Take Pride in Brighton!

This weekend has been incredibly busy - with tours both in Brighton and in Canterbury. However, the tour I have next weekend in Brighton will be an even more colourful one. Not only am I doing a Fashion Tour for some University Students, but the day I am doing this, Saturday 13th August, is the Brighton Pride Parade.

Brighton has always been a very liberal, fun loving and tolerant city; even in the days of the ultimate "bad boy", the Prince Regent. Today, Brighton has one of the largest L.G.B.T. communities in Europe, and celebrates this fact twice a year with Pride events throughout the city.

Open to all, Pride 2011 will be a fantastic mix of dance, music and entertainment - and it's started already! This week is full of different events but it all culminates with the Pride Parade which kicks off at 11am from Madeira Drive - right on the seafront by the iconic Pier. Look out for floats, dance troops and maybe even some stars! They wind their way out to Preston Park where for the rest of the day and into the evening you can enjoy caberet, dancing, a fun fair and even a live music stage. This year Brighton welcomes the 2008 and 2009 X Factor winners, Alexander Burke and Joe McElderry respectively, to the stage.

The Park events are ticket only (see the website link for more details of events and how to buy tickets), but throughout the city there are street parties and lots of fun going on. I can't wait to combine my tour with some of the magic that will will see on the streets of Brighton!

From Artefacts to Ale

On Thursday, I chose to have a day away from the office, and with no tours on I decided on the luxury of an afternoon and evening trip up to our great capital - London! Only 50 minutes by train from Tunbridge Wells, we really are very lucky here in the South East to be so near, yet so far that we don't feel London's mighty reach.

To be honest, when I go on day trips out, rare as they are now, they tend to be History/Heritage related and this trip was no exception. There was an ulterior motive as well, since I had won via twitter (yes, you can follow me on twitter @cathdiscoversee ) an evening on a pub tour run by a London based guide. Now, that is mixing two of my loves - history and pubs (oh and beer - okay three loves!). Quite appropriate really as that week was the G.B.B.F - Great British Beer Festival at Earls Court. However, for once I was not heading there, but into the City of London!

Before I started the evening's jollities, I headed on foot from Charing Cross, to Lincoln's Inn Fields - the largest public square in London, and home to the Inns of Court and notable barristers. Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers have to join; the others being Inner Temple, Middle Temple and Grey's Inn. Around this square are not only some very fine buildings of architectural note, but also a number of museums - two extremely fascinating. One, which I had visited before and won't talk about in this blog, is the Hunterian Museum within the Royal College of Surgeons - if your thing is to see various pickled animals and anatomical parts in glass jars, then this is the place for you! A place of wonder and of queasiness all in one museum and all free.

Hunterian Museum, London

The other Museum is that of Sir John Soane's - it too is free entry, except on the Saturday Guided Tour at 11am. I have been meaning to go to this museum for a number of years, and should have come sooner! What an amazing place. Very difficult to describe, but trust me, you walk around in wonderment looking at the floor, ceiling, doors, cabinets, and walls that are all covered in pieces of art and antiquities, crammed in every nook and cranny. Soane was a famous architect (1753-1837) who not only designed the building for himself to live in, but to display his collections. In the Painting Room the guide opened up the walls to reveal a courtyard full of treasures, then on the other side of this extremely small room, the walls revealed one of Hogarth's most famous series of paintings, The Rake's Progress!

Sir John Soane Museum, London

I thoroughly recommend going to this museum - but be warned it is very narrow in parts and bags are not allowed inside for obvious reasons; but this matters little when you are staring at a Canaletto, the surviving medieval pieces of the Palace of Westminster, or the Egyptian Pharaoh Seti I's outer sarcophagus!! The first Tuesday of every month they open in the evenings for candlelit tours - something for next time I think! Take a look at www.soane.org to wet your appetite.

