Had to see the latest Norman Invasion of Hastings...

Indeed, I'd got the day wrong originally, but glad to have found out and passed that information in my last blog, where I gave details of the friendly invasion, the Normandy Food Tour 2022, and it seemed pretty friendly too! Food, drinks (where most visitors appeared to be sitting - behind the vehicle in front of me) and music...

The Food Tour is well worth the visit, and still 4 hours left for it to be open in Hastings, but, of course, the RNLI Lifeboat Station a few metres away is well worth the visit too, if not today, over the weekend. And, adding on to what I said in my last blog, of course, there are many other places to visit and things to do: Hastings Pier, the Blue Reef Aquarium, Fishermen's Museum, Shipwreck Museum, Hastings Museum and Art Gallery, Hastings Castle, the award winning Parks, pubs, bars and restaurants galore, and fish and chips galore!! Not to forget Jack in the Green this weekend...

Enjoy yourselves!

Hastings Museum reopens today.

Hastings Museum & Art Gallery reopens today (blog from earlier this year in more 'normal' circumstances), although, as we expect in these health crisis times, with 'mitigations' due to Covid-19, eg shorter opening times, restricted numbers allowed to visit, one-way system, face masks to be worn, and free tickets must be booked in advanced. For further details and to book a ticket go to their website.

inBloom Video (website) video regarding guidelines and procedures (YouTube).

Hastings Museum & Art Gallery - Hastings Digital Museum

Walking up Bohemia Road the other day to shop at Lidl, and passing Hastings Museum & Art Gallery (website), I realized how much I miss my visits to the Museum, every month or so! But, during the lockdown they set up Hastings Digital Museum to help counter isolation and potential loneliness. They have since published a daily programme on facebook, twitter and instagram (I don't use instagram, sorry, so no link) but I'm sure that, like the other two, #HastingsDigitalMuseum will get you there.

The daily programmes publish posts and activities on all 3 social media platforms, including downloadable resources for children and families, videos, recordings of regular activities, and with opportunities for feedback and discussion. The most recent video explores the myth of 'toadstones' and an example of an activity can be see above and below, with a #HastingsDigitalQuilt based on *Edward Leslie Badham's painting of 'Corner House and Blue Saloon' at the bottom of the old town High Street.

And the finished product (immediately above), the #HastingsDigitalQuilt, with a little under 200 contributions made, nice one! Indeed, yesterday they posted a black and white version of the picture (Kate Hulme website), available to download for children to colour in, and not a few adults too I'd imagine. It's well worth keeping an eye on one of the social media platforms, enjoy, and maybe learn a bit too!

*Edward Leslie Badham was born in South London (Clapham) in 1873, and moved to St Leonards by 1911, later teaching at Hastings School of Art. He painted numerous watercolours of Hastings (many now owned by Hastings Museum & Art Gallery) until he died on the 12th of March 1944, together with his only daughter Dorothy May Badham, when his home in Priory Road suffered a direct hit during a bombing raid.

Hastings Pier Community Archive

On reading the latest Hastings Independent newspaper (website) I was reminded that the digital pier archive was passed to Hastings Museum & Art Gallery when the current owner of Hastings Pier bought the Pier a couple of years ago. Since last year, the volunteers who maintain the Hastings Pier Community Archive (website) have worked in collaboration with Hastings Museum to preserve and add to this important local cultural asset, and our thanks go to the Museum and the volunteers.

Consequently, if you want to share memorabilia, films and photographs with the Archive, you can do so digitally, or send hard copies to them and they will digitise the information before returning the original copies to you. You can find out more information about Hastings Pier and its history from, and there is already very much to peruse and research there, or share at, their website. Great stuff!

Hastings Museum & Art Gallery

A bit of a miserable damp misty mizzly day today, so I visited Hastings Museum & Art Gallery, John's Place, Bohemia Road TN34 1ET (website), hadn't visited for a while. You will guess that the photograph above is one I took a while ago as it is brighter, not to mention the blue sky. Until the end of March, winter opening times are (closed Mondays) Tuesdays to Saturdays 10.00 am to 4.00 pm, and 12.00 noon to 4.00 pm on Sundays. For visiting and access information go to the website.

