The fight for Medway begins
Plus: The Rainham Poetry Festival is coming, our weekly events guide, we review Pier Five, news in brief, and more
It’s been a hectic few days news wise, and something we weren’t entirely prepared for. But don’t worry. We’ve managed to juggle the schedule around and bring you the biggest news of the week in this Friday edition: Details of the upcoming Rainham Poetry Festival. In all seriousness, it’s going to be quite the event, and we’re happy to cover it further down, but first in this bumper edition, we have all of the latest General Election news from our towns. Below all that, you’ll find our regular events guide, a review of Pier Five in Chatham, the news in brief section, and lots more.
Thank you so much to everyone who upgraded their subscription this week. The General Election coming earlier than expected that has disrupted our plans a little bit. As we scramble to put together the kind of independent election coverage that Medway deserves, every new paid supporter allows us to put more time and resources into covering as much of it as we can. If you’ve been on the fence about upgrading, there’s never been a better time than right now.
The fight for Medway begins
When we published our last briefing edition on Tuesday, the accepted wisdom was that the UK would be facing a General Election sometime in the autumn. Somewhere around October or November seemed most likely. Suddenly, on Wednesday afternoon, everything changed. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, seemingly out of nowhere on the back of some middling economic figures, announced that the election would be on 4 July, a mere six weeks away.
Almost immediately, the political and media worlds went into a frenzy, and we’re not going to deny that Wednesday resulted in a lot of rapid-fire WhatsApp conversations here at Local Authority Towers.
MPs across the political spectrum seemed to be surprised by the news. Here in Medway, while Chatham and Aylesford MP Tracey Crouch had previously announced she would be standing down, she couldn’t contain her disappointment that her tenure would be ending earlier than anticipated.
I am feeling quite emotional about all this. I was anticipating an autumn departure from Parliament and still had important issues to raise on behalf of my constituents between now and then. I am sad that I won't now get to do that. - Tracey Crouch on Twitter
Her friend and political commentator said that this was a very mild version of her true feelings, translating her tweet as really meaning, “I'm feeling fucking angry.”
In the meantime, the clock is ticking for the Conservatives to select her replacement in Chatham and Aylesford, a seat that should, on paper, be fairly winnable for them. The reality might turn out to be something different, though, particularly if they end up parachuting in an external candidate at the last minute.
In our Tuesday edition, we noted that Gillingham and Rainham MP Rehman Chishti still hadn’t formally confirmed whether or not he’d be standing in this election. Nearly a full day after the announcement of an election date, he kind of confirmed that he was. Probably. The man doesn’t like to be clear. In the 24 hours since, he’s been filming videos of himself at The Strand as well as in a traffic jam and getting photos of himself out campaigning, receiving the obligatory “terrific response”.
On the other side of the battle, Labour seemed to be slightly better prepared for this moment, with two candidates long confirmed and a digital media operation that seemed to kick in within hours of the announcement.
Where they were lacking was a confirmed candidate for Chatham and Aylesford, but they managed to rectify that a mere 90 minutes before the Prime Minister called the election. Revealing the worst-kept secret in local politics, Cllr Tris Osborne was formally confirmed as the candidate for the constituency.
Yesterday, it was time for the parties to begin formally campaigning on a national level, and Labour leader Keir Starmer decided to make Medway his first stop. Launching the Labour campaign for government at Gillingham’s Priestfield Stadium, he made a speech that likely said some things, but if we’re honest, we haven’t watched it.
It is notable just how often Keir Starmer turns up in Medway. He was here repeatedly during the local election campaign, and choosing Gillingham as the place to start this time around shows some confidence that the party can win in these towns. That said, Gordon Brown made Strood his first stop in 2010, and we all know how that went for him.
One of the strangest things to come out of the event was a report on political gossip website Guido Fawkes that somehow painted Gillingham and Rainham Labour candidate Cllr Naushabah Khan as a ‘raving Corbynista’. Presumably, the definition of Corbynista has significantly widened since the last time we checked.
It’s going to feel like a long, long six weeks.
With the election date set, now would be a good time to make sure that you are registered to vote. This is particularly prudent if you have recently moved or are a student.
Don’t forget that you will need a photo ID to vote in the upcoming election, and only specific types of ID are acceptable. Spoiler alert: A lot more forms are acceptable for older people than for younger people. For students, the NUS is working with CitizenCard to provide an acceptable form of voter ID for free.
Thanks to everyone who got in touch following our plea for debate venues. Our intent is to hold three debates: One for each of Medway’s parliamentary constituencies. We’ve had some excellent leads on suitable locations, but nothing is set in stone yet. Please keep any suggestions coming to hello@localauthority.news. If you’ve already emailed and we haven’t replied yet, please accept our apologies. We’ll be back in touch with people as soon as we can.
In brief
🚧 Businesses in Rainham claim they are losing up to 85% of their income due to regular roadworks around the town. Some are now seeking compensation over the issue.
