September 2018

A Brighter Day – The Citizens Advice fundraiser – Printworks Hastings Sunday 30th September 2018

September 30, 2018September 30, 2018 by Alan Esdaile

Keith Rodway… The Citizens Advice fundraiser is on Sunday, September 30th, from 4.30pm at the Printworks. Please come and support this vital community resource. Appearing on stage will be Kat Lee Ryan, Lucy Pappas with Clive Timperley, Tim Hoyte, Anita Jardine, Carol Prior, Steve Stone, Nick Monaghan with Phil Little, Otti A-i and the Voices, Hayley Savage, Victoria Howarth, John Hodgson, Chasing Shadows, Keith Foster, Steve Stone, Andrew A C Cooper and Sage Maverick with Claire Hamill. Tickets are £7, £5 concessions, £12 for a family ticket. Kids welcome! Food will be available at the venue.

Our DJs for the evening will be Fritz Catlin and Tim Scullion

We hope to see you there!

The Bottle Alley Sound & Light Experience – St Leonards On Sea 28th September 2018

September 28, 2018September 28, 2018 by Alan Esdaile

Sid Saunders… If you want some fun before the winter is upon us pop down to Bottle Alley tomorrow night for a wonderful sound and light experience. It runs from 7pm until 10pm.This is a free event but a bucket collection will be made to help recover some of the expense of the event.You can view it from the beach as it will be low tide but I think the pier would be better as the restaurant will be open for meals until 7pm, hot drinks until 9pm, the bar until 10pm and the chip shop will be serving until 9pm. You will also have the benefit of toilets on the pier. No rain is forecast but it will be cold so wrap up warm.
The organisers are also holding a photo competition in conjunction with the Hastings Observer that is open to all except professional photographers.
Take photos with your smartphone or camera then send your best one as a jpeg to hastings.observer@jpress.co.uk quoting Bottle Alley photo competition, the Observer will judge the photos. The winning photo will be published in the paper and the winner will receive £50 cash plus a meal of their choice for four with the compliments of the pier company in the pier restaurant.
The revolutionary double deck promenade was built in the early 1930s by Sidney Little. It’s half a mile long stretching from Warrior Square to the pier with the rear walls on the lower deck are faced with glass from broken bottles hence the name Bottle Alley.

Did everyone enjoy The Bodyguard?

September 26, 2018September 26, 2018 by Alan Esdaile

photo © BBC

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-45622655

Karen Sweatman… My heart is still pounding! That was intense!

Yvonne Cleland… Absolutely gripping!

Carol Paffett… Yes, don’t usually watch these dramas but this one was great

Eric Harmer… Sorry Alan , I didn’t like the acting in it, the script and the unrealistic situations. But Liz loved it. What did you think ?

Alan Esdaile… Loved it Eric. Very few things I watch on tv now on real time but this was great and anything that takes your aches and pains away, as your gripped by the drama is perfect.

Arthur Sutherland… It’s only a play.

Eric Harmer… Yes I know it’s not a documentary but it was to unbelievable for me also i thought the script was really poor. Just my option. As I said my wife loved it

Angela Frances Gardner… Not watching it!

Paul Juan… Parents loved it

Pete Fairless… I’m with Eric. He can write action but he needs to get someone in to help with dialogue. The male lead, oak or pine?

Eric Harmer… Agree Peter. Also some of the scenes where implausible I thought

Judith Monk… I loved it!

Janet Brophy… Waiting for next series hopefully, it was really good

Liane Carroll… I loved it x

Janet Large… Of course loved it

Sue Bennett… OMG brilliant !!!

Alan Pepper… A bit disappointed with the ending . A shame because it was such a good start I think. Minor quibbles but brilliant fun . 8 out of 10 in my opinion . The confession by Nadia was like a Scooby Doo ending ! They would have got away with it if it wasn’t for that pesky Budd.

Andre Martin… Nothing wrong with Scooby Do..hd is the best – as for the story – some people would have said impossible… Well I leave that to your imagination – do you really trust and believe “The State!!”

Wendy Weaver… I thought it was good most of the time. A few holes in the story but I looked forward to seeing it each week.

Garner Garner & Co cycles & gramophones store Bexhill 1923

September 24, 2018 by Alan Esdaile

supplied by Jim Breeds

Jim Breeds… Spotted in a 1923 street directory under Western Road, Bexhill. Cycles and gramophone records together in one shop. Cycling home with the latest shellac 78 RPM records on the saddle rack. What could possibly go wrong

Alan Esdaile… odd combination

Jan Warren… Why not ………. if you “hooked up” ya wind-up gramophone record player to your bicycle and peddled like fuck, it could be the first “Walkman” (or “Rideman”?) haha

Tim Moose Bruce… Or hook up an alarm clock to the gramophone, set to wake you up with Rick’s Piano Portraits, it would be a Wakeman..

Robert Wren… I think you will find bicycle shops were the first to stock batteries for their bicycle lamps and slowly started to sell other electrical items. I can remember Currys in queens road were still selling bicycles in the late sixties.

Dave Nattress… Wow, Bexhill. I thought I knew a lot about the place but never heard of this and will research it. Looks like an old “Kelly’s” Street Directory? We used to use them in the architects office I worked in from 1969. This one 1923 was way before my time! By the way, if any of your SMART readers are interested, Bexhill’s fabulous music shop – “Music’s Not Dead” in Devonshire Road, is I much regret, pretty much dead. The guys, Del and Richard had to close up a week ago as simply (they told me) they were just not making any money as bigger music retail and on-line operations were sucking up all the business – well any profits to be had. Also of course downloads hit physicals badly. For instance, the new Kooks album on CD they sold for £10.00 – Tesco Church in the Wood were knocking it out for £8.00. A great shame – for 7 years the guys did their absolute utmost to succeed and sold a wide range of music on CD mainly, but then vinyl kicked in. They also sold T shirts, books, posters, you name it, AND put on a lot of concerts in the shop and at the De La Warr and other locations and gave much needed exposure to up and coming bands and individual artists. Keane played a couple of acoustic sets there and signed albums as did Tom Chaplin with his 2 albums. A very great loss to the local music world.

Jim Breeds… It’s a Pike’s directory. Similar to Kelly’s. Sad to hear about the record shop in Devonshire Road 🙁 I bought some stuff there over the summer.

Rick Bonner, Starkman Dave Arnold & Sergeant 1986

September 23, 2018 by Alan Esdaile

supplied by Pete Prescott

Janine Anne Scott.. Have shared as in touch with Rick

Kev Towner… I’ve got quite a lot of Dave’s stuff on cassette (Addled Family and Turn Blue), but the Starkman stuff seeems to have evaded me

Rick Bonner… Wow….amazing times, great days and I wish I still looked like that l

Y Front Run Alexandra Park Hastings and Y Front Run gig – The Clarence Silverhill St Leonards – Sunday 23rd September 2018 in aid of St Michaels Hospice, Cancer Research and Prostate Cancer

September 23, 2018September 23, 2018 by Alan Esdaile

Sarah Harvey… Approx times….
12.00 hairy jack acoustic r’n’r. (Inside)
1.30: the happy Maureen. (Outside)
2.15: hairy jack acoustic r’n’r. (Inside)
2.45: cushty unplugged (outside)
4.15: stormy t + the bluesman lane (outside)
5.45 Liane Carroll (outside)
7.00: the kavemen (inside)