“Some sort of periodical is an essential life-line in village such as ours”

Welcome to West Farleigh’s own

LIFELINE
Distributed freely in February 2019 Edition no 505 Upcoming Events:
Editors: Stephen Norman, Helen Swan and Jacky Taylor See back page
Website: www.thefarleighs.co.uk Email: editor@thefarleighs.co.uk

Harold Harbour would be pleased!

In this Lifeline
Harold Harbour was the churchwarden of West Farleigh for many years and
left a substantial legacy for the upkeep of the tower of All Saints. Pastoral newsletter……….. 2
Parish Council report..……. 3
Derek Hudson, the architect of the works which started in June last year has Village people news …… 4
confirmed to the PCC that the repairs are complete. The stonework on the
Farleigh Feathers…………. 5
top of the Tower has been replaced, the old chimney removed and the
View from the Garden… 6
crack repaired. The roof of the vestry has been replaced. The old render
covering the soft stones of the main walls has been replaced with new View from the Scoreboard..7
render. And so on. Organisations ………………. 7
Events………………………. 8
It has been a challenging project. Kent ragstone is fragile and hard to work
with (see the interview with the chief stonemason on www.thefarleighs.com) Don’t forget to look at our
but it is also very durable, so it is to be hoped that the stonework at least will website for much more
be good until 2120 AD! But the most difficult part – and the reason why the information about our village
project dragged on until December – was the replacement of the render. www.thefarleighs.co.uk
No-one knew how it was put on originally nor exactly the mixture.
Please contact the editors if you
Thanks to Derek Hudson’s expert supervision, the project came in on would like an article in Lifeline or
budget. [When did we last hear that? Ed] The final cost was £76,844, on the Website – Email
assuming that we can recover the VAT of £15,369. editor@thefarleighs.co.uk

But amazingly this sum has been raised and the bills paid, due to the
generosity of many residents of West Farleigh, who gave over £12,000.
Follow us on Facebook
We applied for and received grants totalling £22,000 from Churchcare,
Garfield Weston, All Churches Trust and Cobtree Manor. The remainder of
the work was funded from the church’s funds and in particular the Harold
Harbour Tower fund, and two legacies.

A BIG THANK YOU to all these people and institutions whose generosity
made this possible. And thank you to the stonemasons and roofers of
Pinnacle, and Barrett Roofing, who carried out the work. And of course to Do look at our website and
Harold Harbour! look at weekly activities.

Now, about the heating… You will be amazed what

goes on.
DATE CORRECTION! The LAMBING DAY will be on Sunday March 17th
and not on February 17th as announced in our New Year edition. The
editors apologise profusely for their serial inability to get this one right. Press deadline for next issue:
20th February 2019
If you would like to get involved or find out more about what is happening in
the village, please visit the website or email us at editors@thefarleighs.com

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Pastoral Newsletter

Queen Elizabeth II is the head of the Church of England, a duty she fulfils
with grace and a deep faith. Her Christmas broadcasts in latter years have
always had a reference to that faith, which sustains her in her daily life. She
will be 93 this year (she shares a birthday as Eileen, our associate rector – but
I’m not sure the queen is aware of that fact) and has been scaling back her
public appearances slowly. There is a “secret” plan which is now public
knowledge (code word “London Bridge has fallen”) about what happens when she dies. As well
as the formal announcements, with tradition demanding a black bordered note affixed to the
gates of Buckingham Palace as well as radio and television announcements. Immediately radio
stations would play "inoffensive music" while BBC Two would suspend their scheduled
programming for the day and switch to BBC One's broadcast of the announcement. Four days
after the Queen's death, her body would be moved to Westminster Hall and lie in state for four
days. The state funeral would be held at Westminster Abbey nine days after the Queen's death,
after which her body would be buried in a prepared tomb at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.
The nation will mourn, and plans are in place across the country to facilitate that (you may have
seen Maidstone Borough Council’s plans published in the KM recently.) Churches, including our
own, will open for private prayer and for books of condolence to be filled in by those who wish to
do so. We have services and sermons ready to go, and will deliver those on the first Sunday
following. Thinking about such things has been on my mind of late – as well as the regular ministry
of funerals, my own father has been unwell and spent time in hospital.

Jesus said that he has come that we might have life in all its fullness (John 10.10). He meant that
we are to embrace life with all its ups and downs, highs and lows, joys and griefs, and to be
thankful to God for the opportunity to live a life with meaning and purpose. Whoever our role
model, whoever inspires us – whether it is somebody like the Queen or somebody completely
different, let us give thanks for every day, and seek always to live life to the full.

