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A Letter from the Rector
Dear All,
Easter is far more than just a weekend break; it holds profound significance for the worldwide Christian community. Easter commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, which is the cornerstone of our Christian faith. This event signifies victory over sin and death, affirming the promise of eternal life for all believers.
The resurrection fulfils Old Testament prophecies and Jesus’ own predictions about His death and resurrection. This connection deepens the understanding of God’s redemptive plan throughout history.
Easter represents hope and renewal, offering believers assurance that, just as Jesus was raised from the dead, they too can experience spiritual rebirth and renewal in their lives. It is a time for reflecting on personal transformation and new beginnings.
The resurrection is central to Christian doctrine. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15:14, “And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.” This underscores the importance of Easter in affirming the truth of the Gospel. A Gospel that brings together Christians from diverse cultures and backgrounds, uniting them in shared beliefs and practices. It fosters a sense of community and solidarity among believers worldwide, transcending geographical and cultural boundaries. The message of Easter compels Christians to share the Good News with others, reflecting love, grace, and forgiveness. It inspires acts of service and charity, encouraging believers to live out their faith in tangible ways.
Easter invites believers to engage in deep spiritual reflection, considering the implications of Christ’s sacrifice and resurrection in their lives. It is a time for prayer, worship, and recommitment to their faith. The season assures Christians of the promise of their own resurrection and eternal life with God. This hope provides comfort in times of grief and loss, reminding believers that death is not the end but a passage to eternal life.
And so, Easter is a profound and transformative celebration for the worldwide Christian community, encapsulating themes of hope, renewal, and the assurance of eternal life. It encourages believers to reflect on their faith, connect with one another, and share the message of Christ’s love and resurrection with the world. So, make this Easter count, for the world so needs to hear our message.
Blessings this Easter,
Rev Barry
Diary: St Peter & St Paul, Saltwood
Our regular pattern of worship includes a service every Sunday at 10am. Usually this is Holy Communion (to which all are welcome, whether or not you choose to receive communion) with a Family Service on the fourth Sunday of each month. Other services of Holy Communion, including ‘Book of Common Prayer’ services at Saltwood and Pedlinge, are shown on the website calendar, along with all services and events for the month.
Bubble Church, for families with Toddlers, is held in the Lads’ Club at 10am on the first Sunday of the month; Sunday Club, for children aged 3 – 10 is held at 10am in the Lads’ Club, on the third Sundays in term time
Some extra dates to note in your diary:
Wednesday 1st – No Toddlers (School holiday)
Thursday 2nd – 7pm – Maundy Thursday Service with stripping of the altar. starting with a fellowship meal at the Lads’ Club
Friday 3d – 9.45am – Good Friday Walk of Witness – meet at Waitrose
Friday 3rd – 2pm – An Hour at the Cross (Saltwood Church)
Friday 3rd – 4pm – Passion Play (Lympne Church)
Sunday 5th – EASTER DAY – services as for 1st Sunday in the month with Holy Communion at 8am and 10am. All welcome
Monday 6th – No Monday Chats (Bank Holiday)
Tuesday 7th – Our Rector’s day off – and each following Tuesday Wednesday 8th – 2pm – Afternoon Prayer Group at 34 Harpswood Avenue
Thursday 9th – 6-7pm Bell Ringing Practice – and each following Thursday Thursday 9th – 7pm – Choir Practice – and each following Thursday Friday 10th – Carol Eastell’s day off – and each following Friday Saturday 18th – 10.30am – Coffee Morning at Lympne Church
Monday 20th – 7.30 pm APCM at the Lads’ Club
Wednesday 22nd – 10 – 11.30am – Toddlers Group in the Lads’ Club – and each following Wednesday Friday 24th – Last date for entries for the May magazine
N.B Saturday 2nd May – Wild West Supper and Quiz Night at the Lads’ Club
If you have any items for the May edition of the magazine, please forward to Beth Lewsey, by the 24th April
by email if possible, to: parishmagazine@saltwoodchurch.org
or deliver to 20 Castle Avenue. (Tel 01303 264577).
