The fast show

The science says that, when done safely, intermittent fasting can have wide-reaching health benefits

LET'S GET MOVING…

Property specialist Zoe Napier looks at the impact national and global events might have on a resurgent UK property market in 2020 and asks should buyers or sellers beware

Walking in Walton on the Naze

Stride out on this walk around the creeks and rivers of the Hamford Water National Nature Reserve for fabulous coastal views and a refreshing sea breeze

NEWS TRAIL

International news reporter Ruth Elkins has swapped the night shifts and dead donkeys for the north Essex countryside, and she loves it!

Vantage point

The baby of the Aston Martin range still packs a mighty punch

Essex Wildlife

Take up the challenge for Marine Month

The Essex Photo Sketchbook

Two years ago, Robert Hatton set himself the challenge of creating an Essex Photo Sketchbook to showcase some of his favourite parts of the county. Here he shares his results with readers of Essex Life

Road to Recovery

Essex Life has partnered with IoD East of England to interview 15 of the county’s key business leaders to find out why they think our county is well placed to help lead an economic recovery after the diffiulties of the Covid-19 pandemic

Food Heroine

As an active campaigner on food and social issues was a leading light of lockdown. Holly Louise Eells caught up with the bootstrap cook about her brand-new book, mental health, and why Essex will always be her home.

Embracing the future

Despite the devestation of Covid-19, has one of the consequences been an advance in the use of new technologies in our care homes?

Treasure map

On a virtual journey through the county, Nicky Adams highlights the treasures of history that make Essex so unique, starting with the county town of Colchester

THE WORLD AROUND US

Michelle Parsons has established an excellent reputation for her wildlife artwork, with appearances throughout the county as well as further afield in London and Sussex. While we all look for entertainment at home, she hopes to be able to inspire us to take up art

Taking the helm

Nikki Logan discovers how a Chelmsford charity is helping people countrywide to ‘live well’ with dementia

Service, please!

When the lockdown took hold, our restaurants and food retailers didn’t have a chance to pause for breath. Each of them has been impacted hugely, but there is hope for the future as innovation and imagination start to show a way forward to a new normality

Rebuild Essex, rebuild Britain

75 years since the rebuilding began after World War II, there is a new rebuilding project on the horizon. Stephen Roberts explains the important role Essex played then, and will surely play again

My Story

Many of us may have craved the time to sit down and write the novel that has always been bubbling away within, and lockdown provided exactly that opportunity. For Essex Life contributor Chris Penhall, publishing her debut novel was a childhood ambition realised. Here she tells her story of literary success

MAKING HIS MARKS

Printmaking is a passion for Andrew Sharman that has been inspired by the countryside of Essex and the talents of local artists. And it’s an art form that’s easy to try at home too, he insists

Don't sweat it

Essex Life asks whether incorporating a home gym is worth the investment, and look at what you’ll need to include to create the ideal workout environment

Chelmsford's charms

Chelmsford may not be known as one of the county’s most historic or architecturally interesting cities, but behind the modern façade there’s much to learn about this city’s past

Benefit of experience

Working with the soil conditions found over much of Essex can yield some rewarding results. Tim Carter, a horticulturalist at Noak Hill near Romford, has used his experience to widen the range of plants available for the county’s gardens

The Joys Of Volunteering

June 1 to 7 marks Volunteers’ Week and there has never been a more appropriate time to celebrate and thank those that contribute so much in our county. Alison Dewar talks to six volunteers and hears how ‘giving back’ has also benefited them.

Too good to miss

With gardens that would have been opening for the National Garden Scheme closed this summer, Essex Life decided there were some that were too good to miss, while the charities supported by NGS have never needed our help more

The gardens of Essex

With so many of us spending extra time in our gardens during lockdown, Essex Life asked readers to share what they have been doing in their gardens to demonstrate that Essex gardens really have never looked better

SING BY ME

More used to singing for fun in Essex village halls, Andrew Small’s Essex amateur choir, the Buskerteers, has shot to fame after recording an online version of Ben E King’s Stand By Me in an effort to raise funds to support NHS workers. Nicky Adams tells the story

Rising to the challenge

How the agricultural industry is going above and beyond to keep the nation ticking over

Fabulous at 50

It is 50 years since the Dedham Vale was designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. While celebrations may have been curtailed, could lockdown mean a brighter future for this landscape?

HOPE AND HEALING

Denise Marshall talks to model and television personality Katie Piper about missing loved ones during lockdown and how we can put the pandemic into perspective and learn from it.

Delivered to your door

Essex producers have quickly adapted to the diffiulties of lockdown by expanding their offer and delivering fresh produce direct to customers. Stephanie Mackentyre shares some of the success stories

Dame Nellie sings

This month marks the centenary of British radio broadcasting and nowhere will this celebration be most affectionately remembered than here in Essex

ART of SURVIVAL

The lockdown has demonstrated just how much we value art. But art cannot be contained. Here, directors, curators and managers of our county’s leading art galleries and museums share their favourite artworks with you, currently hidden behind closed doors