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Welcome to the July 2015 issue ofMinster Matters

The Editors accept all advertisements,articles and notices in good faith andactively encourage the support of thelocal traders and services. However, wecannot be held responsible for thequality of goods or services offered.

Please mention the magazine whenreplying to advertisers.

The magazine and CD are publishedeleven times a year, at the beginning ofeach month, from February to December,inclusive.

Views expressed herein are strictlythose of their author and do notnecessarily agree with those of theEditor and/or the editorial team.

MM Subscriptions

Copies of the Magazine or CD are nowavailable on subscription to all nonresidents, worldwide.

Payments are in advance

To a UK postal address :-

Single Issue £2.00

Annually (11 issues) £20.00

Costs to an overseas address areavailable on request, and we will bepleased to quote for this service.

Minster Parish Council

Next meeting will be held on:

Tuesday 7 July @ 7pm in theNeighbourhood Centre

Members of the public are welcome toattend and can arrange to speak to theCouncil through the Clerk or byrequesting the Chairman before the startof the meeting. Copies of the Agenda areavailable from the Clerk and are postedin the Library. Clerk to the Council isMrs Kyla Lamb and the Council Office

is normally open from:-

9.30am - 12 noon weekdays;

tel: 821 339 fax: 825 869

Email:clerk@minsterparishcouncil.org.uk

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EDITORIAL

(WARNING! If you don’t like what Iwrite then don’t read on)

Felt I needed to add the bracketed itemabove as it appears my column offendssome who read this magazine - just a

pity they write to me anonymously!!

Well what a busy month this has been,firstly our dog had to visit the vet whichended up as a major operation, lots ofbandages and stitches - I’m sure he’lltell you himself if you can find hiscolumn. Many thanks to George and thestaff at Eagle Vets who sorted him outand made him all better for us. He’sgetting on a bit now (he was a rescuedog and we’ve had him over 14 years)and we dreaded the worst for a whilebut the biopsy results came backnegative so we all breathed a huge sighof relief.

Hasn’t June been a busy month in the

village? Firstly we had the AbbeyPatchers Biennial Exhibition in theChurch where they had an absolutelyfantastic display of quilts, then we hadOpen Gardens, the ScarecrowChallenge, a Classic Car and Bike Meet,plus the Youth Forum Fun Day - followthat up with the Annual Strawberry Teaat Devil’s Elbow (sadly we’ve learntthis was the last of these at this venue)and it all goes to show what a vibrantand wonderful village we live in, withso many people giving so much of theirtime, for free, so as others may enjoy thefruits of their labour. You will findreports on most of these in this magazinealong with a plethora of pictures fromeach event - we hope you enjoy them.

On a more sombre note; you should havereceived a copy of the 2015/16 MinsterBusiness Directory with this issue whichis produced by members of the BusinessAssociation, however it would beremiss of me if I didn’t tell you that theirnewest fledgling member, MolliesCoffee House, has sadly closed itsdoors, due to circumstances beyondMollies control. Molly made a greateffort at getting her business off theground and she was beginning to build aregular clientel but other forces cameinto play and she found she couldn’tcontinue in the premises at 79 High St.The notice on the door does howeversay “This isn’t the end of Mollies” somaybe she will make a reappearance

somewhere else, but maybe not inMinster, as suitable properties don’tbecome available that often in thevillage. Wherever she goes we, at bothMinster Matters and the MinsterBusiness Association, wish her well andhope she does eventually succeed withher dream.

Well if you did read this far then thankyou for your support and I hope youenjoy the rest of the magazine.

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RECENT VILLAGE WEDDING

Kate and Peter Mockeridge would liketo thank everyone who helped to make

their wedding so special, includingVicar Richard of St Mary’s, Janet,Heather, the choir, bellringers, familyand friends.

THANK YOU

On Friday 5 June I got a puncture in mycar which stranded me near the top ofTothill St.

I would like to take this opportunity tothank the very kind gentleman fromCheney Road who stopped and changedmy wheel for me.

Very many thanks,

Fred Hards

THANK YOU

Minster C of E Primary School PFAwould like to thank everyone whoattended our Quiz Night at the Legion onFriday 15 May.

The event was a huge success and£387.00 was raised which will benefitevery one of the pupils at the school.Thank you all for your support.

STRAWBERRY TEA

I would like to thank everybody whosupported this year’s Strawberry Tea.We all had a brilliant day with everyoneenjoying themselves, the weather waskind to us again and we raised £632 for

Minster Salvation Army.

