Author Archives: HIP - Page 9
Hastings Comes Together for Beatles Day
Hastings Beatles Day has become one of the most anticipated community celebrations in Hastings, bringing together music lovers, performers, and local supporters for a day that captures the enduring spirit…
NEWS IN BRIEF
Teenage Educational Centre at Former Debenhams Building Planning permission has been granted by Hastings Borough Council for an area on the first and second floor of the former Debenhams store…
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
Letter What are we paying for? Dear HIP, It seems that crime in our area is up and seemingly little or nothing done by police or the courts. Shoplifting in…
Community Opportunities
Have Your Say about the New Local Plan Hastings BC published its new draft Local Plan on 20 February, launching a six-week consultation period. With less than two weeks to…
We Dig Hastings! on Video
A new community-led planting initiative is transforming Hastings seafront into a living lab for climate-resilient gardening – and a new video captures the story behind it. In October 2025, Hastings…
The Republic of Letters on St Leonards Seafront
Explored by NICHOLAS VESTER It’s no secret Hastings is a friendly place. Eccentric too… maybe a bit literary as well. On balmy days when the gales we usually endure have…
Greenhouse Reopens
Spring has arrived at Alexandra Park Greenhouse with the volunteer-run greenhouse reopening for the 2026 season. The greenhouse, managed by the Alexandra Park Greenhouse Group, will be open to visitors…
Masculine Fear of Feminine Power – Macbeth
In this classic tale of greed and guilt, Flabbergast’s Macbeth fuses a rigorous and respectful approach to text and storytelling to bring a magical, lucid interpretation of Shakespeare’s blood-soaked tragedy to…
Love of the Awkward, Different,and Strange
Xelis de Toro and ChopChop Jude Montague Xelis de Toro, writer and performance artist from Galicia, performs at the Jenny Lind music pub with the band ChopChop – a collective…
TUFT in Ireland and Rome
Local performance company TUFT are bringing two fascinating theatre events to Hastings this April. First up – the Brighton Fringe previews of storyteller Helen Black’s new solo show A Dublin…
A Town Explores a Book – Ten Year Celebration
GAIL BORROW The book choice for 2026 is a lively little book chosen by the voluntary committee which raises festival ;John Agard’s My Name is BOOK, illustrated by Neil Packer, is…
Jack In The Green wins Lottery Award
Hastings Traditional Jack in the Green is delighted to have been awarded £30,000 through Arts Council National Lottery Project Grants. This will cover many of the costs of staging the…
At Last – Sherlock Holmes Comes to Hastings
SAM WESTERBY Doctor Who time lord Colin Baker and The Archers performer Terry Molloy star in the Sherlock Holmes radio play The Sign of Four at White Rock Theatre on April…
GOLF: Beauport Park to Lose Pitch and Putt
The Beauport Park Golf & Country Club is about to lose its nine-hole pitch-and-putt course, currently on land leased from the adjacent Bannatyne Spa Hotel. The hotel’s owners now require…
Christopher Tite at Project Art Works
Project Art Works presents In Threes, the first solo exhibition by Christopher Tite, on view at their new gallery space, 12 Claremont Street, from 14 March to 11 April 2026.…
Not Last Orders Yet
GEOFF MARTIN Fear Of Last Orders erupted onto the Hastings live music scene with all the subtlety of a bar stool lobbed through a window at 2am, at a lock-in…
MP Wins £1.5m Boost for Local Playgrounds
Local MP Helena Dollimore is celebrating a £ million investment in Hastings playgrounds following her campaign with local parents and carers to improve play spaces for local children. Playgrounds across…
Comedy Festival Line-Up Complete
Established in 2015 and independently run by friends Chris Young and Jake Alexander, the Hastings Comedy Festival has grown to attract some of the UK and the world’s biggest comedians.…
Questions About Dementia
Dementia is the fastest growing area of need in adult social care and its rapidity varies, but thereis currently no cure and not all sufferers are elderly. As ROSIE BROCKLEHURST…
HALF MARATHON: Sun, Light Wind, Fast Pace
The 41st Hastings Half Marathon was contested last Sunday up and down the streets of the town, before a finish along the seafront. On a morning of sunshine, light winds…
