Issue 3 - Summer 2019 Issue by The Ramsgate Recorder

RAMSGATE Summer 2019

RECORDER

Modern-day Seaside Stories

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TASTE SENSATIONS

A LIFE AQUATIC

FESTIVE SPIRIT

SQUARE ROOTS

Ramsgateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s food innovators

Step aboard a floating home

A summer of festival fun

The history of our garden squares

SAT 18 MAY

MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU

FINLEY QUAYE FRI 10 MAY

ANNIE MAC

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KRYSTAL KLEAR SAT 20 JUL

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Contents 5

Summer News and Openings the latest goings on around town

Gemma’s Jaunts - our columnist goes foraging

Summer Hotlist - the mustsee events of the season

Festival Fever - the biggest festivals taking place in Ramsgate

10 Music News - Duncan Mackay gives us an insight into his world and Sabina Desir shares her playlist 14 Food Innovators - the movers and shakers of Ramsgate’s culinary scene 20 Sundowners on Sea - the best places to enjoy a refreshing summer drink 22 Square Roots - the history of Vale and Spencer Square 26 A life Aquatic - the story of the Wendy Woo 30 Coastal Creations - we visit two ceramicists in their studio 34 Unsung Hero - our very own Sea Scout master 36 Once Upon a Time in Thanet - we meet Ramsgate-based author Maggie Gee

Welcome to our summer issue!

From the Editor Helen Pipins

ondon might have been paralysed by the climate change protestors, but people came down to the coast in droves when they saw the big sun shining on the map over the Easter holidays. Yes, it was the hottest Easter on record. Traffic jams seem to happen naturally during this time. But the beauty of our coastline is that we don’t need the sun for the town to shine. It’s the people that do that. Saying good morning and hello are part and parcel of living in small towns and it really does go a long way to cheering the soul! Such simple things and kindness make huge differences to everyone’s day. In this issue, hopefully we have lots of reasons to make you all smile. Our food innovators (page 14), will appeal to all the foodies out there. The Modern Boulangerie certainly makes the best croissants this side of the Channel, so what better way to start your day? We have a bit of a twist on the fish and chip theme too with seaweed wrapped tofu to satisfy even the fussiest of eaters. Leading us rather smugly to our very own Gemma’s hilarious take on her foraging jaunts (page 5). We get on board the beautiful Wendy Woo, a tall ship... as elegant as her musician owner, Marianne Dissard (page 26).

On the property front we take a walk through the history of two of our finest squares, Spencer and Vale (page 22). We are also reminded that they continue to thrive with such great communities taking care of them, particularly their award-winning gardens, and the soon-to-be erected statue of Van Gogh in Spencer Square. He both taught and lived in the square and it is a fitting tribute which ties in very nicely with the exhibition at the Tate Britain in London. For inspiration of what to read this summer we interview local writer Maggie Gee (page 36) and get an exclusive extract from her latest book Blood. Of course with it being the summer, Ramsgate is packed with lots of things to keep you busy. On page 6 we highlight some of our ‘do-not-dare-to-miss’ events. Finally, we were so privileged to get both Duncan Mackay and Sabina Desir for our music news pages (page 10). They are legends in their own rights and they couldn’t be more perfect for this issue. Enjoy the season and make sure you get out there, have lots of fun and don’t forget to say hello - oh and make sure to slap on the sunscreen. Helen x

38 Give Something Back to Ramsgate - how you can get involved with important local causes

Contact @ramsgaterecorder ramsgaterecorder.com Issue Three, Summer 2019 (May to July) Editor Helen Pipins Founder & Publisher Clare Freeman Co-Founder and Advertising Director Jen Brammer Design Lizzy Tweedale Sub-editor Ros Anderson Intern Georgie Hurst Print Mortons Print Advertising and distribution enquiries info@ramsgaterecorder.com Front cover Craig Mather of Little Ships by Sheradon Dublin

@katherinewalters Image by Tim Topple

@katherinewalters

Contributors Writers Francesca Baker Gemma Dempsey Georgie Hurst James Draven Laura Nickoll Sean Farrell Suzanne Martin Zoe Davies

Published by Ramsgate Recorder Ltd. Photographers Georgie Hurst James Draven Joshua Atkins Richard Birch Sheradon Dublin

Illustrators Charlie Davies Emma Falconer Jade Franklin Kavel Rafferty

The Museum of Vintage Computers & Videogames

Church Hill Ramsgate CT11 8RA (on the corner of Church Hill & Broad Street)

www.themicromuseum.org

24HR

THANET TAXIS

01843

333333

Book & Track using FaceBook Messenger Book on-line through www.thanetcars.com or download our apps You can now pay in-car, simply request a chip & pin car

GALLERY

Opening with a private view of paintings, ceramics & silver jewellery. Ongoing exhibitions of 25th of November, 6 – 9pm allsilver welcome. paintings, ceramics and The exhibition will be continuing until 6th January 11 – 5 Thursday to Saturday or by appointment 07580572869

98 High Street, Ramsgate, CT11 9RX

Rolling programme of exhibitions throughout 2019 2018 Facebook – Gallery98Ramsgate

Instagram - gallery 98 ramsgate

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Summer News and Openings Writer

Georgie Hurst

Image by The Ramsgate Art’s Barge Team

Writer

Gemma Dempsey

Illustration

Jade Spranklen

A dose of Ramsgate life from a lady about town

‘

To forage’ is defined as going from place to place searching for things to eat, but apparently going from Waitrose to Aldi to Quex Barn doesn’t count. So I thought I should discover what foraging is all about, not least because I’m told that the local beaches and countryside are teeming with things to eat for free! I wasn’t enthusiastic at first, given

NEWS

s the days begin to lengthen, Ramsgate has more to look forward to this summer than just sunshine. We welcome back those businesses that closed their doors in the winter; take a stroll to Cliffsend for cake at the Viking Ship Cafe (facebook.com/TheVikingShipCafe), or visit the beautiful Italianate Glasshouse, a Grade II* 19th century curved glasshouse in King George VI Gardens, for afternoon tea (italianateglasshouse.co.uk). We’re also backing Ramsgate Arts Barge who plan to transform a Dutch coal barge into a thriving local arts club (facebook.com/ ramsgateartsbarge). There is an ever-growing list of art events happening in Ramsgate, including the new monthly art installation, Meridian 5.41, in which a new artist each month will showcase works in progress or experimentations upstairs in Archive Homestore & Kitchen (instagram. com/themeridian541). Ramsgate-based artist Julia Rogers is also utilising Archive for life drawing classes, hosted on Monday evenings and Tuesday afternoons (juliarogers.co.uk). Ramsgate’s artistic heritage is being celebrated on 15 June with the official unveiling of the bust of Vincent van Gogh in Spencer Square, where the sculptor, Anthony Padgett, will be in attendance. If you’re into gaming, The Micro Museum

has recently opened a Games Gallery, where you can reminisce and play a range of retro video games to your heart’s content (themicromuseum.org). But if you’re more into interactive puzzles, explore the new catthemed escape room at Real Life Games on Broad Street (reallifegames.co.uk), or take the little ones to Breakout Ramsgate, who have just added a Charlie and the Chocolate Factory room for children aged 6-12 (breakoutroom.co.uk). You can immerse your children in their local environment with Monkton Nature Reserve’s new Eco Explorers Group for under-fives, taking place every Thursday morning (facebook.com/monktonreserve). There are also tonnes of great festivals to enjoy around town this summer, including the International Film and TV Festival (ramsgateiftvfest.org), and Ramsgate Festival of Sound (ramsgatefestival.org), which you can find out more about on page 8. Swing down to the Small Boat Owners Association Clubhouse for their Seaside Shuffle Festival from 12-14 July (jazzandjazz.com). Or, celebrate the literary history of Thanet at the Dickens Festival in Broadstairs, 21-23 June (broadstairsdickensfestival.co.uk). Meanwhile, there is also Ramsgate Week to look forward to, with the Royal Temple Yacht Club’s annual ‘friendly’ regatta happening from 21-26 July (ramsgateweek.com).

that it’s an activity that involves quite a bit of effort. First of all, you have to go outside and walk around, sometimes for at least an hour. Secondly, you could die if you pick the wrong thing – or get arrested. For example, you might inadvertently pick someone’s prize pumpkin, which you had identified as Cinderella’s carriage and, as it was getting late, you fancied a lift home… until you realise you had consumed magic mushrooms on the way to the pumpkin patch and your chosen mode of transport is an enormous squash. WTFF? (What The Friggin’ Forage? !) It’s a dangerous world out there, but thanks to local experts like Berry Whale, poisonous items are easily avoided and beneficial items responsibly sourced. I now know that plantain grown in the UK is not a big banana but a fantastically useful medicinal herb that can help to cure a massive amount of things, from cuts and bites to gastrointestinal problems and flu. Watch out Big Pharma, foragers are on to you! What about the legalities of picking your greens gratis? First of all, I’d recommend against hopping off the Loop in Westwood Cross, trowel in hand, with the intent of helping yourself to a cauliflower in one of the nearby fields. That would be stealing… and cheating. A big part of foraging along

the less beaten track is the joy of identifying and discovering tasty comestibles. Your endorphins are stimulated by being in tune with Mother Nature and you avoid having a robot scold you in the bagging area. So go on! Arm yourself with Richard Mabey’s Food For Free, a bag (not a sack – don’t be greedy!), scissors and gloves (especially important if it’s nettle season) and you’ll be transformed into an urban hunter-gatherer. My first forage took place on the half moon in late March, a date specifically selected by Berry as it rarely rains and plants and humans are in a balanced state. As a result there’s less chance of fighting with fellow foragers over the shiniest spinach leaf, and plants are feeling pretty relaxed at having a few of their limbs hacked away - a yin-yang win win. While foraging is an ancient activity, the desire to avoid genetically modified food and the thrill of finding free stuff to eat means that it has become popular and, unfortunately, abused. ‘Locally foraged’ crops turn up on many a trendy menu and you may find yourself parting with a tenner for the pleasure of one withered stalk of wild garlic. If it was responsibly foraged, all well and good – but why not save your dosh and find it yourself ? See you on the next half moon my foraging friends.

