Anke: Royal Tunbridge Wells

15% off in store

To celebrate a new test line in our shop use the code "NEWYEARSHIRTS" to get a fantastic 15% off all t-shirts. Unfortunately this doesn't apply to the cute new babygro too, but at just £13 your little treasure can be the talk of mummys morning next week and at least if they get lost everyone knows where to post them back to.
Just click here or, as always, use the shop graphic to the right.

Ice to see you, to see you....

It may be icy cold out there but that shouldn't stop you getting outside and admiring the wonderful scenery that surrounds us.
Just look at the beautiful sights, shapes and colours you can see if you pull on that bobble hat and mittens and taken a wander into Dunorlan Park.
Click here or any of the pictures to be taken to more from the series.

Click here or any of the pictures to be taken to more from the series.

In the Spotlight

Welcome to the first post of 2009. Has the Credit Crunch put the frighteners on you and your spending habits? Are you humming and hawwing over what you can cut back on? Shopping? Eating out? Going out on excursions? Giving to charity? Don't fancy giving up any of these? Well, the good news is that thanks to a new initiative called The Spotlight Book, you CAN laugh in the face of the economy and not cut back on ANY of these things!
The book of 120 vouchers for local shops, businesses, restaurants and activities which will save you £100s maybe even £1000s if you use them all, is on sale for just £10 from lots of town locations (available from the Tourist Information Centre, your local school, YMCA Centre and selected charity shops).
It's a shame the Greatest Tunbridge Wellian poll wasn't taking place right now, because local entrenapeneur Jennie Maslin, who hit upon the idea as a way to encourage residents to support local businesses, as well as beating the credit crunch and helping charities into the bargain, would surely be a front runner. I was very lucky to be able to help with The Spotlight Book by donating photographs for the pages and am very proud to have helped in my very small way. Thanks, Jennie.
Whats the catch? Well, there isnt one. With Gordon Brown urging us to spend, spend, spend to kick start our beleagured economy, even he's laughing.
If you can't find any books for sale near you click here to e-mail The Spotlight Book team.
Oh and have fun saving the economy too.

Happy Caves

Following a chance meeting on the Common with Steve Budden, the Commons Warden, I took his advice and went for a nice walk down to the Happy Valley. Why? Well firstly to try and work off three days of sprouts and turkey but mainly to see the great work that the working parties have been doing, clearing all the overgrown vegetation and installing new woodland steps down to the old caves.
These old caves, called by some as the Old Kitchen and others as Sweeps Caves because they were once used as a soot dump, were originally designed to house some benches so that visitors to the Cold Baths could sit and gaze over the wonderful view of the valley.
I recommend you take the time during the holiday break to take the family for a walk down to the valley to see the new views, see if you can find the oldest carvings in the rocks too. It's a lovely location and the air is certainly freshening.

Click any of the pictures or here to be taken to a gallery of photographs from the caves.

A view of the new steps.

A close-up look at some old carvings.

Pantiles Guide for your visitors

With some friends and relatives popping in over the Christmas period, its nice to get out and show them something of the local area, and the one place that's always top of the list is The Pantiles. So here in our handy cut out and keep guide, if you are taking your relatives and out-of-town friends onto the Walks for a post-turkey constitutional, are some handy tidbits to pop into your pocket so that you can impress them with your knowledge.:

1. Pointing to Chalybeate Spring (pronounce it "KA-LEE-BEE-AT"), say "This is where it all began, with the discovery of the medicinal spring waters by Lord North in 1606, look you can see the rusty coloured water under that glass dome. The colour is because its main mineral content is Iron Carbonate, so it tastes quite metallic, but will cure anything that's wrong with you, and only 50p too! If you come back in the Summer you can have some"
2. Looking down at your feet, "That's why its called the Pantiles. No not my feet, the big stone slabs I'm standing on. They aren't the original ones though, they're in the museum, well not all of them obviously, but I'm rambling on now. No, these are replacements of the originals bought my Princess Anne in 1698 after her son fell over on the uneven ground, apparently his head was too big and it made him unstable. How much? £100"
3. Pointing at the Tourist Information centre, "You used to be able to buy fish in there. Well a couple of hundred years ago at least anyway, when this square was chock full of the catch of the day from Rye and Hastings"
4. Draw their attention enthusiastically to the gallery above the quaint jewellery shop, casually mention, "That's the music gallery, they had to move the whole thing on rollers in the 1850s to build some shops. According to the act of 1739 you're actually free at any time to go up there and play music to the masses. Anyone got a Spinnet handy?"
5. "Lets get out of the cold for a while and pop into the Corn Exchange. This is where the farmers used to come to exchange their corn" That probably won't surprise them, but then hit them with: "This building used to be a theatre for a while in the 1800s too, you could sit in Kent and watch a play in Sussex" As your interested relatives look at you with confused faces, say "Before the alteration of the County Boundary, the Theatre had the stage in Sussex and the Auditorium in Kent." Bam! You've really got their attention now.
6. "Phew it's been a long walk so far, lets stop in the Ragged Trousers for a pint. See that plaque on the outside, that's for Beau Nash, he was the Master of Ceremonies here on the Pantiles. Nash made sure that everyone enjoyed themselves, to his strict set of rules of course. He kind of made the Pantiles into the fashionable hip place to be seen in the 1700s, hence why you're here visiting me now"
7. "Pity it's not snowing, it did last year. Lulu made it snow. Well actually, Morrisons shipped her and ten tons of snow in for their Christmas campaign, it's said that she still haunts this place every Christmas Eve."
8. Pop your heads out of Woods Passage, gesture emphatically over the road to the fenced off Cold Bath and declare, "You could even bathe in the waters over there in a nice cold bath, we could try it now but the passing traffic and resulting Police prescence might spoil the calming restorative benefits."
9. Finally, casting their, by now, stunned gazes upwards towards the Pantiles Clock, bellow in a nice loud voice, "Legend has it that the head of Decimus Burton, our famous architect, is encased inside the Pantiles Clock and the hands are powered by his thoughts"
Okay, I made that last one up. Good luck and let me know how you get on. Merry Christmas everyone!

