Comments (Newest First):

 

Post 814

  ColetteB, Dover

Indeed Paul, Congratulations to our beautiful daughter Briony, after 6 years hard work studying medicine, she is now officially Doctor Boland
A Huge Well Done to Briony xxxx

Thursday, 29 May 2014 - 17:41

 

Post 813

  brian, sunny dover.

well I never many congrats to briony for passing out and becoming a doctor.

Thursday, 29 May 2014 - 14:20

 

Post 812

  Ed Connell, Dover

Hi Paul. As a dedicated biker you may be interested to know that we have fifty motorbikes onboard going somewhere so you may see them streaming past you when the Dover Seaways berths some time after 1300.

Thursday, 29 May 2014 - 12:45

 

Post 811

  PaulB, Dover

Dover Welcomes Another Great Costa....
The huge and striking Costa Mediterranea is in today... approximately 86,000 tons of mass appeal.
Had to wait for the gloom to disperse before we could get a reasonable picture.

Below :The Declaration of Independence.

For a while there yesterday a piece of Dover became part of the USA. But, just as we were about to mobilise the gunboats, we realised what it was...the channel swimmer guys practising their long range strokes with added support crew...as shown. Always a pleasure to see our American friends...very welcome.


Good to see that post below Ed. Fascinating to see the development up close. The walking man shows the scale.
Good to hear that its a real bargain below Brian... hopefully we can keep tipping everyone off to the deals available. Huge thanks to DFDS for the info.

Personal Note :After years of immense struggle my daughter qualified as a doctor yesterday. Waiting here for the final results was rough, even my own sinews and nerve ends were stretched as if I was on the rack in the Tower..Strewth!! Well done Briony. Phew!


Thursday, 29 May 2014 - 11:25

 

Post 810

  Ed Connell, Dover

Work in progress on the major renovation to berth ED2. Fender installation cofferdam seen out of the water, suspended from a crane. We saw photos of this during the similar work on ED3 last year. It is attached to the side of the pier and the water pumped out enabling preparation work to be carried out prior to installation of each new fender. Jack-up platform named Harwich Haven Seajack seen nestling against the pads on ED2.



Thursday, 29 May 2014 - 00:08

 

Post 809

  brian, dover

that's a bit of a bargin below. the park tickets cost 45 euros 8 years ago.

Wednesday, 28 May 2014 - 14:25

 

Post 808

  PaulB, Sea News, Dover.

DFDS SEAWAYS OFFERS "FERRYTALE" ADVENTURES WITH DISNEYLAND® PARIS
- Ferry passengers can now buy park tickets and hotel packages to Disneyland Paris from DFDS Seaways
A great one for the kids...of all ages !

Award winning ferry operator, DFDS Seaways, has joined forces with Disneyland Paris to offer its customers the opportunity to purchase the very best offers on Park tickets or short break packages to the popular theme park. If you're looking for a fantastic family break, then why not head for a "ferrytale" adventure in Disneyland Paris? Young and old alike will love the magical Disney® atmosphere with five exciting lands to explore.

Special Offers:
DFDS Seaways passengers can book a number of special offers on Disneyland tickets:
· Hopper Tickets, allowing entrance in to Disneyland and Walt Disney Studios® Park
· 1 day 2 Parks Hopper Ticket – Save 10% on gate price
· 4 days for the price of 3 Hopper Ticket
· 5 days for the price of 4 Hopper Ticket

Standard tickets are also available and passengers travelling on our Dover routes to either Dunkirk or Calais can also save 10% on their crossing, using code EDISNEY, which is valid on all departures before December 19.

Max Foster, passenger director at DFDS Seaways, comments: "This is a great partnership for our passengers with families, who can benefit from the freedom and flexibility of travelling in their own vehicle and at a time that suits them. It also makes it easy to combine a trip to the theme park with a longer European break, depending on your plans. Travelling by car and ferry also means you should have plenty of luggage space for all your magical purchases!"

DFDS Seaways offers you a wide choice of ferry routes and sailing times from the UK to France and Holland, so you can choose the most convenient route to fit your holiday plans. Our ferry services from Dover are the most convenient for those living in southern England, as there are up to 44 daily sailings between Dover and our ports in Dunkirk and Calais, allowing you to choose exactly when you cross. Our port in Dieppe is the closest port to Paris, which is serviced with twice daily departures from Newhaven, and we also operate a daily ferry service from Portsmouth to Le Havre.

If you live in northern England or Scotland then our Newcastle to Amsterdam route could be the best option for you, with the drive to Paris taking less than 5 hours from port.

How to book:
You will need to book your ferry crossing with DFDS Seaways and your park tickets and / or accommodation separately by using the following link: www.dfds.co.uk/disney
To find out more information, visit www.dfds.co.uk or telephone 0871 574 7235.



