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Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Gabriel Morris.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Ken Tonight, live here on KMTV.
00:28I'm Gabriel Morrison, here are your top stories on Thursday the 4th of September.
00:33Banding together, Sheppier residents take action against housing giants.
00:38I was looking at the future thinking, if this goes up I'm not going to be able to sell,
00:43I'm not going to be in a position to pay the service charge.
00:46Refusing the fee, some drivers are refusing to pay parking fines from one of Kent's country parks.
00:52Almost £20,000 were made from people making mistakes, keying in their registration.
00:58And helping veterans for 106 years, RBLI celebrates birthday in Ellsford.
01:05Really good excuse to bring everybody together.
01:07Hello, thank you for your company this evening.
01:21Now, residents in Swell have banded together to take on housing management complaints they say are leaving them high and dry.
01:28Sheppier and Swell's Residents Association formed earlier this year and are already providing advice and expertise to people across the county, including in Medway.
01:38It comes as the government have begun consulting on leaseholder legislation that could put an end to rising fees and poor services.
01:46Our local democracy reporter, Olly Lieder, attended one of their monthly gatherings to find out more.
01:50A meeting with one thing on the agenda, taking the fight to estate management companies overcharging Kent residents.
02:01Everyone here at the Sheppier and Sittingbourne Residents Association have faced problems as leaseholders,
02:08be it skyrocketing service charges to work not being undertaken.
02:14I was looking at the future thinking, if this goes up, I'm not going to be able to sell.
02:19I'm not going to be in a position to pay the service charge.
02:22But it gave me the determination to fight, to become a director.
02:28And I have a passion to help people as well and to collect the documents, to ask questions and to reveal the problems that are there.
02:36The monthly meetings are a chance to share advice with those dealing with eye-watering costs.
02:44With some even coming down from Medway to find out what they can do.
02:49I've been in my block for over 10 years and service charges have increased by 185% in that time.
02:57And so having the backup of this sort of organisation that's recently been formed,
03:01just to give us a bit of advice, see how we can obviously progress with the process,
03:05see if we can improve and get someone who's going to do a decent enough job, yeah.
03:10Also providing her expertise was Amber Needham,
03:13who the local Democracy Reporting Service previously spoke to about her mission to empower Kent's leaseholders.
03:22I don't have an exact number, but I'd say probably up at nearly 100 people have reached out
03:27with problems that they've been having with various managing agents, all in different situations.
03:34Some people looking to do right to manage, some people looking to utilise existing RMCs.
03:39The government are currently consulting on leaseholders' legislation
03:43that could bring industry-wide regulation.
03:47A potential turning point in a battle currently waged by residents across North Kent.
03:55Olly Leader in Queenborough.
03:57Well, our local Democracy reporter, Olly Leader, joins me in the studio.
04:04Now, let's find out a little bit more about this.
04:06Just break down, Olly, some of these concerns that residents are having around these estate management companies.
04:12You've covered this now in quite some depth.
04:14I've covered this numerous times, Gabriel, over the last few months.
04:18It is a growing issue, I think, for a lot of people in the county, from Gravesend at Springhead Park,
04:24where residents were concerned about rising management fees, getting dumped as huge excess service charges
04:32for work not being undertaken just before Christmas, all the way to some of the stuff we're hearing down here.
04:38I've heard about contractors potentially not being paid.
04:41I've heard about people being left in debt when they leave and swap out their management companies.
04:47There's a lot of concerns here.
04:49Obviously, the estate management companies say that they are dealing with a more difficult economic environment,
04:55that they're having to put up these costs to deal with the economics of the situation.
05:00But for a lot of MPs and for residents, that simply doesn't cut the mustard.
05:06They want to see widespread change.
05:09We could start to see the legislation is currently being looked into for this parliamentary term.
05:16Yeah, MPs, back to school this week.
05:18What could this legislation look like and how might it address the issue?
05:22So, there's a consultation underway into leaseholder reform.
05:25At the moment, leaseholders can end up getting stuck with a lack of transparency around where their money's going.
05:32They can see these excess costs.
05:35And the hope is that the legislation, which is said to be announced potentially in the King's speech once the consultation ends,
05:43which will be at the end of this month, the 26th of September,
05:46that will potentially close lots of what people view as loopholes that are allowing management companies to basically make a lot of money
05:56without residents being able to challenge it.
05:58And that is what lots of people I spoke to on the evening at the Rose Inn have said.
06:03They want to see more regulation, potentially.
06:06I keep hearing the word ombudsman.
06:08That would be a regulator that can come in.
06:10If you have a concern, you can address it.
06:13It would have teeth to potentially take these companies to task,
06:17rather than what they sometimes get at the moment is what they describe it as a slap on the wrist.
