News Get together


for village fun THE Great June Get Together in Chart Sutton will include a barbe- cue and fun events. The event atChart SuttonRecre-


ation Ground will run from 1.30- 5pmon Saturday, June 15. It will remember the 75th an-


niversary of the D-Day landings and will be supporting Armed ForcesDay. Entry is free, but donation buck-


ets will encourage visitors to give to service charities. Live music will be provided by


The Acoustic Trio & Headcorn UkuleleGroup,withperformances from the Margaret Preedy Dance Group.Other activitieswill include space hoppers, quoits games and face painting. Ice cream, Pimms, refreshments


and real alewill be served. The event has been organised by


SuttonValence&District branch of theRoyalBritishLegion, andspon- sored by Madeleine Rose Estate Agent, Sutton Valence. For more details or to book a stall, emailmik- efitzgerald2018@outlook.com.


Boots going?


RETAIL giant Boots the Chemists have refusedto rule out the closure of its Maidstone town centre out- lets as part of a programme of cuts announced yesterday. . HThe owners of the chain are


understood to have placed more than 200 outletsunder reviewwith the potential of the stores being shut over the next two years. Aspokesman for BootsUKsaid:


“We currently do not have amajor programme envisaged, but as you'dexpectwe always reviewun- derperforming stores and seek out opportunities for consolidation. “As is naturalwith a business of


our size, we have stores opening, closing and relocating on a regular basis, but we have had around 2,500 stores open for several years now. ”


Musical fete


MUSIC will be the focus of East Farleigh Fete on Saturday, June 22. The FeteDe LaMusiquewill in-


clude samba, soul/funk, country and rock and blues, alongside the usual stalls, games, WI teas, beer tent and tombola. The event will open to the


sounds of the Old School Samba Band on East Farleigh Recreation Ground, in Vicarage Lane, behind the school, at 1pm and will run until 5pm


22 Maidstone Weald June 2019


downsmail.co.uk


Rider thrown after ‘a road rage aack’


A RIDER has revealed how a driver hurled a barrage of abuse ather, shortlybeforeher spooked horse threwher. EmilyManser saidthewhite van


manpoundedonhishorn, shouted at her to get out of the way, and after overtaking her, stopped to continue his tirade. She believes the incident spurred


her horse Harry to pitch her onto the ground in nearby woodland when the showdown ended. Shewas stabilisedat the scene by


paramedics, who were concerned shemay have suffered a spinal in- jury. She spent 10 hours in hospital under observation. The horsewas uninjured. Miss Manser said: “We were


coming from Wateringbury to Teston along Tonbridge Road, when aman in awhite van started shouting andswearing atme to get out of the road, honking his horn and being verbally aggressive. “My horse started spooking. “I kept apologising andthanking


the people behind me, who re- mained a distance away from me in case anything happened.


Paramedics treat EmilyManser at the scene after the road rage incident “We then turned up to Malling


Road, Teston, where the driver stopped and continued shouting out of his van, callingme a stupid b****. “Sadly this did upset the horse,


which is not fair. We went on to have an accident.Hewas not hurt but it resulted inme being in hos- pital over 10 hours.”


Miss Manser, who says she is


still very sore but otherwise alright, is now appealing through social media for dashcam footage that may identify the offender who struck at about 5.30pmon Sunday, May 19. She believes the first part of the


van’s registration was MJ63 and that the driverwas accompanied.”


RunnerGreg’s health triumph


FIREFIGHTERGreg Lee has tackled one of the toughest endurance marathons in the British Isles by doing the very thing that saved himfromtaking his own life…run- ning. On May 23, Greg (50) raced


along theUK’s longest river as part of the Severn Challenge, a gru- elling 218-mile slog fromtheWelsh mountains to Bristol, which regu- larly defeats 74%of participants. Greg, group manager at Tovil-


based Kent Fire and Rescue Service, says he is tackling themarathon in support of mental health charity Mind, which helped him fight his own demons. Speaking before the event he


said: “I hope I can raise some real community awareness that will help others whomight be affected bymental health issues.” Despite the immense running


challenge that lies before him, Greg says his greatest battle came in November 2005, when depres- sion and alcoholismthreatened his


health, home, job and family. “I reached rock bottom,” he said.


“I couldn’t imagine another day living in the hell thatwas addiction, and the dark places it took me. I considered many solutions. I con- sidered suicidemany times.” The turning point came during a


six-week stint in rehab,when he de- veloped an “itch” to run. “After three weeks of emotional


recovery work, my counsellors agreed to lend me some shorts, trainers and setme free in the cold, bleak Lincolnshire countryside,” he said. “I felt physically tired but at the same timementally energised, and that’s when my journey to re- covery truly began. “I developed a routine of physi-


cal activity thatwent hand-in-hand with my mental health recovery. Since then I’ve completed many marathons and ultra-marathons across the world. “My recovery from both alco-


holism and depression has defi- nitely been linked to running. I’m not saying it’s the cure, but it be- came a strongmotivational tool in my quest for happiness.” He added: “I have suffered from


some significant mental health is- sues. But I am not alone, nor should anyone else ever feel that they are.”


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