Monday 29 July 2013

Powerboat pictures and a ramble


The Ramsgate issues at the moment seem to start with Will Scobie being selected to represent Thanet South as Labour parliamentary candidate, I would say overall a good choice by Labour as Will has a proven record for getting elected when others haven’t.

My take is that for all the UKIP success at the KCC elections Thanet South is like likely to be a Labour/Conservative marginal come May 2015 when the election is fought. I am assuming that Laura Sandys will be standing for the Conservatives so it should be an interesting contest.

Talking to people in my bookshop the general consensus seems to be that both candidates are OK, I am certainly not getting any of the too young business from the locals.

As a floating voter myself I have an open mind at the moment, in terms of prediction I would expect if we have a swing to Labour then Will will get in and if we don’t Laura will. The other factors are that Will got in at county despite the swing to UKIP and the boundary changes which I am told give the Conservatives a small advantage over the previous position.


Here are the maps of the boundary changes.

 before

after

I will ramble on


As you can see the boundary goes all the way to Margate, I don’t have a detailed enough map to tell if Will lives in the constituency or not, I think he is just outside, does anyone know? 


Sorry I didn’t get to Thanet at War, my day revolved around commitments to my children.

One interesting issue yesterday was that the lights at the bottom of the tunnel to Port Ramsgate were flashing red, when this happens no one knows what to do and after a considerable time the drivers gave up and went through the tunnel anyway.

I would have thought displaying a phone number to ring when this happens would probably be a good idea. 


The two big Ramsgate issues, Pleasurama and the Pavillion are still rumbling on and I don’t know who one would vote for at any level to get some resolution there.

With Manston Airport engaged in trying to achieve about 300 flights a day over Ramsgate, there may be an election issue there too, although which election, well once again it’s a bit difficult to tell.   

Where was I, Pegwell this evening, surprisingly bad on the dog poo front for a fairly out of the way place with no signs of vandalism, very good children’s play area too. Park for nothing just before the petrol station of pay a quid in the car park a little further on, but remember they close the gate a 7.30.


68 comments:

  1. Neither Will nor Sandys have done or said anything. Laura's claimed successes a fortnight ago was awful.

    Both are the worst kind of party robots - mere handraisers.

    With ceremonial councillors as doublehatters we seem to have many politicians yet little work done.

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  2. Politics aside, Laura Sandys is a perfect example of superb constituency MP.

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    1. As were her predecessors, Stephen Ladyman, and allegedly Jonathan Aitken too:- http://www.theguardian.com/aitken

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    2. Now someone is having a laugh. Steve Ladyman was not great on dealing with constituency issues, many people got unhelpful responses on problems raised with him, and he was a bit too busy chasing ministerial office to bother with Thanet. Did not take him long to leave once he lost his seat so no great love of the place evident there.

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    3. Sounds like the future of Sandys too 10:35. Where is she and what has she done?

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  3. I have placed a bet for 2015 that Laura Sandys will win, and that Will Scobie will lose his deposit.

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    1. Zip obviously you have a reasonable chance of Laura winning, but why on earth bet on Will losing his deposit. Thanet South is historically a marginal, between Labour and Conservative. The worst the losing candidate ever does is in the high 20%s and there is just no chance whatsoever of the Labour candidate getting less than 5% of the vote and therefore losing their deposit.

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  4. Why do the constituency boundaries change so much/often? The census is only every 10 years and would detail population changes so boundaries would change every 10 years?

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  5. Sandys is an empty vessel and we certainly shouldn't have parachute candidates in future as it undermines the whole point of local representation. It's machine politics at it's worst. Why didn't she contest Pimlico? And what has she done for Thanet in the last 3 years?

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  6. The Labour candidate was announced at the Broadstairs Peoples Assembly as the NEC woman - can't remember her name. Valerie? Now it's not her?

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  7. Anon 8.18 you really are out of touch. Laura Sandys single handed, has done more for Thanet South in three years than the whole bunch of Local Conservatives achieved when in office at TDC from 2003 - 2010

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  8. Much as I believe that Thanet has two of the best MPs in the country, I'd love to see Will Scobie win if only to spite those bitter old men who haven't achieved as much as Will during their own long and miserable lives!

