The Sentinel

Sentinel

Local Matters

Sandgate

a dce2.0 company

May 2021

This magazine is compiled and edited by David Cowell who is totally responsible for content.

If you do not wish to receive these magazines please email UNSUBSCRIBE to him at david@thesentinel.org.uk

Our 20:20 Vision happened Yes we are delighted to report that our refurbisment plan is nearing completion.

We are exteremly grateful to the following who generously provided grants to facilitate the work: Roger De Haan Charitable Trust Folkestone & Hythe District Council Sandgate Parish Council Kent County Council Cllr Prater [discretionary grant] Cllr Fuller [discretionary grant] You Yes without them and you hiring the Hall, supporting classes and patronising the Sandgate Farmers Market either as a Look out for stallholder or customer, we further news would not have been able to about the accumulate a reserve which also clock, the front contributed towards the work. steps, door A big thank

you to everyone.

and exterior painting

The Sandgate Market provides three types of produce offerings: 1. Local produce: veg, cakes, honey etc 2. Local made: jewellery, soft toys and furnishings etc

3. Local enterprise: local residents running a business but selling products not necessarily produced locally but that you might just like to buy for yourself or as gifts

Local made

Pauline's hand made toys

Usher's veg

It's a Florrie Thing

Gill Thompson Jewellery

Lavender & Driftwood Handmade gifts

Local enterprise ...and a chance to win £20,000

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There will not be a CAFE at the Market although the Dog House are offering Market attendees coffee or tea at £1.

Please collect your voucher at the Market

Anji's Interiors

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Saffron Rose Flowers

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Catherine Jordan

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Local produce

Once you met Zoe Varian you felt that you had known her forever. That was the type of person she was. Personable and intelligent with an enviable ability to engage one in conversation that seemed important or, if it was not, she certainly did not let it show.

She told me many times that she was a facilitator.

This was the recognition of the fact that one person could not do everything (as much as she tried). The skill then, she said, is to get others to bring one's vision to reality; getting the job done was the objective, not the glory or recognition that resulted.

In 2008, Zoe, then a Parish Councillor, joined with others to form a reconstituted Board of Trustees for the Chichester Hall. She took on the onerous task of reconstructing the long neglected accounts so they knew exactly what they could or could not afford to do. She then handed them over to me - job done!

Zoe was a tour de force, involving herself in so many different aspects of village life and her tireless campaigning brought about many changes in Sandgate such as the traffic control system at the top of the Sandgate Hill - this and many other improvements will be part of her lasting legacy.

She was an instigator of the Sandgate Farmers Market. A stallholder tells me that she was always pleased to be at a market when Zoe had her stall. She was able to peruse her stock before the Market opened and many a time she took home a treasure or two. As I write, she says, the blue and white vegetable dish she bought from Zoe is within eyesight, and outside the vintage Cerebos salt tin gracefully rusts away after several years of service in the garden. The fig tree, a cutting off Zoe’s own, is currently budding its way into this year’s growth. Each of these, along with many others, will remind her often of the unique lady that was Zoe Varian.

Zoe put her history studies as a mature student at Canterbury's Christchurch University to good use by supporting organisations such as Folkestone's People's History Centre's Research Group and her delightful prose accompanied John Hosking evocative lithographs in their 2018 collaborative book The Romney Marsh Churches.

She chaired, for many years, the Heritage Trust which exists to maintain and protect the Old Fire Station in Sandgate and she met that responsibliity in her usual stoic and efficient manner. She will be sadly missed by many and our thoughts are with her family at this time.

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Contact Leonie: 07840 138308 or leoniewootton2311@gmail.com

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Our thanks to the Sandgate Parish Council and the Community Gardeners for allowing us to reproduce this diary page. We hope to make this a monthly feature in the magazine but you can read all the diary entries by clicking on this box.

There were some lovely episodes of sunshine during this week and a very gradual rise in temperature. The main preoccupation of the week was to water, water and water, with no rain, and none on the horizon. The raspberry patch got staked, the sweet peas planted, along with more lettuces to fill any gaps. Celery, celeriac, sweet corn and all the courgettes and squashes got sown. Dozens of tomato plants have been handed out to our volunteer gardeners to grow at home, and lots of coriander and parsley got potted up to donate to the Incredible Edible seed swap and plant sale.

The sale held on Saturday was a resounding success, Incredible Edible seed swap and plant sale raising an amazing £302.17, all of which will go towards more plantings of fruit, vegetables and herbs in the locality. Whilst contemplating raising funds, we are getting ready to release all our spare tomato plants on Wednesday 21st April, this coming Wednesday, at the garden in Enbrook Park; we also have pots of mint, as well as some young plants of coriander and Parsley.

Please come along and support us if you can – any plants not taken on Wednesday will be available next Saturday, also at the garden.

All proceeds will go towards the various projects we have around Sandgate, with a ‘BIG plant up’ of all the areas we look after being planned for the first week or two in May IF the weather continues to improve.

