Amber Rudd Resigns as Home Secretary!

I suppose it had to happen sooner or later, but it's sooner-ish... Very recently our Member of Parliament and Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, told the Parliamentary Home Affairs Select Committee "We don't have targets." She has since 'apologised' and said she was not aware of "specific removal targets."

Last year (January 2017) she wrote to Theresa May, the Prime Minister, "I want to ensure that we have sufficient beds to deliver the 10% uplift in enforced removals over the next few years" - That suggests she did know about targets more than 15 months ago, and now she has resigned as Home Secretary; see the BBC website.

Batten down the hatches!

Because from the time it starts raining heavily this evening, and for all day tomorrow, it looks like we've got VERY wet and windy weather (see Met Office website), batten down the hatches indeed!

Hastings Lifeboat Exercise This Morning.

Hastings RNLI are holding an exercise this morning, launching at 09.00 beach side of the Lifeboat Station of course, and includes both boats, the exercise usually takes a couple of hours, so probable recovery about 11.00. Many thanks to their facebook page for the image above, cheers!

My apologies for the late posting, I'm having IT issues!

People's Pier Update & Crowdfunding

To begin with, further to my blog earlier this week, a Crowdfunding page has been set up on which to submit donations; if £500,000 is not raised by the end of May 2018, donations will be returned to each individual. If you have pledged support to the Friends of Hastings Pier, but have not submitted any money or cheques yet (apparently already £111,210 has been pledged, though not yet reflected in the amount on Crowdfunding), please carry through with your pledge there, though the amount donated does seem to rise every time I look at the page, good stuff!

Also, the 5 Friends of Hastings Pier members who were voted for after the meeting all received good support to represent the interests of the Friends of Hastings Pier as "spokespeople." Hastings Voluntary Action counted the votes, with a total of 377 people voting, of whom 291 voted for all 5 candidates, results: Jim Breeds 314; James Chang 324; Lesley Davis 332; Jess Steele 362; Adam Wide 340. 

The Friends of Hastings Pier's 5 principles behind their pledge to ensure the Pier is "enjoyed by all who live in and visit Hastings and St Leonards on Sea" are listed on the Crowdfunding page, and are copied below.

People get a say in what happens next: This community rescued the pier and have demonstrated a commitment to it through investing/donating as shareholders, volunteering, visiting and otherwise supporting the Pier. The community should be involved in deciding what happens next.

The community’s asset should not be sold off into private hands: Whilst financial support might be needed again in the short term, we believe that the Pier can be financially viable, indeed profitable, in the medium to long term. Selling off the Pier into private hands would be risky, irreversible, and will result in the loss of community control of a valuable and strategic local asset.

A partnership approach to ownership and operation is the way forward: We support an approach based on partnership between the community and a commercial operator. Ownership of the Pier’s freehold remains protected in perpetuity, fulfilling HLF’s desire to see the heritage managed, while a private sector operator develops its commercial success above deck, making annual payments that cover maintenance and insurance. We would expect to support the early years of the operation through a rent-free period which would require grants and community investment to fill the short-term gap.

Good results are underpinned by good governance: Decision making, transparency and governance of the pier must improve as an important part of making a community partnership work. Financial transparency, an improved governance structure and improved communications are all needed to underpin community engagement.  

 The Pier should remain a space that everyone can enjoy and take pride in: We know that some kind of shelter, new building or other development is necessary as part of an ambitious business plan for a 21st Century pier. We believe this can be done in a way that complements and does not compromise the wonderful space that won the RIBA Stirling Prize. 

Meanwhile, the Southern Rail Industrial Dispute...

Two days ago, rail workers from the RMT union (more stoppage days coming up in May!), commuters' representatives and disability campaigners held a protest outside the Houses of Parliament; see BBC Report. This marked the anniversary of 2 years of industrial action and campaigning against Southern Railway wanting trains staffed only by drivers, and at the behest of the Department of Transport!

