Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Five talks, one very successful evening....

Last night the Tonbridge Civic Society held a really intersting talk; to be more precise it was five talks, each a mini speech about that person's view about a particular aspect of Tonbridge. To loosen us all up we were plied with mulled wine and mince pies before hand. Then there were talks about the theatre that used to be on Avebury Aveue (The Empire?) and how they put on three, sometimes four performances a day; then there was a lady who'd been a teacher at Tonbridge Girls Grammar for 37 years, who described how she was advised by her college how to behave at the interview and how she must wear a hat and gloves! There was a wife of a retired Tonbridge School Master who told the audience about how life was wonderful and how times have changed. If I had to pick a favourite two though they were John Ray's talk about his times as a teacher in Tonbridge, originally being mistaken for a prefect in his time at Sussex Road boys school and how he eventually became the respected Deputy Head of Hugh Christie; so man and boy as a teacher in the town. I'd never heard John speak before and I can now say that he is every bit as good as he's been made out to be. He showed a wonderful natural gift for being on his feet and played off the audience, and the compere for the evening, superbly. My other favourite, more for the subject than anything was Steve Dawe's view on how we all might solve the traffic problem in Tonbridge. He pointed to some major trial schemes in other towns, such as Darlington, where they aren't just talking about it, they are actually encouraging people to get out of their cars, and onto their bicycles and feet, with positive measures. Steve is actively involved with the Green Party, but we won't hold that against him, and clearly is very passionate about the topic. So a really, you might say surprisingly so if you were cynical, evening with the TCS with some great entertainment and some serious topics mixed in for good measure. If only a few younger people would go to these meetings so that I didn't feel like a boy in short trousers....

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