Times of Tunbridge Wells issue 5, April 1st 2015

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Wednesday, April 1, 2015

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PICK YOUR NETWORKING STYLE Page 51

EASTER FEAST, CHOCOLATIER SHARES HIS STORY

MADONNA BACKS NEW SERVICE

GOOD-LOOKING AND SMOOTH THE MAZDA CX-5

Page 13

Page 54

Page 62

At long last!

INSIDE REMEMBRANCE

Plaque unveiled to war hero

After a decade of campaigning, a public inquiry and countless false starts,

PAGE 2

the dualling of the A21 finally starts

GATWICK

Thousands of people respond to MP’s aircraft noise survey

PAGE 3

PEOPLE

Widow’s battle with energy giant over account name

• By Julie Rae THE bulldozers are closing in on the A21 as work on a project aimed at ending years of motoring misery finally begins.

Next Tuesday, work is to start on the dualling of the road between Pembury and Tonbridge, a £70m project which has come to fruition years after it was originally proposed as a means of easing congestion.

Greg Clark, pictured, who has campaigned for improvements to the A21 since he was elected MP for Tunbridge Wells, said: “I wouldn’t give up until the bulldozers moved in. I’m delighted work is finally starting.

“For decades, the road from Pembury to Tonbridge has been one of the town’s biggest problems. It’s like a country lane but it’s the main road from the M25 to the south coast. Everyone who lives in, works in or visits Tunbridge Wells will benefit from this dual carriageway.”

Although the building of the road has not yet started, experts have been working for months on ‘translocating’ the ancient woodlands through which the dual carriageway will run, and protecting the wildlife which lived there. The project is due to be finished by spring 2017.

See pages 6&7 for full details

‘For decades, the road from Pembury to Tonbridge has been one of the town’s biggest problems’

PAGE 5

PARKING

Innovative town centre parking trial extended

Greg Clark PAGE 8

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2 � NEWS

WEATHER THE WEEK IN VIEW

WEDNESDAY

Captain Lionel Queripel’s bravery under fire is honoured

SUNNY FOLLOWED BY CLOUD AND SHOWERS APRIL 1 2015

O

Pollution: Low Sunrise: 06.36am

Visibility: Good Wind: 19

In 1945, The London Gazette reported: “Regardless of his wounds and the very heavy mortar and Spandau fire, he continued to inspire his men to resist with hand grenades, pistols and the few remaining rifles.

“On at least one occasion he picked up and threw back at the enemy a stick grenade, which had landed in the ditch.

“As, however, the enemy pressure increased, Captain Queripel decided it was impossible to hold the position longer and ordered his men to withdraw. Despite their protests, he insisted on remaining behind to cover their withdrawal with his automatic pistol and a few remaining hand grenades.

“This was the last occasion on which he was seen.”

Cap Queripel’s Victoria Cross was awarded posthumously.

• By Simon Finlay

TUNBRIDGE WELLS

8C

Plaque to remember the VC war hero who fell at Arnhem

Humidity: 61% Sunset: 19.31pm

THURSDAY

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SATURDAY

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10OC CONTACTS

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR RICHARD MOORE richard@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk | 01892 779615 EDITOR SIMON FINLAY simon@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk | 01892 576042 DEPUTY EDITOR ELEANOR JONES eleanor@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk | 01892 576037 HEAD OF SALES JOE STONER jstoner@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk | 01892 779624 GENERAL INQUIRIES newsdesk@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk FIND US ONLINE facebook.com/timesoftunbridgewells timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk twitter.com/timesoftw

A YOUNG soldier killed in the Second World War has been honoured with a plaque at his childhood home in Tunbridge Wells.

Captain Lionel Ernest Queripel was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery under heavy machine gun fire at the Battle of Arnhem in 1944.

But for many years his name did not appear on the town’s war memorial because his family missed the deadline when it was erected.

Capt Queripel was included on the memorial in 2005 and at a ceremony last week at his home in Warwick Park, a plaque was unveiled to his memory.

Members of the Queripel family attended, as did Tunbridge Wells mayor Julian Stayner, to the sound of buglers from the TS Brilliant sea cadet unit.

A local Royal British Legion standard bearer was also present among the 30 who attended.

Capt Queripel was the officer in command of a composite company of men from three parachute battalions on September 19, 1944.

At 2pm, the group came under sustained heavy fire as they made their way along a main road on an embankment towards Arnhem.

There was considerable loss.

Capt Queripel reorganised his troops and carried on by crossing and re-crossing the road, during which the young officer carried a wounded sergeant to the regiment aid post. He was wounded in the face as he did so.

The 22-year-old officer personally led a party of men which captured an anti-tank gun and two machine guns, killing the crews.

Later that day, he found himself with further wounds to the arms and cut off with a small party of men in a ditch.

HERO Captain Lionel Ernest Queripel

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JUST TEASING… CHECK OUT OUR CROSSWORDS, PUZZLES AND QUIZ ON PAGE 57.

TO WHET YOUR APPETITE HERE’S A COUPLE OF CRYPTIC CLUES. • Cast for a Highland dance (5) • Spot the dog inside – it’s quite safe (6)

Wednesday 1st April 2015

Despite their protests, he insisted on remaining behind to cover their withdrawal with his automatic pistol and a few remaining hand grenades EDITOR’S COMMENT

Survey proves readers’ concerns over Gatwick noise JUDGING by the reaction from Times readers, the issue of Gatwick Airport’s expansion is one unlikely to go away any time soon, even if it is approved.

While the results of a survey carried out by Tunbridge Wells MP Greg Glark are perhaps unsurprising, given the strength of feeling locally, the level of response certainly is.

He sent out letters to 7,500 people in his constituency in the hope of garnering a significant reply. In ordinary circumstances, a response of five to ten per cent is considered a useful sample.

That the reaction was closer to 30 per cent is, frankly, astonishing.

If Mr Clark – who went through the ritual of stepping down as a member after the dissolution of parliament on Monday – had more than a vague idea this might be a general election issue, he now has cast iron evidence.

If his competitors in the race on May 7 have not been aware before, they may find this resonates on the doorsteps between now and then.

Upwards of 2,000 respondents makes it a poll sample of significant value and should be listened to when the decisions are being made.

When 67 per cent of people say they are disturbed by noise and 85 per cent say that it has got worse in the past three years, there is little dispute about how people feel.

If one reads between the lines of the responses, there is a spirit of fairness and compromise. In section five, local people say noise can be mitigated by spreading flight paths over a wider area to impact more people.

Of course, no one likes aircraft noise. Ask the residents of Hounslow, Isleworth, Richmond or Chiswick in west London.

Few there will forget the eardrum-bashing

racket of Concorde flying over or endless weekend schedules where residents’ windows would rattle every 45 seconds.

They have been campaigning for decades about the issue.

Inevitably, there is always the counterargument for expansion and on page 19 of this week’s Times, a senior executive at Gatwick Airport sets out in stark terms why his airport’s case is preferable to Heathrow’s.

There has to be new capacity somewhere in the southeast in order to satisfy demand for ever cheaper travel by air. Few can dispute this any longer.

But one would hope that if local people take time and effort to make their opinions known that they are not simply ignored.

Simon Finlay, editor

LOCAL NEWS �

Gatwick Airport noise: Pay up AND shut up

Massive response to MP Greg Clark’s survey to constituents

• By Simon Finlay MORE than one in eight residents under the flight path of Gatwick Airport say they believe aircraft noise has increased in recent years.

According to a major survey conducted

by Tunbridge Wells MP Greg Clark, 85 per cent say the levels have gone up by a lot (56 per cent) or a little (29 per cent).

Mr Clark’s poll also shows that 67 per cent of people who answered the survey are disturbed by planes flying overhead.

More than 60 per cent believe they should receive some form of compensation for noise disturbance.

And 79 per cent of respondents said they believe an independent noise regulator should be appointed.

The Conservative member sent a survey by post to 7,500 constituents and was

met with a response rate of 29 per cent.

A five per cent return is considered normal for such surveys.

Mr Clark said: “The response to the survey tells you something about the strength of feeling about this issue.

“I have been involved in this for several years and I noticed how often this was coming up in my post bag from constituents, quite independently of each other, so I called a public meeting on the issue two and a half years ago.

“The results of the survey bear this out.”

The MP intends to write to the Airports Commission and to Gatwick to pass on details of the poll’s findings.

Of residents asked if they believe there should be more airport capacity in the southeast, 54 per cent said no, 46 per cent yes.

Of the options currently with the Airports Commission for consideration, 53 per cent of respondents said either of the Heathrow options would be preferable; a second runway at Gatwick (24 per cent); an extension to Heathrow’s northern runway 17 per cent; a third runway at Heathrow six per cent.

Respondents were asked to rank options for noise mitigation.

The number one response was to spread the flight paths over a wide area, to spread the impact thinly over more people, followed by planes being fitted with equipment to reduce whining.

Read Gatwick Airports view, page 19 simon@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk

3

THE SURVEY RESULTS 1. Are you disturbed by noise from overflying aircraft?

Yes: 67 per cent No: 33 2. Do you think this has increased in the last three years?

Yes – a lot: 56 per cent Yes – a little: 29 per cent No: 16 per cent 3. Do you think there should be more airport capacity in the south east?

Yes: 46 per cent No: 54 per cent 4. Of the three options that the Airports Commission is assessing, which would you prefer?

Second runway at Gatwick Airport: 24 per cent An extension to Heathrow’s northern runway: 17 per cent A third runway at Heathrow: 6 per cent Either of the Heathrow options: 53 per cent 5. If the Airports Commission recommended a second runway at Gatwick, what would you like to see in terms of noise mitigation? (‘A’ is the highest priority) a. Spread the flight paths over a wide area to spread the impact thinly over more people b. Ensure all panes are retrofitted with equipment to the reduce whining sound c. Reduce night flights d. Ensure planes have a steeper angle of descent which means that they would fly at a higher altitude over the Tunbridge Wells area e. Segregate arrivals and departures between two runways so that there is only one arrivals flight path f. Concentrate flight path over narrow area, avoiding most populated areas 6. At the moment people living in west Kent are not eligible for any compensation for noise disturbance from overlying planes. Do you think they should be?

Yes: 61 per cent No: 39 per cent 7. Do you think and independent noise regulator should be appointed?

Yes: 79 per cent No: 21 per cent

Primary’s efforts to replace mud-soaked playground • By Sarah Bond HORSMONDEN Primary is asking for help to build a playground where children can play safely – without being covered in dust and mud.

And although the Friends group has committed to donating £10,000, the school estimates a new facility will cost up to £30,000.

The group is appealing for “attentiongrabbing, high-quality experiences” as

lots for a silent auction at the village fete on June 13.

The Friends say a new playground is vital, owing to flooding and because parts of the current equipment are unusable for health and safety reasons. The markings on the netball court have also faded, making games difficult.

“Some areas of grass are a dusty mess in the summer and an absolute quagmire in the rain,” said Friends treasurer Catherine Catchpole, whose

son attends the school.

“We want to get rid of the muddy areas, resurface the playground and sort out the drainage so we can create a play, outside learning and fun space the children can use safely all year round.”

Details of the silent auction will be on display in the village in the run-up to the fete. There may also be opportunities for sponsor display spaces at the event.

For more information, visit www.fohps.btck.co.uk

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4 � INTERVIEW

Meet the candidate OUR series of interviews with those hoping to win your votes in the general election continues – with Green Party candidate Marie Jones...

• By Eleanor Jones NAME: Marie Jones AGE: 41 LIVES: Sandhurst DAY JOB: Director of Toyo, which started as a virtual assistant company for SMEs but includes other elements such as advising and assessing energy efficiency.

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN POLITICS AND WHY DID YOU GET INVOLVED? I became a political creature at the age of about 14. IT was for various reasons, the number of homeless people on the streets for example. Things began to affect me and I became more aware. I found the amount the government was spending on defence for one day could keep a homeless person in accommodation and fed for a year. That

GENERAL ELECTION 2010: TUNBRIDGE WELLS PARTY CANDIDATE Votes

% +/-%

� CONSERVATIVE

Greg Clark

28,302

56.2

+5.5

� LIBERAL Democrat

David Hallas

12,726

25.3

+0

� LABOUR

Gary Heather

5,448

10.8

−9.6

� UKIP

Victor Webb

2,054

4.1

+0.6

� GREEN

Hazel Dawe

914

1.8

+1.8

� BNP

Andrew McBride

704

1.4

+1.4

� INDEPENDENT

Farel Bradbury

172

0.3

+0.3

MAJORITY 15,576 31

TURNOUT 50, 320

69.8 +3.9

had a huge impact on me. It was the whole teenage angst thing, I had an opinion on everything, but I started to follow politics.

I became a member of the Green Party in 2009. I don’t think it had occurred to me before that you could join a party, that sitting yelling at the TV was pointless.

If you’ve got something to say, stand up and say it.

The whole social equality thing was massive for me. The difference between the most well-paid people in the UK and the rest is huge. If the minimum wage had kept pace with FTSE 100 companies since 1999, it would be £18.89 per hour instead of £6.50.

Another reason I chose the Green party is climate change. It’s a given fact and we’re all going to suffer because of it. And 97 per cent of scientists agree it’s caused by humans but it has to be actively addressed.

I thought I was a lone voice shouting at the telly, and that the Greens were just about the environment but as I looked into it, I found it’s about a complete change in social attitudes and how the economy should be run for the benefit of those who are part of it rather than for the benefit of the rich.

My party has been fantastic, very supportive and encouraging, for example urging women to take a forward role rather than fall into the trap of a supporting one.

WHAT DO YOU THINK ARE THE BIGGEST ISSUES FACING THE TUNBRIDGE WELLS BOROUGH? The whole issue of the rich getting richer and the poor getting poorer is massive.

Housing is a big problem – the rental sector is prospering because people can’t afford to buy. If they want to live in Tunbridge Wells, they don’t have much option but to rent and that’s so expensive.

A mortgage broker told me I couldn’t get a loan to buy but could have got one for a buy-to-let. That was a very graphic illustration of the situation – I could buy, charge a large rent which the tenants would have no choice but to pay, or stay in rented accommodation, try to save a deposit and hope one day, I can run faster than everyone else and be able to buy for myself.

Then there’s public transport. The cost of travelling, especially people who have to

Signor Baffo Sun 12 Apr 2.30pm

What’s the best way to mix meatballs with spaghetti? How do you make a chicken lay an egg, and how does a sausage roll? All is revealed in the charming culinary chaos of Signor Baffo’s kitchen.

Tunbridge Wells | 01892 678 678 | www.trinitytheatre.net

-VY H ZVMH [V JVTL OVTL [V

Warmly invites you to join us at our

SPRING FLING Celebrating our latest collection of beautiful fabric sofas & previewing an exhibition by mixed media artist Linda Pocock On Thursday, April 16th 2015 5pm – 9pm At Sofas & Stuff, Estate Yard, Eridge, Nr. Tunbridge Wells, TN3 9JR With talks from…

MaddisonsResidential.co.uk StyleMyHome.com EnergiseYourHome.com

And yummy things to buy from…

Artichoke Crafts Gallery Stella & Dot Jewellery Drinks & Nibbles

please rsvp on 01892 572309 or nikki@sofasandstuff.com

Wednesday 1st April 2015

commute to London, is ridiculous. It makes such a hole in your disposable income. They work a 40-hour week but have peanuts left, meanwhile the public transport companies seem to be doing very well.

My son’s school is about a 20-minute drive in the car but getting the bus would have been a two and a half-hour journey. So you end up driving backwards and forwards because that’s the only financially suitable option, and you’re putting more carbon into the atmosphere. People would use cars less if there was a suitable alternative.

WHY SHOULD TUNBRIDGE WELLS PEOPLE VOTE GREEN? I think because it’s the right thing to do.

That’s probably what everyone says but the Green Party is passionate about the legacy it leaves behind. The other parties seem to focus on the short term, they don’t seem to see the bigger picture, about what they’ll leave behind. It’s about getting votes, hitting targets and making people smile today but we’re less obsessed with making people happy today, more about what they leave for future generations. Power station waste for example has to be contained for 10,000 years and they haven’t worked out what to do with the waste.

The long-term effects and advantages of voting Green, the changes we’d bring about, in coalition or if making policy without negotiation, would be positive and last well into the next millennium.

If you want a world left for your grandchildren, it’s the only way to go.

WHY SHOULD PEOPLE VOTE FOR YOU PERSONALLY? Because I will give it my all. I genuinely care about all these things. I want a world for my kids and grandchildren and an economy which is fair for all. I want to live in a world which treats people with respect, I want a better world, and that’s what I’ll fight for if I get in.

I’d do my best. I can’t say I’d always agree with what people want me to do but I’d do my absolute best to make sure they were fairly treated and heard.

ARE YOU HOPEFUL OF VICTORY? I am. It would be a complete change of the political compass of the area, but I think people have become so disillusioned by mainstream, insipid beige, they’re hungry for something more, something better and I don’t think people are selfishly minded, I think they want to see something for the common good. They want a fairer society, an NHS for all – these are the things to tackle head-on.

WHAT REACTION HAVE YOU HAD ON THE DOORSTEPS? Mainly a casual interest. Some people as they being to pick up leaflets say they’ve seen the Green Party has so much more to say than just the environment, their preconceptions have been changed.

People have been saying they’ll vote for me, people I know especially were behind me right from the off, they’ve voted for me in local elections and they’ve been quite passionate. They want to see me get there and speak on their behalf. Having said I’m hopeful, I’d be shocked if I won but excited and probably a bit nervous – then I’d have to work out how on earth I’d pay for my travel.

LOCAL NEWS �

Business mums enjoy evening networking with a difference

DISTRESSING Polly Taylor wants British Gas to review its procedures

Widow’s battle with energy giant over account name

A GROUP of ‘mumpreneurs’ enjoyed a networking meeting with a difference, followed by some Columbian cuisine.

Members of Tunbridge Wells Mums in Business heard from speakers including representatives of a loyalty card scheme and the Federation of Small Businesses at the Tunbridge Wells Hotel on how to take their firms forward last Wednesday.

The group, which has members running businesses at all stages, meets once a month, for networking and support.

Most meetings feature a single guest speaking on a subject aimed at helping the female entrepreneurs navigate the minefield of running a business.

Previous talks have included work-life balance, search engine optimisation, marketing on a budget and coaching for business.

Group chairman Claire Witz said: “We are a really supportive group who provide inspiration, business skills, friendship and confidence for mums at all stages of running a business. “We’re based in Tunbridge Wells but welcome people from all over Kent and Sussex. “Last night’s event was a slightly different format to our usual meetings and our members and guests thoroughly enjoyed it. As always it was informative and educational as well as being good fun.”

For more information, visit www.twmumsinbusiness.org.uk.

British Gas sends cheque to late husband – two years after his death • Eleanor Jones A WIDOW who has endured a battle trying to transfer her British Gas account into her own name compared it to ‘tearing her husband up’.

Mike Taylor died on April 2, 2013.

After numerous phone calls, his wife Polly was told an account had been opened in her name but in January, a letter arrived addressed to the late Mr Taylor.

More phone calls followed to British Gas, which insists it had no contact from Mrs Taylor until February this year, and Mrs Taylor was assured the situation had been rectified. But last month, an envelope arrived addressed to the estate of Mr Taylor – containing a letter and a refund cheque both in his name.

Mrs Taylor, who co-founded the Pickering Cancer Drop-in Centre, in Monson Road, described the situation as ‘absolutely ridiculous’.

The 69-year-old said: “It’s so distressing.

“I try so hard and I have to be strong for the centre. I’ve sat here with people who have got so upset over this sort of thing and now I know how they feel. It’s worse now because it’s coming up to the anniversary of his death, which makes it so raw.

“I was gobsmacked when I saw the latest letter. To address it to Mike’s estate, which acknowledges the situation, then write to him, it’s absolutely ridiculous. Putting his name to paper like that is so upsetting, it’s like tearing my husband up.”

Grandmother of one Mrs Taylor contacted the Times in the hope the publicity would force British Gas to “pull their socks up”.

She said: “When you’ve lost someone and you’re trying to lay them to rest and heal, things like this are so distressing. It would be interesting to see how many more phone calls, how much longer this would have gone on for.

“I’m not just doing this for myself, if I don’t complain, they’ll go on doing it.

It shouldn’t be difficult, every other company managed it. The girls I spoke to at British Gas said they’d sort it out and apologised but it’s easy to say sorry, it doesn’t change the pain.

“These people aren’t doing the job they’re paid to do. Maybe out of respect, they should donate to the drop-in centre.

“I’ve had three months of hell, this is disgraceful.”

British Gas denies it was informed of Mr Taylor’s death before February 2015. Spokesman Catrin Millar said: “We understand how upsetting this was for Mrs Taylor and we’re sorry for any distress caused. When she first contacted us, last month, to tell us her husband had passed away, we should have changed the name on the account straight away. We’ve now done this, we’re sending her a new cheque and are making a donation to her charity as a gesture of goodwill.”

Mrs Taylor added: “For 18 months, I received British Gas statements in my name. Suddenly, they switched back this year for no reason.”

SUPPORTIVE The group meets once a month

Easter fun with hunts and crafts EGG hunts and card-making will be on offer at the Tunbridge Wells John Lewis store this Easter.

From tomorrow, Thursday, until Monday, there will also be tastings, of food brands such as Godiva and Holdsworth, and the chance to win prizes including a £3,000 bedroom and a food hamper.

Nigel Davies, head of branch at John Lewis Tunbridge Wells, said: “We love to celebrate special occasions with our customers and have some fun in our shop.”

5

NEWS IN BRIEF

Pupil in court after school ‘mallet attack’ A TEENAGE boy will appear before a judge on April 10 after allegedly clubbing two pupils with a mallet at a school in Tunbridge Wells.

The 16-year-old suspect, who cannot named for legal reasons, was arrested and later charged with assault after an incident at the Bennett Memorial Diocesan School on March 19.

According to police, two children were injured – neither seriously and a student was arrested at the scene and later charged. The boy was later remanded to a secure unit.

A police spokesman said: “Kent Police is investigating an incident at a school in Tunbridge Wells following reports that two teenagers had allegedly been assaulted by a 16-year-old boy with a rubber mallet.

“There were no serious injuries reported. The 16-year-old boy was arrested and charged in connection with the incident.”

Ian Bauckham, head of the Culverden Down school, said: “There was an isolated incident in school which was dealt with immediately the school became aware of it.

“Appropriate action was taken and the police were called. The incident did not impact on other students and was isolated and contained.

As this is now a police matter the school cannot comment further at this stage.”

The accused appeared at Sevenoaks Youth Court on Friday, March 20 and was remanded to a secure unit. He will next appear at Maidstone Crown Court on April 10.

Tunbridge Wells accountants trade in their company cars for unicycles FED up of being considered ‘too boring’ as a profession, a firm of Tunbridge Wells’ accountants has come up with a creative solution. BSR Bespoke aims to not only challenge that stereotype but also address the problem of staff parking facilities.

Lots of companies have introduced a cycle to work scheme but BSR Bespoke has just introduced ‘unicycle to work’.

Ian ‘Steady’ Steadman, the partner promoting the scheme said, “We don’t make any claims to be reinventing the wheel with

this initiative even though it’s quite revolutionary - but name another vehicle that you can park on a coat hook?

“Accountants are known for their balancing skills - and from a cost point of view the figures certainly stack up.

Maintenance is minimal, there’s no fuel to buy and no negative tax implications.”

At the time of writing it was unclear how many BSR Bespoke staff have signed up to the scheme.

BSR BESPOKE C H A R T E R E D

A C C O U N T A N T S

WATCH OUT: BSR Bespoke’s unicycling accountants hit the road. Allegedly coming to a street near you soon.

www.bsrb.co.uk 01892 514514 Twitter: @bsrbespoke Linden House, Linden Close, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN4 8HH

Wednesday 1st April 2015

6 � LOCAL NEWS

End of motoring misery is in sight as work starts on A21 dualling After years of campaigning, £70m dual carriageway project to get under way • By Julie Rae A STRETCH of road synonymous with motoring misery for millions will become a dual carriageway within the next two years.

Work is due to start next week on the A21 between Pembury and Tonbridge. The project, which will cost about £70m, includes flyovers and underpasses to ease tailbacks. The current road will remain to provide local access, while a dual carriageway will be constructed to take the bulk of the traffic.

Greg Clark, who has campaigned for improvements to the road since he was elected MP for Tunbridge Wells, said: “I wouldn’t give up until the bulldozers moved in. I’m delighted work is finally starting.

“For decades, the road from Pembury to Tonbridge has been one of the town’s biggest problems. It’s like a country lane but it’s the main road from the M25 to the south coast.

Everyone who lives, works or visits Tunbridge Wells will benefit from this dual carriageway.

“Lots of time is currently wasted by people sitting in traffic on the A21, be that visitors, shoppers or people coming to meetings. The town’s economy will seriously benefit from time saved not sitting in traffic.

“Tunbridge Wells has a reputation as a beautiful town that’s hard to get to. People go to Bluewater because it’s easier to get to. The dual carriageway will make a big difference and encourage more people to visit.

“The next stage has to be from Blueboys to Lamberhurst. It’s just as dangerous. That’ll be my next campaign.”

The Highways Agency, which has created the scheme, describes the A21 as having ‘severe congestion…and a poor accident record with an average accident rate about 20 per cent higher than the default value for a road of this type’.

With Balfour Beatty, which won the contract to carry out the roadworks, the HA plans to build a road which ‘relieves congestion, improves safety for all road users and improves journey time reliability’.

HA project manager Graham Link said: “There are three to four fatalities on this stretch of road every year.

“The A21 experiences 30 to 40 per cent more traffic than a single carriageway can take.

There’s lots of right turns in and out of the road which cause delays. We’re creating this new

dual carriageway to improve safety and ease congestion.”

The dual carriageway will feature a flyover above the Longfield junction at the North Farm industrial estate. Underneath, the current roundabout will be replaced by two more – one accessing the industrial estate, the other for the hospital and Pembury.

In a bid to prevent congestion as two lanes and a slip road become a single lane, the A21 at Tonbridge will become a continuation of the dual carriageway with a normal joining slip road.

The two-and-a-half-mile stretch of road, on which 35,000 vehicles travel every day, will have no access to houses or businesses. This will be provided by the original A21, fed by the new Longfield roundabouts and a slip road and underpass at Fairthorne near the petrol station.

There will also be a bridlepath alongside the length of the northbound carriageway, for walkers, runners, cyclists and horse riders - but no motor vehicles, while a new footbridge over the Pembury Bypass at Blackhurst Lane will replace the existing crossing.

Work is due to start on the new road on Tuesday, April 7 at Pembury Walk, and at Longfield Road in June. Completion is anticipated by spring 2017 at a cost of approximately £69.7m but this could rise to as much as £78.6m according to the HA. Most of the road works will be carried out after 8.30pm.

Mr Link said: “We’re going to try to keep delays to a minimum. The current work has caused some delays but to be honest the A21 constantly sees delays and that’s why we’re doing this.”

Richard Turnbull project manager at Balfour Beatty added: “A speed limit of 40mph will be put in place at times. But even at lunchtime you struggle to drive at more than 40mph due to the sheer volume of traffic so it shouldn’t impact upon traffic too much.” julie@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk

‘For decades, the road from Pembury to Tonbridge has been one of the town’s biggest problems. ’

TO TONBRIDGE

MAPPED OUT Work is due to start next week

Moving wildlife safely MOTORISTS using the A21 may have noticed that some of the houses due to be demolished had their roofs removed last year.

This was to prevent bats from nesting in them. But the roofs were not ripped off. In case bats had already made their homes in the roofs, each tile was removed by hand and carefully checked by Patrick Howard, who is also a licensed bat handler, to ensure there were no signs of habitation. He also searched buildings and trees for signs of bats with an infra-red thermal camera and an endoscope.

Prior to the woodlands being translocated, the wildlife was moved to other safe areas.

Within the two-and-a-half-mile stretch of road lives wildlife including: • • • • • •

Dormice Lizards Snakes Slow worms Great crested newts Smooth newts

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Each of these animals and reptiles has been safely and humanely caught by wildlife experts, including a dormouse ecologist, and transported to new woodland within the same area.

Dormice boxes, which are smaller versions of bird boxes, were used to encourage the mice to leave the trees. The mice voluntarily climb into the boxes and then are moved on.

WILDLIFE CHAMPION Patrick Howard is supervising the moving of the woodland

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LOCAL NEWS �

7

Ancient woodland saved from diggers • By Julie Rae

LONGFIELD ROUNDABOUT

TO TUNBRIDGE WELLS

ON ONE side of the original A21 sat a medieval hill fort.

On the other sat May Day Farm, a grade II listed farmhouse, an oast house and a 200-year-old barn.

To enable the dual carriageway to be built, one had to go.

The Castle Hill iron age hill fort is a scheduled ancient monument hidden in woodland adjacent to the northbound A21 carriageway, which was deemed to be ‘more important’.

But rather than demolish the almost perfectly preserved listed barn at May Day Farm, the Highways Agency brought in specialists who slowly and carefully took the barn down piece by piece. Each piece was labelled and marked on a map of the barn and moved to be rebuilt elsewhere.

Once completed it will become an exhibit of a perfectly preserved centuries-old barn.

Graham Link of the Highways Agency said: “The ancient monument was deemed to be more important than the listed farmhouse.

“But to get planning permission for the dual carriageway we also had to save the barn. I’m not pretending we’re good and wonderful, preserving the barn was a compromise that enabled us to widen the road.”

May Day Farm and the oast will be demolished by the end of next month. Should the farm not have been removed, it would eventually have stood in the central reservation of the dual carriageway.

DOOMED This oast house is to be demolished

NINE hectares of centuries-old woodland through which the dualled A21 is to run are to be removed – but replanted along the new road.

Almost the entire length of the A21 from Tonbridge to Pembury is an historic route within the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) containing ancient woodlands bought by the Highways Agency under compulsory purchase orders.

The trees had to be removed to make way for the future road but rather than just cut them down, the HA brought in independent experts including ecological specialist Patrick Howard to ‘translocate’ the ancient woodlands and ensure they survive the delicate procedure.

Beside May Day Farm is Burgess Rough, an ancient woodland shown on maps made in 1600. To preserve this woodland, the trees were coppiced and the ‘valuable’ ancient soil dug up.

The earth was then moved to ‘receptor sites’, which have to replicate conditions of the existing land as closely as possible, alongside what will become the northbound dual carriageway.

Patrick Howard said: “The soil is valuable because it contains the seedbank [the range of seeds found within a soil] from the ancient woodland. Obviously we wanted to preserve it.

“So it was carefully dug up and moved to the receptor site including all the debris that comes with it and now we’re in the process of translocating the coppiced trees from Burgess Rough back into their ancient soil in the new site.

The ancient trees are moved complete with their root mass and we hope they’ll grow into beautiful woodland again.”

Nine hectares of woodland was cut down but there will be a total of 18 hectares of woodland bordering the completed dual carriageway. This will consist of partly the translocated original trees but also newly planted woods.

Mr Howard added: “I feel really happy about doing this job. We may be taking away some trees but we’re saving as much as we can and we’re creating so much more.” julie@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk

WOODLAND The ‘receptor site’ to which the trees will be removed

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Wednesday 1st April 2015

8 � LOCAL NEWS

Parking scheme trial extended OPTIONS Motorists can pay afterwards or in advance for parking

TRIAL SCHEME Assistant Adam Blundell at the Great Hall car park

Machines could mean the end of pay and display • By Sarah Bond THE trial of an alternative to pay and display parking, thought to be the first scheme of its kind in the country has been extended – and motorists are urged to try it out.

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council has extended its threemonth pilot of post-payment machines at the Great Hall car park until July – and new Oyster-

style cards, which can be loaded with cash for parking in advance, are also to be the subject of a ‘back office trial’.

The new machines allow drivers to pay in advance for a fixed period of time as with pay and display systems, but it is also possible to use a debit or credit card to register entrance time for an open-ended stay – with no risk of a parking ticket.

And according to TWBC parking manager Rosemarie Bennett, customers are happy with the scheme.

She said: “We continue to receive positive feedback from users.

“Our early report only covered the first four weeks of the trial, but users have continued to increase by the week so more will have used post-payment since then.

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“So far we have only had one driver who forgot to check out, which we thought would be the biggest problem, and when she explained what happened we refunded her. She was a very happy customer.”

The new system, which would replace pay and display machines in five car parks, is in addition to paying by phone, and would save on overpayments made as the coin-operated machines do not give change.

Both pre-payment and postpayment schemes, if adopted, should mean no more parking tickets. The new machines are also software-driven, which gives great flexibility, including the possibility of promotions by local retailers.

They have been brought to Tunbridge Wells from Scandinavia by local company Cale BriParc of Paddock Wood and TWBC’s parking department recommended the

council buy five machines, at £27,000 each.

But the free trial, which was due to end this month, has been extended to get more responses from the public and a clearer view of financing.

Mrs Bennett said: “At its meeting on March 16, planning and transportation board felt unable to support the recommendation to purchase the payment machines being trialled, and members asked that the trial period be extended so that more detailed appraisal could be made.”

A final decision on whether to adopt the scheme will be made by TWBC’s cabinet in June. In the meantime, the council wants drivers to try the system and provide feedback. newsdesk @timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk

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The Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter and Alice herself will be among those

recreating Lewis Carroll’s work and providing a ‘magical adventure’ at the estate between tomorrow, Thursday, and April 19.

Visitors will be met by a magician at the entrance to Groombridge Place, then

guided to a keyhole for ‘the start of their journey in a magical world of quirky characters in the Enchanted Forest and Gardens’.

Characters will provide clues for an egg hunt, while giant mushrooms and a large rabbit warren will also feature.

Egg-decorating and croquet on the lawn will be available, along with a Mad Hatter’s tea party, facepainting, storytelling and birds of prey displays.

For more information, call 01892 861444 or visit www. groombridgeplace.com

LOCAL NEWS �

Future of former cinema eyesore settled at last?

9

Talented youngsters have the chance to represent our district Teenagers urged to consider standing in Kent Youth County Council elections

• Simon Finlay

THE FUTURE? What the store could look like THE former cinema site could be transformed within the year – into a cutprice shop which aims to ‘beat Poundland hollow’, the Times can reveal.

New chain the 98p Shop has bought the land in a secret deal thought to be worth £16 million from the Cardiff Group.

It is understood the firm is to apply for planning permission, for a three-storey outlet, next month, with the hope of opening by the end of 2015.

Spokesman Joe Kerr said the 98p Shop believes Tunbridge Wells is perfect for its debut store.

He explained: “This town loves a bargain.

“We’re going to stock some really highend brands, as well as quality products from abroad, all with change from a pound.

“We’re going to change the face of shopping in this town – and we’re going to beat Poundland hollow.”

It is thought 98p Shop bosses have met Tunbridge Wells Town Council, with aspects of the plan such as proposed 8.30am daily HGV deliveries proving to be ‘challenging’.

A spokesman for campaign group Friends of our Legacy, which has been working towards a ‘meaningful development’ of the land, said: “It’s ridiculous.

“The roads are congested enough already.

Add all the lorry ‘movements’ every day, at the time of the school run, and what’s going to happen?

“I can’t believe this, it’s a complete joke.”

But Mr Kerr said his company will “always endeavour to be a good neighbour”.

He added: “At the 98p Shop, we’ve got a very simple mantra: ‘2p or not 2p – that is the question’.

“In this case, it’s definitely 2p. As they say, look after the pennies and the pounds look after themselves. I’m sure once people start saving, they’ll know it’s all been worth it.”

Hooded thugs target village residents HOUSEHOLDERS in Tunbridge Wells are being warned to be on the lookout for a gang of hooded Irish robbers who have been targeting the area.

Police say the violent men have struck in the Sandhurst area. They are now being linked to six separate incidents between November last year and March 2015.

The latest was on March 14 at 7.30pm when they entered a property in Bodiam Road, Sandhurst, and demanded cash.

According to a police spokesman: “The occupants, two men and a woman, were

asked for money and one of the victims was struck in the face and suffered a cut lip.

“The offenders, dressed in black and wearing balaclavas, eventually fled emptyhanded after one of the victims began to scream and shout loudly.”

Police believe the men are responsible for other crimes in Sandhurst. A property in Rye Road was targeted on January 22 and a social club robbed in Back Lane on January 25.

They are suspected of other offences in the Rolvenden, Sissinghurst and Ashford areas.

Detective Inspector Adam Ball said: “They

have been wearing balaclavas, not only as disguises but as a way of intimidating victims.

It is vital that anyone with information comes forward as soon as possible.

‘Sandhurst and the surrounding areas are still very safe places to live, however it is important people remain vigilant to deter criminals. Make sure you always lock doors and windows and report any suspicious activity to police immediately.”

Anyone with information should call 01843 222289, or Kent Crimestoppers in confidence on 0800 555111.

BUDDING high-fliers with an eye on the world of politics and public service can throw their hats into the ring to become members of the Kent Youth County Council.

Elections take place from November 9 to 22 and are open to young people aged 11 to 18.

Tunbridge Wells is currently represented by Guntash Mangat, 15, a pupil at Invicta Girls’ Grammar School, Molly Hockley, also 15, who is at Tunbridge Wells Girls’ Grammar School, 17-year-old Zoe Sandles and Thomas Bothwell.

Molly said: “It’s really good fun. There are a lot of really nice people there and it is interesting helping or trying to help other people.

“For some people, it might be a bit scary to talk in public but this gives you the confidence to do it. It’s probably improved my confidence.”

Molly was recently voted in as vice-chairman of the council.

She added: “The elections are held in November and I would definitely encourage everyone to have a go. It’s a good experience.”

The teenager plans to go to university but has yet to decide what she would like to pursue as a career.

Prospective candidates can sign up from September 1 until October 23 via www.kent.gov.uk/kycc Four young people are elected to represent each of Kent’s 12 districts and 12 young people are elected to community seats, ensuring representation of all communities within Kent.

Last November, 28,737 young people voted in the elections, deciding the elected candidates and also three KYCC campaigns. This year, they are improvements to public transport, mental health services for young people and anti-bullying.

KYCC meets once a month, on a Sunday in the KCC chamber at County Hall, Maidstone.

To keep up to date and get involved with the KYCC campaigns, follow @kycc on twitter or visit www.facebook. com/kentyouthcountycouncil simon@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk

YOUNG TALENT This year’s Kent Youth County Council

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10 � GENERAL ELECTION 2015

Farage: ‘PM dishonest on immigration’

By Arj Singh

NET immigration should be brought down to about 30,000 people per year, Nigel Farage said as he accused David Cameron of being ‘wilfully dishonest’ in setting a target of tens of thousands.

In the shadows of the White Cliffs of Dover, the Ukip leader said he wanted immigration reduced to roughly the levels

seen between 1950 and 2000.

After unveiling a poster condemning the PM’s promise on immigration, Mr Farage said British people would be more comfortable with net migration of about 30,000 a year, a level at which he claimed integration was possible.

Speaking in the car park of the Coastguard pub in St Margaret’s Bay, Mr Farage said: “When Cameron made that

MILIBAND CALLS FOR A FEMALE 007 ED MILIBAND has said he would like the next James Bond to be a woman and called for the franchise to “move with the times” The Labour leader picked former Bond girl Rosamund Pike – whose character Miranda Frost died in the 2002 film Die Another Day - to take on the role.

During a visit to Magic Radio studios, he said: “I think she’s a great British actress, she’d make a great Bond.

“It’s 2015, I think we can move with the times.”

Mr Miliband also admitted he would not win a “photo opportunity contest”, but said the election should not be about that.

He said: “Politicians can get obsessed with themselves - it becomes a personality contest.

“It’s not about us, but the British people. If this is a contest to see how someone can eat a bacon sandwich elegantly, I’m not going to win.

“It’s about putting working people first in this country - I’m not going to win a photo opportunity contest.”

No television debate triumph for me – Clegg NICK Clegg does not expect a repeat of the TV debate boost he enjoyed five years ago after Thursday’s seven-way showdown.

The Liberal Democrat leader said he had realistic expectations about how he would perform and it was ‘self-evident’ he would not ‘triumph’.

He told reporters on his campaign bus that he had not prepared as thoroughly as he did for the debates with Gordon Brown and David Cameron in 2010.

He said: “I’m not spending nearly as much time trying to think through every twist and turn.

“The longer I’ve been in politics the more I think you can over-think these things. And it will be very different - there’ll be seven of us.”

Wednesday 1st April 2015

promise he was being wilfully dishonest because he knew the truth and I think now the British public knows the truth – you actually cannot have an immigration policy, you can’t set targets of any kind at all, you can’t attempt to control who comes into Britain, all the while you’re members of the European Union.”

He added: “I’m saying a net level of about 30,000 a year is roughly what we had for 50 years from 1950 almost until the turn of the century. It was a level at which the country was comfortable and integration was possible and it didn’t, crucially, push down the wages of ordinary people.”

Mr Farage said that if Britain pulled out of the EU, those levels could be achieved within five years.

He said: “We have to have a referendum first.

“If we had a referendum at the end of this year and within two years, all the details (of withdrawing from the EU), I mean it could take a year.

“There is absolutely no reason why midway through this parliament, we couldn’t return to normality.”

Mr Farage also claimed Britain is now a country not at ease with itself due to the levels of immigration over the last decade.

He said integration has been made impossible by the numbers coming in as he called for a ban on non-English speakers being allowed into the country.

On attacks from David Cameron, he said: “I don’t see it that way. It’s the rough and tumble of politics.

“My opponents are going to be really personal in the next five weeks.

I’m much more worried about another five years of David Cameron. I don’t care what people throw at me.

“You get a lot thrown at you, it comes with the territory. The question isn’t what’s thrown at you - it’s your resilience. I’m in this because I want to change the country - if you’re in the public eye, you have to take the brickbats.”

He said he did not have ‘much to lose’ in the debate, adding: “Last time nobody knew who I was, so I had nothing to lose.

“In a sense this time I don’t have much to lose either, because so many people appear to have made up their mind one way or the other.

“I’m clearly not going to triumph in these debates - that’s just self-evident.

“What I learnt about the debates with Farage is, you might marshal the best arguments but if there are people who play better to the gallery, they are going to do well.

“But I intend to enjoy it. I’m not disillusioned, I think you just have to keep what debates can and can’t do in perspective.”

Asked if all immigrants should be able to speak English, he said: “Yes, I do.

“There’s no doubt, if you talk to Kent Police or Kent hospitals about translation services, it’s a cost they could do without.

“But it’s about a lot more than translation services. I want to live in a community where our kids play football in the streets together and live in a society which is at ease with itself.

“If we went to virtually every town in eastern England and spoke to people about how they felt their town or city had changed for the last ten to 15 years, there is a deep level of discomfort.

“If you have immigration at these sort of levels, integration doesn’t happen.”

Mr Farage was speaking as he unveiled Ukip’s first election campaign poster, which featured an image of the White Cliffs with escalators running up them, and the slogan “Immigration is three times higher than the Tories promised”.

The Tory candidate in Dover, Charlie Elphicke, said: “All we’ve seen from Ukip on immigration is chaos and confusion: one minute there’s a cap, then there’s not. Mark Reckless says certain migrants should be repatriated, then Farage says they’re welcome to stay.

“The bottom line is that a vote for Ukip puts Ed Miliband one step closer to Downing Street via the back door - and then there will be no action on immigration.”

Cameron ‘most tweeted politician’ DAVID Cameron has been the most talked-about politician on Twitter over the last seven days, according to analysis by a new app.

ElectUK is designed to help voters track, visualise and share trends around the general election. In the past week, it has analysed more than 4.1 million tweets on the topic.

The Prime Minister features in 20.6 per cent of all mentions analysed, followed

by Ed Miliband (18.3 per cent) and Nigel Farage (4.9 per cent).

Other trending politicians from the last seven days include Tory party chairman Grant Shapps, Rochdale MP Simon Danczuk and former SNP leader Alex Salmond.

While Mr Cameron has been the most talked-about individual, the Conservative Party is only the fourth most talked-about party, according to the data.

Labour has been the most-mentioned party, featuring in 31.9 per cent of analysed tweets, followed by Ukip (29.1 per cent) and the SNP (19 per cent).

In terms of issues, healthcare (30 per cent) and the economy (27 per cent) have been the two most talked-about topics, followed by Europe (13 per cent).

The app has been built by Tata Consultancy Services, which does not support or endorse any political party or candidate in the UK election.

NATIONAL NEWS �

Death penalty for students’ killer

STUDENTS Neil Dalton, left, and Aidan Brunger, right A FISHMONGER has been s entenced to death for murdering two British medical students, including one from Medway, who had been working in a Malaysian hospital.

Newcastle University students Aidan Brunger and Neil Dalton, from Ambergate in Derbyshire, died in an unprovoked attack in Sarawak on the island of Borneo in August last year.

The country’s high court heard during the trial that, before killing the two men, Zulkipli Abdullah, 23, had said he wanted to ‘test his strength’ against bigger and taller foreigners.

The prosecutor told the court after he stabbed the pair, he sniffed the blood on his hands and claimed it smelled nice.

Zulkipli had denied stabbing them but the court ruled the attack

outside a cafe in the early hours was entirely unprovoked.

Both victims, who were 22, had been working at a local hospital in Kuching - an area popular with backpackers.

Following the verdict, their parents put out a joint statement paying tribute to their sons and spoke of the devastation they have felt since their deaths.

They said: “Since Aidan and Neil were killed on 6 August 2014, our lives have been shattered.

“They were two exceptional young men with such promise - kind, funny and full of life. Their deaths have left their families and many good friends utterly devastated.

“Neil and Aidan were having a wonderful time in Borneo, working in Sarawak Hospital and also travelling around, seeing as much of the beautiful country as they could.

“Our sons would soon have qualified as doctors. Their unprovoked and senseless murders as they were walking home after a night out with other medical students mean that Aidan and Neil will never have the chance to spend their lives caring for and helping others.”

At the time, Professor Jane Calvert, Dean of Undergraduate Studies for Newcastle University Medical School, said the fourth-

year students had been highly committed and were both doing well in their studies.

“They were excellent students, they were doing really well with their studies, they were highly committed and coming back next year to work as doctors,” she said.

“Aidan was aspiring to do some medical research on his return, Neil was going straight into his final year and it’s such a tragic thing to occur.”

The families’ British lawyer, Kieran Mitchell, from Slater and Gordon, said: “This was a savage and unprovoked attack which lead to the death of two young men who had travelled to Borneo with the sole aim of using their medical skills to help people.”

The death penalty is mandatory for murder in Malaysia.

‘They were two exceptional young men with such promise - kind, funny and full of life.’

11

Drivers suffering longer jams TRAFFIC jams in Britain are getting worse, according to a new survey.

In the worst-congested cities, evening rush-hour journeys are taking more than 70 per cent longer than they would in free-flowing traffic, the poll by traffic information company TomTom found.

Compared with 2013, congestion in 2014 was worse in 14 of the UK’s 17 biggest cities, with Bristol the only destination where jams had eased slightly.

Figures for Sheffield and for Leeds/Bradford were about the same in 2014 as in 2013.

Congestion levels have got worse over the past year in London, Brighton and Hove, Nottingham, Leicester, Birmingham, Portsmouth, Cardiff, Belfast, Edinburgh, Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Glasgow and Southampton.

Overall, average journeys in the cities in 2014 took 29 per cent longer than they would in freeflowing traffic - compared with a figure of 27 per centlonger in 2013.

Probe into pension data ‘sale’ NEW claims about sale of confidential data send a shiver down the spine, the privacy watchdog said.

The names of 3,000 sick and disabled people were sold to undercover reporters for 19p each, according to the Daily Mail.

It showed an alleged trade in medical records follow the Mail’s claims that pensioners’ salaries, the value of their investments and the size of their pensions are being sold for as little as 5p without their consent.

The Information Commissioner Christopher Graham said: “I think it is very serious and we have immediately launched an investigation.”

EASTER FUN Free entertainment for the kids

Wednesday 8 April 11am, 12 noon, 1pm, 2pm and 3pm

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Find out more at royalvictoriaplace.com All events are FREE and may be subject to change or cancellation without prior notice. Spaces are limited on a first come, first served basis so please arrive early to avoid disappointment.

Wednesday 1st April 2015

12 � NATIONAL NEWS

Top Gear producer confirmed he is not resigning from show TOP Gear’s producer has confirmed he is not leaving the show – despite a leaked email suggesting his time with the popular BBC2 motoring programme was over.

Andy Wilman’s message to staff was actually a private ‘note of thanks’ and to mark the end of an era with the departure of presenter Jeremy Clarkson.

Mr Wilman, who is an old school friend of former presenter Jeremy Clarkson, helped re-launch the show with him in 2002.

Clarkson was dropped by the BBC earlier this month following a ‘fracas’ with a Top Gear producer over food at a hotel.

Yesterday Mr Wilman was forced to issue a statement about the email, saying: “The email I wrote yesterday was not a resignation statement, and nor was it meant for public consumption”.

A spokeswoman for the BBC said: “It was intended as a heartfelt message to people who had worked with him and Jeremy, to recognise the fact that with Jeremy leaving it was

the end of an era.

“It was not a farewell but a thank you to people who have been important to the show over the last 12 years. It was bringing down the curtain on the Clarkson era, not announcing his own departure.”

In the leaked email Wilman started with: “Well, at least we left ‘em wanting more.

“And that alone, when you think about it, is quite an achievement for a show that started 13 years ago.”

As well as thanking staff, he assured them that the show will continue.

He added: “For those of you who still rely on it for work, don’t worry, because the BBC will make sure the show continues.

“Our stint as guardians of Top Gear was a good one, but we were only part of the show’s history, not the whole of it.

Those two words are bigger than us.”

BBC director general Tony Hall announced on 25 March that the corporation would not be renewing Clarkson’s contract.

ANDY WILMAN’S STATEMENT Andy Wilman’s statement reads: “The email I wrote yesterday was not a resignation statement, and nor was it meant for public consumption.

“It was a private note of thanks to 113 people who have worked on the show over the years, but clearly one of those 113 is a bit of a tit, because they shared it with a website.

“I don’t get this modern obsession with sharing, linking, forwarding, retweeting; whatever happened to a private moment?

“And if I were to resign, I wouldn’t do it publicly, I’d do it old school by handing in my, er, notice, to someone upstairs in HR. “I work behind the camera and I wouldn’t presume for one moment to think people are interested in what I do.

Now, everyone back to work.”

Porn survey shock Private school pupil in court ONE in ten 12 and 13-year-olds fear they are addicted to porn, a major charity survey has reported.

Around 20 per cent of the 700 interviewed said they had seen pornographic images which shocked or upset them.

The NSPCC ChildLine survey said that 12 per cent of those surveyed said they had taken part in or had made a sexually explicit video.

For many children, researchers concluded, viewing porn is regarded as a ‘part of everyday life’ who contact its helpline.

ChildLine has launched a campaign to provide advice to young people about the harmful implications of an over exposure to porn following the survey results.

One boy under the age of 15 told ChildLine that he was ‘always watching porn, and some of it is quite aggressive’.

He told the charity: “I didn’t think it was affecting me at first but I’ve started to view girls a bit differently recently and it’s making me worried.

“I would like to get married in the future but I’m scared it might never happen if I carry on thinking about girls the way I do.”

over ‘knife attack’ threat A PUPIL at an exclusive Tunbridge Wells private school is set to appear in court tomorrow accused of threatening another boy with a knife on the school premises.

The 16-year-old boy is charged with threatening another person with a Stanleystyle craft knife on December 11 last year at Beechwood Sacred Heart School.

It is believed that both boys were pupils at the independent Catholic day school.

The teenager is due to appear at Sevenoaks Magistrates’ Court tomorrow, Thursday.

Woman hit by window A WOMAN has been hit by a window which fell five storeys from a hospital building as high winds swept across the country yesterday.

It dropped from London Bridge’s outpatient department in Emblem House, Tooley Street, at around 9.30. The woman, thought to be in her 20s, suffered a non-life-threatening head injury, the Metropolitan Police said.

UKIP candidate resigns A UKIP candidate who called on the Israelis to ‘kidnap’ President Obama has resigned.

Jeremy Zeid likened the president to Nazi war criminal Adolf Eichmann who was abducted

by Israeli agents in 1960 and later hanged.

Mr Zeid made his comments on Facebook after the US declassified documents about Israel’s secret nuclear programme. He was due to fight the seat in Hendon where the Tory majority is just 106.

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Wednesday 1st April 2015

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS �

13

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Madonna backs new streaming service MADONNA, Rihanna, Beyonce and Jay Z are among the A-list musicians who are co-owners of Tidal, a streaming service being billed as the first artist-owned platform for music and video.

The membership-based service - similar to subscription service Spotify - will provide music and video content that users can stream on computers, tablets and smartphones or listen to offline.

It is being offered in two formats: standard sound quality, and ‘lossless high fidelity sound quality’.

Kanye West, Daft Punk, Alicia Keys, Jack White and Nicki Minaj were among the artists who announced at last night’s New York event that they are co-owners of the service that launched quietly in October.

Coldplay’s Chris Martin and Calvin Harris, who both appeared via video, are also co-owners.

The celebrities, who also included Jason Aldean, Usher, members of Arcade Fire and deadmau5, stood in a line onstage as Keys spoke to the audience.

Most of them wore black as a sign of solidarity.

She said the artists hope Tidal will ‘forever change the course of music history’ and ensure the viability of the industry.

Keys said: “So we come together before you on this day, March 30 2015, with one voice in unity in the hopes that today will be another one of those moments in time, a moment that will forever change the course of music history.

“For today we announce of Tidal, the first ever artist-owned, global music and entertainment platform.

“Our mission goes beyond commerce, it goes beyond technology. Our intent is to preserve music’s importance in our lives. Music is the language of love, of laughter, of heartbreak, of mystery. It’s the world’s true, true, without question, universal language.”

Each of the owners signed documents at the event as the audience screamed when they walked to a table in the centre of the stage.

Briton Driver admits terror downed charges 36 beers A mentally ill British man has pleaded guilty to US charges he plotted to set up an al Qaida training camp on a ranch in a remote part of Oregon.

Haroon Aswat admitted he travelled to Bly, Oregon, in 1999 at the direction of Mustafa Kamel Mustafa, a double-amputee and radical cleric based in London and also known as Abu Hamza.

His orders were to help train recruits “who wanted to participate in jihad on behalf of a terrorist organisation,” he said in a barely audible voice at the sentencing in court in New York City.

THE driver of a pick-up truck that crashed into a house in Utah admitted drinking 36 beers and doing cocaine, the authorities say.

A probable cause statement says Bernabe Urcino-Saldago told police what he had consumed after he failed a field sobriety test early yesterday.

The 39-year-old was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, negligent collision and driving without a licence.

No one was hurt in the early morning crash at a house on Salt Lake City’s west side, near Rosewood Park.

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Cliffhanger in Nigerian election THE Nigerian election has turned into a cliffhanger as President Goodluck Jonathan and former military dictator Muhammadu Buhari were neck and neck last night.

But observers from the US and Britain warned of ‘disturbing indications’ that the tally could be subject to political interference.

Counting stopped just before midnight with Mr Jonathan winning nine states and the tiny Federal Capital Territory to Mr Buhari’s nine states.

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The count resumed yesterday.

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14 � BUSINESS NEWS

Brits flocking to Greece and Cuba, says operator TOUR operator Thomas Cook said holidaymakers were flocking to Cuba and Greece this year but added that prices remain under pressure.

The 174-year-old firm said UK winter holidays were 92 per cent sold which is nine per cent up on last year, with Egypt reviving as a popular destination following a period of political unrest.

But average selling prices are two per cent down on a year ago as the agent has sold a higher number of seat-only flights, reflecting customer demand for more flexible holidays.

The tour operator said its UK summer programme was 57 per cent sold, which is four per cent ahead of last year.

Average selling prices are per cent down on a year ago with favourites Spain and Turkey again strong sellers.

The company is now run by Peter Fankhauser, who took the helm at Thomas Cook after the shock departure in November of his well-regarded predecessor Harriet Green.

She narrowed losses at the business, which nearly collapsed in 2012, after a campaign of cost savings and a purge of low-margin operations.

Overall the group said its winter holiday programme was 95 per cent sold, which is one per cent ahead of last year with average selling prices down two per cent.

It added that its summer holidays were 54 per cent booked, with bookings down one per cent as trading in many parts of Europe has remained tough.

The company added that bookings at its various concept hotels, aimed at families, couples, or single travellers, were 20 per cent up on 12 months ago.

Mr Fankhauser said: “Our bookings for the full year are developing well, especially in the UK and Airlines Germany.”

‘The tour operator said its UK summer programme was 57 per cent sold, which is four per cent ahead of last year.’

Wednesday 1st April 2015

DIY giant B&Q set to shut 60 stores in company restructure B&Q is set to shut 60 stores across Britain and Ireland as part of a major restructuring of the business.

Kingfisher, the parent company, which also owns Screwfix, plans to axe about 15 per cent of surplus space as a result of the review of its 360-strong B&Q estate.

The move was announced as it posted a 7.5 per cent drop in annual profits to £675 million after sales fell by 1.4 per cent to £11 billion in the year to January 31.

Kingfisher has already agreed to sell a controlling stake in its loss-making China business as it looks to focus on its core European market.

