“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 2020 Edition no 518
Editors: Stephen Norman, Helen Swan and Jacky Taylor
Website: www.thefarleighs.co.uk Email: editor@thefarleighs.co.uk

PETANQUE AT THE WHITE HOUSE

OPEN AFTERNOON
All are welcome, so please do come along and join us, and have a go at the fun game of petanque.

Hot drinks on the piste other drinks from the Bar

Saturday 29th February 12.30-4.30pm

THE WHITE HOUSE PETANQUE CLUB

The Club was formed in 1993 and over the years has grown through members coming from clubs that have folded
and from other folk wishing to join in with the social aspects of the club.

The Club is always happy to welcome new members, from beginners to the more experienced. It thrives as much on
the social approach as it does on the more competitive aspects of the league.
Go to www.thefarleighs.co.uk look at Pub News for more info about the White house and the Petanque Club.

WEST FARLEIGH COMMUNITY CENTRE FUND

PUBLIC MEETING
17th February 2020 at 7.30 pm

The Trustees of the Community Centre Fund are calling a public meeting for the residents of West Farleigh to discuss
and take a decision on the future of the fund. The meeting will take place at the Good Intent Public House.
Years ago, a number of villagers started fundraising for a Villager Hall but failed to find a suitable site despite a great
deal of effort.
Following a public meeting it was agreed that the funds should be administered by Trustees who continued to
investigate a number of sites but these also fell through. There is now an option on another site and the Trustees are
holding the meeting to ask for a decision on the way forward.

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PASTORAL LETTER

A New Era?
Did it happen? Or will it happen? As I write this letter there are 21 days to go and
then we will know! Will it be any different or will everything remain the same until
the new deadline? We seem to have been living with uncertainty for so long that
the thought the deadline has arrived and past comes as a surprise. Uncertainty is
unnerving for some, for others it is a time of excitement. Like most things in life
what is good for one person is perhaps less so for another. Then life can be like
that and we seldom see things in the same light. It’s what makes us different that
can at times make life either exciting or challenging. When faced with difficulties
we long for routine to return. At times we seem to have a routine life, the family keep well, employment is regular,
or health means we forget the name of the doctor or perhaps in today’s NHS system recognise our doctor. At other
time life is so hectic, the family are a problem is some way or another, unemployment looms and our health is such
that the diary is filled with appointments. What do you refer? Do I hear ‘something of both but less of the problems
of life?’ Perhaps you want certainty or at least some measure of constancy where not everything seems to be
changing all at the same time.
One thing is certain and that is Easter is approaching and this year it is bang in the middle of its allowed variation.
Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent actually begins in the last week of this month, on 26th February. Lent, historically a
period of 40 days in preparation for the great celebration of Easter on Sunday April 12th gives us the opportunity to
perhaps ‘stop’ and look at our lives and what drives them and to consider again the fact that we live in God’s world
and perhaps when we seek Him then the way forward in our lives might be clearer and we see routine and uncertain
within the context of the rich pattern of life we actually can enjoy.
Have a productive Lent in 2020

Yours David

SERVICES AT ALL SAINTS

Sunday 2rd February 8.00 am Holy Communion (Traditional)
Sunday 9th February 9.30 am Morning Worship
Sunday 23th February 9.30 am Holy Communion
Wednesday 26th Feb 7.30 pm Ash Wednesday service at Holy Trinity Coxheath

SPECIAL BENEFICE SERVICE WITH URMAS KARILEET from the Estonian Church we are twinned with.
Sunday 1st March 10.30 am Coxheath

PROTECT YOURSELF FROM ATM THEFT

It’s a good idea to scan the area around ATMs before you use them. Be aware of anyone standing close by and
always check the machine to see if it’s been tampered with before you use it.

TELL-TALE SIGNS OF ATM FRAUD Things to look out for are devices attached to the machine – some are more
obvious than others. If you do see something suspicious contact the police and the bank.
Remember, if it doesn’t look or feel right then steer clear and, if possible, go inside the bank where it will be safer.
And always keep a regular check on your transactions.
BE ALERT
We know it’s not always easy, but try to be aware of anyone near you when you’re at an ATM. Being aware of your
surroundings and not being distracted makes it harder for people to take advantage and less likely that they’ll try to.
Thieves will watch as you key in your PIN or distract you while you’re withdrawing cash. Be vigilant. Cover your PIN
and keep an eye on your card at all times. If someone taps you on the shoulder or tries to speak to you, just ignore
them. When you've left the ATM, put your card away immediately. You should also be careful with contactless cards.
You can get a card holder to prevent your card details being inadvertently read.

