Pick up a leaflet from The Hub, or various places around town

Work starts on the restaurant . . . . .

Been waiting weeks to capture this

How it once looked–adjacent to The Hub

Hastings Pier Project Engineer starts his inspection at an early age

July 2013….

….. I dropped my camera phone in the sea for a very few seconds; it buzzed and died.  I buried it in rice for some days.  Still wouldn’t charge up.  I left it in my underwear drawer until a few weeks ago, when I took it out, and connected it to a charger – and it charged up.

But it wouldn’t let me download my photos,not nohow.  And now today, success.  I was able to connect to wifi, and email the photos, and then (just experimenting) found Bluetooth was now working and I transferred the photos to my current phone.  So here’s one of the pier photos!

The 8th annual 1066 Swim

36 endurance athletes swam from Hastings Harbour Arm to Hastings Pier and back in aid of CLIC Sargent Caring for children. 

The first swimmer back was Nicky Wood in under 40 minutes, with the last arriving about an hour after.

The swim is organised in Memory of Tom Wheeler young cricketer and athlete who died aged 17 of cancer.

Compelling Photography melding past and present

 

http://compellingphotography.co.uk/ghosts-hastings-past/

Family jiving workshop 22nd June at the Pier Hub

‘Stroll’ along to our fun family workshop and learn how to dance like they did on the pier in the 1940s. Led by local dance teachers from Charleston Jive Squad even those with two left feet will be dancing in no time!

Suitable for families with children 8yrs+

FREE

Sunday 22nd June 2pm – 3.30pm

Please pre-book by emailing learning@hpcharity.co.uk

Magical light under the Pier

My Purple Heart–awarded to all volunteers to celebrate Volunteer Week.

Men (and women) at work!

Thanks to the White Rock Hotel and Hastings Brewery….

Hastings Beer & Music Festival, is set to take place in Alexandra Park, Hastings, at the beginning of July, commencing with the Battle of Hastings Proms, a special Centenary Commemoration of World War One, on Thursday 3rd July, followed by Friday 4th & Saturday 5th of July, with a showcase of 100 per cent local talent.

Laurence Bell from the White Rock Hotel says  “One of our passions is the renovation of Hastings Pier and through networking with another sponsors, Pete Mason of Hastings Brewery, we are really excited to announce that we are hoping to put together a new festival beer, where a percentage of the proceeds will go to “Peoples Pier”.

http://www.ryeandbattleobserver.co.uk/news/local/hastings-pier-to-benefit-from-beer-and-music-festival-brew-1-6109611

Hastings Pier 6th June 1964 by Andre Martin

Its Saturday 6th June 1964 and for the History Fans of 50 years ago we are again at the Happy Ballroom on Hasting Pier, for what looks like being another great night – top of the bill today are Sounds Incorporated, making yet again another visit to us here on the South coast, and in support Gene Bennett and the Sidewinders, a truly value for money show – for those who would like to know 6/- on the door [30p] and this would also have included FREE admission to the pier and all the attractions along the way from the toll house and the Ballroom – again what value, if you were good you could also have fitted in a game or two of BINGO ! ….
http://ninebattles.com/2014/06/06/sounds-incorporated-hastings-pier-6th-june-1964-by-andre-martin/

1916 Parade Extension–with bandstand

The Pier extension with the Band Stand has proved extremely popular and is a great acquisition to the town as a health and pleasure resort and a source of considerable income from " Chair-monev." 

HASTINGS PIER DESTROYED BY FIRE A written memory left by Leonard Scrivens (1911 - 1992)

(from Hurrah for Hastings, p.30 by Cynthia Wright, with her kind permission)

15th July, 1917, was a Sunday and I remember it well. In the afternoon I had gone for a walk with Aunt Nell (E.M. Morris). Probably at my request, we headed for the abandoned quarry/brickyard at the top of Red Lane (now Harrow Lane) - in those days unmade but with one terrace of twelve houses (Red Cottages) on the south side. From the high ground we saw a mass of smoke from the seafront area and hurried Home to find out what was wrong.

