Restored floatplane goes on display inside cathedral
Plus low MMR vaccine uptake in Medway, our libraries need security, Space at Platform 3, Bollywood Buffet Club, our weekly events guide, news in brief, and more.
Rochester Cathedral has developed a reputation for striking installations in recent years, and its latest brings a local connection with a restored Shorts floatplane displayed throughout August. We’ve been finding out about its twelve-year journey to restoration. Further down, we have news of Medway’s low MMR vaccine uptake, security being needed in Medway libraries, reviews of Space at the Platform 3 Club in Rainham and Bollywood Buffet Club, our weekly events guide, news in brief, and more.
Restored floatplane goes on display inside cathedral
For the month of August, there is an exhibition based around a Shorts Scion Floatplane at Rochester Cathedral. We spoke with the Chief Executive of Rochester Bridge Trust, Sue Threader, to find out how this came to be…
The Rochester Bridge Trust provided grant funding to the Medway Aircraft Preservation Society (MAPS), based at Rochester Airport, for the restoration of a Shorts Floatplane. “We’ve been funding that since 2013,” Sue tells me. As the project was finally coming to its conclusion, they discussed how to maximise the public benefit for the work that had been done.
“We need to get this to as many people as we can. How do we do that?” The answer was a big exhibition and a summer of free engineering education events. The exhibition is at Rochester Cathedral throughout the month of August, and is completely free. “That includes our adventure golf course as well.” That’s right, nine holes of engineering-themed adventure golf.
Inevitably, some of you will wonder, as I did, what a floatplane is. “People have been asking me in the last few weeks about the different floatplanes and seaplanes and all this.” She explains that the fuselage of the plane is supported on large floats. As it takes off from the water or lands on the water, “it's on these great big floats underneath the plane.” Instead of having wheels and a normal landing gear for on land, it's got floats and thus can sit on the river, unlike a seaplane, “where the whole thing is actually sitting in the water.”
The plane that has been restored and exhibited was made at the Shorts Factory in Rochester in 1937, and it last flew in 1958. “It's been sitting on the ground ever since.” The Short Brothers factory, which was one of the very early aircraft pioneers, was initially based on the Isle of Sheppey. They then moved to a purpose-built factory on Rochester Esplanade, just upriver from the bridge. “There was a slipway that allowed them to put the planes into the water, which still exists. It's still there. You can see the slipway, but obviously the rest of the factory's all gone now.” The factory “was a really important industrial pioneer for Rochester,” says Sue, before the company moved to Belfast, where it still operates to this day.
Whilst the area has been redeveloped, there are still tunnels in the area, though these are largely left securely locked and inaccessible. The tunnels were conceived as a place of security for the workers at the Shorts Factory in 1938, when Oswald Short did not believe that Chamberlain’s “peace in our time” declaration would last. Built into the steep chalk banks, they were made to support 10,000 workers, with toilets, electricity, lighting and fans.
Malcolm Moulton, who was involved with the Medway Aircraft Preservation Society, approached Sue back in 2013 to ask if the Trust would consider funding the restoration of the plane, “which they'd located at Redhill Aerodrome.” Malcolm knew that the Rochester Bridge Trust were interested in Shorts because “of the proximity to the Bridge and there are some fantastic images of these planes taking off over the Bridge.” The Trust has a grants program that looks at the history of the River Medway and restoring artefacts and historic structures that tell the story of the River Medway.
Sue was interested “particularly because I've become aware since I got involved at the trust that just about everybody in Rochester has relatives who worked at Short Brothers.” There is a lot of affection for the factory, and Sue feels that “it just seemed a crying shame to me that there were no Shorts planes on display in Medway, and it's that sort of perfect conjunction really of what we're interested in.”
The Trust also do grant funding for skills development, and “obviously we're very interested in engineering skills.” With the project’s historic link, the Trust agreed to fund the project. It was initially a three-year project, but for various reasons, not least the complete reorganisation of Rochester Airport, “it's taken quite a lot longer than that”. Once the exhibition at the cathedral ends, the plane will be on display at the airfield. “They're looking at whether they can display it high up within their hangar.”
