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Catch up on all the latest news across the county with Meghan Shaw.
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00:00hello and welcome to Kent tonight live on KMTV I'm Megan Shaw and here are
00:29your top stories on Tuesday the 16th of December fighting back medway school
00:36traffic fine revoked for inadequate signage where is the proof that school
00:42streets are anything other than a cash cow help us or we'll end up in the river
00:47800 year old canterbury boarding at threat have been washed away as charity
00:52calls for public support historically there is so much here that it would be
00:57heartbreaking if this building were to close permanently and that's still
01:02going strong we take a look at the independent shops keeping the high street
01:06alive following small business Saturday we bring vibrance we bring something
01:11different it's exciting we can pivot faster than the big boys so there's
01:15always something new going on
01:19a medway man has fought back against a fine he blames on medway council's
01:30inadequate signage with the tribunal ruling in his favor Chris Lee says that he
01:34wasn't aware Richmond Road was pedestrianized at school pickup times until
01:38it was too late medway council say that their signage is legally compliant but
01:44the decision could open up a pathway to appeal for thousands as our local
01:49democracy reporter Olly leader has been finding out you might have seen one of
01:54these signs if you've been driving around medway warning you away from
01:58driving near certain schools at peak times when the roads there become
02:03pedestrianized that is if you can spot them for Chris Lee a lack of signs along
02:10Saunders streets meant he was hit with a fine which he says was not his fault if
02:17you're not aware of something being there and there's no road signage on the
02:23road that you're traveling down before you get to a place where you can pick up a
02:30penalty notice then yeah it's a it's a bit of a shock but you then think to
02:35yourself well did I make a mistake I need to check this out because I don't
02:40think that there's something right here well I got behind the wheel myself to
02:45take the same route as Chris and see what warnings there were for the school
02:51street though just on the right right here is Saunders Street this is the road
02:56Chris drove down and said there wasn't adequate signage warning him yes school
03:02street right at the end you can see lots of cars lots of vehicles not a lot of
03:09signage for the school street in fact I can't see any warnings at all as we drive
03:16down here we're coming up to the stop line now you should get a better look at
03:21the sign as we come up here if you're just about coming to view that right
03:27there is the only warning for coming from this direction that there is a
03:31school street along here well a reasonable person is not going to be
03:36looking at lampposts for every single sign if it's over wordy by the time you've
03:43even got halfway down it you've gone past it it took Chris two months since
03:47getting the fine for him to receive this letter from the traffic penalty
03:52tribunal notifying him that his penalty notice had been overturned and the
03:58adjudicator here doesn't mince any words it says that that sign right behind me
04:04that is complicated and did not adequately convey that Richmond Road would
04:09become a school street yes a lot I'm getting lots of feedback that some of the
04:13the signage is opaque at best it's not entirely clear when you're entering a
04:19school street scheme this scheme is all about raising money it's not about
04:24improving the lives of residents Medway Council say they have successfully
04:29defended a number of appeals at this location and this is the first in which
04:35an adjudicator has filed against them on signage grounds they say that while they
04:41will review the adjudicators decision they remain satisfied that the signage at
04:46this site is adequate and compliant with the relevant legal standards and will
04:52continue to review feedback to ensure the scheme operates effectively but none of
04:59that will be a sign that gives people like Chris confidence their concerns are
05:04being heard Olly leader in Medway and Olly leader joins me in the studio now so Olly could this
05:14lead to fines across Medway being overturned it depends on the situation I think with this one
05:20it's a big question motorists at home will have because school streets have been a massively
05:24contentious issue in the five towns let's take a quick look at the data that we've obtained about the
05:30school street fires 24,673 fires issued across 12 school street zones since the
05:36first group was introduced in March last year lots of fires and of those only 2,706 were appealed by
05:44motorists but only 330 were successfully overturned which is quite a tiny number in
05:50the grand scheme of things but Chris believes that the tribunal process which took him around two months
05:56it's quite a long process requires lots of evidence it's quite time intensive not something
