Canoe trail along the Medway for me this Friday....

Last weekend I finally did something that I've been meaning to do for several years. I bought a canoe. It's a beauty as well. It's a solo, although I could get a small child or maybe a dog (if I had one) in the front. It's one of those open style Canadian canoes so, apart from all the other things to do like buy safety gear and get it registered, I also need to think up a name for it. I've looked up all the possible Native American watery girls names, which seemed appropriate for such a craft, and, so far, the possibilities are Tallulah, which means Leaping Water apparently, but I can't think of the name without hearing that song from the film Bugsy Malone ("My name is Tallulah...") sang by a young Jodie Foster which would just be too annoying. So that leaves Mallila, meaning rushing Salmon swimming up a river; Kateri meaning pure; and my favourite Sanuye which means red cloud at sunset. The only trouble with that is that I'm not quite sure how to pronounce the word which might be a problem if anyone asks me the name of my canoe! Is it san-nu-yeh or maybe seaan-ye. Maybe the y is a silent one in which case it'd be sanoo which wouldn't be half as nice. Anyway, the name aside, I'm really looking forward to taking it out onto the river this weekend. That is provided my life jacket turns up in time. I ought of course use the correct term of either buoyancy aid or personal flotation device which more accurately describes what they do. (You see I'm already learning the lingo!) I'm already discovering that having a canoe opens up all sorts of possibilities right here in Tonbridge and I'm getting rather excited about the whole thing. After a few goes paddling around the park loop which most people manage to do in around an hour with the boats you can hire from the jetty under the Big Bridge, I think I'll build up to exploring further down river towards Hartlake Bridge. My goal by the end of the summer is to paddle down to Allington Lock near Maidstone with my packed lunch and flask of coffee and not a care in the world. There's a great web site which tells me all about this route they call the Medway Canoe Trail which makes it sound quite delightful. What better way to get away from the incessant media coverage of the Royal Wedding this Friday. Thanks Will and Kate you've given me a great idea. See you in Allington. Unless I drift out into the English Channel!...

A right Royal tasting wine....

I heard on BBC Radio Kent this morning that they were struggling to find a connection with the royal wedding. I'm not sure why they need to but it seems that there is one. Not with Tonbridge, although you can buy it in Waitrose and the Wine Library on the High Street. Chapel Down Wines of Tenterden Vineyards are rumoured to be supplying some of the wine for the wedding ceremony. Quite a coup for them if it's true and thoroughly deserved as it's actually very palatable. Mind you so it should be at around £8 for a bottle of white wine. I tried some at Christmas and, let me tell you, the sparkling wine is even better and, at only about £18 a pop is cheaper than many a Champagne and every bit as nice. OK it's not vintage Bollinger but it ain't half bad. Try some it'll be all the rage after Friday....

Campus for the 21st Century Picks up Tonbridge Civic Design Award....

Went along to the Tonbridge Civic Society's Civic Design Awards last night at Somerhill House and enjoyed a glass or two of wine and a lovely meal of chicken, wrapped in bacon with vegetables, followed by a delicious apple pie and fruit coulli (I think that's what it was) with cream and then coffee to follow with a really tastey Belgian chocolate truffle....

Oh yes and, I nearly forgot, then there were the actual awards presentations themselves. The new West Kent College campus, or should I say K College to use it's swanky new name, won the main prize which, frankly, was no great surpise as A: there was very little else being built in Tonbridge in 2010 and B: the society had already announced the fact in their newsletter which I received at home around three weeks ago! I never see the point of telling people who's won before the night but it didn't spoil a thoroughly enjoyable evening. I met several people I knew very well and it was nice to catch up with Civic Soc matters and I also sat next to two lovely people who I never had the pleasure of meeting before. The lady to my left was particularly delightful company and could have kept me talking for hours. I think she said that she'd moved back to Tonbridge to retire after many years away and was rediscovering what a lovely town it is with so much potential. I think she's right on that score. I also met Bill Fearon who, if you don't know, is the Principal of K College and had spoken very enthusiastically about the new campus project and about Tonbridge earlier in the evening. He made a big point of saying that it was a college for the community as well as for the students. They now have some excellent facilities such as the new theatre (and soon outdoor theatre) and The View Cafe. You can even go there for a hair cut if you don't mind risking a student being let loose on it! It turns out that Bill and I have something in common: we both went to that excellent seat of learning, Loughborough University, although not quite at the same time so we reminsced together for a little while about the old days when we were in our sporting prime. The builders and the architects were all given their plaques and certificates and we were given a short and interesting slide show and talk about the project; then off we all went for another year. We could well be seeing Mr. Fearon excepting more awards in the future as this was just phase one of the Campus 21 project, the other phase is due for completion later this year....

