It's all go in Hastings and Rye
Well, there is lots of talk on the national radio about the political parties and their jamborees - sorry Conferences.
We had the Greens, now it's the Lib Dems and any day now it will be Labour and then the Conservatives. But the only people who are really fascinated by these conferences are the committed politicians (guilty) and the journalists looking for stories.
But back at home the real excitement has been taking part in our local towns – both in Hastings and Rye.
Here in Hastings we have just had our Seafood and Wine Festival –the third I have been to, and it was far and away the best. Certainly the weather had something to do with it. It's a feature of being British that we all put a good face on bad weather but secretly long for the sun to shine. And on Saturday it really did. The Stade was packed with enthusiastic buyers, local residents and visitors from further away, and the mood was really excited and expectant. I don't want anyone to think me too obsessed with food, but the local offerings were fantastic. Little portions of fried sardines from the new Webbes were my weakness. I couldn't this time face the queues for Tush's fish rolls. There was a queue of over 30 people for most of the time for his excellent fare – and good value at 2 a time.
Over in Rye the Music and Literary Festival is in full flow. I enjoyed the speech from Edward Stourton on "It's a PC World". He took us through the origins of political correctness and why he thought it had gone too far, but why it still played an important role in moderating behaviour in our society. It was difficult to ask a question without being too "un-Pc" but some Rye residents managed and the lively discussion afterwards was as entertaining as the talk itself.
This weekend I'm looking forward to hearing David Owen speak in Rye on his recent book about politicians and their illnesses. So I'm happy to be getting my politics, for now, from the local festival that is proving a great success again. A good warm up, for the Conference ahead ….
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Weather for Hastings
Sunday 05 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 1 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 12 mph
Wind direction: North
Tomorrow
Light showers
Temperature: 1 C to 5 C
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind direction: West
