When writer, broadcaster and fellow Hastings resident Michael Smith told me a few months ago about visiting St Clements caves, underneath the West Hill, it was quite a story. He’d visited the caves as part of a feature for the brilliant independent magazine Get Hastings. Fast forward a few months later and he and Beth King (the editor of the magazine) had come up with a whole 45 minute film inspired by the caves, but which delved further into the wider “esoteric underbelly” of the town.
Read MoreA night with Steam Down
Thanks again to the Steam Down crew for giving me their blessing to document the night which was not only the release of their brilliant single Free My Skin, but also the first time keys player Dominic performed his own music under the name Doom Cannon.
Read MoreReady To Fly: Pre-show at Steam Down, Deptford, by Georgina Cook
There’s a buzz in the air, the musicians are on their way down the stairs and in the centre, a couple enjoying some pre show screen time and very aptly, the Steam Down flag, designed by Wumzum, ready to fly with the music.
Read MoreHere, Jack In The Green, Hastings annual celebration of the coming of summer, sits next to the crowning of the May Queen as apparently the two are related. It’s a busy time of year for the Morris Dancers of Hastings, as well as the various community groups and societies in the area. It’s all nature and community and community and nature, generally framed and buffered with a whole lot of music, dancing and merriment - making it feel all that more normal and familiar for a girl that grew up with the dancing, merriment, music and community of events like Notting Hill Carnival.
Read More