Roundel Tonbridge

07/05/2026

I met a wonderful group of people yesterday. I’m used to speaking to history and textile groups, but Roundel Tonbridge are writers who like to do things differently. They’ve had talks from a beekeeper, music from a cellist and now handled silk from cocoon to finished textile. Their thank-you card was of course, a beautiful poem. I’m so looking forward to reading some of what they write.🧵🖋️

27/09/2025

A wonderful walk as part of Walk Tonbridge Festival, stopping to read poems on the way,

Last weekend I collaborated with Roundel Tonbridge for ‘Walking With Words’ a short walk in the countryside accompanied by stops for poetry.

We ended the walk with an afternoon tea at The Bell - Golden Green where our walkers wrote a sentence inspired by the walk.

These were then compiled by Rachel and Charlie who created this beautiful poem.

Old friends, new friends
sharing poetry in the sun
and rain along the river
a necklace of people along the field path
brought together by a poem
Medu-Medway - sweet water - the life of our walk
sharing the beauty of our wonderful countryside
with friends old and new
words untied along the river
a murmuration of muses
walking the countryside into verse
golden ways to sunny days
sound of rain gently edging fields
against the river's flow we go
onto the next stop where we do not know
water gushes through the lock gate
ruffling the orange flowers hanging
onto the wooden frame
the barn owl sings
to the darkening sky
gnarly trunks, peeping flowers, new friends -
renewal is my word
renewed acquaintance with the lovely river
and making new literary friends -
sunshine makes me happy.

Words and pictures: Rachel Gough

21/09/2025

Thank you walk Walk Tonbridge for inviting us to take part in the Walk Tonbridge Festival this year. We spent a wonderful afternoon walking from the Bell at Golden Green stopping several times to read poems from Roundel members - and other poems hidden away in our 'little bag of dreams'. A memorable few hours, rounded off with a sumptuous tea at The Bell.

12/09/2025

07/08/2025

An inspiring writing day on Wed 6 August at Woodbury Park Victorian Cemetery, St John's, Tunbridge Wells with two wonderful volunteers from Friends of Woodbury Park Cemetery.

24/07/2025

Join us on this gentle walk, stopping occasionally to read some poetry reflecting the beauty of our surroundings.

09/01/2025

More copies of Kintsugi now available. Messag for details.

23/06/2024

A wonderful afternoon on Friday at the inauguration of Ripple - an artwork created by sculptor James Tunnard for Lullingstone Country Park and incorporating poetry from Roundel and other local poets and schoolchildren.

21/03/2024

✨📝 On 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥 𝘗𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘋𝘢𝘺, we're thrilled to unveil a poem, '8.30 am,' penned by a talented member Danny Rivers from Roundel Tonbridge. ✨

𝟴.𝟯𝟬𝗮𝗺

between paragraphs,
black coffee bites
in to the cool of the morning.

up and down the hill
traffic seethes,
with a hay fevery wheeze,
school buses sneeze to a standstill.

a white cat bobs through uncut grass
predatory magpies are on their marks
- the English garden version of sharks -
to the constant drone of the bypass

someone is sawing
someone is bawling
someone is
skateboarding

thin summer clouds still screen the sun
-a promise of the heat to come-
children alight, break into a run,
and, with the whirling swoosh of a siren
sweeping me into this maelstrom,
one more gulp and
I’m gone.

𝘑𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘶𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘣𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘢𝘶𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘥𝘴!