Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow!

After watching the news for days and seeing the snow in other parts of the country, it was time that Essex had some snow of its own! However, we never expected the snow to be to this extent!

The county woke up to a blanket of snow this morning causing much disruption to schools and roads. On higher ground, the snow was several inches deep and many people were snowed in, or in some cases snowed out.

Over 100 schools were closed before 9am this morning, with more schools closing as the day went on. Moulsham High School opened as normal this morning but due to the snow, the grounds became unsafe and insufficient numbers of staff were able to reach the school. Students were then dismissed and were free to enjoy the snow with friends.

Local councils and emergency services in the county have done as much work as possible all day to clear major routes and pavements to make Essex accessible and safe for the public.

Councils also warned any commuters travelling by car to allow ten times their usual journey time to reach their destination. This was due to the icy conditions on the roads, as well as accidents on the motorway causing chaos.

Whilst some schools have already told students that they will be closed tomorrow, other students still wait to hear whether they will have to wake up and fight the cold and snow in the morning.

Fingers crossed for all students in Essex hoping for a day off tomorrow!

Jungle Stacey!

Another former X Factor contestant is on the blog this week, but this time it's third-place Stacey Solomon, also from 2009. Stacey is currently on our screens in hit ITV show 'I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here', and it looks as if she could sweep the title of Queen of the Jungle!

Stacey has been in the jungle since the start of the competition on the 14th November, and has taken part in many trials. Last night saw Stacey battle out with Olympic athlete, Linford Christie, to see which camp would win a night of luxury. Stacey, and 'Camp Sheila', were victorious, with Stacey and fellow campmate Jenni Eclair spending an evening of luxury in a seperate area of the jungle. The pair were given beds and a minibar, filled with alcohol and sweets!

Stacey has continued showing her funny, loving and heart-warming character to the nation and we can all see again why we all fell in love with her this time last year!

Come on Stacey! Do it for us Essex Girls!

Semi-Finals for local boy Matt!

The country's most popular TV show is nearing it's end - the Semi-Final of X Factor is this weekend and the county all need to get behind Matt Cardle!

Matt has done amazingly well throughout the whole competition, being one of the three contestants in the semi-finals who have never faced the 'dreaded sing-off', out of the 5 who are now in the semis.

Matt faces competition from One Direction, Cher Lloyd, Rebecca Ferguson & Mary Byrne. However, Matt is bookies favourite to win with 8/11 odds.

Matt is the last remaining boy from Dannii's category.

Please come back to this blog during the week for more Matt Cardle & X Factor news!

Chelmsford Christmas Lights!

On Sunday 28th November, thousands of fans queued down Chelmsford High Street to watch X Factor Finalist and Essex-Boy, Olly Murs, turn on the Christmas lights!

The event ran all day with many local up-and-coming acts performing in the bitterly-cold weather!
From 4:00, the Under-16s singing competition started, with UK Eurovision entry, Josh Dubovie, as one of the judges. Ellie Smit, from Moulsham High School, (and a great friend of mine), sung 'Let It Snow' and was fantastic!

Following on from this, Josh took to the stage to sing to the audience with songs such as 'Just Haven't Met You Yet', made famous by Michael Buble, and 'Cooler Than Me', a recent Top 10 hit by Mike Posner.

The acts prior to this only had to mention 'Olly' to be followed by screams erupting from the very eager audience of 'Ollyettes'! When Mr Murs finally came to grace the stage, with 'Please Don't Let Me Go' playing to the crowd, the tech-team had a slight failure as Olly had to chat to the audience whilst his microphone and track were fixed!

Olly charmed the crowd with three songs: his number one, hit debut single 'Please Don't Let Me Go', the B-Side to this single, 'This One's for the Girls', and his brand new single, 'Thinking Of Me'. All girls in the crowd who had come to their local high street for the exclusive gig were hugely pleased to hear the B-Side to Olly's debut single, where Olly sings about Essex girls and finished the song by saying 'you can't beat you Essex girls!'

Olly said he was 'delighted' and 'honoured' to be back in his hometown to be turning on the lights. He said that 'he hoped to be home again soon' and wished the crowd a huge thank you for all the support they gave, and contine to give, to him over the past year.

He also wished for the county to back current X Factor contestant, and fellow Essex boy, Matt Cardle. 'Please support Matt like you supported me', said the Essex heartthrob, just before he left the stage to the sound of screaming fans!

Thank you Olly for a great evening. Maybe we'll have Matt next year?