Folkestone Decorative & Fine Arts Society (FDFAS)

Thursday 26 January 2012 at 2.30pm. “Inviting the World to London: Great Exhibition to the Olympics” by Ian Gibson. A topical insight into the distinct legacies left by a succession of international festivals hosted by London from the Great Exhibition in 1851 to the forthcoming 2012 Olympics and Paralympics.

Meetings are held at The Tower Theatre, North Road, Shorncliffe. Visitors are welcome at £5. Info: e-mail folkestone@nadfaskentarea.org.uk or telephone 01303 239530 or visit our website: www.nadfaskentarea.org.uk

Speculation is growing about a celebrity chef opening a fish restaurant in the harbour. A Facebook user announced to his Facebook friends that Marco Pierre White was in Folkestone on Wednesday checking out premises at the harbour. He was also seen in the area later in the week.

Keith Holland from Googies Art Cafe (Rendezvous Street) started the conversation by saying “Marco Pierre White opening a fish restaurant in Folkestone Harbour….good or bad? Discuss”

Keiths announcement created a very interesting mixed and lively Facebook conversation with many points being put forward - including:

Sharon Manning said “This type of elite restaurant is good for the middle classes with the money but may alienate those on a lower income - we need to do more to involve these people, not alienate them more.”

Another female FaceBooker said “Good to hear this. Marco is a popular big name, it would be good for Folkestone to have a celeb chef restaurant here.”

Stewart Hollyhead said “change is inevitable if you want to regenerate an area, you can’t handpick what aspects of that change you want or don’t want. If you want a fast train to London and a theatre then you are probably going to get a MPW opening a restaurant in replacement of a rundown bar. Just speaking as someone who has lived through three regenerations. I live in the harbour area and its quite empty all the time and could welcome a boost of visitors by a new restaurant. This is a great thing to happen, and will bring more people to the harbour area - hopefully will bring more big names to the area too.”

Sharron responded again with “gentrification is not always a positive thing it has made Whitstable Camden on sea and made the sense of disadvantage and alienatation worse for those who were already struggling while the middle classes embraced expensive coffee, art and deli culture and their London bretherin paying silly price for property….Folkestone struggles already with this problem I would like to see us creating local employment and projects …”

Steve Thompson said “Bringing more affluent people into town benefits those at the lower end of the social ladder we need an influx of disposable income to help kick start the regen program. Having a signature restaurant in the harbour will attract mid market places to the area too. Keeping it as it is will only lead to a further downward spiral. This is a good thing.”

Jason Martin who joined the conversation said:

“Why do people always think we should have one or the other…..I agree with Stewart….let’s have both…..Folkestone’s diversity is part of its charm, and we need facilities and infrastructure that meets the needs of everyone. One thing we should all agree on is that Folkestone requires more disposable income being spent locally, and from the sound of things there are a lot of social entrepreneurs that should be setting up things where they can spend it. Call in for advice!!”

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Oh we do like to be beside the (British) seaside

TheAllDayBreakfast watches with interest changes in property prices as an indicator of outside interest in Shepway which, as we that live here know, has some outstandingly beautiful countryside and coastal areas. We know that HS1 (high speed train) is making a significant difference to commuting times from Folkestone into the centre of London - and the knockon effect of this is that Shepway becomes increasingly attractive to folk working in the City who also want to live by the sea. The item below was published on CityA.M., an online business news website, gives an idea of the changing view of Folkestone as being listed alongside Jersey and Essex as desirable places to live.

Extract from: http://www.cityam.com/living/oh-we-do-be-beside-the-british-seaside Friday, 19th February 2010

As well as his Councillor casework and his family commitments Hawkinge resident and SDC Councillor David Godfrey has been working on an innovative project for the past 4 years – to replace inefficient and wasteful processes in the oil shipping world with an electronic solution. January saw the first ever shipments sailing under the revolutionary service CargoDocs™ – an electronic cargo document process.

David is Chairman of the steering group working with ESS, the development company, and also sits on the Databridge Development Group Executive Committee to bring this electronic solution to the shipping industry.

The shipping industry has long sought an electronic solution to solve the significant inefficiencies caused by the use of paper documents. These include vessel and cargo delays, stalled credit lines, lack of supply chain visibility, risk of fraudulent bills and the need to provide Letters of Indemnity (LOIs). Complexity and conservatism have left shipping as one of the last major industries to adopt paperless solutions, but ESS and its customers believe that CargoDocs™ will now help bring trade up to speed.

The first CargoDocs™ electronic Bill of Lading was issued by the BRO DELIVERER on Monday January 25th for a shipment from Ineos’s Finnart Terminal in ScotlandBelfast, after being electronically signed by the vessel’s Master. Indeed, the electronic Bill of Lading was transacted from Scotland to London to Milton Keynes and produced back to the vessel in less than two hours. The cargo involved a number of refined products sold by Morgan Stanley.

“The electronic transfer of shipping documentation is a significant step forward for the industry,” said Guy Jarman of Morgan Stanley. “We are excited to be associated with this important development.”

Andreas Jorgensen, Operations Manager for Brostrom Tankers says “It eases the administrative burden for the Captain and fosters real time savings.”

David says “I am particularly pleased with green aspects of the project. Although oil is not shipped from Dover at this time – this concept will be adaptable for other commodities shortly so maybe in future Dover will also benefit from this electronic solution”

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High Speed Theatre

My wife and I were fortunate enough to receive Christmas gifts from family and friends in the form of Theatre tickets and have spent a couple of pleasant evenings in London’s theatre land.  Prior to the advent of the High Speed service an evening at a London show  using the train meant a fairly early start and arriving home well after midnight. How much more enjoyable the journey is now !

A recent trip was to the Palace theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue.  We took a late afternoon train which gave ample time for a pleasant pre Theatre dinner.  The show finished at 22.10 and we were able to catch the 22.42 arriving home well before midnight. The Underground connections at St Pancras are excellent (Piccadilly, Northern, Victoria, Hammersmith and City).

Travellers trip – upon arrival at St Pancras go down the escalators immediately after the platform exit barrier, continue down a second escalator to quickly access the newly sign marked access to the Underground.  This avoids a lengthy walk through the main station concourse running the gauntlet of the many modern shops and eateries (of course my wife prefers this route!).

Although there is a High Speed premium to pay the off peak travel card is reasonably good value and the journey times make for a very relaxed evening out (I do confess that my senior rail card makes it even more attractive).

We look forward to many more such pleasant evenings so hopefully family and friends will take note of this…………..

David and Kim Godfrey

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