Folkestone and Hythe Conservatives are saddened by the death of former Prime Minister Baroness Margaret Thatcher. 

Local Conservatives gathered at Etchinghill Golf Course on Friday 10 August for a Pimms Party, buffet and a putting contest

On Friday, the Olympic Games was finally under way with the Opening Ceremony - a few words from one of the lucky spectators who was present for the Opening Ceremony rehearsal.

My work as your Member of Parliament this year has given me the chance to see the constituency from many different angles, including going underground and on the water; so I was delighted last Friday to have the chance to land an airplane at Lydd, alongside the airport’s managing director Hani Mutlaq.

County Cllr Susan Carey comments "I’m really pleased that the Saltwood Village Portal has been set up.  I’ll be using it to see what’s going on in the village and I hope to also give some information about what’s going on."

A new scheme has been launched offering non-repayable micro grants of between £50-£500 to entrepreneurs setting up their own businesses. Supported by Intuit and Paypal an initial £50,000 is available through this scheme. This will be topped up by £5,000 each month.

With the May elections over new councillors and many experienced councillors take part in a variety of training sessions that have been designed to help them in their new roles. 

Broadband access has been a particular problem for villages along the North Downs like Stowting and Stanford, and areas of Romney Marsh and the coast. Damian Collins MP comments "One of the top requests from residents and businesses alike in the area is for better broadband connections.."

I thought I would keep a blog of my time on Shepway District Council - having never done a blog before I thought ‘How hard can it be?

Recently elected to the North Downs East ward Cllr David Godfrey in his day job continues to develop electronic shipping documents for the oil industry. Meanwhile, proud dad David tells us that his youngest daughter, who followed him into the oil industry, has been busy being 'godmother” by naming a new oil tanker "Sea Frontier" in Guangzhou.