A film screening about Thanet, it's claimed, will expose the shocking truth about how much has been lost of the isle's attractions as a holiday area.

The screening, called "Thanet On Film" shows footage of the area from the 1920s to the present day and shows Thanet at the peak of its popularity.

The film-maker behind the screening, Christine Tongue, said: "We will be showing Thanet in the days when tourists were literally pouring onto its beaches and thronging its attractions. Margate, Ramsgate and Broadstairs were all packed with visitors."

Christine said that the footage provides vivid evidence of the mismanagement of Thanet. "When people see these pictures they will say, how could this have happened? How could our politicians have got it so wrong?"

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» Continue Reading: Screening will show how much Thanet has lost

This Saturday get yourself down to the Oldest Pub in Margate and help raise money for Kent Air Ambulance. If you get there by about 2pm you should be nice and snug somewhere by the time KMFM's Johnny Lewis shows up. I understand that Jonny boy will be drawing the raffle and helping to announce who has won the £80 bottle of drink (it's big) by guessing how much cash was in the other bottle.

I poped in there earlier this week which is how I learned that sponsored events have been going on already and the owners are hoping to raise more then ever before. They are not so very far off doing it too. Sadly I have commitments that will be keeping me very far from most things all weekends so have a pint for me and tell them I sent you.

The pub, as if you needed telling, is the Northen Belle which is tucked away opposite what may one day be the Turner Centre. The Northen Belle has been listed in the Good Beer Guide for many years running so you know that its going to be good inside.

I have been looking at planning applications on the very badly made planning application website. One particular one got my interest planning application F/TH/09/0518 which is due to be considered. It interested me because it was both mundane and simple and a reapplication. Last year the church group that owns the property applied to extend the wall a little to make the hall a little larger. (F/TH/08/1139).

They had specified that they would rebuild in such a way as to reuse the original materials and retain the characteristics of the building. There was only one objection that was worried that there might be more noise and more cars and so parking off street might be an issue. Kent highways felt this was unlikely and it was noted that the building had been a school and light industrial in its time so this would be no real change.

So all objects settled it all looked good for the application but someone decided that the flush wall all along would not look as good as an irregular shaped wall and so they said no.

Given some of the ugly things TDC have said yes to this seems a little hypocritical. Any way we'll soon find out if this church gets a bigger hall and a new fire exit and if not what the excuse is this time.


I can't link to the applications due to the unusual nature of the planning website which requires you to enter the planning number every time.

The launch of Hollywould took place with a "premier" and sneak peak at the first six episodes. The video on Kent TVs website (which I found eventually) is full of praise for this innovation. But what is so innovative about an am-dram film that comes in at under an hour? People have been making those for ages.


Myth Kent TV Claims: This is the first ever drama to be souly on the Internet.

Unless you have been living under a rock somewhere you will be aware that YouTube and countless other sites like it have been home to dramas, animations and film releases created exclusively for the Internet. this has been going on for some time now.


Myth Hollywould is interactive.

No mater how many times you say it does not make it true. A DVD player is interactive by those standards. The only interactivity ist hat it is responsive to input. However Interactive drama allows the audience to interact with the drama. It's not rocket scince here. A common way to have a drama be interactive is to have the outcomes chosen by audience vote.


Myth Hollywould is special and better because it is on demand.

Big deal. The Internet is on demand. With normal TV a decent computer and a copy of MythTV and normal TV is on demand too.


Myth This is the model of how local authorities should communicate with young people. Kent TV claim that With young people using sites like youtube and facebook we need to be using the same sorts of tools.

That statment demonstrates the fallacy that separates the dinosaur age mentality that created Kent TV and the reality of modern marketing. If you want to communicate with a group you do not create a new silo and try and get them to visit it. You go and be where your target audience is and present them with something that meets their needs. The world of "I talk you listen" is dead folks so get with the program.


Myth All the young people in Kent are going to watch Hollywould and learn stuff.

According to Alexa Kent TV get's about a quater of the traffic that Thanet Star does and most people in the real world have never heard of Thanet Star. What hope has the slef congratuary Kent TV got? Put that content on Youtube and watch as the traffic count shoots up... oh but wait, then they couldn't justify the expensive website.

Get ready to watch the most utterly diabolic five minuets of film work you are likely to see.

After the brow beating that Tony Flaig gave the announcement that Kent TV were going to sink a pile of money into making a "soap" for the YouTube generation and then the dismissive negativity that Luke Edwards handed it I really wanted to find a way to praise this film just to be different. It just was not possible.

From the moment the film opened you could see where the budget had gone - the title sequence. Which right there shows us that Kent TV understand the Youtube generation about as well as your average conservative councillor understands what life on an estate is like.

