Did anyone catch the Red Arrows in Folkestone this past weekend? The weather was beautiful, the crowds were large, and the show was magnificent. Well, for the first five minutes. Admittedly I am not much of a plane, car, motorcycle type girl. I really enjoyed the Red Arrows, I did, but my attention span can sometimes fail me. Regardless, I had a fabulous day out with friends. Barbecuing at The Leas Coastal Park is just about my favorite thing in the world. It was windy, but then again- when isn't it? It was really a shame that the city wasn't able to profit from the thousands of people who came out, I seriously considered running down to ASDA and setting up a hot dog stand on the promenade. I would have made a killing. 

This weekend (Tomorrow through Sunday) Folkestone will be hosting the Folkestone Multicultural Festival, three days of dancing, food, and music representing regions from all over the world. I usually go for the food. Last year, I had the best Nepalese food on the planet- no joke. I have dreams about it sometimes. Not a bad option if you are looking for something to do this weekend. I am always happy to see local events going on, and do my best to show up and support the organizations that put these things together. Here is the schedule for the event: Folkestone Multi-Cultural Festival

Next weekend the inaugural Folkestone Fish Festival will take place. The Whitstable Oyster Festival is my favorite event in Kent all summer, so I am hoping this one in Folkestone really gains some momentum. Many of the local businesses (Rocksalt, yum.) will be down at Folkestone Harbor with stands of food, drinks and random stuff.  I will be attending the South East Airshow next Saturday, but will be down at the Fish Festival on Sunday for the Blessings of the Fishes. I am intrigued to witness the process of blessing a fish. 

I will be all over Kent this summer, but thought I would start off letting you all know what is going on around my neighborhood! 

So tomorrow is supposed to be the day that myself and a few of my friends go to the Leas Cliff Hall to see an amazing Indie Rock band, The Enemy. The key word there is supposed, as the Leas Cliff Hall pulled the plug without so much as an explanation. In our disappointment and panic after hearing the news, my friend posted on The Enemy's Facebook page to ask what the problem was. The band actually respond to the majority of posts on their Facebook which is a pleasant surprise, but then again The Enemy have always placed massive importance on their fanbase; they said, "there were a few issues we're told, but we don't know the full story. We hope the promoter has emailed you guys, and of course we're dead sorry we can't make it, we know you would have been awesome. Make it up to you! x"

So not even the band were told exactly why they couldn't play?! I have seen The Enemy at Folkestone Leas Cliff before but what I'm super annoyed about is that The Enemy are pretty much one of the only good bands the Leas Cliff ever has in! For a great venue in the heart of Folkestone, which has a massive proportion of students and young people about, the Leas Cliff should really be getting some more current acts in like The Enemy! Don't get me wrong I've seen some great bands there: The Enemy, The Editors, Pete Doherty and The Zutons, but take a look at the upcoming events: 'The Sensational 60s Experience', 'Marty Wilde's Rock 'n' Roll Party', 'The Drifters', 'Boogie Nights' and 'The Solid Silver 60s Show'. I mean, come on would it kill you to get something from the last decade in?! Although I can't really complain, as a little something for the hip young people of Folkestone, they've got Dappy and Peter Andre lined up for us... 

Protests about the proposed route of High Speed 2 from London to the Midlands and the North will provoke hollow laughter in Kent. I remember reporting on marches from South Darenth and Sutton-at-Hone that demonstrated fierce opposition to the initial route.

There was the admission that a map had been drawn up on an official’s dining room table using out of date information and putting the route through a new housing estate near Blue Bell Hill, Chatham. When a Mid Kent Parkway station was proposed between Medway and Maidstone, there was an outcry that the “green lung” would be removed and prompt the creation of a “Medstone” or “Maidway” conurbation.

There was dismay with the proposal to put the link down the pretty Nashenden Valley. When construction started, there was outrage over the “scar on the landscape.”

I can hardly remember a good thing being said about the proposed railway, wherever it went. Maidstone council bowed to this anti-sentiment and voted not to have anything to do with what eventually became HS1 And yet, and yet...

Taking a lesson from the French city of Lille, which battled for the TGV line to go through its heart, Ashford council fought tooth and nail to have the service re-routed through the centre of the town. Look what that decision has done to the prosperity and potential of the town.

Commuter journeys have been transformed. Look at the potential for regeneration in Dover, Margate and Folkestone from the presence of what is a brilliant service on state-of-the-art Hitachi trains. Look at the great advertisement for the county. Kent, a railway back-marker since the 1800s, is no longer on the wrong side of the tracks.

While third-rail trains were stuck in the snow, HS1 kept on rolling. More than seven million passengers took HS1 in its first year and I bet that figure will be a lot higher next year. It is a powerful economic driver for the county, raises our game and is proving a powerful incentive for firms to move to the county.

Just as 19th century steam trains and track came to blend into the countryside, with pressure groups lobbying to preserve threatened lines, so the railway that sparked so much protest in Mid and North West Kent is now part of our landscape. Nothing much to protest about now. The engineers did a great job.

Maidstone is left on the sidelines, now pleading for a high-speed station that was once there for the taking. Prosperity is slowly shifting to Ashford and will in time flow to Dover, Margate and Folkestone. House prices will rise disproportionately in towns with good access to the trains. A Manston Parkway station is on the cards.

HS2 protesters should look to the Kent experience and see that while they should ensure the route is tweaked here and there, and tunnelled under beautiful places, there is so much to gain from high-speed rail in terms of greener travel and greater convenience in a modern world. Things we fear in advance often come to be loved. In a 100 years’ time, HS2 and HS1 will be celebrated as much as the steam railways of another era.

Business can be brutal.

Take the case of Neill Cotton, the young ex-managing director of Silver Spring, the Folkestone-based soft drinks and mineral water enterprise.

The firm has been through turbulent times recently. After more than a century as a family-run business, it had lost its way, racking up huge losses and plunging into administration.

Cotton was a turnaround specialist with lots of relevant experience. He was hired to sort out the mess and, with others, persuaded Privet Capital to inject life-saving equity.  A controversial pre-pack administration was arranged and he became MD last September.

He cut 60 jobs at Christmas, and took other cost-cutting measures. Loss-making work was ditched and good customers were reassured that Silver Spring had a good future under new management.

New products were launched and marketing campaigns unveiled. Silver Spring - such a crucial part of the Folkestone economy - was regaining its sparkle. Cotton was planning for the long haul. He told me a few weeks ago that he had found his dream job, and aimed to double turnover in the next five years.

He had a refreshing, intelligent, open approach that seemed to bode well for the future. But it all turned sour a few weeks ago when a restructuring cost him his job, along with around 30 others. It seems he was offered a less senior role, found it impossible to accept and walked away.

No doubt the firm has its reasons. Maybe Privet was putting on pressure. But the move suggests this iconic Kentish brand, famous for pioneering flavoured water with Perfectly Clear, is still on the sick list. I hope not. I hope also that the new management is fully aware of its Kentish heritage, its importance to the Folkestone economy and jobs - generations of local people have worked there - and the importance of tapping the undoubted goodwill for this well-regarded manufacturer.

I would like to see it take more part in the Kentish scene. It could have done more to wave the flag for the county and I suspect Cotton would have been happy to do so. Everyone who depends for their income on Silver Spring’s revival will hope this latest decision, which looks harsh from the outside, helps rather than hinders its path to recovery. 

As for Cotton, who married recently, he has a lot to offer and does not deserve to be out of work too long.