The town’s Christmas markets are a must-visit for anyone looking to get into the festive spirit, with a wide range of stalls selling everything from food and drink to handmade gifts
The ancient town comes alive with its festive market(Image: David Anstiss/Geograph)
One of the highlights of the winter season is undoubtedly the return of the delightful Christmas markets, offering a plethora of fantastic options across Kent.
Over these three days, a colourful mix of stallholders will descend on Market Place and Court Street, presenting a diverse range of local food and drink, unique crafts and handmade gifts that are perfect for filling up those stockings.
On Friday, locals and visitors alike will have the opportunity to explore the Festive Food Market, showcasing the very best of Kent’s remarkable food and drink businesses, reports Kent Live.
Then, on Saturday, the town will play host to the Bumper Charter Market and Best of Faversham artisan market, ideal for discovering unique, locally-crafted gifts.
Finally, Sunday will see the arrival of the Christmas Gift Market where you can complete your holiday shopping – whether you’re searching for that perfect, unique gift or need to stock up on cards to send to all your friends and family over the holidays, you’re bound to find what you’re looking for.
There will be live Christmas carols and plenty of festive music for all to enjoy, and there is even a planned visit from the Happy Endings donkeys for guests to pet and feed.
These markets will follow the fabulous Christmas lights switch-on in Faversham town centre, which will take place on the evening of Saturday, 29 November.
Crowds will flock to the historic Market Place to see the spellbinding illuminations come to life at 5pm, bathing the town in a sea of colour. Again, there will be Christmas carols and live music to add that extra Christmas spirit.
From 4pm to 8pm on this day, the Festive Night Market will run on Preston Street, bringing plenty of opportunities to shop and tuck into delicious seasonal food. Between the numerous craft stalls and mouth-watering street food choices, this is one event you won’t want to miss.
Faversham may be rich in history, with its ancient port, maritime industry and hop-growing heritage, but it’s also brimming with contemporary attractions that today’s visitors will love.
The town offers a wealth of shopping opportunities and businesses, a theatre, thrilling events and activities, and a vibrant market, which proudly proclaims itself as “Kent’s oldest”. There are also beautiful scenic spots, such as Mount Ephraim Gardens, which will soon be ablaze with autumnal hues.
IF you’ve managed to end this summer with a lush green lawn, and no unexplained bald patches or a depressing brown sheen – then well done you.
The majority of people I’ve spoken to have been left with grass that’s definitely looking a bit under the weather (literally).
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Jonny Hincks is a self-taught gardener and fireman with 2m instagram followersCredit: SUPPLIED
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Jonny’s four step plan to transform your lawn will see it flourish for the AutumnCredit: Charlotte Wilson
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Johnny’s lawn in full splendour at the end of this summerCredit: SUPPLIED
But fear not.
One of Britain’s biggest shorts-wearing lawn lovers has got some golden rules for Sun Gardening to whip that outside space back into shape.
Jonny Hinks – AKA @gardenwithjonny on social media – describes himself as a self-taught gardener, firefighter and full time garden obsessive from Warwickshire.
And with nearly two million followers on instagram alone – it’s not just his comedy videos that have caught the attention of garden lovers everywhere.
His lawn is spectacularly well maintained – and even in the midst of one of the hottest summers on record, it still managed to look a lot better than most.
“It’s nice and moist, the soil is warm from the summer. So in terms of germination for grass seed, it’s just the perfect conditions.
“And it’s also a good time because the grass is still growing and if you get it all sorted now – the roots will be established enough to take the Winter cold that’s on its way.
“Everyone’s lawns have been suffering and turning brown from all the sun – and although it will come back if it hasn’t already, there’s a few things you can do now to help it along.”
FEEDING
“Be careful you buy the right feed. What you need now is high potassium Autumn feed, which helps the grass improve its root strength.
How I transformed my lawn and why now is the time to do it
And low nitrogen – as you don’t want too much leaf before Winter as there’s a risk if it’s too leafy it will be prone to disease.
SCARIFY
“This is like exfoliating your face. Basically you just need to take off all the moss and thatch, which is a layer of dead grass and roots – and too much of it prevents water and nutrients from reaching the grass.
It lets the lawn breathe, which is so important. I use a battery-powered scarifier, but there are manual ones, or you can use a rake.
