Many years ago in fact as far back as 1264 there was a town called Meregate, which later became known as Margate. Steeped in maritime history it also became a very popular holiday resort for both rich and poor.

Inventions such as the bathing machine a contraption that was wheeled out to sea for both men and women to change into their costumes, made the experience of swimming ‘proper’ and drew more and more holidaymakers.

Margate was on the rise and both the famous and not so famous made a beeline for the stunning beaches, warm sunshine and good old Kentish beer. Songs and poems and films were made about Margate and families enjoyed each other’s company. Life was good for Margate. Well, if we ignore the mods and rockers having a pop at each other in the 1960s…

But in a cruel twist of fate Margate fell out of vogue. Gone were the wealthy tourists, and instead, Margate became home to desperadoes’, and many economic migrants, as well as many disenchanted Londoners sent to Margate by the various councils of London to enjoy the town and live free. Well almost.

The Victorian pier was largely decimated by a storm in 1978, mysterious fires destroyed buildings, unemployment started to climb and property prices headed south.  The UK was in financial turmoil in the 1980s, and Margate began to suffer more than most.  One newspaper called Margate ‘Britain’s Top Ghost Town’ and they didn’t mean of the spooky kind.

But hey presto, a glimmer of hope was there in the Noughties. But some evil landowners, it was said, decided to offer ‘incentives’ or might have been ‘bribes’ to some land and estate agents and not to pass on offers from buyers to sellers.  It was so they could buy them on the cheap! Boo I hear you say, and you would be right. Allegedly.

Huge government grants became available and suddenly the money was gone and some evil people might have trousered the lot. Allegedly.

Humble shopkeepers were asked for more rent and when they could not pay, they were chased to the end of the globe for the funds. Allegedly.

A huge gallery then appeared in 2011 with much acclaim, and with the gallery came the crowds. Many coming down to Margate yet again in mechanically propelled vehicles, as well as something called HS1. 

With the crowds came the sunshine, but beneath Margate’s rebirth, a few of those who felt wronged and a few with morals decided to start to expose those people, which they thought were responsible. Their aim is to make Margate the great place it deserves to be, without the alleged corruption. Like all good stories, there is bound to be a happy ending…

This March blog is all about Guess Who?

An American Woman, namely Jessica Lynn Young, 26 from San Jose, California  USA.

Jessica may be a US citizen and not a Kent resident but she has a very special tie in Maidstone which has made her visit our beautiful county at least twice a year for the last two years.

I am that said special tie (If I do say so myself).

Jess has spent the past 3 months in Maidstone with me and asked if I would interview her.  I know that she is not a citizen of our county but I thought it would be a very interesting twist to see what an outsider would think.  It's good English - American relations as well.

Despite spending the previous two years studying towards her California Teaching Degree, Jess thought that taking time out to reconsider her options was a good idea.  An idea I totally support.  I believe and always will believe that you need to follow what you know is right and do what makes you happy.  That is why I write this blog, it enables me to do something I love.

Although Jess has not ventured out of Maidstone as much as she would like to discover more in our county, she is still extremely complimentary of Kent and it's people.

"I can say that I find Kent a very charming place compared to various areas in America. While my country has its own history and beauty, Kent's history goes much farther back and with that comes a unique feeling and appearance. I adore the old buildings: the churches, the castles and the roads made from cobblestones."

But her appraisal of Kent doesn't stop there and why should it. Kent rocks!

"Of course, there is also the beauty of the countryside and gardens and of course the proximity to London but everyone seems to say that so I don't want to make anyone have to read that again. Although I suppose I just did make everyone read it again." She laughs.

For 2011, I have added a new part to my blog which helps Kent's reputation grow and gives the interviewee a chance to boast about all things Kentish. I want to know as many facts or specific pieces of information that are interesting about the county.

