Venice Of The North

Before I tool off and get astonishingly drunk with my Finnish fiends, I see that yesterday's Times mentioned Exodus, that Channel 4 film they made in the Arsonists' Playground last year. It's been entered for the Venice Film Festival. Here's what they say about Margate:

Exodus features 25 nonactors who were given speaking roles, and more than 800 extras. All are from Margate, Kent, which thrived when Turner painted there but which today is defined by unemployment, drugs, crime and asylum-seekers.

Talk about give a dog a bad name.

Full story