Ballot Dancing

Readers with long memories will remember that we once had a Conservative councillor on the Ile de Thanet who actually did kill a kitten. Straight up. No bullshit.

Anyhoo, following last week's UKIP love-in, today sees another two elections down in the tip of Kent. Both are by-.

One is here in Ramsgate and has been called because of independent motormouth Ian 'Pile' Driver's flouncing out of our teeny-tiny council. The list of candidates makes for grim reading. Three I've never heard of, and two who I have heard of and would never vote for. I'll leave you to ponder who's who in that particular zoo.

The other ballot is over on the grubby, north side of the island. It follows the conviction and jailing of our erstwhile, inglorious Tory council leader Sandy 'Beach' Ezekiel for corruption. The only name I recognise on the list is the lovely Louise Oldfield, tireless Margate campaigner and owner of the excellent Reading Rooms, that splendid boutique B&B on Hawley Square. She made the 80+ mile round trip to Maidstone Crown Court every day of Ezekiel's nine day trial to tweet and blog us the latest. So my vote, if I had one, would be for her.

Oh well. Hey-ho. Whoever I recommend, it's pretty much a dead cert that we'll end up with another couple of purple people eaters to add to the ever-growing list!

Update: I was right (but then when am I not?!). Two more to add to the UKIP list. Kuh!

Should Have Gone To Catsavers

With Thanet featuring yet again in Private Eye this week it makes you wonder whether Lord Gnome should rename his Rotten Boroughs column Rotten Thanet and be done with it. What with all the petition tossing, 'f*cking tosser' calling, absentee councilling and kitty killing that goes on around here. Kuh!

As an antidote to mayoral cruelty against innocent little animals, I thought I'd highlight a Thanet charity that's only recently developed a web presence. Thanet Animal Group has a Pet Rescue Centre which is offering hordes of cute little purrers and woofers to rehome, none of which will be going to Mayor Ted. I'm especially enamoured of Cookie, their Special Cat of the Month, and am seriously contemplating bringing him home to meet Bertie, my pedigree Burmese!

Just click on the pic to visit the TAG Pet Rescue Centre.

Unhappy Clampers

Intrepid yourfannitinnit newshound Tom Betts has emailed me a link to this video he's put on BoobTube. It appears to show a firm of private clampers preying on an old lady who has had the temerity to leave her vehicle in the Dreamland car park. We know she's over 60 'cos we hear her plead 'The only form of identification I've got is my bus pass' as they ask her to prove whether she's good for the 120 sovs they want to rinse out of her. What makes this seem even more like legalised mugging is the opening shot of the ticket machine - clearly out of order and wrapped in plastic and gaffer tape. Where was she supposed to buy a ticket in the first place?

Tom has obviously filmed this clandestinely, hence the rather Roger Cook style of camerawork. In the clip he is repeatedly told to go away by the irate clamping operative, but manfully stands his ground. Good on yer Tom!

I wonder if the clampdown is run by Probe, the people who are responsible for Dreamland security? If so, it looks like another nice little earner for cat-killing ex-Tory Councillor Ted Watt-Ruffell, and his absentee boss, ex-Tory Councillor Panama Steve Broadhurst!

Update: This story is on the front page of today's (Wednesday's) yourfannitinnit. According to the paper, the clampers are a company called CSS Parking Solutions about whom very little seems to be know, except that they have a postal address at the Kent Innovation Centre in Broadstairs.

Click here to read yourfannitinnit online.

Sick Politics

Excuse me, but has anyone else seen the latest item on the Tory Chair of Planning's blog, where he draws a cynical and objectionable parallel between Gordon Brown breaking down on ITV last night while talking about the death of his daughter, and the Tory Mayor of Margate's deliberate neglect of a five week old kitten that subsequently died in an RSPCA officer's arms?

Whatever you think of Gordon Brown and the Labour spin machine, do you really think the two can be compared? The tragic and untimely death of a child, and the murder by neglect of an innocent animal? Our Ken can't even bring himself to mention Ted Watt-Ruffell by name. I've been told Ken has a sense of humour, so the most charitable I can be is that this is some kind of joke. If so, pass the sick bag.

