And so to bed : 21st May 2016

This blog is being put to bed.  It was started because some people, when directed to Facebook and/or Twitter, said they didn't use them.  Asked about blogs, they said "oh yes".  And so the germ of the Peerless Pier Blog was born.

It's main purpose was to chart the reconstruction, sometimes in a somewhat quirky fashion, and to throw in a few facts, nuggets of history, and news of the varying occurrences iin the Hub, the centre for information while the Pier was  not accessible to the public, and the home of many fascinating activities.  I owe a great deal of thanks to the Great Panjandrum himself (seeing as he likes puzzles, what connection does this have with Hastings?) who was generous with both photos and facts.

Two books, one, a personal account  by David Spooner, our retired Project Manager, Saving the People’s Pier: the restoration of Hastings Pier, my story, copiously illustrated with superb photos, is available for £10 from davidspooner48 ”at” btinternet.com and the other, by Steve Peak, is due out in September and is a new and updated edition of his invaluable “Peerless Piers”.  In due course you should find details at http://hastingschronicle.net/books/

The blog will remain as a 'historical' document, for those who like to explore, and the webcam will still show the weather in Hastings whenever it is viewed.

• It was announced today that there will be a new share offer coming very soon, probably next week.

Thank you to all those who have viewed, maybe see you on The Pier.

History Repeats Itself : 21st May 2016

The Opening of the Pier
The Southeastern Advertiser, Saturday August 10, 1872
……….. This is not the place in which to attempt to cast the horoscope of the new Pier, and indeed, if it were, one would scarcely be disposed to take the position of the stars, or, in other words, the unfavourable character of the elements, at the time of what we may call its birth on Monday last, as an omen of the future…………If we had been but fortunate in getting a fine day, Monday would stand out as the brightest red-letter day in our annals………..

Dancing on The Pier : 21st May 2016

Unsung Heroes of the Pier–21st May 2016

Thank You Hastings and . . . . .

You too can enter a world of imagination………..

    

Slight slip up – corrected

Memories Room opens 10 AM, Wednesday 18th May……….

As promised–new things keep appearing

The Guardian’s Sea Change

The greatest symbol of the British seaside’s rise from the ashes is the new pier at Hastings, rebuilt after a long period of disuse and a terrible fire. Its gala reopening ceremony takes place on 21 May. Walking to the far end, drawn by the blue haze of the English channel, one is tempted to peer over the edge and down at the girders, looking for the phoenix that surely roosts there.

In the first fortnight of being open to the public, the pier has already been visited by an estimated 75,000 people.
http://www.theguardian.com/travel/2016/may/14/once-more-on-to-the-beach-how-britains-seaside-towns-bounced-back

Re: A Pier – on the Pier (as forecast by dRMM)

 

Connected World

The Pier has high speed fibre optic broadband and WiFi spots are in The Pavilion Restaurant & Bar and The Deck.

The Public WiFi code is 'sunshine'.

Well, we like it!

An attraction to be proud of
Hastings and St. Leonards Observer
Having visited the newly re-opened Hastings Pier I believe that far from being disappointed, as SA Young wrote (letters April 29), visitors will be ...

Pier was a huge achievement
Hastings and St. Leonards Observer
... that you read here. And do share with your family and friends - so they don't miss out! The HastingsObserver - always the first with your local news.

Huge 'well done' to all involved
Hastings and St. Leonards Observer
Today, I have just returned from my first visit on to the renovated pier and it looked absolutely amazing. The views of Hastings from the end of the pier ...

Our gratitude to pier charity
Hastings and St. Leonards Observer-6 May 2016
Having just returned from a visit to the refurbished pier, we were very impressed by the standard of the work and we feel that the town should ...

Hastings Pier
webgram.co
Lawrie Mullins 2 hour ago. Hastings Pier After the Storm ... Sandy Harmer 2016-05-06. All that space somehow makes you appreciate the pier more.

