Dyson Dash
The Commodore of Broadstairs Sailing Club, Paul Glover, Commodore of the Royal Temple Yacht Club, Karen Cox, and event organiser Michael Todd were delighted to attend Broadstairs Sailing Club on Sunday 27th October to present a cheque for £3060 to Karen Kenward, from the Pilgrims Hospice.
This money was raised by voluntary donations by competitors of this year’s Dyson Dash which was held in August.
The Dyson Dash is held in memory of Broadstairs sailor Steve Dyson who sadly died in an accident 16 years ago.
For the past 15 years RTYC and BSC have come together every August Bank Holiday to raise money for the Hospice where he was treated. Roughly £45K has been raised over the past 15 years in his name.
Serenaders Ladies Choir
Following their recent Summer charity concert in which the Serenaders Ladies’ Choir raised almost £1000 for The Coastwatch Institution, a quiz night was held and raised the magnificent sum of £620 for COGS.
COGS Clubs were developed for people living with mild to medium dementia. Admiral nurse Jacke Tuppen wanted to continue her work with people living with dementia, based on the Cognitive Stimulation Therapy (CST) which is usually only available for 5 weeks.
She developed a program which runs for 12 hours a week and gives members a structured day of activities and fun. It also gives families and carers much needed respite.
Most of the clubs are run by charitable organisations, care homes or private individuals who are skilled in this work and rely on dedicated volunteers.
Serenaders Ladies Choir is a choir run by Janice Regan and we always welcome new members. We are a lovely friendly group and enjoy singing a variety of music.
Our annual Carol Concert is taking place on the afternoon of 14th December at 2.30pm, at St Philips Church, Palm Bay.
Tickets, priced at £5 each, are now available. Please contact Janice Regan on 01843 224027 for more information.
The Margate School
Report by Phien O’Phien
Work by Oliver Barnett and Erin Bryne [below]
The Margate School held its annual graduation day on the 26th of October at the Turner Gallery and displayed its graduated artists’ works at The Margate School Gallery later that evening.
The artists on display were Olivia Barnett, Erin Bryne, Kitty Purvis, Imogen Marshall and Amber.
The event was attended by MP for East Thanet, Polly Billington and the Mayor of Margate, Jack Packman.
MP Billington remarked on how important it was for art to be available to all sections of society and how art exports from Britain show the vast creativity of the art industry in Britain.
Erin Byne explained she was an architect but left her job to concentrate on art. She spoke as to how the course she took with The Margate School gave her the belief in her artistic abilities and confidence to publicly exhibit her works. She has received commissions and hopes to be teaching art students in the near future.
Olivia Barnett’s work is titled Dolkayet Dreams. Olivia explains her work has a deep reverence for nature and belonging. The term Dolkayet is a Jewish term and translates as “hereness.”
Olivia has used second-hand textiles, photographs of the Margate seaside, and scented candles to create a sense of home and belonging.
Uwe Derksen, the director of the Margate School Gallery, spoke on how proud he was of this year’s graduates and how hard they worked to graduate. He looks forward to the next crop of artists taking the courses available at the Margate School and passing through to their own graduation 2025.
New book explores music of Cliff Richard
Exploding into the charts in the 50s, Cliff Richard and The Shadows invented the 60s. says author and music historian Peter Checksfield.
Peter, from Birchington, says that with a string of largely self-composed hit singles, global success that rivalled Elvis Presley, ‘Beat Group’ two guitars, bass and drums instrumentation, appearances on ‘The Ed Sullivan Show’, classic movies with their memorable music and zany humour, and the era’s most influential guitarist – they truly set the template for The Beatles and all that followed.
In his newest book, Peter Checksfield looks at the music Cliff Richard made – both with and without The Shadows – during the first decade of his career.
Kent Community Foundation
National Care Leavers’ Week allows the public, professionals, carers, decision-makers and the media to come together, celebrate care leavers and raise awareness of the issues in the care system.
Statistics reveal that in England 83,840 children were in care on 31 March 2023 and the latest figures reveal that 1 in every 141 children is in care.
Young care leavers are expected to live much more independently at a much earlier stage than their peers. The average age that young people leave their parental home is 23, yet care leavers are much younger. Once they have left care, these young people are not necessarily able to rely on the support of their former carers in the same way that other young people are able to turn to their parents and family for support.
Kent Community Foundation supports care leavers through its Care Leavers Fund. The Fund awards grants to support care leavers aged between 16 and 25, as they move from foster or state care to independent living.
