Times of Tunbridge Wells 22nd February 2017

Local, National and International

OF TUNBRIDGE WELLS

‘The rate hike means finding an extra £83,000 a year’ Robert Hogben Co-owner of The Mount Edgcumbe

Business rates backlash as traders fight closure

By Adam Hignett adam@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk

LOCAL traders face a ‘perfect storm’ of increasing rates, rents and rising inflation which will leave ‘large holes’ in the high street, the head of Kent’s largest business group has warned.

The ominous prediction by Jo James, Chief Executive of Kent OF TUNBRIDGE WELLS

COMMENT Tunbridge Wells is viewed by those who do not live here as a well-to-do, affluent town with few real worries. And it is true

Invicta Chamber of Commerce, comes as some businesses in Tunbridge Wells and the surrounding area have been told their rates will more than double in April.

It is one of four warnings to be issued this week by organisations representing traders in the town, including Royal Tunbridge Wells Together and the Kent branch of the Federation for

we enjoy a thriving local economy that does make it a great place to earn a living and bring up a family.

Much of that could change with Government plans to introduce the first business rates revaluation in seven years. More than a quarter of

Small Businesses.

Particularly hard hit are those operating in the hospitality sector, many of which are being urged by The Association of Licensed Multiple Retailers (ALMR) to lobby their local MPs and express their ‘dismay’ at the ‘punitive’ business rate rises.

Kate Nicholls, head of ALMR, said the group is actively seeking case studies of ‘particularly large companies nationally are facing higher bills and many of them operate in Tunbridge Wells.

Not all businesses will be hard hit although enough will be targeted for increases so big as to cast doubt on their long term viability; that’s the

or unfair’ increases in constituencies whose MPs – such as Business Secretary Greg Clark – are ‘key ministers’.

The Mount Edgcumbe, on Tunbridge Wells Common, will be particularly hard hit after being told its rateable value will go up from £40,000 to £86,500 in the next financial year.

Landlord Robert Hogben said the lack of understanding from the Government over what will happen means businesses like his will ‘just close down’.

He added: “I was first notified that the VOA (Valuation Office Agency) had reassessed our rateable value in October.

“After looking at the VOA website I saw our rateable value had gone from £40,000 to £86,500.

This means with the rates set at 0.49.7p in the pound the £19,880 a year we pay at the moment will more than double to around £43,000.”

Short-sighted Mr Hogben believes he will have to increase his weekly turnover by eight per cent, or £1,600, to cover this additional tax burden. That equates to £83,000 per year. He continued: “We have spent a great deal of time and money refurbishing The Mount Edgcumbe since we bought it five years ago to make it what it is today.

“I think that this is very short sighted of the Government’s VOA team who don’t really understand the true implicareal danger. As owners count the cost, the temptation will be to shut up shop, a move that will have a ripple effect throughout the local economy.

That’s why this newspaper is supporting calls for the Government to rethink its position on business

tions to the high street shops and businesses like ours which will just close down.”

His concerns are far from unique, and have led to a growing backlash against the government’s proposals.

Leading the calls for a govern-

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All the news that matters

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Wednesday February 22 | 2017

INSIDE ICE CREAM WARS

Battle hots up as new dessert parlour hits town Page 3

‘We would urge a rapid rethink of this’ ment rethink is Mrs James, whose organisation represents 1,200 businesses in Kent – a county which will be particularly hard hit by the changes.

She said: “Many small businesses are facing a perfect storm that will see many struggle to survive, leaving large holes in our high streets and business parks.

“Many of them are experiencing increased rents, and rising inflation on the cost of goods they are buying which can’t fully be passed on to the consumer. Many have been hit by the fall in the Pound are now staring down the barrel of a massive hike in rates.

“If the Government wants to increase growth and productivity, it needs to keep businesses in business, it’s that simple. This is a way of raising £1bn from business, but at what cost to the overall economy? We would urge a rapid rethink and call on all local authorities to join us in lobbying our local MPs.”

Continued on page 2 rates and for our MP Greg Clark to press the case for that review in support of his constituents.

Tunbridge Wells has been built largely on an entrepreneurial spirit that exists in the town. We must not allow that spirit to be dampened.

DORMITORY TOWN Office space lost as another conversion planned Page 6

RUNAWAY SUCCESS

Harriers’ Half-Marathon draws some 1,500 runners Pages 4-5

EDUCATION GUIDE

All you need to know to pick the right school From page 21

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NEWS

Local News

Volunteers needed to help enforce St John’s 20mph speeding zone THE 20’s Plenty campaign is seeking volunteers to establish a Speedwatch group to coincide with the arrival of 20mph speed limits in the St John’s area of Tunbridge Wells next month.

More than 5,000 residents and nearly 1,000 primary school children within the zone are set to benefit from the scheme.

The area affected is bound

by St John’s Road to the west, Powder Mill Lane and High Brooms Road to the north, and Upper Grosvenor Road to the east running southwards.

The schools within this area include The Skinners’ School, St John’s Church of England Primary School and St Augustine’s Roman Catholic Primary School.

More than 50 roads will be affected by the new restrictions. The project will be the first wide-area 20mph zone in Kent and is expected to cost around £40,000.

Kent Speedwatch works in conjunction with the police with volunteers monitoring speeds at the roadside in order to ‘improve drivers’ understanding of the risks from speeding, reduce collisions and improve the quality of life for local communities’.

The local 20’s Plenty group

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

Call for action over business rates

Winning poster by Lilia Oubridge age 10, St Augustine’s school says: “Evidence shows that 20mph speed restrictions make it safer for pedestrians and cyclists and make the environment a quieter, more pleasant place for everyone – especially for children, the elderly or disabled.”

It is believed that if the launch is successful, other parts of Tunbridge Wells will also become 20mph zones, so 20’s Plenty are looking for help from all across the town. Training and equipment will be provided free of charge.

There are more than 250 local 20’s Plenty groups campaigning nationwide.

Contact www.20splentyfortunbridgewells.moonfruit.com for more information.

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UNDER THREAT Tunbridge Wells High Street

Continued from page 1

Hospitality hardest hit

Unlike regular retailers, the rateable value of pubs, restaurants and other hospitality establishments is not based solely on the market’s rental value of the building it occupies but on a concept called ‘fair maintainable trade’.

This is based on the annual level of trade (excluding VAT) that a pub is ‘expected’ to achieve if operated in a reasonably efficient way.

Factors taken into account to work this out include; the type of pub or licensed premises, the area it’s in, the services it offers, e.g. food, gaming or sports screenings, accommodation – as well as rents and turnovers.

The convoluted nature of ‘fair maintainable trade’ means there are 114 different categories for calculating the ‘income streams’ from drink sales alone. This is then combined with 85 separate ways of determining the percentage of food sales used to work out the rate, before adding further things such as receipts from entertainment.

Langton Green resident Brian Whiting, whose business Whiting & Hammond consists of eight gastro pubs in West Kent and surrounding areas, will see £123,100 added on to his rates bill.

He said: “This industry has Brian Whiting been massively

affected and the way the rates work out is just a way of punishing pubs which are popular.

“The industry is a massive driver of investment and employment but we are getting smashed for it. With rates and VAT at 20 per cent how are we supposed to compete with the supermarkets, which do not get charged VAT on food?

“If the government keeps treating this sector as the goose which lays the golden eggs sooner or later it will implode and the only winners will be the supermarkets. It will very sad for local communities.”

Tunbridge Wells Together

Nicky Blanchard, Chair Person for Royal Tunbridge Wells Together said: “We are firmly against the proposed new business rate structure. At a time when local businesses are under ever increasing pressure any additional increases in costs can often be the difference between remaining open or closing. We fail to understand how the proposed rate structure could have any positives for our town or local business given such a small proportion of revenue raised stays within the town and advise all those concerned to join us in writing to MP Greg Clark urging a Government rethink.”

FSB warns of the cost

David Milham of the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) Kent Steering Group said his organisation had received Nicky Blanchard ‘a huge amount’

of correspondence from members about the issue.

He added: “We are in danger of losing micro and small businesses. The average micro business will have to find £17,000 to cover business rates from April this year. But this increase must not be viewed in isolation as small firms will face an extra £2,600 in additional employment costs from Government policy in the 2017/2018 tax year, inflationary increases and a further increase in pensions auto-enrolment costs.

“It is understandably causing a great deal of concern, with some businesses set to see some huge increases in their bills from April 1.

“We have long believed that business rates are an unfair tax not based on the firm’s size or ability to pay, and the recent revaluation has made this situation worse for many small firms.”

The Government’s view Communities Secretary Sajid Javid said: “Our regions have huge economic potential, and can be a catalyst to driving economic growth across the country.

“The revaluation of business rates will help make sure bills are accurate, with nearly three-quarters of businesses seeing a fall, or no change. In fact, the generous reliefs we are introducing mean that 600,000 small businesses are paying no rates at all – something we’re making permanent so they never pay these bills again.

“And across the country, there’s also a £3.6 billion scheme to support companies affected by the business rates revaluation.”

Juddians are blindsided by parking penalty blitz CELEBRATIONS to mark a great weekend of wins at Juddians rugby club were cut short when players and fans discovered they had been targeted by a team of traffic wardens handing out their own penalties.

After witnessing a triple home victory for first, third and fourth teams 30 motorists parked next to The Slade in Tonbridge returned to their vehicles to find parking tickets.

Each faces a fine of up to £50. Referees were among them.

Previously parking was free on Saturday afternoons but Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council confirmed that this was stopped in May 2016. Many at the rugby club were unaware of the changes.

A first team player told the Times: “I’ve parked there the entire season and I’ve had

no problems.

“We finished the game and were in the changing room when we were told that everyone parked outside had got a ticket.

“One of the coaches, the physio and about five players were included.

“It’s not what you want to hear after a big win – people weren’t in the best of moods after learning the news.”

Local News

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

NEWS IN BRIEF

Former football star dies while out cycling PAUL MCCARTHY, an ex-captain at Brighton and a long time resident of Crowborough has died at the age of 45. He leaves a widow and four children.

Mr McCarthy began his career at Brighton and made more than 200 appearances before joining Wycombe in 1996. He spent seven years at Adams Park, and was a member of the team that reached the FA Cup semi-finals in 2001, scoring in the quarter-final against Leicester.

Mr McCarthy went on to play for Oxford and Ebbsfleet United, where he lifted the 2008 FA Trophy.

The cause of the former Republic of Ireland Under-21 international’s death has not yet been disclosed although it’s understood he was taken ill while cycling with friends on Ashdown Forest on Sunday.

Slaves win video award TUNBRIDGE WELLS punk band Slaves won the best video category at the NME Awards at the O2 Academy Brixton in London last week.

Guitarist Laurie Vincent and drummer Isaac Holman took the prize for their song Consume or Be Consumed, and they had to beat off some formidable opposition in the shape of Kanye West for ‘Famous’, Beyoncé for ‘Formation’ and Radiohead for ‘Burn The Witch’.

Life in the Soviet Union TWO RUSSIAN WOMEN now living in Tunbridge Wells will give a talk on Friday (February 24) at 7pm about growing up in the Soviet Union.

The event at St.John’s Church Hall will see Elena Lewis-Grey and Elena Gente speaking about their upbringing under the authoritarian communist regime. Tickets are £10.

Money will go to the Tunbridge Wells Choral Society, of which both women have been members for ten years.

Lantern street collection THE BUCKET collection at the Winter Lantern Parade through Tunbridge Wells earlier this month raised £760 for local charities. The annual event is organised by CREATE (Camden Road Educations, Arts & Theatre Enterprise).

Villagers light red candles in memory of Flo

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TOGETHER The Jackson family below with friends

FAMILY and friends gathered at the George and Dragon in Speldhurst on Saturday to light candles in memory of Flo Jackson, the local two-year old who lost her fight against cancer.

She died shortly before leaving for America after her family raised £300,000 on social media for potentially lifesaving treatment. Flo was diagnosed with neuroblastoma in 2015.

Parents Carolyn and Rodney Jackson, along with Flo’s sister Charlotte (together left of the picture), were among those who lit red candles as part of a Wave of Light For Flo. “It was beautiful and so very well done – thank you”, said Mr Jackson. Around 10,000 people supported the campaign to help Flo and were invited by the family to light their own red candles and post pictures online.

Ice cream parlours take a licking…

LIFE IS SWEET Flossies’ Sue Rowley is a successful independent

RESIDENTS are in danger of losing control of their waistlines as a yet another dessert parlour comes to town.

And one long-standing independent trader is increasingly irritated by the fanfair that greets the arrival of these big chains.

Kaspa’s, a nationwide company, will be opening stores in Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge this summer, supplying ice creams, gelatos, waffles, crepes, milk-

shakes, smoothies and sundaes.

Their announcement follows the news that Creams Café, a giant US firm, is launching in Tunbridge Wells on the site of the old Cosmo Oriental in Grosvenor Road.

These newcomers arrive in the footsteps of Swirls, which opened on Camden Road in December and is spread over two storeys.

Evidence of oversaturation was provided by the café Froffy & Phoam, which opened in August but closed in January.

Independent Flossies Ice Cream Parlour, in Sussex Mews, has been serving up treats around The Pantiles since 2009.

It is run by Sue Rowley, entirely on her own, and she makes all her own ice cream – unlike the larger firms. She is not surprised by the influx.

“Basically it’s the newest craze,” she said. “I knew this would happen big time and I’ve been dreading it.

“They’re all coming over from America, and that’s

where I got the idea from when my daughter and I were over there.

“We went out to Italy to learn how to make gelato [a type of ice cream which uses less butterfat].

“In a dessert parlour it’s going to cost you £30 for a family of four having waffles and whatever. And that will make you think about the sugar content.

“I try not to do that over-indulgence. It’s not the same as just having an ice cream, which is a small treat that people can give their kids on a day out.”

But she is optimistic about the future despite the invasion of puddings. “I am definitely a success story. I’m not even scared of all the new guys. I’ve got a lot of regulars and my ice cream is well known.”

Her problem is with the amount of coverage that the newcomers are receiving. “The chains are getting all this publicity and I’ve been here working my socks off. It’s wrong because everyone’s always talking about using local produce.”

When the Times placed a 100-word story about Creams Café coming to town on Facebook, it received four times as much traffic as the next highest story.

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Local News

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

Harriers’ Half Marathon proves massive success MORE than 1,500 runners took part in the Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon on Sunday (February 19), with the starter’s gun fired

by West Malling’s ‘365 Marathon Man’, Ben Rogers (pictured right), running his 302nd marathon in consecutive days

Local News

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

By Nick Humphrey THE RACE, over 13.1 miles, was won

by James Conner from Kent Athletic Club in a time of 1 hour 8 minutes and 50 seconds, nearly a minute and a half ahead of second placed Dean Lacy of Cambridge Harriers.

The fastest woman was Maria Heslop of Paddock Wood AC (pictured below), who made it across the line in 1 hour 22 minutes and 29 seconds.

In order to complete his requirement of running a whole marathon every day, ‘365 Marathon Man’ ran the course in reverse. He

started the race, then ran the distance again to complete his 26.2 miles.

Among the 1,523 runners were 65 aged 60 or more, with nine of the finishers aged 70 and over enjoying perfect running conditions.

The first of these across the line was David Winch of Thanet Roadrunners AC, in an impressive time of 1:33.03.

The only veteran in the over-80 category, Graham Brooks of Tunbridge Wells Harriers who was featured in the Times’ build-up to the race, managed 2:37.33.

Organised by volunteers from Tunbridge Wells Harriers, the race is recognised

MEDAL WINNERS

as one of the best in the country, with a picturesque course taking in Bidborough, Penshurst, Fordcombe and Langton Green.

“It’s a lot of hard work to pull it off, but it helps put Tunbridge Wells on the sporting map, attracting runners from around the country,” said Race Director Mark Taylor.

First-time entrant Sally Pelling said: “I enjoyed every second. The organisation was so slick and efficient and ran like clockwork.”

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Headline sponsors Nuffield Health provided support before and after the event. The Times was the official media partner for the race.

Surplus funds are being donated to The Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, which promotes youth achievement, the Tunbridge Wells Counselling Centre and The Bridge Trust, that supports the homeless.

For full results visit http://southernrunningguide.com/ race/tunbridge-wells-half-marathon

CRUNCH START More than 1,500 start off

ON THE RUN Below veteran Graham Brooks

Cut overmatter Their personal trainers led the warm-up and ran stretch sessions afterwards, with the hospital’s physiotherapists providing massages to ease sore muscles.

“As a leading healthcare and wellness provider in Tunbridge Wells, we’re delighted to have been involved in one of the biggest sporting events in the town’s calendar for a second year,” said Penny Pontet, Hospital Director of Nuffield Health Tunbridge Wells.

“The Half Marathon epitomises our approach of complete health, fitness and wellbeing, as well as being a fantastic community event.’

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NEWS

Local News NEWS IN BRIEF

Appeal for witnesses as ten assault two men OFFICERS investigating an assault of two men in Tunbridge Wells during the early hours of Sunday (February 19) have arrested four people.

Police were called at 3.46am to a report that two men had been assaulted near to the pedestrian crossing on Mount Pleasant Road. It is alleged that a group of around 10 men set upon the victims, punching them to the ground before kicking them. One man suffered serious injuries, not believed to be life threatening, and was taken to hospital before being discharged later that day.

Two people from Tonbridge, an 18-year-old man and a 17-year-old boy, are currently in custody having been arrested yesterday (February 21). A further two men, both 18 from Tonbridge were arrested on Monday and have been bailed pending further enquiries.

Police have appealed for anyone with information to call 01622 604100 quoting YY/4425/17.

Pembury evacuation RESIDENTS were evacuated over concerns a gas canister could explode in Pembury on Monday (February 20) night. Firefighters were called to a timber framed building used as a forge in Hastings Road just before 10pm. A cordon was put in place and local properties were evacuated, due to an acetylene cylinder in the area that had been exposed to radiated heat. Crews set up a cooling jet on the cylinder and monitored it until it had cooled down, and residents could return to their properties.

The cause of the fire, which destroyed the building, is believed to be accidental. There were no injuries.

Living wage failure TWO local hairdressers have been ‘named and shamed’ for failing to pay employees the national living wage in the latest crackdown by the Government.

Daniel Jordan London in Sevenoaks was found to have left one of its staff £2,471.58 short. And Ralph Spence, trading as Ralphs Hairdressing in West Malling, failed to pay £1,124.18 to one of its workers.

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

More office space lost as plans are made to convert Westcombe House into flats UNDER THREAT Office space is declining in Tunbridge Wells

offers ‘In excess of £2.95mililon’.

An application for change of use to convert the top four floors into 24 flats was submitted the following month with the consultation ending at the start of the New Year. It is believed the ground floor, occupied by recruitment firm Office Angels, will be left unchanged.

A date for approval on the decision has not yet been disclosed.

‘It’s not likely that any of these flats will be affordable for local people’

By Adam Hignett adam@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk

FEARS Tunbridge Wells will be reduced to a ‘dormitory town’ due to the decline in office space will be exacerbated after planning permission was submitted to convert Westcombe House into flats.

An estimated 150 people currently work at companies housed in the building; Regis Mutual Management, BNP Paribas and Insafe.

The five storey office block on Mount Ephraim Road, opposite the Job Centre, was sold last September to developer HPJ 10 ltd. Although an exact sales price has not been disclosed, the building was listed for

How coffee is making the women of Kenya stronger

By Andrew Tong newsdesk@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk

FAIRTRADE COFFEE is helping to empower and change the lives of women working in agriculture in East Africa. That’s the message that will be delivered next week by Fairtrade coffee producer from Kenya, Esther Koskei during a talk in Tunbridge Wells.

Fairtrade Africa launched a three-year project in 2015 to support female coffee farmers in Kenya, and Ms Koskei is vice chair of Kabngetuny Women in Coffee Co-operative in the country.

It is estimated that women supply 70 per cent of the labour on farms in Kenya but the land and assets usually belong to the menfolk in the family.

In February last year the Civic Society said that Tunbridge Wells is in danger of turning into a ‘dormitory of over-priced flats for commuters’.

Westcombe House neighbour and business owner Neil Crook is critical of the proposal to create more flats from offices, describing it as a ‘very dangerous precedent’.

