Welcome to the May edition of the Tandridge Independent!
As you can see from our front page photo this month, April blessed Tandridge with a stunning display of bluebells across the district. With those, plus the cheerful daffodils, and the amazing cherry blossom, all bathed in the gorgeous sunshine we enjoyed over Easter, I have yet again been reminded of how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful area.
Surrey Day is on Saturday 7 May: Visit Surrey, along with BBC Radio Surrey and Local Food Surrey, will be conducting a search for the Great Surrey Menu. Knowing how many amazing local food and drink producers we have here, I can’t wait to find out what they come up with. If you’re planning on celebrating our wonderful county, please let us know, and we might feature you in our next edition!
What’s happening in May’s paper?
This month we’ve been finding out what some Tandridge residents and businesses have been doing to support those fleeing the terrible situation in Ukraine. From collecting much-needed donations, to offering free services, to welcoming them into their homes, there’s a huge amount of support and generosity going on around us.
Reporter James Highsted has been investigating drivers making illegal turns from a housing estate in Whyteleafe, and we hear a counter-argument to Woldingham Parish Council’s fund-raising attempt to buy North Downs Golf Club.
We also meet an Oxted woman who turns used coffee sacks into fabulous shopping bags, using the opportunity to teach valuable work skills to inmates at Pentonville Prison at the same time. Find out more about her project inside.
Timely advice
There’s a lot to think about at this time of year but, as usual, our columnists are ready with the advice you need. If you’re a single parent planning on taking your kids on holiday over the May half-term then Gina from EJ Coombs Solicitors will ensure you know where you stand from a legal point of view. Christelle, from Keep Calm Nutrition, is on hand to help you tackle the horror that is hay fever, and Champ Consultants explain what Making Tax Digital means for your VAT return.
As well as all that, aspiring chef River-Blue has created a mouth-watering recipe for Goan chicken curry, and Emily Davies has been tree-planting and tractor-spotting at Ardenrun Showground.
Finally, please don’t forget to encourage your children to enter our writing competition, in collaboration with the Festival Theatre at Hever Castle. If they’re in years 3 to 6, they could win a family ticket to the stage production of David Walliam’s Awful Auntie, or for students in years 7 to 11, it’s a family ticket to theatre company The Three Inch Fools’ production of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. The winners will also get to write a review for us, which we’ll feature in the paper! Find the details of what they need to do to enter in the paper, or on our website.
If you’ve got a story, or an opinion on something that people are talking about in Tandridge, we’d love to hear from you. Get in touch on newsdesk@tandridgeindependent.com.
See you in June!
Louise.
Find my previous letters here.