Meanwhile, the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has slammed the "broken model of rail franchising" lauded by the Government and the Transport Minister, Chris Grayling! The PAC Report slams the Government's (mis) management of two of the rail franchises, our very own Govia Thameslink franchise running Southern (and Thameslink and Great Northern) and the privatised, renationalised because it was failing and then making money whilst nationalised, then sold off and now failing again under the franchise system, the East Coast franchise! 

The Chair of the PAC, Meg Hillier said "the Government appears to have seen its task as simply to contract out the service, with wholly inadequate consideration given to passengers' best interests... The franchising model is broken and passengers are paying the price." See the PAC Report at the Parliament website for more.

Couldn't agree more Meg, amen to that!

Hastings GP found shot dead in Cape Verde!

There was me being told that my GP had resigned last year when it now appears he did a bunk with his girlfriend and £400,000 of NHS funds, and has now shot her and himself following a row... A bit of a different NHS story than yesterday, and I'm amazed I hadn't heard anything about this in the intervening year!

More at the BBC website.

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...

Mark training for Channel Challenge, Elsie-Rose & SMA Type 1

As I've mentioned a number of times now, Mark Little and 3 other Team members are going to cross the English Channel by kayak in August, leaving from Dungeness, and landing in Boulogne several hours later, no doubt with aching arms! Why? Well, to help raise funds for local lass Elsie-Rose, the Elsie-Rose & Friends Foundation, and to ensure greater awareness of SMA Type 1.

Elsie-Rose was diagnosed with SMA (Spinal Muscular Atrophy) Type 1 in September 2014, a condition that causes severe muscle weakness, and creates problems with movement, breathing and swallowing. Sadly, without intervention, most children with SMA Type 1 die within the first two years of their shortened lives. However, with her courageous and strong character, Elsie-Rose strives to enjoy life just like any other 4 year old!

Mark practicing out there!

The Elsie-Rose & Friends Foundation was also set up to provide help and financial support to families with disabled, sick, and terminally ill children. After meeting Elsie-Rose and members of her family, Mark and his team decided to take up the challenge and kayak across the English Channel with the aim of raising money for Elsie-Rose, and for the Foundation.

Consequently, they are seeking donations via Crowdfunding to go towards the cost of any special equipment Elsie-Rose may need, and to provide the Elsie-Rose & Friends Foundation with funding and to support other families in need. There is also a collection box and sponsorship forms at the Dolphin Inn, 11-12 Rock-a-Nore Road, Hastings TN34 3DW.

A wee bit closer

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

To help support the courageous young Elsie-Rose and others, a donation via Crowdfunding would be very gratefully received, or visit the Dolphin Inn and make a pledge to support the Kayak Team, or add to the collection box, many thanks!

Friends of Hastings Pier Meeting Report 23rd April 2018

I attended the meeting called by Friends of Hastings Pier yesterday evening, at the White Rock Theatre, met up with a fair number of like-minded friends, and was impressed at what must have been circa 500 shareholders and supporters in attendance. My notes are a bit hard to read as I'd originally written them on the paper that turned out to be the ballot paper for representatives to put forward the plans of Friends of Hastings Pier and the meeting to the Administrators, so I scribbled them down quickly, in poor light, before casting my votes! Anyway, to the meeting...

The meeting was chaired by Steve Manwaring of Hastings Voluntary Action, who handled very well the little friction that appeared over the two hours, and kept the discourse on the move appropriately. Hugh Rolo of Social Investment Business (website), and a shareholder, spoke about possible funding and stipulated the rising of the Pier 'from the ashes' was just the first phase of building this 21st century pier, and now we need to get to the second phase. Then Jess Steele passionately described to us how Friends of Hastings Pier see this second phase and described their plan, which looks at the business in a Bottom/Top way, the fabric of the pier (bottom) should be owned by the community, and the working business (top) should be a profitable business, most likely privately run, and pay rent to the Bottom.