Saltwood Church Pastoral Group
Caring for One Another
‘And let us look out for one another to provoke love and good works’ (Hebrews 10:24)
Our Pastoral Group meet monthly to seek ways of offering support to those who are going through difficult or challenging times. If you know someone you are concerned about, or if you have concerns yourself, please contact us. You will always find a friendly voice and a listening ear at the end of the line. Caring for others is at the heart of Christian life and you can help us by being our eyes and ears, letting us know of anyone who is in need.
Contacts: 01303 266454 01303 883243
A Prayer for the Month of April
Loving Father,
Thank you for Jesus; for His life and death, but most of all for His resurrection, which makes all things new and possible.
Thank you for the reality that He defeated death by His work on the Cross and offers life forever with Him to all who believe in Him and receive Him into their lives as Lord and Saviour. Thank you for that incomprehensible but very real resurrection peace that we can know even in our darkest times by the presence of your Holy Spirit in us. In joy and thankfulness, we praise and honour you this Eastertime. In Jesus’ name.
Amen.
Intercessions for April
Today we pray especially for:-
1 Those who live in Bartholomew Close and Lea Close
2 Those who protect us – the emergency services
3 All who worship at St Peter & St Paul and at Pedlinge
4 Centrepoint (Homelessness Charity)
5 The lonely, thinking particularly of those known to you
6 Those who live in Bartholomew Lane and St John’s Road
7 Those who visit our church and those who make use of it
8 Holy Trinity Folkestone, St George Folkestone, and St. Paul Sandgate
9 Our organists and choir
10 Canterbury Cathedral, Diocesan House and their staffs
11 Those who live in Hillcrest Road and Quarry Lane
12 Those who care for the church and churchyard and make them beautiful
13 The national role of the Church of England
14 St John the Baptist Folkestone
15 Our neighbours
16 Those who live in Holly Close and Mulberry Court
17 Those unsure of their future, thinking particularly of those known to you
18 St Augustine’s Primary School – staff and pupils
19 The Rainbow Centre
20 Families going through difficult times, thinking particularly of those known to you
21 Those who live in North Road West, North Road and Barrack Hill
22 Those parts of the world where there is war or political strife and those who suffer as a result
23 Our own benefice with St Stephen Lympne
24 His Majesty’s Government and Members of Parliament
25 Mission Aviation Fellowship
26 Those who live in Pedlinge and Sandling
27 The terminally ill and their families, thinking particularly of those known to you
28 Our study groups
29 Other, non-Anglican, churches in the local area
30 Those who live in Sandling Road and Highfield Close
Prayer Ministry
‘This is the confidence we have in approaching God,
That if we ask for anything according to his will, he will hear us.
And if we know that he hears us – whatever we ask –
We know that we have what we asked of him.’
1 John 5: 14-15
The Prayer Ministry team are here for you – in the Sanctuary at the end of the Sunday service at Saltwood every week. Is there anything on your heart you need to bring to God? Concerns for yourself or a loved one? Anxious about our world? Burdened by daily bad news? St John assures us – if we ask anything according to his will, he will hear us.
Your request is treated in the strictest confidence, and you will not be asked intrusive questions. You may like to try the added bonus of being anointed – having the sign of the cross marked on your forehead and hands, with oil that has been blessed for that purpose.
This ministry is recognised and valued throughout the world-wide church and team members have been trained and accredited by the Diocese.
Come and see – a blessing just waiting there for you!
Quote
Man’s way leads to a hopeless end – God’s way leads to an endless hope.
– Anon
Bible Gem Number 4 – The Psalm with No Number
As we approach the solemn hour of Good Friday, we draw near once more to the most searching moment in human history — the moment when the Son of God hung upon a Roman cross. We must remember that both Christmas and Easter derive their meaning from Good Friday alone.
Jesus was nailed to the cross at the third hour – about 9 o’clock in the morning. It is the same time that the morning sacrifice of lambs is happening in the temple. At the sixth hour (about midday) it becomes supernaturally dark. The darkness lasts for three hours. In the darkness of that afternoon, Jesus cried out in agony, in Aramaic, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46; Mark 15:34).