06:02all motorists are going to do so there might be more appeals that could have actually happened
06:08ultimately this will come down to the route people take if you've been giving loads of warnings there's
06:14loads of signs telling you that you're heading down a school street you're probably going to get
06:18a fair fine for flaunting the rules but if you're someone like Chris who's gone down a road that
06:23doesn't necessarily have all those warning signs you would expect you might be in with a chance
06:29it does raise questions about whether traffic regulations along those routes are being met
06:33but the council do insist they are being legally compliant with their signage here in Medway
06:38and Ollie we've not got much time but do tell us what is next for the scheme
06:42it's not going anywhere it's making lots of money for the council they say it's a positive thing for the
06:46town protecting people in the local area and there are potential new school streets on the way
06:50they're being considered at the moment about three in fact as well as one with a date to be decided
06:55to so it's not going anywhere even if people like Chris would hope it is Ollie thank you so much
07:01now travel chaos for motorists today as a crash has closed the M20 on the first day of Operation Brock
07:08being put into action motorists have been queuing for hours after a van struck the inside barrier and
07:15this isn't the only traffic misery expected in the coming days as highways brace for high volumes of
07:20traffic from the port of Dover but the Kent and Medway Resilience Forum which manage these traffic
07:25flow measures say they're necessary to keep Christmas traffic in check Kent and Medway Resilience Forum
07:32received data from both Eurotunnel and the port of Dover when there is a holiday period of
07:39forecasted bookings and from that we can assess what the likely possible impact is going to be on the
07:46road network in and around East Kent specifically this time around port of Dover have shown that
07:54Friday and Saturday are going to be very busy down at the port it's a very busy freight time as well
08:00because an awful lot of the HGVs are heading back to Europe as well for Christmas as well as all the
08:06tourists heading over to Europe now a Canterbury charity is in a race against time to save a historic
08:13building from collapsing into the River Stour East Bridge Hospital was once a place for poor pilgrims
08:18to rest their heads and over the years has been used as a school and then a museum but as the group
08:24in charge told our reporter Chloe Brewster it needs thousands of thousands even of pounds in
08:30renovations to keep it in use for future generations if we don't do something now then it's going to be so
08:37much greater of a problem later and and as I say it would be an enormous loss to the history of
08:43Canterbury and of Kent. Nestled in the heart of Canterbury High Street sits a building with hundreds
08:47of years of history through this low gothic door lies former accommodation for poor pilgrims desperate
08:53to visit the shrine of Archbishop St Thomas Beckett who was murdered in the cathedral in 1170 but now
08:59these ancient sleeping quarters have had to close for visitors I received access to the oldest part of
09:05the hospital the former dormitory to talk about why the the building is uh rotating into the river uh
09:11not to put it too finely the reality is that this building has always been falling in the river and
09:18it's just a question of whether that uh that fall is accelerating or not we are working with Canterbury
09:24Archaeological Trust and with structural engineers try and make sure that this is a building that will be
09:33here for future generations and and not you know sadly something that falls into the river I'm stood
09:40just outside the Eastbridge hospital alongside the river stour you can see just behind me there if you
09:44look towards the bay window and down you can see that brickwork that's experiencing damage over the 800
09:50years this place has been open the charity says that renovations to make the building safe for visitors
09:55again could cost up to a quarter of a million pounds we used to get probably in a season in this
10:01building we used to get over just over 10 000 people which obviously now we've been closed for over a
10:07year so it's had a massive impact on the finances of the charity which is why we're now finding we
10:14can't afford to pay for the renovations and all the work that needs doing down here in the undercroft
10:19that unknown little gem in the high street that people have heard of but maybe not been to for a long
10:26time but i think historically there is so much here that it would be heartbreaking if this building were
10:32to close permanently and the charity finished it it just wouldn't be it's not conceivable historic
10:39england has agreed to place a charity on their at risk register helping it towards securing grant
10:44funding for the future but yet still the charity say they need public support to help prevent the history
10:50here being washed away chloe brewster for kmtv in canterbury a faversham councillor has claimed online