“Your endorphins are stimulated by being in tune with Mother Nature and you avoid having a robot scold you in the bagging area”

ramsgate recorder

Summer Hotlist

MAY Eco Explorers Group Calling all Mini Explorers! You’re invited to join the new Eco Explorers Group for parents and under 5s. The group will run every Thursday from 10.0011.30am 2 May, 10am Monkton Nature Reserve facebook.com/ monktonreserve

Theatre Network Thanet A monthly meet-up for locally-based actors, artists, writers and theatremakers. This is the place to read, perform and discuss new work and make new connections

Honeyblood

The Beths

Glaswegian indie-rock band with elements of punk and garage

Auckland Indie Rockers The Beths have emerged as one of the most exciting young bands around.

10 May, 7.30pm - midnight Ramsgate Music Hall ramsgatemusichall.com

facebook.com/ loopingtheloop

Johanna Warren + Jewelia A performance from this dream psychedelic folk singer songwriter from Portland, Oregon 2 May, 7.30-11.30pm Ramsgate Music Hall

Ramsgate Music Hall ramsgatemusichall.com

Bees and Botanicals Exhibition Featuring original artworks, screen prints and lovely things to buy. 10% of all sales will be going to The Kent Bee-Keepers association and bumble bee conservation

B. A. Johnston A cult legend at the Music Hall. Expect songs about cheap beer, a common theme, along with fastfood, Nintendo and cats 18 May 7.30-11.30pm Ramsgate Music Hall

11 & 12 May 10.30am4.30pm

ramsgatemusichall.com

Italianate Glass House Tea Garden, King George VI Park

Ellington Park Summer Fair

facebook.com/ Mollypickledesigns

A fundraiser for this muchloved park, with live music, a dog show, go-karting, steam train rides, and thousands of second hand books

2 May 7-10pm Archive, Ramsgate

19 May, 7.30-11.30pm

Mayday Coffee Morning The RNLI Fundraisers will be holding a coffee morning in support of the RNLI Mayday Campaign with cake, bric-a-brac stalls and more. 11 May, 10am - 1pm Ramsgate Lifeboat Station facebook.com/RNLI RamsgateLifeboat Fundraising

ramsgatemusichall.com

19 May, Midday - 6pm Ellington Park friendsofellingtonpark.org.uk

Historical Murder Town Trail - West Cliff A town tour with a twist! Find out about Ramsgate’s rotten history in bygone times. Murder, mystery and mayhem abound!

Writer’s Gremlins

Back To Your Roots: DJ Randall

24 May 7-8.15pm

A monthly meet-up for those looking for a fun and social way to get rid of pesky writers’ gremlins

DJ Randall has been the embodiment of jungle drum and bass culture for well over 25 years

faceboom.com/ rottenramsgate

4 May, 3-6pm

11 May 9pm-3am

Townley’s, Albion House

Ramsgate Music Hall

facebook.com/thanetwriters

ramsgatemusichall.com

Handmade and Vintage Fair

Lunatraktors Album Launch

Ramsgate’s regular makers market. 5 May, 11am - 5pm

Local favourites Lunatraktors release their debut album This Is Broken Folk

Harbour Parade, Ramsgate

16 May, 7.30-11pm

facebook.com/ ramsgatearts/

Eats’n’Beats, Ramsgate facebook.com/lunatraktors

Harbour Parade, Ramsgate

The Dance with Daniel Avery Techno giant Daniel Avery graces the Music Hall’s stage for an intimate, all night long set. Expect a masterclass across acid, electro and techno music. 24 May 9.30pm-2am Ramsgate Music Hall ramsgatemusichall.com

Yoga to Write: A one-day creative workshop and yoga retreat Aneta Idczak and Jane Wenham-Jones will guide all levels of writing and yoga in a creative and restorative day-retreat 25 May, 10.30am - 4.30pm Royal Temple Yacht Club, Ramsgate anetai.co.uk/yoga-to-write/

1919 Live Legendary post-punk band 1919 make their first appearance in Ramsgate, with support from Riviera Kid and The May Day Riots 26 May, 8pm - midnight Elephant and Castle, Ramsgate facebook.com/ 2drunkpunkpromotions

Screaming Alley Open Mic An alternative and inclusive open-mic, featuring performances by artist Rene Eyre and dance troupe They Don’t Care 31 May 7.30pm Red Arrows Sports and Social Club facebook.com/ screamingalley

JUN 38th Great Bucket and Spade Run Based on the original event which began in 1981 to celebrate the golden days of motoring. Expect 400 vehicles, stalls, children’s entertainment and great food 2 June 10.30am Government Acre, Ramsgate visitthanet.co.uk/events/thegreat-bucket-and-spaderun-4195/

Ramsgate International Film & TV Festival This annual festival returns with more categories and films from new countries 13-16 June Multiple venues ramsgateiftvfest.org

The Ramsgate Society - Van Gogh Summer The unveiling of a Van Gogh bust by renowned sculptor Anthony Padgett 15 June Spencer Square ramsgate-society.org.uk

Compiled by Georgie Hurst

JUL The Dance with Deptford Northern Soul Club A Motown, Northern Soul and Rare Groove celebration for all movers and shakers with the Deptford Northern Soul Club and special guest, Jo Wallace 6 July 9.30pm-2am Ramsgate Music Hall ramsgatemusichall.com

Seaside Shuffle Jazz Festival A host of traditional jazz bands play on the harbour! 12-14 July 11am-11pm

Einstein’s Children Summer Solstice at Belle Vue In the garden of the wonderful Belle Vue, celebrate the start of summer with a Friday evening of laid back, chilled out live acoustic music 21 June 6.30pm The Belle Vue Tavern, Pegwell Bay facebook.com/ einsteinschildren

Ramsgate Soul by the Sea Join Soul Train Sounds for their regular soul and funk night! Bring your dancing shoes... 22 June 8pm-midnight Oak Hotel Ramsgate facebook.com/ soultrainsounds

Riddim Central Opening Party A new Hip Hop and Drum’n’Bass night brought to you by local MCs and DJs 28 June 9pm-3am Ramsgate Music Hall facebook.com/ riddimcentralevents/

Small Boat Owners Club jazzandjazz.com

Ramsgate Festival of Sound A celebration of Ramsgate through the medium of sound. Featuring Dame Evelyn Glennie, composer Ben Parry and many more 20-28 July Multiple venues ramsgatefestival.org/ festival-2018/

Shackleton & Ramsgate The first Ramsgate Festival lecture of 2019 brings the renowned polar exploration author, Michael Smith, to Ramsgate for a lively presentation on Shackleton and his local supporter, Dame Janet StancombWills. 22 July 7.30pm Clarendon School Hall ramsgatefestival.org

Ramsgate Carnival Expect fairground rides, entertainment, music, stalls and more! The carnival will end with a parade through the town 28 July 10am-6pm Government Acre, Ramsgate

Festival Fever Ramsgate Festival of Sound

From the iconic sounds of the masts and chimes of the harbour, to the organic musical talent that abounds in the town, Ramsgate Festival celebrates its 10-year anniversary this summer, and what better way than with its reincarnation as Ramsgate Festival of Sound. On the choice of this art form, the festival’s producer, Andrew Gibson, says, “there is no doubt that sound art is having its moment and is the most accessible of all the art forms. You can literally enjoy it with your eyes closed. Sound production is such a growth industry in Ramsgate and it makes sense to celebrate this.” This year’s theme, ‘It’s a Matter of Time’, will display works from over ten sound artists, forming a sonic trail around the town and coastline. Festivities will also include workshops, historical talks, performance, music events, children’s theatre and sonic surprises.

Highlights Dame Evelyn Glennie The pioneering percussionist will be playing with Trio HLK, comprising Richard Harrold (piano and composer) Ant Law (guitar) and Richard Kass (drums). Their music deconstructs jazz standards into fragments that are at times shimmering and cerebral, at others thunderous and visceral. Amy Montgomery This up-and-coming Irish music sensation is being compared to Janis Joplin and Stevie Nicks. Simon Boswell The music composer and his band The And will perform live scores from cult horror movies, such as Dario Argento’s Santa Sangre, in a spectacular sound and vision mash up.