These words came in the midst of His real suffering, in the full weight of what He was bearing. He who had lived in unbroken fellowship with the Father had entered into the depth of separation from Him by carrying the sin of the world, yours and mine. The cry was real. The anguish was real. And yet, even here, the cry was telling us more.
The words are Psalm 22 verse 1. We can turn to it easily because our Bibles have numbers. But the psalms were not originally numbered. In the Hebrew Scriptures they were known by their opening words, so what we call “Psalm 22” was recognised simply by its first line: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When Jesus spoke those words, He was not only expressing anguish. He was naming a psalm.
In Jewish tradition, to speak the first line of a psalm was to call the whole of it to mind. Those who knew the Scriptures would have heard that opening cry and recognised what followed. Jesus was saying to those watching— especially the religious leaders who knew the Scriptures so well, and equally to us today — “Read this psalm. See what is unfolding before you.”
And what follows is astonishing.
The psalm speaks of hands and feet being pierced (Psalm 22:16). It describes mockers shaking their heads (Psalm 22:7–8). It tells of garments being divided and lots being cast for clothing (Psalm 22:18).
It reads like an eyewitness account of the crucifixion — yet it was written a thousand years before Jesus was born, long before crucifixion had been devised as a method of execution. Roman crucifixion did not exist in David’s day. And yet here, in Israel’s Scriptures, is a description from David’s heart that matches the scene at Calvary on that first Good Friday, at the feast of Passover. (see Matthew 27:35–43; John 19:23–24).
But the psalm does not remain in that place of suffering. It moves forward, slowly and surely, into vindication. It rises into worship. It speaks of a message that will be carried to future generations, of people yet unborn who will hear what the Lord has done. “They will proclaim his righteousness, declaring to a people yet unborn: He has done it.” (Psalm 22:31)
The psalm that begins with the cry of abandonment ends with the certainty that the work has been accomplished. It is about the ninth hour, 3 o’clock in the afternoon and the time of the evening sacrifice of lambs in the temple. And it is striking that these final words (v 31) carry that same sense of completion that we hear at the cross, when Jesus says, “It is finished.” (John 19:30), and gives up His Spirit.
Jesus Himself taught that “the Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35). And here, at the cross, we see that truth unfolding, as He alone fulfils what had been written centuries before.
When Jesus cried out that first line, He was both entering fully into the depth of human forsakenness and standing firmly within the Scriptures too. Even in the darkness, He was fulfilling them. Even in what appears to be abandonment, He was revealing that this was neither accident nor defeat, but the unfolding purpose of God.
The cross was not the end of the psalm. And it was not the end of the story. The psalm ends in victory and exultation, and so does Calvary.
Now, as we draw near to Good Friday and look on towards Easter morning, we are reminded that the Bible is not a collection of separate fragments. It is one unfolding revelation, and sometimes a single line opens the whole.
John Campbell
Wild West Supper and Quiz Night
Howdy Pardners! Our Wild West Supper & Quiz Night is on Saturday 2nd May 2026 at 6pm in the Saltwood Lads’ Club. Supper and quiz start soon after. Tickets are £10 and include a supper of hot dog (traditional sausage), tortilla chips and dessert. Wine and soft drinks are available to buy from the bar, please don’t bring your own and instead support the bar! All proceeds go to St Peter & St Paul Church, Saltwood.
There will be prizes for the winning quiz team and during the evening there be will some short games with more prizes (to participate in these please bring some £1/£2 coins) and also a raffle for which you will also need some more cash!
To clarify – all payments, whether for tickets, drinks, games or raffle, need to be made with cash, it’s not feasible to pay by plastic.
Wild West being the theme, if possible, please dress up in cowboy/cowgirl and rancher outfits, and dig out those checked shirts, neckerchiefs, jeans/gingham dresses, cowboy/cowgirl hats and cowboy boots – just suggestions but wear anything that goes with the Wild West! There will be prizes for best individual outfits!
Corral your posses together (max 6 per table). Let me know the names of the quizzers in your posse and choose a creative Wild West team name! If you are not part of a team, don’t worry, come as a couple or an individual and you will be assigned to a team. It’s essential to pre-book whether in teams or not and cash pre-payment required please. Book your places now, first come first served! Anyone can come, it’s not just for Saltwood and Lympne churches and you don’t have to be a churchgoer so bring your family, friends and neighbours!
