Bridge Trust retires from retail.

Once upon a time the Bridge Trust had a furniture sales warehouse in Tonbridge, a charity shop near Tonbridge railway station and a charity shop in Tunbridge Wells.  The Tonbridge shop rarely made a profit but the other outlets were profitable.  It was decided to close the Tonbridge shop as there is little point in running an operation at a loss.

The furniture warehouse premises had to be vacated.  After much searching it reopened in premises in Paddock Wood. Sales fell substantially so it was decided to close the warehouse.

In Tunbridge Wells the shop in Camden Road was small so it was decided to relocate to larger premises on Camden Road closer to the town centre.  It was decided also to open a further outlet in Grosvenor Road selling clothes.  Both Tunbridge Wells outlets have closed.

Health Update

An appointment at Pembury Hospital for my pacemaker to be monitored.  Working well and doing its job.  No 'murmers'.

Next day a visit to my GP surgery for blood test results.  My cholesterol is back within the range of normality and my diabetes is under control.  Must keep taking the pills.

More Liberal Democrat hypocrisy

Dr Bullion has had a letter published in  The Times of Tunbridge Wells in which he criticises a Tunbridge Wells Borough Councillor who has moved to Norfolk and continues to represent his ward, travelling to and fro for meetings.  He is a Tory councillor.

Before Dr Bullion started throwing stones he should have considered the damage to  the Lib Dem glasshouse.

See below:

https://kentcommunityactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2011/02/

Dear me.  Nothing like cheap political point scoring.

Twerp of the year award

It's that time of year.  Many potential winners but this year the outstanding candidate is David Lammy who is a serial performer in the stupidity stakes.

Overpowering 'music' at Rusthall Fireworks

Most enjoyable firework display this year.  Only downside music blasting out from the loudspeakers used for public address.  So loud one could hardly hear the bangs from the fireworks!

A sad sight

A letter received today from NHS informing me that my eyes are nor affected by my diabetes.  Then off to Southborough for an eye test.  All well.

However Southborough is a sad looking place.  No banks, a big void where once the council offices and theatre stood, closed pubs.  All very depressing.

However the most depressing sight was the notice in the window of the erstwhile Cafe Bliss.  Premises to let. The cafe was a community asset but when shove came to push the support of those prepared to bask  in the glory in better days was not to be found when the going got tough.

In happier days:

Health Update

Had a blood test earlier this week.  Results in.  I have type 2 diabetes.  Ah well, more diet changes.

Worsening bus services

From 27 July the 402 service between Tunbridge Wells and Bromley will terminate at Dunton Green.

Some time ago the Tunbridge Wells - Ashford service was cut back to Tenterden.

This year the 6A route between Tunbridge Wells and Maidstone was terminated at West Peckham.  The loss of two buses an hour between Tunbridge Wells and Maidstone is compensated  partially by the provision of an extra bus on the route between the two towns via Tonbridge.

Pacemaker Update

An appointment with the heart failure nurse today elicited the good news that my heart is working towards the bottom of  the 'normal' range for heart activity, an improvement of over 100% pre my medication and pacemaker implant.

Pacemaker Diary 3

A year ago today I had an angiogram. Two months ago  I had a pacemaker/defibrillator fitted.  I am making good progress and the heart failure nurse is hoping to discharge me from her care next week.  the care I have received at Pembury and Maidstone hospitals, the heart failure  nurse and my GP has been excellent.

General Election 2017

How will the results pan out?  A few suggestions:

1.  The UKIP vote will collapse

2.  The Conservatives will win an overall majority of between 80 - 100 seats.

3.  Labour will lose seats.

4. The Liberal Democrats will win a few seats.

5. The SNP will lose some seats.

Update:  3 out of 5  :)

Two casual vacancies

Rusthall Parish Council has nine members.  However two have resigned creating casual vacancies to be filled by the remaining councillors choosing from people who apply rather than have the expense of a by-election. Will there by a mad rush of applicants?  I have my doubts.

Pacemaker Diary 2

Coming to the end of my course of antibacterial pills - 4 of one type and 3 of another per day.  Hopefully they have worked.  The dressing over my incision comes off tomorrow.  It itches, but no pain.

What is a pain is not being permitted to drive for a month. Dressing, undressing and combing my hair is difficult as I must not raise my left arm above shoulder height.

Pacemaker diary

I had a pacemaker fitted on 2nd. May 2017.  The device is called an ICD as it has a defibrillator function as well as the usual pacemaker function.  Fitting the device was at the end of a long road that commenced in November 2015 when I visited my GP with symptoms of breathlessness and very rapid weight gain caused by water retention.

