Kent remains on flood alert after heavy overnight rain - Kent Online

Kent remains on flood alert after heavy overnight rain - Kent Online

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Heavy rain floods the junction of St Marks Avenue and Beresford Road, Northfleet

Heavy rain floods a road in Northfleet. Picture: Genny Jones

A weather warning remains in place for Kent today as the River Darent continues to be on flood alert.

Forecasters at the Met Office say they rain will last until at least lunchtime - and some showers could be heavy.

Water levels on the River Darent from Westerham to Dartford - including Otford, Eynsford and South Darenth - remain high after heavy overnight rain.

The Environrment Agency said the flood alert will be in force until at least 3pm.

The Environment Agency has issued 45 flood alerts, with more than 38 in the south east.

Meanwhile, Kent County Cricket club have moved tonight's Friends Life t20 match against Sussex Sharks to the St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury, after flash flooding in Tunbridge Wells.

Motorists are also being told to take extra care on the roads. There were delays on Kent's motorways this morning as traffic was slowed down by heavy spray.

Heavy rain flooded the junction of St Marks Avenue and Beresford Road in Northfleet.

A tree lies in the middle of the River Medway in Maidstone

And a tree ended up in the River Medway, in Maidstone, close to the bridge that is part of the gyratory road system.

The swollen river has claimed part of the footpath near the Kentish Lady mooring.

A fallen tree also blocked The Square, in Hadlow, at about 9am today.

Have you taken any pictures of heavy rain or flooding? Tweet us @Kent_Online or email them to multimediadesk@thekmgroup.co.uk.

Monday, June 11 2012

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Source: www.dailymail.co.uk

Big Brother Ashleigh gives Essex a bad name, says 'TOWIE' Amy Childs - Digital Spy

Tuesday, June 12, 2012

Source: www.digitalspy.co.uk

Essex County rugby team wins state title - Newburyport Daily News

Rugby

Mass. Rugby Organization

The Essex County Bulldogs Rugby Football Club claimed the Massachusetts Rugby Organization's state championship with a 14-13 win over the defending champion Berkshire United Rugby Football Club Saturday in Pittsfield.

In 2008 the Bulldogs had just 22 kids playing flag rugby against each other. By 2010, they fielded a U19 team and began competing against other programs across Massachusetts.

Last season the Bulldogs lost their first match of the season to Berkshire by more than 40 points. That season, they improved enough to earn a berth in last year's state tournament, advancing to the finals versus Berkshire. The Essex County club was within 20 seconds of claiming last year's state championship. Berkshire scored in the final minute, winning the title 17-12.

Earlier this year, both teams met up again at Amesbury Sports Park in a regular-season match that ended in a 20-20 tie. After that match, the Bulldogs were perfect, scoring over 170 points against Seacoast RFC, Portland Maine and Arlington Catholic High School. Meanwhile, Berkshire did equally well.

Going into the state finals last weekend, the Bulldogs and Berkshire were ranked number one and two, respectively.

Led by coaches Dave Hill, Chip Lynch, Joe Stanley and Dennis Donnovan, the Bulldogs scored five times, including one successful try each from Amesbury's Matt Bell and Masconomet's MacKenzie Cashin, topping Worcester RFC in the semifinal by a score of 29-11.

On the opposite field, the speedy Berkshire club ran past the Springfield Rifles RFC, posting a 29-0 shutout, leading to a rematch of last year's championship.

In the final, Berkshire jumped out to a 5-0 lead on the first drive of the match, before Amesbury's Connor Norton pushed the ball in for the Bulldogs. Masco's Andrew Swimm gave the Bulldogs the 7-5 lead with the two-point goal kick after the try. Late in the first half, Berkshire's speedy backfield outran the Bulldog defenders for another try, and then added another three points with a goal kick to close the half.

