Hastings May Day Weekend - Jack in the Green Returns!

Hastings Traditional Jack in the Green isn't just about the impressive May Day bank holiday Monday morning procession (above, near the start in Rock-a-Nore Road), no, it is returning with much merrymaking, drinking, music and dancing from Friday the 29th of April evening, and over the weekend, and culminating with the Procession through Hastings old town on Monday the 2nd of May, an afternoon of entertainment up on the West Hill, and the Slaying of the Jack from 4pm. See the website for fuller details.

Also, the organiser of Bike1066 has retired, so there will be no official Bikers' event in Hastings on Monday (HBC), but Hastings Council is allotting dedicated motorbike parking in Pelham Place car park and at The Stade open space. I am assured by a friend that quite a few motorbikes will be turning up to Hastings over the weekend, particularly on Monday, since the event hasn't happened since 2019 (blog). Indeed, biker groups are now consulting one another about organising an event for next year.

Roll on!! 👌 

A Little More on Fish...

OK, not the prettiest of fish, but very tasty, so I was told this morning. Further to my blog yesterday, my friend who had the Dover Sole the other day, yesterday bought down at Winch Road some more Dover Sole, a Skate Wing, and a Turbot that he ate for his main meal yesterday, lucky lucky person...

Indeed, as I said in an earlier blog, fresh fish is still available and can be delivered to your door if required, or should you not be able to get down to Rock-a-Nore Road/Winch Road to collect fish yourself.

It looks like it may be very choppy over coming days, particularly Mon/Tuesday, so take advantage while the fresh fish is still available, you know it makes sense 😉

Observations from Yesterday in Hastings

Rock-a-Nore Road

I'll not be posting photographs all the time from my permitted and Government/NHS advised (website) daily exercise programme (carried out alone), because, quite frankly, there is only a limited number of photographic opportunities, otherwise they'll all start looking the same. But I have a few observations from my early morning walk yesterday (note the long shadows in the images), and a happier observation from earlier today.

First, I noticed that the lower promenade near St Leonards had been closed off, presumably not for maintenance, as non-essential work is not being carried out, in theory at least, but more likely to stop 'social drinkers' from forming groups of more than 2. However, it looks like, from the bent and moved fencing, that didn't have the desired result. Indeed, on the very day that local police officers were in the town centre reminding "people to stay indoors and away from the town centre" (blog), there were half a dozen 'social drinkers' in a close huddle in Queens Road around 09.15; I gave them a wide birth. Similarly, this morning, on return from my exercise, and in the town centre between the coffee shops, there were 4 people gathered together. Concerned.

Also, Hastings Pier was closed, appears responsible, but their facebook page states it is open from 10.30 to 17.00 (I passed it much earlier), likely an administrative oversight. Whereas a post apologises for it being closed due to the Coronavirus crisis (facebook). I presume it is closed, although I cannot check on that because I cannot stay out forever due to Government restrictions, and I get out as early as possible to avoid others (even I can be responsible, really!). But I had another thought, if the buildings on the Pier stayed closed, wouldn't it be an ideal place to enjoy exercise, providing people stayed over 2 metres apart, in fact, it is so large a space people could stay over 5 metres apart. If anyone has seen the Pier open please let me know in a comment, many thanks!

Finally, something positive, whilst out this morning, and being very responsible indeed, I first heard, then, whilst concentrating on where the sound was coming from, I saw, this lovely wee bird... Well, not the one in the image above, I don't have the appropriate photographic equipment to take such a good photograph from distance. But I did hear and see a Great Spotted Woodpecker (RSPB website). Result!

Please carry on being responsible dear folk, and look after yourselves!

The Dawning of Hastings Contemporary

Well, Hastings Contemporary has now evolved from the Jerwood Gallery in Rock-a-Nore Road TN34 3DW, and is open Tuesday to Sunday, and Public Holiday Mondays, from 11.00 am to 5.00 pm; last admission 4.30 pm (website). On the first Tuesday of the month, the gallery is open until 8.00 pm, and is free to enter for everyone from 4.00 pm (website), otherwise entrance fees are £9 for adults, £8 for people 60 or over, £6 for concessions and groups of 10 or more, £4.50 for Art Fund members, £4 for Hastings residents, and free to Hastings Contemporary members. Hastings Contemporary is a registered charity celebrating "contemporary art and modern art on sea."

The current exhibitions, until 13th October 2019, are Tal R: Eventually All Museums will be Ships, Roy Oxlade: Shine Out Fair Sun, Roy Oxlade & David Bomberg, and Quentin Blake: The New Dress (website).

I wish the charity good luck with its rebirth! 

Jerwood Foundation to leave Hastings?