10:59misinformation played a role in the shocking displays of abuse and vandalism at a swale council meeting
11:06this here is the aftermath of a meeting where councils discussed making swale a district of sanctuary for asylum seekers
11:12which saw 50 protesters swarm the building but liberal democrat councillor hannah perking put forward the
11:19motion slammed their behavior saying that the damage meant vulnerable residents couldn't access services
11:26with the building being forced to close the day after and that's all for now but coming up after
11:33their break we sit down with our health expert dr julian spinks on the eve of residence doctor strikes
11:39as the superflu rips across kent we've also got our invictor sports producer finn mcdermid
11:44catches up on the sport news don't go anywhere we'll see you soon
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17:25think if they given a small amount in the way of a financial increase or maybe
17:28a package over a number of years then they would have been more likely to
17:32persuade the resident doctors not to go ahead with the strike because it is
17:36going to put pressure on the NHS and as we mentioned before there has been a bit
17:40of government backlash so the PM called that irresponsible and dangerous to
17:44strike especially the run-up to Christmas and we do seem to be dealing
17:47with a super flu so what is the argument here that resident doctors it's almost I
17:52suppose not a choice for them yes I'm a little suspicious at linking the
17:57resident doctors strike and flu as if you look at the number of beds that are
18:01affected at the moment it's less than 3% of the total NHS beds actually bed
18:06blocking by not being able to get elderly people back out home is a bigger problem
18:10in the NHS than potentially the flu and resident doctors strike we've got much
18:15better at dealing with them anyway and straight off the back of that super flu
18:20that can you tell us about it because we seem to just have a new flu every year
18:23and what what separates this new kind of flu strain that's circulating from your
18:28average I know your h1n1 it's it's a really clever little virus it mutates it
18:34changes continuously and that's why every year the vaccine we give out is
18:38slightly different this time round it's h3n2 subclade K which doesn't really
18:45tell you anything but it's no more dangerous than other flus but it's much
18:50easier to transmit and what we've had this year is two things one is that the
18:54flu season is starting earlier and took off a little sharper the other thing is
18:58we have stories from the Far East such as Japan and Australia where they've had
19:02very bad flu seasons and normally that tends to follow with us finally this
19:07concern about the number of people who are not taking up the offer for flus
19:11because we only really offer it to people who are at much greater risk of being
19:15admitted to hospital or becoming seriously ill or die and I've read online
19:20that this flu strain the vaccine is less kind of efficient at preventing it so
19:24for the people at home who've not taken up that offer to get that vaccine do you
19:28think it's still worth taking up that offer it's definitely still worth it it may
19:33not be as effective to prevent it happening altogether but it will make the flu less
19:39severe it means you're less likely to end up in hospital it's similar to the
19:43Covid vaccine which we discovered didn't prevent Covid very well but what
19:47it did do was prevent severe Covid which leaded to hospitalisation and just for
19:53the people at home obviously we're getting into festive season we've got
19:56office parties family gatherings so what can people do to help themselves and
20:00others to prevent against this virus just quickly we want you to have fun that's
20:05reality of it if you have got flu don't go and also be aware of the fact that you
20:10may have colleagues or family who are more susceptible more at risk and which
20:14case stay clear of them dr. Spinks thank you so much for your time and your
20:19insight as always now winter can be a difficult time for many which is why so
20:26many across the county strive to help those in need such as in midstone where the
20:31councils donation hub has been helping people facing financial hardship after
20:36our community reporter Henry look covered this story earlier this month the
20:40hub saw a flurry of donations so let's take a look back at the report which you
20:44can find on our website cametv.co.uk December and the hunt for Christmas
20:51presents is finally on but for many across maidstone it's impossible to find
20:59gifts whilst making ends meet that's where maidstone borough councils Christmas
21:06hub comes in this scheme which has been running for the past three years now allows
21:13maidstone residents to donate a variety of items from food toys and games towards
21:23charities across the town to give those who are struggling this Christmas
21:29some of them Christmas can be a really lonely time knowing that people in their
21:34community have thought about them and have donated these wonderful gifts is
21:39really humbling and on Christmas Day when they open a gift and they know that