“I know people say it’s not what they expected,” she said as seagulls wheeled in the blue sky above her. “It’s modern. But I really like it. I love the idea of open space. I love to sit on a bench and look at the sea.” (A local resident, talking to a reporter)

What plonker called Our Pier "The Plank"?

How many planks make up the Pier, Mr. Walker?
Oh, that's right, 80,000 metres of deck wood,  some plank!

Not to mention half a million galvanised nuts bolts and washers, half a million stainless steel deck screws, 3 gold deck screws, 3,000 tonnes new steel.........

And "the road to the sea is a pure delight".

Pictures paint a thousand words……

https://sixpixx.wordpress.com/2016/05/01/hastings-pier-is-all-about-space/

Let it rain…..

Who cares?

We’ve a pier, with stairs

And things

And bunting on strings.

And lots of people there

Taking the air,

And things……

(With apologies to A A Milne, who started the train (pun intended) of thought

The Carousel prediction materialises–Serendipity

The above is an early illustration from the Architects’, dRMM, proposals for the Pier.
Some time later, HPC receives a phone call – you know that Carousel on your plans?

Yes?

Wel, it belongs to us….. (uneasy moment in the HPC office) Would you like it on your pier?

And so it came to be

Heritage Weekend - May 28th & 2016 from 11:00 am

Heritage interpretation volunteers and members of the Pier’s volunteer archive group will be on hand in The Deck’s new heritage space – the Memories Room - to assist visitors with the new exhibits and to share their knowledge of the history of Hastings Pier.

Come along and try out the new multi touch tables.  Explore the Pier’s Digital Memory – an online archive with free use computers.

Bring along your own photos to be added to the Pier’s online archive, the Digital Memory.

Learn about the history of the pier through the new Conversation Cabinets display.

Hastings Pier’s Digital Memory has been created thanks to over 2 years of work by a dedicated team of archive volunteers.

Taking place from 11am until 3pm on each day

Adopt A Plank Plaques Appearing on The Pier

Not all the plaques are yet in place, but the ones that are can be found on the Eastern side of the Pier beneath the “old” balustrade

Cold fingers worked busily a day–and the buntings up!

In January 2016 schools and youth groups from Hastings, St Leonards and the local area were invited to take part in the creation of celebration bunting inspired by the history of The Pier.  Over 6,000 children took part, each creating their own piece of bunting.

The Opening of the Pier

The Southeastern Advertiser, Saturday August 10, 1872
By this time the fact that Hastings has a Pier, and that the magnificent structure was formally opened by Lord Granville on Monday last, has been read by hundreds of thousand of people throughout the United Kingdom.  The daily press has been good enough to proclacim the important fact for us from one end of the kingdomt to the other, and by and bye [sic] the mails will carry to all parts - even to the bright and sunny land from which came the copper-coloured princes who graced the proceedings on Monday - the news, to make the pun which seems to be running riot from the mouths of us all, Lord Granville to the smallest urchin in our streets, that Hastings is no longer a pierless watering place.  This is not the place in which to attempt to cast the horoscope of the new Pier, and indeed, if it were, one would scarcely be disposed to take the position of the stars, or, in other words, the unfavourable character of the elements, at the time of what we may call its birth on Monday last, as an omen of the future…………If we had been but fortunate in getting a fine day, Monday would stand out as the brightest red-letter day in our annal -  a day which could fairly rank in importance with that on which the fact that we were one of the best drained towns in the kingdom trumpeted forth to the world.  ………………………….The weather-wise proved, unfortunately, to be anything but false prophets.  ……..  We could scarcely credit that all those elaborate preparations for rejoicing would be lost, that the bunting which floated so gaily from windows and from line across th thoroughfares, that the two hundred flagts which were so tasetefully arranged around the structure which was to be the great scene of action to-dfay, that the decorations which met one's eye here, there and everywhere, that all would positively only add to the general depression instead of lending an inspiring air to the scene……….  But at about ten o'clock the threatening rain came at last.  The sullen, wretched clouds, that had been lowering gloomily over us all the morning opened upon us, and down came the rain like a miniature deluge.

