Author Archives: Hugh Sullivan - Page 11
January Jitters
Injuries and defensive frailties continue to jinx the fortunes of Hastings United by Hugh Sullivan I’ve been learning an American swing dance popularised in the early 1930s called The Balboa.…
Team Hastings 2016 Review
Hugh Sullivan It's been a frustrating year on the pitch for the town's leading football club Hastings United. They seemed well capable under the management of Garry Wilson of reaching…
Junior Club Tackleway: A Hundred Years of Sport
A hundred years ago this month, in November 1916, the Battle of the Somme was reaching its murderous close, every town in the land suffering unprecedented losses of young men…
United: Here We Go?
Like a tsunami it has rolled in from the deep with hardly an anticipatory breath: the announcement earlier this month of serious proposals to build a brand new multi-sports complex…
Hughenden Road Pocket park
It's not the most promising location: an acre of Council-owned ground in the hinterland of Elphinstone Road surrounded by housing and largely concreted over around 13 years ago following the…
Hughenden Road Pocket Park
It’s not the most promising location: an acre of Council-owned ground in the hinterland of Elphinstone Road surrounded by housing and largely concreted over around 13 years ago following the…
Junior club tackleway – a hundred years of sport
A hundred years ago this month, in November 1916, the Battle of the Somme was reaching its murderous close, every town in the land suffering unprecedented losses of young men…
United: Here we go?
Investing in Hastings – Sport and Business It’s the culmination of 18 months of work, according to the board of directors of Hastings United FC. But for most of the…
Freshwater Fishing: Is Biggest Best?
by Mark Cunnington Several weeks ago a carp weighing over 70 pounds was taken from The Avenue Fishery in Shropshire: a British record for rod-and-line fishing. Once details of the…
Mini or crazy – it’s serious stuff
credit Marion Homer, KMGA credit Marion Homer KMGA When you and I play crazy golf on the sea-front we're there for a laugh. Competitive we may be, and secretly believing…
Hastings Priory cricket: playing for the team
Jed O'Brien (Priory) bowled by Sam Roberts (Bexhill)credit: Reg Wood Event Photography Among many intriguing aspects of the game of cricket is the relationship between individual players and the team…
Hastings honours boxing greats
Three hundred fight enthusiasts from all over Britain, including several legendary ex-boxers, will converge at the Azur on St Leonards sea-front this Sunday afternoon. There's no live boxing to view.…
Southern Crossfire
The rail dispute at Southern Region over guard duties which led to a 48-hour strike by workers in the RMT union last week and ongoing disruption of services on the…
Doctors in the Ice House?
DOCTORS IN THE ICE HOUSE? by Hugh Sullivan Hastings Council's planning committee will determine later this month whether an innovative development in the provision of GP medical services in the…
DARREN DEALS, SHUFFLES…AND FINDS AN ACE
As previously reported the new football season brings a fresh management team to Hastings United: Darren Hare, long-time back-room coach at Gillingham has arrived as manager, and former Chelsea defender…
Priory celebrate fine finish
Some games, even tense ones, end essentially in frustration. In football the side that's leading (or settling for a draw) takes the ball down to the corner flag and depletes…
Bowls: mixing the Open
The Hastings Annual Mixed Open Bowls Tournament runs five days next week, Monday to Saturday. There are men's singles, ladies' singles, men's pairs, ladies' pairs and open triples - open…
Canoe Club: the freedom of the sea
Hastings and District Canoe Club don't enjoy the most charismatic of club-houses, a concrete shell among the beach huts beyond Cinque Ports Way. Their canoes and kayaks are stored in…
The Beached Commodore
Don Bowles is sitting in the open veranda of the Hastings & St Leonards Sailing clubhouse, walkie-talkie in hand, looking out onto the beach where an array of dinghies is…
Cricket: Priory enjoys home supremacy
credit Regwood Event Photography If Hastings prides itself on welcoming incomers, that friendly reception does not extend to the cricket pitch at Horntye. Last summer the Priory club won eight…
The Sea at Hastings: A Sails Pitch
The sea created Hastings as a fishing port and base for defending against invasion - the famous Ann Bonaventure ship, manned by a Hastings crew, fought against the Spanish Armada.…
The Wall Goes Up – Bohemia Nets Major Heritage Lottery Grant
The Bohemia Walled Garden Association The Bohemia Walled Garden Association has been awarded a grant of £97,000 to complete its restoration and development of the unique Victorian garden situated in…
Grassroots football in mudslide
You look from a distance. The green sward stretches invitingly between sets of goalposts across the level playing field. Could be a perfect surface for skilful flowing football. Look closer…
Winning at tennis: 10,000 hours to spare?
In his best-selling book Outliers American author Malcolm Gladwell promoted an arresting thesis. Prodigious performances, he declared, whether in the arts or in sciences in any other spheres of human…
Football: No summer holiday for new United boss
Although the football in France may be dominating our TV screens this month it's holiday time for those footballers not participating. Opportunity for rest and recuperation, rehab for torn hamstrings…
Cricket in Hastings: Young Talent to Watch
If you don't have a satellite dish you won't have watched any live international cricket on your home TV since 2005. If you live in Hastings the nearest venue to…
Table-tennis in Hastings: Enjoying a low profile
Back in the days when wooden bats came with rubber pimples, table-tennis was seen as the universal sport for youth. Tables were set up typically in youth clubs and church…
Winning at tennis: 10,000 hours to spare?
Olivia Stapley hitting at Amherstcredit Ben Hamilton In his best-selling book Outliers American author Malcolm Gladwell promoted an arresting thesis. Prodigious performances, he declared, whether in the arts or in…
The Matchmaker of Whitefriars Road
In a modern gym what you tend to notice first is the equipment: the exercise bikes, the weight-lifting contraptions, the rowing machines, the treadmills. They crowd the floor; their steel…
Football: can United make Ryman play-offs?
After an entertaining 4-2 win over Molesey at Pilot Field on 9 April Hastings United remained in fifth place in the Ryman League South table. That would be just enough…
By the skaters, for the skaters: Roller Derby rules
Roller Derby at Eastbourne Call it!’ scream the onlookers as the jammer frantically pats her hips before the blast of four short whistles, signalling the end of the jam. The…
How to survive a half marathon
Hastings Half Marathon 2015 - The original marathon, as many will know, was not a race between competitive runners but the transmission of news from a battlefield. In 490 BC…
The Matchmaker of Whitefriars Road
In a modern gym it's the equipment you notice first: the exercise bikes, the weight-lifting contraptions, the rowing machines, the treadmills. They crowd the floor, steel shafts gleaming, as they…
United in the Community
The relationship between local professional football club and local council is not always easy. In February 2015 we ran a feature article highlighting differences between the Hastings United club and…
Buckswood v Claremont: a modern gold rush
It's less than four miles as the crow flies on the eastern fringe of town between the playing fields of Buckswood School and those of Claremont. Which is about the…
Grassroots football in mudslide
Tilekiln: another empty Saturday You look from a distance. The green sward stretches invitingly between sets of goalposts across the level playing field. Could be a perfect surface for skilful…