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 Foodbank Closed Good Friday.

Hastings Foodbank, up at The Hastings Centre on The Ridge, will be closed tomorrow, Good Friday (30th March 2018), and will reopen on Tuesday 3rd of April, 11.30-1.30 pm: Regular opening times 11.30-1.30 pm Tuesdays and Fridays. 

See their website for more information about Hastings Foodbank.

What to see in Hastings?

Recently, I've been asked to suggest what to see in Hastings "apart from the obvious tourist attractions" - hmmm... the only way I think I can answer this, is to list a number of things/places that are mostly free, and if anyone else wants to add anything else in the comments below, please feel free to add, cheers! The comment was added to my blog about Hastings Castle, so I thought I'd say, to start with, the views from the West Hill (above, where the Castle is situated) and the East Hill  are gorgeous! Can be a wee bit tiring walking up to the top of both, but they do both have lifts (not free), from George Street and Rock-a-Nore Road appropriately.

I'm, sort of, starting from east to west, but will go off at a tangent every now and then, eg here, when considering the 2 Hastings parks that recently won national awards (blog), ie Hastings Country Park Local Nature Reserve (above) and Alexandra Park. Hastings Country Park is accessed from the East Hill, running eastwards and along the top of the cliffs, though a deviation is sign-posted thanks to a landslip (I won't go into the politics of that here!), and great views and interesting wildlife! Alexandra Park, meanwhile, is situated further west just above Hastings town centre (blog). 

Rock-a-Nore Road

Coming down from the East Hill (seen in the background in the photograph above the buildings to the left), you get to Rock-a-Nore Road, from here all the way down to the end of Rock-a-Nore, there is plenty to see and do! This is the heart of the local fishing industry, with the fish market a third of the way down to the right, the fishermen's huts to the right, and the Stade, the shingle beach from which the fishing boats are launched (Visit1066 website), and landed; if you turn up at the right time, depending on tides and weather, you could well see a boat coming in to land! As you'd expect, plenty of fish is available to buy, either from the shops to the left, and in front of the market to the right, or direct from the fishermen in huts in-between the road and the beach on the right.

The Stade

If you go down Rock-a-Nore Road, past the market, there is the Blue Reef Aquarium (website), which costs to visit, but well worth the visit! Opposite the Aquarium is the Shipwreck Museum (website), both on the right-hand side as you go down the road, and which is free to enter. And just before that is Hastings Fishermen's Museum (blog), which has great exhibits, and a wealth of knowledge about the local fishing industry and its history, this is also free to enter, and its outside exhibits start well before you reach the museum itself, with RX134 The Stacey Marie (I have to mention this and the blog again!) and a rather large anchor, right opposite the Dolphin Inn, which is below the cliffs in Rock-a-Nore Road.

If you go up the first turning to the left in Rock-a-Nore Road, ie All Saints Street, you will find a wonderful road with many medieval, and newer, delightful buildings. This leads up to one of Hastings two remaining Norman churches, All Saints Church (blog), not often open, but it could be worth checking when it is, as it is a delight inside.

Down in front of the church is the Cyril and Lilian Bishop (blog), the Hastings lifeboat at the time of World War II, and which went to help the evacuation of troops at Dunkirk, and is a great memorial. This is on the corner with Old London Road, and if you walk a little further up Old London Road, on the right, is another retired lifeboat (worked from Eastbourne, I believe), the Priscilla MacBean (blog). In addition, down by The Stade and beach you can visit the RNLI Hastings Lifeboat Station (website).

If you cross the road, The Bourne (roughly above what was the old river Bourne), come back downhill and on the right is High Street (nearly opposite the Cyril and Lilian Bishop), another road full of wonderful buildings, though not as old as in All Saints Street, but most of the way down, just up a road to your right, Swan Terrace, is the other remaining Norman church of Hastings, St Clements (blog). Also, in this road, and in George Street, a little further down towards the seafront and on the right as you walk down the hill, there are a whole stack of shops full of interesting things to peruse!

