Posted: Wed Aug 20, 2008 9:07 pm Post subject: Big boys and their toys
OOOeeeerrr..
its getting busy along Marine Parade today.
Not sure what to do tomorrow, go on a bus, go on my bike, go on me scoot, or not go at all.
As most of the road around by the lifeboat house is now double yellows,
its not possable to camp up overnight in the truck...
Oh well, will wait to see what the weather brings i think...
From: 21 August 2008 Until: 22 August 2008
Days: Thursday Friday
Venue: Marine Parade West, Clacton on-Sea. Starting at 11.00am to 5.00pm
Contact: See below
Cost: Free!
Now in its seventeenth year, Clacton Air Show organised by Tendring District Council is a highly established event which attracts in excess of 90,000 visitors over two days. The show site stretches along Clacton's seafront and features on site catering, trade stands and entertainment.
Each day will have a full flying programme and in previous years this has included the world famous Red Arrows, Tornado, Jaguar, Harrier, Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, Guinot Wing Walkers and the Aerostars as well as ground events that have ranged from the Royal Marines Commando Team to the Moscow State Circus.
The final programme of aircraft to fly this year continues to grow and so far we are pleased to announce:
The world famous Red Arrows will be flying on both days
The Essex Air Ambulance helicopter
The Hunter aircraft
Tutor
Tucano
Hawk
Mustang
T28 Fennec
Guinot Wingwalkers
Blades
Typhoon
The ever popular Battle of Britain Memorial Flight
A Glider
All but the Hunter will make an appearance on both Thursday and Friday.
We went to see the airshow on our scoots.
I tied a nice folding comfy chair to my back, took a goody bag of munchies and we had a flask each of coffee and tea.
We sat out of the wind behind the tower, and just enjoyed the day.
People come from miles away to watch the show for FREE.
The amount of value brought in by the tourists per spend on outlay by TDC far - far exceeds the wasted money spent by TDC on its non- functioning fountain.
How can you generate tourism on something that does not work in the 6 months of winter, and now it seems, most of the summer.
Someone at TDC named the new square "Millennium Square"
It has been renamed by locals as "White Elephant Square"
We should rename Marine Parade as Battle of Britain Flight Way......
We had more people clapping in appreciation of the battle of Britain Flight than anything i have seen in Clacton for a long while......
A severe lesson learned by regeneration "experts" at TDC...
Perhaps not the right place for this topic but it has to do with the town centre.
Back from my holiday I realised that I needed some fresh fruit and veg (I'd done a tesco.com order from California and it was delivered early this am but I do prefer to chose my 'fresh' stuff myself) and broached the town centre despite knowing the place would be busy with plane-watchers.
Anyway, to get to the point: have any of you noticed down Station Road on the same stretch that has Budgens on it that there are little metal plugs in the pavement?
There are actually raised above pavement level and are pretty easy to trip over. I know this because I deliberately tried!
They're about diameter of a 50p piece and I can't think of any reason they're there.
Wonder how long before someone accidentally falls over one?
I suspect they mark the boundary of area in front of the shops where they are allowed to set tables, advertising boards etc. If I'm right then in some places the width of pavement left is ridiculous especially where there is a bench or tree right opposite. I think the pavement outside Subway is particularly narrow.
My old bugbear the Baker's Oven (still no cleaner than before it was slated) takes full advantage of the area and then they start to creep out farther. Sometimes there isn't enough room for two cyclists to pass each other on the available strip of footpath.
I don't think they willl present a tripping hazard for long as they have already started to disappear, but I agree they seem to be an unnecessary risk for the elderly
And.....If Vicar is allowed to vent about his Bugbear .I shall have a vent about mine.Those stupid Traffic Lights with no green man visible if some fat so and so is stood in front of the waist high one.
I had to rescue a little Granny from the Island in Station Road because she couldn't see the little green man .She was just stood there ,looking bewildered by it all .I did explain where the little green man was and she said "What a completely silly idea " .I have to agree with her.
