‘No. 1 – The Italian job’ courtesy of the www.theisleofthanetnews.com They’re back! Popular Thanet columnists Jane Wenham-Jones and Mike Pearce reunite for a lunch date which
Tag: Isle of Thanet Gazette
Plain Jane 230916: High heels are hardly well-suited for work
WELL DONE the TUC for voting to prohibit employers from forcing women to wear high heels at work. Heels may look terrific but in my
Plain Jane 160916: Corbyn comes to Ramsgate.
As I reach for my hard hat and flak jacket, here is my latest Gazette column… Whoever first said you only regret the things you
Plain Jane 150716: Brexit is going well…..
It’s going well so far, isn’t it? As I write, the big property funds have been forced to suspend trading, we’ve lost our triple-A credit
Plain Jane 010716: After the Vote
I woke up on Saturday morning feeling strangely unwell. I mentally ran through what I’d eaten the night before and counted up the glasses of
Plain Jane 170616: How we vote on Thursday will probably come down to instinct
So it’s finally here. After all the weeks of posturing, scare-mongering, claims and counter claims, the referendum is finally upon us. Come Thursday we can
Plain Jane 030616: Debt, water and the sugar tax
My latest Plain Jane column. The version that came out in print – and online – was mysteriously lacking my last sentence. Is it that dreadful
Plain Jane 080416: Marrying a rock – not as mad as it sound
So Margate’s most famous daughter has married a rock. This is not the fond description of a nice solid chap, one who can be reliably
EASTER: Plain Jane brings your reasons to be cheerful – including beer and chocolate
In these difficult and joyless times of conflict, health scares, national obesity and George Osborne, may I take the rare opportunity to look on the bright
Plain Jane 110316: We don’t want a new town
“We’re almost there–” proclaims the latest shrink-wrapped brochure from Stone Hill Park, above a photo of children hopping, somewhat bizarrely, in sacks, through fields of
Plain Jane 260216: Should we, shouldn’t we? EU decide
So the referendum on membership of the EU is set for June 23 and we can now look forward to wall-to-wall media coverage of the
Plain Jane 150116: Wine, sugar and health improvements
FAR be it from me to agree with Nigel Farage (unless he’s talking about Manston airport) but I can’t help feeling a certain sympathy with
Plain Jane 010116: And so 2015 is over
So 2015 is nearly over and I am struck by the people around me expressing gratitude. An “annus horribilis” as one beleaguered friend put it,
Plain Jane 041215: Manston, driving and, well, Manston again
I confess I have lost the plot when it comes to Manston. Much as I continue to grieve for the heady days of KLM and flights
Plain Jane 201115: Its vs it’s
Who knew? Our sewage systems are positively awash with precious metals. Analysts at Thames Water have discovered that when we wash our hands or clean
Plain Jane 091015: Rehabilitation not squalor for those in prison
Oh Lord, I agree with Michael Gove. Prisons do need reforming and should not be, as Nick Hardwick, Chief Inspector of Prisons puts it, “places
The one that enraged a Kipper….
