Hastings Weekend & Old Town Carnival Week Begins...

Tug-of-War (Not this year sadly)

Indeed, Hastings Old Town Carnival Week 2020 begins today (so the Carnival has not been cancelled completely for 2020) with a Stables Theatre Virtual Tour (website), but I always think that the week really kicks off with the Tug-of-War on the first Saturday, but not this year, sadly, due to the Covid-19 Crisis. The events on Saturday continue with the Stables Theatre Virtual Tour, a Virtual Craft Market, History House Exhibition - Artists in Hastings in Courthouse Street, and Parish Gift Day with coffee and cake takeaway at St Clements Church (website). Sunday is similar, but without the Parish Gift Day (website).

Back to the 'new look' (as in, the new management are actually arranging things 😏) Hastings Pier and live music with Live & Unlocked every Friday until 11th September, from 4.00 to 10.30 pm! Including from 6.50 to 7.35 pm, Captain Clement will be playing a mixture of Celtic and Maritime folk, and some of his own work, plus The Do Theys, Alice Rowe, Frank from Blue Velvet and Vic Payne.

Tomorrow (Saturday) from 2.00 to 10.00 pm, Funk Jam in the Bier Garden means Funk Jam DJs Mark Rolf and Jonny J, plus guests. Also, every Sunday from 3.00 to 11.00 pm will be Uncle Dugs 'Pier Vibes' and this Sunday, from 1.00 to 3.30 pm, The Harry Randle-Marsh Band and Anna Page will be playing too (facebook), plenty of music, and with drinks served, in the Bier Garden for 3 days (seats up to 800), enjoy!

And many reports of great food on the Pier too, including for vegans, excellent!

Indeed, whatever you do this weekend, enjoy yourself, and please remember to be careful too, the Covid-19 Crisis appears to be with us for a while yet... 

Oh yes, and I loved this latest poster from the Council (above), it made me giggle (people who know me well will appreciate that I do use a certain word, maybe I use it a wee bit too much 😉), so I had to include this photograph of the poster, cheers!

My Daily Walk Today - Just a few photographs

Firehills

My daily exercise/walk earlier today and another stroll to the far eastern edge of Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve and back, as I said, just a few photographs...

Looking across Warren Glen 

Not such good light as the previous photograph, but looking down into Fairlight Glen.

Hastings Fishermen's Museum Open at Weekends...

I forgot to mention in my blog for the weekend that Hastings Fishermen's Museum, Rock-a-Nore Road, has reopened for a few hours at weekends, ie from 2.00 to 5.00 pm on Saturdays and Sundays (website), plus it is planned that Hastings History House in Courthouse Street will be reopening on 1st August (website).

Visitors to museums in England are being encouraged to wear face coverings (website).

Enjoy the rest of your weekend, at least it should be drier tomorrow 👍

Weekend Out & New Covid-19 Guidelines for Face Covering

Some things are getting back to normal, and the new stewardship of Hastings Pier appear to be using their grey matter, at last! Anyway, they have a large seating area, with a capacity of 600, on the far side of the Deck building in the middle of the pier and calling it a bier garden, thus for eating and drinking at. On Fridays there will be free live music on the pier with Live & Unlocked from 4-11.45pm (facebook). Also, on Saturdays they will be providing free live music at this outdoors venue, tomorrow (25th July) Funk Jam will mean live music from 2pm to midnight! (facebook). Last week saw the 'inaugural' pier gig with local act Sam Calver playing, and you can see many photographs at flickr showing just how many people were enjoying the day!

It does look a bit damp tomorrow, so be dressed appropriately (Met Office).

And the pubs and restaurants keep reopening, for example, yesterday saw the reopening of The Crown, 64-66 All Saints Street (corner with Crown Lane) TN34 3BN (website). They are open 10am-10pm, with food served 12-5pm and 6-9pm. There is table service, like for most places now, and on the website they state there will be a limit to numbers and recommend to book tables required from noon, which can be booked online. You do not need to wear a face covering at any of Hastings pubs, bars or restaurants, but from today there are new Government guidelines for elsewhere...