Tonbridge to St. Johns at 8-30am is a Nightmare!...

It's been a while since I drove along the St. John's Road in the rush hour but I had to today for reasons which I won't go into. All I can say is what a nightmare! And this on a day inbetween Bank Holidays when there will be quite a few people taking days off. That said I was impressed with my own knowledge of the back lanes which allowed me to take a right fork at Southborough Common and then through the trees somewhere near Modest Corner (probably) then round the back of a housing estate to come out on Reynolds Lane and then right around the back so that eventually you return to the main road near St. John's church. Pretty impressive stuff really! I must have saved at least six and a half minutes which turned out to be the crucial six and a half minutes to get me to my desitination on time. Mind you I had to almost literally take my life into my own hands on some of those lanes. It reminded me of those scenes in Doc Martin where the cumudgeonly GP is driving along the very narrow Cornish roads carefully so as not to risk his new Mercedes wing mirrors getting knocked and then every so often he's driven off the road by some farmer in a batterred old Landrover who is so used to the roads he doesn't see anything wrong with re-enacting Death Race 2000.
But what can be done about those main roads being so clogged? Here's Tonbridge Blog's proposed solution: Allow bikes to ride on pavements between Tonbridge and Southborough which would encourage school kids to stay fit by cycling to school (hardly anyone walks along that stretch anyway so that should cause any problems;) stagger school start times say between 8-30 and 10am. Employers of office staff introduce flexitime so that early birds can start work at 7-30 and non morning types (like me) can leave it till 10 o'clock if they choose. On top of that the Kent Freedom Pass would be extended to include 6th Formers and college students which would encourage the use of public transport rather than parents being tempted to drive their teenage children around everywhere. This could easily be justified by the fact that KCC's "administration" charge for the scheme has just gone up to £100 from £50 for all 11-16 year olds. Unless the powers that be (that's Kent County Council and the two borough councils) actually do something about it then the St. Johns Road will just steadily get worse. Anyone have any other suggestions?....

For the Queen and St. George....

Whose idea was it to put St. George's Day right in the middle of Easter? Try as we might it is just very difficult to find any way to celebrate the day. Unless of course it happens to be your birthday which indeed it is my nephew's (Happy Birthday Ben if you're reading this!) That apart though what do we have? St. Patrick's Day has its parades and Guinness and is a huge day for Irish communities the world over. St Andrew's Day is a little less so but still pulls together many Scottish people. St. David's Day is a lovely Welsh affair (rather like Giggs and Thomas!) with daffodils and leaks all over the place. What should the English have for St. George's then? The trouble is the national flag is mainly for football supporting purposes and has unfortunately become associated with nationalistic fringe political parties. But why should we let that hold us back. So let's eat roast ox and drink sack and mead for our country, the Queen, William Shakespeare and St George. Or we could have a curry and a pint of lager instead!...

Postal Deliveries....

In 1896 there were four postal deliveries of letters a day in Tonbridge. The first at 7am, then 10am, 4pm and the last at 6-30pm. So it would have been possible to invite someone for dinner by post card in the morning and receive a reply the same day. Today there's just one delivery at around about 10-30am or whenever they get around to it. There's progress for you! And in 1896 there was always the telegraph office for more urgent messages....

The great storm....

"....So terrific was the wind that houses and barns were blown down., trees uprooted, and no glass facing South but was broken. Crops of hops and wheat in that year were utterly destroyed, while immense hailstones, many inches in circumference, caused the sad loss of life to both man and beast..." The great storm of 1987? Global warming causing calamitous climate change like an apocolyptic American movie? No, for I refer of course to that great destructive storm which swept across Tonbridge and the Weald of Kent in the year 1763!...

Druids alive and well in Tonbridge?...

