Town Talk


YOU may be forgiven for thinking you are liv- ing in the 1950s if you call into Alexanders The Barbershop in Snodland High Street for a hair- cut. Walking past the red telephone box, you


can sit on one of the wooden cinema chairs and admire the Brylcreem and dinky toy ad- verts, the wallpaper cut from old football books or read one of the Snodland history books. But if you have to wait there is free use of


Ipads, wifi or you might fancy a game of bar billiards. Alex Mackintosh, who trained at West Kent College, managed Retro Blue Barbers in Ton- bridge before deciding to work for himself and found an empty unit in Snodland. He said: “I did 22 haircuts on the opening day and it has been growing ever since. When


the time came to open my own shop I was never going to be a standard boring barbers, with chairs and mirrors and messy worktops. “I wanted Alexanders to be different and unique – somewhere comfortable, relaxing, sophisticated, butmost of all I wanted to open a barbershop that was quirky and fun.


Local news for Snodland and Halling Alex’s barbers shop offers a taste of the 50s “While I want Alexanders to be one of a kind,


the most important thing is, of course, that you always get a good quality haircut and good customer service, whether you have clippers all over or a scissor cut.” Alex lives in Tonbridge, but is buying a


house in Wouldham. He hopes his business will benefit from the new bridge over the River Medway, which will be completed in the au- tumn. He added: “The bridge is actually one of the reasons I chose Snodland to open a barbers. It's an expanding and up and coming area. There are a lot of new houses going up all around Snodland and once they finish the bridge, I think a lot of people will come over from that side of the river because it will be very convenient for them.” Alex is pictured cutting Luke Roffey’s hair.


Rugby squad make UK top 12 at first attempt


Injury blow for boxer George


GEORGE Hennon, the Snodland welterweight boxer who is un- beaten in his first two professional fights, has had to withdraw from his forthcoming bout against Fonz Alexander at Grays Civic Hall, Essex on March 4. George (21), from Malling Road,


said he had to pull out because of a recurrence of a back injury which it was feared could keep him out of the ring until May. How- ever, he was looking forward to getting back into the gym within the next week and returning to full training by the end of the month. George, who was born in Snod-


land and attended Holmesdale Technology College, started kick- boxing when he was six. He be- came the International Kick Boxing Federation English light- welterweight champion at 19. He started boxing when he was


19. His two previous professional fights were in June and October last year. He is pictured in his pro debut against Matt Seawright.


Party in Park


PRIORITY tickets are now avail- able for Snodland Town Football Club's Party in the Park at Potyns Sports Ground on July 9 and 10. Members of the club and par-


ents and carers of the Nomads football teams can buy the tickets from the Medway Room at De- vonshire Rooms, Waghorn Road between 10am and 2pm on Sat- urday, January 16 and between 7pm and 8pm on Friday, January 22. They are available to the pub- lic from the box office at Hicks Es- tate Agency, 30 High Street from Saturday, January 23.


DESPITE losing its last two rugby games, Holmesdale Technology College Year 9 club is within the top 12 Rugby League schools in the UK. Town Talk reported in its last


issue that the squad had reached the final of the London and South East Year 9 Boys Champion Schools tournament after winning the Kent championship earlier in the year.


Holmesdale faced All Saints’ Catholic Church School from Da- genham, Essex at the Allianz Sta- dium, home of Saracens Rugby Club. Holmesdale played an ex- ceptional game which was only decided in the dyingminutes. Holmesdale took a half-time lead


of 12-4 after tries by Bradley Harris and team captain James Button, with conversions by Zac Harris. Harry Gearing scored two trieswith a conversion by Zac leading to a 22-14 lead.


However, All Saints managed a


last-minute win of 24-22. Lee Downey, director of applied learning at Holmesdale, said: "I could not be prouder of the team. They were so unlucky after con- trolling the game and each one of them gave 110% from start to the final whistle.” He praised James Button, Harry Gearing and Bradley Harris as out- standing, and added: “The support from parents, staff and pupils was out of this world. I have never ex- perienced anything like it at a school game. Everybody in the stadium said how loud and enthu- siastic they were, so a huge thank you from me and the team. They really did make a difference.” Holmesdale competed in the first


round of the National RFL Schools Competition against last year's quarter finalists, Chosen Hill from Gloucester at Maidenhead RFC. The opponents began the game


strongly and took the lead after some silly mistakes and missed tackles by Holmesdale. Mr Downey said: “The boys re- grouped, kept their heads up and began to play the flowing rugby that got them to the national stage. In the closing stages of the first half Bill Miners powered over the line and Zac Harris converted.” Holmesdale fought hard in the second half, but lost by 38-26 points. Mr Downey added: “Holmesdale


were the first team to enter the competition for the first time and make it all the way to the national competition. This is an outstanding achievement and puts them within the top 12 rugby league schools in the UK. “The boys will prepare for their Disneyland Paris rugby tour in April and look forward to entering the local rugby league competition later in the year.”


Community party a success Paralympian


THE first community event atHol- borough Lakes, Snodland, proved to be a great success. Father Christmas arrived on a


sleigh with a real reindeer and gave out presents in his grotto. The event was organised by Holborough Lakes Residents As- sociation (HLRA). Chairman Janet Naylor said: “It was sponsored by develope, Berkeley Homes, man- agement company RMG, South- ern Housing Group and Tarmac. Prizes and donations were also received from local businesses.” Snodland Scouts provided the catering and entertainment was provided by Malling School band and choir, Ditton Air Cadets, the Silhouette Dance and Theatre


inspires pupils PARALYMPIAN Tim Prendergast visited the Church of England Pri- mary School, Snodland . Tim, who won a


School and Valley Invicta Primary school. Police and the fire service were


also available with vehicles. Janet concluded: “It was a fan-


tastic turnout. For a very first event this was a fantastic show and we are grateful for all the input and re- silience from both participants and residents and everyone had an enjoyable and successful day.


gold medal for New Zealand in the 800m at Athens in 2004, started the day with an assem- bly about stepping out of your comfort


zone, and spent the rest of the day discussing the theme with small groups of children. The day ended with him leading


a staff meeting discussing the project “Inspired ways to Rio”. The following day he visited St Katherine's Primary School.


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