Good day to walk.....

There was obviously an accident or something on the A21 judging by the huge tailbacks right along the High Street this morning. I heard that it may even have been closed completely between Kipings Cross and Tunbridge Wells. The police were out in force on Quarry Hill and cars were at a virtual standstill. Looks like I picked a good day to walk into work....

Missed Bob Ogley talk last night....

Blast it! I couldn't make the Civic Society talk last night which was a pity. I especially wanted to go because I knew it was author Bob Ogley doing the presentation. Bob has written a number of very informative books on Kent including Kent Chronicles of the 20th Century and that one about the storms of 1987. Still I can always just read his books but it would hav been nice to hear some of it from the man himself....

50 Not Out....

Two of my very best friends are having their fiftieth birthdays this weekend which is making me glad and yet sad at the same time. Glad that I'm going to a big party in King's Hill on Saturday night, glad for them that they've been so successful in their lives, glad that I'm having a bit of a reunion with some old university chums. But, on the other hand sad that we're all getting older and gradually sliding downhill. It'll be my turn next year but, for now I'm going to rejoice at being the youngest in my circle of friends, albeit only by a few months!...

Meet Tonbridge Ted....



Called, quite simply, Ted

 The previous post was a little near the knuckle but Tonbridge Blog never promised you a squeaky clean site now did he? Anyway to calm down the nerves of readers of a more sensitive nature here is a picture of Ted who genuinely is my old teddy bear and, until recently, sat in Kids Corner at Mr. Books. He's taking a well earned holiday at the moment. I think I'll rename him Tonbridge Ted. Yes, that has it has a ring to it!...

One Man's view of Tonbridge....

Somebody calling himself MrLean sent me this on twitter today. Why? I'm not quite sure but there it was anyway. WARNING: this does contain, to use an old expression of my Mum's, some pretty blue language so don't read it if you are of a sensitive disposition. Also be warned that it contains some pretty depressing views about the town you live in so don't read it if you want to keep your nice rosy image of Tonbridge. I thought it was worth publishing because it's clear that some, especially younger, people do actually have these kind of views however misplaced. Though I'd say to Mister Lean or Dejay Lean or whatever he likes to call himself: It ain't nothing new mate! Young people get itchy feet, they want to break free; song lyrics have been talking about it down the ages. You've got the big bad city 35 miles up the train track and a whole world beyond it. Go and do some travelling, live your life, do some interesting things, visit some interesting places talk to lots of weird and wonderful people. Then come back some day and you'll realise it really isn't all that bad. Here's his blog post and if you can stomach more of it look here....

F*#k Tonbridge (his heading not mine!)

Most people dislike their home town, I’m sure. (Except residents of Bristol and Brighton actually, but I’ll probably come back to that.) I’ve disliked the majority of places that I’ve lived over the years, but I can think of places I did like, and still do; Rochester is picturesque in places, with its Dickensian charms and old buildings, and I did enjoy my brief tenure in Bearsted (before the aforementioned house fire). The cricket green our house backed on to, juxtaposed with two old style pubs was definitely aesthetically pleasing, and the village as a whole was pretty in its construction; lots of green spaces, old thatched roof cottages, and happily for the 3 male occupants of our house there was a near continuous stream of fit women pouring into the pub next door.

There have been places that were less enjoyable of course: Chatham was, as the area’s reputation might indicate, an absolute dump, populated by for the most part, very scummy people – for example my neighbour (who I’d know for years and who I always knew was a slight strange) turned out to be a rapist. That’s just an example of the type of people that live there; I’m not saying just because you lived in Chatham once upon a time you always precede coitus with a savage beating, but if the cap fits…

Most areas generally have a redeeming feature, one silver lining in amongst the retarded inhabitants and horribly designed cityscapes. For example in Chatham, there is a lovely park next to a college, which means you can effectively sit in the sun and get stoned and pissed whilst looking at 18 year old art students. In Horsmonden the general tranquillity and the horses at the bottom of the garden made up for the fact the village is the most remote place in the whole of Europe, and in Rochester the historical references to Dickens and co are redemptive of the fact that the town is sandwiched between Strood and Chatham. (For those not au fait with the area, imagine a sexual experience with Courtney Love, and Natalie Cassidy. You’re the ham in their sticky pale skin sandwich, in much the same way Rochester is infringed upon by two frankly horribly shit places.)