06:22This new ombudsman will potentially give a stronger regulator to an industry
06:27that lots of politicians I've spoken to across all parties think is running a bit wild.
06:32Olly, thank you for bringing us those details.
06:34I don't think this is the last we've heard of this story.
06:36So, yeah, we'll hear more in the future.
06:38Olly Leader, our local democracy reporter there.
06:41Now, King County Council has written off £4 million in unpaid social care bills over the last five years.
06:48The money covers care costs that families didn't or couldn't pay,
06:53sometimes because there wasn't enough left in someone's estate
06:56or because people moved assets to avoid paying.
06:59The council says the figure is less than 1% of all the charges it's raised in that time
07:04and it says new systems are being used to spot debt problems earlier.
07:08But it comes as Kent social care services face rising demand, stretch budgets and soaring costs.
07:13Now, last year, Kent Online revealed motorists were being fined after visiting country parks
07:20despite proof of payments.
07:22Eurocar Parks, the management company, has accepted people have paid
07:25but claimed their registration numbers were inputted incorrectly.
07:30Drivers have said this is the fault of the machine,
07:33but we caught up with Kent Online reporter Annie Hodgson earlier
07:36to tell us a little bit more about this issue and the story in question.
07:40Well, Ellie, thank you so much for joining us.
07:43You were with us before when you started this investigation.
07:47The people were receiving tickets at Kent Country Parks.
07:50What more can you tell us now a year on?
07:54So about a year ago is the first time I came across issues with country parks
07:58that are run by Kent County Council.
08:01And the problems are people are paying for parking
08:03but then they're receiving a ticket through the post
08:05and they're being accused of making a major keying error.
08:08So that means that they've apparently inputted their registration in wrong.
08:12But I'm being told by dozens of people that it's the machines that are at fault
08:17and it's not them making these mistakes.
08:19And as such, many are refusing to pay these fines.
08:22And I guess on the tickets that are issued,
08:25you can see their number plates.
08:26I guess there might be some evidence to suggest that there is a keying issue
08:30from the operator rather than the driver.
08:32Yeah, so each time I contact the council,
08:37they say that people are making these errors
08:39and it's not their machines that are at fault.
08:42But people I speak to say that often the machines are jumping from one key to the other
08:46or often the ticket's actually printing before they've finished inputting their registration
08:51and the funds are taken from their account
08:53and they take that as a token to believe that they've paid
08:56and that everything is OK with their parking experience.
08:58So it's then not until they get a ticket through that they realise
09:01actually I'm being penalised for a mistake that I believe is the machine's fault.
09:05And you put a Freedom of Information request in.
09:07What did that show?
09:09So it was really interesting.
09:11That really highlighted how much money is being collected by these major keying errors.
09:16So, for example, from January 2nd, 2024 to January 2nd, 2025,
09:21almost £20,000 were made from people making mistakes keying in their registration.
09:26And these are people that have actually paid for parking
09:29and now being asked to pay a £20 administration fee on top.
09:33Another interesting finding is that Lullingstone Country Park in Ainsford
09:36is actually the biggest earner.
09:38So £5,900 was made from major keying errors at Lullingstone Country Park alone in that time period.
09:45Well, you've spoken to many motorists who have been fined.
09:49What's their reaction when they get that through the post?
09:52What were they telling you?
09:53Obviously, they're outraged because they can see that they've paid for parking.
09:59The proof is in their bank statement.
10:01And the problem is Euro Car Parks are agreeing with them and saying,
10:04yes, we can see that you've paid for parking,
10:06but your registration doesn't match with what we had on our ANPR cameras
10:09and therefore we need to charge you.
10:11And it's this that's getting people down.
10:13They're saying, why should I have to pay when you can see in good faith
10:16that I've paid for my parking ticket?
10:18Well, let's have a look at one of those people now.
10:20Let's have a look at this clip.
10:21The keying was terrible.
10:23There were four people in front of me who just couldn't do it.
10:27They tried to use their mobile phones, but there's no phone signal.
10:31Well, I got the numbers on each key is faded and worn.
10:39So I put in what I thought was my full registration number
10:42and I left out one digit of a £70 fine on the 1st of May,
10:48which I appealed on the 6th of May.
10:51To no advantage at all.
10:54I know we touched on this before,
10:55but what have KCC and Euro Car Parks both said on this?
10:58So KCC uphold that their machines are in good working order
11:03and that notices penalty tickets are being issued correctly.
11:07They say that the machines are checked every single day
11:10and that at the moment car park users across the county
11:13should let them know if there are any faults with their machines.
11:16In terms of Euro Car Parks,
11:18every time I've done a story about this,
11:20they have never responded to my request to comment.
11:23Well, Ellie, interesting stuff there.
