Times of Tonbridge 20th September 2017

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

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Old Fire Station to offer festive skating rink at Riverhill House

Chocks away for daredevil Jean INSIDE ROSS KEMP ON...

the way into town to open new superstore Page 2

TONBRIDGE Old Fire Station has forged a partnership with Riverhill House to provide a skating rink at the Sevenoaks venue, along with other Christmas festivities.

The renowned Himalayan Garden will also offer breakfast and afternoon tea with Father Christmas and an Alpine bar.

There will be Christmas lunches and dinners for businesses and social groups prepared by award-winning and Michelin starred chefs such as Chris Bower, formerly of Thackeray’s in Tunbridge Wells.

Party nights And ‘party nights’ for allcomers will feature three-course meals, music and DJs, with evening skating sessions available.

The events will run from December 1 to January 7, and tickets are now on sale from www.RiverhillatChristmas.co.uk The rink is not made of ice, but a synthetic polymer material which is safer and also doesn’t make skaters wet when they fall over.

There are parents-and-toddlers sessions before the school holidays start, and skating under the stars in the evening – the rink has a transparent roof.

Co-Founder of the Old Fire Station Sam Goode said: “It’s a brand new venture, and it’s a bit daunting but we’re very excited.

“We’ve been planning this with Ed and Sarah [Rogers, the owners of Riverhill House] for a few months and it’s great to be teaming up with them.”

ON YOUR MARKS THE HIGH LIFE: Jean Bailey, 81, tries her hand at wing-walking to raise money for charity. It’s the latest entry to tick off on a wish list of thrills and spills for the ‘buzz freak’. See page 2

Protesters march through town to ‘make the council sit up and listen’

By Andy Tong andy@timesoftonbridge.co.uk DISGRUNTLED local residents will march down the High Street for the first time in 27 years this Saturday [September 23] in protest at the council’s plans to sell River Lawn and other sites next to the Medway.

The campaign group Keep River Lawn Green [KRLG] is calling on demonstrators to meet at The Foresters Arms on Quarry Hill at midday and head down to River Lawn.

The organisers will be stewarding the event, and the High Street will be closed to traffic – at least the northbound carriageway from Brook Street to River Walk.

It is the latest in a series of events this summer organised to express opposition to Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council’s proposal to sell the public green space and

the former CAB building on River Walk to a private developer for new housing.

The council’s six-man Cabinet is due to vote on the issue on October 11. Unusually, the council’s constitution states that such important decisions about publicly owned land do not have to be voted upon by Full

‘We want it to be vibrant and noisy, to show how much everybody cares about the sites’ Council, as is the case with all other local authorities in West Kent and East Sussex.

“We hope the march will finally make the council sit up and listen to the community,” said KRLG’s Lucy Athey.

“They have agreed to take our petition, which has been signed by over 3,000 people, into account but at the last council

meeting they voted against having a longer debate. We are grateful for the support of a few councillors but many of our supporters feel they are not being listened to by those who have been voted in to represent them.”

Fellow campaigner Mark Hood says: “We have been delivering 4,000 new leaflets around the town. The reaction has been very positive. We had to have a second print run done, such was the enthusiasm from volunteers on Facebook to distribute them.”

He added: “We’re really looking forward to the march. There will be competitions for the best placard and banner, and we’ve been coming up with different slogans. We want it to be vibrant and noisy, to show how much everybody cares about the sites.”

Mr Hood believes it is the first time that such direct action has been undertaken in Turn to page 2

Tonbridge Half Marathon aims to raise another £50k Page 2

IT’S A LANE-CHANGER New-look A21 will help 35,000 drivers a day avoid jams Page 3

ANGELS ARE SAVED

Tonbridge Ladies score five – but have no goalie Page 71

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Local News

First direct action since Poll Tax protests Continued from page 1 the town since 1990, when residents took to the streets to object to the Poll Tax. An initial protest at River Lawn in May was attended by more than 500 people.

That was followed by a ‘Conkers not concrete’ family picnic in July and an ‘Invite a tree to tea’ event last month.

The emphasis on conkers stems from the nine mature trees at the site. One of them is due to be felled to make way for the medical centre that will replace the demolished Teen and Twenty Club.

Mr Hood adds: “Three days before the vote is due to take place, we will hold a conkers competition to crown the ‘conkerer of Tonbridge’. We are keeping very busy.”

The youth club, which has stood on River Lawn for half a century, was owned by the council but has been sold off to Tonbridge Medical Group, who will be building a new

facility to replace two existing surgeries, on Higham Lane and Pembury Road.

A planning application has been published on the council’s website for the ‘erection of a new three-storey medical centre incorporating a retail pharmacy’.

The document highlights concerns about the flood risk involved with the location.

Ms Athey said KRLG ‘are concerned about plans for the proposed medical centre and are looking closely at the planning documents’.

She added: “It will be awful if the mature, healthy horse chestnut adjacent to the site is felled. Ironically the council has said this could be mitigated by planting a replacement on River Lawn, despite their plans to concrete over this area!”

All comments on the application must be submitted by October 5.

PLANNING FOR FLOODS Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council’s planning application for the new medical centre on River Walk includes the following Flood Risk Assessment: “The site and the proposed access are located within an area at high risk of flooding from rivers and therefore safe access cannot be provided on this site.”

The report mentions the upgrading of the Leigh Flood Storage Area, which will be completed by 2022, and states: “The site flooded in 2000, but it did not flood in 2013. The risk of fluvial flooding is considered to be high.”

But campaigners have posted a picture of the site under water four years ago.

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Wednesday September 20 | 2017

Living it up with ‘Biggles Bailey’ the 81-year-old adrenalin junkie

By Andy Tong AN OCTOGENARIAN thrill seeker has ticked off the latest challenge on her wish list, wing-walking – and raised £600 for charity.

Jean Bailey of Offham is a keen golfer at Poult Wood and bowler at Hadlow, but her other hobbies are rather more exciting.

The 81-year old is a self-confessed ‘buzz freak’ and has done a parachute jump, flown a T-6 Harvard and a Tiger Moth, and regularly rides the rollercoasters at Thorpe Park.

She performed the wing-walk out of the Rendcomb World War One airfield in Cirencester, in a 1940s Boeing Stearman biplane with the Breitling Wingwalkers.

She raised £600 for Honeypot, the chosen charity of the Lady Captain at Poult Wood which provides holidays for children who are the main carers in their household.

Jean joked: “When I was up on the wing the g-force was straightening out all my wrinkles.

“When my husband Donald was alive he always got me birthday treats like this,” she said. “But when he died seven years ago, that all stopped.

“Suddenly I got a call from a chap called Tony Grogan out of the blue, he and some of Donald’s old friends got together to treat me. It was wonderful.”

Merchant Navy during the war, and I don’t know if I’ve got his sea blood in my veins.”

When she went up in the Tiger Moth at Headcorn – ‘it was built in 1939, so I was three years older than it’ – she insisted the pilot did some stunt training.

“He did a steep climb and stall, a loop the loop. Then he did a ‘death spiral’, when it goes out of control in a dive. I kept making him do it again.”

Adventure She also did a hot air balloon ride Last time she went to Thorpe ‘but that was boring, not worth Park she did the 10-loop Colossus mentioning – until we got six times. “One of my sons was dragged along the field sick, so I went and had a burger when we landed’. and a pint, then did it again.”

Her four grandchildren Jean worked at Pembury call her ‘Awesome’, but she Hospital for 20 years, latterly has several other nicktraining as a phlebotomist. names, like Biggles and OUT OF THE BLUE She has always had a Roadrunner – because Jean in her flight jacket sense of adventure. “I like she plays golf so fast awaits her surprise flight the buzz, it’s just my life. ‘they say I barely have My father was in the time to play my shots’.

Ross Kemp opens new superstore Vote for your EASTENDERS star Ross Kemp will be the guest of honour when the new GO Outdoors superstore opens in Tonbridge.

The company sells clothing and equipment for walking and camping, as well as cycling, fishing and horse riding.

Mr Kemp, who has also forged a TV career as an investigative journalist, will cut the ribbon at the shop on Cannon Lane on Saturday September 30 at 9am.

Celebrations include a family fun day with face painting, balloon modelling and a bouncy castle – which will continue on Sunday October 1.

The first 200 families through the doors will receive a compli-

mentary £20 gift voucher. All visitors are eligible for a 15 per cent discount over the weekend.

The store, which is located on the site of the former B&Q

opposite McDonald’s, will open its doors for the first time on Friday [September 22].

Mr Kemp said: “I am honoured to be part of the exciting opening of the Tonbridge GO Outdoors store and I look forward to meeting the community next Saturday.

“For me, encouraging the public to get outdoors is really important. There is a big world out there with endless adventures to be had.

“A little encouragement and the right kit is all you need to explore. GO Outdoors has equipped me on many of my own adventures. I’ll share some stories at the launch.”

favourite park TONBRIDGE and Malling residents can vote for one of the borough’s parks to win the People’s Choice Award.

Haysden Country Park was included among a1,797 Green Flag Awards that were handed out to the UK’s best parks and green spaces this year., along with Leybourne Lakes Country Park near West Malling. Visit www. greenflagaward.org to cast your vote.

Entries close on September 30.

A project to build new paths at Haysden has been shortlisted by local Tesco stores for their Bags of Help fund, which supports worthy causes from the proceeds of plastic bag sales.

It would see new paths to the dipping platform and the children’s play area.

World record holder starts Tonbridge Half Marathon OLYMPIAN Tom Bosworth is the guest starter for the 7th Tonbridge Half Marathon, which will be held on Sunday October 1.

The 13.1-mile endurance race is staged jointly by Tonbridge Rotary Club and Tonbridge Lions Club to raise funds for Compaid, Porchlight and other local charities.

Runners are also encouraged to support their own chosen charities and more than £50,000 has been raised every year so far.

Tom, who finished sixth in the 20km walk at the Rio Olympics, broke the record for the one-mile race walk at the World Championships in London last month.

Race Secretary Andy Blundell said: “We are delighted to have such a distinguished athlete as Tom to start our race and present the medals to the runners as they

cross the line at the finish. Tom is a local lad and member of Tonbridge Athletic Club.

“Given his 20km record of 1hr 20min 13sec on a flat course, Tom would probably complete our 21km half-marathon course in well under one hour 30 minutes, taking into account the undulations.

Challenge “So the challenge is, can you run it faster than Tom could walk it?”

There are 1,500 places available with a further 100 reserved for charities. For the first time, entries will be permitted on the day. visit www.tonbridgehalfmarathon.co.uk “The event, sponsored by DC Access Scaffolding and other local firms, is once again hosted by West Kent College in Brook Street,

whose facilities are second to none,” says Mr Blundell.

The race starts at 10am and is run over a panhandle out-and-back course. It takes in a scenic rural route through Upper Haysden and Leigh – and the support in Leigh is very enthusiastic.

Hildenborough Scouts will once again provide four water stations.

The race HQ will be at West Kent, with separate changing facilities, secure bag and valuables storage, sports massage, a café and warm-up area. There is ample parking at the college. Runners receive a finisher’s medal and goody bag, and souvenir T-shirts can be purchased for £6.

Organisers are seeking marshals for the event. If you are interested, email enquiries@ tonbridgehalfmarathon.co.uk

LINE MANAGER: Tom Bosworth will hand out medals at the finish

Local News

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

NEWS IN BRIEF

Parents plead not guilty to serious harm charge THE parents of a baby who died at home in Tonbridge have denied causing him serious harm.

Marina Smyth, 20, and Michael Osbourne, 21, pleaded not guilty to the charge of causing or allowing a child to suffer serious physical harm at Sevenoaks Magistrates’ Court, yesterday [September 19].

Paramedics and an air ambulance were sent to Walters Farm Road on December 5 but Bailey Smyth-Osbourne, who was less than three weeks old, could not be revived.

The parents, who entered separate pleas, were bailed and will appear at Maidstone Crown Court on October 17.

Under the conditions of their bail Mr Osbourne, now of Bybrook Road, Ashford, and Ms Smythe, of Oxford Gardens, Maidstone, are not to have unsupervised contact with any child.

Hospital flat conversion A FORMER homeopathic hospital on Church Road has been placed under offer, with an application to convert it into flats being considered by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council.

A decision on whether to allow the conversion to go ahead has to be made by October 23.

If given the green light, the building, which was constructed in three phases between 1902 and 1930, could house 12 two-bedroom flats each with a parking space. The hospital was closed in 2008, a year after Prince Charles had voiced his support for the practice.

Bus depot relocates ARRIVA will be staying put in Tunbridge Wells after the bus operator entered into a new contract to lease a 35,000 sq ft unit on Kingstanding Way. It comes after the company sold its St John’s Road premises last October after 84 years to developer PegasusLife. Both the new lease and the sale were facilitated by Pantiles estate agents Durlings.

A spokesman for Arriva said they were ‘extremely excited’ to move to their new premises, which help secure employment in the town.

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Torrington murder trial starts

Victim who slept rough was ‘set on fire with lighter fluid’ court hears

By Adam Hignett adam@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk TWO men have appeared in court facing charges of their alleged murder of rough-sleeper Giles Metcalfe in the stairwell of Torrington car park.

The 43-year-old died of asphyxiation from fumes and burns when he was set alight in the early hours of March 7.

It took place only hours after he had sent a text to his wife, who he was separated from, to say he was “settling down for the night. Its all good xx,” the jury at Maidstone Crown Court heard on Monday [September 18].

‘Together they went in to kill Mr Metcalfe by fire’ Dean Lewis, 34, of no fixed address, and James Marshall-Gunn, 30, of Hadlow Road, Tonbridge are accused of dousing Mr Metcalfe in barbecue lighter fluid as he lay asleep before setting him alight. Both deny the charge.

Lewis, who was also a rough sleeper, claims Mr Metcalfe had poured the fluid on himself while holding a cigarette whilst ‘acting weird’.

However, prosecutor Philip Bennetts QC said Mr Metcalfe’s medical records contained no history or mention of him having suicidal thoughts, feel-

HOMELESS Giles Metcalfe ings or tendencies.

His body was discovered by firefighters shortly after 3am next to the open bottle of accelerant and two lighters.

The court was told the most likely source of ignition for the fire was a naked flame being held to

Mr Metcalfe’s sleeping bag.

At the time he was almost three-and-a-half times the legal drink-drive limit and a pathologist concluded Mr Metcalfe would have been ‘relatively oblivious’ to whoever was with him and what was happening.

Traces of paraffin were also found on his jeans, upper clothing and socks, as well as on a pair of shoes found at Lewis’s address after he was arrested.

The jury heard how the flames of the fire were caught on CCTV in the reflection of a shutter outside Tunbridge Wells Train Station opposite the car park.

CCTV footage also showed Lewis and Marshall-Gunn met up with Mr Metcalfe earlier in the evening to buy whisky from a Sainsbury’s store.

They were later seen together in the car park in Vale Road.

The two defendants were then seen again on camera leaving at 1.20am before returning again 47 minutes later. They departed just six minutes later, having left Mr Metcalf on fire the prosecution alleged.

Mr Bennetts questioned why the pair had returned to the car park for such a short duration, before turning to the jury, stating: “We submit on the evidence for your consideration that you can draw a proper and safe inference that together they went in to kill Mr Metcalfe by fire. What other explanation can there be? In, fire, out.”

New and improved A21 finally opens THE upgraded A21 will officially open on Thursday [September 21] without traffic management and allowing cars to travel at the national speed limit.

Work began in April 2015 to convert the single-carriageway between Tonbridge and Pembury into a dual-carriageway.

Thirty-five thousand drivers a day are said to benefit from the changes to the road, which will reduce congestion and speed-up journeys.

Highways England have said they will continue to landscape the surrounding areas and some lanes may be temporarily closed to carry out this work.

For more on the opening of the A21 see Greg Clarke’s comment piece on page 22.

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New out of hours services planned PROPOSALS for a new out-of-hours GP service are being put forward, supplying an Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC) at Tunbridge Wells Hospital.

Health chiefs believe the creation of a central hub would offer better facilities than those available from current providers.

However, if the plans are approved it will result in the closure of sites at Tonbridge Cottage Hospital

by September 30, followed by Sevenoaks and Cranbrook next April.

Significant This new approach is aimed at people who attend A&E when it is urgent but not an emergency.

It will allow them to be seen by GPs or nurses based at the UTC, alongside social care experts and therapists and, if necessary, they can be ‘swiftly moved’ to A&E. Emergencies can then be dealt with more quickly by consultants and their teams.

Plans are also being formulated to enable access to GP care throughout West Kent from 8am-8pm Monday to Friday by March 2019, with weekend slots at times to be decided.

It is understood that the initiative will not affect those who depend on care at home, and doctors will continue to make their visits.

Dr Mark Whistler, Urgent Care Lead for NHS West Kent Clinical Commissioning Group, said: “For a long time we have known that significant numbers of people come to A&E when they don’t have a strict medical need to do so.

“Once the UTC is open, patients who come to the hospital but need to see a nurse or GP, will do so.

Then, if it turns out their case is more serious than it might appear, they can be swiftly moved into A&E.”

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

Crescent Road expansion has been branded obsolete before it has even begun

By Adam Hignett adam@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk COUNCIL plans to spend £3million on expanding Crescent Road car park have been likened to ‘investing in canals in 1820’ by opponents.

Members of the Tunbridge Wells Borough Council’s Cabinet voted to approve the expenditure, which will result in 96 extra parking bays and 26 cycling stands, at a meeting last week.

The expansion will be timed to take place during a major refurbishment of the 1960’s structure, estimated to cost approximately £2.8million.

A Cabinet report justifies the spend, by stating out of the 2,866 spaces available in town centre car parks, only 846 are offered for short stay visitor parking, adding: “[This is] not so many for a town like Tunbridge Wells, particularly when we look at the planned expansion of the town in the short to medium term.”

In addition, there are fears the town will lose its attractiveness to businesses, citing an enquiry made by an unnamed local employer wanting to lease 100 bays.

“The availability of parking space for new potential employers in town could determine whether or not the town is right for them.”

But the report’s rationale was dismissed by Tunbridge Wells Bicycle User’s Group (TWBUG) spokesman Paul Mason, who was invited to speak at the meeting.

Mr Mason said: “We believe this is an investment

EXTRA SPACE Cllr Peter Lidstone (left) does not approve of expansion

of several million pounds in increased town centre congestion.

“By the time investment pays for itself, use of the private motor vehicle will almost certainly be on the decline. Already our town centre car parks are not full for a good deal of the time.”

Comparing the plans with those who invested in an obsolete technology in the decade before the first railways, Mr Mason said: “So let us not invest in canals, like people did in 1820, let us not make that mistake again.”

He was supported in opposition by Liberal Democrat councillor Peter Lidstone, who said the business case was ‘not robust enough’.

‘You will kick economic growth out of the window’ “Extensions are necessary when buildings reach capacity. However, town centre car parks are significantly under-capacity at around 74 per cent.

