The Cake - Summer 2022
A slice of Cranbrook and Sissinghurst life
A slice of Cranbrook and Sissinghurst life
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Tasty local stories, published by Cranbrook and Sissinghurst Parish Council<br />
<strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong> | FREE<br />
All Creatures<br />
Great and Small<br />
Herendon Vets<br />
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Care Workers<br />
FULL TIME & PART TIME CARE WORKERS<br />
REQUIRED IN TENTERDEN, CRANBROOK, STAPLEHURST<br />
AND MOST OF THE SURROUNDING VILLAGES<br />
Could be your main income, or just a few hours to supplement your Furlough Pay<br />
(subject to your contract with employer)<br />
We have Mornings, Lunchtimes, Teatimes, Evenings and Weekend<br />
calls available. Also some Domestic Calls & Sleep-Ins to cover.<br />
NVQ Trained Worker<br />
Travel Time - Now paid at £8.91 per hour<br />
Mileage - 15p per mile<br />
Hourly Rate - £10.00 p.h Mon - Fri and £11.00 p.h at W/E<br />
Holiday Pay - 5.6 weeks paid seperately<br />
Non NVQ<br />
£8.91 per hour<br />
15p per mile<br />
£9.50 & £10.50<br />
Same<br />
Any experience is beneficial such as raising children, looking after elderly<br />
parents/grand children. But, FULL TRAINING will be provided to all applicants<br />
Why not contact us to discuss more about the<br />
work and what hours you are looking for?<br />
Call Natalie or Chloe 01580 762244<br />
<strong>The</strong>se positions are exempt from the rehabilitation of offenders act
Published by Cranbrook and<br />
Sissinghurst Parish Council<br />
EDITOR<br />
Trisha Fermor<br />
ADVERTISING SALES<br />
David Hobden - 01892 677741<br />
davidh@spacemarketing.co.uk<br />
ADMIN SUPPORT<br />
Graham Holmes - gpholmes@hotmail.co.uk<br />
PRODUCED BY<br />
Tally Rix - Coffee Shop Media Ltd - 01580 848555<br />
tally@coffeeshopmedia.com<br />
PUBLISHED BY<br />
Cranbrook and Sissinghurst Parish Council<br />
01580 713112<br />
www.cranbrookandsissinghurstpc.co.uk<br />
Whilst every effort is made to ensure accuracy, the<br />
Cranbrook and Sissinghurst Parish Council, editor and<br />
authors cannot be held responsible for published errors.<br />
<strong>The</strong> views or opinions expressed do not<br />
necessarily reflect views of the Cranbrook<br />
and Sissinghurst Parish Council. Inclusion<br />
of any advertising material does not<br />
constitute a guarantee or endorsement of<br />
any products or services or claims made.<br />
SOMETHING FOR THE CAKE?<br />
We love to hear from you. Please send all ideas for<br />
contributions to <strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> to<br />
clerk@cranbrookandsissinghurstpc.co.uk by<br />
1st August <strong>2022</strong><br />
welcome<br />
It is with sadness that I write my last<br />
contribution to <strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong>.<br />
After a career in journalism spanning<br />
more than 30 years, recognised in 2003 with<br />
the Kent Journalist of the Year award, I was<br />
delighted when the founder of this magazine,<br />
the late Brian Clifford, asked me to join him<br />
to launch the magazine. Little did I know I<br />
would pick up the reins when he sadly died.<br />
I have felt very privileged to write for the<br />
people of Cranbrook and Sissinghurst, not<br />
only about the parish council, but other<br />
stories of interest, reminding me so much of<br />
my time with the Courier newspaper. It has<br />
also been a privilege to be a parish councillor<br />
and its tree warden.<br />
Before I sign off for the last time, I must say a huge thank you to the<br />
wonderful team of voluntary contributors who help make <strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> such a<br />
wonderful publication. I will miss them and the magazine.<br />
Do enjoy the latest edition and long may it continue to drop through your<br />
letter boxes!<br />
Trisha Fermor, editor<br />
FRONT COVER<br />
Heronden Vets is an<br />
independent veterinary<br />
practice, owned and<br />
run by a local family.<br />
We already offer orthopaedic and soft-tissue surgery,<br />
ultrasonography, radiology, full laboratory analysis,<br />
even acupuncture. And now we’re expanding our<br />
Nurse Clinics. <strong>The</strong>se can be booked free of charge for<br />
any little worries you might have, as well as weight<br />
and dental checks or advice on diet and nutrition.<br />
Heronden takes in-patient care extremely seriously<br />
and the practice has excellent facilities and staff for<br />
overnight monitoring and critical care on site. Please<br />
do come and say hi and introduce yourselves and<br />
extended family members... there is always a treat<br />
to hand!<br />
01580 763303 / info@herondenvets.co.uk<br />
www.herondenvets.co.uk<br />
Inside this issue<br />
REGULARS<br />
5 Directory<br />
7 Chairman’s Comment<br />
8 Letters<br />
11 Development News<br />
12 Local News<br />
14 Club News<br />
16 Event News<br />
19 Local Comment – Cllr. Sean<br />
Holden, Hon. Mayor Linda<br />
Page, Guy Pullen<br />
30 Kids’ Corner<br />
32 Kitchen & Garden<br />
35 Badger’s Plot<br />
41 Parish Council Update<br />
FEATURES<br />
22 Bloody Baker – a<br />
Sissinghurst horror story<br />
25 Joy of Sex – discover the<br />
Cranbrook grave of its<br />
authors<br />
27 Airfield – researching the<br />
Sissinghurst village airstrip<br />
29 Museum Matters – when<br />
cleaning out the store<br />
cupboard…<br />
37 Arts – South East Open<br />
Studios celebrates 25 years<br />
39 Legal – welcome news for<br />
leasehold homeowners!<br />
42 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> Chats with…<br />
Gaynor Hatch, Hospice in<br />
the Weald Charity Shop<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 3
In Pictures<br />
Cranbrook's Union Mill showing<br />
support for Ukraine<br />
ALAN FORD<br />
4 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
directory<br />
A list of useful contacts in<br />
Cranbrook and Sissinghurst<br />
Cranbrook and Sissinghurst<br />
Parish Council<br />
<strong>The</strong> Old Fire Station, Stone Street,<br />
Cranbrook, KENT TN17 3HF<br />
Clerk – Mrs. L. Ham<br />
Deputy Clerk – Mrs. L. Thirkell<br />
Deputy Clerk - Mrs. C. Bezuidenhout<br />
01580 713112 / clerk@<br />
cranbrookandsissinghurstpc.co.uk<br />
BOROUGH & COUNTY<br />
COUNCILS<br />
Tunbridge Wells Borough Council<br />
01892 526121<br />
www.tunbridgewells.gov.uk<br />
Kent County Council<br />
03000 41 41 41 / www.kent.gov.uk<br />
USEFUL NUMBERS<br />
UTILITIES<br />
Electricity: 0800 727282 (24 hrs)<br />
Gas: 0800 111 999<br />
Water: South East Water (drinking<br />
water) 0800 0283399, Southern<br />
Water (waste water) 0800 820999 (24<br />
hrs), Emergency leak 0800 0283399,<br />
Floodline 0845 9881188 (24 hrs)<br />
CRIME<br />
Non-Emergency Police: 101<br />
Crime Stoppers: 0800 555111<br />
KCC Community Warden: Adam<br />
Osborn - 07813 695741<br />
PCSO: Simon Humphreys -<br />
simon.humphreys@kent.police.uk<br />
Neighbourhood Watch Area<br />
Co-ordinator: 01622 604395<br />
In an emergency i.e. if life is in danger<br />
or a crime is in progress call 999. To<br />
request non urgent police assistance,<br />
to report crime or to make enquiry<br />
call 101. Non urgent correspondence<br />
and crime can be reported via the Live<br />
Chat icon at www.kent.police.uk<br />
ROOMS & HALLS TO HIRE<br />
St George’s Institute, Sissinghurst:<br />
Ursula O’Connor 01580 713938<br />
<strong>The</strong> Parish Room, Sissinghurst: Sue<br />
Crowe 01580 712567<br />
ts.crowe74@gmail.com<br />
<strong>The</strong> Vestry Hall, Council Chamber and<br />
Addison VC Room, Cranbrook:<br />
01580 713112 (10am-12pm weekdays).<br />
A full list of over 30 venues for hire in the<br />
parish is available from the parish office<br />
USEFUL CONTACTS<br />
CHURCHES<br />
Congregational Church,<br />
Cranbrook: 01580 388070<br />
St. Dunstan’s, Cranbrook:<br />
01580 715861<br />
St. <strong>The</strong>odore’s RC, Cranbrook:<br />
01580 713364<br />
Strict Baptist Church, Cranbrook:<br />
01580 713212<br />
Trinity Church, Sissinghurst:<br />
01580 852275<br />
Vine Church, Cranbrook: 01580 712620<br />
SCHOOLS AND PRE SCHOOLS<br />
Colliers Green CE Primary:<br />
01580 211335<br />
Cranbrook CE Primary: 01580 713249<br />
Cranbrook Children’s Centre:<br />
03000 41 10 35<br />
Cranbrook School: 01580 711800<br />
Dulwich Preparatory School:<br />
01580 712179<br />
High Weald Academy: 01580 712754<br />
Rainbow Pre School, Cranbrook:<br />
01580 715570<br />
Sissinghurst CE Primary: 01580 713895<br />
Woodpeckers Pre School, Cranbrook:<br />
01580 720195<br />
DOCTORS<br />
Old School Surgery, Cranbrook:<br />
01580 712476<br />
Orchard End Surgery, Cranbrook:<br />
01580 713622<br />
<strong>The</strong> Crane Surgery, Cranbrook<br />
01580 712260<br />
DEFIBRILLATORS<br />
Cramp Club, Cranbrook<br />
Cranbrook Fire Station<br />
Cranbrook Medical Centre, Cranbrook<br />
Cricket Club, Sissinghurst<br />
Parish Council office<br />
Sissinghurst Castle Garden<br />
St. George’s Institute, Sissinghurst<br />
Tennis Club, Sissinghurst<br />
<strong>The</strong> George Hotel, Cranbrook<br />
<strong>The</strong> Milkhouse, Sissinghurst<br />
POET’S CORNER<br />
We welcome again Jacob, a pupil at Belle<br />
Vue School, with a huge talent for poetry<br />
which he is delighted to share with our<br />
readers.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Wonders of Spring<br />
<strong>The</strong> sun wins the battle, its<br />
rays shine and shimmer past<br />
the clouds<br />
Seas glimmer like gilded gold,<br />
while beaches regain their<br />
heat.<br />
<strong>The</strong> trees, previously<br />
surreptitious, now stand tall<br />
and proud<br />
As new life flourishes in their<br />
wizened branches.<br />
<strong>The</strong> wildlife awakens from its<br />
collective slumber<br />
Creatures, both the<br />
magnificent and the miniscule,<br />
start to make their moves.<br />
<strong>The</strong> great beasts of the prairie<br />
and savannah begin their<br />
prowl<br />
While the smaller animals<br />
start to scavenge for<br />
sustenance.<br />
DIRECTORY<br />
Flowers break out their shells<br />
and begin to bloom, marking<br />
this new season<br />
<strong>The</strong>ir colours inaugurate the<br />
spring with their splendour.<br />
Limitless, labyrinthine<br />
kingdoms of industrious insects<br />
rise to prominence<br />
Bringing the beauty of spring<br />
to even the most distant lands.<br />
And as we revel in the glory of<br />
the season, we must stop and<br />
remember<br />
Each animal has a purpose,<br />
a place in the magnificence of<br />
nature.<br />
Every being has a task in life’s<br />
wrapping web<br />
So we must use this season<br />
to figure out the place of our<br />
thread.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 5