Some readers of this blog will recall the Bull Hotel in Tonbridge High Street. Perhaps a few of you will even recall having eaten or drank in there. I bet not many of you realised that it was once home to the meeting of Druids. I discovered this extract from an 1896 guide to the town called "Tonbridge for the Resident, The Holiday maker and the Angler A Descriptive and Historical Handbook" (They had long titles in those days!)

 "...At the Bull Hotel the local branch of the Ancient Order of Druids meets, and weekly congratulates itself upon being one of the strongest and most important lodges in the kingdom...."

I've never seen anything else written about this before; anyone care to shed any light on this?...

Father Michael found dead.

I have to report some sad news which has been confirmed to me by reporters at the Kent and Sussex Courier. Father Michael, who has been the subject of some rather serious allegations and had to be reliquished of his position at Corpus Christi, has died. Early indications are that he was discovered dead by his elderly mother yesterday morning. There are rumours of a possible drugs overdose. I'm sure that Tonbridge and in particular the Catholic community of the town will be in shock over this. We may never know whether or not the allegations leading to his arrest late last year would have ever been substantiated but it's probably best for everyone to draw a line under the whole episode and move on. When I posted the original item simply expressing that it had appeared on that week's Courier front page I had absolutely no idea of what was to come. Well over 300 comments and still coming in. If Tonbridge Blog gets 20 comments then usually that's on the high side so 300 is a phenomenal number. I've read most, if not all, of them and have been quite shocked, disturbed and at times even a bit scared by the depth of feeling it had clearly caused. Early comments suggested that I should take the post down and not help to spread gossip but I chose not to and, after a while, it was clear that to do so would have left others with no means of replying. Whether that was wise or not I'm not quite sure; but one thing's for sure this blog does seem to have served as the unofficial forum for people's views. If nothing else it has served to let people get their thoughts off their chests, to vent their spleens. Yes most of that has been anonymously but sometimes that's when you find people speaking the truth. I'm sure that the community will all pull together and help each other through this difficult period. It's an easy thing to say but time does heal everything eventually. I have never expressed a personal opinion on the subject and neither will I now

Ghostly Norman in Tonbridge Castle!...

Ghostly Norman or Creepy Tim?

It's not very often that Tonbridge Blog is lazy enough just to directly quote what a reader has sent in but I just couldn't resist this one from Tim Ton (who I guess is someone called Tim who lives in Tonbridge!) I love the comment about the ghostly face on the wall of Tonbridge Castle. Personally I think creeping around in the dark in Tonbridge has possibly sent Tim slightly off his rocker. Or maybe he has spotted something that the ghost whisperers couldn't. And yes I do happen to know that paranormal tests for orbs and other such phenomena have been carried out on at least one occasion within the depths of the Castle gatehouse over night. Don't think they discovered anything other than a few creepy shadows. (Perhaps it was Tim Ton crawling around!) Have a look at Tim's picture and see if you think this is evidence. This is what he said:

"In case you run out of things to say on your blog (yes well obviously I did run out!) I enclose a few photos I took of Tonbridge. I have a habit of creeping around town at night with my camera.
The picture called "Ghostly Norman" is a little spooky because if you look at my head..or the shadow of my head on the right of the picture, there appears to be a strangely "Normanesque" face peering out."

A £7,900 slap for Tonbridge Blog!

Someone who lives in Rose Street, Tonbridge (you know who you are!) cost me £1.58 this morning. A great start to my Saturday I must say! I got a Royal Mail unpaid postage slip through my shop door the other day and had to go to the post depot this morning. This hardly ever happens so I was curious to know what it could be; maybe someone requesting a book had just forgotten to stick his stamps on the letter. But actually no. Once I'd coughed up my money which, by the way, included a £1 "handling fee" by our dear post office I opened it to discover a copy of the Tonbridge Insider and scrawled across the front in no uncertain terms the recipient had written that they did not want to receive their free copy any more. If they were so bothered wouldn't it have been far easier just to put it in the bin rather than go to all the effort of posting it? Or does this person have a right to demand not to receive the magazine? If so surely we'd have to apply the same rights to every other bit of junk mail that landed on our door mats wouldn't we? As far as I know it would be quite a problem, if not impossible, stopping one household receiving their copy. Just in case anyone else is thinking of playing this same trick on TonbridgeBlog spare a thought for me as you see I only write for the magazine I don't run it! The editor's details are in the back of the magazine if you feel that strongly. I'll be suprised if there are many more people who don't think it worth at least a quick read as there is, after all, quite a lot of information about local events in there if nothing else. If all 5,000 of the circulation don't like it though that £1.58 extra postage could turn out to be a rather hefty £7,900. I'd better steer clear of the post depot for a bit!...

