What’s, happening, where, you, live .

ALLINGTON

Correspondent: Jean Watson Mob: 07966 361434 Tel: 01622 687053 Letter from a special person: In aid of the Heart of Kent Hospice you can order personalised letters from Father Christmas which will be delivered to your child by post before Christmas Day. It will cost £5 for one letter or £10 for three letters. To order visit www.hokh. org or call the fundraising team on 01622 790195. Orders must be placed before 5pm on Wednesday, December 10. Way back when: At the next Get Together meeting in the Baptist Church on Wednesday, November 26, have some fun as Cilla introduces a Guess Who They Are competition taken from old photos to see if you recognise anyone from the group. You might be surprised! Runs 2.15-3.45pm. Shoe boxes: Completed Operation Christmas Child shoe boxes can be delivered to: Diane Dring at 29 Adisham Drive. Garden club: The annual Christmas party is on Thursday, December 4 in St Nicholas Church Hall with entertainment provided by singer and ventriloquist Mr A. Simmons. All members to take their own food and drink. It starts at 7.30pm. Cake and Coffee: The Baptist Church invites you to its Cake and Coffee morning on Saturday, November 22 starting at 10.30am. Funds in aid of the Winter Shelter campaign. Mums and Babes: Next meet in St Nicholas Church on Friday, November 21 from 10am-noon. Thereafter the third Friday every month. This is an opportunity to relax and spend time with other new parents. Christmas Market: St Nicholas Church will be holding it’s Christmas Market on Saturday, December 6 from 10.30am-2.30pm., with lots to see, do and buy. Stalls include Crafts, Games, Books, Christmas decorations, toys, home made cakes and jams and more. BBQ and snacks, lunches available. Plus children’s activities in the church. Correspondent: Gilly Hurley Tel: 01622 790734 AylesfordEccles@ aol.com Brass band: St Peter & St Paul’s Church will be holding is popular annual Brass Band Concert on Saturday December 6 at 2pm in the church. One of the country’s top bands, the Avely and Newham Brass Band are returning to the church for a Christmas fun concert suitable for the whole family. Tickets cost £9 for adults and children under 16 free. Tickets include tea or coffee in the interval. Contact Brenda Sladen on 01622 882395 for tickets or information. Better hearing: Next Hi Kent clinic in Aylesford is on Thursday November 27 from 2pm-3pm at the Queen Elizabeth Court, Admiral Moore Drive, Royal British Legion Village. No appointment needed and it’s free of charge. Information from 01622 691151 or enquiries@hikent.org.uk Correspondent: Ron Stubbs Tel: 01622 726962 Font of knowledge: ideas for raising much-needed funds that help to maintain the beautiful old building. Also wanted are more committee members. Two have recently joined but, ideally, another three would help. Depending upon the events they have collectively lined up, they meet roughly every two months or so in Church Cross House. Contact Godfrey on 01622 675005 for details. Indian mission: In 1877, Queen Victoria was proclaimed Empress of India and Cambridge University sent its first Anglican missionaries to Dehli. Four Indian nationals lead The Dehli Brotherhood, which undertakes a wide range of social projects in addition to the spiritual ministry. St Margaret’s has been a generous supporter of the Wye (most of the volunteer trustees live in Wye) and Brook India Trust, which channels money to support the primary and secondary schools run by The Brotherhood for boys and girls regardless of their religious affiliation. Donors live in the UK and overseas and since 1978 have sent the trust more than £380,000 but the need is constantly growing. A child could benefit from a school uniform, fees and books for a year from a gift of £100. More details will be given during Sunday’s 10am Holy Communion. Hired or fired: What do you do with the materials used after a teaching session? When the material is food the problem becomes a little easier. Allow the public to try the results and the charges made are used to recoup the costs. The catering section of the Mid-Kent College, Oakwood Park, has a restaurant called The Apprentice where the students prepare, cook and serve the meals and they are always keen to hear the customers’ comments. The charge made goes towards the cost of the food and the energy to cook it. It is a reasonably small restaurant and is open only from noon-1.15pm Mondays-Fridays and 6-7.30pm on Thursdays (during term time only). The timing restrictions are necessary to enable teaching schedules to be met. So if you want to try it and add your input by way of comments on the students’ output, contact Angela on 01622 625873. It is advisable to call prior to attending and usually a parking space can be reserved. Lift on: Members of the congregations at St Margaret’s or Longsole needing a lift to church on a Sunday