Birthday girl Hilda’s youthful secrets
WHEN Hilda Brown came into the world, King George V was on the throne and England was enjoying its last year of peace before the out- break ofWorldWar One. A century later, spritely Hilda, who lives in
Bearsted, has just celebrated her 100th birth- daywith family and friends. She still leads anin- dependent life and attributes her youthful complexion to her face cream. BornonOctober13,1913to HenryandNancy
Costen, Hilda spent her childhood in Burham. Her father worked at the brickworks and Hilda and her brothers, Harry, George and Lee, at- tended the village school. The family home – Rose Cottage – which stood next to the Wind- mill pub in Rochester Road, has since been re- placed by modern houses. Hilda,whoispictured with her sonsanddaugh-
ter,went towork at theFosterClark canning fac- tory in Hart Street, Maidstone, and then Aylesford paper mill.
A 50-YEAR-old Maidstone man has appeared in court in con- nection with a knifepoint raid at a jewellery shop. Peter Sanderson, of Fairmeadow, was charged with robbery and possessing an of- fensive weapon. He was re- manded in custody to appear before Maidstone Crown Court.
alwaysworkedhard.Sheknewhowtomakebut- ter, pluck pheasants and skin rabbits.” Besides running his farm at Detling, Dick be-
came well-known in the Maidstone area as a haulage and demolition contractor. In the 1960s and 70s, Hilda worked at the
Sharp’s toffee factory inStPeter’sStreet, Maid-
stone.At the age of 67, she beganworking as a volunteer cook with Age Concern in Fant Lane. Valerie, who lives in Weavering Street, said:
Shemet her husband Dick, just beforeWorld
War Two, and settled down to a busy life as a farmer’s wife. They had three children, Barry (now72),Valerie (71) andAnthony (69), followed by nine grandchildren and two great-grandchil- dren.
Daughter Valerie Chittenden said: “Mum has Armed robbery suspect in court
Police were called to John Angell jewellers in Tonbridge High Street after a report that a man had entered the store with a knife. He asked to look at rings, worth about £3,000, which he then made off with. A man was stopped on the
A20atDittonat1.55pmthe same day and arrested.
Takeaway consent for former reptile shop MICHU Choudhary has been given listed building permission to convert The Reptile Shop in Union Street into a food takeaway. The applicant says it will open from 8am to 11pm.
“She baked everything herself andmy parents’ kitchenwould be full of lovely pies on a Sunday morning ready to go on the Monday.” Widowed 20 years ago,Hilda still leads an in- dependent life with a daily visit from one of the family. “Shestill does herowncooking andeven after retiring, has always done gardening or something,” said Valerie. Besides a family party and a birthday card from the Queen, Hilda cele- brated her big daywith a trip toFolkestone for a fish and chip lunch.
Cancer support unit considered
ASPECIALIST support unit for cancer patients could be set up at Maidstone Hospital. If agreed, it would be the first Maggie’s Centre in Kent. An approach has been made
by the charity to the board at Maidstone Hospital, which says it is in favour of pursuing the initiative, but needs more de- tails. The centrewould cost £4mil-
lion and would involve the trust providing the land and working with the organisation to raise funds.
A spokesman for Maidstone
and TunbridgeWells NHS Trust said:“We believe Maggies’ Cen- tres are valuable additional fa- cilities and resources to help patients through the journey of cancer. “While we are considering
the Maidstone Hospital/Kent Oncology Centre site for such a centre, we are not yet at the stage of formally progressing it further.” The trust board is first hoping
to visit a Maggie’s Centre. The nearest one is in west London.
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