Big Jump photos available

The Big Jump (and Awesome Abseil, I suppose) went brilliantly well and raised a heap of money for assorted charities. The Herne Bay branch of the Rotary Club sent along their star photographer to capture the magic moment as each brave soul went over the edge.

If you (or one of your nearest and dearest) did the deed on Saturday, you can see just how relaxed and happy you looked in the Big Jump Photo Gallery.

You can buy high quality digital copies of the pictures for a couple of quid, or real paper photographs for £4 - all proceeds to the Rotary Club. That should sort out a few Christmas presents, then...

Life Classes at Beach Creative

This is the first of weekly life drawing sessions at Beach Creative. At the first session on Thursday 6th September we will discuss how much instruction, if any, will be provided. It will be up to those who come. A life model will be there every week.

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Supermarket plan causes friction and ructions

Traders fall out over plans for supermarket outside Herne Bay

A group of Bay business people is backing plans for a giant supermarket outside the town. Herne Bay Town Partners has agreed to support Sainsbury's bid for a store on the new Altira Business Park at Beltinge, despite council bosses trying to attract a supermarket to the town centre as part of regeneration plans.

Sainsbury's has a pre-let agreement with developers Terrace Hill for a 95,000 sq ft superstore and petrol station on the business park, near the driving test centre.

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Turtleastic - find out what it means to you

Local treasure Karen Simpson has a new exhibition at the Reculver Visitor Centre. Turtleastic looks at the effects of pollution (in this case plastics) on our natural environment.

Ocean litter is increasingly responsible for turtle deaths, autopsies have found alarming amounts of plastic debris in their stomachs especially floating plastic carrier bags which they mistake for their main source of food - jellyfish. These then fill up their stomachs meaning that they often die from malnutrition and starvation as they are unable to take in proper nutritional food. They often also ingest other types of plastic and get tangled up in netting and other floating plastic debris which can result in drowning.

As usual, Karen's work is quirky, eye-catching and thought-provoking... a great combination. You can see more of her work on her website: Shore Is A Load Of Rubbish.

Turtleastic is on at the Reculver Visitor Centre (by Reculver Towers) from 29th July - 30th August, every day except Tuesday and Wednesday, between 11am and 5pm.

Adult Education - what do you think?

The WEA has teamed up with Canterbury Christ Church University to run a research project to find out what the residents of Herne Bay (and other parts of Kent) think about adult education... Here's what they say:

In addition to running classes in the Town through your well-established local WEA Branch, the Workers’ Educational Association and Canterbury Christ Church University are working together on a research project in Herne Bay.

The project was made possible by a local bequest in light of the work of the local WEA Branch. The research will help develop our future programme and how best meet the revealed needs from the findings.

Over the next few months, we would like to talk to residents of Herne Bay to find out more about their views on adult learning and the opportunities they want to see in their community.

If you are interested in taking part please contact Mrs J Mason on Tel: 07710 569685.

Have your say as your views matter!

SNAAP Charity plea

This just in from one of our readers...

Hi, I run local Slimming World groups in Greenhill, Whitstable, Faversham and Canterbury. One of my Greenhill members has been asked to abseil down a building to raise money for S.N.A.A.P. children's charity in Herne Bay on August 25th and had to raise £200 sponsorship.

Tickets can be bought from me at my groups or by calling Sally Devere on 01227 751640 or 07778 068769.

I have organised a 70's night in Boughton Village Hall on 25th August at 7.30pm. It's an American supper and tickets are £5. There is a raffle and fancy dress competition. The whole evening is running on donations. Please can you let your readers know and if any local business want to donate a prize we would be really grateful.

Thank you

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SNAAP supports families who have children with any additional need or disability living in the Canterbury & Coastal area. We provide good quality information and support to families and carers, to enable them to help themselves and their children. We also provide regular leisure activities and aim to increase mainstream inclusion opportunities for children with disabilities and special needs.

Westgate Jam Fudged

Views on Canterbury's controversial Westgate traffic trial ditched

Thousands of signatures and hundreds of letters about a controversial traffic trial are being swept under the carpet by council bosses. The official public consultation into the scheme to ban traffic from the Westgate Towers in Canterbury started on Friday and all previous comments will not count.

It means the 4,000 people who signed a petition calling for the scheme to be scrapped, and the hundreds who wrote both in favour and against the trial, will have to put pen to paper – or fingers to keyboard – again.

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