*Thurrock*
*Arts*
*Council*
*Annual Report*
2013
(April 2013 – March 2014)
There’s always something happening!
Contents
Visual Arts
Drama
General Arts
Brass Bands
Music
Dear all,
Sadly this year we lost our Chairman John Scowen who had led TAC so vigorously from the day he
took over the position some 14 plus years ago. It seems strange for me to now compile and edit this
annual report without asking John for his forward to the report and chat to him about the contents
before the AGM as we always did; but as many people know sadly his MND illness intervened
abruptly and cruelly with his untimely passing in April of this year.
So, as report editor, if both of the acting Chairmen will forgive me I felt it appropriate to produce this
foreward marking John’s permanent and drastic absence from the ever lively Arts community of
Thurrock.
Since John and I were both elected to the Executive Committee, he as Chairman and I as Marketing
and Publicity, I (and he) have, as always, looked forward to the receipt of all the member group
reports to show that yet another year had passed of diverse and fascinating arts activity local to
Thurrock; and importantly produced by residents of the area. Unsurprisingly this year is no different
in that respect however it is significantly different in one troubling respect that being the issue of the
reduction in grant funding by Thurrock Council, a matter that I know John would have had issue
with had he still been with us and would also have raised here.
You are all aware how John strove tirelessly to protect and enhance the quality and diverse range of
local Arts activities that TAC fosters for every group and every sub-committee. So it seems now all
the more important and vital for every single group member to support your executive in every way
that you can to not just maintain the reduced funding that we have been given, but to persuade
Thurrock Council to restore it to the levels that John achieved, and that resulted in local economic
benefits and many spheres of our activity even reaching out so positively with the name of Thurrock
across the United Kingdom. It shows to other areas and regions exactly who we are here, and exactly
what we as Arts Council members do and achieve to enrich primarily our fellow residents of this
Borough/Unitary Authority in which we live and of which we are all rightly proud. I expect that
every Councillor would agree with that sentiment in principle at least.
To conclude I cannot think of a more fitting initial tribute to the dear colleague and for many of us
the dear friend that we have lost in such an untimely way, and that our immediate future efforts, and
most likely vigorous representations that will be needed, to maintain the levels of all that we do
collectively in delivering what we do for the people of Thurrock.
So in John’s absence I commend this report to you and to Thurrock Council as the record of the
vibrant and rich arts activity (and you the committed skilled local resident TAC members who
deliver it!) that has gone on in Thurrock for the last twelve months; and to wish every member well
in their endeavours to maintain what we do so well. Read on, enjoy and be proud!
Martyn Williams
Marketing and Publicity TAC
Visual Arts
Thurrock Society for Artists with
Disabilities
Annual Report for 2013
The year started with the AGM held on April 26th 2013, which was well attended. The members
were all looking forward to the start of their 11th year in existence. The society meets from 1p.m to
3p.m. on Friday afternoons in the Thurrock Adult Community College in Richmond Road, Grays,
during term time. We have had a most enjoyable and productive year with regular in-house
demonstrations by the Committee members on various mediums and techniques in watercolours,
oils, pastel and pencil work, as and when required by the members. Members are helped and
encouraged to reach their full potential.
Members took part in the Thurrock Art Trail with an exhibition of their work from 13th to 15th June
at the Methodist church in Hathaway Road, with the sale of 5 paintings, and they hosted a Joint
Exhibition from 17th to 22nd February 2014 with the Thurrock Camera Club and the Thurrock
Marquetry Group giving a lovely combined display of the ‘Visual Arts’. The exhibitions were well
attended and received a considerable number of compliments from the visiting public.
A grant of £250.00 from the Thurrock Arts Council enabled the society to restock materials and
other essential equipment needed by members to use at meetings. We also were able to purchase
some new books for the library. Fund raising is always a very important part of the Chairman’s life
as stock has to be replaced and new mediums bought for the members to experiment with before they
purchase it for themselves.
We received donations in memory of Steven Mottram from his mother and grandmother. We also
received donations from our members and have held raffles, all of which has all helped our funds.
Our last meeting in December was our usual ‘Christmas Party’ and ‘a great time was had by all’ with
party fare provided by the Chairman!
The stock cupboards are well stocked with most of the various mediums and essential equipment
needed by members at meetings. They don’t bring their own materials as one of the aims of the
chairman from the society’s conception was to make it unnecessary for disabled members to carry
heavy bags of materials and equipment to meetings. It is a continuous but rewarding task for the
Chairman to keep the cupboards replenished.
Unhappily we have lost 6 of our members in the past few months. Two have moved out of the area
and the other four have had to leave because of deterioration in their health. They are all sadly
missed but leave many happy memories of the times they spent with the other members in ‘room 11’.
We are hoping that we will be able to enrol some new members in our 12th year!
On April 25th 2014 we will be holding our 11th AGM and are hoping that the next 11 years will be as
good as the past.
Peggy Randall
Chairman/Secretary
www.thurrock-community.org.uk/tsad/
Remember; if you can hold a brush or pencil it is your abilities,
not your disabilities, that count.
Thurrock Camera Club
Annual Report for 2013
Thurrock Camera Club’s year started with Jim Price DPAGB giving a talk on ‘Every Picture Tells a
Story’. The following week we held the Thurrock Pegasus Trophy competition. Six clubs took part
and we are delighted that Thurrock Camera Club won the trophy!
The AGM was held on the 5th February at Cowdrey Hall, West Thurrock where we meet every
Tuesday. Reports from the Principal Committee members were given and a financial statement
from the Treasurer was received. Due to good financial management it was agreed to keep the
annual subscription at its present level. The Committee for the forthcoming year was duly
proposed, seconded and elected.
The Society held members’ photo competitions in both print and projected image format. Practical
evenings were organised and well attended to show how to mount photos and also provided useful
tips on presentation for the competitions that were held.
In May we held the Challenge Trophy, a print competition with eight clubs taking part. Rosemary
Mann, a vice President of the Thurrock Arts Council presented the Trophies. Our trip to France, held
once again in May, was well supported. Members took some very good competition photographs
taking full advantage of the change in scenery and reaching out with the name of Thurrock to the
near continent!
