Well this entry is a special one as I have a business man who is affiliated with Maidstone United F.C!  Come on you Stones!!!

His name, Terry Casey, 61 years of age from Maidstone.

Terry is currently a company director but most of his time is consumed with his extensive work for a charity he operates in Ethiopia.  So good to hear of a Kent resident giving something good to the world. When not involved in his charity work, Terry is heavily involved in with the current construction of the new Maidstone United stadium in Maidstone.  Finally the Stones' are coming home and their is a lot of buzz from the people of Kent to see their local team return where they belong after spells in Ashford and Sittingbourne.

Terry does not have much spare time aside from that so understandably he could not comment further on my 'what do you do in your spare time' question.

An interesting fact that I have found out about Kent is that Leeds Castle is sometimes referred to as Ladies’ Castle. The reason being because many Queens of England have lived there Eleanor of Castile Catherine of Aragon, Henry VIII's first wife and even his daughter Elizabeth all have lived in the castle.  Did you know that?  Well you do now!

Terry does not eat out in Kent very much but instead prefers to eat out in London.  If you want a good place to eat in the capital, I personally recommend you try the Texas Embassy Cantina near Trafalgar Square.  This place does awesome Mexican food and superb strawberry margaritas.

When asked to supply me with a story that summed him up, Terry responded "My character should be summed up by others, not by me."  This is one of the most intriguing answers I have ever received and Terry is right.  Others should decide on our characters, it is not for us to decide what we think we are.

Terry is closely associated with his Irish roots as opposed to his Kentish background and I respect that he could be honest and say that to me.  It all to easy for people to just make up a sentence for me to publish about Kent but if they are truly more associated with other places than its better to be honest about it.

And now for my random question, If you could take on the life of any person, past or present, who would it be and why?  Terry again gave me another interesting answer.

"I am very happy with myself"

A very good answer, if you are not happy with yourself than you wouldn't be happy being anyone else.

A big thank you to Terry and my very best luck to him and the Maidstone United team for the final stages of the stadium development.  I can't wait to see them in action at home!

Keeps those eyes peeled for more interviews, you never know it could be you next!

If you live in Kent, let's talk!

If you would like to appear on my blog, all I ask is that you live in Kent and that you are willing to talk to me for 10 - 15 minutes about yourself.

If you think you'd like to give it a try, drop me an email on millendauthor@gmail.com and we will see what we can do!

Well I return with a great interviewee this week, one who was mistaken for a popstar if you can believe it.

But we will get to that later.

This is Matthew Webster, 27 from our very own County Town of Kent, Maidstone!

So Matt is his name and Account Management is his game (Occupation for all those who are not up to date with their rhyming slangs).

As always, I like to find out what my interviewees like about Kent and this is what Matt had to say.

"I like the people, the places and the general atmosphere of Kent."

To expand on what Matt has said, he likes having a game of football with his mates, shortly followed by a cold pint or 10 down the Albion and the elegant banter with other fans about who is the greatest footballing side in England.  We both know it is Manchester United but he lets them stress their point on why the other teams are worthy of competing against United before casually turning to them and singing "He scores goals galore, he scores goals, he scores goals galore, he scores goals, he scores goals galore, he scores goals, Paul Scholes, he scores goals."

A fitting tribute to one of the greatest English Midfielders of modern day football and also a great way of sticking it to the other football fans.

Since the beginning of 2011, I have introduced a new question which is designed to find out what the people of Kent really know about their County and to see if they can inform others in Kent of interesting facts or pieces of information that are not well known.

"Kent is the most populous County in the UK." Matt said "Over 1.6 million people reside in Kent."

I found this to be a very interesting fact as I thought Greater London and the Northern Counties such as Lancashire had bigger populations so thanks Matt.

Matt's favourite eating spot is Buenos Aires in Maidstone which he describes as "The best steak in the county."

In his free time, Matt likes to compete in various sports such as Football, Squash and Tennis.  Equally, he does enjoy going to the Cinema, eating out at a range of eating spots and socialising with his friends.

So the part you have been waiting for, the mistaken identity of a popstar.  I let Matt fill in the rest.

"I was once spotted by a young woman who worked in the Bowling Alley in Maidstone who thought I was Danny from Mcfly.  I played along temporarily before confessing.  It was a long time ago."