It's not 'an embarrassing situation' Ken. It's not 'MUD SLINGIN' to try and gain short term opinion poll gains.' It's not 'distractions, designed to confuse and take peoples minds off of the real problems that face us.' The man has been convicted of animal cruelty in a court of law. Thems the facts.

Meanwhile to lighten the mood here's something by way redressing the kitten/Tory council balance which I presciently put together almost three years ago:

Breaking News - Mayor Of Margate Admits Kitten Charges

My spies in Sittingbourne at today's trial of Margate's Tory Mayor Ted Watt-Ruffell for causing a kitten unnecessary suffering tell me he's admitted two charges and is awaiting sentencing. More soon.

Update: According to the excellent yourfannitinnit he's been given 80 hours community service, banned from keeping animals for 18 months and ordered to pay £2,000 costs.

Click here to read more on yourfannitinnit website

Bonfire Night Of The Vanities

I managed to hobble round to my 76 year old neighbour Betty's bonfire party last night. After the whizzbangs, she got to telling me that her poor old pussy is losing its fur and feels quite dry sometimes. Apparently it's also rather twitchy at this time of year and tries to slip out, so she spends most of her time pushing it back in through the flap.

I then happened to mention that the Tory Mayor of Margate, Ted Watt-Ruffell, was hauled up on a charge of maltreating kittens at the Cecil Square magistrates' court yesterday. I wonder if the kitty-fiddling accusations are related to the story in today's Gazunder about two sick little moggies found dumped outside a hotel in Cliftonville in September? The poor purrers have now been rehomed by the RSPCA, but it does all sound a little coincidental.

Anyway, Betty then went off like a rocket. 'The bloody Thanet Tories!' she fulminated. 'I'd like to put the whole f***in' lot of them on the f***in' bonfire! That f***in' Ezekiel he's been scolded by the standards people twice for calling the mayor a f***in' tosser and upsetting that f***in' petition! And as for f***in' Latchford and all the other f***in' cronies and hangers on. And that f***in' freeby trip to China that Wills paid for! And what about the f***in' planning department letting people build whatever they f***in' want wherever they want. What about all the f***in' burnt out holes that Jimmy Godden's left rotting for years, they've done f*** all about those! And now they want the f***in' airport to fly all night, those f***in' planes rattle the f***in' windows all day as it is!'

Well, after that rant, I was quite glad to limp back home and play with my own pussy!

Ferry Worry

Reader Samantha writes:

Has anybody noticed the dissimilarity between the photo of the Euroferries catamaran Bonanza Express sent out with the Thanet Council press release on Friday about the new service from Ramsgate to Boulogne, and this photo which I found on the internet claiming to be of the same vessel moored in the Canaries on Saturday, the day after? It appears to have had the word 'Euroferries' removed from its side. Are they by any chance unrelated?

Thanet Council press release 31 July 2009

Snapped in Tenerife 1 August 2009

Track Bonanza Express on marinetraffic.com

Isle Of Cats

Forget fat cats, Thanet is the top area for spotting big cats according to Teletext! Statistics gathered by big cat researcher Neil Arnold reveal there were 21 sightings on Kent's Ramsgate Peninsula during 2008, with the majority based around Birchington.

One explanation for the number of sightings of supersize pussies on the north side could be the widespread prevalence of cataracts, crack and cans of Stella in the area, according to one Thanet blogger.

Click here to read story on Teletext
Click here to go to Kent Big Cat Research blog

It Came From Uranus! - The Movie

Mr Ceaucescu (no relation) has put together a short package for ECR TV demonstrating Bertie's reaction to the severed head sent to me by The Uranians (see previous post).

With an animal as ferocious as this guarding my cliff top mansion there'll be no worries about getting off to the kipper tonight, snug as a bug in a proverbial under my John Lewis luxury Hungarian goose down duvet.