Welcome to the March (and first!) edition of the Tandridge Independent!
Taking over the Caterham and District Independent in 2019 was a really exciting time for me. Despite my background in journalism I had no experience with newspapers, but I did have a huge desire for a change in my life, and lots of enthusiasm to learn new skills! Little did I know how testing the first two years of this venture would be, but the resilience it has taught me and my team has been invaluable.
And now, it’s time for another change! With all respect to the Caterham Independent, and its important contribution to the community over the past 16 years, it’s time to make the paper my own. The change of name better reflects our remit to bring your favourite free monthly newspaper to every area of Tandridge, and we hope you love the new features and layout too. I’ve been working hard to contact and bring onboard advertisers from across the district, and I’m delighted to welcome many new local businesses to our pages. If you’d like to advertise with us, and that includes the paper, on our website, across our social media and on our new radio show (more of that later!), then contact us on advertising@tandridgeindependent.com.
Just three people make up the paper’s core team, so we just can’t do everything we want to in one go. Please look out for further, positive, changes over the next few months, too. I'd like to thank all the contributors to the paper, as well as our columnists: we wouldn't be able to provide our readers with such great content without them.
So, where can you pick up your paper?
We’ve been contacting supermarkets, shops, cafes and village stores across the district, to ensure we can get the paper to as many places as we possibly can, and you can help us! If you know of any outlets who don’t currently stock us, but might be willing to, please let us know, and we’ll get in contact with them.
And, as ever, if you want to tell your story, voice your opinion, or have an issue you’d like us to explore, get in touch on newsdesk@tandridgeindependent.com.
What are we talking about this month?
With our renewed determination to bring you news from as many places as possible, we’re crammed full of information from all over the district. We met a surprising TikTok star in Kenley and found out which Bletchingley resident MP Claire Coutinho has nominated to be a Queen’s Batonbearer for the Commonwealth Games.
There’s Jubilee tree planting in Chaldon, a round-up from newly-formed AFC Whyteleafe, and our new ‘Focus on…’ feature, which, this month, is all about the pretty village of Tandridge.
Talking of the Jubilee, over the next couple of months we’ll be including details of upcoming events that will be marking the occasion, so don’t forget to let us know if you or your community are planning something!
Back on air
As I mentioned above, I am taking over the airwaves again! Supported by our friends at Ridge Radio, the Tandridge Independent News Hour begins a new weekly slot (or has begun, depending on when you pick the paper up!) on Mondays in March, at 10:00. I’ll be inviting lots of special guests to join me and, as ever, I’d love to hear from you. If there’s something you’d like to talk about then email me on tandridgeindependent@ridgeradio.co.uk. You can hear the show by going to www.ridgeradio.co.uk and clicking on ‘Listen Live’, by downloading the station’s app, or by asking an Alexa-enabled device to download and play Ridge Radio.
I’m eager for feedback on your brand new Tandridge Independent, so please get in touch and tell me what you think!
See you next month,
Louise.
