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I hope you enjoy this look around one of my favourite
seaside destinations, and that you can combine improving your
shorthand with the pleasure of a sunny day out.
Website links to items mentioned are
at the end of the page.
1.
Hastings
is situated on the south coast of
East Sussex.
The town's name was recorded in the 8th century and means "the
settlement of the followers of Haesta" a Dane who settled there in the
5th century, although the site has been occupied since prehistoric
times. The Battle of Hastings in 1066 was actually fought 6 miles to the
north-west near the town of Battle. The photo shows the view of the east
end of the town from West Hill. The top of the hill can be reached using
the West Hill cliff railway or on foot along the narrow backstreets,
alleyways and steep flights of steps. At the top is a large sloping
grassy area, a cafι by the lift exit, and a flat area at the top of the
sandstone cliffs with views in all directions. Towards the rear of the
hill there is a small children's playground with swings, slides and
climbing frame. (156 words)
2. At the far east end of the seafront are the
net huts which were used for drying fishing nets to prevent rotting.
Nowadays the nets are made of nylon and can be left outside, so the huts
are used for other storage. They were built tall because of the limited
space at the head of this beach during Victorian times, when the sea was
somewhat closer, and also to avoid paying excess ground tax. You can
have your own net hut in the form of a multi-storey sparrow "Nest Hut"
available from the website of the Hastings and Bexhill Wood Recycling
Project, which was set up to keep wood out of landfill and provide
skills training in woodcraft and nature conservation. Beyond the sheds
there is a large seafront car park, a sea life centre and a fishermen's
museum. There are also many fresh fish shops here to dispense the day's
catch, with a wide variety on offer. Opposite the net sheds is the East
Hill cliff railway which opened in 1902 and is the steepest in the
UK. (179 words)
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3. The top of East Hill can be reached on foot
from the seafront through a narrow alleyway between the shops near
the fishermens museum and up several flights of steps. An ascent on
foot provides more varied interest than taking the lift, with
changing views along the way, as well as the triumph of making it to
the top. The last flight has several seats at intervals to ensure
success without too much discomfort. There are no visitor facilities
on this part of the cliff top but during summer there is often an
ice-cream van parked strategically near the top of the steps, to
provide for thirsty step climbers as well as passengers emerging
from the lift. The cliff top is a smooth sward of short grass with
panoramic views of the town, and opportunities to walk further
eastwards through
Hastings Country Park, which is a designated Nature Reserve of
grasslands and woods extending 5 miles along the coast towards the
town of
Fairlight.
The bonfire beacon on East Hill is lit each October by the Hastings
Borough Bonfire Society, as part of their torch-lit procession
around the town, culminating in a firework display. (194 words)
4. The cliffs are composed of sandstone and
mudstone which are sedimentary rocks that formed about 140 million
years ago when the area was a large lake or lagoon. Winter weather
and storms hasten the erosion of these cliffs but rocks and debris
can fall at any time of the year. The base of the cliffs under East
Hill has large steel meshes to catch any debris and protect the road
and pathways below. The numerous cliff faces throughout the town are
faced with various colours and patterns of brick, a reminder of the
weakness of these layers of rock. The rocks are rich in fossils of
prehistoric plant and animal life. Dinosaur evidence has been found
here in the form of footprints and more rarely skeletal remains. The
only other place in the
UK
with good dinosaur fossils is the
Isle of Wight. (143 words)
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5.
Hastings' beaches are mostly pebbles, although there is some sand at
low tide near the pier. This photo shows Pelham beach. The concrete
structure in the distance is the remains of an uncompleted harbour
arm. The first attempt to build this was made in the 16th Century but the
foundations were destroyed by storms. The present structure was
started in 1896 but remained unfinished due to rising costs and
funds running out. What was left of it was partially blown up during
the Second World War in order to prevent its use by any invading
ships. Hastings' fishing boats are all stored on and launched from
the beach, and these can be seen at the east end of the seafront.
Care should be taken when wandering around as there are many
slipways with trailing cables and chains. (137 words)
6. Hastings Old Town always seems to be teeming
with visitors attracted by the cafιs, pubs, gift shops and antique
shops. All the old buildings are well preserved and West Street
makes a very pleasant stroll on a sunny day. Further along there are
amusement arcades and facing the seafront there are a large number
of fish and chip shops essential fuel to keep the holidaymakers
warm when the sun is not shining and the wind is blowing. There is
certainly a clear difference between the fresh seafood served here
and that obtained from supermarket freezers.
A walk along the
back streets reveals many ancient timber-framed houses surviving and
kept in good repair. The constantly changing use of the buildings
has helped to preserve them. (124 words)
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7.
Hastings pier is situated in the central White Rock area and was
opened in 1872, to provide Victorian tourists with an invigorating
and adventurous walk out to sea, amusements and paddle steamer
excursions. Sadly the pier is now closed due to
the fire in October 2010, although the Hastings Pier
and White Rock Trust are endeavouring to raise support for its
purchase and refurbishing for the community. A pier in good
order at any seaside is always full of visitors, which benefits the
whole town and the prosperity of its population.
The decorative ironwork is always worth a closer look, despite the
thick layers of peeling paint, and is entirely in keeping with the
purpose of the pier as an attraction. Such decorative features were
normal in Victorian times and were probably not as immediately
noticeable as they are to us today. Everyone who has ever stood on a pier
has experienced the combination of wonderment and faint apprehension
at glimpsing the heaving sea through the gaps in the wooden deck. As
a child I enjoyed the automata and penny slot machines that showed
moving models of life in the past, and I wondered how many coins had
been dropped through the cracks in the deck and were now lying on the
seabed, unused and going to waste! Behind White Rock is the modern shopping area.