Chief executive Veronique Laury, who took over from Sir Ian Cheshire in December, said the closure plan was one of a number of ‘sharp’ decisions being taken by the FTSE 100 company.

She added: “Home improvement is a great market with huge potential and Kingfisher has a strong position within it with further scope to grow in a sustainable way.

“However, it is clear to me that we need to organise ourselves very differently to unlock our potential.”

Other plans include cutting back on some of the 393,000 products sold across the company, particularly as only 7,000 are currently sold in at least two of Kingfisher’s operating companies.

The company will also look to optimise vacant store space and is in discussions

CLOSURES B&Q set to shut 60 stores

with several retailers about sub-letting opportunities.

Kingfisher said the impact on jobs from the B&Q store closure plan will be broadly neutral as it is opening about 60 outlets under the Screwfix brand, while it will also look to redeploy positions to other parts of the business.

Laury denied the UK DIY market was in decline and said the store closure plan

reflected a desire to reinvigorate the company’s UK offer.

She added that it had long been clear that B&Q had too many stores in its estate.

B&Q UK & Ireland’s total sales were up 1.9 per cent to £3.7 billion in the financial year, with sales of outdoor seasonal and building products up four per cent. Profits were 16 per cent higher at £276 million.

Car giant commits to UK with Swindon deal

NEW DEAL Honda Civic to be made in Swindon

CAR giant Honda has shown its commitment to the UK by announcing that its Swindon plant will be the world manufacturing centre for its next-generation five-door Civic model.

In a move which will safeguard jobs, Honda is investing £200 million in the Wiltshire facility as Swindon becomes a global production hub for the new Civic.

As Swindon develops into a specialist Civic production facility, manufacture of the next generation CR-V will switch to Honda’s plant in Ontario, Canada.

Speaking about the Civic production, Honda Motor Europe president Toshiaki Mikoshiba said: “This announcement sends a clear message of the strategic importance that Honda places on producing cars at our plant in Swindon.”

Civic production began at Swindon more than 20 years ago. Honda has now invested more than £2.2 billion in the Wiltshire plant since 1985.

The Honda news is the latest in a series of recent boosts to car manufacturing in the UK, with Jaguar Land Rover and Coventry-based London Taxi Company announcing investment plans in the last few days.

Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders chief executive Mike Hawes said: “It has been a fantastic week for UK automotive, with more than £1 billion earmarked by vehicle manufacturers for new model production that will drive further growth for the sector.”

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16 � BUSINESS NEWS MEAT THE BOSS Charley Ford believes butchery is making a comeback

Time to beef up on local apprenticeships Our trainees can benefit businesses and employees alike • By Steve Hemsley LOCAL companies are being urged to take on more young trainees and ignore the negative perception of apprenticeships still held by some parents and teachers.

The National Audit Office has estimated that for every pound of government investment in apprenticeships, the economy

gets back £18. It is estimated that apprenticeships contributed £34 billion to the UK economy in 2014.

Companies that do hire apprentices report an average increase in productivity of £214 per week.

Yet Skills Minister Nick Boles says there are still some outdated attitudes, although younger people increasingly see them as a clear alternative to full-time university.

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In March, Prime Minister David Cameron announced plans to roll out nine degree apprenticeships in industries such as chartered surveying and aerospace engineering.

Currently apprenticeships are available in more than 170 industries with about 1,500 different job roles lasting from one to four years.

Last month, the government also raised the minimum wage for apprentices by 20 per cent to £3.30 per hour, a much larger increase than the 2.6 per cent recommended by the Low Pay Commission.

But recruiting can still be complex, as some Tunbridge Wells employers have found.

“Hiring apprentices has not been as easy as I expected,” said Stephen Elsden, chief executive of local charity Compaid which helps disabled, elderly and vulnerable people improve their lives using IT. Compaid employed its first apprentice care assistant in 2012 to work at its Digital Skills Training Centre in Paddock Wood. The trainee studied for an NVQ Level 2 in Health and Social Care, and once qualified, stayed on as a care assistant for a further year to gain the Level 3.

“Finding interested candidates took a lot longer than we had planned - about six months for our first apprentice,” said Mr Elseden. “Once recruited, we weren’t able to find a local college to offer the NVQ for our apprentice, so we had to engage with an independent training company to provide this on site.”

But Compaid has now hired its second apprentice care assistant and Mr Elsden says both have grown in confidence and understand what it

CASE STUDY: Charley Ford HAWKENBURY butcher’s Fuller’s hired its latest apprentice in January.

Charley Ford, 20, lives in Tunbridge Wells but began his career as a Saturday boy at a Sussex butcher’s when he was a teenager.

He is enjoying himself at the award-winning family-run butchers and delicatessen, in Nelson Road, which has been serving the people of Tunbridge Wells for more than 35 years.

“I’m learning practical knife skills, how to prepare meat, how to set out the counter and serve customers and I’m finding out about business management,” said Mr Ford. “It is still early

means to work for an organisation at set times and with clear rules and responsibilities.

“The charity has benefited by bringing young, enthusiastic staff into a social environment which has been appreciated by the disabled adults who attend our centre,” he said.

Ward Homes, the firm behind the Blossom Bank development in Tonbridge, has employed more than ten apprentices over the last year and is looking to employ four more.

Southern regional managing director Gary Ennis says the scheme combines on-the-job learning with a day a week at college.

“Whether their trade is plumbing, carpentry or bricklaying, the apprentice works alongside an experienced and qualified team on-site gaining hands-on experience with the full support of the company,” said Mr Ennis. “As a homes builder, we experience great benefits from hiring apprentices.

It is essential for the future of the industry to nurture young talent.”

Ward Homes’ apprentice of the year is 19-year-old Ben Quickenden who has worked on Blossom Bank. He started studying carpentry at Bexley College and was invited to apply for the trade apprenticeship.

Mark Lumsdon-Taylor, director of finance and resources at The Hadlow Group says apprenticeships are no longer looked on as the poor relation.

days in my apprenticeship but I am really enjoying it. Not many people want to go into butchery but it is a trade that is making a comeback.”

Steve Fuller, owner of Fuller’s Butchers and Fuller’s Farm Shop, in Bunny Lane Eridge, says Mr Ford also attends Plumpton College, has written work to complete and is visited by industry assessors.

“Hiring an apprentice means you can train people in the ways you like to work and young people can have some great ideas on how to improve the business,” he said. “They might have thoughts on new products or how we buy our meat.”

“Well-structured apprenticeships have an invaluable part to play in ensuring training fulfils the specific needs of employers,” he said.

For the degree apprenticeships announced in March, trainees will split their time between working and earning money, and university study to gain a full bachelor’s or master’s degree.

The courses are being codesigned by employers to boost the employment prospects of apprentices. In some cases they will also lead to professional registration or chartered status with a relevant professional body.

More than 100 companies, more than 20 universities and several colleges across the country have worked on the programme. Small and medium-sized businesses involved say it will give them better access to graduate-level talent.

Yet according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, SMEs are still lagging behind in offering apprenticeships.

“For SMEs, the benefits of taking on apprentices are numerous,” said CIPD policy campaigns officer Annie Peate. “They help them to plan for the future and can be a good way of sourcing, recruiting and mobilising the enthusiasm and talents of younger workers. They can reinvigorate a business and help it to innovate. They can help local businesses in Tunbridge Wells compete with larger companies.”

KEY FACTS:

• 90 per cent of apprentices stay in employment after finishing the apprenticeship • 71 per cent of apprentices stay with the same employer • 82 per cent feel their apprenticeship had improved their ability to do the job and 79 per cent said that their career prospects had improved

• There are up to 25,000

apprenticeship vacancies available online at any one time • 1,000 businesses are now involved in designing the new apprenticeship standards • Small businesses can already get a £1,500 grant to help cover the cost of hiring a new apprentice aged 16 to 24.

BUSINESS NEWS �

17

‘Truly great’ village shop wins national community award Heath Stores owners putting their customers number one • By Adam Wells TWO former research scientists have discovered the formula for retail success – in a village shop.

Kate and Andrew Mills’ Heath Stores, pictured above, in Horsmonden has been named community retailer of the year in the national Convenience Retail Awards, but the gong is the latest in a series of accolades.

The couple took on the shop after a visit to Mr Mills’ father in 2011. Having recently left his 25-year career at east Kent-based pharmaceutical giant Pfizer, such a career change was not something the couple had expected.

But during a walk through the village, where Mr Mills, 49, had grown up and his parents still live, his father mentioned the local shop was on the market.

Mrs Mills, 43, said: “At first we thought, ‘it’s not possible’. Then, ‘you never know’.

Eventually, we were saying, it’s meant to be.”

Four years on, the farm shop and convenience store boasts a social area where people can sit, have a coffee and talk to other customers. If anyone wants a special item not in stock, the owners will order it. They say they actively try to boost youth employment, hiring youngsters from the age of 13. Mrs Mills said: “They start off small but they’re very quickly doing all the tasks. We’re delighted to see them grow in confidence.”

The pair are also well-known for fundraising, hosting various events throughout the year.

In the past, staff have worn fancy dress and moustaches, and hosted a village bake-off.

Mother of two Mrs Mills said: “We raised £1,000 for Comic Relief, but it wasn’t just about raising money. It was about getting the whole community involved.”

For the first few years at Heath Stores, Mrs Mills also worked as a clinical study manager but now thanks to its success, she works purely in the shop.

The joint efforts of Mr and Mrs Mills were recognised last December with the Kent Community Rural Retailer of the Year Award, but it didn’t end there.

Mrs Mills said: “It was suggested we should apply to the national awards…We thought, ok!”

The pair’s efforts have also been rewarded by Heath’s being named one of the Independent Retailers Confederation’s 20 best small shops in the country this year.

Andrew Goddard, retail director of PayPoint UK & Ireland which sponsored the most recent award, said: “Andrew, Kate and their team support a very wide range of local suppliers, not just of grocery products but also crafts and flowers. And they embrace the simple concept of ‘doing a good turn’, such as taking care of elderly and house-bound customers, storing ‘ready call’ loan equipment (such as a wheelchair and walking frame) and providing a daily meeting place in the store for elderly people who live on their own. That’s what makes a truly great community store.”

For the future, Mr and Mrs Mills say they plan to keep doing what they do best - serving the community.

Mrs Mills said: “We don’t plan to stand still.

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Wednesday 1st April 2015

18 � LETTERS

And another thing…

The Times of Tunbridge Wells always wants to hear your feedback, whether on reports we have printed or any other issues you think we should know about. Write to or email us using the contact details on page 2, or search for us on Facebook and Twitter.

I WAS wondering how many of your readers are getting a bit fed up with the ongoing road works in the centre of town. I can’t really understand the need for the pretty cobblestones. To be honest, I’d rather the traffic just kept moving.

I am sure that there are many other things that the money wasted on this venture could be spent on – but not this folly.

Alison MacFarlane Via email I AM writing to you in concern for the frankly unbelievable amount of litter which lies on our roadsides. As I travel around my local roads, and the country, on tour trips, I cannot help but notice the constant line of rubbish, bottles, plastic bags, fast food packaging, police tape, car bumpers, piles of building waste, crisp packets, coffee cups, and a multitude of other items which are carelessly and needlessly tossed into our verges. Coined as ‘rural litter’, it is usually given little consideration for a number of reasons; it is less noticeable to passing motorists, it doesn’t lie on or near private property and it is situated in what is considered a high risk area to clean; alongside busy roads. About a month ago, I litter-picked a quarter-mile stretch of road in the heart of the Weald and picked up an incredible 12 black sacks of rubbish. As an example of how prolific this problem is, the same stretch of road is already returning to its original littered state, only a month later. On my travels around Britain, both as a cyclist and motorist. I notice

rubbish lying on almost every road I travel along. The motorways are lined with the stuff, whilst A roads and many B roads are not much better.

Next time you have the opportunity to safely do so, I encourage you to take a look for yourself and see how much detritus you notice. If the litter is not picked up, natural processes work it down through the soil, where it is embedded in the ecosystem and will lay hidden for many thousands of years.

Sadly despite the efforts of many dedicated individuals and organisations, this is a battle which is being lost. There is simply not enough people power to counter the outpour.

Current preventative measures clearly don’t work and with the increase of manufacturing and consumerism, coupled with the increasing population and road traffic, this epidemic looks set to get a lot worse.

So why should you care? Because It looks awful, it poses a great threat to our wonderful ecology and it is a stark example of the very traits that society as a whole attempts to discourage;

inconsideration, wastefulness and carelessness, to name a few. It’s fair to say that something radical is in order, so in response I’ve created an online petition; one which asks local councils to organise litter picks which will be carried out by volunteers. If you feel affected by and/or care for what you’ve just read, please take five minutes and have a look at www. letsdothisthing.info. It is vital to the success of this campaign that you do what you can to spread the word; there are links on the webpage that make this easy. If we truly value the beauty of where we live, we must get out there and clean up this shameful mess, and in doing so not only set an example to each other, but also to our future generations on how to take better care of our environment.

Alex Thomson Uckfield

WELCOME to you and I wish you every success. My purpose in writing is to promote patient participation groups.

Every media presentation concerning the NHS, hospitals, GPs’ surgeries, 111 and the like has ignored the input from doctors’ surgeries of PPGs. Under this parliament, PPGs are an essential for all surgeries, their purpose is to promote the surgery and the clinical commissioning group (NHS) to the patients and vice versa. We are charged with offering ideas for healthy lifestyles to patients and to take their cares, ideas, worries to the surgery or to the Clinical Commissioning Group for West Kent. One of the means to do this is by e-mailing newsletters to our patients, which we do. We would be able to increase the communications if patients called at their local surgeries and gave their e-mail addresses specifically for this purpose. I would hope that if you can publish this then more patients would do this and receive the benefits this can offer.

John Franks Chairman, St James Medical Centre PPG

I HAVE been meaning to write for weeks about your coverage of the unsuccessful bid to win funding for improvements to the Pembury Road (Pembury Road traffic plans are snubbed by local enterprise group, March 4).

As a worker in Tunbridge Wells who lives just outside the town, I have no option but to use the Pembury Road every day.

Without fail, when I arrive from the Lamberhurst direction, the traffic in rush hour is queuing back a good way on the A21. It is mindbogglingly dangerous, as the ‘slip road’ is barely wide enough for a bicycle before the junction so the cars have to sit on the carriageway itself, risking being hit from behind by a less than attentive driver.

But apart from the risk, when you arrive there, you know you’re facing a stop-start crawl, not just up the slip-road and round the roundabout but all the way into town. The poor people already on the road have sat there even longer.

I cannot stop myself, while crawling along the road, of calculating just how much time I have spent in such a way over the years and how much better I could have used it.

To learn that a ‘local’ group supposed to be promoting local economic group have turned down a ‘shovel-ready’ scheme to alleviate the misery suffered by so many every day, and in favour of projects like Dover docks and a lorry park in Folkestone which may not be ready for years and are of far more national importance than local, is astounding.

Employees are put off working in Tunbridge Wells by the traffic problem. Solve it and you will have a far more booming and vibrant town, with so much more to offer.

I hope the group sees sense in the next round of funding and rectifies this mistake.

Helena Smythe Via e-mail

CONTACT US

EDITORIAL DIRECTOR RICHARD MOORE richard@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk | 01892 779615

EDITOR SIMON FINLAY simon@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk | 01892 576042

DEPUTY EDITOR ELEANOR JONES eleanor@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk | 01892 576037

16 Lonsdale Gardens, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 1NU facebook.com/timesoftunbridgewells timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk twitter.com/timesoftw newsdesk@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk

Wednesday 1st April 2015

Calverley SPOTTED. Wandering through Boots in Royal Victoria Place is none other than my very good chum, Janice Atkinson, the former Ukipper.

Janice, readers will recall, was recently booted out of her party after an aide was exposed in a national newspaper allegedly trying to get a drinks’ bill increased in order to make an inflated expense claim from Europe.

Clearly resorting to some retail therapy, the charming and decorous La Atkinson is clutching a green Fenwicks bag as she tours the shopping centre.

Upon seeing Calverley, the south east MEP becomes slightly red-faced and almost tearful.

Legal reasons prevent me from conveying what was said next but, suffice to say, if her former leader Nigel Farage thinks his one-time golden girl is likely to go quietly, he may well be mistaken.

And I understand that she intends to stay in the European parliament.

Watch this space.

TALKING of Ukip, I am grateful to the reader who sends me a copy of a paperback, The Wit and Wisdom of Nigel Farage. All the pages inside are blank.

AND lastly on the subject of , a hack perusing a Ukip party policy document in preparation for speaking to the TW candidate was surprised to read the headline “Reducing debts we leave to our grandchildren”.

Perhaps an extra word or punctuation mark would have cleared up any confusion on that one.

WORD REACHES me of a most uncomely street brawl that occurred in, of all places, Bidborough. The posh people of this upmarket village apparently exchanged heated words about parking, which led to 15 people standing toe to toe. Happily by the time police arrived tempers had cooled and glasses of Pimms were once again being sipped.

I AM always happy to receive calls from embittered ex-wives, but the former spouse of a local public figure tells me that she has been left penniless after her marital breakdown. She claims she has been forced to take handouts from a local food bank. In fact it is the only bank she can get access to as she tells me the high street variety has already foreclosed. It would be indiscreet of Calverley to disclose the unfortunate’s identity presently.

Chin Chin!!

OPINION �

Gatwick Airport expansion is the only viable proposition LAST week the Times continued the debate into the possible expansion of Gatwick Airport with concerns raised about noise and the development of a ‘super highway’ in the sky. Here Gatwick Airport director Alastair McDermid outlines the airport’s stance…

THE national debate over where Britain’s next runway should be built has reached an important point – the airports, business, and the community have given their views – and the Airports Commission will now decide which of the options it believes is best.

I believe the choice can be boiled down to the simple proposition: we obviously all want Britain to grow and to prosper but do we chase economic growth at any cost or do we recognise that any economic benefit must be considered alongside the environment and the community?

The momentum behind Gatwick’s case is growing because, as this summer’s final decision draws closer, people are increasingly realising that expanding Gatwick is the best answer to these questions.

Aviation is changing. Who could have predicted 20 years ago that easyJet would become the country’s largest airline? In 2003 the government’s aviation White Paper hardly made mention of low cost carriers and didn’t comment at all on Dubai which is now the largest airport in the world - demand driven by its location between continents.

None of us has a crystal ball so we must ensure London’s airports have the flexibility to adapt to whatever the future might hold. As the airport serving the most destinations and the only one able to cater for all airline models, expanding Gatwick can future-proof London’s airport system, creating a resilient network of airports that give the country the growth and connectivity we need.

And it surely makes no sense to turn the clock back and reinstate a monopoly when passengers are feeling the benefits of competition. Airport

‘Gatwick simply does not face the overwhelming obstacles that stand in the way of Heathrow’ ALASTAIR MCDERMID Director, Gatwick Airport

liberalisation has been one of the most successful market reforms of recent years. We are all seeing the benefit with lower fares and higher service standards – expanding Gatwick is the only way for competition to continue to thrive among the UK’s airports.

Everyone will benefit from lower fares, including residents of Tunbridge Wells. The increased economic activity an expanded Gatwick will create will also benefit local residents. There are areas of Kent in need of economic regeneration for which Gatwick’s expansion can be a catalyst. Jobs and business opportunities will be created directly by the airport and indirectly through suppliers. Local businesses will benefit from an increased access to international markets.

We also want to ensure that Kent receives these benefits by working in partnership with Kent’s local authorities to identify priority areas for training programmes and the 2500 apprenticeships we will fund.

The decision over where the UK’s next runway should be built is not one that should be made on economic considerations alone – the environment and the impact that another runway will have on communities must also be taken into account.

Aircraft are noisy and we do not pretend otherwise. While aircraft are becoming quieter and more efficient, more planes will never mean less noise. So the impact of noise on communities should be at the heart of this debate. Expansion at Heathrow will newly impact 320,000 additional people - more than the population of Coventry. At Gatwick around 18,000 people will be newly affected.

I am acutely aware this is still a very large number. Communities in Kent

including Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge and Sevenoaks are currently affected by aircraft noise; we want to work with the government to explore opportunities to reduce the number of aircraft flying over densely populated areas.

Gatwick has also never breached UK or EU air quality guidelines We also operate one of the cleanest aircraft fleets in Europe. This all means Gatwick would still operate within legal air quality limits with a second runway.

Both airports are fighting strong campaigns. There is business support for both. But all business can unite around one thing. After years of delay - with Heathrow being considered and then ruled out as too difficult – the UK needs something to happen. Choose Gatwick and we can have spades in the ground by 2020 and the runway operational by 2025. No tunnelling the M25. No £6bn taxpayer subsidy at a tough time for public finances. Simply Britain getting on with it.

In short, Gatwick simply does not face the overwhelming obstacles that stand in the way of Heathrow.

Expanding Gatwick enhances competition in the sector and delivers the economic benefits of increased airport capacity, more simply, quicker and at lower cost to the consumer, without any public subsidy.

So when considering a solution that is best for both the economy and the environment - and crucially if we want something to actually happen - the answer must be Gatwick.

It is the only viable proposition.

19

PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

EACH month solicitors Thomson Snell & Passmore will be answering frequently asked questions from across the practice.

If you have a legal question you would like featured in this monthly Q&A, please submit it to info@ts-p.co.uk.

Q. In the Budget, the Chancellor mentioned deeds of variation.

What are they and do I need to take any action?

A. A deed of variation is relevant where a beneficiary wants to pass on an entitlement from a deceased person’s estate. For example, if you are left an inheritance, you may decide to give all or part of it to your children or others. If the gift is recorded in a deed of variation signed within two years after the person’s death, it will not count as a gift by you for inheritance tax purposes.

Deeds of variation can therefore result in significant tax savings. They have recently come under the spotlight due to their use by families of some high-profile figures. The Chancellor now wants to review deeds of variation, but it remains to be seen whether the tax advantages will be withdrawn. The results of the review are expected to be reported by the autumn.

If you have inherited assets during the last two years, you should take expert legal advice at an early stage.

As for your own assets, you should not assume that your beneficiaries will be able to sign a deed of variation after your death. It is therefore very important not only to make a will or review any existing will, but also to ensure that it is tax-efficient.

Mark Politz, partner, 01892 701223 Q. I am saving for my first home. How will the new ‘help to buy ISA’ work?

A. Help to buy ISAs will only apply to first-time buyers aged 16 and over.

Generally, for every £1 paid in, the government will add 25p.

The ISA will be available to open from this autumn for four years but once opened, it can stay open for as long as it is needed.

The ISA can be opened with an initial deposit up to £1,000. A maximum of £200 can then be paid in each month. The government will therefore add a maximum of £50 per month.

A minimum of £1,600 and a maximum of £12,000 can be paid into the ISA to benefit from the government’s 25 per cent contributions. The government will therefore add a maximum of £3,000.

If two people are planning to buy a home together, they can each have a ‘help to buy ISA’ and save up to £24,000 altogether, with the government adding a maximum of £6,000.

London first-time buyers can use the savings to purchase a property up to £450,000. Other UK first-time buyers can use the savings to purchase a property up to £250,000.

Sam Davies, solicitor 01892 701238 Q. One of the most common complaints from businesses in Tunbridge Wells relate to crippling business rates. Was there anything in the Budget to address this penal tax?

A. Yes, but there is no long-term reform just yet. It was proposed in the autumn statement that the government would review the business rates regime, and further details relating to this review were released just before the budget statement.

A discussion paper is available to download from the government’s website and interested stakeholders are invited to submit their views before the closing date of June 12, 2015.

Please take advantage of this opportunity to give your feedback on how the business rates system could be modernised and improved for your particular sector.

As interim measures, the government has provided some helpful relief to businesses. From today, the government is: • increasing the business rates discount for smaller retail premises with a rateable value of £50,000 or below to £1,500 to March 31, 2016; • doubling small business rate relief for a further year to March 31, 2016 to provide support for 575,000 of the smallest businesses; • capping the rise in the business rates multiplier at 2 per cent to benefit all businesses; • extending transitional rate relief.

Nick Gabay, partner, 01892 701236: If you would like to discuss any of the issues detailed above please contact the member of staff listed against each question or call us 01892 510000. www.ts-p.co.uk

Wednesday 1st April 2015

20 � EDUCATION

Screen time: An ever-growing problem KIDS becoming increasingly glued to smartphones, TVs and computers is one of the biggest worries facing schools, and just as a big a headache for busy parents. With the Easter holidays upon us, we get advice on screen time and ‘real’ social skills from Dr Aric Sigman, who has spoken to pupils in Tunbridge Wells...

PSYCHOLOGIST and child development expert Dr Aric Sigman – who gives talks throughout the world – is keen to warn of the dangers to the young from the growing virtual world.

Often, he says, parents struggle to know how best to care for the young ‘iGeneration’ as they retreat further behind their screens.

It is estimated that children aged 12 to 15 spend over six hours a day on screens for recreation.

“When you consider they’re on their screens when they wake, going to and from school, breaks and evenings, it all adds up,” says Dr Sigman.

“It’s a bit like a fridge full of food – if it’s there, a lot of people will gorge.

Children today are in real danger of gorging on screens.”

Dr Sigman spoke at The Skinners’ School in Tunbridge Wells in March.

Skinners’ head Edward

Wesson says: “The talk on screen dependency was outstanding.

Parents were full of enthusiasm and more importantly, the boys liked him and what he had to say.

“He was very knowledgeable, amusing and had a good, strong message that moderation is key.

“We do deal with some boys who have potential to develop an addiction to screens. The problem is, we don’t know what the consequences are going to be.

I think it depends on how they are as individuals – whether they have addictive personalities. But I know we have one or two boys who stay up until 2am. They can’t stop.”

Dr Sigman thinks schools and parents should work together to combat the growing problem and Mr Wesson agrees, adding: “Boys and parents saw the evidence. I think it’s a good idea to share information on big issues.

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Wednesday 1st April 2015

EXPERT Dr Aric Sigman with Skinners’ pupils “If you’re going to discuss drugs you must do it from an educated and balanced position. The issue of screen dependency is exactly the same.”

“If schools and parents get together to devise a strategy it will make it much easier for both,” advises Dr Sigman.

“There’s power in numbers. If your children get the same message from different sources, it could avoid you being called uncool.”

As part of the curriculum, personal, social and health education allows young people to gain life skills. “I’m very concerned about the lack of social skills,” says Dr Sigman. “This isn’t something that has been made clear to parents or children. They’re necessary for life but they’re not being exercised and are being displaced. There’s evidence of a decline in ability to communicate, and willingness to do so.

“Although people feel everything is about the virtual world, children still need to be able to communicate. Face to face skills aren’t going to go away.

“If you want to have an advantage socially, academically and professionally, you need to be better than the next person at reading emotions and intentions. children have to realise they must practise these skills.”

Children thinking they are making friends through social media or gaming is another problem, says Dr Sigman. “You can be playing a game with somebody in Korea but that’s not a real friend,” he explains. “If they can’t speak English and you can’t speak Korean, or see them, how is that real socialising? It’s not but it’s seen as such.”

Dr Sigman’s views on the effect screen activities can have are backed by research as detailed on his website.

“If you don’t use leg muscles they get weaker,” he adds “People don’t think of social skills and the brain parts driving them as needing exercise.

“Official health advice recommends a maximum two hours’ recreational screen time a day.

“Reading books and doing homework

is OK. It’s high-speed programmes that are concerning.

“There should be a two-hour gap before bed, as looking at screens can disrupt sleep, and children under two shouldn’t see any screens at all.

“My real concern is not so much what they do in their bedrooms, but what they’re not doing – learning. Most of children’s time should be spent in the real world, not the virtual world.”

A father of four himself, Americanborn Dr Sigman, who lives in East Sussex, practises what he preaches.

His own children must ask to use a computer or watch TV, and, with the exception of the eldest, they don’t have smartphones.

He says: “We know rules mean children spend less time on recreational screens. So the real problem is parents don’t say ‘no’ when they need to, and there are times when they simply have to.

“It’s nice to be able to negotiate and come up with a solution that works and children abide by. But if not, children have more and more screen time and go to bed later and later.

“I think a lot of parents are scared of their kids. They feel guilty because they work long hours and they don’t want a tiring row at 8pm. But parents have to get some backbone and at times say ‘no’.

“You don’t have to be authoritarian.

You say ‘Too much screen time is bad for you, we need a solution that’s good for you and lets you have time to enjoy yourself. How are we going to do it?’

“Hopefully most kids will agree to something reasonable, but parents have to be prepared if they disobey. Then parents must do something.

“You can’t just say ‘Johnny likes games so we let him stay up till 11pm every school night.’

“We don’t have screens in the children’s bedrooms. If you put one in, they’ll watch more, and not what you want them to watch.

“They also have to ask to use the computers, for recreation or homework.