“This is based on the assumption all season ticket holders use their space every day, and that people don’t leave before their ticket expires. I suggest real usage of capacity is significantly lower.

“The payback period is 30 years and this is reliant on 100 per cent occupancy. The cost benefit analysis falls down if all we are doing is moving existing customers from other car parks.”

Cllr Lidstone also said it was ‘disappointing’ that the proposals do not include charging points for electric vehicles.

But Cllr David Reilley, Cabinet member for finance and governance, said: “We can’t have economic growth and tell people they can’t come to Tunbridge Wells as there is nowhere to park. If you do so, you will kick economic growth out of the window.”

Full Council will have the final say on September 27. No start date has yet been given and it is believed the project will take 12 months and could lead to a temporary reduction in capacity of a quarter.

Local News

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

Hutchinson faces life after court reach guilty verdict

By Adam Hignett A BOGUS stockbroker who boasted in court that he had a ‘good understanding of women’ was convicted of multiple counts of rape last week.

Former public schoolboy Chiron Hutchinson had denied six offences of rape, six of sexual assault and one of attempted rape during a series of incidents between July and October last year.

But the jury found him guilty, by a majority verdict, of carrying out three rapes on two women in Tunbridge Wells in October last year, following 33 hours of deliberation. He was cleared of the remaining charges.

However, unknown to the jury whilst they were reaching a verdict, Hutchinson had also pleaded guilty to two offences of sexual activity with a 14-year-old girl in September 2016.

Hutchinson put a hand over his mouth and pushed his head back when the guilty verdicts were announced.

Distressed The 20-year-old former pupil of St Bede’s, Hailsham, openly admitted in court he was an ‘opportunist’ when it came to having sex and frequented bars and clubs in Tunbridge Wells in a bid to ‘get lucky’.

Describing himself as flirtatious, he added: “I have always found it easier to engage with women. I learned a lot about what women liked and didn’t like, and what they found attractive, and have a good understanding of women.”

He confessed to constantly lying about his ‘career’ as a stockbroker and model, who owned a flat in Hampstead. Instead it was disclosed he worked at Tesco and lived with his mother Louise at Mount Pleasant Road, Uckfield, East Sussex.

Although she attended the majority of the trial, his mother was not there when the verdict was read out.

The cases in which Hutchinson was found guilty related to two instances that took place on October 2 and 8 last year.

In the first attack, he drove his 17-year-old victim who he had met at MooMoo night club to a wooded area outside Tunbridge Wells and proceeded to rape her twice.

The second instance followed a similar pattern,

OPPORTUNIST Chiron Hutchinson when he came across a heavily intoxicated French woman walking home alone during the early hours.

He offered her a lift in his mother’s car, drove her to a secluded spot near Toad Rock in Rusthall, pushed her out of the vehicle and attacked her.

Following the attack, in which she attempted to fend him off, he drove her to a friend’s house where, ‘distressed and dishevelled’, she was screaming she had been raped, Maidstone Crown Court heard.

Her friends took her to hospital for injuries and Hutchinson was arrested days later. He was 18 and 19 when the events occurred.

During the four-week trial the court was shown footage Hutchinson filmed on his mobile phone of one victim drunk and sitting bare-legged in his mum’s Subaru vehicle.

Hutchinson described her as being ‘tipsy and excitable’.

It was also revealed he had trawled the internet for rape videos and pornography, using search terms such as ‘teen rape’, ‘forced sex’ and ‘against her will’.

Searches of his laptop also found he had been looking at a New Scientist article headlined ‘Test can prove rape days later’ in the days after he committed his offences.

Sentencing was adjourned by Judge Mark Dennis QC until October 16 and Hutchinson was remanded in custody. Rape carries a maximum life sentence.

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Heritage railway faces financial strain after HGV bridge collision RAIL enthusiasts have described the impending loss of revenue for the Spa Valley Railway after one of its road crossings was damaged by careless driving as a ‘devastating blow’ for the popular tourist attraction.

Over half of the vintage railway, which carries approximately 40,000 visitors a year, has been rendered out of action after an HGV struck a bridge on Broom Lane, near Langton Green, on Thursday [September 14].

The result has been the closure of the track past this point, meaning services will terminate at High Rocks and not continue on to Groombridge and Eridge Stations.

Expensive Fundraising is underway on the Spa Valley website to help with repairs. Although there is not yet any certainty as to how much will be needed, it is estimated to be ‘thousands of pounds’.

However, track operators have warned the closure will result in the loss of ‘much needed revenue’, while repairs are likely to be ‘expensive and time-consuming’.

Chairman Chris MacRae said: “Unfortunately, this is not the first time that our bridge has been struck and damaged by over-height HGVs that have ignored the road signage about the height restrictions.

“As an entirely volunteer-run organisation, every time we cannot operate the railway experiences considerable financial strain.”

Jonnie Wesson, General Manager of the railway, added: “This is an absolutely devastating blow for the Spa Valley Railway and our volunteers.”

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

Tunbridge Wells soldier praises troops in Caribbean relief effort

By Adam Hignett

adam@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk THE second-in-command of the Joint Task Force overseeing Britain’s response to Hurricane Irma has been identified as a man from Tunbridge Wells.

Brigadier John Ridge, of the Eighth Engineer Brigade, praised the ‘extraordinary’ efforts of his men in helping islanders in the wake of the recordbreaking storm, but warned further devastation can be expected.

A number of British overseas territories in the Caribbean suffered significant damage during Irma, including The Turks and Caicos, British Virgin Islands and Anguilla.

DISASTER ZONE Brigadier John Ridge (inset left) has a task force

Brigadier Ridge has been co-ordinating the activities of more than 1,100 military personnel in the region, with his task force primarily consisting of Royal Marines and Royal Engineers.

Speaking during Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson’s visit to the region last week, he

said: “The way they have just got stuck in has been extraordinary, and to go and see the Royal Marines and Royal Engineers out in some pretty unpleasant conditions – just digging out, cleaning stuff up, helping distribute aid and enjoying doing it. That for me gives me tremendous pride. For them it has been a hugely rewarding experience.”

The brigadier went on to praise the ‘staggering resilience’ of the local residents, many of whom lost their homes and livelihoods when the hurricane struck.

But on Monday [September 18] he warned of the approaching Hurricane Maria, stating the islands will struggle to cope as the drainage systems are blocked with storm debris.

However, he said placing extra troops potentially in harm’s way on the British Virgin Islands was a ‘risk worth taking’, adding: “Once the hurricane is through we can leap back into action. We have got the guys positioned in the right place so they are ready to react.”

Business rate rebate is just a ‘drop in the ocean’ TRADERS in Tunbridge Wells will be thrown a lifeline after the borough council’s Cabinet voted to approve the business rate relief scheme.

Their decision comes after hundreds of companies in the borough were hit by an unprecedented hike in rates in April, with some witnessing the rateable value of their premises – which determines the final amount they pay – climb by several hundred percent.

Councillors have criticised the amount of relief available, describing it as a ‘drop in the ocean’.

In total, just over £920,000 will be made available between now and 2021, although over half of this, £538,000 must be used within this financial year.

By the time the scheme enters its final financial year, only £16,000 will be available.

The money is provided by central government and it is estimated it will be enough to help approxi-

mately 400 local businesses, however a total of 1,659 companies saw their rates rise.

Commenting on the figures in Cabinet, Cllr Tracy Moore said: “It does not seem like very much money to go very far to help small businesses.

“It is better than nothing, but it seems like a drop in the ocean for some businesses which may have seen their rates go up by 200 per cent.”

Applications can be made on the council website.

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Local News

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

Tuning into patients’ needs Hospital Radio Tunbridge Wells is looking to recruit volunteer broadcasters. Four of the station’s new DJs talk about their experiences – and an epic 100-hour marathon

By Claire Backhurst HOSPITAL Radio Tunbridge Wells [HRTW] is looking for new presenters to help provide a bespoke bedside service for patients at Tunbridge Wells Hospital and the Cottage Hospital in Tonbridge.

Four of their newest recruits – Phil Kidby, Ben Parry, Pete Allsop and Richard Salvidge – share their thoughts on what it’s like to be a DJ for HRTW. What they all say is that the main reason for being a presenter is not the buzz of being on air, but providing a friendly voice for the patients and the team spirit you get from volunteering.

Marathon Last Christmas, the station took up the challenge of providing a 100-hour live radio marathon to raise funds for the charity, which is more than 60 years old but was facing serious financial hardship because of costs.

The Save Our Service campaign helped to alleviate the burden of paying rent and rates after the service had to move from the Kent and Sussex Hospital.

Unanimously, the

newly fledged presenters agreed that their best moments came during the marathon broadcast from December 28 into the New Year, which they all took part in.

With the support of Sir Cliff Richard and the band Right Said Fred, along with local acts, fundraising over the past year has reached more than £9,000, which helps keep the station going.

Local businesses have also lent ongoing support, and the campaign continues via social media as #HRTWSOS [Hospital Radio Tunbridge Wells Save Our Service] and through online fundraising platform My Donate.

Volunteers have been raising money by running a marathon, organising a darts tournament, arranging quiz nights and applying for supermarket community funding.

So, what made them all want to become presenters on HRTW? Phil wanted to get involved in fundraising, fell in love with presenting, and has always loved the variety STAR SUPPORT of chat and Fred Fairbass from Right Said music on radio.

Fred (left) and Sir Cliff Richard Ben caught the

MUSIC TO THEIR EARS (L-R) Claire Backhurst, Pete Allsop, Ben Parry and Phil Kidby bug with school discos and a love of fundraising – his taste spans from country to classical and dance.

Pete saw the last appeal for presenters as a much-awaited opening to channel his 80s music passion, having improvised at home, aged six, with a cassette player and voice recorder.

And Richard was inspired by DJs from Radio 1 and 2 and has an eclectic taste in music which ranges from rock and heavy metal through to classical and ska. He loves the fact that charity radio is not auto-tuned, and he’s also a passionate presenter for mobile discos and community radio.

“There are multiple reasons to love live presenting,” reveals Richard. “I get pleasure from knowing the patients are listening and can interact with the show. I have a live show from 6-8pm every

Tuesday called Magic Moments, featuring songs that remind people of those special moments. In my day job I deal with travel agency customers, so it’s great to extend that interaction to our listeners, too.”

Ben adds: “Sharing a love of music and the show with the patients is key. My live shows – on every Thursday from 10.30am-1pm and every Friday night from 8-10pm – are a mix of topical discussion and interviews with local people.

“It’s all about entertainment at the bedside for the patients, and the 100-hour live marathon topped the best moments – I think I presented for about ten hours on and off!

Pete, whose show is on every Monday from 8-10pm, agrees that the 100-hour live broadcast was a highlight of his time so far at the station.

“You can just imagine the kick of knowing that Right Said Fred had agreed to do a quick call-in to support our campaign – what a moment!”

Like the others, doing the 100-hour live broadcast for charity was a highlight for Phil, too.

“The longest and maddest show I have done so far was during the marathon 100-hour live broadcast – an overnighter from 2-8am.

“I started to flag at about 5am, having Skyped in someone from Bangkok for the show!”

Tips on how to become a presenter  Go for it, have a laugh and don’t be shy  Practice, practice, practice: HRTW will train

you, so you don’t need previous experience  Be organised: Presenters arrive about an hour

before their show to prepare  Timing is everything: You are at the helm of

your show with a station manager in the wings  Remember you’re giving something as well as

getting something out of it.  It can be a great launch platform, too. Visit the

website www.hrtw.org.uk to see the HRTW hall of fame featuring around 50 past and present presenters.

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BUSINESS

Local Business News

NEWS IN BRIEF

Kent transport links to keep county on track STRONG transport links, close proximity to London, a skilled workforce and a good quality of life will help ensure Kent remains an attractive place to do business, a new study has found.

Investment agency Locate in Kent’s survey of 238 businesses found that just under half think Kent’s popularity as a place to do business will improve over the next five years –compared to eight per cent who believe the county will become less attractive.

Two thirds of businesses which see an improving operating environment believe the county is a good location to run a company, mainly thanks to its strong transport links.

The perception study follows the launch of a campaign by Locate in Kent called ‘101 Reasons Kent Makes Business Sense’.

New homes boost A PROPERTY developer has made a £4.9million profit on the sale of two proposed housing sites in Kent.

U+I have sold land in Maidstone next to Royal Engineers Road after securing planning for a £65million development in February.

It has not revealed details of the buyer, other than it is a regional housebuilder which will have approval to build an 18-storey block of flats on the former home of Kent County Council offices. The scheme will include 310 homes.

A second, unspecified, site in the county has also been sold by the developer, which has planning permission for a £70million mixeduse project on six acres of derelict land.

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

Legal eagles serve up good advice for big equity deal THE corporate team at Tunbridge Wells law firm CooperBurnett has disclosed its part in providing legal advice to the shareholders of Regency Design & Print Limited in order to facilitate an equity release.

Regency is a designer and manufacturer of printed materials for the beverage equipment and retail point-of-sale sector, with clients including Coca-Cola and Lucozade.

Legal advice provided by the 35-year-old law firm for the equity release enabled Regency to also benefit from additional investment by the Foresight Group, a private equity organisation with over £2billion of assets under management.

The equity injection will enable Regency to

continue building and be in a position to respond to its growing pipeline of orders.

The team at CooperBurnett was led by corporate partners Victoria Sampson and Andrew Hawkins, with additional legal advice provided by West Kent firms Ward Mackenzie of Tunbridge Wells and Castle Corporate Finance of Tonbridge.

Ms Sampson said: “We were delighted to be involved in this exciting deal for Regency, which puts the company in a great position to help it achieve the objectives it has set and to be able to service a growing pipeline of orders.

“The deal was intensive and required significant input from our team… we wish them every success for the future.”

YES WE CAN! Victoria Sampson (left) and Andrew Hawkins (right)

Property consultant warns planning rules change will create winners and losers THE latest planning changes look set to offer opportunities for the owners and developers of light industrial buildings – but will harm their commercial tenants, a consultancy has warned.

Hobbs Parker Property Consultants said a drive to increase the rate of residential housebuilding has resulted in the government bringing in changes from October 1.

This will allow owners of light industrial buildings, classified as B1c, to apply to convert them to residential dwellings.

Developers Sam Snart, Managing Director of the Ashfordbased Hobbs Parker Property Consultants, said: “The challenge for local authorities will be bringing forward new sites for light industrial use to support those businesses who may be displaced by the planning changes.

“Good modern commercial property, especially for small businesses, is at a premium at the moment and this presents an opportunity for developers to bring forward schemes to help meet the need, and support local economies.”

B1c buildings are those classified for light industrial use, which don’t generate ‘noise, vibration, smell, fumes, smoke, soot, ash, dust or grit’, and are therefore compatible with operating in residential areas.

The new Permitted Development Rights [PDR] legislation, which comes into effect at the end of this month, is for buildings with a floorspace of less than 500m2, and also allows residential development on land within their curtilage.

Local Business News

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

ON THE MONEY Charity Bank celebrate their success

BUSINESS

11

Wealth firm trainee takes up new post WEALTH management firm Brooks Macdonald have appointed qualified Investment Manager Gavin Sahota to their Tunbridge Wells office.

Mr Sahota, who graduated from the firm’s trainee investment manager scheme, said he was ‘thrilled’ to have successfully completed the programme, adding: “I am very much looking forward to strengthening existing relationships with professional advisers and clients as well as building new relationships.”

Pam Beith, Head of Brooks Macdonald’s Tunbridge Wells office, said she welcomes Mr Sahota to her team following his ‘hard work and dedication’ in the programme.

Charity Bank wins accolades in global business honours

By Adam Hignett

adam@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk THE Tonbridge-based Charity Bank has been named one of the companies that are Best for the World in 2017 by the non-profit organisation B Lab. Charity Bank was selected from more than 2,200 certified B Corporations – companies that follow a code of practice that emphasises ‘environmental performance, transparency and accountability’ in order to ‘use the power of business to solve social and environmental problems’. B Lab is the governing body which monitors the registered entities.

Charity Bank is recognised as being in the top 10 per cent for two categories: Best for Customers for creating the most positive impact on its customers, and Best for the Long Term for creating an innovative governance structure to protect its mission in the future.

Difference B Corporations scoring in the top 10 per cent set a gold standard for businesses wanting to make a positive difference to the world around them.

The bank is entirely owned by charitable foundations, trusts and social purpose organisations and

its staff do not receive discretionary bonuses.

Money is lent by the bank to charities and community organisations. Since 2002, it has used the money from savers to provide over £185million of loan finance to support organisations which are working to enrich and improve society.

Patrick Crawford, Chief Executive of Charity Bank, said: “We are proud to be recognised as an organisation that seeks to maximise its social impact.

“These honours evidence how we put our social purpose and customer interests at the heart of our governance and decision-making.

“We stand with other organisations using business as a tool to build a better world.”

GOOD INVESTMENT Successful trainee Gavin Sahota

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NEWS

Community News

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

Brooks Macdonald raise £17,000 by cycling from Waterloo to… Waterloo

PRIDE OF PEDALLERS The cyclists arrive at the Lion’s Mound 1815 memorial in Belgium

TWENTY-THREE staff at Brooks Macdonald’s office in Tunbridge Wells pedalled 240 miles from Waterloo Station in London to Waterloo in Belgium to raise money for two cycling charities.

The challenge involved cycling 80 miles a day from September 1-3 and the riders raised more than £17,000, including £5,000 donated through the Brooks Macdonald Foundation.

Awareness The beneficiaries are Wheels for Wellbeing, based in South London, which helps disabled people to enjoy the benefits of cycling, and World Bicycle Relief, an international charity that distributes bicycles to disaster victims, healthcare workers, students and entrepreneurs.

Pam Beith, Head of Brooks Macdonald in Tunbridge Wells, said: “Our staff successfully rose to the challenge and all managed to make it over the finish line in Waterloo, Belgium.

“We are proud to have raised over £17,000 and to have generated further awareness for these ­wonderful charities and the amazing work that they do.”

Investment Manager Sam Durnell added: “I was excited to take part in the challenge, especially as it was for such worthy causes.

“Although at times it was tough going and very tiring, reaching Waterloo in Belgium, along with the rest of the team, was a real achievement.”

To donate, visit www.wheelsforwellbeing. org.uk and www.worldbicyclerelief.org

How to keep fit – and support Breast Cancer Care at same time A FITNESS company in Tunbridge Wells is hosting its second Big Pink week from October 2-8 to raise awareness and funds for Breast Cancer Care.

Family Inspired Training [FIT] encourage families to keep fit together. Lucy-Jo Tostevin, who runs the business with her partner Carl Wilkinson, says: “It’s a fun way to bring together people from the local community while also raising awareness and money for the Breast Cancer Care Charity.”

She added: “Almost all of us have been affected or knows someone

affected by cancer, so all the more reason to raise awareness for this great charity.”

