THE NEWSLETTER OF THE KENT ACTIVE RETIREMENT ASSOCIATIONS “Do not think of Retirement as someone closing a door on a bright and crowded street.

Think of it as someone opening the door to a beckoning and uncluttered world” John Hardiman

Volume 4 Spring 2015 Number 57

KENT ACTIVE

A VERY IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE KENTARA EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. There is a lack of members coming forward to do the job of Area Representative, we have three areas that have no representation on the executive committee and therefore no-one to collect the Kent Actives for these clubs. We have been posting the parcels out but this does entail well over £100 expenditure and we then have to ask the clubs to repay KentARA. The Executive have decided that these clubs will be given three options: 1: To collect their parcel from either the Editor at his home or find someone to come along to the executive meeting at Lenham and pick their parcel up then, they do not have to stay for the meeting, but should pick the parcel up before the meeting starts. 2: Agree with KentARA to cover the cost of the postage for their parcel. 3: Or to just receive only ten copies of the Kent Active which will be posted by KentARA who will cover this cost. Perhaps the best way out of this dilemma is for those Areas to select an Area Rep or even run it on a roster with each club taking turns to attend the executive meetings.

THE ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 2015 This years meeting turned out to be very good apart from the lack of initiative that seems to be rife in the ranks of the membership to take up positions on the Executive Committee. Last year we required a new Chairman and it was only when Anne Whitehead volunteered at the very last minute to do this job that the meeting could pro-gress forward. The year before that it was the position of the Secretary that was left until the last minute before a reluctant volunteer came forward (and Anne has proved herself to be an extremely efficient secretary) This year was the same until the Kent Active editor Tony Mulcuck offered to take the position of Chairman for one year to allow time for someone who may be interested in taking this post to perhaps join the executive committee as a co-opted member to learn more of what this position entailed. Where are all you budding executive members? The President Peter Nicholls presented the KentARA Quiz trophy to Mrs Carole Nunn who is seen receiving the trophy on behalf of the team who came from HalARA (Halling)..

Only one club was presented with their 21st anniversary diploma this year. This time it was the turn of DAMARA (Ditton & Malling) The photo on the left shows Chairman Tony Mulcuck (lft) and Vice Chairman Don Stevenson receiv-ing the diploma from Peter Nicholls. Anne Tippett, the KentARA secretary, presented a bouquet of flowers to the outgoing chairlady, Anne Whitehead (centre) as a thank you for all her hard work over the last year. The ladies of DAMARA were thanked for supplying the tea/coffee at the open-ing of the meeting and for providing the 170+ ploughman's lunches enjoyed by the members after the meeting finished.

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Special congratulations to the following members who have celebrated

their wedding anniversaries.

SANDRA AND PETER NICHOLLS

Are celebrating their Ruby Wedding

on the 16th August Members of

PaddARA (Paddock Wood)

KATH & BASIL

DEWING celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary earlier this year.

Members of Maidstone (MaidARA since 2004

KENTARA LINE DANCING

Larkfield Village Hall,

New Hythe Lane Every Monday

1st Easy class - 12.45 pm - 2.00 pm

£4.00 2nd Advance class - 2.00 pm - 4.00 pm

£4.50. (non-members 50p extra)

Contact Gerald Benham on: 01732-870715 or

Email: gerald.benham@blueyonder.co.uk We invite beginners to join us at

12.00 noon.

THE KENTARA RIVER CRUISE

River Cruise for 2016.

This is a cruise on the Rhine &

will include Swiss Delights. The one selected is for 9 days by coach - from £999.00 per person

& will be run by ‘Just for Groups’

on either 5th to 13th or 19th to 27th May 2016.

Your club secretary has all the details of this great offer.

KENTARA TEA DANCE

FRIDAY 22nd MAY 2015 DITON COMMUNITY CENTRE

KILN BARN ROAD DITTON

Doors 1.30pm for a 2.00pm start

Tick- ets £4 from Gerald Benham on

01732 870715 or Email

gerald.benham@blueyonder.co.uk or by post to:

‘Kingfishers’ 9 Gillets Lane, East Malling, Kent ME19 6RS

ass

Contents:- Page Amendments to Committees, Speakers and Entertainers lists: 7 Association reports: 3,4,5 Chairman’s Report:- - 2 Congratulations: - - 3 Dingbats: - - - 2 KentARA events: - - 3 Leisure & Pleasure: - 8 ———–—————-——

KentARA Dates for your diary: 2015

Tea Dance Friday 22nd May at Ditton Community Centre. KentARA Short Mat Bowls: Thursday 6th August New Line Learning Academy, Loose, Maidstone. KentARA Race Night: Ditton C.C. Friday 23rd October. KentARA Tea Dance: Ditton Community Centre Friday 20th November KentARA Xmas Concert. Mote Hall, Maidstone Saturday 21st November. ——————————

All copy/letters for Kent Active should be addressed to:-

The Editor. Kent Active, Mr. A. Mulcuck. 8a Bradbourne Lane, Ditton, Aylesford. Kent ME20 6PA. Email to: Mulcuck.anthony@sky.com ———————–-——

Final copy dates for the next Four issue are:

Thursday 16th July 2015 Thursday 15th October 2015 Thursday 14th January 2016

Thursday 14th April 2016 ————

Please remember any photos sent in must be of a high quality to enable

good quality reproduction. It is best if they are sent as an

attachment to an Email. I cannot get a good reproduction from a letter.

