Photos, videos and docs of Don Barrett (aka DBs travels), with the keywords: "England"

North Sea ferry to Amsterdam (#1223)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 07 Apr 2019 08:20:54 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

On the ferry to Amsterdam, preparing to set sail from North Shields, a port on the North Sea east of Newcastle. As I noted in my introductory picture about taking an overnight ferry (link below), I had a much more mixed experience this year than in the past. Still, though, I liked the socializing on the ferry and its an economical way to combine hotel and travel, so I'll probably try a night-crossing again.

Previous comments: www.flickr.com/photos/donbrr/46643746771

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

North Sea ferry to Amsterdam (#12230)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 07 Apr 2019 08:20:52 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Loading the ferry.

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Folkestone beach/harbor …. Brexit? (#0341)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 10 Mar 2019 00:26:33 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Folkestone harbor, from the top of the cliff. Unfortunately there are plans to build condos along the coast that would fill much of the space between the road and the path. Maybe with risk of economic downturn from Brexit, those plans will not come to fruition.

Though taken earlier in the day, I’m moving this picture to the end of the Folkestone pictures because it provides a good opportunity to bring up Brexit. Trying to get at least some sense of the reason for the 2016 vote to leave the EU (the Brexit vote) was a goal of this trip – I wasn’t going to do research, but just talk to people and to see what my own observations might suggest. Though I didn’t come away with any clear answers, Folkestone turned out to be a good starting point since 62.2% of the Shepway district (which includes Folkestone) voted to leave and 59% of Kent county (which includes Shepway) voted to leave. (The area of London that I stay in, Kensington, went 68.7% Remain.)

Based on the research that has been published, it seems that the Leave vote in the UK had many similarities to the Trump vote in the U.S. – some portion being nationalistic, small government, conservatives but a large portion of the vote being people from the rural and fading industrial parts of the country that were feeling ‘left behind’ by the successes of the urban centers and the corollary of feeling ignored by the a government (EU in the UK, Washington in the US) that is perceived as remote and bureaucratic.

There are two factors that would seem to contribute to a sense of ‘falling behind’ in Folkestone both of which are evident in this picture – the severe downturn of port traffic ever since the opening of the Eurotunnel in 1994, and the decline in resort usage which dates back to probably the 1960’s. However, nearby Dover voted to leave at the exact same 62.2%, yet Dover’s port traffic and tourism remain strong. Another explanation might be ‘relative deprivation’ – that the proximity to London and its excesses as a European financial dynamo contributed to anti-EU sentiment in nearby areas. It’s an explanation I haven’t heard, but it fits with the conservatism often found in the U.S. in areas near major urban cores.

Sources:
Kent: www.kentonline.co.uk/kent/news/live-eu-referendum-results-97758
BBC: www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-36616028

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Folkestone Hotel Metropole (#0353)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 10 Mar 2019 00:26:29 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Reflective of a time when Folkestone was an elegant seaside destination for aristocrats, the former Hotel Metropole, opened in 1896. Despite its attractiveness and early success, the hotel has a mixed history, some of which is related to competition from the adjacent Grand Hotel (see adjacent picture). The hotel was converted into flats, staring in 1959 (see the History link). The Postcards link has multiple pictures of the hotel, and of the nearby Grand, from over the years.

Source:
History: www.folkestonehistory.org/uploads/pdf/19%20Sum%202004.pdf
Postcards: www.dover-kent.com/Hotel-Metropole-Folkestone.html

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Folkestone Grand Hotel (#0356)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 10 Mar 2019 00:26:27 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Directly across the street from the Hotel Metropole, the Grand Hotel, which opened in 1903. It wasn’t clear from the websites that I could find, but apparently the Grand was much more popular than the Metropole and probably most important, it became the choice of King Edward VII. It apparently survived the wars and remained as a resort of choice up until the 1960’s, when it began to be converted to apartments while a portion of it remained as a hotel. Based on the hotel’s website, it appears that currently a portion of it operates as a hotel and a portion as residences.

Source: www.grand-uk.com/A_Grand_potted_History.html

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Folkestone Zig Zag path (#0346)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sat, 09 Mar 2019 04:47:15 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

A closer view of a portion of the Pulhamite path.

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Folkestone Zig Zag path / unemployed (#0344)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sat, 09 Mar 2019 04:47:13 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Plaque that describes Pulhamite and illustrates how a path that looks to be naturally cut out of a cliff, is actually man-made. (see adjacent pictures)

One thing of note in the text on the plaque -- the Pulhamite path was built in 1920, not long after the end of WWI with unemployed workmen. An example of government using infrastructure projects to provide work for those who are falling out of the system due to some national situation. A tactic that seems to have been forgotten by too many current governments.

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Folkestone Zig Zag path (#0345)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sat, 09 Mar 2019 04:47:09 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

It looks natural, but isn’t…. A path from The Leas (the top of the cliff), to the shore, built just after WWI of “Pulhamite”. Pulhamite, named for its creator (J.R. Pulham), is a mixture of concrete and rubble. While it initially looks like rock, the structure of the path makes it clear that it’s poured, not cut from rock. And, not visible in this picture, the occasional spotting of trash (a broken dish, a spoon) embedded in the Pulhamite gives away that it’s not rock.