11:25I'm sure the investigations continue.
11:27So thank you so much for joining us on the line today.
11:31Thanks for having me.
11:34Interesting.
11:34More on Kent Online and that story.
11:36But now it's time for us to take a quick break.
11:38But coming up, we'll find out more about how bikers line the streets
11:41in memory of a much-loved cafe owner and entertainer.
11:44And the Royal British Legion Industries in Ellsworth
11:46celebrates its 106th birthday.
11:49All that and more coming up in a few minutes' time.
11:52See you then.
11:52We'll see you then.
11:52We'll see you then.
11:53Bye now.
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16:33and she she was housebound she never really went out but she had to get a
16:39taxi into town and take all this money out and lie to the bank about what it
16:45was for and didn't ring any of the family to ask them and then give it to
16:52somebody who just knocked on her door handed over all the cash and then rang
16:56us and said I think I've done something really stupid. As 94% of those aged 65
17:01and over in the UK own a garden or allotment it was found that 29% turn
17:06to family or friends for gardening tips while only 10% seek advice on how to
17:11avoid fraud in turn helping the bad seeds instead of the good ones. The take five
17:17to stop fraud protect your patch campaign is about ensuring that we look to how
17:22we consistently can root out fraud we want to stop people from becoming
17:27victims of fraud and we've got three key ways to do that stop challenge and
17:32protect. As Patricia told me that she tends to get advice about scams from the
17:36television here are some added recommendations for how you can avoid
17:40fraud. So tips I'd say go along and talk to your neighbours get advice loads of
17:47people have advice on the allotment sites also they might have books and other
17:53things as well as to be able to help you. We would say not to panic okay it's okay
17:58to challenge any type of communication that comes to you whether that's a phone
18:02call whether that's an email or a text message you don't be rushed don't let
18:07anybody rush you on the phone the only people that are going to rush you are
18:11going to be criminals so if anybody's putting pressure on you to act quickly
18:14that's when you should stop challenge and protect. Something that gardening and
18:19finances have in common is the fact that there's always a bad seed to be
18:23wary of one that can take over your entire harvest so remember to take things
18:28slow and move finances with care. Kristen Hawthorne for KMTV Rochester.
18:36All right it's now time to take a quick look at a weather forecast for the coming
18:40days. Going into this evening brings clear skies and temperatures around 13 to 14
18:50degrees. Wind speeds of around 8 miles per hour in the west of the county. Tomorrow
18:54morning similar temperatures up to 16 degrees in Dover with sunny clear skies across Kent.
19:01Into the afternoon the Garden of England can see clouds scattered across the skies with
19:05temperatures rising from 20 to 21 degrees and here's your outlook for the coming days.
19:10Highs of 22 on Friday with a clear sun rising to 24 by the weekend. Partially cloudy weather
19:15expected to drop down to 21 by Sunday. Now let's have a look at these pictures as a motorist was
19:25left stunned after spotting around 60 rare white stalks in a field near Canterbury. Matthew Blackman
19:32pulled over on a road in the east of the county to snap the long-legged birds which he said looked
19:38like statues. They stood completely still. The species disappeared from Britain centuries
19:45ago due to hunting and habitat loss. But a reintroduction projects in Sussex have seen their numbers
19:50slowly return coming over into the county. Wildlife experts say sightings like this show recovery
19:56efforts are working with similar gatherings recorded in Kent last year.
20:00And our Royal British Legion Industries in Ellsford has celebrated its 106th birthday. The charity
20:09specialises in helping veterans adjusting to life after service including employment, shelter and
20:15mental health. The RBLI says celebrations like this are important for breaking down barriers of isolation.
20:21Our community reporter Henry Lug has more. Cake, music, and plenty of laughter. That's what happened
20:36at the Royal British Legion Industries in Ellsford as it celebrated its 106th birthday. I don't think many
20:46things can bring a community together quite like a birthday party especially one for the RBLI which
20:54has reached its astonishing 106th birthday party. So let's go inside and join the celebrations.
21:04It's a really good excuse to bring everybody together, the community of veterans that live on the village,
21:10our wider supporters, local corporates and you would have seen some very special guests. Some of the local
21:17mayors are here and they're all here to come together to celebrate 106 years of Royal British Legion Industries.
21:24But there's also another important part of the party and that getting the community together to break down
21:32social barriers. Also meeting the other mayors, meeting the veterans, meeting the veterans hub,
21:39meeting the RAF Association, they're all very good friends of mine as well, for which I will be laying
21:44a memorial only this Sunday. So I'm forever mixed up in the military veterans, reserves and cadets activity
21:53as with the sea cadets last night. I love being with military people so that's just my passion but also
22:00I care about their mental health. I myself, I'm a civilian, so learning different things about the military
22:06from military personnel themselves is really interesting and very factual to me but I think
22:12specifically for Twiggy and the other veterans it's mixing people who may not have met before
22:17but have similar stories. Just the camaraderie that we've all missed so it's always good to get back
22:22involved with fellow veterans and again hear everyone's stories and they may have gone through the same
22:27things and through one conversation someone may open up and potentially we could save someone's life
22:33because no one knows how deep their sadness goes at the end of the day.