Where & When? 20 to 28 July at the Main Harbour, (featuring home-grown and international artists), the East Cliff bandstand, (where you can find spoken word and folk performances), and other venues across the town including the Ramsgate Tunnels. For further information visit ramsgatefestival.org

Writer

Georgie Hurst

Illustrator

Charlie Davies

Ramsgate will host two worldclass festivals this summer. We get the scoop on what you can expect from the Ramsgate Festival of Sound and Ramsgate International Film and TV Festival

ramsgate recorder

Ramsgate International Film & TV Festival As a town that continually enchants the minds of artists, filmmakers and photographers, it is no wonder that Ramsgate has attracted audiences from far and wide for this festival. Festival Director Sylvie Bolioli told us “the core mission of the festival is to screen captivating films showcasing innovative storytelling, whilst embracing new technologies”. They “aim to become the largest multi-platform festival in the South East” and this summer you can expect more categories and films, new countries represented (including Chile, Ghana, Colombia and Nepal) and more satellite events. Meanwhile, the festival stays true to its Ramsgate roots, with a local film strand showcasing works by Kent filmmakers and local children and young people, a statuette designed by local artist Dominic Grant, plus the festival’s patron, Ramsgateborn actress Brenda Blethyn, will join the jury alongside other entertainment notaries. Along with screenings, the festival programme will feature live talks, workshops and seminars from high profile industry professionals.

Highlights Talk with Mark Valley: Behind the scenes of ZBurg Writer, director and accomplished performer Mark Valley will be giving a talk on how he made a web series with his local community of Ogdensburg, New York. JFK: The Last Speech The Festival Gala night will open with the European Premiere of this documentary, with exclusive footage of President John F. Kennedy, followed by a Q&A with Producer Neil Bicknell Loving Vincent A screening of the film about Van Gogh as part of the Van Gogh weekend, which will see the unveiling of the Van Gogh statue in Spencer Square, in partnership with The Friends of Ellington Park and the Ramsgate Society.

Where & When? 13 to 16 June at The Granville Theatre, The Falstaff Hotel, Eats’n’Beats, the Albion House Hotel, The Palace Cinema in Broadstairs, and other venues for talks. For full details and how to book tickets, visit ramsgateiftvfest.org

F ES T IVA L TICKETS AVAILAB LE NO W! WI TH O R WI TH O U T C AMP I NG F O R A WEEK , WEEK EN D OR DAY - N O BOOK I N G F EES I N 201 9

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in partnership with GloTIME.tv www.ramsgateiftvfest.org

Writer

Suzanne Martin

Illustration

Emma Falconer

Photographer Richard Birch

Best known for his five years with Primal Scream, Ramsgate musician Duncan Mackay has played with Tina Turner, Tom Jones, Chemical Brothers and The Orb. He talks about his musical influences, life on tour and the burgeoning Ramsgate music scene What was your big break? “At 28, I joined Primal Scream and spent five years touring, played on two albums, having the best time of my life - just joy. Around that time I also worked with Richard Ashcroft. You know ‘A Song for the Lovers’? That’s me on the trumpet.” Who is the most significant musical influence in your life? “I have been really blessed to work with some amazing world-class bands. I’ve also studied and toured to everywhere imaginable, but I would have to say my mum and dad are the biggest musical influences in my life. With their encouragement, I started playing

“Even if you stuck to the carpet, it didn’t matter; it was a room full of greatness” the trumpet aged nine or ten. I was born in Sutton Coldfield and grew up playing with the Midland Youth Orchestra and Walsall Youth Jazz Orchestra. When I was 18, my parents moved to Birmingham. They bought a pub, in Adelaide Street, and we turned it into a jazz club called The Cannonball, named after the American jazz trumpeter Cannonball Adderley. He was one of the greatest jazz trumpeters of all time; he played with Miles Davies and Ray Charles.” What was it like growing up in a jazz club? “As a teenager, I started playing with a local reggae band and ended up going to Africa with Ijahman Levi. I then toured America with Pato Banton. I was fortunate - I was signed very early, and I definitely credit a good solid classical musical education for my varied career. I studied at the Guildhall, Royal Academy and at Berklee in the US.

Ronnie Scott used to come in and see my dad, and much later I had my own residency at Ronnie Scott’s. I was lucky enough to share some special times with Ronnie. He was notoriously aloof, but every night he would come downstairs and tell me these amazing stories about Ella Fitzgerald, Sonny Rollins and all of the greats who had played in the club. It was like talking to God, really it was. It isn’t the same now, but it was such a great room to play. Even if you stuck to the carpet, it didn’t matter; it was a room full of greatness.” How did you end up in Ramsgate? “My parents moved here, and I followed about 15 years ago. There are a lot of musicians tucked away here, and I get to play with some great artists. I have just rekindled my friendship with Stuart Zender from Jamiroquai, and I love working with Ashley Beedle, Simon Boswell and his incredible LG White, who are all local. I am also planning on working on local educational workshops with the Music Hub team. I want to share what I have been fortunate enough to have been given.” What would you say to young performers starting out? “Never take a number two on the tour bus, never sleep head first in case the bus breaks hard and, joking aside, pace yourself. Not that I always took my own advice on that front. But most of all be you and the best you can be.”

ramsgate recorder

MUSIC NEWS

bi t.l y/sabi

Ramsgate vocalist Sabina Desir of the jazz sessions selects her all-time favourite tracks 1 Forbidden Colours / Merry Christmas Mr Lawrence

Ryuichi Sakamoto

I got this on cassette when the soundtrack was released when I was 13 or 14. Me and my sister became completely immersed in the storytelling aspect of the music. Add to that David Bowie singing on the vocal edit and starring in the movie… heaven! 2

Turiya And Ramakrishna

Alice Coltrane

Pianist, harpist, composer and wife of jazz titan John Coltrane, Alice was a phenomenal talent. The first few chords always hook me, as if hearing it for the first time. So many questions are posed, and Ron Carter on bass during his solo does his best to answer. A beautiful conversation between players. 3

The Heart Pt. 2

Kendrick Lamar

This track from the album Overly Dedicated is a force of the artist’s passion, energy and his truth. The intro with Dash Snow is cool and then there’s a retro jazz feel before the bass drops and the rapping kicks off. Clever! (listen here: bit.ly/theheartpt2) 4

Amalfi

Jessica Lauren

This is taken from her 2018 release Almeria. Some composers paint pictures so vivid and bright they encourage you be part of the picture, if only for a while. Think convertible sports car, scarf blowing in the wind, blue sky, blue seas. Grab a martini and go listen. 5

Really Love

D’Angelo

After an 11-year sabbatical D’Angelo came back doing what he does best, making serious music. The intro is stunning, epic strings. If you have a ‘make love to’ playlist, put this on it! 6

The Lark Ascending

Vaughan Williams

This beautifully paints what the eyes cannot see. I can sit somewhere, put on a headset and feel such peace. Nigel Kennedy’s interpretation is particularly moving.

nadesi r

I Believe In Love

Pat Longo

I first heard this on the Streetsounds Jazz Juice compilation. So many musical memories are linked to those who we shared the times with. My sister and I share many musical memories peppered with all manner of shenanigans. How we sang this song, volume up, groove on! 8

Seen

Courtney Pine

As a first generation black British woman from Caribbean parents, this album seemed to speak directly to me with a language and style of jazz that reflected our experience. The question and answer conversation in this track literally placed me in the hub of a culture that embraced me. It sounds like home. 9

Keep On

By Suzanne Martin 03/05 MAX BIANCO (Eats ’n’ Beats, Ramsgate) The singer-songwriter found notoriety as one of the front men of Hartlepool-based industrialfolk rockers The Jar Family; supporting the likes of Ocean Colour Scene, The Charlatans and Alabama 3.

16/05 THIS IS BROKEN FOLK LUNATRAKTORS’ ALBUM LAUNCH (Eats ’n’ Beats, Ramsgate) The official launch of Lunatraktors’ debut album ‘This Is Broken Folk’. Dark, trippy overtones and glitchy folk beats to raise your spirits.

01/06 RUDY WARMAN & THE HEAVY FAIRWEATHER (Ramsgate Music Hall) Lots of rock-dog locks playing original blues, rock n’ roll and country tracks.

Alfa Mist

The recent UK jazz explosion has seen artists from diverse backgrounds bringing a very unique and authentic sound to a genre that at times has appeared exclusive. Enter Alfa, blending jazz harmony, hiphop, soul and crafting a project around a conversation with his brothers. 10

Tell Me Something Good

Rufus and Chaka Khan

Simply put, it’s low down and funky. Rufus and Chaka Khan were a match made in funk heaven, but for me the real reason I love them is the vocal prowess of Ms Khan. A career spanning five decades, she remains one of my favourite vocalists of all time. 11

Let’s Begin

by Ella Fitzgerald with Nelson Riddle Orchestra

When this album came home with my mother, double vinyl, beautiful liner notes et al, I knew it was going to be mine. Every note, inflection, phrase I fell in love with. Ella is and will always be The Queen. 12

Everytime We Say Goodbye

by Ray Charles and Betty Carter

I first bought this album in the early 90s and it has remained a constant. I lost my original copy and a Ray Charles fan gifted me a new one on vinyl. The juxtaposition of these two exquisite voices brings something to this standard that is sublime. The timing is unique as is the arrangement. They really don’t make them like this anymore.

