Ditton Gazette - Christmas 2010


Christmas 2010 Extracts >>Back to Gazette Archive<<

Parking worries KCC Warden John Newton
PARKING Although better, and I thank the considerate drivers, there is still a problem especially at lunchtimes with drivers parking on the double yellow lines in and around New Road, Ditton. One of the main priorities for all parents is the safety of their children, however, some still compromise the safety of their children and others by parking on the double yellow lines. THE YOUTH PROJECT I am pleased to say that we are now only waiting for a start date from the builder to refurbish the Cedar Rooms. I know that some people predicted that this would never get off the ground, well, as soon as the major work has been completed we will need volunteers to help decorate the interior with the young people of Ditton. Please keep your eye on your doorstep, we are organising a public meeting in January so please attend. This is your children and grandchildren’s future venue, keeping them off the streets and giving them structure to their spare time. DUSTER SELLERS They are back again, the people with the large black holdalls selling all sort of things from dusters to CDs. Please ensure that they carry a valid peddler’s licence. This should carry the logo of both a council and a police authority and will be printed professionally. Please be aware that the contents of the holdalls could and normally are of a very poor standard (seconds) or even worse, stolen goods.	I recently stopped two males selling door to door, because they did not have a licence, however they insisted that the ID they had had been accepted by the police because it showed a picture of the seller and stated they did not work for a charity. Rubbish, don’t get caught out. The ID was bogus and not worth the card it was printed on. True IDs always carry the company name and contact details, theirs didn’t. They did leave but others will be back. Just a footnote, the profits from the illegal doorstep seller normally ends up as funds within illegal activities such as drugs. Call the police on 01622 690690 if you get one of these callers. SPEEDING I was appalled by the thoughtless manner a minority of drivers speed around the village, especially by the school in New Road Ditton, at the times the young people go into and come out of the school. Kill your speed, not a resident. DOG FOULING Still a problem. Why do some (again a minority) dog owners let their dogs foul the footpaths and highways when it causes huge medical problems should youths fall in it as well as the anti social aspect. Please clean up after your dog. TO FINISH I would like to thank the residents of Ditton for all the support, help and information they have given me over the past 12 months and I look forward to a successful 2011. Have a very happy and safe Christmas.
Heartbeat happiness
IN October 39 members of DAMARA, the Ditton and Malling Active Retirement Association, went for a five day break to stay at the Grand Hotel, Scarborough. It was a long eight hour journey due to heavy traffic but we made it. During our stay we had two day trips out, the first to York where members visited such attractions as York Minster, the National Railway Museum and walked the walls plus of course a nice cup of tea and scone. The second was to Whitby for a short spell and then onto the Heartbeat Country where we saw the Aidensfield Arms, the garage (pictured), and other scenes from the programme. We also took a lot of photographs of this now famous place. We had one day to ourselves and a group of us took a taxi to the castle on the hill only to find it closed for the day so the driver took us down to the harbour. It was raining but this gradually cleared and it was a fine but cold day with a good deal of wind, but it was Scarborough after all!	We had a lovely couple of hours around the harbour and as usual cream tea in a very nicely decorated café on the front. The Grand was very Victorian but we could have no complaints about the food and the entertainment which was first class. Here’s to the next outing.


By Mike Porter, Parish Council Chairman	By Sue Kavanagh, Parish Council Clerk
ONCE again it has been an eventful year with much achieved and I would like to take this opportunity to thank the people of Ditton for their support during 2010. The Remembrance Day Services were again extremely well attended, which is an important event in the parish calendar and a time for us all to remember and give grateful thanks to those who gave, and continue to give, their lives for us. I sincerely thank all those people who helped with organising this year’s Services, those who took part and those who attended. I also give special thanks to Len Mace for his help and participation in Remembrance Day Services over many years. I am pleased to report that by the time you read this, work will have commenced on refurbishing the Cedar Room to provide a Youth Centre. This work will be financed from interest earned on the council’s investments. We sincerely thank all those people working on this project and I also thank the many other volunteers in the parish who help to make Ditton an enjoyable place to live. The council supported many local organisations this year and will again be supporting the Christmas parties for the local school children, which are being held at the Community Centre during December, and also making seasonal donations to the Ditton Pop-in-Club and Age Concern. On behalf of the Members of Ditton Parish Council we wish you the compliments of the season and look forward to serving you during 2011.	THE Christmas season is now upon us and here in the parish office we are busy putting together the budget for 2011/2012 and also preparing for the ever popular Christmas and New Year’s Eve Dances. If you have never attended one of the parish council dances before, why not give it a try. Todd Miller and the Joe Loss Orchestra will be here on 17th and 18th of December and the Peter Eligate Showband on New Year’s Eve. You can be assured of a great time with a wide variety of music provided by a professional orchestra and band. You can even walk home afterwards, so no worries about drinking and driving. We hold a mailing list for the dances organised by the parish council and if you would like to be included on the list to receive prior notice of the dances, please call into the parish office and collect a form. People on the mailing list who live in Ditton have priority in reserving tickets. 2010 has been a busy year and 2011 will be just as busy with a lot of changes taking place, but we look forward to the challenge. Please remember we are here to serve you and if you have any concerns or questions, we are never too busy to listen to them and if we can’t help, we can always put you in touch with someone who can. On behalf of all the parish council staff, I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and we look forward to serving you during 2011.