Talking about passionate, next came, I think his name is Adam Wide, who previously worked for Openwide Investments for whom he helped to turn round the business of two piers, Cromer and Bournemouth (website), cruise ships, and who knows what else, to call him enthusiastic is an understatement. He looked lively, and many jokes were shared about his 'deckchair' shirt, but his enthusiasm got me thinking, yes, with people like him involved the Pier can make money! He suggested ideas about the possibilities for entertainment and activities on the Pier, and what would bring in the money for Phase 2, whilst Alex de Rijke, architect of the 21st century Hastings Pier, from drMM Architects (website), and winner of the 2017 RIBA Stirling Prize (see blog), showed us the potential for dynamic new structures on the Pier, including keeping a large open space for larger concerts, and promenading of course, and an innovative smaller structure which could hold up to 500 for indoor activities.

I can't do justice to the amount of excellent work put in by the participants, you really need to get in touch with the Friends of Hastings Pier, better, join them in their battle, apparently they meet every Friday on the Pier, or go to their facebook page or twitter page, or email them at friendsofhastingspier@gmail.com. 

As I alluded to earlier, there was little friction at the meeting, mostly strong support, one quite angry shareholder present asked why all shareholders hadn't been contacted, she hadn't found out about this meeting until she had discussed it with someone when she visited the Pier. However, when it was explained by Jess that it was the Administrators blocking Friends of Hastings Pier contacting shareholders, as they had the list of shareholders and wouldn't share the list (is this indicative of the apparent contempt the Administrators hold towards shareholders?), and she seemed placated. Though what this does show is that not everyone uses social media, so, if you know a shareholder who is unaware of what is going on, please share the knowledge and suggest they contact Friends of Hastings Pier urgently!

After a number of questions and answers, Jess Steele reiterated the 5 principles they had written down, one of which is that the Pier should not be sold off into private hands but be owned by the community. Indeed, as I've said before, it was private enterprise that nearly destroyed the Pier! She also explained that the Administrators need to extend the time limit for the £1million funds request (blog) to 30 days, to make this a more reasonable target, good luck with that!

Now, if anyone has money stashed by, or knows someone who has, or a business or charity that could pledge support, please get in touch with Friends of Hastings Pier at friendsofhastingspier@gmail.com and/or pledge at the same email address, subject: Pledge.

Reminder: This evening Friends of Hastings Pier Meeting!

Please come along and give support to the Friends of Hastings Pier meeting at 7.30pm at the White Rock Theatre this evening, the more support the better!

See previous blog.

Hastings Pier Financial Backing Urgently Required!

Further to my recent blog, the Administrators now appear to be rushing through a request for proof that, by Tuesday, Friends of Hastings Pier must get together £1million (and/or evidence of pledges) if they want to stay in the running to keep Hastings Pier in community ownership, not very friendly of them! 

The Friends of Hastings Pier have put forward a good business plan which would include raising money through many means, including Crowdfunding, a share offer, and to apply for grants and to other funders, but time is too short for such medium-longer term funding, they have been given until just Tuesday to provide evidence of funds!

If anyone has money stashed by, or knows someone who has, or a business or charity that could pledge support (also see facebook page), please get in touch with Friends of Hastings Pier at friendsofhastingspier@gmail.com and/or pledge at the same email address, subject: Pledge.

Also, please come along and give support to the meeting at 7.30pm at the White Rock Theatre tomorrow (Monday 23rd April 2018), the more support the better!

Beer Festival at the Albion this weekend!

The Albion, 33 George Street TN24 3EA (and with an entrance on the seafront) is holding its annual St George's Beer Festival this weekend, continuing on to Monday (St George's Day). There is a selection of real ales from local breweries and from a bit further away.   

Image thanks to Samuel Docker

The RX Shanty Men will be performing live this afternoon (Saturday) from 3pm, plus there will be live 'Jazz on Sunday' early tomorrow evening. Also tomorrow, there will be a 'traditional' Yard of Ale Drinking Competition (drinking 1.4L of beer from one very long and difficult to manage vessel!) at 4pm outside the seafront bar (top picture). 

For St George's Day, Monday the 23rd of April, the Albion is introducing a 'traditional' Pie & Mash offer, a London Pub Pianist will be playing that evening, and the first 50 customers through the door at 6pm will receive pie and mash free! See facebook page.

Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club Donation

This is another 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 in support of Elsie-Rose and the Elsie-Rose & Friends Foundation. The two Davids and Maz today, ie the Planet Hastings Crazy Golf Club, donated £142 towards the cause on behalf of Elsie-Rose, many thanks!

