Boom and Bust Budget?

Looking at the budget out of which I seem to come out about the same, in terms of personal finances, there were a few aspects that I didn’t like that much, however I expect those who understand more about economics or the sound of underground spirits better than I do will soon correct me on.

The first is the way the VAT rise has been handled, in as much as this seems likely to cause a minnie boom at he end of this year followed by a minnie bust at the beginning of next.

In physics there is a thing called the butterfly effect and I hope it doesn’t apply with underground spirit noises.

Another is the personal allowance thing, doling out this extran money in the same amount to everyone with an income under £101,000 per year seems a bit daft really, I don’t really think it is appropriate to be giving tax breaks to people earning over £1,000 pounds a week.

The other thing I don’t like the look of is that the wrst off of the pensioners seem to be hit disproportional hard.

The things I am not sure that it addresses that well are, the people at the bottom end of the skills bracket who are only marginally better off working than being on benefit and the public sector pension burden.

Anyway as I said I am a bit out of my depth here, and with books being zero rated the VAT increase will probably be pretty much offset by the increase in personal allowance, so I come out about the same.

Here is the link to the most recent pictures http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/610/id32.htm yesterday evening in Broadstairs, a few people dressed up in Dickens, period costume, something that only occurred to me after trying to photograph the Dickens costumes is that there are quite a few marginals in Broadstairs.

By this I mean they are not wearing clothing that relates to this period of time, but it often doesn’t look as though they are wearing clothing that relates to Dickens period of time either.

This isn’t any sort of criticism of people in Broadstairs and suppose it often most describes the group I fall into.

The rest of the page is pictures of Ramsgate today.

Sewage in Ramsgate harbour update.

The council have taken the emergency measure of capping off the sewage pipe and filling in the hole, I think there are several possible problems here, one being that the condition of the pipe suggested that the sewage would just leak out a bit further along, another is that there is a sluice just like the one that was leaking raw sewage into the harbour to the west a bit and that obviously needs investigating as well.

They were both constructed for the same purpose, flushing the western undercliff outfall pipe and were both connected together within the same system.

The problem for me is that at one time, once I knew that the council were aware of the problem, I would have just dropped the issue assuming that they would do all of the appropriate things to protect the public.

Now both with KCC and TDC as I have pointed out public safety issues to them in the past which still remain unresolved – an example being the failure to set a weight limit for vehicles using the footpath, adjacent to the cliff, top side, behind the Pleasurama development – I find I now have to pursue this sort of thing until I have some sort if written answer confirming their intent. Frankly this is embarrassing and time consuming for all involved, but I don’t see any other course of action as contact with raw sewage can kill people.

Obviously to inspect this maze of old sewers and surface drainage pipes and resolve the safety issues will be an expensive business, something that I expect will make things even more difficult given the present economic climate.

The new outfall site for the Pleasurama roof drainage pipe has mostly been excavated, so far without problems.

Raw sewage running into Ramsgate Harbour and the basements along Harbour Parade.

For as long as I can remember the corner of the inner basin where the King George IV Maritime Heritage Pontoons are situated has often smelt strongly of drains and various people I know with some understanding of the history of Ramsgate’s civil engineering have told me that all is not well with the sewers in that part of Ramsgate.

Last week the workmen excavating the area around the sluice in this part of the harbour discovered a void has formed behind this sluice – something that leaks very badly in both directions – running into this is a sewer.

This means that as the rise and fall of the tide in the inner basin fills and empties this void the sewage is flushed into the harbour, as the basements in Harbour Parade flood regularly, it would also seem reasonable to assume that the floodwater there contains a proportion of sewage to a greater or lesser degree.

I should point out here that the people doing this work are competent as is the contractor for the Pleasurama development and it is my understanding that the dangerous problems here have been reported to the proper authorities.

Incidentally the sewers here and any sewage should be and theoretically have been since Victorian times, at a much greater depth, certainly deeper than the cellars in harbour parade.

The only thing that would be at this depth is surface drainage from the road and possibly peoples roofs, so this a serious problem that either relates to the early to mid 1900s sewage system still being connected, which it shouldn’t be, or that the surface drainage has been illegally tapped into.

This whole area is too dangerous for the work on the outflow to the inner basin to continue and I understand that this has now been rerouted to a different existing opening on the eastern side of the inner basin.

There is of course the more fundamental problem here, that is that the whole infrastructure in Harbour Parade would seem unlikely to be able to cope with the new Royal Sands Development, a problem that is likely to be an expensive and disruptive one.

Some of the pictures to substantiate this are really rather unpleasant, so I haven’t published them, those I have published are at http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/610/id31.htm I am not sure if this is where the scum on the water comes from but it would seem probable.

Budget protest in Ramsgate today

I heard on the BBC news there were going to protests in some towns today including Ramsgate, this seemed to be something to do with public sector pay, but was all a bit vague.

