It’s hard to imagine what the locals must have thought of Bodiam Castle when it appeared on the scene in 1385. Even now, through modern eyes accustomed to epic feats of architectural engineering, it’s a wonderful sight: the round towers rise sheer from the surrounding moat and the stone walls glow pale gold in the sun. And it’s still a surprise to come across it, nestled amid vineyards, hops farms and white-tipped oast houses, looking out across the lush pasture of the Rother valley. The winter sun sparkles on the frost as we head east from the castle along a farm track, crunching ice beneath our boots. It’s a glorious day under a big, blue sky, and we’re not the only ones outside enjoying it. To the north, the square tower of St Nicholas church at Sandhurst Cross hoves into view. As the river twists away to our right, we cross Kent Ditch and head uphill, leaving East Sussex behind. We pick our way across a muddy field and through an even muddier wood. A frantic volley of gunshots erupts close by and, realising it’s a party of duck shooters, I briefly consider turning saboteur. Instead, we push on, appreciating the open views towards Sandhurst with its clock tower and windmill. At St Nicholas, the congregation is leaving after the Sunday morning service. We sit in the churchyard for a while, drinking in both the view and a thermos of tea, trying to keep warm in the wind. Inside the church I read about the bells, including the John Bell, which was cast in the late 15th Century, cracked in 1961, then repaired with new technology and re-hung in 2009. We also admire a window constructed of salvaged fragments of old glass and prayer cushions decorated with everything from hovercraft and Boeing jets to badgers and biblical quotes. From Sandhurst Cross, walkers can take the road straight back to Bodiam, but we venture on to join the Sussex Border Path. If the first half of the walk was characterised by big things - castles, skies, views, churches - then the joy of the last section lies in the details. The first crocuses are blooming, joining snowdrops and daffodils at the side of the road. We pass a well-used badger sett. Multicoloured lichen adorns a fallen tree and a bright orange jelly-like fungus emerges from a fallen branch. After weaving our way over the hills, we slip down a narrow path beside a vineyard to emerge back at Bodiam Castle, just in time for lunch at the the National Trust tea rooms. A version of this article first appeared as "Crossing borders across a rich landscape" in the Battle Observer, Friday 20 February 2015, p46.
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A pretty circular walk starting from Bodiam Castle, taking in the views from Sandhurst Cross and returning along the Sussex Border Path.
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February's microadventure challenge was set by Emily. She chose wildlife spotting. Inspired by Emily’s species-tracking updates, Dan and I thought we’d keep a log of what we’d seen in our courtyard and beyond. As the month progressed, I also started thinking about why we hadn’t seen more wildlife. In our courtyard
Beyond our courtyard
WildwoodA couple of friends who have joined the microadventure challenge invited us on the spur of the moment to visit Wildwood in Kent. Since I hadn’t managed to spot a (live) badger, I thought this was likely to be my best chance of seeing one. We had an interesting but cold afternoon wandering around the park. We saw a sleeping otter, then later on we were lucky enough to watch one up close being fed. They have amazingly powerful little teeth and jaws that can bite clean through a person’s fingers. There were a number of deer species and a couple of elk (they have bizarre looking faces). I enjoyed watching the big, hairy bison - they looked like pleasant creatures (though I wouldn’t like to have one charge at me - they’re massive). Dan was quite taken by the lynx, I was in a flap over the little owl. We saw lots of other animals, including storks, Bennett's wallabies (did you know there are colonies of wallabies living wild in the UK?), Scottish wildcats, harvest mouse, beavers, eagle owls, barn owls, wild boar, wild horses, egrets, ravens (they are so much bigger than crows!) and wolves. We all spent a long time looking at the edible dormice (which are much bigger than I expected and look almost like sugar glider possums), but that’s possibly because they were inside, where it was warmer. Oh, and we saw some snoozing badgers, too: success! I’m always a bit uncomfortable in places like this. The animals aren’t cooped up in concrete boxes for display like in old-fashioned zoos, but they still don’t have a lot of room to move around in. I know that many of them are rescue animals and are better off here (e.g. Wildwood has just raised enough money to rescue two Bulgarian bears), but I didn’t like seeing the wolves pacing around the fence line of their enclosure, or the raven flying from end to end of its little aviary. Where is the wildlife?
If declining wildlife, birdlife and biodiversity is something that concerns you, you might also want to get involved with a local conservation group. In the UK you could try: RSPB, The Wildlife Trusts, Woodland Trust, Bat Conservation Trust, BTO, Butterfly Conservation Trust, CPRE, High Weald Landscape Trust, Hawk and Owl Trust, Bumblebee Conservation Trust or Buglife. National Numeracy charity launches campaign in Hastings.
