Excerpts from Newsletter No. 23, dated August 2012

Dates for your diary

The Medway Cruise on the Allington Belle will set sail from The Malta Inn, Allington at 1.30pm on Sunday 30th September.

A Quiz Night will be held at Bidborough Village Hall at 7.30pm on Saturday 27th October.

A Beetle Drive will be held at The Arc, Gallards Almshouses, Southborough at 7pm on Friday 23rd November.

The Christmas Lunch will be held at the Royal Wells Inn, Tunbridge Wells at 12.30pm on Sunday 2nd December.

Obituary – Ian Hughes Hinton

It is with sadness that we have to display yet another obituary within the pages of our Newsletter. Ian was known to many of us. At Easter, he and his family were involved in an awful road accident, to which reference was made in our last edition. He survived for six weeks under the care of both Glasgow and Tunbridge Wells Hospitals and finally succumbed to his injuries.
Ian was born in Eltham and was educated at Eltham College and Tonbridge School. He graduated from Oxford University and was later called to the Bar. He worked for a time on the editorial staff of The Times and then became a lecturer at Kingston University, but it was the sea that was always in his blood. He rose to Lt. Commander in the Royal Navy Reserve and was awarded the Volunteer Reserve Decoration. As an ardent sailor himself, he thrived on teaching others the skills of seamanship, especially with the London Sailing Project “making young lads sick for a week!” But it was as a family man, a father and grandfather (of eleven grandchildren) that he will be remembered, as well as someone who has played an active part in local charities as well as in his home village of Bidborough. He was a Reader in the local church and his spiritual side made him a person of great compassion, as well of endearing wisdom. He was also a very amusing man, revelling in a good joke and often chuckling at the surreal side of life. Taking into account his popularity, it was no surprise that Bidborough Church was packed out at his funeral, with many people standing outside the church listening to the service on the relay system. He now rests at Bidborough Churchyard.
His sort of compassion and generosity led him to join SAKA and he and Rosemary attended our various meetings and events when they could, bearing in mind that in later life Ian was suffering from painful disabilities. I and so many – whether in SAKA, Bidborough or the wider community – will miss him enormously and will count it a great privilege to have known this lovely, remarkable man.

Michael Lee

The Medway Cruise – Sunday 30th September 1.30-3.30pm from The Malta Inn, Allington ME14 3AS

£18 per adult and £10 per child, including light lunch.
“Of all the events we held last year, the most enjoyable was the cruise on the Allington Belle along the River Medway. It was so relaxing to travel along Kent’s premier river at a gentle unhurried pace, enjoying the riverside properties, gardens, the dozens of boats tied up along the banks, the bird life and the pleasant company of good friends. The delicious tea provided was much appreciated and excellent value – and the bar remained open!” –

Mike Hancock

Congratulations to SAKA members Farah and Nasir Jamil

Nasir and Farah were blessed with a baby daughter, Minal, on 17th June. As you know, Farah and Nasir hail from Pakistan. There is an Islamic tradition for the parents, in celebration, to shave the hair from the baby’s head after seven days, weigh it and donate the equivalent weight in gold as a zakat, a charitable donation to the poor. The ceremony resulted in £200 being duly sent to Nasir’s father to distribute amongst the poor in Farah and Nasir’s home village of Jalal Abad. Following another tradition, Aqeegah, within seven days Nasir’s father sacrificed a goat, the meat of which was distributed amongst the poor. Minal was appropriately born on Father’s Day. On starting school, Minal will, of course, automatically become a family member of SAKA.
Who else can claim to come from a town or village named after a relative? Jalal Abad was named after Nasir’s grandfather, Jalal Din, who was Finance Minister in the State of Bahawalpur before the partition of India.



More than one winner of Euro 2012!

