Continuing Roadworks Along Seafront

Well, we know that roadworks along the seafront are going on for a while still, but replacing the wee wall is taking a bit longer than just the 3 days oginally planned (blog), I suspect someone at East Sussex Highways was unaware that the wall and island separating the road along East Parade was at different heights either side! Apparently, waiting to erect a fence now!

St Patrick's Day Music in Hastings!

Happy St Patrick's Day! Live Irish Music on at:

Hastings Fat Tuesday Tour 4th March 2025

Tomorrow evening, Tuesday the 4th of March is the day, Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras/Shrove Tuesday, whatever you want to call it, and Hastings hosts the biggest Mardi Gras festival in Britain: For the Fat Tuesday Tour 24 acts will be playing at 3 venues each from the following 12, from the Carlisle in the west/town centre to the Dolphin Inn in the east/old town, and all free, but don't forget to drink!😉

Albion, 33 George Street TN34 3EA;

Hastings and St Leonards Angling Association, Marine Parade TN34 3AG;

Carlisle, 24 Pelham Street TN34 1PE;

Dolphin Inn, 11-12 Rock-a-Nore Road TN34 3DW;

Dragon Bar, 71 George Street TN34 3EE;

First In Last Out, 14-15 High Street TN34 3EY;

Jenny Lind Inn, 69 High Street TN34 3EW;

London Trader, 4-7 East Beach Street TN34 3AR;

Lord Nelson, 1 East Bourne Street TN34 3DP;

Porters Wine Bar, 56 High Street TN34 3EN;

Pump House, 64 George Street TN34 3EE;

Royal Standard, East Beach Street TN34 3DW.

Each of the 24 acts will play 20 minutes sets in 3 of the venues, and each venue will have 6 acts, from 8.00 pm until 11.00/11.30 pm; please go to the Hastings Fat Tuesday website for greater detail for each act and each venue. In addition, from 8.00 pm until 1.00 am, opposite the Lifeboat Station at East Hastings Sea Angling Association, The Stade TN34 3FJ, will be the Reggae Room.

If you want to play it by ear, just walk around the Old Town and don't be surprised by the quality of free live music available, have fun and party. However, I recommend people consider their favourite venues and what they sell drinks-wise, consider who they'd like to see, then decide on getting to one venue early, and stay there, it will be busy!

For full details of all events (there is more!) go to the website.

If you haven't already read it, I wrote more about Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras and the history of Mardi Gras in last Thursday's blog.  

Enjoy free live music and party folks!

Hastings Fat Tuesday 2025!

Hastings Fat Tuesday Music Festival: 28th of February to the 4th of March 2025 is back again and it's time to celebrate Britain's largest Mardi Gras in Hastings! The full details of events can be found at the website. As usual I'll share details and notes here about the history of Mardi Gras itself. The festival encompasses numerous venues across Hastings throughout the 5 days of the festival until culminating on the evening of Shrove Tuesday/Pancake Day/Fat Tuesday/Mardi Gras/whatever 🎶 Tuesday the 4th of March, for the Fat Tuesday Tour 2025 (website), with partying and music galore from 24 established acts at 12 venues from The Carlisle in the west to The Dolphin Inn in the east, and entry is free. Plus there's the Reggae Room Party at East Hastings Sea Angling Association (website).

Mardi Gras, New Orleans, Spectacle! 

OK, we may not be as spectacular as Mardi Gras in New Orleans (website) which has been going since 1703, originally 60 miles south of New Orleans, at Point Du Mardi Gras, where  French explorers landed a few years earlier, on the day of Mardi Gras, the 2nd of March 1699. New Orleans was established in 1718, with Mardi Gras regularly celebrated there by the 1830s, and by 1875, large floats were being built in New Orleans to celebrate the festival, the year it became a legal public holiday.

Rio de Janeiro Carnaval, Glamour!

