The Brentwood Buzz

The Borough of Brentwood is fortunate to have wonderful primary and secondary schools, and a plethora of enthusiastic, dedicated and patient teacher and support staff to bring the best of education to our children and young people.

The Anglo European School in Ingatestone is a secondary school specialising in modern foreign languages. Its pupils come from across Ingatestone, Brentwood and Shenfield, as well as Chelmsford and even further afield.

The Brentwood Buzz has been to meet the school's headteacher, Jody Gee, who attended primary and secondary school in Brentwood before studying English.

Her love the for subject, and her fond memories of the teachers who inspired her, let her into teaching and she is now an enthusiastic advocate for all a good and supportive education can do for everyone.

1:4:9 Productions, the new Shakespeare group about town, are bringing the Bard's Henry V to Brentwood Theatre this month.

The play sees the new King head off to France to war and the cast admits there are many familiar themes in the storyline.

The Brentwood Buzz has been to meet the cast and production team in rehearsals for the show, which will be on at Brentwood Theatre from 21st to 23rd March, including a Saturday matinee.

The rapid advance of AI technology, and a growing reliance on apps and emails to get access to anything from ordering a takeaway to booking a GP appointment, has left some of us floundering.

Code breaking might be the stuff of Bletchley Park for the flounderers, but primary school children in Brentwood have got coding cracked.

The Brentwood Buzz has been to meet some of them at a session for new-to-the-town coding club, TechyTots.

The children's book publishing world is a cut-throat place, but new Brentwood author, Laura-Jamie Morgan has grabbed it by the Rapunzels and published her own book, pointing out not all stories have to have the traditional fairytale ending.

Brentwood Theatre is one of the jewels in Brentwood's crown, and it is celebrating its 30th anniversary over the course of the next year.

The theatre was created by the town's theatrical community so they had a venue for their shows, and in the last 30 years hundreds of plays, musicals, films, and events have been enjoyed by the theatre's loyal and growing audience.

Brentwood Theatre has seen the start of many a theatrical career - both amateur and professional - none less than Ian Southgate, who is now the theatre's manager. The Brentwood Buzz has been to meet him.

Christmas is coming, so Crown Street in Brentwood is the place to go for a great choice of gift ideas at one of its fabulous independent shops.

This week, The Brentwood Buzz has been to visit one of the post-pandemic arrivals, Taylor Wines, which is doing great business with its array of fine wines, ports and gins, and is becoming a go-to destination for wine tastings too.

If you've not popped into Chantilly aka The Pink Cafe on Crown Street for a spot of lunch, a cup of coffee, or one of their amazing afternoon teas, you've been missing out!

Co-owned and run by two cousins, Natalie and Sally, Chantilly is a great little independent tearoom. Listen to this week's The Brentwood Buzz to hear why Chantilly has become the go-to place for people with Type 2 diabetes who fancy a diet-friendly treat.

Brentwood's ever growing policing team works from the Policing Hub in Brentwood Town Hall, led by District Commander Tina Cooper, a police officer for 18 years and a recent recruit from the Met Police.

The Brentwood Buzz has been to meet Chief Inspector Cooper at the Policing Hub to find out what brought her to Brentwood and her main priorities for tackling crime and keeping Brentwood residents safe.

A locally written play celebrating female friendship through a lifetime is coming to Brentwood Theatre at the beginning of November. Local Girls, a company of women aged from 7 to 80+, has created 'Sometime Soon' - a play with music - based on a monologue written for a previous show by one of its cast members.

The Brentwood Buzz has been to meet the women behind the project.

You can see the show at the Brentwood Theatre from 3rd-5th November - tickets available from the theatre.

The Brentwood Buzz is back after a summer break, so fire up the Bat Signal and head off to a new shop in Town. Comic Book Villains is Jason Rutland's first shop in Brentwood, but he's a comic book sales veteran. So tune into the latest Brentwood Buzz to find out what's brought him - and Batman - to Brentwood.

St Thomas's Church is the Parish Church for Brentwood, set in the centre off Brentwood at the end of St Thomas's Road off the High Street. For the last few years the Reverend Matthew Austen has been curate at the church, known as Father Matthew to the congregation and hundreds of school children in local church primary schools.

Father Matthew is about to leave Brentwood to take up at new post at Christ Hospital School in Horsham, so the Brentwood Buzz has been to see him to hear about his interesting life to date, and what he will remember about the town.