So at last, The European Cup Football Tournament is over and Spain won! But what of the host countries, Poland and Ukraine, who received such a bad press before the tournament began. Did they come out of it as winners or losers?
The only disturbing incident I can recall was a clash between Russian and Polish supporters, when the two teams played each other and that could hardly be attributed to negligence on the part of the Polish Authorities. There were also some firecrackers thrown onto the pitch by one group of spectators, but the stadium stewards seemed to have dealt with this calmly and efficiently. Certainly no blame could be attached to the host country. In fact, it appears that those who attended the matches and visited both countries were treated with politeness and consideration throughout. Those who ventured into the towns and countryside liked what they saw and enjoyed the hospitality of the local people.
I hope those who visited Ukraine will wish to return in the future and get to know it better. It was a shame that the European dignitaries - who decided not to attend the tournament due to the imprisonment of the opposition leader, Yulia Tymoshenko – denied themselves the opportunity of learning more about the country and meeting some of its people. Tymoshenko herself made it quite clear that she did not want them to stay away. In an article to the Guardian newspaper, the Ambassador of Ukraine, Volodomyr Khandogiy, responded to the hostility of some of the press coverage prior to the start of the tournament. He wrote:
“My countrymen are looking forward to show our openness and hospitality to the World. Recent allegations about racial intolerance in Ukraine are scaremongering. Boycotting the Euros or Olympics would take us back to the times of the Cold War. We are not perfect, but nobody is. So instead of puzzling over finding ways to punish, it might be better to look for ideas how to help”, -I agree with His Excellency
I remember how dubious I was when I first visited Ukraine in September 2003, but being met at Borispol International Airport near Kiev with kisses, hugs and bouquets of flowers set things off to a good start and the four of us were treated throughout our stay with generous hospitality and great kindness wherever we went. No wonder I have been so often and am confident of encouraging SAKA members to visit Ukraine.
The magnificent capital of Kiev, where the final of the tournament took place, is thought of as “The Heart of Ukraine” and our friendship town of Kaniv is considered to be “The Soul of Ukraine”. I have stayed in both and rejoice that I have had the opportunity to do so. There are many other parts of this vast country I would like to have seen, but my chances of doing so are now pretty remote, so I must be grateful for past pleasures, happy memories and the many friendships made over the years since that first visit.
Despite the scare stories before the event, I believe the host countries did extremely well for their visitors. So yes, Ukraine and Poland too were, in my opinion, winners during the major football tournament of 2012.

Mike Handcock, Chairman

The Garden Friendship Afternoons in May and June

We did things slightly differently this year. Instead of having three or four gardens to visit in one day, we visited one garden each over four consecutive weekends. The first of these was Mike and Rhona Handcock’s garden in Bidborough on Saturday 12th May, followed by David Ward’s garden, also in Bidborough, on Saturday 19th. On Saturday 26th we were in Southborough at the garden of Bert and Val Alldis. On each Saturday the weather was lovely. Keith and Lynda Emberson opened their garden on the garden in the Broadwater area of Tunbridge Wells on Sunday 3rd June, the day of the Queen’s Jubilee River Pageant. As everyone will recall it rained most odf the day and therefore much of the time had to be spent indoors, but we all braved the weather for a photo! It was agreed that Val and Bert should receive recognition for their hard work and they were awarded the trophy for Best Garden. Lynda Emberson
Over the four week period £158.56 was raised to boost our funds. Altogether it was a very worthwhile activity, thanks to all our hosts and to those who visited one or more of the gardens, enjoying very pleasant surroundings and good company. Mike Handcock

Coffee Morning on Sunday 22nd July and the Lotto Club Draw

A most enjoyable social occasion hosted by Lynda and Keith Emberson at their home in Tunbridge Wells. As always the food and drink was delicious and it was pleasant enough to sit in the garden, chat and take part in a raffle.
The first set of draws took place in this year’s Lotto Club and an amazing thing happened. The promoter is always careful to ensure the cards with the members’ numbers are firmly held with the numbers face down. After each draw the winning card is returned to the pack and the pack is then shuffled. Our President, Jacqui Jedrzejewski drew the first number and then others present took turns to draw the next four winners and this is what happened:
March – winning number 22, Michael Lee
April – winning number 22, Michael Lee
May – winning number 3, Arthur Angel
June – winning number 1, Val Alldis
July – winning number 22, Michael Lee.
Thanks to all those who have joined the club so far. There are Thirty-nine Lotto Club members so far. If you would like to be in with a chance for the five months from August to December, please send in your application by Wednesday, 31st October latest! We do know that the December prize will be at least £50 and the draw will take place after the Christmas lunch.

