Archives for Top Stories - Page 11
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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…
The Old Pawn Shop
HELEN GROVES investigates an exciting new café/bar in The Old Town. Helen Groves I think many of us have walked past the green building in George Street and wondered whether…
FOOTBALL: United Resume Winning Ways
4 November:Hashtag Utd 1, Hastings Utd 211 November:Hastings Utd 3, Kingstonian 2HUGH SULLIVAN How much of sport is talent, how much is work, how much luck, how much self-belief? Supporters…
One Woman, Four Floods, No Justice
HELEN MURPHY & NICK PELLING investigate one woman’s struggle with Southern Water In the last edition of HIP (238), much was written about the seeming incompetence of Southern Water and…
BLOOM OR BUST?
“£100m” for garden town project, but council cuts still impending HUGH SULLIVAN The cabinet of Hastings Borough Council (HBC) met on 6 November to debate a very mixed financial agenda.…
All Rise
As well as being a regular HIP contributor, DAVID EP DENNIS has been appointed as Project Manager for Bexhill-on-Sea Town Council’s Wild Domesday Project. One of his main areas of…
Power to the People
KENT BARKER Will Hastings become part of the growing campaign to turn its streets and rooftops into mini renewable power stations? A number of local people have started to circulate…
Pigfoot Play Ellington
BEN THOMPSON at EHSAA “They never dance, some of them don’t tap their feet, some of them are actually asleep… but still it’s full every month?!” Such is the bewildered…
A Merciful Menagerie
Leah HammondLeah and guinea pigs NICK PELLING & HELEN MURPHY are inspired by a visit to the White Horse Stables rescue centre. It was pouring with rain on the day…
“Huge Holes” in Benefits Safety Net
PAUL MCLAUGHLIN Josie Barnes PhotographyHARC Chief Executive Jacky Everard HARC, the Hastings Advice and Representation Centre, has published its 2023 Client Survey. In her forward to the findings, Chief Executive…
Exit The Source, Re-enter Source BMX
HUGH SULLIVAN On 29 August two companies which owned the Source Park skatepark on Hastings seafront - The Source (Hastings) Limited and The Source (Hastings) Holdings Limited - declared insolvency,…
Becca Horn: a seasoned Green campaigner
In the third of our series of interviews with the prospective parliamentary candidates (PPCs) of the main political parties ahead of the next general election, PAUL McLAUGHLIN talks to Becca…
WATER ,WATER, EVERYWHERE
PAUL McLAUGHLIN and HUGH SULLIVAN Hastings town centre, Alexandra Park and areas in between were again under water last weekend following another sustained period of heavy rainfall – around two…
FOOTBALL: Agutter’s Return to Pilot Field Delayed by Rain
21 October:Billericay Town 2, Hastings Utd 024 October:Margate 1, Hastings Utd 228 October:Hastings Utd v Carshalton Athletic postponedHUGH SULLIVAN Hastings United have sacked their manager Paul Barnes, appointed only in…
FORSAKEN CAFE TO BE OFFERED FOR CASTLE PROJECT
HUGH SULLIVAN Hastings Borough Council (HBC) announced on 3 October that it has “taken back possession” of the West Hill Café. It is understood that this was the outcome of…
Helena Dollimore: A force to be Reckoned With
The next General Election is likely to be called within the next 12 months. With the main political parties having now selected their candidates to contest the marginal parliamentary constituency…
Hastings Rally Proclaims Solidarity with People of Gaza
HUGH SULLIVAN Hastings & Rye Palestine Solidarity Campaign Reactions to the news of the carnage being suffered in Israel and Gaza over the past fortnight have been divided, both nationally…
3 Million Pounds of Unclaimed Benefit for Hastings Residents
HIP social media co-editor, SALLY BURR, noticed that pensioners are missing out on money that’s due to them. Read on to help yourself or someone you know. Alexas Photos, Unsplash…
Pocket Park Award
The Pocket Park, a community garden in Hughenden Road, has received an award in the Royal Horticultural Society’s ‘South and South-East in Bloom contest’. Photos: Rebecca Sinker Local community volunteers…
FOOTBALL: Akimwande quits, United struggle
7 October:Hastings Utd 1, Kingstonian 210 October:Hornchurch 4, Hastings Utd 114 October:Hastings Utd 2, Wingate & Finchley 3HUGH SULLIVAN Scott WhiteFemi Akinwande (in red shorts) in action for Hastings last…
Privatisation of Water Was a “Mistake” Says Local MP
Paul McLaughlin Local MP Sally-Ann Hart expressed her “deep frustration” at the poor performance of Southern Water and now believes water privatisation was a “mistake… in hindsight.” In a wide-ranging…
Ambulance Waiting Times Shock
Paul McLaughlin The wait for an ambulance in Hastings and Rye is the longest of any constituency in the whole of the South East, according to data obtained using a…
A Bit of Science and a Bit of Honesty
Annie Spratt, Unsplash MERLIN BETTS discusses climate change in response to Jonathan Andrews’ article (HIP 234) Whether facts are convenient or not, they’re supposed to Some people think ‘true’ is…
Environmental Vandalism
KENT BARKER reveals a new post-Brexit threat to honeybees, looks at polluted rivers in Kent and Sussex, and considers the international reaction to Rishi Sunak’s net zero reduction and oil…
Stored Out of Sight: Disability and Society
VICTORIA KINGHAM 3D printing is now part of mainstream culture. A small ‘starter’ printer can be bought on Amazon for £99. A more advanced one that uses ‘all metal hotend’…