As I write we are a little over 7 hours into the new guidelines about wearing face coverings in public in England, following the already well publicized guidelines that we must wear face coverings on public transport. This now includes, with some exceptions for health conditions and age, we must wear face coverings when travelling on public transport, and in shops, supermarkets, shopping centres, banks, building societies, post offices, and transport hubs (indoor train stations and terminals, airports, maritime ports, and indoor bus and coach stations or terminals).

We must also wear face coverings when visiting takeaway food businesses, unless we are going to sit down to eat on the premises, in which case we are allowed to take off our face coverings once we are sitting down, but we must put a face covering back on once we leave the seating area. I trust that is clear... 

For more details go to the Government website.

Whatever, do please be careful folks, and enjoy your weekend!

My Second Hastings Pub Post-Lockdown...

By Steve the Beermeister: 

A confident message from the publican, Louisa, and amusing too, the story is based on the events of Sunday the 23rd of May 1943, when a bombing and 'strafing' raid was made on Hastings during World War II, with one pub, the Swan Inn in the High Street in the Old Town, receiving a direct hit. The Swan Inn has a long history, indeed the Duke of Wellington was honoured with a dinner and dance there soon after he returned home from Ireland with his new wife, Kitty Packenham, in 1806 (blog). A memorial garden is now on the site, opposite St Clements Church. You'll have guessed by now that wasn't the pub I was in for a few pints...

No, I was at The Tower, 251 London Road, on the corner with Tower Road, in Bohemia, Hastings & St Leonards TN34 6NB, I've been there twice, actually, since my last blog. So, during that air raid back in 1943 an interesting wee story evolved when a 1,000 lbs bomb hit the road outside The Tower, which had its cellar doors open for a delivery, and it bounced along and dropped into the cellar of the pub, I kid you not, and it did not explode! I am certainly grateful for that, because The Tower is one of my favourite local watering holes, thankfully the building is still standing.

The Tower

The sapper who diffused the bomb that day rendering it harmless, and who returned the next day to remove it, was a gentleman from Coventry called Patrick Kavanagh. A photographer from the Hastings Observer recorded the removal of the bomb from the cellar, but the image was never published in the newspaper because of wartime restrictions. Coincidentally, Patrick's daughter moved to Hastings, just round the corner from The Tower in Springfield Road, and when visiting her in 1990 he strolled to the local pub for a drink. Not realizing he was in the same pub he was reminiscing with locals about his wartime experience and was told to have a look at a photograph on the wall, which was the photograph taken 47 years earlier, and the photograph is still on the wall now! I have found an interesting account written by his son 9 years ago (website).

So, drinks at The Tower, excellently served by Lou, and the pub that couldn't be closed by the Luftwaffe, even after they bombed the building, has been reopened with suitable restrictions taking into account Government Covid-19 Guidelines, following Johnson closing the pub!

The photograph immediately above is from my second visit, an interesting variety of styles, but the first ale I shall describe was the very good 'best bitter' I drank on my previous visit, from the Sussex brewer, Gun Brewery (website), their 4.4% Chummy Bluster, brewed with 7 malts and 3 different English hops. It is described as 'Vegan Friendly' being unfined, and gluten free, so drinkable for all! And it did what it said on the label, my notes say: "traditional coloured, plenty of body and flavour, like a good Best Bitter" which says it all!

I started with a guest session bitter for my second visit, from the Kent brewer, Northdown Brewery (website) Pale Ale Mary (4.0%), brewed with Northdown, Brewers Gold and Bobek hops, pale, but not as fruity and flowery as many contemporary pale ales. Indeed, quite subtle flavours with a nice dry bitter finish, a very decent session bitter. I've drunk and written about the 'classic' Dark Star Hophead (3.8%) many times, and I didn't drink it on this visit, as 'researching' and someone has to do the job! But I did try the very different beer from Cumbrian brewer Fell Brewery (website), their Cask O'Joe, a 4.6% 'Coffee Milk Stout.' Very smooth, rich and creamy, not too much coffee in the taste and with a hint of chocolate, a bit too sweet for me really, although it did have a slightly dry bitter finish, but I did drink a pint with no bother!