An extra special thank you goes to all mylovely loyal helpers (see picture on frontcover of this issue) but after 13 years weare making this the last. I have reallyappreciated all the help you have givenme over the years, lots of hard work butmuch fun as well.

Thank you to Roger, Daryl, Alec andDiane who came along to represent theSalvation Army.

The strawberries which were absolutelydelicious were supplied by our localgreengrocer

- Greens of Minster. Thank you.

Cynthia Neville

THANET DISTRICT COUCILPHONE APP

TDC now have a mobile phone app foriPhone and Android handsets whichenables users to report dumped rubbish,graffiti and missed bin collections - youcan also report street light problems toKCC via the same app. Get it via AppleiTunes or Google Playstore.

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Minster Open Gardens 2015

THANK YOU to everyone who workedso hard on Saturday 13 and Sunday 14

June to make Minster a village to beproud of. The massive team whichworked to get 17

gardens ready, sell maps, supplyrefreshments and organise parking wasamazing. So many visitors commentedon the wonderful atmosphere, thetranquillity of the gardens, theknowledge and generosity of thegardeners, the warm welcome theyreceived and the “awesome” Church.Their efforts have raised just over£5000. Thank you to all who visited thegardens and supported this annual event.

Obviously the main reason Minster hashad an Open Gardens over the last 17 (I

think!) years is to raise money to makesure our Parish Church does not falldown. However, from what people tellme, it has always been much more thanthis. Over the last couple of years I havebecome more aware of what OpenGardens involves, and have beenstunned to find villagers have committedto it year after year. Are they strong-minded Christians who do it for theChurch? Some are, but many are peoplewho enjoy being a part of a village eventto share with others the talents of itsvillagers. If you wandered round thegardens this year, I think you would havediscovered that it was not just anotherfund-raiser. The gardeners are justifiablyproud of their gardens, but they also

spend time, energy and money on makingthe visitor feel comfortable andwelcome. This year, not only did thevisitor have a chance to view thegardens, but could entertain all thefamily with the Scarecrows, ClassicCars and Motorbikes and the YouthForum Event.

Thank you to all the organisers whoworked together to make a successfulweekend.

Thank you too to the businesses whosupported Open Gardens: The Bell Inn,The New Inn, The Saddler, The CornerHouse, The British Legion, Jemima’sLocket, Mollie’s Coffee House,

Attwells, Minster Matters, Holiday InnMinster, Monkton Nature Reserve andArchers Low Nursery Sandwich. Theirhelp was much appreciated.

Next year’s Open Gardens willhopefully be on the 11 and 12 June. Ifyou have any helpful (!) suggestions oroffers of help do let me know by email

(pmhogben@hotmail.co.uk) or throughMinster Matters. Please help us make itas successful as this year.

Pat Hogben

MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE

Thanet Lions Club will have a stall at

the Minster Show, stop by for yourFREE bottle.

“Message in a Bottle” is a bottle youkeep in your fridge. Inside the bottle youkeep a note of who to contact in anemergency, any medication you takeeven details of your pet. The emergencyservices will see a sticker on the insideof your front door, this alerts them to goto your kitchen, to the fridge and tocollect the information about you so theycan help.

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Recollections about Minster inWartime

Do you, or your relatives and friends,have any stories or pictures about thevillage during WW2? I am writing asecond book about Thanet’s Home Front,especially concentrating on the VolunteerServices, such as the Land Army, A.R.P.,Auxiliary Fire Service, Home Guard,W.V.S., First Aid, Civil Defence, theGuides and Scouts, and anyone whohelped with such appeals as ‘DiggingFor Britain’.

I will be at the Minster Flower Showthis year on a stall, with copies of mybook, ‘The Defence of Thanet and EastKent’, and lots of photographs. If youwant to call by and chat, I would bepleased to talk, or take your telephone

number for a later date. I can, of coursecall round to you and discuss.

If so, please call the following number01843 825 545

or email stilwellrv@yahoo.co.uk

Ron Stilwell

MINSTER BOWLS CLUB

All good things come to an end, and thisis an end for me, born under the sign ofCancer, I have succumbed.

I have had great pleasure informing youof the activities that happen during eachmonth throughout the year. We, the club,

try our very best to encourage Minsterresidents to come and try out ourhospitality either as a spectator, orparticipator in the activities and socialevents we have on offer.

The ladies are doing particularly well intheir County and Special Competitions,if they can get to the Area Finals stage itwould be nice to see them receive theirCounty Badge in the same season asmyself.

