Tim Prater

23
Dec
2020
Light Up Sandgate for Christmas 2020

Light Up Sandgate for Christmas 2020

Thank you to all those local businesses and residents that have taken the time to add a little more sparkle to Sandgate this Christmas!

Our judging panel visited every road in Sandgate on 18th December, and saw hundreds of fantastic decorations. However, in their completely subjective opinion, they awarded prizes too:

The Dog House and the Providence Inne on Sandgate High Street for best business decorations, and a “Commended” to Acula Creations for their window display.

Houses in Highland Close and The Crescent for their residential decorations, and a commended in Wilberforce Road.

And a big well done to Enbrook Valley and Bybrook Field for the joint efforts in both!

Again – thanks to all that have decorated their place in any way, and a very Happy Christmas. You can see more on the Light Up Sandgate for Christmas Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/LightUpSandgate

Posted by Tim Prater in News
21
Dec
2020
Planning Agenda 5-01-2021

Planning Agenda 5-01-2021

Sandgate Parish Council will broadcast this meeting as a video on Facebook live at the time of the meeting itself on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pg/sandgatepc/ Comments made on the Facebook video during the meeting will not be monitored and are not a way of feeding back to the Council.

Members of the public can ask representations regarding an application. Any comments sent to clerk@sandgatepc.org.uk will be sent to all Councillors prior to the meeting and acknowledged by the meeting. If a member of the public would prefer to speak to the application (for up to three minutes) themselves, they can do so by emailing clerk@sandgatepc.org.uk at least 2 working days before the meeting asking to speak to Planning committee, specifying on which application. Members of the public joining a Council meeting to make a representation will be asked to follow the protocol at https://sandgatepc.org.uk/public-speaking-at-online-meetings-of-sandgate-parish-council-protocol/

Planning-Agenda-05-01-21-doc

Posted by Tim Prater in Agenda, Planning
21
Dec
2020
A Christmas Message from Sandgate Parish Council

A Christmas Message from Sandgate Parish Council

I’ve been blown away by our community in 2020. Families shopping for neighbours, people volunteering at Community Hubs, collecting for charity, bringing a little light into people’s life. Local businesses that have adapted so fast to find new ways to survive and serve.

It takes pressure to make diamonds. There’s been such huge pressure, and Sandgate has shone. Thank you all.

I was honoured to be elected as Sandgate Council Chairman in May, succeeding Robert Bliss. We expected he’d be around to give us guidance, and to gently tell me off, for years. Tragically that wasn’t to be, and Robert passed away in August. We all miss him.

Despite the challenges Sandgate has still got things done.

Being the only “locally run” Kent Library allowed us to reopen Sandgate Library in September where many others could not. Although Lockdown 2, and Tier 3, have added challenges, we remain open for click and collect services.

We’ve taken management of Fremantle / Enbrook Valley Park from the District Council, enhanced the maintenance and facilities and shown that bit more TLC.

Our new Sandgate CCTV system, covering our shopping areas and Sandgate Park, is now operational. It should make our already safe area feel even safer.

And through the year, I’ve been humbled that so many people took some time to remember on VE Day, VJ Day and Remembrance Sunday. We did not, and will not, forget.

Thanks to Leonie Wootton and the Sandgate Community Garden team who’ve delivered projects including the Community Garden in Saga’s grounds and planters in Sandgate High Street, Golden Valley parade, Fremantle Park and the Esplanade. I was delighted to deliver to Leonie the KALC Community Award 2020 that she so deserved.

Finally all best wishes for Christmas. Here’s hoping that 2021 brings health, happiness, vaccinations, and time with those we love.

Tim Prater, Chair, Sandgate Parish Council

Posted by Tim Prater in News
20
Dec
2020

Sandgate Community Garden: Update 20 December 2020

The Sandgate Community Garden bee hives at Christmas

Christmas Greetings from Ray and Chris, your friendly beekeepers. 

You may be thinking that this is the time of the year when we are sitting by the fire in our Christmas onesies with a box of chocolates and a glass of fine wine… Well that may be the case but we want to assure you that we are still working hard to ensure our bee colonies remain safe and healthy during the cold, damp winter months.  We now have an opportunity to scour bee books, magazines and catalogues to research ways to improve our techniques and equipment ready for the spring. 

The worker bees (all female) will now have foraged the last of the pollen, mainly Ivy, Rosebay Willowherb and Himalayan Balsam and this has been packed away in the hive to provide a source of protein.   All the male bees (drones) have been expelled from the hive to die, this is because the drones serve no purpose during the winter and are voracious eaters of the precious stores.