So, very probably not too upsetting for many people who live and work in the Rock-a-Nore area, but there appears to be a rift between the Jerwood Foundation and the local management of the Jerwood Gallery in Rock-a-Nore Road (Guardian). Following the Foundation providing grants of £2.6 million since 2012 (now you know how it kept on keeping on!), the Gallery now looks set to lose that funding (currently £300,000 a year) plus 300 works of art by artists such as Lowry, Hepworth and Spencer (the gallery must have a large cellar!). Gallery management is threatening the Foundation with legal action, whilst also trying to gain a larger grant from the Arts Council than the £100,000 a year it has received since 2017. Hmmm, a new name for the Gallery?!?

Watch this space...

Clare's Back in a Kitchen at...

OK, I've given away the surprise already (above), but I said in a blog last month that I would share news of where her next venture will be, well from Saturday morning (19th January 2019) she will be working from the kitchen of the Dolphin Inn, 11-12 Rock-a-Nore Road TN34 3DW (Tel: 01424 434326, facebook page). Her relevant facebook page previously 'Clare Kittiwake' is now known as Clare Paula.

You can take it from this that Marcus has moved on, and is now working in Brighton I believe, and I wish him all the best for his own new venture, cheers Marcus!

On Saturday, the Dolphin Inn will be open for breakfast from 09.00 to 12.00 (menu above). To begin with, future breakfast opening times will be Monday-Friday 10.00 to 12.00, and from 09.00 to 12.00 at weekends. The lunch menu will be available every day from 12.00 to 17.00 (below, plus light lunches and additions to the menu further below, the Fish Supper evenings on Mondays will continue (18.00 to 21.00), and expect further additions, maybe changes, as the Dolphin Inn New Year New Menu settles in! 

Best wishes to Clare in her new venture at the Dolphin Inn too!

May the 7th, in Pictures!

Early doors! 

Rock-a-Nore Road 06.00 

Giant awaits! 

The Jack passes RX134 

The Giant's relieved! 

Front of Parade turns right! 

And there were bikes 

Many bikes! 

And I'm leaving the fray now... started drinking at 09.00 (the pub was open!), I shan't own up to how many pints I drank, but I was (reasonably) sensible, I even had an excellent homemade Cheese & Red Onion Roll for £2.50 at the Dolphin!

Roll on next year! 😉 

Hastings Jack in the Green + 40th May Day Run!

2018, and another May Day, which means Jack in the Green, and this year the forecast is for plenty of sun and blue sky too! I seem to have written about little recently, except this annual Hastings event, motorbikes, local politics, and saving Hastings Pier, again! But May 7th this year will again see the Jack released from Hastings Fishermen's Museum at 10.15, attendants, Bogies and Giants will gather around the Jack, and the procession forms behind him and is led up Rock-a-Nore Road, then turns up All Saints Street, crosses The Bourne at the top, and carries on down High Street, where the procession pauses for refreshments (ale!), music and dancing (website).

About 12.00 noon the procession will set off again, turn right by St Clements Church and wind up Croft Road and Collier Road to the West Hill, arriving about 12.30. On the West Hill stage there will be more music, dancing, drumming and frivolities, and close by will be food stalls and refreshments, including more ale, a craft fair, and toilet facilities. After a couple of hours the Jack will be led by the Bogies to the stage and will be "symbolically slain and the Spirit of Summer is released for another year!" Nice one!

The history behind the Jack in the Green May Day Festival goes back hundreds of years, but the local custom faded away towards the end of the 19th century. The custom was revived in Hastings by Mad Jacks Morris Dancers in 1983, and a 20th/21st century Jack in the Green custom and festival developed to the present day, when thousands turn up to dress and make up, or just to observe the procession, or just have a few ales, and yes, Hastings does like to dress up! However you take part, the weather forecast is for clear blue skies, so don't forget your factor 50 and hat if you plan to be out in the sun for any length of time, and enjoy the day!

But it's not just Jack in the Green to enjoy this year as Hastings also hosts Bike1066 and the 40th annual motorcycle May Day Run with the roar of engines beginning to herald the arrival of bikers along the seafront, and down London Road, Queens Road and Old London Road from before 09.00. Bikers, motorcycle enthusiasts and the motorcycle trade and industry come together in Hastings, and the diversity of bikes year after year never ceases to amaze me. This year further events and exhibitions have been organised within the Breakout Zone all weekend, including providing food and drink, the Wall of Death, and the Isle of Man TT simulator (website).

Motorcycles take over the seafront from here below All Saints Street at Rock-a-Nore Road in front of the Stade, in Pelham Car Park, and all along to Hastings Pier. I've walked by the Town Hall in Queens Road and even seen numerous bikes parked there in previous years, and the town centre itself boasts many relevant motorbike, helmets and accessory stalls from quite early in the morning, as does Pelham Car Park by the beach, and the Stade Open Space, as I suggested earlier.

So, if you want to see motorbikes you can't miss them, but the larger number find their way to Pelham Car Park, by Pelham Beach and below Pelham Crescent (above), where thousands park up every year, and this being the 40th May Day Run will likely see a record number of motorbikes in Hastings this year! Again, if you're a pedestrian admiring the bikes on show, or you've taken off your helmet after a long ride, remember that this is the seaside, and there won't be clouds in the sky, so head covering of some sort, or applying Factor 50, would be highly recommended, enjoy your day!