11/06 PEAKY BLINDERS DANCE (Margate Winter Gardens) Go back in time to the London Club scene of the 1920s and the Peaky Blinders with Jivin Jim Dandy and the fantastic French Gypsy Benoit Viellefon and his Orchestra.

27/06 BROLIN (Ramsgate Music Hall) Best known for their Successful collaborations with Amon Tobin, Coldcut, Kruse & Nuernberg and NEIKED Brolin perform an intimate, live set.

06/07 THE DANCE WITH DEPTFORD NORTHERN SOUL CLUB (Ramsgate Music Hall) DMSC has supported The Manic Street Preachers and Sleaford Mods. They are joined by Joe Wallace for a night of Motown, Northern Soul and Rare Groove.

13/07 HAPPY MONDAYS (Dreamland, Margate) Shaun Ryder at his most excellent - poetry for the Acid-House generation. Playing classic tunes from the “Madchester” scene. Expect to get twisted. We’ll be at the front for this one!

18/07 THE CATENARY WIRES (Ramsgate Music Hall) Emotive music fuelled by male-female duets that recall everyone from Nancy Sinatra and Lee Hazelwood to Isobel Campbell and Mark Lineman.

RMH_Ramsgate Recorder_117x154mm_Mch19.pdf

20/03/2019

CMY

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Join us for 3 days of Soul, Sun & Sea in the glorious seaside town of Margate, with top live artists & DJs across multiple indoor and outdoor locations around the harbour.

MSF2019 LIVE LINE UP Incognito / Light of the World / Michelle John / Lukas Setto / Mad Yella

DATES

Day Tickets from £44+booking fee Full weekend Tickets £69 Tickets available now from www.margatesoulfestival.co.uk Limited Full Weekend Local tickets £50 + booking fee on sale from 1st July at Margate Winter Gardens www.margatewintergardens.co.uk or call 01843 292795

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FOOD & DRINK

Ramsgate’s Food Innovators

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Writer & Photographer James Draven

Additional photographs by Sheradon Dublin

Meet the people changing Ramsgate’s culinary landscape, from delivering vegan takeaways, to bringing bona fide fine dining to your local boozer

Fidan Bagdas Shakey Shakey The first chippy in the whole of the UK to introduce a vegan menu is right here in the heart of Ramsgate. There’s little so emblematic of sunny seaside staycations than a paper-wrapped portion from the local chip shop, and so nothing better encapsulates our Dalston-on-Sea sobriquet than Fidan’s tofish ’n’ chips. “Ramsgate is great,” says Fidan, originally from east London. “The beautiful harbour and the beach were both factors in setting up shop, but the people here are absolutely lovely. My parents, Sherif and Izzy, started Shakey Shakey 12 years ago and we feel like we’re a part of a community here, which isn’t the case in cities like London.” Fidan went vegan herself after suffering severe pain from pancreatitis and, after being in and out of hospital for a year and a half, she decided something needed to change. “I didn’t want to continue the rest of my life on medication, so I started a food diary and realised every time I was in pain, it was because I had meat, dairy, or eggs, so I went vegan,” she tells me. “Since then, I’ve been medication free, pain free, just happy. I wanted to offer other people plant-based options too, so I started with my family’s chippy.” With the blessing of her supportive parents, Fidan introduced the vegan menu in February 2017, starting off with a limited menu two days each week, then three. Since summer 2018 the vegan menu has been a permanent fixture, offering soy sausages, deep-fried Oreos, vegan black pudding, chickenless nuggets, and much more, along with her famous tofish – tofu wrapped in seaweed and battered – a new seaside essential. facebook.com/shakeyshakeyfishbar

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ART & CULTURE

Luke & Jess Crittenden Arya “Alright, dude,” says Luke, Arya’s co-owner and chef, by way of customer greeting. Service is laid back in this diminutive restaurant tucked away in a few rooms above Ramsgate’s craft beer pub, the Ravensgate Arms, and that’s the way brother-and-sister duo, Luke and Jess, like it. “That’s why we serve tapas,” explains Luke, who was born and raised in Ramsgate. “I like the idea of people just chilling and chowing down rather than sitting in a stuffy, pretentious, fine-dining restaurant. We just want our guests to have a good time.” A stereo pulses with an unlikely selection of tunes from Adele to ‘Zeppelin: Luke would prefer heavy metal, Jess wants S Club 7, and they’ve come to this eclectic compromise. The music, the brew-pub setting, and the informal atmosphere don’t prepare you for Luke’s food. He describes it as, “simple, but with big flavours, with no more than three or four ingredients,” but that’s only half the story. They may casually call it tapas, but there are a myriad global influences in Luke’s beautifully presented, delicious dishes, which are undeniably haute cuisine. It is fine dining, just without the fuss. “Yeah, my brother was a big influence” admits Luke, whose sibling, Ben Crittenden, is owner-chef of nationally revered Broadstairs restaurant, Stark. “And I did spend ten years working for some of London’s best chefs. I wanted to challenge myself and learn so I tried lots of different types of restaurants, but it got to the point where I didn’t really want to work for anyone else anymore. When the opportunity came up to run my own place I jumped at it. I like working in Ramsgate, it’s more chilled than London and life is a lot slower.” It’s about to get much more fast-paced for Luke, because the secret is out, and you’re looking at the local foodie scene’s next big thing. aryaramsgate.co.uk

Image by Sheradon Dublin

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FOOD & DRINK

George Bellamy-Adams The Modern Boulangerie “Originally I actually wanted to be a chef,” confesses George, as I munch down one of his vegan croissants — every bit as delicious as his buttery ones. “However, the only place I could find apprentice work was in a bakery. Turned out I had a natural talent for the craft so I decided to run with it, and I’ve never looked back.” You’ll have trouble tracking down The Modern Boulangerie, although you may well have already eaten his superlative pastries at Archive, The Falstaff Hotel, or Little Ships, and elsewhere across Thanet. Currently TMB has no shopfront; it’s effectively hidden. I found his delicious baked treats by following my nose to an incongruously sweet-smelling games shop on Queen Street, The Grumpy Goblin. “The unusual location is just sheer luck,” George explains. “I’m friendly with the owner

“Ramsgate’s a pirate cove filled with creatives and foodies. It has this relaxed, melting-pot vibe”

and he was very supportive of what I was doing and wanted to help. I’ve been here ever since.” Before opening TMB in Ramsgate, George cut his teeth in London, perfecting his trade as Prescott & Conran’s youngest head baker at The Boundary Project in Shoreditch. His speciality is laminated products, like croissants, pain au chocolat, and puff pastry. “Compared to Ramsgate, London is stressful, and an exceptionally lonely city,” says George. “Ramsgate’s a pirate cove filled with creatives and foodies. It has this relaxed, melting-pot vibe, and more of a focus on small businesses. I love the harbour, the clanking masts in the mornings, the rough seas in the winter, and the multitude of dogs I meet on the beach. I love how enthusiastic the people are: it’s really inspiring when I hear what people think of my stuff, and it makes me work harder to produce better.”

Image by Sheradon Dublin

Private customers can order by visiting facebook.com/themodernboulangerie

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FOOD & DRINK

Craig Mather Little Ships “From the age of 12, while cooking with my nan, I knew I had a passion for food and wanted to become a chef,” Craig Mather, head chef at Little Ships tells me. Although he trained at the Michelin-starred Mallory Court in Leamington Spa, Craig is originally from Thanet and has lived here for most of his life. “I studied for three years at Thanet College, renowned for its catering department, producing the likes of Gary Rhodes and Nathan Outlaw. After graduating I wanted to focus my skills on fine dining, but sadly there were very few opportunities locally back then.” On returning to Thanet after the birth of his first son, Mather headed up a celebrated fish restaurant in Ramsgate called Eddie Gilbert’s, and got to know the owner of The Empire Room and Little Ships, James Thomas. He then went back to Thanet College, this time as a lecturer. “It was great, teaching new chefs the skills I learned in the trade as well as the things I’d learned there myself as a student,” says Craig who taught for four and a half years, “but I missed the adrenalin of a busy service and wanted to get back into restaurants.” Specialities at his newest venture include a whole head of cauliflower which goes off in your mouth like an umami cannonball, while my burger is dripping with vegan bacon jam – an effect achieved by smoking water and adding it to the preserve. Craig credits his kitchen: “We have a £6,000 Harrison Oven, which was hand-built in Ramsgate, that we use for a large percentage of our menu. Cooking at temperatures of over 300°C causes natural sugars in foods to caramelise, creating amazing flavours.” facebook.com/littleshipsramsgate

Image by Sheradon Dublin

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Seafood Restaurant & Gallery at 16-18 King Street, Margate CT9 1DA 01843 280454 Sample menus & booking online at

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B-Ji Kundalini Yoga

A design-led lifestyle store and cafe offering a fresh approach to eating, drinking and shopping. Find us in one of the Military Road Arches, overlooking Ramsgate’s Harbour. Available for events & private hire.

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54-56 Harbour Parade Ramsgate CT11 8LN

01843 585008 Located above the Ravensgate Arms pub, Arya offers modern European inspired small plates in a relaxed and informal setting.

