Sorry to keep the thread off topic, but the lingistic issue is of some interest.

I'm certainly not of or from Chatham, but I did go to secondary school there. In the sixties and seventies, the use of "chavvy" for man/lad and "malt" (phonetically "mawt") for girl was widespread. I stopped using them when I went to university as nobody there understood them. As far as I remember, the word "chavvy" was fairly neutral. The negative connotation of the word, and the shortening to "chav", appears to have arisen, relatively recently, due to the less than desirable behaviour of certain groups of yobboes who wish to be known as chavs!

And, more importantly, well done for finding the venue, Woodsie!