From the Dover Mercury, 8 January, 2009.

Warm yourself with a winter ale.

THIS years White Cliffs Festival of Winter Ales will be held at Dover Town Hall next month. The 16th annual festival, organised by the Deal, Dover, Sandwich and district branch of the Campaign for Real Ale, it will feature more than 70 of Britain's finest winter ales, and there will be live entertainment.

It takes place on Friday, February 6 from 1 untill 11pm, and on Saturday, February 7 from 10.30am until 6pm, or until the beer runs out, whichever is the sooner!

Admission is £5 on the Friday and £2 on the Saturday, and free to CAMRA members who produce a valid membership card.

The organisers say that families "with well-behaved children" are welcome on the Saturday afternoon.

A limited number of advance tickets are being offered for the Friday evening to avoid people queuing, and these can be obtained from Blakes, Castle Street, Dover, on 01304 202194, or from Roger Marples at 12 Elms Vale Road, Dover CTI7 9NW.

The event is being supported by Dover Town Council, Dover District Council, Adams Printers and Thanet Leisure Force.

From the Dover Mercury, 12 February, 2009.

Jekyll and Hyde roller-coaster of Iiving with drink.

By Graham Tutthill.

MOST people think that alcoholics are the ones with the problem - that they are the ones who suffer - while little thought has been given to the damage done to the families of those with drink problems.

With one in every five adults in the UK now regularly abusing alcohol, people's attention has focused on the burden of criminal damage, road accidents and the effects on health and police services.

A growing cause for concern is for those in close contact with serious problem drinkers, as they can also be adversely affected.

Health care professionals are increasingly recognising alcoholism as a 'family illness' with partners, parents, spouses and children seriously affected by one person's problem with drink.

Those in a close relationship with someone with an alcohol problem are exposed to behaviour that is often erratic, confusing, irrational, emotionally hurtful and even physically violent.

Deny

AI-Anon Family Groups offer support to those who are affected by someone else's drinking. This can include embarrassment caused by the drinker's behaviour which in turn leads families to hide the problem, or deny it to themselves and others. It can also create a climate of secrecy and shame within the home.

Desire to help can become an obsession with 'fixing' the problem taking over the family's life in much the same way that alcohol obsesses the drinker.

Children of an alcoholic parent often isolate themselves. A loving parent can be transformed into a violent, abusive drunk making a child ashamed to invite friends home, uncertain of what will happen on a daily basis.

Those close to a problem drinker live a roller-coaster existence of hope and despair, as promises are broken and family life breaks down. It can be like living with Jekyll and Hyde.

Common problem

AI-Anon Family Groups exist throughout the world. In the UK, some 800 groups meet weekly in cities and towns, to offer understanding and encouragement, and to share experiences of dealing with their common problem.

One Dover woman who regularly attends a group' said: "For many members of M-Anon, just knowing they are not alone in their struggle to cope with the destructive nature of problem drinking is a great help.

Al-Anon provides a safe environment in which anonymity is assured, where people can gain insight into their problems, and learn from the experience of others how best to improve the quality of their own lives, whether the drinker sobers up or not."

• For more information contact the AI-Anon helpline on 0207 403 0888. Details can also be found at www.alanonuk.org.uk

VITAL INSIGHT

DR ROBERT Lefever, founder of the Promis Unit of Primary Care at Nonington, a treatment centre for depressive illness and all forms of addictive or compulsive behaviour, said: "AI-Anon Family Groups are a breath of fresh air in the insight that they give into the disease of alcoholism, which has rightly been described as 'the family illness'.

"This Implies far more than the effect on families of other illnesses, such as cancer, heart disease and diabetes. In alcoholism and other forms of addictive behaviour the family is intricately tied up with the problem to the extent that sometimes they can even become engulfed by it.

"AI-Anon gives a vital insight into the way that family members themselves need to learn to look at their own behaviour as something that does not cause alcoholism, or even contribute to It. Nor can the family members cure it.

"Nonetheless, a great deal can be done when family members learn to look at their own behaviour and draw back from helping too much.

"The effect on the sufferer is that it leaves him or her in a situation where there is nothing left to do but look at him or herself and seek help through Alcoholics Anonymous:'

LIFETIME OF HELL

A DOVER woman whose husband and two daughters have been alcoholics spoke to the Mercury about how it has affected her life.

"I wasn't drinking, but I ended up madder than those who were," she said. "It's been a lifetime of hell.

"I used to try to teach my husband how to drink responsibly, taking him out for a couple of drinks and showing him that's all you needed. I didn't realise he'd had several drinks before we went out, and afterwards he just carried on having more.

"It's a disease of denial. One of my daughters went to recovery and is doing well. The other, when she is not drinking, is the most beautiful person you could ever wish to meet. Then she goes on a bender and she is as mad as a March hare. You can see her working up to It. And then she is full of remorse and guilt. But it's never her at fault, it's always someone else.

