Times of Tonbridge - 7th December 2016

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Wednesday, December 7, 2016

INSIDE HELPING HANDS

Lions support foodbank for town’s poorer families. Page 5

FABULOUSLY FLORAL How to make your very own festive wreath. Pages 74-75

BUSINESS BOOST: Traders in Tonbridge took part in the national Small Business Saturday scheme held last weekend. It is one of the events which they hope will help attract more customers into the town over the festive period. See full story page 5

Police investigate football scandal

By Jonathan Banks

newsdesk@timesoftonbridge.co.uk POLICE are ‘reviewing’ cases of historic child abuse alleged to have occurred within Kent football clubs, and are encouraging any other potential victims to come forward as the ongoing scandal engulfs the sport at a local level.

The confirmation comes as Kent Police released a statement to say they will also help residents of the county who may have been abused elsewhere in the country.

Although the force has said they will not be releasing specific figures on the number of reports received, or which county clubs are being looked at, they did confirm the reports had been re-

ceived in recent weeks since the scandal broke nationally.

A spokesman said: “Kent Police has received reports of non-recent child abuse within the football community in Kent, which it is currently reviewing.

“Should victims come forward to Kent Police to report incidents that have taken place elsewhere in the country, then we will support them appropriately, but the investigation of those offences would be carried out by the police force that covers the area where the abuse is reported to have occurred.”

Complaints of historic child abuse are being handled by the NSPCC before being passed on to Kent Police.

This reflects national procedures, which have seen the child welfare char-

ity receive almost 1,000 calls to its football hotline since it was launched on November 23.

Nationally, the investigations have been overseen by Operation Hydrant, the national police body coordinating historical sex abuse claims that was set up in 2014.

‘Kent Police has received reports of non-recent child abuse’ On Saturday a source at the National Police Chief’s Council confirmed a total of 55 clubs had so far been referenced.

A spokesman for the NSPCC said: “The extent of abuse which has been hidden in our national game over the years is shocking and has rocked the sporting

world to its core. Sadly, the number of allegations made so far is likely to be the tip of the iceberg.”

A spokesperson for Kent Football Association said: “We have not been approached by Kent Police with regards to their investigation which was announced on Friday. Kent FA is the local governing body for grassroots football in Kent, and if contacted by the police, we will be more than happy to support their ongoing investigations.”

The NSPCC and FA is urging players and others involved in football from grassroots to Premier League to contact the NSPCC’s dedicated hotline – 0800 023 2642 – which has been set up to offer support and guidance to victims of child sex abuse within the world of football.

PARENT POWER

Our schools come out on top in nationwide survey. Page 29

WHAT’S ON

EM Forster Theatre hosts festive children’s tale. Pages 76-77

4 ■ LOCAL NEWS

MP Tom takes up the challenge After expenses scandals, austerity measures and Brexit, now is an especially testing time to be a Member of Parliament. Neill Barston meets Tonbridge MP Tom Tugendhat in Westminster to discuss his first 18 months in post and the importance of community spirit THE past year and a half for Tom Tugendhat representing Tonbridge & Malling as its MP has posed a significant range of personal challenges.

From addressing overstretched commuter services, battles over Gatwick flight noise and a fight to save the town’s post office, through to highlighting a lack of rural business broadband provision, his ever-mounting in-tray from residents’ concerns ensures a hectic weekly diary.

‘My job is to represent the best interests of the community’

LEADER: Prime Minister Theresa May with MP Tom Tugendhat

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Wednesday 7th December 2016

LOCAL SUPPORT: Tom Tugendhat backed a petition to save Tonbridge post office.

The former British Army solider has also engaged with a number of international issues such as the Chilcot inquiry over the Iraq war, in which he offered insights based upon his experiences serving in the Middle East.

While he says it has been a huge privilege to get out into the community in Tonbridge, taking up his seat in Westminster has clearly posed some tough scenarios that have proved both frustrating and rewarding.

“It has been very different to what I expected,” he says.

“If we’d had this conversation when I started and you had said in 18 months’ time there will be a new Prime Minister, a new Government, and a change in the strategic direction of the UK for the first time in 40 years – plus Donald Trump will be in the White House – I think we would have thought that one of us had been drinking at lunchtime.

This is an extraordinary time,” admits the 43 year-old MP from his offices in the warren-like corridors of the House of Commons.

Among the key issues dominating the thoughts of many MPs has been how to approach the thorny matter of Brexit. In the aftermath of June 23rd’s EU referendum vote, there has been uncertainty for the business community including many companies in West Kent.

Mr Tugendhat said: “I campaigned for Remain, but the decision has now been made. When, or if, this comes to a vote, I’ll be voting for Article 50, or whatever the Government feels is the best route to leave the EU. I am a democrat first, and I support the right of people to choose their future – to go against that is fundamentally undemocratic.”

“It’s not going to be easy or simple.

I have spent a lot of time talking

with people in Canada, Australia, France and Germany about how we can come through this,” said the MP, who added that Prime Minister Theresa May was well-regarded by many European leaders, and he believed she could deliver a strong deal for the UK. One of the other major related headlines of the month within Parliament came with the conclusion of the murder trial surrounding the death of West Yorkshire MP Jo Cox. She had been co-authoring a strategic paper with Mr Tugendhat, who had come to know her as a good friend.

There is no doubt in his mind that it was a clear act of terrorism, and welcomed the life sentencing of Thomas Mair last month over the case.

He said: “The man who killed her was a traitor who launched a direct assault on parliamentary democracy. He denied the British people of who we chose to represent us. We should be very clear about that. I think that’s incredibly sad. I knew Jo and her loss will be something we feel as a nation for many years.”

Mr Tugendhat says life in Parliament, which functions until 10pm on weekdays, isn’t always compatible with his family life in Kent.

However, in terms of his approach to his work, he said that as with his former life in the military, serving with integrity is particularly important to him.

This has been reflected in his championing a number of local issues in Parliament, including last month calling for £5million worth of improvements to flood defences around Tonbridge.

He said: “The way I do my job is to get out and about and meet as many people as possible, going to businesses and schools. My job is to represent the best interests of the community and I can’t do that unless I know what those interests are.

“With around 90,000 people in my constituency, not everyone’s interests are going to be the same.

But the reality is that you have to use your judgement to do what’s best for the whole community.”

LOCAL NEWS 

NEWS IN BRIEF

Elderly benefit from home heating plan A SCHEME to assist residents with winter heating has been set up by Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council.

The local authority is urging people, particularly the elderly, to get in touch to see if they are eligible for help with its Warm and Healthy Homes fund.

Under the initiative, the council can help fund improvements including putting in heating, replacing old boilers, and installing cavity wall or loft insulation.

Double bill at Oast THE Oast Theatre will be full of seasonal spirit with a double bill of special shows this month.

Festivities begin with a production of Around the World in 80 Days, following the fortunes of Phileas Fogg on his globetrotting adventures. This will be on between December 9-13, Tickets cost £10 (£9 for a matinee on December 11 ).

From December 14-17, the venue is staging a version of the Charles Dickens classic, A Christmas Carol. Tickets cost £10, (£9 for matinee on December 17).

For tickets visit: www.oasttheatre.com or call 01732 363849.

Reception pupils invited to sign up for new town primary school Within the new site, if approved by Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council, there will be sports fanewsdesk@timesoftonbridge.co.uk cilities and temporary buildings for the first intake of pupils from September 2017. It is expected A NEW state-of-the-art Church of England Prima- that the school would be fully completed by the ry School in Tonbridge is on the drawing board. summer of 2018.

Proposals have been put forward to build the Bishop Chavasse will be taking applications for school, known as Bishop Chavasse, on a site next reception age children born from September 2012 to the Somerhill Green to August 2013 for its initial intake. The school development at the east said it is presently negotiating end of Tudeley Lane. over the final designs for the perThe school will be part manent buildings on the site. of the Tenax Schools According to the school’s manTrust, led by Bennett Meagement, there will be a broad morial. It will be delivered and balanced curriculum of through a funding agreeteaching, which will also place ment that is expected to an emphasis on providing addiSITE SPECIFIC be secured by the Secretional activities to offer children a There will be a new tary of State for Education. wide range of experiences. school in Tonbridge

By Neill Barston

Appeal for volunteers A CHARITY supporting victims of domestic abuse in West Kent is seeking volunteers to help with its work.

The DAVSS organisation, which has offices in Tunbridge Wells, is appealing for people to come forward to join its team of advisors and helpline staff.

It is also seeking volunteers to assist with marketing and social media operations.

Anyone interested should call 01892 502074, or email office@davss.org.uk

Charity golf day THE Punch & Judy Pub in Tonbridge is holding a charity golf day on Saturday (December 10) at Poult Wood in aid of Hospice in The Weald. It will be followed by a night of fun at the pub when there will be a comedian, games and a disco. If you would like to enter the cost is £40.

Ian Bauckham, CEO of the Tenax Schools Trust, welcomed the development of the new school. He said: “We are very excited that after two years of planning we are now able to share the news that, subject to planning permission and signing a funding agreement with the Secretary of State, this fantastic new primary school will be built in Tonbridge.

“The town’s population is growing and many residents have told us how much they want a new school. We are privileged to be able to help deliver this for the town’s children. We are now finalising the appointment of the headteacher, and we look forward to meeting parents and children to tell them about the new school over the coming weeks.”

A series of information events takes place over the next two months, including a public meeting at the Angel Centre at 7pm on December 12. For details visit: www.bishopchavasseschool.org.uk

A bit of festive cheer for town’s small businesses

Healthy honours list TONBRIDGE & Malling Borough Council has been named among the winners for this year’s Kent Healthy Business Awards.

The local authority gained its accolade for Excellence in Health & Safety and Absence Management in the Kent County Council event.

Waste contractor Veolia’s Tonbridge depot was also among the winners, receiving awards for Excellence in Leadership, Absence Management, Health and Safety and Environment.

5

SUPPORT: Tonbridge Lions President Bob Bartlett presents a cheque for £650 to Dawn Stanford, Operations Manager for Nourish, watched by Club member Marsh Browning.

Foodbank helps feed struggling families TONBRIDGE Lions Club has presented £650 to Nourish Community Foodbank towards supporting the town’s low income families.

The scheme was set up in Tunbridge Wells in 2012 and has seen an increase in people claiming food parcels year-on-year.

It is now being extended, initially to south Tonbridge where there has been an increase in the number of people who find themselves unable to afford their next meal. Donation boxes for the scheme will be located in supermarkets and other outlets across Tonbridge.

Nourish is a registered charity which was set up in response to the increasing numbers of low income households who can’t make ends meet once they have paid their bills. It can provide short term emergency support to individuals and families.

Tonbridge Lions President, Bob Bartlett, said: “Tonbridge Lions are very pleased to be able to support Nourish in their efforts to commence their foodbank collections in Tonbridge. Hopefully the work undertaken by Nourish will benefit those less fortunate Tonbridge residents.”

TOWN leaders are hoping that the Small Business Saturday scheme held last weekend will be one of the pre-Christmas events that will give Tonbridge a boost in festive trading.

‘It is important that we encourage people to come into town and support local businesses’ A number of stores backed the national initiative by displaying campaign posters highlighting the importance of supporting independent retailers.

Howard Porter, Chairman of Tonbridge Town Team, said there had been encouraging signs that trade is anticipated to be strong over the next few weeks as December is traditionally one of the busiest times for traders.

The expected December uplift in trade comes at a crucial time following completion of the major £2.65million high street improvement works earlier this summer.

While many businesses supported its aim of creating a more pedestrianfriendly high street, stores’ trading margins were hit as shoppers looked to other locations during the extended period of construction works.

However, Mr Porter believed that Small Business Saturday had helped demonstrate that the town had a vibrant range of stores. He said: “It is important that we encourage people to come into town and support local businesses, as otherwise they will not survive.

“Small Business Saturday brings a focus to those retailers, who are at the heart of our economy, especially as 80 per cent of the jobs within our borough are linked to small businesses that need to be cherished.

“There’s no doubt that there are optimistic signs that there will be a strong Christmas trading period.”

Nicolas Heslop, Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council leader cited the emergence of independent businesses such as Gorgeous George gifts, Beyond the Grounds café, and the Bakehouse at 124, as positive signs for Tonbridge.

Mr Heslop said: “We are seeing more shops come to Tonbridge which is making it a vibrant place and we want to encourage that to enable people to have the stores that they desire.

“While it has been a tough year for businesses, footfall in the town is showing signs of picking up now the high street works have been completed which is encouraging and will help in terms of people wanting to invest here.”

Wednesday 7th December 2016

6  LOCAL NEWS

Subbuteo inventor to pioneer aviator, town unveils its 40 famous names

By Andrew Tong

newsdesk@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk

THE TOP 40 PLAQUES:

A CAMPAIGN to honour the great, good and notso-good of Tunbridge Wells is on the verge of completion after 10 years.

The Tunbridge Wells Civic Society has now unveiled 40 plaques at various venues around town to show where these notables lived for significant periods of their lives. These dark red notices are similar to the famous blue plaques in London.

Among the more unusual names is Madame Caballero, whose real name was Mary Ann Leshley. When she died in Tunbridge Wells in June 1877 the local press commented “I should prefer to be without this world’s goods if it made me in my old age as it made her.”

Known first as ‘Raffles’ from the practice of being raffled to officers, she was a high-class courtesan who numbered among her patrons the Duke of Wellington.

She ended up as a large-scale property owner living at Claremont Lodge, and was a notorious figure in mid-Victorian Tunbridge Wells.

Other entries to the pantheon have a more respectable history – the most obvious being Queen Victoria, who frequented Calverley House, now the Hotel du Vin. She was among the first 15 names to be featured on plaques when the society began its venture in 2006. She was joined by the likes of architect Decimus Burton, novelists E M Forster and W M Thackeray, alongside Lord Dowding, who was Air Chief Marshall during the Battle of Britain, and Lord Montgomery, the Supreme Allied Commander on D Day. After the initial flourish, the Civic Society’s plans were put on hold until it received further funding from Tunbridge Wells Borough Council in 2014.

Since then the Chairman of the society, Alastair Tod, has managed to add a further 25 names to the list. He says: “We promoted the scheme as part of our general interest in the history of the town and making it known to visitors.”

Members of the public were invited to nominate their choices, and the final list was drawn up by a panel of local specialists and approved by the council. But it was not without controversy.

This latest batch includes many interesting names, among them the grammarian Henry Fowler, the inventor of Subbuteo Peter Adolph, the first female newspaper editor Rachel Beer and pioneering aviator Pauline Gower.

‘Tunbridge Wells Civic Society has unveiled 40 plaques to show where notables lived’ But some of the fascinating stories are more obscure, such as Henry Seymour, a militant atheist whose pacifist bookshop in Camden Road was a centre of the 19th century anarchist movement until the churches combined to deny him a meeting place in the town.

Tunbridge Wells offered refuge to many fleeing persecution during World War Two. Among them was Viktor von Ephrussi, an art collector and banker from a family said to be one of the richest in the world – though he often patronised Halls second-hand bookshop.

Fourteen small houses in Newcomen Road now enjoy national protection as the work of Henry Roberts, an architect whose evangelical conscience led him to devote himself to social housing in the 1840s.

These model dwellings are among the first self-contained houses to be intended to provide decent accommodation for the poor. They caught the eye of Prince Albert, who had similar designs erected at the Great Exhibition.

But there are some contentious omissions. One which stirred anger when he was put forward was Sid Vicious, a notorious member of the Sex Pistols punk band. Mr Tod says: “We considered Sid Vicious, to the delight of the Daily Mail and various correspondents with fixed ideas about Tunbridge Wells.

“But the revived scheme in 2014 adopted rather more stringent criteria, among them a more substantial connection to the town, and a building that was genuinely one the person would have known or occupied.

Sid Vicious, real name John Simon Ritchie, was only in the town for three years as a schoolboy when his mother lodged in Grove Hill Road and ‘was felt marginal in this respect’.

Another notable hell-raising musician,

the Pogues frontman Shane MacGowan, was considered – he attended Holmewood House prep school – but he also ‘missed the cut’.

“Because of our fairly strict criteria there are a lot of cases where a plaque is deserved but not possible, in particular because there is no surviving building they would have known,” Mr Tod explains.

One of the more troublesome ones that he would like to add to the list is Eliza Phillips, who lived at Culverden Castle. It has been demolished, though the gateposts survive.

Ms Phillips started a campaign to stop ladies wearing exotic birds’ plumage in their hats, and this evolved into the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds.

“She was a pioneer conservationist, and the gatepost is eminently suitable for a plaque. But we could not find out who owned it. We know now, so hope is not dead for Eliza.”

The society has encountered similar problems with another eminent entry, Charles Lucas, who received the first Victoria Cross. Mr Tod is determined to put up a plaque in his honour, and he takes up the story.

“His medal was awarded when he was a seaman during the bombardment of a Russian fortress in the Baltic during the Crimean War. He picked up a live shell which landed on the deck and dropped it overboard.

“He subsequently became an admiral, retired to Tunbridge Wells, and was an early member of what is now the Bridge Club.

“He lived at Great Culverden, a mansion on the site of the Kent and Sussex Hospital, which is now being developed with housing.

All 40 current entries into this Tunbridge Wells hall of fame will feature in a booklet to be produced next year by the Civic Society.

HISTORICAL FIGURES: L-to-R: Beau Nash, Queen Victoria, Lord Montgomery and Lousia Twining

NAME

ROLE

LOCATION

NAME

ROLE

LOCATION

Queen Victoria Decimus Burton Lord Dowding Canon Edward Hoare Edmund Kean E M Forster Richard Cumberland W M Thackeray Thomas Bayes John Mayo Lord Montgomery Beau Nash Robert Baden-Powell E Nye and T Barton H and H Burroughs Peter Adolph Rachel Beer Douglas Belcher Madame Caballero Richard Cobb

Monarch Architect Air Chief Marshall Holy Trinity preacher Actor Novelist Playwright Novelist Statistician Surgeon Field Marshall Impresario Founder of The Scouts Tunbridgeware makers Tunbridgeware makers Inventor of Subbuteo Newspaper editor World War One VC Courtesan Historian

Calverley House Victoria Lodge, Calverley Park 1 Calverley Park Trinity Arts Centre Corn Exchange 10 Earls Road 63A Mount Sion 85 London Road 69 London Road 66 Mount Ephraim 69 Warwick Park 40-42 The Pantiles Rosehill House, London Road 86 Mount Ephraim Jordan House, London Road 1 Warwick Park Chancellor House 69 Calverley Road Claremont Lodge 5A Grove Hill Gardens

W C Cripps Charles Doughty Charles Tattershall Dodd George Dutch Viktor von Ephrussi Henry Fowler Pauline Gower Rupert Gunnis Henry Hollamby Robert Marnock Lionel Queripel Henry Roberts Henry P Robinson Ernest Arthur Rowe David Salomons Amelia Scott Henry Seymour Frank W Stone Louisa Twining William Slarks Vidler

First town clerk Poet and traveller Landscape artist World War One pacifist Refugee banker Lexicographer Pioneer aviator Historian of sculpture Tunbridgware maker Landscape designer World War Two VC Architect Photographer Garden artist Engineer and mayor First woman councillor Pacifist and anarchist Preserver of the Common Philanthropist, reformer First casualty of WW1

The Lawn, Camden Park 2 Beulah Road Grosvenor Lodge 42 Dorset Road, Hawkenbury 18 Blatchington Road 3 Mount Sion Beechwood Sacred Heart School 1 Hungershall Park 21 Frant Road 7 Rusthall Road 52 Warwick Park 26 Newcomen Road Great Hall, Mount Pleasant Ravello, Manor Road, Rusthall Salomons (formerly Broomhill) 4 Lansdowne Road 98 Camden Road St Helena, The Common 34 St James Road 55 Nelson Road, Hawkenbury

Wednesday 7th December 2016

LOCAL NEWS 

7

Minimum wage and commercial rents top the walkabout agenda

By Adam Hignett

adam@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk SMALL Business Saturday arrived in Tunbridge Wells over the weekend, giving shopkeepers the opportunity to talk to their local MP – and Business Minister – about what he can do to ensure they thrive.

As part of the nationwide campaign, Greg Clark joined the head of Royal Tunbridge Wells Together, Rachel Jenman, on a tour of Camden Road and Ely Court. First stop was the Bicycle Bakery.

Footfall Opened by former pastry chef Jamie Tandoh in 2014, it has proven so popular he was compelled to buy a neighbouring unit to allow his business to expand – a process completed in October.

After speaking over coffee and croissants with his local MP, Mr Tandoh told the Times that run-

BAKE OFF: Owner Jamie Tandoh

ning his own business came with its ‘fair share of challenges’ but also a ‘fair share of rewards’.

“I would like the government to do more on business rate relief and simplify the system,” he said.

“Then there are also commercial rents and the rising minimum wage. I happen to think it is good the minimum wage is going up, but between them rent and staff are my biggest costs, and eventually one of the two will cripple me. So I would rather see a cap on commercial rents.”

Another thing he would like to see is more promotion of the lower part of Camden Road by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council in order to drive footfall to the area.

Next stop for the Business Secretary and his entourage, which included Director of Kent Invicta Chamber of Commerce Andrew Metcalf, was Stampede shoe shop.

