Nitro Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 FFs, I know it is 'de riguer' to knock anything that doesn't immediately benefit the writer. If you lot could just focus for a minute and see what you are writing you would realise how fucking selfish and stupid you all sound."I did wonder as none of the planks have rotted or fallen down yet.... but it seems pointless to maintain something nobody is allowed to use"... huh.gif. The same could have been said for the camera obscura Whoah... I'm in support of full refurbishment, but it is pointless to maintain something that is currently useless to everyone, besides being a part of Ramsey's furniture. If its going to get knocked down then it should be done now, if its going to get refurbished then it needs to be done now, its pointless to keep it sitting there for years (whats it been about 15 years since people were allowed to walk down the pier?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cret Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 If you lot could just focus for a minute and see what you are writing you would realise how fucking selfish and stupid you all sound. I'm assuming that by 'all' you're not actually referring to the people on here who, like yourself, want it to be done up again? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
homeoneday Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 FFs, I know it is 'de riguer' to knock anything that doesn't immediately benefit the writer. If you lot could just focus for a minute and see what you are writing you would realise how fucking selfish and stupid you all sound."I did wonder as none of the planks have rotted or fallen down yet.... but it seems pointless to maintain something nobody is allowed to use"... huh.gif. The same could have been said for the camera obscura Whoah... I'm in support of full refurbishment, but it is pointless to maintain something that is currently useless to everyone, besides being a part of Ramsey's furniture. If its going to get knocked down then it should be done now, if its going to get refurbished then it needs to be done now, its pointless to keep it sitting there for years (whats it been about 15 years since people were allowed to walk down the pier?). Thats it in a nutshell - it needs doing now, but I bet it wont, more and more procrastination, steering commitees, surveys, second opinions etc, I bet the price will have doubled by the time they get round to it - somehow someine needs to press the powers that be for a schedule Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mij Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Naive question here: Didn't ferries once use the pier for berthing? If refurbished could day tripper routes be re-opened, from Scotland to IOM, and/or day trips round the island, calling at say Douglas and Peel? Down here in sunny south Wales (ha ha) the Waverley and Balmoral do seasonal day and evening trips in summer between Penarth Pier (near Cardiff) and Somerset and Devon, as well as trips out to the Bristol Channel islands and they are hugely popular (so much so they have been going on for years now). Personally I think restoration would be splendid, so much so I would put my money where my mouth is if there was a fundraising scheme launched. Walking down a pier, hearing and smelling the sea and then looking back towards the land is a much forgotten pleasure, especially when it is the length of Ramsey pier which is unusually long, and the view up to the hills from the sea must be breathtaking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Ayres Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Sorry about the rant, it's just people knocking anything not within sight of their front windows. Maybe I'm hyper sensitive at the moment but I see people not wanting anything improved because it will use 'their' taxes up. Not an attitude I would have expected from mature adults and citizens of this fair isle. Anyone not bought up near a pier is missing an experience like no other, being at sea on dry land, watching your loose change disappear through the grating and splashing, never to be sen again, into the sea 30ft below. The thrill of hooking a fish to see it is enormous when it gets to the surface, only to lose it the moment it breaks the water. Feeling the unfettered wind through your hair on a balmy summer afternoon. Spending hours talking to lads fishing as they show you their catch and delight at the exuberance of the moment. Lounging in deckchairs as the sun beats down on your warm beer and pastie. Riding the speedboat from the landing stage, quick trip round the bay at full speed, maybe a special up to the point to wave at the visitors, see the seals at close range and wave at the ferries as they go to Belfast. Yes, the fairies have got my mind and I love it! The pier will be rebuilt eventually, as all have said, the time is now and not in another 20yrs by which time it will be unsavable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Naive question here: Didn't ferries once use the pier for berthing? If refurbished could day tripper routes be re-opened, from Scotland to IOM, and/or day trips round the island, calling at say Douglas and Peel? Down here in sunny south Wales (ha ha) the Waverley and Balmoral do seasonal day and evening trips in summer between Penarth Pier (near Cardiff) and Somerset and Devon, as well as trips out to the Bristol Channel islands and they are hugely popular (so much so they have been going on for years now). Personally I think restoration would be splendid, so much so I would put my money where my mouth is if there was a fundraising scheme launched. Walking down a pier, hearing and smelling the sea and then looking back towards the land is a much forgotten pleasure, especially when it is the length of Ramsey pier which is unusually long, and the view up to the hills from the sea must be breathtaking. The pier was used for berthing although I can't see that ever happening again, its not really suitable for that purpose in these modern days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cret Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 That post does make it sound rather spiffing though and conjures up a very pleasant