But, if you want to explore above High Street and up to the West Hill, or back in All Saints Street and up to the East Hill, there are a maze of old lanes and alleys, which in Hastings are called twittens, another free delight, with a few dead ends here and there!

Coming back down to the front, obviously there are a couple of miles of promenade to enjoy, and below the castle up on West Hill there is St Mary in the Castle and Pelham Crescent, built nearly 200 years ago (blog). The restaurant below has access to the crypt (the toilets are there), now and then an exhibition is on in the crypt, and if you can get to visit the old church itself (eg if a concert is being played in there), it's well worth the visit, gorgeous building! Carry on westwards and you reach Hastings Pier, where you may promenade, or investigate, or have a drink or meal.

But before you walk too far, have a walk up Cambridge/Bohemia Road and you will reach Hastings Museum and Art Gallery (blog), well worth the visit!

Marine Court

Indeed, there are some amazing buildings along the front, not to mention in-between the Pier and Warrior Square Gardens (worth looking at) on the Lower promenade there is Bottle Alley (blog), quite a thrill to walk through there after dark with it's lighting display, which seems to begin as soon as dusk arrives! You are now at St Leonards (still Hastings Borough), and you reach the wonderful art deco/modernist Marine Court (website), built copying the design of the Queen Mary ship, this was the tallest apartment block in the country when it was built in the 1930s!

Carry on past Marine Court and you soon reach the Royal Victoria Hotel, turn right just after and walk up past the Freemasons Hall, and you reach St Leonards Gardens (blog), another beautifully designed oasis of peace to walk around!

Of course, in addition to all this and the shops, there are numerous restaurants, bars and pubs to enjoy, not to mention a fish & chip shop or twenty, and much more...

I trust this helps someone to enjoy the wonderful town that is Hastings!

I told you so!

OK, not big news, but I did suggest yesterday (blog) that the Azur/St Leonards beach huts were returning from their winter retreat at Bulverhythe, well there 6 of them are! This was this morning, so I carried on up to Bulverhythe and guess what I saw?

Well the lorry with its wee crane, you can just see in the first photograph, arrived as I did at Bulverhythe, here they are picking up the seventh beach hut, then another one, and only two left, when I left the scene. So they're arriving two by two at St Leonards, no doubt all already there before I wrote this (I did have a pint at the White Rock Hotel on my way home, cheers!).

And no idea why the toilets there aren't open, they weren't open the other day I passed by either, what's going on Hastings Borough Council, waiting for April the 1st?

Extra Cash To Fix Potholes!?!

So, the Government is supplying an extra £100 million to local councils to fix potholes (BBC), of which East Sussex County Council is due to get just under £2 million... This is on top of pay rises for nurses, firemen, and other public service workers (though still below inflation following years of wage stagnation), and the local Police & Crime Commissioner, Katy Bourne (and other PCCs), being allowed to increase the 'police precept' part of council tax by 7.8%!

Do I detect a temporary end to 'austerity' and a general election in the offing?!?

JAM for JIM!

Jim Fitzgerald, ie Jim the Postman, was recently scammed out of nearly £2000 by some local people he thought he could trust. He is beloved by people in the local community in Hastings, and friends are coming together to host a fundraiser at his favourite haunt, Whistle Trago in George Street, Hastings Old Town. 

Whistle Trago will be holding a day of music, food and drinks on Sunday the 8th of April (facebook page), and a small charge will be requested at the door. All profits from this will go to Jim, but if you cannot make it on the day, or would like to donate now, you may do so at gofundme. 

Many thanks for your support!

A wander along the Seafront

The annual moving the shale around to help reclaim the beach at St Leonards, OK, not as nice weather as this actually, I took this photograph 4 years ago, but...

It still needs to be done, the result of storms throughout the year, particularly during the winter just ended, so, this weekend's effort, and what a difference blue sky makes!

And where the Azur/St Leonards beach huts return to every year has been cleared too, so I'm guessing they will be returning soon from their winter rest at Bulverhythe...

