Posts Tagged ‘Etchinghill’

NFU dinner

Friday, December 4th, 2009

Friday 27 November is the annual dinner of the local National Farmers’ Union dinner and this year it is held at Etchinghill golf club. 

Much of Shepway is still farmland and the farmers not only shape our landscape but also give stability to our communities.  Farming families have been here for generations and are committed to the area more than most who live here.

I’m particularly pleased to meet the family which run the green waste composting for Shepway.  They tell me that the regulations on dealing with waste have become ever more onerous.  Sometimes the green waste is contaminated when householders hide landfill rubbish in their green waste bin but mostly the waste from Shepway is very suitable for making compost which is then used on the farm.

Rod Vincent of the NFU and Cllr Susan Carey, chairman of Shepway District Council
Rod Vincent of the NFU and Cllr Susan Carey, chairman of Shepway District Council

It is a most enjoyable evening and it’s good to be reminded of the important role that agriculture still plays in the life of our district.

Tags: ,
Posted in General | No Comments »

Race Night at Etchinghill

Monday, November 9th, 2009
Racing with Seriously Wicked

Racing with Seriously Wicked

Saturday 08 November and I am at Etchinghill village hall for a race night organised by the Etchinghill Residents’ Association.  Apart from having a good time, the purpose of the event is to raise money for the final stage of the Christmas tree project.

Etchinghill is a small village along the Canterbury Road and is part of Lyminge Parish.  Although small, Etchinghill has a big community spirit and the Residents’ Association is always coming up with new ideas.  Their latest project is to plant Christmas trees at either end of the village along Canterbury Road and decorate them with lights at Christmas.  As well as looking festive it is hoped that the trees may even help remind motorists that they are passing through a village and should slow down.
 
Tonight’s theme is a Race Evening run by a Folkestone based company Seriously Wicked which specialises in Corporate Entertainment.  As well as race evenings they do casinos, ‘It’s a knockout’ and much more.  Very popular at the moment, they say are temporary ice rinks.  (They can be contacted at www.seriouslywicked.co.uk 0800 612 9166.)
 

Wendy Preston with Cllr Susan Carey, chairman of Shepway District Council and her husband, John Hall

Wendy Preston with Cllr Susan Carey, chairman of Shepway District Council and her husband, John Hall

There are 8 races and plenty of ways to part with money in buying horses and betting on them.  The race card is full of punning names such as ‘Bounced Cheque by Made of Rubber’ and ‘Fruit Cake by Nuts & Raisins’.  There’s absolutely no skill involved at all in choosing which horse to buy or bet on so it’s down to pure luck.  It makes no difference to the result at all but people still enthusiastically cheer their horses on.
 
At the end of the evening Wendy Preston and Barbara Collins Newing announce that we have raised enough money to complete the project and several people volunteer to help with the running of the lights.  We have all lost our shirts in a good cause.

Tags:
Posted in General | No Comments »

Open Gardens

Tuesday, July 7th, 2009

My third event on Saturday 27 June is a visit to Lyminge for their Open Gardens Safari.  This takes place every two years and alternates with Postling’s annual open gardens event (a date for your 2010 diaries).  The Lyminge safari is held over two days and a passport for £3 entitles entry into 15 gardens in Lyminge and Etchinghill. 

Unusual plant pots outside the Methodist church

Unusual plant pots outside the Methodist church

I start at the Methodist church where passports are on sale and there’s an impressive display of quilts and tapestries.  One very striking exhibit is a large hanging in four sections based on a picture of the local countryside.  Each section was worked on by separate groups without consultation so each is different in approach but each complments the other sections.  It is destined for a prominent position in the Methodist church. 

At the nearby Anglican church of St Mary & St Ethelburga, there is a Flower Festival themed on the seasons of the year and of the church.  The flowers make this beautiful old church even lovelier. 

Meeting Gordon Brown (the Etchinghill one not the Downing Street one)

Etchinghill's Gordon Brown

Etchinghill's Gordon Brown

I have time for just a few visits to gardens one of which belongs to Mr & Mrs Gordon Brown in Etchinghill.  Mrs Brown tells me that it causes quite a stir when they go places where his name is called like the local hospital. 

There’s much to admire and inspire and the money raised will help the Lyminge Association in improving village life.

Tags: , ,
Posted in General | No Comments »