Go diagonally in one direction and then again in the other direction. It’s a great work out
AERATE
“This is when you create air pockets within the lawn which reduces compaction, and like scarifying, allows water and nutrients to penetrate the earth.
“This makes for better root systems. I don’t like using a fork or aerating shoes for this – that just spreads the soil apart.
“Instead I have a tool a bit like a fork, but with hollow tines, that takes plugs out the lawn.”
TOPSOIL AND SEED
“As soon as I’ve finished all these jobs – I scatter a covering of grass seed over the area – and then cover with a thin layer of topsoil.
“I have been known in the past to do a mix of both together, but I’ve found this way works well. And then water, of course.”
Also in Veronica’s Column this week…
Top tips, Gardening news, competition and Plant of the Week
FOR more gardening content, tips, news and competitions, follow me @biros_and_bloom
PLANT OF THE WEEK! Nemesia Melody Morello Ice – still bringing colour to your garden now – this lovely Nemesia is totally hardy, with masses of dark green foliage, flowers from March to October, perfect for filling baskets, containers, beds and borders and has a sweet scent. Grow in moist well drained soil in sun or partial shade.
JOB OF THE WEEK! Prune climbing and rambling roses, remove any leaves covering pumpkins to get them ripe for halloween, if you’ve got rotten apples on the tree, remove them to prevent disease.
TOP TIP! It can be confusing as to which bulbs should be planted when – so here’s a few tips. This month – September – you can go for early spring-flowering bulbs like daffodils, hyacinths and crocus. Especially daffodils – as it will help with their root establishment. You can also get hardy summer flowering bulbs like Alliums and Lillies in now as well. None of the above mind the soil still being warm. But wait until November for Tulips – as they much prefer the colder soil to get them going. Always plant bulbs in groups to get a better display. And they like the warmth and sun – so keep that in mind. Try and plant them three times the depth of the bulbs – this is when a sturdy bulb planter comes in handy.
TOP TIP! If you’ve noticed dead patches, loose turf and even holes appearing in your lawns, you could be under attack from Leatherjackets – the destructive larvae of crane flies, AKA daddy long legs. They feed on grassroots and seedlings, and can also attract birds, badgers and foxes that dig up turf in search of a snack, adding to the damage. But there is help at hand. Nowadays you can basically water in a beneficial nematode – called Steinernema feltiae – which are basically microscopic worms that naturally target and kill leatherjackets. They enter the grubs body and then release bacteria that kill the pest from within. Sounds grim, but it works. There aren’t many brands on the market – I’ve used Nemasys, which was great – but you can also find them from Dragonfli and Dobies online.
TOP TIP! Clean out old pots to make sure they don’t have old compost/bits of dead plants – that can hide pests and diseases over winter and check online to see if you’ve got local recycling – some garden centres take them.
NEWS! Great Comp Garden’s Bulbs N Things Autumn fair has doubled in size this year. Taking place at the seven-acre Kent garden, it will have a huge range of unusual bulbs, including dwarf iris, crocus, anemone, hyacinth, erythronium, fritillary, hermodactylus, leucojum, muscari, puschkinia, scilla and more. There will also be gardenware, handmade gifts, rare and unusual plants and curated sellers at the two day event October 11 and 12.
WIN!! Two lucky winners will receive a Westland Autumn Lawncare bundle worth £100 each – including feed, seed, a scarifying rake and aerator. To enter visit www.thesun.co.uk/WestlandAutumn or write to Sun Westland Autumn Lawncare competition, PO Box 3190, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8GP. Include your name, age, email or phone. UK residents 18+ only. Entries close 11.59pm. September 27, 2025. T&Cs apply
Spotting a plant you think will look amazing in your garden – rushing out to buy it – and then realising that on its own it suddenly looks, well, a bit naff.
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Jamie Butterworth’s new book aims to give you perfect plant combinationsCredit: Dorling Kindersley/ Rachel Warne
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What Grows Together is out on September 11
But happily, a new book by Jamie Butterworth could be about to banish the embarrassment of a badly put together garden for good.
‘What Grows Together’ – which comes out next weekend – offers up over 60 ‘fail safe plant combinations for every garden’ with no confusing horticultural jargon or lecturing.
