News
downsmail.co.uk
downsmail.co.uk
Gary Snewing, left, with some of the Jog On Snodland run- ning group
News
Match day delivers in raising funds for Olivia That, added to the previous do-
MORE than £17,000 was raised when a charity football match was held for a little girl who has a brain tumour. Olivia Taylor, who is 21 months
old, was diagnosed earlier this year. Her dad Matt is from Snodland
and lived in the town with his wife Lisa until theymoved to Sidcup. The match was between two
Garden safari THE West Malling Early Summer Gardenswill be open on June 3. The seven gardens – Town Hill
Cottage, Brome House, Went House, New Barns Cottages, 2 New Barns Oast, Abbey Brewery Cottage and Lucknow at 119 High Street – will be available between noon and 5pm. Entry is £6.50 for adults, children
free, with the group making a do- nation to StMary's Church. Further details can be found at
https://www.ngs.org.uk/find-a- garden/garden/23136/
Charity days ALMOST £3,000 has been raised at a series of charity garden openings inMereworth. Andrewand TessaWells opened
the gardens at Mere House four times in February, March and April, raising £2,240 for the Na- tional Garden Scheme (NGS) since the start of the year. Funds from that are distributed
to the scheme’s beneficiary chari- ties. A further £555 was raised for
maintenance of the fabric of St Lawrence Church from home- made teas. Groups of 10 or more visitors
would be welcome at any time by appointment.
Plant sale THE annual churchyard plant sale inWateringbury takes place on Sat- urday,May 26. The sale, which helps with the
running costs of the village church, will be taking place at the church on Tonbridge Road from10am-4pm. Organisers promise a “great op-
portunity to buy beautiful plants to fill your gardenwith colour.”
12 Malling May 2018
teamsMatt used to play for, Smurfit and Trosley, and it was the latter who won the match, securing a 3-2 win. Matt’s stepfather Tony Currie, a
former England international, pre- sented the trophies. Togetherwith a number of other elements, including a cake sale, raffle and sponsored walk, the total raised was £17,524.
nations, has helped the Taylors smash their £50,000 fundraising target. For details of Olivia and fundrais-
ing, visit
https://uk.gofundme.com/ babyoliviabattlesbraintumour Right, Matt Taylor receives the
winning trophy from his stepfather Tony Currie.
Club needsmore courts to serve up tennis talent
AN award-winning tennis club is hoping it can expand in order to keepmaking giant strides. Kings Hill Community Tennis
Club was founded just two years ago, andin both years it haswon the LawnTennisAssociation’sCommu- nity Venue of the Year award. But founder ChloeAyling admits
hold the club back, especially some of itsmore talented players. “We only have two courts in
KingsHill,” she explained. “Andwe have to share themwithmembers of the public – but that is something I have alwayswanted because Iwant tennis to be accessible for all. “Wehave around300peopleplay-
that the lack of court space could ing with the club every week, and
99% of them are Kings Hill resi- dents, so it’s a real community thing. “I always wanted the club to be a
multi-generational thing. I grew up playing tennis with my mum and grandmother and tennis is themost accessible sport for all ages to play together.” Kings Hill is becoming well
known for its sport, with successful football and cricket clubs also in the area, but the lack of tennis facilities could hold back the community club. “We are quite limited in terms of
how much time we have to coach people,” she added. “Itwas particu- larly hard in thewinter because the hourswe could play outdoorswere reduced, andwe did end up having to hire indoor courts elsewhere. “We have some really talented
young players coming through and it’s important thatwe can help them be as good as they can be. “Iunderstandthat it is includedin
LocalWI holdsAGM Colts training restarts Competitors at Kings Hill Community Tennis Club’s family competition day
future plans to extend the tennis courts area, and I hope it will hap- pen. I started the club because I al- ways sawthe courts empty andnow they are used all the time.”
THEAylesford and EcclesWI will be holding their AGMonWednesday,May 23. Members will be asked to vote on this year’s reso-
lution and to elect a newcommittee and president. The meeting will be at The Brassey Centre in Sta-
tion Road,Aylesford. For more information on the group, find them on Facebook or contactKay on 01622 718353.
LEYBOURNE Cricket Club is looking to restart its Cricket Colts’ section this season. Free training for boys and girls will start on Friday,
June 8, from6.30pm. It will cover all aspects of the game and is open to anyone between the ages of nine and 14. Trainingwill continue on June 15, 22 and 29. Anyone interested in taking part is invited to email Paul Rose at
paulrose602@btinternet.com.
HOP TO IT
Joggers get fit and make friends, too
A SNODLAND man is helping people to get fitter and more so- cial after setting up a free running class in the town. Gary Snewing started Jog On
Snodland after becoming disillu- sioned with his previous paid-for running club. He and his friends Sally-Ann and
DarranArcher left the groupwhere they had met and learned to run, and began pounding the streets of Snodland as a trio. It was those runs that inspired
himto set up the newgroup. “Whilst running in our small
group we frequently run past lone fellow joggers and it gotme think- ing – there are many people either running alone or not running be- cause they don't have a running buddy to help both performance and improve their safety,” Gary said. “MywifeApril then encouraged
me to set something up – and even offered to sign up. “We discussed ideas and agreed
that a Facebook site for local run- ners to get in contact with like- minded individualswould be great to boost numbers and help bring people together.” The group runs, which are free,
on Tuesdays and Thursdays, at 7pm, with an additional run on Sundays at 10am. A beginners’ group, using the Couch to 5k pro- gramme, meets on Wednesdays at 7pmand Sundays at 9am. Gary added: “The group wasn’t
initially set up to cater for the new runners butwe had somuch inter- est we thought we’d try to help people achieve their goals and growthe running family. “This is not a business and we
are not trained in the field. All at- tendees take part voluntarily and are responsible for their own health and safety, andwe ask themto sign a disclaimer to this effect.” Find more information on the
group, which runs from the Com- munity Centre on Paddlesworth Road, on Facebook.
Lorraine beatsmarathon heat
WHILE most people were trying to find shade to get out of the sun on one of the hottest days of the year, Lorraine Shepheardwas running 26 miles in the LondonMarathon. Lorraine, a mother of five, who
lives in Queens Road, Snodland, said: “Based onmy training and pre- vious races this year, Iwas predicted to be finishing in 4h 30 mins to 4h 45, and for the first 11 miles I was on target for this with the pacer. “It was extremely hot. “But the heat got the better of
me and I had to slow the pace. I eventually finished in 5.06 hrs, given the conditions, I was pleased with as it was nineminutes quicker than last year. “Hopefully, I have collected a few
hundred pounds for my two causes – the Heart of Kent Hospice and All Saints Church Heritage Fund. “I intend to apply again for next
year and amalready looking at run- ning anothermarathon shortly.” At the time of going to press, Lor-
raine was still collecting her spon- sorshipmoney.
0%
3 YEARS INTEREST FREE CREDIT WHEN YOU SPEND OVER £1000*
01622 753073 |
clarkesfurnishers.co.uk Sandling Road, Maidstone, ME14 2RF
* Cash price £1000, deposit £280. 36 monthly payments of £20. Total payable £1000. Subject to status. Credit subject to acceptance. Not applicable on clearance goods
Mallling May 2018 13 THIS SPRING
WITH UP TO 25% OFF —
For a stylish home
FREE LUXURY
MATTRESS
PROTECTOR with any bed purchase
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25