My apologies for having to omit and edit some of the reports due

to lack of space.

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DE ADE

o n a i p

S urdayat 4 IV TO FOR TOO WON FOUR TWO FORE

DINGBATS - DINGBATS - DINGBATS - DINGBATS - DINGBATS

intimate

BATH ABBEY

D I

T C

DITCH DITCH DITCH

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23456789

1 over the eight

The answers to the last Dingbats are below, and a row of new ones for your entertainment are above.

Last ditch stand A close friend Cleanliness is

next to Godliness

THE CHAIRMANS COMMENTS:

I said that I would take position of Chairman for one year only, hopefully therefore providing a breathing space when perhaps another member of KentARA may show an interest in taking this on at the 2016 AGM. I will be suggesting to the executive committee that if such a person were to come forward they should be offered the chance of being co-opted onto the executive committee to see how the sys-tem works and what is involved in the running of the position of chairman. I know I shall have the full support of the officers and area reps during my years tenure, but would ask the individual clubs to seriously question their members to find out if there is such a member or members who would like to take up this offer. Remember it is your organisation that the volun-teers who make up the executive committee are trying to run on your behalf. If the KentARA organisation should fail and was disbanded then each club would become an indi-vidual club with no-one to turn to in their time of need for advice or support. On a more happier note let us look forward to an enjoyable and fun filled year full of outings, events and many, many social get-togethers. Please support the your KentARA and club events. Many thanks Tony Mulcuck.

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Association Reports:

ASARA-Ashford South:- Unfortunately due to lack of support their proposed trip to Cologne Christmas market was cancelled. The Tinsel & Turkey holiday at Hayling Island was a great success. The entertainment given by the staff was absolutely fantastic - they worked hard both day and night to ensure we had a good time. For 2015 we are going to try something different, NOT WARNERS. This break will be at the Cumberland Hotel in Eastbourne. ChARA-Cheriton:- Sadly our President Mr Peter Gibby, our Membership Secretary Mr Wally Elliot, Audrey Crouch and Joy Gavin all passed away during the last few months, a sad ending to a very busy year. On a happier note we have enjoyed many excellent outings including Hearts of Essex, St Omer, Lullingstone Castle, A three day break in Weymouth and a visit to London to see The Lion King. We celebrated our 25th Anniversary with lunch in the Channel Suite at the Leas Cliff Hall. We were entertained by our Committee and club members which was hilarious based on WW2. We had a Christmas lunch at the Tavernetta and visited the Brick Lanes, “Babes in the Wood”. We have continued with our Rambles, Ten Pin Bowling and Tavernetta lunches. We look forward to a very busy 2015. KemARA-Kemsley:- A good start to the year with our A.G.M. in January. New members joining the club, Colin Harvey gave us an interesting talk about HMS Montgomery. In February we had singer Andy Mills entertaining us, which together with some lovely cakes provided by Avril made it a great meeting. In March we went to the Sit-tingbourne Greyhounds for a 3 course meal which was very nice and we look forward to a trip in May to the Dog & Duck. We are also looking forward to a Quiz in March that we shall be sharing with SiARA (Sittingbourne) abd Sa-mARA (Sittingbourne & Milton). Derek Carnell. ClARA-Cliftonville: I am happy to report that we go from strength to strength! Our numbers are steadily increasing and ur activities being well supported which gives the hard-working organisers great encouragement. Our monthly lunch arrangements are interestingly varied and Gloria ensures that the menus will suit all tastes, resulting in happy social occasions. We have had all kinds of enjoyable outings organised by Edna and Margaret. Among other things, we hope to repeat our successful visit to the Savile Gardens, and relaxing on the Medway Cruise. There is also a holiday being planned for September to Bournemouth and a visit to Brick lane for the ‘Christmas Wonderland’. Ruby Holmes. Medway-MedARA: As the New year got underway our first excursion took us to a lovely vineyard in Essex. Whilst there we enjoyed a fabulous lunch followed by a very interesting talk and wine tasting experience. It certainly put a spring in out steps!! We very quickly found it was the wine and not the weather as our homeward bound journey took us through a heavy snow shower which really added to the occasion by making the countryside very picturesque. Our Charity of the Year this year is Macmillan cancer as we were aware of a very young lady who had cancer. Our very generous members sponsored her when she decided to swim in order to raise funds for this very worthy cause. We were able to follow this up with a visit by Alan Payne, a mentor for Macmillan Cancer Support who spoke about the origin of Macmillan up to the present day which made it a very fitting social occasion. Our next trip took us to the Theatre to see the updated ‘Miss Saigon’. Many of us had experience seeing the original some time ago and the new one certainly did not disappoint and was thoroughly enjoyed by all. This year a very spe-cial occasion arrived as we celebrated MedARA’s 30th Anniversary. We had a wonderful buffet lunch for all our members finishing with a couple of games of bingo and topped off with an Easter Chick with a sneaky chocolate burst inside created by our chairperson. We are now looking forward to our 5 Day Break in Amsterdam. Barbara Southworth. ShARA-Shepway: It never seems that Christmas and New Year are over until we have had our New Year’s Lunch, and this was held once again in January at the Dover Marina Hotel which, as its name implies, is on the harbour front with views over the departing ferries and the Yacht Club activities. It was festive hats and crackers all the way, and the Hotel even donated a prize to the raffle! Fancy hats were the order of the day too for our January meeting, when Ann Finney came to speak to us about the life of Marie Lloyd. An early tip-off meant that members could join in the sing-a-long and compete for the best attire suitable for the Music hall—congratulations to Ann Nicolson for the winning ‘titfer’. He January Coffee Morning gave us all a chance to work of the Christmass Excesses with Vera Neaves and her gen-tle exercises. February started with a trip to Brick Lane Pantomime - always a good day out. Our speaker for the general meeting was James Willmot who took us on a Pictorial History Tour of Hythe, a town that really lends itself to good photog-raphy, and then Hugh Coleman gave us colourful slides of birds and butterflies during our Coffee Morning meeting. The March talk was a real trip down memory lane as Richard Filmer showed slides of Traditional Kentish Trades and Crafts. These covered a whole swathe of old industries from hop-picking through coopers and wheelwrights, potters and basket makers, to charcoal burners and fence makers. A memorable glimpse of a past many of us can still remember. Cont next page:-

