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What actually is an athlete?
NSD Runners believes an athlete is anyone who laces up their trainers, has a desire to move and most importantly has fun whilst doing it!
So to encourage more people to join our local community of athletes, NSD Runners is inviting anyone who wants to start their journey as an athlete to our “Armchair to Athlete” running session on Mondays, 6:15pm at Upchurch Scout HQ, Oak Lane, ME9 7BN.
The aim of the session will be to help anyone who wants to start running for the first time, or to get back to running after a break and/or to help everyone build up their distance and reach whatever running goal they may have.
We are an all inclusive community running group and welcome everyone to come along and start their own athlete’s journey!
NSD Runners
Jenny Giles - Upchurch River Valley Golf CourseTelephone: 01634 360626
It will be necessary to close part of various roads in Swale from Thursday 3rd August 2023, with estimated completion by Thursday 14th September 2023.
To allow litter picking to be carried out, Kent County Council intends to make an order prohibiting through traffic on part of various roads in Swale.
WORKS SCHEDULE
Spade Lane, Hartlip
Spade Lane will be closed from 3rd August 2023, for up to one day, between the hours of 09.30 and 15.30.
The entire road will be closed, to the extent indicated by signs and barriers on site. Residential access will be maintained at all times when it is safe to do so.
The alternative route is via A2 Moor Street, South Bush Lane, Meresborough Lane and vice versa.
Lomas Road, Bapchild
Lomas Road will be closed from 4th August 2023, for up to one day, between the hours of 09.30 and 15.30.
The road will be closed between Church Road and Tonge Road, to the extent indicated by signs and barriers on site. Residential access will be maintained at all times when it is safe to do so.
The alternative route is via Church Road, Hempstead Lane, A2 London Road, Murston Road, Tonge Road and vice versa.
Matts Hill Lane, Hartlip
Matts Hill Lane will be closed from 7th August 2023, for up to one day, between the hours of 09.30 and 15.30.
The road will be closed between Warren Lane and Matts Hill Road, to the extent indicated by signs and barriers on site. Residential access will be maintained at all times when it is safe to do so.
The alternative route is via Warren lane, Lower Hartlip Road, Magpie Lane, Cox Street, White Hill Road, Matts Hill Road and vice versa.
Yaugher Lane, Hartlip
Yaugher Lane will be closed from 8th August 2023, for up to one day, between the hours of 09.30 and 15.30.
The road will be closed between Meresborough Lane and Matts Hill Lane, to the extent indicated by signs and barriers on site. Residential access will be maintained at all times when it is safe to do so.
The alternative route is via Place Lane, Warren Lane and vice versa.
Fox Lane, Boughton Under Blean
Fox Lane will be closed from 9th August 2023, for up to one day, between the hours of 09.30 and 15.30.
The road will be closed between Selling Road and South Street, to the extent indicated by signs and barriers on site. Residential access will be maintained at all times when it is safe to do so.
The alternative route is via Scoggers Hill, Rhode Common, Selling Road and vice versa.
Stickfast Lane, Bobbing
Stickfast Lane will be closed from 10th August 2023, for up to one day, between the hours of 09.30 and 15.30.
The entire road will be closed, to the extent indicated by signs and barriers on site. Residential access will be maintained at all times when it is safe to do so.
The alternative route is via Sheppey Way, Parsonage Lane, Belnor Avenue, Iwade Road and vice versa.
Holywell Lane, Upchurch
Holywell Lane will be closed from 11th August 2023, for up to one day, between the hours of 09.30 and 15.30.
The entire road will be closed, to the extent indicated by signs and barriers on site. Residential access will be maintained at all times when it is safe to do so.
The alternative route is via The Street, Breach Lane and vice versa.
Old Ferry Road, Iwade
Old Ferry Road will be closed from 14th August 2023, for up to one day, between the hours of 09.30 and 15.30.
The entire road will be closed, to the extent indicated by signs and barriers on site. Residential access will be maintained at all times when it is safe to do so.
The alternative route is via Sheppey Way.
Raspberry Hill Lane, Iwade
Raspberry Hill Lane will be closed from 15th August 2023, with an estimated completion by 16th August 2023, between the hours of 09.30 and 15.30.
