If anyone thought the idea of a massive international airport just off the Kent coast was so much pie in the sky, they definitely need to rethink. The involvement of Lord Rogers is enough to chill the bones.

His detailed work shows that a lot of time and effort has gone into the concept.

One might say "It is £50billion - it could never be done."

I would say: "If you want something enough, you'll find the money." Not everyone is like the Greek government, prepared to risk the loss of sums far greater than the Rogers' scheme.

I hate to admit it, but his scheme makes a lot of sense. That it would destroy the Isle of Grain, the environment, the tranquility, lives, investments elsewhere, top grade agricultural land.... all of that means nothing if you can raise the cash.

What can Medway - for that is where he is plans for the airport show it would be built - do to avoid Rogers Runways? It cannot say it has attracted the money that was expected from the regeneration of the area's infrastructure (piecemeal though that was).

Where are the jobs?

Where are the houses (if you exclude Chatham Maritime)?

We have the universities (though they all seem to be competing with each other). We have precious little beside.

Ironically, the buildings that have sprung up have done so without the government's millions. The appearance of HS-1 has done little to improve the rail services through Medway. Rather like flights to the moon, you get there - but you have little evidence of the speed that you have achieved. Anyway, the Medway - London journey is no quicker: East Kent is the one to benefit.

We still have Rochester Riverside looking like a Gruinard pastiche (apart from a handful of sheltered units that are being built near the inaccessible station.

I came to Kent in 1990 because I thought there was an air of change that would prove exciting. It has often pumped the adrenalin, but it has not attracted the many things that politicians promised.

Should we therefore consider the opportunities that an airport might offer?

I hope not. Most sincerely I hope not.

But it is becoming increasingly difficult to diagree with the correspondent who said nothing has been achieved by the regeneration of Medway except empty promises, hot air and frustration. He could have added the Rochester Riverside gravel raft that sits high above the floodwater levels of the Medway, staring out at a derelict Russian submarine and a river that is so close - but now is completely separated from the community through which it flows.

I'm back again for another fantastic interview.  Where do these people hide in Kent?

This week's special guest on my blog is the wonderfully truthful and exceptionally brave Sian Murphy, 48 from Hoo near Rochester, Medway.

Although the picture is quite clear, Sian would like to reiterate that she is a woman as her name is sometimes confused with Sean.  Don't worry Sian, they will never make that mistake.

Currently, Sian runs her own business, Stormchasers, with her husband Mark.  In conjunction with her work at Stormchasers, Sian works with 2 other professional to make up The Ruby Marketers.

If you are wondering exactly what the company is, I will tell you!  The company specialises in helping local business owners who are computer illiterate or did not have the priviledge of using a laptop when they were younger to market their business online.  The range of services they offer is so vast which can start from setting up a Business Blog for a business to setting up social media profiles and as Sian puts it 'Give them the confidence and know-how to start using it.'

If that wasn't already enough, Stormchaser is branching out in another field of their business.

'Another part of my business is run by my husband Mark and he builds starter websites for businesses as part of Stormchasers at AskStormchasers.'

I was intrigued to find out more and did a bit of 'Googling' and came across an interesting article on the following website:

http://leavingthearmedforces.com/stormchasers/

I found a great quote on this website which described Stormchasers as a business that  'Is about leaping forwards into the storm, and coming back out the other side into a brighter and calmer world.'

I think this is a great acknowledgement of Sian and Mark's hard work.

And for any potential new and bright minds that want to begin their own business, take this advice from Sian.  'My tip for setting up in business is to give it time.  Work out how long it will take you to get it all up and running and get work finished - and then double it!'

'Set goals and then plan how you are going to achieve them and don't give up too soon, but be prepared to bend and sway as things change.  Smile, laugh, share and have 1 full day off each week.'

Wise words and I think, sensible advice for new business minds in the making.  Thanks Sian!

Moving on to Kentish matters, Sian likes the diversity of the landscape in Kent.  'We have rolling countryside, inland waterways, estuary shorelines and seaside all within a 70 mile radius.  To top it all off we also have some fascinating industrial areas with some really unexpected hidden treasures.'

