Zumi - Faversham and East Kent

The Latest Must-have Gadget!

2012-01-13T10:52:00.000Z

One to amuse the inner librarian (sadly, in my case, the outer librarian too).

Gadget News!

The "BOOK" is a revolutionary breakthrough in technology: no wires, no electric circuits, no batteries, nothing to be connected or switched on. It's so easy to use even a child can operate it. Just lift its cover! Compact and portable, it can be used anywhere, even sitting in an armchair by the fire yet it is powerful enough to hold as much information as a CD-ROM disc.

Each BOOK is constructed of sequentially numbered sheets of paper (recyclable), each capable of holding thousands of bits of information.
These pages are locked together with a custom-fit device called a binder which keeps the sheets in their correct sequence.
Opaque Paper Technology (OPT) allows manufacturers to use both sides of the sheet, doubling the information density and cutting costs in half.
Experts are divided on the prospects for further increases in information density; for now BOOKs with more information simply use more pages. This makes them thicker and harder to carry, and has drawn some criticism from the mobile computing crowd.
Each sheet is scanned optically, registering information directly into your brain.
A flick of the finger takes you to the next sheet.
The BOOK may be taken up at any time and used by merely opening it.
The BOOK never crashes and never needs rebooting, though like other display devices it can become unusable if dropped in water
The "browse" feature allows you to move instantly to any sheet, and move forward or backward as you wish.
Many come with an "index" feature, which pinpoints the exact location of any selected information for instant retrieval.

An optional "BOOKmark" accessory allows you to open the BOOK to the exact place you left it in a previous session even if the BOOK has been closed. BOOKmarks fit universal design standards; thus, a single BOOKmark can be used in BOOKs by various manufacturers.

Conversely, numerous bookmarkers can be used in a single BOOK if the user wants to store numerous views at once. The number is limited only by the number of pages in the BOOK.

The media is ideal for long-term archive use. Several field trials have proven that the media will still be readable in several centuries, and because of its simple user interface it will be compatible with future reading devices.

You can also make personal notes next to BOOK text entries with an optional programming tool, the Portable Erasable Nib Cryptic Intercommunication Language Stylus (Pencils).

Portable, durable, and affordable, the BOOK is being hailed as the entertainment wave of the future. The BOOK's appeal seems so certain that thousands of content creators have committed to the platform.

and it's all true...

Oo, thankee sir, for noticing us peasants...

2012-01-10T06:43:00.001Z

I just read today's Telegraph review of the Sportsman - possibly the most patronising piece I've seen this year... I know it's early days, but it'll take some beating.

Check it for yourself.

Starting off with casual and dismissive comments about Kent as a place to go through rather than to, and Seasalter's apparent inbreeding, there's a great review as far as the food is concerned, although the paper napkin seemed to have caused a little bit of a problem.

Still at £100 each for the tasting menu lunch with wine for the reviewer and his girlfriend, this was reported as "astonishingly good prices". That'll be planet London then... grr.

I expect he want to be AA Gill, but doesn't quite have the wit for it. Still, the food sounded nice, as long as there's no food critics at the next table. it was nice last time I was there, and we escaped with a bill less than half of this one. We must have been doing it wrong.

A Valentine's Wish

2011-02-14T06:16:00.000Z

We've just exchanged contracts on a house in Faversham, needing a major renovation, but overlooking the creek and with bags of space and character. Expect photos of rotting timbers and piles of rubble, but for now we're focusing on its potential as the settling down home. Here's hoping!

This delightful card seems to be appropriate for us, and is lovey enough to work for Valentine's Day too.

Ignorance is Bliss

2011-02-04T06:32:00.000Z

Another piece of Edwardian whimsy - at first sight this is another romantic card, suitable for the approach to Valentines Day, but wait - open the flap, and there inside are 12 pictures of Ramsate at its finest.

The first 6 show the Inner Harbour, Victoria Pavilion, Harbour with Gates Open, the Marina, the Wtaerfall and the Westcliff Promenade.

The second group here shows Ellington Park, the Sands, East Cliff Promenade, General View Ramsgate, Madeira Walk and New Undercliff Promenade.

Those were the days... not quite sure which ignorance is bliss here - the courting couple ignorant of the young audience, or maybe one of them ignorant of the other's brood of children? You decide...

An early Valentine

2011-02-01T06:27:00.000Z

A little treat fo rthe scrap people out htere - if you can't make something lovely with this, you're not trying hard enough! This delightful Valentine is unused and undated, but I guess comes from the 1910s or 1920s. Maybe someone can date it better than that...

It opens out to reveal the poem, sent by the girl in the picture who pleads to be saved for the tedium that is her fate if she doesn't get her man. At least I think that's what she's saying.

Ramsgate 1929 - Legless

2011-01-31T06:38:00.000Z

Sent to Wally Brown in Reading in 1929, this postcard bemoans the lack of leg in this garter. Still, it raise the hope of finding the bare leg somewhere I suppose...

Horse business

2011-01-27T10:51:00.000Z

I seen Manston airport is about to become a horse-importing airport, according to this story on the BBC site.

Ostensibly to offer a service for the Olympics, the £250,000 investment seems to be expecting a lot from a few short weeks next year, so maybe there's other expected uses - Chinese live Panda imports perhaps... 'Normal' meat for food brought in 'on the hoof' can't be economic as air freight can it? Maybe it's about horse racing... Still, the management team at the airport must have a good idea of potential clients for the new service. Mustn't they?

Ramsgate 1920

2011-01-24T06:14:00.000Z

Kids and dogs both look a little worried when faced with this monster crab, but it's mostly harmless, lifting to reveal a strip of photographs of Ramsgate's delights.

Ramsgate 1914 - just a line . . .

2011-01-20T14:03:00.000Z

"Dear Sister, just a line to let you know we are spending 8 days in Ramsgate had lovely weather returning home tomorrow Sunday love to all from all yours and Ada is very brown from the sun". Obviously punctuation wasn't too important when at the seaside... and the picture is of some highly acrobatic young ladies dancing along the planiking, with one twirling a very flimsy line to some chap who is clearly just pretending to require a rescue. Cunning. Still, they seem to find it funny.

Postcard time . . .

2011-01-19T16:05:00.001Z

After a long pause, it's time for some more cheerfulness, courtesy of the classic seaside postcard. Today's dates back to 1910, and was sent to Foley Street in Maidstone with the brief message "Arrived safe, it is fine down here". All fine as long as you don't find yourself unexpectedly trouserless near a donkey...

Fibre Broadband for Faversham, Sandwich and Sheppey

2011-01-13T16:42:00.000Z

BT have announced that Faversham, Sandwich and Sheppey are among 41 market towns to receive fibre broadband by Spring 2012. This technology offers download speeds of up to 40mbps (and upload of 10mbps), easily enough to access the most exciting bits of online media, although resellers may supply only at speeds of up to 5mbps - still an improvement on copper wire connections on the whole. Either way, it's generally good news, meaning that the big city connections won't get an unfair advantage over small town businesses.

See the story in ZDNet and Computer Weekly to get a bit more detail.

Standard Quay, Faversham

2011-01-11T22:42:00.000Z

Not often you see your local area featured across three pages of the Guardian - we've only been living here a few months, but we appreciate the creek and its heritage of boat building and the long commercial history of the quayside. Today's article highlights the uncertainty facing Standard Quay as the owner declines to renew leases and generally adds to the uncertainty about the area's future.

Obviously as newcomers we know we're not qualified to comment in detail, except we do like the essentially scruffy nature of a working quayside, next to the more modern attractions such as antique dealers, upholsterers, garden centre and other delights. Hard to see what will happen, and very hard to see how attractive it will be if it's over-developed, but we'll keep our fingers crossed that it's not destroyed in the pursuit of profit and modernisation. The article talks about ideas for a wine bar, restaurant and other amenities - hmmm... well maybe, but not at the expense of what made the town what it is, surely.

Judging by the comments, there's some local opinions similar to ours too.

Absence makes the blog last longer

2011-01-11T06:38:00.000Z

Almost a year since my last post, time to pick it up again. New Year's Resolution #36475. So much to do, so little time. Well actually plenty of time, just poorly organised.

Here's a picture to start me off again - a picture of a dragonly taken at the Albert Kahn museum gardens in Paris last Summer.

European Air Traffic

2010-04-16T06:30:00.006+01:00

The Telegraph this morning uses a graphic from the brilliant site http://www.radarvirtuel.com/ which gives a real time view of all aircraft movements in Europe - and shows the complete lack of them across most of it at the moment. Clicking on an aircraft gives all the information air traffic control have - model, destination, origin, height, speed etc. Filters add airspeed, airports or altitude to the map itself beside each teeny plane icon.

Fantastic example of instant access thanks to the good old Internet. It's just like the services we've all been looking at to track then non-existent Euroferries fleet, but airborne. 159 aircraft airborne at the moment. Fabulous. Enjoy.

Gull watching at Whistable

2010-01-26T12:26:00.002Z

Well they were watching me, and more specifically, eyeing my chips. Still, a refreshing change to be able to eat chips on the beach at Whitstable on Sunday, even if those beady eyes were monitoring every move... Very orderly though, one per post and one between each post - I think the collective noun for seagulls is a mob, but this lot were more like a platoon.

Isn't it pretty... on a global scale

2010-01-08T06:48:00.002Z

This amazing image was on all the news bulletins yesterday (taken by Nasa's Terra staellite on January 7th 2010), but just in case you missed it here it is to enjoy and marvel at. I don't know which I find more impressive - the 100% covering of snow or the technology that allows such a picture to be captured in the first place, but either way here is Mother Nature at her most powerful. And despite what the Daily Express said yesterday, just because we're freezing, it doesn't mean global warming is a myth. Doh.