Early Doors Productions bring a Shakespeare-style romcom romp to Ingatestone Hall's courtyard this week (19th-22nd July 2023). The Brentwood Buzz has been to the final rehearsal at Ingatestone Hall to hear from the play's author, Justine Cartledge, director Amy Clayton and some of the cast about the joy or doing a light-hearted comedy outside in the English summer.

Brentwood is fortunate in having one of the best youth musical groups around in the form of BOSSY Theatre, which puts on full musicals in proper theatres with a cast aged 11-18.

Bus BOSSY is in need of a new boss, as current Musical Director Max Harris is heading northwards for the joys of marriage and a new job.

The Brentwood Buzz has visited BOSSY during rehearsals for their new show, Footloose, to find out how much they will miss Max, and what a new Musical Director will need to bring to the table.

Pick up any newspaper featuring a picture of the Prime Minister or a Cabinet Minister, and there is a good chance it was taken by Brentwood-based photojournalist, Ian Davidson.

Ian's lived in the town for 35 years, moving here to work for Ford and then following a career which took him to Crawley, the City and now, most often, the press pen at Downing Street.

This week The Brentwood Buzz meets Ian in the town's United Reform Church to hear how a good picture is worth a thousand words.

The St Thomas Music Foundation runs a series of free lunchtime concerts throughout the year for anyone who happens to be in Brentwood town Centre on a Friday lunchtime.

The concerts are held in the glorious setting of St Thomas's, the parish church for the town, and organised by Thomas Rayner, an aspiring opera singer who grew up and went to school in Brentwood.

This week The Brentwood Buzz has been to St Thomas's to meet Thomas in another podcast which showcases some of the wide range of music and musicians we have in Brentwood.

If you know anyone who would love to chat to The Brentwood Buzz, please get in touch at TheBrentwoodBuzz@gmail.com

The Coronation of King Charles III is this weekend and this historic event is being celebrated across Brentwood . Conversations about the Coronation, and memories of the last Coronation, are being shared by friends and families across the Borough. Shop windows are full of red, white and blue displays, while musicians from the Brentwood Imperial Youth Band, Brentwood School Big Band and church choirs are rehearsing for the Coronation Festival in King George's Park on Monday 8th June organised by Brentwood Borough Council. The Brentwood Buzz has been to meet some of those involved in the preparations for a Coronation Preparation Special!

S1Ep11 - The Brentwood Buzz has already featured a very talented local musician, Amy Hollingsworth, who is just finishing her studies at the Guildhall School of Music and heading out in the big world of jazz vocals.

But Brentwood is a hotbed of young musical talent, and this week The Brentwood Buzz meets Tom Hodgkinson, an 18 year old student at the Brentwood School. Tom is the 2022 Essex Young Musician of the Year, and his astounding skills in playing the classical guitar have brought him to the attention of none other than John Williams, whose recording of "Cavatina" was very well-known in the 1970s.

Tom's on the brink of the next stage of his musical training, so The Brentwood Buzz headed off to Brentwood School to meet Tom and hear him play.

Anyone who has walked past the Spread Eagle Pub on Queen's Road in Brentwood will be familiar with the wonderful murals which regularly appear on the wall opposite the back entrance to St Thomas's Churchyard. The artist behind these murals is artist Mario Corile (http://www.corile-design.co.uk/) , and a couple of weeks ago I happened to see him painting his latest artwork on the pub wall. It was too good an opportunity to mis so we had a chat about his work and what brings him to Brentwood on a regular basis.

The cheerful and ever-changing displays in the windows of Bennetts Funeral Directors in Brentwood reflect the company's long-standing position and importance in the lives - and deaths - of many Brentwood inhabitants.

But if you think the funeral business involves little more than a long car and some men and women in black suits, you may wish to think again. There are qualifications and regulations, training and a good eye for a good hearse needed. Jane Bennet took over her family's firm more than thirty years ago and had to learn it all from scratch so The Brentwood Buzz has been to meet her and find out some of the finer details of planning a funeral.

A special additional episode of The Brentwood Buzz today, celebrating young entrepreneurs in the town who have been taking part in Brentwood's first 'Make Your Market' event in the Baytree Centre.

The Covid pandemic made many young people take a good look at their lives and passions, and the outcome seems to have been the enthusiastic decision to make, create and sell all kinds of products. Brentwood has never been a place lacking in entrepreneurial vigour, and Brentwood Borough Council have embraced this by bringing 'Make Your Market' to the town and encouraged those aged under 30 to take part.

