A Happy New Year to you all. I hope 2012 is kind to us all.

January brings out the hoarder in me. I am particularly interested in cardboard tubes (from toilet and kitchen rolls); egg boxes; wire coat- hangers; jam jars and discarded ladies tights. I will also be searching for discarded 100mm down-pipes.

Cardboard Tubes make excellent seed planters for parsnips. Put compost in and plant two seeds in each tube. (Longer roll holders will have to be cut to toilet roll lengths.) Wait for germination and discard the weaker seedling. When the time comes to plant out, make a hole to accommodate 80% of the tube, and them firm in each one.

Words by Mick Rumens

By the time you read this, we will all be looking forward to the major events coming up in 2012 what with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, the London Olympics and the European Football championships.

However, Harlow Chorus’s first special occasion of the New Year falls on Saturday 10th March at 8pm in Waltham Abbey Church when four major French composers will make up our programme. The principal works are Poulenc’s Gloria and Bizet’s Te Deum, for which the choir will be joined by two young soloists from the Royal Academy of Music. Renowned organist Paul Ayres will accompany, and also treat us to some solo pieces. The choir will also sing some smaller unaccompanied works by Durufle and Faure.

Old Harlow & Newhall PCSO Chrisie Goodman

I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year. I expect many of you received lots of great presents just a reminder not to leave all the discarded boxes, packaging that your new laptop, satnav, mobile phone, TV etc came in as this is a great advertisement to any prospective burglar.

At the beginning of December I assisted Schools Liaison Police Officer Lisa Shaw and Education Welfare Officers in conducting a truancy sweep in Harlow town centre. Any child that was of school age that was seen either alone or accompanied with parents was stopped and details taken as to why they were not in school. Most of those stopped were off due to sickness or hospital appointments just one pupil was escorted back to school. It is hoped that more of these truancy sweeps will be conducted through out the year.

Shared by Christine Beetlestone

Easy plain cooking after Christmas and it will serve 4 generously.

• 1lb minced beef
• 1 onion (6oz) chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or mashed
• 1-3 green chillies* seeded and chopped finely
• Smoked Paprika*
• 8oz mushrooms sliced
• 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes Optional: 1 tin of red kidney beans, rinsed.
• 1 tbs tomato puree
• 3 Oxo cubes added to
• 11/2 pts boiling water (this is the right amount!)
• 8 oz macaroni
• 1/2 teasp salt and ground black pepper
• Just a dash of Worcester sauce
• 2 litre oven proof casserole dish or saucepan