 Peace Project

In addition to the regular exhibitions and events there are 2 separate exhibitions, the Peace Project, which continues to the 9th of February, so get in quick if you haven't visited recently. The Peace Project marks the centenary of the 'Peace Day' celebrations held in Hastings following the end of the First World War (1914-1918, website - many thanks to Hastings Museum & Art Gallery for the image above).

Also, until the 19th of April is Wunderkammer: Hastings Curiosities, which brings together exhibits from the museum's stores, some of which have not seen the light of days for years, including natural history specimens, archaeological artefacts, works of art, and exhibits concerning local and social history (website).

Grey Owl (1888-1938)

Of course there are the regular exhibitions and collections, including Natural History, Archaeology, Dinosaurs and Fossils, Paintings and Other World Art, Native North Americans, and the Canadian conservationist Grey Owl, who served as a sniper with the 13th (Montreal) Battalion of the Black Watch during the First World War (from 1915, he was wounded in 1916, and was shipped back to Canada in 1917). He visited Hastings on a tour of Britain in the 1930s, promoting books he had written and lecturing about conservation; what was not popular knowledge at the time was that he was born and raised in the Hastings area, and his real name was Archie Belaney! More information can be discovered at the Dictionary of Canadian Biography (website), and many thanks to the BBC for the image above.

I did not manage to get into the main gallery as an event for children, the Starlings Museum Group, was in progress (Friday mornings), with many children present, music and noise; indeed, the museum caters for learning activities aplenty, see website.

I'll have to visit on a different day next time, 'tis well worth it!

Happy International Museum Day 2019!

Hastings Museum & Art Gallery

Today is the 43rd International Museum Day (website) which has the objective of raising awareness of museums as "an important means of cultural exchange, enrichment of cultures and development of mutual understanding, cooperation and peace among peoples."

Consequently, a day to remember what a great Museum & Art Gallery we have in Hastings, that is, up Bohemia Road at John's Place, TN34 1ET (website), and to make a visit to this wonderful resource. Entry is free, and it is open today from 10am to 5pm; opening hours for April to October are 10am to 5pm Tuesdays to Saturdays and 12 noon to 5pm on Sundays (closed Mondays), and for November to March the same opening times, but closing an hour earlier at 4pm.

Hastings Fishermen's Museum

Also, down at Rock-a-Nore Road in the old town TN34 3DW, there are 2 museums that concern our local fishing industry and local coast, the Hastings Fishermen's Museum, open 10am to 5pm every day from April to October (website) and from 11am to 4pm November to March. And the Shipwreck Museum virtually next door, open 10.30am to 5pm every day from April to October (website). 

Whatever you do this weekend, enjoy yourselves!

Halloween!

Unsurprisingly, there's very little advertised for this evening regarding Halloween, despite the significance of today being the 31st of October...

Surprisingly, the only event advertised is at Hastings Museum & Art Gallery between 11am and noon! This will be a 'special talk' on 'Witches, Wise Women and the Magic of Sussex' given by Brion Purdey (website). The Museum is at John's Place, should you not already be aware, about half a mile up(hill) Bohemia Road from the seafront/town centre, TN34 1ET.

If you'd like to be reminded of the link between witches, wise women and ale feel free to have a look at an earlier blog investigating the oldest pub in Hastings!

Whatever, enjoy your evening... 👻

Hastings Pier update...

Well, this is from yesterday, and I have to admit they didn't say which Friday Hastings Pier would open again, but now it appears that, following the new owner not knowing he had to have 3rd Party Liability Insurance for the Pier (see previous blog), now the reopening will not be until Monday, hmmm, watch this space...

Yesterday, all our troubles seemed...

Anyway, I did a bit more research as I am a concerned person, notably, what is happening with the archives previously gathered, and what about the staff? Regarding staff, it appears that the majority have left already, but I was assured that the archives remain with friends, so are in safe hands! Oh yes, and the Heritage Lottery Fund Interactive Tables and Exhibition is going to Hastings Museum & Art Gallery, so at least some things are safe!

