Thank You NHS

My Shining Star Children's Cancer Charity has a huge new Superman banner up in Chaffes Lane thanking our wonderful NHS for all that they do.

Look out for it when you’re passing 🌈

Read more about their great work at >> www.myshiningstar.co.uk

Upchurch Matters

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Swale Borough Council Business set to Resume - Virtually

Swale Borough Council will resume holding meetings next week.

Meetings such as cabinet and planning committees had to be cancelled after the Government imposed lockdown restrictions to reduce the spread of coronavirus.

As part of the Coronavirus Act 2020 the Government has given permission to councils to hold virtual meetings so important decisions can be discussed and made public during the lockdown.

Swale’s first such meeting is set to take place on Wednesday, 22nd April, when cabinet will discuss issues such as CCTV, new toilets for Minster Leas and the council’s response to climate change.

This will be followed by a virtual meeting of the planning committee on Thursday, 30th April.

Leader of the council, Cllr Roger Truelove, said:

“The coronavirus outbreak has meant we have all had to adapt to new ways of living and working so we can keep ourselves, and each other, safe.

Here at the council, officers have adapted remarkably well to remote working, and now the government has made it possible for us to legally resume council meetings online.

Elected members have a responsibility to represent their residents - and important decisions still need to be taken about our services.

We have been looking at ways in which we can resume meetings in public so members and officers can discuss proposals while observing social distancing.

This will help improve our ability to get back to normal once the lockdown is lifted.

However, to get to that stage means we must continue to observe the rules on staying at home, social distancing and self-isolating where required.”

The meetings will be held via Skype. Members of the public and the press who want to attend the Cabinet meeting virtually should email their details to democraticservices@swale.gov.uk, or call 01795 417330, by 4:00pm on Tuesday 21st April 2020. They will then be sent joining instructions for the meeting.

Swale Borough Council

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A Village of Sails

“To sail, to sail, to sail away,

With tug of wind to freedom.

In craft hand nurtured night and day,

Fine painted, sealed and ship-shape.

Be'times to live a' brink the water,

With boats to watch, repair and fashion.

On tussocked perch with slipway down,

To eat, sleep and breathe the passion.

A quiet life off beaten track for me,

With church a' Sunday and neighbourly.

Timbered hearths you glow to see,

And ever a wind to lap a greeting.

In wood to live, in wood to pleasure,

Amongst trees a' plenty to walk at leisure.

A village ever a home to be,

And each day, anew, a port.”

William J. Little

Editor - The Gabriel Church Supplement

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Happy Easter

Happy Easter 🌷🐇🥚🌼

This year feels very different with families unable to be together and many worried about the future.

Unable to gather, the best way we can come together now is in our fight against this awful virus.

Please stay at home this Easter and save lives.

Upchurch Matters

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Road Closure: A2 - Newington High Street - Temporary Minibus Shuttle Timetable to the Villages

Medway operator ASD Coaches is running a temporary minibus shuttle between the villages and TESCO - Rainham, where it connects with Chalkwell 326/327 bus services.

Kent County Council made the order to temporarily prohibit through traffic on various roads in Swale for essential gas main upgrade work which includes the full closure of the A2 - Newington High Street, beginning Thursday 2nd April with an estimated completion date of Wednesday 29th April 2020.

The shuttle service will finish when SGN complete their works and the A2 is fully reopen.

Click timetable to enlarge.

Chalkwell 326/327 buses are still operating on a temporary timetable and via the M2 Motorway. They need feeder minibuses at TESCO - Rainham so that people from Newington, Lower Halstow and Upchurch can change onto the main buses in order to access Sittingbourne and Medway.

The temporary Chalkwell 326/327 timetables have been posted in the bus shelter in Horsham Lane, Upchurch.

More info at:

www.chalkwell.co.uk/timetables/326-327-328

Tel: 01795 423982

www.asdtransport.com
Tel: 01634 726412

Upchurch Matters

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April News from Upchurch Horticultural Society - From the Potting Shed

Sponsored by Upchurch River Valley Golf Course Ltd

What on earth do we make of the last month and where do we go from here. Personally unless you want to stay bottled up indoors (was that really the right expression!) there is no better place than to get out in the garden. If the world is really going to grind to a halt then it’s time to dig for victory and get the vegetable patch up and running. Keep the lawn and the borders tidy and concentrate on fruit and veg to get through the coming months or longer.

Don’t hesitate, get the vegetable patch dug over and fertilised ready for planting. If your broad beans are not in yet do that first followed by the early potatoes which given the mild weather will get started. I have always hailed the virtues of Rocket as a good early but even more so now as it can be ready for lifting after eleven weeks.

Hopefully your seeds arrived back in January so nothing to stop you from getting the propagation going. Use a mix of compost and sharp sand for potting as this will drain and reduce “damping off” of the new seedlings. Find a warm light place to put them and take the covers off as soon as the seeds are up to allow air to get to them. Beans, marrows, courgettes, squashes and pumpkins can go into 3” pots with damp compost and do not really need to be covered, they will be up in 5-10 days. Do not overwater as they are prone to rot which will set you back nearly two weeks by the time you realise. Harden off by putting seedlings outdoors during the day or keep them in cold frames.

Look around the garden to find additional space for planting in the borders or grow bags and containers. I have some bush French Beans which can fill gaps in the borders and Lettuce will go nicely in pots but wait until next month before planting out. Rhubarb should be well under way by now but mulching or fertilising with a little Miracle Grow will keep it racing ahead. I would recommend doing as many vegetables as you can manage as you may well be grateful for it later in the year.

Fruit trees should be pruned by now and spray as required to control pests going forward in the year. Mulch with well rotted compost and fertilise with Miracle Grow which works on nearly everything (although a bit too strong for tomatoes).

In these uncertain days it is wise to give thought to your food supply and an active kitchen garden is better than a punch up in the supermarkets. Sadly it is not possible to grow toilet roll and rhubarb leaves are poisonous, but being able to grow food is a sensible life skill which provides a good measure of independence which may prove important in the future.

Today has been a good day for me on the vegetable patch and the seedlings are breaking through so ready to get going. So I am now settling down and getting bottled up indoors.

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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