Click images for larger versions.

Its All in the Name

I must get asked, literally 100s of times a day, where did the R come from in RTW come from. Well now I am safe to hide behind a fabulous new book from the Royal Tunbridge Wells Civic Society. Tunbridge Wells in 1909 by Chris Jones is a month-by-month diary taking us through the year that we obtained our Royal title. Its an utterly absorbing book that lasted me just a few hours as I raced through discovering just how our ancestors lived and shaped our town.
Fascinating tales of immigration, unemployment, countless applications for skating rinks, politics, the economy, in fact most of the same troubles that face the country today. You'll read open-mouthed at the stories of the local train crash, the workhouses, the domestic servants and the branding of the town with its shiny new title.
The back of the book is devoted to a tour of the town in 1909, pointing out all the local landmarks and buildings together with lots of new exclusive pictures to go along with the text which in themselves are worth the money. This is a wonderful book that had me in wonder and amusement from start to finish. Grab a copy now.
You may of course have noticed from the title of the book, that 1909 is 99.9 years ago. Its going to be a great celebration next year so look out from some very exciting posts to celebrate the 100 years of our Royal heritage.

Big White Wall

Just discovered a great new addition to the local library today, no its not a book, but a big white wall. That sounds incredibly dull you say, well yes it is, but what's on the white wall is incredibly interesting as it is a platform for local artists to flog their wares.
The first works to be seen on 'The Big White Wall' is a rather curious collection of paintings of chickens. I'm presuming they are local chickens. So drop on by and have a look, you never know who you might spot there.
Hey and whilst you're there why not pop in on the annual Box of Delights exhibition in the Art Gallery to pick up a Christmas bargain. Click here for more details.

Painting Trinity

With an hour to spare before dinner, I decided to spend a relaxing with my camera in the grounds of Trinity churchyard.
Hope you enjoy the view.

Painting with light.

The imposing clock tower.

Enjoyed them? Click here for some more.

Guest Post

With me unfortunately missing the wonderful Camden Road Parade, I've invited a good friend Anne Goldstein to write a guest post. Please welcome her.

On Saturday, there was the biggest show on earth – well, in Tunbridge Wells – as hundreds gathered for a lantern procession to celebrate the diversity and culture of Camden Road. The road is the setting for the forthcoming community play, which is being developed with residents by the Claque theatre company.

Designers Nina and Bonnie had been working for weeks with many groups and individuals to construct some awe-inspiring lanterns. The Filipino community turned up in numbers and created a glorious angel, boats and stars. The Jewish community made flame-shaped lanterns to represent the festival of Chanukah. The dynamic Kim and the Women’s International Network created an enormous globe shaped lantern.

There were heart lanterns galore, covered in pink, made by the wonderful Polly Taylor and the members and volunteers of the Pickering Cancer Drop-In Centre. Beulah Road residents’ association created a cake that looked good enough to eat. There were also children’s lanterns, made by the children of St James’ and St Barnabas schools, a wonderful giraffe made by the cheerful TWGGS girls, a dove from the Church of Christ, a dragon-fly, a clock set at the time the parade would begin, national flag lanterns, horses, a Winnie the Pooh head, a glorious fish and of course, the symbol of the parade, the massive elephant.

Everyone gathered in the busy Calverley Road precinct, carefully lighting their lanterns. At four o’clock the parade moved off, snaking its way down Camden Road. The Sea Cadets TS Brilliant played at the front, with the mayor and mayoress walking with a dancing white bear, who turned out to be the director of Claque theatre company, Jon Oram. At the rear of the parade were the pulsating drums and swaying movements of the Bloco Fogo samba group, resplendent in red and yellow.

There was a remarkable reception from Camden Road shoppers and retailers as the parade moved down the road towards St Barnabas school. Everyone was smiling and waving. Donald, at DW Audio, put on a display of laser lights. The procession ended at St Barnabas school, where there was a party with West African drumming band, Tricky Beats. Cath Hylton from Claque theatre company led the refreshment team and looked delighted at the way everything had come together.

As people moved off home, everyone was thinking the same thing - why can’t something as uplifting, creative and unifying as this happen every year in Tunbridge Wells?

Anne Goldstein

Donkey Drive

I remember seeing a wonderful picture when visiting Jordan House many months ago, a picture of the young Princess Victoria riding a steed from off the Common from a gentle morning jaunt with her servants sheltering her from the glorious sun. I was reminded of this wonderful image when reading the latest issue of SO Tunbridge Wells magazine, and a piece they had on donkeys. Princess Victoria you see, was riding a donkey off the Common.
You'd never guess that we here in Tunbridge Wells were one of the very first towns to introduce the donkey ride trade would you?
Traditionally seen as a seaside pursuit, the Victorians loved nothing more than hiring a donkey for a ride across the green Common.
After introducing them in 1801, the pastime seems to have survived around 100 years before the fashion for taking the waters moved on and leisure time shifted to the coast, taking with it the donkey rides.
Although not so named anymore, Mount Edgcumbe Road was originally called Donkey Drive and one of the smaller roads weaving across the Common was called The Donkey Stand, where the young boys used to hire out their rides to local asinurians. Another long-lost clue can be found below the beautiful Mount Helena, where you can see the remnants of the caves that stabled the donkeys until the mid-1830s.
Perhaps we should buy ourselves a couple of donkeys and start the tradition again? Would you want to ride one?