In addition, Friends of Hastings Pier are continuing to exist, primarily to secure a sustainable future for Hastings Pier "that serves the community's interests" and to explore ways of working with the new owner to achieve mutually beneficial objectives. If you wish to support or volunteer to work with the Friends of Hastings Pier and aren't already on their mailing list, email FriendsofHastingsPier@gmail.com 

Oh yes, and I have written to some major players, I shall share answers with you, though I doubt I'll get much different to what others are receiving...

International Museum Day 2018

May the 18th, that is today, is International Museum Day 2018 (website), so what better than visiting Hastings Museum and Art Gallery in Bohemia Road (website); I have written a few blogs concerning the museum, for example this blog, though things have changed since then as the Museum is continually changing it's exhibitions and paintings, dear me, I so need to visit again very soon, watch this space!

Of course, in the 'old town' we have the excellent Hastings Fishermen's Museum in Rock-a-Nore Road, run by the Old Hastings Preservation Society (OHPS, a charity, their website) another museum well worth visiting; see my blog, and others.

Enjoy your day!

Easter Bank Holiday Weekend 2018

It's a public/bank holiday, and it's Friday! But what's on over this 4 day long weekend? Well, quite a bit guided towards children, but then there's always a child still in all of us, there is in me anyway... Hastings Museum & Art Gallery (website) in John's Place, up Bohemia Road and on the right, isn't open on Monday (as usual), but it is open Friday and Saturday 10.00 to 4pm, and on Sunday 12.00 to 5pm. In addition to the exhibits there all the time, and special exhibitions, from today until the 15th of April there is a, free to enter, Easter Egg Hunt, search the museum for clues, solve a puzzle, and if successful win a chocolate treat!

If you want to work off a few pounds, or just maintain a decent level of fitness, or just want to volunteer to help, every Saturday morning, starting at 9am, is the Hastings 5km Park Run (website), for anyone, young or not so young, a runner or a slow jogger, this is for fun, and good fitness-wise too. It begins at Seaside Road by Grosvenor Gardens, along the seafront to about 50 metres east of the Pier, and back again. It may not be quite as sunny as in this image (above) on their website, but you never know; if you want to be timed, you need to register before your first ever Park Run, then run!

If you'd like to explore Hastings fishing quarter, not so energetic, but the guided Stade Guided Walk returns this Saturday and Sunday (website), organised by the Old Hastings Preservation Society (OHPS). Meet up at 11am both days, outside Hastings Fishermen's Museum in Rock-a-Nore Road (inside if raining) ready to explore the net huts, fishing industry and beach, and learn the history of this hundreds of years old industry for up to about 90 minutes. You are advised to wear suitable footwear, and clothing if the weather is inclement, and if you have any special mobility needs please contact the Fishermen's Museum in advance. This is a free guided walk, given by a volunteer, the museum is a charity, and the OHPS would appreciate any donations to help its upkeep, and to help maintain its all-year opening, many thanks!

Whilst you're at Hastings Fishermen's Museum (website), you would also be advised to have a tour inside this wonderful building, it's a delight. Open since 1956, the museum is situated in the former Fishermen's Church of St Nicholas, a mission chapel serving the local fishing community since 1854 until it was requisitioned during World War II. The Grade II listed building and museum are managed by the OHPS who rescued the building, now leasing it from Hastings Borough Council. Inside are many excellent exhibits, including the sailing lugger, the Enterprise (above), an audio visual presentation and great gifts to peruse. Outside, net huts and fishing boats are on show from as far back in the road as RX134, The Stacey Marie (blog and facebook page) just before the Fish Market, a good 70 to 80 metres before you reach the museum!

Just beyond the Fishermen's Museum is the Shipwreck Museum (website), also with free admission, and a charitable museum of the Nautical Museums Trust Charity, exhibiting many artefacts from ships wrecked in the English Channel, and locally found fossils. Just after, and on the same side of the road, is the Blue Reef Aquarium (website), which from today, and for the Easter school holidays, is running an Easter Trail: find the easter eggs hidden around the aquarium, and unscramble the letters found to find a 'magic word' and take part in colouring and the 'maze activity sheet.'