Sian particularly like Hoo Church Cemetery.  Before you feel a shiver go down your spine, listen to the reason.  'A bit odd I know but unlike so many graveyards, Hoo is full of life.  Despite the age of many of the gravestones, there are flowers and shiny windmills, some truly wonderful trees to sit under when it's raining and some well placed benches for when the sun is out.  There are often children playing or just hanging out in their hoodies chatting to each other, whilst other villagers walk their dogs.  It's the happiest graveyard I've ever been to!'

Maybe I could have saved this for Halloween but I think it is great to hear something out the ordinary in an ordinary day in our lives.  Plus, I have never heard someone describe a graveyard in detail without using the words 'depressing' and 'upsetting' before.

As you know, my avid readers, as of 2011 I introduced a new question to my blog in which my interviewees tell me a specific fact or snippet of information about our beloved county.  Sian had a really interesting and historical one this week!

'One day I'm going to walk the Saxon Shore Way.' Sian begins. ' The Shore Way follows the line of historic fortifications that defended the Kent coast at the end of the Roman era.  The Shore Way is 160 miles long and starts from Gravesend and goes right the way around to Hasting, East Sussex.'

'There's lots to see along the way from ports, coastline and stunning countryside and of course that sense of history that walking along an ancient footpath - following along in the footstep of goodness know who always amuses me.'

Further to Sian's comments about the Saxon Shore Way, there are also four Roman fort remains, dating from the 4th Century that line the trail.  The only one I am familiar with is the one in Dover.  Kent is very rich in history but it is always great to learn about new things that different Kent residents know from their own experiences.

One of my favourite parts of the blog is eating spots! 

Sian enjoys eating at two pubs in Kent, namely The Ringlestone Inn and The Pier at Upnor, Rochester.  'I like them because the food is good and so is the atmosphere.  We also like to take a little picnic along the shoreline at Hoo every now and then.' 

You can't beat a Ham and Colman's Mustard sandwich, a bag of kettle crisps and a healthy slice of Chocolate Fudge cake! Delicious.

When not working, Sian enjoys cooking and eating meal with the family with a good bottle of wine, which she finds is her 'favourite pastime.'

This is followed by watching a movie whilst nodding off on the sofa.  A pastime of many in Kent I assume.

But there is more!  'When Mark and I are on our own, we enjoy walking and can often be spotted meandering mindlessly around the haunts of Hoo with nowhere in particular to go.'

'I also make rag rugs from old clothes and cloth, mainly for decorative purposes.'

My blog now enters a more serious tone that I believe needs delicate and careful attention as I am writing it.  Normally, I take great delight in listening to my interviewees explaining a humourous story to me about themselves, whether it be of them waking up semi nude on a beach after an initiation ceremony at University or walking into walls for no apparent reason.

Sian tells me a story that she is currently closing in her life at the moment.  One that has me wanting to stand up and applaud her bravery and courage to be able to tell a volunteer bloggist she has never met a very close and personal chapter of her life which I greatly appreciate and hope you find I have describe in a way that is befitting to you.

'2 years ago Mark and I used to have jobs.  I worked in local Government and Mark was a Project Manager.  We were both unhappy with our jobs and spent years talking about leaving and starting our own business.  I'd already trained as an NLP (forgive me if I'm wrong - Neurolinguistic Programming) practitioner and copywriter but unfortunately we didn't plan properly and then in

2009 found ourselves so stressed and miserable that we just decided to hand in our notice and quit.'

So, on 1st August 2009 there we were with no salaries, but some rather grand business plans.  On 17th August, I was diagnosed with breast cancer.  That stopped us in our tracks for a while.'

'It's now 2 years later and whilst I'm still on medication, our business is finally taking off after lots of false starts.  I could write a whole book on false starts but we have learned so much.'

