A furniture store in Canterbury has closed suddenly with some customers claiming they've been left thousands of pounds out of pocket.
Aamad Trading took over the former Wilko building in St George's Street in the city in March.
Also in today's podcast, a Canterbury man living in America has described how they've prepared for Hurricane Milton.
Despite being downgraded to a category 1 storm, it's causing devastation in Florida.
Tents are going to be put up across Kent from today to draw attention to the dead reality of sleeping on the streets.
Porchlight will be bringing the installation to places like Canterbury and Tunbridge Wells - as part of events to mark world homeless day.
Two friends from Kent have launched a children's book to support emotional well-being.
Mindful Bee and Friends is a collection of stories to help parents deal with issues like anxiety and stress. They're releasing it now, as so-called Covid babies start school.
Perrie has been on our sister radio station kmfm chatting about new single You Go Your Way.
And in sport, a meeting tonight could see former Gillingham owner Paul Scally removed as a director of the club.
Current owner Brad Galinson has called for the vote - and shareholders will gather later.
However, Mr Scally is adamant the club has no right to remove him from the board - and he'll fight the decision if it goes that way.
10th and 1st up. We're heading to America where Hurricane Milton has been wreaking havoc, despite being downgraded to a category one storm. At the time of recording, today's podcast, around 3 million homes and businesses were without power. We've also heard that two people have been killed. The high winds have ripped the roof from the home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team elsewhere. Ukraine has collapsed. Well, Jacob Gallagher was born in Canterbury, but now lives in Port St Lucy on the east coast of Florida. He's been telling our colleagues at KMTV about what they've done to prepare ahead of the storm. Basically, you put up the window shutters, which are, you know, like aluminum corrugated metal. And that way, just in case we get some bad wind here, the debris flies through the window into the house, of course, as well as do some grocery shopping, make sure we have water and toilet paper, of course, flashlights, candles, just so we can see in the dark if we lose power, which is a possibility, you know, depending on the miles prior of wind we get. So, yeah, we're all set up. Due to safety concerns, rescue efforts in several counties have now been paused. Kent online news. Back here now, and a care worker from Maidstone, who sexually abused a severely disabled person has been sent to prison. Naguib loot fund denied the allegations, but DNA evidence linked him to the offenses. The 69 year old from Millwalk has been sentenced to 11 years and will have to serve four on license when they're released. A broad stairs man has appeared in court accused of sexually assaulting a child more than a decade ago. Brian Skipper has been charged with 11 offenses, including intentionally touching a child under the age of 13. The 76 year old from Seacroft Road has been released on bail ahead of another hearing next month. And a registered sex offender from Medway has been sent to prison after failing to comply to court restrictions. Richard Howell was issued with a sexual harm prevention order in 2021, but was later found with a phone and a tablet that had not been declared to the police. The 59 year old from Prospect Road in Chatham has been locked up for one and a half years. Now, this is one of our most read stories on the website today. A furniture store in Canterbury has closed suddenly with some customers claiming they've been left thousands of pounds out of pocket. Kate joins me now with more on this story. So Kate, tell us a bit more about the shop. Well, this was armored trading limited, which took over the former Wilco building in St. George's street in the city in March. They promised affordable luxury. The store had been filled with sofas, beds, coffee tables, lamps and mirrors. However, seven months later, a notice has been put in the window from bailiffs who are acting on behalf of the landlord, saying the building has been repossessed. Essentially, it would appear the tenants have abandoned the site owing rent. And what about customers who've bought furniture? Well, it's understood several have paid out, but I get to receive what they've ordered. The landlord say they've been contacted by about half a dozen people. One person has told Kent online that her mum paid 1300 pounds for a new bed and dining table and was told it had to be in cash as the card machine wasn't working. Now that was in July. The products never arrived and she didn't get any answers from staff while the store was still open. We've been told another woman paid out 3000 pounds for a pair of two-seater sofas after they didn't turn up, she was eventually given a refund. So what happens next? The landlords have said that if the store does reopen, they will be required to fulfill all of the orders that have been placed. And if they can't, then refunds have to be issued. If the tenant doesn't return to the store, customers with proof of purchase will be allowed in to collect their furniture or an equivalent piece. Finally, Kate, have we heard from the owners of the store? No, Kent online hasn't been able to make contact with them for a comment. Previously though, Tash Sheikh has told us that he was in it for the long-term after taking on a 10-year lease for the building. Kate, thank you ever so much. Kent online reports. The Environment Agency is investigating how paint and debris ended up in a pond in Favisham. The water at Stonebridge Pond turned a milky white colour on Monday sparking fears for local wildlife, although experts don't believe it's going to cause long-term harm. The pollution is thought to have come from a neighbouring house that was being steam cleaned. As many as 45 jobs could be lost, at a manufacturer in Sheerness, the Bond Group in New Road employs 120 workers, but they're now consulting about a possible restructure. Bosses say they'll be considering voluntary redundancies. Now tents are going to be put up across Kent from today to draw attention to the