I have received excellent service from the NHS: from my GP, the heart failure nurse and staff at Tunbridge Wells and Maidstone hospitals.

Now for the next steps.  I must not raise my left arm above shoulder height for 6 weeks and I am not permitted to drive for a month.  In June a further visit to Maidstone hospital has been arranged to enable the settings on my device to be changed should It be deemed appropriate so to do.

Early days.  I walked to and from the polling station today to vote in the county council elections.  No adverse effects, indeed I felt far more comfortable than I have for some time when walking a similar distance.

My diet has not changed.  I am limited to 2 grammes of salt per day and two pints of fluid and I have to continue taking the pills.

Election literature

Two clear days before Kent County Council elections. So far only the Labour candidate's election address has been posted through my letterbox.  Come on Greens, Lib Dims and Tories: where is your literature?

UPDATE:  Conservative leaflet received.  Have seen better, much better election literature from the Tories.

Bureaucracy gone mad.

Rusthall Parish Council  has nine members. It has also the following committees or working parties: allotments, finance, planning and highways. The council has an office and a paid part-time clerk.  The  council precept takes £72,000 out of the pockets of residents and for what?

The traffic calming measures have not been successful, indeed at least one of the signs has disappeared. I have never seen the 'speed gun' in action.  The Rackliff Centre is not needed.

The Rusthall electorate did not have to vote at the last parish elections as only nine people stood for election. Apathy reins.

The Labour candidate for my county council division trumpets that she is vice-chair of the parish council and a member of the newly formed highways committee.  That should lose her a few votes.

Big day this Friday

This Friday I shall be at Maidstone Hospital to have a pacemaker/ defibrillator fitted.  Cannot claim to be looking forward to the experience but the benefits for me far outweigh my mild anxiety.

UPDATE: postponed to next Tuesday.

General Election 2017

So, 8th June it is.  The Tories are going to the country with a  massive lead in the opinion polls.  Should Mrs May return with a  large majority she can claim a further mandate for Brexit legislation.  Labour is in disarray and will fight the election on an anti-austerity prospectus.  The Left will not be able to deselect sitting MPs in the time available.  I expect the Lib Dems to pick up some seats on a pro-EU ticket not withstanding the oaf of a leader.

Bad news for UKIP given their current internal strife.

Kent County Council elections 2017

When the election was contested in 2013 the English Democrats fielded a number of candidates who either did not exist or had not consented to stand.  One of the leading lights of the party was jailed recently for his part in the farce.  This time round there is not a single English Democrat candidate.

In 2013 UKIP ran the Conservatives a close second.  The UKIP bubble has burst and as a consequence the Tories can feel confident of retaining control of the council.

In Tunbridge Wells the long serving James Scholes is not standing for re-election. One interesting snippet. Terry Cload, a former Conservative borough councillor, was expected to stand as a UKIP candidate in Tunbridge Wells West.  In fact he is standing as an Independent in Tunbridge Wells East, the only seat UKIP holds in Tunbridge Wells.  A plot to split the Tory vote?

New rails

The DfT news of improvements to the rail system is welcome.   The key criteria for the works are better connectivity between and within regions and acceleration of services.

The eye-opener is the re-opening and electrification of the Bedford-Northampton line. Thameslink services will be extended from Bedford to  Rugby.  This, together with the building of the eastern section of the Varsity Line between Bedford and Cambridge, will open up new travel opportunities between the West Midlands and East Anglia.

In the East Midlands the Erewash Valley line between Trowell and Trent will again see regular express services between Sheffield and Leicester as  attempts are made to reduce journey times between Sheffield and London.  London-Derby services will not continue to Sheffield.

Preliminary work is to commence on re-opening the line between Plymouth and Okehampton to provide a diversionary route to the coast route via Dawlish.

No progress has been made in the attempts to re-open the Uckfield-Lewes line.  The negative report, commissioned by the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has not helped, nor the news that consideration is being given to developing a fast service between Ashford and Reading via Tonbridge, Redhill and Guildford. However, there is talk of a private consortium prepared to meet the cost of the proposals for BML2.  What would happen to the Spa Valley Railway?

On a more positive note, the go-ahead has been given to the reinstating of passenger services between March and Wisbech.

