Author Archives: HIP - Page 54
Miss Popplewell at Eastbourne
Having missed the Rude Mechanicals at Alexandra Park last month, our drama critic CHRIS VICARY caught the performance at Eastbourne Rude Mechanical Theatre Company The Rude Mechanical Theatre Company are…
There’s no place like Hastings! 20 years of The White Rock Summer Youth Project
SARAH MILNE writes: I fell in love with the Land of Oz and all its strange and wonderful characters from the first time I saw the film as a little…
Denise Franklin, Prize-winning Artist
SARAH MILNE Getting a piece accepted into the Royal Academy of Art Summer Exhibition is a prestigious and transformative milestone for any artist. Winning one of the major prizes is…
Getting Reel (-to-Reel) with Alex Bryson
KATE SHAW The Alex Bryson trio is a jazz outfit made up of bassist Jeremy Brown, drummer Matt Fishwick, and, on keys, Bryson himself. Originally London-based, Alex has played internationally…
RESEARCH & Development
GARETH STEVENS talks to Anthony Elliott whose exhibition, RESEARCH, is currently being held at The blackShed Gallery. Anthony Elliott Sometimes, you come across art that has no recognisable precedent and…
An Art Event Rejuvenates Bottle Alley
In an exciting new venture, about 50 artists will display new work in a variety of formats against the glass bottle wall of Bottle Alley. The space will be transformed…
A New Art School Comes to Priory Meadow
MARK WALTER, a current student, highlights a new Art School in town. You may not have heard of Hastings Art School (HAS) as it’s still relatively new. They are of…
Hidden Beach? You could hear it for miles!
VICTORIA KINGHAM soaks up sun and sound on a Saturday afternoon I stand in the middle of a DJ competition – Nick Hosier grooves to his decks, and Hastings Dub…
BOOKBUSTER REVIEW: Shattered Nation
By Danny DorlingPublished by Verso Books, 2023 rrp £ BY TIM BARTON Halfway through this excellent outline of the decline of the UK, and dismantling of the post-war settlement and…
Poetry Corner
Climb Up JOHN R PARSON These fissured stones and rocks ground in support of our castle’s ageless weathered graffiti, in presence super imposed, moulded soft by light memories of long…
New Cycle Shop for Hastings
With cycling continuing to increase in popularity, Cycleshack Hastings, located in the former Handsome Cycles premises on Harold Place, is a welcome newcomer to the town and already doing brisk…
Boxes of Delight
Perfect Planters is a local family-run business, custom-making wooden planters for gardens, courtyards, and outside ; The enterprise is the brainchild of owner Steve Dale, 67, who operates from an…
CRICKET: Priory Pursue Promotion
12 August:Chichester Priory Park 123; Hastings Priory 127 for 619 AugustWest Chiltington & Thakeham 128; Hastings Priory 129 for 6HUGH SULLIVAN The cricketers of Hastings & St Leonards Priory have…
FOOTBALL: United Unbeaten in Opening Games
HUGH SULLIVAN Fielding an almost entirely new line-up of players, Hastings United have started the new Isthmian League season in a mood that suggests they can build the trust of…
Artist Spotlight
Sarah Milne: Persephone Sarah Milne is a fibre artist using contemporary embroidery, weaving, basketry and mixed media to produce wall hangings and sculptural work. Her art explores fragmentation and repair…
Why Patterns/Rustorm/Lazarus Lake & DJs at The Pig
J. G. OULD Lights are strobing, the floor and my skull vibrating. A six- or seven-stringed fretless bass and minimal drum kit are all a blur on stage. A singer…
Meltdown
The current trajectory of carbon dioxide emissions means that global temperatures could increase by as much as °C by the end of the century. RICHARD PRICE says that scientists think…
Just Stop Protests
Given the scale of the climate crisis as outlined on this page, KENT BARKER asks what we can and what we should do to combat it. Let’s be quite clear,…
REPORT PROMPTS COUNCIL SELL-OFF
HUGH SULLIVAN A meeting of the cabinet of Hastings Borough Council on Monday evening approved the sell-off of four property assets. Amongst them are two plots of land – at…
NEWS IN BRIEF
Azur Trial Date The petition brought by Sea Change Sussex in the High Court to wind up Azur Events Limited (AEL), the company leasing the Azur Marina Pavilion, on grounds…
Old Bathing Pool: EA Reviewing Flood Risk Report
HUGH SULLIVAN Prospective developers of the Old Bathing Pool site at West Marina say they have submitted a ‘risk report’ to the Environment Agency, and are awaiting its ; Dave…
Corrections
Water outflows In HIP 229 we published an article We Just Want to Swim in the Sea! written by David Dennis which included the following paragraph: “Gradually, as legislation demanded…
Swift Bricks a Green Win for Councillor Tony Collins
TESSA BOASE Robert Booth Hastings Borough Council has voted to incorporate ‘swift bricks’ into every new building to help the critically endangered bird species. The motion was proposed by Green…
Tories Lose Majority on County Council
PAUL McLAUGHLIN County Hall in Lewis The Conservatives have lost their majority on East Sussex County Council (ESCC) after being pushed into second place in a by-election last Thursday (3 August).…
Changing of the Guard?