⚽ A new tournament set up to honour a footballing legend from Medway will have its final this weekend. Rainham Kenilworth will play Riverside in the final of the first Isaac Newell Trophy. Newell, from Strood, is regarded as bringing the sport to South America in 1903.
🚄 Trains will be replaced by buses between Rochester and Gravesend through the bank holiday weekend. As a result, no Southeastern High-Speed services will run through Medway all weekend.
🏥 Former Medway councillor, Rochester resident, and South Thanet MP Craig Mackinlay returned to parliament this week following a gruelling experience with sepsis. His sudden illness resulted in both of his hands and both of his feet being amputated, said on Wednesday that he now wants to be known as a ‘bionic MP’. Today, he decided to stand down at the General Election.
🏫 The Hundred of Hoo Academy accidentally emailed all parents data about students, including full names, attendance figures, positive and negative comments, and their pupil premium status. When asked for comment, the school characterised the massive data breach as a “mishap” and said they had “recalled the email”, which is always a very effective thing to do.
Putting Rainham on the poetry map
by Steven Keevil
Goat Star Books publishes poetry translations and bilingual anthologies, including editions of English poets translated into Spanish. Rafael Peñas Cruz and Kevin Harrison from Goat Star acknowledge this is “very niche.” Rafael and Kevin are in Medway because they held a poetry reading in London, and in the audience was a Rainham resident who wanted to promote poetry and offered them space and a small budget to bring poetry to Rainham. Hence, the Rainham Poetry Festival was born. The duo feel confident that what they have managed to put together in less than 10 weeks is good. The festival will be viewed as a success by bums and seats and by the number of schools that get involved.
Legendary Medway poet Bill Lewis is the patron for the festival and was eager to get involved:
“I was honoured to be asked to be patron as I believe all of our well-known poets, artists and musicians should do their best to promote the area. All over the world there are people who know about the Medway Scene, probably more people outside of the area know about it than those that live here. I think the festival will be one more cultural event that will instil and inspire a sense of pride in the area.”
It is a presumption on our part that many of our readers will never have gone to a poetry reading, let alone a whole festival of it. Explaining why they should, Rafael highlights how he believes that “poetry is the only way we can really describe or talk about reality because everything is so unconnected. I think poetry is this idea of having illumination. For example you can write a poem about the moment in which you are having a cup of tea. We are all poets, and we all have to discover the poetry of the ordinary.”
“People should attend the festival because we have some very entertaining poets in our programme. We have voices from Spain, Gibraltar, Guyana, Pakistan and of course from our own region. We also have the major coup of having Dame Carol Ann Duffy who is the first woman to be appointed Poet Laureate. Anyone interested will not only enjoy this but will get the opportunity to see writers who are at the top of their game reading their work and for would-be-poets this is the best way to learn about their craft. There will also be the opportunity of Q&A sessions with the poets which will enable people to understand their motivation and techniques. By attending the festival, you will help it grow and eventually not only enrich the cultural life of the area but possibly also its economy.” - Bill Lewis
Goat Star knows it is important to get schools involved, and they have reached out to sixth forms to encourage students to enter their best poems into a competition they're organising. With this, they hope that students will ‘find the beauty’ in their lives and put it into poetry. They are expecting a strong response, with a short list being given to Carol Ann Duffy to choose and read the winner. The winner will receive £1,000 in book vouchers for their school, as well as £100 in book vouchers of their own.
Rafael reflects that he doesn’t think that people necessarily need poetry in the same way that they need health and education. He does think that poetry can help people become aware of the beauty in the mundane, citing living above a takeaway as an example. “I think poetry helps us to see the beauty of things instead of taking what the press tells us. ‘Oh, you're a loser because you're living over a takeaway instead of living in a big house.’ There is more poetry living there than living in a big house in London. This is what poetry can do for you.”
Kevin reflects on it differently. “Poetry is the assembling of words in a particular way to resonate and to reach out. People like poetry, even if they might not call it poetry, because they will like pop lyrics, they will like songs, they will like a passage from a novel, they will like conversation with their friends. Poetry is like rock music used to be, or now it's drum and bass. It's a way of expression of what you see, and it's a way of being in the world and communicating.”
The Rainham Poetry Festival is completely independent of the council and takes place at St Margaret's Church. For Rafael and Kevin, there is a reason to support poetry in Medway, “I like the English romantic poets, and I found many years ago that there was a group of poets here called the Medway Poets, the punk poets. Lots of interesting things came out of here, particularly Bill Lewis. He's a poet I rate,” Rafael contacted Bill to work together on an event, and he “fell in love with Medway Towns. Medway has got a beating heart that represents culture and art and literature and poetry and music at the cathedral and in all the little venues around the towns.” Kevin, for his part, had made a documentary about the Medway Poets in 1982, and he was able to do a small screening to members of the group. “It was wonderful to see how they had changed, how Medway had changed over 40 years”.
