Author Archives: Hugh Sullivan - Page 10
HARBOUR PROJECT JUST ‘NOTIONAL’
As Borough Council elections loom, Labour insist that there’s no “done deal” Three current Labour councillors, including Hastings Borough Council leader Peter Chowney, plus a fourth candidate standing for the…
FIGURE-SKATING – I, Tonya
Smile when you’re winning What was a sports enthusiast to do when his fix of weekend action had been confiscated from on high by the weather gods? Well, there was…
Down the Toilet!
Council Cabinet votes to demolish Harold Place loos despite Tory opposition Hugh Sullivan reports After acrimonious debate and rival accusations of political cynicism levelled from either side of the Council…
More Trains, More Seats, Better Connections
So say Southern as RMT Union prepare to strike again Hugh Sullivan reports In a Which survey published in January this year, Southern Rail was identified as providing the worst…
FOOTBALL – S’no Show
Hastings United ready to play after the snow, visitors cry off After the week’s wintry weather Hastings United were frustrated in their efforts to play their Bostik League match against…
Parkrun – Everybody Counts
PICTURE: Nadia Winborn It’s a cold Saturday morning in mid-February, but St Leonards sea-front looks a picture under the cloudless blue sky. Sun glints off the stucco of the Royal…
Welcome Back!
Warrior Square Surgery returns to Marlborough House five years after fire On Monday 5 March Marlborough House at 19/21 Warrior Square will re-open its doors to patients as a GP…
Welcome back!
Hastings Library re-opens in the Brassey Institute, Claremont After works which have taken over two years to complete and cost over £ million - more than £720,000 over budget - …
Younger Than That Now
Calum Davis in action for Hastings United v Molesey; credit Scott White The early songs of Bob Dylan are hardly likely to feature on the playlist of Hastings United manager…
HOCKEY: hockey Saxons make light of absentees in Horntye goalfest – But Ladies slide to disappointing defeat
South Saxons Men 7, Marden Russets 2; South Saxons Ladies 0, 2 On a wet afternoon at Horntye last Saturday, Hastings’ top hockey sides, the respective men and ladies of…
FOOTBALL: Younger Than That Now
The early songs of Bob Dylan are hardly likely to feature on the playlist of Hastings United manager Chris Agutter. At 30 Chris is the youngest manager in the Bostik…
Is Sports Coverage Sexist
A recent BBC campaign under the title of 100 Women asked the question - “Does sport have a problem with women?” After pointing out that, of the 100 highest paid…
The Boy Davide From Italy
It seems an odd football career plan, even in these days of regular international transfers, that starts in a youth team at Inter Milan, then heads in the direction of…
Reality Check for United
Hoping for a fourth victory out of five over the crowded Christmas/New Year calendar to boost their league position Hastings United came a cropper against promotion candidates Greenwich Borough last…
Ups and Downs of 2017
credit Nigel Baker In April Hastings United footballers stood at the brink of a play-off final for Ryman League promotion, largely outplaying eventual winners Dorking before losing to them on…
Football For Girls? Not So Much In Hastings
If I key in my Hastings postcode on the Sussex FA website to find a local club offering women's adult football, it lists four: Bexhill United, Beckley Rangers, Little Common…
Teaming Up
Charlie McConnell in action with Hellbent For those who have never played nor taken any but passing interest in the game - most males in this…
Play It Again, Sam
The talents needed to succeed as a footballer are various: ball control, power and accuracy of passing and shooting, aerial ability, courage and tenacity in defending, speed of both thought…
Doing It For Charity
Run a half-marathon, climb a well-known mountain, cycle a long distance route. A lot of people will assume you're doing it for charity, or ought to be. From a charity's…
Wind-Blown H & B Stay Realistic
Three years ago Hastings & Bexhill suffered a chastening winter in the London and South-East League, suffering regular wallopings from teams that were bigger, quicker and more experienced than them.…
Battlers of Hastings
Hastings United ended a winless sequence of seven league and cup games last Tuesday (3 October) by upsetting Carshalton Athletic, previously unbeaten in the Bostik League. The 2-0 scoreline at…
Uncertain Start For New ‘U’s Boss Agutter
Hastings United's uncertain start to the new football season lurched into apparent crisis last week with the exit of further key players, resignation of manager Adam Hinshelwood after a tenure…
Plan B: Kids United?