Get something off your chest on Tonbridge Blog....

Did any stories in the local papers niggle you this week? If so make a comment below and share it with the rest of Tonbridge. Some of the Articles on Tonbridge Blog have a staggering 10,000 page impressions so you'll be letting quite a few people know your views....

Tonbridge Then and Now....

High Street (Not sure quite where)

Barden Park

Outside the Chequers Inn



Top of Quarry Hill



I've just bought a lovely old photo album called Pictureque Views of Tonbridge published by R.J. Garton which apparently was an Art, Needlework and Fancy Goods shop at 50 High Street, Tonbridge according to the title page. (Not sure what's there now?) I paid far too much for it on ebay but I'm glad I did because it has taken me momentarily back in time. Back to a time when life seems to have been much less hectic, when people sent postcards instead of emails and texts, when everything didn't have to be done so quickly. Maybe in reality it wasn't so idyllic but I bet people were far less stressed out in those days at the turn of the century. Here are some of the pictures which Tonbridge Blog can bring to you because presumably no one still holds the copyright on them. If they do then show me the proof and sue me! In the meantime I thought I'd share them with the town and Tonbridge expats the world over. They show long forgotten shops, lost pastimes like boating along the river and swimming in the Medway bathing pool (basically the river!) There's Barden Park which is now a housing estate and was once the seat of Andrew Judd the founder of Tonridge School and Lord Mayor of London. I love the simple one of the cyclists at the top of Quarry Hill and the view of the Public Hall looking towards the bridge. How different it all looks now....



The unofficial Bathing Pool in the Medway









The Public Hall near where Mr. Books is now



Gay old town....

There's a story in the press today about a gay couple who were ejected from a pub in the heart of usually very liberated Soho. They protest that they were doing nothing but snogging (that is to say that it wasn't heavy petting.) So were they doing anything wrong? Personally I find it mildly embarrassing when anyone, gay or straight, old or young, openly snogs in front of me. That said I wouldn't throw them out of my bookshop for doing so, let alone a bar in Soho late in the evening. I might shout "Get a room!" or words to that effect but I would leave it at that. So is Tonbridge ready for such open shows of sexuality. What would the landlord of the P&J or the New Drum have to say about it. Maybe it already happens and they think there's nothing bad about it in the 21st Century....

A brand new bright tomorrow for Tonbridge?...

So what is happiness? Is it possible to measure it? Can money bring it? We all want it, we all talk about it, we all enjoy songs about it. There's a great deal about happiness from the current government and well known journalists writing about it. Policians, philosophers and businessmen have tried to break down the causes of it almost from the beginning of recorded time to try to find out whether it is defineable and measureable. And yet I doubt whether we even know ourselves whether or not we truely are HAPPY. We can feel happy on a night out with friends, or if we win a bet at the bookies, even after a nice meal; but does that make us deep down contented. I often look miserable and deep in thought but feel happy inside. Does any of this matter? So Tonbridge Blog this week asks the question: is Tonbridge an up town or a down town? Are the people happy or just muddling along.

As Morcambe and Wise put it:
"In this world where we live, there should be more happiness,
So much joy you can give, to each brand new bright tomorrow....

Let your arms be as warm as the sun from up above,
Bring me fun, bring me sunshine, bring me love."

Or maybe you prefer Ken Dodd's version:
"Happiness, happiness, the greatest gift that I posses
I thank the Lord I've been blessed
With more than my share of happiness

To me this old world is a wonderful place
And I'm just about the luckiest human in the whole human race
I've got no silver and I've got no gold
Just a whole lot of happiness in my soul...."

Potter about....

A guy called Mike (didn't get his surname) just came into the shop to see if I could mention Open Studios on the blog or in The Tonbridge Insider. I said maybe if he promised to give me a go on his potters wheel, teach me how to throw a pot. (Think that's the expression.)  He's going to take me up on that so watch out for flying clay if you are walking down Shipbourne Road near his studio. It'd be funny if his surname is Potter wouldn't it! (Yeah halarious!)