There is however once place, that has no saving grace; A place where it has rained everyday since 1952. The same place where bizarrely there are no married couples. The sky is always grey there, and rumour has it there are no fish in the river. In this place it’s perfectly normal, and acceptable for girls to have had sex with 49 men before their 18^th birthday (She actually used to read this blog, until she decided I was a “two faced prick” so I doubt she will be reading anytime soon.) Legend has it that Hitler initially had this place earmarked for Auschwitz but was worried about the effect the smog there might have on his German soldiers. This place, Tonbridge, is my town, and I hate it.

Apparently some people like Tonbridge. I don’t believe them. I think they hear my best friend and I constantly cussing the place, and have decided we are pricks and just want to argue with us. There is no reason to like this town. There is nothing here for anyone, except evidently amorous teenagers…

Situated between Sevenoaks and Tunbridge Wells, should make for a decent place. We have two relatively rich neighbouring towns, with haven’t really been overly affected by the recent period of austerity and we are geographically close to London, and Brighton, with decent travel links also. I know what some readers might be thinking at this point – redeeming features? NO. These things are a further kick in the teeth. Our richer, more historically important neighbours simply serve as a reminder of how disappointing a place my home town is. The river meanders through the town, which could be quite pleasant, but the problem with the river is the drunken dickheads constantly attempting to kill themselves/their significant others/their children in it. On a day where the council aren’t fishing bloated bodies from the river a stroll down by the riverside could be enjoyable, however the reeds and the muddy banks beside resemble a landfill site. A landfill site with a special section for needle and nappy disposal.

Tonbridge, according to Wikipedia, has 30,340 residents, all of whom can be found in the Wetherspoons, which is named after Humphrey Bean, on a Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night. I put in some research to find out about Mr Bean (the namesake of the pub, as opposed to Rowan Atkinson’s perennially unfortunate television character) in the hope that he would turn out to be a paedophile/mass murderer/insert other despicable crime here, as this would certainly add to the conviction of my diatribe, however it turns out he doesn’t exist. That’s good enough for me. Tonbridge’s primary watering hole is named after a fabricated character. In Rochester, they have the actual chalet Dickens wrote Great Expectations in, and the pub next door: Great Expectations. Even in Horsmonden (remember its half a million miles from civilisation) their pub is named after a local war hero. In Tonbridge they didn’t even have anyone worth naming a pub after). I’m going to assume Mr Bean’s mother actually named him Humphrey, because at times that’s the level of general retardation the unfortunate looking occupants of Tonbridge display, so that would fit nicely.

Pubs aside, Tonbridge town is bleak as fuck. I was recently looking through some pictures of the Somme. It looks a lot more fun than an afternoon in Tonbridge.  The “town centre” is one road. It has 145 hairdressers, 55 charity shops, and about 15 chain restaurants where you can buy 2 meals for 10 pounds (Microwave + Table + Waiter = Tonbridge ASK). 50% of the shops are empty and thus badly vandalised, and on Saturday morning, I genuinely counted 15 piles of sick between my house and the local McDonalds. That journey was probably 200 yards. More concerning that then sick piles however was the blood caked thong, deposited neatly next to a dog shit bin. That was just beautiful.

Tonbridge parenting is something else. I said there are no married couples, which was a bit of an exaggeration, I realised two of my friends are married, so there is at least one married couple. It would be too easy to label all of the parents here as the “Jeremy Kyle generation” but I know of three couples who live within walking distance who have featured on the popular mid morning freak show that is JK. Discipline in Tonbridge is, as far I’ve witnessed non existent or frankly sadist. The two general schools of parenthood appear to be “ignore the little shit” or “scream at the little shit”. Either way, we have created, (as detailed in my Intersports > JD Sports blog post) a generation of mongy, disrespectful youths who’s idea of a nice time is harassing punters outside of the local off license, or harassing punters outside the local pub, which is incidentally where their absent fathers can be found, when their not harassing the mother of their children’s new boyfriends. I am not going to talk about anyone personally, as I have set out to mildly offend a whole town, as opposed to horribly offend particular people, but suffice to say you would be shocked at some of the things I know about a number of the parents in this town. The half naked toddlers running riot in estates all over North Tonbridge (the very nadir of what is already an abhorrently horrid town) really do remind me of the famous picture of the Vietnamese child covered in napalm running down the road, except children of Tonbridge aren’t covered in 46 parts polystyrene, 33 parts petrol, and 21 parts benzene (napalm to most people), they are covered in a light layer of dirt. The parents of the dirty children are “horribly depressed”. So “horribly depressed” they smoke weed all day every day, and sniff copious amounts of cocaine at the weekends. I am not one to talk about partying habits and whatnot; however I do not have a number of young dependants, by a number of absent sperm donors. Dirty children in clothes that don’t fit obviously pale into insignificance when compared to the parents need to blunt the edge of the knife of realisation, by “bunning” (youth speak for smoking, so I’m told) some of Tonbridge’s finest home-grown herbal remedy. The realisation, of course is that your children are going to grow up to hate you, because you are shit parents, coupled with the fact you live in a shit town. The doctors surgery in Tonbridge is inundated with young-ish mothers seeking repeat prescriptions of their anti-depressants/anti-anxiety pills/sleepers – perhaps a more sensible idea would be to ascertain the scale of the women’s drug abuse, and build a care plan based around that, so that next time I go to the doctors to get my ears syringed my appointment isn’t actually delayed by 2 hours, because of an emotionally unstable North Tonbridge mother deciding to have a breakdown (read probable drug induced spastic attack) in the surgery. Remember Tonbridge mothers, when all else fails: “SHUT UP YOU C*NT, YOU’RE DOING MY F*CKING HEAD IN!” – Yep, it really is that bad.

