Tonbridge Half Marathon here we come....

Here it is the route of the very first Tonbridge Half Marathon. Sunday September 25th. Bring it on!

Books on Tonbridge....

And while we're on the subject of books here's a montage (good word that) of my favourite books on Tonbridge. All available in Mr. Books naturally. Don't tell everyone though because there really aren't enough to go round. Neve's 1933 book The Tonbridge of Yesterday, for example, is so scarce that people have been known kill for it!....

Tonbridge Yesterday and Tonbridge Today....

The back cover of Arthur Neve's well known and sought after book, The Tonbridge of Yesterday, makes interesting reading. It refers of course to the now demised Tonbridge Free Press which was around for well over a hundred years and written, edited, compiled and printed right here in the town. Whatever happened to the paper that was once the pride of Tonbridge? I'll tell you something it didn't, as most people seem to think, turn into the Kent and Sussex Courier which now seems to be the town's adopted local paper. No, in fact it morphed into the Kent Messenger, which most people now think of as a Malling and Maidstone title....

Tonbridge Half Marathon Training....

If anyone's concerned about my injury prone training schedule for the Tonbridge Half Marathon in September worry thee not. I'm still going out at least once a week, having overcome my calf strains, doing between 7 and 10 miles. The other day I ran from the foot of Quarry Hill along the Penshurst cycle trail, then cut across the fields to Leigh, on the road to Powder Mills, then back towards Tonbridge on the foot paths and linking up with Tonbridge Park, finishing at Quarry Hill. That's got to be at least 8 or 9 miles. Not bad for an old codger I thought to myself as I did the all essential warm down excercises. In fact I'm champing at the bit to go out for another long one. I've decided that I run better with about a four day gap between runs rather than trying to go out every day. I'd love to go for that magical sub two hour time but just finishing without stopping would be an achievement in itself for a man who's basically not built for distnace running on his first attempt....

A drastic way to avoid the inlaws!...

Just a typical scene on the Medway

My inlaws arrived yesterday so I thought what better day to go on a canoe trip down river towards Yalding. That would be an achievable destination as it looked about half way on the Medway Canoe Trail map which I'd managed to get hold of when I went on my last excursion on the Royal wedding day (scroll down if you must.) This time I was a little late setting off from the slipway at Tonbridge park but reckoned on about six hours maximum even with stops. (Incidentally I should point out, just in case they read this, that I wasn't really going off on a trip to get away from my sister in law and family, honestly I wasn't, it was just that the conditions were almost perfect: calm, fairly still waters, sunny but not baking hot, bit of a gentle breeze, river flowing but not too fast; conditions which you only see every few weeks on the day you can spare the time.)Having gone down part of this canoe trail a couple of times now I really cannot think of a better way to unwind. I like the gentle exercise, I like the song of the paddle and the canoe as it glides through the water, I love seeing the wild life and I like the feeling of being close to home and yet in a completely different environment. The only thing I could do without is those damned lock gates; for a solo novice canoeist, in an open canoe, they pose a bit of a challenge. The town lock fish gate is an easy way to get down the lock, it's a slow controlled shoot which just gently plonks you down and on your way towards the Cannon Lane bridge and beyond it the next lock, Eldridge's where there was supposed to be another fish gate/canoe shoot. This should have been finished in June but clearly work has over ran which meant a 100 metres portage (that's what we canoeists call carrying your canoe from the platform above the lock to the one below or vice versa. Fine did that no problem. Next lock was Porters Lock where I'd had a little scare last time when water rushed in my canoe, who's name is Tallulah by the way, so I was wary of this steep little shoot which is graded easy but I'd say they need to look at that grading again. I was quickly down towards the bottom and expecting the surge of water coming over the back gunnels, so leant forward slightly and, rather stupidly, stuck my paddle in to slow myself down a little. This action, and my over compensating lean, resulted quickly and dramatically in a capsize! Over I went one way, paddle still in hands, Tallulah the other way, water still rushing from the shoot pushing us both further down stream. I have done capsize routine before though not since my school days so, to be honest I knew I'd be alright so I was more concerned about the canoe. It all happens in seconds but you kind of go into slow motion mode on occasions like this. In a short space of time I'd got a hold of the canoe, now half full of water but the right way up, put the paddle inside it, noticed a shallow area on the bank to the left and swam my way to that point across the current of the shoot. Phew! Safely on the bank, now to check my gear and empty out the gallons of river water from my canoe. Thankfully, I had prepared for such an eventuality so this didn't actually take that long. I'd had the foresight to have my gear in a water proof holdall, my mobile phone was around my neck in an Aquapac water tight bag and similarly my money in an Aquapac wallet. My Yak buoyancy aid had done what was expected of it. I hadn't had the foresight though to wear swimming trunks or a wet suit so the next hour or so was going to be wet and uncomfortable but it was sunny and canoeing is a great way to keep yourself warm and I wasn't going to let it spoil a lovely day. I hadn't even got half way by this point, so I paddled on all the way to Yalding. I decided to portage round the next three locks to avoid a similar incident especially since the shoots were all graded red or black ie. moderate and difficult. Another time I'll be a bit more adventurous but I'd had my one swim for the day thank you very much! The sight of my support vehicle at Yalding (my wife) was a very welcome one even though by now my clothes were pretty much dry. I could go home to a very well earned hot shower followed by dinner with the inlaws washed down with a couple of bottles of beer....