At ten o’clock we had lovely weather, but in the afternooon……..

A fine morning for the soft opening………

 

The Pier is open!

First person to ride the Carousel after the gates opened at 10 AM.  (Suspect the boy in the tartan trousers may have been on it beforehand!)

Opening Wednesday 27th April 2016. Hastings Pier Charity is proud to present a new, unique pier for the 21st Century.

VINTAGE FUNFAIR

Presented by: Funtime Rides

Wednesday April 27th - Thursday July 28th

from 10:00am

Come and experience all the fun of the fair on Hastings Pier! Funtime Rides' Vintage Funfair will offer lots of fun and games for adults and children alike. The centrepiece to this event is the beautiful Traditional Carousel.

Meet the boy in tartan trousers who came back from Iraq to help to save Hastings Pier.

http://digital-memory.hpcharity.co.uk/content/catalogue_item/boy-tartan-trousers

He’s the one in the pushchair!

New website for Hastings Pier– check out the digital memories

http://hastingspier.org.uk/ 

(old url will find it)

Whirligigs galore!

 

Acheter des billets pour Levellers

http://m.seetickets.com/event/levellers-levelling-the-land-25th-anniversary/hastings-pier/977661/?src=977661&lang=fr-FR
Levellers - Levelling The Land
See Tickets
- Levelling The Land - 25th Anniversary à Hastings Pier auprès du revendeur officiel, See Tickets.Tarifs à partir de ...

Road to the Sea

HAPPY MONDAYS and LEVELLERS are to perform on Hastings Pier this September!

Tickets will go on general sale on Friday

LINE UP:
SATURDAY 17TH SEPTEMBER 2016
HAPPY MONDAYS – perform ‘Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches’ in full (25th anniversary) + greatest hits
THE ORB – perform ‘Adventures Beyond the Ultraworld’ in full (25th anniversary)
FORMATION
+ MORE

SUNDAY 18TH SEPTEMBER 2016
LEVELLERS – perform ‘Levelling the Land’ in full (25th anniversary) + greatest hits
TURIN BRAKES
FEROCIOUS DOG
+ MORE

Electric Palace - See rare footage of Joe Strummer on Hastings Pier, as part of Strummerville-on-Sea event

 

The Electric Palace will host a special screeningof Joe Strummer’s own film ‘Hell W10’ on Saturday 23 April, 3pm, as part of a special fundraising Hastings event run by the Joe Strummer Foundation.

Footage of one of Strummer's final live performances, on Hastings Pier, will also be on show.

Proceeds from the event will go to local project Make Waves, which has supported thousands of young local people to become musicians.

http://www.electricpalacecinema.com/strummerville.html

JIG - Dancing on Hastings Pier, 12.30pm Sunday, 1st May

Dancing on the newly opened Pier - join Hastings' Morris dancers and visiting sides between 12.30pm and 2pm

View from the Pier

Fun on the Pier

dRMM–The Architects –

Our approach was simple: to develop the project with the people of Hastings through a series of participation events and workshops.

We discovered a community that was individualistic and eclectic but with a proud shared identity embodied in the pier. 
Following the consultation period, we created a stable platform structure which is sustainable and flexible and serves to accommodate a broad range of future uses.

In all our cultural projects we look to involve the public as much as possible, and from its inception we have tried to give the people of Hastings the lead in the redevelopment of their much-loved Pier.

The new structure is one that we trust the Victorian forefathers would embrace: Pier as engineering spectacle in close connection with the sea, but also as an on-going project, reinventing itself for each successive generation.

St Lubbock’s Day, Monday 5 August 1872

The brand new Hastings Pier was formally opened by the Earl of Granville, Lord Warden of the Cinque Ports, on a very wet and windy Monday 5 August 1872.

There was heavy rain and strong winds for much of the day.  Gun salutes were fired from the pier-head and by Thomas Brassey MP’s yacht Eothen, lying close by.

