100th Birthday Celebration, Fat Tuesday Cometh & More!

If you wondered what all the singing was about on Tuesday at Winkle Island, then I can advise you that it was a rousing chorus of "Happy Birthday" in celebration of George's 100th birthday, many congratulations to him, and quite a few glasses were raised to him yesterday as well! 

Sadly, George died on the 10th of January 2023, R.I.P. 😢

Indeed, the Hastings Fat Tuesday Music Festival 2022 is soon to be upon us, from the 25th February to the 1st of March, 2 years on from the last Fat Tuesday, which was the final major event in Hastings before the first COVID-19 Crisis lockdown (blog). The festival kicks off with the Fat Friday Mardi Gras Ball on Friday 25th, culminating with the Fat Tuesday Tour of 13 pubs and bars in the Old Town on the evening of Tuesday 1st March; more details will follow here, but if you can't wait, see their website.

Hastings Fat Tuesday is the largest Mardi Gras celebration in the UK, which, like the usually impressive New Orleans and Rio de Janeiro Mardi Gras, were all cancelled last year due to the pandemic. This year most of the parades in New Orleans will be shortened, and the Rio Mardi Gras has been put back to April the 20th to the 30th. 

On Tuesday I noticed a very significant Police and PCSO presence around Hastings and particularly in the town centre, this being a continuation of Hastings Police high-vis patrols, engaging with Hastings folk and maintaining an eye on the area (twitter).

And a warning, as if you didn't already know, that Storm Eunice will be upon us overnight and tomorrow, with an Amber Weather Warning that wind speed down here is forecast to reach up to nearly 50mph, with gusts of up to more than 70mph! Rain is forecast between 02.00 and 10.00 (Met Office), which will feel unbearable, I imagine, noting wind speed, so batten down the hatches and stay safe! 

COVID-19 Vaccinations & Superstar Saturday...

Today, Saturday the 12th of February, across Hastings, Superstar Saturday provides the opportunity for those aged 12 or over to receive 1st, 2nd or booster jabs as appropriate from 10.00 to 16.00, and no appointment required, at these locations:

• Hastings Town Hall, Priory Square entrance TN34 1QR
• Pelham Place car park, Pelham Place, Hastings TN34 3AD
• Laycock Pharmacy, 494 Old London Road, Hastings TN35 5BL (9am-1pm only)
• The Hastings Centre, The Ridge, Hastings TN34 2SA
• Hollington Tesco, Church Wood Drive, St Leonards TN38 9RB
• Silverhill Asda, Battle Road, St Leonards TN37 7AA
• Clarity Pharmacy, 28 Kings Road, St Leonards TN37 6DU

Go to the Sussex Health and Care Partnership website for further information, and for details of the free prize draw that all those vaccinated can enter, stay safe!

 

Police Property Act Fund (PPAF)

OK, it's only a small image, but it's the one used in East Sussex Council's February Funding E-Newsletter for promoting the Police Property Act Fund, relevance? No idea, but I think it's a stock image they have of the Stacey Marie, and regular readers and friends will be aware of my interest in The Stacey Marie, RX134 (Facebook Page), and I like to share any images that authorities, journalists, whoever, of her.

So, what is it? The PPAF? I'll cut & paste from the Sussex Police website:

"The Police Property Act Fund is made up of monies received by the police from the sale of found property and from property confiscated by order of court and then sold. The main aim of the fund is to support local projects undertaken by voluntary/charitable organisations that solely benefit the communities of Sussex."

They will consider applications submitted by voluntary and charitable organisations and community groups within Sussex. The following criteria must be met in order for a successful application to be made.

• Grants of up to £500 can be applied for.
• Each application needs to be supported by a Sussex Police officer or member of staff who has knowledge of the charity or organisation.
• An application will not be considered if a previous donation from us has been made within the past three years.
• The decision to make a donation and the amount donated will depend on the number of applications being considered at any one time and the amount that is available in the fund at the time of the application.

Should you know of any group or charity that may qualify, or wish to apply, you/they need to get in touch via this contact form. Good luck!

Someone's Dug Out An Olde Sign Methinks!

And it's many thanks to Hazel of the Hastings Arms (website) for pointing this out to me earlier, and an old 'new' sign methinks... It certainly is an old sign needing a bit of new paint, but "Cricket Ground" - I wonder when it was meant to be put up first?!?

Historical Hastings website, for information about the cricket ground. 😉

Have been travelling, blog re Peterborough and Rye Visits

Yes, I do apologise for not writing more recently, but I have been otherwise engaged, not least with a wee bit of wandering, virtually set free of the pandemic, although I'm still being very careful, wearing a face mask as appropriate, washing hands regularly, small bottle of sanitiser in my pocket, regular LFTs! Anyway, I did visit Peterborough again, and Peterborough Cathedral, built on the site of a monastery originally built in AD 655, rebuilding of the monastery church, what became the cathedral, commenced in 1118 following a fire in 1116 and previous sackings (more history at the website).

What I did find very interesting was that Henry VIII's first wife, Katherine Of Aragon, was buried here in 1536, and the remains of Mary, Queen of Scots, were buried here in 1587, though Mary's remains were exhumed on the orders of her son James I and transferred to a tomb at Westminster Abbey 25 years later. Katherine Of Aragon's body, though, remains entombed at Peterborough Cathedral, despite soldiers of Oliver Cromwell's Parliamentary Army vandalising the cathedral, and Katherine's tomb, in 1643; the memorial slab now there was installed in 1895. Katherine was an amazing woman of her time, and more information can be found at the Cathedral's website, and 12 'little-known' facts about her at the History Press website, both well worth a read.

Of course, whilst there, a number of hostelries were visited, and my alter ego, Steve the Beermeister, who wrote about my previous visit last year (blog), records details of the pubs visited on Saturday, including the new one above, and the beers enjoyed (blog).

And, as I wrote about my most recent visit to Rye in that recent blog, including visiting the Rye Waterworks micropub, I thought a few lines about the history of the Parish Church of St Mary in Rye would be very appropriate. Another Norman delight, with building of the church starting in the early 12th century, and the church continues to dominate the hill on which the 'old town' of Rye stands. 

Rye was regularly attacked by the French, as we know much of Kent and Sussex was in medieval times, notably Hastings too, but in 1377 Rye was looted and set on fire by French invaders, with extensive damage made to the church, its roof falling in, and the church bells carried off as a prize across the Channel. However, the next year men of Rye and Winchelsea sought revenge, sailing across the Channel themselves, in turn looting and setting fire to 2 towns in Normandy, recovering and returning much of the stolen loot to Rye, including the recovered church bells (Church website).

Enough of my musings, but get out there folks, remembering to stay safe of course!