Finally, the biggest beneficiary is Chiltern Railways.  It will take on the franchise for the Varsity Line services and also will gain running rights on the line between Birmingham New Street and Wolverhampton.  The latter will enable the operation of a through service between London Marylebone and Chester without having to detour round the outskirts of Birmingham.  Chiltern will also take on the operation of the NUCLE route from Nuneaton to Leamington Spa via Coventry as a precursor to the development of a London-Leicester service via this line.  To deal with the problem of capacity at Marylebone it is proposed that the line from South Ruislip be reinstated to enable some services to terminate at Old Oak Common and thus provide an interchange with HS2 and Crossrail.

Wheels coming off?

It has been a bad few days for Robin Tilbrook, chairman of the English Democrats.

One of the party's leading lights has been sent to prison following conviction on nine counts relating to nomination papers for the 2013 Kent County Council elections.

Tilbrook complained to IPSO about the use of the words 'far right' to describe the English Democrats. He lost. The link below is to the IPSO ruling.

https://www.ipso.co.uk/rulings-and-resolution-statements/ruling/?id=14258-16

Poor Uncles: confused as ever.

Between his conviction and sentence Steve Uncles published this tweet.

Ah well, probably cannot tweet from jail.  However Uncles published this in 2015:

I "was about to be exposed on your Anna Cleves 'joke'."

Well I wasn't as there was nothing to be exposed.  At the trial the judge stated that there was no April Fools joke.

Let me put the record straight for the benefit of Uncles and his followers.

In April 2013 I was perusing the list of candidates for the Kent County Council elections.  I have had contact with many officers and councillors in the course of my activity in the voluntary sector and was keen to know who was standing for re-election.  Something looked 'odd' about the names of a few candidates in the Tonbridge & Malling area so I arranged to visit the offices of Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council and inspect the nomination papers.

Later an article appeared in the local press on 26th April 2013:

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/maidstone/news/police-probe-english-democrats--a53478

I contacted the police on 30th April to inform them of my concerns.

Yes!!!

Steve Uncles to serve a prison sentence and pay £1,000 costs.

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/far-right-activist-jailed-for-cheating-122138/

Joy unconfined!!

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/politician-facing-jail-for-cheating-121205/

Improving railways.

Four trains an hour off-peak to London, two trains an hour off-peak to Hastings and that is the sum total of passenger services from Tunbridge Wells for most of the day.

Good service should London be your destination but woeful should you will to travel to Croydon, Bromley or Brighton.

Croydon involves a change at Tonbridge and then an hourly service to Croydon via Redhill or a trip via London Bridge.

Bromley can be reached by changing at Orpington, but not all London-bound trains stop at Orpington, so an additional change at Sevenoaks It is possible to reach Bromley by changing at Sevenoaks and then heading out to Bromley via Swanley. Miles further and slower.

To reach Brighton there are three routes all of which take about  the same time.

1.Via St Leonards (change) and along the line to Brighton.  You might be lucky and catch a through train - otherwise change at Lewes.

2. Via  Redhill.  Change at Tonbridge, Redhill and Gatwick.

3.Via London Bridge.  More expensive than the others

Well, he would say that wouldn't he?

One of our parish councillors has written the following gushing guff.

'Finally I do hope that readers of Rusthall Life appreciate the work the parish council does in the community and realise that it has made a significant difference to the life of this lovely village.'  Bilge.

The village has acquired a hall and council office and pays for a clerk.  All quite unnecessary. Back in 2011 this particular councillor was keen to reopen the public conveniences.  Has it happened?

Smashing New Year

No sooner had the fireworks stopped than there was a bang, a whooshing sound followed by a skidding sound and finally a metallic clunk, all accompanied by a police siren. A car, driven presumably by an idiot, had hit a wall, careered down the road, over the green and into the side of a car.

Cue for one of the people in the car to leg it up the road at some speed before vaulting over the six foot wall into the pub garden!

Six police cars and vans arrived and the occupants began a search of the pub garden, but to no avail.

Happy Christmas

Happy Christmas to all (well, the few) who read this blog and to my Facebook friends.

Smashed out of sight!

The Greens, Lib Dims and Labour decided to merge their campaigns and support the Labour candidate for the by-election in Trench Ward, Tonbridge.  Fat lot of good it did them as the Tory romped home with  61% of the vote.  Labour secured 21% and UKIP 18%.

What price the 'progressive alliance'?

http://votingandboating.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/winning-elections-isnt-difficult-its.html?spref=fb

Abject failure of child protection legislation and organisations.

Over the years I have acquired enough DBS and CRB certificates to cover all the walls of my office.  Doubtless millions of such certificates have been issued to people working with children or vulnerable adults.  All most commendable one might be led to believe.   The reality is that all this paperwork has failed to stop children being assaulted in Rotherham et al, by churches, by Jimmy Savile  and sundry football and athletic coaches.  Add to this the well-documented failure of police forces and social services departments to deal with cases of child abuse.