Currently, in the East Kent League wehold joint first place, whilst in thefriendly games we play our successesare greater than our losses.

As I am writing this pre my operation I

cannot tell you about the Open Dayresults. I am sure the winners and platewinners will be posted next month foreveryone to see. A big thank you to ourSponsor.

The club are looking forward to seeingyou at the Village Show on 18 July whenwe will be in the pavilion serving teas,sandwiches and cakes as usual.

Thank you for reading my ramblings.

G.H.

Addendum by Editor:

It was with great sadness the BowlsClub told me as I was putting this

magazine together that Life Member andformer President Dick Stott has passedaway this week. Dick was a very goodfriend and will be truly missed.

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TWINNING ASSOCIATION

Four representatives from the TwinningAssociation visited Minster school onTuesday 2

June to meet up with a group of pupilsfrom Armbouts Cappel and theirteachers. The weather if you rememberback to that day was horrendously windyand unfortunately the ferry was keptwaiting outside Dover harbour, thus

shortening the visit by a couple of hours.However we sat down to a school lunch,which was much improved since ourdays of school dinners. In the afternoon,some creative tasks were set foreveryone to try - art straws and Blu-tackbeing the only materials we wereallowed. Integration between the twoschools was evident after a short while.The four of us joined in the exercise andwere really excited about the church webuilt. However, needless to say theconstructions by the pupils was farsuperior! Well we tried.

We have recently been advertising theAnniversary trip to France and almosthave a full coach to go and join in the

day they have organised. A report willfollow next month.

As mentioned in the last issue, we hopeto see you at the Flower Show onSaturday 18

July where we will be having a coupleof stalls. Also in attendance on that daywill be a new friend of ours, a 16ft lady(non-ferocious), who will be appearingin the Giants Parade that we are holdingon Sunday 6 September. Full details ofthis will be included in the next issue ofMinster Matters and at the Flower Show.In the meantime, we are looking for stallholders to book pitches or stalls for ourSeptember event. Further details can be

obtained from Malcolm Bubb on 01843447 706. It promises to be a good dayoverall, so why not be a part of it.

A team from Twinning was been enteredfor the Bowls Club Open Day on Sunday21

June, we’ll tell you next month how wegot on.

Thank you for your continued support.

NEWS FROM THE BELFRY

Ringing at the tower has run into someproblems recently, with both the TowerCaptain and our Tutor being hospitalisedand unable to climb the tower stairs for

a while to come but as is quite typical inthe ringing community, experiencedringers have given up their time to fillthe gap and assist our band.

As with so much in life, learning to ringis a succession of hills to climb, as newskills are learnt, and plateaux betweenthe hills whilst what has been learnt ispractised and consolidated. And just ashills have a natural tendency to becomelonger and steeper as we progress, soour thanks go to those who have steppedin to help us.

The ringing of our church bells is a partof our heritage. If you would like toknow more about them or learn for

yourself, call in on practice night, eachWednesday at 7.30pm and you will bemade very welcome, whilst the handbellringers practice at our Church onWednesday nights at 6.00pm, Saturdaymornings at 10am,and also welcome

newcomers who want to give this team-based music a try.

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MINSTER PLAYHOUSE PROMPTCORNER

Last month a read through of DavidTristram’s new play A Bolt from theBlue was held at The Bell Inn. Theattendance was good and there was

much laughter as the play was read,everyone agreeing that it is a very funnypiece and well worth performing.

Auditions were held and the play wascast, although this play has many extrashort parts still available for anyonelooking for an easy entry into the actingworld of amateur drama.

Am Dram societies have a reputation forbeing cliquey and difficult for newpeople to be accepted, but MinsterPlayhouse is not like that – we welcomekeen new people whether to act or on thetechnical side, so why not join us? If youare interested, please contact thePlayhouse through Niki Kelly on 07852

271 614.

Please don’t forget…

On Saturday 4 July we shall again beholding our popular Summer Fair forCharity in the gardens of the Bell Inn.

We have fun for the whole family, withentertainers, headlined by the local RockChoir, games, stalls, a bouncy castle,and a hog roast.

This year the fair is being run to supportPolycystic Kidney Disease research.

Make a date in your diary – it runs from11am to 3pm, in the lovely garden of TheBell Inn, Minster. Last year’s was great

fun – come along and join in!

