Hothfield News Volume 3 No. 11
November 2012
The Monthly Newsletter by the Community, for the Community
Parish Council There have been a few changes to the Parish Council recently, and it currently has just six members. These are : Larry Krause (Chairman) John Collins Penny Sutcliffe Peter Howard Liz Turner Diane Hogben. This is a chance for YOU to make a contribution to the life and development of our village. Why not drop a line to the Parish Clerk? The address is in the notice on the right.
Village Hall Regular Activities Mondays Dance Class 8-10pm Tuesdays Bowls 7-9.30pm. Come and join us! Wednesdays Dog Training 6.30-9.30pm Thursdays Bingo 7.30 to 9./00pm. Fridays Youth Club 6-8.30pm. Saturdays Rugby Tots 9-10.45am. To book the Village Hall for your Parties, Get-togethers, etc., please ring Carol on 01233 610455.
NOTICE OF CASUAL VACANCY
HOTHFIELD PARISH COUNCIL has one vacancy for a Parish Councillor If you are interested in serving as a Parish Councillor please write to the Clerk at the address shown below, giving details of interests, experience and reasons for wishing to serve: Mrs Judith Batt, Parish Clerk to Hothfield Parish Council, Keg Barn, Hornash Lane, Shadoxhurst, Ashford, Kent TN26 1HX or Email: judith.batt@btinternet.com Applicants will be considered by the current Membership and the decision made by ballot vote. Date of meeting at which co-option is to be included on the agenda to be advised, following receipt of application(s). The successful candidate will thereafter be co-opted onto the Parish Council. To qualify, a person must be a British subject or citizen of the Irish Republic, over 18 years of age and an elector. Additionally they must reside within the parish of Hothfield, or within 3 miles of it, or occupy as owner or tenant any land or premises therein, or have their principal or only place of work there, and must not be disqualified from holding office as a Councillor. Judith Batt, Clerk to Hothfield Parish Council 19 October 2012
On Sunday 25th November 2012 The Hothfield World Cinema Film Club proudly presents:
Jumble Juniors are holding a children's nearly new sale at Hothfield Village Hall, on Saturday 24th November from 10.30am until 1pm. Why not clear out all those toys cluttering up your loft? To book a table, simply visit www.jumblejuniors.co.uk to choose, book and pay for your table online. Or simply come along on the day and pick up some bargains!
Many thanks in advance
The Charing Guild of Players present
Blithe Spirit
A comedy by Noel Coward 7.30pm, Charing Church Barn Thursday 15 November – Saturday 17 November Tickets (£8) available on the door or in advance from either THE CHARING STORES (01233 712325) or on-line (www.charingguild.com)
All about Recycling Kent recycling? Nul points! Autumn’s always a good time to do a bit of shed clearing before the winter – it’s amazing what tends to accumulate in there! Broken suitcases, outdated computer parts, dead umbrellas, old phones, broken garden tools, cardboard boxes, spent batteries...all potentially recyclable materials. Having learned from this Newsletter about the 6 month closure of Ashford’s recycling centre, last Sunday my partner dutifully headed off to the Canterbury one in his van, and queued up for admission … only to be told that vans were no longer admitted, only cars. Apparently this was not just Canterbury’s policy, but applied to the whole of Kent. Domestic van owners had to apply for a license and demonstrate that their van was the only registered vehicle at their address. Why? Presumably to stop commercial vans from dumping their waste free of charge under the guise of domestic vehicles, clearly bringing the emphasis away from what a community recycling centre should be about – namely the recycling of waste, whether of commercial or domestic origin - and right onto creating a profit from commercial vehicles, who, if cash-strapped, rather than pay will now probably revert to the ghastly eyesore of fly-tipping in our beautiful countryside. Hardly an environmentally-aware piece of policy, is it? And what did we do? Well, having spent half of Sunday clearing out the shed and carting it all the way to Canterbury at our own expense, we were not going to: a) put it all back again,
b) transfer part of the waste (all of it wouldn’t fit) from my partner’s van into my small car, or c) pay for another tankful of petrol to lug it all the way to Canterbury again. Besides, there were other things we wanted to do with the rest of our Sunday! So next time we’ll be taking any new waste to Canterbury if the centre at Ashford is still closed, but this week it’s all going out with our regular household rubbish for the bin-men. What would you have done? How shameful that Kent council not only makes it very difficult to recycle much (you can’t even put cardboard, jiffy bags or windowed envelopes in with your paper for your blue box collection every 2 weeks, which only takes glass and tins apart from paper), but discourages those who take the time and effort to do so by penalising them according to the car they use to take their rubbish (at their own expense, mind!) to the dump. No discounts off the council tax bill available for those who regularly recycle, either. And how shocking, when most of the rest of Europe routinely collects differentiated domestic waste directly from households (in Italy for instance different types of rubbish are collected on different weekdays, and similar schemes operate in other European countries) that the UK in general, and Kent in particular, should still be stuck in the dark days of undifferentiated rubbish collecting and the horrors of landfills. Kent council, environmentally aware? The evidence suggests otherwise. Isobel Deeley
