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The best way to tell us is through the contact form
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Saturday, 13th September, between 10:00am and 11:30am
Homemade Cakes, Jams, Pickles, Scones and Savouries
Also, Puzzles, Books, Bric-à-brac and sometimes Plants
Something for everyone!
Refreshments
Please help support this ancient building - Thank you
🍰 🍓 🧩 📚 🎨 🪴 ☕️ ➕
Upchurch Matters
Wendy Pitts - Upchurch Women's InstituteTel: 07751 013298
On the 2nd Thursday of each month.
The Rainbow Café at St Mary's Church opens its doors again on Thursday, the 11th of September, between 2:00pm and 4:30pm.
As usual, we will be offering delicious cakes and savouries.
We will have our fantastic kid's snack deal - 5 items and a drink for £1. Where else would you get such wonderful value?
There will be crafts, a story for the children, and a warm welcome for everyone.
This all helps us support 4 children in Uganda to go to school and supply breakfast for a group of Ugandan children at their Saturday Club. How special is that?
Come and join us.
Gill Gay and the Rainbow Café Team
Hartlip, Newington & Upchurch Ward
Crime Number: 46/151722/25
Between 18:00 on Friday, the 29th of August and 09:48 on Saturday, the 30th of August, somebody stole a horse trailer from a farm in Breach Lane, Upchurch.
If you have any information that could help investigators, please contact Kent Police on telephone number 101 and quote the relevant crime number above.
Kent Community Messaging
There will be a free raffle to win a hamper for those who donate (large or small) on the day.
Ray Kemsley & Jill RotheryChurch Wardens
Rotary Club of Sittingbourne Invicta
Saturday 20th September at 2:00pm
Speaker: Sister Mary - Parkwood Fellowship
We are waiting for you!
Telephone: 01795 420990
Sittingbourne Baptist Church
The High Street
Sittingbourne
ME10 4AQ
Julie Stride
Or send a cheque to Smile Malawi at: 4 Bedfont House, Holywell Lane, Upchurch, ME9 7HN.
Elspeth Baecke - Smile Malawi
We are Royal British Legion Industries
Most people think they have heard of us, but they most likely haven’t. Royal British Legion Industries, RBLI (charity number 210063), is a separate charity from The Royal British Legion (charity number 219279), but we share the same ethos to support the Armed Forces community.
Royal British Legion Industries was founded in 1919, originating in the aftermath of the First World War, to support and care for some of the many thousands of soldiers who returned home suffering from tuberculosis (TB). Our village in Kent was soon established, quickly becoming recognised as the leading national centre of TB care at the time, thus creating a community for veterans to receive care and support.
RBLI is proud to be the home of the UK’s largest veteran village, supporting over 300 Armed Forces veterans and their families in Aylesford, Kent. Alongside housing and welfare, RBLI empowers veterans through employment support and career development through our award-winning Lifeworks programme.
Our social enterprises in Kent, Surrey, and Scotland provide real job opportunities, where more than 70% of employees are disabled military veterans or civilians.
We have an online shop at RBLI where every item is made or fulfilled by veterans and people with disabilities who we proudly employ. You’ll find a variety of products, including our popular Tommy range; you may have spotted our iconic "Tommy" statues in your local area - those were created by veterans working in our social enterprise factories.
You can also buy one of our Wall of Honour Plaques, which would stand in RBLI's Garden of Honour on one of the original boundary walls of the prestigious Preston Hall estate, erected over 100 years ago. It is a place of quiet reflection to commemorate and pay tribute to those who served, a family member, friend or loved one or simply someone who has been a pillar of the community.
With new developments like the Centenary Village and ongoing investment in veteran-specific services, RBLI continues to be a place where veterans can live, work, and thrive, no matter their journey.
Jenny Skinner
Fundraising Assistant
Royal British Legion Industries
Hartlip, Newington & Upchurch Ward
Crime Number: 46/137284/25
At approximately 01:35 on Thursday, 7th August, someone stole a John Deere Gator from an outbuilding in a residential garden in London Road, Upchurch.
If you have any information that could help investigators, please contact Kent Police on telephone number 101 and quote the relevant crime number above.
Kent Community Messaging
Saturday, 9th August, between 10:00am and 11:30am
Homemade Cakes, Jams, Pickles, Scones and Savouries
Also Puzzles, Books, Bric-à-brac and sometimes Plants
Something for everyone!
Refreshments
Please help support this ancient building - Thank you
🍰 🍓 🧩 📚 🎨 🪴 ☕️ ➕
Upchurch Matters
Click to enlarge.
Click to enlarge.
Additional parking can be found at the bottom of Lapwing Drive in the Brickfields car park, kindly made available by Lower Halstow Parish Council.
The Three Tuns
The Street, Lower Halstow, Sittingbourne, Kent ME9 7DY
Telephone: 01795 842840
Hartlip, Newington & Upchurch Ward
Crime Number: 46/128991/25
Between 12:38 and 13:11 on Friday, the 25th of July, somebody stole a black Suzuki motorcycle, DC21***, from a driveway in Horsham Lane, Upchurch.
If you have any information that could help investigators, please contact Kent Police on telephone number 101 and quote the relevant crime number above.
Kent Community Messaging
On the 2nd Thursday of each month.
