Saturday 20 February 2016

Good afternoon Hastings Speaks from a rainy Saturday afternoon

It's been a busy week for us - first we've had a fantastic launch, really delighted to meet and plan to work with so many great organisations/people and voluntary sector groups. There will be more of our launch later including photo's.

But for now, we just wanted to post a quick update to say links to the Diary Template packs are now on the two fixed pages on this blog - downloadable and printable. 

So excited to hear what Hastings/St Leonards and 1066 people have to say...


Thursday 18 February 2016

Workshop Details out now....contact us to reserve a place. All free...

Hastings Speaks

Events & Free Workshops

·      8 March Workshop 1 – Intro to Project, diaries/making history, 10 – 12 noon
        HVA Training room, Hastings

·      22 March Workshop 2 – Creative Writing & Diaries 1 – 10-12 noon
        Hastings Museum

·      6 April Workshop 1 (evening repeat of Workshop 1.) 7-9 pm
        Observer Building, Hastings

·      14 April Workshop 3 – Creative Writing & Diaries
        Chapel Park Community Centre 1-   3pm, St Leonards’

·      3 May Workshop 4 - Creative Writing & Diaries –
        The Bridge, Priory Road Hastings 10-12 noon.

        Followed by Spoken Word events, workshops and much more through to October 2016


Wednesday 10 February 2016


Chris's diary Feb 9th

Rain and wind, no bananas, had pineapple with muesli, do not recommend. Infact, strongly advise against. Obsessed with playing Bowie’s Black Star – M suggested, brilliant as it was, it may not be the most uplifting way to start the day. 

Trying to jointly work on documents for the diary pack with B today without any internet – it has been down since Friday. Had to go to Nero’s in the end. A woman sat next to me (with brown hair sweeping her backside and the complexion of polished china)  was having an argument with her boyfriend on her mobile, (‘that’s not what I said, you’re making me say things I don’t mean...’) 

Got home,  phone line working again, but still no internet. M was supposed to take Mabel to puppy classes tonight, but ducked out of it. I think he was put off last week when we had to stand in the middle of the room and call our dogs to us. All the dogs went straight to their owners apart from Mabel who skirted round the room, making us look like dog-beaters.  8pm – M discovered internet not working now because I hadn’t plugged router into the socket! 

Thursday 4 February 2016

Bev’s Day Diary Tuesday January 26th 2016



It started early this morning, with listening to my eldest scrabbling around for his swimming kit, yes, the very same kit I’d ask him to pack in his school bag last night. I was vaguely worried he’d be late for school, but decided he needs to take responsibility for his time keeping now he’s a bit older so had a shower and ignored the situation.

My hair has gone particularly haphazard lately - it is much wirier now it is going grey, the sea wind seems to puff it up too so it looks like a frizzy helmet. Not my favourite look. I’ve been trialling using SLS free shampoo. I read some American research that says SLS (sodium lauren something chemicals) make curly hair frizzy. Current shampoo/conditioner combination doesn’t seem to be proving this to be correct.

A local friend then texted to see if I fancied popping in for a coffee, but that she’d run out of milk. I nipped over via the local shop with some milk and we had a quick catch up about our families, her work and then when her husband got home a viewing of their newly decorated bathroom. They’ve painted it quite a dark blue, which makes it look really luxurious, quite the boutique hotel bathroom.  After I coughed, choked on my coffee and spat it out by accident all down myself I thought it might be time to go home. I was a bit jealous of their ability to get on with DIY projects as I left.

An Aldi supermarket has opened just up the road from me, it is particularly useful for the kind of quick shop we needed today. An addition to the usual list was some mackerel as I have decided I need to fill up more on protein.

Back home to do more work, dog was attention seeking, so I found a ball to keep her busy. It worked OK except every ten minutes she managed to get the ball stuck under the sofa and needed my help to rescue it. She is truly obsessed with balls. On a more unusual note she also loves a dummy and often finds one on the ground whilst walking which she actively chews. Fortunately though naughty she has never stolen one from an actual baby.


Made a sauce for pasta with low fat cream cheese, chilli, garlic, broccoli and leeks. Children are likely to moan about the broccoli as it featured in last nights dinner too. That’s part of the lot of parental responsibility that I could do without - producing healthy (ish) dinners night after night sometimes with moaning. 


Sat down later writing this and reflected on the pressure of writing when you know it is going to be read. Much easier to keep a private ranting diary. Reminded self to do some look up the research that says diary writing is therapeutic, which it is. Definitely kept me sane throughout my teenage years.

n.b. as posting this, I realise this is the second picture of a dog Chris and I have added to the blog. Just to say we're not totally dog mad - I just suspect both our animals are just big players in our lives at the moment....

Wednesday 3 February 2016

Tuesday February 2nd...I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts....


 Medium migraine  - e.g, not bad enough to give up and lie in bed – so at my desk. I don’t think working on a laptop is the best remedy, but trying to get things sorted for the launch next week. When we were looking through the Mass Obs Archives diaries a few weeks ago, I came across a woman who started her diary with: ‘woke up and checked my head...anyone who suffers with migraines will understand...’

Oddly, when I woke this morning I remembered today is Lorraine Wicks birthday. I went to junior school with Lorraine Wicks and have not seen her for over 35 years, so I don’t know why her birthday is so firmly lodged in my memory. We used to play with our Sindy dolls together. She lived in a crumbling Victorian house with high ceilings and drafty rooms which smelt of dogs. I can never remember her parents being there, only her brother who kept grass snakes in an aquarium.
Another odd thing this morning - I took Mabel down to the beach for a walk, and found a coconut washed up on the beach (the real unshaved sort), so brought it home.