"I don't live here so I think I would benefit more from others telling me facts or information about Kent as opposed to the vice-versa.  Off the top of my head though, I know that Kent is named 'The Garden of England' and I know some of the history surrounding the White Cliffs of Dover and Canterbury.  I also love Leeds Castle and the cool fact the Henry VIII visited there."

She would love to know more about Kent and has specific parts she would like to learn about.

"I would love to learn more about the history of the county but more specifically, I would love to find out why Maidstone is called Maidstone because no one seems to know!"

A very good question.  I will try to find out and post it on the blog as part of my new: Interesting fact about Kent of the week!  Don't worry, it is not replacing the random question of the week.

I try to take Jess to as many nice places for food as I can and of the ones I have taken her to for meals, she prefers our snack spot.

"I am a big fan of the Cornish Kitchen on Week Street, Maidstone. I don't pretend to be a great fan of traditional English food but once I was introduced to pasties, I was immediately hooked.  I am perfectly happy sitting eating a pasty.  They are warm and filling which is good for something that is relatively cheap."

That would be pastry!  It's so good.

When I have time off work, Jess and I like to travel and Jess explained to me what she loved doing in our free time together.

"During my time in England I have been lucky enough to visit London and Old Trafford, Manchester, Hastings, Bath, Cambridge and Stonehenge.  In Kent I have been to Canterbury, Dover, Leeds Castle and Tunbridge Wells.  Outside of England, I have travelled to Ireland, Scotland, Italy, Greece and Egypt.  At home, I have been all over California and other parts of the US."

Lucky lady, her boyfriend must really love her!

"On a more everyday basis, I like to watch movies and go on walks.  Additionally, I like spending time with my family and friends."

Now for a story that sums Jess up, this one is perfect.  Yet at the same time, it was a shared experience with moi that will stay with me until I die.  It was the moment in my life that I have been the most terrified and I think Jess handled herself much better than I did.

In Jess' words "This story shows how unlucky yet comical events seem to follow me around.  In 2009, I went to Yosemite National Park with my boyfriend.  We stayed in a tent cabin which is basically a simple, wooden frame covered in a canvas.  Reviews on a website said that bears were frequent visitors to the camp site but that information really didn't bother me because I had seen bears before."

I pretended not too be either but I was bricking it.

"Our first night we almost walked straight into an approaching bear." As the bloggist, I would like to correct my girlfriend by saying she was walking obliviously into a bear as I pulled her away.

"We were told to keep anything scented in our bear proof locker [a green steel box that is used to store all food, scented items and anything a bear may want]. We had to put everything in there down to my cherry chapstick."

I kiss a girl and I liked it!  Couldn't resist.

"I am very well organised and I was sure nothing with a scent would be left in our tent cabin.  Our last night turned out very differently than expected.  I was fast asleep in the early hours of the morning when I woke to the sound of something plastic crunching outside.  I thought nothing of it then heard something brush against the canvas starting to tear it."   

"I convinced myself that it was just someone out late walking by our tent cabin but then it happened... a loud grunting noise and I immediately knew that it was a bear.  I started poking my boyfriend and told him there was a bear outside just before it got even worse.  The wooden frame supporting the edge of the cabin began to break open under force and the canvas ripped louder than previously."

"The bear was breaking into our tent cabin!  I have never been so scared in my entire life.  Despite him being scared, my boyfriend is a quick thinker and grabbed our flashlight with a siren on it." 

Note to all Yosemite Campers - A siren or loud noise will scare a bear away

"We stood in our tent cabin in fear and I frantically looked around for a reason why a bear would want to get in.  I knew everything was locked away in the locker.  Then I saw it... the day before I had bought a magazine from the general store and guess what was in the magazine - a perfume sample!  I couldn't believe it."

"I know that was the reason but i'm mystified why the people working at the general store did not warn us about perfume samples possibly attracting bears."

