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‘EAST KENT LIFE AT ITS BEST’ ISSUE ELEVEN / AUTUMN WINTER 2014
The Film Issue
Pop Up Cinemas The Big Kent Film Quiz Thoroughly Modern Spaces Scrumptious Ciders PLUS: Jeremy Deller / Paloma Faith Roger Moore / Audrey Hepburn / Gavin Esler www.weekenderonline.net
24b Burgate Canterbury Kent England CT1 2HA
Bicycles Accessories Clothing Components Bike Fit Workshop 01227 458367
sales@theburgatebikeco.co.uk
Contributors
This issue’s contributors tell us about their favourite movie moments ‘EAST KENT LIFE AT ITS BEST’ ISSUE ELEVEN / AUTUMN WINTER 2014 / FREE
Hattie Holden Edmonds was the inhouse writer at Comic Relief working on projects with Richard Curtis, Sacha Baron Cohen and Armando Iannucci. She now writes fiction and runs a rickety cinema from a Seasalter fisherman’s shack. Her debut novel, Cinema Lumière is out now. What’s your all-time favourite movie? Cinema Paradiso. Which film star have you always wanted to meet? Alfred Hitchcock—if his cameos count him as film star material. Trip to the local cinema or Netflix/DVD at home? The local cinema any day!
Claire Houlihan started in the wine trade but took a detour into the music industry which lasted 18 years. Never far from her true passion for food and wine, she took over The Three Mariners in Oare in 2007 garnering awards and accolades along the way. She opened East Coast Dining Room, Whitstable in 2013. What’s your all-time favourite movie? Depending on what mood I’m in, it’s either Blade Runner or The Big Lebowski. Which film star have you always wanted to meet? I’m more interested in the other side of the lens; I’d love to have dinner with Pedro Almodovar. Trip to the local cinema or Netflix/DVD at home? DVD at home.
Rachel Calton is a design journalist and researcher. She co-founded the blog Out Tripping, a site about dead fish and day trips, taking her on many adventures around the Kent coast. What’s your all-time favourite movie? Pulp Fiction—it’s the soundtrack! Which film star have you always wanted to meet? Bill Murray. It would be a riot. Trip to the local cinema or Netflix/DVD at home? Until the next season of House of Cards, I’ll take a trip to the local cinema.
Editor’s Letter Audrey Hepburn, Daniel Craig, Martin Scorsese, Roger Moore, Peter Cushing, Catherine Zeta-Jones, The Muppets…we’ve practically rolled out the red carpet and donned tuxedos and LBD’s for this one! To get you in the mood for our latest presentation, we look back to the moment when old Hollywood gave way to new breed of screen icon, typified by cover star and James Bond actor Daniel Craig (page 7). Talking of Bond, we meet suave and seasoned raconteur Sir Roger Moore (page 13) who, gentleman that he is, simply refuses to dish the dirt on his Hollywood co-stars. We also pay homage to the Canterbury-born director Michael Powell (page 25). And why not indeed? He was the creative visionary behind A Matter of Life and Death, The Red Shoes, Peeping Tom and a host of films that would make any critic’s top ten. If you’re already a fan of his movies, you’ll probably want to have a crack at our Big Kent Film Quiz (page 20). You’d be amazed at how many movie moments have taken place in this corner of the county.
And in the quest for local film flavour, we meet a handful of enthusiasts who are helping to change the way we experience on-screen entertainment (page 26). From drive-ins in Folkestone to the side of a Whitstable pub, pop-up cinema has found an audience away from the confines of the multiplex. Elsewhere in the magazine we investigate just a few of the cultural trends that thrive in these parts: craft cider making (page 34) already looks set to rival the boom in microbreweries—we’ll drink to that!—while properties built in the middle of the last century (1930s to 1970s) are said to be a good investment after years of under-appreciation (page 42). Perhaps the most hard-to-define trend however is our willingness to dress up and pretend we’re at war—and not just with the Germans, it transpires. The annual War and Peace show in Folkestone (page 30) is a colourful extravaganza of hardware and uniforms worthy of a Cecil B DeMille production. Well, that’s the title sequence sorted, why not sit back and let the main feature begin?
Editor
on the cover: Daniel Craig, Photo © John Stoddart
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CARLTON Cinema - Westgate-on-Sea
At the Carlton Cinema, in Westgate-on-Sea, we pride ourselves on giving our customers a unique environment to see films and events using state of the art technology. We provide an excellent, friendly service, and ensure the experience is value for money. Our tickets start from £2.50 and we have recently refurbished two out of our three screens with brand new seating. In addition to showing the latest films on release, we also offer a wide variety of Event Cinema, including National Theatre, Royal Opera House and The Royal Ballet. For that, and many other reasons, we are currently the Top 1 Amusement in Kent on TripAdvisor. Don’t just take our word for it… Come and see us and you won’t be disappointed! Alternatively, visit us online at www.westgatecinema.co.uk or call us on 01843 834290
Contents Issue Eleven / Autumn Winter 2014
17
7–21 OUT & ABOUT
New vs old Hollywood with photographer John Stoddart Lomography Q&A Sir Roger Moore If you are only going to do 3 things this winter… Gift Ideas for Christmas Jeremy Deller in Margate It’s a Numbers Game: Cinema in the UK East Kent Original Book News The Big Kent Film Quiz
29
Jane Wenham-Jones has problems putting a name to a face 25 LOCAL HERO
42–45 SPACE
Michael Powell, cult director of Peeping Tom and A Canterbury Tale
Mid-Century Modern Kent
26–29 PEOPLE
Your very best local shops, businesses and services
Four film lovers on how they share their passion with a wider audience The List: Independent Cinemas in East Kent
Publisher and editor Dan Synge dan@the-weekender.net Graphic Design dan@danadamsdesign.com Contributing Editor (Food & Drink) Tom Moggach
Contributors: Jane Wenham-Jones, Johnny Homer, Paul Rennie, Quinton Winter, Hattie Edmonds, Rachel Calton, Claire Houlihan, Harold Chapman, Jeff Overs, William Baker, Jo Willis
34–41 FOOD & DRINK Meet the leaders of the craft cider revolution Coastal Kitchen: Crab Apple Jelly The A-Z of Kentish Beer The Perfect Weekend… Autumnal Lunch
23 OPINION
Features Writer Peter Cocks
13
News, views and must-do events
46–47 DIRECTORY
48 JUST THE JOB Steve Allen, film model maker
30–33 TALE
50 MY EAST KENT LIFE
On parade with the War and Peace re-enactors in Folkestone
Television presenter and University of Kent Chancellor Gavin Esler on cultural leaders and coastal living
The Weekender is a free independent magazine distributed to over 400 select outlets in and around East Kent. Copies are available quarterly in Canterbury, Whitstable, Margate, Broadstairs, Ramsgate, Sandwich, Deal, Folkestone and beyond.
See the issue online at: www.weekenderonline.net
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Turner Contemporary, Margate
English Magic Jeremy Deller Featuring Roman Abramovich, Tony Blair, David Bowie, Ed Hall, Hen Harriers, Stuart Sam Hughes, Dr David Kelly, The Koestler Trust, Melodians Steel Orchestra, William De Morgan, William Morris, John Ruskin, Mick Ronson, JMW Turner, Sarah Tynan 11 October 2014 – 11 January 2015 Free admission
NEWS, VIEWS AND MUST-DO EVENTS / OUT & ABOUT
IDOL MOMENTS Whitstable-based photographer John Stoddart witnessed the last of old Hollywood before a new type of star emerged in the 1990s all photos
Š john stoddart
OUT & ABOUT
B
all photos
© john stoddart
orn in Liverpool, based professionally in London’s Mayfair but now resident on the Kent coast, John Stoddart has been lucky enough to meet some of Hollywood’s greatest stars. Breaking into the 1980s fashion and celebrity scene, he shot Gregory Peck, Lauren Bacall, Anthony Quinn, Michael Caine and Anthony Hopkins in the cause of film publicity. These legends would soon be replaced by a fresher-faced bunch of Brit flick wannabes—Jude Law, Daniel Craig, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Clive Owen and others who were to dominate the big screeen from the 1990s onwards. “The older stars defintely had a pedigree about them. They weren’t surrounded by PR’s and during a photo session things just seemed to happen naturally with them. In those days you would get to shoot Gregory Peck in a fantastic hotel suite drinking Martinis, now, if you’re lucky, it’s Jude Law and a coffee in Starbucks!” www.johnstoddart.co.uk
PIERCE BROSNAN “I was asked to do the poster for GoldenEye. It was Pierce’s first time as James Bond and he was so happy. I think he’s never looked better— he’s immaculate. In my poster, Bond is pointing a gun at the camera; although it was used in the UK and in European countries it couldn’t be shown in America. It also appears in The Ultimate Book on 50 Years of Bond Movies which includes photgraphers like Terry O’Neill.” 8 The Weekender
MARTIN SCORSESE “This portrait was for Arena magazine which we did at Claridge’s hotel. When I arrived, he was sitting by himself watching a movie called Clarence, the CrossEyed Lion. He made me sit there and watch it and he knew every detail about the film. The shot is totally tongue in cheek, in the style of his Taxi Driver character Travis Bickle. He actually bought this picture off me years later.”
OUT & ABOUT
CATHERINE ZETA-JONES “The session took place in another London hotel. I was very good friends with her then and she wanted to work on her image which, back then, was as a farmer’s daughter in The Darling Buds of May. She was desperate to be photographed like a glamorous film star— six months later she really was one!”
ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER “This is another one for Arena when Arnie was at the height of his fame. We shot it at the Le Meurice in Paris. He was in a track suit when I turned up, so I asked him to get changed into a formal suit. I thought straight away that he looked like a young Charlton Heston so I deliberately shot it in a Hollywood icon style. It’s pre-digital and it’s all done in the camera using tungsten lighting to achieve the effect. I went out for dinner with him after.”
JUDE LAW “I took this shot of Jude Law just before the release of the 1999 film The Talented Mr Ripley. It was taken in Eaton Square, one of London’s most exclusive addresses.”