Bowled over by top award

THE Mayor of Tonbridge and Malling, Cllr Sue Murray, along with Beverley Emmerson, the Sports Development Officer for Tonbridge and Malling Council and Guthrie Miller, of the KCC, attended the annual meeting of Ditton Bowls Club to present the club with the Clubmark Accreditation from Sports England.
The club is the first lawn bowls club to be awarded this mark, in fact it is only the second such club in England to gain this honour. At the same time another certificate was presented to the club, a Highly Commended Award from Bowls England in the highly competitive Drakes Pride Club of the Year contest.
The photograph shows, from left, club secretary Robin Deere, club member Chris Coleman, Guthrie Miller, Cllr Sue Murray, club chairman John Ranger and club member Trevor Coleman.

Christmas Lights judged on Monday 20 December

Book now for Santa’s drop

SANTA will be leaving the Scout Hut at Ditton on Christmas Eve and touring the Ditton area, delivering those special presents. These presents can be dropped off at the Scout Hut between 6-8pm on December 23, costing from £3 per parcel. Bookings to Manda on 07958619531.

Another tree award for Ditton

DITTON was again invited by the Kent Men of the Trees to take part in the Trees in the Village competition this year. Back in the summer Cllr Tony Mulcuck escorted the judges around all the trees in the village including those in the quarry, recreation grounds, village green, the churchyard and Cobdown.
The council was pleased to learn that it had been placed in the top 20 villages in Kent and was judged as Highly Commended and awarded a certificate.
The aim of the competition is to promote the preservation of healthy trees in the village.

News from St Peters Church
Share the wonder and light of Christ The Rev Ross Terranova, Rector of Ditton 'If there really is a God why doesn't he just send someone down '? This question was raised in a survey conducted recently into why people in the UK struggle with the Christian faith. It was in the section of the survey on suffering which, of course, is the reason most often given for why people give up on God the Church etc. But can't you see something incredibly ironic in the question?	Operation Shoebox success THIS was a great community effort from St Peter’s Church, the two schools and staff and customers from One Stop. This year for the first time we held a short service in church and encouraged people to bring their boxes along and to watch a DVD showing where and how the shoeboxes are received by children whose needs are so great. Together we made resolutions about being happy with smaller gifts for ourselves this year and to pray for the children who receive a box, that it will bring a sense of joy and love into their lives. Seventy four filled boxes were brought to the service and these will be added to the junior school children’s efforts and collected by Samaritans Purse to be sent to many countries, including Haiti for the first time. Remember that your gift to someone you don’t know, by showing the love of Jesus, has great power to change a life. Thank you to all of you who took part in filling a box or knitting a hat or a puppet this year.
Christians believe that God has indeed sent someone down - He came himself. In the words of the Christmas Carol 'He came down to earth from heaven Who is God and Lord of all’. The problem was, though, that we didn't like what he had to say. This is the verdict we read in John's gospel: Light has come into the world but men and women loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil.” The problem usually with Christian faith is not in the mind but in the heart - we don't want to change, we don't want the rule of Jesus Christ in our lives. There is nothing soft or sentimental about the message of Christmas. Are we prepared to come into the light of the wonder and beauty of Jesus Christ? Happy Christmas.	Tap Walk thank you THE Turn on the Tap walk in October resulted in £500 being raised and sent to the Samaritans Purse charity to help the people in places that do not have the basic necessity of clean water. Thank you to all who gave to this important project.	Join us for Carols COME and start your Christmas by joining together on the Green outside St Peter’s on Christmas Eve at 4.30pm for Carols on the Green. This has become one of the highlights of Christmas for many and last year over 250 of you came to sing well known Carols, reminding each of us what Christmas is really about. We would love to see you there again, bring your friends and family along, wrap up warm and remember to bring a torch with you. See you on Christmas Eve.	Newspaper recycling PLEASE could we encourage you to recycle your newspapers by placing them in the collection unit at the Church Centre. We have been informed that we could lose this facility if it is not used more on a regular basis. Thank you if you already place your paper here.
Can we pray for you? IS THERE someone or a situation you would like us to pray for in our services on a Sunday. We don’t need to know details or names if you prefer, but if we could be of any help in this way please contact Ross on 01732 842027or Priscilla on 01732 841257 or leave a message at the church office on 01732 873798. If you know of anyone who would be helped by a visit at home or hospital please contact the above numbers.	Christmas services and events Sunday, December 5, Toy service, 10am Wednesday 15, Carols around Ditton (meet at the Green) 7.15pm Saturday 18, Carols at One Stop, 10.15am Sunday 19, Special All Age service, 10am Sunday 19, Carols by Candlelight, 5pm and 7pm Christmas Eve, Carols on the Green (bring a torch), 4.30pm Christmas Eve, Midnight Communion, 11pm Christmas Day, Christmas All Age Praise, 10am Boxing Day, Morning service, 10am

