My recent general lack of internet has severely severed what I am able to do on my Christmas projects. Our house in Manston sits outside the Thanet wired broadband catchment area. Of course there is always a workaround. For us the answer is wireless broadband beamed in through a toaster styled receiver attached to the side of the house from up near the Uni campus. We were with a company called SoBroadband from Rainham but alas they went into some kind of liquidifidation and was subsequently taken over by VFast from Ashford. They all seem very nice so we don’t really mind that their temporary transmitter (put up for Christmas) keeps being blown down by the high winds we’ve been having of late.
projects, broadband, sobroadband, vfast, manston
Christmas was turned out well considering. It was my first without my father and his brother, both having died earlier in 2006, assuming I’ve not mentioned it before. We went down to that side of the family in Dorset and frankly it was generally pretty good fun. My cousins are all come of drinking age and so it was a good fun starting from almost as soon as I arrived. Just got to get them to move off the lager onto some good ales.
christmas, family, dorset
Friday the 29th of December was showtime at the Lido, Margate. Evil Elvis were playing with support from Black Static Transmission rinsing out a Christmas set in the last Plan9 show of the year. ‘This is almost like Christmas with the family’ I explained to my friend Danny as I talked him into coming. ‘Your not sure that you really want to go but you know your going to have awesome fun when you get there’. He succumb, but frankly I think he was lured by the Elvis, a now almost annual event of \m/Rock\m/ and Roll. I played in the 2000/2001 NYE show and I’m pretty sure it wasn’t the first. Anyway, loads of others made the same pilgrimage and a very cool night was had by all with lots of drinking and dancing. Even Danny had came out grinning, if not a little worse for wear which meant we had to get out the taxi a little early (if thats not the mark of a good night, I don’t know what is?!)
evilelvis, blackstatictransmission, plan9, lido, margate
I spent time in Ramsgate today (Saturday). You really can’t get much more bizarre than that town. My vision of the place had been blurred. I always thought of Ramsgate as a cool town on the coast but today I was reminded otherwise.
I was a lost puppy, a fish out of water, an old cat in an old town.. I drifted down Ramsgate highstreet today. Drawn as I was to Argos at the top of the street for some last minute Chrsitmas shoppping (I’m a boy). I headed on down the highstreet just to check out what Ramsgte had tuned into in the weeks that had passed.
To be honest, I didn’t expect much change. I had always thought of Ramsgate as a cool town but you know, I think I always saw it at the wrong time. At night the harbour is really something else, but during the day the town truly lacks something that other towns have. I think that its called jaw muscles… This really is a town of slack jaw locals who consider themselves observant when they spot JJB sport between the cheep watch and the phone unlocking market stalls. Don’t get me wrong, I do have faith in this town but there is something wrong at the moment / About the only shops that are opening are sports clothing. I see a Sports World has opened up where Courts was and very busy it was too. I can believe it must be good business to keep chavs clothed.
SO back to Argos Christmas shopping and while there I immediately turned into an old man. The poor man beside me was hassled buy our dear chav, his space personally invaded. They were cocks but they left. Here is where the old man thing comes in: “these kids think they own the high street”, “hanging round in their gangs”, “all I want to know is where the parents are”… I’m almost speechless… I take a quick mental note and see that we are only young men… medium age of thirty… I fill my slip out for the laminater (a Christmas present) and head away with those words ringing… “I blame the parents”.
This place is truly a village. I knew I could go out tonight. Get dropped at somewhere like Churchills, meet someone there and go on to an endless night of drinking and non stop meeting people I know… Tonight the highlight???… Alex Glinn. He is an aspiring sound man who’s dedication and ambition no-one can fault. He’s was working on that local Bob Hoskins film which has become Ruby Blue. I give noted respect out because he is really someone who is doing what he can to get out of the expected Thanet life, especially in such a demanding industry as media.
Ok, I’m back in Thanet for a month. I have six days of gallivanting round the country. I have degree of necessity to head down country to Dorset to spend much needed Christmas time with Family. After that, apart from a possible three days in Wales, I’m spending a time in Thanet and I will record a memoir of my time. As a little end of post bonus; I’m hoping to leave a treat for Thanet before I leave.
