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Wealden Times | WT213 | November 2019 | Gift supplement inside

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PRICELESS<br />

NOVEMBER AUGUST <strong>2019</strong><br />

<strong>Wealden</strong> <strong>Times</strong><br />

The lifestyle magazine for Kent & Sussex<br />

CHRISTMAS GIFT SUPPLEMENT <strong>inside</strong><br />

Inspirational Interiors • Fabulous Fashion • Delicious Dishes


Designed to stand the test of time<br />

The difference is in the detail


Please call for a brochure or visit our showrooms<br />

Unit 9, Chart Farm, Seal Chart<br />

Sevenoaks, Kent TN15 0ES<br />

Tel: 01732 762682<br />

81 Calverley Road<br />

Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 2UY<br />

Tel: 01892 520730<br />

www.rencraft.co.uk


01580 291221 jminteriorsuk.uk<br />

Please call to arrange an appointment at our Biddenden showroom


MINTERIORS<br />

JFine hand crafted kitchens and bespoke furniture


www.roundwood.com<br />

UK Distributor<br />

of OOD Houses


QUALITY DECKING & CLADDING<br />

OAK FRAMED<br />

BUILDINGS<br />

OAK FLOORING<br />

HOME & GARDEN<br />

FEATURES<br />

ÖÖD HOUSES<br />

Tel: 01435 867 072<br />

Round Wood | Newick Lane | Mayfield | East Sussex | TN20 6RG


ARE YOU LOOKING FOR A HOUSE<br />

YOU CAN MOVE STRAIGHT INTO?<br />

COX HOUSE, A 4-BED LUXURY FAMILY HOME IN RURAL SHADOXHURST,<br />

IS NOW READY, COMPLETE WITH FULLY-FITTED KITCHEN<br />

AND FLOORING THROUGHOUT.<br />

Be the first to view the final<br />

home available in this stunning<br />

development of 8 luxury homes<br />

SHADOXHURST • KENT • TN26 1LD<br />

www.chequersgreen.com<br />

01233 421055<br />

sales@jarvishomes.com<br />

www.jarvishomes.com<br />

JarvisNewHomes<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 09/10/<strong>2019</strong> 16:13<br />

5 High Street, Cranbrook, Kent TN17 3EB<br />

01580 715144<br />

Email: kld@kingsfords.net www.kingsfords-solicitors.com<br />

We offer an excellent, swift and friendly service.<br />

Conveyancing - Wills & Estates - Commercial Law -<br />

Matrimonial Law - Prenuptial Agreements - Litigation -<br />

Employment Law - Family Law - French Property<br />

Conveyancing Services from £550.00+VAT<br />

Wills from £220.00+VAT / Mirror Wills from £350.00+VAT<br />

Lasting Power Of Attorney (LPA's) from £250.00+VAT<br />

(Initial fixed-fee appointments also available at our Cranbrook offices)<br />

Litigation Solicitor from £200.00+VAT<br />

Matrimonial Solicitor from £150.00+VAT<br />

We will always try and match any quotation<br />

Kingsfords Solicitors Limited registered office address 2 Elwick Road, Ashford, Kent TN23 1PD<br />

Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority 621466<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

6<br />

KingsfordSolicitorsWT208.indd 1 07/05/<strong>2019</strong> 11:00


Contents<br />

<strong>November</strong> <strong>2019</strong><br />

26<br />

88<br />

HOUSE IN THE COUNTRY<br />

Maggie Alderson’s pick of rural<br />

properties in the Weald<br />

113<br />

117<br />

GET THE LOOK<br />

How to take a leaf out<br />

of Alexis Wylie’s book<br />

146<br />

130<br />

STRUCTURAL ASSETS<br />

Find plants that last all<br />

year with Jo Arnell<br />

37<br />

46<br />

73<br />

75<br />

79<br />

88<br />

NOTEBOOK<br />

News and events to look<br />

forward to this month<br />

VILLAGE PERSON<br />

We explore Kate Monckton’s<br />

quintessential village home<br />

GET THE LOOK<br />

Village style inspiration<br />

WHAT DREAMS<br />

ARE MADE OF<br />

Beds to keep all the family<br />

warm and snug through winter<br />

SPRUCE THE SPARE<br />

Ideas for giving your spare<br />

bedroom a makeover<br />

A FAMILY AFFAIR<br />

Tour a rich and vivid<br />

home revamped by interior<br />

designer Alexis Wylie<br />

117<br />

123<br />

127<br />

129<br />

130<br />

140<br />

BACK TO THE FUTURE<br />

Party wear with 80s flair<br />

BALMY ARMY<br />

Josephine Fairley is saving our<br />

skin with the best of balms<br />

VITAMIN D: HOW<br />

MUCH IS ENOUGH?<br />

Henrietta Norton<br />

finds the answers<br />

GETTING READY<br />

FOR THE LITTLE<br />

BLACK DRESS<br />

How to feel and look great<br />

as party season approaches<br />

FAMILY VALUES<br />

A guide to fabulous festive food<br />

PICK ‘N’ MIX<br />

Lovely local food products<br />

Published by Priceless Media Ltd. Kettle Chambers, 21 Stone Street,<br />

Cranbrook, Kent TN17 3HF | Call 01580 714705 | Email info@wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

Visit wealdentimes.co.uk Copyright © <strong>2019</strong> Priceless Media Ltd. The views of<br />

the advertisers & contributors are not necessarily those of Priceless Media Ltd.<br />

152<br />

159<br />

167<br />

173<br />

174<br />

MAGIC MUSHROOMS<br />

Sue Whigham explores the<br />

magical world of fungi<br />

LEARN TO PLAY<br />

The value of self-directed play<br />

according to Hilary Wilce<br />

WHAT’S ON<br />

What to do this month<br />

COMPETITION<br />

Win an overnight stay at the<br />

historical Oatlands Park Hotel<br />

FABLES FROM THE FARM<br />

Jane Howard tends to her flock<br />

GIFT<br />

SUPPLEMENT<br />

34 pages of perfect<br />

presents, amazing<br />

advents and<br />

beautiful baubles.<br />

After page 114<br />

christmas <strong>Gift</strong>s<br />

a wealden <strong>Times</strong> <strong>supplement</strong><br />

7<br />

Sponsored by<br />

Chic decorations <strong>Gift</strong>ing inspiration Advent calendar picks


Kent & Sussex<br />

kentsussex@humberts.com<br />

01580 230281<br />

humberts.com<br />

MOVING YOU SINCE 1842<br />

Bethersden SOLD STC £715,000<br />

A stunning Grade II listed 4 bedroom barn conversion situated<br />

close to the beautiful village of Bethersden with gorgeous<br />

gardens extending to just under an acre, this stunning 18th<br />

Century barn has been sympathetically converted into a 4<br />

bedroom, 2 bathroom family home. EPC Exempt<br />

Lymbridge Green FOR SALE £725,000<br />

Situated in a semi-rural position in Lymbridge Green this<br />

property offers spacious accommodation with potential to<br />

extend with 4 bedrooms, a large garden & paddock with<br />

stabling & garaging totalling to just over 2 acres (approx).<br />

EPC E<br />

High Halden FOR SALE £425,000<br />

A 4 bedroom home that has been recently renovated to an<br />

exceptionally high standard. Stunning countryside views,<br />

4 good-sized bedrooms, a high specification kitchen & large<br />

garden are just a few of this property’s fantastic features.<br />

EPC C<br />

Bethersden FOR SALE £550,000<br />

CHAIN FREE - Simply stunning, set within a large plot of<br />

approximately 0.132 acres and a real oasis, this detached<br />

Berkeley home with detached double garage delivers for all the<br />

family. EPC rating D<br />

60% RESERVED<br />

Tenterden FOR SALE £375,000<br />

This stunning property gives you the chance to own a piece of<br />

Tenterden’s history, previously the town’s theatre, this Grade II<br />

Listed Georgian cottage has bags of character and is situated in<br />

one of the most beautiful avenues in the town. EPC Exempt<br />

Bidborough PRICES FROM £1,595,000<br />

Home Farm is a collection of bespoke homes situated in the<br />

picturesque village of Bidborough with stunning panoramic<br />

views of the Weald.<br />

Note above image is computer generated.<br />

A collection of exclusive 4 & 5 bed<br />

detached homes by Clarus Homes<br />

Help to Buy available<br />

NOW RESERVING OFF PLAN<br />

A collection of exclusive 4 & 5 bed<br />

detached homes by Clarus Homes<br />

Help to Buy available<br />

NOW RESERVING OFF PLAN<br />

William Bankes,<br />

Regional Manager,<br />

Kent and Sussex,<br />

07810 715892<br />

Stuart Hutchinson,<br />

Assistant Regional<br />

Manager,<br />

Chichester,<br />

07395 790035<br />

Martin Jordan,<br />

Assistant Regional<br />

Manager,<br />

Canterbury,<br />

07796 338345<br />

Emma Tighe,<br />

Property Consultant,<br />

Tenterden,<br />

07395 790033<br />

Glynn Amos,<br />

Property Consultant,<br />

Sevenoaks,<br />

07734 555545<br />

Lizzie Jordan,<br />

Property Consultant,<br />

Canterbury,<br />

07891 654996<br />

Leila Him,<br />

Base Camp Team,<br />

01732 741212<br />

Tracey Jackson,<br />

Base Camp Team,<br />

01732 741212


Riverside Park, Ashford<br />

Open Day Launch 23rd - 24th <strong>November</strong><br />

Join us for our special Open Days showcasing<br />

the remaining one and two bedroom apartments<br />

and three bedroom houses at the new Riverside<br />

Park development in Ashford, Kent.<br />

Exclusive incentives available on the day.<br />

Opening Hours:<br />

23rd <strong>November</strong> – 10am to 4pm<br />

24th <strong>November</strong> – 10am to 2pm<br />

Contact us for more information<br />

Available immediately<br />

Help to Buy<br />

Parking<br />

Riverside & Park Views<br />

One mile to Ashford<br />

Designer Outlet<br />

0.5 miles to<br />

Ashford International<br />

38 Minutes to<br />

London St Pancras<br />

Balconies on all plots<br />

01233 427 767<br />

info@greassets.co.uk<br />

greassets.co.uk/projects/riverside-park<br />

Help to buy is subject to status and qualifying conditions. Terms and conditions apply.<br />

Featured CGI images are for illustration purposes only. Show home available to view at launch.


SALES / LETTINGS / MANAGEMENT<br />

VISIT US AT HUNTERS.COM<br />

HERE TO GET you THERE<br />

HOTHFIELD £550,000<br />

Heather House is a beautifully designed luxury 3 bedroom family home from<br />

Tolman Homes. Complete with double garage and exceptional fi nishes like<br />

underfl oor heating and electric driveway gates, Heather House offers comfort<br />

and luxury at an affordable price.<br />

GREAT CHART £600,000 - £650,000<br />

This stunning detached Lake Cottage is set amongst just under 5 acres of land<br />

Including a beautiful 2.5 acre lake and 2.5 acre pasture with well maintained, well<br />

established gardens fi lled with wildlife. EPC F<br />

HYTHE £499,950<br />

Built around 2014 and Located close to Hythe Imperial Hotel and Golf course,<br />

this exceptionally well presented apartment offers superb contemporary style<br />

living space and having the benefi t of excellent views over Hythe. EPC B<br />

LYDD £350,000<br />

NO CHAIN - A beautiful, detached cottage in the lovely location of Lydd. This<br />

stunning home offers huge amounts of character in which you would naturally<br />

expect, with a feeling of ‘home’ early on. EPC F<br />

LITTLE CHART £750,000<br />

A substantial detached seven-bedroom barn with approx. 5000 SQ. FT and selfcontained<br />

one-bedroom annexe, walled gardens to the side and rear with front<br />

forecourt with ample off-road parking.<br />

HIGH HALDEN £775,000<br />

A stunning six/seven bedroom unlisted country house with 4512 sq ft of<br />

accommodation, a wealth of period features, four reception rooms, three en<br />

suites, well tended private gardens and sweeping gravel drive. EPC E<br />

HERE TO GET you THERE<br />

MEET YOUR LOCAL Tenterden Team!<br />

Over 150 independently owned branches across the UK. Jake, Andrew & Laura<br />

TENTERDEN<br />

HYTHE<br />

01580 763 278<br />

01303 261 557<br />

ASHFORD<br />

FOLKESTONE<br />

01233 613 613<br />

01303 210 335<br />

Over 200 independently owned branches across the UK.


DISCOVER NEW HOMES<br />

ACROSS KENT<br />

TENTERDEN<br />

CHURCH VIEW<br />

MAIDSTONE<br />

BEARSTED & LADDINGFORD<br />

AVAILABLE NOW<br />

NEW 2, 3, 4 & 5 BEDROOM HOMES AND<br />

1 & 2 BEDROOM APARTMENTS<br />

Prices start from £255,000<br />

COMING SOON<br />

A RANGE OF NEW 2, 3, 4 & 5<br />

BEDROOM HOMES<br />

Register your interest now<br />

Visit dandara.com email twsales@dandara.com<br />

or call 01892 800 581<br />

Church View Sales & Marketing Suite, Recreation Ground Road, Tenterden, TN30 6RA<br />

discover<br />

Specification may vary subject to house type and build stage. Full details available on request. Price and details correct at time of going to print. Interior image shown is The Admiral show home. Computer Generated Images shown are indicative only.


Christmas is coming...<br />

...and to add to the magic, we will be giving away<br />

a £5,000 voucher<br />

when you reserve your new Fernham Home *<br />

Each week in the lead-up to Christmas, we will be giving away vouchers<br />

valued at £5,000 from John Lewis, Waitrose, Amazon, M&S, Next and more.<br />

Visit fernham-homes.co.uk and follow us on social media to find out more * .<br />

A new home in the New Year<br />

We value how important this time of year is for everyone,<br />

so there’s no pressure to move in before Christmas.<br />

Take advantage of this offer and visit us at Empire Park, Greenhithe; Boughton Park, Boughton<br />

Monchelsea; Lockesley Chase, Orpington; Ellesmere, Hollingbourne and Downsview, Westerham.<br />

2, 3, 4 & 5 bedroom homes prices from £360,000<br />

01732 757158 | fernham-homes.co.uk | #FernhamHomes #ChristmasIsComing<br />

*subject to scheme rules


This collection of seven 2 bedroom apartments, one 3 bedroom penthouse and one<br />

2 bedroom detached home is set 150 yards * from the town’s train station, with an<br />

outstanding specification, secure parking and private outdoor space to each property.<br />

• Secure gated development with allocated parking<br />

• Open plan living/kitchen/dining rooms<br />

• Stoneham kitchens with quartz worktops & Siemens appliances<br />

• Bathrooms with Hansgrohe, Bauhaus and Porcelanosa fittings<br />

• Complete with floor coverings & underfloor heating throughout<br />

• 24-hour CCTV, video entry and intruder alarms<br />

• Balcony, garden or roof terrace to each home<br />

• 10 year NHBC warranty<br />

*Distance taken from google.co.uk/maps<br />

Subject to scheme rules<br />

Prices from £525,000<br />

Show apartment now open<br />

Book your appointment today<br />

savills.co.uk<br />

01732 789 740<br />

sevenoaksnewhomes@savills.com<br />

020 8777 1787<br />

kenthousepartnership.co.uk


Other developments available, please visit www.regalpoint.co.uk<br />

ONE THREE THREE<br />

HIGH STREET, TONBRIDGE TN9 1DH<br />

To the buyer of apartment 8,<br />

to help you settle in,<br />

we will pay your<br />

mortgage for a year *<br />

*Subject to terms and conditions. Computer generated image of similar property.<br />

Priced at £289,950, apartment 8 at One Three<br />

Three in Tonbridge High Street is a 2-bedroom,<br />

2-bathroom, highly specified and perfectly<br />

appointed home with off-street parking and<br />

only minutes away from the mainline station,<br />

local shops, restaurants and bars.<br />

As an exclusive offer for this beautiful<br />

apartment, we will pay the mortgage<br />

of the purchaser for the first year *<br />

TO BOOK YOUR VIEWING,<br />

CONTACT US ON 01732 450184<br />

*subject to scheme rules<br />

Purchase price £289,950<br />

Equity loan £57,990<br />

Deposit needed £14,498<br />

Mortgage £217,462


A.T. Palmer Ltd<br />

Restoration Specialists Est.1949<br />

CELEBRATING 70 YEARS IN BUSINESS<br />

| Employed Skilled Workforce<br />

| Renovations & Extensions<br />

| Conversions & Alterations<br />

| Design & Build<br />

T: 01233 770077<br />

Smarden Business Estate, TN27 8QL<br />

atpalmer.co.uk


A perfect place<br />

for family memories.<br />

EMERSON PARK RETIREMENT VILLAGE & CARE HOME<br />

We believe Emerson Park is unlike anything<br />

else around - luxury retirement apartments<br />

with a range of high class facilities along with<br />

an exclusive care home.<br />

Talk to us about Part-Exchange (T&Cs apply)<br />

Don’t worry if you need to sell your current property before moving<br />

into Emerson Park. Our Part-Exchange scheme makes this simple.<br />

• Guaranteed sale – we become<br />

your cash buyer. No chain, no<br />

uncertainties.<br />

• Immediate – a cash offer<br />

and contracts that are typically<br />

exchanged within 28 days.<br />

• Flexible move date – stay in<br />

your current property for up to<br />

two weeks after completion.<br />

• No fees<br />

– no estate agent<br />

fees and we handle all legal<br />

paperwork and costs.<br />

Call now for more information about Emerson Park on 01322 515417<br />

Show Suite Open Monday to Friday 10am – 4pm<br />

Emerson Park, Rowhill Road, Hextable, Kent BR8 7FP<br />

Web: www.cinnamoncc.com/emersonpark


ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE<br />

Capital Gains Tax: What will<br />

the new payment date mean to you?<br />

HMRC has announced that<br />

from 6 April 2020, the rules<br />

for paying Capital Gains<br />

Tax (CGT) are changing,<br />

and the payment date for tax<br />

liabilities arising on capital<br />

gains made on the disposal<br />

of residential property by<br />

UK resident taxpayers is<br />

being brought forward.<br />

Vikki Logan, tax manager<br />

at Cripps Pemberton<br />

Greenish, explains what<br />

this means for taxpayers.<br />

What is CGT and when<br />

does it occur?<br />

CGT is a UK tax paid on<br />

the increase in value over<br />

its acquisition cost, of a<br />

chargeable asset at the date<br />

of disposal, this includes<br />

residential property that<br />

does not fully qualify for<br />

main residence relief.<br />

The rate of CGT payable<br />

depends on an individual’s<br />

personal circumstances<br />

and the asset concerned.<br />

What are the current rules?<br />

Under the current rules,<br />

UK residents disposing of<br />

a chargeable asset must<br />

disclose the transaction on<br />

their self-assessment tax<br />

return and pay the CGT due by<br />

31 January following the end<br />

of the tax year in which the<br />

disposal takes place. This can<br />

be between 10 and 22 months<br />

after the transaction occurs.<br />

What will change?<br />

From 6 April 2020 any<br />

CGT liability arising on the<br />

disposal of a residential<br />

property will be payable<br />

within 30 days of the<br />

contract for the disposal<br />

completing . A special<br />

‘payment on account’<br />

return will need to be filed<br />

with HMRC at the same<br />

time. Penalties and interest<br />

will be incurred if the 30<br />

day deadline is missed.<br />

The new rules will apply to<br />

all disposals of residential<br />

property whether by way of<br />

sale, gift or transfer into or<br />

out of a trust. Individuals,<br />

trustees and personal<br />

representatives disposing<br />

of residential property<br />

will need to have details<br />

of the sale, or valuations<br />

at the date of disposal<br />

if it is by way of a gift,<br />

as well as the historical<br />

acquisition costs and<br />

enhancement expenditure<br />

readily to hand in order<br />

to meet this deadline.<br />

These changes will apply<br />

to disposals of both UK<br />

and overseas residential<br />

properties as well as<br />

residential properties<br />

where the capital gain is<br />

not fully exempt under<br />

the main residence relief<br />

rules. Special rules<br />

will apply to calculate<br />

the capital gain for the<br />

purposes of making the<br />

CGT payment on account.<br />

The disposal will also<br />

need to be reported on<br />

the taxpayer’s annual selfassessment<br />

tax return.<br />

How can we help?<br />

Cripps Pemberton Greenish<br />

is well equipped to assist with<br />

this process. Our specialist<br />

residential property team can<br />

manage your conveyancing,<br />

and our tax team can help with<br />

calculating the capital gains<br />

tax and reporting to HMRC.<br />

Vikki Logan<br />

For more information,<br />

please contact tax manager,<br />

Vikki Logan on<br />

+44 (0)1892 506 027,<br />

vikki.logan@crippspg.co.uk<br />

or visit www.crippspg.co.uk.<br />

www.crippspg.co.uk @crippslaw This article gives examples and is intended for general guidance only


‘Our Focus Determines Your Reality’<br />

HARPERS AND HURLINGHAM<br />

BENENDEN £1,200,000<br />

DETACHED FAMILY HOME WITH VIEWS<br />

• Two reception rooms • Conservatory • Kitchen/<br />

breakfast room with larder • Utility room •<br />

Cloakroom • Five bedrooms (one ensuite) •<br />

Delightful enclosed garden • Garaging • EPC: F<br />

Cranbrook School Catchment Area<br />

RURAL SMARDEN £1,195,000<br />

QUINTESSENTIAL COUNTRY HOME<br />

• Four reception rooms • Kitchen/breakfast room<br />

• Utility room • Five bedrooms (two ensuite) •<br />

Delightful gardens • Swimming pool • Pool house •<br />

Outbuildings • Garaging • EPC: n/a<br />

Rural yet not isolated location<br />

RURAL STAPLEHURST £995,000<br />

CHARMING BARN CONVERSION<br />

• Sitting room • Kitchen/dining room • Four<br />

bedrooms (one ensuite) • Bathroom and shower room<br />

• Grounds in excess of 9 Acres • Barn • Stables and<br />

feed room • Hay barn • Sand school • EPC tbc<br />

Cranbrook School Catchment Area<br />

RURAL MARDEN £895,000<br />

STUNNING GRADE II LISTED COTTAGE<br />

• Drawing room • Sitting room • Family room •<br />

Kitchen/breakfast room • Four double bedrooms<br />

(two ensuite) • Grounds approx. 1.5 acres • Stables •<br />

Workshop • Double garage • EPC: n/a<br />

Mainline station nearby<br />

Harpers&Hurlingham<br />

The Cornerhouse, Stone Street, Cranbrook<br />

01580 715400<br />

www.harpersandhurlingham.com<br />

LONDON OFFICE: KENSINGTON 020 7938 2311<br />

Sales & Lettings Team<br />

Jane Emilie Chez Cathy Sara Debbie Debbie S Caroline Dianne<br />

Caroline J


Preserving your place in history<br />

DESIGN & PLANNING | RESTORATION | NEW BUILD | BARN CONVERSIONS | EXTENSIONS | JOINERY<br />

For a brochure or home consultation call 01797 366895<br />

www.anthony-hicks.co.uk


ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE<br />

Go green and save money<br />

What is Ground Source Heating?<br />

Ground Source Heating is<br />

exactly what it says. It’s a way<br />

of obtaining heating from the<br />

ground. Ground source heat<br />

pumps are a carbon emission free<br />

way to heat the home using solar<br />

energy stored in the ground.<br />

Heat pumps can be fitted<br />

in a variety of buildings<br />

from commercial to<br />

residential and are ideal for reducing<br />

the environmental impact on a<br />

project and cost saving for the life<br />

of the building. Heat pumps can<br />

be installed anywhere in the UK<br />

either through a borehole, typically<br />

between 100 meters to 200 meters<br />

deep, depending on the geology<br />

in the area, or they can be fitted<br />

through horizontal pipe work<br />

laid in the ground at around 1.2<br />

metres deep. This is dependent<br />

on the space available for the pipe<br />

work. Pipes are installed either in<br />

the borehole or in trenches. This<br />

pipe work will have water and a<br />

little antifreeze running through<br />

a loop. These loops will take the<br />

ambient temperature of the ground<br />

throughout the year of approximately<br />

12-13C depending on the location.<br />

This ambient temperature will be<br />

run through a ground source heat<br />

pump and convert this energy into<br />

a temperature of 45C using very<br />

little electricity. These heat pumps<br />

can be reversed in the summer<br />

using the ambient temperature in<br />

the ground to cool the home. A<br />

properly installed and planned heat<br />

pump can deliver three to four<br />

times the thermal energy (heat) as<br />

is used in electrical energy to power<br />

the heat pump. To be 100% green<br />

this system can be used with green<br />

electricity which can be purchased<br />

from most energy providers.<br />

Going green is an<br />

investment in the future<br />

Going green is an investment in the<br />

future and the government is active<br />

in assisting people installing Ground<br />

Source Heat Pumps. Through a<br />

government initiative called the<br />

RHI (Renewable Heat Incentive)<br />

domestic installations can receive<br />

payments of up to £4,573 a year for<br />

7 years helping to recover the costs<br />

of any installation. For commercial<br />

installations the RHI payments will<br />

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hour of renewable heat generated.<br />

Avoid rising<br />

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With Ground Source Heating the<br />

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GeoTech Developments Limited<br />

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Tel: 0800 0496 939<br />

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www.geotechdevelopments.co.uk


Find your new<br />

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Beautiful new homes with great energy<br />

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RESERVE NOW AND BE IN YOUR NEW HOME FOR CHRISTMAS*<br />

