Kent Eye Magazine - Oct/Nov 2020

Kent Eye

magazine October/November 2020

COMMUNITY CULTURE & COMMERCE

Shooting famous faces – meet Kent photographer

Hugo Philpott

Golf in the shadows of ‘the Loveliest Castle in the World’

" & 9 " / % 3 " 8 ) * 5 &

4 * 7 & 3 + & 8 & & 3 :

Registered charity number 306016.

WWW.ALEXANDRAWHITEJEWELLERY.CO.UKWWW.ALEXANDRAWHITEJEWELLERY.CO.UK ALEX@ALEXANDRAWHITEJEWELLERY.CO.UKALEX@ALEXANDRAWHITEJEWELLERY.CO.UK 07765 580746 07765 580746 d Farm Blacklan

ussnetrxe S , m r a F d Blacklantdoor activity ce Ou

Bring your family and friends for a day of fun and adventure at Blackland Farm.

We’ve exciting activities for all ages and abilities including canoeing, archery, zip wire and many more.

Book your birthday party with us too!

" 7 & 3 :

WWW.ALEXANDRAWHITEJEWELLERY.CO.UK ALEX@ALEXANDRAWHITEJEWELLERY.CO.UK 07765 580746

Contact u s and book today!

01342 810493 blackland@girlguiding.org.uk girlguidingactivitycentres.org.uk/blackland

PLURENDEN PAINTBALL UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP

Entry: £12.50

(includes Coverall Hire, Marker Hire, Unlimited Gas and 100 Paintballs)

Min age: 12 Years

Come and experience our fantastic

covid-19 secure recreational team sport

Groups of up to 30 (2 teams of 15) For more information call Matt on

07784 960016

Find us on Facebook: PlurendenPaintball email: leggettfamily@hotmail.com Plurenden Manor Farm, Plurenden Road, High Halden, TN26 3JW. Please note: Pre-booked entry only

2

www.kenteye.co.uk

KENT EYE

Inside Kent Eye October/November 2020

Eye on Business Trevor Sturgess presents a view of Kent’s business scene

Business Eye Importing and exporting goods after Brexit

Cover Story: Hugo Philpott Rochester based photographer of the Stars talks to Kent Eye

4 8 10

Community Eye Find out what’s going on in your local community

Environment Eye Gardeners ready to help biodiversity

Food & Drink Eye The #CaringCustomer campaign

14 18 22

10 18 14

Sports Eye Golf boom at Leeds and cricket star signs new contract

Entertainment Eye Kent’s events calendar starts up

24 26

Published by Kent Eye Limited.

Kent Space, Wotton Road, Ashford, Kent TN23 6LN Editor: Charlie Vavasour Business Editor: Trevor Sturgess Features: Sananur Meric Guy Sales: Sarah Leigh Origination: Ali Scrivens For details on regular or future features, please email editor@kenteye.co.uk For advertising enquiries call Sarah Leigh: 0117 946 6848 or email advertising@kenteye.co.uk Visit: www.kenteye.co.uk

@KentEyeMag © Copyright 2020 The views of the advertisers and contributors are not necessarily those of Kent Eye Ltd. No part of this magazine can be copied, reproduced or transmitted in any form without the publisher’s written consent.

All rights reserved.

ISSN 2633-870X

24

www.kenteye.co.uk 3

Title

Eye on Business

sub authour

Trevor Sturgess

Better health seals healthier bottom line during pandemic and beyond Apart from its devastating impact on many businesses, with many already done for or about to close, COVID-19 has dealt a heavy blow to the health and wellbeing of millions.

in focusing on how to help businesses secure a healthier future.

They founded Think Healthy Me (THM) this year with the aim of helping to improve businesses through a culture of health.

We thought we were over the worst but then this vicious virus springs back into autumnal life. We were encouraged to go back to work before a screech of brakes and an abrupt about-turn.

The R-number rises, more businesses, especially in hospitality, are further damaged – and jobless numbers soar, all further denting physical and mental health.

Perhaps we have never quite understood how vital health is to our livelihoods. Coronavirus has changed that.

Brian Urwin has long appreciated the need for good health.

Still active, despite a cardiac arrest in 2000, after a full life in business, Thanet-based Brian promotes good health as the key to business growth.

He is convinced that bottom line, the usual measure of commercial success, is out-of-date. Far better, he says, to see improved health as the route to growth, which in turn leads to a healthier bottom line.

As Coronavirus tightened its grip on the lives and livelihoods of Kent residents, a group of like-minded individuals joined Brian

“Many of our associates have had lifethreatening experiences, including myself with a cardiac arrest in a foreign country in 2000,” Brian says. “Through lifestyle changes, we have successfully conquered these illnesses and learnt as a result.”

Business owners can call upon the skillsets of THM associates such as leadership, culture change, resilience, yoga to address p Brian Urwin post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), stress management, healthy eating, obesity, mindfulness, organisation development and community empowerment. They complete a needs analysis and advise how to make necessary changes.

THM’s strapline is: “Supporting employers to manage stress and improve the health and well-being of their organisation and employees.”

Brian is banging the drum for a healthy business agenda, more important than ever during a health crisis. His powerful message deserves to be heard loud and clear by every business in the county.

More information at: www.thinkhealthyme.co.uk

Let go of the bad stuff to heal ills Caroline Purvey is one of Brian’s associates in Think Healthy Me. She has written a book Feel It to Heal It that is a timely tool for life. Peter Erlam, a journalist from Ramsgate, has read an advance copy.

If ever there was a book written for these times it is this gem of powerful insight from Caroline Purvey.

Her wake-up call, delivered with passion and conviction, could not be more appropriate for 2020.

What she has to say could be transformational in a world suffering from Covid-19 fallout. But only if everyone is prepared to act on her fundamental belief – that we all hold the key to freeing ourselves of stress, anxiety and trauma.

4

This can be achieved by “releasing” trapped emotions or memories; letting go of the bad stuff we have stored up over many years, some since childhood or even from birth.

The Dover-based yoga teacher has been practising and preaching the benefits of Total Release Experience (TRE) for nearly a decade and has helped thousands of clients become pain-free.

One of many testimonials quoted by the author is Leia, a woman who had become consumed by anxiety stemming from her mother mistreating her as a baby. She acclaims TRE for helping ‘you trust in the body’s power to heal you’. She says it is a gift that ‘none of us should live without’.

But affirmation for TRE’s impact is based

Caroline Purvey p

not just on individual success stories. Part of Caroline’s mission has been to introduce the practice to the service sector, including the fire, police, military and prison

www.kenteye.co.uk

BUSINESS EYE services. The meat of the book focuses on illuminating and inspirational stories of TRE as a life changer at a time when physical, mental and emotional issues are dominating news headlines.

FIGHT TO SAVE CHATHAM DOCKS, 2,000 JOBS AND MARITIME HERITAGE UNITES OPPOSITION Plans to turn Chatham’s commercial docks into a housing estate from 2025 would deal a severe blow to jobs and Medway’s centuries-old reputation for maritime activity.

The plan by port owner Peel L&P has united political parties in opposition to proposals that could cost up to 2,000 direct and indirect jobs and hit the Medway economy for an estimated £260 million a year.

Companies have suffered stress during the Coronavirus pandemic with owners, managers and staff facing potential loss of a business built up over years, loss of jobs or income.

Peel L&P claims it would cost too much to bring the port up to scratch and Medway Council has delayed publication of a local plan that would give guidance on the future of the site.

Similarly, Covid’s shocking impact on health workers, carers and other frontline staff, as well as on legions of school and university students, is reason enough for leaders throughout society to read and take heed of ‘Feel It To Heal It’. *Published on 28 October by Book Brilliance and available via www.treuk.com (£14.99).

While Peel would net more revenue from sale of the site for housing development, Medway should stand up to protect jobs and businesses like ArcelorMittal Kent Wire that have thrived at Chatham Docks for decades, and to preserve a proud maritime tradition.

Saga returns to roots for transformation Saga, the made-in-Kent holiday and financial services specialist for the over-50s has been a big success story. Since 1951, it has offered – mostly – exceptional services tailored to a demanding client base.

But it has not all been plain sailing. COVID-19 has dealt a massive blow to the travel sector. Saga returned £44m to customers for cancelled breaks. Its fleet of cruise ships, in which it has invested heavily in recent years, lies at anchor.

Saga has faced some turbulence since Sir Roger De Haan, son of founder Sidney, and his family sold the business for £1.4bn in 2004. Private equity owners loaded it with debt. Saga fans who bought into a flotation in 2014 have seen the price slump from 185p to around 14p.

Now Sir Roger, who has invested millions of pounds from the proceeds of the 2004 sale in regenerating his beloved Folkestone, is back as non-executive chairman after investing £100m, giving him a 20% stake. A further £50m is sought from others, including those original small investors.

The share prospectus is strikingly honest, admitting to strategic failures, including dilution of original culture, inconsistent focus on the customer, a legacy of poorly made investment and a lack of delivery. Sir Roger told the Financial Times that Saga had ”lost its way and had lost its confidence.” Restoring the ethos he saw his father create will be a big challenge – but if anyone can pull it off, he can.

