Kentish Express Ashford & District
200-mile bike ride for cricket appeal
Group to take on challenge for good causes
A team of cyclists will ride 200 miles in two days, raising money for charity and cricket pavilion upgrades.
A group of 15 riders will take on the mammoth task next week in aid of Cancer Research and the Boughton & Eastwell Cricket Club’s new pavilion.
Originally planned as a ride to Brussels and back last summer, the event will instead be held around Kent on June 25 and June 26.
They will set out from the cricket club at Boughton Aluph at 7.30am next Friday, return in the late afternoon and repeat that schedule for a second day.
The goal is to finish the challenge at the Flying Horse pub next Saturday at 5pm, where they will be met by friends, family, supporters, beer and a barbecue.
Originally aiming to raise £10,000, the team has already surpassed £12,000.
All money raised will be divided between Cancer Research and the pavilion fund,
which will in time replace the current 1947-built structure which is now not fit for purpose.
Visit bit.ly/2TqJ3Ek for more information about the fundraising effort and to donate.
Ashford’s volunteers were honoured earlier this month as the borough recognised the difference they make to the area.
To mark this year’s Volunteers’ Week, staff at the Ashford Volunteer Centre in Elwick Road thanked those who have given up their time over one of the most trying years in living memory.
The week of celebration, which ran from June 1 to June 7, included visits from mayor Cllr Callum Knowles and socially distanced coffee mornings.
The town’s Volunteer Centre, which has been operating in Ashford for more than 40 years, supported more than 500 people to find volunteering opportunities in the borough during 2020.
To find out more about volunteering, email contact@ ashfordvc.org.uk or call 01233 665535.
riginally commissioned by the borough council in the mid-1990s, the 18-foot flowerdecked model divided opinion in the County Town causing quite the stir as locals argued whether Maidstone should be represented by a sheep.
It was bought by Grafty Green Garden Centre when the council decided not to pay for it, however pro-Shorn campaigners fought for his return.
The garden centre agreed to loan the structure adorned with 2,600 flowers to the town centre management initiative for four months per year, where it stood outside Chequers Bus Station.
This went on for at least 10 years until the contract ended and Shorn returned to Grafty Green Garden Centre.
When the garden centre closed in 2015, the owners were planning to scrap the sheep, but one man swooped in.
Joe Mallett, owner of boutique hotel Who’d A Thought It, bought Shorn for the price of two charity meals at its restaurant.
“He was only a short time away from getting crushed. But we are happy to have him,” said the 55-year-old.
Shorn still stands at the hotel today, which Mr Mallett says has been busy again after recent coronavirus lockdowns, as he welcomes customers.
BankSy’S arT Buff Folkestone
The famous Folkestone Banksy artwork is now on display in the town once again - following its brief trip to America and a five-year stint in storage.
Art Buff - which shows a woman wearing headphones and an audio tour peering over an empty plinth - was installed in the Old High Street in September 2020.
That came six years after the work first appeared in the town as part of the 2014 Triennial arts festival, having been painted on the side of Palace Amusements arcade in Payers Park.
After a brief spell in the States where it went on auction in Miami, a legal campaign ensued which saw it reclaimed by the Creative Foundation, now Creative Folkestone.
It was returned to the town in 2015 and placed in storage, before finally returning for public adoration.
Another piece of Banksy artwork appeared on the side of a building in Dover in 2017 but it disappeared in August 2019.
The piece was an image of a workman chipping away a star on the EU flag as The UK decided to leave the European Union.
Expert John Brandler from Brandler Galleries in Brentwood valued it at least million.
Garden of ashFord
A new light installation opened at a popular shopping centre in 2019, recognising Kent’s status as The Garden of England.
Called The Garden of Light, shoppers at the Ashford Designer Outlet were invited to enjoy the projected installation for free from November.
It used light, sound and scent to transport shoppers through the four seasons.
“With The Garden of Light, guests can expect to journey into a virtual garden of discovery, exploring nature’s four seasons represented through the power of light,” said centre manager Peter Corr at the time.
But the Garden of Light went dark in the early stages of last year as it stopped welcoming customers, shortly before the first coronavirus lockdown.
MuraL painTinG
ashFord’s ForMer Mecca Bingo hall
A nother eye-catching piece of art was the responsibility of Ashford’s Aimee Godden who completed work on the large angel wing mural in the town’s Lower High Street.
“Originally, we had the idea of doing a series of them around Ashford to liven up the town,” the 35-year-old said.
“The point was to get people to use the #spreadyourwingsinashford hash tag but it didn’t quite happen how we wanted it to. But I’m still glad it is there.
“When I walk past it, I still see people looking at it which is amazing.”
