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Contact The Spa Valley Railway in Tunbridge Wells needs your help

    The Spa Valley Railway in Tunbridge Wells needs your help

    By becoming a member of the Spa Valley Railway you will be helping this popular heritage railway to get through the devastating Covid-19 closure which has put the brakes on its income.

    With no income from visitors until tourist attractions are permitted to open again, the railway is struggling to meet its ongoing fixed costs of £5,000 per month.

    To help, we are hoping that those who want to see the heritage railway in the town continue, will consider purchasing an annual membership as this will ensure the railway can reopen again after the pandemic and continue to offer a great day out to residents and visitors to the town.

    Jonnie Pay, Commercial Manager at the railway and himself a volunteer said “We want to thank everyone for their support so far and look forward to growing our membership sufficiently to allow us to continue to operate trains between Tunbridge Wells West and Groombridge.  With your support we also hope to continue with the remainder of our annual events programme which will include the popular Santa Specials.”

    Membership comes with some great benefits including:

    Member’s Privilege Rate Tickets which allow unlimited travel on the day of purchase. Currently privilege tickets cost £3.50 for a return trip over the operational length of the line. This would be a saving of £5.50 per adult to Groombridge and £7.50 per adult to Eridge.

    Members also receive a free copy of the railway’s magazine ‘Spa Valley Starter’, which is delivered to your door four times a year!

    There is also the opportunity to actively participate in the running of the railway as a volunteer. Jobs are many and varied and embrace all aspects of railway work.

    Current membership prices are £20 for an adult and a junior up to 16 years of age is £6.  A senior is £13 and a senior couple £20.  A family can join for £30.  There are also lifetime membership packages available which start from £200.

    Please download a membership form from the website and email it to [email protected]

    VE Day – the beginning of a new Europe

    Seen as a day of celebration through much of the world, Victory in Europe (VE) Day also signified deep changes to the continent and its peoples. University of Kent historian Dr Charlie Hall examines what these new beginnings were.He said:

    ‘On 8 May 1945, the Second World War in Europe ended. This did not come as a shock to most people. Nazi Germany had fought on until the bitter end but their imminent defeat was obvious to all but a few diehard fanatics. Even Hitler himself had realised all was lost and committed suicide in his Berlin bunker on 30 April. Ceasefire negotiations had been underway for a few days and the initial surrender, between Nazi Germany and the Western Allies, was actually signed in the early hours of 7 May but, at the urging of the Soviets, a more formal and historic surrender ceremony was arranged in Berlin for the following day.

    ‘While VE-Day is now celebrated as a moment of final triumph in Britain and elsewhere, the reality is less clear. To begin, war with Japan in the Pacific Theatre continued until August 1945, with many British troops still stationed overseas – in Asia, Africa and Europe – for months after eventual victory had been declared.

    ‘Moreover, a new post-war world had to be built and nowhere was this more pressing than in Germany itself. Occupied by the four Allies – Britain, France, the Soviet Union and the United States – the country was in ruins, unable to provide its citizens with the most basic essentials. Britain even had to introduce bread rationing, which it had avoided throughout the war, to ensure the Germany did not starve.

    ‘The destruction of Germany was also political. The Nazi dictatorship had collapsed and brought any credible structure for government down with it. The occupiers had to impose their own systems and before long Germany was divided on stark ideological lines. In the West, the occupation zones of Britain, France and the United States merged and then became the Federal Republic of Germany, a capitalist liberal democracy which soon thrived as it underwent its so-called post-war “economic miracle”. In the East, the Soviet zone became the German Democratic Republic, a one-party socialist dictatorship. The border between these two opposing nations, strengthened by the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961, represented the frontline of the Cold War; the dominant state of European affairs for the next 40 years.

    ‘Meanwhile, in the West, further plans were underway to unite Europe more closely, and reduce the chances of conflict breaking out between neighbours. Indeed, as early as September 1946, Winston Churchill called for a “United States of Europe” and encouraged his fellow Europeans to “turn our backs upon the horrors of the past and look to the future”. That said, he did not necessarily envisage Britain being a part of this new federal Europe, feeling that its future lay in the Commonwealth. In any case, by 1952, the European Coal and Steel Community had been formed. This offered initial integration of the economies of six European nations and laid the foundations for the European Union.