He added: “I support the use of redundant brownfield sites to be developed to deal with the housing shortage, but this site is a fully occupied office block.

Women have traditionally been excluded from joining farming co-operatives or earning income from their work.

Fairtrade’s Growing Women in Coffee project has led to the transfer of coffee bush ownership to 300 women within the Kabngetuny Co-operative.

As part of the scheme they have been given training on agricultural practices in order to help them increase the yield and quality of their produce.

Kipkelion Union, which represents 32 cooperatives including Kabngetuny, has worked with Fairtrade to develop and market a ‘women’s coffee’ for sale in Kenya.

David Finlay, Fundraising Manager at Fairtrade Foundation, said: “By working with the women in these co-operatives to roast, grind, package and sell their beans as ‘women’s coffee’, we hope they will be able to increase the amount they sell on Fairtrade terms, which will bring benefits for their whole community”.

“There are two finance companies in there so I imagine the jobs are reasonably well paid. Are these companies and jobs staying in Tunbridge Wells? If not, are the council happy to see good jobs disappear?

“Whilst there may be offices vacant in the town there are not many purpose built blocks like this.”

“We seem to be going down a worrying road of moving out jobs employing local people and moving in elderly and retired people from outside the area. And let’s be honest, it’s not likely that any of these flats will be affordable for local people to move into.”

A spokesman for Regis Mutual said the company has not been given a timeframe for when work will begin but was ‘proud’ to employ 50 people in the town adding: “Regis is committed to growing our business in the Tunbridge Wells area and we will be keeping an eye on local space and making contingency plans in case we are not able to extend the lease.”

Both BNP Paribas and Insafe declined to comment. Developer HPJ 10 ltd was unavailable for comment.

A FAIR TRADE Esther Koskei will tell her inspiring story

The Growing Women in Coffee project has been supported by a grant of £389,831 from the Big Lottery Fund, the first donation it has made to Fairtrade.

The talk will take place at the Baptist Church in Upper Grosvenor Road from 7.30-9.30pm on Wednesday, March 1. Admission is free, and Fairtrade refreshments will be provided.

See also page 70 for more on Fairtrade Fortnight

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BUSINESS

Local Business News

Cabinet calls time on the tax relief for empty homes

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

PROTECTION Caner Veli waterproofing shoes

By Adam Hignett adam@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk LANDLORDS might be forced to take a financial hit after plans to scrap council tax relief on empty properties were approved by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council Cabinet.

In a meeting which saw half of the six Cabinet members present excluded from the vote, due to declaring a pecuniary interest, councillors gave the go-ahead to eliminate the one month discount for vacant properties in the borough.

This comes after years of gradual reductions that have seen the amount of time landlords are able to claim a reduction in council tax fall from six months to one.

Currently, landlords are entitled to claim a discount on empty and unfurnished homes while they seek another tenant or undertake redecorating.

The average value of each discount is £62.50.

‘Council documents acknowledge the changes will be unpopular with landlords’ The council believes it will benefit to the sum of £33,400 if this is scrapped, representing its share of the precept on additional council tax revenue estimated to be worth £334,000. It is also hoped it will ensure tenants will be housed faster.

Another scheme, that gives a 25 per cent relief on properties undergoing major works over the course of a year, is also facing the axe, which would save the council £5,600.

Council documents acknowledge the changes will be unpopular with landlords, stating: “The main disadvantage in removing the one month discount would be for landlords where they are looking to redecorate properties before putting a new tenant in.

“The landlord would immediately become liable to pay full Council Tax in between tenancies whereas currently they benefit from up to one month discount. However, other councils have found that where the one month empty discount has been removed, although there were initial complaints, this discretion has now been accepted.”

JUST over a year has passed since Tunbridge Wells entrepreneur Caner Veli stood in TV’s Dragons’ Den to pitch his product Liquiproof to some of the most successful business people in the UK. Described at the time by Mr Veli as ‘one of the most stressful’ days of his life, the former Hayesbrook School pupil came under some intense scrutiny from the panel.

Long-standing Dragon Peter Jones berated the then 28 year old over the valuation of his company – which Mr Veli claimed was worth £2million – saying he would be lucky if it was worth ‘tens of thousands’.

Deborah Meaden then picked apart aspects of Liquiproof’s contract with the research and development lab that manufactures the product.

They were quickly joined by panel members Nick Jenkins and Sarah

On average, the company is shifting 10,000 units per month across its product range.

Staffing levels have jumped from what was effectively a solo effort to seven people, with the business’s headquarters currently situated in a unit underneath Union House, at the end of The Pantiles.

This ‘pop-up’ office reflects the vibrancy of his fledgling business, and has been opened up to other micro-firms to hot desk and rent space of their own.

Operating amidst other creative companies ensures his own firm benefits from a more innovative environment, Mr Veli believes.

In addition, the office contains a small retail section, open to the general public, that stocks local clothing brands, as well as music and photography studios.

‘We have been in talks with Burberry, Paul Smith and Ted Baker, as well as some of the best hotels and restaurants in the country’

How winning in the Den has paid real dividends A year ago, the Times reported on the success of Tunbridge Wells entrepreneur Caner Veli in his bid to secure funding on the BBC’s Dragons’ Den for his product Liquiproof. Adam Hignett catches up with the young businessman to see how the company is faring today

Willingham, leaving Mr Veli perilously close to going home empty-handed.

However, fashion and textile magnate Touker Suleyman saw much promise in the product, which utilises nanotechnology to form an invisible water-resistant and oil-repellent barrier when sprayed on fabrics and materials.

For £100,000 of investment, alongside access to the Dragon’s extensive business network and expertise, Mr Veli agreed to hand over half of his company.

Since then, business has been booming, with Mr Veli believing that Liquiproof is roughly ‘ten times’ larger than a year ago, with a turnover of around £1.2million.

“It has been really good working with Touker,” said Mr Veli, who only finalised his tie-up with the tycoon last summer.

“We have hugely benefitted from his advice and substantial network.

We now sell to roughly 350 stores worldwide, including in Japan, Hong Kong and America, although the primary focus is still the UK.”

“I wanted to create a cool place so that the team is firing on all cylinders,” said Mr Veli. “I don’t think you can be particularly productive if you are in an office with nothing but four white walls.

“We like to display pieces from local artists which are displayed for free, and we collaborate with projects for Hospice in the Weald.”

However, in what will be a loss to the town, the pending demolition of Union House means the company will soon be relocating to London.

Initially, the business will be housed in premises owned by 50 per cent investor Mr Suleyman in Edgware, although other locations, such as trendy Shoreditch or Soho, are also being considered. Warehousing is also moving up to London.

The move, which is scheduled to begin within the next few weeks, has had less pleasant implications for Mr Veli.

“Unfortunately, I have had to let a couple of staff go because they were unable to move with the business. It’s one of the hardest things I’ve done.”

Local Business News

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

EXPANDED The Liquiproof product range

On a more positive note, the relocation to London will ensure not just a higher profile and better access to his partner’s expertise, but also ensure a closer proximity to the sort of clients the company needs to attract.

“We have been in talks with Burberry, Paul Smith and Ted Baker, as well as some of the best hotels and restaurants in the country,” revealed Mr Veli.

Although originally aimed at the individual consumer, who would use the spray to waterproof footwear and clothing, Liquiproof has proven to be a very versatile product with numerous applications.

This is why, Mr Veli explains,

What is Liquiproof?

his commodity is in demand at establishments such as hotels and restaurants.

“We now do more than just fabric protection. We can apply it to glassware, ceramics and plastics. It also has anti-graffiti properties.

“So, as a supplementary business, we now have teams go into places that want to be protected from spills such as wine on a sofa and apply Liquiproof to large parts of the premises.”

Liquiproof’s rise has not gone unnoticed, with attempts to emulate its success sometimes causing friction, Mr Veli admits.

One such example was a company he said tried to ‘rip us off’

by replicating the product in a way that caused a bit of a clash over copyright.

“The legal team got very excitable about it,” he continued, before confirming the issue was now resolved and adding that he welcomed any ‘genuine competition’.

But Mr Veli is confident that Liquiproof will prove a very lucrative commercial success.

“At the end of the day, growing the business is a series of small steps.

“I just have to stay focused, keep positive and keep winning.” www.liquiproof.co.uk

IF YOU CAN’T FEEL THE HEAT… When local Liquiproof founder Caner Veli headed into the Dragons’ Den

LIQUIPROOF was founded by Caner Veli in 2011 with the financial support of family and friends.

Mr Veli believed there was a lack of any well-known waterproofing brand on the market, especially as he admitted he was prone to ‘clumsy’ spills.

With a degree in pharmaceutical science from Greenwich University, and a set of A levels based around the sciences, Mr Veli had a reasonable grounding when it came to picking the right formula for his product.

While still working in London as a recruitment headhunter, Mr Veli spent 18 months researching the industry, testing ‘every single product in the field’.

After finding the right research and development lab with the right product, Mr Veli left his job in January 2014 to focus solely on building up the brand, which was originally for the protection of footwear, but has since branched into clothing.

Liquiproof works by utilising nanotechnology to apply an invisible hydrophobic barrier when sprayed on to the surface of fabric.

By bonding with the individual fibres of the fabric at a nanometre level – roughly 500 times thinner than a human hair – the particles of silicone dioxide found in Liquiproof form permanently bonded layers.

These build up an invisible barrier that renders water and oil unable to touch the fibres of the fabric.

This effectively means that water and other liquids bead up and roll off the fabric.

This ensures there are no stains and there is no damage to the item of clothing itself.

BUSINESS

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Community News

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

Crowborough prepares to turn into The Lost World

By Andrew Tong newsdesk@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk CROWBOROUGH residents are in for a treat this summer as the town prepares to stage its first Community Festival.

The extravaganza will last for almost four weeks from May 1-27 and is based around two themes.

‘On Top of the Weald’ celebrates Crowborough’s location as the second highest point in Sussex, surrounded by glorious countryside.

The second thread will centre on the town’s most famous resident, Sherlock Holmes author Arthur Conan Doyle. Although the famous detective will make several guest appearances, the main focus will be on Conan Doyle’s book The Lost World.

It tells the story of an expedition to a plateau in the Amazon basin of South America where dinosaurs still exist. The later work was a precursor to mythical accounts such as the Jurassic Park films.

This will be the inspiration for the first event, on

the Bank Holiday on May 1. It starts with Paul Stickland, who co-wrote the children’s book Dinosaur Roar! The author will be holding a workshop where youngsters can create dinosaur heads using papier-mâché and other materials.

There will also be a climbing challenge to replicate the adventurers’ ascent to the long-lost plateau, and a Wilderness Crafts survival guide.

The centrepiece of the Mayday celebration will be an outdoor performance of a 35-minute play called Iguanodon Restaurant.

From inside the belly of a 35ft-iguanodon, street performers will tell the humorous story of 60 years of history and scientific discovery around the subject of fossil discoveries in Kent and Sussex.

The evening will be rounded off with a performance by well-known Sussex band the Noble Jacks, and refreshments will be provided by Food Rocks.

The Crowborough Players amateur dramatists will also be putting on an ‘immersive theatrical experience’ called Beyond Baker Street on May 20-21.

This will describe events from the life of Conan

BELLY LAUGHS The Iguanodon Restaurant – Street Theatre Doyle, who was an ardent spiritualist with an interest in the occult. Among the subjects will be his relationship with the escapologist Harry Houdini.

Another feature of the month-long spectacle will be choir workshops with Alexander L’Estrange, a renowned composer of choral music, and there will be a performance by local choirs.

The Top of the Weald theme will focus on conservation, nature and healthy lifestyles, with guided walks and talks arranged in partnership with the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural

Beauty and the Sussex Wildlife Trust.

The venture has received a £10,000 grant from the Big Lottery Fund and is supported by the town council and local businesses.

Denis Hart, Chairman of the Crowborough Community Festival Association, said: “The Lottery donation was a ringing endorsement of the programme we put together as a community service.

“We are trying to be as inclusive as possible, and the money will be used to provide free services such as a shuttle bus around the local area.”

Demelza wins top website award Simply pay by direct debit and you’ve won a thousand pounds THE charity Demelza Hospice Care for Children was crowned the winner at the 2017 Digital Awards Champions in the schools, education and charity sector.

It won the Gold Award for Kent after launching its website last year, thereby qualifying for the final against other regional winners.

Demelza was one of 15 category award winners selected by public vote, and one of only three awarded to businesses with bases in Kent.

It then beat two other charities in the final, Alzheimer’s Research UK from Cambridgeshire and Supershoes by Amasci Creative in Milton Keynes. It also overcame three educational institutes, Havering College, Essex, Bishop’s Stortford College, Hertfordshire,

and Hemsley Fraser training courses by lab, Surrey.

The award was presented to website designer Stuart Hubbard and Communications Officer Jane Shotliff at the British Film Institute in London.

Demelza’s website was devised by Itineris Ltd, of Ipswich, with a focus on striking imagery and videos under the banner of #ItsAboutLife Tessa Paton, Demelza’s Head of Marketing, said: “We wanted to dispel the myth that children’s hospice care is consumed with sadness, so our aim was to produce a vibrant, eye-catching site which captured what Demelza is all about – life. We have allowed the emotive images of our children and our care to do the talking and are absolutely delighted that we have received recognition with both of these awards.”

Visit Demelza’s website www.demelza.org.uk DOUBLE DIGITAL Stuart Hubbard and Jane Shotliff with their award

TWO Tunbridge Wells residents have won £1,000 £1,000 prize, however, will help tremendously and in shopping vouchers – just by paying their should make the start of 2017 a lot easier for us.” housing rent by direct debit.

Mr Smith, a father of two, said: “I generally use David Smith, 61, and Lewis Everitt, 32, rent their direct debit to pay for most of my household bills, homes from Town & Country Housing Group and so I was completely taken aback when I was told won the prize as part of the housing association’s I’d won, simply for paying my rent by direct debit. participation in a national “As it was an unexpected win, I’m going to treat campaign organised by myself to a new bike and Bacs Payment Schemes then share the rest of the Limited [BACS], the vouchers with my family.” not-for-profit Town & Country organisation was one of 39 behind direct housing debit in the UK. associations “This time of across the year always country to puts pressure take part in on finances,” said the campaign, Mr Everitt, who but only five lives with his tenants were 12-year-old selected at GOING TO TOWN: (l-r) Lewis Everitt, Chief Executive of daughter. random for Town & Country Bob Heapy, and David Smith “Winning the the prizes.

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National News

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

Couple are optimistic despite losing civil partnership case

NEWS IN BRIEF

White actor claims she was ‘racially profiled’ LINDSAY LOHAN has claimed she was ‘racially profiled’ while wearing a headscarf at a London airport.

The Caucasian actress, 30, said she was intimidated by the incident, which occurred as she was preparing to fly from Heathrow to New York recently.

Lohan told ITV’s Good Morning Britain she removed the headscarf and security officials apologised after realising who she was.

She said she was ‘scared’ for other women who may not feel comfortable removing similar headwear.

Pensioner insurance hike A HOLIDAY to France could cost a pensioner with common health problems hundreds of pounds in insurance following Brexit, MPs have heard.

If Britons lose their European Health Insurance Card (EHIC), older people with multiple conditions could be forced to pay out up to £2,500 for a week in France, the Health Select Committee was told on Tuesday.

Scots in first tax vote MSPs have voted on income-tax rates and bands in Scotland for the first-time, with Holyrood opting to freeze the point at which the higher 40p tax rate kicks in.

While the UK Government is to raise the threshold for this to £45,000 in April, it will remain at £43,000 north of the border.

UNOFFICIAL Rebecca Steinfeld and Charles Keidan outside the Royal Courts of Justice

A HETEROSEXUAL couple who have lost their latest battle for the right to enter into a civil partnership say there is ‘everything to fight for’.

Rebecca Steinfeld, 35, and Charles Keidan, 40, want to secure legal recognition of their seven-year relationship, but are prevented because the Civil Partnership Act 2004 states that only same-sex couples are eligible for civil partnerships.

The academics, who live in Hammersmith, west London, and have a 20-month-old daughter, claim the Government’s position is ‘incompatible with equality law’.

On Tuesday, the Court of Appeal agreed they had established a potential violation of Article 14 of the European Convention, which relates to discrimination, taken with Article 8, which refers to respect for private and family life.

But, by a majority, the judges said it was at present justified by the Government’s policy of ‘wait and evaluate’.

They heard the couple have deep-rooted and genuine ideological objections to marriage and wish to enter into a legally-regulated relationship which does not carry ‘patriarchal baggage’.

The Secretary of State for Education, Justine Greening, who has responsibility for equalities within Government, said it had decided not, at this stage, to extend civil partnerships to opposite-sex couples, abolish them or phase them out.

In their ruling, Lord Justice Briggs said he could ‘well understand’ the frustration which must be felt by the couple and those who shared their views, about what they regarded as the Government’s slow progress.

“Some couples in their position may suffer serious fiscal disadvantage if, for example, one of them dies before they can form a civil partnership,” he said.

But, like Lord Justice Beatson, he did not regard ‘micro-management’ of the Government’s thinking about the policy as part of the business of the courts.

The couple’s solicitor said: “It is deeply disappointing that my clients lost their appeal by such a narrow margin on such an important issue, particularly when all three judges readily accepted that there had been a potential violation of their human rights.”

Measures approved to freeze ‘ill-gotten gains’ of dictators NEW POWERS to stop ‘blood-stained dictators’ and despots from laundering their money through the UK by freezing their assets have been tabled by the Government.

Security Minister Ben Wallace said the move would send a ‘major signal’ around the world that the UK could

not be used as a base to hide ‘ill-gotten gains’.

Meanwhile, Tory former justice minister Dominic Raab urged the Government to ‘stop turning a blind eye to the blood money of butchers’ as he criticised the new measures for not being sufficiently wide-reaching.

The Government’s proposals, brought forward as an amendment to the Criminal Finances Bill, would expand the scope of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 to include instances of gross human rights abuses and violations.

Mr Wallace said: “That’s a major

step and a major signal to countries around the world that if there is evidence presented we could interdict with their assets and make sure we send that very powerful message that London, the United Kingdom, is not a base for them to put their assets or ill-gotten gains from such behaviour.”

National News

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

No reason given Britain won’t get a ‘cut-price’ as UK teacher is Brexit warns EU Head Juncker kicked off flight A MUSLIM teacher denied entry to the United States while on a school trip said he has still not been told why.

Juhel Miah, 25, had flown to Reykjavik, Iceland, with the party from Llangatwg Community School in Aberdulais, Neath, before boarding an onward flight to New York on February 16.

But before the plane took off he was escorted off by security staff.

He told BBC Wales that his visa for the US was valid and that he does not have a criminal record.

He said he still had not been told why he had been kicked off the flight and wanted answers.

He said: “Everyone looked at me like I’d done something wrong.

“It made me feel really small, even though it shouldn’t have. I repeatedly asked on what grounds they were kicking me off the flight, no-one could give me an answer.

“All I want is a reason, I want to know why they kicked me off the flight.”

Picture: BBC

CONFUSED Teacher Juhel Miah

THE FUTURE relationship between Britain and the European Union will take years to negotiate and the UK can expect a hefty bill as the price of exit, European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker has warned.

Mr Juncker said Britain must understand that it will not be able to negotiate a “cut-price or zerocost” exit from the EU, but will have to settle the bill for commitments which it entered into as a member.

Discussions are underway in Brussels on the size of the bill to be presented to Prime Minister Theresa May when she launches withdrawal talks, with unconfirmed reports suggesting the demand may be as high as 60 billion euros (£51bn) over the next six years.

The sum will cover the UK’s share of the cost of projects and programmes which it signed up to as part of the 28-nation bloc, as well as pensions for EU officials who served during its 45-year membership.

“Our British friends need to know - and they know it already - that it will not be cut-price or zero-cost. The British will have to respect the commitments which they played a part in agreeing,” said the Commission president.

international banks weigh moving some of their London operations to the continent out of fear Britain would lose access to the European Union’s single market as a result of Brexit.

“I would not forbid an attempt to compete on costs by lowering taxes,” Danish Foreign Minister Anders Samuelsen said in an interview.

“They are free to take such a step, but they have to finance it somehow. It’s not something that you just do,” he said. Samuelsen is himself an outspoken eurosceptic who says he wants to reform the EU from within.