Or as glamourous as Carnaval in Rio which has been celebrated, initially with feasts, since the 17th century. Masquerade balls became popular in the 19th century, but in the early 20th century the culture of African music and dance, introduced by freed slaves and their children, was enveloped within Portuguese Rio de Janeiro, then was founded the dance style of Samba (Sambassadorsofgroove). Mardi Gras was now celebrated in Rio together with the development of Samba schools in the 1920s (there are about 200 schools in existence now) the Carnaval (Portuguese for Carnival) festival became centred on the parade of the Samba schools and the glamour that was introduced, and since 1933 Rio Carnaval has become the largest Mardi Gras festival in the World, with 2 million people participating every year.

We may not have as much spectacle and glamour as New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro, although there will be plenty of dressing up, be assured of that, and Mardi Gras and Carnaval have been going considerably longer than Fat Tuesday in Hastings, but we do have free live music galore and we party, for example Saturday 1st March Unplugged boasts 60 emerging artists and bands playing 15 minutes acoustic sets at 30 venues across Hastings, for 5 hours from 1-6pm, from Day Glo Records in St Leonards in the west, to the Dolphin Inn in the Old Town in the east (if you don't have a programme already, for specific acts and where they're playing, go to the website), entry is free, and don't be surprised to find more free non-festival live music at a number of venues Saturday evening too, this is Hastings!

Whichever events you attend do enjoy our Mardi Gras and have fun!

Some Updates Regarding Hastings...

Following the public consultation about the town centre over a year ago now (blog), things are happening, ish... The road along the seafront is being worked on (see further down), apparently by the same people as will be working on the proposed new pathway to the seafront from the town centre. However, the so-called 'pedestrianised' town centre still isn't, for a few years now in fact, and be careful dodging the cars, vans and motorcycles tearing through!

Along the seafront, the empty Chatsworth Hotel has now been bought by Buckswood School, apparently for short-stay accommodation for pupils (Sussex World), but maybe for hotel accommodation for visiting relatives too? And will what was the Indian Restaurant be reopened as a restaurant of some sort I wonder, remembering that Buckswood managed the St Mary in the Castle restaurant for some time a while ago (blog), and what will happen there?!?

The refurbishment of the road along the seafront will continue, and the low wall in the middle of the road in front of East Parade is going to be removed; planned for Monday the 10th and Wednesday the 12th of March 2025, working between 09.30 and 16.30 (East Sussex Highways). For details of all planned roadworks go to the Hastings Borough Council website.

Sussex Mayor, Your Opinion?

For the future, Central Government at Westminster plans for you to be served by just one council (known as ‘unitary government’) rather than the present two-tier system of East Sussex County Council and a borough or district council (For example Hastings), with a Mayor elected for overall policy in Sussex. Now, I know that in Hastings there are varying opinions about Hastings Borough Council and East Sussex County Council, whatever, you now have your chance to make your opinion known about the future of local governance in Hastings and Sussex. For further information, and to give your opinion, go to the Government website.

RNLI Lifeguards for 2025 now being recruited.

The RNLI is looking for this summer's lifeguards in East Sussex, including Hastings; for details of requirements and conditions please go to the RNLI website. Respect to those who apply.

Tower Beer Festival This Weekend!

The Tower, up on the corner of London Road and Tower Road, Bohemia TN37 6NB, is holding its annual real ale festival this weekend (facebook), from Friday the 21st to Sunday the 23rd of February 2025; 11am to 11pm Friday and Saturday, 11am to 10pm Sunday... oh yes, and real ciders will be available too! Some of what will be available below:

Fat Tuesday 2025 - Early Warning!

Hastings Fat Tuesday Music Festival early warning for us all, this year running from Friday the 28th of February to Fat Tuesday the 4th of March 2025 (website) and it will again be time to celebrate Mardi Gras in style in Hastings!

Maximum Bus Fare Now £3.

