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Call for debate before election
POLITICAL campaigners are try- ing to ensure Maidstone residents get a debate in the run-up to the general election. Oakwood Park Grammar School
has agreed to host a debate for the Maidstone and Weald candidates and is now contacting them to or- ganise a suitable date. There will be a hustings event for
all parties at Cranbrook School on April 21, but Lib Dem campaigner Jasper Gerard believes the county town deserves its own event. He said: “Maidstone is an area
that has massive challenges, such as how we drive up earnings and increase employment, howwe con- tinue to improve educational op- portunity, and how we tackle the problem of huge development without the facilities to go with it. “It is only right that local people should have the opportunity to put their concerns to those who seek to
be their MP.” Last year Mr Gerard wrote to Cllr
JohnWilson, chairman of the local Conservative Association, chal- lenging MP Helen Grant to a de- bate. CllrWilson said: “We are receiv-
ing a number of proposals for an official hustings event in Maidstone and, as it is early days yet, we are considering all of the options. “The conditions are that all can- didates will need to be invited, that the event takes place during the short campaign period [after March 30] and that it is arranged by an in- dependent third party. “The Lib Dem candidate has
stated he is trying to arrange an event at Oakwood Park school, but clearly he is not an independent third party. We have not been ap- proached by Oakwood Park our- selves, although other schools have been in touch.”
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News Dali treasures go on show
AMAN lucky enough to meet the iconic artist Salvador Dali has put his personal collection of memorabilia on show atMaidstone Museum. Among the items on display are two of the artist’s signature walking
canes and unusual pieces including jewellery, a wine label and perfume bottles that he designed. Nigel Simmins met Dali in 1967 when he worked at the exclusive
Hotel Meurice in Paris, which courted guests including Elizabeth Taylor. He was 21 and had never heard of the artist before, but it was here that his life-long love of his work began. Mr Simmins, who once
owned the Orchard Spot in Downswood and now lives in Grove Green, said: “He was a one-off, a genius and I believe the greatest artist of the last century.” While working at the hotel
– to learn French – Dali gave two or three masterclasses to demonstrate his skills as a draughtsman and sketcher. Mr Simmins recalled: “To
Salvador Dali, pictured in 1954
watch him work was, forme, akin to seeing Beethoven write a few bars.” It was Captain PeterMoore, Dali’s business manager at the time, who
organised the signed items, including a poster, catalogue and menu, which are also included in the display, entitled Dipping in to Dali, which runs until March 31. Nigel will be at the museum to answer questions from 2pm to 3pm on Wednesday,March 18.
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Maidstone Town March 2015 17
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