Of course though, there are many other places offering live music and entertainment, ales and wines, seafood in Rock-a-Nore Road (this area is by the centre of the Hastings Fishing Industry!), and other special culinary delights and refreshments, including at the Lifeboat Station from 10am to 4pm, and on Hastings Pier for most of the day (website). Just tour the area, as many pubs will have live music, and ale and other refreshments of course. Do enjoy Hastings May Day holiday 2018, and have fun!

Jack in the Green Preparation. Mainly Photographs!

A wander along George Street and Rock-a-Nore Road today, beautiful blue sky, Spotted the Jack in the Green peeps putting up greenery, here at the Dolphin Inn.

Webbes

The Standard

 Bob decorating!

Another Home

End of George Street

The Albion, George Street 

T'other End of George Street

Oh yes, the Jack in the Green Festival is soon to start, if you hadn't noticed, with a music session this evening in the Stag, All Saints Street, from 8pm (website).

Enjoy the weekend!

The Ice House Cometh!

This may be old news to you, sorry, but a little birdy whispered in my ear yesterday that the problems with parking have been sorted out, disabled bays for parking will be placed opposite the old Ice House in Rock-a-Nore Road, and the new Roebuck Surgery/Health Centre, with healthy eating cafe, gymnasium et al, refitting should be completed before the end of September, this year, watch this space...

Uke 'N' Party too!

Following the return last Tuesday of the Tune Raiders to the Dolphin Inn, Rock-a-Nore Road, and their own 'Oirish' sound, this evening sees the (also regular at the Nelson) regular monthly visit of ukuleles and Uke 'N' Party (facebook event page) at the Dolphin from 8.30pm!

So, now 3 regular monthly Tuesday night slots at the Dolphin, Uke 'N' Party, the Tune Raiders, and Mojo Calling (see last months blog). However, another excellent local act could be filling the vacant Tuesday in the month very soon, watch this space!

Of course, there is regular live music every Friday and Saturday evening at the Dolphin too, not to mention the odd Sunday or Public Holiday afternoon gig, and, of course, live music all over town most days of every week, Hastings the place to live!

A wander along the seafront, and some news...

OK, excuse me for being way behind the news, and I realise this isn't on the seafront, but I do live close by, hence the first photograph here, but! Yes, you probably do already know that Primark is coming to Hastings, and is to be situated in the old BHS store, with the fitting of the store commencing this Spring, and likely opening in the Summer (news website), good news I think, maybe not for other clothing stores though...

There was a meeting at the White Rock Theatre of Hastings Pier 'Shareholders and Supporters' yesterday, which unfortunately I couldn't attend, but it looks like the meeting was very positive. I've seen that many ideas were shared, and proposals agreed to, notably that Friends of Hastings Pier is to be rejuvenated, as soon as I see any further information I shall share this, and if you are a shareholder, or wish to support the future of the People's Pier, you may wish to join their facebook closed group (page).

Hmmm... There are a number of drainage pipes still sat on the beach by Denmark Place, opposite the Carlisle pub, Pelham Street, outside which, in December, the road was flooded for a few days, apparently because of water backing up from the water drainage outlet that was damaged by Storm Brian in October...

When will they be replaced?!?

The move of the Roebuck Surgery in the old town High Street to a Health Centre within the Ice House building in Rock-a-Nore Road is going ahead (website), again this may be old news to many people, but I hadn't taken a photograph down there for a while now! The main opposition appears to have come from 1) That public transport does not go to the door, though it didn't in the High Street, but it was a bit closer there. 2) That traffic gets overwhelming in Rock-a-Nore Road at times, notably in peak season, and where will parking be for staff and patients?

I believe that Rock-a-Nore Road is being widened, effectively by taking away the pavements, levelling the surface across the road with walking space designated for pedestrians. Planned better, the car park at the end of the road could easily allow for more spaces, and an electronic system could also be set up to let drivers know that the car park is 'full' at the mouth to Rock-a-Nore Road. With the widening of the road, 'dropping off' spaces outside the Health Centre could be allowed for too. 

What this needs is sensible planning, though, and we've seen for years how the road can clog up because people drive down to a full car park in peak season, or at other busy times, and then have to drive back with multiple traffic lights as you rejoin the main road. However, little has been done to solve this problem previously, perhaps replace the lights with a small roundabout, but something definitely needs to be done now...

Another Fisherman's Roll, well, why not?!?

Earlier today I enjoyed a Fisherman's Roll in Rock-a-Nore Road at The Net Shop...

Look inside luv!

At 10.45, following a nice wander around the area, a Fisherman's Roll with two plaice fillets, and pepper and lemon juice for me, nice one (see the Net Shop's website).

Then, at 11.00, a pint of a lovely pale bitter at the Dolphin Inn (website), a few doors further along Rock-a-Nore Road, it's a hard life! 😉