Welcome to the fifth (April 2007) issue of Great Baddow Online Newsletter

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Introduction

For newcomers to the site, this newsletter is circulated bi-monthly to registered members and friends, to supplement information on the site itself. Please forward to colleagues and other interested individuals in order to publicise the site.

Membership

Two months ago I stated that it would be useful to increase the number of members / site visitors and I am pleased that a couple of new users (Ginni and PatLinn) have registered on the site. Unfortunately, for a couple of weeks there was repeated registration of false identities (which have since been removed)  and as a result, I have modified the registration process so that an initial password is generated by the site and emailed to the user's stated email address. 

Remember that nobody needs to register to use the site, although the benefits of registration are emailing of the monthly newsletter and the option of adding some information to your own 'home page' on the site.  Alternatively, if you would like to provide some content for the site please email the webmaster,  chris.harvey@greatbaddowonline.co.uk

Site survey

Although I loaded a survey onto the site last month, the number of individuals who responded was in fact nil!

Since I have no information to feed back, I will make my own assumptions on how to improve the site, but I am still willing to receive direct emailed comments. Just in case there was a problem in emailing the completed survey forms to me, if anyone did attempt to complete a form, please let me know.

The site has now existed in its present format for just over a year, and development has been restricted to a certain extent by my own work commitments. As I am now partially retired, I should have more time in future to develop the site and the following plans are in hand.

• addition of more images to accompany articles etc. This will break up the text, make the site more attractive and introduce informality
• a new section similar to 'yellow pages', of local businesses (see below)
• a new easier to use, feedback section; to enable users to respond directly via the site
• additional features in response to user requests (e.g. publicity for charity events)

The major area of development is likely to be in the local history section where we hope to support an interactive media presentation of key aspects of the village history. This development depends on the corresponding production by members of the local history group of an interactive DVD which would present a video introduction to the village and include histories of some of our listed buildings.  This will be a separate, challenging project and requires considerable time and effort from the small group of enthusiasts involved but will hopefully be undertaken over the next few months.  

Entertainment

During March two entertainment events were held in the Parish Hall, one of which was supported by the Local Councils.  A good sized audience welcomed 'Opera on the run' on Sunday 4 March, for a performance of Spaghetti Opera.

Set in a restaurant where the main dishes comprise spaghetti and not much else, the comical story line unfolded to tell of the romance and passion between a waiter and a new waitress, and the parallel story of an ongoing feud between a couple who separated 10 years previously but continue to dine at separate tables each evening.

The show was thoroughly enjoyable with excellent singing from the actors/singers and provided a fresh set of lyrics to many well known operatic melodies.

The young cast were enthusiastic in their performance and the community atmosphere of the parish hall was a fine setting for this operatic comedy.

This production by Essex on Tour was much appreciated and both Essex County Council and Great Baddow Parish Council should be congratulated for supporting this show.

The second event a week later on Saturday 10 March was an amateur concert performance undertaken by a small but enthusiastic group of local singers, musicians and dancers. Sadly, this was spoilt by under rehearsal as linking introductions were slow, inadequate microphone use, and a perceived disjointed presentation.   However, the youngsters who participated should be encouraged, and the audience nevertheless appreciated the effort of those involved and support them to do better next time.

Opening of la Vista restaurant

The refurbished restaurant which was previously Gerrardo's has now reopened under new ownership as 'La Vista'. It is too early to predict how successful it will be in attracting an appropriate level of custom, but there are already a number of dining establishments in the village including pubs, takeaways and restaurants and competition is considerable. The restaurant in the Vineyards has closed with the lease for sale; I have heard that it may reopen with a change of use - more once I have relevant information.

This is recently constructed in the green area behind the Blue Lion and adjacent to Buckleys.  At present, the brickwork is complete to provide beds and a sheltered arbour but it has not yet been planted out. It should provide a pleasant and attractive resting place once complete.

Two of our local residents, Mr David Watson and Mr George Brown, both members of the United Reformed Church fellowship, were recently honoured by the Parish Council.

Mr George Brown is winner of the 2006 Centenary award for service to local organisations, including the local environmental group, the URC and the Coffee Pot.

Mr David Watson was awarded the title of Honory Burgess of Great Baddow and joins the existing two Burgesses, Mrs Joan Beard and Mr Eric Withams.

I know both of these gentlemen personally, and it is a fitting tribute to their service to the community over many years, that they should each be recognised in this way. Congratulations to them both.

Following my comments in last month's newsletter, a number of individuals have commented to me about the different companies operating services through the village (i.e. First, Regal and Stansted Transit). Some have complained that certain bus tickets are only valid on the services provided by the issuing operator, and I have observed travellers boarding a 35 service operated by Stansted Transit being told their ticket issued by First Buses is not valid for travel.

This is a ridiculous restriction, so do write to the appropriate authorities, (e.g. Councils, bus operators, MP) and complain. Unfortunately the problem applies to the country and consequently matters will only improve if there is significant and universal public support for change.

'Yellow' pages

Following restructuring of the advertisement pages, I now propose to introduce a much more detailed listing of local businesses indexed by name, location and business sector. It will be along similar lines to the classified section of telephone directories and should provide a look-up facility on the site for those wishing to support  local companies and organisations.

As stated last month, I left my professional post within the NHS at end March 2007 and this should enable me to spend more time developing and improving this site. Offers of help or comments are always appreciated.

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Because so many of us receive junk email, if on receiving this or any other issue you do not wish to receive any further editions, please accept my apologies; to stop future issues mailed to you, simply email me with the subject line “stop e-newsletter”, and I will delete you from the mailing list. If you have read the newsletter online and would like to receive it by email, please email me with the subject line entry “start e-newsletter”.

Chris Harvey
Site manager
1 April 2007

Email Chris Harvey