DAHL CURRY

COLOMBO 16

Colombo 16 are relatively new kids on the block and add a taste of Sri Lanka to the multi-cultural cuisine offering we already have in the area. Their Marine Court restaurant opened just six months ago with Caleb Joseph at the helm. Caleb is Brighton-born but his father is Sri Lankan and he feels a strong sense of Sri Lankan heritage. By day, they offer a fusion brunch with some traditional Sri Lankan options, by night contemporary curries, short eats and desserts intended for sharing. Their dishes are based on family recipes passed down from Caleb’s grandparents and his mother roasts the family's curry powder recipe. These recipes are modernised with an ingredient-led approach sourcing locally and importing weekly from Sri Lanka. Caleb has kindly offered up a recipe for Dahl curry for you to make at home.

Colombo 16

17–19 Marine Court colombo16.co.uk

Ingredients

1 cup red split lentils

2.5 cups water divided

2 red onion, chopped

1 tsp ginger

3 cloves garlic, sliced

2 sprigs of curry leaves

For the Dahl

1 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp cumin powder

½ tsp coriander powder

1 tsp salt

1 pinch of dill seeds

½ cup full-fat coconut milk

Tempering

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp brown mustard seeds

½ tsp cumin seeds

1 red or green chilli, sliced

1 sprig of curry leaves

Wash the red lentils until the water runs clear. Into a pot add red lentils, 1.5 cups of water, ½ the chopped onions, curry leaves, minced ginger, sliced garlic, turmeric powder, cumin powder, and coriander powder. Bring to a boil. Turn the heat to medium, cover the pot and cook the lentils until all the water is absorbed and the lentils are cooked through. This would take about 15–20 minutes.

Tempering

In a pan, heat the oil and add the other ½ of chopped onions, cumin seeds, curry leaves, the sliced chilli and once golden, add the mustard seeds. Cook until the mustard seeds start to pop. Pour the tempering into the cooked Dahl. Add the coconut milk, salt and stir to combine. Cover and let it all simmer for five minutes. Check the seasoning and add more salt if needed or more coconut milk if you require a thinner consistency. Serve Dahl with rice, roti or even some fresh bread. We finished ours off with some coriander oil and crispy curry leaves. ⚫

Written by Mel Elliott & Steven Larkin Illustrated by Mel Elliott @officialmelelliott

It wasn’t too long ago that Queens Road was a bit of a dive: strewn with discarded takeaway containers and lacking any kind of charisma.

Over the last few years though, this area has seen a much needed resurgence and today, it is brimming with great independent businesses: gourmet burgers, galleries, wood-fired pizzas, locally brewed beer, lightweight kayaks, haircuts, local wine, cocktails, paint, clothing, nail salons, books, vinyl, kebabs, greengrocers, there’s a sewing shop, a pet shop and even a shop selling prams… for the pram race! Basically, if you can’t get something on or around Queens Road, is it really worth having? And if it is, then, well, you can probably get it from ESK.

Downtown Colourville

130 Queens Road

Opened 2023

A paint-maker and colour-maker, concocting pigment mixtures like a chef. Heavily influenced by music. Prints with taglines such as "That Satsuma was a Peach" and "Hair of Nan" are also available.

Get Hastings loves

The paint samples packaged like vinyl records.

Yard & Quarter

123–124 Queens Road

Opened 2016 (relocated from St Leonards seafront)

An inclusive, eco-friendly, plant based salon. They’re for all types of people with all types of hair.

Get Hastings loves

The wide range of plastic-free hair products, and petting the friendly resident dogs on the way in and out – don't sit on Pablo when he's all cosy in his blanket on the sofa!

Eel & Bear

28 Waldegrave Street

Opened 2018

A craft beer and natural cider and wine emporium. Stocking only independently produced beverages, Eel & Bear are fully licensed to try before you buy. They also offer a plastic-free takeaway service.

Get Hastings loves

The art gallery of uniquely designed beer cans all lined up in the fridges.

Hair & Hound

196 Queens Road

Opened 2021

Business at the front, party at the back. A cosy salon/café/cocktail bar hybrid, with a rotating food menu. Supper Club and other events are regularly held.