They have to ask permission to watch

the television.

“That enables us to have a lot more influence on screen time, it’s never been near the high national average now.

It’s never been much of a problem either. It’s always been that way.”

Dr Sigman’s book Remotely Controlled – How Television is Damaging Our Lives has also caused a few stirs.

On the website Mothers at Home Matter, one mum says: “As a parent, this book is definitely an unwelcome, yet incredibly enlightening and important read. Unfortunately for me, the familiar feeling of relief when my toddler sat in front of the television and gave me ten minutes of peace has been turned very firmly on its head.”

Dr Sigman feels children should be able to entertain themselves.

“Mine have learned how to keep busy,” he says. “They play guitar or go and kick a football around.

“I try to cultivate a sense of independence so they can entertain themselves, not dependent upon some product, service or device.

“Kids don’t like being bored but if I hear mine saying ‘I’m bored’ I just say ‘It’s your responsibility not to be.’

“I think most children have some sort of interest they can get lost in.”

Some schools in the Tunbridge Wells borough are coming up with initiatives to reduce screen time, such as putting phones in a basket at family mealtimes.

Many junior schools ban mobile phones. If they are needed for safety, children hand them in to the school office on arrival and pick them up when they leave.

The big problem comes when they go to senior school, where many children have smartphones, and they come under peer pressure in the playground.

So with the senior schools facing greater challenges over screen time, it’s small wonder they welcome a visit from this particular doctor.

Schools can download information on Dr Sigman’s talks from his website: www.aricsigman.com

OBITUARY �

21

Roy Douglas: A composer of ‘extraordinary talent’ THE COMPOSER and arranger Roy Douglas (left) with Ralph Vaughan Williams

• By Simon Finlay THE composer and arranger Roy Douglas, who died last week aged 107, lived in Tunbridge Wells most of his life and was perhaps best known for his collaborations with Ralph Vaughan Williams. He was so revered

by Vaughan Williams that he amusingly introduced him as ‘Mr Douglas, who writes music for me.’

Mr Douglas assisted the him from 1947 until he died aged 85 in 1958 and was so close a collaborator it was said he could read Vaughan Williams’ illegible handwriting, although rumours he ‘orchestrated’ his later works were entirely false.

In truth, Mr Douglas’ job was to correct errors and make suggestions where necessary ahead of performance and publication.

Closer to home, Mr Douglas is remembered fondly as an ‘amazingly talented man’ who had led an ‘extraordinary life.’

Giles Clarke, chairman of the Royal Tunbridge Wells Symphony Orchestra, recalled an anecdote which serves to illustrate his effortless prowess.

“There were weekly orchestra rehearsals at a local school,” said Mr Clarke, “and it was said that, depending on those people who had not been able to make it along, he was able to completely fill in the parts on piano from the full orchestral score. It was an extraordinary talent that he had.”

He performed with the Royal Tunbridge Wells Symphony Orchestra from 1950 to 1987 and was its president for many years.

As well as his work with Vaughan Williams he also assisted the composer Sir William Walton as well as conductors Sir Henry Wood and Sir Adrian Boult.

Roy Douglas was born in Tunbridge Wells in December 1907 but there were few portents of a long life ahead as he suffered from a weakened heart after a bout of rheumatic

Mr Douglas first worked with Walton in 1940 and would later give him conducting lessons but essentially his relationship with similar to that which he enjoyed with Vaughan Williams.

He first collaborated with Vaughan Williams on some wartime music and it was a working relationship that Mr Douglas would be immensely proud of when recalling the high points of his varied career. He wrote an account in 1972 of his time with the composer, Working with RVW, later expanded in 1988.

Mr Douglas had moved back to his home town in 1939 and joined Tunbridge Wells dramatic

society appearing variously as Oberon, Shylock and Touchstone. In 1950 his played the piano for the Royal Tunbridge Wells Symphony Orchestra and continued his association for many years. He was elected president in 1985.

Away from music he was a keen motorcyclist and carried on until his doctor ordered him to stop aged 80. He was famed for a sharp and humorous wit and abhorrence for sloppy English.

He remained unmarried and in later life lived with his sister Doris in Eden Road until her death in 1997.

Roy Douglas, b. December 12 1907, d. March 23 2015

fever. He once recalled: “I spent a lot of time lying on my back reading and the doctors said I wouldn’t live into adulthood.”

He had learned to play piano at five years old, composing short keyboard pieces at ten and performing confidently by the time he was a teenager. His mother, it was said, had to stretch her meagre housekeeping money to pay for his piano lessons.

Although there was rudimentary music tuition, Mr Douglas was almost entirely self-taught, never receiving any education in composition, orchestration or conducting.

Aged eight, his family moved to Folkestone where in 1927 he would join the local municipal orchestra as a pianist, organist, celesta player and programme planner – to name but four – for £6 a week. This involved 14 performances each week and two rehearsals.

It would prove an invaluable induction but when the local authority proposed a salary cut, he resigned and moved to Highgate with his parents and sister.

He started to play with the London Symphony Orchestra in 1933 as a full-time pianist, organist, percussionist and librarian.

In Borodin’s Prince Igor he recalled playing the triangle and tambourine parts – one in each hand – together at the same time.

Throughout the pre-war years, Mr Douglas gained a substantial reputation as a pianist in West End shows such as The Desert Song and The Vagabond King as well as performing light music in the restaurants at The Savoy.

Between 1937 and 1941, Mr Douglas provided the orchestration for recording for a number of famous singers including Elisabeth Schumann, Paul Robeson, Webster Booth and Denis Noble.

During the war, the LSO played many composers’ scores for films, including 1941’s Dangerous Moonlight about a Polish airman who was also a concert pianist.

Wednesday 1st April 2015

22 � FASHION, HEALTH AND BEAUTY

Armen’s on Cloud 9

®

Big s w Ne

Introducing Dermatology Tunbridge Wells rtwskin are delighted to announce the launch of Dermatology Tunbridge Wells

Dr Nicola Meschino with over 20 years experience in practical and cosmetic dermatology, will lead the department, assisted by Dr Fatima Ahmed.

Dr Meschino is one of Italy’s most well regarded Consultant Dermatologists. GMC registered and recognised as an expert in skin cancer surgery. He will offer a comprehensive range of treatments for skin conditions including moles, acne, eczema and psoriasis.

Introductory Consultation Price £99 Call 01892 22 22 22 to book your appointment

The whole face approach

www.rtwskin.co.uk 01892 22 22 22 @rtwskin

support@rtwskin.co.uk rtwskin

Royal Tunbridge Wells Skin & Laser Clinic, Cobden House Medical Centre, 25 London Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1DA

Wednesday 1st April 2015

WHEN a Tunbridge Wells businessman agreed to help a friend in need, he never dreamed it would lead to a career in the beauty industry…

• By Charlie Bond HAVING completed a degree in languages and worked in finance, developing a skincare range wasn’t something that had ever crossed Armen Mirzoian’s mind. But two years ago, his determination to solve a friend’s problem led to a whole new career.

“I’d been working for a small finance management company with my friend Ramen where we had dealings with a pharmaceutical company,” the 30-year-old explains. “His father-in-law suffered from varicose veins but couldn’t have surgery, so Ramen’s wife suggested we speak to the company about whether they had any suitable products.”

Unfortunately, the company didn’t have any, but they suggested the pair develop their own.

“At first it was just a side project,” says

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Armen. “But it became really fun. It took about a year, but we made something that really helped.”

After seeing the effects the product had on Ramen’s father-in-law, the pair were keen to try and solve other people’s skin issues. Ramen’s wife suggested a cellulite solution, and Armen himself decided to look into a spot cream, as acne was something he’d suffered with as a teenager. A friend in America suggested a scar cream as he was unable to find an effective one, and the research team came up with the final product – a cream for dry skin and eczema.

“We had no experience in the industry so the process was quite daunting,” says Armen.

“But it was really fun working with the research development team and choosing what to create.”

Despite initially being concerned about their lack of beauty background, the pair were enjoying themselves so much they decided to take their business full-time, and in August last year they officially launched Cloud 9 Skin Solutions, taking the beauty industry by storm.

“Last September we were nominated for three Pure Beauty awards, and won bronze for two of our products,” Armen explains. “We were up against the juggernauts of the industry, so it was overwhelming.”

Since then, the products have gone on to meet rave reviews from bloggers and customers, as well as being nominated for more industry awards. The company has also just secured a lucrative deal with both Space NK and www. feelunique.com so from May, their products will be available nationwide, as well as from their own website.

“The response we’ve had has been fantastic,” says Armen. “One of the best things about this job is the feedback – one girl told us she’d used the spot gel three times and it had cleared up her face. It’s great to know your products are helping people.”

Another perk of the job is the award beauty bags, which Armen admits come in handy when it comes to gifts and impressing his girlfriend.

“The other day we went to an award and got a huge bag of goodies,” he says. “My girlfriend spread them out all over the floor like she’d just won the lottery!”

One of the things that has surprised Armen, apart from the success of the products, is how many men have become customers.

“The biggest surprise was the varicose vein cream, because 50 per cent of the customers are men buying it,” he says. “Apart from the cellulite cream the products are unisex, but we tend to target the brand at women because it’s the ladies who tend to buy the products then recommend them to men. Women have a huge influence on what men buy!”

Now that he’s a man in the beauty industry, has Armen’s approach to image changed?

“Am I vain? Probably!” he says with a laugh.

“I do try to look after myself better now, and I have to have good skin to set a good example.” www.cloud9skin.com

MOVE

THE TOWN’S NEW PROPERTY GUIDE – A MUST READ FOR THOSE LOOKING TO BUY, LET OR SELL IN ASSOCIATION WITH

WITH THE

OF TUNBRIDGE WELLS

SCRIVENTON HOUSE

This beautifully refurbished country house, in a peaceful setting and accessed via a private tree-lined avenue, has come on the market. Scriventon House, Speldhurst, is among the pick of the properties for sale and to let, featured in the following pages.

Turn to page 27 for full details.

Savills Tunbridge Wells 53 High Street Tunbridge Wells TN1 1XU Sales: 01892 507000 Lettings: 01892 507050

savills.co.uk SA81835 Tunbridge Wells Times Easter Strip.indd 1

This Easter, who better to hunt with than Savills?

Buying, selling, renting or letting, talk to Savills.

Wednesday 1st April 2015 20/03/2015 16:25

24 � PROPERTY

This Norfolk Road family home has a broad appeal AT A GLANCE

PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

In my view…

Rupert Connell Partner at Knight Frank estate agents

5 NORFOLK ROAD, TUNBRIDGE WELLS Victorian terraced family home Popular central location close to Grove Park Recently refurbished to a high standard Beautifully presented Attractive sash windows with internal wooden shutters Entrance hall Sitting room Dining room Kitchen Two bedrooms on the first floor Family bathroom Third bedroom on the second floor Courtyard garden £585,000 For sale through Knight Frank: 01892 515035 www.knightfrank.co.uk

AT A GLANCE 5 MALTON WAY, TUNBRIDGE WELLS Detached family home in popular cul-de-sac setting Spacious and flexible accommodation Ripe for creating your ideal home Entrance hall Sitting room with family area Dining room Utility room Kitchen Cloakroom Master bedroom with dressing area and en-suite Four further bedrooms Family bathroom Integral double garage Car port Large and level rear garden with views

£750,000 For sale through Barnes Kingsnorth: 01892 822880 www.bkestateagents.com

Wednesday 1st April 2015

This is where we find out what’s happening in the property market.

Providing the comment this time round is Rupert Connell, partner and office head at Knight Frank in Tunbridge Wells

THIS beautiful family home, only a few hundred metres away from picturesque Grove Park, is presented in immaculate condition. In one of the most popular roads in this part of Tunbridge Wells, it is close to great schools, shops, restaurants and of course the railway station.

Having been recently updated by the current owners, the property now has new wiring, new

plumbing with a new boiler, and it has been re-plastered throughout to include network cabling. It has refurbished feature fireplaces and a new chimney liner. Wooden shutters add a touch of Victorian style to the sash windows, and stripped wooden floors in many of the rooms add even more character.

On the ground floor there is an entrance hall with access to a stylish sitting room to the front of

the house which leads through to a dining room and on to a newly fitted kitchen. Upstairs there are two bedrooms and a family bathroom as well a study area on the landing. A further set of stairs leads to a third bedroom and access to eaves storage.

A private decked courtyard, perfect for outdoor entertaining and offering scope for further improvement, lies to the rear of the property.

A spacious and versatile 1970s home in a popular cul-de-sac on the edge of town

OFFERING bags of potential and the opportunity for new owners to stamp their own style on it, this large detached property is set in beautiful gardens just off Blackhurst Lane. A typical example of its era, it has large windows to allow plenty of natural light in, and generous room sizes.

The entrance hall has a recess beneath the stairs for coats and a long bench with useful storage beneath for shoes and boots. The sitting room is fitted with a gas fire and opens into the family room which is triple-

aspect, light and bright and has sliding patio doors to the rear garden. The kitchen is fitted with a range of light wood units and Transformation composite granite work surfaces, incorporating a

breakfast bar as well as integrated eye-level gas double oven and a gas hob. From the kitchen, there is a small breakfast room with door to the garden and a doorway leading into the utility room with Belfast sink and space for appliances. Also on the ground floor is a cloakroom.

Upstairs, the principal bedroom is a generous double room with views to the front, with an archway opening to a dressing room and a large en-suite.

There are three further double bedrooms, a single room currently used as a study/craft room and a family bathroom.

Outside, as well as a driveway providing plenty of parking, there is an integral double garage and a car port, offering potential for further extensions and remodelling, subject to planning consents.

The extensive rear garden is the main feature of this property.

There is a paved patio at the back of the house and a long, level lawn with mature shrubs and trees. The garden is enclosed with fencing and a brick wall and there are beautiful and far-reaching views to the rear.

WITH less than six weeks to go until the General Election, the impact of the ‘runup’ to May 7 is really starting to be felt in the property market. Housing is a key policy area for most of the main political parties and, as the election approaches, these parties are starting to share more details on their plans for housing in the coming parliament. The Conservatives, for instance, pledged last week to double the number of ‘cut-price’ homes for firsttime buyers from 100,000 to 200,000 by 2020.

Buyers and sellers alike are still active and we are seeing reasonable transaction levels in the market at certain levels. The property market thrives on confidence and there is little doubt that the uncertainty surrounding who will form the next government is causing a degree of reluctance amongst buyers to commit and sellers to launch to the market so close to the Easter holidays and the election.

The good news is that, as soon as a new government is elected to power, confidence will return and we will be able to make the most of the spring/summer market. If you are considering selling this year, be realistic about the price you quote to launch to the market. Don’t be flattered by overly ambitious prices, they very rarely achieve what they set out to do and more often than not result in a long marketing campaign eventually realising far less than originally anticipated. Be realistic and you will generate interest from buyers resulting in a shorter and more successful campaign as the market, not the agent, dictates the sale price.

Please call us at Knight Frank if you would like to discuss your property plans.

01892 515 035 KnightFrank.co.uk/tunbridge-wells

DO YOU HAVE A STORY? email us at newsdesk@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk

PROPERTY �

25

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

A spacious and delightful family home in a private road with golf course views AT A GLANCE 12 RUSTWICK, RUSTHALL Attractive detached family home in the Arts and Crafts style Set in a private, treelined road Open views across the golf course Spacious accommodation with character features Entrance hall Sitting room Dining room Study Cloakroom/utility room Kitchen/breakfast room Four bedrooms Bathroom and shower room Pretty gardens and gate giving access to the golf course £770,000 For sale through Brooks Peacock: 01892 531199 www. brookspeacock.com

THIS property must surely be a golf lover’s dream come true. Fabulously positioned in a tree-lined private road between Rusthall and Tunbridge Wells, this Arts and Crafts style home has open views across a golf course.

Set on Rusthall Common, this Edwardian family home is as beautiful as its green, leafy setting.

The generous accommodation is complemented by a wealth of period features including high ceilings, oak woodwork and flooring, some

Victorian-style radiators, picture rails, coving and working fireplaces.

On the ground floor there is an entrance hall with attractive oak strip flooring and an impressive oak staircase to the first floor, with a door through to a large and bright sitting room to the front of the house. Features include an open fireplace with stone surround, large windows and wood flooring.

There is also a study off the hall which leads through to a utility and

cloakroom, and a fine dining room which leads through to the kitchen.

It also has folding doors opening into the rear lobby to create a perfect entertaining space.

The kitchen boasts quarry tiled flooring, plenty of storage cupboards and room for appliances, and French doors opening out to the rear garden and with views across Tunbridge Wells Golf Course.

Upstairs there are four bedrooms, a shower room and a family bathroom

fitted in a Victorian-style with freestanding roll-top bath.

Outside, the pretty front garden is laid to lawn with flower beds providing much colour in the summer and a weeping cherry. Side access leads to the rear garden which is mainly paved and provides a lovely area for outside entertaining.

There are flower beds stocked with bamboo, hydrangeas and a magnolia and there is a gate giving access to the golf course.

A large family home with a two-bedroom annexe

WITH bags of potential, plenty of land and a superb private setting, 1 Hollyshaw Close is a tempting prospect. The large detached property, which is currently arranged with a self-contained annexe, is less than a mile from the centre of town but offers a peaceful and exclusive location.

This property sits within a 1950s culde-sac in Camden Park, one of the most sought-after private estates in Tunbridge Wells. With just two other properties

sharing the three-acre development, the house is set within its own acre and enjoys a southerly aspect. Having been owned by the same family for the past 30 years, and having been modernised and extended a great deal in that time, this is a rare opportunity to own a property in this prime location.

The accommodation is designed to maximise the appreciation of the lovely setting and natural light, with big picture windows and full-height

sliding doors opening out to the terrace on the ground floor.

Downstairs, the accommodation comprises a large entrance hall, cloakroom, dining room with parquet floor, feature fireplace and doors to the gardens, as well as a triple-aspect drawing room which makes the most of the views outside, a kitchen/breakfast room, utility room and a study. On the first floor there is a master bedroom with en-suite bathroom, three further

bedrooms and a family bathroom.

But it’s the two-storey annexe which adds all sorts of possibilities to this property. With its own entrance to the front, it comprises an entrance hall, cloakroom, kitchen and sitting room on the ground floor, plus stairs leading to a double bedroom, single bedroom/study and bathroom. An interconnecting door on the ground floor leads through to the dining room of the main house.

Of particular note is the delightful garden which surrounds the house on all sides. As well as a level lawn area, the lovely backdrop of trees and shrubs provides year-round colour with rhododendron, camellia, a specimen red oak, limes and ash trees, with a stunning display of bluebells in spring.

A detached, brick-built double garage is situated at the entrance with additional parking space for several vehicles.

This property offers plenty of scope for remodelling and enhancement, with the adaptable annexe as ancillary accommodation, converted into home office space or even remodelled as one single property. The agent even suggests the entire property might be replaced, subject to any necessary planning consents.

AT A GLANCE 1 HOLLYSHAW CLOSE, CAMDEN PARK, TUNBRIDGE WELLS Cul-de-sac setting within a private park Large detached 1950s property with scope for remodelling Two reception rooms Study Kitchen/breakfast room Utility Cloakroom Master bedroom with en-suite Three further bedrooms Family bathroom Self-contained twostorey annexe with two bedrooms Detached double garage Beautiful gardens of 1 acre £1,750,000 For sale through Savills: 01892 507000 www.savills.co.uk

Wednesday 1st April 2015

26 � PROPERTY

The principle part of a grand Arts and Crafts mansion in a private residential park setting PARK Lodge is the principle portion of a stunning mansion in the Arts and Crafts style. Set within the highly desirable Bishops Down Park Road, not only does it have its own private gardens but also access to the shared eight acres of parkland these properties enjoy.

Bursting with character features, beautifully presented and with a superb façade adding extra kerb appeal, the spacious accommodation is arranged over three floors, plus a useful storage area in the cellar. The large covered porch opens into a grand entrance lobby with original mosaic floor and fireplace. This opens on to

Wednesday 1st April 2015

an oak panelled reception hall from which all the other reception rooms are accessed.

Of particular note is the impressive drawing room with its dramatic high ceilings and large windows, with aspects to three sides.

Downstairs there is also a beautifully fitted kitchen/breakfast room with a large island, a feature fireplace and the wood block flooring that runs throughout much of the ground floor, as well as a study, a family room and cloakroom.

A fine oak staircase leads to the first floor accommodation, which comprises two double bedrooms, one being the master with an en-suite shower room, and

a separate WC. Further stairs lead to the second floor with three more spacious double bedrooms, a single and two bathrooms.

This imposing property is approached via a sweeping gravel in-and-out drive and as well as having plenty of parking, there is an open bay oak-framed double garage. The gardens, of about 0.33 of an acre, are arranged to the side of the house and are mainly laid to lawn. However the real selling point is the eight-acre private park which is shared between the residents.

This has its own children’s play area, picnic seating, lake and woodland walks.

AT A GLANCE PARK LODGE, BISHOPS DOWN PARK ROAD, TUNBRIDGE WELLS Principle part of a grand Arts and Crafts mansion Private park setting Character features Grand reception hall Drawing room Kitchen/breakfast room Family room Study Cloakroom Cellar Master bedroom with en-suite Five further bedrooms Two family bathrooms plus a separate WC Gravelled in-and-out drive Oak framed open bay double garage Gardens of 0.33 of an acre Shared use of eight-acre residents’ park £1,550,000 For sale through Knight Frank 01892 515035 www.knightfrank.co.uk

PROPERTY �

A beautifully refurbished country house on the outskirts of one of Kent’s most sought-after villages

27

IN ASSOCIATION WITH

SPELDHURST �WIDELY thought to be one of the most desirable villages in west Kent, Speldhurst is perfectly located in open countryside only three miles west of Tunbridge Wells. Perfect for commuters as both Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge stations are within a short drive, and giving easy access to the A21, the area is always popular with homebuyers. Today there is a population of about 1,500 people and the village boasts an outstanding primary school, nursery, a shop and Post Office, and the excellent George & Dragon pub. But what really attracts people to the area is the peaceful country setting. Surrounded by farmland and woods, you would never know you were so close to the bustling commuter town of Tunbridge Wells.

AT A GLANCE SCRIVENTON, SPELDHURST Large character property Recently refurbished Sought-after village location 11.4 acres of land Tree-lined drive, parking area and garage block, entrance hall, three reception rooms, kitchen/ breakfast room, study, utility room, cellar, master bedroom with dressing room and en-suite, four further bedroom – two with en-suites, family bathroom, detached twobedroom studio with open plan area upstairs and kitchen, tennis court, stunning grounds £2,650,000 For sale through Knight Frank 01892 515035 | www.knightfrank.co.uk

SCRIVENTON House in Speldhurst is a vast and attractive Edwardian property which has undergone a sympathetic programme of refurbishment over the last seven years, thanks to its current owners.

Immaculately presented and in a peaceful setting, overlooking the popular village of Speldhurst, this handsome brick and hung tile property is something truly special.

Accessed via a private tree-lined avenue which sweeps past a garage block and into a large parking and turning area, the impressive home boasts plenty of spacious reception rooms and five bedrooms, as well as a detached studio space with two further bedrooms above and several more outbuildings.

Beautifully laid out for everyday family living or lavish entertaining alike, it is a characterful home which boasts features including large windows, fireplaces, contemporary fittings and a beautiful glass lantern skylight in the drawing room.

The grand entrance hall provides access to a study and a formal dining room at the front of the house as well as a downstairs cloakroom, a 38ft kitchen/breakfast room, a utility room and access to a useful cellar. There is also a door to a comfortable sitting room with double doors leading through to an elegant drawing room. Large bay windows in many of the rooms and a neutral décor make these living spaces light and bright.

On the first floor there is an excellent master suite with a dressing room and a spacious en-suite bathroom. There are two further suites, one with a bathroom and one with a shower room, on this floor and the accommodation is completed by a further two bedrooms and a family bathroom.

The well maintained and mature grounds extend to 11.4 acres and are divided into gardens above and below the driveway. In the upper garden, behind the house, is a tennis court, as well as large areas

of lawn and pretty flower beds.

Beyond lies a paddock.

In the lower garden, steps lead down to an attractive seating area flanked by lawn and surrounded by trees. A path continues beyond this area to a lower paddock.

Situated to the south of the property and offering flexible ancillary accommodation is a good-sized studio with two bedrooms and a shower room on the ground floor and a light open-plan living area/studio and kitchen upstairs. Meanwhile, to the north of the property is a garage block which includes a summer house and a store room.

With the main house providing some 5,298sq ft of accommodation alone and the studio offering the possibility of a self-contained annexe or guest cottage, this property provides all the space you could possibly need. And if you feel the need to stretch your legs in the surrounding countryside, you can do it without ever leaving your own expanse of land.

YOUR COMPLETE SECURITY SOLUTION

www.1stacesecurity.co.uk

Intruder Alarms • Security Gates • Monitored CCTV Access Control • Fire • Guarding & Keyholding Ace House, 28 London Road, Southborough Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN4 0QB 01892 280 280 • 01732 600 600 sales@1stacesecurity.co.uk

Wednesday 1st April 2015

Savills Tunbridge Wells 53 High Street Tunbridge Wells TN1 1XU

01892 507050 tunbridgewells@savills.com

savills.co.uk

LETTINGS LAYOUT ONLY

New Instruction TUNBRIDGE WELLS, kent

TUNBRIDGE WELLS, kent

Open plan kitchen/dining/sitting room ø two bedrooms ø bathroom ø en-suite shower room ø 1 double bedroom apartment ø kitchen ø dining & sitting room ø en suite bathroom ø large video entry system and lift ø EPC rating =B entrance hall ø cloakroom ø allocated underground parking space ø lift ø EPC rating =B £995 pcm + £276 inc VAT one-off admin fee and other charges may apply* £1,150 pcm + £276 inc VAT one-off admin fee and other charges may apply*

Contact: Louise Minifie

Contact: Katrin Olander

New Instruction TUNBRIDGE WELLS, kent

TUNBRIDGE WELLS, kent

4 bedrooms ø 2 reception rooms ø kitchen/breakfast room ø conservatory & study ø 3 bathrooms ø garage & parking ø EPC rating =D £2,750 pcm + £276 inc VAT one-off admin fee and other charges may apply*

Open plan living, dining, kitchen ø useful storage room/study downstairs ø cloakroom, family bathroom and ensuite shower room ø walk in dressing room ø five bedrooms ø EPC rating =D £2,800 pcm + £276 inc VAT one-off admin fee and other charges may apply*

Contact: Katrin Olander

Contact: Katrin Olander

*£36 inc VAT for each additional tenant/occupant/guarantor reference where required. Inventory check out fee – charged at the end of or early termination of the tenancy and the amount is dependent on the property size and whether furnished/unfurnished. For more details, visit www.savills.co.uk/fees.

This Easter, who better to hunt with than Savills?

Buying, selling, renting or letting, talk to Savills.

Savills Tunbridge Wells 53 High Street Tunbridge Wells TN1 1XU

01892 507000 tunbridgewells@savills.com

savills.co.uk

Open House by appt. 11/04/15 NR TUNBRIDGE WELLS, kent

TUNBRIDGE WELLS, kent

Tunbridge Wells 3.2 miles ø 3 reception rooms ø 5 bedrooms ø substantial detached barn ø fields, woodland and lake ø about 12 acres ø 3,119 sq ft ø EPC=D

PP to create a 5 bedroom house ø Grade II listed with character features ø off street parking ø South facing garden ø town centre and MLS within 0.25 miles ø 2,708 sq ft

Guide £1.75 million Freehold

Guide £925,000 Freehold

Contact: Amanda Wyatt

Contact: Liz Devall

TUNBRIDGE WELLS, kent

FRANT, east sussex

MLS 1.1 miles ø grammar schools under 1 mile ø scope for improvement ø 5 bedrooms ø 2 reception rooms ø garden ø garage and parking ø 1,434 sq ft ø EPC=E

Ground floor apartment in Grade II listed mansion ø drawing room ø kitchen/breakfast room ø 2 bedrooms ø 2 bath/shower rooms ø garage ø communal grounds ø 1,459 sq ft

Guide £725,000 Freehold

Guide £450,000 Leasehold

Contact: Liz Devall

This Easter, who better to hunt with than Savills?

Buying or selling, talk to Savills.

Contact: Charlotte Melrose-Cantouris

With 600 offices globally, we put your property within the world’s reach.

Savills Tunbridge Wells 53 High Street Tunbridge Wells TN1 1XU 01892 507000 tunbridgewells@savills.com

Savills Sevenoaks 74 High Street Sevenoaks TN13 1JR 01732 789700 sevenoaks@savills.com

Savills Cranbrook 53-55 High Street Cranbrook TN17 3EE 01580 720161 cranbrook@savills.com

Move than you’re looking for. savills.co.uk

bracketts est. 1828

When experience counts...