Run by Andrea Afrifa, the store relocated to the upper part of Camden Road from the St John’s area two years ago and now employs 11 members of staff.

She, too, raised similar concerns to Mr Tandoh, with ‘prohibitive’ rates and rents topping the list of the burdens her business has to bear.

“The rates system means the only businesses that can afford many of the sites near me are charity shops due to their special reliefs, and it’s not that good for my business to be surrounded by them, not that I mind them in principle.

“I would like to see Camden Road have a more collective approach to retail. In the past,

ON THE RIGHT FOOTING: Greg Clark with Andrea Afrifa (centre) and her staff people have tried setting up associations for the road but they end up folding. It also wouldn’t hurt if the road had its own branding.”

Mr Clark finished in Ely Court in order to talk to those manning the many popup shops which had taken over units to mark Small Business Saturday, hoping to capitalise on the Christmas trade.

Praising those he met, and describing their enterprises as the ‘heart’ of the Tunbridge Wells economy, the MP said: “I was glad to support Small Business Saturday – a nationwide initiative to recognise the contribution small firms make and to encourage people to shop locally.

“It was great to meet HANDMADE some of the businesses Illustrator located along Camden Marie Road and also to pop

into the event in Ely Court organised by Royal Tunbridge Wells Together to promote start-ups.

“Our town has a thriving, entrepreneurial spirit and it’s important that we support and encourage small businesses.”

POP-UP: Entrepreneur Stephanie Hosmer

Wednesday 7th December 2016

8  LOCAL NEWS

By Andrew Tong newsdesk@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk

SANTA was not allowed to use his performance-enhancing reindeer. His arch rivals from the other end of the world were forbidden from swimming in the lake.

But there was still plenty of festive fun and frolics in Dunorlan Park as the Ho Ho Hospice fun run in aid of the Hospice in the Weald saw 300 people running 5km dressed up as penguins or Santas.

The inaugural event saw 186 penguins take on 114 Santas in an attempt to raise £13,000 for the hospice.

The Pembury organisation provides in-patient and community nursing, family support and bereavement counselling.

The colourful spectacle is designed to complement the well-established 10k summer run, which celebrated its tenth anniversary in September.

Wednesday 7th December 2016

Organisers are hoping that the race will be repeated next year – possibly with the introduction of snowmen.

Duncan Philip, the event coordinator, said: “The event was a great success and it was good to see healthy competition between the rival teams.

“It was a lot of fun for spectators as well as runners. It was wonderful to see so many families and friends dress up as Santas and penguins to race around Dunorlan Park.”

One of the runners, Claudine Frisby, said: “I was a penguin, and although a few of my friends were Santas we still had a great time running around the park together.

“It was so much fun and the costumes were brilliant.

“The candy canes and mulled wine at the end made it all worth it.”

Ben Alonso, the Hospice’s Deputy Fundraising Director, added: “Events like these

PHOTOS: Rose Bainbridge

Perky penguins top the pecking order in festive dash round Dunorlan…

LOCAL NEWS 

9

‘It was so much fun and the costumes were brilliant. The candy canes and mulled wine at the end made it all worth it’

contribute towards raising the £7million it costs each year to run Hospice in the Weald.

“We hope to raise £13,000, which could fund the Hospice Day Service for a week, providing patients and their families with the opportunity to take part in classes and groups and to meet other patients with terminal illnesses.

“I would also like to thank Fidelity International for sponsoring the event, which means all monies raised goes directly to supporting patients, families and carers.”

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

Wednesday 7th December 2016

10 � LOCAL NEWS previous Sunday 40-over fixtures – allow Tunbridge Wells Cricket Club to earn significant income from bar takings, and local businesses to benefit from the proceeds of their sponsorship deals.

By contrast, the four-day version of the game, which in recent times has begun on a Sunday, attracts relatively insignificant crowds – the traditional ‘one man and his dog’.

The local Cricket Week forms part of the dwindling ‘outgrounds’ programme, which sees matches staged away from the county ‘headquarters’ – in Kent’s case the St Lawrence Ground in Canterbury.

The use of outgrounds has been in decline for three decades – the latest casualty being Essex’s Colchester ground, which will have no games from next season.

BOUNCED OUT Tunbridge Wells’ T20 fans will have to go further afield

‘We understand the disappointment of supporters in Tunbridge Wells’

Nevill ground hit for six as T20 date is taken away

By Andrew Tong newsdesk@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk

TUNBRIDGE WELLS will not be staging a Twenty20 cricket match next summer, bringing disappointment to thousands of fans across the borough.

The decision by Kent County Cricket Club [KCCC] not to hold the customary contest at the town’s Nevill Ground comes after the national governing body chose to concentrate all the reduced-format

Wednesday 7th December 2016

county matches in one midsummer block.

This means that, unlike in previous years, the Tunbridge Wells Cricket Festival will only consist of a County Championship match – against arch rivals Sussex across the town border on May 26-29 – without the more popular quickfire limited-overs version to accompany it.

The match, which has previously been played over three hours on a Friday evening, has been a sellout for many years, attracting 5,000 cricket supporters in attendance. These contests, and the

In Kent, Maidstone’s Mote Park staged a week of professional matches for 140 years until it was removed from the list in 2005.

There has, however, been a revival at Beckenham Cricket Club, where the county side returned to play in 2003 after a 50-year hiatus – and it has seemingly leapfrogged the Nevill to become Kent’s ‘second ground’. The County Ground in South East London was refurbished in 2014-15 and now has 2,000 seats. It will stage the only T20 fixture outside Canterbury next season.

KCCC issued a statement in response to widespread dismay on social media at the Nevill decision, saying: “We understand the disappointment of supporters in Tunbridge Wells and hope they are able to attend the County Championship match against Sussex, to be played over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend on May 26-29.

“For those wanting to see the NatWest T20 Blast,

we hope you can attend the home fixtures scheduled at evenings and weekends at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence. We will continue to work with Tunbridge Wells Cricket Club and the landowners, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council [TWBC], to bring top-class cricket to The Nevill.”

The reasoning behind the England and Wales Cricket Board’s decision to bunch all T20 matches into one block is ‘to ensure the best weather and allow families to attend during the summer holidays’. Playing the tournament over 40 days instead of 70, as in recent summers, means ‘counties can attract overseas stars for the duration of the group stage and coaches can focus on specific skills for each format’.

The governing body said the only potential slot in the calendar for holding a championship game alongside Twenty20 was the first T20 game against Essex on July 9 – both of which will be held at Beckenham next year.

TWBC held a meeting with KCCC in November, and Cllr Jane March said: “We are pleased to be hosting County Championship cricket in Tunbridge Wells next year, with Kent taking on Sussex from May 24, although it is disappointing that because of the changes to the ECB schedule we won’t have a T20 fixture here.”

12  LOCAL BUSINESS NEWS

Adapt to the cloud or risk being left behind Accountant says changes in taxation will force us online

By Adam Hignett

adam@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk SELF-assessed taxpayers, small businesses and sole traders risk being caught out unless they adapt to the digital age, a Tunbridge Wells accountant has warned.

Kevin Bannister, of Wells Associates, said government plans to abolish the tax return ‘entirely’ by 2020 will mean the days of chucking a mass of paper receipts, bank statements and bills at an accountant once a year will soon be over.

“Sitting on your books for a year and a half before doing something about it at the last minute will no longer be an option,” said Mr Bannister, adding: “Last year, the government announced it would invest £1.3billion to transform HMRC into one of the most digitally advanced tax administrations in the world.

‘Ultimately we don’t have a choice but to go down this digital route’

IMPORTANCE OF GOING DIGITAL Kevin Bannister

“Part of this efficiency drive will require all individuals and small businesses to have access to secure and personalised digital tax accounts.

“The revenue are saying this will be the death of the tax return, but effectively what this will lead to is four quarterly returns.”

Mr Bannister said ‘cloud accounting’ is the best way to ensure those affected are ready for the changes. This will require the purchase of specialist software that allows people to update their accounts ‘in real time’, for instance taking pictures of bills and receipts on their phones which then feed directly into their accounts. It can also keep up-to-date records of bank transactions.

Cloud accounting also allows a business or individual to interact with their adviser on a real time basis as they can both see the data at the same time, before sending the information directly to their Personal Tax Account at HMRC – a service which became available at the end of last year.

“For accountants, it will become more about reviewing what information is being submitted to make sure it is being done properly than prepping it all at the end of the year,” said Mr Bannister.

People and businesses who fail to adapt could end up falling foul of a new ‘points-based’ penalty system the HMRC is planning on introducing, with each mistake adding to the total financial sanction imposed.

However – to begin with at least – this will happen only after several failures, and one-off errors will be treated more leniently.

Unlike in the past, the revenue service have

decided not create their own software this time round. Instead, it is relying on accountancy software companies such as Xero, Sage and Quickbooks to provide the tools for people to use cloud accounting, and is currently consulting them on how best it should be implemented.

The coming changes in the way tax is handled could potantially prove disruptive to the accounting industry as a whole, with firms who fail to adapt being at risk of being bought out for a fraction of their current value.

“Some firms could possibly see this as a threat.

But ultimately we don’t have a choice but to go down this digital route. We cannot just say we will not do it as then there will come a point when we will be out of date,” added Mr Bannister.

“If the partners in a firm are looking to sell out in five years’ time and have not adapted, they will be gobbled up for nothing by a company which has. The buyer is not going to pay much if they have to then go about transforming the business themselves.

“The general advice at the moment is if you are looking of getting out soon, get out now, before the changes become compulsory.”

GOING DIGITAL: THE CHANGES 2015: HMRC’s Personal Tax Account went live in December, allowing every individual and small business access to their own secure digital tax account, like an online bank account, that enables them to interact with HMRC digitally 2016: Over 3.5 million people and businesses were using the Personal Tax Account by August 2017: Additional services to be added to personal accounts, including: Allowing taxpayers to declare additional sources of income; automatic tax code adjustments to prevent PAYE under and overpayments; the automatic recording of interest payments from banks and building societies 2018: Introduction of quarterly update to HMRC, initially on matters of income tax and National Insurance obligations 2019: Capital Gains Tax on the disposal of residential properties to be paid within 30 days, while most businesses will start updating HMRC quarterly for VAT obligations 2020: Businesses, landlords and the selfemployed to start updating HMRC quarterly for Corporation Tax obligations. Plans for end-of-year paper tax returns to be scrapped

New commuter survey Towns avoid loss of WORKERS across the county are spending over five hours commuting each week, a new study by coach company The Kings Ferry has found. The survey of 1,500 commuters found the average journey time in Kent was five hours and 21 minutes, with the distance travelled averaging 25 miles a day.

Increasing costs have also pushed up the price of getting to work, with commuters now paying around £4,284 a year on their journeys, leading over a quarter of those surveyed to say they have had to make savings elsewhere to compensate.

The report from the Gillingham-based firm also claimed one in five employees were arriving at work exhausted due to their commute.

Wednesday 7th December 2016

NatWest branches

TONBRIDGE and Tunbridge Wells Natwest customers have been spared the latest round of cuts at the bank after the lender announced plans to close nine of its Kent branches next summer.

The bank, which is a subsidiary of the government-owned RBS, said the closures were the result of falling footfall resulting from increased use of mobile and online payments.

Branches in Bearsted, Borough Green, Broadstairs, Hythe, Rochester, Sandwich, Staplehurst, Canterbury and Whitstable are earmarked for closure.

14  LOCAL BUSINESS NEWS NEWS IN BRIEF

Popular restaurant laps up six-figure bank sum HILDENBOROUGH restaurant owners Habib and Waheda Siddiq have taken a huge step towards reducing their overheads, after purchasing the freehold of their awardwinning establishment, Cinnamon Square.

The couple, who opened the popular Indian eatery situated next to the village’s station five years ago, have taken ownership of the building outright after securing a ‘six-figure funding deal’ from RBS.

Less empty shop space THE vacancy rate for Tunbridge Wells shops has halved in the last two years, new figures have revealed. With just 7.3 per cent of shop premises unfilled, the town is faring better than the national average of 9.5 per cent.

Since 2014, the local rate has fallen from a peak of 15.1 per cent.

Rail fares due to rise AVERAGE rail prices are set to increase by just under 2 per cent on the Southeastern network next year. This is slightly lower than the national average of 2.3 per cent, but still means season ticket holders will see their ticket prices rise by £100 on a £5,000 ticket.

Wednesday 7th December 2016

Business Secretary refutes ‘have cake and eat it’ memo, saying it’s not official policy GREG CLARK has dismissed claims the government has no Brexit plan after a handwritten document, carried by a Conservative aide in Downing Street after a meeting, revealed the words ‘to have cake and eat it’.

However, Mr Clark, Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and MP for Tunbridge Wells, said he ‘did not recognise’ the memo, which documented the likely difficulties which may arise during the upcoming EU negotiations.

It was snapped by long-lens camera as the aide to Tory Vice-Chairman Mark Field was emerging from a meeting with the Department for Exiting the EU at Number 9 Downing Street.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today

THINKING PRETTY (L-R): Louise Ford and Nicole Piesse-Turner

programme last week, Mr Clark said although it would be ‘nice’ to have our cake and eat it, this was not official policy.

He added: “I was interested and amused to see it because it doesn’t reflect any of the conversations that I’ve been part of in Downing Street.

“I don’t know what the provenance of that note is. All I can say is this is going to be a negotiation that has to be serious. We have to get our negotiating mandate in place, but this is being done soberly and meticulously.

“The British people voted to withdraw from Europe. The Government is rightly honouring that decision, and Article 50 will indeed be triggered in due course.”

Double win for Tonbridge taxi firm TAXI firm Castle Cars, owned by Terry Hill, has won two prestigious prizes in the only national awards for the private hire and chauffeur industry.

The Tonbridge-based company – which has seen 50 per cent growth in each of the past two years – won Silver in both the Private Hire Company of the Year and Community Award categories of the 2016 Professional Driver QSi Awards on November 24.

The trophies were handed out

by TV motorsports presenter and racing driver Amanda Stretton at the ceremony, which was held at the Effingham Park Hotel near Gatwick Airport, and organised by the monthly publication Professional Driver magazine.

The magazine’s editor, Mark Bursa, praised the ‘friendly local firm’, stating the judges were impressed by its ‘high standards of customer care, particularly for vulnerable passengers’.

KING OF THE ROAD Castle Cars owner Terry Hill

Spin-off PR firm all set to launch

By Adam Hignett

adam@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk

MEDIA and marketing agency Chatty Hatter has announced its intention to launch a new sister agency in the New Year.

The sister company – named Think Pretty PR – will specialise in promoting community businesses and projects, and is being headed by Nicole Piesse-Turner and national newspaper journalist Louise Ford at Chatty Hatter’s offices in Garden Street, Tunbridge Wells.

With 40 years’ experience in PR, journalism and marketing between them, the pair aim to take on business clients which specialise in the arts and retail as well as community-based projects.

Ms Ford said: “Our secret weapon is knowing what makes a good news story, as well as having impeccable contacts across a range of media.

“We also have years of experience with launch events and conferences.

“As two local residents, we really care about the people inside our community and helping them maximise on getting noticed and seeing their businesses flourish.”

LOCAL BUSINESS NEWS 

Long-term unemployment to be targeted by SELEP A NEW scheme aimed at getting the long-term unemployed across Kent back into work has been launched.

Work Routes is an £18million project being run by the South East Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP) and Jobcentre Plus, while its delivery in the county lies with the Royal British Legion Industries [RBLI].

We have not left the EU yet, and despite the referendum on June 23, half of the funding has been secured from the EU’s European Structural Fund.

Christian Brodie, Chairman of SELEP, said: “This EU funding seeks

to help those who, for a combination of issues, have struggled to find and maintain employment.

“Across the area, we have employers who need skills of all levels, and we are therefore delighted that we can tap into the comprehensive skills of the RBLI.” The initiative has been set the challenging target of securing 5,100 job starts, including 1,887 shortterm jobs and 1,607 sustained jobs, across South East by providing tailored support for individuals through a network of training centres and outreach work.

Calls for new migrant scheme as Kent agribusiness suffers AGRICULTURAL businesses in Kent risk being hit severely by Brexit unless a special permit scheme for seasonal workers can be implemented to plug the gap, MPs have warned.

The alert came during a Westminster Hall debate last week, with Helen Whately, Conservative MP for Faversham and Mid Kent, backing the idea of a new scheme.

She said: “Local organisations say they currently have four times fewer people looking for jobs than last year.

“There is already a problem recruiting workers even before leaving the EU. I’ve been told there is a genuine risk of British fruit going unpicked next year because of a shortage of labour.

“There’s a risk because of this shortage that they may go out of business.”

Statistics show that 80,000 seasonal workers were employed this year, but the number needed is expected to grow to 95,000 by 2019.

Mrs Whately added the low unemployment rate in the county meant local recruitment was only possible in ‘small numbers’,

while mechanisation, despite seeing ‘significant advances’, was still a decade away from replacing most workers.

To solve the problem, she called for the introduction of a fresh seasonal agricultutrual workers scheme after the previous programme was ended in 2013. Under the former scheme, 98 per cent of workers returned home at the end of the season, and therefore didn’t contribute to the UK’s immigration figures.

However, Tonbridge & Malling MP Tom Tugendhat warned that any new programme had to be implemented correctly if agriculture in Kent was to continue to flourish.

“If we get it wrong, we’ve got a real problem, because either we will find ourselves having to close down large swathes of British agriculture, or we will do something which we did not intend, which is create permanent migrants,” he said.

“If you think communities are complaining about a few thousand fruit pickers every now and again, the pressure of them coming with family and kids will be quite different.”

RVL stays ahead of the game with new quality recognition ELECTRONICS firm Raster Vision Ltd [RVL] has been awarded the gold standard in customer care after being re-accredited by the International Organization for Standardization [ISO].

The Matfield-based business, which specialises in supplying niche electronic equipment to firms across the globe, was awarded the ISO 9001: 2015 certification on November 17 – nine years after it was first recognised by the ISO, and two years ahead of schedule.

nearly 25 years, the certification proves that we are not content to our rest on our laurels. Quality drives everything we do.”

Peter Smith, RVL’s Operations Director, added: “I am proud of all our staff, from purchasing to design and manufacturing, for the effort they have put in to achieve this gold standard at such an early stage. Our customers can trust that we are adhering to the latest best practice, and providing them with the highest quality products and services.”

‘We are delighted to have secured the new ISO 9001 certification way ahead of the deadline’ The purpose of the ISO certification is to help companies stay customer-focused by ensuring quality, safety and efficiency.

The latest revision takes into account increasingly complex supply chains, leadership engagement, and managing organisational risks and opportunities to meet the changing needs of customers in a global marketplace.

Quality Director Andrew Bucknell said: “We are delighted to have secured the new ISO 9001 certification way ahead of the deadline, and before many of our competitors. Our customers rightly expect the highest standards and, while we have been committed to meeting these for

15

Round three in ongoing MP Evans takeover saga IN AN attempt to bolster its defences in the face of increasingly attractive takeover offers, Tunbridge Wells firm M.P. Evans has pledged to hike its dividend by a substantial 71 per cent.

The sweetener for shareholders is the latest twist in the ongoing battle between the board of the palm oil producer and its larger Malaysian rival, Kuala Lumpur Kepong [KIK].

M.P. Evans said it now intends to pay a dividend, excluding special dividends, of at least 15 pence per share in each of the years 2016 and 2017, up from 8.75p in 2015.

This is intended to keep shareholders onside after the board rejected yet another offer from KIK of 740p per share, valuing the company at around £415.4million, up from the 640p per share that was offered initially.

KIK hopes the latest offer will attract the support of more than 50 per cent of the shareholders, allowing it to bypass the board and conduct a hostile takeover.

However, the M.P. Evans board believe even this increased offer substantially undervalues the company by 46 per cent, and are seeking 1,082p per share.

TOP NOTCH Quality Director Andrew Bucknell

Wednesday 7th December 2016

16  COMMUNITY NEWS NAUTICAL BUT NICE Chipstead Lake provides a stunning setting

Sailing charity for disabled hopes to push the boat out

By Andrew Tong newsdesk@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk

for over 50 years, took up the challenge of passing on his knowledge and skills when he retired from the advertising industry.

“It’s been a fantastic experience for me,” he said. “Not only is it rewarding for us but we can pass this knowledge on to others, and it’s great to see them really enjoying it, too.”

A LOCAL charity is providing an inspirational service for disabled people of all ages by giving them the chance to cast off their land-based challenges and set sail for a bright future.

Wealden Sailability operates at Chipstead Lake, near Sevenoaks. It was founded eight years ago by Brian Stanley, 76.

“The charity opens up enormous opportunities to simply enjoy yourself – or to compete against each other,” he explained. “And our age range spans from seven or eight to well into your eighties.

“When we started, we had no money and no boats, just a few enthusiastic guys,” added Mr Stanley, who lives in Brenchley. “But now we’ve got 80 or 90 volunteers and a fleet of 23 boats.

“We can cater for any disability. We have up to 35 visitors from all over West Kent and we take them out every Tuesday DEEP UNDERSTANDING and Thursday.”