22:37We know that isolation, mental health problems, PTSD are all issues that are endemic in our veteran
22:44population and anything like this where you welcome people in to a nice friendly warm environment
22:50and let's be honest feed them cake and give them drink is always a good thing for them I think.
22:55The RBLI hopes veterans continue to thrive in Sibby Street letting them have their cake
23:03and eat it. Henry Luck for KMTV in Ellsford.
23:10I caught up with Lisa from the RBLI earlier. Well thank you so much for joining us so just how much money
23:15was raised? Well we made just under a thousand pounds yesterday but that wasn't the main event
23:24that wasn't the main idea of the event the main idea of the event was just bringing together our
23:29community that supports us so that's so many people that's the local community it's the veterans it's the
23:37people that live on the village it's the people that work at RBLI it's our corporate supporters
23:45other donors that was the whole idea really of just saying happy birthday and thank you for our
23:50support so if you made a little bit of money in between time then that's fantastic. And how important
23:55is this funding we talk about it time and time again I know we had the Tommy run a few months
24:00Tommy cycle sorry a few months ago now this and I'm sure you've got plenty of events coming up but
24:05where does this money go tell us a little bit about the RBLI? Well it goes it goes to veterans
24:13and that's what's so great about working here we can see day to day where the money goes
24:17so some of it will go to Mountbatten Pavilion which houses our homeless veterans our women's refuge
24:25for veterans it will go to our assisted living care homes it will go to the factory where we employ
24:32veterans um that perhaps wouldn't be able to uh secure employment elsewhere it will go to our life
24:39works course um which will help veterans get jobs it's it's endless really what's the significance of
24:46the RBLI to these veterans and that we have in Kent and obviously uh who come from other parts of the
24:52country yeah we um we provide a safe haven um but we we're all about empowering the veterans so it's
25:01more about here's here's what we can do to help you you know what do you need so we can support them
25:07in so many different ways uh our main theme at the moment is employment really um obviously veterans
25:13are very proud people so when they come to us we want to give them the best help that's tailor-made for
25:19them and that's that's what we're all about we're very bespoke to whatever that veteran needs at that
25:24time well you'll be going for 107 years and what else is going to be celebrated this year what other
25:30events have you got down the pipeline um it was 106th 106th there we go yes what's in your 107th year then
25:38okay yeah we are going into 170th yes so we have lots of things um we have our next um event is a golf
25:49day we hold uh two golf days a year and this one's quite special it's been going a long time and it
25:54just keeps growing and growing and uh yeah it's it's a good spot on the calendar um but our main thing is
26:01our sleep out so although that starts next march or we ask people to sleep out for one night in march
26:07all the preparation starts now to get as many people involved as we possibly can all throughout
26:12the country and how can people get involved uh for the sleep out so basically they can go to our
26:20website rbli.co.uk um and i think the tab is actually ways to get involved uh scroll on down
26:26to the great tommy sleep out and register we literally just asked you to sleep out for one night
26:32in march um but people that have done this for five years or so go a little bit above and beyond
26:38um and it's great we see people doing walks for the week we see people camping um in very extreme
26:45places and we see the children that can't go outside camp underneath their tables and raise money it's
26:51it's a great it's so inclusive it's just a fantastic fundraising campaign yeah i know we've covered it
26:57it's just a great it's just a great it's just a great it's just a great idea
27:02yeah
30:28Refusing the fee.
30:29Some drivers are refusing to pay parking fines from one of Kent's country parks.
30:35And helping veterans for 106 years.
30:37RBLI celebrates 106th birthday in Ellsford.
30:40Now back to our main story tonight.
30:44Residents in Swell have banded together to take on housing management companies, they say, are leaving them out of pocket.
30:51The Shepi and Swell Residents Association formed earlier this year and are already providing advice and expertise to people across the county, including Medway.
31:00It comes as the government have begun consulting on leaseholders legislation that could put an end to rising fees and poor services.
31:08Our local democracy reporter, Oli Leder attended one of their monthly gatherings to find out more.
31:13A meeting with one thing on the agenda, taking the fight to estate management companies overcharging Kent residents.
31:23Everyone here at the Shepi and Swell Residents Association have faced problems as leaseholders, be it skyrocketing service charges to work not being undertaken.