The queen has stopped laying eggs and her last brood will live for six months (rather than the usual six weeks) and take the colony through the winter.  In order to do this they have to be well-nourished and free from disease.  The colony should have garnered about 20 kilograms of honey during the late summer for the bees to live on.  All our colonies have been checked and supplemented with a sugar syrup to make doubly sure they have plenty of food.

It may surprise many of you to learn that honey bees do not go into hibernation but remain very busy within the hive.  They will have clustered into a ball around the queen, their duty being to keep her fed, warm and healthy.  Warmth is generated by the presence of the bees themselves but it can be increased by the bees shivering to produce heat.  The bees will each move around from the centre to the outside of the cluster and back again to keep each other warm and to regulate the temperature within the cluster so that the queen is neither too hot nor too cold.

Although it may seem strange, colonies of bees survive better and use less food if the winter temperature stays very cold, between +5 and -18 degrees Celsius.  At higher temperatures the cluster of bees breaks up and their increased activity means the consumption of more stores so the bees need to work harder outside the cluster to keep their temperature above +7 degrees Celsius.  Sometimes the bees will not have enough honey stores or perhaps during an unsettled winter they will become too cold and weak to access their nearby supplies and the colony will unfortunately perish.

It is very important at this time of year not to open the hive unnecessarily so a procedure known as ‘hefting’ is used to estimate the amount of stores inside.  Many beekeepers on Christmas Day quickly open the hive to add extra food, regardless of the hefting process, so that our bees share in our festival of goodwill and also enhance their chances of survival.  The food of choice is called fondant and Ray and I have made our own, not because we are tight fisted but because we can be assured of the purity and integrity of the ingredients.  The resulting fondant is pushed into an open container and placed either directly onto the frames or above the crown board.  The fondant is firmer than honey and is simpler and quicker for them to digest.

Ray and I are still visiting the hives on a more than weekly basis to identify any issues.  This involves checking for damage caused by wild animals (woodpeckers in particular) or damage caused by the weather.  We are also checking for any signs of activity, disease or distress.  On a warm winter’s day, we would expect to see some of the bees flying outside but near to the hive.  They will be busy removing any dead or diseased bees, collecting water or doing what is politely called a ‘cleansing flight.’

Wishing all the Sandgate Community Gardeners a Happy Christmas and a Healthy and Safe New Year.  With love from Ray and Chris xxx

  • Community bee hives
  • Ensuring mixture cools to the critical temperature
  • Ensuring mixture reaches the correct temperature
  • Fondant in container
  • Fondant on crown board
Posted by Tim Prater in Sandgate Community Garden
18
Dec
2020
Environment Agenda 05-01-2021

Environment Agenda 05-01-2021

Sandgate Parish Council will broadcast this meeting as a video on Facebook live at the time of the meeting itself on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pg/sandgatepc/ Comments made on the Facebook video during the meeting will not be monitored and are not a way of feeding back to the Council.

Env-Agenda-1-05-01-21

Posted by Tim Prater in Agenda, Environment
13
Dec
2020

Sandgate Community Garden: Update 13 December 2020

The flat wheelbarrow tyre got fixed with a new inner tube and is up and running again, able to trundle yet more wood chips and compost around the garden.  We still have mulching to do in various places, and by Christmas with any luck, the whole of the garden will have been covered in some sort of mulch.   The squirrels have been making their own mulch from spent acorns from the small oak tree within the garden.  Having eaten the acorn, they drop the debris all over the place, or carry off the acorns and dig holes to bury them in.  They never find all of their buried treasure so no doubt we will be in for a few saplings coming through in the spring.

The snapped tree was very efficiently cut down by the kind Saga gardeners/groundsmen with a chainsaw, and all the debris removed.  We managed to find some of the larger pieces to put around the edge of the pond giving the wildlife some extra cover and hiding places. 

This week we made a start on harvesting some of the Oca, or New Zealand yam.  The Oca was planted way back in April and put in spaces around some new Aronia bushes and just left to get on with it; so a great crop for filling in spare spaces.  The tubers begin to swell from early October and can be harvested from mid-November – ideal for a mild area, as they suffer from hard frosts, but can be grown in pots which can be sheltered.  It will be interesting to find out from the volunteers if they feel the crop is tasty enough to be grown again from spare tubers next year.  It can be eaten raw or cooked like a potato.

The wild garlic patch has appeared again and ready for some harvesting.  During the summer when it retreats underground, the space was overgrown with summer squashes, but now it is back and claiming the space, absolutely brilliant made into a pesto. 

The Park is looking very beautiful with all the lights in some of the trees for the Christmas period and not wishing to be left out we have been having a go at making a few decorations of our own to hang on one of the gates and the oak tree.  The shortest day or winter solstice is just over a week away now, and the garden is dozing, 

What’s next?

  • Will the fleece ever arrive?
  • Continue with the wood chips and mulch
  • Continue to remove old and rotting leaves from around the base of plants
  • Weed spinach tunnel
  • Plant spare lavender
  • Acorn debris made by squirrels
  • Pond edge with cut logs around
  • Roasted Oca
  • Wild garlic patch
  • Christmas decoration
Posted by Tim Prater in Sandgate Community Garden
11
Dec
2020
Stronger Kent Communities: 2021 Training Course and FREE Coaching for Community Groups and Organisations

Stronger Kent Communities: 2021 Training Course and FREE Coaching for Community Groups and Organisations

Interim Stronger Kent Communities CEO, Claire Haffenden, is running the below fundraising sessions. Marketing sessions are run by a variety of Kent-based professionals.

Fundraising

SKC Introduction to Grant Making Trusts: Aimed at beginners; this interactive webinar will introduce you to the theory behind writing a good funding application. Thursday 21 January. £15. Book your place: https://bit.ly/2HzqRmk

SKC Getting Started with Fundraising Planning: This online session looks at how to create a fundraising plan. Thursday 4 February. £15. Book your place: https://bit.ly/2VesNUN

SKC Demonstrating Impact: This online fundraising session will give you the tools to measure your impact more effectively. Thursday 11 February. £15. Book your Place: https://bit.ly/33cQd0Y

Feedback:

“I found the course very informative and have recommended it to others”

“It has taken years for me to have this subject explained so clearly”

“Very informative at an easy to follow pace :)”

Marketing

NEW: SKC Introduction to Social Media: This interactive online session will look at what platforms to use, how to use them and why / what they are good for. It will cover the basics such as hashtags and tagging. It will also look at how to speak to different audiences on your social media platforms, such as funders and beneficiaries. It will focus on facebook, twitter and linked in, but also look at instagram and youtube. Tuesday 9 February. £15. Book your place: https://bit.ly/3722h7w

NEW: Getting Your Stories in The Media online WORKSHOP: Faye Smith is running a follow up to her popular taster training session. During this two-hour workshop, attendees will have a chance to develop story ideas and media pitches for their own organisation and to share ideas. There’s some homework in advance to get the most out of this session. Tuesday 16 February. £15. Book your place: https://bit.ly/3l69wzg

NEW: Taking Photographs to Promote your Organisation: Kent-based photographer, Ed Thompson, will show you practical tips on image capture, thinking about style and branding and permissions – all key elements of promoting your organisation on social media, websites and in the press. A good image sells a story. Photography tips will work for those capturing images on a smart phone, so its something that can be done with minimal equipment. Ed is used to working with the voluntary sector and everyone from staff to volunteers will be encouraged to think about taking photographs to promote their organisation. Tuesday 23 February. £15. Book your place: https://bit.ly/2KwHpwm

NEW: SKC Tips and Tools for Editing and Archiving Promotional Photographs: This interactive webinar will cover editing and archiving photographs so you have promotional images at your fingertips. Editing tips and tools will work for those working with minimal equipment such as a smartphone. Everyone from staff to volunteers will be encouraged to contribute to your archive of photos, images will be easily uploaded and stored – and accessible by those with permission. Tuesday 9 March. £15. Book your place: https://bit.ly/3pZZ3ci

Please note:

If the £15 training fee is prohibitive, then please get in touch and we may be able to help.

Let us know if you were interested in our SOLD OUT free sessions SKC Marketing for Small Organisations, SKC Introduction to Fundraising, SKC Digital Fundraising Forum and we may be able to run them again.
Find out more

Free Coaching

Thanks to The National Lottery Community Fund, we are delighted to provide up to 5 hours of free one-to-one advice from our professional partners to small groups and organisations. This service will be available until the end of March 2021.

Our professional partners are experts on charity registration, business and financial planning, marketing, fundraising and much more. If there is something that you need help with, we will try to match you with an expert who can provide you with the advice and support you require.

Find out more.

The Stronger Kent Communities website has been refreshed and includes information on specialist volunteering, coaching, training and web resources so do take a look https://strongerkentcommunities.org.uk/

Posted by Tim Prater in News