Brian Stanley has sailed Mr Stanley, who for over 50 years has been sailing

‘The only controls are a joystick for steering and a rope to control the sails’ Sailability is a nationwide organisation with more than 200 sites around the country, set up by the RHA to encourage participation and also competition.

Sailing allows disabled people of any age to be on a level playing field with able-bodied sailors.

“The beauty is that if you are totally disabled on land, you can still compete against anybody on water,” said Mr Stanley.

There are 10 Access 303Ws and three Access Liberty boats, which are also designed specifically to meet

Award for Langton Green’s bespoke football clubhouse A NEW state-of-the-art sports pavilion in Langton Green has won an award, beating other construction projects across Europe.

The sports facility was hailed by Lord Pendry, the President of the Football Foundation, as ‘architecturally the most impressive’ that he has ever opened.

Lord Pendry was representing the UK’s biggest sports charity at the

Wednesday 7th December 2016

inauguration in September, which 1966 World Cup winner George Cohen and local MP Greg Clark also attended.

The pavilion, designed and built by Kent company Directline Structures, has received the Astron Small and Smart Award. Astron is the leading European supplier of steel components.

It took eight months build the £460,000 bespoke pavilion.

TEAM BUILDING The new pavilion, which cost £460,000, opened in September

the needs of disabled sailors and provide the ideal model for early instruction.

With heavily weighted keels and added buoyancy, the boats are very stable. Movement is not necessary inside the boat and the only controls are a joystick for steering and a rope [known as a sheet] to control the sails.

“One of the Access Liberty boats is equipped with a simple control box which is tiny and can be attached to the clothing of the disabled sailor in the most convenient position,” said Mr Stanley.

“It consists of small toggle-type switches which control both the rudder and the sails. This has proved to be extremely popular for people with very limited dexterity, such as severe cerebral palsy, and allows them the fun and exhilaration of sailing alone. It also enables them to race on equal terms.”

Now the charity wants to add a new boat to the fleet, with sip-and-puff assistive technology which sends signals to the controls using air pressure by ‘sipping’ (inhaling) or ‘puffing’ (exhaling) on a straw or tube.

“This will provide the opportunity for the very disabled to be able to sail independently. The sipand-puff system has proved to be very successful, even on long-distance trips.

“We want to take this a step further for people with even more disability, who are constantly dependent on others for everything.”

18  COMMUNITY NEWS

MP is snowed under by card competition entries NUS GHANI, the MP for Wealden, received more than 300 entries for her inaugural Christmas card competition.

All primary school pupils in the constituency were invited to submit an entry to the competition, themed around Wealden and Christmas.

‘I have been amazed by the variety and quality of the entries from Wealden’s young students’ There were 315 entries, variously featuring images of the Houses of Parliament, Winnie the Pooh, carol singers and Santa’s reindeer.

Emma, aged 10, from Mark Cross Primary School, won the competition with her painting of Big Ben. Her design will feature on the Member of Parliament’s Christmas cards this year, with the three runners-up depicted on the back.

They were Dan from Rotherfield Primary School, Amir from Grove Park School in Crowborough, and Katherine from High Hurstwood Primary School.

Ms Ghani said: “I have been amazed by the variety and quality of the entries from Wealden’s young students.

“However, having seen first-hand on

Wednesday 7th December 2016

my visits to Wealden’s schools what a talented and imaginative bunch they are, I was not surprised in the slightest.”

She added: “Choosing the winner was an almost impossible task, but Emma’s winning design was so colourful and captured the festive scene so well that it just stood out for me.

“Thank you to every child who entered, and to their teachers and parents for making it possible, and all my best wishes for a very happy Christmas to everyone.”

PLAYTIME: Neil Marchant of Mattel UK with ellenor respite carer Shalina Narain and Mia Wenham at the Friday Fun Club

Toy Trust keeps ellenor on move

STAMP OF APPROVAL: Nus Ghani with Emma’s winning design

THE ellenor children’s hospice care team have received a donation of more than £10,000 from the Toy Trust to fund sensory equipment which can be taken into children’s homes.

The Toy Trust is the charitable arm of the British Toy and Hobby Association. Neil Marchant of Mattel UK, one of its members, delivered a cheque for £10,862 to the charity’s Friday Fun Club, a respite service in Dartford. ellenor provides care for Kent families facing terminal illness and supports children in their own homes.

“It’s been amazing to meet the children, and so lovely to be part of this and to learn about the great work ellenor does in Kent,” said Mr Marchant. “Everyone here is so warm, welcoming and friendly, and it’s so apparent that they have the children’s welfare at the centre of their hearts.”

Many of the children have severe physical and mental disabilities, with limitations of movement, hearing, vision, behavioural difficulties and pain. Specialist sensory play equipment allows them to enjoy play and helps them

developmentally and socially. But it is expensive and often not portable.

The Toy Trust donation will help the charity to purchase six Sensory in a Suitcase kits and six Pop-up Pods, which can be easily transported.

“We are incredibly grateful to the Toy Trust and its members, including Mattel, for its very generous donation,” said Hazel South, ellenor’s Head of Information and Development.

“The new toys will be such a great asset for the development, stimulation and fun for the children.”

COMMUNITY NEWS 

Fitness fans dare to bare all for Air Ambulance calendar

By Andrew Tong newsdesk@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk

A HEALTH club chain in East Sussex has launched a naked charity calendar to raise money for the Kent, Surrey & Sussex Air Ambulance Trust.

The 15 participating members from Isenhurst Halth Clubs were selected in a social media campaign. They include a carpenter, company director, classic car restorer, hair stylist, ante-natal practitioner and yoga teacher.

Fashion photographer Jenny Brough took the shots, using gym equipment and camera angles to protect the models’ modesty.

Dan Sanger, Manager of Isenhurst Health Clubs, said: “This wasn’t about being body beautiful, but about being comfortable enough in your own skin to take part.

“We had members putting themselves forward due to personal triumph – like those who have lost a lot of weight – and those wanting to put personal bravery to the test.

One of the models, Jess Hardy, 28, from Rotherfield, said: “I’ve lost nearly five stone in two years. Taking part in the calendar was a big deal for me.

“I used to do a lot of amateur dramatics and performing, but over the years I have lost my confidence due to my weight.

“I wanted to prove to myself that I could do this calendar, without losing my nerve. It was such a liberating experience and everyone on the shoot made me feel at ease.”

NAKED AMBITION (L-R): Jess Hardy, Michaela Roberts and Nina Cummings

She added: “The charity was a big pull, too. I witnessed a horrific car accident once when someone had to be airlifted to hospital.

“It is important for everyone in the Kent, Sussex and Surrey areas to be aware of how important the Air Ambulance Trust is and the amazing work they do.”

The calendar costs £13 and will be available to buy at the receptions of all three Isenhurst Health Clubs, located in Cross in Hand, Crowborough and Uckfield. For more information, visit www.isenhurst.co.uk

19

Kent pioneer wins top social worker award

A GROUND-BREAKING social worker from the county has received a Gold Award at the Social Worker of the Year Awards.

Yasmin Ishaq, who works for the Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust, won the Creative & Innovative Social Work Practice Award at a prestigious ceremony at the Lancaster Hotel in London.

A social worker for over 25 years, Ms Ishaq has recently been focusing on Open Dialogue, a mental health treatment model which maintains a consistent relationship with a service user’s family and social network as much as possible in their own homes.

The awards judges described her work as ‘genuinely innovative’, concentrating on ‘relationship-based social work’.

Ms Ishaq said: “I’m very shocked and humbled to win this award. Social workers work really hard with some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged people, and I always find it a DEDICATION privilege to work with Yasmin Ishaq them day in, day out to receives her help them find their own award strengths and assets.”

Dick Madden, Cabinet Member for Adults and Children at Essex County Council, one of the awards’ sponsors, said: “We are delighted to give the Gold Award to Yasmin.

“She is leading the way in innovation in mental health social care, reducing the reliance on traditional services and medication.

“This award celebrates her pioneering work in research and implementation of the innovative Open Dialogue model, and we wish her every success as this work continues.”

Ms Ishaq was presented with her award in front of an audience of 350 social workers and representatives of the profession.

Helen Greatorex, Chief Executive of Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership [KMPT], said: “We couldn’t be more proud to have such a dedicated and talented colleague in Yasmin.

“Her recognition as Creative and Innovative Social Work Practice winner is well deserved, and all of us at KMPT are delighted for her and for the people who she serves.”

Wednesday 7th December 2016

20 � NATIONAL NEWS

PM calls on Tory rebels to back her Brexit plan now PRIME MINISTER Theresa May will challenge MPs to explicitly back her to trigger Brexit by April in the House of Commons today [Wednesday], a Tory MP has revealed.

Mrs May will hope the move fends off a potential Commons rebellion as up to 40 Tory backbenchers were thought to be ready to back a Labour motion calling for her to set out her Brexit plan.

An amendment in the name of Mrs May will ­accept the Labour motion, allowing potentially rebellious Tories to back it, prominent Eurosceptic Steve Baker revealed in a tweet.

CRUNCH TIME Theresa May will put 40 backbench rebels to the test

‘Every Conservative MP should respect the result by voting with the government’ It will also challenge them to ‘respect the wishes’ of voters in the referendum and call on the government to trigger Article 50 by the end of March, in accordance with the timetable set out by the PM. A Downing Street spokesman stressed that the amendment was ‘a separate issue’ from the ­government’s Supreme Court battle to overturn a ruling that it should obtain Parliament’s approval before triggering Article 50 – a case which is set to conclude tomorrow [Thursday].

The spokesman added: “The Prime Minister has been clear that we will set out our plans in due course. That remains the position.

Wednesday 7th December 2016

“We won’t be showing our negotiating hand ­ ntil we have to, but we have not suggested we u will not set out the position. That’s what the amendment goes to.”

Mr Baker urged his Tory colleagues to back the amendment, saying: “Every Conservative MP should respect the result by voting with the government on this excellent amendment to trigger Article 50 on the Prime Minister’s schedule.”

Mrs May’s move also allows Tories to back

­ abour’s motion, which acknowledges that some L elements of the negotiating position should remain secret but urges the Prime Minister to ­ ‘commit to publishing the government’s plan for leaving the EU’ before triggering Article 50.

A Number 10 source stressed that any backing of Mrs May’s amendment would not satisfy the ­ruling that she must get parliamentary approval before triggering Article 50.

The source said: “Crucially, from our perspective

it’s making sure that Parliament are very clear they are not going to use this as a delaying method.

“So it’s now down to MPs to signal that they also want to get on with Brexit by supporting our position, which is that the government should invoke [it] by the end of March next year.”

The development came as the European Union’s lead Brexit official warned that the UK will have to reach a deal within 18 months of negotiations, in order to allow time for it to be ratified by the European Parliament and national leaders sitting in the European Council.

European Commissioner Michel Barnier urged the UK to ‘keep calm and negotiate’ as he ­suggested that October 2018 will be the deadline for agreement if Mrs May launches withdrawal talks by the end of March, as she has promised.

And he suggested that time would be too short to finalise all details of Britain’s future relationship with the EU, saying: “You can’t do everything in 15 to 18 months of negotiations.”

Article 50 states that treaties will cease to apply to departing states a maximum of two years after they notify Brussels of their intention to leave.

Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said that the schedule set out by Mr Barnier should give ­‘absolutely ample’ time for a deal.

Arriving in Brussels for talks with Nato counterparts, he said: “I think that, with a fair wind and everybody acting in a positive and compromising mood – as I’m sure they will – we can get a great deal for the UK and for the rest of Europe within that timeframe, I see no reason why not at all.”

Meanwhile, Mrs May attempted to stamp out speculation about whether the government is aiming for a ‘hard’ or ‘soft’ Brexit by declaring she wants a ‘red, white and blue Brexit’.

Speaking during a two-day visit to Bahrain she said: “What is going to be the relationship for the UK with the European Union once we have left the European Union? That’s what we are about and that’s what we will be working on.”

NATIONAL NEWS 

NEWS IN BRIEF

Crackdown on pricing by drug companies PLANS to stop pharmaceutical companies ‘exploiting the NHS’ by significantly increasing the price of certain medicines have cleared the House of Commons.

The government has moved to tighten up its regulation amid concerns at some pricing strategies which cost the NHS millions.

Health Minister Philip Dunne said the crackdown set out in the Health Service Medical Supplies (Costs) Bill will help the NHS secure greater value for money.

Teenagers fall short THE UK’S 15-year-olds continue to lag behind many other nations in the basics, according to the latest Programme for International Student Assessment.

Although the UK performs above the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) average in science and reading, its students are more mediocre at mathematics.

Peter Vaughan dies PETER VAUGHAN has died at the age of 93.

In later life he was best known for his role as Maester Aemon in Game of Thrones.

He famously played Harry Grout in the sitcom Porridge and appeared in Citizen Smith and Our Friends In The North.

Vaughan was often cast as the villain, and once said: “Luckily I’m not beautiful – otherwise I might have starved.”

Report into Southern will not be published THE government has been accused DELAY TO THE SERVICE of giving ‘favourable treatment’ to Southern will be allowed the owners of Southern Railway to challenge the report after deciding not to publish the results of an assessment of the company’s claim of exceptional circumstances for disruption to services.

The firm cited force majeure – or unforeseeable circumstances that prevented it from fulfilling its responsibilties – for the ongoing problems to its services, which have been hit for months by industrial action, staff shortages and sickness and other issues.

Rail Minister Paul Maynard, who promised to update the Transport Select Committee on the claim, said the Department for Transport’s initial assessment has now been completed.

“In the event of challenge, it would not be Mr Maynard wrote to the committee’s Chair, appropriate to publish the outcome of our analyLouise Ellman, saying Greater Thameslink Rail- sis of the first three periods of the force majeure way (GTR) must be given the chance to challenge claim at this stage.” the assessment.

Mick Cash, General Secretary of the Rail, MariHe wrote: “Owing to the unique circumstances time and Transport union, said: “The Department on this franchise, there is no clear precedent for Transport has assessed the first three reporting about how to assess the situation, and it is under- periods of the GTR claim but won’t publish the standable and correct that GTR have the opportu- findings – that is simply outrageous. nity to do this.

“Apparently, they need to give GTR the chance to “I am, therefore, not proposing to publish the challenge the findings. That is yet more favouraresults of the claim at this stage until I am clear ble treatment for GTR and a totally opaque prothat a) GTR are not challenging the outcome and cess that indulges the government’s anti-trade b) if they do challenge the outcome, discussions union urges, at the expense of staff, safety, pashave completed. sengers and the taxpayer.”

21

Marine’s conviction could be overturned after new evidence A FORMER Royal Marine serving a life sentence for murdering a wounded Afghan prisoner faces the ‘real possibility’ of having his conviction quashed following the presentation of new evidence, an independent review has found.

The Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC) has confirmed it is referring the conviction of Sergeant Alexander Blackman, also known as Marine A, to the Courts Martial Appeal Court.

Blackman was found guilty of murder at a Court Martial at the Military Court Centre in Bulford, Wiltshire in 2013.

Minute detail But the presentation of new evidence relating to Blackman’s mental health at the time of the death in Helmand – and the fact that an alternative verdict of unlawful act manslaughter was not available during the trial – means the case will return to the court.

The decision marks the latest step in the battle being fought by Blackman’s wife, Claire, to clear her husband’s name.

David James Smith, the lead CCRC commissioner on the case, said: “We have scrutinised this murder conviction in minute detail and after a thorough investigation we have concluded that there are new issues – principally relating to Mr Blackman’s state of mind at the time of the shooting – which in our view raise a real possibility that an appeal against conviction would now succeed.

“On that basis we are sending the case back to the Courts Martial Appeal Court so that a fresh appeal can be heard.”

Wednesday 7th December 2016

22  BUSINESS NEWS

Amazon’s no tills store could be a big hit in UK AMAZON’S cashier-free bricks-and-mortar grocery store could be a better fit for Britain than the US, experts have said.

The online retail giant has announced that it will open a store in Seattle next year and use technology that automatically detects when products are taken from or returned to shelves.

That will allow customers with the Amazon Go app to walk out of the store without queuing or scanning their items.

‘I would say that it’s even more likely to work in the UK than in the US’ Shortly after leaving, customers will be charged for their shopping via their Amazon accounts.

The company has not indicated whether international stores are in the pipeline but Nicla Di Palma, an equity analyst at wealth manager Brewin Dolphin, says the model may be more successful on this side of the Atlantic.

“I would say that it’s even more likely to work in the UK than in the US,” she said.

“For example, one of the reasons why Fresh & Easy – Tesco’s business in the US – did not succeed was that they were focusing on self-checkout, whilst the American consumer likes service.

“Obviously, Amazon would be a pure play but I am sure that Tesco, Sainsbury and the other majors could come up with a similar solution. Tesco already has a ‘scan as you shop’ model.”

Self-scanning technology has gained

REVENUE STREAM Amazon is opening stores in Seattle

traction in Britain, where cost pressures such as high rents, national living wage and import cost inflation as a result of the collapse of the pound have encouraged retail models that cut costs, increase sales volumes and reduce wait times.

Amazon already has a presence in the British grocery market in a wholesale deal with Morrisons struck earlier this year.

Amazon’s 1,800 square foot store in Seattle will focus on food-to-go, groceries such as milk, bread, cheese and chocolate, and will sell Amazon Meal Kits.

Companies such as Apple launched their own version of self-service via their app back in 2011, but that model of scan-and-go has yet to become mainstream Stateside.

Black Friday fuels huge surge in online spending CONSUMER spending grew at the strongest rate seen in nearly two years in November – fuelled by a record surge in online spending amid shopping bonanzas such as Black Friday.

Good start Spending increased by 3.2 per cent year-on-year in November, marking the biggest growth rate seen since January 2015, Visa’s UK Consumer Spending Index found.

Within the figures, online spending

grew by 12.5 per cent annually in November – the highest annual growth rate since the index started in 2009. In contrast, spend on the high street was down 1.4 per cent.

Kevin Jenkins, UK and Ireland managing director at Visa, said: “The Christmas shopping season got off to a good start for consumers and retailers alike.

“Overall spending growth in November accelerated to a 22-month high as consumers made the most of the promotions around Black Friday

and Cyber Monday,” he added. “The shopping season seems to have started earlier this year too, as we saw solid spending growth rates in the weeks leading up to Black Friday.

“As Black Friday shifted further online this year, e-commerce retailers were the clear winners in November.”

Recreation and culture saw the strongest annual growth, with a 9.3 per cent year-on-year increase in spending on this sector, while health and education saw a 5.7 per cent annual uplift.

BUSINESS NEWS IN BRIEF

Wednesday 7th December 2016

Brit takes over Lego

New travel horizons

Pay rise above norm

LEGO is to appoint its first British chief executive as the Danish toymaker embarks on a wide-ranging management shake-up.

Bali Padda, currently the group’s chief operating officer, is to take over from Jorgen Vig Knudstorp, who will himself replace Niels Jacobsen as chairman.

Mr Padda (pictured) was born in India in 1956 but his family moved to England when he was 12.

He has held a number of roles at Lego since joining in 2002, including heading up logistics.

HOLIDAY company Thomas Cook is to buy out its high street travel agent partner in a move that will see the Co-operative Travel brand disappear from town centres across the UK. Thomas Cook said it will take full ownership of the 764-strong network of travel branches.

It will buy the Co-operative Group’s 30 per cent stake and Central England Co-operative’s 3.5 per cent stake for £55.8million.

All stores will be rebranded as Thomas Cook over the next two years.

WAGES in the UK will increase by 2.5 per cent next year despite the economic and business uncertainty caused by Brexit, a new report has predicted.

With inflation forecast to be around 0.6 per cent, real wage growth will be 1.9 per cent, according to the Korn Ferry Hay Group.

It means pay rises in the UK will be higher than the average across western Europe of 1.7 per cent.

The global study found that workers in Vietnam will enjoy the biggest pay rise – at 7.2 per cent.

24 � WORLD NEWS UNDER FIRE Rebels face annihilation

Russia tells rebels to leave Aleppo – or be destroyed RUSSIA’S Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned Syrian rebels in Aleppo that they will be wiped out unless they agree to stop fighting and leave the besieged city.

Mr Lavrov said that ‘those who refuse to leave nicely will be destroyed. There is no other way’.

He also lamented what he described as attempts by the United States to bring about a pause in the fighting to allow rebels to rearm and resupply.

He said: “Serious conversations with our American partners are not working.”

Government forces are closely backed by Russian air power in the Middle East country’s civil war.

Bashar al-Hassad’s regime recently launched a new push to retake rebel-held eastern Aleppo neighbourhoods and seized large parts of the city.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin said the Kremlin regrets a ‘more than modest’ reaction by the international community following the deadly attack on a Russian military hospital in Aleppo on Monday.

Two Russian nurses were killed in the attack.

Wednesday 7th December 2016

Merkel vows to avoid another migrant tide GERMANY’S Chancellor, SOLID LEAD Angela Merkel, stressed Angela Merkel is seeking a her determination to fourth term as Chancellor ensure there is no repeat of last year’s huge migrant influx as she won a new term in charge of her party.

Germany saw around 890,000 ­asylum-seekers arrive in the country last year, many of them after Mrs Merkel decided in September 2015 to let in migrants who were stuck in Hungary.