Association Reports contd:

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Maidstone-MaidARA: MaidARA held it’s Festive lunch on the 21st January at the Russell Hotel, we all had a great time the food was very good and the service excellent. A duo played during the meal and after we danced until 4pm. A painting donated by Graham Lilley, a former speaker, was raffled which raised £85 and was donated to the Oliver Fisher Neonatal Unit at Medway. Sadly the Russell Hotel is now demolished to make way for houses. Our annual quiz in March was also a great success and one of our members made delicious cakes to go with the tea. In April a coach full of members went to The Royal Theatre, Brighton to see the musical ‘Oh What a Lovely War’ which is a deeply moving musical about WW1. We found is poignant, cleverly put together and very sad. The whole day was enjoyed by all. ShARA contd:- The next event was the annual Rainbow Centre Knit-in in which a ShARA team always takes part. There are teams from all over Shepway filling the United Reformed Church, and to our delight the winner of the longest piece of knitting in the time allotted was our own Ann Nicolson with 8 1/2 inches. Our team raised £167 towards the grand total for the day of £3,382 all going to a worthy cause. To round off the month members enjoyed our first ever cash Bingo session at the Coffee Moring. House!. Rainham-RainARA: We enjoyed a weekend break at Sinah Warren. The weather was kind to us, during the break we visited the Tudor Rose museum and took a trip around the harbour. Back at the hotel we enjoyed dancing, joined the choir and sang during the last evenings entertainment. Thanks to Ron and Pauline for their organisation of the break and Nick our driver. We look forward to our January trip. Anne McConnell. Sittingbourne-SiARA: Visits will include Quex Park in Birchington to see the Regency House and Powell Cotton Museum in May the Ashdown Forest in July with a City & Village guide that starts with coffee and biscuits at Heaven farm then a tour of the forest and a visit to see the 18th century country house at saint Hill manor. A 5 day holiday in the Cotswolds is planned for September . Snodland Town-StARA: We have presented the Kent, Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance Trust a donation of £2,250. Volunteer rep-resentative from the trust, Brian Glascock, is pictured receiving the cheque from Sheila Last (left) and chairman, Bridget Cork, together with vice-chairman, Alan Champion and Treasurer, Jim Cork. Brian said that the trust only exists as a result of the generosity of the people of Kent, Surry and Sussex and thanked StARA members for the ‘wonderful cheque’. The Trust has two air ambulances at Marden and Redhill. They can be airborne within three and a half minutes of a call and fly patients to one of the four Regional Trauma Hospitals within minutes. The air am-bulances work quickly and closely with land ambulances. Swanley-SwanARA: 2015 began with a Bring & Buy sale raising money for three charities. In February Derek Hodge returned to continue his talk on Auctioneering and Valuation with emphasis on the valuation of items brought in by members. In March Alan Payne intrigued us with his talk ‘The History and Mystery of Playing Cards’. Our trips have been to the Imperial War Museum followed by Fish & Chips in a restaurant in Lewisham; two trips to the Orchard Theatre, Dartford for ‘Swan Lake’ and a week later ‘Calamity Jane’. In February we visited Manston Airport and History Museum with lunch at the ‘Dog & Duck’. A group of members paid an evening visit to the Tower of London in March which ended with the privilege of witnessing ‘The Ceremony of the Keys’. Another group of our members will make the same visit in April. Jim Jones.

