A lasting memorial
By
Geoffrey Boot
It seems that I’ve reached what some term a certain age, in other words
a goodly portion of my life is now behind. For some reason this has left me
with an urge to leave Sandgate, or Shepway for that matter, with a lasting
memorial after I’m gone. I need to have something named after me,
something like Radnor Cliff,
Granville Road
or
Sir John Moore Court
. Now I know all these fellows are long gone but I’m sure they’re
resting easy and well in the knowledge that their names live on.
Yes I know if you walk down any High Street there’s
Boots the Chemist, even in our own Folkestone and Hythe. There is indeed a
family connection, but it’s not Boot in the pure sense of the word.
Clearly the easiest way of having something named after
you is to marry her, to be fair I have gone down this route twice but they
are no more immortal than I am and I want something in remembrance terms
really lasting.
If I was a medical man I could discover a new disease
like Parkinson, Crone or Alzheimer, but somehow I don’t think I’ve got
the name for it. “I’ve got Boots” it sounds like you’re going
walkabouts, no I don’t think that would fit the bill.
Perhaps a prize, think of Noble or Nuffield. Even if I was willing to fund
that I don’t really think the idea of a Boot prize sounds first rate, in
fact it sounds as if you’ve collected a kick in the proverbial.
We’ve been travelling the world of late. Wouldn’t
it be nice to have a newly discovered plant named after me? Budlea that’s
the Reverent Adam Budle or Forsythia, Philip Forsythe. The trouble is
although I’m a keen amateur gardener I’m no Botanist, so that looks like
a non-starter.
This is getting off the point, I’m a Sandgate man and
I want my name to endure in Sandgate. Now this narrows the opportunities a
bit there aren’t any new roads being built and new botanical discoveries
are unlikely unless something crops up on Saga Hill.
Mind you there is some new development taking place,
but once again Boots would sound like the chemist, and somehow Boot Hill
doesn’t quite have the right ring to it, and as for Geoffrey’s Place it
sounds like some sort of comedy.
What about Boot Law we have after all Boot Camp. Boot
Law could apply to Sandgate. A fundamental declaration by me of a scientific
truth in the footsteps of
Newton
, Boil and Einstein. This is beset with its own set of problems for me
though, to make a Law you have to have some scientific skills, say no more.
What about a new pub “The Boot Arms” this might
work but I think there’d be some opposition, locally to renaming either
one of our existing watering holes or for that matter building a new one. It
just doesn’t have the same ring as the famous Ship Inn or Gate 28. I do
however have a fairly long and clean record of Public House/Restaurant
Patronage, stretching back as far as I can remember, and I think I’ve
probably bought enough brewery and vineyard products to have earned the
right to have their next new pub named after me, but alas I don’t think
that’s going to happen in Sandgate.
What about writing a play FHODS could perform it
annually but come to think of it someone got there first with Puss in Boots
and who wants to be associated with a pantomime!
So examining all the options after a bottle of fine
wine, I’ve decided as Steward of Sandgate Castle that the time is right to
make a stand and put my mark on history. Yes you’ve probably guessed it
I’m going to call
Sandgate
Castle
,
Boot
Castle
that should do the trick. It’s already been here nearly 500 years and with
special protection afforded by the nation it will probably be here for
another. So there you have it at last the Boot Clan has its own Castle.