Anyway I went off to see what this was about and it did indeed seem to be something to do with today’s budget, as this was during my lunch time and the budget hadn’t been read it made things a bit difficult for the protesters.

I was a bit difficult to understand what it was that they wanted people to do about the budget that they didn’t know the content of as well. They were in Ramsgate Marketplace with a banner that read STUFF THE MARKET, their caps and indeed they were shouting through a megaphone.

Here is the link to the inevitable pictures http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/610/id30.htm
Here is a little admission of mine, during the last few days when anyone from Jehovah’s Witness, Big Issue seller or political protester tries to either hand me a leaflet or sell me something, I now hand them a card with the address of this blog on it and tell them that the pictures of them will be published online later today and linked to the blog post. So far it has done the trick every time.

Ramsgate doesn’t even seem to qualify for a lifeguard anymore and few pictures of Ramsgate and Broadstairs Sunday, yesterday and today.

The first page http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/610/id28.htm shows Broadstairs on Sunday evening.

Followed by yesterday morning in Ramsgate, a couple of points of note, the butchers in Rooks have just got new uniforms with finer striped aprons, something that may be useful when dating pictures at some time in the future.

The other is that although it is flaming June and people are swimming in the sea there doesn’t seem to be any sign of lifeguards on Ramsgate Main Sands, this is something I will check out with the council. I don’t know if this is some sort of temporary staffing glitch or another case of Ramsgate losing out, the latter could effect our blue flag status so is important.

The plant growth in the cracks that have formed in the Pleasurama cliff façade cracks that we recently paid £1m to have filled and coated is now very much in flower, more about that in a later post.

The next page http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/610/id29.htm carries on from where the previous one left off then yesterday evening in Broadstairs, more Dickens costumes here that I have also published with the rest, they look better there as I have enhanced the picture files, see http://thanetonline.blogspot.com/2010/06/pictures-of-broadstairs-dickens.html

The shepherds smock is an original Victorian one!

Much action from Broadstairs Sea Scouts, my children looked upon these mariners with considerable envy.

The girl singing and playing guitar was pretty good too, but unfortunately I didn’t have my video camera with me.

Next a few pictures from this morning, the area around the entrance to King George VI park where the cliff has recently been repaired, this may also be useful as it illustrates the area described in ECRs post http://eastcliffrichard.blogspot.com/2010/06/ramsgate-gets-cruise-thumbs-up.html

It was at this point that I became the victim of an aerial bombardment from a passing seagull and had to come home for a change of clothes.

Finally work on the old chapel in Turner Street the road behind the bookshop, it is very good to see this happening after the years of dereliction there.

Dolphins in Ramsgate Harbour, lies damned lies and local history.

I received the following email with the picture above, (copyright Gullscliff this link takes you to their website of of excellent local photographs http://gullscliff.co.uk/ ) at the end of last week:

“Hello I was wondering if you could help me out on something I saw whilst at the library the other day there is a pic of Ramsgate harbour wartime and within the harbour stood these 2 structures not unlike the maunsell sea forts but smaller in design I have enclosed a picture was just wondering if you had any more information on these structures.”

Looking at the picture you could be easily fooled into thinking these were some strange wartime structure and not something both modern and still there, I replied thus:

“Hi as far as I understand these were installed to allow the Volkswagen delivery ferries to moor side on to them in the outer basin with their sterns onto the crosswall, where the cars were unloaded.

The technical term for them is Dolphins, I believe they date from sometime in the 60s or 70s when this was moved from the western end of the inner basin and not the war.

One thing of further note is that they are still there if you go and have a look.

Below the picture I sent to him that I took this morning.

Below a picture also taken this morning of where the link span for the cars to drive off was connected to the crosswall.

Pictures of Broadstairs Dickens Festival 2010

About 300 pictures taken today mostly of the people who make a considerable effort to dress up for the Dickens Festival.

As far as the copyright goes if it is for a non commercial purpose then please feel free to use the pictures how you like, if you need any of them in high definition email me, link on the sidebar, same if you want to use any of them for commercial purposes.

If you need any of them printed out all the libraries and most copy shops should be able to do this and I will do any that I can in the bookshop for anyone who wants them, remember it is closed on Thursdays and Sundays.

Click on the links for the pictures

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/dickens/

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/dickens/id3.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/dickens/id4.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/dickens/id5.htm

More pictures here http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/dickens/id7.htm from evening 21st June.

Pictures from the evening of 22nd June 2010 http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/Dickens/id8.htm

the main advantage with the large size originals is that I can crop out part of the picture and still get a fairly high definition print for you, so if there is something modern in the background or you were carrying a plastic carrier bag I can sometimes remove it.

