The Golden Green Association Newsletter
Issue No. 311
Wishing all Golden Green residents a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
Facebook: Golden Green Association.
Send items for inclusion to Anne Waddingham (gghamlet@outlook.com) or Alec Pelmore (alecpelmore@btinternet.com).
Mission Hall Bookings
Website: www.goldengreenhall.com
The Golden Green Hall is available for bookings. Contact Nicky Whapshott goldengreenhall@gmail.com or 07702 212317. Ideal for children’s parties.
What’s on in Golden Green?
Weekly Classes in the Mission Hall
Mondays (except bank holidays) – Steady Steps: Strength, Mobility and Balance Class – 10.30am-12 noon
Contact: Pat 01732 850739
Tuesdays – Line Dancing – Hall – 10.30-11.45am
Contact: Wendy Langley 07833 079213
Tuesdays – Life Drawing – Hall – 8-10pm
Contact: Peter Muller 07948 367240
Wednesdays – Waggy Tails Social Club – Hall – 2-3pm
Currently fully subscribed. If you want to go on the waiting list, contact Sue Harriman 07759 904677
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This Month in Golden Green
Thursday 8 January – Coffee Morning – Hall – 10.30am-12 noon
Contact: Alec Pelmore 01732 850739
Thursday 8,15,22,29 January – Jonty’s Vietnamese Lunches – The Bell – 12-2pm
Contact: Jonty Hoad 07769 652279 (booking required)
NEW from 15 January – Jonty’s Fish & Chips Fridays – The Bell – 12-4pm
Contact: Jonty Hoad 07769 652279 (table booking required; 24 hours’ notice for takeaways)
Saturday 10 January – Afternoon Tea – The Bell – 1-4pm
Contact: The Bell 01732 605352 (booking required)
Saturday 10 January – Jonty’s Supper Club – The Bell – 7-9.15pm
Contact: Jonty Hoad 07769 652279 (booking required)
Saturday 17 January – Karaoke – Bell Inn – 8pm-late
Contact: The Bell Inn 01732 605352
Wednesday 21 January – GG Community Lunch – Hall – 12.15 for 12.30pm sit-down
Contact: Linda Daker 01732 382498 (note phone number change) (booking required)
Saturday 22 January – Psychic Night – The Bell – 7-9pm
Contact: The Bell 01732 605352 (booking required)
Next Month in Golden Green
Saturday 7 February – Golden Green Fish ’n’ Chips Challenge Quiz – Hall – 6:30 for 7pm
Contact: Phoebe Winter phoebeclwinter@outlook.com
See instructions for booking below
Thursday 12 February – Minibus Trip – Newnham Court Garden Centre, Maidstone
Meet 9.30 at the Mission Hall. £5 per head
Contact: Alec Pelmore 01732 850739
… and a date for your new 2026 diary – 28 June – GG Summer Fete – Signpost Field
Golden Green 250 Club Renewal Reminder
The 250 club is for GG residents. There are 250 numbers (£6 each for the year) and 36 prizes in the year of £25 each, so a win percentage of 60%. In reality though it is a village ‘subscription’! The proceeds go towards maintaining the village hall and other activities like our annual community lunch. Note that we try to set a limit of two numbers per person and five overall per household so everybody gets a chance.
If you do not want to renew, please contact Alec Pelmore (alecpelmore@btinternet.com) so he can release the number(s)
If you want to renew and keep your numbers, please pay by cash, cheque or bank transfer:
To pay by bank transfer (preferred)
– bank details are: “Golden Green Association – No 2 A/C” Sort code: 30-98-63 Account number: 00385808. Reference: your name and numbers
– email Alec (alecpelmore@btinternet.com) to confirm payment, and cc GGA treasurer gabrielle.lear@hotmail.co.uk.
To pay by cash or cheque
– drop the money with your name(s) and address into the post box at The Old Farmhouse, Hartlake Road, or give it to Linda Daker (22 Sherenden Park) or Anne Waddingham (13 Sherenden Park) or Gabrielle Lear (Orchard House, Three Elm Lane)
– remember to specify the names for each number
– please include cash of £6 per number or cheque payable to Golden Green Association No 2 A/C (not GGA, which doesn’t work!)
