My name is Dasha. I come from Minsk, Belarus. Today is exactly one month that I left Margate. I spent two weeks in Margate and this is what I remember. We made several excursions in the local area: around Margate old town, including the pier and the new Turner Contemporary Gallery. It was near this gallery that we saw the Queen when she visited Margate a few days later. We visited Dover Castle, including a tour of the wartime tunnels with the hospital and Dunkirk exhibitions, as well as the Great Tower and the Roman lighthouse. Together with my twin sister we visited the beautiful Leeds Castle. We spent a long time inside the castle itself, and then started on the grounds – the maze, where we found our way through the labyrinth and underground grotto, watched a bird display (with three storks – our national bird of Belarus), and looked at the amazing collection of exotic birds in the aviary and visited the dog collar museum there. We visited Canterbury Cathedral where we went to a service and listened to the boys’ choir singing. We watched Professor Heard’s Curious Victorian Magic Lantern Show which was held in Walpole Bay Hotel in Margate. There was a very special atmosphere: the people around us were all dressed in the costumes of Victorian Britain. We made a few trips to the nearest large shopping centre at Westwood Cross to buy some Christmas decorations. I watched the 3D film “The adventures of the Tin-tin” in the local cinema and went bowling with Ella’s younger daughter Alexandra. We also went to the Deal swimming pool with waves and a chute. I went for a dog walk with Jim and Rosa and took lots of photographs of the sea, beach and cliffs with my special camera.
