Comic book launched for Kettering time travellers

Kettering’s past has been brought right up to date with a homegrown comic created to guide young people through the town’s history.

Launching at KettFest, as part of the Kettering Cultural Consortium, Kettering Civic Society will reveal a colourful guide to important people and events that have shaped the community.

On the same day as the comic goes on sale, the society will launch a new young person’s membership scheme – Time Travellers.

Monica Ozdemir, secretary of Kettering Civic Society said: “Kettering Civic Society takes an interest in the town’s past, present and future, hence the name Time Travellers.

“Recently we have been receiving requests for information about the history of Kettering from primary school teachers and visits have been made to Kettering station and Fuller Heritage Museum. This gave us the idea of producing a series of children’s comics telling the town's history.”

The first comic will take reader on a trip through the past, focussing on Kettering’s rich history with the non-conformist religious movements.

Researched and written by Monica, the content was edited by Kathy Haigh and illustrated by Max Champion who is with Picture the Difference, a group based at the William Knibb Centre.

Monica said: “It’s got 16 pages, beautifully illustrated with colourful cartoons. Max Champion has done an amazing job – the characters have such personality.”

Young people who join Time Travellers – an annual fee of £5 – will be given a lucky bag containing the comic and other goodies.

The Society will be have a stall in Gold Street today (Saturday, July 2) where there will be lots of information about forthcoming events for families including a coach trip to the Black Country Living Museum.

Author Dave Clemo will be selling his books including his later tome about the history of the Brambleside estate hot off the press.

Arts and craft lovers will also be able to get their hands on activity boxes created in a project funded by Historic England through the Kettering Cultural Consortium.

The project, led by artist Carol Miles, saw residents share their memories of Kettering and Wicksteed Park.

Carol has taken these memories and created craft boxes that will be available from the society’s stall for people to take away, on a first-come-first-served basis. There will be activity sheets for children too.

People can use their comics on the ‘Walking in the footsteps of the Reverend Maidwell, Thomas Toller, William Carey and William Knibb’ tour to be held tomorrow (Sunday, July 3).

Kathy Haigh will be leading a tour meeting at 2pm that starts near the gates to the Kettering ‘parish’ church, St Peter & St Paul.

The tour is free and families are welcome to use their comic as a guide to follow the walk which is about the non-conformists in Kettering. The walk will culminate with time to spend looking around the Fuller Heritage Museum in Gold Street.

Monica said: “We are really looking forward to seeing everybody. We have been planning this for month and it’s very exciting to be sharing what we have been doing.”