Archives for Top Stories - Page 11
Legitimate Protest vs Mob Rule
SIMON HESTER, convenor of Hastings Stand Up To Racism and chair of Hastings & District Trades Union Council says that, far from mob rule, marches like this Saturday’s in London…
FOOTBALL: Cruttwell Returns
HASTINGS UNITED 1, BILLERICAY TOWN 1HUGH SULLIVAN Hastings United matched play-off rivals Billericay Town in an absorbing contest at Pilot Field last Saturday - their first competitive action since 13 February…
None of the Above
New Group Show at Electro Studios Six contemporary artists. Six contrasting styles. Commitment to challenging work, from deeply personal to fiercely political. There is no overarching narrative. These artworks transgress…
HOMES AT RISK!
PAUL McLAUGHLIN Residents living in Foxcote and Penhurst Close (below Little Ridge Ave) have been forced to abandon their homes as a major landslip threatens to push their properties into the stream…
New Year Assault on Hunt Sabs: Police Still Seeking Culprits
RICHARD PRICE In a shocking incident captured on video, a group of four masked assailants targeted a broken-down car, smashing its windows and threatening the terrified occupants. The attack unfolded…
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…
Wicked Leeks
In fact, Leeks were traditionally considered virtuous and were linked to St David (a teetotal vegetarian). So what could be better to cook right now as St David’s Day approaches?…
£3M REQUIRED TO COMPLETE ROAD, SAY SEA CHANGE
But County Council Still ‘Looking’ for Funding Hugh Sullivan At a meeting of the full East Sussex County Council on 6 February, a member of the public, Bernard Brown, raised…
Local Transport Plan for County
MARK SULLIVAN A new Local Transport Plan (LTP), issued in January by East Sussex County Council (ESCC) and currently up for public consultation, proclaims five aims: enable safer and more…
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…
Climate Plagues
DAVID EP DENNIS Over the course of history across the world, there have been terrible outbreaks of diseases, and the local climate plays a part in spreading sickness. Science can…
FOOTBALL: Dissent Punished in Derby Defeat
3 February: Kingstonian 1, Hastings Utd 3 6 February: Hastings Utd 0, Horsham 2 10 February: Hastings Utd 1, Lewes 3 HUGH SULLIVAN A comfortable away win for the ‘U’s at Kingstonian on 3 February elevated…
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…
Jess Steele, Community Entrepreneur
HUGH SULLIVAN In an era of squeezed public finances, soaring construction costs and wasting infrastructure, the renovation of buildings around Cambridge Road by the Hastings Commons (HC) group of trusts…
What to do with Dorothy
PAUL McLAUGHLIN A campaign to save the historic fishing boat which greets visitors to Hastings as they exit the railway station has divided local opinion. The RX53 Dorothy Melinda is…
A Forgotten Hastings Hoaxer
HELEN MURPHY & NICK PELLING investigate a curious case Have you ever heard of Charles Dawson? I suspect not. He was a well respected Victorian gent who was brought up…
Pedalling a Good Cause
Are you looking for a new fitness challenge for 2024? And one that would actually help other people? How about a 4-day cycle ride from Eastbourne to Amsterdam? Obviously that…
Keeping HIP on the Road
ROD WEBB Hastings Independent is a print newspaper that attempts to be both for the community and by the community – but given that our town is a particularly diverse…
MIXED RECEPTION FOR TOWN CENTRE RE-DESIGN
HUGH SULLIVAN A preliminary re-design of Hastings Town Centre was unveiled at a Town Deal Board meeting last week, then presented in the central hub of Priory Meadow shopping centre…
BARNETT’S BLUE MONDAY TURNS GREEN
HUGH SULLIVAN and PAUL McLAUGHLIN The third Monday of January has come to be coined as Blue Monday – the most depressing day of the year in the UK measured…
Living the Rental Nightmare
My partner D and I are both 65. He is in poor health. We have lived in our current ground floor flat on St Leonards seafront for five years. We…
Why are Teachers Leaving the Profession?