National Numeracy was founded in 2012 to address these issues and improve numeracy skills throughout the UK. The East Sussex-based charity is about to launch a special campaign in Hastings, noting that the town’s record of low-level skills, high unemployment and low incomes are all factors that align with poor numeracy. Starting on Monday 9 February, National Numeracy will be dropping off leaflets across Hastings and St Leonards, talking to community groups and encouraging people to take the National Numeracy Challenge Online, a free service to help people improve their everyday maths skills. As well as helping to improve people’s numeracy skills, National Numeracy aims to change attitudes to maths, showing how maths is used all the time in daily life, and how everyone can improve their numeracy skills with effort and support. “Being numerate means being able to use numbers and think mathematically, which is essential for so many aspects of everyday life and work,” says National Numeracy’s chief executive Mike Ellicock. “The National Numeracy Challenge is responding to this need and enabling everyone to start to improve their maths.” The charity notes that poor numeracy can make it hard to manage chronic health conditions like asthma and diabetes, while people with lower numeracy skills can struggle to manage their money and are more likely to get into a spiral of debt. Better numeracy skills can also increase employment opportunities. Mr Ellicock adds, “To anyone tempted to say ‘I can’t do maths’, we say, ‘Yes, you can’.” This article first appeared in Hastings Independent, Issue 23, 6 February 2015, p13. From our long list of microadventure ideas, we chose "walk along a canal" as our fifth challenge of the year.
This microadventure cost about £25.75 for two of us (petrol, parking, train tickets, lunch, tea and biscuits). We declared our expedition to be a microadventure success! We would not have gone out in such dicey weather if we hadn't had a challenge to pursue. In the end, after the initial excitement, it turned into a beautiful afternoon and we were glad to be out and about. I wrote this as a follow-up to my previous article about the Hastings Conquerors in the Hastings Independent. The 'rookie days' mentioned in this article have now been and gone, but the club is still interested in hearing from anyone keen to get involved.
Forthcoming taster sessions will be held in Hastings (Tilekiln Rec) from 10am on Sunday 18 January and Battle (Battle Sports Centre) from 11am on Sunday 25 January. Anyone keen to take part needs to wear suitable footwear for grass or 3G (artificial turf), appropriate clothing (tracksuit bottom and a top) and bring a bottle of water and a positive attitude. There will also be a sign-up evening from 7pm on Saturday 31 January at Riley’s Sports Bar in Hastings. Its not just on the pitch that the club is looking for new members. “We need people to help on the sidelines on the chain crew, coaching assistants, camera operators, statisticians and so on,” said Mr Boorer. “Without these people, teams wouldn't be able to run. We are also on the lookout for new shareholders.” The Conquerors is a fan-owned, co-operative club, which means all supporters can purchase shares. Each shareholder owns one share and thus has one vote when it comes to decision making time. “It's our shareholders who make us the fantastic club that we are,” said Mr Boorer. “They are a great bunch of people who really are keen to see the club grow and flourish. We have shareholders from the UK to Norway and Hong Kong too, which just shows you don't have to be a local to get involved!” A share costs £30 initially, but the club recently made the decision to drop annual renewal costs to £10. The club hopes this will encourage more fans to continue their membership. Shareholder Liaison Officer, Clive Raines, said, “The club wants to keep its supporters engaged for years to come and build on its current strong standing.” For more information about playing with the club, email [email protected]. To find out more about shares contact [email protected]. This article first appeared in Hastings Independent, Issue 22, 23 January 2015, p14.
One of our favourite walks to do with visitors is this loop around the Brightling follies. History, views and odd local characters all included!
How is your microadventuring going? This month’s challenge is to spend time on top of a hill (there's still two weeks to do it, if you want to join in!) and here is our contribution! This challenge gave us the opportunity to climb Mount Caburn (a hill of 146m - not a mountain!) near Lewes. It is quite a distinctive hill, recognisable to anyone familiar with the stretch of the A27 between Brighton and Eastbourne. From the south it looks almost conical, although it is joined to the rest of the Lewes Downs by a ridge to the north. If you look closely at Mount Caburn from the valley or from a vantage point on the South Downs, you can see a ring around the summit - the remains of an Iron Age fort. We’d been meaning to go and have a look at the fort for ages. This time, we were meeting friends in Brighton for dinner, so we thought we’d have a quick picnic lunch at the top of the hill. Where there is a picnic, there should also be cider. Luckily for us, Middle Farm, which houses the national collection of cider and perry, is close by. Instead of the usual article-and-photos combo, we decided to try making a film. I hope you enjoy it! We filmed this entirely on an iPhone, without any tripods or other dooverlackies, and edited it on iMovie. The music is Creative Commons licensed and sourced through Vimeo. It was fun to brush up on my undergrad creative media skills. There are a few things I wish we’d filmed differently (or filmed at all!) and a couple of questionable editing choices, but overall it was an enjoyable and interesting project. What do you think? If you like it I might try to make another one for next month’s microadventure! This microadventure cost £19.70 (for two of us), including food, cider, tea and petrol (although we were on the way to Brighton and would have used that petrol anyway). Please do join in with your own year of microadventure if you are up for it! I'll do a round up of your "spend time on a hill" posts/photos/videos/tweets at the end of the month. East Sussex County Council is running a survey to find out how people use open access land and the county’s 2,000 miles of public rights of way. But a spokesperson from the local Ramblers group says the paths are not being adequately maintained and are "under serious threat."
