Celebrities to launch Herne Bay culture trail

Celebrities and sports stars with Herne Bay connections will be in town this Saturday, November 15 for the unveiling of a special mural. Stars including TV presenter Nicki Chapman, Herne funnyman Dave Lee and EastEnders actor John "Nasty Nick Cotton" Altman have been invited to the unveiling of the Famous Faces Mural on Cains amusement arcade in Central Parade at 11.15am on Saturday.

The painting is by mural artist Penny Bearman, from Deal, who has been commissioned to produce three large artworks as part of the Herne Bay Cultural Trail. Other local legends in the mural include former Great Britain hockey player Sean Kerly and roller hockey veteran Phil McVey. English-born American comedian and actor Bob Hope is also featured in the mural because he fell from the pier when he visited Herne Bay as a child.

Herne Bay Town Partners also plan historically-themed murals for the side wall of Spearings Stationers in Mortimer Street and on rear wall of the Herne Bay district council office in William Street.

On the same day, a statue of Sir Barnes Wallis, the man who invented the bouncing bomb, will also be unveiled in Herne Bay. The bronze statue was commissioned by Herne Bay Town Partners after they were awarded £78,000 of lottery funding last year. It will go on show to the public at the Downs, Beacon Hill close to the Kings Hall at 12pm on Saturday (November 15).

Although a number of residents, including Sean Kerly, objected to the positioning of the statue, planning permission was granted in October. Engineer Sir Barnes Wallis tested the bouncing bomb, which helped the Allies to win the Second World War, off the coast between Herne Bay and Reculver in 1946. It will become the centrepiece of 18 historical and interesting locations around the town which will form the Herne Bay Cultural Trail. The statue's sculptor Tom White is also due to fly over from Bethel in Maine, USA to attend the unveiling.

A website for the trail has been launched at www.hernebayculturaltrail.co.uk

This is Kent 12th Nov 2008