Patrick O’Sullivan, outgoing chairman, apologised to shareholders for the failure of the share price “to live up to the promises made at the time of the flotation.”

He claimed a “new strengthened management team has developed a focused turnaround strategy,” promising lower costs, debt reduction, better customer experience and “data, digital and brand transformation.”

While financial services have held up pretty well during Covid, travel has plunged and it will be more important than ever for Saga to put its arms around clients to reassure them that’s it’s safe to travel with them.

With Sir Roger back on board, Saga is looking to revive its old family culture which, combined with new technology, will show that it is not just another travel and financial services company.

Saga is a unique business with Kentish heritage and a huge, growing and relatively affluent target market.

Although jobs have been shed, it remains a large employer in Folkestone and Ramsgate, and a powerful economic generator for East Kent. Many will wish it well, hoping that the turnaround strategy and Sir Roger’s input will restore lustre to this special Kent brand.

Credit: KM Group

www.kenteye.co.uk 5

BUSINESS EYE

When affordable means unaffordable How often do you hear the adjective “affordable” attached to “homes.” It’s a deceptive word that is laughable to many young people and low-paid key workers struggling to buy their first property.

For all the thousands of houses springing up across the county, locals are still largely priced out of the area where they have grown up, while residents from London cash in their properties to snap up larger homes in Kent and Medway, pushing prices up further.

City of Culture bid will be “game-changer” and boost Covid recovery Despite the pandemic, Medway’s bid to become City of Culture in 2025 continues apace. Locals have been urged to Back Medway, with stickers and a new website in a branding campaign created by Chatham-based design agency Circus.

This situation is particularly acute in rural areas. George Jessel, an East Kent farmer, said: “We need the right houses in the right location for the right people. We end up with the wrong style of house in the right location for probably the wrong people. Let’s have some houses where young people who work in agriculture can live and get on the housing ladder.”

The other deceit is the number of “affordable” homes initially claimed for any development. They prove a fiction after demands for community investment slash numbers to boost builders’ profitability.

The new planning proposals do little to ease the “affordable” housing crisis. For example, developers of fewer than 40 houses in a rural setting would not have to build any “affordable” homes at all.

While the new proposals would ramp up building, they could come at the price of local democracy and “affordability.” As a Kent expert said: “It’s not needs driven, it’s about numbers.”

Sheps bats for Kent cricket as sport and the arts lose out to Covid foe Crowds are not allowed into sports grounds, dealing a huge cash blow to clubs across the county, from Kent County Cricket Club to football teams like Gillingham in League One and Maidstone, Dartford, Dover and others in the National League and lower tiers.

These are businesses like any other, and many will go to the wall without taxpayer support. Well done to business sponsors like Shepherd Neame which has backed the frequent Spitfire Sessions and streaming of live cricket.

The quality of television coverage from Canterbury has been exemplary.

Meanwhile, theatres suffer as lucrative pantomimes are called off. Margate’s Winter Gardens and Theatre Royal, for example, are in desperate need of financial support. If we want to see sport and the arts in better times, we need to donate now – before it’s too late.

6

p Imogen Robertson

Promoters claim that a successful bid would be a real gamechanger for Medway, giving young people a key role within its cultural life, create a legacy of opportunities for local people and bring significant economic benefits.

They are seeking local trustees and working group members and inviting community groups to host workshops to develop the bid.

Imogen Robertson, bid director, said: “2020 has been a challenging year and the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted how strong Medway is when we come together. Our UK City of Culture 2025 bid is a huge opportunity for Medway to write the next chapter in our story and show the rest of the country what we have to be proud of. Being City of Culture is a chance to bring once-in-a-lifetime opportunities to life for people across the whole of Medway and bolster our COVID-19 recovery. Now is the moment to Back Medway and support our bid!”

More at www.medway2025.co.uk

www.kenteye.co.uk

BUSINESS EYE

Eurostar’s station boycott could dent surge in relocation enquiries The pandemic is a factor is the surge in enquiries from London-based companies seeking a new home in Kent and Medway.

But it’s a shame that Eurostar has damaged a key selling point by removing Kent‘s two international stations from the timetable.

space, and attractive places to “work, rest and play.”

LiK CEO Gavin Cleary said: “Whilst the pandemic has demonstrated that employees can work effectively from home, commercial property is still essential for most organisations, whether that be a central office hub or a larger industrial unit that allows for effective social distancing.”

Shortly after Locate in Kent (LiK) reported a 57% rise in businesses browsing for commercial property in the county in the three months to July 31, Eurostar confirms that its trains will not be stopping at Ebbsfleet and Ashford until 2022.

Sadly, Kent’s reputation for connectivity with mainland Europe doesn’t look quite so impressive when international LiK has also seen a 15% uplift in property business travellers have to go to St Pancras enquiries from companies across all UK to board their train. While p Locate in Kent (LiK) CEO Gavin Cleary regions in the same period. These findings the county still has so many advantages for showcase the shift in attitudes since the beginning of the inward investors, some see the stations as the cherry on the cake.

COVID-19 lockdown and the increased interest in business We must hope that rumours they will never re-open are unfounded. locations that offer greater work-life balance, cheaper commercial Kent needs to be back on the international high-speed track.

Free parking is a welcome sign for town centre retailers Apart from grocers, bricks and mortar retailing has been hit hard by the pandemic. High street footfall has been well down on pre-COVID levels.

Local councils have been affected too, with falling revenues and rising demand for services.

But councils should do their best to support local traders in difficult times.

Parking charges were suspended in some places but resumed when the crisis appeared to ease.

Enlightened Gravesham Council, no less cash-strapped than others, makes its car parks free at weekends. We recently visited the town and were surprised to pay nothing. But it was an encouraging signal to the public to use local shops. It felt welcoming, Well done Gravesham for setting a good example – and making visitors feel a little happier in these worrying times.

CooperBurnett expands its team At a time when many firms have put a hold on recruitment, CooperBurnett LLP has welcomed two new team members, who have joined its Family & Matrimonial and Employment teams.

“This has been a challenging six months but, as a firm, we are continuing to invest, particularly in the practice areas which have seen an increase in their workload,” says Joseph Oates, Partner and Head of the Contentious Department at CooperBurnett.

Natasha Smith has joined CooperBurnett’s litigation team as a Senior Associate specialising in employment law. She trained with and qualified into the employment team at a large Surrey firm in 2009 and brings a wealth of experience advising clients on a variety of employment matters. t Natasha Smith (l)

and Melissa Gire (r)

“Having worked in Tunbridge Wells previously and lived in the area for some time now, I was aware of the excellent reputation CooperBurnett has locally,” says Natasha. “I was also drawn to the firm’s keen involvement in charitable causes as this is something that I enjoy being involved in too, having organised charity balls and undertaken various personal challenges.”

Melissa Gire has joined CooperBurnett’s Family & Matrimonial team as an Associate Solicitor. She is working alongside Partner Gemma Gillespie, where she is assisting clients with a wide range of family law matters, including divorce and finances, children issues, pre and post nuptial agreements and co-habitation disputes.

“I have particular expertise in medium to high net worth financial remedy cases arising from a divorce and any associated children issues,” Melissa explains. “I have experience in acting for parents in high conflict disputes in relation to who the children should spend time with and live with, including cases where there has been an element of parental alienation and allegations made against the parents. I also regularly act for clients who wish to enter into relationship agreements.”

www.kenteye.co.uk 7

BUSINESS EYE

Importing and exporting goods to the EU after Brexit: What you need to know Following a 12-month transition period, the UK will formally exit the EU on 31 December 2020. If you export or import goods to or from Europe, you are most likely wondering what this means for your business.

have pre-notification and supply the relevant health documentation.

Gareth Bridgland from Kent-based Perrys Chartered Accountants, has outlined the main points to help you prepare your company well ahead of the deadline and make any required adjustments as things change.

What will change during Phase 3?

You will be required to submit a full customs declaration to HMRC for all goods being imported at the point of importation.

If you import regulated plants and plant-based products, you will also need pre-notification and the relevant health documentation.

When will Phase 3 begin?

Phase 3 will be introduced on 1 July 2021.

p Gareth Bridgland

When will the new controls be in place?

From 1 January 2021, new controls will be placed on the movement of goods between the UK and the European Union.

How will these controls be implemented?

To allow businesses to prepare, changes will be phased in and introduced in three separate stages between 1 January 2021 and 1 July 2021.

When will Phase 1 be introduced?

Phase 1 will start on 1 January 2021.

What will happen during Phase 1?

For companies importing standard goods, basic customs requirements will come into effect. You will then have up to six months to submit any relevant customs declarations to HMRC. Standard goods are items that are not controlled.

If you are importing controlled goods, such as alcohol, tobacco or toxic chemicals, you will need to submit a full customs declaration when the goods enter the UK. If you are importing live animals or high-risk plant or plantbased products, you will be required to have pre-notification and health documentation.

