Excerpts from Newsletter No. 24, dated January 2013

The Medway Cruise – Sunday 30th September

The repeat performance of last year’s successful trip on the Allington Belle did not disappoint! The meticulous organization by Mike Handcock paid off and we gathered in good time at the Malta Inn. It was a warm overcast afternoon – ideal for cruising! On embarkation we were welcomed by the proprietors, the Henderson family, who had prepared a tempting spread of sandwiches, scones and cakes, together with tea and coffee. Drinks were also available at the bar for anyone wanting anything a little stronger. Despite an initial hold-up, due to a race by oarsmen from the Maidstone Rowing Club, the trip to East Farleigh Lock and back took about two hours. It was interesting to see Maidstone from a new perspective and see the gardens of the riverside properties. This was both an enjoyable and profitable fundraising event. Marion Attwood.

QuizNite – Saturday 27th October

On a windy night towards the end of October my husband two friends and I made our way to the Village Hall in Bidborough. We were planning to take part in the Quiznite, arranged by the SAKA Committee. Once inside we discovered the gathering was fairly small, but enough to make up 3 teams of four. Mike Handcock was our very able quizmaster, providing questions ranging from the Olympics to Space! We had a break after a while and ate a delicious supper, provided by Lynda Emberson and Marian Attwood. It gave us time to chat and mix with everyone. Amazingly, at the end, my team discovered we had won, by just one point. We were delighted and won some lovely prizes. Everyone who attended had an opportunity to win a prize, because we also had a raffle and there were plenty of nice things from which to choose. All in all, it was a good night out. Our friends are looking forward to the next QuizNite. Why not join us? Val Alldis

Film Show at St. Thomas’ Church Hall – Saturday 10th November

The Film Show was something different. David Ward kindly offered two of the special films from his collection. The first featured Laurel and Hardy and the second was a George Formby classic. During the interval, while David needed to change spools, we held a raffle, organised by committee member Paddy Moran. Donations were also kindly given for the evening and we made in total £108, including the raffle money and entrance fee. It was indeed a social evening and something I feel we will surely do again in the future. It was a truly enjoyable evening and very amusing, bringing back lots of memories for many. Our thanks to David and to Mike Handcock, who organized the refreshments. Lynda Emberson

Christmas Lunch at the Royal Wells Inn – Sunday 2nd December

This was a new venue for us and a very successful one. Our thanks to Brian for organizing it. We had twenty members and guests and the feedback received was all positive. The 3-course menu was excellent and good value for money. We had all the trimmings and an opportunity to chat to other members and guests. Lynda Emberson

Pre Christmas Lunch e-mail via Bert Alldis from our friend TonyWainainah in Africa

Hi Bert. How have you been? How is your dear wife and the children? My family is fine. My last born boy Teddy has grown big and very playful. Bert, you and the S.A.K.A. are now warming up for the annual lunch on Sunday at the Royal Wells Inn. I am sincerely envious of that great occasion. I wish you all a ravenous appetite on that day. Thank you for all the good work you have done in this year and in future. Receive greetings from the good people of Molo. I also wish you all a Merry Xmas and Bright 2013. Tony Wainainah

Lotto Club 2012

Following our splendid Christmas Lunch the diners were invited to retire to the hotel lounge for coffee and it was there that the draws took place to ascertain the five winners of the monthly prizes for the months August to December 2012. Those successful were:-

August No. 2 Bert Alldis won £20

September No. 38 Peter Hayward won £20

October No. 9 Trevor Poile won £20

November No.19 Elaine Lawrence won £20

December No.33 Dr. Jay Hill won £60

Congratulations to all winners in 2012 and grateful thanks to all those who joined the SAKA Lotto Club in what was only its second year. Having 44 members meant we raised £220 towards our projects in Kaniv, distributed “215 in prize money and still had a fiver to put towards the licence we need to be able to run the Lotto Club in 2013. We are properly licenced by Sevenoaks District Council under the Gambling Act of 2005 and have to make a Return to the Council each year. It’s a bit of fun for a membership fee of just £10 for ten months March to December; and it’s best to join early, normally at the Start of the Year Dinner, being held at Café Bliss on Saturday 9th March. Mike Handcock

Visit Ireland

Former Membership Secretary, Mike Bailey, has kept in touch and he and Caroline have a spare bedroom in their bungalow. Tjhey will be pleased to hear from anyone wanting to visit Ireland. The address is: 1 Marfield Gardens, Killagdey, Enniscorthy, County Wexford, Republic of Ireland.

