Hastings Foodbank

The Hastings Foodbank, which receives support from the The Trussell Trust (website), provides emergency food and support to people in crisis, and is part of a nationwide network of foodbanks that work to combat hunger and poverty. An increasing number of people have to resort to emergency assistance from foodbanks, even people in work, and consequently emergency food stocks deplete very quickly! 

November was their second busiest month ever, with the equivalent of 10,791 meals given out to people in crisis situations, including 42% of this total to local children, and Christmas is fast approaching!

Indeed, over 90% of the food they distribute is donated by members of the public. Urgently requirements include tinned meat and fish, tinned tomatoes, spaghetti, potatoes and vegetables, tinned fruit, custard and rice pudding, pasta sauce, and UHT milk; go to the Hastings Foodbank website for more details of requirements and donor sites, which are at: 

Community Contact Centre, Hastings Town Hall, Queens Road TN34 1TL; 
Tourist Information Centre, Breeds Place TN34 3AA;

Tesco Extra, Church Wood Drive, St. Leonards TN38 9RB, front of store near exits;

Sainsbury’s, Station Approach, Hastings TN34 1BA, next to restaurant;

Asda, opposite self service points;

Tesco Express, Havelock Road, opposite self service points;

Sainsbury’s Local, Devonshire Road, in main entrance;

The Hastings Centre, The Ridge, in main entrance;
Nat West Bank, Havelock Road, in main entrance;
Nationwide Building Society, in main entrances to 40 London Road, 395 Old London Road, and 15 Wellington Place.

Any of us could need help at some time, many thanks for donations!

Hastings Seafood and Wine Festival 2019

Not to forget that this weekend, 14-15th September, also sees the Hastings Seafood and Wine Festival 2019 at the Stade Open Space (website), and not just food and drink, but live music and entertainment too. Adult entrance is £4 at the gate, children under 18 free, though you can purchase a wristband to gain entrance for £2.50 if you buy in advance from Hastings Tourist Information Centre at Breeds Place. 

As usual, on Sunday morning is the Jazz Breakfast with Liane Carroll and Friends, price £19 for adults and £10 for children 17 and under, tickets from Breeds Place too, though hurry up, because this event usually sells out early, please don't hold your breath as they may have already gone by the time you read this blog.

Enjoy your weekend, though I may have one more blog to add... 😉

Hastings Foodbank

Last Friday (7th December), the Hastings Foodbank, which receives support from the The Trussell Trust (website), gave out 1800 meals in just 2 hours, ie 1.2 tonnes of food! The Foodbank provides emergency food and support to people in crisis, and is part of a nationwide network of foodbanks that work to combat hunger and poverty. As can be seen, an increasing number of people have to resort to emergency assistance from foodbanks, even people in work, and consequently emergency food stocks deplete very quickly! Indeed, over 90% of the food they distribute is donated by members of the public. Currently, urgent requirements in Hastings include tinned meat and fish, tinned tomatoes, spaghetti and vegetables, tinned custard and rice pudding, pasta sauce, and teabags 40s and 80s packs; go to the Hastings Foodbank website for more details of requirements and donor sites, which are at: 

Community Contact Centre, Hastings Town Hall, Queens Road TN34 1TL;
Tourist Information Centre, Breeds Place TN34 3AA;

Tesco Extra, Church Wood Drive, St. Leonards TN38 9RB, front of store near exits;

Sainsbury’s, Station Approach, Hastings TN34 1BA, next to restaurant;

Asda, opposite self service points;

Tesco Express, Havelock Road, opposite self service points;

Sainsbury’s Local, Devonshire Road, in main entrance;

The Hastings Centre, The Ridge, in main entrance.

Any of us could need help at some time, many thanks for donations!

Hastings Midsummer Fish Festival 2018 this weekend.

Saturday and Sunday the 23rd and 24th of June sees the Midsummer Fish Festival again return to the Stade Open Space, from 11.00 to 18.00 both days; entry for the whole weekend is £2 on the door (under 18s free), £1 in advance from the Tourist Information Centre at Muriel Matters House, 2 Breeds Place TN34 3AA (website).

Food and drink, music and dancing, cooking demonstrations, children's activities, free face painting, and much more, means fun for all the family, enjoy yourselves!

Hastings Seafood & Wine Festival 2017 this weekend!

OK, there's so much going on at the moment, what with Arts, Music and Fringe Festivals, but, this being Hastings, we've another festival this weekend, the 2017 Seafood & Wine Festival at The Stade! Obviously, seafood and wine, but so much more, tastings, cookery demonstrations, champagne breakfasts, music, and the usual mini-beer festival provided by the FILO Brewing Company, together with other local ales, ciders, lagers, and, of course, wine (the Beermeister hopes to be able to provide a list of the ales available asap, if possible I shall publish more details). Tickets for the festival are £2 in advance, cover both days, and can be bought at the Tourist Information Centre on the ground floor at Muriel Matters House, or bought 'on the door' for £3; the breakfast on Sunday costs more too, with entertainment, as usual, provided by internationally famed Liane Carroll. See website for further details.

And I apologise for the fuzziness of the above photograph, but it was very windy yesterday early morning, but this evening, in the 'music tent' at the Stade Beach, music kicks off the weekend with Super-Ska Night. OK, not as selective as this, and without the pressure or missing words, but here are samples of a band I saw many years ago (video and video), this is ska! Tickets are £8.50 in advance from the Tourist Information Centre at Muriel Matters House, or £10 on the door.

Enjoy the weekend!

Seafood & Wine Festival 17th-18th September 2016

Following the opening Ska music this evening (see my last blog), the weekend sees the annual Hastings Seafood & Wine Festival at The Stade, 17-18 September (see website for more details). Because it is the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings this year, there will be a 1066 theme, indeed, come dressed as a Saxon or Norman and claim a free festival glass! Of course, there is much to do and see: locally caught fish, wines and other local produce, FILO bar with locally brewed real ales, seafood cooking sessions in the Classroom on the Coast, guided walks, and much music and merry making!

This all continues on Sunday, but with the added bonus of a very reasonably priced Jazz Breakfast with local, and internationally acclaimed, jazz musician and singer Liane Carroll in the morning; £15 for adults and £10 for children, I'd hate to think what you'd need to pay to see her in Ronnie Scotts or elsewhere in London! 

The price includes a free wristband for the rest of the festival, otherwise, admission is by wristband on the day costing £2, or £1 if bought in advance at the Tourist Information Centre in Breeds Place opposite the fountain, where tickets for the Jazz Breakfast can also be bought, though only limited tickets for that event, so good luck!