The root cause of this sorry mess is political failure, failure to see that pen-pushing form filling is not the answer, failure to fund social services departments and failure to stop police forces from not acting for fear of upsetting minorities.  

Health Update

In late November I had an appointment with the cardiac specialist at Maidstone Hospital.  It has been decided I need a pacemaker and other bits and pieces.  Expect to have it fitted in February 2017.

BML2 Update

http://www.bml2.co.uk/the-news/211-department-for-transport-denies-indecisiveness-over-capacity-time-bomb.html

The government plans to spend millions on HS2, yet states GWR electrification is paused, does nothing about the Brighton line capacity issues, etc., etc.

Richmond Park by-election.

We await the naming of the English Democrat candidate for the Richmond Park by-election.  Surely the party is contesting the seat following the crowing of their chairman, Robin Tilbrook, after the Batley by-election?

Brain-dead idiots on the road

A road near me is closed for repairs.  Plenty of signs warning drivers, yet some persist in driving on beyond the signs and look surprised when their way is barred.  Cretins.

Rusthall Fireworks

Last night the annual firework  display took place on Rusthall Common.  Big bonfire, large crowd and plenty of rockets making very loud bangs.  And yet, somehow not as good as usual.  Maybe it was the lack of variety in the display.  We were 'treated' over the loudspeaker system to the annual rendition of Land of Hope and Glory whilst the fireworks were exploding.  If we must have music let it be an appropriate piece by Handel.

Health Update

I have a date to see the cardiac consultant at Maidstone Hospital - 29 November.  The consultation will determine if I am to have a pacemaker fitted.

What a load of old tosh

You can rely on the English Democrats to publish twaddle.  A good example is this article by the party's chairman:

http://robintilbrook.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/the-english-democrats-come-second-in.html

No mention of the fact that the ED candidate lost her deposit.  No mention of the decision of the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and UKIP not to contest the seat.  No mention of the abject result in Witney.

Shock, horror !!!

An MP who keeps his word.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/10/25/zac-goldsmith-quits-as-tory-mp-for-richmond-park-over-heathrow-a/

English Democrats - time to pack up.

What a shambles!  The English Democrats came second in Batley and lost its deposit.  The party gained under 5% of the vote.  UKIP, Lib Dems and the Conservatives did not contest the seat so one might have expected the ED to do rather better.

In Witney the result was a disaster.  52 votes and under 1% of the vote. Monster Raving Loony, Bus-Pass Elvis and Eccentric Party did better.

The bells, the bells.

From to-days  Daily Telegraph:

There is a right ding-dong going on in York, where the Dean of the Minster has sacked the entire complement of 30 volunteer bell ringers. The Dean and Chapter apparently want to appoint a professional chief ringer who will then appoint suitably trained and up to speed with health and safety requirements.

I concur with the following from the article:

This seems yet another example of the advance of corporatism over voluntarism.  Dedicated people who give of their time for the love of the task are shoved aside in the spurious pursuit of 'professional' standards.

Twerp of the Year Award 2016

A massive field this year made it difficult to select an outright winner. I have decided on joint winners: Michael Gove and Nicola Sturgeon.

Bridge Trust AGM

I attended the Bridge Trust AGM this evening.  It was held at a new venue - the Old Fire Station, Tonbridge.  Met up with old colleagues and friends.

The saddest part of the evening was the news that housing associations are applying an 'affordability' test to potential residents, thereby becoming associations which provide affordable as distinct from social housing.The effect is that some people on benefits do not pass the affordability test and are precluded from housing association property.

Fact follows fiction?

In 2012 I published this April Fools' Day article:

http://kentcommunityactivist.blogspot.co.uk/2012/04/all-change-in-kent.html

This week the Times of Tunbridge Wells has the following story:

 Council split talks 

The splitting of Kent into eastern and western authorities will move a step closer on Thursday (October 6) when five local authorities will meet to discuss meeting to form one 'super council'.

Any moves to combine Thanet, Canterbury, Ashford, Dover and Shepway districts could result in the scrapping of Kent County Council.

It is an option supported by Thanet North MP Roger Gale, who wants to see the county council replaced by three unitary councils, with Tunbridge Wells, Tonbridge and Sevenoaks likely to make up a West Kent authority.

Good news

As I wander in Tunbridge Wells I am drawn to planning notices: a must read as I am nosey so-and-so.

