by Peter Barnett

The clock turned back to Victorian days in Broadstairs for the start of the town's annual Dickens Festival.

Crepes and crinolines and top hats and tails added a swish of glamour and authenticity to the opening parade from the top of the High Street to the clifftop Victoria Gardens, signalling the start of a week of events.

Once again the costumed characters provided a colourful cameo of life in the town where the great novelist Dickens lived and worked in Fort House - now Bleak House - from 1837 until 1859.

In 1937, to commemorate the centenary of the author's first visit, Gladys Waterer, the then owner of Dickens House, conceived the idea of putting on a production of David Copperfield and of having people about the town in Victorian dress to publicise it.

The festival was born and, with the exception of the years of the Second World War, has been held annually in the third week of June ever since.

A packed programme of events including walks, talks, plays, a country fair, a cricket match and a sea bathing party once again celebrates the town's true affection for Charles Dickens in style.