Swale Borough Council - Christmas Waste Collections

Upchurch Matters
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PFHS Christmas Fayre - Thank You from the Children

Clare Evans
Parents & Friends of Holywell School
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Christmas Entertainment at The Three Sisters

Friday December 12th

Singer Lisa Mills

Friday December 19th

Singer Jamie from Talk of the Town

Saturday December 20th

Christmas Carols by Candlelight

led by our own Minister Will

Get into the Christmas spirit with an evening of

Christmas nostalgia, mulled wine, log fire and

a lot of sparkle to warm everybody's heart.

Children and everyone are welcome.

Song sheets will be available on the night.

Christmas Eve Wednesday December 24th

Karaoke with the Fabulous Luke

New Year's Eve Wednesday December 31st

New Year Karaoke with G & S

Sally & George

Telephone: 01634 231991
Email: sallygodden@btinternet.com

Website: www.threesistersrainham.com

Otterham Quay Lane, Rainham, Kent, ME8 8QR

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Upchurch Parish Council - Vacancy for Parish Clerk / Responsible Financial Officer

VACANCY

Upchurch Parish Council wishes to appoint a Parish Clerk / Responsible Financial Officer with effect from January 2015.

The role responsibilities include:

Preparing agendas and minutes for monthly evening council meetings (usually first Thursday of a month); attending and recording ad hoc meetings; managing budgets and preparing annual precept submissions; arranging annual audits; HMRC / Payroll administration; administrative duties such as emails, phone calls and general correspondence; managing external contractors; managing the parish burial ground and allotments; updating the website and being custodian of all parish documentation and relevant paperwork.

The pay is set nationally and starts at spinal column point 15 at £8.42p per hour rising to spinal column 21 which is £10.04 per hour, as a guide our current Clerk works for 50hrs per month. Hours are flexible. Holiday and sickness entitlement are pro-rata according to the hours worked.

The clerk is required to work from home with adequate provision for office facilities. Equipment such as printer, stationery and laptop will be provided and payment will be made towards office overheads.

The successful applicant will have the following attributes:

· Self motivation with an ability to work on their own

· Strong financial awareness, knowledge of a financial package an advantage

(Scribe is the package used by the council)

· Willingness to learn and attend training courses

· Discretion

· Organisational and administrational skills

· Flexibility / adaptability

· Interpersonal skills, both written and verbal

· Neutrality when recording council business

Knowledge of local government procedures would be a benefit.

The closing date for this application is Friday 19th December and interviews will take place with the chairman, vice chairman and one other councillor. The start date for the successful candidate will be 5th January 2015.

Please apply by sending a CV and brief supporting letter explaining how you meet the requirements to the Chairman, either by emailing: chair@upchurchpc.kentparishes.gov.uk or via post to 1, Jubilee Field, Upchurch, Kent ME9 7AQ

Sara Tucker

Chairman Upchurch Parish Council

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UK Power Networks - Extra Support During Powercuts

Upchurch Parish Council
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Upchurch at War in December 1914 by David Wood

With the war almost six months old the opposing armies were involved in a long battle of attrition along a line of trenches on the Western Front in Belgium and France. Already men from the village had been killed or wounded but life in Upchurch continued without much change and with various war based activities taking place.

Pupils of Holywell School held a Christmas bazaar to raise money for the HRH Princess Mary’s Soldiers and Sailors Christmas Fund. They formed a branch of the League of Young Patriots at the school with various officers and a committee. The pupils decided to run the bazaar themselves although parents helped them collect various items for the event. At the pupils request the school managers voted a half day holiday so that the bazaar could take place. Stallholders were appointed to sell needlework, fancy articles, stationary, cards, fruit and sweets while a bran tub, a weighing machine and a tea buffet were available and a raffle also took place. After a successful session all the items were sold and £10/7d raised. Pupils provided entertainment with songs and music while the national anthems of the five allied nations concluded the event. The school closed for the Christmas holidays on December 18th.

The Parochial Working Party proved to be very productive in December making 62 articles of clothing followed by a further 61. Of these 28 were sent to Fort Pitt and St Bart’s Hospital while two mufflers were sent to the Jodhpur Lancers in India. Mrs Trew, the vicar’s wife, wanted to publicly exhibit all the goods but the cold weather required that everything should be sent away immediately.

The harsh reminder of war remained close with the announcement of fatalities which in the December edition of the parish magazine included Herbert Hodges a private in the Buffs from Ham Green and Charles Gransden a lance-corporal in the Grenadier Guards from Seager’s Cottages, Gore Bank. Both men were killed in action in October and November respectively. Better news regarded George Sharp who had been wounded by shrapnel but had recovered from his wounds after spending time in Warrington Infirmary.

Charles Gransden is commemorated on a plaque
inside St. Mary's Church, Upchurch.

With Christmas approaching local businesses tried to cash in on the war with various offers. ‘Dolding’s The Overcoat Shop’ in Sittingbourne High Street advertised items for ‘Xmas at the Front’ in the East Kent Gazette. They offered warm cardigans, knitted vests, flannel shirts and sleeping helmets, obviously aimed at local men fighting in the war. The Queens Theatre in Sittingbourne held plays related to the war such as ‘The Bells of Rheims,’ a war drama based on the German bombardment of the cathedral. They also showed ‘Our Helpless Millions Saved,’ a drama about German spies who make an attack on English reservoirs.

During the Christmas week a ferocious gale of about 100 mph, the most powerful in living memory, struck the area uprooting trees and damaging roofs and chimney pots. The barge ‘Alpha’ moored at Otterham Quay suffered a battering and the folded sails were loosened and ripped to shreds by the power of the wind.

The pupils of Holywell School were unable to begin the new school term on January 5th due to gale damage to large trees situated around the perimeter of the playground and these had to be cleared because of the danger posed. After an extra week at home the pupils returned to Holywell on January 11th.

The December edition of the parish magazine announced the marriages of Fred Manser to Annie Tumber on November 4th, Stuart Mercer to Elsie Singyard and Jonathon Baker to Ellen Whiddett on November 14th. Stuart Mercer’s marriage proved to be short lived as he died of an illness aboard HMS Dominion in 1918 while serving in the Royal Navy as a stoker.

As people in the village celebrated Christmas in 1914 they probably thought of the young men from Upchurch serving in the war, although news later emerged that after a short truce on the Western Front German and British soldiers came out of their trenches, met up in no man’s land, celebrated Christmas, exchanged presents and even played football together. This turned out to be a temporary respite before the conflict resumed and claimed more lives during the following year.

David Wood.

About David:

David Wood was born and raised in Upchurch and is able to write from personal experience about many people and aspects of the village and of changes that have taken place over the years making ‘Memories of Upchurch’ a very readable book and a detailed historical study of the village. David's book ‘Memories of Upchurch’ is available direct from David at: david3702001@yahoo.co.uk or from us here at Upchurch Matters. Price £12 + £3.50 postage and packing.

David Wood

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