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    1. Peter Checksfield,

      That strikes me as a particularly bitter remark on your part. Do you perhaps include yourself with the aged underachievers - surely not?

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    3. Peter, why do you assume that those that question whether Will Scobie has enough experience to be a Member of Parliament are bitter, jealous old men. As one who regards many MPs as unfit for the purpose, I would certainly not trade my career for theirs, but I nonetheless feel I have a right to seek to demand higher standards from those who make decisions effecting the lives of the rest of us.

      You talk of achievement, but, other than being selecting to stand by some political party, what exactly has been achieved by a parliamentary candidate? Compare that say with a surgeon, senior executive in commerce or industry, senior officer in the armed services, chief constable or even some actors and entertainers to name but a few. Should they be jealous of the achievements of a young aspiring MP, a rather tenuous career that can come to a sudden end if your party falls out of favour.

      I do realise who you are targeting, but even a pilot running a successful business has little to envy in the world of Westminster.

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    4. Yes John, I'm including myself. But that doesn't mean I begrudge it in others.

      William, obviously I'm talking about what Will has achieved in his chosen profession.

      By all means question his suitability, but judging him on his age alone is as prejudiced as judging someone solely on gender or colour. Who was the ONLY non-UKIP Thanet cllr to win a seat in the KCC elections? Certainly wasn't anyone else from Labour, nor any Tories, Lib-Dems or high-profile independents such as Mr Diver and Ms Oldfield. He also managed to serve his time as a mayor without getting into fights, being charged with a criminal offence or killing any innocent animals, which in itself is quite an achievement locally!

      Anyway, achievements and success is subjective, and perhaps shouldn't be judged on financial gain alone. I'm a largely unsuccessful photographer in that I haven't made a fortune from it, however if I judge it by both personal satisfaction and critical acclaim (as well as local fame) then I've done ok.

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    5. Experience ? The old story of Napoleon's ass. When things were going badly at Waterloo Napoleon cried out "I need advice who has served with me the longest. The most experience"

      "That would be your donkey Emperor 15 years service"

      "Very well, fetch the donkey, what must I do about this Wellington?"

      "Hee haw"

      In the USA they look at electability. An IQ about 120. Too high an IQ and the average person interprets the candidate's cleverness as stupidity and won't vote for them. The ability to say things most people agree with. (Which is a pretty dumb way to determine if something is right or not but appeals to the people). The ability to project that common sense is a basis for solving all problems.

      So all Will needs to do is promise an Ice Rink, Full recovery of the TEF debt and an end to the PLeasurama fiasco. Full Employment and loads of inward investment to regenerate the Thanet economy. We all know it makes sense. How about a swimming pool ? Yep swimming pool is good. What about law and order. Yep we must stamp down on anti social behaviour. By the way war is bad. Peace is good. Education ? Yep good and more pupil breakfasts. Global warming ? Bad. Economy. Trick question in an area so pension and benefits dependent. So Will needs to avoid the demonize the benefits dependent line. A quick dig at the bankers should satisfy the blame victim needs of the electorate. Piece of cake.



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    6. Will = Winner, 3:12 = Loser.

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    7. Peter, job satisfaction is perhaps the most important thing in what we do and you sound as though you have that.

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    8. Ah Cllr Epps back again with the buck stops somewhere else. If only we had more politicians like him to stamp out the corruption in Thanet? At least Will and Sandys keep completely quiet.

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    9. If you have proof of corruption then go to the police!

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    10. Yes. Although the police are a bit lazy aren't they? They've done nothing over Ferrygate or the Labour £25k bung. And also councillors like Epps would want to stamp out corruption surely? And what proof would you suggest out of interest?

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    11. The kind of proof that convicted Sandy Ezekiel perhaps? Only problem is that you'd have to reveal your identity instead of hiding behind anonymity like you are now.

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    13. It was enough proof to convince a court of law, which is good enough for me.