Find out more by visiting our show home open daily 10am - 5pm<br />

For further details please call: 01622 749299<br />

Or visit our website www.westerhillhomes.co.uk<br />

* Applies to selected plots. Details correct at time of going to print<br />

Commercially Minded<br />

Connells<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 08/10/<strong>2019</strong> 10:17<br />

If you think your land or property has development potential,<br />

why not give us a call without obligation and in confidence.<br />

Office blocks<br />

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Many of our clients retain our services and, in the majority of<br />

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website: sjd-projects.com<br />

email: steve@sjd-projects.com<br />

WE ARE ALWAYS ON THE LOOKOUT FOR LAND AND PROPERTY WITH DEVELOPMENT POTENTIAL<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

22<br />

SJDprojectsWT211.indd 1 09/08/<strong>2019</strong> 14:19


01580 242700<br />

wealdproperty.net<br />

Residential Sales | Management and Lettings<br />

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WealdProperty<strong>WT213</strong>A.indd 1 23/10/<strong>2019</strong> 11:33<br />

from<br />

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OPEN FROM NOV 16th - DEC 15th from 9 - 4 (Monday’s CLOSED)<br />

More details at www.biddendenchristmastrees.co.uk<br />

23 wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

WealdProperty<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 21/10/<strong>2019</strong> 10:02


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25 wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

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House<br />

Month<br />

of the<br />

£1,395,000<br />

House in the<br />

Country<br />

Maggie Alderson picks her favourite homes on the market<br />

Elm Hill House<br />

The dream: Perfect for family life,<br />

this impressive, detached mid-<br />

Victorian house rather marvellously<br />

isn’t listed, and has been very<br />

stylishly renovated, including a<br />

fabulous white kitchen with a tiled<br />

floor. Planning permission is in<br />

place for an orangery. As well as a<br />

wine cellar and a boot room/utility<br />

room, the very spacious basement<br />

has a games room and a music<br />

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& Rye bath by the window.<br />

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Hawkhurst with its independent<br />

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Setting: Lovely countryside.<br />

Beds: 4 Baths: 2<br />

Special features: The splendid<br />

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Pleasing details: Lovely wide doors.<br />

Outside: Over an acre of mature<br />

gardens with specimen trees, a<br />

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Time to town: Just over an<br />

hour from Etchingham or<br />

Staplehurst to Charing Cross.<br />

Agent: CJPC, Cranbrook<br />

01580 714888 cjpc.co.uk<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

26


Rockwood<br />

£850,000<br />

The dream: A very rare opportunity to<br />

live in a genuine American log and timberframed<br />

family home in East Sussex. The<br />

entire house is wood – floors, ceilings and<br />

wall – creating a unique atmosphere. The<br />

ground floor has a lovely flowing plan,<br />

American style, and there is a swinging<br />

chair out on the ‘porch’ (veranda).<br />

Where: On the rural edge of Hastings.<br />

Setting: Deep in woodland, you could<br />

imagine you were Laura Ingalls Wilder.<br />

Beds: 3 Baths: 3<br />

Special features: The rough<br />

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Pleasing details: Imagine<br />

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Outside: Over five acres of<br />

grounds and woodland.<br />

Time to town: An hour and a quarter<br />

from Battle station, 15 minutes drive,<br />

to Charing Cross, around the same<br />

to St Pancras International from<br />

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Agent: John D Wood & Co, with<br />

viewing by arrangement through Freeman<br />

Forman 01580 755320 johndwood.co.uk<br />

The Spence<br />

£550,000<br />

The dream: A downsizer’s dream,<br />

this two-bedroom apartment has<br />

been superbly converted in Lillesden<br />

House, an 1855 mansion which had<br />

been used as a girls’ school. There is<br />

herringbone parquet throughout and a<br />

very stylish white Shaker kitchen. The<br />

master bedroom has a dressing room<br />

and there is a utility room, so it would<br />

never feel pokey. Charmingly, each flat<br />

has been named after a Head Girl.<br />

Where: On the southern<br />

outskirts of Hawkhurst.<br />

Setting: Glorious countryside, looking<br />

over the High Weald AONB.<br />

Beds: 2 Baths: 2<br />

Special features: The huge windows.<br />

Pleasing details: The common areas of<br />

the conversion are beautifully done.<br />

Outside: 22 acres of shared grounds.<br />

Time to town: Between one hour 10<br />

minutes and one hour 20 to Charing<br />

Cross, from Staplehurst or Etchingham.<br />

Agent: Jackson-Stops, Cranbrook<br />

01580 720000 jackson-stops.co.uk<br />

27 wealdentimes.co.uk


ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE<br />

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The Old Auction House<br />

102 High Street Tenterden<br />

Kent TN30 6HT<br />

01580 762524<br />

tenterden@handmaderugs.co.uk<br />

Find us between Hunters Estate Agents and The Secret Pantry<br />

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Tenterden Opening Hours, Tuesday Wednesday and Friday 10am to 5pm<br />

Saturday 10am to 4.30pm Monday and Thursday by Appointment and Home Visits<br />

HandmadeRugsTenterden<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 15/10/<strong>2019</strong> 14:32<br />

THE LEADING AUCTIONEERS IN THE SOUTH EAST<br />

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Grosvenor House, Grosvenor Park, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN1 2BF<br />

29 wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

5303-Gorringes (WT) (Nov<strong>2019</strong>) 130x185 v2 final.indd 1 07/10/<strong>2019</strong> 13:10<br />

Gorringes<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 07/10/<strong>2019</strong> 17:24


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FarninghamPineOakS55.indd 1 15/04/<strong>2019</strong> 14:22<br />

31 wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

CreativeConstellation<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 01/10/<strong>2019</strong> 11:35


Brighton • Crowborough • www.mistersmith.co.uk<br />

HeverCastle<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 23/10/<strong>2019</strong> MisterSmithInteriorsWT200.indd 14:17<br />

1 18/09/2018 19:26<br />

CHRISTMAS<br />

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CHRISTMAS<br />

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wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

32<br />

CHD-MWF19.indd 1 15/10/<strong>2019</strong> 11:17


How to share Christmas<br />

Whilst there will always be those who complain about the commercialisation<br />

of Christmas, no one can doubt that it remains a time of magic and excitement<br />

for children of all ages.<br />

As parents, we do all we can to ensure that<br />

our children have a wonderful time and<br />

that the magic is protected for as long as<br />

possible. This can be stressful enough at<br />

the best of times, but it can become so<br />

much more difficult following a divorce<br />

or separation. Emotions may be running<br />

high, particularly if the separation is recent,<br />

finances are likely to be more stretched and<br />

to top it all, arrangements must be made to<br />

ensure that children can spend time with<br />

both parents over the Christmas period.<br />

Any family lawyer will tell you that even<br />

the most amicable couple can find this<br />

a difficult issue and whilst it might be<br />

tempting to ask the children, particularly<br />

older ones, what they would like to happen,<br />

be prepared for the additional burden of<br />

guilt that is bound to follow the likely reply<br />

that what they really want, is for the family<br />

to be together at Christmas.<br />

So is it possible to resolve such a potentially<br />

fraught issue without tears? Absolutely it is,<br />

but only if the adults involved are able and<br />

prepared to make a huge effort to remind<br />

themselves that, just as when they were<br />

together, they need to concentrate on<br />

doing their best to make this time special<br />

not for themselves, but for their children.<br />

The earlier discussions can take place the<br />

better, as that should avoid the need for<br />

previous arrangements to be altered or<br />

cancelled and also allows a parent facing<br />

Christmas Day without the children to<br />

make the best of the situation, possibly<br />

by arranging to spend the day with other<br />

parents in a similar position.<br />

Sadly however, there will always be some<br />

couples who really struggle to reach an<br />

agreement and who will need assistance in<br />

settling matters. Whilst courts can assist<br />

and indeed are often called upon to decide<br />

on arrangements in the weeks running up<br />

to Christmas, this really should be seen as a<br />

last resort.<br />

Not only are court proceedings expensive,<br />

but court lists are busy at the best of times<br />

and often there is simply no time for a court<br />

to hear an application in time for Christmas.<br />

But even more fundamentally, bear in mind<br />

that nothing will destroy any remaining<br />

vestige of goodwill more than contested<br />

court proceedings. Better alternatives<br />

are mediation or collaborative law, both<br />

of which can assist couples in reaching<br />

an agreement. Yes, this may well require<br />

compromise on both sides, but it will<br />

certainly be worth it if it allows the children<br />

to enjoy time with both their parents over<br />

this special time.<br />

If you would like further advice,<br />

we offer a free 30-minute meeting.<br />

Please contact our team secretary<br />

Louise Huxstep on<br />

T: 01892 502 338 or<br />

E: LHuxstep@bussmurton.co.uk<br />

and quote “<strong>Wealden</strong> <strong>Times</strong>”.<br />

Please get in touch Please with our get Family in touch team with who our will Family be happy team who to help. will be happy to help.<br />

Melanie den Brinker Margaret Evans Lora Grogan Amanda Jardine-Viner<br />

Julie Taylor<br />

Kristy Underwood<br />

www.bussmurton.co.uk T: 01892 510 T: 01892 222 510 2<br />

TUNBRIDGE WELLS TUNBRIDGE | CRANBROOK WELLS | CRANBROOK | EAST GRINSTEAD | EAST | GRINSTEAD DARTFORD | DARTFO<br />

Buss Murton Law LLP is a Limited Buss Liability Murton Law Partnership LLP is a No. Limited OC345994 Liability Partnership and is authorised No. OC345994 and regulated and by is the authorised Solicitors and Regulation regulated Authority. by the Solicitors Regulation A


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Artwork by Polly Horner<br />

TenterdenArtists<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 17/10/<strong>2019</strong> ChristmasFestival<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 16:14<br />

1 27/09/<strong>2019</strong> 10:38<br />

Cherished memories<br />

made at Scotney Castle<br />

Visit Scotney Castle this Christmas to experience<br />

the magic of the season. Book in for lunch,<br />

explore the house, take a winter's walk or bring<br />

the little ones to meet Father Christmas.<br />

These are the places that make us.<br />

nationaltrust.org.uk/scotney-castle<br />

© National Trust <strong>2019</strong>. Registered Charity no. 205846. Photography © National Trust Images/John Millar<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

36<br />

ScotneyCastle<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 23/10/<strong>2019</strong> 10:39


Notebook<br />

What to do and see near you this month<br />

Canterbury Pen Co.<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk/events<br />

Midwinter Fair<br />

It wouldn’t be <strong>November</strong> without our annual<br />

Midwinter Fair. Once a year, as the holiday<br />

season approaches, we build our shopping<br />

haven – a tented village filled with all of our<br />

favourite things. Beneath the canopies of eight<br />

heated marquees, over 250 exhibitors will gather,<br />

bringing with them beautiful jewellery, vintage<br />

homeware, one-of-a-kind fashions, and so much<br />

more. Shop for loved ones, treat yourself or<br />

just enjoy the day! The Midwinter Fair comes<br />

to the Hop Farm in Paddock Wood from<br />

Thursday 14 to Saturday 16 <strong>November</strong><br />

and is definitely one for the diary.<br />

See you there...<br />

2littleboys.co.uk<br />

*Discount available on adult tickets<br />

only when used in conjunction with a<br />

voucher code. Offer valid until 13.11.19<br />

From<br />

Belo<br />

20%<br />

OFF<br />

on the door ticket<br />

price with<br />

COdE WT1 *<br />

SW19london.com<br />

Effortless<br />

Trading Co.<br />

Pinkster<br />

Gin<br />

Babette Wasserman<br />

This art of<br />

mine<br />

Showcasing the work of 23<br />

artists as they convey their<br />

relationship with the world<br />

and nature through art, the<br />

Cranbrook Art Show comes to<br />

The Vestry Hall in Cranbrook<br />

from Thursday 7 to Saturday 9<br />

<strong>November</strong>. This one gives you<br />

a great opportunity to explore<br />

a mix of painting, printmaking,<br />

sculpture, ceramics, glass<br />

and jewellery, and to choose<br />

that special Christmas gift<br />

or future treasured piece.<br />

cranbrookartshow.org.uk<br />

& guerrillas<br />

On Monday<br />

25 <strong>November</strong><br />

join Hospices of Hope for<br />

lunch at Buxted Park Hotel<br />

with Tom Hart Dyke speaking<br />

about growing up at Lullingstone<br />

Castle in Kent, his time in captivity<br />

Colombia and fulfilling his dream<br />

creating the World Garden. Proceeds<br />

from the event will help fund<br />

vital hospice care in Albania,<br />

Moldova, Romania and<br />

Serbia. hospicesofhope.co.uk


Notebook<br />

QUENTIN BLAKE:<br />

FEET IN WATER<br />

Hastings Contemporary welcomes Quentin Blake’s latest<br />

instalment in an ongoing series created for the gallery this<br />

month. It is full of enchanting creations and characters<br />

just like those you have seen in books by David Walliams,<br />

Joan Aiken and, of course, Roald Dahl, and will be open<br />

until Sunday 5 January. hastingscontemporary.org<br />

Ashford Visual Artists’ Winter Art Fair<br />

will be at Godinton House from Friday<br />

29 <strong>November</strong> to Sunday 1 December<br />

(10am-4pm). Entry is free and you can<br />

meet and support local artists and shop<br />

for beautiful, creative and unique works<br />

of art in the glorious surroundings of<br />

Godinton House. ashfordvisualartists.com<br />

Festive Folkestone<br />

On Friday 15<br />

<strong>November</strong>, the festive season and<br />

this year’s Folkestone Book Festival are<br />

kicking off as the Creative Quarter’s Christmas<br />

lights switch-on in grand style. Booker prizewinning<br />

author Ben Okri, will be counting down, local<br />

choirs and bands will be performing, the shops will be<br />

open for gift shopping and The Creative Quarter’s Secret<br />

Postcard Show will be returning for its fourth year. Plus,<br />

while you’re in the neighbourhood, be sure to book your<br />

tickets to Paper Balloon’s Quarterhouse Christmas show,<br />

Once Upon A Snowflake, an enchanting shadow puppet<br />

story with songs for all the family (showing from<br />

Friday 13 December – Tuesday 24 December).<br />

creativefolkestone.org.ukweb<br />

Financial<br />

advisers<br />

who lunch<br />

An informal and delicious lunch<br />

with a side of financial advice.<br />

Burfields House Wealth Management<br />

is holding two seminars this month,<br />

one on Monday 4 <strong>November</strong>, at Giacomo’s<br />

Ristorante Italiano, Sevenoaks Weald, and<br />

another on Thursday 28 <strong>November</strong>, at<br />

The Hilton Hotel, Maidstone. It’s a great<br />

opportunity to meet their friendly team of<br />

advisers and find out what the latest<br />

financial management developments<br />

mean to you and your family. Places<br />

are limited, so register your attendance<br />

by email to Susan.Cole@sjpp.co.uk or call<br />

01580 211211. burfieldshousewm.co.uk<br />

LOOK FORWARD:<br />

DECEMBER<br />

Next month, you can prepare for the festive season<br />

with our very own gardening expert Jo Arnell. Wreath<br />

and centerpiece making workshops with Jo will be<br />

running on Friday 6 and Saturday 7 December, at the<br />

beautiful Hornbrook Manor. Learn to make your own<br />

natural masterpieces over mulled wine, tea, coffee and<br />

cake with all materials included at just £40 per person<br />

or £70 for two people. hornbrookmanor.co.uk<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

38


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KarlTerry<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 03/10/<strong>2019</strong> 12:21


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42<br />

WilsonWilsonHancock<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 10/10/<strong>2019</strong> 09:51


Editor’s<br />

Letter<br />

With the festive season fast approaching, this month<br />

we’re all about getting into the Christmas spirit.<br />

From our Midwinter Fair (14th-16th <strong>November</strong>)<br />

and this issue’s <strong>Gift</strong> Supplement for all your present-buying<br />

delectation (plus a little self-treating!), to Christmas recipes with<br />

the most organised foodie, Anna Stanford from Anna’s Family<br />

Kitchen, we’re hoping to relieve a little of the stress surrounding<br />

one of the most preparation-heavy events of the year.<br />

Photographer David Merewether has been shooting cosy<br />

winter interiors to inspire as the evenings draw in. Both this<br />

month’s homes have had the full interior designer treatment<br />

with careful attention applied to pattern, print and colour.<br />

Get your spare room ready for holiday season guests with<br />

a little help from Rebecca Cuffe as she picks her favourite<br />

beds, furniture, fabrics, wallpapers and accessories.<br />

In Health & Beauty news, Josephine Fairley road-tests moisturerich<br />

balms to protect and perfect end-of-year skin whilst Sarah<br />

Maxwell and Henrietta Norton approach exercise and wellbeing in<br />

a holistic fashion with tips to get little-black-dress-ready and ensure<br />

you have enough Vitamin D until the sun pops out again next year.<br />

Plus, there’s so much to fill your diary with over<br />

the next few weeks, with listings of all the best events<br />

in our Notebook and What’s On sections.<br />

FREE<br />

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Enjoy your wealden <strong>Times</strong>!<br />

wealden <strong>Times</strong> Team<br />

Editor ............................................................................................ Lucy Fleming<br />

News & Features Editor ...............................................................Rebecca Cuffe<br />

Digital Editor ...................................................................................Emily Pavey<br />

Fashion Editor ............................................................................. Kate Liz Watts<br />

Design .........................................................................................Powerful Pierre<br />

Design Director ..........................................................................Anthony Boxall<br />

Design Team ................................................................................ Ryan Huggins<br />

Phoebe O’Leary<br />

Tanya Goldsmith<br />

Executive Chairman ...................................................................... Julie Simpson<br />

Managing Director .............................................................. Vivien Cotterill-Lee<br />

Sales Manager ................................................................................... Jen Shearer<br />

Senior Account Manager ................................................................ Sara Henslow<br />

Maria Hurley<br />

Distribution ....................................................................................... Kate Watts<br />

wealden <strong>Times</strong> Events Team<br />

Sales Account Manager ...................................................................... Joy Adams<br />

Jude Brown<br />

Show Director ................................................................................. Flo Simpson<br />

Events Assistant .....................................................................................Ed Steele<br />

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43 wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

Lenleys<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 08/10/<strong>2019</strong> 17:07


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© 1996 Forest Stewardship Council A.C.<br />

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HERITAGE SPECIALISTS<br />

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Ashford&CranbrookRoofingWT204.indd 1 02/01/<strong>2019</strong> 10:00


Village Person<br />

A six-month sabbatical in the countryside<br />

turned into a whole new life for Kate<br />

Monckton, in an old village house<br />

lovingly brought to its full potential<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

46


Words: Maggie Alderson Photographs: David Merewether Styling: Holly Levett<br />

47 wealdentimes.co.uk


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Previous pages: In the sitting room, a sofa by Jasper<br />

Morrison for Cappellini has been re-upholstered in a<br />

William Yeoward fabric perfect for this cosy space in front<br />

of the open fire This page: Kate has painted the walls in<br />

Blue Grass by Fired Earth Left: A hand-built ceramic lamp<br />

base, made by Kate and available from Ensor Interiors<br />

There is a special kind of satisfaction in visiting a<br />

beautiful house, when you have watched the loving<br />

refurbishment of it taking place over months on<br />

Facebook. This was the privilege I was lucky enough to have<br />

with this 300 year-old weatherboarded house in the centre of<br />

the lovely village of Frant in Kent, because I have known its<br />

owner since the late 1990s, when she ran a busy fashion PR<br />

business in London.<br />

It was the need to take a break from that hectic big city<br />

life, even after she had retrained and was enjoying a successful<br />

second career as an interior designer – relating back to her<br />

earlier training as a theatre designer – that brought Kate to a<br />

rented house round the corner, three years ago.<br />

“Then I just fell in love with the village,” she says, as<br />

we sit at the splendid panelled banquette seat in the<br />

green-painted kitchen, one of the things I had particularly <br />

49 wealdentimes.co.uk


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This page: 18th century panelling sourced from another property now lines the walls of Kate’s ‘telly den’<br />

wanted to see since seeing her photographs online.<br />

With a lovely display of African baskets on the<br />

wall behind, a mix of cushions and a view to the<br />

lovely jungly courtyard garden through the glasspaned<br />

back door, it’s even better in real life.<br />

“I thought I was going to go back to London,”<br />

she says, “but after six months living down here, I<br />

felt so much more healthy and stress free. London<br />

has got much harder to live in, getting around is<br />

tough and the air quality is terrible, it’s toxic.<br />

“I’ve never wanted to live in the middle of nowhere,<br />

but this feels like the country while it’s actually just<br />

seven minutes to Tunbridge Wells, with all its amenities,<br />

and an hour into London by train from there.”<br />

Even the way Kate found the house was a classic example<br />

of village life. “I started looking for a house to buy here and<br />

nothing suitable was coming on the market. People told<br />

me, ‘You’ll hear about something by word of mouth’. Not<br />

long after, I was walking my dog Billy and bumped into<br />

another dog owner, a total stranger, outside this house. We<br />

got talking and she told me the house was on the market<br />

and 10 days later I put in an offer – and I am now friends<br />

with that woman.”<br />

That’s the joy of being a village person and Kate has taken<br />

to it with aplomb – not unaided by the fact that while the<br />

kitchen was being built she had to eat all her meals in <br />

51 wealdentimes.co.uk


Left: A stripped pine prison door, installed<br />

in the house at some point in its history,<br />

features a huge old lock and spyhole<br />

Below: Tribal masks from Tribal Space<br />

are framed by the panelling<br />

The George, the lovely pub about 100 metres away.<br />

The very central location of the house was<br />

probably why it was once the village bakery. The<br />

lovely cast iron original oven is still in place in<br />

the beamed corridor to the kitchen, plus there is<br />

a letter, passed on from owner to owner, written<br />

on a piece of a cardboard box by the last baker<br />

when he closed in 1978, describing how life had<br />

been in Frant when he had opened in 1957.<br />

It’s a wonderful artefact listing all the shops<br />

that were in the village in the mid-20th century.<br />

As well as the bakers, there was a sweetshop, a<br />

tobacconist, a grocer, greengrocer, butcher, shoe<br />

mender, tailor and an undertaker… The cottage next<br />

door, it goes on to say, had gas light until 1970.<br />

In between being the bakery, the house has<br />

undergone several different arrangements, over<br />

time. Starting out as one house, it then became<br />

four cottages with the bakery and is currently<br />

arranged as one larger house – Kate’s – with<br />

a smaller cottage attached on one side.<br />

This shape shifting has led to its very appealing<br />

quirky layout, which gives it a rambling character<br />

with two long corridors on the ground floor, <br />

<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

52


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Top: A rare French wicker vintage Petal chair<br />

sits below charcoal drawings by Simon Nicholas<br />

Above: A ceramic vessel made by Kate<br />

almost like extra rooms, one of them big enough for<br />

Kate to make it into a very satisfying utility room/<br />

boot room/dog-paraphernalia-centre/booze store/giftwrap-room<br />

(Kate’s quip), with beautiful built-in storage,<br />

crafted by the same joiners who made the kitchen.<br />

“It needed a lot of work, but I could see right away it<br />

had good bones. This house has a great personality.”<br />

One of the quirks of that personality are two balconystyle<br />

railings from the first floor landings looking down<br />

to the ground floor, which give the space a wonderful<br />

lofty open feeling, very rare in a house with 17th century<br />

origins – and kept me enjoyably befuddled about where<br />

exactly I was in the house, as we walked through it.<br />

It was Kate’s vision to change the railings from ordinary<br />

wood to lovely old wrought-iron ones found at Authentic<br />

Reclamation in nearby Stonegate, making them into a<br />

splendid feature. And a practical one – their housing<br />

has been specially designed so they can easily be lifted<br />

out to allow furniture to be brought up and downstairs,<br />

rather than being restricted by the narrow staircase.<br />

The first room she called on these designer skills to<br />

transform was the kitchen, which, although a large space,<br />

“had nowhere to sit in it.” There was also a wrought<br />

iron spiral staircase in one corner, which Kate pulled<br />

out to create enough room for that lovely banquette, <br />

55 wealdentimes.co.uk


The lovely cast iron original oven is still in place in the beamed corridor<br />

to the kitchen, plus there is a letter, passed on from owner to owner, written<br />

on a piece of a cardboard box by the last baker when he closed in 1978,<br />

describing how life had been in Frant when he had opened in 1957<br />

<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

56


L O N D O N<br />

Tunbridge Wells . 79 Calverley Road . TN1 2UY . 01892 548111<br />

Oxshott . 1 High Street . KT22 0JN . 01372 841730


Above left: Kate has carefully preserved many of the house’s original features, bringing it into the<br />

21st century with contemporary touches such as this turquoise velvet chair and graphic cushion<br />