And for comparison, here's a non-frozen view.

Snow Snow Snow

2010-01-07T06:29:00.003Z

A picture postcard evening in Canterbury, just enough snow (at last) to be able to go "isn't it pretty". So mid-evening, a gentle walk round town, and a couple of pictures showing a snow-topped cathedral, still displaying its Christmas tree. No people around, hardly any restaurants open, a magically quiet town for a change.

St Augustine's Hospital, Chartham

2010-01-04T06:27:00.004Z

An aerial photo of St Augustine's Hospital at Chartham, long since closed. This picture was taken in the 1980s, and shows the sheer scale of our mental hospitals before the redevelopment and closure of many of them. Easy to see, even from the air, how patients could be simply stuck there for decades, a small cog in the health machine, doomed to be institutionalised, even with the best available care. In an era when mild educational disabilities could be a ticket in, many of these hospitals were the size of a small town.

I have a small booklet outlining the history of St Augustine's, but if anyone has any old photos, ephemera or memories to share I'd be happy to add them to the archive of East Kent Hospital history that I am slowly compiling. All original material can be returned once a copy has been made - and this applies to material on any hospital in East Kent. I have a list of about 50 so far, and the archive is still just a few boxes and several shelves in the library, but 2010 plans include a web-based database, a web site and a couple of filing cabinets to help make this vital local history more accessible to all.

More to come on other hospitals - watch this space.

Kings Wood

2010-01-03T17:47:00.003Z

A New Year's Day walk - some crisp snow underfoot, crystal clear skies, and some beautiful scenery. Cobwebs were properly blown away, and resolutions made (sorry) to return for another walk very soon.

Happy New Year

2009-12-31T16:19:00.003Z

Even if I'm only saying it to myself, Happy New Year one and all. 2010, mmm, new year, new decade, no idea what to call it - the tens, the teenies, or simply that bit just before the new twenties... who knows.

And then there's the resolutions.

No.1 No New Year's Resolutions. Damn. Failed already, oh well...
No.2 Don't list them, just do them, that way they'll be more of a suprise if I catually achieve any of them.
No.3 No more resolutions.
No.4 OK, just one, do more blogging. We'll just have to wait and see, won't we.

There, I feel much better after that, I hope everyone feels even better after midnight.

Northdown Road Fire

2009-05-22T06:12:00.003+01:00

One of my Margate-living colleagues pointed out that the properties destroyed by this fire included an arcade owned by... drum roll... a certain owner of fire-susceptible amusement properties. If this is true, is there seriously no-one in the fire, police or insurance industry that can put a list together and come to the conclusion that most normal people came to years ago, that fire is seen in Thanet as a normal property redevelopment solution?

Should the HIPS pack needed to market a property include a Godden-proximity-search, as well as the council, environmental and water searches?

Spring has sprung . . .

2009-04-13T08:37:00.002+01:00

Like Rip Van Winkle awakening from a long and deep deep sleep, the weekend brought glimmers of hope and pleasures to come. Beautiful weather despite forecasts of rain, optimistic stories about the housing market despite a background of gloom, and above all 4 days simply not at work - hurrah!

A wander through Westgate Gardens in Canterbury gave a chance to unwind, feed the ducks and just enjoy being outside in lovely surroundings - and all on a Friday. Enjoy the pictures below, and just feel the relaxation wash over you...

Jolly punting weather, too...

Surely the gnarliest tree in the area...

And a baker's dozen of pure aaahhhh...

Not the seaside...

2009-02-19T06:25:00.002Z

Not exactly a humorous seaside postcard, this gem from 1915 was sent all the way to Mount Pleasant, Liverpool. A pop-up flap reveals 10 photographs of the cathedral and its environs, as presumably that was all that was worth seeing here back then. A little unfair, as there was considerably more medieval architecture (and Victorian for that matter) before the bombs did their best to remodel the city in the 1940s.

Still, this is clearly how every visitor is greeted at Canterbury's two stations - cheering crowds, civic dignitaries, brass band, flags and all... in the current economic dip, that's certainly how we should greet tourists to the area!

Seaside Postcard 106: Away with the ferries

2009-02-17T06:30:00.003Z

LD Ferries have started services from Dover, and Euroferries may be about to start from Ramsgate. A bright new Spring for ferry travellers heading for Boulogne, and a welcome boost to Ramsgate's ferry terminal.

Just one point to watch with their timetable - the LD schedule provides for day trips with outward sailings at 7.00, 12.30 and 18.00 - however the return is only 10.45 and 16.15 - except for Saturday when there is a sailing at 18.00. Maybe that is the best combination, as they have presumably calculated that the majority of day trips would be on a Saturday, and the rest of the week is dedicated to freight and onward travel. If you want a slightly shorter day trip it's fine, returning on the 16.15, so maybe they've got it just right. That still allows you about 6 hours shopping and eating. They are talking about adding a second ship to the route in the Summer, so there may be some developments in that timetable.

And Euroferries still just has a one page web site with no genuine contact details, just email. A schedule, the ability to check prices and a means to make advance bookings will be a real sign of progress - fingers crossed.

Seaside Postcard 105: postings...

2009-02-12T06:33:00.002Z

If you're expecting the appropriate affectionate response on Valentine's day morning, you'd better get your skates on and get down to the postbox. And as all our local postman are as smart and efficient as this handsome chap, you're sure to get your love token delivered promptly on Saturday.

This card dates from the 1900s, with a set of drop down pictures showing the usual - the new Royal Victoria Pavilion, beach heaving with sunseekers, the harbour crowded with sails. Happy days, and not a cargo plane, dodgy developer or knife-wielding hoody for miles around. Mind you, I expect we had as much TB, diptheria and smallpox as we needed, women weren't trusted to vote, employment rights and state pensions and unemployment benefits were but a distant dream - but still, they were the days...

Seaside postcard 104: in the week of luuuurv

2009-02-10T06:22:00.003Z

In the build up to Valentine's Day, here's a very sweet and romantic postcard from 1905, published by The Cynicus Publishing Co., Fife. And a reminder of changing fashions for names as the message says simply "Tell Ethel a letter is following. Yours truly, Albert".

Time to go and batten down the hatches for what can only be described as a blustery day... or a howling stormy gale... or "when's it our turn for some proper snow?". Sigh.

And just a reminder if you like these, the whole lot of them can be seen on Flickr: Ramsgate Comic Postcards.

Seaside Postcard 103: gone fishin'

2009-02-05T07:00:00.002Z

Yet another card with fish on it, and also with bears. Not quite sure why, but bears seem quite a regular theme on cards.

This one was sent by Elsie in August 1913 to Dad in Upper Holloway, London. "I am fine and this is how I am situated. My face will soon be as red as my hat, but it is sore. I am going to Margarty tomorrow". Let's all call Margate Margarty, it sounds much friendlier!

We seem to have missed the snow at this end of the week, and with councils running out of salt and grit, it's just as well. So that's just the icy roads to worry about now then...

Trains and snow

2009-02-02T07:07:00.002Z

A fine crisp morning, with heavy snow forecast. Interesting to see how that affactes the trains and roads as usual. What type of snow is it? Is it the right kind? Can we cope? Why is snow in February such a shock?

Here's a nice card from earlier train days - almost the earliest in fact! This commemorates the Opening Day of the Canterbury to Whitstable railway on May 3rd 1830. Given that the Stockton-Darlington railway only opened in 1825, the sheer speead and scale of the spread of this new technology muct have been breathtaking at the time, and obviously was good cause for local celebration (apart from those who were sure that speeds over 20mph would be fatal due to inability to breathe...).

And given that this weekend saw the maiden journey of the new A1 steam loco Tornado from York to Newcastle, it seemed fitting to celebrate the early days too.

Snowdrivin'

2009-02-01T19:26:00.003Z

I'd forgotten what fun driving on little country roads could be - coming back from Folkestone we diverted towards Elham due to an accident on the main road. So there we are, trying to maintain traction on an uphill snowy surface, and there's a car coming down hill. So my wheels are locked as we carry on sliding up the hill; the land rover (towing two huge bales of sileage), wheels locked, gently sliding in our direction coming down the hill... oh what joy. Anyway disaster averted, except I'm now stationary pointing uphill, wheels spinning madly inching up at 0.001 miles per hour - can't go back as it's a valley, so it's just as bad the other way. Still, got there in the end.

The other treat was on a steep downhill stretch, gingerly heading downhill at 10 miles an hour, brake full on (ABS not helping, pumping brakes not helping), but still sliding, then trying reverse gear with enthusiasm, but still sliding downhill. Again, it worked, but she-who's-not-keen-on-driving-excitement was a little quiet (in that slightly menacing way they have) for a few minutes.

And that was the day of 'light snow showers'. Heavy snow tomorrow should be a right laugh (luckily I only have to drive half a mile across town).

Take care out there...

Zavvi . . . going going...

2009-01-30T07:01:00.002Z

Despite hanging on for a while, the Canterbury branch of Zavvi was on yesterday's list of 15 stores to be closed immediately. Another 13 local jobs, another gap in a shopping centre to join USC, Adams and one or two others (and Woolworths of course). And the Canterbury branch of Whittards is now closed and empty, following the purchase of the chain by Past Times (just 100 yards away). With the snow whirling in from the East next week, it's looking like it's going to be a cold hard February in the high street.

And yet Subway has announced 6,000 new jobs at 700 new stores across the UK and Ireland. Oh I see, "if it can find willing franchisees" - so it's not their money at all. Still, there may be some people with redundancy money and enough energy to make a go of it... And Asda is opening 14 new stores this year. We'll still need to buy food, clearly, even if DVDs and teapots are superfluous...