The funding is available throughout the county, and Kent Community Foundation will consider requests that aim to support the young person to set up home, gain confidence, experience, life skills and help reach their potential. All nominations much be made by a professional.
Natalie Smith, Director of Grants and Impact and Deputy Chief Executive, Kent Community Foundation said: “Our Care Leavers Fund is a very important support for the young people who are leaving care in Kent and Medway. Young people leave the care system for many different reasons including, returning to their parental home or to a person with parental responsibility, being subject to a special guardianship order, moving into independent living or being adopted. We know that care leavers consistently experience fewer positive outcomes than the general population and our support from this Fund is vital.”
Kent Community Foundation is part of a UK wide accredited network of forty-seven Community Foundations who are committed to improving the lives of local people and communities, particularly the most vulnerable, isolated, and disadvantaged.
Professionals who wish to nominate a care leaver for funding from the Care Leavers Fund should visit www.kentcf.org.uk/funding/individuals
Thanet council Autumn leaf composting trial
Autumn usually brings lots of fallen leaves. When wet, walking through fallen leaves could mean a slip or fall. To help keep residents safe, our Street Cleansing teams work hard to clear pavements in public spaces as quickly as possible.
The fallen leaves picked up by Thanet District Council’s Cleansing team are usually collected along with other litter. This means they cannot be composted.
In 2023, the council trialled using staff to conduct dedicated leaf picking patrols which resulted in nine tonnes of leaf fall being sent to anaerobic digestion, instead of it being disposed of as street litter.
This year the council will continue this practice. The new approach to dealing with this seasonal situation is one that connects to the key priority of keeping the district safe and clean. It is hoped that collecting fallen leaves across Thanet will yield at least the same volume in 2024.
In a bid to encourage further collection, the council is now trialling a community collection programme. The seasonal trial will involve volunteer residents in Broadstairs receiving a dedicated wheeled bin that they can fill with leaves. A small number of volunteer participants will be invited to take part in dedicated leaf picks. When the bins are full, they will be emptied by Waste & Recycling teams. These bins will be returned to the council at the end of leaf fall season.
Depending on the success of the trial, resident leaf picking may be rolled out across the district. Residents who are interested in taking part in general litter picks should get in touch with their local litter picking group.
For information on local litter picks see: thanet.gov.uk/join-a-litter-pick
East Kent Hospital
East Kent Hospitals endoscopy team has more than halved its waiting list, helping to reduce delays for patients.
The team had almost 14,000 people waiting for the procedure in September last year, which meant those needing a non-urgent test could wait more than a year.
But after 12 months of focus on investigating the issues and working to find sustainable solutions – combined with a temporary increase in capacity – the waiting list is now around 4,900, and the team hope to be at a steady state of around 4,500 by November. This means patients will be removed from the list at the same rate new referrals are added, minimising any delays.
Dr Kate Hills, Trust lead for endoscopy and training, said: “The list is never going to be zero as there will always be referrals coming through and patients waiting for surveillance but to achieve our steady state within this timeframe is a significant achievement.
“We have had high waiting lists before, and historically that has been tackled by having weekend sessions – but when we stop the lists gradually build back up.
“The difference this time has been getting to the root of the problem, and working with teams across the Trust to find the solutions.
“It has involved our admin colleagues, operational teams, as well as nursing and endoscopy teams, all working together for our patients.
“The input from NHS England and NHS Kent and Medway has also been constructive, they have helped facilitate the search for answers.”
Appointment slots were also opened further in advance, allowing 1,400 people to be booked in the next eight weeks, helping to make better use of the extra capacity.
Kate said: “It has been a real team effort – within our team and with many different teams inside and outside the Trust.
“This isn’t something we could have tackled by ourselves and it was important to recognise everyone’s contribution.
“We are now looking to the future, how we can expand and develop. We have five clinical endoscopists who are an essential part of the future as well as plans to manage patients differently with the help of other teams to supplement and support endoscopy.
“East Kent Hospitals endoscopy is now hopefully heading in a very positive direction due to the collaborative work of so many.”
Thank you Kathy! : )
“and the era’s most influential guitarist.” I didn’t know that Bert Weedon was in the Shadows.
He may have got a few people started (as did Lonnie Donegan), but George Harrison, Eric Clapton, Dave Gilmour, Brian May, Mark Knopfler, Peter Frampton, Steve Howe, Roy Wood, Tony Iommi, Pete Townshend, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page ALL later acknowledged the influence of Hank Marvin had on them at the time.
Don’t forget Neil Young for Hank. Clapton, McCartney & May also cited Weedon’s books as how they learned to play.