search.noResults

search.searching

dataCollection.invalidEmail
note.createNoteMessage

search.noResults

search.searching

orderForm.title

orderForm.productCode
orderForm.description
orderForm.quantity
orderForm.itemPrice
orderForm.price
orderForm.totalPrice
orderForm.deliveryDetails.billingAddress
orderForm.deliveryDetails.deliveryAddress
orderForm.noItems
downsmail.co.uk IN AN idealworld,with all roads


built to accommodatemodern levels of traffic, I could agreewithMaidstone Green Party that no parking should be allowed on any public pedestrian pavements. But in desperately overcrowded


We have to park on pavements MailMarks 


DENNISFOWLE President dennisfowle28@gmail.com


Maidstone,with serious traffic hold-ups blighting our lives daily, considerate drivers look forways to ease this modern pain. If they can avoid parking partly on


pavements and still leave the road open for other vehicles theywill do so. But too often the only intelligent


option is to park partly on a pavement, while leaving asmuch roomas possible available for pedestrians. So often I findmyself in sympathy


with Green objectives, but somany do not stand up tomore important needs. That is a reason they sufferwith lack of votes at election times.





Hospital parking WHILE on parking, several readers


queriedmy piece lastmonthwhen I said Iwillingly paid for hospital parking asmy small added contribution to help fund our hospital. Theywere under the impression thismoneywent to the business operating the car park. So I checked andwas told themoney


Stop the Brexit blaming


I READwith interestDennis Fowle’s comments on Brexit in theDownsMail November edition. Brexit is ama�er of opinion, and I don’t


knowifwe are taking the right path, no one does –we need to bemuch further down the line tomake that judgement. Much of the argument has brought out


theworst in our society,with finger- pointing, threats, abusive language and so on. The paranoia expressed bymany


Brexiteers really does troubleme.Dennis says “there is awide belief that Remain Civil Servants/MPs” are effectively working against Brexit and slowing the process down. It is extremely difficult inmy experience


to get Brexiteers to answer honestlywhy TheresaMay is in post. Shewas left unopposed in 2016when the Brexiteer MPs plo�ed against each other and then ultimately bo�led it. I had hoped that a Brexiteerwould take


over fromDavid Cameron to put into place all the promisesmade before the referendum. Iwas looking forward to all thatmoney going into theNHS and havingmy cake and eating it – achieving free tradewith no freedomofmovement. What happened, only Johnson,Gove


and Leadsomwill know, butwe ended up withMrsMay, and Chequers saysmuch


46 Maidstone Weald December 2018


goes to the hospital trust.Among the trust’s responsibilities ismeeting parking costs, including extending parking as appropriate, butmost of the money improves other hospital services.





The secret Brexit AreMaidstone andMalling


Brexiteersworried aboutwhat our negotiators are up to? Responses to last month’sMailMark leave no doubt. The budget did nothing to reassure


them. Did the Chancellor’s oft-repeated praise for “all hard-working people” include a financial sop andwarnings to Brexiteers – andmaybe even a prelude to a possible general election? Is the PrimeMinisterworking


secretly towards the Brexit 58%of Maidstone andMalling voted for? So many complain of being left in the dark and fear an a�empt to impose a soft Brexit (in name only),with the EU still largely in costly control. I amgrateful for your comments.


about her approach. It’s a fudge. That said, she does not deserve the vile and insulting language that has been evidentwithin her party. Everyone is entitled to their view, but


don’t hide away fromthe truth that, to a large degree,we are in a place that the Brexiteers have put us by not taking control after the referendum. Acknowledge this point and respect the huge task in negotiating a deal, rather than blaming someone else,which is all too easy. DavidHall, Fremlins Road, Bearsted


Sovereignty dreamunlikely


AS BRITAINedges ever closer to qui�ing the EU, a decision Sir JohnMajor recently described as “a colossalmisjudgement”, I fear that the “true sovereignty” your columnistDennis Fowlewishes to see restored herewill not in fact produce the “unfe�eredworldwide trade” hewants and expects to see. Good trade dealswith the rest of the


world are surelymore likely to be achieved by being part of a large and powerful bloc of 28 countrieswith real clout at the negotiating table than by going it alone and trusting in the dubious skills ofDr LiamFox. Those ofMr Fowle’s persuasion seem never to have acknowledged thatwell


Blowing raspberries IHAVE lived in Kent allmy life and


amproud itwas known as TheGarden of England, especially famous for hops and cherries.As a teenager I enjoyed picking both, and earning pocketmoney. Howtimes have changed. I doubt


many still see Kent as The Garden of England andwe knowhops and cherries have largely disappeared. Kent in themain is still is a beautiful


county, despitewidespread development imposed on us, and I am pleased the farming community has adapted to the loss of our famous crops. Soft fruit is nowgrownmorewidely,


especially raspberries and strawberries in plastic tunnels. This has revolutionisedmany fading farming businesses. The farming, picking and packing


processes employ somany people, mostly fromoverseas, and thesemust not be lost as Brexit unwinds. The bigger growers pack directly for


supermarket chains,who count these products among their best sellers. When you buy soft fruit it isworth


reading the packaging. Thiswill give you a feel for howbig this business has become – and theMaidstone areawill be featured.


before 2016, theUK already enjoyed a fair measure of freedomfromthe EUwhile still being a fullmember – amini Brexit youmight almost call it – through having opted out of both the Euro zone, to keep our own currency, and the Schengen Agreement,with its aimof borderless free movement across Europe. Whatever deal is done or not donewith


the EUat themidnight hour, it seems more than likely thatwhoever is then in powerwill have theirwork cut out just to keep the showon the road in a deeply divided country, thanks to Cameron’s misguided a�empt to resolve long- standing Tory divisions. K.G. Banks, Bearsted


Athought-provoking read


WITHreference to a number of items in your last excellent edition. The clear-up (after the traveller incursion) atMote Parkwas effected, in part, by the Volunteers ofMote Park Fellowship.We would suggest to the travellers’ rep,who spring to the defence of travellers on every incursion, that theymeet the cost of every clear-up.Maidstone Borough Council should seek a blanket exclusion on all public areas and full retrospective recovery of all legal costs. With regard to the Park and Ride car park, it needs to continue for allmembers


Comment


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  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48