Allhallows Parish Council - December 2005 Villagers' Life

This magazine is printed and published by and under the ultimate control of the two Parish Councils and views expressed may not necessarily be those of the Parish Councils.

PRINTED VERSION ADVERTISING RATES

1200-HOME CIRCULATION

FULL PAGE—£360

HALF PAGE—£180

QUARTER PAGE—£90 EIGHTH PAGE—£45

ALL PRICES ARE FOR ONE YEAR'S INSERTION

block bookings £3.00 per hour; Saturdays £75 per evening; one-offs (jumble sales etc) £4.50 per hour.

I work for Medway Council on a project called MERIT—Medway’s Rural Initiative for Transport. The aim of the project is to improve public transport in the rural parts of Medway. One of the things we ‘re currently working on is the development of a community transport scheme.

Community transport is a way of allowing rural communities, who often suffer from infrequent services and inconvenient and lengthy bus routes, to provide new transport services for themselves. With its own minibuses and a pool of volunteer drivers, MERIT Community Transport may be able to provide a range of new not-for-profit transport services. This could include flexible route buses taking people directly from Medway ‘s villages to places like the supermarket or hospital, and regular excursions to regional destinations such as Maidstone, Canterbury and Bluewater. The scheme also aims to provide cost-effective minibus hire for local community groups. Organisations in rural areas are often too small to be able to afford to run their own vehicle, and groups often complain that their members have difficulty getting to meetings or events from the surrounding villages.

Community Transport will have access to at least one brand new, wheelchair accessible 16-seater minibus, and further vehicles are also likely to be available.

It is intended that the scheme will launch in April 2006. We ‘re about to order our new minibus, and are starting to finalise other details such as booking arrangements, hire charges and so on. As I mentioned, the scheme is designed to be accessible to even the smallest groups, so all charges will be kept as low as possible. It is likely that any community group wishing to be apart of the scheme will pay a nominal yearly membership fee, plus a hire charge (usually based on mileage) each time the vehicle is used. The community transport scheme will have access to a pool of volunteer drivers who can help provide the new services. When a group wishes to hire the vehicle, they will be able to contact us with their requirements, and we will contact our volunteers to see if anyone is available at that time. Clearly, there is a chance that there may be no one who can drive at that time. I would therefore strongly suggest that any groups who think that they may wish to join the community transport scheme when it launches should think about finding a volunteer, or more than one, from their organisation who may wish to be trained a a driver. Of course, f there are any volunteers who would like to drive the vehicle for other groups, or for other new bus services, this would be warmly welcomed.

I am in the process of organising MiDAS (Minibus Driver Awareness Scheme) training for all those who have volunteered so far. This consists of a group ‘classroom ‘session covering things like passenger and traffic law, and an individual assessed drive in a minibus. Anyone who wishes to drive the community transport vehicle will need to attend this training, which will beprovidedfree of charge. Drivers must be aged between 21 and 70, and have held their driving licence since before 1997. They must also agree to a full criminal records check through the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB). Our first training session is likely to take place in January, but we will be holding informal sessions before Christmas to explain more about the project and plan dates for the training.

As I said, the community transport scheme will be launching in early 2006, but we would like to get as many drivers trained now so that we can start to use the minibus as soon as it becomes available. If you’d like to nominate someone to take the training, or to find out more about the community transe port scheme, please don ‘t hesitate to get in touch. I can be contacted on 01634 331402 or tom.calvert@medway.gov.uk. You can also read about the scheme at
http://www.medway.gov.uk/merit.
.
I hope that you might find the forthcoming community transport scheme useful and I look forward to hearing from you.

A new Youth Committee has now been set up by the Parish Council. The first meeting was held at the end of October. The aims of the committee are to provide ‘leisure activities! things to do’ for the Children/Youth of the village.

There are a number of ideas that are being explored. For the Children of the village (aged 9 to 14) we hope to set up a Youth Club. For the older Youth (aged 14 to 18) we hope to set up a Drop-In Centre. The Drop-In Centre will he a place for the Youth to congregate and enjoy an environment that is their own. ‘They will have a roof over their head, heating and lighting. It will not be the same as a Youth Club, but will provide a Place for friends to meet up without having to stand around ‘outside the chip shop’.