"I think what was more terrifying was that the ranger told us that the bear was waiting outside when we ran out to their office after the attack in the middle of the night.  By morning, we saw the damage which was a huge hole.  It was frightening at the time but when I think back on it, I find it a very funny story to tell people." 

"I will never live down that it was my fault that the bear tried to kill us and this is probably just another reason why I have been nicknamed 'The Jinx'."

Hearing the story again... I just can't bear it!

Besides praising Kent, Jess can see like everyone where there is room for improvement.

"While I love Maidstone, I am used to living in a big city.  I think Maidstone would benefit more from shops staying open late as The Mall closes early here.  People could have time to come home from work then go out shopping late if they wanted to.  Maidstone could use more ethnic restaurants aside from Chinese and Indian.  This would create a wider variety of food options.  Options such as Persian, Japanese, Vietnamese and especially Mexican food, my favourite!  I really think people in Kent would come to appreciate and enjoy this food."

Since visiting America, I have been fortunate enough to try to these foods and I must say, I would love to have them here with us in Kent!

Jess had expressed herself for long enough so I thought I would relieve her quickly and ask my random question of the week:

If money was not an issue, what would be your ideal purchase and why?

"My ideal purchase would be my own private jet with an unlimited and free supply of fuel."

Oh god think of the Ozone Layer Jess, although she does have good reasons!

"It is very difficult to be in a long distance relationship and very expensive too.  Buying plane tickets constantly is very costly so it would be lovely to be able to hop on my own jet whenever I wanted to fly back and forth between California and England.  Just think how great it would be to hop on a jet anytime I wanted and to be with this great bloggist [Sorry, could not resist] within 10 hours.  It would also be nice to be able to fly family and friends back and forth so no one is ever missed."

A very nice purchase Jess but my ideal purchase would be a green card.  Much cheaper than a jet and we could be together all the time!

I would like to give a very special thank you to my wonderful and supportive girlfriend this week for assisting me with another Kent blog.  She always gives me positive opinions on my work and without her, I would not have a reason for pursuing my dream of becoming a respected writer.

2011 is going to be a great year so I hope you can share it with me by becoming my next interviewee.

If you live in Kent, let's talk!

If you would like to appear on my blog, all I ask is that you live in Kent and that you are willing to talk to me for 10 - 15 minutes about yourself.

If you think you'd like to give it a try, drop me an email on millendauthor@gmail.com and we will see what we can do!

It's encouraging to see the government continue with its efforts to persuade councils to do more to open up their meetings to the public. The latest development in the seemingly never-ending transparency crusade is an edict from the Department for Communities and Local Government that councils should "open up their meetings to local news bloggers and routinely allow online filming of public discussions as part of increasing their transparency."

Bloggers should, according to ministers, get the same routine access to council meetings as the 'traditional media'. Welcome though this is, I'm not convinced that it will trigger a march on town halls of bloggers availing themselves of these new entitlements. It's worth pointing out that council meetings are already open to the public and there's nothing to stop anyone from attending in any case. (It'll be interesting to see how councils respond when citizen journalists turn up with video cameras, mind you.)

For me, the wider issue is not who can go to meetings but the continuing concern that the system of cabinet government is one that gives councils enormous power to manage the decision-making process in a way that inhibits rather than enhances scrutiny.

And for all the government's warm words on transparency, it is worth noting that there are some worrying developments in the pipeline under the guise of its Localism Bill.

This sets out proposals that should worry all those who feel more needs to be done to hold authorities to account.

One proposal set out in the Bill would see the removal of any sanctions against authorities who failed to comply with the public's right to inspect documents relating to their accounts - including contracts - as well as the removal of a requirement that public bodies publish adverts in local newspapers giving notice of when the 20-day inspection period of accounts will take place.

It was these rights, incidentally, which enabled us to scrutinise the credit card bills of senior managers at County Hall last year. These changes would appear to run counter to the desire of Mr Pickles to see an army of armchair auditors poring over council accounts and spending.

