Tonbridge conference aimed to help women in justice system
A CHARITY dedicated to women prisoners which recently opened a shop in Tunbridge Wells is now inviting potential employers and mentors to a conference in Tonbridge. The #SheMatters Criminal Justice Conference has been in the planning since lockdown, but is finally set to take place at the River Centre in Tonbridge on October 21. With […]
All aboard the award-winning bus
A RESTORED bus from Tunbridge Wells brought home a retro award from the last ever SHOWBUS display, held late last month in Hertfordshire. The red DAF double-decker was named ‘Best 90s Bus’ at the 50th anniversary show on September 25. It had been restored and returned to its former glory by a team at the […]
Care home resident proves it’s never too late to become a published author
At the age of 91, Lucy Pope has fulfilled her lifelong wish this month to publish a book with the support of a Wellbeing Coordinator at the care home where she resides. Lucy, a resident of Birkin Lodge Care & Nursing Home since 2021, was supported by Lizzie Penman to write her first book, which […]
In Bloom team ready to compete in national competition next year
THE FLOURISHING neighbourhoods, spaces and habitats of Tunbridge Wells will be judged nationally after the town won gold medals and a category award in the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) regional competition. As reported in last week’s Times, the Royal Town walked away from the South & South East In Bloom (SSEIB) with a gold medal […]
Festival returns with noteworthy concerts for classical music lovers
A superb lyric tenor, internationally renowned pianists, and one of the world’s greatest clarinettists. Eileen Leahy discovers more about the forthcoming annual Tunbridge Wells International Music Festival which starts on Friday October 7 We’re pretty spoilt when it comes to having the chance to enjoy live classical music in our borough. From the Royal Tunbridge […]
Commuter misery resumes as bus and rail strikes return
THE largest bus and train operators in Kent are set to return to industrial action at the weekend, after planned strikes were cancelled following the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Around 600 workers at bus company Arriva are to walk out over pay during a series of strikes that are to begin on Friday (September […]
Puppetry Festival promising a whale of a time with a one-day spectacular
THE normally biennial Tunbridge Wells Puppetry Festival is to return a year early with a one-day puppetry spectacular. The event, which has been coming to the town every other year since 2015, is to host an afternoon of free puppetry with an under the sea theme. The event on Saturday, October 15 between 12 and […]
Going Out Guide September 28-October 4
HALLOWEEN draws an enormous spiderweb over stately homes, farms and country parks alike, this October half term. There’s a special service on the Spa Valley Railway on October 29-30, with Dr Frankenslime journeying into insanity aboard the steam-hauled Trick or Treat Express service. He is trying to build himself a bride, but if you somehow […]
Forage in nature’s larder to improve your diet and boost immunity this autumn
Did you know you can enrich your diet courtesy of mother nature? Vikki Rimmer spoke to Hever Castle’s head gardener Neil Miller to discover the power of rose hips, which can be 40 times more potent than Vitamin C and also made into teas and jellies? Only a handful of gardeners know that the fruits […]
“We give young people the opportunity to perform great music in fabulous venues”
Adrian Pitts, artistic director and principal conductor of Tonbridge-based West Kent Youth Voices tells Eileen Leahy why being part of a choir is so good for students’ social and performance skills… West Kent Youth Voices (WKYV) choir started in September 2019 as a platform for young singers in West Kent Schools aged from 14 to […]
