Trip to Rye & A Happy Chinese New Year!

Indeed, today celebrates the beginning of the Chinese Year of the Rabbit (British Council), so Happy New Year! And what has this to do with the Rye Waterworks micropub (website)? Well, exactly a year ago today I wrote about my new year visit to the pub (blog), a favourite haunt of mine since I first wrote about it soon after it opened, getting on for 5 years ago (blog). Oh yes, and on Friday I visited for the first time this year, which meant I said 'Happy New Year' to the folks there... A roundabout way of linking my latest visit to the Chinese New Year, cheers! 😉

OK, and I've cheated a wee bit by using my Steve the Beermeister blog, seemed appropriate for the Year of the Rabbit, and also my trip to Rye on Friday, and yes, as if you didn't already know, I am Steve the Beermeister too... 😁

Anyway, like a year ago (blog), Friday was a lovely crisp day with a clear blue sky, and well worth the trip over. I started off with a few ales, 2 from Tonbridge Brewery (website), and the other brewed by the pub at their own microbrewery (blog), although this was one of the last firkins from before their brewery started functioning, when they were still a cuckoo brewery; ale from their own brewery will be available here very soon, I was assured by David. To the ales, I started off with the the 3.9% Tonbridge Easy Street Pale, brewed with Northdown, Ernest and Fuggles, all 3 hops grown in Kent. It's a pale golden bitter with a light floral and spicy aroma, plenty of flavour considering its strength with a hint of citrus, and a lovely sharp bitter finish.

The other 2 were more traditional session bitters, the first being, appropriately, the 3.6% Tonbridge Traditional, brewed with Kent Golding and Challenger hops. I really rate this beer, indeed, I've not drunk a bad Tonbridge ale of any style recently, that I can remember, my notes say it does what it says on the label, hints of malt and citrus, very good! And the very local, also 3.6%, Waterworks Ureynal, a pun on the fact that in one of its more recent earlier lives the pub building was a public loo (blog with its history). This is another very good traditional session bitter brewed with Pilgrim hops, and, as I suggested above, I had a chat with David about this beer, and I am very much looking forward to my first taste of this, and other ales they are brewing, a pale and a darker ale too, when they are being served at the Rye Waterworks. 👍

And on to ciders... I had a couple of pints, including one of the excellent 5.8% Earl's Reserve Still Cider, made from Russet apples grown on their own 100 acre farm in Matfield, near Tonbridge in Kent, and where they've been growing apples since 1964, that is Charrington's (website). This is crisp and refreshing and so easy to drink, now this is apple juice, and one of my 5 a day! 😉

The second of my 5 a day (pictured above), and my final drink before departure to catch the train, was the slightly stronger, and crystal clear, 6.9% Perryhill Orchards Double Vision Cider (website). This is a more complex cider, with a dry bitter finish, and very good indeed, nice one; they also have a less dry version. 

Cheers m'dears, Happy New Year! 

Fire Brigade active in George Street Last Night & Today!

After their intervention in Hastings town centre earlier this week (blog), East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service were back in action in numbers again when 10 fire crews last night tackled a blaze at the former night club in George Street (BBC) that I mentioned in a blog last year had planning permission approved for a change to the use of numbers 39-41. This morning, George Street and the road at the seafront was blocked off from Iceland to Rock a Nore Road/The Bourne; George Street still is closed (above).

However, the applicants for the new building venture had requested that all the buildings be demolished, but number 41 (HBC) is a grade II listed building that The Georgian Group opposed its demolition (HBC) and, more importantly, despite accepting the suggestion that numbers 39-40 be demolished, Historic Buildings & Places (Ancient Monuments Society) objected to the demolition of number 41 (HBC). They're facts.

The full list of documents concerning this application are at the Hastings Borough Council website, including those linked above.

So, as ever, rumours abound, but all we know for now is that there was a fire last night, and the above links suggest that number 41 is unlikely to be demolished, but nothing is definite, despite those objections. For now, don't believe all you read. 👌

Stay safe folks!