21:44somebody that they don't know personally has taken time to buy that for them and
21:48it's them being wrapped a label put on with their name is really lovely and it
21:54shows them that they're not forgotten
21:56unlike some of the other charities here we're after really specific things things
22:00like instant hot foods and that we use for our street population and a lot of us
22:07are getting tucking into Christmas dinners and things some of our street
22:10population don't have anything so when we're out on a Saturday night we can help
22:14them with instant hot food although donations have decreased significantly
22:20compared to previous years the borough council remains confident that it can
22:27still make a positive impact in the community well they might be a bit low at
22:32the moment you probably saw the street pastors on the first day didn't have
22:36nothing but the next day they had a thousand pounds worth of stuff coming so
22:40it's a day-by-day they can't really judge it till it's finished but my
22:43personal view people have made some are very generous and when we look at back
22:48on this it probably in the new year you'll find that made stone contributed
22:52quite a lot to the happiness of people at made stone the hub will be open until
22:57Saturday the 6th of December with the big day fast approaching many are hoping
23:04for a miracle on Mainstone Street Henry luck for cane TV in made stone from an
23:14east and west Kent derby to a first-stand black belt in Canterbury there's plenty
23:18more sports news from the weekend we'll take a look at the fourth round draw for
23:23the FA trophy that sees non-league sides Chatham town and Epps fleet facing off
23:28against higher league opposition and see what's new in Kent cricket here's been
23:32McDermott with your sports headlines
23:37now Epps fleet and Chatham fans would have been hoping for an early Christmas
23:47present this season in the form of a favorable draw for the fourth round of the
23:51FA trophy Chatham managed a 3-0 thrashing of Plymouth Parkway and have been
23:57gifted a home tie against the National League's Carlisle United while Epps fleet
24:01will face off with forest green Rovers from the same league the Chats have
24:05never gotten this far in the knockout tournament before and had beat need a
24:08market Waltham Abbey and win boards winborn town as well to get them to the
24:12last 32 Chatham women's have also made it to the fourth round but of the women's
24:17FA Cup they'll play at home to another tier 4 side York City ladies in the next
24:21round and have overcome some higher league opponents like AFC Wimbledon and
24:24Exeter City and also managed to beat Sutton United 3-0 at the weekend but aside from cup
24:29fixtures the weekend also held a Kent Derby where Folkestone and Victor fans
24:33were spoilt with yet another victory their ninth in a row this season this
24:37time away to Dartford we can hear a bit from assistant manager Lloyd Blackman
24:41about that win yes typical Kent Derby I suppose wasn't it you know there
24:45wasn't pitches heavy I don't think it was an awful lot of quality played in the
24:51first probably first 45 minutes so it was we knew it was going to be like that's
24:58what Kent Derby is about and ultimately pleased with the three points that's the
25:03main thing I still think there was areas that you know we haven't been as good
25:07today as we have been previously but as I say that the main thing was was the
25:11victory in three points so that's what obviously we're delighted with now to
25:15cricket where opening batsman Ben Compton says he hopes he's proved his worth to
25:19Kent fans after signing for the county while Kent have struggled recently he's
25:24been credited as a standout performer in the side despite some limited first team
25:28appearances he said he was 27 when he signed for Kent didn't have much first
25:32team experience but was very glad to be picked up by the side adding he can't
25:35speak highly enough of backing players and giving them opportunities then he
25:39adds it's down to the player to improve and prove their worth and a
25:43Canterbury martial arts instructor has been presented with a 20-year service award
25:48for his efforts to the sport locally David Dunn joined Canton martial arts as a
25:53student in 2005 before getting his first and black belt in 2008 and his fourth
25:57and 13 years later he's assisted and judged at numerous tournaments across the
26:01region too as well as attending and assisting with seminars gradings
26:04demonstrations and charity events done said I've been involved in my students
26:07development throughout their various grades organized events and try to lead
26:10from the front pushing them all to be the best they can be and that's all from me
26:15see you soon for more of the sports headlines
26:19that's all for now but we've got a short break coming up don't go anywhere next up
26:34we're going to be speaking to our business expert Tudor Price from the
26:37Invicta Chamber of Commerce as unemployment hit 5.1% across the UK we're also going to be
26:43chatting about Jane Austen's birthday don't go anywhere we'll see you after the break
27:13little bit.