After immersing myself in this wonder I then proceeded to the allotted meeting place - Chancery Court Tube Station for the start of the Pub Tour of Olde London Towne. This tour, and many other pub tours of the City, are run by a rather splendid chap called Vic Norman, under the guise of The Dragon and Flagon Pub Tours. I was eagerly awaiting our tour around the six mystery pubs of the City and was not to be disappointed. There were seven of us in total who were on the tour, all from different walks of life, and you didn't have to drink beer on the tour if you didn't want to. However, it was rude for me not to try a few halves here and there, all in the name of research of course! 

We began with a brief history of the City and moved swiftly to our first hidden pub - where once a young Queen Elizabeth I danced around a cherry tree in its courtyard. I don't want to reveal the names of the pubs however, lest it spoil Vic's tours. I urge you instead to go on one yourself. Hopefully this blog will tempt you!

One of the many pubs on The Dragon and Flagon's Pub Tour of Olde London Towne

On through the site of the Strawberry Fair and the haunts of William Shakespeare's characters we went, to a magnificent barrel vaulted ceiling pub dating back to the 16th Century, then swiftly through time to a pub that was in fact positioned between where the shop of Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber, and Mrs Lovett's Pie Shop once were!! 1500 years of history in a few hours, time flew by with jokes and fascinating facts. From pubs once the haunt of Charles Dickens to an Art Deco wonder, via a Roman road, it was an enthralling evening. Tired, but very happy I managed to catch the last train back home. What a wonderful day! 

For more information about Vic's London Pub Tours, you can follow him via Facebook - The Dragon and Flagon or contact him directly by calling 07504 977267 or email: vicnorman@postmaster.co.uk

I have certainly felt inspired by Vic's tours for my ale trails!

Viewings from around the World - Update!

Just a quick update and a big hello to all my new blog, and hopefully website, friends! As per a previous blog, I seem to have lots of international readers and would like to once again thank you all. New countries this month include: Russia, Vietnam, Egypt, Romania, Switzerland, France, Belgium, India, Singapore, Thailand, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, Ukraine, Kenya and Taiwan. Fantastic and welcome!

Please feel free to leave comments or ask any questions. I hope that you will all at some point be able to visit the beautiful South East of England and that I will get a chance to meet you and to guide you around.

Summer!

Goodness! Hasn't time flown, it is hard to believe we are almost at August. The schools here in the UK have been breaking up for the Summer Holidays, so soon people will be disappearing on their breaks abroad. However, us Guides are hoping that some people will also be staying in the UK to take their holidays - we have some great places to stay that are family friendly in the South East!

You could choose to go to one of our great beaches along the South Coast such as Camber Sands, or enjoy the seaside resorts of Brighton and Bognor Regis. For days away from the sea we have the Howletts and Port Lympne Wild Animal Parks, Thorpe Park, Chessington World of Adventure or the Hop Farm near Paddock Wood to keep the children entertained. The South East also has a number of steam railways that run children's events throughout the summer - Tunbridge Wells has its very own SPA Railway, while at Sheffield Park in Sussex there is the first preserved standard guage railway line in the world, the Bluebell Railway.

Port Lympne Safari Park

If you thought that only Glastonbury was one of the big festivals of the UK, well, you'd be wrong. The South East has many festivals over the Summer, from Opera at Glyndebourne, to live bands playing at Guilfest in Guildford. So there is much to do for young and old alike. 

Guilfest - Guildford

Wherever you are based, your local Tourist Information Centre should be able to give you lots of advice and booklets about things to do; and don't forget to use your local Blue Badge Guides to help you to really get under the skin of where you are staying or visiting. A Guide really brings to life a place, more than a booklet ever will, and we know all the secret routes that you may never find yourself!!

Tuesday Tours in Tunbridge Wells!

