Bohemia Village Voice 79 (Jun 2011) by Alan Jeffries

BOHEMIA Village Voice For Bohemians in Bohemia and beyond June/July 2011

Hastings Pier by Allena Tyrell

Issue 79

Free

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In short n CRAFTY BIRDS – in May, a flock of crafty birds landed in London Road, Bohemia. These talented oiseaux can make cushions, cards, rugs, toys, paintings, and knitted jumpers. Lisa Edwards is in charge of the aviary: 07910 175893. www.aflockofcraftybirds.co.uk n TAKE ME TO THE MOON – local taxi driver Paul Elmes (right) reckons he’s been to the moon and back – in nearly 20 years with Crown Taxis he says he’s clocked up over half a million miles. n CHRISTMAS – organisers of busy local charity Surviving Christmas report they were able to help a truly impressive number of people (five thousand) in the Hastings and Bexhill area last Christmas. Work has already started planning and collecting for this year’s Christmas. Surving Christmas, PO Box 290, Hastings, TN34 9DT. 01424 424550. www.survivingchristmas.co.uk n FOSSIL – a 70-million year old fossil (picture) was found in May by three-year-old Indie. She picked up the flint pebble on St Leonards beach and told her mum ‘look what I’ve found’. The Natural History Museum in London confirmed that it is indeed a thick fossilised sea urchin spine. “My daughter’s always been interested in geology - especially the

Cretaceous period”, claimed proud mum Sarah. n SUSSEX FLAG – in May, the Sussex Association registered the Flag of Sussex (picture). Our county, approximately 80 by 20 miles, renowned for its High Weald ancient forest, green chalk hills of ‘blunt, bowheaded, whale-backed downs’ and its nature reserves at Chichester and Rye now boasts its very own flag. www.sussexassociation.webs.com n BOHEMIA BOOK FAYRE – held in March this year at St Peter’s Church Hall raised over £620. This, (says organiser Paul Rummery), will be shared by Pulse Dance Studios (£170) and the Bohemia Walled Garden Assn (£450). n GOOD GRIEF – local historian Heather Grief is working on no less than four new books: 1. The Making of the Bayeux Tapestry - a logical analysis, 2. The Bayeux Tapestry: Every Picture tells a Story, 3. The Life and Death of Harold, c. 1024 to 14th Oct 1066, 4. The Deveolopement of Bohemia, a Working Class Suburb. Further info: 444277. heather@grief64.fsnet.co.uk

Memories of a Victorian Water-colourist Sussex Scenes by Albert Goodwin 9 April – 3 July 2011

Albert Goodwin, Winchelsea. hilst known as a ‘Man of Kent’ this exhibition focuses on Albert Goodwin’s love of Sussex. Born and educated in Maidstone he became an enormously prolific and innovative landscape painter with a strong sense of local patronage. An inveterate traveller, he visited Holland, Italy, Switzerland, the West Indies and New Zealand and also spent a great deal of time depicting the Sussex and Kent areas he came to know so well. This exhibition provides the rare chance to see parts of Sussex as captured by this technically innovative landscape artist who was fascinated with transient states of light and atmosphere. The show features works from the Museum’s Goodwin collection together with a selection of watercolours, kindly on loan from the Maidstone Museum & Bentlif Art Gallery. Hastings Museum & Art Gallery will be closed on Mondays, except Bank holidays. Sunday opening at both Museums will be from 12.00pm. For further information contact: Bohemia Road, Hastings, TN34 1ET. 01424 451052 www.hmag.org.uk museum@hastings.gov.uk

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Mathematics Tuition Retired mathematics lecturer (Masters degree and CRB clearance) offers Mathematics tuition at all levels: International Baccalaureate, Further Mathematics FM 1-3, A level Core 1-4, Mechanics 1-3, Statistics 1-3, GCSE and Common Entrance in Mathematics , Science and English

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Karina’s Wool Shop Stockist of Sirdar & Stylecraft wools. Also cottons, needles and knitted baby clothes. Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri: 9am to 5pm, Wed, Sat: 9am to 1pm.

Tel: 712226 131 Bohemia Road

RE-DEC Decorating Richard Morris, painter & decorator 47 Cornfield Terrace, Bohemia Tel: 01424 425725 Mob: 07748 373 061 richardmorris@redecoratingservices.co.uk www.re-decoratingservices.co.uk

COVER PICTURE ‘Hastings Pier’ by local Bohemian artist Allena Tyrell (right). The original is currently being exhibited in the Bohemia Village Voice office window.

