Medway marks Holocaust Memorial Day
Plus training for the homeless, Medway's first cat café, we review Pollo Cabana, our weekly events guide, news in brief, and more
Monday 27 January is Holocaust Memorial Day, an event intended to remember the Holocaust, the people who died and those who survived. Two events are being held in Medway to mark the day, and we’ve spoken to Chatham Memorial Synagogue’s Dalia Halpern-Matthews and The Ship Inn’s Peter Moorcroft about what is happening. Further down, we have news of Medway’s first cat café, opportunities for those who have experienced homelessness, we review Pollo Cabana in Rochester, our weekly events guide, news in brief, and more.
Medway marks Holocaust Memorial Day
Since 2004, Medway’s Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration has been organised jointly by Medway Council, Chatham Memorial Synagogue, Rochester Cathedral and the Medway Inter-Faith Action Forum (MIFA). Since 2010, they have been joined by the Medway Youth Council. 27 January marks the 80th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, and Holocaust Memorial Day intended to make sure it did not happen again.
This year, the Synagogue and the Ship Inn are being lit up in pink, with support from the City of Rochester Society’s Rob Flood, to commemorate the pink triangle that was added to the clothing of members of the LGBT+ community who were imprisoned in concentration camps.
28 January will see Holocaust Memorial Day remembered at Cliffe Woods Primary School, which has been chosen for this year’s event, which has the theme ‘For a better future.’ Residents can hear prayers and talks from different faith leaders, community members, and Kent Police, as well as see presentations by school children. “Every year, we do quite a big event,” says Dalia Halpern-Matthews, Chair of Trustees at Chatham Memorial Synagogue. “It's an event organised in association with the synagogue, the cathedral, schools and colleges, Kent Police and the Youth Council.”
Different organisations take turns hosting the event, which saw the synagogue filled to capacity last year. “It was going to be held at a different school, and these days, it becomes such a big event we just didn't think it was going to fit in there. I have never in my life seen the synagogue as full as it was last Holocaust Memorial Day.” The event is intended to be fully accessible for both children and adults.
The Ship Inn, an LGBTQ+ venue, is uniquely located in the Intra area of Chatham, directly opposite Chatham Memorial Synagogue. This quirk in geography allows them to collaborate to support these events.
Their place in Medway is another historical result of the Naval context of our towns. Members of the Jewish community had been banned from England and were only allowed to return in the 1650s. The docks would see many come to the area, which had a thriving theatre and arts community, and many tailors and craftspeople made the area their home.
The stories of the pink triangle only came to light decades after the Holocaust, as homosexuality was illegal in the UK until 1967. As a result, many people did not tell the stories of how they survived or loved ones they lost until the 1970s for fear of further persecution. “That's a really big thing for us”, says Dalia. “We're highlighting that alongside the traditional Holocaust Memorial Day message.”
The Queer Culture Counts book group at The Ship Inn read The Men with the Pink Triangle by survivor Heinz Heger. Peter Moorcroft of The Ship decided that more needed to be done to share the story: “The Closer Than You Think project, in collaboration with the landlord of the Ship Inn, Nathan Morgan, Dalia and the Synagogue, has enabled this first pink light event to happen.”
Whilst Dalia, thankfully, has not personally come across Holocaust deniers, there was an incident at last year’s event when the front of the synagogue was painted with swastikas. “We've certainly had some pretty unpleasant attacks. I think that those swastikas were probably rather more meant to mean that they wished that they'd succeeded better.”
Dalia tells me that most Jewish people will have a connection to the Holocaust. They are often alive today because a family member found a way to survive, whilst many other members of the family tree did not. “My family is no different”, says Dalia. “The first of my family to arrive in Chatham was my great-grandfather, Solomon, who came to England in the late 1880s, early 1890s. But he was one of several children, and a lot of his family perished. I would say I have over a hundred members of my family who either definitely died in camps or were in camps or disappeared. It's a lot of people, and we're not that unusual.”
“Even more terrifying to me”, says Dalia, “is the fact that we say ‘never again’, but look at Rwanda, look at Bosnia, Croatia, Syria, look at the Uighurs.” At this point, she is keen to state that she is speaking to me in a personal capacity. “Look at Palestine. It happens again and again, and to me, that just makes no sense whatsoever, and again, not letting people in when they are in desperate need is wrong.” The Holocaust Memorial Day events highlight atrocities that have occurred and are occurring around the world and offer a prayer for innocent victims, including in Palestine.
Sculptor Sir Anish Kapoor designed a special candle for the 2015 Holocaust Memorial Day. Only 70 were produced, marking the 70th anniversary, and as a sign of their significance, Chatham Memorial Synagogue received one. The candle was lit for the 75th anniversary, and it still exists and will be lit again for the 80th.
See the Chatham Memorial Synagogue website for more details about the Holocaust Memorial Day event in Cliffe Woods.
In brief
🎭 Icon Theatre was nominated for the Community Award at The Stage Awards for their Ghost Ships production held at Chatham Historic Dockyard last year.
🎨 Medway Open Studios is back for 2025, between 5 - 20 July, offering a free art trail with studios to visit and interesting artists to meet. Registration is now open for artists wishing to take part.
👾 The Medway Gaming Festival will not return to Chatham Historic Dockyard this year. The Dockyard has cited insufficient visitor growth and financial unsustainability. Fragers, the company behind the festival, is looking into other options.