ESCC’s factsheet about the consultation says the council is "not proposing any changes at the moment" to countryside management. "As with all services provided by the county council, we are constantly reviewing how they are managed," said Cllr Carl Maynard, lead member for transport and environment. However, Mr Pringle argued that the council’s current maintenance of public rights of way is inadequate. "A meagre staff and even more meagre budget" designated by ESCC to rights of way has meant paths are becoming "increasingly difficult" to use, said Mr Pringle. "The upkeep of these footpaths is right at the bottom of the heap when it comes to county council priorities," he said. "2,000 miles of rights of way in our county are under serious threat." Public rights of way include public footpaths, bridleways and byways. These are subject to the same legal protection as all other highways, including trunk roads. As our local highway authority, ESCC has a duty to protect the rights of the public to the use and enjoyment of paths in the Hastings area. The council is legally responsible for maintaining the surface of paths, including bridges, and keeping them free of overgrowth. Public rights of way around Hastings can be found on the ESCC website and on Ordnance Survey’s Explorer Map 124. The survey can be accessed here and a paper copy is available from local libraries. The survey is available in large print, Braille and languages other than English by calling 03456 080 193 or emailing [email protected]. This article first appeared in Hastings Independent, Issue 21, 19 December 2014, p7. The annual Hastings Youth Awards celebrates and showcases the achievements of young people in Hastings and St Leonards. This year’s ceremony, held in November, was attended by over 400 people.
Youth groups, schools, charities and community organisations were nominated for awards by members of the public, and winners included Respond Academy, aGender and Pestalozzi. Individual award recipients included two members of South East Movement, for victory in the Hastings Got Talent contest. Tenzin Dophen, a Tibetan student who attends Sussex Coast College Hastings and is sponsored by Pestalozzi, was recognised for his work with the Students for a Free Tibet campaign. "It is very encouraging and motivational to be recognised in Hastings for our work to spread awareness about the plight of Tibetans living in Tibet,” he said. “I was really glad to see the support from the Hastings locals and also lots of cultures and talents represented. Together, we strive to create a better world through mutual understanding and respect amongst people from different backgrounds and cultures.” Exciting performances kept the audience entertained, with cheerleaders from South East Stars and poets from the Bangladeshi Association both enjoying the spotlight. Local band Watertight played during the intermission and closing acts. Lauren Fry from HYA partner Sussex Coast College Hastings, said, “The Hastings Youth Awards is a great opportunity to celebrate the success, bravery and determination of the young people in our county and we are proud to be linked to such a prestigious awards evening.” Other partners for this year’s awards included Hastings and District Interfaith Forum, SPARK and Many Voices One Hastings. This article first appeared as "Awards celebrate youth achievements" in in Hastings Independent, Issue 20, 5 December 2014, p4. A walk from Camber to Rye along a beach, over sand dunes, up a tidal river and along an old tramway.
A shorter version of this article first appeared as "Walking the railroad from Camber to Rye" in the Battle Observer, Friday 28 November 2014, p34.