Langton Green, Tunbridge Wells – Guide Price: £599,950

Tunbridge Wells – Guide Price: £745,000

· · · ·

· · · ·

Detached 4 bedroom house Substantially extended and improved Superb wrap-around garden EPC: D

Tunbridge Wells – Price Range: £425,000 - £450,000

· · · ·

Stunning raised ground floor apartment 20’ reception room, 2 double bed, 2 baths/shower Large terrace overlooking Dunorlan Park EPC: C

Rusthall, Tunbridge Wells – Monthly Rental of £2,400

· · · ·

Detached 4/5 bedroom house Secluded location Large garden, driveway and open fronted car port EPC: C

Detached 5 bedroom extended house In need of some modernisation Parking for 4 cars, good sized gardens EPC: D

Langton Green, Tunbridge Wells – Guide Price: £325,000

· · · ·

Modern 3 bedroom end of terrace town house Immaculate condition Landscaped rear garden & off road parking EPC: C

Mark Cross, Rotherfield – Monthly Rental of £2,100

· · · ·

Sussex farmhouse-style detached house Spacious 4 bedroom accommodation Detached double garage & south facing gardens EPC: D

Tunbridge Wells 01892 533733 tunbridgewells@bracketts.co.uk

bracketts.co.uk

Guide price: ÂŁ1,150,000

Hawkhurst An attractive family house in a peaceful rural position with wonderful views and within the Cranbrook School Catchment Area Entrance hall, drawing room, family room, kitchen / breakfast / dining room, utility room, cloakroom. Master bedroom with en suite bathroom, 4 further bedrooms (1 en suite), family bathroom, mezzanine playroom. Detached double garage with storage room above. Mature gardens and grounds with summer house and small orchard. In all about 0.5 of an acre.

Guide price ÂŁ2,250,000

Bidborough A beautifully presented family house with uninterrupted views, in a very desirable location Reception hall, drawing room, dining room, kitchen / breakfast room, cinema, study, utility room, wine cellar. Master bedroom suite, 4 further bedrooms (1 en suite), family bathroom.

2 bedroom log cabin. Tennis court, swimming pool. Garaging. Equestrian facilities. EPC rating E. In all about 9.85 acres.

GLOBALLY KNOWN LOCALLY DRIVEN To find out how we can help you please contact us KnightFrank.co.uk/tunbridge-wells tunwells@knightfrank.com 01892 310269

Guide price: £1,200,000

Guide price: £1,295,000

Groombridge

Central Tunbridge Wells

Newly built detached family house finished to a very high standard

Immaculately presented modern home in a prime location

Entrance hall, drawing room, study, family room, kitchen / dining room, shower room, 6 bedrooms (3 en suite), family bathroom.

Detached garage with 2 store rooms. Garden. EPC rating B.

@KF_TWells KnightFrank.co.uk

Drawing room, dining / family room, kitchen, study. Master bedroom with balcony, 4 further bedrooms (1 en suite), family bathroom, shower room. Garage and parking. Garden. EPC rating E.

Guide price: £2,000,000

Guide price: £1,450,000

Benenden

Wadhurst

A beautiful small country estate in a magical setting

An exceptionally well located and immaculately presented family house

3 reception rooms, kitchen / breakfast room. Master bedroom suite, 4 further bedrooms (2 en suite), family bathroom, playroom. 4 self-contained 2 bed cottages. 1 bed flat.

Heated swimming pool. Outbuildings and equestrian facilities. Garden and grounds.

EPC ratings D, E & F. In all about 25 acres.

Entrance hall, sitting room, dining room, kitchen / breakfast room, utility room, conservatory.

6 bedrooms (2 en suite), bedroom 7 / playroom, family bathroom. Triple garage. Delightful gardens. EPC rating C. In all about 1 acre.

LeGrys Tunbridge Wells 66 London Road Tunbridge Wells TN4 0PR twells@LeGrys.com Call FREE on 0800 320 2012 or 01892 529448

SO

LD

LeGrys.com

Holden Park Road, Southborough

Freehold

Camden Hill, Tunbridge Wells

Guide Price £400,000-£430,000

Priced At £950,000

• Detached Family Home • Three Double Bedrooms • Off-Road Parking For Three Cars • Good Sized Garden With Lawn And Patio • Great Location For Primary/Secondary And Grammar Schools • 15/20 Minute Walk To Mainline Train Station

• Four Double Bedrooms • En-Suite & Family Bathroom • Two Light And Airy Reception Rooms • Packed With Period Features Throughout • Beautiful Kitchen • Garage & Off-Road Parking • Excellent Location For The Town’s Highly Regarded Schools & Shopping Facilities

Vale Road, Southborough

Freehold

Guide Price £650,000-£700,000 • Four Bedrooms • Three Reception Rooms • Newly Fitted Kitchen Open-Plan To Dining Area • Downstairs Cloakroom • Spacious Conservatory/Sitting Room With A Newly Tiled Roof • Generous Sized Study • Upstairs Bathroom And Shower Room

Prospect Road, Southborough

Freehold

Freehold

Guide Price £500,000 To £525,000 • Excellent Additional Attic Space With Eve Storage • Large Landscaped South-Facing Garden with Patio Area • Fantastic Garden Room Currently Used As A Gym/Office and Separate Storeroom • Off-Road Parking and Garage • Superb Peaceful Location Close To Local Amenities And Schools

• Deceptively Spacious Family Home Set Across Three Floors • Four Double Bedrooms • Stunning Feature Fireplaces • Two Reception Rooms • Two Family Bathrooms

• Modern Kitchen With Rangemaster Cooker • Beautiful Sunny Garden With Patio Area • Excellent Location For Local Schools And Amenities • Short Distance From Mainline Train Station

Tunbridge Wells | Edenbridge | Rotherfield | Lewes | Associated London Office

In 2011, LeGrys opened its first office in Tunbridge Wells and has since gone on to open three further offices. LeGrys offer comprehensive Sales, Lettings & Property Management Services.

• Our Offices Are Open 7 Days A Week, maximising Viewing Potential • Free Professional EPC, Floor Plans and Photography on Sales Properties • No Tie-In Contracts • Highly Experienced Team of Staff

Happy Easter From LeGrys

• Customer Service Led – Offering Totally Transparent Service • Extremely Competitive Fees • Members of The Registered Landlords Association & The Property Ombudsman • Offering Landlords Fully Managed, Let Only or Rent Collection Services

LANDLORDS DO YOU HAVE A PROPERTY TO LET IN THE TUNBRIDGE WELLS AREA THIS EASTER? HUNT NO MORE! Why LeGrys Lettings: • We take immense pride with every customer, whether it being a landlord or tenant • Setting ourselves apart from the crowded market by offering a totally bespoke solution for potential landlords • We ease the stress associated with letting and maintaining your property • With over 15 years’ experience our team offer the very best service LeGrys Lettings are offering exclusive discounts on our Finders and Management Fees this Easter

Please Give Our Team A Call To Arrange Your Free, Non-Obligatory Market Appraisal

T

LE

Coomb Field Road, Edenbridge

Sandhurst Road, Tunbridge Wells

Priced At £795 Per Calendar Month

Priced At £1,200 Per Calendar Month

• Beautifully Decorated One Bedroom House • Bright & Airy Sitting Room • Pretty Private Garden • Garage • Walking Distance to Edenbridge Station

• Three Double Bedrooms • Large Kitchen Diner • Good Sized Light & Airy Lounge • Close To Local Amenities • Garage • Communal Garden

Award-winning sales and lettings agency

Unbeatable price , superior service *

Call

Book your free** valuation

Click

andrewsonline.co.uk

/andrewsonline

Visit

01892 515 144 (Sales) 01892 525 551 (Lettings) tunbridgewells@andrewsonline.co.uk (Sales) tunbridgewells.lets@andrewsonline.co.uk (Lettings) 11 Grosvenor Road, Tunbridge Wells, TN1 2AH

@andrewsonline

* If you find a comparable service offered for less by any other ARLA regulated letting agent within 3 miles of our branch, we will price match their commission fee. This offer is subject to our minimum fee, written proof of the package you are being offered and applies to new instructions only and must be agreed before signing our Terms of Business. ** Free valuation does not apply to valuations conducted for insurance or mortgage purposes.

01892 838363 carol ®fi reflyproperties.co.uk

www.fireflyproperties.co.uk

new home with Firefly this Spring!

MATFIELD £559,995 Character Home 4 Bedrooms, 2 receptions Cranbrook School Catchment EPC E

£695,000 4 Bedroom detached character home EPC D

1

YALDING (upper ground) £649,995 Fabulous Grade II listed home Must be viewed to fully appreciate!

4 bedrooms, 3 receptions Many character features

bracl<etfs

Batcheller Monkhouse -----------------

____,ft,____ WOOD & PILCHER

BROOKS PEACOCK Town & Country Propertzes

ellis

ESTATE AGENTS & CHARTERED SURVEYORS

and co

EST 1900

Lambert & Foster PART OF THE LOCAL LANDSCAPE

~MJProperty

"Knight WFrank

savills

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Registered Office: 3rd Floor Con naught House, 1-3 Mount Street, London W1 K 3NB, England.

Coming soon to Royal Tunbridge Wells...

A collection of 3 & 4 bedroom luxury homes St James Court is a collection of three and four bedroom homes set within a private courtyard in the sought after town of Royal Tunbridge Wells.

• Custom designed German kitchens with integrated appliances • Allocated private parking • Landscaped rear private gardens • 10 year LABC warranty • Great transport links Prices from £475,000

Register your interest now!

01892 507005 savills.co.uk

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Wednesday 1st April 2015

MOVING WITH THE TIMES TO PROMOTE YOUR PROPERTY CONTACT US advertising@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk | 01892 779650 O F TUNBR IDGE WEL LS

Tunbridge Wells

Rotherfield

£285,000

• 2 Bedrooms • Conservatory • Large Rear Garden

• 2 Bedroom Split Level Bungalow • 1.2 Miles From Station • Garage & Driveway • Potential To Extend STPP • Energy Efficiency Rating: E • Good Size Rear Garden

Tunbridge Wells • Spacious Town House • 4 Bedrooms • St James Location

Tunbridge Wells • Spacious Period Property • 3 Bedrooms, 4 Receptions • Kitchen & Downstairs Shower Room • Family Bathroom

£415,000 • Southerly Facing Garden • Integral Garage with ORP • Energy Efficiency Rating: C

Guide Price £625,000

Tonbridge

• St James’ Location • Off Road Parking & Garage • Large Rear Garden • Energy Efficiency Rating: E

• 3 Bedrooms • Brand New Home • En-Suite Shower Room • Decked Rear Garden

Groombridge

£1,000 PCM • Rural Setting • Energy Efficiency Rating: D • Agent’s Fees Apply

£1,550 PCM • River Views • Close To Town & Station • Energy Efficiency Rating: B • Agent’s Fees Apply

£359,950

• Extended 3 Bedroom Cottage • Study & Downstairs Cloakroom • Sought after location • On Street Parking • Large Family Room/Kitchen • Energy Efficiency Rating: D

Groombridge • 3 Bedroom 17th Century Cottage • Groombridge Village Location • Grade II Star Listed • Presented Over Three Floors

£485,000 • Three Double Bedrooms • Good Room Sizes • Double Garage • Garden & Summer House

Southborough • Detached Bungalow • 2 Bedrooms • Lounge/Dining Room

£295,000 • Well Presented • Off Road Parking to Front • Energy Efficiency Rating: E

Tunbridge Wells • 3 Bedrooms • Newly Refurbished • Private Roof Terrace • Close To Mainline Station

£1,400 PCM • Popular Location • Gas Central Heating • Energy Efficiency Rating: C • Agent’s Fees Apply

woodandpilcher.co.uk Tunbridge Wells Office 01892 511211 tunbridgewells@woodandpilcher.co.uk Letting & Management 01892 528888 lettings@woodandpilcher.com Southborough Office 01892 511311 southborough@woodandpilcher.co.uk OTHER OFFICES Tonbridge Office 01732 351135 tonbridge@woodandpilcher.co.uk Crowborough Office 01892 665666 crowborough@woodandpilcher.co.uk Heathfield Office 01435 862211 heathfield@woodandpilcher.co.uk

Tunbridge Wells

Guide Price O.I.R.O. £275,000

Crowborough

• Large 2 bedroom Apartment • Lounge/dining room • Share of Freehold • Central Quiet Location

• Garage En Bloc • Communal Gardens • Approx. ¼ Mile to Station • Energy Efficiency Rating: D

• 4 Bedrooms • Modern Fitted Kitchen • 2 En-Suite Shower Rooms • Low Maintenance Garden

£1,400 PCM • Garage & Off Road Parking • Popular Location • Energy Efficiency Rating: B • Agent’s Fees Apply

42 � PROPERTY AT A GLANCE MARANS, 45A BAYHAM ROAD Scandia Hus self-build property Reception hall Four reception rooms Downstairs shower room, Kitchen / breakfast room, utility room.

Galleried landing, Master bedroom suite with en-suite bathroom and study Four further bedrooms (one with en-suite shower room) Family bathroom.

Gardens Detached double garage. £950,000 01892 533733 www.bracketts.co.uk

A Scandia Hus on the border of town and countryside ON THE southern fringe of Tunbridge Wells, this Scandia Hus, a self-build house put together in 1990, enjoys a balance between being on the edge of country as well as of the town, with its extensive shopping and leisure facilities, the Nevill Cricket Ground, Tunbridge Wells Golf Club, the sporting facilities at the St Johns centre, the Knight Park Leisure Complex, with cinema and sports centre. The area is well served for schooling with a variety of independent and private schools and grammars.

The property, which has no onward chain, is now in need of cosmetic refurbishment but it boasts tripleglazing, electric heating and a logburner. Of particular note are the gardens, which envelop this property, are laid to lawn and are now in need of some green-fingered attention.

A timber front door accesses a reception hall, with doors to all rooms, built-in double-door cupboard and a turned wooden staircase to the first floor.

Double doors lead to a triple-aspect reception room, with French doors, windows overlooking the front garden and a gas burning fire. The second reception room boasts a large cupboard

and a serving hatch to the kitchen, while the third and fourth receptions also open from the hall.

A shower room can also be found on this floor along with the dual-aspect kitchen, fitted with a range of units in need of updating, a built-in cupboard and door to a utility room.

On the first floor, a galleried landing complete with airing cupboard leads to a master bedroom suite, a double bedroom with storage into the eaves and three double-door storage cupboards.

A door and windows give access to a balcony. An en-suite bathroom boasts a non-operating shower as well as bath, bidet and Velux skylight to the side, while an en-suite study has sloping ceilings with a Velux skylight, built-in desk and storage unit.

Bedroom two is dual-aspect and also has an en-suite bathroom. A family bathroom and three more bedrooms make up the first-floor accommodation.

The gardens are a particular feature of this house, wrapping round the property with level areas of lawn, in total approximately 1.1 acres. There is also a timber shed and a detached double garage.

EXTENSIVE GROUNDS AND SPACIOUS ACCOMMODATION AT A GLANCE

1 COLTS HILL PLACE FIVE OAK GREEN No chain Spacious accommodation Entrance hall Two reception rooms Kitchen with walk-in pantry Cloakroom Four bedrooms Family bathroom IF YOU are looking for spacious accommodation and large garden with outbuildings and land, this Five Oak Green property could be for you.

Located between Pembury and Paddock Wood, the latter of which offers a mainline station and a variety of shops, the property is just four miles away from Tunbridge Wells.

1 Colts Hill Place features grounds in excess of 1.25 acre, no chain, spacious accommodation and no chain.

To the front of the property is a low wall with carriage driveway. Double gates lead to additional parking at the rear and there is a small shed, as well

Wednesday 1st April 2015

as a storm canopy leading to the entrance hall.

The hall, reached through a double-glazed front door, has open-tread stairs rising to the first floor.

From it open bedroom four, with tiled double shower cubicle, a dining and a sitting room, the latter with an integrated bar area, and a kitchen/ breakfast room, which boasts wall mounted units, built in electric oven and hob, plumbing for washing machine, a door to the rear garden and a large walk-in pantry cupboard. Also on the ground floor is a cloakroom.

On the first floor are three bedrooms, with built-in and/or fitted cupboards and a large family

bathroom with bath and separate shower.

Outside, the grounds extend to more than 1.25 acres with a mix of agricultural and amenity land.

Two outbuildings, one a garage with light and power, one which could be converted into an annex or office, subject to planning permission.

There are stables in the paddock, which need some attention and a public footpath leads from the front of the property along the driveway to the rear, with public footpath gating and woodland walk. The land is split into three areas of small orchard, garden and paddock, with stabling to the paddock area. Immediately to the rear of the property is a paved patio.

Grounds of more than 1.25 acres Garage Large outbuilding Stables £525,000 freehold For sale through Firefly www.fireflyproperties. co.uk 01892 838363

PROPERTY �

43

EXCLUSIVE: NEVILL COURT, TUNBRIDGE WELLS

Do you live in one of the Richest Roads?

THE Weald’s most exclusive addresses will be revealed in the April issue of So Tunbridge Wells magazine, which is out now.

Readers will discover whether their road is one of the richest in the area – did your lane, street, close, crescent or hill make it into the top 50 priciest property hotspots?

And which towns and villages have the highest number of coveted cul-de-sacs?

The results might just surprise you.

Running for the first time since the launch of So Tunbridge Wells’ sister publications – So Sevenoaks and So Wealden magazines – Richest Roads now covers these areas too, which means fresh competition for TW’s most prestigious residences. So will reveal whether the royal town’s property

market has held its own against Sevenoaks, Cranbrook, Tenterden and Tonbridge to boast the Weald’s most budget-stretching boulevard, or if a new spot has been crowned the most expensive place to set up home.

Based on average property prices for each road, addresses in places such as Crowborough, Wadhurst, Horsmonden, Plaxtol and Penshurst are all in the running, but who will claim the top spot?

Here’s a clue: the average property in our number one road will set you back more than £3million – but even homes in the street in 50th place come in at over £1.6million, so competition is fierce.

All is revealed in the April issue of So Tunbridge Wells…

Yours for £1.2m: Imposing Brenchley

home close to village amenities and a Waitrose ACQUIRING this imposing property in the sought-after village of Brenchley may carry a price tag of £1.2 million but there is little doubt this home will attract a lot of interest, particularly since there is no chain.

On the market with Firefly, Moncktons on Windmill Hill, offers four spacious bedrooms including a master suite.

There are up to five receptions rooms - which include a delightful conservatory and sun room – as well as a beautifully appointed kitchen, utility room and ground floor cloakroom.

There is also a double garage to the side of the sweeping driveway of the impressively fronted garden grounds.

To the rear of the building there is a large, well-maintained garden with a potting shed.

An electronic awning will make al fresco dining this summer a must.

A mature hedge surrounds the property ensuring seclusion almost all year round.

For those new to the area, Brenchley village still has its own post office, doctors’ surgery, dentist, local family pub and popular local primary school.

Paddock Wood is just a short drive away where there is a popular Waitrose supermarket and other stores to meet every need, including a chemist, florist and assorted takeaways.

Brenchley is also within easy reach of Tunbridge Wells for its wider range of service and retail outlets.

The village is also within easy reach of local rail stations which head for the capital into Charing Cross, Waterloo East and London Bridge.

AT A GLANCE

MONCKTONS ON WINDMILL HILL, BRENCHLEY An imposing detached home in substantial garden grounds Four bedrooms including a master bedroom Up to five reception rooms Sun room and substantial conservatory Easy reach of village and Local amenities Local Waitrose, florist and chemist

£1.2 million 01892 838363 www.fireflyproperties. co.uk

Wednesday 1st April 2015

Louise McAllen, Connells Tunbridge Wells Letting’s manager has over 15 years’ experience in the letting s industry and an in depth knowledge of the local property market.

Louise and Lara Ovenden, Senior lettings Negotiator have been responsible for the letting department since June 2014 and the business has been steadily growing since this date. Louise and Lara strive to offer excellent customer service along with a professional and efficient approach in everything they do and always endeavour to exceed their customer’s expectations.

“We know how stressful it can be when letting your property , whether you are a first time landlord or an existing landlord. Louise and Lara aim to take that stress away and make the lettings process as enjoyable as possible” “We found the Connells letting team – Louise and Lara – to be very helpful, friendly and efficient.

Louise has long experience in the letting sector and knowledge of the Tunbridge Wells market in particular which she uses to good effect. Lara did an excellent job overseeing the viewings and keeping us informed of developments. We feel we are in safe hands and recommend the Connells letting team without hesitation.”

“I assumed that the process of letting my flat to tenants was going to be daunting and complicated.

I chose Connells because they were my estate agents when I originally purchased the flat, and I am very thankful I did. Louise and Lara have been nothing but efficient, reliable, kind and supportive.

I am very impressed with their professionalism and it made the experience not only easy, but also enjoyable. I would certainly recommend Connells to any person who is looking into have their property rented.”

01892 546441 – tunbridgewellslets@connells.co.uk

D AN S, 4 . ER ET .

Y ING RIV ARP GS NL N HE C TIN O AI G T ITH FIT M KIN TE WGHT RE OO LE LI RL MP ND VE O A O E C IN L A AL OM URT C C

Thinking Retirement… Think Churchill.

Spring at last!

Time to make that move…

Join us at Waterside Lodge on Friday 3rd and Saturday 4th April to find out how good retirement living could be. Take a tour of our beautiful show apartments, enjoy some seasonal refreshments and receive a complimentary Easter Egg! YOUR HOME – WITH ADDED PEACE OF MIND • Lodge Manager • Owners’ Lounge • Wellbeing Suite • Guest suite for friends and family • Riverside Terrace • 24-hour support • CCTV security entrance system • Lift to all floors

Retirement apartments for sale – find out more today.

TRUST IN US.

H O ME WINNERS 2009-2014

BRADFORD STREET, TONBRIDGE

EX

WATERSIDE LODGE

C

HANGE

AS VOTED FOR BY OUR CUSTOMERS

Choose your preferred location and post back for further information.

I am enquiring for: Myself Family Friend

OPEN Tuesday to Saturday from 10am to 5pm

Return to: Freepost CHURCHILL RETIREMENT LIVING

Call Karen

Name:

01732 386449 or visit churchillretirement.co.uk

Address:

Post Code:

Telephone: Email:

Location Choice:

TImesTunbridge/0104

OPEN GOOD FRIDA Y!

At KMJ Property you will find an honest and realistic approach to selling your property and good old fashioned customer service coupled with modern technology to sell your home.

Based in Rusthall, we are family owned and run and have sold houses in Tunbridge Wells centre and many of the surrounding villages including in our office location of Rusthall, where we consider ourselves part of the community. Having lived locally all our lives we immerse ourselves in the community and support local events throughout Tunbridge Wells, whether through advertising them, helping at them, donating to them or our children ‘K’, ‘M’ and ‘J’ being there on duty with St John Ambulance.

We are genuinely contactable 7 days a week, we don’t tie clients in to a long contract and we always provide realistic market appraisals and advice and offer competitive fees.

So if you are thinking of moving now or in the future, please do not hesitate to give us a call on 01892 515188 for your free market appraisal.

www.kmjproperty.co.uk

Meet The Team From left to right

Sarah Cameron, Suzanne Johnson, David Johnson, Sarah Piper

01892 515188

sales@kmjproperty.co.uk

LOCATION LOCATION

IDYLLIC SETTING

RURAL FLIMWELL

LAMBERHURST

£895,000

£1,545,000 INSIDE THIS HOME Small Country Estate with Stunning Views: Principal Accommodation with 4 Bedrooms: Set in Approximately 11 Acres (Subject to Measured Survey) of Gardens, Paddocks and 5 Interlinking Ponds: Detached 1 Bedroom Annexe: Studio Flat over Garage: Stables: Outbuildings and Artists Studio; Short Drive to Wad hurst Mainline Station: Equestrian Potential: EPC Rating D.

"THE LOCATION , LIGHT AND SPACE MAKES YOU FEEL YOU ARE ON HOLIDAY EVERY DAY."

"LOOKING STRAIGHT ACROSS THE FIELDS AT THE BACK OF THE PROPERTY ARE COMPLETELY UNSPOILT VIEWS."

INSIDE THIS HOME Detached Oast House: 4 Double Bedrooms: Potential for 5th Bedroom: Master with Dressing Room and En-Suite: 2 Reception Rooms: Large Farmhouse Style Kitchen: Rural Setting: Originally part of the Quedely Farm Estate: Large Gardens and Grounds Extending to Approximately 0.5 of an Acre (Subject to Measured Survey): Detached Substantial Outbuilding with Potential for Variety of Uses (STPP); Far Reaching Rural Views over Countryside and Nearby Dale Hill Golf Course: Short Drive to Mainline Station: EPC Rating C.

ELEGANCE AND STYLE

VIEWS TO THE CHURCH

LAMBERHURST

WADHURST

£695,000

£699,000 INSIDE THIS HOME Substantial SemiDetached Cottage: 4 Bedrooms: Adjoining Scotney Castle Estate: Superior Specification and Presentation Throughout Beautiful Oak Features: Stunning Kitchen With Wood Burner: Beautiful Master Bedroom With En-Suite: Further 3 Double Bedrooms: Sitting Room/ Dining Room: Large Gardens and Grounds: Generous Parking: EPC Rating E.

"AS WELL AS LIVING SO CLOSE TO SCOTNEY CASTLE WE ARE FORTUNATE TO BE MINUTES FROM BEAUTIFUL BEWL WATER COUNTRY PARK AS WELL AS BEDGEBURY FOREST".

"EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS HOUSE HAS BEEN CAREFULLY CONSIDERED, FROM THE ARRANGEMENT OF THE BRIGHT AND SPACIOUS ACCOMMODATION TO THE HIGH SPECIFICATION FITTINGS."

INSIDE THIS HOME Beautiful New Home: 4 Double Bedrooms: 2 with En-Suites: Fabulous Master Suite: Family Bathroom: High Specification Interior: Light and Bright Accommodation over 3 Floors: Stunning Kitchen/Dining Room with Doors to Landscaped Gardens: Spacious Reception Room with Feature Open Fireplace: Far Reaching Rural Views to Front Parking: Edge of Village Location.

Innovative approach… …traditional values TUNBRIDGE WELLS

Offices in:

£700,000

Close to excellent schools, local parks a main line station Charming 4 bedroom Victorian home occupying a corner plot with 30ft South-West facing rear garden, within central town location. EPC:E

Biggin Hill Bletchingley East Grinstead Edenbridge Forest Row Lingfield Oxted Reigate Tonbridge Tunbridge Wells London

Tunbridge Wells 01892 515670

NEW INSTRUCTION

NEW PRICE

TONBRIDGE

GUIDE £650,000 - £700,000

HEVER

GUIDE £575,000

No Onward Chain Victorian style 4 double bedroom property renovated to an extremely high standard and is ready for a family to move into with no work needed and off-road parking. EPC:D

Ideal for commuters with station approx 1.3 miles away 3 bedroom semi detached chalet style country house with off road parking for several cars, attached garage, workshop & beautiful rear garden. EPC:D

Tonbridge 01732 770588

Edenbridge 01732 862381

NEW INSTRUCTION

TONBRIDGE

GUIDE £700,000

TONBRIDGE

NEW INSTRUCTION

GUIDE £600,000 - £625,000

HARTFIELD

£495,000

5 Bedroom detached home with integral garage in a peaceful, sought-after location. EPC:D

Lovely 4 double bedroom detached home with beautiful mature garden, large garage & driveway parking in a popular residential area. EPC:E

A deceptively large 3 bedroom home in the much sought-after village location tucked away in a quiet little cul-de-sac. EPC:E

Tonbridge 01732 770588

Tonbridge 01732 770588

Forest Row 01342 824824

howardcundey.com

11 offices in Kent, Surrey, Sussex & London

NEW INSTRUCTION

… s

w n

Innovative approach…

Innovative Innovative approach… approach… …traditional values …traditional …traditional valuesvalues Offices in:

Offices in: Offices in:

Innovative approach …traditional val

Offices in:

Biggin Hill Bletchingley East Grinstead Biggin HillEdenbridge Biggin Bletchingley Hill Bletchingley Forest EastRow Grinstead East Grinstead EdenbridgeEdenbridge Forest RowBiggin Forest Hill Row Bletchingley East Grinstead Edenbridge Fores Lingfield Oxted Reigate Tonbridge LingfieldTunbridge Oxted LingfieldReigate Wells OxtedLondon Tonbridge Reigate Tonbridge Tunbridge Tunbridge Wells London Wells London Lingfield Oxted Reigate Tonbridge Tunbridge Wells L

HARTFIELD

O.I.E.O. £800,000

Established semi rural location on edge of village This recently refurbished detached single storey home has the mod cons of modern day living with light, bright & spacious principal accommodation overlooking the garden. EPC:D Forest Row 01342 824824

NEW INSTRUCTION

NEW INSTRUCTION

COWDEN

£750,000

Potential for equestrian use A 2 bedroom cottage, set in beautiful surrounds offering spacious accommodation throughout, as well as off road parking for several cars set in a total of 13 acres of land. EPC:TBA Edenbridge 01732 862381

NEW INSTRUCTION

TONBRIDGE GUIDE £550,000 - £560,000

WILLICOMBE PARK

4-5 bedroom family home in the popular North Tonbridge area with integrated garage and parking for upto 4 vehicles. EPC:D

For retirement, a modern two bedroom detached cottage situated within the pleasant landscaped gardens of Willicombe Park. EPC:D

£475,000

EAST PECKHAM

A spacious 5 Bedroom attached family home backing onto fields in a semi-rural location. EPC:C

GUIDE £425,000

HARTFIELD

Beautiful 3 bedroom country style house in this much sought after village with gorgeous views to the Church & village green. EPC:D

£400,000

Tonbridge 01732 770588

Tunbridge Wells 01892 515670

Tunbridge Wells 01892 515670

Forest Row 01342 824824

PRICE REDUCTION

TONBRIDGE GUIDE £395,000 - £410,000

EDENBRIDGE

TUNBRIDGE WELLS GUIDE £335,000 - £350,000

FLIMWELL GUIDE £315,000 - £325,000

Spacious 4 Bedroom home in a sought-after location with 100' rear garden and the opportunity for adaptation or improvement. EPC:D

3 bedroom detached home in a sought after area of Marlpit Hill with off road parking for 2/3 cars & single garage. EPC:D

£350,000

3 bedroom end of terrace house with off road parking, garage, stunning views & a south-east facing garden. EPC:D

Charming extended Grade II Listed period cottage with additional annexe accommodation, within walking distance of Bewl Water and Bedgebury Pinetum.