The people, the shops, the pubs and the geography aside, Tonbridge has a horrible feeling associated with it. A general unhappiness resides, and hangs heavily in the air like mustard gas, so much so that it makes my soul hurt to spend longer than 15 minutes in the town, and I am almost sure that much like the theory about smoking cigarettes (1 cigarette depletes 15 minutes of your life) living in Tonbridge is terrible for your health. I had one grey hair when I moved here, and 2 years later I’m at the stage of finding grey hairs in my beard, and even one on my chest recently, which makes me quite unhappy. But not as unhappy as living in Tonbridge. We recently went on a rather massive party weekend, spent time in London and Bristol. I cannot put into words how sad I felt on the main road back into Tonbridge. Ben simply rolled down the window, looked at the decimation we were entering and bellowed: “SHITHOLE!!!!” Tonbridge.Nail.Head.

I know basically I am a bit of a prick, because there are plenty of Somalian children in Mogadishu, who would kill for a meal in the ASK, a pint in the Wetherspoons, and to be shouted at by some strange North Tonbridge woman for no particular reason, but I for one harbour an intent to leave this town, and all of the retards in it behind, and until the day I relocate to Bristol, or Brighton, or somewhere more suited to the lifestyle of Mr Lean I will continue to insult this shithole town and its retarded residents, and if you don’t like it, you can find me in the Mr Bean Wetherspoons, insulting you, the mother of your children and your town.

Big Kisses residents of Tonbridge, you truly fucking suck.

Half Marathon training: It's all so confusing....

I can't believe that the Tonbridge Half Marathon, the first ever, and my first ever, is only two weeks away! OMG, as they say on Facebook and other such sites, and a very nervous LOL while we're at it! Someone told me yesterday that the best training routine is a 9 mile run at the weekend and a 4-5 miler mid week. Now she tells me! Well it's a bit late now to change my whole routine. Basically I've just been running as far as I can once a week, which is about all I have time for. I've also been cycling to work which, admittedly, is only a couple of miles but there are some uphill bits! Does canoeing and body boarding count as training? How about painting the house and gardening? Another runner told me that I should run the 13 miles just to make sure I can run the distance. Sod that. 13 miles will be the furthest I've ever ran or, for that matter, ever likely to so I'm not going to make a habit of it am I?! Everyone else has told me that the excitement of the day of the race, the adrenalin and the crowds will cry me those extra few miles. Well here's hoping that the majority opinion is the right one. Then there's what food to eat? Don't get me started on that! Luckily I love pasta anyway. There's so many varying opinions on everything to do with running these distance races that I've decided to do the only thing I really trust and that's to listen to my body. Mind you my body was telling me weeks ago to not be so crazy and put my feet up so what does it know! My plan for the next two weeks is to put in one more 8-9 miler and then rest my body, come what may, to the event on Sunday September 25th. Oh, and I might stuff my face with lots of Spag Bol....

'ave ye sin that book: Kentish As She Wus Spoke?

I've just had a really nice conversation with an Australian family who were over here and came to specifically see me can you believe that?! The mum was born and brought up in Tonbridge and had been over in Oz for twenty odd years. She paid me a great compliment by saying that this blog was what had kept her in touch with her home town in recent years more than anything else. Bless her. Her husband was originally from Tunbridge Wells but we can't blame him for that! She reminisced about her days at Slade School in the 1960s when they could smell the cattle and livestock as they were traded on the market right next door to the school. Them were the days eh! Then we had a natter about how their accents had changed over the time they'd spent away and yet her friends in Oz still pick her up on her strange choice of words. The book she bought? Why Kentish As She Wus Spoke of course! They'll be taking it back to educate those Aussie friends of there's!...