Above right: The bathroom features pale pink tiles which give it a 1950s mood<br />

with a round table and three splendid old Windsor chairs,<br />

found online. “I can squeeze 10 in for dinner and I also<br />

love to sit here on my own having supper and listening<br />

to The Archers. Much nicer than having it on your lap.”<br />

But before work could start on that fun stuff, her<br />

builder – found via fellow villager Lisa Evans of<br />

Ensor Interiors, whose lovely shop is just along the<br />

street (and whose house has also been featured in this<br />

magazine) – insisted they sorted out the basics.<br />

“He said first insulate the house, get it warm, so we did<br />

all that boring, unsexy stuff, which is essential if you want<br />

a comfortable house and we put in new floorboards and<br />

underfloor heating. Luckily, I do know what’s involved with<br />

a house like this, because my parents have always lived in<br />

period properties. My father always said, ‘It’s like the Forth<br />

Bridge, you have to keep on top of it and know that upkeep<br />

always needs doing.’”<br />

Once all that was done, Kate could get on to the more fun<br />

stuff like the beautiful cabinetry throughout the house. Kate<br />

designed the kitchen, with Shaker doors and a bespoke pantry.<br />

The outside of the cupboards are painted in Fired Earth<br />

Wild Olive and, to great effect, the <strong>inside</strong> of them and the<br />

bookshelves on the end of each run are in a lovely contrasting<br />

pale blue, called Blue Grass by Fired Earth. The finishing<br />

touch is a brass tap by Lefroy Brookes and brass handles<br />

from Hardware by Armac Martin. The huge Rangemaster<br />

stove was a lucky leave-behind by the previous owners.<br />

The same carpentry – combined with Kate’s trained <br />

59 wealdentimes.co.uk


In between being the bakery, the house has undergone several different arrangements, over<br />

time. Starting out as one house, it then became four cottages with the bakery and is currently<br />

arranged as one larger house – Kate’s – with a smaller cottage attached on one side.<br />

This shape shifting has led to its very appealing quirky layout, which gives it a rambling<br />

character with two long corridors on the ground floor, almost like extra rooms<br />

<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

60


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ThomasHaywoodSolicitorsWT208.indd 1 15/05/<strong>2019</strong> 17:48


Above: Kate pulled out a wrought iron spiral staircase in one corner of the kitchen to create enough room for a banquette, with a<br />

round table and three Windsor chairs that she bought online<br />

mastery of proportions – is to show with great effect<br />

in her dressing room, built upstairs in the equivalent<br />

corridor area as the utility room, and leading on to<br />

her bedroom, which sits over the kitchen. This creates<br />

a kind of ‘Kate Wing’ that she can disappear into,<br />

closing the door, when she has weekend visitors.<br />

The dressing room is a joy of girlie chic, with velvety<br />

cream carpet, two slipper chairs and the sublime cupboards,<br />

with their lower panels at exactly the right height. They<br />

are finished with cast iron ‘twig’ handles by Ashley<br />

Hicks, providing the perfect place for everything.<br />

With a lovely double aspect, one window looking out onto<br />

the garden, both are finished with curtains in a Christopher<br />

Farr fabric, which are double lined with blackout and<br />

thermal bump, which gives that rich blankety effect and<br />

maximum warmth, as are all the curtains in the house.<br />

“I went to town on the curtains,” says Kate, who has<br />

all the details and samples of the decorative scheme<br />

properly filed, room by room, like the professional she is.<br />

“This is my forever house, so I wanted to do it once, in<br />

timeless style, not trend driven, which isn’t me anyway.<br />

My style is more eclectic. I’ve had all my furniture for<br />

years, I didn’t buy anything new for the house.”<br />

The calm collected style of the dressing room is the<br />

perfect foil for the drama of the wallpaper in the master<br />

bedroom, a wonderful huge scale jungle design by Lewis<br />

<br />

63 wealdentimes.co.uk


“I thought I was going to go back to London,” says Kate, “but after six months<br />

down here, I felt so much more healthy and stress free. London has got much harder<br />

to live in, getting around is tough and the air quality is terrible, it’s toxic.”<br />

<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

64


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66<br />

PrecisionPorsche<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 15/10/<strong>2019</strong> 09:40


This page: For the master bedroom, Kate has chosen wallpaper<br />

in a large scale jungle design, ‘Adam’s Eden’ by Lewis and Wood.<br />

A mini landing on the first floor was created between two walls,<br />

with balcony-style railings that look down to the ground floor –<br />

a reminder that the house was once separate properties<br />

and Wood. “I’ve suggested it to several clients, but none<br />

of them felt up to it, so this was my chance to use it.”<br />

Far from being ‘busy’ for a bedroom, it creates a cocooning<br />

atmosphere, like a bedroom hidden in a rainforest, the<br />

tropical mood enhanced by a splendid rattan chair Kate<br />

spotted 10 years ago outside an antique shop. “I was driving<br />

by when I saw it; I reversed, parked and bought it for £25.”<br />

On from the bedroom is the adjacent shower room<br />

with elegant fittings from West One Bathrooms and<br />

narrow oblong tiles – not the overdone subway tile –<br />

from Topps, the finishing glamorous top, some very<br />

nice twin wall lights from Holloways of Ludlow.<br />

The rest of the first floor is taken up with Kate’s<br />

office and two beautifully appointed guest rooms and<br />

a bathroom that pleasingly twins the shower room, but<br />

with pale pink tiles which give it a 1950s mood.<br />

The guest wing has the feel of a boutique hotel and I can<br />

see why Kate has London friends queueing for a ‘reservation’<br />

for summer breaks – and also for winter snuggle-ins.<br />

The main sitting room – there is also a lovely smaller<br />

room, walled with 18th century panelling from another <br />

67 wealdentimes.co.uk


“This is my forever house, so I wanted to do it once, in timeless style, not<br />

trend driven, which isn’t me anyway. My style is more eclectic. I’ve had all<br />

my furniture for years, I didn’t buy anything new for the house.”<br />

<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

68


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OrlestoneOakS57.indd 1 21/06/<strong>2019</strong> 14:14


Above: An inviting guest bedroom features generous<br />

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touches such as plump cushions and a deep blue velvet<br />

throw Right: A G-Plan chest of drawers sits below a<br />

nude by Brenda Sakoui in the main guest bedroom<br />

property in which Kate has a telly den – invites<br />

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71 wealdentimes.co.uk


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lounge £955 Sweetpea & Willow sweetpeaandwillow.com 6 Desdemone pink bed from £2,883 Ligne Roset ligne-roset.com 7 Bed in a button footstall<br />

with pull-out bed from £695 Loaf loaf.com 8 Garden of Eden wall mural from £245 Woodchip & Magnolia woodchipandmagnolia.co.uk 9 ‘Audrey’<br />

A3 print by Flo Lee & Co £35 One off to Twenty-Five oneoffto25.com 10 Kristoff bunk bed £455 Sweetpea & Willow sweetpeaandwillow.com<br />

11 Sugar puff bed from £1,145 Loaf loaf.com 12 Charcoal open wardrobe £1,929 Click on Wardrobes clickonwardrobes.co.uk 13 Prium Dove<br />

pillowcases from £27 and duvet covers from £65 The Cotton Poet thecottonpoet.com 14 Elizabeth cabinet £3,250 Lime Lace limelace.co.uk<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

80


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BURFIELDS HOUSE<br />

WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD<br />

Principal Partner Practice of St. James’s Place Wealth Management<br />

Proud to be at the heart of the local community since 2002<br />

We are a local company with a global outlook offering high-quality bespoke financial planning advice for<br />

our clients, their families and extended families. We focus on building long-term relationships where we<br />

can make a difference, and clients take value in our honest and straightforward approach.<br />

• Inheritance Tax & Estate planning<br />

• ISAs<br />

• Trusts*<br />

• Investment planning<br />

• Tax planning<br />

• Pension & Retirement planning<br />

• Later Life planning<br />

• School & University Fees planning<br />

The value of an investment with St. James’s Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds<br />

selected and the value may fall as well as rise. You may get back less than the amount invested.<br />

The levels and bases of taxation, and reliefs from taxation, can change at any time and are generally<br />

dependent on individual circumstances.<br />

*Trusts are not regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.<br />

For further details or to arrange a no obligation consultation<br />

with an adviser please call 01580 211 211<br />

Sponsor of<br />

<strong>Wealden</strong> <strong>Times</strong><br />

Midwinter<br />

Fair<br />

Burfields House, The Plain, Goudhurst, Kent, TN17 1AE<br />

www.burfieldshousewm.co.uk<br />

‘The Partner Practice is an Appointed Representative of and represents only St. James’s Place Wealth Management plc (which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct<br />

Authority) for the purpose of advising solely on the Group’s wealth management products and services, more details of which are set out on the Group’s website www.sjp.co.uk/products.<br />

The title Partner Practice is the marketing term used to describe St. James’s Place representatives.’


Midwinter Fair<br />

Sponsored by<br />

BURFIELDS HOUSE<br />

WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD<br />

www.burfieldshousewm.co.uk<br />

14th, 15th &<br />

16th <strong>November</strong> <strong>2019</strong><br />

The Hop Farm, Paddock Wood TN12 6PY<br />

20%<br />

OFF<br />

on the door ticket<br />

price with<br />

code WT1 *<br />

TickeTs on sale now!<br />

Ticket hotline: 01580 236071 wealdentimes.co.uk/events<br />

*Discount available on adult tickets only when used in conjunction with a voucher code. Offer valid until 13.11.19.


1<br />

Burfields House Wealth<br />

Management Ltd<br />

Pop along to our headline sponsors<br />

stand in the Green marquee or<br />

in the Café Bar and enter their<br />

competition. Turn to page<br />

86 for more details.<br />

Sponsored by<br />

BURFIELDS HOUSE<br />

WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD<br />

www.burfieldshousewm.co.uk<br />

Come along,<br />

meet the team<br />

and enter our<br />

FREE PRIZE DRAW<br />

Stand No<br />

BHWM<br />

2<br />

<strong>Wealden</strong> <strong>Times</strong> Stand<br />

Come and say hi to the team<br />

on the wealden <strong>Times</strong> stand<br />

as you walk into the Green<br />

Marquee.<br />

10<br />

things you<br />

MUST DO at<br />

Midwinter Fair!<br />

3<br />

Street Food Café<br />

Stop off in the Street Food<br />

Café and treat yourself to a<br />

delicious lunch from one of<br />

the many vendors.<br />

5<br />

delicious food<br />

to take home<br />

Visit the Yellow marquee<br />

and pick up some festive<br />

treats for your favourite<br />

foodie.<br />

4<br />

Entertainment<br />

Head to the Street Food<br />

Café to hear the schools sing<br />

Christmas Carols. Turn<br />

to page 86 for the<br />

timetable.<br />

TickeTs on sale now!


6<br />

Café Bar<br />

The perfect place for a cup<br />

of coffee or a glass of<br />

something bubbly.<br />

7<br />

Shop ‘til you drop<br />

We’ve hand-picked over 260<br />

exhibitors selling everything<br />

from fabulous fashion to<br />

spectacular stocking<br />

fillers!<br />

8<br />

Benenden Hospital<br />

Stop off at the Benenden<br />

Hospital stand for your free<br />

health check and to hear more<br />

about the range of services<br />

they offer.<br />

PLEASE PRESENT YOUR OWN TICKET<br />

WITH BARCODE VISIBLE<br />

CONDITION OF ADMISSION<br />

This ticket admits one person to the showground on<br />

any day. Each ticket has a unique code for scanning.<br />

The tickets can only be used for a single day.<br />

Multiple ticket purchases - please ensure you print each of<br />

the tickets of your order and no the firs ticket multiple times.<br />

This e-ticket must be kept clean and dry for verification on<br />

a rival. Damaged or defaced tickets wi l not be accepted.<br />

A pass-out stamp is necessary fo readmi tance.<br />

Please remember to bring cash and a chequebook to the<br />

fair, as many of our exhibitors are sma l artisan producers<br />

and do not have credit card facilities. However, you<br />

can obtain cash a the Ticket Office a the Entrance.<br />

We l behaved dogs are allowed, as long as they are kept on<br />

a lead and owners have the equipmen to scoop any poop.<br />

Please note that photos and videos of you may be taken<br />

during the event and used for marketing purposes.<br />

<strong>Wealden</strong> <strong>Times</strong> - Midsummer Fair 2020<br />

Adult e-Ticket<br />

HOLE PARK, ROLVENDEN, KENT<br />

Thursday 4th, Friday 5th, Saturday 6th June <strong>2019</strong><br />

Opening times: 9.00am - 4.30pm<br />

<strong>Wealden</strong> <strong>Times</strong> - Midsummer Fair 2020<br />

9<br />

PLEASE PRESENT YOUR OWN TICKET<br />

WITH BARCODE VISIBLE<br />

CONDITION OF ADMISSION<br />

This ticket admits one person to the showground on<br />

any day. Each ticket has a unique code for scanning.<br />

The tickets can only be used for a single day.<br />

Multiple ticket purchases - please ensure you print each of<br />

the tickets of your order and not the first ticket multiple times.<br />

This e-ticket must be kept clean and dry for verification on<br />

arrival. Damaged or defaced tickets will not be accepted.<br />

A pass-out stamp is necessary for readmittance.<br />

Please remember to bring cash and a chequebook to the<br />

fair, as many of our exhibitors are small artisan producers<br />

and do not have credit card facilities. However, you<br />

can obtain cash at the Ticket Office at the Entrance.<br />

Well behaved dogs are allowed, as long as they are kept on<br />

a lead and owners have the equipment to scoop any poop.<br />

Please note that photos and videos of you may be taken<br />

during the event and used for marketing purposes.<br />

Show Competition<br />

Adult e-Ticket<br />

Head<br />

HOLE PARK,<br />

to<br />

ROLVENDEN,<br />

the wealden<br />

KENT<br />

<strong>Times</strong> stand<br />

Thursday 4th, Friday 5th, Saturday 6th June <strong>2019</strong><br />

Opening times: 9.00am - 4.30pm<br />

to enter this year’s show competition<br />

and be in with a chance to win one<br />

of 10 pairs of tickets to next year’s<br />

wealden <strong>Times</strong><br />

Midsummer Fair.<br />

FOOD & DRINK<br />

On arrival, plan your day at the fair with a barista coffee and then treat<br />

yourself to a delicious lunch from one of the many amazing street food<br />

vendors. Foodies will love the independent producers, wine makers,<br />

brewers and local farms selling their products in the food avenue.<br />

HOME & GARDEN<br />

Inside five large marquees, browse amongst hand-picked<br />

stands selling contemporary and vintage home and garden<br />

wares, plus fashion, gifts and jewellery. Outside, you’ll find<br />

artisans and nurserymen selling products and plants.<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk/events<br />

FOOD & DRINK<br />

On arrival, plan your day at the fair with a barista coffee and then treat<br />

yourself to a delicious lunch from one of the many amazing street food<br />

vendors. Foodies will love the independent producers, wine makers,<br />

brewers and local farms selling their products in the food avenue.<br />

HOME & GARDEN<br />

Inside five large marquees, browse amongst hand-picked<br />

WIN Tickets<br />

stands selling contemporary and vintage home and garden<br />

to<br />

wares, plus fashion, gifts and jewellery. Outside, you’ll find<br />

Sponsored by<br />

artisans and nurserymen selling products and plants.<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk/events<br />

BURFIELDS HOUSE<br />

WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD<br />

www.burfieldshousewm.co.uk<br />

wealden <strong>Times</strong><br />

#WTfairs<br />

Midsummer Fair 2020<br />

#WTfairs<br />

Sponsored by<br />

BURFIELDS HOUSE<br />

WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD<br />

www.burfieldshousewm.co.uk<br />

10<br />

Café Bakery<br />

Pop into the Café Bakery<br />

and treat yourself to a<br />

cup of tea<br />

or a slice of cake.<br />

Ticket hotline: 01580 236071<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk/events


Visitor info<br />

Midwinter Fair!<br />

Tickets<br />

To book your tickets call 01580 236071<br />

or go online at wealdentimes.co.uk/events<br />

PRE<br />

SHOW<br />

ON THE<br />

GATE<br />

Adult £9.50 * £11<br />

Child (age 5 –15) £5 £5<br />

Child (under 5) free free<br />

*Advance ticket price available until midnight 13.11.19<br />

To keep up to date with the latest fair info,<br />

sign up to the newsletter online and follow<br />

us on: @wealdentimes<br />

Venue<br />

The wealden <strong>Times</strong> Midwinter Fair<br />

is at The Hop Farm, Maidstone Road,<br />

Paddock Wood, Kent TN12 6PY.<br />

Unfortunately dogs are not permitted<br />

at the Midwinter Fair with the<br />

exception of Guide Dogs.<br />

Dates & Opening <strong>Times</strong><br />

9.00am – 4.30pm<br />

14th, 15th & 16th <strong>November</strong> <strong>2019</strong><br />

Entertainment<br />

Visit the Street Food Café to take<br />

in the twinkling lights and fir<br />

trees whilst listening to:<br />

Thursday 14th <strong>November</strong><br />

1.30pm<br />

dulwich Prep<br />

Cranbrook Choir<br />

Friday 15th <strong>November</strong><br />

12.00pm Ashford School Choir<br />

1.30pm<br />

Marlborough House<br />

School Choir<br />

WIN a luxury<br />

Fortnum & Mason hamper<br />

FREE<br />

PRIZE<br />

DRAW<br />

or one of two gift boxed wines and chocolates<br />

FaiR TickeTs on sale now!<br />

Ticket hotline: 01580 236071<br />

As proud sponsors of the Midwinter<br />

Fair <strong>2019</strong>, Burfields House Wealth<br />

Management would like to offer<br />

visitors to the show the opportunity<br />

to win a luxury Fortnum & Mason<br />

hamper or one of two gift boxed<br />

wines and chocolates.<br />

Entry to the prize draw is free. To be<br />

in with a chance to win, all you<br />

have to do is collect your ticket from<br />

one of the BHWM stands, either<br />

opposite the main entrance or in the<br />

Café Bar area.<br />

T & Cs: The prize draw is not open to employees of Burfields<br />

House Wealth Management Ltd, Priceless Group or their families.<br />

Sponsored by<br />

BURFIELDS HOUSE<br />

WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD<br />

www.burfieldshousewm.co.uk<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk/events


very day was<br />

a battle with<br />

agonising<br />

sciatica…but<br />

I’m pain-free and<br />

enjoying life again<br />

after IDD Therapy<br />

Sarah Gower from Marden had suffered<br />

with back pain ‘niggles’ for a few years,<br />

but last summer she was suddenly<br />

struck with unbearable sciatica in her<br />

leg which stopped her in her tracks.<br />

Sarah explains: “For as long as I can<br />

remember, I’ve always experienced a<br />

degree of discomfort in my back, which<br />

my osteopath at the time had put down to<br />

muscular issues, but one day I woke with<br />

the most excruciating sciatic pain which<br />

literally floored me; I could hardly move.”<br />

Over the following weeks Sarah’s pain and<br />

lack of movement completely disrupted<br />

her routine: “I couldn’t find a comfortable<br />

sleeping position for my back and the<br />

shooting pains in my leg woke me several<br />

times every night; I actually ended up<br />

sleeping on the floor out of desperation. I<br />

couldn’t go to work, driving was impossible,<br />

and everyday chores – even bathing and<br />

dressing – became incredibly difficult.”<br />

Sarah’s GP prescribed strong painkillers<br />

but after a short while, she discovered she<br />

was allergic to them. She was also put on<br />

a waiting list to see a spinal surgeon: “I<br />

knew it would be a few months before I<br />

saw a consultant, but honestly, I really<br />

wasn’t comfortable with the idea of<br />

spinal injections or surgery; I’d read<br />

about the risks and recovery periods<br />

involved and it was a big worry for me.”<br />

More than that, Sarah didn’t think<br />

she’d be able to manage waiting for an<br />

operation; she needed to get the pain sorted<br />

as soon as possible. “I’d seen some local<br />

magazine articles about patients who had<br />

recovered well at <strong>Wealden</strong> Osteopaths &<br />

Spine Centre, so I went for some handson<br />

osteopathy to begin with, but when<br />

I wasn’t responding, the Clinic Director<br />

James Pickering stepped in and arranged<br />

for me to have an MRI scan straight away;<br />

he suspected I had some disc damage - a<br />

possible reason for my relentless sciatica.”<br />

James’s thoughts were confirmed; the<br />

scan showed a herniated disc in Sarah’s<br />

lower back. He recommended a course of<br />

IDD Therapy, a targeted disc treatment<br />

for persistent back pain, neck pain and<br />

sciatica. The non-invasive treatment<br />

uses gentle pulling forces to draw<br />

apart spinal segments where discs are<br />

bulging or damaged, removing pressure<br />

and irritation from trapped nerves.<br />

James Pickering’s team is changing the lives of<br />

slipped disc and sciatica sufferers with IDD Therapy<br />

James’s expert team uses the programme<br />

to help patients who find themselves<br />

on a merry-go-round of painkillers,<br />

physiotherapy and GP visits.<br />

Sarah was keen to start her treatment<br />

immediately: “James was confident<br />

that IDD Therapy could help me; he<br />

reassured me that it would treat the<br />

root of my problem so that my sciatica<br />

wouldn’t return. I knew my progress<br />

may take some time, but I felt hopeful<br />

at last, and I went into the treatment<br />

programme feeling very positive.”<br />

ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE<br />

After her IDD Therapy programme,<br />

Sarah enjoyed a pain-free holiday<br />

on the island of Jersey<br />

Sarah made steady progress with<br />

IDD Therapy; halfway through the<br />

programme, she felt a real improvement<br />

in her pain and movement.<br />

“I still can’t quite believe<br />

I’m back swimming, going<br />

to the gym and sleeping<br />

through the night at last.”<br />

When her course finished, she was<br />

completely pain-free and back to her usual<br />

routine: “Actually, I still can’t quite believe<br />

I’m back swimming, going to the gym and<br />

sleeping through the night at last. IDD<br />

Therapy has been a godsend, and James’s<br />

team has been wonderful throughout.”<br />

James is delighted with Sarah’s progress:<br />

“IDD Therapy continues to be an<br />

invaluable help to patients like Sarah<br />

who are stuck in ‘limbo’ between<br />

unsuccessful hands-on treatments,<br />

injections and surgery. It’s our first choice<br />

treatment for disc-related issues.”<br />

Don’t let back pain, neck pain or<br />

sciatica put your life on hold<br />

To arrange a FREE 15 minute phone<br />

consultation with one of our experts,<br />

call: 01580 212833 or email:<br />

enquiries@wealdenosteopaths.co.uk


A Family Affair<br />

Photographs: David Merewether Words: Maggie Alderson Styling: Holly Levett<br />

Inspired by travels across the world, interior designer Alexis Wylie has<br />

delivered her signature warm, vibrant, lived-in style with a redesign<br />

of a much-loved family home, combining old and new furnishings<br />

whilst retaining the house – and family’s – vivid character<br />

89 wealdentimes.co.uk


See us at the<br />

<strong>Wealden</strong> <strong>Times</strong><br />

Midwinter Fair -<br />

Stand No<br />

G02<br />

Coban Rugs<br />

Unique handwoven rugs and runners<br />

made from untreated goats wool<br />

07769 800321 cobanrugs.com<br />

Cobanrugs<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 07/10/<strong>2019</strong> 11:39<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

90<br />

RXArchitects<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 17/10/<strong>2019</strong> 10:14


Previous pages and above: The panelled dining room is painted a vibrant bright orange. The octagonal dining<br />

table is surrounded by dining chairs upholstered with bright Peruvian rugs which Ally sourced<br />

When touring houses to write about them<br />

for this magazine, you are usually shown<br />

around by the proud owners, but sometimes<br />

the householders prefer to stay in the background,<br />

leaving the limelight for their decorator or architect.<br />

This was one of those houses – but it didn’t feel like it.<br />

The owners were not there physically, but the presence of<br />

the family which has lived here for nearly 20 years runs<br />

through ever square inch of the place so vividly, you expect<br />

to bump into them as you come around every corner.<br />

And with the rambling plan of the place, from the<br />

original 17th century farmhouse to the Georgian<br />

extension attached to the front, with two staircases and<br />

all kinds of surprising half landings and internal hallways,<br />

it must be the greatest place for hide and seek.<br />

A sense of fun is everywhere here, from book wallpaper in<br />

the study, to the corridor to the downstairs loo papered with<br />

Ordnance Survey Maps and a cupboard which I peeped into<br />

(thinking it might be a secret passage – it’s that kind of a<br />

house) that turned out to be a very imaginatively stocked bar.<br />

Our official guide for the tour was interior designer Alexis<br />

Wylie who is gradually working her way through the <br />

91 wealdentimes.co.uk


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SashWindowHeritageWT187.indd 1 15/08/2017 AlbanyFuneralsWT210.indd 15:18<br />