31:37I was looking at the future thinking, if this goes up, I'm not going to be able to sell, I'm not going to be in a position to pay the service charge.
31:46But it gave me the determination to fight, to become a director.
31:51And I have a passion to help people as well and to collect the documents, to ask questions and to reveal the problems that are there.
31:59The monthly meetings are a chance to share advice with those dealing with eye-watering costs, with some even coming down from Medway to find out what they can do.
32:13I've been in my block for over 10 years and service charges have increased by 185% in that time.
32:20And so having the backup of this sort of organisation that's recently been formed, just to give us a bit of advice,
32:25see how we can obviously progress with the process, see if we can improve and get someone who's going to do a decent enough job, yeah.
32:33Also providing her expertise was Amber Needham, who the local Democracy Reporting Service previously spoke to about her mission to empower Kent's leaseholders.
32:45I don't have an exact number, but I'd say probably up at nearly 100 people have reached out with problems that they've been having with various managing agents.
32:54All in different situations, some people looking to do right to manage, some people looking to utilise existing RMCs.
33:02The government are currently consulting on leaseholders' legislation that could bring industry-wide regulation.
33:10A potential turning point in a battle currently waged by residents across North Kent.
33:18Only leader in Queenborough.
33:19Now, last year, Kent Online revealed motorists were being fined after visiting country parks, despite providing proof of payment.
33:31Eurocar Parks, the management company, has accepted people did claim their registration numbers were inputted incorrectly.
33:38But drivers have said this has defaulted a machine rather than themselves putting it in wrong.
33:43Well, a reporter from Kent Online joined me earlier to tell us more about this investigation.
33:48Well, Ellie, thank you so much for joining us.
33:50You were with us before when you started this investigation.
33:54The people were receiving tickets at Kent Country Parks.
33:57What more can you tell us now a year on?
33:59So, about a year ago is the first time I came across issues with country parks that are run by Kent County Council.
34:07And the problems are people are paying for parking, but then they're receiving a ticket through the post and they're being accused of making a major keying error.
34:15So, that means that they've apparently inputted their registration in wrong.
34:19But I'm being told by dozens of people that it's the machines that are at fault and it's not them making these mistakes.
34:26And as such, many are refusing to pay these fines.
34:29And I guess on the tickets that are issued, they've put that you can see their number plate.
34:33So, I guess there might be some evidence to suggest that there is a keying issue from the operator rather than the driver.
34:41Yeah, so each time I contact the council, they say that people are making these errors and it's not their machines that are at fault.
34:48But people I speak to say that often the machines are jumping from one key to the other or often the ticket's actually printing before they've finished inputting their registration.
34:58And the funds are taken from their account and they take that as a token to believe that they've paid and that everything is OK with their parking experience.
35:05So, it's then not until they get a ticket through that they realise, actually, I'm being penalised for a mistake that I believe is the machine's fault.
35:12And you put a Freedom of Information request in. What did that show?
35:16So, it was really interesting.
35:17That really highlighted how much money is being collected by these major keying errors.
35:23So, for example, from January 2nd, 2024 to January 2nd, 2025, almost £20,000 were made from people making mistakes keying in their registration.
35:34And these are people that have actually paid for parking and now being asked to pay a £20 administration fee on top.
35:40Another interesting finding is that Lullingstone Country Park in Ainsford is actually the biggest earner.
35:45So, £5,900 was made from major keying errors at Lullingstone Country Park alone in that time period.
35:51Well, you've spoken to many motorists who have been fined.
35:56What's their reaction when they get that through the post? What were they telling you?
36:00Obviously, they're outraged because they can see that they've paid for parking.
36:05The proof is in their bank statement.
36:07And the problem is Euro Car Parks are agreeing with them and saying, yes, we can see that you've paid for parking,
36:12but your registration doesn't match with what we had on our ANPR cameras and therefore we need to charge you.
36:18And it's this that's getting people down.
36:20They're saying, why should I have to pay when you can see in good faith that I've paid for my parking ticket?
36:24Well, let's have a look at one of those people now. Let's have a look at this clip.
36:28The keying was terrible. There were four people in front of me who just couldn't do it.
36:34They tried to use their mobile phones, but there's no phone signal.
36:39I got the numbers on each key is faded and worn.
36:45So I put in what I thought was my full registration number and I left out one digit of a £70 fine on the 1st of May,
36:54which I appealed on the 6th of May.
36:58To no advantage at all.
37:01I know we touched on this before, but what have KCC and Euro Car Parks both said on this?
37:06So KCC uphold that their machines are in good working order and that notices penalty tickets are being issued correctly.
37:13They say that the machines are checked every single day and that at the moment car park users across the county should let them know if there are any faults with their machines.
