SOME EXCITING NEWS FOR HEALTHY LIVING CENTRE DARTFORD!

Locality Guardian Observer Cost of Living Fund

Dartford community organisation, Healthy Living Centre Dartford awarded £10k to support their local community through cost-of-living crisis.

• Healthy Living Centre Dartford awarded 10k cost-of-living grant from Locality.

• Funds from donations to Guardian and Observer’s charity appeal

• Grants intended to help local community organisations alleviate the impact of the costof-living crisis in their community.

• Priority given to organisations working in disadvantaged areas and with racialised communities.

Dartford charity, Healthy Living Centre Dartford, has been awarded £10k by Locality to support their local community through the cost-of-living crisis. This grant will enable Healthy Living Centre Dartford to ensure local people suffering the effects of the cost-of-living crisis can feel safe, supported, warm and fed through several proactive initiatives – such as providing warm spaces with accessible food, economical cookery courses, training and advice services – meeting needs where they arise.

These cost of living grants have been made possible by the funds raised during the Guardian and Observer’s latest Charity Appeal.

Recipients were selected based on the specific needs of their communities at this difficult time and the help community organisations are providing. Priority was given to groups working in economically disadvantaged areas and those working with racialised communities.

Tony Armstrong, Chief executive of Locality said:

“Thanks to the generosity of Guardian and Observer readers, Locality are now able to provide direct financial support to 66 community organisations working on the frontline of the cost-of-living crisis. Last Winter, we heard far too many distressing stories from our members of people skipping meals and struggling to heat their homes. With this additional support, the grant awardees will be better equipped to support their community through what is likely to be another highly challenging winter.

This support will not only help keep food banks and warm hubs open, but also enable Locality members to provide local people with health support, housing advice, and job opportunities.”

Sarah Maybourne, a Trustee for Healthy Living Centre Dartford said:

“Our local communities are trying so hard to keep their heads above water, feed their families and access support. With this funding we will be able to help them more, allowing them to feel less isolated and confident that the right support is there for them. We want to thank Guardian and Observer readers for their generosity in helping us to continue with our vital work with our local communities.”

Locality is a national charity supporting local community organisations to be strong and successful. We believe in the power of community to transform lives and create a fairer society. Our member network creates the services their community needs most in spaces where everyone belongs and supports over 307,000 people every week. Locality provides specialist advice, peerlearning, resources, and campaigns to create better operating conditions for our members.

Throughout Autumn and Winter 23/24 Healthy Living Centre Dartford will be delivering initiatives to help local people maximise their income and reduce their outgoings by:

• Facilitating and delivering education and skills training programmes, including volunteering and work experience opportunities to help participants gain new skills and improve their employability and/or earning potential to help better manage household budgets.

• Expanding our community led initiatives, such as “Growing Community”, which encourages local food growing, grow your own at home, cooking on a budget, slow cooker cookery sessions etc to give participants the skills and knowledge to benefit from cheaper ingredients and cooking methods to help reduce weekly shopping bills.

• Delivering the Family Food Bank scheme in Dartford, redistribution of surplus food from local supermarkets and providing lunch clubs and family tea-time meal schemes utilising donated food and teaching cookery skills, reducing food waste, and addressing issues of food poverty.

• Growing our “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle” offer of repair café style projects, reducing waste and teaching people how to do simple repairs to help reduce household costs.

• Providing easier access to debt advice and financial management programmes to provide support and advice for those struggling with debt or managing finances, which can help beneficiaries manage debt and reduce, for example, interest payments, enabling them to save money on living expenses.

• Providing a cycle loan/repair and redistribution of unwanted cycles scheme to promote cycling to potentially reduce the cost of commuting and improve access to employment opportunities.

Promote and provide energy efficiency and fuel poverty programmes to provide advice and support for households to make their homes more energy efficient, helping to reduce energy bills and tackle food poverty.

Develop a sharing economy through “Timebanking” to help reduce costs, build social capital, and improve social cohesion.

To find out more email info@hlcdartford.org.uk or call 01322 311265. You can also keep up to date with activities on Facebook.

4th November 2023

Joinourcommunity-ledprojectcapturing andpreservingthevariedstoriesand historiesofthepeopleandplacesof Ebbsfleet,Greenhithe,Swanscombe,and Northfleet.

Collaboratewithartists,historiansand fellowresidents,toexplorethearea’s uniquehistoricandcontemporaryidentity throughobjects,sounds,videosandphotographs,collectedbyandfromresidents past,presentandfuture.

→ Findoutmoreabouthowyou cangetinvolvedintheproject atcementfields.org/eca

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→ Bookatcementfields.org/eca. Contactusat07562717532 orinfo@cementfields.org tofindoutmore.

BecomeaCitizenArchivist

JoinourteamofvolunteerCitizen Archivistsandworkcloselywith artists,historians,andarchivists toexplorethepeople,storiesand historiesoftheareaandlearn thepracticalandcreativeskills neededtocreateanarchivefor thewholecommunity.

Signuptooneofourfree‘Introto Archives’sessions,beforejoining ourartist-ledskillsworkshops, takingplacefromSeptemberto December2023.

Findoutmore:

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JoinaHeritageWalk

Walkthelocalareawithhistorian ChristophBullandlearnmore aboutthehistoriesofGreenhithe, Swanscombe,andNorthfleet. Hearabouttheindustriallegacy ofpaperandcementproduction, thedifferentriotsandbattles thathavetakenplace,andthe surprisingdiscoveriesthathave beenunearthed.

