The Town of Deal in books and pictures and of course some Thanet pictures

 Starting with a picture of a mine on Deal Beach in 1943 all the pictures should expand wiht a bit of clicking

Then Deal Pier in 1863

Deal boatmen

We Went to Deal yesterday mainly to visit the Oxfam Bookshop there, I bought some books including one about Ramsgate.

This works both way as quite a few of our customers, here at Michael's Bookshop in Ramsgate, come from Deal.  

We do stock books about Deal History as well as book about Isle of Thanet History, it is important to understand that our maritime history is linked to Deal's maritime history. 

Excellent lunch in King's Coffee Shop almost next to Oxfam Bookshop at the end of the High Street

Not many pictures of Deal as busy with books.

next some old Ramsgate pictures 

next some Margate pictures

Queen of Kent

These are the frozen sea in 1963

Back at work today here at Michael's Bookshop Link to the books we put out today

Mostly the towns of Deal and Ramsgate and some archive Margate and Ramsgate photos

This print showing the view across Ramsgate sands with Ramsgate Harbour in the middle and Deal on the left was produced about 200 years ago in 1817. It should expand fairly well if you click on it.

This is a detail from one of the photos of Ramsgate I took from Deal Pier today.

Here is the whole photo which should also expand with a bit of clicking. Hand held long zoom photography is a bit hit and miss. My camera a Nikon P610 which dates from early in 2015 is a becoming a bit of an antique, I am looking to replace it with something better if anyone has any ideas about this.

this is the link to the rest of the photos I took today

Arriving at Deal after a lazy morning and an extended breakfast it was a case of elevenses at about half twelve so we made for the Cafe on the end of Deal Pier, Niall McLaughlin architects 2008, the building is an extrusion with repeating bays of timber ribs. Cool air is drawn through the underside of the deck and out through roof vents. A wind turbine, used to help power the building in use and can heat the external benches for use by the anglers at night.

This has changed hands fairly recently and is now Deal Pier Kitchen, fairly up market but much better from my point of view, now a reasonable place to paint from.

I started a sketch from there over cake and a cuppa.

As you would expect Deal and Ramsgate are rival towns, lifeboat (long history now sadly gone) fishing, and today tourism and shopping. Back in the day, foying, smuggling, stealing each others lobster pots, Deal Town Centre is edging ahead, less antisocial behaviour, broken pavements, cleaner, signs reminding people that begging is illegal and so on.

My main task for the day was buying books for Michael's Bookshop where I work here in Ramsgate

link to the photos of the books we put out yesterday

A few miniatures of Ramsgate next, I wouldn't expect these to expand well

Early 1900s I think.

Margate next