Such a notice has appeared outside Zurich House, an empty office block opposite Meadow Road car park.  A planning application has been made by Canterbury Christ Church University for change of use from office to educational purposes.

Unhealthy preoccupation with genitalia

The link below is to an article in the Daily Telegraph and features a Tunbridge Wells clergyman.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/08/28/church-of-england-parishes-consider-first-step-to-break-away-ove/

Why is it that some Christians are preoccupied with how some people, men and women, have homosexual relationships?  It is an unhealthy preoccupation.

The problem is with fundamentalists who have, at best, a simplistic view of biblical reading and interpretation.

Oxymoron

Best example of an oxymoron in the current political debate on the result of the EU referendum:

Liberal Democrat.

Health Update

Having completed all the tests at Pembury Hospital I am to be sent to Maidstone Hospital for consideration to be given to my being fitted with a pacemaker and defibrillator.  The kit is valued at between £40,000 - £50,000!

Miserable failure

Another English Democrat electoral failure.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/17/labours-rosena-allin-khan-wins-tooting-by-election/

Visit to consultant

Recently I had an appointment with the cardiac consultant at my local hospital.  I have been telling people that if I didn't know I was ill I wouldn't know I was ill.

The consultant has stated that my symptoms have improved dramatically and that I look fit and well!  That said, I have to have a cardiac angiogram followed by the possibility of having a pacemaker.  Could have been much worse.

Afternoon on Spa Valley Railway

Enjoyed a ride on the Spa Valley Railway yesterday.  First time I had been along the route all the way from Tunbridge Wells to Eridge.

At Eridge there is no run-round facility the consequence of which is that a locomotive has to sit in one of the two platform roads whilst a train makes a journey from Eridge to Tunbridge Wells and back.

The waiting continues....

Steve Uncles, he of the ban the burka in Kent and machine gun illegal immigrants notoriety, had this to say in a comment on my blog:

Still waiting for a statement on how he planned to ban the burka.  Still waiting to be exposed "on your Anna Cleves 'joke'".

The Great Central had to close.

Facebook has a number of pages devoted to railway nostalgia. There are opinions stated regularly that the Great Central should not have closed.  In particular many bemoan the closure of Nottingham Victoria station.

The Great Central was the last major route to be built.  Unfortunately all major centres of population it passed through were served already by existing lines.  Duplication of routes is not unusual in the UK  as private railway companies competed for traffic.  Most of the collieries and steelworks in Yorkshire, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire were served by two competing railway companies. Nationalisation of the railways in 1947 provided an opportunity for rationalisation and the end of duplication.  The downturn of the steel and mining industries took a lot of traffic away from the railways, as did the expansion of road transport.

So, the Great Central had to close.

Uncles wrong......again.

Mr Uncles regaled Facebook readers with this:

Some humiliation.  The Conservatives won the election.  Uncles came last and lost his deposit.  Time for a celebratory drink.

Twenty years

In 1996 I stood as a candidate at the local elections and managed to win.  In those days all the parties published and delivered election literature.

Fast forward to 2016.  Only one party  (Conservative) delivered election leaflets for the local elections and likewise for the PCC election. Poor show.

Awaiting election literature

The Conservatives have  delivered an election address for the borough council elections in Tunbridge Wells. Nothing from Labour, UKIP, Lib Dems or Greens.

No literature from any of the candidates for the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner election.

A late flurry of activity?

Health Update

Appointment with the heart failure nurse this morning.  Pleased with my progress - no fluid in the lungs, pulse rate down, heart beat ok.  Kidneys working much better.

Tunbridge Wells Borough Council elections

The election season is upon us. Nominations have closed for the borough council elections on 5th May.  Nothing of interest to get excited about.  Possibility of close results in Capel, Rusthall,  Pembury, St John's and Southborough.

http://www.tunbridgewells.gov.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/119960/Borough-Statement-of-Persons-Nominated.pdf

Pathetic drivel

http://steveunclesenglishdemocrats.org/2016/04/03/2016-election-address-steve-uncles-kent-police-commissioner-candidate/

English Democrats in the news.

Two stories - Uncles trial deferred to let him contest the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner election.

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/dartford/news/political-leader-has-fraud-trial-93106/

Then a story about the London Mayor election.  A complete shambles.

http://www.mayorwatch.co.uk/twelve-candidates-vie-to-succeed-boris-johnson-as-mayor/

http://www.croydonguardian.co.uk/news/14398522._I_m_going_to_give_George_Galloway_a_heart_attack___Winston_McKenzie_reveals_plan_to_get_Mayoral_campaign_back_on_track/

Sauna and Massage in Rusthall

Rusthall was once the home of Easy on the Eye Productions, pornographic films for women produced by a lady who stood as the Liberal Democrat candidate in Gravesham at the 2010 general election.