Comment here on stories in the news...

If you have views on any stories in the news, either local or national, this week and want to get a debate going with the people of Tonbridge then use the comment box below. Go on get something off your chest right now! Keep it fairly clean and inoffensive though please....

It's official: Council policies a load of rubbish.....

Revealing piece in the the Telegraph today about councils up and down the country imposing draconian fines of up to £1,000 for people contravening the regulations on household waste. The Tory Government intends to clamp down on councils imposing fines for such petty offences calling some of the charges "immoral." Apparently some naughty people have been daring to put out extra black plastic sacks next to their wheelie bins. Tut tut smack on wrists! The council officials are being referred to as the "Bin Police" or, in at least one case, the "Rubbish Gestapo." Is this fair? Are these just the most extreme of cases? Has anyone in Tonbridge been the victim of such over zealous enforcement?

Sometimes on Sunday....

Mr. Books open? On a Sunday? What's going on? Just fancied it really. Lots of people out in Sunny Tonny, garden done this morning. Family out shopping. Anyway it does say on my opening times: "Sunday Sometimes"

Hello Mrs. Resch....

And speaking of people I bumped into today in the Spring sunshine. On my way over to Bronsons newsagents earlier I met Mrs. Resch, the Head Teacher of Slade Primary School. Now there's a lady who has a lovely smile and always brightens up your day whenever you see her. She just seems to genuinely ooze enthusiasm and happiness. The kids of Slade are extremely lucky to have her in charge. They have a great simple motto at Slade which is Best Team Happy; it's the first thing the children learn when they walk through the doors of the school and I'm sure that sentiment remains with many of them for years to come....

The Spring Sunshine in Tonbridge....

Isn't Spring lovely. I just nipped out to Bronsons newsagents for some milk and a paper and bumped into several people I haven't seen in months. It's as if we've all been hibernating and now we can all pop our heads out into the sunshine. Bright colours abound and yellow daffodils bob their heads as if bowing to greet us all. Now look what's happened: I've come all over poetic. Must be that fresh Spring air!...

Tonbridge Farmers Market....

I see in the Courier this week that a local vegetable producer has been given permission in principle to hold a monthly Sunday farmers market in Tonbridge. As regular readers will know Tonbridge Blog has been campaigning for such a market in the town for quite some time, so this can only be good news for the town. The people from the council in the article who say that they are baffled that previous attempts at regular farmers markets haven't worked, when there are successful ones in neighbouring Shipbourne, Hildenborough and West Malling, obviously don't live in Tonbridge. The first two are run by village enthusiasts and are, crucially, weekly so they become part of the shopping routine of the community. The other market is right in the town centre and in a town which is more cut off than Tonbridge and one which has a lovely centre with a very wide road through it which isn't too busy and again has a real sense of community. Good luck to Steve Wood, who is prepared to give it a bash, but I remain convinced that the Tonbridge farmers market needs to be on a Wednesday, Thursday or Friday; it needs to be weekly and it needs to be either in the old market square next to the Chequers Inn or around the Castle, which has had a market there for around a thousand years (apart from the last nine years that is.) If I'm not proved right then I'll eat my straw hat!...

The David Cameron/Mr. Books look....

I see in the papers today that David Cameron is sporting the Mr. Books look. Baggy arsed pair of jeans with Polo shirt that's two sizes too small with un-ironed collars, undone to reveal pasty bit of skin at the neck line. And that my friends is just about the only thing that me and Call Me Dave have in common. Mind you his shirt is probably Armani with the label replaced for a Marks and Sparks one for PR purposes, mine is most probably from Peacocks in Tonbridge!

April Insider out now....

Good issue of The Tonbridge Insider this month. There's Tonbridge Log, which is a kind of in-print version of T Blog, and there's a piece about the first ever Tonbridge Half Marathon. Lots of other little snippets and titbits. Well worth a read I'd say. Even though I haven't actually seen my copy yet it's available online like a virtual magazine; so it's almost, but not quite, like having it in your hands. Look out for it sliding through your letter box any day now....

Mr. Books too ugly for Kent Life Magazine?