* * *

Yes indeed he did Howard, so its very good to see him back in general action as it were.
I don't think the item was on TV as of yet...but will watch for it.



Wednesday, 28 May 2014 - 06:40

 

Post 807

  Howard mcsweeney, dover

Good to see Donald on form there I seem to remember he collapsed a year or two back at a ceremony outside the town hall and there was great concern for his health.

Tuesday, 27 May 2014 - 21:48

 

Post 806

  PaulB, Dover

Donald Hunter, he of the Merchant Navy Memorial fame, the monument on the seafront... and himself a noted veteran...being interviewed and filmed by the BBC earlier today. it may have been something to do with marking the 100 years since war was declared. Not entirely sure as yet.

Tuesday, 27 May 2014 - 16:39

 

Post 805

  PaulB, Dover

Another hugely busy weekend for Dover Harbour. These long bank holiday weekends are coming thick and fast....and this one is/was combined with the frantic half term break. I don't know but I have a feeling we were slightly less crowded this time around...in the hotels and so on, but only marginally so. Maybe long weekender battle fatigue has kicked in to some extent with the great mobile British public...you know what I mean, all that heavy traffic, all that churning effort... and of course that famous "daddy are we there yet ! " line to top it all off.
You can see the ferries all working hard in the picture above and as ever the Port copes with everything.

Below we see the arrival of Elvira on sunday morning. The cargo terminal is still very busy as we have come to expect by now, you very rarely see the slot empty. As we said previously it is usually a case of one in one out. The picture at the bottom of post shows the Elvira unloading a little bit later on the same day...




You keep coming up with those gems from the dock Mike. Great little vessel that one..amazing how they can split it in half. Never a dull moment around here.
Ah you cheeky beggar Brian...that one is strictly for the birds !!lol...as we used to say in the seventies!



Tuesday, 27 May 2014 - 07:03

 

Post 804

  Mike J., Dover

Unusual workboat ‘TOPLIFT’ in Wellington Dock, Sunday morning.

She is on a delivery voyage from her Portsmouth builders to windfarm work in the Thames Estuary.

Interesting ‘modular’ construction - she can be split down the centre for transport by lorry for working on landlocked inland projects.
You can see the ‘join’ in the stern view.








Monday, 26 May 2014 - 22:52

 

Post 803

  brian, dover.

well stone the crows,fancy nesting out there.

Monday, 26 May 2014 - 20:59

 

Post 802

  PaulB, Dover

Yes indeed amazing pictures of the 'black seagull'. Well it's truly extraordinary. I can see several seagull nests from my location but never crows. Although... come to think of it... in recent times I have wondered if I was imagining it or not but there does seem to be much more activity from crows along the seafront, more than ever before. Yours truly is very familiar with the yelp of the seagull but have recently noticed an increase in the " kaw kaw " of the crow coming from my rooftop and elsewhere...so those pictures are all the more fascinating. Any experts out there noticing a change in habit?
Well done Capt Andy re the tip off.

Saw those cruise liners in the far distance the other night Ed. Good capture there..on their way to Southampton I guess.

Monday, 26 May 2014 - 15:41

 

Post 801

  ColetteB, Dover

Well I'll be blowed! That's an amazing pic there Ed of 'The Black Seagull', obviously that crow likes a holiday home by the sea or in this case right in the middle of it

Monday, 26 May 2014 - 13:32

 

Post 800

  Ed Connell, Dover

This crow has built a nest on the platform at the end of Pier Alpha. Most unusual to see a landbird in such a location and our navigators refer to it as "the black seagull!" Pointed out to me by our Senior Master on the Dover Seaways, Capt Andy Armstrong.





Sunday, 25 May 2014 - 19:37

 

Post 799

  Ed Connell, Dover

Oceana and Minerva passing down the Southwest lane past Dover on Friday evening, seen from the Dover Seaways as she was rounding the CS4 buoy off the Goodwins. AIDAluna then departed Dover as the Oceana and Minerva were passing.




Sunday, 25 May 2014 - 13:15

 

Post 798

  PaulB, Dover

THE SAGA SAPPHIRE LEAVING DOVER HARBOUR - but is that choppy water ahead?
You will no doubt have seen all the promotion on TV and elsewhere re the Saga flotation on the stock market. The ever so 'umble house taking off from dear old Folkestone and heading skywards at a rate of knots, with a well known actor shouting across the rooftops about the exciting share opportunity. The publicity was wide ranging. Even yours truly was approached to put some cash into the shares. Then last friday - the launch. But now it appears that the whole thing was something of a damp squib. Oh dear! This below from The Independent yesterday saturday.....

"
SAGA

Flotation fatigue deepened across the City yesterday as Saga began life as a listed company with a whimper.

