Town Talk Primary pupils


meet themayor PUPILS from two Snodland pri- mary schools were among 50 children from10 schools whomet Cllr Roger Dalton, the Mayor of Tonbridge & Malling. St Katherine’s and Snodland


CEP pupils were invited by the Mayor in a bid to give younger residents the chance to learn more about local government and express their views on issues that matter to them. Deputymayor Cllr Pam Bates also took part. After the meeting in the council


chamber, the pupils were shown around the Mayor’s Parlour. Head of St Katherine's, Ruth


Powell, said the year 6 pupils took part in debates about unsuper- vised internet access and ban- ning unhealthy food fromschools. She said: “The mayor was im-


pressed with their confidence and ability to explain their views.” Daniel Pring, of the CEP school,


added: “The votes were counted and the majority of children agreed they should be allowed online on their own. “The debate regarding the ban


on unhealthy snacks was a lot closer with only one vote in it in favour.”


Local news for Snodland and Halling


Mum’s stamps appeal to help unborn babies


AFTER a successful Christmas collecting used postage stamps for a charity which helps pregnant women, plans have beenmade to increase the campaign. Posters were put up around


Snodland asking people to save their Christmas card stamps and take them to a house at 18 Queen’s Avenue, Snodland. Rebecca Ruler became aware


of the Kicks Count charity when she was pregnant with her daugh- ter, Lily. She said it had launched a campaign urging pregnant women to “Count the Kicks”. She added: “The campaign res-


onated with me as I wasn’t aware of the importance of recognising your baby’s normal pattern of movements. “As a result of the charity’smes-


sage I counted Lily’s kicks whilst pregnant. On two occasions I ex- perienced a reduction in foetal movements and sought help from the hospital. “Luckily,my baby was delivered healthy on December 31, 2014,


partnership and in five months they collected 27.5kg of used stamps. That generated £466.50 for the charity that supports about 23,325 women through their preg- nancies. They send the stamps to a


buyer who forwards them to buy- ers all round the world. Foreign stamps are worth more. They decided to relaunch their


Rebecca Ruler with daughter Lily


and I returned home with Lily in my arms.” Rebecca became involved with


Kicks Count towards the end of last year when she heard of a lady in Maidstone, Rebecca Pullen, who recycled the stamps. She could not work due to health problems, had time on her hands and wanted to do something good. The two Rebeccas formed a


campaign on a national level, and are asking people to save their stamps and encourage friends and family to do likewise. They also want drop-off points in all areas. The aims of Kicks Count are to


help empower mums-to-be with the correct knowledge and un- derstanding about their preg- nancy that will enable them to enjoy it without the worry. They are working to reduce the inci- dence of stillbirths and neonatal deaths by encouraging closer ob- servation of foetal movements. There is more information on www.facebook.com/kickscount.


Sell your unwanted items


Local news for Snodland and Halling


Co-opmanager listens to fears over store progress


WORK is progressing on convert- ing the old Bull public house in Holborough Road, Snodland, into a Co-op store to replace the two shops in the High Street. The company took out a 20-


year lease on the building in Sep- tember 2014. It is likely to open in August. Paul Foster, the project man-


ager for the Co-op,metmembers of Snodland Town Council before the work started and they told him of concerns about deliveries of stock being from Holborough Road, and not from the back of the store. Paul Hickmott expressed the


views of residents who were un- happy about the poor state of The Bull, which had been left to lapse into a state of disrepair and was an eyesore in a very prominent area of the town. The Co-op sent representatives


to the council a year earlier with the new plans, but councillors were surprised to learn that the entrance and exit for deliveries


liveries to the upper floor. The reason for the deliveries not going ahead directly from the car park was due to cost. The councillors told Mr Foster


that the Co-op was losing the goodwill of the community. The company prided itself on being a member of the community but residents felt it was not being very community minded. Since the Co-op bought the


were changed and, despite ob- jections, the plans were ap- proved. Mr Foster said he had not been


involved with the planning phase of the project. His current remit was to work with the operations team, who had flagged up the need for a cold room on the ground floor due to the existing plans having the cold room lo- cated on the first floor. This would have meant exten- sive delays in the unloading of de-


lease on The Bull it had been the town council who had to interact with the Co-op because not once had the Co-op approached the council to keep them informed of the progress. Mr Foster said he would take


back the council's concerns and look to see if deliveries could be taken into the rear of the building with vehicles reversing in and out as they currently do in the High Street shops. The council has not heard from


the Co-op. Town Talk has asked several times for information but has not received any response.


Town Talk Craft event


THE annual Fernlace Craft and Lace Day will be held at Snodland Community Centre on April 21. Organiser Angela Hadfield said:


“The event will be open at 10am and is ticket-only entry. Ladies and gents are invited to bring their hand crafts to work on and enjoy meeting like-minded people.” Suppliers will include Mainly


Lace, Lace Threads & Supplies, Smart FromQuilting, QuiltMateri- als and Threads and Wood Turned items. Susan Shaw will speak on exhibiting at RHS Chelsea. Profits will be divided between


the 1st Snodland Scout Group and Dandelion Time.


Tribute night


A TRIBUTE night at Snodland Community Centre raised almost £700 for the community centre as- sociation. The hall reverberated as Gareth


James recreated the sounds of Robbie Williams, Michael Buble and, during the final set, anyone the crowd requested. Association President Linda


Howick said: “I have never seen so many people up dancing.” It is hoped to arrange another tribute night, possibly Abba.


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