Tonbridge Daily Snippet

The pink velvet seats from Buster West's Tonbridge Playhouse were found piled high in four Lyons Crescent lockups in the 1960's. Unfortunately the rotten and rat bitten seats had to be destroyed.

I have been reliably told that they went up in flames as part of a massive bonfire on the river bank in The Crescent.

Tonbridge Daily Snippet

The Empire Theatre in Avebury Avenue was fondly known as the 'Bug-Hutch' by locals in the 1920's and 1930's.  The Manager Buster West was known to always wear a bowler hat when on duty at the picture house.  On Saturday mornings he collected the admission fee, and those who were able to pay a higher price to sit in the gallery gained the 'unspoken' privilege to bombard the stalls below with apple cores and other discarded litter.