Rainham Weather - Current Weather Data and Trends now Available

Rainham Weather, the current weather in Rainham is now available online plus latest data and historic trends can be viewed on the Rainham History website.

http://www.rainham-history.co.uk/weather/index.htm

Dominos Pizza Rainham Kent - Phone Number & Photos

Dominos Pizza has now opened in Rainham Kent at the old Hop and Vine pub on the A2 near Tescos, Bowaters Roundabout.

Photo of Dominos Pizza Rainham

 The Hop and Vine pub closed in 2010 and has been empty until Dominos began conversion a few months ago.

Dominos Pizza, A2 near Tescos Rainham Mark Kent

Dominos Pizza have apps available for the iPhone to order but if you are looking for the phone number for Dominos in Rainham to place your order then it is 01634 260046

Dominos Pizza
28 London Road, Rainham
Gillingham
Kent
ME8 6YX
Tel:01634 260046

Rochester Traditional Christmas Market 2011 at Rochester Castle Kent

Rochester Traditional Christmas Market 2011 at Rochester Castle Kent

The Rochester Dickensian Christmas Market opens from 30 November 2011 in the ground of Rochester Castle and runs until Sunday 18th December 2011

The Rochester Christmas Market is a traditional German style market with various chalets in the grounds of Rochester Castle selling a wide variety of products from cheeses and smoked sausages to drinks and childrens toys. It is one of the largest Christmas markets in Kent. 

This video was shot during the 2010 Christmas market in Rochester Kent.

Action Forum - November 2011

Action Forum for November 2011 is now on the Rainham History website. There are old photos and an article about Rainham Rec and its history from the late 1800s.

http://www.rainham-history.co.uk/action-forum/14-action-forum-2011/116-af-nov2011

Action Forum November 2011

Loading Action Forum articles is now becoming routine each month so keep an eye out for new ones to be added

Stage Theatre Society Musical at Rainham School for Girls

Stage Theatre Society Musical at Rainham School for Girls- Les Miserables - I Dreamed a Dream by ...

I Dreamed a Dream by Gemma Scholes, the song from Les Miserables

STS (Stage Theatre Society) will be performing the musical Les Miserables at Rainham School for Girls from 26th to 29th October 2011

This promotional video was shot on the Canon 5D Mark 2 with the Azten external microphone for Canon DSLR. 

October Action Forum Now Available Online

The October 2011 issue of Action Forum, the monthly magazine for Rainham, Wigmore and surrounding areas is now available on the Rainham History website. You can view it here

Action Forum October 2011

Mouse, Rat or Vole?

We found this creature while out walking, it look like the nest had been estroyed and the babies were on the road. We thought it was a mouse but others have suggested it could be a rat and photos online look similar to a vole.

Any ideas?

Mouse, Rat or Vole?

Photo of Baby Mouse, Rat or Vole?

Hidsons Expand Car Dealerships in Rainham

The former Town & Country cars site is also being redeveloped by Hidsons to become another of their dealerships. They now have a series of different marques along the A2, from Hidsons Citroen, Hidsons Kia, Hidsons Nissan in Rainham to a new Hidsons Seat location on the corner of Maidstone Road and the A2.


The new Hidsons dealership at Rainham Mark on the Town & country site will be Hidsons Vauxhall. This takes over from the former Greens of Rainham Vauxhall dealership outside Rainham that closed a couple of years ago. The Greens/Medway Mercedes site is still empty (as of Sept 2011)

Dominos Pizza comes to Rainham Kent

Dominos Pizza comes to Rainham Mark

Dominos Pizza have finally got planning permission to open an outlet in Rainham. They had previously applied to convert the former Shell garage at Rainham Mark into a takeaway but were refused. They have now been granted planning permission to convert the Hop & Vine pub that closed in 2010 although this is only a few steps from the Shell garage. Strangely the Shell site would have probably made a better location as it has wider frontage and parking

The former Town & Country cars site is also being redeveloped by Hidsons to become another of their dealerships. They now have a series of different marques along the A2, from Hidsons Citroen, Hidsons Kia, Hidsons Nissan in Rainham to a new Hidsons Seat location on the corner of Maidstone Road and the A2.

The new Hidsons dealership at Rainham Mark on the Town & country site will be Hidsons Vauxhall.

Request for Info - Perks Grocers Longley Road

I received this message today. Does anyone have any information to assist?

I wonder if you can help me....I am trying to find out when Perks  a grocers situated on the corner of Longley Road Rainham closed and ceased trading.

Hope you can help

Latest Action Forum Now Available - May 2011

With the new design of the Rainham History website it is now much easier to be able to publish documents quickly. As such it is intended to try to publish the Action Forum magazine online within a few days of it being distributed.

The latest issues from May and April 2011 are now online and can be viewed here. The full magazine is a large download (21Mb) but contains the full content of the magazine.

http://www.rainham-history.co.uk/action-forum

Mobile Phone Masts to Improve Service in Wigmore, Rainham and Hempstead

Two new mobile phone masts are proposed for Wigmore and Hempstead to improve coverage for O2 and Vodafone. Both proposed sites are situated so that they are not directly outside a residential property and the Wigmore site in particular is on an empty piece of land that is adjacent to two mini roundabouts. Current designs for mobile phone masts are very similar to lampposts so they will be virtually invisible with all the other street furniture in a road. Some local residents are campaigning against the site of these mobile phone masts although they acknowledge there is a problem with mobile phone reception.

