Meet the new generation fighting for a cleaner, safer planet
THE CHILDREN OF CHANGE
WHITWHISTLERSTABLE
A DECADE OF DERBY
On the track with Kent’s original and biggest roller derby team
Three artists embracing the elements in the annual weekender
ARTISTS’ OPEN HOUSES
Autumn SeasideModern-dayFREE2022Stories 7
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Published by Brightside
19 The children of change – Rebecca Martin celebrates the new generation fighting for a cleaner, safer planet
Ltd © All rights reserved Copyright 2022
s a kid, I always struggled with sport. I had a brief stint at goal defence on the netball courts, but then pretty much dedicated the rest of Year 9 PE to forging my mum’s signature into a convincing sick note. But the growing media coverage of women’s sport over the last few years is finally leading to – deserved – wider public interest.
Cheri Percy
Amber Akinci
34 New kids on the writers’ block – Amie O’Connor Poole meets the local authors releasing new reads
31 Artists’ Open Houses – Katerina Kolyva sits down with three artists embracing the elements
Emma Brammer
Contributors
5 Written in Stone – a stroll along Tower Parade propels our columnist back to free-spirited fixture Joe Fenlon
Welcome to our autumn issue!
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original and biggest roller derby team on Herne Bay pier over a decade ago.
Clare Freeman
13 Faversham Rugby Union FC Ladies Team –how this local sports group are seeing a rise in representation
– business news and latest openings in and around the Bubble
Jen Brammer
Cheri Percy
We are regulated by IMPRESS. If you wish to make a complaint about anything that appears in the Whitstable Whistler, please visit the website brightsidepublishing.com/ contact
Acting editor-in-chief
12 Demi-Lition’s derby – tracking the rise of roller derby with Kent’s original roller derby team
22 Singing my way back to happiness – Lorna Harris explains why vocal troupe, UK Soul Choir, is more than just melody making
Illustrators
6 Gift guide – we’re not uttering the C word yet (not that one!) but it’s always good to be prepared. And shop local
24 Community kitchen with Wheelers Oyster Bar –Chef Mark Stubbs shares his signature steamed beef and oyster pudding recipe
From the Editor
10 Coastal co-working – collaborations and no commute! Consider co-working in these two spots
Heera
Social Media
A
9 The Hotlist – see in the season with the local Witches Market and a magical reimagining of Grimms Tales
44 Beer Necessities – our pinot pummeller pulls up a pew with land lubbers and sea creatures alike at the Sea Farmer’s Dive
Editorial
4ContentsTheScoop
FleaMarkChristopherVictoriaAmieJenniRebeccaKaterinaPriyaLornaDuarteRebeccaBrownCaraccioFigueiraHarrisHawesKolyvaMartinMooreO’ConnorPooleSpoonerStoneStubbsWatson
15 Field guide – Salt Marsh Walking Company’s Rebecca Caraccio embraces the signs of autumn
Just look at our Lionesses’ heroic win this summer, inspiring a new generation of young girls to look further afield than the most basic of ball games, bench ball. Lynsey McKay went one step further after moving down from Leeds in the early aughts, keen to connect with fellow skaters. For our cover story, I sat down with McKay (or Demi-Lition as she’s known on the track) to talk about forming Kent’s
36 Poets’ Corner – our regular versemakers let the Harvest Moon light up their work
46 Meet The Maker – Emma Brammer grabs a swifty at the Duke with the man behind its sign, Chris How
cover image
Printers
It’s coming home – Duarte Figueira welcomes the new state-of-the-art 3G pitch at Belmont Stadium
NaomiJadeJessAlexGemmaGulJewissLeeRobertsSpranklenStay
38 The Ruin – settle down for a ghost story as Amber Akinci confronts the tale of the Reculver Towers
Editor
Esther Ellard
Kent Roller Derby by Benjamin Vassler
Contact Website combrightsidepublishing.
16 Magic mushrooms – Jenni Moore digs into the mystery of mycelium with Urban Farm-It founder Elliot Webb
42 Weaving our way to a greener future – Victoria Spooner profiles three textile artists making strides towards sustainable change
Co-founder & Advertising director
John Murphy
Writers
47 Tankertown – the residents of Tankertown are also conjuring up inventive ways to save water at home
Issue seven Autumn 2022 September to November Publishing
Lizzy Tweedale Publishing assistant
40 Free falling – local songwriter Jude Adams reflects on her newfound freedom at the tender age of 50
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28 Through fire and flames – Duarte Figueira hears from the Kent Fire & Rescue Service
whitstable whistler 3 WhitstableWhistler DespatchDeal FolkestoneFoghorn
Kent Roller Derby team aren’t the only ones riding high for representation. I spoke with Faversham Rugby Union FC Ladies Team about their return to the pitch after a two-year break. And speaking of pioneering women, royalist or not, let us give a nod to Her Majesty the Queen who passed away as we were headed to press and marked up more years on the throne than any other monarch in British history. Now that’s some impressive innings.
Tilly ClareJFDuarteMichaelMarcusConollyClacksonEastFigueiradeKriekRandell
After a summer heatwave that none of us are about to forget any time soon, it’s not surprising that elsewhere thoughts turned to the environment. With wildfires raging across the country, Kent Fire & Rescue Service shares its seasonal safety tips. They’re not the only ones petitioning for a cleaner, safer planet either. Rebecca Martin unearths some incredible initiatives shaping our young minds into future changemakers. It isn’t all climate change calamity though. Autumn also ushers in some of nature’s most magical marvels. Like the murmurations of starlings as highlighted by resident field guide Rebecca Caraccio. Or the magic of mushrooms, as Jenni Moore digs deep into nature’s mini marvels with Urban Farm-It founder Elliot Webb. And if all that talk of fungi has got you hungry, chef Mark Stubbs at Whitstable institution Wheelers takes us his signature recipe for the most scrumptious-looking steamed beef and oyster pudding. As Lewis Carroll’s Walrus might say, here’s to a pleasant walk along the briny beach (with a few naive oysters in tow…).
Mortons Print Ltd, Morton Way, Boston Road Industrial Estate, Horncastle, LN9 6JR ♻ We print on recycled paper
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Perfect your Portuguese at Porto, 61 Harbour Street, Whitstable
Browse Bruce’s upcoming exhibitions at 66 High Street
Whitstable whistler4
After dominating our weekend brunches with their monster inannouncedGrainWhitstable-bornpastries,bakery&HearthhasasecondunitMargate’sPrintworkson
Broadstairs’ based burger joint Please, Sir! has announced its expansion in Whitstable this autumn. Rated Kent’s best restaurant on Tripadvisor, its second premises will be opening in the former site of Tabitha’s Kitchen on the High Street, as shared by owner Steve Lawrence. With a menu jam-packed with hefty burger patties and a moreish list of milkshakes, that’s your cosy Friday movie nights in sorted.
Swing by and see Grain & Hearth’s new digs at 1 Union Row, Margate
Chow down with Please, Sir! at 41 High Street
A slice of the Atlantic Ocean comes to the Kent coast
originalsWhitstableGrain & Hearth set sail to Margate
Despite swinging open its doors just as our summer issue landed, we’re certain Harbour Street’s newly welcome wine bar Porto is going to come into its own in the cooler climes. Sip on a selection of authentic Portuguese wines and appetisers (we recommend their signature port and cheese combo) or swing by early doors for a short coffee and a pastel de nata, a rich egg custard nestled in shatteringly crisp pastry. Deliciosa!
Union Row. Owner and head baker Adam Pagnor and the team will be sharing the space with Upstairs Margate, a space delicated to experimental music and those signature baked goods. Use your loaf and get down there sharpish.
NEWS
Local artist transforms former micro pub into exhibition space
The doors of ale and cider house the Black Dog have been closed since early 2020. But now, thanks to a local artist and painter, the former micropub will see a new lease of life. Already a firm favourite on our High Street, the space has been purchased by Bruce Williams who will be converting its Victorian décor into a refreshed gallery and exhibition space. Turns out you can teach an old dog new tricks.
Broadstairs burger joint joins the High Street
NOMADPIZZAWHITSTABLE.CO.UK76HIGHSTREET,WHITSTABLE,KENTCT51AZ
T
Fridays and
I always think that there’s something of the shaman about him. He lives on the edge, both metaphorically and physically. During the road protest, he lived in a tent in Convicts Wood. Later he was in a shed in someone’s garden, and later again in a makeshift shelter in Sea Street. I know his sister Vicky fairly well as she was a postal worker at the same time as me. We often used to chat about Joe, wondering what he was up to these days.
written i
Writer Christopher Stone Illustration Jade Spranklen n stone
enigmatic, a series of apparently unrelated images of old Whitstable and old adverts, with the occasional nebula thrown in for good measure.
as throat tumours. That was around the time he was homeless. His family rallied round and got him a flat while he underwent treatment. He lost all his hair. In case you haven’t guessed, Joe is an old hippie. That hair was his pride and joy, the mark of his identity. I bumped into him one day. I thought he
Many people of a certain age will know Joe. He’s a Whitstable fixture, born and brought up in the town. I wrote about him in my first book. I called him “Fen”. This was both a reference to his name and to the fact that there’s something untamed about him, like a parcel of fenland tucked in the midst of the urban sprawl. You always get the feeling that a little bit of wild nature had just blown in on the breeze when you meet him. I’ve been pleased to see that he’s adopted the name, calling himself Fen Lander online and in his various writings.
He and I were part of the triumvirate who started the road protest back in the 1990s, which was the subject of my book. We called ourselves the Flat Oak Society, after the ancient tree that we were trying to protect. The tree survived, although the road went through.
A dose of Whitstable life, past and present
Then he got lymphoma which expressed itself
Opening Hours: Monday to Thursday: 5-9pm Saturday: 5-9.30pm 5-9pm
He said it was the worst thing that had ever happened to him. Not getting cancer: losing his hair. You’ll be pleased to know that he made a full recovery from his illness. He still lives in that flat his family provided for him and is engaged in an art project: hence the pictures on Tower Parade. Expect to see an exhibition of his work in the town one day soon. You’ll recognise him. He’ll be the hippie with the hair.
whitstable whistler 5OPINION 01227 771 883 NOMAD PIZZA WHITSTABLE OFFERS DELICIOUS THIN CRUST PIZZA TO GO USING FRESH AND LOCAL INGREDIENTS
“There’s likeuntamedsomethingabouthim,aparceloffenlandtuckedinthemidstoftheurbansprawl”
I wondered who had put it there and why? Then I saw the web address on one of the pictures and laughed. Who else could it be but Joe Fenlon?
looked pretty cool with his new bald look: slightly edgy and sinister, like a cross between Aleister Crowley and a mob boss.
| Sunday:
here’s a stretch of fencing on Tower Parade, opposite the entrance to the swimming pool. If you walk by you’ll see that someone has placed an impromptu exhibition along it. I caught sight of it one day and stopped to look. It’s odd and
PLATTERS
Prices start from £10, harbourbooks.org
WHITSTABLE PRODUCE STORE HAMPER
guidegiftthe
Step up your Halloween game with these party-perfect sweetie platters from HoneyKanes on Harbour Street. From fizzy to foam, tailored trays can be posted for local delivery or the shop is open for click’n’collect every day.
While we’re not uttering the C word just yet (not that one!), we’ve rounded up some local wares for an indulgent post-pay day treat or to squirrel away for those inevitable stocking fillers
From £18.95, available from 23 Harbour Street or online at honeykanes.co.uk
NAOMI STAY WILD FLOWER POSTCARD BOX
Commissions start from £90, drop Gemma a DM @frompaperseeds
Buying for a bookworm but not sure what’s on their shelves? Harbour Books’ gift cards are valid for a full year after purchase so plenty of time to cash in for a cosy winter read.
These lovingly handmade necklaces are inspired by founder Laura Brown’s time living in India and are hand-crafted using traditional techniques in Jaipur, India.
Enamoured by regular Field Guide illustrations? Indulge in thirty of Naomi Stay’s British wildflower postcard prints in this charming print collection. A6 size, boxed in recycled kraft, wrapped in tissue paper. £32, available at naomistay.com/shop
£30, HONEYKANESollogii.comSWEETIE
This luxurious melting balm will not only cleanse and exfoliate naturally with the natural enzymes found in papaya seed oil but can also be used as an overnight mask. This starter kit contains the Ollogii cleansing balm and a cleansing cloth to get your serenity started.
The thought of a mad dash to Bluewater making you feel blue? Luckily, Whitstable Produce Store gather together a selection of Kent’s finest food for you. Choose your hamper and its content or let the team bring their expert skills to your bundle. £20, available from 33 Harbour Street
EVA RAY NOVA PENDANT NECKLACE
Whitstable whistler6 SHOPPING
BESPOKE WATERCOLOUR PORTRAITS BY @FROMPAPERSEEDS
Bowled over by her reimagining of Reculver Towers in this issue’s ghost story on page 38. You’d be wise to book Gemma’s skills for a one-off watercolour. Can’t decide? This print of Whitstable’s RNLI priced at £25, with a percentage going to the charity too.