Things started small today, but they will grow, and there's no doubt The Brentwood Buzz will be talking to the likes of Charlotte (Minus Cloud Nine), Lucy (Amara London) and Lily (DottysCreatives) again in the future as their business careers develop.

S1Ep7 Music, coffee and a hefty dose of nostalgia is what you get at Hey Joe!, Brentwood's only independent record shop. The shop in the Baytree Centre is run by Marc Sardinha, who decided Brentwood was the perfect place for the shop he wanted to open and he moved here three years ago.

This week on The Brentwood Buzz Marc explains why Brentwood offers everything he wants for home and work, and runs through what's hot and what's not in the music scene at the moment. And if Sam Ryder or Depeche Mode tune in to The Brentwood Buzz, Marc would be happy for them to come and play at the shop!

If you'd like to know more about The Brentwood Buzz, or think someone you know would make a brilliant guest, please get in touch at TheBrentwoodBuzz@gmail.com or via The Brentwood Buzz on Facebook.

S1Ep6 - Nestled in the heart of Brentwood's wonderful Crown Street is the Chicken and Frog bookshop, run by Natasha and Jim Radford. The bookshop provides a focus for young readers wanting to find new inspiration, and for adults who want to read something which might be less widely available online or in High Street chains. The shop embraces diversity and everyone is made to feel welcome - unless they are a chicken...

This week The Brentwood Buzz visits the Chicken and Frog to meet owner Natasha Radford to find out what Brentwood, and books, mean to her.

S1Ep5 The Brentwood Buzz has been given exclusive access to rehearsals of a new and original musical, 'If They're Human', by the talented team at Early Door Productions.

Early Doors Productions rehearse and perform in Brentwood, and their latest show, set in a concentration camp in Second World War Germany, promises to challenge audiences when it comes to Brentwood Theatre on 1st-4th March 2023.

S1Ep4 - For those in the know, Brentwood offers a wide range of theatrical and musical opportunities for the youngest learners to the oldest professionals. Brentwood Theatre, the Bardswell Social Club, the Essex Arms are just a few of the venues where actors and musicians meet, act and perform. And that's not even mentioning all the church and school halls hosting rehearsals and performances across the town.

And this week, The Brentwood Buzz is hearing from a young jazz singer who has grown up in the town and is due to front her own show, live at the Ingatestone Community Centre on Saturday 18th February 2023, with the Jon Bennett Big Band.

Amy Hollingsworth learnt her craft through school shows at Warley Primary School, the Ursuline High School and Shenfield High School, as well as Brentwood Theatre and many of the local orchestras and bands. She's now in her final year studying jazz vocals at the Guildhall School of Music.

The Brentwood Buzz is delighted to support Amy - she is a great vocalist and will go far!

You can her some of Amy's amazing vocals on her Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/amymay.hollingsworth 

S1Ep3 Tucked away on a small row of shops behind Brentwood High Street is Brandler Galleries. Its owner, fine art dealer and street art collector, John Brandler has lived in Brentwood all his life and has become known as a world expert on the art of Banksy. The Brentwood Buzz has been to meet John to find out what keeps him in Brentwood and why Banksy holds such a fascination for him.

S1Ep2 The Brentwood Buzz is back, with walking boots on and out in the open air with Julian Goode. Julian's survived leukaemia and lockdown in the the last four years and has walked 500 miles across all four countries of the UK to raise money and awareness. And, in the words of the Proclaimers, he will walk 500 more as he's set up a business giving all of us the chance to have a good walk in the countryside and woods around Brentwood and Essex.

You can find out more about Julian and his walks at GoodeWalks.co.uk

The Brentwood Buzz is hosted by Kay Bellwood

S1Ep1 The Brentwood Buzz's first guest is Mark Reed, a current Brentwood Borough Councillor and a former Mayor of Brentwood, who used to run Brentwood Theatre and now wrangles animals at children's parties.

The Brentwood Buzz is a podcast celebrating all that is good about Brentwood, Essex through the people who live and work here.

Kay Bellwood has lived in the town for 25 years and will be talking to guests about how they came to be in Brentwood, what they do here and what makes them stay.

If you have an interesting tale to tell about your life in Brentwood, get in touch at TheBrentwoodBuzz@gmail.com