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Village ‘sad to see priest retire’
AFTER nearly 14 years as the pop- ular figurehead for the church in East Malling, Wateringbury and Teston, Rev Jim Brown is step- ping down to spend more time with his family. The popular parish priest – known for his humour, and easy conversation –was wished the best for his retirement at a packed St James’ The Great in East Malling, where more than 400 parishioners jostled to say their goodbyes. Benefice administrator Sandra
Corby took over 18 months ago from Janet Saunders, who served alongside the vicar and his family for 12 years. Mrs Corby said: “Jim and his
wife Jean have become a central part of village life. Even those who do not attend church know him be- cause he invites conversation. “He has a knack of talking to children, young and old and every- one in between. He will be missed by so many people, especially those like Janet who worked with the family for many years.” Following the service, many at- tended a farewell lunch at the King and Queen pub in East Malling. Landlord Dave Drury placed a picture of Father Jim on the pump delivering an ale brewed by Brains
The Rev Jim Brown (left) and Dave Drury at the King and Queen pub
brewery called The Rev James in his honour. Rev Brown joined the priesthood
after serving time as a Metropoli- tan police officer. Born inWelling, he spent many years in London, and is a Charlton FC supporter. Now63, he and his wife Jean will
move from the vicarage in East Malling to Offham. The couple’s four children live in the Malling area.
While ill health means he will
need to make hospital trips, it is understood he intends spending at least some of his free time visiting galleries, enjoying his love of music and culture, watching foot- ball and spending more time with his family.
Children ‘fully supported’
STAFF at East Peckham Pre-School in the village hall provide children with a good range of learning op- portunies and was rated good by an Ofsted inspector. Childrenwere said to be fully en-
gaged in their play and made good progress in their learning and de- velopment. They were extremely confident and developed excellent independence skills. Behaviourwas very good and the children showed kindness, respect and courtesy to adults and other children. Therewere clear rules and boundaries and the children knew what staff expected of them.
Continued frompage one The manager made good use of
self-evaluation to reflect on the ed- ucational provision, which helped staff promote positive outcomes for children. There were extremely effective strategies to include and support all children fully. To achieve an outstanding rating,
the inspector suggested that staff should build on the already good relationships with parents by en- couraging them to share what their children do at home. They could also provide a wider range of natu- ral resources to enable children to investigate the natural world.
Runners line up for first parkrun
have embraced the event as both runners and volunteers, has been beyond all our expectations. Therewere 292 runners for this inaugural parkrun–arecord for a first event in Kent and judging by the smiles as they crossed the finish line and the chatter over a coffee after the run, most will be back.” Cllr Maria Heslop, Tonbridge and Malling Council’s cabinet member for community services, and the female runner with the best time in the inaugural run, said: “Itwas great to see so many people taking part – a good age range and a great range of abilities too.” The run takes place at Leybourne every Saturday at 9am, and a 2k parkrun for juniors takes place at Manor Park Country Park,West Malling at 9am every Sunday.
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