Lenham Focus | April ’16

APRIL 2016 IN THIS EDITION

We are returning to A5 Starting in May

Lenham Family Festival Update

Sugar Free World Could you do it?

Lenham Fire Station Second Instalment

SEE PAGE 4

SEE PAGE 11

SEE PAGE 24

SEE PAGE 29

PAGE 2 APR 2016

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PAGE 4 APR 2016

Welcome to the April edition of the Lenham Focus.

Happy Easter to all our readers.

We have decided to revert the magazine back to the A5 format and we hope this is a welcome return for everyone. From next month the Focus will be A5 and we will always welcome your comments on this.

James Collett Editor

Welcome

lenhamfocus.co.uk

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07927 308740 editorialslf@gmail. com

This month we have the second half of Jim Myers’ article on the Fire Station.

This month he talks to current serving fire fighters who tell him what it’s like to be a fire fighter in Lenham today.

With the better weather coming (hopefully) we have a few outdoor events being planned. The Heart of Kent

Also there are a number of shows on including the Holigans presenting an evening of sporting anthems, the Hollingbourne Players have a very popular event celebrating St Georges Day and the Military Wives Choir are in the Community Centre.

Editorial: James Collett 07927 308740 | editorialslf@gmail.com

Distribution: Gez Clark 07784 447200

Social: Georgia Hewish

Advertising: Annie Drylie 07593 340744 | advertslf@gmail.com

Proofing: Jayne Hewish, Katy Bennett

Printed by: Mike Kingsman, Gemini Print

Finance: Mark Dunbar 07808863227 | lenhamfocusinvoices@gmail.com

Interviews: Jim Myers

Platts Heath, Sandway, West Street, Woodside Green and Warren Street.

Volume 18 Edition 4 (April 2016) Circulation 2000 Copy Deadline: 5pm 7th of the preceding month.

Please leave copy at 24 Maidstone Road, or contact us.

Focus is Distributed by Volunteers to: Lenham Village, Lenham Heath,

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Hospice have a 10k run and there is the cycle ride in July.

For ‘Out of Town’ Readers Distribution: Lenham Community Centre, Chequers Fish Bar, Lenham Post Office, Len Valley Newsagents and Harrietsham Post Office.

Published by Lenham Focus Lenham Focus is published by the Lenham Focus Team. Any opinions expressed are those of the contributors and not the publishers.

Every care is taken in compiling the contents of the magazine to ensure that they are correct and accurate at

the time of printing and the publishers accept no responsibility for any errors or omissions. The publication of advertisements does not constitute an endorsement by the publishers.

Authors of articles and advertisements in Focus take full responsibility to ensure they obtain any prior permission for us.

The Focus can forward any complaint directly to an author of any article which a reader finds displeasing in order for them to respond directly.

Every reader has the opportunity to a ‘right of reply’ to publish their view in the Focus as long as a name, committee group or organisation is named.

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Photography: Andy Flood Andy has been providing photography to the focus since the launch of the new design.

Consistently he has provided amazing shots, especially the front covers.

Check out his website! www.andyfloodphotography.co.uk

HOLIGANS Presenting an evening of Sporting Anthems St Mary’s Church, Lenham

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Friday 22nd April at 7.30pm – 9pm £3 adults Children free

Buy tickets from the Newsagents and Lenham Social Club Refreshments available

Get into the spirit and wear your kit and wave your scarves!

Supporting Lenham FC to purchase a bench and Connected Church to fund clean water in Zambia

Paradise Lost At Atwater

by Ivor Kinnersley PAGE 6 APR 2016

The only element missing was the glorious harmony re orchestration of Delws’ “Walk to the Paradise Garden”. The garden itself perfect – the heart of that perfection – the lily pond with innumerable dazzling gold fish zipping under and around the most glorious water lillies I or Monet would wish to see. Above them dragonflies in exquisite attire, below goldfish rushing to the side of the pond to greet the children who knelt to touch and play with them ‘idyllic’; is the word.

Paradise Lost

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Then the Angel of Death with a long sharp beak descended our garden and paradise was lost. No longer do our grandchildren rush

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One Hundred Years Ago...

by Amy Myers

I

n Lenham Heath, James Terry and his wife were mourning the death of their son Stanley, who had been at home on leave less than a month earlier.

A corporal in the Buffs, Stanley had been killed on the Western Front and his death was a great loss not only to his family but to the whole district as he had been very popular. On the other side of the parish in Platts Heath, widower George Hodgkin was still awaiting news of his son Lewis, holed up in Kut since December under siege from the Turks. But when news came it was not from Lewis. The British relieving forces had been unable to reach Kut in time; pinned down by floods and mud. Starvation forced its capitulation late in April, and those that had managed to survive its privations were on a death march to an

to the pond to be greeted and play with the goldfish. People ask where have all the fishes gone?

For there are no fish to see and play with now.

We loved to walk in our garden with its “green pastures” and “still waters” but the magic has gone. My grandchildren noticed my concern and sorrow at the loss. On my birthday they presented me with six goldfish each with a white flash. Carefully they introduced them to pond temperatures – they released them and away they swam. It was the last I saw of them!

Most of us have great respect for Albert Shweitzer’s “reverence for life” philosophy but it should be noted that his emphasis was on the prey rather than the predator.

Ask the mothers and mothers-tobe of Brazil whether it is wrong to take action against the Zika

unknown destination. Lewis was one of them.

This was the month of the Easter Rising in Ireland and the month that the Germans were coming perilously near to seizing the fortress at Verdun. Their warships were targeting England’s eastern coast. In Lenham, as elsewhere, conscription was biting hard and the tribunals were busy as

mosquito that threatens the life of happiness of their babies! Ask the farmer whether he would feel guilt about shooting a fox roaming out of his natural habitat and leaving several chickens headless. The heron’s natural habitat and “favourite take-away” is not our garden – it has roamed too far from the river or natural ponds.

To those who would argue that the mosquito, fox and heron are only doing ‘that which comes naturally’ and should be protected, I say ask the mums of Brazil, the farmer and sad people of Paradise Lost.

May I appeal to the good people of Lenham and district for any help or advice that will save our fish in the future so that next summer our Paradise will be regained.

desperate farmers pleaded for temporary if not permanent exemption for their few remaining workers. Charles Brakefield working on his father’s 205 acre farm, was one of several from Lenham who were granted an exemption of one month by the Hollingbourne Tribunal. All too brief.

Dates for your Diary Keep up-to-date with the latest goings on in and around Lenham.

6 April Messy Church Harrietsham Primary School 6pm 22 April Favourite football and rugby songs Performed by The Holigans at St Mary’s Church from 7:30pm 27 to 30 April Hollingbourne Players St Georges Day Celebration

Forthcoming Events 16 Apr

UB40 Tribute + Reggae & Ska 9pm Ticket Only. Members £6. Guests £8.

Bingo: every Tuesday and Sunday Night 8pm Quiz Night: first Tuesday of every month Whist Drive: every Friday 7.30pm Monthly Sea Angling Club Outside Bar,Hire.

Marque, BBQ & Bouncy CastleNight for Hire Private very Tuesday Sunday Members and Guests Only. All eventsand start at 8pm.