BOHEMIA VILLAGE VOICE 79, Bohemia Road, Bohemia, St Leonards, Sussex, TN37 6RJ +44(0)1424 430 460 www.bohemiavillage.com Publisher John Humphries (john@bohemiavillage.com). Editor Sarah Janes (editor@bohemiavillage.com). Website Alan Jeffries (mail@alanjeffries.co.uk). Advertising sales Sarah Janes (sales@bohemiavillage.com). Accounts Pam Brown (accounts@bohemiavillage.com). First published 2006. © John Humphries. Subscriptions by post for 6 issues: £6 (UK). How to pay n Card all major cards accepted, including Mastercard, Maestro, Solo, Visa, Visa Electron, V Pay and American Express. Either call in at our office or telephone 01424 430460. n Cheque please make cheques payable to ‘Bohemia Village Voice’. n Cash please call at our office to make cash payments. n BACS our bank details are: a/c name ‘Bohemia Village Voice’. A/c no: 71359843. Bank: HSBC. Sort code: 40-40-09.

Hastings and Rother Gay Helpline is supported by: Safer Hastings Partnership, NHS small grants (through Rother Voluntary Action) and Sussex Police

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In short n BEWARE OF THE CAT - helpful ground-floor window sign spotted in a Tower Road window in May. n BOHEMIA WALLED GARDEN - “Volunteers have been steadily working throughout the winter months, preparing the ground by digging and weeding and creating paths”, says Sue Thomson. “Fortunately, we now have a beautiful new Skinner’s shed (thanks to a Primary Care Trust grant) to retreat to in bad weather.” Classes of schoolchildren from two local schools (St Pauls and St Mary’s Star of the Sea) now regularly use the garden and have their own plots for vegetable growing. n TWITTENS NAMED the memories of George Monger of Tower Road, (awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery in the First World War), Derek Norcross (head of St Paul’s School) and Robert Tressell are being kept alive by the naming of three of Bohemia’s alleyways. The Bohemia Area Association arranged the signings. Audrey Norcross and family attended the official opening ceremony in May. George Monger Passageway runs from Newgate Rd to Upper South Rd, Norcross Passage runs between North Rd and Lower South Rd and Tressell Path from Salisbury Mews to St Paul’s Rd. Well done, the BAA. n LOCAL HISTORY Edward Preston’s series of talks continues this year in June, July, October and November. All will take place at the Hastings Museum in Bohemia Road at 10.30 on Fridays. Admission is free. June 24: A Good Schooling. July 1: St Helen’s. July 8: Our Non-Conformist Churches. July 15: Along the Ridge. Jul 22: Keep Taking the Tablets. Info: 435849. n LIVE MUSIC DAY - proceeds to “Tree Of Hope Charity”. Free entry. Sunday 31st July. Beer tent & BBQ. Horntye Park Sports Complex. Tel: 716666 n PROMS CONCERT Hastings Philharmonic Choir is again presenting a 'proms' style summer concert at the White Rock Theatre (Sat June 18). An EnglishRussian programme includes exciting opera choruses and Tchaikovsky's 1812 overture, Parry's uplifting Blest Pair of Sirens, Greensleeves and Dambusters March are other featured pieces – something for everyone! www.hastingsphilchoir.org.uk Tel: 431442. n IT’S A KNOCKOUT - Wednesday 6th July Arranged with South Coast College / Hastings. All are welcome. Free entry. Horntye Park Sports. 716666.

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£1,000 drastic cut Sue Norton, of the Café 67 in Bohemia raised over £1,000 with a sponsored haircut. “ I’d been thinking about it for a long while and needed a reason to do it. I’ve lost family and dear friends to cancer and this was the motivation I needed. I know that St Michael’s offers a lot of support”. The ceremony of the snip took place at Sue’s home, with professional hairdresser Liz Billings wielding the scissors. “I’d like to thank all my wonderful family, friends, local businesses and café customers for all their great support.”

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Diane Haberstroh writes from Bohemia, New York

Spring in Bohemia I can tell when spring has arrived to Bohemia, New York, by certain sounds. It is the sound of my garbage pails getting banged around and the chatter of raccoons. I don’t have a problem with them during the very cold months. But every spring they resume their visitations to my backyard bins—making a racket and a mess. It is a challenge keeping them out of the garbage. Over the years, I have tried out several different types of garbage pails that claim to be raccoon-proof. Most of the raccoon-proof pails have handles that clamp over the lids. However, if a raccoon knocks a pail to the ground, he can sometimes open it. They are very clever creatures. A friend of mine, who thinks they are cute, puts out peanuts and a plate of water for them. The water is not for drinking, but for washing. If there is water, raccoons will wash their food before eating it. Why?. My friend admits that her neighbors wouldn’t like the idea of her feeding the raccoons, if they knew about it. Most people don’t want to attract raccoons to their neighborhood because they can carry diseases such as rabies and distemper, which can infect household pets. But raccoons are not the only pests who visit my yard. One morning my dog wouldn’t stop growling and barking at one of the garbage cans. I knew something was in there. When I looked into the pail, I saw something I dislike even more than raccoons – an opossum. What did I do? I ran towards my house door. Fortunately, he scurried away in the other direction. Yes, spring has sprung here. I hear the rattle of the garbage pails and the chatter of critters in the evening. And I sigh, because in the morning my spring cleaning will include picking-up the banana peels, coffee grinds, and egg shells that the raccoons scatter across my backyard. DH