The company and supporters then sat down to a celebration déjeuner in the pier’s pavilion.  The 630 partakers were all that was wealthy, elegant and important in the town, paying four shillings for a splendid feast that included such delights as quarters of lamb, roast fowl, lobster, Leeds Pudding and blancmange.

LEED'S PUDDING.
Beat 9 eggs, adding 1 pt cream and a pinch of salt;
steam in a prepared mould for about 20 minutes; serve
with a cherry sauce, round the base, and hot sherry in a
boat.

RED CHERRY ARROWROOT SAUCE.
Stone and pass 1 lb red cherries through a sieve; boil
a little syrup down strong; add the cherries, a few drops
of cochineal and some lemon juice: thicken slightly with
arrowroot, and serve.

RED CHERRY SAUCE (1).
Use a compote of red cherries with sufficient arrow-
root.

RED CHERRY SAUCE (2).
Stew 1lb stoned red cherries in a little syrup; pass
them through a sieve, and add one glass of port wine,
and some royal white sweet garnish pudding; cut into
rather small dice and throw in at the last.

The complete practical pastry cook: J. Thompson Gil
https://archive.org/stream/completepractica00gill/completepractica00gill_djvu.txt

Overview from Sussex Air Imaging

Hastings Pier Re-development - Final Stages, April 2016 from Sussex Air Imaging on Vimeo.

Construction update – April 2016

Construction is preparing to hand over to Operations and Maintenance.

The Pier Head balustrade and front lighting are still to be finished as well the fitting out of the displays inside The Pavilion restaurant and The Deck.

The electrics, water, heating and ventilation systems and lift have been tested as the retail kiosks are being fitted out.

Maintenance of the structure starts now, so the older trusses and bracings go into an inspection process with planned replacement into the future. It is this work which has to be funded by successful Operations and activities on the Pier to prevent the Pier falling into decline and is key to preserving its heritage. 

Hastings Pier has entered the next stage in its evolution and this is an exciting prospect for the all piers in general and for this town in particular.

Eating on the Pier

“As well as providing the retail catering for all our visitors and scheduled events such as outdoor cinema screenings and live music concerts, Centerplate will also help us develop our conference and events business using the function rooms in The Deck at Hastings Pier,” said HPC CEO Simon Opie.

Dining facilities at Hastings Pier will include a full service restaurant in the last remaining, original building on the pier, The Pavilion and The Deck at Hastings Pier, a new visitor centre that includes a café plus roof terrace. 

Adopt a Plank update

There have been a lot of enquiries about the Adopt a Plank scheme which closed in 2013.  In response  all the information which was received from HPWRT (who originally ran the scheme) has been put together and  a register of adopters compiled.  These have now been send to the engraver and it is hoped to have the plaques installed on the Pier before opening.

The White Rock Trust recently also sent a list of additional names of people who adopted planks.  We have contacted everyone whose email address we already had but do not have contact details for the names in the list below.  If your name is below we would like to hear from you, so that we can organise a message to put on your plaque.

Please contact HPC by emailing: info@hpcharity.co.uk

Tracy Reid Kim Price John Garside Jan von der Werth Linnett Martin Sarah Hogarth Gareth Hardbord Carol Harte

Debra Eldridge Emma Stace Charlotte Ramage Lesley Adams Lesley Jones Joel Hopkins

Richard Curtis Jacqueline Rabenstein John Garside Ken Shaw Kieran Mac Feely Gary Gurr Nicola Barbary

John Povey Melanie Foster Jean Winder David Johnson

The Restaurant

With a focus on championing fresh seasonal ingredients from local Sussex producers and an eclectic collection of homemade traditional and contemporary dishes, Centerplate - our newly-appointed, award-winning catering and hospitality partner - aims to make food and drink a major attraction on the new Hastings Pier.

Local suppliers include Sussex Ice Cream, Harveys Brewery (a new beer is to be available exclusively at Hastings Pier) and Nyetimber Vineyard as well as locally-sourced seafood.

