Medway Council - Celebrating Dickens 150 with an Open Call Print Exhibition in 2020

Artists are invited to create works for a printmaking exhibition which will celebrate all things Dickens.

Next year Medway will commemorate the 150th anniversary of the death of Charles Dickens.

There will be exhibitions, poetry trails and art projects as well as guided walks, dramatic adaptations and a Dickensian themed open top bus tour. Residents and visitors will also be able to enjoy the much-loved Dickens Festival on Saturday, 13th and Sunday, 14th June 2020.

Dickens spent much of his life in Medway and many of his novels and characters were inspired by his experiences of living here. Eastgate House in Rochester features in The Pickwick Papers and The Mystery of Edwin Drood. The Grade 1 listed Elizabethan mansion, which was built in 1590, was also used as a Victorian school.

To mark the anniversary of Dickens’ death, Rochester Art Gallery is hosting its first print open call exhibition from Friday, 10th April to Sunday, 28th June as part of the Medway Print Festival 2020.

The exhibition will showcase works submitted by amateur and professional printmakers inspired by Dickens-related themes, such as designing a new cover for a limited-edition reissue of The Mystery of Edwin Drood, death in Dickens’ life and novels, Dickens and the Victorian way of death and mourning alongside Dickens and Medway. The competition is open to anyone who makes prints and includes an under 21s category for children and young people. Prizes will be awarded for each category winner.

Printmaking includes any kind of hand printed work from linocuts, etchings, screenprints, letterpress to monoprints and even hand printed textiles or ceramics.

The exhibition aims to feature at least one piece of work from each entrant, subject to space.

The prints will be exhibited alongside items relating to Dickens life and works including a set of printed engravings from The Mystery of Edwin Drood as well as seldom seen Victorian funerary treasures including beautiful mourning jewellery, clothing and accessories, paintings and funeral cards kindly loaned from the collection at the Guildhall Museum.

Paul Cowell, Head of Culture at Medway Council, said:

“2020 will be an incredibly special year as we commemorate the 150th anniversary of the death of Charles Dickens. We are proud of Medway’s connections to the great author and we will be holding a series of exhibitions and events for residents and visitors of all ages to enjoy. Medway’s arts community are extremely talented and I am looking forward to seeing all the creative entries for the Dickens printmaking competition. A number of arts competitions and exhibitions are held across Medway each year and this is another reason why residents and businesses are backing Medway’s bid for City of Culture 2025.”

The deadline for exhibition entries is Friday, 31st January 2020.

For more information, and to enter online, visit: www.medwayprintfestival.com/dickens150

More information about the Dickens150 commemoration events will be announced in the new year. Keep up-to-date by following Enjoy Medway on Facebook and Twitter

The print open call exhibition is one of a number of arts projects which are currently taking place across Medway which contribute to Medway’s strong case to bid for City of Culture 2025.

Medway Council

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Medway Council - Changes to Christmas and New Year Waste and Recycling Collection Dates

Upchurch Matters
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The Kent Association for Local Councils Community Awards 2020

Upchurch Parish Council is pleased to be participating in the Kent Association for Local Councils Community Awards Scheme again and would like residents to send in nominations for the award. The KALC Community Award is to acknowledge and give recognition to those who have made a significant contribution to their local community.

If you know of someone who has given this sort of service and merits an Award then please do nominate them. The person must live or work within the Parish Council boundary.

If you know of someone who has:

a) Given long and sustained service to the community or part of it;
b) Achieved or acted in an inspiring nature to the local community;
c) Or other such activities which have reflected credit on or brought benefits to Upchurch or its people.

Then the Parish Council would like to hear from you.

Please send your nominations to the Clerk, 14 Trapfield Close, Bearsted, Maidstone, Kent ME14 4HT or Email: clerkupc@outlook.com

Closing date for nominations is Tuesday 31st of December 2019.

