Archives for Community - Page 8
Tell the council how housing affects your life
Now you might not know Hastings Housing Alliance (HHA), but there's a fair chance you will know this town is in a housing crisis. Even if you personally aren't suffering…
A Broadcastfrom Southern Housing
MERLIN BETTS As I walk through the mud of Church Wood on my way to Tilekiln Community Centre, that cool evening air paying no attention to the sun’s beating rays,…
Farewell to the Craft Box of Norman Road
HIP pays tribute to a local institution The Craft Box of Norman Road closes its doors on May 21, and emotions are running high on Facebook. “Noooooo!” wails Jessie Banks.…
Everybody Hurts?
HELEN MURPHY & NICK PELLING meet up with a wellbeing coach Do you ever struggle with what might be called your psychological balance, to the extent that constant anxiety is…
Festival for the Whole Town
The website for A Town Explores A Book (ATEAB) describes the festival as: “A reader-led festival of creative responses to a heritage book in St Leonards-on-Sea delivered by ExploreTheArch theatre company.” The emphasis…
Celebrating Sunshine on Sea!
MERLIN BETTS I’d not met Chris before, but he’s well known and loved around town, variously as the Buddhist postie and the man behind the Hastings Beach meditation group that’s…
Charity Fashion Show
On Monday 22 April, local charity Association of Carers held a fashion show at the Hastings Centre to raise funds to support their free services. The charity organised the event…
WOH! Women of Hastings
Calling novice writers as we launch a new women’s column in June! A women’s writing circle will be meeting from 10am-12 noon on 25 May at the Clifton Centre to…
America Ground – The Musical
ROD WEBB talks to John Knowles about how America Ground The Musical emerged from a concern about the future of this town You might wonder what the history of the…
Standing Up for Samaritans
ANNE ROBINSON There is surely a time in a man’s life when he wants to take things easy – relax, put his feet up, especially if he’s three years off…
Dancing in the Sunlight
ROD WEBB visits a tea dance, organised by Dance Hastings for people with dementia In 2018, four women who met through Hastings Salsa, decided to organise social dance events and…
Small but Perfectly Formed
ROD WEBB Barista and the Shack has been steadily building a reputation as a go-to place to chill out on the seafront with a coffee. Or a beer. Or a…
Everything You Need to Know about Jack in the Green
What do the Jack in the Green celebrations involve? According to the Jack in the Green (JitG) website: “The long weekend event includes live bands, dancing, sun (not guaranteed) and…
These Boots Ain’t Made for Walking
ROD WEBB We’ve all seen deathly pale elderly people lying on the pavement waiting for an ambulance. As we get older, it might evoke the thought that ‘There but for…
Keeping Summerfields Afloat
Good news for swimmers as Hastings Borough Council receives £266,573 from the government’s Swimming Pool Support Fund (SPSF). The funding is for additional photovoltaic panels (£126,984) and replacement boilers (£139,589) at…
Coming up Smelling of Roses
CATHERINE MACK gets up early on a Sunday morning to join her local community gardening group, to find that it surpasses all expectations It’s hard to get the nursery rhyme…
From Grief to Inspiration
ROD WEBB talks to celebrated actor and comedian Steve Furst about how he came to direct a film about mental health Last month, Steve Furst hosted an event at the…
Connecting through Ceramics
FIONA MCGARRY is entranced by St Leonards Ceramics Studio Over the past few years, there has been a palpable ‘buzz’ in St Leonards as people give in to their urge to…
Hastings is No Place for Hate
PAUL McLAUGHLIN Hastings Town Hall Community Hub hosted a free event earlier this month (9 March) to help raise awareness of efforts to tackle hate crime within the town. Hastings…
Refugee Week 2024
The Refugee Buddy project announces that it has been awarded a Small Project Grant from Arts Council England to support Refugee Week 2024 and what this ; Courtesy of Hastings…
Playing, Promoting and Producing
