colchester, as well as to experience at first hand the excitement of town centre criterium road racing.

Help is needed however in making sure that the event runs smoothly. The race organisers are keen to involve as many local Colchester folk as possible. Stewards in particular are currently required:

“We are still in need of more volunteer stewards to support the Halfords Tour Series cycling event in Colchester on 2nd June. Volunteers are needed for a briefing at 13.30pm and then from 2pm until 9pm. Volunteers will work directly under the control of Sweet Spot, the race organisers, and will man the circuit for and around the race.

Please do consider helping with this. It will be great fun and you’ll be supporting a fantastic cycling event in Colchester! Please contact [email protected] if you can help.”

Meanwhile the race map for Colchester has just been released. Taking the form of a number of circuits with high paced sprints around our historic town, the Tour Series will take in the High Street, Head Street, St John’s Street and then back up along Queen Street.

Here at Keep Colchester Cycling and we know of the perfect vantage point in which to watch the race, right from the creative hub in the cultural quarter.

Chapeau!

Published as part of the Keep Colchester Cycling project.

We are keen here at Keep Colchester Cycling to open up our blog to the many local partners that we are working with as part of our bike pool project. Playing an important part of this collaboration is Re-cycle - the bicycle aid for Africa organisation.

Based just past Rollerworld along Moorside in Colchester, this local group is genuinely changing lives in Africa. Re-cycle is also essential to our vision of promoting cycling in Colchester, by very kindly donating our fleet of hire bikes.

I spent a very engaging Tuesday afternoon at the Re-cycle HQ to find out more about the wider macro aims of the organisation, as well as how the work plays a role in the micro local economy. It is very much this meeting of localism and globalism that attracted Keep Colchester Cycling to forming a working relationship with Re-cycle.

Put simply, the aims of the organisation is to:

“Collect second-hand bicycles and ship them to Africa. Our partners distribute bikes and teach riders the skills to repair and maintain them.”

Never underestimate the genuine life-changing experience of pedal power. We may moan here in Colchester when North Hill becomes congested, but it is not a life and death matter. Liberating locals through cycling in an African village can be the catalyst for genuine social change.

It is by pure good fortune that Colchester has Re-cycle based in our own backyard. This came about through a connection with the University when Re-cycle was first established over a decade ago.

With the majority of the 37,000 or so bikes that have been sent to Africa so far coming from Colchester, Re-cycle is keen to offer some form of support back to the thriving cycling community in Colchester.

The downstairs workspace at Moorside is made up of the 1,000′s of bikes that are currently awaiting shipment; take a step upstairs and you will find the Re-cycle workshop and sales floor.

It resembles a more mainstream bike shop, although the level of service and prices are definitely unique in cycling circles. Each bike that is donated is lovingly restored, with a dedicated team of local mechanics, fronted by Colchester Bike Guru Matt.

As Matt explains in the audioboo below, bicycles are restored and sold in the workshop as part of a social enterprise project to help local families on a low income. Prices are incredibly competitive and well below the second-hand bike market value.

It is this circular approach to supporting cycling, sustainability and working at a local and global level that is so appealing at Re-cycle. It can cost around £10 just to physically ship a single bike out to Africa. The small amount of profit made in selling on the higher end bikes back to Colchester folk covers this cost.

I continued my tour, and wandered around the upstairs premises. A man can never own enough bikes has long since been my mantra, and I made a mental note to return to Re-cycle come the next pay day.

Back downstairs in the main studio and it was tempting to calculate the Bikes per Square Inch measurement. Space is vital, and every single bit of the workshop is crammed full of bikes that are ready for shipment.

I needed to find out more about how the process of an abandoned bike in North Essex then somehow finds itself being shipped to Africa to transform lives in a very different continent and culture.

Re-cycle Manager Derek very kindly agreed for a chat, and helpfully explained the process of how a Colchester warehouse at the back of Rollerworld is enabling better transport solutions for people across Africa.

We also touched on Keep Colchester Cycling, and the Re-cycle involvement in promoting cycling back here in our hometown. A fleet of around a dozen bicycles will be provided and serviced by Re-cycle. We are working with a number of local artists to transform the frames and present a unique paint job.

There is uncertainty amongst our various partners on this project as to where this project will take us. It is this very same sense of excitement and experimentation that has led to a Colchester organisation shipping some 37,000 abandoned bikes across continents for well over a decade now.