Numbers have since declined sharply, but Mrs Merkel’s approach to the migrant crisis has ment between the European Union and Turkey provoked discord within her Christian Democratic earlier this year to stem the flow of migrants.

Union [CDU] party, which has seen a string of poor She announced last month that she will seek a state election results this year. fourth four-year term as Chancellor in an election “A situation like the one in the late summer of which is expected to be held next September.

2015 cannot, should not and must not be Aside from unhappiness about her migrant polrepeated,” Mrs Merkel told party delegates at a icy, some of her fellow party members are grumcongress in the western city of Essen. “That was bling about what is perceived as a wider drift to and is our, and my, declared political aim.” the left during her 11 years in charge.

While Mrs Merkel has continued to insist that Polls show a solid lead for the CDU, though their ­Germany will take in people in genuine need of support is well short of the 41.5 per cent they won protection, her government has moved to toughen in Germany’s 2013 election. ­asylum rules and declare several countries ‘safe’ The party also faces new competition from the – meaning people from those nations cannot upstart nationalist Alternative for Germany party, expect to obtain refuge in Germany. which has thrived by attacking Mrs Merkel’s Mrs Merkel was a driving force behind an agree- migrant policies.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Trump criticises cost of new Air Force One DONALD TRUMP has indicated he may cancel a new Air Force One plane being built by Boeing because the costs are ‘out of control’.

In a Tweet, the US President-elect said: “Boeing is building a brand new 747 Air Force One for future presidents, but costs are out of control, more than four billion US dollars. Cancel order!”

Elaborating on his comments to CNBC, Mr Trump accused Boeing of ‘doing a little bit of a number’.

Cazeneuve takes over Bernard Cazeneuve has taken over as France’s Prime Minister after Manuel Valls stepped down to focus on running for President in next year’s election.

Socialist Mr Valls resigned a day after announcing his candidacy in the wake of President François Hollande deciding last week not to run for a second term.

Opinion polls suggest that the second round of the election could pit Marine Le Pen, the leader of the far-right National Front, against conservative François Fillon.

Hofer ‘will run again’ The right-wing candidate for Austria’s Presidency, Norbert Hofer, has shrugged off his unexpectedly clear defeat, saying he will run again in 2022.

Alexander Van der Bellen, who takes office in January, won 54 per cent of votes cast, compared to 46 per cent for Mr Hofer.

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26  SPORT SPORT IN BRIEF

Mercedes may choose Alonso as replacement Mercedes are considering Fernando Alonso to replace the retiring Formula One world champion Nico Rosberg.

The Spaniard, who has won the title twice, may have to wait a year since he is about to enter the final year of his deal with McLaren.

“You have to consider Fernando,” Mercedes boss Toto Wolff said. “He is a driver I respect a lot. He combines talent, speed and experience. It’s all there.”

Lee leaves England job Sammy Lee has left his role as assistant to England manager Gareth Southgate.

Lee had been drafted in by the former manager Sam Allardyce before a newspaper sting operation cost the latter his job.

Southgate retained his services during his four-game interim spell.

Another Allardyce appointee, the Leicester City coach Craig Shakespeare, has already been moved on.

Doubts over final Test The schedule for the fifth Test of England’s tour of India has been thrown into uncertainty following the death of the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa Jayaraman in Chennai.

A seven-day period of public mourning is anticipated, while the final Test is due to start in the city on December 16.

For local sports news turn to pages 78-79

Wednesday 7th December 2016

QPR youth coach named Montgomerie as FA calls in top lawyer hails Bjorn’s THE OFFICIAL probe into child sexual abuse allegations in football will ensure that any failings by the authorities or clubs are ‘brought to light’ and not repeated, the Football Association [FA] has said.

The domestic governing body’s announcement came as Queen’s Park Rangers became the latest club to be implicated.

CHIEF SCOUT The Championship club Chris Gieler worked said it was aware of at QPR for 30 years historical child abuse allegations involving former chief scout Chris Gieler and will co-operto ensure that lessons are learned such that any ate with any investigations. identified failings are not repeated.”

Gieler, who left QPR in 2003 and died in 2004, It said Mr Sheldon, whose past work includes was employed by the west London club for 30 several reviews involving child protection and years, working in youth development and as safeguarding, will investigate ‘what steps the FA chief scout. took to address safeguarding/child protection A statement said: “The club takes these issues in the sport up until 2005, and to consider allegations very seriously and will cooperate fully any failings by the FA at the time, in particular in any forthcoming investigation. Any form of whether it failed to act appropriately to anything abuse has no place in football or society.” raised with it relating to child sexual abuse’.

The FA also said that a different lawyer would Mr Sheldon is a specialist in high-profile be leading the probe – Clive Sheldon QC instead discrimination claims and disputes involving of Kate Gallafent QC – ‘in the light of the public figures and senior executives, and led increased scope of the review’.

Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt’s legal team in Outlining its terms of reference, the FA said: litigation regarding junior doctors.

“The overriding objectives of the review are to He also represented the National Executive ensure that any possible failings by the FA and Committee of the Labour Party in the dispute clubs at the relevant time are brought to light and over who could vote in the leadership election.

‘fiery nature’

DANISH golfer Thomas Bjorn ‘is the obvious choice’ to be Europe’s Ryder Cup captain, according to Colin Montgomerie.

Bjorn was confirmed yesterday [Tuesday] to lead Europe’s bid to win back the trophy from the United States in France in 2018.

The 45-year-old was Montgomerie’s vice-captain when Europe regained the Cup in 2010.

“Thomas was the obvious choice, and the right choice, to be captain in 2018,” Montgomerie said.

“I saw first hand what he was like as a vicecaptain in 2010, and he was exceptional.

“He wears his heart on his sleeve and I think that’s important for the role. I wouldn’t be worried about his combustible and fiery nature, that is good in a way. I think you need that to beat the might of the Americans.”

Bjorn’s three Ryder Cups as a player all resulted in victories while he has been a vice-captain four times, including to Darren Clarke two months ago.

Bjorn said: “It’s a huge honour for me. This is one of the greatest days in my career. I studied a lot of captains as a player and as a vice-captain and always COMBUSTIBLE wondered what that feeling Thomas Bjorn would be like to be the one ‘wears his heart leading out a team of 12 on his sleeve’ great players.”

28 � LETTERS

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 20s Plenty: Why people should not remain blinkered to solutions that lie outside of the speed limit?

I always enjoy the letters page, you get to see opinions play out between opposing sides. As a general rule I like to watch from afar rather than contribute. However, on this occasion I will dip my toe in the water.

Your letter of the week by Tom Swarbrigg (November 23) takes a swing at Jonathan Albus Jones (November 9) for suggesting that there may be a better solution than the proposed 20mph limit to the problems faced in St John’s.

Mr Swarbrigg claims he is a ‘supporter of 20s Plenty for Tunbridge Wells’. He is in fact their spokesperson (as noted on page 5 of the November 23 issue) so I would hope he supports them.

The problem I have with 20s Plenty type groups is that they focus solely on the speed limit, why remain blinkered to solutions that lay outside of speed limit… As Mr Jones points out, 20mph limits need to be deployed effectively, outside schools for example, but replacing a bus lane with a cycle lane (which currently serves just 0.5% of traffic) and reducing the speed limit is madness. Even if

Ice rink brings a touch of magic The ice rink is back in Calverley Grounds so it must be Christmas, or almost. What a lovely lifting of the spirits the rink brings with it as a place to be enjoyed by both young and old alike.

It really adds a touch of magic to the town and it was so lovely to see the story and picture on the front page (November 23) of those children who this year named the seals that you can lean on to get you round the ice. Well done to all involved.

Alice Wright Via email

Why make more places 20mph zones?

I can’t believe the solution to the congestion in this town is to make ever more places 20 mph zones. It appears that not only will motorists soon find the speed limit in vast swathes of the St John’s area reduced to a snail’s pace, but now the ‘friends’ of Calverley Grounds are stepping outside of what I believe is their remit in an attempt to ensure gridlock in the very heart of the town with a 20mph zone in the park ward.

Do none of the people making these suggestions ever travel to Brighton? It is utter chaos as the majority of roads, which have been 20mph for years now, only ensure endless queues. I hardly think that stationary traffic, waiting around for hours – as is the norm in Brighton – is any better for the environment than a free flowing system.

This town is already at the mercy of dozens of

cycling quadrupled it would only serve 2% of the traffic and make a negligible difference to air quality.

The road is notorious for heavy traffic which causes the air quality issues, so improve the bus service, make the best use of the infrastructure we have and see if anything can be done to get the traffic moving rather than implementing a speed limit which is useless when the traffic is queued nose to tail and not fit for purpose when the road is clear. The whole idea should be re-evaluated and the money should be put to better use.

Ron Riddle Via email

speed calming measures, cameras, slow zones and bottlenecks, all of which cause great inconvenience to the motorist and ultimately will be economically damaging as productivity is lost due to lateness and people won’t bother shopping in a town where driving feels like rush hour for the majority of the working day.

Wesley Smythe Via email

Tonbridge festival a dazzling success Congratulations to those who helped organise the Tonbridge Christmas Festival this year which attracted a record breaking crowd of 9,000 people – my family among them. We watched the band marching down the high street at lunchtime and we ended up watching all the acts on the stage into the evening.

At the end of the night when the compere asked the crowd if they should do it all again next year you could have heard the roar of approval from the crowd as far away as Tunbridge Wells. You could probably also hear the sighs of envy coming from Tunbridge Wells who this year, when it comes to Christmas lights being switched on, were well and truly beaten by their neighbours, so often thought to be the poor relations. Enough of that though and a Happy Christmas to all in both towns.

Martyn Jenkins Via email

Black Friday is no real bargain We as consumers have been told that Black Friday is the one time of year we’ll get the best bargains on our high street and online – just in time for Christmas – but after seeing this American retail trend grow over the past few years I have to say that I do not believe that to be the case.

We’re told courtesy of brash and relentless adverts on the radio, TV and shop windows that prices can be slashed by up to 70% off their usual retail value but each time I have popped into a shop I’ve found that either the items I’m interested in aren’t even discounted or have a measly sum such as 10 per cent or 15 per cent shaved off.

It would seem that the only good Black Friday deals to be had are on things you don’t need – such as summer clothes or unusual accessories.

Anything of value is the same price as it’s always been. Believe me, I have been into several retailers this week and this is definitely the case.

More publicity instead should go to those brands like Fat Face who are instead using Black Friday to promote good things such as making charitable donations. Giving away extra money they would usually make on Black Friday – or should that be Black Friday Week or Month given the fact it’s still going on – is a far better way of doing things.

Olivia Dixon Via email

Are zebras worth getting cross about?

I’m a big one for safety but zebra crossings are the one safety measure I’ve never quite grasped the concept of.

Unlike at pelican and toucan crossings, drivers approaching zebra crossings are extremely unpredictable. Perhaps that’s even an understatement.

For instance, I was walking along North Farm Road when I approached the zebra crossing that would lead me to High Brooms station. A car was heading in my direction a good 30 metres down the road. Giving it the benefit of the doubt, I stepped out. Big mistake. Despite being two or three steps into the road, the car came hurtling towards me at full speed. Maybe I wasn’t seen?

My point is, do The Mead School really need to raise funds for a new, ‘required’ zebra crossing, outside its gates? If anything, it’ll surely put the children’s lives in danger more? People, especially youngsters, think they are invincible by walking out in the road at a zebra crossing as cars are expected to slow down or stop.

I understand that Frant road contains busy, fast-moving traffic and respect the idea that the school is considering its safety. But why not just replace the lollypop man with a new one? Or discuss other options?

Samantha White Via email

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

Wednesday 7th December 2016

Calverley

HIMSELF could hardly believe his eyes when the yellow three wheeler of Del Trotter (think Only Fools and Horses) drove by him in Tunbridge Wells. Curiosity led him to follow the van and find out what was happening. It was a wedding, at the registry office, and the happy couple wanted a novel means of transport to get away on their honeymoon.

That’s one way to start married life.

OVERHEARD at a local fast food outlet beginning with a big letter M. A group of youngsters aged about 10 chatting away at a table and discussing the existence or not of Father Christmas. Girl to friends: “Of course there is a Santa Clause how else do we get the presents?” All nodded in agreement. Then she added: “But I don’t believe in the tooth fairy, that’s really silly .” Nods all round again.

Score one for Santa.

SOMETIMES Calverley just has to chuckle. The Range discount store has opened opposite the station in the old Morrissons store in Tunbridge Wells. When placing advertisements to announce the event the media planners ruled out this august publication because its readers are too posh for their liking. You, dear reader, are not their target audience. How out of touch can they be? Obviously they don’t know just how much those at the top of the ‘social status scale’ enjoy a bargain - and will look for one.

TALKING about the opening of the Range (above) Calverley can’t fail to note the irony of the CEO Paul Shewbrook arriving in Tunbridge Wells via helicopter. Now there’s a ‘posh’ way to make an entrance and avoid those awful traffic jams.

Chin, chin readers

Education in association with:

www.right-tuition.co.uk

EDUCATION ■

29

EDUCATION Times WITH THE

Once again our schools are top of the class The Sunday Times recently published its definitive list of the UK’s Top Schools for 2016 and many of our educational establishments have been ranked highly in this prestigious guide WHEN it comes to choosing somewhere to live, the choice and quality of the schools in the area is always pretty high up on most parents’ list of priorities.

In this particular part of Kent, we are fortunate enough to have a wide selection of excellent independent, state and selective schools, all of which reflect impressive academic results year on year when official league tables are published.

One of the most respected and responsive ones is The Sunday Times’ Parent Power Schools list, which is compiled according to recent examination results. This year, once again, a good number of our educational establishments have been highly placed in the list.

In the best state primary schools category, St Margaret Clitherow Catholic Primary in Tonbridge ranked an impressive 52nd, climbing up 16 places since last year. St Thomas of

Canterbury Church of England primary in Groombridge was placed at 127, while in the independent sector The Mead School ranked 76th and Rose Hill took 87th place. Both schools are based in Tunbridge Wells.

In the newspaper’s round-up of the best performing private and state secondaries, Tonbridge School was ranked 30th in the top 250 independent schools, with Benenden in Cranbrook listed 54th, Mayfield 154th and Kent College in Pembury placed at 216.

In the state sector, many selective schools did well, with Tonbridge Grammar School leaping five positions up to an impressive fifth place in the UK’s top 250 secondary schools. The Judd School, also in Tonbridge, ranked 22nd, with The Skinners’ School in Tunbridge Wells placed five above it at No 27. Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Girls took 28th place, Weald of Kent was 88th, while Tunbridge

FULL MARKS Our pupils work hard

Wells Grammar School for Boys was given joint 248th position.

Judd Headmaster Robert Masters commented: “We are delighted to have been recognised as a high performing

school by The Sunday Times. Our students’ A level results this year were good and the GCSEs exceptional.”

On being identified as the top performing state school in the South

East, Rosemary Joyce, Head Teacher at Tonbridge Grammar School, said: ‘I am delighted the success of our students in their examinations has been recognised.

“They have worked exceptionally hard to achieve their outstanding results, supported by our dedicated and skilled team of staff, and I am very proud of everyone involved.”

A spokesperson for Kent County Council confirmed that at Key Stage 1, pupils at Kent schools have been ‘improving faster than the national rate of improvement since 2013’ and that results in Kent are now ‘5 per cent above of national mathematics, 4 per cent ahead in English reading and 6 per cent ahead in English writing’.

They went on to say: “Overall, 90 per cent of our schools are now rated good or outstanding by Ofsted, which is 1 per cent above the national average of 89 per cent.”

Wednesday 7th December 2016

30  WEEKLY COMMENT

Tom Tugendhat

MP for Tonbridge & Malling

Tom Tugendhat, MBE, left the British Army in July 2013 after a career in which he served on operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and as the military assistant to the Chief of the Defence Staff. As a Territorial Army officer he worked on everything from those ops to establishing the Armed Forces Muslim Association. He also worked for the Foreign Office.

He was elected as a Member of Parliament in 2015. See www.tomtugendhat.org.uk

Why flood defences must be our priority

Wednesday 7th December 2016

allocate Government money, appreciates our pressing need. I have made clear to all how important this is. In Tonbridge, Hildenborough and East Peckham nearly 2,000 properties are at risk of flooding. This is not acceptable. Our county is an economic powerhouse for the country and many businesses rely on the ability to operate in the severest of weather. I feel this means we should get the appropriate level of protection from Government.

The project we have been working on will hopefully see an enlargement of the Leigh Flood Storage Area, with localised embankments at Hildenborough and East Peckham. This is proven to be a viable solution and I believe is worthy of Government funding. In fact, it is so impressive that it has achieved millions of pounds of funding from our local councils and businesses. I have been clear to the Government, most recently in a debate a couple of weeks ago in the House of Commons, that I feel this is where resources should be allocated.

Whether a ‘Man of Kent’ or ‘Kentish Man’, we all appreciate the importance of the River Medway and its tributaries, including the Bourne and Eden, in our history. Towns such as ours would not have been able to thrive had it not been for the River. Indeed, Tonbridge Castle would not be

the landmark it is today without the River Medway running past it. The economic and cultural links built up around it have shaped our community. It is time we received the appropriate defences for our river.

One of my first memories as the Conservative Candidate for this community was visiting the Brookmead estate in Hildenborough to witness

‘In Tonbridge, Hildenborough and East Peckham nearly 2,000 properties are at risk of flooding.

This is not acceptable’

the aftermath of the 2013 floods. Many homes were underwater, and it was not the way I wanted to introduce myself to residents. The potential impact is still present today and I have made it my business to fight for the funds needed to end the uncertainty. I am not willing to wait any longer for the financial support we need to solve a strategic threat to our economy.

PHOTO: Everyman Films Ltd

AS WE approach Christmas, many in our community are hoping for a far better Christmas than the one we remember from 2013. Too many of our properties flooded three years ago and I have been clear since that terrible event that more needs to be done.

That’s why one of my biggest fights since being elected has been to secure the funds we need to protect our homes. Speaking in debates, writing to ministers and stopping them in the corridors of Westminster, the Government are under no illusion of the importance we place on flood defences across our community and the lengths I will go to get the answers we need.

This work would build on the efforts of our community - flood wardens in Edenbridge, Tonbridge and across our towns and villages do so much not only in warning people about the floods but in ensuring that drains are cleared and culverts unblocked as soon as possible. These actions have prevented surface water flooding like those experienced in Ightham in June this year.

That’s why I have been working with the Environment Agency and our local councils on a scheme which will help. A bid has gone into the Government and I hope that the ‘South East Local Enterprise Partnership’, the body which helps

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

The Times is proud to work with:

WITH THE

Available in Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge and Sevenoaks

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Dive on in

Traditional looks meet contemporary design in high-spec family home with pool

Wednesday 7th December 2016

32  PROPERTY SECTION

Your at-a-glance guide to WITH THE

OF TUNBRIDGE WELLS

HIGH RISEDEN TIDEBROOK, NR WADHURST

Pick up your edition at the following stations

£950,000

Tunbridge Wells Tonbridge Wadhurst Hildenborough Paddock Wood High Brooms

To feature a property or to place an advert please call: Patsy Kelly 01892 774 781

Alternatively you can contact the Times of Tunbridge Wells in the following ways 01892 779 624 16 Lonsdale Gardens, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN1 1NU

UNDER £350,000

newsdesk@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk

GREAT BROOMS, TUNBRIDGE WELLS

f facebook.com/timeslocalnews

Two bedroom mid terrace property situated in an ideal location benefitting from double glazing, gas fired heating (with recent new boiler) and rear garden. The lounge features laminate style flooring and a through archway to under stairs storage, with

k twitter.com/timeslocalnews L timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk

Wednesday 7th December 2016

£280,000

the addition of two feature fireplaces in the property. The front garden is bordered by a brick built wall with gate opening onto a path leading to the front door. The landscaped rear garden is bordered by fencing with mature shrubs and includes another gate at the end for rear access.

CONTACT KMJ 01892 515188 www.kmjproperty.co.uk

UNDER £650,000 POWDER MILLS, LEIGH

£575,000-£600,000 GUIDE PRICE This well-presented three bedroom detached chalet bungalow overlooks fields to the front. A particular feature is the 14ft double-glazed conservatory, modern fitted kitchen and secluded garden. The property

includes two reception rooms, two bedrooms on the ground floor and a further bedroom on the first floor.

The rear garden comprises mostly lawn area, flower and shrub borders, plus a patio and shed. There is also a garage and driveway for parking.

CONTACT Robinson-Jackson Tonbridge 01732 757300 www.robinson-jackson.com

PROPERTY SECTION 

33

great properties by price range…

Under £450,000 STANLEY ROAD TUNBRIDGE WELLS

£386,995

This quirky detached family home offers modern living at a popular end of town near Camden Road. Newly refurbished, the property comprises a lounge, a generous kitchen/diner, a utility room, a downstairs bathroom and three bedrooms. The lounge has double doors to the patio, and bright kitchen/diner has a triple window.

There is double-glazing and gas-fired heating, as well as off-road parking.