Entry is free so come along and make ita great day

PATIENT LIAISON GROUP

APPOINTMENTS - TRIAL OF NEWSYSTEM

Following Patients response to ourrecent questionnaire, the Practice iscurrently trialing a new system to helpelevate the difficulty for those patientswho are unable to obtain an appointmenton the day. Although we are pleasedwith the results so far, we are alwaysaware of the need for continualimprovement, and will continue the trial

for the next few weeks, and will ofcourse, ensure patients are keptinformed. We thank you for yourfeedback and patience and continue towelcome any comments you may have.

SEASONAL WINTER ‘FLUVACCINATIONS

Vaccination Clinics will be held at theon the following days, Saturday 26September and Saturday 17 Octoberbetween 9.00am and 1.00pm.Appointments are now available and canbe made in the usual way via the surgery.

Eligible and “at risk” patients willreceive a reminder on their “RepeatPrescription List”

and will be invited to make anappointment on either of those days. Ifyou have any concerns about youreligibility please contact Reception.

NEW FACILITY IN THE WAITINGROOM

As mentioned in our previousnewsletter, we recently purchased a“Weight Management System” which isnow installed and located in the waitingroom and is available for patients to usefreely. It can be used to determine height,weight and BMI (Body Mass Index) andcan a useful guide to maintaining aheathy life style.

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MISSED APPOINTMENTS - ASLIGHT IMPROVEMENT?

Fewer patients missed their doctor’sappointment - CHEERS!!!

BUT! More missed their nurse’sappointment - BOO!!

Last month: 43 patients DID NOT attendtheir doctor’s appointment and 60patients DID NOT attend their nurse’sappointment so that’s still 103 patientswasting valuable appointments and time!

So please stop being a time waster - it’sso selfish and unnecessary! DON’TNEED IT?

CANCEL IT - by phone, by text oronline - IT’S EASY- JUST DO IT!

SPRING FAYRE - A BIG THANK YOU

Our Annual Spring Fayre was held on 16May and we would like to thank allthose who took part or supported us sogenerously and helped us raise nearly£300. The winner of the “Bannatyne’sGift Voucher” was Mrs. S. Prescott ofAcol.

OUR NEW PROJCT - PATIENTDONATIONS

We would like to thank those peoplewho have made such generous donationstowards our new project, and especially

the family and friends of the late BettyMarner, the total has already reached£600. You can always keep up to datewith progress by checking our noticeboard in the surgery.

SURGERY CLOSURE DAYS

Please note that the surgery will beclosed on the following days:

Staff Training - Thursday 23 July;Wednesday 30 September and Thursday22 October from Midday onwards.

Bank Holiday Monday 31 August allday.

Please ensure that you have sufficient

medication to last you during thesetimes. Should you need to see a doctorwhen the surgery is closed, please callthe NHS 111 service via the normalsurgery number 821 333 where you willbe transferred automatically, or you cancall direct on 111 to receive non urgentconfidential health advice andinformation for you and your family. Forurgent/life threatening cases please dial999 as normal.

A DATE FOR YOUR DIARY!

Our “ANNUAL CHRISTMASBAZAAR” will be held on Saturday 21November and

following the success of our Spring

Fayre many tables have already beenreserved, so book yours NOW to avoiddisappointment.

PATIENT GROUP MEETING

If you have any issues you would like toraise at our meeting in July, or requirefurther information on any of the above,then please contact either Ken Self on821 200 or Jeanne Lawrence on 821 049or via email to kenself@me.com

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SCARECROW CHALLENGE

What a fantastic response I had to mymad idea of holding a scarecrow

challenge. I thought if I was lucky I’d getaround a dozen entries but I was amazedto receive 32, albeit one had to drop outat the last moment. So 31 scarecrowswere built and exhibited for OpenGardens weekend and the village wasinundated with visitors, some just to seethe gardens, some for the classic cars,some for the Youth event and even somewho came just to see the scarecrows, Iwas overwhelmed by the remarks Iheard from visitors and locals alike.

However none of it would have beenpossible without the backing of so manyof the businesses in and around thevillage, so thank you to everyone whogave so generously when I approached

them for prizes. I won’t bore you with alist of names, you all know who you are.In total we gave away 26 prizes to somevery worthy winners and I was onlydisappointed that there were some wewere unable to reward as everyonedeserved a prize, they were all sofantastic.

Thanks also go to my judges for all thework they put into marking andphotographing all the entries, thenpondering over the maths to decide whohad actually won before finallyallocating the prizes.