My last pint was another from Gun Brewery, a 6.5% Vegan IPA with a big citrus and tropical fruit aroma and taste, presumably hops from the USA used, as this is an APA style. It's advertised as being 'hazy' because 'Vegan' but hardly hazy at all, with proteins in the brew obviously dropping naturally. My favourite ale of the lot, hic... cheers to Lou, and to you the reader!

Birds Blog IV - Warblers and Flycatchers

So, here I am writing my Birds Part IV blog, Warblers and Flycatchers, with the image of a Wood Warbler and its brood (above) from the appropriate chapter of John Gooders' The Complete Birdwatcher's Guide. These birds mostly eat insects, although some do vary their diet slightly, particularly in the autumn before they migrate southwards, when many take advantage of fruit and berry crops. Sadly, I am not aware that I have seen any Wood Warblers since March the 23rd, so I shall write no more about this specific member of the group today, however...

What I have seen are Whitethroats (above) and Blackcaps. I saw my first Whitethroat quite early in the lockdown period, right at the eastern edge of Hastings Country Park Wildlife Reserve, sitting on a shrub singing his little heart out for me! More likely he was telling me to 'take a walk.' Anyway, go to YouTube to hear the Whitethroat song. A summer visitor to Britain from the fringes of the Sahara in Africa, probably spotted early due to our 'summer' coming so early this year. Indeed, the Whitethroat is an example in this group that does eat berries as well as insects. More recently I have seen other birds collecting nesting material for a second 'brood' this summer, there is so much food around for them, and they nested early the first time when humans were quite rare for them to see due to the lockdown.

Blackcaps are another of these birds who also eat berries in addition to insects and are mostly summer visitors, although they sometimes remain in southern England over warm winters. Warblers can be difficult to differentiate, and so I may well have seen others but not been aware. But I have seen the insect eating Chiffchaff with its distinctive call that it was named after, a summer visitor, and the insect and berry eating Garden Warbler, another summer visitor with a call similar to the Blackcap (YouTube).

What I have not noticed, although I may well have seen one fly by me, is the rarer Dartford Warbler (above). Why may I have seen this rare warbler? Well, a local dog walker I have met regularly at Firehills told me that, about a month ago, a large number of birders had descended upon Firehills to see the Dartford Warblers that had been spotted there, so I am mentioning the bird in this blog, and it is quite a fine looking bird, as well as being rare, I just wish I had seen it...

Anyway, that's enough today for this chapter of my bird observations, and the next chapter of the book* is called Chats and Thrushes, so the Birds Part 5 blog will be called similar, please do watch out for it, and many thanks for reading the blog today.

By the way, although not originally from the county, ornithologist John Gooders* used to live in East Sussex before he died 10 years ago sadly, and had previously chaired the Friends of Rye Harbour Nature Reserve and been the Mayor of Winchelsea, consequently, the Speaker of the Cinque Ports for a year (website).

* John Gooders The Complete Birdwatcher's Guide.

The photograph of the Dartford Warbler is reproduced with many thanks to Derek Middleton, and of the Whitethroat with many thanks to Nigel O, and thanks too to the Sussex Wildlife Trust and RSPB respectively.

Another Weekend & More Open!

Good to see The Albion, 33 George Street (and opposite the Minigolf) TN34 3EA, back open again (facebook). As with Guidance, seating throughout and table service only for now. The large Scottish Bar, George Street side, is now used solely as a restaurant, and in the Seafront Bar and the outside area you may sit and just enjoy a few drinks, or eat there as well of course; tables can be booked at their website.

The Jolly Fisherman, 3 East Beach Street TN34 3AR (website) is now open for takeaway drinks, Thursday 6-8pm, Friday/Saturday 3-7pm, Sunday 1-5pm, plus they are now making deliveries on Thursday afternoons. They are open for table service too, Thursday to Sunday I believe, but you need to book a table, their website tells you how.

The Ferris Wheel has been in action for a while, and Flamingo Park (facebook), East Beach Street (opposite the Jolly Fisherman) has reopened too. It looks like all the amusement arcades are open as well, and the children's playground in-between Hastings Adventure Golf and the beach is open again, and not to forget the minigolf has been going for a few weeks now, so a bit more for children to do again!

