The sun shone on Maidstone River Festival to make it one of the ‘best-ever’
007 and Jaws were
among the films depicted by the river festival floats
Crowds get on board for a great festival
THOUSANDS lined the River Medway on one of the hottest Satur- days of the year for the 32ndMaid- stone River Festi- val.
Billed as a more family friendly event than in some previous years, the day drew a huge crowd to enjoy watching the ‘splashabout’ fun of the raft race. There was some-
Man overboard! TheWest Kent Engineers make a splash
thing for everyone, including boats, live music, a fun- fair in the grounds of the Lock- meadow complex, and even an artists’ quarter on the towpath near the Archbishop’s Palace. The evening fi-
nale was a fire- works spectacular, which was rated one of the festival’s best-ever displays.
Blind man praises rescuers A BLIND man was res- cued from the River Medway during the festival after he fell in on his way to see his daughter
perform
in Whatman Park. A speedboat had revved up alongside Neville Butteriss (pic- tured) and startled his guide dog, Ali, as they walked along the river- bank. Both plunged in. Two passers-by man- aged to pull the pair from the water. Mr Butteriss, of Campbell Road, who re-
cently led a campaign against A-frame ad- vertising boards in the town centre, hurt his knee during the drama and was taken home by ambulance. He did not get the names of themen who
saved him but said: “I’d like to thank them, and the wonderful medical staff.”
Musical mayor on song FOR a rockmusician of more senior years, Cllr Brian Mortimer (pictured, second right) has a mighty fine piece of bling. But he put his mayoral chain to one side
when he joined the four other members of his band, 2BC, on the riverside stage. Minutes after declaring the festival
New at this year’s river festival was an artists’ quarter
Lenham bungalow refusal A proposal to erect a chalet bungalow in Royton Avenue, Lenham, has been blocked.
Maidstone Council said in a decision no-
tice: “The proposed dwelling by virtue of its scale, design and siting and the subse- quent erosion of an important open space on the periphery of Lenham village, would create a visually incongruous develop- ment which would cause harm to the char- acter, pattern and appearance of this area.”
GUTTERING was removed from a home in Merton Road, Bearsted, in a scam by bogus workmen. A male asked a resident if they wanted
open, Cllr Mortimer was playing a mean guitar for the audience, which included council leader Chris Garland and cabinet colleague JohnWilson.
Warning to residents after guttering scam Residents have been warned to be aware
of similar incidents. Reports have been received of two
their guttering repaired and took them to see another property in the road that they claimed to have worked on. While they were gone, another man re- moved some guttering from the victim’s house and put it in a silver Ford Transit van.
males in the Downswood area offering to do work such as cutting down trees. The men, who operate out of a white Ford van, are unknown to Kent Trading Standards but concerns have previously been raised where the same individuals have been seen looking through residents’ windows prior to knocking on their door.
Support YOUR local paper — and we can support YOU - advertise on 01622 630330 East 33
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 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48