image even though I doubt it would sadly ever be quite that way. I hope you get to see all of that though Skrappey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilDDog Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 The pier was used for berthing although I can't see that ever happening again, its not really suitable for that purpose in these modern days. Would you like to elaborate on that? As it could still be used to berth boats once it's fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mission Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Wasn't there an arm at the end of it in the days that the boats berthed there? I take it that's the bit where the piles to the left of it are now? Totally feasable for that to be restored whilst they're fixing up the rest of the pier I guess and presumably, it wouldn't be affected by the state of the tides like the harbour is? I know the Balmoral calls into the harbour on occasion during the summer but that must be restricted somewhat by the tides. Get the train running again (they still have the engine in the tram sheds don't they?) and bob's your uncle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilDDog Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 I'm sure the last boat that berthed there was a naval vessel and that berthed on the maughold side of the pier as did the steam packet boats. So there is still a berth their which I'm sure could still be used once the pier is fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ride Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 I think I've done this before, and the timeframe has changed from the last post, but the sentiment remains the same. ----------------- I love walking along both of Ramsey's proms (it's gorgeous in summer but there's a brutal majesty about them in winter as well, which we're coming into now), and the Queens Pier is a magnificent, but really a rather sad sight. I've examined it from all angles and there's no easy way to get onto it without risking injury (which I guess is the point of the spiky fences), but I'd be somewhat thrilled to be able to walk to the end of it in a state of restored glory. What we have to understand with the likes of Ramsey's Pier, is that once they're gone, they're gone forever, and no one will ever think to build such a thing ever again, because being able to walk a few hundred yards out "into" the sea isn't much of a draw in the days of high-def telly and next-gen gaming consoles. The real criminal act here is that it's been allowed to deteriorate as far as it has done, this is a process that should have been arrested years ago, and should have taken priority over any number of half-witted and massively expensive capital schemes that have added nothing of any value to the island. Speaking personally, we wouldn't welcome an increase in the rates because (like a lot of folks) we're on a pretty sort of "maxed out" budget, and any extra expenditure is going to mean cutting back on something else, but if we're talking about an extra few quid per year, (£20, £40, £60?, anyone got any ideas on numbers?), then you'd have to give it serious consideration because it'd be saving one of the last remaining long piers in the UK and surrounding islands. And also, think back to when you were little, when the sea seemed to be almost impossibly powerful and vast. I remember walking out onto Blackpool's central pier as a lad and being consumed with fascination at the crashing waves beneath me, so close to oblivion, and yet completely safe, with that unforgettable tang of salt water on my tongue. We owe it to Ramsey to preserve its pier, we owe it to the island, and we owe it to the history of mankind's desire to conquer the elements, just stop and think to imagine what the hell it took in terms of dedication and labour to construct something such as Ramsey's pier at the dawn of the 20th century! It'd be nice if politicians had a bit more conviction when it came to stuff like this, rather than cop-out and issue a half-arsed questionnaire - tell us why it's important, tell us why it matters, tell us why we should believe in it, make the message resonate in our souls. Or failing that, fuck around with focus groups and tacky mailshots, because that'll work too. Honest. Anyway, when it comes to saving Ramsey's pier, I'm in, even it means a few quid on the rates. -------------------- And following on from that, it seems that the public have made their opinion pretty damned clear, so let's get the pier fixed up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WilDDog Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Anyway, when it comes to saving Ramsey's pier, I'm in, even it means a few quid on the rates. -------------------- And following on from that, it seems that the public have made their opinion pretty damned clear, so let's get the pier fixed up. What he said, all of it not just the quoted piece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mission Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Actually, forget what I said before, we don't need that engine, we'll just use ride's R5 Turbo instead of the train - it'll cut journey times and put a smile on the faces of all the passengers (might kill a few coffin dodgers with the shock of the speed of the thing but hey, it's not like there's a shortage of them in Ramsey is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitro Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 The pier was used for berthing although I can't see that ever happening again, its not really suitable for that purpose in these modern days. Would you like to elaborate on that? As it could still be used to berth boats once it's fixed. I'm not saying it couldn't, but I doubt it every will be used like that, I can't see it being suitable like it was in the 40's etc.. Perhaps It could, I just can't imagine docking there, it could only be used for passengers and not cars etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mission Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 I don't think it was ever used for cars tbh (although I stand to be corrected on that point). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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