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Wealden Times Magazine is the monthly lifestyle magazines for Kent & Sussex. Discover beautiful homes and interiors, read about their owners, find recipes for every occasion and delve into our pages on horticulture. Feel inspired by our fashion features and get the latest on health and beauty.

Island Escape

With a focus on sustainability and conservation, Georgina Fulton and her husband, Gareth, ensure that Elmley Nature Reserve and its working family farm preserves the natural habitat on the Isle Of Sheppey, sharing their portion of beautiful marsh landscape with...

Pesty Problems?

Sue Whigham gives handy tips to tackle garden pests without harming the wildlife that feeds on them One of my ancient greengage trees was uprooted during one of January’s downpours and so I thought that this was a good excuse...

Feed Me!

Jo Arnell gives her soil-enriching recommendations to ensure your garden plants never go hungry Above: Sweet peas are greedy plants Restore, Replenish, Renew This is not the beauty page, or an advert for skin cream, but I do want to...

Lockdown Lessons

Spring Grove School explains what its families and teachers have learnt from lockdown One year ago, as we grappled with the startling realisation that schools were about to close, little did we think that restrictions would still be affecting our...

Welcoming Day Boarders

Benenden School explains how, from September 2021, day pupils will also be able to enjoy the school’s offering alongside its boarders Benenden School, one of the UK’s leading boarding schools, is introducing day boarders for the first time. In an...

Meet the Head: Mike Piercy, Headmaster of The New Beacon boys

We chat to Mike Piercy, Headmaster of The New Beacon boys’ school in Sevenoaks Why did you choose a career in teaching? It is more a question of teaching choosing me! My father was in the navy in WWII and it was...

Pretty in pink

Treasure hunter Cat Ridley knows what she likes – and if it’s pink, glittery, neon or gold, she’s in (preferably all of them) My first glimpse of the gloriously pink, glittery, neon, petal-strewn world of Cat Ridley was when I...

The Archivist

Jules Haines set up her online business, Haines Collection, to offer leftover stocks of beautiful high-end fabrics, preventing them from ending up in landfill and providing the chance to snap them up with substantial savings. Her environmental awareness naturally extends...

9-5 In Style

If you’ve made the decision to continue to work from home, why not invest in a beautiful outdoor space that will allow you to take control of your working life, maintain work/life balance and provide a gorgeous focal point in...

The Right Foot

After a year of home schooling and social distancing, sport represents a unique challenge. How will we get up and running with a new-normal after lockdown? As the winner of the Sporting Achievement award in the 2020 Independent Schools of...

Adapt Adopt Improve

The last year has been anything but an easy ride, especially when it comes to education, but our schools have worked tirelessly to keep their students engaged and maintain a sense of normality – and this is how they’ve achieved...

Meet the P.E. Pros

We get to know two P.E. teachers that were once professional sports people – Mark Howell, Director of Sport and Head of Rugby at Sutton Valence School and Emily Starr, Assistant Director of Sport at Mayfield School Why did you...

Meet the Head: Cranbrook School

The Cranbrook School student who grew up to be its headmaster, we get to know Mr Will Chuter Why did you choose to go into teaching?  I was late to teaching. After university, I worked in offices and found it dull. I missed...

We need to talk about tech

In a world filled with more online socialisation than ever, how do parents and teachers keep up? We found out with the help of Battle Abbey School At Battle Abbey School we very much see parents as partners in a...

Taking Responsibility

Dulwich Prep Cranbrook explains how they’re fostering planet-friendly values throughout the school The majority of the eco initiatives introduced at Dulwich Prep Cranbrook have been very much child led, we have found that the children genuinely care and want to...

Meet the Head: Sevenoaks School

Mr Jesse R Elzinga reflects on his career so far, how Sevenoaks School has overcome the challenges of 2020 and what he looks forward to in the year ahead Why did you choose a career in teaching? I have always...

Beyond the Student Council

Ed Dickie, Head of Claremont Senior School, explains how prioritising communication with students is key to a school’s evolution Experience has taught me that the success or failure of new initiatives, designed to transform an area of the school perceived...

Ask the Expert

Hayley Hobbs, founder of Griffin Teaching, explains how your child may benefit from out-of-school academic help How will I know if my child needs external help with their academic work? In this area, where we have some excellent schools, your...

Help’s Only A Click Away

For dyslexic students, learning from home can pose a variety of extra challenges. Sally Welch, Head of Frewen College Prep in East Sussex, explains how they’re easing the pressure Helping students receive an accessible education in 2020/21 has proved a huge...

Meet the Head

Bryan Nixon, Head of School at TASIS The American School in England, talks us through his own experiences of school What was your favourite subject at school? My favourite subject at school was history, which is topical for me because...

Bursaries: what you need to know

Sarah Guri explains how the key to a future at Kent College, Canterbury could be applying for a bursary The opportunities that Kent College affords its students are special and it is absolutely right that we make that accessible to...

Professional Standard

Rising to the challenges of running a drama department during a global pandemic, ACS Cobham enlisted the help of industry professionals to create a film together High school students at ACS International School Cobham have created an uplifting prom-themed film...

A Very Bright Future

Headmaster of Babington House School, Tim Lello, explains how the school strives to provide its students with the support, advice and expertise needed to secure a successful career when they finish school With the news full of “mishandled A Level...

