Hastings

Over the May Day long weekend, we went to Hastings.  We didn’t really know much about what would be in store but just planned on meeting up with friends, Paul and Vanessa and checking out the Jack in the Green Festival that takes place there annually.  Paul is another RAF mate of Pete’s and Pete organised the weekend back in March when he saw them and they mentioned going. 

Jack in the Green is an eccentric festival really.  It celebrates the start of summer (people dressed in green, faces painted, many layers of fabric - all flowing and leaf-like) and the end of chimney sweeping for the year (other people dressed in black outfits and blackened faces), since the weather is warmer and the coal fires are no longer stoked.  There was traditional dancing in the streets and impromptu group singing in the pubs.  The shop facades, houses and railings – most of Hastings Old Town main streets really – had been entwined with leafy boughs and branches and ribbons...  And since this was Hastings, as in the Battle of Hastings, 1066, so we were also treated to medieval knights fighting with vim and vigour in the town square to the great delight of the boys (and us). 

I can tell you now, we walked / scooted till our feet almost dropped off.  Back and forth along the foreshore, to and from the B&B, up and down the hills, around the castle, down into the smugglers caves, through the streets, into and out of many different attractions...  We had the warm company of the sun shine and friends again, so it was worth the effort each day.


This was the weekend of the Royal Wedding too, so I made sure we saw Kate arrive, checked out her dress, compared it to Di’s (I‘m an expert now thanks to British TV) and then toddled off having seen enough, really.

The weekend was topped off with a massive bike rally where literally thousands of motorcyclists descend every year (20,000 according to one source) and all park up along the foreshore as an enormous group.  The sound of the bikes was awesome and we surprisingly really enjoyed watching them riding in and then wandering through all the bikes, checking them out.  There were some very impressive machines!

 So we pretty much crashed on the train home, truly content we made the most of it.