This week in Tunbridge Wells...

The Pig hotel group has bought the Tunbridge Wells Hotel and plans a full refit before guests arrive. Out in Horsmonden, a local dad has turned his redundancy money into a low-alcohol lager. His first 16,000 cans are close to selling out. There is plenty on this week. A former MI6 officer takes you inside a live spy operation at the Assembly Hall on Sunday. On Saturday night, Penshurst Place hosts a Scarecrow murder mystery with a three-course dinner.

WEATHER

Monday: 9°C 🌡️ 21°C | ⛅

Tuesday: 12°C 🌡️ 21°C | 🌫️

Wednesday: 5°C 🌡️ 15°C | 🌧️

SPONSORED BY 1440

THE BRIEF

🐷 The Pig Returns: The Pig hotel group has bought the Tunbridge Wells Hotel on The Pantiles. The 18th-century Georgian building is Grade II-listed and has 20 bedrooms. It went on sale in 2023 with a guide price of £2.695 million. Neither side has revealed the final price. Owner Julian Leefe-Griffiths bought the derelict venue in 2012 and ran it for 13 years. He now plans to retire. The hotel closed on 16 September after the sale.

It will become The Pig's second hotel in Kent, after its site near Canterbury. The group had hoped to open at Groombridge Place but dropped that plan. It says it searched for the right building for a long time. A full refit will take place over the coming months. The group says it will work with local growers, farmers and producers. The hotel has a bar, restaurant, function room and outdoor dining areas. Read more here.​

💦 Flood Scheme Opens: A £42 million flood scheme on the River Medway is now complete. The expanded Leigh Flood Storage Area opened on Tuesday 29 September. The site sits between Leigh and Penshurst. It can now hold about 7.4 million cubic metres of floodwater, a rise of almost a quarter. That equals about 2,880 Olympic swimming pools. The scheme cuts flood risk for 1,870 homes and 575 businesses in Tonbridge and Hildenborough. New defences in Hildenborough include a 98-metre embankment, a pumping station on the Hawden Stream and a steel wall.

About 180 Hildenborough homes that flooded in 2013 will benefit. The original storage area dates from 1982. Teams have used it 75 times to hold back water. The work took three years, and the site stayed in use the whole time. Crews fitted three new 12.5-tonne gates and built a pass for eels. Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council put in £500,000. The Environment Agency says the upgrade should reduce flood risk for the next 50 years. Read more here.​

🍺 New Local Lager: A Horsmonden dad has used his redundancy payout to launch his own beer brand. Ben Wood, 44, spent around 20 years working in operations. He took voluntary redundancy and put £25,000 from his payout and savings into Pivot in May. Pivot is a lager that stays below 0.5% alcohol. A special yeast means the beer never rises above that level. Ben says big brewers make normal beer and then strip the alcohol out. He developed the recipe with home brewer and scientist Mike Anson.

The first batch of 16,000 cans cost about £11,000 to make. It is close to selling out. More than 40 independent venues now stock it, including pubs, cafes and barbers. Sevenoaks Town FC has made it its official alcohol-free beer. The name has a double meaning: "pivo" means beer in several Slavic languages. Ben now plans a pale ale, an IPA and a hop water. He is also looking for investment to grow. Read more here.​

❤️‍🩹 Rare Pregnancy Ordeal: A Goudhurst mum wants more people to know about a rare pregnancy condition. Teacher Shelley Bell had three Caesarean births before her fourth pregnancy this year. At 25 weeks she began bleeding heavily at work. An ambulance took her to Tunbridge Wells Hospital. Doctors found her placenta had grown too deep into her womb. They later diagnosed placenta percreta, the most severe form of the condition. It had spread into her cervix and bladder. Specialists in London took over her care.

Her daughter Amara arrived on 28th July at 34 weeks. Doctors left the placenta in place to avoid heavy bleeding. Shelley later needed an early hysterectomy. She lost about seven litres of blood during the operation. She returned home on 16th September and is still recovering. Shelley says local maternity services need to know more about the condition. She hopes this will help more women get a diagnosis during pregnancy. Read more here.​

🎂 Royal Grandma Turns 100: A Tonbridge woman marked her 100th birthday on Saturday 3rd October. Margaret Jeffrey has lived in the town her whole life. Her secret to a long life is hard work, staying active and walking everywhere. She never learnt to drive and rode a bike until the age of 86. Margaret was at Tonbridge Girls' Central School when the Second World War began. She remembers air raid sirens and dances on the lawn at Tonbridge Castle. She later married Vernon, who served in the Merchant Navy and Royal Navy.

The couple had one daughter, and Margaret now has three grandchildren. She becomes a great-grandmother for the first time in November. At 99, she appeared in a car advert with her granddaughter. She enjoys fish and chips every Saturday. Staff at The Windmill pub in Weald call her "Royal Grandma." She celebrated her birthday there with her family. Asked how it felt to turn 100, she said she wanted an extra five minutes in bed. Read more here.​

TW LIFE COMMUNITY BOARD

Help Ukrainian Families

Some neighbours need more than kind words. KentRelief, a Tunbridge Wells charity, sends food, medical supplies and other essential aid to people hit by the war in Ukraine. It also helps Ukrainian families settle in the UK. The charity works across Kent through practical support, community projects and the generosity of local people. Every donation, purchase or volunteer hour makes a real difference to someone facing hard times.