Wendy Licence - Clerk to the Parish Council

Website: www.upchurchpc.kentparishes.gov.uk

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Temporary Road Closure - Holywell Lane, Upchurch

Kent County Council has made an order to temporarily prohibit through traffic on Holywell Lane, Upchurch from Wednesday 8th January 2020 for up to 3 days.

The road will be closed in the general vicinity of Holywell Farm, to the extent indicated by signs and barriers on site.

The alternative route for any through traffic is via Forge Lane, The Street, Oak Lane, Chaffes Lane, Oast Lane and vice versa.

Access for emergency service vehicles and pedestrians will be maintained at all times during the closure.

Due to the nature of these works, it will not be possible to reopen the road outside of working hours.

The closure is required for the safety of the public and workforce while renewal works are undertaken by Southern Water.

For information regarding this closure please contact Southern Water on: 0330 303 0368, who will be able to assist with the scope of the works.

The KCC Highways 24hr Contact Centre helpline is: 03000 418181

For details of roadworks, see: https://one.network

Kent County Council - Highways, Transportation & Waste
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Parents & Friends of Holywell School Christmas Fayre

Parents & Friends of Holywell School

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December News from Upchurch Horticultural Society - From the Potting Shed

Sponsored by Upchurch River Valley Golf Course Ltd

I didn’t manage to produce an article for November as regrettably I am still economically challenged, but October turned out to be a bit of a washout. So if like me, you have not completed the October tidy up then November was the month to do it. However, at the time of writing, November is proving to be a washout as well. The good thing about winter is everything slows downs to an almost stop so you can always start again in the Spring, which is looking like Plan C.

The fire is going now and the garden is sodden, so very little appeal to venture out. The runner bean trench will still need to be dug to accommodate the leaves that still need to be raked up. But other than gathering potatoes, leeks and parsnips I think that’s it for me, the house is just too cosy with the log fire burning.

It’s been quite a good year in the garden, with a fair summer but nothing like the hot drought of last year. The lawn is still recovering and will need a decent Spring to fully return to normal. The vegetable patch has produced well, especially sweetcorn which I tried for the first time this year. Only got one decent cob from each plant but what a beauty it was. I grew a supersweet variety called Swift, which was outstanding. The first two cobs picked went straight into simmering water and the remainder went in the freezer. Sweetcorn goes mealy very quickly and loses flavour so it must be cooked or frozen straight away to lock in the flavour… the jolly green giant will tell you that!

Rhubarb was also another great success this year after being transplanted to a wetter part of the garden the previous November. The last pick was in mid-August so forget the old adage pick by the end of June, it all depends on the weather. Everything else has been as expected, although the beans got a bit dry during September so went off for a while before giving a bumper crop in early October… really must water them more. The only failure was marrows which are normally dependable, but the courgettes did well. Horticulturally a courgette is a marrow, but what I call marrows will store until Easter whereas courgettes have turned to dust by then. These days courgettes are more popular than marrows as the small ones fry up nicely and big ones can be cubed and added to curries and chillies. But stuffed marrow is such an old classic and I always enjoy the last one at Easter.

The borders gave a good show of flowers this year and the dahlias and roses are still going but the first hard frost will put an end to that. The charm chrysanthemum is flowering its heart out and the nerines are producing a flush of shocking pink which is cheerful as the Autumn really sets in.

December is a good time to make plans for next year and order up the seeds. I think I will do the same again only try to keep the garden tidier and well-watered. Although, some friends in the Horticultural Society are looking at seed varieties for exhibition showing. This gets more serious and takes more time… so I will contemplate the wonders of a giant leek with a chilled beer by the fire, which of course needs to be drunk before it gets warm… MERRY CHRISTMAS.

We are always looking for new members and try to encourage a fun attitude towards friendly competition. So if you want to grow your own fruit, vegetables and flowers or even enter any of the 3 shows we hold each year, then please get in touch, we would be happy to hear from you.

If you are interested in becoming a new member, (all ages are welcome), please contact Rosey on: 01634 377812 (evenings) or Email: rosemary@ringwoodaccounting.co.uk

Sean Barry - Upchurch Horticultural Society
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