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 young children! 

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.

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 young girl and others with similar problems, please make a donation via Crowdfunding or 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!

Jack in the Green Coming Soon!

Coming soon: see website for details.

Friends of Hastings Pier and Developments...

Friends of Hastings Pier (facebook page) have submitted a bid to keep Hastings Pier in community ownership and should have a response in a couple of weeks time. Consequently, and you may have seen posters around town, the meeting of Shareholders and Supporters on Monday the 23rd of April  2018 at the White Rock Theatre (6 days time) will be concentrating on the submitted business plan. 

The meeting will start at 7.30pm, though some of the active members will be in the Visitor Centre on the Pier an hour beforehand for a pre-meeting, and tea and coffee, and would be pleased to see supporters, especially so at the White Rock Theatre, all support would be welcome!

Also, every letter of support from the people of Hastings, and beyond, would be very welcome too, please write to friendsofhastingspier.gmail.com with 'Letter of Support' as the subject, many thanks!

New Hardware Store Near Town Centre.

When the hardware store in Queens Road closed about 6 years ago I sorely missed the place! But very recently, Tooltrader opened at 1 Waldegrave Street TN34 1SJ (virtually opposite Marks & Spencer), I look forward to taking advantage of the fact...

One day left to register to vote!

Hastings Town Hall

Tomorrow is the last day you can register to be able to vote at the local elections on the 3rd of May (see my recent blog); register at government website.

Don't lose your chance to vote if you aren't already registered!

Hastings New Lifeboat...

No, not this one, this is the retiring soon Sealink Endeavour, which quite a while ago it was announced would be replaced by the Shannon Class all-weather lifeboat (blog). Well, many thanks to the Hastings Lifeboat twitter page, which has shared this website, at which you can follow the new boat's progress. Following their advice, look at bays 9 and 10, where you will notice, for now (above), she's in two halves!

With much respect to Hastings Lifeboat crew and volunteers, indeed to all RNLI staff and volunteers throughout the country.

Town Centre Toilets...

This photograph was taken yesterday, and the toilets in Harold Place are certainly being demolished, no doubt about that, so the building now being used for anything else is out of the question... The Observer recently suggested that a restaurant could be sited here, is an idea, but how many restaurants and cafes are in the vicinity anyway?!? A friend suggested the old underground toilets could be reopened, but the Council wants to save money, not spend more... What about keeping it flat and using as car parking space so the Council can get an income from the space? 

Just a thought, anyone else have ideas or knowledge, I haven't been to a Hastings Borough Council meeting or planning meeting for ages?!?

What's On This Weekend?

View from West Hill

Well, the last weekend of the school Easter Holidays sees a quieter time to be had, but, apart from the usual museums, parks etc to visit, there is a Spring Fair & Sale up at the West Hill Community Centre, Croft Road TN34 3JT, 11am to 3pm today (website). This won't be just a jumble sale, as also there will be reflexology, tombola, auction, morris dancing, and much more! 

At Hastings Pier this weekend sees the last two days of Automata at the Pier with Cabaret Mechanical Theatre (website), 10am to 5pm both days. The exhibition is free to enter and the collection, which has been touring since 1979, "merges the boundaries of art and engineering with their collection of extraordinary mechanical toys and many other marvelous, mechanical inventions."

This afternoon, up at The Pilot Field, Elphinstone Road TN34 2AX, with a 3pm kick off, Hastings United FC will be playing against bottom of the league Shoreham FC (website). As they are 15 places below Hastings, we would presume Hastings should score a few goals having won 3-1 away to Chipstead in their last match, and 7-1 away at East Grinstead Town in the previous match! Here's hoping I haven't jinxed them...

Oh, and I've just been told that the Somewhere in the World Art Exhibition at the Southwater Area Community Centre has been extended a week until Friday the 20th of April 2018 (website). The Centre is just behind Warrior Square Railway Station at 1 Stainsby Street TN37 6LA, and the exhibition is open 10am to 4pm. It looks like the Centre is closed on Sundays (looking at their website).

