The Front Page. - Copy 254 ( Spring dramatic weather, No Flowers DTC, New Ship Barfleur.)
22 April 2012
We are having every conceivable combination of weather thrown at us at the moment. Strong winds, lashings of eternal rain ( some drought we're having!?) and yesterday we had a spectacular storm of thunder and lightning..with a massive full arc rainbow thrown into the mix for added glorious colour, and a double rainbow at that, as you can see in the picture.
The picture on the left, taken yesterday afternoon, was snapped just at that moment when the sun broke through temporarily and caught the driving rain. Yours truly had hoped to get a flash of lightning, the kind that crackles across the sky, into the picture backdrop at the same time but alas alas it didn't happen. It was that kind of lightning and if anyone got a pic of the lightning you know where to send it. dover7@msn.com.
The guys in the forum were out there snapping away too and you can see a thread running there called..yes.. rainbow, with more pictures on view. One tiny extra thing...a batch of pictures were taken and the sky is a different colour to the right of the rainbow in all the pictures..?
I suspect this unusual and spectacular spell of weather may not be over yet so it may present yet more photo opportunities. Get snap snap snapping!
PaulB
By some weird oddball calculation we seem to be having a drought. But it is the wettest drought anyone can remember. Parts of Dover have already flooded and take a look at the sky in the picture above...lots of rain up there, and it came down too bigtime. And it is still coming down. Plenty to water the flowers.
See the following story...see also the comments on this same story in our Forum..
http://www.doverforum.com/letters/viewtopic.php?id=10135
Hose Pipe Ban Hits High Street Plans.....say Dover Town Council
Dover Town Council has reluctantly announced that they will be suspending their plans for floral displays throughout the town this year.
As part of its continued effort to make Dover a more welcoming place, the Town Council has been working in partnership with Dover District Council to deliver hanging baskets through the Town Centre as well as railing baskets along York Street.
Unfortunately, due to the water restrictions in place and notification from Veolia that any watering of plants from mains water is strictly prohibited, the Town Council has with great disappointment had to suspend planting for this year.
Dover Town Council does not currently have access to “grey water” (recycled water) which is the only legal form of watering at present, although it is now investigating innovative ways to collect water for next year should restrictions continue.
Cllr Mrs. Susan Jones said “It’s a devastating decision for the Council especially after all the effort put in so far, however it is unlikely that the necessary restrictions on watering from the mains will be lifted over the next few months. Dover Town Council has to abide by the restrictions and not plan for costly floral displays which cannot be watered. We are still looking at other ways to brighten the town centre this summer but without thirsty plants.”
No flowers.......soon to be no fountain.
If you have been reading our Forum you will know about the latest ship coming to join the new service to Calais at the end of the month....and here she is left, pictured just a short couple of days ago by our ace roving nautical man with camera, Ed Connell. This new service, following along in the wake of the Seafrance collapse, is provided by an amalgamation of DFDS and LD Lines. The ship is the Barfleur, formerly of Brittany Ferries as you can see, but now soon to be re-christened and re-liveried as.......
the Deal Seaways
The pictures were taken as she made her way to drydock in Dunkerque. You can see the local pilot being lowered by helicopter into the thick of the action. 
Very spectacular pictures..when she re-emerges from this drydocking she will of course be a different looking animal and a fascinating addition to the new service on the Dover- Calais route.
Additional sailings to commence on 27 April..next week!
Commencing operation on 27 April, the new vessel will bring the total number of daily sailings by DFDS/LDLines out of Dover to Calais to 10. Passengers will be able to travel across to Calais from just £29 each way for a car and up to four passengers.
The second vessel has been chartered from Brittany Ferries, and was previously known as the Barfleur before being renamed ahead of her launch later this month. More on this in our forum. Chris Newey, passenger director for the English Channel at DFDS Seaways, said:
“We have been really pleased with the uptake of the new route between Dover-Calais, and are delighted to be able to respond to demand with the launch of the second vessel, therefore doubling the number of crossings. We’re confident our customers will benefit from the flexibility of sailing times, as well as still having the option to travel to Dunkerque.”
The new timetable can be found here: http://www.dfdsseaways.co.uk/ferry-routes/ferry-to-france/calais-timetable/?email=uk_dcapr12_reschedule For more information about DFDS Seaways, the Dover-Calais route or to find out the latest sailing times and book tickets, visit www.dfdsseaways.co.uk or telephone 0871 574 7241.
Also see this thread in our Forum...http://www.doverforum.com/letters/viewtopic.php?id=9872
* *
Check out our highly active Forum, where you will find a great selection of topics local and national, see particularly our Springtime pictures by our ace forumites in this specific link here...
http://www.doverforum.com/letters/viewtopic.php?id=9578
For all previous frontpage features ....