This was my Isle of Thanet Gazette column, published 8/05/2015 that gave rise to the following on this week’s letter page. As I said on
Plain Jane meets the Liberal Democrats
I AM looking forward to meeting South Thanet’s Russ Timpson for two reasons. Firstly, the man has a sense of humour (not always a given
Plain Jane 130315: Meet the Candidates
A friend of mine once sat next to Nigel Farage on a plane. “He was very charismatic,” she said, clearly charmed even though her politics
Plain Jane 270215: Meet the Ukippers
“What a place to live!” wrote a friend from the Cotswolds, who’d been watching, aghast, the documentary Meet the Ukippers, aired last Sunday. I was at
Plain Jane 130215: Wearing bubble wrap and buying champagne
FRIDAY 13th. Time to don the bubble wrap and protective headgear, avoid ladders, leave plenty of time to catch the train, and for the chaps,
Plain Jane 310115: Saving the NHS is down to US
WITH under 100 days to go until the general election, the big issue, pundits tell us, will be the future of the NHS. It will
Plain Jane 160115: A look back at 2014
WELL, how’s yours been so far? My New Year greetings come late, after spending the opening hours of 2015 horizontal and groaning, in the clutches
Plain Jane 191214: The season to be jolly… and moany
OUR columnists Jane Wenham-Jones and Mike Pearce don’t need a certain supermarket to remind them that Christmas is for sharing. Every year, she gets out
Plain Jane 121214: Make a list
I DON’T know whether they teach this in journalism school – I am entirely self-taught (also known as untrained ) – but it is a
Plain Jane 281114 – 3D pregnancy scanning
I THINK I know this area pretty well, but from time to time I am surprised to discover somewhere in Thanet I had no idea
Plain Jane 191114: Every Lidl helps
MALE friends won’t believe me, but I don’t much like shopping. Not for me “a day out” at Bluewater, or an afternoon “just looking” at
Plain Jane 311014: Why prescribing Viagra to all men over 50 could save NHS
Plain Jane 311014: Why prescribing Viagra to all men over 50 could save NHS GREAT discoveries, it seems, arise from a split second of blinding
Plain Jane 171014 – It’s chocolate week
Somewhat after the event, but every day is chocolate day where I come from …. 🙂 Plain Jane – It’s National Home Security month, Dyspraxia
Plain Jane 190914: A megaphone, soapbox, and cheap-suited lackeys needed
Thank you to all those who have suggested that, further to my last column, I stand in the next election myself. My initial thought –
Plain Jane 050914: Of course Nigel Farage won the hustings, he’ll win the election too
Of course Nigel Farage was selected as our UKIP candidate for South Thanet. He was always going to be and I am surprised that those
Plain Jane 080814: From the art crowd to a new crowd and an old row
Margate is in the news again. Described as “the formerly gritty seaside town”, Margate has made its way onto yet another list, coming in at
Plain Jane 090714: Three cheers for poo-lice
ANDY Murray lost the tennis; the Germans won the football (so far). Type two diabetes is on the rise, standards are falling. Rumour has it
Plain Jane 130614: Is Thanet really only known for the shipping forecast?
Plain Jane: Is Thanet really only known for the shipping forecast? As regular readers will know, I am an ardent proponent of this fair isle as the
Plain Jane 300514: My view on term-time holidays
RECENT figures have shown that 24,000 children each day are taken out of school for a family trip. If I still did the school-run, it
Plain Jane 160514: So here’s to you Iris, best of luck with Thanet council
So another shake-up for our beleaguered local government. In-fighting and power struggles down at Cecil Street are nothing new, of course, but I am genuinely sorry
Plain Jane 010514: 11 years of writing about Thanet, and I’m not done yet
I have been writing this column for an astonishing 11 years – ever since I bludgeoned the then editor Mike Pearce, into giving me
Plain Jane 180414: Family tree research just to get my passport
Plain Jane: Family tree research just to get my passport If I can give you one small piece of advice this week – along with
Plain Jane 200314: I don’t like to complain but…
YOU know me, dear readers, I don’t like to complain – a regular little Pollyanna here, we are – but things have been, how shall
Plain Jane 200214: Who is worthy of NHS treatment?
SIR Andrew Dillon, the pleasant-sounding head of Nice (the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence), is expressing doubts about taking “wider societal benefit” into
Plain Jane 230114: Time for council to do some good, for a change
I am naturally thrilled to hear that Thanet Council have been hitting their targets, with a bullseye for 44 out of 58 “key projects”. I
Plain Jane 090114: With five diaries, why do I keep missing things?
OK HANDS up – who’s fallen by the wayside already? You over there with the fag and the cream bun – weren’t you going to
Plain Jane 271213: My review of the people and places of 2013
Regular readers of this column (God help you) will know that my final offering of the year has historically been a round-up of my top
Mike and Jane: Christmas Time, Mistletoe and Whine…
My latest Isle of Thanet Gazette column – the annual joint offering with fellow columnist, my mate Mike 🙂
Plain Jane 221113: I like Laura Sandys, but…
I like Laura Sandys. While not a natural inhabitant of the same neck of the woods, politically, as our good MP for Thanet South, (to
Plain Jane 081113: Who says we can’t make our own entertainment?
