Tonbridge Floods 1968

Yesterday I searched my home office knowing that I had an old newspaper of the last floods in town, and eventually came across the old, yellowed and slightly fragile copy of a special flood disaster edition of the 1968 Tonbridge Advertiser. It made fascinating reading, not only for the devastating flood images and reports, but also for the adverts and notices the paper carried in the 60's. Here are some of the images of those floods that prompted the building of the Leigh flood barrier.

It's very sad that Tonbridge has flooded again, and my heart goes out to the people affected. A previous post (below) carries a link to a Community Facebook page if you can offer help to local flood victims.

Thin line to safety - Residents of Avebury Avenue

Avebury Avenue - former Rugby Club and Drill Hall

Supplies and food being transferred by poles - Avebury Avenue

Tonbridge High Street

Cyclists on The Botany before the floods rose - Ritz Cinema is showing Camelot

Tonbridge Daily Photo

Tonbridge Daily Photo #390

I really liked the attractive way the coloured autumn leaves were caught in the wire on the roof above the the shop on The Botany. It couldn't have been done better if it had been staged as a seasonal decoration.

Busking For The British Legion

Singer Collette Redgrave and organisers

Collette Redgrave and others sung a few numbers in the sunshine delighting Tonbridge shoppers during a soundcheck this week for the fast approaching 'Busking For The British Legion'.

Collette Redgrave

Everything went singingly well, sound levels were given the ok and so there's going to be something to look forward to in Tonbridge on Saturday 28 September.  The High Street will be filled with buskers for the whole day from 10am to 10pm. It's a free music event but donations will be gratefully received for the Royal British Legion (Poppy Appeal) and the Tonbridge Memorial Gardens. So look out for the big red buckets about town.

Amy and Simon

There will be a main stage at the Watergate as well as 4 other busking places including:-

 The Botany
Angel Walk
Ian Chatfield Butchers
Tonbridge Market

The day will be filled with performers, singers, session players, bands, rappers, mc's, dancers. comedians and more

Tonbridge Wetherspoons and The Castle pub plus others will also be involved in this fun filled day.

Last act of the day will be Lee Willz at 9pm

Tonbridge Daily Photo

Tonbridge Daily Photo #278 - Ooooops!!!!!!

Tonbridge resident Martin Best spotted this faux pas in Iceland's car park on The Botany. He said he hadn't noticed it before, but it's probably been there for sometime.  Thanks Martin for allowing Tonbridge Daily to use your photograph.

Tonbridge Daily Photo

Tonbridge Daily Photo #179 - The Botany

New Computer Shop for Tonbridge

There's a new place on The Botany, next to Waitrose, that deals with everything to do with computers.The sign states that Computers4Less (C4L) buys, sells and repairs computers.

It's good to see the space now taken with a new Tonbridge business as the unit has been empty for some time now since the carpet and flooring centre moved out.

All the best of luck to them!!!!!!!!

Tonbridge Daily Snippet

The Carlton mini cinema ran in the former cafe site of the Botany Ritz cinema.  It closed in l98l with the showing of Sean Connery in “Outland”

Childhood Memory of Tonbridge

This comment came in response to a Tonbridge Daily snippet on the town's tanneries.  It conjures up the magic of a childhood memory for something as simple as a duster collected on a school trip. A real piece of nostalgia!!!!!

'I think there was a Tannery or Abattoire in the Botany, (behind Bon Marche) and also, in or near Vale Road was The Baa Baa Co. (not sure of the spelling!)I visited there with my school class (Cage Green about 1954)They made products from sheep's fleece and wool. We were taught how to card, spin, and weave the wool, and even had an afternoon walking round a field of sheep collecting tufts of wool caught on the barbed wire fence, would Health and Safety allow that today!!! After the visit the company gave each of us a multi-coloured fleece duster on a stick. I thought it was really beautiful and couldn't get home fast enough to give it to my mum, at that time it was a luxury item we couldn't afford, or would even think of buying being totally un-necessary, but it had pride of place in our cleaning cupboard for many years.'