Let me know if you are vegetarian or have any allergies.
To buy your tickets, contact me at pkent.email@gmail.com or on 01303-266140 but best option is to see me by the main door after Sunday 10am services (Saltwood) where I will be most weeks.
It will be an evening of fun, friendship and fellowship – cowboy style! Look forward to seeing you there.
Yeehaw – Peter Kent
Saltwood Cinema Club
will be showing
TRAIN DREAMS
On Wednesday 22nd April at 2pm in the Lads’ Club
Train Dreams is a 2025 American period drama film and recounts the 80 years of the life of Robert Grainier around Bonners Ferry, Idaho. The film received critical acclaim, with praise going to Clint Bentley’s direction and Joel Edgerton’s performance. Among its accolades, the film was named as one of the top ten films of 2025.
Cost £5 per person to include tea and cake
All proceeds to the Lads’ Club Funds
Annual Meeting
Everyone is welcome to Saltwood Church’s Annual Meeting (the APCM) – this year to be held at 7.30 pm on Monday 20th April in the Lads’ Club. Those on the Church electoral roll are able to vote for any new Church Warden or PCC member, but all are welcome to this brief business meeting, followed by the opportunity for fellowship and chat over light refreshments.
Notes from the Choir
I start this month with the very sad news of the death on 6th March, of our very dear friend and choir member Margaret Ritchie.
She and her husband David came to Saltwood in 2008 and soon became firmly established in our choir, led at that time by Bridget Wight, with Antony Wilson as Musical Director and organist. Margaret was also a soloist for the Shepway Singers and was widely known and much sought after locally for solo parts in many classical and operatic productions. Such was her musical prowess, she was able to sing soprano and alto and interchange at will throughout the whole piece, quite a remarkable skill if the choir is short of singers! She also conducted us during anthems and played the piano for us in the absence of Antony. I remember we had a few ‘soirees’ at her house when we needed extra rehearsals, Margaret would play the piano, we would sing our parts, then we’d finish off with wine and nibbles! Such lovely, precious memories. She was a lovely, caring lady, full of fun and laughter, and an inspiration to all who had the privilege of singing with her. We will never forget her.
(Editor: Fran Dyer has kindly shared this photo, showing not only Margaret, but many other familiar faces of folk no longer with us)
Have you a favourite season for hymns? Most people would probably favour Christmas where there is so much joy over one tiny baby, and countless hymns and carols telling the story. The other story of course is the Passion at Easter. We have grown to love the baby Jesus as he grew into a man, his teaching, love and compassion for all. Then the cruelty of man, building like some huge tidal wave of hatred and scorn until he is condemned to death by crucifixion. Can you just imagine the pain of that? Being actually nailed to a cross, not just through both hands but through his feet too. Not to mention the crown of thorns pushed down on his head so hard it poured with blood.
No wonder then that there are so many moving hymns throughout Passiontide. They convey the cruelty and emotion of the crucifixion, with music so heartbreakingly beautiful, it is sometimes for me, quite hard to sing. If you wish to take the time to read the words of these hymns, you will find them in our church A&M hymn book:
147 My song is love unknown.
148 O dearest Lord, thy sacred head, with thorns was pierced for me.
157 When I survey the wondrous Cross.
181 O sacred head, surrounded by crown of piercing thorn.
184 Were you there when they crucified my Lord.
On the Sunday following the painful Good Friday, the disciples and other followers were astonished, mystified and overjoyed to see the Lord again and so on Easter Sunday we celebrate that He is risen. The choir anthem will be: ‘This Joyful Eastertide’.
We look forward to seeing you all on Easter Day, and wish you all a very happy Easter.
Fran Dyer
Another Quote
Exercise daily – walk with the Lord. – Anon
Wardens’ Corner
From Carol Eastell: –
Lent Lunches
At the time of writing, we will have had two of the three Lent Lunches. Sadly, the first one had only 31 people, mostly from the community, in to share in the gallons of soup our helpers had so kindly made for us. We had a great team from Lympne who happily worked their way together through the morning. Thank you so much for your support, Monica, James and her delightful team.