It was on Match of the Day in August 1995 that Alan Hansen made his famous assessment - “You can't win anything with kids”. He was commenting on an early…
Rowe Sees Red, United Battle In Vain
Forget the goal-fests of last season, the 4-4 draws, the seat-of-pants defending. Hastings United would settle for half the excitement in the current league campaign provided that it ends successfully…
Mind Over Matter: Hastings Tennis Coach Pete Farthing Goes Mental
Peter Farthing is a professional hypnotherapist, trained in Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) and advanced coaching skills. He offers solutions to problems such as anxiety, addiction, stammering, fear of flying and other…
Jada Prepares For Wimbledon Finals
Hastings tennis junior Jada Ani, 13, was attending the Costa Del Tennis camp sessions in Barcelona last week after qualifying to play in the finals of the HSBC Road to…
Hastings Open – 100 Not Out
It was in September 1911 that the first formal Hastings Bowls Tournament was contested. It was then known as the Hastings and St Leonards Bowls and Quoits Tournament and took…
Sporting Summer: Holiday Fare
We report elsewhere on the town's present sporting harvest at adult level. But with schools out until September, summer is also the time for junior sporting seeds to be sown…
Sporting Summer: The Season So Far
It's been a mixed summer so far for the town's leading sports teams - some victories, some disappointments, and some wait-and-see. Hastings and Bexhill RFC's rugby players should take pride…
Indoor Courts For Rye? Play Continues
Most tennis clubs, not just locally but up and down the country, have long abandoned grass for a variety of all-weather artificial surfaces. Exceptionally Rother Meads Tennis and Games Club…
Sporting Twins: Orwell Got It Wrong
In November 1945, a few months after the end of World War II, the Dynamo Moscow football team were invited to make a supposedly goodwill tour of Britain. The Russians,…
Swimming More Like Fish
At the Moscow Olympics in 1980 Duncan Goodhew won the 100 metres breast stroke in a time of 1 minute seconds. Twenty-two years later his feat was included in Channel…
Hastings Seagull Club: Talent and Dedication
At am on a Thursday morning - every Thursday morning - over 30 local swimmers, mostly teenagers but many considerably younger, will start their competition training session at the Battle…
No Promotion – But ‘U’s Board Backs Players
Simon Johnson - contract renewed for 2017-18 ; pic Scott White So the bravura season of goals and more goals ended short of its promotion target. Agonising…
Going To The Dogs
We go to the dog track on Saturday nights We put all our money on a dog that we like A kiss an' a cuddle, an 'ot meat pie Two…
Ton-Up United Keep Heaping The Goals
Jack Evans in action against Carshalton; credit Scott White Hastings United have become the first club in the top eight tiers of English football to score a hundred league goals…
The Winning Habit
So much of success in sport is confidence - winning breeds more victories, losing saps belief. So Hastings United's two home wins last week, 3-0 against Horsham, 4-0 over Whyteleafe,…
Wisdens – 120 years of Sport in the Community
What is the sporting centrepiece of Hastings? Footballers might choose Pilot Field, tennis players the courts of Amherst or The Green, athletes the track at William Parker, hockey players the…
Hastings Runners – Biggest (And Cheapest) Club In Town
The sports clubs and societies of Hastings and St Leonards are legion. From American footballers and archers through to yachting sailors and yoga groups the experience of gathering together for…
Hold the Back Page – And Look at the Listings!
by Sports Editor, Hugh Sullivan Here is our new sports page - same as the old one but now closest it can squeeze to the back of the newspaper without…