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“Quality is never an accident. It is always the result of intelligent effort” John Ruskin Sourcing British designed menswear and accessories from around the country, Ruskin is filled with a beautiful selection of clothes, accessories and gifts which all follow the founding ethos of Quality, Design and Intelligent Effort. With many of the brands just starting out, Ruskin is kept fresh with the continual innovation of the owners Garrie, Shelly, their family and the designers themselves
8 HARBOUR STREET, WHITSTABLE www.ruskin-whitstable.co.uk
Antique and bespoke furniture from Beijing Contemporary ceramics, lighting & home furnishings Open 7 days a week, delivery all over UK & Europe Qing Art, 7 Market Place, Margate T: 01843 299055 E: enquiry@qingart.co.uk www.qingart.co.uk
OUT & ABOUT
LOMO VOGUE
F Get Animated
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anga, Cosplay and Anime are the buzz words at this year’s Canterbury Anifest which takes place at the Gulbenkian. The week-long festival features talks, live performances, film screenings and other events inspired by Japanese animation. The How to Draw Manga workshop is a must for younger fans of the genre.
lying in the face of the digital revolution, Lomography is a fastgrowing community of analogue lovers, all drawn to the creative possibilities of a simple hand-held film camera. It started back in the 1990s when some students in Austria discovered a cheap Russian-made camera. Struck by the quirky results it produced, they formed their own movement complete with its own set of rules —Take your camera everywhere you go, Use it any time—day and night, Try the shot from the hip etc. Much like a teenager discovering their parents’ old vinyl stash, Lomography has turned a new generation onto the joy of print. Says Mark Appleton from Lomography UK: “Waiting for a film to be developed and receiving the prints back is so much more fun than taking snaps with your phone and forgetting them on your hard-drive.” For budding lo-fi movie directors, there are analogue film cameras; the LomoKino shoots a 144-frame movie on 35mm film plus there are a range of accessories to get your old school movie onto digital platforms. Lomography cameras and accessories can be found locally at Ruskin, 8 Harbour Street, Whitstable, www.ruskin-whitstable.co.uk
27 October – 2 November www.canterburyanifest.com
SAY CHEESE! For lovers of the quick snap, Camera Crazy celebrates the novelty camera in its many weird and wonderful guises. Cheap, disposable and often shamelessly marketed to kids, they were a niche industry that sprung up during the analogue film era. This book is packed with photos and essays on new Japanese models, rare custom pieces, movie tie-ins and even cameras made specifically to photograph cats. Camera Crazy by Christopher D. Salyers and Buzz Poole is published by Prestel (£19.99)
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THE LIGHTHOUSE MUSIC & ARTS PUB
50 THE STRAND, WALMER, DEAL, KENT CT14 7DX
Great labels from across Europe! Athezza,Hanjel,Zenna,Piet Boon, Merci,Piet Hein Eeek,St Eval, Branche d'Olive,Voyage Maison, Nkuku,Linwood, Margo Selby, Ian Mankin,Bradley & many more!
The Lighthouse is a new music and arts pub situated on the East coast of Kent seafront. We strive to bring you an eclectic mix of music and creative events, hosting amazing artists from around the country and beyond. Folk, world, rock ‘n roll, jazz, blues, punk, country plus ... smugglers sessions, quiz, cinema, theme nights & MORE
The Lighthouse is proud to support and serve refreshments from local breweries. A fine selection of ales and cider cultivated from local ingredients and by passionate craftspeople. Ales, beers and ciders from local breweries such as ...
We have teamed up with the great folk at Pieminister to bring you a fine selection of pies with mash, peas and gravy.
inspired interiors
On Sundays, leave the cooking to chef Tyrone as we serve his famous ‘Reggae Roast’.
67-69 Oxford Street, Whitstable, Kent, CT51DA
01227 634138 shop frenchwhitstable.co.uk
@ www.frenchwhitstable.co.uk
For event details, mailing list, tickets and more, please visit:
@french_suze
www.thelighthousedeal.co.uk
OUT & ABOUT
ROGER MOORE
Best-known for being the third James Bond (1973–1985) and for earlier TV roles in The Saint and The Persuaders, Sir Roger Moore celebrates seven decades in the film business by taking his one man show on the road. His book Last Man Standing: Tales From Tinseltown recalls the journey from Pinewood to Hollywood
photo: william baker
You began your career in the theatre. Do you have any memories of those days? The first time I did an audition for RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) I realised that this is really what I wanted to do. I still like to wander around theatres from time to time. It’s that feeling you have when you can hear the house chatting away, the sound of the bells and the lights gradually diminish. You hear the swish of the curtain, take a deep breath and you’re on! Would you recommend a career in acting? If you are working in a profession with the highest unemployment rate, then
no actor is acting because he has to do it. It’s because he wants to do it. It’s a very lucky profession to be in. I can’t imagine what it would be like doing manual labour. I understand you have a rule about not being horrible about fellow actors. Being nasty about people is not my style and I wouldn’t put it in print. It’s very unfair, particularly on people who are dead—even worse if they are alive! You didn’t start writing your autobiography until your 80th birthday. What took you so long? It took me a long time to learn to spell! It’s a bit like the tour
and not having been in some of the towns since 1949—I say I am back by popular demand. Actually, we chose towns and cities like Canterbury, Oxford and Brighton because my wife Kristin wants to visit them. As James Bond, you were involved in your fair share of physical action… Oh, you mean the love scenes—they were terrible to do. I also got a few knocks and bruises when explosions happened before they should. And did you know when it was time to move on? I knew the time had come to quit the role of Bond before playing him for the last time. It wasn’t because of the physical stuff as I could still play tennis for two hours a day and do a one-hour workout every morning. Physically I was okay, but facially I started looking… well, the leading ladies were young enough to be my granddaughter.
If you are only going to do 3 things this winter… Glam it up at Viva La Drag!, a new musical directed by Kylie Minogue’s creative director with songs composed by Boy George. Also starring Sam Buttery of The Voice, it’s a night of glitz, hits, fun and kitsch. 22 November www.margatewintergardens.co.uk
You also work as an ambassador for UNICEF. How did you get involved? I was recruited by Audrey Hepburn who invited me to accompany her on a visit to an international children’s ward. It was listening to her and her passion and her elegance on the subject of the children that intrigued me, that gave me the thirst for more. It sounds a bit po-faced and pompous but it’s doing something good in life apart from prancing around in pictures.
Support local artists at East Kent Open Houses 2014. Featuring 54 houses and 200 artists including Clare Youngs, Emily Firmin and Cath Deeson. 25/26 October and 1/2 November www.ekoh.org.uk Take a tour of JMW Turner’s Margate to celebrate the launch of Mike Leigh’s new film Mr Turner. View paintings at the Turner Contemporary, see Mrs Booth’s residence and watch a breath-taking Turner-esque sunset. 31 October–30 November www.turnercontemporary.org The Weekender 13
OUT & ABOUT
JUST GIVING
We love local shops, so when it comes to choosing a gift —for a birthday, anniversary, Christmas, or maybe because you just feel like it—don’t stray too far from the high street. Look what we found on our travels…
S
This Normann Copenhagen children’s wall clock (left) is inspired by a colour swatch and forms a fan when folded out. £35, Papillon Interiors, Margate, papilloninteriors.co.uk
H
andpainted ceramic barrels like these are traditionally used in China as stools. Place inside the home or out, or use as a decorative side table. £150, Qing Art, Margate, qingart.co.uk
tep out in style with these ultra-feminine fabric and suede shoes from a selection by Ruby Shoo. £44.99, The Gallery Boutique, Margate, 01843 319544
Jeweller Rob Morris creates pieces inspired by the beach at Whitstable. This pendant with garnet gemstone is from his popular Dusk collection. £340, iS2 Gallery, Whitstable, robmorrisjewellerydesign.com
Pendant from the The Mock Turtle collection by Simon Harrison. Moving head and flippers retract into its shell when not worn. From £65, Cursley & Bond, Folkestone, 01303 255037
As worn by natty dressers Pharrell Williams and Justin Timberlake, bow ties are set to be the style statement of the season. Choose from polka dots and plain to big bold stripes like these. £32, Ruskin, Whitstable, ruskin-whitstable.co.uk For future Tour de France winners, the Road Runner 14 is aimed squarely at 3 to 6 year olds. A great looking balance bike (look no pedals!) with a low centre of gravity that will inspire confidence on two wheels. £150, The Burgate Bike Co, Canterbury
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B
retons have sworn by these jumpers for years. This modern version by Saint James combines style and practicality and is more than just a nod to the nautical. £99, Betty Loves Bryan, Whitstable, 01227 271001
OUT & ABOUT
It’s a Numbers Game: Cinema in the UK
MORRIS MAN
R
epresenting his country at the 2013 Venice Biennale, conceptual artist Jeremy Deller explored the diverse nature of British society—its people, icons, myths and folklore as well as its cultural, socio-political and economic history. His now touring exhibition English Magic questions what Englishness means today while taking several pot shots at 21st century capitalism. In his large-scale mural We Sit Starving Amidst our Gold, William Morris is imagined capsizing the yacht of a Russian oligarch. Elsewhere, examples of Morris’s work are displayed alongside artefacts from the era following the break-up of the Soviet Union. Painted murals and banners are shown alongside objects such as Palaeolithic hand axes and flints, political drawings associated with the invasion of Iraq and documents relating to both David Bowie’s 1972 UK tour and The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Using the medium of film, Deller’s Ooh-oo-hoo ah-ha yeah invites you to watch from a seat fashioned from the crushed Range Rover featured in the film itself. “I was trying to make a big confusing messy sort of exhibition about Britain and its influence on the world and the levels of complexity in the country,” explained the artist before it opened in Venice. Suitably for the Turner Contemporary, there is a link to JMW Turner in the show. Deller has selected a number of his paintings, watercolours and sketchbooks of Venice. The watercolours are shown alongside a selection of John Ruskin drawings. Ruskin and William Morris, a central character in the exhibition, were radical figures in Victorian society and campaigned for both social and political change. Could the Turner Prize-winning Deller be cut from the same cloth? English Magic, Turner Contemporary (until 11 January 2015) www.turnercontemporary.org
165.5m total cinema admissions £1.1bn box office takings 11% share of global box office by UK films £47m gross receipts for Despicable Me 2 21% box office share by animated films 15–24 year olds largest proportion of cinema admissions
300% rise in popcorn sales (Daily Mail, 2012)
Source: www.bfi.org.uk
DIVA-LUTION Comparisons with Dusty Springfield and other credible soul divas propelled Paloma Faith’s Only Love Can Hurt Like This to the upper reaches of the charts this summer. Now the BRIT Award-nominated singer takes her highly theatrical stage show to Folkestone this November. Expect sultry ballads like Only Love… and the funkier Pharrell Williams-produced Just Can’t Rely On You. Leas Cliff Hall, 24 November
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EAST KENT ORIGINAL Name: Lizzy Douglas Age: 40 Profession: Butcher Home: Deal
I
photo: harold chapman
’ve been a butcher for nine years now. My ex-husband and I took over the old butcher’s shop in Kingsdown and I had a long apprenticeship with Alan Doyle who had been running it for 40 years. I then ran a sausage stall in Deal market and today I have my own butcher’s shop in Deal. You can learn the initial skills quite quickly but it can take years to become a really good butcher. There don’t seem to be many female butchers out there. It’s quite heavy work, especially when it comes to carrying the carcasses. I think I bring a feminine side to it; I make sure the shop looks nice and my interest in cooking comes into it; I’m from a family of extremely good cooks. I get quite creative with my sausages and so far and I’ve created around 30 different recipes. I use ingredients that are seasonal, local or foraged, for instance I do a pork sausage with wild garlic and fennel picked off the beach nearby. I once made a squirrel sausage which contained walnuts, wild garlic and thyme—it tasted a bit like rabbit. My customers were equally fascinated and repelled, but all the sausages went in the end!
6c Strand Street Sandwich CT13 9DZ 01304 448500
Exquisite woven beaded jewellery commissions taken
Fabric and oil cloth cushions and bags Intricate designer bracelets and necklaces 9–10 Marine Drive, Margate CT9 1DH T: 01843 319 544 An eclectic range of affordable fashion and unique art Clothing, Shoes, Accessories, Gifts & Art the gallery boutique is proud to support local artists
www.facebook.com/thegalleryboutiquemargate1
Bead weaving classes held weekday mornings and some evenings including small group taster classes and special occasion sessions. please contact for details.