'It sounds odd but whilst it might seem like the worst possible time to get cancer, in fact it was the best and it might even have been a lifesaver.  Had I been diagnosed whilst I was still at work I think I never would have left because of the security around the sick pay.  If I wasn't diagnosed just 2 weeks after we both left our jobs we would have just transferred our hectic lifestyles from jobs to businesses.  It would have been the same except now we wouldn't have been receiving monthly pay cheques!'

'Today we've both learned the lesson that money isn't that important, although of course that is also now our challenge because when you are in business you have to value money to some extent or you don't earn any of the damn stuff!'

'We also say thank you got what we do have instead of moaning about what we don't and we really do have so much.  Today we are working with some fabulous people the universe has sent us the perfect business partners and associates.  Our offices are up at the Innovation Centre and we have the most amazing fun.  It's all the good stuff about being at work in an office such as being around friends and having someone to share your triumphs and challenges, but without all of the grim stuff of having to dance to someone else's tune.'

As upbeat as ever, Sian claims ' We're having a ball!'

Now one of my favourite parts of the blog where my interviewees put the world to rights with their opinions on how to make Kent a better place.

"I would get planners in Medway to either change or introduce a required ratio of concrete to plants and greenery in the large housing development that are springing up around Hoo.  Many of the houses open directly onto the street, there are no gardens to speak of and the roads are so narrow they are like little brick tunnels.'

Sian likes to see 'a bit of green' when she looks out the window and whilst she doesn't live a development house, it still forms part of the landscape.

'Given that these estates have replaced fields, it would seem ecologically important at least to give a cursory nod to keeping some greenery around!'

I totally agree with that point and think that planners and developers should look closely at where they are building and how it will affect the local surrounding for both the locals and the wildlife.

So we come to my random question of the week and this one is a really good one!

If you could become any person in the world for one day, who would you become and why?

'I tried so hard to think of someone who wasn't too obvious but I couldn't, so I plumped for Oprah Winfrey, a bit of a cliche I know.'

'I chose Oprah because I want to know how it feels to be her.  She had a difficult childhood, dealt with racism and has overcome so much to get where she is.  She has such a clear vision about her life, that I want to know how that feels so I can recreate it for myself.

Well, this has been one of my most intense blogs yet, with highs and lows, cheerful quips and serious tones but overall I have enjoyed writing this one very much.  I hope Sian receives the recognition she deserves, not just through this blog but through the business world too.

Sian - my very best wishes for your future and a speedy recovery and I hope your business will continue to bloom!

So that's it for another week folks! (No Looney Tunes pun intended) but check in again soon for my newest interviewee.  Who knows, it could even be you!

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!

It is with great sadness that I heard the news of the disbanding of Medway band The Deccas.

The foursome were one of the first Kent bands who let me in to their little world as a features reporter for What's On.

Chatting to them at their practice sessions at Def Studios in Chatham's Historic Dockyard, I was struck by the way the produced tight, typically Medway-Mod recordings.

Their only album Ways To The Sun was typical of the spiky power pop that has gripped the Medway scene for God knows how long. Short, sharp tunes with a good hook.

Never afraid of admitting they were hoping to "make it" they had that pure quality - not found in nearly enough bands - of just being four good mates.

In an email Twydall-born singer-songwriter and guitarist Wes Wren, Gillingham guitarist Phil Crane, Rochester bassist Dave Sawicki and Rainham drummer Tony Hetherington announced: "It is with heavy hearts that The Deccas are saddened to say that they are no more.

"After four and a half years, over 120 gigs, four CDs and six different members and numerous Subways the time seems right to stop."

For nostalgic Medway-scene followers, the good news is that the band will finish their latest EP and put it out on a limited run for free.

Until then, we mourn you The Deccas. Is it too late to reconsider?

****

For anyone who wondered why I suddenly stopped tweeting when I was at Hyde Park for the Kings of Leon concert last Wendesday, it is because the whole thing was too awesome to take my eyes off.

Great support shows from Mona, White Lies and Paul Weller capped off by a stonker of a set by perhaps the biggest band on the planet right now.

I was so impressed that I am heading back to Hyde Park tomorrow to see Arcade Fire, with support from The Vaccines, Beirut and Mumford and Sons.