37:23In terms of Euro Car Parks, every time I've done a story about this, they have never responded to my request to comment.
37:30Well, Ellie, interesting stuff then.
37:32I'm sure the investigations continue.
37:34So thank you so much for joining us on the line today.
37:37Thanks for having me.
38:08Can you just go for a little bit more detail about what has actually happened recently?
38:12Yeah, so it's actually been a year-long event, should we say.
38:17Last year, it was hoped that introducing a swearing ban would help crack down on this antisocial behaviour.
38:26But it ended up splitting locals and opinion and there was threats of legal action.
38:31So they played down the scheme, got rid of it for a little bit, but it was revived in July and it hopes to tackle those tensions between antisocial youths and some of these street drinkers across the Thanet towns.
38:45But the Thanet towns have been overwhelmed with this unruly behaviour and council would say it's not prohibiting casual swearing.
38:53Only those, start there again, sorry, not to prohibit casual swearing.
38:59And those were only at risk of fines when foul language is used to cause harassment, alarm or distress.
39:06Yeah, I had some pictures there from antisocial behaviour in Vieira over the summer, which I'm sure is one of these reasons why the Foundation District Council, the Labour Administration, they want to bring this in.
39:17What's the response been to the idea of the swear ban?
39:21So again, it has been mixed opinions. The free speech union have again threatened legal action, considering that this plan to put the swearing ban is vague and the terms are not really lined out in a clear way.
39:36And it has no formal meaning in the law. The council have now argued to implement the PSPO.
39:43They will review the evidence and consult on other the evidence as well.
39:49And why are they proposing something like this?
39:52It's just because over the summer there has been, as I said, this increase in antisocial behaviour.
39:58I mean, we saw just in Broadstairs not too long ago an incident with a local corner shop.
40:04And there's just been a lot of reports of just youths, younger people going out and around.
40:09And as I mentioned before, street drinkers.
40:12There's been a lot of tension between these groups of people seen throughout Thanet towns.
40:16And the swearing ban is just to, I guess, to mitigate some of that.
40:20Edleigh, thank you for bringing us those details.
40:23Now, decisive issue there. And this is equally another one.
40:26What is your favourite sweet treat? Perhaps a crumble? An Eton Mess? Mine is a cheesecake.
40:31Well, today is encouraging us to have an extra helping of pudding as it marks National Eton Extra Dessert Day.
40:37So we went down to Rochester to find out what their sweet treat of choice is.
40:42I would have to say Eton Mess.
40:46Tiramisu.
40:46Lemon meringue pie.
40:49Oh, definitely apple pie.
40:51I would say it's a lemon tart because it's not too sweet and it's not too sickly.
40:57Traditional sort of strawberries, ice cream.
41:02Meringue.
41:03Meringue, yeah, meringue and the bits and pieces on top of it.
41:06I just love it. Just love the taste. All the sweetness of everything coming together, which is what a dessert is about, really.
41:15I like the lemon in it. I like anything lemony.
41:18Italian background. I've just always liked it like coffee. It's like the perfect. When it's done right, it's the perfect pudding.
41:25Because it reminds me of when my grandmother made superb apple pies back in the 50s and the 60s and the 70s and they were just delicious.
41:38Oh, we could debate that all night, couldn't we?
41:40Well, time for a quick break now.
41:41Coming up, we find out how the Royal British Legion Industries in Ellsworth celebrates its 106th birthday.
41:47And I'll be joined by Chris D.C., host of the Ken Film Club, talk about some latest movies and film club coming up later tonight.
41:53All that and more in a few minutes.
41:55We'll see you next time.
42:25We'll see you next time.
42:55We'll see you next time.
43:25We'll see you next time.
43:55We'll see you next time.
44:25We'll see you next time.
44:55And welcome back to Ken Tonight Live on KMTV.
45:14We'll be dissecting the movies with the Ken Film Club host Chris D.C. before long.
45:19But first, let's take a look back at this.
45:21As the Royal British Legion Industries in Ellsworth has celebrated its 106th birthday.
45:26The charity specialises in helping veterans adjusting to life after service, including employment, shelter and mental health.
45:33The RBI says, the RBI says, the RBI says, the RBI says, the RBI says, the RBI says celebrations like this are important for breaking down barriers of isolation.
45:38Our community reporter, Henry Luck has more.
45:41Cake, cake, cake, music, and plenty of laughter.
45:48And plenty of laughter.
45:52That's what happened at the Royal British Legion Industries in Ellsworth as it celebrated its 106th birthday.
46:02I don't think many things can bring a community together quite like a birthday party, especially one for the RBI, which has reached its astonishing 106th birthday party.
46:17So, let's go inside and join the celebrations.
46:21It's a really good excuse to bring everybody together, the community of veterans that live on the village, our wider supporters, local corporates.
