The Ashford Town Centre Partnership is getting ready for the traditional Family Fun Day and Light Switch on Ceremony which will take place in the town on Saturday, 22 November.
There will be a fun packed day commencing at 11am.
This year, there will be added entertainment in County Square and Park Mall Shopping Centers, and the Family Fun Day Show will take place on the Bandstand with a great day of entertainment, fun and games provided by the Ashford Hospital Broadcast Service.
Winners from this year’s Ashford’s Got Talent Show will perform during our X’Mas Factor spots throughout the day and the overall winners from the heats, Oliver Line, Jade Chamberlain and Paul Hart, will take the stage around 4pm.
We have invited our very own Ashford Sporting Hero, and Olympic Gold Medal Winner, Jamie Staff, to do the honors at this years light switch on.
Autograph hunters can catch Jamie along with stars from Snow White at the Marlowe Theatre with Emma Barton (Honey Mitchell in Eastenders) and her Prince Charming Richard Hurst, in Park Mall and County Square Shopping Centers from 3pm.
The celebrities will then join in our special lantern parade commencing at the Friendship Stone at 4pm.
The Light Switch on itself will take place at 4.30pm. Jamie Staff will join our Mayor, Cllr John Link, and will assist a very special Child of Courage nominated by the staff on Padua Ward at the William Harvey Hospital. In attendance also, will be Miss Ashford and her Carnival Court.
Charity Stalls will be in place in town with their own brand of FUN’draising, so please come along and help support many of our local charities. Mini roundabouts and stalls will add to your enjoyment.
SO REMEMBER: ASHFORD HAS THE LOT! GREAT SHOPS, GREAT FUN, GREAT ENTERTAINMENT THROUGHOUT THE DAY
County Square, host a visit from 5 Kent Giants, and Park Mall have a visit from real live Reindeer. So come to town for a variety of entertainment, all the fun of the fair; and why not enjoy an ice skating session on our Ice World Ice Rink at Charter House too.
So come along, and enjoy the fun, on Saturday, 22 November
HISTORIC MOMENT
New Delhi, October 22: : As India's first lunar mission settled into its chosen orbit successfully, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman G Madhavan Nair described the launch as "perfect" which was achieved after "fighting against all odds".
"It is a historic moment as far as India is concerned. We have started our journey for the moon and the first leg of the journey has gone perfectly well," Nair said seconds after the successful completion of the launch.
"It is a remarkable performance by the launch vehicle," he said.
It is a perfect launch. Now it will be orbiting the earth, he said, adding that today "what we have started is a remarkable journey for the Indian spacecraft to go to the moon and try to unravel the mysteries of the moon".
"We have been fighting against all odds," the noted scientist said explaining that heavy rains and cloudy skies over the last four days had led to a lot of worries about the launch.
"Fortunately, we had clear skies today and we would be completing the remaining part of the journey within 15 days," Nair said. Other scientists who were present at the launch station attributed the success of the maiden moon mission to a "great teamwork".
While some scientists termed the euphoria of the successful launch as a "thrilling experience", others said that it was like "hitting the bulls eye", "a red letter day for ISRO" and a "glorious mission" as they complimented their "baby" on its sojourn.
"It has been a great team work. We handover the phase-2 of the moon mission to the next teams," a scientist said.
George Koshy, Mission Director said: "It was like that the moon was coming and peeping how we worked..."
As soon as the fourth stage of Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) separated from the Chandrayaan-1, scientists here broke into raptures.
Tears rolled down from the scientists' eyes as they received accolades for their achievement from their counterparts present at the centre.
NOTE : IT WAS SO SAD TO WATCH THAT BBC STILL WANTS TO SHOW A SLUM IN INDIA TOGETHER WITH THIS NEWS COVERAGE !!!
Priya Ganangal - Association Music Player ( Select song to play)
US Congress gives thumbs up to landmark N-deal
US Congress approved a landmark deal ending three-decade ban on US nuclear trade with India.
