NEWS insideSTORY
HUGE RECOGNITION FOR KENT’ S TOWNS IN BRITAIN IN BLOOM AWARDS
Sevenoaks and Dover achieved remarkable success at the recent RHS Britain in Bloom Awards. Sevenoaks in Bloom won four awards, as well as Gold Standard in the Town Centres & City Centres category while Dover was awarded Gold and named category winner in both the Large Coastal Town and Biodiversities categories, a remarkable achievement for a first-time participant.
Dover’ s Samphire Hoe, the nature reserve created from Channel Tunnel excavations, also won Gold and was crowned a category winner in its class- an exceptional triple win for Dover.
SHEPHERD NEAME INSTALLS NEW LIFESAVING DEFIBRILLATORS IN ITS PUBS
Independent family brewer Shepherd Neame has invested in the installation of new lifesaving defibrillators at six of its pubs across Kent and Essex.
The brewer has partnered with charity London Hearts, which procures and distributes defibrillators across the UK, to source Government match funding for the equipment.
In December last year, when The Bellhouse in Leigh-on-Sea officially reopened following a £ 300,000 transformation, Shepherd Neame chief executive Jonathan Neame presented a £ 1,000 donation to the foundation, which promotes heart screenings and awareness to help prevent Young Sudden Cardiac Deaths( SCDs) in memory of 19-year-old Jude who died after suffering a cardiac arrest in 2023.
As part of the initiative, new defibrillators have also been installed at the following Shepherd Neame sites in Kent: The Manor Farm Barn, The Blue Vue Tavern, The Granville, The Cock Inn and The Plough Inn.
“ We take pride in ensuring that our pubs are at the heart of the community, and this investment means that they can play an even greater role, by ensuring that life-saving assistance is available to all when it matters most,” said Jonathan Neame.
The Sevenoaks in Bloom team also celebrated two young volunteers in the community who won Young Champion Awards- Willow and Bonnie. Willow, a talented crafter, crocheted two intricate post box toppers while Bonnie took part in a sponsored little pick to raise funds, which were later used to buy plans for the Vine Gardens.
Britain in Bloom is a nationwide gardening competition that inspires communities to make positive changes to their local environment through horticulture, environmental and community action.
FOOD REBELS LAUNCHES TO A GLOBAL AUDIENCE
Kent-founded Food Rebels, the radio show and podcast hosted by food commentator and judge AJ Sharp, has launched to a global audience via Heritage Radio Network( HRN) and Food FM.
Food Rebels spotlights the voices across food and drink, producers and founders, chefs and critics asking and answering the big questions about flavour, sustainability and craft.
The partnership means Food Rebels is now available across two of the world’ s most respected food-and-drink audio platforms: HRN, a nonprofit that produces the world’ s largest and most diverse collection of food and drink podcasts, and Food FM, a UK-based radio and podcast platform telling stories all about food.
Food Rebels has increased its weekly global listenership every week since the start of these collaborations. The show now attracts an estimated weekly listenership of 135,000 from the UK and across the world with new episodes airing every Wednesday at 5pm.
“ Our mission has always been to champion the people, ideas and movements reshaping how we eat and drink for the better,” said host, AJ Sharp.“ Partnering with Food FM and Heritage Radio Network lets us make those conversations truly global, while keeping the show intimate, curious and fun.”
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