If you are importing high-risk animal by-products, you will also need a pre-notification.

When will payments need to be made during Phase 1?

Tariffs will need to be paid on all imports from day one.

However, payments can be deferred until the customs declaration has been made.

You will need to consider how you pay for VAT on imported goods.

How will goods be checked?

For standard goods, documents will be checked remotely. For controlled goods, physical checks will be carried out at the border. For high-risk goods, physical checks will take place at the destination or on other authorised premises.

Tariffs for imported goods will need to be paid at the point of importation before goods can be released.

Physical checks and sampling of animals, plants and their products will be increased. Physical checks will also be carried out at UK Border Control posts.

What will change if I export goods to the EU? Export documentation will be required from 1 January 2021.

You must submit a full customs declaration to HMRC for all goods being exported to the EU and must be ‘arrived’ and ‘departed’ at the point of exit from the UK. An export license or certificate may be required for certain types of goods.

How do I make sure my company is ready for Brexit?

We recommend ensuring that you and your supply chain are ready well before the changes for importing and exporting goods come into effect. Ensure: l you have an EORI number: l you and your supply chain have made preparation to submit import and export declarations on goods moving between the UK and the EU: l you have correctly classified your goods and determined whether they are standard, controlled or high-risk: l you take steps to account for VAT on any imported goods: l you are aware of any changes required for the labelling and marketing standards of food, plants, seeds, manufactured goods and organic produce: l you obtain a government gateway login and register as a trader on the DEFRA PEACH system if you are exporting products requiring pre-notification: l drivers have the relevant permits If you are operating a fleet of vehicles taking goods into the EU.

When will Phase 2 begin?

Phase 2 will be introduced on 1 April 2021.

What will change during Phase 2?

If you import products of animal origin, such as meat, pet food, honey, milk or eggs, you will be required to

8

www.kenteye.co.uk

BUSINESS EYE

Trooli to expand into East Sussex A growing Kent-based ultrafast broadband provider is poised to expand into East Sussex.

broadband available in those areas for the first time and end the frustration of people who don’t want to depend on the much slower speeds currently on offer.

Since its launch two years ago, Trooli has been laying a new full fibre network across rural parts of Kent. To date, the Kings Hill company has installed 450 kilometres of cabling in the county.

“Kent remains our core market but we are an ambitious, growing business and moving into East Sussex will open up new opportunities for us,” said Andy Conibere, Chief Executive Officer for Trooli.

The Trooli network in Hadlow, Marden, Staplehurst, Headcorn and Romney Marsh is about to go live, and work will shortly begin on connecting Darenth, Hoo St Werburgh and Chattenden.

The business is now poised to take its first steps over the border into East Sussex, extending its network to Crowborough and Uckfield. This will make ultrafast

“Demand for the service we offer – which is rated as excellent on Trust Pilot and has a network reliability of more than 99.9 per cent – continues to increase as people make greater use of their home broadband, and we are maintaining our momentum in connecting new areas.”

Trooli, which was launched in 2018, is backed by €30m from the Connecting Europe Broadband Fund (CEBF) and a recent further £5m from NatWest. It is steadily building its network across Kent and is currently available to 36,000 premises in the county. The company aims to be accessible to 150,000 homes and businesses in the next 18 months, rising to 500,000 in four years.

enTWine: A new business forum for Tunbridge Wells Three Tunbridge Wells-based business owners – Lynne Gadsden from Grovewood Wealth Management, Pam Loch from Loch Associates Group and Victoria Sampson from CooperBurnett – have joined together to launch enTWine, a new business forum for the town. All three are past presidents of West Kent Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which ceased trading this summer after 160 years serving the local business community.

miss the support and friendship of our fellow members.”

“After lockdown eased, the three of us met for lunch to digest the news,” says Lynne, who is the immediate past president. “We were all really saddened that the Chamber no longer existed and felt strongly that we would all

Pam continues: “Tunbridge Wells is a vibrant and close-knit business community that the three of us are proud to have been part of for many years. We didn’t want to lose the passion we all felt being members of the Chamber and, it wasn’t long before

p Lynne Gadsden

p Pam Loch

Adds Victoria: “We realised that there was a real gap in Tunbridge Wells for a forum where the local business community could gather and share their aspirations and ideas, while also discussing any challenges.

This is particularly true at the moment, when we are all facing a new and unique business environment as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.”

we came to the conclusion that we had the knowledge and experience between us to launch a new business forum for the town.”

The name enTWine was chosen to signify how businesses benefit by pulling together and supporting each other, while it also includes TW to acknowledge its location.

Of course, there’s ‘wine’ in there too, which might well play a small role in some of the get-togethers! It was Pam who came up with enTWine’s tag-line: ‘we listen, we share, we benefit’.

The first meeting of enTWine is scheduled for the early evening of Wednesday 7 October. It will be online, with the intention of taking it into the real world when restrictions allow.

p Victoria Sampson

www.kenteye.co.uk 9

Hugo Philpott photographer Rochester-based photographer Hugo Philpott has spent the last 25 years taking pictures of some of the most famous people and events in the world, in some of the most dangerous locations possible.

Becoming a photographer of the stars was not an easy journey for Hugo, but some slices of good fortune along the way helped him to carve out the career he dreamed of.

Born in Whitstable, Hugo went to school in Canterbury and it was during his year abroad after school that first ignited his passion for photography.

“Somewhat unusually I decided to tour around the world on my own and I think this enabled me to really focus on what I was

seeing and experiencing and try to capture it for prosperity. I basically took pictures of everything I saw, from Balinese dancers to the snowy mountaintops of New Zealand, and really caught the bug of trying to take great pictures.”

Returning to the UK, Hugo studied Humanities at Teesside University. “I had a great time at Uni, but quickly discovered when I graduated that a Humanities degree wasn’t particularly useful in the jobs market! So, I decided to follow my passion and enrolled in a Photography degree at the London College of Printing.

“Having qualified from there I spent my first-year specking, just trying to take photographs that I could speculatively send to newspapers and agencies for them to use. My big break, and first slice of good fortune, came in 1996 during the Chinese President’s State visit. Just as the Queen’s carriage was coming down the Mall a protester ran towards Her Majesty, and I was in the perfect place to take the picture. I took it to AFP, the French national agency, they bought it and next day it was published in The Guardian, and the following day AFP gave me my first proper shift and I carried on working with them until 2001.

“Another major break also came in 1996 when a friend of mine was asked by the Financial Times to travel to Afghanistan to try and find, and interview, General Ahmad Shah Massoud who was leading the fight against the Taliban. The general consensus was that he was in Panjshir Valley, so we headed in that direction, t Trooping the Colour, 2016

q Taliban Prayers, 1996

COVER STORY

p General Ahmad Shah Massoud, 1996

p Taliban fighters,1996

having to travel through Taliban-controlled countryside. We stayed in camps with the Taliban (without revealing our real objective). In those days, before getting bogged down with ideology, the Taliban were very cool, and treated us extremely well and helped us to get through all of the checkpoints.

raids on the Taliban. Massoud spoke perfect English and was the nicest, most impressive person I have ever met.”

“Eventually we got to a village, where intelligence had suggested Massoud was near, and suddenly a fleet of brand-new Toyota Landcruisers came along the road. We flagged one of the vehicles down and, quite by chance, it was being driven by Massoud’s right hand man, who offered to help us gain access. We ended up in Massoud’s base and spent two days with him, interviewing and photographing while he was coordinating a series of bombing

Having got the taste for war photography Hugo next travelled to Bosnia at the end of the conflict there, but got disillusioned.

“There is a tremendous amount of adrenaline involved when in a war zone, but I quickly realised just how many war photographers are killed and they seem to be very expendable. I also started to understand that, however strong and harrowing the photographs, it doesn’t really change the world.”

Moving away from war photography, Hugo started to focus on news events and in particular sports. “In 2005 I got my first accreditation for Wimbledon and have done every championship

p Barrack Obama, 2008 q Jonny Depp libel trial, 2020

u Tony Blair, Labour Party Conference

Brighton, 2005

www.kenteye.co.uk 11

p Rafa Nadal wins Wimbledon final, 2008

p Dalai Lama, London, 2008

since. It was at Wimbledon when I took one of my favourite images in 2008, when Rafa Nadal won. The final had gone way into the evening and as the match concluded at about 9pm it was too dark to take pictures. However, I decided to keep snapping just to see what would come out, and, as Nadal won, he fell onto his back in celebration. Quite by chance, I managed to catch the flash from another photographer which lit Nadal perfectly. The photograph was on the front page of The Independent the following day.

q Nelson Mandela, Trafalgar Square London, 2005

“For the Olympics in 2012 I was working for an agency which basically said ‘you can pick which events you want to go to’, so I had a field day shooting the 100m final, the velodrome with Sir Chris Hoy, Mo Farrah, Michael Phelp’s gold, I literally got access to everything I wanted which was absolutely unbelievable.

“I did premiership football for many years, but I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with the sport. I don’t particularly like photographing it as there is just too much luck involved with getting a great shot – if you are in the wrong place you can end up getting nothing, it’s just so random.

