ESSEX: Firefighters vote to strike
8:00am Friday 15th June 2012 in News By Clare Hardy
FIREFIGHTERS have voted to go on strike amid fears a new swathe of cuts will put the communities they serve at risk.
More than 500 members of the Fire Brigades Union in Essex decided to take action over plans to cut an extra 100 full-time fire fighters and 60 retained staff from across the county by 2016.
Assistant brigade secretary Nick Mayes said the plans could leave crews unable to tackle emergencies like house fires.
“One of the statements our chief made recently was that he would like to see up to three crew members on an engine,” he added. “The norm is four.
“If you go to a house fire, two people need to be on breathing apparatus to search for people and an officer in charge. It can’t be done.”
He said crew members would end up taking on more shifts to cover for the fewer positions.
“We’re all under economic constraints,” he said. “People will put pressure on themselves to work extra hours and this isn’t just some factory.
“You can go out, your shift will finish at 9am and you could be on a road traffic collision until 1pm and you’ve got to be awake and alert for the next one.”
He added that there had not been any consultation on the changes and that Essex Fire Brigade was pushing them through despite not taking a budget cut.
“The fire authority seems to be rubber-stamping it,” he added.
The chairman of the Essex Fire Authority, councillor Anthony Hedley, said: “The fire authority has invested heavily in front line services and will continue to do so.
“We have assured the public and our staff that there will be no fire station closures, no enforced fire fighter redundancies and continued investment to modernise the service.”
Fire services bosses recently decided to sell of homes for crew members at Waltham Abbey Fire Station as staff move out.
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Source: www.guardian-series.co.uk
NOT wrapping up! Billie Faiers ensures she is centre of attention at TOWIE end of series party in plunging neon dress - Daily Mail
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She's hardly one of the main stars of the show, but last night Billie Faiers made sure she stood out from her co-stars.
The 22-year-old arrived at The Only Way Is Essex wrap party wearing a rather low-cut dress that highlighted her large bust.
The blonde TV star was accompanied by her sister Sam and various other glamorous female stars of the show, but it was her Billie who was the centre of attention.
Look at me! Billie Faiers arrives at The Only Way Is Essex wrap party wearing a very low cut and tight dress
Billie's light green Lipsy dress fell just above her keen and featured capped sleeves as well as all-over gold studs.
The scooped neckline accentuated her chest and Billie showed off a rather impressive tan.
She completed her look with nude peep-toe heels and a bright pink clutch bag and wore her short hair up.
Billie was also showing off a much whiter smile after having her teeth whitened at the Lovelite White clinic in Harley Street, London, just hours before the party.
We Are Family: Billie was never far from her sister Sam as they arrived at Sugar Hut in Essex
The co-owner of Minnie's Boutique was clearly having a good time when her sister Sam took a photo of her drinking and posted it on her Twitter page.
She also wore a skimpy dress by Virgos Lounge that featured off-the-shoulder straps and a colourful sequined skirt.
Sam teamed the unusual garment with bright blue heels and a green handbag as she arrived at Sugar Hut ahead of her boyfriend Joey Essex.
Back on track: Sam Faiers and her boyfriend Joey Essex arrived at the party separately
Going home together: Sam tweeted this photo of her and Joey as they left the party
Joey had smartened up for the evening wearing blue skinny jeans with a shirt, tie and a light blue blazer.
He teamed it with tan suede boots and ended up going home with Sam as she later tweeted a photo of them together.
Another couple who probably went home together was Lydia Bright and Tom Kilbey.
Yellow beauty: Lydia Bright arrived wearing a mustard coloured dress and nude heels
Happy couple:The blonde arrived with her new boyfriend Tom Kilbey who chose to wear skinny jeans and a black leather jacket
The young blonde arrived at the Essex club showing off an even shorter hairstyle while wearing a mustard yellow dress, which was also from Virgos Lounge.