Private Hire. veryTuesday Tuesday and Sunday Night

28 April Lenham Family Festival Meeting Lenham Community Centre 7:15pm 30 April Rodmersham Squash Club 50th Anniversary 1 May Bluebell Walk 6 mile sponsored walk for Heart of Kent Hospice 7 May Military Wives Choir Lenham Community Centre 7pm 16 May Lenham Players Workshop Lenham Community Centre 8pm

BALLROOM & LATIN CLASSES WEEKLY GROUP CLASSES £5/person

Monday 5.45 - 6.45 : Children’s Ballroom & Latin (8-16yrs) 7.30 - 8.15 : Adult’s Ballroom & Latin (Beginners)

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8.15 - 9.00 : Adult’s Ballroom & Latin (Intermediate) Wednesday 4.30 - 5.15 : Under 8’s Ballroom & Latin (4-8yrs)

PLUS Wednesday Zumba Classes £5/person 8.15 - 9.00 : Zumba Fitness (12yrs+ only) Private lessons also available for individuals and couples, please contact the Studio for more information

Lenham Heritage

liked horses! Dr Adams thought it looked more bird like but whatever, it is a zoomorphic design as animal designs are called.

by Lesley Feakes PAGE 8

Clubs & Soc.

lenhamfocus.co.uk

@lenhamfocus

APR 2016

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ur programme for the remainder of the year is as follows:MAR 30th The Sea Forts of the Thames Estuary – Frank Turner APRIL 27th - Members’ talks MAY 25th - “Railway Wars in Kent” by Frank Andrews JUNE 29th – “The forgotten village of Denton” –Christoph Bull JULY 27th Walk AUGUST – No meeting SEPT 28th – “Progress at Bigbury Camp” by Chris Sparey Green OCT 26th – “Aviation in the Medway area” by Jim Preston NOV 30th “More about Dover” by Keith Parfitt DEC 28th SOCIAL On Sat 5th March, I attended a talk at Boughton Malherbe given

by Dr Sophia Adams (wife of our KCC Community Archaeologist Andrew Mayfield) about the Bronze Age hoard of axes found in that parish. The talk was kindly organised by Christine King.

It was a very interesting talk and the items on display were quite stunning. If it is repeated, it is well worth going to. One of our members Wayne Coomber from Headcorn was one of the finders and had they been positioned just 100m further north (across the road) they would have been in Lenham Parish! There were large discs (ingots) of copper

Lenham Gardening Society

by Keith Varney

6

0 members enjoyed our Winter Social in February; the food (as usual) was superb, plenty of wine and a simple quiz to round off the evening - what more could you want?

Our speaker for April will be Mrs

about 10cm across found with the axes indicating it could be a hoard, originally hidden, that the metal founders were going to return to some 3000 years ago. Why they did not return and what had happened to them is anyone’s guess. One piece was a bronze mould in which further axes would have been cast.

I remarked that it resembled the face of a horse. The photo I took of it is here (front and back) and beside it is a bronze mask of an Iron Age horse mask found in Stanwick, Northamptonshire. (The horse mask is of course several hundred years later.) Many items in prehistoric times had caballine (horse figure) designs. What they signified we do not know, probably they just

A Marsden whose talk is entitled ‘What will grow in my garden’? which sounds very interesting and is hopefully full of ideas for us. The competitions will be ‘3 tulips mixed and/or 3 homemade hot cross buns’ Please note that due to problems outside of our control, we will not now be going to Sheffield Park on April 26th instead we will be going to Petworth House which is also a NT property.

The cost will be the same and a cream tea will be provided. So I hope that you will all be able to

It is odd that the Latin name for horse is Caballus and Cabala in Hebrew = a secret or hidden meaning….. perhaps there was a connection… the horse design had some kind of secret message that we shall never know the meaning of!

Please come to any of our meetings you are interested in, better still, join our group!

Lesley Feakes 8502745

come.

Reminder that this month is the last month in which you can pay your subs. So come on, it’s only £7.

For those of you who are planning their exhibits for the Lenham Garden Show at the end of August a list of the classes for the show is available at our meeting.

Happy gardening.

RBL Women’s Section

At our meeting on the 28th April, Helen Kendal Tobias will be speaking on “Make up for the over 40s”.

Do come along to the Community Centre at 2.30 pm. There will be the usual raffle and tea and biscuits.

Thursday 21/04/16 2.00-4.00pm at the Community Centre. We have Bon Marche with us again. There will be a fashion show and plenty of time to choose something new.

If you would like a lift please contact Jenny on 01622859208.

Thank you to all who help make these events such a success. If anyone has a few hours free please come and join us.

Martin, Olive, Sue, Jackie, Kath, Jacky, Fred, Jenny and Nina.

talk from Sylvia about her guide dog Paddy.

Next month we are having a quiz Oy! We will have to get our ‘little grey cells ’ working. We are meeting on Thursday 07/04/16 at the Social

Club 2.00-4.00pm. We look forward to seeing you all.

Thank you to all our helpers. Without them there would be no club.

John, Martin, Fred, Jenny and Nina.

treated to a talk by writer Chris McCooey, who told us about some ‘Famous and Infamous Women of Kent and Sussex’ and kept us highly amused. We finished the afternoon with delicious cakes and a cup of tea (very W.I.). Unfortunately, a lot of our members were unable to attend; I hope that next time we organise an event like this, more will be able to come and enjoy it.

We welcomed two new members to our February meeting, and one

returning previous member. In April we will be having a visit from Antonia Gallup who will be telling us how she rode a motorbike across India!

May is our A.G.M. when we hope our members will be competing in various competitions.

We would love to have new members; the only requirement is that you are female! We meet on the second Thursday of each month in the Community Centre.

Our aim is to support our monarchy; we will be holding a meeting at the Dog & Bear Hotel, Lenham, on Saturday 23rd April (St. George’s Day) at 1.30 p.m., at which Dr. Barry Twigg MBE will talk about ‘The Seven Georges’, and we will celebrate the 90th Birthday of Her Majesty The

Queen.

The cost is £7.50, which includes tea or coffee and biscuits.

by Enid La Plain

Young At Heart 60+ Hi everyone, hope you are all keeping well.

Our next meeting will be on

Len Valley Community Hub Club I am sure like me you all enjoyed the

Lenham W.I.

by Gill Simes

I

am writing this after enjoying our ‘Dabble Day’. In the morning we learned how to make pictures with unspun dyed wool and paste, quite messy and amazingly therapeutic, sometimes it’s good to just have fun! Our ‘works of art’ were all quite individual and sometimes abstract, but a good time was had by all. In the afternoon we were

The Constitutional Monarchy Association

For further information contact Mrs. Wendy Henderson on 01732 451769 or look on our website http://www. cmakent.org.uk/

Lenham Surgery Tel: 858341 Mondays to Fridays 8:30am6:30pm. Closed 1-2pm Dispensary 8:30am-6:30pm Closed 12:30-2pm Urgent matters out of hours telephone. 0845 1450121 (6-6.30pm only) IC24. 111 (from 6.30pm)

Harrietsham Lawn Tennis Club

PAGE 10 APR 2016

T

he grass court tennis season starts – weather permitting – on Sunday afternoon at 2pm on

May 1st.

New members are very welcome – so why not come along and give grass court tennis a try?

There is the chance to come

Lenham Players

@lenhamfocus

T

he very popular event celebrating St. Georges Day in April, unfortunately, will not be staged at Lenham this year, but Hollingbourne Players have included an extra night at Hollingbourne, running from Wed 27th till Sat 30th. I believe tickets are running out fast, but as Wed 27th is an additional

Clubs & Soc.

lenhamfocus.co.uk

Nigel Godfrey

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I

t was with great sadness we learnt that Nigel passed away -surrounded by his familyon Friday 4th March.

He had served on Lenham Parish Council for many years and was loved and respected for his contribution and commitment to Lenham. He represented the residents with honesty and integrity and always spoke in a

Make a note!

26th June Those of you who took part in last year’s Cycle Ride will remember the beautiful and interesting 20 mile ride taking in some of the delightful scenery in

and play for free on Sunday June 12th from 12-4pm the day of the Village Big Lunch. Just turn up with your sports shoes + tennis racket if you have one (otherwise we have some spares).