“Over my 25-year career I have been absolutely blessed by the people I have been able to photograph. My favourite moments have probably been photographing the Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela, although shooting Grace Jones and spending the evening getting drunk with her was quite an experience! The worst people to photograph are film stars who are just not helpful, and q Usain Bolt, 200m Final London Olympics, 2012

politicians who can sometimes be awful. Tony Blair was amazing as he knew how to use the media, knew where to look, how to stand, when to wave etc.

“I was also very lucky to do William and Kate’s wedding where my shots were widely used in the US. I was also at Harry and Meghan’s, but got allocated a dreadful position and as they came past in their carriage Harry has a face like thunder!”

In recent years the industry has changed dramatically, and the current Covid-19 restrictions are proving a further challenge. “The whole news industry is in bits at the moment and picture prices are at rock bottom. You can stand in Downing Street all day and end up just getting £20 for a picture, so nowadays I’ll only work on a shift basis. The collapse of the newspaper industry and the rise of the iPhone have put photography in serious trouble. This has also been compounded with Covid-19 as events aren’t going ahead. Weddings are seriously reduced and even with sporting fixtures back, at the moment only eight photographers are able to attend Premier League football matches when it is usually 60+.

“But despite all this there is still work out there. I love doing portraits and family photos, and weddings are always great fun.

Basically, I just love taking great pictures and there is still a huge gap between those who think they can do it themselves and professionals. The skill is knowing which lens to use, being ready and prepared and almost second guessing what is going to happen next. Using light correctly is also crucial to making an image really stand out from the crowd.”

For more information visit: www.hugophilpottphoto.com

12 www.kenteye.co.uk

COVER STORY

p Roger Federer, Wimbledon, 2011

p All Blacks v Springbocks, Rugby World Cup

Semi-Final, Twickenham, 2015

p Sir Chris Hoy winning his 6th Olympic Gold

medal, London, 2012 q Sir Mo Farah winning 10,000m Gold, London, 2012

p Serena Williams wins Wimbledon, 2015

www.kenteye.co.uk 13

Community Eye Medway City of Culture 2025 bid kicks off campaign, inviting locals to ‘Back Medway’ Medway’s UK City of Culture 2025 campaign has launched, unveiling new branding and a website along with an invitation for people across the area to get involved.

Over the next year Medway is bidding to be UK City of Culture as part of a major national competition. Hosting in 2025 would be a real game-changer for Medway, giving young people a key role within its cultural life, create a legacy of opportunities for local people and bring significant economic benefits to the area.

The bid is being shaped by Medway’s people, businesses, and organisations with over 450 locals of all ages involved to date.

Medway’s bid invites locals to ‘Back Medway’, show their support for the bid and have their say in developing Medway’s themes and approach.

The bid is currently seeking local trustees and working group members and invites community groups to host workshops to develop the bid. More information is available on the website with further opportunities to be involved being made public over the coming weeks.

The new branding, which has been created by Chatham-based design agency Circus, embodies Medway’s bid giving a voice to people across the area and includes nods to Medway’s rich history and heritage, with patterns drawn from local landmarks, the river and maritime history.

The process of bidding will identify themes that will underpin an ambitious and innovative year-long series of events that will

make up the proposed 2025 programme taking place across the full geography of Medway.

The plans reflect Medway’s history and personality and the unique character of our cultural sector which spans digital, film, food, music, fashion, gaming, craft, dance, and much more.

Being recognised as UK City of Culture would bring the title to the South East for the first time in the competition’s history and have a profound impact on the whole of the area. Previous winners have seen a significant cultural and economic boost including increases in tourism and inward-investment. Hull saw a projected £22 million gross value added to the local economy as a result of hosting.

Eddy Eguaoje, Founder of Medway Fashion Week and supporter of Medway 2025, comments: “As a young creative in Medway, I set up Medway Fashion Week to shine a light on the amazing sense of innovation present throughout our towns, villages and peninsula. Therefore, it is fantastic to see that our communities are coming together to put Medway forward as UK City of Culture 2025. The area has such a strong arts and culture scene, from fashion and beyond, so there is so much we have to shout about and be proud of as part of this bid.”

Leeds Castle hosts NHS Wellbeing Day A wonderful day out – that is what the Leeds Castle Foundation and the local NHS combined to provide for 2500 staff and their families from NHS organisations in Kent and Medway, when they staged NHS Wellbeing Day. “The Loveliest Castle in the world” welcomed staff and their families for a well-deserved wellbeing day after a gruelling six months tackling the virus.

Leeds Castle Chairman Niall Dickson said: “We are all aware and in awe of what local NHS staff have done for our community, and our aim was to create a very special day in this very special place. We know the experience of visiting the castle and its estate can be so uplifting and can do great things for our mental health and wellbeing. Who better to enjoy this than hardworking NHS staff and their long-suffering families?

The Kent & Medway NHS has around 40,000 employees across organisations working in acute, mental health, community, primary care settings and commissioning.

To coincide with the wellbeing day, Leeds Castle launched an NHS and Care Discount Scheme so that health and social care staff across Kent can benefit from all the castle and its estate have to offer. This scheme will sit alongside current offers for blue light and emergency service employees.

John Goulston, Interim Chair of Kent and Medway STP, said “We’re delighted that Leeds Castle opened their doors to allow our NHS colleagues to have a well-earned day out to relax and recuperate. The health and wellbeing of our teams is of paramount importance to us, especially in the light of their hard work during the peak of the COVID pandemic.”

14 www.kenteye.co.uk

COMMUNITY EYE

Improving cycling and walking routes across Medway Medway Council has created new cycle lanes, installed new cycle racks and widened 11 miles of well-used public footpaths thanks to active travel funding from the Department for Transport (DfT).

The government announced the £225million fund earlier this year following an increase in the number of people walking and cycling across the UK during the Coronavirus pandemic. The funding aims to help encourage more people to choose alternatives to public transport and make roads across the country safer for both pedestrians and cyclists.

Earlier this summer the council received an active travel grant of £242,000 and used the funding to: l I mprove the on-road cycle lane in Dock Road, Chatham, from the Wood Street roundabout to Western Avenue l I mplement temporary closures of Rochester High Street to traffic to

help residents and visitors socially distance, when non-essential shops were allowed to reopen, in line with government advice l Installing new cycle racks in Chatham town centre l Creating a pedestrian zone at the bottom of Chatham High Street l T emporarily widening 11 miles of well-used footpaths across Medway to enable social distancing and promote walking routes l Install 10 dropped kerbs at different junctions with a further eight due to be installed in September and October The council is now bidding for up to £1,236,000 further active travel funding from the Department for Transport (DfT) to continue to expand and improve Medway’s walking and cycling paths.

p Dock Road cycle lane

Cllr Phil Filmer, Medway Council’s Portfolio Holder for Frontline Services, said: “I am pleased that we were awarded government funding to expand walking and cycling facilities across Medway and delighted at how quickly we were able to make the improvements. We have seen an increase in the number of residents cycling in Medway this year and I hope they enjoy using the new facilities.”

Elderly and vulnerable people recently discharged from hospital across Kent urged not miss out on new Government funding The Government reintroduced NHS continuing healthcare (NHSCHC) in England from 1 September 2020, providing access to £588 million in funding to help people who require domiciliary care or care home support after being discharged from hospital.

Kent law firm Furley Page advises elderly and vulnerable clients and their families on a wide range of legal matters, including accessing NHSCHC. Lucie Glover, a Chartered Legal Executive with the firm, said: “We are delighted that the Government has released additional funding to the NHS to help provide crucial support for people, particularly the elderly and vulnerable, following their discharge from hospital.

“Hospital discharges continue to be arranged as soon as it is clinically appropriate to do so. Where a patient has a new care need upon discharge, they may now be entitled to access funding for a period of up to six weeks to allow post-discharge recovery and to enable the necessary assessments to be undertaken by the NHS or the local authority.”

During the pandemic the Government set up emergency COVID-19 funding to allow hospital beds to be vacated as quickly as possible, whilst ensuring that everyone had the necessary care and support in place following discharge.

Where a new or enhanced care package was required for hospital discharges which took place between 19 March and 31 August 2020, this should have been paid for using the

emergency COVID-19 funding. This funding should remain in place until the necessary assessments have taken place.

Any funds paid towards care fees whilst waiting for an NHS continuing healthcare assessment, whether personally or by the local authority, should be refunded in line with the National Framework, if eligibility to NHS continuing healthcare is proved following assessment.

Lucie continued: “Gaining NHS continuing healthcare eligibility can be difficult as there is very strict criteria for making a claim. Our team of p Lucy Glover specialist lawyers can help individuals who need to make an appeal against an NHS continuing healthcare funding decision or if they need to claim back care fees that they should not have been paid.”

There is a waiting list of approximately 25,000 people to be assessed and the Government has confirmed that extra staff could be put in place to assist with the backlog, if required. In order to deal with the backlog, assessments may be carried out in person or remotely, for example by video conferencing, alongside the required care and medical records.”