I was greatly relieved and pacified that the second Lent lunch was well attended, and another super team worked well together taking a nice lot of money and serving lovely soup and French bread. We were all kept on our toes throughout. Our team of wonderful scouts, Olly, Poppy, and Bertie, who were joined this week by Campbell, did a sterling job. It was a joy to have them with us. One more week to go and Melissa is heading up the final lunch. Hopefully, their efforts will be worthwhile, and we will have had hordes of people coming through the door.
Huge thankyous to everyone who so kindly made and donated the soups freely. As always it is much appreciated. And of course, Lent Lunches would not happen without your so kind efforts.
Monday Chats
As well as our regular weekly Monday get-togethers, we have started to enjoy lunches together at The Castle Hotel. They are offering a Seniors Lunch every Wednesday for about £11 (with two courses), so well worth a visit. And their Friday breakfasts are delicious!
Afternoon Prayers
We will be meeting a week later in April on the 8th at Penny’s home, 34 Harpswood Lane. With the world in its present state, we have lots to pray about. We would love to see more of you there. The meetings begin at 2 pm.
Fight Against Blindness
I hope you will feel able to come along to the coffee morning I am holding in The Lads Club on Saturday 2 May from 10 30 to midday. This is a charity where 100% of the proceeds go to setting up clinics within many of the major hospitals, including Moorfields and Great Ormond Street. Children with serious visual problems and their parents, are given the time and loving care from doctors to counsel them with their totally understandable fears and concerns. We will be selling lovely leather goods such as handbags, purses etc, together with scarves, jewellery, gifts and cards. I do hope you will want to come and support me on this occasion.
From Rachel Cornish (Warden at Lympne): –
We have had two requests for help in looking after graves and memorial stones, by a family who find it difficult to get to the churchyard. The Eco team are now able to help provide this service in one of two ways. The basic service will keep the edges tidy and not overgrown, tend any existing flowers and remove dead plants. A more extensive service will ensure flowers or plants are on the grave or stone for most of the year. If you’d like more information on this please email lympnechurch@gmail.com or speak to one on the eco-team, often in the churchyard on a Saturday morning.
Badgers Bridge in the Churchyard
The eco team have worked with Badgers Bridge Nursery to create an area of the churchyard for the children to plant and maintain. We have recycled two of the large pots that were used to transport the Olive trees for the castle to create low level planters.
Treasurer Urgently Wanted
1st Saltwood Scout Group
Our valued Treasurer is stepping down at the end of this tax year / end of March 2026 and we need someone to take on this vital role.
Managing subscriptions
Collating payments for trips, badges & activities
Keeping the books balanced
Preparing annual accounts for audit
Submitting Gift Aid claims (HMRC)
Not an onerous role — but an important one! We’re looking for someone:
With bookkeeping & basic computer skills
Working in finance — or retired and keen to “keep your hand in”
We’re a friendly group who meet quarterly — and we’d love to welcome you.
Time is of the essence! If you can help, please contact
Eve – 07970 311126. We look forward to hearing from you!
St. Stephen’s Church, Lympne
Services and Events in April
Friday 3rd April 4pm passion Play
Sunday 5th April April Easter Day – 11 am Holy Communion
Friday 10th April 7pm Hymn Singing for All
Sunday 12th April 11am Family Service
Saturday 18th April 10.30am Coffee Morning
Sunday 19th April 11am Holy Communion
Sunday 26th April 11am Holy Communion
Sunday 26th April 6pm Taize Service
Looking Ahead:
Sunday 31st May 6pm Songs of Praise
Regular Events:
Mondays 12:-30-1pm (every other week) – Prayer Meeting
Mondays 5pm (every other week) – Home Group – Speak to Valerie or Rachel
Mondays 19:30-21:30 – Bell ringing Practice (each week)
Friday mornings (every other week) – Home Group – Speak to Monica or Peter
Saturday mornings 10:30 – 12:30 Eco group working churchyard (when dry)
Lympne Fellowship
We had a really enjoyable meeting in March, when Ali Chambers gave an illustrated talk about The Tear Fund and its work to help communities pull together in choosing and carrying out improvements through their local churches. We saw on screen some of these projects in action, in which people really were working together and taking pride in local achievements, demonstrating charitable giving at its best. Ali also told us about her visit to Rwanda and how the war-torn country of years ago had set about reinstating an environment of peace and hope.