On the other side of the Stade, by the beach, offers the chance to visit the Hastings RNLI Lifeboat Station and their Visitors Centre (website). As you can see above, tomorrow (Saturday) there will also be special Easter 'fun' meeting the Easter Bunny, entertainment including the Shanty Singers, refreshments and cakes, a tombola and a raffle, and a chocolate egg for "every child wearing an Easter Bonnet!" Though that may upset a few wee lads without bonnets. 😉

Also tomorrow (Saturday), up at Hastings Castle (blog) on the West Hill, they are holding an hour-long Easter Egg Hunt for the third consecutive year, from 10-11am, where hundreds of chocolate easter eggs will be hidden around the grounds for children to find; there will be a dedicated time slot for under 5s. See their facebook event page for details of cost etc, and people are advised to wear sensible shoes.

OK, there will be fun to be had in many other areas, parks, and along the seafront not to mention for adults in bars and restaurants, but I'm finishing this blog at Hastings Pier (website). As we've now come to expect, there won't just be the regular facilities, and special events like Automata on the Pier, but Easter events too, including aPIERtite, an Easter Street Food Festival today and tomorrow, 11am to 8pm both days. APIERtite will include food, drinks, music and entertainment for all ages (website), plus the Pier itself will be organising Easter Family Fun, with Easter 'crafts' including making a "mini moving chick in an egg to take away."

Enjoy the 4 day weekend, and, if you're working in the service sectors, including the NHS, Fire & Rescue, Police, Coastguard and Hastings Lifeboat, many thanks, respect!

Hastings Museum 125th Anniversary Party, Wednesday 16th August!

Hastings Museum and Art Gallery celebrates its 125th anniversary this Wednesday, 10am to 4pm, with a 'free' event and activities for all the family to enjoy. This includes crafts, printing, Punch and Judy, Victorian games, tombola and miniature railway rides. There will also be a chance to see the Classic Cycle Group and 'Happy Harold' the trolleybus. "Victorian dress is encouraged" - see website.

Either bring a packed lunch and stay all day, or enjoy tea and cake, at a reasonable price, in an especially decorated tent. The formal opening ceremony will be recreated at 3.30pm. However, please note that parking will not be available at the Museum, though parking is available nearer the front, or it's just a short walk up the hill (Bohemia Road) from the town centre, or from the seafront opposite the Pier. 

There is also a 'special trail' available for children throughout the summer holidays. Follow the trail and answer the questions to receive a small birthday gift from the Museum. Of course, Hastings Museum and Art Gallery will have its usual exhibits on view, and I am planning to make a visit soon and write another blog; see website.

International Museum Day, today...

May the 18th 2017 is International Museum Day (website), indeed the 40th anniversary of the first International Museum Day, so what better than visiting Hastings Museum and Art Gallery in Bohemia Road; see my blog from last year and more, though I can't guarantee which paintings are on view today, I do need to visit again myself!

Of course, in the 'old town' we have Hastings Fishermen's Museum in Rock-a-Nore Road, another museum well worth visiting; see my blog and others.

Enjoy the day!

Easter Weekend Fun has already started!

Tomorrow, Saturday 15th April,, 11am to 3pm at Hastings Lifeboat Station, is a fun day for Easter, including an Easter Bonnet competition, Shanty Singing, Refreshments and Cake, Tombola, and more fun... and you can even meet the Easter Bunny! See website. 

But Easter fun has already started today, and continues throughout the weekend, of course, including on Hastings Pier with an Easter Egg Trail and Family Workshops every day and including Monday, in addition to most of the usual events, bars and restaurant (see website), and the Easter Egg Hunt in conjunction with the White Rock Theatre today and tomorrow (see website).

