House's haircut makeover making headlines!

A Chelmsford house has been making the headlines in national papers for its extravagant makeover.

Covered in ivy, the previous owner had left the leaves untouched, allowing it to grow for over 20 years. Even the windows had been totally covered up, with the house appearing as just one, large, green mass, with just the chimney to show. The house, on Lynmouth Avenue, attracted a lot of attention from passers-by, with people even stopping and pulling over to take pictures.

New owner, Neil Utley, says that it took a team of workmen around two weeks to strip and shred all of the ivy from the house.

The prominent, and possibly notorious house, should have been sold for around £350,000 if it were to be compared to the other houses on the street. However, due to the sheer volume of the evergreen plant that had grown in bulk over the house, estate agents were asking for just £120,000. Although the ivy is not particularly dangerous, many neighbours had described it as an 'eye-sore', taking away from the 3-bedroom property's value.

Renovation has now begun on the property to convert it into a comfortable home for a member of the new owner's family.

So long: The mop of green ivy is a sight of the past, after taking over a week to be cleared.

The BRIT Awards 2012 - Nominations are released!

It's that time of year again when our favourite award show rears its exciting head around the corner!

On Tuesday February 21st, the annual BRIT Awards will be taking place, live on ITV1 from The O2 Arena in London.

This afternoon at the BRIT Awards Launch Party, hosted by Radio 1 DJ Greg James, the nominees for the esteemed awards were released:

British Male: Ed Sheeran, James Blake, James Morrison, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, Professor Green

Some critics may have been surprised at the absence of Example and Olly Murs - two artists potentially tipped for the accolade. Ed Sheeran is currently bookies favourite.

British Female: Adele, Florence & The Machine, Jessie J, Kate Bush, Laura Marling

With last year's winner, Laura Marling, in the category, as well as four other very strong contenders, this is a very tough category to be in. With the huge success following her emotional performance of Someone Like You at last year's BRITs, Adele is likely to be tipped for the top.

British Breakthrough Act: Anna Calvi, Ed Sheeran, Emeli Sande, Jessie J, The Vaccines

Jessie J, 2011's Critic's Choice winner, and 2012's winner Emeli Sande each pose difficult competition in this category. However, could Ed Sheeran is also very much in the running due to his rise to fame throughout 2011, as agreed by bookies who put him as 6/5 favourite.

British Group: Arctic Monkeys, Chase & Status, Coldplay, Elbow, Kasabian

Arctic Monkeys, Coldplay and Kasabian were always clear choices for the Best Group category, so it seems as if one of these three could be in the title race. Headlining festivals across the country throughout 2011, each of these groups deserve their place as one of the nominees. Coldplay take the bookies favourite.

British Album: Adele - 21, Coldplay - Mylo Xyloto, Ed Sheeran - +, Florence & The Machine - Ceremonials, PJ Harvey - Let England Shake

Five huge albums from the year of 2011 in music. PJ Harvey, winner of the Mercury Music Prize, immediately springs to mind; however, Adele, Coldplay, Ed and Florence have each had huge successes from these albums - a very open race.

British Single: Adele - Someone Like You, Ed Sheeran - The A Team, Example - Changed The Way You Kissed Me, Jessie J - Price Tag, JLS - She Makes Me Wanna, Military Wives - Wherever You Are, Olly Murs ft. Rizzle Kicks - Heart Skips A Beat, One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful, Pixie Lott - All About Tonight, The Wanted - Glad You Came

Tradition normally finds that on the night of February 21st, these 10 nominees will have become 5. If the bookies are to go by, this will be One Direction, JLS, The Wanted, Adele and Jessie J. Having crashed the BRITs website when voting went live, my tip for the top would be One Direction and their huge flock of fans.

International Male: Aloe Blacc, Bon Iver, Bruno Mars, David Guetta, Ryan Adams

Again, five very strong contenders. Bruno Mars and David Guetta have had repeat successes in the British Chart, but will this help them to take the award? Bon Iver is currently bookies favourite.

