Hello and welcome to the December edition of the Tandridge Independent!
And here we are again…another year is almost over. It’s incredible to think that it has been six years since I first put my stamp on this free community newspaper. It’s been a steep learning curve, but if an international pandemic can’t stop you then nothing can!
Our team has changed since we started but every member has contributed towards the brand establishing itself and growing, so I would like to say a big thank you to them all. Without them, and their expertise, knowledge and ideas, the business would not have developed the way it has.
I’d also like to thank Rosalind, who has worked with me from the beginning and without whom it would not be possible to publish the paper. Her talent and support are invaluable and I have never worked with someone who has as much patience and understanding as she does with me. No matter what the idea, she will consider it rationally before attempting to reign me in and advise me of a more practical, less impulsive way of achieving my goal!
Talking of growing the TI brand, we held our second networking event in November. It was great to see local businesses come together to support each other and I’d like to say thank you to Bayou, Melissa and the team at the Well Life GP Clinic in Oxted for the opportunity to use their lovely space. If you would like to come along to our next event, which will be held in the new year, email us on newsdesk@tandridgeindependent.com.
Our Independent News Hour radio show also returns to the airwaves in a couple of weeks and we have a fantastic line up of businesses and residents (as well as a celebrity or two!) scheduled to take part. Follow us on Instagram (@the_independent_newshour) for more information, and please contact us if you would like to be one of our guests!
We love being able to celebrate the achievements of local people, and this month’s paper is no different. We’ve got nine-year-old Ruby from Godstone, who successfully auditioned for a part in English Youth Ballet’s recent production of Swan Lake at The Hawth in Crawley, and Caterham’s Rashid Amassoul, who won two gold medals at the Taekwon-do World Championships in Italy in October. Congratulations to you both.
We are also pretty partial to sampling the district’s incredible range of food and drink when we can. Godstone’s Flower Farm held their fabulous food fair recently (see page seven) – breakfast with our columnist Farmer Patrick on a Sunday morning, followed by stocking up on fruit, vegetables and baked goodies, has become a bit of a habit recently!
We’ve got an amazing competition for you this month, and we make it so easy for you to enter! All you need to do, to win a night’s stay at the wonderful Nutfield Priory Hotel & Spa, is email competition@tandridgeindependent.com or follow us on Instagram (@tandridgeindependent) and like our competition post when you see it.
As always, thank you for reading our newspaper. We are the only local, free newspaper in the district and we really appreciate your support and feedback too.
Wishing you all a very happy Christmas and I hope you have plenty of festive fun in our community!
The Tandridge Independent – your news, your community, your paper.
