Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Oliver Leader De Saxe.
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00:00Good evening and welcome to Kentonite, live here on KMTV.
00:29I'm Oliver, leader of the sacks, and here are your top stories on Tuesday the 18th March.
00:36Skirting round the problem as Whitstable school proposes gender neutral uniform, is a drug
00:43free future in sight as campaigners hit the streets of Maidstone, and morning show mayhem
00:50as we look back on our best bloopers.
00:54First tonight, parents of the Whitstable school received an email proposing a gender neutral
00:59uniform for all their secondary school students, and it came after multiple complaints from
01:04inside and outside the school about the inappropriate skirt lengths, with some parents even describing
01:10a culture of bullying surrounding them.
01:12Finn McDermott went down to find out more.
01:16Parents everywhere will know the difficulty of buying school uniforms and making sure
01:20that their children wear them right, but for one school in Kent, the issue doesn't just
01:24end at the school gates.
01:27The Whitstable school say they've been having issues with students pulling up their skirts
01:30to inappropriate lengths.
01:32They sent out an email to parents and carers recently, which said, as part of our commitment
01:36to maintaining high standards and promoting inclusivity, I'm considering a transition
01:41from skirts to trousers as a gender neutral uniform for all students, however I will not
01:45change the uniform without the support of parents.
01:48The letter went on to say the main reasons behind the proposal were that a growing number
01:52of students were wearing skirts that just didn't meet the uniform requirements, resulting
01:56in frequent reminders from staff and creating unnecessary conflict in the classroom.
02:01They said they'd also received complaints from local residents, businesses and parents
02:04about skirt lengths, and some students even came forward saying they feel pressured to
02:08wear their skirts shorter than the policy allows, contributing to discomfort, anxiety
02:13and self-consciousness.
02:15Some believe that the issue of the short skirts is such a bad one that it's almost creating
02:19a culture within the school of bullying.
02:21Now other parents, on the other hand, believe that their children should be able to wear
02:25whatever they want, and it's created a very divided opinion on the whole matter.
02:30I agree with it, basically because they're too short.
02:34I know in my day you did wear short skirts, but you had tights on.
02:40I think it'd be better wearing trousers, girls, personally, because they are a bit near the mark, yeah.
02:47It's dangerous for girls to walk around like that, really.
02:51I wouldn't let my daughter do it, no way.
02:54Personally, I can't see that trying to get all the kids to wear trousers is particularly
02:59gender neutral, because trousers would be synonymous with boys at a secondary school,
03:06or any particular school.
03:08So I don't quite understand how that in itself can be gender neutral.
03:13I spoke to the headmaster, Alex Holmes, who said that the school would be releasing a
03:17statement on the topic, but reiterated the email was only intended to get the views of
03:21the parents, and no concrete ideas would be put into place yet.
03:24But in the letter to parents, he also said the efforts to enforce the current uniform
03:28policy weren't having much effect on the uniform problem, which was beginning to impact the
03:32school's student experience and reputation.
03:35Finn McDermid for KMTV in Whitstable.
03:39Now this week is Food Waste Action Week, which is the UK's biggest annual food waste reduction
03:44campaign.
03:45It is estimated that food waste contributes to 8-10% of greenhouse gas emissions globally.
03:53And there's plenty of ways you can tackle it, like the compost beside me, but how can
03:57you do it at home?
03:59Daisy Page and Etelie Reynolds bring us through all the challenges to reduce their food scraps,
04:04and how they got on.
04:07Around 9.52 million tonnes of food is wasted every year in the UK.
04:13Approximately 67% of this could have been eaten, and all this food waste costs households
04:19around £14 billion.
04:22But what can we do at home to be more zero waste?
04:26Well to find out a little bit more, both Daisy and I made a spaghetti bolognese, and tried
04:31to produce as little food waste as possible.
04:34First I peeled and chopped all my veg.
04:42Instead of binning the scraps, I popped them into a container.
04:46These scraps can later be used to create a homemade vegetable stock.
04:50Additionally, the carrot pills can be roasted in the oven with a little bit of salt and
04:55oil to create tasty carrot crisps.
04:59Next I browned off my mints, then added all the veg.