Last Sunday, and the Pipe Band who played before the start of the Hastings Half Marathon, with the 5 of 6 caravans I've previously mentioned shifted to the corner of the car parking in the background of the photograph.

And they're still there, very cosy!

Elsie-Rose & Friends Foundation Fundraising Update.

Following Natasha Kelly's successful completion of the Hastings Half Marathon on Sunday and raising nearly £1,500 for the Elsie-Rose & Friends Foundation (blog), this is an update on how the fundraising is going for Mark Little and the 3 other volunteers in his team, who will be kayaking across the English Channel from Dungeness to Boulogne in August (blog). They will also be fundraising in support of the local 4 year-old with Type I SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy), Elsie-Rose, whose grandfather and other family members work in the local fishing industry, and the Elsie-Rose & Friends Foundation. 

Young Elsie-Rose was diagnosed with Type I SMA in September 2014, a condition that causes severe muscle weakness, and results in problems moving, eating, breathing and swallowing. Without intervention, most children with Type I SMA die within the first 2 years of life, however, the resilient Elsie-Rose strives to carry on and enjoy life just like all other 4 year olds, or more so! 

Because many of the expenses involved in supporting children with Type I SMA are not provided by the Department of Health or NHS, the Elsie-Rose & Friends Foundation was set up to help provide help and financial support to families with disabled, sick, and terminally ill children. After meeting Elsie-Rose and her family, Mark and his team decided to kayak across the English Channel with the aim of raising money for Elsie-Rose and the Foundation.  

Donations are being sought via Crowdfunding which will go towards necessary equipment for Elsie-Rose and her carers, and to contribute funds towards the Foundation so that it may support other families in need. So far £440 has been donated via Crowdfunding, many thanks! There is also a collection box for donations and sponsorship forms in the Dolphin Inn at 11-12 Rock-a-Nore Road, Hastings TN34 3DW. 

If you wish to know more about Elsie-Rose, the Elsie-Rose & Friends Foundation and their campaign, you can go to their facebook page or twitter page. If you would like more details about SMA Type 1, go to the Spinal Muscular Atrophy website. 

To make a contribution towards supporting this brave 4 year-old and other children with similar problems, please make a donation via Crowdfunding or go and visit the Dolphin Inn and make a pledge to support the team's kayaking challenge, or add to the collection box, indeed, all contributions are very gratefully received, many thanks!

Hastings New Lifeboat!

It appears that Hastings new Shannon Class Lifeboat will be arriving sooner than thought, as they announce on their webpage and on their facebook page that formal training with the Shannon Launch and Recovery System (SLARS) begins in August, great news for Hastings and the great folk of the RNLI!

19th Century Watercolourists in Hastings Delay...

OK, I don't mean to tease you, but I have recently received more information that I can use about this subject, I've got quite a lot to take in and summarize, so my apologies for the delay, but other things keep turning up, and I have to earn my keep too 😉

2018/19 Council Tax Bill Arrives!

Well, like for most of you, no doubt, my council tax bill dropped through the letterbox this morning and, to be fair to Hastings Borough Council and East Sussex County Council, despite central government yet again reducing its contribution to council spending due to 'austerity cuts', they have kept their parts of the bill down to the current level of inflation in Britain (according to the Consumer Prices Index) of 3%. 

PCC Katy Bourne

However, you will notice that your overall council tax has in fact increased by 5.6%, which is due to the 7.8% increase in the amount to be spent by the Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner (PCC). This is due to this year's police grant from central government remaining at the same level as last year, with no allowance for inflation, also, to try and prevent the planned reduction in numbers of officers and other staff posts in Sussex Police by 476 following £88 million of austerity cuts since 2009.

Another bill higher than inflation, and higher than wage increases for most people, for those who are getting increases, that is...

Hastings Announced As Britain’s Best Walking Neighbourhood!

