News
downsmail.co.uk Museum hours to be reduced
Maintaining the building and keeping tabs on the 600,000 exhibits means the museum needs to close on at least one day aweek. After the summer season, it is
MAIDSTONE Museum has become a victim of its own success, forcing it to close on Mondays. The new opening hourswere ap-
closed on Sundays in 2016, al- though Maidstone Council leader Cllr FranWilson is vehemently op- posed to this. The museum is currently open
likely the museum and art gallery in St Faith’s Street, will not be open to the public on Mondays – al- though it will still be available for school groups and children’s par- ties, as before. This will also mean the visitor in- formation centre being closed, al- though the service will still be available by phone and email. Low Sunday visitor numbers could also see the doors being
Market to help carers
STALLHOLDERS from across the county will gather in Maidstone for a charity farmers’ market. The event, which will support
Kent Young Carers, is being held at The Maidstone Studios from 4pm to 8pm on Thursday, July 2. The best of local homemade produce will be available, as well as face- painting and refreshments. Admission is free and stalls in-
clude fruit and vegetables, spice stalls, homemade fudge, flavoured vodkas, wool products, fishmon- ger, butcher, fresh bread, juices, candles, furniture, jams and chut- neys, cakes, jewellery, pet food, hanging baskets and ice cream. Kent ambassador Geoff Miles,
who is also chairman of The Maid- stone Studios and Custodian Data Centres which sponsors the event, said: “The market is an opportunity to showcase the very best of Kent produce while supporting children and young people in Kent who are taking on caring.” Kent Young Carers aims to pro-
vide support and information to the family and give the carers one- to-one support, Chill Clubs and op- portunities to have fun.
from noon to 4pm on Sundays from Easter to the end of Septem- ber, and it will remain open seven days aweek this summer. Monday closing would result in
small financial savings as no front of house staff would be required, but the main benefit would be be- hind the scenes, according to Dawn Hudd, the council’s director of re- generation and communities. She said: “Running a complex
operation which combines an Eliz- abethan manor house with a con- temporary extension, a collection of over 600,000 objects and 70,000 vis- itors per year, requires dedicated downtime to change over exhibi- tions, maintain fixed exhibits, carry out audits, conduct maintenance and repairs to the building and other essential works.” She said that failure to close the museum to the general public on Mondays would seriously affect the council’s ability to maintain the building and collection – and this could put its accreditation with Arts Council England in jeopardy.
League chairman Joyce Langton, ICU sister Alison Crayford, ICU nurse Ligia Rodrigues, Claire Chalklin and the league’s Graham Neads check out the new chair
Chair gift to hospital ICU
A SPECIALIST chair to aid the re- covery of those in intensive care in- Maidstone has been bought by the hospital’s League of Friends. The chair, which cost £3,740, will
allow those with severeweakness to sit up and get out of bed and others to enjoy time outside. The chair also works to
strengthen patients’ posture and muscle activity and stimulates the respiratory muscles of those who have been on a ventilator. Claire Chalklin, clinical specialist
respiratory physiotherapist, said: “We are extremely grateful to both Maidstone’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) for working with physiother-
apy to source this fantastic chair, and recognising the need, and to the League of Friends for their con- tinued support and generosity. “This chair will be of enormous
benefit to some of our weakest pa- tients – itwill allow them more free- dom as well as helping them to progress with their recovery.” Joyce Langton, chairman for the Maidstone Hospital League of Friends, said: “The chair is fantastic and we can see first-hand how much of a help it will be to our in- tensive care patients and staff. “We are delighted to have joined
forces with the ICU to buy this piece of equipment.”
Holiday prize for winning golfer Sco
GOLFER Scott Wilford is looking forward to aweek in Marbella after winning this year’s Kent County Playing Field Association annual competition. More than 2,140 competitors took
part in the preliminary stages of the Cecil Leitch 5 Club competition, with 90 finalists taking part at Gillingham Golf Club. Scott (pictured) from the Marriot
Tudor Park Golf Club, Bearsted, took first prize and the trophy with 37 points on countback. The women's winnerwas Sandra Stronach of Dartford, with 38
26 Maidstone Town July 2015
points, who also won aweek in the Spanish sunshine. Both received a week’s free ac- commodation at a luxury villa on
the famous Guadalmina Golf Course, to be taken anytime in 2016.
More than £12,000was raised for
the charity from more than 80 of Kent's Golf Clubs competing in the competition – the 58th year it has been held. Sponsors included Clive Emson
Auctioneers, SO Hairdressing, The Association of Men of Kent & Ken- tish and Ulric Allsebrook of Fred- eric Café Bistro in Maidstone. Next year’s final will be held at Sundridge Park Golf Club on Thursday, June 16.
proved by former cabinet member Cllr Malcolm Greer. However, the council’s culture and leisure de- partment has taken the decision not to introduce the new hours until later in the year. In the meantime, research is to be carried out with current and poten- tial users to see what the impact of Sunday closing could be. CllrWilson said that while itwas important for staff to keep on top of preparation work, hence the need for a Monday closure, she was not happy at the suggestion the facility be closed on Sundays.
Care centre’s
good rating MAIDSTONE Care Centre in Box- ley Road has received a good rating from the Care Quality Commis- sions (CQC) following an unan- nounced inspection. A previous inspection in April
2014 said the care centre required improvements after three breaches of the Health and Social Care Act 2008were identified. However, the latest inspection re-
vealed that improvements had been made. Maidstone Care Centre is a pri-
vately-owned care home that pro- vides nursing to 57 residents aged above 40. It specialises in areas such as dementia, Alzheimer’s, motor neurone and Parkinson’s disease and provides respite care. The report said staff “showed a
good understanding of what their roles and responsibilities were in preventing abuse”. It added that residents felt safe and managers were “approachable and listened to their views”.
Mike Hogg
IN the previous edition of the Downs Mail (June 2015) it was re- ported that Mike Hogg had been an active member of Tovil Parish Council. We would like to point out that
Mr Hogg had, until May 7, 2015, never been a member of Tovil Parish Council. He volunteered to stand as a Tovil Parish Councillor in May 2015 and was duly elected in the uncontested election.
Horsebox blaze
TWO horses were unloaded at the side of the motorway following a fire in a horsebox on the M20 near Maidstone. Kent Police stopped traffic while
fire crews dealt with the fire in the engine of the seven tonne lorry on the London-bound carriageway.
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