Oil cloth, vinyl and fabric bunting Local art works, cards, soaps and nostalgic "Salmon" calendars for 2015
Select from the finest Japanese Miyuki and Matsuno beads,Czech fire polished beads and Swarovski crystals
OUT & ABOUT
BOOK NEWS From early beginnings in German silent cinema through to Double Indemnity, Chinatown, Pulp Fiction and more recently Drive, film noir has been a constant and slightly unsettling presence on our screens. Here are the definitive 100 all-time favourite movies in the genre; expect to find the work of Hitchcock, Welles, Polanski and Scorsese as well as icons such as Bogart, Bacall and Hayworth. Also features an introduction by Taxi Driver screenwriter Paul Schrader. Film Noir. 100 All-Time Favorites by Paul Duncan and Jürgen Müller (Taschen, £34.99)
Hollywood photographer Bob Willoughby captured Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor and Jane Fonda, yet remains unequivocal about his favourite screen beauty: Audrey Hepburn. Over the decades he caught the many moods of the Breakfast at Tiffany’s star who, as a child, spent two years living in Elham, Kent. Willoughby’s photos find her on the set of My Fair Lady, Paris When It Sizzles and Two for the Road but also during her most private and relaxed moments. Bob Willoughby. Audrey Hepburn. Photographs 1953–1966 (Taschen, £27.99) Born in the era of post-war consumerism, the Mid-Century Modern movement has never been so popular a reference point for design aficionados. The stylishly-produced Mid-Century Modern Complete is the definitive book on the subject; over 500 pages and 1,000 photographs recall the movement’s origins and its key players—Charles and Ray Eames, Oscar Niemeyer, Alvar Aalto, Robin and Lucienne Day etc. There are chapters on furniture, textiles, lighting and industrial design as well as stunning photos of mid-century homes including Richard Neutra’s Kaufmann House in Palm Springs. Mid-Century Modern Complete by Dominic Bradbury (Thames & Hudson, £60)
WRITE BY THE HARBOUR
Getty photojournalist Peter Dench takes his camera to the streets to observe the nation having a few too many. A dazzling, sometimes affecting photo-diary of Anglo-Celtic drunkenness, the result is a unique and compelling visual history. Intoxicating stuff! Alcohol & England by Peter Dench (The Bluecoat Press)
Whether you prefer richard iii, war stories or charles dickens, this year’s folkestone book festival has most literary tastes covered. Star writers Michael Rosen, Michael Frayn and Claire Tomalin are all coming to the Kent coast but poetry takes centre stage; Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy gives an exclusive reading at the Quarterhouse. The Scottish poet, whose words are inscribed on the town’s Road of Remembrance, has penned verse on a wide range of subjects from climate change to the last royal wedding. 14–23 November. For info or to book tickets visit folkestonebookfest.com or call the Quarterhouse on 01303 760750
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Margate Theatres Autumn 2014 Theatre Royal New Old Friends The Falcon’s Malteser Sunday 26th October
Winter Gardens Les Enfants Terribles The Trench Thursday 20th November Bay City Rollers, Starring Les McKeown Rollermania Friday 21st November Hiccup Theatre Three Wise Monkeys Saturday 22nd November
Mid Wales Opera & Chamber Orchestra Carmen Tuesday 28th October Half Term Taste of Theatre 30th & 31st October Henning Wehn Friday 31st October
Box Clever Theatre A Christmas Carol Monday 24th November Uninvited Guests & Fuel This Last Tempest 28th & 29th November Roy Chubby Brown Who Ate All The Pies? Thursday 4th December
Charlie Landsborough Saturday 1st November
Ramsgate Operatic Society The Addams Family 12th - 15th November Seann Walsh - 28 Wednesday 19th November
Working in partnership with
Gordon Clarkson Simple Simon Wednesday 29th October Family Scare Fair Friday 31st October
LDN Wrestling A Night of British Wrestling Sunday 23rd November Bellowhead Tuesday 25th November
Example Monday 3rd November 10CC Friday 7th November Craft Fair Sunday 9th November Frank Skinner - Man in a Suit Friday 14th November
Shane Filan - You & Me Tour Thursday 20th November Polka Dot Pantomimes Beauty & The Beast 13th - 28th December
Omid Djalil Iranalamadingdong Friday 28th November Disco Inferno Saturday 29th November Margate Operatic Society Rapunzel 3rd - 7th December Winter Wonderland Christmas Parties 15th - 23rd December Family New Year’s Eve Wednesday 31st December
Showaddywaddy Saturday 24th January
Winter Wonderland Adult New Year’s Party Wednesday 31st December
Gavin Robertson - Bond Friday 30th January Long Nose Puppets Arthur’s Dream Boat Saturday 31st January
Direct from the West End Viva La Drag Saturday 22nd November
Pure Elite Muscle & Fitness Event Sunday 2nd November
The Central Band of The British Legion Sunday 16th November
Shakespeare Schools Festival Thursday 6th November
Sean Hughes - Penguins Saturday 8th November
Zombie Apocalypse 28th - 31st October
UB40 Saturday 15th November
UK Touring Theatre A Doll’s House Monday 3rd November
Tall Stories Emily Brown & The Thing Saturday 8th November
r New Fo een Hallow 2014
Sam Bailey Monday 26th January Fawlty Towers The Dinner Show Friday 21st November
Jackson Live in Concert Friday 6th February
Box Office: 01843 292795 margatewintergardens.co.uk | theatreroyalmargate.com
ADVERTORIAL
From left: Framed gift from New York with love; book ends from A to Z; map notebooks depicting a variety of exotic locations
SWELL MAPS
A
simple fold out map can tell us where to go, how to get there and what to see whilst we’re there. But for Amelia Coward this ordinary travel accessory has turned her Faversham-based company into an extraordinary business success. From working at her kitchen table making cards to employing 17 staff in a converted Oast House just outside Faversham, Amelia switched the focus of her production when she stumbled across an old box of Ordnance Survey maps. Since then, Amelia’s company Bombus (Latin for bumblebee) has been working with maps, featuring them on their gift designs and specialising in personalised products. They are now taking orders from as far afield as the USA and Australia. On any working day, her studio is a hive of activity with her studio staff handmaking their impressive choice of gifts, home accessories and contemporary art works. Their service is bespoke and their most requested map location is the Maldives, the popular wedding destination, followed closely by Las Vegas, Mauritius, New York and London. Pretty much any map location can be featured as a quirky piece of map art, notebook, cards, keepsakes and all sorts of decorative accessories but their current best seller is the heart-shaped vintage map, complete with hand-finished wooden frame. The customer simply chooses a location then Bombus source the appropriate map from their extensive vintage collection and, so the thinking goes, the recipient gets to relive their memories of that special shared location. “Our team can choose from more than 20,000 maps here in the studio,” says Amelia, “we collect all sorts of print, from vintage stamps, comic illustrations, music scores even old cookery books.” The Bombus team source their materials from all over. “I’ve simply traded yarn for paper,” she explains as her career started in woven textiles.
Bombus are also building their own collection of ‘Off the Peg’ map prints which are proving very popular—high quality prints of their in-house vintage inspired illustrations. Amelia is keen to have the entire UK coastline mapped by this range as well as continuing to build on their already extensive list of worldwide destinations. Kentish ‘Off the Pegs’ include Whitstable, Canterbury, Faversham and Margate and although already in some shops in these areas, Bombus are eager to sell to more local stockists. So what next for Bombus when the world’s supply of old maps eventually runs out? “I’d like to do a homewares collection,” she replies, “with the same look and feel of what we do now.” www.bombus.co.uk
“Our team can choose from over 20,000 maps”
The Weekender 19
QUIZ
From piers to pubs and dockyards to deserted runways, Kent is an inspiring backdrop for movie makers. The county has also provided the film world with an array talented individuals, some even making it all the way to Tinseltown. So why not test your knowledge of our local film heritage? Dim the lights, grab a box of popcorn and let action commence…
4
In Diamonds Are Forever, Bond outwits diamond smuggler Peter Franks boarding a hovercraft bound for Amsterdam in his place. At which Kentish port was the sequence filmed? a) Ramsgate b) Dover c) Folkestone d) Hythe
1
Which towns or cities are associated with these famous film and television actors? (one point for each): a) Peter Cushing b) Hattie Jacques c) Orlando Bloom d) Norman Wisdom
2
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang was a flying car that starred in the eponymous 1968 musical with Dick Van Dyke. Where was the original Chitty Bang Bang invented and who raced it? (1 point for each)
3
Manston Airport doubled as a Korean airstrip in Die Another Day, but who played James Bond’s sidekick Giacinta ‘Jinx’ Johnson in the film?
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5
In World War Z, Brad Pitt visits the Discovery Park near Sandwich to find a cure for a zombie pandemic. Which famous drug was invented by the site’s previous occupiers?
6
In Johnny English Reborn, Rowan Atkinson’s spoof agent is filmed driving a Rolls Royce along in A299 Thanet Way. How much did the film gross worldwide? a) $1.6bn b) $160m c) $16m
7
The Jackdaw Inn, Denton near Canterbury served as an RAF pub in Battle of Britain; couple Christopher Plummer and Susannah York have a heartto-heart at a pub table.
Which real life RAF base was also used as a location in the 1969 film?
8
Dover Castle is the setting for two new releases – Into The Woods starring Johnny Depp and Avengers: Age of Ultron starring Scarlett Johansson. Which 2008 film starring Johansson was previously shot at the castle?
9
Which of the following worked in Margate’s Dreamland funfair as a teenager? a) Trevor Howard b) Douglas Fairbanks c) Marty Feldman d) Alfred Hitchcock
10
Smuggler Christopher Syn roamed the marshes around Dymchurch in Dr Syn (1937) and its remake Captain Clegg (1962). What disguise did he use to mask his identity?
11
The Oare Marshes Nature Reserve near Faversham is the setting for the Joe Gargary’s forge in 2012’s film adaptation of the Dickens classic Great Expectations. Who played the role of the affable blacksmith? a) Jason Statham b) Vinnie Jones c) Jason Flemyng d) Dexter Fletcher
The Weekender 21 illustrations: quinton winter
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ANSWERS: 1. a) Whitstable (where he retired) b) Sandgate (where she was born) or Margate (where she lived with husband John Le Mesurier) c) Canterbury (where he was born) d) Deal (where he attended a children’s home) 2. Higham Park, Bridge near Canterbury. Count Louis Zborowski both developed and raced the car in the 1920s 3. Halle Berry 4. b) Dover 5. Viagra (Pfizer) 6. b) $160m 7. RAF Hawkinge 8. The Other Boleyn Girl 9. c) Marty Feldman (Trevor Howard was born in Cliftonville, Margate. Douglas Fairbanks honeymooned in Margate with Mary Pickford. Alfred Hitchcock used to holiday there) 10. Scarecrow 11. c) Jason Flemyng 12. a) Botany Bay 13. Fordwich 14. Whitstable. The Old Neptune (one point for each) 15. d) Richborough Power Station 16. a) Herne Bay
Which seaside resort was the setting for Ken Russell’s debut feature French Dressing, about a deckchair attendant who starts a French film festival? a) Herne Bay b) Folkestone c) Whitstable d) Margate
15
Which beach was used as a backdrop for a dance sequence with a ‘sand artist’ in Tamil language film Thaandavam (2012)? a) Botany Bay b) Dungeness c) Tankerton d) Ramsgate
Scoring: Maximum 21 points 15–21 points: Film geek territory. Not only do you know your classic and modern movies inside out but you have a sharp eye for local history. 10–14 points: Impressive. You clearly pay attention once the credits roll. Less than 10 points: Bet you haven’t watched a movie since about the time Blockbuster video went bust. Get a subscription to Netflix and catch up!