In addition, an Easter Egg Hunt at Hastings Castle tomorrow, Saturday 15th (see website), an Easter Egg Hunt has been ongoing for a while now at Hastings Museum and Art Gallery, Bohemia Road, continuing until Sunday (see website), and the Shark Trust Easter Egg Case Hunt Trail and Easter Colouring at the Blue Reef Aquarium in Rock-a-Nore Road (see website), even a friend of mine is having an 'Egg Hunt' in his garden, but he doesn't want me to publicize that, it's for grandchildren! 😉

I'm sure there are many more Easter events, plus music in pubs and bars all over town, indeed, something for everyone, enjoy!

Hastings Weekend: Pier & Beyond!

After a full weekend with an eclectic mix of music last week, again, areas of the Pier are closed this weekend due to a Pier Jam this Saturday (24th), with 2 outdoor stages and room for 2,500 people to enjoy the DJ talent on display (website); please note that Early Bird tickets are sold out, but Final Release tickets are still available. Also, on the Pier this Sunday, there will be a Wedding Fair from 11.00, and a Wedding Dress Walk, for all those who thought they may never wear their dresses again, starting at 10.00, and in aid of raising funds for St Michael's Hospice (website).

Of course, the Festival of Contemporary Arts, Root 1066, continues with numerous events around town, including The Story of Hastings in 66 Objects at the Museum, I Am A Norman, seven Hastings choirs performing Barefoot Opera/CLASH in the atrium at Sussex Coast College, and the Feast of the Dead at the Stade Hall has its final performance on Sunday evening; see website for full details.

And, if you want to go a bit further afield and partake in some exercise, the annual Sussex Walking Festival starts this weekend, 24th September to 2nd of October 2016, a joint event that is organised by Eastbourne Borough Council and Wealdon District Council. For full details of a wide variety of walks, and variety of difficulty and length, go to the Sussex Walking Festival website.

Whatever you do this weekend, either partaking in these specific events, visiting the beach, castle, aquarium, museums, restaurants, pubs and clubs and music, or whatever, enjoy!

Root 1066 and Old Town Walk continue...

The Root 1066 Festival of Contemporary Arts continues, of course, until the 16th of October, including the ongoing The Story of Hastings in 66 Objects at Hastings Museum & Art Gallery, and, at various locations, The Flat Pack Castle and I Am A Norman (see website for more details, and details of other events).

Tuesday afternoon also sees the regular free Old Town Guided Walk, meeting up at 2.30pm by the top of the West Hill Lift. See the Old Hastings Preservation Society (OHPS) website for more details of this and their other guided walks. Although the walk is free, the OHPS, a registered charity, always appreciates donations, many thanks!

J. M. W. Turner back on show!

I hadn't been to Hastings Museum & Art Gallery for a while, and I knew our very own Turner painting was back on show, so I made a trip up Bohemia Road to the Museum (website), friendly and helpful staff, beautiful building, interesting, with plenty to see, and free admission (but don't forget, closed on Mondays)! 

So, what's there? Well, a new display, The Story of Hastings in 66 Objects, with key stories about Hastings, local characters, and representative objects for each, including a very nice Lambretta; I spent longer than I ever have before in the Grey Owl exhibition, ie our very own Native American aka Archibald Stansfeld Belaney, the video shown is excellent, with original film of this famous conservationist; and, of course, the current art exhibition, All at Sea, which includes...

Turner's Fish Market on the Sands, Early Morning (1824), and Turner certainly painted a substantial number of works in Hastings in the early 19th century, this beauty is on show until the 4th of September, and looks much better in reality, of course, plus many other works that include scenes from Hastings, mostly, including works by William Henry Borrow, W Yale, William George Moss and John Cole. 

Visit the Museum & Art Gallery and you'll find much more too, enjoy!

The Cyril and Lilian Bishop - More Photographs

I'll be taking many more photographs in the coming weeks and months, but here's some more, of the lifeboat itself, and of 2 of the models of her that are easily accessible at Hastings Fishermen's Museum, Rock-a-Nore Road, and at Hastings Museum and Art Gallery, Bohemia Road. Thank you to Nicola for inviting me aboard, cheers!

Just arrived!

And new facebook page, click here.

On Board 

And a few the next day...

Tush donated to the Fishermen's Museum

And at the Fishermen's Museum 

Made by William R Hilder

More to come soon folks!