My apologies to those I forgot to informabout attending the prize giving, but

thanks go to Ken and Fiona at The Bellfor allowing us to make the presentationsthere.

Thanks also to my wife who had theunenviable task of deciding the publicwinners from the numerous forms wehad back - she had to collate all theresults in a very short while (about 40minutes to be precise), thanks also to mydaughter who came from Favershamespecially to help with the judging.

A special thank you to the Open GardensCommittee for allowing us to run ourevent alongside theirs, I think thatworked in both our favours so hopefullywe can continue to

‘buddy-up’ the 2 events for many yearsto come.

But more than all of those a very veryspecial thank you must go to everyonewho got involved and built a scarecrowfor the event, some of which I amassured will be on display at the MinsterShow in July just in case you wereunable to get to see them. I understandthere are already participants who areplanning and designing for next year, soit looks like it could get verycompetitive for some.

The Open Gardens report elsewhere inthis issue says the dates for next year areSat 11

and Sun 12 June, so get these in yourdiaries, I look forward to doing it allagain then.

The main winners were: Mary Poppinsat 3 Monkton Rd, The Chef at 24 HighSt, and The Lollipop Lady at Devil’sElbow. The public voted the same forpositions one and two but they choseDelilah (WI entry) at the Village Hallfor3rd place. In the youngsters categoryPrincess Alyssia at 9 Tothill St was ourwinner with Nora the Nun at 39 High St2nd and Woody at 48 Durlock a veryclose 3rd.

Ray - Editor

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MINSTER YOUTH FORUM FUNDAY REPORT

Minster’s Youth Fun Day at theRecreation Ground on Saturday 13 Junecould not have gone any better! It was afantastic day had by all! By 1pm the Rec.was packed with upwards of 300 peoplethroughout the day!

The Youth Fun Day event was free andwe hope that it can continue to be so inthe future! It’s not very often that you seean event the size of Minster’s Youthevent that is completely free! We want toprovide the young people withopportunities and give something back tothem for all the hard work they have

done and are doing!

I would like to say a big thank you to allthose who helped to make Minster’sYouth Fun Day as amazing as it was! Wehad a fantastic turnout and the weatherheld out for us.

Without all of you this event would nothave been possible!

I'd like to say an extra special THANKYOU to the guys and girls from MinsterYouth Club who worked hard all daylong from 8am till 6pm! The way that allthese young people within ourcommunity were willing to give up theirspare time for free to help on the day hasshown that the young people within our

community can work together as a teamto achieve great things! This is what ouryoung people need!

It's now time for Minster’s youth to getinvolved with the Minster Youth Forum!A meeting is to be held on Wednesday 1July @ 7pm above the library (accessvia side door) for anyone to attend andfind out more about the Minster YouthForum (MYF) and ask any questions thatyou may have.

Please remember without your help nextyear’s event will not be possible! I aimto set up an event committee of all agesand abilities for September this year tostart preparations for the 2016 event!

(Please attend on the 1 July if interestedin the committee)

Once again, a big thank you to you all forhelping to make the day a huge successand I'm already thinking about nextyear's event! It can only happen if youmake it happen!

Minster Youth Forum needs thecontinuing support of young people. Wehope to see you on Wednesday 1 July @7pm!

PS – Don’t forget to check out the photoson Facebook of all the fun with our localPCSO

Kiren Kallu taking on the challenge of

the Rodeo Bull! Haha!

See you all next year!

Thank you, Jack Whybrow - MinsterYouth Forum Chairman

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MINSTER SHOW

Remember Saturday 18 July is ShowDay. Exhibits must be in the marqueebefore 10 to be judged! Children whoenter an exhibit get a wrist band forFREE entry to the afternoon. Children'sgrass heads do not have to be in the potsprovided - go online and get creative. :)

If you are entering the vehicle part of theParade (Meeting in Freeman's Road)please complete a form available fromAttwells. Thank you.

We are looking for people to be part of arota for Marquee security on

Friday / Saturday night. We hope thatyou do not have to do both or a long shift- more people makes this easier! Pleasespeak to Karen in Attwells. Thank you.

Car parking on the day from about 12.30/1pm and help from3 / 3.30pm required.

Again this may be on a rota dependingon numbers of volunteers. It is importantthat you can tell people where to park so

cars are sensibly spaced and disabledpeople have reasonable access to thegrounds.

