Archives for Articles - Page 2
Hastings Book Festival Goes Larger
TIM BARLOW The 9th annual Hastings Book Festival will take place from 10 to 20 September, featuring 40 events and more than 80 speakers and performers. This year’s festival promises…
How Elite French Transformed Anglo-Saxon
JUDE MONTAGUE 14 October 2026 is the 950th anniversary year of the Battle of Hastings. From that point on, modern English would be permanently changed through the imposition of French.…
Nadia Reid at Henry Ward
Nadia Reid’s fourth album Enter Now Brightness was released at the beginning of last year. She has been thinking about the past decade. “Ten years of documenting my life in…
After Dark
Michelle Mildenhall Returns with a new exhibition Courtesy of Michelle Mildenhall After Dark, a striking new exhibition by latex artist Michelle Mildenhall, opens at the Electric Palace Cinema on 5…
900 Years of Embroidered History
The monumental Hastings Embroidery will be on public display for the first time since an exhibition at the Bridge Point Arts Centre in Rye in 2019. The embroidery was created…
Coastal Currents 2026
TINA MORRIS After the privilege of producing this festival for 15 years, one thing has become abundantly clear: this area is full of extraordinary people making extraordinary work. Every year,…
Bohemian Rapsody
A local musician makes his mark CHRIS CONNELLEY Some musicians start early. Mozart, for example, is rumoured to have composed his first piece at the age of five, while Prince…
Shoplifting: some further responses
A spokesperson for the office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, Katy Bourne: “PCC Bourne has encouraged the Chief Constable to really grip retail crime. Now Sussex Police have an…
Gulzar Pleads Old Age as Defence to £1.3m Debt Claim
HUGH SULLIVAN On 12 August, Sheikh Abid Gulzar, owner of Hastings Pier, attended a High Court hearing in London to defend his company, Golden (Lions) Eastbourne Limited (‘Golden Lions’), against…
Southern Water Stink
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN The unmistakable stench of raw sewage once again hung over Bulverhythe last Thursday morning (20 August), after Southern Water began discharging untreated wastewater from its Bexhill and Hastings…
NEWS IN BRIEF
Wages up, Jobs down Workers in East Sussex have received an average wage increase over the past 12 months to July, according to news wire platform Wagesight. Median gross pay…
WHAT’S ON YOUR MIND?
Letter Whose Free Speech? Dear HIP Helena Dollimore MP and Grumpy Cook owner Barry Ashley are right to criticise the Reform-run East Sussex County Council (ESCC) for ending holiday meal…
Big Band at Flatland
HARRY HAWKINS AND VERA BELL Staged within the space of Tawfik Nas’s installation at Flatland Projects in Bexhill, the 17-piece incarnation of the Statue of Liberty Big Band (SoL) was…
Trash Cannes 5-Day Film Competition
MARK FRENCH This is a unique opportunity to take part in the annual Trash Cannes Film Challenge and Coastal Currents Arts Festival during September. The challenge is to make a…
HIP BOOK REVIEW: Escape From Germany – Another Side
You Can Go Now…But Leave the ButterBy Barbara SchultzThe Book Press, £ BY VICTORIA KINGHAM A few weeks ago we previewed Barbara Schultz’s memoir of her mother, who escaped from…
Poetry Corner: heatwaves
PETE DONOHUE the memory of rain upon this land dragged from a cooler distance called out several weeks beforehand when times seemed somehow greener squeezes a tear out onto my…
CRICKET: Priory Thriller Ends in Tie
15 August: Hastings & St Leonards Priory 154 all out; Bognor Regis 155 for 4 22 August: Priory 237 for 9; Horsham 237 for 7 HUGH SULLIVAN After suffering a comprehensive home…
Explore The Arch Latest Project
GAIL BORROW In the latest exploration of trailblazing women who travelled great journeys around 1000 years ago, Explore The Arch Theatre explores Agatha of Hungary at Pevensey Castle. Early-career team…
FOOTBALL: Top of the League
15 August: Hastings Utd 2; AFC Croydon 1 18 August: Eastbourne Town 0; Hastings Utd 2 22 August: Ashford Utd 1; Hastings Utd 3 HUGH SULLIVAN Hastings United have made…
Twins, Cancer, and Comedy
People are often quite curious about what it’s like to be an identical twin. Local sisters Anna and Georgina Lewis have been asked this question many, many times, and decided…
Exam Results: Pluses & Minuses
Figures published by exams regulator Ofqual show that school pupils in Hastings have scored the least number of Grade 7 or above GCSE results this summer of anywhere in the…
‘Best Seaside Town in England’, Says National Survey
The citizens of Hastings and St Leonards are accustomed to claim extreme highs and lows for their town – most sunshine hours, most creative activity and, at the same time, ‘most deprivation’.…
Shrek The Musical
SARAH MILNE AND OUR ROVING REPORTERS The Summer Youth Project at White Rock has become one of the highlights of my theatrical year. I am always amazed by what can be…
Crime Rise, or Better Reporting?