International Female: Beyonce, Bjork, Feist, Lady Gaga, Rihanna

Possibly the toughest category of them all. Three of the world's biggest chart-toppers battle out for the Best Female award, but after an immensely successful year, my thoughts go with Rihanna.

International Group: Fleet Foxes, Foo Fighters, Jay Z/Kanye West, Lady Antebellum, Maroon 5

With five very different groups in this category, the award could really go to anybody. Each having huge selling albums throughout 2011, the category is wide open. If an International Single category existed, I'm pretty sure it would go to nominees Maroon 5, for the catchiest song of the year in Moves Like Jagger.

International Breakthrough Act: Aloe Blacc, Bon Iver, Foster The People, Lana del Rey, Nicki Minaj

In the eyes of the bookies, Bon Iver are tipped for the top again. However, after a hugely successful year in the US, as well as in the UK with hit song Superbass, Nicki Minaj poises strong competition. 

Stay tuned to the Essex in the Media blog to find out more about the BRIT Awards 2012, including performers, as well as the winners from the awards show on February 21st, hosted by James Corden.

2011 Essex Round-Up!

As we draw close to the end of 2011, reflecting upon the year, Essex has played a bigger role in the media than ever before.

With the continuous influence of The Only Way is Essex in the media, or TOWIE as it is better known, Essex has been finding common ground in day-to-day life across the country. ‘Shuuut-Up’, ‘well jel’, and who could forget Joey Essex’s signature word ‘reem’ have all been widely recognised not just in Essex but throughout England and the UK. It’s difficult to watch the television for one week and not see one of the TOWIE characters popping up on chat shows or game shows. Some of our favourite TOWIE characters have even left the show to appear on reality TV, with Amy Childs appearing on Celebrity Big Brother, placing fourth, and of course Mark Wright just losing out to McFly’s Dougie in the I’m A Celebrity final.

Dougie’s bandmate Harry Judd, born in Chelmsford, had a very successful 2011 as he lifted the Strictly Come Dancing glitterball this month. Alongside dance partner Aliona Vilani, he fought off competition from Waterloo Road’s Chelsee Healey and Jason Donovan to claim the top spot.

This year has seen the country fall further in love with Essex boy Olly Murs as he jumps from one success to the next. Starting off the year by trekking across the Kaisut desert in Kenya for Comic Relief alongside 8 other celebrities, including fellow Essex boy Dermot O’Leary, Murs’ year began with a bang. The sound of the summer was Olly’s ‘Heart Skips a Beat’ featuring Rizzle Kicks, which reached the number 1 spot in August. Olly’s third number 1 single came in December with ‘Dance With Me Tonight’, which he also performed on The X Factor this year. One of Olly’s biggest successes this year would be his weekly role on ITV2’s ‘The Xtra Factor’ alongside Caroline Flack. The pair have been heavily praised by the media for what many people would argue has been the best series of Xtra Factor to date. 2012 should be an even bigger year for Witham’s Murs as he starts his first ever Arena tour in February, which kicks off in Cardiff before moving to The O2 Arena.

Another huge success story from Essex in 2011 has come from Romford, birthplace of popstar Jessie J. After starting the year as BBC Sound of 2011 and as the Brits Critic’s Choice, big things were predicted for Jessie J. With 4 Mobo awards and a #1 single in ‘Price Tag’, these predictions were very true. It has been recently announced that Price Tag was in the Top 3 of the most downloaded songs of the year. It was also announced this year that Jessie J would star as a judge on new BBC One talent show ‘The Voice’, where she will star alongside Tom Jones, Will.I.Am and Danny O’Donoghue in the new year.

Other Essex singers who have been successful this year include Pixie Lott, whose single ‘All About Tonight’ entered the chart at #1. Also, Matt Cardle has had a successful year following winning the X Factor in 2010, with The Guardian calling his album ‘Letters’ the best of 2011. 

Each year the X Factor gives us a fantastic contestant from Essex, with Matt Cardle, Olly Murs and Stacey Solomon coming to mind, and this year has been no exception with one quarter of winners Little Mix coming from Essex. Jesy Nelson, from Romford, was put together with Perrie, Leigh-Anne and Jade at bootcamp and was mentored by Tulisa.