I’m sitting in the window at the front of Hastings Library, staring at the rain, headphones on, deep in a good book. I’m not reading, but listening to a young man who, in 2012, got a call at work. “I said, ‘No, it’s fine, you can tell me over the phone’ . . . I just wanted to crack on with my day . . . There was a pause and they said, ‘You are positive, you do have HIV.’ And I’m sat there at my desk thinking, You need to control this, there are people all around you, they’re your colleagues . . . For a split second you almost don’t think it’s actually happening, this phone call isn’t quite real.” I am there with him on the precipice, imagining myself at my own desk, in my own workplace. How would I react? His narration makes me feel it in my gut, in my heart. This is not the strange word I vaguely misunderstood when I was a child in the 1980s, it’s not the academic papers I read at university, it’s not a poster in my doctor’s waiting room. This is someone just a few years younger than me, living and working somewhere in Sussex. His HIV+ diagnosis feels urgent, immediate. Speaking Volumes is a project that aims to combat misconceptions and ignorance about living with HIV. Project participants attended creative art and storytelling workshops, then recorded their stories. These fifteen recordings are inserted into hollowed-out books and illustrated with participants’ artworks, each book displayed on the Speaking Volumes shelf. The volumes are broken into chapters, or audio tracks, based on themes such as diagnosis, treatments and side effects, sex and relationships, work, spirituality, isolation and support. Visitors to Hastings Library in October could take a book from the shelf, a set of headphones from the box beside it, and listen to diverse life stories of Sussex-based men and women living with HIV - aged from their 20s to their 80s, parents, people with disabilities, hailing from the UK and around the world. “The project was particularly relevant to Sussex,” says Speaking Volumes Project Manager and Director Alice Booth. “It's an area where there is higher prevalence of HIV than the national average - especially in Brighton and Hove, but also in Hastings.” The project was inspired by human libraries, where people who have encountered stigma or oppression can be “borrowed” to talk to a member of the public about their experience. “I thought this was a great idea and would be a brilliant thing for HIV positive people to do,” says Alice Booth. “But I was aware that the stigma associated with the condition meant that lots of people who would like to share their story would be reluctant to appear in public.” Sitting in the library under a sign saying “HIV stories”, amidst posters encouraging me to get tested for HIV and booklets with numbers to call for HIV support, I get a tiny hint of what that stigma could be like. There’s nowhere private to turn and wipe my eyes when I hear from people who saw almost all their friends dying around them in the 1980s, about people disowned by family members, from someone who was deported from Taiwan for being HIV+ and has been living apart from his partner ever since. I feel exposed. However, for every negative experience in Speaking Volumes, there seems to be a positive. While the deeply personal stories resist neat narratives about progress, one of the overarching themes to emerge is the extraordinary change in attitudes towards and treatments of HIV in the UK over the last three decades. “The general public, I feel, still do not realise that HIV is no longer a death sentence,” says a participant named Scott. “They need to be educated . . . people need to know.” The installation at Hastings Library marked the project’s first East Sussex exhibition location. Abigail Luthmann, Equal Access Manager for ESCC libraries, says, “For libraries, stories are what we are about - factual or fictional. Listening directly to someone’s own story is a very powerful way to understand a different perspective and experience of life. As some of the participants are East Sussex residents we are particularly pleased to be able to host it.” This article first appeared as "Speaking Volumes at the library" in Hastings Independent, Issue 18, 7 November 2014, p18. I collect footpaths. As outdoor list-ticking hobbies go, it’s fairly prosaic. Not for me a recognisable pastime: no notebook and anorak on a railway siding (trainspotter); no binoculars welded to eyes in a small hut on an RSPB reserve (twitcher); no energy-bar-fuelled scrambles up the highest peaks in the country (peak bagger). I admit, I do have a minor passion for trig points, but it's yet to develop into a full-blown trespassing, spreadsheet-wielding obsession.
There is something magical and slightly eerie about walking in a heavy mist. On this early morning in autumn, the world seems small, still and hushed. Down Battle High Street, the top of the abbey gates fade into fog. The view from Whatlington Road towards Battle Great Wood is a soft, featureless glow. Instead of distant vistas, my attention settles on closer, more intimate details. Precise, silver-spun spiderwebs drape over the trees and fences, glistening with tiny beads of water. My breath stirs the mist, which swirls in a brief dance as I pass. A family of sparrows chirrups quietly in the brambles and I disturb a watching cat – he flashes me a wide-eyed glance, then slides around the corner and disappears. This mist-bound world moves with me as I turn down a narrow farm track. The hedge melts into view when I step forward, then dissolves away behind me. The landscape hidden by the fog is infinite. What lies beyond those trees, across the field, in the valley? The mist is keeping secrets. Maybe the High Weald has been replaced by a towering mountain range. Maybe the sea has swept in overnight, quietly but completely submerging everything around Battle Ridge. Maybe the ghost armies of 1066 are clashing silently just out of sight. Maybe I am displaced. Is this burnt-out corpse of a 1970s ambulance a figment of my imagination? Have I