Connectivity and service interruption

You'll appreciate that I have not contributed much to the local Blogosphere of recent, I'd like to be able to tell you, that this is the result of working on other fantastically more interesting projects but it's not the case. Plain and simple I no longer have the time.

Still fortunately for you the reader, there are plenty of alternatives, a favourite being the newly arrived Thanet Waves blog, which combines cynicism, humour and better grammar than what you're likely to get here.

Apart from listening to the news on radio four going to work, I'm pretty much out of touch with what is occurring in the greater world, my connection with Thanet and what goes on is at this point tenuous, not helped by lack of available copies of local newspapers like yourthanet and Thanet extra. The Gazette which is readily available seems pretty patchy in its coverage of local issues probably the consequence of losing one of their reporters Thom Morris.

Maybe I'm just peculiar in my tastes, but for Margate itself the biggest story or perhaps most important story is to be found in the classy Margate architecture blog. Now the subject matter of the blog to which I'm referring is not necessarily the most sexy item you're likely to read unless that is that you happen to be a train buff.

Dull and unexciting as it might be, according to Margate architecture, train services to London from Margate are about to get ten minutes slower and and there'll be fewer of them, in what would appear to be a blatant attempt force travellers to use the expensive and not particularly fast service from Ramsgate to Saint Pancras it looks like Margate will be suffering considerable economic damage. Not something likely to interest those down at Gazette towers but probably more important that the endless drivel about Manston.

Since Roger Gale will soon be asking for us the electorate to keep him in the luxury he's become accustomed, maybe the rail time table is something he could sink his teeth into once of course he's finished polishing off the monthly £300 + plus food expenses courtesy of you and I.

Warnings of further disruptions to Bignews Margate, its likely that contributions will be erratic for a while particularly when my own journeys are subject to their own quaint disruptions more on that later.

Thought for the Day - Have Labour been genetically modified

As I looked at Hilary Benn (minister for food or something) holding forth up at Thanet Earth, on the BBC today, I was struck by the similarity of his mannerisms, to that of his father Tony Benn.

I had the thought of just how things have changed in the Labour party, when I was growing up, its fair to say that Tony Benn was amongst those consider by many to be a dangerous lefty.Many years later its impossible to see just how the likes of Tony Benn can fit in with current Labour party, things have changed almost beyond belief.

Labour has abandoned the working people of this country and the betrayal goes a little further than just restricting university education to the rich, just to ally themselves with the affluent, Labour have gone out of the way to assist a handful of big businesses notably in the construction trade and agriculture by allowing them to ruthlessly exploit immigrant labour.

Labour has created a sort of master and servant society, you’ve only got to see some of the company senior Labour politicians keep. During Labours time in office the divide between rich and poor has increased, delusional Labour MP’s are up there with their Tory colleagues in claiming bogus expenses.

Still that said certainly Hilary Benn appears every bit as principled and honest, as his father, being 15th in list of lowest claimants of expenses. I just have this thought and that’s all it is, that Labour’s somehow been modified to look like the party for working people on the outside but empty on the inside of that original flavour that created them.

Labour have made people commodities, so as Hilary Benn pontificated at the technological marvel that Thanet Earth is, producing Peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes, I wonder if he had chance to consider or even got to talk to the workforce.

Thanet Earth is a multi million pound investment, I just wonder what the workers think, I remember the much reported queues as locals registered for “agency”* jobs up at Thanet Earth, just wonder how its worked out for them.

*Whatever happend to real jobs?

Gazette’s Smudger on the news pulse

Not being a subscriber to the Gazette’s “Smudger” thisisthanet Twitter page, I’m often out of the loop on hot news, still I noticed the twitter feed on Thanetonline blog, offering a warm welcome to a fleet of tall ships that had arrived posted 4 hours ago.

I assume this is not the same flotilla that turned up on Wednesday and departed on Thursday.

Anyway here is a link to thiswasthanet, I reckon the editor of Thanets Northcliffe titles could afford to buy the crews drinks all night since I think their long gone.

Quote of the week on A levels

Spotted this as I was chomping my way through toast and papers this morning, from Rod Liddle's excellent comment column in the Sunday Times, discussing the high pass rate of those A levels (only 2.8% failed) results Mr Liddle looks forward to the day when a 100% pass rate is achieved "and every abject cretin can go on to read applied concrete, or maybe media studies, at the University of Central Thanet. One wonders quite what level of imbecility is required to gain entry to that exclusive 2.8%. But I daresay we will find out when the next edition of Big Brother comes to our screens."

If nothing else its proof of planet Thanet's growing fame!

Click here for Rod Liddles comment column (halfway down)