Welcome to real Tunbridge Wells

When Cathe and John Wheatman moved into their generously proportioned Victorian town house four-and-a-half years ago they were only the third family to live in it, since it was built in 1870.  That must be a pretty rare record –...

The Haven

After buying buildings they had admired for years, a couple well-versed in renovating properties have created a uniquely peaceful and welcoming home they now open as a B&B sanctuary It’s hard to pinpoint what determines the atmosphere of a house....

Turkey Ropa Vieja

No, not a curry! Use up leftover turkey in this warming Cuban-inspired stew.  In a saucepan, heat the rapeseed oil and fry the onion, chillies, ginger, allspice, cinnamon and pepper.When onions are translucent add the cubed turkey and stir to...

Spiral seasonal tart

Preheat oven to 190˚C. Grease and line a 22cm (8 inch) fluted tart tin.Cube your cold butter into a bowl with the sifted flours in, rub together with your fingers until like breadcrumbs. Slowly add warm water, mixing with a...

Sweet & sour baked ham

Put the gammon joint, cider, peppercorns, onion, bay, celery, carrots and parsley into a large pan, followed by enough water to cover the ham, then add the thyme and rosemary. Bring slowly to the boil, skim off any scum, then...

Canopies of Wonder

Sue Whigham shares her love of native trees and their regional differences Wayland’s Smithy is a Neolithic long barrow in Oxfordshire built about a mile and a half along the ancient Ridgeway from the Uffington White Horse. History has it...

Seasonal Scentedness

Jo Arnell’s recommendations for naturally festive fragrances to raise your Christmas spirits You’d be forgiven for thinking that Christmas fragrance comes in the form of a mulled wine sachet or a garden centre scented candle as a pervasive blend of...

Meet the Head: Mr Nick Waite, Head of Beechwood Sacred Heart School

We find out a little bit more about Mr Nick Waite, Head of Beechwood Sacred Heart School in Tunbridge Wells  What was your first ever job? My first paid job was at a cling film factory when I was a...

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Life’s a Beach

The impact of Lockdown on our local community has been profound and, as a school, we have learnt much along the way.  Although we have been using Google Suite for many years, the moment we launched our ‘School without Buildings’...

Coffee and cardamon (no-churn) ice-cream

This is adapted from Diana Henry’s recipe and is the simplest ice cream I’ve ever made. Actually, I don’t make much ice-cream, as the thought of having another kitchen-clogging machine puts me off, but the addition of a single ingredient...

Easy Monkfish curry

This curry can be made with any firm white fish and if you make the sauce in advance and refrigerate overnight (or freeze until needed) it can be made very quickly. Add all the spices and oil to a heavy-based...

Onion and Courgette Bhajis

The hardest bit in this recipe is the eye-watering process of slicing the onions. These bhajis are so simple to prepare and may help to use up any courgettes still lurking out there. Mix all the ingredients together in a...

Interior Vocation

With an eye for design that she has honed working on the complete renovation of her own period cottage, and following a career in events management, interiors lover Rebecca Middleton has hit the ground running with the start of her...

Cover Girl

Former Fashion Director turned upholsterer, Sadie Dorchester takes Antonia Methuen on a tour of the interior of her spacious Victorian terrace, the gorgeous result of a seven-year renovation project Like many people who move to Hastings, Sadie Dorchester and her...

Lazy bottom

Do you suffer from lower back pain? You just might have a lazy butt! Most people are unaware of how important their buttocks (actually their gluteal muscles or glutes) are to their overall core stability and overall muscular skeletal health....

Holiday skin

Henrietta Norton’s six steps to sensational post-holiday skin Nourishing our skin is always important, never more so than when we return from a sunny holiday, to prevent dry skin and premature ageing and to prolong your sun-kissed glow. Here are...

A Taste of the Exotic

Tom Hart Dyke, Curator of The World Garden at Lullingstone Castle, shares his passion and top plant care tips for orchids – which aren’t always as tropical as you may think Orchids are now considered to be the largest family...

Where the WILD things are

Try these tips to encourage wildlife to flourish in your garden “There is a shortage of natural nesting holes for wild birds, which impacts population numbers of many familiar species. Putting up a nestbox provides shelter and attracts welcome visitors...

Shape it up…

Sue Whigham makes a statement with unusual colours and shapes Well, the usual deluge hasn’t happened today. Perhaps spring is definitely on its way. Actually, I think it is and so do the bumblebees. I saw a huge one collecting...

Wild at heart

How have our Wealden garden designers been encouraging wildlife back into the garden with wildflower planting?  WILDFLOWER MEADOWS “Creating a wildflower meadow in your garden is a lovely way to ‘soften’ the space and to encourage wildlife diversity, such as...

Sow a meadow

With many options to choose from, Jo Arnell talks us through the basics A dreamy meadow full of poppies, cornflowers and ox-eye daisies is a lovely thing to behold, but perhaps more fantasy than reality in the countryside these days –...

Final Goodbyes

We talk about the different options available for funeral services Jo Loveridge, funeral director and owner of Albany Funerals   Does a funeral have to take place in a church or crematorium? It can do if you want it to,...

Reading Pleasure

Hilary Wilce emphasises how settling down with a good book can considerably boost your child’s progress at school Last month we celebrated World Book Day, the annual international event that champions reading, especially among children. Students were given £1 book...