Seaside Postcard 102 - grizzling

2009-01-30T06:50:00.002Z

Yet another slightly sad postcard, almost reflecting how we felt last October - I say almost, because we were looking forward to Canterbury, but we'd certainly enjoyed living in Ramsgate.

This card was sent by Rene to her Aunty and Uncle in Fulham in August 1920. Obviously a classic seaside holiday: "A line to let you know I am having a fine time. Motor and donkey rides also boat rides. Thanks for photos, writing on sands. Love to all." And designed by the great Donald McGill. What more could you ask from a postcard?

And the 5 day forecast on the BBC shows a sunny Saturday, then snow on Sunday, heavy snow on Monday and Tuesday. Brrrr...

Canterbury - and so it starts

2009-01-29T06:39:00.003Z

Well we've been in Canterbury for 3 months as of today. So to mark the occasion, here's a postcard. Very few comic postcards here (it's not at the seaside, and it's not funny, the card as well as the city!) but I'll do my best. Obviously visitors to Canterbury are expected to have higher matters on their agenda, although of course day trips by charabanc were a regular part of the seaside holiday too.

This Valentine's pop-out card was sent by Phyllis on June 10th 1953, so presumably both the sender and recipient were basking in the glow of the coronation just a week earlier (June 2nd). The 1976 on the card is just the printer's code rather than the date. Sent all the way to Dover, it's a classic: "The weather is lovely. Having a nice time. Be home Sunday if alls well". No riotous larks here then. A nice set of black and white photos (mostly of the cathedral of course) make it a good souvenir of the trip.

Seaside Postcard 101 - same old story...

2009-01-28T06:59:00.002Z

Another gap, another posting. It's suprising how moving house interrupts the mental processes. I've still got quite a few seaside postcards to share, and I'll try to get themmup more regularly. One thing I've noticed since our October move to Canterbury - Thanet is much better served for blogs and papers. We seem to have just the single local paper now (plus an occasional AdScene) on Thursday, as well as the Wednesday freebie. And as for blogs, well I'm still looking for the Canterbury blogging community...

Anyway, here's another sad-looking card, sent to Lily in Lowestoft in 1913. Well we all know that feeling don't we...

And work is very quiet due to all our open access PCs being off for 10 days. How hard can it be to keep virus protection up to date when you have a full time team whose only job is to keep a network operative. Sigh.

Wondering at the Waste of Woolies

2009-01-10T07:37:00.002Z

The last Woolworths store has now closed, leaving a gaping hole in the high street. I think it caught many people by surprise to realise how much they would miss a shop in to which they rarely ventured.Somehow just knowing there was a Woolworths nearby was weirdly comforting, even if we had mostly switched our allegiances to Wilkinsons, HMV, Peacocks and the supermarkets.

More to the point, was the closure necessary? Offers were made and rejected that would have taken over the whole chain, although presumably some stores would still have closed in that process. But look at the astonishing fees that the administrators pay themselves (£50 million was one figure I saw before Christmas, one article reporting that Deloittes are charging £22,000 per hour). And the banks that lent money to Woolworths not only get all their money as they were secured creditors, but they will get penalty fees on top - legal, but maybe an incentive to hasten the closure rather than look for a trading solution.

Add that to the cost to the economy of the loss of business taxes, the cost of support and benefits for the newly unemployed staff, the costs of those businesses that will now struggle or collapse with the loss of such a major outlet (not to mention the write-offs of their unpaid bills to Woolworths) - add that lot to the best of the offers received when the chain was open, and if the total is higher than the final value realised by selling off the leases piecemeal, then the administrators should be made to pay the difference. It's quite hard to see how it is in their interest to find a quick and tidy solution when they're being paid hundreds of thousands of pounds a day to evaluate, consider and reject offers as all the options evaporate one by one.

Sadly it feels like the people who we imagine were trying to rescue the chain - administrators, banks etc - have their snouts too deep in the trough to even consider anything other than their own winnings. Just my opinion...

Iceland had made an offer for the whole chain in August, rejected as insufficient. So now they are left with cherry-picking 50 or so sites to turn in to their own outlets - Broadstairs, Herne Bay and Whitstable included. But what a wasted opportunity. And Margate, Ramsgate, Canterbury, Faversham and all the others will just have to live with the uncertainty of what will happen to that gap in the high street.

The picture below shows Canterbury's store on its last day. Tragic.

This is the full list of the stores bought by Iceland: Alton, Barnsley, Belper, Bethnal Green, Bexhill On Sea, Bicester, Billericay, Blandford Forum, Bodmin, Boreham Wood, Bow, Braintree, Broadstairs, Devizes, Exmouth, Fraserburgh, Frome, Greenford, Hackney, Hailsham, Harold Hill, Haverhill, Herne Bay, Hexham, Highgate, Honiton, Kilburn High Road, Leyton, Malvern, Matlock, Mill Hill, Minehead, Monmouth, Morpeth, Morriston, Newtownards, Palmers Green, Pinner (Rayner's Lane), Palmers Green, Plumstead, Pontypool, Poplar, Portslade, Ringwood, St Neots, Stoke Newington, Strood, Sudbury, Swaffham, Wakefield, Wallington, Whitstable

Seaside Postcard 100 - grandad's trousers

2009-01-06T19:27:00.002Z

A nice card this, posted by Eileen in 1925 to her Grandad with the message - "Dear Grandad, I found these trousers on the sands are they yours. They are not very smart so I do not think they are. I am going down to bathe in a minute. Thank you for the money you sent me." There, properly respectful (she know's he's smartly turned out), properly grateful (he's obviously a generous type) and generally lovely. Aaah.

And this is the 100th (but far from the last) card in my seemingly endless series of Ramsgate comic postcards. Watch this space.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

2008-12-31T23:33:00.002Z

New Year's Resolutions

1. Blog a little more often
2. Apologise for not blogging so often
3. Do everything else I meant to do this time last year but somehow never quite got round to it but never mind, here's another chance to pretend it was all meant to wait until the right moment, and here it is.
4. Only blog interesting stuff.

So that's at least one resolution broken then...

Anyway, here's wishing a reasonable 2009 to you all, with my promise of a few more comic postcards shortly, and a few other delights from East Kent and beyond.

Happy 2009 one and all.

Phew, that was fun

2008-11-12T07:32:00.002Z

Removal day was a treat - two enormous lorries in a tiny street in Canterbury (many thanks to the obliging hotel manager for permission to use his car park for a few hours). Only(!) a dozen or so items had to go in through the upstairs window, and I'm really not designed to be hanging out of a window, arms outstretched to catch bits of wardrobe... It took a week to work out how to get the heating to come on, and we still have a lovely collection of boxes and crates in the way downstairs, but still, just relieved that our little bit of the housing market actually went smoothly, despite being in a 5 house chain.

And then the two weeks delay for BT to do the phone and broadband thing. It was alnost as though I hadn't called to arrange it all two weeks in advance. Sigh.

Postcard service will be resumed shortly (as soon as I can find the right box!).

Nice of the bank to drop the interest rate though. Thank goodness for tracker mortgages! Must be the first time ever we actually got a financial choice right.

Seaside Postcard 98, 99: The countdown

2008-10-22T08:03:00.005+01:00

Not very elegant, not very old, but a reasonably harmless one from the 1950s or maybe the 1960s. Bamforth cards rarely avoided innuendo or double entendres and here's a fine example!

Slightly cuter, this card was posted in October 1914, so the war was already a terrible reality... (you can see what was happening on this day in 1914 at the excellent FirstWorldWar.com).

Curiously this was either bought some years earlier, or simply old stock from the shop as the pull out pictures include the Italian Gardens, which had become the West Cliff Hall about 8 years earlier. Other pictures include the London steam boat, the Sands railway terminus and the New Pavilion.

Sent to Willie Price in Clapham by Wal and Nan, who saved a halfpenny on the postage by writing nothing except their names (and destination address) on the back.

And moving day tomorrow - final frantic packing and general chaos all round today. Hurrah.

Seaside Postcards 96, 97: Happy Days

2008-10-21T05:40:00.002+01:00

This 1926 card brought a smile to my face - I expect there'd be a health and safety riot if you even tried this nowadays, if you could even find a spring board to queue up on, but it's tempting to give it a try, purely in the cause of scietific research. Something about mass, motion and irresistable forces, I think...

This rather more elegant drawing shows a dastardly cad (you can tell, it's the fact that he's smoking whilst gallantly carrying his lady off the sands so her dainty shoes avoid getting dirty - I suspect he has other things in mind though... she doesn't seem to be too worried).

Sent in 1908 (looking back, 1908 was a fantastically busy year for postcards...).

Oh well, enough diversions, back to packing boxes - removal van due in only 50 hours. Eeek.

Edukashonal Standerds . . .

2008-10-11T23:34:00.002+01:00

A stroll in to town today took us past the library for the first time for a few weeks. Nice to see the scaffolding down, it's looking like a complete building at last. A bit of tidying up still to be done, but not long now before the return of a cultural and educational resource...

And not a moment too soon if these estate agent signs are anything to go by. The client, the printer and the sign putter-upper - surely one of them turned up to their English lessons on the day they talked about apostrophes? Sigh.

Dallas Sweetman

2008-09-29T06:51:00.003+01:00

What a treat on Friday - a new play, performed and partly set in the nave of Canterbury Cathedral, a dark tale of 16th century love, betrayal, murder, lies and general nastiness, wrapped in an elegant and eloquent presentation. A bit too much echo, inevitably, but a brilliant evening - and all the critics (Telegraph, Guardian etc) seemed to have been impressed too, which is reassuring. The first play to be performed in the nave since 1928 apparently, which made it a little more special.

