Welcome to the October edition of the Caterham and District Independent.
After a beautiful September I am taking time to appreciate the changes that October brings us. All of a sudden, the leaves are turning to hues of orange, red and gold, and there’s a definite autumnal nip in the air!
Autumn brings a lot to be thankful for, but the onset of darker mornings and evenings can often be difficult for some people. Our lovely nutrition columnist, Christelle Page, comes to the rescue this month, with her timely guide to good mood food.
Taking time to appreciate nature is something reporter Rosalind Brookman spent time doing recently. She was lucky enough to be guided through Great Church Road, Woldingham, by Justine Clement, whose experience in forest bathing turned a walk into something quite special. She also demonstrated how conscious connected breathing can bring a plethora of health benefits to your life: read Rosalind’s full piece to find out more.
I’m delighted that we have another couple of articles from two of our work experience students: Jasmine, from Warlingham School, spoke to Caterham’s Andy Shea, who is running a virtual marathon to raise money for a charity who is supporting his visually impaired daughter, and Sophie Denny, from Woldingham School, brings us the future of Bradmore Green Library, in Coulsdon, which had been under threat from Croydon Council’s cost-cutting exercise.
The Girl Who Gardens has been busy: not only has she written a column all about the joys of spring bulbs, she also visited Tatsfield Fairtrade Group’s Big Green Tea Tent, to discover why they are raising awareness of climate change in the run up to COP26.
What else? Ridge Radio introduces us to another Presenter of the Month: this time it’s the turn of Jonathan Spencer, who brings his love of blues music to a Tandridge audience every Wednesday evening. Award-winning chef Tim Fisher shows you his scrumptious recipe for granola, and Blue Turtle Coaching and Mentoring shares some sage career advice for young people.
We’re continuing to plan and pull together our new venture, The Oxted Independent, which we will be launching in the spring. If you have any stories that you think we should know about, or are interested in advertising your business in our new paper, please contact us on: newsdesk@caterhamindependent.com.
Sejal Sachdev came to the UK in 1972, following the mass expulsion of Ugandan Asians by Idi Amin. In 2022 she, along with a small group of others, will be commemorating the 50th anniversary of the event, by holding exhibitions at the 16 areas around the country where the refugees were welcomed. One of these areas is Lingfield, where the newcomers were temporarily housed at Hobbs Barracks. We had a great conversation with Sejal, to understand more about what she is planning. This is a project which really took my interest, as my parents, who were originally from Goa, similarly left Kenya in 1971. I’m really looking forward to following Sejal’s progress with this!
I always encourage my children to talk to their grandparents about their lives in both Goa and Africa: I think it's so important that their family history is passed down and remembered. And with that, I'll leave you with this anonymous quote:
"If we know where we came from, we may better know where to go. If we know who we came from, we may better understand who we are."
See you in November!
(You can catch up with all my past letters here.)
