Drama on the foreshore

All sorts of noise and drama down by the Coastwatch Lookout this morning (31st July). It appears that a lady had fallen off her bike and injured her back or neck. This was right outside the Lookout, where the black and yellow barrier crosses the prom. The barrier was vertical by the time I got there, but it might have been moved by the ambulance crew who were already in attendance.

The Kent Air Ambulance arrived at about 8:30am and landed (parked? settled?) on the promenade just east of the Lookout. An impressively neat piece of parking it was, too - better than a lot of people can manage in their cars.

As it turned out, the injured lady cyclist (Dutch or Belgian?) was whisked away in the road ambulance, and the air ambulance returned to base. It looked like a well-executed rescue: congratulations to all involved, and hopefully a speedy recovery for the injured lady. To find out more about the Kent Air Ambulance, and make a welcome, much-needed and well-deserved donation, just click the logo:

Jul 2011: most read

1. Job losses at Manston Airport
2. Waitrose gets 20-year lease in Canterbury
3. HBiB Blog
4. Motionless
5. Big Apple pie in the sky
6. Night Flights: too hot to handle?
7. Manston unmonitored
8. URGENT: Beach hut threat
9. Trickle of funding for Manston Parkway
10. Ban on fishing in Memorial Park pond

Former jet-setter finds the good life on the farm

The way Steve Dansey tells it; one minute he was a milkman, the next minute head of IT security at a major global corporation. Now he's running a farm in Whitstable and making sausages that he sells in his delicatessen on Herne Bay high street. It's a career trajectory so unlikely it makes you do a double-take.

The 52-year-old makes the move from dropping off bottles of semi-skimmed to scanning the files of international banks on the hunt for fraud sound disarmingly simple. And the sausages? Just a return to his roots as a butcher's boy and son of a meat salesman… He told Ed Targett how he ended up with thousands of pear trees, a herd of Badger Face Sheep and an injunction from Canterbury City Council...

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Review launched into HS1 impact on regular rail services

Canterbury City Council is conducting a review into the impact of fast rail services on Kent’s network after research revealed journeys on regular trains are now slower. Rail campaigners have accused operator Southeastern of slowing down mainline services by adding additional stops in a bid to make High Speed 1 more appealing.

It followed a report by Canterbury City Council which revealed the total journey time on regular services on the north Kent line was up to 20 minutes slower since the introduction of HS1. This has prompted a critical review by the authority, which is expected to be completed in two months. Southeastern denied the accusations of slowing down trains stating that timetables were based on service specifications set by Government, outlining how many services there should be from a particular station.

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Killer driver free after just 4 years

A businessman whose wife died in a horrific road accident says he's devastated by the early release of the man responsible. Mike McKenzie was left to raise his three children alone after George Forbes ploughed head-on into his wife Janice's car on the old Thanet Way.

Forbes, who was more than four times over the legal alcohol limit, was jailed for eight years for causing death by dangerous driving in August 2007, but was released on Tuesday, four years early.

Mr McKenzie, who runs furniture company Spacemaster Kent, said he was shocked by the early release. He arrived on the scene moments after the crash. He recalled:

"It was a hugely traumatic evening for us. After my wife Jan didn't turn up in the evening, myself and our three children went to look for her. We arrived at the crash not long after it happened, with my wife's body still in the vehicle. George Forbes had a history of dangerous driving, and now he's being released after just four years to come and live in Whitstable. Myself and my children – Paul, Donna and Scott – are going be forced to cross paths with the man who took their mother and my wife away; a man who has never expressed remorse or apologised."

Mr McKenzie, who was married to his wife for 34 years, said at the time of the court hearing that she hadn't died in vain. He told the Times in 2007 that if her life was lost to keep Forbes off the road, then that was her final sacrifice. Four other cars were involved in the pile-up. A boy aged 7 and an 11-week-old baby girl were also taken to hospital.

Richard Willingham, then Canterbury fire station manager, described being met with a "scene of devastation". He said at the time: "It was a particularly awful and challenging incident."

HB Times 22nd Jul 2011

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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Ex-councillor Martin Fisher jailed for child pornography

A former Sheriff of Canterbury has been sent to prison today after admitting indecently assaulting a vulnerable youngster and downloading child pornography. Ex-councillor Martin Fisher, 61, later told one police officer:

"Some people like Picasso..I like pictures of children with no clothes on."

The paedophile pleaded guilty at Canterbury Crown Court to five charges, including two sexual assaults on an adult and 11 charges of downloading disgusting images of children - including one depicting sado-masochism on a child. Fisher, from Queen's Road, was told by Judge Adele Williams he had a "deviant sexual interest in children" who had shown no insight about the effect on his victim.

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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.