Tonbridge Cricket in 1919....

I love this old photo of the Whitefriars Press Cricket team for the 1919 Season. I'm not sure where they played, probably on the Sportsground park. I have no connection with any of the men. But I still love the picture which captures just a split second in time but speaks to us 93 years later. I wonder how many of these proud men had served in the First World War, how many of their friends and family had paid the ultimate price. People in old group photos are often serious looking as I suppose it's hard to hold a smile indefintely but I think this group of men had a special reason to feel this way after what they'd been through. I wonder what they were thinking at the precise moment that the shutter was released. Probably something like "Hurry up so we can get on with the game!" but maybe their thoughts were wandering to deeper matters. The young lads in the front row were probably too young to have served in the war but many of the men behind would have come through it, relieved, possibly angry, certainly changed for ever. Some of the faces look strangley familiar to me. Perhaps some of their grandsons and great grandsons have visited my shop at some point as their names, faces and spirits live on in their descendants. Mr. Authers (Hon. Sec.) was clearly not concentrating on the photographer as he seems to have been distracted at the crucial moment. I'm probably totally wrong on this but, I like to think, Mr. C D'Arcy (Umpire) was a right rogue, a smart-arsed joker who fancied himself with the ladies and wasn't put off by the many rebuttals! C. Boorman is, most probably, related to the Boorman family who are well known in Tonbridge. H.E. Simmons looks like someone straight out of The Great Gatsby and was probably the inspiration for Clark Gable's movie appearance! And Captain W. May looks like the serious sort who led by example and was, by the look of his lean lanky frame a good all rounder in the Frank Woolley mold. T Wickenden (Tommy) the young lad sitting at the front, was the grandfather of the old lady who brought in the photograph. Hard to imagine him as a grand father, great grandfather and probably great great grandfather but it's true. Not an ounce of fat on any of them which is probably a good advert for getting back to basic home made cooking and clean living. I really could study this picture for hours. I'll never know much about any of these men, least of all what they might have been thinking but it's great fun guessing. Please get in touch if you know any more about any of them and we'll try to build up a complete profile of the team....

The Autumn leaves....

Yep, Autumn has definitely arrived in Tonbridge. I found myself kicking through leaves down Springwell Road on my walk to work the other day. Beautiful in a way but, in another, quite depressing....

Book Towns....

I didn't see last week's Courier but there's a very nice letter in this weekend's issue pointing out that Tonbridge does indeed have a secondhand bookshop! The article, apparently, told readers that only two towns south of London, Lewes and Tunbridge Wells, had rare and secondhand bookshops. Oh contriare! points out Mr. Eaton in his letter today. Tonbridge does indeed have it's very own slice of Charing Cross Road in dear ol Mr. Books at 142 High Street. "You can even order new books from them," he goes on to say. So no need for anyone to go toddling off to the upstart daughter town when you can get most things right here in good old Tonbridge town. Thanks Mr. Eaton and that fiver will be waiting for you next time you're passing!...

Three Times a Week

I know that I've been somewhat neglecting TonbridgeBlog of late and that some fans of this site will be wondering what the 'eck's goin on. Well I have had a busy old summer what with the shop move and all and then the creative juices kind of take a back seat as your mind focusses on more practical stuff like do I need to buy new bookshelves and staitionery? So to make amends I'll try to post something, however small and insignificant, at least once a day. Alright then maybe that'll be pushing it a bit. We'll try for three times a week....

Shoulder ache....

Can't wait to get out on my canoe again. The nights are drawing in though so I'm leaving it mighty late if I want to complete the Medway Trail section from Yalding to Allington Lock, the other side of Maidstone.  I'll check the weather forecast for this Sunday and, if it's fine, I might just slip into Tallulah (the canoe) and paddle off to Teston. It's been a while though so I'll expect aching shoulders!....

London Town....

Went to London yesterday on a book and book care/repair materials buying spree. (And that's what I like to do on my day off!) Walked from Charing Cross to Baker Street, across to New Oxford Street, Covent Garden, up to Holborn and then back to Charing Cross via Covent Garden. Had a lovely pint in the Sun Tavern on Long Acre which is a place I used to frequent around 25 years ago when I worked around the corner in Drury Lane. The place has hardly changed in all those years. The price has gone up though. PB will perhaps not be too shocked if I say that it was £4.10 for a pint of Alfred Wainwright's Best Bitter. I told the barmaid that the last time I was in there a pint cost around 90 pence! Even so it was very welcome after all that walking. Very pleased with myself that I can still manage to walk around quite a wide sweep of London without a map or other navigational aid.....

Tonbridge Castle at Night....

Spooky that Tonbridge Castle at night isn't it? I often wonder as I quickly walk by after dark what horrors those old walls have witnessed. I'm almost certain the other night I heard the clanking chains from deep down in the dungeons of the gate house, a cry of pain and the cracking of bones and was that screaming from soldiers as boiling oil was poured over them? Surely not all of this was in my imagination! Neyaa ha ha haaa (evil laugh)

And speaking of baking cakes....

A special mention to the imaginatively named local catering company, Planet of the Cakes, whose James Bond themed cup cakes I picked up at a rained off boot fair a couple of Sundays ago. I think the guy said that they were left over from an event the night before. Anyway I picked up the whole box for a fiver and jolly tastey they were too. I particularly enjoyed munching into Jaws which seemed appropriate. But can you name all he other film references?...