11/11/04

A beautiful sunny morning....ever since I was a young boy I have always been drawn to watching the Cenotaph proceedings in London on this Remembrance Sunday.

"In Flanders Fields" was first published in England's "Punch" magazine in December, 1915. Within months, this poem came to symbolize the sacrifices of all who were fighting in the First World War. Today, the poem continues to be a part of Remembrance Day ceremonies in Canada and other countries. The poem was written by a Canadian - John McCrae, a doctor and teacher, who served in both the South African War and the First World War.

''In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch, be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields''

09/11/04

At last! The 4 poster beds that I ordered from India arrived today! All bespoke made..in teak...from the old houses that are being pulled down in Chennai...Madras to you former colonials! And guess what....it rained on delivery day so that we had to erect a temporary shelter so that each box could be opened..still plenty of keen operatives were on hand to get things moving!

..still the final look is terrific....room 4..walls not yet decorated but the bed makes the room look spectacular..going to see what my mother thinks when she makes a royal visit here on the 23rd November!

03/11/04

Horray..at last we have been given confirmation that there will be a 'bullet train' service from Ramsgate into London St Pancras station which will only take 60 mins...better than the 1hr 47 mins now! The train will travel twice hourly from Ramsgate to Ashford via Canterbury, where it will join the Channel Tunnel Rail link service. This is such good news...with the introduction of the new ferry service, the excellent dual carriageway link to the M2, M20 and M25, the successful low cost flights operating out of Manston (2 miles away) then this part of Kent is surely going to be the place to live work and play! Check the link below for more details:

the guardian uk news

My new snuggery, empire room, British room, travel room..call it whatever is now ready..it's an extra sitting room complete with a flat screen computer with broadband access, some travel books, a TV combi with video and DVD player, a payphone and some nice comfy seating..oh and another proper working fireplace...at the moment it's been hijacked by some of the air stewardesses that we have staying at the moment....knock on the door..they won't bite! The whole room is dominated by a giant 1971 map of the world...it's fascinating to see how people love to stand and stare.....comments have included why the tiniest countries/areas of the world always dominate the news..why don't they just move away from each other..plenty of space in Greenland!

SHHHHH....it's Eastenders!!

27/10/04

Some of the charming guests that I have staying at the moment!

13/10/04

PARIS -- One hundred works by three 19th-century master painters -- Monet, Turner and Whistler -- are on view in Paris for the first time in an exhibit that showcases the fruits of their intense artistic dialogue. The show opens today until the 17th January at the Grand Palais in Paris.

http://www.rmn.fr/galeriesnationalesdugrandpalais/

The display of rarely loaned masterpieces from private collections and major museums is one of the biggest art shows of the year in the French capital. The three-man exhibit is a rare opportunity to compare the works of one of the founders of English watercolour landscape painting, J.M.W. Turner, with two virtuosos who followed him, American-born James McNeill Whistler and French impressionist Claude Monet.

The British-born Turner died in 1851, having bequeathed his huge collection of paintings to his country -- a gift that became the legacy upon which Whistler and Monet drew during their artistic sojourns to London, said Sylvie Patin, chief curator at the Musee d'Orsay.

''The intent of the exposition is to show the 'English effect' on impressionism,'' she said. ''In 1851 when Turner died, some 20,000 works went into British collections and were seen by artists, especially Whistler and Monet.''

London was the starting point for the three artists devoted to exploring color, light and atmosphere. That was where Monet first saw Turner's works and Whistler's famed ''Nocturnes,'' and where Monet and Whistler developed a friendship that grew out of a profound admiration for Turner.

What has all this got to do with this part of Kent you may ask?  Well, as a way of escaping from London, Turner became a regular visitor to the coastal resort of Margate, on the eastern tip of Kent. He travelled there by steamer, and took up lodgings with a Mrs Booth, who afterwards became both his housekeeper and mistress. From the windows of her house Turner could see the lighthouse on the harbour, a view which he painted frequently during the last twenty years of his life. This section includes some of the large group of works including this subject which became so important to Turner. At Margate he also painted many atmospheric impressions in oil which he then developed in the studio, many including shipwrecks and the churning foam of the surf. None of these were exhibited in Turner's own lifetime; they were discovered for the first time after his death.

