With the occasional rat-a-tat of a pneumatic drill alerting me to the fact that development work has begun on the Pleasurama eyesore, it's time to come up with a decent name for the new building.Officially it's going to be 'Royal Sands', but let's face it, that's a load of old pony. What it needs is a proper name. After all, does anybody know what that cliff top lump near the Western Esplanade in Boredstares is actually called? Of course not. But the Dickensians all know and, er, love it as 'Alcatraz'. So, what shall we call our own cliff bottom lump? Dun Burnin'? The Shelter? No, no, no, I've got a much better idea. Here's my reasoning:
1. It's vaguely ship-shaped.
2. It's got four sticky-out bits.
3. With climate change continuing apace, it'll almost certainly end up putting to sea.
4. It hasn't got enough, or indeed any, lifeboats.
5. In a once-in-a-lifetime storm surge a large object might collide with it, causing it to sink (don't take my word for it, this is our local biblio-bloke Michael Child's 'worst case scenario').
So, guessed the new name yet? It's obvious, isn't it? Say hello to: THE TITANIC!
Full text of Michael Child's research
Update: Here's today's spring tide (28 September) at Ramsgate, as filmed by Michael. A rather moderate example of what the Titanic will be setting sail in! The video was shot from roughly the bottom left hand corner of the above artist's impression of the new development.
22 comments:
Saw a restaurant on the outskirts of Melbourne in Australia which had a model of the Titanic on the roof which I think started to slowly tip up as the diners were eating - now there's an idea!
They should call it the Marie Celeste because after the first big
storm it will be deserted
Their was a station there, or close to it...What about Seaside Halt. If we look at all those photos on our Old Ramsgate site, maybe 2009/10 will see the new Seaside Halt development. That rat-tat-tat was a portable compressor being used to drill holes for some fencing, so don't get too excited about things getting started...
They should call it "The Sandy Beach" after the perveyor of the carpets in it.
Yes the site did indeed used to be a station, Ramsgate Sands, and you could get the 'Granville Express' from there. The tunnel goes pretty much under the Granville, and comes out near Dumpton Park station.
After the station closed in 1926 the tunnel was used as a novelty train ride through illuminated tableaux as part of Merrie England, which later became Pleasurama.
This light railway exited in a slightly different place from the old main line - on Hereson Road not far from the dog track (now a housing estate and Wyevale). The entrance was next to where the Murco garage now is.
So 'Ghost Train' might be an appropriate epithet for the new development!
Look on the bright side whoever lives there will save a fortune on exfoliation during the winter months the way the wind whips the sand up across there.
What about "The former Pleasurama site" or "Merrie England" or "Ramsgate Sands Station" or is my tongue stuck in my cheek?
What about "The former Pleasurama site" or "Merrie England" or "Ramsgate Sands Station" or is my tongue stuck in my cheek?
Won't someone think of the clowns?
Someone will have it away with those clowns and stick them on eBay. Probably that Zumi fellow!
Surely this building will stop the cliff from falling into the sea, and allow you to remove that Heras fencing stopwatch thingy from your site.
How do you do that?
We'll believe that when it actually happens - don't think ECR will be removing the day counter for some time yet!!
I thought "the clowns" were the ones in the photo in last week's paper standing under the east cliff wearing the yellow hats and wielding a pickaxe just for a photo opportunity.
I gather that, rather like Lover’s Lane, the roof is now to be carpeted in rubber instead of flowers, which may give us even more names to bounce around.
The Rubber Dub Tub?
I did ask she-who-must-be-adored if we could have a clown for home, but she said we already had one and I was enough for her thank you very much and stop asking damn stupid questions....
I think the logistics of selling that one on eBay would be beyond my parcel-packing skills. I'd give it a go though.
By the way on a visit to a salvage yard near Canterbury last week I saw a similarly-styled hippo and an elephant that would go nicely with the clowns, so if anyone's thinking of starting their own mini pleasure park...
This is lunch time today, an ordinary spring tide with a northerly blowing it away, things get much worse with a south easterly or southerly especially when combined with a tidal surge, caused by a high pressure system over the north sea pushing down on the water and sending a lot more to Ramsgate. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmvqNGRKcrg
re hippos and clowns maybe the new Dreamland Trust (formerly Save Dreamland Campaign) might want them?
Rubber roof eh? It's got to be The Condominium then!
I have come to the conclusion sea levels have already risen, looks like about 100mm since the swinging sixties or 4 inches in old money I am putting a bit of information about this at http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/tides/ an odd side effect being that I seem to written a page where you can watch several videos at once.
Excellent videos Michael - the third one expecially shows at least one driver who should have his car taken away from him before he kills himself from sheer stupidity (the one driving on to the blindingly obviously dangerous space). He's the sort of person who gets others killed trying to rescue him.
Royal Sands development 2011, this still gets to me - homes for the rich & no jobs for the poor, nothing to entice people to Ramsgate, no buzz about the place as there was at Pleasurama. Worse still an opportunity missed (except for Estate Agents).
I want to put on record that a local councillor insisted that a business plan was needed to put forward an idea on alternatives as TDC don't think - it's the developers job. The idea was floated in time to stop the flats plan.
What was it? To use the cliff height for drop down (ar required) platforms to cover 1)a swimming pool set into the ground such that 2)exhibition trains could be rolled down from the tunnel (where they were pre made up)quickly and easily so that Ramsgate International exhibitions can be staged when pool use is slack - daytime, winter, out of school time,etc. i.e. when industry and commererce hold their shows. Jobs coming from building stands, exporting them by rail, attraction of public and sales people to the area, conferences at the Granville or Pav. 4)A second platform from the cliff side could go over the first say 15 foot up for a wide range of uses (disco, skating, snooker tournaments whatever..... With both raised the pool would be sun-lit, & its close proximity to the beach could enable sea water filling to aide bouyancy for learners. Solar panels on the cliff face might generate the heat to warm this water. So there'd be something happening and changing (life!)to draw people, jobs for the locals, utilisation of a long tunnel a unique variable attraction helping to fill Ramsgate in both the holiday periods and the work seasons. But alas we are doomed to boring flats for the rich forever in our lifetime unless nature takes revenge and wipes the site clean.
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