The second half became a defensive grind with neither team giving much ground until the Bulldogs pushed the ball down the field in the final minute of the match. With 22 seconds left, Norton got his second try of the match, and Swimm nailed a tough goal kick to give Essex County a one-point lead. A frantic push by Berkshire was defended by the Bulldogs, giving them the championship.

Post 150 Junior Legion Baseball

Newburyport 5, Gloucester 4

Evan Habib pitched four innings, allowing six hits for Newburyport. He had six strikeouts. Tim Englehart pitched the final three innings, allowing one run on two hits. He had three strikeouts. Justin Snyder was 2 for 2 with a home run. Leighton Paradis was 1 for 3 with two RBIs.

Source: www.newburyportnews.com

Essex bid to start t20 campaign with a win - East Anglian Daily Times

Greg Smith, who is in a 13-man squad for Essex's match against Surrey and could make his t20 debut for the county.

Tuesday, June 12, 2012
10:00 AM

ESSEX Eagles turn their attentions to Friends Life t20 action for the next few weeks starting with a trip to the Kia Oval to face Surrey Lions tomorrow night for their opening match in this year’s competition.

Eagles head coach Paul Grayson has selected a 13-man squad for the match, start 6.30pm, and he is anxious to see his charges commence their South Group qualifying matches with a victory.

“One-day cricket is all about momentum and, obviously, we want to make a good start against Surrey Lions where we have a good record over the years,” he said.

“We know that the South Group is tough and there are some good cricketers in our section but I believe in our lads. We have some excellent players ourselves and if we get some good results early on in the competition, then I believe that there is every chance that we can qualify.

“Last year, we won seven and lost seven plus a couple of games were washed-out so we were inconsistent. Batting will be our strength this year in this format and so we’ve got to be very workmanlike in the way that we bowl. We’ve also got to be smart with our bowling changes and our spin options.

“We feel that we are better prepared this year than we were last year when we came straight off a four-day game and went immediately into the Twenty20 campaign. This time, we’ve had some time to prepare and practise our skills and we are hoping for a big performance on Wednesday night.

“Then we’ve got three matches in as many night next week, so the games come thick and fast and if you do lose a game, you can’t sit around feeling sorry for yourself, you might have to play again the next night.”

Essex will only have one overseas player for the competition despite intense efforts to sign another player to join James Franklin.

“We really tried to get a second overseas player in to join us but we have been let down by a couple of players,” Grayson explained.

“It’s proved a really difficult situation trying to bring someone else in but I’m happy with the squad we’ve got. I would have liked another one-day specialist bowler but we’ll live with that. It means that we’ve got to find a way to bowl well in the format and trust our batsmen to perform more consistently because last year, they didn’t do that.”

History favours for a winning start for the Eagles whose impressive record against Surrey in the FL t20 format includes victories in nine of the 13 matches with only two defeats while the other couple of games were abandoned.

Essex squad: J Foster, J Franklin, M Pettini, T Westley, G Smith, O Shah, R ten Doeschate, A Wheater, G Napier, T Phillips, D Masters, T Mills, M Chambers.

Source: www.eadt.co.uk

Volunteers pit their wits against the controversial Kent 11-plus - thisiskent.co.uk

AS DEMAND for places continues to soar for already over-stretched grammar schools across West Kent, pressure is increasing for pupils taking the controversial 11-plus.

Amid mounting criticism from parents and education groups over the strain the exam is piling on pupils at such a young age, the Courier invited a group of volunteers to try it out for themselves.

BACK TO SCHOOL: Our volunteers sweat it out at Courier House
EXAM PRESSURE: Volunteers sit the 11-plus at Courier House. Pictured are Amanda Manuel, Teresa Stevens, Jo Paine, Amy, and Graham Naismith TWGF20120525C-006_C
EXAM PRESSURE: Volunteers sit the eleven plus exam at Courier House, Tunbridge Wells.
EXAM PRESSURE: Volunteers sit the eleven plus exam at Courier House, Tunbridge Wells.
EXAM PRESSURE: Volunteers sit the eleven plus exam at Courier House, Tunbridge Wells.
EXAM PRESSURE: Volunteers sit the eleven plus exam at Courier House, Tunbridge Wells.