Furley Page’s specialist Vulnerable Client team can provide advice for those navigating a way through the NHS continuing healthcare process. For more information contact Lucie Glover on email leg@furleypage.co.uk or call 01227 763939.

www.kenteye.co.uk 15

COMMUNITY EYE

Funds will help care home gardening initiative A Folkestone social enterprise that aims to take responsibility for food choices through hyperlocal sourcing has received £1,000 from a regional housebuilder.

Custom Food Lab was awarded the donation by Persimmon Homes South East through its Community Champions scheme.

Each month the housebuilder donates up to £1,000 each to two groups or individuals. In April, all funds were diverted to support charities and organisations working with the over-70s as the Covid-19 pandemic gripped the country.

Cherry Truluck, from Custom Food Lab, said: “We have launched a new community initiative for the over 70s in Folkestone and Hythe, an extension of our successful Locavore Garden project.

“The project aims to support and enable care homes to develop their garden spaces and to grow their own food. Volunteer-led and delivered in socially distanced framework, we support the care home staff and residents, doing physical work in the garden, sharing seedlings and plants and teaching skills.

“Thanks to Persimmon Homes, this grant will make a real difference to our work, enabling us to cover travel expenses and buy new garden tools for our scheme at Brampton Court care home.”

Martin Crick, Sales Director for Persimmon Homes South East, said: “These have been difficult times for everyone and we are delighted that our donations through the Community Champions scheme have been put to such good use.

“Since the outbreak of Covid-19, our Community Champions scheme has targeted 10 different organisations that support and help the over-70s.

“As we return to a new normal it is time to once again open up the scheme to all parts of our community, so we look forward to receiving nominations from anyone of any age who is doing good work that makes a difference to their community.”

To find out more information Community Champions, or to nominate a charity or organisation, visit www.persimmonhomes.com/communitychampions.

Kent school to play key part in world’s biggest grassroots online Sevenoaks School is to play a vital role in what is billed as the ‘world’s biggest education conference’.

The award-winning independent day and boarding school is to be part of a showcase of 100 schools which will gather online to share expertise and best practices in the inaugural World Education Week, from 5-9 October, in support of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal on Quality Education (SDG 4).

The hundred schools have been handpicked for their expertise across a range of educational themes, such as enhancing employability and life-skills; deepening

family and community engagement; the use of technology; a focus on wellbeing; and promoting the science of learning and teaching. Each will share their wisdom to an online audience expected to reach 100,000 worldwide. The ambition driving World Education Week is to accelerate progress to achieve UN SDG 4, a commitment designed to ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and lifelong learning for all.

Centred on the theme of ‘Learning Today’, each school will host a virtual event to demonstrate how to bring change, based on their own experiences.

Sevenoaks School will host a workshop

and panel on their “steps-for-change” methods and nurturing student leadership.

Jesse Elzinga, Head of Sevenoaks School, said: “Sevenoaks School is thrilled to be selected for this global showcase as part of World Education Week. We look forward to hearing from a student panel, to exploring curriculum design, and to discussing approaches to mentoring students interested in leading social change. We will share some of our core principles and the ideas that underpin our focus on teaching our students service and social entrepreneurship.

16 www.kenteye.co.uk

COMMUNITY EYE

Virtual NHS appointments prove popular The move to virtual appointments was the most significant change to health services during lockdown, according to more than 3,000 patients, members of the public and NHS staff across Kent and Medway.

was important to move to more virtual appointments and I’m pleased the results show the majority of people were happy with this change. But there’s also a clear message that virtual appointments cannot be the only option.”

NHS Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) engaged with patients, frontline staff, clinicians, partners in local authorities and the voluntary and community sector, as well as local communities via staff and patient surveys, interview focus group discussions or meetings.

One patient reported feeling ‘listened to and less rushed than in a clinic’ when called by a consultant and also found not having to travel was helpful. However, an East Kent patient said telephone appointments were difficult as they were deaf and normally lip read while a patient from West Kent said they were ‘inconvenient and damaged confidentiality’.

More than 1,100 patients reported they had experienced a telephone consultation during lockdown with 83 per cent of those saying they were ‘quite or very satisfied’ with the change, while 86 per cent of those who had experienced a video appointment stated they were ‘quite or very satisfied’.

Dr Navin Kumta, Clinical Chair at NHS Kent and Medway CCG, said: “This was an important exercise to gain an insight into the dramatic changes that took place within the NHS during the peak of Covid-19. We wanted to collect initial feedback to help us make decisions about restarting services while Coronavirus is still present, as well as to plan for the future improvement of services.

“In order to keep both staff and patients safe, it

Dr Kumta continued: “Face-to-face appointments have been available throughout the pandemic for those who need them and will continue to be; we are very aware that virtual consultations are not appropriate for every patient. However, I would like to remind patients that although there is a perception that a knowledge of technology is needed, the majority of virtual appointments are actually carried out by phone.”

Both patients and staff reported that a benefit of lockdown was people now putting more consideration into how they use the NHS. An out of hours doctor claimed they were ‘seeing fewer inappropriate patients in A&E and GP surgeries’ while a member of staff in primary care thought patients had been ‘empowered to manage themselves with simple things like dressings rather than attending weekly clinics’.

Dr Kumta concluded: “The NHS is working extremely hard to restart services and we must make sure we communicate that.

Many staff and patients reported being overwhelmed with information during the height of the pandemic so that is a lesson for the future. As we head into winter and with Covid-19 cases increasing, we need to make sure we are doing all we can to support the healthcare system to look after our communities.”

A summary of the engagement activity, as well as the individual reports, can be viewed at www.kentandmedwayccg.nhs.uk/patient-experience-covid-19.

education conference We will also explore how we can collaborate across the world on strategies to generate educational change and to strengthen our relationships across local, national and global communities.”

World Education Week is an effort by thirty civil society organisations coming together after the record breaking T4 conference on 30 May that was attended by over 100,000 teachers.

The event will be hosted from the World Education Week website, with registration now open.

u Jesse Elzinga, Head of Sevenoaks School

www.kenteye.co.uk 17

Think about wildlife before the big garden tidy-up Pat Crawford Gardening is never actually ‘finished’ – there are always jobs to be done, challenges to meet, and this year the weather has played an even bigger part than usual. The sunniest Spring on record – May the driest since records began. 696 hours of sunshine thereby exceeding the previous record of 594.3 hours. Some blisteringly hot days in August, warm and dry thus far in the autumn.

All that aside, nights are getting chillier and sunrises later.

Traditionally we’re approaching the ‘big tidy up time’ but views have changed and, rather than ensuring every corner and nook is immaculate, we begin by considering the autumn and winter needs of wildlife.

The BBC documentary Extinction: the Facts presented by Sir David Attenborough brought home to everyone our shocking disrespect for the natural world. Gardeners are in a good position to do their bit to reverse the horrific loss of biodiversity:

‘extinction’ isn’t confined to tigers and other big mammals, it is happening to insects and tiny organisms in our gardens.

How we can help in small but significant ways: l Seedheads provide food for birds and, in any case, they can be wonderfully decorative when garden foliage is dying down. l It’s tempting to rake up every single leaf for delivery to the compost bins but a few left in out-of-the-way corners will provide homes for hedgehogs, frogs and other wildlife. l Garden berries such as holly, honeysuckle, hawthorn, ivy, rowan and dogwood provide nutritious meals for birds and some small animals. Resist the temptation to cut the plants back before the berries have been devoured.

Climate change is happening A new study by the University of Leeds and the Danish Meteorological Institute indicates that the rapid rate at which ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are melting has resulted in global sea level rising by 1.8cm since the 1990s. This matches the IPPC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) worst-case climate-warming scenarios.

Dr Tom Slater, lead author of the study and climate researcher at the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling at the University of Leeds, said “Although we anticipated the ice sheets would lose increasing amounts of ice in response to the warming of the oceans and atmosphere, the rate at which they are melting has accelerated faster than we could have imagined,”. Dr Slater continued: “The melting is overtaking the climate models we use to guide us and we are in danger of being unprepared for the risks posed by sea level rise”.

Aligned to this, The Guardian newspaper has issued a stark warning: ’On November 4, a day after the presidential election, the US will formally withdraw from the Paris agreement on constraining global heat. It’s urgent we tell the world what this means…”

In September Antonio Guterres, UN Secretary-General, said that without harnessing the energy, tech savvy and optimism of young people, the world has no hope of achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) or the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Our own farmers and growers have been affected by some extreme weather events

this year. The NFU (National Farmers’ Union) reported that, whilst spring was the sunniest since 1929 when records began – and substantially drier than usual – it followed the wettest February ever recorded. Storms Ciara and Dennis battered many regions of the UK causing flooding so that many farmers were unable to sow seed – an exceptionally dry spring followed and this delayed germination in many areas. As a result, wheat yields are expected to be down by as much as 30-35%.

Combine Covid-19 with climate change and Brexit and it becomes very apparent that we need to support our farmers and growers and encourage them to increase production.

