Immortality? – I don’t think so.

 It must be that “certain age” or the current blogging vacuum caused by pre-election blues. It got me thinking about the wider issues of life. No, I am not feeling suicidal just contemplating the absurdities in life. Marches in London complaining about cuts, overshadowed by anarchists’ mayhem, whilst is Japan orderly marches to protest about nuclear proliferation giving no hint of the natural destruction which caused the situation.

The UK government tells us the country is on the verge of bankruptcy whilst still finding money to pursue wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and now Libya, still pretending there is a “great” in Britain. Bankers still drawing colossal bonuses although it is near impossible to ring your local branch or get the manager to return your call. World population projected to increase from about 6 billion to 9 billion although there are still people starving and the natural resources are being exhausted at an unsustainable rate.

Nearly every man, woman and child on the planet depends for their very existence on the internal combustion engine, in its many forms. These engines all require oil to function, remember the oil refinery blockade in the year (I think) 2000, the country was on its knees in 3 days. One natural disaster in the UK, on a similar scale to that in Japan would cause civil breakdown and I don’t think the British population would be as law abiding as the Japanese.

The government buzz-word is always economic growth and I understand that recession is not good but sustained growth, like perpetual motion is against the laws of both physics and mathematics so we should not be surprised when recession bites back occasionally.  Every pound, euro, dollar or yen gained by someone, has to be lost by someone else, resources are finite so we should be managing them for the future, not fighting over them.

I suppose it answers the question ”why no immortality?”, firstly we have to die so somebody else can inherit our space on Earth and secondly this generation of idiots has to die off so the next generation of idiots can take over and make all the same mistakes over again and invent some new ones.

LULL BEFORE THE STORM – or is it?

With one Thanet blogster claiming he is gagged behind his seven veils of Purdah and others too busy throwing their toys out of the pram, to write about it. It must mean that the dark clouds of an election are looming. Pre-election blues have set in, when councillors feel un-loved and need to prove to their electors that they have only the elector’s interests at heart. 

One interesting discussion on Big News Margate revolved around whether this quiet period was just the lull before the storm or orchestrated to give the voter a false sense of security. Everything is rosy in TDC-land and don’t say anything which may rock the pram, otherwise ALL the toys may fall out.

Purdah has successfully been defined on Thanet Life as OFFICIAL statements about council policy, so there is no good reason why all the candidates in the forthcoming election should not be completely open about their own and their party’s policies. So feel free to ask awkward questions from all the politicians – IT IS YOUR RIGHT TO KNOW WHAT THEY HAVE IN STORE FOR YOU

“BATTman returns”

 The BATTmobile was spotted in Ramsgate today, and boy, does the town need saving from the scourge of party politics. The unscrupulous dealings of the comedy Cons is only outdone by the suicidal in-fighting of the rose tinted lefties. 

FRANK BATT is just one of many INDEPENDENTS standing as candidates in the forthcoming local elections.  He is a prospective INDEPENDENT candidate for Ramsgate Central Harbour Ward, where he lives and he is standing for both Ramsgate Town Council and Thanet District Council. His election pledge is to work on behalf of the people of Ramsgate and Thanet, not for any party whip.

There will be sufficient independents standing all over Thanet to drive a wedge between the two main political parties in Thanet and put a stop to the posturing, bickering and rhetoric which wastes so much time and money at council meetings. With sufficient support for the INDEPENDENTS, the vested interests of party politics can be thwarted and a community based governance be re-established for Thanet.

Vote for FRANK BATT and vote for THANET, not party politics in the forthcoming elections. I will be highlighting many more INDEPENDENT candidates in the coming weeks, so watch this space!

The Chronicles of Narnia.

Having read that the transformation of “Matthew” into the “Dawn Treader”, was taking place today in the harbour, we wanted to see what was involved in the work. Large amounts of plastic and a purple ”Narnia” sail had been fitted when we arrived and the ship was beginning to look suitable for its forthcoming entrance into London.

Also to be seen in the Royal Harbour was a fishing vessel on the quay having its bottom painted, together with one of the pilot boats suffering a similar fate just adjacent to it, the fishing vessel was surprisingly large when beached, mainly because of its deep draft.