The pictures started publishing to the internet at 5.25pm and it will be about an hour before they are all uploaded and you can see them all, it takes a lot longer to put things on the web than to view them.

Two lots of apologies here, one is some of the pictures are on their sides and I will endeavour to sort that out tomorrow, this is because the monitor I use on my day off is much smaller that the one in the bookshop.

The other is that shop and family commitments meant that I once again failed to get pictures of Margate’s Big Event.

I should point out that this isn’t a deliberate slight to the council or Margate but due to the fact that I run the shop on Saturday and like last year one of my children’s friends birthday parties falls on the Sunday and is held in Broadstairs on that day.

Sunday Ramble

At this time of year, if the weather is ok, I just don’t get time for this but this morning with the forecast being rain and it being rather cold and windy first thing I didn’t venture out with my camera.

As it is Thanet’s microclimate seems to be producing much better was than forecast, but I am now on the roller coaster of getting up children for church and then later there will be a party to take them to, so the day is going to be fairly fragmented.

Last Sunday I was up early and having bought some plants and china at a boot fair, this left my son an me, at about 7am, somewhere inland near to Dover and Deal wondering where to get breakfast.

At that time on Sunday the only places we could think of were all in Ramsgate, so we headed back, English breakfast toast and coffee at the Belgian bar for two, just over £10, see pictures at http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/done/id10.htm

Rather an unusual sign in the loo too.

I also noticed that The Ramsgate Society have repainted the cast iron pillar at the landward end of the east pier, same page of pictures.

Followed by a walk around the harbour, same page of pictures, it was good to see the Sundowner nearly ready to go back in, but not so good to the King George IV Maritime Heritage Pontoons empty.

I then went in search of the last historic vessel to be chased off the pontoons by the council, The Cutter Emanuel, and eventually tracked her down on a quiet secure mooring in Sandwich, picture above click to enlarge.

This is realty a sad case of what happens when local government ceases to be local in any real sense and communication fails with the local community, so that the function of our elected representatives ceases to be ensuring that paid council officers produce policy that roughly coincided with local peoples wishes and instead one is governed by an elected cabinet with interests focused on other parts of the local area.

In all of this Ramsgate has become neglected, its residents misunderstood and the town’s assets appear to be regarded primarily as a source of funding for pet projects, in parts of the local area where interests are focused, these being located mostly either where cabinet members happen to either work or reside and on the area around the council chamber where they all have to meet.

Back in the days when interests were more focused around Ramsgate, The Cutter Emanuel’s owner was asked by the trust running the council funded museum to display this historic vessel in a prominent part of the harbour.

The deal was that a mooring that is difficult, lacks facilities, is subject to problems from late night revellers and is frankly useless for any commercial purpose, was offered – under various conditions – as a free mooring to historic vessels.

As far as I can see the owners of these vessels for the most part thought that they were doing local people a big favour by being there.

One an ex-lifeboat was also offered freely to the local sea cadets for their use, over a period of time council officers seem to have lost site of the limitations uses of this mooring and the benefits to the town of Ramsgate.

Eventually the council and councillors decided that these vessels would have to pay partial mooring fees, something that made this mooring one of the most expensive in the UK for them when one takes into account the moorings problems. All but one vessel, The Cutter Emanuel, left the mooring, other places were keen to have the attraction of the historic vessels and the Sea Cadets lost their main vessel.

The most recent act from the council was to tell the owner of Emanuel that he would have to pay what amounted almost to full mooring fees, so he has left and gone to a quiet cheap secure mooring, where no one can view his historic vessel.

The pontoon is of course now empty so the council are getting no fees at all from it, I don’t think there is any particular malice intended from the council here, just a complete failure to understand the situation, both in terms the problems and limitations relating to the pontoon or that the owners of the historic vessels were doing something benefice to the local community, that far exceeded anything that the council could get out of the pontoon, in terms of money to help fund their pet projects.

Anyway enough of that for a bit the next lot of pictures are of the abandoned hoverport at Pegwell, the way nature is taking back the large areas of tarmac and concrete is reminiscent of some futuristic movie where most of the world’s population have been killed by some catastrophe and nature is reasserting her grip pictures at http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/done/id11.htm

Then on to a few pictures of Ramsgate, some of them show the excellent work done by the council’s parks and gardens department.

Full circle now, where do you get breakfast at 8am on a Saturday morning in Broadstairs? More to the point as I had already had sufficient breakfast, good quality coffee and a croissant for my wife?

The answer is The Albion Hotel, pictures at http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/done/id12.htm two large very high quality coffees and croissant around £5, cooked breakfast also available from 7am weekdays and 8am weekends, something I will be sure to try soon.

No chance of Margate’s big event for me today and I know some of you think I put too many pictures on the internet, but if any of you know where I can find more than they ten or so I found of yesterday please let me know.