1 22/07/<strong>2019</strong> 15:31<br />

Brand new pet shop opening in Tenterden<br />

At Pure Connection Pets we are more than just<br />

a pet shop - owned & managed by a qualified<br />

dog trainer & hydrotherapist, we are on hand to<br />

provide expert knowledge & advice tailored to<br />

your pet - their welfare is at the forefront of<br />

what we do<br />

Nutritionally appropriate food - wet, dry & raw<br />

Healthy and sustainable chews<br />

Toys and enrichment aids<br />

Anatomically correct harnesses & walking<br />

equipment<br />

<strong>Gift</strong>s for humans and much more...<br />

Purr-fect products for cats and dogs...hand picked by pet professionals<br />

woof@pureconnectionpets.co.uk<br />

104 High Street, Tenterden, TN30 6HT<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

92<br />

PureConnectionPetsWT209.indd 1 12/06/<strong>2019</strong> 11:13


Entering via the kitchen, with its white five-oven Aga and walls<br />

and surfaces covered in interesting things, you know immediately<br />

you are in a house with sedimentary layers of experiences<br />

house, combining the lovely old pieces owned by the family<br />

with some judicially selected new furnishings to create her<br />

very warm and rich style of interior – while not watering<br />

down in any way the very vivid character of the family.<br />

Sitting at the end of a long private lane, off a back road<br />

outside Bodiam, in East Sussex, by the time you get to<br />

the house you start to feel like you’re in some kind of<br />

enchanted kingdom. A prospect only heightened when you<br />

pull up alongside and see the lovely outdoor pool, with<br />

a pool house and a yoga hut, with views out across the<br />

spectacular countryside of this particular pocket of heaven.<br />

Entering via the kitchen, with its white five-oven Aga<br />

<br />

93 wealdentimes.co.uk


Above: Ally updated the drawing room in time for the family’s Easter gathering – her<br />

brief: “We want a sitting room we can flop in, with the dogs.”<br />

and walls and surfaces covered in interesting things, you<br />

know immediately you are in a house with sedimentary<br />

layers of experiences. It feels joyously lived in, used, shared<br />

and enjoyed. Years and years of people doing stuff, going<br />

to places and bringing things home to remember it all by.<br />

I didn’t spot one of those family height charts biro-ed<br />

onto a door jamb, but the whole house feels like one. All<br />

that growing leaves a very happy patina on a place. And two<br />

lovely Irish terriers add to the general sense of wellbeing too.<br />

The dogs were how Ally (as everyone calls Alexis) met the<br />

owners. She has an Irish terrier herself and living nearby, they<br />

dog-bonded while out walking the pups in the adjoining<br />

countryside. So when the owners wanted to refresh one of<br />

their guest bedrooms, Ally was the obvious choice to do it.<br />

The catalyst for the makeover was that stage of family<br />

life when the three children – for whose benefit the owners<br />

had moved out of London, the husband having enjoyed<br />

an idyllic East Sussex childhood himself – started to head<br />

off to university and then on from there. “It was time to<br />

turn their rooms around and get rid of the plastic,” <br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

94


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NewlandsJoineryS601/4.indd 1 19/09/<strong>2019</strong> JosephMcCarthy<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 16:36<br />

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95 wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

LilyMatthews<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 16/10/<strong>2019</strong> 09:51


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96<br />

ThomasMansfieldWT212.indd 1 11/09/<strong>2019</strong> BHPainting&Decorating<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 11:13<br />

1 16/10/<strong>2019</strong> 17:32


This page: The drawing room is a masterful mix of pattern –<br />

wallpaper, upholstery, rugs, cushions all different, yet perfect together<br />

says Ally. “To bring the house on to the next stage.”<br />

The owners’ vision for the room was inspired by a family<br />

trip to India, itself a return to a country the owners had<br />

travelled to in their pre-children days, on a motorbike.<br />

You get a sense of that spirit of adventure just climbing<br />

the very old stairs up to it (carpeted with hand-woven goats’<br />

wool runners from Coban Rugs in St Leonards-on-Sea).<br />

Once <strong>inside</strong>, the spice of the Indian sub-continent<br />

is immediately evoked by the burnt orange paint rag<br />

rolled onto the walls and the rich paisley fabric, by<br />

De La Cuona, on the headboard and bedcover.<br />

The ceiling beams in this older side of the house are<br />

complemented by a built-in wooden bed achieved using one<br />

of Ally’s signature techniques. The wooden base was sourced<br />

online and then carefully adapted in situ under the window,<br />

adding a bespoke upholstered headboard and bookshelves.<br />

The raised bed idea evolved after a family trip to India when<br />

a welcome day off was spent reading in a similar style window<br />

seat. After experiencing this nurturing spot the brief was to<br />

recreate it and it works brilliantly in this compact space.<br />

At the top of the house one of the bedrooms was<br />

updated with an African theme – a style close to Ally’s<br />

heart having spent her twenties-plus there – because<br />

one of the sons is currently living in East Africa.<br />

The scheme, with walls in Farrow & Ball’s warm<br />

fawn Mouse’s Back, has a masculine appeal with a<br />

<br />

97 wealdentimes.co.uk


This page: When embarking on a new room project, Ally first draws up a floorplan by hand and cuts the furniture out in paper to<br />

see how it works together. In the drawing room, she relocated an L-shaped sofa to the snug next door and replaced it with a more<br />

classic one covered with a striped fabric by Penny Morrison Above left: A painting by Victoria Graimes hangs above the fireplace<br />

faux fur throw on the bed and leather knobs on the<br />

built-in wardrobes – created using Ally’s buy-thencustomise<br />

technique again. This time two cupboards<br />

have created a niche just right to fit a sofa into.<br />

The padded headboard is in an Andrew Martin<br />

striped fabric, finished with suitably butch and manly<br />

studding. A bright kilim cushion – one of many Ally<br />

cannot see without plumping, as we tour the house –<br />

in complementing colours and two orange and white<br />

lampshades from the brilliant lighting website, Pooky,<br />

add just the right touches of stronger colour.<br />

Mismatching chests of drawers on either side of the bed<br />

provide storage and essential bedside table space – rendered<br />

level by the ever-practical Ally, who had a carpenter create<br />

wedges to compensate for the seriously sloping floor .<br />

Up another characterful flight of stairs to what was<br />

once the attics, is the guest room, remodelled by Ally to<br />

become a calm oasis she calls the Singapore Room, <br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

98


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100<br />

FurleyPage<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 07/10/<strong>2019</strong> 14:05


This page: The guest room has been remodelled by Ally to become a calm oasis she calls the Singapore Room, with a cane<br />

bedhead and pale cream walls, one of them tongue and groove to add interest Above right: A stair runner by Coban Rugs<br />

with its shutters and a lovely cane bedhead. The walls are<br />

painted cream, one of them tongue and groove to add<br />

interest, with a low-level bookcase running underneath<br />

at the point at which the sloping roof hits the wall.<br />

In one corner, on a raised platform, is a modern take<br />

on the claw-foot bath. “We were putting a bathroom<br />

into a small space on the landing next door, so rather<br />

than making this room smaller by putting a bath in<br />

there, we moved the bath into here instead.” This also<br />

offers the advantage of lying in the bath with a view<br />

<br />

101 wealdentimes.co.uk


Above: At the top of the house one of the bedrooms was updated with an African theme. Walls are painted in<br />

Farrow & Ball’s warm fawn Mouse’s Back, the padded headboard is in an Andrew Martin striped fabric, and<br />

mismatching chests of drawers on either side of the bed provide storage and essential bedside table space<br />

out of the window over the beautiful countryside.<br />

From here we head off on another in-house expedition,<br />

taking the second staircase down to the master bedroom<br />

suite, which is located in the Georgian wing of the<br />

house. This has a completely different feeling from<br />

the beamy side – with airy proportions and light<br />

pouring in through classic 12-pane windows.<br />

The double-aspect master bedroom, with a very pretty<br />

dressing table that looks out over the view, is Ally’s next<br />

commission – to be finished by Christmas. Her starting point<br />

for this room, she tells me, is the beautiful paisley shawl that’s<br />

lying across the bed.<br />

“My brief is to create a bedroom you dream of<br />

coming home to so I will start with the floor plan,<br />

moving some of the furniture around…”<br />

A door from the bedroom takes us through to the<br />

bathroom, which Ally has already completed in a lovely<br />

pale blue, with double basins and a claw-foot bath<br />

right in front of the window. From here another door<br />

leads through to the dressing room/study belonging <br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

102


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104<br />

BespokeCareCompanyWT209.indd 1 19/06/<strong>2019</strong> 14:16


This page: A chair upholstered in striped fabric adds a pop of colour to a monochrome bathroom<br />

to the man of the house, with yet another door<br />

taking us out onto the landing where we started.<br />

Proceeding down the next flight of this staircase we arrive<br />

in the hall of the Georgian wing, which would have been the<br />

formal entrance in times gone by. To our left is the panelled<br />

dining room painted a simply stunning bright orange.<br />

The square room is brilliantly set off by an octagonal<br />

dining table, around which are dining chairs upholstered<br />

with bright Peruvian rugs. Ally found them and ordered<br />

them for the house without even showing the owners<br />

first – she knew they would love them and they do.<br />

Back across the hall is the drawing room, which Ally<br />

updated ready for last Easter’s family gathering – her brief:<br />

“We want a sitting room we can flop in, with the dogs.”<br />

The finished result is the masterful mix of pattern –<br />

wallpaper, upholstery, rugs, cushions all different, yet perfect<br />

together – which first strikes you, but interestingly that’s not<br />

where Ally starts.<br />

Reiterating what she said in the soon to be revamped<br />

bedroom she explains: “I always start with the floor<br />

plan.” This involves measuring all the furniture already in<br />

residence – such as a grandfather’s wing back armchair –<br />

and playing with it on a scale plan. “There are computer<br />

programs, but I draw it all up by hand. I cut the<br />

furniture out in paper and see how it works together.”<br />

Once she’s done that with the pieces already<br />

<br />

105 wealdentimes.co.uk


Above: In a guest room in the older side of the house, the<br />

ceiling beams are complemented by a built-in wooden<br />

bed – an idea which evolved after a family trip to India<br />

Right: Ally has painted one bathroom, with a claw-foot<br />

bath right in front of the window, a lovely pale blue<br />

owned, she can see what scope there is for additions.<br />

“I relocated an L-shaped sofa to the snug next door<br />

and replaced it with a more classic one covered with<br />

a striped fabric by Penny Morrison.” She opens the<br />

door, so I can see into the snug, in use as a telly room,<br />

saying, “I’ll get my hands on this one day…”<br />

Her goal for the drawing room was for it not to<br />

look as if it had been ‘designed’ but more as though<br />

it had developed organically over time – reflecting<br />

the atmosphere of the house. “I didn’t want it to<br />

look as though it had all come from one shop.”<br />

Nothing in the room matches and there is a combination<br />

of colours and patterns – blue, red, brown, green, paisley,<br />

stripe, ethnic, damask – which sounds improbable,<br />

but all works together in situ. “Once you get the floor<br />

plan right you can get away with murder,” says Ally.<br />

One of the themes that pulls it together is a masterful and<br />

subtle use of symmetry. Two slipper chairs, upholstered in<br />

blue and white Indian throws, face each other across the <br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

106


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107 wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

SofasAndStuffWT212.indd 1 02/09/<strong>2019</strong> 17:26


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Shower screens/cubicles Double glazed units Balustrades/balconies Supply of:<br />

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CPGlassWT209.indd 1 18/06/<strong>2019</strong> 11:01<br />

108


By the time you get to the house you start to feel like you’re in some kind of<br />

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109 wealdentimes.co.uk


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Above: Animal sculptures by Ocean Sole (oceansole.co.uk)<br />

handcrafted in Kenya from recycled flip-flops are a colourful<br />

addition to the swimming pool surround Right: Alexis met the<br />

homeowners whilst they were both walking their Irish terriers<br />

ottoman and two different pairs of table lambs frame the sofa,<br />

on matching side tables, and the mirror on the back wall.<br />

Those lamps sit on a custom-made radiator cover ordered<br />

online from a company called Jali – another of Ally’s secret<br />

weapons. “They cover ugly radiators and work like console<br />

tables, so you have another flat surface to put things on,<br />

while allowing the warm air to circulate into the room.”<br />

It’s yet another invaluable tip which shows just<br />

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111 wealdentimes.co.uk


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114<br />

WhiteheadMonckton<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 01/10/<strong>2019</strong> RJRigbyLtdWT195.indd 12:03<br />

1 22/01/<strong>2019</strong> 15:06


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14<br />

34<br />

Contents<br />

7 Treet yourself<br />

The best of baubles<br />

8 Who’s Counting?<br />

Our guide to advent calendars<br />

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26 <strong>Gift</strong>s for the young<br />

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34<br />

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7<br />

22<br />

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34 <strong>Gift</strong>s for foodies<br />

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26<br />

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CLEARANCE SALE<br />

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15 wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

PureCollectionS61.indd 1 03/10/<strong>2019</strong> 14:14


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17 wealdentimes.co.uk


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18


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21 wealdentimes.co.uk


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22


Nimi<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 23/10/<strong>2019</strong> MelSmith<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 16:00<br />

1 16/10/<strong>2019</strong> 13:24<br />

LIGHTING UP ASHFORD<br />

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AshfordBoroughCouncil<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 16/10/<strong>2019</strong> 16:38


43846 - Ooh How Lovely A5 Christmas.qxp_Layout 1 17/09/<strong>2019</strong> 15:48 Page 1<br />

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CrabtreeDesignWT212.indd 1 05/09/<strong>2019</strong> OohHowLovely<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 09:50<br />

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TashaInteriorsWT203.indd 1 05/12/2018 WillowandBertWT208.indd 10:22<br />

1 14/05/<strong>2019</strong> 10:17


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25 wealdentimes.co.uk


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26


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Emily&MeWT211.indd 1 21/08/<strong>2019</strong> HornbrookManor<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 11:14<br />

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29 wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

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30


Try something<br />

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FentonsRinkWT212.indd 1 10/09/<strong>2019</strong> KentEastSussexRailway<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 10:49<br />

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LCA-StageAcademy<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 21/10/<strong>2019</strong> JoelTarr<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 15:24<br />

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RTWTogether<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 23/10/<strong>2019</strong> 10:54<br />

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PennardVetsWT209.indd 1 18/06/<strong>2019</strong> 14:11


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33 wealdentimes.co.uk


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34


Open:<br />

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115 wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

TheCockInn<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 01/10/<strong>2019</strong> 15:22


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wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

116<br />

MantuaItaly<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 21/10/<strong>2019</strong> 10:07


Back to the Future<br />

Kate Liz Watts styles party-wear with a 1980s twist<br />

Styling: Kate Liz Watts<br />

Photographs: David Merewether<br />

Model: Lucy H, Shine Model Management<br />

Hair & Make Up Artist: Penny at Blush Beauty and Hair<br />

117 wealdentimes.co.uk


Previous page left: Fringed dress £40, Bond<br />

Street to Your Street; earrings £55, resin &<br />

paste bangles £45, £65, Eclectica Vintage;<br />

suede ankle boot with abalone shell and<br />

polished brass star heel £575, Freya Rose Top<br />

right: Vintage D&G coat £265, Bond Street<br />

to Your Street; gold disc necklace £135, gold<br />

disc earrings £55, Eclectica Vintage<br />

Bottom right: Earrings £45, ring £45,<br />

Eclectica Vintage; top £85, Odyl<br />

This page top: Dress £30, Saint Retro;<br />

Whiting & Davis necklace £125, Eclectica<br />

Vintage; gold hoop earrings £45, Odyl;<br />

suede ankle boot with abalone shell and<br />

polished brass mid-heel £525, Freya Rose<br />

Bottom: Sequin dress £120, Odyl;<br />

earrings £55, Eclectica Vintage; suede<br />

ankle boot with abalone shell and polished<br />

brass star heel £575, Freya<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

118


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119 wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

IntheCountry<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 17/10/<strong>2019</strong> 11:13


A huge thank you to Hastings Contemporary for allowing<br />

us to shoot in their amazing gallery space. We were lucky<br />

enough to experience the exhibition Tal R: eventually all<br />

museums will be ships whilst shooting and incorporate<br />

some of these bold contemporary pieces within the shoot.<br />

Tal R, an Israeli-born Danish artist based in Copenhagen,<br />

is one of the most important contemporary artists<br />

working today. Internationally renowned, Tal R presented<br />

paintings, drawings and sculpture in Hastings this<br />

summer, including new works that seem to echo Hastings<br />

Contemporary’s seaside context in this exhibition.<br />

For more information about the artist and Hastings<br />

Contemporary visit hastingscontemporary.org or<br />

call 01424 728377.<br />

Top: Suede ankle boot with<br />

abalone shell and polished<br />

brass heel £575, Freya Rose<br />

Middle: Vintage D&G coat<br />

£265, Bond Street to Your<br />

Street; vintage Planet belt<br />

£25, Saint Retro; bag £175,<br />

Odyl Bottom: Suede ankle<br />

boot with abalone shell and<br />

polished brass mid-heel<br />

£525, Freya Rose<br />

Address Book:<br />

Bond Street to Your Street: Facebook @bondstreettoyourstreet<br />

Blush Beauty & Hair: blushbeautyandhair.co.uk, 07801 849668<br />

Eclectica Vintage: eclectica.biz, 020 7607 6327<br />

Freya Rose: freyarose.com<br />

Kate Liz Watts: katelizwatts.com, Instagram @katelizwatts<br />

Odyl: odyldesign.com, 01580 714907<br />

Saint Retro: Instagram @saintretroclothing<br />

Shine Model Management: shinemodelmanagement.com<br />

120


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121 wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

BupaUkWT211.indd 1 15/08/<strong>2019</strong> 11:31


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Beauty<br />

Balmy Army<br />

Jo Fairley sings the praises of the latest soothing multi-taskers<br />

There’s so much talk currently<br />

about cutting down (beauty)<br />

consumption, reducing our carbon<br />

footprint, buying organic and natural.<br />

And there is one type of product that<br />

ticks all those boxes at once: the balm.<br />

Balms are amazing multi-taskers. Frankly,<br />

everyone needs one (or more) of these<br />

one-pot wonders in their life. They truly<br />

are your ‘desert island beauty must-haves’:<br />

products that do everything from nourish<br />

cuticles to removing make-up via getting<br />

rid of scaly elbows. I once lost my luggage<br />

on a trip to the US (well, it turned up<br />

four days late, on the wrong side of the<br />

continent), and in the meantime<br />

I managed to get away with<br />

using a single product for<br />

cleansing, moisturising face<br />

and body, AND as a lip<br />

balm. Oh, and I also used it<br />

to add texture to my hair.<br />

Balms don’t contain water,<br />

which eliminates the need for<br />

preservatives. All the following are based<br />

on natural blends of oils and beeswax or<br />

carnauba wax, but with different textures.<br />

It is the blend of aromatherapeutic<br />

essential oils, in some cases, which<br />

single a product out for one particular<br />

use – but really, choice comes down<br />

in many cases to preference. Some of<br />

us like a thick, unctuous balm; others<br />

prefer something light and whipped.<br />

But here’s the thing: when a balm’s<br />

created for a specific purpose – such<br />

as cleansing – chances are you can<br />

multi-task with it even if doesn’t<br />

say so on the packaging.<br />

Experiment! But the bottom<br />

line is there’s a balm for<br />

everyone – and they’re a salve<br />

to your eco-conscience, too.<br />

Here are some of my favourites.<br />

Elemis Supersize Neroli Pro-<br />

Collagen Cleansing Balm, £58 for<br />

200g (exclusive to QVC). This is<br />

probably my favourite-ever cleansing<br />

balm, a wonderful orange blossomscented<br />

version of their award-winning<br />

cleanser. It makes make-up removal<br />

heaven-on-earth, melting it away – and<br />

this vast size is going to last months and<br />

months more, and I started it in July. (It’s<br />

also great for softening elbows, I’ve found,<br />

but the scent means I wouldn’t use it on lips.)<br />

Emma Hardie Moringa Cleansing<br />

Balm, £47 for 100ml. This was<br />

the Gold Beauty Bible Award<br />

<strong>2019</strong> winner in the cleansing<br />

balm category, notching up a<br />

really high score. As well as<br />

cleansing skin with its blend<br />

of ultra-nourishing moringa<br />

oil, it offers fennel, rose oil and<br />

vitamin E. You can leave it<br />

on for 10 minutes as a deep<br />

treat – or even use it as an<br />

overnight facial treatment.<br />

Beauty Kitchen Natruline, £2.99<br />

for 20g. This looks like A Very Well-<br />

Known Product, whose name ends in<br />

‘line’, in its blue and white, handbagfriendly<br />

tin. And it feels like a Very<br />

Well-Known Product, acting as the most<br />

brilliant barrier. This, however, is NOT<br />

created from petroleum jelly; instead, it’s<br />

a blend of castor seed oil, carnauba and<br />

beeswax (and there’s a vegan version,<br />

which skips the beeswax). And it<br />

does everything that other ‘line’<br />

does, from smoothing cuticles to<br />

protecting grazes.<br />

<br />

123 wealdentimes.co.uk


Beauty<br />

Bloom & Blossom Wonder Balm, £14 for 40ml.<br />

A balm that emerges from the tube more like<br />

a cream and then smooths into skin. It’s not as<br />

greasy as some multi-purpose offerings, but it<br />

still veils skin beautifully in a blend of soya oil,<br />

castor seed oil, shea butter, lanolin and vitamin<br />

E, gorgeously infused with the scent of lavender.<br />

Also brilliant as a sheen-y lip protector.<br />

Balance Me Stellar Balm, £10 for 10ml. Very<br />

simply and portably packaged, this award-winning<br />

balm is packed with antioxidants as well as shea/<br />

mango seed butter, coconut oil, rosehip, vitamin<br />

E – and it has a lovely scent from citrusy neroli,<br />

mandarin and lemony May Chang oils. Great for<br />

dry cheeks, heels, elbows – and without being too<br />

‘eeew’, have you ever used a balm around your nose<br />

area, when you’ve got a cold? This is soothing and<br />

protective against post-nose-blowing cracking.<br />

Lanolips The Original 101 Ointment, £10.99<br />

for 15g. Lanolin is also known as ‘Nature’s<br />

Wonder Moisturiser’, and is at the heart of all<br />

the Lanolips products. A more dense balm than<br />

some, it holds 200% its weight in moisture and<br />

is great for grown-ups and for babies, helping to<br />

prevent chapping. (Another ‘eeew’ suggestion: I<br />

use this on flights to moisturise the INSIDE of<br />

my nostrils, which get Sahara-dry at 37,000 feet.)<br />

Ilāopothecary SOS Body Balm, £36 for 100g<br />

(victoriahealth.com). A skin-calming blend of<br />

anti-inflammatory oils, this features arnica (for<br />

‘bruised souls as well as sprains and injuries’,<br />

according to Ilāpothecary founder Denise<br />

Leicester), along with blue chamomile. It is<br />

skin meltingly-soft and smells wonderful: rose<br />

softened by comforting, cocooning vanilla. I<br />

love to slather this on before bedtime, especially<br />

on my feet – which are baby-soft, as a result.<br />

Jo’s All-Purpose<br />

Calendula Balm<br />

• 25g/1 oz dried organic calendula<br />

blossoms (find them on Amazon if you<br />

can’t source them anywhere else)<br />

• 150ml (¼ pint) sunflower oil<br />

• 25g (1 oz.) beeswax<br />

I keep this balm in the first aid cupboard for all<br />

sorts of beauty emergencies: rashes, itching, sore<br />

spots and flakiness. It couldn’t be easier to make.<br />

First, place the marigold leaves in the bottom of<br />

a glass jar. Pour on the olive oil, and leave the<br />

mixture to steep. Shake daily for about three weeks,<br />

when you’ll have a wonderful soothing oil base for<br />

the salve. Strain through a fine cloth into a bowl,<br />

squeezing and pressing until the last drops are<br />

filtered. To make the salve itself, place a heat-proof<br />

measuring jug in a saucepan with about 10cm of<br />

water in, over medium heat. Add the oil and then<br />

the grated beeswax and stir until thoroughly melted<br />

with a chopstick or spoon. Pour it into widemouthed<br />

jars and allow to cool and solidify. To test<br />

the consistency, drop a small amount of the salve<br />

mixture onto a saucer, and put it in the freezer for<br />

1 minute to cool. If you want a harder salve, add<br />

a little beeswax. If you don’t feel the salve is soft<br />

enough, add a little oil. (Summer weather makes a<br />

difference, too; you may need more beeswax when<br />

it’s warm outside.) Store away from heat and light,<br />

and apply whenever skin is inflamed or sore. And<br />

if you don’t have the patience to macerate your<br />

own marigold petals? Neal’s Yard offer a readymade<br />

Calendula Macerated Oil, £10 for 100ml.<br />

Isn’t it time you joined the balm-y army…?<br />

Trilogy Everything Balm, £13.50 for 45ml.<br />

Well, this doesn’t pull any punches, letting<br />

you know that it is indeed for ‘everything’.<br />

Trilogy have always sought out advanced natural<br />

ingredients, and here you’ll find skin-fixing<br />

botanicals including coconut, marula, olive,<br />

jojoba, evening primrose, wheatgerm, vitamin<br />

E and Trilogy’s signature rosehip, alongside<br />

honey and beeswax (so it’s not quite vegan).<br />

But before I close, I thought I’d share with<br />

you one more beauty secret – and that’s how<br />

to make your own balm. I’ve been doing it<br />

for years. And beauty doesn’t get any more<br />

sustainable, local and natural than that.<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

124


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126<br />

CloseToHand<strong>WT213</strong>ADVERTORIAL.indd 1 10/10/<strong>2019</strong> 15:59