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I am not at all surprised that an audit of Southeastern trains' punctuality has concluded that its figures added up and it did indeed - albeit narrowly - pass the threshold that meant no discounts for season ticket holders.

It won't please long-suffering passengers, of course. The problem, however, is that the company simply complied with what was required of it under the Passenger's Charter. And that was something that was set by the previous government when it agreed franchise contracts with the operator and that the only way it could be changed is if the government instructed it to.

But even if this latest news is a let down for some, it will add to the pressure that a future contract should set out compensation agreements based on individual line performance rather than performance across the whole network. 

“Boris Island”, or the construction of an airport in the Thames Estuary, is the most controversial design in history – apart from Emperor's Palpatine's Death Star. As we can see (from the image I've included) the whole design is deeply flawed and a logistical nightmare. I cannot fathom the words to describe the idea of the terminals located on land and, yet, the runways to be stationed at sea.

I foresee transportation problems, especially when we experience bad weather. And planes might be rather sophisticated machines -ability to operate unaided- but I admire the pilots navigating towards two tiny runaways in the Thames Estuary. In fact, the tiny “ditch” in the Estuary reminds me of the Death Star. Which lead to the inevitable destruction of the space station....His Greatness, the Mayor of London, has perpetuated the environmental benefits towards this devilish scheme – including a potential flood barrier. Yes, that is correct. An airport substituting as a flood barrier. The word “fear” comes to mind....

When this revelation made its début and gleefully graced my presence, I did study the economic argument at great lengths. Kent does require significant upgrades to infrastructures and investment, too. An airport would provide jobs to the economy, including an influx of tourist to sections of Kent. But, after careful meditation on the matter, this airport is a very bad idea – and the majority of Kent agree.

Boris metamorphose into Lex Luthor is quite hilarious, yet alarming too. Both envision bizarre and ludicrous concepts; with a passionate thirst for world domination and terrorising cities in their spare time. Leaving facetious comparisons aside, a message to Boris: politicians don't make good architects

(Below, the "Design". Credit to London Evening Standard)

There was such a blizzard of figures and statistics at KCC's press conference to launch its budget that it was tricky to determine just what the full implications of the ruling administration's spending plans actually might be. (There wasn't an awful lot of time to read through the 218-page book on the budget amid the Powerpoint presentations and videos).

The key messages were that KCC is to become a leaner and more "entrepeneurial" organisation that would be resolutely "driving out efficiency savings" - a phrase that always conjures up an image of profligate bureaucrats being shepherded across a bridge and harried relentlessly to cut costs.

The other top line being pushed by KCC was that it was delivering a budget that, despite being cut by £95m, safeguarded core frontline services.

Indeed, council leader Paul Carter challenged anyone to discover whether there were any services that the council currently provides but wouldn't be from April, when the new financial year gets underway.

Quite how much 'leaner' KCC intends to get was a little hard to pin down as it emerged during the press conference that it doesn't yet know how many jobs will go and how many posts will be axed as part of the 1,500 expected to disappear between now and 2014.

There was also a lot of rhetoric about the council delivering services in new and different and 'innovative' ways (interestingly, there's £5m being set aside for a 'Big Society' bank) but frankly, there wasn't a huge amount of detail offered on this either so it's hard to make a judgement at this point.

I suppose a lot depends on how residents feel the impact of KCC's savings package. Take the issue of the Freedom Pass, for example. It is not being cut (it was apparently considered) but the administration fee is doubling to £100.

True, there are safeguards for those on free school meals who will continue to pay £50 and looked after children will pay nothing but I imagine there will be quite a lot of parents with more than one child who will baulk at having to write a cheque for £200-£300 in the current climate. I don't dissent from KCC's view that the pass has been a great success (possibly too successful) but some may see the hike as rather opportunistic - it's not as if the process of administering the fee has changed to become more burdensome on the authority.