      Yes, until things are proven otherwise (instead of suggestion by anonymous comments) I am suggesting TDC are not corrupt, merely incompetent... an example of their sheer incompetence is that I found out the result of my standards complaint to a local councillor via his blog rather than via letter, email or telephone!

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    15. What "crime" do you claim has been commited in relation to TEF Anon 12:53...

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    16. More than a hint of cutting off your nose to spite your face there Peter and if I may say so, ill thought out and a bit infantile. You say that we have two of the best MPs in the country then suggest deposing one of them merely to spite some alleged old duffers. I do sometimes wonder if there should be a suitability test attached to the franchise. x)

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    17. Erm, thanks for the kiss Tim! x

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    18. The crime JH at 12:53 was the secrecy of FerryGate without cabinet or Council approval. You haven't mentioned the £25k Labour bung so presumably you're clear that it was just normal corruption?

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  9. For those who have not seen how Will performs in public take a look at him speaking at the last KCC council meeting on the 18th of July (KCC webcast). You don't need to watch all 5 hours but join at about 4 hours in.

    And see what the Political Editor of the KM has to say about Will - Kent candidates. Presumably he has some first hand experience of how he performs at council meetings.

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    1. Speaking is what politicians do. What we need is those that can do more than talk a good fight, but who can actually deliver what the people need. What does Will know of the people yet when he is barely out of education. If you were about to undergo a serious operation you would want your surgeon to have had years of training and then experience working under a senior consultant, yet you are presumably happy to have your laws made and taxes set by, in comparative terms, a junior nursing assistant.

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    2. Anon 4.22 as you know there are only a few relatively young MPs. The average age after the 2010 general election was 50 so it will be 55 by the next one. Even if Will is elected at age 26 I don't think it will make much of difference to the overall age spread and making laws and setting taxes will still be set by the over 50s. Relatively young people's perspective should be welcome in parliament, too many MP's are over 65 and just time servers.

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    3. Anonymous 3:38 pm

      In praise of Will Scobie you guided us towards the KM's Political Editor who wrote,

      "Labour has chosen its parliamentary candidates for a further three of Kent's constituencies. In Thanet South, the party has nominated Will Scobie to take on Laura Sandys. He was elected to the county council in May - one of Labour's few succeses in Thanet - and is also a Thanet council member. He faces the challenge of overturning a 7,000+ majority. Despite being a youthful 24, he has plenty of political experience under his belt although social media has inevitably seen some adverse comments that he has no other "outside" experience beyond politics. From what I have seen at County Hall, he seems pretty sharp."

      In my view, "seems pretty sharp" is hardly a rave revue..




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    4. "In my view, "seems pretty sharp" is hardly a rave revue.."

      It is compared to the usual Thanet headlines that greet Thanet politicians... and I'd hardly call the likes of Worrow, Watt-Ruffell and Moores "sharp".

      Talking of "sharp", where's Cllr Wells lately? I don't agree with much of what he says, but I always take notice whenever he comments.

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    5. I must admit we probably need legisaltion to restrict MP's to say over 30 and with some experience beyond student politics and party head office. Party robots like Sandys or even Cameron. Clegg, miliband are not democracy.

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    6. Or alternatively we can carry on letting the voters decide who is and who isn't suitable. THAT'S democracy.

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    7. Not quite Peter you can't vote for an MP under 18 for example although 16 year olds will soon vote even though they can't now.

      MP's over 30 would create more life experiences, other roles etc than just insular party politics.

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    8. Ahhhh, it's suddenly clicked why you and several other oldies-but-mouldies have a problem with him: a young & good-looking cllr / MP is more likely to appeal to younger voters!

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    9. Peter 2:10 pm,

      Do you know of a young & good looking cllr/MP that I can vote for? Actually I don't care who runs the country so long as she's got big t.ts.

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    10. Certainly better than voting for a t*t!

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    11. Farnie BarnardJuly 31, 2013 8:03 pm

      For the record, Laura Sandys has a wealth of life experiences from being a carer to running her own business long before she got involved in politics. Hardly a party robot.

