Archives for Features
Dutch toTake the VOC Amsterdam Home?
DAVID EP DENNIS An ever-present reminder of the power of storm and tide for the last 277 years, something sits at St Leonards. At the lowest tides of the year, when the…
Tested by the Waters
Sea-swimmer, dog-owner, and relative newcomer INGRID ALLAN dips her toe in the waters around Hastings TOBY COLLINS With the recent Blue Flag and Seaside Award given to Marina and Pelham…
Town Plans and Money Plans
The 410 pages of Hastings Council’s Draft Local Plan on the future of the town till 2041 attracted many criticisms earlier this year, and the Council meeting on 23 September…
Paul Joy: A Boxer Who Went to Sea
JOHN COLE The name Paul Joy is well known in Hastings, especially in the Old Town. Paul has been a fisherman here for most of his adult life and he…
Could a Norman Horse Leap from a Longboat?
Hastings Borough council have declared that this is the Year of the Normans (1,000 years since the birth of William the Conqueror) for which there will be events across Hastings…
In from the Cold
HAYDON LUKE & PAUL DRAPER of the Fairlight History Group explore the mystery of the Fairlight Memorial to the dead of two world wars Andrew Gill, bugler, Royal British Legion…
70 Years of the Fishermen’s Museum
STEVE PEAK, local historian and Fishermen’s Museum trustee celebrates its 70th birthday One of the leading tourist attractions in Hastings is celebrating its 70th birthday this month. The Fishermen’s Museum…
Fear & Loathing on the Campaign Trail ‘26
Apparently, Hunter S. Thompson is not dead. He faked his own death and is now living in London. He has previously visited Hastings, where events occurred that were considered significant.…
111 Places in Hastings & Rye That You Shouldn’t Miss
Journalist and author NORMAN MILLER shares his experience of writing a book about 111 placesto visit in our patch Norman and the finished article So how do you go about…
Celebrating Past Features
Here we are at 300 issues! HIP asks DAVID DENNIS to celebrate the many feature articles written over the last 299 issues The paper’s name declares its independence, and it…
Helping Adults to Read
Last edition Nicholas Vester shared his observations of reading by the sea. This edition ANDREW COLQUHOUN is back for the National Year of Reading. You can say what you like…
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…
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…
Empty Words: Dollimore’s Record on Gaza
GABRIEL CARLYLE asks how Helena Dollimore responded to the horrors unfolding in Gaza since becoming our MP in 2024 Helena Dollimore’s record as MP for Hastings & Rye tells a…
What Next for Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve?
ANDREW COLQUHOUN shares the story of how we can trace back human activity on what is now Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve for thousands of years. But Brexit and local…
New Year, New Hobby: Chess!
ZAKIR MOHIYUDDIN, HIP volunteer, Hastings-based creative and parent, makes a New Year suggestion Jeshoots, Unsplash The new year arrives with that familiar sense of possibility. As parents, we find ourselves…
Checkmate by the Sea: the Battle of Minds Returns to Hastings
Schach. Шахи. Sjakk. Fichille. Tàileasg. Schaken. Şah. Échecs. Skak. Satranç. Call it what you will - it’s still Chess in any language - and as TOBY BULA-EDGE and KENT BARKER…
But the Residents Need Us
HIP Writer FERDUSARA ALI meets local care workers who share their experiences of working in Hastings’ Care Industry When you walk around places like Bexhill-on-Sea or Hastings, it’s hard…
The Fatal Attraction of a Helpless, Sinister Monster
DAVID EP DENNIS During the First World War, Germany had 351 submarines (U-boats), and of these, around 178 were lost during the war, leaving 173 to be disposed of by…
Left in the Cinema: Films to Educate and Empower
TOBY BULA-EDGE is a journalism student and HIP intern When you have something to say, “speak loud and clear”, says a paper sign blue-tacked to the wall of the Hastings…
The £10 million Allotment Loo
ANDREW COLQUHOUN previously wrote for HIP about the threat of allotments being sold off. This time it’s a new inconvenience. Bembrook Allotments HIP readers of longer vintage might remember Clochemerle.…
Alfred the Great’s Fort in Hastings: Where Was It?