We finished the year with a print competition with Dagenham Camera Club and a Christmas Buffet
and social evening.
We took part in a Joint Exhibition in February 2014 with two other societies, the Thurrock Society
for Artists with Disabilities, who hosted the exhibition, and the Thurrock Marquetry Group. The
exhibition was organised by the chairman of the Visual Art Sub-Committee of the Thurrock Arts
Council and was held in the Gallery at the Thameside Complex. This was a well-displayed exhibition
taking full advantage of the venue and giving visitors a chance to see some of the various forms of
‘Visual Art’ available, with paintings, photographs and marquetry on display.
Paul Taylor Chairman
Thurrock Art Society Annual Report for 2013
The AGM was held on February 15th 2013 at the Thurrock Adult Community College where our
regular meetings are held from 7.00 – 9.00pm on Friday evenings during term time. All serving
officers except the publicity officer were willing to stand and were re-elected to their positions.
A new member was elected to the position of publicity officer and pleasingly we started the
year with 39 members.
We held our first exhibition of the year at a new venue, The Swan Gallery in Horndon on the
Hill from 11th January to 3rd February with a well-attended opening night on Sunday, January
13th. The society is very grateful to the Drachma group for inviting us to exhibit at this venue
and we will be liaising with them about future exhibitions. A total of 10 paintings were sold and
there were a total of 83 visitors. We have since had an ongoing exhibition in a space downstairs
in the Swan Public House with the sale of 3 more paintings.
Our second exhibition was with the RSPB Rainham Marshes from June 1st to 8th, (another new
venue for us) where we sold a further 3 paintings. This was one of two venues for us as we
participated in the Thurrock Art Trail. The other new venue was at the Grays Parish Church of
St Peter and St Paul’s from June 3rd to 7th. Our total number of visitors to the church was in
excess of 100 with 5 paintings sold. A number of members took part in an open exhibition at
the Methodist church in Stanford le Hope from July 5th to 12th and our final exhibition was held
at the Thameside Theatre in Grays from October 28th to November 1st where we most
pleasingly had 202 visitors and sold 2 paintings.
Our annual dinner took place at the Laindon Hills golf club on February 22nd with 24 people
attending and was enjoyed by all.
We had three demonstrations from visiting artists in 2013: Denis Naylor, on 10th May,
demonstrated drawing trees with graphite pencils. Trevor Harwood on 21st June demonstrated
painting a landscape with mixed media techniques with acrylics and pastels and finally on
November 22nd Hashim Akib was welcomed back to demonstrate a Berlin street scene in
acrylics. All demonstrations were well attended and enjoyed.
The society is very grateful to the Society for Artists with Disabilities for their kind loan of their
camera and projector equipment, which enabled us to have good visual access for all the
demonstrations.
There were two coach outings: the first to the Mall Gallery for the Society of Women Artists on
the 6th July and the second to ‘Art in Action’ at Waterperry House in Oxfordshire.
We returned from the summer break on 13th September and the society’s last event for 2013
was its annual Christmas ‘get together’ which took place on 13th December. A collection was
made as usual for St Luke’s Hospice raising £42.00.
Sylvia Maney
Secretary
Thurrock Marquetry Group
Annual Report for 2013
The Thurrock Marquetry Group held its AGM on 17th April 2013. The Chairman, Treasurer and
Secretary gave their reports to the members, which were well received, to let them know that the
Group was functioning on a sound footing. The committee were all re-elected for another year.
The National Marquetry Exhibition competition was held at the Gladstone Pottery Museum,
Staffordshire. Our group entered pieces in the various classes.
In June, the Group attended the Horndon Feast and Fayre and put on an exhibition of their work, and
members demonstrated their craft to a very interested audience. In July, the Thameside Wildlife
Centre at Mucking invited us to put on a display over a weekend, and which we are pleased to say
went very well.
We were at the Orsett Show in September, where we had a stand in the Arts and Crafts marquee and
where members demonstrated their craft. Very gratifyingly there was a constant stream of people
showing sustained interest in our displayed work.
Then in December we held our Social Evening and In-House Competition. It was a good way to end
the year.
In February 2014, we took part in a Joint exhibition, with two other societies, organised by the
chairman of the Visual Art Sub-Committee of the Thurrock Arts Council. It was held in the Gallery
at the Thameside Complex. This was a well-displayed exhibition, giving visitors a chance to see
some of the different forms of ‘Visual Art’ available, with paintings, photographs and marquetry on
display. The Thurrock Society for Artists with Disabilities hosted the exhibition and the Thurrock
Camera Club was the third group taking part, showing how groups can work together with very
positive results.
John Biggs
Secretary
Dance and Drama
Thurrock Courts Players
We had a great start to our season when we were nominated to
receive the Award for The Best Play in the South East region of the
National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA). The play, How
The Other Half Loves, was performed at the Thameside Theatre in
May 2012 and selected to perform in the British All Winners Festival
in Blackburn in June and we were very proud to win the Audience
Award for our performance and production!
Our May production was Inspector Drake's Last Case, a spoof Whodunnit. This was to be our entry
in the Thurrock Drama Festival where several of our members won awards for their performances.
Also in the festival was Home or Away, the first play written for us by one of our new members,
Michael McFarlane. This one-act play was well received and repeated in the Brentwood Festival in
September.
Also in Brentwood was the play Safe written specially by Luke Coldham for the three longest
serving members of the group, Vic Gray, John Scowen and Martyn Williams. This play was Courts'
first ever to be produced for the Edinburgh Festival where it competed with literally thousands of
other plays for audiences. It was a great success and received the runner up award at Brentwood and
Marty Williams won the Best (performance) Actor award. Sadly, this was to be the last performance
from our long-serving secretary, John Scowen, who suddenly passed away peacefully in April 2014
after bravely and stubbornly battling Motor Neurone Disease during the previous year.
Rumours was our October production and this was the first time we have performed a comedy by the
famous American playwright Neil Simon. It featured a beautiful set and a talented large cast. It was
well received by our audiences.