Bookyourplaceononeor moreofthewalks:

Sunday17and24September

Sunday1and15October

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CreatetheEbbsfleetCitizen Handbook

WorkwithartistLuWilliamsand helptoproducetheEbbsfleet CitizenHandbook–analternativeguidetotheareathatwillbe sharedwithincomingresidents andthosethatalreadylivehere.

Comeandjoinacreative zineworkshopwithLu:

Saturday23September

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COULD YOUR HOBBY HELP YOU TACKLE THE COST-OFLIVING CRISIS?

For many the cost-of-living crisis is creating a strain on their purse strings, but some Dartford residents are turning to self-employment to help ease their financial strains.

People like Angie Welton who decided to make money from her passion of sound healing. “After becoming a single parent and experiencing immense stress, I discovered Sound Healing. It has transformed my life and I have not had a drink in over 7 years. My husband and I decided this year to start getting our passion out to more people and make money from the thing that has changed our lives so much.”

The co-founder of the course that helped Angie to do this, Simon Paine from the Rebel Business School, shares his tips for turning your hobby into a business:

1 – Focus

You might have lots of hobbies or one hobby but there are always lots of variations to choose from. Make it easy for yourself and start with just one area e.g. seascape paintings so you don’t get overwhelmed.

2 – Make it a mini-experiment

Don’t expect your hobby to make you the next Picasso. Target specific people to promote to, like local parents with young children, and take massive action to promote your product to them. If it works and you enjoy it, continue; if not, tweak and experiment again.

3 – Sell your value before you create it

Get paid upfront for your product or service to buy supplies or fund your business. If you think creatively and build trust with your customers, then this approach can apply to any business.

If you want help to turn your ideas into a business and get your new venture off the ground, join the next 2-week online Rebel Business School course which starts on 13th November and is free to attend.

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WHEAT FIELDS, WITCHCRAFT AND WAGGING OFF SCHOOL: WALK THROUGH DARTFORD’S HARVEST HISTORY

By Clair Humphries

It’s the season to reap what we sow, so when better to explore the history of harvest in the local area? You might have plans to go pumpkin picking or be heading out to surrounding villages, for farm shops and the opportunity to pick your own fruit and veg. If so, you’ll be following in the footsteps of Kent harvesters past, enjoying the spoils of the Garden of England. It involved lots of hard work (and possibly a little magic) as you’ll find in this walk through harvest history…

‘The land, generally speaking from Deptford to Dartford, is poor and the surface ugly by nature… here dwell vanity and poverty.’ William Cobbett from Rural Rides (1821)

Social reformer William Cobbett clearly didn’t think much of the local land – despite its abundance of produce. Orchards were a-plenty all along the Thames Estuary, with notable farmsteads in Eltham, Sidcup and Bexley. Crayford in particular was famed for its strawberries. Further out, the Darent Valley was equally productive, with rich chalk soil ideal for cereal crops. However, harvest time didn’t always go according to plan and a poor yield was disastrous, pre-Industrial Revolution, for rural Kent communities.

Did You Know?

In 1635, a poor harvest led to a local farmer’s wife being tried as a witch?

The website www.crayfordhistory.org.uk recounts a fascinating tale of how Ellen Tislington, of Horton Kirby was accused of witchcraft after crops in its fields failed. A new Puritan rector, Frances Cornewall, had moved into the village and led the case against her, which ended up in a trial at Maidstone court. Ellen was found not guilty –however, others weren’t so lucky, as claims of witchcraft became commonplace during times of rural hardship.

The 19th century saw a real boom in fruit production, with the Industrial Revolution and expansion of the railways aiding Kent’s role as a ‘market garden.’ Increased mechanisation and transportation meant that the areas of Wilmington, Swanley and Sutton-at-Hone became one of the most flourishing soft fruit producers in the country! Extra help was needed and school children regularly worked in the fields and on farms. School records in Bexley and Dartford show that absence peaked in spring (during sowing season) and autumn (when harvest was gathered in).

The artist Samuel Palmer lived in Shoreham and portrayed idyllic scenes of farming life during this time. His ‘valley of vision’ boasted fields of maize, wheat and corn and his work ‘The Harvest Moon’ celebrates autumn in the Darent Valley. However, rural conditions were often harsh, with cramped housing and labourers on low wages. Even Palmer himself returned to London, seeking greater prosperity and recognition for his art!

Quick Quiz: a) The Bull b) The Royal Oak c) The Flying Boat

Which Dartford pub hosted the annual North Kent Agricultural Association dinner?

Local blog www.sutton-at-honehistory.co.uk has some wonderful descriptions of early 20th century harvest fairs in the area, including the annual North Kent Agricultural Association ploughing match. Based at Black Dale Farm in Darenth, the event included military displays and horse jumping as well as the usual fruit and veg contests. Apparently, the post-show dinners at The Bull were quite a lavish affair! Arable farming remained a focus throughout the Darent Valley, particularly in the war years, when horses (and later small tractors) were used to ‘dig for victory’ on local farms including Castle Farm in Shoreham. Hops were another boom industry, with the increasing popularity of beer from the 1800s onwards – alongside Castle Farm, Bexley’s Tanyard Farm and Hurst Farm were prolific for hops in the late-summer / early autumn. www.clairhumphries.com

Harvest may look a little different nowadays (with fewer horse-drawn ploughs and witches in residence) but the Garden of England is still at its best right now. Why not visit a local farm or farm shop, to experience nature’s bounty on your doorstep? You can savour Kent’s finest fresh produce and its rich history of harvest while you’re there.

Clair Humphries is a Script Consultant for ATS Heritage.

Twitter: @clairhumphries

Instagram: clair_humphries

The answer is a) The Bull.