News


News Friends from


France to visit SNODLAND’s twinning associa- tion is planning to welcome their friends from France in May – and are on the lookout for new mem- bers. The town has been twinnedwith


Moyeuvre-Grande, in Northern France, formore than 30 years, and the association enjoys regular meetings with those from across the Channel. The next of these meeting sees


members of the French contingent visiting. Anyone interested in joining the


Eight Snodland


twinning association should call Paul Hickmott on 01634 242875 or Veronica Tipp on 01634 240958.


Charity funds raised at lunch Bridge Tr st at an enjoyable char-


ty lunch in Mereworth on Febru- arBut as they are all owned by in- diA total of £160 went to the Ton- bridge-based charity, which h lps


iMarch 11 and 12. y 20. vidu


plot owners, i


Karen Sowten, chief executive of has housed more than 700 people


fficers.homeless people on the streets in west Kent. Th


charity since 1991.


Snodland TownCouncil, said: “We have urged all of the allotment holderswho have been affected by this to call 101. “As far aswe can ascertain, some-


one scaled the gate to gain entry and remove items fromthe sheds.” A Kent Police spokesman con-


firmed they had received no re- ports of the crime and he, likeMrs Sowten, urged anyone affected by this incident to report the theft – and the propertymissing – on 101.


Fun at the fair


THE Friends of St James the Great will be hosting a summer fair on Saturday, June 23, with funds raised going to maintaining the church. It will takes place at the church and EastMalling Institute.


Easter crafts


A GOOD Friday project aimed at primary school children takes place on March 30 at St James the Great Church in EastMalling. There will be Easter-themed crafts, games and songs for all the children. The event starts at 9amand finishes at noon.


Malling picnic


PICNIC in the Park at EastMalling will be held on Sunday, June 24, be- tween 11amand 6.30pm. Organised by Malling Rotary


and East Malling Community Fayre, the daywill featuremusic, a dog show, kids’ rides, rides and amusements.


12 Malling March 2018


MORE than £150was raised for the at on ground, overnight b tween


sheds burgled ALLOTMENT holders are being urged to contact the police after up to eight sheds in Snodland were broken into. A number of items were taken from the Slough Field allotments sheds, close to the town’s recre-


is their re-


sponsibility to report the crimes to soingl


STMARTIN’S church in Ryarshmay be small, but it has big plans to commemorate the end ofWWI. Based on the Blood Swept Lands and Seas of


downsmail.co.uk


downsmail.co.uk


Gym’s brave life savers win ambulance award


FOUR staff members at a gym in Kings Hill have won an award after saving aman's life. David Lloyd’s general manager


Lauren Mortimer and staff mem- bers Beth Alexander, Sarah Dennis and Liviu Fiduluwere honoured at the South East Coast Ambulance (SECAmb) awards at TurkeyMill in Maidstone lastmonth. Lauren said: “It’s so rewarding


well they dealtwith this situation.” Gym member Steve Beal col-


Red installation of ceramic red poppies at the Tower of London in 2014, the congregation is busy knitting poppies to stream from the top of the church tower. Anita Parkins, right, and Jean Edwards, both from Ryarsh, are co-ordinating the massive proj- ect, which will go on display on November 10, ahead of a concert in the church and a 1914- style commemorative tea party in the village hall.


that our team were able to be in- strumental in saving someone’s life. “I amso proud of themand how


lapsed following cardiac arrest at the gymon June 26 last year. Staff sprang into action and be-


Fury as rail services fall foul to ‘beast fromeast’


(L-r): Lauren Mo imer, Sarah Den- nis, Beth


Alexander and Liviu


Fidulu with SECAmb


chief execu- tive Daren Mochrie


“It was an outstanding effort by


fore the first responder from SE- CAmb arrived, they had already begun CPR (cardiopulmonary re- suscitation) and administered a shock to his heartwith the club's de- fibrillator. Hewas already breathing by him-


self, and student paramedic Phil Parrish, who was the first respon- der,was impressed.


