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Growing passion A COURTYARD garden at Maidstone Hospital has under- gone a makeover, thanks to a group of local young people. The year 11 students became involved in the project through the National Citizen Service ini- tiative, which is being run in Kent by the charity CXK. The project aims to help young peo- ple take on new challenges. Tasha, Dylan, Frankie, James,


Aidan and Josh, who are all 16, and Phoebe (15) and their two team leaders, Bethan Gorvett and Lara Delaney, worked at the hospital from August 6-10.


Shoplifter guilty A MAIDSTONE woman ap- peared before Mid Kent Magis- trates’ Court charged with shoplifting. Sarah Jane Diggens (35), of no


fixed address, admitted stealing toiletries worth £12 from a shop inWeek Street, Maidstone. Magistrates sentenced her to


14 days in prison for the offence, suspended for 18 months. She must also take part in a drug re- habilitation programme.


Yoga for high-flyers TOVIL health and fitness club Heavenly Fitness has intro- duced anti-gravity yoga, which involves being positioned up- side down in the air using soft hammocks suspended from the ceiling.


End of era for sports shop


A LEGENDARY Maidstone shop declared the end of its innings after notching up a century of service to the sporting world. Founded in 1910, Hubble and Freeman will open its Gabriel’s Hill premises for the last time on September 29. The shop has been caught out


by the crippling economic cli- mate, but will continue to be fondly remembered by genera- tions of sport enthusiasts. Since being launched by Kent cricketing star Jack Hubble, the store became the go-to place for a wide range of sports gear. From its humble beginnings


in a shed at the Trebor Sharps ground in London Road, Maid- stone, the business moved to Market Buildings and then to its current site on Gabriel’s Hill. Jack joined forceswith his old team-mates Tich Freeman and Les Ames, foundingHubble and Freeman, in Maidstone and Hubble and Ames inMedway. H and F eventually merged


with the Teston cricket and hockey ball factory, Alfred Reader, and expanded into a chain of branches across Kent. The business was run for about 30 years by Jack’s grandson, Peter Ludgate, who sold it on in 2002, but still runs Hubble Sports, in Heath Road, Cox- heath, specialising in pool, snooker and bar billiards tables.


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6 Town


Hubble & Freeman today, and below, in the early years


ALFRED “Tich” Freeman named hisBearstedhome“Dunbowlin”. He died in January, 1965, aged 76. A spin bowler, he earned his nickname because he was just 5ft 2ins tall. He played for Kent from 1914 to 1936 and was capped for England 12 times. Born in Wateringbury, Jack Hubble kept wicket for Kent and MCC during his 25-year career. After his retirement, he became a qualified umpire. Jack died at the age of 84, al-


most exactly a month after his business partner, Tich.


Mr Ludgate, said the closure


came with terrible sadness. Fond memories include a


visit from the Beach Boys, who came in to buy croquet sets, and the sale of a billiard table to Poirot actor David Suchet. Mr Ludgate continues to run


his business supplying and ren- ovating games tables. Mark Wellbelove, chief executive ofH and F’s parent company, Kook- aburra Reader Ltd in Maidstone, said the closure of the shop was forced by tough economic con- ditions.


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