COMMENT<br />
CLLR KIM FLETCHER<br />
Chairman’s<br />
Message<br />
<strong>The</strong> outlook for the coming<br />
couple of years is looking bleak,<br />
particularly for people with few<br />
savings to fall back on. <strong>The</strong> eyewatering<br />
increases in food and<br />
energy bills mean life is changing and we<br />
need to look ahead to bring the community<br />
together and increase resilience.<br />
Looking forward to next autumn, the<br />
parish council wants to support organisations<br />
supporting families deciding to ‘heat or<br />
eat’. We are exploring a community kitchen<br />
in the Vestry Hall to run once a week from<br />
September until April 2023.<br />
Already Wellbeing in the Weald, Age<br />
Concern, Messy Church and the primary<br />
school are exploring ways to run a coffee<br />
morning, then soup and a roll for adults at<br />
lunchtime, and then a warm meal for children<br />
after school. An add-on may run cooking<br />
lessons to show how to feed a family very<br />
cheaply.<br />
This will require many volunteers with<br />
various skills to spread the considerable<br />
workload. People with catering expertise<br />
(chefs and management) as well as washersup,<br />
helpers and organisers will be needed. We<br />
may need access to a professional kitchen<br />
once a week.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Vestry Hall will be a warm place for<br />
people to meet and share a warm meal in a<br />
cold climate. We hope to raise a budget of<br />
£10,000, through charitable grants or some<br />
local philanthropists.<br />
This is a brave initiative and if you think<br />
you can help please contact the organisations<br />
mentioned, or me, chairman@cspc.org.uk<br />
We have been leading and supporting other<br />
initiatives to create community cohesion and<br />
show that all sections of the community can<br />
live together.<br />
<strong>The</strong> reopening of the public toilets in<br />
May improves our offer to tourists, as well<br />
as supporting our elderly. Two cubicles are<br />
labelled for men and two for women and<br />
we ask that all ages respect the sensitivities<br />
<strong>The</strong> new shelter in the Crane Valley sponsored by our Kent county councillor Cllr Sean Holden and<br />
erected by Messrs Dunn of Prestige Fencing.<br />
around unisex toilets.<br />
Notices will be put in the public WCs asking<br />
people to meet in the field shelter in the<br />
Crane Valley instead of the public toilets.<br />
<strong>The</strong> shelter, sponsored by our Kent county<br />
councillor Cllr Sean Holden, has been erected<br />
by Messrs Dunn of Prestige Fencing, and has<br />
been well received by all the passers-by. We<br />
are also indebted to Travis Perkins for its<br />
support. It needs some seating if anyone has a<br />
bench or two to spare.<br />
At the top of the Ball Field, by the new<br />
spinney, the wild flower meadow has been<br />
seeded successfully by Cranbrook in Bloom,<br />
following a lot of hard work shifting turf to<br />
prepare the land. Special thanks go to Fred<br />
Page for his unstinting work on the project.<br />
I hope the summer treats you well.<br />
Cllr Kim Fletcher, chairman of Cranbrook<br />
and Sissinghurst Parish Council<br />
Since writing my column I have been<br />
informed of Trisha Fermor’s resignation<br />
as editor of ‘<strong>Cake</strong>’.<br />
As a founder member of <strong>Cake</strong>, she<br />
has been instrumental in its success,<br />
carrying on her award winning<br />
journalistic career with interviews and<br />
articles of local interest. I would like to<br />
publicly thank her for her dedication to<br />
the task<br />
She will be a very hard act to follow,<br />
but I am now appealing for anyone who<br />
would like to help write, research or edit<br />
the next edition, to contact me or the<br />
Parish Office.<br />
If you have a local story (not fiction),<br />
please write it down and send it to us for<br />
inclusion.<br />
Kim Fletcher, chairman@CSPC.org.uk<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 7
letters<br />
www.bussmurton.co.uk | T: 01580 712 215<br />
Among the Strawberries<br />
I just have to share with fellow readers these pictures of a<br />
clever little robin who chose to make her nest among the<br />
strawberry plants at Bumbles Plant Centre, Cranbrook. She<br />
is wheeled in and out of the main building on her plant<br />
rack each morning and evening and has laid five eggs, all of<br />
which have hatched. <strong>The</strong> team tell me that the baby birds<br />
are growing well and they have even put up a ‘mind the<br />
robin’ sign to warn unsuspecting strawberry shoppers!<br />
Tally Rix<br />
No Time to Mow<br />
What a lovely way to celebrate the Jubilee – tree and wildflower planting in<br />
the Ball Field. It beggars belief that while this nature-first activity undertaken<br />
by the parish council is going on, KCC is massacring habitats by mowing<br />
verges that would otherwise be abundant with the wild grasses and flowers we<br />
have been told are so important to our pollinators. And even in places where<br />
visibility isn’t an issue. Seriously, who makes these decisions?!<br />
By email<br />
Please send<br />
your letters to:<br />
clerk@cranbrookandsissinghurst<br />
pc.co.uk or by post to <strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong>,<br />
Cranbrook and Sissinghurst<br />
Parish Council, <strong>The</strong> Old Fire Station,<br />
Stone Street, Cranbrook, TN17 3HF.<br />
Please note, letters may be published<br />
in a shortened form at the<br />
discretion of the editor.<br />
In Defence of the Play Equipment<br />
I know there has been some controversy over the introduction of up to the minute play equipment at the park by the Ball Field but I<br />
have to say I am impressed. My grandchildren are regular users and enjoy the puzzles the structure in question offers and have not<br />
yet tired of finding ways to navigate it. <strong>The</strong> novelty of the slide element and the sheer height of the thing make for some adrenaline<br />
fuelled play, and I can personally vouch for the thrill of the zip slide (and its sturdiness!).<br />
Colin Greenaway<br />
8 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
We have been providing expert and<br />
trusted legal advice to individuals and<br />
businesses for generations.<br />
STAR SHOP<br />
Congratulations to <strong>The</strong> Glasshouse on Stone<br />
Street, Cranbrook – this issue’s Star Shop. We<br />
love your quirky sophistication and fun, seasonal<br />
window designs. <strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> Star Shop trophy will be<br />
winging its way to you shortly!<br />
Working WITH YOU, not just FOR YOU<br />
Tax planning<br />
Profit improvement strategies<br />
Business development advice<br />
Inheritance tax advice<br />
Succession planning<br />
Payroll<br />
Tel: 01233 630000<br />
www.mageegammon.com<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 9
SUMMER ADVENTURES<br />
FULL STEAM AHEAD FOR<br />
A REAL FAMILY TREAT THIS SUMMER<br />
FREE on-board nature activities for the family. For dates, train times and fares<br />
BOOK ONLINE AND SAVE.<br />
www.kesr.org.uk<br />
1072 KESR SUMMER THE CAKE HALF PAGE AD_FAW 186x113.indd 1 29/04/<strong>2022</strong> 17:11<br />
LOOK & FEEL YOUR BEST<br />
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Permanent make up<br />
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Eyeliner - £250<br />
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Dermal filler 1ml - £160 for treating<br />
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Anti-wrinkle injections - £165 for 1<br />
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Aqualyx fat dissolving - £125-£200<br />
Profhilo skin boosters - £250<br />
Meso skin needling facial - £55<br />
Brows & lashes<br />
Lash lift - £35<br />
Lash tint - £13<br />
Lash extensions - £50-£80<br />
Brow lamination, wax & tint - £33<br />
Accredited lash training courses -<br />
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Nails<br />
Acrylic nail extensions - £40<br />
Acrylic nail extension infill - £25<br />
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ISABELLE SZUMNIAK<br />
Carriers Road, Cranbrook, TN17 3JX | 01580 438003<br />
V Isabelleszumniak@hotmail.co.uk | www.issyszumniak.co.uk<br />
10 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
DEVELOPMENT NEWS<br />
No to Homes on<br />
Controversial Site<br />
Plans to build<br />
42 houses<br />
on land off<br />
Mill Lane,<br />
Sissinghurst,<br />
have been refused<br />
following a public<br />
inquiry.<br />
<strong>The</strong> application<br />
had originally been<br />
turned down by TWBC<br />
on highways grounds.<br />
Dandara, the developers,<br />
had argued that the<br />
number of homes in a<br />
“reasonably accessible<br />
location” would make a<br />
significant contribution<br />
to the council’s housing<br />
land supply.<br />
However, the inspector<br />
concluded that the<br />
adverse impacts would<br />
significantly outweigh<br />
the benefits. <strong>The</strong><br />
proposed access to the<br />
site from the narrow Mill<br />
Lane would give rise to<br />
“considerable harm” to<br />
highway safety, a view<br />
supported at the inquiry<br />
by Kent County Council.<br />
TF<br />
TWBC PLANNING PORTAL / DANDARA<br />
TWBC PLANNING PORTAL / DANDARA<br />
<strong>The</strong> Latest on<br />
your Community<br />
and Medical<br />
Centre<br />
As you are aware,<br />
we have suffered<br />
delay due to<br />
the pandemic<br />
and now the<br />
economic<br />
situation is<br />
proving difficult to<br />
predict accurate cost<br />
outcomes for our proposals.<br />
However, we have pressed on<br />
and currently have consultant<br />
surveyors undertaking a full<br />
topographical survey of our land<br />
where the proposed buildings will be<br />
constructed. Boreholes have been dug<br />
and soil samples taken for analysis.<br />
Once we have the report on the<br />
outcome of this survey we will be<br />
in a position to know, with some<br />
certainty, the type of foundations<br />
that will be necessary for the<br />
buildings. This in turn will enable<br />
us to predict the cost of these<br />
foundations which has been up to<br />
now a large unknown.<br />
We will keep you posted as to<br />
our progress on the update of our<br />
business plan.<br />
So, just a reminder there is still<br />
time for more ideas and suggestions<br />
from you as to what you would like to<br />
see in your community centre. Please<br />
let us know. Cllr Colin Gilbert<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 11
NEWS<br />
News<br />
Everyone’s Toilets<br />
Townspeople have praised the work<br />
of the parish council and school<br />
