May1st-6th: A hopeful week
Good afternoon, I hope you are all enjoying this sunny Friday? It’s been another busy week in our brilliant community, the sun has (mostly) shone, bunting has gone up in Rusthall High Street, and flower baskets adorn Langton Green. Let nobody say we are not ready in advance for the Platinum Jubilee!
How many ways do I love The Amelia Scott? It would be hard to count - but I’ve been three times now and let me just recommend that you go and see for yourself. It’s free to enter, is a wonder to behold, and belongs to us the people. If you haven’t been to the library in a long time there are plenty of staff to welcome you back, and you can register for a library card here or in the library.
One welcome sight was the rocking horse that came originally from Rusthall Infants School, and the big Victorian dolls house my children used to climb up on a step to see. Rusthall was the original settlement older than Tunbridge Wells itself, so there is plenty of Rusthall interest in the museum, including the claim that Rusthall’s Toad Rock is to Tunbridge Wells as the leaning tower is to Pisa!
An overcast bank holiday and an unenticing rail replacement bus service on the trainline weren’t the most promising omens for the week. A trip on the Spa Valley Railway kept everyone as happy as they were going to be, and it was fun to see the people at Harrison’s Rocks and High Rocks wave at us, and wave back to them - a tradition that never gets old. I’m convinced I saw Pete Waterman in the buffet car, and my children didn’t know who he was. Or who Kylie Minogue was. I have to admit it’s not my best celebrity spot ever. We set off too late in the day to get off at Groombridge May Fair but luckily John Carter sent me pictures of the maypole and Morris dancers for Langton Life’s June issue.
The bus from my village into town was taking twice as long and getting delayed this week because of the closure of Major Yorke’s Road. Most often I decided to walk instead - my step count this week has been high, which I’m sure is good for my health! My daughter thankfully likes long walks and we enjoyed our stroll home from a theatre class in Tunbridge Wells on Tuesday evening - not having a car is always easier to manage in the spring and summer, but how I long for a country with cheap, reliable, joined-up public transport, cycle lanes, a crossing over Langton Road to the church, and fewer cars.
A highlight of my week on Wednesday was interviewing Nette Browne, the local artist who created the beautiful coffee plant mural in Fine Grind in The Amelia. She was such a joy and inspiration, and the really nice thing about her was that she was so keen to lift up all the people around her, and tell me how great everyone else was! I’m in the middle of writing an article about her, which will appear in the June issue of Langton Life, and on here soon.
While I was in the building I decided to see if there were any books I wanted to borrow - naturally, there were! I think I am back in love with the library again. I am a former bookseller, and absolute book addict, but can’t afford to buy every book I think I’d like, and anyway, my shelves are full. Libraries are the answer, just as long as I can remember to renew and return books and not rack up fines! This is much easier now you can keep track of your account online.
On the walk back from town, I stopped at Charlie’s Angels stall outside the Church Centre in Rusthall, and took the opportunity to pick up some wild garlic and walnut pasta salad and bread for lunch, as well as some Bloom and Wild flowers, for a donation in her pay as you feel teapot. Check out her Instagram to see when she will be there next.
I do like to vote, so I was missing my civic duty on Thursday. There was no election in Rusthall ward as our seat for Tunbridge Wells Borough Council isn’t up for election until 2023, but in neighbouring Speldhurst and Bidborough which includes Langton Green the seat was being contested by Matthew Sankey of the Tunbridge Wells Alliance, Clive Allen of the Conservatives and Millie Dolores Gray. As I write the results have been coming in and Matthew Sankey has retained the seat he won at a by-election with 65 % of the vote. If you want to see the rest of the Tunbridge Wells Borough Council results they are here - the summary is that the Conservatives have lost control of Royal Tunbridge Wells.
Today, I’ve mainly been writing articles for Langton Life but I took a quick break at lunch time to pop out to our wonderful Rusthall Community Larder. I came back with a good haul of fruit, veg, smoked salmon, chorizo, pasta, tinned tuna, bread for the freezer and some chocolate croissants for my daughter’s after school treat. The community larder has been going for over a year now, has helped to save tonnes of food from landfill, and makes all our village food budgets go a bit further. There’s also usually time for a friendly chat with someone you know in the queue!
Over the weekend, I’m planning a walk in Knole Deer Park, and hope to be able to catch some of the Langton Green Cricket Match on Sunday afternoon from 1pm at the Recreation Ground - let’s hope for another sunny day!
Finally, well done Langton Green, who raised £3,500 at their Spring Serenade concert last Saturday, and refreshed my memory of my favourite song from Grease. I’m also hearing news of Rusthall Rocks, a planned benefit concert in aid of Tunbridge Wells Ukraine Relief Fund featuring Wott the Hoople on 9th July - should be something to look forward to!
Have a great weekend!
Jayne