The entire road will be closed, to the extent indicated by signs and barriers on site. Residential access will be maintained at all times when it is safe to do so.
The alternative route is via Basser Hill, School Lane, The Street, Old Ferry Road and vice versa.
Norton Lane, Norton
Norton Lane will be closed from 21st August 2023, for up to one day, between the hours of 09.30 and 15.30.
The road will be closed between Lewson Street and London Road, to the extent indicated by signs and barriers on site. Residential access will be maintained at all times when it is safe to do so.
The alternative route is via Lewson Street and A2 London Road.
Conyer Road, Teynham
Conyer Road will be closed from 23rd August 2023, for up to one day, between the hours of 09.30 and 15.30.
The road will be closed between The Crescent and Teynham Street, to the extent indicated by signs and barriers on site. Residential access will be maintained at all times when it is safe to do so.
The alternative route is via Lower Road, Deerton Street, Marsh Road, Teynham Street and vice versa.
Parsonage Lane, Bobbing
Parsonage Lane will be closed from 24th August 2023, for up to one day, between the hours of 09.30 and 15.30.
The entire road will be closed, to the extent indicated by signs and barriers on site. Residential access will be maintained at all times when it is safe to do so.
The alternative route is via Stickfast Lane, Sheppey Way and vice versa.
B2008 Eastchurch Road, Eastchurch
B2008 Eastchurch Road will be closed from 11th September 2023, for up to one day, between the hours of 09.30 and 15.30.
The entire road will be closed, to the extent indicated by signs and barriers on site. Residential access will be maintained at all times when it is safe to do so.
The alternative route is via A2500 Lower Road, Forty Acres Hill, Lower Road, Barton Hill Drive, B2008 Minster Road, High Street, Chapel Street, Chequers Road and vice versa.
Plough Road, Eastchurch
Plough Road will be closed from 12th September 2023, for up to one day, between the hours of 09.30 and 15.30.
The entire road will be closed, to the extent indicated by signs and barriers on site. Residential access will be maintained at all times when it is safe to do so.
The alternative route is via B2008 Chequers Road, Eastchurch Road, A2500 Lower Road, High Street, Warden Road and vice versa.
Lower Norton Lane, Teynham
Lower Norton Lane will be closed from 13th September 2023, for up to one day, between the hours of 09.30 and 15.30.
The entire road will be closed, to the extent indicated by signs and barriers on site. Residential access will be maintained at all times when it is safe to do so.
The alternative route is via A2 London Road, Station Road, The Crescent, Lower Road and vice versa.
Warden Road, Eastchurch
Warden Road will be closed from 14th September 2023, for up to one day, between the hours of 09.30 and 15.30.
The entire road will be closed, to the extent indicated by signs and barriers on site. Residential access will be maintained at all times when it is safe to do so.
The alternative route is via High Street, A2500 Lower Road, B2008 Eastchurch Road, Chequers Road, Plough Road and vice versa.
The closures are required for the safety of the public and workforce while litter picking is undertaken by Highway Contractor Services Ltd.
For information regarding these closures, please contact Highway Contractor Services Ltd on: 01622 477966, who will be able to assist with the scope of these works.
KCC 24hr Contact Centre: 03000 418181
For details of roadworks see: https://one.network
Kent County Council - Highways, Transportation & Waste
Dear Upchurch,
The photo doesn't do justice to just how many bags of food we took to the foodbank warehouse on Wednesday.
The bags were 2 and 3 deep, but as the photographer is so short, it doesn't show that 😂
Again, Upchurch, you turned up and gave with all the kindness that Upchurch has.
Thank you, and God bless you for your big generous heart - that is Upchurch village ❤️
I will be collecting your donations for Swale Foodbank again next month at the bus stop opposite the church on Wednesday the 2nd of August, between 10:30am and 11:30am.
Gill Gay - Foodbank Co-ordinator
Sponsored by Upchurch River Valley Golf Course Ltd
Well, summer has arrived and at last, we have had some good weather. We still had the central heating on in early June and wrapping up against a cold north wind which has finally moved round to the south. The patio was cleaned up with a wire brush to remove years of lichen to reveal pink cottage style paving underneath. The chiminea has had a re-spray, and we are ready to eat outdoors… just need to make some friends! Finally got some 2-stroke oil from Amazon (couldn’t live up here without it) and getting stuck into the last of the logs with the chainsaw and maul. Will end up with about 6 cubic metres of Sycamore and Acacia logs with a big pile of kindling. I am really taking to this lifestyle, although it is not the “soft option” and I am running out of belt holes.