Whatever you do, have an excellent weekend!

Hastings Fishing Boats Protest!

Well, it's again with thanks to our wonderful roving photographer that these images from the weekend's fishing industry protest can be shared, cheers Marcus!

In a carefully staged campaign around the country, protests were held by about 200 fishing boats at the same time in Whitstable, Portsmouth, Plymouth, Milford Haven and Newcastle, as well as in Hastings, aggrieved by what they consider to be an 'abject betrayal' by the Government over Brexit effectively being extended until the end of 2010, despite the referendum being in June 2016, nearly 2 years ago!

Boats came to join Hastings fishing boats from many ports including Rye, Newhaven, Eastbourne, Folkestone and Colchester. Essentially angry that, despite promises from Brexiteers in Ukip and the Tory Party that British coastal waters would be brought under the control of the British Government, that there had been no movement yet, and didn't look like there would be any movement until 2021 at the earliest!

However, as I've alluded to many times since Greenpeace came to town 3 years ago (blog), the real problem for Under Ten Metre Fishing Boats such as in Hastings (nearly 80% of British fishing boats are allowed only 4% of the total British catch!), which carry out sustainable fishing, was actually the British Government and Defra pandering to the 'bigger boys' and their larger trawlers, which carry out unsustainable fishing. Indeed, Defra even allowing them to sell off some of their rights to foreign vessels!

The Right-wing businessman and xenophobe, Arron Banks, who funds Ukip and made a huge financial contribution towards the 'Leave' campaign, appears to have been a spokesperson for the weekend's protests and is scaremongering yet again, asserting that the EU will attempt to "cull what is left of the British (fishing) industry" and that we are "staring down the barrel of a gun with this transition deal."

Meanwhile Defra have contradicted Banks, asserting that it had already negotiated with the EU, and that the British share of the common fisheries catch would not be reduced over the transition period, which is about "delivering a smooth and orderly Brexit."

So who do we believe? Personally I wouldn't trust either of them! Certainly not a major political funder and businessman who has his own agenda... Nor Defra, who have appeared to have been under the thrall of the large trawler fishing fleets elsewhere in Britain, and who have not supported the New Under Ten Fishermens Association (NUTFA website), and certainly not supported the sustainable fishing policy promised by the Coastal Champions 5-point action plan (blog) signed up to by our MP, the Member of Parliament for Hastings & Rye, 3 years ago!

The only thing I can add is, watch this space...

Jam for Jim

Not being available to attend the Jam for Jim myself (earlier blog) I am indebted to my friendly roving photographer Marcus for these photographs from Sunday, cheers!

Jasper the compere

A successful jam was had at Whistle Trago on Sunday, I have been told, but if you missed the chance to attend, and would still like to contribute towards helping Jim out, lease go to gofundme, many thanks!

R.I.P. John the Cobbler

Yesterday, sadly, I was told that John the Cobbler had died the day before following his long battle with Cancer. I shall miss walking up the High Street and stopping to chat to John, and I shall miss his humour, eg "Cobblers to the Old Town" being the name he gave his business! The photograph above is of when Paul Denny (Sun Tan) presented John with a Macmillan Nurses certificate as he and his customers and friends had contributed £110 towards Paul's fundraising for Macmillan Nurses, in respect of his running in the London Marathon in honour of another character lost to Hastings the year before, Debbie McSweeney, who had died due to Cancer too (blog).

My thoughts are with his wife, family and friends, R.I.P. John... 😪

May 3rd Election: and Register to Vote!

You've likely already received your Poll Card for the local elections on Thursday the 3rd of May 2018, if not, are you registered to vote? If not, you still have a little over a week in which to register to vote at the local elections, indeed, there would be no surprise if a general election is called at short notice any time soon! Whoever you support, it is important to use your vote, or even to turn up and 'spoil' your ballot paper if you would prefer, but everyone really does need to make their feelings felt.