For those attending the festival, there are multiple reasons to attend across the two days. All the events are free to the public, though there is a request that people book in advance, though you are welcome to turn up on the day. Carol Ann Duffy is headlining the event, and Bill Lewis has a prominent spot on the bill. You’ll also find Maggie Harris, a poet born in Guyana, whose work is about the idea of being from elsewhere and having to adapt to a new country. There is an event around Rosemary Tonks, a Gillingham poet whose work is often overlooked in our towns. Tonks passed away ten years ago, but members of her family will be attending the event.
“Rosemary Tonks was an important poet who brought a very European dimension to British Poetry in the 1960s, breaking out of the provisional confines of British Literature. So, let's celebrate the fact that she was born in Gillingham.” - Bill Lewis
The overarching theme of the festival is home and abroad because the church is on the old Roman road connecting London, the whole country, Dover, and the whole of Europe. “We decided that it's a crossroad of cultures.” For Rafael and Kevin, the festival gives people a way to really experience poetry, “reading it aloud in a communal way. It's perfect.”
Rainham Poetry Festival takes place Friday 31 May and Saturday 1 June at St. Margaret’s Church in Rainham. Tickets are free but attendees are asked to book a place in advance.
Under our Medwayish banner, we’re delighted to be collaborating with excellent Medway illustrator Matilda Flood on an exciting range of items based on her ‘Ellen Chapman - Medway’s Lion Queen’ series of works. Ellen was a 19th-century lion tamer who performed to large audiences, including Queen Victoria. Matilda’s work highlights the aspects of Ellen’s life that took place in Chatham.
You can pledge your support for postcards, wrapping paper, and a tea towel based on Matilda’s beautiful illustrations. The project is now over two-thirds funded, so if you’d like to be the first to grab (among other things) a tea towel of someone being mauled to death, click here to find out more about the project and how to contribute.
Out to Lunch: Pier Five in Chatham
In which Steven Keevil assesses the lunch options available in our towns. This week, he’s been down to Pier Five in Chatham…
The Pier Five bar is located at the end of Pier 5, as far as you can go and still be at Chatham Dockside. Many of the units before it are often empty, and for health reasons, some of the other units should be, so it’s understandable if you question whether this venue is really there. When you get there, there are seats outside, and inside is a spacious unit divided into three sections. You order at the bar, and the food has a good turnaround time.
A large Coke was smaller than a pint and was not filled to the top. This is, of course, Totally Fine. I ordered the Mucky Swine loaded fries, which are spiced fries served with a layer of crispy bacon, cheddar cheese, and mozzarella on top, along with both the house burger sauce and BBQ sauce. To balance this slightly, I also ordered a side of green leaf and herb salad, which, and many Medway eateries could learn from this, was served with a lemon oil dressing. The salad was simple but pleasant and went well with the generously portioned and tasty loaded fries. The layer is well placed, accompanies the fries well, and does not leave them soggy. Side note for the chicken wing fans out there: I would also recommend those. Ask for all the sauces.
Pier Five is a clear contender for the best place to get lunch when in the vicinity of Chatham Dockside. With friendly staff and consistent food, it is definitely the best place to go on Pier 5.
Events this week
🍻 This weekend (Fri 24 to Mon 27 May), four pubs in Rochester have teamed up to create the Rochester Ale Trail. The Rising Sun, The Granville, Three Sheets to the Wind, and The Man of Kent will all have live music, local ales, and food. Free.
🍔 The Chatham Maritime Food and Drink Festival is back this weekend (Sat 25 to Mon 27 May). The event features lines of food stalls alongside Basin 2 near Dockside, live music, family activities, and the annual dragon boat racing on Saturday. Free.
🏴 Cineworld in Strood continues its Danny Boyle season with a screening of Trainspotting on Tuesday (28 May). The blistering portrait of the underbelly of Edinburgh is nearly 30 years old and still packs a punch. Tickets £5.
🎸 Promoters The Big Cheese Company are back with another Kicking Against Nothing event, bringing some of the finest noisemakers to The Nags Head in Rochester next Friday (31 May). On the lineup this time are Strangeways, Rhino Tranq, and County Lines. Free.
We’re working on creating a bigger, fancier events page for the Local Authority website, and we’re eager to hear about your events. Email events@localauthority.news and tell us about them so we can consider them for inclusion.
More Authority
What leads to an 11-year-old getting involved with politics? Oliver Tomlin has been involved with Medway Youth Council for seven years, represented Medway in parliament, ran campaigns, and given speeches at a number of big events, all before he became an adult. Now he’s turned 18, what does he do next?
Giving young people a voice
This weekend, we have the first in a series of interviews with candidates standing for some of the smaller parties in the coming General Election. We’re starting with Daniel Dabin, Thomas Mallon, and Rizvi Rawoof, who will represent Reform in Medway’s three constituencies.
Footnotes
Music that soundtracked the creation of this edition: All Hail West Texas by The Mountain Goats, Two Ribbons by Let’s Eat Grandma, and Sick Scenes by Los Campesinos!