Visit Margate Museum Can be found just a short walk from the sea front nestled in Margate’s vibrant Old Town. The Thanet Loop bus stops very near by, alternatively Margate train station is a 15 minutes walk along the sea front. Margate Museum, Market Place, Margate Old Town, Margate CT9 1ER Tel 01843 231 213 Open: Saturday 11am – 5pm Wednesday (from April to October) 11am – 4pm Sunday 11am – 3pm Also all Bank Holiday Mondays till October 2012 Please note the Museum is in a Heritage & Listed building and as such is not DDA compliant. The Ground floor is accessible with, help from the wonderful volunteers down the steps inside the current entrance; but the Magistrates courtroom upstairs is only accessible to those able to climb a flight of stairs. Please go and have a look please, and perhaps become Member or Volunteer.

Talk on a New Novel & The Shell Grotto: Margate Library

Kent County Council News Release

How was the Shell Grotto discovered?

Local author talk at Margate Library

Sonia Overall will be giving a talk at Margate Library on Thursday 2 September at 6.30pm until 7.30pm. She will talk about her book the The Realm of Shells and the research that she did for it. The event is free but tickets are essential due to space. Tickets available from Margate Library, telephone 01843 223626.

The narrator of Sonia’s second novel, The Realm of Shells, is Fanny Newlove, a young girl who moves to Margate with her family in 1835. The discovery of an underground shell grotto in their new back garden is a catalyst for the unravelling of Fanny's world, as childhood secrets are replaced by adult intrigues and ruthless profiteering. Although a fictional account, the book includes many facts about the story of Margate’s Shell Grotto.

As well as being an author and teacher of creative writing, Sonia Overall has a ‘secret life’ as a street performer and musician. See her website for more information: http://soniaoverall.net/.

For further information please contact Margate Library or Jane Bex on 01843 223626