Many blessings,

Peter Callway

Rector

Services at All Saints

Sunday 3rd February 8.00 am Holy Communion (Traditional)
Sunday 10th February 9.30 am Morning Prayer
Sunday 24th February 9.30 am Holy Communion

Our Ministry Team

Rev Peter Callway, Rector: 01622 747570 Call for Baptisms, Weddings & Funerals, not Fridays
Rev David Jones, Hon. Associate Rector 01622 741474. Not Fridays
Rev Eileen Doyle, Associate Rector 01622 204241. Not Mondays and Tuesdays
Becky Parnham, Children and Families Worker 07949 646885

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Parish Council Report

18 members of the public attended the January Parish council meeting. A villager questioned the density of
Tickled Trout advertising about the village. The highways steward is to be asked about the legality of signs. The
council is keen to support local businesses, but the visual impact on the village has to be considered.

More flower troughs are to be made & erected. The triangle at the bottom of Ewell Lane will be planted up.

Crime: the report stated there had been no crimes in W. Farleigh, but one that was known about was not in
the report!

The bottom of Smiths Hill still floods and is a problem. There was concern that leaves and silt was not being
swept up. This is the responsibility of MBC, but as it is not being done, the parish may have to fund it.

Teston Bridge is still causing problems. Visibility is better in the winter, but the water that runs off the field is
freezing, which caused the last lot of damage to the bridge. Many ideas have been suggested, but none of
them acceptable. One way on the bridges was suggested, but would add miles to journeys.

The proposal for a Speed indicator Device on Lower Rd. is probably not going to happen as they can only be
used on a 30mph road. Lower Road is 40mph. A permanent indicator could be erected at a huge cost. Signs
to warn drivers of horses have been bought and will be erected at dangerous spots.

There is to be a meeting, shortly, to discuss the building of a parish meeting room on to the Sports club
building in Charlton Lane.

The finger post on the green has been reinstated. The area on the corner is to be landscaped. New posts are
to be bought and put in where many of them have rotted.

Prizes for the Tombola were requested and ideas for fund raising at Lambing Day were requested.

The parish precept (the extra council tax we pay for our village) was set for the next financial year. A Band D
house will increase from £99.91 to £107.37 per year. Those villagers present agreed this was reasonable.

WELCOME TO NICHOLAS PETERS

Rob and Nicola Peters moved into Homewinds, Charlton

Lane in September 2016. Nicholas was born on 20th
October 2017. He celebrated his first birthday with a party
in the church (see picture overleaf) A great place for a
party!

Mum Nicola can be seen around the village, trying to get

Nicholas to sleep, but he is much too interested in his
surroundings to sleep. He does like the swings on the
Green, which he has been enjoying since he could sit up.

Dad takes him for long walks in the baby carrier.

We are pleased to welcome Nicholas into the village.

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More party pictures on the website www.thefarleighs.co.uk. The church is available for hire for parties and
events. Call Valeria on 820305 or Stephen on 814617.

Something in the air?

In the last few years we have had more babies born than we have had in a long time. Some have been
featured in Lifeline and there are more to come. Strange that they are predominantly boys!

We have had a few deaths also but most have lived to a ripe old age. We still have villagers in their nineties
and Pippa Wakefield is 103.

Also interesting that people move into the village and stay for a long time. Is this because it is a very mixed
village. The housing stock ranges from one bedroom flats to grand mansions, and the occupants are a cross
section of society. No Executive Ghettos or no go areas!

The villagers are very friendly and look out for their neighbours. Keep it up West Farleigh, we are a great village.

DONALD DUNCAN MCLEOD FERGUSON

22 September 1946 – 26 November 2018

Donald was born in Dulwich but spent much of his childhood in Germany.
His father learnt German while a prisoner of war and after the war he used
this skill working for the Foreign Office in Germany.

As you can guess from his name, his family did not originate in the south.
They came from the Isle of Lewis. Don was very proud of his Scottish roots,
returning with his family for holidays. Don and his family settled in London
on returning to England.

Don met his partner, Marilyn, at the Shant in East Sutton, when she went
there with her brother. Don was behind the bar! Don and Marilyn spent many happy years together, first in
Harrietsham, then in a cottage in East Peckham, which needed much renovation, which they did
themselves. They then moved to West Farleigh, 34 years ago. Again doing a lot of work on the house,
themselves. Don and Marilyn enjoyed many holidays in the sun, exploring Spain, Italy, Mauritius & America.