deadly reality of sleeping on the streets. Porch Light will be bringing the installation to places like Canterbury and Tumbridge Wells as part of events to mark world homeless day. I've been speaking to Chris Thomas, who's from the charity? I am sitting in front of a tent which has quite a profound message from a lady called Jackie who we've helped off the streets. Jackie turned 60 this year, but as you can see from the quote that's written on the tent, she says, "I thought the minute I stood still would be the minute I wouldn't wake up." That refers to the fact that when she was homeless, she wouldn't sleep at night, she'd walk around the streets in the dark and the cold because she was scared of dying. The fact is that Porch Light turns 50 this year, but a lot of people who are out on the streets, they don't live to be 50. Instead of celebrating, we want to highlight the fact that people are in a lot of danger out there and until everybody can celebrate their 50th birthday, we might be celebrating ours. To do that, we're going to be taking our tents around various locations in Kent to just shout about this uncomfortable truth, that the average age of death for a man living on the streets is 45 and for a woman is just 43. That's shocking. Not enough people are talking about it. We need to change that. As you say, these are going to be in prominent locations across the county because this isn't an issue that's typical to just one part of Kent. Is it something you're seeing across the whole county? That's right. These statistics, the average age of death being 45 for men and 43 for women, this applies to homelessness across the whole country. This comes from the Office of the National Statistics. It's a tragedy, really. It's shocking to have to talk about the fact that people don't make their 50th birthdays, but it's not talked about enough. We need to be shouting about it. We need change. Winter's coming and people are in danger, basically. Fundamentally, people who are homeless deserve the same life chances as everyone else. The installation will run until the end of November. Elsewhere, students in Ashford are getting the chance to hear from Olympians and Paralympians today because it's also World Mental Health Day. Athletes are sharing their personal journeys for an event at the Stowart Leisure Centre, 400-metre run of Victoria or Harugu, and swimmer Calliam Warrington are among those taking part. Meantime, two friends from Kent have launched a children's book to support emotional wellbeing. Mindful Beam Friends is a collection of stories to help parents deal with issues like anxiety and stress. They're launching it now as so-called COVID Babies Start School. Well, Lucy's been chatting to Stephanie Unthanklatter from Ashford and Belinda Prescott Collins from Ailsford. Each of the books has a mindfulness-based story that's framed as about 60 to 70% of the book. And then the remainder of the book are mindfulness-based lessons and interventions that follow on from the back of the story. So an example of that would be that in the first book, if the content focuses on helping the characters within the book are interacting, and the main character, Mindful Bee, or Bee Buzzy Bee, is interacting with the dog, and the dog is called Bucky Paws. And Mindful Bee, Busy Bee, talks about how they love to spend time in the garden. And their favourite thing to do is to notice and look at all of the different things like the flowers and the colours and the size of the trees and the colour of the sky today and the size of the clouds and how the clouds vary and so on and to listen to the sounds of the birds. So the first book is really centred on concentration, awareness, focus and attention. And Buzzy Bee takes the dog, Bucky Paws, on a journey to show them how to pay attention, how to focus. So things like look at the beautiful colour of the flower. What do you think of the colour of the flower? How many petals on that flower? Oh, let's notice how different the heights of the flowers are. What about the sky? It's beautifully blue today. And what about the clouds and noticing that the clouds are different shapes and sizes. So the story at the beginning is very much about the interaction between the first two characters. And then as the story comes to a close, Busy Bee and the dog, Bucky Paws, they turn to the reader and then they talk to the reader about getting involved in very similar activities. Steph is heavily involved and has been for a large part of her career in mindfulness practice. And I, as a parent, as a governor of a local school, as an interested party, can see the impact on children's mental health and the pressures that they're put under from day dot as a child. So anything that we can do our purpose is to make a difference to the future generation, to make them more resilient. To have the tools going into adulthood that I'm discovering at age 45 that I wish I'd discovered at age five and actually grown my life with those tools in my toolkit. So that's really the motivation and the reason we're involved with it. And there is a lot of pressure on children and families in general in terms of mental health. So, Belinda, how important do you think it is for sort of all of the family to be aware of wellbeing? I think today being World Mental Health Day is incredibly impactful in terms of all of us just taking a moment to reflect on what we all have to do and take on board in our lives, in everyday, busy life these days. If we take in a shocking statistic and one that's driven us through our work today, it's one in five children, I have a mental health issue. And coupled with that, we have mental health care provision in this country is an absolute crisis. And early intervention is an area that is lacking in every degree. So for any impact that we can have by bringing a enjoyable and easy to consume product into the house that not only benefits the children, our primary focus here is on younger children, but actually for a parent or a grandparent or a carer to take some time out and you naturally get engrossed in the activity yourself, which is there's a glimmer of delight in that because before you know it, you've taken a little bit of time out as well as giving some time and attention to your children in what is incredibly