OPENING HOURS: Wednesday - 18.30 till 22.30 Thursday - 18.30 till 22.30 Friday - 18.30 till 22.30 Saturday - 12.00 till 15.00 and 18.30 till 22.30 Sunday - 12.00 till 17.00 FOR BOOKING AND ENQUIRIES: Tel: 07943628357 Email: aryaramsgate@gmail.com

“This is top notch food without the pretentiousness” The Isle of Thanet News “Phenomenal food and impeccable service in a perfect waterfront setting. Lunch here was one of the best meals I have ever experienced!” Google reviews “Outstanding food, the Monday night supper club is excellent value too” ResDiary customer review

www.littleshipsramsgate.co.uk

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FOOD & DRINK

Sundownerson-sea

From artisanal gins to craft beers, we pick the best placesWriter in town to enjoy a Laura Nickoll refreshing summer drink – plus give you two great cocktail recipes so you can create your own at home Writer

Illustrator

The terrace at Belle Vue Tavern by Zuza Czarniavska

Townley’s

Belle Vue Tavern

Zest

Sophisticated sips

For a drink with altitude

Mischievous mixology

The view that gives this pub its name is breathtaking. Self-named ‘the balcony of Kent’, it has far-reaching views across Pegwell Bay and a generous terrace from which to soak them up. It’s a captivating place on a hot day and a dream spot for sundowners. With almost 300 years of maritime history etched into its walls, the Belle Vue has colourful tales to tell, from 18th century smugglers who stored contraband in the pub’s cellars, to a visit from the Duchess of Kent and Princess Victoria in the 1830s. Live music and BBQs at the weekend are a given in warmer months, and they pull in the crowds, but entertainment is peripheral – watching the sun set over the bay, with a cold beer in hand, is about as good as it gets. thebellevuetavern.co.uk

Tyler and Chris have been running this cocktail bar and café since 2018, and have put together an imaginative roster of ludicrously tasty cocktails. They make a noticeable effort to accommodate all dietary requirements too, with their bold and colourful bistro-style food menu. When it comes to something spirited, they know their stuff: expect a riot of homemade syrups and infusions made exclusively for their cocktails, and fun mocktails which take the strong stuff out, but leave the sun in. Plus keep your eyes peeled for their cocktail masterclasses and science of mixology evenings. Psst… if you’ve never thought of pairing cocktails and cake, let Zest educate you with some fine booze-and-sponge combos. facebook.com/zestcafeandbar

Laura Nickoll

Kavel Rafferty

Townley’s, the Albion House hotel’s restaurant and cocktail bar, occupies a clifftop spot above the harbour, with views out to sea. As befits the bar’s atmosphere of refined elegance, the menu focuses on the classics, shaken or stirred to your liking, and a handful of signature Townley’s cocktails, too (don’t expect Sex on the Beach). Or you might prefer an effervescent Aperol spritz, a perfect aperitivo to sip languorously on a hot summer’s day. Thursday is three-fortwo cocktail night, and the monthly Gin and Jazz nights – any excuse to celebrate the ginaissance – are popular with the locals. townleysramsgate.co.uk

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• NEW: WING WEDNESDAY •

25ml fresh lemon juice 175ml chilled sparkling water knob of ginger ribbon of lemon peel ice cubes Pour the juices and water into a short glass, add plenty of ice and garnish with the ginger and lemon peel.

Zest Cocktail Recipes “This summer at Zest we’re cutting back the sugar and packing in fresh fruit and zesty flavours. Try these refreshing mocktail and cocktail recipes: they’re perfect for making in batches to serve to guests as the first drink at a BBQ or garden party.” (No gadgets or gizmos necessary!)

English Garden Party Fresh juice of 2 Granny Smith apples 25ml Bloom gin 25ml crème de cassis ice cubes Combine the apple juice and gin in a mixing glass with ice cubes. Pour into a large wine glass, then slowly pour in the crème de cassis to create a striking layered effect.

• SUNDAY ROASTS – BOOKING ADVISED •

25ml fresh ginger juice

• COCKTAIL THURSDAYS – 2 FOR £12 •

Lemon and Ginger Thirst-Aid

• MONTHLY FARMERS MARKET • 50 Marine Terrace, Margate, CT9 1XJ www.cinqueports.co.uk 01843 269 431

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Square Roots Writer

Sean Farrell

Photographer Joshua Atkins

Take a stroll through the history of Ramsgate’s elegant garden squares, from their military origins to a view that inspired Van Gogh

nyone looking to chart Ramsgate’s rise, fading fortunes and promise of renewal could look no further than Spencer Square and Vale Square. Sitting almost side by side on the Westcliff, both squares have royal connections and joint histories spanning war, the arts, religion and commerce. They also have a stunning range of architecture – from the Georgian period up to the 2000s. “The two squares are unique because each represents several different schools of architecture which are not a normal feature in squares, which tended to be made by one nobleman or architect,” local historian Brian Daubney says. “These are anchor sites that give character to the whole town as well as space that is lacking elsewhere in central Ramsgate.” Spencer Square, which developed first, is named after the aristocratic Spencer family

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of which Diana, Princess of Wales was the most famous member. The Spencers owned the site before selling it to the Townley family in the early 19th century. The Townleys, who were related to the Spencers, had been buying land in Ramsgate since 1790 as the town developed as a seaside resort and port. James Townley was a lawyer in London and his wife Mary was an artist and designer who studied under Sir Joshua Reynolds. The Townleys quickly built the ten houses on the corner of Spencer Square, reputedly designed by Mary, along with stables. These houses became officers’ quarters as all the land from Spencer Square to Adelaide Gardens was used as a parade and exercise ground for cavalry during the French wars. Tens of thousands of soldiers were stationed at Ramsgate ready to repel a feared invasion by Napoleon. The family built barracks on the west and north sides of the square. The long military presence added to Ramsgate’s prosperity and development as assembly rooms, bazaars and other enterprises sprung up. By 1819, with Napoleon at bay, the soldiers had left and the Townleys converted the barracks into private homes, completing the square by 1840. By this time the development of what is now Vale Square was well underway. The oldest building on the square is the Hermitage, which was built around 1820 during a short

ARCHITECTURE

craze for thatched houses. In 1839 James Creed Eddels, who had become rich as a hosier in London’s Piccadilly, bought five acres of arable land and moved into 5 Victoria Place, which is now the row of Georgian townhouses at the east side of the square. Within a year, Eddels had built Royal Villa, Eden House and Cambridge Villa and in 1841 he agreed to establish a square with a central garden called Ramsgate Vale. By 1850 the square was more or less complete and became a central part of Ramsgate’s civic and commercial life. Christ Church, designed by the architect Gilbert Scott, opened for worship in 1847 as the Church of England’s response to the Pugin building St Augustine’s Catholic church nearby. The two squares thrived as Ramsgate became ever-more popular, hosting well-todo residents and visitors. In 1876 the town’s most famous resident arrived in Spencer Square when the young Vincent van Gogh

“These are anchor sites that give character to the whole town”

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ARCHITECTURE

spent two months teaching languages at a boarding school on Royal Road, owned by William Stokes. Van Gogh lived in a room on the top floor of 11 Spencer Square and only left Ramsgate when Stokes moved the school to Isleworth in Middlesex. Van Gogh fell in love with Ramsgate and wrote several letters to his family enthusing about the town. One described the view from his room “onto the roofs of the houses one sees from there and the tops of the elms dark against the night sky. Above those roofs, one single star, but a nice, big friendly one.” Van Gogh’s residency at number 11 was not discovered until 1982 when a local researcher, Ruth Brown, found Stokes paid rates on the building. “On the top floor I found a small room with a view just as Vincent had described it,” she said at the time. Later in the Victorian period Lillie Langtry, the actress and mistress of the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, stayed at Vale Square when performing at the Palace and Sanger’s theatres. Brian Daubney says Royal Villa was made available to Edward

and Langtry for their regular liaisons. Vale Square was also a commercial and diplomatic hub around this time. Brussels House, which faces onto Christ Church, was a Belgian consulate to facilitate trade. The squares have remained part of the town’s community life with ups and downs. Spencer Square’s centre has been a public space for a century or more, with tennis courts added probably in the 1920s. During World War II the square had an entrance to the Ramsgate Tunnels. At Vale Square, Eddels made the gardens open to local residents but by the mid-1980s they had become run down. Residents reclaimed the land and revived the gardens, which are now a central part of the community again. Spencer Square now has a bust of Van Gogh, commissioned to tie in with an exhibition of his work at Tate Britain. Signs of revival are evident as houses are refurbished. Vale Square is home to designers, lawyers and even a rock star, echoing its prosperous and varied past. The squares, an indelible part of the town’s fabric, are on the up as Ramsgate revives.

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A Life Aquatic Writer

Francesca Baker

Images courtesy of Marianne Dissard

If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve passed Ramsgate Harbour, you will have seen a very elegant 1965 Bermudan ketch, home to local Marianne Dissard. We step aboard the Wendy Woo

heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s quite a sight. Majestic, beautiful, welcoming and warm. At twenty Thames tons, Wendy Woo is one the larger boats in the Hillyard range. Built in 1965 at Littlehampton (the site of the original, long-standing David Hillyard yard where as many as 800 boats were built from the 1920s until 2009), her owners have included Sir David Mansel Lewis KCVO from Burry Port, Wales, the Howicks from Littlehampton, a Mr Hookings from Falmouth, HF Thomas, also from Falmouth, Ralph Howick from Brighton, and Nicholas Gray from Sandwich. As well as being an author of some wonderful books on sailors, he salvaged Wendy Woo and gave her a major refit between 2011 and 2015, including new rigging and sails, a new engine, complete cosmetic refit and all new equipment. Hillyards are legendary for their sea kindliness, and Wendy Woo did cross the Atlantic Ocean in the 1970s. As recently as 2013, she was winning beauty contests at St Katharine Docks in London.