In order to set up the Youth Club and the Drop-In Centre, we are looking to use the facilities at the Brimp. We have started a dialogue with the Scouting Leaders and hope to agree a way of sharing the facilities at some stage in the New Year.

The organisation, Kent Youth. are also keen to help with the initiatives and are actively seeking equipment, such as table tennis tables, to enhance the facility. There may also be grants available, which can he explored once the infrastructure is in place for the Youth Club and Drop-In Centre.

Unfortunately, all these things take time, so I am asking everyone to be patient while we prepare and agree all the necessary things that need to be done. In the meantime, I need you all to think about what you can do to help. The Children and Youth of this village are our future. There have been many negative things said about the Youth and some of the behaviour and conduct has been appalling. One of the objectives of the Youth Committee is to provide opportunities for the Children and Youth of this village to improve themselves and make a positive contribution to society. This can only be done with your help - we need volunteers. With enough people involved, a rota can be set up so that a weekly Youth Club and a weekly Drop-In Centre can he run by responsible adults devoting only one night per month. Is this too much to ask? Anyone who works with young people will testify that it is a worthwhile pastime that actually benefits the adults as well as the children involved. If you are worried about the future, please help us to do something about it now.

If you would like to help and support the Youth Committee (even just one night per month) then please contact Mark Skudder on 01634 271026. Thank you for reading this notice and thanks in advance if you decide to contact me.

The Youth Shelter is to be permanently sited in a corner of the recreational field. After consultation with residents and Youth alike, this is now considered to be the most appropriate place for the facility. There will also be a permanent rubbish bin sited with the shelter, which will allow the Youth to keep the area tidy. To date, the Shelter has been a popular place for the Youth to congregate, but its positioning does not suit everyone, hence the need to move it.
There have been some negative aspects about the introduction of the Youth Shelter, and the behaviour of some of the Youth has been less than should be expected. However, as in adult life, it is often the minority who can spoil things. The majority of people using the Shelter have appreciated and made use of it in a sensible and respectful manner. The resultant behaviour following the new positioning of the Shelter will be monitored and any problems should be reported.

Blossom on trees that fruit no longer yield,
Why? Concrete fields
Meadows with flowers no longer filled,
Why? Concrete fields.
No more smell of new mown hay,
No more larks’ song at end of day.
No more the soaring falcon’s flight,
No more soft-dewed summer nights.
No more leas with soft lowing cows,
Where has it gone, this land of ours?
Where has it gone, the Kent I knew?
Where hops and fruit and barley grew?
Where each season brought its sweet joy,
To gladden me when as a boy.
I’d wander down a dusty lane,
I’ll never see the like again.
As hope inside my heart is stilled,
Why? Concrete fields.

¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬

He laid back tiredly against the seat

Laid his scythe about his feet

Then memories invade his mind

As in them he tries to find.

Alas, too much pain brings forth a tear

Not the first he’s shed this year

He has wept for all human kind

Of death and hunger brought to mind.

There had been moments of great joy

When the world of men did employ

All means to help those who suffered

To aid all, like brother to brother.

The old man rises to greet
The young man he has come to meet
Then the old year passes on
The sand of time to his son.
Perhaps he said, “You might find
A better world than I leave behind”
Then with one last embrace
The old man leaves his son to face
The frailties of the human race.

Please be advised that the Yantlet Range will be used for live firing on the following dates and times stated below.

Make sure your home is safe from the threat of fire, is the message from the Kent Fire and Rescue Service.

• smoke alarms should be fitted on all levels of the home, kept free of dust and be tested once a week. Never remove the batteries;

• have a fire action plan and make sure all occupants know how to escape in the event of a fire;

• before going to bed make sure all exits are clear, keys for windows and doors are accessible and all doors are closed;

• keep matches and lighters out of the way of children and stub cigarettes out—never have a cigarette in bed.