Town Centre, Power Resupply Required!

Following on from yesterday's results of the previous night's deluge, and the most fire engines I've ever seen in one place (blog), now comes the clean up... etc...

The Fire & Rescue Service is still in attendance, notably a fire engine outside the cinema, apparently still pumping out water from Priory Meadow. Now though there are many UK Power Networks' vans (I've never seen so many of these either, not just those in the photograph, but in St Andrews Square too!) in the vicinity to replace the fire tenders, presumably to sort out electricity supplies. Indeed, they have even set up a temporary HQ in the Salvation Army building in St Andrews Square.

And yes, Priory Meadow is still closed, although a few businesses in Queens Road are open now, but not those with entrances in the shopping centre, it appears.

'Twas a Wee Bit Damp in Hastings This Morning...

You'll have unlikely missed it, but if you did, the town centre was a wee bit awash earlier today, after the copious amount of H2O hurled down from the sky overnight. Indeed, so much, that Priory Meadow and numerous other local businesses, all the way down to the seafront, were closed, for at least the day! I took a very short video, short, because you don't really need more than a few seconds to understand the situation (YouTube).

Of course it wasn't just in the town centre, but appears to have begun flowing down from Alexandra Park to the seafront, and has been reported by many media outlets (eg ITV), and even an eel was spotted swimming in the town centre (MSN)!

Thankfully there are fewer East Sussex Fire & Rescue vehicles in town now.👍

Be Aware - New Year Scam Alert!

This morning I received a call on my mobile phone that appeared to be coming from a mobile phone (the number was 07456 998510) with an automated voice (female, English accent, well spoken) that said it was from 'Mastercard' and that 2 suspicious amounts had been paid from my account yesterday (I've since checked and nothing was paid out).

I was asked to press "1" - Immediately I was suspicious, so did not.

Anyway, as I said, I checked my account and looked up the number on google, nothing found, not regarding scams and that number either.

The UK Finance website makes us aware of this sort of scam, and I reported it to the Financial Conduct Authority at their website.

But please don't necessarily click on these links if this blog appears suspicious to you, just use your own search engine to link to UK Finance or the Financial Conduct Authority, better to be safe, but do be aware!

Stay safe folks!

This Weekend (6-8 January 2023)

Walking by a couple of hours ago, but across the road, and I noticed the Jolly Fisherman was open earlier than usual, surprised (I shouldn't have been) their annual Dark Beer Festival is on at this excellent micropub this weekend, open now, and at 12.00 noon tomorrow (Saturday) and from 14.00 on Sunday (facebook). Some very interesting beers available, cheers!

Also, tomorrow, at the Electric Palace Cinema in the High Street, there is a celebration of the Eastern Orthodox Christmas (website), which celebrates the Christmas festival according to the old Julian Calendar, and has been organised to raise support for 3 Ukrainian charities. From 2.00 to 6.00pm there will be a 'pop-up' craft fair with Ukrainian craft items on offer, and from 7.30pm, a screen showing of Vodurudu (which means Will, Thought, Movement, Spirit), and is a film dedicated to the 100th Anniversary of the death of Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych.

Happy New Year, and Peace on Earth...

A miserable end to the year, with rain and gale force winds on the 31st December the harbinger for the new year in Britain? I can't say anything other than 2022 was a miserable year, with the biggest major war in Europe beginning in February, and millions of refugees and thousands of deaths the result. Not to forget, economically, the return of high worldwide inflation.  Millions are having to survive without food, clean running water, light and heating, and not just in the developing world, but in Europe, because of the paranoid or megalomaniac designs of an individual. We thought the world had changed following 1945, at least in Europe, but not so, it appears.

And, despite my suggesting my hope a year ago that we may return to some sort of normality and the defeat of Covid-19 before another year would be out, there are still millions in Britain and beyond suffering from the disease, indeed, a friend was ill with it earlier this week. Not great times indeed...

But I trust that things will improve in 2023, and I wish to share my hope for peace and true goodwill to the people of Hastings and everyone worldwide, fingers crossed...