HARBOUR BOOKS GIFT CARD
Finished in 18-carat gold vermeil, a polished peach aventurine gemstone sits delicately in its prongs.
OLLOGII CLEANSING BALM STARTER KIT
£75, evaray.co.uk
BRITS LOVE VINTAGE UPCYCLED FURNITURE
THE LARDER NATURAL WINES
These Pet Nat and Orange wines are from a wonderful small producer in Slovenia, two of the best natural wines we’ve tasted.
Inspired by our chats with Urban Farm founder Elliot Webb (page 16), what better way to chop those food miles down than by growing your own? Each kit contains a set of reusable tools and instructions to help you successfully select, prepare and inoculate a 50cm hardwood log.
SALT MARSH WALKING COMPANY GIFT VOUCHER
A fabulous festive selection from our favourite Kentish producers championing local, independent and inspiring brands and products. The perfect spread for spreading Christmas cheer! Macknade, £50
It’s upcycled furniture and handmade lampshades galore in Jackie’s bespoke boutique. Choose from some of her reclaimed renovations or pop in to discuss a custom commission. Or why not learn the techniques to transform your own furniture with her hands-on workshops. Gift vouchers are also available that can be used for workshops or in the shop.
WHITSTABLE CHEESE AND WINE PLATTERS
Inspired to tackle Mark’s beer-battered oysters in this issue’s Community Kitchen recipe on page 24 Pick up Wheeler’s own range of craft beers in a collaboration with Canterbrew Ltd. Choose from Stout, Ruby Ale, Pale Ale and Gold APA. Bottoms up! Available at the Offy from £3.50
HANDMADE PASSA PAA TEA STRAINER
URBAN FARM, SHITAKE MUSHROOM GROWING KIT
GIFTAVAILABLEVOUCHERS
Hankering for a hunk of oozy brie or chunk of the best cheddar? Karen and co at Whitstable Cheese and Wine will deliver a platter for two to your door. Plus, their deluxe and luxury platters (like this one here) come with a choice of Chapel Down wine too.
Prices start from whitstablecheeseandwine.co.uk/£35
KENTISH CHRISTMAS HAMPER
Prices start from thesaltmarshwalkingcompany.co.uk£25,
Inspired by Rebecca Caraccio’s quarterly quests to head into our Kent coastline and countryside? Treat yourself (or a fellow rambler!) with one of the Salt Marsh Walking Company gift vouchers and cash it in for a stomp among the fallen leaves.
£19.99 inc VAT, online at urban-farm-it.com/
Gift vouchers start from £10 and workshops from £35, available from 45 Oxford Street
Make tea time more sustainable with this hand-woven bamboo strainer, created by the Hmong and Khamu tribes in rural hillside villages in Laos. The project is actually run much closer to home by Heather Smith (Paasa Paa) of Margate and you can pick up one from the shelves of Vita Stores. £6, VITA Stores, 64 Harbour Street
whitstable whistler 7
The retail price for the Orange wine is £15.50 while the Pet Nat is £22. Both have been our best sellers this year
SHOPPING
WHEELERS’ BEER BUNDLE
Thursday 8th to Saturday 10th December 7.45pm
Wednesday 21st to Saturday 24th September 7.45pm
Tickets £12, Members £10
@PlayhouseWhitwww.playhousewhitstable.co.uk
The@playhousewhitstablePlayhouse,WhitstablePantotickets
Performances:
‘Sex With Strangers’ starts in a snowbound cabin designed as a reprieve for reclusive writers. Its sole occupant is Olivia: a 39-year-old writer worried about the public's scrutiny of her work. Her peace is shattered by the arrival of Ethan: a highly successful writer 10 years her junior.
Saturday 10th December 2.30pm
For more information on all shows please visit our website:Grimmwww.playhousewhitstable.co.ukTales
Wednesday 26th to Saturday 29th October, 7.45pm Tickets £12, Members £10
Tickets £10, Members £8
With their father made to take a job as a travelling salesman, on the road for work, a favour is asked and the boys move in with their estranged Grandmother and Aunt. They have to grow up, and along the way learn about maturity, responsibility and the importance of family.
Coming soon from The Playhouse
Ethan’s work recounts his experience of having sex with a different woman each week for a year. As an ardent admirer of Olivia’s work, within the beautiful snowy surroundings, the two writers discover they have a lot in common… a lot indeed.
Winner of the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, this coming-of-age story follows the lives of teenage brothers Jay and Arty Kurnitz in the bustle of 1940’s Yonkers, New York.
go on sale on Saturday 3rd December!
Performances:
The Lindley Players Youth Group invites you to join them on their journey through some of the original Grimm Tales, re-told by master-storyteller Philip FullPullman.ofdeliciously dark twists and turns from characters including Little Red Riding Hood and Rapunzel; these tales come to life in all their glittering, macabre brilliance, a delight for children and adults alike.
Sex With Strangers
Performances:
Lost in Yonkers
The Playhouse Theatre, 104 High Street, CT5 whats-on/playhousewhitstable.co.uk/1AZ
your home
Our local theatre troupe the Lindley Players take a festive foray into the magic and wonder of the original Grimm Tales this December. Masterful, engaging storytelling for dark wintry evenings, but keep your light on when you go to bed after…
Hearth
Sunday
8 October from 8pm
Free BleanentryWoods or Toddlers Cove
Pre-loved clothing pop-up
The Black Griffin, 40 St Peter’s Street, CT1
Community Clothes Bank return for another pre-loved and vintage clothing pop-up sale of women’s, men’s and childrenswear. So whether it’s your first taste of pulling on a pair of pre-loved jeans or you’re already a regular rummager of their racks, it’s worth heading down for a shift in your seasonal wardrobe. During their first six months, Community Clothes Bank have rehomed 7,400 items of clothing and diverted a mighty 3.3 tonnes from landfill. True homegrown heroes.
Fair and Witches Market
TaylorTailored@communityclothesbanksetfromSeanTrio
Bi-weekly on Saturdays, 9-2pm Belmont whitstablefarmersmarket.comYard
The Umbrella Centre, 10 Oxford Street, CT5 1DD IG:
Price: £15 members £17 non-members
Back by popular demand, the Workers’ League’s Love Bubble brunch returns this September. Between 2 and 4pm, there’ll be an unlimited supply of prosecco and beers on tap as platters of flame-grilled mini sliders come direct to your tables to keep energy levels up for dancing. All served up with a free flowing soundtrack of club classics, funky house and nu disco from DJ’s Jimmy London and Jesse James.
whitstable whistler 9
▲
Songs from my Soul Fresh from their sell-out London show, Songs From My Soul charts the story of Jamaican immigrant Aretha and her second-generation daughter Ginger through song and spoken word. The performance is staged as part of this year’s Canterbury Festival and asks powerful questions on life for black women in the UK.
The Malthouse Theatre, Malthouse Road, CT2 songsfrommysoul.com7JA
3 November, 6.30pm
workshopBenOCTOBER5PTDicksonlinoprint
The Fishslab Gallery, 11 Oxford Street, CT5 1DB
▲ Big Bike
▲ Homewares
MarketWhitstableintrotosourdoughgrainandhearth.co.uk/Farmers’ Local stalls descend on the Old Coal Yard on Belmont Road for the longstanding
From 8 December, 7.45pm
Whitstable Castle & Gardens, Tower Hill, CT5
On a fitting spooky Sunday, the bi-annual Psychic Fair and Witches Market returns to Whitstable Castle’s grounds for tarot readings, angel card reader, healers and wellbeing stalls. The Orangery Tearooms will also be open, serving breakfasts, lunches and cream teas to accompany your spiritual surroundings.
Fancy yourself as a regular Rousseau? Embrace the umber shades of roe deer as we head into rutting season of a mad march hare with this stag- inspired paintalong from the top folks at Art Unscrewed. Your ticket includes a cocktail, glass of wine or soft drink of your choice to help ease you back into the easel...
With nearly a decade under its belt Bookshop Day gives us all an opportunity to celebrate our local indie giants like the brilliant folks at Harbour Books. Stuck for what to dive into? Amie O’Connor Poole rounds up the new kids on the writers’ block on page 34 for inspiration.
Fresh from a string of summer shows, local rockers King For A Day host a special Halloween show for all the ghouls and gals, performing some of their newest numbers including latest single (and XRP Radio fave) “Long Live The King!” Hear, hear. 28 October, 8pm
19 November, 10-4pm, free entry
Farmers’ Market, offering up organic produce
26-27 November, 11am to 4pm Throughout Whitstable and FollowTankerton@miwtrail for nightGrimmDECEMBERupdatesTales,greatout
mixing and shaping your bread, overnight cold fermentation and even how to fire up the right environment for your
LoveSEPTEMBERBubblebrunch
Broadstairs-based artist Cath Deeson comes to our shores with an array of handprinted linocuts, affordable art and great gifts thanks to the folks at Beach Creative in Herne Bay. Head down early and sample their signature bubble and squeak rosti from Toast, the creative café next door.
Check locations and book tickets at Explorevickybikes.co.uk/shopyourinner self
Prices start from £30 Thirty Nine, 39 Oxford Street, CT5 1DB bread buffs Grain & Hearth will be hosting to Sourdough workshops this autumn covering how to keep a healthy starter, baking in kitchen. 6 November, 10-3pm, £170 & Bakery, 50-52 Oxford Street, CT5 1DG Whitstable from Ripple Farm Organics, Goody Ales, and Cheesemakers of Canterbury.
Harbourside, the South Quay Shed has a whole stash of great events to look forward from October with fish-themed Friday night sushi workshops and an upcoming makers’ market. Plus, it’s also boasting the biggest Christmas tree later this season with visits to see the big man himself and quayside carols to complete the festive fun.
Paint,NOVEMBER2BWsipandsocialise!
Follow Jeanette for more info
8 HarbourOctoberBooks, 21 Harbour Street, CT5 Love1AQdancing? Hit the Umbrella Café’s floors
23-29 September, free entry Beach Creative, Beach Street, Herne Bay CT6
30 October, 10-4pm, free entry
Folkestone-born artist Jeanette Cook explores beginnings, ending and the idiosyncrasies through sculpture, fused glass and painting. Cook creates both two-and three-dimensional pieces which oscillate between figurative and abstract, between the real and an imagined world.
For ticket enquiries, ChristmasMadeinfo@whitstablesessions.co.ukemailinWhitstablearttrail
Brush off your blue suede shoes and prepare for the Umbrella Centre’s quarterly residency, Love Dancing, to return to the café space this October. With a playlist jam-packed with disco, techno, acid house, hip-hop, jazz and house, this collective have a huge love of vinyl and an even bigger desire to get you back out on the dancefloor.
28 September – 4 October
Already coined by Metro as a “star in the making”, acclaimed singer-songwriter and blues guitarist Sean Taylor visits our shorelines thanks to Whitstable Sessions Music Club. Hear this talented modern-day troubadour perform from his most recent record, The Beat Goes On 20 November, doors/bar 6pm for 7pm start
From early October Harbour front, CT5 1AB Check in with @southquayshed. whitstable to stay up to date with event
King For A HalloweenDayshow
The Workers’ League, 1 Albert Street, CT5 1HP
The Horsebridge, 11 Horsebridge Road, CT5 Quaysidethehorsebridge.org.uk/classes1AFcreativity
17 September, 2pm
This gentle ride along the Great Stour Way is aimed at getting women back on their bikes. You and eight fellow females will ride along the smooth tarmac and sandy gravel path while building confidence cycling in a trafficfree environment. Spaces are limited though so book to secure your spot on the saddle.
From 23 September and then every Friday morning, 10-12pm
Big Bike morningsRevival
24 October, 7.30pm (Doors 6.45)
Psychic2BG
Celebratelistings Bookshop Day
Local makers and creators open their houses/studios for this special Christmas shopping event, so you can find something special for your loved ones (or yourself!) among art, ceramics, glass, prints and textiles. Contributing artists include Whitstable Tail’s Annie Taylor, paintings from Bruce Williams, bookbinding by Hope Fitzgerald, homewares by Sharon Cavalier and more.
Autumn Hotlist Sushi workshop at South Quay Shed ©Holly Farrier by Sharon Cavalier, part of the Made In Whitstable art trail Revival mornings with Vicky Bikes
Tickets available from the Umbrella Centre Café or via eventbrite
Introduction
Five sessions every Saturday, starting 1 October
Grain
Ben Dickson and five guest printmakers return to host their popular lino printmaking workshops this autumn. Taught
Printmaking@jeanettecook77 pop-up
across five sessions, each week the class will be joined by an guest lino printmaker who will share their range of experiences and own particular printmaking style. The sessions are for beginners and for those with a little experience of lino printmaking.
