Couple's day at palace

Holiday park boss Malcolm Kent enjoyed a right royal knees-up last Tuesday. The former national chairman of the British Holiday and Home Parks Association was in London to attend a special Buckingham Palace garden party. Mr Kent, from Herne Bay, said:

"I was delighted to receive the invitation and it was a fantastic day out. They give you parking in The Mall, which isn't somewhere you usually choose to park in London! At 4pm the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh arrived, looking stunning for their age. I'm not sure how they do it!"

After tea, the couple were able to explore the gardens and meet the other guests. Mr Kent, who chaired the National Caravan Council from 1997 to 1999, said:

"We had some interesting company, as Alan Titchmarsh was there, along with Andrew Marr and lots of foreign royalty in their very colourful regalia. All in all it was a very memorable day."

Mr Kent's business, Keat Farm, has nine parks across the county for both holiday and residential use.

HB Times 22nd Jul 2011

Bandstand's French visitors

Visitors to the Bandstand were treated to a distinctly continental sound when a French band made a guest appearance. The tunes came courtesy of the Harmonie Municipal Band from Wimereux, a seaside town four miles north of Boulogne that is twinned with the Bay

The Band of about 30 people, ranging in age from teenagers upward, were treated to a buffet lunch at the ex-serviceman's club by the twinning association before their performance last month. They played a variety of music; from Michael Jackson's "Thriller", tributes to Edith Piaf and Tom Jones to light jazz and Disney movie themes.

Spokesman Alison Taylor said:

"The heavy rain showers didn't manage to spoil the afternoon and some of the comments overheard were 'a very talented group of musicians' and "what a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon despite the weather!"

HB Times 22nd Jul 2011

In Bloom outfit's confidence grows

Blooming lovely: From left, Margaret Burns (HBIB publicity officer), Andrew Babbage (RHS judge), Jean Law (KCC councillor) Colleen Ashwin-Kean (HBIB secretary) Jim Buttress (RHS judge), Derek Sidaway (HBIB chairman) and Chris Sears (Serco representative)It's going to be a long summer for the Herne Bay in Bloom (HBIB) team as they wait to see what judges thought of their colourful campaign. Organisers must keep everything crossed until September, after the judges visited on Thursday. Spokeswoman Margaret Burns said she was cautiously optimistic:

"It's always hard to say, but we got some very good vibes. We all felt very positive about everything. Even if we don't get a gold, I think everyone felt very good about what we'd managed to achieve this year, and we feel the town has been looking really nice."

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Not the End of the Pier Show

Dash along to the Herne Bay Museum and see the brand new "Not the End of the Pier Show" - running until 11th September.

'New regime' clashes with Pier Trust

Museum bosses tore down a poster promoting Herne Bay Pier Trust, despite the fact that the latest exhibition is dedicated to the iconic seaside structure. Despite protests from staff at the William Street museum, managers insisted the poster had to be removed because it did not fit in with the council's corporate branding.

Pier trust members who complained were told the poster had been put in the wrong place.

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Creche, bang, wallop! Mums win.

Dozens of mums are delighted after the city council reversed a decision to close a creche in Herne Bay. The Pier Pavilion Sports Centre will close in September, and facilities including the creche will move to the newly refurbished Herons Leisure Pool. But childcare provision appeared to be left out as mums were told to start taking their children to Kingsmead Leisure Centre in Canterbury instead.

Active Life, which looks after all council-owned leisure facilities in the district, had told members who use the existing day creche at the Pier Pavilion there would be no room at Herons. More than 130 children are registered on the creche’s books and the news had come as a huge disappointment to their mums.

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Message in a Bottle

Local litter action group 'Shore' is a load of Rubbish! is still going strong.

Their project for 2011 is Message in a Bottle.

With the help of two local schools (Westmeads Whitstable and St Stephens Canterbury) they are constructing a full-sized beach hut from recycled materials, including 2 litre plastic bottles filled with beachcombed litter and facts about marine litter.

More details below.

‘Message in a Bottle’ Dates 2011

Exhibition at Herne Bay Library
28th June-22nd July
9-6 Monday-Fridays 9-5 Saturdays

Herne Bay Band Stand/Sea Front
August, location TBC

Reculver Visitor Centre
1st-29th August
11-5 Thursday-Monday

Horsebridge Centre Whitstable
8th-18th September
9-6 Monday-Saturday 10-6 Sunday

For more information, and great pictures of work in progress and previous exhibits, visit

shoreisaloadofrubbish.blogspot.com

Jet skier airlifted to QEQM

A jet skier has been airlifted to hospital after he was involved in an accident off the Kent coast. Whitstable RNLI said the man was rescued from the water near Hampton Pier, Herne Bay

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100 march against post closures

More than 100 campaigners took to the streets in protest at plans to close Royal Mail sorting offices in Herne Bay and Whitstable. They marched through Herne Bay on Saturday and along the seafront, led by Bay sound engineer David Shepherd, 39, with a loud hailer.

Joining him was Whitstable campaigner and postman Chris Stone. Royal Mail Wants to close depots in Eddington Lane, Herne Bay, and Cromwell Road, Whitstable, as part of a huge shake-up within the next two years. Operations would be concentrated at the Canterbury depot in Military Road. The march was featured by both BBC and ITV.

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Pollution at car park is "unlikely to pose a risk"

A key redevelopment site in the town is contaminated, but the pollution is unlikely to pose a "significant" threat to human health. That's according to council officers who have overseen a series of environmental tests under the Kings Road car park since the beginning of the year.

The area, formerly a gasworks, has been earmarked for a new supermarket as part of the town's regeneration programme. Residents were concerned about possible contamination under the car park, so contractors drilled nine boreholes to test the soil.

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