Hastings Forum

Bernard and Sir Humphrey discuss as-yet-unwritten minutes of a Cabinet meeting Bernard: So you want me to falsify the minutes? Sir Humphrey: I want nothing of the sort! It's up to you Bernard; what do you want? Bernard: I want to have a clear conscience. Sir Humphrey: A clear conscience. Bernard: Ye...

Local authorities spend public money and must tell local residents and taxpayers how their money is spent. They do this by publishing yearly accounts and details of their spending. As an interested person you can inspect an authority’s accounts and related documents. Most of the management and coord...

If a council, in this case Hastings, is offered money for government-sponsored projects then you can't really blame Hastings for eagerly accepting the cash. If money offered is then the council in Hastings cannot be expected to insist on conditions, rules, regulations. That is down to whoever offers...

There are lots of appalling pubs and food places in Hastings. They get away with it because many locals are downbeat, have had a hard life and do not have the confidence to challenge poor quality/service. They just want cheap stuff regardless. The men do not care about their appearance. The women ar...

I bought a couple of baguettes at Gregg's today.
I felt ripped off.
Meager fillings and £2.95p each - very poor value indeed!
They used to be good and probably still are along popular London high streets.
Why are they skimping on fillings in Hastings?

Clearly it is only with property that you encounter planning and building control issues. Even obscure covenants can be resurrected to trip you up. I recently sold a property with an 1876 covenant restricting the height of a passageway three doors down and had to agree to pay indemnity in case it ha...

"The unwritten rules/conventions dictate that original factory specifications and authenticity are king and professional restorers stick to those standards pretty religiously."

That is what you stated seahermit.

Clearly not the case.

Hastings council is a tame creature compared with Liverpool's council, fiercely anti-Tory and one of Britain’s most powerful councils with a “rotten culture” of dubious contracts and backroom bullying, where staff were silenced and official records dumped in skips. In the mid-1980s Hatton’s Militant...

Speaking of old motorbike restoration, I had a Welsh neighbour, a chemist, who told me he had a prized vintage motorbike in his youth, the brand name eludes me; he found the pistons did not fit snugly. I am also uncertain how many pistons. Anyway, he could not afford to have them re-plated, presumab...

In the case of property there are general rules or guidelines, when these are flouted then regulations may be enforced by law. In the case of fine art or classic car restoration you are free from any rules. Market forces do not stop poor restoration work and play no part in rules, guidelines, regula...