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Little Carthorse has been doing the rounds again with a camera on the streets of Hastings Old Town and didn't have to venture too far from home to find one of the houses on the High Street undergoing an interesting renovation project. The other week I began to notice that the hoardings over the windows had been removed and a truly chunky and most marvellous clock added to the Georgian/Victorian facade; will be watching this one to see what other changes take place. Is this one going to be for residential use or one of the many new unique independent shops which are quietly springing up all over the Old Town? Quite liking the colours on the Old Town Festival Week street bunting too by the way - flippin' sweet!
I remember being a bit taken aback at all the local protest against the news that the Jerwood Foundation wanted to locate a second gallery here on the South Coast. This could be a chance to turn Hastings fortunes around and make it stand out among the deflated and jaded seaside resorts dotted along the south coast - think Morrissey's 'Every Day is Like Sunday' and you get the picture. Thankfully the Jerwood Foundation finally received the green light from then Arts Minister, Margaret Hodge, in 2009 to stop further delay and go ahead and start the build. The hotly contested area of 70s tarmac which served as a tourist coach park alongside the historic fishing huts was the chosen site for the gallery. The decision was made as a regeneration opportunity for the area which outweighs the coach park's income revenue and encourage other businesses to root up. The Jerwood will have a designated communal space to host outdoor events. The Jerwood is to open its doors to the public in September 2011.
And that something is Hastings Seafood Festival taking place on Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th of September at Rock-a-Nore in the Old Town where you get a chance to taste and buy seafood which is caught and landed in Hastings by the local fishing crews (the catches of dover sole, herring and mackerel are sustainably managed under the Marine Stewardship Council accreditation scheme which certify the fish caught). Other produce include locally sourced wines, ciders, ales, locally baked breads, lots of gorgeous cheese and preserves - and there is a great selection of local produce - you just have to nip in to Judges Bakery based in the Old Town High Street to see what is produced in this region; Bookham cheese and butter being one of them; Neal's yard stocks their vegetarian version of Parmesan - which Delia Smith is also a fan of. The wet fish shops in Rock-A-Nore are a treat and I'm now hooked on squid marinated in oil with garlic, red and green chilli and szechuan pepper fried for a minute in oil (served with the best local chips in town from The Dolphin - there's always an eager queue). The razor clams, samphire, herring and mackerel are top of the list. If you are feeling in the mood for a quick bit of street food at the weekends, try Tush and Pat's Fisherman Rolls served from converted boat situated by the tall black netting huts - the ultimate fast food! When Tush and Pat start to power up their cooking apperatus and the first wafts of that fishy-tinged blue smoke snakes its way into the air, just watch the queue of hungry passers by start to form a queue on the pavement.
I have just read through the August edition of Vogue and spotted this really fab photograph of Margaret Howell by photographer Jason Bell. At the end of Summer 2009 I was thinking of possibly buying a place in the Old Town, Hastings and I'd arranged to view a couple of properties. The third house I visited was owned by a woman who I thought I'd seen or perhaps met somewhere before, but I couldn't quite place where. She noted that she had previously lived in south east London, quite near me. We got talking some more and I mentioned I'd put on a small exhibition by photographer, Ellen Nolan, back in May who had recently shot a fashion campaign ad for Margaret Howell's latest collection. The owner turned out to be Margaret's sister. No wonder she looked so familiar. I eventually bought the house. She moved into a very pretty cottage in the Old Town. As a talented garden designer, she wanted to take on a much larger garden project; looking forward to seeing the end result.
