Old photos; Winterstoke Gardens in Ramsgate and some Margate gardens: new photos Ramsgate and Whitstable today, bit of sketching, couple of Ramsgate exhibitions

Gardening is closed book to me, I decided years ago that when I went downstairs I wanted a bookshop, but first some old local garden pictures

Art

York Street Gallery in Ramsgate, The current exhibition is Kate Willis-Crowley
The exhibition runs 27th June - 4th July
Gallery open normal hours.
Here are the photos

Nice Things Harbour Street Ramsgate,
Here are the photos

I went to Whitstable today

 Painted from the balcony of The Horsebridge Arts Centre 

Genuine P.G. Tips and not unnamed English Breakfast Tea from the European tea mountian, I will go back until the painting is done

Photos of Whitstable today here is the link to them unedited from my camera card

The Mitre gates seem to have gone in and the entrance to the inner basin of Ramsgate Harbour seems to have been completely closed by the huge barge with the crane on. Both Wetherspoons and the cafe culture were very busy wen I went for my walk this evening

Here is the link to the Ramsgate camera photos, a few from yesterday but most from today

Ramsgate is busier this June we are selling more books than last June, both Wetherspoons and the cafe culture seem busy

We ate at the Green Tara aka Belgian Cafe last night, probably soon the Green Goddess, the food was very good.

Sorry to cram so much in one post but I'm busy at the moment 

Finally this is the link to the books that went out in the bookshop yesterday 

Turner Contemporary Muzak, West Bay Cafe Westgate

Three old pictures of Westgate - on - Sea to start with

We started today buying books in Herne Bay, and got to Westgate for a late breakfast of toast Marmalade with a pot of tea.

 This cafe is a very useful one and I use it fairly often

On to the Margate bookshops, Bank Bookshop and Hooked on Books

Lunch being a bacon sarni and a pot of tea at turner contemporary cafe, this was spoilt by ghastly piped muzak, goodness knows what it was supposed to be, one of those no base no treble speakers that may have been some sort of artistic statement that was beyond comprehension.

Anyway no painting there today, we done a runner

Here is the link to the photos I took before my artistic sensibilities took over 

Back in the bookshop, (no piped muzak) Here is the link to the books that went out yesterday  

Come on guys - music is an art-form; don't treat it this way.

Ramsgate to The Tower of London by Train

I was in London today, not much time as getting to the London Bridge, Tower Bridge part of London involves over four hours of travel and I had appointments in London.

I have worked an eight hour day with four hours of commuting, but wouldn't recommend it, I did it on various motorcycles which I enjoyed riding about 100 miles twice a day, but no - I wouldn't recommend it on a train.

It wasn't that bad: air con both ways.

Anyway the train from Ramsgate - you have to be very careful to get the right one - London Bridge mainline station takes you right to

 HMS Belfast

which I sketched with a felt tip over a Sanisbury (just around the corner) sarni

 but "no time" as Linton Quasi Johnson would rap.

The train £24.50 and 2 hours straight to this part of London from Ramsgate, well worth considering food 2 x meal deal @ £3 so £30.50 for a day on the Town - worth considering.

Link to camera card photos

Ramsgate Harbour Gates and Bridge repair a bit of painting from Wetherspoons

I took part of the day off from working in the bookshop today

Lunch at Wetherspoons aka The Royal Victoria Pavilion

Fiddling with railings after Tissot and possibly Esher type of kidney, in watercolour. My requirements for painting are comfortable chair (in this case augmented with inflatable cushion) continuous supply of tea and coffee (pay £1.50 for one and all the rest are free) nearby toilet, view worth trying to paint, good atmosphere (I can't stress the how pleasant and courteous the staff there are enough).

Added to this is the tech side, meaning that I can order and pay for food using the app on my phone.

On to the bridge and harbour gates repair. The word on the street is that they don't have one of the parts for the bridge and everything has had to be delayed because of this.

Engineering hat on for this bit, as I haven't had a chance to ask anyone about it there may be mistakes. Above is one of the mitre gates.

Ramsgate has two sets of lock gates that keep the level of water in the inner basin

1 a pair of mitre or pointing gates

2 a single gate that drops onto the bottom of the harbour when it is open a flap gate.

from when the flap gate was installed, I think in the 1970s the mitre gates have been the emergency backup.

at the moment the mitre gates have been removed and repaired and are in Ramsgate to be reinstalled.

 I take this visit to be for installing the mitre gates and bridge and removing the flap gate.

 Red arrows point to equipment for removing the flap gate and blue arrows equipment for installing the mitre gates

 so one caisson double ended to go up against each side of the flap gate pumped dry to get it out of 

 and one vee shaped diving bell with an access tube at both ends to do the bottom seal and pivots for the mitre gate

 well that's what I make of it looking at the equipment.

Shop assistant hat back on now

This is the link to the books that went out in the bookshop today

here are the links to the content of my camera card, a few near misses there

Link A

Link B

 Venus

When are the mitre fallen, ramsgate mitre lock gates, crosswall bridge and a very strong crane.

The word on the street is that the harbour crosswall bridge won't be ready for Armed Forces day so that marching around the harbour will present difficulties.

Zooming in on the barge with the crane on it

 it looks like the mitre gates have arrived.

whether we will ever be able to walk across either the mitre gates or the gates that like the kraken rise from the deep is another matter.

 Work on the gates mechanism looks to fairly well advanced

also with the bridge

On the work front I am on the laborious task of removing old stock from the shelves of the bookshop

this is the link to the books we put out today

Back to the harbour, on the other side this evening, lock gate engineering isn't my field and I don't really have the time for research.

I think the large steel things that look like 2 metre or more diameter pipes that have been cut in half longitudinally and have padded plastic are caissons which will be put into the water against the crosswall in an upright position and the pumped dry to allow engineers access the lock gate mechanism.

Here is the link to today's photos mostly they relate to repairing the lock gates and bridge. 

work on the Pleasurama site is consistent with the rumour that the end by the Pavilion is to be surfaced for a funfair.

Apologies for the boys with toys aspect next, trick photography, the camera never lies! What never?

So tucked up in my glass caisson, behold the view from the bottom of the harbour. If I get a chance after I have eaten I will try to add some historic photos of the gates.