Please find two time-lapse videos below. The first recorded on Friday the 24th between 3pm – 11pm and the second recorded on Saturday the 25th between Midday – 11pm.

You can also find a big wedge of photos we took over on flickr.




Make sure to change the quality to 720p to get the full good stuff, or click through to watch them both on Youtube :

The Fire Brigade were on the scene and finally got it under control and extinguished, and they are currently in the adjacent buildings making sure they are safe. Luckily nobody was hurt.

See our flickr set for further images.

Video of the fire below (pardon the cursing) :

This year, we were to represent our alter-egos in the form of a pair of salty-sea-dogs from Folkestone’s bygone past.

As though we had stepped out from a vintage postcard, we dressed ourselves in shades of grey, painted our faces, and set out into an alien, coloured world. As it turned out, the weather had also chosen shades of grey as its theme, so much so, that as we previewed some of the photos being taken by members of the media crew, we were convinced they had set their cameras to black and white mode.

As we registered at the Ship Inn, it quickly became apparent that, as usual, hundreds of Folkestone’s citizens had bravely turned out to take part, most of them far more colourfully garbed than ourselves. Surely there must be a simpler way of shifting the hangover from the festive excesses?

Opening at 4pm on the Friday to a queue of eager beverage hunters waiting on the door, things kicked off perfectly with sunshine, music, food, and of course liquid refreshment.

Saturday went equally as well, with the street being closed and a couple of food stalls and many a bale of hay for seating, and many a visitor taking pick from the many drinks on offer. Late in the afternoon it looked like the barrels were going to run dry, and indeed this did happen late Saturday evening!.

A shame Sunday didn’t happen, but selling out is all good. I hear rumours of another early 2012 event, so look forward to those cold winter evenings, and of course, many a beer.

Some photos below :

We enjoyed a fabulous hour at sea, experiencing sunny Folkestone from an exciting, fresh perspective, in the capable hands of captain Neil. We thoroughly recommend this experience, and you can find out all you need to know at www.folkestonevoyager.co.uk.

Please find below a couple of videos and some photos which documented our adventure :

(Check it out on Vimeo for some HD goodness : http://vimeo.com/28727368)

The weather was unusually gloomy as we departed from Dover, and seemed brighter as we approached the French coast. We took a bus into the town centre to spend a few hours of Frenchness. Our plans to while away the time on the beach, drinking wine and eating cheese and bread, were scuppered by a fierce wind that howled along the coast, whipping up the sand. So we went to a couple of bars instead, and soon, it was time to go home. It should be pointed out, that we only drink lager when we are ‘going continental’.

On the ferry back, as we sipped more Kronenbourg,we watched gannets soaring and swooping over the sea. We failed to catch them on camera, but here are a couple of short videos of our day.

]]> http://spaciousandgracious.co.uk/2011/07/title-holders-claim-their-prize-with-trip-to-calais/feed/ 0 http://spaciousandgracious.co.uk/2011/06/folkestone-triennial-2011-preview-evening-video/ http://spaciousandgracious.co.uk/2011/06/folkestone-triennial-2011-preview-evening-video/#comments Fri, 24 Jun 2011 13:32:31 +0000 man sam http://spaciousandgracious.co.uk/?p=1166 With the Folkestone Triennial 2011 kicking off tomorrow (Sat 25th June), the Triennial team held a preview evening for invited local guests at the Quarterhouse last night, to showcase the artworks.

The Quarterhouse was very busy with a good turnout for the preview. Trevor Minter spoke first with a small introduction, then Triennial curator Andrea Schlieker took us through a brief run down of all the pieces, with Peter Bettley rounding off the preview evening with a request to spread the word about the Triennial as much as we could.

It seemed most people headed up to the Quarterhouse bar afterwards for a beverage or two, as it got very busy up there.

The full list looks very interesting indeed, with two of them standing out to the S&G team.

‘The Colour of Water’ by Spencer Finch.

Two parts: Flags in Christ Church Gardens, Sandgate Road, CT20 2BW, and a colour-wheel along the Leas Promenade lower path between the end of Clifton Crescent and The Grand hotel approx CT20 2XL
Like an Impressionist painter, Finch observed the everchanging tone and colour of the Channel over several weeks throughout 2010. This resulted in a palette of 100 variants of sea colour, which was used to dye 100 flags. Each morning throughout the Triennial, a sea-coloured flag will be chosen and hoisted at midday. Its colour will be determined daily by matching the sea’s with one from Finch’s large colour-wheel, installed just below the western end of main Leas Promenade.

‘ Towards the Sound of Wilderness ‘ by Cristina Iglesias :

Martello 4, The Leas, CT20 2JD
Cristina Iglesias’s architectural intervention on the ramparts of Martello 4 offers the illusion of an entrance into another world. Iglesias’s sculpture allows visitors a chance to view this historic
monument for the first time in many years. Visitors will need to negotiate a path cut through shrubs and trees to a mirrored walk-in structure clad with resin foliage. A window at the end of this passageway opens up a view of the overgrown tower and moat with its extraordinary wildlife.



Here’s hoping that this sunny weather continues for the weekend, as it all gets going at 11am tomorrow down the harbour ark site. Looks like it’s going to be a lot of walking tomorrow!

I grabbed a quick video at the preview evening last night, please find it below (apologies for the odd resolution, and the hum. The camera was directly beneath the gargantuan projector.)

Shane had mentioned they were opening midday today, and we arrived just after midday to be the first ever customers!. The chips are fried in beef dripping or traditional oil, so a choice for everyone. Customers were already taking seats in the main restaurant area (they are fully licensed as well), so it looks like it’s off to a flying start.

Cash only for the moment as BT still haven’t sorted out the phone lines to enable card payments. Mark Sargeant was in the restaurant with Josh De Haan, and they were both less than pleased with BT’s service so far, so hopefully that will get sorted as soon as possible.

The chips themselves are pretty good, they come in a nice neat cardboard box/tray with a wooden fork and came in at £2, which isn’t bad at all.

We have a feeling that they will be swamped this weekend if this good weather stays around, and with the Folkestone Triennial launch, it should go well for them.

Please find some pics below of the interior, the chips, and Shane caught mid eat. I even caught one of Mark Sargeant busily on his phone, probably dealing with BT…

We quickly took some photos, which you can see below.

*The housing has now been removed, please see this article for some photos taken on site.

We have been sent these exclusive shots of the mermaid project, giving us a glimpse at some of the detail and process going into the work.

There is a talk ‘Making the Mermaid’ which takes place during the Triennial, which will go into a lot more detail about how it was all done, click right here to find out more.

Photos below are by Sarah Craske, and the pouring of hot bronze shot was taken at the Meltdown Studios foundry in Ramsgate.