MAPS is open Sundays, Mondays and Wednesdays. “You can go and visit them any time and actually see what they're doing. They're always working on these really fascinating projects.” Sue hopes that this exhibition will raise awareness of the preservation society’s work. “It's open to the public and people can go up and visit, and maybe volunteer.”
Sue wants people to know that the exhibition is not just about the floatplane. “This great big yellow aeroplane is inside the cathedral, and as far as I'm aware, it's never been done before.” That is the centrepiece, but MAPS will also have their work on display “to tell everybody about the restoration and their volunteers will be there.” The cathedral has also arranged an exhibition in the crypt about the history of the Short Brothers.
“Most importantly for us, we're running our family engineering education activities.” Families can come along, free of charge, and there will be education assistants to help young people “have a go at engineering, and we try to pick activities that show the connection between civil engineering, which is our main thing, and aeronautical engineering.” Sue insists it's all about education, but it's mainly about fun, so don’t forget the golf course in the garden.
In brief
🛩️ Cllr Alex Paterson and Martin Hubbard from Short Brothers Aviation Heritage unveiled a new Short Brothers information sign on Rochester Esplanade this week, marking the former riverside site of the aircraft manufacturing company. Hubbard believes this is important so “the story of Shorts is not forgotten and is promoted to future generations, as sadly there is little tangible evidence left.”
⚽ Oral History Medway have released a video as part of a project with the Gillingham Football Club Supporters Association, sharing supporters’ stories of important moments from the club’s history.
Low MMR vaccine uptake in Medway
The recent death of a child with measles at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool has put a focus on the low levels of vaccination, which causes a failure in herd immunity. In 2023/24, 80% of children in Medway had had both doses of the Measles, Mumps and Rubella (MMR) vaccination by five years of age. Data for the year to date suggests a small increase in the uptake. We spoke to Medway Council Deputy Leader Teresa Murray, the Portfolio Holder for Health, to discuss the issue facing Medway.
Cllr Murray is keen to highlight that there has been a push to improve MMR uptake and that Medway has increased to 84.7% but acknowledges that Medway and Kent are below the 95% recommended by the World Health Organization. There are children in Medway who have had one jab, and there are efforts via family hubs and GP services to get that second jab.
In Teresa’s opinion, there has been an impact from covid, but there has been a considerable amount of inaccurate information linking the MMR vaccine and autism. The National Autistic Society and the UK Health Security Agency both unequivocally refute that any such link exists, with no reputable scientific evidence to support it.
Vaccine scepticism grew through the covid pandemic, but it doesn’t change the fact that measles in particular is a nasty disease. It can spread quickly, starting with cold-like symptoms, followed by a rash and spots inside the mouth. One in five young people who catch it needs hospital care. Measles can be severe in adults and can lead to pneumonia, inflammation of the brain, and even death.
With the MMR vaccine, it is avoidable and 100% effective. They are looking to use the Medway Go program over the summer school holidays and are reviewing how they can work with schools and early year settings to promote that the vaccination is safe and that children should be having it. Medway Council are working with NHS partners, including MCH and Kent Community Health Foundation, to review the situation to try and increase uptake across the board.
Medway libraries now regularly require security staff
On a recent trip to one of Medway’s libraries, we were slightly surprised to find a security guard positioned at the entrance. This naturally made us curious about what could have led to this, so we asked Medway Council how long this has been going on.
Medway Council confirmed to us that they have been using security on an as required basis, both at events and in response to incidents, with regular use of security starting in August 2024. An anonymous library staff member informed us that, whilst there has always been negative behaviour from some users when there are late fees, there has been an increase in abusive and disruptive behaviour from teenagers and young adults in Medway’s libraries.
This need for security, we have been told, has been because of behaviour including toying with the elevators, mixing up jigsaw puzzles, and releasing stink bombs. Two regular security staff members are in place, who work across several Medway libraries and community hubs. Whilst this has been welcomed by library staff, basic maths highlights that two security staff across 15 libraries leads to times when security is likely needed but not present.