You may recognise Jamie from his RHS Show Feature Dog Garden at Chelsea Flower Show this year – which he created alongside Monty Don and DJ Jo Whiley.
He’s appeared many times on Gardeners World, and cites Monty Don as the gardener who inspired him to get into horticulture.
His nursery Form Plants also supplies plants to Windsor Castle – and when he met King Charles at Chelsea Flower Show, the King said: ‘I know Jamie — you are delivering plants to me on Wednesday. Please don’t be late.’”
But it was another famous Jamie that actually inspired his book. “I love cooking, but I never know what ingredients to put together as to what will taste nice,” he told Sun gardening.
“But when I came across Jamie Oliver’s Five Ingredients Book – where he just goes – take these ingredients and do this and this is what you’ll get, it was just brilliant. It was exactly what I needed.
“I just thought – we need to do this for gardening. We’ve even laid it out like a recipe book – in terms of making it look really crisp and simple – it’s like no other gardening book that’s ever been written.
“There’s so much synergy between cooking and gardening – people want to garden, they want to have nice gardens but they’re time poor and they don’t know what to plant that will a. Survive and b. look good, and that was the starting premise of the book.
“We’re forever learning with plants – my particular passion is growing plants, putting them together and making nice displays – it’s how I like to make people happy.
5 garden buys which make it instantly look posh
“It’s about getting rid of the old gardening rules – the ‘you must do this, you must do that, you must plant carrots at this exact time or everything will fail.
“What I wanted to do was make growing more accessible – there is no right way – but learning even just a few combinations and what will grow well together – then that gives people confidence to have a go themselves.”
“Jamie’s an idol of mine – and I want to make gardening as accessible as he did for cooking.
“You pay garden designers hundreds of pounds to tell you where to put plants – hopefully this book will negate all of that and give people the accessibility they need to go ‘oh actually this is what I need to do’ and it’s that simple.”
JAMIES’ FAVOURITE COMBINATIONS
COMBINATION ONE Hydrangeas Limelight and Agastache Blackadder – both plants individually are brilliant and will flower for a long long time each – Hydrangeas from June to Autumn and even once they’ve finished flowering they’ll hold their seed heads and look great in the winter. Agastache Blackadder is a perennial and has dark purple liquorice flowers and if you plant the two together the darkness of the Agastache looks brilliant against the white of the hydrangea – but will also grow up through it. If you want to add to it – just add in some yellow Cosmos.
COMBINATION 2 Calycanthus ‘Aphrodite’, Japanese Forest Grass, Penstemon ‘Pensham Plum Jerkum’ Calycanthus has really rich ruby wine red flowers which look stunning in their own right. It flowers from late May through to September/October, leg it up by taking off lower branches – then you’ve got a specimen rather than just a shrub – and underplant with Hakonechloa Macra – AKA Japanese forest grass and the Penstemon with dark rich ruby colour flowers the same as the calycanthus. Individually they’re great plants – but put together that’s an incredible combination.
What Grows Together: Fail-safe Plant Combinations for Every Garden by Jamie Butterworth (11 September, DK)
Also in Veronica’s Column this week…
News, top tips, Plant of the Week and a competition to win two hedge trimmers
NEWS! Catherine’s Rose is finally available to buy on the high street – with B&Q taking the honours as the main bricks and mortar stockist. Named after HRH Princess Kate, and launching in store at the end of this month, funds from every sale will go to the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. The pink ‘Catherine’s Rose’, which is scented, was developed by Harkness Roses – and in May we ran a competition for Sun Readers to become the first in the world to own a rose. Now everyone can get one from their local B&Q.. The RHS and Harkness joined forces with Kate after she underwent a “very spiritual and very intense emotional reconnection” with nature after undergoing treatment for cancer. The princess announced in January she was in remission after completing a course of preventative chemotherapy.
WIN! WIn one of two Webb ECO 20V 15cm Cordless Mini Chainsaw/Pruning Saws with Telescopic Pole Reach PLUS battery – worth £124.99 each. To enter visit www.thesun.co.uk/WebbPruner or write to Sun Webb Pruner competition, PO Box 3190, Colchester, Essex, CO2 8GP. Include your name, age, email or phone. UK residents 18+ only. Entries close 11.59pm. September 20, 2025. T&Cs apply
PLANT OF THE WEEK!Heuchera Berry Timeless is evergreen and will still be sending up sprays of pale pink flowers well into September. It’s heat resistant and hardy – and doesn’t seem fussy about soil or shade or too much sun.
