I heard (from a leaflet I picked up in said hotel / venue) that Michael Caine actually made his stage debut in The Grand in Folkestone, Not a lot of people know that.
This is part of my site The 'Gerald that I built in a frenzy of enthusiasm when I first came to Folkestone in approximately '04. I'd been a frequent visitor for a few years before that so I am technically one of those Down From Londons you get now. The site used to be a lot more dynamic with a gig calendar and voting for favourite venues and things, and I know it was a handy reference for others who were thinking of moving here. Now I've moved out of Folkestone again (though only a couple of miles) it doesn't get as much attention as it used to. Ironic really as The town is becoming the exciting place we knew it was about to become. My name is not Gerald by the way, this comes from the name of a fake newspaper in an episode of Brasseye or something, the Portsmouth Gerald, and how there is a local newspaper here called the Folkestone Herald. Puns like this are great aren't they? Do contact me if you have anything to offer, email anythign @ this domain, or try @folkestone or @pauly on the twitter.