Don was originally an Electrical Engineer. In later years he formed a company SBD Fabrications Ltd, with 3
work colleagues. Based in Sittingbourne, it made double glazed window units and conservatories.

He enjoyed playing squash and latterly golf and made many good friends this way.

Don was kind, caring and generous, always seeing the best in people. He will be missed by his family and
friends.

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This month in the garden by Jon Fenlon
It’s time to prune back the wisteria to 2 or 3
buds ready for the next flowering period. Strong
growth can be trained on wires if required or
simply pruned in the same way.
This prune is different to the summer prune in
which you only remove the long tendrils. The
winter prune re-establishes the frame work, so
this is when you can also remove larger woody
sections if needed.
February will be your last chance to cut the
hedges as birds will be busy building nests ready
for spring breeding. Help keep your birds strong
for the season ahead by putting out good
quality bird seed and the odd fat ball.
Ornamental grasses can now be cut down to
just above ground level. Evergreen grasses
should be checked over and any dead stems
removed.
Ivy can be a nuisance for a lot of people
but it is a great habitat for many reasons. It
can be used for roosting bats and birds,
hibernating insects. The flowers are full of
yellow pollen that the bees and butterflies
love. Ivy is not a parasitic plant it doesn’t
live off of a host, it simply uses other plants /
buildings to climb up. I would suggest if you
have ivy try and keep it in order by giving it
a winter trim each year. Don’t allow it on to
any roofs or near any guttering or it will
cause you issues in the long run.

See Jon’s blog in colour on www.thefarleighs.co.uk

Lifeline volunteers revamped in party spirit

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!

... to help keep our village free of litter.

The regular litter-pickers are kept busy just attending to Lower

Road, Charlton Lane, Ewell Lane and Heath Road.

We’re looking for volunteer teams to help look after the rest!
We can provide all the equipment and safety gear...

Please phone or text Tel on 07761 355518 or Brian on 07568 363828

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Farleigh Feathers by Ray Morris
The first stirrings of spring?
In February signs of spring may slip out from the iron grip of winter,
confusing us and birds alike. Valentine’s Day is said to be when birds
traditionally find a mate and some species are certainly thinking about it
even if the weather isn’t always spring-like. As I write this in January,
great tits and dunnocks are already laying a musical claim to their
garden territories, and blue tits have started inspecting boxes for a
potential nest site. For some species like mistle thrush and blackbird it’s
not unheard of for them to start laying eggs towards the end of the
month.

Although a February start to nesting is a risky business, for the species

that do it’s not a total disaster if their brood falls victim to a late blast of
winter. Thrushes and robins, for example, can routinely produce two or
three clutches of four eggs in a season.

Tits on the other hand, start later but put all their eggs
into the same metaphorical basket with a large single
clutch - up to fourteen eggs in the case of the
diminutive blue tit. They too, of course, can fall victim
to a cold wet spring, but their biggest challenge now is
climate warming. They need to time the hatching of
their eggs to coincide with the maximum caterpillar
availability to feed the young. But climate change has
brought this forward by up to two weeks and it is taking
some bird species time to adapt. While resident birds
can take their cue from local weather conditions and
lay earlier, birds that have to time their migration from
central Africa (nightingales, for example) can't know
what local UK weather conditions are, so many risk mis-
timing their arrival and missing out on the peak
availability of the food their young need.

And while all this is going on, our winter visitors from Scandinavia, the noisy fieldfare and more reserved
redwing, are still making the most of our (hopefully) snow-free countryside. Other winter visitors from the
continent include blackbirds, robins and chaffinches - they also prefer the luxury of our supposedly
warmer maritime climate, but will hang on here in our woods, and especially our gardens, until the urge
to mate finally takes hold and they too return whence they came in a month or so.

See Ray’s blog in colour on www.thefarleighs.co.uk

Page 6 of 8
View from the Scoreboard by Terry Baines
FOOTBALL Our 1st XI have continued their fine season under the guidance of their new
manager Paul Becks. We started by beating Snodland 3-0, followed by another victory over
Ashford AFC, also 3-0. Our only defeat came in the next match where we lost 3-0 to high
flying Ashford Town. Finally we had another fine win 2-0 away to Canterbury University.