The play made good use of the location, with the pulpit, the stone screen of the choir and the doors to the choir all neatly integrated in to the action and movement, and the 4 foot high undulating stage ensured that the audience saw everything from the gently raked seating.

Mmmm... culture....

And yesterday an afternoon picking fruit - raspberries, blackberries, apples (and some huuuuuge courgettes) at the fruit farm near Sandwich. Mmmm... fruit, fresh air, and general nice weekendness.

Traffic Trauma on the A256

2008-09-24T06:35:00.002+01:00

The man on the radio said it was adding 15 minutes to journey times - actually 45 minutes is more like it... roadworks outside the petrol stations at Richborough, just after the dual carriageway ends - already a pinch-point for traffic in the evening rush hour - caused tailbacks past Pfizer yesterday. And it's scheduled to last 14 weeks, so that's the last time we use that road this year... How we laughed as we sat waiting for our turn to move a few feet forward.

Maybe it will ease off a little as those who can will shift to the main Canterbury road (that should add to the general fun of getting past the railway crossing in the morning...). But for Pfizer and Dover traffic, you're dooooomed...

Can't be helped, it's got to be done, but it doesn't add to the joy as Autumn and dark evenings creep in. Sigh.

Seaside Postcard 95: Wet Wet Wet

2008-09-19T06:31:00.003+01:00

Well it's ben a very welcome little dry spell, after a rather moist summer, so we're making the most of it where we can. Garden getting tidied up, walk on the beach last Sunday, fingers crossed for the Deal braderie this Sunday.

It was a bit of a shock, although not entirely unexpected, to see the report on Eastcliff Matters about the Maritime Trust being on the point of closure. What with the threat to the Crampton Tower Museum, that would be a neat removal of each of the town's remaining museums - perhaps we should start bets on which will suffer the first fire, presumably just after the first attempt at change of use planning permission? All I know is what I've read on the blogs and in the local papers, so no searing insights, but not providing management accounts for three years seems like a financial crisis determined to happen (which appears to be the case for the Maritime Trust). Even so, there is absolutely no sense that the council cares, understands or feels it needs any museum provision as part of an overall tourism strategy.

And I suggest keeping a close eye on the local and national auction houses (and eBay) for the next few months - closed museums are easy prey, whether for opportunist thieves, culturally negligent local authorities or hard-pressed management, although of course I'm sure all the local heritage is perfectly safe and secure for the time being (he said, somewhat optimistically).

Seaside Postcard 94: wishful thinking

2008-09-12T06:27:00.003+01:00

A little optimistic, but maybe those few hotels that do remain in the area will see the benefit from a combined credit crunch and a series of holiday firm collapses.

This card dates from 1919, and it takes a little imagination to guess the emotions of people holidaying in the area this soon after the Great War, with the damage caused by Zeppelin raids, the personal traumas and tragedies, and the huge number of local buildings used as military hospitals all too fresh in people's minds.

This card was sent to Amy by Bell: "We fixed up alright as you can see from the other side". Hopefully just a joke, and not a comment on seaside boarding houses. Then again...

More holiday woes...

2008-09-12T06:23:00.002+01:00

Another 85,000 stranded abroad as XL goes in to administration. Following the demise of Kent Escapes' parent company thi sweek, it justgets worse for those travellers maki g the most of the end of the school holidays. Report from the BBC gives more detail.

A small silver lining to this very nasty cloud - domestic holidays may benefit as people try to save some money, reduce the risk or simply canot find the available holidays to book. I leave it to you to decide whether Thanet is in any position to benefit from this after the erosion of our facilities, amenities and capacity over the last few years...

Seaside Postcard 93: shy but happy...

2008-09-11T06:18:00.003+01:00

This 1924 card sums up a little of the attitude in and to Thanet, I think - lots of enjoyment going on in many places, but not enough publicity about it, so we all think we're in a world of misery and depression. (And if the government and Bank of England could just please stop telling us about the looming recession, it might be over a little quicker). That might be over-interpreting the situation (and this card) a little, but there's a lot to be said for seeing the sunny side... most of us seem to be in work, living in houses we like, in an area with lots of attractive features, with families we love/tolerate/grind our teeth over (delete appropriate), and on top of all that, Tesco is starting to get out the Christmas product lines. What more could you possibly want? OK, the last bit is a bit of a nightmare, but hey, why keep Christmas for December?

And if that doesn't work, then have a really good rant - you feel so much better afterwards.

Kent Escapes . . . not looking good

2008-09-10T20:31:00.002+01:00

2,500 holidaymakers have been stranded abroad...

Budget Holiday Firm Goes Bust. This headline from the BBC news web site sounds like it's the end for Kent Escapes as Seguro Holidays went in to administration. Such a shame as one thing that could lighten the gloom surrounding Kent International is proper and profitable use as a holiday airport - much less business and an industrial park may be its only viable purpose, despite the threat to the water table...

Seaside Postcard 92: Auntie's Hat

2008-09-10T06:39:00.003+01:00

Another delightful card, this from 1911 at the height of Edwardian seaside fun - and the year after they completed Fleetwood pier, tragically destroyed by fire yesterday morning. A closed amusement structure, owners wanting to develop, objections coming in thick and fast. Hmmm, a little bit familiar. And the third pier fire in so many months - Weston, Yarmouth and now Fleetwood. Will we ever learn to value and protect our seaside heritage effectively?

Anyway, back to the card - sent by Lil, another vanished name, to Miss Boakes, whose address was Darenth Asylum near Dartford. Whether Miss Boakes derived comfort that her friend/relative was "having a lovely time" we shall never know. Hopefully she found the picture funny, if nothing else...

Seaside Postcard 91: bad travelling...

2008-09-08T06:39:00.005+01:00

Another early card, with someone off to a miserable start of their holiday: " "We got here about 3 yesterday after a very rough journey and much seasickness". Sent to a Mrs Hart in Webber Street (just off Blackfriars Road in London SE1), so presumably she came on the steamer from Tower Bridge.

Still, Esther goes on to say "... but it is alright now". Phew.

And two very glum faces this morning as we ger ready for work after a fortnight off... it was almost dark when we got up. That can't be right, can it?

Ghent yum...

2008-09-03T07:32:00.003+01:00

And last, but definitely not least, some cakes. You're allowed to look, but don't touch. They're ours. All of them. Every last one.

Ghent mmmm...

2008-09-03T06:50:00.003+01:00

The Ghent Design Museum is home to some fabulous items, varying from famous Belgian Art Nouveau furniture designs to modern international kitsch. Here are just a couple of items that caught our eye, and our imagination perhaps...

First, three stunning fruit bowls, clearly the coolest way to present pears, apples and bananas ever:

I'm sure eveything would keep sliding off the curved edges, but you would feel like an astronaut working at this desk:

She-who-must-be-indulged insists that this is how she wants her next kitchen to store and display its implements. Looks like I'll need to learn how to carve enamel, or something...

And who wouldn't want this art deco stained glass screen, especially if you can arrange shadows from a skylight like this:

And then there was the complete set of house fittings and furniture by Henry van de Velde, Belgian architect and teacher who ranks with his compatriot Victor Horta as an originator of the Art Nouveau style. Mmmm...

Just a shame I couldn't get far enough away from this to get it all in!

And finally in the old part of the museum, where the original Hotel de Connick is presented in all its 18th Century glory - including this modest fireplace. Now where were those tiles we bought at that fleamarket? Hmm...

Ghent, ooooh...

2008-09-02T07:16:00.002+01:00

A few pictures from three days meandering aimlessly around Ghent. A few wrong turns, some long walks and a canal trip later, we managed a few pictures of the old town and one or two interesting things that caught my eye...

First things first - the fleamarket. Fabulous. Saturday and Sunday market beside Sint Jacobs church, with the inevitable consequences of taking a car - one large carpet, two chocolate moulds and one very heavy deco marble clock later we came put the other end and marvelled at the specalist market van pictured below - the sliding roof creating an undercover market stall, and the shelves and racking providing all the display space. A Renault classic...

There's nothing quite like turning a corner in a busy and narrow streetscape and unexpectedly coming across a complete and perfectly formed mediaeval castle. It looks just how a proper castle should look - moat, turrets, and everything...

And the canals... they do canals very well here...

Ghent, aaah

2008-09-02T06:47:00.007+01:00

Just back from a weekend in the Belgian city of Ghent. Three very restful nights on the most comfortable bed we have ever paid to sleep in, in a 4-star hotel (at a bargain price, naturally, otherwise it would have been the usual 2-3 star).

A delightful crossing on Norfolkline to Dunkirk, then a quick whizz down the notorway to Ghent and then...

We drove, and drove, and drove. In fact it took an hour just meandering around Ghent's hideous mediaeval one-way street system with unfathomable names to find our hotel slap bang in the middle of the old part of town. The streets themselves are gorgeous, it's just their layout that is hideous. For drivers. For drivers without a map. For drivers without a map who hadn't worked out even which side of the city we were approaching from. Sigh.

Still, once there, you could not have asked for a better location - the Marriott had the canal-side facade in keeping with its 16th century neighbours, but inside was a fabulously stylish modern boutique hotel. Best of all worlds, and a huuuuge bedroom, a real treat compared to the usual shoeboxes we sleep in when we go to Paris.

Even the telly in the bedroom was superior - a large widescreen with BBC1 and BBC2 (and CNN) as well as the usual full array of mainstream continential channels. French quiz and game shows are a particular favourite.

And the lobby was a glass curved roof over a huge atrium, with glass lifts and doors opening on to a balcony-style corridor, giving a light and spacious feel to the whole place. Friendly and attentive staff and a generally calm, relaxed and welcoming feel. Perhaps that's what you always get in a 4 star hotel, but it felt refreshingly different for us!

