Geocache: Margate - Looking About You

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Location: The Harbour Arm, Margate
Title of geocache: ECC Margate Looking About You

The Margate GeoTour was created by a group of people living locally, who were interested in uncovering Margate’s unique history. Through discussion and research, sharing memories and local knowledge, they selected six locations in Margate to make up the GeoTour.

In March 2020, the UK went into a national lockdown and the project was put on pause. When the group reunited almost a year later, they revisited their relationship to the local area. Working with sound artist Dan Scott, they created a series of audio responses for each location, using poetry, music, historical research and conversation to bring new meaning to familiar places.

Looking About You
‘Looking About You’ written and read by Alan, in response to the walk from the old Margate Station and towards the Harbour Arm.

Transcript

Sharon: Well done, you found cache number two. Well done woohoo! You found the second cache on the Turner Contemporary geocache tour as part of England’s Creative Coast. Can you smell the sulphur? This used to be a working Harbour and hundreds of years ago, ships used to come in and offload the coal dust, and some people believe that’s the cause of the smell. Others think it’s juut rotting seaweed.

Alan: From the gallery steps.
You walk across paving blocks, metal and tarmac.
You notice buildings to your left. And to your right,
the German ocean and the beach.
You notice three colours; Blue, Grey and White.
Potted palms and noisy Herring gulls.
You hear the chimes in the clock tower strike five,
A noise the metal dolphins can't hear.
You walk on past the land of dreams and you reach a place,
that offers shelter from the wind and you notice a pool of water
which is constrained, by the hand of man.
Looking about you, you pose the question.
What time is the next train?

Looking about you.

You walk on.

Music is ‘Summertime’ by Ella Fitzgerald. 
Sound collected and edited by Dan Scott. 
Geocache container is by Elouise Farley. Insta: @ladywood___