September Tonbridge Insider out now....

Look out for your copy of the latest issue of TheTonbridge Insider which should be dropping on your door mat very soon if it hasn't already....

Residents save 1-3 Bank Street from the wrecking balls....

Tonbridge Blog has it on good authority that the fight to save 1-3 Bank Street from the demolition wrecking balls has finally been won. This is a huge victory for the Slade Area Residents Association (SARA) who've been dead against this from the start. A word of warning though to SARA: these developers are very canny and they've done all this a thousand times before. They often find another way of getting what they want, which is not usually what the residents want. They seem to be very patient and willing to wear planners and the public down over time. Not long ago it seemed to have been agreed that 1-3 Bank Street, which is almost opposite Mr. Books and is supposed to have been the first Tonbridge Bank, (thus giving the street its name) was destined to be redeveloped as a home for Hadlow College students; everyone seemed to be pleased with that outcome. Now that seems to have fallen through and then, surprise, surprise Marpaul, the owners, sneak through another planning application to tear down the half-delapidated building which, no doubt, they are claiming isn't fit to be saved. If it isn't fit to be saved then, it could be strongly argued, the reason for this is Marpaul's own neglect. Something needs to happen with this pigeon infested building soon or the council should have the right to compulsorily purchase it at below market price and turn it into something useful for the community. It's right in the heart of the old town centre and it's being allowed to crumble into dust, it just beggars belief. Comments below please....

Goodbye Pepper Grinder....

It's always sad when any local business closes but it's even sadder when an apparently thriving one closes right near you. Especially when it's the place you used to buy your sandwiches from! Now that the Pepper Grinder has wrapped it's last tuna mayo bagette on white with butter, extra mixed salad and black pepper where will I go now for my weekly treat? I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye to the girls in there but I wish them well whatever they chose to do next. Maybe someone will see an opportunity and open another equally fabulous sandwich bar at the north end of the High Street....

Antonio's back at Antonia's!...

Regular diners at Antonia's, at the north end of Tonbridge High Street, will be pleased to know that Head Chef, Antonio, has returned from his refreshing holiday back in Portugal no doubt full of new ideas of how to tempt your taste buds. Antonio of course is not to be confused with Antonia, the owner's other half after which the restaurant was named. It's just a happy co-incidence. Just thought I'd clear that up!...

Tonbridge Half Marathon gets 1,000 runners....

I see that the Tonbridge Half Marathon has attracted adrenalin junkies from far afield and has reached its limit of 1,000 runners. Must be an insurance thing as I'm sure Tunbridge Wells and Paddock Wood both attract over 2,000 and the Great North Run must be have around a million! So that's all more competition for me then as I push for my first recorded time over anything like that distance. Back in the day 110 metres hurdles was my main event. 14 seconds of explosive energy, a bit of a lunge for the line and it's over; so the prospect of 13 miles fills me full of excitement and dread all at the same time. Quite simply it will be the longest run I've ever done so please take pity on me if you see me straggling at the back of the field gasping for water and air. Sub 2 hours would be an achievement for me but I'm sure that the winner will come home in not much more than an hour. I don't quite qualify for the over 50s prize although if I have a bad run I might by the time I finish the race!...

A new Tonbridge blogger!!!!

There's a new blogger in Tonbridge called Tonbridge Daily which tries to give you a snippet, yes you've guessed it, daily about Tonbridge. I happen to know the author of this blog quite well and she certainly knows the town well. There's a nice piece about the newly refurbished Rose and Crown on the site which is worth a gander. I would add the blog to the useful list to the left but then she might take over from Tonbridge Blog in popularity and we couldn't have that!...

Tonbridge Twee up....

Apparently Tonbridge Blog missed the Tonbridgetweetup last night at the Rose and Crown Hotel. I think the idea was that all the twitter people from the Tonbridge area should get together and meet up (thus tweet up you see!) have a few drinks and generally socialise with each other. Well I thought about going but decided that I was washing my hair instead. It just sounded a bit too, well, twee for me. One of the best things about twitter for me is the anonymity of it all, if you go around actually physically meeting all your fellow tweeters (or is it twitterers, or just twitts maybe) then you might end up liking them and actually being nice to them all and that would certainly be too twee for me. If anyone especially does want to meet me then they can jolly well just come along to my twook shop at twoo Bank Stweeeet. That said, when is the next Tonbridgetweetup? I may just go along the once just to see how twee it could be....