Meanwhile countries all around the world continue trying to control the spread of Covid-19. The economic impact is vast and at the current time it is difficult to see a way forward but we mustn’t allow this to result in climate change dropping off the world agenda.

18 www.kenteye.co.uk

ENVIRONMENT EYE l A small pile of logs can provide warm, safe and comfortable homes for small mammals – but make certain it is kept separate from the logs being stored for winter fires! l Instead of cutting perennials to near-ground level, leave some foliage and stalks ten-or-so inches high to provide shelter and food for insects.

This is the time of year when gardeners begin planning! Canny gardeners make honest notes about ‘failures’ and ‘disappointments’. Some non-starters in beds and borders relate to the fact that a plant was simply not right for the location and/or the soil: a lesson learned – work with nature, don’t fight it!

Generally speaking we only comment about weather forecasters when they get it badly wrong which, in reality, is incredibly rarely.

The overall climate in England is called temperate maritime, but coming up to the planning stage of gardening, it’s a good time to bear in mind that virtually all climatologists are warning that climate changes are happening more rapidly than had been anticipated. Plan for hotter and drier summers.

Don’t forget to include salad crops, fruit and vegetables in the planning scheme. Thinking well ahead will make it possible to produce ‘home-grown’ from Spring through to mid-Autumn or even later. Combine Covid-19, Brexit and climate change and the going could be tough in relation to food imports: all the more reason to enlarge the space given over to growing the family’s five-a-day.

FOOTNOTE: Sponsored by MHA MacIntyre Hudson and Patricia Crawford Associates, the Rural Focus Group includes representatives/individuals from the National Farmers’ Union, Country Landowners’ Association, Action for Communities in Rural Kent, The English Apple Man, Hadlow Rural Community School, Greenwich University, Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, Ken Lyndon-Dykes, Kent Farmers’ Market Association, Friends of the Earth, Kent Young Farmers, Professor Ian Swingland, Produced in Kent, Men of Kent and Kentish Men, Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution, Kent Tree and Pond Partnership, East Malling Research, et cetera.

Other rural-related groups are invited to apply for membership.

Please direct enquiries to: patjournalist@waitrose.com

We mustn’t take our eyes off ‘beyond the pandemic’ The UK’s agriculture and horticulture industries are vital at any time but their importance will undoubtedly grow. The panic buying that followed the arrival of the pandemic is being replicated – albeit in more minor format – but it indicates how important it is to value our farmers and growers, our retailers and their supply chains.

‘Seasonality’ became unfashionable at the time the global market arrived. Since then we have been able to have whatever we want, whenever we want it – despite celebrity chefs crusading for the reintroduction of menus based on seasonal produce bought locally!

‘Seasonal’ relates to the time crops are harvested and at their best. Before the global market exerted so much influence, everyone looked forward to the very first strawberries. Now they are available all-yearround – but the imported varieties don’t compare even remotely with those grown by our very own producers. Anyway – good news: strawberries for Christmas are now being grown here in Kent!

We cannot blame the supermarkets and other large multiples for reduced interest in seasonality, they are guided by commuter demand. Parsnips are plentiful on the shelves coming up to Christmas because they remain a traditional accompaniment to turkey. The health benefits of parsnips – vitamins C and K and folate – should surely ensure their popularity extends beyond December?

The county’s landscape, to a large extent, reflects the food we put on our plates. The diversity of our farming – dairy, beef, sheep, arable, fruit, vegetables, hops, flowers – accounts for the patchwork fields that add so much to our wonderful scenery.

Prior to the pandemic climate change was being taken seriously and nations were adapting in order to fulfil emissions targets.

That is still happening but to a worryingly lesser extent. Young people have been leading a movement calling for action to limit climate change. Business listens to young people – they are the consumers and thus the guardians of the future. Companies of all sizes have been taking Corporate Social Responsibility increasingly seriously for at least three decades. Many are replacing CSR with ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) but, either way, climate change must be central to their planning.

Please join the MHA MacIntyre Hudson and Media Partner Kent Eye in the Support British Business campaign.

When buying food, check for labels such as the Union Flag, the Red Tractor, the county’s own Produced in Kent logo; identify food grown and produced in this country. Please pay special attention to regional and local production.

www.kenteye.co.uk 19

ENVIRONMENT EYE

Launch of ‘Solar Together’ group-buying scheme Dover residents can now join together in an energy-saving scheme to buy solar panels for their homes. Until 6 October 2020, residents can register their interest for free and with no obligation at www. solartogether.co.uk/dover The more people that register, the better the deal should be for each household.

which will ultimately deliver over 1,300 installations and an impressive 28,000 tonnes of avoided lifetime carbon emissions.

Leader of Dover District Council, Cllr Trevor Bartlett, said: “This is a unique opportunity for local residents to join together to reduce their own individual

Dover District Council is working in partnership with Kent County Council on an innovative new scheme called Solar Together Kent. It provides the opportunity for Dover District residents to invest in high quality solar photovoltaics (PV) systems for their homes more cheaply than if they were buying alone.

carbon footprint, and to help Dover District Council meet its climate change ambitions. We have joined Solar Together, because buying as a group helps you get a better, more affordable deal than buying as an individual. I would encourage any of our residents who are interested in cutting their energy bills and contributing to tackling climate change to register.”

The process starts with interested residents registering to be part of the scheme before a reverse auction involving potential pre-vetted suppliers takes place in October.

Solar Together Kent helps homeowners feel confident that they are paying the right price for a high-quality installation from pre-vetted installers, which will boost local renewable energy generation.

Marie-Louise Abretti, iChoosr UK Solar Manager, said: “With Kent residents looking for opportunities to reduce their carbon emissions and save on energy bills, the Solar Together group-buying scheme offers a straightforward way to make an informed decision and access a competitive offer from a trusted provider.”

This scheme follows four highly successful schemes run across the country last year

For more information and to register, visit www.solartogether.co.uk/dover

Integrated solar roof transforms PLA headquarters One of the largest commercial integrated solar PV roofs in the country has transformed both the look and the energy efficiency of the Port of London Authority (PLA) headquarters building in Gravesend.

BeBa Energy UK designed, installed and now maintains the stunning 78.08kW integrated roof, which was installed as part of a complete refurbishment of the building and avoided the need to replace the roof and then add separate solar panels.

The company was asked to carry out the specialist installation by main contractors Area (London) after a recommendation from the project’s mechanical and electrical consultants. The consultants had been impressed by the one MW solar PV installation completed by BeBa Energy UK for Berry Gardens at Linton near Maidstone.

to create an eye-catching, fully watertight roof with considerable visual appeal.

A display in the reception area allows employees and visitors to see how the system is performing and its impact on the authority’s carbon footprint.

The integrated roof formed part of a wholesale refurbishment of the headquarters building which has revitalised the fabric of the building and modernised the visual impact of the PLA building while saving the authority an estimated £11,000 per year.

Port of London Authority Director of Marine Operations Peter Steen, project lead for the PLA, said: “This great looking installation will not only deliver free energy to our newly refurbished and more energy-efficient site but will help us meet our ambitious carbon reduction target for all of our operations.”

Since installing solar PV was part of a complete refurbishment at the site which already involved recladding the roof, BeBa Energy UK suggested that the most aesthetically pleasing approach would be to install an integrated array using the innovative GSE mounting system.

The system has enhanced the authority’s energy security and made a considerable impact on the PLA’s energy consumption. It has also helped cut the PLA’s carbon footprint by more than 16,000kg of CO2 each year.

Keen to combine a high-performance product with the smart, headquarters image the PLA required, BeBa Energy UK specified all black, JA Solar 305W mono-crystaline panels

20 www.kenteye.co.uk

Wildwinds - quarter page:Layout 1 25/06/2020 08:54 Page 1

Detling Antiques, Vintage & Collectors Fair 7th - 8th Nov (2020) 2021 Dates: Sat 9th - Sun 10th January Sat 17th - Sun 18th April Sat 19th - Sun 20th June Sat 11th - Sun 12th September Sat 13th - Sun 14th November Saturday: Saturday: Sunday:

Cash only entrance: 8.30am (early entry) 10am - 4.30pm 10am - 3.30pm

- £6 - £5 - £4

Kent County Showground, Detling, ME14 3JF. Please check www.b2bevents.info in case fairs have changed or been cancelled

Tel: 01636 676531 • www.b2bevents.info

V I S I T W I L D WI N D S F O R A B R E AT H O F F R E S H A I R . . .

NE W MA NAG EMENT NE W TEA ROOM S OME NE W TR ADE RS NE W STY LE & FE EL

NORTON CROSS , TEYNHAM N R FAVE RS HAM, KENT, ME9 9JY TE L: 01795 486 3 82 OP EN TUESDAY TO SUNDAY 10 AM- 4.3 0PM CLOSED MONDAY

Kent pubs national finalists in The Great British Pub Awards Pub Hero Two of Kent’s most popular pubs were shortlisted as national finalists in the Business Continuity category of The Great British Pub Awards - Pub Heroes: the Grove Tavern in Tunbridge Wells and The Anchor Inn in Wingham.