The Pot of Gold gets ever Closer!
We are having every conceivable combination of weather thrown at us at the moment. Strong winds, lashings of eternal rain ( some drought we're having!?) and yesterday we had a spectacular storm of thunder and lightning..with a massive full arc rainbow thrown into the mix for added glorious colour, and a double rainbow at that, as you can see in the picture.
The picture on the left, taken yesterday afternoon, was snapped just at that moment when the sun broke through temporarily and caught the driving rain. Yours truly had hoped to get a flash of lightning, the kind that crackles across the sky, into the picture backdrop at the same time but alas alas it didn't happen. It was that kind of lightning and if anyone got a pic of the lightning you know where to send it. dover7@msn.com.
The guys in the forum were out there snapping away too and you can see a thread running there called..yes.. rainbow, with more pictures on view. One tiny extra thing...a batch of pictures were taken and the sky is a different colour to the right of the rainbow in all the pictures..?
I suspect this unusual and spectacular spell of weather may not be over yet so it may present yet more photo opportunities. Get snap snap snapping!
PaulB
We're not having much of a Spring are we.....
See the following story...see also the comments on this same story in our Forum..
http://www.doverforum.com/letters/viewtopic.php?id=10135
No Flowers for Dover this Olympic Year.
Hose Pipe Ban Hits High Street Plans.....say Dover Town Council
Dover Town Council has reluctantly announced that they will be suspending their plans for floral displays throughout the town this year.
As part of its continued effort to make Dover a more welcoming place, the Town Council has been working in partnership with Dover District Council to deliver hanging baskets through the Town Centre as well as railing baskets along York Street.
Unfortunately, due to the water restrictions in place and notification from Veolia that any watering of plants from mains water is strictly prohibited, the Town Council has with great disappointment had to suspend planting for this year.
Dover Town Council does not currently have access to “grey water” (recycled water) which is the only legal form of watering at present, although it is now investigating innovative ways to collect water for next year should restrictions continue.
Cllr Mrs. Susan Jones said “It’s a devastating decision for the Council especially after all the effort put in so far, however it is unlikely that the necessary restrictions on watering from the mains will be lifted over the next few months. Dover Town Council has to abide by the restrictions and not plan for costly floral displays which cannot be watered. We are still looking at other ways to brighten the town centre this summer but without thirsty plants.”
No flowers.......soon to be no fountain.
Exciting Times on the Dover Straits.
If you have been reading our Forum you will know about the latest ship coming to join the new service to Calais at the end of the month....and here she is left, pictured just a short couple of days ago by our ace roving nautical man with camera, Ed Connell. This new service, following along in the wake of the Seafrance collapse, is provided by an amalgamation of DFDS and LD Lines. The ship is the Barfleur, formerly of Brittany Ferries as you can see, but now soon to be re-christened and re-liveried as.......
the Deal Seaways
The pictures were taken as she made her way to drydock in Dunkerque. You can see the local pilot being lowered by helicopter into the thick of the action.
Very spectacular pictures..when she re-emerges from this drydocking she will of course be a different looking animal and a fascinating addition to the new service on the Dover- Calais route.Additional sailings to commence on 27 April..next week!
Commencing operation on 27 April, the new vessel will bring the total number of daily sailings by DFDS/LDLines out of Dover to Calais to 10. Passengers will be able to travel across to Calais from just £29 each way for a car and up to four passengers.
The second vessel has been chartered from Brittany Ferries, and was previously known as the Barfleur before being renamed ahead of her launch later this month. More on this in our forum.
“We have been really pleased with the uptake of the new route between Dover-Calais, and are delighted to be able to respond to demand with the launch of the second vessel, therefore doubling the number of crossings. We’re confident our customers will benefit from the flexibility of sailing times, as well as still having the option to travel to Dunkerque.”
The new timetable can be found here: http://www.dfdsseaways.co.uk/ferry-routes/ferry-to-france/calais-timetable/?email=uk_dcapr12_reschedule For more information about DFDS Seaways, the Dover-Calais route or to find out the latest sailing times and book tickets, visit www.dfdsseaways.co.uk or telephone 0871 574 7241.
Also see this thread in our Forum...http://www.doverforum.com/letters/viewtopic.php?id=9872
* *
Check out our highly active Forum, where you will find a great selection of topics local and national, see particularly our Springtime pictures by our ace forumites in this specific link here...
http://www.doverforum.com/letters/viewtopic.php?id=9578