The 400 Lottery was originally set up to help raise funds for the maintenance and upkeep of the village hall,but over the years the

take-up on numbers has dropped dramatically and we are having difficulty raising enough money to pay out on the monthly prizes let alone having any funds left over to keep the hall going.

Your support is greatly appreciated as the village hall is a prime local resource and it would be a shame to lose it through lack of funding.

VOLUNTEER LOTTERY COLLECTORS are needed. If you have an hour or two spare once a month please call:

A vacancy has arisen for a volunteer or volunteers to deliver Villagers' Life magazine to Jutland Close and Binney Road , only six times a year. Those in the 16-18 years age group would be particularly welcome. If you can spare an hour every couple of months, enjoy walking and can help,

POLICE

ROCHESTER

01634 827055

C R I M E B U S T E R S

Medway Police are warning homeowners and firms to be wary of anyone calling to resurface their driveway. Do not be fooled by an unasked approach offering to do driveway repairs or other odd jobs. Tarmackers have been in the area agreeing a very low price for the job and, on completion, demanding an extortionate rate, despite using tarmac left over from another job. In some instances contractors have begun work before checking with the owner and agreeing a price then using threatening behaviour when they have been refused payment.

If you or your company are approached contact Medway Council’s trading standards team on: 01634 333S55

If you are a Neighbourhood Watch Co-ordinator, please let the Villagers Life editor know (01634 255366) so that your name and area can appear in the magazine.

John Hicks is the Community Police Support officer for the Hoo Peninsula.

When off duty, messages can be left for John on the Medway Community Police Office number

Join in the fun and worship in church, or on the second and third Sunday of the month leaders will take the children to the village hall to learn about Jesus in a fun way through music, puppets, drama, games, stories, drawing, painting and cooking.

Not all countries celebrate New Year at the same time or in the same way because different calendars are used. All over the world there are special beliefs about New Year.

Throughout the world the custom of making noise to ring in the New Year is supposed to scare off evil spirits.

In Britain the custom of ‘first footing‘ is practised, when the first male visitor to the house after midnight bringing a gift of coal, money or bread is supposed to bring the household good luck in the coming year. The fairly new tradition of setting off fireworks at midnight certainly starts the New Year off with a bang!

The Scottish New Year is known as ‘Hogmanay’, when threr-cornered biscuits, new year black buns and Haggis are eaten. After sunset people have juniper and water to purify their homes. The Scots also have ‘first footing’. On New Year’s Day the children go to their neighbours singing songs for coins, mince pies, apples and sweets, but this must be done by midday.

In Japan people hang a rope across the front of their houses, which stands for happiness and good luck and keeps evil spirits away. The moment the New Year begins the Japanese begin to laugh, which is supposed to bring good luck.

Children leave their shoes by the fire on New Year’s Day in the hope that Saint Basil will fill them with presents.

The song, Auld Lang Syne, is sung at midnight on New Year’s Eve, a custom now celebrated all over the world.

“When I was a child I lived at Downham in Kent . Often in the summer with my family we would catch the train from Hither Green Station to Allhallows-on-Sea. Dad would pop into the Pilot for a drink whilst Mum took my sisters and me on the beach. The station platform where we alighted from the train is where ‘Willow Close' is now. The water tower where the trains filled their boilers is still a feature of the park. Little did I realise then that one day I would live here at Allhallows.

My husband Arthur and myself were living in a flat in the Old Kent Road in London. We had worked hard and saved for what we hoped would be a fruitful retirement and we were looking to settle in a mobile park home. It was fortunate that our daughter-in-law phoned one day to say she had seen an advertisement for a park home at Kingsmead Park , Allhallows. We came here to view and both of us liked everything about it. What drew us to it was the wonderful view from the sitting room over the fields and marsh land with the River Thames and the sea in the background. Since we have lived here we have been very happy, and enjoyed visiting the many places on the Peninsula. All neighbours over the years have been wonderfully nice and good folks. The park, on the whole, is a happy place to live, and neighbours look out for each other. Problems are shared and you never feel alone.