I BELIEVE IN REINCARNATION, SO I’VE WRITTEN MY WILL AND HAVE LEFT EVERYTHING TO MYSELF!!

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A VERY SPECIAL BIRTHDAY GREETING FOR A SPECIAL

MEMBER Nancy Henderson was an original founder mem-ber of the Shepway (ShARA) club and has been a stalwart member for 21 years. Reaching the grand age of 100 on the 2nd January was quite a milestone so I am sure we all wish her (a belated) many happy returns and many more of them. Is this the evidence we have been looking for. If you are a member of an ARA it keeps you young and active.

Once upon a time, long ago, a committee was set up to stand-ardise time measurements, They finally agreed on the 365 units for the year, but couldn’t agree on a name for the units. After a very long discussion, they had all got very fed up and decided to call it a day.

KENTARA TEN PIN BOWLING

COMPETITION 2015 on

Thursday 12th November at the

GRAVESEND AMF BOWLING Imperial Business Park, Westmill, Gravesend

DA11 0DL ———

Cost will be £6.40 (on entry) Teams of 3 players - (Men, Ladies or Mixed)

A maximum of 4 teams per Club The closing date for entries will be Wednesday 30th September 2015

———- Please contact by Email: colincross3@btinternet.com

Let me have more stories and news items for the Kent Active. It is your newsletter and members are interested in what you have to say and think, providing it is interesting or amusing. Do you have any recollections of your child-hood you would like to share with us? Come on put pen to paper, or finger to the key-board. The Editor.

Alterations and Additions to KentARA & Club Officers, Entertainers & Speakers, Ditton & Malling: DamARA: New Chairman: Mr A. (Tony) Mulcuck, 8a Bradbourne Lane, Ditton, Aylesford Kent ME20 6PA Tel: 01732 844195 Email: mulcuck.anthony@sky.com New Secretary: Mrs Maralyn Mulcuck. As above. Swanley-SwanARA: New Secretary: Mr Ray Buchan, 85 Cranleigh Drive, Swanley BR8 8NZ Tel:01322 663541 Email: buchanray-ann@btinternet.com New Speaker: Mrs M.Mulcuck. Talking on the ‘Ditton Heritage Centre’. 8a Bradbourne Lane, Ditton, Aylesford Kent ME20 6PA. Tel: 01732 844195 Email: mulcuck.anthony@sky.com A donation would be appreciated.

KENT ACTIVE NOTICE For those clubs that may be picking up their Kent Actives up at the Executive meetings the address

of the Lenham Community Centre is as follows: —————————

Lenham Community Centre, Groom Road, Lenham, Maidstone Kent ME17 2QT. The meeting dates are: Wednesday 20th May: Wednesday 06th August: Wednesday 18th November

the meetings starts at 9.30am. You should be early and pick up your parcel from Tony in the car park prior to the meeting starting. Please contact Tony Mulcuck (at the latest by the copy date shown on page 2 of the Kent Active as to how many copies you would like for that issue if you are picking them up) on 01732 844195 or Email

at: mulcuck.anthony@sky.com to let him know you will be picking your parcel up.

THE ASSOCIATION President: Mr. Peter Nicholls Tel: 01892 835773 KentARA Website: www.weebly.kentara.co.uk

Chairman: Mr Anthony (Tony) Mulcuck, 8a Bradbourne Lane, Ditton, Aylesford Kent ME20 6PA

Tel: 01732 844195 Email: mulcuck.anthony@sky.com Vice Chair: Mr. Derek Weyman, 7 Palm Court, Rowena Road, Westgate, Kent CT8 8QZ

Telephone: 01843 835696 Hon Sec: Mrs. Ann Tippett, 61 Clockhouse, Ashford TN23 4XF Tel: 01233 611332

Email: angela.tippett@sky.com Hon Treas: Marian Harvey, 14. Winifred Road, Bearsted Maidstone ME15 8NR Tel:01622-630167

Email:john.marian@virgin.net Membership Sec: Mr Owen Piper. 34 Freeman Way, Maidstone ME15 8AR Tel: 01622 204577

Email: owen.kentara@hotmail.co.uk

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