With almost a third of teachers leaving the profession within five years of starting, former teacher CALLUM THOMSON explores why. Recent data released by the Department for Education shows that…
Fat Tuesday Festival Returns with Anniversary Disc
Despite the rejection of Arts Council England support, Hastings Fat Tuesday CIC (HFT) have announced that next month’s festival can and will proceed, albeit on a reduced budget. A successful…
It’s About That Time…
VICTORIA KINGHAM on Darius Brubeck at Jazz Hastings Another packed night at the best jazz club this side of London. Chairs are brought in from everywhere, jazz club organisers meet…
Labour Pulled Apart
Rebel Group Quit Party But Still Lead Council HUGH SULLIVAN On 13 December a full meeting of Hastings Borough Council approved budget proposals for 2024-25 aimed at saving around £4m,…
More Than a Gym
NICK PELLING & HELEN MURPHY investigate the realities of a community leisure centre. Around this rather bloated time of year, many people begin to think about self-improvement schemes, like joining…
Ten Weeks That Could Shake Your World
NICK PELLING highlights the Hastings Writers Workshop If you have ever attempted the lonely craft of writing a short story or a poem, you will know how easy it is…
The History of the Hastings Fishermen’s Museum
STEVE PEAK The Hastings Fishermen’s Museum was built in 1853/4 as a church, which closed in 1939 and was converted into the Fishermen’s Museum in ; Until the early 1830s…
What a Hoot!
For those of you who missed the HIP Hootenanny, the night was a special success. Not only did we raise funds for our community newspaper, but the energy in the…
‘BUDGET FOR HOPE’, SAYS COUNCIL LEADER
But higher charges and reduced services are on the way HUGH SULLIVAN Hastings Borough Council was due to meet in full session on Wednesday of this week (13 December) with one…
West Hill Café and St Mary in the Castle – ‘Partners’ Sought
A call by Hastings Borough Council (HBC) for “experienced developers and operators” to put forward ideas and proposals “to restore the West Hill Café to its full potential” as part…
Disappearing Banksys: Save Them or Let Them Fade Away?
RAYMOND MCCHRYSTAL Raymond McChristal St Leonards and Venice have something in common. Both towns are struggling with the conservation of murals that street artist Banksy has created on their walls.…
Should Hastings follow the Basque Country’s lead?
After attending a talk on bottom-up regeneration, regular contributor and former Community Editor, ROD WEBB, visits a grassroots community project. ROD WEBB writes about the recent inspirational talk on social…
Benjamin Calling
CAF FEAN Sara Lou Bowrey courtesy of 18 Hours A phone call with Benjamin Zephaniah was a performance in and of itself. Hello? Is that Caf? This is Benjamin Zephaniah.…
TEAM SPORTS – 2023: Highs and Lows of the Competitive Year
HUGH SULLIVAN Football It’s been a tumultuous year off the field for Hastings United. The quashing of the long-pursued ambition of owners Daren Burney and Peter Sherlock to relocate the…
THIN TUESDAY
Arts Council Refuses Funding for February Event HUGH SULLIVANThe Directors of Hastings Fat Tuesday CIC (HFT) announced this week that their flagship grassroots music festival, held annually on Shrove Tuesday…
SWIMMING: Summerfields Pool Gets Cash Boost
The immediate future of the swimming pool at Summerfields Leisure Centre has been resolved by the securing of a cash grant of just under £100,000 from Sport ; Naz Montag…
White Rock Theatre Under New Management
The Guildhall Trust, a charitable foundation which has run the Portsmouth Guildhall since 2011, is set to take over management of the White Rock Theatre from the beginning of February…
Is it OK to Be Black?
VICTORIA KINGHAM on Hastings Contemporary’s latest coup Courtesy the artist and Thomas Dane GalleryHurvin Anderson, Flat Top, 2008 ‘Is it OK to Be Black?’ is the title of one of…
Bramah, Blue Orchids and 21st Century Etiquette
BEN THOMPSON As post-punk pedigrees go, Blue Orchids’ backstory is hard to beat – they formed when then partners Martin Bramah and Una Baines broke away from the original line…