What is "Know Your Neighbours"?

"Know Your Neighbours" is a grass-roots community group in Seal, near Sevenoaks in Kent. The group is made up of anyone in the village who wants to get involved - individuals, clubs and societies, businesses, church and schools, parish council,and many others.
We organise local events through the year - fetes, street parties, Christmas events etc. - and we hold social gatherings, just so that people can get to "know their neighbours". There's no "committee" - anyone who turns up for meetings is welcome to help in any way they are able.
IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW MORE, OR BE ADDED TO THE EMAIL LIST, contact Marion Gilchrist , who coordinates the group, or Anne Le Bas, who maintains this blog.
This Blog will be archived from July 7 2024 following the retirement of Rev Anne Le Bas who has maintained it. Know Your Neighbours will continue however. Please email Marion if you would like to know more!

Wednesday, 7 October 2020

October Update

 Welcome to your KYN  update for the first week of October.


So, on Friday, we returned to a Zoom draw of the October 2020 KYN 100 Club.
The winners were:-

First prize no 29 Maggie Fox £96.66
Second prize no 9 Sue Buddin £48.33
So, again, that puts £145 into the  Seal Village Fund this month.
I realise we have some new recipients to this circulation list, due to some new village residents, and one person who had never registered before. So, if anybody wishes to join our monthly draw, the cost is £5 per month, payable by standing order. If you wish to join, just respond to this email, and I will send you a joining letter. All profits are spent on Village projects.

A couple of weeks ago, I sent you all a copy of the revised Seal Village Fund constitution. Thank you for your comments, and this was ratified by Zoom at the Friday Group meeting on Friday October 2nd. When we can all meet again face to face (as we would normally do 4 times each year), we will review again, but for now, we have enough support and signatures, to provide our current reviewed documentation for the safeguarding process for the SVF bank account.

We have been seeing some little steps forward, in getting our community activities back on track. Before lockdown, you may remember there had been a survey regarding your views on the use of our Village Hall. This is not something that has been forgotten, but clearly, our needs as a community, and for individuals, have changed dramatically over the past 6 months. 
With these changes in mind, you will be hearing more in the near future, and your up to date views, and ideas, will be explored further. The Parish Council are also looking forward to hearing your views regarding the use of our recreation ground. So - watch this space and get your thinking caps on to come up with some innovative ideas, for use of both the hall and the rec, to enhance our community further for the future.

We are already thinking of getting our Village centre decorated with our Christmas lights, and we will soon be purchasing the batteries for the smaller lights for communal areas, and two or three more sets of icicles, so that we might stretch a little further this year. It is very unlikely we will be able to hold a family party, or even community carol singing , but if you have any ideas as to how we can celebrate as a community observing social distancing, please don’t be shy, and pass your ideas on. One suggestion already made, is to distribute carol sheets through doors, and all to sing outside your houses at a set time (rather in the way the NHS clapping took place). I don’t think there would be much chance of the whole village being on the same page at the same time, but it could be fun! 

So, to get a Christmas sorted for this very strange year, we will need the following please:-
Your ideas to bring the community together safely
A team of people to sort and test our lights ready for use.
A large group of volunteers to hang our lights.

AND ALL OF THESE IN THE SAFEST ENVIRONMENT ! EASY!!

St Peter and St Paul Church Seal.

Some of you will have either hosted or been guests at one of Seal Church’s Great Little Garden Gatherings Over the summer. These have been very successful in providing some small, socially distanced social gatherings, and of course, in raising some much needed funds for our church, during a time where normal funding has been stretched. These will continue despite the change of season, either outside in covered, sheltered gardens, or, whilst we still can, in smaller groups in peoples’ homes.

We have been trying to get a recipe book together for the church to have printed, with some of your favourite ‘Lockdown Recipes’. We have  received a few, but nowhere near enough to put a booklet together for this Christmas, as intended. However, if you would like to contribute one or two of your favourite recipes, together with a sentence about what they are special to you this year, please send them in, and we will endeavour to get it together for next year.

The church is organising a ‘Village Window Advent Calendar’ for this year, to brighten our December, in a time when things look like our Christmas might be taking a very different profile to those we are used to. The idea is to have 24 front windows, decorated with an advent theme (to be arranged in advance) to be unveiled , one a day from December 1st-24th. There will then be a trail sometime between Christmas and New Year, rather like the Scarecrow Trail. There will be more information to come soon, but if you are interested in taking part, please let me know, and I will pass your contact details on to the organisers.