children who joined together to reopen<br />
the public loos in Crane Lane.<br />
After thousands of pounds<br />
were spent over the years repairing repeated<br />
vandalism, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council said<br />
there was no more money available for further<br />
work and closed the toilets, responsibility being<br />
handed to the parish council. This move led<br />
townspeople, including shopkeepers, to complain<br />
that there were no facilities for shoppers and<br />
tourists who could be put off visiting the town.<br />
About £8,000 has been spent by the council<br />
on refurbishing the unisex loos which re-opened<br />
last month. Children from Belle Vue School have<br />
brightened up the outside with colourful murals.<br />
<strong>The</strong>ir head teacher Mary McKeeman told <strong>The</strong><br />
<strong>Cake</strong> they would not be put off by the possibility<br />
of more vandalism and would remorselessly and<br />
happily replace their colourful artwork until the<br />
vandals gave up. A notice has also been put on<br />
the front wall appealing for people to respect the<br />
building.<br />
Chairman Kim Fletcher painting over a small<br />
section of old graffiti which was left from<br />
previous vandalism<br />
Cllr Colin Gilbert, who has led the council’s<br />
plan to get the conveniences re-opened, said he<br />
would like to see a message on the building to<br />
saying “everyone’s toilets”. TF<br />
Special Thanks<br />
for Conservation<br />
Work<br />
<strong>The</strong> hard work and commitment<br />
given by Peter Allen to Cranbrook<br />
Conservation Area Advisory<br />
Committee has been recognised<br />
with its community award from the<br />
Kent Association of Local Councils.<br />
A former teacher, who had a long<br />
association with Cranbrook School,<br />
Mr Allen was secretary of the<br />
committee for many years until he<br />
retired in 2021. He was instrumental<br />
in writing three conservation area<br />
appraisals, Cranbrook, Wilsley and<br />
Sissinghurst. He worked tirelessly<br />
representing CCAAC on other<br />
organisations and has written many<br />
booklets about Cranbrook. TF<br />
Don’t Let <strong>The</strong> Vandals Win<br />
<strong>The</strong> mindless vandalism which led to the removal of the mobile breast clinic in Cranbrook could<br />
result in avoidable deaths of women. Parish council clerk Lori Ham fears that many, who cannot<br />
drive or find it difficult to travel to Maidstone or Tunbridge Wells hospitals, could be harbouring a<br />
potentially life-threatening medical condition.<br />
Lori has every reason to be concerned for others. Following a routine mammogram, she was found<br />
to be suffering from atypical ductal hyperplasia, which can lead to cancer if untreated. <strong>The</strong>re are none<br />
of the usual symptoms, such as lumps or pain which lead women to consult their doctors. In her case,<br />
it was picked up when she had her routine mammogram and she has since undergone treatment.<br />
Lori was full of praise for the staff at the Peggy Wood Breast Centre at Maidstone, who were,<br />
“without exception amazing”. She said: “I want to encourage women to continue to have their<br />
mammograms. <strong>The</strong> damage to the breast clinic has meant it has been withdrawn and we don’t know<br />
if it is permanent.<br />
“It has left people having to travel to Maidstone or Tunbridge Wells which is not always easy for<br />
some if they don’t drive. I am lucky that I can work flexibly but what worries me is that there are<br />
a lot of women in this area who were served by the clinic who perhaps cannot find ways of going<br />
elsewhere.<br />
“I feel so lucky that it was picked up. If I hadn’t gone for the mammogram I would never have<br />
known I had the condition which I had never even heard of. Don’t let the vandals win.” TF<br />
12 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
NEWS<br />
Thank You Roni!<br />
In March, Cranbrook said a big Thank<br />
You to Roni <strong>Summer</strong>s for nearly 40 years’<br />
tireless service to its town’s elderly<br />
residents.<br />
Since the 1980s, Mrs <strong>Summer</strong>s has<br />
been the lynchpin of Cranbrook and<br />
District Age Concern and volunteers,<br />
guests and friends joined her at the<br />
charity’s weekly coffee morning in the<br />
Vestry Hall to chat and listen to speeches<br />
and tributes from the honorary mayor<br />
Linda Page, the parish council and her<br />
husband, David.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re was a celebration cake and Mrs<br />
<strong>Summer</strong>s was decorated with camellias,<br />
her favourite flower. Everyone had a<br />
story to tell of her kindness and how she<br />
made it her mission to provide services,<br />
support, friendship and unlimited<br />
kindness to countless elderly people and,<br />
in doing so, improve the quality of so<br />
many lives.<br />
In 2008, her selfless service to the<br />
elderly was recognised when she was presented with an MBE by Prince Charles. She<br />
has now retired from the charity and has recruited new trustees to take it forward.<br />
Everyone is welcome to join in the charity’s coffee mornings each Tuesday at the<br />
Vestry Hall between 10.15 and 11.45am. Anyone wishing to volunteer can call in for<br />
a chat or email info@cranbrookdistrictageconcern.org<br />
Juliet Mellor<br />
Members of the Stag Owners Club visited the Cranbrook Union windmill in May as part<br />
of a rally around Kent which included a visit to a local vineyard. <strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> photographer<br />
Alan Ford captured the cars in front of the Grade 1 building which is the tallest smock mill<br />
in the UK. TF<br />
CUP CAKES<br />
• With Covid-19 forcing the<br />
postponement of Fairport Convention’s<br />
concert at St Dunstan’s Church more<br />
than a year ago, fans are delighted to hear<br />
the legendary group will be back there<br />
on Friday 3 June. Tickets are available<br />
at wmwcranbrook.co.uk or in person at<br />
Larkins’ Alehouse in the High Street.<br />
• Cranbrook is again looking to add to<br />
its collection of gold medals when the<br />
South and South East in Bloom judges<br />
visit the town on June 28. For two hours,<br />
they will be looking at environmental,<br />
horticultural and community issues.<br />
Cranbrook in Bloom chair Linda Page said<br />
litter and graffiti are a bit “no-no” and<br />
urges everyone to keep the town clean.<br />
• Become a “Pillar of the Community”<br />
and buy a brick or donate time to help<br />
the Hands of Hope charity restore the<br />
historic ornate wall which surrounds its<br />
organic grounds in Hawkhurst. It needs<br />
12,000 bricks and volunteers to help.<br />
Anyone interested? Email james.doran@<br />
hohcharity.co.uk<br />
• <strong>The</strong> spring<br />
plant sale<br />
organised<br />
by Cranbrook<br />
in Bloom in<br />
April raised<br />
an amazing<br />
£700. Held<br />
outside<br />
the garden<br />
of keen<br />
supporter<br />
Marian<br />
Cumberland,<br />
the plants on<br />
offer included<br />
Linda Page and Alison<br />
Bunyan at the Cranbrook in<br />
Bloom plant fair<br />
trees for sale to mark the Queen’s Platinum<br />
Jubilee.<br />
• Sissinghurst Open Gardens kicked off<br />
on 7 May and will run weekly on Saturdays<br />
until 30 July. Money raised with go to the<br />
Friends of Sissinghurst Church. For a list of<br />
gardens and other information contact sue.<br />
mcauley@rocketmail.com<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 13
CLUB NEWS<br />
Wildcats Landed<br />
In Cranbrook!<br />
Cranbrook Juniors FC is super excited to bring the<br />
Wildcats programme to our town and we already<br />
have upwards of 15 girls coming every week!<br />
So, what exactly is Wildcats? Well, it’s non-<br />
competitive football for girls who want to give it a go<br />
for the very first time or want to play with other girls their own<br />
age. All girls aged five to 11, of any ability, are invited to come<br />
along and join us to have fun, make friends and play football!<br />
Led by FA qualified and DBS checked coaches, there's no<br />
pressure for girls to play in matches or do anything they feel<br />
uncomfortable with. Activities vary weekly but could include<br />
assault courses, no-contact bulldog, drills with and without a<br />
ball, pretending to be animals, hula hoop challenges and much<br />
more.<br />
Sessions are held at the Weald Sports Centre on Fridays<br />
(term-time only) 17.30-18.30 and cost £3 per session. For more<br />
information email wildcats@cranbrookjuniorsfc.co.uk<br />
Ant Tomlinson<br />
Never too Late<br />
to Celebrate!<br />
Due to the pandemic, part of the<br />
centenary celebrations to mark the<br />
reformation of Cranbrook Bowls Club<br />
following the Great War of 1914-18, had<br />
to be cancelled.<br />
One was a game against the royal household at Windsor Castle and<br />
the other a visit to the Chelsea pensioners to play against them.<br />
Despite the cancellations, stalwart player Tony Platts said the<br />
members had their own celebration at the club a year later. <strong>The</strong> guests<br />
of honour were our honorary mayor, Linda Page, and dress shop owner<br />
Gemma Humphries.<br />
<strong>The</strong> club is looking for new playing members, whether they are<br />
new to bowls, coming back to the sport after a time away or perhaps<br />
thinking of changing clubs. Cranbrook has its own teams in the Weald<br />
League and Maidstone Men’s Friday evening league if potential<br />
members want to play competitive bowls.<br />
To find out more about the club go to Facebook or www.cranbrookbowls.<br />
co.uk. You can also contact Tony on 07866 250765. TF<br />
14 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
Caring for heads, shoulders…<br />
Knees<br />
Toes<br />
PODIATRY<br />
Biomechanics<br />
Gait analysis<br />
Orthotics<br />
Insoles<br />
CHIROPODY<br />
Corns<br />
Callus<br />
Blisters<br />
Verucaes<br />
SHOE FITTINGS<br />
Running<br />
Walking<br />
Trail<br />
Back to school<br />
MASSAGE THERAPY<br />
Tight muscles<br />
Stress relief<br />
Improve mobility<br />
Promote healing<br />
PHYSIOTHERAPY<br />
Manage pain<br />
Rehab<br />
Injury diagnosis<br />
Posture assessment<br />
Julie Rose Stadium, Ashford, TN24 9QX CALL 01233 660851 31 High Street, Cranbrook, TN17 3EE CALL 01580 715904<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 15
EVENT NEWS<br />
Queen Elizabeth’s<br />
Platinum Jubilee<br />
Parties<br />
Festivities to celebrate the Queen’s record<br />
70 years on the British throne are expected<br />
to draw big crowds to Cranbrook and<br />
Sissinghurst.<br />
On Saturday 4 June, from 1-4pm, the<br />
aptly named Jubilee Field in Sissinghurst<br />
