It has been another eventful year in Great Dunmow and the surrounding villages. The Broadcast takes a look back at some of the events that made the headlines in 2013.
May
• A Dunmow teenager thanked the Arts Centre ahead of the release of his film. Theo Stevenson starred in All Stars, a dance film targeted at under 11s, alongside Girls Aloud singer Kimberly Walsh and Torchwood star John Barrowman.
• Great Dunmow & District Round Table, which has raised £400,000 for local charities, celebrated its 50th anniversary.
• Hollywood movie star Mila Kunis made a brief stop-off in Uttlesford to record some lines for a television show. The A-Lister was in the UK filming scenes for a movie when she went to an intimate recording studio in Hatfield Heath to voice the character of Meg Griffin from Family Guy.
• It was revealed that the number of people in Uttlesford suffering from dementia will rocket by 108 per cent over the next 20 years.
June
• Churchgoers put up a £5,000 reward to help capture thieves who stole a distinctive brass lectern from St Mary’s church, in High Easter. Police confirmed the lectern - which is Victorian, 5ft high and has the figure of an eagle at the top - was worth £30,000.
• A summer ball was held at Foakes Hall to raise money for the British Heart Foundation and the Helen Rollason Cancer Charity. Th
• Stansted Airport worker Kirsty Heslewood was crowned Miss England at a glitzy bash in Devon.
(*with pic: Pupils and teachers at Great Dunmow Primary at the school veg garden after appearing on BBC Breakfast)
• Pupils from Great Dunmow Primary School featured on BBC Breakfast to talk about healthy eating. Film crews visited the school during the half term to record the piece for the early morning show.
• James Goodge and his pet pooch sprung into action and stopped two thieves running off with a handbag. Mr Goodge and his Siberian Husky hounded the bag snatchers in front of a stunned carriage-full of rail passengers at Stansted Mountfitchet station. The air ventilation engineer was greeted with applause when he handed the bag back to his owner.
July
• Former professional footballer Fabrice Muamba – who suffered a cardiac arrest on the pitch – flew in to the Flitch Green Academy to back a pupil’s campaign. The ex Arsenal and Bolton star met Ollie Jenner. The 12-year-old had a potentially fatal heart condition and needed an operation at Great Ormond Street Hospital and his family are working to get an automatic external defibrillator in Uttlesford’s schools and sports clubs.
• Dunmow’s mayor Phil Milne kicked off his fund-raising effort with a Strawberry Tea Dance at Foakes Hall. More than 100 people attended the event and enjoyed cream teas and live entertainment. Money raised went towards the Mayor’s Charity Community Fund.
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