An attempt by Britain to create a tax haven ‘could put pressure on our own corporate taxes, then we would have to follow’, he said.

WARNING European Commission President JeanClaude Juncker

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NEWS IN BRIEF

Imam faces multiple terrorism charges AN IMAM has appeared in court charged with a string of terrorism offences, including delivering sermons drumming up support for Islamic State.

Kamran Sabir Hussain, 39, from Stoke-onTrent, is accused of encouraging support for the terror group, as well as influencing his congregation to carry out terrorist acts, at a mosque in the city.

His defence lawyer said that Hussain will plead not guilty to two counts of delivering a sermon to encourage support for Islamic State and six counts of encouraging terrorism.

Prosecutor Karen Jones described Hussain, clad in a light grey tracksuit, as a ‘prominent and influential person in the community’.

Rail strikes renewed

Competitiveness Meanwhile, the new Danish foreign minister has said the country would not oppose Britain trying to turn itself into a tax haven to woo companies after Brexit, as it would put pressure on EU countries to increase their competitiveness too.

Chancellor Philip Hammond said last month in Davos it could cut taxes to stay competitive as

NEWS

TRANSPORT workers are going on strike amid a fresh outbreak of industrial action in separate disputes which will cause travel misery to passengers.

Members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) on Southern Railway will stage their 29th strike today (Wednesday) in a long-running row over staffing and the role of conductors.

Southern said it will run as many trains as possible despite the ‘pointless’ strike.

There will be no service today on the Waterloo & City line, used by workers in the City of London, and limited Central line services.

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National Business News

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

January surplus at 17-year high in budget boost for Hammond THE GOVERNMENT recorded its highest January surplus for 17 years – welcome news for the Chancellor as he prepares for his Spring Budget.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said public sector net borrowing excluding state-owned banks saw its surplus grow by £300 million to £9.4 billion last month, compared to January 2016.

However, it fell short of economists’ expectations, who had pencilled in a more generous figure of £14 billion.

The UK’s public finances record a surplus in January as the Government rakes in tax receipts from self-assessment, capital gains tax and corporation tax.

It came as Government borrowing, excluding banks, for the financial year to date - April to January - fell £13.6 billion to £49.3 billion, in contrast to the same 10 months in 2015.

The ONS said it was the lowest year-to-date borrowing amount since January 2008.

Chancellor Philip Hammond has ditched his predecessor’s target of balancing the books by

2020, vowing instead to put the public finances back in the black ‘as early as possible’ in the next Parliament as part of a new draft Charter for Budget Responsibility outlined in the Autumn Statement.

The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) - the Government’s fiscal referee said in November that it expects Mr Hammond to overshoot previous borrowing targets for this year, revising its outlook from £55.5 billion to £68.2 billion for 2016/17.

However, economic think tank EY ITEM Club said on Monday that it expects Mr Hammond to receive a Budget

boost, as the OBR unveils a brighter outlook on economic growth and the public finances.

Britain’s fiscal watchdog will trim back forecasts for net borrowing by £3 billion to £65 billion for 2016/2017, while changing predictions for the UK economy to 1.7 per cent from 1.4 per cent for this year, according to the organisation.

It said the OBR will amend its outlook after seeing a bigger haul from tax receipts and a stronger performance from UK gross domestic product (GDP) in the fourth quarter of 2016.

FLUSHED Chancellor Phillip Hammond

Asia to get a taste of Scotch craft ale Business rates claims A SCOTTISH brewery has signed a deal to distribute its beer in Asia.

Craft brewer Innis & Gunn will now sell its products in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan following an agreement with Dxcel International.

The deal will focus on Innis & Gunn’s flagship ale Original and Ossian golden ale, which will be distributed to a vast network of premium bars, restaurants, hotels and supermarket chains across the destinations.

The company have enlisted the services of Shanghai-based

hospitality consultant Alan Hepburn to help the expansion.

Dougal Gunn Sharp, founder and master brewer at Innis & Gunn, said: “Exports have always been very important to us since we started 13 years ago.

“We’ve seen our products do exceedingly well in Canada, the US and Sweden, and we thought it was about time we head into the largest beer market in the world.

“China excites us not only because of its size, but also its growing passion and thirst for great craft beer.”

GOING GLOBAL Innis & Gunn started 13 years ago

branded as ‘nonsense’

THE GOVERNMENT has dismissed as ‘nonsense’ reports that Cabinet ministers underestimated business rate rises by 5-7 per cent in a letter sent to Tory MPs. In the private email, Communities Secretary Sajid Javid and Treasury Chief Secretary David Gauke said there had been ‘a relentless campaign of distortions and half-truths’ about a business rate revaluation which will leave more than a quarter of companies facing higher bills.

They insisted that most firms will not see any rise in their bills and attached a list revealing many of the areas facing rate rises are in Tory heartlands.

Rates in Theresa May’s Maidenhead constituency will reportedly rise by an average 10 per cent, while Mr Hammond’s own Runnymede seat in Surrey will see increases of about 13 per cent.

A government spokesman said: “This is yet more scaremongering, when in reality the revaluation will mean businesses in 80 per cent of council areas will see an average fall in their business rates bills due to revaluation before inflation.”

Bank of England warns that forecasting models ‘are just not that good’ THE BANK OF ENGLAND is unlikely to be able to predict the next financial crisis, despite having learned from the 2008 financial crash, key staff have told MPs. Gertjan Vlieghe - a rate-setting member of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee - warned that there were ‘unrealistic expectations’ being placed on economics and forecasting models.

“I’m never confident of any forecast,” he told the Treasury Select Committee on Tuesday.

He explained that while the Bank will always review the cause of forecasting errors by exploring ‘all available data’ and looking at a variety of economic structures and learning from any mistakes, no projection can be perfect.

“It is always going to be the case, even after we do all that, that there are going to be large forecast errors, that we are not going to forecast the next financial crisis, nor are we going to forecast the next recession.

“Models are just not that good.”

The Bank’s chief economist Andy Haldane made headlines after comparing failures to predict the financial crisis of 2008 to an October 1987 weather forecast by BBC meteorologist Michael Fish, who wrongly denied claims a hurricane was going to hit Britain.

“The reason I mentioned actually that Michael Fish moment was because that story had a happy ending,” Mr Haldane told MPs on Tuesday.

“After the 1987 hurricane, meteorologists put a huge amount of effort into their models, into their data, and that effort has now borne fruit.”

SCEPTICAL Gertjan Vlieghe speaking to MPs

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NEWS

World News

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

Le Pen walks out of meeting after a veiled threat over wearing headscarf

COVER UP Le Pen refuses a veil from a Lebanese official

FRANCE’S far-right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has refused to go into a meeting with Lebanon’s grand mufti after his aides asked her to wear a headscarf.

Ms Le Pen, who is on a three-day visit to Lebanon and has met senior officials, was scheduled to meet Grand Sunni Muslim Mufti Sheikh Abdel-Latif Derian.

Shortly after she arrived at his office, one of his aides tried to give her a white headscarf to put on, but she refused it (pictured).

Ms Le Pen said she had previously met the grand mufti of Egypt’s Al-Azhar, one of the world’s leading Sunni clerics, without wearing a veil.

She met Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayeb in 2015 and photos of the meeting show her with the cleric without wearing a veil.

Once she was told that customs are different in Lebanon, Ms Le Pen walked towards her car and left.

The mufti’s office issued a statement saying Ms Le Pen was told in advance through one of her aides that she would have to put on a headscarf during the meeting.

It read: “This is the protocol. The mufti’s office regrets this inappropriate behaviour in such meetings.” Ms Le Pen said she had told the cleric’s office she was not planning to don a veil during the encounter.

SUTTON football manager Paul Doswell has warned any of his staff face following Wayne Shaw out of the club if they placed bets on the reserve goalkeeper eating a pie during their FA Cup fifth-round defeat to Arsenal. Shaw handed in his resignation yesterday as he prompted a betting probe after he was shown on television tucking into the snack towards the end of the 2-0 loss - before admitting after the game he was aware that a bookmaker was offering odds on him to do so.

Both the Football Association and Gambling Commission announced independent investigations into the stunt, which Doswell condemned as “taking the gloss” off his side’s performance against a strong Gunners line-up.

ZIMBABWE’S President Mugabe has pledged to stand in elections in 2018 despite calls for him to quit. The leader, who will be 94 at the time of the elections, has led the once prosperous country into economic turmoil amid numerous allegations of human rights abuses and election irregularities. He has ruled since 1980.

Speaking at his 93rd birthday celebrations on Tuesday, the president said he is still popular and nobody is qualified to replace him.

“The volume of wishes for the president to stand, the number of people who will be disappointed is galore and I don’t want to disappoint them,” he said.

Leader’s wife is deputy

gets top doping job ONE of Britain’s most senior policemen over the last 20 years, has been appointed as the new chairman of UK Anti-Doping (UKAD).

Trevor Pearce, retired from law enforcement in 2015. Previously he has served as Director General of the National Crime Squad as well as the head of the Serious Organised Crime Agency.

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Karen Bradley said: “I am sure that he will help further strengthen UKAD’s reputation as one of the leading anti-doping agencies in the world and play a major role in promoting the importance of clean sport.”

A GROUP of suicide bombers armed with grenades and assault rifles have attacked a courthouse in north-western Pakistan, killing six people.

The attack, claimed by a Taliban splinter group, was the latest in a wave of militant assaults across the country which have killed more than 100 people since last week.

The suicide bombings have been claimed by mutiple Islamic militant groups.

The verdict marked a victory for commanders who said Azaria had violated the army’s code of ethics, but Azaria generated great support among the public, many of whom see him as a scapegoat for a misguided elite punishing a soldier they say responded to an armed attacker trying to kill other soldiers.

Military service is compulsory for Israel’s Jewish majority, and there is widespread sympathy for soldiers, since virtually every family has a member who is serving or has served.

The 20-year-old entered the court smiling and was greeted by applause from friends and relatives.

CHEERED Elor Azaria was applauded in the court

Pie eating goalie in FA investigation Retired police chief MATCH FUEL Sub keeper Wayne Shaw

Mugabe, 93, confirms he’ll run for office in 2018

AZERBAIJAN’S leader has appointed his wife as the first vice president of the exSoviet nation - the person next in line in the nation’s power hierarchy.

Ilham Aliyev, 55, named Mehriban Aliyeva, 52, to the position created after a constitutional referendum in September.

The vice president takes over the country’s leadership if the president is unable to perform their duties, according to the new constitution.

Mr Aliyev’s critics say the September referendum, which also extended the presidential term from five to seven years, effectively cemented a dynastic rule.

In 2003, he succeeded his father, who ruled Azerbaijan first as the Communist Party boss and then as a post-Soviet president for nearly three decades.

He has firmly allied the energy-rich Shiite Muslim nation with the West, helping secure his country’s energy and security interests and offset Russia’s influence in the strategic Caspian Sea region.

His government has long faced criticism in the West for alleged human rights abuses and suppression of dissent.

Sentence for Israeli soldier divides nation AN ISRAELI military court yesterday sentenced a soldier to 18 months in prison for his fatal shooting of a Palestinian attacker who lay wounded on the ground.

After an 11-month saga that has deeply divided the country, the sentence against Sergeant Elor Azaria, which included a year’s probation and a demotion in rank, was lighter than expected. Prosecutors had asked for three to five years.

It still triggered disappointment among protesters who had gathered outside the Tel Aviv court and had hoped to see the soldier walk free. Politicians immediately called for Azaria to be pardoned.

He was convicted of manslaughter last month in a rare case of a military court ruling against a combat soldier for lethal action taken in the field.

NEWS IN BRIEF

Courthouse bombing

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Letters

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

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

Calverley

Time to shake up the genteel denizens I was rather disappointed to learn [February 8] that the new mural at Tunbridge Wells railway station will depict a timeline of the town.

It makes sense because the picture is so long, as the artist Chris Burke points out, and of course it will suit the genteel denizens of the royal spa town to see their history writ large when they get off the train.

But I wonder if we’re not missing a trick – to do something a bit more avant garde? After all, if they just left the wall blank, the graffiti artists who resorted to spraying Wellington Rocks recently would soon fill up such a space.

In fact, I think graffiti can be rather an exciting modern art form if it is creative. When you are just spraying a wall with your signature in five seconds before legging it to avoid getting caught, of course it’s just a sad case of self-absorption.

But somewhere in between history frozen in aspic and the daubs of morons lies an artistic canvas for creative people – just look at Banksy.

In the 80s, there were bestselling books full of the witticisms that had been scrawled on the nation’s brickwork, and now there’s some serious and impressive street art knocking around.

Did Dave and co drop the ball?

Before he and George Osborne went off to make a packet from speaking engagements, David Cameron told us in 2015, ‘the NHS is safe in my hands’. Well, he and this government seem to have dropped the ball there.

Apart from the Health Service debacle, the Tories have also hit us with crises in: Social care, prisons, housing, the cost of renting, property prices, homelessness, child poverty, food banks, school funding, corporate tax dodging, Southern trains, immigration, Brexit, the fall in sterling, the increase in the national debt, and more.

I wonder if [MPs] Greg Clark, Michael Fallon [Sevenoaks] or Tom Tugendhat can offer some sort of explanation for their party’s appalling performance?

Paul Stepto Tonbridge

Wearisome inevitability of tax rises Your detailed piece [February 8 on the Kent County Council budget] raises some points of interest: Expenditure on roads is to fall; one could infer from this that they are in fine fettle when, in fact, the reverse is the case; more, not less money, is needed. Since much of the road traffic coming from Europe passes through the county, there must be special pleading for more funds from central government.

It’s encouraging to see that the cost of Management Support & Overheads is to fall; let

Observations on life and more important things

OUR chap in the chain is a very ‘punny’ man.

How do we know? Because he’s been in office for nearly a year. We’re talking here of Mayor ‘call me Dave’ Neve. He’s a breath of fresh air with his non-stop patter and puns. He did warn us when he took office that he would be making puns at every opportunity, and he’s certainly kept his word. Which is fine unless you’re addressing a group of visiting German students staying with local families to better understand our weird ways. When they popped into the Town Hall, ‘Dave’ reminded them they had visited a local primary school and made a pun about having had to ‘book’ the event. Get it? You are not alone. Bring on Brexit.

ART ATTACK: Brighton street graffiti by an unknown artist The project to create a new mural on Platform 2 might have been a chance for the town to shake off its ultra conservative image. But perhaps the

us hope this trend continues – head office cost-cutting is first on the agenda in private enterprises; this is too little too late.

It is extraordinary that the police get the same amount from my council tax as Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, and that they have succeeded in increasing their precept.

Like the roads, if the county’s police force spends a higher proportion of its activities and budget on national issues, given the county’s adjacency to Europe, then increased funds from Whitehall should follow.

As for an increase of 80 pairs of boots on the ground, we’ll hardly notice any difference. We see none in this town.

The use of reserves is described as ‘a one-off and cannot be repeated’; I thought that was what reserves are for – they are in this household.

Finally, and there is a wearisome inevitability in this, council taxes will rise.

Why is it that the council’s bottom line lies always in my pocket? Living on a fixed income, what recourse do I have? My reserves I suppose, again.

Ralph Steerpike Tunbridge Wells

Will The Queen ever visit us?

Congratulations to Her Majesty for reaching the sapphire anniversary of her succession to the throne. Will she now pay her first visit to Royal Tunbridge Wells as monarch? After all, we are another jewel in her crown. I’m sure a tour of her

writing is on the wall for artistic innovation.

Andrew Taylor Via email

great-great grandmother Victoria’s favourite spots as a princess would be most interesting. Let’s all write to the Lord-Lieutenant of Kent to request it.

Sarah Barnes Via emai

Threat of Brexit sweetheart deals The problem with Tunbridge Wells’ Tory MP Greg Clark’s switch on Brexit is shown by the fact that he has already promised a special deal for Nissan car workers in Sunderland, even though that city voted overwhelmingly to leave the EU. People still need their jobs and salaries, and we still do not know the full details of the Sunderland pledge to Nissan.

So it also goes in my own sector of agriculture, where many Kent farmers voted to leave. Yet they will still want the same level of payments maintained after Brexit, and minimal tariff barriers, even though imports may increase and threaten their livelihoods.

We know already there will be an enormous bill ahead to leave the EU, which will take the UK taxpayers years [to pay off].

And if every sector of the economy gets its own sweetheart scheme from Greg Clark and his fellow Conservative ministers, there will certainly be no spare cash left for our local crisis-hit hospitals, as the Leavers falsely promised on the side of a bus.

Alan Bullion 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

TO this nightclub at the heart of funland in Tunbridge Wells. It’s called Moo Moo, and it’s absolutely fascinating the sight of gentlemen of a certain age doing the ‘daddy dance’ with their ‘daughters’. Anyway, who did Himself spot on the floor? A high-flying local legal eagle. Good for him.

STANDING in a queue at the reception of the fabulous Spa Hotel, Himself overhears the following conversation between a couple and the person behind the desk. Couple: “Hello, we’re here for the wake.” Receptionist: “No problem, if you just go down that way you’ll find everyone.” Couple: “Thank you very much.” Receptionist: “You’re welcome – enjoy!” The other receptionist neatly fainted.

CALVERLEY has some amusing friends, as you would expect. Two of them went along to a family wedding at a local church. They were late, took a pew and sat through the entire ceremony before realising they knew absolutely nobody. Eventually it dawned on them, they were in the wrong church. By the time they raced down the road everyone was at the reception.

ANOTHER friend believes he is a dab hand at DIY. He is not. Example. His wife asked him to fix the leg of a small coffee table. He poured superglue into one of the wooden joints, hammered home the leg and left it to dry.

Problem is, the glue trickled down the leg on to the new timber flooring in the lounge. Come on, where else would you repair a table? When his wife came home and tried to move the table she found it was glued firmly to the floor. Oops.

Chin, chin readers

Local News

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

Are we heading for trouble when we let our children play football today?

By Andrew Tong AFTER the concerns about protecting the head in children’s cricket and rugby, there is a growing debate about young footballers heading the ball.

The player’s union has called on the Football Association to consider a ban on heading the ball in matches for children aged under 10.

The move comes after heading was banned in matches and training for players aged 10 and under in the United States last year, when US Soccer was forced to settle a lawsuit.

There had previously been a furore over the issues of concussion and the early onset of dementia in American footballers which has led to the NFL paying out billions of dollars in compensation.

And now concerns have spread to football, after an inquest into the death of former England player Jeff Astle in 2002 found that repeatedly heading a football contributed to brain trauma.

In cricket it is mandatory for all children under the age of 18 to wear

a helmet while batting or keeping wicket ‘standing up’ to the stumps.

And in rugby there are no contested scrums before Under-11 level and no pushing is allowed in the pack until the Under-13 age group.

Local football coaches, however, insist that there is no cause for concern. Chris Allen, Head of Football at Langton Green Community Sports Association, has two teenage sons and has coached hundreds of children.

He said: “I wasn’t really aware of the issue, to be honest.

My dad was a centre-back in the era when you made sure you didn’t head the old ball on the laces. There have been generations of players since

then and no indication of brain damage.

“If this was a serious problem, given how many children play at that age, you would be seeing thousands of examples. Hundreds of millions of kids are our test case here.”

Mr Allen, 53, stresses that you have to use the right footballs and think about the speed of impact on the head.

Children between the age groups of Under-10 and Under-14 use a size four ball instead of a size five, which an adult can pick up in one hand,

‘Clear guidelines should be issued on how heading should be taught’ and below that age the ball is even smaller, a size three.

And he stresses: “You have to bear in mind that at the age of 10 the ball is not coming at you at the kind of speed that it is when Cristiano Ronaldo is taking a free-kick.”

Mr Allen organises the Langton Green Football Fiesta in early June, which sees between 1,500 and 2,000 children playing five or six-a-side over the course of a single weekend.

YOUTH LEADER Chris Allen of Langton Green

“Heading the ball is one of the core skills and I would encourage it,” he adds. “If I was to compromise, I would say there should be no heading of drop-kicks, like when the goalkeeper is kicking it upfield.

“It’s a matter of height and distance. That would stop kids heading a ‘heavy’ ball, and also make them think about the way they play.

“It would make their play more creative rather than doing what their coaches say and just booting it up the field – what I call ‘mortar attack’ football.