The temporary recycling centre for Ashford opened on 26 October. It is at the Viridor site, still on the Cobbs Wood Estate, at the end of Brunswick Road, 200 yards past the old site. Allington Quarry Waste Management Facility
Editor’s reply Actually, it’s not as bad as all that, and KCC tells us it’s going to get better. For a start, very little of Kent’s rubbish goes to landfill; only the very bulky stuff. The rest is burnt at the Allington Quarry site near Maidstone, where it produces enough electricity (43 megawatts) to power the whole of Ashford Borough. The plant is one of the most modern in Europe, and emissions of all kinds are kept to an absolute minimum. Secondly, Ashford residents will soon be able to recycle more at home with a new and improved waste and recycling collection service. The new service means that you will be able to add even more materials to your regular blue box recycling, such as plastics, cardboard and Tetra packs, and there will be a new weekly food waste collection, The new service will be rolled out from April 2013, and will save around £500,000 a year of taxpayers‘ money. On the other hand, Isobel still won’t be able to go to the tip in a van without a special voucher. Nor can you take a trailer more than 2.05 metres (7 ft.) long, or more than 33 bricks or 90kg of rubble, and if you want to dump asbestos or car tyres, there’s a £5 charge. You can’t win them all. HGB
Now in its Third Year! October 25th Draw Winners 1st Prize No.19 £24 2nd No.130 £14.40 3rd No.141 £9.60
Hothfield Post Office for all your day-to-day needs Watch out for Special Offers on Beer, Wine and Groceries! The very heart and centre of our village
There's always a welcome and a friendly face at Hothfield Post Office
Aunt Jemima’s List of Unfortunate Predictions
"Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1½ tons." -- Popular Mechanics, forecasting the relentless march of science, 1949 "I think there is a world market for maybe five computers." -- Thomas Watson, chairman of IBM, 1943 "This 'telephone' has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication. The device is inherently of no value to us." -- Western Union internal memo, 1876. "Heavier-than-air flying machines are impossible." -- Lord Kelvin, President of the Royal Society, 1895. "Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground to try and find oil? You're crazy." -- Well-borers whom Edwin L. Drake tried to enlist to his project to drill for oil in 1859. "Everything that can be invented has been invented." -- Charles H. Duell, Commissioner, U.S. Office of Patents, 1899. "Louis Pasteur's theory of germs is ridiculous fiction". - - Pierre Pachet, Professor of Physiology at Toulouse, 1872 "The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever be shut from the intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon". -- Sir John Eric Ericksen, British surgeon, appointed Surgeon-Extraordinary to Queen Victoria 1873. "The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?" -- David Sarnoff's associates in response to his urgings for investment in the radio in the 1920s. "We don't like their sound, and guitar music is on the way out." -- Decca Recording Co. rejecting the Beatles, 1962.
Hothfield News
is edited, printed and published by Hedley Grenfell-Banks and distributed by a dedicated band of volunteers. Email: hothfieldnewsletter@tiscali.co.uk Available on line in colour at www.hothfield.org.uk. The deadline for the Christmas 2012 issue is 15 November. Letters and articles for publication are always welcome. Advertising is free to businesses working in, or for, the Parish of Hothfield. Email the Editor for information on advertising prices for outside companies.
Saint Margaret's Church
More pictures from the Harvest Supper ...
Services for November
… And the Harvest Festival Flowers
SUNDAY 4th – All Saints
11am The Eucharist 4pm Commemoration Service at St. Mary, Westwell. At this service, the names of all those who have died and whose Funeral services were held in in Hothfield and Westwell in the past year will be read out and remembered in our prayers. SUNDAY 11th – REMEMBRANCE 10.45am Service of Remembrance SUNDAY 18th – 2 before Advent 11am The Eucharist SUNDAY 25th – Christ the King 11am Family Service 3.30pm Messy Church In the Bluebells Centre EVERY TUESDAY Charing – The Eucharist 9.00am Charing Heath – Bible Study and Prayers 7pm EVERY WEDNESDAY Charing – Prayers 6.15pm 1st WEDNESDAY (7th ) Charing Heath – The Eucharist 10.30am followed by Coffee in The Red Lion 1st FRIDAY (2nd) Westwell – Iona Eucharist followed by Coffee in The Wheel Inn
Friends of St. Margaret’s
This month’s
COFFEE MORNING will be on Tuesday 6 November at Hothfield Village Hall
10.30 to 11.30am.
ALL WELCOME
Godinton House & Gardens It hardly seems possible that it’s time for the house to close to the public. Staff and guides have all enjoyed the pleasure of your company, so now the work begins to clean, restore and preserve for 2013.
