TICKETS are still available for two free literary evenings being held by the Riverside Community Big Local, at Thurrock Yacht Club.

The first event is an evening with Leigh Hosy - Pickett, on 7pm Friday, 21 July. 

Leigh is a local lad who went to, what is now, the Hathaway Academy.

He is a third-generation fire fighter whose book, Up in Smoke: My True Story of life as a Firefighter, is a fantastic insight into his 25 years in the job.

Telling how he has battled infernos, pulled people from the wreckage, and rescued a few cats.

He's been through pain and trauma in the discharge of his duty and been supported by the laughter and character you find in every fire station.

Then, on Friday 4 of August the Yacht Club welcomes Guardian journalist and author of The Invention of Essex: The Making Of An English County, Tim Burrows.

Tim's book is a Financial Times book to read in 2023.

It tells the story of a county both famous and infamous - the stuff of tabloid headlines, reality television and consumer culture.

But beyond the sensationalist headlines lies a strange and secret place with a rich history - smugglers and private islands, artists and radicals, myths and legends.

Essex is where the Peasants' Revolt began and the Empire Windrush docked.

The Yacht Club has a licensed bar and free tickets (Leigh Hosy-Pickett and Tim Burrows re available from Eventbrite.