We learned that the Pier was ablaze and, with grandfather (H. Morris) and my mother (A. Scrivens), hastened to White Rock where we had a good view from the rising ground at the side of the Hospital. There was a huge crowd (Hastingers always enjoy a free show) and we could easily see Uncle Harry Morris and his fellow-firemen at their work. The fire, however, was gaining, forcing a continual retreat as it crept along the decking under the firemen’s feet, and quite early on grandfather declared that the only way to beat it would be to cut a firebreak. This was eventually done, but not before everything up to the almost new Parade extension had been destroyed.

The Hastings Fire Brigade was then, and until the last War, a voluntary body (really a sort of tradesmen’s club) and the following will emphasise how amateur things were.

Early in the afternoon of the 15th July, all appliances were called out. The Silverhill section fire engine was kept at Battle Road adjacent to Ellis Bros. timber yard, this firm’s heavy draught horses always being used, but it was a Sunday (the day of rest) and the horses were not available. Herbert Till, Foreman-in-Charge, did not hesitate - he, a man of decision, commandeered a passing tramcar, the fire engine with steam getting up was attached, and thus the firemen, in comfort, proceeded to what was certainly the Brigade’s biggest fire.

The devastation was complete and after a week or so the Fire Brigade formed a catwalk to the pier-head and, for a small fee, would escort parties to view, the proceeds being passed to charities. I was taken and, thereafter, had a recurring and very unpleasant dream in which I was caught by the sea on the Pier when making for land - I always woke up before things reached a climax!

Incidentally, the biplane in the photograph was sent by the military at Dover to see what all the smoke was about. Presumably, in 1917 Dover Castle was still without a telephone!

HPC June Newsletter

Newsletter - June 2014 Copyright © 2014 The Hastings Pier Charity, All rights reserved Our archiving team have been handed some very interesting items to be photographed for our digital archive, including this original rivet hammer. This was found inside one of the piles when it was being replaced; obviously it had been broken during the original construction and fallen down the column. Hammers such as this were used to hammer in the rivets used to attach trusses to each other. The noise would have been deafening to anyone walking past the original construction site with people swinging hammers, laying the deck and heating the truss bolts on site. If you have anything of interest for our volunteer archivists, be it a picture, object or story pop in and visit them at The Hub on a Wednesday from 11am – 12.30pm. For more information please visit our website. Volunteer Week 1st - 7th June A big thank you to all our volunteers in their various roles who have worked really hard over the past 6 months! Without the help from our volunteers we would not be able to run The Hub or many of our other events.

Construction Update Our construction team have been given a helping hand on The Pier in case of emergencies in the form of a brand new defibrillator. The defibrillator is a fully automated machine, which means that even untrained people are able to use it if there is a medical emergency. The machine it is attached to will issue instructions to the user with a mixture of a recorded voice and for those who are hard of hearing a written alert. Unlike the defibrillators you see in films and television this one’s shocks are administered by pads which can be stuck to the body in positions shown on the automated display. To avoid an accidental electric shocks the pads measure the heart rate of the victim, and will instruct the users to perform CPR only if necessary "Following a cardiac arrest, the chance of survival decreases very rapidly on a minute-by-minute basis, so immediate medical treatment is vital" said Simon Opie, CEO of Hastings Pier Charity. "These machines allow life-saving action to be taken by members of the public. The longer the brain is starved of oxygen, the more lasting is the damage, so these machines really can save lives." The defibrillator was supplied by The Community Heartbeat Trust, a charity which looks to provide local communities with these 'ease of use' defibrillators. As for current construction, our team are busy replacing the last few trusses on the parade extension and will soon be ready to move on to the middle section of The Pier. Our team’s offices will be moved from the current pavilion to temporary buildings which will arrive in the middle of this month. For more information on our current construction visit our website or pop in to The Hub on alternate Wednesdays for a Tea Time Update from one of our construction team. The Hub It’s been a busy month at The Hub! We've had lot's going on in May and have plenty more to come in June, including an opportunity to learn some jive dancing! Our archive team had lots going on last past month, with their own open day and an outreach session at nearby Waverley Court Our open day on the 11th of May was, despite the bad weather, a success. We had a wonderful troop of dancers come and perform by The Hub with members of the public able to join in or watch. However the main feature of the day was the archiving in which members of the public brought in their items of interest for our digital archive. We are still looking for more things to put in to our digital archive, and if you have anything interesting about the pier and it's history then please come along to one of our archiving mornings on Wednesdays from 11am – 12.30pm or drop into the Hub during normal hours For families and other visitors we've had two interesting (and in one case particularly noisy) events. On the evening of 22nd of May local historian and ex pier DJ Andre Palfery-Martin gave a talk on the musical history of the pier from 1950s to the 1970s. This event proved so popular that we were completely oversubscribed and so we shall be hosting another talk on Thursday 26th June. If you walked past The Hub on Sunday 25th May and heard a loud banging noise coming from inside, then you would have heard our African drumming workshop! Participants were taught about the musical heritage of the pier alongside learning a traditional West African rhythm on the djembe, a traditional  drum Coming up in June we have a family jive dancing workshop session on 22nd, where you can come and learn how to dance like visitors to the pier did in the 1940s! The session is free but we ask you to pre-book as numbers are limited. For more information please visit our website.