And only £70 a night, if you were wondering... (via Expedia.com)

Rip Van Winkle awakes...

2008-09-02T06:42:00.004+01:00

Strange, I thought I'd have a few days without blogging, just for a change, and over a month later, blinking in the light, here I am again. It's been quite therapeutic actually, although the intervening month or so has been anything but, including the beginnings of a house sale and move, a holiday and a general sorting out of stuff, things and everything...

So, if you are even remotely interested, coming up for your delectation - a report on a weekend in Ghent (which is clearly a popular place for local bloggers), an inevitable stream of rants about estate agents, solicitors and whoever else conspires to drive us mad over the next few weeks, a picture of a sunflower and a few postcards. In other words, normal service is resumed - although I'm not entirely sure anyone out there has been panicking too much at my absence. I hope not anyway...

Folkestone Fun

2008-07-24T06:36:00.003+01:00

A visit to Folkestone last weekend saw an unexpected treat - the annual Charivari parade. Hundreds of children had clearly spent many hours at school, or at least after school, creating costumes, rehearsing dance steps and generally building up to a great little parade. Each school (or most of them anyway) was preceded by a band of some sort ranging from one in historic military garb to others looking more bohemian. A fun, bright and cheerfully noisy event, watched by a large and appreciative crowd as they made their way from the harbour via the centre of town up to the Leas.

Some serious concentration on the choreography paid off here...

Great bands...

Some serious effort needed on such a blustery day...

Pier pressure - an accident waiting to happen...

2008-07-23T22:54:00.004+01:00

Sorry, I don't often rant and splutter about council workers, but this time it's essential.

A stroll on to the pier this afternoon, blazing hot day, plenty of people on the beach, quite a few swimming - some too near the pier - and a security guard and a movable barrier on the pier. This seemed to be expressly to prevent young people coming on the pier in their beach clothes, as these presumably were those most likely to jump in to the sea (or the harbour). OK, fair enough, good safety measure, but can you believe the way it was done?

Well, the guard stood with one hand on the barrier, and one hand on the pier wall - anyone prepared to get on to the wall (you know, the one with a 20+ foot drop on to the sands) was perfectly welcome to walk or crawl past him on top of the wall, and he didn't seem to mind at all. In fact, a few times it seemed he was telling them that's what they had to do.

When he opened the barrier to let a motorised invalid carriage through, or a car, or just adults, then kids would sometimes nip through, and once a couple of them just rushed him and squeezed past while we were there, but generally he got in their way - unless they got up onto the wall.

Clearly someone is going to slip and fall on to the sands eventually - so either make the pier wall impassable - a bit of curved fencing perhaps, or just give up. Encouraging kids to perform this mad stunt just makes it more dangerous and permitting them to try is just sheer lunacy. Don't say you weren't warned when we start to hear of the child with the broken back, leg or neck. Any day now...

And this isn't actually a rant about the poor old security guard, given an impossible task with no proper equipment. He was calm and friendly, didn't do any more than block those trying to get past, and didn't endanger those on the wall. But what a bloody stupid way to attempt to protect the public. Sigh.

Kent outings

2008-07-14T06:20:00.004+01:00

A good weekend for outings, and a trip to Herne Bay on Saturday and Deal on Sunday. Curious to see th esimilarities between these two - long shingle beach, great seafront architecture, piers that - although modernised - still seem to look like piers, and plenty of visitors and residents enjoying themselves...

The old remains of the pier, isolated out at sea, yetstill showing how grand it must have been in its heyday...

The 'new' pier, still looking impressive in the fading sunlight, although it helps if you like mid 20th Century architecture a bit...

And this chap, gazing out to sea, with a lovely terraced backdrop. Aaaahhh.

And then a Sunday afternoon in Deal (well Walmer, really) where the Band of the Royal Marines made their contribution to the Deal Festival with their annual visit to the memorial bandstand. Endless layers of memories and emotions here for those with local connections and longish memories, but a huge and appreciative crowd and some great music from a legendary military band.

Seaside Postcard 90 - 2d or not 2d

2008-07-12T09:03:00.003+01:00

After a bit of a gap, here's another classic from days gone by...

This card dates from August 1921, although I'm not sure what cost 2d (tuppence or 2p for those who can no longer read old money). Presumably that was the cost of deckchair hire, but maybe it's the cost fo the card itself. Postage on this card was a penny-ha'penny (ok, 1.5p then).

And the weather of course was better back then: "I am quite red after one day.So I don't know what we will be after a week". Still we're not quite in August yet, so there's still hope.

Steamin' at Preston

2008-06-28T17:17:00.002+01:00

I seem to have had a three week break from the blog, for no particular reason, but here's one to make up for lost time... an afternoon at Preston Steam Event, near Wingham. My ever-indulgent better half allowed me to drag her round the site (the trade-off was several hours uninterrupted tennis-watching, and she did go to Wimbledon on Wednesday, so it was my turn for a treat...).

A great little steam rally, nice to see people enjoying their obsessions, maintaining our industrial heritage and keeping the idea of steam power alive for younger generations to whom steam is as alien as handwritten letters and telephones connected to the wall by cables (sorry, almost went off in to one then).

Anyway, here are a few pictures taken on my phone which came out surprisingly well given it's 4 years old and only 1 megapixel - I didn't have my 'proper' camera with me when we spontaneously decided the steam fair was an acceptable idea after all. Hmmmph.

I know nothing about bikes, but these two looked pretty cool...

And then the small engines - some were about one-third or one-half scale...

And some were really tiddly, with drivers clearly having fun fun fun.

A few travelling fairground organs provided the musical backdrop:

And then inside the permanent sheds - an amazing display of lumps of rust just waiting to be rescued and restored:

Made in Britain, exported to South America (and somehow returned to here). Just an indication of the reach of our engineering heritage in days of Empire... these two had been destined for Buenos Aires, and others were for Valparaiso and other parts distant....

Some ina beter state of restoration than others, of course:

Go on, you can say it - they are really pretty, aren't they!

And a shed full of organs, a fabulous noise, some great percussion and some beautiful carving and plasterwork.

This monster was from a German manufacturer...

And some WWII vehicles, including this tea wagon serving tea in enamel mugs.

And last, but so so not least, this steam-powered carousel, with the gallopers rising and falling to the sounds of the fairground organs, and puffs of steam from the centre engine. Grrrrreat...

There, that was a good couple of hours, and definitely a return visit when they have their next open day. The nicest thing (I think) is that this isn't just a steam fair in a random field or showground, but at the premises of a company devoted to the restoration and display of these masterpieces of engineering. Interesting web site too... Preston Services. Go on, buy one.

South of England Show - all sorts of wonders

2008-06-08T22:45:00.006+01:00

The South of England Show 2008

Just us a and a few friends...

Paying attention to the important things in life...

The only horse I'd feel safe sitting on...

The Women's Institute cake competition - it takes a brave person to eat these!

A fur-covered car? Of course, what colour?

A classic. Aaaah...

South of England Show - Fur and Feather

2008-06-08T22:34:00.003+01:00

Some really cute little beasties in the Fur and Feather tent, and some roosters that could really sort out any farmyard...

The colours on these two were stunning...

And this ball of fluff hid a chicken. I think...

And the bunnies were cute too.

South of England Show - horses

2008-06-08T22:30:00.003+01:00

I don't know enough about horses to know if these were good, great or just average, but I'm always impressed by a horse in flight over a fence...

There's a rude joke about hindquarters here somewhere, but I'm far too polite...
Nice clean horseshoes though.

Perhaps my favourite one ever - a horse actually flying!

South of England Show - plants...

2008-06-08T22:23:00.004+01:00

A sunny day, a 90 mile drive and there we were at the South of England showground. Eeveral hours, a few pounds, a bit of sunburn and a lot of photographs later, we were on our way home - a great day out, some animals, some cars, some plants and so much more...

Here are a few of the things we saw:

In the flower show, some amazing fuchsias, and the great bonsai displays. And a few other things that I forget to check the name for...

And these look like I just painted them. If only I could!

We do like a bonsai - but the little forest really impresses...

Colourful cactuses (cacti...)

The white spray was all one stem, leaning over under the weight of flowers. Lovely.

A luvverly bunch of roses:

And the carnivourous plants...

Seaside Postcard 89 - only the pretty girls come here!

2008-06-06T06:31:00.004+01:00

This ravishing beauty received her invitation to Ramsgate in 1911 - you can just make out the note she is reading: "I shall expect you when you have nothing in particular on". oo-er... The message on the back says Ramsgate is absolutely packed. Sigh. Those were the days.

Fingers crossed for a slightly drier weekend - the South of England Show at Ardingly beckons this weekend, so hopefully I'll have some more fun agricultural and horticultural piccies.

And next weekend is Margate's Big Event. No sign of the Red Arrows in the line-up this year, but plenty of other aircraft, and other arena- and sky-based action. Last year's was excellent, so see you there!!

The Knitter's Friend

2008-06-02T06:41:00.002+01:00

Here's one for the craft fans - a lovely little book of 96 pages, just 4" by 5", edited by "Mrs Hope", who presumably ran a shop from 58 Queen Street in the mid-19th century. The book itself isn't dated, but the inscription in the inside covers reads "Catherine Mullins 1847".

The preface makes it clear that she has only chosen previously unpublished 'receipts' (patterns, as we now call them of course). But they include all the essentials - a Double Muffatee, Sleeping Socks, Doyleys, Gentleman's Comforter, Gimp Trimming, Kamshatka Bodice, Parisian Hood, Siberia Cuffs, Shetland Shawl Patterns as well as a range of netting: Cardinal cape, Purse Netting, Invalid Supporter and Bottle stand, among many more...