Updating our website

Negotiations are in progress and it is hoped to be announced very soon that we have a local company sponsoring our website.
We are constantly keeping our eyes open for more interesting items about Southborough and Kaniv to include in the website. In recent months, pages have been added for Barnetts Wood, the Botticelli copy at St. Thomas’ Church and the memorial in St. Matthew’s Church to the HMS Hythe WWI disaster, Southborough and High Brooms’ worst wartime tragedy. Updates have been made to the pages for the Colebrook Viaduct, St. Peter’s Church, Southborough Common, David Salomons’ House and the C.J. Gallard Almshouses.. We are currently researching Bidborough and keeping our eyes on the planned siting by the Southborough Society of green plaques outside the homes of prominent former citizens. More information has been received from Kaniv, but it has not been easy translating from the Ukrainian originals. Take a look at the Southborough Gallery right now! Brian Dobson

Membership matters

We are pleased to welcome David Marriott to membership and hope he will be able to take part in the remaining activities we are planning for 2012.
Unfortunately Keith Bridgland is no longer able to continue his membership. Sadly his eye problems have meant he has had to give up driving and he lives out in Hawkhurst. Taking part in activities, as he would like to, has become very difficult, so it is a sensible decision to resign, but if he moves back this wa, he will rejoin. He sends his best wishes. We will miss him and wish him well in the future.
Membership currently stands at 66.

Supplement to Newsletter 23

More on the Behaviour of Football Fans



Mike Handcock shared with me his article on the UEFA 2012 Football Championship. I too was saddened by reports of alleged football violence in Ukraine, which I could not believe. From the autumn of 1999 until January 2002 I worked in Kiev and regularly attended football matches. Not once did I see the slightest sign of violence. Indeed the Ukrainians showed me something our own football crowds come nowhere near to matching for sportsmanship.
Towards the end of the season 2000-2001 Dynamo Kiev played at home to Shakhtar Donetsk, at a time when both teams were contesting the league championship. So many people wanted to see the match, that it was transferred from Dynamo’s 16,000 capacity stadium to the 85,000 capacity Olympic Stadium in Kiev. 25,000 fans from Donetsk travelled to Kiev by coach, a distance equivalent to that between London and Edinburgh, to see the match. Most Dynamo fans were seated in the main stand and all around the lower tier surrounding the pitch to create a sea of blue, while the Shakhtar fans were seated above them in the upper tier, a solid block of orange. Shakhtar won the match 2:1. At the final whistle the Dynamo fans stood up, looked towards the upper tier and burst into applause. The Shakhtar fans responded likewise.



In our media in Britain, during the 2012 Euro Championship, the role of the media in provoking violence between the Polish and the Russian fans was not reported. Take a look at the front page of the pre-match Polish edition of Newsweek. It reads “Poland-Russia. Battle of Warsaw 2012. Why in matches with Russia it is not just football.” The illustration has been mocked up to show Polish trainer Franciszek Smuda dressed in a Polish officer’s uniform, circa WWII. Remember that in 1940 Josef Stalin ordered all prisoners-of-war officers of the Polish Army to be taken to the Katyn Forest near Smolensk and be executed. Is it any wonder that emotions were running high?

Brian Dobson

Excerpts from Newsletter No. 22, dated April 2012

Date for your diaries
The series of Garden Friendship Days, running throughout May, will end with the fourth to be held at the home of Lynda Emberson on Sunday 3rd June, 2.30 – 4.30.