Health & Wellbeing<br />

Vitamin D:<br />

How much is enough?<br />

Henrietta Norton explains what we can do to<br />

ensure we meet our bodies’ daily needs<br />

One in five of us in the UK are<br />

estimated to have insufficient<br />

blood levels of Vitamin D for good<br />

health; we simply can’t produce enough of<br />

it from sunshine alone and especially those<br />

of us in Northern Europe. The half-life of<br />

this vitamin is 3-6 weeks, so even gathered<br />

stores over the summer rapidly decline by the<br />

time we get to the deeper winter months.<br />

Additionally, sunscreens, longer office<br />

working hours, medications such as statins<br />

and our age can affect our levels further.<br />

Our dietary habits have changed somewhat<br />

too and Vitamin D rich foods such as oily<br />

fish and whole-fat dairy as part of our<br />

daily diets have fallen out of favour.<br />

The Department of Health recommends<br />

that everyone over the age of four should take<br />

10 micrograms (400iu) of vitamin D every<br />

day, particularly from October to March.<br />

All pregnant, breastfeeding women and atrisk<br />

groups should take a daily <strong>supplement</strong><br />

containing 10 micrograms (400iu) of an<br />

easily absorbed form of Vitamin D. However,<br />

consider that many people in the UK do not get<br />

good access to consistent sunlight due to work<br />

(offices) and typical British summer weather.<br />

All babies from birth up to one year of age<br />

should take 8.5 to 10 micrograms (340iu to<br />

400iu) of vitamin D per day (particularly<br />

those being breastfed). Babies fed infant<br />

formula will not need vitamin drops until<br />

they are receiving less than 500ml (about<br />

a pint) of infant formula a day, as these<br />

products are fortified with vitamin D.<br />

Children between the age of one<br />

and four should take 10 micrograms of<br />

vitamin D <strong>supplement</strong>s all year round.<br />

People aged 65 years and over and people<br />

not exposed to much sun should also<br />

take a daily <strong>supplement</strong> containing 10<br />

micrograms (400iu) of vitamin D.<br />

Why do I need vitamin D? Virtually every<br />

cell in the body has a vitamin D receptor,<br />

which, when bound to this vitamin, can<br />

influence the expression of more than 200<br />

genes. Previous concerns about vitamin<br />

D deficiency have been associated with poor<br />

bone health, most notably the development<br />

of rickets, a condition which is again on<br />

the increase according to national statistics.<br />

However, the observations from the most<br />

recent large cohort studies have unravelled<br />

other key physiological roles of it and a<br />

causative relationship between vitamin D<br />

deficiency and an increased risk of cancers,<br />

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What vitamin D <strong>supplement</strong>s should we<br />

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A study conducted showed that Food-<br />

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(25-hydroxy) and biologically ‘active’ (1-25<br />

hydroxy) forms of vitamin D3. The body<br />

will always need to convert any ‘stored’ form<br />

of vitamin D3 into the ‘active’ form for it to<br />

do its various jobs like supporting calcium<br />

absorption. This makes <strong>supplement</strong>ing<br />

in the ‘active’ form preferential. A highly<br />

absorbable and biologically active form may<br />

also minimize the need for ‘mega-dosing’.<br />

Don’t be tempted to think more means<br />

more. You should always check with a<br />

qualified nutritionist / nutritional therapist<br />

if you are unsure what dose to take. As<br />

with many nutrients, vitamin D follows a<br />

U-shaped curve, meaning that high levels<br />

can be just as problematic for health as low<br />

levels. An excessive intake is associated with<br />

increased risk of cardiovascular disease, kidney<br />

stones and low bone density. The latter is<br />

especially important to recognize as many<br />

will self-diagnosis with high strength vitamin<br />

D <strong>supplement</strong>s to reduce osteoporosis<br />

risk but may, in fact, be encouraging the<br />

‘leaching’ of important nutrients for bone<br />

density out of the bone matrix. Look for<br />

<strong>supplement</strong>s with your recommended daily<br />

allowance and better absorption instead. I<br />

formulated Wild Nutrition Food-Grown®<br />

Vitamin D range for this reason.<br />

Vitamin D rich foods<br />

Seafood – Seafood is one<br />

1 of the best sources. If<br />

you eat fish, aim to have two<br />

or three portions per week.<br />

Choose trout, halibut, sardines,<br />

herring, salmon and mackerel.<br />

2Whole milk – Organic<br />

full-fat milk contains much<br />

more than semi-skimmed milk<br />

and is less likely to have had<br />

anything added or removed.<br />

Unfortunately, the most popular<br />

form of milk is semi-skimmed,<br />

which contains significantly lower<br />

amounts of fat-soluble vitamins.<br />

3Eggs – Eggs are a great source<br />

and are so versatile and easy<br />

to make. Ensure you eat the yolk<br />

as this is where you’ll find it.<br />

Mushrooms – Some<br />

4 mushrooms have the ability<br />

to produce vitamin D when<br />

exposed to sunlight. The normal<br />

button mushrooms you find in<br />

the supermarket will contain<br />

very little of this. Opt for a<br />

selection of portobello, maitake,<br />

morel, chanterelle and oyster<br />

mushrooms for a higher content.<br />

Avoid foods that have been<br />

artificially fortified. Instead, opt<br />

for food that contains vitamin<br />

D naturally from the list above.<br />

To understand your individual<br />

need, consider getting the<br />

guidance of a well-trained<br />

nutritional therapist or<br />

functional medicine practitioner<br />

or requesting a Vitamin D<br />

blood test with your GP. Our<br />

team of Qualified Nutritional<br />

therapists at Wild Nutrition<br />

are on hand to offer advice<br />

enquiries@wildnutrition.<br />

com or call on 01273 477898.<br />

127


Sit-in Private<br />

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Visits can be for as little as one hour or as<br />

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of a tailored package of care that could<br />

help you stay in your own home for longer,<br />

rather than going into a care home before<br />

its really needed. We can assist those who<br />

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For a free assessment<br />

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TownCountryHomecareWT133.indd 7 04/02/2013 LindapopeWT202.indd 16:20<br />

1 15/11/2018 11:21<br />

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SEVENOAKS PILATES STUDIO<br />

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Email enquiries: sevenoakspilatesstudio@gmail.com<br />

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Use of the spa facilities, treatments and<br />

products available for both men and women.<br />

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Christmas is a time to celebrate but also a time to relax.<br />

Why not treat yourself or a loved one to a<br />

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wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

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Getting ready for<br />

the little black dress<br />

It’s just as important to feel as good as you look<br />

this party season, as Sarah Maxwell explains with<br />

her tips for tracking down the ultimate LBD<br />

and the exercises you can do to own your look<br />

As we start to head into<br />

party season, I’m hearing<br />

the same things come up<br />

time and time again with women<br />

who come to me for the first time.<br />

“How can I get my arms in<br />

better shape?”, “Why is every dress<br />

too tight around the midriff?”<br />

and “How do I go about finding<br />

the most flattering outfit?”.<br />

It seems most of us could use<br />

some help putting everything<br />

together. I can really sympathise<br />

with this on a personal level as<br />

I spend most of my day in gym<br />

gear and although I’m an expert in<br />

showing you how to tone up, lose<br />

weight, increase your energy and<br />

feel great, I can definitely use some<br />

help with finding that perfect little<br />

black dress. I’ve always held onto the<br />

thought that I might one day find it<br />

and effortlessly sashay into a room<br />

knowing that I’ve finally got it right!<br />

So, when it comes to choosing that<br />

Sarah Maxwell is a multiple awardwinning<br />

Fitness and Lifestyle coach<br />

and mum of two who juggles a lot<br />

of balls. Find out more about Sarah<br />

and her work at sarahmaxwell.com<br />

Sarah shares her Fitness and<br />

Lifestyle tips on Instagram<br />

@sarahmaxwelllifestyle<br />

perfect little black dress, I decided<br />

that some professional fashion<br />

advice was in order. I popped in to<br />

see Gemma Humphries of Odyl<br />

boutique in Cranbrook and ask her<br />

advice. Gemma is well known for her<br />

knack of picking the perfect style to<br />

suit every body shape. So I asked for<br />

her tips for a flattering look. “The<br />

style of dress that’s most flattering<br />

on all sizes has an elbow length or<br />

¾ sleeve, clever ruching around<br />

the waistline and falls just below<br />

the knee. To get that nice smooth<br />

line, team this with shape wear.<br />

Maidenform are my go to brand.”<br />

So – there you have it! The<br />

right style of dress and the best<br />

shapewear to create a flattering look.<br />

Now for a couple of my favourite<br />

exercises to target your upper<br />

body and core. Do these 3 times a<br />

week with a rest day in between.<br />

sarahmaxwell.com<br />

Odyl, Cranbrook odyldesign.com<br />

“Although I’m an expert in showing you how to tone up, lose<br />

weight, increase your energy and feel great, I can definitely<br />

use some help with finding that perfect little black dress”<br />

Exercise of<br />

the month:<br />

Press-ups<br />

Great for your upper body and core.<br />

Half – Start on your hands and<br />

knees with your hands a little<br />

wider than shoulder width apart<br />

and bend your arms so your<br />

nose goes down to the floor.<br />

Full – To make this harder, take<br />

your hands further forward and<br />

straighten your back. Engage<br />

your core and tighten your<br />

bottom as you do the exercise.<br />

For the hardcore fitness level,<br />

move to full press-ups by taking<br />

your whole body off the floor.<br />

Kickbacks<br />

This is a great exercise to tone and<br />

firm the back of your arms. Start<br />

with a dumbbell in one hand (or<br />

a tin of beans will work if you are<br />

just starting out). I recommend<br />

using dumbbells between 2 and 4kg<br />

if you want to progress quickly.<br />

Fixing your upper arms to your<br />

side with a slight lean forward - you<br />

can lean on a chair or bench for<br />

better stability – extend your arm,<br />

using your tricep to lift the weight<br />

until your arm is fully extended.<br />

Do this in a controlled way, really<br />

concentrating on the muscle you’re<br />

working and avoid locking your<br />

elbow at the end of the movement.<br />

Depending on the size of<br />

weight you’re using – this will<br />

determine how many repetitions<br />

you can do – aim to start with<br />

2x10 repetitions and build up<br />

to 3x12 every other day.<br />

Combine the above with some<br />

aerobic exercise, which can be<br />

anything that raises your heart<br />

rate, and in no time at all you<br />

will be confidently walking into<br />

that party with your head held<br />

high and a spring in your step.<br />

129


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130


Family Values<br />

Anna Stanford has built a following of thousands sharing<br />

her tried and tested one-pot recipes, designed to deliver<br />

maximum flavour with a minimum of fuss, via her Instagram<br />

handle @annasfamilykitchen. Here she guides us through<br />

three deliciously different festive dishes to carry you from<br />

Christmas Eve through to Boxing Day and shares her<br />

own tips for smooth Christmas Day meal planning.<br />

Recipes: Anna Stanford Photographs: David Merewether<br />

Styling: Lucy Fleming<br />

One-Pot Christmas Eve Crowd Pleaser:<br />

Asian Beef Stew<br />

Preparation time: 15 mins<br />

Cooking time: 4-8 hours, depending on cooking method Serves 6<br />

If I had to vote on my favourite one pot to feed a crowd, this has to<br />

be in my top three. Amazing Asian flavours, meat that falls apart, yet<br />

minimal effort, just time in the oven. I made it for a dinner party of<br />

12 – actually I made it a week in advance and froze it. I served some<br />

simple Asian sharing nibbles instead of a starter and presented this onepot<br />

with pak choi, broccoli and rice. It’s a great one if you’re entertaining<br />

over Christmas but don’t want to fuss for hours in the kitchen.<br />

• 1½ kg feather steak, beef<br />

shin or braising steak<br />

• 3 red onions chopped<br />

• 4 garlic cloves<br />

• 10cm ginger<br />

• 20g fresh coriander<br />

• 2 tbsp plain flour<br />

• 1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder<br />

• 4 star anise<br />

• 2 tsp brown sugar<br />

• 5 tbsp Mirin – Chinese rice wine<br />

• 4 tbsp dark soy sauce<br />

• 500ml beef stock<br />

• 1 bunch spring onions, sliced<br />

• 1 red chilli, deseeded<br />

and thinly sliced<br />

1. Cut the feather steak into very large chunks – approx 10x5cm.<br />

Season the meat with salt and pepper and toss in the flour.<br />

2. Make a paste by blitzing the coriander, garlic<br />

and ginger. Or you could just chop it!<br />

3. Heat a large casserole and colour the meat in batches.<br />

4. Set aside the meat, add the rest of the oil and add the onions. Colour<br />

for a few minutes before adding the garlic, coriander, ginger paste.<br />

5. Return the meat to the pan with the five-spice and star anise. Add<br />

the sugar and stir then add the soy sauce, Mirin and stock.<br />

6. Put in a slow cooker for 8 hours or low oven (140°C) for 4-5<br />

hours. Stir in the middle of the cooking time if you can.<br />

7. Finish with fresh chilli and shredded spring onions.<br />

<br />

131 wealdentimes.co.uk


Christmas Day Sweet Centrepiece:<br />

Fruited Christmas Meringue Wreath<br />

Preparation time: 15 mins<br />

Cooking time: 1 hour 15 mins Serves 8-10<br />

• 6 large egg whites<br />

• 350g caster sugar<br />

• 600ml double cream<br />

• 1 tsp vanilla extract<br />

• 50g icing sugar<br />

• 3 ripe figs, quartered<br />

• 125g redcurrants<br />

• 150g fresh raspberries<br />

• white chocolate stars (available in the<br />

baking section of supermarkets)<br />

1. Preheat the oven to 140°C/120°C Fan. On a large sheet of baking<br />

parchment, draw around a 30cm plate in the middle of the paper.<br />

2. Put the egg whites into a clean mixing bowl and whisk<br />

until soft peaks are formed when the whisk is lifted out.<br />

3. On a high speed add the caster sugar, 1 tablespoon<br />

at a time (I count to ten in between each spoonful!),<br />

until the meringue mix is stiff and glossy.<br />

4. Put a small amount of the meringue mix in each corner<br />

of a baking tray large enough to fit your wreath.<br />

5. Lay over the baking parchment, pencil mark down.<br />

You should still be able to see the circle you drew.<br />

6. Spoon 10-12 balls of the meringue <strong>inside</strong> your 30cm circle<br />

to make your wreath shape. Make shallow hollows in each<br />

of the balls so the cream will sit <strong>inside</strong> after baking.<br />

7. Bake the meringue for 1 hour 15 minutes.<br />

8. You can turn the oven off and leave the wreath <strong>inside</strong> to cool.<br />

9. Whip the cream together with the vanilla extract and icing sugar.<br />

10. Spoon the cream into the hollows of meringue and<br />

decorate with the fruits and chocolate stars.<br />

<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

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133 wealdentimes.co.uk


Irresistible Boxing Day Dish:<br />

Festive Pomegranate Molasses<br />

& Clementine Ham Hocks<br />

Preparation time: Overnight<br />

Cooking time: 3-4 hours Serves 4-6<br />

Perfect for Boxing Day (or just to have in the fridge to<br />

pick at over Christmas). I prefer cooking ham hocks to a<br />

whole ham – their flavour is amazing, yet they’re relatively<br />

cheap (about £4 each). The glaze is made from the juices<br />

of clementines, brown sugar and Belazu Pomegranate<br />

Molasses. The ham hocks need to be soaked to remove<br />

the saltiness overnight and take nearly 4 hours in the<br />

oven, so you need to be home for that amount of time.<br />

Otherwise this recipe requires minimal effort. The hams<br />

steam cook for 3 hours under foil with bay, star anise and<br />

the clementines – your kitchen will smell amazing! They’re<br />

finished off uncovered with the pomegranate glaze.<br />

• 2 ham hocks,<br />

rind removed<br />

• 1 tsp allspice<br />

• 4 clementines, halved<br />

• 6 star anise<br />

• 4 bay leaves<br />

• 4 tbsp pomegranate<br />

molasses<br />

• 3 tbsp brown sugar<br />

1. Remove the rind if it hasn’t already been done<br />

for you. Place the ham hocks in a large pan or<br />

bowl and cover with water. Leave overnight.<br />

2. Remove the ham hocks and dry with kitchen<br />

towel. Place them in a roasting tray and<br />

sprinkle with the allspice, salt and pepper.<br />

3. Surround the hams with the clementines, bay and star anise.<br />

4. Pour in 200ml water, cover tightly with foil<br />

and put in an oven at 160°C for 3 hours.<br />

5. Combine the sugar and pomegranate molasses<br />

in a pan and warm until the sugar melts.<br />

6. Remove the tray from the oven. Squeeze the juices<br />

from the clementine halves into the pan with the<br />

sugar and molasses and combine to make a glaze.<br />

7. Turn the oven up to 180°C. Pour the water out of the<br />

tray. Spoon half the glaze over the ham hocks and return<br />

to the oven for 30 minutes uncovered. Half way through<br />

turn the hams and spoon over the remaining glaze. <br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

134


Winter Wonderland<br />

Christmas <strong>2019</strong><br />

Join us this festive season and celebrate<br />

with us we host a Winter Wonderland<br />

Christmas Extravaganza.<br />

23rd <strong>November</strong> - 31st <strong>November</strong> <strong>2019</strong><br />

Christmas party nights in our Coast<br />

restaurant and Imperial Ballroom<br />

To book, simply<br />

01303 267441<br />

csales@hytheimperialhotel.com<br />

Serving Christmas Day<br />

lunch and seeing out<br />

<strong>2019</strong> with a New<br />

Year’s Eve Ball.<br />

Whether it’s for a<br />

couple or a group of<br />

30 or 50, we can happily<br />

accommodate you.<br />

To book, simply<br />

Call: 01303 267441<br />

Email: csales@hytheimperialhotel.com<br />

Princes Parade, Hythe, Kent ,CT21 6AE<br />

WWW.HYTHEIMPERIALHOTEL.CO.UK<br />

KentishHareWT212.indd 1 10/09/<strong>2019</strong> HYTHEIMPERIALHOTEL<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 12:32<br />

1 11/10/<strong>2019</strong> 10:18<br />

The George Inn<br />

High Street, Robertsbridge East Sussex TN32 5AW<br />

Formerly known as Hartley Dyke Farm Shop<br />

01580 880315 www.thegeorgerobertsbridge.co.uk<br />

Fresh Fruit & Vegetables · Flowers · Plants<br />

· Shrubs · Hot & Cold Food · Drinks<br />

· Groceries & Delicatessen<br />

Charity Farm, Swattenden Lane,<br />

Cranbrook, Kent, TN17 3PS<br />

Tel: 01580 712546<br />

www.cranbrookfarmshop.co.uk<br />

Delicious fresh and local food served all day including Sundays<br />

Come & join us for your Festive Celebrations<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

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Anna’s Christmas<br />

Must-Have “Any busy parent<br />

welcomes help when it comes to organising<br />

their families. I started Anna’s Family Kitchen<br />

to help simplify family meal times, planning and<br />

prepping. Christmas will challenge the most organised<br />

of us. I have now hosted Christmas for 16 years and used<br />

to rely on various lists and PostIt notes! Last year I treated<br />

myself to the Fraser & Parsley Christmas Planner. I love it!<br />

Along with sections for Present Ideas, a Christmas Card list,<br />

Thank Yous etc, there is a large Christmas entertaining section<br />

for advance food planning and preparation. It includes a<br />

Christmas Day cooking schedule (for example I make my<br />

gravy a week ahead and freeze it) and a Meal Planner<br />

taking you from Christmas Eve to New Year’s Day.”<br />

Meal Planner & Shopping List Pad, £20,<br />

Christmas Planner (space for five Christmases<br />

worth of planning), from £45<br />

fraserandparsley.com


Anna’s Top 10<br />

Christmas Planning<br />

& Cooking Tips<br />

1Book an online shop for all your<br />

non-perishable items. With most<br />

supermarkets you can do this three<br />

weeks in advance; so, for delivery on<br />

23rd, book on 2nd December. As you<br />

remember items over the three weeks<br />

you can just add them to your basket<br />

and it’ll save multiple trips to the<br />

supermarket in the days running up<br />

to Christmas. On 23rd you can do a<br />

mini shop for perishables, for-gotten<br />

items or those that didn’t arrive.<br />

Order all required meat (turkey,<br />

2 sausages, bacon, sausage meat<br />

ham, ham hocks as early as your<br />

butcher allows; usually about 4 weeks<br />

in advance. I can also order cheese<br />

from my butcher. Pick up everything<br />

on 23rd so that you have everything<br />

for Christmas Eve preparation.<br />

Gravy can be made up to three weeks<br />

3 in advance. Every time we have a<br />

roast chicken I put the carcass in a bag<br />

in the freezer. They can be put into a<br />

large pan to make stock which is perfect<br />

for Christmas gravy. Alternatively cheap<br />

chicken wings roasted are a great base for<br />

Christmas gravy. I’ve played with many<br />

Christmas gravy recipes over the years<br />

but Jamie Oliver’s cannot be beaten.<br />

A couple of days ahead plan your<br />

4 food preparation and cooking<br />

schedule. Have one schedule for tasks<br />

that can be carried out before the 24th,<br />

a list for Christmas Eve and a cooking<br />

schedule for Christmas Day. I’ve shared<br />

my Christmas Day schedule with you.<br />

Brine your turkey. I do this on the<br />

523rd. The jury is out as to whether<br />

it adds flavour and increases tenderness<br />

but I believe not only does it do both,<br />

but as long as you’ve got somewhere safe<br />

to store it away from pets and foxes, it<br />

saves space in your fridge. Brining the<br />

turkey has become an event in itself in<br />

my house. We name the turkey, make<br />

her bath adding water, salt, sugar, spices<br />

and clementines to a large bucket and<br />

then submerge her. Put the bucket<br />

somewhere cold and safe (a shed is<br />

ideal) with a board and a brick on top.<br />

On Christmas Eve prepare as<br />

6 much of your Christmas lunch/<br />

dinner as possible. Jobs that can be<br />

done on Christmas Eve (assuming<br />

you have fridge space) :<br />

• Make any stuffings. I make a<br />

gingerbread stuffing which I bake<br />

in a tray and a traditional pork, sage<br />

and onion stuffing for the bird.<br />

• If making a vegetarian option<br />

(I have two veggies at Christmas)<br />

this can be prepared. I make a<br />

vegetarian stuffing or nut-loaf.<br />

• Wrap chipolatas in bacon and<br />

place on a baking tray lined<br />

with baking parchment. Cover<br />

and store in the fridge.<br />

• If you’ve brined your turkey take it<br />

out of the brine and dry it off. Stuff<br />

and prepare the turkey. I stuff the neck<br />

and push herb butter under the skin.<br />

• Peel potatoes, cut them to<br />

size and leave in cold water.<br />

• Prepare Brussels and<br />

leave in cold water.<br />

• Peel carrots and leave in water.<br />

• Prepare red cabbage, leave to<br />

cool, cover ready for reheating<br />

on Christmas Day.<br />

• Bread sauce can be made, cooled<br />

and refrigerated. On Christmas<br />

Day it will need reheating and<br />

loosening with more milk.<br />

• The only vegetables I don’t prepare<br />

the day before are parsnips as they<br />

go brown even with the old trick of<br />

adding lemon to water. These are quick<br />

to prepare on Christmas morning.<br />

7If cooking a ham or doing my<br />

ham hocks for Boxing Day,<br />

take off the rind and put them in<br />

to pre-soak on Christmas Eve.<br />

Instead of a starter, serve a platter<br />

8 of canapés and nibbles. These can<br />

be very simple. For a twist on a smoked<br />

salmon blini, quickly cure the salmon in<br />

a little gin and beetroot juice (from a jar).<br />

They look more festive than traditional<br />

blinis. Quails eggs (ready prepared) are<br />

another great canapé. Edible spoons<br />

can be filled with shop bought fish<br />

mousse and topped with dill or a chive.<br />

Or as an alternative to an edible spoon<br />

use a slice of cucumber as a base.<br />

9Most puddings, including my<br />

meringue, can be made on<br />

Christmas Eve. As an alternative<br />

to a dessert you can buy chocolate<br />

cups, pipe in vanilla cream and<br />

top them with a berry.<br />

If anyone asks if they can<br />

10bring something– say yes! I<br />

like to focus on the main meal and<br />

savoury dishes, so my mum brings a<br />

Christmas pudding or Christmas cake<br />

(often shop bought) and crackers!<br />

Follow Anna on Instagram<br />

@annasfamilykitchen for a wealth of<br />

recipes, one-pot family favourites and<br />

cooking tips or see annasfamilykitchen.<br />

com/christmas-food-planning/ for Anna’s<br />

Christmas Day cooking schedule and<br />

all the recipes she uses on the day.<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

138


Pick ’n’ Mix<br />

Here at WT we’re all about supporting local and have picked some of<br />

the finest and tastiest local produce to stock up on this Christmas<br />

Keep it Local<br />

When Kentish baker, Simon<br />

Cannell, Managing Director<br />

of artisan bakery, Speciality<br />

Breads in Margate, decided<br />

to open Foodie’s Emporium<br />

in Headcorn, he enlisted the help of<br />

TV Chef Lesley Waters to help him<br />

spread his love for local produce. Here,<br />

Lesley tells us why she’s so passionate<br />

about small-batch artisan food<br />

What is it that you love about the<br />

range of locally-produced food and<br />

drink available in Kent and Sussex?<br />

There’s so many available that you are<br />

almost spoilt for choice. Most cannot be<br />

found in supermarkets and it’s important<br />

to support local businesses. Buying<br />

from these producers of small batch<br />

and artisan foods guarantees complete<br />

freshness, which is so important to me<br />

and our ethos at the Cookery School.<br />

Can you pick a stand-out product that<br />

you particularly enjoy? Huffkin Bread as<br />

it’s age old and delicious. I love the story<br />

around the dimple for the cherry* and it<br />

was one of the breads I used for a demo<br />

at the opening of Foodie’s Emporium.<br />

What has drawn you to Foodie’s<br />

Emporium in Headcorn? My<br />

working relationship with Speciality<br />

Bread and because most, if not<br />

everything, is sourced locally.<br />

Find our more about Foodie’s<br />

Emporium on Facebook @<br />

FoodiesEmporiumUK, see the range<br />

of courses at Lesley Waters’ Cookery<br />

School at lesleywaters.com and browse<br />

the products available from Speciality<br />

Breads at specialitybreads.co.uk<br />

<br />

Bolga Fairtrade shopping basket £64<br />

Lola & Mawu lolaandmawu.com<br />

filled with Orange & Honey Gin,<br />

£34.30/70cl Anno annodistillers.co.uk;<br />

Pistachio dark chocolate bar made<br />

in East Sussex with 71% Ecuadorian<br />

cocoa £4.50/100g Cocoloco Chocolates<br />

cocoloco.org.uk; Hastings Original Lemon<br />

Ketchup £4.95/150ml The Hastings Ketchup<br />

Company hastingsketchup.co.uk; Dehusked<br />

Kentish Cobnuts gift bag from £6 Potash Farm kentishcobnuts.com; Dry Lightly<br />