In Venus (2007), Peter O’Toole’s ageing actor Maurice returns to the Kent coast to dip his toes into the sea one last time. Which town and which pub are featured? (1 point for each)
14
In Powell and Pressburger’s A Canterbury Tale (1944) which Stour valley village doubled as the fictional Chillingbourne?
12
Which once iconic East Kent landmark made an appearance in the film Son of Rambow (2008)? a) White Cliffs of Dover b) Turner Contemporary c) Walmer Castle d) Richborough Power Station
QUIZ
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A
utumn is well and truly here and those mellow, golden days of late September and October, that fool us into thinking the end of the summer isn’t quite as bad as feared, are dwindling. Being such a summer lover can make me a bit gloomy, as the nights draw in and the clocks go back. We’ve been here before of course, I know I’m not alone in turning to “activities” as the antidote to the onset of winter blues. It follows quite naturally that as foliage dies down and leaves fall, having a bit of an autumn tidy up strikes you as the sensible thing to do, especially when you realise the temperature is about 10 degrees lower than you’ve been used to and it is more conducive to bursts of activities like scrubbing, jet-washing, raking up leaves etc., than relaxing on the lounger, with your Kindle. Hopefully there is
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room amongst this cleaning frenzy to actually do a bit of constructive stuff. Take stock, as the garden’s shape and size is revealed, by clearing up the clutter and pruning the old growth. How about getting a project underway like creating some raised beds? These are becoming increasingly popular, with media exposure extolling the virtues of raising the level of your gardening, as seen in many gardening DIY and makeover programmes. It certainly helps to make weeding and harvesting that much easier if you raise the height of the plants you are growing, especially if you have back problems or other physical conditions that limit bending. However there’s a lot more to them than convenience. Raised beds are being used as an integral part of garden design schemes, where they contain veg or flowers and shrubs creating separate growing areas. As
shown in the photo at the top of the page, one of our raised bed kits has been incorporated, in the split-level decking next to the Zone shelter. The designer planned this, not just for aesthetic reasons, but to cater for the ericaceous (lime hating) plants he wanted to use in this part of the garden, like the beautiful red Maple (Acer), with the ferns. So raised beds can give you the chance to keep soil types separate. They can also add interesting shape and structure. The other photo bottom right is an impressive example, sent to me by David Padgham for the customer projects section on the website. Rather than using our raised beds kits he has used ungrooved Jakwall timbers in a very clever way, making beds for water features, some are Alpine beds and a nifty bench seat is included too. Here’s a test for you, look at the picture, then imagine it Above left: The Float Garden by David Magner with split level deck and raised bed adds interest to the garden by adding a variety of shapes and heights Below: Thanks to David Padgham for this lovely project with raised beds, you can see more on the customer projects pages on the website
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www.jacksonsfencing.co.uk/ ashfordlocal without the raised beds. It would just be a flower bed, some paving and the fence pretty boring really! I think I know which I prefer. To find out more go to your local page, www.jacksons-fencing. co.uk/ashfordlocal or call 0800 408 4754 to talk to your local Jacksons Fencing Centre. louise@jacksons-fencing.co.uk
OPINION
If
photo: jo willis
Jane Wenham Jones What’s in a Name?
I could bestow upon myself a super power, it would be to automatically know (and remember!) the name of everyone I meet, while simultaneously calling up a miniresume of their greatest achievements. This would go hand in hand with the sort of recognition skills (and encyclopaedic knowledge of the gossip pages and Google images) to be able to instantly spot a famous face and distinguish it from the cloakroom staff. I still cringe at the memory of the pre-mingling before some literary awards, where I made my Hello-HowAre-You-Do-Come-Over-Here face to a tall blonde I knew but whose name had temporarily escaped me. It was only when she appeared on stage to present the nonfiction prize that I realised it was Jerry Hall. Or the ‘networking’ gathering, where
I failed to identify the editor of a tabloid newspaper but launched into a long speech about my skills as a presenter to the bloke who’d only popped into measure up for curtains. This is where name badges come into their own. Yes, you spend the whole evening peering at chests but at least you know who you’re chatting up. A considerable boon when one finds oneself in the company of best-selling novelists whom one has read for decades but who have not updated their author photo in all that time. I have learned to control my features when introduced to someone I know as a soft-focussed beauty, who turns out to be an aged crone with no lips. A label would have saved me the embarrassment of greeting a familiarfaced chap like a long lost friend, and making general enquiries after his job and family, while I struggled to recall who he was and then discovering it was Phil Davis from the popular television drama Whitechapel. It was the same evening—TV prizes this time—that I totally failed to notice cast members of Downton Abbey in the corner (an oversight that grieves me still) while telling ‘Inspector Lynley’— actor Nathanial Parker: “I know your face, but can’t quite place…” Sometimes, however, the boot is on the other foot. I was sitting in a bookshop in Margate, books in front of me, ballpoint in hand, bright smile plastered on face, poised to sign the teetering pile of my new novel and watching the a stream of customers go straight for the Harry Potters. After some hours of being studiously ignored, I was relieved to see a smiling chap come through the door and walk purposefully towards me. This time I really did know his face but had no idea where from. “How are you?” he asked warmly, going on to enquire after my sister,
husband and son, and to remind me of the helpful advice I’d given him last time we’d met. I was still none the wiser. Which I was getting away with nicely, until he picked up a book and handed it to me for signature. “Can you put my name in it?” he asked.
“ ”
I totally failed to notice cast members of Downton Abbey in the corner
For a long moment I sat, pen hovering, my mind blank. “Just remind me which way you spell it,” I said at last, pleased by this stroke of genius. He looked at me strangely. “You know,” I trilled desperately, “there are so many variations these days, I always check... He frowned. “B - O - B,” he said. 100 Ways to Fight the Flab (and still have wine and chocolate) is published by Accent Press (£7.99) and on Kindle
The Weekender 23
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LOCAL HERO
#11
Michael Powell WORDS Paul Rennie ILLUSTRATION Quinton Winter
O
ne of the most amazing things about living in East Kent is that, as you drive around its country roads, it is still possible to see a particular landscape or sky and have a Michael Powell moment. But who, you might well ask, was Michael Powell? The British film-maker is now considered to be one of the top directors of the 20th century and although his best work was made more than 75 years ago, his films still have a huge following, particularly in France and America; Martin Scorsese was taken to see The Red Shoes as a nine-year-old boy and has championed Powell’s work ever since. Powell was born in 1905 at Howlett’s Farm between the villages of Bekesbourne and Littlebourne, near Canterbury. A near-contemporary of Alfred Hitchcock, he began working in the silent era and witnessed the advent of, first, sound and, later, colour. In the 1940s, he formed a partnership with the Hungarian writer, Emeric Pressburger and made his greatest films in a collaboration that extended to writing, directing and producing. Their production company was called The Archers. All their films begin with a lovely ident—the roundels of a target and the sound of an arrow hitting home. There’s an implicit link to the war and to a certain cast of national feeling in this simple image; if you like, a sort of Henry V-meets-RAF mash up. Back in the 1930s, the narrative structures and image sequences best suited to telling stories in film were still being worked out. Documentary and montage techniques were developed to extend the theatrical possibilities of film. In Germany, during the 1920s and early 1930s, directors introduced
powerful psychological elements into film narrative. This eventually produced both the thriller and horror genres. Hitchcock spent the whole of his career progressively refining the mechanics of film suspense and exploring the subconscious associations between anxiety, excitement and desire. Powell took a different course, developing a filmic language that combined image and feeling. Often, Powell’s most compelling images were of clouds, skies and landscapes. Quite often, they seemed to be the skies and landscapes of East Kent. The concern for feeling in cinema was, in part at least, a reaction to the war. The high-octane excitement of military action seemed, also, to heighten peoples’ emotional responses to art and culture. Nowadays, we are able to identify this particular form of 1940s romanticism which is played out against the backdrop of British landscapes. During the 1940s Powell made a number of classic films. This rich vein of form had begun a little before the war, with the documentary style The Edge of the World. The shooting of the film, in the Hebrides, required the cast and crew to live in the same circumstances as the main characters. The result was a form of immersive story-telling that combined realism and feeling in equal measure. Thereafter came an incredible sequence of films which included The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, A Canterbury Tale, A Matter of Life and Death, Black Narcissus and The Red Shoes. A Canterbury Tale is the most obviously Kentish of all these films. The story re-casts Chaucer’s tale of pilgrims into the hiatus of war. An American serviceman, over here to extend a helping-hand, is exploring the ancient antiquities and customs of Canterbury. He discovers a landscape and culture at the tippingpoint of irrevocable change. The old class distinctions and gender roles will, by the effort of war, be swept aside while the cusp of modernity raises conflicting feelings between tradition and progress as exemplified by the efforts of ‘the glueman’. The film wasn’t immediately popular and only really found cultural favour decades later. Nowadays, and perhaps a little surprisingly, the film is popular with younger viewers. The film was shot along the Stour valley, with recognisable sequences along the railway line and the Pilgrim’s Way, where the film begins. The villages of Shottenden, Chilham, Fordwich, and Wickhambreux combine to produce a compelling evocation of enduring rural tradition. The climax of the film, meanwhile, plays out against the bells of Canterbury cathedral after a moving rendition of Onward, Christian Soldiers. Of course Powell went on to make Peeping Tom, a critical disaster that, in 1960, more-or-less finished Powell’s career. But let’s not hold that against him for eternity. Besides, 50 years later critics are hailing this frank exploration of voyeurism and violence a masterpiece of modern cinema. The Powell and Pressburger Appreciation Society hosts an annual walk around some of the locations used in A Canterbury Tale. For details www.powell-pressburger.org The Weekender 25
PEOPLE
Cinema Goes Pop! A shortage of film venues and cultural centres has led movie lovers in Kent to provide their own entertainment and share their tastes with like-minded souls. Never mind the multiplex, today’s cinephiles are more likely to be found at a pop-up screening where unique locations and word-of-mouth marketing help to create a night to remember
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PEOPLE
films with mates,” she says. “There is a lovely communal feel to it.” If she ever ventures out to the cinema herself, it is to small indepedent cinemas such as The Coronet in Notting Hill or The Regal in Faversham. “I would only go to a multiplex if you dragged me there,” she says adamantly. Novelist Hattie Edmonds began showing films in her Seasalter fisherman’s shack last winter. The first screening was Mary Poppins for a handful of local friends and their offspring. “Many of my friends have children so they can’t always pop out to the cinema,” she explains. Buoyed by the success of the Disney classic, she followed it up with a showing of Brigadoon, the 1954 musical starring Gene Kelly, Cyd Charisse and some questionable Scottish accents. She recalls: “There were a few sound problems and the children who came didn’t like it at all!” Undeterred she has since gone on to host successful screenings of Il Postino and other indie cinema favourites, often serving home made cakes, or for Cinema Paradiso, plates of spaghetti. Her technical set-up is basic and cheap—the projector was just £400 “bought off a friend” and the speakers are a £50 steal from Richer Sounds. The setting is similarly simple and homespun; an audience of up to 15 can settle comfortably in front of three domestic blinds which become the screen. “It’s wonderful to sit here by the sea watching my favourite