“We’d love locals to join us for our fitness sessions during this week as all the proceeds at every session will be donated to the charity.”

Fiona West, Fundraising Officer at Breast Cancer Care, added: “The money they raise will help the charity to continue to provide a unique range of free support, including reliable information and one-to-one support over the phone and online from nurses and people who’ve been diagnosed themselves.

“An estimated 691,000 people in the UK are currently living with a breast cancer diagnosis so there has never been such an urgent need for our support services.”

FIT’s Big Pink is being held on Monday October 2, 9.30am and Wednesday October 4, 9.15am at Langton Green Pavilion; Wednesday October 4, 6.15pm at Ashurst Recreation Ground; and Saturday October 7, 8am at Lower Tunbridge Wells Common.

For more information, email: familyinspiredtraining@gmail.co.uk

HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS Lucy and Carl (in pink) help families keep fit together

Community News

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

Rescue centre launches Sophia’s wildlife photography competition

SNAP HAPPY Sophia (middle) and her fellow pupils look around Folly Wildlife Rescue A WOODLAND rescue centre has hosted the launch of a junior wildlife photography competition called wlife03, organised by ten-year-old Sophia Dennett.

Sophia, a pupil at St James’ Junior School in Tunbridge Wells, was given a guided tour of Folly Wildlife Rescue’s hospital in Broadwater Forest along with seven other primary school children.

Sophia said: “I wanted to launch the competition somewhere that really cared for wildlife. I had visited a couple of weeks earlier and the tawny owl that had been in the incubator after being hit on

the head was now completely well and released back into the wild.”

She added: “I think the way they care for the likes of hedgehogs, badgers and birds there is really great.”

The photography competition is open to all primary school children in Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge and the surrounding areas.

To enter, email your photos with your name, age, school and year group to: wlife03@yahoo.com.

For more details, visit www.wlife03.com

Macmillan consultant thrilled to be chosen as M&S ambassador SARA HODGKINSON, a Macmillan Urology Consultant Radiographer from Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust [MTW], has been chosen as an ambassador for Marks & Spencer.

Macmillan and M&S have been in partnership since 2010, with the nationwide chain as the official partner of the charity’s World’s Biggest Coffee Morning.

Vital Last year the retailer raised £3.2million for Macmillan – enough to fund 66 nurses, occupational therapists and dieticians.

Sara is one of 11 Macmillan professionals who will share their stories of what they do day-to-day

to help people living with cancer. She has worked as a Macmillan Site Specialist Radiographer at MTW for ten years. As a Consultant Radiographer, she treats around 300 patients every month.

She said: “I am absolutely delighted to be an ambassador for M&S and the vital fundraising work they carry out alongside Macmillan.

“This kind of work ensures that no one ever has to face cancer alone and that we, as healthcare professionals, can offer the best possible care and support at the times it’s needed the most.”

EXPERT VIEW Sara Hodgkinson

A4G Amherst are champions of ellenor’s Accumulator Challenge THE second year of ellenor’s Accumulator Challenge saw more than 30 local businesses competing against each other to raise £16,504 for families facing terminal illness.

Each company was given a crisp £50 note and given three months to grow it into as large a sum as possible. The challenge was sponsored by Baxall Construction, who won the inaugural fundraiser last year.

The funds will go towards providing counsellors to support bereaved children and adults in the family home.

Sevenoaks accountants A4G Amherst Ltd were named as this year’s winners after raising £2,172 through a networking evening, riding a stationary bicycle on the pavement, dress-down Fridays, and a children’s play session.

Kate Barnes, ellenor’s Area Fundraising Manager, said:

“We’re delighted with how much time and effort companies put into fundraising for ellenor.

“The amount raised by local companies enables us to continue to provide our care and support to local families facing terminal illness when they most need it.” ellenor provides hospice care for people of all ages – babies, children and adults – and their families. For information, visit www.ellenor.org

ACTIVELY INVOLVED A4G Amherst Ltd rise to the prize

NEWS

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County News

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

Charity tins stolen from cancer victim’s town…

THE father of a teenager battling cancer has said the actions of those who have stolen charity boxes to raise money for her treatment are ‘tantamount to attempted murder’.

Martin Turner’s distress stems from the fact that four collection pots raising money for his daughter Kelly, 17, have been stolen from around their home town of Dover in one week.

Two men have since been arrested in relation to the theft: Craig Dunn, 25, from Dover, appeared at Medway Magistrates Court on Friday and was released on bail, and 33-year-old James Pope, of no fixed address, who remains in custody. It is not thought the two individuals are acquainted.

Kelly needs £1million for specialist treatment at the Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York for a rare form of cancer called Desmoplastic Small Round Cell Tumour. She is currently being kept

FIGHTING CANCER Kelly Turner with mum Linda and actor James McAvoy

alive by chemotherapy and an expensive medicine which is not available on the NHS and costs on average £2,600 a month. Without the specialist treatment in America, Kelly is expected to only live for another 12 months.

Commenting on the thefts, Mr Turner said: “It is quite a depressing thought that someone will steal these for their own means.

“We are all gutted because we are desperately trying to save Kelly’s life. So to me these thefts are tantamount to attempted murder.

“Some people can be just awful, and I hate the ones who did this.”

Kelly’s fund received a huge financial boost when Hollywood star James McAvoy donated £50,000, helping the fund to reach over £580,000 in total.

You can donate to Kelly Turner Fundraising at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/kelly-turner2000

Divisions emerge in KCC over grammar policy EDUCATION chiefs at Kent County Council have rejected accusations that they are failing to act on a series of recommendations aimed at encouraging bright children from poorer backgrounds to apply for grammar schools.

The recommendations on how to improve social mobility were made in a report by the cross-party Grammar schools and social mobility Select Committee at Kent County Council [KCC].

But Conservative councillor Andrew Bowles said the committee, of which he is a member, will have to ask ‘hard questions’ of KCC as a year after the report was published ‘none’ of its recommendations have been fully implemented. He added: “The

committee will be addressing the issue.”

However, his fellow Conservative Cllr Roger Gough (Sevenoaks North), who is the Cabinet member for education, rejected the criticism, saying progress on many of the recommendations was underway.

This includes moves by several grammars to allocate places in their admissions arrangements to poorer brighter pupils based on measures such as free school meals and Pupil Premium money.

“The changes some grammars have made in admissions have been very helpful and it is the right thing to do,” he said.

“If schools do not have significant numbers of pupils from more modest backgrounds taking the test, we are not going to get very far. I would not accept that progress has not been made.”

Sheppey man is denied NASA role HE COULD have become one of Kent’s most revered citizens, but unfortunately for aspiring spaceman Bertie Crablebs, his dreams of joining NASA on future missions have been dashed.

Despite his compelling CV, America’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration appears to believe that Mr Crablebs is unsuited to the role of an astronaut.

Dejected by his failure, the native of Sheppey – an island off the Kent coast where the Short Brothers built Europe’s first aircraft factory – posted NASA’s reply on Facebook on Friday, in which he was told ‘pukka comedians’ are ineligible for the space programme.

Signed by NASA’s Acting Administrator, Robert M Lightfoot Jr, the letter – addressed to Mr Bertie ‘Crablegs’ – continues: “Additionally, we are returning your head shot, not requested as part of the application process, for the simple fact that you appear to be fully dressed in an ape costume, that the poor quality of the suit might increase the likelihood of ape follicles becoming a nuisance for the electronics aboard our spacecraft.”

Application The letter adds: “We here at NASA review each application carefully and while we are unable to accept you at this time, we hope you continue to enjoy the life you laboured on at length about in the Isle of Sheppey, UK with its ‘modern horseless carriages, more than one Subway restaurant and the fittest girls that do almost everything on the first date.’”

National News

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

Cable targets property – and public school pillow fighters

SHAKE IT UP Sir Vince Cable meets delegates LIBERAL DEMOCRAT leader Sir Vince Cable has called for wealth taxes as he insisted his party is not just ‘UKIP in reverse’, caring only about Brexit.

Sir Vince used his first keynote address to the Lib Dem conference in Bournemouth to urge a crackdown on property speculators to ease housing problems.

He said he wanted to see the tax system shift to imposing levies on wealth accumulated through property and savings, rather than work.

He told delegates: “We must end the strangle-

hold of oligarchs and speculators in our housing market. I want to see fierce tax penalties on the acquisition of property for investment purposes, by overseas investors.”

Despite insisting there is more to the Lib Dems than opposing Brexit, Sir Vince said EU ­withdrawal ranked alongside the Iraq War and the banking crisis as one of the ‘three great disasters’ to hit Britain in recent years.

He accused ministers of behaving like dictators over Brexit as he called for ‘political adults’ in Tory and Labour ranks to join forces with him and try to reverse withdrawal from the EU. He challenged Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and other Brexiters to defend any deal hammered out with Brussels in a new referendum.

Sir Vince labelled Brexiters ‘masochists’, saying: “What are they afraid of? They now believe in the slogan of dictators everywhere: ‘one person, one vote, once’.

Insisting that the sharp drop in the value of the pound since the referendum is a taste of things to come, he said: “We believe the public have a right to change their mind.

“At the end of these tortuous divorce ­negotiations, the British public must be given a vote on the outcome.”

He compared Cabinet ­differences on Brexit with private school pranks. “A disaster looms – Brexit.

The product of a fraudulent and frivolous campaign led by two groups of silly public school boys reliving their dormitory pillow fights.”

NEWS IN BRIEF

Bus strike set for Friday

Suspicious object on M1

BUS control staff and revenue inspectors in London are to stage a 24-hour strike in a dispute over pay.

Over 400 members of Unite employed by Transport for London will walk out on Friday in protest at an offer the union said was worth £6.73 a week, which it described as the worst for anyone at the company.

THE M1 motorway was partially closed yesterday after a ‘suspicious object’ was found under a bridge. An 11-mile stretch between junctions 15 at Northampton and 14 at Milton Keynes was closed both ways.

Direct to the Seychelles BRITISH AIRWAYS is to launch the UK’s only non-stop flights to the Seychelles.

Holidaymakers will be able to fly direct from London Heathrow to the luxury destination from March 24 next year.

NEWS

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National News

Scientists identify ‘magnet’ spread of prostrate cancer A PROTEIN in bone marrow acts like a ‘magnet’ for spreading prostate cancer cells, say researchers.

Scientists used the discovery to disable prostate cancer in the laboratory, raising the prospect of new treatments for advanced forms of the disease.

Once it begins to spread, or metastasise, prostate cancer often gravitates to the bones for reasons that are not well understood.

The University of York team found that the bone protein provides a docking point for passing prostate cancer cells.

Once docked, a signal from the surface of a tumour cell to its nucleus causes it to start multiplying.

‘It will buy a man more time to fight his cancer or even stop the spread of cancer altogether’ In laboratory experiments, the team succeeded in blocking the cancer-driving growth signal using a non-toxic drug already tested for the treatment of allergic asthma. As a result, cancer cells survived but their ability to multiply and spread further was disabled.

Immobilising prostate cancer in this way could slow down metastasis or increase the effectiveness of other treatments such as chemotherapy, said the scientists.

Lead scientist Prof Norman Maitland said: “We know that this works in human cancer cells, but what we now need to find is the correct dosage of the drug in patients, and whether it will buy a man more time to fight his cancer or even stop the spread of cancer altogether.”

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

Individual manslaughter charges are considered in Grenfell investigation THE criminal investigation into the Grenfell Tower fire may consider individual as well as corporate manslaughter charges, the Metropolitan Police said.

Detectives are also investigating eight cases of fraud involving people who claimed or attempted to claim money following the disaster and four possible thefts from flats on the lower levels while the building was under 24-hour security.

Police now believe that the death toll from the June 14 blaze ‘may come down a little bit’ from the current estimate of around 80.

This is due to the recoveries made from the tower, the number of identifications made, and CCTV evidence that showed around 240 people left the tower between midnight and 8am on the night of the fire.

Commander Stuart Cundy said the progress made in terms of recovering remains was ‘much higher’ than he had expected three months ago.

Detective Chief Inspector Matt

TOWER TRAGEDY Eight fraud cases are being examined

Bonner said the investigation would deal with ‘whatever offences come to light’.

He said: “The kind of stuff I would envisage we may come across would involve offences perhaps of fraud, misconduct offences, health and safety breaches, breaches of fire safety regulations, and of course offences of manslaughter, whether that be on a corporate or an individual level.”

He warned this did not mean that investigators had already come across evidence suggesting culpability on these issues.

So far, investigators have identified 336 different organisations with ‘varying degrees of involvement’ as part of the construction, refurbishment and management strands.

Forensic examination of the tower will run into 2018, followed by laboratory testing.

The number of officers working in the tower was doubled on Monday in the hope of completing the recovery process by the New Year.

Corbyn wins battle against his own MPs JEREMY CORBYN’S proposed overhaul of Labour rules to tip the balance of power away from MPs and towards members who appear more likely to support him and his allies have been approved by the party’s ruling body, sources confirmed.

The plan to make it easier for candidates to stand for the leadership with the support of fewer MPs and MEPs, with the threshold lowered from 15 per cent to 10 per cent, was passed by the National Executive Committee (NEC) with no votes against.

Control It will be seen as an attempt by Mr Corbyn to tighten his control of the party and make it easier for a left-wing candidate to succeed him as leader.

The NEC’s decision comes ahead of Labour’s conference, which begins on Sunday in Brighton and will have to approve or reject the proposal.

A row had been expected over an initial plan to lower the threshold to 5 per cent, but a compromise was reached after Mr Corbyn’s unexpectedly impressive general election result.

Children’s hospital owed £30million from overseas THE UK’s leading children’s hospital, Great Ormond Street in London, is owed £30million for treating overseas patients, according to board papers.

A large proportion of the debt was over 200 days old. The trust confirmed this financial year it has taken legal action to recover a £1.5million debt.

The trust said the vast majority of the debt relates to cases of sponsorship by a government or other international organisation.

National Business News

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

NEWS IN BRIEF

Millions saddled with high levels of debt SOME 8.3 million people across the UK are estimated to be living with a debt problem, a report from the Money Advice Service (MAS) has found.

In some parts of the UK, more than one in five adults are over-indebted, according to the research.

Sheila Wheeler, Director of Debt at the MAS, said: “Debt is a complex challenge and one that needs a collaborative approach if we are to successfully address it.”

Bonuses hit record high THE value of bonuses paid out in Britain has reached record heights as finance firms handed out bigger awards to staff.

The Office for National Statistics said total bonus payments jumped 6.5 per cent to £46.4billion in the year to March – the highest level since records began in 2001.

The amount was underpinned by an increase of 9.7 per cent in the value of payouts from the finance and insurance industry, which made £15billion worth of awards over the period.

‘Business as usual’ TOYS’R’US confirmed its UK subsidiary is not affected by the US parent group filing for bankruptcy amid mammoth debts and increasing online competition.

The chain said it is ‘business as usual’ for the 110 stores across the UK, which employ more than 2,500 staff.

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Lidl holds on to fastest growing supermarket title GERMAN discount firm Lidl is once again the UK’s fastest growing supermarket with a record market share of 5.3 per cent, figures show.

Almost two thirds of shoppers visited a Lidl or its rival Aldi in the past three months, with the two retailers now accounting for almost £1 in every £8 spent in Britain’s supermarkets, up from £1 in £25 a decade ago, Kantar Worldpanel said.

Increased Supermarket sales overall were up 3.6 per cent in the 12 weeks to September 10 on the same time last year, the sixth consecutive month of growth over 3 per cent, largely driven by grocery inflation.

Fraser McKevitt, Head of Retail and Consumer

Insight at Kantar Worldpanel, said: “We haven’t seen sustained market growth of this kind since May 2013.

“A 1.5 per cent increase in the volume of goods going through the tills has contributed to this growth while the remainder of the overall sales increase is down to higher prices.

“Like-for-like grocery inflation now stands at 3.2 per cent, slightly ahead of the headline CPI rate and down 0.1 percentage points on last month.”

Lidl was the fastest growing supermarket with a sales increase of 19.2 per cent, while Aldi’s growth of 15.6 per cent took its market share to 6.9 per cent.

Tesco’s recovery continued with sales up 2.7 per cent, although its market share was squeezed by 0.3 percentage points to 27.8 per cent, while Sains-

bury’s market share fell 0.2 percentage points to 15.7 per cent.

Asda attracted an extra 482,000 shoppers compared with a year ago, the fastest rate by the retailer in more than three years.

Despite announcing a fall in profits last week, Waitrose’s sales increased by 2.4 per cent and it held on to a 5.3 per cent share of the market.

Little change in unarranged overdraft fees despite criticism of high charges CURRENT account providers’ charges for slipping into an unarranged overdraft have fallen only slightly on average since the start of the year, according to analysis.

Despite criticism of the size of some fees charged, unarranged overdraft penalty fees have fallen by just £1.43 typically since the start of 2017, Moneyfacts.co.uk found.

In January 2017 the average unarranged overdraft fee, based on one penalty for a whole month,

was £53.61, and today it stands at £52.18.

Rachel Springall, a finance expert at Moneyfacts, said: “Our statistics show that there has been very little change across the market and that there is still room for improvement.”

She continued: “Thankfully, there are some main brands who have taken the opportunity to reduce the unarranged overdraft fee.”

A previous investigation by Which? into unarranged overdraft fees found that some can

potentially cost more than a payday loan.

Some banks have announced an overhaul of the way they charge for overdrafts.

In July, Lloyds Banking Group, the UK’s largest current account provider, unveiled plans for a simplified ‘pay-as-you-go’ overdraft charging system, starting from November.

A spokeswoman for trade body UK Finance said positive changes made to current accounts are expected to be reflected in data in the near future.

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World News

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

Dropped project ‘nothing more’ than business deal

LIFE SAVER Stanislav Petrov

‘The man who saved the world’ dies at 77 STANISLAV PETROV, a former Soviet military officer known in the West as ‘the man who saved the world’ for his role in averting a nuclear war, has died at the age of 77.

Mr Petrov’s German friend, Karl Schumacher, said on Tuesday [September 19] that he died in May. Mr Schumacher called Mr Petrov earlier this month to wish him a happy birthday, but was told by Mr Petrov’s son that his father had died.

Mr Petrov’s son also confirmed the death to the Russian state Zvezda TV station on Tuesday.

Mr Petrov was on duty at the Soviet military’s early warning facility on September 26 1983, when an alarm went off, signalling the launch of US intercontinental ballistic missiles.

The 44-year-old officer had to determine within seconds whether the attack was real.

He decided to consider it a false alarm, which it was.

