Archives for Top Stories - Page 12
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…
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…
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,…
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…
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…
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…
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’…
Eat Write Love
NICKY and SONJA of Creative Concoctions What doesn’t say ‘autumn’ louder than a loveable pumpkin? In today’s column, we bring you our tried-and-tasted Pumpkin Autumn Salad, nutritional info and journaling…
WHAT’S UP AT OWENS?
Mixed messages to staff and public after sudden closure HUGH SULLIVAN In the week beginning 4 September Owens, the entertainment centre operating in the former Debenhams store in Robertson Street,…
RoboPets Help People with Dementia
SALLY BURR and SAFFRON PHILLIPS A mechanical pet project to help people with early-stage dementia has been launched in East Sussex. The County Council (ESCC) RoboPets scheme aims to support…
The Ascension of Josephine Davies
VICTORIA KINGHAM meets Josephine Davies, saxophonist, bandleader, orchestrator, composer, psychotherapist, mountaineer, and anything else that takes her fancy. Monika Jakubowska Photography Josephine Davies has released two albums, called Satori and…
The Real Colin from Accounts
In homage to this summer’s word -of-mouth TV hit, TESSA BOASE investigates the lure of Brewing Brothers’ new taproom up on the Ridge. And yes, there’s a ; This summer’s…
Drop-In and Meet the Team
On the last Thursday of August, HIP held the first of its interactive monthly drop-in gatherings. A chance for us to meet readers and for them to put names to…
Ese and the Vooduu People, Kinsella
KATE SHAW I’ve been meaning to check out The Pig for months. So many people have told me it has a bit of a reputation as a music venue as…
Hotel Costs Soar But Council “Committed”
HUGH SULLIVAN The construction of a Premier Inn hotel on the former Cornwallis Street car park site owned by Hastings Borough Council (HBC), politically controversial since it was first mooted…
Council Finances Suffer Further Pain
Likely staff salary inflation will add to deficit HUGH SULLIVAN The cabinet of Hastings Borough Council held session on Monday evening to review the latest forecasts of the council’s future…
Clean Water Watch
A regular column to update readers on the damaging effects of our current management of water in Hastings and the surrounding area and what people are doing to improve the…
Free at the Point of Delivery
Where should we stand on the creeping privatisation of the NHS? The question is topical because the Hastings Independent recently received a request to run an advertisement for a private…
Henry Normal: Creative Crusader
SERENA FERRARI, a new contributor to HIP, talks to Henry Normal - poet, comedian, father - about poetry and the creative process. Richard Davis It’s a misty morning in Fairlight…
CRICKET:Stuttering Priory Seal Division 2 Title
26 August:Worthing 132 for 9; Hastings Priory 135 for 32 September:Brighton & Hove 98; Hastings Priory 99 for 8HUGH SULLIVAN The cricketers of Hastings & St Leonards Priory were celebrating…
REPORT PROMPTS COUNCIL SELL-OFF
HUGH SULLIVAN A meeting of the cabinet of Hastings Borough Council on Monday evening approved the sell-off of four property assets. Amongst them are two plots of land – at…
The Banksy Years
The Collateral Damage of Myth-Making HIP Talks to Stephanie Warren, the owner of art gallery Stella Dore, about her involvement with the Podcast The Banksy Story – and other things.…
Cinderella: The Eternal Story
VERA BELL is astonished, affected and humbled by a Barefoot Opera production of Rossini’s classic La Cenerentola in post-modern, post-covid Britain Chris Parker Imagine a classic farcical comedy: dressing up,…