{"id":2438,"date":"2025-02-16T18:42:40","date_gmt":"2025-02-16T18:42:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kingsdownconservation.co.uk\/?p=2438"},"modified":"2026-01-15T11:47:49","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T11:47:49","slug":"latest-newsletter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kingsdownconservation.co.uk\/?p=2438","title":{"rendered":"February Newsletter"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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February 2025<\/h1>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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\u00a0On 3 Feb we were vastly entertained by Brian Laverick-Smith\u2019s talk \u201930 Years of Bother on the Hover: A pilot\u2019s-eye view of operating the world\u2019s largest hovercraft out of Dover.\u2019 <\/em>He illustrated this with photos and videos of this extraordinary vessel, which many of us remember from trips across the choppy seas of the Channel (appropriately enough, he included a snapshot of a sick-bag). The hovercraft could land anywhere, and we saw photos of its arrival on a French beach, much to the surprise of sunbathers.<\/p>

His light-hearted talk described the various celebrities (Richard Burton) and royalty (Princess Margaret, Lord Mountbatten) who came on board, and how the chief navigating officer once got locked in the toilet, finally released by a human battering-ram of crew members.\u00a0 He also showed us a film clip of a legendary trip to the Goodwin Sands, and much more.<\/p>

And he talked us through the evolution of this bizarre amphibious craft. People had been trying to develop such a vessel for many years, though the one we recognize was launched in the early 1960s and remained in operation until 2000, when it was discontinued due to the competition from the ferries, from the Chunnel, the EU abolition of duty-free and general public apathy. There\u2019s only one route left, between the Isle of Wight and Southsea.<\/p>

All in all, huge fun.<\/p>

Dates for your diaries:<\/strong><\/h4>

23rd March, our regular Beach Clean.<\/strong> Meet outside the Zetland at 10am, to register. We\u2019ll supply bin bags, gloves and litterpicking sticks. Wear suitable clothing and sturdy footwear \u2013 and no unaccompanied children are allowed.<\/p>

1st<\/sup> April we\u2019re off to Stodmarsh Nature Reserve <\/strong>(note the change of date). Those of you who came on the beaver-spotting boat trip\u00a0 – and indeed anyone who\u2019s been \u2013 knows what a rich and magical marsh it is, so do come. It\u2019s from 10am \u2013 2pm and absolutely free, but do send your names to Sue Lamoon<\/span> by email to events@kingsdownconservation.co.uk <\/span><\/strong>, so she gets an idea of the numbers.<\/p>

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December 2023<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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January 2025<\/figcaption>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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And here\u2019s two photos from the Kent Wildlife Trust showing the youngest bison at Blean Woods \u2013 how it\u2019s grown! This unique project is turning out to be a huge success so do visit if you\u2019ve never been.<\/p>

Don\u2019t forget the OXNEY WOODS TREE PLANTING EVENT:<\/strong><\/h5>

Ringwould with Kingsdown PC invite you on 15th,16th, 22nd and 23rd February at 10am each day meet at the top of the farm road, off Ringwould Rd.<\/p>

(https:\/\/w3w.co\/awake.released.panicking<\/a><\/span><\/strong>)<\/p>

Limited parking here \u2013 please don\u2019t block the gate or access road and please car share.<\/p>

We have lots of trees to plant (Birch, Rowan, Oak, Beech, Alder, Field Maple, Hazel etc.) \u2013 it will be hard work \u2013 we need to clear some scrub as we go. Please bring thick \/ thorn proof gloves, refreshments, don stout footwear and wrap up warm! Limited tools are available \u2013 if you can bring your own spade and other<\/p>

useful tools (loppers, pruning saw) that would be great.<\/p>

People of all abilities are welcome and there are jobs that everyone can help with.<\/p>

Please read the risk assessment on our website before attending.<\/p>

http:\/\/www.ringwouldwithkingsdown-pc.gov.uk\/News_and_Events_34768.aspx<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>

Please call Sharon for more information 07519 672798 or email the parish Clerk: clerk@ringwouldwithkingsdown-pc.gov.uk.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>

Finally, a couple of planning applications. <\/strong><\/p>

This first one is by far the most important, so if you can comment on it, please do. https:\/\/publicaccess.dover.gov.uk\/online-applications\/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=SR47JYFZHYP00<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>

The expiry date for submitting objections and comments is 7th MARCH.<\/strong><\/p>

And we\u2019ve just received an important update. The village consultation meeting is now at 7.30pm at Kingsdown Primary School on THURSDAY 20th FEB.<\/strong><\/p>

Here\u2019s another planning application:<\/p>

https:\/\/publicaccess.dover.gov.uk\/online-applications\/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=SPKKD8FZGV600<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>

And the snowdrops are out, hooray!<\/p>

See you in March\u2026Sue, Ian, Jerry, Annie, Alison and Debby<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

February 2025 \u00a0On 3 Feb we were vastly entertained by Brian Laverick-Smith\u2019s talk \u201930 Years of Bother on the Hover: A pilot\u2019s-eye view of operating the world\u2019s largest hovercraft out of Dover.\u2019 He illustrated this with photos and videos of this extraordinary vessel, which many of us remember from trips across the choppy seas of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"elementor_header_footer","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[38],"class_list":["post-2438","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-members-newsletters","tag-newsletter"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kingsdownconservation.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2438","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kingsdownconservation.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kingsdownconservation.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kingsdownconservation.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kingsdownconservation.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2438"}],"version-history":[{"count":25,"href":"https:\/\/kingsdownconservation.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2438\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2490,"href":"https:\/\/kingsdownconservation.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2438\/revisions\/2490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kingsdownconservation.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2438"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kingsdownconservation.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2438"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kingsdownconservation.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2438"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}