Local charity Accuro, who support local people with disabilities, turned back the clock over the late May Bank Holiday with the exciting living history experience of mounted jousting at Hedingham Castle - as close to the real thing as you're going to get without getting your horse dirty!

Laws were bent and records were broken on Saturday 26th April as 32 prisoners broke out of HM Chelmsford Prison and ran for the hills! No need to panic – they were all taking part in the 36th annual Essex Jailbreak event, fundraising brainchild of the fabulous folks at the Essex Boys & Girls Clubs charity.

Start your scheming, bribe the guards and get ready to run, because April 26th is the date for the 2014 Essex Jailbreak. Do it for charity, do it for the awards, do it for the underworld kudos - just definitely do it, because this could just be the coolest event of the year!

It's time to don your armour and choose your allegiance as the Medieval Siege Society return to lay waste to fair Hedingham Castle in a War Of The Roses extravaganza on Easter Sunday and Monday (20th & 21st April). Whether for Yorkshire or Lancaster, you're guaranteed a swashbuckling family day out!

We love home and we love Uttlesford, naturally, but we also love travelling; revelling in new experiences, drinking in new cultures, that sort of thing. And, as the weather improves, what better way to tap into that adventurous spirit than to hire a motorhome and aim for the horizon?

On Sunday 16 February, not-for-profit cinema, Saffron Screen, will team up with the National Trust to look at how we can encourage local children to get outdoors and explore nature. Entry fee includes film screening, some lively discussion and a half-term free-parking voucher for Hatfield Forest.