Bidborough man raises £8,000 by cycling from London to Paris
Ian’s donors helped him smash his original fundraising target of £4,000 for his sponsored ‘Duchenne Dash’ cycle ride for charity from London to Paris last month. “Remembering all those that have sponsored me kept the wheels turning,” said the 54-year-old Bidborough resident, who was introduced to the muscular dystrophy charity by a neighbour. Contributors included […]
Tranquillity garden opens at hospital Intensive Care Unit
With many intensive care patients spending weeks in hospital, the ICU garden was designed as a safe, tranquil place for them to spend time outdoors, escaping the constant beeping of medical devices. Visitors are encouraged, and arrangements can even be made to spend time with pets here, under some circumstances. The accessible paved area features […]
Wine producers hit a six with cricket deal
The deal was announced last week, during the 170th Canterbury Cricket Week, with a pop-up outdoor bar for spectators during Kent’s match with Northamptonshire. For the rest of the season, both still and sparkling Chapel Down wines will be sold in main bars and hospitality areas. This follows an agreement earlier this year which made […]
Apprenticeship scheme offering opportunities for young talent
Almost half (47 per cent) of organisations that employ students and graduates say they intend to increase the number of hires they make in the next 12 months, research has found. The Institute of Student Employers (ISE) and Handshake survey comes as no surprise to Elite Leisure Collection who believe educating and developing young talent […]
Record waiting list stops growing as hospital staff battle through backlog
Figures released by the NHS last week, show in May there were 40,679 people awaiting treatment at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust (MTW), which runs the hospital in both Pembury and Maidstone. The figures show the number of people waiting for treatments such as hip and knee operations has grown by just 43 patients, […]
Fringe festival is now mainstream following success of its second year
The two-week event, modelled on the famous Edinburgh festival, brought 165 performances to 45 businesses, indoor venues and outdoor locations across the town, with seven shows entirely sold out, said organiser Debbie King. The event sold 6,000 tickets, more than double the amount in 2021 – ‘and that doesn’t include people who turned up or […]
Businesses and residents rally round as park’s café threatened with closure
‘The Inside’ opened in Calverley Grounds as a community business in 2019, which owner Laura Parker admitted was not good timing due to the pandemic. Since then and despite providing coffee, snacks and food, as well as organising events in the playground including activity trails and treasure hunts, the business has struggled to bring in […]
Council considers U-turn on fees for car parking at Dunorlan Park
As the Times reported last week [July 13], proposed parking charges at Dunorlan Park took the Friends of Dunorlan Park by surprise and sparked a petition. The Finance and Governance Cabinet Advisory Board committee met last week to discuss the proposed charges put forward by finance chief Cllr Andrew Hickey on the new cross-party Borough […]
It’s a record – the week’s sweltering temperatures are hottest in history
Temperatures in the town centre reached a blistering 35°C by Monday afternoon and yesterday the mercury had soared to a searing 39°C – a new record. This was hotter than Kingston in Jamaica, Madrid in Spain, Athens in Greece and the Western Sahara. The extreme heat led the Met Office to issue a Red National […]
Read the Times of Tunbridge Wells 20th July 2022