AN abandoned proposal to develop a Trump didacy, and ended early last year when Mr Cohen Tower in Moscow during the 2016 presidential determined the project was not feasible. election was “solely a real estate deal and Mr Cohen said: “Given my own proximity nothing more,” the personal lawyer for Presto the President of the United States as a ident Donald Trump told concandidate, let me also say that I never gressional staff. saw anything, not a hint of anything, Michael Cohen was that demonstrated his involvement in appearing privately on Russian interference in our election or Tuesday [September 19] any form of Russian collusion.” before the Senate Intelligence Committee, Threatened one of multiple congresIt comes as Mr Trump, in a sional panels investigatcombative debut speech to ing Russian interference in the UN general assembly, the presidential race and potential threatened the total ties to the Trump campaign. destruction of North Korea The discussions about the proREAL ESTATE DEAL if it does not abandon its posed development occurred in Trump denies Russian drive toward nuclear the autumn of 2015, months after involvement weapons.

Mr Trump had declared his can-

SPORTS IN BRIEF

Irish bid to help rugby in America grow IRELAND want to help rugby crack the United States by hosting World Cup 2023.

Irish rugby chiefs will present their World Cup bid to the voting unions in London on Monday, September 25, with France and South Africa the other contenders.

The Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) believe the 70 million-strong global Irish population can galvanise rugby’s bid to break America.

The final host decision will be revealed on November 15.

Disabled fans miss out

Mayors appear before prosecutors

BRITAIN’S national equality body has accused some Premier League clubs of ‘neglecting’ disabled fans after they failed to meet a pledge to improve access at their grounds.

Premier League clubs promised two years ago that they would meet basic recommendations by the start of this season.

While many clubs have responded positively, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) has been left frustrated by the lack of progress elsewhere.

THE first of more than 700 mayors under investigation for supporting a planned independence referendum for Spain’s north eastern region of Catalonia have appeared before prosecutors, but refused to give evidence.

The mayors of the small towns of Oliana, Pont de Suert and Mollerussa were greeted by

DAVID HAYE says all terms have been agreed between his camp and Tony Bellew’s for the pair to meet again in the ring.

The British pair fought at heavyweight in March at London’s O2 Arena, with Haye being defeated in the 11th round.

Reports have suggested the rematch is set to take place at the O2 on December 17.

supporters who shouted ‘we will vote’ after their appearances on Tuesday [September 19].

Spain’s Constitutional Court has ordered the October 1 referendum be suspended and the central government is waging myriad legal battles to halt it, claiming it is illegal.

Spanish police on Tuesday continued raids to seize docu-

ments related to the referendum.

Catalonia, which represents a fifth of Spain’s 1.1-trillion-euro economy, has some 900 mayors.

The mayor of the capital, Barcelona, is not under investigation.

The region’s 7.5 million inhabitants are nearly evenly divided over the issue of independence.

British boxers rematch

Letters

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

NEWS

19

And another thing…

This is the page where you, the reader, have your chance to express your views or comments on what’s going on in our part of the world. We like to hear from you. You can email us at newsdesk@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk or newsdesk@timesoftonbridge.co.uk or write to the Editor at 16 Lonsdale Gardens, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 1NU

Why spend millions on ‘new’ schools when you can’t maintain old ones?

I find it amazing that Kent County Council [KCC] have been able to fund two new ‘annexes’ in Sevenoaks for grammar schools – one of which

Totally empathise with objectors Thank you for giving the story about the group of Tunbridge Wells residents opposing the building of a Premier Inn in such an historic part of town such prominence in your newspaper [September 13].

I don’t live anywhere near this part of town but I can totally empathise with the opposing group’s disgruntlement at the prospect of a cheap and cheerful hotel being slapped right in the middle of a cluster of beautiful period houses along one of Tunbridge Wells’ most famous roads.

The fact that Premier Inn – and the council – have not really thought the logistics through regarding parking is another headache that will see an increase in traffic and all those precious parking spaces becoming almost non-existent for those who live and work in Tunbridge Wells.

Call me a cynic, but it would seem that anything goes here as long as the powers that be make money from it. I wish Ellen Kent and all her colleagues and the residents of London Road who oppose this hotel all the very best in their fight against it.

Rebecca Barclay Via email

Brainwashing public will not work Congratulations to Cllr Joe Simmons [Southborough North] for having the courage to stand up for what he believes in [a referendum on the Civic Complex]. His ward is fortunate in having a representative who will democratically offer them a chance to vote for or against the vast expenditure of the proposed Civic Centre ‘project’.

In fact, the whole population of the borough should have a vote on this, as they all will be contributing towards its ongoing costs.

What a pity Cllr Peter Bulman [Park] is reticent about standing up for all those who wrote to him.

Also, let’s take into account the 2,000 people who signed the petition opposing the ‘project’.

This highly contentious issue should be put to a

is still standing empty because no one wants it [September 13]. It was my understanding that, despite a bit of U-turning, there will be swingeing cuts made to education budgets from 2019, with some drastic changes to the per-pupil allowance as well as cuts to staff numbers.

KCC would no doubt argue that there’s a big difference because one is a capital expenditure and the other is a matter of current expenditure.

And no doubt the bureaucracy involved in linking the two would be interminable.

But still, it does look daft to build new schools (because that’s what they are) at a cost of £22million when you can’t afford to keep the old ones running properly. And this has nothing to do with them being grammars. It applies across the spectrum of secondary education.

Robert Jeffries Via email borough-wide referendum. Brainwashing the minds of the public will not work as it did, when the public trusted its leaders.

June Moore Rusthall

One way or another residents will pay In your article [August 30] on a councillor calling his own referendum, Cllr [Tracy] Moore repeated the mantra that council tax will not increase to pay for the £120million cost of the [theatre and Civic Complex] project over 50 years.

First of all, she can only give that commitment for as long as [David] Jukes is Leader, and in all probability that will end in 2019.

Second, the main reason for saying that if they did propose to raise council tax over the cap, they would have to hold a referendum.

However, already in the budget strategy they are going to have to find an additional £3.4million in savings to balance the budget in the years 2019/22, and that is without any funding needed to finance the loan repayments, likely to be of the order of £2.7million each year for 50 years.

To achieve a balanced budget without the use of reserves, the council is going to have to find over £3million each year for the foreseeable future.

Whichever way you look at it, we the residents will pay for that borrowing one way or another, and that is why there has to be a borough-wide decision by way of a referendum in May of 2018.

Roy Bullock Lamberhurst

Council needs to get a grip I read with some amusement the troubles the council currently find themselves in. It seems each week brings fresh tales of woe, and there certainly seems to be a lot of anger out there about their actions and policy decisions.

There have been times in the past, of course,

when open discord within the council has been on display, such as during the era of Roy Bullock, but this year there is a palpable sense of crisis.

It just seems that no matter what they do, the council manage to infuriate one group or another.

Of course, you cannot please all of the people all of the time, and an attempt to do so often has very negative side effects. But, for whatever reason, they currently do not seem to be taking anyone along with them at all. Whether this is because they are genuinely failing to win popular backing for their ideas, or because anyone who does support them is staying silent, is an open question.

Either way, unless they get a grip on the situation, I wouldn’t fancy my chances as a Conservative councillor at the next round of local elections. That is, if your party even lets you stand in the first place, of course.

Joseph Padstone Via email

Remainers want reruns until they win I assume that if Ray Parkes’ favourite football team lost the FA Cup final he would demand it be replayed until a different result was achieved [September 6].

The remain campaign comprehensively lost the referendum but, rather than accepting the outcome, demands that it be rerun until their side wins.

This is, of course, the way the EU operates, having forced even the French to vote again over the Maastricht treaty, ensuring that they complied with the wishes of the Brussels bureaucrats.

As far as Mr Parkes’ statement about MPs is concerned, the fact is that we are leaving the EU, in accordance with the wishes of the people, so it is up to all of our legislators to work towards that end, not to try to place their personal views above those of the electorate.

Colin Bullen Via email

What was Bridgewater House?

I am currently researching Henry Abergavenny Wootton, who served with distinction at Trafalgar in the navy and later had a successful army career winning medals during the Crimean War. He died in 1871 and his Will states that he was formerly at Bridgewater House in Tunbridge Wells.

As he seems to have died in reduced circumstances, I wondered if this was his private residence or whether it was a home for army veterans? If any of your readers could assist me in determining the position it would be greatly appreciated.

James Grierson Dumfries

G4S and the hospital visit A correction is needed to my letter of September 6 [about G4S patient transport]. I had to make my own way home from, not to, Maidstone Hospital.

David Rose Southborough

We do our best to publish letters in full. However, the Editor reserves the right to edit any letter. Please ensure that letters do not exceed 250 words

Calverley

Observations on life and more important things

EVERYONE has their own way of unwinding.

Calverley has a friend who is a mother of four young boys. She finds that taking herself off to the garden cabin and doing 20 minutes of meditation helps. Her boys are told: “Unless the house is burning down, I don’t want to hear from you.” Ten minutes into one routine she sensed a presence, opened her eyes and saw her nine year old at the window holding a placard that read: “Hi Mum… can we have an ice cream?” Bless him.

CALVERLEY is again grateful to another of his field agents who has highlighted the value of haggling – as in a souk on a Moroccan holiday.

Closer to home, she went to the car wash at Sainsbury’s in Linden Park Road where a lady quoted her £10 for cleaning and polishing the vehicle. When she suggested it was a bit expensive for ‘a little Mini’, the lady rushed off and came back with a chap willing to do it for £6. Result. Now, where’s the Bentley?

NUMEROUS followers of this column have returned from their summer pilgrimage to the Costa del Sol and demanded to know if this newspaper is behind the opening of a bar in La Cala called The Times. Sadly, no – unless the management of this publication have gone behind Calverley’s back, which is quite likely.

UNION flag in hand, Calverley settles in front of the television for his traditional viewing of the BBC’s Last Night of the Proms. His flag was almost in the minority. Many of those at the Royal Albert Hall and outside venues were waving the blue EU flag. Determined to get to the bottom of it all, Himself made enquiries and discovered someone had handed out 11,000 of the EU colours to the crowds. Those sneaky old Remoaners had stolen our thunder.

Before anyone writes in, the flag of the United Kingdom is only called the Union Jack when it is flown on the jackstaff on the bow of a Royal Naval ship. Otherwise it’s the Union flag.

Chin, chin readers

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NEWS

Education

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

EDUCATION Times WITH THE

Introducing an international approach to local learning…

The Skinners’ Kent Academy in Tunbridge Wells is the first non-selective school in England to become an authorised International Baccalaureate World School for both the Middle Years and Career-related Programmes. Eileen Leahy talks to its Principal, Matthew Tompkins, about how it is making the grade thanks to this global approach NINE years ago, Tunbridge Wells High School, formerly known as Sandown Court, was a struggling secondary failing to obtain standard performance results and attract a decent number of students.

Urgent action had to be taken, so the school, located on the Pembury Road, was taken over by The Skinners’ Company, which also has the Skinners’ and Judd grammars, Tonbridge public school and the new Skinners’ Kent Primary at Knights Wood under its umbrella.

Conversion to academy status, a change of name to The Skinners’ Kent Academy [SKA], and a new state-of-the-art building some years later, and the school can now boast being in the top 1% for progress in England for Maths and Science and in the top 5% for English.

In June last year, it also received the much

STATE OF THE ART The Skinners’ Kent Academy

coveted ‘Outstanding’ grading from Ofsted and recently had over 670 applications for the 180 places it offered for entry at Year 7 this September.

So how did it all go right? To find out, I’m here to meet SKA’s Principal, Matthew Tompkins, who has been in charge of the school for the past three years. Prior to becoming its head, he was Vice Principal to Sian Carr, who launched the school in 2009 and is now its Executive Principal.

“It took a relatively short time to go from Tunbridge Wells High School to The Skinners’ Kent Academy,” Matthew tells me.

This, he reveals, was simply because of the change of name and conversion to academy status. All the hard work to get pupils achieving impressive results, and the creation of the school’s remarkable Starship Enterprise-style circular building, took a lot longer to achieve.

‘We’re giving young people the opportunity to express what they’re capable of academically’ “The first thing we did when we came on board was to change the ethos of the school,” continues Mr Tompkins.

This, he says, was achieved by ‘getting the new students engaged, improving the attendance rate and instilling a strong desire to learn and achieve good results’.

“Our hope was that every child would be able to maximise their learning potential, and that expectation had a huge ripple effect in terms of behaviour, attendance, exam results, students’ enjoyment of school and engagement of learning,” he adds. “There is no silver bullet to transforming a school, but you have to be really focused on providing the highest quality teaching and learning. There was a natural turnover of staff at the beginning, and since then we have built a strong and stable team to move forward.”

This resulted in SKA being rated Outstanding by

Education

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

Ofsted in every area in June 2016. But according to Mr Tompkins, it’s really the students who deserve the credit.

“They have worked exceptionally hard and are doing some quite incredible things. We’re giving young people the opportunity to express who they are and what they’re capable of academically.”

One of the biggest changes came when SKA introduced the International Baccalaureate [IB] programme for its students alongside traditional GCSEs and A Levels. The IB provides pupils with a globally-accepted qualification for entry into higher level education.

Mr Tompkins believes this has given them a unique edge as SKA is the first non-selective school in England to become an authorised International Baccalaureate World School for both the Middle Years programme [MYP] in Years 7-11 and the IB Career-related Programme [CP] taught in the sixth form.

“There is so much more to education than just the three Rs.,” he says. “The MYP develops students intellectually, but also emotionally and physically, while the CP’s curriculum aims to be flexible and challenging and to encourage lifelong learning in sixth formers.”

SKA’s new sixth form unit opened earlier this month, complete with a silent study centre, library and ‘Hogwarts-style’ dining area, and this, says Mr Tompkins, is the school’s ‘real area of growth’.

“We don’t want to be the biggest, but we do want to be the best, so we’re very keen to get the quality right. Our success has motivated others to look at this more holistic global curriculum.

“When you look at the statistics and results, the IB students are far more successful in their applications for university, and also when they get there. I think this is down to the breadth of the curriculum and because it isn’t purely based

something you’re weaker at, such as Art or Maths. Here you learn to be a leader in the subjects you’re strong at and that has a huge knock-on effect with subjects you’re less confident with.”

The school’s dedication to the IB curriculum is certainly paying off, and this summer SKA students achieved an impressive slew of top grades.

“We celebrated our best ever A Level results with 100% of students passing their courses (including 86% A-C) and 100% achieving grades 3-7 in their IB CREATIVE APPROACH subjects. Our students also This tree illustration represents SKA’s ethos produced excellent GCSE grades, and many have joined on British or European values, it’s a global context. the academy’s Sixth Form to study the IB “There is also some degree of flexibility with Career-related Programme.” the IB curriculum, and I think that in the everLater, as we tour around the school, which changing world of employment, it’s skills that includes soundproofed recording studios, a gym employers are looking for. Every student taking and 3D lecture theatre, Mr Tompkins says how their GCSEs will do Maths, English and Science, ‘proud’ he is of the ethos in all the classrooms. but here they will also do a modern foreign “When I was at school, it wasn’t the done thing language, an humanities and expressive arts to be good at school or turn in an amazing piece subject and also technology.” of independent learning, but that’s the basis on But if you have students doing a lot which this school is built. We take young people of subjects and not specialising in from all sorts of backgrounds, and I’m their strengths, is that really to passionate about every child walking into their advantage? every classroom as an equal.

“We all have weaker subjects,” Mr “We’re now in the top 1% for Maths and Tompkins responds. “We set every Science, but that won’t stop us aiming to subject independently right from Year achieve better. We want to be the top school in 7 so you can, for example, be a high the country and we genuinely want to be a flyer in English but then get the world-class school. right amount of support in “We work really hard every day to deliver the best lessons we can and to provide the best opportunities, and our young people are flourishing in that environment.”

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

GOING GLOBAL The new circular school building, and Matthew Tompkins (right)

The Skinners’ Kent Academy will be running daytime tours every Tuesday and Thursday throughout September and October at 10am. All tours are currently bookable via the academy website. The official Open Evening is on October 5 from 4pm-7.30pm, and the Sixth Form Open Evening is on November 23 from 6-8pm (no booking necessary)

NEWS

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NEWS

Weekly Comment

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

Greg Clark

MP for Tunbridge Wells

Greg Clark was first elected to Parliament as a representative of Tunbridge Wells in 2005. The Conservative MP has since held a number of positions in Government and currently sits as a member of the Cabinet in his capacity as Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

A21 dualling success is thanks to community unity TOMORROW is a momentous day for Tunbridge Wells with the official opening of the newly dualled A21 between Tonbridge and Pembury.

Already the old narrow, dark and dangerous road seems a distant memory.

Along with getting the new hospital built, the dualling of the A21 has been my biggest campaign since I was elected MP for Tunbridge Wells. Over 35,000 vehicles travel along this section of the A21 every day, and at peak times they came to a halt.

It was a nightmare for people travelling to and from work, and a serious drag on the local economy.

This stretch of road was also an appalling accident blackspot – the average accident rate was nearly double the national average for roads of this type and too many people had lost their lives.

It was blindingly obvious that something had to be done, but little did I realise just how long our campaign would have to run. And I firmly believe its success is the result of three ingredients: Tenacity, creativity and unity.

Firstly, tenacity – I cannot begin to count the times when it seemed all was lost. Back in the early days in 2008, when local road priorities were decided on by a Regional Transport Board, the

Department for Transport tried, on more than one occasion, to put pressure on the Board to drop the scheme. All of these attempts were thwarted. At one point I even had to gatecrash a meeting of the then South East Regional Transport Board to persuade them not to cancel the A21 dualling – as was proposed on an agenda I got wind of the day before the meeting. Each time a new Transport Secretary or Roads Minister was appointed, I asked to meet them to ensure the A21 was firmly in their consciousness, so that as and when setbacks occurred, they were fully aware of just how important the scheme was to local people and local businesses.

Finding creative solutions to what seemed, at the time, major obstacles, was also critical. Remember the note left by the outgoing Chief Secretary to the Treasury to his successor after the 2010 General Election which said ‘there’s no money left’?

This led to the dualling scheme being postponed.

We took the decision to keep the project alive by seeing if there was any way of reducing the cost of the scheme, which might persuade the Chancellor to change his mind. Kent County Council agreed, along with other local councils, to underwrite the costs of the stalled public inquiry. The Transport

Howard Porter Chair of Tonbridge & Malling Green Party

ROAD RAVE The A21 dual carriageway is ready to open

‘At one point I even had to gatecrash a meeting of the South East Regional Transport Board’ Secretary announced that the Public Inquiry for the Tonbridge to Pembury dualling scheme could go ahead – the authorisation of a public inquiry before funding for construction was agreed was an extremely unusual step, and I am sure would not have happened had the Secretary of State not been under constant pressure to get the dualling underway.

The success of the A21 campaign was a vindication of the focused effort by the whole community.

We would not have got to where we are without working closely together – local people, local businesses, local councils and local press speaking as one.

By bringing together every MP and every council on the A21 from Sevenoaks down to Hastings, as well as the local NHS Trust, into one campaigning group, speaking with one voice, we were able to emphasise that the dualling was desperately needed for the whole of the South East.

