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shingles jab MAIDSTONE and Malling resi- dents in their 70s are being urged to take up the offer of free vacci- nations against the “painful and debilitating” condition shingles. By the end of July, just over half


of all eligible older patients in Kent and Medway had been vaccinated. But theNHSis now encouraging


Legion aiming for fresh start in 2018


everyonewhois offered the vaccine to take it up. Local GP practices are offering patients the vaccination as part of the NHS shingles immunisation campaign for 2017/18, which began on September 1 2017. Dr John Rodriguez, Public Health Screening and Immunisa- tion lead for Kent and Medway, urged local people to take up the offer. He added: “As people get older


their immune system naturally weakens which is why those aged 70 and over are more likely to get shingles.


and debilitating and lead to health problems long after the initial rash has disappeared. It can also be fatal for around one in 1,000 over-70s who develop it. “I would encourage all patients


and young soldiers will be encour- aged – in this anniversary year - to sign up andmake use of the support services the charity offers. InHeadcorn, PeterKing took over


“Shingles can be very painful


whoare eligible to takeupthe offer from their GP surgery and get vac- cinated against the virus.”


as RBL branch secretary in Septem- ber, and with membership starting to recover it is hoped that the group


HEADCORN’s Royal British Le- gion has gained a newlease of life ahead of a huge year thanks to a newsecretary. ChairmanAlanPort (pictured) ad-


mitted that the future of the group hadbeen indoubt - but a resurgence in membership means they are ready to celebrate the 100th anniver- sary of the end ofWorldWarOne. In recent years Mr Port, a former


Royal Engineer, has witnessed falling membership at branches across the region, which has seen those at Staplehurst and the women’s branch inHeadcorn close. Indeed, until recently there were fears theHeadcorn branchwouldbe forced to lay down its standard for good. Now, he hopes the tide is turning


THE widow of a popular Maid- stone GP is in training for a self- funded trek through the Grand Canyon, in aid of the charity which is battling the cancer that claimed him. Kate Minett, a staff nurse, will be


travelling to America for the Trek Together Grand Canyon Challenge in October. Kate who lives in Staplehurst,


will hike through areas of the canyon not accessible to many tourists to raise money for Pancre- atic Cancer UK. The Benenden Hospital nurse has chosen to support the charity be- cause her husband, Dr Nigel Minett (54), a GP for more than 20 years at the Marden Medical Centre, then The Orchard Surgery in Langley, succumbed to it in January 2012, just over 10 weeks after he was di- agnosed. Dr Minett (pictured) was well-known for his church work in Maidstone. She said: “This cancer is known


as a silent killer as it usually pres- ents too late for any form of treat- ment. On October 31, 2011, my


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Kate’s canyon trek in memory of husband


an advice day on January 13 is a fur- ther indication of the pressures of fallingmembershipon the organisa- tion nationally, which has seen is- sues such as information and advice days organised at a national level. Mr Port said: “Advice days are


now organised centrally because of the contraction we have seen in branches and because it’s a much more cost-effective way to present them. “They nowbring together the best


and most experienced voices under one roof to answer members’ ques- tions and are extremely worth- while.” The event at Headcorn Village


will be able to meet on a regular basis. Mr Port, who is 82, said: “Unfor-


tunately, a lot of our members are elderly and that iswhywe are keen to encourage younger soldiers to sign up and get involved. “This has been the case at Sutton


Valence also, but nowboth branches finally appear to be growing again.” TheHeadcorn branch are holding


husband was admitted to hospital after developing jaundice. Until that point, his only symptoms had been a few weeks of mild gastric discomfort. He was diagnosed the same day with stage four metasta- tic pancreatic cancer, which had spread to his liver. “We knew the score - survival


Hall, Church Lane, will run from 10:30am-2pm, and is specifically for those aged 65+, providing an oppor- tunity for ex-servicemen to meet newpeople and talk to themany or- ganisations providing health advice and social activities. Any service member, of any age,


interested in joining the Headcorn branch is invited to contactMr Port on 01622 890514.


Date wait for sewer works


SOUTHERNWater still cannot con- firm when work will start to im- prove the sewer network in Headcorn. In spite of a lengthy period of


rates from pancreatic cancer have not improved much in the last 30 years. Nigel died on January 19, 2012. I had been thinking about what I could do to celebrate Nigel’s life and decided to join the Pancre- atic Cancer UK Grand Canyon Challenge Trek in October. I am self-funding the trip to ensure that all donations go directly to the charity.” This is the third big fundraiser


talks, the authority says finishing touches are still being put to the scheme. The projectwill include building


newsewers and increasing the size of existing drains to serve new de- velopment in the area. It will also ease some of the flooding problems inMoat Road. A spokesman said she under-


the family has taken part in. Kate’s daughter, Laura, took part in a su- perhero fun run dressed as Super- man in 2012, raising over £2,000, and her sister Rebecca organised a dinner dance in Tenterden which raised £10,300 in 2015. In the UK, pancreatic cancer has the lowest survival rate of the 21 most com- mon cancers. Pancreatic CancerUK supports those affected, investing in research and lobbying for recog- nition of the disease. For details visit www.justgiv- ing.com/fundraising/Kate-Minett. For more information on Pancre- atic Cancer UK, visit www.pan- creaticcancer.org.uk/fundraise.


stood the long-awaited work will get underway in the first half of 2018. She added: “We’ll be writing to customerswithmore details soon.”


Newplay area


YOUNGSTERS in Hunton have started the New Year with a new play area, thanks to the efforts of the playing field committee. A new nest swing has been in-


stalled at the King George V Play- ing Field, and a new safety surface laid. The committee won grants from


both the Kent County Playing FieldsAssociation and theNational Lottery to fund thework.


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