Best moment Showing Mary Poppins. When that first image came up on the screen we were all ecstatic. Worst moment A friend, who had had a rather boozy lunch, toppled off his chair and all the children thought he had died! Final word of advice Keep it informal and be democratic—listen to the suggestions of others. Zachary Cooke is a Folkestonebased film maker who also runs a small production company. With his Open Air Cinema, he brings Hollywood movies to the great outdoors and has recently introduced East Kent to the American-style Drive-In. “We have some very expensive equipment including three screens of various sizes,” he says. “We can roll up anywhere, and in a couple of hours, we’re up and ready.” This November Cooke will be taking his set up to Haguelands Farm near Hythe for a Halloween triple bill. “It’s the perfect drive-in location because the screen can’t be seen from the main road plus the film will be silent—you can only hear it from inside your car.” While, on average, each screening attracts 300 to 400 punters, the challenge, he explains, is to find “imaginative ways
Photo opposite: An outdoor screening at The Old Neptune pub, Whitstable Left: Hattie Edmonds outside her Seasalter fisherman’s shack
to encourage families to come out and watch films”. “Without sponsorship, we have to charge for tickets,” he explains, “but the experience still works out cheaper than going to the local cinema.” Recent screenings have included blockbusters Top Gun and Grease but he would consider showing the classic war film Reach for the Sky if he could get his gear into the Battle of Britain Museum in Hawkinge. He doesn’t even mind if it’s raining—just as long as his screen doesn’t get blown down by the wind! www.theopenaircinema.com Best moment When people get dressed up. For The Wizard of Oz, someone turned up as a house! Worst moment In Margate it was so windy we had to take the screen down, put a new one up in the wind and rain and move 150 cars in 45 minutes. Final word of advice Things always go wrong; be prepared for technical hitches. The long, dark winter nights and the dream of walking to the pub to see big-screen films was the inspiration behind Tim Synge’s Kingsdown Film Club. Now into its second year, the bi-monthly club continues to draw an appreciative gang to his local The King’s Head for a regular dose of classic and foreign movies. “We showed Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye at the launch, followed later by Jules Dassin’s heist thriller Rififi and In Which We Serve, where warming Bovril with sherry was served at the interval.” The club advertises solely �D The Weekender 27
PEOPLE
by email and social media. On a good night, he is able to fill 35 seats. “In terms of programming, there are some seasonal references but otherwise it’s a scatter-gun approach; we cover film noir, comedy, sci-fi and horror genres.” To his surprise, Synge found that Woody Allen’s films have so far got the thumbs down from members. More successful have been special screenings at the nearby Astor Community Theatre in Deal. Cult classic The Wicker Man was followed by traditional folk dancing and Carry on Camping was preceded by Synge’s own short film Mystery As Nightclub Closes. “The club has quickly become quite a sociable event here in the village and perhaps the most surprising and most rewarding thing is finding a receptive audience for the more obscure films, which, for me, is the whole reason for running it.” The Kingsdown Film Theatre, The King’s Head, Upper Street, Kingsdown Best moment Getting Stuart Hopps, The Wicker Man choreographer, to introduce a 40th anniversary screening. Worst moment Pausing a film
for the interval, only to see it jump three scenes at the restart. No-one noticed but the standing ovation at the end was embarrassing. Final word of advice Don’t pander too much to your audience. I would also recommend investing in a good sound-system. Margherita Gramegna’s 51zero Voyager film festival grew out of a community project which explores alternative cinematic experiences. “We bring cinema to unusual venues to bridge the gap between the moving-image and local people,” she explains. Their recent festival in October centred on the Medway towns and included al fresco screenings in Chatham. A small boat turned into a miniature cinema for two while local churches and theatres provided the backdrop to foreign and art house films. For the Whitstable Biennale in June, 51zero hosted a wellattended screening of student films projected directly onto The Old Neptune pub. “We kitted the audience out with sleeping bags when it got windy and, of course, endless supplies of popcorn,” she recalls. www.51zero.org
Above: Tom Cruise entertains a drive-in audience in Folkestone
How to Start a Film Club BY HATTIE EDMONDS
1 2 3 4 5
Decide whether you want a casual get-together or a more official club, where you sell tickets. If it’s the latter, don’t forget that you will have to pay to rent out the films. Think how many people you want to be members. Seating is key; nobody wants to sit on a hard floor for two hours. Choose how often to screen your films—once a month is a good start. Make it a memorable date like the First Tuesday (in the month) Club. What sort of films do you want to show? Put on seasons; Hitchcock, early Almodovar, Julien Temple etc. Choose whatever you and your filmgoers fancy. Be playful. In summer, use a wall, garage door or an outdoor mini screen. In winter it’s obviously more restricted, but I know someone who projected Wings of Desire on a ceiling with every body lying on the floor! www.independentcinemaoffice.org.uk / www.bffs.org.uk
Best moment When talented film makers sign up to show their films. Also the sight of a fully grown man wearing a Little Princess blanket to keep warm during a screening in 2012. Worst moment A howling wind nearly blew away our screen along with the marquee. Luckily some men from the nearby pub acted as human tent pegs, allowing the film to be shown. Final word of advice Hang on to the reasons why you started as well as your enthusiasm and sense of humour. Keep calm and carry on showing films!
THE LIST
Independent Cinemas in East Kent
Silver Screen Cinema, Dover Dover’s 99-seat independent cinema recently re-opened following a £40,000 digital upgrade. A classic cinema experience with prices to match. dover.silverscreen cinemas.co.uk
A guide for real movie lovers
Palace Cinema Not quite the smallest cinema in the UK with 111 seats, this tiny seaside cinema in Broadstairs shows new movies plus foreign and art house offerings via the Thanet Film Society. thepalacecinema.co.uk Granville Theatre Combined cinema and theatre on Ramsgate’s East Cliff. Provides quality screen entertainment for both children and grown ups. granvilletheatre.com
Silver Screen Cinema, Folkestone Two-screen cinema in Guildhall Street which takes cinema goers back in time; paper punch tickets, red velvet seats, balcony seating etc. folkestone.silverscreen cinemas.com Kino Concept Boutique entertainment venue in Hawkhurst, near Folkestone (bottom right) featuring a stylish café/bar and outdoor terrace. Showing regular screenings from the National Theatre plus ballet and opera events. www.kinodigital.co.uk
Empire Cinema Fully functioning Art Deco throwback to the golden age of cinema (left). The films may have moved on, but the setting has changed little since it opened in 1937. empiresandwich.co.uk
The Royal Cinema Grade II-listed mock-Tudor gem in the heart of Faversham. Shows the latest releases plus art house classics via the Faversham Film Society. royalcinema.co.uk Kavanagh Cinema Well-equipped two-screen indie cinema located next to the Herne Bay Leisure Centre. Classic Film Club on Wednesdays. kavanaghcinema.com
Gulbenkian Cinema Canterbury’s independent film theatre screening blockbusters, indie and world cinema. Open to students and non-students. thegulbenkian.co.uk
Astor Theatre The Last Picture Club in Deal show regular feature films at the town’s main cultural hub. A good, affordable way to see golden oldies and new releases. theastor.org
Carlton Cinema Family-friendly cinema in Westgate-on-Sea (above right) offering blockbusters and indie films on three screens. Housed in a historic building with a tea room next door. westgatecinema.co.uk
The Weekender 29
Do Mention The War
So you thought WWII ended 70 years ago? Wrong. It’s being played out every year in a field near Folkestone. Peter Cocks investigates
30 The Weekender
TALE
A Left: RAF re-enactors such as Mike Bedford-Stradling (standing right) see themselves as living historians Above: Richard Greenfield as an off-duty RAF pilot with empty pipe and mug of tea
t the turn of the millennium, a rare propaganda poster from 1939 was unearthed in a Northumberland bookshop. Its simple message: ‘Keep Calm and Carry On’ was displayed and reprinted, eventually spawning a million mugs and tea towels and becoming part of our everyday language. Originally designed for use in case of invasion, ‘Keep Calm…’ somehow chimed with our double-dip recessive times and its austere graphic was a perfect fit with a bunting-strewn aesthetic made mainstream by Cath Kidston and pop-up ‘vintage’ clothes shops. The War and Peace Revival is of a much earlier vintage than our current retrogressive phase—it started in 1982 as a meeting for military vehicle and steam railway enthusiasts in Tenterden. While the English Civil War group, The Sealed Knot was founded in the 1960s, the idea of re-enactment was still in its infancy but, along with the vehicles, uniforms started to appear. In 1982, a Yorkshireman dressed as a Wehrmacht infantryman arrived in Kent by public transport and the rest is history. �D The Weekender 31
TALE
Photos (clockwise from left): Authentic Prussian headgear from World War One; Achtung baby: a proud father and his ‘German camp guard’ son survey the mini railway; a tank crew take a breather in the sunshine; Desert Storm re-enactors prepare for action
Driven by local entrepreneur and military enthusiast Rex Cadman, the War and Peace has grown exponentially alongside the vintage revival and takes place at Folkestone Racecourse. So what is it about this annual event that draws 100,000 visitors and 5,000 military vehicles over five days in July?
GLASTONBURY OF WAR
Approaching the racecourse (it was used as a decoy airfield in World War Two), the scale of the show unfolds in acres of khaki canvas, spread as far as the eye can see like a Glastonbury of war. As I head towards the gate, a man is busy getting dressed into full British Army uniform from the back of a red Vauxhall Corsa, a furled Union Jack by his side. Inside, there are Union Jacks at every turn and the hatchbacks and MPV’s give way to camouflaged vehicles of all shapes and sizes. Visitors are of every shape and size too, and while there are retired couples in neat polyester and floral blouses, ninety percent pay lip service to khaki—from 32 The Weekender
XL cargo shorts with camo bumbag to the full rig of a Five Star US General. The first field is devoted to traders; I hear German, French, Dutch and Russian spoken and am offered everything from a municipal bust of Hitler to a decommissioned Russian missile. Men in head-to-toe Desert Storm camouflage check the firing mechanisms of replica AK47’s. Further on, women become more evident, manning stalls full of polka dot tea dresses, silk stockings and daunting vintage under garments. The Glenn Miller Orchestra is in the air and, over towards the main area, as I approach, I hear the sound of gunfire. Getting nearer, I see the ’Allo ’Allo! cast being driven around the circuit in Jeeps. Herr Flick stands in the back of one, threatening to round us up through a megaphone. They will be signing autographs later. Behind them, tanks and armoured cars rumble across the sun-scorched earth as detail-perfect troops run through manoeuvres. Puffs
of mortar smoke explode and die above them. Battle weary and seeking refreshment, I head for the shade of a marquee wherein grizzled be-medalled veterans in blazers sit alongside their fake counterparts in a bizarre variety of uniforms—one worryingly reminiscent of Colonel Gaddafi. We listen to a 1950s USAF pilot singing Elvis songs and a very lipsticky lady doing an excellent Vera Lynn. Sipping cold, period imperfect lager, I become overwhelmed by the continuity, bonhomie and enthusiasm I see everywhere.
SURREALISTIC FRISSON Refreshed and emboldened, I head off to meet the re-enactors. I struggle across deep tank tracks only to find a half a repro-Para regiment administering real first aid to a real civilian who has collapsed from the heat. A white Volvo ambulance hares across the field rendering their khaki Red Cross wagon redundant—the sell-by dates on their meds must have expired in 1945.
TALE
Photos (clockwise from above): Uniformed officials bask in the shade of a model airship; high ranking officers of Eastern European origin; burlesque artiste Miss Kitten von Mew and Mr Richard von Mew; some USAF paras revive the bombing of a Berlin hat shop in 1945; another RAF re-enactor pays attention to the detail; mine’s bigger than yours! – Panzer generals get their toys out
“20th century history has been put in a mixer and poured out over Kent”
way to France. They are happy to defend their role, saying that re-enacting offers “a break from everyday life” and helps them go back to a time when there were standards and manners, and things were built to last.