Tonbridge 01732 770588

Edenbridge 01732 862381

Tunbridge Wells 01892 515670

Tunbridge Wells 01892 515670

Advice you trust in Surrey Sussex howardcundey.com 11 offices in Kent, Sussex && 11 offices in Kent, Surrey,11 Sussex offices 11 &in London offices Kent, in Surrey, Kent,Sussex Surrey,&S howardcundey.com howardcundey.com howardcundey.com Advice you can can trust Surrey, in Kent, Kent, Surreyhowardcundey.com &London Sussex howardcundey.com

50 � PROMOTIONAL FEATURE

THINKING OF MOVING HOME THIS SPRING? You’ve made the decision to move, found your dream home and your offer has been accepted. Feelings of excitement and apprehension set in and all you want is the whole process to end with you safely ensconced in your new home. So what steps can you take to ensure that the process will run smoothly and costly mistakes are avoided? Well, skimping on surveys and conveyancing can cost you dearly in the long run. So here are some top tips to help your move go as smoothly as possible

5

REMEMBER TO ARRANGE BUILDING INSURANCE FROM THE DATE OF THE EXCHANGE OF CONTRACTS. From exchange of contract you will be legally responsible for the structure of the property. This is often overlooked and can potentially have serious consequences. Make sure you have buildings insurance cover in place from this date.

With this being said and the potential risks of buying a home with hidden problems amounting to thousands of pounds in potential outgoings, why would you cut corners for the sake of a few pounds when the risks are so large?

For your free copy of the Kent Guide to Buying and Selling Your Home or for further advice regarding your home buying/selling experience contact our office today and speak to one of my property team on 01892 539 379 or email times@max.barford.co.uk

For a free copy of the Kent Guide to Buying and Selling Your Home or for further advice regarding your home buying/selling experience just complete and cut out this coupon and post to the address below. Alternatively call or email us today quoting reference MBRTO104 Telephone 01892 539 379 or Email times@maxbarford.co.uk

E ID EERS GU FRE MOVE

2

DECIDE WHETHER YOU ARE HAPPY TO RELY ON THE MORTGAGE LENDER’S VALUATION OR DO YOU REQUIRE A FULL SURVEY. A lender’s valuation is an assessment carried out by and for the benefit of the lender in order to check that the property presents adequate security for its loan should you default and the property has to be sold. However, it does not report on actual faults in the property. For many, a Home Buyer’s Report, which will expose problems such as damp, dry rot and subsidence, is adequate but if you are buying an older house or unusual home a full structural survey will be a wise investment.

You wouldn’t buy a car without the knowledge of a service history, so why would you run this financial risk when buying a house?

You wouldn’t buy a car without the knowledge of a service history, so why would you run this financial risk when buying a house?

options available in order to try to resolve the issue.

M

1

GET YOUR MORTGAGE AGREED FIRST Although borrowing from banks and building societies has improved recently, it is not a given. So to avoid disappointment, check you can get the mortgage you need before starting the process. You can get a mortgage agreement in principle secured first, but remember that this is an indication and not a legal agreement.

you are instructing and that the firm is registered with a regulatory body such as the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

There are bogus law firms out there who will take your money and then close up shop which means you lose the money and your dream home. That is why it is essential that you get the advice and guidance you need every step of the way from a known reputable law firm. They are there to help you avoid the pitfalls of what can be a murky area.

The cheapest option may not always prove to be the best. Remember, this may well be the biggest purchase you’ll make and you want to be sure that you know what you are buying. You should be able to contact your conveyancer and fully understand what is happening at each step of the move. If you are not sure, ask! One further point to bear in mind is that your conveyancer will not visit the property themselves, so should there be something you feel uncertain about bring it to their attention and they will provide you with the

HO

• By Deborah Miller

Name Address

Tel.No Email Max Barford & Co 16 Mount Pleasant Road Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 1QU www.maxbarford.co.uk

3

REMEMBER TO FACTOR IN THE TRUE COST OF MOVING. Mortgage arrangement fees, survey fees, legal costs and removal costs are all substantial costs of moving. However, the often overlooked but most expensive cost is Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) which varies dependent on the value of the property purchased. If you purchase a property above £125,000 SDLT becomes payable. Recent changes to SDLT have been introduced to try to make the tax fairer. Under the old regime the SDLT percentage rates increased at various thresholds. Under the old rules SDLT was payable at a single rate on the whole transaction value. From 4 December 2014, SDLT is payable on a sliding scale depending on the portion of the purchase price that falls within each rate band.

Where contracts have been exchanged on or before 3 December 2014, and the transaction is completed on 4 December or later, you can choose whether to use the old or the new rules.

There is no doubt that the SDLT changes will be of benefit to many home buyers.

For example, under the old regime, Stamp Duty Land Tax payable on a purchase price of £350,000 would be £10,500 and under the new regime it would be £7,500 - representing a saving of £3,000.

4

CHOOSE YOUR CONVEYANCING SOLICITORS WITH CARE If you take the risk of buying without the support and guidance of an expertly trained legal conveyancer, you run the risk of walking into a financial booby trap which can seriously hamper your progression up the property ladder. You should also make sure you know who Max Barford & Co. is a trading name of Parfitt Cresswell. Parfitt Cresswell is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. No. 71480

Wednesday 1st April 2015

FASHION, HEALTH AND BEAUTY �

51

What network style says about you Confident dressing is a business basic Catherine de Crevecoeur Image Consultant

ATTENDING networking events can be a pretty daunting affair in my experience. For most men and women there is a tremendous amount of pressure to make a positive first impression.

After all, networking is a key element to any successful business, your chance to put yourself ‘out there’, create potential new business relationships with clients, establish partnerships and even friendships. Many of my clients have found dressing for these events more difficult than they do for work. You’re not being interviewed, yet you want people to see the best of you. Not only do you need to be ready to deliver a genuine elevator pitch, give a firm handshake, maintain good eye contact, be able to listen as well as start a conversation, you also need to walk through the room feeling and looking confident in order to create maximum impact for you and your networking objectives. And that starts by wearing the right outfit, ensuring you are dressed appropriately for the type of event you’re attending.

Dressing for networking events is all about finding the right balance between coming across as approachable and standing out.

For example, if you are the owner of a design agency, then you might be used to wearing casual clothes, jeans and shirts in the office.

Turning up dressed so casually at a network meeting might make you feel uncomfortable

or underdressed, especially if you are looking to engage with potential investors or customers who wear more conventional business attire. Equally, wearing a tailored suit might take you out of your comfort zone and you will probably feel that it doesn’t portray a genuine picture of you. After all, you’re not only there to represent yourself in the best possible way but you are also representing your business, your values, work ethic, etc. In this type of scenario, simply step up your casual work clothes; wear a pair of chinos, a shirt and jacket (keeping collar open, no tie). On the other hand, if you are a woman working in a more corporate environment, where formal business attire at the office is standard, then it’s about keeping that same level of professionalism, choosing your best outfit, and giving it your own signature style. This can be done by adding a piece of jewellery or an accessory to your look, something personal that might even help be an ice-breaker or conversation starter.

As networking events vary by industry, whether you’re in a room full of cupcake bakers or lawyers, having an idea of who will be attending is also a useful indicator and will help you decide what style of clothing to go for. If you are still in doubt, and have a fear of being overdressed or underdressed, your best option is to go for a business casual style, with an emphasis on business. For example teaming a sleek bag, a pair of high-heeled court shoes and a tailored jacket will give the finishing touches to a business casual style.

And a final point to bear in mind, if you are someone who doesn’t like to wear heels, or feels awkward in them, then I recommend you don’t wear them to networking events.

You need to feel comfortable with what you are wearing and you can create equally impactful outfits with the right pair of flats.

A fresh feel to this spring’s colours WHILE spring is attempting to make an appearance, the classic nautical stripes are back in this season but with a fresh new feel. From deep sea tones to bright reds, wide to zigzag patterns, look at injecting this classic print into your wardrobe by either clashing it with floral prints for a fun fashion forward look or simply team striped separates with neutral coloured fitted garments for a more polished finish.

PREEN This season’s colours have a ‘fresh new feel Next £28

New Look £19.99 Bag, See by Chloe £265

You too are a brand, whether you know it or not.

Whether you like it or not.

MARK ECKO Fashion designer

Pretty Eccentric £159

Wednesday 1st April 2015

52 � RECRUITMENT

RECRUITMENT MAKE THE CHANGE Working in partnership with jobsinkent.com, The Times of Tunbridge Wells recruitment team is proud to work with local businesses and agencies alike to bring you your next career move

Dor2Dor.net are a Kent based innovative Direct Marketing Company specialising in Door to Door delivery of local advertising material including leaflets, newspapers, election and newsletters around Tunbridge Wells.

f po or l cur T st oca ren he pe l tl y op pe y re are T Tu he le anople cruit on nb T d he to b ing we W e rid im lp d ecom tra ek dn in , in es in ge es elive e th day g wi an eir a W of r th d o nd w go su n Th el od pp lo ur ls c o s ra rt al da te is ar y s o p ea ea f p rov . F ch ay ide ull . d,

To find out more about becoming a postperson and getting paid to get fit, then call: 01233 820434 or call/text 07988 135136.

Applicants can also apply online: www.dor2dor.com/jobs Wednesday 1st April 2015

OF TUNBRIDGE WELLS

Here at Times of Tunbridge Wells we believe it’s Never Too Late to Learn New Skills, Develop Yourself and Set Goals to Realise and Maximise Career and Life Potential.

Andrew Frisby the MD of Dor2DorKent reports "Our postpeople include active retired people and people with spare time who want to deliver the marketing material so they can get fit and stay active. We are looking for very reliable people to help us get this great newspaper out in a quality and timely manner each week".

Therefore on our growing recruitments pages we would like to invite advertisers from the local area to promote their services in the fields of: Adult Learning, Courses, MBA’s Online Learning Life Coaching Personal Development & Training Corporate Training Counselling Psychiatric Development Alternative Therapies If you offer a service that helps people raise employment prospects, develop their career, raise confidence or overcome personal issues.

Contact Amanda Morreale for preferential advertising rates. amorreale@markerstudy.com Office number 01892 779650

@timesoftw

www.timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk Mobile 07857 016276

/timesoftunbridgewells

RECRUITMENT �

Legal Assistant, Sevenoaks £24,000 – £28,000 This multifaceted, entrepreneurial group is renowned for it’s staff reward and recognition, and are in The Times Top 100 Companies to work for. They are currently recruiting for a Legal Assistant to provide legal support to all the Group’s companies. Covering all aspects of legal work including, but not limited to, Contracts, Terms of Business Agreements, Litigation work and general legal advice.

This outstanding opportunity will suit a paralegal or other suitably qualified candidate with company commercial legal experience, ideally gained in-house.

Accounts/Tax Senior, Tonbridge area c.£36,000 This friendly, well established accounting firm prides itself on its modern approach to professional, staffing and technological issues.

An additional qualified (or close to) accountant is required in a client facing role to offer a range of accounting and tax advisory services.

The firm has an excellent and diverse mix of clients in Kent and London and offers a pleasant working environment with free parking.

To be considered for this opportunity you will have an accountancy practice background and a relevant skill set in accounts preparation and tax.

HR Administrator, Tonbridge/ Tunbridge Wells c.£25,000 This company is a local success story operating in the specialist area of technology based building management. This is a new, stand alone role, reporting to the Financial Controller. You will be responsible for organising all HR policies and procedures including, contracts of employment, grievances and disciplanaries, organisation structures, company car policies and many more.

A good degree of experience as well as common sense is required for the role working in a smaller/medium sized business.

NQ-3 year PQE Litigation Solicitor/ Experienced Legal Executive, Hastings £DOE Due to expansion, this well regarded Regional firm are currently seeking a Solicitor or experienced Legal Executive to join their friendly and professional team. The role will involve a large proportion of property litigation plus general civil litigation and will offer genuine career prospects and opportunities to develop.

16 Lonsdale Gardens Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 1NU jobs@gerrardwhite.com 01892 55 33 55

Sales Negotiator, Heathfield £14,000 – 15,000 commission + car allowance A well established, independent Estate Agents are currently seeking a Sales Negotiator to join their busy office. Ideally you will have at least 12 months prior experience of property sales or lettings, excellent communication skills and the wish to develop. Working alongside a very experienced Manager, training will be offered so that you can reach your full potential (including listing). A driving licence is crucial.

4 years+ PQE Commercial Property Solicitor, Maidstone £DOE A Legal 500 High Street firm are seeking an experienced Commercial Property Solicitor to join their team. You will demonstrate strong business develop skills, a clear client focus and commercial awareness. Due to succession planning there are career opportunities for the right candidate. You will be greeted by a full and varied case load of quality work.

53

Publishing Assistant Unicorn Press Group is looking for a cheerful Publishing Assistant to multitask in all aspects of admin, marketing and production.

You will be based in our busy production office in rural Kent and be the main point of contact for customers, authors and general enquiries.

For a full job description please email your CV enclosing current salary details to: Ryan Gearing on ryan@unicornpress.org

WE’RE LOOKING TO RECRUIT THE NEXT GENERATION OF BRIGHT, EXPERIENCED AND AMBITIOUS

SOLICITORS

TO JOIN OUR BUSINESS WHERE THERE ARE NO GLASS CEILINGS AND YOU WILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO DEVELOP YOUR FULL POTENTIAL AND TO REALISE YOUR PERSONAL ASPIRATIONS. SO, IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A NEW CHALLENGE IN

PRIVATE CLIENT, FAMILY OR PROPERTY AND THINK YOU MIGHT HAVE WHAT IT TAKES THEN SEND YOUR CV BY EMAIL TO nigel.harper@parfittcresswell.com AND WE’LL BE IN TOUCH STRAIGHT AWAY

MAX BARFORD & CO

JEVONS RILEY & POPE

PARFITT CRESSWELL

KEENE MARSLAND

Keene Marsland, Max Barford & Co and Jevons Riley & Pope are trading names of Parfitt Cresswell Parfitt Cresswell is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority no. 71480

Wednesday 1st April 2015

54 � FOOD AND DRINK

On the menu at...

Gamberoni all’aglio

Spaghetti alla pescatora

La Dolce Vita School Hill, Lamberhurst, Kent TN3 8DQ 01892 890277 www.ladolcevita.uk.com

Agnello brasato

Medaglioni al funghi

Avocado e polpa di granchio Salumi e formaggi misti

Saltimbocca alla Romana

Nodino alla griglia

HISTORY OF THE EASTER EGG

NOVELTIES One option is a make-yourown ‘Easter egg head’

Best Indian Restaurant in the South East Region Kent Awarded by The BCA 2014 RINGS HILL | HILDENBOROUGH | KENT | TN11 8LX | 01732 832944 thecinnamonsquare.co.uk

Wednesday 1st April 2015

‘At a time when Marmite and Pot Noodleflavoured eggs are trying to crack the market, it’s a relief to know there are still traditional, high quality alternatives out there’

• 60,000 years ago: In parts of Africa early huntergatherer man used ostrich eggshells as water flasks.

Fragments have been found with clear engravings on them.

• 5,000 year ago: In Egypt and Sumeria, it was common practice to bury the dead with decorated ostrich eggs. Eggs were seen as a symbol of rebirth in many cultures.

• 2,000 years ago: Early Christians in Mesopotamia stained eggs red to symbolise the blood shed by Jesus at the crucifixion.

• 350 years ago: Egg-shaped toys began to appear and were sold and given to children at Easter.

• 142 years ago: The UK’s first chocolate Easter egg was produced by Fry’s in 1873.

FOOD AND DRINK �

55

TOP CHOC Philip Stas with a selection of goodies

Forget Pot Noodle eggs, Easter is a time for traditional fare With the end of Lent a few days away, the thoughts of many are turning towards chocolate. Reporter Adam Wells met Philip Stas, of Kent-based STAS Chocolatier…

BEATLEMANIA was about to grip the nation when the Stas family first dipped their fingers in the chocolate business. Fifty years later, the Crowborough family is still rocking and rolling as STAS Chocolatier, the second generation of the business run by brothers Philip and Peter Stas.

At a time when Marmite and Pot Noodleflavoured eggs are trying to crack the market, it’s a relief to know there are still traditional high quality alternatives out there. But that’s not to say that STAS Chocolatier isn’t keeping things fresh.

Most of the Easter eggs currently on sale at the Kent-based business’s pop-up shop in the Royal Victoria Place are just a few days old.

Some are even younger. “Many of the eggs you get in supermarkets are five or six months old”, says Philip Stas. “They’re still within their best-before date, but they’re not fresh. And chocolate’s never quite as good as when it’s just been made.”

This year, Stas expects to sell more than 5,000 eggs at this small stall alone, more than 100,000 in total. And, though they’ve been in the chocolate game for a long time, it’s only recently that eggs have become their star player.

The Stas family started out importing fine chocolates from Belgium in the 1960s, before training in Belgium, Switzerland and France and turning their hand to making chocolates of their own. Philip and Peter followed their

parents into the business about 30 years ago and, determined to forge something new and of their own, founded STAS Chocolatier in 1988.

Originally supplying small independent shops and hotels, the likes of Waitrose, Harvey Nichols and Ocado now stock their chocolate. But the biggest change of all is what they make.

“Until five years ago, I used to make chocolates every day. Now we’re entirely novelty based”, says Phil. There’s no real difference between making a praline or a raspberry chocolate. This is much more fun!”

It might be fun, but it’s also hard work.

The Stas brothers are submerged in Christmas preparations from the start of July, and they don’t come up for air until the end of Easter.

“We work hard for nine months, then there’s three months of quiet. Traditionally, in Belgium, the chocolate industry would close down for six to eight weeks. It doesn’t these days, but it did back when we started.”

Most of this hard work is done at the Stas factory in Dartford, where they melt, blend and temper all the ingredients they import from Belgium and France. They’ve built a ‘spinning room’ and installed a special cooler which allows them to cool their eggs in ten minutes and produce 1,000 eggs on a good day. Phil says the key to not compromising quality for quantity is to keep the designs simple. “The mistake a lot of chocolatiers make is to overcomplicate the

design”, he explains. “We choose ones we know we can produce a lot of at the highest quality.”

If you really do want something more complicated though, they take commissions too. Phil says: “If we can do it, we will do it.

Sometimes it’s impossible.”

Last year Phil made a giant one-off Christmas tree lollipop for the child of a friend, something that would have cost thousands of pounds if he hadn’t made his own mould. This skill is something that helps STAS products to be affordable. Phil says: “A lot of people don’t realise how much these things can cost. Making my own moulds allows us to play around and try things that would otherwise be very expensive.”

Moving forward, Phil has no plans to change anything just yet. “We’re going to keep doing what we do well”, he says. “We’re not going toreinvent the wheel. Why would we?! The more we do novelties, the more successful it is.”

That’s good news for Tunbridge Wells, as it means the pop-up shop, which can be found on the lower floor of the RVP every day until Easter, will be back again next year. “We’ve been coming here for eight years now and thankfully the good people of Tunbridge Wells keep coming back.”

And what can the good people of Tunbridge Wells expect to find there? “We sell a “make your own Easter egg head”, chocolate sheep and other things, but most people want Easter eggs at Easter. Why give them anything else?”

EASTER EGGS IN NUMBERS

• £300m: The approximate annual worth of the UK’s Easter egg market.

• 8.8: The average number of eggs given to a UK child every year.

• 10kg: The average amount of chocolate consumed per person in the UK each year.

• 200m: The number of Cadbury’s Crème Eggs sold in the UK every year.

• Ten: The percentage of total UK chocolate sales that happens at Easter.

Wednesday 1st April 2015

56 � FOOD AND DRINK

Appeal for single men to join singles’ Ghanaian supper club Organisers say ‘stunning’ unattached women have already signed up for the four-course meal • By Julie Rae A POP-UP restaurant is ‘desperately seeking’ single men in Tunbridge Wells.

The Ghana Supper Club, which meets monthly for meals in the town, is hosting a special singles’ supper in May, for which several ‘stunning’ women have already put

their names down. But organisers say they are struggling to find single men.

Founders Adwoa Hagan-Mensah and Victoria Andrews were asked by several unattached women to run a singles’ night.

Miss Hagan-Mensah said: “We were approached by a number of members interested in attending a singles’ event and we felt the style of our supper club lent itself

FRIENDS Adwoa Hagan-Mensah and Victoria Andrews run the club

to mixing with and meeting new people.

Our regular supper club is already a great place for strangers to meet.”

So the singlestons’ supper was born.

But although women have seemed keen to sign up, the event needs single men if it is to go ahead.

The regular Ghana supper club is held once a month in venues in the St James area of Tunbridge Wells. It provides diners the opportunity to taste traditional Ghanaian food including jollof rice, stews, cassava, plantain and seasoned meats and caters for vegetarians and vegans as well as special dietary requirements.

Adwoa Hagan-Mensah was born in Ghana and learned to cook traditional Ghanaian dishes from her mother. She runs a West African catering company called Eat Jollof London and does all the cooking for the supper club. A few years ago, she starred in Raymond Blanc’s BBC2 reality TV show The Restaurant, which featured couples opening and running themed venues and trying to turn a profit.

Experienced event organiser Vicky Andrews is the ‘creative mind behind the supper club’. The pair have been friends for five years.

The club on Friday, May 22 will cost £30 per head for a four-course meal and a welcome drink.

To book, call 07977 314349 or visit www.theghanasupperclub.wix.com/ ghanasupperclub

TRADITIONAL FARE The club features Ghanaian dishes

The Easter weekend is nearly here!

WE CATCH UP WITH HEART KENT BREAKFAST PRESENTERS JAMES AND BECKY

HAPPY April Fools’ Day! What have you been doing today to fool a few people? Maybe it’s the family or the colleagues you have in your sights?

Or perhaps you’re like me and you tend to be the butt of all the jokes as you’re seriously gullible and you believe anything people say? Well either way, it only lasts a day and all order shall be restored tomorrow!

Good news….it’s nearly the Easter weekend! Hooray! The bank holiday weekend is so nearly upon us and I would say that we all deserve the four-day weekend. Our last holiday, (dare I say it – Christmas!) seems a distant memory. Not only does this

Wednesday 1st April 2015

mean we get an extra-long lie-in on a Monday, it also marks the end of Lent, so a massive well done if you stuck to your goals and saw it through. James and I, with the help of a flip of a pancake, set goals for each other; he had to ride his bike to work every day and I had to banish my obsession with wearing ridiculous amounts of bracelets!

I am pleased to say that not a bangle has been picked up or a car engine started between the two of us and believe me, that’s quite an achievement!

Three months into our new show (where did the time go?!) and this week feels like it has become a week of firsts again for James and I. Firstly, in celebration of National

Science Week, we have been investigating and doing the best science experiments ever. It’s really interesting to see what happens when you mix vinegar, bicarbonate of soda and a balloon! Of course, we documented all our science adventures, so check them out at facebook.com/HeartKent for pictures and videos and with the kids’ holidays just round the corner, you could look like the coolest parent in the world whilst providing hours of entertainment for them.

In another first for the week, a little mention about James and his character. Just when you think you know someone, they come up with something that slightly surprises you. This is relating to a

conversation James and I had, where it transpired that James actually has a favourite candle!? Now the fact he was even bothered about candles was my first eyebrow-raising moment, but more to the point, he has a favourite, specific one? I ventured to ask further about which candle and he proudly told me he loved rosemary and bay scent. In my mind, my brain was working overtime thinking ‘What?! Rosemary and bay?! Is this normal for a guy to have a specific candle he loves? I’m someone who is quite indifferent to candles, producer Matt thinks they should only be used in emergencies, when there has been a power cut, but no, not James! You’ll find him having a nice relaxing hot bath on a

Friday night, in a state of relaxation, surrounded by his rosemary and bay candles. Ah well, whatever floats your boat! But do let us know if you have any other recommendations for James to try…

Now, in our final ‘first’, James and I will be taking our first two days off since January. It’s alongside you all, of course, for the bank holiday.

Never fear though, Neil Kefford will be looking after you all with a great show lined up! And we’ll be back next Tuesday ready and raring to go! Join us for all the fun, weekdays from 6am…

Listen to James and Becky weekdays 6am – 10amFollow Heart Breakfast on Twitter: @heartkentradio Or find on Facebook: Heart Kent

PUZZLES �

DOUBLE CROSSWORD

WORD SPIRAL

Down 1. See 21 Down.

2. The first of the preachers to tell a story! (7) 3. After the revolution the Spanish make merry (5) 4. See 14 Down.

5. So mother’s coming back to Greek island (5) 6 & 12 Ac. Speed in bottom gear is excellent (5-4) 9. Would they lead to financial difficulties in the fishing industry? (3,6) 14 & 4 Dn. Tripping out of town! (7-7) 15. Ask politely about a search (7) 16. No specific occasion when there’s a tiny change by me (7) 19. Humble sailor on rough sea (5) 20. Glue a piece of wood (5) QUICK CLUES: 21 & 1 Dn. On occasions Across they may be seen woolgathering (5-7) 7. Astonished (6) Scribble pad

13. Cast for a Highland dance (5) 17. One in an attitude showing well-balanced elegance (5) 18. Be inclined to use the field to the north (4) 22. Stick no flap back (5) 23. Use up supplies of car component (7) 24. Spot the dog inside - it’s quite safe (6) 25. Goods thrown from modern aircraft before noon! (6)

2

3

9

10

14

15

8

11

4

16 13

12

7

Down 1. Bulky (7) 2. Handcuff (7) 3. Allure (5) 4. Dawdle (7) 5. Love (5) 6. Beneath (5) 9. Encroachment (9) 14. Unfriendly (7) 15. Since (7) 16. Clothing (7) 19. Stick (5) 20. Shrewd (5) 21. Guide (5)

6

1. Cooking fat 2. Moist 3. Scheme 4. Without feeling 5. Ale 6. Hasty 7. Aid 8. Jetty Keyword clue: A card game

5

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

Gemstone Toy Responsibility Smack Indigent Rebellion Roman garment Female relative

SUDOKU

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

2.

3.

R

Which CBBC drama stars young actress Cherry Campbell as the titular character, who resides on the fictional Scottish island of Struay?

Smoke + Mirrors is the latest album from which Las Vegas rock band?

4. Which new film stars Liam Neeson as Jimmy, an ageing hitman who must take on his former boss in order to save his family?

5.

Which actor played the title role in the Hornblower television films from 1998 to 2003?

6. By what name is Canadian singer Abel Tesfaye, who recently released the single Earned It as part of the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack, better known?

7.

I

Which actress is co-hosting The Big Painting Challenge with Richard Bacon on BBC1?

Which 1964 film starring Peter Sellers as Inspector Jacques Clouseau was the second installment in the Pink Panther series?

