Author Archives: HIP - Page 48
West Hill Café and St Mary in the Castle – ‘Partners’ Sought
A call by Hastings Borough Council (HBC) for “experienced developers and operators” to put forward ideas and proposals “to restore the West Hill Café to its full potential” as part…
Benjamin Calling
CAF FEAN Sara Lou Bowrey courtesy of 18 Hours A phone call with Benjamin Zephaniah was a performance in and of itself. Hello? Is that Caf? This is Benjamin Zephaniah.…
Should Hastings follow the Basque Country’s lead?
After attending a talk on bottom-up regeneration, regular contributor and former Community Editor, ROD WEBB, visits a grassroots community project. ROD WEBB writes about the recent inspirational talk on social…
Disappearing Banksys: Save Them or Let Them Fade Away?
RAYMOND MCCHRYSTAL Raymond McChristal St Leonards and Venice have something in common. Both towns are struggling with the conservation of murals that street artist Banksy has created on their walls.…
TEAM SPORTS – 2023: Highs and Lows of the Competitive Year
HUGH SULLIVAN Football It’s been a tumultuous year off the field for Hastings United. The quashing of the long-pursued ambition of owners Daren Burney and Peter Sherlock to relocate the…
Council Presses for Investigation Into Conduct of Pier Company
HUGH SULLIVAN Lions Hastings Pier Limited, the company which was managing the pier for its owner Sheikh Abid Gulzar, was put into voluntary liquidation in August this year. Its debts…
The Life and Times of a Company Director
Sheikh Abid Gulzar, now aged 78, is no stranger to legal controversy in the conduct of his several hotel and pier companies, all of which he operates as sole director.…
Council Anger: “They Have Trashed our Town”
PAUL McLAUGHLIN Trust in Southern Water amongst Hastings Borough Councillors has plunged to a new low in the wake of last month’s town centre flooding. At a simmering meeting of…
No Flood Damage Assistance from Government?
The Government’s Flood Recovery Framework gives power to DLUHC (the Department of Levelling Up. Communities and Housing) to allocate grants and business relief to residents and business owners impacted by…
No Renationalisation: Labour Shadow Minister Explains Why
This anger and frustration was shared by the Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Steve Reed MP, who paid a visit to Hastings and Rye last Thursday…
Councillors Address Safety Issues
PAUL McLAUGHLIN Last Wednesday (22 November), a full meeting of Hastings Borough councillors at Muriel Matters House discussed issues of violence, stab injuries and late night raves. White Ribbon Day …
Gaza Campaigners Target Hastings Arms Manufacturer
Around 25 demonstrators held a rally and march last Thursday outside the offices of General Dynamics on the Castleham estate in St Leonards. The firm is one of the US…
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
Letter Drainage History Dear HIP Picking up on Martin Griffiths’ letter regarding the town centre flooding (HIP 239), I think we all need to be told of the usefulness or…
Kickstarting Youth Spaces
In March of this year, Hastings Commons secured a generous grant from the Youth Investment Fund of £ million. This has enabled the organisation to set up the Hastings Youth…
Open to All Possibilities
HELEN MURPHY & NICK PELLING visit the start of the ‘open house’ at the Afri-Co-Lab The Afri-Co-Lab, at Marine Court, is opening its doors to all in the Hastings and…
The YoYo Club is in the Park
HELEN MURPHY talks to Tara Reddy about an exciting new project Arts on Prescription was founded on the undeniable principle that artistic practice is good for your mental health and…
Dreaming of a Bright Christmas
NICK PELLING The Bright Foundation is a remarkable place. It is situated in 24 acres of beautiful land, Rodgers Farm, but it is only a few minutes out of…
Looking for a Spark
HIP catches up with a woman on a literary mission Hastings and St Leonards has an exceptional wealth of creative individuals. One such ‘creative’ is London-born Aruna Vasudevan, a multi-talented,…
Clean Water Watch
A regular column to update readers on the damaging effects of the current management of water in Hastings, surrounding areas (and nationally) and what people are doing about it. If…
Chickenpox Parties
KENT BARKER questions the logic behind the recommendation to add a chickenpox vaccine to the existing shots for young children. Was it just a coincidence that, in the week that…
How Green is Local Labour?
