Hundreds of Knitted Poppies Decorate St. Mary’s Church for Remembrance Sunday

Click the photo montage to enlarge.

For the third consecutive year, the ladies of the Kitting Group, along with their partners have decorated the railings at St. Mary's Church, Upchurch with hundreds of knitted poppies, as a special Remembrance Sunday commemoration.

They look beautiful again!

The Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal began on Saturday 24th October and ends on Saturday 7th November. It will conclude with a pre-recorded Festival of Remembrance from the Royal Albert Hall on the Saturday evening and a scaled-down Cenotaph Ceremony in Whitehall on Sunday morning.

In Upchurch planning is underway for the annual Remembrance Service on Sunday 8th November to include a two-minute silence at 11:00am. However, due to the Covid-19 restrictions, it will have to be different from usual as the church cannot welcome the usual number of people.

The service will begin at 10:30am and there will be limited seating available. To reserve a place at the service, please ring:

Jill Rothery, the Church Warden, on: 01795 481694. From Sunday 1st November onwards.

Donations

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Royal British Legion will not permit or support house to house collections, and so there will be no one calling at your home for donations this year.

Nevertheless, poppies and dated poppy pins will be available from the Upchurch shops, public houses, clubs and restaurants. The school has also been given a pack for the benefit of the children and staff.

This year for the first time, donations can be made using your mobile.

If you would like to download a poppy for a donation, this can be done at the following link: www.britishlegion.org.uk/get-involved/ways-to-give/donate

Poppies printed this way are excellent for displaying in your windows especially the ones you can colour in yourselves.

Poppy Day Appeal organiser Gerry Lewin can supply - poppies, dated poppy pins, VE poppy pins, wooden crosses, car poppies and wrist bands etc. Please contact Gerry to see how he can help. Telephone: 01634 366113 - 07946 996789 Email: lewing135@btinternet.com

“WE WILL REMEMBER THEM”

Remembrance Sunday - November 8th 2020

Upchurch Matters

Remembrance Sunday Service at St Mary the Virgin, Upchurch

Remembrance Sunday Service

8th November 2020 at 10:30am

St Mary the Virgin, Upchurch

A service of Remembrance will be held in St Mary’s church, Upchurch on Sunday 8th November 2020 to include a two-minute silence at 11:00am. However, due to the Covid-19 restrictions, it will have to be different from usual as we cannot welcome the usual number of people into the church.

The service will begin at 10:30am and there will be limited seating available. To reserve a place at the service, please ring:

Jill Rothery, the Church Warden, on: 01795 481694. From Sunday 1st November onwards.

Please look out for further details on Upchurch Matters, on St Mary's Upchurch Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/stmarysupchurch and on notices at the church.

“WE WILL REMEMBER THEM”

Sue Rossiter

Surgery Patient Participation Group - Upchurch & Rainham

Dr Supriya Das & Dr Lakshmi Subbiah

The following items were discussed at the last PPG meeting:

Face Coverings

Face coverings are to be worn at all times when attending the Surgery for appointments with the Nurse/Doctor. This also applies to Healthy Living Centres and Hospitals in the area.

Face masks donated by the council have now run out, therefore it is imperative that patients bring their own with them when attending the Surgery for an appointment.

Flu Vaccinations 

All those requiring a Flu vaccination would have been dealt with i.e. 65yrs and above and all those that show at risk from their medical records.

The next batch is due in November for those 50-65yrs and when received, the dates will be circulated on Upchurch Matters website or the practice website in order for patients to telephone for an appointment.

Maidstone Road Practice - Targets

Staff have received training in respect of early cancer diagnosis, thereby ensuring an immediate referral to the cancer unit and monitor “follow up” appointments are being issued and kept by the patient, i.e. cervical screening for those females aged 25-64yrs. Nationally the level is 72.4%. Medway CCG is 74.9% and our practice is 83.7%.

Also training to identify patients who have learning difficulties and quite often attend on their own, ensuring they get the right support and regular “follow up”.

Letters received by patients from the Medway Hospital or other outside clinics

There is a delay in the practice receiving letters following an appointment at the Hospital or Clinic, therefore it is requested that patients drop into the Surgery with the letter they receive from the Hospital/Clinic in order for the Practice to update patients records locally. Thank you.

Maidstone Road Practice Website

The website is: www.maidstoneroadsurgeryrainham.co.uk

The Practice would like patients views/comments about the website.

Any comments, please Email: g82180.surgery@nhs.net and mark them “For the attention of Nurse, Bonnie Olsen”.

Ray Kemsley

Chair - Surgery Patient Participation Group - Upchurch & Rainham

Thank You from Foodbank Co-ordinator Gill Gay and Swale Foodbank

Thank you, Upchurch.