Hastings Half Marathon
The Hastings Half Marathon will take place on Sunday, 22 March, and police have warned that there will be road closures across the town which will cause some disruption. The…
Pothole Epidemic
Helena Dollimore has launched a scathing attack on Conservative-run East Sussex County Council (ESCC), accusing it of failing to address the “pothole epidemic” in Hastings, despite receiving a record £21 million…
Channel 4 Seeks House Hunters
Location, Location, Location is looking for house hunters across Sussex for its new series. Phil Spencer and Kirstie Allsop Fronted by presenters and property experts Kirstie Allsopp and Phil Spencer,…
An evening with A Band of Brothers
JOEL CHESHIRE On the evening of 23 February, I walked into an open event hosted by A Band of Brothers at the Hastings Unitarian Church unsure of what to expect.…
Community Candidate for Ore
Ben BrugesVicky Wilson Residents of Ore are being invited to a public meeting to show support for Vicky Wilson, who is planning to stand as an Independent Community candidate in…
Save Money and Space with the Library of Things
Hastings Library of Things (HLoT) is welcoming spring with some community events, new collaborations and expanded recycling options. To help those who are spring cleaning and de-cluttering, HLoT will be…
Art for Summer
Women’s Art The current show at Barnaby’s Lounge in Robertson Street is Gaining Ground, an all-women’s art show curated by Louise Whitham, who says “This show feels like each work…
Being Ola at The Electric Palace
The documentary Being Ola, the second feature film from Award winning Norwegian filmmaker Ragnhild Nøst Bergem, is set to release in UK and Irish cinemas on 3 April; it previews…
Deconstructed traditional folk– the Smallpipe
Scottish folk star Malin Lewis brings a new solo project to The Stade Hall in Hastings on Saturday 21 March. In a trailblazing new solo work, Malin deep dives into a hypnotic…
Witching It Up at the Carlisle
A Hastings all-women promotions company is launching a new live music night to bring more oestrogen-fuelled rock and metal bands to the town. The Coven Club at The Carlisle Rock…
Love a Market and DJ Nights too
The restoration and adaptation of St Leonards Church – the one that stands on a little hill at the end of Pevensey Road – has occupied Chris Love and Jamie…
Open Odyssey
HELEN MURPHY AND NICK PELLING Something groundbreaking is happening at Hastings Contemporary. They are about to put on their first ever Open Exhibition. The gallery took the very brave step…
Zalktis
JUSTIN MORENO The beautiful, gold-collared natrix natrix is a symbol of power and prosperity. Snakes are often reviled, but in Baltic lore, the presence of a grass snake or zalktis…
Arnold Rimmer Comes to Comic Con
The White Rock Theatre has announced that Chris Barrie (Rimmer from Red Dwarf – those were the days)is the first confirmed celebrity guest for this year’s Hastings Comic Con, which returns…
Another Spectacular Interview
In April there will be a rehearsed public reading of Lindsay Jayne’s absurdist debut play, A Spectacular Interview. The play is a critical, comical send-up of the ‘spectacularly’ appalling mess…
Locally Sourced Jazz Album
Local multi-talented musician, artist and photographer Greg Heath has produced (and in the case of one tune, co-written) a fine album of unashamedly nostalgic jazz rock, Point Nemo, by the…
Power Station: Community Energy Film Comes to Electric Palace
Local community benefit society Energise Sussex Coast is bringing the must-see documentary Power Station to the Electric Palace cinema in Hastings this month. The screening, which will be taking place…
How to Choose a Care Home
David Clegg helps you navigate the process of choosing a care home with two other experts sharing tips DAVID CLEGG Choosing a care home is a deeply emotional decision. It’s…
Independent Beer Shop to Close
JOEL CHESHIRE One of Hastings’ most cherished independent beer retailers, Eel & Bear, has announced it will be closing at the end of the summer, marking the end of a…
Living Histories: the Voices of People Who Use or Work in Mental Health
A new oral history project, capturing and sharing the voices of people who have used or worked in NHS mental health services in Sussex, has just been ; Heads On, Sussex Partnership…