Friday, 30 June 2023

Road Repairs... And 39-41 George Street

East Sussex County Council has agreed an additional investment of £10.7 million to help improve the condition of roads in the county and protect them for the future, with a recommendation that a further £5 million be considered at Full Council in July; £5.6 million will be from 'reserves' and £5.1 million funded through borrowing (website). This would bring the Council's total spending on highways to nearly £34 million.

The additional money will go towards vital drainage work, and more patching and repair of potholes, thus ensuring roads in the county are more fit for purpose, noting that extreme weather of recent times has caused roads to deteriorate faster. I'm sure road users will be looking forward to this development! 👍

39-41 George Street, as you can see from the photograph above, is well on the way to being demolished for redevelopment, as mentioned in this blog last year. Oh yes, and George Street is still blocked off this end, you need to turn by The Albion for access.

So, some good news, fingers crossed!


Sunday, 25 June 2023

Hastings Pier, Music & Summer 2023


Walking past Hastings Pier earlier, on my way back from Bulverhythe, and things on the Pier reminded me that music has returned at weekends, presumably just for the summer, but who knows, via Piertown Hastings (website).

Not sure how that will effect La Belle Vue (blog), although I imagine it will not be great for the view whilst enjoying your French cuisine Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, and maybe a bit noisy too... 😕

Saturday, 17 June 2023

A Trip to London and Shakespeare's Globe Theatre


I went to see a play at Shakespeare's Globe theatre with my brother last week, and we started off early to walk alongside the River Thames, with a stop-off in Battersea Park where we visited the site of the London Peace Pagoda (website). The Peace Pagoda was erected between 1984 and 1985 with a dual purpose, an obvious one of providing a spiritual centre for Buddhists in London, secondly, encouraged by the then Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC), Ken Livingstone, and his deputy Illtyd Harrington (Guardian obituary). The site in Battersea Park was offered to the Buddhist Reverend Gyoro Nagase following on from his building the first pagoda in Britain in Milton Keynes, and following the GLC's Peace Year of 1983; at that time Battersea Park was owned by the GLC, since given to Wandsworth Borough Council after Thatcher abolished the GLC, frankly, because Livingstone annoyed her. Anyway, the Reverend Gyoro Nagase, and Buddhist monks and nuns, and other volunteers, built the London Peace Pagoda, which is still maintained by the Reverend Gyoro Nagase (website).


We then continued walking eastwards along the Thames Path and reached the iconic Grade II listed Battersea Power Station (website), now an enormous shopping centre, with bars, restaurants and leisure facilities, and surrounded by flats and apartments. This majestic art deco industrial brick-built building, the largest brick-built building in Europe, still retains many interior art deco features, and has been largely sensitively redesigned, worth a visit, if only to use the loos because the loos near the Peace Pagoda in Battersea Park are often closed. 😒

Looking eastwards towards Lambeth Bridge


We carried on towards London Bridge and reached Borough Market (website), just behind the pub in the photograph above, which has a history going back a thousand years. We ate from one of the many food vendors, this time we had Thai food, not cheap, but pretty decent, and the market is still a working wholesale food market early doors too. Indeed, The Market Porter (website) above, which is situated adjacent to the market, opens for 3 hours weekday mornings (06.00-09.00) for the market traders, one of my favourite things about pubs in/by London markets! 😉 Anyway, we enjoyed our ale bought there, Brew York Make it Columbus (4.6%) to wash down the food (see my alter ego's blog), and before we headed to...


Shakespeare's Globe theatre, New Globe Walk (website), for a matinee performance. The original Globe Theatre was built in 1599, not far behind this replica, which now sits by the Thames Path. It was the actor and director Sam Wanamaker's dream to have this built as close as possible to the original building and as close as possible to the original design; I believe it's about two-thirds the size of the original, and his daughter Zoë, as Honorary President, maintains the family link since her father's death. Indeed, Zoë Wanamaker was the first person to speak from the stage here when it had its Royal opening in 1997, when extracts from Henry V and The Winter's Tale were included in Triumphes and Mirth (Zoe Wanamaker website).