The mural remains there today.
However, after a Land Rover left a huge hole in a wall on the side of a historic pub last year, Miss Godden sprung into action.
The Swan Inn in Little Chart, near Ashford, made headlines due to the unfortunate timing and serious damage caused by the crash in July - just hours before the pub was due to reopen after lockdown.
Miss Godden created a mural, which features a flying swan bursting through the wall, to help cover the damage.
Catman street art at the monument
Whitstable
A landlord’s children feature in a striking design which has been sprayed on his pub by a street artist.
Tom Hadler, who runs The Monument pub in Whitstable, has always wanted his friend Catman to use the pub as his canvas.
The street artist, also based in the town, keeps his identity closely under wraps and is known for his iconic works including The Queen riding a segway and Boris Johnson playing game show Deal or No Deal.
His latest design came to light in January and aimed to show support to frontline workers.
Mr Hadler’s son Josh can be seen painting a rainbow on the pub, while daughter Honey is wearing a T-shirt which says “smile” and is holding a lamp above her head.
The landlord said: “I’m lucky enough to know Catman and have been friends with him for quite a few years.
“I’ve always hassled him about doing something for us. It is a good time and message.”
Julia sCanlon
MedWay
A n artist took to the streets to share thank you messages for Medway’s key workers.
Julia Scanlon was commissioned by Medway Council to spray paint stencils dedicated to the Towns’ local heroes this year.
The 37-year-old completed 15 pieces in total, including at Gillingham Library, the Twydall Community Centre, The Bike Warehouse in Gillingham and Iceland in Strood High Street.
She says all the artwork remains in a good condition at the moment but it will, eventually, wear off over time.
“We just wanted to say thank you to all the key workers,” said the Rochester resident.
“We have done paintings of doctors and nurses but we have done some of the other key workers like staff at supermarkets as well.
“It has been really lovely to be part of this project, which
was commissioned by Medway Council. I was silly enough to put 15 forward in my proposal!
“But it has been really fantastic to get lots of positive responses.”
isle of
A n anony-mouse artist captivated the Isle of Sheppey during lockdown with Moo Mop making an appearance in unlikely places.
Moo Mop made her debut at the end of September as miniature paintings began appearing along Island’s coastline.
The painter was determined to keep their identity secret because they feared prosecution from the authorities. But in a surprise move Swale council said it was so impressed that it offered an amnesty and began a hunt to track down the artist to discuss plans for an official commission.
Three Moo Mop Mice were originally created to amuse the artist’s partner during lunch breaks from a stressful job but now number more than 10.
Moo Mop has her own
sheppey
Facebook page where fans upload their own pictures, especially of children discovering the drawings.
The drawings have popped up at Warden, Minster, Sheerness and Minster and a particularly touching tribute to the Fallen of two world wars appeared overnight at Eastchurch in time for Remembrance Sunday.
The artist, dubbed Sheppey’s answer to Banksy, asks that locations be kept secret so youngsters are surprised when they stumble over them.
Dan lane dartford
T he saying “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure” certainly rings true for Dan Lane.
In the build-up to his first exhibition at the What If ? gallery in Dartford High Street in 2014, he had been trawling around second-hand shops and sales for junk which he then subsequently transformed into amazing sculptures.
Using objects ranging from old typewriters, film
projectors, computers, nuts bolts and bicycle chains, his collection was entitled “Mechanica.”
Two years later, the engineer-turned-artist enjoyed his debut exhibition at Bluewater in April 2016.
remembranCe Day artwork
the Mall
A large window display honouring the armed forces was put on display for shoppers to see in 2019.
Designed by One Maidstone’s press officer Sarah-Jane Adams, it was on show at the King’s Street entrance to The Mall, Maidstone, in the run up to that year’s Remembrance Sunday.
Veteran Graham Damms attended the ceremony, and he said: “It has been a couple of months in the making and it is lovely, nicely done and it means a lot to all of us.
“It is a lot better than we thought.”
mental health mural tonbridge
A poignant mural encouraging young people to speak about mental health was painted in 2019.
The artwork was designed by Tonbridge residents alongside charity National Citizen Service (NCS).
Handprints of everyone from children to the elderly decorate a painted tree at the centre of the Priory Road mural.
Each hand represents someone who wants to see mental health problems in young people eradicated.
It remains there today.
alex ChinneCk Margate & ashford
A lex Chinneck rose to fame by creating a sliding housefront in Margate in 2013, but more recently had his work featured in Milan Design Week.
The Via Tortona installation saw an old building façade fold out onto the street.
The temporary art specialist carried out a similar transformation on a derelict building situated on the former Kent Wool Growers site ahead of its demolition for a 243-flat development.