We met regularly to take every opportunity to press the case with Ministers and others. This culminated at the Public Inquiry, where leaders of local councils and MPs representing constituencies all along the A21 presented a unified case.

The whole community can be proud of what we have achieved in the face of many adversities.

Thank you to everyone for your huge support.

But it doesn’t end here – the campaign goes on with the next section of the A21 from the Blue Boys Roundabout to Lamberhurst firmly within our sights. No doubt we will meet obstacles on the way, but given our success with the Tonbridge to Pembury dualling, I am determined we will succeed.

Howard Porter has a background as a teacher in further and higher education and in the graphic design and advertising industry, where he was a founding partner in a full service design company for more than 25 years. In addition to his role as Chair of Tonbridge & Malling Green Party, he also chairs Tonbridge Town Team and is a board member of the Kent Farmers’ Market Association

Is worthy idea of localism really a romantic myth?

WE OFTEN hear about the virtues of localism and the need to support small businesses and independent retailers. Slogans like ‘use it or lose it’ encourage us to ‘shop local’, but we need to look behind the slogans and ask precisely what this means.

In surveys, most people seem to agree that supporting local business is a good idea, but their actual shopping behaviour often displays the exact opposite. While we recognise the cosy authenticity of the shop down the road selling locally-sourced produce, we all too often shop at the big multiples, supermarkets and online for goods imported from around the globe.

‘For every pound spent with a local supplier, 45 pence remains in the local economy’ Is the whole ‘support local business’ thing a dead duck in reality? Is localism a romantic myth?

The answer to this has to be no. In fact, the vast majority (89.5 per cent) of businesses in Kent are micro-enterprises – employing up to nine people – and, in the UK as a whole, more than 11 million people work in enterprises employing 150 people or less.

So while it might not seem to be the case, we depend to a large extent on small businesses for

our prosperity. But there are other reasons why we need small producers and retailers.

They help to make places distinct, giving character and uniqueness to our towns and villages – but they are also economically vital.

What economists call the Local Multiplier Effect demonstrates just how important local business is to our prosperity.

There are different methods of working this out, and it varies for different sectors, but as a rule of thumb it shows that for every pound spent with a local supplier, 45 pence remains in the local economy. Compare that with a large multiple where for every pound spent, only 15 pence remains to circulate locally.

This means that we are all better off by shopping locally and using local suppliers, because more of the money we spend comes back to us, while money spent in multiples is taken out of the system and is a net loss to the local economy.

Of course, there is always going to be a place for goods from far and wide. We can’t grow bananas in Kent, and it makes sense to produce some things at a huge scale. Long as well as short distance trade is an important part of our economy.

But it is a question of balance. Complete self-sufficiency is a myth and is, in any case, self-limiting to a dangerous degree, but an economy that doesn’t also have a high degree of self-reliance is

PAY YOUR WAY Small retailers keep money in the local economy also dangerously unbalanced. What’s more, to be sustainable in a finite world of diminishing resources requires the use of short supply chains, so supporting small local business isn’t a romantic luxury, it is essential for our economic prosperity and survival.

Of course, working with others internationally is important, too, but if we lose our economic independence, we also lose our self-determination.

So yes – we do need to use our local businesses, because if we lose them, we lose much more besides.

WEST KENT’S ULTIMATE PROPERTY GUIDE – FREE EVERY WEDNESDAY A MUST-READ FOR THOSE LOOKING TO BUY, LET OR SELL

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WITH THE

Available in Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge and Sevenoaks

bracketts

est. 1828

Timber-framed treasure Full of gorgeous period features

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PROPERTY

To suit your budget

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

Your at-a-glance guide to WITH THE

OF TUNBRIDGE WELLS

Pick up your edition at the following stations Tunbridge Wells Tonbridge Wadhurst Hildenborough Paddock Wood High Brooms

DRY HILL PARK ROAD, TONBRIDGE GUIDE PRICE £575,000 – £600,000 To feature a property or to place an advert please call: Jemma Rose 01892 774 781

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UNDER £250,000 HADLOW ROAD, TONBRIDGE

£179,950 A spacious one-bedroom assisted living retirement apartment on the ground floor of McCarthy & Stone’s Castle Court development, just a short walk from Tonbridge High Street and all its amenities. The desirable build offers residents the prospect of continued independence

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CONTACT Bracketts 01732 350503 www.bracketts.co.uk

UNDER £350,000 PARK ROAD, TUNBRIDGE WELLS

£300,000 GUIDE PRICE This beautifully finished apartment is set in a handsome detached Victorian conversion which sits screened from the road behind a gravelled driveway and hedge. The accommodation includes two double bedrooms, with the master bedroom boasting its own en suite. There is also a modern

shower room and an open-plan living/dining room with fitted kitchen. The apartment is light and airy with fully glazed French doors leading out to a private terrace. Also outside, there is an off-street parking space to the front. At the rear, the shared garden is laid mainly to lawn.

CONTACT Flying Fish Properties 01892 514 189 www.flyingfishproperties.co.uk

To suit your budget

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

PROPERTY

25

great properties by price range…

UNDER £400,000 WOODSIDE ROAD, TONBRIDGE

£325,000 Perfect for first-time buyers, investors and young families, this beautifully presented two-bedroom semi-detached property is situated in a popular location to the south of Tonbridge. The terraced house is convenient for the mainline station, with regular services to London, as well as the High Street. The accommodation comprises a sitting room, dining room, two bedrooms and a family bathroom. Outside is a beautiful cottage style garden with private access at the far end and an outside toilet.

CONTACT Bracketts 01732 350503 www.bracketts.co.uk

UNDER £800,000 CULVERDEN AVENUE, TUNBRIDGE WELLS

£785,000

This Edwardian detached family home offers well-proportioned rooms and an excellent living space. The sitting room has a large bay window to the front and double doors opening to the garden. The dining room is also dual aspect, with a serving hatch to the recently refurbished kitchen. Also on the ground floor is an updated shower room. Upstairs, there is a principal bedroom, two further double bedrooms and a family bathroom. The second floor has a study area, storage and a fourth double bedroom.

CONTACT Barnes Kingsnorth 01892 822880 www.bkestateagents.com

UNDER £650,000

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DRY HILL PARK ROAD, TONBRIDGE

£575,000-£600,000 GUIDE PRICE This three-bedroom period family home is situated in the sought-after Dry Hill Park Road. The property has been sympathetically designed to a high standard and is laid out to offer spacious accommodation including an entrance hallway, WC, a sitting room that opens up to the dining room, and an extended kitchen/ breakfast room with doors to the

DUDLEY ROAD, TUNBRIDGE WELLS

£800,000 garden. The master and second bedroom both have fitted wardrobes providing ample storage, and the third bedroom is a single. The family bathroom has a four-piece suite with a walk-in double shower and roll-top bath.

CONTACT Bracketts 01732 350503 www.bracketts.co.uk

A pretty, four-bedroom townhouse in the heart of Tunbridge Wells which offers a wealth of period features, including fireplaces, corniced ceilings and sash windows. There are three reception rooms, including a kitchen/ breakfast room. There is a downstairs shower room as well as a first floor bathroom. An attic floor with staircase access provides an open area with skylights. The walled garden has brick patio areas, flowerbeds and a raised pond, as well as a shed/workshop.

CONTACT Andrews Online 01892 515 144 www.andrewsonline.co.uk

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

Chestnut House

PROPERTY

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AT A GLANCE

CHESTNUT HOUSE SPELDHURST n Entrance porch n Entrance hall n Sitting room n Family room n Kitchen/breakfast room n Dining room n Utility room n Cloakroom n Galleried landing n Master bedroom suite n Guest room with en suite n Three further double bedrooms n Family bathroom n Front and rear gardens n Detached double garage n Driveway parking

GUIDE PRICE

ÂŁ950,000

Available for sale through Savills Tunbridge Wells 01892 507000 www.savills.co.uk

A stylish, contemporary detached family house in a popular village

34

PROPERTY

Rosedale

A highly desirable gated property less than a mile from The Pantiles

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

AT A GLANCE

ROSEDALE BIRLING ROAD TUNBRIDGE WELLS ■ Reception hall ■ Drawing room ■ Dining room ■ Family room ■ Kitchen/breakfast room ■ Swimming pool with sauna and shower ■ Principal bedroom with en suite ■ Guest bedroom with en suite ■ Four further bedrooms ■ Two bathrooms ■ Spacious driveway ■ Established gardens

£1,495,000 Available for sale through Hamptons Tunbridge Wells 01892 516611 www.hamptons.co.uk

Edwardian home boasts fine period features as well as its own swimming pool and sauna

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

Advertising

PROPERTY

35

46

PROPERTY

Ethnam

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

AT A GLANCE

A charming secluded property with heated pool nestling in just over two and a half acres

ETHNAM SANDHURST n Cranbrook School catchment area n Vaulted reception hall n Drawing room n Dining room n Study n Kitchen n Utility room n Cloakroom and cellar n Galleried seating area n Master bedroom with en-suite shower room n Guest bedroom with en-suite WC n Three further bedrooms n Two bathrooms n Attic stores n Secluded gardens and grounds of approximately 2.6 acres n Heated swimming pool n Pool house with shower room n Workshop

Enjoy stunning rural views from a Grade II listed timber-framed gem

n Storeroom n Machinery store and greenhouse

GUIDE PRICE

ÂŁ995,000

Available for sale through Savills Cranbrook 01580 720161 www.savills.co.uk

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FEATURES

Food & Drink

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

Cornering the culinary market Bewl Water’s Boat House Bistro has recently introduced a special Market Menu for its diners to enjoy, cherry-picking the best in local and seasonal produce. Eileen Leahy went along to sample it IN THE RIGHT PLAICE Head Chef and fish fan André Woodward

IN THIS day and age it’s become de rigueur for most eateries – restaurants, gastro pubs, chic cafés, call them what you will – to promote their food and drink offerings as ‘local’ and ‘seasonal’.

But how many places can actually boast their own lake and source their fish from it?

Head Chef André Woodward at The Boat House Bistro, a pleasant, smart and contemporarystyle restaurant overlooking the majestic Bewl Water reservoir, certainly can.

Since returning there after his stint overseeing

the restaurant at One Warwick Park Hotel in Tunbridge Wells, the seasoned chef is determined to go one better than his competition.

He’s doing so by creatively cooking all the amazing trout that is fished at Bewl, a 15-minute drive down the A21 from the royal town, and also introducing a menu which doesn’t just change seasonally but weekly – and sometimes even more frequently than that if a good catch of plaice or crop of seasonal vegetables becomes available from his group of trusted suppliers.

“How many places can say

that they can serve up what’s been caught on the premises that morning?” he asks, as we chat before sampling a few of the new culinary offerings.

“Our new Market Menu here changes every week,” he continues, “so whatever is good, whatever is seasonal, I’ll put it on the menu.

I want to keep it fresh and interesting.”

The fresh trout, however, which is ‘within a stone’s throw of diners’ will always feature either as a starter or main.

This week, as I discover, it’s a generous silky smoked fillet starter enhanced with a hint of textured sweet honey grain mustard, spinach, sun blush tomatoes and homemade crunchy gaufrette – or lattice – shaped crisps.

“I smoke all the fish myself here at the restaurant, and make the homemade crisps,” reveals André.

His epicurean vision makes total sense, because when you sit at one of The Boat House’s smartlydressed tables, or better still on its balcony, and stare out at the gorgeous lake and the pretty Wealden countryside which almost resembles a wrap-around scenic painting, you realise that the food served here simply has to do its charming

‘Our new Market Menu changes every week, so whatever is good, whatever is seasonal, I’ll put it on the menu’ location – and the many suppliers based around here – total justice.

Today, the lake is positively glimmering thanks to the late summer sunshine dappled on it, and diners are happily eating alfresco as well as inside the elegant vaulted restaurant.

The Boat House’s menu may be slightly reduced in size since it opened last year, but André says the new market-inspired one is about quality not quantity: “It’s being inspired by the gastronomic gems available that week – or day. We then transform all those wonderful ingredients into the best dishes possible.”

What are the most popular dishes with diners, I ask him?

“Steaks,” he swiftly responds. “We source them all from Southborough Butchers.”

This week, it’s an 8oz chargrilled sirloin served with fluffy gastro chips, herby salad and an optional garlic and parsley butter.

“The trout always flies off the menu, too,” LIGHT AND BRIGHT he continues, “and our The Boat House Bistro other fish dishes are

Food & Drink

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

always well received. I speak to the fishmonger at the beginning of each week and see what’s good. It could be anything from hake to seabass or skate.”

The latter is what my taste buds are treated to after sampling a plate of the divine and deliciously fresh watermelon and pea purée salad dotted with chunks of pungent aged feta.

Like my starter, the presentation of the skate is impressive but, more importantly, it’s really tasty, moist and shreds easily off the bone. The accompanying tenderstem broccoli is cooked perfectly al dente, and the indulgent crispy fat chips also served are ideal for soaking up the buttery and

salty caper and citrus-infused sauce.

One of the friendly waitresses manages to convince me that dessert would be rude to refuse, and a quick glance reveals a good variety of British classics on offer, including sticky toffee pudding and local strawberries.

But it’s the summer pudding with a twist that I can’t resist. And when it arrives glistening with a berry coulis, creamy vanilla sauce and smattering of seasonal berries topped off with crunchy biscuit crumbs, it tastes like summer on a plate.

André is right: It’s better to edit a menu down and concentrate on what is at its peak and tasting sensational – with the

ROOM WITH A VIEW Dine by the lake added bonus of knowing that sometimes it has literally been sourced on the doorstep…

The Boat House Bistro’s Market Menu is now open throughout the winter, and is available from 12noon-9pm on Saturdays and 12noon-5pm on Sundays. A twocourse menu costs £19, or you can enjoy three for £24. Every Friday there is a Fish and Chips special on offer from 12noon-4pm. Children’s menus are available for £7.95.

For more information, visit www.bewlwater.co.uk

FEATURES

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FEATURES

Food & Drink

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

Eat, drink and stay healthy

FOOD FOR THOUGHT Enjoy the treats on The Pantiles

September is Food Month across Tunbridge Wells and the Times’ regular food and drink writer, Bruce McMichael, is running cooking demos at both the Tunbridge Wells Food Festival and the Health & Wellbeing Live show. Read on to find out where and when you can catch him and many other food and lifestyle experts offering their advice this weekend…

T

HOUSANDS of visitors and locals are booking up restaurants, shopping for fresh farmers’ market produce and meeting friends and family at foodieinspired pop-ups and health and wellbeing events across Royal Tunbridge Wells as the town celebrates its first Food Month.

Built on the reputation of health-giving spa MAIN MAN Bruce McMichael is in demand

waters, the town is enjoying a renaissance of good fresh food and inspiring eateries with dishes cooked by brigades of inventive chefs.

Organised by the town centre management team Tunbridge Wells Together and the Economic Development team at Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, Food Month is shining a spotlight on the town’s innovative and creative chefs, writers and entrepreneurs. Event experts, pubs, restaurants and cafés have formed an informal coalition to

create a series of fun attractions in order to draw people into the town at harvest time.

“It’s a great place to live and eat,” says Bruce McMichael, who is not only a food and drink writer and regular contributor to this newspaper, but also editor of The Lemon Grove website and a cookery demonstrator.

“We’re unusual in that we have four farmers’ markets a month – two outside the Town Hall alternating with two on The Pantiles, so most

SECRET ESCAPE: Visit the first Health & Wellbeing Live at Mabledon – The Secret Manor

Saturdays through the year there is fresh, locallysourced and often organic produce on sale.”

A keen cook and recent winner of an edition of Gordon Ramsay’s Culinary Genius – a popular new cooking talent show on ITV – Bruce is demonstrating Mediterranean and local Kentish dishes at the Health & Wellbeing Live and Tunbridge Wells Food Festival events.

“It’s great to see so many local restaurants, hotels and pubs getting involved with Food Month,” says Bruce.

Restaurants such as The Warren on Tunbridge Wells High Street will be hosting a special series of evening menus, while Fuggles beer café has some cheese tasting and pairing workshops.

Other pop-ups and events will showcase the fabulous food, expert services and great locations this town can offer locals and visitors who want to seek out serious food and drink in fun, atmospheric locations.

Food & Drink

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

create a taster menu with smaller portions. It’s great for people to try restaurant-standard food in a street food atmosphere, and with chefs from Marlowe’s and The Warren taking part it’ll be a tasty couple of days.”

Highlights will include the Live Cooking Stage, the Cake Off baking competition and a chocolate workshop with Jo Banks of Alive with Flavour and Southboroughbased Temper Temper, where children will enjoy making chocolate pizzas, apples, gingerbread and lemonade.

‘Events will showcase the fabulous food, expert services and great locations this town offers’ At the start of the month, The Pantiles hosted its annual Harvest Food Festival, while this coming Saturday and Sunday the first Tunbridge Wells Food Festival takes place in Calverley Grounds, a popular place for community events including the Mela – which celebrates the diversity of the borough through music, food and dance, the Local & Live music festival and the winter Ice Rink.

The festival will showcase around 70 local producers from organic veg growers to cider makers. There will be familiar faces present, too, including Dudda’s Tun, Naked & Ready and Bean Smitten.

An outdoor food area will introduce visitors to a range of street food cooked

by Kentish chefs.

Festival organiser Steve Wood says: “We have put a £4 cap on each dish to

Over at the impressive private residence of Mabledon in Southborough, the Health & Wellbeing Live 2017 show kicks off this Friday, September 22.

With a keynote talk by double Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes, from Hildenborough, as well as workshops and cooking demonstrations with a focus on improving mental and physical issues, the event will also offer talks by locally-based experts, therapy treatments and health checks, says creator and organiser Rebecca Randall.

“With two days of inspiring speakers, treatments and activities, Health & Wellbeing Live aims to help people discover a happy and balanced lifestyle,” she says.

Shelley Harris, Rebecca’s co-event director, adds that it will be a ‘forum for local people to discover more

about mental and physical health and wellbeing’.

“We want visitors to take away at least one thing from the event to help them make a positive change in their lives.

“There is really something for everyone, from live cooking demos, fitness classes, expert talks and practical workshops to sharing and exploring common issues and learning new skills.”

Bruce is also launching a new range of food products under the brand name The Lemon Grove during his cookery demonstrations.

“I’m working with Matthew KearseyLawson of Kent Fine Foods on developing a range of condiments, sauces, oils and vinegars, all inspired by fresh, delicious citrus fruit flavours,” says Bruce.

“We’re doing a soft launch at Health & Wellbeing Live and at the Food Festival with our Lemon & Ginger sauce and Lemon & Lime marmalade, but the main launch will be next spring with oils and vinegars flavoured with zesty flavours, such as blood oranges and lime.”

With new restaurants and bars regularly opening across the town, September Food Month is a great way of celebrating the bountiful harvest season across the Weald and beyond.