Book tickets workersleague.com/events,at £40pp
HearthchopsProveartunscrewed.comyourbakingwithGrain& Resident
The Umbrella Centre, 10 Oxford Street, CT5 1DD
The Umbrella Centre, 10 Oxford Street, CT5 1DD
Whitstable whistler10 BUSINESS
or many years the biggest coworking spaces in the world have been coffee shops. You go in to grab your morning flat white. You might get decent wi-fi or you might be faced with those pesky Cloud pop-ups. You’ll position yourself near the only power socket available and then have to nudge the person next to you about watching your seat while you nip to the loo. As the
and member benefits over at hivecoworking.co.uk/
WORKERS LEAGUE “[At] the Workers’ League, you can work without interruptions. There’s brilliant wi-fi and great tea and coffee. The central location is convenient and I’ve enjoyed a few of the regular pop-up events too.” Jake Loader, MD of Oxleas Treecare Limited | oxleastreecare.co.uk “OneHIVE thing I loved about being employed was the community. Hive has given me an alternative. There’s a balance between space to focus (often a challenge at home!) and to chat and connect with others.” Alex Nunn, Clear Sky @clear_sea_coachingCoaching|clearseacoaching.co.uk
The Workers’ League isn’t the only one benefitting from hosting community events in their space, as Caroline Mumford attests: “They come in here and they probably don’t even know the centre, they see that there’s co-working and go, ‘Oh!’ Renting the space to things is a good way for the community to come into the space to see it.” Now, as well as an afternoon spent in the creative workspace, you can also try your hand at a paint-along with local artist Dulcie Rowe’s entertaining Art Unscrewed evenings, or pitch in with the tremendous efforts of the Community Clothes Bank, who work in partnership with the Umbrella Centre and often use the co-working space for sorting and rummaging through the racks.
Farrangementsforward-thinking
Alongside the individual office spaces housing everyone from ethical social marketers to creative copywriting consultants, the Hive can host up to eight people on its desks and offers a flexible membership model based on your demand for the space. You’ll also benefit from a private meeting room and use of their lush community garden, not to mention ample opportunities for creative collaborations. “A lot of new members join that don’t know Whitstable or who have just moved to the area. They come in here and members instantly nurture them and you see those friendships developing quite easily,” explains Caroline proudly.
CO-WORKINGCOASTAL
hosting dynamic pop-ups and a jampacked events calendar, an approach Mat had in mind for both here and Blackheath. “When we took on Blackheath and Whitstable, it was with the idea that it’s an office in the week, but then it’s something else at the weekends and in the evenings,” he says. That something else was hugely influenced by Mat’s background in the food and beverage industry. Since its opening just over a year ago, the Whitstable space has welcomed huge foodie names, from Whitstable native James Cochran to Samphire’s own Mark O’Brien. The space’s ongoing Love Bubble Brunch teams a hearty menu of snacking sliders with a banging soundtrack of club classic, funky house and nu-disco.
The trend didn’t go unnoticed here on the Kent coast either. Original founders of Whitstable’s first co-working space the Hive, Jo Verney and Caroline Mumford set up at the Umbrella Centre back in 2018. Now managed by Caroline and her husband Steve, she recalls the moment they saw the opportunity after the space became available behind the Umbrella Centre Café: “Our regulars were crying out for a space that they could work in, so we knew we had support for a
After two years of global flux, it’s no longer just tech start-ups benefitting from collaborative ways of working. Cheri Percy speaks to two of our coastal co-working spots about the future of work and some unexpected outputs from their
“If you live in southeast London, you gravitate to Whitstable or Margate,” he reasons.Inadopting such a cavernous, twostoried industrial building, the Workers’ League places a huge emphasis on
waiter comes over to take your empty cup, you feel harangued into ordering anotherThankfully,pastry.in the mid-noughties, our American friends found a way to take the best parts of this concept –flexible working practices and minimal commuting time – without the need to worry about your power supply or hot drink expenses. In 2005 Brad Neuberg set up the first-ever official co-working space in San Francisco. Two decades and one global pandemic later, demand for co-working spaces has boomed, with analysts predicting the number to reach around 40,000 across the globe by the end of 2024.
But it’s not just sole traders and freelancers benefitting from the buzz of the Hive, as Caroline confirms: “We have people that work from home normally but want to get out of that space!” Mat Kemp, founder of the Workers’ League, believes that people are now being led by that all-important work-life balance. “It’s not about where you want your business to be; your business can be anywhere,” he says. “It’s about where you live, and what’s more useful for you. A lot of people have full-time jobs somewhere. They’re not necessarily self-employed.”
Whether you’re in a league of your own or a natural-born collaborator, Whitstable’s co-working spaces have all the coffee on tap and lightning-fast wi-fi you need ready and waiting. And who knows, a new season in a new location might lead to an utterly unexpected cross-collaboration. “We’ve had the first Workers’ League baby!” beams Mat. Now that’s productivity.
©Clare Randall
membership already. They took the first offices that were available!”
Book in for a tour at the Workers’ League and they’ll sort you out with a free barista coffee at acom/locations/whitstable/workersleague.ortakelookattheHive’spricingoptions
Mat’s decision to add a seaside location to the Workers’ League franchise was informed by fond memories of the Kent coastline growing up as a child. “I used to come on holiday with my grandmother from the year dot,” he recalls, “and I’ve had a beach hut on West Beach for thirty years before they cost any money!” When the former Pizza Express building on Albert Street came onto the market after the chain closed over 75 of its restaurants across the UK, Mat jumped at the chance to broaden his remit from the green lawns of Blackheath and the bustling east end of Shoreditch, and crafted a coastal retreat to add to his members’ mix.
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contrary to what you might remember from Coach Bombay and co in The Mighty Ducks movie, roller derby is the only full-contact team sport in the world that doesn’t use a ball, except for the game of kabaddi (the national sport of Bangladesh).Formation-wise, there are five skaters from each team on the track at any given time. Four of them are blockers, one is known as the jammer, with that signifying star on the helmet, the one driving the point scoring. Points are scored by passing the hips of the opposing team’s blockers. The blockers, again like a lot of American sports, play a dual role – both offence and defence. “It looks like ten people have bundled and, if you’re lucky, someone will pop out the other side,” jokes team coach Jon Arden. Skating’s popularity of late is unparalleled. Searches for roller skates peaked during the pandemic as, faced with gym closures across the country, many of us looked for innovative ways to exercise. TikTok cast a spotlight on the skating scene through our micro screens, and even Season 4 of The Crown showcased Princess Diana in a pair of white lace-ups, Walkman in hand, zipping through Kensington Palace’s corridors. Arden certainly noticed the uptick too: “There were teams popping
the founder of Kent’s first roller derby team Lynsey McKay and team coach Jon Arden on why skating remains the great leveller in Writersport
While they might adopt aliases on the track, what makes roller derby so special as a sport is that it remains a great leveller. From its conception, the sport has always been about breaking boundaries of gender expectations. Nowadays the same goes for body shape or size, sexuality or sporting creds. For Kent Roller Derby, it’s all about finding your own strengths and maximising them. A sentiment that McKay often takes with her when training up newer skaters: “The number of people that say, ‘Oh, I can’t do this,’ and that might not be their thing, but actually, you’ll be better at this thing because you’re a lot taller than someone or you’re a lot smaller. There’s no real perfect body shape.” After all, as Arden quips, “You might not be a sprinter on land. But you can be a sprinter on skates quite easily.”
But the sport itself has roots as far back as the 1920s in the States. Taking a lot of its influences from other American sports, roller derby probably shares the most in common with ice hockey. But
ack in the late aughts, a futuristiclooking hunk of a building perched on the base of the old Herne Bay pier, the Pier Pavilion. Behind its American sports hall facade and retro red typeset out front, the community complex was the setting of a forward-thinking formation. One balmy summer’s evening, Lynsey McKay (known rinkside as Demi-Lition) wrangled a few friends together to kickstart the first Kent roller derby team. Yet, while the Pier Pavilion might’ve closed its doors the following year, McKay’s squad is now celebrating over a decade on their quads.
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McKay first picked up her skates while living in Leeds. But after relocating to the Kent coast, she quickly realised the commute up the M1 to train was going to be a challenge. Following a few local Facebook pages that didn’t lead to much, McKay took matters into her own hands: “I realised that the easiest thing to do was just start something up here!” Kent Roller Derby (or Kent Roller Girls, as they were known back then) was the first team to form in the county.
DEMI-LITION’SDERBYWithanewseasonofrollerderbyreturning,oureditorCheriPercyspeaksto
up two or three in a city, ten in a catchment area!”
Kent Roller Derby takes on the Norfolk Brawds on 24 September at the Bay Sports Arena, Herne Bay
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Cheri Percy Photography Michael East
However, I’m happy to coach 25 people I’ve never met!” Taking her inspiration from Machinehead’s guitarist Phil Demmel (or Demmelition), she’s joined in the sports hall by Helen Degenerate, Despiser Minelli and Anni R OK? “As a coach, it’s brilliant when they fall over,” admits Arden wickedly.
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Content to keep things Kentish, Kent Roller Derby’s team is made up of female-identifying and non-binary members from as far afield as Folkestone, Tonbridge and Dartford, with founder and team captain McKay living right here in Whitstable. Everyone from NHS workers, supermarket managers, charity workers and academics make up their ranks. They’re also an official member of the Women’s Flat Track Derby Association (their equivalent of the FIFA/ UEFA governing body) which means they can now play for rankings across the globe. And they’re not faring too badly either, if Arden does say so himself: “Last time, we had a ranking of 299 in the world, which when you consider that at the time there were 80 leagues in the UK and America’s got to be in the fivehundreds of Alongsideteams…”risingup the ranks, names are also an important part of the game. Aside from their excellent commitment to playful puns, these monikers form an alter-ego for the players to get their game faces on. As McKay explains, “I’m a lot more confident when I’ve got my skates on. Generally, I’m pretty quiet and introverted, but Demi is completely different. I will not publicly speak.
For information on volunteering or getting involved with Whitstable Town Football Club, drop them an email at secretary@whitstabletownfc.club
After our Lionesses’ heroic Euros win this summer, we hear from Faversham Rugby Union FC Ladies Team about how they’re seeing the rise in representation on the rugby pitch too
training and playing their matches as far as Sittingbourne and Herne Bay,” Martin explains.
“I went to an all-girls school and we were taught netball and bench ball and that was it,” begins captain of Faversham Rugby Union FC Ladies Team Djamila Eccleston over the phone. “When I was younger women sometimes played sport, maybe on the television, but you didn’t really see it happening.” While there are few good things to come out of a global pandemic, one of those shifts has to be in the surge of interest in women’s sport. A fifth of UK adults admitted to increasing their following over the last two years, with many citing the rise in coverage as a reason for their greaterAcrossinterest.thefield in football, the new Women’s Super League broadcast rights deal, worth £8 million a season, has led to Sky Sports broadcasting up to 44 live games, two fixtures per round, and the BBC showing one live game per round. The other 75 games are also available on the FA Player. Eccleston has seen the
he installation of Whitstable Town’s new 3G pro-surfaceFifa-qualitypitchat its Belmont Stadium is a step change in the town’s football infrastructure, which will benefit both the 30-plus teams at the club and the wider community. For those not in the know, modern 3G pitches are filled with sand and rubber granules which help keep the turf pile upright, reducing surface abrasion and thus the likelihood of friction burns for players.
of the Belmont itself. To preserve the old grass pitch, only the first team, the reserves and academy were allowed to play on it, but had to train elsewhere. “It has really given the club a home. Up to now, the club’s teams were scattered far and wide,
The Belmont will now be the permanent training base for the first team, and access to the new ground will also benefit others, including the boys’ and girls’ youth squads and the over50s’ walking team. The savings made from pitch hire and travel elsewhere will contribute to the long-term sustainability of the club, as will community pitch hire and hospitality income from a sprucedup clubhouse, where the Lionesses’s European triumph was recently shown on their new TV screens. The club
Writer & photographer Duarte Figueira
Catch the Faversham Ladies first away game of the season on 16 October at Thanet Wanderers with kick-off at 2pm
It’s homecoming
But while enthusiasm is there for the team’s expansion, the ladies’ team hasn’t actually played an official game since pre-Covid, so this autumn marks a momentous moment for them to get back on the pitch. “We’re in a new league called the Warrior League, run by England RFU, and its purpose is to get more women on the pitch,” says Eccleston. And so far, it seems to be working. Since its inception, Warrior Camps have provided more than 25,000 women and girls with the opportunity to take part in rugby, thanks to the fantastic tribe of volunteers.
Tackling representation on the rugby pitch
The team, including coach Ciaran Redmond and head of the Rugby Club Dave Suter, during Canterbury’s Summer Touch League 2022 for mixed teams
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of the club, says, a large benefit of the £600k project, which included grant funding from the greatercharity,FoundationFootballisthemuchuseitallows
The huge step the club has taken with the 3G pitch and other infrastructure development should ensure that local people will have greater opportunities to participate in football as well as the chance to support a multitude of Oyster teams at the Belmont.
Writer Cheri Percy
As Ron Martin, operations director
already has five girls’ youth teams and has also opened a Girls’ Development Centre. Martin tells me the club would like to have a ladies’ team soon.