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Although it has been so cold, we did manage to pick our first radishes which were very welcome, and although the frost and snow finished off many of the flowering tender plants from last year, we can see evidence of their scattered seeds starting to come through; some of us are getting very good at identifying weeds to pull and what to leave.

In particular the self-sown violas are looking quite spectacular.

For some time now we have been in contact with the Romney Hythe and Dymchurch railway to get ourselves onto their list of causes to benefit from access to used railway sleepers at a much reduced rate. Their yard First radishes has been closed during the Covid lockdown, but this week they have opened the yard, and we collected 100 of their small scale used railway sleepers which will be just perfect to edge paths and keep piles of compost and woodchip tidy. It seemed that 100 sleepers would go a long way but we have already used over 50 at Fremantle Park without even trying!

What’s next?

• • • • • •

Pot up all the tomato plants for the Enbrook garden Pot up plants for the sale Continue to water new seedlings Plant the potatoes Sow the cucumbers and chard Edge the compost and woodchip piles with sleepers!

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l ci 21 ntouny 20 Kety Cs Ma un on Co cti e El

For Cheriton, Sandgate & Hythe East

Tim Prater: a Local Champion

Tim Prater has lived and worked in Sandgate since 2004.

He puts forward the views of local people on our Town, Parish and District Councils. He’s the Local Choice.

Tim stands up for local people. He has helped hundreds of people locally with casework, and fixed problems across the area. He Works Hard All Year Round.

Tim gets things done. From CCTV in Sandgate, new zebra crossings installed, improving the Lower Leas Park, fighting against Princes Parade development and more. He’s a Local Champion.

Printed by CommunityAd, 1st Floor, 7 Cecil Square, Margate, CT9 1BD. Published & promoted by Tim Prater (Liberal Democrats), 98a Sandgate High Street, Folkestone CT20 3BY

For more information visit www.prater.uk or email tim@prater.uk

County Election Special: Close race expected in Cheriton, Sandgate and Hythe East In the 2017 County Council elections in this area, Lib Dem Tim Prater came a clear second to the Conservatives.

In the 2019 District Elections, Tim took the formerly safe Conservative seat of Sandgate & West Folkestone with 55% of the vote. He’s a proven winner.

As in 2019, the local Lib Dem and Green Party branches have agreed not to stand against each other to try to maximise our chances of bringing positive change, this time at Kent County Council.

Shepway Green Party is backing Tim Prater to beat the Conservatives in Cheriton, Sandgate & Hythe East in the County Council elections this year.

Hard working local campaigner TIM PRATER can beat the Conservatives here.

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Con Lib 42% Dem 24%

2017 County Council Election result last time here in Cheriton, Sandgate & Hythe East

Green

ONLY the Lib Dems can beat the Conservatives here this time

Lab 17% 10%

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All now available in paperback and on Kindle Set in Folkestone in the heady days of the late 60s.

They say if you can remember it, you weren't there!

Two plays. One an imaginary meeting between Dylan Thomas and Brendan Behan in a Fitzrovia pub. The other is Caitlin Thomas reminiscing after the untimely death of her husband.

This is the tale of Hana, a young girl who moves from where she was born in London, to the Kent coast. They discover a wonderful area called Prince's Parade which is full of amazing animals, has a beautiful canal and is right next to the sea too! By buying this book you will be helping to protect it. All profits from it will be donated to the Save Prince's Parade campaign which aims to halt plans to develop the area into a housing estate.

Very funny, and surreal story about a man and a woman on their first date: Bolton Brady and Veda, set in London, November 2001. Bolton is forty, not into assets, has never lived with a woman and looked into the future and seen loneliness. So he decides to do something about it. He advertises in a lonely-hearts column, and receives six replies, but after experiencing one disaster after another only Veda remains between him and his sanity. As the day unfolds the line between reality and fantasy becomes blurred, building to a surreal, yet poignant, conclusion.

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This walk through the history of Sandgate to the present day was first performed at the Chichester Hall a decade ago on Wednesday, 9th June. It is now available on Kindle or in paperback.

Now available on Amazon. Great evocative yarns of worldly travels.

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Us he rs no fru w it a on nd -l i n v e eg

You can now order on-line at: https://www.usherswholesale.com/box

or by telephone on: 07515 529425

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We deliver to Folkestone, Cheriton, Hawkinge, Capel, Alkham Valley, Saltwood, Sandgate, Seabrook, Hythe

SU SP EN

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The editor of The Sentinel is also responsible for sending Hythe, Newington and Sandgate related event information to the Folkestone Herald. If you have an event you wish to publicise it is needed by Tuesday at 17:00. The information should appear in the edition two weeks later although it is not gauranteed.

david@thesentinel.org.uk

for a rate card.

Thank you.

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SANDGATE FARMERS MARKET

REAL F D. REAL CL SE.

Shop Local. www.sandgatebusiness.org.uk

F O L C A Folca is the old name for Folkestone We celebrate all activities in the Folkestone and Hythe district also known as Shepway See our comprehensive Directory and Blog pages

folca.co.uk

https://hgwellscompetition.com 15

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