      As for Peter's persistent claims that some older folk are jealous of Will Scobie. Why for heavens sake? I would not want his job, his girlfriend or his politics and I was a lot better looking than him at his age, probably still am with a touch of grey on the side burns.

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    12. It was Will who won the best looking cllr poll a year or two back (though personally I think first place should've gone to Linda Aldred!).

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    13. Come off it Farnie, everything Laura has done has been because she's Tory royalty. PR for Tories. Quango jobs. Parachuted to a safe seat. A Baroness too? the silver spoon couldn't be any longer. She's done nothing for Thanet but spout hot air occasionally much like yourself.

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    14. Interesting the parachuted to a safe seat bit. It had been taken by Labour in 1997 and held by them in 2001 and 2005. Hardly safe Tory then. Even Michael described it as a marginal. Do you know, Laura, for I do and you are spouting rubbish, but then that is your usual form 10:39.

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  10. Ramsgate was probably lucky just to have the power boat attraction for Margate's weekend event led to illegal parking resulting in traffic chaos, a beach more resembling a landfill site and a stabbing. What was Peter saying about it being a bit like Peckham! Be careful what you wish for, Peter.

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    1. I'd still rather this event than Folk Week, where white English locals crap on people's gardens!

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    2. Rubbish, Peter, for I live close to the centre of Broadstairs Folk Week activity and most of it is good natured and a lot of fun. As with most things, there are always a few morons.

      Before you go into one of your growing up in Peckham diatribes, I am a product of Lewisham, went to school in New Cross and lived down the Lee High Road. I saw the area deteriorate over my younger adult life to the point where I decided there was no way I would bring my kids up there. I have also seen older relations trapped on estates, afraid to go out after dusk and with steel plated doors and barred windows. Virtual prisoners in their own homes.

      If Peckham is what you want, go and live there but please don't bring it to Thanet.

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    3. I don't want Peckham here, just some blacks!

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    4. Incidentally, why isn't TDC's Diversity Champion speaking out about this? Or is he only interest in "diversity" when it involves homosexuals?

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    5. Why, Peter? I have spent more than a decade working abroad and everywhere I have been where there is any kind of division there is the potential for trouble. Whether it be Republicans and Unionists, Shona and Matabelle, black and white, Muslim and Hindu, Malay and Chinese, Turkish and Greek Cypriots or any other kind of difference that sets people apart, multi-culturalism does not work even though we may all know individuals of other races or cultures with whom we are friends. On the bigger collective scene it is, at best, a simmering pot with the potential to boil over as we have seen on numerous occasions in this country. People are best within their own tribe.

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    6. Who's talking about multi-culturalism? Most of the black people I know were born here, and so were their parents. They're as English as I am, and there's a great many inter-racial marriages (including my mother's for a decade or so).

      Besides, black women have amazing bottoms! ; )

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    7. Personally I have no preference for a particular skin colour, background or sexual orientation in any walk of life.

      I would wonder though what a poster who posted "I don't want Peckham here, just some whites!" would have been called by the end of the next post....

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    9. Fair comment, but I was just trying to clarify to the poster above that I don't want everything about Peckham here (Arlington House is bad enough!). Fact remains that the vast majority of black and white people in Peckham & similar places have exactly the same culture - they talk the same, eat the same food, listen to the same music, etc.

      Anyway, it's a beautiful morning & I'm off for a quick cycle ride around Thanet before it gets too warm! : )

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    10. Peter, if I might come in on this, multi-cultural, multi-racial, multi-religious is as irrelevant as country of birth. In the sectarian violence in Northern Ireland the peoples on both sides were born there, as in Cyprus where, after much blood letting, it has taken four decades of UN force peacekeeping to keep peoples all born on the same island apart and most of the Ugandan Asians, who were kicked out by Idi Amin for being different, were born in Uganda. Most Jews in Nazi Germany were born and bred Germans, but of a different religion.