Get to the Tunbridge Wells Food Festival from 11am on both days, when Bruce and award-winning chef Matthew Kearsey-Lawson from Kent Fine Foods will entertain with a Posh Omelette Challenge. For more information on Bruce and his soon-tobe-launched range of foodie products, visit www.thelemongrove.net

FEATURES

BRUCE’S COOKING DEMO TIMETABLE Health & Wellbeing Live Health & Wellbeing Live Tunbridge Wells Food Festival Tunbridge Wells Food Festival

Friday 22 September: 12noon Saturday 23 September: 3pm Saturday 23 September: 12noon Sunday 24 September: 12noon

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FEATURES

Travel

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

These are the foodie experiences you must try for a true taste of Madrid…

Markets, tapas bars and record-breaking restaurants are all on the menu, says Sarah Marshall

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AUCOUS, at times even riotous, a tour of Madrid’s tapas bars is every bit as worthwhile as seeing powerhouse art gallery Museo del Prado and the colonnaded Plaza Mayor.

The loud-mouthed, boisterous city may not lay claim to its own dish, but you’ll find restaurants, bars and delis serving some of the best regional Spanish food. Experiment with cecina (cured beef) from Leon, mojama (salt-cured tuna) from Cadiz and sherry from Jerez.

Renowned According to a survey by Booking.com, 75 per cent of global travellers are likely to choose a location renowned for its great food and drink for their next destination. More than a third say food is what they remember most vividly about a place.

For a true taste of Madrid, these are the foodie experiences you must sample…

STATUESQUE King Philp III of Spain rides high in Plaza Mayor

GET YOUR FILL OF HISTORY

Where: BOTIN Dining in this rickety four-floor warren of a restaurant is sampling a slice of history. Founded in 1725, it’s been named the world’s oldest restaurant by The Guinness Book of Records.

A dapper waiter slices Iberico ham in reception, while the original wood-burning oven slow-roasts about 50 piglets a day.

The tender pork dish is a classic and features on a recommended three-course house menu (€45 including half a bottle of wine).

Duck your head to creep down creaking stairs to the cellar, where secret tunnels once connected to the Royal Palace, or reserve a corner table on the second floor, where Ernest Hemingway used to sit.

If you arrive half an hour before the restaurant opens at 1pm, friendly staff from the family-run business might give you a private tour.

Visit www.botin.es/en

BOTIN Named the world’s oldest restaurant

LATAZO In the market

‘Dining in this rickety four-floor warren of a restaurant is sampling a slice of history’ SNAP UP SOME FOODIE BARGAINS

Where: SAN MIGUEL & ANTON MARTIN MARKETS Revamped and renovated, the covered San Miguel market, just off Plaza Mayor, is filled with deli delights. Fried calamari rings in paper cones, fresh spider crabs on ice and fried churros are all beautifully displayed. Many people come here simply to snap photos and gaze up at the curling wrought iron roof.

Prices reflect the venue’s popularity, although a cheaper (and more authentic) alternative market is an easy 20-minute walk away. Set below a flamenco school (worth a snoop if you get a chance), Anton Martin (on Calle de Santa Isabel) has stalls selling hams and vegetables from Monday to Saturday.

Head to the second floor to find several small, colourful restaurants, including Cereal Lovers, a quirky homage to breakfast giants Kellogg’s and Quaker (bowls from €4), and Latazo, where you

can fill up on dishes made with tinned fish (tapas from €1.50).

LUNCH LIKE A TRUE LOCAL

Where: PRADA A TOPE Specialising in preserved figs, peppers and meats from the Bierzo region in northwest Spain, this well-priced, wood-panelled restaurant is a favourite with Madrilenos – especially for (late) lunch. Turn up from 2pm if you want to join the noisy throng (although they do start serving from midday).

Although not always Instagram-worthy, the generous, belly-stretching dishes are superb – particularly the salt-crusted, thin-sliced buttery steak with zoupieros figs and fries (€18).

The Bierzo region is an excellent area for cattle grazing and well known for producing quality meats. Restaurant owner Jose Luis Prada has a farm in the area where he rears cattle and produces figs, peppers, chestnuts and wine.

Visit www.pradaatopemadrid.com

BOOK A GUIDED TAPAS CRAWL

Where: AROUND THE CITY CENTRE An unspoken code governs the etiquette of tapas dining in Madrid, which can be intimidating for the uninitiated. Menus (if any) will generally be Spanish chalk-scrawls on blackboards, and getting an order in requires deft elbow manoeuvres to secure a space at the bar.

SPECIALITY Preserved peppers at Prada a Tope

Travel

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

FEATURES

57

QUITE A RECEPTION Only You Atocha Hotel

PICTURE POSTCARD BEAUTY Two of Madrid’s old streets Let someone else do all the hard work by booking a food tour.

Yorkshire lass Jo Wivell moved to Spain many years ago to follow her passion for flamenco, and now runs the excellent Insider’s Madrid.

Book a bespoke tour with Jo and she’ll show you all the best spots, including La Venencia, where grumpy staff serve sherry in a magical space stacked with wooden casks, and Emma Cocina

(opposite the San Miguel market), a rare place to find salads in the city (from €10).

A three-hour tour with all you can eat and drink in four stops costs from £144 per person (minimum two people). Discounts apply for bigger groups.

Jo might even treat you to an impromptu dance performance!

Visit www.insidersmadrid.com

WHERE TO STAY

ONLY YOU ATOCHA Cool, charming and breezily stylish, this young, energetic hotel perfectly sums up the spirit of Madrid. The 205 rooms are compact but filled with everything the millennial traveller might need: Multiple USB points, glossy magazines, large rain showers and, in suites, even high-tech pro hairdryers.

Find a Dreams & Fears notebook next to the bed and alphabet biscuits on pillows at turn down.

Dark corridors in exposed brick are decked with baseball hoops – making the place look a bit like a giant gym – although the social spaces are much more inviting.

Downstairs, the reception area is filled with comfy, body-swallowing leather sofas and swirling, circular bookcases stocking some interesting reads. A barber’s shop, patisserie and beauty salon are also under the same roof.

But the real star is the SÉPTIMA rooftop bar, with views of the neighbouring Atocha railway station. A breakfast buffet is served daily at tables decorated (bizarrely) with vases of lettuce leaves, and at night cocktails and champagne flow. The classy concoctions cost €14.

Double rooms from €150 based on two people sharing. For more information or to book, visit www.onlyyouhotels.com HOW TO GET THERE  Booking.com has two nights at Only You Atocha from £350pp B&B with flights from London Gatwick

58

FEATURES

Motoring

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

TEST DRIVE:

Volvo V90 D4 Inscription WHAT IS IT?

WHAT’S IT LIKE TO DRIVE?

The V90 is Volvo’s alternative to cars such as the BMW 5 Series Touring and Audi A6 Avant.

It’s a premium business estate that tries to add a touch of character to a typically quite dull segment.

Volvo achieves this by offering a classy-looking exterior backed up by a high-quality interior that is very Scandinavian in its minimalist appearance.

There’s substance behind the styling though, with a range of economical engines and excellent safety technology.

While the V90 as an overall package is a mighty appealing prospect, the driving experience is definitely the weak link.

Over long distances it’s a comfortable cruiser, but when driving around town it’s largely let down by the gearbox and power delivery as it all comes in big surges making smooth progress difficult.

Meanwhile, the steering is too light and takes some getting used to – even after a week with the V90 we found it rather twitchy on the motorway.

On the plus side, though, is Pilot Assist, which is one of the better adaptive cruise control systems on the market. It’s particularly useful in slow-moving traffic as you can take both feet off the pedals and keep up with the cars in front.

WHAT’S NEW? This is the first V90 to wear Volvo’s new family face, with the now-familiar Thor’s Hammer headlights transforming the front end.

It also comes with Volvo’s extensive suite of safety technologies, known as Intellisafe.

The City Safety Technology package is standard on all of Volvo’s cars, but can now detect large animals in the road and helps with braking or swerving to avoid them.

WHAT’S UNDER THE BONNET? There are various petrol and diesel engine options, each offering varying power outputs and economy statistics from a 2.0-litre engine.

There’s also a petrol plug-in hybrid version called the T8 Twin Engine.

Our test car was a front-wheel-drive model fitted with the D4 diesel engine. It has 188bhp with an official fuel economy of 62.8mpg on the combined cycle – though low 50s was more achievable in our time with the car.

FACTS AT A GLANCE: MODEL: Volvo V90 D4 Inscription ENGINE: 2.0-litre diesel POWER: 188bhp TORQUE: 400Nm MAX SPEED: 140mph 0-60MPH: 8.2 seconds MPG (COMBINED): 62.8 EMISSIONS: 119g/km BASE PRICE: £43,115 PRICE AS TESTED: £46,690

HOW DOES IT LOOK? The V90 has a simple elegance to its design.

Volvo is well-known for building boxy estate models throughout its history, but the latest version adds a more modern, stylish take to the practicality these Swedish load luggers have become known for.

Out front, those Thor’s Hammer headlights give the V90 a distinctive face, while the chunky bumpers give it a hint of ruggedness that shows it isn’t ready to shake its reputation for building cars for all occasions despite the brand’s move upmarket.

If you would like a premium business estate but don’t want to be too predictable, then Darren Cassey finds out if the Volvo V90 is the answer…

TOUCH OF CLASS The V90 wears ‘Volvo’s new family face’

WHAT’S IT LIKE INSIDE? If you buy a premium saloon or estate from the likes of BMW, Audi or Mercedes-Benz, you know what you’re getting. Soft-touch plastics and dials to navigate offer a simple if rather unexciting taste of premium motoring.

The Volvo on the other hand feels just as expensive as its rivals, but adds a touch of Scandinavian style to the mix.

Volvo interiors work best with lighter colours, while the elegant buttons and dials give a sense of well-thought-out ergonomics.

Boot space is somewhat impinged on by the sloping roofline, but it’s not often you’ll be cursing the lack of a few extra litres as there’s nearly 2,000 available with the rear seats down.

WHAT’S THE SPEC LIKE? Our car had the luxury-focused Inscription trim, which feels like the best fit for a V90. The seats are upholstered in soft Nappa leather and are great companions on long drives, while 18-inch

alloy wheels on the outside fill the arches nicely.

Other Inscription features include adaptive cruise control, three-spoke leather steering wheel and LED headlights.

The Inscription is available from £43,115, but our car came in at £46,690 thanks to the extras, which included improved safety kit at £600, a winter pack for £525, and smartphone integration for £300.

VERDICT The Volvo V90 is priced in line with the big German three, but that means that it really has to deliver as a viable estate in its own right and not just a quirky alternative to the established players in this segment.

Fortunately, it delivers for the most part. Where it really falls behind is the driving experience, which isn’t quite as refined as its rivals.

However, for those who want something a bit different, the Volvo is a classy, practical option.

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

Advertising

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FEATURES

Life & Style

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

VETERINARY NURSE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES Based in East Malling, the Central College of Animal Studies specialise in training programmes for the veterinary profession. With close links to practices, they provide full and part-time veterinary nursing programmes and apprenticeships.

Veterinary nursing courses combine learning with practice-based training. For a list of all courses, clinical placements help ensure that graduates are confident and competent working in a veterinary environment.

The aim is to teach students essential life skills that can be used for both personal and professional development, focusing on each individual and their abilities.

ART FESTIVAL

All of the programmes use a variety of teaching strategies, to ensure students can undertake clinical tasks in a skilled and professional manner. Learning comprises a range of subjects, from general and surgical nursing, anaesthetic techniques, radiography, and functional anatomy to professional relationships, communication, and ethics.

The Art Market is returning to Maidstone for its third year, on Saturday 30th September, 9am-4pm.

The affordable art event hosted at the Agricultural Hall, (Barker road, ME16 8LW) brings together some of the best in contemporary art across the South east; Including Rod Macintosh, Fleur Alston, Esther Brown, Rosie Mcginn and Samuel Capell.

As well as ensuring students gain the necessary knowledge to practice veterinary nursing safely and proficiently, these courses also allow students to develop as individuals and take charge of their own professional development.

See, buy and participate as The Art Market is a great opportunity to buy art directly from artist and to try your hand at something new in one of many mini workshop on offer.

To find out more about any of these courses, please contact enquiries@ccoas.org.uk or visit our website www.ccoas.org.uk

The Art Market is an all-day event with an extensive live performance programme, including live music, dance, poetry performances. The headline event is a charity art auction supporting the Foundling Museum hosted by TV personality and antique expert Raj Risram.

The Foundling Museum have previously referred to the event as “wonderful… very much in line with our own philosophy of philanthropy within the arts”

LUXURY HOMES WITH SAVILLS PUMPKIN MOON AWARD LUNCHEON HOSTED BY GLORIA HUNNIFORD OBE Consultus Care loves to reward its exceptional carers and nurses, and to show just how much their fantastic dedication is appreciated, Consultus launched the Long-standing Carer and Nurses Awards Luncheon in 2012 to coincide with its 50th anniversary celebrations.

For the 7th awards ceremony, Consultus was thrilled and honoured to extend an especially warm welcome to TV and radio presenter Gloria Hunniford OBE, whose vision and ethos to care for others equals that of Consultus. Carers and nurses were treated to drinks and canapés, followed by a delicious three-course meal.

Consultus’ CEO Peter Seldon introduced and thanked each carer and nurse individually for their loyalty and hard work, while Gloria offered words of wisdom, to each and every one, on the presentation of their awards. “I have met some of the most truly inspirational people” stated Gloria Hunniford “I enjoyed the awards enormously and hope to have the chance to meet everyone again”.

All at Consultus are honoured to preserve the vision of its founder, the late Mrs Anne Stevens, who understood that ‘people feel better at home’. This would never be achieved without our incredible carers and nurses – they really couldn’t do it without them!

Autumn is on its way and in recent years this season has brought a whole new enterprising opportunity for farmers... the business of pumpkin growing and pick your own pumpkin!

Owner of Sandling based farm Pumpkin Moon, Charlie Eckley says “After spending time in America for my previous job I became aware of the growth in Halloween, and the trend of PYO pumpkins… so in June 2016 I took the plunge and planted 13 types of pumpkin and squash in a 15 acre field. Pumpkin Moon was born and I was soon hooked. The plants are amazing, germinating within days, and soon the fields are a deep mass of pumpkin vines… every bee in Kent comes to visit!”

Now in its second year, Charlie’s farm also has a fantastic Maize Maze, face painting, Halloween storytelling, pumpkin painting, food stalls and even a vintage coffee van! Entry is free and Pumpkin Moon are proud to support Heart of Kent Hospice and the British Heart Foundation.

Pumpkin Moon opens on Saturday 7th and Sunday 8th October, Saturday 14th and Sunday 15th October and daily between Friday 20th to Sunday 29th October, 10am-4pm.

Old Chatham Road near Maidstone with parking aplenty.

Visit pumpkinmoon.uk or follow them on Facebook, search www.pumpkinmoonuk.

The second phase of luxury five bedroom family homes at Wadhurst Place is launching on September 30th / 1st October.

Wadhurst Place in East Sussex is a unique development built by the award winning developer Newcourt Residential, set in stunning grounds with spectacular far reaching views across an area of outstanding natural beauty. Set within 18 acres of gardens the original Manor House has being converted to a selection of apartments and Mews Houses alongside new build family homes.

They have been sympathetically designed to complement the original details within the Manor House, blending original features with modern day living.

There is a variation of house types, all offering generous living accommodation, with stunning open plan kitchen / breakfast rooms allowing plenty of room for entertaining, leading to landscaped gardens through bi – fold doors and features including fireplaces with traditional stone surrounds.

There is under floor heating throughout and also the option of additional wardrobe packages if required. All properties offer garaging or car ports for two cars and ample parking to the driveways.

There is a show home available to view and the marketing suite is open Thursday – Monday 10am until 5pm. Please call 01892 576583 to book your appointment or for more information.

Puzzles

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

SUDOKU & JIGSAW SUDOKU 5

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Numbers are substituted for letters in the crossword grid. Above the grid is the key with two letters solved. Try to complete the first few words to give you more letters, or look for a frequent number that might reveal a common letter. As you find letters, enter them in the key and into the grid. Cross off the letters in the A to Z list.

Codeword:

8

7 2

5 2 8

9 3

D E A R L E A P I N G

To complete Sudoku, fill the board by entering numbers 1 to 9 so that each row, column and 3x3 box contains every number uniquely.

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In this Sudoku, the normal 3x3 boxes are now strangely odd shapes – but all the rules and logic of normal Sudoku apply.

Fill the board by entering numbers 1 to 9 so that each row, column and box contains every number uniquely.

Puzzle solutions will be published in next week’s paper

S U MM E R P A I R R O R S U I Q Q A G U R U G E H I A T E S T A V L J A Z E E R E N G NO R E D N I O L A X O R H

8 4 3 6 5 1 7 9 2

7 6 9 2 3 4 5 1 8

S T R A N D S I D E S H W A I F S M N C P A D U A O L R O D E S

Jigsaw Sudoku:

Sudoku:

5 2 1 9 8 7 6 3 4

J A M E O I B T L E K U A Y A

4 9 5 3 7 8 2 6 1

1 3 6 5 2 9 4 8 7

2 7 8 1 4 6 3 5 9

6 8 2 7 9 5 1 4 3

9 5 7 4 1 3 8 2 6

3 1 4 8 6 2 9 7 5

6 7 5 9 3 4 2 8 1

1 4 7 8 2 6 3 5 9

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DIFFICULTY RATING: ★III

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DIFFICULTY RATING: ★★★I

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LAST WEEK’S SOLUTIONS

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CODEWORD

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FEATURES

Recruitment

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

NEWS

WITH THE

FIND YOUR PERFECT JOB TODAY – A MUST READ FOR THOSE LOOKING FOR WORK LOCALLY

OF TUNBRIDGE WELLS AND TONBRIDGE

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Arts & Culture

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

Rhymes with reason

REFRESH YOUR MIND Ana says in our busy world, it’s often easier to read a poem than a book

September 28 is National Poetry Day. To celebrate, anthologist Ana Sampson tells the Times why poetry is so good for you, and how it is easily accessible to all… planning to embark on Paradise Lost!) In the space of a few lines, we’re transported to other places, other times and into other lives, flexing our emotional muscles and taking a break from daily life. I’m biased as an anthologist, of course, but I find dipping into a beautiful book increases the pleasure of the act, providing a digital detox now that we read so much on screens.

‘It’s a habit that can whisk you away from humdrum daily life’ Poetry has mental benefits, too. It widens our vocabulary and can also help to improve memory if learnt by heart, a practice being revived in schools and by competitions like Poetry By Heart.

It’s never too late to begin.

Discard poems that don’t speak to you, ignore the Romantics if you dislike flowery language, avoid war poetry if it leaves you cold, and find the ones that do reach you.

It’s comforting when a poet tells us that we are not alone in our struggles, and exhilarating to find expressed – more elegantly than we ever could – our joys. It’s one of the reasons why we instinctively reach for poetry at weddings and funerals. Somebody has felt this way before!