Then Kent's festival season kicks off with the Hop Farm Music Festival at Paddock Wood the next day and Lounge On The Farm at Canterbury's Merton Farm the following weekend.

If the updates slow down, it is because I've developed a very serious case of tweeters finger.

****

If you fancy getting your music, latest gig or theatre production reviewed on this blog or inside the KM Group's What's On magazine, drop me an email at cprice@thekmgroup.co.uk.

You can also follow me on Twitter @TheChrisPrice and follow What's On @kmwhatson. Join us on Facebook by liking www.facebook.com/kmwhatson

To be a clergyman cannot be easy. Imagine dressing up in all those heavy robes on a hot summer's day.

Nor is it easy for many people to accept that 'neath the fancy gear is an ordinary human being.

Adrian Newman, the very reverend Dean of Rochester, has succeeded in doing that from the day he was unveiled in 2005 as Medway's Number Two.

The Dishy Dean quickly earned the accolade as his various badges of office failed to disguise a sporting physique (he has competed in the London Marathon and ridden from Land's End to John O'Groats in the most appalling weather conditions).

What has endeared him most of all to the people with whom he has increasingly come in contact has been his ability to understand the community, to talk with them without pontificating, and to have a superb sense of the ridiculous.

His lone ride around the back lanes of Britain to get to the extremity of Scotland was to raise funds for the Cathedral's choirs. He recorded the pains, the blisters and the occasional terrors from heavy traffic and of failure, with a human touch.

Chatting with him on a regular basis, he has been a fund of humourous tales, deep insights into the community and an overpowering concern for the underdog.

Now he is off to face his biggest challenge yet. He is to be the Bishop of Stepney. His patch includes the three boroughs with greater child poverty than anywhere else in Britain.

been influenced by Faith in the City, a report that considered the way the church needed to work in the inner city. When it was published it shook the church to its roots.

OK. We all know there is change afoot in Medway, but what's with the changing of names?

My long-time favourite has been the absorption of Rainham Mark by Rainham. (Anyone unfamiliar with the tale should look at the boundary between the Men of Kent and the Kentish Men. It is as historic as the Great one of China and Hadrian's Wall, or Offa's Dyke…. except to Medway Council which ripped down the sign when it merged Rochester and Gillingham boroughs.)

There are others.

For example, the Lords Wood (shades of cricketing amid the beeches?), Weeds Wood (gardeners' on hands and knees, perhaps?) and Park Wood (now minus Rainham Park, of course, but don't let that stop the Renaming of Parts.).

The latest travesty is the Tesco roundabout on the A2.

It was originally called Bowaters after the paper and packaging company that was enticed to set up in business on land acquired by the supermarket.

Depending whether you believe the press office (which spells it Bowwaters) or the highways engineers (who have put out signs reading Bow Waters roundabout) more changes are afoot.

It is all part of a subtle exercise in changing the image of the Medway Towns to a great, good, welcome place where everyone wants to live and work. It just might sucker some people into believing the balmy life is to be enjoyed on the North Kent mudflats.

Where will it end?

Someone suggested to me this week Rochester-upon-Wales (clearly influenced by the new movie about King John's 1215 siege of the castle which hits the cinema trail next week having been filmed in South Wales).

Then there's Cheatham, Stroud, Hoe St Wear Borough, Whig Moor, Cookstown, Hauling….where will it all end?

The answer, of course, is Hempstead…. near Maidstone.

***

Talking of Bowaters, it has been suggested by at least one wit that the mountain of crushed debris next to the enlarged store is being prepared as a new ski slope. The way winters are going, you wouldn't need to create the snow for a couple of months each year.

***

There was chaos around the old Gillingham borough today after a serious road accident in Rainham.

As is increasingly the norm, the police sealed off the site of the accident and began forensic examination of the area for future court or coroner's use.

In the meantime we were left with non-existent signposting of alternative routes, Wigmore seized up, the Lower Rainham Road at a standstill, traffic being turned about on the A2 and Bloors Lane.

Thankfully there wasn't any accident on the M2 or some people wouldn't get home until the start of next week.

