Margaret id recorded as being the first seaside resort to make a donkey ride a familiar seaside amusement. Thanet's donkeys were described as "bearing angels by day and spirits by night", a reference to the local smuggling industry which had been using donkeys for centuries before they became popular with holiday makers. Bennett's Asinarium or donkey stud in Margate High Street had more than three score animals. At Margate, ladies would sit astride, but in Cliftonville, which attracted a higher class of holiday maker, they sat side saddle. At Westgate, the Parish council didn't like the thought of people strolling along the prom and having to look at Donkey's backsides, so it was decreed that the animals should be tethered with their rears facing the sea and their heads facing the prom so as not to cause offence. As well as the donkey rides, children could also enjoy a ride on carts which were pulled by goats or dogs and 9d an hour in 1911. -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.392 / Virus Database: 268.5.4/332 - Release Date: 5/4/06