Mr Allen is keen that players should learn the core skills at a formative age, and heading the ball is one of those essential abilities.

“We are taught on FA courses that when children are aged nine to 11, they are laying down the cables internally about core skills.

“It’s very important that they learn them at that age, and it needs to be done early or those skills won’t be learned at all.

“If you head a ball properly then there’s no problem. If you do it wrong then it may hurt and you won’t do it again.

He adds: “The biggest danger to kids’ heads is what their parents say to them.”

John Gibbons, board member at Tonbridge Angels with responsibility for children’s football, agrees that such important skills have to be learnt when young.

“It’s a knee-jerk reaction,” he said.

“To be honest, unless heading is removed from the game altogether, it won’t work. A young player will have

NEWS

19

SAFETY FIRST Heading is banned in junior football in the US

to learn how to do it later in his career.

“My preference would be to have more control over coaching standards. There are right and wrong ways to head a ball, and if you do it wrong it will hurt anyone, not just children.

“If a lad comes home saying ‘my head hurts’, you need to look at the coaching environment.

“Clear guidelines should be issued on how heading should be taught. I like to think that way the risks are marginalised.

“And anyway, other methods should be considered first, such as what the balls are made of.”

The 2017 Langton Green Football Fiesta will be held on June 3-4 at Langton Green Recreation Ground. It is open to age groups from Under-7 to Under-15. For more information, visit www.langtongreencsa.org.uk

20

NEWS

Weekly Comment

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

Martin Betts Labour Party local campaign co-ordinator

Labour Party member Martin Betts lives in Southborough and has long been active in local politics. He recently retired after a long career in the Civil Service, where his last job at the Department for Work and Pensions was in communications. He qualified at Leicester University in human resources and training and development. The Times also publishes regular opinions from Conservative and Liberal Democrat Party members

The closure of the Jobcentre is merely the tip of an iceberg THIS newspaper recently reported the impending closure of Tunbridge Wells’ Jobcentre. Labour opposes this as yet another example of the erosion of public services across the borough.

The Jobcentre provides an important service. It is the place where unemployed people look for temporary financial help and for friendly support to help them get back to work.

Closing the Tunbridge Wells office will make it difficult for all claimants to get to their appointments. They will have to make longer journeys and spend more on petrol, car parking fees and bus and train fares.

Vulnerable people, and those living in outlying rural areas, who often rely on infrequent or non-existent public transport, will face even greater difficulties in finding work.

If people are minutes late for their appointments, they can be ‘sanctioned’ and lose part of their benefit.

The BAFTA award-winning film I, Daniel Blake shows this only too well.

The closure of the Jobcentre is not just a one-off. It is another consequence of

the austerity measures that have been an obsession of this government. All around us we are seeing the results.

The West Kent Commissioning Group is trying to save £3.2million by delaying non-urgent operations. Both the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Hospital and local ambulance Trusts are in special measures.

‘Across the county services are being savagely cut because of reduced funding’ The Coroner’s Court has moved to Gravesend, the County and Family Court to Maidstone, and the Magistrates’ Court to Sevenoaks. Kent Police have lost 500 officers and 700 staff since 2010.

Across the county services are being savagely cut and contracted out because of reduced government funding to local authorities.

Many local post offices have been shut and we are losing bus services.

Road maintenance is appalling. There is an epidemic of large and dangerous potholes. We are warned that traffic congestion and the air pollution it causes around our main roads will be dangerous to our health and contribute to the future incidence of dementia School budgets across Tunbridge Wells are being reduced by around £4million.

The National Union of Teachers warns of the loss of 100 teachers and says that Skinners’ Kent Academy alone is expected to lose £635,000 in their 2019-20 budget. School transport for children with Special Educational Needs and library services are being cut.

The county can’t cope with the spiralling cost of looking after older people.

Home care agencies and residential and nursing homes are closing.

The government’s theory is that squeezing more and more so-called ‘efficiencies’ out of the system and paying less will somehow produce more.

Our experience tells us that what you actually get for less money is less. There are real consequences to cutting public services to the bone, and there are more

council tax rises, staff cuts, increased charges and cuts in grants to local charities to come.

The Conservatives have been in charge for years and are responsible for this destruction. Austerity has failed.

Labour argues enough is enough. We need adequate and proper investment in our public services now, before they are slashed beyond repair.

JUST THE JOB Tunbridge Wells centre is needed

WITH THE

OF TUNBRIDGE WELLS AND TONBRIDGE

EDUCATION All you need to know when it comes to selecting the right school for your children In association with

Educational excellence

Extra curricular activity

Dates for your diary

The area’s best preparatory and senior schools

Why hobbies are essential in giving a child an all-round education

Forthcoming open days for independent, grammar and non-selective schools

from page 23

page 64

page 65

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FEATURES

Education Special

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Wednesday February 22 | 2017

Celebrating a very special relationship STUDENTS from Wiesbaden Germany – Tunbridge Wells’ twin town – were invited to a special reception at the Town Hall earlier in the month by Mayor David Neve.

The visit marked the end of the students’ twoweek stay in Tunbridge Wells as part of the two towns’ annual exchange trip.

eventually led to a formal Twinning Charter being agreed in 1989.

The group of young Germans, aged 15 to 17, were all pupils from the Wiesbaden Grammar School [Gymnasium am Mosbacherberg], who were participating in the annual exchange programme and undertook work placements at local businesses such as Larry Tech, Rainbow Nurseries and also ‘This fantastic collaboration has some schools, which included St John’s and St been running for 16 years now, and James’ primaries.

“I think most parts were really similar to our long may it continue’ schools,” commented Lilly Heart, one of the exchange students, after completing her placeThe Mayor said: “May I thank the host families ment at St Margaret Clitherow. She added that she and employers for making this opportunity possi- found the experience beneficial: “I would defible. This fantastic collaboration has been running nitely like the idea of teaching over here one day for 16 years now, and long may it continue.

– everyone has been really friendly.”

“I would also like to take this opportunity to Laura Brauer, one of the teachers from Wiesbaden thank those in the Twinning Association who pro- Grammar School who accompanied the students vide much valuable work behind the scenes.” on the trip, said the experience had been One of those was Councillor Julian Stanyer, ‘incredible, from start to finish’ and who is Chairman of the Tunbridge Wells insisted that the programme ensures Twinning & Friendship Association, who the friendship between the two towns was also present at the reception. is still ‘very much alive’.

He explained that the concept of In her thank you speech, which she twinning towns came as a result of gave at the Town Hall reception on the Second World War. It was the February 10, Ms Brauer said that the European mind-set that emerged young people who participated in the during the post-war years, with nations trip stand as a ‘hopeful sign that the who once were enemies ‘taking a step bond between Tunbridge Wells and Wiestowards one another, to baden will carry on for years to come’. reconciliation and understanding Organised as an opportunity for one another’, and ultimately the the German students to learn more wish for a united Europe. about the people in their twin It is some 55 years since the town, as well as their culture, cusWiesbaden Grammar’s two towns’ initial friendship toms and everyday lives, much Laura Brauer declaration was made, which emphasis was placed upon a

STEPS TO SUCCESS Mayor Neve with the Wiesbaden exchange students

determination to strengthen the links between the towns, despite the turbulence following Brexit.

Ms Brauer added that her students had been ‘quite impressed’ by the houses in Tunbridge Wells. “The architecture is charming and different.

The little chimneys on the top are really quite sweet.”

She also admitted that some initially had reservations about staying with families they didn’t know, but they had been given the opportunity to have some contact with their hosts before

the visit via the internet, courtesy of Skype.

Living costs were noted to be slightly higher in Tunbridge Wells, and most of the students enjoyed the food offered to them – especially the Indian cuisine they tasted on a visit to Mowgli’s.

“We have Indian restaurants in Germany, but they are not the same quality, they are much better in Tunbridge Wells,” Ms Brauer stated.

Preparations for next year’s visit will commence in March and teachers are hopeful they will exceed 20 student placements within the area.

In association with

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

Education Special

FEATURES

23

Get the best possible start to your children’s education

The Times understands the importance of finding the best learning environment for your child, and academia is just one element, so in this special supplement we round up some of the area’s best prep and senior schools for all-round excellence. Read on to make your choice…

School name:

The Mead School

Year founded:

1987

Number of pupils: 239 Number of staff:

43 + 12 Peripatetic Staff

Age at intake:

3

School type:

Independent Preparatory,

Message from the Head I take great pride in the happiness of our pupils and the positive atmosphere which is evident as soon as you enter the school. Our aim is for every child to meet their full potential. We strive for high academic standards, but also place great importance on participation, enjoyment and achievement with stimulating and challenging opportunities in all areas, particularly the creative arts and sport. Our pupils are happy, valued and excited to learn.

Ethos: “Train a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not turn from it.”

Proverb 22.6 “We encourage all our pupils to feel success.”

ages 3-13 Message from the Head Located in the heart of Tunbridge Wells, The Mead operates as a large family living and working under one roof. Our golden rule is ‘Treat others as

you would like them to treat you’ with a focus on developing the whole child. Academic standards are high, with a large percentage moving on to grammar schools. Music, drama and sport provision is exceptional, we fly the green flag and have over 30 extracurricular clubs. Fully catered wrap-around care is available between 7.40am and 6pm. We aim for every child to look back on their Mead years and say:

‘My time at The Mead set me up!’

Angela Culley – Head Teacher Address: 16 Frant Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 5SN Tel: 01892 525837 Web: www.themeadschool.co.uk Email: office@themeadschool.co.uk

John Withers – Head Teacher Address: 62 Dry Hill Park Road, Tonbridge TN10 3BX Tel: 01732 352706 Web: www.hildengrange.co.uk Email: office@hildengrange.co.uk

School name:

Hilden Grange

Year founded:

1929

Number of pupils: 310 Number of staff:

70

Age at intake:

3

School type:

Independent Preparatory, ages 3-13

Ethos: “Our aim is to provide a stimulating, friendly and secure environment in which each child’s potential may be realised in the academic, creative, physical and spiritual areas.”

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FEATURES

Education Special

School name: Fosse Bank Year founded: 1892 Number of pupils: 100 Number of staff: 34 Age at intake: 2 School type: Independent day school for boys & girls aged 2-11 years Ethos: “This is a school where traditional values of respect, consideration, politeness and kindness for all children and adults are shown. Expectations of work and behaviour are high and children challenge themselves knowing they will be supported by their peers.”

In association with

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

Message from the Head Every child at Fosse Bank is treated as an individual with talents and needs particular to that child.

Children prepared for senior school examinations achieve excellent results, while a broad curriculum is delivered by both class and specialist teachers.

This includes weekly swimming lessons (on site for three to nine year olds) French, Latin, recorder and violin lessons, and Forest School for all. Small classes and a focus on children’s wellbeing result in happy, confident children who love to learn.

Close proximity to Hildenborough railway station is a bonus for many parents. New pupils are welcomed and quickly become part of the school.

There is clear communication between children and between parents and teachers – everyone has other people to talk to if they need help or reassurance. We encourage each other and celebrate each other’s achievements.

Head Teacher – Alison Cordingly Address: Mountains Country House, Noble Tree Road, Hildenborough, TN11 8ND Tel: 01732 834212 Web: www.fossebankschool.co.uk Email: admissions@fossebankschool.co.uk

Message from the Head The Prep is a family school that values every member of its community. The school achieves tremendous academic success but also encourages its pupils to participate in all areas of school life, to tread the boards, play for sports teams, perform in music concerts and participate in after-school clubs. It remains a school that

allows teachers to teach and encourages children to enjoy their childhood.

Head Teacher – Luke Harrison Address: Sevenoaks Preparatory School, Godden Green, Sevenoaks. Kent Tn15 0JU Tel: 01732 762 336 Web: www.theprep.org.uk Email: development@theprep.org.uk

School name: Sevenoaks Preparatory Year founded: 1919 Number of pupils: 380 Number of staff: 75 Age at intake: 2 School type: Independent day school

Ethos: “Education here is for life. Our children leave us confident and wellmannered, with essential life skills such as the ability to interact with people and work as part of a team – attributes often noted by our destination schools.”

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

In association with

School name: Claremont Nursery & Preparatory Year founded: 1925 Number of pupils: 380 Number of staff: 90

Education Special

FEATURES

25

School name: Sackville

Ethos: “At Sackville

Year founded: 1987

we teach pupils as

Number of pupils: 150

individuals yet

Number of staff: 32

educate them as

Age at intake: 11, 13 and 16 years

part of a family.”

School type: Co-educational Day Senior School

Age at intake: 12 months School type: Independent Day

Message from the Head We offer an inspiring environment for the education of boys and girls in the belief that within every one of them is talent and potential waiting to be discovered. Our 2016 GCSE and A level results once again placed us as one of the top mixed ability schools in Kent. This is achieved through our smaller class sizes and individualised teaching methods which ensure students get the support

and Boarding Prep Ethos: “It is our aim for every child to develop a positive and proactive attitude towards learning which will support them throughout their lives.”

Message from the Head Nestling in 100 acres of stunning East Sussex countryside, Claremont Nursery and Preparatory School offers a warm and nurturing environment for children aged 12 months to 13 years. At Claremont, there is a genuine focus on nurturing the talents of individual pupils and the school has a warm, family atmosphere. At the heart of the curriculum is a challenging programme of academic subjects taught by subject specialists, but Claremont also celebrates its pupils’ successes throughout the broad curriculum, with genuine excellence cultivated in music, drama, art and sport. We focus on promoting outstanding teaching and learning throughout the school, as

well as ensuring that the most able pupils are stretched and challenged. Claremont is such a wonderful environment in which to learn and we are so pleased that that our pupils make such rapid and sustained progress. With our tremendously positive Ofsted report, it is a very exciting time to be a pupil at Claremont School.

Abra Stoakley – Head Teacher, Nursery and Preparatory school Address: Claremont School, Ebdens Hill, Baldslow St. Leonards-on-Sea, East Sussex. TN37 7PW Tel: 01424 751555 Web: www.claremontschool.co.uk Email: enquiries@claremontschool.co.uk

and stretch they need to succeed. But what truly defines our school is how we celebrate the individual in the wider sense and our aim is to nurture happy, well-rounded and successful.

Justin Foster-Gandey – Head Teacher Address: Tonbridge Road, Hildenborough, Kent TN11 9HN Tel: 01732 838888 Web: www.sackvilleschool.co.uk Email: office@sackvilleschool.com

26

FEATURES

In association with

Education Special

School name:

Bede’s Senior

Year founded:

1978

Number of pupils:

750

Number of staff:

100

Age at intake:

13 and 16 years

School type:

Co-educational

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

Ethos: “A belief in putting pupils and their passions first.

We pride ourselves on discovering and developing the talents of each and every one.”

Day and Boarding School Message from the Head At Bede’s, we foster a community of discovery which encourages every individual to find and develop their passions, seek new horizons, develop lasting friendships and achieve their potential. From Oxbridge hopeful to aspiring dancer, every child is unique and at Bede’s they are encouraged to be so.

We are also, significantly, firm believers that if children are happy during their time in school then their happiness will inform their successes – so

much so that every teacher and pupil at Bede’s is united by the idea that if we support one another and work hard then we can all exceed every expectation.

Peter Goodyer – Head Teacher Address: Upper Dicker, East Sussex, BN27 3QH Tel: 01323 843252 Web: www.bedes.org Email: admissions@bedes.org

Message from the Head In most schools the spring term is a time when pupils in Years 9 and 11 give serious consideration to option choices for the following academic year.

Pupils in Year 9 will, for the first time, be able to select courses of study in addition to compulsory courses in English, mathematics and science.

At Beechwood ‘choice’ is a key word as we offer 22 subjects at GCSE and 24 at A-Level. This

breadth of subject choice enables pupils to study subjects they really want to explore and develop at school and into Higher Education.

Aaron Lennon – Head Teacher Address: Pembury Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, TN2 3QD Tel: 01892 532747 Web: www.beechwood.org.uk Email: registrar@beechwood.org.uk

School name: Beechwood Sacred Heart Year founded: 1915 Number of pupils: 380 Number of staff: 70 Age at intake: 3 - 18 years School type: Independent day and boarding school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18

Ethos: “Big enough to challenge, small enough to care.

We want all who study here to discover their strengths and make the most of their talents within a nurturing and supportive community.”

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

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28

FEATURES

Advertorial Feature

It is a positive start to an exciting year ahead Lawson Commercial partner, Chris Lawson, reports a tremendous start to the New Year in the commercial property market with lots of new enquiries from a variety of businesses. Here, he gives a peek at just some of the opportunities in the area.

THERE has been a lot of speculation about the future recently with all the political turmoil going on in the World. But there’s no need to fret as business in this area still seems to be very successful and the demand for all types of commercial property remains strong. The demand is especially high for shops and industrial space, of which there seems to be a bit of a shortage. In light of this optimism, Lawson Commercial would welcome new instructions on properties to offer as they have many waiting applicants.

SEMI SERVICED OFFICES AVAILABLE IN CROWBOROUGH Lawson Commercial have just been instructed to market part of the 1st floor of Suite 2 Warren Court in Park Road, Crowborough. This is a delightful, airy, 3-room suite of just over 900 sq ft in very good decorative order and available upon competitive terms. Chris Lawson of Lawson Commercial said: ‘A good modern suite of offices with fine views such as this should find a ready market. There is a lift from the ground floor, good car parking and, being right in the heart of Crowborough, is only a few minutes walk from the town centre.

It would be ideal for a small business or start up.

For more information contact Lawson Commercial on 01825 764488.

PREMISES IDEAL AS ESTATE AGENTS IN 1ST CLASS POSITION IN CROWBOROUGH Lawson Commercial now have available in Crowborough town centre premises in a 1st class position which have formerly been used as an estate agents and have excellent window display as well as office use. It is an attractive 2-storey building with an overall area of 695 sq ft and with the benefit of car parking at the rear would be ideal for those busy negotiators. The premises are available on a new lease at a rent of £13,500 pa.

For more details and to view call Lawson Commercial on 01825 764488.

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

30

PROPERTY

Advertorial Feature

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

Add a touch of eco-friendly class to your garden by boxing clever In their latest column, our friends at Round Wood give us the lowdown on a recent local project called ‘Box Clever’. Allister Dempster, of Sandstone Design, recently used their Clayfibre Chelsea Box garden planters to great effect in a local garden commission

SQUARE DEAL Clayfibre faux lead planters

WELL-RESPECTED landscape gardener Allister Dempster, who is based in Crowborough, has been a valued customer of Round Wood for several years.

Whilst he most frequently installs our hardwood decking products, he keeps appraised of our full range, so got in touch when he needed statement planters to frame a set of steps he had created for a client.

He plumped for Clayfibre Chelsea boxes as their stylish and authentic lead appearance best complemented the sandstone property.

The classic cubes provide an attractive symmetry in this space and are staggered, which creates a softer and more natural look than a balustrade would provide.

Clayfibre faux lead planters are not only attractive but also eco-friendly.

Planters are made from recycled materials and the manufacturing process requires only ten per cent of the energy used for ceramic and plastic equivalents.

They are also lightweight and will weather beautifully, emitting salts to develop an attractive, misty, faux-lead patina.

The Clayfibre range is available in several designs in boxes, troughs and cylinders. www.roundwood.com

Advertorial Feature

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

PROPERTY

31

SIMPLY RED Adding a splash of colour to the shower

Doing the bathroom blitz OLD AND NEW A mix of styles

A couple asked the Bathroom Cellar to fit out a specially-built extension…

WHEN Kathy and Steve approached us to create their dream bathroom back in the spring of 2016, we had an absolutely blank canvas.

This was to be a purpose-built extension on the side of their lovely country property, something we do not come across very often.

Modern? Contemporary?

Traditional? These are some of the first questions we ask a client.

Kathy was keen to bring in a mix – something which can sometimes look a little odd.

However, she certainly had a very good idea of how she wanted her dream bathroom to look, and the result is stunning.

The centrepiece is most certainly the freestanding Lacrima bath from Clearwater. It sets the stage right in front of a double window looking out over the Kent countryside.

The beautiful walk-in shower is set apart from everything else using bespoke, two-metre high, glasspainted wall panels, with just one piece of glass in Lipstick Red. This is situated on a 25mm linear shower tray that has been sunk into the floor to enable a total flush to the floor edge.