Looking at the picture above, I think this woman was either crazy or blind because I see no resemblance.  Sorry Matt!

As always, it is important for me to find out my interviewees thoughts on how to improve the county.

"I think the county could have some bigger gigs / festivals.  We have the space for it and I think it could be a big money spinner for the county.  We have a picturesque county so we should utilise it.  I'd certainly go..."

Again this suggestion has come up and I think it is about time that we did start using the facilities available in Kent to cater to the entire population.  Often there are events held that are in the interest of a small majority of people which is a waste of public money and inconsiderate to the rest of the residents in Kent.

And now for my random question of the week: If you could travel to any planet in the Solar System, which one would it be and why?

"I think it would be Jupiter.  I liked the song by Train and it looks cool.  Mysterious."

A good choice!

So another Kentish resident has given me their views and opinions on our county and as always I would like to extend my thanks to Matt, my interviewee, for his time.

I will post again soon so who knows, it could be you next!

If you live in Kent, let's talk!

If you would like to appear on my blog, all I ask is that you live in Kent and that you are willing to talk to me for 10 - 15 minutes about yourself.

If you think you'd like to give it a try, drop me an email on millendauthor@gmail.com and we will see what we can do!

Read more: http://blogs.kentonline.co.uk/author/Dan+Millen.aspx#ixzz1SJYJTrvX

A think-tank in the Football Association have been looking at ways to glam up the competition in a bid to boost attendances.

But is the cup really dying on its knees as some would have us believe?

Yes attendances have dropped slightly, but on average the great competition is still drawing in the crowds, and this season there seems to have been no shortage of headline-grabbing ties.

None more so than the one in the next round which pits non-league Crawley with 11-time winners Manchester United.

Last season’s average gate in the competition was 12,480, down by around 500 on the year before. But in a time when jobs are being slashed and wages cut is it any surprise the attendances are dropped?

Perhaps if clubs offered more incentives and cheaper prices for FA cup matches they would entice those extra people in through the turnstiles.

Rumours have emerged this week of a few ideas that have been bounced around in the FA H.Q, some which tear into the heart of what many believe to be the greatest cup competition in the world.

The seeding of teams would increase the likelihood of a big team vs. little team match-up, replays could be scrapped (taking away what for some clubs can be money-spinning ties), matches could be played midweek and the final moved to an early-evening kick-off, instead of the traditional 3pm.

If the FA think these plans will increase the excitement of the FA Cup they are living in cloud cookoo land.

For the smaller clubs the FA Cup can be a financial lifeline, just ask Kent League side Hythe Town what is means to them to make it into the first round proper. They have enough cash in the bank now to really push on as a club.

Crawley Town, who aren’t short of a few quid anyway, will travel to Old Trafford for a match that encapsulates the whole idea of the competition.

What gets me is what is so wrong with the competition anyway?

Yes, perhaps there were a few absent fans at Wolves and Bolton in the last round (not helped by less-than-glamorous opposition in Doncaster and Wigan respectively), but on the flip side look at Arsenal.

There was a full house at Highbury as there has been across many grounds in the country.

 The biggest problem is keeping Arsene Wenger and co interested in the competition when they are chasing League and Champions League honours. The competition’s integrity can only be kept if they are made to field competitive teams. We don’t want to see the competition devalued to the extent of the League Cup, which is treated by many top teams as a reserve outing.

Fans will fall away if they are expected to pay top prices for watching the club’s second string players.

Gillingham may have had an FA Cup campaign to forget this season, but the Blues fans certainly won’t want to see this competition devalued by any quick-fix ideas from those in power.

Over 10,000 crammed into Priestfield to watch them give Aston Villa a scare recently and the club’s record attendance of 23,002 against QPR in 1948 was in the FA Cup.

The FA should consider the current financial woes of the average football fan and encourage more teams to offer incentives to fill up their grounds in the short-term, and when we all have a few more quid in our pocket, we will then have a decent competition to keep supporting, instead of one with could be turned into a second-rate event.

Clubs also need to play their part and listen to the fans. The FA Cup is cherished by the majority and the top clubs have a big responsibility to keep it alive. It’s in their hands as much as the FA’s.