In February, we performed Love Begins At Fifty and the author drove from Oxfordshire to see the
last performance. He said it was possibly the best performance of his play that he had seen. We sent
him a DVD of the performance and he will be sending copies out to prospective hirers to give them
some ideas on staging and performance. The name Thurrock and Courts Players will be spreading
not only across Britain but also to countries further afield following our unique staging approach and
excellent performances in the production.
We have had six new members during the last year and managed to give them all a part in a play. In
order to accommodate all our members, we produced 3 one-act plays for the Waltham Forest Drama
Festival. Raisins was written and produced by one of our new members, Dean Rands and
Crackerjoke Writer together with On Unofficial Business made up a great evening’s entertainment
when all three formed a Triple Bill at the Thameside Theatre. With the help of his daughter Sarah
and his acting friends in Courts John Scowen made it to that evening and was the last time he was
able to visit the Thameside the scene of so many of his memorable and accomplished performances.
It was of course a poignant moment for the whole company to see him there and he was thrilled to
make it.
We are clearly a successful Drama Group whose reputation continues to spread outside of Thurrock
around the country. However, like most other amateur and professional groups, we are struggling to
improve our audience figures. We have introduced Saturday matinees to our performances and they
have caused us to lose more money but attendances are slowly improving and we hope to turn more
than cover our costs next season.
We finished the season as we started. We have just received an invitation to the NODA Awards
ceremony as our February production of Season's Greetings has been nominated for The Best Play
Award for 2013.
Thurrock District
Gang Show
The year began with Stride On 2013 which we performed in April and finished with us performing
Stride On 2014 in March. Both shows provided the opportunity for Cubs, Brownies, Guides, Scouts
and their leaders to come together and showcase their many talents for the entertainment of local
people. This was our 47th year and may we continue for many more years to come.
Thurrock Youth Theatre
Our season began with the full-length play The Hamlet Thrill Ma Geddon in March. This was a large
cast play giving most members the opportunity to perform at least two different roles! It was about a
group of young people who put on a perfomance of Hamlet and attempt to offset their losses by
including advertising during a performance which was also livened up with the inclusion of Star
Wars laser fights and Zombies. It was an unusual mix of styles but great fun to rehearse and perform.
We then produced a one-act play Screw Your Courage which was about rival gangs of young people
and the age old theme of good versus evil and which followed the story of Macbeth. Unfortunately,
the play was not ready in time for the Thurrock Drama Festival but came runner up at Brentwood in
September.
The group suffers every year as 18 year olds leave for university. During this season we lost six
members and, unfortunately, have had only four new members to replace them. We rehearse at The
Beehive (CVS Centre) in West Street, Grays on Tuesdays from 7 to 9 and young people from 12 to
16 are very welcome. We are currently rehearsing for Dirk Smirk, Secret Agent, a spoof of the James
Bond films and will need new members for our next production.
Contact us at thurrockyouththeatre@talktalk.net or see us on facebook.
General Arts
BRITISH SUGARCRAFT GUILD
ANNUAL REPORT 2013/2014
We are a non-profit making guild. Meetings are held on the second Saturday of each month, except in November
when it is the third Saturday although we do not meet in December. We are open to anyone who wishes to come
along to our meetings. Whilst most visitors have an interest in sugarcraft some just come to see what we do. Our
meeting venue is friendly and has disabled access and toilet and a warm welcome awaits all visitors.
We have had a declining membership over the last few years, so whilst it stands at about twenty members at the
moment sadly some of our members have passed away. We have however had more interest since being accepted
by the Thurrock Arts Council and having access to the notice board in the Thameside Library foyer helping to
publicize our activities. We have been introduced to other members of the Arts Council and have been pleased to
pass information onto our members.
We still meet in Linford Village Hall, Lower Crescent, Linford. Annual membership renewal is in March, and, our
A. G. M. is held in April.
The council has increased the rent for the forthcoming year. We are hoping that because we are trying other means
to increase our revenue, such as, having a ‘bring & buy’ table and increasing the price of our mid-session
refreshments of tea/coffee & cake, we will not have to put up our annual subscription.
During the year our demonstrations have ranged from ‘Teddy Bears’ Picnic’ through ‘Wobbly People’, ‘Pastillage
Furniture’ and various types of flowers to ‘Bridesmaid Posy & Bridal Headdress’. We have organized ‘Workshops’
on other days, locally, and further afield by coach. These have been very successful.
At last September’s ‘Orsett Show’ the branch exhibited a table with the theme ‘Autumn’. A number of members
met on Wednesdays during July and August at each other’s homes to make items for the table. After the ‘Orsett
Show’ we exhibited the table in the Gallery at Thameside Library. We had a lot of interest shown at both venues.
Very pleasingly as a result we have two new members who joined because of the exhibitions that attracted them.
DAVY DOWN TRUST
Sadly the Trust’s Chairman, Councillor Diana Hale died at the end of August after a long and brave fight
against cancer. Diana will be greatly missed as she had always been so enthusiastic, energetic and full of
ideas. Her funeral in Grays Parish Church was attended by many Councillors and representatives of other
organisations with which she was associated. Our Board Members were present as were those members of the
staff of Thurrock Council and the Essex and Suffolk Water Company who were associated with Davy Down.
Shortly before she died the Board Members received the following message from her sister;
“I am just sending an email for my sister Diana who as you know is very ill. She has asked me to thank you
for the wonderful support over the years and hope you keep it all going”.
This the Trust fully intends to do and the remaining events of 2013 were completed and the programme for
2014 is being prepared.
The annual programme of public events held on the second
Sunday of the month had begun in April with the Easter Egg
Hunt which was as popular as ever, as was the Strawberry
Tea in aid of cancer charities. As a result of the Strawberry
Tea £501 was given to Breast Cancer Care and another £100
to other cancer charities. A big thank you to the several
supermarkets for providing strawberries and other supplies.
