News
Smoke alarm alerts family
THE occupants of a house inAyles- ford have their smoke alarm to thank for alerting them to a fire in their bedroom. Crews wearing breathing appa-
ratus used a hose and ventilation fan to put out the fire and clear smoke from the building. They were called to the house in Her- mitage Lane at 10.22am on Tues- day,April 3. The fire, which is believed to
have been accidental, caused dam- age to the bedroom, heavy smoke logging to the first floor and slight smoke damage downstairs. No onewas reported injured. Firemen left the scene at just be-
fore 11am. Volunteer plea
HEART of Kent Hospice are hold- ing two volunteer open mornings inAylesford. The charity,which has two cafes
and 14 shops alongside its hospice operation, is always seeking new volunteers for a number of roles. As well as the usual retail posi-
tions, they also including patient support, complementary therapies, gardening and helping with events. The next open morning is from
10amto 1pmat the hospice, in Pre- ston Hall on Saturday, May 12, with another planned for the same time and place on Saturday, June 9.
Autismcinema
THE Odeon cinema in Barker Road, Maidstone, is having an autism-friendly screening of Ready Player One at 10:15am on Sunday, April 22. The film is rated 12A and will
have low-level lighting and sound levels along with no adverts. Book tickets at
www.odeon.co.uk/ cin- ema-tickets.
Bowls season
TOWNSEND Hook Bowls Club starts its new season on Sunday, April 22. The club welcomes new mem-
bers. For more details and times call Michael Galloway on 01634 241948 or send an email to
mick.galloway@
icloud.com.
Friendship date THERE will be a friendship group at St Peter and St Paul’s Church, Aylesford, from2-4pmonApril 24. Crafts such as knitting, crochet,
painting, colouring and card mak- ing are among activities on offer. The meetings are on the fourth Tuesday of eachmonth.
4 Malling April 2018 Police cadets’ boost for Sport Relief
A GROUP of volunteer Police Cadets visited East Malling as part of their efforts to raise money for Sport Re- lief. A teamfromthe cadets took part
in the nationwide step challenge as part of their fundraising efforts at the EastMalling Centre. The cadets also helped cyclists protect their bikes by offering visi-
tors a free security marking service to help deter thieves. PC JulieMichel said: “The enthusi-
asm and conduct of these young volunteers continues to be a real credit to every one of them. They have all contributed in their own way to a very worthy cause, which helps raise money for disadvan- taged people across the world.”
The Volunteer Police Cadets
scheme opened in September 2016 and is a uniformed organisation sup- ported by Kent Police for young peo- ple aged from13 to 17-years-old. Cadets meet once a week for two
to three hours during termtime, and in addition volunteer for threemore hours each month to help with a community-based project.
Art show is family affair
COULDthe creative skill of painting be genetic? That’s the question art fanswill be able to answer at an ex- hibition by one family in West Malling. Jane Guthrie (91), her daughter
Lucy (57) and son Thomas (52) will be turning their family home into a gallery at weekends and bank holi- days fromMay 5-28. Jane has been a professional
painter all her life, moving to West Malling 23 years ago from her home in Boxley, while Lucy and Thomas Best-Shaw turned to the arts after respective careers as a mental health nurse and a surveyor.
The mix of talents will include
some sculptures and Jane’s classic oil and acrylic portraits and land- scapes, aswell aswork by Lucy,who now lives in Leeds, and Thomas, from nearby Wateringbury, who specialises
in portraits and
seascapes. Ten per cent of proceeds from
salesmade during the exhibition at their Belmont home at 104 High Street, from11amto 4pm,will go to brain tumour and leukaemia re- search charities. Thiswill be the third exhibition by
the family, which last year gave £500 to these causes.
downsmail.co.uk
Humble beginnings of club marking 50 years
A FOOTBALL club is planning a day of celebrations to mark its 50th anniversary. DittonMinorswas started by two
mums in 1968, after their sons began playing football together in the Old Recreation Ground in the village. When the group of lads playing
regularly rose to about 10, Sheila Thompson and Mary Seeley ap- proachedDittonMen’sClub for ad- vice on forming a team, and the clubwas born. Club treasurerCarol Thompson –
no relation to the foundingmember – explained: “When they started, they didn’t have any kit, but the local headmaster sold them 10 shirts for 10 shillings. The mums crocheted numbers on the back of the shirts, and the boyswere asked to bring in old sheets, and shorts weremade fromthem. “At the time it was a very male-
orientated
sport.Mrs Thompson re- calls receiving calls regarding fixtures from her adverts in the Charles Buchan football magazine and some managers would not speak to her because she was a woman.” The club grew to more than 150
members by the mid-1970s, with chairmen including BrianHawkins
A DittonMinors side prepares to take to the field in 1981
andMike Porter, whose sons Peter and Graham went on to play for Wimbledon andMaidstone United respectively. There are now 21 teams playing
in leagues fromU7 to veterans, and more than 300 children as young as three playing actively at the club. Their current changing roomswere built on the recreation ground by parents and players. Nowthe club is planning tomark
its big anniversarywith an event on July 7. Entry is free, and the club is keen to ensure that asmany people as possible turn up.
Carol said: “It’s a thank you to
every person in the community.We want to thank everyone who has been involved in the club, and we look forward to the next 50 years.” “We areworking closelywith the
parish council and it’s going to be more than just football – we’ve got a lot of activities lined up too. “It’s a great achievement for the
club tomake it to 50 years. I’ve been a part of it for five years and it’s a big part of this community.” For more about the club and its
celebrations, visit www.dittonmi-
norsfc.co.uk.
downsmail.co.uk
News
RBLI cuts jobs to ‘improve service’
ALMOST 20 jobs have been axed at a charity which provides sup- port to veterans. The cuts were made at the RBLI
as part ofwhat the charity says is a “restructure”. Their statement says that eight
people have lost their jobs at the Aylesford-based charity. But Downs Mail understands 19 have left the organisation in total. News of the job cuts are in stark
contrastwith their financial results for 2016-17, which suggested the charity was in rude health, with around £500,000 profit made ac- cording to the Charity Commis- sion. The charity began a 10-year plan
in 2015, and says that these cuts are part of this – although it did also say it has increased the number of beneficiaries by 20%. “RBLI is in its third year of its
new strategy, which has seen it reach and help more beneficiaries than ever before,” a spokesman said. “RBLI employs 370 staff and has
recently advertised 28 vacancies for roles required to continue the growth of our wide range of serv-
ices, ensuring thatwe alwaysmeet the needs of our beneficiaries. “The restructure has resulted in
a small number of redundancies, eight in total, most of which are managerial roles. “Whilst we understand that this
is a difficult time for those affected, this represents just 2% of our total workforce and is crucial in en- abling RBLI to focus on support- ing more veterans throughout Kent and across theUK by provid- ing homes, jobs and training and support of the highest quality.” Despite the job cuts, the charity
insists that it is an effective strategy – and itwill not be seeking to plug the gaps by taking onmore volun- teers. “Whilstwe do not take these de-
cisions lightly, it is a natural re- alignment of the organisation to better
our services,” the
spokesman added. “Althoughwe do not require vol- unteers to supplement
these
changes, we always look to en- courage people fromtheAylesford andwiderKent community to take part in our rewarding volunteer programme.”
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