With a new state-of-theart 3G pitch set to land at Belmont Stadium, we speak to Whitstable Town’s Ron Martin on the benefits to the club’s teams
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impact on the breadth of new players joining the rugby fold too. “The majority of our players had never played rugby until they joined us,” she says. “Some are really keen rugby fans so they know a lot about it. Some have dabbled with it in university. And we’ve got some rugby mums who have watched their kids play and then decided that they might like to have a go.”
As Faversham Rugby Club celebrates its 30th anniversary this year, it’s great to see this endurance might convert into a more gender-balanced game in the future. As Eccleston reasons, “This new generation is seeing this as normal and that’s all we’ve ever wanted.”
Here to help. 01227 941 www.clinic124.co.uk611 • Acupuncture with Melanie Gleeson-Lee • Amanae Emotional Release Bodywork with Susie Chassagne • Body Mechanics and Movement Therapy with Doug Roberston • Bowen Therapy with Selina Firth • Clinical Hypnotherapy, Coaching & EMDR with Jonathan Dunn • Counselling with Bonnie Wood • Homeopathy with Lucy Cartwright • Massage Therapy with Alice Walsh • Nutrition with Eva Johnson • Osteopathy with Gemma Dawson and Jennie Gibbons • Paediatric Physiotherapy with Fran Thompson, Kent Children’s Clinic • Physiotherapy with Heidi Warren • Pilates with The Pilates Studio Whitstable • Psychotherapy with Rachael Sharrad • Reflexology & Aromatherapy with Jules Hatfield • Speech, Language & Myofunctional Therapy with Katrina Rogers • Upledger CranioSacral Therapy with Keith Davies
Prefer a guide on your bramble picking this autumn? Treat yourself to one of the Salt Marsh Walking Company’s gift vouchers (or our illustrator Naomi’s painted prints) in our bumper Gift Guide on page @naomistayillustrates@thesaltmarshwalkingcompany6
Writer Rebecca Caraccio Illustrator Naomi Stay
Icoastline
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Identifying mushrooms takes skill; I recommend going on a foraging course and always having an identification book with you. If in doubt, don’t eat it! The Woodland Trust are also now doing tours at Thornden Woods explaining the rewilding programme that has been set up (featured in issue no 4, winter). It’s a great thing to do with your children to educate them about how the bison are helping with this amazing project along with other key species that live there.
guidefield
’m standing in my garden and I feel a change in the air. There is a familiar stillness apart from the clicking and whistling of the chattering starlings that line the rooftops of the terrace houses in my street, and as I close my eyes and tune into these clever birds communicating with each other I know we have come to the latter end of the summer and are moving into earthy autumn.
Mesmerised by the starlings’ murmurations in our skies, resident Field Guide Rebecca Caraccio leads us through the signs of autumn on our Kent
The marsh at Seasalter is now quiet; adult birds who have been feeding their young are now taking a well-earned rest. The wildflowers that have gone to seed have been cut down to the floor, returning next year much to the delight of all the insects and butterflies that reside here in the summer months. The starling population has grown massively here over the past few years. Some migrate over from northern Europe, but if you want to see these birds at their best then the Seasalter marsh is the place to come for the spectacular sight of their mesmerising murmurations. This is when all starlings take flight into the air, creating patterns in the sky and giving the illusion of one black pulsing cloud. The famous composer Mozart had a pet starling which could sing part of his piano concerto in G major.
favourite gin. Store the jars
bedroom flat and grow mushrooms. If someone says to me they haven’t got the space, I tell them: it’s literally the size of a shoe box.”
ake a wander through the woods this autumn and it won’t be long before you encounter mushrooms. There’s something other-worldly about fungi: the strange colours, the weird shapes. Even the names – candle snuff, stinkhorn, lion’s mane, ruby elf cup – seem magical. Yet mushrooms are simply the visible evidence of something far stranger happening beneath your feet. Underground is a wood-wide web of mycelium, a network of entangled threads from which the mushroom will emerge. Remarkably, genetically related trees use these hidden pathways to communicate; in times of stress, a “mother” tree will seek out her offspring to send nutrients to help ensure their survival.
He set up the business three years ago from his mum’s garden shed and, like sprouting mushrooms, it’s been growing ever since. Now based at Whitstable’s Joseph Wilson Estate, Elliot and his team, including operations manager Issac, and Kelly, who sorts the digital side, supply growyour-own mushroom kits, as well as educational resources, consultancy
Writer Jenni Moore
Photographer Tilly Conolly
To paraphrase Spock: it’s life, Jim, but few of us know it well. Elliot Webb, 28, founder of Urban Farm-It, not only knows his mushrooms, he is unravelling the mystery of mycelium. He admits that the more he discovers, the more his mind is blown away. “In the story of evolution, fungi is the only thing that can exist in a vacuum, ie space,” he says. “So in my sci-fi-y brain it must be possible that mycelium landed on our planet and that was the start of life on Earth. If you look at the structure of mycelium and you look at the structure of our brain synapses and the structure of the universe, they all follow the same basic geometric shape.”
Illustrator Naomi Stay
Urban Farm-It is the sole distributor in Britain for Mycelia, a European biotechnology firm. “The company is one of the oldest spore manufacturers in the world,” says Elliot. “They produce the largest amount in terms of variety and all the really rare strains. Small, medium and even large-scale producers in the UK buy their mushroom spore from us. That distribution agreement with Mycelia gave us a lot of kudos.”
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In the same way that mycelium works by making everything interconnected and interdependent, Elliot admits he often learns just as much from his clients as they discover from him. “If someone asks me if they can use a particular waste material to grow mycelium and I haven’t heard about it, I go away, research it and give them an answer,”
mushroomsmagic
We dig into the mystery of mycelium with Urban Farm-It founder Elliot Webb and hears how nature’s mini marvels can help clean up our planet and future-proof our homes
and system designs for individuals and commercial companies. “I’d had the idea for the business for a long time,” explains Elliot. “I started it at uni. I was interested in hydroponics and growing food at home and saw there was no real support. Convenience is king in our culture. Most people will say they don’t have the confidence or the time to grow food at home. But you can live in a one-
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BUSINESS
he says. “It’s all learning on the job. We’re working with this artist and she’s making beehives out of mycelium, so it’s 100 per cent sustainable – the mycelium has thermal and waterproof properties that make it perfectly suited.”
This journey of discovery into one of nature’s mini marvels has led to potentially life-changing breakthroughs. Fungi are being harnessed to clean up pollutants such as oil spills; reverse the effects of dementia; and to future-proof our homes utilising mycelium’s superinsulating and fire-resistant qualities. “The number of varieties and what they can do is unending and the great thing is you can use the same methodgrowingpretty much for all of them,” says Elliot. “There’s a lot of happeningresearchand we’re only scratching the surface of our understanding.”Lastyear,Elliot was approached by BBC’s Tales from a Kitchen Garden to give chef Marcus Wareing a lesson in mushroom growing at his Sussex home. “I had no idea who he was,” confesses Elliot.
It’s Elliot’s Tigger-like enthusiasm, along with his evident passion for what he does, that keeps driving Urban forward. Among his current workload is designing an urban form at a new shopping centre in Birmingham and expanding into Europe, setting up local hubs abroad. “My ethos is create, move on, create, move on,” he says. “When I was a kid, it was extreme everything. I was too lippy and smart for my own good. But things which were a hindrance as a kid are now my most powerful assets. If I wasn’t extreme or obsessive, Urban wouldn’t be where we are. And the knowledge is exploding. If we know this much now, then what on earth is just around the corner that we’re about to find out?”
“He lives in this ridiculously spectacular house and he’s not what you’d expect: off-camera, he’s like really casual, like you’re chatting to a random bloke at a pub, but as soon as the cameras started filming, he was, bang, straight into professional mode. I liked the guy.” So how did Marcus get on with his mushrooms? Elliot grins, and shows me some photos on his phone: “He’s got some oyster mushrooms growing in his beds, and there’s some wine caps and chickens of the woods, too.”
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For more information, visit urban-farm-it.com
Stocks of Urban Farm-It’s mushroom growing kits stack up in their Old Wood Yard unit
Farm Ad_1 240x320 + 3mm.pdf 19/07/2022 10:00
Woodcraft Folk is a nationwide initiative that encourages children to “grow in confidence, learn about the world and understand how to value our planet and each other”. The Whitstable cohort was set up in 2019 by David Nettleingham (senior lecturer in sociology at the University of Kent). It runs on a weekly basis with five other local volunteers. ►
PEACE, PEOPLE AND SOCIAL JUSTICE WITH WOODCRAFT FOLK
WHAT THEY SAY… THE WOODCRAFT FOLK
ofchildrenthechange
“I love it because it involves nature. I loved going to the beach and learning about edible plants.”
– Alice, age 8
– Margot, age 10
– Sky, age 6
estled in the forests, on our beaches and beside picturesque streams sit teams of toddlers and young children: Whitstable’s sustainability superheroes. They just don’t know it yet. This new generation of activists and environmentalists are learning and thriving in nature thanks to two local volunteer groups, Woodcraft Folk and Wild Play Nature’s Way.
“I like learning about the environment. It’s important so we don’t do things wrong like cutting down all the trees.”
I first came across Woodcraft Folk when, as a founding member of the clean seas campaign group SOS Whitstable, we were asked if we could host a workshop for the children about our mission to stop illegal sewage releases. “We should take this to London and talk to Parliament,” said one. “The water companies shouldn’t be destroying our seas as it hurts the wildlife,” explained another. It was inspiring and grounding in equal measure.
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Writer Rebecca Martin Illustrator Jess Roberts
“I love being with my friends, making dens in the woods and toasting marshmallows on the beach.”
If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise. But rather than a teddy bear’s picnic, our 0 to 10-year-olds are immersing themselves in nature and fighting for a cleaner, safer planet
“I felt really strongly that I wanted my children to have an understanding about social justice and the bigger things in life,” explains Woodcraft Folk co-host Chloe Murray (a special education coordinator at Palm Bay School in Margate and Whitstable resident). “They learn so much at school about what’s happening in the world. This is a chance for us to explore those at a slightly deeper level.”
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PROMOTING HEALTH AND WITHWELLBEINGWILDPLAYNATURE’SWAY
“Being outside, they connect with nature, they explore and they’re motivated to protect it,” says Stevenson. “They ask questions all the time: ‘Why is that like that? What would happen if…’ Our stream is completely dried up at the moment, so they’ve asked: ‘Will it come back? Why has it done that?’ They’re so interested.
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Wild Play Nature’s Way was set up by Stevenson, a former pre-school practitioner. After the tragic passing of her father, she inherited some land in Blean at the age of 21. “I know a lot about the Scandinavian forest schools and absolutely admire their education system, so I decided to open up the space,” she tells me. “I grew up on it, my children grew up on it. We wanted other children to love it, so in 2015 we opened to the public and have never
“I’ve got an autistic boy who’s been coming since he was one. He’s now seven, and even though he’s too old for the younger area, that’s his comfort zone so we allow him to come and enjoy the space. He got out of the car this morning and ran up our woodland drive. That’s why I do it. [Our children are] going to be the custodians. They’re going to be the people who care for our planet.”
“It’s simple,” says founder Caroline Stevenson. “Being in nature promotes a child’s health and wellbeing. It boosts their confidence, their physical and emotional resilience – and it supports their acquisition of knowledge and skills. We see children that come in and they’re hanging on mum’s apron strings. Within weeks of coming to us, they’re running down the path and crying when they go home.”
“We’ve got two groups,” explains Murray. “The Elfins, aged six to nine years old, and the Pioneers, who are aged ten and up. Everything at the heart of Woodcraft Folk is about learning to cooperate and be part of a team. We’ve done loads of work around refugees – we even gave them a typical refugee ration kit for a week and asked them to make meals out of a tin of mackerel, lentils and other Nettleinghamingredients.”adds: “The children cocreate the programme of activities each term, so as well as providing them with practical skills, games and a political education, we work to reflect what they’re interested in and concerned about.”This year the children have celebrated Pride, learned how to forage and even looked at democratic processes.
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To join Wild Play Nature’s Way, contact wildplayanaturesway@aol. com
To join Woodcraft Folk, whitstable@woodcraft.org.ukcontact
lookedFromback.”treehouses to diggers, wheelbarrows, mud kitchens and dinosaurs, Wild Play offers a plethora of engaging activities for babies up to five and children aged six to ten years old. It’s an opportunity for all to learn and play outdoors in a natural environment – no matter the weather.
“It’s amazing to watch them discuss important issues like the environment, the war in Ukraine and LGBTQ+ rights,” says Murray. “This group teaches them empathy, kindness and teamwork. And it’s really fun.”