    ‘Taken together, what this shows is that, while 8 May 1945 marked an ending in some respects, it also marked a series of new beginnings. There is little doubt that the Europe we live in today has been shaped indelibly by the immediate aftermath of the Second World War.’

     

    Dr Charlie Hall, Lecturer in Modern European History, School of History, University of Kent

    Dr Hall’s research centres on ideology, propaganda and society in twentieth-century Europe and Britain. He is currently working on perceptions of Nazism in Britain since 1923. He is also interested in social and cultural histories of military technology, the transnational movement of people and ideas, and the aftermath of conflict.

    County Council confirms how and when Household Waste Recycling Sites will reopen

    Household Waste Recycling Sites (HWRSs) across West Sussex will reopen from Monday 11th May, the County Council has confirmed.

    Final preparations to reopen the sites are being completed this week, taking into account the latest government advice, which was issued today (Tuesday).

    If you are thinking of taking a trip to one of the HWRSs there are several things you need to consider.

    Before planning your journey you should:

    • Consider whether your journey is essential. You should only visit a HWRSs if your waste or recycling is not suitable to be picked up in your kerbside collection and presents a risk of injury or harm to health. If it doesn’t, please safely store your items at home for now or make other legal arrangements for it to be removed.
    • Note emergency laws on essential travel still apply and these essential reasons provide the only “reasonable excuse” for travel – the fact that sites are open does not.
    • Check our opening hours. Sites will be running their usual summer opening days and hours. (Please note our Shoreham site is closed on Mondays. Other sites may close on other days.) Please check when your local site is open at www.westsussexrecycles.org before leaving home.
    • Consider whether you need to come straight away Sites may be busy in the first few days and at weekends, if you can wait a little longer it may mean a shorter waiting time.

    Before visiting a site please note:

    • Only garden waste and residual waste will be accepted. Garden waste means green waste such as grass cuttings and hedge trimmings. Residual waste is other waste that presents a risk of injury or harm to health and will be landfilled. We hope to be able to accept other items soon. Please continue to use your household collections for recycling and general waste.
    • Only cars will be allowed on site. Trailers and large vehicles such as vans and pickups will not be allowed access at this time.

    Once at the sites there will be certain measures in place for the safety of visitors and staff:

    • The number of vehicles accessing the sites will be restricted. Visitors should prepare for delays at sites and should delay their visit to avoid the first couple of weeks if possible.
    • Social distancing barriers will be in place. Visitors will be directed into enclosed bays to dispose of their waste.
    • Only one person will be allowed to get out of a vehicle. Please travel to the sites alone if possible. If other people travel to the site with you, they must remain in the vehicle.
    • Site staff will not be able to help unload your waste and recycling. Please do not bring anything that you cannot safely remove from your car on your own.
    • Abuse or aggression to site staff will not be tolerated and could result in sites being closed again.

    Deborah Urquhart, West Sussex County Council Cabinet Member for Environment, said: “The health and protection of residents and our staff is our absolute priority. We know the closure of our recycling sites has been inconvenient for many and we know there will be a lot of people who will now want to visit the sites as soon as they reopen.

    “However, I would ask people to consider whether their journey is absolutely essential. If you can store your waste and recycling without risking injury, health, or harm, then please do so.

    “We are expecting the sites to be busy when they reopen and social distancing measures will mean fewer cars can access the site at any one time, so users should plan for significant delays and long queues, which could affect the road network.

    “In order to maintain social distancing and keep everyone safe we have had to restrict the service we can offer and therefore the types of waste we can accept. We hope to be able to expand this in the coming weeks and we thank everyone for their patience.”

    Follow @WSRecycles on social media or sign up for our e-newsletter at www.wastepreventionwestsussex.co.uk to receive the latest information as it becomes available.

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