I grew up in an environment where I watched many different aunties work long hours on their feet to create beautiful styles on my head for school. The styles varied from using wool, and thread intertwining together to hold a form. To protect your hair from exposure to the environment.

Creativity comes in handy when stressful times appear. It’s a balm for my spirit and a nurturing healer for my heart. It opens the channel to freedom, expression and being that transcends limits or restrictions.

I love how a single object can hold multiple stories, revealed only as it is viewed from different perspectives, by people with different experiences. But how can we unlock these stories and the power an object has to spark curiosity and create a tangible connection to past people and places, in a way that is accessible for all?

Creativity deserves to be challenged. In a world where we often perceive everything in black and white terms, creativity offers an exciting opportunity to challenge its purpose.

Witches are a common sight this time of year, casting spells with a cackle in spooky Halloween displays. But these seasonal cartoon hags are a far cry from the real ‘witches’ of Essex who form part of a much darker history in our county.

"The only true voyage of discovery… would be not to visit strange lands but to possess other eyes.” (Proust, The Captive, 1923)

Have you ever seen that episode of Miranda where her mother can't say certain, shall we say, risqué words out loud and just mouths them silently, often picking the wrong words to censor? Well, the latest art exhibition here at Spread – a brand design studio come art gallery – has got us feeling a bit the same.

My name is Michelle and I’m a Radio Anorak.

I love to take on creative projects & these have included illustrating a poetry book, having pictures printed in a calendar, needle felting for Heritage Week, various competitions (happily with some success), Inktober, a piece of community art & using my artwork to raise funds for charity.

I’ve always been a creative person, and I feel silly saying that, because it implies there are people who aren’t creative, and I don’t believe that.

Take a deep breath, exhaling out of your mouth to create an ocean-like sound. Now place a hand on your heart, feel and listen to that constant rhythmic pulse from inside your very being. Now take a moment to become aware of all the sounds happening all around you. What can you hear?

I would say one of the most challenging parts of my job is being the wearer of many hats, yet of course that is what keeps the role exciting. If someone asks me what I do for a living, it is difficult to find a label and they are often puzzled when I can’t give them a two word job title. I usually go for ‘Community Artist’ and that seems to satisfy and intrigue people in equal measure.

Way back in the mid 80's my secondary dance teacher invited my friends and I to go to the Blue Coat Chambers Art Gallery in the heart of Liverpool city centre to take part in a cross-arts project.

Whatever you think of it, STEAM is a label – the word we use to represent a concept – and there are plenty of unhelpful but widely-used labels around, so I’m not going to pick that particular fight. The STEAM movement is, in fact, something brilliant, and I’d like to talk a little about what it means and why it’s important.

Chelmsford Community Radio started in 2013 and we gained our FM license nearly 5 years ago. We are proud of the wonderful platform that has evolved over all this time and how it benefits local people of all ages. Hopefully many of you will have taken part in a show or project of ours already.

Chelmsford Community Radio started in 2013 and we gained our FM license nearly 5 years ago. We are proud of the wonderful platform that has evolved over all this time and how it benefits local people of all ages. Hopefully many of you will have taken part in a show or project of ours already.

Here are a few personal thoughts and reflections on that ‘difficult’ third Light Parade.

With over 500 events, competitions, exhibitions and recordings, it has been a brilliant year of science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics (STEAM) right across Essex. As Essex 2020 -Year of Science & Creativity draws to a close, plans are actively underway to build on this legacy in 2021.

It was recently bought to our attention that local resident Gareth Roberts was collaborating with Chelmsford City Council Parks' team on an initiative called 'Project in the Paint' to spruce up a Basket Ball Court on Chelmer Village Green.

Hopefully by now if you’re a resident of Chelmsford, you have seen and maybe heard the tinkling of the ivories of the community piano in the Meadows Shopping Centre in the middle of the city.