I got to know many of the people on the park as Arthur and I used to sell the lottery tickets for the Kent Air Ambulance. This gave me the chance to know many more people other than close neighbours, and the opportunity to chat to many of them once a week. Selling the Air Ambulance tickets also gave me the opportunity to meet and make friends with many villagers, as we think of ourselves as villagers.

For the past 12 years we have been fortunate to be able to run a small Social Club here, where we have enjoyed many an evening playing bingo, whist and darts, and a most enjoyable social evening on a Saturday. It is a club for residents, although residents who have relatives or friends to stay have brought them along and they have also had an enjoyable time. Over the years Arthur and myself have served on the club committee, which has been a task we have both enjoyed Sadly attendance has fallen of late, mostly because many older residents have passed on, and newer and younger residents probably have work commitments and different interests to those of us older people.

My life began at Downham in Kent and for the past 18 years I have lived very happily at Allhallows in Kent . We have not moved far, but I am very happy here and so I will close on that happy note.

God taught mankind on that first Christmas day what ‘twas to be a man; to give, not take; to serve, not rule; to nourish, not devour...

Let the children have their night of fun and laughter, let the gifts of Father Christmas delight their play. Let u s grown ups share to the full in their unstinted pleasures.

A family Christmas begins before dawn. There is a creaking, a stumbling, a rustling — and then the muffled sounds of astonishment, mounting to shouts of triumph. Feet pound along the passage. The bed is suddenly full of elbows and knees and wrapping paper and toys with sharp edges.
“He's been. He's been.”
And Christmas is under way.

We open our presents, laugh together, sit down to eat. But beyond the window -- out there in the darkness — are those for whom Christmas brings no respite. For them it is another day of loneliness, fear, imprisonment, weariness and war. To many even a shabby bedsitter would be a splendid place — dry, warm, safe and large enough to house a family. To many our full larders, our clean water, our united families are things of which they can only dream. Some knew our world once and have lost it, or been exiled from it, or had it taken from them. Some have never known anything but fear and poverty and loss.

It is right to show our love for one another at Christmas to share a meal, to exchange gifts, to be happy. But I wish that we privileged few could hear the voices of all those beyond our windows. If only now, at Christmas, we could bring them in, share our thoughts and hear their individual stories. For they are not statistics, international problems, drains on government resources. They are individuals, each complex and unique. Valuable. As we are.

December 1 — Children’s Art Exhibition for Parents —3 .3Opm
December 2 — Rochester Cathedral Carol Concert (choir only)
December 7 — Infant Nativity Play — 2pm & 6pm
December 9 — PTA Christmas Fayre — 215pm to 330pm
December 13 — Christmas Lunch — midday
December 14 — Victorian Christingle — 2.3Opm
December 15 — End of term Sharing Assembly — 3pm
December 16 — SCHOOL FINISHES AT 2.15PM
CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY—December 19 to January 3
January 2— Staff Development Day
January 3—First Day Back at School

We built seven snowmen my brother and me.
Some of them had no heads
Some of them were fat.
Some of them had faces, and some didn’t.
All of them were different.
But one thing they were all cold
And so were we!
My brother and me.

If you know or suspect that a child is being ill-treated or neglected please tell the NSPCC at once on

A twist on the old adage, but sadly true. If you are getting a pet for someone this Christmas — please think again. No matter how large or small the animal may be, it is a big commitment and one to be given careful consideration.

The months after Christmas for all animal rescues are sadly our busiest. At this time, cute kittens, playful puppies, gorgeous guineas and rewarding rodents start to grow up, needing more food, attention and possibly even a trip to the vet. For some people, these necessary costs become more important than the animal itself.

Or maybe the novelty has worn off for the child who wanted that cute rabbit in the first pIace and Bunny is left festering in a smelly cage with little attention. While this sounds heartless, unfortunately it does happen frequently.

