Opinion: Matthew Munson

New columnist Matthew Munson shares his thoughts:

A new site for local news? Well, this is nice to see; thanks for bringing this to the public, Kathy, and I’m looking forward to seeing the site develop.

In the meantime, I’ve got the opportunity to write a column for the site and I seem to be suffering from a momentary writer’s block. What do I write about?

Do I write about my long connection with Thanet? Do I tell you, dear readers, about the fact that I was born at Margate Hospital (as it was then)? That I was raised in Ramsgate, moved to Broadstairs, for ten years and came back to Ramsgate a few months ago?

Well, I could, but then that’s only part of the story. I went to local schools, worked in local business, and now my career is based around words. People actually let me write and then buy my books; well, I’m certainly not going to object.

I’m what’s commonly known as a “born-and-bred” Thanetian, but that’s not a particularly interesting fact; somewhere like Thanet, there’s always going to be a blend of locals and people who have moved here from elsewhere, so I can’t claim that as a particularly Interesting Fact.

But I’m in my mid-thirties, write science-fiction and fantasy fiction, have an oddly-avid passion for the English language, and I’ve completed 11 marathons for charity … so far. I’m also sure that I’m missing out huge chunks of my life, but that’ll come up as we go.

So I guess that I could tell you about all of those things, or perhaps I could tell you about my plans to volunteer at Folk Week for the first time ever this year, or the upcoming fantasy convention in Thanet I’m going to in July of this year?

Hmm, or maybe I should tell you about the decent charity shops in the district? What about the cafes I’m rather obsessed with? My yoga class that I go to every Monday night? All the activities going on in the area?

Oh, hold on, maybe I should talk about everything I love about Thanet, and my life in the area? I’ll touch on things of bigger significance as well, when they come up, and basically put anything down on paper that I think might be interesting.

So I don’t know precisely what I’ll be talking about week to week, but I’ll find something, I’m sure.