This newsletter is somewhat of a milestone for us, as it’s our 100th edition. We’re pretty chuffed about that. Not that we realised the fact until yesterday - it’s been a busy week.
Last Sunday we went to the Ramsgate Pride in Place Programme launch at St George’s Church, where the Ramsgate massive was out in force singing the town’s praise. MP Polly Billington and Ramsgate Neighbourhood Board Chair Bernie Morgan spoke on how transformative the £20million 10-year programme and of Ramsgate’s already strong community spirit, before grant recipients - filmmakers, young writers, musicians - presented their creative responses to their town.
We also joined a delightful (if cold!) sunset reading party at the Nayland Rock shelter, and afterwards dropped into Henry’s on Margate’s High Street on a whim. And we’re so glad we did. The long and fairly narrow bar is good looking, kitted out in rosewood panelling, rich fabrics and littered with Indian chintz. Co-owned by Phil Evans of Fez, the Desi bar shares a similar aesthetic to its High Street sister, but comes with South Asian flair, carefully curated by former Riz boss Paul Singh Tung. Recently opened in December, a kitchen preparing Indian small bites is in the pipeline. It also has a great view across Main Sands.
Inside our 100th newsletter we have a Q&A with Jemma Channing, Festival Director of Festival of Cats, which takes place next week, May 1-4. She talks about creating a community-minded accessible festival that just doesn’t appeal to cat ladies.
There’s also long-term empty shops coming up for grabs, a song for World Ocean Day, Dreamland author Rosa Rankin-Gee and more.
