Friday 28 September 2012

Friday evening ramble and a few photos of Ramsgate.

Starting with a yacht aground in Ramsgate Harbour, I should think it’s about time some dredging happened in the inner basin. Apologies for the picture quality, too lazy to take a large camera I used my mobile phone.


 I am reading the book I have just published about Ramsgate’s fishing industry and remembered there are some pictures of old Ramsgate fishing boats in the sailor’s church.





There is an unusual sign on the abandoned amusement arcade in harbour parade.


Anyone know what this means, perhaps some difficulty with the word metre and they mean a distance, but even then what is to keep ten feet away from this empty building?  

A quick pencil sketch in The Belgian Cafe


Last but not least a new building unveiled in Harbour Street, as you see a thing of beauty is a joy forever.


Now for the ramble, as I said I have been very busy moving my book publishing equipment, so I have had my eye mostly off the ball this week.

A quick check on the Pleasurama situation reveals that the developer still hasn’t provided the documents showing that they have the money necessary to proceed with the development. I am concerned that the Labour cabinet are being a bit naive over this one, the lack of using the opportunity to ask for a flood risk assessment suggests a callous approach to local people’s safety which the other local political parties no longer seem to share. Perhaps concern for local people only applies when in opposition. However it is the motives of both the council offices and the developer that I think the Labour cabinet may be confused about, there is of course the possibility that both council offices and the developer are genuinely pursuing a development and not in one case covering their backs and the other land banking, but it does seem increasingly less likely.  


Some good news on the council owned derelict building front in Ramsgate, the café on the end of the East Pier in Ramsgate has been finally let out to a local chef, and not some sort of property consortium. His plan is to have it open around the beginning of December.

I for one am looking forward to comfortable seat, a cup of tea and a good view of Ramsgate to sketch.   

The Turner Contemporary are advertising for a press and media officer, see http://www.turnercontemporary.org/news/press-media-offer-18-month-contract it had never occurred to me the art galleries had officers, there are overtones of the art police here. It certainly suggests that the gallery is not only government funded but also government run, I wonder can art be organised by officers? Are the collectively called art officers?

I have just bunged up Clive Hart’s press release about the council officers pay consultation, it does rather beg the question, who is being consulted? I can’t find anything on the council’s consultation pages, perhaps it is like the council’s constitutional reform consultation, happening without telling anyone how to take part, or perhaps council taxpayers are not to be consulted, could it be that only senior council officers are to be consulted? Anyway Clive says it is a 90 day consultation.  

I will endeavour to ramble on here.

12 comments:

  1. With TDC a consultation is probably a working party made up of all sections of the council, who will spend their meetings shouting homophobe, poof and criminal at each other for 90 days. At the end of it the council will do whatver the cabinet have decided on all along, subject to TIG approval and the Tories will wash their hands of it.

    Clive, of course, will anounce the decision as leader, well manicured as ever and with his best side to the camera, full of self importance.

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  2. Anonymous @ 10:51 am,

    You have created a deliciously amusing picture that is worthy of Keith Waterhouse's 'Clogthorpe District Council'.

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  3. How do you think TDC will react to this,taken from the TALE facebook? Roll over and give way or put up a fight?

    Rumour has it that the NFU will be funding a court case to force Thanet Council to develop appropriate facilties at Ramsgate port and to re-open the port to live exports. If this is is found to be true we need to launch a new campign in Thanet in opposition to the NFU challenge to the Council. How dare the NFU dictate the spending priorites of the democratically elected Thanet Council. If this threat proves to be true we need to launch a petiton telling the NFU to keep their noses out of local affairs
    Ian Driver

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    1. Cllr Driver are you saying that we should defy the courts. Ramsgate is a trading port from which income is derived. If some of that income has to be invested in order to make the port suitable for the trade it is doing, then so be it. You glibly tell the NFU to keep out of local affairs, but you are not slow to try and introduce into the local council chamber, matters that are outside their remit. I also wonder what your reaction would be if a trade union insisted on health and safety requirements at places locally, say like Thanet Earth. No doubt then you would champion their cause.

      You are a bit one sided in your causes, old chap.

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    2. Tom the question was from me, Tony, not Ian Driver, just wondering how people felt having their elected Council being dictated to. Would you be allowed to do it?

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    3. I took the signature block, Ian Driver, to mean he was the author otherwise it has no relevance putting his name there unless you were quoting him.

      I am afraid when it comes to legislation Thanet District Council are well down the ladder and the ultimate sanction for live animal exports is the EU. Hence the NFU are not dictating to our local council, but challenging the legality of their decision on the issue.

      Not comfortable with animal exports, but the campaign to stop them needs to be taken to the legislatory with the power to change it. That is not TDC whatever the inflated egos may think.

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    4. Tom I did write that I took it from the TALE facebook page. Do you think it right that TDC should be made to pay for the facilities when they have higher priorities?

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    5. TDC have two choices, Tony. They sell or lease the port to a private operating company who would then have to foot the bill for these facilities. However, since TDC run the port and take the income generated, like any business they must meet the costs. You cannot have it both ways.

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    6. Third choice: they could shut the port down thus providing space for a major leisure/tourism venture.

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    7. Mr Clarke

      Please get the message. The majority of people do not want this barbaric transportation of animals to continue. I object to any Council tax payers money being spent on facilities for this trade.

      Laurence Davies

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    8. Laurence Davies, without a full poll of the people of Thanet you have no way of knowing what the majority want. As for me getting the message, I am afraid it is you that is missing the point. I am opposed to live animal exports from Ramsgate or anywhere else, but the EU is not. That is the point and if TDC are not careful they will get hit with a hefty fine and still have to improve the port facilities. Will you also object to Council tax payers money being used on lawyers and fines, for that is the direction we are going.

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    9. Tom Clarke, I appear to be getting under your skin! So we just lie down and let the EU walk all over us? I bet we are one of the few countries in that pernicious institution that actually obeys all the rules and legislation that is spewed out by Brussels and Strasbourg.

      Laurence Davies

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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.