Hastings Old Town has today been announced, at last (they took their time about that!), as the Rambers' Best Walking Neighbourhood 2018, receiving over 20% of the vote, with 9 other shortlisted areas (i News website). "The Ramblers say the area's streets were (like Nancy Sinatra's boots) "made for walking" and several factors contributed to its victory." Though they didn't actually say like Nancy Sinatra's boots, that was me, but the factors mentioned included priority for pedestrians in some local roads, certain vehicle restrictions and improvements to pavements and paths, and the historic twittens that allow people to walk between the roads peacefully.

You may have noticed, if you looked at the i News website, that the wonderful Stacey Marie, RX134, and net huts, were again used as photographic support!

Nice one Hastings!

Hastings Half Marathon 2018 Results

It was cold, and with a strong wind racing in from the East, presumably Putin's response to Boris's bluster, only made it feel colder, but luckily it didn't start snowing until the half marathon was over... Anyway, here they are starting, I didn't see whether that photographer to the left got knocked over in the rush, he deserved to, leaving it so late!

The early leaders race by me, some blurred in their flight, or it could just be I'm not a proper photographer with an expensive camera, but you do get the feeling of speed...

Here was my final (regarding the race) resting place, my hands got so cold that my clapping made no noise, I hadn't realised that was what happened before! Anyway, here, the car that led them around the course passes by me, and it's 56 minutes and 11 seconds after the first photograph above...

Swiftly behind the car came the man who would finish first, Adam Clarke of Hastings AC, who finished in 1 hour 8 minutes and 35 seconds, CONGRATULATIONS!

Second, and a wee bit blurred, sorry, was to be this man, Charlie Joslin-Allen of Tonbridge AC, finishing in 1 hour 8 minutes and 52 seconds, a close finish!

Third was another Hastings AC runner, Gary Foster, the first of these 2 men, who finished in 1 hour 10 minutes and 59 seconds, 2 seconds ahead of the man behind him!

The first woman to cross the finishing line was Maria Heslop of Tonbridge AC in 1 hour 21 minutes and 28 seconds, CONGRATULATIONS for winning the women's race!

The second woman to cross the finishing line was another Hastings AC runner, Stacey Clusker, in a time of 1 hour 23 minutes and 37 seconds.

And the third woman to cross the finishing line in 1 hour 25 minutes and 52 seconds was yet another Hastings AC runner, Rachael Grass, nice one!

For the results, go to the website, apologies if I've made any errors, though I sincerely hope I haven't, but it appears 2,469 courageous runners finished the half marathon in bitterly cold conditions, which I believe may be a record number, if I heard the speaker correctly at the beginning. Natasha Kelly, who ran in support of the Elsie-Rose & Friends Foundation, finished in a very creditable time of 2 hours 27 minutes and 41 seconds, well done to her, and many thanks for her support of the Foundation, for which she raised nearly £1,500!

Indeed, my warm congratulations to all those who took part, softy me had to nip into the Cinque Ports Arms opposite to warm up my hands!

Hastings Half Marathon 2018, Today's The Day!

Well, today's the day for the 34th Hastings Half Marathon (website), starting at 10.30 at Sea Road, by Grosvenor Gardens, St Leonards, and finishing there some time later, and the weather doesn't look to be this inviting...

Many runners will be raising money for various charitable causes, including Natasha Kelly (Elsie-Rose & Friends facebook page), who is running to raise money for the Elsie-Rose & Friends Foundation: see my recent blog about the kayaking event across the English Channel to raise money for Elsie-Rose and the Foundation, and which also gives information about Elsie-Rose and Type 1 SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy). I am supporting this event too, and here is a link to the Crowdfunding Page which has raised £420 so far towards the Foundation, many thanks to all who have contributed. All donations to either Natasha and her run, or Mark and his team and their channel crossing will be deeply appreciated, cheers!

For more details of the route and map and warm up advice go to the website.

My best wishes to Natasha, the Hastings Lifeboat runners raising money for many charities, and everyone else who bravely runs the Hastings Half Marathon today, and make sure you wrap up warm if you're a spectator!