Friday Sept 9th Dan Lyons and the tenantsEvening show 7.30 pm Thur & Fri Sept 22/23 6pm Yakitori chef takeover Saturday 24th all day Yakitori chef takeover Friday October 28th Charlie Bicknell and Louise Innes - cabaret with claws 7.30 start …tickets available to buy @£17.50 - to book please visit our website Saturday 5th November Fireworks party at the lantern LanternTHE Inn 01304 852276 • info@lanterninn.co.uk • www.lanterninn.co.uk The Lantern Inn, The Street, Martin, Dover CT15 5JL @thelanterninn thelanterninn You can now ONLINEBOOKAT lanterninn.co.uk 17th Century Countryside Pub & Restaurant Locally sourced a la carte menu subject to catch & season, served in a relaxed & welcoming setting • Emotional freedom technique therapist (EFT) • Advanced Master Herbalist • Indian head massage Therapists • Purveyor of Loose leaf Herbal, Black specialty Teas and Fruit blends. • Registered member of the complimentary medical Association. BOOK A FREE WITHTOURMEL! MEL@WORKERSLEAGUE.COM
We all know there is lots going on in our wonderful town – so much so that during peak season I lovingly refer to it as “posh Butlins”. But when I moved here in 2019 the story was quite different. I was reeling from the impact of losing both my parents in very quick succession. I wanted a fresh start and hoped this would be the place to find it.
As UK Soul Choirs celebrate their tenth anniversary, Lorna Harris shares why the vocal troupe is more than just melody making and how joining a new group this autumn could be just as groundbreaking for you
At the tenth anniversary performance, some of the members shared what choir means to them. It is so much more than singing, and it seems it’s not just me who has found it to be an amazing experience.
Being part of the choir brightened my life up again. It’s brilliant fun, with brilliant people. It helped in ways I could never have anticipated. It makes me so happy, and it could make you happy too. Why not come and give it a try? Who knows where the music may take you… You could also end up singing in a town square in Croatia.
founded by Whitstable resident singer Abi Gilchrist and composer Ross Power. What started as a flicker of an idea by Abi over ten years ago has become something so important to many, nurtured by the most brilliant choir directors. It doesn’t just run here in Whitstable, but across different parts of Kent, and in London too. But I am part of the Whitstable choir.
characters, just lovely people, taking two hours out of their busy lives once a week to sing soul songs.
Joining the choir has been instrumental to finding my way through the hardest days of my grief. It gave me something to focus on. Choir jaunts to the pub after singing means I have made friends who now, three years on, I hope I will always have in my life. There’ve been a lot of parties as well. What can I say? We love parties.
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In all seriousness though, grief is a tricky emotion to navigate, isn’t it? Because it’s a universal experience, but nobody really knows what you are feeling. My grief, I admit, has been complicated. Losing my parents so close together when they were so sprightly and so colourful in my life has been hard. I felt very lost and alone in those early days of grief. I truly feel like I have sung my way back to happiness.
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Singing my way back happinessto
’ve never been one for “hobbies”. Even as a child, my mum would try and get me to find things I loved to do, but I was simply happy just hanging out at home. I’ve always been a girl who just likes to “be”. I like to go with the flow. I’ve always had extreme reactions to what me and my best friend coin “organised fun” – can’t abide it. So nobody was more surprised than me when, in my forties, following a move to Whitstable, I found a hobby that has now become a passion. The praises I am (excuse the pun) singing are those of the brilliant Kent Soul Choir, part of UK Soul Choirs
In Grain & Hearth one afternoon I heard about the Kent Soul Choir. It was running that night, at St John’s Church. A little bit of digging led me to find out more about it. I messaged Abi, who explained that the first taster session is free and encouraged me to go along. I was nervous, but also a little bit excited. It couldn’t have been more different to what I was expecting: such an array of
We work hard to give people fabulous entertainment too. Being part of this choir has seen me perform with them across Kent, in London and, believe it or not, in a town square in beautiful Croatia. There’s been many nights out, celebrations and hard times. In lockdown, we took the choir to Zoom, and it was still the highlight of my week.
There is no audition, and you don’t even need to be able to sing. I could just
about hold a tune in an unknown key before I started with the choir, but now, three years in, I at least sort of know what I am doing. Although some may disagree, especially those who have the misfortune of sitting next to me!
Writer Lorna Harris
Find out more about UK Soul Choirs at soulchoirs.com
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Now roll out your pastry to fit your pudding bowl. Carefully line your pudding basin with the pastry and allow it to rest again in the fridge. Be careful with the suet pastry. You do not want to over handle it and only roll out what you need as the pastry can become dense and tough if rerolled.
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Now add the suet and dried seaweed by making a well in the centre of the flour and slowly adding some water.
Make a pleated lid with foil and parchment paper, ready to steam the pudding.
OysterWheelersKITCHENCOMMUNITYwith...Bar
Whitstable whistler24
METHOD
20g dried Whitstable seaweed
9
4
While the pastry is resting, grease your pudding basin with a little butter and place in the fridge to set.
Sift the self-raising flour and salt together or the flour and baking powder (dependent on above) to distribute the ingredients evenly and incorporate air into the pastry.
3
2
Dust your surface lightly with self-raising flour and cut enough pastry to line your pudding bowl.
225g self-raising flour or 225g plain flour and 13g baking powder sifted together before use 100g Approxsuet150ml water
Wrap the pastry in cling film and rest for at least 1 hour in the fridge.
Using your fingertips, bring the mixture together gently and lightly taking care not to break up the suet. As the dough starts to come together, start incorporating the rest of the water.
Pinch of salt
6
Roll the lid for your basin and rest in the fridge while you prepare the beef and oyster mixture.
FOOD & DRINK
Photographer Marcus Clackson
Steamed Beef Oyster and Seaweed Pudding from chef Mark Stubbs
SUET PASTRY INGREDIENTS
7
7
2
6
9
Remove from the steamer and check the pastry is cooked. If so, shuck your oysters reserving the juice add this to you sauce and gently reheat.
Take the flour, cracked black pepper and cayenne and sift the flour so all ingredients are mixed well and any lumps removed.
Add the beef to the frying pan, small amounts at a time (this enables the heat to stay in the frying pan searing the meat well). When seared all over, place the meat in a colander and repeat the process, when the meat has been all cooked, drain off any excess oil and place the pan on the heat. When the pan is hot, add the stout, releasing all the flavour from the bottom of the pan.
13
BEEF AND OYSTER PUDDING INGREDIENTS
1 sprig of thyme
700ml chicken stock
200ml Wheelers stout beer
Pinch of cayenne
Add the beef and hot chicken stock along with mushroom ketchup bring to the boil, remove any impurities that come to the surface, place a cartouche* on top of the beef mix and braise at 180C for approx. 1½ hours until the meat is tender.
1smashedtsptomato
Pinch of cracked black Pinchpepperof salt
30ml olive oil
15ml of (keeping6ketchupmushroomoystersshuckedtheoyster juice)
500g braising steak, trimmed and evenly diced
Reduce the beer down to a syrupy consistency and pass it through a sieve onto the vegetables.
Serve with creamy horseradish mash and salt baked beetroot.
Pour in the cooled sauce and seal the pie with the lid by crimping it down and making sure it is sealed.
12
1dicedonion,
1 carrot, diced 2 cloves of garlic, lightly purée
4
*A round piece of parchment or grease-proof paper that covers the surface of the filling to reduce evaporation, to prevent a skin from forming
10
Remove the meat from the sauce and keep warm. Pass the liquid removing all the vegetables and herbs.
Now the beef has cooled, place some of the meat in the suet pastry. Evenly spread the diced vegetables over the meat and continue to layer the pudding up in the same process until it is full.
whitstable whistler 25FOOD & DRINK
8
Place the foil and pleated parchment paper on top of the pie and tie it up with string creating a handle. Pop in the steamer and steam for 1 ½ hours to 2 hours.
Heat a pan and sweat the onions slowly until tender then increase the heat and slightly caramelize the onions, with the carrots, garlic, thyme, and bay leaf.
5
14
METHOD
Add the tomato purée and cook out, followed by the red wine and reduce until syrupy. Set aside.
Lightly season the beef, dust with the flour mix and shake of any excess.
1 bay leaf
11
100ml red wine
50g plain flour
1
Reduce the sauce and reserve some of it for pouring over the pudding.
Make an incision into the lid of the pudding insert your oysters (taking care not to burn yourself) Turn the puddings out and pour over the sauce.
3
Wheelers IPA beerbattered oysters with seaweed mayonnaise
Pop the battered oysters in a fryer carefully (not dropping from a height but placing them in the oil away from you) set at 190c and cook until golden and crispy.
METHOD
2
Place the dried oysters into the beer batter, when the oyster is fully coated hold it up over the batter for a few seconds. This allows the excess batter to fall away from the oyster ensuring an even cook and crisp batter.
7
To make the mayonnaise, whisk the egg yolks and the mustard together along with the seaweed powder.
5
For the mayonnaiseseaweed
300ml vegetable oil
1
3 egg yolks
Sift all the dry ingredients together. Add the dried yeast and whisk in the Wheelers IPA beer until ribbon consistency is achieved. Allow to rest until bubbles start to form on the surface this is when you know the batter is ready to use.
3
Whitstable whistler26 FOOD & DRINK ADDRESS: 61 Harbour Street, Whitstable, Kent, CT5 1AG ^ 01227 941299 Ã helio@portowinebar.com
6-12 oysters opened, keeping the shells
ReservedLemonseaweedjuiceoyster liquid
200g corn flour
Shuck the oysters and remove them from the shell. Dry them on tissue reserving the liquid. Pass the liquid through a sieve and keep hold of this for the mayonnaise.
4
For the batter
6g dried Whitstable
Slowly whisk in the vegetable oil, adding a few drops of lemon juice and some of the reserved oyster juice to taste.
INGREDIENTS
1 tsp Dijon mustard
100g Wheelers¼¼PinchflourofsalttsptumerictspdriedyeastIPABeer
6
Place the cooked oysters on a tissue to remove excess oil then lightly season with salt. Place the oyster back in there shell and serve with the seaweed mayonnaise.
“The home of American Street Food in Canterbury, Margate and now at The South Quay Shed Whitstable.” "We pride ourselves on making everything from scratch, baking all our bread, smoking and curing all our pork in house". Insta @porkandco < www.porkandco.co.uk A PERFECT DAY OUT! Friday 30th Sept to Sunday 2nd Oct Victoria Gardens CT10 1QS –Free entry WIN A WEEKEND BREAK at the Albion Hotel Broadstairs –to enter go broadstairsfoodfestival.org.uk/Enteronline: to Win ASSISTANCE DOGS ONLY broadstairsfoodfestival.org.uk
W
THROUGH FIRE AND FLAMES
Left to right: Firefighters Peter Bassenger, Michelle Russell and crew manager Graeme Browning
COMMUNITY
Writer & photographer Duarte Figueira
An example of this is the close partnership the service has built up with the South East Coast Ambulance Service (SECAmb), often “co-responding” with them, such as to gain access to and extricate patients safely from their properties. Some of their equipment is also unique to the Fire Service, such as the use of heat image scanners at night to locate missing persons.
Whitstable whistler28
Ensuring that their kit is serviceable, tested and can be used in such a range of incidents requires a constant round of competence-based training to maintain a very high level of readiness. Everything is covered, from driving a massive fire-engine safely on blue lights, and ensuring instant familiarity with
Browning emphasises that everyone at the station brings something to the “one team” approach they adopt. For example, part-timers who are plumbers or electricians can often bring their work and life experience into play in incidents. The service also actively encourages a more diverse set of recruits.
used in instances where someone may be trapped in water, mud or ice, and a truck-mounted high-volume pump (HVP) which can deliver (or extract) the equivalent of four fire engines’ worth of pumped water over a hose up to 1.8 miles long. Both of these resources are also used in instances of flooding.
the team here. I love it – I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
The Whitstable Fire Station has come a very long way since 1867, when Norwich Union donated the volunteer service a horse-drawn fire pump, now gloriously restored in Whitstable’s Community Museum. But the spirit that animated the original brigade lives on. “We care deeply about the town’s wellbeing,” says Russell, “we live here.”
Home fire safety information and advice are available at kent.fire-uk.org
Firefighter Michelle Russell, who is also the station’s physical training instructor, also stresses that you have to be extremely fit. Operating the equipment in safety clothing at an incident is exhausting.
We hear from the Kent Fire & Rescue Service on how they’re working tirelelsy to keep our coastal community safe
Firefighter Peter Bassenger, a relatively recent recruit to the station from a northern fire service, agrees that the role is “a different kettle of fish” from what he has experienced before: “The quality of the training is such that you have to absorb a lot of information. But there is massive support from everyone in
hitstable’s fire service was formed in 1867, a year after a serious blaze destroyed the Duke of Cumberland along with several houses. The new 26-strong volunteer brigade was soon severely tested in the great fire of November 1869, which devoured a huge chunk of the town by the sea wall, including along Marine Street and parts of Harbour Street. But the destruction of the Whitstable harbour cockle shed this summer is a reminder that fire is an everpresent danger, and of the debt we owe to the bravery of our Kent firefighters.