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Pubs of Bohemia The Tower, London Road by David Russell his pub is named after a former toll gate and ing My Daddy's a Gentleman, Look at me looking at you tower on London Road. A painting from 1865 ("convulsed the audience"), Alice where art thou? shows a very different tower from that on the ("encore of the evening") and My sweetheart when a boy pub sign. It opened in 1866 with twelve rooms, two ("thunderous applause") all accompanied by banjo, violin or mandolin. Other parlours and a bar. In the acts included The Local final years of the 19th centuComedian, Merlin the ry there were reports of cusMagician and Mr C. Harris tomers drinking 'pots of gin who gave imitations of the hot and eating Welsh Skylark and Nightingale ("by rarebit'. The custom of throat only ... truly wonder'Hustling the Hat', a means ful"). In 1943 the pub was of deciding who paid for the bombed by the Luftwaffe and drinks, was practised here. a thousand pound bomb Each participant put a landed in the cellar, but (marked) coin into a hat miraculously failed to which was shaken and tipped out. All coins showing heads The Tower Pub in 1975 (photo courtesy J Letchworth). explode. It was defused and lifted out through the cellar were withdrawn. The tails were put back into the hat and the process repeated. flaps. In 1991 the pub was threatened again. This time The final or 'true tail' had to pay for 'pots all round'. with demolition to make way for the proposed This was a custom that sometimes led to trouble and Hastings bypass. An interesting wooden sign in the was frowned upon by the police. A hundred years ago bar states that: 'Members of the Hastings Temperance concerts were held in the parlour. Customers wearing Society are banned from this pub'. buttonholes, listened to long forgotten songs includ- o David is interested in your memories and photos of Hastings

and St. Leonards pubs - 01424 200 227.

The North Star Inn [Drawing courtesy David Russell]

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LETTERS Wanted Pre 1980 Postage stamp collections, accumulations, oddments. Used and unused. Fair prices paid according to condition. Please contact Dave McIv er tel: Hastings 434821 or email macandmaggan@talktalk.net

Karina’s Wool Shop Stockist of Sirdar & Stylecraft wools. Also cottons, needles and knitted baby clothes. Mon, Tue, Thur, Fri: 9am to 5pm, Wed, Sat: 9am to 1pm.

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Thank you To the Editor – in February 2010 we lost our beloved daughter Eloise in an horrific car crash and we have yet to thank you all for your support, love and continued care. One of you described Ellie’s death as a ‘community death’, someone else her funeral as a ‘community funeral’ and indeed we did not feel isolated at all in our grief. Whilst the press and police intrusion continued you resolutely supported us, refusing to give interviews and many was the time when one of us was/is walking along the road and you came up to us to say something or just give a touch. Some of you set up a rota so we had a hot evening meal every day for two months, others provided lunch fillings, some did shopping, others cleaning. How wonderful that all was. In this material world, it is easy to forget or overlook the real values in life - love and friendship through one’s community. More precious in our regard than family. Having travelled the road of grief with us, we hope we can now bring you a little joy in announcing the birth of our second son Noah Benedict Stefan in February of this year. He is a delightful brother for Finlay and a wonderful legacy provided us by Eloise and, to date anyway, he lives up to the meaning of his name (‘peace’ and ‘blessing’). Ann Mann, Tower Road, Bohemia.

No thank you To the editor – I was not impressed by the December issue of the Voice, the standard is definitely not up to the previous issue. I also read the February issue and other than a couple of articles found it rubbish. The cover said a lot. What is James Parsons on about with the umbilical cords? This is not the voice of Bohemia as you claim. I see you are asking £6 subscription – the Voice in its present form isn’t worth 6p. Vic Chalcraft, Aldborough Road, Bohemia. Sorry that we’ve disappointed – we must do better – Ed

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n Weekly deliveries of fresh organic fruit & veggies. n Local organic bread. n Veggie & Vegan takeaway food. n Organic wine and beer. n Wide range of dried fruits, whole-grains, nuts, pulses, cereals and flours. Come and see for yourself at TRINITY WHOLEFOODS 3 Trinity Street, Hastings. TN34 1HG (opposite Hastings Library) Tel: 01424 430473 Open: Mon-Sat 9.00am-5.30pm

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Crest House Charming Residential Care Home Crest House Care Home has been privately owned and managed by mother and daughter team Jo and Lisa since 1987. Our philosophy at Crest House is to create an environment in which residents feel at home. We offer care, comfort, respect and dignity within an environment that is safe and believe in family values and individual choice. l Single & double rooms â&#x20AC;&#x201C; all rooms with en-suite facilities l Passenger lift to all floors l External wheelchair access l Two Victorian conservatories l Short-term (respite) care l Visiting chiropodist, optician & hairdresser l Arranged activities and entertainment l A good quality outcome for all awarded by the Care Quality Commission

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