CONTACT KMJ Rusthall, Tunbridge Wells 01892 515188 www.kmjproperty.co.uk

UNDER £800,000 BELTRING ROAD TUNBRIDGE WELLS

£795,000

Deceptively spacious, this attractive late Victorian townhouse includes high corniced ceilings, tall skirting boards and feature fireplaces. Well maintained throughout, of particular note is the large, open-plan, country-style kitchen/dining room and an 18ft principal bedroom. The spacious drawing room features a bay window, a window to the rear and two fireplaces. A terrace adjoins the house and there are established gardens as well as a garden shed.

CONTACT Hamptons Tunbridge Wells 01892 597039 www.hamptons.co.uk

UNDER £1MILLION

UNDER £250,000

HIGH RISEDEN, TIDEBROOK NR WADHURST

ST PAUL’S STREET, RUSTHALL

£245,000

£950,000 This individual, four-bedroom rural home in between Wadhurst and Mayfield has most of the accommodation on one floor to take advantage of the impressive outlook. The sitting room opens in an L-shape to the dining area and has a wood burner and farreaching views. There is a kitchenbreakfast room, a study, a part-galleried upper hall with a door to the garden and a master suite with dressing room. Outside

is a garage and barn, while the 1.6 acres of grounds include a terrace and walled garden.

CONTACT Hamptons Tunbridge Wells 01892 597039 www.hamptons.co.uk

A two-bedroom, ground floor retirement apartment in a sought-after location. The property benefits from a private entrance and rear garden, as well as access to communal gardens, laundry room and car park (subject to availability) and a house manager. The lounge/diner features double-glazed double doors leading out to the private rear garden, as well as feature fireplace, electric storage heater and coved ceiling.

CONTACT KMJ Rusthall, Tunbridge Wells 01892 515188 www.kmjproperty.co.uk

Wednesday 7th December 2016

38 � PROPERTY SECTION

Wednesday 7th December 2016

40  PROPERTY SECTION

Luxurious family home with a pool and gym in secluded leafy location REGATTA GRASSY LANE, SEVENOAKS

£2,295,000

FACT FILE ■ Reception hall ■ Drawing room ■ Dining room ■ Garden room ■ Study ■ Family/music room ■ Kitchen/breakfast room ■ Utility room ■ Cloakroom

An attractive five-bedroom family home in a sought-after location, with well-proportioned accommodation

■ Gymnasium with sauna and shower room ■ Master bedroom suite ■ Guest bedroom suite ■ Three further bedrooms ■ Family shower room ■ Double garage ■ Swimming pool ■ Pool house ■ Established gardens ■ Total area 0.3 of an acre

£2,295,000 For sale through Savills Sevenoaks 01732 789 700 www.savills.co.uk

Wednesday 7th December 2016

44  PROPERTY SECTION

WROTHAM HILL PARK FAIRSEAT LANE, NR WROTHAM

£2,950,000

FACT FILE Main house: ■ Entrance vestibule ■ Reception hall ■ Drawing room ■ Dining room ■ Billiard room ■ Kitchen/ breakfast room ■ Conservatory ■ Cloakroom ■ Master bedroom suite ■ Guest bedroom suite ■ Three further bedrooms ■ Family shower room ■ Recreation room with separate wet room and WC ■ Parkland gardens ■ Tea house ■ Garaging ■ Pasture land ■ Total 36.8 acres Secondary accommodation: ■ Sitting room ■ Bedroom ■ Shower room Former stables: ■ One bedroom apartment ■ Gym

Distinctive 1860s country house with a range of accommodation

■ Workshop and storage

£2,950,000 For sale through Savills Sevenoaks 01732 789 700 www.savills.co.uk

Set in 36.8 acres of parkland grounds and boasting attractive sandstone elevations with intricate moulded details over the arched mullioned windows Wednesday 7th December 2016

FOOD AND DRINK 

Ale and hearty…

1862 Premium Bitter (4.8% ABV)

Hurst Brewery Hassocks, West Sussex 1862 is a strong, extra special bitter – a full-flavoured yet smooth dark ale with spicy, nutty characteristics and hints of dark fruits. www.hurstbrewery.co.uk

Christmas Ale (6.5% ABV) Firebird Brewing Company Rudgwick, West Sussex A great big beer packed with rich, malty flavour, striking bitterness and a huge warmth. Made with all-English malts and hops, and just the perfect Christmas pint. www.firebirdbrewing.co.uk

Christmas Spirit (4.7% ABV)

Whitstable Brewery Maidstone, Kent Even the meanest Scrooge will find their Christmas Spirit after a glass of Whitstable Brewery’s Yuletide tipple! Crystal malt gives this ruby ale a warmth and depth of flavour perfectly suited to the festive season, while an all-English hop blend, led by the powerful Admiral and celebrated East Kent Goldings varieties, rounds off the beer with spices, marmalade and a balanced bitterness. When you see its crimson-tinged amber colour and smell its wonderful aroma, you’ll be reminded of nothing so much as roaring fires, ruddy cheeks and plenty of festive cheer! www.whitstablebrewery.co.uk

Crème Brûlée (5.9% ABV) Dark Star Brewing Company Partridge Green, West Sussex A dessert in a glass! This beer is brewed using non-fermenting lactose sugar, vanilla beans and plenty of roasted malts to provide a sweet, smooth caramel drinking experience. www.darkstarbrewing.co.uk

Inn Keeper (4.8% ABV)

Long Man Brewery Litlington, East Sussex A fruity winter ale with a deep red hue and delicious warming flavours from a blend of six speciality malts, which combine with festive fruit aromas and balanced bitterness to finish. www.longmanbrewery.com

53

The colder months have officially arrived, so why not sample some deeper beers on your next trip to the pub?

To help get you started, here are some suggestions from a selection of top Kent and Sussex breweries. That will be sure to get you into the festive spirit...

I

t’s that time of year when the days are getting shorter, the nights are drawing in, and the fires are starting to roar in public houses across the South East. So, what better way to make the most of those cosy winter evenings than by enjoying a warming pint of your favourite local and regional ales, stouts and porters?

Indeed, crisp, refreshing lagers and pilsners might be popular throughout

summer, but now is when the darker, richer, more flavoursome brews come into their own. And with great tipples come great breweries, of which there’s certainly no shortage on our doorstep.

From Kent hop houses like Whitstable, Old Dairy and Musket to Sussex brewers such as Long Man, Dark Star and Arundel, you can’t beat this part of the world for complex, characterful assortments of award-

winning, critically-acclaimed beers.

Whether you’re in the mood for a winter warmer, or fancy a slightly lighter, weaker session option, you’ll be well and truly spoiled for choice when making your selection at the bar.

For an idea of what to look forward to, we’ve rounded up some seasonal pints that will have you smacking your lips and ordering another round this Christmas…

Pilgrim (3.7% ABV)

Powder Burn (5% ABV)

Red Nose (5% ABV)

Stout #45 (4.5% ABV)

Bedlam Brewery Albourne, West Sussex This limited edition black ale sources its ingredients from the brewery’s back garden. Named its ‘Harvest Ale’, it uses hops grown with care and attention, making the brew light and sessionable. www.bedlambrewery.co.uk

Arundel Brewery Arundel, West Sussex A festive, amber-coloured beer with a rich, fruity aroma from the Aurora hops and grated orange zest. Subtle citrus flavours and hoppy bitterness come through in the finish. www.arundelbrewery.co.uk

Musket Brewery Maidstone, Kent A Kentish porter that’s dark and mysterious, yet explodes with flavour. It evokes the ancient earthy and sweet aromas of times gone by.

Brewed between October and February only. www.musketbrewery.co.uk

360° Brewing Company Sheffield Park, East Sussex Brewed with five different malts, including Flaked Oats, to create a smooth, dark stout, with a chocolate sweetness, balanced with the generous use of Fuggles hops. www.360degreebrewing.com

Snow Top (6% ABV) CHEERS FOR THE BEERS Our area is rich in fine ales

Old Dairy Brewery Tenterden, Kent The perfect ‘winter warmer’ for those long, cold nights, Snow Top is brewed with rich, dark English Maris Otter, Crystal and Black malts, producing a deeply satisfying ale with delicious fruitcake and marmalade flavours, topped off with spicy notes from English Challenger, East Kent Golding and Bramling Cross hops. www.olddairybrewery.com

Winter Reserve (5.2% ABV)

Ascot Ales Camberley, Surrey Another wonderful winter warmer, this one lightly spiced with aromas of cinnamon and ginger.

It’s red in colour and the palate is full with a pleasant spicing coming through. Very smooth and drinkable. www.ascot-ales.co.uk

Wednesday 7th December 2016

54 ■ FOOD AND DRINK

Why a couple of former police officers swapped handcuffing for baking cakes Claire and Nick Hearn set up their vintage-inspired catering company Rose and Olive, which hosts pop-ups in and around Tunbridge Wells, in 2014. Here, Claire tells Eileen Leahy why she had to quit her day job and what it was like being invited to Number 10 as part of Small Business Saturday, which took place last weekend…

What gave you the idea to launch your own company?

I love all things vintage and have a real soft spot for afternoon tea. My husband has a passion and talent for cooking so we decided to combine all this into a vintage-inspired catering business.

FORCE UNIT Claire and Nick Hearn How long have you been in business?

We started trading in June 2014 so we’ve been in business now for two and a half years. The time has flown by and we have been honoured to have taken almost 200 bookings since we began.

Wednesday 7th December 2016

Tell us a little bit what Rose and Olive is all about?

We host beautiful vintage tea parties, nostalgic pop-up tearooms and scrumptious supper clubs brought to clients at the venue of their choice.

Operating on a mobile basis means we’ve been privileged to have catered at some amazing venues including the ITV studios in London and Lullingstone Castle in Eynsford. With our pretty vintage china, retro music playing from our gramophone and delicious homemade food we capture the elegance of a bygone era.

How did you come up with the name Rose and Olive?

Rose and Olive were my two tea-loving grandmothers who sadly never got a chance to be a part of what we do and so it seemed a fitting

tribute to name our business in loving memory of them both.

Did you do it as a side line initially while you were still working in the police force?

When I started Rose and Olive I had already reduced my hours down to part-time and I spent my last few months in the police prepping for the launch of the business. But I just knew I wouldn’t be able to juggle the demands of being a police officer alongside getting the business off the ground. I took the leap and left the police just as we started trading in June 2014. My husband remained in the police for another year and in that time trained and qualified as a chef. He then came on board with the business full-time late last year.

What are the fundamental differences between doing your former job and running Rose and Olive?

Having the freedom to choose where and when we work is a big difference. Being a police officer is a challenging role on a number of levels so it’s nice to see a different side to life now.

LET THEM EAT CAKE A selection of sweet treats on offer

FOOD AND DRINK 

55

Do you miss being a police officer?

In short no. I miss working with some of my old colleagues but my husband and I both relish the fact that we don’t have to work shifts anymore and that we are now building our own dream!

Who is your core market and how do people usually find out about you?

What we offer appeals to a wide variety of ages so we get booked for a lot of hen parties and also for larger occasions including wakes and weddings. Word of mouth recommendations, social media and Google are the main ways people find out about us. We have also linked up with various venues, hair and make-up stylists and dance teachers to offer our catering alongside their services.

You were recently invited to Number 10 as a guest. How did that come about?

We submitted a video about our business to Small Business Saturday and were honoured to be chosen as one of their 100 businesses to be profiled this year. This means the world to us as we took a huge leap in leaving our careers as police officers to run our own business and so to get that acknowledgement is really special.

Where are the majority of your events held?

We travel all over Kent, Surrey, Sussex, Essex, London and beyond! Our pop-up tearoom can be found at local events including the Penshurst Vintage and Antiques Fair held every Easter

weekend and August Bank Holiday weekend.

We also work with a number of local charities including Kent Wildlife Trust and Leonard Cheshire Disability and have done quite a few corporate events including ones for ITV and the BBC. What’s your favourite thing about running your own business?

The satisfaction of seeing clients and the public enjoying the food and experience that we provide and knowing that we have helped to create wonderful memories with what we do.

What are your plans for the future?

We hope to expand the business next year by taking on staff as we have just won a catering franchise for a venue in Surrey. We also want to open our own vintage tearoom, it’s been our plan for a while now but as they say the best things come to those who wait!

For more information on Rose and Olive visit www.roseandolive.co.uk

‘The satisfaction is seeing clients and the public enjoying the food and experience that we provide and knowing that we have helped to create wonderful memories with what we do’ IT’S PARTY TIME! Rose and Olive host lots of pop-ups

Wednesday 7th December 2016

56  TRAVEL HIGHWAY TO HIPSVILLE Sunset over Los Angeles

Living like an LA local

By Lisa Haynes

I

AM NOT even hungry, but I’m still scrambling for the most photogenic doughnut from a hipster cardboard box like it’s the last one on earth.

I opt for a gooey chocolate ring, but I don’t eat it – not even so much as a lick of the reflective glaze.

I’m snapping baked goods on a smartphone as part of a #FoodPorn masterclass in Santa Monica. It’s one of hundreds of new experiences that heralds the beginning of Airbnb’s new Trips-witha-capital-T phase, but more of that later.

We find our host, 36-year-old Insta food stylist Stephanie Goldfinger, sitting cross-legged on colourful Aztec blankets on Santa Monica’s picture-postcard beach promenade. Dressed in a mustard T-shirt and floppy hat, and flashing an LA-esque white smile, she’s like a 2016 version of original Charlie’s Angel Farrah Fawcett.

“I’m a little cheesy, but I’m a chef, so that’s allowed,” she says, introducing herself with a laugh.

Our snap-happy group sits surrounded

by Sidecar doughnuts, Izze clementine bottles (striped paper straws mandatory), and a library of glossy foodie magazines for inspiration. We’re shaded from the midday LA sun by rows of towering palm

Wednesday 7th December 2016

trees. So far, so Instagram-friendly.

Stephanie hands out tip sheets for budding foodie pornmakers headlined ‘Warning: 10 Things to Expect as a Budding Food Stylist’ that also outline basic smartphone camera angles employed by super-bloggers. She tells us shots of stuffed sandwiches and tacos are the trickiest to do justice to in photographs. My tummy rumbles.

“I’m going to show you how to make your plate pop,” says Stephanie enthusiastically. “You’ll come out of this looking at food a bit differently – maybe even changing what you order in a restaurant.”

As a veggie Insta-chef with a penchant for comfort food, Stephanie’s two-day Food Porn experience (£208 per person) also takes in fresh produce shopping at Santa Monica’s Farmers’ Market, serving and styling lunch tables at her rooftop in Venice, and chatting about the hippest food hangouts on everyone’s lips, like Gjelina and Gjusta.

It’s not just food styling, but a whistlestop gourmet tour of LA’s westside districts through Stephanie’s eyes.

And that’s precisely what Airbnb is feeding to travel-seekers via the new Trips app with Experiences – expanding on the living-in-someone’s-home-thing, so that you’re stepping into a local’s shoes and

PLENTY TO INSTAGRAM Lisa Haynes

living out their passions alongside them.

The app may be high-tech, but it’s all very people-powered.

“We think travel is about who you can become, not just where you go,” said Airbnb co-founder Brian Chesky, announcing the news on November 17 at Airbnb Open, the company’s annual conference in Downtown LA. “These aren’t just guided tours, you actually participate.”

For one day only (more if you really want

‘Airbnb’s new Trips app expands on the living-insomeone’shome thing, so that you’re stepping into a local’s shoes’

to immerse yourself), you can be a kimono stylist in Tokyo, a stargazer in LA, or a truffle hunter in Florence. And the list of 500-plus bucket-list experiences goes on and on.

There are audible gasps when Chesky unveils a moving preview for ‘Jack, The Prison Warder’ – a Cape Town two-day experience run by Nelson Mandela’s former prison guard and cook. As one of Airbnb’s Social Impact Experiences, 100 per cent of the £232 pp goes to the Nelson Mandela Foundation.

Experiences last anything from threehours to multi-day ‘immersions’, and are currently available in 12 cities: LA, London, San Francisco, Miami, Detroit, Havana, Paris, Florence, Nairobi, Cape Town, Tokyo and Seoul – but a further 39 cities will launch in the next few months.

Just a drop in the ocean when you consider the Airbnb juggernaut is now operating in 34,000 cities and more than 191 countries.

The Airbnb squad – Chesky, Joe Gebbia and Nate Blecharczyk – have some seriously starry backing in the form of A-listers Ashton Kutcher (an early investor in the company) and Gwyneth Paltrow (just ‘a fan’, apparently).

“When I got divorced, I started living in Airbnbs because I had nowhere to live,” Kutcher jokes at the conference. “I stayed

TRAVEL 

57

FEET FIRST into the experiences: styling food (left) and pottering (right)

somewhere in Europe, arrived at the Airbnb in the middle of the night at 2am and the host had left me dinner and a glass of wine. It was exactly the magic and love that I needed in that moment.”

Maybe Kutcher was the muse behind the app’s new Hollywood-inspired design feature. Experiences are presented in the form of movie poster-style billings that make the host the ‘star’ and feature mini highlight trailers.

The movie poster is especially apt for Kevin Townsley, an Experiences host who runs ‘TV Writers’, one of the most authentic, old-school LA trips on the Experiences list.

“I’m getting interest from hobbyists, enthusiasts, and even people from LA who are already in the industry,” Kevin explains.

‘You can be a kimono stylist in Tokyo, a stargazer in LA, or a truffle hunter in Florence.

And the list of 500-plus bucket-list experiences goes on and on’

“You get to experience a day in the life of a TV writer, morning, noon and night, based in three very different LA settings.

I’ve already hosted someone who used it as a taster before they moved out here.”

Wearing traditional kimono dress and obi, Mika Otani is another Experience Host who stands out at the Airbnb Open. She’s practised the ancient art of Ikebana flower arrangement, or what she calls ‘living sculptures’, for 30 years. Mika ticks me off when I ask her all about the flowers and not the plants, which are held in equal regard in Japanese culture.

Hosting ‘Exquisite Ikebana’ in her home studio, Atelier Soka, in Tokyo, she continues the theme with attention to detail – wagashi confectionery in the shape of flowers and black tea served with dried petals in the cup.

On my last day in LA, I explore my super-hip Airbnb district, Silverlake.

Before I know it, I’m googling Instagramworthy brunch spots and stumbling across the Sawyer Kitchen & Bar – all white marble tables, vaulted high ceilings and statement floral walls.

Eyeing-up the bunch of bright chrysanthemums arranged just so on the table, I watch the bartender shake up virgin cocktails, and observe the chef’s attention to detail on my food garnish, realising the untapped potential for experience masterclasses everywhere you look on vacation.

I ponder the next ‘Trip’ on my app hit list, and then get back to Instagramming my eggs Florentine, carefully styled up in LA fashion – with a side of sunglasses and a glossy magazine.

TRAVEL FACTS Lisa Haynes stayed in Los Angeles courtesy of Airbnb (www.airbnb.co.uk).

Download the updated Airbnb smartphone app for Trips, featuring 500-plus Experiences, currently available in 12 cities. Prices vary according to Experience and exchange rates.

Wednesday 7th December 2016

58 ■ ARTS & CULTURE

A Mexican musical adventure

Eighties solo artist Paul Young, who enjoyed hits such as Every Time You Go Away and Come Back and Stay, is performing at Vinyl Revolution and The Forum with his musical other project Los Pacaminos on Saturday.

Eileen Leahy talks to the singer about what audiences can expect from his Tex-Mex inspired big band TELL US A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE HISTORY OF LOS PACAMINOS… We started in 1992 as a bit of a side project playing Mexican-inspired music. I got together with a bunch of my friends as I wanted to have a band where I could play the guitar again, sing backing vocals and be in the background for a bit. It also gave me the opportunity to write lyrics for a particular musical genre, and to also do instrumental pieces, which I couldn’t do as Paul Young because people wouldn’t like it. When I chose to do this I had no idea how much fun it would be or how long it would last. Next year we celebrate our 25th anniversary.

HOW DID YOU GET INTO TEX-MEX MUSIC IN THE FIRST PLACE? I’ve always loved Ry Cooder, and there was a period in the late 70s when he had a band where he employed R ’n’ B vocalists, but then he introduced some Mexican ones and it totally changed the style of the music. I listen to anything and everything, but Tex-Mex music seemed achievable in a short space of time. I thought I’d go back to being just a solo artist after doing it, but here we are almost 25 years later…

HOW WILL YOU CELEBRATE YOUR QUARTER OF A CENTURY IN LOS PACAMINOS? We’ll definitely do something, and create some

Wednesday 7th December 2016

special merchandise, and we may also go on tour.

It would be fun to bring in some Mariachi trumpet players along for the ride!

the years. Midge Ure was with us in the early days, and Paul Stewart, the drummer from The Feeling, has been a Pacamino as well.

HOW DID YOU GET THE NAME? We threw around a few ideas but eventually decided on Los Pacaminos, as it simply means ‘pack ‘em in’. I quite liked that, and thought it was interesting that it also means street kids – according to an Argentinian friend of mine.

SO DO PACAMINO MUSICIANS COME AND GO THEN, OR ARE YOU A CORE UNIT? It’s a bit of both, really. Twenty five years is a long time to stay with a band that doesn’t really make any money, so occasionally some will go off and do other things and we’ll get someone else to stand in. But we’ve still got quite a few of the original members playing with us.