The camera safari finds something near
home and not very fierce
Last year’s report had a photograph of the flooded Mardyke Valley and
the conditions are much the same again at the end of 2013 and as they
have always been in the winter. For a number of years there has been a
growing concern at the condition of the horses left on these flooded
water meadows. Although none are on Davy Down, we and especially
the warden, Steve Mitchell, have received many complaints from
Councillors and the public. At the end of the year Steve hosted a
This is not one of the horses which
suffered
on
the
downstream
meadows. The Forestry Commission
arranged a demonstration of how a
heavy horse is used in forestry work
for Heritage Open Day.
meeting at Davy Down between council officers, including the Chief
Executive and some of those who had most strongly expressed their
concern. It was agreed that the horses would no longer be allowed on
the flood meadows between November and March.
During May the Environment Agency surveyed the fish stocks in the Mardyke and found them healthy and
present in good numbers. Particularly interesting was the high number of eels, which have declined globally
by 95% over the last 25 years.
A regular programme of weekly events runs throughout the year. One school visits weekly and others
occasionally. The old pumping station is open every Thursday afternoon and every Friday, rain, snow or
shine, a group, often more than 30 strong, set out along the Mardyke Valley as part of the Healthy Walking
programme. Many other groups, individual walkers, bikers and dog walkers use Davy Down as their base for
visiting the valley,
I must again record the tremendous help we get with financial assistance from various sources, and the
backing, practical support and advice from our two site owning partners, Essex & Suffolk Water Company
and Thurrock Council.
John Webb
Thurrock Arts Council representative and a member of the Davy Down Trust
THURROCK FAMILY HISTORY GROUP
Yet another year has passed, and it is time for our annual report for Thurrock Arts Council. The Thameside
Family History Group has enjoyed another successful year, in spite of a continued decline in membership,
which currently stands at about 30. We have welcomed some new members and lost others, most notably
Brian Burton who died in December. Brian was one of our longest serving, and most loyal, members, and will
be greatly missed. I’m pleased to say that several of us were able to represent the Thameside Family History
Group at his funeral.
In spite of the decline in membership though, we still have an excellent attendance of 25-35 at most of our
monthly meetings, both members and visitors. Having said this, in spite of our dwindling numbers, our
finances remain sound for the time being, bolstered by our monthly raffle, and income from the ‘bring and
buy’ table. This year we have also, managed to sell off our old Public Address System.
We have again had a full programme of 10 meetings with lectures at all but two. Our December meeting is
always a Christmas Social, with nibbles and quizzes, and is enjoyed by all. We never have an August meeting,
as the Adult Community College is closed for the summer holidays. The rest of the year is given over to
lectures, and we always try to provide a balanced programme of speakers covering both family history sources
and social history subjects reflecting our ancestors’ lives. Not an easy task!! The past year has seen lectures on
various archive and internet sources, together with a look at Christmas past, and “Make do and Mend” during
World War 2. We look forward to a similar mix of subjects in the coming year. Speakers do not come cheap
these days, so we are grateful to Thurrock Arts Council for their Annual Grant, which greatly helps towards
our costs.
Our popular Christmas meal, which we have in January, (giving us something to look forward to after
Christmas and New Year celebrations have died down!) has proved so popular that (by request) we had two
further meals this year, in June and October. We also continue to produce a quarterly newsletter entitled “It’s
All Relative”. To keep costs down, this is now emailed to most of our members, those without an email
facility continuing to receive their newsletter in hard copy.
Due to the ill-health of our two help desk volunteers we have not been able to provide this service at most of
our meetings this year, but other experienced members are always happy to give family history research
advice where needed.
The Thameside Family History Group will be celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, with some of the
founding members still on the committee!! We have always been a very friendly group, and we do extend a
very warm welcome to all interested visitors to our meetings.
Meryl Catty
(Chairman)
THURROCK HERITAGE FORUM
As well as helping with displays for the Chadwell and Tilbury Memories Project, and finding speakers for
other organisations, the Forum was involved with various other activities during the year. This included
assisting with a display in Grays Library for the BATA Reminiscence & Resource Centre. Forum members
assisted Thurrock Council in the development planning for Coalhouse Fort and Park, which resulted in a
successful HLF bid. Thurrock Museum was also supported with its Heritage plaque scheme, which included
a plaque for Henry de Grai in Grays Parish as well as supporting Museum walks.
Thurrock Heritage Forum has again worked with the Thurrock Museum on the “Heritage Zone” concept to
provide opportunities for local heritage organisations to display together at the ‘Orsett Show’ on 7th Sept.13.
This year we were unable to obtain sponsorship funding for the Heritage Zone marquee, but were pleased to
accept an invitation from Thurrock Council to share their display space. This proved very successful and our
combined efforts led to more visitors than expected.
The THF has remained a member of the Essex Archaeological & Historical Congress. The BATA
Reminiscence & Resource Centre continues to attract national and international activity and Forum Members
have assisted with hosting numerous visiting architects and students and the continuing international interest
in this part of Thurrock.
For 2014/15 we are looking forward to continuing our efforts to ensure that the various consultation exercises
going on locally take note of the Heritage/Cultural aspects of life in the Thurrock of the future. This includes
working with the campaign group set up to ensure the preservation and suitable re-use of Alfred Russell
Wallace’s house “The Dell” in Grays. We are particularly looking forward to helping with Heritage Open
Day events in September and future planning for commemorating the centenary of the First World War which
had extreme effects on the inhabitants of Thurrock.
MIKE OSTLER
Chairman
ostler1@supanet.com
THURROCK LOCAL HISTORY SOCIETY
Annual Report Feb 2014
The Thurrock Local History has had another very good year. Our membership numbers are staying constant
with a large number of visitors attending each month, some of whom have become members. We have had
record attendances at some of the meetings. We are still continuing to attract younger members to the Society
and hope to encourage more in the future. The speakers at the meetings have again been very varied with
some recommendations for speaker and subjects coming from the members.
The Society continues to support events within the area and for example we regularly attend Horndon Feast
and Fayre and the Orsett Show where we were part of the Heritage Zone.
Our summer outings this last year were well attended, with visits to Brighton and Chatham. Visits to Windsor
and Audley End House are planned for this coming year.
Our new publications, a series of Parish Guides, have proved to be very successful; so far we have published
guides on Orsett, Grays, Chadwell St Mary and Tilbury Town, Horndon on the Hill, The Stiffords,
Corringham, Stanford and Coryton and very recently Mucking. The remaining parishes will be published
during 2014. Copies can be obtained through our web-site www.thurrock-history.org.uk.
