Statue tribute to town armed forces


A BRONZE statue is being sculpted to honour Maidstone-based 36 Engineers Regiment. When complete, the life-size image,


depicting an engineer in battle fatigues returning froma bomb-disposal task in Helmand Province in Afghanistan, will stand in Brenchley Gardens. An appeal to raise the £35,000


needed for the project got underway with a flag raising ceremony in the gar- dens. The flag, raised by local cadets, was then flown from Maidstone Town Hall until last month’s Armed Forces Day.


Speaking at the event, town mayor


Cllr Brian Mortimer said: “Armed Forces Day reminds us all of the great sacrifices made by our brave soldiers serving their country and gives a huge morale boost to them and their fami- lies.”


Kent Deputy Lieutenant Bill Cock-


croft also gave a short address. County Cllr Dan Daley said: “Maidstone peo- ple, having given the regiment the free- dom of the borough, have expressed a wish to make a permanent memorial to all those serving men whose bravery we all salute.” The statue, which is being crafted by


Smoke sets off fire alarm FIREFIGHTERS cleared smoke from a house in Green Lane, Chart Sutton, after a resident dialled 999 when the smoke alarm sounded in the early hours.


Kent Deputy Lieutenant Bill Cock- croft and Mayor Cllr Brian Mortimer at the flag raising ceremony.


sculptor Mary Cox, will be unveiled in November and will be mounted on a ragstone plinth donated by the Gal- lagher Group. To donate to the project, forms can be


downloaded from Maidstone Coun- cils’s website or picked up from Maid- stone Gateway, Maidstone Museum or the Hazlitt Theatre.


Farmers go private FARMERSin rural areas aroundMaid- stone are paying private firms for extra security to stop machinery thefts.


P J’S Farm Shop  Seasonal vegetables/salads


 Vegetable box’s made to order & delivered locally  Local fruit  Free range eggs


 CWParkers & Son fine cheese’s, ham, bacon etc Korkers sausages  Clearly juice


Kentish made pies  Meat from East Sutton Park  Milk/cream/yoghurts from Hinxden Dairy


Fairytale way to find father Continued from page one


Fallan's boyfriend, Justin, who encour- aged her to use tech- nology in her search. "It was something I had always won- dered but Justin sug- gested I should find out just before Christmas. "The first name I


had was my mum's ex-boyfriend.


I


tracked him down and we did a DNA test, but it wasn't him.


"Then his sister


got back in touch saying she threw a party in 1984 and it could have been one of his friends from that night. She gave me his name and I got in touch with him." Steve Phillips (47) lives in the Midlands so they arranged to meet at an M1 service station. He did a DNA swab that was sent away and came back pos- itive. It was not long before Mr Phillips, who already


Fallan Kelly with boyfriend Justin


has two children, and Fallan were chatting regu- larly on the phone. Fallan, an officer manager, told the Downs Mail:


"Yes, it's amazing, we speak a lot and have met quite a bit. I'll be seeing him later this month." Of course, once Fallan's search for her real dad


was over she did not need to try the third candi- date, a former flatmate of her mother's. But once the West End producers of Mamma


Mia! heard Fallan's story they invited her to see the show and meet the cast.


Yalding Gardens 21st July - 1st Sept


Summer at Activities to amuse your little ones over the holiday


Kids Summer Holiday Activities 23rd July 2.30 - 4.30pm


Come along to our knit & natter group. All abilities welcome.


Serves a range of delicious homemade breakfasts, lunches and afternoon teas.


Our British-engineered coffee machine serves up a triple certified (rainforest alliance, fair-trade and organic) cup of guilt free coffee.


NOWSTOCKING Taywell Farm Ice Cream


Marmalades, Chutneys, Jams, Pickles &SaladDressings, Local honey


Grumpy Mule coffee’s, Locally baked bread,


Vegetable Plants, Bedding Plants&Hanging Baskets, Sweet peas&seasonal cut flowers, Handmade crafts


Orchard Place, Heniker Lane, Sutton Valence, Kent. ME17 3ED (We are behind the Total Garage on the main road to Headcorn)


Tel:- 01622 840272 / 07984623424 Open Monday – Saturday 8.30 -5pm and Sunday 10am – 4pm


The Bushel Box Farm Shop sells local seasonal produce and a range of gifts and books for lovers of good arts, crafts, and gardens.


A GREAT DAY OUT FOR ALL THE FAMILY


Open Seven days a week Monday - Saturday 9am -5pm Sundays 10am - 4pm


Adults £6 Children £3 (Under14) Concessions £5 Families (2 adults 5 children) £14


01622 814650 To contact Downs Mail just phone 01622 630330 South 3


Also


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