88 squillion quid is a lot of brass!...

I had a bit of a West Kent College day yesterday. Because of an arts festival project I'm getting involved in they had asked me to exhibit at their freshers day fair, which was from about 9am to 2-30pm on the car park outside the Speldhurst building. They couldn't have pickd a better day to be out in the open air. The Indian Summer sun was beating down on us, while the fresh breeze kept us from overheating. I spoke to alot of foreign students who all had the same questonaire to test their English skills, which, in most cases were badly lacking. I hope they catch up soon otherwise they'll be eaten alive at Tonbridge Saturday market. There were student bands and dance groups, some of which were incredibly good. I didn't sell many books, but no harm in putting Mr. Books name around town I say and I did go home with a bit of an unexpected sun tan. Some of the traders there were bitterly disappointed as one colourful character commented: "I'd have been better off if I'd got up this morning and burnt a five pound note!" But really what did they expect at a student fair? The Absolutely Fabulous girls to drop by with large bundles of cash?! There were some wonderful looking characters and creations on display outside the canteen area as students did what they do best together: hang out in largish groups, smoking, talking, sipping coffee and water, posing and eyeing each other up. Another less kind and I might add bitter and twisted older lady stall holder remarked that she thought that young people today had no direction "They seem to be just drifting!" Her colleague with her on the stall was even less kind and thought that National Service should be brought back to knock them all into shape and bring back respect. I told them that I thought that nothing had really changed that much since they were young but felt like saying: "Listen you bitter old gits: You two are market traders whereas every one of these young 'drifters' is here for a reason they have a course they have therefore a direction in life ergo, by definition, they are not drifters." But it would probably have been wasted on them!...
Then in the evening, remember I said at the start that I'd had a West Kent College day, I went along to the first talk of the season on the Tonbridge Civic Society programme of events held upstairs at the Angel Centre. The subject was something I did want to know more about, West Kent College's new multi million pound face lift. This is a massive project that will be a major contributor to Tonbridge and the surrounding area. Vice Principal, Chis Hare, told us broadly what the college is all about and where they expect to go, but the most interesting bit was by a representative from Dyer, the architects on the project, who took us through the building almost literally with the aid of computer graphics. It will be an amazing, state of the art building which is bound to attract an even wider audience of young adults eager to learn the mainly vocational subjects which the college offers. There'll be a skyline cafe with panoramic views right across the Weald of Kent, there'll be an incredible, versatile studio and theatre, health care facilities, even an open air theatre and conference area. All of this will be available in off peak hours to members of the community of Tonbridge. Yes there are bound to be teething problems and yes there will be more than a few issues over things like students parking in residential areas, but that will all be ironed out in time. Won't it be worth it for such a tremendous facility right on our door step? Mind you 88 squillion quid, which is what the project is costing, is a lot of money in anyone's book!...