Sparkling Cider £38/12-bottle case Wise Owl Cider wiseowlcider.co.uk;<br />

Benenden Sauce from £9.80/250ml Harrington Foods harringtonfoods.co.uk; Lord<br />

London semi-soft bell-shaped cheese Alsop & Walker alsopandwalker.co.uk<br />

* Made with stoneground flour and slowly-proved<br />

to produce a rich bread boasting a soft crumb and<br />

crust. In times past each Kentish Huffkin bore the<br />

thumbprint of the baker and the indentation was used<br />

to hold a cherry from the harvest. Huffkins are great for<br />

breakfast, perfect with a tasty ploughman’s lunch and a<br />

wonderful accompaniment to warming winter soups.<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

140


Kent<br />

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Have fun and<br />

learn about wine<br />

Wine Tasting in Kent<br />

From £25<br />

www.kentwineschool.com<br />

KentCookerySchool<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 18/10/<strong>2019</strong> KentWineSchool<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 12:26<br />

1 10/10/<strong>2019</strong> 16:45<br />

JOIN OUR GLOBAL LOYALTY PROGRAM<br />

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141 wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

MercureHotels<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 03/10/<strong>2019</strong> 16:19


90mm x 130mm Herstmonceux Castle Advert.qxp_Layout 1 11/09/<strong>2019</strong> 13:44<br />

Gardens and Grounds<br />

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The perfect venue for your festive gathering<br />

BEST AWARD-WINNING RESTAURANT IN KENT<br />

EARLY<br />

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13th and 20th December Christmas Party Nights<br />

15th and 22nd December Christmas Carols and Lunch<br />

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See website for full details<br />

FULLY BOOKED<br />

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25th <strong>November</strong><br />

WE ARE NOW TAKING<br />

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we are OPEN CHRISTMAS DAY (SET MENU)<br />

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or email conf@bisc.queensu.ac.uk<br />

Herstmonceux Castle, Hailsham, East Sussex BN27 1RN<br />

TEL: 01580 890 420 / 01580 895 320<br />

17 The Parade, High Street,<br />

Staplehurst, Kent, TN12 0LA<br />

www.jumeirarestaurant.co.uk<br />

HerstmonceuxCastle<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1<br />

where<br />

22/10/<strong>2019</strong><br />

qualit<br />

JumeiraIndianRestaurant<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 15:06<br />

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1<br />

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24/10/<strong>2019</strong> 10:08<br />

Park Farm is a low intensity pasture farm rearing cattle and sheep<br />

for a discerning butchery outlet in the village of Hawkhurst.<br />

Place your order now for<br />

Christmas<br />

FROM OUR FARMS<br />

• Sussex Beef • Romney Lamb • Free-Range Natural Pork<br />

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• Bronze turkeys • Geese • duck • Chicken<br />

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• Venison • Partridge • Duck • Mallard • Pheasant • Rabbit<br />

SAUSAGE AND BACON<br />

• Pigs in blankets • Sausage Meat • Dry Cured Bacon<br />

The Colonnade, Hawkhurst, Kent | 01580 753558 | parkfarm3@btconnect.com<br />

www.parkfarmbutchers.com | www.parkfarmonline.co.uk<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

142<br />

ParkFarm<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 22/10/<strong>2019</strong> 09:50


Keep it Local<br />

Try these tasty recipes using products manufactured in the Weald<br />

Stuff your turkey with this<br />

delicious festive stuffing,<br />

made using Korkers sausages,<br />

which have been produced<br />

in Rolvenden since 1959.<br />

Sage & Onion<br />

Sausage Stuffing<br />

• 2 onions, chopped<br />

• 25g butter<br />

• 1 small Bramley apple<br />

• 800g Korkers sage and<br />

onion sausages, removed<br />

from their skins<br />

• Handful of fresh sage<br />

• 140g granary breadcrumbs<br />

1. Fry 2 chopped onions in<br />

25g butter for 5 mins.<br />

2. Peel, core and dice the<br />

apple and add to the<br />

pan and cook briefly.<br />

3. Cool, then mix with<br />

800g of Korkers sage<br />

and onion sausages.<br />

4. Chop the sage and<br />

add to the mix.<br />

5. Stir through the<br />

breadcrumbs and<br />

season to taste.<br />

6. Use to stuff the neck end<br />

of the turkey, then roll<br />

any leftovers into balls. Or<br />

pack the whole mixture<br />

into a 1kg loaf tin and top<br />

with extra sage leaves.<br />

7. Bake with the turkey for<br />

30-40 mins. Drain off<br />

any fat and serve sliced.<br />

To find a Korkers stockist near<br />

you, see korker-sausages.co.uk<br />

If Blue Cheese is your ultimate indulgence, then<br />

try out foodie David Pearce’s recipe for Kent<br />

Rarebit using Kingcott Dairy’s Kentish Blue<br />

Kent Rarebit<br />

Serves 4<br />

• 2 free-range Kent eggs, yolks only<br />

• 150g crème fraîche<br />

• 100g grated Kentish Blue Cheese<br />

• 2 Kent eating apples<br />

• 1 Kentish Huffkin<br />

1. Whisk the egg yolks and crème fraîche together,<br />

then mix in the grated cheese and some seasoning.<br />

2. Slice the apples and very lightly soften them in<br />

a pan – but make sure they hold their shape.<br />

3. Lightly toast slices of Huffkin on both sides<br />

and place the apple slices on top. Spoon on<br />

the cheese mixture and place under a hot grill<br />

until the cheese mixture starts to bubble.<br />

You can find more locally-inspired recipes in<br />

David’s new book, Slice of Kent sliceofkent.co.uk<br />

OUR TRADITIONAL SAUSAGES ARE<br />

MANUFACTURED in the Garden of England.<br />

We put hard work and love into the production<br />

of every sausage to ensure our customers can<br />

buy our high-quality products with confidence<br />

that every sausage is as delicious as the last.<br />

With 60 years’ experience in the food<br />

industry Korker Sausages have a reputation<br />

for producing quality sausages. Nothing has<br />

changed, we still follow the original recipe<br />

using premium cuts of pork and the finest<br />

ingredients. It’s no surprise why people love<br />

our products, perhaps that is why we have<br />

become the purveyors of the best-selling<br />

sausages in the South East.<br />

We sell our range direct to our customers<br />

through independent shops, and have<br />

developed long standing relationships with<br />

shopkeepers throughout the South of England.<br />

Purveyors of fine sausages<br />

Hoads Korkers Est. 1959, Kent<br />

TRADITION MAKES THE BEST<br />

P100%<br />

KENT<br />

RODUCED<br />

EST.<br />

IN KENT<br />

1959<br />

Find your local Korkers stockist on our website<br />

at www.korker-sausages.co.uk/where-buy<br />

Tel: 01580 241307<br />

www.korker-sausages.co.uk<br />

enquiries@korker-sausages.co.uk<br />

KORKERS DIAMOND<br />

Purveyors of fine sausages for over 60 years<br />

143 wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

KorkerSausagesLtd<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 17/10/<strong>2019</strong> 12:54


Hampers<br />

from<br />

£55.00<br />

Fizz on Foot the wine tour company has developed a range of<br />

gift hampers to give you the chance to thank those you<br />

appreciate. There are hampers with wine and flowers; wine and<br />

chocolates; wine chocolates and flowers – or just simply wine!<br />

Champagne,<br />

chocolates<br />

and flowers<br />

£85.00<br />

Wine and<br />

chocolates<br />

£55.00<br />

Red and White wine<br />

bottle holders<br />

£12.00 each<br />

Fizz on<br />

Foot Clock<br />

£14.99<br />

❄<br />

❄ ❄ ❄<br />

❄<br />

❄ ❄<br />

❄<br />

❄<br />

Christmas at<br />

The Pepperbox Inn<br />

Windmill Hill, Harrietsham, Maidstone ME17 1LP<br />

❄<br />

❄<br />

Visit our charming pub situated in the beautiful countryside with outstanding views of the Weald of Kent<br />

❄<br />

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FizzOnFoot<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 23/10/<strong>2019</strong> 14:19<br />

❄<br />

❄<br />

Full à la carte menu and<br />

traditional pub food served<br />

lunchtimes and evenings<br />

• Ample parking<br />

• Walkers & Riders welcome<br />

• Warm & welcoming<br />

open log fires<br />

CHRISTMAS MENU <strong>2019</strong><br />

Starters<br />

Butternut Squash & Sweet Potato Soup<br />

Browned Sage Butter Crab & Apple Salad<br />

Crème Fraiche & Dill Dressing Duck Liver & Gin Parfait,<br />

Cornichons & Toast Smoked Mackerel, Horseradish &<br />

Chive Gratin Goat’s Cheese, Fig & Onion Tart<br />

Main Courses<br />

Traditional Roast Turkey, Duck Fat Roasted Potatoes &all the Festive Trimmings<br />

Fillet Steak, Braised Shallots, Sautéed Potatoes & Green Peppercorn Sauce (£5 <strong>supplement</strong>)<br />

Gorgonzola Stuffed Guinea Fowl, Sautéed Savoy Cabbage, Anna Potatoes Pan Fried Salmon<br />

Fillet, Confit New Potatoes, Lemon, Pancetta & Samphire<br />

Mushroom & Chestnut Bourguignon, Parsnip & Potato Mash<br />

Desserts<br />

Christmas Pudding & Brandy Sauce<br />

Chocolate Tart, Salted Caramel Ice Cream, Hazelnut Praline<br />

Passion Fruit Martini Jelly & Prosecco Sorbet<br />

Lemon Posset & Spiced Orange Shortbread<br />

Cheeseboard, Biscuits, Plum Chutney (£2 <strong>supplement</strong>)<br />

Book now for Christmas<br />

Christmas Menu available<br />

lunchtime and evenings<br />

Pricing per head<br />

Lunch Monday to Saturday<br />

Dinner Monday to Thursday<br />

3 course £28.00<br />

2 course £21.00<br />

Dinner Friday & Saturday<br />

3 course £30.00<br />

Menu available 1st to 24th<br />

December, excludes Sundays<br />

Opening <strong>Times</strong>: Daily from, 11am - 3pm, 6pm - 11.30pm | Food Served: Lunch 12noon - 2pm, Evening 7pm - 9.30pm<br />

Sunday Lunches: 12noon - 3pm | Closed Sunday Evenings<br />

01622842558 www.thepepperboxinn.co.uk<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

144<br />

PepperboxInn<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 22/10/<strong>2019</strong> 14:26


PARTY MENU<br />

2 COURSES £21.95 | 3 COURSES £26.95<br />

Wines and champagnes available to pre-order<br />

Pre-orders minimum of 10 days before<br />

£10 a head non-returnable deposits<br />

required to secure booking dates<br />

Starters -<br />

• Chestnut, smoked bacon and parsnip<br />

soup with cheddar croutons<br />

• Duck and cognac pate, sourdough<br />

bread and spiced onion chutney<br />

• Mushroom, stilton and walnut filo<br />

knots, cranberry sauce and rocket<br />

• King tiger prawn and crayfish<br />

salad leaf cocktail<br />

Mains -<br />

• Roast turkey, roast potatoes<br />

and all the trimmings<br />

• Roast root vegetable wellington,<br />

roast potatoes and all the trimmings<br />

• Pan fried cod loin, tarka dhal,<br />

king prawn and braised shallot<br />

• Sussex mixed game pie, creamy<br />

mustard mash and vegetables<br />

Christmas Day<br />

Bookings still available<br />

Desserts -<br />

• Classic Christmas pudding laced with<br />

brandy and spiced whisky sauce<br />

• Sweet mincemeat and marzipan<br />

strudel with vanilla custard<br />

• Chocolate Baileys cheesecake<br />

and Northiam dairy ice cream<br />

• Champagne and clementine sorbet<br />

• Cheeseboard (5 cheeses)<br />

= extra £3.50<br />

26 Maytham Road • Rolvenden Layne • Kent TN17 4NP Telephone 01580 241837 www.eweandlamb.co.uk<br />

EweAndLamb<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 23/10/<strong>2019</strong> 16:19<br />

Hands-on cooking & dining with the expert<br />

tuition of Chef Proprietor Paul Webbe,<br />

Delicious seasonal courses. Choose you<br />

themed days from sustainable fish, catch of<br />

the day, spring cookery, scallop school and<br />

many more.<br />

A great gift or a treat for yourself .<br />

Two venues available, all abilities and ages<br />

(no children), informal and relaxed.<br />

Rye from £105 per day.<br />

Hastings from £60 per day.<br />

See website for themes and dates -<br />

now booking.<br />

Tel: 01797 222226<br />

www.webbesrestaurants.co.uk<br />

Webbe’s Cooking School, 17 Tower Street,<br />

Rye, East Sussex, TN31 7AT<br />

Source to Sauce Fish Morning with Market<br />

Tour, Webbes Rock-a-Nore, Hastings<br />

Tel: 01424 721650<br />

145 wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

WebbesCookerySchool<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 22/10/<strong>2019</strong> 15:56


‘<br />

Structural Assets<br />

Jo Arnell shares her recommendations for plants with year-round staying power<br />

A<br />

herbaceous border in full swing at the height of<br />

summer is a wonder to behold, but come the autumn<br />

it does rather collapse into a heap of old sticks. This is<br />

fine if you have an enormous garden and can shut off part of<br />

it for the winter, and not be left to stare bleakly at the scene<br />

from the window, lamenting the end of days and pining for<br />

the colour to return. If only we could have some plants to<br />

enhance the view until the flowers come back in the spring.<br />

Actually, we probably do have a few, but not enough – and<br />

when you look at them with your interview face on, eyes<br />

narrowed, are they really up to the job? We need plants for<br />

structure, some for seasonal interest and some to be quietly<br />

companionable as the garden ebbs and flows through the year.<br />

Where’s your backbone?<br />

Structural plants are strong and reliable, lynchpins, carrying<br />

the border through the seasons and linking one part of the<br />

garden to another. The neighbouring plants will rely on<br />

them through thick and thin – as supports, as backdrops<br />

and as friends to lean on. They need not be evergreen,<br />

but should have some presence over the winter months.<br />

This can come in the simple form of stems and bark, or<br />

as complete and beautiful skeletons. I’m particularly fond<br />

of Cotoneaster horizontalis; its stiff herringbone stems will<br />

spread slowly up walls, or into arching mounds if gently<br />

encouraged and will reward you – and the birds and bees,<br />

with spring blossom and then berries and brilliant autumn<br />

colour. Many dogwood species that might look like<br />

dowdy nothings with their leaves on, reveal their glorious<br />

coloured bark once winter sets in and strips them bare.<br />

Evergreen structure<br />

Well behaved, tidy evergreens are great for low maintenance<br />

borders, acting as anchors and punctuation points. Some are<br />

naturally neat, but if you have time to keep them trimmed,<br />

small leaved shrubs like box will provide formal structure<br />

and a refined and soothing symmetry. Low growing Hebes<br />

fall into the naturally neat category, as would Pittosporum<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

146


Garden<br />

“The house at Great Dixter<br />

often has a glorious display<br />

of cuddly conifers nestling by<br />

the porch in the autumn.”<br />

‘Golfball’ and bigger evergreens like Choisya ternata; but<br />

beware of cramming in too many blobby round shapes; just<br />

as too many cooks can spoil a pudding, too many puddings<br />

stuff up a border (or something along those lines).<br />

Viburnum davidii is a mid-border stalwart for a semishaded<br />

position, demurely handsome and saved from<br />

‘puddingdom’ by its dark green, lance-shaped leaves.<br />

Mahonia is a striking evergreen with aggressive looking<br />

serrated foliage and spectacular, highly scented flowers<br />

that bloom in winter, like a spiky burst of sunshine.<br />

Conifers have been much maligned, but are creeping back<br />

into fashion – and, despite what we hear, not all of them<br />

want to grow to be a hundred foot tall. There are all sorts of<br />

different shapes available that can provide interesting contrasts<br />

in texture and in foliage colour. Grow them in a border, or<br />

in containers – the house at Great Dixter often has a glorious<br />

display of cuddly conifers nestling by the porch in the autumn.<br />

‘Treelets’ and sub-shrubs<br />

A tree is generally considered to be a woody plant with a<br />

single stem, whereas a shrub has several and the leafy canopy<br />

is nearer the ground. We lump woody plants into categories,<br />

but some refuse to conform and teeter on the edges of<br />

the divides. At the boundary of trees and shrubs are what<br />

I think of as ‘treelets’, which often are arrived at through<br />

pruning – or the lack of. Some shrubs, if left unpruned, get<br />

delusions of grandeur and head for the skies, determined to<br />

become lofty trees. Many trees – silver birch, Amelanchier<br />

and Prunus serrula, for instance, are carefully pruned when<br />

young to have several stems, which shows off their lovely<br />

bark and keeps them a little lower than a single stemmed<br />

tree. Trees are adaptable to pruning – most hedge plants<br />

<br />

Opposite page: Conifers in containers at Great Dixter<br />

This page top: Cornus sanguinea ‘Midwinter Fire’<br />

Middle: Pittosporum Bottom: Sambucus nigra<br />

147 wealdentimes.co.uk


TRADITIONAL CRAFTSMANSHIP PRODUCING<br />

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wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

148<br />

PetalsForPlantsWT212.indd 1 09/09/<strong>2019</strong> PotsAndPithoi<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 10:45<br />

1 22/10/<strong>2019</strong> 09:49


Garden<br />

start life as sapling trees (Hawthorn, Beech, Yew, etc),<br />

but regular pruning turns them into neat bushes.<br />

Treelets are often more elegant than shrubs, but<br />

take up less space than an actual tree, so they can<br />

be used to good effect in smaller gardens or large<br />

borders. Before you remove an unsightly or overgrown<br />

shrub, look at its legs – and see whether the canopy<br />

can be raised to produce the ‘treelet’ effect.<br />

At the other end of the scale, there is a blurred line<br />

between leafy perennials and shrubs in a group of<br />

plants known as ‘sub-shrubs.’ These plants often have<br />

a partially woody framework, but are low growing<br />

and more perennial like in their habit – things like<br />

Perovskia (Russian Sage), Cistus and other greyleaved<br />

Mediterranean evergreens. They can be a little<br />

lax in habit and benefit from a fairly hard prune<br />

(depending on how hardy they are and when they<br />

flower) in spring to set them back on the right track.<br />

Winter wonders<br />

Evergreens are an obvious choice for winter interest,<br />

but surprisingly there are quite a few deciduous<br />

trees and shrubs to choose from, displaying either<br />

decorative bark, berries or even flowers. The bonus<br />

Right: spring foliage colour<br />

<br />

“There is a blurred line between leafy<br />

perennials and shrubs in a group of<br />

plants known as ‘sub-shrubs.’ These<br />

plants often have a partially woody<br />

framework, but are low growing and<br />

more perennial like in their habit.”<br />

We’ve got designs<br />

on your garden<br />

Tradi'onal or contemporary, large or small, the team at Gardenproud<br />

can help you create a garden you’ll be proud of. Established 2007,<br />

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Excellent range and service.<br />

If you are planning a new garden then contact Tim Sykes on<br />

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HIGH STREET, STROOD<br />

ROCHESTER, KENT ME2 4DR<br />

Est 1909<br />

Tel: 01634 290033<br />

For further information visit : www.passmores.co.uk<br />

149 wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

GardenproudWT211.indd 1 21/08/<strong>2019</strong> PassmoresWT171.indd 12:32<br />

1 11/04/2016 10:53


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CheekyMonkeyS40.indd 1 25/01/2018 CityEscapesWT204.indd 15:42<br />

1 24/01/<strong>2019</strong> 10:40<br />

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wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

150<br />

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Garden<br />

of winter flowers is that they’re usually scented. Good<br />

deciduous winter shrubs include: Viburnum bodnantense<br />

‘Dawn’, Chimonanthes praecox (Winter sweet), Lonicera<br />

fragrantissima, Hamamellis (witch hazel).The RHS garden<br />

Wisley in Surrey – open all year (except Christmas day)<br />

is a great place to visit for out of season inspiration.<br />

They have a wonderful winter walk (near to the tea<br />

room – essential part of any winter walk), where you can<br />

experience the joys of winter plants all in one place.<br />

It’s hard to play a supporting role; outshone by the<br />

flowery divas in the summer, propping up lax companions<br />

and generally being taken for granted, but when the fairweather<br />

plants have given up and gone to ground, these<br />

unsung plants can finally have their moment in the sun<br />

(or shade). Reliable, stalwart and quietly beautiful, well<br />

chosen structural shrubs will be an investment – and this<br />

is the perfect time to plant them – or plant some more.<br />

Join Jo in her garden in Woodchurch for<br />

gardening courses starting in March 2020<br />

01233 861149 hornbrookmanor.co.uk<br />

5<br />

good<br />

structural<br />

plants<br />

Evergreens provide a constant look and will<br />

ensure that the border looks good through the<br />

seasons, even in the depths of winter, but there are<br />

deciduous plants that look just as good naked…<br />

Box – this is excellent for adding formality and<br />

evergreen interest. Create low hedges, topiary<br />

shapes and focal points – however, beware box<br />

blight and box tree caterpillar, which is now<br />

rife in London and surrounding areas.<br />

Euphorbia ‘Wolfennii’ – an architectural plant<br />

with handsome,grey/green foliage in winter<br />

and long lasting lime green bracts in spring.<br />

Miscanthus sinensis – a tall grass with attractive<br />

seedbeds that will persist all through the winter.<br />

Grosses are a good alternative to ‘blobby’<br />

shrubs and bring movement to a border.<br />

Osmanthus – small leaved evergreen with tiny<br />

scented flowers in spring. It can be trimmed to a neat<br />

shape to make a dark backdrop for other plants.<br />

Cornus alba ‘Elegantissima’ – this dogwood has<br />

pretty variegated foliage, good autumn colour<br />

and once the leaves have fallen, dark red stems<br />

on the young growth all through winter.<br />

Top: Choisya ternata ‘Sundance’ as a hedge<br />

Left: Spiraea ‘Goldflame’<br />

151 wealdentimes.co.uk


Magic Mushrooms<br />

Sue Whigham explores the wonderfully<br />

varied world of fungi<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

152


Garden<br />

We’ve got a fast growing and rather beautiful quaking<br />

aspen behind the pond; its nooks and crannies<br />

providing a nesting site year after year to a pair<br />

of starlings. Unfortunately, the crows got wind of this some<br />

years ago and now, if you ever see us waving our arms and<br />

shouting ineffectually in the garden, you’ll know why. The<br />

crows always win but the starlings don’t give up. They’ll return<br />

next year to start all over again. This tree has now become<br />

two ‘grown up’ trees with its offspring in an adjoining field<br />

seemingly catching up with its parent. And each year we have<br />

umpteen offshoots popping up where they are not wanted,<br />

which are obviously growing up from their parent’s root stock.<br />

However, this is nothing compared to one of the two<br />

biggest phenomena to be found in the world. The first<br />

is Panda (meaning ‘I spread’), which is to be found<br />

at Fish Lake, Utah, where 47,000 aspens are attached<br />

to one single root system. How extraordinary.<br />

But the other even more mind blowing natural organism<br />

is called the Humongous Fungi. It lives underground in the<br />

Malheur National Forest in Oregon and covers<br />

nearly four square miles. And the only sign of<br />

it is acre upon acre of dead and dying trees in<br />

the area. This is Armillaria ostoyae, a form of<br />

honey fungus; parasitic, it sucks the nutrients<br />

from its prey so that it becomes impossible for<br />

the tree to access water. However, there’s a lot of<br />

useful research going into fungi biology using<br />

material from this site in the labs of the National<br />

History Museum of Utah and which has already<br />

led to the discovery of ‘originally unknown<br />

medical compounds and the development of<br />

ideas for mitigating pathogens in food crops’.<br />

Finding honey fungus in your own garden<br />

“Pesticides are<br />

toxic to beneficial<br />

fungi in the soil<br />

and upset the<br />

balance of soil.<br />

Once a plant has<br />

the honey fungus<br />

really not a lot<br />

can be done”<br />

need not be the disaster you first think it might be as there<br />

are six species of which only two will damage living plants.<br />

You’ll recognise it by the fungal mycelium,<br />

which comes up at the base of trees and<br />

smells strongly of mushrooms. You may see<br />

thin strands that look a bit like bootlaces<br />

but are the fungus rhizomorphs. But, just to<br />

confuse things, the least harmful armillarias<br />

produce the most rhizomorphs so it may be<br />

quite difficult to identify the fungi at first.<br />

Don’t worry, the tree or plant will let you<br />

know in advance whether it has been attacked<br />

because its last flowering or fruiting season<br />

will be either particularly floriferous or have<br />

an unusually heavy crop. One last attempt<br />

to reproduce before its untimely death. So<br />

a seemingly healthy plant which has these symptoms is<br />

most likely to have fallen victim to this particular fungus.<br />

However, the armillaria has its good points as it recycles<br />

nutrients in dead wood making it easier for insects to return<br />

them to the soil. So as the nutrients are returned to the soil,<br />

new seedlings can take advantage of improved conditions.<br />

It used to be that copious amounts of a product called<br />

Armillatox was used as a drench to stop honey fungus in<br />

its tracks but it was banned in the early 2000s. The<br />

<br />

Main image: Honey fungus Below: Amanita muscaria<br />

Above: Fungi in the garden at Castel Gandolfo, the Pope’s<br />

summer residence Left: Fungi on oak<br />

153 wealdentimes.co.uk


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154<br />

WCLandcraftWT209.indd 1 17/06/<strong>2019</strong> 14:46


Garden<br />

Right: Laetiporus sulphureus<br />

manufacturers retained the formula and changed the labelling<br />

and it is now sold as Armillatox soap-based outdoor cleaner<br />

to avoid pesticide regulations. However, pesticides are toxic to<br />

beneficial fungi in the soil and upset the balance of soil. Once<br />

a plant has the honey fungus really not a lot can be done but<br />

improving the health of your soil, and reducing disturbance to<br />

its structure by not constantly cultivating it, goes a long way<br />

to reduce any spread. A No Dig regime has many advantages,<br />

one of course involves reducing strain to your own back,<br />

but adding a good mulch will help towards establishing a<br />

good soil balance and increasing the ‘good’ fungi. This is not<br />

to say that this won’t stop the spread of honey fungus but<br />

fungus fights fungus in the most natural way. If your garden<br />

has honey fungus there are many species that you can use to<br />

replant with without fear of infection, including hornbeam,<br />

beech, holly, hawthorn, oak, lime and yews, so all is not lost.<br />

There are three groups of fungi which are distinguished<br />

by their method of feeding. One of the ‘good’ fungi is the<br />

symbiotic or mycorrhizal fungi which live in the roots of<br />

living plants. It is fascinating to read how, in return for <br />

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TraditionalVerandahCo<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 08/10/<strong>2019</strong> 14:40


