Cider Drinking at Hastings Old Town Cider Festival!

I recently suggested I may take advantage of the Hastings Old Town Cider Festival 2023 (blog), and imbibe cider during the festival... Well, I just sort of missed it, arriving at each of the 4 venues the day after the festival ended, surely they wouldn't have run out of ciders already?!? And I was correct, I drank cider at them all, only small measures of course...

I first visited The Albion, 33 George Street TN34 3EA (website), which, unsurprisingly had many ciders left, although they always have plenty of ciders on sale anyway... So I had a couple there, first off, the 4.0% Gooseberry Cider (above) from (Sussex) South Downs Cider (website), which suggests the use of gooseberries in addition to their usual desert apples in the fermentation. It had a deep reddish colour, slightly cloudy, starting off sweet to the taste, but drying out a wee bit sharp, I wrote 'not bad' which means I was very happy to drink it! 👌

My second cider was from Herefordshire producer Gwatkin Cider (website), their 6.0% Norman Cider (above). Apparently, the Norman Cider apple was imported from Normandy, and there are 'half a dozen apple varieties of the same name' differing in size and shape, but mostly sharing a similar flavour. This cider had an orangey colour, was cloudier, and was much drier than the first cider I had imbibed, medium dry to dry in taste, and another 'not bad' scored by me! 👍

I then wandered on up to the Jenny Lind, 69 High Street TN34 3EW (website) and had the first of a few ciders/perries from Sussex based Ascension Cider (website), both cloudy here, their 4.0% Shimmy (on the left in the photogroph above). Now this is a very interesting cider to taste, my notes say a big apple flavour, as I expected, but I've since found out that it includes lemon and pineapple in the mixture! The lemon obviously offsets the pineapple to the taste, a sweet start with a dry tartness in the finish. It wasn't my favourite cider of the day, but I'd be happy to drink it if there were no other ciders available. 😉

The other cider to the right in the photograph was also from Ascension Cider (website), their 4.8% Pilot, made with 100% Pilot apples. Ascension acknowledge that this, the first ever cider produced by them, can change flavour slightly from batch to batch, as the 'sugars and acids in each apple are dependent upon their variety, their terroir and the conditions they were grown in.' This cider was dry all the way through the drinking experience, and I liked it... 👍

I then ventured over The Bourne to the Crown, 64-66 All Saints Street TN34 3BN (website) and drank yet another Ascension (website) product, but a perry this time, their 3.3% Comice (above). The pears used are descendants of Doyenne du Comice pears first introduced to the UK from France in 1858. This cloudy perry had a fair amount of flavour considering the strength, it was dry and slightly tart, and not bad at all. 👌

My fourth and the final venue, was back down to the Jolly Fisherman, 3 East Beach Street TN34 3AR (website). Here I had a cider from Welsh producer Hallets (website), their 6.0% PX Sherry Finished (above). This was a clear rusty red coloured cider with a tropical fruity aroma and hints added to the apple taste, and another that was very easy to drink, vying with the Gwatkin and Pilot as my favourites of the day 👍 I'll say equal first! 😉

Cheers 🍻

My apologies for not tasting every cider and perry in the festival!

Christmas, Just Saying...

Christmas, just saying... It's still only November! OK, maybe brightening up Hastings town centre with lights is nice, pubs have already been doing it, and the lights are pretty, true. Oh yes, and the gang of Albanian women, or wherever they come from, get dropped off again around this time of year, increasing the number of Big Issue salespersons by 5 or so, just so's you keep tripping over them in the town centre... 

And Priory Meadow shopping centre joins in, wishing you a Merry Christmas! Christmas, yet another pagan festival, that is Saturnalia (history.com), linked to the Winter Solstice and borrowed by Christians, and which meant moving the birthday of Jesus months across the calendar. My flabber has never been more gasted!

Merry Christmas folks, or Happy Hanukkah, or Yuletide, or Kwanzaa, or Bodhi Day, whatever your preference, okay, yes it is early, but I can never get enough of wishing for peace on earth, particularly when there are so many wars being fought... 😞

Hasting Old Town Cider Festival 2023

Maybe you didn't know it was being arranged, but the first annual Hastings Old Town Cider Festival 11-18 November 2023 begins today at 4 old town pubs, The Albion, 33 George Street TN34 3EA (website), The Crown, 64-66 All Saints Street TN34 3BN (website), The Jenny Lind, 69 High Street TN34 3EW (website), and at the Jolly Fisherman, 3 East Beach Street TN34 3AR (facebook).

This new added festival to Hastings' events has been arranged by the licensees of the 4 public houses and promises a large sample of ciders and perries, still and fizzy, and from near and far, and you have a week in which to sample the many delights on offer, enjoy the week, cheers! 🍻

Hastings Floods, oh yes, and Hastings Pier.

Well, following our second town centre flood this year (January blog), where water flooded out of this manhole cover (above), where is it?!? It now appears they couldn't/didn't fix a replacement manhole cover, and now it's fully tarmac. I shan't go into the possible resulting complications...😲

Of course, the drain opposite the Carlisle pub had been fixed, hadn't it? I'm shaking my head as this has been going on for ages (eg blog), and the drain that replaced the raised drain into the sea is often now below seawater, NB High Tides, and seawater just pushes back up the drain. Priory Meadow and much of the town centre used to be Hastings harbour, eg in 1066, thus much of it below seawater... I'm shaking my head now, Southern Water still don't seem to have figured all this out!

