The Scoop – news from around town

A round-up of Ramsgate news

POW!

The Thanet-wide arts festival celebrating International Women’s Day and gender equality is back. Look out for events for and performed by young people at Ramsgate Music Hall, and a youth art trail in shop fronts around the High Street. On 5 March Radford House (18-29 Effingham Street) is holding the Makers Market featuring small businesses and creatives. On the same day, Ramsgate artist Catrin Osborne (osborneandwhat.co.uk) holds an art trail of photographs celebrating women going through the menopause. Taking in Eats’n’Beats, HOLD Creative Space, and Union Yoga, Catrin’s exhibition, including a video installation by Margate-based artist Tindara Sidoti, hopes to open up dialogue about menopause, something 50% of the population will go through, and educate others to support them through this time in their lives. For information about the festival and fringe events, 4 to 21 March, see powthanet.com

Get your twitch on

Bird Wise East Kent are organising the first Great Kent Coastal Birdwatch, encouraging people to get out and walk for 30 minutes to an hour noting down all of the birds seen in that time. The aim is to raise awareness of the amazing birds we have on our coast and highlight the issue of bird disturbance and how we can enjoy the coast without impacting on their survival rates. A host of events are being held throughout the February half term, and you have between 12 and 20 February to get out and count. eastkent.birdwise.org.uk/ the-great-kent-coastal-birdwatch

On the subject of birds…

Ramsgate’s historic links with ravens inspired local writer Peter Erlam to pen his first book for juniorage children, Ravi The Brainy Raven. It’s a story of redemption as Ravi restores his reputation and pride after being expelled from the elite Tower of London ravens for misbehaviour. Peter, 69, a former Kent Messenger journalist, said: “Ravi hears that Thanet is cool so he flies off to start a new life in Ramsgate, where he befriends two young sisters.”

Within weeks, Ravi is hailed a hero when he helps a rescue team locate a schoolboy who goes missing after a fall from a cliff-top path near Pegwell. Find Ravi at Tales on Moon Lane, Addington Street, from 18 February.

Green fingers

With all of us spending more time outside, interest in the Ramsgate Sea Garden has been reawakened. Standing at the bottom of the Eastern Undercliff, near the entrance to the Ramsgate Tunnels, the garden was created in 2007 by volunteers and artist Ruth Cutler who designed the sculpture. Now a new group of volunteers, with Ruth, have returned, meeting every Thursday from 9 to 11am. Initiatives under discussion include enhancing the area immediately adjacent to the gardens, maintaining its sensitive indigenous flora and fauna, and fund raising to provide and replace facilities including seating, public information boards, permanent recycling and waste facilities. To find out how you could support or volunteer, email ramsgateseagarden@gmail.com or find Ramsgate Sea Garden Group on Facebook.

If growing your own appeals, have you considered growing hops? Hop Along Thanet (HAT) is a community association bringing together individuals to grow hops in their gardens and on their allotments. Launched in January 2021 they now have 30 hop growers across Thanet and grew over 50 hop plants in their first year, producing 70kg of cones. Margate based Northdown Brewery produced 900 litres of green hopped beer from the harvest, sold locally in Thanet. Hops are planted from February until April and harvested in September. The group are looking for Thanet residents with allotments, gardens or waste bits of ground and hope to reach a critical mass of 100 plus hops. For more information contact hopalongthanet@ gmail.com or visit their Facebook page.

If you’re all fingers and thumbs when it comes to gardening, step in Bláth, a new Ramsgate-based planting design and maintenance service specialising in planter displays. A landscape architect and former assistant head gardener at the Garden Museum, Bláth creates bespoke planting displays for any space blathplantingdesign@gmail.com

Film set

Ramsgate’s appeal wasn’t lost on True Things, a new film from Harry Wootliff backed by the BBC and BFI, and a follow up to her 2019 BAFTA nominated Only You. The town was used for many of the locations in the film, including the harbour side, Ramsgate Tunnel on the Western Undercliff, Argyle Centre and Sir Stanley Gray and The Red Lion pubs. Ruth Wilson stars as Kate sleepwalking through life when a chance sexual encounter with a charismatic stranger (Tom Burke) awakens her. High on infatuation, Kate is headed for an intoxicating car crash. True Things is released in UK cinemas on 1 April. Check out the trailer to see Queen Street car park in a whole new light facebook.com/ TrueThingsFilm

Writer

Gemma Dempsey

Illustrator

Jade Spranklen

A dose of Ramsgate life from a lady about town

Signs of spring appear much earlier these days, largely due to climate change. Seeing the first snowdrop or daffodil elicits mixed emotions in me – happiness for longer, warmer days ahead and sadness for the mess we’ve made of our planet. Clearly it is time to focus on some fun jaunts to shake the winter blues and bring on the joys of spring!

As you may recall, I’m looking forward to finally getting some sailing experience in Ramsgate Harbour, especially as I’d LOVE to go on a sailing holiday for my 2022 birthday. Celebrations for the last few have been muted – as they have been for everyone – and I’ve really missed hosting parties. Since moving to Ramsgate I’ve had ones to coincide with Day of the Dead, Thanksgiving and the Epiphany – but I’ve never had a party on water. I’ve been doing some research regarding “competent crew” courses (I really like the idea of being called both “competent” and “crew”) and watched videos to help me master the vocabulary so I don’t confuse jib with jibe or get laughed at for saying ropes instead of lines! I’m debating purchasing Sailing for Dummies, but at 400 pages it’s unlikely to be read. I find it hard enough to read novels as it is. One online review said it was printed on toilet paper, therefore giving it another use should we be shipwrecked or plunged into another lockdown.

Until sailing weather returns, spring is the perfect time to investigate some of our fine walks, both inland and along the coast. Being a dog owner, walking is very much a part of my life, but I have to admit to getting bored of the same routine, and am yearning for new vistas and discovering villages en route. I’m particularly drawn to ones with charming names such as Plucks Gutter, Nackington, Old Wives Lees and Pett Bottom. Yes, I admit, I have an infantile sense of humour, but didn’t those names bring a wisp of a smile to your lips? Plucks Gutter is first on my list as it is where the Little Stour and Great Stour rivers meet, and is conveniently beside the Dog and Duck pub, which I look forward to sampling.

I also want to plan some walks that feature sound mirrors – these “listening ears” date back to World War I and were developed to help pick up sounds of aircraft flying towards Britain. I visited the one at Abbot’s Cliff a couple of years ago. As you stand with this impressive concrete structure behind you, the views to Dover and over to France are fantastic. The day I went, a French sound and radio enthusiast was trying to transmit using an old but strangely futuristic object. I don’t know if he was successful, but he seemed to be enjoying himself and that is the main thing. It is about a half hour drive from Ramsgate – which I now see is an eight-hour walk. Hmm… this walking malarkey is going to take some planning.