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
Join football
stars for golf TUDOR Park Marriott Hotel & Country Club in Bearsted is look- ing for teams of three golfers to compete for the Mancini Trophy on July 29. The teams will each buddy up
with a former professional foot- baller to compete in this unique golfing event. Last year Glenn Hoddle and Ray Clemence were among the players who took part in the inaugural Tudor Park Mancini Trophy competition. The day begins with breakfast
at 9am before Terry Mancini, for- mer Arsenal and Queen’s Park Rangers professional, makes the draw to decide which footballer plays with each team. Before the tournament starts at
noon, the players will have a chance to warm up and get some tips from Tudor Park’s PGA golf pro Jason Muller. To take part, call the golf shop
on 01622 739412. For details go to
www.marriotttudorpark.co.uk.
Formore local news
www.downsmail.co.uk
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
28 Maidstone East July 2015
points, who also won aweek in the Spanish sunshine. Both received a week’s free ac- commodation at a luxury villa on
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
the famous Guadalmina Golf Course, to be taken any time 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 Men and Ulric Allsebrook, of Frederic 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.
Castle concert
A LOCAL cancer charity will ben- efit from this year’s open air sum- mer concert at Leeds Castle. The concert on July 11, which
will be opened by the Definitive Rat Pack, will support The Chartwell Cancer Trust, which pro- vides financial support for The Chartwell Cancer and Leukaemia Unit in the Princess Royal Univer- sity Hospital, Farnborough. Music will be performed by the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, con- ducted by John Rigby.
Horsebox blaze
TWO horses were unloaded at the side of the motorway after a fire in a horsebox on the M20 near Maid- stone. Kent Police stopped traffic while fire crews dealt with the fire in the engine of the lorry on the London-bound carriageway.
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