The problem was that the title sequence was good. Too good.

What followed was a limp peace that can best be described as an advert for Canturbury wherein the script writer(s) blandly tell us what can be found there. This is backed up by a series of lifeless mid distance shots. What was called for with that script were images that counterpoint the claims of the character with a little irony but sadly this civic work could not break out of it's County Council funding to lampoon the capital of Kent.

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» Continue Reading: What the hell is that supposed to be, Kent TV?

Thanet right now is competing in a world wide fashion show and guess what - we're loosing.

You can see we are loosing because the shops are closing, the economy is drying up and the local council is spending ever more money painting the windows and telling us the train is still moving.

The answer, so they tell us, is to build a big art gallery. Art is safe, people like art. That, however, is the problem.

Safe is risky. Safe is failure. Safe is not safe any-more.

People are not going to travel from Hong Kong, New York, Tokyo and Paris to look at art in Thanet Kent. They are not going to travel that far because they have art galleries in those cities already and they are not all that interesting anyway.

People are not obsessed with art and art galleries. How many people left Thanet in 2008 for the express purpose of seeing the inside of an art gallery?

Do you know of anyone who wakes up one morning and says let's get the kids in the car and drive up to London to look at some art today? It's not a very common thing to say.

What is a lot more common is people say I'm going to be in London for a few days maybe I'll pop into the Tate if I find myself at a loose end and guess what a lot of them do not pop into the Tate because they are busy with whatever brought them to London.

It's nice that we might one day have a big concrete box to put works of art in. Given the choice between us having it and some place in Essex having it I'd choose us but let's not imagin that this is the answer to anything.

The building is a safe design, the art is safe art and the location is safe. You can't blame TDC and KCC for wetting their pants over the dfesign of the building given the failure of the first few designs. Admittedly those failures were due to people thinking that they could ignore history but even so - the councils wanted safe. They got safe and as such it changes nothing.

Why do people go to the Tate Modern? Why do we talk about the Louvre?

Because they are remarkable. The Tate Modern houses collections of unlikely junk that then get outlandish price tags. So much so that the real art appears to be in getting people to pay six or seven figures for a chopped up sheep or an unmade bed. However shocking, however devoid of artistic merit these works may or may not be they attract attention because they are not safe.

The truth of the mater is that as a district Thanet is in the fashion business and is approaching the cat walk in sideways pressed flannel trousers, a grey nylon shirt and a large water proof rain coat.

Meanwhile we are coming last behind the towns that are sporting the equivalent of the latest collection from Emporio Armani, the cities sponsored by Gucci and the regions that have managed a Burberry item or two.

In the conceptual night club Thanet is the scruffy kid in the corner that can't dance and didn't remeber to shower. Putting on an over priced pair of sensible shoes doesn't realy change much.

Burlesque dancing for breast cancer

The burlesque seems to have captured the imagination of locals this year and if it has captured your imagination then you might be interested in a burlesque breast cancer fundraise in Broadstairs.

So if you want to get in touch with your inner burlesque queen the place to be is Miss Maybe's workshop in Broadstairs on Sunday 25th October.

Burlesque performer Miss Maybe promises to teach her students moves that will increase their confidence and inspire them to unleash their inner minx.

Miss Maybe said: Burlesque celebrates every shape and size. There is no ideal shape. It celebrates who you are. I've been amazed at the confidence and feeling of elation just learning a few simple moves can give you.

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» Continue Reading: Burlesque dancing for breast cancer

After the effort that Thanet District Council has made a to force households to sort their own rubbish video footage has proven it all goes to landfill anyway.

So apparently we in Thanet recycle for nothing. Meanwhile KCC is under pressure for not meeting recycling targets.

This video filmed this morning and posted of facebook.com shows TDC bin men putting recycling bags in with the regular rubbish.



The video was shot by facebook user Micheal who says: I caught the binmen loading recycling bags into their dustcart on video this morning, I have grown tired of all the councils promises and their extra spying policies, so this is me spying them doing the dirty on everyone who has seperated and cleaned their recycling just to be thrown into landfill. he goes on to add towards the end you see the actual recycling guys in their truck just sitting there while the blue bags are poured into the dustcart IN FRONT OF THEM.

According to comments Micheal says that he has told the rubbish collection agency that he has seen them doing this in the past. I told them and they ignored me last time till i said i had some photos then the manager and his large monkey came to intimidate me and wanted the photo. he says. Michael had been hoping this would be enough to get them to change their ways its not like they haven't had a break coz everyone deserves a break to show they are capable of change and it seems all they are capable of is destroying my hopes and trust!