COMMUTERS at Snodland have launched a blizzard of criticism on Southeastern railway for its lack of service during the snow. The icy conditions saw massive


everyone at the club,” he said, after nominating the quartet for the award. “They did everything they should


disruption with the station closed, and no alternative transport arrangements, for three days. But while the train company has


apologised to passengers, users say they are being left out in the cold with an often unmanned station, disjointed services and a further threat of reductions in services. Snodland rail-user Ryan Kelly,


pictured left, pays nearly £6,000 a year to travel to his job as a con- tracts manager for a construction firmin Camden. After learning online that serv-


ices from Snodland had been halted by the snow, he drove to Ebbsfleet to catch one of the trains thatwere running, paying £10.20 a day to park. Mr Kelly, from Pout Road, said:


“Thenotice simply saidthe stationis closed and not to travel, but they knewthousandshadtoget towork.” Warnings of the worsening con-


ditions persuaded him to catch a train home at lunchtime on the Fri- day and on Tuesday he had towalk home fromStrood. He said: “Southeasternmay con-


gratulate itself on having made some effort to get people into town, but they did absolutely nothing to ensurewe got home.”


as a team and gave Steve the best chance of survival sowe could con- tinue his treatment. “The actions of everyone at the


scene prior to our arrival was vital and shows how important it is that people learn CPR. They should all be very proud.”


And his criticism did not stop


there.He complains that in spite of an expensive upgrade, Snodland Station is often closed and he is in- censed that the high-speed service he uses could bewithdrawn as part of the new franchise agreement, currently out to tender. He said: “The high-speed service


is reliable and takes me direct to where I need to be at the time I need to be there. If this goes, I will have to travel to Strood and change to the high-speed train there, adding extra hassle tomyworking week at both ends of the day.” A spokesman for Southeastern


said: “We sincerely apologise to our passengers caught up in dis- ruption on the network...and for their patience. “Our staff worked around the


clock to keep trains running in the severe weather, but despite our best efforts to deal with the snow


JAMES Lister, fromChurch Field in Snod- land, was unable to get to work for three days, butwas able towork fromhome. He said: “During a week of bad weather


Iwas able towork in London just one day, which is ridiculous. I amfortunate to have the tools to work from home, but anyone meeting a client or organisingwork in Lon- donwould have been out of pocket.” The insurance claims analyst, who has


bulance helped to stabilise Steve be- fore hewas taken toWilliamHarvey Hospital,Ashford, and he has since made an amazing recovery. “Itwas just incrediblewhat every-


one did,” he said. “I’mso grateful. “Every breath I take now is a


bonus.” The four received a Chief Execu-


tive’s Commendation – Public Commendation at the awards cere- mony for their efforts.


Three paramedics and the air am-


Tower tribute tomark end of FirstWorldWar Mrs Parkins said: “There is nowaywewill be able


tomatch the 888,246 poppies of the national dis- play that represented every serviceman that died inWWI, but we will have a good number. “I’m frightened to put a figure on how many


we will need, but donations are flooding in. One woman from Maidstone, who I’d never met, re- cently handedme 70 and it is donations such as this, from various people from across the area, which willmake this such a community project.” For details of the poppy design email: anitaparkins@hotmail.co.ukor call 01732 842232.


and ice affecting the power supply to our trains, many passengers’ journeyswere disrupted. “We introduced an amended


timetable to provide a more reli- able service for themajority of pas- sengers, but entirely appreciate that this meant that some stations did not have a train service for sev- eral days and Snodland did not re- open until the Sunday. “With regard to the possible loss


of the high-speed train service through Snodland, this is for the Department of Transport to de- cide.” She advised passengers to use


Southeastern’swebsite to claimfor Delay Repay compensation. While Stuart Powell, above right,


from Lewis Mews in Snodland, welcomed a doubling of the com- pensation rate, he added: “My sis- ter lives in Canada, which has sub-zero temperatures, but none of the problemswe have been experi- encing. Southeastern needs to in- vest in technology to stop issues like signals freezing.” He was unable to get into work


atGuy’sHospital for four days and was among half-a-dozen com- muters we spoke to who were angry at being forced to take time off because of the badweather.


Flexibleworking eases the commuting strain


been commuting fromSnodland since last September, and pays around £4,500 annu- ally, described the service as “generally un- reliable”. Like his fellowtravellers he has to travel


to Strood, and change for London.He said: “Even though you can see my home from the station, it takes me two-and-a-half hours to get towork,whichmakes it a very longweek.”


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