LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Roadworks causing chaos Dear Sir – I read with some amusement the comments in your last issue (Downs Mail, June) about the possibility of permanent clo- sure of Knightrider Street. My son lives in Campbell Road and while
he has been away, I have been going twice a day, from my home in Bearsted, to feed his cat. The traffic has been horrendous, no mat- ter what time of day. Cars have been using Campbell Road as a short cut to try to avoid the build-up of traffic around Sheals Cres- cent. The funniest piece of the article was Cllr Malcolm Greer’s comment about the her- itage buildings in the area. Has he actually been there recently? Knightrider Street is mainly new flats, and the only old buildings are on the corners of other busier roads. Mrs R A Peall, Bearsted
Review these closures Dear Sir – I read with surprise the com- ments from the councillor regarding the clo- sures of Knightrider Street. Has this person ever attempted to drive around Maidstone during the peak hours? Since the closure, my journey to Maid-
stone West station takes 10 minutes longer in themorning and up to 30 minutes longer in the evening. This road needs to be re-opened as soon
as possible, and the whole one-way system reviewed, as it is a nightmare. S. Street, Cayser Drive, Kingswood
Are we all in this together? Dear Sir – I read with astonishment your re- cent article (Downs Mail, June) concerning the Kent County Council leader, Cllr Paul Carter, and the mix-up over his allowances. My first thought was howMr Carter could accrue the sum of over £21,000 in al- lowances over a period of seven months. How can this sum be justified, when the council is making frontline cuts to services and freezing the pay of employees “earning” less than half that amount? I then read that the error only came to light
when Mr Carter’s secretary informed him that he had reached his overdraft limit. If he needs his secretary to manage his own bank account, how can we have any faith in his management of KCC? Add to this the recent payment of over £400,000 in a severance package to a former employee, and the millions of pounds lost in Icelandic bank investments, and one is left asking are we really “all in this to- gether”? Steve Gibson, Birling Avenue, Bearsted
Heroic story of Captain Nolan I WAS interested in the article in the June Downs Mail on the statue proposed for the forecourt of the former Opthalmic and Aural Hospital at Maidstone. It stated that Captain Nolan was killed
while in charge of the Light Brigade at Bal- aclava. He was, in fact, probably the first to be
killed inTHEcharge, whichwas led and com- manded byMajor General Lord Cardigan. Nolan was a staff officer stationed with
Lord Raglan, the Army commander, some 6- 700 feet above the cavalry division, when it was realised that the Russians were trying to tow away British naval guns which they had overrun earlier in the day. An order had been sent to Lord Lucan, the divisional commander, to advance and: “try to recover the guns,” but, believing he was to await supporting infantry, he stayed. Captain Nolan, a supreme horseman, was
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Centre helped me cope Dear Sir – My name is Andrea Fuller, I am 33 and I have two children, Harrison, aged four, and Eden, three. Before I had children I worked full-time and loved my life. I got married and we started a family. But having children was a shock to my system and I found it hard to adjust. I came to Greenfields Sure Start centre in Rutlands Way, Maidstone, back in 2010, when my children were two and one. I came to visit a health visitor as Iwas strug- gling to deal with them being so close in age. Iwas told about the different activities on
offer at the centre and found it so much easier coming to the stay-and-play activi- ties, as there was a crèche worker to help out too. All the other mums were friendly and it was a really nice experience for both me and the children. Before I came to the centre I was worried
that I was going to be judged for struggling to cope, but it was not that way at all, help and advice was offered by the crèche work- ers and the other mums. Just to talk to peo- ple and see that I was not the only one was very helpful. I am not sure how I would have coped without their support. I was able to see how other families
coped and dealt with different situations and to my surprise, I was able to offer my experiences and ways I dealt withmy own
then sent with an urgent written order. Lucan read the order but then asked: “Which guns?”, to which Nolan flung up his arm and said: “There are your guns ,my lord”, and rode on down to Cardigan to pass on the order. He then went to the front of the 17th Lancers to take part in the charge. The only guns then visible to the Light Brigade were newly-placed Russian batter- ies at the head of the valley about one and a half miles ahead, the captured British guns being out of sight from this level. Cardigan’s trumpeter sounded “the charge”
and the brigade moved off at a trot, when Nolan suddenly galloped across Lord Cardi- gan’s front, shouting to him. But his words were drowned out, and a
shell burst, which exposed his heart. His sword dropped from his hand, but with his arms still raised, he remained in the saddle as his horse turned back through the ranks; giving a drawn-out scream until he fell dead. Having heard and seen Lord Raglan’s rea-
son for giving the order, he must have re- alised that the Light Brigade was charging thewrong guns and tried, too late, to rectify the situation. The moral of the story is its example of
how NOT to give orders! F C Honywood, Hollingbourne
Museum ‘is a carbuncle’
I COMPLETELY agree with Mike Muggridge regarding the appalling metal box and ex- tension over the lovely original façade of Maidstone Museum (Downs Mail, June). What a pity they didn’t ask HRH Prince Charles to officially open the building, he might have told them it was another “mon- strous carbuncle”. Brenda Brown, British Legion Village, Aylesford
Olympic route to a solution Dear Editor – I noted with amusement that sleeping policemen, doubtless constructed as an important road safetymeasure in Lon- don, are to be removed to facilitate the smooth passage of the great and the good to
situations. I had begun to think that Iwas a rubbish mum, but coming to the groups and activities made me realise that actually I was quite a good mum. It was so nice to feel part of a group and
to be allowed to have an input into the cen- tre. It was very reassuring and I felt they were really interested in my family. As the children got older, starting school
and nursery, I found I had time on my hands and decided Iwould volunteer at the centre, helping out in the crèches and doing a little bit of admin. I amnow working towards anNVQfor the children’s and young persons workforce, I have also joined a temp agency and work at the centredoing admin twodays a week, Iam beginning to feel like me again as well as being proud to be a mum, and all this is thanks to Greenfields Children’s Centre. Andrea Fuller, Northumberland Road, Shepway
the Olympic stadia. It is a pity the route does not include Cox-
heath, thus providing an opportunity for the highways authority to get rid of those useless and dangerous “build-outs”. Malcolm Brockman, Carman’s Close, Loose
Ancestor’s ferry legacy Dear Sir – I have just read your article in the Downs Mail about the ferry across the Med- way. My husband’s granddad operated this
ferry in the late 1930s until his death in 1942. He was always told that Jubilee George bought the ferry from his granddad. We know his granddad ran the ferry, be- cause we have been asked if we are related, and a district nurse who used to attend to my husband’s mother knew him. So why all about Jubilee and nothing about our Granddad?
Doreen Garrott, by email
A hat-trick for Mote Park? Dear Sir – I was delighted to read (Mail Marks, July) that there is a real chance of county cricket returning to Maidstone now that The Mote Cricket Club has major pro- posals to regenerate the fading 100-year-old pavilion and facilities at the ground. They are needed to match the splendour
of this magnificent ground as well as to meet Kent Cricket’s requirement to return to Maidstone for county games, which were first held there in 1859. Cricketers have a chance of completing a wonderful hat trick at Mote Park. The council’s recentmajor improvements to the park itself have added so much to this treas- ure, and the Audley restoration of Mote House and surroundings as a retirement vil- lage has brought back to life a very sad and neglected area.
Marion James, Bearsted
Wrong sort of shopping trip Dear Sir – What spoilsports Maidstone Bor- ough Council are. My husband and I spent many a lunch hour watching unsuspecting
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