Rumours are rife that members of the 'oldest profession' are plying their services at domestic dwellings in Rusthall.

However, the big news in that a sauna and massage parlour will be opening it doors soon at a prime location in the village. Some locals have become over-excited by this development, either as potential customers of the 'services' to be offered or in their role as self-appointed guardians of public morals.

BML2 Update

http://www.bml2.co.uk/the-news/205-compelling-case-for-bml2-expected-in-autumn.html

Health Update

Thank you for the supportive comments,  The Heart Failure Nurse believes I am making 'excellent progress'.  My weight is down to 13st 6lb (from 16-10), my pulse rate is slowing and I am walking much longer distances.

Keeping to my diet is so hard.

Groupthink

According to Christopher Booker the defining characteristics of those caught up in a bubble of groupthink are that, first, they no longer think for themselves but become absorbed into a collective mindset; and, second, they show irrational fury towards anyone failing to share their belief system.

Health update

Many of my readers know I have been unwell of late.  Heart problem resulting in lower than required oxygenated blood circulating my system.  My medication is bringing matters under control and I am walking a longer distance each day.  My weight has reduced from 16st 10lbs to 14.00 st.

New Year's Honours Farce

A bumper crop of time servers, sycophants, chancers and downright disreputable in amongst the more worthy recipients of gongs.

Missed out this year?  All is not lost:

http://www.awardsintelligence.co.uk/

The Fiasco Kid strikes again.

https://www.facebook.com/KentEnglishDemocrats/videos/205699049767623/?pnref=story

Arriva doesn't arrive

Route 281: Rusthall - High Brooms is timetabled to run every 12 minutes for most of the day, except on Sundays. Timekeeping is not easy as the route takes buses along some of the most congested roads in the centre of Royal Tunbridge Wells.

Once a bus is running five minutes late it is inevitable it will be caught up by the following bus as passengers for the second bus will catch the late running first bus and thus delay it even further.

There is a solution to the problem - but it costs money and Arriva can be relied upon to put profit before passenger satisfaction.

70 today

Well, well.  I have reached my seventieth birthday.  Looking back on the stresses and tensions in my life I admit to being surprised at having made seventy.

Sadly I am most unwell, although my GP assures me I shall recover.

Tunbridge Wells snippets.

The Kent and Sussex Courier informs us that the search gets under way for the first ever town centre manager.

Incorrect.  Tunbridge Wells had a town centre manager in the 1990s.  It ended in tears.

The new chairman of Tunbridge Wells Civic Society informs us that the Civic Society is really the bulwark against the destruction of those things which make this such a wonderful place.

Back in the 1990s I called the Civic Society the Aspic Society. The society is a small private group, with no democratic mandate, seeking to impose its views.  The sad thing is is that some people have been taken in by this regressive organisation.

Uncles nails colours to mast

A comment on Trump:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/donald-trump/12041188/Donald-Trump-is-an-outright-fascist-who-should-be-banned-from-Britain-today.html

See also:

Pedestrian hit by van in Rusthall

Recently an elderly man was hit by a van on Rusthall High Street and died from the injuries he sustained. Such are the bare facts of another tragic death on the roads of this country.  Eventually blame for the accident and death will be apportioned.

The 'something must be done' brigade has surfaced and doubtless will be bombarding us with 'solutions' to the traffic problems on the High Street.

Uckfield-Lewes Update

Latest from BML2


http://www.bml2.co.uk/the-news/198-south-s-new-main-line-gathers-pace.html

Tunbridge Wells Farce

The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government is Greg Clark  who is also the MP for Tunbridge Wells.

For years successive governments have been urging local authorities to make savings and improve efficiency by merging or sharing  back-room operations.

Then this happens:

http://www.timesoftunbridgewells.co.uk/taxpayer-foots-150k-bill-for-collapse-of-planning-service/

Please support

See also:

http://tlbpet.org.uk/

Obscenity in Paris

The Somme, Pearl Harbor, Coventry, The Final Solution, Hiroshima, 9/11 are but a very few examples of the obscenity of war, declared or undeclared. The murder of civilians in Paris yesterday has shocked us as it has happened on our own doorstep and not in a far away country on a different continent.

