It’s fireworks for the council.

 As far as I can see the only New Year public firework display in East Kent this year is in Ramsgate. We have one every year unless the weather makes it impossible.

The fireworks can be seen from the seafront, cliff tops, beaches, harbour area and associated café culture.

This is not a domestic firework display like you would have in someone’s back garden, so you don’t need to be in the garden to see it.

Probably the best indoor vantage point will be The Royal Harbour Brasserie, (café on the end of the pier) I would think Wetherspoon’s and all of the bars facing the harbour seafront area will be ok too, although as a painter of pictures I can assure you seats in a window with a view are always at a premium.

In Thanet the main internet forum used to be blogs, but frankly what started as local people chatting freely in a local internet forum became unmanageable for the individual blogger. 

 Well now the main local internet forums are on Facebook and most of the comment about the firework display is like another type of fireworks display, with interesting features like:-

Why isn’t the money being spent on:-

The homeless?

Rough sleepers?

Sweeping the streets?

Emptying the rubbish?

Mending the potholes?

 This fireworks display, the one in the sky over Ramsgate Harbour, is being put on (funded) by the council, you understand.

Having a few pints down the local and blaming it all on the council is one thing and for the most part everyone will agree with you.

On the internet there is a different issue, you either write stuff no one wants to read, nonsense, advertising, spam and of course no one will read it, or you write stuff that interests people – here in Thanet, local news, history, politics and people will read it and expect it to be roughly right. 

 Facebook, and the internet however is about attaching the incredible to the credible, isn’t it?

Anyway three councils and the fireworks are being paid for by one. In this case Ramsgate Town Council that is not responsible for the homeless, rough sleepers, sweeping the streets, emptying the rubbish or mending the potholes.

 The money that Ramsgate council spends comes from:-

The people living in Ramsgate, petitioning for and subsequently voting for paying extra on their council tax bill.

Grant funding.

Bequests

The other councils Kent County Council and Thanet District Council are responsible for the homeless, rough sleepers, sweeping the streets, emptying the rubbish, mending the potholes and probably a lot more. 

 The pictures are of last year's display

 here is the link to the pictures of the books we have just put out 

Some old postcards of Ramsgate and Margate and I fess up over the phone

I think all of the pictures in this post will expand if clicked on in the blog and then the expanded image should expand again when clicked on.

Looking at the back of this postcard, does it date from 1914 and say "No signs of war here."?

It loos to me like a man to man card

 this one "Havent forgotten ... so long" was Margate providing a happy oblivion? Is this a woman to woman card?

 Oh well one decoding is another encoding, particularly where local history is concerned. The point wosisname here is to try and learn how to use the new phone for copying pictures. All I have done is to open an album in the window and take a few of the pictures in it in natural light.

 I am still not sure with my emergency replacement phone whether I have bought betamax, but I think it should have been the one that said "Plus" on the end of the name and not "Play"

 but as you can see the the pictures are not coming out too bad, these are all the only and first shots, no deletions and retakes.

 an interesting bit of photo colouration here from 1905 resulting in a fairly good depition of a night shot.

 On the back and back in 1905, Ern seems to be saying I like you these moonlight cards

 nothing on the back of this one

 nor this one

 This is a hand coloured steel engraving from around 1860 I think.

 done this one before, from 1906 so the euphemisms are probably lost on us.

 Does, “Not seen many Jonnies to suit yet” mean not seen many fit blokes?

interesting to find this one with tomorrow's date in 1903 on it, there is a sense where the people of 100 years ago were good at saying something when there wasn't really anything to say. I do a lot of this here on the blog and take my word for it. it ain't easy.

Out and about in Ramsgate this afternoon

 Camera Canon S3 IS and not the phone

 Always different down the seafront

 The cafe culture seems reasonably busy considering the new Wetherspoons

 about what I would expect for bright weekday afternoon in midwinter

 I think there may be a tipping point where we go from the other cafe and bars being quieter than before the new Wetherspoons, to where they are busier than they would have been before it, becase of it.

A bit of an ongoing post this one, so I may have added more if you come back later.

 as you see not a huge amount of people wandering about

 Wetherspoons looked fairly busy from outside though

We are back to work in the bookshop tomorrow so here it the link to the books newly in

 I am still concerned about falling sand levels which i think may give overtopping issues both for the Pav and the Pleasurama site

Here is the moon over Ramsgate this evening