PASTIME PARADISE Up and over a hillock, I find a winter Panzer division burying their Eastern Front dead under polystyrene snow. Nearby, a tired-looking Spitfire pilot in a life vest sips tea from an enamel mug and puffs at a tobacco-less pipe. “This is my eleventh year as a living historian,” he explains, “I see myself as an accurate museum exhibit.” Another living historian in RAF garb, Mike BedfordStradling takes his role even more seriously: “As Churchill said, ‘those who fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.’” Kevin Slade from Essex comes dressed as an Afrika Korps kapitan and stands beneath his Kriegs flag. “My dad fought in the 8th Army against the Afrika
Korps …I don’t think he’d have minded.” It is pointed out to me again and again that there is a big difference between ‘re-enactors’ (who reproduce battles and campaigns) and ‘living historians’ (who view themselves as period perfect museum exhibits). Such odd juxtapositions—and possibly the midday sun on my head—give me a surrealistic frisson, as if I’ve been transported back to a dystopian past imperfect where 20th century history has been put in a mixer and poured out over Kent. Well, this area of Kent was our front line, as many of the re-enactors stress, it is important to remember the millions of soldiers who passed this way on their
I head back to the tents to see a Lindy Hop demonstration. Inside I am distracted by Benny and Mark, two bearded Shoreditch fashion creatives. They are unfurling Japanese Rising Sun silk flags, tattered and moth-eaten and covered in scrawled calligraphy. They have just bought them, along with a U-Boat captain’s sheepskin jerkin and some woven Vietnam patches; inspiration, it turns out, for the cult fashion label for whom they work as designers. “We always find great stuff for inspiration at War and Peace,” they tell me. As it has been noted before—the past is a foreign country; they do things differently there. www.thewarandpeacerevival.co.uk The Weekender 33
FOOD & DRINK
Orchards of Delight
There’s no need to travel to the West Country to find a good drop of real cider. Try some of our local producers says Johnny Homer
T
he next time you fetch up at your local pub and, perhaps seduced by some glossy television ad campaign, order yourself a pint of cider, consider the following from Mark Henderson, who with his wife Serena runs the Kent Cider Company:“Mass-produced cider is misleading to the public,” he warns. “Craft cider is made from pure apple juice but most of the big commercial ciders are made from 65 per cent glucose syrup and 35 per cent apple juice concentrate. More often than not that concentrate will have come from China. This cider will then be carbonated and chemical flavour compounds will be added.” There are no such shenanigans going on at the Kent Cider Company, one of around 30 or so artisan cider makers in Kent. The Hendersons, who produce their cider at Oare Creek, just outside Faversham, are leading lights in the renaissance of craft cider production in the county, continuing a tradition that has been established in the Garden of England since before the Romans dropped in around 55bc. Meanwhile in Bekesbourne, Mark Mount, chief cider maker at Kentish Pip, says: “We are fruit growers and apple farmers, and it’s great to make a product out of something which some
34 The Weekender
regard as a waste product. Apples with blemishes will never make it into the supermarkets, but they will be used to make cider.” According to both artisan cider makers, business has gone from strength to strength. “Six years ago, we tentatively tested the market to see if there was any demand,” says Henderson. “We sold out that first season and have doubled up on volume every year since.” “Kent cider has become a very professional business,” adds Mount. “We’re starting to get known because we offer an alternative to West Country cider and because the range of apples available to us is colossal. Kent cider tastes fresher and is more zingy.” Other Kent producers, such as Dudda’s Tun in Doddington and Rough Old Wife near Canterbury, have also seen demand increase as discerning drinkers move away from the mainstream. A cider festival held at Brogdale, home of the National Fruit Collection, over the August bank holiday proved a huge success, attracting over 3,000 drinkers and producers from across the South East. Ironically, Henderson puts part of this success down to the growth in popularity of the big brand ciders that he and other �D
FOOD & DRINK
“The range of apples is colossal. Kent cider tastes fresher and is more zingy”
craft producers offer a welcome alternative to. “Within the cider world, the ‘Magner’s effect’ has raised the profile of craft cider over the last decade and made it more accessible to people who wouldn’t have perhaps tried it previously. That, coupled with a growing interest in the provenance of products, and the bespoke nature of them, have all helped craft cider makers such as myself to thrive.” Perhaps another factor is the increasingly diverse range of flavours on the market today. Henderson’s company alone offer a Bittersweet Cider, a Bramley Cider and even a delicious Toffee Apple Cider. They also use a variety of apples, including some ‘heritage’ apples such as Laxtons, Grenadier and Scarlet Pimpernel. “We have a great deal with Brogdale,” says Henderson. “We take all of their fruit from their cider orchard, almost 90 different varieties, and that gives us a vast array of cider apples to play around with.” “There is no other fruit with such a massive range of flavours,” agrees Mount. “If a cider maker can tune into those flavours it will only lead to good things.” The boom in micropubs, which has recently revitalised the Kent drinking scene, also plays a part in the rise of craft cider. “We’re lucky that we have almost as many cider producers in Kent as we have microbreweries,” says Nigel Ranger, landlord of the Tankerton Arms in Whitstable. Ranger carries a number of Kent ciders at his cosy micro with products from, among others, Dudda’s Tun and Kentish Pip. “People in Kent like to drink local products,” he continues. “They like craft cider because it’s not freezing cold and it’s not fizzy. It’s a completely different drink to the mainstream stuff. Real cider smells of apples, not alcohol.” 36 The Weekender
“It’s symbiotic,” says Mount about the relationship between the micropubs and the craft cider producers. “People go to micros to drink something with real taste and, as such, micros are a real boon to local producers, whether they are making cider or beer.” With such passionate producers championing the cause in Kent, the popularity of craft cider can only grow. “We travel far and wide to spread the word,” says Henderson, who like most artisan food and drink producers is motivated by things other than profit, among them a sense of community. “Our stall at Faversham’s Saturday market is never going to make us rich, but it’s a good market and Faversham has been good to us. We’ll do anything to support our town.” Previous page: A selection of Kentish apples alongside cider producers including Mark Mount (top row left, far left of photo) and Mark Henderson (middle row, far right) Above: Markets such as The Goods Shed in Canterbury offer a diverse range of apple varieties and flavours
CORE INGREDIENTS
A
lthough Kent has never matched the South West of England for mass cider production, the drink that has always been produced here differs sharply from that found elsewhere. The main difference between the cider made in Herefordshire, Gloucestershire and Somerset is the kind of apples used. Producers in Kent don’t use cider specific apples; they use dessert and culinary apples, and as a result, Kentish cider has more of a wine-like quality. Most artisan producers hand press their ciders. They also refrain from using sugar, often used by big producers to speed up fermentation; artisan cider is allowed time to ferment naturally which adds to the flavour. To be considered a craft brewer by CAMRA, producers have to use 90 per cent pure apple juice. Some use the full 100 per cent.
NatioNal award wiNNiNg Ciders from Faversham, Kent
Listed in both The Good Food Guide and the Michelin Guide 2015
rustic yet refined
101 Tankerton Road, Whitstable CT5 2AJ T: 01227 281180
kentcider.co.uk
Winter’s not all bad
www.eastcoastdiningroom.co.uk
GARDEN
pinesgarden.co.uk
Sunday Lunches Hearty portions & a warm welcome
PROPER FOOD Quality meat from Brogdale & vegetables from the garden
THE PINES GARDEN Beach Road St Margaret’s Bay Dover, CT15 6DZ
TO BOOK Call Michelle
01304 853 173
For over a decade The Goods Shed in historic Canterbury has been the go-to place for food lovers. The permanent indoor food market is home to twelve independent food and drinks traders running thirteen stalls and an outstanding restaurant featured within the top 100 restaurants from this year’s National Restaurant Awards. Visit us and experience the delights of Wild Goose’s offerings of hedgerow inspired cocktails and little dishes, home cooked meals from Whitstable Larder, delicious British cheese from Cheesemakers of Canterbury, bespoke meals from Jonny Sandwich, award winning charcuterie from Patriana, breads and pizzas from Enzo’s bakery, the best Kentish and Spanish groceries from Murray’s General Stores, beers from across the globe at The Bottle Shop, divine meats from Carl the butcher, daily haul of locally caught fish from the Fishmonger, the finest wine from Clive, the Master of Wine at Press Wine Services and making up the spin of the market floor are Kents freshest fruit and vegetables collected daily from the farm.
Our visitors experience the very best in advice and service, with tasting, comparing and swapping recipies and tips being the order of the day. All this is set within a restored station goods shed that once served Canterbury West Station. It now serves the very best food and drink to locals and visitors alike with treats that change with the seasons and often with the weeks. Market Opening Times 9 am – 7pm Tuesday to Saturday 10 am – 4pm Sunday Restaurant open daily for Breakfast, Lunch and Supper Station Road West, Canterbury CT2 8AN T: 01227 459 153 www.thegoodsshed.co.uk search The Goods Shed
The_Goods_Shed
FOOD & DRINK
their raw state, unbelievably sour and hard as nails. They do make lovely jelly, however, and the end result is a beautifully pink, delicate, slightly floral preserve that’s totally worth the effort. As they contain pectin, a natural setting agent, the jelly sets like a dream. Use as a condiment with terrines and meats like roast pork or your Christmas ham. If you add fresh mint, it also goes great with lamb as an alternative to the traditional mint sauce.