They ranged from parents striving to get their child into their school of choice to teachers keen to experience the ordeal their pupils are put through.

The group took three practice papers – mathematics, plus verbal and non-verbal reasoning – under exam conditions.

Father-of-three Graham Naismith was one of those inviting ridicule from his children by taking part.

He said: "I think it is wrong for a ten-year-old to be spending the summer revising. I accept the system, I just think it's too early."

He is going through the appeal process with his daughter, who passed the 11-plus but failed to get a grammar place.

Former maths teacher Teresa Stevens was a borderline 11-plus case and failed to get a place at a grammar school when she took the test 50 years ago.

She had strong views, saying: "I'm against the 11-plus and against dividing children at 11. I have taught children that come into their own much later and some who stop developing at 11.

"I just think it's madness to push children into exams when they should be enjoying their youth."

The Kent pass rate is about 25 per cent and this year 61 children who did pass still missed out on a grammar school place. Of these, 40 were from West Kent.

Margaret Tulloch, secretary of Comprehensive Future which campaigns for a fair admissions policy, slammed the system which makes many children feel like "failures", adding: "It puts needless stress on children and the majority get the message that they are failures. It's ridiculous.

"We should be opening doors for children, not closing them."

Critics say the 11-plus and division of children does not lead to better results or a more successful schooling system.

Michael Pyke, from pressure group the Campaign for State Education, said the top international schooling systems were all based on a comprehensive system.

He added: "Selection does not produce better all-round results. The most efficient education system is that which educates the most people. Systems that are elitist are inefficient."

Nevertheless, many parents turn to private tutoring to secure a place at a super-selective school, which allocates places due to scores, such as Judd School, Tonbridge Grammar School and The Skinners' School.

Tunbridge Wells Girls' Grammar School and Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys allocate places to children who pass the test and live within a catchment area.

Chair of governors at the boys' school, Michael Reidy, defended the testing process, saying: "The pass rate doesn't really justify the criticism of the exam.

"We have got children in West Kent clamouring for places. It's not unreasonably challenging for them but it's a filtering process."

But mother of two and chairman of Sevenoaks Action for Community Education campaign group Amanda Manuel said the admissions process was "flawed" and welcomed a county council review.

Pass marks...

The Kent 11-plus pass mark was 360 last year

This year, Judd School in Tonbridge wanted 418, The Skinners' School in Tunbridge Wells wanted 414 and Tonbridge Grammar School wanted 412 for children out of area and 409 for children within the area

The Kent pass rate is about 25 per cent

There are 164 selective schools in the UK

36 out of 152 LEAs have a selective system or some selective schools

The results...

Name: Graham Naismith, of Hazelbank, Langton Green

Age: 44

Occupation: IT

Reason for volunteering: Father of three, his daughter recently passed the 11-plus but missed out on a grammar school place so he is currently appealing

Score: 99 per cent

Reaction: "I thought it would be a mental challenge, timing and technique play a massive role in the 11-plus. "I'm frustrated I got a couple of questions wrong."

Name: Teresa Stevens, of Lower Green Road, Pembury

Age: 61

Occupation: Former maths teacher

Reason for volunteering: Took the 11-plus 50 years ago, was a borderline case and didn't get a spot at grammar school

Score: 82 per cent

Reaction: "It's what I expected.

"I was very slow on the non-verbal reasoning paper, I think it was that paper I originally fell down on.

"My maths is fast but I'm a slow thinker and it takes me a while to absorb it.

"I was curious to sit it again."

Name: Jo Paine, of Tristan Gardens, Rusthall

Age: 44

Occupation: School secretary

Reason for volunteering: Her daughter is due to take the 11-plus in September

Score: 96 per cent

Reaction: "I thought it would be supportive to try the 11-plus, my daughter thought it was hysterical.

