And to add to its considerable charms,(Margate), at 5pm on Friday 26 May Dreamland, the town’s legendary amusement park, throws open its doors for a lavish opening weekend – for the second time in as many years. The park’s operator promises it has done away with the thrill rides of the Eighties and Nineties and returned Dreamland to the heights of its historic glory.
REALLY?
The wait for this new Dreamland has already been delayed by a month. This comes after 2015’s short-lived relaunch, an embarrassing episode in which operator Sands Heritage admitted to huge debts before closing the park in 2016. So far, so Carry On. But this year, promises CEO Steven Mitchell, we can expect a unique seaside experience in keeping with Margate’s Victorian heyday. Dreamland will emphasize its heritage qualities, insists Mitchell, doing away with anything tacky or tatty.
TACKY OR TATTY? Well, that's rather patronising, if not insulting to the millions of honest, hardworking people who made Margate, and Dreamland, what it was and should be.
The exodus of young creatives from London did not ‘discover’ Margate, but they are working hard to make it relevant to younger generations. This doesn’t mean overpriced frippery, but it does now cater brilliantly for picky urban visitors who want all the fun of the fairground but none of the crappy food and drink that too often accompany dodgems and candyfloss.
Crappy food and drink? I enjoy a hot dog or fish and chips as much as I do a five star meal and to be honest, it is what I want to eat when I'm at the seaside. It's horses for courses.
Well...now I get it, it's no longer a place that a person, such as myself, is welcome. All the hard work and support of the people involved in the campaign and this forum has been stolen for the rich f*C***g yuppies who want to move in, take advantage of the highly inflated house price differentials and pretend it is all down to them.
This scenario will not support an amusement park.