News Rubble

A story about the, er, spot of local difficulty on Facebook has finally appeared in the Observer. Click here to read that. Plus, of course, there's more background on our local flying doctor's blog here.

I should also have alerted readers yesterday to the fact that there is a series of concerts happening at St Augustine's Church here in the Millionaires' Playground, to celebrate Pugin's birthday, the first of which was, um, last night. No matter, there are two more coming up in March. The poster for the concerts is below.

That has also been mentioned on Simon Moores' blog, so really, just pop over there and you should be alright. He's much more sober than me - especially at the weekend - and therefore generally less prone to dropping a bollock. You really wouldn't want to be sitting in a teeny-tiny plane with the likes of me piloting it. Oh no. No siree.

Faecebook

Oh dear. I seem to be on a bit of a toilet roll with these headlines.

So, multi-zillionaire Mark Zuckerberg's Facebook is currently robo-generating one-minute films from your top photos and comments on the social networking site to 'celebrate' its tenth anniversary. If you're on FB, you'll have already seen them, no doubt. Some geek in California has written a bit of software code, and hey presto! - now your best bits are a video, complete with a music track that smells of pure American cheese. An infinite number of monkeys in an infinite number of Avid edit suites would have done a better job, but there you go.

Any-old-hoo, when I went to look at mine, I didn't have one! Apparently my life is so dull that it doesn't even warrant 60 seconds to cover the last decade! I know, you're shocked, aren't you?!?!

No matter, reader John has come to my rescue, and put the above BAFTA nominated piece together. Thanks John!

And while we're on the topic of technology, Apple is giving me the pip. I've used the firm's stuff since Steve Jobs was a foetus, but in the last few years its products have proven shoddy and unreliable. iPads have stopped working, iPhones have developed an inner life of their own, and laptops have burnt out. Its not just me that's suffered, friends have too. You only have to look at the 10 mile queues at the Genius Bars in your local Apple Stores to see that something's gone a bit wormy.

None of that is at all relevant to Ramsgate in particular, or the Ile de Thanet in general. But then that doesn't seem to trouble you lot much when it comes to comments, does it?!

What's Dat Dair Den?

Here's a shot I just nabbed from Dr Steve Ladyman MP's embryonic Facebook campaign to, er, re-elect Steve Ladyman for South Thanet (173 members and counting).

But what's he got in his hands? Clearly not the keys to No 10. The keys to his Ferrari and two other sports cars perhaps? Or has he been plundering iPods off der kids in a civic minded anti-anti-social behaviour offensive on the buses? Answers on the usual postcard please!

Water Blogged

Fellow Thanet blogger Bertie Biggles writes:

Richard, I have been trying to help Amy Murray out at Manston re (the proposed China) Gateway (30 squillion sq. ft. business park which will sit atop our water supply and could make Camelford look like a tea party should anything go awry). Have just set up a 'protest' site that will deal with all Gateway stuff in due course. As the Isle's premier site can you look at:

www.savethanetswatersupply.blogspot.com

and if poss direct people to it to make voices heard? Loved the Balkan flavour to your posts last week! Bertie.

Happy to oblige, Bertie old sport. If anyone else has a story they'd like publicised on 'the Isle's premier site', just email me - the link is in the top right hand corner, under that picture of a ruggedly handsome cove whose, um, name escapes me for the moment. Or, if you're feeling adventurous, you can always come and sit on my Facebook - you can find the link to that in the same place. Pip pip!

Blogged Off

No way am I returning to Blogger. Not even if you begged me. I have so many friends now on Facebook (eight). Even our glorious council leader Sandy Beach has joined in the fun! And I'm expecting to announce another big name signing any minute.

OK, I know that other Thanet blogs are attempting to fill the ECR gap. But let's face it, they're not hacking it are they? Just today Dr Biggles ran the story about 3.5bn square metres of glasshouses being erected in Birchington which I broke a week ago. Not the glasshouses, the story.

So you're definitely missing out on all the fun and goss if you don't join me here. See you on the other side!

Last Post

Justin, my publicist, advises me that Blogger has now officially jumped the shark. So where to next? MySpace? Hardly. That's so old hat that it's been grabbed by the Murdochs.

No, the clever money is apparently now on Facebook, so that's where you'll find me in future. If you can work out who I really am that is. Toodle-pip!