We are currently recruiting for: Education and Outreach Volunteer Do you want to have fun and help visitors discover the magic of Hastings Pier? Do you enjoy interacting with and inspiring children and adults? Do you want to gain experience for a career working with children and adults in the heritage sector? Hastings Pier Charity is setting up its education and outreach programme and we are looking for volunteers to support us with it. There will be a programme of fun and inspiring learning activities for schools, families, under 5s as well as talks and tours for people of all ages for you to choose from. Time commitment Varied Deadline ongoing Admin Volunteer Admin volunteers will have a vital role to play in supporting the Education and Volunteer Coordinator in recruiting volunteers for Hastings Pier Charity. Dealing with inquires and supporting marketing and newsletters. Time commitment Tuesday or Thursdays Deadline ongoing To Apply: To apply to become a Volunteer, please download and complete the application form on our website. For more information or further details about the roles please contact: volunteering@hpcharity.co.uk. Freelance Science and Engineering Workshop Leader We would like to recruit a freelance Science and Engineering Workshop Leader to operate a community engineering lab from ‘The Hub’, our visitor centre on the promenade. The lab and engineer will be supported by volunteers and by young people in the local area through a work placement programme. Each lab session will look at a different design challenge and each challenge will follow the engineer’s design process (ask, imagine, plan, create and improve). We will also take the lab out into other areas of Hastings, to do Engineering Busking. The role involves interacting with families and young people, training volunteers and delivering hands on engineering activities. You will be responsible for planning and delivering the activity sessions confidently, with enthusiasm. We are looking for an enthusiastic individual, an interest or knowledge of science and engineering is essential. Deadline: 5pm Friday 6th June 2014 Interviews: Friday 13th June To Apply: Please email a CV and covering letter with a maximum one page statement explaining your experience and why you are interested in this role successfully to Jo McLaughlan, Education Volunteer Coordinator: jo.mclaughlan@hpcharity.co.uk or post to Hastings Pier Charity, 1 – 10 White Rock, Hastings, East Sussex, TN34 1JU. For more information and a copy of the job application please visit our website.

VARIETY AT THE HASTINGS PIER – in 1910!

Variety, popular, interesting;, and entertaining, reigns at the Hastings Pier this
week.

Waiter Lintone is a very clever concertina player, and Dainty Doretta sings and
dances charmingly.

An attractive singing “ turn” is provided by Mabel and Hester Reeve, who are sisters to the celebrated Ada Reeve, and their duets, of an operatic nature, are exceedingly good. Both possess very fine soprano voices.

More singing and dancing, in addition, is provided bv Len Hall, and also the‘Sisters Wayland, while one of the best novelty "turns” seen at the Pier for some time is by Mdlle. Eldee, or the Girl in the Golden Frame,. Mdlle. Eldee stands inside a gigantic frame, upon which limelight views, forming a background to her figure, are thrown with beautiful effects.

Ibbotson. who calls himself America’s Black Dame, carries out a number of .very amusing imitations, including a conceited girl singing to a ’cello accompaniment, the imitation of the ’cello was excellent.

Tamomoto is a very clever wire walker from Japan. He twists himself in all sorts of fantastic shapes on the wire, and, in addition, climbs a rope suspended from the auditorium just as a cat would.

The Pier Bioscope is as amusing and interesting as ever.
    ,
There will be a matinee to-dav (Saturday), besides the usual evening performance.

Progress!