06/06/12    11:00    D - Day (NVA)    Garden of Remembrance, Sandgate Road    D-Day’s annual Remembrance Service.

10/06/12    15:15    William Harvey Sunday    William Harvey Statue, The Leas William Harvey was born in Folkestone on 1 April 1578 and died on 3 June 1657.  Each year, around the time of his death, a commemoration service is held.

24/06/12    10:30    Town Sunday     St Mary & St Eanswythe Church Although the Town Mayor is elected in the Council Chamber, it is from the Churchyard Cross that the Town Mayor is named and prayers said for the person honoured and elected by the Town Councillors, for the Town Councillors themselves and for the Town of Folkestone.

24/06/12    14:45    Blessing of the Fisheries    The Harbour Councillors are invited to join a procession from St Peter’s Church to the Harbour where a short service takes place by the Bishop to bless the fish, fishermen, allied trades, services and protectors.  The procession is then led back to the church.

30/06/12    12:00    AFD    The Leas The intention of this national day is to provide an opportunity to raise public awareness of the contribution made to our country by those who serve and have served in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces and also provides an opportunity for the Town to show support for the men and women who make up the Armed Forces community – past, present and future. In Folkestone, this family day out is supported by our local forces and cadet units providing various entertainment and static displays throughout the day.

02/07/12    11:00    Canada Day    Shorncliffe Military Cemetery The Canada Day Service commemorates the 296 Canadian soldiers who died during WWI and are buried in the Shorncliffe Military Cemetery.  A memorial service takes place each year on or near Canada Day at the Canadian Servicemen’s graves at Shorncliffe, where approximately 300 children from several Folkestone schools lay flowers on the Canadian soldiers’ graves.

15/08/12    11:00    VJ Day    Garden of Remembrance Annual service to celebrate the surrender of Japan, ending combat in the Second World War on 15 August 1945.

04/11/12    14:30    Dedication of Garden of Remembrance    Garden of Remembrance Around 200 Remembrance Crosses are placed in the Garden of Remembrance allowing members of the public to pay their own personal tributes to servicemen and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for their Country. A short service takes place followed by the placing of small crosses at the named regiment crosses.  Ex-service Associations, Cadet Units and youth organisations are on parade during the service.

10/11/12    11:00    Machine Gun Corps    Cheriton Road Cemetery At the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month, the Two Minute Silence is observed on Armistice Day. The time which marks the end of hostilities in the First World War in 1918. A short service is held at the Machine Gun Corps (Cavalry) Memorial (dedicated to World War I soldiers) and after standards have been displayed and wreaths laid, the Last Post and Reveille are played.

11/11/12    10:30    Remembrance Sunday    War Memorial, The Leas An annual service takes place for Remembrance Sunday, the anniversary of when hostilities in the First World War ended at 11:00 hours in 1918.

27/01/12    10:30    Holocaust Memorial Day    Garden of Remembrance An annual commemoration Service takes place to mark Holocaust Memorial Day in memory of those who died in the Holocaust and subsequent genocides.

The Fishing Heritage of Folkestone by Frank Bond

Fishing and Folkestone have been synonymous since pre-Roman times when oysters were sent to Gaul. Long before construction of a harbour, this would have been conducted in small boats or by literally dragging primitive nets through the water, also fishing lines and pots. Generations of families, living close to the waters edge, would have survived and thrived through their involvement with fishing. All their equipment would be made from natural materials and fibres such as wood, linen flax and wool. They would have been totally dependent on the weather, which was liable to endanger their livelihood, their property and even their lives. Periods of bad weather threatened the very survival of the community. The early jetty was frequently collapsing with the constant need to replacing the stones. The fish would be bartered on the foreshore or immediate surrounding area.

As the population of the locality increased, fish was traded further inland to supply the expanding community. The prosperity of the area was clearly critically dependent on products from the sea, and further inland, on primitive agriculture, hunting and quarrying. Much later, the construction of a harbour in 1807 enabled larger vessels to fish with the benefit of protection and shelter. A fish market developed, and, with the arrival of the railway to London in 1843, the fish could be sent to the Capital using ice imported from Scandinavia or even further afield. The invention of ‘dry ice’, in the form of solid carbon dioxide, ensured the freshest possible condition of the fish even on the longest journeys.

As late as 1960’s boats were still being launched from the ‘horseshoe’ shaped beach in front of the old Folkestone Marina, and some were even rowed out, although most had outboard motors.   Small craft were also kept in Folkestone’s Inner Harbour, though mainly for recreational or party fishing rather than commercial operations. This form of fishing provided an income for those responding to demand for pleasure fishing and they still do today. Other vessels were used for pleasure trips to see the white cliffs of Dover.

The fishing took place alongside harbour developments connected with commercial freight and passenger operations which sometimes helped, and often hindered. Subsequent developments enabled more successful and profitable fishing operations to be conducted using still larger vessels and a greater variety of sophisticated new equipment. Trawling, monofilament netting, potting and other methods are currently employed, but with decline in available fish, the fleet and consequent effort, have reduced in recent years. Fishing is still the most hazardous operation, with personal injuries and lives lost annually the worst in recorded professions. Thankfully, with limitations of exposure of inshore fishing it is less with this.

We need to remember our heritage, heavy local dependence on fishing, and a Museum, housing countless memorabilia, artefacts and photographs, currently held by those living by the sea, would be a considerable asset.   Though in the long term we intend to establish a museum devoted entirely to fishing in the area of the harbour, in the short term we fully support the efforts to establish a museum in the Old Town Hall, which we hope will in part be devoted to the Folkestone fishing industry.   This will also attach a value to those who have dedicated their livelihood, effort and occasionally their lives to providing fish on our tables.

This is an article from Go Folkestone magazine. An electronic version can be found at http://www.gofolkestone.org.uk/magazine

This Saturday 4^th February 2012 at The Chichester Memorial Hall, Sandgate

from 10.00am until 12.30pm

Baking Competition – bring along your cakes, pies or tarts made with Bramley Apples – judging at 11.00am.

Our produce will have an apple theme this week including pork and apple sausages, apple preserves, strudels and pies and much more!

The Sandgate Bakery – freshly baked bread, pies and biscuits, French cheese

Juicy Fruits – fresh fruit and vegetables

Izzy’s Deli – homemade lasagna, soups, meat and vegetarian pies, pizzas and home cooked ham freshly sliced, English cheese

Catherine Jordan Cakes – large and small cakes, seasonal fruit pies and tarts, scones and biscuits

Old Hall Farm, Brookland – traditionally reared meat & sausages, rare breed lamb & pork and fresh eggs

Alkham Valley Preserves – jams, preserves, raw honey and quail’s eggs

Eco-Friendly Cleaning – eco-friendly cleaning products

Sandgate Farmers’ Market is in the Chichester Memorial Hall on the first and third Saturday of each month from 10.00am