CANCELLED: The Rainbow Café at St Mary's Church, Upchurch | 'A Cuppa and a Chat'

Hi everyone,

We have taken the decision to cancel this month's Rainbow Café at St Mary's Church on Thursday the 5th of May. Because some of us have family members we need to care for.

We look forward to seeing you all again at our next Rainbow Café.

But please do pop into the church for 'A Cuppa and a Chat' in the Lady Chapel.

We will have the kettle on between 10:00am and 12 midday on Wednesday the 11th of May (the same day as our Swale Foodbank collection) and again on Wednesday the 25th of May.

Gill Gay and all the Rainbow Café team ♥️

UpARA - May 2022 Newsletter

Hello UpARA members,

Evening Boules 

A new Summer season slot has been added to our activity list from the 12th May - Evening Petanque.

Running from May to September on the 2nd and 4th Thursday evenings at 6:00pm, we hope that these sessions will be well received and attended to complement our usual 3rd Tuesday afternoon slot. Come and join us… just turn up at the Petanque pitch at the side of the golf course driving range just before 6:00pm.

A few more trips

A few more trips have been added to the calendar since the last newsletter; Salute to Christmas at the Inn on the Lake on 13th December, a Mystery Coach tour on July 19th and a trip to the Albert Hall next March for Let’s Face the Music with the RPO plus guests. This month is the trip to Leonardslee gardens with Toby carvery lunch and next month, 14th June, an evening cruise along the Medway on the Kentish Lady.

Events

Events seem to have conspired against us last month with the main Friday meeting and the Westminster Walk both, unfortunately, needing to be cancelled at short notice. The walk has been rescheduled for the end of May.

The thoughts of Chairman John

Hello everyone,

I can't believe I'm composing this whilst sitting under the umbrella on my patio looking across the water with a view of Lower Halstow Yacht Club; the water has a vivid blue colour rather than its usual drab hue - who needs to fight the traffic all the way down to the West Country? (Although it has been a case recently of fighting to get into the Village)!

Despite all adversities that the utilities works have caused us recently, we are still running all our usual activities and we are always looking for additional ones, don't be afraid to put forward your ideas.

Don't forget to keep a note in your diaries for the 3rd of June, to take part in our own Jubilee event, and thanks to all of you who have volunteered to help in some way or another, we are hoping to raise quite a large sum throughout the afternoon and evening for the Ukrainian Charity, please support us.

By the time you read this, we will have had representation at the Parish Council's APM. where all the local clubs can highlight their activities, I'm sure plenty of people are under the impression UpARA is a load of old age pensioners just meeting up for tea and coffee in the Village Hall, how wrong they are!

Looking forward to a long and "normal Summer" for once.

John W

Fundraising day / Can you help us? 

Our fundraising day, on Friday 3rd June, during the 4-day Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations is getting closer still. Please let us know if you can assist on the day either by Email or signing up at the next Friday meeting.

We are holding a Quiz evening from 7:00pm, for the various village groups, and an ‘Open Afternoon’, (12:00 - 4:00pm) with a variety of entertainment, teas/ coffees/cakes/ baguettes etc.

We still need members to take turns ‘manning’ the kitchen in 30/60-minute intervals, so that we can all enjoy the day. Please put your name forward if you can help - It really will be appreciated - we ideally need 20 - 30 members to come forward.

Also, please add your names to be part of one of the UpARA teams in the evening quiz.

Trips

Malcolm and Brenda will be taking money from those going on the Kentish Lady on 14th June, (£32), Mystery coach tour on 19th July, (£15), and Salute to Christmas on 13th December, (£35). Also deposits (£100) for the trip to Derry next year and payments for anyone attending the June lunch club.

AGM

Our AGM will take place after the Friday meeting on 13th May.

