OTFORD Evening WI meet at 7.30pm tonight, February 13, in the Club Room of the Memorial Hall to hear Brian Nobbs talk about gardening for wildlife. Visitors are very welcome to join them and if you need more information please contact their President 01959 524831. OTFORD Oast WI. The next meeting will be held at 9.30am on Thursday February 20 in the Memorial Hall. A talk will be given by Caroline Alexander on The History of Ladybird Books. New members are welcome, the first meeting is free. For further information email otfordoastwi@mail.com. IF you have been a member of Rainbows, Brownies, Guides, Rangers, or the Trefoil Guild then you are invited to join Girl Guides and Girl Scouts around the world to celebrate World Thinking Day on February 22. This is a day to connect with worldwide sisters and enjoy being part of an organisation with 10 million global members. Kemsing and Otford District will be marking the day on Saturday February 22 with the girls doing a local walk finishing at Otford village green where the WAGGGS (World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scout) flag will be flying. You are invited to go along and join them at 11.5am on The Green when they will be renewing their Girlguiding promise. They would love to see you, or follow them on social media using the hashtags #WTD2020 #Our Hands. FAIR Feast 2020 is on Shrove Tuesday February 25 between 7.30 - 9.30pm. As many of you will know Fair Feast is held at Otford Methodist Church and consists of pancakes and other refreshments and a quiz, with prizes for those on the winning table. Admission is by ticket (£7, students £3.50). All ticket receipts and any donations are given through All We Can, the Methodist relief fund, to support work in an area of great need. This year, All We Can suggest that the money raised by Fair Feast 2020 will be used to support communities in Ethiopia which have been affected by their rapidly changing climate making it increasingly difficult to grow crops and earn a living. All We Can are supporting vulnerable families in those communities with crops that are better adapted to the climate, as well as arranging, as necessary, training in farming and business management. Tickets are £7 or £3.50 for students, and they may be bought now, although payment need not be made until the night. Tables seat 8 people but everyone is welcome and reservations may be made for any number from one upwards. To reserve places contact Glan Cable 01732 457842 glen-chris.cable@sky.com. OTFORD Traffic Plans public consultation was extended by two weeks finishing on Sunday January 26. The consultation was an opportunity for you to view the detail on the traffic measures and comment before the final plans are drawn up and finalised. The consultation period was extended as a result of some villagers being unaware of this project although it has been extensively advertised both in this column, on the web, and in the Parish Council monthly Newsletter. Notices have also been posted through letter boxes throughout the village in an attempt to keep everyone up-to-date on the Parish Councils future traffic plans. The Parish Council office is open 8.30 to 12.00 noon Monday to Friday and can be contacted at 21 High Street, 01959 524808, clerk@otfordpc.co.uk. To view the full set of results and graphs for each road and traffic measure visit Otford Parish Council Website at: www.otfordpc.kentparishes.gov.uk and select 'Traffic Management' or contact the Parish Office for a paper copy. TONBRIDGE & Malling Ramblers offer a short walk around Knole Park on Wednesday March 15 starting at 11a.m. Meet and park in the main Knole NT car park, £5 for non-members car share if possible (TN15 0RP, TQ538543). Good paths and tracks. Followed by lunch or coffee in the National Trust cafe. Toilets near the start. Dogs on short leads. This is a circular walk with an estimated finish time of 12:30. Contact: June, 01732 220477 07850 562527. THE 1940s Society and the Otford and District Historical Society would like to hear your Otford memories and family connections to the Second World War. Rather like the ‘Poppies around the Pond’ in 2018 that sought to honour the Fallen from the First World War, they are trying to find out as much information as possible about those from the village who fought during the Second World War. Eight Otford men sacrificed their lives, and they would like to know more about each man’s story. However, they also seek to highlight all those from the village who entered the Forces and ‘did their bit’ – where all too frequently that ‘bit’ involved incredible tenacity and bravery. Their individual stories deserve to be told on ‘VE Day 75’ and preserved for future generations. So if you know of, or are related to, a service man with local connections they would love you to get in touch with them. Similarly, they would like to hear about the whole ‘sweep’ of the conflict as it impacted locally – not just those in the forces, but also the hard-working men and women who kept the war-factories open, the hospitals operational and our local farms running throughout the years of turmoil. Was your dad or uncle an ARP wardens, a police officers, a firemen, or in the Home Guard? Perhaps your mum or aunt was a ‘Land Girl’, or you remember the war through the eyes of a child, or as an evacuee.... all such reminiscences tell a story, and Otford wants to hear them . If you think you have a story to tell, please leave your name and contact details at the Parish Office (in the Heritage Centre next to the village school) and they will get in touch.