She was also sporting an impressive tan and teamed her pretty dress with similar shoes to Billie and a yellow clutch bag.
Tom looked rather happy as he posed next to his new girlfriend in blue jeans and a black leather jacket.
Where's your umbrella? Lydia tried to shelter herself from the rain as her mother Debbie looks on
Lydia's mother Debbie was also there and accompanied her daughter inside as she tried to shelter herself from the rain.
It is unsure whether things are still a bit awkward between Lydia and Tom's ex-girlfriend Billi Mucklow, but sure enough the blonde was there and was joined by her best friend Cara - who is Tom's sister.
Billi decided to cover up for the party wearing a floor-length red one-shoulder dress from GorgeousCouture.com.
Covering up: Best friends Billi Mucklow and Car Kilbey both opted for floor-length dresses
Red and black: Cara and Billi spent time with Frankie Essex before enjoying their night out
She teamed it with black peep-toe heels and wore her long hair down in a wavy style.
Cara, on the other hand, opted for a black floor-length dress that was also very low-cut.
She posed with her co-star Frankie Essex who wore a shorter black dress and carried a bright red quilted handbag.
It was then time for some of the guys to arrive and sure enough Charlie King and Bobby-Cole Norris arrived together.
Here come the boys: Charlie King and Bobby-Cole Norris posed for photos before heading inside the club
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Mark Wright says a tearful farewell to volleyball player Chelsea Rashoff - Daily Mail
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He's only know her for a few weeks, but Mark Wright is clearly head over heels about Chelsea Rashoff.
The reality TV star was seen saying goodbye to the U.S. volleyball player at LAX airport yesterday and looked very sad to be leaving her.
Mark, 25, and Chelsea, 22, met each other in Los Angeles while the former TOWIE star filmed his latest reality show, Mark Wright's Hollywood Nights.
Time to say goodbye: Mark Wright and Chelsea Rashoff say a tearful farewell at LAX airport yesterday
The ITV2 show didn't exactly receive great reviews when it aired for the first time last Sunday but viewers may be eager to tune in this weekend as the second episode will include how Mark and Chelsea first met.
Their romance is clearly more than just an onscreen film, as the pair of them appeared to be tearful as they said farewell outside the airport terminal.
Mark, who was wearing blue skinny jeans and a white T-shirt, was seen hugging Chelsea and kissing her as she flung her arms around his neck.
Hard to let go: The former TOWIE star gave the 22-year-old a big hug and also kissed her
Don't be upset: Mark appeared to be reassuring Chelsea and may be planning a trip to Essex for her
She was also wearing dark jeans and a white T-shirt and gazed at the Essex-born star as he prepared to catch his flight back to the UK.
The pair have obviously become quite close over the past six weeks, and perhaps Mark is considering letting Chelsea visit his hometown some time soon.
Confirmed couple? Chelsea tweeted this photo of her and Mark looking rather cosy recently
Svelte: Chelsea in her volleyball 'uniform' - a red bikini top and patterned blue bottoms
However, once he's touched down in London, Mark was no longer feeling so blue and instead headed straight out to Essex hotspot, Faces, to enjoy a night out with his friends.
But Mark didn't stay out all night, and later tweeted: 'I'm being good. On the way home 2 my bed 4 the 1st time in 6weeks. Faces was great as per usual but I'm on this morning 2mo so have 2 b good.'
Good times: Mark and Chelsea socialised a lot together in Los Angeles such as when they went to a baseball game
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
TOWIE gang out in force at wrap party - The Sun
Series five of the hit ITV2 reality show finished last month, but the cast were seen being reunited on Wednesday night in a one-off Marbella special.
Lydia Bright was spotted arriving at the bash sporting a new choppy bob and fringe.
Earlier the 21-year-old had tweeted: "Love my new hair, my hair guru did me well once again thank u @robertkirbyuk @sanrizzsalons rocking out the fringe at the Towie wrap party x."