Our publication ‘Panorama’ which is published with the help of a grant from the Thurrock Arts Council
continues to be very popular, with requests for copies of this and our other publications, coming via the website from all over the world.
All details of meetings, outings, publications and articles of local historical interest can also be found on our
web-site with new items being added regularly.
Sadly this year we lost one of our most popular and longer serving members, Brian Burton, who died in
December 2013. Brian, who was one of the Society’s Arts Council Representatives, former Chair and
President of the Essex Congress and committee member of the Society, will be greatly missed for his
enthusiasm, kindness and dedication to spreading knowledge of Thurrock’s rich historical past.
Maggie Smith
(Hon. Secretary)
THURROCK WILDLIFE SOCIETY
Well we have been out and watched the year roll round again, from Snowdrops and other early Spring flowers
at Warley Place to wonderful wildflowers and Bluebells in Norsey Wood. Here we were fascinated by the
Dormice boxes, how many of the sweet creatures were snoring inside?
We planned to go to Ransoms Farm in Kent, Plant Life’s largest reserve. The weather was so cold that there
was nothing to see so the visit was postponed. We did see the rare Orchids and bees at Coalhouse Fort.
The end of June found us at Thameschase to find out how much progress the site had made. The air was full
of birdsong, most notably “a little bit of bread and no cheeeeeeese” of the Yellowhammers, even I recognise
their song. We also saw wonderful Banded Demoiselles.
High summer saw butterflies, grasshoppers and other insects at Hadleigh Castle, and then a long but exciting
trip to the Hitchum area in Bedfordshire to see the Black Squirrels, and yes we did see them chasing each
other around.
Summer started to slide into Autumn. To Linford Wood for an early fungus hunt. We saw scarlet coloured
Blackening Waxcap, the poisonous Brown Rollrim among many fungi, also the aptly named Dogs Vomit
slime mould, and hundreds of Amber Snails amongst the Giant Horsetail.
Our Members Evening, an indoor meeting for a change, was with local wildlife photographer Rob Lay, who
showed us his wonderful pictures of the local area.
So to the darkest part of the year with our Christmas ramble and buffet lunch, a great chance for members to
socialise.
Our bulletin comes out four times a year, all this for £5.00 a year; where else could you get such good value?
Come with us and follow the wild seasons and develop an appreciation for and your knowledge of the wild
seasons and its wonderful and captivating wildlife. Phone Jill & Steve Ireland 01708 869474
THURROCK WRITER’S CIRCLE
2013 has been a very good year for the Thurrock Writer’s Circle.
Our annual Christmas short story competition was won by Joy Ridgewell.
The TWC welcomed a new Secretary, Steve Davis. Thank you to Denise Manning who has retired from this
post.
Members were sending work to be entered for an Anthology thanks to the Arts Council Grant, which gave us
help with funds to get this printed, this was presented at the Thurrock Writer’s Festival in May 2013. The
TWC were asked to judge the short story competition at this event.
Member Cindy Barber head of History at Palmer’s College agreed to set some of the writing programmes for
the meetings.
In February our members enjoyed a sociable meal at the Dog & Partridge, North Stifford.
In March our members attended the Thameside Theatre to see TOPS production of The King & I.
The Thameside Writer’s Festival was a great success and from this we acquired several new members to our
meetings. Joy Ridgewell and Steve Davis won prizes in the Poetry competition, there was a lot of interest and
our Anthology sold well. An invitation to attend the St Margaret’s church fete was accepted. We have had
several interesting published authors as Speakers this year this gives great encouragement and inspiration to
our writer’s.
In September we were given a grant by Chadwell Forum. This was most welcome for members that attended
the Ruskin College in Oxford for a creative writing weekend. The grant was used to help provide the group
transport by mini-bus.
October saw members going to support TOPS once again and saw a performance of Calamity Jane at the
Thameside Theatre.
In November the members were invited to attend a Chadwell Forum meeting to display their work and
Anthology.
Several members have entered and won competitions and also had work accepted for publication this year.
Both newspapers and magazines have published their work and we are proud to say that we have a successful
group the members of which creatively work hard to develop their writer’s gift.
In December our Christmas party was enjoyed by members with a relaxed atmosphere and a view to having
more creative success to look forward to in the New Year.
Joy Ridgewell
Chairman
Brass Bands
The Aveley & Newham Band
The band has taken part in many performances over the last year and we were happy to achieve 5th
place at the Senior Cup competition for elite bands at Blackpool.
A month later we attended the All England International Masters competition at Kettering. We came
a somewhat disappointing 13th out of 21, although we did beat 7 bands ranked above us- including
our own Regional champions.
During the summer we took part in various bandstand events, including Folkestone, Colchester and
two days at the Newham Show. At the latter we played to over 1,500 visitors per day and had
purposeful audiences with the Mayor of Newham.
We also presented at the Summer Concert at Aylesford Church, as always, and an interesting
evening at the Thurrock International Film Festival in which we formed part of the opening events.
In September we hit the contest trail again, and gained our first contest win since 2006 by winning
the Wychavon Entertainments Contest, and again beating notably higher ranked bands. By virtue of
this, and from the public local positivity that surrounds the band and the rumours that something is
happening here we were subsequently invited to attend the Butlins Mineworkers Entertainments
Contest in January. We also attended the SCABA Autumn Contest at Crawley, coming 4th on
Dances & Arias. We repeated this piece at the Leicester Contest in November.
Christmas saw us present concerts at Aylesford Church, Aveley Church and also take part in the
annual Rotary Christmas Concert at the Civic Hall. In addition to this several small groups took part
in events throughout the season, and we carried out street carolling.
As mentioned, in January we attended the Butlins contest- where the highest section bands appear by
invitation only. By achieving 8th place in both the set test and the entertainments contest, this saw us
finish in 9th place overall, and the honour of being the highest placed London band.
A year ago we were ranked 94 in the world. At the end of February this year we were declared 71.