05:03After I added both the prosciutto and the tinned tomatoes.
05:07Although both in a carton and a tin, I made sure both containers could be recycled.
05:23Something that does pair really nicely with spaghetti bolognese is garlic bread.
05:28And to keep my food waste low, I'm using this stale baguette to make some homemade
05:33garlic bread.
05:34To make the garlic bread, I just combined some butter, garlic and mixed herbs.
05:38Again, any scraps that came from the garlic, I popped into my vegetable stock container.
05:50Finally, I served everything up with some spaghetti.
05:54And that's how I made my zero waste spaghetti bolognese.
05:58Today, I'm going to be making a vegetarian version of this pasta.
06:05So far, I'm just using ingredients that I've already got in my cupboards like pasta.
06:09And I've been to the stores just to buy the ingredients that I need.
06:12Purchasing loose items helps me reduce my waste as I will not have any spare left over.
06:18And using ingredients stored in containers help less shelf life, meaning they can be
06:21used again at a later date.
06:23First, let's prep and see what waste we have left over.
06:28Music
06:44For my garlic, I will not use all the cloves.
06:47So, I am using this container to keep it in good condition until it's next used.
06:52Music
06:55Our food is now prepped, but we now have a bowl of food waste as well.
06:59So, how can we dispose of this correctly?
07:01In my kitchen, I have two bins.
07:03One for general food waste where I put food items such as meats and dairies.
07:08And the second bin is for my compost.
07:10Sorting through my food scraps, I am looking to see if there's anything that can be reused.
07:15Such as these seeds which can be planted.
07:17All these food scraps are safe to go into my compost.
07:21Music
07:23Layering my food waste with brown material such as dead leaves helps the waste to decompose into soil.
07:29Which can be used for my garden.
07:31When cooking, I use all the ingredients even when cooking for one.
07:34As I can store the leftovers into containers and have meals prepared for those times when I don't feel like cooking.
07:40Music
07:54Daisy Page for KMTV
07:56And Etalee Reynolds for KMTV
08:00Great tips there from Etalee and Daisy and more like that on Kent On Climate.
08:05But now curling enthusiasts are hoping to bring the sport back to Kent.
08:09With a relaunch of the Tunbridge Wells Curling Club.
08:12It comes after a previous club in the town closed during the pandemic.
08:15But now it's new owner Andy Eaton is hoping to inspire a new generation of curlers with sessions with people of all skill levels, ages and disabilities.
08:24Andy joined us on the Kent Morning Show earlier today.
08:28We are definitely looking at growing the sport.
08:30We want to build the community.
08:32Everyone that does curling will know that the curling community is really quite close, quite tight knit.
08:37And we just want to grow that and really to grow that and sustain that.
08:40We know that we start with the junior curlers.
08:42So we have a big passion for growing the junior curling program.
08:45And as you mentioned before, we are looking at growing this from anyone age 8 up to however they want to do.
08:52We've curled with many, many people of many ages and many disabilities.
08:56And we're a very inclusive club and we want it to grow that way.
09:01We saw in our opening there lots of renovations going on.
09:05We can see on the screen now.
09:07Tell me about some of the things you've got in store and the sort of process.
09:12Because I can't imagine it's easy to just set up a curling rink.
09:15Is that what you call it?
09:18Yes.
09:19Fortunately, it was a curling rink before.
09:22So a lot of the groundwork was already there.
09:25But as part of the renovation, we've enhanced the ice room with insulation around to get essentially better ice quality.
09:32And we've really renovated on the warm room, which is a place where people can come and hang out and watch curling.
09:39Be welcomed, talk about the sport.
09:41We now have cameras on the ice.
09:43We have TVs in the warm room that demonstrate what's going on in the ice.
09:47And we just want it to be very welcoming and have people want to stay and talk about curling.
09:52Really build the community and gain the interest of everyone that wants to try it.
09:59Let's do exactly that.
10:00Let's talk about curling.
10:01Because as I said, it's not one we often see.
10:03I think the last time I saw it on TV would have been the last Winter Olympic Games.
10:08So what was it that drew you to the sport?
10:13Exactly that.
10:14It was watching it on TV and trying to figure out.
10:17I'd love to give it a try.