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PROPERTY & INTERIORS

“A wooden boat requires the right balance of wind and sun, pleasure and pain”

A few weeks ago she moved to Dartmouth, ready for her new owner. But over the last couple of years she has been home to musician and artist Marianne Dissard, who has been lucky enough to call Ramsgate Harbour her home. Marianne bought her in January 2017. But the desire for a permanent base had started the year before, when, fed up of moving place to place in the US, Paris, Berlin and southern Italy, she decided that England was the place she wanted to be. A tour around the UK, and a very frank look at finances, drew Marianne to the idea of a boat, and she discovered the Wendy Woo in Ramsgate marina. Originally her plan was to take her to Albert Docks in Liverpool. “But a week into my stay in Ramsgate,” Marianne explains, “I met the owner of Vinyl Head Records & Cafe who introduced me to the harbour music studio Arco Barco. There I met a fantastic musician with whom I started a short-lived band we named St Tropez. I was hooked on Ramsgate. Wasn’t the Royal Harbour the St Tropez of England, as some would half-jokingly tell me? Forget Liverpool. I had found my home.” Living on the harbour has been wonderful, says Marianne. The small community is unique, with familiar faces strolling and sailing by, and you’re close to nature,

Image by Jo Gray

including seagulls, cormorants, seals, and eels. There is, she says, “a feeling of connection to the activities of the harbour. The comingand-going of boats, the rhythmic lifting and lowering of the bridge, and of tides. On the water the elements of wind, sun, rain, temperatures, and swells are all keenly felt.” Marianne has lived in some interesting places. She started as a filmmaker in Los Angeles in the early 90s when the independent cinema scene was exploding with vitality and relevance. She became a singer in pregentrification Tucson, Arizona when its burgeoning music scene caught the attention of European audiences. She spent time in Paris in the mid-90s when the contemporary dance scene was fresh and inspiring. She lived for some time in a Nogales, Mexico hotel room a stone’s throw from the American border, in a cave house in the old town of Matera, Italy, and a small Latvian town. Home has been in the Mormon enclave of Mesa, Arizona, and in a grand old hotel converted into university dorms in Downtown LA long before the art galleries moved in. “But,” says Marianne, “living on board Wendy Woo, next to The Sailors’ Church in the Royal Harbour, while working daily from the music studio in the arches? Second to none.” The boat hasn’t been just a roof over Marianne’s head, but has also played an important part in her art, music, and writing. “A wooden boat requires constant maintenance, time and money,” she says. “It’s a level of dedication and focus that allows for little distraction but needs the right balance of wind and sun, pleasure and pain. A working and living historical harbour is a most inspiring cauldron of stories. From the heroic retreat from Dunkirk to the silly saga of Seaborne Freight, the Ramsgate Harbour never ceases to inspire me, its denizens my entry point to understanding all-things English.”

Pi la te s

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Nice Things and the gallery Put the Fun back into shopping! From porcelain vases to contemporary steel jewellery, from hand-rolled felt to sequin-covered mermaids, Nice Things, just off Ramsgate’s royal harbour, has a huge collection of beautiful and unusual things, handmade or manufactured by independent designers. Most are made locally. The shop is fun, colourful and friendly. We specialise in showing work you won’t find elsewhere, often by emerging makers, giving new chances to sell for the first time. Nice Things and The Gallery 19-21 Harbour Street Ramsgate www.nice-things.co.uk (online shop) www.thegallerynicethings.co.uk

We offer a range of contemporary Pilates matwork classes throughout the week, for many different needs and abilities. Whether you’re eight or eighty, super fit or just-working-on-it, a Pilates devotee or complete newbie, we’ll help you develop your body and mind to become stronger, healthier and happier. To find out more or to book your class please visit:

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ART & CULTURE

Coastal Creations Writer & Photographer Georgie Hurst

Sculpture and pottery have a deep-rooted heritage around the coastline of the UK. Vivienne Yankah and E. J. Laven are two ceramic artists living in Ramsgate who engage deeply with their local landscape, incorporating a fascination with timeweathered objects, undulating natural forms and textured surfaces into their ceramic vessels and sculptural works

Vivienne Yankah

ivienne Yankah revived a love of ceramics during her career as a primary school teacher, and began attending evening classes while still living in London, utilising photographs from her travels in the Scottish Highlands as inspiration. Her earlier pieces were informed by the cairns (man-made piles of stones) she came across in Kinloch Rannoch, Perthshire. “It’s the most beautiful place, totally remote,” she says, “that’s been very inspirational. But so has Thanet…who’d have thought?” After touring tidal pools across the UK with a friend, Vivienne felt drawn to coastal living, and made the move to Ramsgate with little prior knowledge of the artistic scene already burgeoning here. I meet Vivienne at Marl Studios, which she shares with fellow ceramicist Nigel Cunningham. She and Nigel first met at Clayspace in Margate, a place that welcomed her to the artistic community within her first few weeks of living in the area, and became her spiritual home for “a good two years, it really felt like they were my family.” Her first ceramic show here in 2017 was “all about stones”, mostly informed by the flint and chalk of the Thanet coastline. She talks adoringly of a “huge stone on Reculver beach that has this crack on it, where beautiful honey-coloured stones have got stuck over the years.” This personal landmark can be seen in the surface details of Vivienne’s Black Rannock Stone, which

also takes an influence from the Scottish lochs for the dark glaze of the piece. Other works show a fascination with the colours, shapes and barnacled texture of buoys. Vivienne is currently incorporating the female form into her works on stones, utilising her studies from life-drawing classes and “exploring both stone-like and figurative shapes” in her hand-built works and vessels, particularly with a view to “body image and how it’s still so prominent that women want the ideal figure.” She recently showcased another of her latest experimentations, sound, at Meridian 5.41, a monthly installation show at Archive that she set up with four other local artists. Vivienne’s show came from wanting to create a “sound curtain,” she says. Her hands glide over long strips of ceramic dangling on a mobile. They clatter together like metal. “I hadn’t expected the different sounds,” she tells me, but from the pure accident of trying to recreate the clinking sound that pots make after firing when they are cooling, she created a collage of varying timbres, which also bears resemblance to the sounds of masts and guy ropes in the breeze. This, Vivienne tells me, was the inspiration behind the name of her exhibition, Resonance: “both resonance in terms of sound and how the work resonates with Ramsgate’s harbour.” If you want to find out more about Vivienne’s work, her studio, Marl Studios, is part of East Kent Open Houses this October. vivyankah.com

“I go down to the beach every morning, and I can’t not pick things up!”

E. J. Laven

ibby, who works under the name E.J.Laven, has an endearing fascination with collecting relics and oddities from the shorelines of Kent, drawn by the mystery of their purpose, meaning or individual histories. As we enter her studio, she takes her findings from this morning’s dog walk out of her pocket: pieces of elegant, seasmoothed driftwood, fragments of mediterranean pottery, a rusted bottle cap and cloudy sea-glass are archived into the storage bins on her desk. “I just love when things are sea-worn” she tells me. “I go down to the beach every morning, and I can’t not pick things up!” Growing up amongst Whitstable’s now “longvanished sail lofts and semi-derelict boat yards” greatly influenced her artistic style, as did the “stretches of deserted beaches, windswept marshes and muddy creeks around Faversham and Swale and the chalky coastline of Thanet.” The textural quality and rich mineral make up of E. J. Laven’s work is striking. Libby talks with glee about the locally sourced clays, sands and oxides she uses to make her pieces. “I tend to use a little bit from each beach and mix it in with a manufactured clay, to give it a texture,” she says - her husband John likens it to “seasoning in a recipe.” It’s an alchemical art form; in E. J. Laven’s little tidal pool pieces, a mixture of sea-glass, oxides, stones and

sand found on the beach are melted together and an accidental vibrant blue line is formed. Her more abstract sculptural pieces are left unglazed and fired to stoneware temperatures, staying true to the textural quality of the stones that inspired them. When she is not creating ceramic vessels or abstract sculptures, E. J. Laven assembles her coastal findings in antiquarian fashion, and paints them with an exquisite attention to detail. Her series of paintings, Shoreline Collections, came about after years of beachcombing, finally deciding to paint them exactly as they were, capturing in each what is was that originally enticed her to reach out and pluck them from the shore. Much of E. J. Laven’s sculptural work is deliberately ambiguous, in ode to her seaside findings; she loves that when you “pick something up, instantly your mind is working away about what it could be.” It is because of this, she says, that she “wouldn’t mind if someone picked up my work and said ‘it reminds me of a Terry’s chocolate orange’ or an ‘anemone.’” It is the personal connection with the viewer that gives the object its meaning. Libby also produces more decorative, functional blue and white terracotta pieces under the name ‘Shoreline Ceramics’. You can find out more through her Facebook pages: facebook. com/shorelineceramicsramsgate and facebook.com/ejlaven