"That's why I got so poorly - I couldn't believe that the people I loved were acting like this. I was baffled by it.

"I was working in Canterbury 25 years ago and I met a friend I hadn't seen for 16 years. She just looked at me and said: 'Is he still drinking?' It seems you have to look at the person who is living with an alcoholic to see the effect it has. She took me to my first AI-Anon meeting in Canterbury, and I've never looked back."

From the Dover Mercury, 19 February, 2009.

Facing up to reality of binge drinking.

Actors and police highlighting the dangers of binge drinking, with head teacher Simon Heaton at Walmer Science College. Picture Terry Scott.

PUPILS at Walmer Science College took part in a mock reality show to educate them about the dangers of alcohol and excessive drinking.

Reality Bites is a stage production based on a TV reality show where students interact with a presenter.

It is based around a teenage girl, played by an actress, who has a binge drinking problem which has resulted in her being expelled from a school.

The presenter then takes the audience through the issues concerning alcohol abuse and the dangers of it, using audience participation with questions and answers.

Head teacher Simon Heaton said: "The students appreciated being able to ask questions of the actors and the police."

From the Dover Mercury, 26 March, 2009.

When the town had a pub for every day of the year.

AN EXHIBITION on past and present pubs of Dover has opened at the Dover Museum.

In the 1880s, the town had 300 pubs or beer houses, and was aptly named "the town with a different pub for every day of 'the year". (I still disagree with this number. I'll accept just over 200. Paul Skelton.)

In comparison to most other towns, which had one pub per 1,000 inhabitants, Dover had one pub per 100. The Compensation Act of 1904, which sought to reduce the national number of pubs, brought about a dramatic decline in numbers along with bombing during the Second World War and redevelopment.

By 1969 there were 81 pubs left open in the town.

The exhibition is open from now until the end of May. For more information, please call Dover Museum on 01304 201066 or log onto www.dovermuseum.co.uk

From the Dover Mercury, 9 April, 2009.

Alcohol poisoning cases have doubled.

THE number of drunk people admitted to hospital for alcohol poisoning has doubled in east Kent in the past year. In 2007-08, 175 women were admitted because they had drunk too much, compared with 90 women in 2006-07.

Although considerably lower in number, the number of men admitted in the same period increased from 73 to 134.

A spokesman for NHS Eastern and Coastal Kent said the number of people hospitalised had fluctuated over the past five years but was now lower than they had been in 2004-05 and still below the national average.

The trust pointed out that in 2007-08, 38.1 men and 46.7 women per 100,000 people in east Kent went to hospital, compared to 45.2 men and 55.1 women nationally. The spokesman said: "When looking at the rate per 100,000 population, east Kent's latest figures for 2007-08 are considerably below the average for England - nearly 15 per cent difference.

"This is a far more accurate measure for gauging the extent of intoxication, bearing in mind the growing population."

The number of girls admitted for drunkenness improved, however, with 12 admittances in 2006-07 decreasing to nine.

Figures for the number of boys admitted were omitted as the number was said to be low enough to make the cases identifiable.

From the Dover Mercury, 4 June, 2009.

Crackdown on sale of alcohol to 'children

STAFF at supermarkets should be more careful about selling alcohol to under-age customers.

South Kent police area commander Chief Supt Chris Hogben said he had seen a till operator holding up a bottle of alcohol and getting a nod from a colleague 60 yards-away.

"That's supposed to be a supervised sale, and it's not right," he said.

"During the next 12 to 18 months, we will be concentrating on off-licences where alcohol is often cheaper.

"We will be working with the council and Trading Standards to make test purchases.

"Licensees need to be responsible in the way they act." And, he said, they would also target pub landlords who sold alcohol to those who had already had too much to drink.

"The days of serving alcohol to those who are drunk have gone. Those who cause us problems persistently will be targeted and they will lose their licences.

"Licensees have a moral responsibility as well"

'OFFICERS SHOULD SPEND MORE TIME ON THE STREETS'

POLICE officers should be spending less time with prisoners in custody and more time on the streets.

That's the view of Ch Supt Chris Hogben who has set an ambitious target for the time it should take to hand over a prisoner.

"What I intend to get to is a situation where officers bring a prisoner in and within 10 minutes they are clear of the custody suite," he said.

"I want to create a system whereby a prisoner is brought in, detention is authorised, and a civilian detention officer takes over the rest of the process and the uniformed officer gets back on to the street.

"I need to invest in civilian senior detention officers and have more custody sergeants. The only way I can do that is by closing one of the custody sites and I am currently looking at that."

Ch Supt Hogben said he was considering closing custody at Ashford and more than doubling the number of cells at Folkestone from 15 to 35.

"I am not thinking of closing Dover custody in the short-term," he said.

"We are going to have to look to do business differently. We may deal with more people by issuing them with £80 fixed penalty notices on the street rather than taking them to the police station."

From the Dover Mercury, 27 August, 2009.