Lydia, who wore an off-the-shoulder mustard yellow frock, also posed arm-in-arm with new boyfriend Tom Kilbey, 21.
And the blonde later tweeted a pic of herself with mum Debbie, who also attended the bash, with the caption: "Me and my beautiful mother at the Towie wrap party."
Joey Essex, 21, donned yet another daring outfit for the party, teaming a tiny pale blue jacket with a shirt and tie, jeans and brown boots.
But the discomfort of his super-tight blazer obviously didn't stop him from enjoying himself last night, he tweeted: "Towie wrap party = SICK."
And he later added: "Towie wrap party was fun. Nice to see everyone happy x."
Sam Faiers, also 21, arrived at the do with sister Billie.
The girls looked stunning as Sam matched an off-the-shoulder white top with a multi-coloured sequinned skirt and Billie, 22, flashed her ample cleavage in a clingy light green and gold-studded Lypsy dress.
Both sported skyscraper sling-back peep-toe heels to the do.
Sam later tweeted a snap of Billie pouting at the camera writing: "Aww @BillieFaiers."
The photo also showed off busty Billie's incredible assets.
This morning Billie tweeted: "Morning everyone :-) had a brilliant time at the wrap party last night .. For all those asking, my dress i wore was lypsy xx."
Boutique co-owner Sam also posted a pic of her kissing boyfriend Joey.
She captioned the cute snap: "Just got home from the wrap party .. A tad drunk ?? Great night x x."
Charlie King, 26, who was pictured hanging out with pals "Little Chris" Drake, 25, and Bobby-Cole Norris, 24, tweeted last night: "What a great evening with amazing people- night all Or good morning x."
Charlie and Little Chris went for a smart-casual look, teaming suit jackets with jeans.
While Bobby opted to go a little bit more upmarket in a bright blue suit.
Cara Kilbey posed for a pic with close friends Frankie Essex and Billi Mucklow.
But she revealed she wouldn't be hitting the booze with her castmates at the bash, she wrote: "Being a good girl tonight on the water... #oooOoooOooo #H20."
The girls, all 24, looked gorgeous in a series of glam frocks.
Gemma Collins, who stripped off to her swimsuit to tell love interest Arg "You ain't ever gonna get this candy" in The Only Way Is Marbs, missed the bash.
The 31-year-old tweeted: "Gutted to have missed the Towie wrap party tonight hope everyone had fun off to the airport soon xx."
Newly-engaged Mario Falcone and Lucy Mecklenburgh were also absent, as they are currently in Dubai.
Source: www.thesun.co.uk
TOWIE's Sam and Joey's alone time - Belfast Telegraph
Friday, 15 June 2012
The TOWIE model admitted it was hard being in a relationship that was played out on television but she said they now worked hard to spend quality time together away from the show, since rekindling their romance.
Sam said: "Me and Joey have been absolutely great. When we were together before, it was rushed and we didn't really make time for ourselves and our personal life. And this time TOWIE is TOWIE and the celebrity lifestyle, but when we get time together we just relax and we sit in and watch films.
"I think you need that in your relationship, because our lifestyles are so hectic, it's nice to actually sit down and relax with each other.
"Sometimes you feel under pressure, and other times it's fine. I think we're both looking forward to a nice holiday this year, just the two of us."
The reality TV star, who has released her autobiography, Living Life The Essex Way, also confessed it was tough having their arguments aired on TV for everyone to watch, but she had come to accept it was part of the job.
She said: "Some things like that you think 'I wish I could just deal with this myself with him'. But if it's out there it needs to be spoken about on the show otherwise it would look weird to the viewers. They'd think, 'Why are they all happy, what about them pictures we saw?', so you do have to play it out.
"Sometimes I wish some things could be kept between you both, but it has to be played out, because it's our lives and that's what we're on the show for."
She added: "It's hard to watch it back and hear myself shouting!"
Source: www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
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