Centerplate is also forging strong links with the local community and local college and training establishments, including Sussex Coast College at Hastings.  A dedicated apprenticeship scheme will offer young people the opportunity to develop a career in the catering industry and Centerplate will also provide training and work experience opportunities under the tutelage of its operations team at Hastings Pier.

Book your tickets for Cinema On The Pier!

Cinema On The Pier, presented by Kino Digital & The Luna Cinema / DoubleTree By Hilton, will turn Hastings Pier into a unique setting for five nights of classic films under the stars next month.
Thursday 12th May
Re: A Pier: The story of the renovation of Hastings Pier told by local film-maker, Archie Lauchlan
Friday 13th May
Jaws (1975): Man takes on nature in Steven Spielberg's iconic seaside thriller
Saturday 14th May
Star Wars – The Force Awakens (2015): A battle of good vs evil ensues in the seventh installment of the epic series
Friday 27th May
Pride (2014): A London-based LGBT community lend their support to the striking Welsh coal miners in this uplifting British comedy
Saturday 28th May
Dirty Dancing (1987): Watch as the best-moving couple, Baby and Johnny, have the time of their lives
Food and licensed bar will be available. Capacities are strictly limited and all tickets must be booked in advance.
Book your tickets via The Luna Cinema website

“Our Pier . . . . in the middle of the sea . . . .”

Pier Update

As was announced some while ago, it is still very much the intention to open the Pier to the public in April and a date wiill be announced just as soon as feasible.

It is dependent on the completion the fit out of the restaurant spaces and the final installation of ther amazing heritage interpretation overlay that will bring the story of the Pier to life for all  visitors.

HPC will also be launching their open-air cinema season. Kino Digital and Luna Cinema will present "Cinema on the Pier" on May 12th, 13th & 14th.

Tickets for these nights will be going on sale shortly.

The opening of the seasonwill be with a very local feature on the 12th, so please stay tuned for more news on that.

Join us on Saturday 21st May

Tickets go on sale to the public on Thursday 24th March at 9am.
Come and have fun in celebration of the Pier’s reopening with a glittering day and evening filled with music, activities and entertainment – culminating in a very special finale headlined by Madness!
Tickets are limited (owing to our restricted capacity of 2,500 people on the Pier), and will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. We expect these events to be very popular, so recommend that you book as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.

Opening Ceremony: Invitation only
10am – 2pm
The formal Opening Ceremony of Hastings Pier will only be open to shareholders and a small number of invited people who have been involved with the project.
We are unable to open the Opening Ceremony to the public. Thank you for your understanding.

Gala Entertainment: Pay What You Want
3pm – 6pm
The Gala Entertainment session will feature lots of entertainment, food stalls and music celebrating the Pier's musical heritage from the 60s and 70s.
Tickets are available for a 'Pay What You Want' donation to Hastings Pier Charity, and are limited to two tickets per booking.
Book tickets here from Thursday 24th March at 9am.

Finale Concert by Madness: £25 per ticket
7pm – 10.30pm
Madness will take to the stage on Hastings Pier to headline our Opening Gala celebrations on the evening of Saturday 21st May.
Tickets for our Finale Concert are priced at £25 each (inc VAT), and are limited to two tickets per booking.
Book tickets here from Thursday 24th March at 9am.
There will be a high volume of traffic to the ticketing website on Thursday morning, and as such we expect there to be waiting times. We appreciate your patience.

 

Madness’ Suggs drills in final plank at Hastings Pier

Read more: http://www.hastingsobserver.co.uk/news/local/madness-suggs-drills-in-final-plank-at-hastings-pier-1-7290225#ixzz43e1weOQz

Madness lead singer Suggs drilled the last plank into the Hastings Pier decking today (Tuesday, March 22), before its anticipated opening next month.

The Hastings-born pop star completed the redecking of the pier after a £15m renovation over the past two years.