A Coffee Morning will be held from 10am-noon on Sunday 22nd July at the home of Lynda Emberson

Obituary – Hilary Clements
Although afflicted by ill health throughout virtually the whole of her adult life, Hilary Clements was one of the most cheerful people one could ever hope to meet. It was a joy to be in her company and a great sadness to learn of her death on 15th February at the early age of 59 years. She had a wide circle of friends, despite the difficulties she encountered due to mobility problems and numerous weeks spent in various hospitals. It was no surprise therefore that her funeral was attended by some two hundred people, many of whom had travelled a considerable distance in order to be there to say their farewells to a remarkable, much loved, greatly admired lady and to support her dear mother, Dorothy, who has lost not only a beloved daughter but a best friend and wonderful companion. Hilary and Dorothy joined SAKA soon after its formation and, although unable to attend many events, they have been loyal, generous members throughout, always keen to be kept informed of our activities. Our warm friendship with Dorothy will continue just as our memory of Hilary will forever remain one of gratitude, that we were fortunate enough to know her.
Mike Handcock, Chairman.

The Hinton Family – Sam deserves a medal!
Whilst on holiday in Scotland recently, the Hintons were involved in a horrendous road accident, when the vehicle, in which they were travelling, skidded on an icy road and plunged into a loch. For some time they were trapped, with poor Ian under water. However grandson Sam instructed by his mother, Rebecca, managed to hold Ian’s head above water. When they managed to get free, Ian was helped out of the icy water and swiftly taken to hospital, where he spent several days in intensive care. Thankfully he is recovering, as are the rest of his family. Well done Sam, who, despite his own injuries, did a wonderful job in helping to save his Grandad’s life.
Mike Handcock, Chairman.

A Message from Our New President, Jacqui Jedrzejewski
As you will see from this edition of the Newsletter, it has been a very active last few months, the highlights being our AGM and our “Start of the Year Dinner”. It was my great pleasure to be selected as your new President at the AGM and I very much hope to be able to continue to champion the SAKA twinning activities and fundraising events over the next twelve months. Being the current Town Mayor, as well as a Councillor, I hope to be able to raise the profile of SAKA and meet as many of you as I can over the coming months ahead. Of course my acceptance of the role is bittersweet, given that the vacancy was due to the sad passing of Councillor Peter Crawford. I would like to take this opportunity to pay my respects to Peter, who did so much for our Association and was such a keen supporter. You will all know by now, to our great regret, that he died suddenly at home in January. I am passionate about twinning and enabling communities from different countries to establish a link which enables the citizens of both those communities to get to know each other. The aim is, quite simply, to let people discover what life is like in the twin town; how the people live, work and play. The building of individual friendships and shared experiences plays a vital part in better overall international relations and highlights how we can help support each other. I am keen to widen our base of supporters in the area and want to try and establish a list of residents in and around Tunbridge Wells, who were perhaps born or have lived in Ukraine. I am sure, that, if we can locate them, they will be interested in joining SAKA. I would also like to personally thank all the committee members for the continued enthusiasm and hard work in keeping the Association going and for all that they do. They are the driving force behind all the activities we get to enjoy and frequently give many hours of their own time to this good cause.
Jacqui Jedrzejewski.

The annual “Start of the Year” Dinner
A reasonably-priced three-course meal with three choices was offered by a hard-working team. It was a social occasion, which was well supported by members and guests, and included our newly elected President. Despite her injured right elbow, Cllr. Jacqui Jedrzejewski, the Mayor of Southborough, managed to attend and enjoyed the occasion, as we all did. Our congratulations to Elaine Lawrence, whose idea and ambition it was to provide a community facility for the people of Southborough and High Brooms to enjoy. Bliss Café is much more than a place to eat. There is a well-used billiard table, a room upstairs where meetings can be held and a toddlers’ playpen. Well done Elaine as once again you did us proud. Keep up the good work! Thank you!

