In the way that art mirrors real life (or is it the other way round?) I have also been following the shenanigans of the revived Dreamland Amusement Park in Margate, UK, with a modicum of bored interest. As with so many of England's seaside resorts, when hard times hit and repair bills run high and the lure of property developers' money smells sweet, Dreamland (home to the UK's historical last wooden roller coaster and a protected structure) fell prey to a mysterious fire in 2008. It was officially found to be deliberate arson, so I think I am OK saying this publicly. I could say more, but it's probably wise not to.
With the aid of a huge cash injection from the UK's national lottery, Dreamland is being resurrected once again. The lottery money was extracted partly upon its promise to celebrate the UK's traditional seaside amusement establishment heritage. No small part of this enticement was the inclusion of an extensive collection of pinball machines, arcade machines and a few jukes owned by my long-standing acquaintances Peter Heath and Philip Crow. Their machines were to form a working arcade for the public to actively enjoy. Peter and Phil were overjoyed and sourcing even more rare and wonderful machines from the US to add to the collection, solely for the benefit of the Margate visitors So imagine their surprise and delight when they were told their vintage arcade was no longer needed or part of any current plans, once the lottery money was conveniently in place of course. I suspect a word has been spoken in the National Lottery's collective ear, as I now hear that Peter and Phil have been mysteriously re-invited to install their arcade in the entrance area after all. Hoorah! John S -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "neonixie-l" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to neonixie-l+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To post to this group, send an email to neonixie-l@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/neonixie-l/417FD485-6A0E-4229-A658-89E71FCA317E%40jsdesign.co.uk. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