There has been a national trend of increasing anti-social behaviour at libraries, and Medway Council wants to ensure they remain safe and welcoming places. They have recently launched a Library Customer Charter, which includes pledges from staff and guidance on how to use the libraries and community hubs.
Out to Dinner: Bollywood Buffet Club
We have previously reviewed Bollywood Box, and in short, I love it. It is one of my favourite places to eat. Rav’s delicious food was originally launched as a buffet, but like so much that was good in the world, it changed during Covid. For one night only1, Bollywood Buffet was back, this time hosted at The Deep End on Medway’s university complex.
To indicate how excited I was about this sold out night, when we sat down, we were on table 1. There was an excellent range of delicious food at £25 a head (excluding the university-run bar). Samosas, onion bhajis, a selection of rice, butter chicken, lamb curry, lentil dhal, and sweet chilli chicken were just some of the highlights. You were greeted with traditional poppadoms, and I was served additional mango chutney because Rav is a giant amongst men. There was also a potentially limitless supply of exquisite butter naan bread.
Dear reader, I am not a young man any more, and to my shame, I went hard and fast, and then spent 20 minutes regretting several life decisions, but damn, the food is so good that it’s worth it.
Review: Space at Platform 3 Club in Rainham
by Moira Mehaffey
Space have been somewhat unfairly and lazily branded as a Britpop band as their two best known albums were released in 1996 and 1998. Their sound, even then, was markedly different from the majority of guitar-driven indie bands, incorporating electronica through synths, loops and samples.
The interest in tonight’s performance lay in how stripping the band down to just lead vocalist and guitarist Tommy Scott and bassist Phil Hartley would affect the arrangement and delivery of the songs. The five singles from platinum-selling debut ‘Spiders’ bookend the set, with the duo seeming to grow more assured in response to the positive reception from early numbers ‘Money’ and ‘Dark Clouds.’ Hartley’s bass playing is fluid and melodic, and adds depth to the sound in lieu of the twiddly electronica on the records.
Second album ‘Tin Planet’ is also well represented, the quirkiness of the songwriting coming to the fore in the stripped-back format, embellished with mariachi elements in Scott’s guitar playing. Dark humour conveys twisted lyrical tales playfully. A new song, ‘Light It Up,’ is debuted, and we are invited to imagine a car thief, atop the broken down stolen vehicle, necking Jack Daniels and contemplating an offer of the devil’s last cigarette. Scott’s animated face and gestures match his expressive vocals as he throws himself into storyteller mode and feeds off the energy of an appreciative crowd. The night closes with the band’s three top 20 singles of 1996, which spark an enthusiastic singalong - including several audience members not old enough to have been there the first time around.
This serves as a testament both to the enduring appeal of the songs and the ability of the Platform 3 promoters to curate impressive line-ups and foster a welcoming and supportive community of music lovers, who, as we leave, are taking selfies and getting autographs from the band.
Events this week
✈️ Until 31 Aug - Floatplane // Short Scion Floatplane displayed in the cathedral, with an exhibition and activities. Rochester Cathedral. Free.
🎨 Until 2 Sep - Summer Exhibition // Open call exhibition featuring artists working in a variety of media. Halpern Gallery, Chatham. Free.
🛍️ Sat 2 Aug - Rainham Food and Craft Market // Artisan market selling produce from local small businesses. Oast Community Centre, Rainham. Free.
🌟 Thu 7 Aug - My Shining Star Fun Day // Day of activities and entertainment raising money for children’s cancer charity. Rainham Cricket Club. Free.
More Authority
Every month, we publish a column by one of Medway’s elected representatives. This month, it was the turn of Cllr George Perfect, Conservative opposition leader at Medway. He writes about Medway’s emerging Local Plan.
Footnotes
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The night went so well, they have started talking about doing it again in August or September. So be sure to follow Bollywood Box on social media, and book early when the call goes out to avoid disappointment.