When not in London, I
am lucky enough to spend time down on the coast in the seaside town of
Hastings. Though usually only popping down for the weekend, I recently spent a few
lovely days there, celebrating Hastings Old Town Carnival Week!
Coming off
the train and making our way to the High Street, we walked straight into the
annual Seaboot Race. Organized in memory of old towner Peter Trickett who died
in 2002, competitors have to run down Courthouse Street, around a lobster pot
and back again, whilst wearing a pair of very heavy seaboots! The winner gets
to keep hold of Peter’s walking stick for a whole year, although all
participants get a certificate. The race was followed by an auction, filled
with all kinds of donated prizes from artwork to trips on a fishing boat, which
raised hundreds of pounds of the RNLI.
We walked up to the Cinque Ports pub on
All Saints Street for a drink that evening, where we were accompanied by tables of detectives,
nurses, glam rockers and pirates… all teams taking part in the fancy dress
Treasure Trail.
Tuesday started with breakfast
at the East Hastings Sea Angling Association clubhouse, and all the rumours
were true – it was pretty great! To walk off the grub, we took part in the
Twittens and Catcreeps tour, which took us up and down the narrow pathways and
steps of the Old Town, and taught us much about the history of the streets as
we went. This was one of many tours taking place throughout the festival.
During Carnival Week
many houses open their gardens to the public. That afternoon we enjoyed an
organic cream tea in the stunning gardens of Craig and Jo Sams, the founders of
Green and Black’s chocolate and Hastings’ Judges’ bakery. Tea, scones, squash,
and even a lovely bar of chocolate as we left; it was the perfect way to relax
in the sunshine.
At seven o’clock
whilst enjoying a tapas dinner in Harris, The Wardrobe vintage shop
opposite was putting on a fashion show, showing off some of their best
garments. The models walked up and down the old seawall to the smooth sound of
Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, and we had the perfect view with a table in the
window.
It’s probably true to
say that every night, all year round, one can find live music playing in the
Old Town, but to witness the best, you need to be in The Stag on a Tuesday for
Folk Night. The Stag Inn is the oldest pub in Hastings, dating back to 1547. As
always, the small group of local musicians who play on a Tuesday night were
super, and even a few of All Saints Street’s cats came in to join us for a pint.
There’s such a great crowd in The Stag, and usually a bit of a sing-a-long at
some point during the evening too.
After quite a busy
Tuesday, we tried to relax a bit the next day, enjoying a lovely lunch at
Latham’s on George Street, and a bit of retail therapy in the afternoon. But in
the evening, all hell broke loose again for The Pram Race! The Pram Race is a pub crawl around the Old Town, and is thought of by many to be the
highlight of Carnival Week. Teams started to gather outside The Cutter Pub a
few hours before the race actually began, all themed with costumes and pram
designs to match. There were army teams with tanks, Vikings with sailing
ships, spacemen with rockets, the royal family with royal pram (complete with
royal baby!), jockeys and horses, bathtubs and girls dressed as multicoloured
loofahs, hoola girls with portable tiki huts… to name but a few! One of my
favourites had to be the fridge-freezer pram, pushed along by Captain Birdseye
and eight 6-foot fish fingers! The queue at the start line was so long that it
came all the way up West Street and past our front door, meaning we had great
view from our kitchen table! Down on the seafront was where the atmosphere was best, with sailors already sampling their rum despite being about to begin a
tour of all the pubs in the area.
Thursday was more
tours and open gardens - the day, and my time in Hastings, coming to an end
with the Trader’s Street Party. Stalls were set up all along the High Street
selling garments, nick-nacks, food and holding games for the younger children.
We enjoyed a paella dinner, and I bought two wonderful vintage shirts for a
steal. There was also live music, with The Moors set up on stage outside the
Jenny Lind Pub, and later Blair MacKichan and friends were playing up by the
First In Last Out Pub. All music provided by Hastings locals, we were also
lucky enough to have Liane Carroll come up and play with Blair. What a voice
she has!
Although having known
Hastings for a few years now, this was my first ever Carnival Week. It was
filled with all the things you’d expect from a Hastings event; laughter, fun,
food, drink, music, and many excuses to dress up! You’ll find these kind of events all year round on the Old
Town calendar, the next ones being the Seafood and Wine Festival in September,
and October’s Bonfire Night. I can’t wait :)
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