If you’re anxious or grieving, a poem can help you feel less isolated, even if it was written hundreds of years ago. A poem can also say something that perhaps we can’t if we are unsure about how to convey sympathies, or bashful about proclaiming our love. Candlestick Press publish beautiful pamphlets of verses for just this purpose, to be sent instead of a greetings card.

Resolving to read a poem each day guarantees you a few moments of quiet mindful reflection.

It’s a habit that can boost your mood, provide emotional nourishment and whisk you away from humdrum daily life. It’s never too late to dive into an anthology and begin reaping the rewards!

THE POWER OF POETRY Try your hand at this fun quiz to see how much you actually know about poetry. You might just surprise yourself 1. Why did Edward Lear have his new house built in an exact replica of the old one when he moved?

A: So he could walk around it with his eyes closed B: So as not to confuse his beloved cat, Foss C: Queen Victoria had praised his old house D: So he wouldn’t have to buy any new furniture 2. Whose first marriage was a scandalous elopement with the 16-year-old Harriet Westbrook? (His second was no less shocking, since he was still married to Harriet when he took up with his next wife, who would later become famous as the author of what became a horror classic).

A: Percy Bysshe Shelley B: George Gordon, Lord Byron C: Samuel Taylor Coleridge D: Leigh Hunt 3. To whom did Ben Jonson address the lines, “Drink to me, only with thine eyes”?

A: Anne B: Queen Elizabeth I C: Celia D: His Coy Mistress 4. At what time does the church clock stand in

Rupert Brooke’s The Old Vicarage, Grantchester, while he frets about whether there will still be honey for tea?

A: Six o’clock B: Ten to three C: Midnight D: Four o’clock

the book was addressed B: It was Ezra Pound’s nickname for Eliot C: Eliot had a childhood cat with that name D: It was the name of a famous cat that lived at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London

12. Which writer spent their childhood writing about the imaginary kingdom of Gondal with their siblings?

A: J R R Tolkien B: C S Lewis C: Emily Brontë D: Emily Dickinson

5. Which poet transcribed the traditional New Year’s song Auld Lang Syne?

A: Robert Burns B: Walter Scott C: John Skelton D: Geoffrey Chaucer

9. What, in the traditional rhyme, ‘comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb’?

A: Marriage B: March C: Man D: Spring

6. What were E E Cummings’ first names?

A: Edmund Ezekiel B: Edgar Edward C: Edward Esltin D: Ermintrude Edna

10. Which poem was said to have been written in a matter of minutes, inspired by a report the poet had read that morning in The Times?

A: The Soldier, by Rupert Brooke B: In Time of ‘The Breaking of Nations’, by Thomas Hardy C: If, by Rudyard Kipling D: The Charge of the Light Brigade, by Alfred Lord Tennyson

13. Who wrote the moralising Victorian verse The Spider and the Fly, which was memorably parodied by Lewis Carroll in the form of The Mock Turtle’s Song, or Lobster Quadrille (‘“Will you walk a little faster?”, said a whiting to a snail, / “There’s a porpoise close behind us, and he’s treading on my tail”’)?

A: Christina Rossetti B: Alfred Lord Tennyson C: Mary Howitt D: Coventry Patmore

7. Which poet made the grand romantic gesture of burying some of his unpublished poems with his wife, only to have her dug up a few years later when he wanted to retrieve them?

A: Dante Gabriel Rossetti B: Samuel Taylor Coleridge C: William Wordsworth D: Robert Southey 8. Where did the ‘Old Possum’ in T S Eliot’s Book of Practical Cats originate?

A: It was Eliot’s nickname for his godchild, to whom

11. Whose poem Home-Thoughts, from Abroad has the famous opening: ‘Oh, to be in England Now that April’s there’?

A: T S Eliot B: Elizabeth Barrett Browning C: Robert Browning D: John Keats

Answers: 1.B, 2.A, 3.C, 4.B, 5.A, 6.C, 7.A, 8.B, 9.B, 10.D, 11.C, 12.C,13.C, 14.D, 15.B

P

OETRY is seen as a niche interest, something enjoyed by earnest teenagers or self-proclaimed culture vultures, but poetry is for everyone.

In the course of editing five anthologies, I have learned that although our tastes vary widely, we all have a deep well of poems to draw on – even if many of us don’t realise it.

The most common answer when I canvassed opinions on favourite poems was: “Oh, I don’t know anything about poetry.”

As soon as I quoted lines from some of the verses I intended to include in my book, though, everything changed. ‘My love is like a red, red rose’; ‘The Owl and the Pussy-cat went to sea’; ‘Stop all the clocks’; ‘Do not go gentle into that good night’; ‘They’re changing the guards at Buckingham Palace’; ‘I wandered lonely as a cloud’…

Smiles spread across faces. The next line would be quoted at me, and often a whole verse.

Deborah Alma, The Emergency Poet – whose own anthologies are wonderful – travels the country in a repurposed antique ambulance dispensing poetry for whatever ails people. She explains that it gives people the permission they feel they need to enjoy verse, since it has been prescribed especially for them.

We soak up poetry from our first experience of language.

The books we read to children usually rhyme, and woe betide any parent who skips lines to hasten bedtime.

My daughter would solemnly jab at the page until the full text was read, even before she could talk herself. So one of the pleasures of poetry is that it can transport us back to childhood. It has also been used as a therapy for dementia patients, since verses are often retained even when other memories fade.

Life is busy, and it’s often difficult to find time to read a novel. It’s much more feasible to find five minutes to read a poem (as long as you’re not

14. Who wrote the famous phrase: ‘April is the cruellest month’?

A: Wilfred Owen B: W H Auden C: John Betjeman D: T S Eliot 15. Whose poem Valentine includes the lines: “My heart has made its mind up / And I’m afraid it’s you”?

A: Stevie Smith B: Wendy Cope C: Jenny Joseph D: Elizabeth Jennings

Best-Loved Poems by Ana Sampson is published by Michael O’Mara Books, priced £9.99

Arts & Culture

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

FEATURES

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Celebrating global art and design – on your doorstep The Arts Society Pantiles start their new series of specialist lectures next Thursday with a talk on the work of sculptor Antony Gormley. Here, the group’s Chairman, Graham Archer, tells Eileen Leahy about the history of this artistic collective and the importance of discovering and discussing the work of international artists locally

The Pantiles: Painting ©2005 Sue Clark

attending will be able to listen to a fully illustrated talk by national Arts Society lecturer Rosalind Whyte.”

The subject, adds Graham, will be about Antony Gormley, ‘the sculptor of the iconic Angel of the North and of many figures in other cities’.

IN 1991, a small group of people in Tunbridge Wells formed a society which organised evening talks about the arts. Originally called The Pantiles Decorative & Fine Arts Society – or PADFAS for short – they initially met at Tunbridge Wells Girls’ Grammar School every month and enjoyed talks and trips on a variety of creative subjects.

In May this year, however, the creative collective rebranded as The Arts Society Pantiles and now meets on the fourth Thursday of each month at Holmewood House School, Langton Green.

Yet despite its change of name and location, the society (a regional branch of the national Arts Society), has never lost sight of its original aim: To provide its members and any potential new ones with a raft of interesting talks by experts from all

over the UK, and sometimes further afield. Visits to places of artistic, musical or historic interest are also offered to members in order to enhance their interest and passion for artistic expression.

“Current members of the newly named Arts Society Pantiles see the rebranding as something of a creative challenge,” reveals its Chairman, Graham Archer. “We have responded by planning an interesting and diversified programme of activities for the year ahead.

“To enable others with a keen interest in the arts to learn about our future plans, we are inviting visitors to join us for an open evening on Thursday September 28 at 7.30pm in the Jubilee Theatre, Holmewood House School, Langton Green.

“Admission will be without charge, and those

Diverse

Arts Society quarterly magazine,” says Graham.

The society is also hoping to collaborate with more schools in the area. They currently have one programme running at Broomhill Bank School which will culminate in a future exhibition at Trinity Arts Centre.

If you are interested in discovering more about The Arts Society Pantiles, then you can join them next Thursday for the talk on Antony Gormley by Rosalind Whyte or take a look at their website www.pantilesdfas.org.uk If you decide to join, yearly membership costs £45, or you can pay £7 for each individual lecture.

“At the end of the evening, tea and coffee will be served and guests will have the opportunity to learn of forthcoming talks on subjects as diverse as Foreign Artists in Britain, Charles Dickens, Wilfred Owen’s Poetry, and the Art and Music of World War One, as well as lectures on Dale Chihuly, the world’s foremost glass sculptor, and the well-known Giles Cartoons,” he continues, hoping this extensive programme with both national and international elements will appeal to a wide range of local people.

If you decide to become a ‘Antony Gormley: The member of the society, then there is even more on offer aside from sculptor of the iconic the monthly expert lecture.

Angel of the North “In addition to the evening and of many figures lectures at Holmewood House, in other cities’ you can also enjoy a programme of visits to places of artistic and historic interest and other crafting and musical activities, all of which are advertised in our

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FEATURES

What’s On

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

SEVEN DAYS OF SOCIAL ACTIVITIES AT A GLANCE

WHATS ON WITH THE

Eileen Leahy Local events

TALL TALES Enjoy Rapunzel & Friends at Trinity Theatre >> WEDNESDAY The Tonbridge Philharmonic gathers every Wednesday evening at 7.45pm. If you fancy joining them, whether as a musician or singer, then please email Carol at: chchair@tonphil.org.uk to arrange a visit. The Ton Phil, as they are known, are currently rehearsing Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius.

Mozart’s enchanting opera The Magic Flute is brought to life courtesy of David McVicar’s Royal Opera production, which is being streamed live this evening to both Trinity Theatre and the Odeon.

If you’re not familiar with the plot of this heartening tale, then here’s a quick synopsis: Prince Tamino promises the Queen of the Night that he will rescue her daughter Pamina from the enchanter Sarastro.

He begins his quest, accompanied by the birdcatcher Papageno – but all is not as it seems…

Tickets cost £19 at Trinity and £22 for the Odeon. >> THURSDAY Running from today until the end of the month, the Music@Malling festival will bring world-class artists

to historic local venues in West Malling. There will also be concerts at other venues, including Tudeley’s All Saint’s Church and Tonbridge School, both on September 29. Over the festival period, 24 events will take place featuring the music of leading contemporary composers alongside classical, jazz and folk music, and there will be many workshops with local primary schools. For more information, see www.musicatmalling.com This evening, a ten-week philosophy course entitled ‘Knowledge and ideas to help make sense of the world’ and run by the Kent School of Philosophy [Charity 313115] starts at the Weald of Kent Grammar School in Tonbridge. The course costs £50 and is at 7pm each Thursday evening.

You can enrol by calling 01892 616 144 or online at www.practicalphilosophykent.org The Russian State Opera bring Puccini’s Madama Butterfly to the Assembly Hall Theatre tonight.

This tale of the doomed love of an American naval lieutenant and his young Japanese bride inspired Puccini to write some of his most sublime music.

Set in Japan at the turn of the century, this colourful and exotic opera tells the story of a doomed love affair between two very different cultures.

A live screening of King Lear from Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre comes to Tunbridge Wells’ Odeon. The Bard’s famous play, in which the king, played by Kevin McNally, decides to divide his kingdom among his three daughters without fully thinking through the consequences, is bound to grip you as he realises how much he has underestimated the cruelty of those around him. Starting at 7.30pm,

THE MAGIC FLUTE See The Royal Opera’s production at Trinity Theatre and the Odeon

If you would like to see your events featured in our weekly What’s On pages, please email eileen@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk

tickets cost £22. >> FRIDAY The Spa Hotel is going retro this evening by putting on a showing of the 1980s celluloid classic Back to the Future. Starring a young Michael J Fox, it will be screened at the open-air cinema in the hotel’s beautiful grounds from 7.30pm. There will be a fully stocked bar and food available. Tickets cost £15 and can be ordered at www.spahotel.co.uk Trinity Theatre hosts another of its highly popular monthly Comedy Cafés. Tonight’s standups are Andrew Bird, Tom Deacon and Michael Fabbri. Tickets cost from £12. For more information, see www.trinitytheatre.net

PICK OF THE WEEK

Health & Wellbeing Live 2017 The Secret Manor, Mabledon, London Road, Southborough Friday 22 & Saturday 23 September

This two-day event gives individuals and families the opportunity to discover more >> SATURDAY about their physical and mental health and Over the weekend, the Royal Tunbridge Wells Food wellbeing in order to help make positive and Drink Festival is taking place in Calverley changes. Taking place at the Secret Manor at Grounds from 11am to 6pm. Part of Royal Tunbridge Mabledon, Southborough, highlights of the Wells Food Month, this free event will offer visitors weekend’s activities include double Olympic a smogasbord of local, national and international gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes talking food and plenty of tempting liquid refreshments. about motivation, health and mental health Bricklehurst Manor’s wonderfully traditional and a workshop by local nutritionist Dr Marilyn School Autumn Fair is on today from 12noon to Glenville. There will also be spa treatments, 4pm. Attractions include home-made crafts and body MOTs and yoga sessions to sample. produce stalls, home-grown plant stalls, local Tickets cost £15 for adults pre-booked or £20 crafts and traders, classic cars, inflatables and on the door. Children (15 years and under) are bouncy castle, face painting, toy stalls, gourmet free when accompanied by a paying adult. burgers and sausages, East Sussex Fire & See www.healthandwellbeinglive.co.uk Rescue, water zorbing, go-karts, tug of war, cakes and bakes, traditional fair games, grand raffle, silent auction, books and Groombridge Place. Tickets much, much more. Entry is free. are from £12 for adults and German comedian Henning Wehn £8 for children under 16. See brings his Westphalia Is Not An www.cinestock.co.uk Option tour to Tunbridge Wells’ The Workers’ Assembly Hall this evening.

Educational With his new show, Henning is Association, considering and or WEA, commenting on launches the issue of its immigration. autumn lecture series Tickets cost today by hosting British £17.75 and 1720-1830 Satirical Prints 1720-1830. are available from The event is your chance to www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk MUSIC@ From 6pm-9pm, there will be an explore this artwork so MALLING beloved of the Georgians, and outdoor cinema screening of the Ten-day festival to discover why they were so Disney classic The Lion King at

What’s On

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

FILM FUN: The Lion King at Groombridge Place popular. You’ll also have the chance to learn about some of the techniques and approaches adopted by the artists concerned. Entrance is £12 per person and the talk runs from 1.30pm-3.30pm at the Toc H Hall, Little Mount Sion. >> SUNDAY At 10am this morning, the Hospice in the Weald’s 10K Run gets underway. As the event is held on roads, no one under 12 is allowed to participate, and those aged between 12 and 16 must be accompanied by an adult. For route and registration details, please visit www.hospiceintheweald.org.uk For those who prefer a gentler approach to keeping fit, then how about getting involved in today’s Yoga in the Woods event in Hargate Forest near Broadwater Down? Kicking off at noon, and led by the Freestyle Yoga Project, it will have sessions to suit pretty much every level of experience. Tickets are £10 per person for those aged 16 and over and booking is essential.

Trinity Theatre is hosting the Cat’s Grin Theatre company this afternoon. The troupe will be putting on a performance of Rapunzel & Friends at 2.30pm. As you try to work out why Sludgepot the Witch has imprisoned Rapunzel, you can enjoy classic fairy tales about some of her best friends, including The Three Billy Goats Gruff and Snow White being narrated. Tickets cost £7.

Calling all pre-schoolers! Milkshake Live arrives at the Assembly Hall Theatre today, so if you’re a fan of the Little Princess, Noddy, Fireman Sam and Winnie and Wilbur, then make sure you have your tickets booked. They cost from £15 for adults and £13.50 children under 16 years, while a family ticket (2 adults and 2 children) is £52.

England is Mine is a biopic directed by Mark Gill which paints a portrait of a young Steven Patrick Morrissey, better known as Morrissey, and his early life in 1970s Manchester before he went on to become lead singer of seminal 80s group The Smiths. If you’re a fan of this band, then this is a must-see. Tickets cost £11 each. >> MONDAY Another WEA course starts today at the Toch H Hall. A Meze of Musical Genres runs for the next four weeks (from 1.30pm-3.30pm) and examines all types of music from classical to Afro-American and folk. The course costs £51.60 and can be booked through www.wea.org.uk >> TUESDAY Today is the Tunbridge Wells Juggling Club’s 25th birthday. The group meets every Tuesday at St Dunstan’s Church Hall in Southborough from 7.30pm-9.30pm and will have some special celebrations this evening. To join or find out more information, visit www.twjc.co.uk TRY YOGA IN THE WOODS In Hargate Forest

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A ROUND-UP OF THIS WEEK’S MUSICAL HIGHLIGHTS

Paul Dunton Live music

Sean Fennessey

THE GREY LADY MUSIC LOUNGE The Pantiles, doors 7.15pm, entry £6/£7, websites www.pdag.co.uk + www.thegreylady.co.uk

WEDNESDAY Laura Lamb, Ollie Thomas FRIDAY Julius Cowdrey + Jack Clarke SATURDAY Heads South SUNDAY Alana Hazzard, Alex Van MONDAY Singers Night TUESDAY Isabella Coulstock, Steve Hewitt and Orfila THE TUNBRIDGE WELLS FORUM Tunbridge Wells Common Event information at www.twforum.co.uk

THURSDAY Supergenius FRIDAY Tarot Rats, Empyre, Honey Drive SATURDAY Danny & The Champions Of The World THE KING WILLIAM IV Pembury, open all day, free entry, music from 8.30pm till late

SATURDAY Mick’s Hot Licks THE BEDFORD 2 High Street, open all day, free entry. More information at www.thebedfordtw.co.uk

The must-read guide to what’s on musically for the week ahead… www.paulduntonandguests.com

THURSDAY Estelle Mey and Sean Fennessey SATURDAY Dave La SUNDAY Secret Crowd THE GEORGE 29 Mount Ephraim, 0pen all day, free entry, music from 8pm till late

MONDAY TWUNT: Ukulele Jam Session THE BEAU NASH TAVERN Mount Ephraim, open all day, free entry, music from 8.30pm till late

SATURDAY Red Rooster THE PANTILES BANDSTAND The Pantiles, open all day, music from 7pm, donations welcome

THURSDAY Sonic J TRINITY THEATRE Church Road. All concert details and tickets are available at www.trinitytheatre.net

THURSDAY Richard Durrant: Stringhenge

THE SUSSEX ARMS (Basement venue), Sussex Mews.