On the other side of the inner harbour, concrete pontoons, finished earlier in the week were hardening. These pontoons are apparently for the London Array. My wife was most impressed that concrete could be made to float, the pontoons certainly looked substantial and heavy.

Having wandered around the Royal Harbour for about half an hour, it struck me that it is quite a magical place, like Narnia. These were not exhibitions put on for our benefit or for any tourists but REAL work being carried out in a REAL harbour. One day soon we may be thankful for TDC’s neglect of the harbour, at least it hasn’t been turned into a yuppie bankers’ paradise where bloated bonuses are spent on overpriced penthouses because the water casts rippling sunlight on the ceiling.

With continued protection this working harbour could become more unique than any yuppie playground.

“A station too far?”

The train now standing at platform 1 is the 8.01am calling at Birchington- on-Sea, Westgate-on-Sea, Margate, Broadstairs, Dumpton Park, Ramsgate, Parkway and Minster. If there is any time left over it may even go to London St Pancras but if not the whole process with be repeated tomorrow.

Just what we don’t need is a new station on the horizon, which we can drive to, instead of the other seven to which we can already walk. Still a footpath from the new station to the airport terminal will be quite convenient and exciting for airline passengers, putting your foot onto the zebra crossing to cross the runway could be quite tricky but the volume of planes hardly makes for a health and safety hazard.

If the airport really needs a station, why not build it at the KIA terminal.

If a commuter car park is really required why not build it at Ramsgate station.

Thanet must have one of the densest concentrations of stations in the UK outside the National city centres, utilise these rather than constructing a new one. Building a new station and bypassing the existing under-used stations will do the same for Thanet stations that Westwood Cross did for the Old Town Centres.

This is definitely a “station too far”, too far to drive to, too far from the airport terminal, too expensive and too devastating on the existing infrastructure to contemplate.

“LISTEN”

On a recent occasion when I addressed a Thanet District Council Cabinet meeting about Asset Disposal consultation procedure, I made the point that if you consult the public on any subject, the completion of the process is to LISTEN to the feedback. A number of conservative councillors picked up on this comment and for some weeks afterwards the words “we are listening” were heard frequently.

 I recently observed that on Thanet Life blog this message is definitely not getting through, despite commentators repeating the same message that TDC website is failing to provide decent information on current events. Cllr Simon Moores who controls the blog seems to have 1001 ways to say the council has no money but consistently fails to “LISTEN” to what the commentators are saying, which is “Do it well or don’t do it at all”. This has very little to do with available finance.

“Its good news week”

                                                        London Array HQ under construction

I was greatly heartened to read in the Thanet Extra that Ramsgate Week, our local international sailing regatta will be sponsored by London Array this summer. It is good that a newly formed local company with a social responsibility is helping to progress a local event for the good of the town.

In austere times and with severe local government cuts, greater reliance on the goodwill of private companies and local volunteers will be necessary for the social events of the town to function at least at their present level and hopefully progress by the greater enlightenment of benefits derived from supporting such initiatives. Ramsgate can then move forward into a new era of greater self reliance.

I was also pleased to see another new initiative from a consortium of volunteer groups in Thanet called “JOINED UP COMMUNITY COMMUNICATION” which is endeavouring to promote a dialogue between the scores of interest groups and residents associations spread across Thanet, in order to provide a more effective voice in matters of local concern. Good luck with this project, I have been saying for some time that “working together” is the way forward for Ramsgate and fragmentation of effort only serves duplication and despair.

Backin a jif.

'ave poot’on comm’mod’ wile U’m off’ze comp’pad, ‘ack-sawd thro’ze bleepin’ bracelit and shotoff t’ Benny-dorm. Actchlee U’ma space tourist, so Fannit “U’m watchin’yoo”.

Google says they wan’ Ads onme blog, didn’t reckon they ‘spected meup ‘ere wiv’ze ol’ Poler-rude.  Nice vooo tho’, rightin yoor bakyard, “weeds” doin’ fine‘ey. . Nice poool!  Does yoor missus a’ways sun-bathe like that? – LIKE THAT!

Maydo a post oretoo wile U’m up ‘ere, if’ze Ipad spotsa Sputnik orethree. Till then keepon blaggin’ initt.

I’m back now   Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.