Hastings Pier, 1-10 White Rock TN34 1JY, is open again (apologies for older photograph, but I've not visited for a while now, but I do need to get there very soon, maybe this weekend!) and under new management; the structure is still owned by the dodgy bloke from Eastbourne, however, the business is apparently now run by an operating consortium led by James & Mustapha/Music First (facebook), and very friendly to all locals again! Also, there is now a HUGE beer garden area, or Bier Garden (what they call it), and open air live music... I have to visit!

And am I still maintaining my daily walking exercise? Well most days anyway, this was a photograph I took from Fairlight this morning, looking back across Warren Glen.

Whatever you do, have a good weekend, but remember to maintain social distancing etc, as it's not over yet, be careful folks!

Caravan/Lodge Parks Reopened...

Recently I have written a couple of times about Shear Barn reopening (eg blog), well, the weekend just gone they allowed Caravans and Caravanettes that have washing and toilet facilities to stay in their touring field, and quite few turned up. Indeed, on my early morning walk coming back from Fairlight, along Barley Lane, and so a bit later for me, it was a bit like Clapham Junction on Sunday, as in busy... I suppose not so busy really, but it felt like it compared to the last few months, so many dog walkers!

Anyway, the touring field was emptier on Monday morning and, thankfully, I had a more peaceful return to the Old Town the last couple of mornings, but Rocklands is open now too (website), so I'm expecting earlier morning 'traffic' to increase... Oh well, more money for Hastings businesses, so not all bad! 😉

Hastings Library Reopening Monday 13th July

Hastings Library, Claremont, is reopening this Monday with new opening times (see below) to allow for other changes brought about because of the Coronavirus Crisis, Hygiene/Cleaning, Social Distancing etc. There are also other changes, including restricting the number of visitors allowed into the building at any one time (website).

There will be fewer books on the shelves so less browsing, no DVDs, newspapers or periodicals, fewer computers and less time allowed on computers (45 minute sessions, and staff will clean each computer in-between users); you are advised to book computers in advance (eg online), although a member of staff will be available at the entrance to book a computer for you if you don't have internet access elsewhere.

Because of the fewer books available in the library, a Select + Collect system has been set up to enable you to take out up to 20 books at a time, usually available within 5 days, but you will be contacted when they are available. These can be ordered either from the online catalogue or by telephoning the enquiries number 0345 6080196. Books can be returned at the bookdrop outside the library.

Further details an be found by reading the Libraries Reopening Plan (website).

Hastings Library Opening Times: 

Monday/Tuesday 10.00am to 4.00pm;

Wednesday 10.00am to 12.30pm; 

Thursday 10.00am to 5.00pm;

Friday/Saturday 10.00am to 4.00pm;

Sundays CLOSED.

Pirate Day Weekend, Covid-19 Update and More!

OK, Hastings Pirate Day 2020 has been called off (facebook), and Hastings Pirate Day 2021 is now planned for 18th of July 2021. However, it appears that hasn't put off some folk wandering round in pirate gear today, mee 'arties!! And Coronavirus/Covid-19 guidance has changed a wee bit from yesterday, and changing more from tomorrow, I'd suggest looking at the Government's FAQs for details (website).

Hastings, collectively, is now welcoming people back, please bring lots of money and spend it in local businesses, many thanks, including the newly opened...

Courthouse Cooperative

Courthouse Cooperative (facebook page), situated in Courthouse Street, in-between the High Street and The Bourne in Hastings Old Town., a group of people selling "preloved mid-high end clothing, antique toys and dolls, furniture, jewellery, art and other design classics." I was going to suggest you could pop into the Jenny Lind at the end of the road in the High Street before or after visiting, but its reopening has been slightly delayed, but you could go round the corner to the Standard if you like Shepherd Neame beers, or into Rock-a-Nore Road and visit the Dolphin.

Talking about pubs and bars, The Cutter (above), opposite 'Swan Lake' looks rather spiffing after its impressive redecoration during the Lockdown, nice one! And, most establishments have been doing their best to ensure Government guidelines are being adhered to, if not, the Police and Licensing Authorities have been going round town inspecting premises, indeed closed down a couple of bars recently due to overcrowding, thus not maintaining social distancing inside and outside... So, publicans beware, DO ensure the guidelines are met as you are under threat of closure, and no doubt you may well have problems with future license applications too.