Hampstead Lock. End of the trail... for now

Beer Festival Verdict....

The SIBA Beer Festival was a lovely way to spend Friday evening. With over a hundred different beers and ciders to choose from though, all lined up along one side of a large marquee, I felt spoilt for choice. What a great problem to have though. I think I only spent about £7.50 on beer with each £1.50 token buying me half a pint of any beer there but I must have drank about twice that amount. That or they were so strong that I only needed half as much to feel more than a little merry. (Probably a bit of both!) Even trying a finger of quite a few beers before committing to my half pints it would have been impossible, even for a hardened darts player, to get through every beer there. Rather ridulously there were a couple of beers on sale which were over 10% alcohol by volume (abv) which I did sample but to me they taste a little like treacle. Now I actually quite like treacle but I wouldn't want to drink half a pint of it! The Ten Per Cent Club is definitely not for me! I decided that I seem to be drawn to the mid strength, around 4.2 to 4.8% abv, best bitters. Not sure why but I do seem to like some of them such as Old Dairy's Red Top and Hepworth's Sussex Bitter. I was fortunate to be able to sample quite a few lovely examples but the beers that stick out as being particularly notable were The Flower Pots' Bate's Best Bitter,   TEA by Hogs Back, Sovereign by Tunbridge Wells Brewery, Larkins Best Bitter, Filo's Ginger Tom, Langham's Hip Hop, Westerham's 1965 Special Summer Ale and Summer Pearle and Whitstable's Native. All excellent beers in my humble opinion. I love alot of the names as well. Names with attitude. By far my favourite though, of those beers that I managed to sample, was Hog's Back Brewery's Summer Ale which the brewery's bumpf describes as: Ideal for those warm summer days/light straw coloured ale/refreshingly cool taste/thirst quenching. It may not have a name with any attitude but I would describe it as, quite simply, nectar in a glass....

Primary School League table!

League tables or primary schools! Whatever next. I'm not sure what much of this means other than they appear to show that most of the Tonbridge schools performed slightly better than the average for the rest of Kent or is it national schools. Anyway, for what it's worth you can see the rest of the table HERE

Pedestrianisation of Tonbridge High Street?...

A regular in Mr. Books is Steve Dawe who, among other interests, is involved with the Green Party; we often have some fairly lively conversations about local matters and occasionally Steve even buys a book! Today's topic was whether or not Tonbridge town centre should be pedestrianised. Steve, not surprisingly, is all for it but I've always had my reservations seeing it as a double edged sword. Surely by closing off the High Street to traffic you'd be reducing potential passing trade to shops, I argued. Apparently not though, according to Steve. All the evidence of other towns and cities (such as Canterbury) points to reduced traffic and pollution leading to increased numbers of people (footfall) in the centre. In other words it seems that shoppers enjoy the experience in a town free of traffic and will come in especially eventually because of that. By the end of our conversation I was starting to come around to the idea. After all it's not like Tonbridge has an awful lot to lose, it's hardly a thriving shoppers paradise as it is so why not take a calculated gamble and go for it? I'm sure there are complex issues involved and that it couldn't be done over night but it has to be worth looking into at least. There's an old Chinese saying that goes something like this: if you risk nothing then you risk everything. Is it time for Tonbridge and Malling council to take a risk?...

Fantastic new Tonbridge Farmers Market....