Washington, October 2: The US Congress on Wednesday approved a landmark deal ending a three-decade ban on US nuclear trade with India, handing a victory to President George W Bush on one of his top foreign policy priorities.
Final approval came as the Senate voted to ratify the deal, 86-13, sending the legislation to Bush to sign into law. The Senate's move came just ahead of an expected trip to India this weekend by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Bush said he looks forward to signing the bill into law.
"This legislation will strengthen our global nuclear non-proliferation efforts, protect the environment, create jobs, and assist India in meeting its growing energy needs in a responsible manner," Bush said in a statement
Can YOU spot the difference?
One can cause nausea, shock, kidney failure, blindness, coma and even death..... The other is a bottle of vodka.
This is the warning being issued by the Food Standards Agency to shop owners and consumers about counterfeit SPAR Imperial Vodka that could be on sale across the county.
Bottles of the counterfeit SPAR Imperial Vodka have been found in London, Essex, Yorkshire, Merseyside and Wales and the Food Standards Agency has warned the circulation of the counterfeit vodka may have reached Kent.
The Spar brand of Vodka, known as ‘Imperial’ does not bear the name ‘Spar’ on the label and the legitimate product is on sale in Spar shops only. The counterfeit vodka is being sold only in non-Spar shops.
The counterfeit vodka contains potentially harmful levels of methanol, which is normally found in vodka at very low levels. But the levels recorded in the counterfeit vodka could have serious health effects, including blindness and even death if consumed in large quantities. No cases of ill health associated with this counterfeit vodka have been reported at this stage.
How to identify the counterfeit vodka
• The counterfeit SPAR Imperial Vodka has a hint of acetone smell (similar to nail varnish).
• Bottles of the counterfeit samples are identified by the code QI:1445c and a smudged inkjet code reading that looks like 102234 04/08/02.
• Legitimate bottles are notated by the following: -
• 700ml66mm followed by two symbols and then the numbers 8809
•There is no lot code present on the neck of the counterfeit bottle samples, whereas lot codes are present on all legitimate stock.
Members of the public are asked to report any counterfeit SPAR Imperial Vodka to their trading standards service at their local authority. or email
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What is methanol?
Methanol is a clear colourless flammable liquid with a slightly alcoholic smell.
Historically it was made by distilling wood and was therefore has been called 'wood alcohol'
It is commonly used to make paints, solvents, vanishes, paint thinners and certain cleaning solutions such as windscreen wash as well as anti-freeze
It is mixed with ethanol (alcohol) to make methylated spirits or meths
Beijing: World champion Abhinav Bindra clinched India's first ever individual gold medal at the Olympics, winning 10m air rifle event at the Beijing Games here on Monday.
The 25-year-old, who qualified fourth for the event, shot an overall score of (596+104.5) 700.5 in a thrilling finale which went right down to the last shot. Bindra's historic feat makes him India's first-ever individual gold medallist, bettering the silver medal feat of double trap shooter Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore in Athens 2004.
"He is the best shooter in the world and I think his is a morale boosting feat for everyone in the contingent," a jubilant Indian Olympic Association President Suresh Kalmadi said after Bindra's win. "We are all very happy. He is a very hardworking athlete.
The entire shooting contingent is celebrating. We are very proud of him and it is just the beginning," national coach Sunny Thomas said. "Abhinav is a very calm and composed guy and doesn't get very excited," Thomas added. Bindra, a Khel Ratna awardee, had earlier won the gold medal in 2002 Commonwealth Games in the pairs event and silver in the individual event.
Ashford Malayalee Association congratulate Mr. Abhinav on his achievement.
NRI doc's name struck off UK register over sexual misconduct
LONDON: An Indian physiotherapist working in Britain has been struck off a professional register after he was charged with intimately touching a woman while she slept in the seat next to him on an overnight flight from
Can you believe it? In Kerala, having a 3rd kid may invite penalty
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: At a time when the two-child norm of last century is scorned at across the country, the model state of family planning in India is contemplating punishment for couples with more than two children. The Law Reforms Commission of Kerala headed by eminent jurist Justice V R Krishna Iyer has recommended a penalty
11 days from financial ruin...some in Kent wouldn't last two minutes!
More than a third of adults could survive financially for only 11 days if they lost their job, according to a survey out this week.
That's the depressing picture painted by the Yorkshire Building Society.
But according to our own (not completely scientific) mini-poll, some in Maidstone couldn't manage five minutes!
The national survey polled 2,000 adults about their typical weekly spendings, and compared it with their savings.
It found the average weekly spend is just over £300. But more than a third of those quizzed had less than £500 in savings to use in an emergency.
That meant they could survive for just 11 days.
In a whistlestop poll conducted on the streets of Maidstone yesterday we found people in Kent fear the P45 as much as anyone else.
Fay Snell, 19, from Maidstone was the worst and said she wouldn't last two minutes.
Maidstone girl Sarah Shore was a little better and said she would last at least two weeks!
But bank employee Lewis Finbow said the only way to avoid financial hardship was to start saving and be more responsible.
What is your situation? Do you need to save more?????????
London: In a landmark reform set to impact thousands of Indian professionals, practising doctors in the UK will have to undergo mandatory annual assessments to check their competence, a report said today.
The report, 'Medical Revalidation: Principles and Next Steps', by Britain's Chief Medical Officer Liam Donaldson outlines plans for more than 150,000 practising doctors to undergo the mandatory yearly reviews. Senior doctors will be appointed to weed out poor performers. It also says that family doctors, hospital consultants and private practitioners will have to apply to renew their licences every five years.
In the biggest reform of medical regulation for 150 years in the UK, inspectors will use evidence from patients questionnaires and feedback from colleagues to weed
Ambedkar College of nursing student’s reunion 2008
Re union of ex students and families from AmbedkarCollege of nursing BangaloreIndia will be held on 23rd and 24TH August 2008 at the Holiday inn hotel, ColdhamsBusinessPark, Cambridge, UK.
Sweeping changes to immigration rules; migrants to pay before becoming citizens
LONDON July 14: Foreign nationals wishing to become British citizens will have to earn the right to stay and contribute to the local impact caused as a result of them coming here, the government announced yesterday (July 14).
The surpirse element in the new immigration law change was the plan to manage the local impact. Under this new rule the government gives full access to benefits for citizens and permanent residents, with migrants contributing a little extra to the cost of local services.
The Home Office confirmed that newcomers will have to pay a little extra before they become citizens to create a fund of tens of millions of pounds a year to help police, schools, councils and local health services
Around the world festival 2008 in Ashford, Kent UK
Ashford Malayalee association, Ashford, Kent in association with Ashford borough council will be celebrating AROUND THE WORLD FESTIVALth August 2008 in High street Ashford town, Kent. Ashford Chinese association, Ashford Asian society, Ashford gurka association, Ashford Zimbabwean association and Ashford Kurdish association will be participating this festival. All these communities will be performing shows on stage, highlighting their culture and foods will be available from around the world. on Saturday30
Please contact
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to wish your near & dear happy birthday with photos and greetings.
Quotation Request
Quotations are now invited for our Xmas programme 2008.
1) Mutton Curry & Chicken Fry or Chicken Curry/Masala & Beef Fry with Fried Rice and all other side dishes including desert. Cut off date for submission of quote is 30 Nov 2008.
Contact person are : Raju Varghese, Ph: 01233662263
Biju Mathew, Ph: 01233610546
Jestine Joseph, Ph: 01233336253/07869283721
More than a third of adults could survive financially for only 11 days if they lost their job, according to a survey out this week.
London: In a landmark reform set to impact thousands of Indian professionals, practising doctors in the UK will have to undergo mandatory annual assessments to check their competence, a report said today.
Re union of ex students and families from 
