SO this month is the one to make all your resolutions but they don’t have to be all about getting healthy and saving money.

Here are some of the things every Colcestrian should have done but if you haven’t then make 2019 the year that you did. Part two next week...

1. Try a pint of Other Monkey Beer, Three Wise Monkeys, High Street, Colchester.

It could be a big year for the Other Monkey Brewery who already brew their superb array of beers in-house but will be moving next door to their very own Tap Room. The Mango is a big favourite when it’s on, which usually isn’t for very long.

2. Take a look around Colchester Castle, Castle Park.

An obvious one perhaps but I bet there are a few of you who haven’t been inside Europe’s largest Norman keep. Packed full of stories, interesting artifacts, it’s well worth a visit.

3. Go for a meal at Grain, North Hill, Colchester.

Gazette:

Owners Paul Wendholt and Jordan Didwell 

Where’s Grain, you may ask, and well you may because this culinary gem is properly tucked away off North Hill close to the NCP car park.

Serving up small “taster” plates of food, it will be some of the best dishes you have ever tasted. How these guys don’t have a Michelin star I really don’t know, but get in there before they do and tables will be even harder to book.

4. Watch a game at Wimbledon on Castle Park’s Big Screen.

Yes, you’ve probably seen a blockbuster movie there but have you actually done what the Big Screen in the park was set up for in the first place, to watch the tennis.

Take a bite to eat, something to drink and lay back and enjoy some of the world’s best players do their thing, even if Andy’s not around this year. I’m still hoping.

Gazette:

5. Take a row boat from Dedham to Flatford.

Perhaps better suited to when the weather warms-up a bit, this is something I’ve been doing with my kids since they were pre-school age.

Last summer we went back, now all grown-up, and they loved it just as much as they did all those years ago. That’s because very little has changed.

You can imagine John Constable and his family doing something similar and marvelling at the simple, quiet beauty of the River Stour. Remember to take cash, and enough for the deposit on the boat, £16 refundable.