Old Thanet Family? Is your name Mentioned in; The History and Antiquities of the Church and Parish of St. Laurence.

Following the publication of “The History and Antiquities of the Church and Parish of St. Laurence” by Charles Cotton, several people have emailed me asking if their family is mentioned in it.

I have published the index of names from it click here to read it I am sorry it didn’t come out on the web in quite the format I expected, my web publishing program is more out of date than the version of MS Word I am using.

I have also now got a buy it now button configured for it click here to go there.

Copies of the book have gone off to addresses all over the world and despite the books small print I have been getting very encouraging feedback.

Kent County Council Bank

As KCC has announced it is considering forming a bank and in light if its recent losses in the Icelandic banking system, I wondered what people thought about this.

Would you trust them with your money?

Northdown House and Ramsgate maritime Museum.

Of TDCs asset disposal program the two assets that I have found people to be most interested in are Northdown House and Ramsgate Maritime Museum.

TDC know that a lot of people in Ramsgate wish to retain the Maritime Museum and frankly we only seem to have lost it because the trustees forgot to renew the lease.

With Northdown house however probably a similar amount of people wishing to keep it as a public venue and according to the press release below the council actually listend to them..

With Northdown house the council are implying that that they have capitulated due to popular demand so why not the Maritime Museum too, perhaps I am being cynical here, but could it be that they are only extending the consultation period and even considering transferring it to the community itself (whatever that means) because they can’t get round the legal covenants that say it must be used for the benefit of the local community.

Buying books as Christmas presents

Customer feed back is suggesting that quite a lot of people coming into the shop would like books that I have in stock for Christmas.

Quite a lot of people would like local history books, either those published by me or those published by others that we have in stock and I am trying to think of ways to make this easier. Obviously people don’t want to buy a present for someone that has already got it.

I have published an up to date list of my own publications, so you can print it out and tick what you already have, click here for it after some experimentation I have found that it is easier to print out if you paste it into word first.

I don’t take conventional Book Tokens, which are the province of the full price bookshop world, I do however issue my own which can make useful presents.

PARTY LEADER CALLS FOR GREEN NEW DEAL FOR THANET

IMS Press Release

Caroline Lucas, leader of the Green Party, and Kent’s Green MEP, will call for a radical “green new deal” for Thanet when she speaks at a public meeting in Ramsgate on Friday December 12th.

Thanet, she says, should turn away from developments such as the controversial China Gateway plan and the destruction of greenfield sites, and instead pursue an alternative, more sustainable, economic strategy.

She said: “We must take action to stop the area being developed to death. Thanet needs a green new deal with a range of social and environmental measures to deal with the recession and create a more just and sustainable economy.”

Her plan for action for the isle includes:

--abandoning Manston Airport and turning it into a centre for leisure

--the transformation of Margate seafront and the rebuilding of Dreamland

--a growth in Thanet’s further and higher education opportunities

--the expansion of organic farming.

The meeting, called by the Campaign for the Protection of Rural England, will discuss the biggest environmental issues facing the isle including Thanet Earth, the China Gateway proposal, the giant greenhousing development Thanet Earth and the plans for Manston Airport.

Film-maker Norman Thomas who is chairing the meeting said the meeting is even more critical given the current economic situation. “We face the prospect of a terrible slump. But this is going to be all the worse because we have political leaders in Thanet who have pinned all our hopes of employment on things which are going to be the most badly affected -- like property development, warehouses and the airport.

“We in Thanet need to do a huge rethink and ask where are the real jobs of the future are going to come from. Otherwise we’re on the road to catastrophe.

“Anyone who is concerned about the future of the area should come and put their point of view.”

The meeting will be held at St George’s Hall, Broad Street, Ramsgate at 7.30 pm on Friday December 12th. For more details telephone Christine Tongue on 01843 604253 or email inmeds@yahoo.co.uk. Picture attached of Caroline Lucas.

For information about Caroline Lucas please ring
Melissa Freeman Media Officer to Caroline Lucas MEP Suite 58 The Hop Exchange 24 Southwark Street London SE1 1TY
Office: 020 7407 9935 Mobile: 07950 382149

The future of Northdown House

Thanet District Council Press Release

Local people have another chance to have their say on the future of Northdown House at a drop in session being held later this month (December).

Following responses from the consultation earlier this year and subsequent legal advice, residents will be given two options for the future use of the building. The first option is for public use, which could include community or charitable usage, social services, health services or social housing. The second option is for transfer of Northdown House, with additional covenants, to the community itself.

Residents are invited to an informal consultation session at Northdown House to discuss these options and can call in at any time on Wednesday 10 December between 3.00 and 7.00pm. They will be able to look around the property, speak with council officers and put forward suggestions for any potential viable uses for the building.

