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The opinions expressed by the bloggers are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of any of the organisations listed here or any employee thereof. exploreculture is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied by the bloggers.

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  Cooking for Christmas
  Date 13/11/2009

  Don’t you just love the whole festive season?  I’ve been inspired by displays of festive and crafty books at the library. So I planned on an afternoon of present wrapping and checking over the decorations followed by some festive baking.

  All went well. Kids sang along to a CD of carols borrowed from the library while ‘decorating’ presents. The mince pies turned out lovely. I nearly came unstuck icing the Christmas cake. Happily one of the books I borrowed turned out to have nice clear instructions on how to ice a cake. I felt like a cross between Kath Kidson and Jamie Oliver! If you fancy borrowing some books have a look at these http://digbig.com/5baqfk

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  Ancestry Taster Sessions
  Date 13/11/2009

  I recently went to one of the library’s free family history taster sessions, which was really useful.  I’m getting on swimmingly now – no sharks from the past discovered yet!  If you fancy going to one of the library taster sessions, you should sign up for the free newsletter from Essex Libraries – that way you’ll find out about all the events in your area, plus masses of other interesting stuff too.  Just go to www.free-library-news.net ; signing up is really quick and easy.  Of course, you can go into the library anytime and just speak to staff who are always on hand, and happy to point you in the right direction

• Nora - A Doll's House
  Venue: Mercury Theatre
  Event:
  Date 12/11/2009

• 

  Nora - A Doll's House
  Venue: Mercury Theatre
  Event:
  Date 12/11/2009

• Dead Cannons
  Date 10/11/2009

  As promised it was a great night on Saturday with all the bands bringing something to proceedings. While there was a genuine excitement about debutant band Barabbus, the act that caught everyones attention was The Dead Cannons.

  Led by an extremely talented singer/keyboardist these guys looked like they had not kissed goodbye to their teenage years but played as if they had all the experience in the world. At their best they were like a mix between Ben Folds 5 and Pink Floyd with long rambling prog rock endings to some of the better songs. However, they did have a tendency to stray a little too close to some of the more cringing elements of pop music today and at their worst they sounded a bit like Scouting for Girls meets Kate Nash!

  While i'm sure this might see them on the road to success, it would no doubt come at a cost to the bands more creative side and also their credability. I guess these are the choices some of the more talented bands have to make these days.

• Essex Rocks...
  Date 04/11/2009

  I've always been one for going and checking out new music and so am very pleased to see that the gigs at the Top Bar at Essex University have started up once again. There aren't a lot of places where local talented bands get to showcase their work, but these evenings organised by local promoters "Essex Rocks" really pick the cream of the crop to put on show.

  I for one can guarantee i'l be there this Saturday and will let you know my thoughts on the bands on offer...

• Diving into my family history
  Date 03/11/2009

   

  I’ve been having a whale of a time tracing my lost ancestors with Essex Libraries. I can easily understand why family history has become one of the most popular pastimes in the world - the Internet has made tracing your ancestors easier than ever before, although it can be a little daunting in the beginning. I was thrilled to discover that, as a member of Essex Libraries, I could use the most comprehensive site www.ancestry.com completely free, in any Essex library.

   

  The Ancestry website is great as it can help you trace your family history back over 150 years in England, Wales and Scotland. Ancestry includes census returns 1841 – 1901 for England, Wales and Scotland and birth, marriage and death indexes 1837 – 2005 for England and Wales, as well as many other useful databases. Diving in!!

   

• Sarfend seafront’ – An enjoyable parody of itself
  Date 29/10/2009

  Something rather strange happened to me on Southend seafront this weekend. I really enjoyed it. And the reason was simple – I put my prejudice on pause and went back in time, all David Tennant like.

   

  Bundling the kids and dog into the ageing war-horse, we set off around mid-day in beautiful early autumn sunshine. Now, I have a bit of a soft spot for Southend, as it’s where I was often taken as a kid for a special treat with my beloved grandparents. This usually involved a visit to the arcade slot machines, a Rossi’s ice cream and a frolic on the beach and a trip up the pier. I remember being particularly excited to see the creepy mannequin advertising the Pirate ship, who every time he tried to get up from his place of torture, a large mechanical sword swung over him, forcing him back down again.
   