Helpers are also needed for Friday nightto get equipment out of the garage fromabout 6pm. Then Saturday morning fromabout 7 / 7.30am to get the field ready;and again about 6pm Saturday to tidy upand put stuff back into the garage. Extrahands on the Sunday morning about8.30am also welcome. There are a lot oftrestles and chairs that need moving toenable the Show to go smoothly andmore hands definitely help.

Tell us you're coming (preferably) orgive us a lovely surprise on the day with

help!!

Saturday night will be an AmericanSquare Dance tickets at £5 are availablefrom allenfamilyband@gmail.com orfrom the band on the day (they areappearing on the Showcase during theafternoon) - so bring your friends andfamily and be ready to join in thedancing. Bring your own refreshments -soft drinks, fresh salsa and chips will beavailable to purchase - oh and don’tforget to bring a torch!!.

Thanks for the offers of help we havealready received. You are on a list (withKaren) and have tasks allocated!

Dominique

NEW OFFICER FOR MINSTERSALVATION ARMY

I just want to use this opportunity tointroduce us to you. We are Trevor &Amy Green, Trevor is the new Officer(Major) at the Salvation Army inMinster. We will move to Minster fromRedhill in Surrey on Thursday 9 July andTrevor takes over the reins at theSalvation Army on Thursday 16 July.

Amy is originally from the WestMidlands, and Trevor is from Ipswich,we have been married for 10 years. Wehave 3 grown up children between us.Amy has a daughter and I have one ofeach, we have both been married before.

We are looking forward to life inMinster and getting immersed intovillage life. If you see us walking downthe road please come and introduceyourself, we both love a good chat!

Trevor & Amy

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MINSTER- IN-THANET WI

Our speaker for June was Dee Neliganwho spoke about her work with theOasis Women’s Refuge. This charity wasopened in 1994 in Thanet and supportsabout 20

families a year and at any one time there

are 12 women, some with their children,living at the shelter. Dee is anIndependent Domestic Services Advisorwho provides unbiased advice andsupport for women and men in thecommunity who are the victims of someform of domestic abuse. This was a veryinteresting and emotive subject andSarah, our President, suggested that wemay be able to support it at Christmaswith ‘shoeboxes’ of donations such astoiletries, toys, books etc.

There was the usual business withreminders for members to sign up for theStrawberry Tea, a trip to the RamsgateTunnels in July, the Bat and Trap inAugust and a trip to Tenterden to meet

our twinned WI North Tonbridge.

A big thank you to all those who came toMinster Open Gardens weekend andvoted for the scarecrows. We hadEmmeline, the Suffragette, and Delilah,the Calendar Girl and we were verypleased with our third place (publicvote) for Delilah!

Diary Dates

14 July

WI Meeting 7.30pm - Speaker WynneClancy ‘Suffragettes’

17 July Sunshine Outing - Lunch atMinnis Bay -11.30am from Minster Car

Park 22 July Games Night 7.30pm -Village Hall Committee Room

Amnesty Write for Rights CampaignUpdate!

Amazing news! You may remember thatin December, at the St Mary’s ChristmasFair, many Minster residents took part inthe Amnesty Write for Rights campaign,sending greetings cards to showsolidarity from people all over theworld to victims of human rights abuses.One of the three prisoners we wrote towas Moses Akatugba, who wassentenced to death when he was only 16years old, charged with stealing mobilephones. As well as sending him personal

messages of hope, some of you alsowrote to the Governor of Delta State inNigeria, asking him to show mercy onMoses and investigate allegations ofpolice beatings to extract confessions.Tens of thousands of people around theworld also took part in the campaignthrough letter-writing, petitions andsocial media. On 28th May this year theGovernor signed Moses’ warrant ofrelease!

Moses has sent this message to pass onto all those who took part:

“I am overwhelmed. I thank AmnestyInternational and their activists for thegreat support that made me a conqueror

in this situation. Amnesty Internationalmembers and activists are my heroes. Iwant to assure them, that this great effortthey have shown to me will not be invain, by the special grace of God I willlive up to their expectation. I promise tobe a human rights activist, to fight forothers. I am thanking the Governor forhis kind gesture and for keeping to hiswords.”

It’s great news and fantastic that Minsterplayed a tiny part in this too, showingsolidarity with people across the world.It can have a real effect! To find outmore

visit www.amnesty.org.uk/write

Will and Gabrielle Wollen

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CONTROVERSIAL LIBRARYWINDOWS

Following on from the letters andcomments published last month, thefollowing are the replies we received.There was one further reply but as it wassent in total anonimity (no name oraddress) then we have omitted it, as wehave always had a policy of notpublishing anything from correspondentswho do not give us their name/address.The letter was pro the changes but madesome very uncalled for remarks aboutmy editorials

- it’s simple really if you don’t like themthen don’t read them !!!