HOW OFTEN DO YOU TOUR? All the time, really. I’m off to do a Paul Young show in Liverpool tonight, then I’m driving cross-country to meet Los Pacaminos in Skegness. I run the two acts in tandem, it’s a bit all over the place but it’s most certainly good fun.

DO YOU HAVE A PREFERENCE FOR PERFORMING SOLO OR WITH THE BAND? I love being on stage in general, but I think I probably love Los Pacaminos just a little bit more because the pressure isn’t on me – unlike when I do the solo shows. I share the responsibilities with the band, and can step back and watch someone else play, and I really relish that.

ARE THERE ANY OTHER FAMOUS MUSICIANS IN LOS PACAMINOS? We’ve had various people perform with us over

STRINGS ATTACHED Paul Young enjoys performing with Los Pacaminos

WHERE DO YOU TOUR? Mainly in the UK as we’re a seven-piece band and financially it’s very difficult to get us to go anywhere else, but we’ve just employed an agent to try and get us some festivals in Europe next year. We played the Isle of Wight last year, and we also do a lot of the folk festivals.

IS THERE A CROSSOVER BETWEEN FANS OF PAUL YOUNG AND LOS PACAMINOS? It’s a 50/50 thing. There are a lot of people for whom music ceases to exist once they get to a certain age, and they don’t go to concerts any more. A lot of them want me to play what they’ve heard from 25 years ago, but there are other Paul Young fans who are true music lovers and they love hearing me with the Pacaminos.

Paul Young plays at Vinyl Revolution and The Forum on Saturday. For Forum tickets, which are priced £17.50, go to www.twforum.co.uk

PUZZLES �

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25

3

3 5

22

11

3

19

21 22

18

D

23

D

12

25

14

4

23

11

9 12

12 6

11

18

15

12

14 18

25

3 8

9

5

5 2

5 2

6 1

2

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

A C CO R D H V A X I D E R E A R W E N S T I L N T E L I J A H U K N F O L D I N I D R E A S ON L P E A D D Y Y E

Sudoku:

7 2 8 5 1 4 6 9 3

6 9 5 3 7 8 2 4 1

1 4 3 9 6 2 7 8 5

S C H E A I L A P S P L R OO

D R E A M E N U S E D I A G R I P E A E R A C E R I E U A R N S

Jigsaw Sudoku:

2 1 6 4 3 9 5 7 8

3 8 9 7 2 5 1 6 4

5 7 4 6 8 1 9 3 2

4 3 7 1 5 6 8 2 9

8 6 1 2 9 3 4 5 7

9 5 2 8 4 7 3 1 6

8 6 9 4 7 3 5 2 1

5 1 2 3 8 6 7 4 9

7 5 4 9 2 1 6 3 8

3 9 5 2 1 8 4 7 6

2 4 3 8 6 7 9 1 5

6 8 7 1 3 5 2 9 4

9 7 1 6 4 2 8 5 3

1 2 6 5 9 4 3 8 7

4 3 8 7 5 9 1 6 2

© 2016 Syndicated Puzzles

6

★★II

5

DIFFICULTY RATING:

4

© 2016 Syndicated Puzzles, Inc.

3

★★★★

2

© 2016 Syndicated Puzzles

1

SOLUTIONS (FROM LAST WEEK)

DIFFICULTY RATING:

CODEWORD

59

Wednesday 7th December 2016

60 ■ BOOKS TIMES REVIEWS

Miss Jane by Brad Watson

Book some time off…

Hardback by Picador, priced £12.99 (e-book £4.74). Available now

Time to unwind and relax, and what better way than with a great book? Here are a few suggestions for your winter reading…

When Jane Chisolm was born on a farm in rural America, she was, as her doctor often told her, a ‘normal girl’. There was only one thing that made her different – a genital birth defect which made her incontinent and unable to have sex.

Growing up with a heartbroken and guilt-ridden mother, a distant father, a self-involved sister, and a condition that made socialising with other people tricky, Jane’s childhood was never going to be easy. But thanks to her determined and curious nature, and the help of a kind doctor who took Jane under his wing, she survived.

This book tells the story of her early life and the obstacles she faced – an attempt to attend school, the impact of the Great Depression on her father’s farm, his deteriorating mental health and her first romantic relationship. Written by author Brad Watson, who drew on the story of his own greataunt to write the novel, this book invokes a deep sense of empathy with Jane, who’s a truly lovable character. It’s a beautiful portrait of a young girl trying to navigate a difficult life, and an honest story that will bring you to tears more than once.

The Underground Railway

by Colson Whitehead Hardback by Fleet, priced £14.99 (e-book £7.99). Available now Colson Whitehead’s latest novel charts the journey of one slave’s desperate escape from the hell of the southern plantation she was born in. Its title – The Underground Railway – refers to the secretive network of safe houses to and from which abolitionists in 19th-century America helped slaves in their bid to shed their chains. With childlike wonder, Whitehead takes his protagonist Cora on a literal realisation of this network to safety – a subterranean track on which trains chortle through the dark, earthy ground, its tunnels accessible only through hidden trapdoors in safe houses. But as she takes on new identities to survive, just a beat behind lurks the notorious slave-catcher Ridgeway like a dogged shadow, driven by a determination that she will not, like her mother Mabel, elude his violent clutches.

As threats emerge from unexpected places, Cora is forced to constantly reimagine the ideal of safety. A thrilling, non-sentimental tale of what it costs to be free.

(Review by Sophie Herdman)

7/10

(Review by Jemma Crew)

CHILDREN’S BOOK OF THE WEEK There’s Not One

by Jennifer Higgie

Rather Be The Devil by Ian Rankin Hardback by Orion, priced £19.99 (e-book £9.99).

Available now

Hardback by Scribble, priced £10.99. Available now

Detective John Rebus has been retired for a couple of years, but is finding it difficult to let go. A case from the 1970s, in which socialite Maria Turquand was strangled in one of Edinburgh’s upmarket hotels, is still preying on his mind. No one was ever found guilty of her murder, but an assault on a local gangster, a money laundering scam and a missing banker get Rebus thinking. Could they somehow be linked? And is his nemesis, ‘Big Ger’ Cafferty, involved? The fact that he is no longer a police officer doesn’t stop Rebus reopening the case and, with the help of his former colleagues, DI Siobhan Clark and Malcolm Fox, he’s back in his element bending the rules and sticking two fingers up to the establishment. This may be Rebus’s 21st outing, but it is a cleverly crafted tale and Ian Rankin’s storytelling is as fresh as ever.

This vividly colourful debut from Jennifer Higgie is perfect for little people who are starting to learn about numbers and their place in the world. You see, there’s not one dog, there’s not one star in the firmament, there’s not one baked bean, there are zillions!

With ‘one’ carefully juxtaposed on the left-hand page against ‘the many’ on the right, Higgie reels off a list of familiar elements from a child’s world, adding: “There’s not one you… Oops, yes there is!”, which is bound to raise a giggle. Beautifully designed, and such a simple, but effective concept without verging on the mushy, Higgie’s book is a fun and thought-provoking read that will remind us all how unique we are – and yet, in this world more than ever before, it’s better when we’re together.

8/10

8/10

(Review by Kate Whiting)

(Review by Catherine Small)

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Guinness World Records: 2017

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Wednesday 7th December 2016

9/10

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10. Miss Peregrine’s Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (Compiled by Waterstone’s)

10. The Christmas Promise by Sue Moorcroft (Compiled by amazon.co.uk)

BOOKS n

61

The Chemist by Stephenie Meyer Hardback by Sphere, priced £20 (e-book £9.99).

Available now As the author behind the bestselling Twilight vampire romance series which became essential reading for millions of tweens and teenagers and sparked box office gold dust, Stephenie Meyer needs no introduction. But for anyone wondering whether that alchemy would translate into a mainstream thriller for adults, her novel The Chemist comfortably passes the litmus test. The central female character is a fiercely independent and highly intelligent medic who worked for a clandestine US government agency using her molecular chemical knowhow to interrogate enemies of the state. Now on the run from those same authorities, her survival depends on never trusting anyone. Sparks fly when circumstances force her to team up with a gentle schoolteacher and CIA spy to tackle one last job. Gutsy and full-on from page one, this is a rip-roaring thriller in the best tradition, but its real charm lies in Meyer’s engaging key characters. Let’s hope we see more of them.

9/10

(Review by Gill Oliver)

All Of Us And Everything

by Bridget Asher Paperback, priced £12.99 (e-book £3.79). Available now Quirky characters abound in Bridget Asher’s fourth and latest novel, All Of Us And Everything, which tells the story of an eccentric family reunited to uncover the secrets that have haunted their pasts. Sisters Esme, Liv and Ru have long since flown the nest of their atypical mother Augusta’s home – each taking their own path, through affairs, divorce, career success and motherhood. Yet when each returns to the New Jersey house they were brought up in, they open a box of letters that offers answers to long-forgotten questions about their absentee father… and raises plenty of new ones. Asher has a gift for thoughtful, gentle storytelling that invites you into the mind and heart of its characters. However, so much of the novel is expositional that it can feel as if you’re constantly being ‘brought up to speed’ rather than taken along with the story. That aside, it’s a warm and welcoming read with enough intrigue to keep you gripped.

7/10

(Review by Holly McKenzie)

The House Of Birds by Morgan McCarthy Hardback by Tinder Press, priced £18.99 (e-book £9.49). Available now Read beyond the initial awkwardness of childhood friends Kate and Oliver’s tenuous romance, and you’re rewarded with a book so richly engaging you’ll want to savour it sparingly. Kate has been left a house in leafy Oxford by a reclusive old aunt. Oliver has quit his job in the city and, with time on his hands, offers to oversee the renovation of what he remembers from a boyhood glimpse of exotic wallpaper as ‘the house of birds’. Bedding down on an old mattress in the living room, while Kate is in New York for work, he discovers a folded up, handwritten diary stuffed within the carefully cut out pages of an old history book. And so we meet Sophia, the narrator of this story within a story, who once lived in the house.

She gradually relates her life – being barred from the Bodleian Library without a man to introduce her and meeting a young academic called Christopher who gives her access to the vast cavern of books, and in whom she finds comfort (and escape) from her war-scarred husband George. As Oliver discovers more of Sophia’s writing, he’s drawn into an ancient dispute over the house between Kate’s family and the intimidating Calverts – and begins to rediscover himself in the dusty shell of the past.

Not without some contrivances of plot, but when McCarthy is writing as Sophia, there’s nothing you’d rather be reading.

(Review by Kate Whiting)

8/10 Wednesday 7th December 2016

62  CHRISTMAS TIPS

A treat for the senses...

By Gabrielle Fagan Ring the bells, deck the halls and... source the smells! Granted, that last one may not be a traditional festive saying, but perhaps it should be - because room fragrance is now regarded as essential for our homes year-round, and Christmas (and the lead up to the holiday) surely shouldn’t be left out.

This year, those characteristic-of-theseason scents - the pungent aroma of pine, cinnamon and mulled wine - have been joined by some new fragrances on the block, including celebratory tipples, sloe gin and champagne bellinis, and there’s plenty for those who want to conjure the trendy Danish ‘hygge’ concept of winter cosiness.

Choose from 12 seasonal aromas to suit your taste, mood or the spirit of the occasion...

BERRY BEAUTIFUL Winter berries, especially bright red holly berries, add a welcome splash of colour to a bleak winter landscape.

Rich, velvety wild berries and grapefruit are ingredients in a Winter Berry Lidded Filled Candle, £12, presented in a glamorous gold container, Marks & Spencer (0333 014 8000 / marksandspencer.com).

Wednesday 7th December 2016

TOAST OF CHRISTMAS Add to a party atmosphere by scenting the air with the spicy aroma of mulled wine, or a more heady liqueur, sloe gin, a drink traditionally made from sloes picked after the first frost of winter. The White Company’s Mulled Wine and Sloe Gin home fragrance collections are ideal: Candles, £34 each; Mini Diffuser, £16; Votive Candle, £12 (020 3758 9222/ thewhitecompany.co.uk).

MAKE A WISH If you’re writing those essential notes for Santa or compiling a present list, Marks & Spencer’s well-named Wish Diffuser, £8, with refreshing hints of grapefruit and ginger, could help the process (0333 014 8000 /marksandspencer.com).

STRESS SOOTHER If you’re bogged down in preparations and endless shopping, evoking the scent of a sun-baked exotic paradise could help lift the spirits and provide a brief ‘escape’. An Elemis Frangipani Glow Candle, £27.50, combines the rich perfume of the tropical bloom with notes of ylang ylang, vanilla and coconut to help warm and soothe (0117 316 1888/Elemis.com).

NOSE FOR NOEL Marks & Spencer’s candles spelling out ‘Noel’ are decorative as well as sweet-smelling, with an uplifting blend of grapefruit and ginger. Noel Mini Letter Scented Candle Set, £12 (0333 014 8000 /marksandspencer.com).

HAPPY HEARTH It’s hard to beat snuggling in front of an open fire and, let’s be real; curling up in front of a central heating radiator doesn’t really cut it! Jo Malone has come to the rescue of those without chimneys, with an Incense & Embers Home Candle, £42 full of wood-smoke-style aromas - curls of smoky incense, brightened with silver fir and white pepper, with a backdrop of nappa leather and vetiver (0800 054 2939/jomalone.co.uk).

WINTER WARMER Our scent should change with the season, in the same way we alter our wardrobe to adapt to changing temperatures. The White Company’s appropriately-named Winter collection is described as “fruity meets spicy, as notes of cinnamon, nutmeg and star anise blend harmoniously with sweet vanilla and sumptuous red-wine accord.”

Winter Indulgence Candle (four wick), £130; Botanical Pillar Candle, £26, Home Scenting Set (with diffuser, spray, signature candle), £55; Winter Tealights (set of 12), £15; Diffuser, £27 (020 3758 9222/thewhitecompany.co.uk).

WOODLAND WANDER The scent of spruce trees is synonymous with the season and oh-so comforting, and Voluspa’s Classic Maison Luxury Candle - Spruce Cuttings, has sourced its goodness from Royal Colorado blue spruce cuttings, £45 (020 3735 9500/ voluspa.co.uk).

HINT OF HYGGE The Danish concept for creating a cosy atmosphere is one of the biggest trend’s of the season. Printer + Taylor’s Hygge Scent Diffuser, £35, features a fragrance made from super-comforting aromas; a blend of brewed tea, baked strawberry cake, rose petals and wild mint (01432 265 094/printerandtailor.com).

PACKAGE HOLIDAY Yankee Candle’s mix of fragrances for its Holiday Party collection could suit every occasion during the countdown and on the day itself: Star Anise & Orange; Macaron Treats; All Is Bright and Festive Cocktail, large jar candles all £21.99 each (0117 316 1260/yankeecandle.co.uk).

CHRISTMAS TIPS �

PERFECT MATCH Finding your dream tree makes all the difference

63

Christmas tree tips n Put a floating ball or a piece of

polystyrene in ponds to stop the water freezing. n If you’ve dusted off your tree stand, got your baubles out and are surrounded by sparkling tinsel, it must be almost time to put the Christmas tree up.

The four main types of tree on offer this year are Nordman fir, Fraser fir, Noble fir and Norway spruce, each of which has its own characteristics. n Nordmann fir (Abies nordmanniana) The most popular tree, it won’t drop its needles for the duration of the festive season and people love it because of its dense branches, uniform shape and good variety of sizes. Expect to pay from about £20 upwards, depending on size. n Fraser fir (Abies fraseri) This is ideal for those with limited space, who want a real Christmas tree. It’s a slim tree, so you’re less likely to brush past it and knock off decorations in a smaller room, but it also has a great shape and fresh citrus scent, and its dark olivegreen needles don’t drop. It’s

likely to be more expensive than the Nordmann, and there won’t be as many available as it’s a more difficult tree to grow commercially, says Mitchell. n Noble fir (Abies procera) Consumers buy this tree primarily for its blue-hued needle colour and rich fragrance. It’s non-drop, but is unlikely to be as uniformly shaped as the Nordmann. This tree is ideal for individuals who don’t conform to conventional shapes and sizes of tree. n Norway spruce (Picea abies) This is the traditionalist’s tree. It may shed its needles, but what it loses in longevity it gains in scent.

It’s a good tree if you’re putting it up last minute, or at least closer to Christmas, because it won’t last as long as the more expensive non-drop trees. “A lot of people look for nostalgia at Christmas time and this is part of the mix,” says Mitchell. “It smells more Christmassy than the Nordmann, but you do get the dropping needles, although how quickly they drop really depends on how you look after the tree.”

TOP TREE TIPS David Mitchell offers the following tips to keep your tree going through the festive season: n Buy it fresh - he recommends getting it early

before the trees have been left standing in the garden centre a week or longer.

When you bring it home, cut a couple of centimetres off the trunk and dunk it in a bucket of water, leaving it outside until you need it. n Buy from a retailer who will remove it from

its netting. You want to see the shape of it before you buy. Sometimes a micro-climate builds up within trees which have been netted for any length of time, which can make trees drop their needles earlier. n Put the tree into a stand which can hold

water. Water it regularly throughout the festive season. n Try to keep the tree in the cool and

definitely away from direct heat. Don't place it near radiators or fires. n If you buy a containerised tree, keep it

indoors for a minimum amount of time as it can suffer from shock coming into a centrally heated house. Let it acclimatise gradually by putting it in a cool room or on a porch.

MAKE A DAY OF IT Tree shopping gets the kids in the Christmas spirit

Wednesday 7th December 2016

WITH THE

MOTORING 

OF TUNBRIDGE WELLS AND TONBRIDGE

65

THE TOWN’S TOP MOTORING GUIDE FROM E V E R Y D AY D R I V E S T O LU XU RY SU P E R C A R S

UK DRIVE

Maserati Levante (Sport Pack)

By James Fossdyke WHAT’S NEW? Despite having been presenting 4x4 concepts since the early 2000s, Maserati has taken its time in coming to the ever-growing SUV market. The Levante, though, has finally arrived in the UK, ready to wade into battle with the Range Rover Sport and Porsche Cayenne.

Underneath the rather attractive bodywork, it’s essentially a jacked-up Ghibli, albeit with some clever fourwheel drive gubbins and a few other choice modifications.

Maserati freely admits the Levante is no match for the Range Rover on the rough stuff, but instead pitches this as a sportier alternative that’s still more than capable when the going gets muddy.

LOOKS AND IMAGE It seems the Levante is a divisive thing to look at. Some love its combination of sleek lines, taut haunches and aggressive grille, but others seem less than impressed. Either way, it’s a striking thing – but we’re very much in the love camp. We’re particular fans of the long bonnet, the rakish rear window and the narrowed lights, which give it a purposeful, forward-set stance.

Inside, the cabin feels as you’d expect from a £54,000 SUV. Even if you don’t go for the extended leather pack, which adds smart upholstery to the dash, you’ll be surrounded by high-quality plastics and soft leather seats.

SPACE AND PRACTICALITY There’s a lot of space in the Levante, but that shouldn’t come as a surprise considering the car’s enormity. At a touch over five metres in length, the

Maserati is six inches longer than a Range Rover Sport and just as wide.

It is, however, around 10cm shorter than the Range Rover in terms of height, but this doesn’t cause any problems in terms of practicality. There’s bags of headroom in the rear for even tall adults, and legroom is decent, too.

The 580-litre boot is also highly competitive, offering 91 litres more capacity than the Range Rover’s 489-litre load bay.

BEHIND THE WHEEL Maserati claims the Levante has been designed with handling firmly in mind, so it gets a 50/50 weight distribution, some lightweight magnesium components, and the lowest centre of gravity of any of its rivals.

All that supercar stuff is very promising, but when you get the car on the road even that can’t hide the fact this is a five-metrelong, two-metre-wide 4x4.

The steering is beautifully weighted and precise, body roll is well contained, and the 3.0-litre V6 diesel engine serves up a pleasant shove in the back when you put your foot down, but it always feels big and substantial – not quite heavy, but certainly chunky.

It’s still an impressively agile car for its size. Just don’t go expecting GranTurismo levels of handling prowess.

However, if you’ve come to the Levante in search of a transcontinental cruiser with lashings of all-terrain capability, you’ve come to the right place. The suspension is tuned to provide feedback and tells you exactly what the wheels are encountering

beneath you, but it never jolts or lurches over potholes.

The seats are comfortable, too, and though Maserati doesn’t pretend to offer class-leading technology, there’s more than enough infotainment kit to keep passengers entertained.

If you do encounter snow or mud on your travels, you can lift the suspension and tune the four-wheel-drive system to reduce its inherent rearward bias and split the power more evenly between the axles. This doesn’t quite turn it into an expeditionary mud-plugger, but it does make it capable enough to tackle terrain far more challenging than the average owner is likely to ever show it.

FACTS AT A GLANCE MODEL: Maserati Levante (Sport Pack) ENGINE: 3.0-litre turbocharged V6 diesel (271bhp) TRANSMISSION: Eight-speed automatic PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph in 6.7 seconds, top speed 143mph ECONOMY: 39.2mpg (combined) EMISSIONS: 189g/km

VALUE FOR MONEY As standard, the Levante comes with a plentiful kit list, including full leather upholstery, satellite navigation and air suspension, as well as other niceties such as a Harman Kardon sound system.

PRICES FROM: £54,335

You can add more gizmos with a range of packs, chief among which is the Luxury Pack, which provides a powered steering column, a 360-degree parking camera and heated front seats.