To add a touch of traditional design to the bathroom, we have used all Burlington brassware, including the freestanding bath shower mixer, basin mixer and shower.

This dream spec is as much of a spa as it is a bathroom, with a sauna installed in the corner to maximise relaxation.

The budget for the supply of Kathy and Steve’s bathroom was £14,000, including the bathroom suite and sauna. www.bathroomcellar.co.ukw

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PROPERTY

Advertorial Feature

Keep the shivers at bay with a fire to warm even the chilliest rooms BEFORE… A shell of a fireplace

AFTER… Totally transformed

These chill winter months are the perfect time to think about adding warmth and character to your living areas with a woodburning stove or flameeffect gas fire HERE AT Kent Heating Solutions, we aim to bring your dusty, drafty old fireplace back to life.

Whether you are looking to increase your fireplace’s aesthetic appeal, its performance and functionality, or simple fancy a change, we can provide the warmth you need to feel truly at home.

We cover a wide range of fireplaces, and can offer a variety of services, from wood-burning stove installations to bespoke gas fires.

If you don’t want a completely new fireplace, we can even alter your existing one.

The property pictured, situated in Dormansland near Edenbridge, had a false block chimney built, enabling us to lay polished black granite hearths and chamber panels. A bespoke gas fire basket and burner was designed and installed to fit the specified opening sizes.

The house needed a grand piece of stone to make this fireplace complete, with the handmade limestone surround giving it the finishing touch.

This project took our team one week to complete, and provided the home owners with a stylish new fireplace and restored warmth to their home.

Wood-burning stove installation can take as little as a day. The chimney will, in most cases, require a flue lining to create the most efficient and safe environment when using a stove – all you need is some good wood and a firelighter! www.kentheatingsolutions.co.uk

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

Advertorial Feature

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

BEFORE… The garage dominated the garden

PROPERTY

33

AFTER… A stylish summerhouse

Outdoor living VISITING this modest semi-detached on a family friendly estate for the first time, the Mary Mary team were struck by two things: How dominating a garage in the garden can be, and how demanding two imaginative little boys are!

This particular family had decided against an extension. The garage took up almost a third of their garden, yet wasn’t big enough to accommodate the family car. Their boisterous boys needed a safe space to expend energy and the parents somewhere to relax and socialise.

However, gardens in small spaces are the most difficult to design. No corner can be wasted. As a result of this, the garage had to go.

Reconfiguring the fence and gate instantly enlarged the garden and provided space for a

shed and raised vegetable beds, designed to double as extra seating.

Cleaning and repointing spruced up the patio, and an elegant covered pergola was constructed over it to provide an all-weather area to relax during the evening. A stylish summerhouse was built upon a graceful curved deck, incorporating a large dining area. Benches for extra seating were added to double as storage for the boys’ toys.

The arched apertures of the pergola frame the sensory garden surrounding the summerhouse’s veranda, with the colourful foliage and flowers filling the air with scent.

The planting is divided with a curved brick path

designed wide enough for the boys to ride trikes and bikes along. An all-weather play area has been softened by planting designed to withstand wheels, small feet and inquisitive fingers – with a simple ramp enabling the children to ‘access all areas’ and clatter around in safety.

Many of us are lucky enough to have a garden, however that extra space is often left overlooked and under-used. Your garden has the potential to be an extra room – whatever you want it to be, and whatever the Great British weather decides to do.

Why don’t you ask yourself: ‘What do I want from my garden?’ Make your garden part of your home. Mary Mary can help. www.marymarycreatesgardens.co.uk

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Architectural Advice

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

DESIGN WITH THE TIMES

John Bullock

Architectural services

Having studied at Edinburgh College of Art and The Royal Academy of The Hague, John Bullock launched John Bullock Design in 2003. With offices in Tunbridge Wells High Street, John has won awards for his work and is committed to delivering the best outcomes for clients. www.johnbullockdesign.com

Creating a dream home office in the garden, amid the trees

The Wright family would like a separate building in their country garden to use as an office and a guest suite.

Here, John comes up with the idea of a light, bright, modern design for a building in their own wooded area YOUR QUESTION: Dear Design with the Times, We have recently bought a house in the country just outside Tunbridge Wells.

It really is a beautiful place, set in large gardens of around one and a half acres and with no near neighbours – we were in a built-up area before.

Although the house isn’t listed, it’s about 200 years old with lots of low, beamed ceilings and has a great character. The garden is a real feature, and has a small wooded area, a pond and a formal planted cottage garden. There is a double garage but no other outbuildings.

The size of the house is perfect for our family, but we would like to have something separate in the garden that could be used as a home office, and maybe a guest room for visiting friends.

We both work in London, and part of our rationale for moving to the country was so we could spend at least two days a week working from home. Unfortunately, we have found working in the house with three teenage children difficult, so it’s crucial that the office area is separated from the house as it would be better for some peace and quiet to concentrate on work.

We would be quite open to a design that is different to the house. We had a modern house in Barnes and liked the openness of it – maybe something modern with high ceilings and plenty of glass so we could feel like we were actually working in the garden.

We have a budget of £65,000. Do you think this would be enough for something really beautiful, and what kind of design do you think would work?

Also, would we need any planning permission?

Gemma and John Wright

OUR ANSWER: Dear Gemma and John Thank you for contacting us, your home sounds really wonderful and to create a haven of peace and tranquility in your garden as a working space could be a really exciting project.

Your budget of £65,000 is a good one, and by keeping an eye on the budget during the design

process, and being clever with material choices and design solutions, this should be plenty to build something really quite special.

Within the budget you will also need to consider VAT, design fees and also any local authority fees for planning permissions.

Finding the right location for the building will be crucial, and it is worth spending some time walking the grounds, considering the light and aspect, before making a final decision.

Building in the wooded area could be very interesting, and we have put together a design based on this as a location.

Creating a flexible space that would blend in It would be great to create a flexible space which could be zoned for working, and also with a bed area, maybe a sofabed which could be folded away when not in use and used as a relaxation or break-out area from the office desk.

In addition, it would be good to consider creating a small cloakroom with a shower for guests, and possibly a small kitchenette for tea preparation which would save going back and forth between the office and house when you are working.

Connecting to the drainage shouldn’t be an issue, but again it would be worth considering this when finalising the location.

For ease of construction and cost, we would suggest a timber-framed construction, which would be more straightforward and lightweight to construct, and this could be clad in timber, which

would ultimately blend into the wooded area.

We have used many timber-cladding options in the past, including oak, cedar and more recently larch. Larch is very good, sustainable, stable and cost-effective option.

Run this vertically to respond to the verticality of the surrounding trees, and within time it will fade and blend beautifully.

It might also be fun to play with a concept of ‘shed architecture’ and create a simple zig-zag pitched roof which could be made from corrugated galvanised sheet steel.

This would complement the larch cladding, and with time will weather down to a soft watering can grey colour. Gutters and downpipes could also be in galvanised steel to match.

Large panels of glass would bring in light and views whilst making a visual connection with nature. A full-length window on the side elevation, under the tail of the projecting zig-zag roof, would offer a great vertical view of the adjoining trees, almost with a feeling of being in a treehouse.

It would also be with considering some form of sliding shutter door system which would add a more industrial feel to the building, and enable you to create some privacy within the space for guests.

Creating the right atmosphere with internal decoration and lighting Internally, the space could be quite simple, with white walls, which would create a sense

Architectural Advice

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

‘It might also be fun to play with a concept of “shed architecture” and create a simple zig-zag pitched roof’ of serenity against the ever-changing natural colour of the seasons outside.

Lighting is, of course, very important, and we would always advocate the careful use of lighting in key areas.

The vaulted ceilings and window reveals could be up-lit, which would create drama to the space whilst practical task lighting could be created by

way of a series of downlights and also desk lights.

Our lighting expert, Fiona Lee, will always recommend being aware of the colour temperature and consistency of the lamp, where the temperature refers to the amount of white light and is measured in Kelvins, and would always recommend a warm white for projects like yours, which should range from 2200k to 3200k (Kelvin).

Is any permission required?

We always suggest taking a holistic approach to the design of any building, and not necessarily to be constrained by trying to create something which could be constructed under permitted development [PD].

However, the structure we have proposed would require planning permission. If you wished to explore a PD building, the following would be the guidelines:

Outbuildings are considered to be permitted development, not needing planning permission, subject to the following limits and conditions: n No outbuilding on land forward of a wall forming the principal elevation. n Outbuildings and garages to be single storey with maximum eaves height of 2.5 metres and maximum overall height of 4 metres with a dual pitched roof or 3 metres for any other roof. n Maximum height of 2.5 metres in the case of a building, enclosure or container within 2 metres of a boundary of the curtilage of the dwelling house. n No verandas, balconies or raised platforms. n No more than half the area of land around the ‘original house’ would be covered by additions or other buildings.

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n In National Parks, the Broads, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and World Heritage Sites, the maximum area to be covered by buildings, enclosures, containers and pools more than 20 metres from house to be limited to 10 square metres. n On designated land, buildings, enclosures, containers and pools at the side of properties will require planning permission. n Within the curtilage of listed buildings, any outbuilding will require planning permission.

A home office and guest suite will be a great addition to your home, and with a little careful thought and consideration will make a very exciting space to inhabit.

If you would like advice on a home office, please call John Bullock Design: 01892 525732

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Gardening

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

GARDENING TIPS FOR THE SEASON

Victoria Truman

Garden designer

Kent-based garden and landscape designer Victoria Truman www.victoriatruman.com offers her advice and tips for making the most of your plot

Are you ready for spring?

It may be bleak outside, but the bareness allows you to take some time out in the garden to take stock, and think how you would like it to look Gardening Jobs for February  START ORDERING up seeds for the summer – you can do this in the warmth of your lounge while looking out at the garden.  DEAL WITH THE DEBRIS Waste material from the beds is gathered up and put on the compost heap rather than burned, as many of the stems are still home to insects that will crawl from the heap when they hatch. The beds are raked clean in readiness for spring mulching and to make way for the bulbs.  GET MULCHING I like to leave mulching until the ground is a little warmer, but where bulbs are coming through it is timely to work in a 5cm layer of weed-free organic matter before they grow any more. Never mulch on weed-infested ground, as you will simply be creating a better environment for the weeds.  HEDGE FUND If you have old yew or holly hedges in need of renovation, the end of the month is the time. Prune into old wood on one side of the hedge and leave the other to feed the regrowth. It will look terrible for a couple of years before it comes back, but the clean start will be worth the shock.

PRACTICALLY PERFECT Or is there room for improvement?

Winter is the perfect time to plan out your garden for the rest of the year THERE is a public misconception about garden design that it is about gardening – it isn’t. It’s about design; the manipulation and organisation of three-dimensional space.

Plants play a part in this, of course, but so, too, do paving, lighting and drainage systems.

So while pretty flowers may contribute in the creation of something beautiful, design involves spatial awareness, a bit of human psychology and, as Steve Jobs once said, “Design is how it works.”

But garden design is more complex again; it doesn’t just exist in its

own space but needs to make sense of the context of the space; how it relates to buildings and the wider landscape, whether that’s the neighbour’s dominating leylandii hedge or a far-distant rural view.

Now is the time to walk around your garden, sit in the space, and ask yourself what you could improve on.

If it’s a large garden, I like to start with the driveway (this is the first impression as people visit you), following on to the rear terrace or area nearest the house, and then outwards from there.

Ask yourself if it is achievable for you to do on your own,

or do you need the help of a professional?

Personally, I love winter in the garden, and it truly is the best time to start the design process as you can see the bones of the garden.

With the perspective that comes from distance, and with the bones of the garden exposed, you can easily see what’s out of balance and where you might want to add in structure or visual texture – whether it’s in the form of plants or hardscaping.

When I’m seeing a client’s garden in winter, even though it’s the bleakest time of year, I can really understand the flow and the way the spaces are laid out and connected.

For homeowners starting from scratch, consider hiring a designer in the winter and early spring to help you realise the garden you’ve always wanted.

Some forward thinking and planning could mean a useable outdoor space by spring/summer.

Time to man the borders TAKE time now to plan any new borders you want, which plants to plant, where they will be situated, and how they would work within your existing garden.

TIPTOE THROUGH THE TULIPS… Take care of growing bulbs

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

The Water Tower

A stunning, architect-designed water tower sure to cause waves

PROPERTY

AT A GLANCE THE WATER TOWER HASTINGS ROAD, ROLVENDEN n Cranbrook School catchment area n Entrance hall n Cloakroom n Utility room n Dining room n Kitchen/breakfast room n Sitting room n Master bedroom with en-suite shower room n 2 further bedrooms n Family bathroom n Decked terrace n Gardens including vegetable garden n Greenhouse and paddock n In all about 1.4 acres

GUIDE PRICE

£995,000

Available for sale through Knight Frank Tunbridge Wells 01892 515035 www.knightfrank.co.uk

‘The majority of windows overlook the property’s grounds with spectacular far-reaching views over the surrounding countryside’

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PROPERTY

To suit your budget

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

Your at-a-glance guide to WITH THE

OF TUNBRIDGE WELLS

Pick up your edition at the following stations

SHIRLEY GARDENS RUSTHALL

£425,000

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 newsdesk@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk

UNDER £250,000

f facebook.com/timeslocalnews

COLEBROOK ROAD TUNBRIDGE WELLS

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

£235,000-£250,000

High Brooms station. Boasting high ceilings, it offers a hall, an open-plan living space with a dining area and contemporary kitchen, two bedrooms and a modern bathroom.

Plus parking and share of freehold.

This ground floor period conversion apartment has direct access to a courtyard garden, and is handy for

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

GUIDE PRICE

UNDER £350,000 ALEXANDRA ROAD, TONBRIDGE GUIDE PRICE

£325,000-£350,000

recently improved kitchen and first-floor bathroom, while one of the bedrooms has a feature fireplace. The garden is mostly laid to lawn, with a patio area and shed.

Residents’ parking permit available.

With two bedrooms and two reception rooms, this charming CONTACT period semi-detached house is Robinson-Jackson 01732 757300 close to Tonbridge station and has a www.robinson-jackson.com

To suit your budget

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

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great properties by price range…

Under £600,000 SPELDHURST ROAD, SOUTHBOROUGH

£458,000

Set in Southborough, half a mile from the local primary school and Ridgeway Fields, and just over the border from Tunbridge Wells, this statuesque semi-detached character home has a lounge, a dining room, a kitchen, three bedrooms, and an upstairs bathroom with separate WC. There is garden access from both the dining room, via a wooden sun room, and a side door in the hallway through a covered side passage which also leads to a storeroom. The rear garden is mainly paved with flowerbeds and borders.

The front garden is laid out with block paving and side borders. High Brooms station is also just a mile away.

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

UNDER £800,000 THE BRAMBLES, WEST PECKHAM GUIDE PRICE

£775,000-£795,000 A chain-free, five-bedroom chalet bungalow in a village setting overlooking Yotes Court Vineyard. Two of the bedrooms are on the first floor, which offers wonderful views. They are served by a shower room, while the other bedrooms are on the ground floor with a family bathroom and cloakroom. The 24ft-living/dining room has a feature fireplace and triple aspect windows, while the kitchen opens to a 20ftconservatory. The mature, wrap-around gardens total around a third of an acre, and include a patio, pond, greenhouse and shed. There is parking, and a large garage with potential for conversion subject to planning permission.

UNDER £450,000 SHIRLEY GARDENS RUSTHALL

£425,000 A light and airy family home in popular Rusthall village, near Tunbridge Wells. The property is an end-of-terrace corner plot, and comprises a lounge/diner, kitchen, downstairs cloakroom three bedrooms and a shower room. It is also double glazed and has gas-fired heating. There are both front and rear gardens, and it has the benefit of a garage and

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

UNDER £1MILLION driveway with parking for three cars. No onward chain.

CONTACT KMJ Property 01892 515188 www.kmjproperty.co.uk

THE OLD INSTITUTE, LANGTON GREEN GUIDE PRICE £925,000

Generously-proportioned, this striking period conversion overlooks The Green.

The luxuriously updated property includes a sitting/dining room and a kitchen/breakfast room on the ground floor, with a master bedroom suite and two double-bedroom suites off the galleried landing on the first floor (one currently used as a dressing room). There is also the benefit of a remote-control lighting system and an impressive cinema room. The house is set back from the road and approached over a gravel forecourt with parking for three cars. The courtyard garden has been professionally designed with an outdoor kitchen with a textured quartz wall.

CONTACT Savills 01892 507000 www.savills.com

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Beckford Oast

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

AT A GLANCE BECKFORD OAST SAINTS HILL, PENSHURST n Entrance porch n Reception hall/library n Roundel sitting room n Dining room n Study n Kitchen/breakfast room n Utility room n Cloakroom n Galleried landing n Master bedroom with en-suite shower room n Roundel bedroom n 2 further bedrooms n Family bathroom n Gardens including a woodland dell with a small pond n Kitchen garden and shed n Detached double garage n In total about 0.85 acres

£1,495,000 Available for sale through Savills Tunbridge Wells 01892 507000 www.savills.com

A traditional oast house rounded off by a host of character features

‘Converted in the 1930s, this Kentish oast enjoys a semi-rural position with a lovely outlook over mature grounds and fields beyond’

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

Advertising

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Advertising

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

Students have benefitted from school’s focus on skills

Pupils at Skippers Hill Manor Preparatory School in Five Ashes, recently took part in their own Wellbeing Week CHILDREN from Kindergarten through to Year 8 recently spent a week enjoying a range of activities with a focus on promoting health and happiness, including mindfulness workshops, art therapy, fitness classes, massage - and even smoothie making.

The school’s Key Stage 3 pupils also hosted an afternoon tea in the local village hall, in conjunction with Mayfield and Five Ashes Community Services, providing musical entertainment and delicious sandwiches and cakes, to some of the older members of the community.

Headmaster, Mark Hammond, said: “At Skippers Hill we pride ourselves on providing a warm and supportive, family atmosphere for pupils and we feel that focusing upon our wellbeing and preparing for the challenges of modern life is vitally important. Our second Wellbeing Week has been a great opportunity for staff and pupils to focus on their own and others’ wellbeing and to learn more about how we can stay healthy and happy, which in turn can support learning and development.”

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Education Special

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Head Teacher appointed to the area’s newest primary The Bishop Chavasse school is set to open in Tonbridge this September and it has recruited Donna Weeks as Principal THE Tenax Schools Trust is delighted to announce the appointment of Mrs Donna Weeks as the founding Head Teacher of Bishop Chavasse Primary, in Tonbridge.

The school is a brand new Church of England educational establishment located at Somerhill Green which will be opening to its first reception intake in September 2017.

Mrs Weeks will be taking up her post in April.

Ian Bauckham, executive head of the Tenax Schools Trust, said: “Mrs Weeks has an excellent record in primary school teaching and leadership. Having taught for many years at a local Tunbridge Wells primary school, she took a post with Oasis, a national Christian academy group, and was instrumental as both Deputy and Head of School in moving a primary school in challenging circumstances,

from special measures to an Ofsted Good in a short period. Her potential for Headship was quickly recognised by the national school leadership organisation Future Leaders, who have worked with her in preparation for this move to leading her own school.”

Mrs Weeks’ specialist area lies in the infants’ sector which will be especially useful in the early years of this new school’s life. She lives locally and knows the town well already. Commenting on her appointment, she said: “I am looking forward tremendously to the challenge and opportunity this role brings. Being the founding Head Teacher of a school which is so well supported by parents and the local community, and in brand new facilities, is my dream job, and I am completely committed to making it an outstanding school to serve our local NEW POST children and Donna Weeks families.”

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A humorous tale of little horrors

Strictly come dancing DANCING BOUTIQUE was originally started in 1971 in the same location as today, on the corner of Victoria Road and Goods Station Road in Tunbridge Wells. Over the years it has gone from strength to strength, servicing many local schools and now vocational schools all across the UK. Kim Phipps began management of this family-owned business and is proud to have given 25 years’ service.

Within the shop you can find all your requirements for dance, gymnastics and social dancing, shoes and garments alike. All ages are catered for and nothing is too much trouble, and no order is too small. They have built up a first-class reputation for the fitting of pointe shoes where customers from all over the South East will travel.