If you want to join for the first time:
There are some spare numbers so new joiners are very welcome. If you want to join, please email alecpelmore@btinternet.com with name(s) and address or drop round to Alec at The Old Farmhouse, Hartlake Road, or to Linda, Anne or Gabrielle.
Thank you everybody for your continued support for the village.
Golden Green Community Lunch
Wednesday 21 January 12.15 for 12.30pm sit-down Mission Hall
Shake off those January blues at our annual residents’ lunch featuring home-baked pies and scrumptious desserts, served with wine or a soft drink, all courtesy of the Golden Green Association. There’s also a raffle for charity (prize donations welcome). GG residents of all ages are welcome – a good opportunity if you are new to the hamlet to meet others, find out more about the community and make friends. Booking essential – contact: Linda Daker 01732 382498 (note number change), stating number of places, your names(s), phone number and any special dietary requirements or food intolerances. Volunteer cooks and helpers, please apply to Linda.
Quiz – Golden Green Fish ’n’ Chips Challenge now booking
Saturday 7 February 6:30 for 7pm start Mission Hall
Teams of 4-8 people
From Organiser Phoebe Winter:
Hi everyone! Looking forward to seeing you for the annual Golden Green Village Quiz on Saturday 7 February in the Mission Hall (opposite The Bell). Please arrive at 6.30pm for a 7pm start.
Ticket prices:
This year we will be tiering the ticket prices to reflect the prices of the meal options. The prices are:
Medium cod and chips ticket – £13
Veggie burger and chips ticket – £9
Two sausages and chips ticket – £9
To book and pay:
Please email phoebeclwinter@outlook.com to book. Please include the names of your team members with their individual food choices. We will reply to you with a table number – please make note of this as it will need to be used in your payment reference.
All payments need to be made to the Golden Green bank account by Monday 2 February to confirm your bookings. Please format the reference as TAB X PPL X, with ‘TAB’ being your table number and ‘PPL’ being the number of people for whom you are making the payment, for example: paying for 4 participants on table 3 would be TAB 3 PPL 4. This should allow multiple people from the same team to make food payments.
The maximum number in a team is 8. As room in the hall is limited, we may need to combine teams of 4 or fewer. If you don’t have a team, use reference TAB X and you’ll be offered a table to join on the night.
Please note, your participation is not confirmed until we have received payment.
The Golden Green bank account details are: Name: Golden Green Association No 2 account (this is a business account) Sort code: 30-98-63 Account number: 00385808.
If you can’t do a bank transfer, please contact GGA Treasurer Gabrielle (07711 554819; gabrielle.lear@hotmail.co.uk).
Drinks:
As always, please bring your own drinks and glasses, and feel free to bring any snacks and sauces you would like.
If you have any questions, please email phoebeclwinter@outlook.com
The Bell News
Clare, Justin & Nigel
Tel: 01732 605352 or 07881 816227
Email: queensowntaverns@hotmail.com
Facebook: The Bell – Golden Green
Free Pool Table – all day every Friday
Afternoon Tea – Sat 10 Jan 1-4pm – contact The Bell to book
2026 Saturday Afternoon Tea dates: 10 Jan; 14 Feb Valentines; 14 March; Sunday 15 March Mother’s Day; 11 April Easter; 9 May; 13 June; 11 July; 8 August; 12 September; 10 October; 14 November; 12 December Christmas
Psychic Night with Michael Graves – Thu 22 Jan – £5pp – contact The Bell to book
The Bell is closed for private functions on Saturday 24 Jan and Wednesday 28 Jan from 6.30pm.
Jonty’s Feasts at The Bell:
Booking essential – text or WhatsApp Jonty Hoad 07769 652279. Menus and booking form at jontyslittlefeasts.co.uk
– Supper Club – Vietnamese Sat 10 Jan from 7pm
– Jonty’s Thursday Lunch (note change of day from Fridays) – Vietnamese – Thu 8,15,22,29 Jan 12-2pm
– NEW from 16 Jan – Fish & Chips Fridays – cod, scampi or halloumi – 12-4pm – table booking required; 24 hours’ notice for takeaways.
Steady Steps: Strength and Mobility Class
Mondays 10.30-12 noon Mission Hall
Sessions have started again for the new year. Contact Pat 850739 for info or just come along. £4 per person for a class, a cuppa and a biscuit; £6 for a couple.
