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Correspondent: Jean Watson Mob:

07966 361434 Tel: 01622 687053 Baptist church: Sunday May 7, 9am Communion; 10.30am Martin Colley on‘Five Truths to Live By; 6.30pm DVD Life on the Front Line. Messy Water: Saturday, May 20 from 11am-1.30pm in St Nicholas church halls. All welcome. £3 per person or £10 per family to include lunch. For details or to book phone Fiona on 07951 777854. Latest booking date is Wednesday, May 17. Go along to: the Baby and Kids Market in St Nicholas Church on Saturday, May 6. Top quality preloved baby and children’s clothes, toys and equipment from birth to six years. Open 2.30-4pm. 50p entry on door, proceeds to Demelza Hospice care for children. Sellers £15 per table. To book text Sam on 07799 616362. Fuschia Club: At the next Mid-Kent Fuschia Club meeting in St Nicholas Church on Thursday, May 11, Allison Marsden will be talking on Year Round Colour in the Garden. Starts 7.30pm. Kids Kung Fu: At the Community Association hall every Saturday starts 10am. For age groups and details contact Neil on 07980 945378 Mums and Babes: At St Nicholas Church once a month on a Friday from 10am-noon. Next May 26. Quiz time: Marion leads in a puzzling word quiz for your enjoyment at the next Get Together session in the Baptist Church on Wednesday May 10 from 2-4.30pm. Council meetings: Aylesford Parish Council’s annual meeting is on Tuesday, May 9 at 7.30pm in Aylesford Football Club Pavilion, 23/25 Forstal Road. The public are invited to attend and address councillors if they so wish. Information and agenda from the parish office. The annual meeting of Boxley Parish will be held at 7pm in Beechen Hall, Wildfell Close, Walderslade followed by the parish council meeting at 7.30pm. Full details www.boxleyparishcouncil.org.co or by phoning the parish office on 01634 861237. Village Fete: The date is Saturday June 10 at 2pm on the church green in Robin Hood Lane. There’s something to interest every age and is an ideal opportunity for the whole family to support and enjoy a great local event while raising money for local charities. Chart Sutton and it was hoped that a successful interview would result in an appointment. Borough Cllr Steve Munford explained the borough council’s Local Plan and how it would affect the village. He also spoke of how MBC had become efficient in dealing with flytipping which had become much worse in the area. Generally this was cleared within 48 hours of being reported. He urged residents to use the on-line reporting system. County Cllr Eric Hotson advised that the community budget which he received to assist villages with highways improvements had gradually been reduced over the years but was due to have a small increase next year. In spite of this he had been able to assist with several schemes that the parish council had worked on over the year, including parking, the reduction of the speed limit on Chart Hill Road and the provision of No HGV signs. Claire Corkran , head of Sutton Valence Preparatory School reported that the school enjoys being a part of the local community. It had raised thousands of pounds for charity and was happy to allow the use of its premises for functions out of school term times. The year had not been a good one for St Michael’s Church. The rev Fiona Haskett explained that an inspection of the building had recommended that the electrical wiring should be completely replaced so fundraising had begun. The Royal British Legion had a successful year but the chairman, Mike FitzGerald said that new members would be welcome. There was no requisite to have belonged to the armed forces to be able to join. Members enjoy regular meetings and outings and the annual dinner is always a popular event. The Poppy appeal is always wellsupported. Gloria Adams reported that the village hall continued to enjoy high lettings and was in use every day of the week. There was a programme of works to be carried out during the year. As there had been several instances of flytipping in the car park, the committee was to install CCTV which would hopefully be a deterrent. Mrs Adams also reported that the amenities committee continued to hold fundraising events, mainly to finance the senior citizens Christmas lunch and entertainment. This is a popular occasion which last year saw 45 residents enjoy home cooked food. Christine Parkes spoke on behalf of the Three Suttons Helpine, a group of 27 volunteers who organise and drive villagers to hospital and doctors’ appointments. In the last year they had made almost 400 journeys. Four of the drivers are from the village but there can never be too many so anyone interested should contact the numbers on the back of the Village News. Valerie Underdown reported on the following: The bowls club was going strong after its relaunch last year and had 11 members but would always welcome new players. Go along to the village hall at 7.15pm on Fridays. Neighbourhood Watch: Mrs Underdown had attended a number of presentations by Trading Standards with regard to scams on the increase. She was constantly in receipt of messages from both the police and Trading Standards with regard to crimes and passed the information on to the road reps. However, some roads no longer have a rep so if anyone would like to take this on, contact her. As reported in the Village News recently, there had been changes to the way Speedwatch was being organised. Initial difficulties had been overcome and the team were once again out catching the speedsters. In 2016 they recorded 406 speeding vehicles of which 70 were doing more than 50% over the limit. The book club continues to meet on