The future’s bright, the future’s Red & Black Stripes

Minors going strong after team overhaul	DITTON Minors under 16s have 10 new players to the team this season after losing a number of boys to Kent League sides and other local teams. Manager Ian Dennison, together with coaches Steve Bunn and Kevin Wilkinson had a number of enquiries and are pleased with their final selection, as after the first five games of the season the team sat proudly at the top the Maidstone Minor League Division 1. The team, pictured above, have already had a trip to watch Millwall FC play and have also been bowling together, both of which have helped to create a good team spirit. The team have also progressed to the Quarter Final of the Mike Shirley Under 16 Cup.

Return of the Ice Man

COACH Dan Stubbs left the under 9s team at the end of last season to play professional football for Icelandic First Division team KA Akureyri. After a great season out in the cold he returned bearing gifts of personalised KA Akureyri away shirts for all the boys and got straight back into his coaching role assisting manager Ben Clarkson with the now under 10s team.
When Ben realised that all his team would need new kit for the coming season, he decided to contact the local property firm that had sponsored his old team when he was a teenager, some eight years ago. After approaching the managing director of Kitewood, John Faith, they agreed on a two year sponsorship deal which allowed Ben to purchase a complete new home kit.
All the players and staff at Ditton Minors under 10's would like to thank Kitewood for their generosity and also Valori Demolition, who agreed to sponsor all the team’s training kit.

Stay safe at Christmas

DON’T let your Christmas festivities end in fire. Kent Fire and Rescue Service (KFRS) is urging residents to stay safe this Christmas and ensure that the celebrations don’t end in tragedy.
It is easy to get distracted by the hustle and bustle of Christmas and to overlook potential fire hazards, leading to an increased risk of injury and damage to property.
Dangers include leaving cooking unattended, increased drinking of alcohol and careless disposal of cigarettes, as well as overloading of electric sockets with decorative lights, candles and flammable decorations.
Head of Community Safety Stuart Skilton said: “Christmas should be a time of fun and festivities, but fire safety can get forgotten, leading to tragedy.
“People vastly underestimate the deadly strength of smoke from a house fire and overestimate how long they have to escape should a fire break out. The reality is that just two to three breaths of smoke in a fire can render a person unconscious.
“People should be aware of the increased fire risk and put fire safety in the forefront of planning and celebrating, to ensure a good time is enjoyed by all without any nasty surprises or devastation from fire.
“Plan escape routes, install smoke alarms, test them weekly and follow our festive safety tips to keep your family and home safer this Christmas.”
Protect your home from fire by following these festive safety tips:
Ensure you have a working smoke alarm installed on all levels of your home. Test your smoke alarms weekly and never remove batteries to power presents!
Never leave cooking unattended and avoid cooking whilst drunk. The majority of fires start in the kitchen so this is a high risk area. Always turn off kitchen appliances when you have finished cooking.
Never leave candles unattended. Keep decorations, cards and wrapping paper away from candles, fires, lights and heaters.
Ensure you switch off fairy lights and unplug them before you go to bed or leave the house. Check your Christmas tree lights conform to the British Standard BS EN 60598.
Always use an RCD (residual current device) on outdoor electrical equipment (a safety device that can save lives by instantly switching off the power if there is a fault).
Don’t overload sockets, ensure only one plug per socket. Always turn off plugs when they are not in use, except those that are designed to be left on, like freezers.
Make sure cigarettes are extinguished properly and never smoke in bed. Take extra care if you are drinking alcohol or taking medication, and put it out, right out.
Keep matches and lighters out of the reach of children.
Plan and practice your fire escape route and make sure your family and visitors staying for the festive period know what to do in an emergency.
Check on older relatives and neighbours this Christmas, as they are at greater risk from fire.
Larkfield Station Manager Colin King

Call KFRS on 0800 923 7000 for free home safety advice

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13 December 2010

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