Will you link to my site?
Do you know, I think I might!
But only if:
- You submit 400 words. The link can either go in the body of the text, or it can go at the end.
- Your site is connected with Tunbridge Wells in some way.
- Your site isn't likely to offend any families reading.
What is this project all about?
In 1606 (i.e., 400 years ago in 2006), Tunbridge Wells was founded when a young nobleman named Lord North was riding through the woods near Tonbridge to cure the hangover from which he was DYING - yes, DYING. He stopped outside a swineherder's hut for a drink and noticed that the water he was given cured his hangover. Being an unselfish sort of chap, he shared the secret with his drinking friends and soon a lively spa town appeared.
To celebrate this miracle, I want to collect a big pile of 400-word accounts of Tunbridge Wells life and publish them on a website for all to read. Which is where you come in. Pick up a pen and write. And then send it to me, and I'll put it up on the site.
As well as being the number of years since Tunbridge Wells was founded, 400 is an easy number of words to write. It’s just a hand-written side of A4.
How do I contribute to Tunbridge Wells Tells?
Simply email 400 words written by you about Tunbridge Wells to:
At the end of your piece, give your:
- Name
- Age
- Full address (we’ll only publish the street name and the village but we need complete details to contact you with news about the project and about any queries.)
- Email address (if you have one that you check regularly– again not for publication.)
- A phrase that describes you – i.e. student, bus conductor, home engineer, dreamer, bare knuckle boxer
If you want to be anonymous, please state this. Do supply a pen-name if you like.
I don't know what to put....
Blank page fright happens to the best of us, so here are a few ideas to get you going:
- Sit somewhere crowded and make a themed list - i.e. all the hats you see, how people carry their children, what people say when they meet each other, trousers, belts, footwear, what people are eating, how people wear their hair, different reactions to a street performer, what animals can you see? Then report your findings in 400 words. Use phrases like: In total I spotted 15 baseball caps. The strangest animal I saw was a twelve-foot python. I was surprised to see three people run up to the busker and give him a big hug. A hairstyle I particularly dislike is the pony-tail – only three people passed me wearing one.
- Write a letter persuading someone to or dissuading someone from coming to live in Tunbridge Wells.
- Imagine you have been asked by the police in the course of their investigations to describe your morning routine or your journey to work or school.
- What happens when you meet a friend for a drink? What are pubs like? What do you have to do to get a cup of coffee in this town? What food do you like when you’re out and about? What restaurants would you recommend and why?
- A good way to capture a place is to describe how it affects each of your senses in turn – I can see… I can hear… I can smell… I can taste… I can feel…
- Recount an unusual or funny incident that happened recently in Tunbridge Wells. It might help to pretend you are telling a friend about it.
- Do a vox populi – think of a town issue and ask ten people for their opinions.
- Give some directions between two places in town. Now imagine the person you are directing can’t tell left from right. How do you describe the route now? Or what if they can’t read signs? Instead of naming roads, you’d have to describe them.
- Something on your chest? Rather than a mad rant, what would be really interesting would be your impressions of how the situation came about and your ideas for resolving it to everyone’s satisfaction.
- What changes in town when it rains? When it snows? When it’s so hot you can hardly move?