busy life and we're being pulled in every one direction. So that's the importance to us. And you can get loads more information if you head to mindfulb.co.uk. Ken's online reports. A brown bear from Kent has undergone brain surgery in the first operation of its kind to be carried out in the UK. Voki lives at Wildwood Trust near Canterbury and have been suffering from seizures because of a buildup of fluid. Well, bosses say the procedure went to plan and he's now safely back in his den. There are fears over the future of the Lee's pavilion development in Folkestone with progress at the site seemingly stalled. Work on the 91 flats above the former Tea Room and Theatre has now been abandoned for months but bosses still yet to comment. Residents and the local council want the uncertainty cleared up as soon as possible. Elsewhere, a rouse broken out over the position of four no entry signs on a bus only road near Maidstone. They're said to have been put 40 centimetres too close to the curb at a new housing estate in Allington. It's holding up the installation of cameras to catch drivers who break the rules. And finally, Perry has been chatting to The Breakfast Show over on our sister radio station KM FM about her new single, You Go Your Way, is her third solo song and she's been speaking to Gary and Chelsea. This song is a ginonomous song. Joy brought it, maybe it's like a good few years ago, put it that way. And we were in a session together and we were writing something else for my album at the time. And then he played this song that he'd had for ages and he really stayed years ago. And I was like, Oh my gosh, I'm obsessed with it. And then I told him like why I loved it so much and what it reminded me of and like it kind of took me back to a place of when me and Alex first met. But I think what I love about this song is you can kind of take it in your own way completely. So it's quite a freeing song. It's kind of like acceptance. When Joy wrote it, he wrote about his friends break up. But then he kind of preempted his own breakup, which happened after. And then we kind of worked on it together and tweaked it. So it was less like argumentative. It was kind of like accepting and like part and ways and everything's going to be fine. And no matter what happens in our lives, no matter what way we go, or what path we kind of go down, everything will actually be okay. There's no stress. It's a bold statement, isn't it? It's not saying, it's not saying it's very active. You're saying you're saying in control of that situation. And that's how it was with you making that break when thousands of miles was between interrupting your romance. It was like, okay, let's call it a day for now and see if the world brings us back together again. Yeah. I mean, I might be silly, but I believe in faith. And I believe like my mum always says, what's for you won't go by you. And I always live by that. And I'm like, if things are meant to happen, they'll happen. So you shouldn't force it because the universe already has a plan anyway. So I think like, when I first met Alex, I did, yeah, I was like, why don't we part ways and see what happens in a few months time when I'm back from America. And he was like, no, not letting that not leave me by chance. He was like, you're my girlfriend. That's it. Let's just be official. I was like, okay, Ken's online sports football and a meeting tonight could see former Gillingham owner Paul Scali removed as a director of the club. Karatona, Brad Galenson has called for the vote and shareholders will gather later. However, Mr Scali is adamant that the club has no right to remove him from the board and he'll fight the decision if it goes that way. Well, our business editor, Chris Britcher joins me now. Chris, thanks ever so much for being on the podcast. Firstly, can you explain what this vote is all about? Hi, well, what is taking place today is known as an extraordinary general meeting at Gillingham Football Club. In other words, it's one which has been called outside of the normal shareholder get-togethers and for one purpose, because the only item in the agenda is whether Paul Scali should remain as a board member. It's not entirely clear just what has led to this situation, but according to documents released by the club, it centers on claims of, and I quote, "a number of matters in respect of Mr Scali's conduct which have come to light and which give rise to concerns." It adds, "These matters included but are not limited to his conduct as a senior member of management of the club, his treatment of club staff and his management of club resources and assets. So in short, it's messy and complicated. Shareholders will vote on the proposal." So, Mr Scali used to own the club, but what's his involvement been since he sold it to the Galenson's? That's right. He took over the club in 1995 and guided some of its greatest successes, but ultimately, by the time he sold his majority stake in the club at the end of 2022, the club was, while financially better off, still languishing in the bottom division of the Football League. It's understood that he still holds a minority stake in the club, and since the takeover has retained a consultancy role and continued to serve on the board. So, Chris, the former chairman clearly isn't very happy. Can he do anything to stop this or overturn the decision if it doesn't go in his favour? I think, to be honest, unless shareholders reject the proposal to give him the boot, this will drag on. Mr Scali has already said he will legally challenge any decision to oust him from the board. And, as we know, these sort of legal challenges are neither quick nor cheap. Chris, thank you ever so much. That vote will be followed tonight by a fan's forum at Priestville Stadium and do head to the sports pages of Kenton Line for details of how the vote went and further reaction. Well, that's all from us for today. Thanks ever so much for listening. Don't forget, you can follow us on Facebook, @xinstagram, TikTok and threads. You can also get details on the top stories direct to your email each morning via the briefing to sign up to that. You just need to head to kentonline.co.uk and wash draw on the site today. Don't forget to check out our latest Eat My Words food review. [MUSIC PLAYING]