The Weed and Feed is getting to grips with the pathetic excuse for a lawn which is more weed than grass. The clay soil is starting to bake hard, so as the weed dies away the lawn looks even more sparse. Getting rid of the weed is the first step to restoring the lawn as the grass can recover later in the year, especially with an early autumn reseed. One good thing about a clay soil is that it holds a good edge where the vegetable patch has been cut out. Another large patch of the lawn will be lifted next spring to extend the vegetable patch, which has become more important to us as we aim for a greater level of self-sufficiency. Fruit and vegetables are an important part of the diet, and prices are getting silly, especially when a lot of the suppliers are local and do not have high distribution costs!
The vegetable patch is well up and running with very few casualties. A Muntjack Deer has been sniffing around and walking over the patch and taken the tops of some Broad Beans. A couple of Leeks were too delicate when dibbed in and given up the ghost. Otherwise, it is looking successful, although later than normal. Just starting to take a salad crop and doing a second sowing and will take the small Broad Bean pods when they reach 2” in length. The spares have now gone on the compost heap as we can’t even give them away as the local gardeners have been selling their seedlings for weeks… just too late this year.
Muntjack Deer in the garden!
The Duchess is grafting hard in the cottage garden and has cleared a border directly in front of the cottage, which was mainly weed. This will be the perennial border, and we have added the plants we brought from Oak Lane. Many of these did not survive the winter in Norfolk but include the Belladonna Delphiniums, which are a deep metallic blue colour, Phlox, Penstemon and the “Suki” Charm Chrysanthemum. These will now be stock plants for future years, and we will set about increasing the numbers to form large clumps. The Delphiniums come good from seed and can also be divided. The others are clump forming and can be divided or propagated from basal cuttings in spring. None of the Dahlias survived, so a trip to B&M in Beccles was required to replenish them. (Not easy to find a B&Q in Suffolk). The cottage garden is crisscrossed, with old brick pathways which are getting cleaned up. In between are a variety of shrubs and curious plants in amongst a lot of weed. The plan is to plant this area with a mass of cottage plants and wild seed and create “managed chaos.”
The southern boundary was a tangled mass of bramble on the other side of the fence, which had grown up into the trees and then festooned down in a 20' high curtain which completely blocked the light to the southern aspect of the cottage. Armed with secateurs and loppers, I started on the inside and snipped my way through the brambles until finally emerging the other side to meet the neighbours in the cul-de-sac behind. This has allowed a lot of light and air into a previously dark and damp part of the garden, which will now become the courtyard. Having created a breach, I now need to widen it and clear the entire southern boundary. However, having now found the neighbours, I am enjoying a lot of pleasant conversation and have even been invited to join the Veterans’ Tennis Club. The Duchess has commented that since the breakthrough the activity level has tailed off and been replaced by warm air from the south!
I recently popped back to Kent for a visit to the Dentist, as you can’t get one up here. I left at 0930, got back at 1810 and spent precisely 10 minutes in the Dentist's Surgery. The main problem was traffic in Essex, which was jammed up between the Dartford Crossing and Colchester. However, as I drove north from Ipswich, the traffic disappeared and was replaced by open fields, a big blue sky and empty lanes (except for the tractor). There is a big contrast between Suffolk and Kent, an idyllic pace of life on one hand and dental hygiene on the other.
I would like to end this month by remembering my friend and neighbour, Don Diffey, who sadly passed away recently. When we first became neighbours, he complained that the ivy on my side of the fence was damaging the felts on his shed rooves. I replied that he shouldn’t have built them so close to the boundary, which he countered by saying they were the statutory 4” inside. However, things got better after that, especially when we had a wood burner installed as Don was a Carpenter. Rosey and I were sad to hear the news. We had 18 good years in Upchurch and send our sympathies and best wishes to Beryl and the family.
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 member, (all ages are welcome), please contact Membership Secretary Tracy Wells: upchurchsociety@gmail.com
Sean Barry
Hopefully, see you all soon - your UpARA Committee.