The physical maintenance and opportunities that a bike presents us with enable this way of working. It may be a long way from Namibia to North Hill, but Colchester is certainly putting itself on the global cycling map with Re-cycle.

You can support Re-cycle by simply donating a bike, or even buying one of the lovingly restored models that are for sale. Any bike is accepted as a donation - if it is beyond the point of repair then the parts will be used as spares. Hybrids, road bikes, MTB’s, BMX’s, children’s bikes - all are for sale in the workshop.

Re-cycle is open Tuesday - Friday 9-5, and 9-1 on a Saturday. Head just past Rollerworld, and you will soon see the workshop.

To the Town Council Office on Monday evening for the first formal meeting of the new Wivenhoe Town Council administration. With four new Councillors sitting around the top table, the pub pecking order etiquette was observed for the seating arrangements:

“Oooh - you can’t sit there, m’ lovely. That’s old Alfie’s seat.”

But old Alfie [MADE UP NAME] is no longer with us, so dip yer bread, young blood.

I strategically took up my place sitting right by the door. You never know when you might want to make an early exist to watch #nffc’s season implode yet again.

Whoops.

Elsewhere around the chamber of fun and it was pleasing to see that all seats in the public gallery were taken. I say ‘public gallery,’ but I of course means the liberal (steady) scattering of chairs around the perimeter of the room.

Was an anarchic late spring Wivenhoe revolution uprising in the air? Um, nope - just the rightly proud family and friends coming along to support the new administration.

D-mob happy and ready to take a well-deserved back seat, Mr Mayor apologised for the non-appearance of the Lady Mayor (impending music duties - that’s fine, Madam) and then listened to a glowing eulogy from Councillor Needham, praising the civic year just passed:

“We made a wonderful decision twelve months ago to elect Councillor Sinclair as our Town Mayor.”

A bottle of something slightly stronger than the Adam’s Ale on the top table was handed over, which will hopefully be sufficient to see Councillor Sinclair through those long Wivenhoe winter nights. A bouquet then followed for the music making Lady Mayor.

It’s a rank old world, this business of local politics - now take up yer seat, kind Sir, back at the opposite end of the table.

In a game of grandee musical chairs, Councillor Needham then took up his place at the top of the table, and the formal handing over of the chains and the Mr Mayor title took place. I have a feeling that the “We made a wonderful decision…” speech will deservedly played out again this time next year.

Continuing the procession of politico titles, behind every great man there has to be a great woman. The new Mr Mayor has two - blimey.

With the (new) Lady Mayor also looking resplendent in the gallery, it was soon time to endorse Councillor Kraft as the new Deputy Mayor for the duration of the political calendar.

A local Wivenhoe league system of sorts is in place, to decide who gets to rise (and fall) with the civic chain. It is almost on par with the election of a new Pope, with the high and mighty having to come to an agreement to endorse a candidate.

It wasn’t quite smoke signals wafting down the High Street and high jinks and rejoicing all the way down to the Rose and Crown, but a three endorsements, one against and “a number of abstentions…” completed the process.

Civic duties complete, back to Civvy Street and the complexes of Town Council business. It is around this point in the evening when a young (ish) blogger usually loses the plot and fails to follow the thread.

I tried to keep up with the constitutional discussion about the Community Working Party, but to be honest, my mind (and iPhone) was elsewhere. Two quick first half goals for Swansea and I trust none of the esteemed Councillors noticed the whispered profanities that almost delayed the important business of the Community Working Party.

As I understand (actually, I don’t) and the issue here was one of adopting a new way of working with committees, chairs and communication. It wasn’t quite as severe as Forest going in 2-0 down at half time (seriously,) but the Town Clerk did interject with:

“What is being proposed is not a valid procedure and I would like this minuted please.”

Blimey.

For the record I also DIDN’T swear in the Council chamber when the second Swansea goal went in, but I wouldn’t mind if that was minuted.

With the WTC constitution changing in June (I think) Councillor Kraft raised concern that three committees are currently without Chairs, following the introduction of a new administration.

Straight off the subs bench and the abundance of new local political talent within Wivenhoe soon served as a stopgap. I don’t suppose any of the four new Bright Young Things of WTC could play up front for Forest whilst they are at it?

As with all new organisations, roles and responsibilities need to be carefully laid out. What followed was a shuffling of the WTC pack, and the allocation of representation on various local and civic organisations. Ah - but who is the joker in the pack, Comrades?