I do wonder whether anything extra will be learned by the police that will benefit anyone in the future. Compare what now happens with the former processes of photographs, examinations, measurements, sweeping up and road reopening...

THE amount of vitriol spilled in Gillingham by its Liberal Democrat councillors (past and present) has taken on tsunami proprtions.

As a West Countryman I might have substituted the word bore - a tidal wave that sweeps up some rivers against the natural flow. But it would have been misunderstood.

There is nothing boring about the vehemence and the anger which has been let loose in the row about their former deputy leader and parliamentary candidate, Andy Stamp.

It has hit personal levels such as I have never known in the 20 years I have worked in Gillingham's political arena.

Stamp is a sensitive man with a strong sense of moral right.

He reported his two ward colleagues to the Standards Board after one of them - Cathy Sutton - was forced to leave her home and sought help.

They are still under investigation by the council's standards committee.

Since he resigned from the group and later the party, and stands as an Independent, Cllr Stamp has raised the stakes by going public on his complaints.

The party has now sprung to his defence, accusing him of a poor result in the general election (it was their best result since Bob Sayer stood in 1997).

***

The campaign to win city status for Medway has taken to the streets (literally) with the appearance of Arriva's dark blue and white doubledecker.

It has been poiunding the roads between Chatham, Rochester and Strood since it entered service.

What a pity it hasn't been on the 132 route. It serves Gillingham and Rainham, two of the towns which seem to have been overlooked in much of the regeneration benefits.

They also accused him of sulking because he didn't get the group leadership (he didn't, but by then the rank and file were already taking sides).

It is an election year. In 91 days we shall all be waiting to hear who has won what.

I strongly suspect the electorate will respond to the row in a way that will do nothing to benefit the LibDems - just as the electorate appears to want to blame that party for all the woes of the financial mess.

OMNIBOLOGISTS (yes, bus spotters do exist) will be eagerly awaiting the appearance of a doubledecker back on the local bus routes.

It has been "up North", being painted as an overall advert promoting the third bid for City status for Medway. It is expected to take to the roads on Monday, a cool blue and white statement by Arriva Southern Counties that it, too, supports city status.

The question for everyone backing the bid is how strong is the support from the community.

I make no secret that I support the bid. I also make no secret of the fact that I was strongly opposed to merging the two authorities.

The enthusiasm for Rochester's lost status as a city (it was thrown away, actually) should convince anyone that being a city is special to the community.

The opposition to what is being proposed should also convince some that the two boroughs should never have been merged.

I grew up in Gloucester (a city thanks to Good King Richard III, complete with its market, river and cathedral). Just down the road was Cheltenham.

The feuding was as legendary as the differences between Gillingham and Rochester. They were equally as unrealistic.

But in both instances they are indicative of local pride.

Medway has been around for 13 years and the opposition to its creation has largely died - maybe killed by the fait accompli. It has lived through some difficult times. Those are about to get tougher. The government has taken away powers, cut budgets yet insists councillors must continue to care for those in difficulty.

***

The Primary Care Trusts are about to be scrapped which makes one wonder... why has the Medway Maritime NHS Foundation Trust invested in a new logo?

When I asked this morning I was told it was the decision of the chief executive, Mark Devlin. But staff in the press and PR office had not been let in on the rationale.

I was told: "It cost absolutely nothing. It will only appear as and when we run out of old stocks of paper."

In fact, in a discussion that lasted only a couple of minutes at most, I was told five times that it cost nothing to design and produce it.

What was the thinking behind the logo ("Medway Maritime - Making a difference / Great Heathcare for a growing community"), I asked.

"I can't tell you what the motivations were for Mark to ask the Trust to do it .... but it hasn't cost us anything." I was advised.

***

The council spending cuts are beginning to cut deep.

The tourism and heritage manager, Simon Curtis, is not to be replaced when he leaves. His is one of a number of high profile posts that are to be erased in the latest round of cuts.