"I'm hugely surprised by my result.

"The questions were fine but I think some would be tough for an 11-year-old.

"If you are trying to do it quickly it's really easy to misread it."

Name: Amanda Manuel, of Wickenden Road, Sevenoaks

Age: 41

Occupation: Businesswoman

Reason for volunteering: Mother of two and chairman of campaign group, Sevenoaks Action for Community Education

Score: 93 per cent

Reaction: "I have never seen an 11-plus paper, my children aren't at that age yet and I come from out of the county so it's not something I am familiar with. I thought it would be interesting.

"The first question on the verbal reasoning paper took me forever to get my head around but once I worked it out it wasn't too bad.

"I messed up several maths questions from not reading it properly.

"If we go down this path with our children I will make sure my son knows to read the question carefully, check his answers and write out the maths."

Name: Amy De-Keyzer, resident of Sevenoaks

Age: 23

Occupation: Reporter

Reason for volunteering: Born and brought up out of county and unfamiliar with the 11-plus

Score: 82 per cent.

Reaction: "Having gone through lots of exams in relatively recent years I was optimistic about the test.

"Some of the questions seemed tough and I made a major mistake in answering more questions than necessary because I didn't follow the instructions."

Source: www.thisiskent.co.uk

Divorce Hotel: Founder Jim Halfens Dishes On Hotel - Huffington Post

On May 26 the New York Times reported on the Divorce Hotel, a Netherlands-based company that enables married couples to take a rather unusual trip -- for about $3,000, spouses can go away for a long weekend and return as exes (by comparison, an average divorce in the Netherlands costs between $5,000 and $10,000 and can take weeks, even months to finalize). Despite its name, the Divorce Hotel is not actually one physical structure; the company partners with multiple boutique hotels to offer its clients a swifter, cheaper -- and chicer -- way to call it quits (locations in New York and Los Angeles are currently in the works). To learn more about this unusual service, HuffPost Divorce asked founder and general manager Jim Halfens to dish on what really goes on when a couple checks into the Divorce Hotel for the weekend.

How do you help your divorcing guests feel at ease?

We want to give couples the feeling of being at home. One of the suites [we do the divorce proceedings in] has a fireplace. That said, we also want to take them out of their comfort zone -- if they live in the south, we invite them to [a hotel location] in the north. This also helps keep them far away from new partners or their mother-in-laws.

How do you keep your divorces discreet when there are also regular hotel guests staying at the hotel?

Our clients have their privacy -- nobody knows they are checking in for their divorce. We work in specific departments of the hotel. All conversations take place in suites behind closed doors.

Our guests can use the hotel for their purposes, and walk around freely, but we don’t always know how people will react [to the divorce process] -- sometimes it’s emotional, sometimes it’s more businesslike -- so we always have staff members around. If [a client] is getting emotional and walking around the hallways, someone will be there to comfort them. They aren't creepy or anything, but they are trained and know what to do.

What's the most surprising thing you've seen among the couples who have stayed at your hotel?

There was a husband who ordered a bottle of champagne to toast on a new future. He wished his ex-wife all the best. It was a fantastic moment. We also had a divorce and a wedding on the same day. We were fully booked last December and a divorcing couple wanted a specific hotel, but there was only one date available. The hotel warned me that there was also a wedding there that day -- there would be no escaping it, there would be flowers everywhere. But, if couple didn’t come that day, they would have had to wait on the list for two months. I called the wife and she said she didn’t mind at all. When the couple arrived, they went to check out the wedding. They looked around, looked at the wedding dress. Then they had dinner that night downstairs right next to the wedding party.

Wait, they had dinner together? Do couples usually do that?