JOB OF THE WEEK! You can start with your onion sets now – to overwinter and get a bountiful crop next year. Red Winter is a great one to get in the ground. Potatoes and raspberries are ready to harvest and sweetpeas can be sown under cover.
TOP TIP! IF you fancy growing your own salad leaves over Winter – now is the time to start. Lambs Lettuce is very hardy and perfect for Winter Gardens. Get the seeds in the soil now – either in pockets you know are milder – or in a cold frame. The best thing about sowing rocket is that you’ll get your first crop with four to six weeks – and it also thrives in cooler temperatures. If you plant Arctic Spring butterhead lettuce now – you’ll get a crop early next year. But also keep an eye out in garden centres, as they often sell a ‘Winter Mix’. Sarah Raven currently has one that includes ‘Can Can’, ‘Salad Bowl’ and ‘Merveille de Quatre Saisons.’
NEWS!Harrogate Autumn Flower Show is taking place from September 19th to 21st. As well as the usual floral marquees – there’s an Incredible Edible pavilion showcasing the best fruit and vegetables – as well as the giant versions – including a National Onion Championship. Plus talks, live demonstrations, expert gardening advice and competitions. And there’s a plant creche so you don’t have to carry your purchases round all day.
Wallis Annenberg, a deep-pocketed philanthropist who helped transform the city through massive donations to arts, education and animal welfare causes, died Monday morning at her home in Los Angeles from complications related to lung cancer, the family said. She was 85.
The heiress to Walter Annenberg’s publishing empire served, for the last 16 years, as chairwoman of the board, president and chief executive of the influential Annenberg Foundation, which her father started in 1989 after selling TV Guide and other publications to Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. A representative said the nonprofit organization has assets of about $1.2 billion.
Annenberg, who worked for TV Guide when her father owned Triangle Publications, stepped in as the foundation’s vice president after he died in 2002. When her stepmother, Leonore, died seven years later, Annenberg took the helm, broadening its philanthropic scope beyond media, arts and education to include animal welfare, environmental conservation and healthcare. Since she joined the foundation, it has given about $1.5 billion to thousands of organizations and nonprofits in Los Angeles County.
Wallis Annenberg worked with her father, Walter Annenberg, when his company published TV Guide.
(Annenberg Foundation)
Annenberg was fiercely passionate about funding the arts, with an eye toward making culture accessible to all. She founded the free Annenberg Space for Photography, which opened its Century City doors in 2009. (It closed during the pandemic in 2020, but archival material is still online.) The space showed exhibitions spanning the world of hip-hop, the global refugee crisis and war photography, among other subjects. Annenberg was also a longtime board member of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and L.A.’s Museum of Contemporary Art. She gave $10 million in 2002 to endow LACMA’s director’s position.
LACMA Chief Executive Michael Govan, who came to the museum in 2006 to fill that endowed position, praised Annenberg’s philanthropy.
“Wallis Annenberg blessed the Los Angeles community not only with her philanthropy, but also with her guidance about how to improve our community,” Govan said in a statement to The Times, ”from public access to our beautiful beaches to the livelihood of local animals, and the importance of the arts to our daily lives.”
Under her leadership, the foundation made $38.5 million in low-interest loans for the construction of the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts. The Zoltan Pali-designed center opened in 2013 in a renovated, 1933 Beverly Hills Post Office and has since become a major cultural hub in the heart of Beverly Hills, infusing the tony neighborhood with vibrant music, theater and dance. Broadway star Patti LuPone, comedian Sarah Silverman and the Martha Graham Dance Company have all graced the stage at the Wallis; the center also offers robust educational programming.
When it opened, fellow philanthropist Eli Broad called the center “a great addition” to Los Angeles and “another jewel in the region’s cultural crown.”
Annenberg cared deeply about equity in education. Walter Annenberg had founded the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism in 1971, and before that the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania. But Wallis Annenberg, a USC board of directors life trustee, helped to steer the school’s vision and guide it into the future. She gave $50 million in 2011 to have the Wallis Annenberg Hall built, which nearly doubled the communication and journalism school’s footprint when it opened in 2014. More recently, in March, Annenberg gave $5 million to the university for a high-tech, multimedia production studio to be built on USC’s Capital Campus in Washington, D.C. It’s scheduled to open in August.