If you look upwards past the shop fronts you will find a great
diversity of building styles and embellishments, of the kind that is
lacking in our present-day buildings.
(255 words)
Note: Hastings Pier Sadly 95% of the
superstructure was destroyed by fire
on 5 October 2010 but plans are in
progress to restore the pier, see their website at the
end of this page.
8. Summer bedding is in the customary seaside
style, brilliant and bold. Pale and artistic shades may have their
place in formal gardens, but on the seafront the displays have to
hold their own against all the other colourful paraphernalia shops
and souvenirs, brightly packaged candies and the brilliantly painted
funfair and arcades. The colour provides a warmth that perhaps the
weather is lacking, and persuades us, as we look at our holiday
pictures, that the weather was kinder than it actually was. Years
ago we used to collect the postcards with maps on, but nowadays
someone has found an easy profit out of producing completely
black postcards that say "Hastings
at night". One can quickly think of captions for a white or a grey
postcard. One sweltering day we drove to
Hastings
expecting the hot weather to make up for the sea breezes, only to be
met by a bank of cold grey fog enveloping the town. The sea and sky
merged into one grey nothingness and we shivered all day. As soon as
we left to go home, we emerged back into the hot sunshine that we
had expected to be enjoying on the beach. (196 words)
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9. All the traditional holiday edibles are here
seafood and sweets. Fish described as "Rock" or "Rock salmon" is
actually huss, the spiny dogfish which is a small shark. The other
type of rock sold is the sugar version, pure entertainment and
dentists' delight or displeasure, depending on your dentist's point
of view. It will leave you in no doubt as to the security of your
dental fillings. I enjoy all the colours but do not now wish to
consume these beautiful works of confectioner's art.
Seaside
rock with the words embedded in red on white is always appealing,
even when one eventually finds out how it is made. These manmade
rainbows are a feast for the eyes and maybe a photograph is the
healthiest way to enjoy them! (128 words)
10. There are plenty of activities for children
of all ages, including amusement arcades, funfair rides, mini golf,
boating pond with swan-shaped paddle boats and a miniature ride-on
railway. I like to see the old beachfront shelters, reminding me of
childhood holidays when there was no car to dive into in wet
weather. It is traditional for the British holidaymaker to enjoy or
endure the whole day regardless of the weather, and the spirit of
dogged determination is alive and well, and huddling in the
shelters, eating ice cream in defiance of chilly breezes. This
attitude stems partly from the time when people took a
train or coach outing
to the seaside and they therefore had no choice but to wait for the
appointment with
their transport at the end of the day. But a far greater
part of it is the determination not to be beaten by inclement
weather and cheated of the day's enjoyments. Waiting for warm
conditions is not an option in
Britain, and having arrived at the destination one feels one must
get some value from the time and expense of getting there. The
alternative would be to hurry back home in defeat, something the
British spirit will never countenance. (203 words)
11. This seagull is doing what every
holidaymaker does he has found a warm and smooth place to sit with
no lumps and bumps, and is surveying the blue expanse of the sea
while waiting for someone to serve up a tasty snack. Maybe he is
watching for that unmistakable movement of a hand flicking a piece
of sandwich in his direction, or the screeching and flurry of wings
that advertise a bag of chips has been hurled onto the beach for his
rivals to fight over. This army of noisy, unpaid and endlessly
replaceable volunteers ensures that the waste food removal is
thorough and complete before the sun goes down. No doubt a seagull's
tourist map would show all the places of interest, such as tables
outside fish and chip shops, car parks, and all the restaurants
where the owners do not put lids on their dustbins! This Sea Dogs
bowl of water was seen outside the RNLI Lifeboat shed and shop, an
example of thoughtfulness (and creative description) by those hardy
and selfless volunteers who put their lives at risk on the seas to
save lives. (187 words)
View westwards from the pier
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Phrases:
battle of, top of, back streets, they were, your own,
in the form of, too much, part of the*
as part of*, animal life, there is some, world war, there is
certainly, in our, may have their, their own
car park,
as we, years ago, as soon as we, point of view, do not, and was, and
were
*Note: "part of the" and "as part of"
override the
normal rule where hook F/V is sounded before halving for T this
only occurs in some phrases (e.g. report of, instead of, in spite
of, sort of) and never occurs in normal outlines.
Notes:
1. nylon, line Note vowel placement is according to
the direction of the stroke Ell
2. multi-storey, multiply Halve the Ell when there is a good join
3. 2002, 1902 Single slash for this century, double slash for
previous or in full, others in full
4. UK, United Kingdom Differentiate when the speaker says the
letters or the name in full
5. eastwards, northwards southwards westwards Wd, omitting R, is
preferable when there is a good join
6. torchlit torchlight Interchangeable words, therefore insert the
vowel
7. in order to, in order
8. in no doubt, in any doubt Always insert the vowel for "no"
9. and is, as the write anti-clockwise; the same applies to other
combinations of is/his/as/has with and/the
10. 140 million years ago, 2 hundred years ago, 2 thousand years
ago.
Links:
www.1066country.com
Hastings visitors website
www.wildhastings.org.uk
Hastings Country Park Nature Reserve
www.recyclingwood.org.uk
The Hastings and
Bexhill Wood Recycling Project
http://hpwrt.co.uk
Hastings Pier & White Rock Trust
www.piers.co.uk
National Piers Society
www.hbbs.info
Hastings Borough Bonfire Society
www.rnli.org.uk Royal National
Lifeboat Institution
As a student of the "winged art" of
shorthand, be like our feathered friend here he carries no
luggage, laptop or batteries, just the simple tools of his trade,
his eyes and ears alert at all times, ready to leap into action
faster than all the other seagulls, in order to win the prize!
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