8. Which two comedians play themselves in the BBC2 comedy series House of Fools?

9. What was the only UK Number One hit for US rock and roll group Tommy James and the Shondells, in June 1968?

10. Lennie James and Claire Skinner are among the stars of which new medical drama on Sky1?

SOLUTIONS

11. In which new film is Michelle Williams starring as Lucille Angellier, a French villager who embarks on a romance with a German soldier in the early years of German occupation?

12. Which member of the Jackson 5 had Top Ten solo hits with Let’s Get Serious and Do What You Do in the 1980s?

13. Which 1986 film, directed by Rob Reiner and with stars including River Phoenix, was based on the Stephen King novella The Body?

14. In which current BBC1 series has British actress Perdita Weeks starred as the King’s cousin?

15. What was the title of boy band 911’s only Number One hit single, in January 1999?

Taking the time to smile

CODEWORD: 1=I, 2=Q, 3=J, 4=X, 5=E, 6=V, 7=Y, 8=A, 9=L, 10=T, 11=G, 12=F, 13=U, 14=D, 15=Z, 16=K, 17=O, 18=W, 19=H, 20=M, 21=P, 22=C, 23=B, 24=R, 25=N, 26=S ENTERTAINMENT QUIZ: 1 Una Stubbs; 2 Katie Morag; 3 Imagine Dragons; 4 Run All Night; 5 Ioan Gruffudd; 6 The Weeknd; 7 A Shot in the Dark; 8 Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer; 9 Mony Mony; 10 Critical; 11 Suite Française; 12 Jermaine Jackson; 13 Stand By Me; 14 The Musketeers; 15 A Little Bit More.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

1.

SUDOKU:

Codeword is the crossword puzzle with no clues. The number in each square corresponds to a letter. Work out the words in the grid using the letters provided. Fill in these known letters first, then use skill and judgement to work out the others.

14

Enrage (6) Whet (7) Courage (5) Rodent (4) Avarice (5) Trunk (5) Gala (4) Implied (5) Pariah (7) Condition (6) Problem (6)

1

ENTERTAINMENT QUIZ

CODEWORD

1

8.

10.

11.

12.

13.

17.

18.

22.

23.

24.

25.

Starting from 1, fill in the grid clockwise with four-letter words. The last letter of each word becomes the first letter of the next to reveal the key word in the shaded boxes.

DOUBLE CROSSWORD: Cryptic: Across: 7 Airmen; 8 Salami; 10 Maltese; 11 Cross; 12 Rate; 13 Fling; 17 Poise; 18 Lean; 22 Baton; 23 Exhaust; 24 Secure; 25 Jetsam. Down: 1 Farmers; 2 Prelate; 3 Revel; 4 Dancing; 5 Samos; 6 First; 9 Net losses; 14 Country; 15 Request; 16 Anytime; 19 Abase; 20 Stick; 21 Sheep.

Quick: Across: 7 Amazed; 8 Madden; 10 Sharpen; 11 Nerve; 12 Vole; 13 Greed; 17 Torso; 18 Fete; 22 Tacit; 23 Outcast; 24 Fettle; 25 Teaser. Down: 1 Massive; 2 Manacle; 3 Tempt; 4 Saunter; 5 Adore; 6 Under; 9 Intrusion; 14 Hostile; 15 Because; 16 Vesture; 19 Staff; 20 Acute; 21 Steer.

WORD SPIRAL: 1 Lard; 2 Damp; 3 Plan; 4 Numb; 5 Beer; 6 Rash; 7 Help; 8 Pier; 9 Ruby; 10 Yoyo; 11 Onus; 12 Slap; 13 Poor; 14 Riot; 15 Toga; 16 Aunt.

Keyword: PONTOON

CRYPTIC CLUES: Across 7. Marine disturbed by those in different branch of the Services (6) 8. Islam is upset about a highly seasoned food (6) 10 & 11 Ac. The badge of the Hospitallers remedying restless coma! (7,5) 11. See 10 Across.

12. See 6 Down.

57

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24/02/2015 14:46 Wednesday 1st April 2015

58 � WHAT’S ON

Live music & events

Times

O F TUNBR IDGE WEL LS

Paul Dunton reveals his guide to what’s on musically for the week ahead…

Times

O F TUNBR IDGE WEL LS

MUSIC DO YOU HAVE A GREAT BAND OR EVENT YOU FEEL SHOULD BE LISTED? If so then drop our editor a line at: Times of Tunbridge Wells, 16 Lonsdale Gardens, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1NU 01892 779 650 newsdesk@ timesof tunbridgewells .co.uk

PAUL’S GIG OF THE WEEK IS… Fresh from supporting The Who on their UK tour, popular Tunbridge Wells three-piece; The Standard Lamps headline The Forum on April 3, with support from Sarah Tonin and The Naming of Things.

Doors at 7.30pm. Tickets on door £8 and £6.50 in advance from The Forum website www.twforum.co.uk THE TUNBRIDGE WELLS FORUM Doors 7.30pm, entry price variable, event information and tickets at www.twforum.co.uk Thursday - Sleaford Mods Friday - The Standard Lamps and Sarah Tonin and The Naming Of Things Wednesday - Everything Everything (sold out) THE GREY LADY MUSIC LOUNGE Doors 7.15pm, entry £5/£7, websites www.pdag.co.uk and www.thegreylady.co.uk Wednesday - Nando (aka Simon O’Kelly), Georgia Lee, Quentin Holway, Ricky & The Hats Thursday - Everything Fundamental, The Reckostacks, Freddy Green &

PAUL’S GIG OF THE WEEK: The Standard Lamps

A few Good Folk Friday - Funkin’ Function (9.30pm – till late) optional set menu £30, two-course meal, music inclusive Saturday – (closed for a private party) Sunday - Hannah Coles, Catching Mangoes, Mark Morriss Tuesday - Will Sid Smith, Duke Lloyd, Sean De Burca Wednesday - Alana Hazzard, Nick Stephens, Ben Bishop, Jack Mackey THE ASSEMBLY HALLS, CRESCENT ROAD Doors 7pm, event information and tickets at www. assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk or 01892 530613 Thursday - Bootleg Beatles Sunday - Wizard of Oz Monday - Wizard of Oz THE BEDFORD PUB 2 High Street Free entry, music from 8pm.

Thursday - James Morris Friday - Sean Fennessey & Friends THE CROSS KEYS St Johns Road Open all day, free entry, music from 8pm Thursday - Sonny’s Jazz New Blues & Maze with Paul & The Nocasters Friday - Sonny’s Blues – Sonny’s mystery pick!

MUSIC

Sunday - TARC Open Mic (acoustic) Monday - TWUNTS Ukulele Jam Session THE BEAU NASH Mount Ephraim Open all day, free entry, music from 9pm.

Saturday - Mick Mepham THE ROYAL OAK Prospect Road Open all day, free entry, music from 8pm Friday - The Harveys Saturday - Cut Above ST THOMAS A BECKET CHURCH, Framfield, Uckfield East Sussex TN22 5NH Saturday - Opera singer Nia Coleman and The Paul Dunton Orchestra and Beth Ellwood Licensed bar available, tickets £10 on the door, music from 7.30pm.

THE SUSSEX ARMS, nr The Pantiles Open all day, free entry, music from 8pm Saturday – Downtown Meltdown BRITTENS MUSIC STORE, Grove Hill Road Open all day, free entry, music from 2pm Saturday – String Theory

SEVEN DAYS OF EVENTS AT A GLANCE DAVE Barnett makes a selection of events from around Tunbridge Wells during the next seven days. Full details of these and more than 700 other events are available from www.tunbridgewellsevents.co.uk/thisweek THIS week sees the start of the Easter school holidays with many events aimed at children.

My top pick for the week is Groombridge Place where they have Alice in Wonderland-themed activities from Thursday onwards.

Groombridge has some fantastic woodland walks and many interesting things to see and do, especially if you have children to entertain. >> WEDNESDAY Comedian Simon Brodkin brings his new Lee Nelson show Suited and Booted to the Assembly Hall tonight. While at Scallywag Café, the fabulous Carradine’s Cockney Sing-a-Long returns to entertain you. I went to this last month, 120 songs you forgot you knew in 2 hours, great fun.

In the popular culture on screen performances, we have the Royal Opera House with The Rise and Fall of the City of Mahagonny at the Odeon, Trinity and the Hawkhurst Kino. >> THURSDAY And there’s more culture on screen at Trinity tonight with another chance to see the National Theatre play A View From The Bridge by Arthur Miller. >> FRIDAY Good Friday sees the start of the annual collaboration the National Trust have with Cadbury. A good opportunity to get some fresh air while the kids follow one of the trails at Scotney, Sissinghurst, Knole, Chartwell and many more. The independent venues don’t let the NT have all the fun, so some including Penshurst Place, Hever, Bewl, the Hop Farm and our two heritage railways at Spa Valley and Tenterden all have similarly themed events. Plenty of choice.

For a quieter afternoon you can go and watch Shaun The Sheep Movie at Trinity, which is followed in the evening by the darker The Women in Black: Angel of Death definitely NOT one for the children.

Perhaps you’d prefer to dance away the night with a 50s vibe with the Downtown Meltdown at the Sussex Arms, and it’s free admission. >> SUNDAY Another one for the children, so click your heels and pop along to the Assembly Hall to join Britain’s Got Talent winners Ashleigh and Pudsey in the Wizard of Oz, also on Monday.

There’s two more films at Trinity, this must be the last chance to catch The Theory of Everything on a big screen followed in the evening by Wild with Reese Witherspoon. >> MONDAY Two final films at Trinity for the week with Into the Woods with Meryl Streep, James Corden and a host of others in this film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s musical based on several fairy tales, it’s a PG so not suitable for everyone. In the evening you can see Birdman with Michael Keaton.

Want a late night? Then Bar Fusion has chart toppers Tough Love topping the bill until 4am!

>> TUESDAY As some venues close down their Easter activities others are starting; today sees new activities at the Museum and at Bedgebury Pinetum, while at the Hop Farm, we have the Extreme Torque show, with flying bikes and monster trucks and all sorts of high-octane entertainment.

>> SATURDAY It’s a Pantiles Market day, so pop down for some fantastic food and lastminute Easter gifts. If you need something different to entertain the children, there’s a Lambing Day at Four Winds Farm in

After all that, fancy a quiet visit to a pub? Well forget that, the Sussex Arms is hosting another evening of Mario Kart entertainment with Insert Disc VII, and there are the regular quizzes at the Bedford and Cross Keys.

• CINEMA • LIVE ENTERTAINMENT • LIVE MUSIC • COMEDY • DRAMA • MUSICALS • OPERA • BALLET Search Stag Sevenoaks Wednesday 1st April 2015

Bidborough with lambs, trailer rides, stalls and a barbecue.

Great for young children to see a working farm in action but not recommended for pregnant women.

PROMOTIONAL FEATURE �

59

SEPARATION AND DIVORCE

WHY SEPARATION AND DIVORCE CAN BE A CIVILISED AFFAIR If you are experiencing the anxiety and loss of a relationship ending and suffering sleepless nights worrying about the future, you are not alone Almost 50% of all marriages end in divorce and for many it can be the most traumatic time in their lives. Months and sometimes years are spent deciding whether to separate and then when the decision has been made it can take an age to pluck up the courage to take action.

Emotions run high and delays are usually down to fear of the unknown and what life will be like after the separation, not to mention how you’ll cope fi nancially and what you’ll tell the kids.

The truth is there is no easy way out. However, the actions you take now and the choices you make will have a big impact on your new life.

Your future is in your hands. You can choose to be reactive to your situation or you can be proactive, take the lead and put a stop to the fi ghting, anger and hurt.

Divorce and separation is a life changing event and mistakes can be costly both emotionally and fi nancially, you must be prepared to invest to secure your future. To take control you need information and advice from an experienced and trusted advisor, which will allow you to make informed decisions about your future.

My dedicated team are handpicked for their experience working with people who are going through a relationship breakdown. They are

all members of Resolution, which means that they have the legal experience required to give you the best advice and are committed to solving your problem in a conciliatory way if possible – saving you the emotional drain of the legal court battle and the legal fees that go with it. They understand the emotional pressure and stress you are going through, they can help ease the pain and will work with you to achieve the best outcome possible for you to move on with your life.

Our service is confi dential, discreet and

bespoke to each client and we will never disclose your information to others. Out of hours appointments are available.

For a limited period of time I am offering a selected number of potential clients the opportunity to meet with one of the family solicitors in my team for a free consultation to discuss the options available.

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Choosing the right legal team is key to your emotional and fi nancial future. So contact us today to see how we can help you achieve the outcome you want.

For further information and to apply for a free consultation just complete the coupon and post to the address below. Alternatively call or email us today quoting reference MBFT0104 Telephone 01892 539 379 or Email times@maxbarford.co.uk Name Address

Tel.No Email Max Barford & Co 16 Mount Pleasant Road Tunbridge Wells Kent TN1 1QU www.maxbarford.co.uk

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Wednesday 1st April 2015

60 � YOUR TV

OUR PICK OF THE WEEK

TODAY

Wednesday 1st April 2015

OAPS BEHAVING BADLY

Channel 5, 9pm Sixtysomething Barnsley residents Christine, June and Sheila go on a four-day trip to hit the bars and clubs of Tenerife to celebrate one of them retiring, while 73-year-old Londoner Sheila has found her calling as a topless model and is updating her portfolio at an agency before heading off to a booking as a life-drawing model. In Brighton, 78-year-old Bette is the darling of the gay clubbing scene and is called on to judge a ‘Fittest Man’ contest, before her friends throw her a raucous birthday party.

BANISHED

BBC2, 9pm Tommy is not alone in thinking James must have been persuaded by the authorities to turn informer to save his neck, with convict agitator Spragg branding him a traitor who must die. Major Ross’s batman Mulrooney is bitten by a venomous snake while out in the Bush hunting for much-needed food, while Tommy, James and Elizabeth convince Buckley, Timmins and MacDonald to let them join their game of cards, but events spiral out of control with terrible consequences.

EUROVISION’S GREATEST HITS

BBC1, 9pm To celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest, the BBC hosts a showcase concert from the Apollo in Hammersmith, London, featuring some of the most memorable performers from the competition’s history. Past winners taking the stage include reigning champion Conchita Wurst, the UK’s Brotherhood of Man with their 1976 hit Save Your Kisses for Me, Finland’s hard-rock band Lordi, Israel’s Dana International and Ireland’s Johnny Logan, the only person to have won three times – twice as a singer and once as a songwriter. There will also be an appearance from arguably the most popular interval act of all time – Riverdance. Presented by Graham Norton and Sweden’s Petra Mede.

THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO

ITV, 5pm New series. The Tracy brothers and their friends at International Rescue set out to foil the nefarious plots of the evil Hood. An updated remake of the classic 1960s marionette series, this time featuring computer-animated characters on live-action modelled sets. The adventures get under way as a powerful artificial seaquake strands a research team in an undersea lab, and the crew of the Thunderbirds must determine who caused it. With the voices of Rosamund Pike, Kayvan Novak and Thomas Brodie-Sangster, with the original Parker – David Graham – returning to voice Lady Penelope’s long-serving chauffeur.

VERA

ITV, 8pm New series. Return of the crime drama starring Brenda Blethyn. The detective investigates a fire that rips through a holiday park on the Northumberland coast, destroying three cabins. A young woman’s body is discovered and the resort’s owner, Jim Viner, fears the victim is his sister Deena when he returns from a weekend away with his daughter Clare. With Jim’s suspicions confirmed, a police report then reveals Clare’s boyfriend Ryan and his friends had been partying near the scene hours before the blaze started, but where are they now, and where is Deena’s best friend Sally?

BEAR GRYLLS: MISSION SURVIVE

ITV, 9pm The three remaining celebrities fight it out to be crowned Bear’s Mission Survivor. The first task sees the group split for the first time, as the contenders abseil down a 300ft waterfall one by one. They then have to build a camp without their usual supplies, before tucking into the evening’s dinner – rats, which must be gutted and cooked.

The next morning, the team tackles a dense mangrove swamp, following the sound of a distress signal in an attempt to reach assistant Scott, and with the end in sight, Bear has one final challenge in store. Last in the series.

BBC1, 7pm After seven weeks of blind auditions, two battles, two knockout rounds and two live shows, the final is here – with just four contestants remaining, all eager to be crowned winner. Emma Willis and Marvin Humes present as the hopefuls perform one solo song and another with their coach.

There are also performances by Paloma Faith and the Script, and then it’s the moment of truth for the acts as they find out who has been voted The Voice UK 2015.

POLDARK

BBC1, 9pm As a doctor arrives to make a study of lung diseases at Wheal Leisure, Ross sets about forming an alliance with his fellow mine-owners to build their own smelting company and break Warleggan’s stranglehold on copper prices. However, Francis is deeply in debt to George – and what money he does have is being spent on gifts for ambitious prostitute Margaret.

MY BIG FAT GYPSY GRAND NATIONAL

MONDAY

CODE OF A KILLER

ITV, 9pm Part one of two. Drama telling the true story of how a brilliant scientist and pioneering detective joined forces to create the most significant advance in modern criminal investigation. In 1984, Dr Alec Jeffreys (John Simm) unlocks a remarkable technique to read every person’s unique DNA fingerprint, while a few miles away, DCS David Baker (David Threlfall) leads the search for the murderer of a local schoolgirl. Two years later, a second youngster is killed and a teenager confesses – but denies the first crime. Certain that the same man was responsible for both incidents, Baker approaches Jeffreys to help prove his theory. Co-starring Robert Glenister, Anna Madeley, Andrew Tiernan and Lorcan Cranitch.

TUESDAY

Channel 5, 10pm Jane, Lisbon and the team have their work cut out protecting a witness in a murder case when the killer’s relatives send a hitman to ensure she does not testify in court. After Jane works out the accused’s family is using a video game to communicate with the assassin, he and Lisbon track him down to a house in Louisiana, where their raid ends in dramatic fashion. Simon Baker, Rockmond Dunbar, Joe Adler Josie Loren and Robin Tunney star.

THE VOICE UK

SATURDAY

SUNDAY

BBC1, 9pm Meghan is keen to change the public’s perception of unhealthy fried chicken and so is working on rebranding KFC as a nutritious fast-food giant, beginning with the launch of a new product.

However, when it finally hits the hot shelf in Glasgow, restaurant manager Mark has a tough time pushing the idea to hardcore fried-chicken lovers.

THE MENTALIST

TOMORROW

FRIDAY

THE BILLION DOLLAR CHICKEN SHOP

DARA AND ED’S GREAT BIG ADVENTURE

BBC2, 9pm Ed Byrne and Dara O Briain travel south through the Costa Rican mountains, where they learn how to herd cattle on horseback at a ranch before visiting an animal rehabilitation centre. They then explore the capital San Jose on election day before driving over the Cerro de la Muerte – which translates as the Mountain of Death. They then cross into Panama and experience the wonders of the world-famous canal linking the Atlantic to the Pacific, before heading to their final destination at the town of Yaviza, where the Pan-American highway comes to an end.

Channel 4, 9pm To celebrate this year’s Grand National Festival, Big Fat Gypsy Weddings returns with a one-off special following gypsies and travellers as they descend on the biggest event in the horse-racing calendar. The programme captures all the fun, surprises, nuptials and spectacular outfits as it follows a local traveller bride staging an outrageous Aintree hen party, those visiting for the first time, and seasoned racegoers such as Paddy Doherty – who is determined to make the most of the occasion.

ORDINARY LIES

BBC1, 9pm Mechanic Rick’s marriage runs into trouble so he takes to sleeping in his van in the showroom car park – and when Mike discovers him, he generously offers to put him up while he gets his life back on track.

Things soon get awkward, however, when the houseguest befriends his boss’s carefree teenage daughter Ruby.

YOUR TV �

24 HOURS IN A&E

DCI BANKS

SECRETS OF GREAT BRITISH CASTLES

Channel 5, 8pm New series. Historian Dan Jones explores the turbulent past of six of Britain’s most famous strongholds, beginning by heading to the south-east of England to visit Dover Castle. He reveals that Henry II ordered its construction not only as a statement of royal power, but also out of guilt for the murder of Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1170. Dan discovers how a vast network of tunnels was used to defend the castle, including underground barracks built during the Napoleonic Wars and a nuclear bunker created during the Cold War.

END OF THE WORLD NIGHT

Channel 4, 9pm Humans started predicting the end of the world around 5,000 years ago, but while prophets have warned of impending doom, today scientists are anxious about the possibility of global Armageddon, and it’s a subject that fascinates many – frequently tackled in blockbuster films. In this one-off special, some of the world’s foremost academics evaluate the many threats to civilisation, and reveal how it could all end. From Bruce Willis nuking an asteroid to John Cusack outrunning a super-eruption, End of the World Night explores Hollywood’s most spectacular doomsday scenes, reveals the facts behind the science fiction, and counts down 10 of the most likely outcomes.

BBC2, 9pm Louis travels to San Francisco, where pioneering medical professionals are helping children who say they were born in the wrong body to transition from one sex to the other. At the Child and Adolescent Gender Centre at UCSF Hospital, he meets youngsters who have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria and who are undergoing medical interventions, from puberty blockers to hormone-replacement therapy and ultimately gender-reassignment surgery.

ITV, 8pm The actor travels along the English-Scottish border, where he goes in search of a Cheviot wild goat with shepherd Emma Gray, learns the stories behind Wallington Hall’s Pre-Raphaelite art collection, and meets the descendants of a feared medieval clan, who have turned their grand country hall into a family home.

MY SISTER HAD MY BOYFRIEND’S BABY – AND OTHER BETRAYALS

Channel 5, 10pm The stories of people involved in family feuds, finding out whether they managed to reconcile their differences or are destined to carry on fighting for ever. Sarah from Essex tells how her family was torn apart after her two daughters fell out over the same man. Leanne’s world was turned upside down when she realised that her sister Larissa was having a secret affair with her boyfriend and then had his baby, while mother-of-three Denise recalls the moment she discovered her husband David had remortgaged their home and gambled away all their money.

Sky Living, 8pm New series. The competition moves Down Under as Naomi Campbell takes on fellow supermodels Cheyenne Tozzi and Nicole Trunfio to find the new face of a skincare line.

STELLA

Sky1, 9pm Preparations for Big Alan and Celia’s wedding day are in full swing as friends and family gather for their stag and hen parties – although a mix-up sends an angry Bobby into battle. Stella and Michael join forces to track down Katie, who has snuck off on a date. Could romance be back on the cards?

LIVE FIGHT NIGHT

ANT & DEC’S SATURDAY NIGHT TAKEAWAY

Sky Sports 2, 8pm Anthony Joshua v TBA. Coverage of the heavyweight bout from Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, plus several other fights on the undercard.

ITV, 7pm Little Ant and Dec put England captain Wayne Rooney through his paces with their cheeky style of questioning, and Ashley Roberts challenges the hosts in the final round of Ant v Dec, as 2014 champion Dec tries to retain his title. Broadchurch actress Olivia Colman is the star guest announcer, and as usual, a member of the studio audience plays for the contents of a commercial break.

MICHAEL MCINTYRE’S EASTER NIGHT AT THE COLISEUM

LOUIS THEROUX: TRANSGENDER KIDS

MORE TALES FROM NORTHUMBERLAND WITH ROBSON GREEN

THE FACE AUSTRALIA

ITV, 8pm ITV News anchor Julie Etchingham presents a live twohour debate between the leaders of the Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats, UKIP, SNP, Green Party and Plaid Cymru ahead of the General Election next month.

David Cameron, Ed Miliband, Nick Clegg, Nigel Farage, Nicola Sturgeon, Natalie Bennett and Leanne Wood have all been invited to take part. They will each answer questions asked directly by members of the studio audience, before the floor is opened up to a period of free-flowing debate.

BBC2, 8pm New series. Historian and archaeologist Neil Oliver returns with a local team of presenters to explore more of Australia’s coastline and natural wonders, as well as its people and their history. The first episode focuses on the state of Victoria.

BBC2, 9pm The wildlife programme returns for a special one-off edition showcasing the best of British wildlife just as the countryside is bursting into colour and life and the breeding season is getting under way. Chris Packham and Michaela Strachan will be hoping for plenty of eggs at one of the UK’s largest seabird colonies, Martin Hughes-Games reports from Suffolk and Simon King is on Islay in the Inner Hebrides.

Sky Sports 2, 9pm The former sprint and hurdle athlete, who won 4x400m relay gold at the 1991 World Championships, interviews the former decathlete, who claimed gold at the 1980 and 1984 Olympics.

THE ITV LEADERS’ DEBATE

COAST AUSTRALIA

SPRINGWATCH AT EASTER

SPORTING HEROES: KRISS AKABUSI INTERVIEWS DALEY THOMPSON

Channel 4, 9pm Cora, 62, arrives by air ambulance following a high-speed road accident, which left her trapped in the car for more than an hour. Her husband Rae, 65, who was driving, is brought in soon after, and staff are concerned he may have sustained serious head, neck and internal injuries. Scott, 23, has badly cut his knee after a night out, and while he’s being treated, he reflects on his schizophrenia diagnosis as a teenager.

ITV, 9pm Part one of two. When the body of student Josh Tate is found dumped in a ravine, the investigation into his stabbing uncovers a very different man to the quiet character described by his flatmate Spencer. It emerges that Josh was infatuated with Spencer’s girlfriend and had been manufacturing Ecstasy for club owner Liam Fallon. Meanwhile, DI Morton’s ex-lover Martin Hexton has arrived, claiming to be working on a local case.

When Fallon comes under suspicion as Josh’s murderer the detectives break into his flat and find him badly beaten – and to complicate matters, it looks as if Hexton is responsible.

BBC1, 8pm Popular comedian Michael McIntyre hosts a jam-packed night of variety from the Coliseum Theatre in London.

In an entertainment special for Easter, he introduces the talents of leading comics, music superstars and jawdropping speciality acts – as well as cracking a few gags himself to warm up the crowd.

HANNIBAL

Sky Living, 12midnight Following the attempt on his life, an air of vulnerability now surrounds Hannibal, helping to deflect Will’s accusations, but not everyone believes his victim routine.

The sliced body of a city councilman nods to the artistry of the Chesapeake Ripper, and Jack, increasingly convinced of Will’s innocence, crashes Lecter’s dinner party to test his food for human DNA.

KEW ON A PLATE

FL72 LIVE

BBC2, 9.30pm Winter is setting in and Kate Humble visits Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank to discover the secret to the survival of winter greens, while Raymond Blanc cooks a nutrient-rich kale dish with sweet and sour pork. Kate learns how chicory coffee was once a popular British drink, while Raymond tries out the forced variety grown at Kew in a warming gratin. As the pair’s year at the Royal Botanic Gardens draws to an end, Kew is prepared for its next cycle and they reflect on their earlier successes and failures.

COLLECTAHOLICS

BBC2, 7pm Jasmine Harman and Mark Hill help more people catalogue, curate, clear out and showcase their items.

Margaret Tyler is obsessed with royal memorabilia and has a room dedicated to Diana, Princess of Wales, and with space so tight, Mark and Jasmine try to persuade her that she should value quality over quantity. They also help Chris Cornell to itemise his vast array of natural history items, while Mark visits Jack Konveburg and Jan Morgan’s house to check out their collection of design items from the 1940s, ‘50s and ‘60.

61

Sky Sports 1, 4.55pm Wolverhampton Wanderers v Leeds United (Kick-off 5.15pm). Coverage of the concluding Championship match of the bank holiday weekend, as the clubs meet at Molineux.

ELEMENTARY

Sky Living, 9pm Sherlock struggles to prove his innocence when the police accuse him of murdering a woman during the hazy days of his drug addiction three years earlier. As Holmes pieces together the forgotten fragments of this dark period of his life, Watson goes to meet his former friend – a fellow user – and inadvertently acquires evidence that could put her partner behind bars for life.

Wednesday 1st April 2015

62 � MOTORS

The Mazda CX-5: ‘A family car for those who take pride in their choice’

‘This car summed up in a single word…

Smooth’

• By Matt Kimberley Classic Car

servicing & repair in Kent / Sussex

WHAT’S NEW? THE CX-5 led Mazda’s charge back to winning ways in 2012 with the striking Kodo styling which was then rolled out on everything else, from the 2 supermini to the 6 flagship saloon. This is the first time a Kodo car has been updated, so as you can imagine, Mazda has kept the visual changes to a minimum.

On the inside, the MZD infotainment system has been revised and you’ll find some of the main buttons in a more intuitive place between the front seats. Small things can make big differences.

LOOKS AND IMAGE You’d have to argue that the CX-5 has been the prettiest member of the compact SUV class since it was launched. Nothing has changed too much on that front, with a tweak here and a lift there. Soft lines and muscular shapes combine to hide the car’s size exceptionally well. The Mazda is bigger than a Nissan Qashqai, but it doesn’t look it.

