Gimme Shelter

Or more appropriately 'gawd gimme strength', as the rubber-lipped one also no doubt intoned at some point.

According to reader Ben, this damage was done to one of the recently restored shelters here on the East Cliff yesterday afternoon. The vandals were apparently four nippers, aged around nine or ten, who were, er, getting satisfaction out of heaving stones at the shelter.

The rozzers were called and some names have been taken, let's hope they don't have any sympathy for the little devils. (That's enough Rolling Stones tracks - Ed.)

I had been meaning praise the restoration of these Victorian edifices (14 in all along our lovely front), which the Ramsgate Society supervised having won a £500K grant from the Townscape Heritage Initiative. My picture below shows their previous, parlous state, back in ye olden days (2007), after they'd spent a number of years being neglected by that other gang of mindless vandals, Thanet Council.

Tut And Car Moan

With the nippers off school this week, it's impossible to tool around town without being accosted by budding entrepreneurs flogging off bits of old electrical tut. Today I was offered an old mobile phone, then an Xbox game, both for a tenner. Still, it's good to see members of the Young Ramsgate Millionaires' Club taking their cue from Sralan, I suppose.

These days I usually drive the old jalopy the five minute walk into town. After all, the parking's free, seeing as there are never any traffic wardens about!

Dickie The Dosh Disher

Urgh! I'm still suffering from the effects of the after party. But it was worth it to see Terry doing the conga around TV Centre yet again with his boxers on his head. It's a bit of an old party trick of his.

Many thanks for all your comments yesterday. We had 21, plus the promise of a fiver from 'Captain Killer', which tots up to a total of £26 for Children in Need. Slightly down on last year, but I suppose everyone's feeling the pinch. Er, except it was my money of course. Maybe the fact that comment moderation is on to avoid having to hand out any more dosh to the men in wigs has saved me money after all. Albeit in an unintended kind of way!

Donate direct - click here to go to Children in Need website

Celebrities In Need

Hurrah! I'm running my 'comments for quids' for Children in Need again this year! The idea is that for every comment, charitable or otherwise, that appears on this post over the next 24 hours, I'll donate a shiny, new oncer to help the little kiddiewinks!

Unfortunately, due to, er, legal constraints this year, comments are being moderated. Which means they won't appear instantaneously. And as I'm going to be rather busy as Sir Tel's assistant wig wrangler up at TV Centre, I shan't be getting onto the old iPhone much to publish them either. But do join in!

Last time I managed to raise 32 nicker, plus a fiver from a showbiz mate for getting the director to do a close up of the old Wogan barnet (and no, you couldn't see the join). So let's see if we can crack the 50 this year!

Click here to go to Children in Need website

Dickie Dishes Out The Dosh

Thanks for all the comments yesterday. Although we only got a third of the way to the ton, it still added up to 32 quid for Children In Need. Plus I'm donating an extra fiver which I promised the control room lads and lasses for cutting to Sir T when the word 'wig' came up during the Radio 1 v Radio 2 Buzzcocks. All in all not a bad day's work!

Meanwhile I see children's cancer charity CLIC Sargent are abseiling down Ramsgate's West Cliff today. Well, with the lift permanently buggered, it's the only way to go!

Children In Need
CLIC Sargent Ramsgate Abseil

Charitable Comments

As I appear to have been overlooked by ITV's I'm A Non-Entity... yet again this year, I've decided to devote my showbiz talents to the Beeb's Children In Need instead. See if you can spot me lifting the lid on Wogan's wig later this evening.

And following the success of my Green Nose Day back in March, which raised 41 smackers for charity, I will also be donating a shiny new quid for every comment that appears on this post today. I'm aware that another Thanet blogger recently clocked up 63 comments, so let's see if we can make it a cool ton!