Society Chairman Rod Shelton was delighted to present the second of the Society’s Superstar awards to Robert Hunt at our public meeting on November 10th. In Rod’s words, the community had voted for someone “known to you all; his gentle, friendly manner has endeared him to many. He is known for his generous nature and always having time to talk and listen to others. He is a feature of the Lunch Club and his community spirit, helping to pick-up rubbish around the village every week is a familiar sight to us all." The meeting saw an excellent turnout of residents, all keen to hear the guest speaker, Nigel Britten, chair of the Sevenoaks Division of CPRE: the Countryside Charity. In answering the question ‘Who Cares About the Green Belt?’ he outlined the history of this measure to protect our much loved countryside and the challenges posed by local housing targets and planned developments. There was a lively question and answer session afterwards.

Ho, Ho, Ho! Santa Claus has been busy packing his sleigh and feeding his reindeer in preparation for his special visit to Otford’s Christmas Fayre on Saturday November 19th.  His enchanted elves will be ready to welcome you to Santa’s Grotto from 10 am inside the atmospheric ruins of Otford Palace, and Men in Sheds have been busy building him a new sleigh. To make the children’s time with Santa even more special, he has a gift for them to take home. Booking is essential if you’d like your child to visit Santa as part of this wonderful celebration of Christmas in our village. Tickets to secure a slot for your family cost £6 and include one child and accompanying adult(s). You can book yours here, but hurry as places are strictly limited:  https://tinyurl.com/4rjr49ut. Note that additional children in the family will be charged for at £5 each, payable on the day. There will be lots more for families to enjoy on what promises to be a wonderful day out, including a World Cup shoot out on the Recreation Ground, face painting, Christmas biscuit decorating and card making, throwing a ball at the reindeer, and craft activities in the Memorial Hall and the Library. And Silly Billy the goat will be wandering around entertaining visitors! We look forward to welcoming you all. Do follow us on social media @otfordsociety for lots more about what promises to be an amazing day. The High Street (which will be partially closed) will be filled with stalls selling an array of gifts. There will be crafts, local fine artists, children's toys & activities, upcycled furniture, books, cards, eco gifts & much more! And our wonderful village food and drink outlets will be serving scrumptious seasonal treats, hot and cold drinks and tasty regular menus.

There are difficult times ahead for all of us in the coming months. Money is getting short, food is getting pricier and it seems our fuel bills are about to go through the roof. Now the weather is starting to close in. Add to that, Covid & flu seem to be waiting on the door-step. We can all try and cut our expenditures but what you must NOT do is to get cold by turning off your heating. It can do you harm and make you more susceptible to catching an illness. So STAY WARM is rule one. By joining up with our churches, the library and the Hilal Restaurant we can ensure there will always be somewhere warm for us all to go to EVERY DAY for a few hours and have a hot cup of tea or coffee and a biscuit or two. A place to meet others and, if you are on your own, with a partner, or with children, where you will always be welcome.  There will always be someone you can talk to if you have a problem. As your Society, we are there to help you sort things through. If we can’t help, we will know someone who can. Here are the times and places where we're spreading the warmth: Monday mornings: Otford Library, 11:30 - 13:00 Tuesday mornings: The Evangelical Church, 9:30 - 13:00 Wednesday mornings: Hilal Restaurant, 9:30 - 12:30 Thursday mornings: Otford Library, 9:30 - 12:30 Friday mornings (except November 4): Methodist Church Hall, 9:30 - 13:00 Friday afternoons: St Barts Church Rooms, 14:00 - 17:00 

This big public meeting is taking place in the Club Room of the Otford Village Memorial Hall.  A choice of tea, coffee and biscuits will be available from 7pm.  At 7:30 we will give you an update on all the exciting events we have planned for the next six months. And as always we’ll be asking you for your ideas on how to improve on what we are doing to help bring our community together. The bi-annual Superstar Award, chosen from the nominations which you have made, will also be presented. The highlight of the evening is a presentation from Nigel Britten, ‘Who cares about the Green Belt?’  Nigel is  chair of the Sevenoaks Division of CPRE: the Countryside Charity. With Government pressures to reduce its size and effectiveness this is certainly applicable to our village. Nigel lives locally and is an excellent speaker. We would welcome you to join us and hope to see lots of you there.