will be the venue for fun and games at the<br />
Big Village Picnic Celebration.<br />
People are being urged to take along<br />
their tables and chairs and picnics to be<br />
entertained with live music, traditional<br />
games and “some ale” for the adults. <strong>The</strong>re<br />
will also be a crown and tiara competition<br />
with prizes.<br />
In Cranbrook, the High Street will be<br />
closed to traffic from 11am to 4pm on<br />
Sunday 5 June when “lots of entertainment<br />
for the kids” will be on offer as well as the<br />
group Box of Frogs playing in the White<br />
Horse. It is expected the street will be lined<br />
with tables and chairs as people enjoy their<br />
picnics or buy from the food and drink<br />
stalls. TF<br />
Cranbrook Music Festival is Back!<br />
Following the huge success of CRANFEST 2021, the musical<br />
extravaganza will return to the town on Friday 9 and Saturday<br />
10 September, writes Keith Stockman<br />
CRANFEST <strong>2022</strong> events will<br />
be hosted in several venues,<br />
ranging from small, intimate<br />
places, such as <strong>The</strong> Hive and<br />
Larkins’ Alehouse, to a large<br />
open-air stage in <strong>The</strong> George Hotel. We aim<br />
to make use of St Dunstan’s Church again,<br />
as well as the Vestry Hall, and this year we<br />
hope to utilise the excellent Queen’s Hall<br />
<strong>The</strong>atre as an extra venue.<br />
As with last year, we aim to showcase<br />
a wide variety of music genres across the<br />
various venues so that there is something<br />
for everyone to enjoy. With an extended<br />
programme on Friday evening, we will have<br />
nearly 40 different artists playing during<br />
the two days. Returning favourites include<br />
Southern rockers Melonheadman, soul-funk<br />
outfit Unit 48 and the delightful folk duo<br />
Red, Green & Blue.<br />
New artists this year include folk-punkrockers<br />
<strong>The</strong> Outcast Band, fine Americana<br />
from Naomi Bedford and her band, jazz<br />
giant Paul Malsom and trio, and Kent<br />
reggae stars <strong>The</strong> Liberators. Other genres<br />
featured are blues, from Jinda Biant, the<br />
Ben Hemmings Band and Dave Ferra, fine<br />
folk-rock from Wildwood Jack, Watergrain<br />
and Touchstone, plus some good old<br />
rock’n’roll from <strong>The</strong> Varlies, Dirty Lexi and<br />
Common Buzzards. With many more fine<br />
artists playing as well, you can be sure there<br />
will be something for everyone!<br />
In addition to all the contemporary<br />
music, there will be a programme of<br />
classical music in St Dunstan’s Church,<br />
music workshops and other surprises in the<br />
Vestry Hall and, we hope, a Battle of the<br />
Bands in the Queen’s Hall <strong>The</strong>atre.<br />
With food and craft stalls, plus a Buskers’<br />
Corner and street entertainment, it is going<br />
to be a very busy couple of days!<br />
A Must Date<br />
for your<br />
Diaries!<br />
Cranbrook on the Green will be held on<br />
the Ball Field, Cranbrook, on 31 July.<br />
Among the attractions will be a classic car<br />
show, charity fun dog show, bands, food<br />
and drink stalls plus lots of entertainment.<br />
It will run from 11am to 6pm. TF<br />
16 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
EVENT NEWS<br />
Sissinghurst Flower<br />
Show – For Real!<br />
It was back to normal for the village on Saturday 26 March when people were able to meet<br />
face to face for the spring show which saw plenty of entries.<br />
For some, it was the first time they had entered and were delighted to find themselves<br />
among the winners. All the classes were well supported and as usual there were tasty treats<br />
on offer. Among the winners was youngster Juniper, the first recipient of the Denis Hemsted<br />
Youth Cup, presented in his memory by his family. TF<br />
Jan Seymour won the David Martin trophy<br />
for her double narcissi (pictured below)<br />
Juniper, the first recipient of the Denis Hemsted<br />
Youth Cup<br />
Welcome Back CODS<br />
Cranbrook<br />
Operatic and<br />
Dramatic Society<br />
is back in the<br />
theatre – hurrah!<br />
This Easter we produced our<br />
first play since the pandemic<br />
with roaring success.<br />
Our modern take on <strong>The</strong><br />
Vicar of Dibley pleased<br />
actors and audiences alike<br />
and it was wonderful to<br />
see so many people back to<br />
support live, local theatre.<br />
Never have hula hoops been<br />
so amusing.<br />
Our next exciting<br />
production is now cast and<br />
we begin rehearsals shortly.<br />
Is Cranbrook ready for the<br />
flamboyant and fabulous<br />
‘Priscilla, Queen of the<br />
Desert – <strong>The</strong> Musical’?<br />
We shall see. This<br />
colourful and entertaining<br />
musical is crammed full of<br />
nostalgic pop songs which<br />
will have you up on your feet<br />
and dancing in the aisles.<br />
If you enjoyed <strong>The</strong> Vicar<br />
of Dibley or if you think<br />
Priscilla sounds like fun,<br />
why not join us? Whether<br />
you crave the limelight,<br />
want to help backstage,<br />
or are a budding techie,<br />
we are here in the heart of<br />
Cranbrook. It is not too late<br />
to get involved with the<br />
show, on or off stage, and we<br />
are always looking for new<br />
members, so try something<br />
new or revisit a past love.<br />
Contact annie.hatch33@<br />
gmail.com<br />
Why not join us for a<br />
journey to the heart of<br />
fabulous! Annie Hatcher<br />
Sponsors: Cranbrook Farmshop and Nursery and Peter Jones (Opticians) Ltd<br />
CRANBROOK OPERATIC AND DRAMATIC SOCIETY<br />
26 – 29 OCTOBER <strong>2022</strong><br />
QUEEN’S HALL THEATRE<br />
CRANBROOK<br />
Presented through special arrangement with and all authorised performance materials are supplied by TRW<br />
<strong>The</strong>atrical Rights Worldwide, 122-124 Regent Street, 5 th floor, London W1B 5SA. www.theatricalrights.co.uk<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 17
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18 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
LOCAL COMMENT<br />
SEAN'S COLUMN<br />
Parallel Problems<br />
For PMs a Century<br />
Apart<br />
Imagine a Prime Minister who<br />
magically appeals to voters, an orator,<br />
partial to a bit of fun, especially with<br />
women, who faced a giant European<br />
problem and got it done; whose chief<br />
opponent said, after his election victory,<br />
he could be Prime Minister for life if he<br />
wanted.<br />
No, not Boris Johnson in better days,<br />
but David Lloyd George, the great Liberal<br />
leader of World War One, “the man who won<br />
the war” but whose downfall exactly 100<br />
years ago, resonates with the trials of Boris<br />
Johnson.<br />
Four years after his 1918 blazing ‘Khaki’<br />
election victory (albeit in coalition with<br />
the Conservatives), the “Welsh Wizard”<br />
- the only Welshman to be PM - left<br />
Downing Street, in 1922, amid scandal<br />
and disillusionment. <strong>The</strong> scandal was not<br />
wallpapering his flat, or illicit parties but<br />
selling peerages, even to a notorious tax<br />
evader. His lively, adulterous, sex life (he<br />
was known as <strong>The</strong> Goat) shocked post-war<br />
propriety. A sometimes uneasy relationship<br />
with truth was challenged, even during the<br />
war, by a General Maurice who publicly<br />
accused him of misleading Parliament over<br />
army numbers. But everyone knew that was<br />
DLG and hey! he got the Great War done.<br />
<strong>The</strong> gloss dimmed as the war’s colossal<br />
cost became a growing economic shadow,<br />
darker even than the vast price of victory<br />
over Covid. Lloyd George’s version of Boris’<br />
levelling up, the election slogan “homes fit<br />
for heroes” for returning servicemen, went<br />
largely unfulfilled. Instead ‘heroes’ felt the<br />
bite not of inflation but of deflation, as<br />
prices fell, economic growth slowed and<br />
unemployment rose.<br />
<strong>The</strong> coalition’s Conservative majority<br />
stuck with DLG because, like Boris, he was a<br />
David Lloyd George<br />
“A sometimes uneasy relationship with truth was<br />
challenged, even during the war, by a General Maurice<br />
who publicly accused him of misleading Parliament over<br />
army numbers. But everyone knew that was DLG and<br />
hey! he got the Great War done”<br />
vote winner but as crises grew around him<br />
his appeal and their faith, faded. By 1922<br />
Lloyd George had overseen the fracture<br />
of the Union when Ireland, except for the<br />
North, rose up and, in 1921, broke away<br />
from the United Kingdom, as Scotland now<br />
threatens. It left a troublesome settlement,<br />
which continues as Boris wrestles with the<br />
post-Brexit fallout of the Northern Ireland<br />
protocol.<br />
Risky foreign policy finally did for Lloyd<br />
George. A still writhing, dismembered<br />
Boris Johnson<br />
empire, not the Russian but the Turkish,<br />
sought to annex Greek enclaves in what is<br />
now Turkey. Lloyd George nearly dragged<br />
Britain into a war for them which finally<br />
cost him his parliamentary support, both<br />
his Liberal rump and the Conservatives. I’m<br />
not superstitious about these parallels of<br />
history or history repeating itself but it’s<br />
fascinating to note the more it changes the<br />
more it stays the same – certainly we, as<br />
humans, do.<br />
Cllr Sean Holden<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 19
LOCAL COMMENT<br />
Hon. Mayor<br />
Linda Page’s<br />
June message<br />
It’s great to see the public<br />
toilets in Crane Lane open<br />
again. Many thanks to the<br />
parish council. Hopefully,<br />
the tired mosaic seat will<br />
be moved soon to a temporary<br />
place for repair and TLC, with it<br />
then being found a place to be<br />
displayed in the long term. It is a<br />
lovely piece of art that needs to<br />
be saved.<br />
Please get involved again this<br />
year by helping the bees and<br />
supporting my two important<br />
and well deserving charities, the<br />
Sam West Foundation and Motor<br />
Neurone Disease Association.<br />
Donations can be made at<br />
Cranbrook Farm Shop, Larkins<br />
Ale House, Anderson’s Butchers,<br />
Cranbrook DIY, TN17 Food &<br />
Wine, Cranbrook Service Station<br />
and Pages Newsagents. You<br />
can pick up sunflower seeds,<br />
wildflower seeds and bee bombs.<br />
It’s not too late to sow your<br />
sunflower or wildflower seeds,<br />
or you may prefer to keep your<br />
wildflower seeds for autumn<br />
sowing and an early spring<br />
display.<br />
I’m sure most gardeners can<br />
already identify a pollinator<br />
plant in their borders, tubs,<br />
planters or maybe your lawn,<br />
so please go online and register<br />