27:18We Atlee.
27:19First.
27:22caused.
27:23or
27:25affected
27:26been.
27:29The.
27:30The.
27:32what.
27:34you.
35:32So,
35:34thank you.
36:24I'm one of the top of the work.
36:26Thanks for use of it.
36:28I'm just really, really lucky.
36:30to come together as a community through crafting clubs and workshops.
36:34A lot of people see shops on the high street as just being a shop.
36:39You go in, you buy something, you leave.
36:42The difference with our business is it's a community first and a shop second,
36:49so you're making those connections,
36:51and it's with such a wide demographic of people.
36:55So I like the idea of postbox toppers putting crochet and knitting artwork out there in the public eye
37:04to put a smile on people's faces,
37:07and I found a lovely group of people that also enjoy doing that.
37:11So since 2023, obviously we did the TARDIS.
37:15We've done a Pokemon trail around Gillingham Town Centre during the Easter holidays for the children,
37:21and the current project that we've just finished is making gifts for elderly residents in care homes
37:31who don't necessarily get gifts at Christmas.
37:35I asked some of the crafting group what these clubs mean for them
37:39and why we should support small businesses and what the high street would look like without them.
37:43Well, the fact that I've met some wonderful people and it helps my mental health,
37:52you know, homegrown stuff, homemade, which I think is really important for this country as well.
38:00Supporting small businesses is clearly the way to go.
38:03David Brooks-Horsley for KMTV in Gillingham.
38:06And on the topic of businesses, earlier today I spoke to our business expert Tudor Price
38:14from the Kent and Victor Chamber of Commerce to talk about businesses who have struggled
38:18to keep up with rising national insurance contributions, higher wages,
38:23and now higher levels of unemployment in the UK.
38:27Thank you so much for joining us, Tudor.
38:29So first of all, unemployment in the UK as of October has risen to 5.1%.
38:35That is staggering. That is one in 20 people.
38:38So what are your thoughts on that?
38:40Sadly, it doesn't come as a surprise.
38:43This is partly due to the national insurance contribution from employers going up
38:48at the last budget.
38:50That put the brakes on most recruitment.
38:53I think if you talk to a lot of business leaders,
38:55they found that very difficult to try and sort of rework their budgets
38:58and take that into consideration.
39:00So when people were leaving businesses, they weren't looking to replace.
39:03Now, that is then on top of a slightly subdued economic growth.
39:10And obviously that means that many businesses are perhaps being cautious
39:13about investing in expansion, new projects and stuff.
39:16And so they're just not taking their staff on just yet.
39:19I see.
39:20I was doing a bit of reading as well, and I read that the rise of the unemployment
39:24coming up to October is also meant to reflect businesses freezing hiring
39:28until they knew the terms of the budget and how it might affect them.
39:31So now we do know the Chancellor's policies.
39:34Do you think businesses have an incentive to start hiring again?
39:36Do you think Rachel Reeve's budget was one that's encouraging employment?
39:41So the budget was very much one for the markets.
39:44I think it was about messaging to the investment houses that there's a stable
39:48and sort of fiscally responsible government in place.
39:51What it didn't do was really put in place many incentives or encouragement for growth.
39:56So you're quite right in that many businesses held off any recruitment plans
40:01pending the outcome of the budget.
40:03It was fairly low level from a business perspective.
40:07Most businesses are fairly indifferent.
40:10There wasn't a tremendous amount to encourage them to sort of carry on investing.