In  July 2005 52 civilians were murdered in London by means of bombs placed on the Underground  and a bus.

We do well to remember the iniquity of war and the calumny of appeasement.  Not a time for sickening liberal sentiments.

New name for Rusthall's old fire station.

From Rusthall  Parish Council website:

Name that building

An item on the agenda for tomorrow's Rusthall Parish Council meeting is to agree a name for the old fire station. My suggestion:

BLACKBURN FOLLY

A further item invites the council to agree a virement from General Reserves to the cost of  work on the building.  Oh dear.

Rusthall Parish Council: communications failure.

Perusal of the parish council website brings to the attention of the reader that no minutes of council meetings have been published since 8th June 2015 and no agenda published since 13th July.

Now bear in mind that the website is funded by Rusthall people, as is the paid part-time clerk.  What is going, or rather, not going on?

Look in vain for any information concerning the cost of the Great White Elephant  renovations  (the old fire station).  Nor do we have any information on the subject of the barmy idea of the Leader of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council  to divert buses away from the town centre. Has the Council made any representations on this matter?

Pounding the streets

When I was a councillor (1996-2000) a task I set myself was to pound the streets in search of potholes, uneven pavements and faulty street lighting and report defects to the council.  It was time-consuming but now the web has made fault reporting easier and quicker, as I discovered when reporting a fault in the street light outside my home.

Another bus trip

Having explored the rural and urban delights of the Tunbridge Wells - Bromley North service yesterday I turned today to the Wells - Eastbourne service operated by Stagecoach.  More to follow......

The cuckoo has landed.

Cab Ride St Pancras -Sheffield nostalgia

There's a cuckoo over the white cliffs of Dover (3)

Now here is a selective list if ever there was one.  Pardon the guffaws.

There's a cuckoo over the white cliffs of Dover (2)

Q:  what is English culture?

There's a cuckoo over the white cliffs of Dover. (1)

I intend to dedicate a few posts to the life and works of Steve Uncles as he seeks to become  Kent Police and Crime Commissioner in 2016.

In most posts comment by me will be superfluous.

Day Trip to Lewes

Used my over 65 bus pass today for a day out.  Decided to visit  Lewes to explore the route of the closed railway in the town,  The railway crossed the High Street on a viaduct and then bridged the river close to Harvey's Brewery and then struck out for Uckfield.

The line's closure had more to with the political machinations of the  pro-road East Sussex County Council than a post Beeching railway closure.

The railway stood on land the Council wished to use to build an inner by-pass.  Named Phoenix Way, the by-pass only advanced a few yards before petering out in the  narrow roads of Lewes .  An expensive folly.

Yawwwnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn.................................

Most of the c**p in one place

https://www.facebook.com/Steve.Uncles.English.Democrats/videos/vb.34445722644/10153652890187645/?type=2&theater#

Another one for the collection;

https://youtu.be/thwHkM54K34

Fiveways Bus Ban

The blog has been critical of the idea promoted by the Leader of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council that buses be banned from Fiveways.

Yesterday evening I attended the AGM of the Bridge Trust.  A fellow attendee suggested it would be a good idea to e-mail Councillor Jukes stating objections to his hare-brained proposal.

He can be contacted at:

david.jukes@tunbridgewells.gov.uk

The Pantiles. ATM- Free Zone

The Pantiles is a major visitor attraction.  The decision of Barclays to close the Pantiles branch has seen the demise of the last bank branch at the lower end of Royal Tunbridge Wells.  The Post Office branch closed years ago.  So, here you are a visitor to the Wells and you wish to replenish your wallet.  Barclays took their ATM with them.

Where to go?  The railway station or Sainsbury?  Hardly user- friendly for visitors wishing to spend money in that part of Tunbridge Wells.

Many visitors wish to shop at the top end of the town and use the Crescent Road car park. The condition of the public lavatories has deteriorated over the years.  Worse still, the facilities close at 5.30PM and not 6.00PM as stated on the notice of opening hours.

Perhaps Councillor Jukes could bring his talents to bear to deal with these matters rather than pursue his crazy proposal to drive visitors and locals away from public transport by closing Fiveways to buses.

Steel

The demise of steel-making plants in the wake of China's dumping of surplus steel reminds me of the  closure of steel making capacity close to where I lived in the second half of last century. 

 I remember steel being made at Stanton, Staveley, Renishaw, Clay Cross and Sheepbridge.  All vanished along with associated railways, coal mines, coking plants, foundries and rolling mills.

Two firsts.