Although Northdown House was agreed as surplus to the council’s requirements, as part of the first asset management consultation held earlier this year, a decision on its future was deferred so that further discussion could be held with petitioners and those who were opposed to its disposal. Almost 2,000 names were submitted as part of the petition and a total of 50 representations were made on this site, more than any of the 15 other sites in this consultation.

Cllr. Roger Latchford, Cabinet Member for Economy and Culture, said: “Following the response from the first consultation we know that Northdown House is close to residents’ hearts. We’ve taken onboard what people have said to us and now want their views on how the building could be used in the future. Although it’s been agreed as surplus to the council’s needs, we know that residents want to see the building retained for community use. To do that, we need to look at how this could be achieved. One issue that needs considering is that maintenance will be required to keep the building safe and usable for the public. I really hope that people will take this opportunity to work together with the council to establish something both the community and council can be proud of”.

Christmas Rubbish

Thanet District Council Press Release

Details of this year’s Christmas and New Year changes to waste and recycling collections have been announced by Thanet District Council.

There will be no changes for anyone who has collections on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, with collections for both wheeled bins and black sacks continuing as normal on those days throughout the Christmas and New Year period. The changes will apply to those who usually have their collections on Thursday or Friday, with full details below:

If your wheeled bin or black bags are due to be collected on
It will be collected on
Monday 22 December
NO CHANGE – Monday 22 December
Tuesday 23 December
NO CHANGE – Tuesday 23 December
Wednesday 24 December
NO CHANGE – Wednesday 24 December
Thursday 25 December (Christmas Day)
Saturday 3 January 2009
Friday 26 December (Boxing Day)
Friday 2 January 2009
Monday 29 December
NO CHANGE – Monday 29 December
Tuesday 30 December
NO CHANGE – Tuesday 30 December
Wednesday 31 December
NO CHANGE – Wednesday 31 December
Thursday 1 January (New Year’s Day)
Saturday 3 January 2009
Friday 2 January
Collection of 26 December and 2 January waste
Saturday 3 January
Collection of Christmas Day and New Year’s Day waste

If you are on the wheeled bin scheme, then you can put both the black lidded waste bin and the blue lidded recycling bin out for collection on Friday 2 and Saturday 3 January, but the contents of both bins will be sent to landfill sites. Therefore, residents are being encouraged, wherever possible, to save the recycling in their blue bin until their next scheduled collection. Bottles, paper and cans can also be taken to the recycling banks across Thanet and the Kent County Council recycling sites at Manston Road, Margate and Ramsgate Road, Richborough. The recycling sites are open every day between 8am and 4.30pm (9am until 4pm on Sunday 28 December) over Christmas, except for Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day.

Cllr. Shirley Tomlinson, Cabinet Member for Commercial and Environmental Services, said: “Arranging waste and recycling collections over the Christmas and New Year period is always challenging, as we want to ensure that we provide the best possible service we can to our customers, while also recognising the needs of our hard working staff. Like everyone else in the country, Christmas is a family time for our refuse crews and they deserve time to themselves. This year, for the first time, they are having a whole weekend off over the Christmas period, which we know has been very welcome. I know we won't satisfy all of the people all of the time but our staff also deserve to spend time over the festive season with their family and friends and I’m sure our residents will understand that.”

To minimise disruption to waste collections on the wheeled bin scheme, anyone due to have their blue lidded recycling bin collected on either Thursday 18 or Friday 19 December should put their black lidded waste bin instead out for collection on those dates. Those properties affected have been advised by a separate letter.

Cllr. Tomlinson added: “We’ve also done our best to minimise disruption for our residents, and anyone with collections on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays is unaffected over the Christmas period. Experience over many years shows that this is the easiest way to manage collections and results in the least disruption for people. To those who will have changes to their collections, please ensure that you put your bins or black bags out for collection on the dates advised. We’ve worked to ensure that there is as little disruption as possible, particularly to waste collections on the wheeled bin scheme, so do double check the information that has been sent to homes to ensure that you are putting the right bin out on the right day. As far as recycling goes, don’t forget that you can take your paper, glass bottles, tins and cans to the recycling banks or the Kent County Council recycling sites.

There will be no garden waste collections from Thursday 25 December until Friday 9 January, with normal service resuming on Monday 12 January. Bulky waste collections will not be available between Monday 22 December and Friday 2 January and there will be no paper and card collections on Thursday 25 December (Christmas Day), Friday 26 December (Boxing Day) or Thursday 1 January (New Year’s Day).

Margate the new Cannes

Reader Terry sent me this picture, which he thinks we may find moderately amusing, it is of course Margate in South Africa