40:13So, yes, we'll probably see a little bit of movement in the market.
40:16We may see that figure come down for 5.1 slightly,
40:18but I don't think it's going to be a mass sort of exodus
40:21towards recruiting new employees.
40:25Of course.
40:26And within this figure, I think we have to address that young people in particular
40:29seem to be struggling the most.
40:31We saw the unemployed 18 to 24-year-olds has increased by 85,000 in three months up to October.
40:38So why do you think young people in particular are feeling the brunt of this?
40:42I think this is really difficult.
40:43Those entry-level jobs are really where many employers are sort of holding back at the moment.
40:52So where they've got existing staff, as I said, people leave, they're not replacing them.
40:56We have seen a bit of investment in training and development for existing staff
40:59to try and make them more employable and more productive.
41:02So it means that those entry-level jobs that traditionally were sort of made available
41:07because people were sort of moving on and being replaced, they're not there.
41:10And in particular, we're quite concerned about the number of young graduates
41:15who are sort of struggling to find meaningful employment,
41:17given that they've obviously sort of incurred quite a bit of debt
41:20and have sort of committed themselves to study for the last few years.
41:24And if we're not careful, then employers need to sort of try and, where they can,
41:28create opportunities to make sure that we don't lose that talent.
41:30We've got a short break now, but coming up, exciting things.
41:35We're celebrating Jane Austen's 250th birthday with some strong Kent connections
41:40and we're getting a sneak peek at the brand new episode of News Nugget.
41:44So don't go anywhere and we'll see you after the break.
41:46We'll see you after the break.
42:16We'll see you after the break.
42:46We'll see you after the break.
43:16We'll see you after the break.
43:46We'll see you after the break.
44:16We'll see you after the break.
44:46We'll see you after the break.
45:16Now, in breaking news, a busy stretch of the M20 has reopened following a crash,
45:21but drivers are still facing long delays.
45:24The coastbound carriageway between junctions 8 and 9 was closed after a van hit the barrier
45:29around 11 this morning, spilling oil across the road.
45:33One person was taken to the road, one person was taken to the road, the route reopened just after half past five, but queues of more than an hour remain in both directions.
45:41It comes on the first day of Operation Brock restarting to tackle high volume of Christmas traffic.
45:48Kent and Kenton Medway, Kenton Medway Resilience Forum received data from both Eurotunnel and the Port of Dover when there is a holiday period of forecasted bookings.
46:00And from that, we can assess what the likely possible impact is going to be on the road network in and around East Kent specifically.
46:10This time around, Port of Dover have shown that Friday and Saturday are going to be very busy down at the port.
46:16It's a very busy freight time as well because an awful lot of the HGVs are heading back to Europe as well for Christmas,
46:24as well as all the tourists heading over to Europe.
46:27Now, there's plenty of quirky and eyebrow-raising stories that can be found on our website.
46:32That's cametv.co.uk.
46:34Like this one about beatboxing bins, which is sure to put a smile on your face.
46:40Thank you for giving me some water, Tom.
46:42Say hello to Chatham's first bin that's both on the beat and ready to drop the beat, rewarding diligent litter pickers.
46:51And here is the beatboxing bin.
46:54This is how it works.
46:55You throw away your litter.
46:57It just beats, it's empty in the trash.
46:59And the bin lets you know.
47:01It says thank you.
47:02Funded by Arts Council England, the bins are part of an initiative to boost creativity among children
47:08and foster good environmental habits for life.
47:11This project is a project between Midway Council and Ideas Test, and it's a creative health project.
47:18So it's a focus on Luton and Brompton, two specific areas, thinking about how creativity
47:24can help improve health, either from a physical perspective, well-being perspective, or an
47:29environmental perspective.
47:31It started with a consultation with community members about what, particularly for Luton, what
47:35it is that they wanted to see change.
47:37And they articulated that litter was a big thing.
47:40And they also articulated that if we were going to think about creative ways to solve or help litter
47:45issues, that actually a good place to start was with young people.