We were also pleased a year ago to officially welcome Melvin in to the band full time as the MD,
following a band vote. Melvin gave up leadership of the Staines Band in order to be able to attend
both our rehearsals and to for us to become his number one band. Melvin works incredibly hard both
in front of the band but also behind the scenes where he is always looking for opportunities for us in
terms of players, music and gigs.
We have improved signage on the band hall (thanks to Vince’s generosity). We have a very vibrant
and active twitter and Facebook page presence also. We also looked at band uniform and the
unsustainability of the existing red jackets and took the opportunity to bring in newer style outfits
that were more in keeping with this day and age.
We formed an offshoot band in order to raise money and carry out ‘beer nights’ forming the
AvelweissOompah band and have already many gigs booked in the diary. We welcome people from
other bands taking part in their spare time and give our many thanks to Stephen Kenna for leading
this venture.
Last year saw us reintroduce the annual band Dinner and Dance, where over 100 people celebrated
the achievements of the band. During the evening tribute was paid to Derek Morris on the 50th
anniversary of him signing with the band.
We are proud to work with council and mayor, and the MP representing Thurrock- and thank them
for their support over the last year.
Grays Town Band
Annual Report
The year 2013 was Grays Town Band’s 125th anniversary year and to celebrate this Grays Town
Band held a series of concerts across Thurrock promoting not just the band, but also the Thurrock
Arts Council and ‘brass banding’.
These concerts were a mixture of themed music concerts as well as more traditional concerts. In
addition to the concerts in Thurrock the band also embarked on mini tours of both The Isle of Wight
and Suffolk as well as a joint concert with ENJO as part of the it’s anniversary celebrations. In
addition to this Grays Band are always very busy in the local area playing at school, church and
community events such as the Fobbing Proms and the Thurrock Beer Festival as well as many
remembrance events
As is Grays Bands’ tradition, we provide low cost music lessons and support our pupils through
musical exams and had many successes both in practical and theory examinations, certainly an
indication of how successful the bands teaching programme is.
Also 2013 also saw the launch of the bands second CD which has been very well received. The Band
is a friendly group playing a wide range of brass music. Rehearsals are on Monday evening from
7:30 – 9:30 p.m. and the Learner Band meets on a Monday from 6.45 – 7.30p.m. Lessons are on a
Thursday from 6.30pm onwards. New and experienced players are always welcome. For further
details contact Mrs. Claire Mason on 01375 392807 or visit the Bands’ website at
www.graystownband.co.uk
Thurrock Spectrum Brass Band
The band continues playing and teaching in the local community and most engagements are booked
on an annual basis. Thus we have a regular itinery of fetes like North Stifford Fete and Horndon
Feast and Fayre as well as private functions including Orsett Masonic Lodge lunches, accompanying
services such as the Mayor’s St. George’s Day service, Remembrance Services at South Ockendon
and Chafford Hundred and St. Luke’s ‘Tree of Light’ Service at Christmas, as well as garden parties.
On the Orsett in Bloom’s Open Day the band played in Orsett Church where there was an art
exhibition.
Each year the band is extremely busy 5/6 weeks before Christmas playing carols etc. Most of these
“jobs” are outside so we have to hope the weather will be favourable. The death of Andrew
Harrington will leave an enormous hole in the local brass banding world. Although Andy did not
officially join TSB he was always prepared to help out at events when he was available, and often
visited the Band at rehearsals. Band members continue to sell raffle tickets for the Mayor’s
Community Chest at Lakeside and Grays Shopping Centres.
We continue to encourage and teach absolute beginners of any age from 8 years old upwards.
Players of any standard, who just want to enjoy playing in a band without the pressures of contesting,
are very welcome.
Lessons for beginners are provided on Monday evenings from 5.30 – 7.30 pm and band rehearsals
are held from 6.30 – 8.45 pm on Friday evenings. Rehearsals and teaching take place at the
Hathaway Academy, Hathaway Road, Grays. For further information please contact our M.D.
Rosemary Mann on 01375 891653 or go to our band website www.spectrumbrass.co.uk
The band wishes to express its grateful thanks for the continued support of Thurrock Arts Council.
The Tilbury Band
incorporating the Tilbury Brass & Percussion Academy
The Tilbury Band has had a very busy but successful year on both concert and contest stages. On the
contest scene, the band achieved its most successful season in history picking up top 5 places in
every appearance as well as a number of special awards and prizes for individual members.
In March, the band achieved their highest result in 7 year’s at the London and Southern Counties
Regional Qualifiers finishing in 5th place out of 18 bands and this was shortly followed by a 1st place
finish at the Southern Counties Band contest in Crawley during May.
Elsewhere the band took part in over 50 engagements during 2013, including running a very
successful event in October at the Civic Hall in Grays. This even was one where over 100 Brass and
Percussion musicians joined together in a concert to celebrate the life of former Tilbury Band
Trombonist Michael Foreman who tragically died a year earlier. Bandstand engagements engaged
over 15,000 spectators throughout the Summer while over 20 million people heard the band on TV
and Radio shows.
The Tilbury Band continues to promote the education of young musicians through the Tilbury Brass
& Percussion Academy. Over the past year, the Academy bands have continued to flourish and have
performed around the area at concerts in Southend, Dartford and Tilbury.
The Academy is now running regular open days in order to provide further opportunities for young
players around the area , further information can be found on the Academy website at
www.tilbury.academy
The Band rehearses on Sunday (Tilbury Brass & Percussion Academy) and Wednesday (Tilbury
Band) and will always give a warm welcome to anyone wishing to attend rehearsals. For further
information about the Tilbury Band or Tilbury Brass Academy please visit the Band’s website at
www.tilburyband.com or contact the band secretary at secretary@tilburyband.com
Music Sub Committee
THURROCK ACCORDION CLUB
We’ve enjoyed ourselves during the past year at the same time as bringing enjoyment to our audiences. Once
again we were invited to play for the Grays Diabetes Society’s Christmas get-together where we’re always
made very welcome.
We also were pleased to be asked yet again to take part in our host church’s Service of Nine Lessons and
Carols. Three of us entertained at the Annual Fish and Chip Supper of the Thurrock Male Voice Choir which
was held in Horndon on the Hill, and a small group played at the BBQ and fete held by Socketts Heath Baptist
Church during the summer.
