What’s happening where you live...

plus something to eat and talk to your friends, neighbours and whoever else is in the church at 3pm on Tuesday. November 15. A collection of new toys has taken place by the Salvation Army to give some children a welcome but unexpected Christmas treat. Anyone wishing to add to that is invited to take something along to this afternoon’s meeting. A big welcome: For the Rev Nicholas Williams, the new vicar of Teston, Wateringbury and East Malling. Formerly of the Darenth Valley he will be introduced at St John’s Wateringbury on Wednesday, November 16 at 7.30pm. Christmas Fair: All sorts of goodies will be available as potential gifts for Christmas at this fair in the village hall and its grounds on Saturday, November 19. There will also be a grand tombola and a raffle where the top prize will be two tickets to see The Phantom of the Opera courtesy of Teston Tours. Admission is 50p (children free) with proceeds to the church. History society: At last week’s meeting, Dennis Astridge and Geoff Cox recalled the early days of the First World War to a much larger number of members and visitors. Correspondent: Mike Brine Tel: 01732 845825 mbriney.yoda@ hotmail.com Council date: The parish council meets on Monday, November 21 at the Marriott Tudor Park Hotel. Bearsted at 7.30pm. Residents are welcome to attend. Bearsted and Thurnham WI: See the

Bearsted column. Correspondent: Leila Ware Tel: 01622 842330 leilaware@ outlook.com Wonderful promises: ar of the Benefice of East Malling, Wateringbury and Teston by the Bishop of Rochester will take place on Wednesday, November 16 at 7.30pm in Wateringbury Church. Everyone welcome Annual remembrance: The Act of Remembrance takes place on Sunday, November 13 in church starting at 10am and then moving to the war memorial in the churchyard for the laying of wreaths and the two minute silence. There will also be a small area for the placing of wooden crosses dedicated to those we especially wish to remember who have died in the service of our country. In this year which marks the centenary of the horrific Battle of the Somme in which many Wateringbury men were lost, most with no known graves, it is fitting to take time to remember. Correspondent: Maureen Jopson, 68 Stockett Lane, Coxheath, ME17 4PY Tel: 01622 746086 joplot8@ hotmail.co.uk Table top sale: The Farleighs WI is holding a table top sale in the WI Hall, Forge Lane, from noon-4pm. Go along and see if you can pick up a bargain. 100 club winners: In the Friends of Yalding Church 100 club November draw Michelle Fenn took first prize with number 18, Daniel Sharman second with number 82, and third prize went to Conrad Feaver with number 9. For information, call Richard Young on 01732 669782. Yuletide Market: Preparations are well in hand for the annual Yuletide Market which takes place in the High Street on Saturday December 3 from 5-8pm. The bottle tombola stall funds much of the cost of running the market and this year again any donations of bottles would be greatly appreciated. Bottles can be dropped off at the post office any time this month, but if you are unable to do this and would like to donate, the committee plans to do house calls later in the month. However, this is not expected to cover every street. Donations should NOT include tinned or packaged foods. Taize service: The monthly Taize service takes place on Sunday November 13 at 6.30pm in the Lady chapel at the church. Pampering and gifts: Friday, November 11, will be a great night for ladies at the village hall. A charity pamper and gift evening in support of the Heart of Kent Hospice will take place from 6-10pm. The admission charge is £2 per person and 100% of money raised will go directly to the hospice. There will be a PINK raffle in aid of Cancer Research, too. For information, contact Rachel Curley on 01622 814159 or email rachel@dizrat.com. George live music: Rock Formation will be back providing great live music at The George from 8.3011.30pm on Saturday November 12. Charity refreshment stall: At the farmers’ market on Saturday, November 19 in the High Street from 10am-1pm, the Friends of Yalding Surgery will be running the charity refreshment stall and home baked cake stall. Donations of cakes at the stall on the day would be much appreciated, or if not convenient, call Sue Gerrish on 01622 814163 to arrange to leave your cake the day before. There are still some quiz tickets for Saturday, November 19, available from the surgery at £8 to include supper. Little Fishes: The Little Fishes group of babies and toddlers with a parent or carer meets next on Monday November 14 from 2-3pm at the church. The children will hear a Bible story, enjoy some music and an activity, followed by a healthy snack, while the adults enjoy tea and a chat. Inquiries

please to Rachel on 01622 817337. Ladies’ night: Following a great wine and cheese week, which finishes on Sunday November 13, The Chequers in Laddingford will be holding a Christmas ladies’ evening on Monday, November 15 from 7-9.30pm. There will be several stalls with great ideas for Christmas, along with mulled wine, Christmas cocktails and canapes, plus the usual raffle. Escape and relax for a while, ladies! Remembrance: On Sunday, November 13, Holy Communion will be taken at the church at 9.30am followed by a parade at 10.50am from the church to the war memorial for a short service of Remembrance at 11am. Temporary road closures: From 10.50-11am on Sunday November 13, the High Street will be closed to traffic to facilitate the Remembrance Sunday parade. The Hunton end of Lughorse Lane, which has been closed all week, is likely to remain closed until about Saturday November 19, to enable electric cable works to be undertaken by UK Power Networks. Carriageway repairs by KCC Highways on the whole length of Forge Lane, East Farleigh, will cause closure of the lane for four days from Monday November 19. Chat-a-While: Last Thursday at the Baptist Church, a particularly busy Chat-a-While coffee morning was held in aid of School Gambia. Lots of chat, cake and several ladies continuing with knitting and rug making made for a friendly cosy occasion, where the School Gambia stall, full of Gambian crafts and Christmas cards by members of the Art Group was the centre of attention. The next Chat-a-While coffee morning takes place on Thursday November 17 from 10.30am-noon at the Baptist Church. All are welcome to go along. School Gambia Singfest: Village Voices is working hard right now in preparation for the Singfest weekend on Saturday and Sunday November 19-20. They meet on Saturday November 12 at 10am at One The Tatt, and on Thursday November 17 at 7.30-9pm in the church. Village Voices performance is on Saturday November 19 in church at 10.30am in the church. The whole weekend’s programme is available at £1.50 from the post office or by calling 01622 814267. This will allow visitors to plan their listening to the non-stop performances throughout Saturday from 9am-9pm, when admission is free all day.The weekend will culminate in a concert in the church on Sunday November 20 at 5pm. Audience tickets cost £5. Youngsters’ football: Congratulations go to Yalding and Laddingford FC under 12s team, who won their first ever game last Saturday, beating Beckley 3-1. The goals came from Max Thompson (2) and Sam Aldrich, but this was a great team performance. The under eights were defeated 4-1 by Vintners with the goal from Darun. On Saturday 19, the under 12s travel to Beckley, while the under sevens and under eights are at home. On Sunday, the under 13s won their game 10-2 and the under 14s won 11-2. Both go second in their league. The under 16s travelled to their bogey team, Rochester, on a cold afternoon. Despite plenty of possession, only a cool finish from Ryan McClaine saw the side one up at half time. An even second half saw both sides create chances, but Yalding wrapped up the points when Alex Faulkner pounced at the far post at a corner. Riverside Gallery news: June Chapman, resident artist at Riverside Gallery wishes to thank all who supported the gallery during its first year. The gallery will be open again next year, and already the 2017 season is fully booked with new and returning exhibitors. June is looking for artists who wish to exhibit their work in 2018. Contact June on 01622 817324 or at the post office.