When Immigration Minister Robert Jenrick told Parliament on 29 March this year that the Home Office was intending to use an unidentified location in East Sussex for the housing of…
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
Northeye: Contrasting Views of Bexhill Demos Dear HIP I am writing regarding the article about Northeye in your last edition. Thank you for correcting the information about the petition. We…
Hastings High School Reunion
NOLA MCSWEENEY On Friday, September 29, a school reunion will be held at The Royal Victoria Hotel in St Leonards between and , This is being organised for pupils who…
The Banksy Years
The Collateral Damage of Myth-Making HIP Talks to Stephanie Warren, the owner of art gallery Stella Dore, about her involvement with the Podcast The Banksy Story – and other things.…
Support for Children’s Mental Health Launched
ROD WEBB A series of online videos are now available to help parents and carers support their children to manage a range of mental health ; Did you know that…
Quaker Meeting House Finally Reopens
In January a major part of Hastings town centre became flooded due, it is alleged, to the failure by Southern Water to properly maintain the drainage. One of the areas…
Time for a Yard Party
Times have been hard for the catering business with Covid lock downs, massive cost of living increases and, so far, a very wet summer. MARK EDWARDS talks about why Tommy’s…
Housing Crisis Solved
As official figures show more than 105,000 people in Britain are living in temporary accommodation, KENT BARKER looks to history to find a solution. As a small boy growing up…
A Journey Into Activism
JILL KAYE moved down from London to St. Leonards 16 years ago and loves living so close to the sea. She used to run a gardening business and then a…
The Multi-Dimensional Joe Stilgoe
RyeJazz JOE STILGOE, composer, singer, pianist, educator, all-round entertainer, takes time out of a hectic schedule to talk to VICTORIA KINGHAM about the upcoming Rye Jazz and Blues Festival, old…
Cinderella: The Eternal Story
VERA BELL is astonished, affected and humbled by a Barefoot Opera production of Rossini’s classic La Cenerentola in post-modern, post-covid Britain Chris Parker Imagine a classic farcical comedy: dressing up,…
Elijah! The Whole Story
VERA BELL at the triumphant finale of the Hastings Philharmonic 2023 season Peter MouldElijah! Audience at De La Warr Pavillion Whether or not you believe in the authenticity of the…
Alison Claire France and Visual Communication
MARK WALTER writes: I recently had the chance to interview Alison Claire France about her upcoming exhibition at The Rogue Gallery in St Leonards. We talked about her early artistic…
Rocking The Boat: The Presenceof Absence
MARK WALTER in conversation with Anne Lydiat A couple of weeks ago l was at Hastings Arts Forum gallery for the Changing Spaces exhibition. As I peered into and around…
Cinema Cats
JUDE MONTAGUE Cats have inspired worship throughout history. They are allegedly the second most popular search on the internet, and have been the focus of films that have been significant…
BOOKBUSTER REVIEW
Hawkhurst: Murder, Corruption, & Britain’s Most Notorious Smuggling Gang By Joseph DragovichPublished by The History Press, 2023 rrp £ BY TIM BARTON In the middle of the eighteenth century existed…