The normal tennis sessions are on Sunday afternoons from 2pm, and Tuesday and Thursday evenings from 6:30pm. We also have a special session again this year for our younger Jun-ior Members (aged 9-10) from 4pm to 5:30pm every Thursday. For younger children (aged 5-8)

there will be a six week FREE PROFESSIONAL COACHING programme available (June/ July) – further details to follow but if you would like to register an interest please see contact details below.

For further details please contact Andrew Rogers on 859352 or visit our website: www.

Harrietshamtennis.co.uk

night, they are offering tickets for £5.00 per person. If you would like to join a group from Lenham, then please give me a call.

Our next main production will be in autumn of this year. But, in the interim, we would very much welcome new members to our society, who perhaps have little or no experience in acting, but would like to join our amateur drama group. We are organising a few fun workshops, the first of which will be held at Lenham

Community Centre on the 16th May at 8.00pm. The Humour in Theatre workshop will be led

by David Abson, who has many years of acting and directing experience.

way that people appreciated and understood. Never to pull his punches he spoke his mind and earned respect for his tenacious and determined stand on what he believed. He helped establish, with others, the Cherry Estate Residents Association which operated for many years for the benefit of all residents on the estate. He was so helpful and giving to all that knew him, and helped improve the lives of those he came into contact with.

with his family surrounding him and always was so proud of their achievements. Whether it was down the allotment, or at the market, he had time to discuss anything. He will be remembered for how he helped people. One of life’s true givers. One we were honoured to have met and like so many known as a friend. Our family will miss him and our thoughts go out to Jeannie and all the family.

Email or give me a call if you would like to join us for above.

Jan Moll, Secretary of Lenham Players 01622 850747 or jemoll859@ gmail.com

Tom, Janetta and family Nigel was always at his happiest

Kent, and Dave Flisher promises you a similar ride this year. For those who haven’t taken part in the cycle ride before, make a note of the date – 26th June – HEART OF KENT FUNDRAISING CYCLE RIDE. Don’t forget we shall be finishing with a barbecue for cycle riders and all their supporters and bouncy castles

for the children, all at Lenham Social Club.

You will obviously enjoy the day so get polishing your bike! And dare we say it, a few practice rides.

For more information or to book a ride ring Dave Flisher on 01622 850659 John Philpott

Lenham Festival 2016

by Lenham Festival Committee

T

he 2016 Lenham Family Festival takes place from the 9th to 12th June 2016.

This fun event, that brings the whole community together and is affordable for families, will raise funds for Lenham Nursery School and The Heart of Kent Hospice and is not to be missed.

We are excited the City of Rochester Symphony Orchestra will perform ‘A Taste of Classics’ with special guests Platts Heath Primary School Choir on the evening of Friday June 10th at the historic and beautiful Tithe Barn. Doors open from 6.30pm with a start time of 7pm and finishes at 9pm. Tickets are £15pp, OAP’s £13pp and children up to the age of 18 go free (nibbles are free). Tickets are now available to buy from Len Valley News, The Village Store or telephoning Annie on 0756 847 6573.

Last month, we gave information about what will be going on outside during the main community event on Saturday June 11th in the Community Centre car park. This month we can also add that our lovely face painting lady will be back as will the popular nail bar. Inside the Community Centre there will dance performances from Lenham Ballet School and GDC School of Dancing, Charlie will be performing his amazing magic, and Fred will be entertaining us with a good selection of music played on the organ.

This month, we also have news of two events taking place on the

Rodmersham Squash Club will celebrate its 50th Anniversary in April

afternoon of Sunday June 12th at St Mary’s Church. The first event, at 3pm, is a very different musical event. “Pulling Strings” is a selection of solo and ensemble music by The Lenham Harpists. If you’ve never been to a harp recital before, it is well worth giving it a try as this is something you don’t often get the opportunity to hear. Then at 5pm St Mary’s will be hosting a Festival Songs of Praise. This event will also celebrate the Queen’s official 90th Birthday celebrations which fall on the same weekend.

The next meeting of the Festival Committee will take place on April 28th at 7.15pm in the Appleton Room at the Community Centre. As

To mark this GREAT occasion the club will be having an open day with lots of exciting things going on at the club. There will be an exhibition match between England players, a wooden racquets competition – Trip down memory lane and lots more!!

If you were a member at any time in the past or know someone who was, please spread the word, we would

mentioned in previous months, we are particularly looking for helpers on the main day to assist the event’s success. Even if you can only give an hour of your time it will be very helpful and much appreciated. If you are interested in joining the committee or volunteering at any of the festival events, you will be given a very warm welcome. If you would like to book a pitch for a stall, or enquire about volunteering, email lenhamfestival@gmail.com or ring 01622 859412.

Look out for further details in each month’s edition of the Lenham Focus and http:// lenhamfamilyfestival.co.uk/

love to see you again even just for this social day.

The big day is Saturday April 30th 2016 Contact: 01795 422 121 or rodmershamsquashclub.co.uk or 01622 858837

How The Lenham Focus Is Produced PAGE 12

Focus Insight

lenhamfocus.co.uk

@lenhamfocus

APR 2016

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by Mike Kingsman

E

very month a dozen people work frantically to produce the Lenham Focus for their local village community. James and Annie start the ball rolling by collecting the pictures, copy, adverts and any editorial that makes up the magazine. This is a very time consuming job for James and Annie who do an excellent job to produce one of the most well received magazines in Kent. Before the current magazine is finished James and Annie start working on next months as there is always a tight schedule to deliver the job on time.

Once the flat plan has been put together, everything is then passed over to Will Beeching at Falcon who designs and puts the magazine together.

Over the last couple of years he has created an exciting magazine with a fresh look which now stands out against its other competitors.

Andy Flood supplies some excellent photography and the magazine always welcomes any new photography that you might like to have in the magazine (especially for the front cover). Falcon has the ability to redesign your ads to give a more professional look, and remember these ads represent your business. You can always be sure to spot the ad that someone has decided to create on their home PC. It’s better to leave it to the experts!

Finally the magazine is ready to go to print which normally takes about 4-5 days. The print ready files are proofed for one more final check and on approval the plates are made for the press. I have printed The Focus for many years now and here at Gemini Print we are familiar with the colour of the magazine’s ads to produce a good high quality product.

After the sheets are printed

they are left to dry before we can fold and stitch the brochure.

The final copies are checked before I race back to Lenham with a dozen boxes in my car to meet up with Gez Clark, who is responsible for distributing the magazine throughout the village.

Not forgetting the excellent work of Mark on finance, Jim who produces fantastic monthly articles, Jayne and Katy proof reading and Georgia on social media.

Gemini Print produces over 100 monthly titles throughout Kent, Surrey and Sussex and I believe the Focus is one of the best designed local magazines in the business. If you compare the

magazine to either the Bearsted or Harrietsham monthlies you can see how far this has advanced and why the Focus stands out from the rest. This is down to a lot of hard work from the team who put this together every month and in their spare time. They rely on local businesses, societies, clubs and articles to keep the magazine going so everybody can benefit.

It’s a non-profit publication so they rely on the advertisers to pay for the production of the magazine. The team welcomes feedback from all the readers to improve what is offered for the people in Lenham.

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PAGE 14 APR 2016

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Do you have an article or story that you would like published?

Let us know by emailing editorialslf@gmail. com and we’ll try and include it in the next edition!

Do not die Earth You are so beautiful Earth With blueness of water With greenness of forest With lofty mountains And with so many skyspace You are our mother Earth You give us life - greatest miracle All creatures appreciate it But regrettably only humans hurt you...

But forgive us just like a mother forgives Because she always loves to the end Give us a chance to repair the damage We will purify the water and plant new trees!