2012 is set to be an even bigger year for Braintree’s Louie Spence, who was this year announced to be a judge on ITV’s Dancing on Ice. The new series is set to begin in January.

Lets hope that this time next year, there will be even more news about these Essex stars and many more new faces who will appear across 2012. Happy New Year to everyone in Essex and beyond!

Emotional Attachment to a Company

Do you live in Essex? If you do, please give 5 minutes of your time to completing the following questionnaire.

My brother is currently studying for a Geography degree at Leicester University and is in the middle of completing his dissertation, all about how you may be emotionally attached to a company. By completing this survey, you will be really helping my brother. 

If you feel the questionnaire doesn't really apply to you, please pass it on to parents, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and any other friends or relatives who live in Essex. 

Please pass this,

Thanks for your help.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dExkcm56QTFUdkp0NW9jcW85U21pc1E6MQ

The Essex Girl Stereotype

After the success of The Only Way is Essex on ITV2, the 'Essex Girl' stereotype has become a familiar image in UK society. But how truthful is this image that the likes of Amy Childs, Sam Faiers and Lauren Goodger portray?

Sian Rawson, student at Swansea University, is investigating the Essex Girl stereotype in her final year dissertation and is looking for responses to her attitude survey.

"This attitude survey is designed to explore the stereotype of Essex men and women, and the regional disparities such stereotypes cause.

" All answers will be kept anonymous, and used only for the research of a dissertation at Swansea University."

Thank you for your help and participation. Please follow the link below to take part in this attitude survey.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dEUzdTdrTHVEa1NKdENHcng5dXpHUEE6MQ#gid=0

Success for Mr Murs

Olly Murs must be constantly grinning ear-to-ear at the moment!

Following on from the success of Olly's self-titled debut album and sell-out theatre tour, Olly is practising a new talent in presenting. Olly's mentor from the X Factor, Simon Cowell, recruited Olly to co-host the Xtra Factor on ITV2 with Caroline Flack. After only 3 episodes of the Xtra Factor so far, Olly has received great reviews for his natural presenting ability, as well as for having a great on-air relationship with Caroline.

But it doesn't stop here!...

Last week, Olly was celebrating his 2nd #1 single with 'Heart Skips A Beat', which also features upcoming band, Rizzle Kicks, who have been very popular at festivals this year with BBC Introducing. Olly's first #1 Single came just a year ago with his debut single, Please Don't Let Me Go'. This year, Olly had to fight off stiff competition from Will Young and Calvin Harris to reach the top spot, which he celebrated in style on the Official Chart show with Scott Mills on Radio 1. Olly's X Factor companion Joe McElderry also reached #2 in the album chart with his second album 'Classic'.

Even before Olly has released his yet untitled second album, which is due out on November 28th, tickets for Olly's second tour have nearly sold out! Olly will be taking Album 2 on an arena tour across the country, visiting The O2 Arena and Wembley Arena in London, The LG Arena in Birmingham, Motorpoint Arena in Sheffield, MEN Arena in Manchester, as well as many more!

Tickets are becoming very limited so make sure you head to Ticketmaster soon to get your tickets for February and March.

A Lott of #1's for Pixie

Essex girl, Pixie Lott, is on her way to her third UK #1 Single with 'All About Tonight'.

Following the success from her debut album, 'Turn It Up', 'All About Tonight' will be the first single from her second album, still untitled, which is due to be a success in the months leading to Christmas. This album is due for release on November 7th.

Having studied at Brentwood High School after moving to the region when she was 13, Pixie is one of the biggest stars to have come out of Essex over recent years. Music mogul, Simon Cowell, must agree having chosen her to be a guest on his new hit TV show 'Red or Black?'. On Sunday night, Pixie performed the new single and then had to choose from a selection of '4 Pixies', each of whom were wearing a locket containing either red or black butterflies, therefore determining the fate of 4 hopeful millionaires.

All the best of luck to Pixie for this Sunday, when Reggie Yates will announced the Official Chart on Radio 1 from 4pm.