10:19Just did a bit of research, found that there was a club that was no more than five minutes from my house,
10:24which was amazing because I'd never even heard of it.
10:27And went down, tried it and fell in love with it.
10:29And that is why I urge everyone that you will see it on the Olympics.
10:32The Olympics is in Cortina next year.
10:34You will see it on TV.
10:35It's one of the most popular viewed sports on TV here in the UK during the Olympics.
10:39And we urge everyone that if you want to give it a try, just get in touch, come down and give it a try.
10:44It is truly something amazing to try and at least say that you've done it.
10:50But I, like myself, once you've tried it, it really does become a sport that you really want to get involved in.
10:56If someone's watching now at home thinking, I want to try this alongside me,
11:00what's the number one bit of advice?
11:03What's the skill you need to be a really good curler?
11:07To get involved and to try, you don't need any skill at all.
11:10Our sessions involve coming down, a bit of an introduction.
11:13You'll get shown how to step on off the ice, walk on the ice, how to sweep,
11:18which is what a lot of people actually enjoy doing.
11:21And then you get shown how to deliver a stone,
11:23which is obviously the rock that goes from one end of the ice rink to the other.
11:27It's £42 and you'll have all that training and you'll get to actually play a mini game at the end of it.
11:33Fascinating that one.
11:35Maybe I should pick up curling in the near future.
11:38But now we have a short break coming up.
11:40But after the break, a Maystone campaign to tackle drug use here in the county
11:44and the Kent Morning Show's most awkward moments so far.
11:48See you in a few minutes.
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15:09Welcome back to Tonight Live here on KMTV. Now after his son was involved in what he
15:18calls a drink and drug fuelled attack, Saf Buxy launched an awareness campaign to highlight
15:23the dangers of substance abuse. Saf himself battled with drug and alcohol addiction for
15:2833 years and Henry Luck was on the streets of Maidstone finding out more about the Drug
15:32Free World campaign.
15:35Dr Saf Buxy overcame his addiction to drugs and alcohol here in Maidstone and he's back
15:42to warn others of the substances which have gripped him and his family for years. Joined
15:48by the Drug Free World campaign and 2012 Britain's Got Talent semi-finalist, the Jive Aces, he's
15:55hoping to raise awareness on the problem.
15:58I myself came out of a 33 year addiction to alcohol and drugs and I'm in my ninth year
16:05of sobriety and I'm here to try and help as many people as I can.
16:09Dr Buxy unfortunately said drug related problems are still ongoing in Maidstone as his son
16:16was attacked in the town on New Year's Eve last year following a drink and drug fuelled
16:22assault.
16:23Basically my son and a few of his mates got attacked on New Year's Eve in Maidstone, just
16:30here actually in Dreamly Square and it was very much a drug and alcohol fuelled attack
16:36for him and his friends so I felt that you know there's a problem in Maidstone because
16:41I got attacked 20 years ago. I had five metal plates and again it was alcohol and drug fuelled
16:46so I feel that there's a big issue with crime and more often than not it is aligned and
16:53it is coupled with the drugs and substance abuse and alcohol.
16:57One member of the Jive Aces witnessed substance addiction when he was younger and experiencing
17:02homelessness and him and the band are here because he says drugs are a danger prone to
17:10many musicians.
17:11It's a responsibility I think as a musician. We have quite a following within our music
17:17genre and I think you have to show people that you can have fun and have a much better
17:24life, reach your goals without taking drugs rather than giving the impression it helps
17:29you.
17:30From the stage to the streets, I asked the public of Maidstone about the importance of
17:35the campaign.
17:36I think we need to have a big campaign like this to get drugs all off the streets and
17:40forget about drugs altogether.
17:41I think by raising awareness that helps other people help others.
17:46I've seen a lot of people trying to get off them and all that so the more help from charities
17:53they get, the more support the better.
17:55Dr Bucksey is continuing to raise awareness on the influence of drugs and alcohol, determined
18:02to not let people's lives end on a sour note.
18:05Behind me is a pledge that the public of Maidstone can sign to help support Drug Free
18:12World's cause.
18:13Henry Buck for KMTV in Maidstone.
18:17Well to tell us more of Saf Bucksey, he actually joined us on the Kent Morning Show earlier
18:22today.
