A year ago was a terrible time for my friends Khadija and Brad. On his 45th birthday, Brad had a heart attack from which he never recovered… HOT’s Erica Smith shares with us a tale of re-creation and introduces Hastings’ newest artist, Khadija Khan.
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Fascinating educational and creative courses for adults. The Hastings area is a great place to live if you want to expand or share your knowledge and make new friends.
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The Kings Road lights will be switched on by St Leonards’ favourite celebrity, the fabulous and charming Maria McErlane. Lighting up time is 4.30pm on Saturday 1 December – a wonderful way to end the Frost Fair. Erica Smith gets ready for the big switch on.
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Hastings eighth annual Storytelling Festival came to an end last weekend after a week of some wet and windy but very successful events across town. This year’s festival explored Hastings in a variety of creative ways.
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Are you a carer? Do you know your rights? Care for the Carers is getting ready for Carers’ Rights Day 2018, a national campaign taking place on Friday 30 November which will bring organisations together to help carers in their local community know their rights.
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In the light of the recent IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5o C, cities and towns across the country are declaring a climate emergency. I think it is time that Hastings did as well. Julia Hilton from Hastings Green Party writes – and explains at the end of this article what you can do to support a declaration.
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You are warmly invited to attend the premiere of Me, Myselfie & Others, a film created by young people at Hastings Academy as part of an aGender Education project in partnership with The Eggtooth Project, funded by Hastings & Rother Reducing Health Inequalities Fund.
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Hastings Against War invites you to our screening of A Bold Peace (2016), a documentary about Costa Rica’s path to demilitarisation. In a country with no military, another way to live beckons to the world… Rona Drennen writes.
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Activists from Global Justice Bexhill and Hastings have stated their intention to protest on Friday 23 November at 9am outside the offices of Hastings firm, General Dynamics UK on Castleham Road, St Leonards over the role of its parent company in the detention of refugee children in the United States, writes HOT’s Zelly Restorick. A letter has gone from the local group to the CEO/ Managing Director requesting a meeting to discuss their concerns.
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On Monday the White Rock Neighbourhood Ventures offer of £1.25 million for the old Observer Building was accepted. If all goes to plan, by 21 December this year, the OB will have an exciting new future. HOT’s Erica Smith caught up with Beth Woolf from Jericho Road who has been busy working with White Rock Neighbourhood Ventures, buying the Hastings Observer building.
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The Work People (also known as Hastings Works) is the first social enterprise in the UK to benefit from the newly-created Community Impact Partnership (CIP) fund. Based in Hastings in East Sussex, The Work People will benefit from £107,000 to take its business to the next stage of its development.
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The popular family tradition of Christmas pantomime is always a regular event at Hastings White Rock Theatre (WRT). This year Jack and the Beanstalk is the WRT’s annual festive entertainment. Here are a few facts you may not know about the panto and its production at the White Rock Theatre, writes HOT’s Paul Way-Rider.
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Comedian Robin Ince is performing in both St Leonards AND Hastings this coming Saturday, 8 December. His national tour of independent shops includes an appearance at The Bookkeeper at 2pm and Wow and Flutter at 6.30pm. Erica Smith spoke to Bookkeepers’ Carol Dennard.
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If you are looking to volunteer and would like to work in a cafe environment or outdoors in nature, Hastings based support charity, Education Futures Trust (EFT) would love to hear from you. Simone Brookes, Social Media & Publicity Co-ordinator at Education Futures Trust writes.
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On Friday morning, 23 November, a group of assorted engineers, architects, farmers, teachers and scientists lead by Global Justice Now members and supported by anti-war campaigners from Hastings against War assembled outside General Dynamics in Castleham Road, Hastings. They had informed the company in advance and asked to speak to the Director about grave concerns they have about their parent General Dynamics Corporation in USA. There had been no reply from the Director, but information that he had a previous engagement. Nobody came to meet them, but they were promised a meeting soon.
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An exhibition of selected works by people living with dementia is at the Kino Teatr, Norman Road, St Leonards at 4 – 8 pm on Friday 30 November, and from 11am – 5pm on Saturday 1 December. The organisers would love to see you there.
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Kate Tym and John Knowles of It’s Not Us Theatre Company are back for the a third year running with their sell-out Christmas show. “Every year we get requests from our audiences to put it on again,” says Kate Tym, “they tell us it wouldn’t be Christmas without A Penny Pincher’s Christmas Carol and we are more than happy to oblige!” Bevali Francis reports.
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Hastings Borough Council is celebrating after its Bottle Alley lighting scheme won ‘Outdoor lighting project of the year’ award at the prestigious 2018 LUX awards, which took place in London in November.