WHO says we can’t make our own entertainment? This family, gathered round the kitchen table on a dark, windswept night, has just spent an enjoyable
How time flies… a big hand for Carole Blake!
How time flies… a big hand for Carole Blake! My small tribute to the Queen of Shoes and her Fifty Years in Publishing. It was
Doing NaNoWrimo??
I am not doing NaNoWriMo officially, but with a book to finish, another one to start, columns piling up, hundreds of emails to answer and
Plain Jane 251013: Why I’m welcoming Manston’s new owner Ann Gloag
SO MANSTON Airport has been sold for a pound. As the lovely Ed and I agreed, had we known it was going to be so
I couldn’t have put it better myself…
A lovely blog post here from the immensely talented Clare Mackintosh (watch out for her debut novel next year – it’s going to be astonishing)
Plain Jane 111013: Woe of Student Finance on deadline
I AM on a deadline or three. There’s a scarily half-done manuscript to deliver, and articles needed sooner. I have bills to pay, e-mails to
Plain Jane 270913: I flew to Manchester via Amsterdam and I’m not sorry
LAST week, much to the consternation of the local bloggers, I flew to Manchester. Via Amsterdam. Yes, I got on a plane at Manston, landed at Schipol,
Plain Jane 130913: Maturity has its reward, thank heavens
For those of you gagging to read my Isle of Thanet Gazette column without having to shell out 80p, here it is, hopefully better late
Plain Jane 280813: Everyone has a book in them…
THEY say everyone’s got a book in them and I say: Sometimes it should stay there! The explosion of ebooks and self-publishing has made everybody
Plain Jane 020813: My Top Parenting Tips
ALL together now, a great big ahhhhhh. I love a new-born baby (it’s the next 18 years that wears one down). And, together with the
Plain Jane: The heat is on, some tips for surviving the summer
SO THE heat is finally on – and has even reached Thanet – with temperatures predicted to soar into the thirties and stay there. Cue
Plain Jane in the Isle of Thanet Gazette from Friday 5th July
ONE of the things you learn as you get older is that whatever it was, it was always longer ago than you think. I was
Plain Jane in the Isle of Thanet Gazette from Friday 21st June
Bit late getting this up here as have been away to the Winchester Writer’s Conference where I had the enormous privilege of hearing Julian Fellowes speak!
Plain Jane, Isle of Thanet Gazette 07 June 2013: Council double-speak hides another waste of money
And now I AM on the new website… hurrah! But here is my latest Plain Jane for those who’ve got used to reading it here… And Happy
Plain Jane, Isle of Thanet Gazette, 24th May 2013: The Big Thanet Breakfast
The Isle of Thanet Gazette has a new website ( www.thanetgazette.co.uk) but it’s not yet sporting my latest column. So, for the strong-stomached, you saw it
With friends like Mike :-)
Whenever I give one of my friends one of my books to read (some are too tight-fisted to cough up for one themselves :-)) I
Today’s Plain Jane
Hello and Happy Friday. We have progress of sorts. My column in the Isle of Thanet Gazette is finally online (hurrah) but does not yet
My-Mate-Mike in the Isle of Thanet Gazette 28th December
Remember my excellent advice on coping when the old man is suddenly at home ALL BLOODY DAY? My esteemed fellow columnist on the Gazette, Mike
Plain Jane: Playing the Party Season
As some of you may know, I write a fortnightly column – alternating with My-Mate-Mike (he who hovers just to the right of Genghis Khan and
Plain Jane – Isle of Thanet Gazette
As some of you may know, I write a fortnightly column – alternating with My-Mate-Mike (he who hovers just to the right of Genghis Khan and
Prime Time paperback is now out!
Prime Time is officially out now! I am bracing myself to start peering in bookshops (does one copy mean they’ve sold em all or is