Something has always held this car’s sales back versus the sector sales leaders, though - even if a few hours with the car leaves me clueless as to why. It holds its own against any rival you care to name, so perhaps something in the CX-5’s image is struggling to shout loud enough to be heard over the crowd. You be the judge.

SPACE AND FACTS PRACTICALITY AT A GLANCE

MAZDA CX-5, FROM £22,295 ENGINE FOUR-CYLINDER DIESEL PRODUCING 148BHP AND 280LB/FT TRANSMISSION SIX-SPEED MANUAL DRIVING THE FRONT WHEELS PERFORMANCE TOP SPEED 125MPH, 0-62MPH IN 9.2 SECONDS FUEL ECONOMY 61.4MPG EMISSIONS 119G/KM

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‘It really does drive sweetly, though, with a marvellous gearbox inspired by that of the the MX-5 sports, and body control which sits between the sporty and the comfortable’

MOTORS �

63

‘Worth noting is the redesigned MZD system control layout, which works a treat. The system itself is possibly the most intuitive and capable you’ll find anywhere in cardom’

‘If this car was a...

Character in a soap opera, it would be good-looking, easy-going and talented’ An average-height man in the driving seat of the manual version leaves plenty of legroom behind himself. People tend to sit a bit further away in the automatic version, though, to stretch their legs a bit more, while those who sit closer to the wheel leave limo-like space for rear passengers.

The boot is pretty huge, with a recessed bin at the side that can keep bottles or cartons from rolling or sliding around the rest of the load bay.

A capacious covered bin between the front seats also has a removable coin tray. Handy.

BEHIND THE WHEEL While the 2.2-litre diesel is a miracle of modern technology for how low its emissions are, it could do with more soundproofing. It grumbles and growls away, not unpleasantly, but certainly more loudly than it could.

It really does drive sweetly, though, with a marvellous gearbox inspired by that of the the MX-5 sports, and body control which sits between the sporty and the comfortable. It grips like a limpet, feels instantly driver-friendly and the only factor that takes some getting used to is on the manual petrol models, which have springy clutches and such instant throttle response, it can be hard to be really smooth when setting off.

Worth noting is the redesigned MZD system control layout, which works a treat. The system itself is possibly the most intuitive and capable you’ll find anywhere in cardom, quickly leading you to the options and submenus that you want.

VALUE FOR MONEY At the top end of the range, the CX-5 gets expensive. It’s more spacious than some of its big-selling rivals though, so the price tag isn’t without justification. The rubberised finish of some interior surfaces is a bit utilitarian for a car of this price, but the high-riding Mazda’s attributes lie elsewhere. It feels like solid value for money in the middle of the range.

WHO WOULD BUY ONE? The fluency with which it drives, relative to its more straight-laced rivals, is a unique selling point in the sector. It’s also a bit of a looker and comes complete with a towering driving position, lots of legroom for five and a boot big enough to create echoes. It’s a family car, then, but one for parents who really take pride in their choice and want something they can consciously enjoy owning.

Wednesday 1st April 2015

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66 � TRAVEL

Things are hotting up in Chile • By Sarah Marshall LOOKING through the tall bay windows, my view tumbles over a jumble of chaotic rooftops and bristling palm trees, spilling into the silky blue Pacific Ocean.

Surrounded by pieces of maritime memorabilia, I easily imagine myself on one of the great ships that once docked in Chilean seaside town Valparaiso. The ability to set sail while staying on terra firma was, after all, one of the many reasons Nobel Prize-winning poet Pablo Neruda chose to have a home here in the 1960s.

Filled with an eclectic mix of gaudy antiques and bric-a-brac so bizarre it can’t fail to raise a smile, the contents of La Sebastiana, a fourstorey house wedged into one of Valparaiso’s 45 hills, aptly reflects the life of Chile’s maverick literary great.

A dusty, retired carousel horse hovers in a semi-circular room as if ready to perform revolutions; an embalmed Venezuelan flamingo dangles from the ceiling; and on a table sits a large ceramic cow used by the party-loving host as a punch bowl when entertaining guests. On the walls, paintings of a man and woman in

identical Edwardian ruffs hang opposite each other, strategically placed by Neruda so ‘they wouldn’t get lonely’.

These flurries of flamboyance resonate perfectly with Valparaiso, Chile’s bohemian open-air art gallery and a magnet for artists, writers and creative types.

During the late 19th century boom in maritime trading, this now laid-back coastal town enjoyed a former life as one of the most important ports in South America. All that changed in 1914 when the Panama Canal opened an alternative trade route and 100 years later the Unesco World Heritage site, still linked by well-worn, trundling funiculars, attracts a very different sort of traveller.

I climb the steep cobbled streets to touristfriendly districts Cerro Alegre and Cerro Concepcion, passing a bath and bidet filled with pot plants.

“Many of these stones actually came from England,” my local guide Maria explains, pointing to the ground. “They served as ballast for ships sailing without merchandise, and were then used to build roads.”

But with so much distraction overhead, I have little time to stare at my feet. Houses in

sunshine yellows, pastel pinks and burning reds are stacked into the sky, their walls often decorated with daring murals - varying from the politically subversive to the strikingly cool.

Despite ongoing seismic activity in this area, several aristocratic mansions built in the 1920s are still standing and have been transformed into boutique hotels. I stay at Casa Higueras, with heavy wood-panelled rooms echoing past glories, and a bay view from the Montealegre restaurant that would certainly have pleased Pablo Neruda.

Hanging out in bars and dining spaces is a way of life in Valparaiso - not only for the culinary pleasures, but also the chance encounters. The owner of nearby Cafe del Pintor tells me about a young French girl who sat down next to a white wall and immediately identified it as a canvas for her next mural. The space is now covered with bicycles, birds and steam ships spiralling from a bearded man’s pipe; her interpretation of the dream-like town.

Like Neruda, many artists seek escapism in Valparaiso, but the free and easy aesthetics also seem to be filtering through to the Chilean capital Santiago, a two-hour drive away.

This is where Neruda spent a great deal of his

CREATIVE Street art in Valparaiso

time, at La Chascona, a house built in honour of his lover Matilde Urrutia. Since the poet’s death in 1973 and the subsequent rise and fall of notorious dictator Pinochet, the city has drastically changed.

Improved flight links have tempted more foreigners to explore a destination that’s surprisingly European.

Standing beneath a puzzling display of spray paint, dismembered dolls and battered trainers, in a backstreet of the trendy Barrio Lastarria, I can only imagine Neruda would have smiled wryly and approved of this modern work of street art.

Due to subsequent earthquakes, many of Santiago’s historical buildings have been destroyed; the cathedral in Plaza de Armas is already in its fifth incarnation. The Lastarria Boutique Hotel, where I settle for a few days, is one of the few surviving colonial mansions.

Close to several galleries and Cerro Santa Lucia, one of the city’s most popular parks, its location is excellent. A candlelit pool area in the garden, and bedrooms overlooking the leafy streets, meanwhile, are reminders Santiago is now the sort of stylish destination that might feature as a photo shoot location in the fashion pages of Vogue.

‘Skyscrapers tower almost as high as the snow-capped peaks, showcasing a modern city which has withstood the test of seismic shifts - physically and politically’ Wednesday 1st April 2015

TRAVEL �

A thick curtain of smog has been drawn across the Andes, which hug the city, but the view from the top of Cerro Santa Lucia is nonetheless impressive. Skyscrapers tower almost as high as the snow-capped peaks, showcasing a modern city which has withstood the test of seismic shifts - physically and politically.

Few people bring up Pinochet in conversation, but vestiges from his oppressive reign of terror, which lasted until 1990, can still be found. A former torture centre at Londres 38 in downtown now functions as a memorial to the 40,000 people who disappeared during his regime, while dive bar La Piojera, once popular with dissidents, is still open.

I call into the raucous drinking hole, and having declined house speciality the Terremoto (meaning earthquake) - a shocking pink concoction of white wine and Fernet topped

with pineapple ice cream - I head for what I mistakenly assume to be a more sober coffee at Cafe Caribe on Paseo Ahumada.

Curvy waitresses in low-cut micro-minis parade up and down a raised catwalk in the mirror-lined room, serving coffees accompanied by more than just one lump or two.

Known as ‘cafe con piernas’ (coffee with legs), venues such as this were championed by businessmen in the 1970s, fed up with the conservative political regime. Now female patrons are just as welcome, although they tend to shy away from hardcore establishments, where baristas appear to have fashioned bikinis from serviettes.

Thankfully, the dress code is not so minimal in Borago, a wildly creative venue which is eighth in Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants list. Here, chef Rodolfo Guzman and his team prepare dishes with ingredients

foraged - and endemic - from the entire 4,300km length of Chile.

Highlights of a tasting menu include a pisco sour made with mora berries from Patagonia, and a squid ink cracker topped with goat’s cheese, floating on pureed samphire.

Fittingly, the dish is named Cremosa de Isla Negra, a coastal town south of Valparaiso, christened by Pablo Neruda, who owned a third residence here.

“The Pacific Ocean overflowed the map,” he once said of his front room vista. “There was no place to put it. It was so big, unruly and blue that it fitted nowhere. That’s why they left it in front of my window.”

I don’t have time to visit what many deem to be his favourite home, but biting into my dish, I have a good indication of Isla Negra’s appeal.

At times baffling but thoroughly brilliant, Neruda’s Chile is a work of art.

67

TRAVEL FACTS � Sarah Marshall was a guest of HighLives Travel (www.highlives. co.uk; 020 8144 2629) which offers tailor-made trips to Chile. Doubles at Lastarria Boutique Hotel (www.lastarriahotel.com) cost from £143. Doubles at Casa Higueras (www.casahigueras.cl/en) start from 230 US dollars. � Fly to Santiago de Chile from 19 UK airports daily with Air France via Paris (www.airfrance.com) and three times a week with KLM via Amsterdam (www.klm.com).

Prices start at £594.

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Wednesday 1st April 2015

68 � ARTS & CULTURE ORGANISER Samuel Marlow

Electric Lantern a leading platform for film-making talent • By Fred Latty

If you come to Tunbridge Wells and scratch the surface, the artistic scene is very evident, but it presents itself in a very different way

Wednesday 1st April 2015

IT’S NO secret that Tunbridge Wells has a thriving music scene, but what about its budding movie business? Continuing our look at the town’s culture, we speak to writer/ director/producer Samuel Marlow, whose Electric Lantern International Film Festival provides a leading platform for film-making talent and cinemagoers to enjoy alternative, independent content at Trinity Theatre.

Tell us about the background of the festival It started in 2008 with me and a friend, Anthony Jarman. We were both frustrated about the lack of a local film scene, so we put our heads together and thought putting on a film festival would be a nice thing to do. That ran for a couple of years until 2010, when Anthony was unable to carry on. I then revived it with local PR company Torpedo Juice and in 2011, we had a huge inaugural Electric Lantern Festival, which covered film, art, photography, music and live performance.

So is it more than just a film festival?

The most successful one so far was when I put it completely on track as film. The music scene is very well covered and there are plenty of other exhibitions and things going on, but film is where there’s a gap. So we decided to focus exclusively on motion pictures in 2013, which was far and away the best one. The plan prior to that had always been for it to be a showcase for local filmmakers from Kent and East Sussex, but what I did in 2013 was actually throw it completely open, so it became an international film festival.

Do filmmakers have to pay to screen their work?

Electric Lantern doesn’t charge a submission fee. A lot of film festivals charge £20 for a short, which isn’t a lot of money, but if you’re submitting to ten festivals and you’re only a little movie, just submitting can suddenly equal the budget. And because I’m not paying people to exhibit their films, making it free for them to exhibit is fair.

Where do you get your funding?

It’s largely self-funded, which is why I had to take a year off in 2012, because most of it’s my money.

There’s hope and expectation that I’ll grow it to a point where I can attract sponsors and things like that. I’ve gone down the route of trying to get public grants before and I’ve applied for funding from the council, who have been quite generous; but while I could get little bits from them, which adds up to a fair amount, it’s not nearly enough to cover the costs, unfortunately.

How much does it cost to put on?

Trinity Theatre are very generous, but I have to hire the theatre space from them outright, so that in itself is about £3,000. By the time I’ve taken everything into account, it ends up being about £4,000 per event, depending on the scale. Obviously, there are no salaries, I do it on a voluntary basis.

Do you have a team of volunteers?

No I don’t, mainly because the work is so sporadic, it’s difficult to find a team of

ARTS & CULTURE �

volunteers willing to work on a two-daysevery-three-weeks basis. When I’ve had volunteers on before, their workload has fluctuated, which means sometimes they’re sitting around twiddling their thumbs and sometimes they’re too busy to help, so at least if I do it all myself, I know what my availability is.

What are some of the main challenges you face?

Beyond funding, it’s finding an audience. I know they’re out there and a lot of people come, but making people aware of it is difficult.

Finding a venue that’s up to spec is the biggest one because I want people to see the films in really high quality, and Trinity is the only place locally with the equipment to do it.

Is there a big market for independent film in Tunbridge Wells?

I continue to do research into it - Screen International published a survey a couple of years ago looking at demographics of various events, and independent film was far and away the most representative group. They tend to be more mature than your general cinema-going audience – in their 30s, 40, 50s and even 60s, rather than teenagers and people in their 20s, who you would tend to see at the Odeon.

How about getting in that younger audience as well?

I’d love everyone to come. We did a couple of family screenings at the previous festival, short animations and comedies, so we got some families with young kids. A lot of the screenings were rated PG or 12, but then we had some that were 15 and 18 as well. When Anthony and I started the festival, there was the assumption there were going to be a lot of students, but it’s far and away people in their later 20s and upwards. I would love to have younger people.

Are there specific films or genres that tend to attract your audience?

They like to see something new, something they’ve not seen before. That was one of the great things about making it international last time - it was kind of weird and counterintuitive because the films were all completely different, but what was lovely was that you could see a lot of overlap. Although people were coming from very different angles, it was great because we had films from countries actually at war with each other – to put those on next to each other gives you a degree of hope for humanity.

Which countries do the films come from?

We have submissions from Indonesia, Brazil, Australia, Iran, Israel, Russia, the Ukraine, Germany, Canada – and the nearest one was from Tunbridge Wells, so it’s real extremes! We screened 60 films in total from 18 countries and 40 of them were world or UK premieres.

What are your thoughts on Tunbridge Wells culture in general?

I have a lot of hope for it; there are an awful lot of very talented people around. The strength of the talent is certainly as strong as Brighton, and while I don’t think it’s as near the surface, the quality of the town is very high. There are an awful lot of one-man bands, which is the biggest problem, so rather than being able to pool our resources, there are a lot of people operating in isolation, and I’m one of them.

Why do you think that is?

Because it’s not a creative economy here in the same way as it is in somewhere like Brighton or some of the other Kent towns, it’s hard to find places to congregate. If you come here and scratch the surface, the artistic scene is very evident, but it presents itself in a very different way. I don’t actually know what the demographic of the town is; I know a lot of people think of it

as very middle-class and middle-aged, but there are a lot of young people operating out of here, or else come here because it’s a convenient hub. I certainly don’t think it’s in crisis and know there are a lot of people trying to move things along. I have hopes, but there’s a long way to go.

Could film compete with our thriving music scene?

I would like it to. The advantage the music scene has over motion picture is that it’s far easier to do music as a one-man band, or else get a small group of people together. That isn’t to say it isn’t an awful lot of hard work, but weeks of planning can go into a day’s shoot. Finding people with the skills is also a challenge because a lot of the skills in motion picture are very specialised and don’t necessarily lend themselves to something else. I don’t have much of a music background, but I think moviemaking’s probably more expensive than music.

Do you find being so close to London a challenge when engaging audiences?

It can either be a challenge or an opportunity.

Yes, there’s a huge cultural drain out of Tunbridge Wells to both London and Brighton, but on the other hand, they could be markets.

While it’s very easy to get to London from here, it’s also very easy to get here from London.

I know a lot of people who live and work in London, but moved out here because there’s good culture in a nice environment.

Where would you like things to go in the future?

One of the things that surprised me last time was how many people came to everything, or at least the vast majority of stuff, so Trinity and I have discussed taking the same amount of content and spreading it out over a longer timescale. Rather than having a film festival in the traditional sense, it would be turned into an independent film season, so if people want to come to everything, that’s far more of

69

ELECTRIC LANTERN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL FOUNDED: 2010 SCREENING VENUE: Trinity Theatre, Tunbridge Wells TEL: 01892 554 171 FILM CONTENT: Short and feature length dramas, comedies, documentaries, animation, music video SPONSOR: Depth of Focus www.depthoffocus.co.uk WEB: www.electriclantern festival.co.uk EMAIL: contact@ electriclanternfestival.co.uk FACEBOOK: www.facebook.com/ electriclanternfestival TWITTER: @FilmFestivalELF

a possibility. Trinity now is so successful that finding a gap in the schedule where we can put that in is proving to be difficult; they’ve been very supportive and very positive about it, but it’s not a big money spinner for them, unfortunately.

Any plans to take the festival further afield?

The whole point of doing it was so that Tunbridge Wells has a film festival, so if I was to take it anywhere else, I would be bringing them something they already have. The point of having it here was that we don’t have something like that, and I feel like we should.

A SELECTION OF PAST ELECTRIC LANTERN FILMS STRANGER THINGS

TELECOMMUNICOSMO

PAST THEIR PRIME

Starring Adeel Akthat (Utopia, Channel 4) and Tunbridge Wells-based actor and author Bridget Collins, Eleanor Burke and Ron Eyal’s measured drama tells the story of a young woman who finds a homeless man squatting in the home of her mother, who recently died. As time goes by, the two come to trust and rely on each other.

Two retired ladies discuss metaphysics and philosophy in Kevin Maynard’s short comedy about using supernatural means to send dinner invitations to friends, and what happens when something from the Other Side decides to join them. Can be viewed on Electric Lantern’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/electriclanternfestival

Documentary filmmaker Becca Friedman takes a kindhearted look at the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium’s work caring for elderly zoo animals who have retired from being on exhibit. We meet their carers and see how they are kept happy and healthy in their old age.

Feature-length drama

STRANGER THINGS

Short comedy

TELECOMMUNICOSMOS

Documentary

PAST THEIR PRIME

REVERIE

Wednesday 1st April 2015

70 � COUNTRY MATTERS FROM THE HORSE’S MOUTH

• By Eleanor Jones

It’s time to give the robin some respect

• By Kent Barker THERE’S an over-friendly robin in my garden.

She (though it could be a ‘he’ - both have red breasts) gets far too close for safety when I’m chopping wood or piling logs. I’d hate anything to happen to her. She’s become a friend. I even find myself talking to her. The dog thinks I’m a bit batty but, hey, what’s new?

Last spring she, or her predecessor, was camped outside the back door making a heck of a row. I greeted her politely, admiring her plumage and went into the kitchen. And she followed, flying round and round, and shrieking as if in distress. “Come on, out you go”, I said, ushering her back into the garden. But she soon returned. And I soon found out why. A little ball of brown downy feathers was wriggling on the floor under the dining table. Now a baby robin is just the most gorgeous thing to behold. Rather like a teenager awakened around midday with its hair uncombed and in a dishevelled onesie, this is not a thing of intrinsic beauty, but

Wednesday 1st April 2015

nevertheless your heart goes out to it. Whether it’s the baby robin or your hulking child.

So somehow, the fledgling had got in through the open door and was stuck under the table while mum was flying round in distress (yes, this is the robin we’re talking about again now – do keep up). I like to think she was appealing for my help. Which was immediately given as I gingerly put her offspring in the palm of my hand and reunited them safely in the garden.

Now come on, I hear you say, enough of this anthropomorphic claptrap. Get to the point.

Well, the point is that a year or so back, they were talking of culling robins. No, really! So many were nesting in vent pipes and chimney flues, they were said to be causing a hazard.

Perhaps culling is a bit of an exaggeration but certainly the proposal was for you to be allowed to destroy their nests and remove their eggs without a licence. Surely, I thought as I read this, surely it would be easier just to put some wire mesh over the pipe and prevent them getting in to begin with?

But that doesn’t seem to be the British way.

If there’s an issue with a fellow creature, our instinct is to kill it rather than solve the problem. Culling badgers who might or might not be infected with TB, rather than vaccinating them, is a case in point.

My starting point is to try and share the planet in harmony with any and all creatures on it – unless they are actively threatening my existence or wellbeing. We talk a lot about human rights. But woefully little about animal rights. It’s as if we were in the preabolition era. Slaves were not regarded as human so they could be treated as animals.

But hang on a minute. We are animals too.

Why should we treat the human species so differently from, say, vulpes? You can’t go out

and shoot a human, but a fox is fair game. It’s considered ‘vermin’ (was there ever a more disgusting appellation – designed to make the destruction of fellow creatures seem not just acceptable but positively virtuous.)

The fox is closely related to my dog as a member of the canidae family, along with wolves and jackals, yet no one is trying to kill dogs. Well, actually that’s not quite true.

Organised dog-fighting is, amazingly, on the increase. Along with cock-fighting. Last year, the RSPCA received nearly 600 calls relating to organised animal fighting. And you can be sure that far more goes on that the charity is not alerted to.

So despite it being illegal for 80 years, some people still goad dogs to savage each other. We still slaughter badgers – 1,861 in the last ‘pilot’ culls and we still shoot millions – yes, millions – of pheasants and other birds out of the sky each year.

A friend of a Buddhist bent considers part of the problem being nomenclature. If you refer to creatures as vermin or livestock you cheapen their intrinsic value.

“Let’s replace the stock from the storeroom … let’s replace the livestock from sow pens or veal crates.” It all becomes the same.

She’s got a problem with mice in the larder at the moment, but can’t bring herself to kill them. Her suggestion was to use a nonlethal trap and take them to the local park for release. My guess was that – like the Flintstones’ cat refusing to be put out for the night – the mice would simply run home and be waiting for her when she got back. But at least she’d have the satisfaction of knowing they were still alive.

Read more at KentCountryMatters.Blogspot.com

AS ANYONE who has ever showjumped will no doubt tell you, walking the course is important.

For the uninitiated, each class consists of a course of jumps which has to be jumped in the right order. If you go clear (without knocking any of the fences down or your horse refusing to jump and within the allowed time), you go forward to a jump-off, a shorter course of bigger fences, and it’s the fastest clear that wins.

Once ready, and at the start of the class, the course is open for riders to walk it. This not only helps you learn the route, as taking the wrong course means elimination, it also allows you to see every jump and to walk the distances between them and the angles you need to take to meet them right.

I hate missing the coursewalk and have no excuse for doing so the other week.

It was only the second time I’d taken Panther to a show and as I wanted to jump the first class, I knew I should leave the yard by about 9am.

Owing to extensive faffing about, however, and my committing the schoolboy errors of not cleaning my boots or sorting my tack out the night before (the fatal ‘I’ll have time in the morning’), I didn’t get to the show centre until an hour after the class had started.

There were still competitors waiting to go though that the judge said I could enter so I learned the course by watching a couple of people jump, then got changed, got on, got warmed up and got into the ring myself.

Unfortunately, watching from the ringside shows you where the jumps are – less so how to get from one to the other. Twice, I failed to realise in time where I should have turned, meaning I had to go all the way round the houses which in turn meant I left the ring with an impressive 12 time faults. As these are incurred one for each second taken over the allotted time, 12 was something of a personal record. I was just glad we’d also had a fence down as I would not have been happy to miss out on a clear round through my own stupidity.

Sadly though, it was far from the first time I’d done anything in that nature.There was the time I pulled Squirrel up (as I thought) after the finish line, highly impressed at my time displayed on the digital clock and thinking I could well be in the lead – only to hear the steward ask: “Why hasn’t she jumped the last fence?”

There was the time I lost my marbles completely and instead of jumping fence 11 after ten, I managed to jump nine the wrong way round – and the time in a national finals qualifier when I got so carried away with how well my horse was going, I forgot where I was going, resulting in a last-minute handbrake turn into the planks.

Which were demolished as a result.

So walk the course, kids. Although it’s also fair to say that I had done just that on the above three occasions but as my trainer says, there’s nothing he can do about inactive brain cells…

INDOORS & OUTDOORS �

71

Women’s cricket legend in kids’ call-up

ON HIS BIKE Chris Threadgill is looking forward to the season ahead

Kent driver just can’t wait to go racing

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE Charlotte Edwards, right, with former Kent and England captains David Fulton and Mike Gatting, at the CricketForce launch

Edwards says volunteers are crucial to club success KENT and England women’s captain Charlotte Edwards is calling for more children to take up or get involved in cricket.

The 35-year-old is one of the most successful women cricketers ever, winning the Ashes, as well as a host of other accolades.

Now nearing the end of her career, Edwards, who was appointed CBE in 2014, is looking to give something back to the game which has served her so well and she hopes to inspire more children, especially girls, to get into cricket.

Speaking at the launch of Natwest CricketForce, an initiative run by the England

and Wales Cricket Board aiming to recruit volunteers to help support local cricket clubs ahead of the coming season, Edwards admitted it was nice to see so many young volunteers getting involved: She said: “It’s always an important day in the calendar, symbolising the start of the cricket season.

“Young people are important to the growth of our game and it’s great that local clubs across Kent are investing in facilities, and that will attract youngsters.

I think they need to understand there’s an awful lot of work in running a cricket club. Things don’t just happen and we need

lots of good young volunteers.

“That’s something I’ve learnt on my way to the top, a lot of people have helped me and first and foremost, that happens at your local cricket club.

Volunteers are very special within our game and I certainly wouldn’t be where I am today without them.”

For those of the younger generation that may not be inclined to play many sports, Edwards explained there were loads of chances still to be involved with a local cricket club.

She said: “It’s not just about the cricket, it’s about developing these young people and there’s plenty for them to do. They could

become treasurer, secretary, whatever and they don’t need to be brilliant at cricket. Those people are just as important as the people out on the field, that’s one thing I fully understood as I got older.

“I would encourage anyone to get involved with their local cricket club. The ECB young leaders look to get young people into learning various other aspects, such as umpiring and scoring, that gives more avenues into the game.”

Clubs such as Tunbridge Wells, Linden Park and Tunbridge Wells Borderers cricket clubs are among those looking for a fresh injection of volunteers.

THE 2015 motorsport season really gets under way this weekend – and one man can’t wait to go racing.

Chris Threadgill, from Westerham, has moved to the Pirelli Superstock 600 series, from the Triumph Triple Challenge, which brings new challenges.

Threadgill said: “It all kicks off this Saturday and it will be good to get out and see what the competition is going to be like!

“The step up has been a learning curve for me. It’s definitely going to be a challenging year but I’m ready to try my hardest and learn as much as I can.

“The promotional side is all new to me. Riding for a big team like the Tsingtao MV Agusta team means I’m doing open days, launch nights, and bits for the sponsors. I’m enjoying it and the Spearmint Rhino promo girls we work with make it a bit easier too.”

Threadgill believes he has settled quickly into his new surroundings.

He said: “I’m really happy with the new team.

“We’re fully factory supported so between Justin my crew chief, and the boys at the factory in Italy, we’re constantly making improvements.

“I raced with Max Alexander last year and shared a garage with Luke Jones so I know both of them. Vittorio and Luca, our Italian Superbike and SuperSport riders, are real good guys. I’ve also got Ian Hutchinson as a teammate for the Isle of Man TT and the North West 200 so there’s a lot of experience to learn from.

“For me, the target is to get the Tsingtao up to speed as soon as possible. After that, we can start to work towards pushing for consistent points-scoring finishes and seeing how we progress. I have a lot to learn, the pace is unbelievably fast, and the lap times so close – it isn’t going to be easy.”

RUGBY WORLD CUP TROPHY IS COMING TO KENT THE greatest prize in rugby is coming to Kent this year as part of a UK tour before the World Cup. The Webb Ellis trophy will be at County Hall, Maidstone, on Thursday, September 3, on its way to Twickenham, where

the tournament’s opening ceremony takes place on September 18.

Kent County Council will welcome the cup tour with an event to mark and celebrate the role of volunteers at the heart of the game in Kent.

Stephanie Holt, KCC head of countryside, leisure and sport, said “KCC’s sport service has a long history of working closely with Kent Rugby and our many rugby clubs, including joint campaigns around volunteers and getting children involved

at a young age through competition such as the Kent School Games.

“We are extremely pleased to be able to recognise the role of our county’s club volunteers by hosting a special event that will bring

a number of them together with the Webb Ellis Cup.” Terry Hewett, Kent’s representative on RFU’s Rugby World Cup Lead Up and Legacy Programme said: “Kent RFU is delighted that the Webb Ellis Cup is coming to Kent, we hope

that as many members of the rugby community and general public will get to see the trophy and start to get excited by Rugby World Cup.” For more information on the tour, visit rugbyworldcup.com/ trophy-tour

Wednesday 1st April 2015

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