your postcode. Be included<br />
on the bee corridor map of<br />
Cranbrook & Sissinghurst. <strong>The</strong><br />
local maps will be updated<br />
throughout the summer<br />
showing where the butterflies<br />
and bees will travel through<br />
our parish. Please visit www.<br />
bringonthebees.uk to find out<br />
more.<br />
We are very fortunate to have<br />
so many events organised in the<br />
town over the next few months.<br />
Please support them and enjoy<br />
everything that’s thrown at us.<br />
Have a great summer!<br />
Guy's Column<br />
Hands of Hope sets the standard for healthy soil<br />
<strong>The</strong>re can be few more idyllic<br />
settings for a vegetable garden<br />
than the new growing field at<br />
Hope Farm Community Garden in<br />
Hawkhurst. Right now we garden<br />
to the bleat of lambs and the cry of buzzards<br />
above, while the orchard next door sends<br />
flurries of blossom onto the newly-made beds.<br />
We garden our acre of vegetables by hand,<br />
using no-dig methods which don’t disturb<br />
the soil so all the life within stays intact and<br />
functioning. Our soil is heavy clay, but it is<br />
also full of bacteria, protozoa, fungi, viruses<br />
and millions of other life forms, most of which<br />
are too small to see, but all of which play a<br />
vital role in the functioning of good soil.<br />
All the minerals and nutrients that a plant<br />
needs to grow can be found in our heavy<br />
mineral clay, but to become available to the<br />
plant, the web of life needs to eat and excrete,<br />
to live and die. Only when that life flourishes<br />
will plants thrive and over time our soil will<br />
get more nutrient-rich as these symbiotic<br />
relationships get stronger.<br />
We feed our soil with green waste compost<br />
made from council garden waste collections.<br />
It is not great quality for putting in pots, but<br />
it has all the organic matter that the soil web<br />
needs to thrive. We also aim to have plants in<br />
the soil at all times as plants and their roots<br />
are a vital part of the soil’s web of life.<br />
During the past 70 years or so, we have<br />
ploughed and dug land on an industrial scale<br />
which has destroyed its life force. Naturallyoccurring<br />
nutrient levels are decreasing in<br />
industrially farmed fields, so farmers need<br />
to add more and more chemical fertilizers<br />
to keep the plants growing. This isn’t just<br />
the fault of farmers. As a society, we have<br />
benefited from cheap food without wondering<br />
at the cost to the earth, our health or to the<br />
long-term viability of production.<br />
At Hands of Hope, we believe that healthy<br />
soil = healthy plants = healthy humans. With<br />
the help of our army of volunteers, we grow<br />
vegetables for food banks, lunch clubs and<br />
community projects as well as for our own<br />
veg box scheme. Our organic vegetables come<br />
powered by the soil and are full of nutrients.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y’re also delicious!<br />
Guy Pullen, HoH head of horticulture<br />
20 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
CRANBROOK<br />
In Bloom<br />
See our PLATINUM list<br />
of 12 gardens<br />
For our 16 th Glorious<br />
GARDEN SAFARI<br />
Sunday 19 th June 10.30am – 5pm<br />
Tickets £5 available from13th June at Pages Newsagent,<br />
or on the day from any garden<br />
Open gardens are marked with balloons & signs<br />
NO Dogs Preferred<br />
Homemade cakes and plants for sale<br />
Email marian.cumberland@hotmail.com<br />
Trees available for the Queen’s Green Canopy<br />
£10 each, contact Linda in Pages<br />
Supported by<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 21
LOCAL HISTORY<br />
Model displayed at Sissinghurst depicting Sir<br />
Richard Baker's house circa 1560<br />
Bloody Baker of<br />
Sissinghurst<br />
Ann Historian tells the tale of a wicked lord whose name is linked to Baker’s Cross<br />
Many locals, like me, were told<br />
as children the tale of the<br />
Bloody Baker of Sissinghurst<br />
as a bedtime story; the fable<br />
of our very own wicked<br />
lord in the local castle bearing down on our<br />
ancestors.<br />
And, like all good stories, it needs to be<br />
taken with a big pinch of salt. So, apologies to<br />
the present incumbents at Sissinghurst Castle<br />
and those who heard a different version,<br />
which there are, I am sure, quite a few. So,<br />
here is the one I was first told:<br />
In the 1800s a woman known only as F.L,<br />
visiting Cranbrook, reported she was being<br />
shown around St Dunstan’s Church by an<br />
old lady when her attention was caught by<br />
a monument in the chancel to Sir Richard<br />
Baker. His gauntlet, gloves, spurs and helmet<br />
were suspended over the tomb.<br />
F.L. remarked how vividly red the gloves<br />
were. “Aye, miss”, her guide replied: “Those<br />
are Bloody Baker’s gloves; their red colour<br />
comes from all the blood he shed”.<br />
<strong>The</strong> young Richard was known to have a<br />
“Jekyll and Hyde” character; prone to extreme<br />
outbursts of love and emotion, showing<br />
a terribly violent character, bordering on<br />
sadistic! <strong>The</strong> guide then told her the tale of<br />
the Lord of Sissinghurst.<br />
A local beauty, Jane Chester, the widow<br />
of a recently diseased soldier, caught his<br />
lordship’s eye one summer. He became charm<br />
personified and wooed her into Angley Woods<br />
for an evening stroll.<br />
Her boyfriend, one Henry Dartmouth from<br />
Goddards Green, followed them, worried for<br />
his lover’s safety. Sir Richard charmed, sang<br />
and recited poetry to Jane to the point where<br />
she very nearly succumbed to his advances.<br />
Suddenly he went mad, turning into a wild<br />
uncontrollable fiend! Henry ran to protect her,<br />
his sword drawn, but Sir Richard made short<br />
work of him, nearly to the death, ran back to<br />
the castle then fled to France.<br />
Some years later, Jane’s daughter Mary and<br />
a companion decided to taunt Sir Richard by<br />
popping in unannounced at the castle, the<br />
lord having returned and, up to his old tricks,<br />
had taken a shine to the younger Miss Chester<br />
along with many other young local girls, some<br />
of whom had gone missing!<br />
As the main door was open, they entered,<br />
shouting for him. <strong>The</strong>y stumbled into a<br />
22 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
LOCAL HISTORY<br />
darkened room with a foul odour, just as<br />
they heard Sir Richard and his groundsman<br />
returning, carrying the body of a beautiful,<br />
dead woman.<br />
<strong>The</strong> men tried to get the corpse up some<br />
steps but her hand caught in the turret<br />
window frame. Sir Richard, frustrated that he<br />
couldn’t free it, took out his knife and cut it<br />
off! It landed in the lap of Mary’s dress, as she<br />
hid below stairs.<br />
When the men had gone, the girls realising<br />
the room had more bodies than the one they<br />
had just witnessed, fled back to Cranbrook.<br />
(Rumour has it that the actual window<br />
bleeds on the anniversary of this woman’s<br />
death, and there is a secret tunnel from the<br />
castle to Cranbrook that took Bloody Baker’s<br />
carriage underground into town!)<br />
Back in the safety of her fine house in the<br />
High Street, Mary decided to lay a trap. She<br />
would throw a dinner party for the great and<br />
good in the town; Sir Richard was at the top of<br />
the guest list.<br />
Days later, they arrived and much beer,<br />
wine, food and merriment was made all<br />
evening until Sir Richard asked her why he<br />
hadn’t seen her for so long?<br />
She replied that she had actually visited<br />
him just days earlier, only to find a room<br />
full of corpses of local missing girls! Sir<br />
Richard laughed and demanded proof of<br />
her outrageous accusation. Only then was<br />
the hand brought out, still wearing the<br />
engagement ring that had been given to the<br />
deceased girl by one of the other guests!<br />
Sir Richard, realising his peril, jumped<br />
for his sword, but not quickly enough. <strong>The</strong><br />
servants and gentlemen drew their knives<br />
and swords and forced “Bloody Baker” to<br />
the cell above the entrance to St Dunstan’s<br />
Church (still there), thereby stopping<br />
his reign of terror: “So perish the deeds<br />
of Bloody Baker! So perish the Lord of<br />
Sissinghurst!”<br />
SIDE NOTE<br />
<strong>The</strong> other Sir Richard Baker of Sissinghurst<br />
Castle (born 1488) was a very important<br />
man. He became Chancellor of the<br />
Exchequer, not only to King Henry VIII, but<br />
also to King Edward VI then briefly Lady Jane Grey and<br />
finally Queen Mary. It was he who rounded up protestants for execution by “Bloody Mary” right up<br />
until her death. It was while on his way to Cranbrook that a messenger rode up to inform him of<br />
the Queen’s death. At that very spot, he turned his soldiers round to return to Sissinghurst Castle<br />
without their intended prisoners. That place is still caller Baker’s Cross, after that very event.<br />
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<strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 23
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24 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
FEATURE<br />
Joy of Sex<br />
Authors’<br />
Gravestone<br />
<strong>The</strong> Joy of Sex was an<br />
international bestseller<br />
when it was first published<br />
in 1972, written by Dr Alex<br />
Comfort and his wife, Jane<br />
Few people know that<br />
Cranbrook has a strong<br />
link to the couple, as<br />
there is a wood off the<br />
Swattenden Road, called<br />
Comfort Wood, owned and run by<br />
the Woodland Trust.<br />
Near the centre, is the double<br />
gravestone of Jane and Alex<br />
Comfort, who were buried there<br />
in 1991 and 2000, having enabled<br />
the trust to purchase it. <strong>The</strong>re<br />
are several footpaths through<br />
the wood, as the Woodland Trust<br />
has extended its woodland up<br />
to Freight Lane. <strong>The</strong> map shows<br />
where the gravestone lies, down<br />
an unmarked small cul de sac<br />
path.<br />
<strong>The</strong> wood was planted in 1991<br />
but unfortunately the ashes are<br />
being ravaged by die back. This<br />
leaves woodland spaces that are<br />
ideal for the Bluebells, Wood<br />
Anenomes and Stitchwort that<br />
have been wonderful this year.<br />
Throughout the summer it is a<br />
great place to see butterflies such<br />
as Orange Tips, Meadow Browns,<br />
Commas, Ringlets and Speckled<br />
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Last year, Barn Owls could be<br />