Our next meeting will take the form of a special visit to Harringe Nursery, where we shall be given a tour and a demonstration. There is a coffee shop and an opportunity for purchases if anyone wishes to take home some garden goodies!
For further information about our group, please contact Jill Page on 07846 819693.
Lympne Church Easter Coffee Morning
SATURDAY 18 APRIL
10.30am – 12.30pm
Join us to celebrate Easter over coffee, cake & savoury bakes
Proceeds to maintenance of the church plus
a donation to this month’s nominated charity:
HOME FARM TRUST, LYMPNE PLACE
And Another MARATHON RUNNER!
Mike, the Estate Manager at Lympne Castle is running the London Marathon on 26th April.
He says: “I am reaching out to ask you to please sponsor me. I am running the 2026 London Marathon in aid of SSAFA. SSAFA are a charity supporting the armed community, service personal and their families through times not so fortunate. They are a fantastic supportive group and as a proud father to a current active serviceman I kindly ask you to donate. I thank you in advance for any donation which will be gratefully received.”
As Rev Barry reminds us: Mike is so selflessly generous to our benefice, particularly Lympne Church and so it would be good to support him and of course the cause.
From the Parish Magazine –APRIL 2006
Twenty years ago, Jayne Ann Brown reported on a retreat organised by Roger Martin at Wychcroft.
‘From the moment of our warm welcome at the beautifully situated old country house, there was a sense of peace and warmth, that we miss so much of the time in our busy, noisy lives.
There were of course periods of Quiet, giving us all time to pray … and opportunity to listen to God. We also had sessions together … themed as Weaving the tapestry of Life Through the Seasons …which gave focus, structure and food for thought, and the opportunity to leave behind some of things that were troubling us. Our group and quiet times were punctuated with the most wonderful homemade fare and an opportunity to spend time with our fellow parishioners ‘, there was free time to walk in the fabulous countryside or to sit and read or chat. In addition some traditional worship meant there was something for everyone.’
SHAL: Studying History and Archaeology in Lympne
Talk and Presentation by Dr Sam Moorhead FSA – former National Finds Advisor for Iron Age and Roman Coins at the Portable Antiquities Scheme
Dr Sam Moorhead calls the three excavation sites where Roman coins were found Supra Lemanem, that is, above the Roman fort, aka Portus Lemanis. Excavations have revealed a wealth of coins allowing us to gain insight into the lives and activity of Lympne’s Romans. He acknowledges Wendy Cookson, who used the ‘Reece periods system’ to identify and analyse patterns of activity from coins found in the early 1970s. Her work shows that Lympne was most active in the late Roman period and demonstrates how coins can reveal broader economic and military trends. Richard Reece developed the Reece periods system, and it is widely used across Britain today. It allows for groups of coins to be placed chronologically into specific date ranges rather than by exact year or emperor. They were numbered 1–21 and cover Roman Britain from the 1st century to the early 5th century. The Reece periods help us to interpret coin distributions meaningfully by placing a collection within a clear timeline of activity and decline. Dr Moorhead has since extended this framework to 23 periods. The full list can be found on the Portable Antiquities Scheme website. Dr Moorhead suggests that the Supra Lemanem sites were likely civilian or semi-military settlements, possibly supporting Portus Lemanis below with supplies and items for trade. Grain supply is a possibility, although there is no firm evidence for this.
