John O’Connor, a proud Irish Traveller, purchased six acres of land at Ayletts Farm, known as Green Acres, in Halstead, near Braintree, Essex. He and his family have made it their home since April 2025. John was born in England and traces his ancestral roots back to...
The current synagogue in Medway opened in 1870. It was built by Simon Magnus in memory of his son. Magnus was part of a well-established Jewish family in Kent and played a significant role in supporting the local Jewish community. His contribution to the synagogue...
Abdellah was born in Rabat, Morocco, in 1973, the second youngest of nine children. His parents were poor, relying on his father’s modest wage from the local library to support the entire family. Their home was small and overcrowded—he shared a bedroom with his...
Jordan Harris (32) was born on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent to his English mother and Chinese father. His parents split up when Jordan was four and his mother became a single parent for eight years until she met his stepfather Ian, who has been a father figure ever...
The knife is the weapon: the person behind it is where it starts. Young offending, drugs, knives and gangs have existed for a long time; they are not something new. Thousands of young people every year who are held back by poverty, abuse, addiction and mental health...
Featured image:  Elder Jackson Thacker on Gravesend High Street Traditional Christian Churches – Catholic, Anglican and Orthodox – still command the largest allegiance amongst Christians worldwide, but they don’t command exclusive supremacy of those who follow Jesus....
Adolescence Painful, greasy, smelly, hormonal, angry are just a few of the names attributed to adolescents. On one hand, some professionals, including social workers, forget the uphill struggles and peer pressures associated with teenager years. Some think they were...
Jake Cox – Mental Health Advocate Jake (30) originally hails from Southeast London, but this working-class lad now considers St Mary’s Island in Chatham his new home. He moved there three years ago with his wife as he always wanted to live by the water. He was fed up...
I met with the delightful Shea in Rochester, and over tea and cake, we discussed recent events affecting trans people in the UK. As one of the first authors in the UK to publish a book about trans people in 2017, I am no stranger to trans issues. Since then, much...
Gillingham Football Club recently issued a lifetime ban to a young fan following a racist incident during a football match. This led me to wonder if such incidents were frequent or isolated in this geographical area of Kent, which has a population of 270,000 and is...
Considered heretical by orthodox Muslims, followers of the Ahmadiyya Movement suffer a life of persecution and vilification. Award-winning writer and Islam expert Declan Henry highlights their tragic story and calls for an end to their victimisation - written by...