Garden<br />

Bottom left: Powdery mildew on courgettes. Top right:<br />

Many zoned polypore fungus in the wood. Middle right:<br />

Cep and truffles at Menton market. Photo taken by<br />

Caroline Brennan. Bottom right: Amanita muscaria<br />

access to carbohydrate stores, the mycorrhizal fungus<br />

will benefit the trees/plants to absorb minerals and water<br />

with its absorbent mycelium (a network of fine white<br />

filaments) expanding the root system of the host plants.<br />

Some fungi are species specific like Fly Agaric (Amanita<br />

muscaria) which is associated with silver birch (Betula<br />

pendula). This fungi is the stuff of fairy tales and children’s<br />

books with its bright red cap. I have to say that I don’t think<br />

that I have ever seen one, neither have I spotted the bright<br />

orange/yellow Chicken of the Woods (Laetiporus sulphureus)<br />

which, unlike the Fly Agaric which is definitely not, is<br />

edible. That’s probably because Fly Agaric fungi tend to be<br />

found in mixed woodlands and heaths growing on a light,<br />

well-drained soil amongst birch and evergreens, such as<br />

spruce and pines, rather than on our heavy <strong>Wealden</strong> clay.<br />

Wandering around the dried out woods near home<br />

earlier in the week in the forlorn hope of spotting some<br />

handsome fungi I met a runner who was holidaying<br />

from lovely Derbyshire. He was telling me that it has<br />

been a very wet summer for them unlike us in the<br />

parched South East and that there is plenty of Chicken<br />

of the Woods on their oak trees up there. He also said<br />

that their trees had made noticeable growth spurts.<br />

And a couple of days later, walking this time in Dulwich<br />

Park in London (oh, there are some spectacular trees in<br />

that park. Particularly wondrous is a giant Turkey Oak,<br />

Quercus cerris, with its branches coming down around<br />

it just like a massive skirt), we spotted a fenced off area<br />

where the information board boasted pictures of this<br />

particular bracket fungus. I wondered if they would<br />

have minded us cutting off a bit of one to fry up with<br />

a little garlic, oil and butter when we got home…<br />

“Fly Agaric fungi tend to be<br />

found in mixed woodlands<br />

and heaths growing on a light,<br />

well-drained soil amongst<br />

birch and evergreens”<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

156


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KentCollegeCanterbury<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 22/10/<strong>2019</strong> 13:02


Dulwich Inspires<br />

We look to ignite each child’s curiosity,<br />

reveal hidden talents and ensure<br />

all our children fulfil their<br />

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Open Morning<br />

Friday 11th October<br />

dulwichprepcranbrook.org


Education<br />

Learn to Play<br />

Hilary Wilce emphasises the importance of<br />

self-directed play to develop growing minds<br />

Recently, I’ve been spending a lot of time with the<br />

under-fives – and they are amazing! Every moment<br />

of their lives is an adventure, and they are without<br />

a doubt the fastest learners on the planet. In just a handful<br />

of months they go from being tiny human grubs unable<br />

to do anything very much, to complicated human beings<br />

able to run and climb, talk and laugh, make friends, have<br />

preferences, read letters, follow stories, build and make things,<br />

and express their feelings (sometimes too forcefully!).<br />

And how do they do this? Not by being taught, but<br />

through play. Which we adults hardly notice. We walk a<br />

two-year-old to the park and watch with half an eye on them<br />

and half an eye on our phone while they climb the baby<br />

slide and slither down. But what is going<br />

on for them as they do this is enormous<br />

In those few brief moments a child gains<br />

heaps of new knowledge about what their<br />

body can do, how to behave around other<br />

children, how the world looks different from<br />

changed viewpoints, and how to conquer fear.<br />

Multiply that by all the minutes of their lives<br />

and you can see how learning builds up fast.<br />

But playing is really hard work. It takes so<br />

much time and energy, there has to be a precise<br />

developmental reason for it. Neuroscientists<br />

now know that playing switches hundreds of genes on and<br />

off, changing the neural connections at the front end of our<br />

brains, so that social, motor and thinking skills are developed.<br />

Play teaches us to regulate emotions, make plans and solve<br />

problems, and in that way get ready for life, love and learning.<br />

On the other hand, not playing is highly damaging.<br />

Back in the 1960s, an American medical researcher, Stuart<br />

Brown, studied the histories of 26 murderers and found<br />

“The kind of play<br />

that matters most<br />

is self-directed<br />

and self-regulated.<br />

It’s imaginary,<br />

co-operative and<br />

free-flowing”<br />

that normal play was absent in all their childhoods. He<br />

then studied 6,000 other people and found a complete<br />

correlation between violent, abusive behaviour and the lack<br />

of a playful childhood. Other studies have showed similar<br />

patterns, and also shown that the more children play when<br />

they are little, the better they tend to do in school.<br />

However, the kind of play that matters most is selfdirected<br />

and self-regulated. It’s imaginary, co-operative and<br />

free-flowing, and helps children to learn about taking turns,<br />

working together, playing fair and not hurting other people.<br />

And that means there is something of a play crisis going<br />

on in modern life because, while in the past children<br />

invented their own games out in the fields and streets, with<br />

the tiny ones tagging along behind, today’s<br />

little children spend much of their time in<br />

organised pre-school settings, or at home in<br />

front of a screen. Free play, when it happens,<br />

is done through playdates and sleepovers,<br />

which grown-ups set up, while there is also a<br />

growing range of organised pre-school activities<br />

available so children don’t ‘get bored’.<br />

This has been going on for decades and<br />

there is now speculation that this lack of<br />

free-range play in the early years may be a<br />

major cause of all the anxiety, depression<br />

and self-harm showing up in today’s teenagers.<br />

So what can we do? Make sure our children get to play freely<br />

both alone, and with friends and siblings. Avoid fussing and<br />

hovering, or constantly praising how well they are playing, or<br />

making suggestions about how they could play better. Turn off<br />

the screens, and be sparing with the baby yoga classes, and the<br />

organised art sessions. Tiny children don’t need to be taught<br />

how to learn. They just need space to do it for themselves.<br />

159 wealdentimes.co.uk


create<br />

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9th <strong>November</strong> <strong>2019</strong><br />

OPEN MORNING<br />

1st February 2020<br />

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admissions@bethanyschool.org.uk<br />

01580 211273<br />

CURTISDEN GREEN, GOUDHURST, KENT, TN17 1LB<br />

Co-ed day<br />

and boarding<br />

Ask about<br />

scholarships<br />

and bursaries<br />

Many minibus<br />

routes offered<br />

See website<br />

for details


Be all you can be<br />

Sixth Form<br />

Open Evening<br />

Wednesday 13<br />

<strong>November</strong>, 6.30pm<br />

Students and parents are invited<br />

to find out more about life in the<br />

Sixth Form at St Edmund’s.<br />

• Excellent exam results<br />

• First rate pastoral care<br />

• Dynamic co-curricular programme<br />

• Individually tailored university & careers advice<br />

Book online: www.stedmunds.org.uk<br />

email: admissions@stedmunds.org.uk<br />

Tel: 01227 475601<br />

SED_OpenDay_SixthForm_<strong>Wealden</strong>_185x130_v1.indd 1 04/10/<strong>2019</strong> 13:46<br />

StEdmunds<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 07/10/<strong>2019</strong> 11:49<br />

Sutton Valence<br />

Preparatory School<br />

svs.org.uk<br />

The only independent<br />

school in Kent to hold<br />

the Quality Mark<br />

for Early Years<br />

education<br />

Quality Mark<br />

EARLY YEARS<br />

AWARD<br />

Nursery and Reception<br />

open for visits 9 -10am every<br />

Wednesday from 6th <strong>November</strong><br />

Please contact Abigail Betts to book<br />

T: 01622 842117 | E: bettsa@svs.org.uk<br />

161 wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

SuttonValence<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 21/10/<strong>2019</strong> 17:00


‘A great place to grow’<br />

for boys and girls<br />

Open Events<br />

<strong>2019</strong>-20<br />

Open House<br />

Friday 22 <strong>November</strong><br />

9.30am-12pm<br />

REMEMBERING THE FEW;<br />

HONOURING THE MANY<br />

Open Morning<br />

Saturday 7 March<br />

9.30am-12pm<br />

Scholarships<br />

available for<br />

September 2020 entry<br />

Come and visit!<br />

www.springgroveschool.co.uk<br />

01233 812337 · Wye, near Ashford, Kent<br />

Visit a living legacy, dedicated to<br />

the men and women who lived<br />

and served there, whose resilience made<br />

Biggin Hill Churchill’s ‘strongest link’.<br />

www.bhmm.org.uk<br />

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1 24/10/<strong>2019</strong> 10:51<br />

For boys and girls aged 2 to 13<br />

Open<br />

Morning<br />

Tuesday 12<br />

<strong>November</strong><br />

9:30am-<br />

11:30am<br />

For full details and to<br />

book your place, visit:<br />

www.skippershill.com/visit<br />

☎ 01825 830 234<br />

www.skippershill.com<br />

Five Ashes, Mayfield, East Sussex, TN20 6HR<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

162<br />

SkippersHill<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 22/10/<strong>2019</strong> 13:00


Mayfi eld<br />

AN INDEPENDENT DAY AND BOARDING SCHOOL FOR GIRLS AGED 11 TO 18<br />

Image by David Merewether<br />

MAYFIELD SCHOOL CERAMICS MASTERCLASS<br />

SATURDAY 7 TH DECEMBER <strong>2019</strong><br />

Mayfield School has a long history<br />

of excellence in the creative arts,<br />

with a broad subject offering in<br />

art, ceramics and textiles at GCSE<br />

and A Level. Each year the School<br />

hosts its acclaimed Creative Arts<br />

Exhibition, featuring the high<br />

quality work created by students.<br />

Girls achieve exceptional results,<br />

which have included the highest<br />

national marks and perfect scores<br />

at A Level: this year, 100% of girls<br />

studying A Level Ceramics achieved<br />

all A*/A grades, with almost two<br />

thirds awarded the top A* grade.<br />

Mayfield’s Head of Ceramics,<br />

Mr Tim Rees-Moorlah, will be<br />

hosting a Creative Arts Masterclass<br />

at the School on Saturday 7 th<br />

December <strong>2019</strong> from 10am to 1pm.<br />

The masterclass is designed for<br />

girls in Years 10 and 11 who are<br />

not currently studying at Mayfield,<br />

have a keen interest in the creative<br />

arts and are considering taking<br />

art, ceramics, textiles, or design<br />

at A Level. Places (which are<br />

complimentary) are limited, so<br />

we encourage early booking<br />

to avoid disappointment.<br />

To reserve a place or find out more<br />

about the masterclass, please<br />

contact Mrs Shirley Coppard at<br />

registrar@mayfieldgirls.org<br />

Ceramics Masterclass<br />

SATURDAY 7 TH DECEMBER, 10:00 – 13:00<br />

WITH MR TIM REES-MOORLAH, HEAD OF CERAMICS<br />

TO RESERVE A PLACE ON THE CERAMICS MASTERCLASS PLEASE<br />

CONTACT, MRS SHIRLEY COPPARD, REGISTRAR@MAYFIELDGIRLS.ORG


on Wedne<br />

EYFS Leader, Suzanne Decker,<br />

ing dates:<br />

arly Years Garden Play Space<br />

m to 6.30pm<br />

A School Full<br />

of Opportunities<br />

Grandparents’ SCHOLARSHIP Day APPLICATIONS:<br />

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APPLY NOW FOR SEPTEMBER 2020 ENTRY<br />

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VinehallSchool<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 22/10/<strong>2019</strong> 10:09<br />

13 Nove<br />

Where children come first!<br />

Where children come first!<br />

School tours for prospective Reception parents for admission September 2020<br />

School tours for prospective Reception parents for admission September 2020<br />

Ofsted rates our Early Years Provision as “GOOD” and strength of the school<br />

Ofsted rates our Early Years Provision as “GOOD” and a strength of the school<br />

Tours will take place with the Headteacher, Lucy Davenport, and the EYFS Leader, Suzanne Decker,<br />

Tours will take place with the Headteacher, Lucy Davenport, and the EYFS Leader, Suzanne Decker,<br />

on Wednesday mornings at 9.30am on the following dates:<br />

on Wednesday mornings at 9.30am on the following dates:<br />

13 13 <strong>November</strong> and 20 <strong>November</strong> <strong>2019</strong><br />

We are delighted to invite prospective parents to visit our wonderful school. During the tour you will<br />

We are delighted to invite prospective parents to visit our wonderful school. During the tour you will<br />

have<br />

have<br />

the<br />

the<br />

chance<br />

chance<br />

to:<br />

have the chance to:<br />

to:<br />

●<br />

● see<br />

see the<br />

the classes<br />

classes in<br />

in action<br />

action ● meet<br />

meet our<br />

our teachers<br />

teachers ● see see<br />

the the<br />

fabulous fabulous<br />

Early Early<br />

Years Years<br />

Garden<br />

Garden Play<br />

Play Space<br />

Space<br />

●<br />

ask ask<br />

us us<br />

about about<br />

our wrap wrap<br />

wrap around around<br />

around care<br />

care<br />

service service<br />

from from from<br />

7.30am 7.30am<br />

to to 6.30pm<br />

to 6.30pm<br />

Booking Booking is is required, required, please please call call the the school school office on on 01580 891765 or or email email office@staplehurst.kent.sch.uk.<br />

Online Online applications applications for for Reception Reception 2020 2020 must must be be submitted by by the the deadline deadline Wednesday Wednesday 15 15 January January2020.<br />

2020.<br />

HOOL<br />

e first!<br />

have the chance to:<br />

● ask us abou<br />

action ●<br />

in classes the see ●<br />

Online applications for Re<br />

Tours will take place with the<br />

School tours for prospec<br />

Ofsted rates our Early Y<br />

We are delighted to invite pros<br />

Booking is required, please call the<br />

ission September 2020<br />

ffice@staplehurst.kent.sch.uk.<br />

er <strong>2019</strong><br />

chool. During the tour you will<br />

dnesday 15 January 2020.<br />

a strength of the school<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

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BEECHWOOD<br />

SACRED HEART SCHOOL<br />

Join us for our<br />

OPEN DAY<br />

Tuesday 5th<br />

<strong>November</strong> <strong>2019</strong><br />

9.30am-12.30pm<br />

INDEPENDENT CO-EDUCATIONAL PRE-PREP, PREP & SENIOR SCHOOL<br />

discover<br />

BEECHWOOD<br />

discover<br />

adventure<br />

www.beechwood.org.uk<br />

12 Pembury Road, Tunbridge Wells, Kent TN2 3QD T: 01892 532747 E: registrar@beechwood.org.uk


THE<br />

NOVEMBER<br />

ART & GIFT<br />

SHOW<br />

<strong>2019</strong><br />

Christmas with the Rat Pack<br />

Sun 1 Dec<br />

VENUE:<br />

DATE:<br />

Find us on Facebook<br />

16 - 24<br />

NOVEMBER<br />

10am - 4pm daily<br />

Powdermills Hotel<br />

Powdermill Lane<br />

Battle TN33 0SP<br />

@<strong>November</strong>ArtShow<br />

NickyFreeman<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 10/10/<strong>2019</strong> 11:38<br />

Powerhouse Gospel Choir<br />

Fri 6 Dec<br />

The Johnny Cash Roadshow<br />

Sat 7 Dec<br />

Book online:<br />

whiterocktheatre.org.uk<br />

Ticket Office: 01424 462288<br />

White Rock, Hastings TN34 1JX<br />

WhiteRockTheatre<br />

@The_White_Rock<br />

@white_rock_theatre<br />

Sat 23 Nov & Sun 24 Nov<br />

11am to 4pm * Stade Open Space * £1<br />

visit1066country.com/fishfestivals<br />

Sunday Jazz Breakfast with Mike Hatchard and friends<br />

Tickets £13/£10 – available from the Tourist Information Centre<br />

except<br />

assist<br />

dogs<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

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Art<br />

Thu 7 – Sun 10 Nov & Sat 23<br />

& Sat 30 Nov 12 noon-5pm<br />

Up the Garden Studio,<br />

Green Lane, Boughton<br />

Monchelsea, Kent ME174LF<br />

Graham Clarke<br />

Studio Open Days<br />

Our favourite artist/author/<br />

illustrator/humourist. Graham<br />

Clarke is famous for his comedic<br />

take on British culture and his<br />

works will make a delightful gift<br />

for those with a sense of humour or<br />

interest in local and British history.<br />

This month he opens the doors of<br />

his charming Up the Garden Studio,<br />

and now is a great time to visit<br />

as it has just been restocked with<br />

his latest etchings, new greetings<br />

cards, and some rare availability<br />

books and etchings which will<br />

be very exciting for collectors.<br />

01622 743938 /<br />

wendy@grahamclarke.co.uk /<br />

grahamclarke.co.uk<br />

Sat 19 Oct - Sun 5 Jan<br />

Hastings Contemporary,<br />

Rock-a-Nore Road, Hastings<br />

Old Town TN34 3DW<br />

Quentin Blake:<br />

Feet in water<br />

Hastings Contemporary’s Artist<br />

Patron and internationally<br />

celebrated artist and illustrator,<br />

Quentin Blake’s latest installment<br />

in an ongoing series created for<br />

the gallery. It is full of enchanting<br />

creations and characters just like<br />

those you have seen in books<br />

by David Walliams, Joan Aiken<br />

and, of course, Roald Dahl.<br />

hastingscontemporary.org<br />

Christmas<br />

Fri 15 Nov – Sun 5 Jan<br />

Calverley Grounds, Mountfield<br />

Gardens, Tunbridge<br />

Wells, Kent TN1 1SJ<br />

SKATE Tunbridge Wells<br />

This month Calverley Grounds will<br />

be transformed into the ultimate<br />

winter destination, with stylish<br />

skating, festive food and drink,<br />

music and lots of Christmas spirit.<br />

This year there will be the addition<br />

of a second ‘tiny tots’ ice rink, which<br />

will also have Bavarian Curling from<br />

6pm. Plus there will be storytelling<br />

workshops, live music events, Carolokie,<br />

wreath making workshops<br />

and local choir performances on<br />

Sundays. Apple & Cor! will be<br />

running the Coffee Shop and<br />

The Polar Bar running the Bar in<br />

Calverley Grounds this year; offering<br />

a wide selection of drinks, cakes,<br />

snacks, entertainment and more.<br />

Entry: Adults from £12.50,<br />

children from £8<br />

tunbridgewellsatchristmas.com<br />

/ assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk<br />

Thu 28 Nov 7.30pm<br />

Trinity Theatre, Church Road,<br />

Tunbridge Wells Kent TN1 1JP<br />

A Christmas Carol<br />

Charles Dickens enacted A<br />

Christmas Carol over 150 times,<br />

and the effect on the public was<br />

phenomenal. Now actor John<br />

O’Connor delightfully recreates<br />

Dickens’ famous performance<br />

of his best loved ghost story. A<br />

seasonal treat in the spirit of<br />

Christmas past, present and future.<br />

trinitytheatre.net<br />

Festivals & Fairs<br />

Sun 17 Nov 11am – 3pm<br />

The Bell Inn, High Street,<br />

Ticehurst, East Sussex, TN5 7AS<br />

Frost Fair<br />

Frost Fairs appeared in London<br />

when the Thames froze over and<br />

everyone came out to share and<br />

sell their produce in a collective<br />

effort to help each other out.<br />

In the spirit of helping local<br />

artisans, The Bell hosts its own<br />

Frost Fair, with stalls <strong>inside</strong> and<br />

out laden with food and gifts<br />

for a wonderful Christmas.<br />

Entry: free<br />

01580 200300 /<br />

thebellinticehurst.com<br />

Sat 16 Nov 10am-4.30 pm<br />

Clair Hall, Perrymount Road,<br />

Haywards Heath RH16 3DN<br />

Sussex Mineral<br />

and Fossil Show<br />

Stunning displays of minerals and<br />

fossils, an ultraviolet minerals<br />

room and excellent activities<br />

for children, including gold<br />

What’s On in <strong>November</strong><br />

panning for real gold, searching<br />

for crystals and fossils. Talks<br />

including ‘Sussex Dinosaurs’.<br />

£2.50 adults, 50p children<br />

Music<br />

Sun 10 Nov 3pm<br />

Assembly Hall Theatre,<br />

Tunbridge Wells, TN1 2LU<br />

Royal Tunbridge Wells<br />

Choral Society<br />

In memory of their vice<br />

president Derek Watmough,<br />

the choir will perform Haydn’s<br />

The Creation. The choir and<br />

orchestra will be conducted by<br />

Robyn Sevastos and the soloists<br />

will be Stefanie Kemball-Read,<br />

Greg Tassell and Peter Grevatt.<br />

Tickets available from Assembly<br />

Hall box office (booking fee<br />

applies) by phone or online.<br />

Entry: from £10.<br />

01892 522587 (info) / 01892<br />

530613 (tickets)<br />

tickets@rtwcs.org.uk /<br />

assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk<br />

Sat 16 Nov 7.30<br />

St George’s Church,<br />

Gravesend, DA11 0DJ<br />

Rutter Mass of the<br />

Children & Blackford<br />

Mirror of Perfection<br />

An evening of glorious choir<br />

music. Gravesham choral society<br />

will perform Rutter’s delightfully<br />

captivating piece written to<br />

include extensive sections<br />

for children’s choir alongside<br />

an adult chorus, professional<br />

soloists and orchestra, as well<br />

as Blackford’s powerful cantata<br />

of great lyrical beauty.<br />

Entry: £12, students £5<br />

01474 816684 / graveshamcs.co.uk<br />

Sun 17 Nov at 2.30pm<br />

Groves Hall, Sutton Valence<br />

School, North Street, Sutton<br />

Valence, Maidstone ME17 3HL<br />

Sutton Valence<br />

Music Society<br />

International piano player,<br />

Simon Callaghan has performed<br />

in major concert halls, such<br />

as Wigmore Hall and Royal<br />

Festival Hall, and now comes to<br />

Sutton Valence. His programme<br />

will include Beethoven,<br />

Schubert and Schumann.<br />

Entry: £12.50 at door<br />

including afternoon tea<br />

01622 843325<br />

Shopping<br />

From Thu 7 Nov<br />

McArthur Glen Designer<br />

Outlet, Kimberley Way,<br />

Ashford, Kent TN24 0SD<br />

THE GARDEN OF LIGHT at<br />

MCARTHUR GLEN<br />

DESIGNER OUTLET<br />

ASHFORD<br />

In tribute to Kent’s 400-year<br />

status as the Garden of England,<br />

McArthur Glen’s Ashford Designer<br />

Outlet has commissioned a<br />

spectacular immersive installation<br />

called The Garden of Light. The<br />

walkthrough installation has<br />

been designed to stimulate the<br />

senses and encourage guests to<br />

reflect on their connection with<br />

nature. Plus new stores have<br />

been popping up including Ugg,<br />

Krieder and Krispy Kreme.<br />

Entry: Free<br />

mcarthurglen.com<br />

Thu 14 - Sat 16 Nov<br />

The Hop Farm, Paddock<br />

Wood, Tonbridge TN12 6PY<br />

<strong>Wealden</strong> <strong>Times</strong><br />

Midwinter Fair<br />

Beneath the canopies of tented<br />

winter wonderland we will have<br />

over 250 exhibitors to explore,<br />

and not to brag but this one<br />

really has it all going on. We will<br />

have friendly and familiar faces<br />

like Cashara and Aga, as well as<br />

exciting newcomers including<br />

Cocoloco Chocolates and In<br />

the Country. Look out for local<br />

heroes such as Graham Clarke and<br />

Huutt, and international stars,<br />

Kitty Clogs Sweden and Anna<br />

Craven-Saigon. Grab unique gifts<br />

you won’t find on the high street,<br />

taste a few free samples, browse<br />

for ideas and enter a competition<br />

to win a luxury Fortnum<br />

& Mason hamper with our<br />

sponsor Burfields House Wealth<br />

Management. Finally, just enjoy<br />

our <strong>Wealden</strong> winter wonderland!<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