Early finds include a coin of Vespasian (AD 69–79), along with other Flavian coins of around AD 86 and two very worn silver denarii, indicating long-term circulation rather than intensive early activity. Coins of Trajan (AD 98–117), Marcus Aurelius (AD 161–180), and Commodus (AD 180–192) point to some continued activity into the 2nd century. These are represented largely by low-value bronze asses, including types depicting Britannia and Neptune. From the mid-3rd century, there is a marked increase in coin loss, particularly from the period AD 253–274. Radiate coins, identifiable by the emperor’s spiky, sunray crown, are dominant; these were mass-produced, low-value coins (e.g. under Gallienus) circulating in high volumes. A significant proportion, including coins of Valerian (AD 253–260), reflects the wider monetary instability of the Central Empire during this period. The concentration and scattered distribution of these coins, especially the large numbers from AD 260–296 found in Field I, suggest relatively intense but short-lived activity. This pattern is consistent with activity that is often associated with military supply or industrial processes rather than settlement.
Between AD 275 and 296, the continuing monetary instability led to a scarcity of higher-value coinage, a pattern that appears to extend into the early 4th century. A small but significant group of coins links the site to Carausius in Britain, including a coin of Carausius (AD 286–293), together with coins of Allectus (AD 293–296). These belong to a group of officially produced British coins and this kind of evidence supports the interpretation of the site as part of a wider system of coastal control and supply operating into the late 3rd century, rather than representing purely local activity. Overall, the scattered distribution, large volume, and uneven spread of predominantly low-value coins indicate episodes of short-term activity rather than long-term settlement. A smaller number of later coins, including Constantine the Great, Valentinian I and Theodosius I, represent the final phases of activity at the site.
Dr Moorhead has concluded that the structure found in Field II was built either before or contemporaneously with Portus Lemanis. [a fort constructed to protect it?]. He suggests that SupraLemanem appears to be a significant site in late Roman Kent, alongside Canterbury and Richborough.
Acknowledgements and thanks to: Wendy Cookson, Barry Cunliffe, Simon Read, Simon Elliott – author of the Pirate King (about Carausius), Richard Taylor, Andy Ward, Malcolm Lyne, David Holman and William Hurley.
Next meeting: 7.30 pm on 16th April 2026 at the Harry Margary Hall, Lympne. AGM followed by a talk by Andy Linklater. If you would like to become a member of SHAL please email our Chair Rosemary Stutchbury at rosemary@stutchbury.myzen.co.uk
Jekyll and Hyde
A new and enthralling one-man adaptation of the classic tale of terror in which acclaimed actor Jonathon Goodwin plays both Henry Jekyll and Edward Hyde
President Christine Farquhar welcomed forty-three members and one visitor to our March meeting. Jo, Judith, and Valerie were thanked for being tea/coffee hostesses and Mandy was thanked for lovely Spring flower arrangement.
The record of the last meeting was approved and signed.
Matters arising volunteers are needed for helping with the refreshments and a list of meeting dates was circulated for members to sign up for this.
Members were reminded that EKFWI Annual Meeting will be on April 2nd. South Hythe Morning will be hosting a Watch Party for the NFWI Annual Meeting on June 4th. More details to follow.
The treasurer presented to Budget for the coming year, which was approved by the members,
All the subgroups will meet in in April. Please see the website for details of all our events and activities.
After coffee/rea and cake we welcomed two members of the St John Ambulance, Lee Goodman who is also a paramedic in the NHS and Sarah Carrick who spoke to us about using a Defibrillator and CPR. Lee started by explaining, with the use of diagrams, how the heart works and how a heart attack affects the various parts of the heart. Lee said that he would welcome questions and members took up his offer. Lee then moved on to CPR, and he and Sarah demonstrated this using models. He then moved to the Defibrillator and showed us a “live” one and one used for demonstration purposes. He and Sarah then showed us how to use both CPR and the Defibrillator to help anyone having a heart attack. The statistics show that prompt action is needed to help those in need. At the end of the talk members gave Lee and Sarah a spontaneous round of applause. Carol gave the vote of thanks and there was more applause from the members. This was an interesting and helpful talk.
The next meeting will be on Friday 10th April when Melanie Gibson Barton will give a talk entitled “A Spy for Love”.
Margaret Alcock
Finishing with a Smile …
… Why was the Easter bunny upset? He was having a bad hare day.
… What is Easter Bunny’s favourite kind of music? Hip-hop, of course!
… What do you call a rabbit that can tell a good joke? A funny bunny.