Much of its success is put down to excellent staff teamwork. They have an immense knowledge and pride themselves in personal service.

A new website has been launched, which includes the additional offering of individual school requirements.

Dancing Boutique will also work closely with any school to supply their needs direct. For more information, contact 01892 529720 or email sales@ dancingboutique. com

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

SHOWTIME! Pupils at Bethany School

PUPILS at Bethany School in Goudhurst put on their version of the Little Shop of Horrors, a show that according to a spokesperson for the school ‘demanded technical expertise unlike any attempted at Bethany before’.

Directed by Head of Drama and Artistic Director Alex Bolton, Little Shop of Horrors introduced the audience to Bethany’s brightest new star – a seven-foot tall man-eating plant called Audrey II, which was voiced by Leon Lambert in Year 11. ‘Audrey’ promises Seymour (played by James Clarke, Year 11) fame and fortune on one condition – that he provides the plant with fresh meat every day. Soon a strange story unfolds where no one, not even Seymour’s true love Audrey (Georgia Lello, Year 11), is safe

from plant’s clutches.

“The audience were in stitches thanks to the dark humour expertly conveyed by the cast,” added the spokesperson. “The performance was a resounding success.” The Headmaster of the co-educational day and boarding senior school, Francie Healy, also enjoyed the performance, saying he was ‘delighted with the superb quality of acting and music on display’.

“The show has huge technical aspects that the actors had to learn,” Mr Bolton said. “They faced head-on the challenge of bringing to life a character that is not real, and through persistence and thinking on their feet, achieved an outstanding performance and truly developed their acting skills.”

Drama students shine in an emotional and powerful production KENT COLLEGE’s annual drama performance was a radical departure from previous ones, with the theatre transformed into an abandoned warehouse and the audience fully immersed in the action of the play, moving around the space with the actors.

Ghetto, by Joshua Sobol is set in 1942 in the Jewish area of Vilna, Lithuania, and based on diaries written during the darkest days of the Holocaust. It tells of the unlikely flourishing of a theatre at the very time the Nazis began their policy of mass extermination.

First seen in Israel in 1984, and

premiered in Britain five years later in David Lan’s version at the National Theatre, Ghetto went on to win the Evening Standard Award for Best Play. It was seen in Berlin, Vienna, Cologne, Toronto, Oslo, Paris, Chicago, Washington, Los Angeles and New York before students at the independent school in Pembury produced their own version.

Head Teacher Julie Lodrick said: “I was touched and moved beyond words after seeing one of the five performances of Ghetto. The audience was unable to speak at the end, and we all filed out in quiet contemplation; something I

have never experienced at a school production.”

She went on to say: “Ghetto requires a talented and versatile cast of actors, singers, dancers and musicians, and it is testament to the willingness of the girls and staff to take on such a challenging and emotionally demanding piece of theatre.

“The cast had been to hear the experiences of a Holocaust survivor earlier in the term, and it was a privilege to see the young performers capture and deliver their roles with a maturity and understanding beyond their years.”

DARK SPELL Ghetto was performed at Kent College

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

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DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

School Open Days 2017 These events give parents and pupils a valuable insight into academic life which helps them to make the right choice for their children.

STATE AND SELECTIVE

Keen rugby players get into team spirit with special coaching session The Rose Hill 1st XV rugby team travelled to Twickenham last week for a two-hour training session with Harlequins Eleven boys at Rose Hill took part in a special school trip organised by Head of PE and Boys’ Games, Simon Hinchliffe to Harlequins ground in Twickenham.

The s chool is a registered member of the Harlequins club and the coaching session provided the Year 7 and 8 boys with an opportunity to train with former professionals and be exposed to elite level, professional coaching.

The boys also enjoyed watching a match between Harlequins and Sale and were given the opportunity to go onto the pitch at half-time

for a photo opportunity.

Speaking about the visit, Simon Hinchliffe, said: “The main purpose of the trip was to inspire the children and to focus on their rugby handling skills. Rose Hill’s philosophy of rugby is free flowing, with a real focus on keeping the ball alive.

“This was a wonderful opportunity for the boys to be coached by professionals. They experienced first-hand the drills and practices that the first team do on a daily basis. This was a fantastic insight and showed them the dedication, commitment and skill required to play at the top level.”

BENNETT MEMORIAL DIOCESAN SCHOOL Open evening: Wednesday October 5 Tours take place from 6pm www.bennettmemorial.co.uk CRANBROOK SCHOOL Open evenings: Wed May 17, (year seven) Wed September 20, (year seven and nine) www.cranbrookschool.co.uk HAYESBROOK SCHOOL Open evening: Tuesday June 20, 7pm www.hayesbrook.kent.sch.uk HILLVIEW SCHOOL Open mornings: Monday March 6, 9.15am Tuesday March 14, 9.15am MASCALLS ACADEMY Open mornings: Tuesday October 3, 9 – 11am Thursday October 5, 9 – 11am www.mascallsacademy.org.uk

WEALD OF KENT GRAMMAR SCHOOL Open morning for primary school age girls: Monday July 3, 9.30-11.30am www.wealdofkent.kent.sch.uk SKINNERS KENT ACADEMY Open morning: Saturday July 8, from 9.30am www.skinnerskentacademy.org.uk ST GREGORY’S CATHOLIC SCHOOL Open days: Wednesday June 21, 9-11am (Year 5 open morning) Thursday June 22, 9-11am (Years 5 & 6 open morning) www.sgschool.org.uk TONBRIDGE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL Open day: Thursday June 22, 9.30am – 12pm (Year 7 open morning) www.tgs.kent.sch.uk TUNBRIDGE WELLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL FOR BOYS

Open days: Monday October 3, 4-8pm Wednesday October 19, 10.30am and 1.45pm www.twgsb.org.uk THE JUDD SCHOOL Open evening: Tuesday July 4, 4.30-8pm www.frog.judd.kent.sch.uk TUNBRIDGE WELLS GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL Open morning: Wednesday July 5, 10.40am12pm Wednesday October 12, 11am 12.30pm www.twggs.kent.sch.uk THE SKINNERS’ SCHOOL Open mornings: Monday July 3, 9.45-11.30am Tuesday July 4, 9.45-11.30am www.skinners-school.co.uk

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Wednesday February 22 | 2017

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

School Open Days 2017 INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS BEECHWOOD SACRED HEART Whole school open day: Tuesday 14 March, 9.30am – 1pm www.beechwood.org.uk

HILDEN GRANGE Whole School Open Morning: Tuesday February 28, 9am – 12pm Pre-Prep Open Evening: April 27, 7-9pm www.hildengrange.co.uk

ROSE HILL SCHOOL Open morning: Wednesday March 8, 9.00am www.rosehillschool.co.uk

TONBRIDGE SCHOOL Open morning: Saturday March 11, from 10am www.tonbridge-school.co.uk VINEHALL SCHOOL Open morning: May 5, 1.30 -4pm May 6, 9.30am – 12pm www.vinehallschool.com

BENENDEN SCHOOL Open mornings: Thursday 9 March (11+ candidates only) Tuesday 14 March (13+ candidates only) Saturday 12 November Tours start at 9.45am www.benenden.kent.sch.uk

HOLMEWOOD HOUSE SCHOOL Open morning: Friday March 3, 10-12.30am www.holmewoodhouse.co.uk

SEVENOAKS PREPARATORY The school prefers not to host open days but offers personal tours. To arrange one please email admissions@theprep.org.uk or on 01732 762 336 www.theprep.org.uk

KENT COLLEGE PEMBURY Open morning: Wednesday March 8, 9.15am-1pm www.kent-college.co.uk

SACKVILLE SCHOOL Open morning: Saturday March 18, 10am-12pm www.sackvilleschool.co.uk

BEDE’S Open morning: Saturday March 18, 9.30am-12pm www.bedes.org

LINGFIELD NOTRE DAME Nursery and Junior School Open Day: Saturday March 11, 2017 10am – 1pm Senior School Open Day Saturday October 7, 2017 9.45am – 1pm Sixth Form Open Evening: Wednesday October 11, 2017 6.30pm – 8.30pm

SKIPPERS HILL MANOR PREPARATORY SCHOOL Open morning: April 27, 10am – 12pm www.skippershill.com

FOSSE BANK SCHOOL Open afternoon: Saturday March 4, 9.30am-12pm Tuesday March 7, 9.30am-12pm www.fossebankschool.co.uk FRIENDS OF CLAREMONT Open morning: March 3, 9.30am – 1pm March 4, 9.30am – 1pm www.claremontschool.co.uk

MARLBOROUGH HOUSE SCHOOL Open morning: Friday March 3, 10am – 12pm www.marlboroughhouseschool.co.uk THE MEAD SCHOOL Open day: Thursday March 9, from 9.30am Thursday May 18, from 9.30am www.meadschool.info

WALTHAMSTOW HALL Open morning: Thursday March 9, 10am – 12pm Saturday September 23, 10am – 12.15pm www.walthamstow-hall.co.uk All open day dates correct at the time of going to press

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Food & Drink

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

All’s fair with our town’s support for a good deal for global farmers To celebrate the beginning of Fairtrade Fortnight on February 27, Tunbridge Wells Farmers’ Markets Manager Bruce McDonald talks to Mandy Flashman-Wells, who runs the town’s Fairtrade group, about the importance of sourcing products from developing countries where the farmers and producers are paid a sustainable price

T

HIS March, Tunbridge Wells celebrates a decade as a Fairtrade town with a pop-up shop and special exhibition. Showcasing popular food, drink and craft products sold under the Fairtrade banner, the shop will be located in Royal Victoria Place shopping centre.

This year, the annual Fairtrade Fortnight runs from February 27 through to March 12, and its theme for 2017 is ‘Putting Fairtrade in Your Break’. The group want to encourage us to consider the farmers and growers of the tea and coffee – and the sugar sweetening our cakes and biscuits – while we take a few minutes’ break from work or household chores.

Fairtrade is important to our town. Drive into Tunbridge Wells and you’ll notice that below the twinning with Germany’s Wiesbaden and the pride in winning the South & South East In Bloom competition signs, there’s a third declaring: ‘We are a Fairtrade Town’.

Indeed, for the past five years Wiesbaden has also been recognised by the official Fairtrade Foundation as being a Fairtrade city. Around 800 Fairtrade products – such as coffee, tea, chocolate, biscuits, cocoa, honey, bananas, fruit juices, wine, rice, roses, sugar and textiles woven

from Fairtrade cotton – are now available to both British and German consumers.

Mandy Flashman-Wells, leader of the Tunbridge Wells Fairtrade Town Group, says, “This year we have lots of fun events planned, working with local schools, churches and businesses in order to inform and educate people about what buying Fairtrade-certified products actually means.

“The people of Tunbridge Wells know that the decisions we make on how to spend our money can make a real difference to those who produce our food. Many want to buy sustainable ethical products that not only meet our needs, but also give a fair price to those who work hard to produce our food and drink.”

A decade after a group of passionate local volunteers succeeded in getting Tunbridge Wells official recognition as a Fairtrade town, it’s now a hub of shops, restaurants and businesses offering products from the Divine chocolate range found in supermarket chains such as Sainsbury’s to body butters in high street chemists Boots.

Starbucks’ most popular coffee beverage uses Espresso Roast, a 100 per cent Fairtrade-certified blend, which is sourced from Latin America and the Asia/Pacific region. Sainsbury’s was one of

the first of the larger UK retailers to sell Fairtrade products, and is now the world’s largest retailer of Fairtrade goods. The café in its Linden Park Road store sells Fairtrade tea, coffee and hot chocolate. The Co-operative chain, meanwhile, sells Fairtrade bananas and an own-label range of chocolate using Fairtrade cocoa sourced from Ghana, Peru and the Dominican Republic.

This March, Esther Koskei, a Fairtrade coffee supplier from Kenya, will talking about her experiences of working in the coffee plantations in partnership with Fairtrade. Mandy’s Tunbridge Wells group is hosting Esther’s talk event in the Tunbridge Wells Baptist Church on March 1.

Both a coffee producer and leader of the Kabng’etuny Women in Coffee Association, Esther is keen to share the story of how Fairtrade has made a difference to her life and community.

Each time we buy Fairtrade products, we help smallholder farmers that grow the food we eat and the beverages we enjoy, by making sure they have enough to eat, too, says Mandy.

Esther’s talk will show how her Growing Women in Coffee project and similar ventures are working to solve global problems of hunger in the developing world as they receive their own land

TIME TO GET CRABBY With a Fairtrade pasta feast

and resources, such as coffee bushes.

Mandy points out that cane sugar is the world’s biggest commodity in the Fairtrade family. The Co-op supermarket sells sugar from Malawi and supports farmers in Belize supplying the sugar sold by Tate & Lyle. Oxfam is also a major supplier of Fairtrade goods, particularly crafts.

Retailer Marks & Spencer offers its customers a variety of Fairtrade goods, including Peacock Tail Sauvignon Blanc wine from Stellenbosch in South Africa, and loose-leaf tea from the slopes of Africa’s highest mountain, Mount Kenya.

However, there are plenty of independent cafés and shops in and around Tunbridge Wells also offering Fairtrade products. The Bicycle Bakery in Camden Road offers Fairtrade coffee and the Fine Grind coffee house in the High Street uses

SPAGHETTI WITH CRAB, LEMON,CHILLI, PARSLEY AND RADISH SHAVINGS Serves 4 Preparation: 5 mins Cook: 15-20 mins What you need: 550g dried spaghetti 5 tbsp fairtrade extra virgin olive oil 4 garlic cloves, sliced 1 tsp fennel seeds 1 large red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped 150g white crabmeat 50g brown crabmeat 2 lemons, zested and juiced 1 large bunch of parsley, shredded Fairtrade sea salt and black pepper 50 French breakfast radishes very thinly sliced

Recipe and image © Love the Crunch

What you do: Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil.

Cook the spaghetti according to the packet’s instructions.

While you are waiting for the spaghetti to cook, in a large frying pan, heat the olive oil, add the garlic and fennel seeds and cook over a medium heat until the garlic starts to turn golden brown.

Remove from the heat and add the chilli, crab, lemon zest, juice and parsley.

Once the pasta is cooked, drain thoroughly and then add to the pan with the crab sauce.

Season with sea salt and plenty of black pepper, mixing well.

Divide between 4 warm bowls, sprinkle over the radishes and serve at once.

Food & Drink

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

BREAK OUT AN AFTERNOON BOOSTER Fabulous to eat and Fair to make

certified beans sourced from Horsham Coffee Roaster in Surrey. Online, locally-based coffee specialists Perk & Pearl market a blend known as Krafty. Described as a ‘fruity coffee with deep toffee tones’, it boasts a rich blend of beans from Peru, Honduras and Ethiopia.

Seen by some as a ‘marketing exercise’ to promote and sell items ranging from sugar and chocolate to gold jewellery and craft goods, Fairtrade actually works with local producers in countries as diverse as Papua New Guinea, Malawi and Bolivia to support small-scale, sustainable production.

The organisation’s mission is to seek ‘better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world’.

Today, there are over 600 Fairtrade towns in the UK, and it has become a global phenomenon with nearly 2,000 worldwide.

“The fact that we are a Fairtrade town says a lot about the community in Tunbridge Wells, and our concerns for those who produce our food both locally and globally,” says Mandy.

She is now looking for volunteers around the borough who can open and organise local groups with the aim of getting the whole area recognised by the Fairtrade organisation.

If you’d like to help farmers, producers and makers get a fairer, better deal for their products, have a look at www.twfairtrade.org.uk or The Fairtrade Foundation: www.fairtrade.org.uk

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AFTERNOON BOOSTER These delicious sweet treats are made with Fairtade chocolate and Tate & Lyle sugar Preparation 15 minutes Cooking 8 minutes Makes approximately 20 What you need: 200g desiccated coconut 1 large egg white 50g ground almonds 50g salted pistachio nuts, chopped 50g pumpkin seeds 50g Tate & Lyle Light Soft Brown or Light Muscovado Sugar 2tbsp Lyle’s Golden Syrup 1-2tbsp dried raspberry flakes (optional)

What you do: Preheat the oven to 190°C, fan oven 170°C Gas Mark 5.

Tip the coconut into a dry frying pan and cook over a high heat for 1-2 minutes, stirring with a wooden spoon to toast lightly. Cool for 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, use a fork to lightly whisk the egg white in a mixing bowl. Stir in the coconut and add the ground almonds, pistachio nuts, pumpkin seeds, Tate & Lyle Light Soft Brown or Light Muscovado Sugar and Lyle’s Golden Syrup.

Spoon the mixture into a silicone mini muffin tray (or similar) to make approximately 20, cooking in batches if necessary. Transfer to the oven and bake for 8 minutes.

Cool, then ease the treats from the tray. Sprinkle the dried raspberry flakes on top (if using). Keep in an airtight tin for up to 2 weeks.

Cook’s tip: You could use chopped almonds, hazelnuts or peanuts instead of the pistachios.

If you prefer, tip the whole mixture into a lined 23cm square cake tin and bake for 10-12 minutes.

Cut into squares when cool.

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FEATURES

Food & Drink

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

A TASTE OF HISTORY The Elephants Head was originally a Wealden farmhouse

HOT FAVOURITE People love the pub’s pies

Quintessentially Kentish Ten weeks ago, David Stanley took over The Elephants Head at Hook Green, Lamberhurst.

With varied and extensive experience in a range of pubs across the country, he has turned a floundering business into a success, but he’s not resting on his laurels. Hannah Patterson catches up with his Head Chef Sarmite Pomerance – a major ingredient of the transformation This beautiful pub is very old and Kentish, but you are from Latvia originally? Tell us about your journey to Lamberhurst…

I came here from Latvia when I was 36. Prior to the move, I had been working as a Head Chef in a restaurant back home, so there was a fair amount of experience under my belt when I began applying for work here. Although, I have to say I acquired all my cooking knowledge in my childhood.

My grandmother deserves the credit for teaching me how to cook. Her focus was on rich and hearty recipes, and I spent a lot of time making pastries,

soups, pies and all sorts from a young age. We had a farm nearby, so I learnt how to raise chickens and cows, too.

When I arrived here I started working in a pub in Guildford. It was so quiet, though, and I felt like I was in the middle of nowhere. I later met David when we were both searching in the same library for jobs – it was a complete chance meeting. We found the same vacancy and went to the interview together – that was back in 2006.

Apart from a short time when I returned to Latvia, and some time in a high-end restaurant

near Buckingham Palace, I’ve been working with David ever since. It was when I had returned to London when David called me to ask for my help for a few months in the pub he was in at the time – eight years later and here we are!

Considering it’s a Thursday afternoon in Lamberhurst, I can’t believe how busy it is…

Lunchtimes and evenings are always busy. On Burns night, there was an amazing atmosphere.

We made such an evening of it, complete with haggis and Scottish poems for people to enjoy!

‘My grandmother deserves the credit for teaching me how to cook. Her focus was on rich and hearty recipes’ The pub has been under new management since December 12 now, and there’s not been a quiet moment since.

We’ve been focusing on growth and getting ourselves in a position where we can offer our customers more and more.

In December, having just occupied the premises, we weren’t prepared for the sort of Christmas parties that people wanted, but I kept it small and started with a lunch menu and roast.

The menu still offers pork, beef, and lamb, fish or vegetarian Sunday lunches/dinners, which we just about had the capacity for at the time.

A good thing, too, as they are now very popular.

Roast dinner orders after Christmas were up to 85 in one sitting from about half that number.

This past Sunday, we served over 100 lunches, and that wasn’t including the desserts!

I have to admit, I do enjoy the busy and hectic atmosphere, so I won’t complain.

Food & Drink

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

traditional fish on the menu every Friday.

For me, it’s an utter necessity that the produce I use is fresh. I use Kevin at Woodlands Farm butchers in Wadhurst for all our meat, and our vegetables come from Maidstone. I also always make sure I get local free-range eggs. I tested a few suppliers to start with, but it ultimately comes down to quality, friendliness and cost.

According to the pub’s website, you change your menu daily?

Yes, and that suits me. David leaves the kitchen to me, and having that sort of flexibility allows me to fully explore my passion for cooking and concocting recipes. David manages the beer, I manage the food.

The relationship we have with our suppliers is a close one. I’m always up-to-date on what they can supply, so the menu is whatever is fresh that day. I like to change it up, although I do keep

Well, the food looks incredible, and everyone here looks satisfied.