The maximum single bus fare is now £3, sorry I'm a bit late, not so up to date news! For full details of local fares in East Sussex go to the Stagecoach website.

Humpback Whales!

If you haven't seen a Humpback Whale swimming off the Sussex Coast recently, I guess, like me, most of you have heard about it. I've seen video taken from Hastings Pier of a whale on facebook, and this video on YouTube had Brighton spectators pretty excited! I've had a communcication from the Sussex Wildlife Trust, providing information about the importance of humpback whales and reasons why we are seeing them in local waters more regularly. Indeed, if you do spot a humpback whale, or any other marine mammal off our coast, they ask that you please report this to the Sussex Dolphin Project. Keep your eyes open folks, many thanks!

Town Centre, Couple of News Items.

Many times I've written about the ongoing building of the hotel in Cornwallis Street (eg blog), see image at bottom, well, the road is vlosed off from the South Terrace end, which I imagine hasn't made Pissarro's too happy, but the entrance from St Andrews Square has been opened for visitors to the garage back there, but no parking room available for anyone else, oh well, and...

I meant to wrote about this last week too (apologies for delay), but Greggs in Queens Road has moved. I saw it was closed in the early morning, but walked by again in the early evening and took this photograph, it has enlarged slughtly to 2/4 doors back down Queens Road!

Walley's and Pickled, Queens Road.

Opened a couple of months ago, Walley's, 191 Queens Road, Hastings TN34 1RG (website - my image), where the laundrette used to be, sells plants, stuff to do with plants, and some less perishable Greek foodstuffs. It opens from 11.00-20.00 Wednesdays to Saturdays and 11.00-17.00 Sundays; closed Mondays and Tuesdays. Downstairs, is Pickled, their Greek restaurant:

This is a bar too, and the style of food served in Pickled (facebook) is meze/mezze, the Greek equivalent to Spanish tapas. The reason why I have posted this blog is, not just that it's new, but that a number of different groups of people I know have eaten there and have all shared glowing reports. The images immediately above and below are from their facebook page.

I've been told that the food quality is very good, and at a reasonable price too; the meze/side dishes range in price from £6.50 to £7.50, and 'Pickled Classics' from £7.00 to £10.00. The image above looks toward the attractive garden area, which can be accessed from St Andrews Mews whilst open, and will become a great boon during warmer months I have no doubt, nice one!

The outside garden area peaking in from St Andrews Mews,

Foreshore Trust Grants for Voluntary/Community Groups

The Hastings Foreshore Trust will offer awards of up to £6,000 for grants to support smaller voluntary and community groups in carrying out activities, services and events that benefit and support the local community within Hastings & St Leonards. This round of funding is for events and activities that are set to happen between April 2025 and March 2026; go to the website for more details and how to apply. You have until Friday the 17th of January 2025 to apply.

Stamp Out 'Spiking' Drinks in Hastings!

There has been plenty of publicity about 'spiking' drinks and the legal consequences in recent years, eg the Stamp Out Spiking website, and advice on how to recognise if your drink has been 'spiked' eg Greenock Telegraph, a few years ago, this is not new! A couple of nights ago a Hastings woman could have died when falling from a balcony following a 'spiking' of her drink in the Old Town, and our thoughts are with her. Whoever 'spiked' her drink had better hope the Police find him/her before the local population does, any information please call 101.

New Year Dark Beer Festival!

Indeed, from today to Sunday (3rd-5th January 2025), The Jolly Fisherman, 3 East Beach Street, Hastings TN34 3AR is holding a Dark Beer Festival (facebook): Opening at 13.00 today, and 12.00 Sat/Sunday.

There will be a large choice of styles amongst the cask and keg beers available, includes:

Stouts and Porters.

Other dark beers from abroad, and Belgian style brewed in UK.

Mild Ales and not so strong. But, whenever you visit, whatever you drink, do enjoy Hastings this weekend, and enjoy the Festival, cheers!