The Grove Tavern, Tunbridge Wells Steve Baxter has run the Grove Tavern for nearly 19 years, and has gained an enormous amount of respect from all of his customers. When lockdown first came into effect, Steve, ever the ideas man, flourished in this unprecedented scenario and launched a takeaway food service.

For weeks, Steve sat in a small, cramped kitchen and served hungry and thirsty customers through a takeaway hatch. A mixture of loyal customers and passers-by, who had stumbled on the hidden gem, Steve made them feel welcome and engaged in polite conversation and witty remarks in the hope that he was helping them in some way. This system worked well for a few weeks, but eventually he needed to improve the operation and get out of the kitchen, so he installed a doorbell right beside the takeaway hatch which allowed him all to do various bits and pieces within and around the pub.

Steve said: “I only survived the lockdown period due to the constant support from my family, friends and customers. Just because the pub had to close its doors, it did not mean that the Grove Tavern couldn’t still play a part in the community. I also wanted to show gratitude to my customers that have supported me for so many years.

The Anchor Inn, Wingham Michelle and Kevin Abbott, publicans of The Anchor inn, together with their family kept their kitchen going throughout lockdown.

With a simplified yet balanced menu, their offer was 5-9pm Monday to Saturday with all dishes priced at £10 or under.

Wingham is a fairly rural area and there are a lot of elderly people living in remote locations in outlying villages. The family delivered flyers locally and advertised on Facebook, also making a point of asking people to print off a menu and pass it to an elderly or vulnerable friend or neighbour. They also put flyers in every meal they delivered, so word continued to spread.

On the first night, the pub cooked 10 meals. Following the advertising push, they were soon inundated with cooking over 50 meals a night. They worked like a machine, each family member playing their own role – from going out on the road to deliver and coordinating the collections, to making up the boxes for the kitchen to fill.

Michelle, said; “The level of activity at The Anchor during takeaway hours was frantic, so frantic in fact the Police turned up on our third night with six officers and a riot van, someone had reported we were open and having a massive party.

Obviously, this was a mistake and we assured the Police that we were taking all necessary precautions!

“It was humbling to see the generous nature of our community, we witnessed people pick up food for others that lived near to them, who were unable to leave their homes, and so many people were gifting meals to friends and neighbours. It was amazing to be a part of.”

The Great British Pub Awards Pub Heroes recognise and reward the incredible efforts by pubs during the COVID-19 pandemic. With over 600 entries across fifteen categories, the shortlisted pubs faced a public vote to be crowned overall winner.

The results were announced on 24 September, and whilst neither the Grove Tavern or The Anchor Inn emerged as winner on the night, both were congratulated on the fine achievement of being finalists.

Macknade launches Christmas hampers Macknade, based in Faversham and Ashford, has launched a selection of Christmas Hampers and Gift Boxes.

Choose from the Christmas Feast Gift Box, Christmas Favourites Hamper, Kentish Christmas Gift Box, Christmas Cheeseboard Gift Box or in

homage to the heritage of the founders of Macknade, the Italian Christmas Hamper.

All hampers are available to order online for delivery to England, Wales & Central Scotland at www.macknade.com

22 www.kenteye.co.uk

FOOD & DRINK EYE

Produced in Kent discovers Caring Customers all over the county Now in its third month, the Support Your Local campaign, jointly run by Produced in Kent and Visit Kent in support of the Kent food and drink industry, began a #CaringCustomer appeal in August. The appeal urged locals to sign a pledge citing that they will be a #CaringCustomer on the Support Your Local website and to share this online with friends and family. The appeal was hugely successful with hundreds of locals signing the pledge and the Support Your Local web page receiving over 10,000 views.

To say thank you to the many caring customers across the county who responded to the appeal and signed the pledge, a winner was chosen at random to receive a £100 voucher offered by Shepherd Neame, which has over 300 pubs throughout London and the South East and is an endorser of the campaign.

Produced in Kent and campaign partner Visit Kent presented the winner, Gemma Keith from Marden, with her prize at Shepherd Neame’s The Boathouse at Yalding. In attendance were councillor Mike Whiting of Kent County Council, Chief Executive of Produced in Kent, Floortje Hoette, Joanna Richardson, Head of Marketing, Brands and Communication from Shepherd Neame Brewery and CEO Deirdre Wells OBE from Visit Kent.

Councillor Whiting praised the county’s hospitality businesses and encouraged the public to support them following the end of the government’s Eat Out to Help Out scheme. “As the hugely generous government scheme winds down, we must now all step up and play our part in supporting local businesses. I encourage everyone to shop locally, have a pint in your village pub, grab a coffee in town, or enjoy a meal in one of Kent’s excellent restaurants. It is vital we maintain local businesses to keep Kent working and growing, which provides employment and opportunities for many”.

Hoette talked of the importance of the hospitality sector for the wider food and drink industry in Kent- “Most independent pubs,

restaurants and cafes in Kent are supplied by local growers, producers and wholesalers. So, if the hospitality sector runs into trouble then the entire food and drink industry in Kent does too.

A healthy independent food and drink sector boosts the rural economy, creates jobs and preserves the distinct countryside of Kent. This in turn attracts visitors, commuter families, other businesses and investors. And it boosts our health too!

Visit Kent’s Deirdre Wells wrapped up the evening with a plea for residents of Kent to continue showing their support. “There’s truly never been a better time to support our local businesses. We strongly encourage you to head out and discover a new foodie favourite right on your doorstep and continue the pledge to be a caring customer.”

Produced in Kent and Visit Kent will be looking to thank another #CaringCustomer as the second appeal starts on the 18 September and runs through until the 16 October. The appeal links up with the wine harvest, celebrating Kent Wine. A winner will again be chosen at random from those who sign the pledge in this period and will be presented with a collection of finest Kentish Wines from The Wine Garden of England. The prize will consist of 6 bottles from Hush Heath, Simpsons Estate, Squerryes, Gusbourne, Biddenden, and Chapel Down.

The #CaringCustomer appeal is one of the activities of the countywide Support Your Local awareness campaign in support of local, independent bars, restaurants, and cafes, which runs from July to December 2020. Customers are encouraged to eat and drink out at their ‘local’ and in so doing, help the Kent hospitality sector recover.

By signing the #CaringCustomer pledge customers can show their love for their favourite Kent food and drink businesses – and demonstrate their awareness and care for fellow diners too! The initiative is set to provide a much-needed boost to Kent’s £2.6 billion visitor economy, which has been badly hit since the pandemic.

www.kenteye.co.uk 23

Glorious golf at Leeds Castle While the majority of sports clubs and businesses in Kent have been suffering through the Covid-19 crisis, one sport in particular seems to be bucking the trend – golf.

Scott Stevens who is the head PGA Professional at Leeds Castle Golf Club says that the demand for golf at the moment is unprecedented: “Since the end of lockdown it has been incredibly busy. I think the combination of people being on furlough and others now working from home means that people have much more time available. Having been cooped up for so long most people just want to get out and do some exercise, and as golf was one of the first sports to come back, we have attracted a lot of interest.”

Since the end of lockdown, the course has almost doubled the number of members, but despite the post-Covid boom Scott doesn’t think the current interest is all down to the virus.

“I joined the Club in June last year and, as a golf course, it really has everything; a great location, stunning scenery and some really good holes. The course has enormous potential and has been underachieving. We have a proper 9-hole layout, every hole is tree-lined and very pretty, with two feature holes around the castle.

What makes the course extra special is that it is very enclosed, so going round you don’t feel you are bombarded by other golfers, so people do not feel intimidated.

“Among our members we have complete beginners through to a two handicapper. The course is quite challenging, but it is a good test of golf.

The golf course at Leeds Castle was first built in 1931 by Sir Guy Campbell, and has experienced lots of changes since.

“The course layout was redesigned fairly recently and works really well, but there are lots of plans to further develop the facilities and, improve drainage and footpaths. The course is constantly being repaired and enhanced, and I would particularly start planting some heather to go with the amazing rhododendrons that we already have.”

Chislehurst-born Scott did a PGA apprenticeship which he passed in 1999, and then chased a professional playing career, winning Kent Championships and a National team championship before joining the Europro Tour and the European Challenge Tour (one step below the main Tour). “I really enjoyed being a professional golfer and it was great to play against some of the best golfers in the world, such as Masters Champion Trevor Immelman. It was a dream come true to test myself on some of the toughest courses around – Dundonald Links in Ayrshire, in the pouring rain is most definitely a challenge.”

After a knee injury, Scott stopped playing (although he hopes to return soon) and set his sights on coaching, and is now one of the most experienced PGA professionals in the UK. “It’s so important to offer a professional service and we now have three PGA professionals at the course to run the shop, provide coaching and advice. We are now affiliated with Kent and England Golf, so are able to offer an official handicap and host official tournaments, which we are really looking forward to. Gradually we are becoming more of a member’s club than a ‘pay and play’,

24 www.kenteye.co.uk

SPORTS EYE

Podmore signs contract extension Kent Cricket has announced that Harry Podmore has signed an extension to his Kent contract which will see him remain at the county until at least the end of the 2023 season.