Contact with Friends in Molo
Good neighbours of mine, Val and Tony Fitzpatrick, have recently visited Molo in Kenya, so I had the opportunity of sending with them a letter for Anthony Wainainah, whom we met with his colleague Stephen Ikenye, when they joined us for a Christmas lunch at the Abergavenny Arms in 2010. They have kept in touch since and Bert has emailed to them our newsletters. So I was delighted to receive letters from both our friends, when Val and Tony returned home. This is what Anthony wrote and I would like to share it with you.:-

Dear Mike,
I too couldn’t miss this wonderful opportunity to salute all of you good S.A.K.A. friends. I must admit I was elated to receive the letter thru’ Val and Fitz! We are all good friends and God loves us ALL.
The week has been busy, dusty and dry! Val and Tony have been around. They have been having good times with the community. God willing, you will also have the chance to come and visit us.
Thank you for your prayers, which were helpful, and continue praying; and we will also keep praying for all of you.
We will continue communicating through the emails. Tell the S.A.K.A. members to keep up the good work they are doing for the community. God bless them all. I’ll e-mail soon.
Bye to you all,
Tony Wainainah

I also received an interesting letter from Stephen – thanks to them both. Whilst it would be great to visit Molo, I think it unlikely for me. A number of us showed support for our Kenyan friends by attending the Nairobi Chamber Chorus Concert at Salomons. The Choir is performing at Windsor Castle in the Queen’s Jubilee Pageant.
Mike Handcock, Chairman.

The Annual General Meeting, 18th February 2012, at Gallards
Sadly our Chairman, Mike Handcock, had to start the proceedings by acknowledging the deaths of our former President, Councillor Peter Crawford, who died on the 21st January, and also Bob Constable, Pat Heywood-Young and most recently, on 15th February, of Hilary Clements. Members stood for one minute’s silence in memory of those four loyal and generous friends, who are much missed. Reports were then received from the Chairman Secretary and Treasurer. These were duly approved. Copies are available on request from the Secretary. Councillor Jacqui Jedrzejewski, Mayor of Southborough, joined us last May and agreed to become our new President until her term of office ends twelve months later. She has now confirmed her willingness to continue beyond then, a decision about which we are very pleased. Jacqui presided over the election of the Committee, at which the existing members were re-elected for another year. A very interesting illustrated talk was given by Brenda Greenwood about the excellent work the charity “Hope Now” is carrying out in Cherkassy, which is the main city of the region in which Kaniv is situated. This made a very pleasant ending for the 24 people present and our thanks go to Barbara and Phil & Vera Sandford. Phil and Vera are local members of “Hope Now” and arranged for Brenda to be our speaker.

Keep an Eye on the Website!
Work is in progress to add some new pages to the website. In addition we shall be adding new photographs to some of the existing pages.

Global Camp 2012, Cranbrook, 28th July – 5th August
Following the success of Euro Camp 2010 the Kent Youth Service is organising another such event this summer at Swattenden, near Cranbrook. Iryna Datsenko and Svitlana Yakymenko, who both teach at School No. 6 in Kaniv, will lead the group from Ukraine. Some of the youngsters in the group have attended previously and Iryna has been a welcome visitor to Southborough on four occasions. She speaks and understands English very well and it will be great to see her again. Svitlana is fluent in French, superb on the dancefloor (where language skills do not matter at all) and her English is improving. We have no plans to host our friends as we did in 2010, but it is hoped that some provision can be made for those members, who wish to meet them.

Membership Update
We now have 67 members, of whom 34 have already renewed their membership, and five have standing orders to renew on specific dates during the year. At the AGM it was agreed that we would retain the cost of membership at the same rate as last year: £4 per adult or £7 for a family membership. May we please issue a gentle reminder to those intending to renew.

Lotto Club 2012

Excerpts from Newsletter No. 21, dated February 2012

Date for your diaries
Start of Our Year Dinner, Saturday 17th March at 7.30pm
This popular annual event will be held once again at Café Bliss, 142 London Road, Southborough.