Our hearts and deeds will change Only please... Do not die, O Earth

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FOOT CLINIC Mrs. Afstaneh Smith Foot Health Professional MCFHP MAFHP Flexible surgery hours Home visits undertaken Hubbards Farm, Lenham Heath, ME17 2BX

Tel: 01622 853640 Mob: 07506376264

Scarves • Silver Jewellery • Purses • Hair Accessories • Fashion Bags • Costume Jewellery • Occasion Bags • Fascinators

by Maria Hayman

Immyblingy bringing glamour to Lenham

Zumba Gold Zumba for the over 50s Why not try it every Wednesday at the Lenham Community Centre?

9.30am prompt start, please come a little earlier for signing in, cost £2 PP Come and enjoy the music and exercise, those that are already going say it’s great fun and they feel better afterwards.

Open to everybody in the Lenham Valley area.

Run jointly by Lenara and Dance Visions of Ashford.

See you there.

Man’s / boy’s bike abandoned in Lenham Found valentines weekend.

Please phone 07795 842410 to reclaim.

MON-SAT 9:30-5 Open Market Sundays

01622 298129

Christian Message

PAGE 16

Church

lenhamfocus.co.uk

@lenhamfocus

APR 2016

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A

s I was wondering what to write for April, I looked at my diary and found no less than three Annual Meetings listed in one week in the middle of the month! Now, AGMs are not the most popular of events and some people do their best to avoid them. But if you think about it, they are a valuable part of our culture. They make us stop and evaluate what has been going on and what to do in the future. They are also a great safeguard for the finances of an organisation. That is why AGMs are often held in April – the beginning of the new financial year. And this makes me think about Lent and the Church year.

We are all very conscious of the seasons, special events and celebrations. As I write I suspect we are all looking forward to spring after a rather wet and dreary winter – though one must admit that the seasons have been a bit awry this year with daffodils in bloom since January!

The Christian church has its special seasons called the Liturgical Year, and I thought it might be of interest to remind ourselves what is celebrated throughout the year. In March we remember the Annunciation when Mary was told by an angel that the Holy Spirit would come upon her and the power of God would overshadow her and she would conceive a child who would be called the Son of God. Advent comes in late November or early December. It is a time of preparation and anticipation of the birth of Christ.

Christmas is celebrated on the 25th of December by everyone, believers and non-believers alike, though these days it has become for many a secular rather than a Christian festival. It is the time when Christians rejoice in the birth of Christ in a humble stable, celebrated by the shepherds and the angels and all mankind.

Epiphany follows, marking the visit of the wise men from the east who came to worship the

new born Christ.

Then comes a quiet period called Ordinary time which lasts until Ash Wednesday, the beginning of Lent.

Lent is a time of reflection (not unlike our Annual Meetings) and a time of penitence. Many people associate Lent with giving up something like chocolates or alcohol. But it is much more because for six weeks it provides an opportunity to reflect on our Christian lives and what is more, to think in what ways we can demonstrate our Christian faith through service to our fellow men.

After six weeks, comes the excitement of Palm Sunday when we remember Jesus riding into Jerusalem on a humble donkey and being hailed by the crowds with palms in their hands, shouting ‘Hosanna.

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, Blessed is the King of Israel.’

This did not please the Jewish leaders nor the Roman Governor, Pilate, who saw Jesus as a threat.

Just one week later he was arrested, tried, flogged, betrayed by the crowds who had hailed him the week before, found guilty, and condemned to death by crucifixion.

I have often wondered what the next three days would have been like for his disciples and all those who had been with him over the months before. They had had great expectations, but with Jesus crucified (a horrific way to die), they must have felt absolutely desolated, with all their hopes shattered.

But then comes Easter with the glorious news of Christ’s resurrection, and his promise of love and forgiveness to all who believe in him.

How difficult it must have been for his followers to comprehend that Jesus had risen from the dead. But he appeared to many of them in bodily form. He met Mary Magdalene in the Garden when she was on her way to his tomb to minister to his body.

He appeared several times to the disciples when they were gathered together. He showed them the wounds in his hands

and side, asked for food to eat, and on one occasion invited Thomas to touch his wounds.

Then he walked along beside two of his followers on their way to Emmaus, and later was with Peter by the Sea of Galilee. There were many other occasions when Jesus appeared to them.

He spent forty days with his followers and just before he left, he instructed them to ‘go to all nations and make them my disciples and baptise them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit’, but he told them they must wait in the city until they were armed with power from above.

The waiting time cannot have been easy. His followers were afraid of what the Pharisees might do to them and they had to wait several weeks before they received the power from above that Jesus had promised.

Pentecost (formerly called Whitsun) was the day the Holy Spirit descended on them with a sound like a rushing wind, and flames like tongues of fire. Luke describes what happened in the Acts of the Apostles. Hearing the noise and seeing the flames, crowds from all nations gathered round the disciples and they all heard in their own language the disciples proclaiming the Gospel (Good News) of Jesus Christ.

Everyone was amazed and on that day, three thousand people became believers.

This year we will be celebrating Pentecost (Whitsun) on Sunday the 15th of May. Pentecost marks the beginning of a rapidly growing Christian community, the church, with the promise to everyone ‘That God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that everyone who has faith in him may not perish but have eternal life. It was not to judge the world that God sent his Son into the world but that through him the world might be saved.’

Molly Poulter

Len Valley Churches Service Times Sunday 3rd April 9.30 am Lenham: Breakfast service 9.30 am Boughton Malherbe: Holy Communion (Prayer Book) 10.30 am Ulcombe: Family Worship 11.00 am Lenham: Holy Communion 3.30 pm Harrietsham: GIFT family worship Wednesday 6th April 9.30 am Lenham: Communion Sunday 10th April 8.00am Lenham: Holy Communion (Prayer Book) 9.30am Lenham: Breakfast Service 9.30am Harrietsham: Holy Communion 10.45am Ulcombe: Holy Communion 11.00am Lenham: Morning Worship 6.30pm Boughton Malherbe: Evensong Saturday 16th April 4.00pm Harrietsham School: Messy Church

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Family Breakfast Service SHORT INFORMAL SERVICE SUNDAYS AT 9.30am St Mary’s Church, Lenham

Wednesday 20th April 10.30am Holy Communion: Chippendayle Lodge FOR EVERYONE! WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING YOU!

Sunday 17th April 9.30am Lenham: Breakfast Service 9.30am Harrietsham: Morning Worship 9.30am Boughton Malherbe: Holy Communion 10.45am Ulcombe: Morning Worship 11.00am Lenham: Holy Communion Sunday 24th April 8.00am Lenham: Holy Communion (Prayer Book) 9.30am Harrietsham: Holy Communion 9.30am Boughton Malherbe: Family Worship 10.45am Ulcombe: Holy Communion 11.00am Lenham: Family Worship Saturday 30th April 8.00am Dog & Bear, Lenham: Men’s breakfast 5.00pm Harrietsham: Prayer and Praise

We’re not going to lead you up the garden path in Langley

Watch this space

Weekly & Regular Events Daily

Activate Fitness Facilites

Activate Sports Swadelands

Monday

St Johns Ambulance

St Johns Hall, Ham Lane

Badminton (Feathers) Bell Ring Monday Music Mayhem Parent & Toddlers Group Harr & Lenham Cubs Lenham Badminton Club Lenham Youth Club H/sham&Lenham Beavers St Johns Ambulance Lenham Youth Club Pilates classes

Community Centre St Mary’s Church Community Centre Community Centre (8-11 years) Community Centre Swadelands Ham Lane Harrietsham Scout Hut Cadets (10-18) Swadelands Ham Lane Community Centre

