Margate

Out with my friend today-back down to Thanet to investigate Margate and the junk shops I read about on the internet. We parked behind Dreamland, the amusement park. I have used Kim Klassen layers on my photos to make them look kind of seaside and old. Thank you again Kim Klassen! It is a funny place. Very run down in  the main town, then you get to the 'old town' and it is all posh shops and, dare I say it, rip off vintage. Some of the vintage shops had very nice stuff, but all pretty expensive-already chosen and curated by someone else so there is nothing left to find. Not my favourite type of second hand shopping, but interesting. The best thing was the architecture, sign writing and the wandering somewhere we didn't know. 

Dreamland

The block of flats behind the theme park has a wave shaped front. Although pretty ugly looking, I like the wave shapes.

Clock tower, without a bus, large car or anything else in front of it-timing is everything!

Plastic sign. Cheerful and clear and I like the metal fish suspending it. 

Beautiful cast iron street sign. 

I now realise I have only partially covered this photo with the layer! Oh well. This is part of the front of an amazing old pub, now of course shut, called 'The Man of Kent'. It is soon to be a supermarket. I didn't get a very clear shot of any of it really, but you can get a flavour of it. Each side had these tiled pictures, a Chinese man and woman. Really lovely.

We couldn't find the alleged junk shops for ages, and wandered amongst the Greggs, McDonald's, and slightly drunk and menacing in the morning people, but then the old town appeared.

This is New Cross Street, a home from home. 

Great signs. 

Cute rabbit. 

Nice letters. £43 each. Didn't come home with me. 

Derelict building next to the carpark. Looks more scary with the effect on it but looked quite bad in real life. We went in one shop where my friend bought an embroidered cushion cover and I tried on a leather jacket (not really my thing but it was nice-too big luckily) The shop lady had been open a week. Margate seems to be going through a bit of a transformation, but I am not sure if I like it. All the vintage shops have signs saying that they deliver to London-hmmm, rich Londoners coming down to buy 'vintage' stuff. Or perhaps I should attempt to buy a shop there and start a new life. Probably not!