Police in Numbers in Hastings? Apparently Drug Related!

Wondered why the Police have been in Hastings in large numbers since Monday? Nothing to do with our welfare, but to do with drugs! Oh well... a drug dealer at some level has messed up it appears. See the BBC about the £84 million worth of cocaine washed up from Pett Level to Newhaven, drugs have been washed ashore! 

Safest to Near Unsafest back to Near Safest, couldn't make it up!

'tis strange, how we feel about incidence rates of COVID-19, which in Hastings back in November, had the lowest incidence in the whole of England and Wales, with about 30 cases at the rate per 100,000 of 31.3 compared to the national average of 167/100,000 at the time (blog). The rate then shot up in November into the new year and Hastings became one of the unsafest places to live in the country (HastingsOnlineTimes)!

So, where are we now? Well, I shan't tempt fate, but during the last week the incidence reduced to just ONE person in Hastings, ie less than 1 per 100,000, compared to the national average of 12 per 100,000, and I was so proud of our record back when Hastings was the safest place in the country with 30/31 cases! See the BBC for any area you are interested in and national statistics, but how expectations change... 

Great stuff, fingers crossed, but carry on staying safe folks!

The Beginning of the End?

So, we are at the beginning of the end, fingers crossed, with most things allowed now, eg indoor dining and drinking, though excluding nightclubs and with many 'mitigations' still; go to the BBC website for a good explanation of what we can and cannot do. 

But COVID-19, and it's variants, is still out there, so remain cautious folks.

With thanks to Simon Holland Photography for the photograph (facebook).

A Sad Goodbye to Debenhams

Well, the final closures of Debenhams stores countrywide happened yesterday (BBC), but did you know that the Hastings branch at 3 Robertson Street was originally a drapers store run by William Plummer? He opened his store in 1871, before merging with his neighbour from 1-2 Robertson Street, George Roddis, (and another chap, Reginald Tyrrell of Bournemouth, who later left their arrangement), to become Plummer Roddis until bought out by Debenhams in the early 1970s.

The building had been rebuilt in 1927, to a fine design by the local architect Henry Ward, in the last year of his life, and who designed many other local buildings, including the town hall in Queens Road (blog). 

Sad to see Debenhams go...

Steps to Freedom, the third (or fourth) Step begins from Monday?

So, all being well, it looks like Step 3 (or Step 4 for those who can add up, or maybe Step 3 plus a mezzanine floor?) of the Government's 4 (or 5, or 4+1 😉) steps to freedom from COVID-19 Crisis restrictions begins this coming Monday, the 17th of May 2021 (blog), fingers crossed! So, what should be different? 

I have copied the above from SussexLive, because it reads easily and is better than anything I could produce, so many thanks to them. 👍 Here's hoping all goes to plan, but please don't forget to continue to wash your hands regularly, maintain a safe distance from others, and wear a face covering when required/sensible... 

Hopefully, I shall be drinking a pint in a safe warm environment, cheers! 🍻

What to do if you find a young bird out of the nest...

Advice above from the Sussex Wildlife Trust about what to do if you find a 'baby bird' out of the nest, if you would like more details about the Trust please go to their website.

And remember to stay safe still folks, we're almost there! 👌

May Day Weekend in Retrospect

I took 4 days off social media over the weekend, but did carry on walking out into Hastings Country Park, and avoided the town centre and old town, mostly.  What I did see was my first Goldfinch of the year, well 2 actually, such an attractive bird (blog). 

About 6 fishing boats were out on Sunday morning, presumably had been overnight...

And the flag flyer up Barley lane flew an appropriate flag for a Hastings May Day!

And some people did dress up, including Bogie Men, Milk Maids and Beer Fairies!

n, 

Not exactly the 'Jack'  but better than nothing- the last 2 photographs were shared with thanks to the Dolphin facebook page, cheers!

Oh yes, and more than a few thousand bikes turned up!

Local Elections Thursday 6th May

Further to my blog about the higher than inflation increase to the Council Tax, notably to get the Council Tax payer to provide the money to pay for the Government's attempt to employ the over 20,000 police officers that they had taken away since 2010 - the Police & Crime Commissioner precept increasing by 7.5% - local elections are here...

The BBC (website) provides a decent overview of what is up for grabs in Hastings, seats for Hastings Borough Council, East Sussex County Council, and the Police & Crime Commissioner. So, whether you support or don't the Conservatives in charge of the county and Police & Crime Commissioner, or Labour in charge of Hastings, tomorrow is your chance to have an influence, indeed, even if you want to show support for, or dislike of, central Government. 

If we don't vote, can we really complain folks?