HUGH SULLIVAN A survey of police records has revealed the borough of Hastings has the highest crime rate out of 64 local authority districts in the South East of England.…
Pride in Place
PAUL McLAUGHLIN The Hastings Pride in Place Board has appointed eight new community members to oversee how £ of government funding for the town’s regeneration programme will be spent. Backed…
Swimmers Raise Jet Ski Concerns
PAUL McLAUGHLIN Swimmers and paddleboarders in Hastings have voiced growing concern over the proliferation of jet skis and paragliders along the shoreline during the recent heatwave. There have been several…
Coastguard Station Open Day
The Coastguard Station at Rock‑A‑Nore opened its doors to the public last Saturday (8 August) as part of the Hastings Carnival Week celebrations. Officer in Charge Michael Lawless told visitors…
Cancer Support One Cup at a Time
ROD WEBB Nobody will deny that dealing with a cancer diagnosis on your own is very tough. But you’re not alone if you pop down to the Macmillan Information &…
Community News in Brief
Walk for Al-Mawasi Hastings has had links with Al-Mawasi, a fishing community in Gaza, for several years. Last year, Hastings Borough Council agreed to make it one of our Friendship…
Heatwave: The Summer of ‘26
As East Sussex enters its fifth heatwave of the year, the Met Office has confirmed the uncomfortable news that Hastings has set a new UK-wide highest daily minimum temperature record…
Creative Futures are Here
In this edition of Education Update, local creative industries advocate and training provider SIAN CONWAY-WOOD asks ‘Who is the creative economy for?’ Kate Butts181st Street Students: Left to right: Lewis…
What’s in the Air? A new graphic novel rises
VICTORIA KINGHAM Artist Jude Montague, ever interested in the history of radio and TV, has produced a lively and sometimes extraordinary graphic novel, detailing the beginnings of radio in Manchester.…
Duck, Toast, and the Sacrament Reimagined
NICK TUCKER For all of you who have seen Bob Log III live before, you will know he defies description. For any of you who haven’t, that makes my job…
Booth’s Dream
MARK WALTER Colin Booth explores mortality and minimalism in his new exhibition titled I talked with you in a dream at Electro Studios project space. Booth is a multi-disciplinary artist…
Hypha Studio Space Relaunch
Following a rather unexpected studio move earlier this summer, mosaic artist Emma Law is now settling into the Hypha Studios space in Priory Meadow (the former Shoe Zone unit), and…
The Hybridityof Kim Wan
TOBY BULA-EDGE AND VERA BELL Electro Studios hosted Kim Wan’s new exhibition Hybridity on 8-9 August, with an open view the evening before. Graphic painting Shown to a soundtrack of…
Hastings Creative College in Town Centre
ROBERT BOUCNIK Hastings Creative College (HCC) will take over the second floor of the old Debenham’s building from September. The college, formerly DV8 Sussex, Bexhill, provides vocational qualifications at Levels…
St Leonards Rocks
JAMES ARNOLD-HO A white sloop met a rocky end on the shoreline of St Leonards beach in the early hours of Wednesday (5 August), despite a frantic rescue effort launched the night…
Norman Heritage Banner Competition
Hastings Borough Council invites residents, families, and local groups to participate in the Norman Heritage Banner Competition, which seeks creative designs inspired by the town’s unique Norman history, landmarks, and…
Water Mess
PAUL McLAUGHLIN The Environment Agency (EA) has published its first comprehensive assessment of England’s rivers, lakes and coastal waters in six years. The findings reveal that only 15% of the…