Your heart is way bigger than your village ♥️

You are amazing!

God bless you all - Gill & Ron

Gill Gay - Foodbank Co-ordinator

Email: gilliangay99@yahoo.co.uk

Swale Borough Council Meets with KCC Director of Health to Discuss the Rise in Covid Infections in the Borough

Leading members of Swale Borough Council met with Andrew Scott-Clark, Director of Public Health at Kent County Council (KCC), yesterday (26th Oct) to discuss the recorded rise of Covid infections in Swale.

On behalf of KCC - the lead authority in monitoring and controlling the spread of the virus in the county - Mr Scott-Clark confirmed that Swale had the highest level of infections in Kent at 102 per 100,000 people.

While this is still below the national average, Mr Scott-Clark explained that the virus was spreading much more seriously amongst younger people than in the first wave, and that the Isle of Sheppey had the highest levels in the borough, with some higher levels also emerging in Central Sittingbourne and Milton.

He reported that a number of cases in workplaces in Swale were a cause for concern, particularly because transmission looks to be happening outside the workplace as people socialise together. Care homes and food distribution companies are also a cause for concern.

Thankfully there are some areas of the borough with very low levels of infection and the council is working closely with KCC to keep the public properly informed.

Both the council and KCC are concerned about alarming messages being publicised in print and social media, and cabinet members are concerned that this could cause a mixture of fatigue and complacency making suppression of this second wave more difficult.

Cllr Angela Harrison, cabinet member for health and wellbeing at the council, said:

“It is of utmost importance that we do not become complacent when it comes to protecting ourselves, our families and our communities.

“Whilst we mourn every death and understand the impact it has on families, we did not suffer the same impact in the first wave as many other parts of the country.

“This second wave already suggests that we’re facing a real challenge, and we urge people to adhere to government guidelines by washing your hands frequently, wearing a face covering and remembering to maintain social distancing.

“Thankfully levels of hospitalisation are manageable for the moment, but we cannot take our NHS for granted.

“Alongside studying infection rates and levels of hospitalisation, we are also out visiting businesses to ensure they are covid compliant and sharing information and advice with them.”

Cllr Roger Truelove, leader at the council, said:

“Our officers have started compliance checks in the pubs and restaurants in our towns and have found good compliance procedures.

“Businesses have been welcoming and are clearly working very hard to keep their customers safe, however we did have some concerns about take away food businesses and will work with them to ensure they are compliant.

“We will soon be visiting rural establishments and hope for the same high standard we’ve seen so far.

“During lockdown earlier this year, we monitored the situation daily, and reported to the senior leadership team and cabinet every week to ensure we were doing everything we could to keep the residents of the borough safe, and will do the same again now that we are experiencing a second wave.

“We urge you to do your bit to limit the spread of the virus and keep your family and community safe.”

Swale Borough Council

Swale Borough Council Proposes New Housing Company

Swale Borough Council is proposing to set up a housing company to help deliver affordable homes for local people.

A report going to cabinet on Wednesday, 28th October proposes setting up a local housing company to increase the supply of affordable homes in the borough, without placing a financial burden on the council.

If approved, council-owned land at the old bus depot in East Street Sittingbourne, Fountain Street and Cockleshell Walk car park would be transferred to the company to provide around 139 new properties, in exchange for an equity share in the company.

Ben J Martin, cabinet member for housing at the council, said:

“The prospect of setting up of a housing company is a key indicator of the high priority we place on delivering decent affordable housing residents need, and, if approved, will enable us to intervene directly in the local housing market.

“It would also give us control of the density, location, environmental standards and management of any scheme, so we won’t be at the mercy of developers trying to maximise profit.

“By owning equity shares in the company, we can get an income stream on assets that should go up in value over time, which reduces the financial risk to the council.

“We estimate build costs, energy efficiency and lifecycle costs of developing, managing and maintaining the initially planned 139 properties to be up to £23 million, which we would initially pay for through 50-year loans to the company.

“If approved, the company will enable us to build additional affordable housing, on top of the ones provided through the planning system, and housing associations utilising their homes England grant money in Swale.

“This would be a real ray of hope for local people who are in need of local, affordable housing.”

Cllr Ghlin Whelan, deputy cabinet member for housing at the council, said:

“This is an exciting opportunity for us to provide the affordable housing the borough so desperately needs.

“Social housing is a nationwide issue and councils are looking for ways to meet the demand without being at the mercy of large developers.

“The number of people needing local, affordable housing is only rising, and it’s our duty to do what we can to meet that need.”

The full report can be viewed here

Swale Borough Council