Firstly I would like to say that the first rounds of my Oxfam Sunday Stroll around Tunbridge Wells yesterday went exceedingly well. Thank you to all who turned up for both the morning and afternoon sessions. Last two tours this coming Sunday, 10th July - 10.30 am and 1.30 pm. Allow around 2 hours as plenty to pack in and remember to bring some water with you whatever the weather! It's thirsty work with all the walking. For details of how to obtain your tickets - please see previous blog.

I must get round to putting on some photos - I had an interview in the local paper - the Kent and Sussex Courier - you can view this online too at:
http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/Catherine-says-town-offer-Pantiles/story-12825955-detail/story.html
Do please note that one of the tales I tell in the article about my time in the British Museum has a mistake in it - it was not the Rosetta Stone, but a lion near the stone, that I discovered a family taking a picture of their child riding the lion!! It's certainly interesting when you work with the public!

On to my new project currently starting tomorrow - yes I and two fellow Blue Badge Guides are going to be putting on, throughout July and August (possibly longer, but we will see later on), a Tuesday Tunbridge Wells Walking Tour starting at the Tourist Information Centre (TIC) on the Pantiles. We will be covering all about the Pantiles plus taking you up into areas Tourists don't always find on their visits.

The tour should last 1 hour and a half, and we hope to be able to include some extras in the near future that will be included in the price - watch this space!!


Anyway, the tours are at 11am and 2pm from the T.I.C on the Pantiles and cost £5.00 per person. The tours will either be led by myself or my colleagues Dawn or Amanda.

Come and discover the 17th Century Tunbridge Wells with Lord North, Beau Nash and your Blue Badge Tour Guide! We look forward to seeing you on Tuesdays.

For Group bookings, we can offer reduced rates - please contact me for further details: info@discoversoutheastengland.co.uk

Walking Tours of Tunbridge Wells for Oxfam - Sunday 3rd and 10th July 2011

Exciting news - I am able to announce that this year's theme for Oxfam's Book Festival Fortnight (2nd to 17th July 2011) is Local History, and as such the Manager of Tunbridge Wells' Oxfam Bookshop, Sandra Cousins, has asked me to undertake some local history walking tours on their behalf.

There will be more in the local press over the next few weeks but I thought I would give all my site readers the opportunity to hear about the walks first, and hopefully for you all to book your places on them!

I wanted to do something different with the tours and as such we will be starting from the top end of Tunbridge Wells, outside the Library and Museum entrance. A lot of tours explore the Pantiles and not the rest of town, and there is so much history around Tunbridge Wells that I thought it deserved some attention this time.

Tunbridge Wells Library/Museum Entrance

There will be the opportunity to go behind the scenes at The Opera House, now a Wetherspoon's pub; plus an enjoyable stroll around the town looking at things you may or may not have noticed before. 

We will be ending back at the Oxfam Book shop so you will have the opportunity to buy any of the local books on sale inside. And an added incentive for you all to buy tickets is that half of the ticket price, yes that's right, 50% of the ticket price, will be going to Oxfam.

For those of you unaware of Oxfam, it is a charitable organisation formed in 1942, its first shop opening in Oxford in 1948. Its aim originally was to raise money to relieve famine conditions around the world. Today Oxfam works in 98 countries around the world and works directly with communities to help them improve their lives and conditions. There are over 200,000 volunteers who work for Oxfam, many in their shops or bookshops. I was one a few years ago. Oxfam has many goals that have grown out of the initial aim to eliminate famine, please take a look at their website for more information: www.oxfam.org

The walks will be taking place on Sunday 3rd and 10th of July during the Book Festival Fortnight. The tours are for locals and tourists alike. On both Sunday's the tours will be either 10.30 or 13.30 from outside the Library/Museum. Please note that this is a ticket only event, you cannot turn up and buy tickets on the day. Numbers are also limited for each group, so book early!

Tickets are £6.00 and can only be purchased via the Tunbridge Wells' Oxfam Bookshop either in person, by telephone (01892 616269) or via email: oxfamshopf4428@oxfam.org.uk  For any queries regarding this tour, please contact the Oxfam Bookshop, not myself.

