Dreamland is still great fun

Thanks to What’s On I discovered there has been a temporary exhibition of paintings of Dreamland being held there since May, so last week hurried down to Margate.

Barry Kirk, a local artist, did the drawings and paintings in the early 1960s; they are colourful and vibrant – evocative of the era.

Having been reminded by them of the fun we had at Dreamland in the 60s (and 50s) I was keen to see what it is like now.

I was pleasantly surprised. People were clearly having a good time on the rides – screams could be heard from the scenic railway – the vintage/retro rides are beautifully painted and works of art in themselves.

A large area in front of the outdoor stage is given over to food vans with adjacent seating and much work has been done landscaping and planting eucalyptus trees, grasses and flowering perennials.

The historic (though now terrible) cages built to house showman George Sanger’s wild animals have been preserved and the working mechanism of the scenic railway can be seen behind glass.

There are still empty spaces but the Dreamland Trust should be congratulated for achieving so much.

Get down to Dreamland before it closes for the season and see what they’ve done to it: entrance is free so make sure you spend some money, at least have a go on the dodgems or gallopers.

And don’t forget to take your loose change for the slot machines. Hilary Spon Iffin Lane, Canterbury latest figures show only a marginal increase of barely one per cent in the GP workforce in England and many that do work in the NHS are considering quitting the profession as the added stress of working under increasing pressure takes its toll.

To turn around this desperate situation, and both attract doctors trained in the UK as well as from overseas, the government must take urgent steps to reduce the unsafe workload burden carried by GPS and support them throughout their career so as to encourage them to stay before GP services are pushed to the brink of collapse. Dr Mark Sanford-wood, BMA GP executive committee member