46:30You would have seen some very special guests, some of the local mayors are here.
46:35And they're all here to come together to celebrate 106 years of Royal British Legion Industries.
46:41But there's also another important part of the party, and that getting the community together to break down social barriers.
46:52Also meeting the other mayors, meeting the veterans, meeting the Veterans Hub, meeting the RAF Association.
46:58They're all very good friends of mine as well, for which I will be laying a memorial only this Sunday.
47:04So, I'm forever mixed up in the military, veterans, reserves and cadets activity, as with the sea cadets last night.
47:13I love being with military people, so that's just my passion, but also I care about their mental health.
47:19I myself, I'm a civilian, so learning different things about the military from military personnel themselves is really interesting and very factual to me.
47:28But I think, specifically for Twiggy and the other veterans, it's mixing people who may not have met before, but have similar stories.
47:36Just the camaraderie that we've all missed, so it's always good to get back involved with fellow veterans.
47:41And again, hear everyone's stories, and they might have gone through the same things.
47:45And through one conversation, someone may open up and potentially we could save someone's life.
47:50Because no one knows how deep their sadness goes at the end of the day.
47:55We know that isolation, mental health problems, PTSD are all issues that are endemic in our veteran population.
48:02And anything like this, where you welcome people in to a nice, friendly, warm environment,
48:07and let's be honest, feed them cake and give them drink, is always a good thing for them, I think.
48:12The RBLI hopes veterans continue to thrive in Sibby Street, letting them have their cake and eat it.
48:22Henry Luck for KMTV in Ellsford.
48:27Don't forget you can keep up to date with all your latest stories across Kent by logging on to our website, kmtv.co.uk.
48:35There you'll find all our latest reports, including this one, about a busker on a mission to busk every town and city across the UK with a piano mounted on a bike.
48:46A busker is turning heads in Maidstone, and it's not just the music people are intrigued by, it's actually her instrument that's catching eyes.
48:59A piano mounted on a bike.
49:02My name is Chloe Marie Aston, I'm a singer and busker from North Devon, and I'm trying to busk in every town and city in the UK.
49:09Travelling across the South so far, Chloe also documents her whole journey on her various social medias, including her TikTok, where she is dubbed the Piano Bike Girl.
49:23I've been playing piano for the last six years, since I was 15 years old, and I had a few lessons to begin with, but I'm mainly self-taught.
49:31I started off just busking in my hometown in North Devon, but now I'm going all over the UK.
49:38I've really, really loved Kent so much, everybody here is really friendly, all the local businesses and that have been really, really friendly,
49:46and I've been given drinks from cafes and stuff, and offered shade and stuff, so it has really been a wonderful experience here in Kent.
49:54My favourite place was Fabersham, they had the market on, it was really busy, really lovely weather, and it was just an amazing atmosphere.
50:04Building the Piano Bike with her dad, she's been riding around on it for six years, creating original music, and singing many covers, amassing a fan base of more than 17,000 followers on TikTok.
50:15I've always loved music from a very young age, I've always been into singing and dancing and all those things.
50:21I did musical theatre for quite a few years, and I just, yeah, now I do this, and it's just evolved from there, really.
50:30I'd really like to take it to the next level, and maybe do my own shows and stuff, and just maybe get a record contract, something really big like that.
50:39I also asked Passer Byers what they thought, and all the responses I received were very positive.
50:44I was online last night, and I just saw it on TikTok, and I thought, oh, that's really good, so I decided to come down and have a look.
50:52She's got the voice of Karen Carpenter, and you don't get that very often.
50:57I've seen her on the internet and everything, so I was surprised that somebody that good and creative would be here in Maidstone.
51:11Hoping to return to Kent someday, she's loaded the piano bike into her van and continues on her mission to spread her music across England.
51:19Kai Wei for KMTV in Maidstone.
51:22All right, time to have a look at the weather forecast for the coming days.
51:39Tonight brings clear skies and temperatures of around 13 to 14 degrees, wind speeds of 6 miles per hour heading west.
51:45Then into the morning, temperatures up to around 16 degrees in Dover.
51:50Some sunny skies to be expected, a bit of a change there then.
51:53And into the afternoon, some clouds scattered across the skies, temperatures rising to 20 and 21 degrees,
51:58but 19 down in Dover, so unfortunately if you're down there tomorrow.
52:02And this is your outlet.
52:03You can see it's starting to warm up, clear skies on Friday, and getting a little bit cooler again by Sunday.
52:08And just before we go, Thursday means it's time for another episode of the Kent Film Club, just after the break in a few minutes.
52:21The show invites guests from all over the county to share their films that define them.