seen hunting the hedges, and<br />
often Buzzards are mobbed by<br />
Crows and Kestrels can be seen<br />
hunting the fields adjacent.<br />
<strong>The</strong> entrance for footpaths is<br />
from Swattenden Lane or from<br />
Freight Lane.<br />
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<strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 25
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26 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
FEATURE<br />
Researching<br />
the Village<br />
Airstrip<br />
Graham Holmes and Peter Mellor investigate<br />
Visitors to the<br />
wider estate at<br />
Sissinghurst<br />
Castle Garden<br />
would be unaware<br />
that the footpath leading to the<br />
Bird Hide and Dig Dog Lane,<br />
passes quite close to what was<br />
once a World War II airfield. It<br />
hardly seems possible, given<br />
the restricted nature of the<br />
field, enclosed as it is by native<br />
hedgerows.<br />
For a brief spell in 1943 it<br />
was indeed a grass airstrip, in<br />
use by No.653 Squadron, Royal<br />
Air Force. However, its aircraft<br />
were not the iconic fighters of<br />
the period but the Taylorcraft<br />
Austers of an Air Observation<br />
Post squadron. <strong>The</strong>se aircraft<br />
were small, rather flimsy<br />
looking machines that carried a<br />
pilot and two observers whose<br />
responsibility it was to note<br />
and correct the accuracy of<br />
fire from the artillery on the<br />
ground. <strong>The</strong> Army provided<br />
the pilots and observers and<br />
the RAF, the ground crews.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Auster was the ideal<br />
aircraft for the job, having the<br />
ability to take off and land in<br />
confined areas like the airstrip<br />
at Sissinghurst.<br />
No.653 had formed at<br />
RAF Old Sarum, Wiltshire<br />
on the 20 June 1942 and its<br />
first deployment was to RAF<br />
Penshurst on the 7 September<br />
of that year. On the 17 August<br />
1943 the squadron moved<br />
to the temporary base at<br />
Sissinghurst, coming under<br />
the orders of the British Army<br />
12 Corps and participating in<br />
Exercise Peacock. It is believed<br />
that this exercise aimed at<br />
further improving the role of<br />
the Air Observation Posts and<br />
would ultimately culminate<br />
in their use following the<br />
Normandy landings in June<br />
1944. <strong>The</strong> exercise complete,<br />
the Squadron returned to<br />
Penshurst on the 17 September<br />
1943.<br />
<strong>The</strong> Sissinghurst airstrip was<br />
located in a field called “<strong>The</strong><br />
Large Field” that contained<br />
low hedges and a SW to NE<br />
orientation – ideal for take<br />
offs and landings – the only<br />
hazard being an oak tree on<br />
the western hedge boundary!<br />
Due to its temporary nature,<br />
no buildings were erected<br />
and personnel would have<br />
worked and slept under canvas.<br />
Officers may well have been<br />
billeted in the area. Today,<br />
there is no trace whatsoever<br />
to remind us of what had been<br />
taking place in 1943.<br />
I am indebted to Peter<br />
Mellor for his valuable help<br />
in producing this article,<br />
condensed from his detailed<br />
research in 2017 – now in the<br />
Castle Archives.<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 27
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28 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
LOCAL HISTORY<br />
MUSEUM MATTERS<br />
Thousands of horses…<br />
During the closure of the<br />
museum due to Covid,<br />
we were able to catch up<br />
on many tasks and it was<br />
while we were checking<br />
the contents of a store cupboard that<br />
we came across a box of photographs -<br />
800 in total.<br />
<strong>The</strong>y are official images passed<br />
by the War Office for transmission<br />
abroad, depicting every aspect of<br />
the horrors between 1914-1918 and<br />
include many of the Western Front in<br />
France, Mesopotamia, Belgium, naval<br />
activities, nursing and much, much<br />
more. I was staggered at the number of<br />
horses in the pictures – thousands and<br />
thousands.<br />
<strong>The</strong> photographs needed some<br />
conservation work and we were able<br />
to secure a grant from the Museums<br />
Association. This has allowed us to<br />
store them in acid free sleeves and<br />
storage boxes. A group of volunteers<br />
packaged each photograph individually<br />
recording all the information known<br />
about it. Enquiries at the Imperial War<br />
Museum suggest our collection is not<br />
ABOVE: Cavalry in training on the British<br />
Western Front in France.<br />
unique but well worth conserving as a<br />
collection of Official WWI images.<br />
I will just mention that while talking<br />
to the museum, someone dropped into<br />
the conversation that their collection<br />
consists of 11 million photographs!<br />
When we get to November this year<br />
and the Remembrance Day Parade to<br />
the War Memorial, the photographs<br />
will be on display for the public to<br />
view in the Vestry Hall from 10am –<br />
3pm. Please do make a note to come<br />
and have a look at this extraordinary<br />
collection which we have been able to<br />
rescue and conserve.<br />
Mike Huxley<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 29
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30 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
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<strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 31
HOME & GARDEN<br />
IN THE<br />
GARDEN<br />
“Nature never was nor should be tidy”<br />
says writes Penny Royal<br />
It was great to see that last<br />
month was celebrated by<br />
some as No Mow May in<br />
an effort to bring some<br />
relief to our beleaguered<br />
flora and fauna.<br />
But obviously the message<br />
to leave the mowers in the<br />
shed to allow the flora to grow<br />
had not got through to our<br />
councils. Why are they so hell<br />
bent on ridding the roadsides,<br />
roundabouts and any other<br />
public areas of flowers or<br />
grasses that had the nerve<br />
to put their heads above the<br />
earth’s parapet?<br />
Perhaps the most horrendous<br />
sight was the mowing of an<br />
entire verge of bluebells, in<br />
full bloom, on a Goudhurst<br />
Road, ironically not far from<br />
Bedgebury Pinetum.<br />
Local social media was full of<br />
condemnation and rightly so.<br />
<strong>The</strong> sloping verge had been a<br />
glorious site until the arrival of<br />
the (council?) contractor and<br />
his machine.<br />
With wildlife and wild plants<br />
under threat as never before,<br />
we are constantly being urged<br />
to make life better for birds,<br />
bees, hedgehogs all the other<br />
creatures, despite their habitats<br />
disappearing at an alarming<br />
rate.<br />
Councils across Kent are<br />
wasting hundreds of thousands<br />
of pounds on ridding our verges<br />
of wildlife habitat, money<br />
which could be better spent<br />
helping nature to claim back<br />
land for so many threatened<br />
species. <strong>The</strong> same could also be<br />
said for those responsible for<br />
maintaining churchyards.<br />
Obviously, for safety reasons,<br />
“Why are they so hell bent on ridding the<br />
roadsides, roundabouts and any other public<br />
areas of flowers or grasses that had the<br />
nerve to put their heads above the earth’s<br />
parapet?”<br />
plants can’t be allowed to block<br />
sightlines at road junctions<br />
but the verge outside my own<br />
home has been scythed to bare<br />
earth more than four times this<br />
year and we don’t even have a<br />
driveway and live on a straight<br />
road!<br />
We should take a leaf out<br />
of the book used in France.<br />
All along their motorways are<br />
unfettered wild plants and trees.<br />
<strong>The</strong> central reservations are<br />
filled with Amelanchier lamarkii<br />
trees, full of white blossom in<br />
the spring; the verges a sight<br />
to behold with mile upon mile<br />
of millions of cowslips. <strong>The</strong>se<br />
give way to summer flowers<br />
and there is not a strimmer or<br />
a grass cutter to be seen. Every<br />
village seems to covet plants,<br />
whether growing wild or in<br />
delightful hanging baskets,<br />
tubs and even old rowing boats.<br />
We are being asked to help<br />
our wildlife while agricultural<br />
land is being built on, habitat<br />
for wildlife is shrinking and<br />
what little is left is being<br />
scythed for no other reason<br />
than to make our countryside<br />
look tidy. Nature never was nor<br />
should be “tidy”. Penny Royal<br />
32 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
HOME & GARDEN<br />
Let’s Cook<br />
Special Chicken<br />
Pithivier<br />
I have often pondered why the<br />
names for some French foods<br />
always sound more inviting,<br />
particularly the wonderful word<br />
Pithivier – so much nicer than<br />
pie! But whatever you call my<br />
latest offering, delicious is the<br />
word I would use. I ate this at a<br />
dinner party and just had to add<br />
it to my recipe collection. I hope<br />
you like it as much as I do.<br />
4tbsp pink peppercorns, crushed<br />
300g chicken thighs skin removed<br />
cubed<br />
200g Brie cheese<br />
100g dried cranberries<br />
2 egg yolks beaten<br />
WHAT TO DO<br />
1. Roll out two circles of puff pastry,<br />
one 25cm and the other 30cm.<br />
Leave to chill on two trays.<br />
2. Add oil to frying pan and fry the<br />
onion and garlic, taking care not<br />
to brown them. Add the salt and<br />
peppercorns and mix.<br />
3. Add the chicken and cranberries<br />
and cook for about seven minutes<br />
then cool.<br />
4. Slice off the top and base of<br />
the brie and place in the centre of<br />
the smaller pastry round. Add the<br />
chicken mix all round the cheese<br />
making sure to keep the edges of<br />
the pastry clear before brushing<br />
with the egg yolk. Take the second<br />
circle and put on top, smoothing<br />
it down as you go and then seal it<br />
INGREDIENTS<br />
Serves 2-3<br />
2 x packs puff pasty<br />
2tbps olive oil<br />
1 onion finely chopped<br />
4 cloves garlic grated or finely<br />
chopped<br />
1tsp salt<br />
firmly, crimping the edge. Brush the<br />
top with egg mix and chill for 30<br />
minutes.<br />
5. With a knife, score the top and<br />
make a small hole in the centre to<br />
allow steam to escape. Heat the<br />
oven to 200C/ fan 180C/ Gas 6 and<br />
put in the tray to heat up. When<br />
at temperature, place the pithivier<br />
on the tray and cook for about 25<br />
minutes or until golden brown.<br />
Bon appetite!<br />
Emma Fraser<br />