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Back in May, Erica Smith interviewed Rachel Glittenberg – one of the artists chosen to exhibit in the Hastings Arts Forum 15 year anniversary show. This week she caught up with Rachel again to find out about her recent work – on show on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 December in her pre-Christmas open studio.
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Local resident and cricket enthusiast, Michael Gould recalls the glories of the unique seaside cricket ground that once stood on the site of the Priory Meadow Shopping Centre – and anticipates a shining future for the young guns of Hastings & St. Leonards Priory Cricket Club, the “Community Club.”
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Clay Culture is a group of ceramicists and potters working in Hastings & St Leonards. The range of their work crosses a wide and diverse spectrum; from the sculptural to the functional. In their annual Clay Culture Trail 2018 of open studios, the artists offer you a vision of the rich diversity of contemporary ceramics in the area.
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The ability of local families to adequately feed themselves was the priority concern at a recent meeting of 15 local community organisations. The Hastings Food Hub network are dynamic in their efforts to ensure that individuals and families on low incomes are able to access all household essentials that many of us take for granted.
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The Seaview Project is the only organisation of its kind locally, supporting people on the margins of society in Hastings and St Leonards and the wider area. With Christmas coming, they have two events coming up: a carol concert and an afternoon of entertainment. You’re very welcome to attend.
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Jazz Hastings has a real Christmas treat in store for its next session: celebrated jazz singer Claire Martin, ranked by Jazz Times USA as “among the four or five finest female jazz vocalists on the planet”, will be appearing alongside fabled guitarist, Jim Mullen on Tuesday 4 December at the East Hastings Sea Angling Association on the Stade. Julian Norridge writes.
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A wollemi pine, an historic tree, has been planted in Alexandra Park in Hastings, a green space that is renowned for its collection of trees, both rare and common. Over 2000 trees of about 400 different kinds (including forms and cultivars) grow in the park, and there are more in the adjacent woods.
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“We’ve been hard at work at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern (RVT), like demented elves in a stolen goods Christmas grotto creating a new adult-only panto for 2018 and this years twisted offering is… Rubbed! Aladdins Lamp just got camp.” Catia Ciarico, Programme Manager and Producer for RVT writes.
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Performing recently at The Printworks to an absorbed and enthusiastic audience, The Ore Synthesizer Club (OSC) used synthesized sound and carefully prepared projected visuals in their “Overtures – A Compendium of Love”. HOT’s Zelly Restorick writes.
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This free mini festival, as with everything the Bohemia Walled Garden does, is designed to promote our connection with the natural world and all of its bounty. All welcome to come along and enjoy, learn and experience a woodland walk, making nutcrackers, a wood art display, willow basket making, hurdle making, wood games and activities, pruning and hot drinks.
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This Saturday at 1pm, you are invited to the fourth gathering outside the Walk-in Centre at Station Plaza, Hastings. HOT’s Erica Smith explains why she will be back at station plaza this Saturday.
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HOT received an impassioned plea from Banksy fan, Tony May, pointing out that whilst Banksy’s iconic image had been dug out from the pebbly beach earlier this year, last weekend’s storms have filled in the hollow that had been scooped out.
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Tomorrow night (Thursday 15 November), Penny Pepper will be reading from her new collection of poetry at Book Buster in Queen’s Road. Erica Smith tells us why we should get down to see her perform.
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After long negotiations and discussions, the directors of Ore Campus of East Sussex College Hastings have said ‘Yes’ to the installation of solar panels on their roof. Fantastic news, marking the first big success of the 1066 Local Energy Campaign. HOT’s Zelly Restorick spoke to Richard Watson of Energise Sussex Coast, one of the partner organisations involved in the project.
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Despite wind and rain, last Saturday’s Walk-in Centre protest was well-supported and showed how much community support there is for this valuable service. HOT’s Erica Smith reports back.
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The Second Reading of the Fisheries Bill is scheduled in the House of Commons today, Wednesday 21 November. Rick Dillon catches up with the Labour Party’s prospective parliamentary candidate, Peter Chowney to see how the Labour Party wants to support the nation’s small boat fishing fleets.
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In its 90th anniversary year, the Hastings Philharmonic Choir goes back to its roots to perform Handel’s Messiah at Christ Church, St Leonards this Saturday 10 November at 7pm. Back in 1928 and 1929 the Choir performed the Messiah on three separate occasions, these being the Choir’s first three concerts, and the audience still wanted more! Chris Cormack writes.
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Andrew Kötting, Hastings’ master of magical realism, will be showing his film trilogy, ‘Earthworks’ on Saturday 17 November at the Towner Art Gallery Cinema: an all-day event, starting at 11am, in conjunction with Brighton Cinecity.
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