Messy Mums Babies + Toddlers Line Dancing LenARA Brownies 2nd Lenham Pilates classes Line Dancing Redbacks Explorer Scouts Guides 1st Lenham H/sham&Lenham Scouts Judo Club Lenham Youth Club

St Mary’s Church Community Centre Lenham Primary Sch Community Centre St Edmunds Platts Hth Kingswood Scout Hut Community Centre Harrietsham Scout Hut Community Centre Swadelands Ham Lane Activate Sports Hall Swadelands Harrietsham Primary School St Mary’s Church see separate church services page

8am-5pm 9.30-11.30am 10.00-12.00

Sunday

Activate Fitness Facilites French Books for Children Tea/Coffee/Cakes Sunday Schools

2nd Tuesday 1st Tuesday 1st Wednesday 4th Wednesday Last Wednesday 1st Thursday 2nd Thursday 3rd Thursday 2nd Sunday

Royal British Legion Lenham Valley Parish Council Meeting LenARA (active retired) Archaeology Club Reading Group Women’s Institute Lenham Gardening Soc. Lenham Country Market

Lenham Social Club Business Association Community Centre Community Centre Community Centre Lenham Library Community Centre Community Centre The Village Square

8pm 6-8pm 7.30pm 2pm 7.30pm 4.45-5.45pm 7.30pm 7.30pm 9-1.00pm

PAGE 18 Tuesday APR 2016

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

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Stonebridge Associates Cybereye Security Curtains to Corsets Kent Design Studio Sweeney Todd Andy and Paul Apollo Elwood (Painter/decorators) KRS Building/decorating Stuttle Dyer (painters/decorators) Travis Perkins G B Lister Carpentry and General Building P Humpries Carpets direct Beaubray Caterers Little Dene Boarding Cattery

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Charted Surveyor Childminder Chimney Sweep Chiropody Cleaning/Housekeeping Coal Merchant Computer Services Dance Dog Grooming Dressmaking & Alterations Electricians/Gas fitters Estate Agents Fencing Fitness Foot Practitioner Funeral Directors Gardeners Garages Grocers Hairdressers Hall Hire Handbags and Jewellery Independent Living Ironing Services Landscaping Lawnmower Repairs Locksmiths Logs Martial Arts Nail Technician Newsagents Nurseries Osteopathy Parish Council Pest Control Pharmacy Photographer Plumbers Pool Services Pubs Restaurant Riding School Roofing Schools Solar Panel Installation Solicitors Takeaway Taxi TV Aerials Veterinary Surgery Will Services Window Cleaning

Inkstand cattery James Collett Debbie Brett Invicta Chimney Sweep Heathers Chiropody Surgery Amy McLaughlin Phynix Domestic cleaning Edmed Coal Harrietsham Computers Lynn MS Computer services Lenham Ballet School GDC School of Dancing Cuts for Mutts Pam AD Pink Electrics Barrie Weston Contractor MGI Electrical Philip Jarvis Kingswood Fencing Activate Body and Soul Mrs Afsaneh Smith A W Court Mower Repairs Gowers Garage Lenham Village Store Phase Hairdressing Smarty’s Lenham Comm Centre Charing Heath Hall Immyblingy Will & Rose Ironing Services 4 U Ireland Landscapes Maidstone Landscapes and Paving Mowtastic A Short Seasoned Logs Martial Arts Boot Camp Beauty Nails Len Valley news Pennies Nurseries Chris Tempest D.O. M.Ost GOsc Reg Lenham Parish Council Pest Purge Saxon Warrior Andy Flood Photography All Fix Plumbing Epic Plumbimg Pure Plumbing J W Engineering Services Dirty Habit Lenham Social Club Red Lion Leeds Castle Uplands Riding School Paul Grant Roofing Lorenden Greenman Solar Setfords Soicitors Thornloe and Co. Chequers Fish Bar The Cardamom Pod Arshed Mahmood Gez Clark R & P TV Aerial services Harrietsham Vets Maidstone Wills and trusts Sparkles

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PAGE 20

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Badminton Badminton Club Feathers Bowling Club Brownies (2nd Lenham) Drama Gardening Society Guides (1st Lenham) Lenham Badminton Club Lenham Heritage Lenham Nursery School Lenham Players Lenham Wanderers Lenham Social Club Harrietsham & Lenham Beavers Harrietsham and Lenham Scouts Harrietsham and Lenham Cubs Mother’s Union Pilates Classes Redback Explorer Scouts Royal British Legion Women’s Institute St Edmunds Platts Heath Country Ways Quilters and stitchers Lenham Valley Business Association

Linda Bird Neil Rouse Lyn Fuller Andrea French Gail Kelly Keith Varney Mrs J Thomsett Mrs Pat Abson Lesley Feakes Sarah Siddons Janet Moll Steve Campbell Club Events Duncan Keenan Nick Still Mrs A Seales Mrs J Thomsett Vivien Elcomb Mark Horlock Mr W Peter Mrs C Toner Karen Yardley Jan Haines Alan Reading

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Borough Councillors:

Tom Sams Janetta Sams (Roads, Pavements)

01622 859412 07891901831 / 859412 03000 418181 01622 602117 01732 847572 0800 776600 01622 842257 01622 859733 01622 679709 01622 853800 (am) 01622 858581 (pm) 01233 713317 01622 858341/859204 111 helenwhately.co.uk 01622 859682 07870 252421 07977 981993 858195 297296 850604

Kent Highway Services Dog Warden Cat Protection Drugs Helpline Heaths Countryside Corridor Lenham Enhancement Ass. Lenham Country Market Lenham Community Centre Lenham Heath Parish Hall LenValley Practice Non-Emergency NHS Care Member of Parliament Parish Council Clerk Parish Police PCSO Rural Community Warden Vicar

Lost and Found FREE CALL Ruth Lovering Brian Llong Kevin Fitzsimons Margaret Mitchell Sharon Reed Doctors Surgery NHS Helen Whately MP Margo McFarlane John Boyd Martin Sherwood Rev Dr Dick Venn Rev Millie Hart Church Office

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Lenham Ballet School R.A.D. Ballet I.S.T.D. Tap & Modern 3 years to senior level Adult Tap & Street Dance

01622 850329

more than a ballet school

www.lenhamballetschool.co.uk

LENHAM PARISH COUNCIL Meetings are held at the Lenham Community Centre at 7.30pm. Members of the public are welcome to attend.

Planning Committee first Monday of the month (except bank holiday) Parish Council first Wednesday of the month (except September)

LenhamBalletSchoolWT168.indd 1

Finance & General Purposes Committee

20/01/2016 09:32third Wednesday of the month followed by the Planning Committee.

For more details contact the Parish Clerk 01622 859682 (between 9am and 1pm)

10/04/16 & 8/05/16

hello@lenhamparish.org.uk lenhamparish.org.uk

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Church Funeral Service

PAGE 22

@lenhamfocus

APR 2016

A lot of effort goes into planning wedding services and the date (of course) is known. It’s true that not everyone gets married but everyone dies. The date is not known.

The bridal couple choose the hymns and songs which are important to them. Sadly, some funeral services do not include the preferences of the loved one who has died. This is not necessarily due to lack of care by families but an inevitable part of modern life where mourners of the deceased live some distance away and may be unaware of preferences. A recent funeral service in one of the Len Valley churches was arranged, prior to her own death, by a church member. As a result, the service was particularly appropriate.

The Church of England has made available a booklet, ‘Ideas

for my funeral service.’ If you would like a copy please ask Millie Hart, Joan Drury, Pamela Cuerden or me and we will give one to you. This booklet can be used by members of all denominations and can be lodged with a Funeral Director or with a family member.

You may also like to know that Church of England clergy and Readers are allowed to conduct services for burials in woodland sites.