Please ensure that you wear appropriate clothing for any weather eventualities! Rain will not stop play. Ensure that you are also wearing suitable footwear too - no high heels please ladies (or gents!). Dogs are welcome as long as they are on leads and well behaved; however they will not be allowed within the Opera House, unless Guide Dogs. The tour lasts approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours, depending on walking speeds, so please ensure that you are able to walk for that amount of time. You will also need to be able to manage stairs as we will climbing some when within the Opera House.

So why not come and raise some money for Oxfam, and enjoy a lovely Sunday stroll, before or after your roast dinner around Royal Tunbridge Wells with me!

The Antiques Roadshow came to Kent - did you go?

Last Thursday, 16th June, the very popular BBC programme, The Antiques Roadshow, descended upon the historic Hever Castle, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, second wife of King Henry VIII and mother to Queen Elizabeth I.

Hever Castle, Kent

The Antiques Roadshow has really been a stalwart of Sunday evening viewing in the UK, certainly for me since childhood. It was a love/hate relationship to start with - I think I would have preferred cartoons if they had been on, but I grew to love watching the programme and it really is part of the British psyche. Sunday's just wouldn't be the same without it and I can even now hear the opening theme tune in my head...

The Antiques Roadshow logo

The programme began as a pilot in 1977 then officially as The Antiques Roadshow in 1979. News presenter Fiona Bruce has been the current presenter of the show since 2008. A bit like Doctor Who, everyone has a presenter they grew up with, mine was Hugh Scully; though I know a lot of people, including my parents, remember Arthur Negus.

Again I think everyone has their favourite parts of the show and experts. I adore Henry Sandon, not only because of his expertise in ceramics but he reminds me (and probably lots of people) of my grandad, even though my grandad, at 95 is still going strong. I can imagine that he is exactly the same in real life as on TV, and I think because he's been on the show as far as I can remember he is a comforting continuity.

The objects I really look forward to seeing are the jewellery, toys and often the more obscure items that pop up from time to time. Just the thought that someone may have an unknown Lalique or Faberge makes compelling viewing.

One of the experts on the show has his showroom and home here in the South East, in Edenbridge, Kent - The Edenbridge Galleries. His name is Lennox Cato and he is one of the furniture experts. Cutting his teeth in the trade around the lanes of Brighton, East Sussex, Lennox's first sale was aged 14, and by 19 he was running his own shop. The South East is an antique hunters paradise - from Brasted and Tenterden to Dorking and Brighton. If Antiques are your passion, come and discover the cream of the South East through Discover South East England. Let us create a tour just for you or for your group. 

Lennox Cato

In 2009 the show came to my old place of work, The Assembly Rooms in Bath. Owned by the National Trust it houses the Fashion Museum within it. Working at the Museum you would also be in charge of the Assembly rooms as well; and what a place to work! Built in 1769 by the architect John Wood the Younger, it houses the Tea Room, still slightly pink on the walls from fire when bombed in the Second World War; the Octagon Room, where cards used to be played; and the magnificent Ballroom, where Jane Austen used to dance when she visited Bath.

Ballroom in The Assembly Rooms, Bath

All three rooms house beautiful chandeliers, my favourite being the Octagon Room chandelier; but the most priceless ones being in the Ballroom. Made of Austrian crystal they were cleaned once a year if I recall correctly, and were a major undertaking that was wonderful to behold. What did the Antiques Roadshow find at the Assembly Rooms? Well,they valued the chandeliers, in the Ballroom alone, at £7 million! The biggest valuation on the show. Stunning!

The new series will probably be starting again in the autumn, and hopefully the show filmed at Hever Castle will uncover new hidden gems for us to "ooh" and "ahhh" at. It's going to be well worth a watch, why not be one of the 6 million people who tune in every week who do so.