There's a rather anonymous white marble statue in West Marina Gardens and back in April we heard that local man Ian Jarman was raising money to preserve it. But what was the statue all about, even people who had lived all their lives in Hastings and St Leonards were far from sure what it represented... Continue Reading →
Favourite stories from 2018 – The battle for Hastings Pier
There's no doubt that one of the biggest stories in town this year has been the battle for ownership of Hastings Pier.In November 2017, in the same week that the pier was awarded the nation's top architecture award, the RIBA Stirling prize, it was also announced that the Hastings Pier Charity, which ran the attraction,... Continue Reading →
A few of your favourites from the year
In two weeks time we'll have bid farewell to 2018 and we'll be welcoming in the new year, so we thought it was time to start looking back to some of your favourite stories and features from Hastings In Focus' first year. Over the next two weeks we'll be taking a look back at the items... Continue Reading →
Hastings on YouTube – just what you need on a wet and windy day
With the weather forecast looking bleak for the remainder of the weekend we're recommending hibernating in front of a roaring fire with a mug – or a glass – of your favourite tipple and settling down to a selection of videos all with Hastings at their centre. If the weather stays the way it is,... Continue Reading →
News In Brief
Year of the Pig Hastings celebrated Chinese New Year on Sunday at Priory Meadow shopping centre. Mayor of Hastings Nigel Sinden and his deputy James Bacon were both there as was Councillor Peter Chowney, leader of Hastings Borough Council who said: "The Chinese New Year celebrations are always a colourful, lively and fun way to... Continue Reading →
‘If the pier is in good shape it says the town is in good shape’
From the video vault With padlocks firmly securing the gates of Hastings Pier this week after a fire at the weekend we found this film on YouTube which looks at the aftermath of the 2010 fire and community efforts to bring the pier back to life. Re: A Pier is the work of film maker... Continue Reading →
A Penny Pincher’s Christmas Carol – a festive fixture
Kate Tym and John Knowles of It’s Not Us Theatre Company are back for a third year with their sell-out Christmas show, A Penny Pincher’s Christmas Carol. "Every year we get requests from our audiences to put it on again," says Kate, "they tell us it wouldn’t be Christmas without it and we are more... Continue Reading →
Esme set to perform century-old suffragette play
Hastings performer Esme Needham will be performing a one-woman show at Hastings Arts Forum this weekend as part of ongoing celebrations marking the 100 year anniversary of women being given the right to vote. The play How the Vote Was Won will start at 6pm on Sunday evening and is a free performance of the 109-year-old play... Continue Reading →
Concrete sculpture a fitting memorial to much loved landmark
He's a lover of 'socialist architecture' and the man who in 2005 fought a valiant battle against the demolition of the 90 concrete chalets at West St Leonards, the last trace of the old bathing pool. That campaign might not have ended in success but Colin Booth's passion for the work of borough engineer and ‘Concrete... Continue Reading →