A Festive Tunbridge Wells

Unbelievably, it is just over 2 weeks until Christmas! Everyone has gone shopping crazy and the adverts on TV are shouting deals left, right and centre. Well, what about doing something a bit different? Get away from the crowds and enjoy some family time, and get into the Christmas spirit by taking part in one of the many activities we have taking place this year in Royal Tunbridge Wells.

Currently running are The Pantiles' Christmas Treasure Hunts. There is a hunt for children with separate prizes to be won, and the same again for Adults. Over £300 worth of prizes have to be won - if you don't take part, you won't be in with a chance! And for only £1.00 and £2.00 each respectively, a bargain when most prizes are worth upwards of £30.00. You can pick the hunts up at any time (until last day 20 Dec) - all details are on my Events page.

Once you've completed your Pantiles Hunt, there is a Conundrum you can complete as a family for The Camden Road Christmas Market (17 Dec 2011). It's the first year of the Christmas Market here and I was asked to produce a family treasure hunt for this area with historical aspects to this very interesting and overlooked part of Tunbridge Wells. Again a fabulous hamper to be won, with prizes donated from the shops of Lower Camden Road within it! 

If you haven't quite got into the festive mood with the Hunts, then I'd suggest a Lantern Lit Christmas Traditions Tour around The Pantiles. Starting at 4.30pm from outside the Tourist Information Centre, on Thursday's up to Christmas - so the 15th and 22nd are left now, plus Saturday 17th December. For £5.00 per person (children under 10 years old are free) you get to learn about how and why we celebrate Christmas today the way that we do! Come learn about Wren Hunting, Boy Bishops, Stir Up Sunday and Dumb Cake!

And if that hasn't got the kids excited, then there is one Children's Christmas and Storytelling Activity day you can get them booked in on - Sunday 18th December in The Corn Exchange on The Pantiles. At either 10.30am or 2.30pm you can bring your children along to have a Christmas story (written by local children's author Tony Streeter) read to them, and then they can enjoy some activities. Children take home all that they make plus a goodie bag with a chocolate treat in. Booking is essential for this as limited spaces in the Unit -  so please contact me asap, as places going fast. Cost is £3.50 per child (ages 3 years old +) - adult's free! (Children must be accompanied by an adult at all times).

After all that festive fun I think I will be ready to put my feet up, a sherry in hand, and wish everyone all over the world, whether you celebrate Christmas or not, a very happy, healthy and peaceful festive period and New Year!

Are you a Nutter?

Autumn is once more upon us. Doesn't time fly! I can't believe the summer is already over, and here in the South East the trees are already beginning to change colour to their autumnal hues of golds, reds and browns. There are some fantastic woodland walks that I can take you on if you are visiting the area - just email me for details; but in this blog I want to talk about a crop that at this time is harvested in the South East - the cob nut.

Cob nuts are cultivated wild hazelnuts, also known as filberts. Cob nuts have been in England since the 16th Century and the county of Kent has always been famous for its own variety - the Kentish Cob Nut, since around the 1830s. They are in season between August and October and are always marketed fresh. You can eat cob nuts when green or when more mature at the end of September when they are the more familiar golden colour, and much sweeter.

Kent once had over 7,000 acres of cob nut orchards, or "platts" as they were once known. Today there are around 250 acres. The nuts have to be picked by hand and those who do so are known as "nutters". In the 16th Century it is even known that children played an early version of conkers with cob nuts called "cobblenut".

Allegedly cob nuts were popular with mariners as they kept fresh for months and are also very high in protein. If you do buy some, keep them in a cool dry place and turn them every day to ensure they don't get damp or mouldy.

If you are visiting the South East this autumn, then the best place to go nutting is around the Greensand Ridge area of Kent - between Sevenoaks, Maidstone and Tonbridge. Places such as Allens Farm near Plaxtol, sell them at the farm gate, or you can find them in local greengrocers.

Other varieties of cob nuts include the Gunslebert, Merville de Bollwiller (or Hall's Giant), Butler, Ennis and Cosford. For more information about cob nuts and the local suppliers, take a look at www.cobnuts.co.uk or www.kentishcobnutsassociation.co.uk

You can not only try cob nuts on their own, or kept preserved in honey, but there are other recipes you can use cob nuts in - including a very seasonal Damson and Cob nut Mincemeat. I like the very simple recipe of chocolate cob nuts - roasted in the oven then rolled in melted chocolate, and sprinkled with cocoa powder as they cool. Yum! Roll on winter I say - as the nights draw in, good excuses for wrapping up warm and autumnal walks around the local area where you can pick up the nuts, apples, pears, plums, damsons and blackberries to create lots of warming and filling pies, puddings and tarts.