News Comic’s views
‘wellmeaning’ RISING star of the comedy circuit Geoff Norcott will be appearing at Maidstone’s popular Hazlitt The- atre nextmonth. Fresh from a successful TV ap-
pearance at the Apollo and Ques- tion Time, Geoff will be treading the Hazlitt boards on Friday, Feb- ruary 23. The comic is on the “Right Lean-
ing butWellMeaning” tour,where he sees the funny side of his own Tory views. Tickets for the over-16s show
cost £13.50 and are available on 01622 758611.
SuonValence
Alpine show THE Alpine Garden Society holds an Easter showin SuttonValence in March. Held at the Sutton Valence Sen-
ior School on March 31 there will be plants from all over the UK as well as arts and crafts stalls. The funs starts at 9am and the
floswer show takes place from 11.30amuntil 3.30pm. Refreshments will be available throughout the day. Entrance £3.
downsmail.co.uk
‘Thin air’won’t finance upkeep of our churches
THE parlous state of church fi- nances has led outspoken vicar Rev Steve Hughes to warn of two parishes potentially going bank- rupt within three years. AlthoughRevHugheswarns that
going bust is a “worst possible sce- nario”, the reality is that churches “cannot be run on thin air”. The Anglican vicar, who is in
charge of the churches at Otham, Leeds, Langley, Broomfield and Kingswood, wrote in his local parish newsletter: “The sad reality is that our churches (and those in many other places) are in a state of
decline.One of the areas of decline, he wrote, is the “domain of fi- nance”. He added: “The parish of Otham
and Langley, for example, is likely to be bankrupt (literally) within three years – it is bleeding money at the rate of roughly £1,000 a month – unless there is a radical overhaul of what we are prepared to give.” He said that on average the six
Rev Steve Hughes, left, with the Bishop of Dover, the Rt Rev TrevorWill- mott, centre, and Rev John Corbyn
services held at the two churches at- tract around 40 worshippers. Rev Hughes toldDownsMail that com- munal prayer is away to bringmore people together. He said: “Churches would be
stronger if the people took praying together seriously and making it a prayerful community. It’s true of all the churches, not just these. “The truth is that if a church holds
a jumble sale, you would get 10 to 20 volunteers to help out but if you hold a prayer meeting you would be delighted if 10 people turned up. It is just a challenge to the people
within the church, and to say that things cannot go on forever.” Father Neil Bryson, in charge of
the St Michael and All Angels in Tonbridge Road, Maidstone, said hall rentals bring extra income. In 2017, Fr Bryson introduced special services at Christmas which at- tracted almost 1,400 people, includ- ing many local schoolchildren. Midnight mass and its Christmas morning services saw a big jump year on year. Fr Bryson added: “Money is al-
ways a challenge but we always seemto cover it.”
downsmail.co.uk
Young runner’s medal success
ATHLETCS whizzkid Kristian Samwell-Nash has followed uphis successes of 2017 with a major medal early this year. The 15-year-old, who attends
Lenham School, enjoyed a fantastic first season last year, in- cluding winning silver medals at both England Schools and the England National Championships. This year, he has not only
moved up to the very com- petitive U17 age category – in which he is one of the youngest competitors – but also stepped up to run the 400m. But his age did not showwhen he
competed at the Southern England Athletics Indoor Championships at Lee Valley in early January. Kristian, who lives in Headcorn,
ran three races in the day, eventu- ally winning the silver medal in a personal best time of 51.04 seconds. Proud dad David said: “It’s very rare for a 15-year-old to compete at
this level so soon with experienced 16-year-olds, but Kristian did so well. He’s only just 15 as well, so he’s a lot younger than some of his rivals. “He only started running prop- erly last year and now he’s getting proper train- ing to be a runner, that will only help himin the future.” Kristian started attend-
ingAshfordAthleticClub after feeling hewas short of fitness to play his first love, football, and having told his dad that he had
not really enjoyeda promotion-win- ning season with LenhamWander- ers. He quickly impressed the coaches at the club, and was soon competing at the highest level. Last year, as an U15, he was only
able to compete at 300m, but on the one 400mrace he did run, he broke a record held by Jack Green, who will be competing forEnglandat the CommonwealthGames inApril.
Medway andMaidstone Athletics clubmembers (l-r) Katie Rothery, MayaMarriner, Erin Hughes and Keira Rose
Maya’s focus is need for speed Commenting onMaya’s personal
AT JUST 5ft 4in, Maya Marriner may consider herself short – but cer- tainly not on talent, ranking ninth in the country as a sprinter, just seven months after taking up the sport. It was this explosive speed that
saw the runner fromBearsted (pic- tured second from left) clock 300 metres in 43.3 seconds against the country’s best U15s, a feat that is fast turning her into a giant in the world of athletics. At the finish line wasmumFiona.
The two used to jog together to keep fit, but the 47-year-old says: “She runs circles around me now – and her dad, who also runs. She’s obviously got his legs, notmine.”
best time at Lee Valley Athletics Centre, London, Fiona added: “She is totally committed and trains four times a week, whatever the weather. Her recent time was awe- some and she now has her sights set on representing her country.” The 14-year-old Sutton Street stu-
dent fromInvicta Grammar School, turned her back on distance running in favour of sprinting last June. She trains withMedway andMaidstone Athletics Club at Sutton Valence School, acquiring a personal trainer inDanGill in September, andwill be competing in two competitions be- fore Easter.
News
Learn Spanish Bespoke short courses
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Maidstone Weald February 2018 15
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