May Calendar

Monday, May 2nd at 2:00pm - Kurling

Tuesday, May 3rd at 9:30am - Coffee Morning and Art

Tuesday, May 3rd at 2:00pm - Table Tennis

Wednesdays May 4th, 11th, 18th, 25th at 10:15am - Line Dancing

Fridays May 6th, 20th at 10:00am - Village Walk

Mondays May 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th at 10:00am - Short Tennis

(No Tennis Bank Holiday Monday 2nd May)

Monday, May 9th - Leonardslee Gardens and Carvery lunch

Tuesday, May 10th at 10:00am - 10 Pin Bowling

Friday, May 13th at 2:00pm - Monthly Meeting

John Yarrow, ‘Tales of a wedding photographer’ AGM follows at 3:30pm

Tuesday, May 17th at 2:00pm - Petanque

Thursdays May 12th, 26th at 6:00pm - NEW Evening Petanque

Tuesday, May 24th at 9:30am - Coffee Morning and Art

Tuesday, May 24th at 2:00pm - Table Tennis

Friday, May 27th - Rescheduled Westminster & Whitehall Walk

Hopefully, see you all soon - your UpARA Committee.

Email: uparaupchurch@gmail.com

Website: www.upara.club

May News from Upchurch Horticultural Society - From the Potting Shed

Sponsored by Upchurch River Valley Golf Course Ltd

We are coming into May and most of the preparation work should be well advanced. Allowances can always be made for weeding which is definitely my Achilles heel. Every now and then I get a burst of enthusiasm and get half a border weeded and that’s it for a few months! Now that BBQ weather is possible it is good to be able to admire the garden especially if you have guests and weedy borders do detract from the occasion.

The lawn should have had several cuts by now and with a high Nitrogen weed & feed, scarification and de-compacting the sward after winter, it should be looking quite lush and green. Regular cutting and a bit of watering in dry weather should keep it looking good through to the Summer.

Hopefully, the vegetable patch is dug over and raked level and it’s always a good idea to scatter a balanced general fertiliser 7-7-7. Last year’s Broad Beans will be ready for harvest shortly, beans planted in the Spring will be flowering with small pods developing. These can be taken for early greens, although I prefer to wait for the beans to fatten up and then pod the whole crop and freeze the surplus. Don’t be tempted to leave them to get too big as they will go past their best and will need more simmering to soften them up. If you time it just right the beans will be green and fresh and can be added raw to a salad.

Salad crops should be underway and ready for picking this month. I did mine in open trays in the greenhouse and planted them out in April, followed then by a second sowing in trays. New Potatoes should be coming along and Maincrop planted back in April. Vegetable seeds planted straight in the ground can be thinned out. It’s time for the Climbing Bean frame to be erected. All the seedlings should be hardened off and planted out. Don’t forget to pull the rhubarb which always freezes well.

The Apple blossom burst in the middle of April and was spectacular this year and all the stone fruit is well underway. This is when the pests get to work, so spray when you see the first signs of attack. My Apple suffers from Woolly Aphid which then produces galls to protect the plant from the little sap suckers. It looks quite old and knarled although it’s still quite a young tree. A watering can of Miracle Grow at the base of each tree helps the fruits to develop.

Apple Blossom.

Borders and containers will be bursting all over and if you have divided older clumps of perennials you should have a mass of plants springing into action. As the Spring bulbs die down deadhead the spent flower heads before they go to seed and gently remove the dead top growth. Basal cuttings taken in early Spring should be growing nicely and can get planted out to fill gaps. It never ceases to amaze me how many casualties are suffered each year. Some perennials take to the borders and thrive, others struggle and eventually, you have to give up on them. I planted a number of different perennials recently to get some colour into the borders. The Echinacea and Alstromeria seem to have got a hold and starting to clump up but the Rudbeckia and Osteospernum are looking very sad. I am also waiting to see if the white Delphiniums make a return after a good start last year. You just have to keep experimenting to find out what succeeds in your own garden.