We’ve also had a couple of evenings off during the year and gone to support concerts staged by other Clubs;
and several members have gone to various residential weekends devoted to accordion playing in groups or as
soloists under the tutelage of more expert musicians.
This year, as in past years, we went to compete in music festivals at Sevenoaks and Maidstone. There’s a lot
of hard work by the Band in preparation for each but they are always very enjoyable occasions and give us the
chance to hear some very talented musicians. At Maidstone we came first in our class and two of our members
won the duettist’s competition. As a result both the Band and the Duettists were invited to travel back to the
Maidstone area to take part in Winners’ concerts later in the year.
Our celebrity concert was a performance by two very well-known accordionists – Tony Compton, who lives
and teaches accordion in Southend, and Jack Emblow, someone who many will remember for his playing in
various radio series such as “Sing Something Simple” and numerous other programmes. Both are very fine
musicians who treated us to music in many different styles. This year (2014), in July we shall be hosting a
concert by accordion duettists the Duo Kyiv (if the situation in Ukraine permits!) and whose tours are aimed
at raising as much money as possible for the victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. As always, the Band
will be playing a small part in the concert.
We’re trying to encourage people who aren’t necessarily accordion players to come to Club nights, bringing
with them whatever instruments they do play and we’ve has some success in this. At February’s club night we
had 6 different instruments and our accordions.
We meet every Thursday from 7.30 – 10.00pm at Socketts Heath Baptist Church, to whose Minister and
Deacons we must again express our gratitude for providing us with a warm, comfortable place to play in every
week. The first Thursday in each month is for the Club and anyone who cares to come along whilst the Band
practises on the others. Refreshments (tea or coffee and biscuits) are included in the fee of just £2.00 for the
evening – what a bargain! We can’t, at present, offer any tuition but we can put you in touch with those who
can and then give you lots of support and encouragement.
Finally, we’d like to give our thanks to the Thurrock Arts Council for all the help and assistance that they give
to us and the all the other arts groups in the borough.
If anyone out there would like any further details about Thurrock Accordion Club and Band please phone me,
Jon, on 01708 458373 or drop in to meet us any Thursday evening.
THURROCK CHORAL SOCIETY
Thurrock Choral Society continues to perform a diverse selection of mainly classical music. We rehearse on
Wednesday evenings at Grays Parish Church Hall, a convenient venue in the centre of Grays with good
facilities.
As referred to in last year’s report, in July 2013 the choir joined with 4 other choirs conducted by or connected
with our Musical Director, Crispin Lewis, to perform Elgar’s The Dream of Gerontius, one of the major works
of the choral repertoire. The concert was held in central London and so brought the name of Thurrock to a
wider audience. The performance was extremely well received and our members enjoyed the chance to
perform a large work with a full orchestra, something that is not possible for a small choir on its own.
We were pleased that the Mayor of Thurrock travelled to London to support us at the concert. We continue to
be grateful to Thurrock Arts Council and Thurrock Council for their support and funding which enables us to
continue to perform classical music to the public in Thurrock.
In our regular concerts, held at Grays Parish Church, we continued to present a combination of works new to
the choir, or at least not performed by us for some years, with others which were more familiar. In December
2013, we combined the Schubert Mass in G with some seasonal music from Latin America that included
Navidad Nuestra by Ariel Ramirez, which also gave the choir the chance to learn a little Spanish as spoken in
Latin America!
All our concerts were well received by their audiences and we are delighted to continue to receive favourable
reviews for our presentations.
In June 2013, we again took part in the Fused festival, organised by the Royal Opera House Thurrock which
was a great opportunity to collaborate with other choirs in the borough.
The Society is always on the lookout for more members, particularly men, to join our friendly group – no
audition is required!
CHURCHES DRAMA & OPERA IN THURROCK
(CDOT)
Rehearsals for our Summer Concerts continued from April. When these were concluded and Richard Wade
(our Musical Director) re-elected, we spent a few weeks learning the new music which would form the core of
the repertoire for our 2014 concerts. Since January the Society has been rehearsing for these, our annual series
of nine concerts, which this year will again take place in the Spring, Summer and Autumn; supporting
charities and other good causes.
We are now well-established as a concert group and already have bookings for the next few years. Our
concert programme is now more varied than ever, as we have stretched ourselves musically and successfully
tackled some very difficult and effective arrangements of jazz and popular standards. This year we were again
supported by Angelo Tsocos as Rehearsal and Concert Accompanist.
24 of our 30 members live in Thurrock and so our aim is to have at least 6 of our 9 annual concerts in
Thurrock. We do set a fee at each venue to help cover costs.
We are gradually adding to our library of music by adding at least 9 new pieces a year. Too familiar a
repertoire and we lose members and audiences through boredom. Our intention is to sell music that we no
longer need or use to other Thurrock societies, and hire from those societies as much as possible. We will
also be looking to obtain funding to buy a keyboard, but are extremely grateful (in the meantime) to Angelo
for the use of his keyboard.
We are very grateful, as always, to the Arts Council and (primarily) Thurrock Council for their continued
support and funding. The hire of a rehearsal hall, the cost of new music and the services of a Musical Director
and Accompanist … these all cost a great deal of money. We have tried to rely solely on what monies we
raise, but will be asking for a grant this coming year. We have increased our membership subscription to a
more realistic figure, as compared to other Thurrock Arts Council affiliated groups.
Finally, new members are always very welcome in CDOT, especially men!!! All we ask is that you are 18 or
over and can sing in tune. We will consider new members who are 16 or 17 if we can be certain that we can
comply fully with Child Protection legislation. Don’t worry if you are not particularly good or a bit quiet - we
have enough loud voices for you to hide behind! So, if you aren’t already doing something on a Wednesday
evening and want to join a friendly, award-winning choir; then why not ring me (01375 678618) and have a
chat about joining CDOT.
I look forward to hearing from you.
You can also visit our website
www.cdot.org.uk It badly needs updating, but it will give you some idea of what we are like, our history and
what critics have said about our singing.