Whitstable Fire and Rescue station, located at the bottom of Borstal Hill since 1969, is truly local, crewed by a mix of full-time (“whole-time”) and part-time (retained “on-call”) firefighters who must live or work within five minutes of the station. But the unit now deals with a range of fire and rescue incidents that would have astonished their original forebears. In addition, since the fire service shifts its resources dynamically to maintain cover across Kent, they are often deployed at short notice on calls anywhere in the county and evenGraemebeyond.Browning, crew manager at the station, emphasises the point: “There is no such thing as a typical call-out. What we do is bring to bear the skills and equipment we’ve got to provide a 24/7 service 365 days a year.”
In addition, the Whitstable station crew is trained to deploy a number of specific resources (“specials”) based here, including an inflatable rescue boat
the extensive range of equipment when on call-outs, right through to the ability to manage major incidents effectively.
The Whitstable station crew also keep a close watch on each other’s mental state in order to defuse the inevitable stress of repeated exposure to often dangerous and emotionally distressing incidents. He turns over his ID badge to reveal their reminder to each other, that “it’s OK to talk”.
whitstable whistler 29 1 to 1 & Group Coaching in person and online Wellbeing Weekends www.clearseacoaching.co.uk @clear_sea_coach Email: clearseacoaching@gmail.com
• If you use an electric blanket remember to:
• check your electric blanket for wear and tear, and if it is worn please replace as soon as possible.
Harrison Ovens LIVING
most aspirational outdoor cooking equipment in the world. HANDMADE IN RAMSGATE harrisonovens.com
• make sure the blanket has safety features, including automatic switch-off at a certain temperature or after a time limit.
ELECTRIC BLANKETS
of the dangers of carbon monoxide and have a carbon monoxide alarm in your home to alert you to its presence.
• if a person suffers from incontinence, remove electric blankets from beds and do not use.
The
How often should I have my chimneys swept and checked?
There are grants, benefits and sources of advice available to make your home more energy efficient, improve your heating or help with bills. Search for the Keep Warm Keep Well booklet on the Public Health England website to learn more.
Kent County Council and your local district council may also be able to help with the cost of boiler replacement or insulation through their Warm Homes Scheme.
Call the Kent Fire & Rescue Service for your free home safety services (0800 923 7000) or email your contact details to home@kent.fire-uk.org
• never use a hot water bottle when using an electric blanket.
Sign up for Kent Fire & Rescue Service’s free “clean sweep” email alert for home or business. It’s safe and only takes a few seconds. You’ll receive a personal email reminder each summer, giving you plenty of time to have your chimney swept and inspected, ready for the winter months when most chimney fires occur.
SEASONAL SAFETY FROM KENT FIRE & RESCUE SERVICE
This invisible gas with no smell or taste can be a killer. Faulty appliances that burn solid fuels such as coal and wood (as well as those that use gas or oil) can produce it. Make sure you are aware
GET FINANCIAL SUPPORT
By having your chimney and flue swept and inspected regularly, you can help to prevent a chimney fire and structural damage to your property. Chimneys need to be regularly swept because when wood or coal is burned, gases are given off. These can turn into soot as well as tar (creosote) which builds up and sticks to the inside of the chimney. When this happens chimneys can catch fire. Sometimes birds’ nests, loose bricks and other debris can also fall into a chimney, acting as extra fuel.
• if you burn coal, you should have this done at least once a year.
With temperatures dropping and an unprecedented surge for firewood to combat rising energy bills, it’s important to mitigate the risk of fire in our homes. Kent Fire & Rescue Service shares its seasonal safety tips to stay warmer in the months
CHIMNEYSaheadAND OPEN FIRES
• if you burn logs, you should have this done at least twice a year.
Receive Kent Fire & Rescue Service’s free “clean sweep” reminder
THIS IS OUTDOOR
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A CARBON MONOXIDE ALARM FITTED
Aysegul trained as a sculptor at the Academy of Arts in Istanbul and holds degrees in art and art history. She also trained as a ceramist and loves pottery and tiles, which remind her of her Turkish roots. When I ask her to talk to me about her style she says, “Ultimately everything comes from nature, even
When I ask her about what she loves in her work, she says, “Silver is monochrome, but when I got into glass I came across an alchemy of colours.” Alma loves working with the raw material; there is a whole science behind it and the process of blowing the glass, using the torch and finding
Alma Caira: Air
As Whistable artists prepare for another round of Open Houses this autumn, we visit three artists embracing the elements through their work
165 Cromwell Road CT5 1NQ Instagram @almacaira
When we discuss the theme of air that her art represents, she confidently says, “My breath is inside my work.” Alma follows a slow, meditative process and gets truly absorbed in how the glass moves all the time.
whitstable whistler 31
Bracing The Elements with ArtistsHousesOpen
Alma’s motto? “Stay positive and use your laughter!”
Alma Caira has always lived by the coast. Born in Greenock near Glasgow, she trained as a jeweller and silversmith at the Glasgow School of Art. When she moved to London in the 1990s, she used to have a stall at Camden Market and, thanks to her friendship with the Total Pap couple, visited Canterbury and eventually settled in Whitstable more than 20 years ago. She loves being close to the seaside, which inspires her work. She enjoys being part of a great artistic community and values the collaboration with other artists.
ways of using scrap glass, is most rewarding. Her colourful garden is depicted in most of her artwork. Feathers, tiny flowers and sowing seeds all get incorporated into her glass baubles. She gets most of her inspiration walking by the beach, although the bold green baubles I admire were inspired by pistachio truffles. Her popular fish made of glass get a lot of positive comments from customers who find them cheerful.
if this sounds a bit of a cliché.” Her artwork is quite minimalist, symbolic with bold warm colours. When I ask her to describe one of the symbols in her work, she responds naturally, “It is just a hieroglyph, the symbol of God.” When I tell her that her work represents “fire” in our elements’ theme, she reacts with a glimpse in her eyes: “Of course it would be fire. I am a Mediterranean woman, full of quick, sparkly ideas and feelings.” We spend the next ten minutes sharing our common stories of the Mediterranean, including our shared passion for cooking and what the next allotment season will bring to her table.
Walking down Wave Crest on a sunny afternoon, who would have thought that these expensive and sought-after properties were once student houses? Not hard to guess which one hosts artist Aysegul Coles: it is the house “on fire”, the orange-coloured one on the end of the row. Aysegul welcomes us with a warm smile. She moved to Whitstable from Turkey in 2000 and has been living and working here ever since. As she reminisces about Whitstable back in time, she reflects that it used to be “as beautiful and artistic but much quieter”.
Writer Katerina Kolyva Photographer JF de Kriek
CT5 1EH Instagram @aysegulcoles_art
Aysegul Coles: Fire
Aysegul’s motto? “Keep going on good days and bad days!”
ARTS & CULTURE
16 Wave Crest Whitstable
Zenia has always wanted to do printing. She studied Russian folk art and specialised in lino-cutting as part
It took us just over five minutes to walk to Jevgenija (or Zenia) Tkacenko’s studio, but it felt like travelling a long way up north to the Baltics. Zenia comes from Visaginas, Lithuania’s youngest municipality and home of the nuclear power plant that was featured in the series Chernobyl. Zenia’s lino prints, representing the earth of our elements’ theme, welcome us into her country’s forests. Zenia gets inspired by local folk art, which is omnipresent in her work. “I travel back to Lithuania every year, spending lots of time foraging, picking up mushrooms and strawberries, but also observing the trees and the birds, all of which form part of my artwork,” she explains. The natural world and wildlife feature the most in her prints. When not in Lithuania, she seeks inspiration walking in the Duncan Down.
Our studio will be packed with sample cushions, rugs, throws, towels, scarves, fabric and more. 80% off retail prices
Winter Sample Sale
General Admission Sat 3rd - Sun 4th December Locals Preview Day Fri 2nd December 10am - 5pm daily If you are unable to attend our sample sale, our studio and rug showroom are open to visitors Mon - Fri 10am - 4pm. Weaving + Design Studio 35 Middle Wall , Whitstable CT5 1BJ 01227 info@margoselby.com,282758 margoselby.com ARTS & CULTURE
Zenia Tkacenko: Earth
6 Grimshill
32
Zenia’s motto: “Stay creative and experimenting!”keep Road Instagram @thelinooflife
Up to
of her A levels. When she came to the UK over 15 years ago to study business, she carried on with her lino-printing. A workshop in Leicester taught her new techniques and methods. She now follows the entire process herself: she draws and transfers the drawing on to the lino, then inks and prints. When she arrived in Whitstable in 2018 she built her studio, did her first open house in 2019 and now runs a successful string of lino-cutting workshops. Zenia loves Whitstable’s artistic community and gets inspired by all other local artists. Her own best fan is her six-year-old daughter Erin, who comes into the studio to say hello and says proudly, “My mum inspires me!”
Whitstable CT5 4LH
“Whitstablehall. is a huge part of the book, despite the fact I actually wrote a lot of it in London. Having moved back before the final draft I added so many more details. It’s become even more of a Whitstable book. Now I’m working on my second novel, which will again be a split timeline, but something altogether different, a comingof-age novel set in Belfast, where I am from, in 1989.
“A beautifully written journey, every step full of warmth” Shappi Khorsandi, TV presenter and writer “Gives us the courage to move forward, however hard” Selina Mills, Disability Power 100, Journalist
“Would I like to see Margaret on screen? You have to be realistic about it, but I guess it’s within the realms of possibility. I think Call the Midwife’s Sarah Gordy would make a good Margaret. Or Julie Walters would be great.”
BOOKS
“In other, non-western, cultures, the period after you have a baby is about your family really pampering you and looking after you. New mothers are much more revered, it’s more sacred. Here we are told to get up and about as quickly as possible and encouraged to ‘spring back into shape’.
“I didn’t want to shy away from anything. Some of the women in the book had quite extreme physical and mental conditions. There’s pain, sweating, bleeding. It’s all quite gruesome, but that is the truth of it. I hope the book is something women gift to each other postpartum. I want it to be a little handhold for them.”
From Somerset Maugham’s vivid descriptions of Blackstable to Katherine May’s enthralling off-season seas in Wintering, Whitstable has long been influencing writers to put pen to paper. We meet a new lineup of local authors releasing new reads this autumn
Your Postnatal Body takes you through the first 24 hours after birth, but also through the next year and onwards. It’s not just for new mums, it’s about how to create optimal health in the long term. There are so many wonderful women working in women’s health here.
Hannah HEALTHGOODChamberlainMENTALISANART
“
“The essential ingredient is curiosity and not holding things with judgement.”
The Vanishing of Margaret Small is out November from Embla Books
“Margaret is a 75-year-old with learning disabilities who lives in Whitstable. The novel starts in autumn 2015 when Margaret is grieving for the loss of her favourite singer, Cilla Black. As she goes about town there are lots of local places readers will recognise, from Hubbard’s Bakery to a scene at the entrance of the parish
Lyanne Nicholl is a charity consultant and postnatal care campaigner. She lives in Whitstable and is mum to Raf, seven, and Reuben, two.
A creative journey in practising wellbeing for self care happinessand
Neil Alexander lived in Whitstable as a student in the 1990s and worked as a journalist, before recruiting celebrity ambassadors for a leading charity in London. Having retrained as an English teacher, Neil moved back to Whitstable in lockdown. His first novel follows the story of an unusual central figure, as he explains.
Whitstable whistler34
Good Mental Health Is An Art is out 17 September
Your Postnatal Body: A Top to Toe Guide to Caring for Yourself After Pregnancy and Birth, is out 13 October from Pinter and
NEW KIDS ON THE WRITERS’ BLOCK
“Good mental health is an art built on the habit of catching and appreciating normal moments. I started writing Good Mental Health Is An Art when we returned to Whitstable after lockdown. A month here gives you that chance to set your mind in a different way.
YOURLyanneMartinNichollPOSTNATALBODY
“I think the book is like a Summering to Katherine May’s Wintering. I talk to my artist sister at the end of the book about how you hold those magical ordinary moments when it’s not always sunshine and birds. It’s about being able to sit with discomfort as well.
16
HANNAH
MENTALGOODHEALTHISANART CHAMBERLAIN
Writer Amie O’Connor Poole
Hannah Chamberlain lives in London and spends her summers at her caravan in Whitstable with her son. She launched a successful mental health app and works for a CIC championing the use of lived experience for ethical social change and inclusion.
“It’s about recapturing flow and the appreciation of ordinary moments. At the caravan, we are immersed in nature and even going to get the water every day is a ritual. It’s a really good way to take yourself out of dayto-day life and appreciate those ordinary things.
Neil Alexander THE VANISHING OF MARGARETSMALL
Stuart Heaver is a freelance journalist, who splits his time between Hong Kong and Whitstable.
“Just weeks into the war, six of them were dead, along with 1,453 others, their ships sunk by a German U-boat. More people were lost than on the Titanic. The book explores the impact on the women and children on the shore, who were left high and dry and destitute.