Get Hastings loves

Cocktail nights at the Gold Bar!

Chef's Ware

60-61 Queens Road

Opened 2017

Whether you're looking for something practical, sexy or odd, Chef's Ware will have it. Copperbottomed saucepans, kitchen knives made from Japanese steel, or some good old Le Creuset –the list is endless!

Get Hastings loves

The choice; Chef's Ware stock over 6,500 different items.

The Prince Albert

28 Cornwallis Street

Opened 2023

The Prince Albert is a charming little pub serving cask ales, real ciders and much more. Partnering with Cheese on Sea, their food offering consists of poutine, burgers, hot dogs and other cheesy delights. A good selection of board games and open fires make this a cosy winter hideaway and outdoor seating makes for a fun afternoon on warm days.

Get Hastings loves

Anything with cheese on it quite frankly!

Table Flip

201 Queens Road

Opened 2022

Big on community, Table Flip offer table-top gaming seven days a week with gaming nights on Thursdays and Fridays. There's also a free Pokémon club on Sundays for the kids.

Get Hastings loves Geeking-out at the available collectibles – bought, sold and traded.

The Imperial

119 Queens Road

Opened 2016

The Brewing Brothers' empire continues to spread across the town with Taproom on The Ridge and The Courtyard, but The Imperial is where it all began. Inspired by US brewhouses, they brought the ethos over the pond and set up a brewery for quality craft beer.

Get Hastings loves

The wood-fired pizzas — plus the blazing-hot oven is a treat in the colder months.

Printed Matter

185 Queens Road

Opened 2017

A small independent book shop focusing on current affairs and politics, with added fiction and graphic novels. You'll also find vinyl records of ska, reggae, punk, jazz, soul and Missy Elliott.

Get Hastings loves

The monthly Radical Book Club and the considered curation of the available vinyl.

Bookbusters

39 Queens Road

Opened 2013

Bookbusters sell a mixture of end-of-the-line new books as well as second-hand classics. They also stock "nerdy t-shirts" records, CDs, DVDs, Manga and graphic novels. This is Hastings, so the most popular section, of course, is their collection of occult books.

Get Hastings loves

Getting lost in the forest of piled up books around the shop.

1066 Bakery

36 Queens Road

Opened 1997

Friendly staff and a vast twofloor space means this bakery is always full of customers, enjoying the outdoor seating with the kids occupied in the upstairs play area. Everything is baked fresh on the day.

Get Hastings loves

The amazing Biscoff and Nutella croissants (exclusive to 1066 Bakery) are delicious.

Chinese Supermarket

44-45 Queens Road

Opened 2018

A refreshingly alternative supermarket of fresh produce as well as bottled, tinned, frozen and dried goodies. Everything is authentic, imported from Asia.

Get Hastings loves

The Taiwanese Apple Milk –much tastier than you may think, and it comes in a pink can.

Hastings Fresh Fruit & Vegetables

46 Queens Road

Opened 2013

A small but jam-packed shop selling fresh fruit and vegetables from all around the world, from your common-all-garden courgette to figs, spices and tropical fruit.

Get Hastings loves

Spending a tenner and walking away with 3-4 bulging bags full of fresh fruit and veg.

One Twenty One

121 Queens Road

Opened 2021

A full-to-the-brim clothing market offering hand-picked vintage at very affordable prices. You'll find designer clothing, vintage sportswear and highend high street pieces. You can also grab a coffee or hot chocolate while you're there.

Get Hastings loves

Vintage Ralph Lauren for the bargain price of £15 just can't be beaten.

Bottle of Hastings

3 Trinity Street

Opened 2022

This wine shop is great for recommendations whether you’re buying a gift or you want something to pair with the sea bass you just picked up over the road. They stock an excellent range of wines to suit all budgets, including many from local vineyards. Manager, Drew, is super friendly and offers the opportunity to enjoy wines by the glass and bottle in the shop.

Get Hastings loves

A big bottle of Spicy Tommy’s Margarita.

Pet Express

28-29 Queens Road

Opened 2010

Like Harrods for your dog/cat/ bird/fish, Pet Express houses all kinds of food and accessories for your beloved pet. There's also a delivery service for when you can't drag a 15kg bag of dry dog food all the way up the West Hill.