Exposition Park got a boost in 2004, when the Wallis Annenberg Building at the California Science Center opened, a project made possible with a $25-million challenge grant from Annenberg. The former armory, redesigned by Pritzker-winning architect Thom Mayne, now has classrooms and laboratories for Science Center educational programming. Annenberg has also funded exhibitions there, including the 2019 interactive exhibit “Dogs! A Science Tail,” which explores the deep bond between humans and canines. It went back on view in May.
In 2004, she also stepped in to help underwrite the Annenberg Community Beach House, located on the grounds of the former Marion Davies estate, after hearing the city of Santa Monica might engage private developers to restore the site, which had been operated as a private club for 30 years. The seaside public space is free and features a playground, gallery and volleyball courts, among other amenities.
Construction crews began the process of placing the first layers of soil over the Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing on March 31.
(Al Seib / For The Times)
Annenberg was a ferocious animal lover. The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing — the world’s largest urban wildlife crossing, which stretches across 10 lanes of the 101 Freeway between the Simi Hills and the Santa Monica Mountains in Agoura Hills — was made possible with a $1-million challenge grant from Annenberg in 2016 followed by $25 million in 2021. When it’s completed, the crossing will help animals such as mountain lions, deer and bobcats pass safely over the freeway. The first layers of soil were laid on the overpass in March. Plans call for its completion in 2026.
“I imagine a future for all the wildlife in our area,” Annenberg said in a statement published by The Times in March, “where it’s possible to survive and thrive and the placement of this first soil on the bridge means another step closer to reality.”
Annenberg also created a Silicon Beach-based animal shelter, the Wallis Annenberg PetSpace, which opened in 2017 and helps to rehabilitate so-called “unadoptable” animals before finding them new homes. PetSpace has a medical facility and offers animal adoptions as well as classes to teach people to how to better care for their pets.
In recent years, Annenberg had been thinking about quality of life for older adults.
In 2022, Annenberg opened the Wallis Annenberg GenSpace, a senior center in Koreatown offering visitors a place to pursue new interests and find community through classes that include belly dancing, horticultural therapy and financial literacy. It also hosts concerts, dances and game nights.
Wallis Huberta Annenberg was born in the affluent Main Line area of Philadelphia and grew up, from age 10, in Washington, D.C. Her mother was Bernice Veronica Dunkelman, who went by Ronny. Annenberg had a younger brother, Roger, who died in 1962 when he was 22. She graduated from Pine Manor Junior College in Wellesley, Mass., and attended one year of college at Columbia University before dropping out to get married to neurosurgeon Seth Weingarten. The couple divorced in 1975.
Prior to their divorce, Annenberg had moved to Los Angeles with Weingarten and her children in the early ‘70s. Annenberg was drawn to the city’s energy, creativity and diversity.
Despite her public profile, Annenberg was known to be press shy. The billionaire philanthropist was particularly family-oriented and enjoyed evenings at home with her children and grandchildren. She was also an avid sports fan and loved watching football on TV, martini in hand.
Wallis Annenberg, center seated, with three of her children: Gregory Annenberg Weingarten, Lauren Bon and Charles Annenberg Weingarten. Each is involved in the Annenberg Foundation.
(Hamish Robertson)
The breadth of Annenberg’s philanthropy was global; but it was most keenly focused on Los Angeles.
As outlined in the family trust, control of the foundation passes onto the next generation: Three of Annenberg’s four children who are on the board of directors: Lauren Bon, Gregory Annenberg Weingarten and Charles Annenberg Weingarten. Roger Annenberg Weingarten lives in the L.A. area.
Bon is an artist and founding director of L.A.-based Metabolic Studio, a not-for-profit interdisciplinary art and research hub that explores environmental issues. Gregory Annenberg Weingarten is a former journalist with the Times of London and now is an artist, exhibiting in Europe and the U.S. Charles Annenberg Weingarten is a philanthropist and filmmaker who created Explore, which documents, through films and photographs, selfless acts globally (and has a network of live-cams trained on wildlife).
Besides her four children, Annenberg is survived by five grandchildren.