One resident gave the classic line "I realise reception is poor in Hempstead, but there must be a better way of improving reception."  Unfortunately not - the only way to improve reception is to add more masts especially to improve 3G coverage which requires masts to be more closely spaced than for the older G2/GPRS technology.

Another argument is that the masts are situated too close to local schools - one suggestion was that 300m was too close to a school. Presumably that means campaigners believe that a radius of say at least 500m around any school cannot have any masts. In some areas with several schools this would mean that no masts could be erected at all giving no mobile coverage. In other areas with one school it would mean they had to be at least 1km apart and would leave huge empty spots of coverage where little signal exists.

If no-one used mobile phones due to the perceived health risks then the mobile companies would not be rolling out new masts. However mobile use is increasing so clearly mobile phone users - including the campaigners against the masts - are happy to use their phones.

The most common complaint from mobile phone users is lack of signal - if these campaigns get their way then this situation will not be improved.

More info on the guidelines that Mobile Operators use for siting mobile phone masts here
Health effects of mobile phone masts http://www.vodafone.com/content/index/uk_corporate_responsibility/protecting/mobiles_health.html

Mobile Phone Mast Campaign - Wigmore and Hempstead

When running the Rainham History site I have always tried to keep a neutral stance on local issues to avoid any controversy. However the local paper today is reporting a campaign to stop a new mobile phone mast being erected in Durham Road is one that I feel needs to be highlighted. My personal view is that this is a crazy decision to try to stop the mast being installed. The huge majority of people use mobile phones and want to be able to have good coverage. It is all very well having campaigners stating that masts should be erected in commercial areas only; however most people who want to be able to use their mobile phone do not live in a commercial area and want to be able to make phone calls at home.

Mobile phone masts are needed where people want to use their mobile phones. If the campaigners are prepared to accept that they will not use a mobile phone themselves then they may have a case but anyone using a mobile themselves has no justification to then stop a mast being erected or they risk being accused of hypocrisy. The coverage around Wigmore area is particularly poor and this mast will resolve the problem by filling in the poor coverage spots.

Sadly our local councillors are campaigning against the mast so I would urge any interested parties to raise this during the election campaign, they can be contacted by email mike.obrien@medway.gov.uk, barry.kemp@medway.gov.uk, rehman.chishti@medway.gov.uk

More information on the location of the mast can be found here

You can email your support for the mast to Mike O Brien, Councillor for Rainham using this email mike.obrien@medway.gov.uk . Hopefully with enough emails he will realise the majority are in favour of the mast going ahead.

NOTE: If you are concerned about mobile phone masts then check on the locations that are already in place including opposite Parkwood school in the centre of the Parkwood residential area. An additional mast will have no impact on any radiation levels based on the number that already are constructed. You can check the locations of mobile masts in Rainham at this website  http://www.sitefinder.ofcom.org.uk/search
You will see that there are currently 3 masts in the centre of Rainham (Brown St/Quinnell St) and one at Rainham station, as well as 18 (yes 18) other masts in Wigmore/Hempstead including Woodside and Fairview Avenue. All are in the middle of residential areas.

Rainham Train Station Bomb Scare

Rainham train station was closed on 21 April 2011 due to suspect package being found on the platform at 6am. Trains from the coastal towns like Dover and Margate were unable to use the main line to London as a result of the station being closed. Buses replaced trains between Faversham and Gillingham during the incident which affected both the standard and high speed trains to London delaying many commuters during the morning rush hour.

http://www.rainham-history.co.uk/news/68-rainham-train-station-bomb-scare

The bomb squad were called to Rainham railway station during the morning rush hour when a suspicious package was found. A bomb warning was issued and Rainham station was evacuated. A controlled explosion took place and the police reported that it was  "not an explosive device"

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentonline/news/2011-1/april/21/suspect_package_causes_rush_ho.aspx

Three Sisters public house in Otterham Quay Lane, Rainham

This request for help has been received, if you have any information please let Roger know. If you can also post here too it may be useful to add to the site.

I am seeking a bit of help to see if anybody knows the origin of the name for the Three sisters public house in Otterham Quay Lane, Rainham, maybe who the Three sisters are that it refers too. If not could you point me in the right direction of somebody who may know.
I appreciate any help that you may be able to give.

Roger Pester
Inn Sign Society
rogerpester45@talktalk.net

New Rainham History site coming soon

Sneak preview of the new Rainham History site. Moving to a brand new platform that will make maintenance and updates much easier and faster.

http://www.rainham-kent.co.uk

Manor Farm has photos of wrong Rainham!

I was in the Manor Farm pub recently and on their walls are old photos of Rainham. It is a nice touch to see pictures of how the area used to be so when we spotted one photo we were trying to work out where it was taken.

The name wasn't familiar, Bridge Road nor the scene of flooding with a church in the background. A quick search of the web showed that it was actually not a local scene and was actually taken in Rainham, Essex!

You can see more photos of Rainham Essex here

http://www.rainhamweb.co.uk/history/past2.html

Or for old photos of Rainham Kent click here