​Find out more and donate today.​

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THIS WEEK

Murder, She Didn't Write | Assembly Hall | Mon 5 Oct, 7:30pm | Improvised comedy murder mystery built from audience suggestions | From £32.25​

Story Time | The Amelia Scott | Mon 5 Oct, 11:00am | Stories and fun for 3 to 4 year olds | Free entry

Exhibition on Screen: James McNeill Whistler (PG) | Trinity Theatre | Mon 5 Oct – Thu 8 Oct | Big-screen art film on the painter | See details​

Owen Legg: Geometric & Kent Prints | Trinity Theatre | Mon 5 Oct – Thu 8 Oct | Gallery show of abstract and Kent prints | See details​

The Endlessly Inventive Life and Works of David Hockney | Trinity Theatre | Tue 6 Oct | Art history talk on David Hockney | See details​

Trinity Clocktower Tours | Trinity Theatre | Tue 6 Oct – Sat 31 Oct | Climb the historic clocktower | See details​

Rhyme Time | The Amelia Scott | Tue 6 Oct & Thu 8 Oct, 10:00am | Singing session for under-4s and their carers | Free entry

Winter Gardens & Opal Mag | The Sussex Arms | Tue 6 Oct, 7:30pm | Live music double bill | See details​

Knit & Stitch Club | The Amelia Scott | Wed 7 Oct, 1:00pm | Relaxed crafting with like-minded makers | Free entry

Too Much Too Young: The Music of 2Tone and Beyond | Assembly Hall | Thu 8 Oct | Live show celebrating 2Tone music | See details​

Hannah Wicklund | The Forum | Thu 8 Oct, 7:00pm | Live music | See details​

Humane | The Forum | Thu 8 Oct, 7:30pm | Live music | See details​

Create & Connect | The Amelia Scott | Fri 9 Oct, 1:30pm | Free creative group for wellbeing and connection | Free entry

Russell Watson: An Intimate Evening With 'The Voice' | Assembly Hall | Fri 9 Oct, 7:30pm | Classic songs and life stories from the crossover star | From £38.25​

James Lavelle (UNKLE / Mo' Wax): DJ Set | The Forum | Fri 9 Oct, 8:00pm | DJ set from UNKLE's James Lavelle | See details​

Autumn Colour | Hever Castle | Mon 28 Sep – Sun 1 Nov | Autumn displays across the castle gardens | Included with admission​

Commando Series | Hever Castle | Sat 10 Oct | Sporting challenge in the castle grounds | See details​

Revenge of The Scarecrow Murder Mystery | Penshurst Place | Sat 10 Oct, 7:30pm | Comedy murder mystery with three-course dinner | From £72.00​

H Is for Hawk (15) | Rusthall Community Cinema | Sat 10 Oct, 6:30pm | Claire Foy drama about grief and a hawk | See details​

A Celebration of Blink 182 | The Forum | Sat 10 Oct, 7:30pm | Tribute night for Take Off Your Pants And Jacket | See details​

Dark Horse Comedy: Dinesh Nathan | The Sussex Arms | Sun 11 Oct, 7:00pm | Stand-up comedy night | See details​

Operation MI6 | Assembly Hall | Sun 11 Oct, 7:30pm | Former MI6 officer leads a live intelligence operation | From £33.25​

Table Tennis | Sunnyside Hall | Mon & Sun | Play table tennis every week (1st session is free) | £4​

Badminton & Pickleball | Sunnyside Hall | Fri, 6pm | Play badminton & pickleball every week (1st session is free) | £5​

FURTHER OUT

The Orb: 35 Years of Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld | The Forum | Fri 16 Oct, 7:30pm | The Orb mark 35 years of their debut album | See details​

Howard Hodgkin: In a Public Garden | The Amelia Scott | Fri 23 Oct – Sun 21 Feb | Major print retrospective of the British artist | Free entry

Brassed Off (15) | Rusthall Community Cinema | Sat 24 Oct, 6:30pm | Comedy-drama about a colliery brass band | See details​

Christmas at Hever Castle | Hever Castle | Fri 20 Nov – Sat 2 Jan | Festive season at the castle and gardens | See details​

The Christmas Cavity Calamity Mini Panto | Penshurst Place | Sat 5 Dec – Wed 23 Dec (selected dates) | Short family panto, then meet Father Christmas | See details​

SPORT

Results

⚽ 3 Oct Tunbridge Wells 1–5 Phoenix Sports

⚽ 3 Oct Rusthall 4–0 Erith & Belvedere

🏉 3 Oct Tunbridge Wells 49–28 Bournemouth

🏑 3 Oct Tunbridge Wells Men 3-1 Reigate Priory

🏑 3 Oct Burnt Ash 2–1 Tunbridge Wells Women

Fixtures

⚽ 10 Oct Tunbridge Wells v Stansfeld

⚽ 10 Oct Fleet Town v Rusthall

🏉 10 Oct Wimbledon v Tunbridge Wells

🏑 10 Oct East Grinstead v Tunbridge Wells Men

🏑 10 Oct Tunbridge Wells Women v Maidstone

THANK YOU

Hope you enjoyed this week's letter!

Jamie

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