Hastings Traditional Jack in the Green 40th Anniversary

With the May Day public holiday actually falling on the 1st of May this year, what an excellent year to be celebrating the 40th anniversary of the revival of Hastings Jack in the Green (website). This evening (Friday 28th April) from 7.30 to 9.30pm at Hastings Museum and Art Gallery, Keith Leech will be giving a talk on the origins of Jack in the Green and the development of Hastings Jack. Then, until the culmination of the weekend on Monday the 1st of May, May Day, with the procession (above) that starts in Rock a Nore Road outside Hastings Fishermen's Museum, from where the Jack is released in the morning, and which ends up on the West Hill, where the Jack is slain in the afternoon, there is much merry making and dancing, and many drums banged, over the weekend (events), more to come...

Also, a reminder that on Monday pubs and bars in the old town will not be using glasses to serve drinks in, usually a police order, I seem to remember. Consequently, those horrible flexible disposable environmentally unfriendly plastic beakers will be used, but this year, similar to Fat Tuesday 4 years ago, a firm plastic cup will be used in 15 pubs and bars (above). They can be washed/rinsed and re-used again and again (I still use my Fat Tuesday one from 2019), and you will be asked to pay £2 to either buy your own, or borrow it for the day (deposit). Then you can move between establishments and/or drink outside, and, if you want your deposit back you can reclaim it at any of the 15 pubs and bars taking part; a great environmental decision, sensible recycling indeed, but I shall be keeping mine as a memento and to use for future events. 👍

Looking forward to Hastings Jack in the Green folks, cheers!

Oh yes, and you may see a few motorbikes too 😉