Great piece in Kent Life's March issue about old bookshops in Kent. If you can be bothered to wade through all the property ads it starts on page 50. It has some great pictures of bookshop owners and a piece about their thoughts on books and the book trade. There's the Chaucer Bookshop in Canterbury, Baggins Book Bazaar in Rochester, Michael's Bookshop in Ramsgate and The Edenbridge Bookshop. All very well and good and I'm sure they are all worthy of a mention. But, hang on, there is one notable exception, and I think you all know where I'm going with this!.... Actually Mr. Books and the Tunbridge Wells bookshops do get a small mention in the "Other bookshops in Kent" side bar. Being as the editor of the magazine is Tonbridge based then gee thanks Kent Life!...

With these hands....

I've had a busy Saturday afternoon making the most of a rare bit of free time. Before wandering down to watch the TJs play on the park I had a little look in the parish church where the Easter "Eggstravaganza" (geddit!) was taking place. There were lots and lots of things going on mainly with young children in mind but also some interesting bits of art by local artist Christine Highland and also some craft bits and pieces. But being a shallow minded, superficial kind of bloke I was naturally drawn to the small display by Tonbridge's very own sculpting celebrity, Guy Portelli. I think the idea was that his works were all of an Easter theme, so there were hands that could be interpreted as fish (with a bit of imagination,) silver egg boxey-looking objects with crowns fitted on top and, the centre piece a curvey, warped, cross inlaid with glass mosiac. Very impressive stuff actually in my opinion (not that I have any qualifications to say this other than knowing what I like to see. He's certainly got something and the Dragons of BBCs brilliant series Dragon's Den could also spot this as they invested around 90 grand 'of their children's inheritance' in his business. Small wonder then that some of Guy's works are selling for over £20,000 each. And they aren't even exclusive originals; he normally does them in small edition batches of about ten copies. If I had the money Guy I'd have bought the hands one there and then. Ah well at least I've got the photo to remember them by. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I was trying to be creative myself and just wanted his hands in shot without him posing behind like he did. Good picture though none-the-less.... 

TJs Romp it again!...

For regulars down at Tonbridge Juddians rugby club this sort of figure on the scoreboard has become rather a familiar sight. The game finished nearer to fifty points but I left their Kent Cup semi final game against Blackheath with a few minutes to go. I very much enjoyed my Saturday afternoon treat of a pint of Larkins Ale also. Looking forward to next season when the TJs will be facing some really quite stiff opposition in the national league. I may even stay to the end of those matches....
PS. Just a small nit picky point to the person responsible for the scoreboard though. Should there be an apostrophe before the S of TJs or not? Opinions are divided on the correct use of the apostrophe but, in this case, there seems no justification for it. It doesn't refer to the TJs belonging to anyone or anything; neither has there been a word or letter missed. Actually there has, if you count the rest of the word 'uddians after the J, but I doubt whether that is the reason it's been used and in any case that would mean that there should also be one after the T in place of the 'onbridge. (That apostrophe in the word it's, by the way, was used correctly to replace the ha' in the word has.) That's enough on correct use of English grammar; let's (let us) have another pint of Larkins! Or should that be Larkin's?!

Parking attendant finds a useful role....

I spotted a traffic warden earlier this afternoon, by his hideout in the Castle, busying himself cleaning the Parking Fines Mobile. He was certainly giving it a good old hose down getting all that grime off taking rather a long time over it, probably to run down the last hour or so of his shift. Still at least while he was there he wasn't slapping a £30 quid ticket on some poor unsuspecting shopper's hatchback car for being ten minutes late back! They'd probably do the town a favour if they just cleaned our cars full time instead....

Last Post....

Well that's it then my friends. Tonbridge Blog is off. Someone has just left a very valuable book on my doorstep and I'm off straight to Sotherby's auction house. It's actually a copy of a book I've only ever dreamt about before. I never thought I'd see a copy let alone own one. It's the First Folio of Shakespeare's works and I can hardly contain myself. If it's the real thing, and I'm 99.9% certain it is then it will fetch between £10 and £15 million. Unbelieveable! A just reward for all that hard work I've done over the past seven years shifting books around, moving them in and out of the shop, getting up at 6am on a Sunday to do book fairs. Working every Saturday for the last six years, being an unofficial tourist information office. Well, no more, it's the high life for Mr. Books now. Off he goes into the sunset with a glass of champagne in his hand. See you all then everyone. This will be the last ever post on TBlog....