PARISH of COBHAM & LUDDESDOWNE with DODE Rev Angela Walker Church Office (01474) 813495 The Vicarage, Battle Street, Cobham, DAl2 3DB (01474) 814332 Pastoral Assistant Janet Weaver, 36 Highview, Vigo Village, DA13 ORR (01732) 823936 SUBMISSIONS Cobham and Luddesdowne News is a community magazine that is produced by and for the residents of Cobham, Sole Street and Luddesdown. We welcome all contributions of local interest. Please send material for inclusion by the 15th of the month preceding publication to [email protected] Hello everyone Thank you so much for the positive feed-back I received regarding last month’s online magazine. I hope that as people start to emerge from this latest lockdown and plans begin to be made there will be more content for you to enjoy. In the meantime, if there is anything you would like to see included please let me know. As the Cobham & Luddesdowne magazine steps in to the digital age I was reminded just how long the magazine had been going and it seems timely to pay tribute to all the volunteers that have kept it going for so many years; from my editorial predecessors to the contributors, distributors, printers and the paper carriers. The production of the paper magazine is a herculean task and has always been undertaken by volunteers who recognise the importance of community. I do hope that when possible paper copies will, once again, be available. As you may be aware I stood down as the Parish Clerk at the end of last year, I truly enjoyed my three and a half years in the role and will continue to support the parish council as they move forward with their plans to improve the parish and support parishioners. My successor, Charles is settling in well and finding his way around the many jobs and duties the clerk is responsible for, I know that he is working hard to familiarise himself with the parish and its many organisations, Charles can be contacted by emailing [email protected] I know you will make him feel welcome. Have a lovely Easter. Tina P.S Thanks to Adrian for the lovely front page photograph. What has Cobham Parish Council been doing? The fitting of bollards along The Street The bollards were installed along The Street in Cobham on 19th February 2021. Cobham Parish Council worked closely with Kent County Council Highways, our County Councillor and Borough Councillor, Cllr Tony Rice to set up this scheme. The idea is to prevent vehicles from mounting the kerbs and driving along the pavements when vehicles are unable to pass each other. This was not safe for pedestrians using the pavements and vehicles were passing very close to residents’ front doors. The layby by St Mary Magdalene Church has had the parking removed to allow cars to wait and pass each other before the narrow section of The Street. Signage will also be installed at the Halfpence Lane roundabout to discourage motorists from driving through Cobham village. The scheme is for a trial period to see how the scheme is working and whether traffic will be using other roads. Residents are encouraged to give their feedback to the scheme to the clerk on [email protected] and this will be fed back to KCC Highways. Parking around the village Cobham Parish Council has been working with Gravesham Borough Council and Kent Police to deal with the parking along Church Road and outside the Woodland Trust car park in Ashenbank Wood. Traffic wardens have been out and about issuing tickets to several cars and Parish Councillors had a useful meeting with local police officers to discuss the issues of parking. The police have been speaking to motorists at weekends, who leave their cars around Halfpence Lane and Cobhambury Road. Cobham Parish Council will continue to monitor the situation which may change as the Covid 19 restrictions are eased. Community Grant Application Form The Community Grant Application Form is for organisations within Cob- ham Parish who would like to apply for a grant from Cobham Parish Coun- cil. Please contact the clerk for further details. Website Survey There is a survey on the Cobham Parish Council website and Facebook page for residents to give their views on what improvements they would like to see in Cobham, Sole Street and Ifield. Do take some time to com- plete this as your views are important. Need a Plumber? Your local plumber is Graham Hickson Reliable, prompt and reasonable prices 20% discount on labour with this magazine Graham Hickson 07968 551 562 [email protected] VAT Sole Free Trader 23rd April: St George and Hiccup Have you seen the film How to Train your Dragon? It’s set in a Viking village under attack from dragons, who steal livestock and burn down houses. Hic- cup, the village Chief’s son, invents a machine to capture dragons. However, when he catches one of the most dangerous dragons, he cannot kill it, when he sees that the dragon is just as frightened as he is. Through this friend- ship, the people and dragons eventually learn to live in harmony. This month we celebrate St George, the patron saint of England. He is fa- mous for slaying a dragon, a tradition which became popular in the Middle Ages. Whether he killed an actual dragon is open to question! However, we do know that the original George was a Roman soldier at the time of Em- peror Diocletian. He refused to renounce his faith, as commanded by the Emperor, resulting in his death on 23 April 303 AD. The contrast is clear: St George slayed the evil dragon, while Hiccup re- fused to kill one. However, they also have something important in common. Both acted according to their conscience, defying the popular understanding of those around them and not worrying about the personal cost to them- selves. St George was martyred for standing up for his faith in Jesus before a pagan emperor, while Hiccup risked rejection by his father and village be- cause of his compassion. Today, we are still called to stand for Christ against wrongs and injustice in daily life, whatever the personal cost. However, we also need to be ready to look our enemies in the eye and meet their hostility with love and com- passion. This is why we also remember this month that Jesus died and rose again, so that we might have God’s power to do this in our lives. SOLE STREET WI WI WOMEN IN ACTIVISM PRO- JECT was a craft project rather than a competition to create a banner or pennant for any future marches which we submitted in an online photo for National Federa- tion exhibition & the International Women’s Day exhibition (8th March). “The banner’s crimson fabric is backed by calico to add strength and the pictograms added on felt. At the top is an artistic representa- tion of Sole Street. We are a small rural Institute with many apple or- chards so six campaigns are illus- trated on apples on branches: Save Our Farmers Save Our Bees Violence Against Women Microparticles Contamination Modern Slavery Against Food Waste Our own Institute topics are de- picted on the calico leaves : talks, book clubs, walks, crafts, new skills, new interests, friendship, companionship, fun & laughter, outing & meals out, competitions, communi- ty support (eg participation in Local Fundraising Group for St Mary’s Church Room, annual community events, Gravesend Food Bank...).” In September Sole Street WI hopes to resume meetings 4th Tuesday of the month at 7.30pm in St Mary’s Church Room (opposite The Little Shop). We have continued to hold social gatherings throughout the year in line with government restrictions and have already planned our summer activities. New members will receive a warm friendly welcome. For further information, please telephone. Yvonne 01474 813455. Cobham and Luddesdown WI Facebook for our WI. Jenny had a Zoom group meeting with the Federation recently and it was suggested that our WI had a Facebook group. This will not replace any cur- rent form of communication and will be used to inform members of WI news. Members will also be encouraged to share anything they feel of interest to the group. It has been under a trial and operational for a few weeks and now we’d like to invite our members to join the group. Members can go to Facebook, and then at the top of the screen, type: Cobham and Luddesdown WI You may need to scroll down the screen (past the Craft Group) until you see it. Then click Join, and answer the questions. Members will need an Admin to admit them to the group so it is likely it will not be instantane- ous. Chelsea Flower Show moves to the autumn For the first time ever in its 108-year history, Chelsea Flower Show will not be held in the Spring, but in the Autumn. The 2021 Chelsea Flower Show will now take place from 21st to 26th September. The Royal Horticultural Society, the show organisers, will still hold it at the Royal Hospital in Chelsea. The hope is that by September, millions more people will be vaccinated, so that mass outdoor events will be able to happen safely. 140,000 peo- ple are predicted to attend this year’s Chelsea, over the six days. Sue Biggs, RHS director general, says: “We believe many designers and nurseries will look forward to working with different plants that would not be available or at their best in May. We will do our utmost to de- liver a beautiful, uplifting and different RHS Chelsea safely in September 2021.” LUDDESDOWN PARISH COUNCIL Proposed Meeting Dates for 2021-2022 Monday 17th May 2021 Monday 19th July 2021 Monday 20th September 2021 Monday 18th October 2021 – Budget Meeting Monday 15th November 2021 Monday 17th January 2022 Monday 21st March 2022 - APM COBHAM PARISH COUNCIL MEETING DATES 2021 All starting at 7.30pm and on Zoom until further notice If you wish to attend a meeting please contact the clerk for joining instructions.