Beer lovers in for treat at festivals

BEER enthusiasts are spoilt for choice this bank holiday weekend, with five real-ale festivals taking place.

Tony Wells, pubs officer of Deal, Dover and Sandwich Campaign for Real Ale, said: "Beer festivals are a popular way for landlords to promote real ale at their pubs as well as attracting more customers."

From Thursday to Monday, the "Chequer Inn," Ash, has its festival with 12 ales over five days, and a mini folk festival.

Ten beers will be served from the beer tent at the "Crown Inn," Finglesham, from Friday to Monday, with a hog roast and raffle for Kent Air Ambulance.

At the festival at the "Louis Armstrong," Maison Dieu Road, Dover, from Friday to Sunday, there will be live music.

Nine real ales will feature from Saturday to Monday, at the "Three Horseshoes," Great Mongeham, which is raising money in aid of Guide Dogs for the Blind with a fun day, face painting, bands, barbecue and bouncy castle.

The East Kent Railway is also staging an event with Gadds beers, music and barbecue from Saturday to Monday at its Eythorne station, with a heritage train from Shepherdswell.

From the Dover Mercury, 22 October, 2009.

Perfect post for the man with a passion for pubs.

A PASSION for beer and pubs is a double pleasure Tony Wells enjoys to the full.

So much that even on holidays his constant companion is a well-thumbed copy of the Campaign for Real Ale's latest Good Pub guide.

He said: "It rarely lets me down and my wife Trisha and I always plan our holidays around the guide."

Tony, 51, is pubs officer for the Deal, Dover and Sandwich branch of CAMRA. He worked in IT until being made redundant from Pfizer about a year ago.

He was a CAMRA member in his youth, so now in semiretirement he has time to rekindle his interest.

When he moved to Finglesham in 1993 his new home was only 70 yards from the "Crown Inn," so the temptation for a pint was on his doorstep.

He said: "I started going to a few beer festivals and then the CAMRA branch meeting before being cajoled into taking on the job."

He enjoys the voluntary work and on his patch there are 125 pups, as well as hotels. Of the 112 pubs open for business, 97 serve real ales.

The branch has almost 300 members and membership is increasing about by 10 per cent each year.

He said: "I monitor what is going on in the pubs in the Deal, Dover and Sandwich area, particularly the planning applications for a change of use.

"Then I report back to the branch monthly meetings and also CAMRA headquarters.

"Some pubs close down and that means more business for the ones that are left, but people have to reach them and unless there are public transport links those pubs may still struggle."

On behalf of the branch he is in involved in researching and monitoring the CAMRA pubs. So there is plenty of opportunity for drinking real ale.

He said: "It is phenomenally interesting. Every beer has its own characteristics and taste, as opposed to keg style beer which I find horrible.

"But I am aware that everyone has their own tastes and CAMRA does not try to force every pub to have real ale.

"The important aim is to keep and support real ales and breweries, which are part of the British culture. I would hate to see that disappear."

Tony does not advocate drinking excessively and said too many real ale beers are more likely to send the consumer to sleep rather than be aggressive!

He said: "I have been to hundreds of real ale beer festivals and never seen any trouble."

When his passion for beer gives him time, Tony and Trisha are involved in preparing and delivering the parish magazine and also enjoy a game of bat and trap. Not surprisingly, at their local The "Crown."

• To find out more about CAMRA In the area see www.camra-dds.orq.uk

From the Dover Mercury, 17 December, 2009.

Licensee in trouble; after serving under-age drinkers.

A LICENSED premises in Deal is under investigation by police after a "large number" of under-age customers were found inside.

The name of the premises has not been revealed, but police say the licensee may be called in for a review of the licence.

It is part of the latest crackdown on under-age drinking and alcohol-generated crime and anti-social behaviour in the district.

More than 50 young people have been stop-checked by police in the first two weekends of the operation and officers have seized alcohol from 17 of them who were drinking in a public place.

Five adults have been arrested for alcohol-related offences and will be given warnings under the Three Strikes scheme. If they are arrested again for alcohol-related offences in the next six months, they will be banned from participating pubs and clubs.

Police have been making sure licensees of pubs and clubs are managing their premises properly in the run-up to Christmas and the new year.

Plain-clothed officers were out in a number of premises across the district and mostly found premises and the staff working well within the Licensing Act.

However, in Dover a landlord or designated premises supervisor was given an £80 fixed penalty ticket after officers found him selling to a person who was drunk.

Officers in Deal found staff at one premises dealing "robustly and appropriately" with a person who was causing a nuisance.

Sgt Guy Thompson, of Dover District Community Safety Unit, said: "We will work with those responsible premises in dealing with issues surrounding alcohol and the Licensing Act.

"However, where those premises and designated premises supervisors fall below that standard expected of them, we will use the law to ensure they comply."

From now until January 2, officers will carry out high-profile patrols in Dover, Deal and Sandwich town centres on Friday and Saturday nights to deter offences and to promote responsible socialising.