In the News again!

The Argus
Madness lead singer Suggs to finish off re-build of Hastings Pier
FINISHING touches are being made to a pier so it can finally reopen a decade after it closed and six years since it was destroyed by fire. The Grade II ...

Hastings Pier Set To Re Open
Dreamstime Blogs
Hastings Pier Set To Re Open- Dreamstime: Blogs about stock photography; tips about stock images and how to generate revenue from your photos.

Fire-ravaged Hastings Pier set to re-open after multi-million pound restoration
Abomus
A seaside pier devastated by a fire six years ago is set to reopen after a multi-million pound renovation project.

Hastings Pier Fire - Sad and will now start supporting HPWRT
Dailymotion
Hastings Pier Fire - Sad and will now start supporting HPWRTNeed new shirts ? http://ahshirts.comNeednew shirts, get it at http://ahshirts.com.

 

TQ8109 : Hastings Pier
Geograph
Opened 1872 - Closed 2007 - Length 910ft. The pier was closed in 2006 and 2007 due to structural decay, and was due to be restored after the ...

Scoopnest.com
Fire-ravaged Hastings Pier set to re-open after multi-million pound restoration ... Legendary music venueHastings Pier set for new lease of life after ...

Fire-ravaged Hastings Pier set to re-open after multi-million pound restoration
titles.ws
Fire-ravaged Hastings Pier set to re-open after multi-million pound restoration. A seaside pier devastated by a fire six years ago is set to reopen after a ...

 

madness on the Pier tomorrow!

Hastings-born musician Suggs, from Madness, will fix the last plank to complete the 50 miles of new decking on the Victorian structure on Tuesday.

A music-themed ceremony is set for May 21, heralding the re-opening of the pier, which was first opened in 1872.

The pier was never restored by its then registered owner and Hastings Borough Council sought a compulsory purchase order to allow control of the pier to be handed to a special trust.

Most of the money for the renovation has come from the Heritage Lottery Fund, and thousands of people have bought community shares.

The pier's reopening comes in a special year for the seaside resort as 2016 also marks the 950th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings.

The End in sight

In December 2013 the Hastings Pier Charity Learning and Education team commissioned independent external evaluators to assess the impact of the team’s work and to evaluate how successfully they were fulfilling the aims and objectives of the Heritage Lottery Funded Activity Plan:
Through the work of the Learning, Education and Volunteering departments we will provide high quality opportunities for people to:

1. Learn about Hastings Pier’s past through interpretation and activities.
2. Engage with Hastings Pier through volunteering and events.
3. Use Hastings Pier as a gateway to employability.
4. Enjoy their interactions with Hastings Pier.

And through this work the ultimate goal is that people will feel a sense of ownership and involvement, an increased sense of pride in the area and as a result they will care for and about the future of Hastings Pier.

Please click below to download the Interim Evaluation Report with the evaluators findings.

Download the Report (PDF 2.4mb)

March Construction Update

The Pier is in the final weeks of construction, the cranes have gone and the last piece of the 3,000 tonnes of new steel has been fitted.

The final lengths of the 50 miles of Ekki deck boarding are being laid and the last box of the 510,000 screws has been opened.

Having at last got the electric power on, the Visitor Centre is being completed, testing the heating and the other systems, so that the equipment, exhibits etc. can be installed ready for the opening next month.

Fitting out of the Pavilion building for the new restaurant is nearing completion, ready for the kitchen equipment and the final fittings are to go in.

The railings at the front of the Pier have been repaired and painted in Fir Green colour and the wave breaks are being installed.

The site huts are being removed progressively as the workforce reduces.

After two and a quarter years the end of what has been a very challenging and thoroughly rewarding project for everyone involved is evident..

Rats! Cats! And now spiders?

For rats & cats see 

Nearly there . . . ! RATs and CATs at Pier Head

RATS (Rope Access Technicians) at work on the Rat Run

http://ninebattles.com/tag/history-of-music-on-hastings-pier/