Family Trust visit local Primary Schools delivering a wide range of activities including assemblies and Kingsquads. To book your place, please ring or email the church office on 850604 or churchoffice@lvb.org.uk St Mary’s Church Flowers and brass cleaning April 2016 April 9th and 16th Mrs Jones

Rev Dick Venn Len Valley Churches Ladies Breakfast Join us at The Dog and Bear, Lenham on Saturday May 7th at 8.30 am

April 23rd and 30th Mrs Humphrey Brass Cleaning Mrs Congdon Thank you for the Easter flowers Sue Greenwood

A chance to enjoy a cooked or continental breakfast, meet new friends and listen to an inspiring speaker. This month it will be Faith Woodcock who works with Family Trust in Maidstone.

Messy Church April 16th 4pm - 6pm Harrietsham Primary School

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Visit our showroom Newington Ind Est, Newington, Sittingbourne, Kent ME9 7NU

Open Morning All welcome to view and play Saturday 23rd April 2016 9am until 11.30am

Ofsted Number 127314

Registered Charity Number 1041661

2016 Food Trends

by GB Lister PAGE 24

GB Lister

lenhamfocus.co.uk

@lenhamfocus

APR 2016

V18 E04

D

id you watch “Sugar Free Farm” on ITV last month? Did you think about your own diet and how much sugar you have in your diet? The British Heart Foundation states that “in a single day the average person in the UK consumes 13 teaspoons of sugar with some people consuming up to 46 teaspoons”.

We only need 1tsp of sugar in our blood at any time and even a large apple will give us five times as much as that.

Even when you are thinking about how much sugar you consume, so-called healthy foods have hidden sugars with muesli containing up to four teaspoons while one cereal bar contains as much as eight teaspoons of sugar. We have been told that “Fat is Bad” but often “fat-free” choices contain double the sugar. If fat-free worked, why are we in the middle of an obesity crisis & diabetes is on the rise?

When we consume sugar in processed foods, it behaves like an anti-nutrient because it takes nutrients to digest it and gives us nothing nutritious in return.

High sugar consumption can also cause mood swings and depression.

Going completely sugarfree would be very hard, but specialists recommend that we try to live by the 80:20 rule, meaning at least 80% of our food should be sugar-free. Giving up sugar can mean more energy, fewer headaches & some weight loss. Here are some suggested changes that could help: • Reduce your refined carbohydrate and sugar intake from cereals, bread, biscuits.

• Don’t choose one time of the year for a radical detox.

Instead, bring green vegetables like brassicas and broccoli into your daily diet to detox your liver.

• Aim to eat five portions of vegetables a day. Try and find

one new vegetable every week.

Vegetables are our superheroes.

• Every meal you eat should have vegetables and protein (chicken, fish, eggs, pulses).

• Follow the 80:20 rule.

A piece of cake is fine but not if you’re eating cake and sugary snacks 80% of the time. If you’re dying for a piece of chocolate, have an apple first. If you still want the chocolate afterwards, have it.

• Make time to eat properly. If you have time to queue up for a coffee on the way to work, you have time to eat something at home before you leave!

• If you crave sweet food, introduce cinnamon into your diet - on an apple or in your porridge. Making cinnamon tea by adding a cinnamon stick to boiling water helps balance your sugar levels and cuts sugar cravings.

• Cut out fizzy drinks altogether. If you find this hard, try adding a little fruit juice to sparkling water.

• Make a commitment to cook meals from scratch and

avoid ready-prepared dishes.

• If you take sugar in hot drinks or add sugar to your breakfast cereal, gradually reduce the amount until you can cut it out altogether.

For some great home cooked recipes to help cut down your sugar intake, check out our Pinterest page www.pinterest. com/gblisterbutcher.

Wills, Trusts, Lasting Powers of Attorney & Prepaid Funeral Plans Wills: Everyone needs a Will. Without one the Law determines what happens and that won’t be

what you want. Trusts can protect your assets for your family and save many £’000s - ask us how.

Lasting Powers of Attorney (LPAs): Over 2 million people of all ages have lost capacity. If that happens spouse/partner CAN’T just take over. They must apply to the Court but it can take ages and cost thousands. An LPA can avoid all this. Once you’ve lost capacity it’s too late to get one. Act Now. Prepaid Funeral Plans: funeral costs have risen massively and will continue to do so. These plans “lock in” at today’s prices & will cover the cost whenever it’s needed. Guaranteed acceptance regardless of age or health. Make things so much easier for your family with no funeral expenses or difficult decisions to make at the worst possible time.

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LVBA Networking is aimed specifically at the people in the whole of your area.

From Harrietsham to Charing and Ulcombe.

Lenham Valley Business Association covers your whole area. An area of around five and a half thousand homes and businesses. Better still it is teamed up with South Maidstone Business Association too, so there are strong links with Headcorn, Staplehurst, Boughton Monchelsea and the 3 Suttons, adding around seven and a half thousand homes to the total. It is Independently run too - offering real help to new and existing businesses, not a franchise chasing money. We choose local venues around your area and invite interesting speakers with useful help and guidance relevant to your business. Our joining fees for a sole trader are just £75 for the year.

For that you can attend all our monthly meetings, get your business listed up to 4 times on our website and in our directory - one planned for this year. Check out our dates on the Lenham Business website. Twice a year we meet with SMBA. This year on Wednesday 25 May at The Weald of Kent Golf Club and Tuesday 6 December at Chilston Park Hotel. Relaxed, friendly, beneficial and fun. If you haven’t yet tried it you are missing out on a good opportunity to develop your business. Try it for free but please register. Register online or by phoning 01622 820841 R.O.A.R.

Try it - you’ll like it!

Events start at 17:45. Register on our website, on registration page.

Events are organised by Alan Reading, Custom Marketing Resources.

Keep up to date (& to join) www.lenhambusiness.co.uk or call 01622 820841

Friends of St Mary’s Church, Lenham PAGE 26 APR 2016

by Lyn Fuller

D

o you care about our heritage and the preservation of an ancient and beautiful

lenhamfocus.co.uk

@lenhamfocus

building?

At last work has started on the chancel windows in the church; this is to be followed by maintenance and repairs to the main east window. It has been a long drawn out process to get to this point, but we have now finally been able to start this much needed work. Total cost, including the necessary stone masonry work, will be £27,000 and the Friends are very pleased that they are able to cover the total cost. This is all down to the kind generosity of our members and the village people and their friends who support our events so well; thank you very much. As you can see from the pictures below, the windows have had to be removed and taken off site for repairs. This unfortunately means that scaffolding has to remain in the church whilst the work is being carried out; the Friends would like to thank you all for your co-operation and patience during this time.

In Memory Of Richard Collins

FOSM

by John Philpott

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W

e remember Richard as a man who, after a short illness, bravely fought against cancer, died at the young age of 31, a life certainly lived to the full.

During our unsuccessful grant application last year to the English Heritage Lottery Fund, one area we fell down on was that the church did not have digital representation of any type! Digital representation would enable visitors to our church to orientate themselves around the church by following a guided tour. At each step along the tour visitors would be able to access narrative printed on paddles explaining the history of that point of interest; but also that this narrative is provided in different languages. Frank Bradshaw, has over the years, compiled a wealth of information on the history of the church and what better way of using this information than for our church tour programme. St Mary’s church tour has been designed so that you follow numbered paddles which will start at the main entrance door. Each paddle will be numbered and the points of interest will be printed in four languages along with signposting as to where the next numbered paddle is located. Annette Tomarken has worked very closely with Frank

on producing the content for each paddle together with the translation from English into French, German and Polish.

Gwyneth Thurgood has kindly designed the graphics for each paddle, which means all should be ready for printing and displaying very shortly.