should speak with one of the coordinators: Elizabeth Glover, St Margaret’s on 01622 721757 or Alan Copage, Longsole on 01622 726032 who will contact a volunteer driver but this needs to be done by noon on the preceding Friday. Lighting-up time: A group of people walking from Church Cross House to St Margaret’s Church carrying their lit lanterns is a special occasion enjoyed by many. Preparations have been made for this to happen on Saturday, December 6 with a 3.30pm assembly in the car park of the Scouts’ Belmont Close hut for adults and children over eight who have already made their lanterns. They will be due to reach Church Cross House an hour later. Meanwhile, the families group with children under eight will meet at 3.30pm in Church Cross House to make jam jar lanterns and Christmas tree decorations. A charge of £1.50 per child has to be made to cover the costs of materials. The groups will meet and proceed down Church Lane from 4.30pm. St Margaret’s Brass Band will play and mince pies, soft drinks and (adults only) mulled wine will be served for which donations will be appreciated. Dinner date: A thanksgiving dinner at St Michael’s will be held in The parish hall (next to the church) on Saturday, November 29 from 7pm with a sherry reception at 6.30pm. Following the meal, the Thomas Clark Quire will entertain. Tickets at £10 are available from Ann on 01622 757794 or Margaret on 753974. It’s all go: Fant Hall, Fant Lane will be the venue for much merriment from 7.30pm on Saturday, November 22, when local entertainers Anything Goes, will raise funds for the charity Breakthrough Breast Cancer. Supporting the group will be Kerfuffle, Dave Saunders and comic magician Terry Herbert. Tickets, which must be bought from Gary on 07747 826773, include tea or coffee plus a cake or biscuits and cost £5 (adults) and £3 (children). Correspondent: Martin Hider Tel: 01622 736327 mhider5@ gmail.com Bazaar: There will be a Christmas Bazaar held by Bearsted and Thurnham WI at the WI Hall in the The Street on Saturday, November 29 from 2pm-4.30pm. Craft. Jewellery. Cakes. Tombola. Bric-a-brac. Christmas decorations/cards. Raffle and much more. Tea/coffee and mince pie £1. Visit Father Christmas and receive a gift; £2.50 per child. Professional photo with Father Christmas £5 each. Entry adults 50p, accompanied children free. Hearing aid support: Hi Kent, the charity that supports people with a hearing loss in Kent, will be holding another of it’s free aftercare clinics for NHS hearing aid users at the Medical Practice in Yeoman Lane on Monday, November 24 from 2.15pm-3.45pm. No appointment needed. If you need help looking after your NHS hearing aid, go come along to this clinic where free batteries can also be provided and aids can be cleaned and re-tubed. Advice will also be available about Hi Kent’s extensive range of specialist equipment. For information phone 01622 691151 or e-mail enquiries@hikent.org.uk Coffee for charity: A coffee morning with a bring and buy sale will take place at the Methodist Church on Saturday, December 6 at 10.15am. All welcome. Mencap profit: Thanks to the support of local people, the Apple Pie Quiz held by Maidstone Mencap on November 1 made a profit of £650, that’s after deducting the cost of the apple pies and cream! A great result. Many thanks to everyone who supported this event. Youth club leaders: There is an urgent need for new leaders at the parish council’s youth club which is held at Madginford Hall. Would anyone interested phone Geoff Licence on 01622 739324. Bearsted and Thurnham WI: This institute will meet at the WI Hall, The Street, on Wednesday, November 26 at 7.30pm. Sheila Boyd will speak on King William IV and Dora Jordan. Visitors welcome. Contact the secretary on 01622 736675. Madginford WI: During October/ November, members went on a five mile walk, taking in White Horse Woods and ending with lunch; visited a garden centre; attended Bearsted Fair presentation evening; played darts and held a craft evening. The meeting on December 11 will be the Christmas party. There will be home spun entertainment, food and drink. Members must remember to take a glass. The District Carol Service will be at Holy Cross Church on Wednesday, December 3 at 2.30pm. The Centenary Baton will be on display together with each WI’s decorated Christmas tree. Visitors are always welcome. Meetings are held at 8pm on the second Thursday in each month (apart from August) at Madginford Hall in Egremont Road. For information phone 01622 738455. Fellowship: The Methodist Church Ladies Fellowship will be given a talk on Armchair Travel by Shan and Pete Lythgoe on Tuesday, November 25 at 2.30pm. Toddler Praise: A Baby and Toddler Service for parents, grandparents and carers with children aged up to four years will take place in the room at Holy Cross Church and Milgate Chapel on Friday November 21 from 1.30pm-2.30pm. Songs.