Pub open all day, music charge may apply. All gig information at www.twforum.co.uk

WEDNESDAY Lazy Days FRIDAY Joy Room SATURDAY MelonHeadMan THE DUKE OF YORK The Pantiles, 0pen all day, free entry, music from 8.30pm till late

MONDAY Open Mic Night THE ROYAL OAK Prospect Road, open all day, free entry, music from 8.30pm till late

SATURDAY The Heartbeats THE BULL INN Frant Road Open all day, free entry, music from 8.30pm till late

SATURDAY Jem & Paul KING CHARLES THE MARTYR CHURCH (Nevill Street, near The Pantiles) All concert details and tickets at www.kcmtw.org/music/concerts

SATURDAY (7pm) Verdi Requiem

by Merry Opera

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FEATURES

Wellbeing

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

Machine or manpower?

Fitness trends come and go, and everyone has an opinion on how best to look after their ‘inner temple’. Here, we ask two local fitness experts if it’s better to use your own body as a form of resistance or rely solely on fitness equipment…

SHAPE UP Daisy Whytock practices Pilates

NAME: Daisy Whytock OCCUPATION: Pilates Instructor Reformer Pilates is an effective and gentle way of exercising that is appropriate for everyone.

The Reformer may look a little daunting at first with its pulleys and springs (some say it looks like a form of medieval torture), but it is precisely those things that help to stabilise the body and increase or decrease the resistance and intensity of the exercise.

If you are a complete beginner to Pilates, you will benefit from the way the Reformer supports body alignment. If you are a Pilates aficionado, there are 250 exercises that involve using the resistance of the springs to further aid your practice.

While the practice of Pilates generally focuses on lengthening and toning, encouraging good posture and strengthening the core, jump boards can be attached to the Reformer to pack an additional cardio punch. There really is nothing this machine can’t do!

‘You will benefit from the way the Reformer supports body alignment’ Mat Pilates involving no equipment (apart from a mat) is also a very effective way of challenging the body, but it is exactly that. A challenge. If there are no props to support your body while your feet are in the air, or while you’re balancing on one hip and a forearm, or when you’re articulating through the spine, you are more prone to error and less likely to be precise.

Pilates is all about control and precision and the Reformer encourages this. When your instructor asks you to focus on a particular muscle group during a Reformer class, you will find that your body awareness is heightened because the muscular emphasis is obvious. Therefore, if you want to graduate to a Mat class you’ll be aware of how it feels to contract the muscles necessary to

complete the exercises.

Furthermore, Reformer Pilates is the form of exercise that the Victoria’s Secret models use to get catwalk ready. If it’s good enough for them, then it’s good enough for the rest of us! www.borastudio.co.uk NAME: Tris Bonner-Murphy OCCUPATION: Personal Trainer Calisthenics means ‘body weight exercise’. This is when a person uses the weight of their body as resistance, such as pull ups, press ups and dips.

It is my preferred method of training for numerous reasons. When I’m training with a client, I find I achieve far superior results than using weights at the gym. It goes without saying that all methods of exercise have their pros and cons, but I’ll briefly discuss why I feel calisthenics is the most beneficial in my opinion.

First off, there is something great about training outdoors and breathing all that fresh air, whilst saving on a gym membership. Humans these days tend to spend too much time cooped up in buildings under artificial lights – nothing beats the great outdoors, no matter the weather. It has fantastic benefits both physically and mentally.

But if it gets a little too chilly, calisthenics can still be performed in a gym or in the comfort of your own home.

‘All Calisthenic movements require you to lift your own bodyweight’ Calisthenics builds a lean physique due to compound movements. These require having multiple muscles engaged at the same time. The client needs to control their whole body whilst completing the move. A lot of muscles need to work together. This additional intensity is why calisthenics builds such a lean physique, as your body is working harder, and more energy is being

Wellbeing

Wednesday September 20 | 2017

Just for laughs

LEAN MACHINE Tris uses Calisthenics to stay toned

Comedy Beats showcases some of the country’s best comedians in and around the South East. Here its co-founder and fellow stand-up comedian Mark Windsor tells The Times all about next week’s show

expended. Gymnasts are a great example of what can be achieved.

It also builds useful relative strength instead of absolute strength.

All Calisthenic movements require you to lift your own bodyweight, so as you get stronger, you become stronger relative to your bodyweight.

You find it easier to move your own body. So when it comes to moving quickly, being agile, being athletic and climbing obstacles, this is where calisthenics excels over simply

moving a weight in the gym.

There are plenty of moves for beginners, and it’s easy to start increasing difficulty to push your body further. There is also an additional show off factor, which you simply don’t get pushing weights in a gym. Press ups with your feet off the ground turns heads wherever you go.

Facebook: www.facebook.com/trisfit Twitter: @TrisFitPT Instagram: Trisfitpt

I HAVE been working as a stand-up comedian for the last twenty years and wanted to start putting comedy shows on around the Kent/Sussex and Surrey Borders. During my time on the circuit I have done shows with most of the top names that are seen on TV, including Eddie Izzard, Michael McIntyre, John Bishop, Jimmy Carr and Micky Flanagan to name but a few.

Comedy Beats was set-up two years ago. Obviously it is not possible to get acts with that kind of profile down to our gigs but my aim was to use the contacts that I have made over the years to produce the highest quality shows I could. Since we began I have been able to book the likes of Bob Mills, Zoe Lyons, Dominic Holland and Simon Evans.

When I book a show I just try and get the best possible acts I can. I want people in places like Tunbridge Wells to be able to see the kind of comedians that they would see at The Comedy Store in London or The Komedia in Brighton without having to spend their money on train fares and inflated drink prices. The response has been amazing and we are putting on almost four shows for every one we did last year in 2016.

For the show on Friday September 29 we are really pleased to have Lee Hurst on the bill. He did a show for us in August in Crawley and absolutely stormed it. I am sure many people will remember him from his days as a team captain, opposite Gary Lineker on BBC1’s They Think It’s All Over. I found out a few months ago that he is planning a national tour for 2018 and was looking for club venues to develop ideas for that tour. He has a brilliant comic mind and even when running in new material his work always looks really polished.

The first comedian of the evening will be Ben Norris. He is one of the finest stand-ups I have had the pleasure of working

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with over the last two decades and has appeared several times on Mock The Week.

He is well known not only for his excellent material but also for his improvisational skills. He talks a lot about being a father, bringing up three children and family life in general. With Ben on the bill I know it’s going to be a great show.

The closing act of the evening is the wonderful Adam Bloom. He is a regular headliner at The Comedy Store. He is highly respected by his peers, particularly for his skillfully constructed gags and is one of the most creative comedians on the circuit. His TV credits also include Mock The Week and Never Mind The Buzzcocks.

He has also written and performed in three series of The Problem With Adam Bloom for BBC Radio 4 and this will be his sixth show for Comedy Beats. I know he will, as always, do a fantastic job.

The Show will be compered by Jeremy O’Donnell. A very interactive host who mixes great one liners with storytelling. He has a really warm, friendly energy and puts the audience at ease from the start. He is great at bantering with the audience but always manages to do it in a friendly, non-threatening way. He regularly MC’s shows at comedy clubs all over the country and with Jeremy at the helm the audience are in the safest hands.

Comedy Beats takes place at Tunbridge Wells Football Club on Friday September 29.

Tickets are priced at £10 and are available directly from the venue or by calling 07900 243508. Doors open at 7.00 and the show starts at 8.00.

NEWS

Sporting Times

CONTACT US:

McMahon leads strong defence as TJs get back to winning ways

Please send your sports stories to newsdesk@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk or newsdesk@timesoftonbridge.co.uk Wednesday September 20 | 2017

Guernsey snatch victory at the death after epic contest

Clifton 14 Tonbridge Juddians 24

Tunbridge Wells 34 Guernsey 36

By Adam Hookway

By Roger Clarke

RUGBY: TONBRIDGE JUDDIANS were back to winning ways on the road at Clifton after losing their first match for 364 days the previous weekend against Canterbury.

This was the first time the two clubs have met, the long-established club near Bristol having played at higher levels than National Two South.

As in their two previous matches TJs started tentatively. They lost possession in the tackle and gave the home side an early opportunity to attack first down one flank then down the other. Both attempts came to a halt when the winger was tackled into touch.

At the first scrum TJs came under pressure and it seemed they would be in for a long afternoon in defence. But they held out in a game where conditions encouraged a running game.

Murray Galbraith-Lowe made a strong burst but was pulled down short of the line and Clifton scrambled the ball over to give TJs the put-in at the five-metre scrum.

RUGBY: TUNBRIDGE WELLS fought hard against a side already tipped for promotion from the London and South-East Premier League.

With five tries apiece and the lead changing hands six times, it was a great contest and a close-run affair.

Early on, the game had all the hallmarks of the defeat at Barnes the week before as Guernsey came out of the blocks fast and physically. Wells were hit for 14 points in the first quarter of an hour.

The onslaught led to a brace of tries from visiting No 8 Doug Horrocks and Wells barely managed to lay a finger on the ball.

However, despite losing hooker Luke Hawkins to a yellow card, Wells got back into the game with a vengeance, utilising the firepower of Alex Burman and Dave Allen in the pack and the speed of Mike Doherty in the backs as they all made their first appearances of the season.

The home side started to get some ball, predominantly from turnovers after aggressive tackling.

A passing movement on the right got behind Guernsey after 21 minutes for Doherty to score, with Frank Reynolds converting.

It took just another four minutes for Academy star Richard Webster to score Wells’ second try as he showed the pace and strength which was prominent all game long.

And five minutes later Chas Dagwell took advantage of a dribbled ball down the right by backrow partner Hayden Pengelly to go over and give Wells the lead 17-14.

Frank Reynolds put Wells further

Plunge This time their pack scrum produced a telling shove and No 8 Ben Ashmore was able to plunge through the bodies and touch down the opening try, converted by fly-half Nathan Holmes.

Clifton levelled with their first try but just before half-time the visitors won a penalty to go in 10-7 up at the interval.

The second half started brightly and despite losing a line-out, TJs turned the ball back and from a quickly taken free-kick flanker Richie Bent dived over. Holmes converted to give Tonbridge a comfortable lead at 17-7.

Clifton bounced back and responded with a try but TJs then managed to mount a series of drives before winger Will Ward wriggled his way through to claim a try which Holmes converted.

With more than 20 minutes to go, the TJ defence stood firm and Clifton squandered their chances.

The away team’s long spell on the back foot without the ball eventually came to and end when Clifton conceded a penalty at the scrum.

TJs secured the ball from the resulting line-out and after several charges it looked as if they had added to their score when lock Cole Campbell crashed over the line.

But the officials decided that the ball had been knocked on and the score, which would have given Tonbridge their bonus point, was denied.

It was a deserved win for TJs, not only for taking their scoring chances when they came but for the lengthy defensive effort in the last quarter, in which captain Jon McMahon was prominent.

Next week TJs entertain another new opponent, Henley Hawks, at The Slade (kick-off 3pm).

CRUNCH TIME Hayden Pengelly batters his way through Clifton

PHOTO: Bruce Elliott

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into the lead with a penalty but Guernsey always threatened with strong running from full-back Anthony Armstrong.

He outstripped the Wells defence to score and Owen Thomas converted to give the visitors a one-point lead, 21-20 at half-time Thomas added a penalty on 45 minutes to widen the lead.

However, Wells’ spirit and belief shone through once again and three minutes later the backs worked a good midfield position and young fly-half Reynolds ran a great line to score, giving Wells the bonus point for four tries.

Reynolds duly converted his own score to retake the lead.

The Channel islanders came thundering back down the slope and after a succession of penalties they were awarded a penalty try as they drove towards the line.

Pace Wells were not done yet, however, as they went on to produce the try of the match.

Allen showed impressive pace to run at the right corner, offloading to Blaise Salle who ran strongly through the defence.

Reynolds converted to wrestle the lead back at 34-31.

However, Guernsey kept working and with three minutes left they managed to get Armstrong over in the corner on the overlap for an unconverted try. So the visitors had taken the lead yet again at 36-34.

Wells had to settle for two bonus points but they know that their pace and handling ability at speed should be enough to catch out a number of sides in this league.

On Saturday Wells travel to Tring for another difficult away game against a side who won the London One North title last year (kick-off 3pm).

Jenkins breaks own record then dips under hour-mark CYCLING: IT WAS a record-breaking weekend for Southborough & District Wheelers at the club’s Tonbridge bypass 10-mile time trial.

Philippa Jenkins broke the ladies’ 10-mile record with a time of 22min 13sec, improving on her own record by 35 seconds.

In a hotly contested event David Rumm recorded 20.18 and many other club riders improved their personal best (PB) times over the distance including Neil Couchman 20.41 (PB); Chris Wolton 21.01 (PB); Paul Greer 22.00; Gary Sinclair 22.05 (PB);

David Bagge 22.24; Peter Rowe 22.40; Andrew Thomas 23.20 (PB); Simon Miller 23.49 (PB); Andy Booty 24.18 (PB); Richard Gray 24.23 (PB); Mark Poulton 24.33 (PB); Colin Jarman 25.00; Peter Faro 26.43 and Mike Daniels 27.46.

Taking part in the East Sussex Cycling Association 25-mile time trial, held on the G25/8 course near Maresfield, it was once again Jenkins who set the pace, recording an excellent 58min 55sec to go under the hour-marker for the first time.

Chris Wolton (57.35) and Matt Evans (1.00.51)

were also well placed amongst the 79 riders on the start sheet. The event was won by Marc Townsend (Eastbourne Rovers CC) in 52.20.

Finally, battling through 28mph winds, Alimpiada Golubtsova finished the Ironman Wales in 15hr 27min having completed a 2.4-mile open water swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run.

More information about the club is available at www.southborough-wheelers.co.uk , including details of club rides and different events such as educational talks and roller racing.

Sporting Times

Wednesday September 20 | 2017 PHOTO: David Couldridge

Rustics crash out of cup after wobbly start

NEWS

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Concord class tells as Wells suffer a shock

Croydon 4 Rusthall 1

Concord 4 Tunbridge Wells 0

By Richard Smith

By Scott Bartlett

FOOTBALL: RUSTHALL’S hopes of progressing in the Kent Senior Trophy were soon dashed as they went 3-0 down after just 15 minutes at Croydon.

Croydon went ahead in bizarre fashion after four minutes. A cross from the right was headed clear

by Dan Mitchell but it hit Andy Somo and went in off the underside of the bar.

Five minutes later a break down the right and a cross by Fidan Fejzi was met by the head of Croydon’s excellent No 9 Stefan Joseph, giving keeper Callum Christie no chance.

Croydon were now rampant and made it 3-0 after a quarter of an hour. A Rusthall attack broke down and Aiden Brown showed an impressive turn of speed before scoring from just inside the area.

Rusthall looked shellshocked but they managed to get back into contention on 28 minutes.

Jacob Wright crossed into the box from the left and the ball swung over everyone including the keeper and nestled in the net at the far post.

However, Rusthall were guilty of giving the ball away and their normally slick passing game let them down.

On 78 minutes Croydon wrapped it up with a great counter-attack down the left which was expertly finished by the lively Marvin Armstrong.

Rusthall must put the defeat behind them as they face three games in eight days.

Tonight (September 20) they have a tough league game at Cray Valley before taking on Crawley Down Gatwick at Jockey Farm in the FA Vase on Saturday and then AFC Croydon Athletic at home on Wednesday September 27.

FOOTBALL: TUNBRIDGE WELLS’ best FA Cup run for 38 years came to an end when they travelled to Canvey Island to play National League South side Concord Rangers.

Concord started brightly and scored after two minutes. A cross from the left reached the far post and Khale Da Costa headed it home.

Wells found themselves 2-0 down after seven minutes when Billy Roast hit a volley on the turn that went into the top left-hand corner, giving keeper Chris Oladogba no chance.

Concord made it three in the 15th minute when left-back Kyron Farrell was allowed to venture forward unchallenged. He unleashed a shot from 20 yards which flew into the corner of the net.

Wells looked shellshocked at finding themselves 3-0 down after a quarter of an hour, Concord having scored from all three attempts at goal.

The visitors gradually came into the game with Jake Beecroft and Tom Davey imposing themselves in the centre of the park.

But Concord’s Lewis Knight scored the goal of the game with a volley from the right-hand edge of the Wells box in the 37th minute.

Wells looked a different team in the second half, competing well all over the pitch against ­opposition from three leagues higher.

In the 75th minute Steve Ikpeme collected the ball in his own half before going on a mazy run to the edge of the Concord area. He slid the ball to Jon Pilbeam but his cross eluded his team mates.

Wells are back in Cup action on Saturday in the FA Vase at Sheppey United (kick-off 3pm).

HOT STREAK Becky Janes continued her form with two goals

Moran and Underhill are on song for Angels Thanet Colts 0 Tonbridge Angels Ladies 5 FOOTBALL:

TONBRIDGE ANGELS Ladies enjoyed a comfortable 5-0 win at Thanet Colts and secured a second clean sheet in three games despite having no regular goalkeeper available.

It was down to captain Beth Kemp in the first half and her deputy Kelly Moran after the break to don the gloves. But both were given little to do thanks to faultless defensive performance.

In midfield the Angels welcomed new signing Alex Weston (previously with Sheffield United and Chesterfield) but it was her central partner Moran who scored after four minutes.

Moran received the ball 40 yards out and lobbed

Personal best for Roche at Grand Final TRIATHLON: CLARE ROCHE was on top form when she represented Team GB in the F60 age group at the ITU World Triathlon Grand Final in Rotterdam.

Competing over the Sprint distance, Roche impressed with a 17min swim (750m), 42min bike ride (20km) and 27min run (5km) to finish 11th in the F60 category.

The Tunbridge Wells triathlete executed her race to perfection, setting a personal best of 1hr 36min at this prestigious event.

Jude Hagger and Eric Perrier travelled to the Dorset coast to race Ironman Weymouth 70.3.

The athletes were faced with challenging ­conditions to begin with, buffeted by a large swell for the 1.2mile sea swim.

The 56-mile bike course looped through ­picturesque rolling countryside before returning to the seafront for a half marathon along ­Weymouth’s iconic esplanade.

Hagger excelled with a time of 5hr 45min, finishing seventh in F40 age group.

Claire Howard and Helen Waite recorded an astonishing distance of 352 miles at the Revolve24 cycle challenge at Brands Hatch.

GOING DUTCH Clare Roche in Rotterdam They competed as a relay team of four, along with local cyclists Jill Webster and Clare Norris. The event pushed endurance levels to the limit, with participants recording as many laps of the famous racing circuit as they could in 24 hours.

a stranded goalkeeper to score her first goal for the club in exceptional fashion.

Tonbridge threatened for much of the first half and the second goal arrived on 31 minutes.

Moran played in Becky Janes, who side-footed past the keeper, and Janes then made it 3-0 with another cool finish from Becky Saxby’s cross.

Lauryn Underhill was making her competitive debut for the Angels and soon found the net on 76 minutes after coming on as a substitute.

There was time for a fifth when Beth Kemp cut in from the right and struck a fizzing shot which the keeper could only help into the net.

Tonbridge finally get their home campaign under way on Sunday when they host Petts Wood Honeybuzzards at Tonbridge Farm (kick-off 2pm).