Buy delicious grass fed meat. Reared to the highest welfare and nutritional standards.<br />
From our Farm to your Plate, Truly Natural Living. Free local deliveries.<br />
Shop online or in-store at the farm. Paley Farm, Cranbrook TN17 2LX | www.paleyfarm.co.uk | 01580 891046<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 33
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34 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
BADGER’S PLOT<br />
<strong>Summer</strong> Harvests<br />
<strong>Summer</strong> time on the plot or in the<br />
kitchen garden is a culmination of<br />
all the hard work and preparation<br />
undertaken earlier in the year. It<br />
is, hopefully, going to be a time to<br />
harvest and enjoy the fruits of your labours.<br />
Once again, the forthcoming period has<br />
been split into early, mid and late summer.<br />
EARLY SUMMER<br />
Sow outside: French and runner beans,<br />
beetroot, carrots, courgettes, cucumber, kohl<br />
rabi, lettuce, marrow, spring onions, pak<br />
choi, peas, pumpkins, radish, salad rocket,<br />
swede, sweetcorn and turnips – quite a list!<br />
Planting outside from seed trays or pots:<br />
Brussels sprouts, leek and beans.<br />
Harvesting: First harvest of early beetroot,<br />
carrots, potatoes, lettuce, broad bean, garlic<br />
and peas. If you are fortunate enough to<br />
have an asparagus bed, harvesting the<br />
delicious spears can continue until the end<br />
of June<br />
Preparing ground: Clear away any<br />
overwintered cabbage. Weed all beds where<br />
sowing or planting is yet to take place.<br />
MID SUMMER<br />
Sow outside: Lettuce (for harvesting in the<br />
autumn) and winter salads such as endive<br />
and chicory.<br />
Planting outside: Kale, swede, savoy<br />
cabbage, cauliflower, purple sprouting<br />
broccoli.<br />
Harvesting: July can be a time of<br />
abundance. Potatoes, peas, broad beans,<br />
courgettes and early salad plants should all<br />
be ready. At the same time lift and store your<br />
onions, garlic and shallots to enable them to<br />
dry out.<br />
Preparing ground: Some of the early<br />
harvests are now coming to an end and the<br />
opportunity should be taken to clear the<br />
site of any debris and weeds. As explained<br />
in previous issues, the beds can be used<br />
for second cropping, especially if you are a<br />
no-dig gardener. A gentle hoe to loosen the<br />
soil and you are ready to plant – provided<br />
you have had the foresight to sow some<br />
lettuce or brassica seed back in April! <strong>The</strong><br />
alternative is to direct-sow things like beans,<br />
carrots and swede making sure that you thin<br />
out the plants as they appear.<br />
LATE SUMMER<br />
Sowing outside or in the greenhouse:<br />
Spinach and chard for overwintering. Late<br />
sowings of salad crops<br />
such as spring onions<br />
and radish.<br />
Harvesting: This<br />
is the time when<br />
everyone offers<br />
you their surplus<br />
runner beans!<br />
Tomatoes, peppers<br />
and cucumbers<br />
should also now be in<br />
plentiful supply. It’s<br />
a good time to check<br />
those potatoes and<br />
onions that have been<br />
in storage.<br />
JOBS ON THE PLOT<br />
HEN HOUSE<br />
POULTRY<br />
Quality Point of Lay Chickens<br />
Excellent choice available, fully<br />
vaccinated, laying lovely fresh<br />
eggs in a variety of shell colours<br />
Hopefully, you will not have neglected<br />
the all-important task of weeding. This<br />
period will see many weeds setting<br />
seed and if you ignore the signs you are<br />
storing up trouble for later. Whenever<br />
you are on the plot, why not set aside a<br />
“10 minute weed” session? If you rent<br />
an allotment, remember unwanted<br />
weed seeds will drift on to your<br />
neighbour’s plot.<br />
A word here about watering. Your<br />
soil type will determine how to manage<br />
watering you plants. Much of the soil in<br />
the parish is made up of Wealden Clay<br />
which, despite its appearance, actually<br />
retains moisture exceedingly well<br />
reducing the frequency of watering. In<br />
other areas you will find the sandstone<br />
of the Hastings Beds. This can be very<br />
porous and not at all water retentive, so<br />
regular watering is needed. Whatever<br />
your soil, regularly incorporating wellrotted<br />
organic matter will increase its<br />
moisture retaining capacity.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are critical periods when<br />
watering is necessary; water helps<br />
seeds to germinate, it is also beneficial<br />
when seedlings have been transplanted<br />
into the soil and later, it will help the<br />
swelling of peas beans and tomatoes. As<br />
a rough guide, when watering it is best<br />
to water thoroughly rather than merely<br />
wetting the surface. If you have a<br />
greenhouse or shed, get yourself water<br />
butts to capture rainwater – it contains<br />
nitrates, one of the key elements that<br />
plants need. Badger<br />
Country living at its best!<br />
www.henhousepoultry.co.uk<br />
01622 843649 (Sutton Valence)<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 35
High Street, Cranbrook,<br />
Kent, TN173RB<br />
Telephone: 01580 715008<br />
reception@hammondoptical.co.uk<br />
hammondoptical.co.uk<br />
Holly’s Funerals<br />
Modern, Beautiful and Bespoke<br />
Funeral Choices<br />
We provide a highly flexible & personal<br />
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Please call for a friendly, informal chat or<br />
to make an appointment<br />
01580 389184<br />
www.hollysfunerals.co.uk<br />
Hartley Dyke, Cranbrook<br />
36 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
South East Open Studios<br />
Celebrates 25 Years<br />
South East Open Studios (SEOS) is a not-for-profit, artist-led organisation that depends on<br />
the participation and engagement of both artists and makers – experienced and new!<br />
ART<br />
This year SEOS celebrates its 25th year<br />
of helping artists celebrate and exhibit<br />
art and craft. A true milestone. With<br />
refreshed branding and recognising the<br />
need to connect with artists from all types<br />
of backgrounds and all genres support, it’s all set to<br />
celebrate another 25 years.<br />
Artists and makers of all genres sign up and people are<br />
invited to visit the artists in their studios from 3-19 June.<br />
Some artists team up with each other and small groups<br />
get together, others choose to exhibit alone.<br />
Visitors can see the artists demonstrating their<br />
art, maybe some are just working, others will actively<br />
promote individual demonstrations. Whichever, it’s a joy<br />
to see the artist in their environs<br />
and to visit so many lovely studios<br />
and venues. Some large, some<br />
tiny, but all loved, and all visitors<br />
are welcome! Artists will talk to<br />
you about their processes, their<br />
passion, their philosophy. Learn<br />
how they create, and most work is<br />
for sale.<br />
This is a wonderful opportunity<br />
to see so much different art, meet<br />
the people behind the art and to<br />
see so much of our beautiful Kent<br />
countryside.<br />
Cranbrook and environs are<br />
well served with exhibiting artists<br />
and Grierson Galleries, based<br />
in Cranbrook, is delighted to be working<br />
with SEOS this year to help celebrate<br />
its anniversary. Visit the gallery to pick<br />
up your free SEOS brochure and see the<br />
works of 23 local artists, from ceramics to<br />
oils, watercolours, award winning garden<br />
sculptures, photography, abstracts, works<br />
inspired by the local countryside, mixed<br />
media. You name it it’ll be in the gallery for<br />
everyone to admire!<br />
Each artist will be exhibiting one piece<br />
and the visitor can then chose which<br />
studios to visit. Please do visit. It’s a great<br />
opportunity to see and appreciate so many<br />
talented local artists in one place!<br />
Annie Watsham<br />
Flow Lines 4 by Karen<br />
Birchwood<br />
Nicola Colbran<br />
Urbane Jungle by<br />
Christine Hopwood<br />
Urchin Bowl by Dizzy<br />
Pragnell<br />
EXHIBITING<br />
ARTISTS<br />
Caroline Anderson,<br />
Louise Pettifer, Jane<br />
Gray, Jemimah Patterson,<br />
Jeremy Westgate, Nicky<br />
Colbran, Clive Dand,<br />
Dizzy Pragnell, Liz Betts,<br />
David West, Susie Vittay,<br />
Claire Dominic, Christine<br />
Hopwood, Kate Schuricht,<br />
Jade Taylor, Lenka Kalafut,<br />
Kristin Watt-Bonar, Clare<br />
Winchester, Rosemary<br />
Houghton, Liz Bewley,<br />
Karen Birchwood, Phil<br />
Auden and Rowena<br />
McWilliams.<br />
Daisy by<br />
Claire Dominic<br />
Mother Love by<br />
Caroline Anderson<br />
Watching by<br />
Jade Taylor<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 37
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38 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
LEGAL ADVICE<br />
Residential Leasehold<br />
Ground Rent<br />
Welcoming news for<br />
leasehold homeowners<br />
We welcome the<br />
major changes<br />
to residential<br />
lease ground<br />
rents<br />
following the Leasehold<br />
Reform (Ground Rent) Act <strong>2022</strong><br />
which was passed through the<br />
commons without opposition.<br />
For far too long, leaseholders<br />
have encountered difficulties and<br />
high fees regarding the issues<br />
with unreasonably high annual<br />
ground rents and in some cases,<br />
rents escalating greatly over a<br />
short period of time. This has<br />
caused problems for re-sale of<br />
property due to mortgage lenders<br />
not accepting the position of<br />
the terms of the rent charged<br />
by the landlord/freeholder for<br />
the property. <strong>The</strong> Competition<br />
Authority (CMA) secured<br />
commitments with major<br />
homebuilders to cease the terms<br />
of leases which included the<br />
doubling of ground rent charges<br />
to homeowners.<br />
Historically, the terms of<br />
residential leases included<br />
clauses for the increase of<br />
ground rent, which had to align<br />
with the Council for Mortgage<br />
Lenders (now UK Finance<br />
Lenders). Landlords/freeholders<br />
continued to create new<br />
residential leases with escalating<br />
rent clauses. Increasing annual<br />
rent was not only a financial<br />
burden for the leaseholder but<br />
became unacceptable to the<br />
mortgage lenders. Leaseholders<br />
have therefore been left with<br />
no choice than to agree costly<br />
variations to the terms of<br />
the registered lease when<br />
progressing a sale transaction.<br />
<strong>The</strong> government’s ban on<br />
landlords charging ground<br />
rent on residential leases in<br />
England and Wales comes into<br />
force on the 30 June <strong>2022</strong> and<br />
anyone buying a new home with<br />
a long lease will be free of the<br />
