The Brentwood Buzz

Clearly, those of us who live in Brentwood know what a great place it is - The Brentwood Buzz was created to reflect some of the great places and people we have here. But for those wanting to move here, finding a property in the right price range and in the right place can be tricky. That's where estate agents come into their own, and one of the newest faces in town is personal estate agent Josh Vaux-Blake from The Agency UK. Josh was one of the sponsors of Brentwood Pride and we met up with him there for a chat about buying in Brentwood.

Brentwood's first Pride celebration this last weekend was full of sunshine, rainbows, glitter, music and art, from Brentwood Theatre to the High Street and Crown Street. The Brentwood Buzz previewed the day's events on Sunday (see S4Ep29) but stayed around for the rest of the day to meet some of those taking part, including drag performers Sirena Hart and Aria Close.

It's Brentwood Pride Day today (6th September) and the High Street from Brentwood Theatre to Crown Street is full of actors, musicians, face painters, artists and rainbows¬ The Brentwood Buzz will bring you chats with some of those who've been taking part in the next week, but for today here's a little taste of what is going on.

This week's episode of The Brentwood Buzz celebrates what it is to be young, ambitious and ready to - as they say in recruitment - demonstrate transferable skills. Jon Hegan lives in Brentwood and now runs the Jon Hegan Academy in Upminster, teaching Krav Maga, self defence and martial arts. But before this he was a cadet in Cranham, joined the Marines, left to set up his martial arts business and spend fifteen years working in secure units for young offenders. It's been a fascinating and varied career, and Jon is this week's guest on The Brentwood Buzz. https://www.kravmagacombat.com

School's out for summer, and if you're looking for somewhere to take the children without having to go all the way up to London for a show, the summer pantomime - The Wizard of Oz - at Brentwood Theatre could be just the thing for you. Staged by friend of the podcast (see S4Ep24 and S3Ep27 on Spotify), Sophia-Marie Hornsey, the show runs for three days and promises fun for all the family. The Brentwood Buzz has been to Brentwood Theatre to meet the cast.

Running your own business is no easy task, as we've heard many times on The Brentwood Buzz when interviewing some of our local independent businesses. The Lemon Curd Lady - aka Sandra Harnor - sells her curds and marmalades at local farmers markets, fetes and fairs, having set up the business as part of an unexpected retirement plan. Brentwood's celebratory podcast, The Brentwood Buzz has been to meet The Lemon Curd Lady to find out what brought her to Brentwood and, most importantly, to have a look through the goods in her fridge!

The latest guest on Brentwood's celebratory podcast, The Brentwood Buzz, is Andy Thorn. Currently the General Secretary of the Essex Police Federation, Andy has worked for Essex Police and the Met Police, he's managed the Savoy Theatre in Monmouth, training for the ministry and offered pastoral care to the National Citizen Service when it was running in Suffolk. We managed to pin him down to ask how many careers one man needs, and how his current work makes sure the police officers who keep us safe in Essex are protected and supported when the demands of 21st century policing hit home.

Brentwood born and bred founder of Sophisticated Entertainment, Sophia-Marie Hornsey is this week's guest on The Brentwood Buzz, Brentwood's celebratory podcast. Sophia-Marie appeared on the podcast last Christmas when she brought a panto version of Beauty and The Beast to The Brentwood Centre. Now she's back having a chat about how she moved from Pilgrims Hatch Primary School to performing in the West End and on cruise ships to bringing panto to the town.

The latest The Brentwood Buzz is another in our series of podcasts celebrating businesses which are part of Brentwood Connected, the innovative three-High-Street Business Improvement District for Brentwood, Shenfield and Ingatestone. Nish Patel owns the Shenfield Wine Company, which is the go-to place in Shenfield to pick up a decent bottle of wine, a good whisky and a fine cigar. The Brentwood Buzz joined him in his Cigar Lounge to talk screw tops, business and Cuban cigars.

In recent The Brentwood Buzz podcasts we have found there is a talented pool of community theatre players who circle effortlessly around the various groups with a lead role here, a bit part there and occasionally even some directing thrown in. One of those players is Lindsay Hollingsworth, writer of pantos for The College Players, in which she also acts and sometimes directs, when she's not teaching youngsters to play percussion instruments, or encouraging them to join Brentwood's Orchestras for Young Musicians. This summer Lindsay is bringing her directing skills to Romford Shakespeare Theatre for its summer show, The Comedy of Errors, which will be performed outside in Hornchurch. The Brentwood Buzz has been to meet Lindsay to find out why the arts are so important to her.