Get Hastings loves

The caring and helpful staff that greet your four-legged friends like they were their own.

Morrisons

Queens Road

"Since 1899"

Anyone who frequents

Morrisons will know that dancing is not limited to just nightclubs. If you want to listen to some top bangers while you’re searching for eggs or their vegan alternative, this is the place to be and it hasn’t gone unnoticed. There is even a Twitter account dedicated to their fabulous playlists.

Add that to their reasonably priced plants (both indoor and outdoor), a great bakery and fish mongers — do you need more reasons to shop at Morrisons?

Take your own bags and wear your dancing shoes. Now aisle ‘av some of that!

Get Hastings loves

The deli counter, the freshly baked bread and the great choice of fish.

Waterworks Road

If you turn off of Queens Road heading to Morrisons, just on the right, is The Yard. In what used to be stable blocks, we have over fifty businesses nestled together in a tight-fit community.

Half Man! Half Burger! is the place to go for great comfort food and drinks, in another unit, Geoff Wass makes ultra light kayaks and canoes, Katja creates breathtakingly beautiful cakes for all your celebratory needs, Gillmans is a dog grooming centre, with fabulous doggywallpaper in the entrance.

Kitty Clogs is a British company that fell in love with Swedish clogs and has been producing them ever since. Process Club is a screenprinters, offering membership access as well as a screen printing service.

Reliquary are antique furniture dealers, specialising in architectural/ecclesiastical and pre/post war pieces There's also clothing makers, joiners, plumbers, artists, potters, jewellery makers and sculptors. Their regular ‘Makers Market’ sees a coming-together of businesses based in and around the Yard with a focus on the hand-made.

Written by Charlie Moon (12)

I'm Charlie Moon, I'm 12-years-old and I live with my Mum, Dad and cat, Mingus, in Hastings. I go to school in Rye and I enjoy doing art and music.

I've been drawing and painting ever since I can remember. I started off drawing detailed plans of houses, boats, submarines and other objects I can make into living quarters like pears and pigeons.

I sketch out in pencil first and then I use acrylics on canvas or board. I also use chalk, pastels and marker pens. I like bold, bright colours. I'm influenced by The Far Side by Gary Larson and like things that comment on the strangeness of life.

I was born in the Whittington Hospital in Highgate which has a huge cat logo on the roof. I think this set my pathway towards my cat obsession. I managed to persuade my parents to adopt a cat from the RSPCA and he's my biggest influence.

Mingus is 8-years-old, he's black and white with four white paws, a white bib and a white tipped tail. He looks like he's just got back from tea at The Ritz. He loves to dribble and dip his tail in our food when we least expect it. He's a huge fan of cheese and Marmite and sits at the breakfast table with us on his own chair, waiting for it.

I really love going to museums more than galleries on my days off as I don't think that many art spaces cater well for kids. The last exhibition I saw that I really liked was the Lego exhibition at Hastings Museum.

So far I've exhibited my paintings at The Crown and The Nest in Hastings Old Town. I want to keep my prices affordable for everyone so they range from £5–£50. I'm hoping to do other exhibitions in Hastings and I'm aiming to exhibit in London in the near future. I always donate a percentage of my earnings to a charity like the World Wildlife Fund or Eggtooth and the rest of the money, I'm saving up for a deposit on a house for my Mum. ⚫

Words by Mel Elliott with photography by Caitlin Lock.

This issue's How We Met story centres around the romance of Katy and Dan, who are relative fledglings when it comes to their blossoming relationship. So it only seemed right to have them photographed with a cherry blossom tree that was in full bloom… and that was handily, straight opposite their flat which overlooks Alexandra Park.

Katy is 28 and works in PR, for an agency and was living in North London. Dan, 29, is Hastings born and bred and is not a rock star (although no one would blame you for thinking that), he is, in fact, a tree surgeon, 'but everyone is surprised when I say that', he tells me. 'Maybe I should just say I'm a rockstar who moonlights as a tree surgeon' he says.

'We were matched on Hinge', Katy explains. 'Hinge encourages actual relationships more than just hookups. It's the app that says it's meant to be deleted. It's my favourite of the dating apps and I've tried all of them!' she laughs.

