Tandridge Independent

Last month saw students from three local Secondary Schools participate in this year’s Caterham Rotary ‘Young Chef’ Competition.

Their task was to produce a healthy three course meal with a starter, main course and a dessert for two people for £20 or under. They had to prepare a table and serve the food at the correct temperature in a time limit of two hours.

The Village Beauty Spa, Chaldon Road once again hosted its Annual Christmas Event last month and we popped along to sample the evening. A glass of bubbles from the Prosecco wall greeted us along with the opportunity to meet the team of therapists. I personally have always loved the atmosphere of walking into the salon for this event and being greeted warmly by the staff.The salon was filled with customers and and it was extremely apparent that the evening was just as popular as it has been over the past 16 years! Customers were all able to meet their therapists in a relaxed atmosphere.

Dance Fitness has seen a huge increase in popularity, as doctors are now ‘Social Prescribing’ Dance Fitness classes to support their patients with improving both physical and mental ‘well-being’ without the need for medical intervention. The positive effects of dance and music for mind, body & soul has seen a reduction in the prescribing of traditional medication, with many added advantages.

Tara (Director of Step by Step to Fitness & creator of Uplift Empowering Dance Fitness®) can vouch for the dramatic changes that Dance Fitness has to offer. Having suffered depression in her lifetime, finding a healthy passion was key to finding wellness.

Once, when I was interviewed for a radio programme, I was asked a question: “What do you find the most challenging in your line of work?” It could have been quite a long list but the answer that I would put on the top of it is – changing peoples’ attitude.

The attitude that prevails seem to be – why bother? Looking after one’s skin is seen almost as something shallow, silly and frivolous, something that ladies, who take themselves seriously would not waste their time on. It is seen as luxury not a necessity.

Walking through life, we are designed to seek happiness and contentment. As with navigating any landscapes, there can be shifts and unchartered territory, life is no different.

Adopting a good measure of ‘pick yourself up and dust yourself off’ with a pinch of ‘what doesn’t break you makes you even stronger’, is all well and good, but sometimes we can feel ‘stuck’ in the proverbial ‘mud’. Life in the future seems framed by what has happened in the past. The good news is you don’t have to feel stuck. There are lots of practitioners out there, just like me who offer a holistic approach to help you get back on track.

Fundraising for a perimeter path in Grange Park, Old Coulsdon, is underway.

Caterham Rotary Club would like to say a huge "thank you" to local residents for their generosity during their pre-Christmas festive street collection. The collection raised around £6,000 for local good causes and charities supported by Rotary. The final figure will be published next month. For more information about Caterham Rotary visit https://caterhamrotary.org.uk

Residents of Anne’s Walk in Caterham have been left devastated after a housing developer’s appeal to build on land next door was upheld.

Shanly Homes’ proposal to use Anne’s Walk as access to land, which is to be developed, was rejected by Tandridge District Council (TDC) in July, but the decision was upheld on 20 December.

The Government inspectorate visited the 36-house Cul-De-Sac on 26 November, and Shanly Homes plan to build 39 houses on the designated site.

The land to be developed on was previously a horse field, which had green belt status but this has not been renewed.

Peter Connolly, curator of East Surrey Museum, brings us news on events that will be happening at the museum in 2020.