Downed For A Pound

Thanks to reader Samantha for this snap of 'Hanton' airport, at Bekonscot Model Village in Beaconsfield.

It's clearly meant to be our very own RAF London Kent Manston Margate Tracey Emin Chas 'n' Dave Maggie Thatcher Schipol Skyport Poundland International Airport, as its planes fly directly over some Ramsgate houses...

Sadly both the airport and Ramsgate's Model Village are now history, the former ruined by what some might describe as corporate vandalism, the latter by actual vandals of the bovver-booted kind.

History might conclude that the decline of both was the development of an appetite by the British public for holidays in the sun, jetting off to the likes of Majorca and Benidorm from conveniently placed airports (for the majority) like Gatwick and Heathrow. In which case, we've only got ourselves to blame.

But that's history. And yes, we do seem to have plenty of history here in Thanet. Not only that, but a history of trying to bring history back to life - Dreamland, the Ramsgate Tunnels, Ramsgate Motor Museum and so on. Despite being a commercial disaster, the airport too has a proud history as an RAF base, and it's only fitting that the fly-boys should today be doing their best to wave it off in an appropriately disciplined manner, without the hysterical wailing and gnashing of teeth that has mostly accompanied the closure.

Who knows? Like the Save Dreamlanders, the Save Manstoners may one day, in the dim and distant future, get their airport back as an historic attraction. Albeit, most likely, on a much reduced scale.

Smokin' Future For Manston?

The results of my big poll on the future of Manston are in! And the winner is.... well, it's a dead heat actually.

Asked what you thought RAF London Kent Manston Etc Airport should become now that its days as a runway are rapidly coming to a close, 22% of you went for 'leisure', while another 22% of you opted for a '700 acre cannabis farm'. Hmm. I suppose the two aren't incompatible. And when you add in the 15% who wanted the airport to be returned to agriculture, I think we have a pretty darn good consensus!

That should please Councillor Ian Driver, our appropriately Green local representative who is campaigning for a cannabis caff to open up on Kent's Ramsgate Peninsula. I mean, cripes! With 700 acres of the stuff on his doorstep, he could open up a cannabis superstore!! Here are the results in full:

Question: What future for Manston?

700 acre cannabis farm: 22% (32 votes)
Leisure: 22% (32 votes)
Renewable energy: 16% (23 votes)
Agriculture: 15% (22 votes)
Housing: 12% (17 votes)
Industry: 10% (14 votes)

Personally I would have voted for renewable energy, which came in third. But then, what do I know? Well, what I do know is that it will almost certainly become a mammoth housing estate, which came in second to last.

Meanwhile airport champion Sir Roger Guff has been meeting with airport owner Annie Get Your Gloags today in a bid to save the place. Initial reports are that Sir Rodge has said there is no offer on the table. Believe me, Rodge, there's not only no offer, there's no table, no chairs, not even a room to put them in.

Still, one cloud hanging over the future of the airport as a non-airport, which may in the end prove to be the ace up Roger's hole, is the very well-founded rumour amongst the fly boys that there are unexploded pipe bombs on the site, left over from the war. But then again, if they've been landing planes on them for decades, I can't see it's much of an argument really. Anyone for a housing boom?!?! (Geddit??!!!!!??!?!?!)

Buchanan Skips Town?

One of my lovely readers has sent in this pic and asks:

'Would this be evidence of Charles 'Smiler' Buchanan, the boss of Manston Airport, clearing out his office? I think we should be told.'

Well, er, I'm not sure about that. A quick check of the old telephone number there reveals that it's Scottish. Although, of course, the airport's Scottish owner may well have sent him his P45 in a bloody great orange metal envelope!

Meanwhile Norf Fannit Tory MP Sir Roger Wind appears to be gallumphing to the rescue, saying he has interest from a buyer, backed by a consortium, who wants to take over the airport. That may well be because he's told them Manston has the 4th longest runway in the UK (it hasn't, it's only the 14th longest), and that 'planes fly straight out to sea' (they don't, they go over a town of 40,000 people and 2,500 listed buildings called Ramsgate).

If the only hope for Manston is the guff emanating from Roger Gale's nether regions, then sadly, in all likelihood, it's doomed.

Click here to read more about Roger's 'consortium' in Kent Messenger.

Going Dutch

I see Councillor Biggles is getting his joystick in a lather over on Thanet Life about the new KLM flights that began today from the Ile's RAF London Kent Manston Margate Tracey Emin Schipol International Airport.

Bizarrely, I find myself in agreement with our very own teeny-tiny banner-tugger for once!

After all, Thanet is now connected to everywhere in the world, and soon we'll be swamped with gazillions of foreign visitors, all cramming their way onto the island to get a glimpse of our lovely attractions! According to a UKIP pamphlet which flopped through my letterbox this morning, at least 29 million of them will be coming from Bulgaria and Romania! Hurrah!

Of course, I won't be using the service myself as I have my own private Lear jet permanently parked at RAFLKMMTESIA, ready to thrust me off to my other homes in Provence, Bali and the Virgin Islands. But at least this latest development means the radar will work and the runway will be swept. And all with only a £100,000 subsidy from our taxpayers' pockets. Just the ticket!