Alternatively, you can go for the Sport Pack, which provides aluminium gear shift paddles, larger 20-inch alloys and sportier seats.

There’s a Driver Assistance Pack, too, which offers several safety gadgets, including lane departure warning and blind spot monitoring.

Prices start from £54,335, which is about £9,000 cheaper than the 3.0-litre V6 diesel-engined Range Rover Sport.

It isn’t quite that simple, thanks to differences in specification and all the rest of it, but the upshot is that the Levante is no more expensive than any of its rivals.

WHO WOULD BUY ONE? The Levante will probably always stay a niche offering compared with the Range Rover Sports and Porsche Cayennes of this world, but it seems Maserati is quite content with that.

The Levante, then, takes its place as a likeable, characterful alternative to those segment leaders – a way of standing out from the crowd without sacrificing luxury, performance or capability.

‘The steering is beautifully weighted and precise, body roll is well contained, and the 3.0-litre V6 diesel engine serves up a pleasant shove in the back when you put your foot down’ Wednesday 7th December 2016

66 ■ MOTORING

UK DRIVE

Skoda Kodiaq

By Jack Evans WHAT’S NEW? This is a huge car for Skoda. Tapping into the ever-flourishing SUV market, the Kodiaq aims to give consumers a large, spacious and comfortable vehicle – but for a much lower price than those

found with more premium rivals.

Equipped with one of three engines – a 1.4-litre petrol, 2.0-litre petrol or 2.0-litre diesel – the Kodiaq is aiming squarely at larger families who still want to keep running costs low. That means even base-specification cars get a huge amount of standard equipment, while buyers of

higher-grade models won’t feel shortchanged either, given the increase in the amount of tech on pricier versions.

This is a completely new segment for Skoda, and shows a lot of intent from the Czech brand, well-known for making reliable and well-priced cars. The Kodiaq comes as an extension of that ethos.

With the decline of MPV and rise of SUV, the Kodiaq is a natural progression for the company – but it has to get it right first time if it hopes to succeed.

LOOKS AND IMAGE Skoda has hit the nail on the head with the Kodiaq. It looks purposeful enough, but not too intimidating. The brand is doing well to shake off the ‘boring’ image.

Even base-specification Kodiaqs ride on 17-inch alloy wheels, while top-of- therange ‘Edition’ cars are fitted with 19-inchers. Everything about it feels solid and well put together – though there’s no mistaking that the Kodiaq is a Volkswagen group car, with plenty of tech included.

SPACE AND PRACTICALITY If you want to cater for a large family, space is where the Kodiaq does exceptionally well. The five-seater affords its users a colossal 2,065 litres of boot space with the rear seats folded flat – the largest load area in the class. The boot’s lip isn’t too high either, which makes loading larger items a

Wednesday 7th December 2016

‘Skoda has hit the nail on the head with the Kodiaq.

It looks purposeful enough, but not too intimidating’

THE GENTLE TOUCH Light steering is good in town

little easier, while the flat bed with the seats lowered adds to the excellent usability.

For those looking to take two more people, there’s a seven-seat version, giving another string to the Kodiaq’s bow. You’re not going to incur much of a penalty in the practicality stakes for picking the seven-seater either, as its seats-flat load area is reduced to a still respectable 2,005 litres – which isn’t bad at all.

However, with that final row raised, the boot space is somewhat tight – something worth remembering if you’re planning on using it as a seven-seater most of the time.

WHAT’S UNDER THE BONNET? The Kodiaq is offered from launch with two petrol engines, a 1.4-litre turbocharged unit producing 123bhp, and a 2.0-litre turbocharged one putting out 178bhp.

There’s also a 2.0-litre turbocharged diesel, which produces either 148bhp or 187bhp – the former of which is undoubtedly set to become the best seller.

The petrol units will suit those looking

MOTORING ■

times, but we’re being particularly harsh here, as for the most part it whisks along rather nicely and doesn’t suffer too much with the car’s bulk. It’s surprisingly easy to park, too, and large wing mirrors give you a decent view of the area behind you.

SE-specification cars – due to be the most popular – get a reversing camera, which is something we’d highly recommend.

VALUE FOR MONEY

STRKING OUT Skoda’s outsize entry into the SUV market to drive the Kodiaq mainly around town, though the diesels will be a better option for people planning more miles.

You’ve also got the option of either a sixspeed manual, six-speed DSG or sevenspeed DSG gearbox. Four-wheel drive can be specified on all powertrains, though you’ll see a slight premium for this option.

For example, while the base 1.4-petrol with a manual gearbox and two-wheel drive comes in at £21,495, the four-wheel drive version – albeit only available in higher grade SE trim – retails for £25,445.

BEHIND THE WHEEL When you first get into the Kodiaq, it can feel a little intimidating. Make no bones

about it, it’s a big car. However, once you’re up and running, these reservations quickly disappear, as it’s surprisingly agile through the bends. The steering is quite light, which can make it feel a little nervous at high speeds, but you quickly get used to this, and it makes the Kodiaq a breeze to drive around town – although its size can sometimes be a hindrance.

Our car was equipped with the base 2.0-litre engine, which produces 148bhp and 240Nm torque. It’s this that is likely to be the most popular – offering the best combination of power and efficiency, with a claimed 51.4mpg combined figure being downright impressive.

The engine can feel a little lethargic at

FACTS AT A GLANCE MODEL: Skoda Kodiaq ENGINE: 2.0-litre TDI, 148bhp, 240Nm of torque PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph in 9.7 seconds, top speed 121mph ECONOMY: 51.4mpg EMISSIONS: 144g/km PRICES FROM: £21,495

Skoda have always excelled at offering consumers quite a lot for their money, and the Kodiaq is no different. Base-level S cars get 17-inch alloy wheels, air-conditioning and a leather multifunction steering wheel. There’s also DAB radio and smartphone connectivity. The S, however, is only available with the 1.4-litre petrol engine, with prices starting at £21,495.

Middle-grade SE cars get 18-inch alloy wheels, cruise control and rear parking sensors. There’s also an infotainment system controlled via an eight-inch display, and this comes with a car priced at £22,495.

Move up the specification table, and you’ll start adding elements such as 19-inch alloys, Alcantara upholstery and full LED headlights. In short, in any spec the Kodiaq features a lot of technology, which will be popular with those looking to get a little bit more for their money.

WHO WOULD BUY ONE? The Kodiaq is ideal for families looking for a smart and spacious way to get around. It may also win favour with business owners thanks to its low emissions and high levels of standard equipment. Generally, there won’t be too many people who wouldn’t see the Kodiaq as an attractive prospect, especially given its low entry price.

67

MOTOR NEWS IN BRIEF

Life sentences for dangerous drivers DANGEROUS drivers who kill are set to face life sentences for the first time under a new government crackdown.

Motorists who cause death by street racing, speeding or while on a mobile phone are among those who could be handed tougher punishments. Those convicted of causing death by careless driving while under the influence of drink or drugs could also be given life.

The average custodial sentence in 2015 was just under four years.

Obstacles to EVs LARGE-SCALE uptake of electric vehicles [EVs] would ‘only make sense’ in areas where electricity is produced using renewable sources due to the amount needed to power them, according to one Toyota executive.

Product communications boss Fabio Capano believes the cost of battery development and production could be further obstacles. However, he think plug-in hybrids will become a key sector of the market in coming decades.

No to faster Twingo RENAULT will not build a faster Sport RS version of the Twingo. Matthieu Metivier, a Chief Engineer at Renault Sport, said there was ‘not enough space’ in the city car’s engine bay for a larger power unit.

Wednesday 7th December 2016

68 n MOTORING

Wednesday 7th December 2016

LIFE AND STYLE 

BRILLIANT LOCATION AND HELP TO BUY: the perfect combination for first-time buyers in Sevenoaks

A GIFT THAT LASTS In Skin Tattoo & Piercing Studio on Camden Road has been under new ownership since July this year and with talented new artists and a full shop refurbishment completed in September, it certainly has had a burst of passion and creativity!

Charlotte Powers, 28, and Jamie Cullen, 29, wanted to buy their own home one day, but it wasn’t yet top of the list. This changed when they noticed bespoke hoarding and flags for Prime Place, Sevenoaks and dropped in to have a look.

The exceptional location – just minutes from Sevenoaks station – and the affordability, thanks to Help to Buy, made the opportunity too good to miss. Shortly after their visit, they decided to reserve a one-bedroom apartment and are looking forward to moving in next spring.

Offering custom tattoo designs by world experienced artists, full range body piercing by highly trained professionals, affordable tattoo removal by Eclipse Laser and a full range of quality body jewellery and gift vouchers – a perfect Christmas present!

Come and talk to the artists about your ideas and inspirations and they can design something special and unique for you. All their portfolios can be found on the studio’s facebook page @InSkin as well as the new website www.In-Skin.co.uk Special offers are available on the facebook page including events such as ‘2 for 1’ piercing days, discounts with promotion codes and prize draws. The studios own ‘Love & Ink’ tattoo is on offer for only £25 and gives you 5% off tattoos and piercings for LIFE as an In Skin VIP! Pop in to the studio, message or call us for a treat for yourself or truly unique Christmas present ideas.

Open Monday to Sundays 10am to 6pm. Easy parking available in Camden Road car parks (save the queuing of the shopping centre!).

Walk in appointments available for piercing, booking for tattoos and laser advised to avoid disappointment.

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MY HOME CARE We are a brand-new care service opening in Crowborough and are part of one of the UKs youngest and fastest growing franchises. we are currently looking for staff who are dedicated to delivering quality care, as well as being enthusiastic and those who enjoy making a difference in people’s lives. In return we can offer good rates of pay, including travel time and mileage. We also provide high quality regular training, regular supervision and staff meetings. As a company, we are dedicated to ensuring that we offer nothing but high standards of care and therefore really invest in staff and their needs to make sure this happens. No experience is required as full training will be given. However, we ask that applicants have a full UK driving licence and use of a car.

Win a Mini Micro Scooter

In Skin Tattoo & Piercing Ltd - 105 Camden Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent. TN1 2QR 01892 541178 – www.In-Skin.co.uk - needles@In-Skin.co.uk Facebook @InSkin – Instagram @In_Skin_Tattoo

If you are interested in joining the team please get in touch (07522359436), or send you CV to Info@myhomecare-crowborough.co.uk

This Christmas, we’ve teamed up with Micro Win a Mini Scooters to giveaway a very cool and stylish Mini Scooter, plus a coordinating helmet and Win a Mini Micro Micro Scooter bell (suitable for ages 2- 5 years old).

Charlotte says: “We were renting a house at Sevenoaks School, where Jamie works as a PE teacher. This was great, but we wanted a place of our own in Sevenoaks, and the location and high quality of these apartments were perfect for us. I’d moved back home for a couple of years and saved hard, which gave us a flying start. And, sharing the cost, our monthly outgoings will be very affordable.”

Charlotte and Jamie’s apartment cost £334,000. Using Help to Buy, they only needed a 5% deposit of £16,700 and the scheme provided a 20% government loan of £66,800, which is interest free for five years. Their mortgage repayments will be circa £900 a month, with an approximate £100 in service charges.

Purchasing with Help to Buy was seamless for the couple.

Jamie says: “We were complete novices at home buying, but it turned out to be quite simple. The professional and helpful sales team, called us regularly with updates and to ask how we were doing, which we really appreciated, and we feel very well prepared for moving in.”

www.primeplace.co.uk

Micro Scooter

This Christmas, we’ve teamed up with Micro Pop inside to pick up your Santa Stop Here sign to Scooters to giveaway a very cool and stylish Mini This Christmas, we’ve teamed up with Micro for your chance to win. All entries must Micro Scooter, plus a coordinating helmet andcool anddecorate, Scooters to giveaway a very stylish Mini bell (suitable for ages 2-Micro 5 years old).plus a coordinating helmet be received by 6pm on Friday 13th January.

Scooter, and bellSanta (suitable for ages 2- 5sign years Pop inside to pick up your Stop Here toold).

Pop inside to pick up your Santa decorate, for your chance to win. All entries must Stop Here sign to decorate, for your chance to win. All entries must be received by 6pm on Friday 13th January. th be received by 6pm on Friday 13 January.

Actual prize colour may vary

Actual prize colour may vary

hamptons.co.uk hamptons.co.uk Terms and conditions apply Terms and conditions apply I353-SantaStopHere-WC-A3L-MKT.indd 1

I353-SantaStopHere-WC-A3L-MKT.indd 1

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Wednesday 7th December 2016

70 n RECRUITMENT

WITH THE

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

OF TUNBRIDGE WELLS AND TONBRIDGE

Fill your vacancy now in print or online.

For more information contact Jordanne Reville on 01892 576049

Wednesday 7th December 2016

RECRUITMENT n

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FOR MORE INFORMATION OR TO PLACE AN ADVERT CONTACT OUR SALES DEPARTMENT ON 01892 779624

Wednesday 7th December 2016

72 ■ ARTS & CULTURE

Audiences of all ages will love this hugely entertaining and traditional pantomime… …Oh yes they will! Hi-de-Hi!’s Su Pollard is appearing as the Wicked Queen in Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs, which also stars CITV’s Jamie Rickers, at the Assembly Hall this Christmas. Ahead of the show’s launch tomorrow [Thursday], Eileen Leahy caught up with the comedy actress to talk about the power of panto and how good will always overcome evil HOW EXCITED ARE YOU TO BE PLAYING THE WICKED QUEEN IN SNOW WHITE? This will be my tenth year in the role, and I just love playing the baddie because you can really get your teeth into it.

I’ve been in about 40 pantomimes over the years and am always excited about performing.

I’ve graduated from being the good principal boy to the really evil characters, but at least I can always have a bit of fun with them.

The Wicked Queen clearly has bad intentions – she wants to poison Snow White, after all – but I like to add a comedy element to her character, too.

‘I’ve always said you have to believe in whatever role you’re playing, and if I know I’m giving people the creeps then I’ve done my job’

WHAT’S THE POINT OF PANTOMIME? The great thing about pantomimes is that at the end of every one, in both traditional or modern versions, it’s the baddie who loses out.

So if there’s a moral to be had out of seeing a panto, it is that you always get the bad and the good, but ultimately good surmounts evil.

It’s all great fun along the way, but it’s always better to be nice than horrible. I think that’s lovely and it’s a great message for the kids.

YOU’VE PLAYED THE WICKED QUEEN FOR TEN YEARS. DO YOU TRY TO DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT WITH EACH PANTOMIME? Well, the story and structure stay the same, but you might be performing in a smaller theatre, or with a different cast or director, and that makes things feel fresher. Our current producer, Martin, loves panto, it’s one of his favourite genres, so he’s always very true to it and spends as much time as he can ensuring the music and visuals are all fantastic because he wants it to be magical for the children – and the mums and the dads, too.

DO YOU THINK PANTOMIMES ARE STILL AS POPULAR WITH THE GENERAL PUBLIC? Yes I do, but sadly a lot of them, like Dick Whittington for example, are not as popular any more nowadays. It seems to be all about Disney,

Wednesday 7th December 2016

CHRISTMAS SPIRIT Su Pollard with Santa and the cast of Snow White and I think it’s a sad demise, really. I mean, it’s great that Disney are bringing their popular films to the stage, and I guess it makes sense as watching a DVD is a child’s first foray into the world of entertainment, but there’s nothing like a proper pantomime. Thankfully, though, there are some like this one, or Cinderella and Aladdin, which are still enormously popular – and that’s because they have a really strong story.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR GENRE THAT CAPTIVATES AUDIENCES OF ALL AGES? Good pantomimes should always have lots of colour and movement to enjoy – nobody should want to go to the toilet or be bored. If they’re done well, and stay true to the traditional formula, then there’s no reason why audiences won’t continue going to the panto for the rest of their lives. It’s quite possibly the only performance

genre – unless you count stand-up comedy – where you can heckle! Panto actually encourages the audience to feel free to join in, shouting ‘hooray’ or booing. In fact, it’s essential that the audience gets involved so they feel they are also contributing to the performance.

WHEN DID YOU START REHEARSING? We began at the end of November, which is late,

ARTS & CULTURE 

SHE’S BEHIND YOU Su plays the Wicked Queen

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but as some of us have done this to do the best we can to ensure a before we don’t need much time. great show. I call it ‘VFM’ and I think we had about nine or ten people often say ‘what does that days in total, which is quite mean?’ Well, quite simply, it’s generous actually as some casts Value For Money, and they’ll only get about four definitely get it because days! But there’s a we’re all dedicated to ‘If there’s a lot of preparation wanting the show to be that goes on moral to be had the best they’ve seen! beforehand, so out of seeing a when you meet you WHAT DO YOU know what to do. panto, it is that PERSONALLY LIKE BEST ABOUT DOING you always get HAVE YOU BEEN PANTOMIME? the bad and TO THE ASSEMBLY I just love going on HALL BEFORE? stage and seeing the the good but I’ve never appeared audience’s reaction to ultimately good things. They’re so here in panto before, but I did surmounts evil’ gripped by the story come here a couple and it’s wonderful to of years ago with hear the children’s Cannon and Ball laughter. When I’m in (the comedy duo) my dressing room to do Ha Ha Hood getting ready I can hear and the Prince of them over the speaker, Leaves, which was and you can sense a send-up of the their excitement. classic Robin Hood I particularly love it story. Before that I when the schools come, was in a variety and I usually pick on performance show one of the male with a load of teachers in the golden oldies, audience, and you just including the late John Inman. know the poor thing is going to get total stick when he gets back to the DO YOU LIKE ITS NEW classroom! I guess I just love the REFURBISHMENT? whole thing of everyone having a Oh yes, it’s absolutely lovely. good time.

Whenever I perform at a theatre I always go and sit in the auditorium WHAT WILL THE AUDIENCE to get an idea of its size, and so I ENJOY MOST? know how far to project. The seats What they see before them – the here are very comfortable, which is colour, the movement, the music. a bit of a worry as you don’t want And the special effects this year are the audience to be too comfy so just incredible. There are a few people will nod off! going on when I’m conjuring up But there’s no worry of that spells to poison Snow White. happening with our production as I’ve always said you have to believe it’s got lots of music, big bangs and in whatever role you’re playing, fabulous special effects going on… and if I know I’m giving people the creeps then I’ve done my job.

HOW DO YOU GET ON WITH THE CAST? Snow White & the Seven Dwarfs Absolutely great. They’re all lovely is on at the Assembly Hall, fun and nobody’s got an ego!

Tunbridge Wells, from December Everyone knows what they have 8 until January 9 2017. To book to do, and that each person’s tickets, priced from £18, go to contribution gels in order to make www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk the whole end product. We all want

Wednesday 7th December 2016

74 n CHRISTMAS CRAFTS

Have a fabulously floral festive season Why go for a shop-bought wreath when you can make a beautifully natural creation using seasonal sprigs and pretty accessories? Local florist Jodie Blades, from Keep Vintage Floral, shows you how in this exclusive step-by-step guide

You will need: n Wire wreath ring n Roll of floristry wire n Scissors n Secures n Wire cutters (I just use my scissors) n Ribbon

n Foraged greenery such as spruce (you could use the bottom branches of your Christmas tree!) plus holly with berries, ivy and pine n Decorations such

as pinecones, dried orange slices and cinnamon sticks Optional extras: Cultivated moss, pussy-willow and eucalyptus

Step One: Attach the end of the roll of wire to the wire wreath ring, find a sturdy join, fold the wire over and back on itself and t wist it firm.

Step Two: Take small spruce branches. Start with a few layered over each other, wrapping them on tight with the wire, keeping them staggered and trying to hide the branch ends under those you’ve already wired.

Repeat to reach desired thickness.

SEASONAL SPLENDOUR Greet guests with this natural beauty

Wednesday 7th December 2016

Step Three: Leaving the wire attached, flip the wreath over and line the back with the cultivated moss, again by wrapping it firmly in place.

CHRISTMAS CRAFTS n

Step Four: Now the fun begins! It’s good to have a design in mind so you know where you’re headed as you being to wire in the decorations.

I start by lying over additional small branches of spruce to give the bottom of the wreath a decorative shape.

Add foraged greenery as a base of the decoration first, try to strip a stem and thread it into the

spruce you’ve already wired down.

Again, you must wrap the wire around each decoration you add; sometimes you can wire two or even three things at once!

Hold the decoration in place and wrap the wire, firmly, around.

Continue this process, greenery first, berries and cones second, and add things like oranges and cinnamon sticks last. My cinnamon sticks are pre-wired,

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but the orange slices I had to wire myself. Cut a small length, pierce the orange, fold back and twist again.

You should be able to thread these into place without much need to wire them down.

To tie off the wire, wrap around the wreath tight 2-3 times and cut the wire, leaving a small length to wrap under and around the wraps you’ve just done.

Step Five: Add a ribbon bow, hang, pour a glass of eggnog and enjoy the holiday season, and greet your guests in style!