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WELCOME TO THE O’CONNORS AND THE PIMMS

Katie and Richard O’Connor have moved into Vale House while Katie’s parents,
Ann and John Pimm, previously from Northamptonshire, have moved into the
Stable Annexe of Vale House. They are still settling in but are pleased with the
house and the friendliness of the village.
Katie and Richard can be seen walking their dog, Bessie, around the village.
All four are retired and looking forward to getting to know more people in the
village and joining in village life.
Katie and Ann were both primary school teachers and once settled in, Katie will
consider doing some supply teaching. Richard was a Sugar Trader and John was
involved in the building industry.
Katie and Richard, previously living in St Albans, have five sons between them,
aged from 19-30, who will be regular visitors.
We wish them well and look forward to them joining in with Village events.

WELCOME TO MATT AND HELEN BOWDERY

Matt and Helen moved into Valley View shortly after their marriage. They love
their new home, especially the view. They are keen to explore the area on foot
and walked along the river on Christmas Day!
Helen is from North Yorkshire and Matt is a South London lad. Helen is working in
Swanscombe at the moment but is hoping to get an office job nearer home,
which will give her and Matt more time to get to know their surroundings and
their neighbours.
Matt is an engineer, servicing generators and is on the road a lot. He is keen on
Snooker and wonders if anyone local plays.
Contact via editor@thefarleighs.co.uk.
We look forward to meeting them, at village events.

REPORT OF THE PARISH COUNCIL MEETING HELD ON 20TH JANUARY.

It was agreed that we would employ someone to clear the kerbs and road edges round the Green, to reclaim the
road and smarten things up. The broken stile and fallen tree on the Permissive footpath have been reported. Now
repaired.
The traffic survey, done on the Lower Road, was discussed. The results can be viewed on the Pariah Council website.
http://www.westfarleighpc.kentparishes.gov.uk/. The average speed eastbound was 39.3, westbound 39.9.
It was confirmed that Matthew Scott, Police and Crime Commissioner, will be at the March Coffee Morning at the
Good Intent Saturday 21st March. 10-12. Do come along and air your views on policing etc.
Geoff Underdown was chosen as our contractor for Ground maintenance.
It was reported that two councillors met with a planning officer to discuss the “Call for Sites”. MBC are looking to
build 9,300 new houses, in the first phase. The Call for sites resulted in sites large enough to build 50,000. The
Council want to develop ”Garden settlements”, and are looking to expand Lenham and Yalding, where they have
more infrastructure.
It was inferred that they are not looking for small developments and they are very aware of the impact on both the
visual and social impact on our village. No need to panic but the council will monitor things closely.
The Parish precept, the extra council tax we pay for living out of town will remain the same as last year.
A grant of £250 was given to the Heart of Kent Hospice in recognition of the care given to former councillors Chris
Stockwell and Brian Mortimer. £400 was donated to the church for the upkeep of the churchyard and £400 was
given to the WI to help with the refurbishment of the hall floor. The next meeting is on Monday 16th March 7.30 at
the Good Intent.
Anyone interested in become a Parish Councillor should contact the Clerk as councillors term of office comes to an
end in May.
IT IS NOT TOO LATE TO REGISTER YOUR INTEREST IN FIBRE BROADBAND.
The Council area looking into getting fibre up Ewell Lane to the Green. There are grants available, but there might be
a small charge. If you are interested send your name to the Clerk.

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FARLEIGH IN BLOOM
South and South East in Bloom Competition & the West Farleigh Bloomers!

The ‘West Farleigh in Bloom’ team has entered the 2020 contest once
again, in both the Village and Churchyard categories. As you will
remember we won Silver medals in both categories last year, so this year
our sights are set on ‘Silver Gilt’. Judging is in July so we are really hoping
to capitalise on our efforts in the coming months.
Plans we have for spring include a wildlife walk to analyse what
wildflowers our village environment naturally supports. We also have
wildflower plugs being grown which we will add to areas such as the
Ewell Lane triangle, and of course we will also run the tallest sunflower
competition again this year. We now have planters at all the road names
signs, all with hand carved wooden sunflowers on to brighten them up. If
you have further ideas please do email us at Bloom@TheFarleighs.co.uk
We have identified the 2 war graves in the Churchyard at All Saints, those
of Captain Fletcher and Bertram Leney. Those graves already have bare
soil in front of them and so our aim is to plant those up with red poppies.

It is very good news to hear that East Farleigh School now runs a Gardening club for its pupils. Both WF In Bloom and
the school club aim to enhance the natural environment, increase horticulture and participate more in the
community.
Our next meeting is at the Good Intent pub on Wednesday 19th Feb at 7:30. Everyone is welcome, please do come
along and join us.