Meanwhile our 2nd XI, although they have struggled so far this season have picked up some
useful points in their last two games. We started with an unlucky defeat in the cup versus our old rivals Seal,
going down 3-1. Next came our two much needed victories over Tonbridge Jupiters 2-1 and a very good 5-1
victory over Titan Tigers - after being 1-0 down.

Finally if you want goals, go and watch the Vets as they are flying in at the moment! Unfortunately most of
them into our own net! Our goals packed games started with a 4-0 defeat against Charter Diamond, then we
lost 5-4 to the Bird-in-the-hand (Chislehurst) and amazingly we lost 5-4 AGAIN, this time to Inter Viagra. Finally
we drew 4-4 away to to Ashburton. At least our goal-keeper doesn’t get cold.

Cricket: Although cricket might seem a way off, please note our nets start on Wed 20th Feb and every Wed
until we finish on Wed 27th March. And we have nets every Friday during March as well. Let’s hope some more
budding cricketers will be able to attend. If you would like to join us, please contact Trevor on 07710 928382.

Club news: we had our lucky TON UP winners:

Lucas Shilling - £30 (no.154) Brian Anston - £20 (no.55) Hazel Wilson - £10 (no.11)

And our JACKPOT WINNERS over Christmas were:

Grant Wells - £50 (94) Karim Habibi - £25 (88) Alan Smith - £10 (115)

If anyone would like to join the Ton-Up, £10 a year is all it costs. Please get in touch,

Yours in sport, Tel (815267)

Dear All, Happy New Year to you.

Our first meeting for 2019 was very interesting with our speaker Lara from the Dogs Trust with
her trusty companion Lady, who was blind. She was such a good dog. The talk was
informative about the Dogs Trust and how they do not put down any dog brought to them,
they try to rehome as many as possible. The next meeting on the 13th February is with Anna Austin who is talking
about Women Aviators, she does a very good presentation and she makes it amusing and interesting.

We are always looking for new members. You can come along and meet us or contact Pam Lindon on 726337
for more information. We have a Hall for hire for parties or events - contact Karen Malins 920258. We have a
Whist Drive on the 9th February tickets £5 please contact 01622 726337 and a Barn Dance with the Hatted Hens
on the 6th April please contact Alex Knight 01622 749940 tickets £8 with refreshments.

Regards
Pam

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 Evergreens
The Evergreens enjoyed a Christmas Tea in December. The members reminisced about
the Christmases of their childhood. Unfortunately, Pete and Co were unable to play in
January due to ill health. However, some table games were rustled up and the
members enjoyed playing the games. Dominoes and Bagatelle were the most popular.
A lot of fun and much cheating, I suspect. We hope that Pete and Co will be able to come another time.

On February 12th, we have a talk from Dandelion Time, with afternoon tea and on the 26th we have lunch
followed by a talk by “Barking Mad”. No, I don’t know either!!!

If you would like to join us, we can provide transport, call Helen 814445 or Terry 814561. More drivers are
required to take and collect members to meetings. If you can do it regularly or occasionally we would love
to hear from you. No need to tell your insurance company as you will just be giving a neighbour a lift. No
money changes hands. They are a lovely bunch of people, who love a chat! Ring Terry or Helen who will
be delighted to hear from you.

Village Events

Sun 3rd Feb West Farleigh Litter Pick, meet on the green!
9am – 10am

Sun 3rd Feb EAST FARLEIGH FARMERS MARKET HAS BEEN CANCELLED!
Sat2nd March Sutton Valence Chorale Society HANDEL’S MESSIAH in Rochester Cathedral
7.30pm Tickets £20 (central) or £12 (side aisle) pamela.hipkins@btinternet.com or 01622 861 313
Sat 9th March WI Whist Drive tickets £5. All welcome. Please contact 726337
7.15pm
Fri 15th March Dandelion Quiz Night at Coxheath Village Hall
7pm All welcome, bring a team! £15 including supper. Tickets 814001
Sunday 17th March Lambing Day
Smiths Hill Farm will once again hold their annual lambing day – more information to follow

SUTTON VALENCE CHORAL SOCIETY SPRING CONCERT

HANDEL’S MESSIAH at ROCHESTER CATHEDRAL,
SATURDAY, 2ND MARCH 2019, 7:30pm
SUTTON VALENCE CHORAL SOCIETY
under its Director, Bryan Gipps, returns to Rochester Cathedral to sing
the most widely performed and most widely loved choral work in the world

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