Dear Editor,

I couldn’t agree more with your remarksand the reader’s letter about the librarywindows.

My idea would be to compromise, egkeep the frosting on the side where thecomputers and children’s books are toafford privacy but allow plain windowson the other side of the door so thatpeople can see that it is a library. I thinkprobably that the children’s arearequires privacy for obvious reasons butwhy do the librarians need privacy, they

are just sitting at a desk?

Anyway these are my thoughts.

(Name and address supplied)

Dear Editor

I thought it was just me feeling that theetched glass in the new library made itlook like a bar or someplace into whichnice people would not venture, not so, Ilearn from this month’s MM. So, it’s togive privacy to the Librarians and tothose in the IT area, indeed.

I hate to think what might thus now go onwhen out of the public gaze. Soundspositively undesirable in such an ancient

parish. Vapours all round!

Regards

A Minster Resident (name and addresssupplied)

Dear Editor,

What a surprise at the small mindednessof some people, complaining about thefilm on the Library window. Is therereally nothing more pressing in thevillage to get hot under the collar about?I wonder if the objectors have any life atall, if they have nothing better to do thancomplain about something that lookssmart, professional and affords a bit ofprivacy to library users, as opposed to

being in a shop window!

(Name only supplied)

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OVER GROWN HEDGES ANDSHRUBS

We’ve been asked to remindhomeowners and tenants that they have alegal

responsibility to ensure their hedges andshrubs do not infringe on the publichighway or footpaths.

WHATS ON

Minster & Monkton WednesdayAfternoon Club

Royal British Legion

EVERY WEDNESDAY

2.00pm - 4.00pm

Come and join us for a game of Bingo

ALL MEMBERS & bona-fide guestswelcome

Phone Pat on 822 622

PLAYHOUSE SUMMER FAIR andHOG ROAST

SATURDAY 4 JULY - 11am to 3pm -The Bell Inn Garden

in support of Polycystic Kidney Disease- Rock Choir, Bouncy Castle, CraftStalls, Face Painting and lots more -FREE Entry

MINSTER SCHOOL SUMMER FAIR

SATURDAY 4 JULY - 12noon to 4pm -Recreation Ground

BBQ, Cream Teas, Hoopla, Hook aDuck, Adopt a Pet, Face Painting, GlitterTattoos, Cakes, Sweets, Drinks, BeerTent, Model Railway, CSI Incident Unit,Giant Bouncy Castle, Tug of War, KentPolice Dog Display, Coconut Shy,

Wellie Throwing, Assault Course, EliteDancing Display, Tombola, Raffle, FireEngine, Giant Slide - FREE EntryCELEBRATE THE 4TH OF JULY

AMERICAN FOOD, FUN AND ACONCERT OF AMERICAN MUSIC

St Nicholas-at-Wade Vicarage 2.30pm -5.30pm

Contact Fr Jim 447 791 orjames.rosenthal@gmail.com

ALL AGES WELCOME - BYOB,Coffee, Tea and Juice available

Traditional Hot Dogs, Burgers andSalads, £2

THE THANET 70 CHAMBER CHOIRat St Nicholas Church 6.30pm

£12 on door, £10 in advance from Fr Jim

15

PSYCHIC FAYRE

Sunday 5 July Village Hall 10.00am -4.00pm

Lots of Stalls - Mediums giving Tarot,Spirit, Angel Cards and Psychometryreadings Tombola for Cats in Crisis -Tea bar open all day at reasonableprices

£1 entrance, children free - Come early

& book your readings

All profits to be sent to Animalsanctuaries - Enquiries to Kay on 01843297 665

Mobile Police Station in Minster

High Street Car Park

Tuesday 7 July and Tuesday 21 Julyfrom 12.30pm to 1.30pm

BOOT FAIR

Sunday 19 July - 8.00am - 1.00pm

Bell Meadow, ST NICHOLAS-AT-WADE

Cars £7, Vans £10, Pre-book £1 off

Tel: Phil on 01843 449 190

Refreshments, Toilets. Free Parking

All Saints Art Group Art Exhibition

Saturday 29; Sunday 30 and Monday 31August 10.00am until 4.00pm

Church House, Kent Gardens,Birchington

Free Entry and Parking, RefreshmentsAvailable

16

SCHOOL PAGE

SUMMER IS COMING!!!!