The Organiser: He calls himself Steve The Chilli Man

Well TonbridgeBlog went along to the new Farmers Market, just behind Waitrose, on Sunday with a totally open mind. Even if it was only as good as the one at Shipbourne Church I'd have been delighted. Let me tell you though that this one was in a totally different league to Shipbourne and Hildenborough's efforts (good though they are.) The Tonbridge market had over 50 stalls and was absolutely fantastic; the weather helped as it was a glorious morning on Sunday but, that aside, this is a market you really should find the time to get along to whatever the weather. It had bread stalls, two or three speciality butchers, game, olives, chillies, (and even olives and chillies together!) cakes, fruit and veg, summer fruit stalls, a hog roast, cheese, local beers, ciders, olive oil to name just the ones I can remember; oh and a few craft stalls. It was somewhere between a lively French market and a food festival. There was a lovely central covered eating area where you can enjoy a coffee and taste some of the local produce you've just bought. There was plenty of free parking right opposite. I may even take a stall at the next one to flog a few books as I can see this market growing in popularity as the months go by. These events take a lot of organising and considerable financial risk, it's great for Tonbridge that someone has bothered to put it on for us; only thing is it only continues if we go along and support it and by God it's worth supporting. Organiser, Steve The Chilliman, told me that it's early days yet but, judging by the response so far, it will be a permanent fixture in the town. The market is held on every second Sunday morning of each month from now on....

Your Tonbridge Farmers Market Questions Answered....

The second of the regular Tonbridge Farmers Market is on Sunday so try to get along to support it. Shamefully I missed the first one so I'm very keen to get along to this one. There have been a number of questions asked about the market and some comments have asked, for example, why not weekly market? or why can't it be in and around the Castle? Well the organiser, Steve, has just left quite a lengthy (and timely) comment about it against an older post which  I thought should be highlighted here:

Just wanted to give you guys a reminder that this Sunday we have the second Tonbridge Farmers Market.
Also, I had read your comments and wanted to respond to them, maybe I can help...
Sebfox, you ask why monthly and not weekly, and who decides.. well, We, the organisers decide.
However It is based on various factors such as, Tonbridge has a market with 50 stalls, if we were to go more frequently then the stall holders would not sell every week.. which would mean most would only attend once a month anyway. Also... quite frankly, there just isn't enough local producers to cover all the farmers markets, which means quite often the producers you will see at Tonbridge, will also be attending many of the other regular markets around Kent. Local produce is in high demand.
Another point is that having over 12 markets a year would mean that we would need planning permission, which takes us into a whole new ball park. The cost of running a market is high, So in it's second month of running it does not have any where near enough funds to be able to run weekly.
Quite often what you find with weekly markets is that they are much smaller, they are also normally run by a charity/ volunteer which has a site that is free to use, such as church yards, or village halls. The main reason the market is not along the river is that through the winter the grass area can not be used, which would mean no markets through such a great season.
And the reason the market is not at the castle is that it is not available through out the year, which would mean moving the market around. That was one of the major problems with the old Tonbridge farmers market... people never knew when it was on because it moved too much. (that is what a couple of local people have told me, so please don't quote me, however I can see that would naturally cause a problem, so it is likely)

I hope I have been helpful, and answered some of your queries, thanks for blogging about it.. I hope that the market is a real success. The people of Tonbridge have asked for one for a long time... it's a work in progress.
It's great to hear feed back, honestly it is... so please keep in touch.
Come by the chilli stall and say Hi to me this Sunday's Market.

Tonbridge Half Marathon Training update....

Update? More like Upset! Another set back in my Tonbridge Half Marathon Training. After doing the longest run I think possibly ever last Friday, and feeling absolutely fine, I then went out two days later and felt my calf straining again. This was only after a couple of miles and therefore was deeply frustrating as I'd only just got into my stride. I tried to walk it off and decided to shorten my run but had to end up limping home which always makes me feel like a bit of a berk when in running attire. Several days later after ice treatment, gentle stretching, wearing compression socks and a few days of walking across town to work the calf still feels tight. What to do next? All the information says rest it for a couple of weeks at least. But will I be able to resist the temptation to go out again this weekend. Knowing me probably not. I've even considered barefoot running shoes, which is a bit of a misnomer, apparently they improve your running style so that it becomes more natural. I like the sound of that. Any other tips? (Apart from: give it up you're an old man! Or take up fishing! Sensible, constructive tips please.)

Dr. Who in Tonbridge?...

Tonbridge Civic Society are holding their Summer Event this Sunday at Postern House which, if you don't know, is the largest house along Postern Lane on the outskirts of Tonbridge. I think I'm right in saying that, once upon a time, Postern Lane was once the main road to Rye in the days of the stage coach but nowadays is a little used gated private road. I'm able to attend the event as for the first time in years it's being held on a Sunday instead of the usual Saturday. It will be a really beautiful setting, especially if the weather holds out, and I've even managed to persuade my teenage children to go telling them that they'll get to meet David Tennant, who owns the house. They are dying to meet the former Dr. Who but if I tell them it might be a different Mr. Tennant then they probably won't go! Am I being cruel, or is this fair game in the getting your kids off Facebook campaign?!..

Opera Brava this Weekend at the Castle anyone?...

