Town mouse: Ramsgate for Easter
Clive finds himself having a whale of a time in Ramsgate at Easter
Ramsgate for the Easter school holiday- and what delights! We heard Palm Sunday Mass at the church of St Augustine, built by Pugin next to his home, The Grange. The great Gothic Revivalist and Catholic convert would have been delighted to know that it was in the Extraordinary Form: the old Latin liturgy, elements of which pre-date St Gregory in the 7th century.
There was Much Ado About Nothing at the Theatre Royal, Margate-admittedly, a touring production from the Globe, but all the better for being seen on Britain's oldest stage. Turner Contemporary at Margate has a remarkable display of Turners, borrowed from collections around Britain; these are contrasted-thought provokingly- with works by the Abstract Expressionist Helen Frankenthaler.
The sun has shone and we've rejoiced in another boon, which is almost as essential: super-fast broadband, which we often don't get in our London home, where we suffer the pity of friends. ‘Is it always this slow?' they say. ‘I'll use my dongle.' BT, the one supplier, and Westminster City Council need their heads knocking together.
Ramsgate may be quaint, with lamp posts sheathed in oversized knitted legwarmers- an urban protest, gentler than graffiti-but, to use modern parlance, it's sorted.
* Subscribe to Country Life and save
* Follow Country Life magazine on Twitter
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by His Majesty The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.
-
What links myself, David Beckkam and The King? We all have an affinity for the Aston Martin DB6, a car that has been unfairly punished for not being in a James Bond filmThe Aston Martin DB6 is better than the DB5, and I am tired of pretending that it isn't.
-
Great Danes: These gentle giants need space, strength and industrial-strength sofasGreat Danes were originally bred to hunt big game, but they’re more into cuddles than killing.
