Margate Exodus

[porf]

That was quite a fun day.

We managed to get to the afternoon filming (wasn't too sure how to react to watching a pretend politician spout right wing vitriol to a large crowd in the middle of a shopping centre!) followed by the procession down to Dreamland, the main burning and the concert at the Wintergardens that was followed by flares and burning lettering on the beach.

I was in a campaign t-shirt, but it did end up too busy to be able to spot anyone.

All in a very different Margate weekend to normal. I'm intrigued to see how the film turns out - some of the storyline came through in the short elements that were filmed on the day, it appears a shift to the extreme political right leads to Dreamland becoming effectively an enforced camp for those regarded as "unwanted".

Thought the campaigners against more houses at Westwood made a great job of staging a (smallish) protest by the clocktower as the fake (anti-right wing) protesters came past!

The scenic fencing gained mock electric fencing and danger signs. The shanty town is all set up on the Arlington side of the scenic.



Took quite a few photos of the various parts of the day and they're currently up at http://porf.smugmug.com.

[lutonlad]

The scenic fencing gained mock electric fencing and danger signs. The shanty town is all set up on the Arlington side of the scenic.

A security guard had told me that the electric fencing set up is real and works the cables will shock you if touched along with the dome shaped chargers which carry the electricity along from one part to the next. It is to stop vandals getting in and ruining the set and stealing props etc.

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[uvegotmale2000]

there was a picture of the burning man in todays sun newspaper (2/10)

[vince69619]

Those 'dome shaped chargers' should be insulators, I doubt they are allowed to put up real electric fences (legally) without planning permission, mind you where's the planning permission for the fence?

Vince.

[porf]

A security guard had told me that the electric fencing set up is real and works the cables will shock you if touched along with the dome shaped chargers which carry the electricity along from one part to the next. It is to stop vandals getting in and ruining the set and stealing props etc.

Lets hope anyone thinking of getting at the scenic thinks so , but they are just props. In closeup you can see the cables are rubber pipes that compress down where the bits of string and cable ties attach them

The warning signs are also set dressing, they claim the electric fences are the work of the Home Office.

[Sarah]

A rather interesting piece in the New York Times too. The direct link is very long and will mess up the whole page (and I know Jim hates that) so go to:

http://www.nytimes.com

and stick Exodus in the Search field. Waterbridge will be most unhappy with this report; for one, it calls them developers and they don't like that; and it also says they want to tear down Dreamland and erect an office complex.

Sarah

[Bob]

A rather interesting piece in the New York Times too. The direct link is very long and will mess up the whole page (and I know Jim hates that) so go to:

http://www.nytimes.com

and stick Exodus in the Search field. Waterbridge will be most unhappy with this report; for one, it calls them developers and they don't like that; and it also says they want to tear down Dreamland and erect an office complex.

Sarah

Waterbridge wish to develop a modern viable facility that will benefit Margate. Dreamland had a long and proud history but sadly it has had its day. Holiday makers no longer visit UK seaside resorts o at least in anywhere near the numbers that Dreamland was built to cater for. In its heyday Margates population would have swelled to 5 times its normal population with day trippers on top of that. Today you will be lucky if Margate seesmore then a few thousand visitors in a week.

Times change and Dreamland has to change. The site is poorly located and far to small to compete against the big Theme parks. However the Scenic Railway will remain with some childrens rides to suppliment it. It will provide all the facilities to meet the needs of young children and will be something that Margate can be proud of. On the rest of the site modern leisure & retail facilities will be provided with possibly a small hotel.

[Neil]

and there was the Margate Regerneration Company telling us that they haven't yet decided what to do with the site and are having a consultation. So the local MP thinks houses, the local Bob thinks some shops and a hotel, the 14,000 Save Dreamland Members think an amusment park. It's interesting that Waterbridge have a habbit of not responding to emails from Save Dreamland Members. I personally don't see the point in trying to participate in the Concultation since all my comments seem to get lost. I think I might write to the Council explaining this and ask them to add one onto the figure Waterbridge give for the number wanting an amusement park. I certainly don't see the point in us all particpating in the Concultation and then finding that our comments mysterously get lost. Then again if some of us did win the prizes it could be quite awkward. I don't suppose it would look very good if this Margate Regeneration Company were seen to be buying a meal and jewellery for campaigners.

[Sarah]

Bob, go tell it to the New York Times. And don't say that Waterbridge want to 'develop' anything whatever you do. They're investors in Margate, not developers.

Sarah

[RowBot]

Direct Link to New York Times Article, it's amazing how it doesn't matter how far away people are and they still know what's going on.

Ian

[raggy41]

Reading Bob's posts remind me of my friends father who sadly developed Alzheimers Disease. He kept repeating himself all of the time and lived in a world of his own and found it difficult to grasp reality.

[Neil]

That's a good point, I keep getting anoyed with Bob and then someone points out that maybe there are circumstances we don't know of and I end up feeling guilty. Bob, if you have a medical condition then we won't mock you, I'm sure everyone will be sympathetic.

[Bob]

Bob, go tell it to the New York Times. And don't say that Waterbridge want to 'develop' anything whatever you do. They're investors in Margate, not developers.

Sarah

The two things go together. In some case an investor may also be a developer in some cases one part invests and the other develops.

Your point is ?

[EAS]

Bob - which side of the fence are you on?

Or are you perched in the middle - could be painful?

[Vince, Charlie and Sam]

Waterbridge wish to develop a modern viable facility that will benefit Margate.

How do you know?