“While in Suffolk where my grandmother had lived, I noticed of the 18 names on the village’s first world war memorial, two, including my great uncle’s, had HMS Cressy beside them. No one in the family had ever mentioned it to me and I had never heard of it, despite having served in the navy myself. It was the start of eight years of journalistic enquiry that led me from my grandmother’s home to my own in Whitstable.
BOOKS
whitstable whistler 35
“The Coal Black Sea is a non-fiction story about the worst naval catastrophe in history.
time when ‘the war was going to be over by Christmas’ it was a huge defeat.
“The person in charge of the navy was a young, ambitious, vain, celebrity politician called Winston Churchill. At first I wasn’t sure if the story would stand up as a feature. When I visited the National Archives and saw dates changed and things crossed out in Churchill’s hand, I thought, ‘This is going to be a book.’”
“At the start of the war, part-time reservists were called up to serve on Chatham-based Cressy and her sister ships, including eight Whitstable oystermen, four of whom lived within yards of each other on Middle Wall and Waterloo Road.
“The spin was that this maritime incident was the fault of the guys at sea, an error of judgement by the commanding officers. Because it was suggested that they were just part-timers, amateurs, their families were ashamed and embarrassed, they believed it was largely their own fault.
“It’s been great to be able to reach out to so many of these families and tell their story.”
Stuart Heaver THE BLACKCOALSEA
The Coal Black Sea is out now published by The History Press
“It was front-page news around the world, but at a
Heera (she/her) has made her annual sabbatical to visit Whitstable. While here she created some stunning art and caused chaos around the town with her dog Bento. Take a peek at some of the work she has made so far this year over at @ammipesca
Curated by Flea Watson Illustrator Heera Gul
Once relied on by farmers to light the night skies for them to gather their crops, the Harvest Moon inspires our regular versemakers in this issue as we shine a light on their local talent
POETRY
I sit here drinking my blood-tinted wine
On the tenth of September, the tide will rise at Asmidnight.thesummer
until Imogen from the Bubbletit Bluetits sends a message that says we might want to avoid the coastline for just a few more becausedays,we’re currently more likely to encounter some e coli as opposed to the odd jellyfish that have worried us in years gone by.
In days coming upon our calendars, we will put our wetsuits on. We consult our communities of sea swimmers, and roll our towels up tight,
36
Harvest Moon By Priya Hawes
There is light outside my window
By Flea Watson
As I watch the light created by the harvest moon
In the same way, the sea makes time for us, we now must make time to keep it clean. As the harvest moon rises, and the days draw shorter on the shore, we can’t neglect this anymore.
CORNERPOETS’
Autumn wash her clean.
The song goes ‘oh I do like to be beside the seaside oh I do like to be beside the sea’ but I think sometimes we might forget it’s a privilege to live under the glow of Whitstable sunsets.
In days gone by at midnight, a maiden may walk barefoot into the water. She will be bathed in salty satin waves as her feet tread the silt of the estuary, and she leans her head back to breathe out the heat of andsummertolet
(We retreat the same as the midnight sea: not sickly but sick of the fact we know that this isn’t the last time.)
When the sun beats our backs at work or school, or a storm is rolling in, it’s the sea that gives us respite and its horizon gives us warning.
Flea Watson (they/them) spent this summer living in their parents’ shed. While a perfect scenario for a poet to muse on the tragedy they have incurred, they are looking forward to autumn and its promises of pine cones and an actual bed
Priya (she/her) is the host of We Live on a Floating Rock podcast, and features editor at the University of Kent’s student publication InQuire. Even while juggling all these commitments with her degree, Priya also finds time to dream about opening her own café
I see it through the comfort of my own home Four walls I worked hard to get If only something would make me forget The solemness drifts over my gaze And emits an orange haze
settles in the banks of her womb, the water shall lurch up the shingle, like sick from a child’s mouth. The waves shall crest upon the stones and make a sickly retreat, for as the harvest moon lights our shores, we can see the sewage in the sea.
The Ninth Phase of the Moon: Sewage
It gives us oysters and the means to sail our boats. It brings us all the tourists that make the highstreet thrive, It brings us space to walk our dogs and teach our kids to swim.
As I think about the great divine
This Autumn, I ask you for an equinox of change. Become the brightest moon in the sky, with voices as loud as a stormy tide, to give back to the sea that raised our town and shall for another age.
Oh, how sad it is. The warmth is now over Just in time to make room for another The late summer comes to bloom
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She took a step closer and felt something crack beneath her foot. Ally crouched down and saw Rose’s walkietalkie. “ROSE” she yelled now, feeling a weight on her chest. “Okay, okay, you’re okay,” she spoke to herself. In all the years she’d worked up in the tower, she had never conquered her fear of the dark.
weren’t on the points of the gate, but on the floor – that was their code for locked and checked. Her head ached. She turned instinctively to assure she had imagined the hoof sounds.
“Rose! I’m coming.”
“Ally, here! Ally please, I’m here.” She halted. Ally was only a few metres from the gate now. She could see three hooded figures hovering over her cowering body.
Ally dropped the torch. A hooded figure cantered past the wooden door, only inches from where she stood. She stepped forward and peered out. Was she going mad? No horse. Just mist.
CLANG!
stained from the fake blood they had cleaned up from last week’s Kiddie Witch Hunt. “Rose? Are you in there, mate?” Nothing. Just a rustle from the wind. She shut the wooden door behind her, locking it and putting one of Rose’s gloves over the handle. She grabbed her torch from her boot and lit up the cobblestone that led to the staircase, but as she got closer she realised the staircase led in a different direction. It usually spiralled to the left, but now it spiralled to the right. This couldn’t be real? That way would lead to the out of bounds balcony. Her legs took her up the stairs before the rest of her body could catch up. She felt dust gather on her forehead, like she was walking through cobwebs. There were shadows everywhere. She was only halfway up the staircase when the clopping noise started again, but this time it sounded like three or four horses. And men. Calls came from below her.
SLAM!
The Ruin
Amber Akinci is a 24-year-old aspiring writer from Whitstable. She loves settling in with a good book around town, when not busy aiding publishers to sell their magazines at @frompaperseeds@readingamberrNewsstand
The two women pushed the metal, gripping the gate and using their whole-body weight to force the thing closed. Suddenly, Ally felt a ripple of wind behind her. She heaved. She felt warm and stiff like she’d burst a blood vessel. She heard something like hoofs galloping behind her. Her feet started moving, and she was actually closing the gate. The clopping of the horse grew louder as if it was galloping on the path behind her. The gate slammed into place
“Push, Ally!” Rose yelled from the other side of the gate. Their manager had left the two smallest –but not weakest – people to close up on the busiest night of the season. The Reculver Towers became a Halloween hotbed throughout October, hundreds of people gathered in their spooky swarms to get a glimpse at the hooded horsemen that supposedly roam the ruins. “Push, come on mate, push!”
with a clang. Ally clapped her gloved hands together in relief. She saw that Rose’s grate was already shut and andentranceAllymoonnowheregrey-haired“Rose?”locked.Hersmall,matewastobeseen.Theshonebright,socouldstillseethegatewasshut,thecementclogs
CLANG!
“Ally? Ally, quick.” It was Rose.
Ally spun her head around towards the door she had come from. It was now open, held there on the latch. She followed the clopping sound of hooves again, and a low groan. Ally ran down the stairs, suddenly aware of her body’s weight. The light from her flashlight shaking around the entrance. The
galloping noises were so loud now and getting closer and closer it was like they were coming from just outside the d...
Whitstable whistler38 CREATIVE WRITING
Writer Amber Akinci Illustrator Gemma Jewiss
Ally was shaken from her thoughts when she heard the side gate slam against the wall. The lock jingled from the impact. She made her way round the side of the building. “I thought Rose locked this?” Ally reached for the latch and saw Rose’s gloves – purple and
Another. The entrance gate was now wide open. The clogs were now hooked on the points of the gate. “What? No no, no no no. That was closed?” She took a few steps closer, only the moonlight guiding her. There was a shadow near the gate. “Rose?”
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After years of dreaming of her debut though, Adams started getting poorly on a regular basis and was eventually diagnosed with ME (myalgic encephalomyelitis, also called chronic fatigue syndrome). “Then everything stopped,” she recalls morosely. Despite her ongoing health conditions, Adams still wanted to give people something to celebrate, and got together with Rosie Millard for a launch party. The pair teamed up again for Adams’ sophomore record, The Window To My Soul, which came out in 2019 with ambitious plans for a roaming UK-wide exhibition, kicking off at Creek Creative
Look at Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera from their Mickey Mouse Clubhouse days, or the Jacksons, 1970s series (inventively coined The Jacksons) starring the whole star-studded family. But not all musical talent begins at birth. For others, it’s a slow burn, a decade-spanning desire that they can’t seem to shake.
MUSIC
M
So five years after moving to Whitstable, in the spring of 2009, Adams began hunting out a singing teacher and spent six months preparing for her 50th birthday party where she planned to perform with a full live band. A headliner that none of its attendees were expecting: “They were stunned because no one knew I was going to do it!” The success of the night propelled her into a whole new world, attending songwriting workshops in one of London’s oldest jazz haunts, the 606 Club, with Lea DeLaria of Orange Is The New Black fame and DeLaria’s partner at the time, Janette Mason, who would go on to arrange and produce her first album, This Girl, This Woman.
“Football was my complete passion alongside pop music,” she explains over a cuppa in the dappled gardens of the Tudor Tea Rooms. “My dad actually said at one stage, if they had A levels in football and pop music I’d do very well!” She’s decked out in her signature monochrome palette, despite the late summer sunshine, and carries a similarly coal-coloured notebook containing her carefully calligraphied notes that chart the years thatAfterfollowed.picking up hockey in high school, Adam wound up playing for town and county before heading to
sports college, which led to 21 years of working in the fitness industry. But the call of those chorus lines just wouldn’t budge, as her partner noticed almost two decades on. “I was heading towards 50 and Marg said, ‘You’ve got to do something about this because one day you’ll really regret it,’” she admits. It seemed her competitive nature from her days on the pitch had stifled that inner creativity, not to mention her confidence.
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“I had occasionally thought about taking singing lessons and then I got cold feet. I quietly thought I could hold a tune but I didn’t think I was good enough.”
in Faversham. But we all know what happened next. Not one to be deterred, Adams pivoted her plans quickly. “I went online straight away,” she reflects. Hopping onto Facebook Live, the musician was streaming home videos, new music and doing readings long before Zoom became a mainstay for connecting. “Dare I say it, it was a bit progressive!” she adds, with a laugh.
Cheri Percy
Realising her lifelong dream to perform at the tender age of 50, local songwriter Jude Adams reflects on finding her confidence and embracing a newfound freedom with her latestWriterrecord
Free Falling
any a successful artist has graduated from the ranks of children’s TV.
For Jude Adams, this meant singing behind the closed doors of her bedroom as a child, never even contemplating the idea of performing in front of a crowd. Instead she threw herself into competitive sports.
The creativity continues for her upcoming third record, FREEDOM, as Adams is working to share bespoke artworks for each of her vinyl copies as part of this year’s East Kent Artists’ Open Houses. But the constant
whitstable whistler 41 Set in the heart of Tankerton On Sea Gift & Coffee Shop Lunches Homemade Cakes Cream Teas – Ice Creams – Dog Friendly – Licensed South facing garden an d decking areas Open Tuesday to Sunday 134 Tankerton Road – 01227 264950 www.thebearstradingcompany.co.uk 70 High Street, Whitstable, CT5 1BB 01227 263337 gatefieldsounds70@gmail.com @GatefieldSounds @gatefieldsounds @Gatefieldsounds
“It’s about my own personal freedoms; gaining more freedom not only writing and performing the songs but being much more involved in production. It’s
throughout all of the songwriter’s work to date is writing with a profound social conscience, whether on “Don’t Judge Me No More” from her debut, or the banner-waving “Beauty of Youth” from her second record, which jabs at the music industry for equating new music as young music. (“Obviously that makes it harder for people like myself to get heard!”) If her debut album was Adams forming her musical moniker, and her second finding herself, then the third – much like the name suggests – is all about embracing herself as a fully fledged artist.
another stage in my musical education,” she says. While plans for a launch party at the Duke of Cumberland have been cancelled for now (a decision Adams marks as “quite bold” but “very sensible” given her current health conditions), she has opened the door to the idea of being an artist and shows no signs of stopping. She might just need to take it at a bit more of a leisurely pace. “The main thing is to bring out the album and to enjoy the process,” she reflects. Leaving behind her youthful tendency to sprint to the finish line, Adams is just happy to be out on the track.
Jude Adam’s third album, FREEDOM, is out 1 October and available via judeadams.bandcamp.com
I have worked in the denim business for over 25 years and seen the damage it has done to the environment first hand. I passionately believe we need to change the way we buy our jeans to make a difference. There is a place for new but they must be made ethically using quality raw materials so they can be repaired and recycled. It’s not an excuse to buy more just because it’s labelled sustainable.
is owner of Denimhand, a Herne Bay business doing the noble work of helping clients find their perfect pair of jeans.