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PEOPLE

Unsung Heroes: Steven Kirby-Brown Writer

Zoe Davies

Photography Adrian Davies

In his role with Ramsgate Sea Scouts Stephen KirbyBrown helps teach essential maritime skills. We find out about his contribution to this valuable local institution

ver since it was built in 1878 The Sailor’s Church and Harbour Mission has been woven into Ramsgate’s maritime history. Overlooking the Royal Harbour it was originally a place of spiritual guidance for the crew members of the fishing smacks. It continued this role of solace to the troops during both world wars, possibly most acclaimed when Charles Herbert Lightoller, the most senior surviving officer of the Titanic, captained the Sundowner during Operation Dynamo. With a young Sea Scout as the only other crew member, the duo aided in the ‘small ships’ evacuation of British troops from Dunkirk. This link to the Sea Scouts continues to this day with the Royal Harbour troop, the 6th Ramsgate Sea Scouts, currently using The Sailor’s Church as their base. Stephen Kirby-Brown is now the Group Scout Leader and volunteers on average 30 hours each week to ensure that the traditions of Sea Scouting are passed onto the next generation. Since Stephen first joined the troop as a Beaver 33 years ago he has lived and breathed Scouting. For this dedication he was presented with the Queen’s Scout Award and honoured to carry the flag in the Colour Party for the National St George’s Day Parade. These accolades made it a natural progression for him to become a leader. “I wanted to give something back to the movement,” he says. “To have the knowledge that we are helping people and watching the children’s faces as they achieve things. There is so much pressure put onto young people not to make mistakes that they are almost afraid to try anything new. However, scouting helps them to realise that it is ok not to get everything right the first time. It teaches them that failure is a part of life and often quite

positive because you can learn from it.” Stephen explained that the skills they teach in a fun environment ensure that the children have the capability of thinking calmly and decisively if they find themselves in difficulty on the water. “When they are in a safe environment they start to create, to think about possible outcomes and make contingency plans,” he says. “This is such an important skill. Too often young people are conditioned to rely on adults to make the decisions when actually they have the knowledge to do so themselves. I enjoy seeing this realisation as they work through problems. Being a coastal town I truly believe that this ability could save their lives.” The Sea Scouts teach all of the normal Scouting badges

but as they are affiliated with the Royal Navy they also do multiple water sports including canoeing, powerboating and lifesaving. “Not only that but we are an important part of the harbour community,” Stephen adds. “The traditional trades are declining due to a lack of knowledge but we teach the skills and proficiency to help keep the harbour thriving. I love seeing our young people move into maritime-based careers knowing that we have given them the passion for it.” Thanks to Stephen and his team’s dedication, the Royal Harbour will likely remain a place of training and maritime fun for generations to come. 6thramsgateseascouts.org.uk

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Once Upon a Time in Thanet Georgie Hurst

You’ve called the Thanet of this novel a ‘Gothic, nonnaturalistic place’. What inspired your choice of a more uncanny setting?

lood is a Gothic black comedy seen through the eyes of six-foot Monica, who speaks her secret thoughts aloud and who has been banned from ocial media by the principal of her school: “Governors queried your use of ‘moron’ and ‘twat’.”

et in anarchic modern times where terrorism has become routine, Blood o asks serious questions about contemporary life: what can we do with the onstrous men who bully women and the weak? Can we wait for a world of der and justice? If we hit back, can the circle of violence ever be broken?

MAGGIE GEE has written 15 books to great acclaim, and her work has been translated into 14 languages. One of Granta’s original ‘Best of Young British Novelists’, she has been shortlisted for global prizes including the Orange (now Women’s) Prize, and the Dublin International IMPAC Prize. She is a Professor of Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, a Director of the Authors’ nsing and Collecting Society and a Vice-President of the Royal Society of Literature.

SE FOR MAGGIE GEE’S WRITING

VE THE WORK OF MAGGIE GEE: WICKEDLY SMART, FUNNY AND FEARLESS, GENUINELY PRISING. READ HER.” PATRICK NESS

PING, ORIGINAL, HIGHLY ENTERTAINING – THE FLOOD SHOWS GIE GEE AT HER SUPERB BEST.” J. G. BALLARD

-MOVING, ENERGETIC MY DRIVER IS CONSTANTLY SURPRISING.” RY MANTEL UK £9.99 / US $15.95

n Literary/Women/Crime/Humorous

design: Jeremy Hopes erstock / Almay

@maggiegeewriter

BLOOD MAGGIE GEE

attacked Dad? When corrupt, brutal dentist Albert Ludd is found battered d bloody after failing to attend a memorial party for his son, a soldier killed Afghanistan, suspicion falls on his other children – especially 37-year-old xom bruiser Monica, who was heard “uttering threats” against her absent ther. How come her car was found outside his house? Why did she buy a large axe? Yet Monica is a senior teacher…

w.fentumbooks.com

Ramsgate-based author Maggie Gee has set her latest novel, comedy-thriller Blood, in her hometown. She tells us about poetic license with local landmarks, and gives us an exclusive extract from the novel

Writer

“THE LUDDS. ARTISTES OF AWFULNESS. I’M ONE OF THEM. I SHARE THE BAD OOD. AND YET I HAVE MY SOFTER SIDE – AS YOU’LL SEE IF YOU STAY WITH ME. I AM MORE SINNED AGAINST THAN SINNING.”

HERE WITH ORWELL AND HUXLEY” MY PAXMAN, BBC

ramsgate recorder

LITERATURE

Well, it’s fun to take a real place you know and then ‘up it’ a bit. Blood is a black comedy and so the setting has to be heightened as well as the characters. I adore Thanet’s beautiful beaches – so does the protagonist Monica – and she does 129 × 198 SPINE: 24.536 FLAPS: 0 say at one point ‘the people of Thanet are kind, and will help you. TAKE REVENGE ON THEIR FATHER, If ADULT youCHILDREN fall over, they will pick you up,’ which THE VICTIM CRAWLS BACK … is BUT also true, in my experience! But you can’t just have nice, kind characters and beautiful beaches in a book. There would be no humour, and no drama. I love Ramsgate’s Harbour Brasserie, and set a scene there, but it’s not completely realistic - you can’t really climb out through the loo window and drop down to the beach, to escape the police, as Monica does in the book. Great fun to write though, and I hope, to read.

BLOOD MAGGIE GEE

close down police stations, bad things will happen.

Monica is an unusually likeable character, with very strong opinions. Do you think it’s important for literature to present those with views that differ from the accepted norm? I’m really glad you like my six-foot, eighteen-stone Monica. I loved her too. Yes, I really enjoy showing people who are outsiders, outspoken, courageous and fun. There are lots of things we’re not supposed to say: Monica says them all!

Monica speaks teasingly about the ‘great gamut of artists and musicians’ in Thanet. Do you think there is a cultural divide that needs to be reconciled in the area? Unlike Monica, I think it’s wonderful that there are so many artists and musicians and writers – that’s why we’re here. Everyone’s creative, given a chance - look at the wonderful pictures we all paint as little children. But adults have to be brave to do it. There are adverts everywhere in cafes for cheap classes. Or the beach is free - make stone sculptures. Or take wonderful photos on your phone. A divide? Maybe Ramsgate does have a problem with letting everyone know about the amazing things on offer.

What do you think are the biggest challenges facing writers at the moment? Amazon’s destructive effect on independent bookshops and publishers. But fear of writing is the biggest challenge - you just have to do it, in the end.

With the backdrop of Brexit and global terrorism, you make the violence and blood in your novel into a bit of a farce. Why?

Other than Blood, are there any books you’d recommend readers take with them to the beach this summer?

It’s a mixture of farce and absolute terror. With the country in the state it is, as we quiver on the edge of Brexit, you have to laugh or you’d cry. Yet something very serious is going on. The underlying theme in the book is ‘MAGGIE GEE IS GROUNDBREAKING the violence and the law. ANDconflict COMPULSIVELY between READABLE’ GUARDIAN Revenge is no substitute for justice. But if you

Home Fire, by Kamila Shamsie, for something really different. Normal People, by Sally Rooney, a love story with quiet intelligence that actually manages a happy ending. Blood is out now, by Fentum Press (£9.99).

ramsgate recorder

LITERATURE

Extract 129 × 198 SPINE: 24.536 FLAPS: 0

also asks serious questions about contemporary life: what can we do with the monstrous men who bully women and the weak? Can we wait for a world of order and justice? If we hit back, can the circle of violence ever be broken?