Pumpkin Day
28th October 11am – 4pm Family fun with ghost stories, pumpkin carving, treasure hunt, face painting, children's crafts and games. The Kent Guild of Spinners, Dyers and Weavers will be demonstrating their skills during the day. Godmersham game will be barbequing their renowned venison burgers and sausages, visit our tearoom for homemade cake and afternoon tea. Adults £5.00, Children £2.00
Macmillan Coffee Morning
1st November – 10am – 12noon Let’s make time for coffee, cakes, and the people in our lives raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support. Minimum donation for coffee and cake £3.00. All donations will go direct to Macmillan Cancer Support. Greenhouse plant clearance sale in the Walled Garden. Winter Containers Workshop 10th November 9.30am – 12.30pm Fun morning, creating your own pot to look great all Winter.
Sewing Class with Clare Langdon 23rd November 10am – 3pm Come along and make a Christmas stocking or table runner for your home. Step by step guide, cutting fabric, sewing, then take home the finished item. Contact Godinton for booking form. For information on course content and equipment, email Clare at clarelangdon@aol.com
Christmas Arts Fair 30th November – 2nd December 11am – 4pm daily, entry free of charge: Art and Crafts by local artistswww.godinton-housegardens.co.uk For more information or to book, contact Rachael on 01233 643854
Computer POORLY ? Is it slow, lethargic, moody? When you ask it to do something, does it just whine and say ‘Maybe tomorrow’? Perhaps it has a nasty virus. But it’s far more likely to be just indigestion. HGB Services can clean it out and set it back on its little feet. The first half-hour will cost you only £10 – and no callout charge inside Hothfield. For any sort of computer problem, just ring 01233 629568.
TREECYCLING
Help Pilgrims Hospices by recycling Christmas Trees Pilgrims Hospices are launching their first TREECYCLING Christmas Tree Collection. This will take place in the Christmas season In return for a suggested minimum donation of £4, a team of volunteers will collect your old Christmas tree and take it to be processed into woodchips. Pauline Donkin of Pilgrims Hospice Ashford explains, “It’s a simple idea that works on the principle of “save all that mess in your car or the hassle of cutting up your tree for disposal by having your old Christmas tree collected by the TREECYCLING team. You just register your tree with us, make your donation and we will collect and recycle it for you.” “This is the first year of running TREECYCLING and it is critical we build a team of volunteers to ensure its success. We are looking for people who have time to help with the collection and it would be especially great if we could find people with vans to volunteer. Please call Pilgrims Hospice Ashford on 01233 504111 to volunteer.” Nigel Donkin, Regional Fundraising Manager, added, “TREECYCLING is an exciting new initiative and if it is well supported this year, we hope to extend it to other areas of East Kent in the future. We are always looking for new fundraising ideas to enable us to continue to provide care free of charge to all who need it.” The TREECYCLING collection will take place in: TN23, TN24, Aldington, Brabourne/Brabourne Lees, Brook, Hothfield, Mersham, Shadoxhurst, Smeeth, Westwell, Wye The collection weekend is Saturday 12th and Sunday 13th January 2013. Over 80p in every £1 is spent on patient care, so please be generous if you can. To book your collection, register online at www.pilgrimshospices.org or call 01233 504111. Registration opens at the beginning of December.
Help us to look after Hothfield Heathlands Now that the plants have stopped flowering, the birds have stopped nesting and most of the other wildlife has gone to ground, we are starting to progress with our winter works across the reserve. Our volunteer group works hard to knock back the scrub that has been slowly encroaching over the last few decades. Every square meter that we restore will provide habitats for dragonflies, orchids, ground nesting birds and hundreds of other species. Our winter task programme started
at the beginning of October. If you have ever wanted to get involved with nature conservation work, the Kent Wildlife Trust runs regular Sunday and Tuesday tasks. The majority of winter tasks involve removal of birch, with bonfires to get rid of the excess material. All the bigger bits of wood are taken as firewood by the volunteers. As well as scrub removal, other tasks range from fence repair, installing
gates, path repair, pond building and many more tasks essential in improving wildlife across the reserve. The task days are a great way to keep fit, get plenty of fresh air and meet some like minded people. To get involved, you just need to bring lunch, drink, waterproofs, sturdy footwear and enthusiasm! To find out more, contact me on 07889 737839 or contact Kent Wildlife Trust on 01622 662012. Ian Rickards, Kent Wildlife Trust
Sunday Conservation Tasks
Sunday tasks start at 10:00am and go on until 4.00pm. Date
Site
Task
Meeting point
11 November
Hothfield Heathlands
Hothfield Heathlands reserve car park
9th December
Hothfield Heathlands
13th January
Hothfield Heathlands
Scrub control and fencing Heathland management Heathland management
th
Hothfield Heathlands reserve car park Hothfield Heathlands reserve car park
Weekday Conservation Tasks
Weekday tasks start at 9:00am and go on until 4.00pm. Date
Site
Task
Meeting point
Tuesdays
Ashford reserves. (Hothfield, Ashford Warren and Orelstone forest)
Practical conservation management
Contact reserves warden on 07889 737839
Heather, August