FIONA MCGARRY talks to Holly Harman about her life in music and her latest venture as a music promoter Holly Harman Holly Harman seems an ideal fit for the Hastings…
More Than a Local Protest
ROD WEBB reflects on joining the protest outside the Hastings site of General Dynamics, a company involved in supplying weapons to Israel used in the slaughter of Palestinian civilians Katy…
Water Bill Boycott: Town Hall Event
There is something about the impunity with which England’s water companies are allowed to dump sewage into our rivers and seas: it seems emblematic of the corruption and gross inequality…
June Comedy Bonanza
JAKE ALEXANDER, one of the directors of Hastings Comedy Festival, previews what’s in store this June This June, be prepared for a week of laughter as the annual Hastings Comedy…
Kick Out theGrey Cliché
NICK PELLING looks into a forthcoming action day. I suspect that most people don’t think being old is a desirable state of being. Oldies tend to get a bad press:…
Hastings Parents Campaign for Smartphone-free Childhood
HAZEL SHEFFIELD A group of parents in East Sussex have come together to call for children to have a smartphone-free childhood, inspired by a national campaign. Antonia DeesonAntonia Deeson Antonia…
Getting Back in Touch
On Tuesday 12 March, ‘A Touch of Gentleness’ will be celebrating two years of connecting with people through the art of a gentle hand massage. A gathering of trained volunteers…
Community Solidarity after Right-Wing Threat to Hastings Mosque
Muhammad Daniel provides a personal perspective Last week, Hastings Mosque received an anonymous email saying a group of ‘Britain First’ members would be marching to the mosque on Sunday morning…
Standing Upfor Nature!
CHARMIAN KENNER explains how we can find out more about vital local environmental issues. The Unite for Nature group is holding an event for everyone in the Hastings area who…
It’s Reality, But Not As We Know It
HELEN MURPHY AND NICK PELLING go beyond mere reality. At first glance, you wouldn’t guess that the old Observer building, besieged as it is by rusty scaffolding, is home to…
The Chamberof Horrors
ELSPETH TIDDLYPUSH gives a personal view on the reasons for the malaise in local politics. A Wednesday morning a few weeks ago in January, I decided to attend a meeting…
International Women’s Day Festival Promises to be a Roaring Success
ERICA SMITH Each year, Hastings Women’s Voice hosts an International Women’s Day event. Last year’s festival in Stade Hall was such a success that it has outgrown the venue. This…
Getting Involved with the Local Transport Plan
HASTINGS SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT FORUM East Sussex County Council, our Transport Authority, is planning for the future with its Local Transport Plan 4 (LTP4), Town Deal money is going to be…
Hastings Helps Kathleen Get Justice
HIP reports on the hard won justice for a local victim of the Post Office scandal. Kathleen Crane, 69, a widowed, former Sub-Postmaster caught up in the Post Office Scandal,…
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…
Plugging Away
HARRY HAWKINS The sky’s grey pallor and shallow pockets don’t do anything to deter me or the many others descending on Hastings Fat Tuesday’s ‘Saturday Unplugged’. Walking down High Street…
The Hidden Value of Carers
LOUISE VLADI, Charity Manager of the Association of Carers gives some facts and figures about unpaid caring and how the organisation helps this hidden army of caregivers. There are over…
David Rovics: New Songs for Palestine
LEAH LEVANE of Hastings and Rye Palestine Solidarity Campaign writes about the David Rovics current world tour which lands in Hastings on 22 February. David Rovics is an American musician…
Love Comes in Doodles?
HELEN MURPHY & NICK PELLING investigate doodle dating. As we all know, going on a real person-to-person ‘date’ is full of potential embarrassment and enough social awkwardness to turn otherwise…
Frock up to Get Down
This Saturday, 3 February, the Observer building will host a Frock Up Friday market (). The market stalls will offer a whole range of glamorous frocks, hats, shoes, jewellery and…