ground rent annul charge. <strong>The</strong><br />
act will mean that ground rents<br />
on new residential homes and<br />
flats granted for a term of over<br />
21 years will be charged at a<br />
‘peppercorn’ per year. Effectively,<br />
this means, nothing to pay in<br />
respect of rent!<br />
<strong>The</strong> changes in legislation<br />
have been proposed for some<br />
time to consider the ground rent<br />
terms, which were unfair for<br />
leaseholders. <strong>The</strong> provisions of<br />
the 2002 act will not take place<br />
immediately but generally will<br />
commence within six months<br />
of the Royal Assent. <strong>The</strong> act<br />
will bring homeownership of<br />
residential leasehold property a<br />
fairer and financially beneficial<br />
position.<br />
For existing leaseholders with<br />
problematic leases, who choose<br />
to extend the term of their<br />
lease, through the non-statutory<br />
(voluntary) action, they will also<br />
benefit from the changes of the<br />
legislation under the new act.<br />
<strong>The</strong> extension of the lease (Deed<br />
of Variation of the original lease)<br />
will restrict ground rent to ‘a<br />
peppercorn rent’. Many existing<br />
MAURICE PULLIN<br />
landlords are already taking steps<br />
to procure the position of the<br />
new changes.<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are special provisions<br />
and some exceptions included<br />
within the provisions of the<br />
new Act which need to be<br />
considered, to include shared<br />
ownership leases and retirement<br />
accommodation leases. Such<br />
provisions will not come into<br />
effect until April 2023.<br />
This is an important milestone<br />
in the system for homeownership<br />
and affordability of residential<br />
leases for the next generation.<br />
If you are in the process of<br />
purchase a new build leasehold<br />
property, please ensure that<br />
the developer has taken into<br />
consideration the changes of<br />
legislation contained in the<br />
new Leasehold Reform (Ground<br />
Rent) Act <strong>2022</strong>.<br />
PAULA SAVAGE<br />
Buss Murton can provide professional advice and<br />
assistance to new and existing homebuyers of<br />
leasehold property. Please do not hesitate to call<br />
Paula Savage on 01892 502358 / 01892 510222 or<br />
email psavage@bussmurton.co.uk quoting<br />
<strong>Cake</strong> Magazine.<br />
Clermont House, High Street,<br />
Cranbrook, TN17 3DN<br />
01580 712 215 or info@<br />
bussmurton.co.uk<br />
www.bussmurton.co.uk<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 39
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PROUD TO BE SERVING THE<br />
COMMUNITY SINCE 1852<br />
Your fully independent, family owned, Funeral<br />
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With our 24-hour emergency service, we are only<br />
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At the earliest stage possible, you will speak directly<br />
with one of our experienced Funeral Directors, who<br />
will be there to help, support and guide you through<br />
the whole of the funeral process.<br />
Bank Street, Cranbrook,<br />
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01580 713636<br />
enquiries@jperigoeandson.com<br />
Dixter Road, Northiam,<br />
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01797 260316<br />
www.jperigoeandson.com<br />
J. Perigoe & Son is a Trading Division of West & Coe Limited,<br />
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40 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
Update<br />
Two New<br />
Members<br />
for Parish<br />
Council<br />
With two<br />
councillors<br />
having<br />
resigned<br />
from the<br />
parish council but no call for<br />
an election, Ant Tomlinson and<br />
Julie Simpson were co-opted to<br />
fill the vacancies.<br />
Mr Tomlinson is well known<br />
for being a co-founder of the<br />
popular Cranbrook Junior<br />
Football Club. In a professional<br />
capacity, he helps local people,<br />
charities and small businesses<br />
develop their websites.<br />
An active member of the<br />
community, he is a volunteer<br />
at the windmill, involved in<br />
Wellbeing in the Weald and has<br />
become the development officer<br />
at Cranbrook School.<br />
A father himself, he believes<br />
he is as a good representative<br />
for a younger generation. He is<br />
keen to be involved in ensuring<br />
that children have the best<br />
possible future while retaining<br />
classic, community values.<br />
<strong>The</strong> other newcomer is Julie<br />
Simpson who offered “energy,<br />
enthusiasm, time and 39 years<br />
of local knowledge” having lived<br />
all that time in Sissinghurst<br />
with her publisher husband<br />
Peter and four children.<br />
She is particularly known<br />
as the founder of the Wealden<br />
Times, and the Surrey Homes<br />
magazines. She trained as a<br />
drama teacher but worked in<br />
recruitment and went on to<br />
sell books to schools before<br />
founding the WT magazine.<br />
She is a trustee of the<br />
Cranbrook and District<br />
Age Concern and her other<br />
- interests include the<br />
environment, conservation,<br />
child welfare and schooling.<br />
Five of her eight<br />
grandchildren – seven boys and<br />
one girl – are at school which<br />
has turned her attention to<br />
education.<br />
She and her husband have<br />
recently made half their home<br />
a safe haven for a Ukrainian<br />
family. A grandmother, two<br />
daughters and a two-year-old<br />
grandson fled Kyiv, leaving a<br />
father and brother to face the<br />
fighting. TF<br />
Ant Tomlinson<br />
Julie Simpson<br />
<strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong> 41
THE CAKE CHATS WITH…<br />
Gaynor Hatch<br />
Trisha Fermor talks to Gaynor Hatch who has overseen the sale of thousands<br />
of pounds worth of goodies in a charity shop<br />
For Gaynor Hatch every day was<br />
“like Christmas” when she and her<br />
“fantastic team” sorted through<br />
donated bags at the Hospice in the<br />
Weald shop in Cranbrook.<br />
For more than 10 years, she was responsible<br />
for everything that arrived at the Stone Street<br />
outlet, from amazing costume jewellery to<br />
handbags and clothes and china to books and<br />
CDs.<br />
But on 20 May, she celebrated her<br />
retirement with her volunteer staff, just a<br />
week after putting her last price tag on a<br />
donated item.<br />
Gaynor, 57, who lives in Northiam with her<br />
husband, Tony, a retired plumber, has spent<br />
nearly all her working life helping others,<br />
including time with Cancer Research and<br />
Barnardo’s. She was also head house keeper at<br />
the Spa Hotel in Tunbridge Wells where she<br />
met her then husband-to-be who was head of<br />
maintenance.<br />
After a “full on” spell with a Crowborough<br />
cleaning company, which offered a 24-hour<br />
service, she decided it was time to move on.<br />
She was looking for a job in the charity sector<br />
A Hermes scarf raised £400 in May's<br />
silent auction<br />
and soon found herself working for Hospice in<br />
the Weald.<br />
Speaking just days before her retirement<br />
party, Gaynor said: “Every day is like<br />
Christmas. You don’t know what’s in that<br />
bag. We get a lot of brand new clothes coming<br />
in still with their tags and the standard of<br />
clothes we sell is very high. I only put the best<br />
of what we get on sale and people like us for<br />
the quality.”<br />
<strong>The</strong> silent auctions held occasionally at<br />
the shop are hugely successful, the May one<br />
raising a record £2,105. Top of the bidding<br />
was £400 for a Hermes scarf while a cheese<br />
dish went for £75. A group called the Welly<br />
Walkers, who each donate £1 for each walk,<br />
recently handed over £70 to the charity.<br />
Gaynor said: “<strong>The</strong> auctions are really<br />
successful and people are very generous with<br />
their bidding.”<br />
While much of her life has involved helping<br />
others, she has been the recipient of muchneeded<br />
care when she had part of a kidney<br />
removed due to cancer.<br />
She said: “Six years ago, I had packed up<br />
smoking then began to get pains. If I hadn’t<br />
packed up the cancer would not have been<br />
found. Smoking saved my life. I had keyhole<br />
surgery and three months off. Hospice were<br />
brilliant.”<br />
Gaynor was full of praise for her team<br />
of volunteers, from Audrey, 92, to younger<br />
members of the team, including the Three<br />
Degrees (Marian, Benice and Pam) who are<br />
responsible for the “time consuming” window<br />
dressing. In all, there are about 27 people who<br />
give up their time to man the shop.<br />
Gaynor was keen to point out that dogs are<br />
allowed in too and are given a treat. On the<br />
day <strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> visited, everyone was delighted<br />
that a robin had taken up residence and<br />
would eat out of Gaynor’s hand.<br />
42 <strong>The</strong> <strong>Cake</strong> • <strong>Summer</strong> <strong>2022</strong>
An extra pair of hands<br />
when you need them!<br />
• Bookkeeping<br />
• Credit control<br />
• Data entry<br />
• Back office support<br />
• Training course<br />
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• Newsletters<br />
...and more<br />
Can you relate to one or<br />
more of these statements?<br />
“I want to spend time building my business - not doing paperwork”<br />
“I want to take control of my accounts rather than have them<br />
controlling me”<br />
“I need help in the office but don’t have the equipment<br />
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“I could do with an extra pair of hands but can't justify the cost<br />
or commitment of employing staff”<br />
“I need to improve my brand, online presence and market<br />
my services, but I don’t have the time ”<br />
If the answer is Yes, we think it's time you<br />
called Pink Giraffes Limited!<br />
if the service you are looking for isn't here please call us<br />
T. 01580 848190 E. enquiries@pinkgiraffes.co.uk<br />
www.pinkgiraffes.co.uk
Local firm of solicitors for all your<br />
personal and business needs<br />
Property Conveyancing<br />
Family, Children & Divorce<br />
Employment law<br />
Wills, Trusts and Probate<br />
Litigation & Dispute Resolution<br />
Company & Commercial law<br />
Our Cranbrook Office:<br />
Clermont House<br />
High Street<br />
Cranbrook<br />
Kent TN17 3DN<br />
T: 01580 712 215<br />
E: info@bussmurton.co.uk<br />
www.bussmurton.co.uk<br />
CRANBROOK | TUNBRIDGE WELLS | EAST GRINSTEAD<br />
Buss Murton Law LLP is a Limited Liability Partnership No. OC345994 and is authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority