norman road

Stamp and Coin Shop Norman Road St Leonards-on-Sea

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shared from: JJ Waller https://www.facebook.com/groups/1699272093673888

JJ Waller… I thought it might be of interest to some in this group. The shop is now closed. his is Peter. He and his family have been running the stamp shop in Norman Road since the early sixties. He has lived in St Leonards all of his life. Peter’s father came down from Manchester during the second world war to operate the guns that were stationed at Marina. His dad met his mum who was a receptionist at a surgery in Warrior Square. The painting of the flowers was done by his mum. The inside of the shop hasn’t changed since the sixties, originally it was a photographers. Peter was a very friendly and an interesting man, sadly health issues mean he has to sell up and retire. He had negotiated a deal with a neighbour but it fell through at the very last minute. It was great going into the shop for the very first time and chatting to him.

Andy Hemsley… I went there to buy stamps in the late 60’s as a seven year old. Was always amazed it stayed open for so long and never changed. The place was a time anchor.

Steve Cooke… Remember seeing a white £5 note in the window at a very reasonable price. It was late on a Sunday evening I had just eaten at the Shiplu next door (It used to be the best curry house in the town). Went back a couple of days later and it had been sold

Dawn Hyland… Loved that shop my childhood was in there.

Julie Glover… Dad sometimes popped into the shop, hope Peter is ok

Alan Esdaile… Used to spend a fortune in here. Not on stamps but coin wallets, which I used to put badges in for the reps presentation folders. Used to be a really lovely lady with glasses in the shop, who usually served me. Stamps I remember buying from the stamp shop at the top of Havelock Road. Anyone remember that one?

Peter Ellingworth… Well remembered the stamp shop in Havelock Rd, just a few doors down and on the same side of the road from the now closed pub on the corner ( can’t remember the name). This was the first port of call for my cousin Richard, a keen stamp collector when he came down on holiday from St. Albans.

Sue Strong… I remember him when I was a kid and used to go in and buy stamps, shame not to be able to continue with the shop

Tracy Birrell… I loved this shop as a child in the 60’s. My Grandad used to take me in there to buy stamps for my collection. It is so nice to see this photo.

Norman Crouch… Wow, I spent a lot of time in the mid to late 70s going in there. For 2p you’d get a mixed bag of old stamps with some real gems in them. For 5p you’d get even more. Recently moved back to Hastings having moved away in 1992. Sad to see it has closed. Anyone know what year it shut? Is the guy still around?

Peter Nicholls… I remember this wonderful old fashioned stamp and coin which my wife and I had the pleasure visiting and buying some good quality and good value stamps and FDC. around October 2019 while on holidays from Australia! Peter was most helpful and thoughtful and funnily enough we had the same name and surname! I’m sorry to hear he couldn’t find someone to take over his life’s hard work! Too many stamp shops in Australia have closed the same way! Thanks to Peter for keeping it going as long as he did!

 

Mullett Smith Music, Norman Road St Leonards write up 1971

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Supplied by Pete Fisher (from Beat Instrumental)

Mick O’Dowd… Bird’s Music in Bexhill was going strong then and was nowhere near 40 miles away!

Chris Meachen… I remember going there with Roger to buy his first bass… Always think about that shop when I pass by..

Phil Gill… Chris, Me too. They had a Ned Callan SG on the wall that I coveted. They knew I didn’t have the money to buy it, but they always took it down from the wall and let me play it.

Roger Hubbard – Kino Teatr – St Leonards 7th January 2017

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posterkino

Roger Hubbard returns to the Kino-Teatr after his sell out performance last year. Roger will be performing an acoustic set followed by a full band show with Richard Studholme on guitars/accordion/vocal, Jim Leverton on bass guitar/vocal and Luce Langridge on drums.

for tickets and more information http://www.kino-teatr.co.uk

Lorna… I have a signed ticket from this night attached to the programme of January 2017 of Kino Teatr. If anyone interested in this?

Harry Randall… My old school mate! Started out with him at Silverdale junior school both of us loving guitar

Nick Bloomfield… I was there in November 2017 and filmed him…

Ekco radios at Thomas & Crouch Ltd Norman Road St Leonards & Queens Road Hastings 1958

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Peter Bridger… 25 Guineas was two weeks wages for the average worker in 1958 – the same today is about £1200.00! A lot of money for a Radio.

Mick Turner… Who remembers a grey haired Man, I think he was the owner there, he would offer the customers a sweet for going to the shop?

Richard J Porter… That would be best part of £1500 today in comparison to the average wage!

The Piper, Norman Road, St Leonards – New Music Venue opens 22nd June, 2019

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More details… https://www.facebook.com/ThePiperCalls/ or  https://www.thepiper.club 

The Piper…‘The Piper’ Arrives – A new unconventional grassroots music venue and pub opens in St Leonards. With an increasing number of small music venues closing down across the country in recent years, it gives us great pleasure to announce the arrival of The Piper, a brand new grassroots music venue and pub set to shake up the music scene in St Leonards and Hastings from 22nd June. Located on Norman Road, The Piper occupies a previously much-loved music venue ‘The Norman Arms,’ which closed down a few years ago, much to the disappointment of the local community. In need of full restoration, new owners Chris Barnett and Andy Barker took on the project to create what will now be the only grassroots music venue in St Leonards, hoping for the establishment to once again become a cornerstone of the community, providing live entertainment for local residents and beyond.

Owner Chris Barnett, who has worked in the music industry for over 30 years managing bands, record labels and music events in across the UK will be booking up-and-coming eclectic and alternative national and international artists from a variety of music genres to play at The Piper.
Owner Chris Barnett says: “In my youth, thanks to small venues and good promoters, I was lucky enough to catch bands like the Manic Street Preachers, Pulp, Oasis, The Verve and The White Stripes long before they broke. As hundreds of small music venues continue to close, this is becoming less possible and I hope to change that for the residents of East Sussex and beyond with the opening of the Piper.”

The venue takes its name ‘The Piper’ as a gentle nod to the debut studio album by English rock band Pink Floyd, and the only one made under founding member Syd Barrett’s leadership, ‘The Piper at the Gates of Dawn’. Syd Barrett, actually performed his last ever gig on Hastings pier with Pink Floyd 51 years ago, and to mark the venue’s opening, internationally respected sculptor, Suzie Zamit from Hastings will be creating a bust of the erstwhile singer’s head to be displayed in the pub.

The Piper will be open throughout the day, from from 10am until 11pm Sunday to Thursday, and 12am on Friday and Saturday, at the management’s digression.

The Piper address: The Piper, 1 Norman Rd, St Leonard’s-on-sea TN37 6NH

Colin Jefferys… Anyone remember a pub called the Pied Piper.  Run by Ted and Carol ?

Pete Fairless… On the West Hill?

Tony Davis… Used to be The Manor in Manor Road

Clifford Rose… I used it at the weekends 77-80

The Norman Arms St Leonards to become The Piper

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Chris Barnett… For 30 yrs I’ve spent my life going to what has been amusingly called ‘toilet venues’ to watch killer young, up & coming bands cut their teeth in some of the UK legendary small venues: My bloody Valentine, Primal Scream, Goat, Blur, The Libertines, The Verve, The Manic Street Preachers, Ride, Oasis, Mazzy Star, Pulp, Flaming Lips, King Gizzard & The Wizard Lizard, Spiritualized, Mudhoney, The Vaseline’s, Loop, Carter USM, The House of Love, The White Stripes……

Sadly as you may be aware, many once great venues have been forced to close over recent years, robbing this country of not just some of its great cultural underground beacons, but also crucially that of 1st base destination venues for both new bands to tread the boards, or old established bands wanting to revisit their roots!!!!

Closer to home: since the closure of the Crypt here in Hastings several years ago, the town has tragically fallen off the map on- The Great Rock n’ Roll Toilet Venue Trail! Thankfully though, this is (hopefully) all set to change!!! Last month my business partner and I secured the freehold to a strategically key building here in Hastings that crucially straddles & connects St Leonard’s with Hastings. Built in the 1930’s: ‘The Norman’ is a whopping great 4 storey 1930’s late Art Deco dive bar that used to be a corner stone of the local community, providing live entertainment into the early hours.

Tragically, along with many other places along our South East Coast, the pub had seen better times & following years of decline, 4 yrs ago it finally bowed to regional & economic problems and closed. More recently though (like so many other traditional pubs & other importantly positioned buildings), it’s faced a new ever more real threat – the blight of property developers wanting to turn it into ‘trendy’ apartment blocks!!? That would have been a further cultural travesty but thankfully this is now NOT going to happen!! It is our intention (with a little bit of luck & support from all our friends & the local artist community), to see this once much loved old boozer, brought back to life as a very much pivotal, community based rock n’ roll destination dive bar (but with nice toilets, a great beer-wine-spirits offering & (hopefully) an affordable, array of healthy, locally sourced food provisions! The pub will be christened ‘The Piper’ – a gentle nod to one of the greatest albums of all time, and the very town in fact which, believe it or not……: a certain young Syd Barrett, performed his last EVER gig here on our pier with his band: The Pink Floyd, 50 yrs ago this year!! So long rest The Syd & long live ‘The Piper’ as we enter a new era at the gates at dawn!!! Please take a moment to ‘Like’ our new Facebook page which is called ‘The Piper’ (& has the same pic of the pub as here on the post) where you will be able to follow the exciting developments of the pub as we start the renovation of this landmark building as well as details of the crowd funding project we are launching shortly, to help raise some much needed funds to help renovate this pub & see it returned back to its former glory!

The Piper… Like a Phoenix, rising from the ashes, the Norman arms will be reborn!
The Piper calls! Offering a vast array of live music, arts, contemporary culture and quality libations. Coming soon to a St Leonards/Hastings near you!

Alan Esdaile… Very best wishes to ‘The Piper’

Adrian Straatman… Keep it alive, good luck regards Adrian & Annabelle The Hurst Arms in eastbourne

Dave Nattress… Nice article Chris and good luck!  When I was a lad, a saying was you never saw a pub or a church close down – but for many years both forms of entertainment or sufferance have seen many closures.  I think a statistic I heard a few years back was that something like 7 pubs a week close down!  Many of course used to be important music venues, as you say Chris, helping young bands get their first gigs albeit some audiences hardly made double figures.  Several bands/individual artists can attest to this indignity.

Neil Partrick… Great news. Good work Chris. He (or she) who crowd funds the Piper will get to hear live tunes.

Chris Barnett… Thankyou gentlemen!!! I appreciate your comments & support. Working hard to be open before the end of spring. Look forward to welcoming you to The Piper! Best wishes CB.

Tim Moose Bruce… Great news. As a tribute to Syd and The Piper, Shine On.

Janette Clare Morfey… Is this still going ahead. I thought they could not get a music licence???

Chris Jolly… Good luck with the new venue!

Chris Barnett… Thankyou for your kind words & we look forward to welcoming you to the Piper! We open 3 weeks tonight as the dawn breaks for the Summer Solstice. Exciting times.

Graham Belchamber… Best of luck, look forward to many a visit!

Jim Breeds… I’m looking forward to seeing Lavinia Blackwell there (ex Trembling Bells) on 4th July.

Neil Partrick… That’s excellent news. Congratulations

James Mcllroy… Outstanding, we can’t wait!!