Yes, they ate together. The divorcing couples typically have dinner together. And breakfast together in the morning. We don’t mandate that they do anything -– everything is up to the couple. Couples can also choose their rooms. Sometimes they prefer to be close to each other, sometimes they prefer to be far away. One couple decided to sleep together. They emailed me and said, “This might be a strange question” then asked to be in one room.

Has a couple ever come to the hotel but not get divorced?

We’ve been successful with every couple except for one. The guy was trying to get a deal in his favor and disadvantage his wife in every way. The reason he wanted to do the divorce quickly [with the Divorce Hotel] was to blind her of the important details of his company and his possessions and money. He didn’t give enough information to our professionals and more investigation was needed. In the Netherlands, a mediator is not allowed to take a position [or give preference to one spouse], so we sent the couple to work with lawyers.

Can you tell me more about the reality show that you’re creating?

People might think “Why should I go to the Divorce Hotel for arranging my divorce?” We’ll show [our process] in an emotional TV show with wonderful moments -- something you would never expect in a program about divorce. I want to show that what happens in our hotel is very special. I don’t want to [show] creepy, "Jerry Springer," horrible shit.

Do you have a personal connection to divorce?

I have never married or divorced. I am convinced that I will marry in the future. I believe in real love. But not everybody is lucky to find it, so I would like to help those people split up in a positive way.

What do you mean by “positive way”?

Some people have the mindset that, if they divorce, they need to ruin their spouse. I think it’s better to do it quickly. It’s better for your money, of course, but it’s more about the end result: I had an experience with a woman told me that she had problems with her friends because they told her things like, “Why don’t you ruin his life? He wants the divorce, take what you can and get his money.” This woman told me that she didn’t want to ruin his life, personally or financially. She said, “My intention is to be able to, if I run into him in two years, be on speaking teams with this guy.”

Source: www.huffingtonpost.com

DivorceYes.com Offers Free Florida Divorce Resources - YAHOO!

Legal service releases a collection of free resources on its website to educate visitors on Florida divorce.

Fort Lauderdale, FL (PRWEB) June 12, 2012

DivorceYes.com, an online service designed to offer a low cost, fast way to get divorced, recently released a collection of free Florida divorce resources on its website. Now, those interested in learning more about the process of getting divorced in Florida have a robust resource to turn to.

“We want our clients to understand the Florida divorce law that applies to their case, as well as the court process,” explained Jeff Miller, senior counsel at DivorceYes.com. “Because an informed client is our best customer, we offer general Florida divorce information on our website. In addition to walking through the divorce process, step by step, we have made source materials available for those who want to take their study to the next level.”

Some of the resources included on the DivorceYes.com website are as follows: introduction to the divorce process, information on filing for divorce without kids, information on filing for divorce with kids, alimony explanation, child visitation law overview, and much more.

Of course, DivorceYes.com is a real law firm, so visitors to the website can also speak to a real divorce lawyer to get answers to their questions and practice advice.

“Our lawyers are available to consult with our clients, to answer their questions and to offer them sound practical advice,” said Miller. “Giving our clients the opportunity to have an informed understanding of the law and the process is where we start. Providing them with low cost legal representation of the highest quality and giving each client our full, undivided attention are the hallmarks of our services.”

To access the free Florida divorce resources, visit http://www.DivorceYes.com.

About the Miller Law Firm and DivorceYes.com

Miller Law Associates is a Florida divorce law firm with offices located in Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Miami, West Palm Beach, Tampa and Jacksonville, Florida. Managing attorney Jeff Miller has been practicing law as a trial lawyer in Florida and throughout the United States since 1980. His practical in court experience brings a wealth of experience to those needing divorce representation in Florida. All Florida divorces must be obtained in court. The purpose of the divorce website, DivorceYes.com, is to ease the burden of divorce on families and to get the process completed as quickly as possible at a fair and affordable price.

Jeff Miller
Miller Law Associates
866-343-4556
Email Information

Source: news.yahoo.com

LONDON MATRIMONIAL SOLICITORS

Tuesday, 12 June 2012