May is a very busy month but it marks the turning point when you can start to take satisfaction in your labours and enjoy the summer months and long evenings. Not everyone has the time or inclination to tackle all the gardening tasks detailed in these articles. However, a few colourful pots on a patio can create a great area to sit and relax in the evening or BBQ at the weekends. A fruit tree can always be planted in a border and dwarf rootstock with a supporting stake will give a good crop and not grow too big. A small vegetable patch can provide successive salad crops throughout the year with winter varieties now available.

Gardening gets you outside, keeps you active and will certainly help you sleep well. It’s great to sit outside in the evening as the sun goes down, throw a log on the chiminea to keep the chill at bay and enjoy a sundowner. Then after the sun has gone down throw two logs on the fire and have another.

UHS is always looking for new members and tries 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 shows we hold each year, 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

Swale Borough Council - Council Tax Energy Rebate Payment

As part of its targeted response to rising energy bills, the government has introduced a council tax rebate payment to help residents with rising energy costs, known as the Energy Rebate.

We have been working in line with government guidance to deliver the payments to residents as quickly as possible. We would have liked to do this earlier, but we had to be sure the new payment system works - we’ve seen instances elsewhere where there have been mistakes which we obviously want to avoid.

The revenues and benefits team have been working tirelessly to make sure we can make the payment by the end of April, and we’re grateful for their efforts.

We have made 33,563 payments today to those who are eligible for the government's £150 Energy Rebate payment and who pay by Direct Debit. This should appear in people’s bank accounts next week.

A further 21,000 households who do not pay their council tax by Direct Debit will be able to claim the rebate through a form on our website next week, and we will be writing to let them know where to find the form.

Please remember that we will not call you and ask for bank details - so please pass on this message ‘do not give out any details to anyone claiming to be calling from the council'.

Updates will be available on our website, and we will be issuing further messages throughout the process.

Cllr Alan Horton - Swale Borough Council

Ward Councillor serving Hartlip, Newington and Upchurch

Borden Heritage Group Presents The Train that Jumped the Gap

Borden Heritage Group welcomes Richard Emmett, Chair of the Historical Research Group of Sittingbourne, to Borden Parish Hall on Wednesday the 11th of May, 2022, for his talk, 'The Train that Jumped the Gap'.

Open to all, Richard's talk begins at 10:30am.

www.hrgs.co.uk

www.bordenheritage.org.uk

Upchurch Matters

Kent Association of Local Councils Community Awards Scheme 2022

Congratulations to John Arnold, this year's very worthy winner of the Kent Association of Local Councils Community Awards Scheme 2022 in the community of Upchurch.

The annual KALC Community Awards are to acknowledge and give recognition to those who have made a significant contribution to their local community.

Upchurch Parish Council Chairman Tyrone Ripley presented John with his award at this year's Annual Parish Meeting, held in Upchurch Village Hall on Thursday the 26th of April 2022.

John says he became more involved in village life when his wife Val became one of the volunteer dusters at St Mary's Church, alongside the late Evelyn Veale.

John went on to serve as Vice Chairman of Upchurch Parish Council for many years, and as a parish councillor, he oversaw our village highways, reporting and chasing repairs to faults when they occur.

He has lit up the village Christmas tree, installed important defibrillators, and taken the lead on the recent street light upgrade. John has also carried out work to Upchurch Village Hall.

John's electrical expertise and team of helpers have powered and made possible many of the village's most loved and well attended events over recent years.

Val and John were both involved in bringing back the Village Fete to the Paddock in 2014, and John's work with Upchurch Scout Group helped ensure their popular family fireworks display could go ahead safely each year.

The number of projects John has volunteered his spare time to during the family's time living in Crosier Court is too long to list.

John's certificate reads:

“Awarded in recognition of his dedication and service to the community, in particular for his tireless work to make the streets of Upchurch brighter and safer by modernisation of our street lighting.”

Thank you, John, for everything you have done for our village 👏🏼

Upchurch Matters