If you were a customer here, what would you order?

If I were to dine here myself, I’d definitely start with the deep fried Brie – it’s my weakness! Then I’d go for whatever fish dish we have on the menu that day, no matter what type.

Hake fillets are always nice. And, at the minute, I really love the panna cotta with all the fresh strawberries.

Banoffee pie is extremely popular, though, as we are known for making all our own pies – be it dessert or otherwise. It takes a lot of prep and hard work, but it’s worth it. It’s my kitchen, and I want to put in the work to make it successful.

We work long hours, especially on Saturdays, but seeing all the happy customers is the reward.

There are regulars who travel many miles to eat here – it’s such a compliment.

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It’s lot of work. How many staff do you have?

We have five full-time members of staff – including my son, who is behind the bar. The Elephants Head feels more like home than work to me, so I don’t mind doing so much.

So, now the Elephants Head has found its feet, what comes next?

Speciality nights – they are in development at the moment. They will provide even more of an opportunity to expand on our ever-changing menu.

The pies are so popular with our customers that I want to do pie night every Wednesday. I would like to keep it not too expensive, and have a variety of favourites, from steak and mushroom to ham and leek – whatever the supplier brings me on the day.

A quiz night on a Thursday is another idea, perhaps with a curry or chilli to accompany it.

We will do a big BBQ at Easter. It’ll be burgers, sausages, coleslaw, hot dogs and a range of homemade sauces.

One thing’s for sure, I’m very excited about the future…

HEAD CHEF Sarmite Pomerance

ELEPHANTS HEAD Hook Green, Lamberhurst, Tunbridge Wells TN3 8LJ Telephone: 01892 739525 www.elephants-head.co.uk

An explosion of dessert delight

Steak, chunky chips and all the trimmings Perfect panna cotta pudding

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FEATURES

Weddings

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

For this bride it really was a very special Day When Rebecca Harrison walked down the aisle to wed her fiancé Andy, she was about to become Mrs Day. We find out all about it How did you and your husband meet?

Andy and I met at Dartford grammar school when we were about 17. He tells me that he spotted me across the sixth form classroom, although I don’t remember much about him!

We went our separate ways to university, and it was when we had both moved back home after finishing our degrees that he got back in touch.

We went out on our first date to a country pub seven years ago – and the rest is history!

Tell us about the proposal Two years ago, Andy told me we were going to the supermarket for food shopping, so I got in the car. Little did I know he had actually booked an overnight break to Lingfield Spa and had packed

me a bag secretly. When we started driving on the motorway, I did get a little suspicious that we were not going food shopping! We went to the spa and afterwards, back in our room, he proposed on our balcony overlooking the racecourse with a beautiful ring.

Where did you get married and how did you choose the venue?

We got married at High Rocks in Tunbridge Wells.

A few of my friends had attended weddings there before and all said what a stunning venue it was, so I booked in to view it. It was the first and only venue we saw, and we both fell in love with how beautiful it was.

Ideally, we wanted a summer wedding.

However, as two of my best friends were also getting married the following summer we decided on October 2016.

We also knew the colours of the leaves and ivy at High Rocks were beautiful at this time of year.

The rocks area really sold it for us – we knew the photos would be stunning!

Tell us about your big day It started off perfectly as the sun was shining on a lovely crisp autumnal day. I stayed the night at my parents’ house, where my five beautiful bridesmaids (Lottie, Charlotte, Katie, Laura and Nicola) joined me in the morning for breakfast.

My hair and makeup ladies arrived and got to work!

My dad and I got into a lovely car to take us straight to the venue. The wedding was at 3pm and 70 guests assembled inside. My brother, Christopher, played the piano as my dad walked me down the aisle. The service was lovely – made even more interesting by the steam train that passes through High Rocks, and did so right in the middle of our vows!

We then walked down to the rocks area for bubbly and canapés. My mum had organised for an amazing (so I am told!) magician to entertain

Weddings

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

straight afterwards, staying in the amazing Corinthia Hotel. We visited outdoor spas and ate so much good food! We have our proper honeymoon booked for Easter. We are going to Kerala in India followed by the Maldives – we can’t wait!

guests whilst we had our photos taken. Our photographer (Sabrina Stockwell) took some stunning photos on the rocks with views looking out to Tunbridge Wells. The colours of the fall leaves were beautiful! We were very lucky with the weather.

The wedding breakfast was served at 4.30pm. Unusually for me, I couldn’t eat too much! I think I was still quite nervous. Andy, my dad and his best men (James and Dominic) gave lovely speeches.

After this, the tables were cleared and the party began! Our DJ played some great songs to get everyone on the dance floor and the drinks flowed all night. At midnight Andy and I waved goodbye to our guests and left in a beautiful white taxi back to our hotel (Hotel du Vin in Tunbridge Wells). They’d upgraded us to a lovely

bridal suite – a perfect end to a perfect day.

Unfortunately, I forgot to pack a change of clothes, so the next morning I almost had to go down to breakfast in my wedding dress!

Luckily my friend leant me a pair of leggings and my mum popped to town to buy me a top!

How did you start married life?

As I’m a teacher, I only had a week off for half term over the wedding period, so we jetted off to Budapest for few nights

Tell us about some of your key suppliers All the suppliers we used were both fantastic and local. My wedding dress was from Hi Brow brides in Bexley. Bev and her team did a great job in making me feel beautiful in my ivory – it was an A-line, off-the-shoulder dress. Our photographer, Sabrina, was recommended by the venue and was superb! She came to our house twice to talk things through. Our venue provided the catering and it was lovely that we got a complimentary meal to try. At our wedding, all the food was delicious and no one was left waiting!

We were very lucky in that our wedding cake was provided by both our mums, as they are great bakers. They made a gorgeous four-tier cake – chocolate, Victoria sponge, coffee and walnut, and lemon drizzle. There wasn’t much left! Paula Florist we found at a wedding fayre.

She created stunning ivory rose bouquets with red berries to match my bridesmaid dresses.

Hair and make-up was provided by I Do Bridal in Aylesford. They made my bridesmaids and I feel beautiful!

The charcoal suits were from Moss Bros with matching ties from Well Suited for Men. We hired an A-class executive Mercedes from Carlton Cars, our local taxi company. They put a ribbon on and the driver arrived in a suit. It was a great touch!

I also designed some stationery myself, which we gave out with sugared almonds to the guests.

The almonds were from Andy’s parents, as it’s a Greek tradition of theirs.

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THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS Rebecca’s five top tips for brides and grooms

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Know your budget – decide what you would like to pay and stick to it Have what you would like, not what other people want you to have

Keep a list of questions you want to ask potential venues written down. Use the internet to find commonly asked questions and don’t be afraid to ask as many as you want

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DIY – many things can be made yourself or bought from wedding selling websites, eg handmade invitations, table plans, etc.

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Enjoy your day – it goes so quickly!

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FEATURES

Motoring

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

Motoring News

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

Motorists urged to buy now to beat the car tax rises from April MOTORISTS considering buying a new car this year are being urged to act now to avoid higher Vehicle Excise Duty [VED], which is due to affect many new cars from April.

The advice comes from Hendy Group, which says that an alarming number of motorists visiting its dealerships are unaware of the impending changes to the road tax system.

Among the group’s sites are dealerships in Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge offering Ford, KIA, Suzuki, Dacia, Renault and Subaru vehicles.

“We operate 12 motor franchises at 25 locations, and feedback from those visiting the showrooms is a good barometer of the carbuying public,” said Operations Director Mark Busby. “We’re finding that awareness of the overhaul of the system is worryingly low. The changes were announced back in 2015, but are only coming into force this April.”

The current system of VED ranks cars on their CO2 emissions with low and zero emission cars qualifying for free car tax. That is set to change.

From April, the CO2 emissions are just one element of the charge, with list prices also set to be a factor, and there will be different charges in year one and from year two.

The first year of tax will continue to be based on the CO2 emissions, but after that there will be a standard £140 cost per year to all but fully electric and hydrogen vehicles.

And if your new car’s list price is above £40,000 you will pay an additional £310 levy for the first five years – regardless of the car’s environmental credentials.

“Our advice to motorists is to buy now if you want to benefit from the current rates on low emission petrol or diesel models,’’ said Mr Busby.

WARNING Mark Busby from Hendy Group

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McLaren seals its base with £50m technology centre

MCLAREN is set to build a new chassis manufacturing and development facility that will be based close to the University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre [AMRC].

The new Composites Technology Centre will be built with support from Sheffield City Council and the AMRC through a combined investment of £50million, and is tipped to create 200 new jobs.

It will form the base from which McLaren develops and manufactures its Monocell and Monocage carbon-fibre chassis for future cars. Advanced automated manufacturing techniques developed with the AMRC will be used to build the next-generation Monocell.

Mike Flewitt, CEO of McLaren Automotive, said: “In 1981, McLaren was the first company to recognise the exceptional properties of carbon fibre.…

The now iconic McLaren F1 was the world’s first road car to be built with a carbon-fibre chassis, and every car built more recently by McLaren Automotive has the same.

World-class “Creating a facility where we can manufacture our own carbon-fibre chassis structures is therefore a logical next step. We evaluated several options to achieve this objective, but the opportunity created

by the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre at the University of Sheffield was compelling.

‘At the AMRC, we will have access to some of the world’s finest composites and materials research capabilities, and I look forward to building a world-class facility and talented team at the new McLaren Composites Technology Centre.”

Construction will begin early this year, with the first pre-production carbon-fibre chassis expected to be delivered to the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking in the second half of 2017.

It is hoped the new facility will bring cost savings of roughly £10million, and add £100million to the local economy by 2028.

Not signalling drives most motorists mad VEHICLE drivers not indicating clearly has been revealed as the UK’s most inconsiderate driving behaviour in a new motoring survey.

An RAC Insurance poll of more than 2,100 motorists found that 58 per cent of respondents named other motorists not signalling clearly, or at all, as their number one inconsiderate trait.

A further 56 per cent cited middle-lane hogging as the most inconsiderate action, while driving too close to the car in front was voted for by 51 per cent.

RAC Insurance spokesman Simon Williams said: “There are a variety of behaviours at the wheel that motorists class as being inconsiderate, most of which involve deliberate acts which are blatantly thoughtless.

“But the top answer of ‘not indicating clearly’ is probably more due to misunderstanding or forgetfulness.

Confusion “The confusion that it can cause is no doubt responsible for, at worst, accidents and, at best, needless wasted seconds of waiting only to find out the driver wasn’t really going where you thought they were.

“The biggest example of ‘indicator confusion’ has to be at roundabouts.

“There seem to be different schools of thought on how to signal at roundabouts, and very few follow the rules set out in Rule 186 of the Highway Code.

“If more of us were to follow the indicating rules, there would probably be fewer bumps at roundabouts.”

ADDED VALUE Two new SUV trims come with extras claimed to be worth much more than the price rises

Skoda bigs up its Yetis SKODA has updated the Yeti SUV with the addition of two new trim levels.

Dubbed SE Drive and SE L Drive, the newcomers sit above the mid-spec SE and top-of-the-range SE L trims.

According to Skoda, both models add thousands of pounds’ worth of extra equipment for three-figure price increases.

The SE Drive offers satellite navigation, digital radio, auto-dimming rear-view mirror, heated seats, heated windscreen and front

parking sensors in addition to the standard SE’s climate control, rear parking sensors and Bluetooth phone connectivity.

Skoda says the extra kit is worth an extra £2,295, yet with a starting price of £20,095, the car is only £935 more than the SE. The SE L Drive, meanwhile, comes in at £21,745 – £755 more than the current SE L – but adds leather upholstery, LED tail lights and 17-inch Origami wheels.

Both cars are available with

one of two engines: A 1.2-litre petrol and a 2.0-litre diesel.

The 1.2-litre unit is the entry-level powerplant, producing 108bhp and allowing the option of a six-speed manual or automatic transmission.

The diesel is offered in two states of tune, with the basic 108bhp engine giving the option of four-wheel drive but with a manual gearbox. The 148bhp variant gets four-wheel drive as standard and can have an automatic gearbox.

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ANNOUNCEMENTS

Births, Marriages and Bereavements

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

OF TUNBRIDGE WELLS AND TONBRIDGE

Do you have a family announcement?

Times of Tunbridge Wells and Times of Tonbridge are pleased to receive announcements from readers for publication in the newspaper.

Visit: www.kmclassifieds.co.uk We try to publish reports as quickly as possible after receipt and when space allows.

Puzzles

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

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

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E P L G A T J E A S U

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

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Codeword:

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

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

Puzzle solutions will be published in next week’s paper

I S O D E S H O I R E T H X E E R E A N R S T R V E Y T I R B E S S E T T E A N N E R C A I L E M P R E

1 8 2 5 9 3 6 4 7

9 4 6 7 2 1 3 8 5

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I F F L Y E D E F T Y OW H U I S N K E E R

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Jigsaw Sudoku:

Sudoku:

7 3 5 6 4 8 2 1 9

B R R A Z H I E H R

8 5 7 3 6 9 1 2 4

4 6 9 2 1 7 8 5 3

2 1 3 4 8 5 7 9 6

3 7 8 9 5 2 4 6 1

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© 2016 Syndicated Puzzles

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DIFFICULTY RATING: ★III

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© 2016 Syndicated Puzzles, Inc.

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SOLUTIONS (FROM LAST WEEK)

SUDOKU & JIGSAW SUDOKU

DIFFICULTY RATING: ★★★I

CODEWORD

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FEATURES

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NEWS

Recruitment

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

WITH THE

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

After just one day of the newspaper being out, our recruitment advert had received a great response from potential candidates; three of which we had at interview stage.

We will certainly use the Times of Tunbridge Wells for future recruitment adverts.

John Haynes, Partner, Belvoir Tunbridge Wells

OF TUNBRIDGE WELLS AND TONBRIDGE

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

Recruitment

NEWS

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

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FEATURES

Arts & Culture

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

These people could potentially change your life A day of networking and inspiring, informative workshops called Women Work is aimed at the local community to improve their personal lives and career prospects. Ahead of the event at Tunbridge Wells Assembly Hall on March 10, its organiser Ania Jeffries highlights a few of the experts who’ll be taking part and applauds the community spirit that has made it happen

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N ESSENCE, Women Work’s primary purpose is to inspire people. We want to showcase and celebrate positive role models, provide tools to maximise your potential, strengthen your self-belief and confidence, raise awareness of mental health and build new partnerships and

networks within the Kent Community.

It all started, several months ago, as a workshop aimed at around 20 people, and has since grown into a major networking event happening on March 10 with the generous support of the Assembly Hall.

The venue’s director, JJ Almond, has

FUN INTO FUNDRAISING Pickering charity help raise awareness for Women Work

kindly given Women Work use of the theatre in Tunbridge Wells so we can host three different special forums for up to 1,000 people, which include an evening event with live music and speakers.

During the day there are a series of free workshops with over 50 speakers contributing on a range of topics that include issues such as confidencebuilding, parenting, overcoming addictions, personal branding, health and wellbeing, setting up a business and how to network and build partnerships.

In keeping with the community ethos, all speakers, most of whom are local, are giving up their time for free.

The Natwest Mobile Business School will also be offering advice on every aspect of setting up and running a business.

The workshops and specialist talks then culminate in an evening event that is a jam-packed three-and-a-half hours of inspirational speakers, singers and cheerleaders. Tickets for this cost £5, and all proceeds are being donated to the Tunbridge Wells-based charity The Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre.

None of this would have been possible

‘In essence, Women Work’s primary purpose is to inspire people.

We want to celebrate positive role models, and maximise your potential’

without the help and support of the wonderful local community. We have so many people and businesses to thank for helping us to get this event off the ground.

Sadly, there isn’t enough space here to thank them all but you can find details of everyone on our website, below.

Our committee, which includes myself, Traci Ferguson, Nigel Youds, Tammy Clarke, Dionne Curtis and Francesca Turner, would like to particularly thank the Assembly Hall Theatre, without whom this event would not even be happening, as well as the Times of Tunbridge Wells and Tonbridge for agreeing to be our media partner.

Our thanks also go to Trinity Theatre, who are displaying our flyers and sending out information to their members, The Range, Tesco, and Marks & Spencer, who are each holding fundraising days for Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre, and Metro Bank and again Tesco, who are providing refreshments for volunteers on the day.

Read on to discover how our speakers’ expertise can help you improve your life… www.womenworkevents.com

Arts & Culture

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

Your guide to the Women Work guest expert speakers on March 10 at The Assembly Hall HEALTH AND WELLBEING Lucy Adams

Caroline Arnold

Nicola Deverson

Karen Dodd

Fliss Downs

Daisy Foss

Hannah Gee

Charlotte Haynes

Jane Healy

Elise Paquette

RUNNING YOUR OWN BUSINESSES Rebecca Da Silva Rebecca Da Silva Lima Audrey Chapman Audrey Chapman Lima & Dominique Simon Ensor Simon Ensor & Dominique Hughes Hughes Ben Jeffries

Bruce Mcmichael

Lorraine Nugent

Louise Giblin Louise Giblin

Juliet Proctor

Michael Thompson

CONFIDENCE AND SELF-BELIEF Catherine De Crèvecoeur

Traci Ferguson

Victoria Genevieve

Alison Nixon

Dawn Grant

Caroline Hart

Lorraine Kelly

Hilary Lees

Sarah-Ann Lucas

Iyabo Ward

PARENTING Amanda Fone

Tammy Clark

VOLUNTEERING

Jayne Windle

Lisa Shortland

Merle Bigden

Camilla Slattery

Soroptimist Member

FINDING WORK/RETURNING TO WORK Emma Cox

Dolina Hendry

Andrea Starbuck

Tony Wegg

PERFORMERS Charlotte Andrews

Joey Cuthbert

Sammi Hughes

Isabella Penfold

EVENING SPEAKERS Ania Jeffries

Nikki Owen

Catherine Spencer

For more information on Women Work please visit: www.womenworkevents.com www.twitter.com/womenworkevents www.en-gb.facebook.com/womenworkevents

Chris Harris

Polly Taylor

Lorraine Fletcher

To reserve your place for a daytime workshop, or buy a £5 ticket to the evening event, visit www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk/whats-on/ spoken-word

FEATURES

HEALTH AND WELLBEING – Susie Flashman Jarvis Susie is a coach, therapist and writer. She is an ex-model and former addict whose personal journey has been full of challenge, but this has led to increased self-awareness and confidence. She is passionate about facilitating change and enabling women to live full lives. She is an ambassador for the charity Restored, bringing an end to violence against women. www.susie-flashmanjarvis.com RUNNING YOUR OWN BUSINESS – Kelly Culver Kelly is a young entrepreneur from Kent and has been shortlisted for Social Media Pioneer of the Year, and was recently named in Kent’s Top 30 Under 30. She runs a social media agency and is setting up an American car restoration business – following her dream to pursue her true passion. When starting up a business, it can be hard to get your name out there – especially if you don’t have a budget. Kelly will share practical tips on how to reach more customers online for free. www.kellyculver.co.uk CONFIDENCE AND SELF-BELIEF – Aly Harrold Aly is an award-winning speaker and a professional coach specialising in helping entrepreneurial women find their voice to deliver their message to a wider audience. She has coached several TEDx speakers and runs workshops in the South East and London. She will be sharing strategies and techniques to help you feel more confident and in control, as well as tips on how to release some of the anxieties so often felt when it is time to stand up and deliver your message. www.alyharrold.co.uk FINDING WORK AND RETURNING TO WORK – Victoria McLean Victoria is the founder and CEO of City CV, an international career consultancy devoted to supporting clients with CVs, LinkedIn profiles, interview training, career transition and development. She is a former headhunter and recruitment manager for two of the world’s largest investment banks, Goldman Sachs and Merrill Lynch. She will help you to understand what recruiters are looking for, what to say about a career break, and how to get noticed for the right reasons. www.citycv.co.uk PERSONAL STYLING – Sarah Gillmore Sarah is a Personal Stylist who also works as a volunteer for the London-based charity Smart Works, which supports women in getting back into the workplace. She takes a therapeutic, intuitive approach to styling and will talk about how you can increase your confidence and success with the use of the right colours, dressing for your body shape, embracing your femininity as a powerful tool, and using positive body-language and posture. www.sarahgillmorestylist.com

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FEATURES

What’s On

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

SEVEN DAYS OF SOCIAL ACTIVITIES AT A GLANCE

WHATS ON WITH THE

Eileen Leahy Local events

>> WEDNESDAY Every Wednesday from 7 until 9pm the Angel Indoor Bowles Centre in Tonbridge welcomes beginners to their Have a go at bowling evening.

