Around and about (II)
In my travels around Hastings and St Leonards this week, writes HOT’s Zelly Restorick, here’s what caught my eye.
In my travels around Hastings and St Leonards this week, writes HOT’s Zelly Restorick, here’s what caught my eye.
Coastal Currents is back and celebrating its fourteenth year. Hastings and St Leonards is hardly known for hiding its creative light under a bushel, and in this edition all that artistic talent is positively invited to floodlight the town. HOT reporter
Last year, we decided not to perform our usual outdoor theatre show in St Leonard’s Gardens, writes HOT’s John Knowles and it paid off, returning this year, renewed and invigorated with many of the original cast (in new roles) and new blood. We are proud to say that the show was a triumph. With sell out performances, amazing reviews and a wealth of positive comments, A Midsummer Night’s Dream proved to be our most successful show to date.
HOT columnist Sean O’Shea talks with Kat Lee – Ryan, The Fabulous Red Diesel’s (TFRD) lead singer and songwriter, about her local connections, her collaboration with husband and fellow band member Will Lee-Ryan, her musical influences, her involvement with community issues and hopes for the future.
As we came out of our third concert in two days of the second International Composers Festival, someone said “In the end, I’d prefer to hear some Beethoven”, thus showing he had entirely missed the point of this wonderful event. Beethoven can be heard in bucketfuls on the radio and in concert halls. We had had the unique opportunity to hear works recently created by some prodigiously talented composers, and performed by equally talented musicians, writes Antony Mair.
Drummer and local resident, Jamie Harris, has lately been directing his energy and inspiration into organising a concert at The Roomz, in aid of refugees from Syria. HOT’s Zelly Restorick asked him some questions to find out more.
Poet, writer and artist, Thom Kofoed has spent all of his twenty six years living in Hastings. Within a lot of his work is a deep-seated fear of leaving no mark on the world and having his life pass by before he realised what he had. He is frightened more often than not. He is trying in spite of it.
The Bohemia Walled Garden, located in the middle of Summerfield Woods, a local nature reserve (LNR Site), was built in the mid-19th century as part of the Brisco Estate. The garden, along with a Roman Bath and the Ice House were also part of this grand holding. Over time, however, the garden became neglected and the house itself is now long gone. Christine Mbaye from the Bohemia Walled Garden Association writes about the next stage in the life of this remarkable space.