News Growing green


COUSINS Jen Stuart-Smith and Bek Bibby celebrated the 10th anniver- sary of their floristry business, BloomingGreen, inMay. The company operate from Lod-


dington Farm in Linton, a former mushroom shed and boiler room, built by Jen and Beck’s grandfather in the 1950s. They are the fifth generation of


growers at the farm, but instead of growing fruit, they chose flowers. In 2012, they featured on a Chan-


nel 4 series, ‘MyDreamFarm’, hop- ing to inspire others to follow in their footsteps. The eco-friendly and organic


florists use bio-plastic and recycled card, aswell as beneficial insects and pollinators.


Shop closure


THE Oxfamshop in Earl Streetwas shut because it was no longer prof- itable, the charity has disclosed. The outlet, which was close to


both Week Street and the Fremlin Walk complex, shut in December 2017. The Oxfam bookshop at Gabriels


Hill remains open and Francesca Munari, areamanager forOxfamin Kent thanked everyone in the town for their continued support.


downsmail.co.uk


Imamis ‘unhappy’ after geing hatemail in post


MAIDSTONE'S Muslim leader has described the moment he opened a package containing a white powder and a hate-filled message written inside. DrMuhammed Usmani said two


envelopeswerepostedthoroughthe letterbox of his Mote Road home – which is part of the Maidstone Mosque – at 2pmonMay 2. The imam opened one of the


white packages – both ofwhich had computerised, printed labels and secondclass stamps – to findawhite powder inside. Therewas also a folded,A4 sheet


of paperwith amessagewhich con- tained the phrases “war is coming” and “Muslimvermin”. Dr Usmani said the arrival of the


letters made him feel “uncomfort- able” and “not happy”. He said: “When I sawthe powder


and the writing inside, I was just going to ignore it because I don't give any importance to these things and the peoplewho have these atti- tudes.


Hatemail and awhite powderwere in envelopes sent to Dr Muhammed Usmani


“But about half an hour later, I re-


ceived a call from the mosque at Canterbury to say the imamhadgot something similar, possibly itching powder, so I contacted the police.” He said about 10 Kent Police offi-


cers, including forensic experts, ar- rived, sealed off the area for about two hours. Theywere able to establish on site


the materials were harmless, possi- bly washing powder or sodium bi-


carbonate. DrUsmani added: “It’sdifficult to


say how I felt about it but it wasn't anger – just not happy and uncom- fortable.” Police are linking three instances


of suspicious letters being sent to mosques in the county. Envelopes containing a powder –


since found to be harmless – were also sent to the mosques in Canter- bury andGravesend.


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