Jean Rawlinson
Chairman of CDOT
MOSAIC CHOIR
It has been another successful and enjoyable year for our choir now into it’s nineteenth year. Our numbers
have held up well with the vast majority of members having been with us for many years and several founder
members included. Nevertheless, we are always prepared to welcome new singers especially where they
might serve to strengthen particular sections of the choir and thereby achieve an improved and more
consistent balance between the four main parts: soprano, alto, tenor and bass.
We continue to add new music to our repetoire which this year has included some special and exclusive
arrangements of popular Christmas classics.
We have now settled into our new rehearsal venue at the Beacon Hill Academy, Eriff Drive, South Ockendon
where we are to found enjoying ourselves singing in rehearsal on Monday evenings during term time between
7.45 and 9.45pm.
Our actual concert performances have been slightly restricted in this last year owing to the difficulty of
bringing all the necessary components together at the right time. This seems to be a common problem these
days with people having increasingly full diaries and a diversity of interests. When invited to perform we
require our MD, accompanist, and a sufficiently good balance of all parts to be available in order to confirm
the booking and thereby achieve the standard we expect of ourselves. Even so, local churches, Rotary and
Lions organisations as well as the London Air Ambulance are some of those we have been able to help this
year.
With all the uncertainties surrounding future funding for music and other arts societies by way of grants, it is
reassuring to report that so far we are fortunate to remain self sufficient and do endeavour to remain that way
despite the difficult financial times.
We are looking forward to yet another good year for Thurrock’s “FUN” choir.
John Hunting
(Treasurer)
THURROCK MALE VOICE CHOIR
The choir’s year started with a Tribute Concert for our retiring Past Musical Director, now President, Ray
Venn. This enjoyable occasion was held in St.Peter & St. Paul’s church in Horndon-on-the-Hill and was very
well attended.
We performed a further eleven concerts throughout the year, the highlight being our weekend tour of North
Norfolk in April when the choir sang in Dersingham, Fakenham and culminating in St. Mary Magdalen, the
Queen’s church on the Sandringham estate
We were very honoured because we understand that we are the only visiting choir who have had the privilege
of singing inside the church.
Our Annual Concert, always held in May in the Civic Hall Grays, was the 50th time we have performed at this
venue and was in aid of Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital. This was well attended with many local
dignitaries present.
On a sadder note the choir had two members retire on ill health grounds which reduces our members to thirty
We need to recruit new singers and would welcome anyone who loves to sing to join us – we are a very happy
choir and no audition is required. Our rehearsals are every Monday evening in the Methodist Church hall in
Hathaway Road Grays at 7.30pm
Our Secretary is Derek Sundberg who can be reached on 01375 376145
Peter Brainwood
Chairman
TOPS ON STAGE
Well, another year gone by - but a year crammed with some great moments in the history making joy of
putting on shows.
In October we introduced a second show to our annual programme and staged Calamity Jane. Our NODA
regional review exhalted the qualities of the show and we've been nominated for "BEST MUSICAL", but
have yet to learn of the outcome. September saw the launch of TOPS KIDS our first ever "all children"
production and rehearsals went into action for a production In April 2014. With BLITZ scheduled for March
2015 and a call for two teams of around 20 children, the committee will consider an "all children production
again in 2016.
Thoroughly Modern Millie was probably the most challenging of all our shows for a long time, its complex
sets, and fast paced costume changes set new boundaries for the members of TOPS who went head on into the
challenge and came out elated by the results.
With the delicious Blood Curdling Drama SWEENEY TODD now in full swing, rehearsals are shaping up
and we are delighted to have attracted a stellar cast and a brilliant support ensemble of old and new members
alike.
This coming year will be just as exciting, challenging and rewarding; all added to by capacity audiences and
continued standing ovations.
Thanks to everyone who have contributed to our artistic success of 2013/14 and to my Committee who have
dedicated hours upon hours of their time in making it all happen.
Gary Sullivan
Chairman
THURROCK THAMESIDE MUSICAL SOCIETY
(TTMS)
2013 saw a successful year for TTMS performing the show Little Shop of Horrors in July at the Thameside
Theatre. At this point I’d like to thank Hilary Martin, Clare Penfold and Kelly Evans for their leadership as the
production team. We were also very well supported by lots of other people in the society. As with previous
years ticket sales have been a challenge and it is made even harder for TTMS as many of our cast are related
or close friends and we are selling to the same people.
I’d like to thank very much the members of our committee who have worked very hard this year to ensure that
we strike a healthy balance between putting on the best possible production TTMS is capable of, having fun
and ensuring that we are as economically sound as we can be during these difficult financial times.
TTMS is blessed with a strong principal and chorus line-up which makes casting of shows with lots of parts a
possibility and it was great to see new faces playing our lead roles. Each year, new people come to fore and
exhibit their talents which have previously been hidden and we believe it’s vital that we continue to encourage
everyone to push themselves forward in being confident with their abilities. Not every part is suited to every
person regardless of talent and it’s important that we all remember this when we embark on future auditions.
As with previous years the committee have tried to keep our costs to a minimum and I am pleased to report
that expenditure came in significantly within budget. This was primarily due to our cast who were willing to
provide their own costumes and props and our production team who reduced their fees. As a society we are
committed to fund raising to increase our income.
Our strategy for 2014 has changed and very disappointingly we have decided to cancel our main show Honk!
This decision was not an easy one but despite a recruitment drive we only had a cast of 15, this size of cast
would not be able to sell enough tickets to cover our costs. Musicals are often costly! To ensure the viability
of TTMS we are taking a year to improve our bank balance. Our targets for 2014 are as follows:

Perform the show Forbidden Broadway at Orsett Village Hall in February 2014

Recruitment Campaign

Develop a robust marketing campaign using social media

Perform a concert to increase income

Fund raising target of £6000 in 2014
I would like to thank the Arts Council for their continued support during these difficult financial times, it is
acknowledged that this grant income is also vital to our survival and to us to continue to bring musical theatre
to the people of Thurrock by Thurrock people.
Jo Dean
Chairman
There’s always something happening
Thurrock Arts Council