Catholic Town
Its spire was never completed you know
Neither was the central tower
Pretty was walking on the wide path that separated the wall of Pugin’s garden and the west cliffs that fell deeply into the sea
Solange was a few steps behind her and was holding an umbrella tight against the fierce wind
Give me a hand I want to look over the wall
You will fall and be blown over the cliff silly
No I will not
And what about my umbrella?
Put it down
And get wet
We are wet already
Solange cupped her hand and let Pretty place her boot into the sling
No I think you are right let us look at the building from another vantage
Do you know that the word cloister comes from the Latin?
No
Yes it comes from the Latin
Really and what is the Latin for rain?
It comes from the word Claustrum which means enclosed
You are a mine of information today Pretty
Pretty smiled and lightly touched her friends arm
It is not like Majorca is it?
Not in the slightest
I do not know why I am wearing this coat as I am soaked to the skin
Me too
Let us walk towards the road to see if we can get a better view and then we can visit the church
Cloisters often featured in monastic houses
You don’t say
It was a place where the monks could work and pray
They were usually open on one side but here in Ramsgate the cloister was enclosed
And dry
And dry although I imagine it would not have been very warm
Well if the church is open then we will find out
Solange looked at the deserted footpath which was almost flooding due to the ferocity of the rain and wind
Just think we are standing here on a cold January day and there is nobody else around
There are few dog walkers and joggers
They are as mad as we are
And to think this used to be a place of hope and devotion
It still is
Pugin’s vision was that of a Catholic town here on the edge of town with an aspect to open fields
There are no open fields within view
I know they were being sold off even in Pugin’s time
I can only see houses and even more houses and the grey grey sea
As I said it was once a place of hope
In 1856 Thomas Grant invited monks to make a foundation here in Ramsgate
An English monk called Wilfred Alock who had been in Italy was sent by the Subiaco Congregation to form a monastery here in Ramsgate
There were high hopes
Where has it all gone?
This place is so godless now
Holy Ramsgate
Beloved Catholic Town
What a vision these people had
Are there any monks left?
Not to my knowledge
And what is Pugin’s house used for now?
Is it a hotel?
Sort of it is owned by a trust that helped to save it from demolition and it does take visitors
The girls reached the busy road which dissected the holy and secular buildings
They found that both the house and church were closed to visitors
Suddenly a passing van splashed them as it ran through a puddle that had formed
Uh what a liberty
Typical one gets wet and wetter still
They both looked towards the town
Let us visit Julie Doo on the Plains of Waterloo
How Beautiful it is
About an hour after Pretty and Solange walked away
To visit their dear friend in Waterloo
A frail middle aged man walked into his church and remarked
How beautiful it is
This was his final visit to the church
Ramsgate Margate Sister Towns
Both Ramsgate and Margate are very similar
What do you mean?
They faded and became infested as the decay set in
And then they were rescued
I wished that was the case
Explain
Both towns are improving but there is a long way to go
As you have seen they are both sisters who are wearing pretty dresses but their knickers are soiled
Hidden and unseen and that in my view spoils everything
They should be wearing dirty dresses and clean underwear you know
Then nobody would visit them
Clean dresses are a must even if their underwear smells
Wine Cold Wine
The acrid taste of the dying night fires
Hung rigidly and quietly in the fret frost air
My town is sleeping
The morning is frigid
Only the night owls are awake
And they are busy watching the early creatures
In the dark lanes and hedgerows of the hour
As I walk away from you a curiosity haunts me
Are you still wearing my favourite shirt?
Wet Paint on a Blue Billboard
The blue billboard was vacant apart from a message that had been daubed roughly in blue paint
WET PAINT
The instruction was ignored by most people with the exception of Meret Oppenheim who had never visited the railway station where the billboard was situated