Isle of Thanet Visitors Guide for 1901 + ramble

A featured local book today, one of the ones I do a modern reprint facsimile wosisname, here is the inevitable link to the buy it now http://michaelsbookshop.com/catalogue/id166.htm and below the first 25 pages of the guide which should expand if you click on them.

The council have just sent me the press release saying that they exchanged contracts on the Pav yesterday, which is due to open next summer.

Lunch, all day breakfast, wosisname at Candy’s aka Topps – oh well £3 inc tea

I tried to sketch the Pav over lunch, but as you see it didn’t quite work out, trouble is that the variegations that would give it shape are for the most part in reality virtually flat – a straight line in reality. So this is one of several preliminary sketches that form part of the process of me working out how to draw it so it looks both three dimensional and fairly normal.

Some nice books went out in my bookshop today, see http://michaelsbookshop.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/some-beautiful-bindings-arrive-on-our.html

Royal Victoria Pavilion Ramsgate and Wetherspoons Update.

I would imagine that most of the readers of this blog know that The Royal Victoria Pavilion in Ramsgate is due to be turned into what is rumoured to be the largest pub in England by J D Wetherspoon.

Planning consent was granted on 13^th April and has now appeared on the council’s website see https://planning.thanet.gov.uk/online-applications/files/261DE52F8B42CC792F670E7C29FAF245/pdf/F_TH_14_1170-DECISION_NOTICE-382145.pdf

I understand that the leasehold has now been transferred to J D Wetherspoon and that the keys have been handed over, there is an element of hearsay in this.

The first activity, which is happening on site today, is the installation of an alarm system and the proper securing of the building.

I would say that it is reasonable to call this “work starts on the Pav” but haven’t headlined it this way as like so many things in Thanet, the information leaks out.

You can view all of the documents online by going to https://planning.thanet.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=documents&keyVal=ZZZZMPQEBJ826

Personally now that this is happening I am 100% behind it and hope the development is finished as soon as possible, I also hope that this will serve as a catalyst to get the other developments in this part of Ramsgate moving forward in some way that makes sense.

So wot’s it like inside, here are the links to the pictures I took of the inside

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/pav2010/index.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/pav2010/id3.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/pav2010/id4.htm

http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/pav2010/id5.htm

Having just finished work and read through this blog post checking the links it seems that once again the council’s wretched planning website has gone down. Not my fault and I will try to copy the approval document when it comes back. In the meantime here are the books that went out in my bookshop today http://michaelsbookshop.blogspot.co.uk/2016/05/chocolate-wars-in-bookshop.html   

As promised the decision notice click on it to big it

New watercolour of Margate Pier and Lighthouse

This the beginning of another water colour paining of Margate from the café of Turner Contemporary art gallery, The £10 note is for scale.

Having escaped the gloomy weather if the British bank holiday into one of the few places in Thanet where you can paint without some sort of motor vehicle parking in the way

I tried adding to the watercolour of Margate that I have already got on the go, the tide was out today and when I started painting it the tide was in, so in the end I started the new one.

I went on until the blinds came down, which is the tactful way they throw you out there.   

Watercolour painting in Chocolate Café Canterbury legs

A bit more progress with the Canterbury watercolour painting, I wanted to be looking down on the legs under the tables and for a bit I leant around my table looking at people’s legs, which didn’t seem to work. Why? Well there were chairs in the way, for one thing. In the end I looked out of the window, down onto the people sitting outside La Trappiste – the café opposite and painted their legs, obviously as I painted the top half of the people last week, so I want going to get the same peoples legs this week. I suppose there is a sense in which it hasn’t quite worked but then legs in cafés do sometimes have a bit of a life of their own – sometimes.     

Watercolour painting of Margate from Turner Contemporary finished

I hope this painting captures something of Margate's atmosphere that's a bit different to what you would get from a photograph.

Here is the photo for art critics

there was also a warm up painting from the cafe on the sun-deck on the beach

Christopher Milham at York Street Gallery in Ramsgate

The current exhibition is by Thanet painter Christopher Milham Exhibition runs  27th Apr - 4th May Exhibitions change weekly on Wednesdays.