Wednesday August 29 | 2018
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MP changes nappy during Humphrys interview to win ‘radio roulette’
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Times OF TONBRIDGE
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LOCAL MP Tom Tugendhat has coined the phrase ‘radio roulette’ after revealing that he changed his daughter’s nappy at home while being interviewed over the phone by John Humphrys on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme. He has invented the concept for ‘when you book live radio interviews and you know you are the only one who can do childcare and you are alone in the house’. He added: “So you do the interview down the link [hoping] your children either won’t wake up or they won’t make a sound. “Sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.”
Game Mr Tugendhat is married to French supreme court judge Anissia Morel and they have two children aged four and 18 months. He has often taken to Twitter to describe his parenting skills under the hashtag ‘#solodad’. He said he ‘won rather a big game recently’ when he negotiated the flagship 8.10am interview slot – without the famously abrasive presenter Mr Humphrys realising he had been on nappy duty. ‘BBC Dad’ Professor Robert Kelly became a social media sensation after he was disturbed by his children while being interviewed on television last year. Mr Tugendhat, who chairs the Foreign Affairs Committee, said he suffered an ‘epic loss’ last year, when an interview on Catalonian independence with LBC Radio was cut short by his crying baby.
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Tower should allow open days after millions of public money By Andy Tong andy@timesoftonbridge.co.uk THE future of Hadlow Tower as a public attraction is in doubt as concern grows about the sale of the iconic folly. Campaigners believe the site should be open to visitors as part of the Heritage Open Days project next month, on September 6-9 and 13-16, because of the millions of pounds of public money used to restore the Victorian structure. The renowned Grade 1 listed building is 175ft high, six feet taller than Nelson’s Column. A covenant ensures the public can access it for 28 days each year and tours used to be held each week. But it was placed on the market for £2million in the summer, and the owner
has made it clear that he does not want the visits to be permitted. The Heritage Lottery Fund spent £2million on restoring the tower after it was badly damaged in the Great Storm of 1987, following a long period of neglect.
‘It’s exactly what we are trying to avoid. The locals really fought for this’ Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council had served a Compulsory Purchase Order on the site and then sold it for £1 to the Vivat Trust, a registered charity that turns derelict historic buildings into self-catering holiday homes. Fundraising in the local community
provided a further £50,000. Yet the tower was sold for just £425,000 in 2016 after the Vivat Trust went into liquidation. It is currently owned by Christian Tym, who lives there with his wife Becca and four sons. The four-bedroom property is available for rental from December to April for up to £2,400 a week. Musical impresario Andrew LloydWebber has spoken out about the access, having been instrumental in putting the tower forward for a restoration prize. He told the Daily Telegraph: “A huge amount of public money was spent on this project. If it’s going to be sold, it should be returned to Historic England and the Heritage Lottery Fund. It can’t go into the pocket of a private person.”
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