And those who rely on rural buses to get them out and about may find they no longer run if KCC proceeds with a plan to withdraw £629,000 from "socially necessary but uneconomic bus routes that provide the least added value."

A cut? I suppose that given that KCC will continue to subsidise other bus routes, then no - but a saving that will reduce services, nevertheless.

As ever, the devil is in the detail. Here are a few other ways in which KCC will be saving money that I've spotted:

£200,000 less on members’ allowances
£123,000 cut on budget for 'Around Kent' magazine
£100,000 less on public consultation
£300,000 less on £2m book fund for libraries
£231,000 less spent on maintaining public footpaths
£280,000 less on waste recycling centres

and

£2.25million saving on "reviewing terms and conditions of employment." 

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If some of the rhetoric about the budget announcement had a familiar ring to it, it may be because similar language was used when KCC made its budget announcement last year.

A press release issued then described how "the council has focused upon ensuring the organisation is lean, flexible and ready to respond to the future financial restraint" and "it is notable that the proposals published today have little impact on frontline services, with savings focusing upon further efficiencies and innovative approaches to delivery." 

Still, good to see a commitment to recycling.

Thumbing through the Kent County Council budget proposed for 2011/12 is quite eye watering in segments. Administrating numerous local services has always proved rather difficult across local government, but Mr Pickle enjoys the prospect of Mr Carter achieving all targets without £58 million worth of grants.

To countervail this, inexorable dismantling and reorganisation to the our county's budget has occurred in recent months. Or, better known as, cuts.

Cutting staff few staff delivering supports services has managed to save the local purse in the region of £20 million. An ambiguous reference to “better procurement – savings £11 million) left me perplexed and pondering what on Earth it meant. This mystical and cryptic initiative translates into basic English; that the Council will achieve its operations and requirements on the cheap.

Cuts to programs Policy changes will save a further £36 million years. Sadly we are spending £770 million on the “Building Schools for the Future Program”, which is the worse public program conceived by the last administration. Grotesquely bureaucratic, poor time management and far too timid and inept – this program should have died a slow painful death.

With the budget raising countless references to pressure on social services and care, I do not know why the coalition doesn't privatise the operation. Yes, rather unpopular and might unleash fears of privatisation of the NHS – which does have its benefits, btw – but private social care would allow liberation for local budgets. But alas, private social care shall be laid to rest, for now, until another blog post.

KCC Leader, Paul Carter, seemed a bit too optimistic. There will be significant pain, but the KCC is administrating the medicine as humanly as possible. Mr Pickle, on the other hand, might need a revaluation on grants to local government, unless he wants a serious of mini-California's to deal with.

The Christmas chocolates that no one likes are by now left at the bottom of the tin (you could freeze them and bring them back out again on Halloween for trick or treat) and those presents we cringed at have either found themselves on eBay or have been re-gifted for another time so we know that Christmas has come to an end along with the snow (hopefully).

I still have a roof over my head and food in the fridge, but some are not so lucky. Closures of day centers for the mentally ill and elderly are due to be axed across the country making these groups of people prisoners of circumstance. Easy targets perhaps? Right targets?  No.

When I worked in a London City office in the nineties, the company bought in some troubleshooters with the result being that many staff were quite rightly fired (not me, before you ask). After all there is no such thing in this century as a right to a job for life.

Perhaps, each local council up and down the country should do the same and any pointless jobs should be terminated rather than services for vulnerable members of society. We all know that councils have jobs under banners such as anti-smoking/obesity/diversity/street football/recycling coordinators smoking awareness officers etc all of whom can probably be sacked with no impact on vital services. These ridiculously inane job titles and jobs should go and councils should run themselves without the need to please everyone all of the time and without the need to have to pander to the minority that is the PC brigade. Now that I dismounted my horse, I would like to wish everyone a Happy New Year.

