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National Armed Forces Week launched in Sandwich in Kent
National Armed Forces Week launched in Sandwich in Kent

BBC News

time5 days ago

  • General
  • BBC News

National Armed Forces Week launched in Sandwich in Kent

National Armed Forces Week was launched in Kent on Monday with the raising of the flag and prayers for veterans and currently serving military 60 people gathered outside the Guildhall in Sandwich to hear Father Sebastian Hamilton, rector of St Clements Church, lead a short event was organised by Dover District Council, which adopted the Armed Forces Covenant to support former service personnel in their rehabilitation and in the Glen Craddock, who promotes the Armed Forces Covenant at Southeastern Railway, said: "We offer all veterans who apply for a job an interview so that they can sell themselves and are not just one in a pile of emails." He added: "When you sign that line you don't know what is coming next and that's where we are at this moment. It's a very volatile time."Armed Forces Week is an annual event which celebrates the people who serve, or who have served, their Christopher Russell was commandant of The Duke Of York's Royal Military School in said: "We are living in the most difficult times I have ever seen and if I was still serving I would hope that the population at large would see how important it was to support the armed services." There will be an Armed Forces Week parade in Ramsgate on Saturday, which starts at the Sailors' Church in Military Road at 10:40 BST.

The Southeastern trains cancelled this last weekend of May
The Southeastern trains cancelled this last weekend of May

Yahoo

time31-05-2025

  • General
  • Yahoo

The Southeastern trains cancelled this last weekend of May

Several Southeastern trains will be cancelled, diverted, or replaced by buses this last weekend of May. The changes are due to engineering work and will affect trains on Saturday and Sunday (May 31 to June 1). We have outlined and simplified the details so you can plan your journey this weekend. Saturday and Sunday (May 31 to June 1): Engineering work is taking place in the London Victoria area, closing all lines used by Southeastern services. Sole Street Line: Trains between London Victoria and Ramsgate or Dover Priory via Chatham will run from London Cannon Street instead. These trains will run non-stop between London Bridge and St Mary Cray (Saturday only) or between London Bridge and Rochester / Bromley South (Sunday). Stopping services between London Victoria and Gillingham will not run on Saturday. Maidstone East Line: Trains between London Victoria and Ashford International via Maidstone East will run from: London Charing Cross on Saturday, running non-stop between London Bridge and St Mary Cray. London Cannon Street on Sunday, also running non-stop between London Bridge and St Mary Cray. Bromley South Line: Trains between London Victoria and Orpington will run from London Blackfriars, calling additionally at Elephant & Castle on both days. Bexleyheath Line: Trains between London Victoria and Gravesend or Dartford via Bexleyheath will not run. Additional services will run between London Charing Cross and Dartford via Bexleyheath on Saturday. Additional Services: Trains will run between London Blackfriars and Orpington via Denmark Hill, Lewisham, and Bromley South. Brixton Station: Closed all weekend. Use London Underground for travel to/from Brixton.

Southeastern apologies for daylight-blocking coverings on train station bridge
Southeastern apologies for daylight-blocking coverings on train station bridge

The Independent

time21-05-2025

  • Business
  • The Independent

Southeastern apologies for daylight-blocking coverings on train station bridge

Southeastern railway has been accused of 'daylight robbery' after it papered over the windows of a busy passenger footbridge connecting two London stations. Tens of thousands of travellers moving between Waterloo and Waterloo East stations cross the high level footbridge each day which, until Monday evening, had covered its windows with vinyl wrappers. 'How to make your customers depressed. Lesson one by Southeastern. Block out all the light in the overground footbridge from Waterloo to Waterloo East,' wrote one frustrated commuter on X. 'Why rob the customers of free sunlight? Staff do not like it.' According to a report in The Times, station staff claimed the coverings had been introduced because it was 'too expensive to have them cleaned'. 'It's so depressing,' said one. '[We] came into work one day and they had taken away all the daylight. The only explanation we've had from the bosses is that people were complaining that the windows were dirty but they felt it was too expensive to actually clean them, so they just papered over them. No one is happy about it.' Another said: 'It's just awful. Passengers keep asking us why we've blocked out the sunshine.' Southeastern – one of the UK's busiest rail operators – connects London with Kent and East Sussex. It was taken over by the UK government in October 2021 following a serious breach of franchise. An investigation into the firm found that the operator did not declare more than £25 million of historical taxpayer funding. The company recently concluded a £2 million station improvement programme which involved 'deep cleans' at 116 stations, alongside repair and improvement works at 20 stations. It claimed the investments formed part of 'the wider goal of building a better, more reliable and sustainable railway'. A spokesperson for Southeastern told The Independent that the claims around cost-cutting or cleaning were 'completely untrue'. They added that the covering was 'simply an incorrect installation by our suppliers in the middle of last week which was swiftly taken down on Monday night'. David Wornham, passenger services director at Southeastern, told The Independent: 'We want our stations to be accessible, safe and welcoming places for our customers. We have spent £2million in the last six months to deep clean over 100 stations, as well as repaint and repair a further 20. 'At Waterloo East, we have invested £150,000 to repaint all platform areas, replace all the wayfinding and signage and added new customer information screens so customers can quickly and easily identify the next trains to Charing Cross and London Bridge. 'The final phase of this programme was intended to install new artwork vinyls to brighten the walkway – but it was never our intention to cover the windows. This error has now been fixed and the artwork has been removed. We are really sorry for the mix up.'

Daylight robbery: how a train company tried to block out the sun
Daylight robbery: how a train company tried to block out the sun

Times

time20-05-2025

  • Times

Daylight robbery: how a train company tried to block out the sun

As austerity measures go, this might just be the gloomiest of all time: a rail company has been accused of cutting daylight to save money. Southeastern Railway papered over the windows on a footbridge between Waterloo and Waterloo East stations because, according to station staff, it was too expensive to have them cleaned. The effect of masking the windows has been to transform an already uninspiring leg of the commute into a morose trudge through a pall of murky, yellow light. On Monday night, after a phone call from The Times and accusations of 'daylight robbery' from commuters, the coverings were abruptly removed. Stuart Collings, one of the tens of thousands of commuters who use the route every day, had written on X: 'How to

New lost and found system sees more items returned
New lost and found system sees more items returned

Yahoo

time11-05-2025

  • General
  • Yahoo

New lost and found system sees more items returned

Trumpets, church keys and an insulin pen were among the almost 5,000 lost items successfully returned to their owners as part of a train company's new lost and found scheme. More than 19,000 belongings were retrieved by Southeastern from trains and stations within the year and nearly 25% were reunited with owners - up from 10% last year. The most "forgetful" areas include London (5,762 items), Tonbridge/Hastings (3,672 items) and Ramsgate (2,231 items), according to the train service. Using unique QR codes to tag and track lost items, Southeastern's lost property lead Aaron Cox said the system is "quicker, more secure and easier to use". The most commonly mislaid items were backpacks (2,056), mobile phones (1,745) and earphones (1,136), according to Southeastern data. Other returned items have included an antique glass owl, tents and a snooker cue. The digital lost and found scheme launched in April 2024, replacing a paper system that was previously in place. Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. Loose hamster among railway lost property Going digital nearly doubles lost property success Heritage railway launches gaming carriage Southeastern Railway

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