SIMON MANSFIELD, a retired Sussex computer programmer interested in the early History of East Sussex, shares his thoughts about the possible location of Alfred the Great’s fort Becky HintonOn the…
The Death of St Leonards
STEVE PEAK, local historian and museum trustee, explores a little-known aspect of the relationship between St Leonards and Hastings The planned layout in 1830 This month is the 150th anniversary of the…
Is It Worth It?
TONY COLLINS, Green Councillor shares his experiences at Hastings Borough Council “Would you consider standing as a councillor?” Julia Hilton, sole Green member of Hastings Borough Council, grinned at me…
Don’t Lose the Plot!
ANDREW COLQUHOUN has had an allotment at Lower Torfield in Hastings Old Town for about 20 years, but admits that his wife Stephanie still grows better veg than he does.…
Were St Clement’s Caves Really Used by Smugglers?
Freelance writer and Hastings resident BENJAMIN CHARLES ANSON takes a trip to a favoured attraction Smugglers land their contraband I hold very fond memories of visiting the ‘Smugglers Adventure’ or…
David Brockhurst – Dinosaur Hero Of The 1066 Coast
In which our intrepid hero DAVID E P DENNIS meets Dave Brockhurst, dino hunter! Dave Brockhurst is now a retired quarryman. Over the last thirty-four years of his working life,…
Walking Home to Watch the Football
JOSHUA GEER grew up in Hastings and now lives in London working as a financial journalist. He also writes about walking, adventure and psychogeography Joshua in Wareham during a walk…
Time for a New Left Party
Why would we need a new left party in Hastings? Don’t we already have Greens, Hastings Independents (no relation to this paper) and Labour? HIP Feature Editor BEN BRUGES asks…
Use It Or Lose It: The Battle to Protect Free Advice Services
With face-to-face advice services under threat from continued austerity, INGRID ALLAN looks back at the unique role they’ve played in improving welfare across Hastings and East Sussex and offers advice…
Become Best Friends with Alexandra Park
DAVID EP DENNIS All photos by the author Alexandra Park was formed in 1876 and has one of the finest tree collections in Europe. Its glorious landscape is the home…
The Wreck of the Amsterdam
As an experienced sailor living in St Leonards, PETER GRAY finds the established story at odds with how this type of ship sailed There is a mystery as to why…
George Woods – Seaside Hastings in the 1890s
A display of fascinating photos taken in Hastings in the 1890s has gone on display in the Fishermen’s Museum in Rock-a-Nore Road, shares STEVE PEAK, local historian and museum trustee.…
A Lost Transport of Delight
Thanks to 1950s Nimbys, St Leonards lost its miniature electric trams after just one glorious summer season. DAVE YOUNG tells the sorry tale. Many Hastings seaside attractions have sadly proved…
Unscripted: Liv Long on Teaching Locals the Art of Improv Comedy
HANNAH FOULDS Tucked away in the back room of the Horse & Groom, a small group of adults are doing something unexpected — and a bit brave. They’re trying out…
Don’t All Children’s Lives Matter?
TERESA THORNHILL, a retired child protection lawyer, questions why we sell weapons to kill and main children abroad Mohammed Ibrahim, Unsplash In February, I participated in a town centre rally…
New Homes Plus Protection for the Environment?
Can HBC's New Local Plan protect the environment and provide homes for the homeless? DEE WILLIAMS, citizen journalist, investigates Dave Young Hastings Borough Council’s New Local Plan tries to find…
Back to a Botanic Future
GILL GOLDENBERG, whose love of gardens stems from her dad’s productive oasis, explores plans to take horticulture forward to the past Hastings Botanic Garden is a visionary project with links…
Grand Designs on Other People’s Houses!
STEVEN SHORT, a writer, editor and publisher who lives in the Old Town, shares a favourite house What’s your favourite house in Hastings? I know what mine is, and although…
A Time to Remember: WW1 and a Local ‘Conchie’
CHRIS SANDERSON recounts coming across ‘The Reluctant Tommy’ by Ronald Skirth (edited by Duncan Barrett), an autobiography of a local man who volunteered for WW1 and survived as a pacifist …