🎾 Tennis courts in Gillingham and Chatham are being refurbished thanks to £174,000 funding from the Lawn Tennis Association. The refreshed courts are set to be completed and opened by the spring.
🥘 Hempstead Valley Sainsbury’s is set to lose its legendary cafe. The chain has decided to close all of its in-store eateries.
Medway gets first cat café
Chatham’s Intra area will soon have another venue to add to its unique reasons for visiting, as Medway’s first cat café will launch this weekend.
The café is run by Glinda Bishop and Jackie Cousins, both animal lovers who decided they would love to open a cat café in Medway and wanted to give back to the community. “We are hoping that our café will help people struggling with mental health issues and it will support destressing”, Glinda told us.
Despite the name, Mrs Slocombe’s Cat Café isn’t a café solely for cats. A cat café is instead a themed café where you can watch and interact with cats while enjoying your food and drink. On launch, there will be eight to ten cats on site, all of whom are rescues. Glinda and Jackie also hope to raise money for cat rescue centres and help home more cats.
The building on the old High Street was previously the Orchid Garden Chinese-Thai restaurant and, long before that, a florist. As part of the project, the upstairs is being reopened, allowing people into the former orangery and enjoy the view with the cats, along with original art that has been created for the walls.
Patrons will be charged a £10 door charge on weekdays and £12 on weekends for an hour in the café. The entrance fee supports the cats and their highly demanding needs. An extensive food and drink menu is also available.
In for Lunch: Pollo Cabana
In which Steven Keevil assesses the lunch options available in our towns. This week, he’s ordered from Pollo Cabana in Rochester…
Pollo Cabana is a ‘Spanish Rotisserie Chicken’ place on the Delce in Rochester. I ordered three boneless chicken thighs, drip-pan potatoes, and a side of coleslaw. The potatoes are, as described, slow-cooked in the drip pan juices. I ordered this as part of a meal deal. As a result, I got two boneless chicken thighs and a serving of sadness.
What is becoming a signifier of these establishments' quality is whether they serve coleslaw, and if so, is it homemade, and is it good? I am happy to report that the coleslaw was both of those things. For those who weirdly are more focused on the chicken and potatoes, I am pleased to report that both were also good. The chicken was succulent, well-seasoned and indeed boneless. I did have better potatoes during a previous order that were slightly crispier, but these were again full of the chicken flavour from the rotisserie.
If you are looking for some good chicken packed with flavour, then Pollo Cabana is a good choice you could make. Just be careful when going for a meal deal.
Homeless get free training opportunities
Medway’s Natasha Boardman-Steer, a creative practitioner in health and wellbeing, is delivering a new project with Arts and Homelessness International over the next four months. The project is funded by the Shared Prosperity Fund.
The programme provides people with the opportunity to receive free training, go on paid work placements, and build a relationship with the London-based Arts and Homelessness International. “We are looking for people who are really keen to progress their creative interests, and where possible, I can come and meet clients, customers, and students and talk to them about what they would like to do as part of the programme”, said Natasha.
Medway residents who are aged 18 and over and have lived experience of homelessness are eligible for the scheme. This includes all types of homelessness, from hidden homelessness like sofa surfing to those living in short-term or temporary accommodation, and of course, rough sleeping.
If you are interested in developing your creative skills, you can do so by joining Natasha and the Medway Arts & Homelessness forum on the last Friday of the month. These events host a series of free workshops from 3.30pm to 4.30pm at Pathways in Rochester, with next Friday’s (31 Jan) workshop being on poverty.
To find out more about the professional development programme, email natasha AT creatabot.co.uk
Events this week
💔 Sat 25 Jan - The Breakup Monologues // Part of Medway River Lit Rippling Out Sessions. Award-winning comedian and author Rosie Wiley explores the science of heartbreak. Sun Pier House, Chatham. Free.
📽️ Mon 27 Jan - Scream Unseen // Mystery screening of an upcoming horror film. Odeon, Chatham. Tickets £7.
🎥 Tue 28 Jan - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon // 25th Anniversary screening of Ang Lee’s Chinese martial arts classic. Odeon, Chatham. Tickets £5
🎭 29 Jan - 8 Feb - Improbable Fiction // Stage production exploring the nature of fiction and the act of creation. Medway Little Theatre, Rochester. Tickets £12.
🪕 Thu 30 Jan - The Ashen Keys // Medway folk band plays intimate Rochester show. Man of Kent, Rochester. Free.
More Authority
Last night, the first full Medway Council meeting of the year took place. It was a gruelling affair that ran past midnight, lasting more than five hours. Lots was discussed, from devolution to dog control to farming. We’ll have full coverage in our Tuesday edition, but we also covered the meeting live in our Substack Chat last night, so if you want to catch up on our coverage, you can do so here.
Remember that our Medwayish shop contains a wide range of Medway-related gifts and products designed by local creatives. We have books, mugs, t-shirts, prints, and other fun items. Check it out!
Footnotes
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Music that soundtracked the creation of this edition: Back in the Land of the Living by The Pastel Waves and The Quiet One by These Guilty Men.
I didn't see any mention of the start time for the Holocaust event. It's refreshments from 5.30 p.m., for a 6 p.m. start, according to Medway Council Home > Latest news > Medway’s Holocaust Memorial Day commemoration .
Amazing article! The holocaust remembrance with dual Jewish and LGBT+ significance, cat cafe opening, and homelessness support and highlight. BRILLIANT!!!