In the first quarter of 2005 alone, we took in over 120 small animals, including a rat and her eight (surviving babies) that were found in a bin on New Year’s Day and nine young guinea pigs from four different families. The owners of the guinea pigs all told a similar story — they had bought the guineas for their children at Christmas and by New Year’s Day they had lost interest in them.

Brenda Johnson from the Kent Based Animal Welfare Charity who rescue and rehome cats and dogs in the Kent area says that they took in some 75 unwanted cats and dogs in the same period - around 25 who are still waiting to be found new, loving homes. Some have been with the charity for two years, waiting for a loving home to come along.

And these figures are just the tip of the iceberg as the pattern repeats itself everywhere across the country, year after year, particularly with the smaller animals that, at around £6 for a rat and £8 a guinea pig from a pet shop, are viewed as expendable.

If you are planning on getting a pet for Christmas, please give it very serious thought. You need to ask yourself if you are prepared to pay vets bills if the animal falls ill and to be a responsible owner and get the dog or cat neutered or vaccinated? If the pet s for a child, will you be prepared to feed and look after the animal if your child loses interest?

You also need to consider long-term pet ownership when you go on holiday, will you be prepared to pay boarding costs for a cat or dog or do you have someone reliable you know who will look after a smaller animal such as a rabbit or rat?

If your child is insistent that he or she wants a pet for Christmas, why not contact a rescue near you and see if your child can help out there to get a feel for the work entailed in looking after an animal. This will make them see that a pet isn’t just there for cuddles, but that they need cleaning, feeding, grooming etc.

Please give getting a pet for Christmas careful thought, so that he or she doesn’t end up on the scrap heap before the New Year’s celebrations are even over.

SEPTEMBER was typical of this year’s weather with 1.49”(38mm) total rainfall of which 1.21” (30mm) fell on 4 days, so it continues to be very dry. The first week was dry and warm with high temperatures in the 70s (21C) The latter part was changeable with showers and sunny periods. The temperature overall was about average.

OCTOBER was a much wetter month with a total rainfall of 2.63” (67mm). It is of interest that October is often a wet month, often the wettest of the year. It was a cool month and very unsettled with some rain on 16 of the 30 days.

A tree was planted on Forge Common (Northward Hill) in memory of Arthur Baker with money kindly donated by the landlord and patrons of the Fenn Bell Public House.

Arthur was a keen bird watcher and a good farmer, being the third generation of Bakers to live and farm at Clinch Street.
He married Helen in 1946 and they had three sons who have carried on the tradition of the family business.

Arthur’s grandfather, Edward, went to live at Clinch Street in 1890 as the farm bailiff for Henry Pye of St Mary’s Hall, and was involved with the introduction of the herons in the early 1900s, which the RSPB have successfully continued.

I hope the tree will flourish in the future and be a reminder to everybody of Arthur’s life.

A vicar was invited to Christmas tea by an elderly lady of his congregation. As he sat on the couch he noticed a large bowl of peanuts on the coffee table. “Mind if I have a few? he asked. “Not at all,” the woman replied. They chatted for an hour and as the vicar got up to leave he realised that instead of eating just a few peanuts he had emptied most of the bowl. “I’m really sorry for eating most of your peanuts, I only meant to have a few. Please let me buy you some more,” he said.
“Oh that’s all right,” the woman replied. “Ever since I lost my teeth, all I can do is suck the
chocolate off them. Happy Christmas, vicar.”

Five little evergreens outside in a row
The first one said, “Let’s look at the snow.”
The second one said, “Oh-oh it’s getting cold.”
The third one said, “Christmas is coming so I’m told.”
The fourth one said, “I hope someone decorates me.”

Date	From	To
05 Dec 05	08.00	17.00
07 Dec 05	08.00	17.00
13 Dec 05	08.00	17.00
15 Dec 05	08.00	17.00
20 Dec 05	08.00	17.00

RAINFALL	2005	2004
September	1.49” (38mm)	.93” (24mm)
October	2.63” (67mm)	3.03” (77mm)

Last Revised ~ 23 January 2006		Web site design and creation Clive Stanley Associates 01474 822676
Copyright © Allhallows Parish Council 2004 - 2006