As winter arrived with its usual rain and cold nights, Young Farmers in Essex were becoming increasingly busy. With parties aplenty, fireworks displays, harvest suppers and everyone making plans for Christmas, November was a jam packed month, writes Jess Roche.

The month started with the Brentwood Young Farmers Halloween Party which had everything that makes a good night out with Essex Young Farmers. There was entertainment, a brilliantly run BBQ and a great array of fancy dress costumes, varying from those that gave a faint nod to the Halloween festivities and donned a witches hat, to those that went all out with fake blood, fake teeth and some impressive theatrical makeup! This certainly made Dunmow members, Lucy Merifield and Kelly Ward stand out amongst the crowd.

If the first weekend of November was not busy enough with the Brentwood party, Halstead also held their Harvest Supper at Spains Hall in Finchingfield. The night was a great success, where Young Farmers and subscribers came together to celebrate the achievements of one of the county’s biggest clubs. I’m certain a good night was had by all that attended due to the steady supply of superb food and a lot of time spent on the dance floor.

A few different clubs had fireworks displays as a way to raise money for their chosen charities. Each club in the county chooses one or more charities to support during the year, and they organise different events to try and raise money for them. This can vary from fireworks displays, like the ones seen this month, to muck selling, the Friday night parties the clubs host, to even carol singing, as we approach the festive season! Charity is at the heart of nearly everything we do as Young Farmers and raising money for fantastic causes is something that each member has a personal input into.

Annually, a few members from each Eastern Area county come together for a fun leadership training weekend. It consists of pushing members far outside of their comfort zone, with rock climbing, leaps of faith, kayaking across a lake in a rapidly sinking boat, and generally getting a little soaked and frozen, whilst having a lot of fun, meeting members from other counties. This year was no exception, with the Essex members who attended reporting that it was a great weekend spent with good friends and making new ones.

Public speaking is one of the non-sporting competitions that Young Farmers run to try and allow the members to learn new skills that may be valuable either in a work based environment, or to help them gain confidence at speaking in front of a crowd. I myself, was a complete beginner when it came to debating until I joined Young Farmers and got coerced into joining my club’s public speaking team.

December is here and feelings of excitement are rising as members who are away at university come back for the Christmas holidays, and if I thought November was busy, December is on a whole different level. If you want to find out more, contact us on 01245 360442 or email to office@essexyfc.co.uk.