Animals Let Out - Newington

Hartlip, Newington & Upchurch Ward

Crime Number: 46/228926/22

Between 00:01 on Friday the 25th of November and 10:00 on Sunday the 27th of November, somebody allowed animals to get out of their field in Iwade Road, Newington.

If you have any information that could help investigators, please contact Kent Police on telephone number 101 and quote the relevant crime number above.

For more information on crime prevention visit: www.kent.police.uk

Kent Community Messaging

The Salvation Army Christmas Present Appeal

Be a star and donate a toy to our appeal

St Mary's Church and Uplift are supporting The Salvation Army Christmas Present Appeal again this year.

We will be collecting toys at our Advent Services on Sunday the 4th of December, at St Mary's Church at 10:00am and at Uplift at 4:00pm in the village hall. You are, of course, really welcome at both of these services.

I will also be collecting toys the following day in the layby opposite the church from 9:30am until 10:15am on Monday the 5th. Jackie, from Lower Halstow, will be collecting the toys to take them to the Sittingbourne Salvation Army.

The appeal asks for new, unwrapped toys and gifts for babies, children and young people aged 0-17 who might not otherwise receive a Christmas present. The gifts will then be wrapped and distributed to those in need.

I know I am asking you for so much recently, but I also wanted to give you this opportunity to again show how big hearted you are.

You can help The Salvation Army spread the joy of Christmas to families whose children would otherwise not receive a gift. This year, they are expecting the number of families requesting help to rise as a result of the cost of living crisis.

Over the years, millions of children and young people have benefited from gifts donated to The Salvation Army.

A suggested gift list can be found at: www.salvationarmy.org.uk/christmas-present-appeal

Bless you ❤️

Gill Gay

FREE Christmas Parking Dates in Medway Council Run Public Car Parks

🅿️ Medway Council has announced FREE Christmas parking dates in Medway Council run public car parks from Thursday 15th December 2022 to Sunday 18th December 2022 inclusive.

🚙🚙🚗🚗🚙🚙🚗🚗🚙🚙🚗🚗

More info at: www.medway.gov.uk/parking

Upchurch Matters

From the Potting Shed - December 2022

Upchurch Horticultural Society

Sponsored by Upchurch River Valley Golf Course Ltd

Autumn has finally started to get a hold and temperatures are dropping after a mild start to November, leaves are falling, and the rain is coming down. The only thing that appears to be going up is prices! East Anglia is a very arable farming area with lots of local produce being retailed by independent traders. So a weekly shopping trip to the market town of Beccles is proving to be an interesting experience. This town has two independent greengrocers and a weekly market stall offering excellent fruit and vegetables at highly reasonable prices. I was delighted to find a large torpedo shaped Marrow for £1.50, which allowed me to engage in my passion for stuffed Marrow. The shop owner was quite surprised that anyone could get so excited about a lowly vegetable. I really cannot wait to get another vegetable patch up and running, but we are yet to complete on the cottage and still living in temporary accommodation out on the marshes. We do like it here. It reminds me of how Kent used to be 50 years ago with wide open countryside and lots of peace and quiet.

After tidying up the landscaped area around the lodge, the management of the park have appointed a firm of landscape contractors to tidy up the rest of it. I appear to have become the gardening consultant, which makes me feel uncomfortable as the position is unpaid and leaves me susceptible to picking up the blame. They are doing a good job, but I wince watching a young lad prune the shrubs with a hedge trimmer.

A lot tidier, but the shrubs have been massacred.

Hopefully, all the tidying up in the garden is completed by now, and you can enjoy the quieter Winter months, possibly in front of a wood burner, which is a good thing to have these days. Now is a good time to order seeds for next year and a number of catalogues should already have been delivered through your door. I actually bought my seeds through Amazon and was amazed that I could buy them more cheaply than directly from the seed merchant. The plan is to take up part of the lawn to create the new vegetable patch, but just do half this year and then double the size next year up to 800 sq ft (approx 3 poles). That should be sufficient to feed the two of us. I have selected 16 varieties of vegetables for starters and will increase to 32 the following year. These are tried and trusted old favourites but will concentrate more on Winter varieties in the second year. This will then hopefully provide a number of crops to choose from each month of the year.

Other than looking after Winter vegetables and containers and raking up leaves, it is a quiet time of the year. Leek and Onion seeds can be started in December if you are keen as the large varieties need plenty of time to fully mature. That brings us to the end of the year and time to think about the year ahead… if you want to that is. I keep on extolling the virtues of a kitchen garden and try to encourage people to “grow your own”. It has been a long time since money has been this tight, and the professional advice is that it will get worse before it gets better. Now is an ideal time to create some space and start digging. If you need advice, contact the Upchurch Horticultural Society, who will be happy to help.

It has been a cold, wet day today, so I am going to knock up a Beef Pie with mash from Picasso Potatoes (the world’s greatest mash), Hispi Cabbage, Carrots and Leek in beef gravy… and a cook’s glass. That way, I can fill up on both vegetables and beer!

Happy Christmas, and I hope to be writing to you next year from Suffolk.

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 Tracy Wells: tracywells0312@gmail.com

Sean Barry

Urgent Road Closure - Magpie Lane, Hartlip

It will be necessary to close Magpie Lane, Hartlip from Monday 5th December 2022 for up to 1 day.

The full length of Magpie Lane will be closed.

The alternative route is via Yelsted Lane, Yelsted Road, Yaugher Lane and vice versa.

This is to enable carriageway repairs to be carried out by Kent County Council.

KCC 24hr Contact Centre: 03000 418181

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

Kent County Council - Highways, Transportation & Waste

Urgent Road Closure - Yaugher Lane, Hartlip

It will be necessary to close Yaugher Lane, Hartlip from Monday 5th December 2022 for up to 1 day.

The full length of Yaugher Lane will be closed.

The alternative route is via Warren Lane, Lower Hartlip Road, Magpie Lane and vice versa.

This is to enable carriageway repairs to be carried out by Kent County Council.

KCC 24hr Contact Centre: 03000 418181

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

Kent County Council - Highways, Transportation & Waste