The Colchester Association of Local Councillors role went to Councillor Lodge; Civic Protection was taken by Councillor Needham. Our Public Transport Representative remains the good Peter Kay, Community Safety is covered once again by Councillor Lodge and Councillor Needham will continue his good relations with WivSoc.

Wearing his nautical hat and Councillor Sinclair will represent WTC on the Colne Estuary Partnership. The Wivenhoe Housing Trust will have the fine company of Councillor Needham, the District Board and Facilities Trust role fell to Councillor Lodge, Councillor Kraft sticks with NAP and Wivenhoe in Bloom will have the green-fingered representation from Councillor Richards.

This was very much a putting your house in order meeting for the new administration. Subscriptions were up for renewal next. I thought that the ever keen and eager WivSoc had the tin rattling down to a fine art, what with a door knock and a kindly “pay up, pal” request earlier in the month.

WTC agreed to renew the following subscriptions:

The Essex Association of Local Councillors - £824 per annum - ouch! In return, Mr Mayor stated that WTC gains many official documentation templates that are most useful.

One would hope so, at just under a grand.

Essex Fields and Trusts - £35 pa

The Institute of Crematorium Management - £90 pa (deadly silence…)

The Society of Local Council Clerks - £120 pa

Essex Regional Employers - £130 pa

Direct Information Service (nope, me neither…) £90 pa

Community Management Association - £116 pa. This is the body that grants a licence to enable the running of the Community Mini Bus.

The Council for the Protection of Rural Essex - £29 pa (I wonder which side they bat for as the Environment Agency continues to vandalise our locality?)

The Council for National Allotments - £25 pa and

The Friends of Historic Essex - £10 pa.

Not a great deal of overall expenditure, but there are a lot of local bodies that are making money out of local government. Meanwhile, the Association of Nerdy North Essex Semi-Politico Local Bloggers is about to go back in the red, Comrades - and I’m not talking metaphorical, either.

The minutes for the Annual Town Meeting were then adopted. A lengthy discussion followed about Section 106 money, what it means and why it is important. My understanding is that it is essentially the classic local authority you scratch my back argument: yep, you can build yer mega superstore, but give our community a brown envelope stuffed full of grubby fivers first.

For administrative, political and possibly hyperlocal territorial reasons, the dosh for Wivenhoe is split between the Quay and the Cross. The former obviously benefited greatly with the Cook’s redevelopment 106 money; the latter looks like coming out rather nicely after the University has finished making a mess of Wivenhoe Park with the Knowledge Gateway nice little earner. WTC is in favour of being able to distribute this money WHEREVER it sees fit in the town.

Reports from local political representatives followed. Councillor Julie Young, the Colchester Representative on Essex County Council spoke first.

“I am now no longer the only Labour member at ECC - we have formed a group with the election of another Labour member. I have taken up the position of the Leader of the Labour group.”

Cripes, Comrade: We are all equal, but some are more equal than others, etc.

The hard-working Councillor Young updated with plans for a public footpath leading from Broadfields towards the Football Club:

“This is now the third highest Highways priory in all of Essex. It will be a slow process, but discussions are already in place with the landowner. I am happy to report that relations between the Trust and the Football Club are now much better. The Football Club is welcoming a group of disabled young adults into the clubhouse to use the space as a social area.

Other items updated by Councillor Young included the building of a shelter for students waiting for the Colne bus, congratulating the 20 students volunteers from the University who took part in a recent litter pick, and the promise to look at the faded zebra crossing at The Cross - a point that was raised by a resident at the Annual Town Meeting.

Councillor Young then risked the wrath of the entire Tendring Peninsula by bringing up the Clingoe Hill and the disruption that the Knowledge Gateway is about to bring:

“We are still unsure when the roadworks will begin. It is hoped that these will be completed by the start of the new academic year, which indicates that they should be imminent.”

The newly re-elected Councillor Steve Ford, one of Wivenhoe Quay’s representative at Colchester Borough Council, then addressed the chamber:

“I personally take the Mayor Making process very seriously. Wivenhoe is very lucky in consistently having excellent candidates to fill this role.”

With the past month (and more) spent on the stump, Councillor Ford had little political content to add, although he did remark:

“I thought that my election campaign was going to be dramatic, but it wasn’t so, as it turned out…”

Ouch.