Stage just before the start

Dan and I were here to see the matinee performance of The Comedy of Errors, which continues until the 29th of July (website), and was hilarious, a wee bit slow to start, but very early farce performed by a very good cast. Three young Americans that stood by us - as Groundlings we stood by the stage for just £5, as we always do, great value 👍 - were nearly wetting themselves laughing, obviously really enjoying the play! 😂

Anyway, Dan and I used to attend a couple of plays a year here on average before the Covid lockdowns, so glad to be back again. There isn't just the one production a year, obviously, so go to the website and see what you'd like to attend, and if you're willing to stand up for a couple of hours, only £5 a performance, great stuff! 🙌

An excellent day, if a bit warm 😎


Friday, 16 June 2023

Happy Sussex Day from Sunniest Place in the Country!


Happy Sussex Day! (anydayguide website) Oh yes, and latest research has Hastings moving up to be the sunniest place in the country (sussexexpress), I thought you'd like to know, Factor 50 applied, and shades on... 😎

Town Centre & Around Town Parking Consultation


We may just see an end to this (above) with fewer hours of unloading allowed in the town centre, indeed, maybe even a return to 'pedestrianisation' of the town centre again, remember before the first lockdown! Parking around many areas of town is being reviewed by East Sussex County Council (website), and if you wish to have your say by the 30th of June 2023, then go to the website and complete the online survey, as I have done, there are many areas where changes are being suggested, don't lose your chance to share your views. 👌

Tuesday, 13 June 2023

Albany Taxis Return Again 2023


The Albany Taxis (website) again returned to Hastings yesterday, together with their motorcycle Unity Support Riders, and children and carers, welcome back, although it was a misty morning, it certainly brightened up. ✨ I have written about this worthy cause a few times before (eg blog), and yes, there was much honking of horns, and waving and applause (Brian's arm in the above photograph), nice one folks! 👍

Monday, 12 June 2023

Loneliness Awareness Week 12-18 June 2023


This week is Loneliness Awareness Week 2023 (website), hosted by the charity, the Marmalade Trust (website), with its 2023 campaign title Connection Matters. The week is dedicated to raising awareness of loneliness and creating supportive communities. "From coffee mornings and book clubs to walking clubs and art workshops, to neighbourhood bake sales and speed friending... designated chatty tables in cafes and pubs..." the "only limit is imagination!" For more information about the week and campaign, go to the website.

Indeed, we all feel lonely at times, make connections, they matter! 🙋


Saturday, 10 June 2023

World Crazy Golf Championships 2023 this Weekend!


Indeed, this weekend does see the World Crazy Golf Championships again held at Hastings Adventure Golf crazy golf course (website). 

I'll not be partaking this year due to a couple of unavoidable reasons, no loss to the competition, but very good luck to all those who are competing!

Results @ the website.

Wednesday, 7 June 2023

£2 Bus Fare Cap Continues to 31st October...


The £2 bus fare cap I mentioned in a recent blog has been extended until 31st October 2023 (website), nice one! 👌


Friday, 2 June 2023

Today is National Fish & Chip Day!


I only just spotted this, good job I hadn't started cooking anything yet, I kid you not, but today is National Fish & Chip Day 2023 (website).

Hmmm... Where shall I get mine?!? 😋

Hastings Pier: An Architect's Evaluation

Yesterday I spotted an article written by a senior architect, Hayley Chivers, in the Architects' Journal (website) with a pun for a title, Pier Review, which does what it says on the label. I apologise for my late sharing (this was published just before Christmas), but not being an architect, 'tis not my usual reading matter. However, it says pretty much what many of us know even though we're not architects, so I'm sharing a couple of direct quotes below, and you can go to the article for the full review, which is well worth the read and is very pertinent indeed, good review Hayley, many thanks! 👍

"Yet almost as soon as the Stirling jury had, perhaps unwisely, declared it a ‘masterpiece of regeneration’, the charity that ran the structure went into administration and the People’s Pier was put up for sale. Rejecting a £477,000 crowdfunded bid* with accompanying five-year business plan, the administrators sold off the lottery-funded asset to Eastbourne hotelier Abid Gulzar, owner of the recently burnt-out Eastbourne Pier, for the princely sum of £60,000... 

...the pier requires £70,000 every year to sustain the structural repairs alone. The current owner has reportedly spent only a fraction of that since taking it over..." 

*Friends of Hastings Pier, although there was more finance available than just the crowdfunded money (blog).