And in 2007 the new Turner Contemporary Centre will open beside the pier in Margate.

http://www.turnercontemporary.org/

So now you can come and stay with us at The Royal Harbour Hotel, visit Margate and see the skies that so inspired Turner, and then from Ashford International, 26 miles away from us, get on a Eurostar train to Paris to see the Impressionists that were inspired by Turner.

www.eurostar.com

08/10/04

Well a nice surprise this morning..we had in our midst last night a hotel inspector..and good news we have been awarded 3 diamonds in our category...not bad considering all we have acheived has been done from a standing start....K.B.O!

6/10/04

I have been reading articles in the local paper about on going problems with street lighting maintenance. Surely it would be a good project to devise a system of 'light monitors'. For example a local volunteer could be made responsible for reporting street lighting faults in the area around where he or she live. As every street light has a number all that would be needed is for them to go on line to a special site that they have access to..click on the appropriate light number as not working. This would log every fault automatically. Perfect for measuring response times! Added benefits would include an extra pair of eyes on an informal neighbourhood watch . Street lighting is important to a local community. It prevents accidents and provides some security after dark. I think it also reflects on the local confidence of a neighbourhood . Does it care about itself.....it's similar to the broken window pane philosophy..oh and by the way Happy Birthday to my mother today! You see she brought me up to have some decent values! lol..

02/10/04

I took my first flying lesson today..well it was more of an hour's introduction to something quite exhilirating! In a 4 seater Piper Warrior, we flew up to Whistable, turned left inland towards Canterbury (amazing views of the Cathedral), onto Ashford and then to Folkestone before turning north and flying 500ft at sea level along the White Cliffs at Dover...quite spectacular! We flew past Deal, Ramsgate and then at Broadstairs turned inland again to land back at Manston! It was a real 'garden shed' experience..and I think i'm hooked! That famous poem did come to mind:

High Flight
by John Gillespie Magee, Jr.

Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth,
And danced the skies on laughter-silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds...and done a hundred things
You have not dreamed of...wheeled and soared and swung
High in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
My eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up, the long, delirious burning blue
I've topped the windswept heights with easy grace
Where never lark, nor even eagle flew.
And while with silent, lifting mind I've trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space...
...put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

Flying alongside the White Cliffs...

Ramsgate from the air...2nd October 2004

30/09/04

Bad day today..VAT payment due in....!! But we had a glorious sunrise...not untypical at all!

27/09/04

Heard a nice rumour over the weekend that there are plans for a fish market with a fish restaurant on top to be built in the inner harbour...fast forward please!

On 25th May 2004, fifty bottles with messages inside them were released into the sea off the south east coast of England near Ramsgate Maritime Museum. Their intended destination is 800km East of mainland New Zealand: the Chatham Islands (the exact opposite side of the globe from where they were released). These bottles are different, however, because they also have GPS transmitters in them. With these, you can view the bottles movement in real time and read messages posted by people who have found the bottles-- much more satisfying.

I learnt this week that one of our illustrious competitors in the town buys in FROZEN scambled egg for breakfast! Surely it's just as quick and infinitely more rewarding for both cook and customer to make it to order...so next time you're staying in a corporate hotel..ask about their scrambled egg!

25/9/04

This is a new feature..it will allow me to jot down anecdotes, hotel stories, and local gossip which may or may not (!) interest any readers...in a form of freehand diary..

So...3 months to the day until Christmas...and it's another beautiful early sunny morning here in Ramsgate..(7am).. we await the first movers and shakers from upstairs to come down for breakfast..it's a peaceful 'quiet before the storm' time of day...but it's nice to know that we're full for the weekend!