Words by Mick Rumens

On Saturday 13th July at 7.30pm, Harlow Chorus will close our current season with a concert featuring the works of Mozart, Schubert and Haydn. We will be joined by, the Brandenburg Sinfonia and soloists from the Royal Academy of Music.

The setting for this concert is one of our favourite venues, St Peter ad Vincula at Coggeshall which was built in the first quarter of the 15th Century by wealthy wool merchants. Our programme will include Haydn’s Te Deum and Schubert’s Mass in G, however the main item will be Mozart’s Requiem & Symphony No. 1. Wolfgang Amedeus Mozart was born in Salzburg on 27th January 1756 and died on 5th December 1791 at a relatively young 35 years of age. He showed prodigious ability from his earliest childhood. Already competent on keyboard and violin, he composed from the age of 5 years and performed before European royalty. At 17 he was engaged as a court musician in Salzburg but grew restless and travelled in search of a better position always composing abundantly. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as the pinnacle of symphonic, concertante, chamber, operatic and choral music. He is among the most enduringly popular of classical composers and his influence on Western art music is profound.

Old Harlow & Newhall PCSO Chrisie Goodman

During May myself and PC Armor and PC Stapleford from Chigwell Traffic conducted a speedcheck on Mulberry Green after several members of public raised this as a priority. Although only one motorist was found to be speeding and was issued with a ticket during the time we were there I am sure word soon got around that we were present! We hope to conduct more of these checks throughout the area when possible. Please be aware that flashing your headlights warning approaching motorists of the police speedcheck is seen as preventing the course of justice. Officers were all wearing high viz jackets and if motorists were driving with due care and attention they would notice our presence anyway.

Spiced Beans - serves 4 persons

• 300g tin of Three Bean Salad in sugared water, drained and rinsed
• 1 onion, chopped or sliced
• 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
• 1⁄2 or a whole fresh red chilli
• 1 red pepper, cubed
• Zest and juice of half a lemon
• 1⁄4 teasp each of: ground Coriander, Turmeric, & Cumin
• Spinach, shredded (if liked) it does add colour and texture
• Pine nuts

Do you remember the trenches we dug to take water off our plots? Well, we’ve now received instructions to fill them in or fence both sides of the ditches! This is not for the Health and Safety of site allotment holders but against the chance of some poor intruder hurting himself/herself in the execution of his or her trespass. We live in a mad, mad, mad, mad world! Trenches apart, allotment life has returned to being good with just enough rain and plenty of soil-warming sun to bring on our ground-sown seeds and plants. A piece of country lore you most likely know... If the Ash come before the Oak you’re in for a soak. If the Oak come before the Ash we’ll just get a splash! Last year the Ash leaves came a good two weeks before the Oak and, boy did we get a soaking! This year the Oak leaves have won by a country mile and so we can look forward to normal weather. Well that’s the plan...

Now I will agree that our apple trees wrapped in fleece and cardboard, in the photograph on the right, don’t look a very pretty sight but at least the blossom has not been taken by the frosts we had at the end of April. Some around Harlow have lost the frost-scorched blossom on their plum, apple and pear trees. Remember to keep an eye on the weather forecast as we can get frosts right into June. My fleece and clothes pegs are ready.