Since joining the Club at the beginning of the 2018 season, the right-armer has taken 118 wickets at 23.62 in 33 first-class matches in his Kent career so far, with best figures of 6/36 against his former county, Middlesex, that year.

p Scott Stevens, Pro at Leeds Castle Golf Club

although people can still ring up and play and with our online booking form it makes life much easier!

“In terms of membership we are seeing a lot of couples joining and the male/female ratio is definitely changing. We’re also seeing a large increase in our junior memberships and I would love to expand the junior section further and make it really substantial. I find nothing more rewarding than giving people lessons and see their development. Our lessons are open to non-members and we have a driving area, chipping green, pitching area and putting green, as well as a fully stocked shop and professionals on hand to provide advice on anything.

“Now that we are affiliated with Kent Golf our members can get a Kent Golf County Card which entitles them to discounted rates at other clubs, which many people enjoy and it’s also great to welcome members from other clubs to Leeds Castle.

“It is certainly a funny time at the moment with Covid-19, but the huge interest in golf is a positive outcome from the crisis. Although increasingly busy we are still a long way off capacity and I am really excited to further develop the club over the coming years and welcome more people to our fantastic course in the shadows of ‘the Loveliest Castle in the World’.”

The 26-year-old has also scored 643 first-class Kent runs and was a part of the side that won promotion back to Division One of the County Championship in 2018, as well as reaching the 2018 One-Day Cup Final.

Podmore was awarded Kent cap number 218 at the 2019 Spitfire Kent Cricket Awards, after establishing himself as Kent’s first choice to open the bowling with the red ball.

On extending his stay at the county, Podmore said: “I’m over the moon to extend my contract at Kent, where I have been lucky enough to call home for the past three years.

“The opportunity for me to grow not only as a player but as a man has been unbelievable and I have seized the opportunity with both hands.

“I feel that Kent is the right place for me to continue my development with an amazing group of hungry, talented players putting Kent back on the map – as we look to lift some silverware and make history.”

Kent’s Director of Cricket, Paul Downton, said: “We’re delighted that Harry has committed to the county for the next three seasons.

“He has fitted in extremely well since he joined us at Kent and is now a highly skilled bowler who has become a consistent wicket-taker in Championship cricket.

He has also shown his abilities as a lowerorder batsman, scoring some vital runs in tight games.

“With hard work we believe Harry will continue to improve and will take further strides towards fulfilling his stated ambition of becoming a Kent legend.

u Harry Podmore

credit: Max Flego Photography

www.kenteye.co.uk 25 Title change

What’s going on in Kent?

Where to go and what to see in October and November Assembly Hall Theatre announces reopening programme An amazing line up of entertainment is promised when the Assembly Hall Theatre in Royal Tunbridge Wells reopens its doors from 17 October.

The opening show is a first for the theatre as The Comedy Store takes to the stage and begins one of three trial residences at the theatre.

The second residency will see the English Touring Opera visit on a regular basis to present often unperformed and small works, taking advantage of the restrictions imposed by the Coronavirus pandemic.

A fabulous third AHT residency with much loved friends from The Forum will be joining the theatre on most Thursdays – The Forum Nights. They will be presenting loads of local and national talent to liven us up ready for the weekend!

Talking about the new residencies at the theatre Assembly Hall Theatre Director JJ Almond said: “Comedy is a huge attraction at the Assembly Hall and I am really excited to start this monthly residency, with the amazing Comedy Store. It will give our audiences the opportunity to see some amazing talent before many other people get the chance – so see them here first!

The fabulous Strictly Come Dancing star Kevin and, his sister Joanne Clifton will be on stage on 29 November for a matinee presentation of their ‘An Evening With…’ tour! And our comedy programme continues with stand-up from Omid Djalili: Schmuck for a Night.

“We could not have pulled this season together without the goodwill and support of our producers and we are really grateful to them and all of the artists involved, being willing to come to our venue and return to live entertainment!

“We also hope to announce some more community shows in the coming weeks, and to launch a new theatre membership scheme before Christmas.

“There will be fewer seats available for shows as we adapt to the new way of working so it’s important to book early!”

In an exciting move a small-scale pop-up style panto, Jack and The Beanstalk, will provide audiences with an opportunity to enjoy the festive season in a new take on the traditional form.

Low ticket prices will reflect the pop-up style of the show and with one ticket price for adults and children alike. q Royal Tunbridge Well Symphony Orchestra

p Omid Djalili

La Voix will provide some fabulous celebrity fun and some good old Christmas Variety and of course a number of much-loved tribute friends will be performing.

The theatre is looking forward to welcoming the London Cabaret Society with some of the best drag, burlesque and cabaret acts from across Europe in an intimate cabaret table setting using the flat floor option of the venue. People will be able to book tables of 2, 4 or 6 and will have welcome prosecco, popcorn, wine and sharing platters included in the price, or cheaper seats with no food and drink in the Circle.

There’ll be a local feel to Thursday nights as the theatre partners with internationally recognised music venue, The Forum.

Performances from Royal Tunbridge Wells Symphony Orchestra during their residency are also included in the programme.

Full details of the programme are on the theatre’s website www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk

26 www.kenteye.co.uk

ENTERTAINMENT EYE

Woodville Theatre, Gravesend announces programme The Woodville Theatre in Gravesend has announced its Autumn programme, concluding with its panto Rapunzel.

Desi Central – Bring The Laughter Friday 9 October, 7pm Desi Central brings some of the UKs finest comedy acts to Gravesend with a socially distanced set-up – and we can’t wait!

Comedy and Curry Night Friday 23 October, 8pm Comedy club is an unrivalled night of entertainment in Gravesend.

T.Rextasy Saturday 7 November, 7.30pm Marc Bolan’s T.Rex, were one of the most flamboyant, charismatic bands of the glam-rock era with a string of huge hits throughout the 1970s. T.Rextasy have performed around the world for over 25 years. They have been described by many as ‘beyond the boundaries of tribute’.

Comedy and Curry Night Friday 27 November, 8pm Comedy club is an unrivalled night of entertainment in Gravesend.

Rapunzel Friday 11 December – Sunday 3 January 2021 The Woodville promises you a hairytail ending for its panto this year!

This Christmas it’s time to ‘let down your hair’ and join in the fun at our socially distanced family pantomime of ‘Rapunzel’.

From the producers of last year’s smash hit Beauty and the Beast, Rapunzel has all the best traditions of a fairytale, but with a new twist and written especially for the whole family to enjoy.

Gravesend favorite ‘MAMA G’ (Aka: Robert Pearce) returns as Dame Dolly Dumpling, along with the side splitting ventriloquist ‘Nicky Trix’ as Joey the Jester. The Hilarious Rob Cummings as King Albert completes the professional cast.

routines. The Boombox will make a return along with a gaggle of ghosts to hinder the quest to find Rapunzel. And before your hairy eyes Joey the Jester will discover his limbs have a life of their own in an hilarious ultra-violet sequence. We guarantee you won’t be ‘let down’.

So this Christmas ‘comb over’ to this spectacular production full of magic, toe tapping songs, dance routines, inspirational sets, fantastic costumes, lots and lots of laughter and enchantment that will thrill the child in all of us.

So don’t miss this HAIR-larious Pantomime ‘Rapunzel’ at The Woodville this Christmas!

The Woodville, Gravesend, DA12 1DD www.woodville.co.uk Box Office: 01474 337 500

See the evil Witch Horrorbella cast a spell on young Rapunzel, locking her away in a tall tower deep within the woods. But in her bid for freedom she falls in love with the dashing Finn Strider while Dame Dolly Dumpling and her witless son Joey the Jester do all they can to locate the princess and return her to her loving father, King Albert.

There will, of course, be laughs aplenty this Christmas with all your favourite

Tickets are already on sale for Skate 2020, the ice rink that is returning again this year to transform Calverley Grounds in Royal Tunbridge Wells into a magical festive destination.

Marking the start of the festive season the Assembly Hall Theatre’s real ice rink Skate will be open from Friday 13 November until Sunday 3 January, and to celebrate its tenth birthday the rink is offering a special birthday present of a free ticket for young skaters who also turned 10 this year.

Cabinet member Councillor Jane March said: ‘The ice rink is coming. It’s fantastic to know that it’s still going ahead despite all the problems of 2020. A skating trip to Calverley Grounds is now a must-do for many of us during the Christmas period and I think this year, more than ever, it will be wonderful to do something that is reassuringly familiar but still safe and within government guidelines. Book your tickets now and don’t miss out on the fun.’

www.kenteye.co.uk 27

Join us at our Virtual Open Days

Where will your future take you? Explore our inspiring degree courses at our Undergraduate and Postgraduate Virtual Open Days.

Undergraduate Virtual Open Days Saturday 3 October, 10.00-14.00 Saturday 14 November, 10.00-14.00 Postgraduate Virtual Open Day Wednesday 18 November, 12.00-15.00

Book now kent.ac.uk/opendays