We continue to be here for people needing help in any way during these difficult times. Please contact us via this email address if you, or anybody you are aware of, needs a little practical help, and if we can’t manage ourselves, we probably will know a man (or woman) who can.

Very Best Wishes,

Marion (on behalf of Seal Know Your Neighbours).

Wednesday, 12 August 2020

Updates

Some updates from our Community Liaison Officer, Laura.

The first is about yet another scam, this time linked to TV licenses, the second about the sunflower lanyard and card which can be used by those with hidden disabilities who are exempt from wearing a face mask. 






https://hiddendisabilitiesstore.com/hidden-disabilities-face-covering.html

Tuesday, 28 July 2020

Great Little Garden Gatherings

Could you host a socially distanced Great Little Garden Party in aid of Seal Church? This needs to be held in accordance with Govt Guidance & our Risk Assessment. Phone numbers on poster to find out more. Every little helps as we try to make sure our church continues to thrive!

Tuesday, 16 June 2020

Thursday, 28 May 2020

update from the Kent Police Liaison Officer

Tonight DS Marc Cananur from the Kent Police Squad Fraud will feature at 7.30 PM on ITV Tonight’s Programme, when he will be raising awareness as to scams and what Kent Police are doing are doing to prevent fraudsters from targeting our elderly population.



Kind regards

Laura

Take_Five_logo_roundel_RGBsecure
Stop -Taking a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information could keep you safe.
Challenge -Could it be fake? It’s ok to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.
Protect - Contact your bank immediately if you think you’ve fallen for a scam and report it to Action Fraud.

cid:8ADECFF1504DAF4193EAF1AFD14D97FE@city-of-london.pnn.police.uk‘Tell2, protect many’ is a communication initiative that empowers you to connect nationally consistent messaging to others in your life, who otherwise may never know. Start with ‘tell2’ and ask them to do the same. An unbroken chain of 26 tell2’ers would reach 67 million people. It starts with YOU!

Thursday, 21 May 2020

Update from the Community Liaison Officer - Mental Health awareness and more information on Scams

An update from Laura Vince, the Community Liaison Officer


Good morning,

I hope that you are all staying safe and well,

Please see below some information on Mental Health and an update on Scams:

Mental Health Awareness Week 2020 (MHAW) runs from 18 to 24 May.


http://insite.ecis.police.uk/.imaging/default/dam/insite/images/about/spotlights/2020/2005/mental-health-awareness-week-2.jpg/jcr:content.jpg

We are adjusting to a different way of life, with children off school, many people not working or working from home, as well as not seeing family, friends and colleagues.

This anxiety is natural, and we are all feeling it. Fortunately, there are things that we can do to protect our mental health and to support the wellbeing of our friends and family. Please visit Kent County Council Website for Information and further links,




Scams

Courier fraudsters are still active in the county.

Calls where the fraudster impersonated Police claiming to be either a DC or PC Matthews from the Met Police. On each call he asked about the victims bank cards and on one of the calls stated that someone had been arrested. On both calls they were asked to ring 999.

Fraudsters will keep the call/Line open and not disconnect the call, so that when you then ring 999, you are actually still speaking to them. If you ever get a call and decide to check if an officer is genuine, always ring 101 using an alternative telephone or if you need to use the same phone, then wait 10 minutes and call a friend or family member to ensure that the line has been cleared.

However, it is suggest that if you get a call like this simply disconnect the call immediately and then contact the Police via calling 101 to report the incident.

Remember:

    Your bank will never send a courier to your home
    Your bank and the police will never collect your bank card
    Your bank and the police will never ask for your PIN
    If you receive one of these calls, end it immediately

Please Take Five -
Stop -Taking a moment to stop and think before parting with your money or information could keep you safe.
Challenge -Could it be fake? It’s ok to reject, refuse or ignore any requests. Only criminals will try to rush or panic you.
Protect - Contact your bank immediately if you think you’ve fallen for a scam and report it to Action Fraud.

And use our own A, B, C of scam awareness:
A-  Never Assume a caller, email or text is genuine.
B-   Never Believe a caller, email or text is genuine.
C-   Always Confirm by contacting a trusted number, family member, friend, your bank’s fraud department or the police to check if it’s genuine.

Report scams at www.actionfraud.police.uk

More information regarding Scams can be found at  https://www.kent.gov.uk/leisure-and-community/consumer-protection/scams

Stay safe,

Kind regards

Laura

Laura Vince
Community Liaison Officer
Sevenoaks District

Office (: 01322 422531
Internal (: 02 4431
Mobile : 07772 226027

Police, Council and Partners
working together for a safer
Sevenoaks District