A magical experience awaits you in Otford High Street this festive season, with stalls selling everything from handmade gifts and arts and crafts goodies to fudge, gin, and cute stocking fillers. When your shopping ventures have worked up an appetite, dig into a bag of hot roasted chestnuts and get well and truly in the Christmas spirit with a cup of mulled wine. In addition, there will be a range of craft activities for young and old taking place in The Memorial Hall, with festive music to add to the atmosphere. And Father Christmas! Christmas Markets have long been a tradition in German speaking countries, the first dating from 1434 when Dresden held one on Christmas Eve. In the UK the first city to host one was Lincoln, in 1982. Otford is slow to catch up; 2022 will be our first ever but hopefully not our last. Our village pubs, coffee shops and restaurants will be serving an array of Christmas treats so be sure to book a table and enjoy the Otford Christmas Fayre.

Back in May we were delighted to present our very first award to Sue Stephenson. Is there someone you know who really deserves it this time around? A neighbour, a local businessperson, or even someone who until recently was a complete stranger – that person who goes the extra mile to support our community. It’s not too late to send your nomination to communitystars@otfordsociety.org.uk. In a few sentences, tell us what this individual has done for Otford. We’ll be announcing the winner at our next general meeting on November 10th and, with their consent, publicising their story in the local press and on social media. And don’t be discouraged if your nominee doesn’t get the award this time around, as we plan to repeat this twice a year from now on.

The Otford Craft Guild and the Friends of Otford Station are delighted to announce a new scheme to support local craft businesses. There will be two individual craft stalls popping up in the station building between 3.30pm and 6.30pm on the 2nd Thursday of each month: September 8, October 13, November 10 and December 8. Please pop by, say hi and support your local crafters.

Thank you so much to all of you who have volunteered to join the "Friends of Otford Station" group which is managed by The Otford Society working in close collaboration with the Darent Valley Community Rail Partnership.  We now have 19 volunteers and you may have noticed some of the changes that have already taken place.  Following on from the new planter on platform 1 there are lovely new wooden window boxes freshly planted with flowers at the front of the station.  The horticultural team, led by James Holdak, are co-ordinating the watering of these through the hot weather to keep them looking their best. Huge thanks must also go to Coolings Garden Centre for donating plants.  There are further plans to plant spring and summer bulbs down the length of platform 2 to follow on from the autumn planting scheme in the window boxes. A talented team is working on posters showing the history of the station which aim to be informative, attractive and fun.  Look out for these in the coming months! Do follow us on our blog, and if you'd like to get involved email us at station@otfordsociety.org.uk. 

It was brilliant to see so many of you join us at our annual Garden Party behind the gates of The Old Parsonage in Otford High St on Saturday. Courtesy of Tom and Anita Watson we enjoyed an evening of drinks, canapés, sunshine and great company, with our own violin duet playing. The raffle raised £205 in aid of the Ukraine Crisis Appeal, while  proceeds from ticket sales will go towards our village projects. Thank you to everyone who attended, to the team of volunteers who made the event possible and most of all to our kind hosts. Here's some of the lovely feedback we've had from those who attended: "What a grand occasion!  Our thanks to yourself and to everyone who helped organise such a lovely event.  It made me realise all over again what a wonderful place Otford is to live in!" (Alan) "Just a word of thanks for a delightful evening yesterday at the Garden Party... We spent a very entertaining time chatting with people we know and some we didn’t – but do now! Very well organised all round, and a delicious range of edible goodies was constantly on stream. So again, thanks to you all and to your helpers and of course our gracious hosts. Such a perfect setting, too. Another corner of the village that we don’t usually get to see!" (Jeff) "Many thanks to the generous hosts for letting us into their lovely garden. A very enjoyable evening!" (Jo) "Thank you Otford Society, Tom and Anita. A lovely evening with excellent company." (Sarah) "It was a lovely evening! Thank you!" (James) "A really lovely occasion that we thoroughly enjoyed. Thanks to all who worked so hard and to our generous hosts." (Betty)

Have you bought your ticket for the Otford Society's Garden Party yet? And have you ever wondered what lies behind the beautiful Old Parsonage in the High Street? You may not know that the garden was laid out in the early part of the last century by the famous garden designer Gertrude Jekyll. Although little of her original design remains, it is still perfectly beautiful. We are delighted that the current owners have kindly allowed us to use it for our party from 6-8pm on Saturday August 6th. Tickets (for Otford residents only) cost £20 and can be purchased here . They include a welcome drink, delicious canapes, and some excellent company. But hurry, as numbers are strictly limited!