The #workingforwivenhoe fine fella did update on the planning update for nine flats along Rectory Road:

“I have concerns over parking and draining, and have raised these with the Council. The Planning officers agree, and this application will now be heard in front of the Committee.

Valley Road to Bobbit’s Way continues to suffer from potholes and more serious infrastructure damage. I will keep on reminding Highways of this.”

A quick race through the various WTC committee reports, although being a new administration, there was little to report back on. A new picnic bench has been installed in the wood, to replace the one that was sadly vandalised.

Likewise a bench has now been placed on the sea wall, looking out to Rowhedge (although why anyone would want to sit down and actually look out towards Rowhedge is beyond me.)

Councillor Sinclair then reminded WTC about the official confirmation received regarding the continued vandalism of our unique local environment by the Environment Agency:

“We have heard that this work will now be ongoing, with the diggers arriving sometime over the next two weeks. I am sure that our phones will be ringing and WTC will have plenty of complaints from residents.

The work by the EA is an approved policy - all we can do as a council is to refer any complaints to the official literature that we have received.”

Mr Mayor added:

“The EA knows what it is doing.”

Here’s hoping…

A quick refresh of the iPhone, and yep - Forest were still trailing 2-0. Time for a pick me up - time to conclude the first meeting of the new administration with news of what Mr Mayor has planned during his Wivenhoe civic year:

“A tea party (July) Wivenhoe’s Got Talent (cripes - February) and a Tramp’s Supper (come as you are - October.)”

Civic representation is promised at all three events. The tea party sounds charming; Wivenhoe’s Got Talent equally excites and worries me. The Tramp’s Supper is tailor made for many folk around these parts.

Perfect.

Published as part of the Keep Colchester Cycling project.

Saturday morning and another early roll out with the good folk of VC Revolution. The Parsons Heath meet up soon swelled from single figures to a pelaton approaching fifty riders.

Most cyclists were kitted out in the proud club colours of VCR; club kit is next on my checklist. For now, my hometown Raleigh retro top was the topic - and butt - of many a conversation.

I like to think that there is something a little retro about my own riding abilities. Back in the day and Raleigh was seen as the industrial powerhouse back in the Fair City. A decline, a re-birth and now regeneration - a bit like my own personal journey from Wivenhoe Cross, down Boundary Road and then a sprint up the Harwich Road.

I almost didn’t make the early rotation exchanges as we rolled out past Great Bromley and towards the barren beauty of Frating Green. Ever paranoid about the amount of air I’m carrying (aren’t we all,) I was convinced I had a slow puncture.

No such worries, although I really must get round to securing safely my saddle on the road bike. Forty plus miles around the Tendring Peninsula, dancing on my up in the pedals - it not the way that we #ridecolchester around these parts.

The physics of the pelaton carried me all the way through Great Bentley, round to Wheely Heath (best bike town name - EVER!) and then the stretch into Thorpe le Soken. I still don’t get the science of air dynamics, but cycling in the centre of a pack of fifty feels like you are cut adrift at sea and being taken along for the ride.

It was hard work at the front of the pack, littered as ever with the uncertainty of how long you were expected to pull the rest of the pack along. We hit a cross wind up towards Beuamont and Stones Green, I was at the back of the pelaton as we rode through Wix, and then decided not to race with the traditional VCR Saturday sprint into Mistley.

The view of the Manningtree estuary as you descend towards the nature reserve is there to be appreciated, and not to be torn apart with the bump ‘n grind of a bunch sprint.

A sharp right along New Road, and then back past Lawford and the completion of the circular route back into Sunny Colch. This is my favourite stretch of the route, with the traffic free lanes leaving you with the feeling that you are riding the boulevards along Le Tour.

The North Essex countryside around here is ideal cycling terrain: flat, relatively car-less and with ever changing fields of crops that either dazzle your eyes, or do damage up your nose.

I almost came a cropper over a car-mangled pheasant around Little Bromley. If I were on my Moulton I would have picked it up and put it in the back bag, and then in the pot later back at base. The fowl somehow didn’t suit the style of my dropped handlebars.

And then we were back in Sunny Colch. A few Chapeaus! as I bid farewell to the other riders, and one by one, we departed at the relevant routes for a shower and recuperation back at base.

But not before I first attacked Boundary Road. I’m not exactly sure what I attacked on the University back road - the climb, the sleeping students or my own inner ambition to wear the red polka dot?

No worries - I was soon back in Wivenhoe with fifty miles clocked up for the morning.

Chapeau!