52:26But before the start of a new episode, we're joined by our film presenter Chris Deasy to tell more on what to expect in the importance of celebrating a cinema experience.
52:35Chris, I don't know if you're aware, but it's now UK's National Cinema Day, which has been successful for three years.
52:41It was actually put on hold this year.
52:43It's a day where people could get offers to watch movies at the cinema, but put on hold is a bit of a shame, isn't it?
52:49Well, I remember back in the mid-90s, 1996, and I would cram in as many films as I could for £1.
52:55This was when I was living in Wales.
52:56From Dusk Till Dawn, Mr Holland's Opa, some really good films that in some cases I saw before their official release.
53:02But we did have at the Cineworld over the weekend just gone £4 per ticket.
53:07And so there were a number of films, and that included the 4DX and the 3D and the IMAX screenings.
53:13And I know that certainly the Ashford cinema was absolutely packed.
53:16In fact, I didn't even go there, I went to the Dover cinema, because I didn't think I'd even get a space in the car park.
53:20So it shows that they work.
53:22The initiatives don't like this.
53:23Yes, cheaper tickets, but then more, and of course you still get all the refreshments at the normal price.
53:28So I'm sure the cinemas make a lot of money that way.
53:30Is it important to still celebrate cinema?
53:32I mean, lots of people are turning to Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, the list goes on.
53:37Well, there was a funny story, because you know we were talking about the Thursday Murder Club last week.
53:41And yeah, KMTV, well KMT1 is the radio station, so obviously a link with what we're doing here.
53:47But I was watching that, not for the first time, with one of my daughters last night, and we were the only people in the cinema.
53:53And it's still showing even next week at a few select cinemas.
53:56But of course people are watching it on Netflix.
53:58But they did very carefully, and I think cleverly, as they did with the Knives Out film the other year, Glass Onion.
54:03It came out a week before its Netflix release in the cinemas, and the cinema, they were packed for those particular screenings.
54:12So I think it's a very difficult kind of relationship between the small screen and the big screen.
54:17And I don't know quite how it's going to play out in years to come.
54:20Yeah, I heard Richard Osman talk about that on social media the other day, and I think there was a cry for it to be in a cinema.
54:27I did actually watch the film last week, so thank you for the recommendation.
54:30I did enjoy it, yeah.
54:31Yeah, I actually did enjoy it, I did enjoy it.
54:33It went quite quickly, pacing I thought was quite good.
54:35Anyway, over the summer we've seen many new releases, but movies at the moment on your watch list?
54:41I know we had the Downton Abbey premiere last night.
54:44Yes, and it's coming out properly next Friday, so a week tomorrow.
54:47Honey Don't, which is a very sort of Cohen-esque, well indeed, Ethan Cohen is the director.
54:52And also The Roses.
54:54Now, I remember The War of the Roses, Danny DeVito directed that in 1989.
54:58Very caustic comedy, you know, not really a date movie, unless the person you're going with is an ex.
55:05And it was good British actors, you know, set in California.
55:09It kind of works, but I think it's a pale imitation, I'm afraid, of the original with Michael Douglas, Kathleen Turner.
55:16I've already got a list of people I could go and take to go and see that movie then.
55:19Anyway, coming off of the Film Club, after this break, what can we expect?
55:23Well, we've got some unbelievable guests in the coming weeks.
55:26I mean, this is the great thing.
55:27I mean, the most current episode is with David Lawrence.
55:29I'm still reading from the fact that I wore Spike Lee's shirt, but also you can catch that at the moment.
55:35And it is a brilliant episode because he brought all these artefacts with him, including from Kez and also the Wild Bunch.
55:42And, you know, he's a big Ken Loach fan as well.
55:44Lovely when you've got a guest on the show who has tastes that are so divergent that each of the films they pick, you know, are not necessarily ones that you'd put together in the same box.
55:54But, of course, it's that personal connection which every guest is bringing to the show.
55:58So whatever film they're talking about, they are the linchpin.
56:02They're the ones who bring all those choices and selections together.
56:06Yeah, it's interesting.
56:07We'll definitely be tuning in to the show after the break.
56:11And they're always looking for the guests to come on, aren't you?
56:14Yeah, we are. And also there's a new film called The Miner Sun that's out on Amazon Prime.
56:18And it was made by Juliet and Kevin Short, who were previous guests on the show.
56:21So, you know, Ken and the film mostly in Deal.
56:23I met up with them last week and did an interview with them.
56:25So it just goes to show that, you know, there's a lot of homegrown stuff as well that's well worth catching.
56:30And, of course, Thursday Murder Club set in Kent.
56:33Chris, thank you so much for your time this evening.
56:36Kent Film Club on straight after this.
56:39And we'll be back at 8pm with The Late Bulletin.
56:42See you then. Goodbye.
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