After his education at Swadelands School he began his career as a roof tiler. After 7 years it looked as if he was looking for some excitement and gave up his civilian life to join the Army. It was here that he took up his favourite sport of boxing. Much as he loved the Army Service, married life and family became more important and it was then that he left to return to civilian life and take up a new career in industry.

Now he was able to take up his pastime of trout fishing accompanied by his son Riley aged 9.

Richard leaves his grieving wife Hayley and son Riley who would like to thank all those family and friends who are so supportive in this sad time.

Future projects for the Friends are to concentrate on the internal decoration and lighting, which we are in the process of gathering estimates for.

A date for your diary..................

2016 - Barn Dance, 17 September, dancing to, by popular request, Swirling Skirmish. The same venue, courtesy of Valarie and John Arthur.

The Friends of St Mary’s would like to thank you for all your help, support and generous donations since our conception. Without you we could not continue to maintain and preserve this beautiful building.

We look forward to seeing you at our next event.

StuttleDyer Decorating also

Bathrooms Kitchens Tiling Find us on Facebook

Heart of Kent Hospice Charity Golf Day Chart Hills Golf Club Thursday 16th June 2016

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Call Dan to arrange a FREE Quotation

01233 650 726 07837 04 66 41

Sign Up Now! Visit: www.hokh.org/events Tel: 01622 790195 Email: fundraising@hokh.co.uk Heart of Kent Hospice

Tai Chi with the TesliaTai TaiChi Chi Academy Suitable all ages Suitable for for all ages, adaptable for most abilities.

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RCN No. 298164

Focus on Nature

by Derek Budge PAGE 28 APR 2016

SPRING SUNBEAMS

O

ne of the earliest and most widespread of Spring wild flowers Is the Lesser Celandine, Ranunculus ficaria, indeed, several days of sunshine in late March is normally enough to encourage a very early appearance of these lovely, glossy, golden yellow blooms, along the banks of the brook which flows beside the duck pond, a short walk from here at Grovelands.

Nature

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@lenhamfocus

‘The Celandine, The starry herald of that gentlest gale, Whose plumes are sunbeams, dipp’d in odours fine’

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(E. Elliot) The generic name is a diminutive of the Latin … ‘Rama’, meaning ‘Frog’, suggesting that these plants like to share a habitat with amphibians, which is largely true, as Lesser Celandines thrive in cool, damp places, ready for rapid development in early Spring. The actual flower heads are very sensitive to sunlight, closing up towards evening or during cloudy conditions and as the plants mature, the yellow pigment begins to bleach out, leaving patches of pure white on the petals.

‘Ficaria’ derives from another Latin word … ‘Ficus’, meaning ‘fig’, this referring to the very distinctive shape of the root tubers which store substantial food reserves during the winter months, ready for rapid development in early Spring.

They also provide a means of vegetative reproduction and if this is not enough, there is yet another system available in the form of bulbils, which are small bulb-like swellings, often growing in the leaf axils. Later in

the season, these drop down to over-winter in the soil, ready to generate fresh plants in Spring.

Some delightful local names for this wild plant include ‘Butter and Cheese’, ‘Crazy Cup’, ‘Frog’s Foot’, and ‘Golden Stars’. The word ‘Celandine’ has a very ancient origin, tracing back to the Greek word … ‘Chelidon’, meaning ‘a swallow’. The 16th century herbalist Henry Lyte wrote … ‘they beginneth to spring and flower at the coming of the swallow’, but that sounds rather optimistic for timing the arrival of swallows, so maybe it can be interpreted symbolically as the harbingers of a coming Spring.

Early medical uses are many and well recorded, the root tubers being used in preparations to treat haemorrhoids, as indicated by another local name …. ‘pilewort’. Culpepper wrote enthusiastically about its virtues, having successfully cured his

own young daughter of the ‘King’s Evil’. On a very different note, the shape of the tubers suggested the teats of a cow, and in northern parts, sprigs of the plant were hung in cattle byres to increase cream yield.

William Wordsworth loved this wild plant, writing …

‘There is a flower, the Lesser Celandine, that shrinks, like many more, from cold and rain, and the first moment that the sun may shine, bright as the sun, ‘tis out again’.

Appropriately, this flower is depicted on ~Wordsworth’s tomb, but the stone mason got mixed up, carving a Great Celandine instead of the lesser variety! My memory goes back to childhood, holding a sprig of flowers under the chin whilst being asked, “Do you like butter”? the answer in my case being …

YES! … YES! …YES!

Lenham Fire Station Today Interview with Steve Browne, Watch Manager

I

n February’s Focus I wrote about the history of the Lenham Fire Brigade. This month Steve Browne, the current Watch Manager at what is now termed Lenham Fire Station, kindly spared some time to explain how they work today.

How many people are ‘on call’?

Steve: there are currently ten on-call staff at Lenham.

Typically how many call-outs in a month?

Steve: currently around 8 on average; over the last five to six years there has been a decrease of about fifty per cent in call-outs to around 90 last year, although we also move to other areas to give cover as well when larger incidents occur, which is not captured in this figure. This decrease has not been limited to Lenham; the overall incident numbers across the county have dropped in a similar way. The decrease is mainly due to improved fire safety regulations, increased use of smoke alarms and home fire safety visits etc. We have also changed our policy regarding our response to Automatic Fire Alarms (AFAs) which has reduced the number of false alarms that we attend.

Is there cooperation/coordination with other fire services and areas covered?

Steve: yes, Kent is divided into 5 operational groups which are then sub-divided into cluster areas.

Lenham is based within Mid-Group, Maidstone Cluster. Our operational work can take us anywhere in the county and on the very odd occasions can take us across border into East Sussex or London. We generally work closely with stations

within our own cluster such as Maidstone, Headcorn and Marden, but we also work quite closely with stations within the Ashford Cluster which includes our closest neighbouring station at Charing.

What happens when a call comes in?

Is someone there all the time?

Steve: no, there isn’t someone here all the time. So, let’s say that it is typically a 999 call that starts the process, this is then answered by a control operator who receives information from the caller on the type of incident and its location.

The operator then enters the details into the mobilising system which will then identify the nearest fire engines to respond. A signal is then sent to the station which activates the pagers carried by the on-call staff and prints out the incident type and address at the station. Once the pagers are activated, on duty staff immediately respond to the station; once at the station they rig in their fire kit and proceed to the incident.

The whole process from alert to leaving the station should not take more than five minutes in total.

How about training? This must be an important function of the station.

Steve: indeed it is very important.

We have regular training on Monday evening, which we refer to as drill night. Training, for example, can consist of first aid sessions, lectures, procedural updates, practical

pump and ladder drills, breathing apparatus training, road traffic collision exercises; there is a whole range of subjects covered over the yearly training cycle. We also have additional training courses at training venues where we can apply practical skills in more realistic scenarios including real fires. There is also routine maintenance and testing of equipment to carry out, and health and safety monitoring is a very important area in our programme of administration and management.

Do any memorable call-outs come to mind?

Steve: casting my mind back, there was a run of larger fires in the nineties that always sticks in my mind: there was a big fire in Grove Green at Tesco’s, a large commercial fire at Kimberly Clarks, Transfesia Depot at Paddock Wood and also the Clark’s furniture store in Maidstone are just some I recall as well as several visits to Kemsley Mill, Sittingbourne. More recently we attended the Week Street fire in Maidstone and there was also a very serious road traffic accident on the M20 which involved several casualties and a complicated and challenging extraction i.e. releasing people out of a crashed vehicle – one of our few growth areas, I’m afraid!

Finally, what do you get out of it, Steve?

Continued...