Caught the 281 bus at Parsonage Road, Rusthall.  On time departure at 13.24.  One other passenger who alighted at the second bus stop. No other passengers joined until we arrived at the Tesco stop at the top end of town. Very odd as we were not hard on the heels of the 13.12 bus.

Coming home I caught the 16.00 off Meadow Road.  At Fiveways a big scrum, too many people, passengers were left behind.  No room on the bus until we lost a few passengers at Sainsbury.   First time I have travelled non-stop from Fiveways to Sainsbury.

Councillor Jukes has had the bright (trans: stupid) idea to ban buses from Fiveways.  His idea should be consigned to the rubbish bin

 .

Duff advice

This won't work.  Need better legal advice Steve.

http://steveunclesenglishdemocrats.org/2015/10/18/how-as-kent-police-commissioner-steve-uncles-can-bantheburka-in-kent-england/

At sixes and sevens.

Set off for Maidstone on a No 7 bus.  Delayed in Tonbridge by a slow moving steam traction engine (with a jib attached to the front) belonging to the North Kent Haulage and Lifting Co.  Further delay as we navigated inconsiderately parked cars in Mereworth.  Wreckage clear-up following a car accident between Wateringbury and Barming delayed us even further.

Return journey by the No. 6 route.  Heavily delayed by the aforementioned accident.  What I didn't realise was that the No 7 route (apart from the Mereworth detour) sticks to the main roads whereas the No 6 detours round East Peckham and Pembury as well as calling at the Hop Farm and the hospital at Pembury.

Twerp of the Year Award 2015

From a crowded field a clear winner has emerged.  Step forward Councillor David Jukes, Leader of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council.

Councillor Jukes has seen off strong opposition - from machine gun refugee killing Steve Uncles of the English Democrats to members of the White Elephant Club in Rusthall, namely parish councillors spending money on the old fire station.

However all this pales into insignificance when set against Councillor Jukes declared intention to ban buses at Fiveways having just spent a huge sum on a road scheme which does provide for buses.

6X

One of the joys of a concessionary bus pass is the ability to wander off on a whim and for free.  From a base in Tunbridge Wells it is possible to travel to Crawley, Bromley, Maidstone, Eastbourne, Hastings and Brighton without a change of bus en route.  

Yes, it is slower than train travel or using the car but it is free.  Most of the services employ double-decker buses, so a fine view of the passing scenery which is not possible using a car and without the blur of a train journey.

For the most part the services are reliable and the buses reasonably clean.

Today I headed off towards Maidstone via Tonbridge.  Opportunity to inspect the road works on Tonbridge High Street and admire the architecture of Hadlow Folly and Mereworth church.

On arriving in Wateringbury I decided I did not have time to complete the journey to Maidstone.  I alighted at the Wateringbury Hotel stop, crossed the road and inspected the timetables.  I had just missed the bus to Tunbridge Wells via Paddock Wood.

A thirty minute wait beckoned but then a 6X came into view.

The 6X operates between Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells hospitals and stops only at Barming, Wateringbury Hotel and Nettlestead. The 'bus' was a tour coach.  It took fifteen minutes to arrive at its destination.  A quick change then onto a bus between the hospital and Tunbridge Wells town centre via Pembury Road.  In all it had taken thirty minutes from Wateringbury to alighting in Tunbridge Wells.

A small bonus: just as we were leaving the hospital the bus I had missed at Wateringbury hove into view.

Twerp of the Year Award 2015

One clear winner this year.  All will be revealed later this week.

On the buses

Decided to have a look at the work being done to dual carriageway the A21 between Pembury and Tonbridge. What better way than on a bus.  So it was off to Pembury Hospital from Tunbridge Wells and thence a bus from the hospital to Tonbridge.

A huge amount of muck has been shifted and it looks as though there is a lot more to go before the new carriageways are defined.

A nasty surprise in Rusthall

Last Sunday I walked up to the High Street in Rusthall to buy a newspaper.  Purchase completed I rounded the corner into Meadow Road and was confronted by the sight of two traffic wardens. It was 8.00AM and the wardens were busy issuing 'tickets' to cars parked partly on double yellow lines.  I bet a few people had a nasty surprise later that morning.

Fiver for proof

Don't believe this.  Fiver to first person to prove me wrong.

http://english-passport.org/2015/10/04/bbc-we-are-pleased-to-announce-that-england-the-host-nation-are-out-of-the-2015-rugby-world-cup/

BML2 Update.

Interesting:

http://www.bml2.co.uk/the-news/196-network-rail-reveals-bml2-as-fastest-alternative-route.html