Benenden Magazine November 2016 • FamilyFamily • CCharitiesharities • ResidentialResidential ConveyancingConveyancing • CCivilivil LLibertiesiberties • WillsWills • CCompleteomplete LLegalegal CCareare • ProbateProbate • DDebtebt RRecoveryecovery • TTrustsrusts • EEmploymentmployment • CCommercialommercial PPropertyroperty • PPersonalersonal IInjurynjury • CCourtourt ooff PProtectionrotection • PProfessionalrofessional NNegligenceegligence • PPowersowers ooff AAttorneyttorney • LLicensingicensing • BBusinessusiness SServiceservices • MMediationediation Call:Call: 0158001580 77676224862248 Email:Email: [email protected]@pengelly-rylands.co.uk www.pengelly-rylands.co.ukwww.pengelly-rylands.co.uk VVisit:isit: 339/419//441 HighHigh Street,Street, Tenterden,Tenterden, KKent,ent, TTN30N30 66BJBBJJ Editorial There’s something about a chilly November evening, a mustardy burger, a pint of Old Dairy bitter and a towering inferno on the Glebe Field that simply cries out: “Yes, I know it’s nearly winter again, but I just don’t care!” Bonfire night in Benenden is one of those magical occasions that embraces the changing of the seasons rather than shrinking away from it. The crowd always seems to number far more than the official population and the fireworks would do justice to the Lord Mayor’s Show - all of which means that 5 November promises to be another annual occasion that brings the village together in harmony - albeit with lots of gunpowder and a whiff of treason. We’ve just had an autumnal Apple Day and there are no doubt Christmas fairs around the corner, but it can’t all be fun and games. We have the ongoing furore over the bottle banks in the village hall car park - aired in this issue - and then there’s the Parish Council’s six-monthly village clean-up. Anybody who has travelled these parts on foot will know that our roads and verges leave something to be desired. At their worst, they are strewn with litter, from a trail of yoghurt pots and water bottles left by TWBC’s refuse collection technicians, to the detritus of late nights at distant fast-food restaurants, lobbed out of car windows by unthinking oiks. It all has to be cleared up somehow, by somebody, and it might as well be us, given that nobody else is going to do it. So the PC - although it has no official responsibility for the problem - sorts out fluorescent vests and litter-picking sticks and sends a gang of volunteers out to do their stuff. It may not sound like a picnic, but it has its compensations: last time, we collected enough wing mirrors, hubcaps and assorted automotive spares to build an entire car of our own, with the added bonus of a clean and tidy village at the end of it. Not to mention free coffee and cakes for all pickers afterwards at Benenden’s, our wonderful Community Shop! How could anybody resist? Full details are printed inside, along with a personal invitation from PC chairman Peter Davies. Peter Thomas, Co-Editor The Benenden Magazine is published monthly as a joint venture by Benenden Parish Council and St George’s Parochial Church Council. It is distributed free to all residents of the parish. Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of the publishers. Responsibility for accuracy of information rests with contributors and advertisers. Editors: Kent Barker, Peter Thomas, Minnie Garnier Editorial Board: PCC Rep: Tracy Claridge, PC Rep: Kent Barker, Treasurer: Charles Trollope, Acting Advertising Manager: Paul Leek, Advertising Assistant: Iain Fraser, Distribution: Marilyn and Dick Hill, Layout Editor: Camilla Macdonald Contributions to: [email protected] by the 15th of the preceding month. Advertising orders or queries to: [email protected]. Postal address: c/o Community Office, Benenden Village Hall, Benenden, TN17 4DY 01580 240371 1 Village Calendar October Saturday 29 Stephen Message, Two Day Art Exhibition, Memorial Hall, 10-5pm Saturday 29 Halloween Party, St George’s Club, 8pm Sunday 30 Stephen Message, Two Day Art Exhibition, Memorial Hall, 10-4pm November Thursday 3 Planning Committee Meeting, Benenden Village Hall, 8.30am Friday 4 Woodland Wide Games, Iden Green Congregational Church, 7pm Saturday 5 Benenden Bonfire and Fireworks, Glebe Field, Benenden, 5.30pm p.11 Sunday 6 Edward Whiting and Freddie Flintoff, Recital, St George’s Church, 6pm p.9 Thursday 10 Benenden Women’s Club, Wine Tasting, Iden Green Pavilion, 7.30pm p.13 Friday 11 Quiz Night, Friends of St George’s, Benenden Village Hall, 7.15 for 7.30pm p.9 Saturday 12 Skittles, St George’s Club, 8pm Tuesday 15 Village Lunch, Benenden Village Hall, 12.30pm p.17 Tuesday 15 Iden Green and Benenden WI, Winter Party, Memorial Hall, 2pm p.25 Saturday 19 Village Autumn Clean, Benenden’s Shop and Iden Green Pavilion, 9am p.3 Saturday 19 Iden Green and Benenden WI, Coffee Morning, Memorial Hall, 10am p.25 Sunday 20 Messy Church, St George’s Church, 4-6pm p.17 Monday 21 Parish Council Meeting, Memorial Hall, 7.30pm Tuesday 22 Merry and Bright, Memorial Hall, 3pm Tuesday 22 The Royal British Legion Benenden Branch AGM, Memorial Hall, 7.30pm p.9 Saturday 26 Cranbrook Symphony Orchestra, Concert, St George’s Church, 7.30pm p.13 Saturday 26 Quiz Night, St George’s Club, 8pm Benenden Youth Club/Streetcruizer, age 11+ Mondays at Benenden Village Hall, 7-9pm Coffee Shop Wednesdays in the Memorial Hall, 10-12noon Cakes & Chaos: Cafe and Toddler Group Fridays during term time in St George’s Church, 9-11.30am Refuse Lorry Collections Saturday 5 November, Garden Waste/Compostable Waste, Iden Green, crossroads, 8-11am Saturday 19 November, Domestic Waste, Benenden, Cherryfields, 8-11am 2 Parish Council Letter Despite the pressures of modern life, Benenden remains a typical English village with its church, village green, school, shops and pubs. We have an amazing 155 listed buildings and other structures across the Parish. A lovely village surrounded by wonderful countryside. But what makes it even more special is the people who live here. We are lucky to have so many community minded people who work hard for the benefit of all in the village. The success of our Community Shop is a case in point and also this, our Parish Magazine. We love where we live and the Parish Council is active in maintaining, preserving and improving our village. The Parish Lengthsman is a key member of the team maintaining and, where necessary, repairing many of the things that we take for granted. Also to this end the Parish Council is organising another village clean up day. This will be on 19 November when the Saturday dustcart will be parked at Cherryfields. We will provide litter-picking and safety equipment and also a hot drink and cake at the Community Shop. This will be from 9am to 11am to tie in with the dustcart and we will meet outside the shop. In Iden Green volunteers will meet in the Pavilion car park. The Parish Council comprises nine members plus our clerk and meets monthly either in the Memorial Hall or in the Iden Green Pavilion. Details of meetings are posted on the notice boards and on our website. Meetings are open to all local residents, so do come along whenever you can. The Parish Council currently has a vacancy, details of which have been publicised. People have busy lives, but I do urge local people to consider standing for the council. If you contact me, I would be happy to explain what this entails. It is our own bit of democracy and should be of interest and benefit to all of us. Peter Davies, BPC Chairman 01580 240723 [email protected] Caroline Levett, Benenden Parish Council Clerk 01580 240371 [email protected] For more information see our website www.benendenparishcouncil.org or find us on facebook Parish Council Meeting Planning Committee Meeting Monday 21 November 2016, Memorial Hall, Thursday 3 November 2016, Benenden Village 7.30pm Hall, 8.30am 3 BENENDEN PRE-SCHOOL www.benendenpreschool.co.uk (YHU\:HHNGD\LQ6W*HRUJH·V+DOOE\%HQHQGHQ&URVV-roads Small and friendly pre-school - $ZDUGHG¶2XWVWDQGLQJ·E\2IVWHG Large secure gardens with slide, sandpit, playhouse and more! 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Bang! I was relaxing in the sun when suddenly there was a bang and some smoke beyond the trees at the bottom of our garden. Then, as I was walking along the road to investigate, there was another very loud explosion and huge clouds of thick, black smoke, followed by a couple more crashes, coming apparently from Turks Yard.