The over-50s cruise and financial services group had priced its shares at 185p. They rose to 189p before falling back to 185p at the close of its first day of conditional trading. The company’s advisers, led by Citigroup, had hoped to price the shares as high as 245p.

Saga is owned by the private equity groups Permira, Charterhouse and CVC, which had planned to sell shares to raise capital. However, a lack of demand among the investor community meant that its owners will not sell down their holding but issue new shares, representing 27 per cent of the business.

Half of the shares on offer were bought by institutions such as pension funds, and the other half by retail investors. The £550m raised from the listing, before fees, will be used to pay down debt.

Lance Batchelor, the chief executive of Saga, said: "As a public company, owned in part by our customers, Saga will be even better positioned to continue helping the over-50s live life to the full."

"

So a shaky start...akin to the Saga Sapphire heading out into rough weather, but better weather could be just ahead.





Sunday, 25 May 2014 - 07:05

 

Post 797

  PaulB, Dover

CLEANING UP YOUR ENVIRONMENT:

The dogdirt issue was a problem we were blighted with to a considerable degree some years back, fortunately things are better nowadays with people more aware of their social conscience and social obligations, not to mention the social pressures. It is a delight therefore...of sorts..to see pet owners following their dogs with those little plastic bags at the ready. The beach nearest the docks used to be a favourite place for ermm.. deposit leaving, then some time later young kids would come and play on the same spot. Not nice! It was always good too in times past to see those wider beach cleans that used to be organised by SEAFRANCE. Overall things have improved generally but more can always be done...well done the School mentioned here. Information below if other schools want to join in.


The following info through from DDC..

PUPILS HELP RAISE AWARENESS TO KEEP OUR ENVIRONMENT CLEAN FOR THE FUTURE
___________________________________________________________________________

Pupils at St Martin’s Primary School in Dover used their creative talents to help draw people’s attention to the importance of picking up after pets, to help keep our environment clean and safe for the future.

Following an educational talk from Dover District Council’s Environmental Crime Team, pupils designed posters reminding dog owners to pick up after their pets. A winning design was selected, and has been used on signs that have been put up in the area.

The winning poster was by Freya Gardner (aged 10) who was congratulated and given gift vouchers at a special presentation at the school earlier this month. The runners up were also presented with swimming vouchers from Your Leisure.

Dover District Council continues to work in partnership with local primary schools, giving educational talks encouraging respect and pride within our communities, and highlighting the importance of looking after the local environment.

Diane Croucher, DDC Head of Regulatory Services said: "We were delighted at the range of excellent and creative ideas from pupils, and thank everyone who took part. We continue to look at a balance between education and enforcement in tackling littering and dog fouling across the district."

Katie Wratten, Head Teacher of St Martin’s Primary School said: "It was lovely to be invited to join in the poster competition.  The interest and concern of the children in how they could improve the situation is something I am extremely proud of."

If you think your school would benefit from a presentation from the Environmental Crime Team, please contact them on (01304) 872085 or  envcrime@dover.gov.uk. For more information, please see the DDC website www.dover.gov.uk


* *

And speaking of environment matters..

The Groynes Go Green !

The Norwegian Larvic Rock has now taken on a life of its own, blending in gently with the immediate environment. No longer slate grey as you can see but a mossy green. Could be slippery though kids...so beware!



Saturday, 24 May 2014 - 06:15

 

Post 796

  PaulB, Sea News, Dover.

Dover Harbour Board - Executive Member Appointment
Dover Harbour Board is delighted to announce that Shaun Pottage has been appointed as the second Executive Member of the Dover Harbour Board with immediate effect.

Tim Waggott, Chief Executive, Port of Dover, said: "My congratulations to Shaun on his appointment. Since joining the organisation towards the end of 2013 he has impressed everyone with his approach, intellect and delivery.

"Shaun will continue to manage his existing portfolio within the business whilst also leading on a number of key workstreams in support of the Dover Western Docks Revival. He will also carry on supporting me closely in further developing the future direction and financing of the organisation.

"I hope that he will be afforded the same gracious support that I have been given as we continue to deliver on our commitment to be the best port in the world for the benefit of our customers and community."

Shaun is a chartered accountant and is married with two children.



Friday, 23 May 2014 - 06:46

 

Post 795

  PaulB, Dover

We had everything but the kitchen sink weatherwise yesterday. We endured blustery squalls, dramatic skies, lightning over the channel, choppy seas, torrential rain, blinding sunshine...and then nice rainbows to finish it all off.
When a chap goes out these days he doesn't know whether to wear his anorak or his speedos!

Nice set of pictures below there Mike..some blinders there
We are getting some cracking ships in..well done the team at DHB.



Friday, 23 May 2014 - 06:42