Before they were matched on an app, Katy had been single for around six months and Dan 'for a long time!' he admitted. 'And it was quite weird because when you're on Hinge you set a distance limit and just by chance I was in London for work and we worked out that Katy was briefly visiting a friend nearby and that was how we were matched.'

'What were the chances of that!?' Katy said. 'It was just meant to be!' Dan said, both of them pleased as punch.

Katy continued, 'so, we'd been speaking on there for six weeks before we met in person but it was full lockdown at the time. I messaged him first but we were messaging other people up until we met and then I was like yeah, you're the one. Then he invited me down to stay for the weekend.'

'Woah, hang on. So the first time you met him was to travel for miles and stay with him?' I asked. 'Yeah I thought why not! I totally trusted him.'

'And we had an instant connection,' Dan reassured me. 'She was coming to visit from another city obviously, but it can also be scary letting someone else into your home.'

Katy added '...and he was living in an annex at his parents house back then... so on day one I met everyone!'

'Yeah, I walked through the door and his mum was standing there! I was like Oh hello!' I've never really spoken to my family about my love affairs before,' Dan says, 'but when I started chatting to Katy I thought this is the one. She was worth talking about.'

'I came down again two weeks later and things were allowed to open up then so we went to Pizzarelli and then had some drinks on the pier… and met more of his family,' Katy says, 'I had met his entire family within a month.'

'Me and my family are very close,' Dan explains '...and it was such a big deal that I had found someone I actually liked so everyone was like Oh my god we've got to meet her! Book us in!' 'Five months after we met he asked me to move here and a few weeks later I did!' Katy says.

'We were heading into another lockdown and we were like, shall we stay apart for four months or shall we just go for it?' Dan says.

Well Katy and Dan did just go for it and they are as gushy about one another as you'd totally expect them to be. They may not have met in a traditional way but without the dating app… and lockdown (allowing Katy to work from home and move down here), this happy young couple most likely wouldn't have happened.

Katy and Dan are very grateful for the serendipitous circumstances that brought them together and they'll be celebrating their three year mark this July. They have many plans for the future including a tour of the East Coast of North America and Canada, getting a house together '...and as soon as we get a house we're getting a sausage dog' Katy assures me while Dan looks slightly concerned. ⚫

Name Su Warren

Age 77 years young

Occupation Su spent many years raising three children, alone but she always wanted to go to art school. She is currently making three documentary films about people living in Hastings and Bexhill and she has a ridiculously high bed so that she can see the sea from it.

Lives St Leonards

1. When did you last cry?

I was sorting out some stuff, doing a bit of de-cluttering, and I came across this tiny little mitten and I looked at it and thought ‘Oh my god! That used to be Toby’s!’ It’s moving me even now as we speak about it actually. I looked at it and thought ‘it’s all gone so quickly and that used to fit him’. It just brought back all of those memories of being with my kids and how lovely it was.

2. What is your most treasured possession?

I think, photographs of family and friends… and me when I was young because it's that time that you kind of yearn after but knowing it will never be like that again. A family I knew had a house fire and they lost everything including all of those memories and it really frightens me. So I treasure those photographs and I keep some of them in tin boxes so that if there was a fire, they wouldn’t get destroyed.

3. What did you want to be when you were a kid?

I wanted to stay a kid. I hated the idea of growing up and I was a very late developer compared to the kids in the flats where I grew up. They sort of changed overnight when puberty hit and I still had plaits and plimsolls and wanted to play out.

4. What is a recent happy memory that you will always treasure?

It’s about my kids again! I do other things though, I do have a life! They are my everything though. So, being with all my kids and grand-kids at the same time.

It doesn’t happen often as some are in London and some are in Berlin. They are all very busy with their own families and busy lives but then again, I’m busy too. So it’s a joy for me when we all get together.

5. What advice would you give to your younger self?

There is no Prince Charming who is going to sweep you off your feet like you were told in fairy tales. I think you should not fear being alone, and one day you might meet that special person. We were always taught that we should marry and have babies but… get an education, be self-sufficient, love yourself, and then you will be ready to meet someone… or not, because that’s okay too. ⚫