DAVID EP DENNIS argues that the environmental agenda of the Labour council in Hastings is at odds with the national policies of the Labour Party … potentially to the serious…
The Bank Job
The Hastings Independent eavesdrops on two conversations concerning Britain’s penal policy. Scene 1. Whitehall. The New Prisons Minister - Edward Argar meets his Permanent Secretary Antonia Romeo. Antonia: Yes minister,…
Christina Rossetti’s Hastings
RYAN ORMONDE, a poet who divides his time between Hastings and London, explores Christina Rossetti’s Hastings. A drawing of Christina Rossetti by her brother, Dante Gabriel Rossetti In his classic…
The HIP List #240
MUSIC Friday 1 December McNiff’s Folk Sundowner The Jenny Lind, 69 High St, ; Shore Beats Workin’ The Marina Fountain, 26 Caves Rd, ; The Pig Presents: Poppy Rockett -…
Food for Sharing
Ben Turner HIP talks to Kate Harris of The Shared Table. Kate will be running a special pop-up night in Stooge Coffee from 6–9pm on Monday 4th December, serving a…
Painting the Town: Stephen Coelho’s Portraits of Local Notables
VICTORIA KINGHAM Stephen Coelho loves jazz. His portrait exhibition is accompanied by jazz recordings, and the very first picture you see is of local saxophonist Jason Yarde, imposing, actively touching…
Norman Road Christmas Events
KATE SHAW The little section of Norman Road between Mercatoria and London Road has become an enclave of art and music. It is quite frankly, bursting with talent. So what…
Sharing Myths and Legends
ROD WEBB I first spotted Danny Horn and violinist Richard Moore sipping beers at the recent Give Peace a Chance gig; Danny’s presence and Richard’s fedora marked them out as…
From the Heart of Beethoven
VICTORIA KINGHAM hears Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis at St John’s Church, St Leonards Peter MouldHastings Philharmonic Choir with conductor Marcio da Silva Once again, an excellent performance by Hastings Philharmonic Choir…
ARTS DIARY
BAREFOOT OPERA EXCLUSIVE EVENT Rye Art Gallery, 9 Dec, 6-8 pm Rye Art Gallery is joining forces with Barefoot Opera for a very special fundraising evening. There will be a…
Art for All, On Sea – Hastings Contemporary Fundraising Drive
Hastings Contemporary is fundraising for an ambitious programme of free creative activities for local families, including Family Days, artist-led workshops and a pilot lunch scheme offering free school meals during…
BOOKBUSTER REVIEW: Occult & Uncanny Zines
Shuck; Undefined Boundary; Myth & Lore; Hellebore; Grimoire Silvanus; and moreat BOOKBUSTERREVIEW BY TIM BARTON Over the last couple of years, I have seen a boom in interest in the…
Poetry Corner: PUFFBALL CLOUDS
JEMMIA DE BLONDEVILLE Smoking smouldering chimneys Like old steam engines Seemingly chugging along Through the windswept, and whistling Squally, stormy skies Is it the trees brushing the clouds? Or have…
FOOTBALL: Down, Up, Down
18 November:Enfield Town 3, Hastings Utd 121 November:Hastings Utd 4, Carshalton Athletic 025 November:Hastings Utd 0, Canvey Island 2HUGH SULLIVAN In a fortnight of mixed fortunes for the Hastings United…
SWIMMING: Summerfields Pool Gets Cash Boost
The immediate future of the swimming pool at Summerfields Leisure Centre has been resolved by the securing of a cash grant of just under £100,000 from Sport ; Naz Montag…
THIN TUESDAY
Arts Council Refuses Funding for February Event HUGH SULLIVANThe Directors of Hastings Fat Tuesday CIC (HFT) announced this week that their flagship grassroots music festival, held annually on Shrove Tuesday…
White Rock Theatre Under New Management
The Guildhall Trust, a charitable foundation which has run the Portsmouth Guildhall since 2011, is set to take over management of the White Rock Theatre from the beginning of February…
Bramah, Blue Orchids and 21st Century Etiquette
BEN THOMPSON As post-punk pedigrees go, Blue Orchids’ backstory is hard to beat – they formed when then partners Martin Bramah and Una Baines broke away from the original line…
Is it OK to Be Black?
VICTORIA KINGHAM on Hastings Contemporary’s latest coup Courtesy the artist and Thomas Dane GalleryHurvin Anderson, Flat Top, 2008 ‘Is it OK to Be Black?’ is the title of one of…
The Old Pawn Shop
HELEN GROVES investigates an exciting new café/bar in The Old Town. Helen Groves I think many of us have walked past the green building in George Street and wondered whether…