Makers and menders at Trinity
Local loyalty scheme the TN Card has gathered some two dozen producers, for an evening of local independent shopping for unusual gifts, crafts and food, whether you’re buying for yourself or for someone you’re seeing this Bank Holiday.
Gifts range from jewellery to homewares to eco gifts, as well as food and drink, and the Trinity bar will be open.
“We’ve had a growing number of crafters in the directory so we’re hoping it is the first of many events where we can bring everyone together for a fun, social evening that supports local too,” said TN Card founder, Jess Gibson.
However, if you already have the unique object you want, but it is in need of renewal, the Tunbridge Wells Repair Café (TWRC) is open for you this Saturday [April 30].
TWRC’s policy is that owners must go along to the repair stations while their things are being mended, a guideline which can make some people into menders themselves.
“It encourages people to have a go,” organiser Chris Murphy told the Times.
“We take some of the mystique away and they say, ‘Oh, is that it?’”
Meanwhile, he said, a woman who realised she could repair her own table had admitted to them: “I threw the matching chair away last year. I’m so annoyed with myself!”
Even non-skilled volunteers are welcome at the repair café to man the front desk and exit desk, or serve as ‘runners’ with requests and repair tickets.
Upcycling a noble old metaphor, Chris joked: “They really glue it together.”
Makers’ Market at Trinity, April 28, 7:30-9:30pm. Free entry for TN Card and Trinity members, plus 10% off purchases with TN Card. Entry £5 for non-members.
The Repair Café at Trinity Theatre, Saturday, April 30, 10am-1pm. Last repair accepted at 12.30.
Tickets from Eventbrite for the three concerts on Saturday, April 23, at midday, 2:30pm & 4:30pm.
On Stage & Screen
BALLET Central visits The E.M. Forster Theatre (Tonbridge) on its four-month tour, featuring original pieces choreographed for its up-and-coming dancers. See the Times’ interview last week with student dancer Eleanor Lewis, of Crowborough.
More dancing feet take to The E.M. Forster Theatre stage with the Firefly Dance School’s ‘Dance to the Beat’ celebration of the school’s tenth birthday, featuring dancers between three and 18 years old. Proceeds to the Little Hearts Matter charity for single ventricle heart condition.
Trinity Theatre presents a recording of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of ‘A Winter’s Tale’, transposed into the mid-twentieth century. Tuesday, May 3 at 7pm.
Molière’s ‘Tartuffe’ or ‘The Hypocrite’ has only been performed uncensored once before, at its première in 1664, before it was censored by King Louis XIV. Performed in French, with English subtitles, it also features a brief moment of male nudity. Trinity Theatre at Wednesday, April 27 at 7:30pm.
‘Blinded by the Light’, based on the memoir by journalist Sarfraz Manzoor, is onscreen at Trinity Theatre at 5:30pm. This is followed by a live Q&A with Sarfraz about his book ‘They’, at 7:45pm.
Going Live
The warm voice of Decca Records-signed Marie White fills The Grey Lady this Friday [April 29], joining the Paul Dunton Orchestra. Tickets from Eventbrite.
‘Punkulele’ band Bears in Trees appears at The Forum on Friday, April 29 at 7:30pm, supported by Beetlebug. Age 16 and older unless accompanied by an adult.
Folk rock and folk punk band Oysterband hits the stage in Cranbrook as part of their new album tour. Its ‘Read the Sky’ touring schedule started on April 22, and will take the band as far as Germany later in the year. The Queens Hall Theatre, Cranbrook, Saturday, April 30. Doors at 7pm. Tickets from WeGotTickets.com
Indie band Spinn whirls through The Forum for one night, as part of its delayed ‘Out of the Blue’ tour. Guest acts are Spilt Milk, from Gateshead, and Kent’s A Year In Provence, with a new fifth band member. Saturday, April 30 at 7:30pm.
Country music singer and musician Anna Howie plays the The Grey Lady, playing with Kent-based American musician Shep! & Co. Sunday, May 1 at 7pm.
The Royal Tunbridge Wells Symphony Orchestra presents ‘Sounds of the ‘70s’ at The Assembly Hall on Sunday, May 1 at 7:30pm.
Original rock’n’rollers Marty Wilde, Eden Kane, Mark Wynter and Nancy Ann Lee get into the mid-century swing with ‘Dreamboats & Petticoats’ at The Assembly Hall on Tuesday, May 3 at 7:30pm.
Family Fun
The Spa Valley Railway is running over the Bank Holiday weekend, with departures from Tunbridge Wells West (Saturday, April 30 – Monday May 2). Tickets from spavalleyrailway.co.uk
Now open after the Easter holiday, Crowborough Miniature Railway in the grounds of the Crowborough Leisure Centre opens every Saturday at 2-5pm. Tickets £1 per ride or £4 for multiple rides.
One- to four-year olds can enjoy Story Time with Out of the Bag Theatre at Trinity Theatre, on Fridays for the rest of term. Stories and interactive songs at 9:30-10:15, Fridays until July 8 (except half term).
Pre-schoolers and their grown-ups can enjoy creative play at Into the Space, another Trinity Theatre collaboration. Morning sessions (11-11:50am) at Showfields Library and afternoon sessions (1:30-2:20pm) at St Philip’s Church. Fridays until July 8 (except half term).
Keen conservationists are wanted to join the Kent High Weald Partnership at Sherwood Lake (TN2 Community Centre), to help make the ‘barley sausages’ which are the lake’s anti-algae treatments for the summer. Thursday, April 28 at 10am-3pm. The free event includes hot drink and biscuits at morning break and lunchtime (lunch not provided). Age 16 and over do not require adult supervision. Under-16s if accompanied by an adult guardian.
Under 18s are invited to hit the stage of The Forum for the latest Open Mic event this Thursday [April 28] at 5pm. Tickets £3 for under-18s (including a juice drink) and £5 for adults.
