Eco-tensions in Combe Valley
By David EP Dennis A series of unfortunate events is taking place inside the Combe Valley Countryside Park boundary. Because Combe Valley was a countryside park with multiple landowners, rather than country park with one owner, it was understood that…
Postcards from St Leonards
By Teigh-Anne Toast My friend Muriel recently visited me from the Antipodes. One particular day, she was a little fatigued, having spent the previous evening at Bexhill’s newest sex dungeon. “I’m bushed, T”, she told me over crumpets. “The Bexhill…
Imagining the Endtimes
By Nick Pelling What will be left when Boris’ travelling show finally falls over the inevitable cliff? There will surely come a moment, very soon, when Boris slides away - as the summer of discontent burns - to write his…
Saving Lives at Sea The Hastings Lifeboat – and its Women
By David EP Dennis The Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) crew is one of the most respected groups of professionals in Hastings. Along with the police, fire service and NHS ambulance and paramedic services, the Hastings Lifeboat is always on…
Vive La Republique?
These are difficult times for republicans. The widespread support for the Jubilee celebrations in Hastings as elsewhere in the UK shows just how revered is Elizabeth Windsor. As a person. But as for the institution she represents and embodies, that…
Finding a first home in a seller’s market
Ben Cornwell contemplates homeownership in 21st Century ; Homeownership has been firmly rooted in the British psyche for decades. France, a nation largely of renters, has even coined the phrase ‘the English disease’ to describe our intense obsession with the…
How the Rock Fair Ended
As part of his history of America Ground Steve Peak wrote about the three main fairs, and how the killjoys ended the biggest and best – the Rock Fair. Three ancient fairs were held every year in Hastings until they…
OPINION: Without Representation
By Kent Barker Is there a case for the proposition that a hung Council better represents and better serves its electors than one where a single party has a substantial majority? In the 2021 local Council elections in Hastings, when…
OPINION: Two Cheers for a Trifle?
By Nick Pelling As you all probably know, a jubilee should begin with the blowing of a ram’s horn. This, I believe, was an ancient Jewish practice in which a so-called Yobel – Hebrew for a ram’s horn – was…
A Word From Our Founders
Current Features Editor Ben Bruges asked long-term HIP writer Gareth Stevens to explore the developmentof HIP from founding to 200th edition. Below Ben explores his own reasons for getting involved with the paper. Gareth Stevens talks to some of the founders…