stepped out of time itself? I entertain these thoughts with a little thrill, almost certain the everyday world will return soon, when the mist disperses in the sun. The human world is waking up. I hear the ringing clangs of someone working on their home extension, and there’s an old Land Rover idling, door open, next to a field of excited Shetland ponies. I cross the rail line just in time to see the tail of the London-Hastings train. But despite these signs, I meet no one. I circumnavigate a damp field, pick my way along an overgrown path, and meander beside a stream through a beech wood. I peer into a derelict shelter that looks like a horror movie setpiece, wave to an empty train, dash across the A2100, greet some friendly horses and find myself in Mountfield. The mist has burnt off now, and the eeriness has gone with it. I receive a hearty, “Good morning!” from a group of adults and children trailing bikes and horses, out to make the most of a beautiful sunny day. It’s so sunny that after climbing across the stubble fields to Mountfield Church, I stop to put on some sunscreen. It’s a lovely spot. I end up sitting in the well-kept churchyard a while, drinking tea from my thermos, nibbling a biscuit and watching buzzards wheel and spiral above. Organ music from the Sunday service drifts from the church. It mingles with the whistling cries of the buzzards, the grunt of a distant tractor and the quiet bleating of sheep to create an idyllic rural soundscape. I start to feel a certain companionship with the people who rest here more permanently – this is as good a place as any to stop. But the path calls me onwards, up the grand sweep of road to Mountfield Court, then over the rise beyond. Fields fall gently away to a treeline starting to blush with autumn colour: yellows, oranges and browns mingle in with the lingering dark greens of late summer. The view towards Robertsbridge makes the town seem tantalisingly close. The path sinks into the valley, then twists swiftly northwards between the stream and the railway line. I pause at a laden sloe bush and pluck a few handfuls of ripe, purple fruit to make sloe gin. As I do, I spot an odd thing: a crow with white wing tips flaps past me and begins strutting across the field. I later learn that these white feathers are a sign of leucism and they aren’t too rare an aberration. But for now, the puzzle stays with me as I head into Robertsbridge. The train back to Battle seems to take seconds. Scenes whiz past too quickly to take in. “I walked there! And there!” I think. There’s nobody in the field where I waved to an earlier train, so I raise my hand to past-me, instead. This article first appeared as "Taking steps from Battle to Robertsbridge" in the Battle Observer, Friday 12 October 2014, p65. The UK’s first ever fan-owned, co-operative American football club is aiming to score big time with an application to join the national league next season and the imminent launch of their local youth programme. Hastings Conquerors in action. Photo by Ree Dawes courtesy of Hastings Conquerors AFC. Hastings Conquerors American Football Club was established in April 2013 to take local interest in the sport to the next level. As newcomers, the team has just undertaken what is known as an associate season to prove it is financially viable and capable of fulfilling fixtures and hosting games. Now, with the 2014 season almost over, the club’s plans and financial records have been submitted to the national governing body and the team hopes to enter national competition in 2015. As well as trying for the national spotlight, Hastings Conquerors wants to expand local interest and participation through its community and youth programmes. The club recently teamed up with Bexhill College to bring 10 free American football training sessions to students. Hastings Conquerors Chairman Chris Chillingworth hopes the Sport England funded sessions are the beginning of something bigger. “We would absolutely love for Hastings to become an American Football town here in the UK,” said Mr Chillingworth. The Bexhill sessions are giving coaches a chance to warm up for the Conquerors’ youth programme, set to kick off in January. The programme will be open to boys and girls aged between 16 and 19, offering teenagers a chance to attend regular training and possibly entering into a league. Luke Boorer, the club’s Commercial Manager, noted, “This is just the first step. We want to make the sport of American Football a complete family affair.” Hastings Conquerors was the first co-operatively run American football club in the UK (the Aberdeen Roughnecks have recently followed suit). Mr Boorer explained, “This means we are owned by our fans, for the fans, by the fans.” A share in the club can be purchased for £30 per year, and shares are limited to one per person. “One owner, one share, one vote,” said Mr Boorer. “No one person can ever own the club.” Shareholders choose a committee to see to the day-to-day administration of the club, with bigger decisions voted on by shareholders themselves. “We’re very proud of the way we operate,” said Mr Boorer. “I think our club is run in the best possible way.” American Football is one of the fastest growing sports in the UK, due to the NFL’s investment in the sport in this country. Hastings Conquerors and Sussex Thunder represent the South East along with three teams from Kent and five in the London area. There is also a national universities competition, won last year by Brighton Tsunami. Hastings Conquerors would like to hear from locals interested in volunteering, playing or coaching – regardless of their level of expertise. “Most of our players, when they started, knew very little about American Football,” noted Mr Boorer. The club also want so set up a discount card to help connect shareholders with local businesses, and would like to hear from interested businesses. Get in touch (down)!
This article first appeared in Hastings Independent, Issue 16, 10 October 2014, p12. |
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