47:48The bins' 40 different voices among beatboxer Rupert Aldridge include children from local schools,
47:54Luton Primary and Phoenix Primary School.
47:56Getting children excited about the bins through beatboxing sessions played a key role.
48:01She taught us how to beatbox, and we come on most Wednesdays, more than you, when we beatbox,
48:09and she did this and have some beatboxing back in the stress.
48:12I love beatboxing festivals, and also it's good for the environment like Martin said, so
48:17we can pick up litter and just help the world.
48:20It's a joint project from Ideas Test and Medway Council, but are eight singing bins along
48:26Luton Road, more trash than treasure, where Medway already has significant problems on its
48:31plate.
48:33People's idea of what art and culture is different for everybody.
48:37It's like not everyone's going to be inspired by going to a theatre or painting or something
48:41like that.
48:42But it's all forms of culture.
48:44I think music's particularly great at involving lots of people, and obviously that beatbox culture.
48:50It comes out of a culture which isn't privilege and all those kind of things, so I think
48:56it's a great, great way in, really.
48:59And with the bin ready to freestyle, there was only one thing left to do.
49:03Celebrate, of course, with a beatboxing match, the only rappers welcome on Luton Road for the
49:09foreseeable.
49:11Megan Shaw for Kame TV in Chatham.
49:15Please do not pollute the earth.
49:20Now, let's take a look at the weather over the coming days.
49:29This evening, some cloudy skies for Kent.
49:32Temperatures reaching highs of 9 in Margate and Dover.
49:36Tomorrow morning, more cloud, though some brighter spells for Ashford and Canterbury.
49:40Highs of 6.
49:41Into the afternoon, cloudy skies continuing.
49:44Temperatures rising to 9 and 10 degrees across the board.
49:47And for your outlook over the next few days.
49:49Thursday, we'll see some rain moving in.
49:51Highs reaching 12.
49:53Sunny on Friday, surprisingly in December for 10 degrees.
49:57And 10 on Saturday.
49:58Lots of cloud, but looking like no festive snow.
50:00And many people will be marking today as only nine days until Christmas.
50:09But it also marks the 250th birthday of Jane Austen, the acclaimed 18th century novelist
50:15whose sense and sensibilities as a writer were inspired by the county.
50:19Her brother even lived at Godmarsham Park, which served as inspiration for some of her most
50:24famous works, and it was that manor house that celebrated a costume celebration for Austen's
50:29birthday, which Olivia Tulloch told us all about earlier.
50:33So, really, Godmarsham is all about inheritance.
50:39Lots and lots of very fortunate inheritance, depending on who you ask.
50:43I don't think Jane was necessarily too happy with the family changing from Austen to Knight.
50:48But essentially what happens is Thomas Knight, who lives at Godmarsham, and his wife have no
50:55living heirs to pass the Godmarsham inheritance and the Shorten inheritance on to the next generation.
51:03So, they decide to get in contact with their very distant relatives.
51:08I believe they were distant cousins, the Austens.
51:11And they take a particular liking to Henry's third son, which is Edward Knight.
51:18And he's a very, very conscientious young man.
51:21They think he'd be perfect for running a large estate and taking on that kind of responsibility.
51:28So, they decide to take him on their honeymoon, which is obviously very unusual by today's standards.
51:34But they love him on that honeymoon, and they decide that he is going to be the heir.
51:38And he is Jane's brother.
51:40So, that is the link.
51:42And she ends up being, you know, plunged into a new life of wealth because of this inheritance.
51:48Wow.
51:50And obviously, Jane Austen has always been a huge literary figure, and especially at Godmarsham.
51:55What were the conversations leading up to her birthday within the team like?
52:00Yes, we were all really excited.
52:02I was relatively new to the team at the time when we started to talk about the 250th anniversary.
52:08So, yes, I was so excited because it was not only a new project, but it was such good timing for the anniversary.