Visitors from Kaniv

This was written by Katia Lyzogub and is presented in the Newsletter exactly as she wrote it.

“The Bridges of Friendship: Kaniv – Southbourne”

From 28th July till the 5th August senior pupils and two teachers-accompaniers from Kaniv visited the settlement of Swattenden in England at the invitation of sister city of Southbourne. Katia Lyzogub, Anna Antonova, Anastasiya Zuhuravel, Olha Velychko, Daryna Bondarenko, Anton Kotliar, Vlad Nalivayko, Oleksandr Gurbych and two accompaniers – the English teacher Iryan Datsenko and the French teacher Svitlana Yakimenko wewnt to the camp for the Olympic games’ celebration and for the sport competitions, which was organized by Regional Office of Youth Kent.
It was started on 28th July. It was hot and sunny in Ukraine. But after a few hours of flight a complete change of climate met us. The sky of England was covered in grey clouds, it was drizzling. But nothing could change our good mood.! Just we got off the plane in the English airport Gatwick the representative of association Southbourne-Kaniv Mike Handcock and Bryan Dobson met us and presented us books of classic English literature. In an hour we went to our comp in the Swattenden Kent County. The staff welcomed us, showed us the territory of our residence, rooms for activities and rest, the dining hall and the Internet-café. Where we could be in touch with our relatives and friends. Young people frm Ukraine, Russia, Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Slovenia, England, Germany, Finland, South Korea, Czech Republic, Luxembourg, Austria, Liechtenstein and Sweden visited the camp. It was a great opportunity to learn about the culture, customs of others nations, to learn simple words in different languages. At the opening ceremony we got acquainted with the staff and strict camp rules: we had to go to bed at 11pm. And get up at 7am. We had to go to the competitions and activities in time and it was obligatory to participate in all games. No alcohol, smoking – only in designated areas. The whole day is in strict regulations, which we had to follow, every evening – interesting events or concerts. But we didn’t lack fun – we spent time with benefit and pleasure! Soon, we went to the Bewl Water for sport activities. Canoeing, funny games on the water, mountain biking around the picturesque lake. Unforgettable impression! The next day was named as Sports Day. Volleyball, climbing the wall, basketball challenge, archery mix-it-up. An intensive program and only short breaks for the rest. Evening entertainments were no less exciting – we learned how to play ingomas – drums without drumsticks, which have cylindrical shape. What a fantastic sound when more than 100 palms beat the rhythm of the same melody! The fifth day we spent in London. Trafalgar Square, Big Ben, London eye, National Gallery, Queen Victoria Memorial, Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace and Changing the guard near it, Covent Garden, South Bank street artists, famous London cabs, red telephone boxes and red buses for tourists will never be forgotten! On the sixth day we plunged in art: we made different bracelets with the inscriptions for each other, made a small copy of the Earth with all members of the camp, painted and designed own photos. However, it was not done without extreme: we climbed the high ropes, practiced Low Zipline and Postman’s Walk. Next day we visited Rochester, incredibly beautiful town. Narrow streets, which are decorated witht flowers and bright signboards of small shops impressed us by their beauty and diversity of colour. And now = the last day of our huge adventure. But there was not time to be relaxed or sad! From the morning and till the evening funny competitions, which were called “It’s a Knockout!” were held between the teams of the whole camp – and these are 240 people! 24 commands fought for the first places. Creative games, competitions and activities now and then were interrupted by short-term rain, after which the sun was shining brightly again. And in the evening all members of the camp gathered together at the clothing ceremony. We exchanged with presents, addresse, hopes, wishes, thoughts with our new friends from the shared one tent. And we had to say goodbye to our English curators – Philipa and Ben, who were like mom and dad during these short eight days. And of course, it was the saddest moment to say goodbye to our friends: Kathie, Molly and Ryan from England, Rosa and Ebi from Finland and to the whole team from Russia, with whom we really “found the common language”. Next morning with the suitcases, unforgettable impressions, with undisguised sadness we left Swattenden Center. Already accustomed to life in the tents, to the busy day regimen, to strictEnglish discipline and to cold climate we returned home to our native Ukraine. Kent Global Camp 2012 – we are really missing you. Katia Lyzogub