Just tried to blag some freebie tickets for this weekends Opera Brava concerts at the Castle this weekend. Specifically I fancied the Candlelight Gala performance of opera classics on Saturday evening. Not being a fanatic I thought the Magic Flute on Friday, even though they are offering 2 for 1 tickets for this, might be a little too heavy so the Saturday programme seemed like it'd be a good taster which would wet my appetite for more culture this summer. My contacts at the council have told me that "Not even council workers have been offered any freebies!" Imagine that, the very idea that they themselves should have to pay for the events that they organise! I know I was being cheeky because, truth be told, I did just fancy a nice night out, but I would have been able to report about it on this blog and in The Tonbridge Insider and I can't possibly get around to all events if I have to fork out for them all. I'm afraid though that now either I won't be able to go or I'll have to pay £70 for the pleasure! Quite a hefty chunk in these straitened times when I'm saving up for holidays etc. (Get the violins out.) Am I asking too much? Is anyone else going this w/e? I wonder whether the Tunbridge Wells based Courier reporter has to pay to get in!...

Tonbridge (very) early Friday morning....

I was up with the larks this morning to take my son to school for his day trip to Switzerland. It sounded like a fantastic idea going to see the Large Hadron Collider, near Geneva, when he first brought the letter home about seven months ago and very educational; how could we deny him that one? But when the harsh reality of getting up at 5am this morning kicked in I'm afraid I momentarily lost  my enthusiasm for the whole idea! Actually I'm sure he'll have a great day so long as he doesn't stick his head in the collider or get shot through the tunnel at the speed of electrons (or is it protons?!) I'll be testing him on his theories of the most fundemetal questions of physics when he returns tonight to make sure that the money we spent on the trip was justified! The St. Johns Road is pretty well empty at that time in the morning so there's a lesson there for all those Tonbridge folk who work in Tunbridge Wells. Set off at 5-30am every morning, avoid all the traffic and then just drink lots of coffee all day to keep awake! When I arrived back home it was still before 6 o'clock and it was a beautiful morning. I had no excuses. I'm in training for the Tonbridge Half Marathon, as some of you may have gleaned, I had plenty of time to get a long run in and still be on schedule to open up the shop. I felt wide awake and it'd been over a week since my last run so off I went. I could have listened to the radio or read a paper but decided to go for it.
Tonbridge really does look quite beautiful on a sunny day at that time in the morning. People were out walking their dogs near the Vauxhall Inn, rabbits were hopping and bouncing across Postern Lane, the golden fields of wheat looked especially wonderful, the river was shimmering in the morning light around Cannon Lane Bridge, the trees along London Road were in full leaf and provided some welcome shade, the water of Barden Lake seemed crystal clear, gardens looked fresh and green. The few other people I encountered were all friendly; there seems to be an unwritten camaraderie at that time of day as if you're all part of a special early birds club or something. I reckon I'd ran 8 or 9 miles by the time I reached Quarry Hill and that was quite enough but it felt good and I can now feel smug for the rest of the day. That is until I flake out about midday!...

Half way through 2011....

Well that's it then people of Tonbridge. As John Lennon and Yoko might have said Half a year over and a new half just begun! Did it go quick for you? Can you look back and say Yes I really achieved something in the first half of 2011? Did you take up a new hobby? Do something you are particularly proud of? Did you do something life changing or read the best book you've ever read? Organise an event? What? Share it with the rest of Tonbridge. Go on. Maybe there was something bugging you throughout these last six months. Maybe there's a dark secret you want to get off your chest. Go on share the burden. Hope you enjoy the second half....

Support Amazon and kill the independent bookshop?...

Most of you will no doubt have bought books on amazon. Some of you may recognise that they have had a major impact on the demise of many independent bookshops. You may care or you may not and simply prefer the convenience of buying via the internet. I personally have mixed views seeing both the strengths and threat of amazon and indeed many other book web sites. According to Sheppards, the book trade bible, though one Seattle based bookseller had no doubts in their minds whatsoever. Bit strong but they do have a point:

J.B. Dickey, the owner of Seattle Mystery Bookshop, has refused to host a signing or stock books from Amazon’s new Thomas & Mercer mystery imprint.

Dickey published his entire email exchange with a writer about this topic (the author’s name has been deleted). Entitled “You Can’t Shake the Devil’s Hand and Say You’re Only Kidding,” his post should inspire some debate among independent booksellers. What do you think?

Here’s an excerpt: “Sorry to say that we cannot offer you a signing. We cannot do anything to support, help or benefit Amazon. They’re the enemy of independent bookshops and aiding them in any way – mainly ordering their books and selling them and promoting them – would be suicide. Things are tough enough without cutting our own throats.”