The Rainbow Café at St Mary's Church opens its doors again on Thursday, the 14th of August, between 2:00pm and 4:30pm.
As usual, we will be offering delicious cakes and savouries.
We will have our fantastic kid's snack deal - 5 items and a drink for £1. Where else would you get such wonderful value?
There will be crafts, a story for the children, and a warm welcome for everyone.
This all helps us support 4 children in Uganda to go to school and supply breakfast for a group of Ugandan children at their Saturday Club. How special is that?
Come and join us.
Gill Gay and the Rainbow Café Team
Swale Foodbank Collection
Thank you to everyone who donated food and other needed items in July.
I will be collecting your foodbank donations at the bus stop opposite the church again on Wednesday, the 6th of August, between 10:30am and 11:30am.
Please bring your items in carrier bags.
We will then deliver them to the Swale Foodbank Warehouse, together with Trussell.
All donations are helpful, provided the food is long life and well within date.
Thank you
May God bless you ❤️
Gill Gay - Foodbank Co-ordinator
Ray Kemsley & Jill RotheryChurch Wardens
It will be necessary to close Halstow Lane, Upchurch, from Monday 4th August 2025 for up to 1 day.
The road will be closed between the junctions of The Street and Holywell Lane.
The alternative route is via: Halstow Lane, Forge Lane, The Street, Otterham Quay Lane, Lower Rainham Road, A2 Moor Street, London Road, Hartlip Hill, Breach Lane and vice versa.
This is to enable carriageway repairs to be carried out by Kent County Council.
The KCC Highways Helpline number is: 03000 418181
For details of roadworks, see: https://one.network
Kent County Council - Highways, Transportation & Waste
Upchurch River Valley Golf Course
Dear men of Upchurch,
I have been somewhat taken aback by the number of responses to my initial posting, which means that I now have to do something, rather than subsiding back into oblivion.
I have 4 names who have been in touch with me already, but could I ask that any others who are definitely interested call me on: 07966 005248 and if sufficient men respond, I will hold a meeting, hopefully in the pub, to take the whole idea forward.
Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Are you a happily retired fellow like me, just looking for a practical, justifiable, defensible place to go during the day?
For a while, I have had floating in the back of my head (where there is a lot of space) the idea of setting up a Men's Shed in Upchurch.
These are places where men can gather to make things, repair stuff, or sit, chat and drink tea. A sanctuary, if you like, from the busy hussle and bustle of daily life.
Before I take it any further forward, I would like to know if there are any other like-minded men in Upchurch who would be interested in exploring setting up a shed here in the village.
I have no idea where this could happen, but I am confident that if there is interest, then doors will open.
Anyway, enough of my mindless optimism. If you think that you might be interested, please contact me, and we can maybe share thoughts over a drink at the local pub.
Thank you
Ian Stride
Saturday, 12th July, between 10:00am - 11:30am
Homemade Cakes, Jams, Pickles, Scones and Savouries
Also Puzzles, Books, Bric-à-brac and sometimes Plants
Something for everyone!
Refreshments
Please help support this ancient building - Thank you
🍰 🍓 🧩 📚 🎨 🪴 ☕️ ➕
Upchurch Matters
NHS Kent & Medway and NHS Sussex are working together to review and improve the NHS 111 service, and we’d really value your help.
NHS 111 is a free service available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. It offers advice and support for urgent, non-emergency health issues, whether accessed online or by phone.
To ensure the service works well for everyone, we’re asking people who have used it to share their experiences.
The survey takes just 5 - 10 minutes and is completely confidential. Your feedback will help us:
• Understand what people think of the NHS 111 service
• Identify any challenges or barriers to using it
• Learn how the service can be improved
Survey link: www.haveyoursayinkentandmedway.co.uk/nhs-111
Thank you for helping shape a better NHS 111 for your community.
The survey closes on Monday, 4th August.
NHS Kent and Medway
SINGING IS GOOD FOR YOU!
Upchurch Choral Society are always happy to welcome new members.
We are a four-voice part choir that rehearses on Fridays in St Mary’s Church, Upchurch.
Our next rehearsal is on Friday, 5th September at 7:45pm, when we begin rehearsing for a concert featuring parts of Handel’s ‘Messiah’ on Sunday, 23rd November.
There are no auditions, and while the ability to read music is helpful, it is not essential.
If you are interested, please call me on: 01634 361897.
Thank you
Liz Walters
Secretary Upchurch Choral Society
Author Richard Emmett’s new book, The Train that Jumped the Gap, examines the wartime railway disaster in Oak Lane, which happened on Wednesday, 16th August 1944.
Richard will be giving a talk for the Friends of St Mary the Virgin, Upchurch, about his research into this disaster at 7:00pm on Thursday, 25th September 2025, at St Mary’s Church, Upchurch, where his book will be available to purchase.
The talk will examine the tragic WW2 disaster when a Doodlebug flying bomb demolished the railway bridge at Oak Lane, Upchurch, causing the derailment of the London to Margate train.
It examines the facts gathered from various sources, including eyewitness accounts, to evaluate what happened on that ill-fated day.
Tickets are £5 with proceeds to the Friends of St Mary the Virgin, Upchurch.
Tea and cakes will be available with donations appreciated.
Proceeds of the book go to the Historical Research Group of Sittingbourne/The Heritage Hub.
Upchurch Matters
