Journey Into Artier Space
By Nick Pelling West Street, in Old Town, has always been somewhat eclipsed by its popular, parallel partner, George Street. But, nestled in at 31a West Street, is the fabulous Dirty Old Gallery with its distinctive dog logo. The curator,…
Sanctuary in the Sun
By Nick Pelling The sun shone on the Hastings Sanctuary festival and the general multitude of people seemed to be enjoying themselves and the music. But it would be very wrong to assume that this was just a final fun-loving…
From Sneeky Peeks to Full Streets
HIP talks to Vannessa Mann about how she came to map St Leonards and beyond. What gave you the idea of creating a map of the town?I’m fascinated by the rollercoaster history of Hastings and St Leonards which seems to…
Sleep Out to Help Out
The Seaview Project in St Leonards is organising a fund-raising Big Sleep which asks for volunteers to sleep out and raise money for the town’s most vulnerable people, particularly those with accommodation issues. This event has been organised before, but…
Old Town, New Hope
By Nick Pelling Hastings Old Town is about to become home to an exciting new community centre. ‘The Nest’ is to open the doors of the Old Town Hall building on Friday 1st October and will be celebrating that occasion…
All Kinds of Everything
By Nick Pelling Hastings Old Town is rarely confused with the antique lands of mystic Arabia. But there is actually a kingdom of Serendip just round the corner from the launderette. The Courthouse Co-operative, on Courthouse street, is a kind…
Hastings Festival of Sanctuary
Musicians and artists join a day of community, creativity and hope By Nick Pelling The Festival of Sanctuary sends a simple message of welcome, with some of Hastings’ best musicians and artists once again showing their support for the act…
Hastings to Host UK’s First ‘Palestine on the Pier’ Event
Hastings is to host the UK’s first ever Palestine on the Pier – a celebration of the best of Palestinian culture including food, music, dance, storytelling, handicraft and children’s activities. The free, daytime event on 5th September is jointly hosted…
Let’s Go Round Again
By Nick Pelling Traditionally, fairground folk have not had a good press. They have generally been seen as travelling types who somehow live a ‘dodgy’ sort of lifestyle. But a closer look at the people who run the fair on…
A Sense of a Beginning
By Nick Pelling Autumn can seem all about slow endings, but why not kick-start something new? Starting in September, Charlie Crabb’s Hastings Bookshop is bringing the Irish short story writer, James Young, to run a series of writers’ workshops. These…