Good to see the West Hill Lift is back up and running, excellent! And you may have heard a whisper of an incident at the East Hill Lift early yesterday morning, or have witnessed the large Coastguard, Ambulance, Police, Fire & Rescue and Helicopter presence, apparently a young lad fell whilst climbing onto one of the cars, a local resident tells me only minor cuts and bruises were suffered, thankfully...

RX134, and you can see East Hill Lift top!

And finally, for now, The Stacey Marie in Hastings - RX134 has advised me that she has nothing to do with any political propaganda being distributed through letterboxes, and hasn't given her permission to be used in support of any political parties (this is the second time a political party has used her image, that I know of). RX134 (facebook page) is a non-political retired fishing boat, and an outdoor exhibit for Hastings Fishermen's Museum, and not a political football, thank you very much!

Tits, Nuthatches and Treecreepers

So, here I am at Tits, Nuthatches and Treecreepers, Birds Part III, you will have noticed that I haven't tried for a catchy title like my previous Bird Blog (I'm not naturally a comedian, though some people who know me may disagree), but I took a serious thought about what to call this one. I was worried that it may come up on search engines used by porn seekers and young boys (I was a young boy once, honest, and, like most, giggled very easily at certain words), but it is the title of the chapter, it's nonsense for me to worry, and should it happen to even one person, then maybe they'll see something they should have a healthy interest in. So welcome if you are such a reader, many thanks for clicking on this blog. And many thanks to the rest of you for bearing with me and my waffle, enjoy the blog!

Primarily, this was going to be about the Tit Family as these were the only birds from this chapter of the book* that I have noticed during my daily exercise from east to west, and back again, across Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve. These birds are historically woodland birds, however, now many are seen regularly in urban gardens too, they are very adaptable. They are also very gregarious. Although being territorial during the breeding season, they can often be seen to come together in mixed flocks at other times of the year, particularly the winter, indeed Nuthatches and Treecreepers may also join in these mixed flocks!

As the image from The Complete Birdwatcher's Guide is of 2 Nuthatches, I shall start with that bird, as, although I hadn't noticed any in the last few months, one may well have been in my eyesight, honestly, how many times do birds flit across in front of you and you have no idea what it was? Many times, really, and this is true of the last 4 months for me. But the Nuthatch, this colourful little (about the size of a Great Tit), woodpecker-like bird, is an interesting bird to observe, I have never noticed one 'in the wild' but I have seen them in the days I had a garden, climbing upside down on a tree searching for insects, or breaking seeds and nuts.

I include this photograph of a Blue Tit because it is probably one of the birds that most people can recognize, and is a frequent garden visitor, and I have seen many over the months, including 'juveniles' more recently, with their pale greener plumage and crown. They are exotic, colourful, and very interesting to watch. Indeed, the only time in my life I have had a nesting box, Blue Tits nested there, I observed the pair choosing their nest site and flying to and fro whilst feeding their young ones. I also had the great honour of spotting the last half a dozen young leaving the nest; they typically have 8-12 chicks, sometimes as many as 20! You could see the nesting box from our kitchen window, and I was washing up the breakfast dishes at the time, not that I ever needed to find an excuse to watch the box, but I was fortunate that morning.

The other tits I have seen include the largest, the Great Tit, more frequently at the beginning of the lockdown period, but am still seeing them now and then. Similar the Coal Tit, which I have not seen for at least 2 months now. All the tits are omnivores, eating insects and seeds, and anyone with a Nut Feeder will have seen them tucking in there too, though mostly going for the kernel of the nut, with bits and pieces of nuts flying off for ground feeding birds to take advantage of! I have also seen Marsh Tits, maybe Willow Tits as well, difficult to tell the difference, although their song is different (YouTube), hence why I know I have seen Marsh Tits, but... Oh yes, and the video shows other tits and birds at garden feeders and tables too, so well worth the watch.

