Tonbridge Daily Photo

This beautiful image of  early morning sunlight streaming through the trees in Brook Street was taken by Tonbridge author Robert Morschel. He said 'it captured my mood nicely'.

Tonbridge Daily Photo #245

Tonbridge Art & Media Show 2013

Creative Arts students at Tonbridge will be showing off their work from this year.

Work includes Fine Art, Sculpture, Fashion Textiles, Graphic Design, Photography and Media

Location: Hawthorn Building, Tonbridge Campus (TN9 2PW)
Times: Wednesday 19th - Friday 21st June (10am - 4pm)

The show will also be open to view during the  Open Day on Saturday 22nd June 10am - 1pm.

Tonbridge Carnival 2013

Carnival Fete on Castle Lawn

Tonbridge town centre will be full of excitement tomorrow when the town’s annual carnival takes to the streets. This year the carnival theme is “That’s Entertainment” so you can expect to see local interpretations of all varieties of entertainment from theatre, cinema, TV and maybe even local radio!

In a break with an almost unbroken custom that has existed over twenty five years, this year's Tonbridge Carnival procession will not be assembling in Brook Street. Instead the carnival floats, classic cars, bands and other groups will gather in the Sovereign Way car parks, close to the Tonbridge Farmers' Market (which will also be up and running at Sovereign Way tomorrow) and then proceed from Avenue du Puy at 12.30 pm along the High Street passed Tonbridge Castle. With a variety of walking groups and motorised float entries, this year’s carnival promises to be bigger and better than ever and will also include the Southern England Marching Band Championship and Morris dancers.

The Mayor of Tonbridge and Malling and Lion President will judge the entries later in the afternoon, on the Castle lawn, and will present shields to the best in each category taking part in the procession.

In addition to the fun of the carnival procession, there will be a Fête on the Castle Lawn and along Castle Walk providing an array of entertainment and fun activities throughout the afternoon including the silver band 2nd Wind who will perform at the Watergate entrance from 11.45am – 12.45 pm.

As usual the show will feature Punch & Judy, Rondo the Clown, children's entertainment area, bungee trampolines, children's rides, a full arena programme presenting local talent, including the Cannon School of Irish Dancing, song and dance by Stagecoach and music from local band Rosewood Drift. And in the tradition of this popular event, there will also be a wide selection of tombolas, raffles and side-shows including the coconut shy, crazy kitchen and other games to test your skill as well as stalls selling cakes, jams, books, toys and jewellery. Hot and cold food, drinks, ice creams and scrumptious cream teas will also be on sale.

The Carnival is organised annually by Tonbridge Lions Club with support from Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council. Proceeds from the day will help local good causes and Lions' charities.

Homemade Wine Anyone?

If you enjoy learning about and tasting new wines, you may be tempted to make your own, and there's help at hand at the local Tonbridge Winemakers who are based at K College in Brook Street. Every month this friendly bunch of wine making enthusiasts get together to discuss, advise and taste different wines. The group are opening their doors to new members, and you don't have to have any experience in winemaking, as there are plenty of members who will help you on your way to making your first bottle of wine.

Cathy Rishman

Member Cathy Rishman has been making wine for many years. She says 'I started winemaking in 1974.  The first I ever made was dandelion wine. This was from a recipe in an old cookbook that belonged to my grandmother, “Mrs Beeton’s All About Cookery”.  At that time I made medium to sweet country wines.  Later I favoured grape based wines, but in recent years I have reverted to producing country wines.'

Cathy will be talking about her experiences of making wines at the club meeting in June, when there will be tastings and recipes for wines which have been made from ingredients bought in supermarkets and winemaking shops.

Les Maskrey

The July meeting is certainly something to look forward to as member, Les Maskrey who apparently has an inimitable style will be giving a talk which he promises to be a blast from the past. He calls this “Some of our Yesterdays – plus Yankee Doodle Dandy”.  The event will feature photographs of past club activities including fancy dress parties, barn dances and trips abroad, and there’s a bonus, Les’s talk coincides with American Independence Day, so he proposes putting up some American wines for tasting, “just to help the evening along”. Sounds good doesn't it.

If all this whets your appetite for getting involved, and you want to know more or contact the group, take a look at Tonbridge Winemakers on http://www.tonbridgewinemakers.com/148003674  The next meeting is in April.

'That's Entertainment' is the 2013 Carnival Theme

Carnival Fete on Castle Lawn

Tonbridge town centre will be full of excitement on Sunday 9 June when the town’s annual carnival takes to the streets. This year the carnival theme is “That’s Entertainment” so you can expect to see local interpretations of all varieties of entertainment from theatre, cinema, TV and maybe even local radio!

IN a break with an almost unbroken custom that has existed over twenty five years, this year's Tonbridge Carnival procession on Sunday will not be assembling in Brook Street. Instead the carnival floats, classic cars, bands and other groups will gather in the Sovereign Way car parks, close to the Tonbridge Farmers' Market and then proceed from Avenue du Puy at 12.30 pm along the High Street passed Tonbridge Castle. With a variety of walking groups and motorised float entries, this year’s carnival promises to be bigger and better than ever and will also include the Southern England Marching Band Championship, a display of classic cars, and Morris dancers.

The then Mayor of Tonbridge and Malling, Cllr. Howard Rogers and Lion President Mike Stout will judge the entries and later in the afternoon, on the Castle lawn, will present shields to the best in each category taking part in the procession.

In addition to the fun of the carnival procession, there will be a Fête on the Castle Lawn and along Castle Walk providing an array of entertainment and fun activities throughout the afternoon including the silver band 2nd Wind who will perform at the Watergate entrance from 11.45am – 12.45 pm.

As usual the show will feature Punch & Judy, Rondo the Clown, children's entertainment area, bungee trampolines, children's rides, a full arena programme presenting local talent, including the Cannon School of Irish Dancing, song and dance by Stagecoach and music from local band Rosewood Drift. And in the tradition of this popular event, there will also be a wide selection of tombolas, raffles and side-shows including the coconut shy, crazy kitchen and other games to test your skill as well as stalls selling cakes, jams, books, toys and jewellery. Hot and cold food, drinks, ice creams and scrumptious cream teas will also be on sale.

The Carnival is organised annually by Tonbridge Lions Club with support from Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council. Proceeds from the day will help local good causes and Lions' charities.

There is still time to take part in the Carnival procession, contact Barrie Bromley on 01732 851415, or to book a stall space at the fête, contact Peter Godsall on 01732 354174.

Mystery Location in Tonbridge

Mystery Location in Tonbridge

I was asked to include this photograph on the blog in the hope that someone might be able to recognise the location. It was probably taken between 1948 - 1954 and it could be around the Brook Street area.  There was an enormous burst of post war development in Tonbridge around this time, with a number of large housing estates appearing in the town. Cage Green was built in 1951/52, Higham Lane 1953/54 and Tudeley Lane 1948/49. So if anyone can recognise this spot please use the comment box below.