Coastal Kitchen By Claire Houlihan
A
utumn is my favourite time of year—wild mushrooms start appearing on suppliers’ lists, trays of game birds arrive on the kitchen benches and we have to start preserving all the fruit because we can't use it fast enough. Speaking of game, there's a guy who pops up in Faversham market on Saturdays from Stour Valley Game. He’s always loaded with wild birds and beasts so seek him out if you have a taste for game. We have a dish of pigeon pastilla with a pan fried pigeon breast on at the moment. A pie like not many others, the pastilla is a traditional Moroccan pie of pigeon meat, spices and sugar. It’s both sweet and savoury, rich and spiced. It’s also the time of year when our crab apple tree, which grows directly outside the restaurant, needs harvesting. The apples look so pretty on the tree, like baubles, their skins burnished red—very, dare I say it, Christmassy (there I’ve said it and it's only October!). You can’t eat a crab apple as they are virtually inedible in
CRAB APPLE JELLY 600g crab apples 1 x bay leaf 25 ml lemon juice 280 grams caster sugar Cut the crab apples in quarters, place in a pan and just cover with water. Add the bay leaf and bring to the boil. Simmer for 1 hour. Pour the lot into a muslin bag and let it hang over a container overnight. The following day, put the container full of juice in a pan, add the sugar and lemon juice, bring to the boil and simmer. Meanwhile place a saucer in the freezer. After 45 minutes you can start testing whether the jelly is ready. Drop a teaspoon full onto the chilled saucer, leave for 30 seconds. Run your finger through the jelly; if a light skin has formed and puckers, the jelly is ready. If not, keep the jelly on the simmer, return the saucer to the freezer and test again after 10 minutes. Just keep going until a skin forms on the saucer. Pour into sterilised jars and seal. East Coast Dining Room, 101 Tankerton Road, Whitstable. www.eastcoastdiningroom.co.uk
FOOD & DRINK
The A to Z of Kentish Beer
C
by johnny homer
is for Canterbury, once a major hub of brewing in Kent. But while the only tangible legacy left by the likes of Flint and Co and George Beer are surviving scraps of long defunct pub livery, the city can once again boast a vibrant brewing industry as a handful of micros put it firmly back on the ale lover’s map. Based at the Foundry Brew Pub in White Horse Lane are Canterbury Brewers, set up by Jon Mills and Gary Sedgwick and makers of an eclectic range of beer since 2011. “We’d done a lot of research beforehand and were aware we were helping to revive Canterbury’s brewing heritage,” says Mills. The brew pub set-up gives them the freedom to produce such diverse beers as a
Canterbury wheat beer (4.4%), the robust Street Light Porter (a hefty 5.6%) and Foundry Steam (5.4%), which is inspired by the US craft scene. Mills explains: “The brew pub gives us the ability to take risks. We don’t expect everyone to like every beer, but the diverse range means you’re bound to find something that suits. We are passionate about beer and can’t help but explore.” To that end, expect a pumpkin beer for Halloween and also an Oktoberfest creation. Another Canterbury-based brewer leading the revival is Martin Guy, who has been producing his very quaffable range of Canterbury Ales since 2010. His portfolio of cask beers are named after characters from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales and range from the easy drinking Pardoner’s Ale (3.8%) through to the formidable Knight’s Ale (4.6%). Merchant’s Ale, a 4% ‘mild Kentish stout’, was recently judged overall champion for the South East by the Society of Independent Brewers. “My beers are of a regional style,” explains Guy. “The main difference here is the water is very hard and the beer tends to be dryer. That brings the hops out more in the beer and I try to work with that.” No round-up of brewing in Canterbury would be complete without mention of the Wantsum Brewery, set up in 2009 by James Sandy in Hersden. “I was one of the first of the new wave of micros,” says Sandy, originally from Sandwich. “Canterbury people like their beer; there are a lot of students here and a rich heritage of pubs.” Wantsum’s range includes the wonderful Black Pig porter (4.8%) and the more-ish 1381 (3.8%). Any beer named after the Peasants’ Revolt is okay by me!
“A Great Place to Stay for a Weekend on The Kent Coast”
The White Cliffs Hotel & Trading Co. and
The Bay Restaurant ‘Just a mile from the Beach at St. Margaret’s Bay near Deal’ 40 The Weekender
Real Ales & Ciders Tasty Craft Beers Half Decent Wines Kentish Native Food Coastal Cool Rooms www.thewhitecliffs.com
call us 01304 852229
FOOD & DRINK
The Perfect Weekend… Autumnal Lunch words and photos tom moggach
“We cooked them a fry up; they gave us a £5 note,” says
restaurateur Gavin Oakley, describing the chance encounter that sparked his intriguing career. Decent food and a good night’s kip are now his stock in trade. But Oakley’s first taste of hospitality was this childhood moment, when some hikers approached the family home, a crumbling manor house on the Kent coast, to request bed and breakfast. “That was the beginning,” he says. Now 44, Oakley has packed much into the subsequent years. “Life is quite short and fleeting, isn’t it? I have lots of energy and I like to use it.” The family house, Wallett’s Court, is now a spa hotel in seven acres of grounds. Extras include a top class restaurant, glamping in tipis, and the full gamut of treatments, from Reiki to Chakra Balancing Massage. Oakley then opened The Bay Restaurant—my venue for lunch—and The White Cliffs Hotel in St Margaret’s Bay, just down the road. In his spare time, he has swum the Channel, runs the occasional marathon, raises a large family, dabbles in landscape photography, and is a qualified ski instructor and mountain guide. The Bay Restaurant, perched high on the cliff, offers a menu firmly rooted in its locality. Ultra-local sourcing includes furtive deliveries of native truffles from ‘Polish Tony’, lobsters from pots strung along the coast, fruit from their own orchard and foraged ingredients from the wilderness nearby. “Kent is the garden of England and we are on the coast so we have the best of both worlds,” Oakley says. It’s certainly a special spot: this stretch of chalk downland is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) with more species of flora and fauna in one square mile than an equivalent area of rainforest. The restaurant inhabits the ground floor of the main hotel building. The wine list includes Kentish vintages and the taps pour beer from local breweries such as Time & Tide in nearby Deal. The atmosphere is cosy: snug sofas by the fireplace; wooden floorboards; doors
opening into a secluded garden; walls decorated with photos of the foaming sea, friends and family. Chef Andrew Butcher runs the kitchen and has judged his market well. The menu oozes temptation and his cooking is unpretentious and generous. A pile of fresh bread with handchurned butter arrives unprompted, as we order two glasses of a Kentish sparkler as an aperitif. A starter of plump mussels (£7.50) is cooked in a creamy broth of Kentish Pip cider, spiked with chunks of apple and celery. For a salad (£5.95), a pear poached in spiced red wine then gracefully paired with Kentish blue cheese, a walnut pesto and a dressing whisked up with rapeseed oil. Specials on the day include a large baked plaice (£13.95), slathered with salty samphire, a buttery lemon caper sauce and sautéed new potatoes. Other dishes on the autumn menu include venison carpaccio, free-range pork porchetta, roasted squash linguine and fish and chips. Portions are large, so we shared pudding. Sticky toffee pudding with rum butter lost out to a blackcurrant mousse with an intriguing liquorice ice cream. As a place to eat, The Bay is mercifully free from any airs and graces. The
friendly team here understands good food can be simple and unaffected, so the place works well for families, a quick lunch or a slap-up dinner. This relaxed confidence should come as no surprise. Oakley’s father was a chef who worked with the Roux brothers. He remembers him returning home from long shifts in London with bags filled with garlicky breads and leftovers. As we leave, Oakley invites us to his next challenge. Later, a group of friends will be ‘Everesting’ the steep hill up from the beach in a charity fundraiser. This involves 130 steep ascents on road bikes in one-hour relay—“just for fun.” The Bay Restaurant, The White Cliffs Hotel, High Street, St. Margaret’s-at-Cliffe, T: 01304 852 229 www.thewhitecliffs.com
Photos (clockwise from left): The baked plaice comes slathered in salty samphire and a buttery lemon caper sauce; owner Gavin Oakley in the garden of The Bay Restaurant; a starter of mussels cooked in Kentish Pip cider
The Weekender 41
SPACE
WAKE UP TO MODERNISM Much-maligned by previous generations, Modernist architecture is back in the spotlight. But what’s the appeal of mid-century living and where are the best buys? words rachel calton
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lmost a century on from the Bauhaus being founded, British home-owners are finally accepting Modernism as a proper movement and not just a flashin-the-pan trend. Many more post-war houses are being listed by English Heritage than ever before, and Modernism is enjoying an ongoing spotlight in the media. The drive towards sustainability is also forcing people to reappraise the way that we build, and the way that we think about houses. The Modern House, an estate agency established in 2004 by Albert Hill and Matt Gibberd (grandson of modernist architect Sir Frederick Gibberd), has seen a notable rise in interest in its properties as the appetite for Modernist architecture has grown. “In the last ten years the British have definitely got over their mistrust and woken up to Modernism,” confirms Hill. One of the agency’s most high profile sales to date is High and Over, designed in 1929 by Amyas Connell, a country house considered to be the first in Britain to be built in the modern style. It is currently on the market with them for a second time, due to the current owners retiring to the Caribbean. It is also dealing with the sale of a Richard Rogers-designed house in Wimbledon, a groundbreaking glass and steel-framed construct that the architect designed for his parents in 1968, and which reputedly influenced his designs for the Pompidou Centre in Paris. In Ware near Canterbury, The Modern House recently sold Searchlight Bungalows, an energy-efficient single-storey house set in landscaped gardens, designed for his own use by the architect Philip Stringer. It also managed the sale of Pine Tops in St Margaret’s Bay, a Scandi-style 1970s home spectacularly positioned �D
42 The Weekender
Clockwise from left: Richard Rogers’s glass and steel-framed house in Wimbledon; High and Over, the first house in Britain to be designed in the modern style; Radnor Cliff on the Kent coast offers split-level accommodation and an authentic 1960s interior
The Weekender 43
This page: The wood-panelled lobby of Radnor Cliff (left); High and Over features Art Deco stairwells (top left); Searchlight Bungalows near Canterbury – a single storey home set in landscaped gardens (top right)
“Some of the best Modernist principles are hidden behind dowdy sofas or dated wallpaper” on the cliff top. Currently it has a mid-century modern house in Sandgate on its books, just a few metres back from the beach and in almost original condition, and a piece of land in a Conservation Area near Margate, complete with planning permission and architects’ plans. “Unique propositions like this in Kent often transcend the local market, but are worth the investment,” Hill explains, “the best ones being those that are valuable to you as a home and as a piece of design rarity. “With a property that has been designed by an architect for their own habitation, you are getting superior design and attention to detail that will improve your experience of living in the property, and help to hold its value in the long term. “You could argue that mid-century property is undervalued by local agents, especially with the strength of the appetite for this kind of architecture that exists today,” he adds. In terms of modern property, the wealth of 20th century heritage in East Kent makes it rich in good housing—the 1930s houses in Palm Bay Avenue, Margate, being a prime example as well as nearby Arlington House, Britain’s first ‘park and buy’ development by Russell Diplock and Associates in 1964. There are also examples of unadulterated Art Deco housing, the most famous being the house on the beach at St Margaret’s Bay which Ian Fleming and Noel Coward consecutively inhabited. In Broadstairs there is even a modern family house built in the 1950s by Brutalist architect Erno Goldfinger, better known for designing London’s most controversial housing block, Trellick Tower. Further afield, Beckenham, Bromley and Chislehurst are all hotbeds of quality post-war housing, and there are still some real undiscovered gems out there such as New Ash Green in Longfield. New Ash Green is a Span village, complete with Span shops, schools and doctor’s surgery, presenting a very exciting, and rare, combination of good design and desirable location. Span was a 44 The Weekender
housing development company co-founded by architect Eric Lyons in 1948. Span properties typically have modernist features such as mono pitch roofs, open plan interiors, good natural light and access to communal outdoor space. The post-war housing of the 1950s and 1960s was built at a time of optimism. The politically progressive nature of housing policy, embedded in the establishment of the welfare state, meant that a lot of the houses of this period offer bigger living spaces, and are built on more generous plots. These developments are a lot less cynically designed than many new housing developments today, where the focus is more on making money, and they are now highly sought after, especially amongst first-time buyers. “A useful tip to start out with when you are buying a modern property is to look beyond the furniture and fittings,” advises Hill. “Some of the best Modernist principles are hidden behind dowdy sofas or dated wallpaper. However, do take note of what updates have been made. A sympathetic refurbishment can certainly add value to a property. Finally, don't be dazzled by recent additions such as lighting systems and fittings; try to concentrate on the architecture, and to what extent it adheres to Modernist principles, such as flowing space, high levels of natural light, truth to materials and a good relationship between the architecture and its environment.” www.themodernhouse.net
SPACE
20th CENTURY ROCKS Five mid-century homes worth stepping into
1
1. Peacock House, Sholden, nr Deal
Unique 1960s single-storey property in a private setting with Japanese gardens and 2.8 acres. £525,000 for sale www.jackson-stops.co.uk
2. Radnor Cliff, Sandgate
4/5 bedroom house with timberclad interior and original 1960s features. A carport entrance only adds to the appeal of this groovy seaside pad. £425,000 FOR SALE www.themodernhouse.net
3. Clovelly Road, Whitstable
3
2
Detached mid-century style home with panoramic views. Features spacious, split-level accommodation, garage and carport plus a large roof terrace. £595,000 FOR SALE www.christopherhodgson.co.uk
4. Elms Avenue, Ramsgate
3 bedroom detached Art Deco gem near the centre of Ramsgate. Spacious living areas with an elegance that you would expect from the 1930s. £310,000 FOR SALE www.haart.co.uk
5. Arlington House, Margate
4 5
Apartments in this 18-storey Brutalist style tower offer stunning views and easy access to the Turner Contemporary, the Old Town and the beach. Mid-century chic at a rock bottom price. £55,000 – £60,000 for 2/3 bed apartment www.milesandbarr.co.uk
The Weekender 45
DIRECTORY
Are you a local business, shop or service with something worth shouting about? Then try our Directory pages. Place your ad here for just £55 and reach the most influential and independently-minded folk in East Kent. For details contact advertising@the-weekender.net
• Whitstable’s best selection of local and imported craft beer in bottles, cans and keykeg • Ciders, wine, liqueurs • Freshly made food from local ingredients • Saturday evening bar • Bespoke beer gifts for Christmas • Available for private hire
19 Harbour Street, Whitstable CT5 1AQ T:01227 771917 www.waltshaws.co.uk hello@waltshaws.co.uk
DAVIS Micro love fresh coffee
DESIGN & ADVERTISING Folkestone • Small Business Branding • • Graphic Design •
FREE COFFEE with purchase of 350g roast and ground* *Mention The Weekender to qualify 4 St Margarets Street, Canterbury T: 01227 634419 coffee@micoroastery.co.uk
• Print & Digital Advertising • • Website Design • • Social Media Management • www.davisdavis.co.uk info@davisdavis.co.uk 01303 247766
Steven Harkin leather bags Revived mid century furniture Homeware – lighting – gifts – art 15 Tontine Street, Folkestone CT20 1RN T: 01303 487690 www.anecdotesdesign.com facebook.com/AnecdotesDesign @AnecdotesDesign
Fleur de France BEAUTIFUL FRENCH HAND-CRAFTED ITEMS, ANTIQUES AND VINTAGE FINDS
Thursdays from 11.30 Fridays & Saturdays from 9.30 T: 01304 619130 mfrioux@aol.com www.fleurdefrance.com 14 Market St, Sandwich CT13 9DA
46 The Weekender
Lilford Framing & Gallery Complete Bespoke Framing service and Contemporary Art Gallery displaying a range of Artwork, Sculpture & Jewellery
Rennies Seaside Modern are based in Folkestone. Working from a ship’scabin-of-a-shop, they are purveyors of English comfy modern — that’s vintage seaside posters, textiles, ceramics and objects for your home, beach hut or garden shed. Not forgetting vintage Hermes silk scarves for those blustery days at the coast.
