Sexing up medieval ships some pictures and a walk in Ramsgate.

When it comes to medieval cogs and caravels my usually sound knowledge of frigging in the rigging has a tendency to fall to pieces, one of my children asked me if The Matthew is a she. The old mortal thoughts, tend towards unsex me here, oh direst cruelty I am filled toe topful with confusion.

Most of my knowledge of medieval ships, thus far coming from the letters of the medieval kings to the lords warden of the cinque ports, pronounced sank, which may not be a good omen.

Not so misty today so better pictures of The Matthew or The Dawn Treader whoever she may be, still nothing on the council’s website about this important vessel though, although they can afford to move Margate tourist information centre over the road apparently. Perhaps KCC are footing the bill as I am told where the Turner Contemporary is concerned the funding is bottomless.

Here are the rest of today’s pictures http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/311/id11.htm and I will try to write something about them if I get time later.

The new house on Plains of Waterloo is continuing to go up, the Pleasurama foundations and support pillars are still going up on the wrong end of the site and not the piles that were expected, no one seems to know why. More new pictures on The Great Wall of Ramsgate as you can see. There is a dredger tied up in the harbour so we can only hope for some dredging before the harbour becomes completely dry at low water. The boat hoist is evidently working again after its experience with the pothole. The large concrete pontoons are not the new harbour barrage pontoon but they are for The London Array. Jack’s Cantina, Harvey’s Fish thing is up for sale.

Through, a Glass Darkly, some pictures and thoughts from the last few days.

As you can sort of see from the picture above, The Matthew, The Dawn Treader, well a replica of a medieval ship has arrived in Ramsgate harbour. This sort of medieval ship is what the whole of the history of this area and the Cinque Ports is about, as you see for a ship it isn’t very big, I don’t think any of these medieval ships were.

By medieval I am talking about the time from about the year 900 up to the year 1500 when the historical period called Tudor started. During this time this country didn’t have a navy, so the monarch made tax and other concessions to the nobility who owned the land, under the condition that they provided ships for wars and other royal visits abroad.

Ruling was much more of a hands on business in those days, and this replica of a medieval ship is well worth a look if you get a chance.

Sorry that it is misty today and the ship isn’t easily accessible, I will try to get closer and get some better pictures.

There were some other pictures on the camera’s memory card from the last few days and I have published them on the web here http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/311/id10.htm have a glance, I will too and make a few notes below.

First two are of the start of a new house being built on Plains of Waterloo, then some of the work going on, on the Pleasurama site, why they have started a year late at the other end of the site I am yet to find out. Then some of The Marina Restaurant restoration project, followed by some of the great wall of Ramsgate pictures, there are a few new ones and a lot of spaces now booked for more. Some of the empty shops in Ramsgate are having the paint and new incarnation treatment. The chap at the organ, a picture of a picture is Ken Stroud and I think he is playing organ Granville/Ramsgate Marina, from the shape of the arches, please correct me if I am wrong.

Just dealt with a bookshop customer wanted a book on dinosaurs, I didn’t quite know how to answer her question. “Haven’t you got one with photographs of dinosaurs in it?” In the shop assistant business one soon learns that you can’t please everyone.

Back to the photos, a bit of a cryptic note on the Maritime Museum, isn’t it about time TDC issued them with a lease?

Just sat down after fitting a new dishwasher, a new Chinese one was considerably cheaper than a new pump for the old German one, and read some of the local news, all was going well until this article http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/news/Witchcraft-casts-spell-growing-community/article-3301307-detail/article.html when I got to “Mr Doyle, who has his own cloak,”

I shall have to watch out for Saul, I can see “Mr Child, who has his own trousers,” is just around the corner.

Funny thing the occult books, we sell loads of them in the bookshop, no one has ever bought one back and said the spells in it didn’t work and yet no one has ever arrives by broomstick.

I may blog on if the mood takes me.