The real challenge for councillors is that the number of council and scrutiny meetings they hold are to be cut back. That's because the clerks are being cut. (They do the majority of the work, ranging from collating reports to writing them, researching specialists for scrutineers to examine to making sure there is enough tea and coffee to keep the councillors awake.)

No tourism manager - Whatever next?

The planning application is in the post: convert the Castle to a tower block.

***

One person fighting to stay on the scene is the Mayor of London, Boris "Fly from Kent" Johnson.

It seems the only logical reason why he should be proposing a £40 billion floating island airport or, alternatively, the restoration of the scrapped plan for the Hoo peninsuila to become Heathrow Two. He is due to stand for re-election in the Spring.

Anyone who has seen the man in action on things like Have I Got News For You might think he is a buffoon.

Be that as it may, he is a serious danger to our way of life. It only needs one cabinet member to say there is some sense in what he says for the life of Medway to be changed for ever.

Once a year the community stops to remember the sacrifices of war - a sensitive way of recalling the death, maiming and slaughter which takes too many of our young.

This year's climax in Medway will be Sunday's Royal British Legion service of remembrance in Rochester Cathedral.

Over the past few days the loss of the armed cruiser Jervis Bay in a suicidal defence has been recalled, the soldiers who fought the Chinese Red Army in Korea have gathered to remember the wear most of us forgot, and across the towns wreaths will be laid at a host of other memorials where friends, relatives and regiments will be recalled.

Poppies are being worn, trumpets sounded and words repeated that have been said for a century.

Yet today the deaths continue.

In Afghanistan and other war zones, men (and the occasional woman) will be in the wrong place at the wrong moment - and die.

The national press will be full of stories whenever anyone is killed.

Tragic though it is, people join up knowing they stand the risk of having to kill - or be killed.

War has always been that way: our forces are filled by extraordinary people doing the jobs the rest of us won't do. Some of them will die.

The Medway Towns has had more than its fair share of young dead.

In the Woodlands Cemetery lie the dead of HMS Bulwark (787 men lost when she blew up in November 1914), the remains of the 377 crew of HMS Princess Irene (similarly lost in May 1915) and many others lost in both the World Wars.

Ironically, there is no memorial - or grave - for the 1,459 men and boys killed when three Chatham cruisers - Cressy, Hogue and Aboukir - were sunk in half an hour by a single U-boat, the U-9, in September 1914.

Today's media makes front page news of a single tragedy.

In the past single deaths were ignored.

In the First World War that changed. Columns of names weekly appeared listing the dead, the dying and the missing.

Whether we like to admit it or not, the losses we currently suffer are minor compared to past conflicts.

It is right that we shall remember: every single death is a needless tragedy.

That is the price exorted by the Gods of War so that the rest of us can live in safety.

It took me a brisk 20 minute walk to reach Springfield Library for this week's interview.

I was quickly whisked away from the main library and into the office of Adam "Shaggy" Knapp where my questioning could be observed by Adam's supervisor Suzanne.  I've always liked a bit of an audience.

Adam, 23, lives in Medway and is currently working towards an NVQ qualification in Customer Services.  I know only too well how demanding this can be after recently completing a Level 2 Business Adminstration NVQ myself in the summer.  His role at Kent Arts and Libraries is an Apprentice and despite his first impression that he would be a 'Tea Maker', he has found himself taking on multimedia type jobs and various challenging roles in his time with Springfield Library to help him work towards his qualification.

Although Adam works and has a portfolio to complete, he still has time to persue other interest including a second job as a professional video gamer.

"I have recently come back from a gaming event in North Carolina, USA.  I was competing against over 1,000 gamers and I finished 6th overall which I was extremely pleased with."

He said that Kent was great due to the people and the scenery.

"I have to put a word out for all the Kent Arts and Libraries People.  They've been fantastic to me during my time here and I would like to give them a special mention."

I don't know if he was hoping to get extra credit for his NVQ from Supervisor but I admire his attempt.

Adam's favourite eating spot in Kent is Ed's Diner at Bluewater Shopping Centre. 

"It has great food but the best thing they have is the malt shakes." 