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167 wealdentimes.co.uk


Christmas at<br />

Bluebell Railway<br />

Enjoy Santa trains, festive feasts and<br />

luxurious dining trains this Christmas<br />

Festive Feast<br />

Catch a steam train from<br />

East Grinstead for a nostalgic<br />

ride to Sheffield Park. Enjoy a<br />

delicious Christmas lunch<br />

with all the trimmings in the<br />

Bessemer Arms. Relax on the<br />

train for your journey home.<br />

Carvery<br />

Visit Sheffield Park Station for a<br />

Christmas carvery across the<br />

seasonal period. Giving you the<br />

chance to enjoy a roast at the<br />

heritage railway as part of your<br />

Christmas festivities.<br />

Santa Specials<br />

Get into the festive spirit with a<br />

Very special family outing.<br />

Meet Santa, as he passes through<br />

the train with gifts for the children<br />

and spend time at the traditional<br />

Christmas fairground at<br />

Horsted Keynes Station.<br />

www.bluebell-railway.com<br />

01825 720800<br />

Michelham Priory<br />

House & Gardens<br />

Christmas Craft & <strong>Gift</strong> Fair<br />

Sat 9 th & Sun 10 th <strong>November</strong><br />

Festive fun with stalls, decorations, music<br />

& Father Christmas in this historic setting.<br />

Foraging for Flavour<br />

Workshop, 22 nd <strong>November</strong><br />

Discover forgotten foraged foods, make<br />

samples of flavoured gins, learn the<br />

unusual use of conkers and other foraged<br />

plants. Booking required.<br />

Christmas at the Priory<br />

30 th Nov,1 st , 7 th , 8 th 14 th & 15 th Dec<br />

Enjoy some hearty fare, music &<br />

activities. Christmas through the ages.<br />

Wreath Making Workshops<br />

Festive - 4 th December<br />

Willow - 7 th December<br />

Booking required, see website for details.<br />

Christmas in the Courtyard<br />

5 th December, 6.30pm to 10pm<br />

Carols, festive refreshments, discounted<br />

shopping & 2-course Christmas dinner in<br />

our Elizabethan barn. Booking required.<br />

Call us: 01323 844224<br />

Upper Dicker, Nr Hailsham<br />

East Sussex, BN27 3QS.<br />

www.sussexpast.co.uk<br />

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SNO<br />

HE<br />

W<br />

Trinity Theatre<br />

presents<br />

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Christmas at Trinity Theatre!<br />

A Christmas Carol<br />

Thursday 28th <strong>November</strong> · 7.30pm<br />

Actor John O’Connor recreates Dickens’<br />

famous performance of his best loved ghost<br />

story. Enjoy a seasonal treat in the spirit of<br />

Christmas past, present and future.<br />

Tickets from £14<br />

ROH Live: The Nutcracker<br />

Tuesday 17th December · 7.15pm · Recording<br />

Tchaikovsky’s glittering score, the gorgeous<br />

festive stage designs, and The Royal Ballet’s<br />

captivating dancing make this Nutcracker the<br />

quintessential Christmas experience.<br />

Tickets from £15<br />

ROH Live: Coppélia<br />

Sunday 15th December · 6.30pm · Recording<br />

The charming and funny Coppélia, a story<br />

of love, mischief and mechanical dolls.<br />

Osbert Lancaster’s designs bring a colourful<br />

storybook world to life in this Christmas treat.<br />

Tickets from £15<br />

by Theresa Heskins<br />

Directed by Kezia Cole<br />

Thu 12 Dec – Tue 31 Dec<br />

Box Office · 01892 678 678 · trinitytheatre.net<br />

Richard Durrant’s Candlelit<br />

Christmas Concert<br />

Thursday 19th December · 8pm<br />

Guitarist and composer Richard Durrant<br />

heralds the start of the Christmas season with<br />

a festive feast of acoustic Christmas music.<br />

Tickets from £15<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

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What’s On in <strong>November</strong><br />

Sat 16 Nov – Sun 15 Dec<br />

Silcocks Farm, Grange Road, St.<br />

Michaels, Tenterden TN30 6TL<br />

The Three French Hens<br />

The Three French Hens &<br />

Biddenden Christmas Trees will<br />

be together at Silcocks Organic<br />

Farm & Cafe from 10am until<br />

4pm daily except Sundays which<br />

will be 10am until 2pm, and it<br />

will be closed on Mondays.<br />

Sat 16 – Sun 24 Nov 10am-4pm<br />

Powdermills Hotel, Powdermill<br />

Lane, Battle TN33 0SP<br />

The <strong>November</strong> Art<br />

and <strong>Gift</strong> Show<br />

The key word with this show is<br />

variety. The art for sale comes<br />

from artists and makers working<br />

with everything from jewellery to<br />

paintings and explores subjects<br />

including wildlife, land and<br />

seascapes, flowers, and portraiture.<br />

Plus, with silver and gemstone<br />

jewellery, children’s books,<br />

textiles and greeting cards all<br />

for sale too it should help with<br />

gift shopping. The Powdermills<br />

Hotel and Orangery Restaurant<br />

will be open to visitors to the<br />

show and the wonderful hotel<br />

also has some beautiful walks.<br />

07580 388877<br />

Sat 23 Nov 10am-4pm<br />

Chiddingstone Castle, Hill<br />

Hoath Road, Chiddingstone,<br />

Edenbridge, Kent TN8 7AD<br />

Chiddingstone Castle’s<br />

Christmas Fair<br />

A fantastic shopping opportunity<br />

where local businesses and artisans<br />

will be offering a delightful<br />

selection of Christmas gifts,<br />

decorations and food and drink<br />

from over 70 stalls from <strong>inside</strong><br />

the Castle and in the large,<br />

heated marquee in the Castle<br />

grounds. All proceeds help care<br />

for the castle and collections.<br />

Entry: £7 (tickets sold on the door)<br />

01892 870347 /<br />

chiddingstonecastle.org.uk<br />

Sat 23 – Sun 24 Nov<br />

10am-4pm<br />

Falcons Room, Rare Breeds<br />

Centre, Woodchurch,<br />

Kent TN26 3RJ<br />

CHRISTMAS GIFT MARKET<br />

A market filled with gifts and<br />

crafts for you, your family and<br />

your home. Locally made goats’<br />

milk soap; cards and gifts from the<br />

craft gallery; decorations, jewellery,<br />

books, toys and accessories.<br />

Raising funds for Canterbury<br />

Oast Trust, a charity that supports<br />

adults with a learning disability.<br />

Entry: Free<br />

01233 732684 /<br />

hanlon1@btinternet.com<br />

Fri 29 Nov 4-8pm<br />

All Saints Hall, All Saints Street,<br />

Hastings Old Town TN34 3BP<br />

The Pop up Emporium<br />

These are great pop ups<br />

supporting local businesses and<br />

host a complete mixture of<br />

fashion, health and wellbeing,<br />

food and drink, art and jewellery,<br />

including the fabulous fashions<br />

of our very own Fashion Editor<br />

Kate Watts, whose re-loved<br />

clothing and accessories business,<br />

Déjà Vu is well worth a visit!<br />

Entry: Free<br />

Instagram@dejavu_reloved /<br />

katelizwatts.com / facebook.com/<br />

thepopupemporiumhastings<br />

Sat 30 Nov 10.30am-4pm<br />

St Mary’s Church, Chartham,<br />

Church Ln, Chartham,<br />

Canterbury, Kent CT4 7JW<br />

Magical Christmas<br />

Market<br />

With 14 wonderful stalls,<br />

a charming children’s choir<br />

and delectable cooking,<br />

this one is a lovely festive<br />

event for all the family.<br />

Entry: Free<br />

Workshops<br />

Fri 1 Nov 10.30-4pm<br />

Godinton House, Godinton<br />

Lane, Ashford, Kent TN23 3BP<br />

CERAMIC CHRISTMAS<br />

WREATH WORKSHOP<br />

FOR ALL ABILITIES<br />

Join Brenda Burgess for a fun, <br />

23rd NOVEMBER -<br />

1st JANUARY<br />

MEDIA PARTNERS<br />

Discover magical decorations at Leeds Castle every day<br />

and the Christmas Market on weekends only until 15th December<br />

LEEDS CASTLE | KENT<br />

leeds-castle.com/Christmas<br />

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ART<br />

CRANBROOK<br />

SHOW<br />

Thursday 7 NOVEMBER • 10 - 5<br />

Friday 8 • 10 - 7 & Saturday 9 • 10 - 5<br />

VESTRY HALL • Cranbrook • Kent • TN17 3HA<br />

Free entry and so much Art to enjoy<br />

www.cranbrookartshow.org.uk<br />

cranbrookartshow@gmail.com<br />

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What’s On in <strong>November</strong><br />

friendly and deeply informative<br />

seasonal treat. This sculpture<br />

workshop at beautiful Godinton<br />

House suits all abilities and<br />

will take a deep look at shapes<br />

from nature to inspire a ceramic<br />

wreath that can adorn your<br />

festive table for years to come.<br />

Plus Brenda’s wonderful hen<br />

wedding celebrations are well<br />

worth a look with beautiful<br />

locations available such as<br />

Walmer Castle (see website).<br />

Entry: £65<br />

brendaburgess@brendaburgessarts.<br />

co.uk / brendaburgessarts.co.uk<br />

Look Forward:<br />

December<br />

Sun 1 & Sun 15 Dec<br />

10am - 4pm<br />

One Warwick Park Hotel<br />

Tunbridge Wells, TN2 5TA<br />

Tunbridge Wells<br />

Christmas Fair<br />

Tunbridge Wells Autumn Fair<br />

is back and bigger than ever.<br />

Shop a handpicked selection<br />

of products from small<br />

businesses in Kent and East<br />

Sussex. Shop jewellery, candles,<br />

art, gifts, cards, homeware,<br />

bath products, ceramics,<br />

clothing and so much more.<br />

Entry: Free<br />

ukcraftfairs.com<br />

Fri 13 Dec<br />

Penshurst Place, Penshurst,<br />

Tonbridge, Kent TN11 8DG<br />

Murder at the Manor<br />

A festive murder mystery<br />

experience. In the magnificent<br />

medieval Baron’s Hall (the former<br />

domain of Henry VIII which<br />

you may recognise from Mary<br />

Queen of Scots), teams of friends<br />

or business colleagues will step<br />

back in time to 1932 to solve a<br />

murder most festive. Mingle with<br />

costumed characters over a glass<br />

of mulled wine around a roaring<br />

fire, but watch carefully – before<br />

long, one of the characters will<br />

be murdered and it will be down<br />

to the individual teams to review<br />

the evidence and decide who<br />

they think the murderer is.<br />

A three-course meal will be<br />

served in the Sunderland Room<br />

(a private historic room that is<br />

not normally open to visitors)<br />

over which guests can discuss<br />

and debate the evidence within<br />

their teams. After dinner, each<br />

table will be invited to reveal<br />

who they think is the murderer.<br />

Tickets are sold for a group<br />

size of eight or more guests.<br />

Entry: £75pp for groups of eight<br />

or more (includes a glass of mulled<br />

wine and a three-course meal)<br />

01892 870 307 /<br />

banqueting@penshurstplace.com /<br />

penshurstplace.com<br />

Sat 14 & Sun 15 Dec<br />

Garden Gems Garden Centre,<br />

Salts Farm, Rye TN31 7PA<br />

Garden Gems<br />

Christmas Fayre<br />

Visit Garden Gems Plant Nursery<br />

& Garden Centre for a Christmas<br />

Cracker next month with market<br />

stalls, carol singing, a free Santa’s<br />

grotto, and free colour-yourown<br />

decorations for kids.<br />

garden-gems.co.uk<br />

Listings are correct at time of<br />

going to press but may be subject<br />

to change. Readers are advised to<br />

check with venues before making<br />

arrangements. We can list your<br />

event in the next issue of <strong>Wealden</strong><br />

<strong>Times</strong> for only £15+VAT. Please<br />

supply up to 200 words that should<br />

include date, time, venue, contact<br />

for enquiries and any entry price<br />

to whatson@wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

or send with payment (cheques<br />

payable to Priceless Media Ltd.)<br />

to What’s On, <strong>Wealden</strong> <strong>Times</strong>,<br />

Kettle Chambers, 21 Stone Street,<br />

Cranbrook, Kent TN17 3HF.<br />

<strong>Wealden</strong> <strong>Times</strong> reserves the right<br />

to edit text to fit space allocated. If<br />

you would like your event listing<br />

to be accompanied by a full colour<br />

reproduction (42.5 x 62.5mm) of<br />

a poster or other pictorial image,<br />

the total charge will be £95+VAT.<br />

Deadline for the December<br />

issue is 9 <strong>November</strong> <strong>2019</strong>.<br />

Royal Tunbridge Wells Choral Society<br />

Presents<br />

The Creation<br />

Joseph Haydn<br />

© National Trust <strong>2019</strong>. Registered Charity no. 205846. Photography © National Trust Images<br />

Sunday 10th <strong>November</strong> <strong>2019</strong> at 3.00pm<br />

Assembly Hall Theatre, tunbridge Wells<br />

Royal Tunbridge Wells Choral Society with Orchestra<br />

Conducted by Robyn Sevastos<br />

Soloists: Stefanie Kemball-Read, Greg Tassell & Peter Grevatt<br />

Tickets: £10, £15, £18 & £22 (Children in full time education half price)<br />

Available through choir members, by phone: 01892 522587 or<br />

by email: tickets@rtwcs.org.uk<br />

and at the Assembly Hall Box Office (booking fee applies),<br />

by phone 01892 530613 or via www.assemblyhalltheatre.co.uk<br />

Winter beauty<br />

made at Sissinghurst Castle Garden<br />

2 <strong>November</strong> - 6 March; weekends only.<br />

Every weekend this winter, bare beauty and<br />

structure awaits. Explore the garden rooms<br />

to find inspiration around every corner.<br />

W W W.RTWCS.ORG .UK<br />

Registered charity number 273310<br />

@RTWChoralSoc<br />

These are the places that make us.<br />

nationaltrust.org.uk/sissinghurst-castle-garden<br />

171 wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

RoyalTunbridgeWellsChoralSoceity<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 01/10/<strong>2019</strong> 15:54 SissinghurstCastle<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 09/10/<strong>2019</strong> 15:10


WONKY WALTZ?<br />

LEARN TO BALLROOM DANCE<br />

Looking for classes for kids?<br />

We have a full range of children's Ballroom and Latin,<br />

Street Dance, Formation Dance available,<br />

and have a Contemporary Youth Choir and<br />

Musical Theatre and Acting Classes.<br />

Based at the Staplehurst Village Centre with classes<br />

available on Thursdays and Saturdays we offer a great<br />

introduction to the performing arts and a place for<br />

more experienced dancers, singers and actors.<br />

£3.50pp for one class, £3.00pp if you attend more<br />

than one class in the timetable<br />

<br />

Thursday 21st <strong>November</strong><br />

every day to Sunday<br />

1st December; 10am-4pm<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

<br />

PashleyManor<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 09/10/<strong>2019</strong> 14:48<br />

Adult Ballroom, Latin and Argentine Tango<br />

Our dance school based in Tenterden, Kent offers adult<br />

dance classes in Ballroom and Latin and Argentine<br />

Tango. Whether you're a beginner, an improver, coming<br />

back to dance or just think you'd like to give it a go,<br />

we have a range of classes to cater for all levels.<br />

All of our beginners classes are just £7 per session<br />

per person and offer a no pressure introduction<br />

to this ever popular form of dance.<br />

07863 132920<br />

jack@jackdavidson.co.uk<br />

www.jackdavidson.co.uk<br />

JACK DAVIDSON<br />

Dance Teacher<br />

Advertising<br />

from as little as<br />

£75 a month<br />

Call Jen on<br />

01580 714705<br />

The complete kitchen service...<br />

...from a hinge to a complete makeover<br />

The supply & replacement of<br />

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hinges, all fitted kitchen<br />

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renovation & polishing, bedroom<br />

doors & bespoke cabinets.<br />

Please call<br />

01689 850000<br />

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Serving London & the South-East since 1984<br />

Wood Floor<br />

Sanding<br />

WonkyWaltzWT212.indd 1 18/09/<strong>2019</strong> 14:07<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

172<br />

David Hall<br />

KitchenDoctorWT145.indd 1 28/01/2014 10:12<br />

Cabinet Maker<br />

&<br />

Antique Restorer<br />

* High Quality Bespoke Furniture<br />

- Family Business -<br />

*<br />

clare langdon<br />

Antique Restoration of all types<br />

* Carving and Copy Carving<br />

We also restore wooden kitchen tops<br />

* Polishing<br />

I N T E R I ONO R SVAT<br />

FREE estimates - call any time<br />

Commencing at 12.30pm | Viewing 10.00am Phone - 12.30pm 01797 270761<br />

07794953597 | gerardgrover@gmail.com<br />

The Auction Rooms, Argyle Road, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN13 1HJ<br />

www.dhallcabinetmaker.co.uk Email: hallcrocket@aol.com<br />

Ibbett Mosely<br />

AUCTIONEERS & VALUERS<br />

Limited Liability Partnership<br />

AllWoodsSandingServices<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 07/10/<strong>2019</strong> DavidHallWT108.indd 12:19<br />

1 14/01/2011 15:27<br />

Antiques Valuation Day at Westerham Office<br />

Wednesday 30th October <strong>2019</strong> 11.00 a.m - 4 p.m<br />

The Auctioneer's Next Sale Will Be On<br />

Wednesday 27th <strong>November</strong> <strong>2019</strong><br />

Commencing at 12.30pm | Viewing 10.00am - 12.30pm<br />

The Auction Rooms, Argyle Road, Sevenoaks, Kent, TN13 1HJ<br />

Tel: 01732 456731 Web: www.ibbettmosely.co.uk<br />

125 High St, Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 1UT<br />

Registered in England No. 0C341637 Regulated by RICS Registered at the Sevenoaks office as Ibbett Mosely Surveyors LLP<br />

secondary Primary logo logo & pattern<br />

clare langdon clare langdon clare langdon<br />

I N T E R I O R S<br />

I N T E R I O R S<br />

secondary logo & pattern<br />

clare langdon<br />

Made to measure curtains, I N T E Rblinds I O R Sand soft furnishings<br />

I N T E R I O R S<br />

Showroom by appointment<br />

clare langdon<br />

I N T E R I O R S<br />

Primary logo<br />

I N T E R I O R S<br />

clare langdon<br />

clare langdon<br />

01580 712209<br />

colour 01580 palette<br />

clare@clarelangdoninteriors.co.uk<br />

712209<br />

clare@clarelangdoninteriors.co.uk<br />

www.clarelangdoninteriors.co.uk<br />

www.clarelangdoninteriors.co.uk<br />

Association House, St David’s Bridge,<br />

Association<br />

Cranbrook,<br />

House,<br />

Kent,<br />

St David’s<br />

TN17 3HL<br />

Bridge,<br />

Cranbrook, Kent, TN17 3HL<br />

I N T E R I O R S<br />

IbbettMosely<strong>WT213</strong>.indd 1 03/10/<strong>2019</strong> ClareLangdonWT200.indd 16:53<br />

1 12/09/2018 17:10<br />

C = 20<br />

C = 0<br />

M = 15<br />

M = 5


Competition<br />

WIN AN OVERNIGHT<br />

STAy AT THE HISTORICAL<br />

OATLANdS PARK HOTEL<br />

Oatlands Park Hotel in Surrey has recently undergone an extensive multimillion-pound<br />

renovation, which includes 144 stylish new bedrooms. The<br />

hotel is steeped in royal history, and was originally the site of a Tudor Palace<br />

built by Henry VIII in 1538. The current building was established as a hotel in 1856<br />

and the grounds are also home to one of the first cedar trees brought to England,<br />

dating back to 1645.<br />

Oatlands guests are treated to an idyllic countryside setting, with public footpaths,<br />

wildflower meadows and the River Wey within distance of the hotel. From<br />

Royal palaces to wine estates and theme parks, there are many exciting attractions<br />

surrounding Oatlands Park Hotel including the Brooklands Museum, Mercedes-Benz<br />

World, Burhill Golf Club, Royal Ascot<br />

and Windsor Castle.<br />

Its ideal location means the hotel is<br />

just a short train ride away from central<br />

London and all the various must-see<br />

attractions, so it’s easy to enjoy a relaxing<br />

break with the bustle of the city close by.<br />

This exclusive prize includes breakfast<br />

and a three-course dinner with a bottle<br />

of wine to share at the Mulberry<br />

Restaurant. Relax and savour the meal<br />

overlooking stunning views across the 10<br />

acres of picturesque countryside towards<br />

Broadwater Lake.<br />

Find out more at oatlandsparkhotel.com.<br />

HOW TO ENTER: For your<br />

chance to win an overnight stay,<br />

breakfast and a three-course<br />

dinner at Oatlands Park Hotel,<br />

just answer the following question:<br />

What is the name of Oatlands<br />

Park Hotel’s restaurant? Enter<br />

your answer with your contact<br />

details on the online form at<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk/competition<br />

by 30 <strong>November</strong> <strong>2019</strong>. There is<br />

no cash alternative and you must<br />

be over the age of 18 to enter.<br />

Terms and Conditions: The prize<br />

includes: Bed and breakfast for<br />

two, Dinner for two consisting<br />

of a three-course meal including<br />

a bottle of wine, teas and coffees.<br />

Subject to availability. Prize valid<br />

until October 2020.<br />

Congratulations to Susan Verall<br />

who wins our competition for<br />

an overnight stay for two at<br />

Leeds Castle plus tickets to the<br />

Christmas Market


Jane Howard’s<br />

Fables from<br />

the Farm<br />

Jane ensures her flock is in prime condition<br />

<strong>November</strong> means tupping time at Coopers<br />

Farm, when the rams go in with the ewes and<br />

the whole ‘sheep year’ starts over again.<br />

But of course before that can happen there have<br />

been lots of behind the scenes preparations to make<br />

sure everyone is match fit and ready for action.<br />

The spring lambs were weaned in August to give their<br />

mum’s a bit of ‘me time’, then last month we went through<br />

them all to check they were young and fit enough to have<br />

another successful lambing season. Each one gets a thorough<br />

MOT – starting with their teeth. Like all of us, sheep teeth<br />

wear out and fall out as the years pass, but in order to sustain<br />

a pregnancy and then milk a sound pair of gnashers is<br />

essential. So anyone with wobbly ones or missing ones is out.<br />

Next, we check their teats. Not only are<br />

we checking to make sure they are soft and<br />

supple but they also have to be what might be<br />

termed ‘pert’. Some of the old girls get very<br />

low slung and there’s nothing sadder than<br />

seeing new-born lambs searching for a drink<br />

up where it should be when in reality the<br />

milk bar is almost trailing on the ground.<br />

Once we’ve decided how many of the<br />

ewes are staying and how many are leaving<br />

we make the numbers back up to about<br />

75 with home-grown tegs – females born<br />

in spring 2018 destined to be first time<br />

mums. Then they get cosseted with delicious<br />

mineral <strong>supplement</strong>s and the best grass the farm has to<br />

offer in order to flush them – encourage their ovaries to<br />

produce lots of eggs and then hopefully lots of twins.<br />

And then of course there’s the other half of the equation,<br />

“Traditionally<br />

rams have always<br />

gone in with<br />

the ewes on<br />

Bonfire Night<br />

with the lambs<br />

arriving some five<br />

months later”<br />

the boys! A ewe comes into season about every 18 days and<br />

young rams can manage to get round about 35 ewes at a time,<br />

so we have two. Each stays on the farm for<br />

a couple of years but by the third he would<br />

be serving his daughters and we’ve worked<br />

it that each year we change one and keep<br />

one. Back in the mists of time we bought an<br />

incredibly ugly ram – a Beltex, a breed which,<br />

while famous for having a magnificent arse, is<br />

not blessed in the looks department. He got<br />

called Boris Karloff and his deeply handsome<br />

colleague, a Southdown ram became George<br />

Clooney. Five months later when the lambs<br />

arrived it was pretty obvious that the girls<br />

didn’t worry too much about looks as we had<br />

rather more ugly Beltex lambs than pretty<br />

Southdowns. The name thing has continued over the years<br />

and Robert Mitchum, a smart blue Texel arrived on the farm<br />

a few weeks ago to join Jon Hamm for the <strong>2019</strong> season.<br />

Traditionally rams have always gone in with the ewes on<br />

Bonfire Night with the lambs arriving some five months<br />

later from April Fools’ Day when hopefully the weather<br />

is better and the spring grass has begun to grow.<br />

But before they meet the girls they each get fitted<br />

with a raddle, a harness that holds a coloured wax block<br />

to the chest, which marks the rump of each ewe as he<br />

mates with it. The wax block is replaced every 10 days<br />

with a darker coloured block, so that the colour of the<br />

last liaison will overwrite any previous matings.<br />

All the action will be done and dusted by Christmas<br />

and while the girls will have plenty to be getting on<br />

with, it’s 10 months ‘me time’ for the boys. Hmm…<br />

Follow Jane Howard – and the farm – on Instagram @coopersfarm<br />

wealdentimes.co.uk<br />

174


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CHRISTMAS AT WOODCOCKS<br />

S AYERS LANE, T ENT E R DE N, KENT, TN30 6BW<br />

w ww.WoodcocksInteriors.co.uk

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