Country Market saves the day....

I decided to walk down to work in the dreadful rain this morning across Tonbridge. It looked more like November than late August but that's the English summer for you! When I got as far as the High Street I realised that I had brought no lunch with me. Thoughts of a day starving at my desk were soon pushed away by the opportunities I remembered lay in front of me (the advantages of being on foot!) A sandwich from the Co-op would have been the obvious and quickest answer but I decided that this wouldn't be at all adventurous. Then there's always the Pepper Grinder sandwich bar which does a mighty fine Tuna mayo bagette. The day was saved though when I saw the sign next to Lamberts Yard advertising the Tonbridge Country Market. This is always worth a visit on a Friday morning for a choice of home made cakes, bread from Rusbridge Bakers of Southborough, fresh fruit and veg from a smallholder and lots of other treats. This visit I was purely interested in today's lunch so I opted for home made sausage rolls and an individual quishe, some shortbread biscuits (for elevensies) and a fudge brownie for afters. I could have bought so much more but then I'd have to keep it all day and carry it home in the evening so that was enough to be going on with.  Now I've made myself hungry so I'll have to go and eat them!...

Discovery apples give away....

The reason Mr. Books has been able to make the incredible offer of an apple and pad with every book sold is that I've had an absolutely amazing crop on my tree at home this season. I only have the one Discovery tree but, my word, has it produced some apples this year. Well we do live in the Garden of England. I must have lost as many on the ground as well but no matter, there's been plenty more where they came from. In fact I'm surprised the tree hasn't fallen over with the weight of them all! If I knew how to store the juicy beauties properly they'd probably last until 2013 but the truth is after the first two dozen or so you get a bit bored of eating them, even as sweet and delicious as they are. So you see I can spare a few apples to give away to loyal customers. Not quite an i pad but then you can't eat an i pad can you! (very easily anyway)

Free Apple + pad offer....

Apple + pad looks a bit like apple i-pad (geddit?!)

Ok my amazing offer of an apple + pad on the black board outside Mr. Books only fooled one or two folks yesterday and it was only a bit of fun. Laughter remember that. We used to do it before the recession!...

Crunch time for Mr. Books?...

Spotted this amazing offer whilst out and about in Tonbridge this morning. It's incredible what some retailers will do to drum up trade. Surely he'll be out of business in no time if he's serious with this one....

South Tonbridge Pub Crawl Part Two....

So the challenge of a half pint in each of the pubs in South Tonbridge on a Monday evening had been set and my wife and I had already been to three (see last post.) Walking in the vague direction of The Punch and Judy or maybe the Foresters it suddenly hit me that there was one pub in South Tonbridge I'd never been to in all of my 22 years living in the town. The Nelson, on the corner of Nelson Avenue and Cromer Street, nestled on, some say the right side of the nearby railway tracks. This establishment has the appearance of one of the those old Victorian  public houses more at home in the East End of London; big and imposing, a bit out dated but sometimes they can be the best places. When we eventually arrived there, having walked around the houses a few times to find it, I must confess to feeling a tad disappointed. Firstly it looked closed, as there didn't seem to be enough lights on from the angle we approached it. Then we entered to the scene which was becoming familiar: a barmaid looking very unbusy, being mostly ignored by the half dozen blokes in there sat around glued to football on the large sports screen. I'll be honest and say that my first reaction was to walk straight out again but my wife had already found out that the served Whitstable Brewery's Bay bitter and had put the order in for two halves. This turned out to be our best move of the evening. Teri, the bubbly barmaid, who confided in my wife that she was no footy fan, seemed positively delighted to have the company of some new customers and within a few minutes was swapping Jamie Oliver recipes for Salmon and roasted vegetable dishes! They had happy hour going until the first goal scored, which meant that we had enjoyed our first drink at a knock down price. Teri was good at selling the place too, saying that the new landlady was making a real effort by introducing music nights, food theme nights and interesting beers to try to turn the place round. We must have enjoyed it there as it became the first pub of the evening where we indulged in a second half (steady on now!) We had the same again as this was the only bitter they were serving last night and it was very enjoyable, although this time it was full price as one of the Man U players had, rather annoying, broken the deadlock on about 70 minutes. We left the Nelson with the distinct feeling that we'd discovered a hidden jewel of Tonbridge and that we'd definitely be back. We decided to make the last stop of the night the Punch and Judy, at the back of Tonbridge Police Station, probably the least adventurous of all the pubs we'd been to as we have had a few drinks in there fairly recently. We were glad we did though as the first thing I spotted when approaching the bar to order was the Tonbridge Brewery logo. What a delightful sight. I never understand why local pubs can't support local beers and here was one that was doing just that. The P&J isn't the most atmospheric or pubs in the area by any means and it was a Monday night, but, hey, I'm a sucker for good beer. Two halves of a very tasty Auburn Myth later and we were ready for setting off back home after a wonderful educational beer and pub tour of the South end of the town. Best pub of the night: The Nelson. Best beer of the night: without a doubt the Auburn Myth. Share your own thoughts on the best pubs in the town....

