Sunny fete attracts crowd of 1,500


STAPLEHURST’s annual village fete attracted more than 1,500 visitors, who all enjoyed glo- rious sunshine and a choice of over 50 stalls. Entertainment was provided by Staplehurst-


based band SlowRide, finalists from the Kent’s Talent competition and local Zumba dancers. A number of exhibits from the Sussex & Kent


Weald Stationary Engine Group together with a display of classic cars brought a touch of nos- talgia to the afternoon. Regular stall holders such as Rosemarie Sum-


ner with her display of owls, and newcomer Patsy with her playbus - a converted double decker - added delight for children. A 10k road race, attracting 120 runners, was


held the following morning. Volunteers keen to offer help for next year’s


fete are invited to an open meeting on Tuesday July 19 at 8pm.


Clockwise from bottom: The best dressed stall winner; Uncle Myles entertaining a groupof children; and the winner of the bonny baby contest, Sophie Morris with mum and com- pere StuartWilden


Roof lead target LEAD has been the target of thieves in a spate of incidents in Coxheath.. In Gresham Road, a 6ft length


of lead flashing was taken from a garage roof at the back of a property. Lead was also re- moved from two sheds at prop- erties in The Beacon and in Linden Road, lead was taken from a bay window. In a further incident in Lin-


den Road, lead flashing was stolen from the shared roof to a porch at a block of flats,


Loose reduction idea ANOTHER attempt is being made to redevelop 46 Salts Av- enue in Loose. In December last year, an ap- plication to replace existing buildings with six new homes was refused due to its scale being out of character with the local area. A revamped application, which will also be decided by Maidstone Council, reduces the number of new homes to four.


‘Dedicated team’ praised in Ofsted report


MARDEN Pre-school has received a “good” rating from Ofsted while some aspects were considered outstanding. The latest report says: “Children play, learn and develop well in a child-friendly environment where their individual needs are highlighted and met.”


Inspector Claire Parnell, who visited in March,


noted that the committee and staff team have a clear vision for the future development of the group to enhance positive outcomes for children. She praised as outstanding the very strong part- nership with parents, schools and professionals,


WHEN open-air Shakespeare came to Sutton Valence earlier this month it was something of a homecoming for theatre director Rob Forknall (pic- tured). For it was a return to the prep school where he first trod the boards as a young thespian. Meanwhile, senior school student Henry Farmer played two parts in the Changeling Theatre's production of Comedy of Errors. Henry, who hopes to make a career on stage, au- ditioned for Changeling three years ago and last year played Simple in MerryWives ofWindsor.


Caring day rouses staff into action


A CHILDREN’s charity has had help maintaining its farmhouse base inWest Farleigh. Twenty-five staff from Liberty Property


Trust’s Kings Hill and London offices took the day off work to do jobs at Dan- delion Time’s Elmscroft House. They spent the time weeding, removing Japanese knotweed and ragwort, strim- ming paths, redecorating the main en- trance hall, stripping and re-polishing the parquet floor, installing replacement windows and building a newporch roof. They were taking part in the ‘Bill


Rouse Day of Caring’, when the 400 Lib- erty employees in the UK and USA spend a day helping their communities in memory of company founder Bill Rouse, who died in 2003. Dandelion Time was founded in 2003


by local doctor Caroline Jessel to help children aged 7-16 who have various be- havioural, educational and emotional needs, plus their families.


8 South


Liberty staff after a hard day’s work at Dandelion Time’s Elmscroft House inWest Farleigh.


It uses practical tasks to raise self-es-


teem and self-awareness. The centre, which is not residential, looks after around 280 children either at Elmscroft House or in local schools. Dandelion Time is holding an au-


tumn preserves workshop to make chut- neys and jams on September 27 and a green woodworking workshop on Oc- tober 1. For more details, visit www.dandeliontime.org.uk


and the extent to which children adopt healthy lifestyles. The pre-school, which is based at the Memorial


Hall, has 52 children on the roll and is managed by a committee of parents. A spokesman for the group said: “The review reflects the commitment and dedication of the team of staff and volunteer committee.” Among the activities they undertake this term,


the children will be challenged to a sponsored bounce to raise funds for the pre-school, as well as sports day fun and learning through play in the newly refurbished outside play area.


Prep school graduate returns home for comedy This year, he is performing alongside


TV soap star Jake Hendriks (Fr Kieran Hobbs in Hollyoaks) who sawthe Merry Wives last year. "It looked like so much fun that when


Rob [Forknall] asked me to get involved with Comedy of Errors I just couldn’t say no,” explained Jake. Rob's family lives in Chart Sutton,


where his father Peter is parish council chairman.


Comedy of Errors finishes its tour on Sunday, August 7, at Boughton Monchelsea Place after a six-date residence there, which includes evening and matinee performances.


Horse refusal over security THE Marshall Farmer Group was refused permis- sion to keep horses at a site in Thorn Road, Marden. Maidstone’s planning department explained: “Neither the owners of the animals nor the applicant reside in a location that would ensure the safety and security of the horses kept on the site and the grant- ing of permission for this commercial use in the ab- sence of such security is likely to lead in the future to pressure for accommodation to be provided on the site, which is located in the open countryside.”


Sign up for charity MoonlitWalk THERE is still time to sign up for the fifth annual sponsored MoonlitWalk in aid of TheHeart of Kent Hospice on July 16, starting at 10pm from the David Lloyd centre at Kings Hill. Contact: 01622 790195.


Criminals target same road twice THE front door of commercial premises was dam- aged and a mobile phone was stolen from a home. Both happened in Clapper Lane, Staplehurst.


Pub raises over £6k for charity IN five months, customers at theWalnut Tree pub in East Farleigh raised £6,153 for Kent Air Ambulance.


To contact Downs Mail just phone 01622 630330


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40