Golden Green Coffee Morning
Thursday 8 January 10.30am-12 noon Mission Hall
All ages are welcome to join us for hot drinks and homemade bakes. Just turn up or contact Alec 01732 850739 for more details.
Concert – East Peckham Silver Band
Sunday 1 February 2.30pm St Mary’s Church, Hadlow
Come and enjoy a programme of classical and band tunes. Free admission but donations are very welcome in aid of the Church and Band funds. Interval tea and cakes.
Carol Service Collection
Our carol service was rousingly accompanied by select players from East Peckham Silver Band, led by Alec Pelmore, and produced some fine singing and dramatic readings. We raised £263 for the homeless charity Porchlight. Well done and thanks to all participants!
Road Closures and Works
The southern end of Hartlake Road is scheduled to be closed by the railway bridge from 6-7 January 9.30am-3.30pm for telephone pole replacement.
Three Elm Lane is scheduled to be closed between the Carpenters Arms and the Esso garage on 9-10 January from 7am-7pm for drainage cleaning; and on 11 January, at the other end of the village, between Pierce Mill Lane and The Man of Kent, Tonbridge Road will be closed from 9.30am-3.30pm for works by OpenReach.
There will be temporary traffic lights on Carpenters Lane, Hadlow opposite no. 51 from 12-14 January for maintenance works by KCC Highways.
Court Lane is scheduled to be closed from 8am to 5pm on 17-23 February from The Forstal to the Victoria Road junction for works by South East Water.
SGN will resume renewing the gas pipes in Three Elm Lane in the Spring, working eastwards from the junction with Victoria Road. The work is scheduled for 4 April to 4 September, requiring temporary traffic lights but no road closures. However, Hartlake Road is scheduled to be closed from 4-19 April also for gasworks.
A21 Roadworks and overnight closures will continue on various dates. (See the traffic map at https://one.network/ for more details).
More information including diversion routes can be found on the traffic map at https://one.network/ though we can’t guarantee that it’s up to date! Any deviation from the dates given are down to the contractor(s) concerned.
You can report non-urgent problems with roads and pavements to KCC online at https://www.kent.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/report-a-problem. This includes street light faults, potholes, drainage, traffic signal faults and overgrown vegetation (including hedges and grass).
TMBC Bourne Ward Councillors
Cllr James Lark james.lark@tmbc.gov.uk; mob 07812 596194
Cllr Steve Crisp Steve.Crisp@tmbc.gov.uk or c/o TMBC, Gibson Building, Gibson Drive, Kings Hill ME19 4LZ
Hadlow Parish Council
admin@hadlowpc.co.uk or 01732 851878
www.hadlowpc.co.uk
facebook.com/HadlowParishCouncil
X: @HadlowParish
Parish Council Office open Tuesdays and Thursdays, 9.30am until 12 noon.
Next Parish Council Meeting – 12 January – 7.30pm Old School Hall, Hadlow.
More people to join the parish council urgently needed – contact the Parish Clerk.
Golden Green Parish Councillors
Nick Collins: 850968 nicolins@btinternet.com
Ed Bright: 850590 ed.bright@talk21.com
St Mary’s Church, Hadlow Christmas Services
Please see the Hadlow newsletter for details of services.
St Peter’s RC Chapel, Maidstone Rd, Hadlow
For service times, please see
catholicclocks.com/mass-times/england/kent/hadlow/saint-peters-chapel.
Hospital Transport Service
Residents of Hadlow and Golden Green who need help to get to clinic appointments can contact Mike Harvey (tel 01732 851881, mob 07464 548448).
Anti-Social Behaviour Team
If you want to report anti-social behaviour, please either call TMBC’s Community Safety Partnership Team on 01732 844522 or email: csp@tmbc.gov.uk.
Community Warden
Community wardens’ aims are to foster community wellbeing, support the elderly and vulnerable and help with accessing community services. Our Community Warden for East Peckham and Hadlow (including Golden Green) is Diane Wakeling. Contact her on 07813 713740 diane.wakeling@kent.gov.uk.
Compiled by Anne Waddingham and Alec Pelmore ©2026