Friday, April 18, 2008

Margate Disappears Without A Trace

I see Our Lady Of The Soiled Bedsheet has been pontificating in today's Independent. Trace writes:

Margate for me should be somewhere I rejoice to come back to. A sort of spiritual place bound up in childhood memories and the fecundity of the sea. It should be a place of passion mixed up with Edwardian charm. A place of kinky contradictions, that's how Margate always used to be. But now every time I approach the Golden Mile I am filled with dread and fear of what I may think.

Every time I come here something has gone, something is missing. This time it's the scenic railway. Another time it's the big wheel. After the storms of 87 it was the pier. In the Eighties it was the entire Lido complex. Every single time I come something has been burnt, destroyed, fire bombed, boarded up, demolished or just completely forgotten about and left to go in to a tragic state of disrepair.


Tracey, take it from me luv, you're about the only thing the place has got left to crow about. Don't leave it too long until your next visit, otherwise you might find the whole place just one big pile of cinders!

Click here to read Tracey Emin's column in the Independent

11 comments:

Anonymous said...

I to have read Tracy's piece and note she "returns with dread", which is funny really because every time she returns I dread it!

But who am I to say, I belived that the 'soiled bedsheets' was all due to an addressing error, and instead of collecting Tracy's work of art, the movers emptied the contents of a 'single person unit' from a flop house in cliftonville

Peter C said...

Love or hate her (& her work), we should be proud that someone from Margate has become world famous AND that she still features the town in her work.

Personally I'd be more in favour of a 'Tracy Emin Centre'. We should capitalise more on the fact that one of the world's most famous LIVING artists is from the town.

Richard Eastcliff said...

Perhaps you should snap her in the nud!

Anonymous said...

I detect a theme through your website and work 'Nude in Thanet' PC.

A slight bias in favour of the female form! would a slight change in the name be apporpriate 'Nude Women in Thanet' maybe?

Oh! and ER please no!

Peter C said...

Richard, I'd LOVE to! : )

Anonymous said...

Did any anyone at Tdc have the imagination to ask Trace for an exhibit to put in the M&s Turner exhibition. At least that would have got the viewing figures up and justified the waste of money spent so far with low vistors, on staff wages etc

Anonymous said...

When she next visits,there won't be any shops left either. The council have put up paking charges excessively, way above the infaltion rate. Our council leader's defence is that the carparks are very full. Margate is full of council worker's cars, obviously he would have a problem finding a space at Mill Hill. This is not helping the remaining shops left in the town centres.

Anonymous said...

As I recall, Trace was willing and enthusiastic about making a neon sign for Droit House some years ago but a combination of the enlightened Thanet Press and the "Art experts" (sic) at TDC put a stop to that mularky. We wouldn't want a world famous modern artist being associated with Margate now would we.

Anonymous said...

I'm not a fan of Tracy Emins's work, but many people are. She is a famous Thanet export and ambassador - yet locals fail to give her credit and, yes, take advantage of her and her fame.

The attitude of those like Ian J and the regressive "thinkers" at TDC are part of the local problem - a failure to get their heads out of the sand and realise that if Thanet is ever to move forward, it will be across a range of fronts - arts, commerce etc. - and not just down one track dreamt up by traditionalists.

Embrace diversity, and stop seeing Thanet's future through a single eye-piece.

Anonymous said...

I definately agree with 12:06.

Justin Brown said...

You could have a stab at me in the buff, if you like Peter.
You're kinda cute in an Ian Dury look-a-like sorta way.
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