It has been a pleasure to observe these gregarious birds, but onwards I go, and the next chapter of the book* is called Warblers and Flycatchers, consequently, so will the Birds Part III blog, please watch out for it.

Sorry, as far as I'm aware, I haven't seen a Treecreeper ever, let alone recently...

* John Gooders The Complete Birdwatcher's Guide.

Photograph of the Nuthatch with many thanks to Derek Middleton, and of the Blue Tit to Bob Eade, and to the Sussex Wildlife Trust for both.

A pint in a pub and Covid-19

By Steve the Beermeister:

As we said recently (blog), it is the personal choice of every one of us, from the 4th of July 2020, whether we go to a pub, restaurant or bar, providing we take into account Government Guidance (website). Our opinion, expressed in that blog, is that, shamefully, the Government is passing the buck, indeed, passing on as much responsibility as they can, and Government Policy and Guidance is a Pig's Ear!

Whatever! I drank a wonderful pint from Kent Brewery (website) on Monday, their gorgeous 4.8% version of an American Pale Ale, Prohibition, a finalist in the 2019 CAMRA Champion Beer of Britain contest, and up there with the best. I have drunk it since lockdown and the Coronavirus Crisis began, recently thanks to the life preserving delivery service of The Jolly Fisherman (website) a couple of weeks ago, but that first pint, fresh from the cask, was wonderful. Prohibition is a very pale golden bitter, straw coloured even, with a big citrus/tropical fruit aroma and taste, particularly grapefruit flavour. A good strength and body ensures you know you have had a drink, and it finishes with what I always rave about, a dry bitter aftertaste, gorgeous!

And, knowing I can't travel far these days because of travelling restrictions brought in by the Government thanks to the Coronavirus Crisis, my drinking has to be in Hastings, or within walking distance of Hastings. So where did I have my first post-lockdown ale in a pub? The Dolphin Inn (website) at 11-12 Rock a Nore Road TN34 3DW, reopened on Monday (I stayed in at the weekend), and it was great to meet up with people I'd not seen for a while, appropriate social distancing of course, and table service! As you can see from the interior photograph above, they have redecorated and re-planned the inside to a warm hospitable environment, not that it hasn't always been so.

Everything has been reorganized so that only one person can use each toilet at a time, during busy periods there will be someone on the door to ensure the numbers of customers in the pub are restricted at any one time, and service is to the tables inside, although customers sitting outside have to go inside to a set point for their drinks, and there is off sales provision too. 

In the short-term there will be just the 4 ales on at any one time, including their 3 regulars still, Dark Star Hophead, Young's Special and Harvey's Sussex Best. This week the guest ales at the 4th pump will be from Kent Brewery (website), and as I said, they started off with Prohibition, of which they had 2 firkins, hurry if you want to drink Prohibition, as it is going quickly, but if you do miss it, it will be replaced by another excellent ale from that brewery, so no real concern. Oh yes, and they have a new chef, Tim, who many of us know from elsewhere, dishing up some very interesting looking food (website), specials on the menus are to be introduced as reopening lengthens, and a Japanese Evening is planned to be held soon.

(Ed) Not all licensed premises in Hastings are open yet, but a few reopened on Monday in addition to the Dolphin, and some will be open again very soon, but during my early morning walks (I have continued this institution!) I noticed that The Retreat Bar up at Shear Barn in Barley Lane, has reopened, although not at the hour I pass. 😉 Indeed, I noted their opening times for now as 4pm to 7pm Mon/Tuesday; closed Wednesdays; 4pm to 7pm Thursday; 5pm to 9pm Fri/Saturdays; 2pm to 6pm Sunday. Their restaurant is closed until further notice.

Whatever, wherever, remember to be careful folks!

Sunday Sunny and Windy Walk About...