Seaside Postcard 88 - can you guess the year?

2008-06-02T06:28:00.003+01:00

Not the hardest puzzle- it's just possible this card dates from 1906... Sent on March 25th 1906 from Dover by her mother to Mrs Packer of 1 Newington terrace, St Lawrence, it's a little odd to have it sent to the place it describes, but maybe people travelled with a supply of convenient cards. It's a little hard to read, but talks of 'Dad's weight being up' so maybe she was visiting him in the Isolation Hospital at Tower Hamlets in Dover.

Seaside Postcard 87: cats, cats, cats...

2008-05-30T06:34:00.004+01:00

A regular theme in cards, cats seem to bring luck to whatever resort they are associated with - on the postcards anyway. Perhaps we should encourage more cats to visit Thanet...or perhaps that wouldn't help. Anyway this 1924 card continues the theme, and although a bit battered, opens to reveal a strip of photos ofthe town, harbour and beaches.

One includes the Sands and West Cliff Promenade with a pier - I hadn't realised there was a pier at the West Cliff end. I must get a book about piers from Michael's Bookshop and fill this gap in my knowledge. And the promenade pretty much ends at the Paragon (or maybe at the lookout), as the full promenade that goes past the boating pool (bandstand as it was then) wouldn't be built for another few years.

That book will be A Fateful Finger of Iron (which is about the main promenade pier at the other end of town). No doubt pictures of Ramsgate piers feature in many of the other titles.

Zumi - almost a grown up

2008-05-25T10:14:00.002+01:00

Not interesting to anyone but me, but this blog was 1 year old on Friday 23rd, and some time today or tomorrow will pass the 10,000 views milestone. And they were'nt all me, honest (and not all Google, although many do seem to be..). Not exciting, important or useful, (the milestone, as well as the blog), but as so many blogs spring in to life for just a week or two, and then wither away for lack of attention I felt stupidly pleased with myself for lasting this long...

Kent Garden Show, Detling - flowers and stuff

2008-05-25T07:49:00.002+01:00

Some truly stunning displays - and that was just the commercial sales stands outside! It was like (actually it WAS) seeing dozens of garden centres all next to each other, competing for custom with the quality and range of their stock. Some things we'd never seen before, some stuff we wish we could fit into our little garden, and some stuff that was just beautiful...

For exmple, Kangeroo's Paw, which had a really interesting furry flower:

And the jaw-droppingly lovely wall of fuchsias in the flower show. Dangerously, that gave she-who-loves-fuchsias some worryingly extravagant ideas, so we might be attempting a mini-version of this next year. And I didn't even think I liked flowers and gardening. Well I don't, to be honest, but these were stunning.

Also in the show building were some really interesting and beautiful displays, including the carnivorous plants, and some others I forgot to identify...

But my favourites, for a change (not) were the bonsai trees, from Whitstable Bonsai (and the last picture is from Derby Bonsai's stand). Elegant, timeless, just gorgeous.

And another Garden Show at Detling in the Autumn. And the Kent Show in July. Where will this madness end?

Kent Garden Show, Detling - the odd stuff

2008-05-25T07:31:00.004+01:00

Looking out at the heavy rain this morning, I'm very pleased we managed to get to Detling for the Kent Garden Show yesterday. I even got sunburnt... Four and a half hours ambling around hundreds of exhibitors, a few necessary purchases and a few less necessary - still, what's a garden show for if not to stock up on fudge, a blouse, slippers and two tablecloths? I foolishly thought it was about gardens, but she-who-never-misses-a-shopping-opportunity soon put me right on that naive idea... and we did get some plants too.

But the main fun is to be had just looking and wondering how - and why. Why would you need a large rabbit made out of a hedge for example? Or a life-size metal giraffe?

And here's a shed or playhouse that looked how it would if I tried to make a proper one. Quite cool, we thought.

And first prize (from me) for innovative use of a horsebox goes to this nursery selling quite large trees.

A great day out, a few ideas and a few things for the garden, and sunburn. What more could you ask? And even though we were as far away in the car park as we could possibly be without actually being on the next door airfield, we didn't mind. Now THAT's the sign of a good day!

Eurovision - nearly good fun...

2008-05-25T07:02:00.004+01:00

Another fun evening of Eurovision, marred only by Terry Wogan's constant wittering, usually after the singers had begun to sing and always after their music had started, and his constant complaints about 'political' voting. During the interval entertainment of Serbian folk music that might have been quite pleasant, he didn't stop talking for a second, mostly about the retirement of someone no-one had heard of. Presumably it's only political if it's not to our advantage - when we picked up votes for our completely bland, pointless and crap song, he just chuckled whimsically (well that's how he thinks he sounds)... and in the good old days, when Cyprus, Malta, Ireland and one or two others still liked the UK enough to vote for them I don't recall any complaints...

So we aren't likely to win ever again. Wow. So just enjoy the camp, colourful, occasionally tuneful spectacle. We did. And if Terry no longer finds it fun, then for God's sake go and leave it to Paddy O'Connell who clearly enjoys it for what it is.

Seaside Postcard 86: nice week...

2008-05-16T07:19:00.002+01:00

A slight gap between blogs this week - my birthday on Wednesday which sent me in to a slight state of shock, as I couldn't work out how I had got quite this old so quickly. Nope, still can't understand it, maybe next year I'll have reverted to my proper age, which is clearly at least 10 years younger than the passport suggests...

And off to Boulogne today on Speedferries. Fingers very firmly crossed for a smooth crossing...

Another pull-out card from the 30s - cats do seem to feature quite a lot of postcards, for no particular reason that I can see. Oh well, I suppose they're cute.

Seaside Postcard 85: Almost there...

2008-05-12T06:37:00.002+01:00

Another day, another card, and we're approaching the magic 100 mark - and just another 10 days or so until the first birthday of my blog.

Today's card was sent by Etty in 1913, and reported "fine weather so far & are enjoying ourselves. You can guess there are crowds down here..." which summed up this weekend very nicely. Lovely weather, lots of people, all in all a taste of what Ramsgate was and should be.

Woohoo - a honey spoon winner!

2008-05-11T10:05:00.003+01:00

There's something tragically exciting about having your name read out on radio as a competition winner - but I don't care, we won the BBC Radio 4's Broadcasting House Honey Spoon Competition this morning and despite the humility and modesty of my acceptance speech, we're thrilled. Just to compound the sadness, we got a BBC jam spoon about 18 months ago in the same quiz - THAT's how sad we are. But happy. A funny way to start the day, and a nice day already started by the looks of it. Beach picnic already planned, apparently, so that's today sorted. Apart from the gardening, and there's a load of that to do. Ho hum. Enjoy the sun...

Seaside Postcard 84: Fun and Games

2008-05-07T06:39:00.002+01:00

This postcard was addressed to someone in the British Zone, Germany, which dates it to just after the war. The beach ("strand")was "wunderbares" which is reassuring, especially as it can't have been a straightforward journey in either direction...

Addington Street . . . dainty...

2008-05-06T06:21:00.004+01:00

Not a comic postcard, but a relic from times past, when Addington Street was the centre of domestic retail and services for Ramsgate.

This card advertises Ashwood's Isle of Thanet Laundry - a Dainty Laundry for Dainty Folk. You can describe Thanetians as a lot of things, but it's the first time I've heard them called dainty!

Although the picture on the card suggests this is a Georgian scene, the back says "Please send motor van", rather implying we're in the early part of the last century, when Addington Street was a the commercial and retail hub of the town.

Located just far enough away from the hustle and bustle of the harbour (and near enough to the smart areas of Vale Square and Spencer Square) to provide genteel services for the local gentry, Addington Street was the proper 'High Street' of the town, when shops were all single entities, prior to the coming of the chains. Timothy Whites, Woolworths, the banks - their development around the market (where Halifax is now) would have led to the inexorable decline in Addington Street's fortunes, although it was still a street of shops as recenty as the 70s, so I'm told.

Of course this was in the days when you could post a card in the morning, and expect it to be delivered locally the same day. And there were enough post offices to provide the service.

Sadly Addington Street is now just a shadow of its former self - still pretty enough and full of delightful properties, but with no retail to speak of, and a vastly reduced street bustle to experience.

No wonder the rare species are rare...

2008-05-05T08:57:00.008+01:00

A Bank Holiday Sunday, so a day out with grandchildren, animals required for entertainment obviously. So off we went to the Rare Species Conservation Trust near Sandwich (just a few miles down the road from Ramsgate). Some beautiful and unusual animals, but for £7 (adult) and £5 (child) we would have hoped for a venue that required more than about 45 minutes to get round (1 ocelot, 2 bears, a few flamingoes, some lemurs and tamarinds, and a few birds, a small alligator and some tortoises. And that was the lot as far as we could tell). Wingham Wildlife Park could easily fill most of a day, for the same price. Wildood takes a couple of hours and to be honest we were a little disappointed in that (partly we're fussy, partly the attention span of 3- and 5-year-olds does pose a challenge). Still size and cost aside, there were some fabulous species to look at...

According to a discussion on the Zoo Beat forum, there are many more species listed and expected - well they weren't visible on our visit - they sound like twice the number we saw, so maybe we were just unlucky that they were away while enclosures were being developed. And the structures were beautifully done. Sadly, we're not likely to return to see... oh well...

In fact the garden centre attached to the Zoo (or is it the other way round) was almost as rewarding - several tanks of goldfish, a pretty pond with some massive fish (koi carp?), some tortoises and a couple of ring-tailed lemurs - without the shock to the wallet...

Tortoise. Sun. Bathing.