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@lenhamfocus

APR 2016

Steve: I still enjoy the job and giving something back to the community and the county of Kent. It is also rewarding to work with the rest of the crew here at Lenham. At the end of the day it’s a team effort, and they all play a key part in keeping the station operating as much as possible. All the staff here give as much as they can and work extremely hard during what, at times, can be quite challenging circumstances.

Thank you, Steve. I’m beginning to realize just how far Lenham Fire Station has come since it began in the 1930s, and these two photographs illustrate just how far that is. The photo of the early fire station is taken from a copy of A Short History of the Fire Brigade in Lenham kindly lent to us by Ann Scotland whose late husband Bill took over the fire brigade in 1950 after Ron Harden’s accident. Thank you again Steve, for all you and the crew at Lenham do for the

community and thanks to all your predecessors who began the task.

to request a visit contact KFRS on 0800 923 7000 or email home@ kent.fire-uk.org.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) provide free advice and services to help keep people safe from fire, including free home safety visits which include where needed the fitting of free smoke alarms. For more information or

Text by Jim Myers

Fire Station

lenhamfocus.co.uk

Heart of Kent Hospice 10k Run

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Run the Vitality London 10KM for Heart of Kent Hospice with no minimum sponsorship amount required!

Heart of Kent Hospice are delighted to offer you the opportunity to run in the Vitality British London 10KM on Sunday 10th July.

The iconic road race, now in its 16th year, passes some of London’s most famous landmarks. With a growing number of participants every year, the London 10KM race is one not to be missed.

This is a fast, flat course with plenty of potential to run a personal best!

Entry is just £50.00. No minimum sponsorship is required but fundraising is encouraged. To book one of our seven remaining places call Becky in Fundraising at Heart of Kent Hospice- 01622 790195 – or email fundraising@hokh.co.uk

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COMPUTING FOR BEGINNERS One to One Computer and iPad Training in your own home.

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Prize Crossword

PAGE 32

Crossword

lenhamfocus.co.uk

@lenhamfocus

APR 2016

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ACROSS 1. The sum total of the chemical processes occurring in a living organism. (10) 5. Sussex river near Shoreham. (4) 9. American citrus tree timber. (10) 10. Worldwide car hire firm, or a girl’s name. (4) 12. Murder victims clothes often are.

(12) 15,5d. 93 year old and recently restored steam train. (6,8) 16. Famous ancient Greek battle with the Persians. (8) 18. The gland which produces tears. (8) 19. …… Lee, author of ‘Cider with Rosie’.

(6) 21. Expression meaning ‘ Do it now’.

(2,5,5) 24. A branch of Islam. (4) 25. One who tries to solve problems in a practical and sensible way. (10) 26. A type of oriental wrestling. (4) 27. Medical term for toothache. (10) DOWN 1. The founder of the Unification Church. (4) 2. Amphibian creature that lays long strips of spawn. (4) 3. These activities bring vegetation to very wet areas. (3,9) 4. Nigella ……, famous cook. (6) 5. See 15ac. (8) 7. Exeter is the county town of this county. (10) 8. Another name for homes or houses. (10) 11. A dip made from cod’s roe.

(12) 13. One who studies possible visitors from space. (10) 14. Medical name for the heart muscle. (10) 17. Fish is this before deep fat frying. (8) 20. Hereditary military dictator title in Japan from 1192-1867.

(6) 22. Another word for ‘to call or telephone’. (4) 23. Active volcano in Sicily.

Last months solution.

Previous Winner: Charlotte Humphrey of Lenham.

Please leave your completed crossword entry at Lenham Library on or before the 15th of the month.

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Lenham Family Festival 9th-12th June

Family day on Saturday 11th June

12 noon - 9pm at Lenham Community Centre For details contact Janetta 01622 859412 www.lenhamfamilyfestival.co.uk

Registered Charity Number 298164

Guide Dogs To The Rescue

by John Philpott PAGE 34

Guide Dogs

lenhamfocus.co.uk

@lenhamfocus

APR 2016

J

enny and her team are finding some very interesting talks for the monthly Hub Club Meetings, none more so than the recent one in March. If we are ever aware how much we should value our eyesight then the talk

by Sylvia Beckett accompanied by her Guide Dog Paddy, did just that. Until 10 years ago Sylvia had perfect eyesight, and then on the Thursday before Easter she had headaches which persisted over the holiday. On the Tuesday she was virtually blind in one eye and within two weeks she was totally blind. She had been hit by Polymyalgia or possibly a stroke. As she will admit we can understand she was hit by despair, but several months on had decided to move forwards.

With the encouragement of her husband, Ken, she applied to the Guide Dogs for the Blind Association and within 18 months was given her first dog. She did of course know the local shops and roads but it was now time for her to train her guide dog to be familiar with the same knowledge. It took about a year with the help of experts to train him to obey commands.

If Sylvia wanted a certain road then on her command the dog would take her there. In stores she would simply say, fish, vegetables, freezer and the dog would simply obey her.

Paddy her present dog could be called a character, as Sylvia says. He’s an excellent guide dog and very friendly but at the first opportunity would go fast asleep. In fact, when Ken was in Asda trying to pay for his purchases at the self service desk he found that the scales showed he had more purchases

than he was paying for. Calling an assistant she pointed out that Paddy had gone to sleep with his head on the scales! In fact when her great grandson comes to visit he goes to sleep on top of Paddy!

The nearest Guide Dog Centre is at Turkey Mill, Maidstone; here, puppies go through 12 months with a puppy walker followed by 6 months basic training on roads, shops, transport and noise. The following 6 month final training which the trainers refer to as “going to university” is where the guide dog and his owner become acquainted with each other. In fact it takes roughly a year for the dog to understand all the commands.

Incidentally, Labradors, because of their intelligence and nature,

Friends of St Mary’s Lenham Presents An evening of song performed by the

Shorncliffe

Saturday 7th May Community Centre Doors Open 7:00pm starts @ 7.30pm Tickets: £10.00 (Includes a glass of wine/soft drink plus finger buffet) Tickets can be purchased from either:   

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are chosen as guide dogs. With just 10% being unsuitable, there is a waiting list for these animals as pets. The working life of a guide dog is 10 years, after that the owner may keep the dog or pass it on to the family or the centre who also have a waiting list. As you can imagine to train one dog costs about £17,000 and if you take into account vets bills etc. we are probably talking about £40,000 in its lifetime.

The Guide Dog Association do not have charity shops but rely entirely on money donations.

For those of us who are lucky enough to have our eyesight and would like to support the Association, you can forward a donation to – Mrs Sylvia Beckett, Guide Dogs for the Blind Association 18 Claygate, Ashford TN23 5YG.

Len Valley Newsagent, High St, Lenham St Mary’s Church’s coffee morning 10.00am every Saturday Or, Contact Lyn Fuller on 01622 851538

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A Traditional 14th Century Inn located in the Medieval Village of Lenham Home Cooked food served daily.

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EVENTS FOR YOUR DIARY 2016 PILGRIMS WAY ART EXHIBITION 19TH YEAR

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CITY OF ROCHESTER SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA FRIDAY, 10TH JUNE

‘A Taste of the Classics’ With special guests Platts Heath Primary School Choir http://lenhamfamilyfestival.co.uk/

SHAKESPEARE AT THE BARN THE CHANGELING THEATRE

'SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER' (GOLDSMITH) THURSDAY, 4TH AUGUST (EVENING)

'ALL'S WELL THAT ENDS WELL' (SHAKESPEARE) FRIDAY, 5TH AUGUST (EVENING)

PIANO RECITAL

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INTERNATIONALLY RENOWNED PIANIST SATURDAY, 27TH AUGUST (EVENING)

FRIENDS OF ST MARY'S BARN DANCE IN THE TITHE BARN

SATURDAY, 17TH SEPTEMBER