There’s even a free drink on offer at the bar afterwards! For more information visit www.angelibc.co.uk The Pantiles gallery formerly known as SEEART has rebranded as Beumée. It still displays an amazing array of artists and sculptors, which include the talented Jennifer Newman, who specialises in beautiful, abstract paintings. The gallery is open Tuesday to Sunday. See website for further details www.beumee.com Over at the EM Forster Theatre in Tonbridge, the Blackeyed Theatre company will be putting on their acclaimed performance of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. With a stunning set and a 6ft Japanese Bunraku-style puppet it promises to be an intriguing dramatic performance. Tickets cost £15. See www.tonbridgearts.com >> THURSDAY At 7pm there will be a Water in the Wells talk at the Hub located in Grosvenor and Hilbert Park. Led

EXTRA! EXTRA! Disney hit Newsies is on at Trinity

by Michael Holman from the Water in the Wells Working Group, it will look at the current initiative in place to bring back water to the town via the newly regenerated park’s wells, lakes and aquatic features. No booking is required for this free event, just turn up. Light refreshments will also be provided.

If you’re tying the knot, then diarise a visit to The Spa Hotel this evening as they will be showcasing their beautiful wedding venue options from 5.30pm until 7.30pm. The historic hotel can cater for everything from small intimate wedding ceremonies to lavish functions, and they have a team of efficient co-ordinators on hand to help you perfectly plan your big day. For further details, visit www.spahotel.co.uk Trinity Theatre is showing a filmed version of Disney’s Tony Award®-winning show Newsies: The Broadway Musical. Made by the producers of Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, this upbeat show stars Jeremy Jordan (Supergirl, The Last Five Years) and is set in 1890s New York City. >> FRIDAY If you haven’t managed to catch it yet, then have a look at the Art of Stitch Head exhibition at Trinity, which is on until Sunday. The illustrations are by local artist Pete Williamson, who has done these ‘strange and beautiful’ drawings for the Stitch Head children’s book series penned by Guy Bass.

Pictures of the books’ quirky characters, which include the eponymous Stitch Head, The Creature and Professor Erasmus, are all on display so this is a must-see for fans of the series. On until Sunday February 26. See www.trinitytheatre.net The Moonlight Drive-in Cinema is showing The Batman Lego Movie all weekend, so if you’re a fan then make sure you’ve got tickets to see one of the screenings at 6.30pm each evening until Sunday.

Tickets cost £25 per vehicle. Book by visiting www.moonlightcinema.com >> SATURDAY From 10.30am until 2.30pm, Burrswood in Groombridge will be hosting Christian Mindfulness Day. The workshop will promote practical teaching and guidance and will be

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

As the weather gets a little milder, it’s time to get our children out and about a bit more. If you’re stuck for an activity that both boys and girls will enjoy, then pay a visit to your nearest National Trust property – Ightham Mote, or Scotney, Bodiam or Sissinghurst Castles – and partake in the Trust’s 50 Things To Do Before You’re 11 ¾, which involves everything from treasure trails and bug hunts to identifying butterflies, building bird boxes and making mud pies. For more information, visit www.nationaltrust.org.uk

GOING DOWN A STORM Artist Jennifer Newman at the Beumée Gallery

followed by a time of quiet togetherness. All welcome. Call 01892 865988 to book your place. A suggested donation of £15 is welcomed. For full details, see www.burrswood.org.uk Bacchus Wind Orchestra performs at 7pm at St John’s Church in Tunbridge Wells, with Brynley Clarke conducting.

The group will play a variety of pieces by some of the world’s greatest composers, including Rachmaninoff and Dvorák. Tickets are available in advance from Brittens Music in Tunbridge Wells or on the door. £10, concessions £8 and children £5.

For more information, visit www. bacchuswind. org.uk >> SUNDAY Recollections: Private collections; from pencils to Picasso is now on at Tonbridge School’s OBS gallery. It is a wonderfully rich selection of

artworks, pictures and pieces of memorabilia from a number of personal collections owned by former teachers and pupils of the school. One of its aims is to examine the power of the object in the digital age and the myriad meanings that these pieces hold for the people who covet and collect them.

The exhibition is free to attend and can be viewed every weekend from 12noon until 4pm until March 5. For more information visit www.tonbridge-school.co.uk/obsg

>> MONDAY Arthritis Support Kent [ASK] meet today from 2.30pm until 4pm at St Philip’s Church, Birken Road, Tunbridge Wells. ASK is a local group for arthritis sufferers, family and carers, and the aim is to provide a welcoming environment where those whose lives are affected by arthritis can spend time with others in the similar situations for support and sharing.

If the rain puts paid to any trips to the great outdoors, then worry not, as the area’s only trampoline centre, located in Tonbridge, is the perfect alternative activity when the weather doesn’t want to play ball. Jump In, based in Morley Road, offers toddlers to teens a variety of different packages which include an hour’s jumping time from £7 (for the under-5s). For more information, visit www.gojumpin.com

@Royal Opera House

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FAIRY-TALE BALLET The Sleeping Beauty awakes at the Odeon…

>> TUESDAY Classic ballet The Sleeping Beauty is being screened live into the Odeon cinema at 7pm. This revived production stays true to the original’s

What’s On

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

delightful dance content, lavish costumes and stunning sets and is there a real treat to watch.

Tickets cost £20 per adult and £17.50 for those aged under 12. www.odeon.co.uk The Cross Keys pub in St John’s holds its weekly quiz night from 8pm. All are welcome to this event which offers players the ‘chance to compete against each other for money, sweets, glory and the occasional smug point’. For more information visit www.crosskeystw.co.uk

PICK OF THE WEEK Look Back in Anger, Trinity Theatre Tuesday Feb 28 – Sunday March 4 LOST LOVE Look Back in Anger

A ROUND-UP OF THIS WEEK’S MUSICAL HIGHLIGHTS

Paul Dunton Live music It’s a busy week across the local scene with an array of fantastic gigs, all detailed below…

THE TUNBRIDGE WELLS FORUM

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

FRIDAY Lazy Habits and Top Cat Collective TRINITY THEATRE

Information on times and tickets www.trinitytheatre.net

SATURDAY Local & Live Sessions: The Breretons, I am Aquitaine, Katy Virgoe

St John’s Road, open all day, free entry, music from 8pm, website www.crosskeystw.co.uk

WEDNESDAY Derek Nash and Dave Colton FRIDAY Tim Aves and Martin McNeil MONDAY TWUNT: Ukulele Jam Session THE KING WILLIAM IV

Pembury, open all day, free entry, music from 8.30pm onwards

THE GREY LADY MUSIC LOUNGE

The Pantiles, doors 7.15pm, entry £6/£7, websites www.pdag.co.uk + www.thegreylady.co.uk

WEDNESDAY Sivix, Kachi, The Varlies THURSDAY Steffan James, Dan Clews, Cyrano FRIDAY Salsa Camina SATURDAY Soul Avenue SUNDAY The Midnight River Crew, Mark Chase, FONX TUESDAY Gronk, Isabella Coulstock, Kirsti Robinson, Fred Clark

Warwick Park, ticket information and concert times at www.kcmtw.org

SATURDAY Mardi Gras Special with The Sarah Savoy Trio THE BEAU NASH TAVERN

Mount Ephraim, open all day, free entry, music from 8.30pm till late

SATURDAY Quentin Holway

FRIDAY Adele: The Tribute

RUSTHALL CLUB

5 St Paul’s Street, Rusthall, open all day, free entry, music from 8.30pm onwards

THE ROYAL OAK

Prospect Road, open all day, free entry, music from early evening onwards

SATURDAY Duvet Dogs MONDAY Open Mic Night

THE BEDFORD

2 High Street, open all day, free entry, music from 8.30pm onwards

SATURDAY Atlas SUNDAY TW3 THE SPA HOTEL

Mount Ephraim Open all day, free entry, music from 8pm onwards, booking recommended on 01892 520 331

KING CHARLES THE MARTYR CHURCH HALL

THE CROSS KEYS

Trinity Theatre stages its version of Look Back in Anger. This groundbreaking and iconic piece of theatre by John Osborne, which first premiered in 1956, centres around a love triangle between an educated and highly intelligent working-class husband, his upperclass wife and her best friend. It promises passion, betrayal, dark humour and sharp wit in equal measure. Tickets cost £22 for two on the opening night, or from £13 on the other days. For performance times and further information, see www.trinitytheatre.net

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

FEATURES

Derek Nash

SATURDAY ABBA CHIQUE, [ABBA tribute]

SUBBED V2

FRIDAY Live Jazz: The Violet Jive THE DUKE OF YORK

The Pantiles, open all day, free entry, music from 8.30pm onwards

MONDAY Open Mic Night THE PUNCH & JUDY

11 St Stephen’s Street, Tonbridge Open all day, free entry, music from 8.30pm

TUESDAY Andy Wilkinson and Matt Moorey

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NEWS

Sporting Times

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

Allberry’s old magic helps Wells hang on to top spot

WELL A-HEAD Nathan Elder scores the Angels’ third goal

Old Bordenians 2 Tunbridge Wells Men’s 1st XI 2

Constable keeps Rustics in the hunt for promotion Rusthall 3 FC Elmstead 1

By Brandon Begg

By Richard Smith

HOCKEY:

FOLLOWING victory against their closest rivals Maidstone last time out, Wells had a much needed three-point buffer at the top of the table.

The score in their clash with Old Bordenians was 1-1 at half-time, and Wells emerged for the second half with sharper, slicker passing and greater vigour. Their reward came 15 minutes into the half, following a trademark Ben Allberry run into the circle from the left channel. The forward rolled back the years, beating numerous defenders before coolly slotting the ball into the bottom corner to take the lead for Tunbridge Wells. But an exquisite lob tied the scores following a broken down short corner.

Wells still sit at the top of the South League’s Kent & Sussex Regional Division One. TIMELESS Ben Allberry rolls back the years

FOOTBALL:

A rotating Wheeler shines as Angels keep driving forward Kingstonian 0 Tonbridge Angels 3

Organ masterminds emphatic home win Tunbridge Wells Ladies’ 1st XI 3 Saffron Walden 0

By Brandon Begg HOCKEY: VISITORS Saffron Walden began the quicker at Hawkenbury, but the hosts worked their way up the pitch with short, quick passes.

Fine transfers using Bertie Organ made it easy to switch the ball over to the right, where Ele Cairns entered the D and smashed it past the goalie, putting Wells 1-0 up.

Then Perdi Knight picked the ball up on the left baseline, drove it in and scored at a tight angle.

Wells won a penalty stroke that Organ scored, giving the hosts a comfortable victory.

GAME CHANGER Ele Cairns put Wells in the lead

By Jim Rowe FOOTBALL:

IT MAY have been the Angels’ last visit to Kingsmeadow, but they went there with hopes of playing in a higher league next season anyway.

They stay in fourth place breathing down the necks of Needham Market, who are only a point ahead.

The title may elude them but a third-place finish is on, and that would give home advantage in a semi-final play-off.

It was to be another comfortable victory for the Angels. As against Enfield in midweek, they outplayed Kingstonian in midfield areas and that provided the springboard for victory.

Manager Steve McKimm opted for an unchanged team, but in the 13th minute striker Alex Akrofi had to go off with an injury.

He was replaced by crowd favourite Nicky Wheeler who, as the top of McKimm’s continuing diamond formation, was to have an excellent game, proving virtually impossible to mark.

If the Manager was hoping for a reaction from his hitherto out-of-favour winger, now playing in an unfamiliar position, then he certainly got one.

The best chance of the first half fell to the visitors on 18 minutes, when Wheeler’s fine cross from the right was somehow not converted despite Tonbridge players queuing up to score. The final effort from Tom Phipp was blazed over the bar.

The Angels emerged for the second period in far more positive mood. They took the lead just a minute into the half, when a loose ball came out to Luke Allen lurking with intent on the edge of the penalty area to sidefoot into the net.

The visitors certainly weren’t content to sit back and defend their lead. During the next ten min-

utes chances fell to Allen, Nathan Elder and Wheeler, whose screamer forced a terrific save from Rob Tolfrey.

Just when it seemed that Kingstonian might have weathered the storm, the Angels struck again. Just inside the home side’s half there was contact between two players, and momentarily the Ks were expecting a whistle.

But the referee waved play on, and suddenly Tonbridge had players in the box with Kingstonian back-peddling.

Iron grip It fell to full-back Jack Parter, who cut in from the left and got a shot away that took a deflection and looped over the keeper into the net.

On 73 minutes, Kingstonian had their one big chance to get back into the match. Substitute Tom Derry cut inside from the right and looked odds on to score. But somehow, between them, Tom Parkinson and keeper Anthony di Bernardo just did enough to usher the ball to safety.

The game was slipping away from Kingstonian as the visiting defence took an iron grip on any incursion into the Tonbridge final third.

In the 90th minute, a Wheeler corner was converted by the head of leading scorer Elder to put the final gloss on a more than satisfactory performance.

Manager McKimm said: “It wasn’t a great first half for us, but we sorted out a few things at the interval and the response in the second period was excellent.

“Nicky did well in a withdrawn role, but that is typical of my team – they always want to play and will do their best, even if it’s not their favourite position.”

ELMSTEAD made the Rustics work hard for this win and prevented them from playing their free-flowing football in a drab first half. But the home side, proving why they are pushing for promotion, rallied with a far better second-half display.

Rusthall found Elmstead hard to break down as they defended deep and were hard to get behind.

The hosts finally broke the stalemate on 34 minutes, but still had to wait until the 58th minute to take the lead, through Constable’s strength and a clinical finish.

John Phillips threaded the ball through the middle and Constable shrugged off his marker and burst through on goal before rolling his left-footed shot across the keeper from 15 yards.

The Rustics were now dominating the game, and scored a third on 67 minutes.

John Sinclair slipped the ball into Constable’s feet in the final third and he swept it out to Parsons on the right in acres of space.

He flashed in a low cross across the face of the penalty area and Dan Mitchell, picked to partner Constable up front, stabbed his shot home from inside the six-yard box.

Rusthall host Sporting Club Thamesmead next Saturday, and travel to Lewisham Borough on March 4 before their home game against Glebe on March 8, which could be one of the biggest in their history.

Skilton and Akehurst score two each as Vinters are brought low Tonbridge Angels Ladies 5 Vinters 1

By Jim Rowe ANGELS LADIES bounced back from a disappointing visit to Margate by producing a dominant performance to defeat the league’s second-placed team Vinters.

The return fixture at Tonbridge Farm remained goalless until half-time, including Abbie Skilton seeing a shot hit the post.

The visitors scored the opening goal. Two minutes later, the Angels’ Beth Kemp put a perfect slide-rule pass behind the defence and Skilton slotted home.

In the 58th minute, Skilton’s corner kick found Megan Akehurst, who chipped a shot into the top corner.

On 66 minutes, Skilton again fired home after a volley.

Akehurst rounded off the best team move of the game, involving Kemp and Janes to score her second. Finally, on 88 minutes, Akehurst scored her first hat-trick HIGH FIVE in Angels colours.

Scorers Megan Akehurst The result lifts the and Abbie Skilton team to third place.

Sporting Times

Wednesday February 22 | 2017

Wells turn on style early to keep the pace for play-offs

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Copsey and McMahon give the TJs a massive boost

Cobham 22 Tunbridge Wells 35

By Graham Withers

Chichester 17 Tonbridge Juddians 47

RUGBY:

By Adam Hookway

BREAKING OUT OF COBHAM’S CLUTCHES Tunbridge Wells were determined to win from a ruck before the ball moved to Nick Doherty, who beat three men to make inroads into Cobham’s territory.

Attack His arcing run took him towards the right wing and gave skipper Lee Campion the opportunity to create a perfect scissors movement and cross under the posts. Reynolds added the two.

After a series of runs by Matt Cook and Mike Hathaway, a penalty was awarded 40 metres out which Reynolds struck sweetly between the uprights for a score of 23-3 at the interval.

From a five-metre scrum on 53 minutes, the ball was quickly moved away by Wells and, with the defence confused by a bouncing ball, Harding gathered it to stroll untouched under the posts, Reynolds converting again.

Cobham were about to have their best phase of the game.

A home scrum saw an excellent move release winger Max McDonald for a well-worked try that was converted by Jones-Davies.

The hosts were straight back on the attack from the kick-off and an excellent move the whole length of the pitch eventually saw hooker Jake McQuade cross wide out for a try.

With a cracking Jones-Davies conversion there were suddenly a few nerves amongst the visiting supporters as the score became 17-30 with 11 minutes to play.

Despite their earlier dominance, time was now starting to run out on Wells’ four-try bonus point quest, so they knew they had to take the chance when it came.

John Rumsey, back from injury, cleverly engineered a kick to the corner that saw Cobham carry into touch. From the ensuing rolling maul, Dagwell controlled it well at the back and touched down for the bonus point try. Reynolds’ conversion hit the post.

The game and the crucial bonus were now secured by the visitor, but there was still time for a fine individual try by Jones-Davies for the hosts.

Wells will enjoy a deserved week off before seeking revenge at home over a Chobham side who pulled off a surprise victory in November.

PHOTO: Bruce Elliott

TUNBRIDGE WELLS travelled to Cobham in Surrey knowing that if they were to haul second-placed Havant back and secure a promotion play-off place, they needed a full set of wins from the last seven games and, ideally, bonus points to have any hope.

Cobham were sitting in fifth place, and when the teams met at St Marks earlier in the campaign the result could have gone either way before the home team triumphed 28-21.

But Wells pretty much put the game to bed by half-time by putting in one of their best first-half performances of the season.

Cobham opened the scoring with a long-range penalty from impressive outside half Ross JonesDavies after just 60 seconds, but this was to be the home team’s only score of the half.

When Wells were awarded a penalty deep in their own half, Dylan Barkas sent a raking kick upfield from an ambitious quick-tap.

Charlie Harding put pressure on the home defence and secured the ball to allow Frank Reynolds to score between the posts and also convert.

A superb turnover by Charlie Dagwell, who had been handed a deserved start at flanker, led to Reynolds stroking over the penalty from 28 metres.

Wells were awarded another penalty for offside at a maul and the excellent Reynolds added the three points.

Just after the half-hour, the visitors produced a magnificent team try. Turi Uini surged 30 metres

NEWS

RUGBY: EVERY game matters now for TJs, and a trip to the south coast to take on Chichester is always a stiff test. And so it proved, as Chi, boosted by a vociferous home crowd, came out of the blocks to dominate the first 20 minutes.

Four penalties later and TJs were 12-0 down and struggling to secure any ball.

After a penalty for themselves, TJs finally created space for Jon McMahon to go over and bring them back to 12-8.

Liam Prescott added a long-distance penalty as the half ended, and TJs went in just one point in arrears.

It was not a great position, but they were still in the mix knowing that a strong second-half performance should do the trick.

As is often their way, TJs came out strong in the second half and Prescott added another penalty to take them in front at 12-14.

Pick and go from the forwards put Cole Campbell over, and it was 21-12 but still tight.

‘Chi were trying a few things, but one cross-kick was their undoing as it fell nicely into James Copsey’s arms and he jogged in unopposed’ Chi were trying a few things, but one cross-kick was their undoing as it fell nicely into James Copsey’s arms and he jogged in unopposed.

Then a penalty kick to the corner led to a lineout win, drive and ball being shifted left to Copsey to grab his second and secure the bonus point.

TJs were reduced to 14 as Stephen Nelli received a yellow card, and Chi hit back with a try of their own to close to 17-33.

But TJs eased away again with some excellent phase play that put Jon McMahon in for his second. A late penalty try rounded it off.

Second placed Wimbledon won at Combe but failed to pick up a bonus, which puts them five points behind TJs now.

Both have a Saturday off, with TJs back in action on March 4 at The Slade.

CONTACT US:

Please send your sports stories to newsdesk@timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk or newsdesk@timesoftonbridge.co.uk