If Millenium Square ( he he he he ,what wag thought that up ha ha ha ha ,stop it Lin ,you'll do yourself a mischief ) can be called White Elephant Square ,then I would like to nominate a new name for Station Road ,how about Fools Parade ?,after all it is bookended both ends by two very esteemed places of amusement (ie Town Hall and The Big Green NAFFI hut) and ,while I am at it Pier Avenue should be renamed Window Licker Lane in appreciation of all the Bus Travellers who linger there.
Just as the redesign of the town centre layout was intended to discourage traffic (and therefore shoppers) from the area, the introduction of the comedy traffic lights is the first stage of a cunning council-planned cull of the old.
If we can reduce their numbers by firstly by abandoning large numbers on traffic islands dotted around the town, and secondly ensuring that if any of them is sufficiently alert, and sufficiently foolish to make a mad hobble to the far kerb, they do so at the precise moment when they are most likely to be smeared across the road by an Argos delivery lorry.
The result will be a reduction in the demand for services for the elderly who are a drain on our society now that they have finished contributing to the kitty and are expecting to get something back.
By aiding and abetting the escape and return to society of one of these liabilities, I think you might be interfering with a masterplan conceived by our betters for our future benefit.
You seem to have got away with it this time but I am advised that PCSO's and community wardens have been instructed to issue fixed penalty notices to anyone assisting one of these ne'er-do-wells to continue their scrounging ways.
You seem to have got away with it this time but I am advised that PCSO's and community wardens have been instructed to issue fixed penalty notices to anyone assisting one of these ne'er-do-wells to continue their scrounging ways.
Vicars treatise on the ills that beset our kingdom under the tyranny of TDC's hierarchy would be funny but for the fact that it seems to represent reality.
I am left in the shade this week with literary wisdom from my fellow scribes.
And vicars post-
" but I am advised that PCSO's and community wardens have been instructed to issue fixed penalty notices to anyone assisting one of these ne'er-do-wells to continue their scrounging ways".
I will have a quick word with Annabell, Rob and Miles to fix only those penalties that will never be collected, as the bewildered afixees are only travellers and tourists, and so are all named matilder duck, or jack frost, jimmy smith or something as else not so likely....
TDC is not yet made itself up into the modern enough world with photo recognition cctv as in the congestion charge, or that slow death to the heavy hauledge industry, the low emission charge.(at £200 per day, rising to £1,000 by the end of the week if not paid)
OH, think of what could be achieved if Clacton had Londons "not for profit" cctv cams for fixed notice bank profits....
£30 for walking on town centers grubby grey stones
£40 for stopping over the millenium squares unused H2o orifices
£50 for driving round town center more than just once while looking for parking places
£60 for actually parking, thus taking someone elses parking space
£70 for parking on a loading space - if you can get into town, you can get on a bus like the rest of us lazy lot
£80 for turning left into jackson roads bus / taxi and ivans slip road -or parking in my scoot parking bay in west avenue
(its mine, not yours, mine all mine i tell you)..lol (sorry vicar)
£90 for ignoring my ranting about turning left (as above)
£100...the magical ton (non metric thus being fully english and rendering it non european so there)
YES £100..... if you can pay enough to just about get into town center, then you can pay £100 to get out again.........
and dont come back again (unless you can pay our "not for profit" town charges..
While all this is said in jest, i sometimes shudder at the thought at what one day might happen in our traffic clogged society, and make a mental note to oil the rusty wheels and chain of my push bike, and so lets my unconscious mind rest a bit easier at night,
or for a while longer at least.....
After the air show has been done and dusted, all is calm yet again on Clactons seafront.
The most worrying comment was tonight from a seafront propieter who said he was £14,000 DOWN on last years takings, over the air show period...
Another seafront food outlet took only £300 per day......
Clactons Waterglade Park Morrisons on the otherhand, has been packed most days with food hungry shoppers, wednesday was one of there most profitalble days they have ever had...........
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