  Well, the only pirates now appear to be the local authority that charges a small fortune to park. Reassuringly, though, the overwhelming odour of chip fat, candyfloss and slot machines lingers still. And so it should. Let’s face it. You don’t go to Southend and find too many delis’ run by people called Jocasta or Araminta, selling ciabatta and hand made fondant fancies served on Cath Kidson tablecloths. What you get is chips, chips and more chips, served on a bed of lard. With a side helping of, ooh, chips. Indeed, the very pavements glistened with fat.
   
  The beach was out of bounds as we had the dog, a rule which seems to apply to any breed except fighting dogs, so we sat on the wall and had our Rossi’s. And for a fleeting moment, it was the1970’s again, and I came over all warm and sentimental (and no, it wasn’t ‘my old problem’). Until my wife told me how much the Rossi’s were - £1.65 each! I was explaining to the kids that the Rossi family was the same as the guitarist in Status Quo when they replied “who are they?” and I knew time really had moved on.
   
  My children then insisted I join them for a couple of vomit inducing rides in the revamped ‘Adventure Island’. Even the smallest of rides, those normally reserved for toddlers, looked terrifying. I already had a headache, had a stomach full of chips and ice cream, but there was no going back.
   
  Afterwards, it was time for the Sealife Centre (five minutes looking at some sad looking pond-life (that’s just the other visitors) and two hours in the gift shop. I left them to it and wondered northwards, where I discovered a different world. Brightly painted sailing boats and sandy beaches so clean and deserted, I wondered if I had walked through a rip in the time continuum and ended up in Aldeborough. The streets were Georgian and nicely painted, the solitary candyfloss kiosk was retro and all in all, it was wonderfully peaceful. After a wistful few moments gazing out over the sunset, the little shrimp-boats bobbing about like the front cover of an old Essex Countryside in a dentists’ waiting room, there was one last request, this time from me, namely, the pier.
   
  Poor Southend pier. It’s been bought and sold more times than a dockside tart, vandalised, burned, rammed, burned again, burned some more, and still it clings on. I love piers, all of them, and this, perhaps the most famous of all, is no exception. The little train still operates and there is a new looking swanky museum/entrance hall. Sadly, the no dogs rule applied here also (“for health and safety reasons” – oh, paleese) so it was back to the car for sugary drinks and a good row over who’d bought the best bit of tat from the gift shop. Marvellous. All it needed was a stick of rock in the shape of a sexual organ and the day was complete.
   
  Southend seafront has much to offer and, if you’re prepared to shell out for the wristbands, parking and ride tickets, it’s a great place to take young children who don’t mind the tackiness, the cacophony of the bingo callers and pimped up cars pumping out rap. It’s a fantastic place to just sit and people watch and it’s pretty much how I left it all those years ago. And long may it remain so. As long as it’s kept away from the ad-men and image consultants, my kids will be coming here in years to come and saying to…”see that, that’s where dad threw up, that is”.

• Carnival at Essex Libraries for Black History Month
  Date 20/10/2009

  As the sound of the steel drums gets louder, I’m getting really excited about the Carnival events coming soon to Essex Libraries in celebration of Black History Month!  Check them out. The events are for all the family – you’ll be able to create your own amazing headdress and follow the Carnival route, with the chance of winning an exciting prize.  On top of that, there’s also a great selection of reads – have a quick look now. .  My personal favourite is Small Island by Andrea Levy – and the really exciting news is that the BBC has made it into a drama.  It’ll be shown on BBC1 at the end of October.

• 

  Clacton Library has the X Factor
  Date 28/09/2009

  Shame about good old William Hooper getting booted out of the X Factor – still,  I’ve heard he’s making a guest appearance at Clacton Library on Thursday to celebrate International Day of Older People http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/4640650.Meet_X_Factor_William/ .  In fact, even if you can’t get to Clacton there are events like this on all across the county. Visit www.essex.gov.uk/libraries or http://fulloflife.direct.gov.uk

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