These are the war graves in the church yard.

The one on the left is that of Bertram Leney who dies in the first world
war. The one on the right is the grave of three brothers.
Roland Sackville Fletcher died in the first battle at Ypres, 1st November
1914.Horace William Fletcher, first battle of Gaza 26th March 1917.
Walter John Fletcher invalided from service October 1914 after
commanding HMS Defender in the Battle of Heligoland and Bight. He
died 12th May 1917.
The Fletcher family lived in Elmscroft Charlton Lane.
Bertram Leney, died 3rd October 1918. He had previously worked for his
father a hop grower and Brewer in Wateringbury.

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THIS MONTH IN THE GARDEN by Jon Fenlon

Now that the Christmas period has passed it is time to start preparing our gardens for the new year. Firstly, I would
like to revisit the blog I wrote back in April 2019 mentioning a new area within the garden, that had previously been
taken over by ivy. The area has now been cleared of ivy and new plants planted, we are awaiting a few more
additions to finalise the area. The bed has been weeded throughout 2019 to reduce the weed seed bank and a thick
layer of organic matter had been added to assist in weed control and increase the fertility of the soil. The plants that
we have chosen are a great mix of shrubs, perennials, evergreens and bulbs. The main season of display will be
throughout the winter, where the garden currently does not have much representation. Photo (below) from the day
of planting.
Throughout the past month we have finished pruning all of roses. Roses
make a great architectural element to the garden in winter. This time of
year you can see the true bones of the garden. If you are going to fertilizer
your roses, it is best to do it between February – March, a generous
amount of organic matter can make a big difference to your roses over the
next growing season. March is when we start to prune the more tender
plants such as Penstemons, as well as those that we are trying to control
the new growth of for example, Buddleia, Fig and Hydrangea. It is

important to wait until March to allow for the lasts

of the frosts to past and the weather to warm
slightly to give the tender plants the best chance of
survival.
It is important that all hedges that need to be cut
are finished by the end of February to allow for the
birds nesting period. We should not disturb any
nests or remove any material that may expose
them. If you still have hedges to cut its time to get
them done!
In the Garden we have four individual colour
themed beds, White, Red, Blue and Yellow. This
winter we have removed the red border that had
lost its way. I have re-designed the Red border and will hopefully be planting the new design in spring 2021. We are
leaving the bed clear for the year to help reduce the weed seed bank, we shall keep you posted of the upcoming
progress of the bed throughout the year

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FARLEIGH FEATHERS by Ray Morris
The bad news isn’t all bad ...

What’s happening to our birds? Media headlines are becoming increasingly fraught with
reports of dwindling biodiversity (it is), and the UK being the most nature-depleted
country in Europe (it appears to be if you dig deeper into the often monotonous, but
green, farmland that covers much of our countryside) and when hearing a once-
common bird like cuckoo or skylark is something to comment on.

But although their numbers are tumbling in much of the countryside, they seem to be
doing well in our gardens. Figures just released to mark twenty-five years of the British
Trust for Ornithology’s Garden Birdwatch scheme (https://www.bto.org/our-science/projects/gbw) suggest that
gardens are a much-needed haven for some hard-pressed familiar species. In the south east, for example, finches,
tits, house sparrows and starlings are the birds most likely to be seen at our feeders.
But two of these, starlings and house sparrows, have suffered significant declines. House sparrow numbers halved in
the south east between 1995 and 2007, but are hanging on in our gardens and are just starting to increase again.
Starlings, though, have declined by sixty percent and their numbers are still dropping, even though they seem ever-
present in our gardens.
Both these species are regular visitors to my East Farleigh garden and, for almost ten years I have been ringing first
house sparrows, and then for the last two years, starlings for research into their declines by the BTO. This showed
that the life expectancy for an adult house sparrow was slightly less in the south-east than elsewhere in the country;
roughly forty-three percent of adults die in each year – to be replaced by a roughly equal number of young birds who
survive their first winter.
From May to July last summer I trapped and ringed three hundred and twenty starlings in my garden as part of this
research, so we still appear to have a reasonable population. While they are still visiting our gardens in good numbers
there is still hope. Unfortunately, their numbers are nowhere near enough for a spectacular winter murmuration like
the ones we used to see when I was (a lot) younger. Just a few days ago I saw what I estimated to be a flock of three
hundred starlings swirling about like stirred coffee, occasionally turning a mustard yellow when caught in the setting
sun. Although it was a beautiful sight, it was tinged with sadness in the knowledge that it hardly compared with what
we used to enjoy.
So the message is - birds need our (preferably not too tidy) gardens and the food we put out for them. So why not
become a regular garden bird feeder? If you want to make your garden feeding even more useful, sign up for the
BTO’s Garden Birdwatch and double the pleasure too.