52:16And we were really just discussing about how we could best tap into her legacy in new ways as well,
52:24not just talking about kind of the same general kind of Austen things that are known.
52:28And we have that link through Godmarsham Park with her brother.
52:33So, yes, we were so excited to present something kind of new to the public for her 250th anniversary.
52:42And I have to know, how did you celebrate the birthday?
52:45So, we actually had an event at Godmarsham, which was, we had some live music.
52:53We did a birthday tea with a birthday cake and everybody sang happy birthday.
52:57So, yes, it was a lovely day.
52:59And lots of people came to celebrate Jane Austen's very, very big birthday.
53:05And, Olivia, tell us, what was the atmosphere like?
53:08So, I'm aware you tried to create an environment that Austen herself would have known with the Regency era music
53:13and spoken performance.
53:15Is that right?
53:17Yes.
53:18So, we had a wonderful performance from Simon Stallard.
53:22And he played the flute.
53:24And he also sang in Gaelic, which was amazing.
53:28And he was really kind of presenting music from her time or music that she would have liked.
53:34And we had that in the Great Hall with the fire lit.
53:36So, you know, a very familiar sight to Jane.
53:39And then we had the birthday tea in the orangery.
53:41And there were even some guests in Regency era costume.
53:46We can see them now.
53:47So, tell us a bit about that.
53:50Yes, people always make the effort.
53:52I think whenever we encourage people to come in Regency costume, they're secretly quite excited about it.
53:58So, when we had our events in the summer as well, people, you know, they make such an amazing effort and everybody looked wonderful.
54:06Great.
54:06I wish I was there, honestly.
54:07And you also have a heritage centre where people can learn more about Godmarsham Park.
54:12So, do you see quite a lot of Jane Austen enthusiasts coming through the doors?
54:16Yes, we do.
54:18We get quite a mix of people.
54:20So, we get some people from the Jane Austen Society who obviously know, you know, sometimes more than we do.
54:25And then we also get people who have just seen, you know, the movie adaptations and they would like to learn more.
54:32And we also have a few researchers coming use.
54:34You know, we have a few first edition kind of maps and things from the park that gives you a really good insight to what the park would have looked like in Jane's Day.
54:43And so, yeah, we've got a real mixture of people coming visit us.
54:47And that's almost everything from us on Kent's Night.
54:50But don't go anywhere as after the break we'll have a brand new episode of News Nuggets.
54:54Here's a sneak peek.
54:55Hello, I'm Abbey and welcome to News Nuggets.
54:59This week we'll be learning about accessibility and inclusivity.
55:04But what do these two things really mean?
55:08Inclusivity is how much you include people.
55:11Accessibility is how much you can access things.
55:14For example, does your school have ramps?
55:17This would make school accessible for people in wheelchairs.
55:21Maybe your school has a sensory room.
55:23This can be a quiet place where you focus on your senses to feel calm.
55:27Some people get overwhelmed by their senses and things can feel loud.
55:32Having a sensory room would be inclusive because more people can join in at school if they have a room like this to help them when they need it.
55:39Hello, both of you.
55:41You're going to be taking me on a tour of your school, but we're starting here at a boat.
55:47Why do you have a boat at your school?
55:48Why not?
55:49Exactly, why not?
55:53This is so cold!
55:59This is our sensory story stack area.
56:02We're in a plane right now.
56:04In a plane?
56:05We're in a plane, I can't believe it!
56:08And isn't the feel of the grass lovely?
56:10At times reading can be hard, can't it, for our pupils?
56:14And so we want people to love reading and to really want to come to this space.
56:18Do you think you'd want to read more often?
56:20Yes.
56:22On Tuesday, Mrs Honey wore her hat to visit a friend.
56:25They sat in the garden in the shade of a tree and ate cakes.
56:29Oh, I could eat a cake right now.
56:31This is English.
56:32It's a different way of learning.
56:34Oh, my gosh.
56:37And lift off!
56:39Ah!
56:39Thanks for watching.
56:46Good night.
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57:14Good night.
57:15Good night.
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