18:22As I say, I've been on the other side. I've had two stomach pumps, I've overdosed three
18:30times, I was even flat-lined once.
18:32Throughout the years of my in-movement recovery and also when I was in inactive addiction,
18:39people have died around me.
18:41I've lost about, people that I know, maybe not personally but know of, about 50 people
18:46in the last 10 years because of drugs.
18:49If there's anything that I can do or we can do as a Drug Free World campaign, through
18:53my organisation Help Us Help, I will do what I can, even if we save one life.
18:58OK, look, having a Drug Free World, it's a difficult task, of course it is, but that's
19:05what we're trying to aim at.
19:06Whether we'll succeed or not, it's probably unlikely, but what we can do is we can just
19:11try.
19:12As I said, even if I save just one life, we've done something and we've saved someone else
19:19from the evil and the demons of drug abuse.
19:24Yeah, the title Drug Free World, you're sort of classing all of the drugs, the illegal
19:28ones, that many drugs are here to help us as well, and even things like cannabis can
19:33be used in a medical sense as well.
19:36I suppose that's some of the feedback you would get from a lot of people?
19:41I'm sure you will, yeah.
19:43I mean, CBD and things like that, I haven't really got an issue with.
19:49I'm not a medical doctor by any stretch of the imagination, but it's the THC that they
19:53use in cannabis.
19:54It's the thing that they mix with cannabis on the streets today.
19:56I've heard stories that they have fentanyl mixed with.
19:58Fentanyl is 10 times stronger than heroin.
20:01You don't know what you're buying when you're buying from the streets.
20:05You don't know.
20:06We don't know what it's mixed with.
20:08We don't know where it's grown.
20:09We don't know how it's made.
20:10We don't know anything about it.
20:12I think in Mason alone, the deaths from heroin went up tenfold, especially during COVID,
20:18because drug dealers were mixing fentanyl, fentanyl, which I said is 10 times stronger
20:24than heroin, and probably more, with heroin, and people were overdosing, thinking they
20:29can use the same amount.
20:30When you buy from dealers, drug dealers on the streets, they probably don't even know
20:35how it is made.
20:36So it's, yeah, cannabis, I can understand the argument from that.
20:40And as I say, I smoked cannabis for 17 years, so I do know about cannabis, but I smoked
20:45the strong cannabis with all the THC and all the stuff that was sprayed on to make it stronger.
20:50It's, we don't know what's in it.
20:53You don't know what's in it.
20:55And children don't know what's in it.
20:57And people are dying.
20:59That's a fact.
21:01So that is why I'm doing this, because I feel very strongly about this.
21:06I came out of a 33-year addiction myself.
21:09I'm lucky to be alive.
21:1150 people have died in my lifetime over the last nine and a half years.
21:16That's the people that I know of from drugs.
21:18So there is a problem.
21:21Now, don't forget you can keep up to date with all your latest stories from across Kent
21:24by logging on to our website, kmtv.co.uk.
21:28There you'll find all our reports, including this one about Kent's secret millionaire.
21:34Whitstable is mainly known around Kent for oysters, its seafront, and as a summer holiday destination.
21:39But one local who lived there never revealed she was actually a millionaire until she passed away.
21:45She fled Nazi Germany, became a millionaire, and chose to give her wealth away in her will
21:49to supporting local causes in and around Whitstable.
21:52Hilda Levy passed away in a care home in Manchester back in 2022.
21:57But it wasn't until semi-recently that people realized just how much money she actually had.
22:02With the friends of Kent and Canterbury Hospital receiving a £500,000 gift from Hilda in her will,
22:08their largest ever single legacy.
22:10They received the money at the end of the process of the will, with it already being paid into their account.
22:15With some saying they didn't even know who she was until they received the money.
22:19It was actually quite funny because when we first got the letter,
22:23we weren't quite sure whether we got half a million or 30% of half a million.
22:30So we were sort of, when we realized it was half a million, we couldn't believe it.
22:34Everybody was absolutely astonished and so pleased because it's a huge sum of money
22:38that can do an awful lot of good and buy really, really big equipment.