MARGO SELBY is a Whitstable-based designer working in woven textiles. Her previous collaboration with refugee charity Love Welcomes recycled lifejackets, and her new collection features Romney Marsh Wools.
The materials were waste from the rescue operation in Lesbos. The
Swing by Margo’s studio on 35 Middle Wall or tuck into the making of her textiles online at @margoselbystudio
Writerchange
On sustainability
FASHION
On her new collection Rag + Bone
The textile industry is responsible for 10% of greenhouse gases, significant water pollution and landfill waste. We profile three local artists making efforts to provide bio-diverse solutions and sustainable system
Dig out your denim dream with Rachel at Denimhand, 212 High Street, Herne Bay and follow her for inspiration at @denimhand
On her love of denim
The inserts we are using for the cushions of the Rag + Bone collection are made of 100% Romney Marsh Wool. Wool is natural and renewable. It’s strong, breathable, elastic and insulating. It’s also biodegradable and can be returned to the earth to decompose. It can absorb colour with less chemicals and water than cotton or man-made fibres. The textile itself is woven at Bute Fabrics, a wonderful mill in Scotland. Post-consumer textile waste is used in the weft of the fabric and is 40% Global Recycling Standard Certified (GRS). The waste is gathered into similar colours, shredded to fibre, combed, then re-spun into yarn.
Denim is the only fabric that transcends class, culture, race, everything! It ages with the wearer, becoming a document to the experiences and adventures people have. I have a denim archive with pieces from the 1950s to the 2000s. I love to show my customers so they can appreciate the rich history of the pieces they are buying and the difference between modern and vintage denim.
On the Denimhand customer experience
Victoria Spooner
On Love Welcomes
blankets and lifejackets which littered the beach were stripped into yarn and given to me by project founder Abi Hewitt. I often use a stripe of neon in my designs as I love the colour, but lifejackets are loud not for aesthetics, but for urgent visibility, for survival. In this new context, embedded in the fabric of these women’s work, they represent the processing and remembrance of an experience and a tribute to lives saved and lost.
The textiles industry is notoriously bad in terms of environmental pollution, so it is my job as a designer, alongside the producers of my commercial fabrics, to find the best ways to help us move in the right direction. There are no perfect solutions but our practices can be improved all the time by looking at the most sustainable new materials and production ideas.
I use my expertise to match people with their perfect jeans… I never sell a pair unless the customer is completely happy. If you don’t love your jeans you won’t wear them. I have vintage sewing machines to repair and tailor, the archive to inspire and excite, and a rich variety of vintage fits to meet my customers needs. If I don’t have it in stock I will find it.
On sustainability
OURWEAVINGWAYTOAGREENERFUTURERACHELPEARCE
I ended up designing Levi’s, became design director and now I have my own denim store. I am living my dream!
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I got my first pair of Levi’s aged 11 at my local jeanstore and I fell in love.
menswear . womenswear . music albionstores.co.uk Open every day Mon - Sun 11 –5 albion – stores. 27 Fort Road Margate CT9 1HF 01843 280000 @albionstores@albionstores @albionstoresUK Pregnancy. Birth. Postpartum Supporting Parents Birth & Baby Preparation Course Pregnancy Workshops Post Partum Planning Post Natal Doula Parent Workshops & Socials Food Delivery wholeheartedlife.co.ukService FASHION
Find out more about Fran’s process project at ableandbase.co.uk or clock her creations online at @fableandbase
FRAN BAUR is a textile artist and educator. She works predominantly with natural fabrics and dyes and finds endless inspiration in our Kentish landscape.
On keeping production local I received an Arts Council grant to deliver the KentCloth project, an opportunity to research the potential of creating a local cloth and gain the skills needed to develop natural dyes. While visiting linen growers in Belgium, I gained insight into the possibilities of growing flax here. I carried out an experiment, distributing flax seeds across Kent. The fibre was locally spun and the results were all very different depending on where the fibre was grown and how it was processed. I got to experiment with new ways of working, learned about regenerative farming and permaculture, and inspired a community to begin their own journeys.
I am passionate about sharing knowledge to build a curriculum that prepares young people to navigate complex design challenges. Rochester Independent College champions the arts which makes a perfect, forward thinking environment to develop new ways of working. I’m currently developing a natural dye garden within the school grounds.
On sustainability
On nature as muse and resource Colour and the natural form are my biggest inspirations. My work is inspired by a botanical journey from the flax fields of Belgium to the Pines Calyx at the white cliffs of Dover, the marshes along the Swale estuary at Elmley on Sheppey and Kent’s Garden of England with its hop vines, hedgerows and fruit trees at Brogdale, and the historic floral gardens of Doddington Place. Fabric dyes and print pastes are made from plants grown and foraged and from food waste.
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The Sea Farmer’s Dive Taproom, Pearsons Cottages, Sea Wall, Whitstable CT5 1BT
The place is filling up. The guy at the next table is a millennial with a pint, reading Hanya Yanagihara’s A Little Life. “I nearly picked your seat,” he smiles, “but this raised, enclosed booth’s perfect.” Just like his own cabin.
Alex Lee @storyofalex
As we ponder our next round a rogue
“The CarrollFarmer’sSeaDiveisthesortofplaceLewisclearlyhadinmindwhenhewrote
Alice Wonderlandin ’s Quadrille’”‘Lobster OPINION
Mr B and I are here to celebrate our joint fall birthdays and to discuss the fledgling seagull chick on our roof. Due to the long hot summer of ’22, the chick was born too late in the season and we’re worrying how it will survive when the weather changes. We perch on bar stools by the folded-back glass doors. You can look right over the sea wall to the breakers and horizon –Whitstable’s legendary sunsets from here are killer. I’ve got a deep goblet (glasses all have this smooth shape, all wine is a 175cl measure) of pinot gris from Canterbury’s Heppington Vineyard – £9, but worth it. Gris is the French version of Italian pinot grigio, and this is a richer, spicier taste, off-dry and with hints of melon. Mister B is on Happy Talk, a golden-hued Londonbrewed Belgian ale (£6.50 a pint): “A bit creamy but an interesting experience
Time to go. Clutching her takeaway cocktail can of Hippy Fizz (Porter’s gin, patchouli leaf, pineapple shrub, hop soda), just a fiver, and wearing her Sea Farmer’s Dive T-shirt, we carry the mermaid, who has slithered off the seat (“Bit legless,” we grin at strangers) to the brine. She disappears with a flip of the tail, a boozy wink and a wave of the can. Not used to gin. Thank god she didn’t start singing.
when it hits you. It’s like drinking orange blossom sherbet.” Behind him is a kitsch painting of what looks like Lemmy from Motorhead pouring beer down a delighted shark’s gullet.
The taproom was opened in 2019 by Will Green, whose family own the Whitstable Oyster Company, and his partner, designer Eleanor FitzgeraldPayne. The couple were inspired by the craft beer culture they’d seen in the States and wanted a dedicated outlet for the Whitstable Brewery. The Dive’s fourteen taps offer six in-house WB beers, including the crazily popular pale ales Sundowner and Shucker’s Session; the remaining eight taps, says Ellie, showcase “an ever-changing lineup of the best craft beer the UK has to offer”. Ellie’s art can be seen everywhere – her fine tattoo-like designs and lettering with its Rennie Mackintosh airiness are now the Oyster Company’s signature livery.
breeze whips the tide into prancing white horses, and it’s easy to imagine a mermaid swishing in on the surf to join you. “Don’t mind if I do,” she’d smile, curling her fins round the foot of her stool and cupping her chin in a palm to consider the drinks board. Under instruction, I’d have to bring her fresh oysters (crisps and peanuts on offer too, if you’d rather). £2.50 each, £12.50 for six, the oysters come on a little bed of ice with a side of pickled onions. Mermaids being quite callous amphibians, she’d no doubt inspect one – “Oh, hello Harry” – then gulp it down. Nature. Red in tooth and claw.
With a glass of Canterbury’s finest crop in hand, our pinot pummeller pulls up a pew with land lubbers and sea creatures alike at the Sea Farmer’s Dive Illustrator
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By now, as “No Trust” by the Black Keys rocks the joint, I’m drinking Les Chandelières sauvignon blanc, £8, perfumed but not sweet, with hints of apricots and apples. Quite divine. Mr B has a glass of Sangiovese, £8. “Like kissing a black velvet cushion.” Sicko. “Really,” says my ex-goth husband. “There’s plum in there
“Will you walk a little faster?” said a whiting to a snail. “There’s a porpoise close behind us, and he’s treading on my tail.” Steps from the ocean and with its slightly raffish Davy Jones’ locker feel, the Sea Farmer’s Dive is the sort of place Lewis Carroll clearly had in mind when he wrote Alice in Wonderland’s “Lobster Quadrille”. As you descend the wide wooden steps inside, you feel you’re entering an undersea grotto. A very upmarket one. The décor is wood, rope and brick, with big oak tables, nautical regalia and a giant log burner, not required on this warm autumn day but supremely cosy in winter, when the Kent north-easterlies kick in.
and fig. It’s a vampire’s drink. Or like drinking vampire’s blood. Try it.” He’s right. Dark cherry, even tobacco. This vampire is a smoker.
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CHRIS HOW
hris How is an indisputable fixture of Whitstable’s live music scene, though as painter not player. His pop legend portraits displayed at live music epicentre the Duke of Cumberland entertain and delight as much as the musicians that pass through the Whitstable stalwart. “I’m trying to work on Reithian principles, y’know – inform, educate and entertain,” How tells me, and I instantly know what he means. His pictures are moving, funny, and endlessly interesting. There’s so much more going on here thanEnteringportraiture.theDuke, you’re greeted by a saintly Al Green, vibrant Roy Ayers, grinning Bill Withers and, rather unnervingly, a haunting Michael Jackson (“I did that the day after he died, he looked like a rabbit in the headlights”). Musical royalty graces every wall and it’s hard to imagine this pub without How’s influence.Itwasa love for music that prompted How to head to art school to study graphic design: “The only reason I ever went was to meet girls and get on Top of the Pops. I was convinced that I was a wonderful musician, but sadly I realised that I was, um, not quite wonderful.” He still plays bass though and live music is his joy: “I wanna be able to smell ’em and, if not, it’s not really worth it.”
me about 35 years ago called Techniques of the Masters,” he says. Most of his influences are clear – Hopper, Blake, Hockney… The freak show, however, is a less obvious muse. “I had this book of American freak show posters, which are very stylized, they were all a bit odd,” he explains. It was this lens of the bizarre that led him back to his graphic design roots: “I started painting landscapes and sunsets but, after a while, whatever the inspiration was, I’d kind of lost it. They always tell writers, ‘Write what you know.’” So How painted what he knew:
The reason we’re here today in the beer garden at the Duke nearly becomes an afterthought to the chat we’ve been having. (How, as you can imagine, is an excellent raconteur with an extensive back catalogue of juicy tidbits and tales.)
Of course, How wasn’t just going to paint a sign with a duke on it. This was always going to be a tableau of Whitstable’s finest , an homage to “the coolest pub in town”. The result is a collage of local people, musicians and, front and centre, the Duke of Cumberland slap bang in the groove. It’s a familiar scene to patrons: the buzz of the crowd watching their favourite local players vibing; the Duke too seems to be very much enjoying himself – he’s lost the surly facade of “the Butcher” and has been replaced by an altogether jollier chap taking a solo.
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When the Duke had its refurb and the signage needed a facelift, he was the obvious man for the job: “They said, ‘It’s gotta have a duke in it, but otherwise do what you like…’”
Since its hanging, locals have been guessing at who they can spot in the scene (Richard Bailey, Justin and Dan from Big Orange Head, Ronnie Rumble to name but a few…), but the regulars of the Duke want to know more – such is the genius of How and his compelling story weaving. Who is the Duke based on? And what chord is he playing? What’s he smiling at? What tune are they playing? Am I in it? !
Writer Emma Brammer Images
Courtesy of the artist
MEET THE MAKER
Famed for unconventional pop portraiture, Original Artists’ Chris How is just about as unique as they come. Now with his latest, the Duke of Cumberland’s hallowed door sign hanging on Harbour Street, we were determined to unpick his madcap mind…
Says How smiling, “Make of it what you will.” And so the story continues.
C
Chris How is now available for commissions – find him on Insta @originalartists2019 or at Original Artists on 01227 752751
How taught himself to paint, honing his craft through creating and selling replica Victorian signage. “I’ve got this really good book that my big sister gave
Withmusic.his“portraits” we’re given a different way of looking at our heroes: little moments of oddity, the idiosyncrasies that make us human. He paints with a wry eye: Elvis as “Rubber Boy”, the Everly Brothers as the Two-Headed Boy, Macca as the face of “fresh popcorn”. “The more meaningless and absurd the better. I have a brain like a whale’s mouth, all the big stuff goes past me, but all the little stuff gets stuck,” says How.
Fancy your own piece of freak show portraiture?
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