Excerpts from Newsletter No. 21, dated February 2012
S.A.K.A. Quiz Nite – Saturday 12th November 2011
Our third annual Quiz, held at The Day Centre Hall, Christchurch, Southborough, was a very pleasant occasion with five teams contesting a very close competition to become Champions. Five testing rounds of questions finally resulted in a win for the team consisting of Bob & Colette Marsh and Alain Lewis. Well done, also to both Lynda Emberson and Marian Attwood and her husband Chris, who provided everyone participating with a delicious Ploughman’s Supper, plus extras. A splendid team-effort, which also involved them in shopping for the food beforehand and clearing everything away carefully afterwards to ensure that our deposit cheque was returned to us uncashed. We were also grateful to Peter Jervis of Downinghbury Farm, Pembury, who kindly donated a generous number of his tasty desert apples once again. Altogether, it was a pleasant occasion and good value for the £6.50 it cost each person attending. Our thanks go to the Church authority for allowing us once more to use the venue.

Christmas Lunch Saturday 3rd December 2011
Rather disappointingly only eight people attended the lunch held at The Abergavenny Arms at Frant. As we tried to organise it we became aware that a Saturday just before Christmas when shopping and other festive commitments are on peoples minds is probably not the best time to try and organise such an event. In 2010 it was held on the first Sunday of the month and was much better attended, but the Abergavenny Arms had decided this time not to make the Sunday available. However, those who did attend had a very nice meal in good company so it was enjoyable and a pleasant start to the Festive Season.

Visiting Kaniv in 2012
In our last Newsletter (No. 20), which is still included below, we reported that it is hoped to gain sufficient support amongst our members to arrange a group visit to Kaniv in 2012. September would appear to be an ideal month for such a trip, when both “The Day of Knowledge” and “The Day of Kaniv” are celebrated against a colourful backdrop provided by Mother Nature as she provides her traditional Autumn splendour. Read again the letter from Alina Kharchenko entitled “The Day of Kaniv is our Local Holiday” and the detailed article on how to enjoy “A visit to Kaniv in 2012”. Under the “Kaniv” section of this website you will find details of all the many interesting attractions to be seen in and around Kaniv. We are invited to stay with our Kanivian friends in their homes. It offers a unique opportunity to sample the Ukranian way of life and enjoy the warmth of affectionate Ukrainian hospitality. To express your possible interest in visiting Kaniv in September, please contact our Chairman, Mike Handcock.

SAKA Lotto Club 2011
Final draw on Saturday 3rd December
After the Christmas Lunch the Draw was made to discover who the winners were for the last five months of the year:-
August Vanessa Andrew
September Shirin Hague
October Jacqui Jedrzejewski
November Peter Hayward
Each won £15.50
December Tom Rusbridge
The Top prize of £45.50
CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OUR WINNERS IN THIS THE FIRST YEAR OF THE LOTTO CLUB!

Thirty-six people joined the Club which means that £180 was paid out in prize money whilst the other £180 went to S.A.K.A. funds to help towards our small projects in Kaniv as agreed at last year’s A.G.M. Certainly we didn’t raise as much money as we have done in past years, when we held a Grand Draw, but circumstances have changed and it was the right decision – again agreed at the 2011 A.G.M., to set-up the Lotto Club. The Licensing Authority is happy for us to have a Lotto Club 2012 and as the Committee supported the idea for the final decision to be taken at this year’s Annual General Meeting. Thanks to everyone who took out membership of the Club in its first year.

Secretary’s Report
Another year has passed and we have once more achieved what has seemed at times like the impossible. Thankfully I have had some additional help from Marian Attwood to become Assistant Secretary. Her help has been much appreciated these last few months. Again it has been an eventful year with Our Annual Dinner, a very successful River Cruise, Afternoon Tea, Cabaret, QuizNite and a Christmas Lunch to mention a few. Some have been more successful than others but they all take valuable time to organise and much of this has been done by your Chairman – Mike Handcock. In addition Mike has introduced the Lotto Club which has been a great success in raising additional funds for SAKA, but has also produced additional work. We hope he will be able to continue with this in the future. I would like personally to thank other members of the Committee for their contributions, their time in particular and their patience when I have not produced something that has been requested on time. Bob Constable died suddenly last March. He had attended the Dinner a week earlier, so it was a great shock to us all. I didn’t know Pat Heywood-Young personally, but I did get to know Peter Crawford – our late President, a very generous man, who came to my house for our Coffee Morning event last Summer. My thanks to Jacqui Jedrzejewski, who stepped in to act as President. We said farewell to Mike Bailey who moved to Ireland earlier this year and had done a grand job as Membership Secretary, we wish him well in the future, and hope he keeps in contact with us all. I stood in as acting Membership Secretary until someone could be found to replace him. I have told the Committee that I am willing to stand as Secretary for the coming year while Mike Handcock is our Chairman if no one else comes forward. However this might be a good time to think about the organisation’s future as my work and family commitments are increasing and I will not be able to continue in my present role indefinitely. We need fresh ideas and more Committee members so please consider joining the Committee.
Lynda Emberson

