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For anyone intersted in the future of Dreamland in Margate, there was a news item tonight on Merdian

http://www.itv.com/meridian-east/dreaml ... ored82628/

Topic merged - Site Admin.

Margate waits for verdict on derelict Dreamland amusement park

Let’s hope people in charge see sense and Dreamland gets up and running again, I passed through Margate last year, very sad to see it rundown like that. Real shame.

I've never been there but it looks like there is a lot of support for regenerating the amusement park with traditional rides and entertainments http://www.dreamlandmargate.com Some big names like Wayne Hemmingway on their side ....Good luck to 'em I hope it is preserved. That's what resorts are for!

In recent history there was only one person who correctly realised that in times of austerity the solution is to invest.
Using governmental funds to prime the pump gets people back into work, paying N.I. and tax whilst improving infrastructure and producing resources for all to see, share and feel positive about.

Adolf Hitler...... sadly many of his other ideas were a tad wide of the mark.

This photo from 1923 shows just some of the staff that were employed at Dreamland, & and also the roller coaster in its heyday.

Whilst over in Americaland, their problem is more to do with keeping the damn things tied down.

Hurricane Sandy destroyed homes and towns in November. The remnants of a roller coaster, swept out to sea, sits in the surf in Seaside Heights, New Jersey (REUTERS)

Badpenny wrote:In recent history there was only one person who correctly realised that in times of austerity the solution is to invest.
Using governmental funds to prime the pump gets people back into work, paying N.I. and tax .

Unfortunately, the mid 1930s investment in Germany couldn't possibly cover its own costs, leading to a balance of payments that makes ours look like a profit. This continued until 1939 when he hit on the plan of invading other countries and asset stripping them to cover German costs. This actually became the official Nazi economic structure through till the end of the war. The Voltswagen factory making the "peoples' car" lost money every year till the British took it over in 1945. The excellent road system was, like the ancient Roman and modern Turkish road system, a military system for moving troops and war goods about quickly, so he didn't even get that idea right. Oh and Musso in Italy didn't make the trains run on time - that urban myth comes from him getting just one train to run on time in 1937, bringing Hitler on a visit to Rome.

You are of course correct in what you say Paul. His purpose in creating jobs by building the Autobahns and other massive infrastructure projects was to raise the moral of the electorate and safeguard his own personal future. However like most of what he did, he didn't stick with his plan and became attracted by other ideas leaving the things he'd started to others to manage (Mercurial)
His asset stripping the neighbours of course only mirrored what others were doing at the same time. The Japanese having few natural resources of their own, simply declared The Chinese a sub-human species and cheerfully walked in to enslave them and help themselves.

Back to Topic ......
After The Storm.

Strangely Margate has just been voted one of the top 10 destinations by the Rough Guide Travel Hot list for 2013! Perhaps they need to get Tracey Emin involved in saving Dreamland as it was her home town? Fashion/ Retail Guru,
( no not BP or Treefrog ) Mary Portas is also involved.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-20716213

Since this thread was posted I have read a lot about it over the Xmas hols and found it really fascinating. I really hope that Thanet can see these plans through to fruition as it seems such a great scheme with some amazing rides sitting ready to be installed. Carters Steam Fair seems well involved and Wayne Hemingway has had a huge input in the design. Good luck to East Kent, it will be a great boost if it all comes off.

Topic merged - Site Admin.


After reading BP's update posted in December re Margate's coaster which was reportedly the oldest remaining in Europe and 2nd oldest in the world, I thought I would share some photos I took after leaving work in Medway and driving home to Westbrook following a trail of smoke high up in the distance that, as I followed it, became increasingly apparent was coming from somewhere very near to the end of my journey and, as I passed Westbrook, and made my way into Margate, excitement turned to near tears as I discovered the scene at the source.

Is this another fire Jonathan? A lot was lost in 2008.

No, same fire but my god was it that long ago? Time has flown. The other big fire was the arcade on the sea front that left a huge gap in the terracing.

After the thread in the forum last year I looked at the website and saw the exciting Wayne Hemmingway plans for a new park. I hope it all comes good and gets built.

Photos like that are essential to keep if only for social history, but aren't they gut stirring.

I'm reminded of the sights at the end of Tommy of The South Parade Pier in Portsmouth blazing away merrily, and who can forget all those pinball machines they smashed and then burnt?
One event an awful accident the other deliberately done in the name of art

I've seen several plans and, yes, the plan you mention is the one everyone wants. However, the other plan in the running which is typically designed around private commercial gain, i.e. housing and retail, is just awful. I'm praying for Dreamland to once again rise from its slow last 30 year demise. With the right choice for the towns future, and the rumoured cable car system to take people from the beach into the park, and the harbour extension, this really would make it special once again......

Great video on Brighton pier. Many thanks - I haven't seen that before.

That's South Parade Pier, Southsea, not Brighton.

I was at college in Portsmouth at the time Tommy was made, and even have a momentary appearance in the film. I was working a summer job at Billy Manning's Funfair at Clarence Pier, where much of the movie was filmed. All those Gottlieb wood rails Russell destroyed came from one fairground arcade, where I had spent many hours repairing and maintaining them. When Russell burned South Parade Pier down, everything came to a stop as people went out to watch.

It was probably a good thing the pier burned when it did, and not when there were a thousand students crammed into the ballroom watching Led Zeppelin.

Yes, my mistake, it clearly says South Parade Pier, but thanks - a very interesting story and an interesting period, I bet, in your working history. I am a millwright by trade, so when I heard various old rides from around the country were being restored down in Margate ready to go into the new heritage park in Dreamland, I wrote a letter and offered my skills for free as a volunteer, but didn't even get a reply. Would so love to be involved with that one.

Their loss Jonathon, still must have made you feel really appreciated, ........ bunch of Muppets!