I must say I can recommend a peanut butter maltshake, it's pretty awesome. Next time you are up at Bluewater, give it a try.  You will not be disappointed.

I was surprised that Adam could fit anything else in what with his Apprenticeship, his day job and his gaming job, but like most of us, he can manage to find time to kick back and watch some TV and movies.

"I love Scrubs, I basically watch it every day.  If we're looking at movies, I'd say Avatar is worth a watch ."

Adam highly recommends this film, although he has warned against viewers getting carried away with the 3D trend.

"I like 3D but have you noticed it is always described as amazing 3D or mind blowing 3D yet never eye straining 3D."

Fair statement but I think it may be the way of the future for a lot of entertainment based projects.

Now I have come across some great stories whilst writing this blog but Adam's has to be up there with them as one of the funniest.  It has a feel of the TV show 'Skins' to it.

"I used to attend the University of Portsmouth and on my first night out I went on a pub crawl with about 150 - 175 random students.  After a few drinks, we ended up on the sea front, trying to attract ferries by shouting out to them.  It was a bit random but all good fun of course."

"The following morning, I woke up on the beach alone in just my pants!  You cannot imagine the looks I was given as I was trying to navigate my way back to my halls of residence. As I was heading back to my room, an older man passed me and just smirked as I hastily passed him."

"When I had my induction a few days later, I was shocked to find that the man was infact my tutor!"

Despite his sincerity, I could not keep a straight face.

I think this has to be told to many people and using my blog to do so is a great way to start.  Great story Adam!  (Suzanne, his supervisor, couldn't resist a chuckle either).

Moving on to save him any further embarrassment, I asked him how he would make Kent a better place.

"I think there needs to be more opportunities for teenagers aged between 14-18.  I think they are overlooked and should be given better funding so they can participate in social activities."

"I think more guidance and support is crucial.  I used to attend a youth club which was great but unfortunately due to lack of funding it is no longer running.  Injecting money into things like that would be great for youngsters and I would encourage anything along the same lines."

I could see Adam was explaining that this age group is stereotyped and subjected to being 'anti social'. His idea to dedicate more time to them is a great suggestion.

Adam was itching to get off to his halloween party so I didn't want to keep him any longer. He was going with a friend dressed as Jedi Knights and I could feel the 'Force' pushing me out the door. (Sorry, lame joke!).

I managed to ask him my random question of the week though.

If you could play any character / role in a movie, who would it be and why?

"It has to be Han Solo from Star Wars just because he is the epitome of cool."

All in all, Adam has a great character and a fantastic humourous side.  It was great chatting with him and I wish him the best of luck with his NVQ.

Happy Halloween to the people of Kent and I'll update you next week on what another member of the public is up too.

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!

The first of a string of councillors investigated by Medway's Standards Committee for actions (real or perceived) gets hauled over the coals next week.

The likelihood is that the councillor (who resigned after being convicted of benefits frauds by claiming cash aid while receiving a councillor's pay) will not turn up.

Nothing has been heard from Dennis Macfarlane since his world collapsed.

Meanwhile, it will be interesting to find out who wins the battle between the Honorable Member for Rochester and Strood and three chief officers of Medway Council.

The Hon Member, Cllr Mark Reckless, has certainly got himself into hot water several times since he first gained public support as a Conservative councillor for Rochester West three years ago.

Apart from his clash with the council's chief officers he got elected to Parliament despite objections to his selection from Central Office.

Within days of election he was earning the displeasure of the whips, then missed the three-line whip to vote on the Finance Bill.

He was reported to the board by the Chief Executive, the Director for Children's Services and the council's Monitoring Officer following a public row in the Council Chamber.

His hearing is among the string waiting to be settled.

Meanwhile, there are whispers that the boot is on the other foot with allegations of bullying being made against senior staff. If that's true it will be interesting to see who investigates - and what the outome is.

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Car clamping on private land is to be banned by the government in the next few months. About time we ended the regime of the high fining, non-answerable clampers.

The problem, however, will not go away for property owners who suddenly discover someone using their land to visit the shop, the pub, or simply to leave their car for a weekend.