Cabaret Evening – Saturday 1st October
This turned out to be a successful evening although attendance was low. The young String Quartet did amazingly well and has been asked to entertain other local organisations since. Colette Marsh managed to put together some songs and sketches which were well received and included not only an amusing sketch from Colette but also contributions from Mike Handcock, David Ward and Val Davis. Mary Cottle sang beautifully (as always) and it was good to have her as a guest for the second year running. We changed the venue for this event this year to St. Thomas’s Church Hall in Pennington Road and I think I can speak for all those that attended that the venue was ideal for our needs. I am sure we will be planning a similar event for this year. Do make sure you come along and see the talent that we have in our community. Well done to all of you who took part.

Newsletter Support
If you know of anyone who would be willing to support us by advertising in our Newsletter we would like to hear from them. A new printer is required in the future to support the volume of work created by our success.

Tee-Shirt Orders
Summer is coming and white shirts can be ordered with our SAKA logo in a range of sizes priced at approximately £15.00 depending on the volume of orders. Please contact Lynda Emberson for further details.

Membership Report
Welcome to our newest members for the year 2011/2012:-
Mrs Anne Newman
Mr Christopher Attwood
Mrs Chris Day
Cllr. Alain & Mrs Katherine Lewis
Steve & Beverly Henderson

Obituaries
Pat Heywood-Young
It was with sadness that we learnt of the death of Miss Pat Heywood-Young who had been a member of our Association since its early days. Although Pat was not able to be an active member she regularly renewed her membership because she supported the aims of the Association and liked to be kept informed of our activities. She was also a member of SHDOFA and served on their Committee for many years being largely responsible for organising their very successful raffles.Pat was one of a small group who met on a regular basis to improve their French conversation ability and it was always a pleasure to go to her home in Pembury for the lessons as she provided excellent, home-made refreshments. She was a member of the Women in Harmony Choir and a kindly neighbour for ever attending to the needs of those who lived nearby. When we learnt she was terminally ill we took flowers and a card to her home and though not in she was soon on the phone to the Chairman to thank us for the offer of help and, “The beautiful bouquet of flowers very much appreciated”. She is much missed, a lovely lady and a true friend

Our President – Peter Crawford
Peter became our President in 2010 and it was with great sorrow that we learnt of his death as January drew towards its close. He made a good recovery from the illness he experienced last Autumn, was back working hard for the people of Broadwater Ward which he had served for 10 years as a Borough Councillor. An ex-Serviceman, come rain or shine, he travelled into Tunbridge Wells to collect for the Poppy Appeal at Central Station. He must have raised thousands of pounds over his years of endeavour. For an active person it must have been particularly frustrating when he became an amputee but he coped magnificently and didn’t grumble! For SAKA he was a good President and loyal supporter helping out in anyway he could. He will be sorely missed but not forgotten. We have sent our condolences to his family.

Committee Members 2011
Chairman and Events Organiser Mike Handcock
Vice Chair Bob Marsh
Treasurer Bert Alldis
Secretary and Newsletter Editor Lynda Emberson
Membership Secretary on retirement of Mike Bailey Lynda Emberson
Assistant Secretary Marian Attwood
Publicity/ Website Editor Brian Dobson
Committee Members Patrick Moran and Trevor Poile
We would also like to acknowledge the work taken on by James Muir who is the webmaster of the website

Happy New Year