In Hastings every Borough Councillor seat is up for grabs for the first time on the same day, due to the boundary changes, and what one shouldn't forget, whatever your political persuasion, is that Central Government has once again reduced the amount they share with Local Government, and Hastings is one of the worst hit councils in the country! But it's not just Labour borough councils that have been hit, even Tory controlled county councils (and local councils), including East Sussex County Council, have had their contributions slashed since 2010, indeed many Conservative councillors are among the noisiest in their condemnation of Central Government ongoing cuts to funding whilst passing more responsibilities onto local councils...

Register to vote here, you have until the 17th of April 2018, make your opinions known to your local MP, County Councillors and Hastings Borough Councillors, and vote!

Hastings Pier Shareholder and/or Supporter?

With the Hastings Pier Charity in administration, and the Pier having been put up for sale by the administrators, the Friends of Hastings Pier has been re-formed as a voice for shareholders and supporters, and to campaign to keep Hastings Pier in community ownership. 

An emerging local business plan is being compiled and the Friends of Hastings Pier is seeking to unite shareholders and supporters behind the plan to keep the Pier in community ownership. Consequently, a meeting has been called for Monday 23rd of April 2018, from 7.30 to 9.30pm at the White Rock Theatre opposite the Pier. Members of Friends of Hastings Pier will be having a coffee on the Pier beforehand at 6.30pm.

Your support is being requested at the meeting, on their twitter page, join their facebook page, or email them at friendsofhastingspier@gmail.com if you cannot make the meeting but would like to join Friends of Hastings Pier and/or to offer your support.

Indeed, we can still save Hastings Pier as a community asset!

What to do if you find a chick/fledgling on the ground...

Having received this information from the Sussex Wildlife Trust (of which I'm a member, a worthy local charity to support, I believe, as it takes in all forms of wildlife), I thought I should share it... The author is Charlotte Owen, their WildCall Officer. 

"At this time of year it’s quite common to find baby birds on the ground that seem to have ‘fallen’ out of their nest. 

If the bird has feathers then it is a fledgling and, unless it’s in immediate danger, the answer is: do nothing. It takes time for birds to learn how to fly and very few manage it on their first attempt. Fledglings often spend a few days on the ground waiting for their feathers to develop completely before they can fly. It can be distressing to see a baby bird flapping around trying to get off the ground but the parents will usually be close by, hidden away but spurring on their offspring with the promise of food. If you find a fledgling at risk from a predator or passing traffic, consider moving it to a more sheltered location such as a hedge. It’s a myth that touching a baby bird will cause its parents to abandon it, but it’s important not to move it too far away so that its parents are still able to find it.

If the baby bird doesn’t have any feathers yet then it is still a nestling and should be returned to its nest. Doing so will not cause the parents to reject it. If you can’t see the nest or you find a baby bird that’s visibly injured, please contact a local wildlife rescue for assistance: sussexwildlifetrust.org.uk/injuredwildlife "

100th Anniversary of the RAF today!

So, why was the Council flying the RAF flag today? Well, apart from refuting the naive comments of reactionaries towards Hastings Borough Council, it's the Council's acknowledgement of the Royal Air Force Centenary today, Happy Birthday RAF!

See the RAF website.

There IS an Easter Bunny!

See! There is the Easter Bunny yesterday, with volunteer Richard in close attendance, at the Lifeboat Station. The Easter Bunny was a mine of information, by the way, not to mention holding a basketful of wee chocolate eggs for wee children.

But the day had started earlier for me when it was, quite frankly, persisting down! I'd believed the BBC online weather forecast that there would be no more rain in the day, and how wrong were they?!? But I suddenly remembered, the BBC no longer gets its forecast from the Met Office, but from the American (General Atlantic) owned MetroGroup, well I won't be looking at the BBC website for weather from now on but directly from the Met Office website, as the BBC weather forecast has been terribly inconsistent since Metrogroup took over in early February; it'll be interesting to see which is more consistent! Didn't help aPIERtite on the Pier though (blog).

And, is this a run up to the 2018 Stade Saturdays? From 2 to 10 pm saw the Stade Open Space stage the Hastings Youth Trust's Hastings Easter Festival! Now, I never knew anything about this happening, maybe I'm too old, but it's a shame there wasn't more publicity!

And I ended up walking up All Saints Street to, cheers!