Apologise for the lack of activity, one has been deeply busy with Christmas shopping and endless amounts of baking. But still, the political narrative of localism continues today. Eric Pickles march against town halls moves a step forward with the Localism Bill. The bill contains the following;

Give councils a general power of competence

• Give residents the power to instigate local referendums on any local issue and the power to veto excessive council tax increases

• Grant greater financial autonomy to local government and community groups

• Return decision-making powers on housing and planning to local councils and communities

• Abolish Regional Spatial Strategies

• Give communities the right to bid to take over local state-run services

• Require public bodies to publish online the job titles of every member of staff and the salaries and expenses of senior officials

• Create Local Enterprise Partnerships (to replace Regional Development Agencies)

• Review the Housing Revenue Account

At first glance this is quite positive and reflective of the current anti-big government sentiment in this country. However, there is one potential problem with the local referendums – especially if we highlight the plight of California.

In this American state, referendums occur on a near religious basis – most notably on tax issues. The deficit problem of California, which it cannot contain (much worse than Greece), is due to numerous campaigns to reverse the power of taxation. In other words, local referendums denied the state government to generate the income it needed. California had no choice but to keep borrowing in order to finance the services.

Populism might ran havoc against city hall and the taxpayer might have to end up bailing out counties instead.

In 410 AD, Rome decided the Britons were too rebellious and abandonment of the Province of Britannia was accepted by the Roma elite. Our suave, sophisticated and highly articulate Education Secretary has adopted Roman mentality to local authorities – government should cut them off for being too rebellious. Well, not exactly, but significant decapitation is required according to Gove.

Even though the government applauds localism, it will directly fund education by a mysterious “voucher system”. Not to be confused with the Swedish voucher system, that provides partial finance towards private fees for disadvantaged children. A great tool for social mobility, but too radical for the British political class. Alas, I digress. However, more surprisingly, Gove has failed to explain what this voucher will do. My interpretation -could not be that accurate- but seems to stimulate the concept of competition within state schools.

Will competition involve competing for placements and best students? If so, it is possible to create a two tier systems – with low preforming schools receiving little or no finance from central government.

Marketisation of state schools might open Pandora’s box – with no hope inside.

There are times when the word "damning" is inappropriately used by journalists but Ofsted's report into the state of services provided to Kent's most vulnerable children is one occasion when it is fully justified.

Read Ofsted's report here

The word "inadequate" crops up an uncomfortable number of times in Ofsted's highly critical report and whatever way you look at it, inspectors have uncovered a pretty lamentable state of affairs. No wonder the powers that be moved swiftly and issued a public apology for letting children in care down. (It's also the kind of report where you might expect heads to roll but none have just yet.)

The most worrying aspect is that Ofsted is clearly concerned that the prospects of things improving are pretty slim, labelling the capacity for KCC and its partners to make things better as "inadequate." In other words, Ofsted doesn't like what it has seen about the abilities of those in charge to address a whole series of shortcomings.

I've often heard it said that KCC has become, over the years, adept at filling in self-assessment forms that give every impression that all is  hunky-dory when inspectors come calling. In the past, I gather that it selected the case files for Ofsted to examine but there are now different - and better - arrangements that mean Ofsted picks out what it wants to see. This may be one reason why Kent has come out so badly.

Perhaps the most telling part of the report is the passage that states that KCC and its partners had considerable evidence over the last two years that problems were coming but nothing was being done to address it.

Of course, there are particular issues for the county - especially the on-going problem of children being placed in coastal towns by London boroughs. But you could argue that should have made KCC and other agencies more attuned to the issues.

The irony is that KCC will now be looking at getting outside help to turn things around. A few years ago, the authority stepped in to help Swindon when its social services department was unravelling. It was hailed a great success at the time.

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At least county council leader Paul Carter did not try to shirk the job of responding to Ofsted's findings, holding  a series of press briefings to give his account of what had gone wrong. Others might have tried to fob the job on to someone else but commendably, he did not.