Oh yes, and Hastings Pier, the company that was running it, Lions Hastings Pier Ltd, ie the company owned by the owner of the Pier, went into administration earlier this year (blog). However, Gulzar, the owner, said that no way would the Pier close, only "over my dead body" he asserted (Sussex World), indeed, he has "£100 million in reserve to keep it open." Why hasn't he spent any money on the Pier for its upkeep then? Or for improvements? Or a new pavilion on it like the Friends of Hastings Pier (blog) planned for in their bid; just what was in that brown envelope?!?

And La Belle Vue, in the central pavilion, had to close down for now, sadly, although I believe they have plans to reopen in the future. It all looked so positive when I visited and had a few beers back in May (blog). I shan't go into the problems there, but no doubt having the excellent view obscured by stages, boxes and speakers didn't help for a restaurant called La Belle Vue. 

But La Belle Vue has merged with Casa de Pier (blog) in the remaining pavilion, and this is still open, pretty much all that was open on the Pier at the weekend...

Good luck to both businesses! 👍

Fireworks This Weekend, 'tis that time of year!

The biggest firework display in Hastings this weekend will be held tomorrow evening at Hastings & Bexhill Rugby Club (facebook), the state of the weather today (Met Office), and the better weather tomorrow, makes that appeal more for those wishing to attend a larger fireworks display. However, there are planned the usual Lewes (website) and Battle (website) displays today, although I believe no trains for Lewes this evening, and the weather may have a big influence on choice too...

The Hastings & Bexhill Rugby Club event tomorrow, Sunday 5th November, is from 5.30pm, when the gate opens, with fireworks starting at 7pm. BBQ, burgers, hotdogs, chips, plus bar and refreshments will be able to be purchased throughout the evening.

Tickets are £15 for a family of 5 or £5 per person on the night, or £10 for a family of 5 or £3 per person in advance; tickets are available from the Club House Bar, and they are playing this afternoon (website).

This event is open to Members and Non-Members, and people are advised to wear suitable footwear and wrap up warm!

Whatever you do this weekend, there will be fireworks being set off all around town, no doubt about that, and if you have pets, please ensure their safety, and the safety of children and yourselves as well, of course, stay safe!

Stacey Marie's Site Remains Empty - Planning Permission Refused

More than just a wee bit interested in what goes to replace RX134 Stacey Marie in Rock a Nore Road, I've recently written a few times (eg blog) about the historic lifeboat (Cyril & Lilian Bishop), within a small building ('museum') being planned. 

However, the Council has refused planning permission (document), ostensibly (you read through it all and understand it any other way than I have) because of:

1) It would interfere with the view of the Grade II listed net huts*.

2) No toilets or refuse facility planned.

3) Inappropriate roofing material.

4) The site "may be susceptible to surface water flood risk."

5) It "will negatively impact the significant views" from Tackleway.

There were 10 objections to the development, all submitted by just the one local resident (Planning Application Documents), who presumably attached to a Grade II listed net hut the 'No Museum Here' sign* that can be seen in the photograph above. I can see no documents from a further 6 people objecting as suggested in the Report.

*Not to forget that a "sign, placard, board, notice" attached to a Grade II listed building would require consent (Historic England), which I very much doubt was sought.

Anyway, there you have it, the space where RX134 used to be has been left to fill with collected rubbish that always blows down to this vicinity, sadly.

And the Cyril & Lilian Bishop still requires an enclosed area for preservation.

Fingers crossed that someone comes up with something acceptable soon.

Batten Down The Hatches Again!

 

Well, Storm Cairan appears to have arrived in Hastings, and if, like me, you are a careful bunch, no doubt most of us will, if possible, be sitting out the next few hours indoors. The Met Office (website) suggests that wind speed at the moment in Hastings (08.00) is 40 mph with gusts up to 60 mph, but will ease off to less than 30 mph by 11.00, with a similar rainfall pattern.

I may venture out in a few hours time, whatever, stay safe folks!

Railway Ticket Offices Reprieved... For Now

No doubt that many of you will have already heard this news in the media... I, and presumably, many others who had taken part in the consultation, have been contacted about the reprieval, I shall cut & paste their missive below:

"Over the summer a local public consultation was run with Transport Focus and London TravelWatch on proposals about how tickets are sold on the railway and customer service.

Many of you took part in that consultation and we would like to thank you for making your feedback available to us and the passenger bodies to support their work. We know it has been immensely valuable.

Today, Transport Focus and London TravelWatch have updated us they are supportive of the principle of redeploying staff from ticket offices to improve the overall offer for customers.

However, they have also made clear that they are not able to approve these changes as there is feedback related to the rail industry as a whole which has not been completely addressed.

All proposals have now been withdrawn and will not be introduced.

The consultation did, however, raise interesting ideas on related issues, such as expanding the types of products that can be sold at ticket machines. Where possible, with the wider industry we will look to introduce ideas such as this.

Thank you once again to everyone who took part in this consultation."