downsmail.co.uk
Andy trades furniture for holidays and golf
A PERMANENT fixture in a Maidstone furniture store has gone after the retirement ofAndy Simmonds. The 64-year-old called it a day at
the end of April, having been with Clarke’s Furnishings since the shop moved to its current Sandling Road site. The sales manager and buyer is
nowplanning on spending his days playing golf and enjoyingmore hol- idays. “It’s an unreal feeling,” he said. “I
still can’t get my head around it to be honest, but retirement comes to us all. “I’m a member ofWeald of Kent
golf club, andmy handicap’s 24, so I want to get that below20,whilemy wife Julie and I have already got a Mediterranean cruise booked. “I’mgoing tomiss the customers,
contacts and friends that I’ve made here.” Andy,who lives in Sittingbourne,
has spent his whole career in furni- ture – but itwas almost very differ- ent.
“I really wanted to join the police
force,” he said. “But in those days you hadtowait for yourO-Level re- sults before you could join up, and then either re-sit them there or go straight in. “ButmydadsaidI couldn’t just sit
around andwait formy results and gotme a job in furniture. I enjoyedit – and the rest is history!” Andy started his career at the
All change – Andy Simmonds is retiring from a lifetime’s career in the furniture trade
Royal Arsenal Co-Op and when he moved to Kent in the late 1970s he commuted to the capital, before working for Gerald Lukehurst’s in Sittingbourne until his move to Clarke’s. As well as improving his handi-
cap, he is looking forward to spend- ing more time with his wife, their three children and six grandchil- dren.
News
byM20 smash AN accident on the M20 caused mayhem on the roads in and aroundMaidstone onMay 8. The incident ground most of
Chaos caused
Maidstone to a standstill after a col- lision between a car and amotorcy- clist. Almost every road into the
county town, including the A20 and theA249,was gridlocked. Drivers reported two hour jour-
neys to travel a few miles and schoolchildren – some sitting exams – were unable to get in on time.
Have your say AN on-line poll carried out by DailyDownsMail has comprehen- sively rejectedmassive hikes in off- street car parking prices. We asked: “Is Maidstone Bor-
ough Council right to propose in- creases to off-street car parking?” Ahuge 91%said ‘no’, 7%were in
favourwhile 1%of the 272 total re- spondentswere unsure. Daily Downs Mail is currently
asking readers to take part in a sur- vey into whether the B2163 HGV ban is being enforced by Kent Po- lice. Go to http://
www.downs-
mail.co.uk/views/8/
Open
Year 5 Open Evening Monday 21 May 2018, 6.00pm – 8.00pm
Year 5 Experience Day Saturday 23 June 2018, 8.30am – 1.00pm
Events 2018
Parents with daughters currently in Year 5, hoping to take their 11+ Examination in September 2018, are invited to visit Invicta Grammar School for the following Open Events:
11+ Open Morning Tuesday 26 June 2018, 9.00am – 10.30am
11+ Open Afternoon Tuesday 3 July 2018, 2.00pm – 3.15pm
For more information on these events please visit our website. Please book for these events via our online booking system,
http://bookings.invicta.viat.org.uk
We look forward to welcoming you to our very special school.
www.invicta.viat.org.uk Huntsman Lane, Maidstone, Kent, ME14 5DS
OPEN 7 DAYS A WEEK (5:00pm TILL 11:00pm) Parking is available for picking up food ONLY through DENTAL CENTRE on Knightrider Street
WE ACCEPT ALL MAJOR CARDS Maidstone June 2018 3
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