Geocache: Margate - The Soul of Margate
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Location: Olby’s Creative Hub, Fort Hill
Title of geocache: ECC Margate The Soul of Margate
The Margate GeoTour was created by a group of people living locally, who were interested in uncovering Margate’s unique history. Through discussion and research, sharing memories and local knowledge, they selected six locations in Margate to make up the GeoTour.
In March 2020, the UK went into a national lockdown and the project was put on pause. When the group reunited almost a year later, they revisited their relationship to the local area. Working with sound artist Dan Scott, they created a series of audio responses for each location, using poetry, music, historical research and conversation to bring new meaning to familiar places.
The Soul of Margate
Listen to Bernadette reflect on first arriving in Margate and experiencing the dramatic landscape.
Transcript
Sharon: Well done, you’ve found cache number 3. Well done. Good for perseverance! Congratulations you’re at the third cache on Turner Contemporary geocache tour as part of England’s Creative Coast. You are now outside Obly’s Soul Cafe. It’s a great place for music, dancing and food. It’s opposite the Turner so you can look out at the beautiful seascape.
Bernadette: I’m at the Turner Contemporary, Margate, and it's quite a warm day for the time of year. And this is one of the places that is significant to me in Margate. When I first decided to come and live here, it was the Turner that was one of the things that drew me to it. I used to see it as I got off the train cos it was 2012 and it had the pink stripe, Olympic stripe on it, which made it stand out even more. I do miss that stripe. I was a bit sad when I came down one day, before I moved here permanently, that it had gone. But I thought, well you know, you can make your own stripe!
So, I’m standing here looking out across the Harbour and then I turn and I look out to sea and when you’re in the Turner and look out across the sea, it’s a different picture every time. The waves can be really rough and it's like the seas boiling and other times its quite calm and sedate and there's always a few ships. Container ships sitting around, well it seems like they are sitting around. Just outside the Turner. Not far from the Turner.
And of course, there's the Turner skies. Bit grey today. But the Turner sunsets. I call them the Turner sunsets. The magnificent behold. The colours are unforgettable. It's like a picture that changes every time you see it. And they’re absolutely wonderful. Well, I hope you enjoy being part of this trail with the Turner featured on it. My name is Bernadette Hawkes and thank you for listening to my soundscape.
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In the background you can hear the song that makes me think about Margate. Before I moved here, Margate was somewhere I used to come to for music soul festivals and this song, Before I Let Go by Maze is basically an anthem and as much as I’m a bit picky about the songs I like, this one always gets me on the dance floor. And it has Margate and sun and sand and sea written all over it.
Music is 'Before I Let You Go' by Maze (featuring Frankie Berverly).
Sound collected and edited by Dan Scott.
Geocache container is by Elouise Farley. Insta: @ladywood___