The dictionary definition of an Essex Girl has been, for some time, a young woman from Essex who is unintelligent, promiscuous and materialistic. Despite a campaign in recent years to remove this definition, it still sticks, even though you only have to listen to the women who've appeared on The Brentwood Buzz in the last three years to find a bunch of intelligent, feisty women who have no qualms about saying what they want, and getting work done. Now Blatella Films is producing a documentary - Witchcraft & Stilettos: Redefining The Essex Girl Narrative - for upcoming film festivals, and has been in Brentwood for interviews with some of those Essex Girls and women. The Brentwood Buzz was there to speak to director Natalie Scarsbrook.

Keeping fit, healthy and in shape from childhood to old age is something we all know we should do , even if we ignore good advice at times. New Zealand born Doctor of Chiropractic, Grayson Nolan, runs The Chiropractic Centre in Brentwood, and Billericay. His passion for the benefits of chiropractic is evident - and probably if we listened to him more, some of us would ache less! The Brentwood Buzz has been to meet Grayson in his premises in Pilgrims Hatch.

Brentwood Musical Theatre Society is no stranger to The Brentwood Buzz, featuring in S3Ep19 and S1Ep17 as well as a fond mention in the recent chat with actor Stephen Moyer (S4Ep16) BTMS's next show is Evita at the Brentwood Theatre from 19th to 23rd May, so we've been back to talk to some of the Society's long standing members and find out why being part of this fabulous community theatre group is a real family affair. https://brentwoodoperaticsociety.co.uk/

Graphic designer and Brentwood mum, Jill Busby, of Hive Art Studios is bringing her artistic skills to the King George's Playing Fields Pavilion on 14th May with a "Sip and Paint" evening. Wineglasses are some of the smaller items Jill paints, as The Brentwood Buzz discovered when visiting Jill's studio. https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/sip-paint-wine-glass-painting-tickets-1984984352633

Brentwood's independent record shop, Hey Joe Music, hosted the Essex leg of comedian Alastair Clark's national tour in which he brings comedy to record shops. Alastair worked in a record shop for ten years before giving up the glitz, glamour and admin duties of trading vinyl for the glitz, glamour and admin duties of life as a stand-up comedian. The Brentwood Buzz caught up with him at the end of his gig in Hey Joe's to talk about the tour, his forthcoming Edinburgh show, and collecting comedy records.

International TV, film and theatre actor, Stephen Moyer, was in Brentwood has been to Brentwood for a fundraising event at Brentwood Theatre. Stephen grew up in Brentwood and started his acting career at St Martin's School and Brentwood Theatre - and he's now the theatre's patron. Last night's Evening With... hosted by Bill Wells (see S4Ep13 for a chat with Bill and with Stephen's mum, Jean) was a great success. The theatre was packed and there was a huge feeling of pride and fondness for Stephen as he described his early days in theatre and his life now as an actor. He even had time to talk to The Brentwood Buzz about some of those memories for this episode of Brentwood's celebratory podcast.

It was an early start at Hey Joe Music off Crown Street in Brentwood this morning with record collectors gathering from just before midnight onwards for Record Store Day, and the chance to buy exclusive pressings of some of the world’s finest pop musicians.The Brentwood Buzz joined Marc Sardinha of Hey Joe Music for the early shift and to meet some of the people who are willing to give up a night’s sleep to get the records they want.

The Chicken and Frog Bookshop on Crown Street, run by Natasha Radford, is a good friend to The Brentwood Buzz - there's always something interesting going on and there's a quiet space for podcasts to be recorded too. But Chicken and Frog is not just a bookshop; it's a safe space which encourages writers, illustrators and content creators to come together to talk about their work and share their experiences. One of those writers is Amanda Claire from Doddinghurst, a foot health practitioner, mum, bad allotmenteer and self-published author of stories for children. Amanda is joining Natasha and others to talk about writing, publishing and illustrating books on 23rd April, so The Brentwood Buzz has been to meet her to find out why her writing takes precedence over weeding.

Internationally acclaimed actor, director and well-known vampire, Stephen Moyer, is returning to Brentwood - his home town - for a fundraising event for Brentwood Theatre. Stephen, who is the theatre's first patron, will be interviewed by friend of The Brentwood Buzz, Bill Wells, whose work with pretty much every theatre group in town makes him something of a local legend. Bill will be talking to Stephen at Brentwood Theatre on Tuesday 21st April at 7.30pm (tickets are £25 and available from the theatre website) but The Brentwood Buzz managed to catch up with him, and Stephen's mum, Jean Wilson, at the Marlborough Theatre Club this week for a bit of a preview.

In another of The Brentwood Buzz's series of podcasts featuring businesses within the Brentwood Connected Business Improvement District, we're back in Ingatestone to meet Julie Bell, one of the family directors of The Lounge in Ingatestone. The Lounge has been offering tea, coffee, cake and wine to the good people of Ingatestone since 2023. It's also a safe space for anyone dealing with domestic abuse, trauma or illness. Business is booming but it's not been a smooth ride for Julie, as this week's podcast tells.