And on the way home a visit to Pegwell, and a stroll around the highland cattle. Now they are worth seeing - huge, apparently amiable (but fenced in safely) and generally gorgeous. A great day out, great animals, a couple of nice pictures, and a chance to complain about the cost. All that was missing for the perfect Bank Holiday experience was the rain. Oh well, you can't have everything... Maybe at the end of May...

Seaside Postcard 82, 83: more money woes...

2008-05-05T08:34:00.004+01:00

A couple of cards from a familiar series, and on a familiar theme - not enough money, too much to spend it on... and a hint that Cliftonville was (is?) the place for young men to have a good time!

Seaside Postcards 80 & 81: The TV Age

2008-05-02T06:23:00.002+01:00

Another day, another crisis. The London Array wind farm has come under threat as a key partner seeks to sell its stake - with implications for all those promised jobs here... At least the sun is shining this morning, and of course it's always shining in seaside postcards. These two are from the 1960s, and if you squint a little you can see a thriving beach scene at Marina Parade with tables and chairs outside a cafe - now long gone inevitably, leaving that stretch of beach very lacking in catering and toilet facilities. Pity.

Still, look on the bright side, once the council have sold off those assets they claim not to know what to do with, we'll look back on 2008 as the glory days. Now that's a scary thought...

The Grange

2008-04-27T16:57:00.003+01:00

I noticed that this weekend was one of the all-too-rare occasions when the Grange on the West Cliff was open to visitors. Well worth a visit, and a great insight in to the architectural style of Pugin, and his radical approach to designing a house according to its intended function, rather than keeping to the traditional styles prevalent at the time.

This image is taken from a November 1879 issue of the Building News, and provides a highly detailed birds-eye view of the Grange, dated 1873.

Click on the picture for a larger image.

Seaside Postcard 79: lovely stout

2008-04-25T06:33:00.003+01:00

Another beeauty today - the pint of stout anyway... sorry, that was very ungallant, must be my age when the beer starts to look more tempting than the person holding it.

Mum wrote this to Ethel in August 1926, and you'll be pleased to hear she was having a fine time, in "very nice lodgings" and just about to go for a ride. Similar to today, except we get taken for a ride instead - by the planners, developers and all those with no sense of what makes a town work properly. Oops, there I go again...

Seaside Postcard 78: Be afraid...

2008-04-24T06:24:00.003+01:00

Possibly the most frightening card I've ever seen. No date, but probably early Edwardian, and certainly intended to terrify holiday makers!

Seaside Postcard 77: Tasty town...

2008-04-23T06:18:00.003+01:00

Today's card dates from 1924, and was sent from Ramsgate to Bushey, just outside Watford. Amasterpiece of brevity - "Hope to see you all on Wednesday in Watford. Sea awful. Love to all" Oh well, some people just can't be pleased...

The card contains a strip of photographs which fold out, taken innthe early twenties and showing the town and harbour as a thriving centre of trade and commerce. Hmm...

Seaside Postcard 76: foggy days

2008-04-21T06:36:00.004+01:00

This morning's postcard dates from the 1930s - the pull-put strip of pictures includes the Winterstoke memorial, the 'new' Swimming Pool and the Harbour Cafe (now Harbour Lights restaurant) in all their shiny new deco glory...

The sky looks blue, which is more than can be said for this weekend - cold fog seemed to be the main feature, meteorologically speaking, which was completely unreasonable for a Spring weekend. It's about time the weather sorted itself out, quite frankly.

I notice there's a ship on harbour slipway gettign what looks like some serious surgery - large holes being cut in the sides, leaving a nice view right through the cargo section. Simple plate replacement, or conversion to something more unusual requiring side access? Not a clue, but I'll be interested to see what they do next. I may be an ignorant landlubber, but I can find anything interesting if I try!

We went to Detling (the Kent Showground) for the Detling Antiques Fair. Fighting our way through the fog, we still seemed to find a way of spending three hours and too much money on unnecessary collectibles. Oh it was just terrible. Awful. And now we have to go back to the next one. A bit of sunshine would certainly have helped the hardy souls trading outside beside their caravans and campers - we noted stallholders from Newcastle (on tyne AND under lyme) as well as Netherlands license plates, so I hope it was worth the effort. We did our bit to make sure it was, god knows...

Seaside Postcard 75: Weather Woes

2008-04-18T06:24:00.002+01:00

Well the tall ships never came, worried that the forecast Easterly winds would have prevented them sailing back home today. Shame, but just one of those things that happen in an environment where the weather actually affects more than just the mood! Oh well, there's always next year. Sigh.

This postcard reflects the current atmosphere quite nicely, I think, mine anyway - a general air of gloom and despondency, a sense of waiting for things to brighten up.

Still, it'll soon be Summer, we just booked our next day trip to France for a couple of weeks time, and I seem to be settling in to my new job without anyone being too disappointed in my performance. All in all, a good result!

A day off on Tuesday included a visit to Whitstable, and a slightly expensive visit to The Bonsai Shop at Yorkletts, about a mile out of town. We only popped in to get our little Acer re-potted and to get our wrists slapped for letting what we thought was an attractive weed-related ground covering to spread over the pot - turns out it was starving the tree of nutrients and water. Oops... Still, not too late, although this year it will look a bit ragged. So we consoled ourselves with a new beautiful bright red Acer of a different type, and promised faithfully to look after it as well as we could. Worth a visit, if only to look and wonder at the amazing range and display of hundreds of magical little trees - who knew that you could cultivate a bonsai from a hawthorn hedge cutting - then again, who's got ten years to wait to see the results - it's all we can do to wait for our sunflowers to come up, so I'm always amazed by the vision and patience of the professional bonsai nurserymen.

Royal Harbour, Ramsgate - The Glory Days!

2008-04-17T06:26:00.002+01:00

Today's one of those days where - with a little imagination - you get just a flavour of how the harbour used to be: full of visiting sailing ships, each with its own story to tell, each with a crew from exotic lands (OK, today they'll be mostly Dutch), each fighting their way in to the Harbour under full sail in the teeth of a storm (OK, it's a nice day, and they'll come in under their auxiliary power). Like I said, it's just a flavour of times past, as the Heineken challenge delivers up to 20 tall ships for a short visit.

This card (published by Ramsgate Libraries, so not in itself a great antique) shows the harbour in 1795, with just the inner harbour built, and even that look little more than a beach with a wall in this view.

All together now... aaaaahhhh...

Seaside Postcard 74: The Time of Our Lives

2008-04-15T06:42:00.003+01:00

Another classic card, showing a slightly disarranged yet happy young lady - this one is from 1920, and starts just how we wish we could always start descriptions of Ramsgate - "Simply lovely, wish you were here". To Vi in Waltham from Ivy, who had even managed a two hour row (in a boat, not arguing, I think).

Haiku - brevity above all

2008-04-15T06:21:00.004+01:00

I see there's a Haiku event coming up in June at the Albion Hotel in Broadstairs. Full details on the ThanetCAN blog.

If you didn't know already, Haiku is a Japanese poetry form that requires you - in the English version at least - to say something brilliant in just 17 syllables over three lines. Very minimalist, occasionally very funny, and surprisingly challenging and yet highly absorbing.

My favourite, quoted in the Wikipedia entry for Haiku is by John Cooper Clark:

To express oneself
in seventeen syllables
is very diffic

Ramsgate needs more new businesses like this

2008-04-14T06:54:00.003+01:00

In town on Saturday, we called in to Age & Son, the new cafe-bar-restaurant in Charlotte Court (the old wine warehouse). Open for just five weeks, run by a brother and sister team, this is a light, friendly and very modern British style of place - if you've been watching Great British Menu on telly, some of the dishes might seem quite familiar, but less strange! They're just waiting for the alcohol licence, but with a restaurant upstairs, and a wine bar in the cellar, there's great potential for a busy establishment here. There's certainly an interesting lunch menu, a range of exotic teas and a real sense of enthusiasm - a nice old building too with bags of atmosphere, so fingers crossed for a success...

Now if we can just get some more of the empty shops filled with like-minded entrepreneurs, the town might build up the buzz that is at risk in the age of credit crunches and out of town shopping centres.

Seaside Postcard 73: a familiar tale

2008-04-11T06:25:00.002+01:00

A familiar theme today - lack of money forcing a change of plan. Feeling in the need for a general rant, I'd have to say that this card applies to our locality in a number of ways...

First, after a horrible week for lovers of Dreamland, it feels like another nail in the coffin - and if there just aren't the places to spend the money, how can we benefit from visitors? The other thing that baffles me completely is the economics of property development. I mean I understand the idea of building buy to lets, but the 500 or so flats being built at the Sea Bathing Hospital are going to take some shifting, given that you can buy (or rent) a nice victorian 3-4 bed house for the same price. And that's just one site among several quite large developments across the isle. Similarly, the plans for the Dreamland site included retail as one of the key elements - in a town with one third of its retail space currently available, and a council plan that rightly or wrongly directs any major retailers to Westwood Cross, just which businesses are going to fill this site? And new shops imply an increase in total consumer spending - or do the rest of the 'old' shops have to fall by the wayside to provide the cash flow for th new ones?

Secondly, as interest rates keep coming down, I can't help feeling that many of the banks are just seeing this as the Bank of England giving them a hand to keep their profits up, without feeling the need to pass on those cuts to borrowers. Some are, certainly, but others are currently raising rates, removing mortgage products, and generally finding new ways to make money from us. HSBC are sounding very helpful by offering to provide mortgages to people at their existing rate (if you meet some better criteria, have 20% plus equity etc) but are charging up to £5,000 fees for 'arranging' this mortgage. I though the interest was their fee, but then I'm ever so old-fashioned... and worried about our tracker deal ending in September - I expect we'll meet the income and equity requirements, after all we did when we got the mortgage in the first place two years ago, but just chucking away an extra £5,000 for the privilege is a non-starter... it's this cunning means of subtly forcing people on the standard variable rates whilst pretending to continue offering fixes and trackers that will boost their profits ever higher.