22:43Hilda also gave money to the charity Age UK and the Friends of Whitstable Healthcare,
22:47who say they'll use the donation to buy a new x-ray machine for the Estuary View Medical Centre.
22:52One Whitstable local and social history enthusiast, Julie Hunt, took it upon herself to research Hilda.
22:58Using publicly available documents and information to trace the course of her life.
23:02Julie noticed that one of her husband's ancestors shared a last name with Hilda,
23:06which got her interested in her life.
23:08And using records, she was able to work out that her parents were Dr. Friedrich Hermann Levi and Irma.
23:13In 1941, she was a student at Redhill School in Sutton in Kent and was interred as a refugee,
23:19with many of her family dying during the Holocaust in the Second World War.
23:24She also discovered that she worked as a secretary in Maidstone
23:27and for the Duke of Edinburgh Awards Office in Westminster.
23:30Julie believes that the source of Hilda's fortune could come from her uncle,
23:34who ran a company that imported and exported coffee.
23:36He died a bachelor and split his wealth between his family and various charitable causes, just like Hilda.
23:42The Kent charities that she gave money to all have praised her generosity,
23:46especially as many didn't even meet her,
23:48and Hilda Levi's name will become far better known in Whitstable as their hidden millionaire.
23:53Finn McDermid for KMTV.
23:57Great piece by Finn there, but now it's time for the weather.
24:06Tonight is set to be a clear one.
24:08Low wind speeds of four miles per hour, temperatures cooler in the west of the county.
24:12It's a warm morning, temperatures warming up to ten degrees down in Ashford,
24:16lows of eight in Dartford.
24:18And by the afternoon we'll see some more cloud coming in.
24:21The day will continue to heat up to around 15 degrees in parts of the county.
24:26And for the rest of the week, sunshine on Thursday, 18 degrees,
24:30cooling off to 14 degrees though by Saturday as more cloud comes in to Kent.
24:42And finally, sometimes, a lot of the time, live TV goes very wrong.
24:47And for the KMTV, hosting a brand new morning show every morning at 7am,
24:52those early morning rises can make themselves look a little bit silly.
24:59And as it's Awkward Moments Day, there's an awkward moment right there.
25:03We're embracing the cringe, the ics, the slip-ups,
25:06showing you some of our best bloopers from the last couple of weeks.
25:10Here's a little compilation we put together of our morning team, Abbey and Bartholomew.
25:16Messing up a lot on air.
25:19I've always said I'd love to be fluent in Spanish, but I don't know if it's too late now.
25:22Go on, give us a Spanish word.
25:23No.
25:24Hello and welcome back to the KMTV.
25:26We did.
25:27Live here on KMTV.
25:29Flipping pancakes, but also running with them at the same time.
25:32Yeah, I'm not sure if I, it seems like too much.
25:34Yeah, so some parts of the country are expected to reach sort of 20 degrees this week.
25:39Oh, right, OK.
25:40Hotter than Ibiza.
25:41Right, OK, and maybe we can move there.
25:44How to anticipate moving forward.
25:46So you're kind of always catching it, I don't know.
25:48Very interesting.
25:49I love talking about languages.
25:52Me too.
25:53Do you have to get a certain amount of flips?
25:55I was wondering, is it like basketball?
25:57Now, how often do you spend outdoors?
25:59How often do you reckon you spend outdoors?
26:01A fair bit.
26:02I'd like to, you know, go out on a lunch break.
26:04Do you know any card tricks?
26:06There is one card trick I can do.
26:08You said that without a pack of cards.
26:09I don't have the pack of cards.
26:10All right, that is all the time we have for the Kent Morning Show today.
26:13We'll be back at 7am on Monday.
26:15Monday.
26:16You thought I was going to say tomorrow then.
26:18It's Saturday tomorrow.
26:19You'll be on your own.
26:20Yes.
26:22Awkward moments day indeed, but are there any moments from Kent tonight
26:26that particularly spring to mind when it comes to bloopers?
26:30Let us know on social media.
26:32They might just feature in the programme very soon.
26:35But that's everything for this evening on KMTV.
26:38Stick around for The Bulletin later in the evening
26:40and come back tomorrow at 7am for the Kent Morning Show.
26:43But for now, goodnight.