Summer is coming! No doubt you willbe going on holiday to somewhere warmlike Spain, Brazil, Australia, Portugal,Tenerife, Turkey, South Africa or any ofthe states within it.

After the summer, Minster School pupilswill be moving up a year, for instanceyear2 will move to year 3.

The children are all very excited. (Ihope!)

Let’s get ready for summer!

With these few steps, you’ll be ready forsummer in no time.

1) Book you holiday or activity

2) Go shopping for summer gifts orclothes if you have none that fit

3) If you’re going to the beach, check theweather and plan dates

4) Plan more than one short activity, incase of getting bored

5) Make sure that you aren’t sitting doingnothing

6) If you are having picnics then bringblankets or towels to sit on.

by Tomasin Boulding

Netball

Netball is a bit like basketball but youare not allowed to move around with theball.

There are 7 people in each team and 14altogether. These are the positions C(centre), WA (wing attack), WD (wingdefence), GD (goal defence), GA (goalattack), GS (goal shooter), GK (goalkeeper) and it is the same on the otherteam.

The rules are you can’t move when youhave the ball and also you are onlyallowed in your space or the other team

get the ball.

by Madeleine Taylor

CYBER BULLYING

Cyber bullying is never right whetherit’s by text, on a video game, what’s app,I message, or any other internet source.Think before you send anything askyourself one question –

how would I like to be on the other endof this message? Most people bully to bepopular but let me tell you now there’snothing cool about being a big bully.There are a lot of poems about cyberbullying one of the most well-known isthis one:

Safe

Meet

Accept

Reply

Tell

by Harriet Taylor

17

HINDLEAP

Helping others

Independence

Never giving up

Determined to do our best

Live, love, laugh

Exiting adventures every day

A little bit crazy

Perfect just the way we

by Harriet Taylor

Zac’s Musings

What a month since I was here last!! Asyou can see by my pictures I have beenincapacitated - had a growth in my

shoulder and a cyst that burst - lots ofstitches and plenty of love - a specialthanks to George for sorting me out, but Ithink I had them all worried for a while.I’m well on the way to a completerecovery now, although I have beenpractising typing with my left paw for awhile just in case.

I heard our Internet thingy broke and hewho is supposed to be obeyed waspanicking that he wouldn’t be able to getany help to publish this issue, but ifyou’re reading this then you can see hedid manage it eventually with some helpfrom Diane, next door but one, who dida few pages and our neighbour whokindly allowed us use of her wifi signal.

AMBER’S ADVICE

A single gentle rain makes the grassmany shades greener. So our prospectsbrighten on the influx of better thoughts.

TIGER’ TIP

Stay Crisp

Keep two sugar lumps in the biscuit tinto make sure your biscuits stay crisp.

The sugar absorbs moisture.

RED RECYCLING BAGS

Bags are now available from the Libraryduring normal opening hours and not the

Parish Office

St Mary's Church, Minster

Guided Tours of the Church and Tower

Most Saturdays at 12.00noon and2.00pm

To ensure you don’t have a wastedjourney please call 07958 813 577

to confirm that tours are taking place onthe day of your intended visit

The church is normally open from 10amto 3pm daily

For party tours outside of the normal

times please call the above number tomake a booking

18

19

Contacting your District & CountyCouncillors

TDC Villages

District Councillor Bob Grove

Bob is available to speak to residents byappointment.

Please ring 07711 774 262 or contacthim via the Parish Office on 821 339

cllr-bob.grove@thanet.gov.uk

District Councillor Derek Crow-BrownTel: 821 449

cllr-derek.crow-brown@thanet.gov.uk

District Councillor Ken Gregory Tel:822 368 or 07850 233 359

cllr-ken.gregory@thanet.gov.uk

County

County Councillor Roger Latchford OBE

Tel: 01843 841 956 or email:roger.latchford@kent.gov.uk

Contacting your MP: Sir Roger Gale MP

Roger holds regular advice surgeries forappointments and advice on urgentproblems: Tel: 01843 848 588 (a.m.from l0.00) Fax: 01843 844 856 (24-hour) Web:

www.rogergale.co.uk Email:galerj@parliament.uk Write:

HOUSE OF COMMONS, London,SW1A 0AA

Thanks for listening - Your readers thismonth were

Bryony, Jan, Marion, Penny and Ray

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Musical interludes supplied courtesy of

Brenda Saker, Daryl Booth and RichardSpendlove MBE