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Folkestone Royal Air Force memorial (#0336)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 06:23:47 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Near the Step Short arch, a small memorial to the Royal Air Corce:

To commemorate the airmen and women who served in two world wars in Defence of an Ideal

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Folkestone winter sun (#0343)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 06:23:51 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

If my bearings are correct, this is looking southwest and if it was clear enough to see any land mass, what would be visible on the far horizon would be the Dungeness headland of the UK, to the right of the center of the photo.

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Folkestone British Lion pub (#0328)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 06:23:41 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

The British Lion pub in Folkestone, said to be a favorite of Charles Dickens in the mid-1800’s and dating back (under different names) to the early 1600’s, with a portion of the building carbon-dated to the mid 1500’s.

Source: www.dover-kent.com/British-Lion-Folkestone.html

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Folkestone Step Short Memorial Arch (#0334)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 06:23:45 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Memorial arch on the Step Short Road of Remembrance in Folkestone. The Step Short monument honors the millions of men shipped out through Folkestone in WWI. The monuments name is derived from the command to ‘step short’ as men marched down the slope to the waterfront.

Folkestone’s relationship to WWI was intense. Early in the war it became host to 65,000 Belgians fleeing the war, it also had a large military training camp, but its most prominent importance was as the main embarkation point for soldiers (both UK and Canadian) sent to France and Belgium. Actual attacks on Folkestone were minimal, though there was one bombing raid that killed 71.

Sources:
Step short: www.stepshort.co.uk/projects/renovating-road-remembrance
Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Folkestone

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Folkestone Stained Glass (#0327)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Thu, 07 Mar 2019 06:23:39 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

I took the photo just because of the attractiveness of the building, but the business is interesting – Easthope Stained Glass Windows, a small company engaged in both creating and restoring/maintaining of stained glass throughout Europe. See: easthopestudios.co.uk

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Folkestone Marine Crescent (#0283)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Tue, 05 Mar 2019 09:55:56 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

The curved building on the left side of the photo is the Marine Crescent, a surprisingly elegant, historic, building. Per the link below, this was originally fourteen houses built in 1870 that, by the early 2000’s were largely abandoned; refurbishment and remodeling in the mid-2000’s converted those original houses into 91 apartments. The website provides particularly interesting, mainly because the focus isn’t the building, but on the building as a model for the durability of concrete!

Note that this picture was taken during a time when I was having some troubles with the settings on my camera, thus the picture’s somewhat washed out appearance.

Source: www.concretecentre.com/Case-Studies/Marine-Crescent,-Folkestone.aspx

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Folkestone Old High Street (#0320)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Tue, 05 Mar 2019 09:55:58 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Somehow the camera problem mentioned in the previous picture resolved itself, with this photo being taken at the normal settings. What’s seen here is the lower end, near the harbor, of “The Old High Street” in Folkestone. The Old High Street would, at one point, have been the main shopping street for Folkestone. A photo posted awhile back of this shopping street, shows how narrow the street was (see: www.flickr.com/photos/donbrr/44734468220 ).

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Folkestone Leas Lift (#0282)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Tue, 05 Mar 2019 09:55:51 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Another view of the Leas Lift. The arch in the distance is a memorial to WWI soldiers, I could not find information on the building with the brick tower.

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Folkestone beach huts (#0330)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 03 Mar 2019 08:28:47 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Remaining units of the classic beach huts that once lined the beach at Folkestone. Per the Wikipedia article, their history probably dates back to the puritanical Victorian era, though they were also found in other less conservative parts of Europe as convenient locations for changing, storing supplies, and even as small kitchens for picnic preparation. It seems their widest use was in parts of the British Empire; I’ve never seen similar facilities on U.S. beaches and don’t recall seeing them at the few Canadian beaches I’ve visited.

Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beach_hut

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Folkestone “The Ledge” (#0276)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 03 Mar 2019 08:28:51 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Another view of the protest sculpture, “The Ledge.” As noted with an earlier picture, the black base is a reference to the fossil fuel dependency of modern times, the Inuit figure and the seal at the top a reminder of cultures that are lost due to the effects of western exploration, and the elevation of the sculpture is to suggest the rising sea levels from climate change.

Source is a plaque at sculpture and:
www.artrabbit.com/events/the-ledge-bill-woodrow

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Folkestone “The Ledge” (#0270)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sun, 03 Mar 2019 08:28:44 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Along the waterfront in Folkestone, “The Ledge”, a protest sculpture. The black base is a reference to the fossil fuel dependency of modern times, the Inuit figure and the seal at the top a reminder of cultures that are lost due to the effects of western exploration, and the elevation of the sculpture is to suggest the rising sea levels from climate change.

Source is a plaque at sculpture and:
www.artrabbit.com/events/the-ledge-bill-woodrow

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)

Folkestone Leas Cliff Hall (#0268)

nobody@ipernity.com (Don Barrett (aka DBs travels)) — Sat, 02 Mar 2019 08:21:27 +0000

Don Barrett (aka DBs travels) has posted:

Modernization gone bad…..

I could find only skimpy details on this building, but based on the Wikipedia, it appears that the upper, older, and more ornate portion opened in 1927 as a concert hall while the more modern lower portion was a modernisation of the 1980’s.

Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leas_Cliff_Hall

(Part of a documentation of 2018 exploration/reflection on Brexit and populist movements in Europe, keyword Europe2018)