BLOOD MAGGIE GEE

Monica, Blood’s eccentric heroine, “THE LUDDS. ARTISTES OF AWFULNESS. I’M ONE OF THEM. I SHARE THE BAD a six-foot Deputy Head who has BLOOD. AND YET I HAVE MY SOFTER SIDE – AS YOU’LL SEE IF YOU STAY WITH ME. never learned isSINNING.” on the run from I AM MORE SINNEDtact, AGAINST THAN the police after her father, corrupt Who attacked Dad? When corrupt, brutal dentist Albert Ludd is a found battered and bloody after failing to attend a memorial party for his son, a soldier killed inMargate Afghanistan, suspicion falls on his other – especially 37-year-old dentist, ischildren found battered — buxom bruiser Monica, who was heard “uttering threats” against her absent father. How come her car was found outside his house? Why did she buy a Monica’s car happens to be outside his large axe? Yet Monica is a senior teacher… house. Today she has risked slipping Blood is a Gothic black comedy seen through the eyes of six-foot Monica, who speaks her secret thoughts aloud and who has been banned from into Ramsgate inschool: heavy social media by the principal of her “Governorsdisguise queried your use to of ‘moron’ and ‘twat’.” meet her twin brothers. Set in anarchic modern times where terrorism has become routine, Blood

The Harbour isheraworkbuilding MAGGIE GEE has written 15 Brasserie books to great acclaim, and has been translated into 14 languages. One of Granta’s original ‘Best of Young British Novelists’, she has been shortlisted for journalists global prizes including the Orange which clapped-out would (now Women’s) Prize, and the Dublin International IMPAC Prize. She is a of Creative Writing at Bath Spa University, a Director of the Authors’ call Professor ‘iconic’. It sits on the far prong of Licensing and Collecting Society and a Vice-President of the Royal Society of Literature. Ramsgate Harbour. I strode along the PR AISE FOR MAGGIE GEE’S WRITING quay towards it, past the Main Sands and “I LOVE THE WORK OF MAGGIE GEE: WICKEDLY SMART, FUNNY AND FEARLESS, GENUINELY the Wetherspoons pavilion with lounging SURPRISING. READ HER.” PATRICK NESS SHOWS past two old “GRIPPING, ORIGINAL, HIGHLY ENTERTAINING – THE FLOOD Grecian gods on the roof, MAGGIE GEE AT HER SUPERB BEST.” J. G. BALLARD men with fishing lines and a trio of surly “FAST-MOVING, ENERGETIC MY DRIVER IS CONSTANTLY SURPRISING.” HILARY MANTEL young eastern Europeans leaning and UK £9.99 / US $15.95 “UP THERE WITH ORWELL AND HUXLEY” complaining on the harbour wall, black JEREMY PAXMAN, BBC leather jackets, cigarettes. They look at Fiction Literary/Women/Crime/Humorous us as if we hate them, now that we’ve @maggiegeewriter www.fentumbooks.com voted to chuck them all out, but keep your glares to yourselves, my friends, I don’t have much against Poles or Latvians, and Lithuanians can be a laugh. On the right, boats in their silted-up moorings. Keep going along the narrow mole, I would be late, it was five to ten, but a gust of wind caught up the black cape with which I was trying to disguise myself, unsteadied me and spun me round, and I saw two blond boys below in the harbour, dropping anchor from a pale blue yacht. They were slight boys, lissom; it took both of them to heave the anchor over the side. For a second I yearned to have fun with them, but I spotted my brothers’ new Aston Martin, long and silver like a single cigar-case, parked in the shelter of the Brasserie wall. I could keep those boys as pets, in a golden cage, but no, I must go and meet my brothers. The Harbour Brasserie looks like a ship, with an open upper deck that has views towards Calais, and the sea runs past it through the harbour mouth, with Ramsgate behind at an elegant distance, the beautiful line of its two long cliffs and the town between them, rose and white, its military crescents curved to the light. Boris and Angus were sitting inside, cheek by jowl in the long sea window, backs to the silver glare of the waves so their long, identical faces were in shadow, two magnificent jaws like Desperate Dan from the Dandy comic we loved as children. ‘Mon, thank God!’ Cover design: Jeremy Hopes Shutterstock / Almay

ADULT CHILDREN TAKE REVENGE ON THEIR FATHER, BUT THE VICTIM CRAWLS BACK …

BLOOD MAGGIE GEE

‘MAGGIE GEE IS GROUNDBREAKING AND COMPULSIVELY READABLE’ GUARDIAN

‘Thank God, Mon!’ Yes, my brothers were unanimous. ‘Boys!’ I said. ‘Bozzer! Angs!’ It was a special occasion so I used their pet names, and to my surprise they surged up and hugged me, proper big hugs that made my rib-cage ache. ‘Did you do it, Mon?’ Angus said at once, and Boris nudged him in the side so hard that Angus stopped and stared at him, hurt.‘Oh sorry, Boris said I mustn’t say you did it, not even to the police.’ ‘Especially to the police,’ Boris added. ‘You lummox!’ I said, ‘And keep it down. The bar staff are listening.’ A thinfaced youth was staring our way, probably at my bulky burka, I have no truck with anti-Muslim prejudice, Christians with tambourines are worse. ‘We have to stick together,’ I said. ‘Got that,’ said Angus, and ‘He’s got it,’ said Boris. ‘Yes, yes, I’m not thick,’ boasted Angus. ‘He isn’t, Mon,’ echoed Boris. Angus and Boris smiled at each other, the pleased, deep, tender smiles they used when they looked directly at each other. Encouraged by this, Angus continued ‘But still, I’d like to know – did you do it?’ Boris and I groaned together. ‘I’m hungry,’ I said, like a child sulking. ‘Breakfast,’ said Boris. ‘Go order, Angus.’

Three ‘Ludd Specials’, which meant doubles of everything. The barman brought it over politely enough but again he stared hard in my direction. ‘I need ketchup,’ Angus told him, but instead the man went back and talked on his phone. The three of us ate companionably, distributing food according to known preferences, so I got Boris’s extra mushrooms and he got my fifth rasher of bacon, and none of us had butter on our toast because at home, only Dad was allowed it. No, my brothers would never desert me, we had been through so much together... But they thought they knew what was best for me. They wanted me back within the fold, not hiding from the police and worrying the family. Angus said ‘I need the toilet. Don’t tell him anything until I come back.’ ‘What are you, Angus, nine years old?’ As soon as he had gone I ate another sausage — actually two — then started explaining. ‘I’m not guilty, I’m not a criminal. But the truth is I was there, I saw him. It was hideous, he looked like a gargoyle, all bloodied on the bed. And I did have an axe, I can’t deny it.’ ‘Whoa there Monica, this sounds bad. You can’t admit to the axe,’ said Boris. ‘I mean, I don’t think I would have attacked him – ’ ‘If he hadn’t what?’ yelled Angus, excited, freshly returned from his toilet trip. They both leaned forward like twin inquisitors. Was this the news they were hoping for? ‘Boys, get this into your great thick skulls, I am a witness, not the guilty party.’ ‘But the axe, Mon!’ ‘Fuck it, you had a fucking axe!’ I sensed the café wasn’t empty any more, so I pointed my finger at my lips: ssshh. ‘I happened to have an axe with me, I admit I was in a bit of a temper – ’ ‘That’s very interesting, Ms Ludd.’ A familiar voice, with a Midlands twang, the associations not unpleasant, and I turned round and, oh God, it was Ginger, DI Busybody in person, standing right behind me in the beige belted mac of a TV detective, his collar turned up, a bulge in his pocket. I let my eyes linger on that. His expression was pleased, imperturbable, his pale grey eyes had a glint of triumph. I managed, hardly missing a beat, ‘Are you just pleased to see me, officer?’

Pie Factory Music What they do: The charity provides free accessible music and arts-related workshops for young people across East Kent. They specialise in working with disadvantaged young people, helping them through

Compiled by Georgie Hurst

challenging circumstances by channeling their

There are many ways to give back to the community and support local people and our environment. Here are some important causes you can give your time to this summer.

creativity. How you can help: The charity is mainly supported through donations and funders, but also regularly advertises for volunteering opportunities through their website. piefactorymusic.com

East Kent Hospitals Charity

Monkton Nature Reserve

Porchlight

What they do: This charity raises funds for the

What they do: Monkton Nature Reserve is a

What they do: This charity seeks to help those who

wards and services provided by East Kent Hospitals

not-for-profit charity that seeks to be a centre

are vulnerable and isolated get support with mental

University NHS Foundation Trust. They fund

of excellence for ecological conservation and

health, housing, education and employment. They

equipment or facilities that are not necessarily

education in East Kent. The charity preserves

provide children, young people and adults with the

provided by the NHS, such as the Precious Memories

the British flora and fauna that thrive in chalk-

advice, guidance and skills to live independently in

Suite at QEQM where mothers and partners can go

based habitats, as well as encourages and

the future and fulfil their potential.

if they have lost their baby in childbirth. They also

educates ecological awareness for the whole

assist vital medical research, specialist equipment at

community.

How you can help: Porchlight need volunteers

the cutting edge of technology, improving treatment facilities and supporting staff development.

across Thanet to help in a variety of ways, such as How you can help: As a volunteer-led charity,

supporting people who are at risk of losing their

the reserve is in constant need of helping hands.

tenancy with guidance to overcome issues they are

How you can help: Fundraising is a fun and effective

From being an educational activity leader,

facing and to help them to access mental health

way of supporting the charity, be it with a sponsored

working in the cafe or shop, fundraising, or

support services. They also have volunteer roles to

marathon run, trek, or bake sale. Donations

running the website and social marketing,

support young people identifying as LGBT+ (who

are always welcomed and there are volunteer

there are many ways you can help this fantastic

can struggle with their mental health and wellbeing),

opportunities available, whether within the office

resource. For more infomation on how to

for children facing adversity at school, as well as

or spreading the word about the charity in the local

get involved visit monkton-reserve.org/

for vulnerable adults who struggle with loneliness.

community. ekhcharity.org.uk/make-a-difference

volunteering-positions

porchlight.org.uk

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