South Tonbridge Pub Crawl Part One....

I don't often go on a pub crawl in Tonbridge. Or anywhere else for that matter. So last night, on a crazy summertime whim, my wife and I set off on our optimistic tour to try the beers in the pubs of South Tonbridge on a Monday night! Full of hope (well we don't get out much!) our first stop was the Primrose Inn on Pembury Road, which could be described as my local, except I've only actually been in there maybe four times in my 22 years living in Tonbridge, which might tell a story in itself. The beer was a very passable Harvey's Best Bitter but I'm afraid the atmosphere was a near death experience as a handful of regulars sat around watching football on the large sport screen. Well I guess it was Man United vs Tottenham and the first home game of the Premier League title holder's season so I might have expected this. We sat and chatted in a quieter corner and might well have stayed longer but for the task we'd set ourselves of having a half pint in each of the pubs we hardly ever frequent.
Next stop was The Cardinal's Error, right on the far edge of town, an old, many say haunted, drinking establishment. The choice of beer was uninspiring so I'm afraid it was another Harvey's for me and, even worse, a John Smith's Smooth, for my wife. I always find Harvey's Best a little too hoppy but I must say this one was perfectly acceptable. Again though the atmosphere was completely killed by the football coverage which this time seemed to be on full volume. They did have a covered area outside mainly for the smokers but even there the sports screen dominated so we had to sit in the corner so we could talk a little over the Mancunian strains of Gary Neville's half time summary of a goaless period. The trouble is I am a bit of a fan but if I'd wanted to watch the game I probably would have stayed at home and drank cheaper and nicer beer, but it was hard to keep my eyes from drifting over to the action on the TV screens. So we stayed for just the one half, didn't see a ghostly image of a lady in wide a brimmed hat and moved on to our next destination, The New Drum down Lavender Hill way. This is the sort of pub where you just know that the regulars will look at you as you walk in and indeed that proved to be the case. It reminded me just a little of that scene from American Werewolf in London when the two young tourists walk into the Yorkshire pub and everything goes silent! I exaggerate of course but you get the idea. This pub always looks out of place to me, almost like it should just be a house, but I guess that's how all pubs once were. Here it was impossible to get away from the football as there seemed to be a large screen on every wall. All eyes, except the barmaid's (who said she couldn't stand the game) were on one of the screens. The beer was Harvey's again but also Green King IPA and, curiously, Doom Bar, a Cornish light bitter which I'd tried many times on my holidays in that part of the world and is normally very refreshing. Problem was that I think I was the only person who'd sampled it that evening as I'm pretty sure I got the beer that had been kept warm in the pipes. Consequently it wasn't very enjoyable so that half became the quickest downed of the evening so that we could move on. But where to go next....

£1.40 for a litre of diesel? That's a bit rough!...

Back in Tonbridge I spotted this magnificent looking Bedford Truck recently in Sainsbury's Petrol Station probably bound for a classic car show or some such thing. Naturally Tonbridge Blog had come prepared and was able to whip out his camera phone to get this shot (with the owner's approval of course.) As you can see the owner has taken a great deal of pride in his vehicle which looked absolutely immaculate. I bet it isn't half thirsty for gas though. I was particularly taken by the little pooch in the seat beside them which just looked so cute and out of place in such a macho looking lorry I just wish she'd have behaved herself and posed properly for the photo! Clever little thing though as when I asked her what she thought of the price of  litre of diesel these days she replied "Rough." I couldn't agree more!...

Tonbridge Weather Forecast: The Stone is dry today!...

I was tickled, tickled I was (that makes me sound like Ken Dodd!) to see this rather unusual way of forecasting the weather whilst down in Cornwall. Apparently they have a better success rate than Kaddy Lee Preston on BBC South East! Hang up your own stone and put it to the test....