KEEP VINTAGE FLORAL Instagram: keepvintagefloral • Facebook: www.facebook.com/KeepVintageFloral

Wednesday 7th December 2016

76  WHAT’S ON SEVEN DAYS OF SOCIAL ACTIVITIES AT A GLANCE

WHATS ON WITH THE

Eileen Leahy Local events

FESTIVE FROLIC Lily and the Little Snow Bear

>> WEDNESDAY All this week there will be a daily wreath making workshop at Knole in Sevenoaks. Running from 10am until 1pm, guests will learn how to create their own bespoke festive and floral masterpiece to hang on their front door. All materials are supplied and there will be practical demonstrations and seasonal refreshments served. Tickets cost £60 per person and are available by calling 01732 467 160.

Fine artist Ross Lockhart is at the Vale Vault this evening hosting a private view of his Prohibition show. Go along to meet him and enjoy a glass of bubbly and some delicious canapés while you’re there. Entry costs £7 per person.

This evening at The Forum there will be the first of two of its popular Word Up events this week – the 2016 Slam Final at 7.30pm, with the winner landing a £50 prize. Tickets cost £5 per person.

From 2.30pm, Arthritis Support Kent (ASK) will be holding a workshop at St Philip’s Church in Tunbridge Wells. It will showcase their services for people with arthritis and pain conditions. All are welcome. >> THURSDAY Experience a magical Christmas at Bewl Water.

Running every weekend from Thursday to Sunday up to December 24, visitors can meet Father Christmas in his glittering grotto, where every child will receive a special present. Tickets cost £8

Wednesday 7th December 2016

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

per child and £3 per adult circumnavigate the globe in just and the event runs from 80 days. The Oast’s adult, 10am until 4pm. There will youth and Hopper players all also be a festive treasure take part in the theatre’s first Enjoy hunt where you can enjoy Christmas performance. wreath making a 45-minute ride on the The Snow White and the Santa Express and a boat Seven Dwarves pantomime trip on the Bewl Belle while starts today at the Assembly Hall you look for clues. Available and runs until New Year’s Eve. from 10am to 3pm every hour Hi-de-Hi!’s Su Pollard heads up on the hour for an additional the comedy cast, playing the £5 per person.

Wicked Witch who is determined to www.bewlwater.co.uk bump off Snow White as she claims Christmas wouldn’t be the same without a her spot as the ‘fairest of them all’. Oh no she performance of The Nutcracker, but you no longer didn’t, oh yes she did… you get the picture! See have to travel to London to see it thanks to the fact our exclusive interview with Su on pages 72-73. it will be live-streamed into the Odeon cinema this Tickets cost £18 and are available from evening at 7.15pm. The Royal Ballet will bring the www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk classic fairy-tale story of Clara and Drosselmeyer At 8pm, in the second Word Up! event of the week, the magician beautifully to life thanks to their it’s Hip Hop Jam night at The Forum. E-tickets £6. talented dancers, stunning set and gorgeously emotive score by Tchaikovsky. Tickets cost £20 for >> SATURDAY adults and £17.50 for children. www.odeon.co.uk Father Christmas is getting rushed off his feet now The Christmas Comedy Café takes place at and this weekend he makes yet another Trinity Theatre over three nights from 8pm. appearance at the ice rink in Calverley Dan Evans and Tom Lucy are just two of the Grounds. He’ll be in residence today and stand-ups taking to the tomorrow as well as next boards to get some weekend, so be sure to book laughs. Tickets cost your tickets in advance to £17.50 per person. You can also avoid disappointment. avail yourself of a special festive More festive fun is meal deal which offers a two-course on offer today at the EM dinner and glass of Prosecco for an Forster Theatre, where the additional £14. To book please ever popular Lily and the Little visit www.trinitytheatre.net Snow Bear is being performed twice daily today, tomorrow and >> FRIDAY Monday. It follows the story of Lily, who Every Friday morning at the Angel lives with her grandpa in the countryside.

Centre in Tonbridge there is a There are just two sleeps left until Christmas Fleamarket which takes place from 8am. So if and it’s started to snow! Lily decides to venture you’re a lover of all things vintage and retro this outside and spies some footprints in the snow, is the place to visit. Great for unique Christmas which is where this charming Christmas present buys, too. adventure begins… Tickets cost £10 per person Starting tonight at the Oast Theatre is an and for more information visit www.boxoffice. adaptation of Jules Verne’s Around the World in tonbridge-school.co.uk 80 Days. Directed by Jason Lower, it’s the tale THE NUTCRACKER SPINS ON TO THE BIG SCREEN of the enormously wealthy Phileas Fogg who Lauren Cuthbertson is The Sugar Plum Fairy bets his entire fortune that he can

HELLO, MY DEER A cute winter’s scene at Knole >> SUNDAY From 2pm until 3.30pm there will be Christmas Carols in the Hub at Grosvenor & Hilbert Park to get you in the festive mood. The event is organised by the Friends of the park and no booking is required. If you’d like to find out further details please visit www.fogh.org.uk If you can’t get enough of the pantomime season, then head on over to Sevenoaks’ Stag Theatre to see its production of The Sleeping Beauty. Starring EastEnders’ Ricky Norwood (aka Fat Boy) and 90s pop trio Cleopatra, it also features a live band and some stunning sets as well as all the usual panto banter. Tickets cost from £18. For more information visit www.sevenoakspanto.com >> MONDAY For one night only, Father Christmas will be at the Assembly Hall with his Santa Saves Christmas show. Fairy Flossy’s wand has stopped working, Cinderella’s glass slipper is broken, and what has happened to the magic in Aladdin’s lamp? Oops!

It looks as though Christmas might have to be cancelled… Tickets cost £10 and every child will receive a present from the man himself. www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk Showing every evening until Wednesday next week at the Hop Farm is the film Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, so if you still haven’t seen this excellent celluloid offering from JK Rowling, which stars Eddie Redmayne, then now is your chance. Tickets cost £25 per car from Moonlight Cinema and the screenings are at 6.30pm each evening with an additional one at 9.15 tonight. www.moonlightcinema.com

WHAT’S ON  >> TUESDAY The St John’s Christmas Window Wonderland extravaganza is enjoying great success. The aim of it is to showcase the area’s vibrant independent businesses and encourage festive shoppers to browse and buy from them. There is also a fun teddy bear treasure trail for young ones to follow which will culminate in the competition’s winner being announced on December 21, the final day of the festival.

PICK OF THE WEEK: Father Christmas At Bodiam Castle Sat Dec 10-Sun Dec 11 from 10.30-11 am

A ROUND-UP OF THIS WEEK’S MUSICAL HIGHLIGHTS

Paul Dunton

Lily and Jessie Denning

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

Live music As Christmas approaches, there’s a lot of live music in and around Tunbridge Wells. Here are just a few of this week’s sonic highlights…

THE TUNBRIDGE WELLS FORUM

Doors 7.30pm, entry price variable, event information and tickets at www.twforum.co.uk

WEDNESDAY Word Up! A Spoken Word Event: Lucas Howard and Jess Mookherjee and the 2016 Slam Final THURSDAY The Forum Winter Sessions at Calverley Grounds Ice Rink: Mike Wilton, Lily and Jessie Denning and The Ackerleys FRIDAY Word Up! Presents Live Band Hip Hop Jam: Dwella and other guests SATURDAY Los Pacaminos (featuring Paul Young)

The chimneys have been swept and the castle festooned with festive decorations in order to welcome the man himself this weekend: Father Christmas. Bring your family along to visit his glittering grotto and receive a special gift for any good children that come to see him. Tickets cost £7, or £4 for those under 18 months. www.nationaltrust.org.uk/bodiam

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THE GREY LADY MUSIC LOUNGE

The Pantiles, Doors 7.15pm, entry £6/£7, websites www.pdag.co.uk + www.thegreylady.co.uk

WEDNESDAY Kachi, All The Above, Cyrano FRIDAY Soul Avenue SATURDAY The Violet Jive SUNDAY The Midnight River Crew, Lachlan Daly, Paul Monham, I Am Aquitaine TUESDAY MODL, Arcelia, The Ackerleys WEDNESDAY John Forrester, Zoe Eve, Steffan James, Harley & Woods THE DUKE OF YORK

The Pantiles, open all day, free entry, music from 8pm onwards

MONDAY Open Mic Night

THE ROYAL OAK

THE SUSSEX ARMS

Prospect Road, open all day, free entry, music from early evening onwards

Sussex Mews (behind The Pantiles) Open all day, free entry, music from 8.30pm till late

SATURDAY The Heartbeats Christmas Show MONDAY Open Mic Night

FRIDAY The T16 SATURDAY All The Above

THE CROSS KEYS

VINYL REVOLUTION STORE

St John’s Road, open all day, free entry, music from 8pm, website www.crosskeystw.co.uk

Camden Road, open all day, free entry, music from 3.15pm. To find out more information, visit www.vinyl-revolution.co.uk

WEDNESDAY Sonny’s Jazz: Paul Malsom & Charlotte Lubbock MONDAY TWURPS: Ukulele Beginners’ Jam Session

SATURDAY In-store acoustic show – Los Pacaminos featuring Paul Young. Only people wearing cowboy hats will be allowed in!

THE BLACK HORSE

Camden Road, open all day, free entry, music from 8.30pm till late

FRIDAY Black Adder Christmas Party THE KING WILLIAM

Pembury, open all day, free entry, music from 8.30pm onwards

FRIDAY Flawless Carbon THE BEAU NASH INN

Mount Ephraim, open all day, free entry, music from 8.30pm till late

SATURDAY Matt Bridle SCALLYWAG CAFÉ

45 Mount Ephraim, open all day, music from 8.30pm till late, music cover charge may apply

WEDNESDAY Cabaret Open Mic Night THURSDAY Naked Jazz Jam with Harry Whitty FRIDAY Jazz Piano with Ed Watts CASSIDY’S BAR

Castle Street, open all day, free entry music from 8.30pm till late

FRIDAY Cracks In The Land THE PUNCH & JUDY

11 St Stephen’s Street, Tonbridge, open all day, free entry, music from 8.30pm

TUESDAY 3 Amigos

Wednesday 7th December 2016

78  SPORTING TIMES

CONTACT US:

If you have a sports story or you would like to see your club’s reports and results featured in these pages…

Wood hat-trick cuts leaders Eastbourne down to size Tunbridge Wells Men’s 1st XI 5 Eastbourne 2nd XI 3

PUSH COMES TO SHOVE TJs forwards show their strength

Dawson burst keeps TJs flying high Tonbridge Juddians 25 Sutton & Epsom 11

By Adam Hookway RUGBY: TONBRIDGE JUDDIANS ended the year in winning style for their last home game of 2016, against Sutton & Epsom.

TJs were top of the table in National Three London & South-East, and they opened the scoring with a Liam Prescott penalty before Tom Nicoll crashed over for their first try.

Both sides were well matched up front with Juddians enjoying scrum time but misfiring in the lineout. The away team, 11th in the league, had their moments, but the TJs defence held firm and conceded just a solitary penalty when the visitors might have

expected more.

The hosts’ second try came from a five-metre scrum as they marched S&E back over the line for No 8 Zain van Rensburg to touch down. Mike O’Sullivan added a third from a catch and drive at a rare successful lineout throw. Half-time was reached with TJs comfortable at 18-3.

The second period started with Sutton on the front foot and TJs struggling to keep ball. The away team finally found a way round Juddians’ defence on the left and surged in for a try in the corner. Another penalty closed the gap to 18-11, leaving the game finely balanced.

However, some strong interplay from TJs saw George

Lawson break free from several tackles to score. Prescott converted and Juddians had their valuable bonus point win.

Coach Pete Dankert said: “I was impressed with our defence and determination in the tackle.

Line speed counted and we only lost concentration once, and S&E took their chances.

“The bonus point always matters and we now have two tough games on the road at Hertford and Combe. Two wins and we will have a very Merry Christmas. It would be good to end the year like England have.”

Juddians Under-13s are seeking new members for the squad so that they can field an additional side on a regular basis. Contact the club on 01732 358548 for more details.

Wells hand out master class to lowly Gosport Tunbridge Wells 97 Gosport 5

By Graham Withers RUGBY: TUNBRIDGE WELLS were well aware that nothing short of a bonus point win would suffice against a Gosport side adrift at the foot of the London One South table.

Having returned to winning ways at Brighton last week, hopes were high that Wells would boost their points difference and this proved to be the case.

However, when the Gosport lineout was stolen Wells attacked the visitors’ line and influential centre Charlie Harding crossed the line for the opening try, converted by Frank Reynolds.

On six minutes Wells doubled their lead. The first of many strong Jake Mills runs put the home team on the front foot with hooker Jake Thompson and prop Nick Blacklock taking the ball on.

When it was released to the backs it was the other centre, Hayden Pope, who touched down wide out on the left. A majestic touchline conversion by Reynolds made it 14-0.

New wing Jake Jones had shown sparks of the pace he has exhibited in training on his debut at Brighton but he had not, as yet, had the opportunity to run with the ball in open space.

This was about to change emphatically. Mike Hathaway stole another Gosport lineout inside the Wells half and the ball was moved along the line to Jones 50 metres out on the left wing. He stepped

Wednesday 7th December 2016

outside his opposite number and zoomed away from the covering defence to score under the posts, making the conversion a formality.

From there, the points tally mounted and by half-time Wells found themselves in a commanding position after tries from Jones and Nick Doherty to took them to 57-0.

There was no let-up in the tempo for Wells in the second half, as Chaz Spence was among the scorers taking the team’s tally to 78. Reynolds showed great skill when the ball toppled off the tee when he was about to attempt the wide-out conversion, as he quickly readjusted and struck a sweet drop-goal kick instead.

While Gosport responded with five points of their own, the boys from St Marks increased their tally, and fell just short of the hundred mark.

Coach Matt Cook welcomed the result, saying: “With Gosport being at the foot of the table, I don’t think they are at the standard of this league and have a long year ahead of them.

“We played well, though, with Frank Reynolds playing better than he has previously, and Chaz Spence scoring three tries for us.”

He added: “We just hope we can carry that forward into our next game, against Dover, who are also near the bottom of the table.”

HOCKEY: AFTER last week’s solid win, Tunbridge Wells Mens 1st XI were keen to continue their good run of form to see off league leaders Eastbourne.

The East Sussex visitors started well and on another day would have been given a penalty flick after the Wells’ goalkeeper James Harris brought down the striker in the first five minutes.

Wells began to take a greater foothold, James Beck and David Judge controlling possession in the middle of the park.

A decision from the umpire lead to a short corner for Eastbourne with Harris saving excellently down low to his left, but the rebound fell to the visitors, who made no mistake within the D to put them up 1-0.

From then on Wells went on the attack, and a short corner was expertly put away by Ben Allberry to make it 1-1. The home side looked more dangerous and soon capitalised with Callum Wood making it 2-1 before half-time.

Man of the match Kyle Mathieson was at the centre of some excellent passing moves, and Wood made it 3-1 when a

well-worked move down the right left him with a simple tap-in.

Eastbourne hit back and drew level at 3-3 with two quick goals. But Wells restored their composure, and through another team effort they went 4-3 up with Wood completing his hat-trick.

Good work by Allberry created a chanc e in the D with Jack Garwood finishing the move off to make the score 5-3.

In the quarter-finals of the Kent Cup against Ashford, end-to-end hockey dominated proceedings, with Wells emerging 2-1 winners courtesy of strikes from Allberry and Dan Barnaby.

Acrobatic Bradbury makes difference Crostyx 1st XI 0 Tunbridge Wells Ladies’ 1st XI 1

By Brandon Begg HOCKEY: TUNBRIDGE WELLS Ladies 1st XI travelled to the Olympic Park and Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre to record a valuable win in their return encounter against Crostyx.

The game proved an exciting nailbiter from start to finish.

Crostyx and Tunbridge Wells had

a multitude of attempts on goal, with Wells’ keeper Ali Playle pulling off some ninja-like saves, ably supported by her right back, Ollie Gerrett, who blocked some shots on the line.

Both sets of forwards were working hard but by half-time neither team had managed to find the backboard.

In the second half the visitors’ momentum kept building as

they looked to take advantage of the flagging home side.

With two minutes left on the clock, captain Jen Hunt threaded a ball through to Nelia Bekker in the D, and her rebounded shot was acrobatically fired into the top right corner by Becky Bradbury in a tense finish.

The impressive win put Wells in fourth place going into the mid-season break.

ON THE CHARGE Jake Mills cuts through Gosport

PHOTO: Bruce Elliott

PHOTO: Bruce Elliott

PHOTO: Adam Hookway

By Brandon Begg

SPORTING TIMES 

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Heavy defeat makes festive fixture list look daunting ‘This was a good day at the office.

We’ve got our confidence back. That showed as the game went on’ Coach Justin Luchford

TOUGH TACKLE Jack Parter (right) challenges for Angels

Wheeler turns tables as Angels leave top side Bognor on rocks Tonbridge Angels 4 Bognor Regis 1

By Neill Barston FOOTBALL:

TONBRIDGE ANGELS defied their mid-table position to overcome Ryman Premier leaders Bognor Regis at the weekend.

Playing with confidence at home, Steve McKimm’s side was at near full-strength after an injury-plagued early period of the season.

But from the off at Longmead Stadium, Angels took control of the game to produce the standout performance of their campaign so far.

They opened the scoring after 13 minutes with a Nick Wheeler

cross from the left finding Nathan Elder, who duly dispatched it home with calm assurance.

Angels continued to dominate the visitors, who were unable to find any rhythm, resulting in Tonbridge enjoying the lion’s share of possession.

Manager McKimm had stressed the importance of playing a strong passing game – which saw the side increasingly grow in confidence.

The lead was doubled after 33 minutes, Wheeler again doing the honours with an incisive pass to Alex Akrofi, who scored from close range.

Five minutes later, defender Mitchell Nelson latched on to yet another Wheeler delivery from the right wing to head home his side’s third goal.

The ‘Rocks’ started with more intent in the second half to gain a foothold in what had been an especially one-sided match.

Their persistence paid off in the 70th minute a superb volley by James Fraser from distance leaving Angels’ keeper Anthony Di Bernardo with little chance and made the match – for a while at least – something of a contest.

However, Tonbridge were in no mood to let the win slip from their grasp and Wheeler provided his fourth assist of the day with a perfectly weighted cross to Nathan Elder inside the box, who headed smartly into the bottom right-hand corner.

Angels coach Justin Luchford praised a strong team performance including man of the match Nathan Elder and Nick Wheeler. He said: “This was a good day at the office. We have to get the confidence back, we are four unbeaten now.

“Our confidence showed as the game went on. In the last 10 minutes we were exceptional.”

PHOTO: David Couldridge

Lordswood 3 Tunbridge Wells 0 FOOTBALL: FOLLOWING an improved run of form in recent weeks, Tunbridge Wells suffered a 3-0 away defeat to fellow Kent side Lordswood in the Southern Counties East Football League.

Wells secretary Phill Allcorn explained that while the team were disappointed with the result and the margin of defeat, they are determined to finish the year in positive fashion.

He said: “Any 3-0 defeat is hard to take, especially when it is against a team that you are closely fighting for league places with.

The players are not stupid, they know they need to pick up on their performances and work together with our management team to begin to get some victories together, which we admit is going to be tough over the Christmas period with some tricky looking fixtures.

‘The inconsistency of our results and performances is frustrating’ “For me, the inconsistency of our results and performances adds to the frustration.

“As soon as we get a couple of wins together against Whitstable and Deal, we began to believe that we have turned things around.

“We then slip to two unexpected defeats. You just don’t seem to know what you’re going to get with us this season.

“However, at the start of the season the target was always set that this was going to be one of transition, with Jason Bourne taking charge for his first full season and also having pre-season under his own steam.”

Mr Allcorn added that he hoped the team would ‘soon put a smile back on the faces of supporters’ who deserved more from the side.

He said there was a sense of optimism in the squad as it prepares for its next match this weekend against Corinthian.

Four-goal Skilton strikes deep in extra time as Tonbridge sneak through in cup Tonbridge Angels Ladies 5 Teynham Gunners 4

FOOTBALL: ANGELS Ladies are through to the quarter-final of the Kent Divisional Cup after finally seeing off Teynham Gunners in extra time.

Tonbridge seem to be cursed to concede early goals in matches and this was no different, with the Gunners taking the lead from their first attack after just four minutes.

ALL THE SKILLS Abbie Skilton (right) scores

PHOTO: David Couldridge

By Jim Rowe

Teynham arrived with just the bare starting eleven and defended resolutely, but Tonbridge had most of the possession and remained patient, finally breaching Teynham’s defence in the 29th minute. Poppy Gilden’s through ball released Abbie Skilton, who fired home.

Immediately from the restart the Angels lost possession and found themselves behind once again, but this time it would only take five minutes to restore parity, Beth Kemp heading home Skilton’s corner.

The hosts thought they had got themselves in front just before half-time, when Becky Janes was adjudged to be offside as she converted Skilton’s

cross. But the resulting free-kick was poorly taken and Skilton lobbed the Gunners goalkeeper to secure the advantage.

Teynham levelled matters in the 53rd minute but just after the hour-mark it was 4-3 to the Angels, Janes’ cross from the right being headed in by Skilton for her hat-trick.

The visitors were not finished yet, however, and a shot from outside the box took a slight deflection and squirmed under the body of Sam Wright, sending the match towards extra time.

Four minutes into the second period, Skilton scored the crucial winner – her fourth of the match – with a driving shot from an angle.

Wednesday 7th December 2016