Mothers Day actually went on for two days due to children and their Mother being in different parts of the county on the Sunday. But the day started with early phone calls wishing Mum a nice day. And then a trip toCliftonville Farmers Market to locate Never Mind The Cupcakes to try the sausage rolls I had seen pictures of on Twitter. We parked up in First Avenue and Heather wheeled me round to the Market. The monthly Market is held at the Oval Eastern Esplanade Cliftonville if you set a Sat Nav for CT9 2LF it will put you next to the Oval Bandstand. The site overlooks the sea and we could see several ships on the horizon, this really is a beautiful spot for the Farmers Market. I spoke to Barkaways Butchers from Faversham I used to live in Faversham. Then I went off to find my sausage rolls I had been waiting for. Never Mind The Cupcakes twere doing a brisk trade and had already sold out of the Gadds Beer Chocolate cake but I was able to get my sausage rolls and jolly good they were. I said hello to RoyalBarkshire Biscuits nd had a woof from Bella and Boris. RoyalBarkshire Biscuits are hand made dog treats and they are obviously very popular with Thanets dog population. Next stop was Thanet Bee Keepers stall and I tried samples of all the honey and purchased some Orange honey marmalade that I had also tried.
They were located next to the local Cheese stall and I was disappointed when Heather said we were all stocked up on cheese so left the wonderful cheese display un touched.
From The Farmers Market we went down to Margate and Parked along from the TurnerContemporary. We Met up with Victoria and Ross in the Turner Car Park and headed on to the Harbour Arm which was buzzing in the wonderful sunshine. The Grand children like to run to the end and climb the stairs to the upper level. I am unable to negotiate the steps in the wheelchair so Victoria pushed me giving her Mum a well deserved rest. We came back off the Harbour arm and we rocked up at Mannings seafood stall. Well I am a shellfish oholic if there is such a thing so when presented with such a super selection of seafood shell fish and crabs I was in my element. We ended up with fresh dressed crab and some cockles Ross went of to Petes Fish factory Chip shop on the Harbour Parade and came back with trays of hot steaming chips and we sat ourselves on the new Steps overlooking the boats floating in the harbour. The combination of chips cockles and crabs was delightful sitting in such a beautiful location and on a warm sunny Mothers day it was very special.
I chatted to several visitors, anyone who knows me will tell you Don can hold a conversation with a lamp post. So I got to know the locations people had travelled from, Whitstable Canterbury Medway and London were among the places I remember. Two chaps we sat next to on the Steps had ridden their motor bikes from Canterbury and were as far away from the 1960's Rockers you could get. I must admit being envious of some of the bikes going past. I also saw the trike cycle plying for hire for a leisurely ride along the seafront. Margate seafront was busy and I regaled stories from my earliest memories of visits to Margate in the 1960's with my Mum and Dad. We played air hockey in the arcades and the children fed the penny falls before wanting a go at the hockey. I can remember the days of hundreds of coaches bringing day trippers to Margate and Ramsgate and traffic jams miles long to get into Thanet. Yesterday was a refined version of Margate's old days. We were able to play in the arcades without the huge crowds jostling you, we did have to queue up for and ice creams and the dough nuts we enjoyed had a lengthy line of people waiting for the hot sugary circles of delight. All in all the seafront was enjoyable with several new shops open for Mothers day trade. Sands Hotel and GBPizza were busy as was Bernies Chocolate Bar another recommendation from someone I struck up conversation with.