Linocut by Melvyn Evans
76 Castle Street, Canterbury CT1 2QD mail@lilfordframing.com T: 01227 766616 www.lilfordframing.com 10% off framing with this advert
www.rennart.co.uk tasty canterbury bistro seasonal locally-sourced food open for breakfast, brunch and lunch 7 days a week dinner thursday, friday and saturday evenings from 6pm 16 st dunstan’s street canterbury CT2 8AF 01227 76638766 www.refectorykitchen.co.uk
VALENTINES MAKE YOURS A HAPPY HOME
Valentines is a retro/vintage furniture shop based in Whitstable, Kent. Stocked with affordable items of modern design, we specialise in British & European Mid 20th Century furniture, homeware and clothing. We also have art for sale by local artists. Our stock changes daily so why not pop down to sunny Whitstable, say hello and have a browse.
21 Oxford Street, Whitstable CT5 1DB T. 01227 281224/07802-275094 E. info@valentines-vintage.com www.valentines-vintage.com Open Mon-Sat 10am till 5pm, Sundays 11am till 4pm
Read the very best of The Weekender past and present at weekenderonline.net The Weekender 47
VAL_AD.indd 1
28/03/2014 08:32
JUST THE JOB
Near right: Steve sculpts Mystique from the X-Men Far right: The model maker with just a few of his creations. Hand puppet Max Underdog (bottom right) harks back to his days with The Muppets
Steve Allen Model Maker
T
he Canterbury-based craftsman got his big break working with The Muppets creator Jim Henson before going on to help launch merchandise for the likes of Disney, Dr Who and Wallace and Gromit. His latest creation Max Underdog is an unlikely star-in-waiting in the CGI age.
It all started with the Muppets. From an early age, I’d always wanted to make things but growing up in the Kent countryside the idea of working in the film industry was very much a dream. But when I was 15 I got a job as a model maker for a toy manufacturer in Canterbury and while I was there I produced some toys for Fraggle Rock. One day, I met Jim Henson and he offered me a job in his London studio. It was like working with gods—some of my colleagues had worked on Star Wars movies! I went freelance over 20 years ago. Not only could I carry on working with Henson’s studio but I could also go back to toy design. I became one of the people that the manufacturers turn to when they need merchandise for television and film products. I did toys for Dr Who, Thomas the Tank Engine and Wallace and Gromit and I’ve lost count how many Disney products I’ve worked on. Be prepared to make and do anything. As a freelancer I’ve finished over 1,200 projects. A lot of the work is done with simple needle file, a scalpel and of course your hands. For modelling I use a special type of wax which is used for sculpting full-sized cars. To do it professionally, you need a vacuum forming machine, a lathe and a workshop. I’m also 48 The Weekender
a puppeteer and I build set pieces and props for The Magic Circle plus I get a few private commissions. Making models isn’t as lucrative as it used to be. In the 1980s, people would throw unbelievable amounts of money at you but it’s not like that anymore. I do it because I love what I do and I love being creative. I recently made a model for someone for £300 yet I’ve also done projects for which I’ve charged £9,000 for a few days’ work. If George Lucas phoned me up to do the models for the next Star Wars movie I think I’d die and go to heaven! Changes in the film industry mean that there are a lot of model makers looking for work. We’re all looking for different ways to use our skills. My advice for anyone trying to get into the profession is to work hard and get the most amazing portfolio together. Don’t give up and remember you must tell everybody that you’re great at what you do. You never know who you’re going to work with. Model makers are very much behind-the-scenes but in my career I’ve met, among others, John Hurt, David Bowie and Angelina Jolie. I was working on Labyrinth when David Bowie suddenly strolled into the workshop and I had a long chat with him about what his codpiece was going to look like. John Hurt invited me to his table in Budapest and Angelina Jolie had me thrown out of a sound stage in Pinewood Studios. “I don’t think you should be here,” she said calmly, dressed in her Tomb Raider costume.
PROS Working on high profile film projects
{ Getting to see characters before the film comes out
{ Keeping the models. My Snow Speeder made for George Lucas is now worth a lot of money
CONS Most film companies now employ in-house model makers
{ Not knowing what and when the next job is going to be
{ The rise of CGI (Computer Generated Imagery); studios don’t always demand a real model these days
Full Page Inside Kent ad_NEW_15/09/2014 11:46 Page 1
Garage and/or allocated parking included with some apartments
23 High Street, Whitstable, Kent CT5 1AP
Exceptional apartments in Whitstable...
Built with
‘lifestyle’ in mind.
WestBay Court is an exceptional and prestigious new development of eight apartments and a luxury penthouse for sale with unrivalled 360O views across Whitstable Bay. The Apartments have been created by a local developer from a landmark, iconic 60’s building in the heart of the fashionable beachside resort of Whitstable, Kent. The hi-speed link to London St.Pancras takes approximately 1 hour from the ancient Cathedral City of Canterbury which is just 15 minutes away. Both Folkestone’s Channel Tunnel and the Port of Dover are accessible within 45 minutes. Apartments from £160k - £500k | 5th Floor Penthouse £1m To request a brochure, please call either: Strutt & Parker tel: 01227 451123 . www.struttandparker.com Christopher Hodgson tel: 01227 266441 . www.christopherhodgson.co.uk
• Apartments 3, 4, 5 & 6 EPC = B • Apartments 1, 2, 7 & 8 EPC = C
Christopher
Hodgson
photo: jeff overs
Gavin Esler Writer and former presenter of Newsnight , Gavin Esler has interviewed just about every world leader there is. He was a student in Canterbury and more recently became the University of Kent’s sixth Chancellor. His book, Lessons from the Top, examines how every great leader has their own ‘story’
BREAKING THE MOULD I was born in Glasgow, grew up in Edinburgh and was the first member of my family to go to university. I was going to do a degree in Medicine but I ended up doing English and American Literature at the University of Kent. I remember arriving in Canterbury by train and the sight of the Cathedral rising up in front of me. It was amazing. As a student in the 1970s, I lived inTankerton for a year and loved it. I remember swimming in the sea almost every day one summer, and of course Whitstable was a lot cheaper in those days! AMBASSADOR’S ROLE I was installed as University of Kent’s Chancellor in July. My role is to act as an advocate of the university but I’m also an ambassador and I hand out degrees. At formal functions I wear a posh robe with a lot of gold thread on it. The university’s court is very grand it and makes me feel like I’m one of the Medici’s in 16th century Italy. 50 The Weekender
PROGRESSIVE TASTES I like all kinds of music but the thing about 1970s prog rock was that despite the silliness—the warlocks, the witches and the bad hair—it seemed to offer a different way of listening to music. It’s for people like me who don’t like categories very much and in fact bands like King Crimson and Caravan got me interested in jazz and classical music. TERRIFIC TEA ROOMS We have a house in Deal and I come up and down from London on the train quite a lot. The coast around here is wonderful and I don’t get much work done here—there is always the dog to walk or a cycle ride along the coast. Deal is a wonderful historic working town; I love the fact that there are fishing boats on the beach and that it won, quite rightly, the Daily Telegraph’s High Street of the Year Award. The people here are great; they’re very friendly and open to newcomers and I see a lot of artists and actors. Despite the recent recession, there
have always been a regular stream of day trippers—it must have more coffee shops and tea rooms per head of the population than anywhere else in the country! FOLLOW THE LEADERS I have enjoyed interviewing political leaders such as Bill Clinton, Margaret Thatcher and Angela Merkel but also so-called cultural leaders like Angelina Jolie and Dolly Parton. Dolly Parton is great. She’s smart, feisty, funny and very self-deprecating. Anyone who thinks she’s just a singer is missing the point. She has a very charming way of diffusing difficult questions. I asked her if she had any plans to go into politics based on the fact she has a strong social conscience. She replied, “Honey, there are enough boobs in the White House without mine!” Gavin Esler was speaking at Talking Books at the Astor Community Theatre, Deal. For a full programme of events, go to www.theastor.org
Photos from top: Gavin developed a taste for prog rock whilst studying in Canterbury in the 1970s; with celebrity interviewees Jane Fonda (middle) and Dolly Parton (bottom)
Co-educational, day & boarding school for 3-18 years in South East England
Strong academic results at 11+, GCSE and A Level Small classes offering close individual attention Exceptional facilities including 500-seat Theatre, Sports Complex and Indoor Swimming Pool Scholarships and Bursaries available
For more information and to arrange a visit:
T: 01843 572931
E: admissions@slcuk.com
www.slcuk.com
St Lawrence College, College Road, Ramsgate, Kent CT11 7AE