These days I don't usually wander around Hastings during the afternoon, and very rarely weekends at the best of times, but I wanted to have a look around and see how Silly Saturday plus was getting on, so I wandered out via Claremont to the seafront, and was surprised by how quiet it was! Sunday afternoon, 1.30pm, and I took the above photograph of Pelham Beach, as you can see it was very quiet, although I wasn't really too surprised as the water was rough, no swimming, and quite a strong wind too at about 25 mph with gusts of up to 40 mph. But the car park was full! 😕

Intrigued, I looked for the quietest way to the Old Town and followed the now running Miniature Railway to The Stade (above), as there were certainly more people walking alongside the main road; nice to see the railway having customers too, 2 trains running and both had people aboard. I was looking for someone I know to enquire about yesterday, but it was busier along Rock-a-Nore Road, and the main road, so some intended sources were busy, but I did manage to have a chat with Oliver and Becky at The Jolly Fisherman (blog), which is continuing with its takeout business at the moment (blog). They were open yesterday evening too, for people who had booked tables, and it could be worth keeping an eye out for them opening for people to sit down inside for table service, indeed, they are considering their options...

A Quiet George Street

Anyway, they informed me that it was quite quiet yesterday (Silly Saturday), certainly in the Old Town, which is not surprising really, because it wasn't exactly the nicest day of the Summer. Indeed, there weren't that many pubs and bars open in the Old Town, and the ones I saw open today appeared to have their places organised very well to ensure social distancing was maintained.

However, it appears that a certain bar in Queens Road was 'rammed' yesterday, but, when I walked back home via the town centre and Queens Road this afternoon, everywhere seemed very quiet, including said bar. Let's hope it continues... 

Government Covid-19 Guidance, July 4th Weekend and Pubs etc

It seems like we get daily new 'guidance' (law, basically!) regarding Covid-19 and the Coronavirus Crisis from Her Majesty's Government, well, I'm sure you must be aware that newer guidance will be in force from the 4th of July, but hardly 'independence day' (website). So what major changes will there be from tomorrow? 

Your household will now be able to meet up with one other household, indoors or outdoors, however, you need to continue with social distancing from people not in your household or bubble (a group larger than 30 can be broken up by the Police!), and it continues that you may meet up outdoors as long as you maintain social distancing in a group of 6 maximum, from up to 6 different households.

Social Distancing will remain at TWO METRES or ONE METRE PLUS (website), that is "plus mitigations" which will depend on the setting. "For example, on public transport, people must wear a face covering... In other spaces mitigations could include installing screens, making sure people face away from each other, putting up handwashing facilities, minimising the amount of time you spend with people outside your household or bubble, and being outdoors."

All this is pretty much passing responsibility on to others, quite frankly, because, as we all know, the economic cost of the Coronavirus Crisis has been quite high to the Government, and they appear to want to get out of paying to support businesses, particularly in the Hospitality Sector, as early as possible, but not necessarily at the most sensible speed health-wise. So, guidance has been written up for Restaurants, pubs, bars and takeaway services (website) to 'support' pubs, restaurants and bars to reopen, and visiting such places ain't gonna be what we're used to!

I am not going to say 'yay' or 'nay' to whether people should visit pubs, bars and restaurants, that is our personal choice, bearing in mind the restrictions within the guidance offered by Government, how this is interpreted by local authorities and the Police and Courts, and not to forget, how the publicans, restaurateurs and managers interpret and implement guidance. It's a pig's ear frankly!

I have been asking around, and it looks like less than 50% of establishments in Hastings & St Leonards will reopen on the 4th, with many planning to open on Monday the 6th, quite a few later bearing in mind work being carried out in the meantime, some much later. I have added a photograph (above) of The Tower pub in London Road, which will be reopening tomorrow morning (it has been making off-sales during lockdown - blog) with details of changes to how it will appear, should you visit the pub.

The landlady has advised me that they are continuing today with the off-sales, as per my earlier blog, and will be open at their usual hours from the 4th of July, 11.00 am to 11.00 pm I believe. There will be table service only, no standing at the bar, so all customers will be seated, and no reservations in advance. I think this is pretty much the way it will be everywhere, except those with outside gardens/patios may have a few differences. Hygiene will be maximized and hand washing facilities and the use of sanitizing gel will no doubt be increased everywhere. Best wishes to Louisa and others! 

I can't provide details of who is opening, or when, throughout Hastings, but feel free to add proper details in the comments section, cheers! Certainly in the 'old town' it appears that more pubs and bars will be closed than those open over this weekend. 

Enjoy your weekend, whatever you do, but do be careful folks!