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 THE EVERGREENS
The Evergreens enjoyed a Christmas tea and were entertained by the choir from East
Farleigh School. They had recently won a competition and were in fine voice. Not a dry
eye in the house. At the January tea time meeting, the members played table games-
Dominoes, Scrabble, Boggle, Top trumps etc. A very happy and fun time, followed by our
usual sumptuous afternoon Tea. We will be having Jacket potatoes with a variety of
filling at our January lunch meeting, followed by a talk about the future of Dandelion
Time.
The meeting on the 11th February will be afternoon tea with entertainment by “Pam Ayres” .
The meeting on the 25th will be in West Farleigh Church, with Fish and Chip lunch and entertainment by Pete and Co.

A new year and maybe a bit quieter after celebrating our centenary last year. We had
a very good start with a speaker talking about dealing with financial situations,
Including, probate, wills and care. Very good advice given. We have a lot to look
forward to with a Whist Drive on 8th February everyone welcome, £6 including
refreshments. Going to the theatre to see 9:5 the musical. Also, we are performing our Christmas Panto to
friends and family. Our usual Craft and Art classes on a Tuesday morning. We have a very popular speaker,
for February, Tony Harris, who is talking about nothing like a dame. Any WI members welcome to the
meeting on 12th February only £3 entrance fee. If you wish to come and join us at The Farleighs, Forge Lane,
East Farleigh ME15 0HA or see what we do then please ring Pam Lindon 01622 726337.

VIEW FROM THE SCOREBOARD by Terry Baines

FOOTBALL: Just four games since the last report. We played Rochester twice, winning 5-3 and
drawing 4-4. However, we lost to Whitstable 4-2 and Bearsted 1-0. Meanwhile our 2nd XI have
continued their fine season winning all but one of their fixtures since the last report. Victories came
against Tatsfield, twice,3-0 and 4-1, Southborough 3-0 and St Lawrence 4-1 in the cup. Finally, our only defeat was in
another cup versus Malgo, who are 2 divisions higher, losing 6-2.

Our Vets have played three times, drawing with Old Tamps 2-2 and Ashburton 1-1, but we lost 3-2 against Charter
Diamonds.

CRICKET: It is hoped to have nets from the end of March into April. If you are interested in playing,
please contact Trevor 07710 928382

NETBALL: Our girls have continued to compete in almost every game so far. They are enjoying playing
and have won their second game. Many thanks to Jewelultra for their continuing support and for
sponsoring the new kit. Definitely the smartest around!

Our lucky CHRISTMAS TON UP WINNERS last month were

95 Debbie Wells £50 9 Andy Starr £30

Yours in Sport
Tel (815267)

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VILLAGE EVENTS

Sunday 2nd February EAST FARLEIGH FARMERS MARKET some new stall and the regular stalls
10-1.00 Refreshments available. Old School Hall Lower Road, East Farleigh.
Parking at the Social Club.

Sunday 2nd February LITTER PICKING – come and join us!

Meet on the Green at 9am. Bacon butties and coffee at 10am.
All equipment provided.

PS. If you have not been before, do go, they are an interesting and fun
bunch. The village is very grateful for all that they do to keep our very special
village clean and tidy. [Ed]

Saturday 8th February WHIST DRIVE at The Farleighs WI Hall. Everyone is welcome.
7 for 7.15 Beginners welcome, you can have some tuition and be helped by the
friendly WI ladies.

Saturday 17th February OPEN MEETING

19.30 The Trustees of the Community Centre Fund are calling a public meeting to discuss and take
decision on the future of the fund. The meeting will take place at the Good Intent .

Fri 28th Feb, GARAGE SALE at Dandelion Time. They are having a clear out before their
Saturday 29th Feb move, many bargains to be had!
Sunday 1st March
11-15.00

Saturday 29th Feb PETANQUE OPEN DAY at the White House

12.30-16.30 Go along and give it a try. If you like it, you could join their club.
There will be members there to show you how to play. It is fun, even if you
are not very good

Saturday 21st March PARISH COUNCIL COFFEE MORNING

10-12 Matthew Scott, Kent’s Police and Crime Commissioner, will be coming along.
Villagers will be able to ask questions about Crime and Policing, in our rural
area. Do come and tell him what you think. If he doesn’t know he cant
change anything!

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