Will MacLachlan, the main man behind Margate Cultural Tours since 2022, will give a fun and witty run through of town history as part of this year’s Margate Bookie festival.
Cliftonville resident Will promises an irreverent look at Margate’s history, capturing the events and characters that have formed ‘the spirit of Margate’ through the years at the event to be held at The Margate School on Wednesday October 2 from 7.30pm.
Will said: “My tours are fun for everyone with an interest in the town and its numerous eccentrics and unusual celebrity visitors down the centuries.
“Amongst the many tales are rock stars, artists, runaway lovers, booze smugglers, naughty Victorians…. and even a mechanical elephant.
“I’ll regale the audience with tales from the Roman and Viking origin stories, booze smugglers, through to Margate’s reinvention in the Victorian era as a place for rest and recovery, and even its secret past as a (bit of a naughty) sailor’s stop off, secret suffragette get away and aristocrat’s health retreat.”
The talk will also focus on Margate as a place of reinvention, where notable figures have escaped a past life in London or abroad and used their new life in the town to concentrate on the things they love.
Will said: “It’s a fun way to see the stories behind the spirit of Margate and how they still run through the soul of the town today.”
The presentation features illustrations of Margate from local artist Shelly Wood Crowley. There will also be printed versions of the Margate Cultural Tour and its illustrations, available at the event.
Andreas Loizou, founder of the Bookie, says there will be a week of talks at The Margate School as part of the Bookie’s 10th festival.
He added: “There’s also a The Big Weekend at Turner on October 5 & 6 with the thrilling and chilling Lisa Jewell, Turner Prize winning artist Jeremy Deller, Selecter singer Pauline Black and Bibliomaniac Robin Ince. Plus Daisy Buchanan hosts comedy legend Helen Lederer in an exclusive live recording of the You’re Booked podcast.”
The nine-day extravaganza also includes creative writing workshops, showcases for local writers, the Poetry Slam headlined by Raymond Antrobus, a Children’s Festival and more.
The Margate Bookie runs from September 28-October 6.
Find tickets for the talk at: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/margate/the-margate-school/margate-bookie-week-2024-margate-a-hidden-history-of-authors-artists-and-lovers/e-oblqbx
Join a tour on October 6 by booking your place at: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/whats-on/margate/turner-contemporary/margate-bookie-2024-farewell-walk-with-will-maclachlan-free-to-attend/e-plmljk