OK enough misery, the sun is shining, and it's been quite a nice week so far. The dredger appears to be beavering away in the harbour, we've got the Heineken Challenge delivering 20 or so old and old-looking sailing ships in one go next Thursday, so we'll have just a flavour of how it used to be...

And anyway, everything will be fine when the high speed train gets here next year. And the Chinese. And Thanet Earth. And the Turner Centre. And our new old library. And our new hotel, conference centre and ..er.. shops on the seafront. Boom times ahead, clearly.

More postcards and less ranting coming next, I promise.

Scenic on fire. Wet wooden closed and burning. Hmmm.

2008-04-07T18:29:00.009+01:00

Picture from Kent Online -see link below

So I get in from work, put on the telly, and the headline story is Firemen battling to save Scenic as it burns. A closed wooden structure after a damp week when the wood must be pretty damn wet. Who are they kidding? It'd be quicker to list the famous bits of Thanet that haven't been torched to get them out of the way of developers...

This from KentOnline.

And the Save Dreamland Campaign forum is filling rapidly with sad and angry comments...

Now back to the telly to see just how bad it is...

Yup, as expected, a wet wooden structure looks completely destroyed. Bastards. 10 fire crews on scene, and it's still a smouldering wreck. Not sure we deserve to survive a recession as a tourist area quite frankly. Very depressed now.

ECR has a few pictures. Expect plenty of comment!

Another day, another fire...

2008-04-06T17:45:00.002+01:00

Driving out of town to see the snow this afternoon, we were sorry to see most of Thanet's fire service in Royal Road, Ramsgate, tackling an upper-floor fire in one of the buildings across the road from the Artillery Arms. At least three engines and the long extended hose snorkel tower thingy, as well as a couple of fire officers' cars, and buckets of steam and smoke. I didn't see any ambulances, so fingeers crossed for a property-only incident... they're all still there as I type, so it's taking an hour or two to get under control by the looks of it.

Seaside Postcards 70, 71, 72: Prehistoric Pegwell

2008-04-03T23:57:00.003+01:00

A fun trio of cards represnting Pegwell as a lively but not very advanced location, with trips from Ramsgate, shrimping and boat races all clearly a major part of the excitement. Posted in 1913, just before the Great War, they reflect a time when Pegwell was still a destination in its own right, with a thriving tourism and shrimping sector. Not many hairdressers though...

Seaside Postcard 69: Where there's a will...

2008-04-03T06:37:00.003+01:00

Addressed to "Dear Will" from his Dad, who must have been very pleased with himself... sent in 1920 to Tooting, South London, and yes - the curvy beauty in the water does seem to have a moustache. I've looked closely, and it is printed, not just a dirty mark. Clearly there were different ideas of beauty way back when. Mind you, his wife also seems to have a moustache, so maybe the artist was just an enthusiast...

Seaside Postcards 67, 68: having a beastly time

2008-04-02T06:21:00.006+01:00

Percy making an ass of himself here . . . this 1932 card was addressed to "Dear Perce" so clearly chosen with great delight by the sender, who was returning home "by charabanc" expecting the journey from Ramsgate to Twickenham to take about 4 hours. Not bad, given the lack of motorways, dual carriageways and definitely no Thanet Way!

And this card is just strange. A reference to flea-ridden bed linen in the guest houses of Ramsgate perhaps? Addressed to a PC Burt at Lea Bridge Road Police Station, and sent in 1910 by Rose, she was clearly enjoying the trip: "we shall be so sorry to come back again". At least I think she meant she'd be sorry to come home, perhaps she was declaring she would never come back to Ramsgate...

And good to see the dredger working away at the mouth of the Royal Harbour - you can keep tabs on its activities via the Harbour Cam. Looks like those tall ships will be able to get it afterall in a couple of weeks time...

French shopping

2008-04-01T19:48:00.005+01:00

A day trip to Calais last Thursday, calm seas, dry skies and even some blue... A quick visit to the Calais branch of Troc (a national chain of antiques and furniture warehouses where they sell people's goods on commission). One 10 foot long plate rack on the roof of the car later we were heading for Cite Europe for three and a half hours of mooching and shopping.

She-who-likes-shopping-more-than-I-do was amazed at my patience as we checked out the shoe shops (just buying one pair, amazingly) before heading in to Carrefour. If you treat it as your normal fortnightly shop, but with a more interesting range of stuff, it sort of makes sense. And the one thing Tesco hasn't quite managed to master is the idea that fresh food is a real joy to buy - all the fruit and veg really is larger and more colourful over the channel: these aubergines were just one example (and we had them last night. Yum). And just half an hour to get home once we're off the ferry. Perfick.

Boulogne is certainly prettier, and far better for antique shops, but Calais is just that little bit easier as the ferries run often enough to be convenient: Speedferries to Boulogne only manage half a dozen a day, which means it's always an hour too early or an hour too late. Yes, we are that picky... and our travel season is just beginning (ok, it runs all year, in case you were wondering).

Margate Rocks - May is obviously festival month!

2008-04-01T19:21:00.002+01:00

Here's another May festival, Margate Rocks. Go to them all. See everything. Bring your friends...

Margate Rocks

The Margate Rocks festival of contemporary visual art returns this 3 to 11 May, with a very special public launch night on Friday 2 May. This year’s festival explores the relationship between art & ecology through a fantastic and fun programme of art exhibitions, family drop-in workshops, talks, films, music and events for everyone! There’s also new commissions being made for Margate, including one from internationally renowned artists, Heather & Ivan Morison, who represented Wales at the 2007 Venice Biennale.

Highlights include:

Sat 3 May
All day
Kentish Food and Arts & Crafts Market, and Street Festival.
FREE, Market Place and High Street

Sat 3 and Sun 4 May
Various times
The Magnificent Revolution present the Cycling Cinema – watch films on the UK’s only bicycle powered cinema!
FREE, The Pie Factory

Sat 3 May
9-10pm
His Dark Materials – A late night café-style talk with materials scientist, Dr Mark Miodownik, of the Materials Library at Kings College London and Tate Modern.
FREE, Café G

Mon 5 May
7.30pm
Billy Childish’s May Day Music Show – Catch a rare performance by this internationally cult musician, artist and poet at The Theatre Royal Margate.
Tickets £10, Theatre Royal Margate, call 01227 787 787 to book or buy on the door

Thurs 8 May
2-6pm
Green filmmaking master classes led by internationally acclaimed activist filmmaker, Franny Armstrong. Followed by an intimate screening of her award-winning film, ‘Drowned Out’.
FREE, booking essential. Email mailto:charlie@margaterocks.com

To find out more about Margate Rocks visit www.margaterocks.com or email hello@margaterocks.com

Jour de Poisson

2008-04-01T06:48:00.002+01:00

Happy April 1st!!

Brighten up your day with a look at the latest important news to break across the media:

From the BBC, a great clip of flying penguins migrating to the South American rainforests, to avoid all that huddling in the cold... and who can blame them?

Not a hoax itself, but the Times yesterday provided an article summarising great hoaxes and hoaxers of the past.

I'll look forward to seeing what the papers have come up with - some better than others no doubt...

Seaside Postcards 65, 66: Preoccupations

2008-04-01T06:39:00.003+01:00

Here are a couple of classic preoccupations when on holiday in a seaside boarding house - the inputs and outputs as it were... Worrying about a shortage of beer (in this 1929 card), or money to buy beer, is a universal fear with which most of us can identify. And then there's the worry about what happens next... the dash down the corridor, the desperate search under the bed (a card from 1931), the pain, the pressure....

And a big welcome to Summer Time. Aah, the weather seems to have improved already...

Ramsgate Spring Festival

2008-03-24T09:34:00.009Z

Here’s something exciting for your cultural and creative diaries – spend most of your May evenings at the Belgian Bar amid a display of words, art and music…

RAMSGATE SPRING FESTIVAL

FESTIVAL LAUNCH NIGHT: 1 May 2008 from 7.30PM

FESTIVAL VENUE: The Belgian Bar, Ramsgate Harbour

FESTIVAL THEME: SPRING

To Spring - Spring - A Spring
I Spring -You Sprang - We All Sprung Together!

SPRING SONG
Every Thursday evening in May at 7.30pm, All Styles of Music
COME & LISTEN OR MAKE YOUR OWN MUSIC. Open Mike arrangements.
Contact Ruth Cutler: 01843 591081 to book your place.

SPRING INTO ART
EXHIBITION OF VISUAL ARTS From 1 May to 31 May 2008 at The Belgian Bar. Work Invited based on Festival Theme of SPRING. Reception Days: 29 & 30 April 10.00am – 5.00pm.
ALL WORK MUST BE READY TO HANG
A Cash Contribution to the Belgian Bar is requested for any work sold during The Festival.
Contact: Ruth Cutler: 01843 591081.

WRITES OF SPRING - POETRY COMPETITION
On the Festival Theme of SPRING. All work must be typed, no more than 40 lines per poem. Your Name and Contact Details on the reverse side of each poem. Maximum of 6 poems per entry. THERE IS NO ENTRY FEE

Winning Poems will be read at The Belgian Bar by yourself or a nominated reader on Wednesday 21 May 2008 from 7.30pm - CLOSING DATE FOR ENTRIES: 30 APRIL 2008
Please send your entries to:
Margaret Swan, 20 Pegwell Close, Ramsgate, CT11 0NB