Cornwall Blog. Now there's a thought!...

What a lovely sunset from our holiday flat balcony

Waxing down our surf boards: Surfing Cornwall eh!

 I promised I wouldn't bore you with all my holiday photos from Cornwall because we all know how tedious that can be. Come on we've all been invited round to see the family or neighbour's holiday slide show and had to sit through, sometimes literally, thousands of similar shots of their family on the beach with boats and different objects in the background! After all this is a Tonbridge Blog not a Cornwall Blog (although that is a thought!) In any case I spent most of my time in the sea body boarding or swimming so it would have been tricky with the camera. But anyway here are just a few choice ones:

The Cadgwith Sea Shanty Singers at the Fishermans Festival

Prize winning catch for the smallest fish of the day

The largest catch of the day at the weigh in

Abbey Funeral Directors Advertorial....

There now follows an advertorial by Abbey Funeral Directors who are based on Tonbridge High Street. They like Tonbridge Blog so much that they're prepared to pay to take a link on it:

In a society where, according to a poll commissioned by the Foresters Friendly Society, only about 39% of the population have made a will, it is surprising that so many people are now looking to purchase a funeral plan.  

Part of the reason may be to protect assets. In the event that residential care is paid for from an individual’s personal assets, ring fencing savings to pay for funeral expenses may not work. When they are means tested, savings are just savings and your plans for their use has no importance, where a funeral plan is a purchase; the money has been spent and can’t be counted as part of your financial assets.

Whilst there is clearly financial value is buying a plan, for many people the main reason is to remove that responsibility from their families when they die. This only works when the plan is one which performs well at the time of need.

Often people approach us who have made some provision. Regrettably, too often they come to us with a plan that we cannot accept. Some insurance based schemes restrict the plan holder to using a particular funeral group. These details are often in the small print and come as an unpleasant shock. Also insurance backed schemes only promise a sum of money, the value of which will be eroded by inflation and may be insufficient to fund the funeral

Christine Parker and her daughter Jo, directors of Abbey Funeral Services Ltd are happy to discuss either existing plans or the purchase of a new plan. Their plans are totally flexible and portable and can be used at any funeral directors. If the plan holder moves to another area the plan can move with them to a local firm.

Chris and Jo will be hosting a coffee morning at Christ Church in Tonbridge High Street on Saturday 1^st October 2011 when they will be available to answer any questions regarding funeral planning, both new and existing.

 

ChrisP

Christine Parker

Managing Director

Abbey Funeral Services Ltd           

01732 360328

mob.07887553467

www.abbeyfs.co.uk

Taste the difference at the Tonbridge Farmers Market....

Steve The Chilliman, organiser of the Tonbridge Farmers Market, came to see me today in my shop to give me some flyers for the markets and also to have a chat. The market held last Sunday, which I missed as I was still on my hols, apparently wasn't as busy as the July event but, according to Steve, people had come to buy rather than just out of interest which is an encouraging sign. The next one is on September 11th and then the second Sunday of every month thereafter. He's also starting some special themed events at some of the markets coming up, so watch this space. I love the whole concept of farmers markets and they are great for the town and  the community. The only thing is though we have to support them by going along and buying some of the produce which is usually a bit more expensive than the supermarket but so much more tastey....

Back from Cornwall....

PS. I was half expecting to come back to a burnt out shell of a shop and having to put the pieces together but it seems that thankfully the riots didn't get this far. Cornwall wasn't quite like being abroad but I didn't have a mobile phone reception for most of my stay there and I only found out about the city riots a few days after the worst of them were over. Probably for the best really as I'm not sure I could have stood the blanket 24 hour news coverage of it all in minute detail. I find you don't get nearly as stressed out about events in the news when you bury your head in the sand (almost literally in my case!)

Tonbridge Blog is back....

Yes it didn't take much to work out that Tonbridge Blog was on holiday last week and in fact up to yesterday. As a matter of fact I'm going to be on semi holiday this week as well as I feel a little cheated having only had about a week and a half off since last summer (get the violins out!) It's a hard life being self employed sometimes. Since you ask yes I had a lovely time in Cornwall which, these days, feels a bit like a second home I've been there so often in the last few years. Did loads of surfing (well body boarding actually but same sort of thrill) lots of eating simple food like fish and burgers and saw lots of beautiful coves and the like. In fact I've had a bit of a sea over-load and I'm just glad to be back on firm land in the Garden of England. On the other hand I could quite easily have spent the rest of the summer in the West where the weather is best. Who wants to see some photos?!..

August Tonbridge Insider Out Now....

Read all about it. Read Tonbridge LOG, the printed word extention of this Blog, in this month's Tonbridge Insider. Haven't got your copy? Can't find a copy? No matter you can read it online as a kind of virtual magazine....

Talk among yourselves for a bit....

Share your news with the people of Tonbridge, chat about something, give us some juicy gossip (obtained legally of course and preferably not through phone hacking!) get something off your chest. Go on try blogging it really can be quite liberating....

Come and see Mr. B....

No not Mr. Books but Mr. B! If anyone went to Tunbridge Wells Boys Grammar School when a certain Mr. Dereck Barnard was in charge now's you chance to get your own back. Visit Mr. Books next week (probably only on fine days when he feels like it!) have a chat, buy some books, test his product knowledge and generally put him through his paces! Dereck will be in charge for the week so make him feel welcome....

To Bee or Not to Bee?...

I love bees. They work hard, they get very little reward personally for their efforts and, so far as we know, they never complain; in fact they spend most of their lives waggle dancing. In many ways they are the living proof that The Big Society might just be successful! Best of all, in my view, they provide us with the most beautiful breakfast substance available HONEY. Winnie the Pooh, that bear of very little brain, was obsessed with the stuff and who could blame him?! I'm obsessed with the stuff. (Does that mean that I also have a tiny brain? (Not necessarily!) So what is it about this stuff. I don't really know but what I do know is that I love it spread on toast and, better still, drizzled over my fave summer breakfast of the moment: Greek yogurt mixed with sliced banana and a handful of crunchy oat cereal. Try it you'll love it, I'm not sure I invented this treat but I've certainly gone some way to perfecting it. (Works equally well with a dollop of summer fruits.) The honey just finishes it off nicely and gives it that lovely rich sweetness that only good quality honey can. I have no proof for this except my own personal experience but I'm now convinced that local honey cures you of your hay fever. A bold claim I know but I'm not the first to say this. Let's just say that the jar I purchased from the Bourne Valley Farm stall at the last Tonbridge Farmers Market, pictured, worked for me and no they're not paying me to say this although they can if they wish!...

More on Pedestrianising Tonbridge High Street....

There's quite a body of people who want to see Tonbridge High Street pedestrianised. I've said before in previous posts that I have mixd views on this subject. Most folk tend to vote for what's best for them personally so I suppose I ought to be all for it. Tonbridge Blog is certainly all for bringing more trade into the town if that's what it will achieve. Fran Long has sent me a link to an e petition so if anyone feels strongly enough about it you know what to do:

Tonbridge High street has air quality that does not meet EU standards, due to heavy traffic congestion.  This is bad for our health.  Please sign the petition for pedestrianisation, using the link http://www.petitiononline.co.uk/petition/pedestrianise-tonbridge-high-street/3310 You may use either home or work address, whichever is local. Please forward on to anyone else who you think would be interested.

Thank you

Fran Long

Damn those Midget Gems!...

Dentists again this morning. That's the fifth time in under a month. First it was a crown fitting, then back for some lovely root canal work and dealing with a tricky absess! About 3 hours in the dreaded chair in all. Then, just when I thought it was all over before going back for another crown to be fitted in November, I was eating a curry the other day and crunched down on something hard (most probably a peppercorn) then there was an awful grinding noise and the terrible realisation that about a quarter of my tooth had cracked off. Luckily I'd eaten most of the meal by this time so at least I didn't have to chew on further! The pudding course had to be postponed for another time. Thus the visit today to sort that out. Damed those midget gems (my fave choice of sweets when I were a lad) and thank heaven for National Health dentists. So far I've had around a thousand pounds worth of treatment for £204. Still a fair chunk of my hard earned cash but a snip in comparison....

Tonbridge Farmers Market Number 3 coming up....

I'm really looking forward to the next Tonbridge Farmers Market on Sunday August 14th. If the July one was anything to go by it really is not to be missed. Behind Waitrose car park is the venue, with free parking (cos it's a Sunday) right opposite. Don't forget to visit the organiser, Steve The Chilli Man's, stall but prepare your taste buds for an onslaught of spices first. I tell you those dipping sauces ought to come with a government health warning! People of Tonbridge this is a great addition to our town and we need to support this one. Over 50 stalls selling every type of local produce imaginable, a covered eating area where you can sample the delights from the market and some craft stalls as well. What's not to like?...

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.”