      Where there is difference, and race is but one, there is always the potential for one community to feel less privileged than another and for the politically motivated, criminally minded or simply unscrupulous to exploit that situation. Is has happened time and again throughout history.

      It does not mean people cannot like each other individually or even have good marriages of mixed race, but the mixing up people of differences has potential problems and that needs to be recognised. The riots in Notting Hill, Brixton, Tottenham and in parts of the Midlands and North did not just happen by chance, but were aggravated by incidents exposing racial divides.

      Perhaps, were we to dream, the world might one day be populated by coffee coloured folk who lived in harmony, but, in reality, it is probably more likely that the Chinese will have taken us all over before then.

      Anyway, enjoy your cycle ride.

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    11. Those riots were 3 decades ago... the more recent riots from 2 years ago didn't have anything to do with colour and race. These days there's as many brown children as black or white ones, as West Indians have (largely) integrated much more than (say) Indian or Chinese people have (not just in relationships, but also in music, fashion, etc).

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    12. Apart from food of course! There's Indian and Chinese restaurants in every high street (not that I eat from them, as I'm allergic to some of the ingredients they use).

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    13. The riots of two years ago followed the shooting by police of a black man and, thus, were racially motivated. Be that as it may, I would agree with you that West Indians, having been here longer than most other groups, have integrated, but there is still a potential difference for problems. Indeed, in Woolwich there have been incidents between the long established black community, mainly of WI origin, and the new black arrivals from Somalia. Apparently they do not like each other.

      As for your comment about children of mixed race, yes, in certain areas there are many, but you should not forget that in parts of Africa they are called 'coloureds' and have been segregated from both black and white communities. All differences can result in victimisation and, if we ignore that, then we are ill prepared to prevent it.

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    14. Which is why I'm thankful that I live in a (largely) tolerant country. Of course there's always going to be people who hate each other, particularly when new cultures arrive. An ex-friend was ranting a couple of years ago because a Polish supermarket opened in Northdown Road, and couldn't see the irony when I pointed out to her that she lives on curries and pizzas!

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    15. Man is instinctively tribal. There are tribes formed by nationality, politics, race, colour, football teams, language, food, etc, etc.

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    16. So are some women! ; )

      Anyway, I'm outta here. If you want to ignore the influences of other cultures then I have no objection to your Morris Dancing and faggots.

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    17. Agreed, Peter, but we must ever be conscious of the potential for some to exploit differences as was done in Northern Ireland, which, incidentally, is part of the country you regard as tolerant. Tolerance can easily be strained, sometimes by a single incident, so we still have to avoid complacency on such issues.

      Good morning, John, you forgot school, regiment and lodge in your tribal groupings though they were probably in the etc., etc., bit. Good to have an interesting exchange for once rather than the usual dross about pollution and aquifers.

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    18. Yes, best debate I've had on a local blog in quite some time! : )

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  11. what boundry changes, cleggy stopped them!!

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  12. I could not care less where people come from, as long as they are respectful to their surroundings and neighbours. Thanet was full of people distinctly lacking in that department before another 4,000 mostly respectful people turned up at the weekend.

    Thanet is a weekend destination which needs more council support on a Saturday and Sunday than any other days of the week. Which days do the least amount of council employees work on?

    How many fines have been levied on rubbish dumpers on the beach? Dog fowlers? I may ask that question of the council and share the outcome with you all.

    TDC again show their inability to handle a busy weekend. They should be able to cope with 40,000 arriving in margate.

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Comments, since I started writing this blog in 2007 the way the internet works has changed a lot, comments and dialogue here were once viable in an open and anonymous sense. Now if you comment here I will only allow the comment if it seems to make sense and be related to what the post is about. I link the majority of my posts to the main local Facebook groups and to my Facebook account, “Michael Child” I guess the main Ramsgate Facebook group is We Love Ramsgate. For the most part the comments and dialogue related to the posts here goes on there. As for the rest of it, well this blog handles images better than Facebook, which is why I don’t post directly to my Facebook account, although if I take a lot of photos I am so lazy that I paste them directly from my camera card to my bookshop website and put a link on this blog.