The World In Folkestone: Recent Episodes
CT20 Projects
Author and literary explorer Ann Morgan presents a series of conversations with local residents who have interesting perspectives on the world in Folkestone. Speaking to individuals from diverse backgrounds who have all changed the town in some way, The World In Folkestone traces some of the international threads that make Folkestone the complex, intriguing and vibrant place it is today.Relocating to Folkestone from London in 2016, Ann Morgan went through a kind of culture shock upon moving to the town. Used to living in a multicultural city, she was struck by how seemingly homogenous and small Folkestone was. She found herself missing the diversity she was used to, until she realised that part of the problem was with her looking. From the thriving Nepalese community to Fredo Franzoni’s ‘The Landing of the Belgian Refugees’, the town was far more international and culturally rich than she had first thought. The stories were there for those willing to seek them out, and in her five-part podcast series, Morgan spotlights some of the underrepresented and untold stories of Folkestone’s residents.
In Episode Five, Ann Morgan speaks to Sally Hough, a curator and charity volunteer who championed the celebration of local black-history hero Walter Tull and has been heavily involved in attempts to improve conditions for asylum seekers housed in Folkestone’s notorious Napier Barracks.
“The fact that we think it’s acceptable to put people in this environment makes you start to question what kind of country we are.” - Sally Hough.
In Episode Four, Ann Morgan speaks to Lars Knudsen, or Christopher Dane as his stage name is, a Danish actor who moved to Folkestone during the pandemic after more than twenty years living in the UK. She started by asking him to tell her about the place in which they were meeting.
“It suddenly felt like a different country.” - Lars Knudsen.
In Episode Three, Ann Morgan speaks to Dhan Gurung, chair of the Folkestone Gurkha Memorial Fund and probably the first ex Gurkha to be elected as a UK councillor. A former Gurkha and local councillor, who was instrumental in getting Gurkhas British citizenship rights and crowdfunded for a Gurkha memorial in the Gardens of Remembrance at the heart of the town known to his regiment as ‘the home of the Gurkhas’, he met Morgan there to tell her about what the place means to him.
“Although we gave our full contribution for this country, Gurkhas were not allowed to settle in this country. My aim was: I want to make that happen because Gurkhas are part of this family.” - Dhan Gurung.
In Episode Two, Morgan speaks to local historian Eamonn Rooney, who moved to Folkestone from Northern Ireland in the 1960s and is the author of ‘Folkestone and the Belgian Refugees During World War One’. Meeting at the recently restored, bustling Folkestone Harbour station, where so many international travellers arrived and departed in previous centuries, their conversation begins with Eamonn explaining what brought him to this part of the world.
“I was actually a reluctant visitor… There was one hotel owner – people turned against him because he had a foreign-sounding name, but he was actually Cornish” - Eamonn Rooney.