Queens Road - Revisited

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Richard
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Queens Road - Revisited

Postby Richard » Sat Dec 16, 2017 6:50 pm

I have noticed a bit of an upturn in Queens Road lately.
A new high quality Chefs kitchen-ware shop, a new delicatessen serving hot salt-beef sandwiches and filled bagels (plus a lot more), a couple of new and larger mini-supermarkets and of course the slowly rising new block of flats near Morrisons.
The newish Imperial pub may not to be everyone's tastes, as it serves rather expensive home-brewed (micro brewery) beer and £10 (plus) oven-cooked pizza's, but there is a demand and good luck to the new owners for making a go of it.
The Turkish Coffe House makes a change from the American chains further in the Town centre.
OK, so Queens road is still full of seedy-looking joints but at least some new shops are raising the bar a little and this has to be welcomed.

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seahermit
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Re: Queens Road - Revisited

Postby seahermit » Sun Dec 17, 2017 10:28 am

Yes. Queens Road is a bit pleasanter to walk down lately, I haven't had time to check out the new kitchen shop but it looks smart and interesting. Several quite good antique shops too. The newish coffee house (some complicated foreign name!) is nice and they are hosting philosophy evenings every two weeks. Definitely trying those out shortly.

In contrast, I was in the Wetherspoon pub with a friend last night and it's hard not to be extremely rude about the people in there - packed with very scruffy (probably unemployed) youths and half-naked girls, the noise was indescribable. Upstairs in the toilets, a lake covered the floor, one large toilet roll holder had been ripped from its mounting and thrown onto the floor, another had been cast into the toilet bowl.

This is the the main pub in the town centre and is a pretty ghastly advertisement for Hastings - why are not Council inspectors monitoring the situation and the behaviour of idiots who are deliberately vandalising a place that's giving them hospitality? Needless to say, sane normal humans never go near the town centre at that time of night!

St Leonards has improved remarkably; an oasis of calm and civility with some really nice bars and restaurants. They wear proper clothes there too!

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Richard
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Re: Queens Road - Revisited

Postby Richard » Mon Dec 18, 2017 6:42 pm

"half-naked girls" - the mind boggles!

Which half? :lol:

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seahermit
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Re: Queens Road - Revisited

Postby seahermit » Tue Dec 19, 2017 2:03 am

About fifty per cent of the top section, the same waist down! Important areas not so of course, but yards of bare legs .. Kept almost spilling my beer.

Disgraceful. My friend wants us to go back tomorrow, check if the situation's any better ...

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Richard
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Re: Queens Road - Revisited

Postby Richard » Tue Dec 19, 2017 9:41 pm

I think we need to ask Hastings council what we can do to improve the 'feel good factor' and increase the quality of life in the Town centre.
The use of alcohol, just to get plastered, instead of sharing with friends in a warm atmosphere is often seen to be inviting trouble and unhappiness.
So, alcohol is fine in the right setting and in moderate amounts but if it is just being consumed in order to show off and act the fool, away from parents and reliable friends, then surely something is not working the way that it should be doing.
The Danes, the Dutch and the Swedes seem to have much higher happiness levels than we do and perhaps their attitudes to life and enjoyment are different.

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Richard
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Re: Queens Road - Revisited

Postby Richard » Tue Jan 09, 2018 7:32 pm

I hear that 'Halfords' is now being remodelled as another Chinese supermarket emporium, to add to the current Chinese supermarket, next-door-but-one.
I am not sure exactly who buys the produce currently on offer, it seems 'alien' to local tastes.
Do we have an unseen Chinese population, growing by the minute?
At least something is happening and perhaps unseen potential is being 'tapped'
Some excavations were taking place today with orange sandy clays being dug out at the back of the former 'Halfords'..

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seahermit
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Re: Queens Road - Revisited

Postby seahermit » Tue Jan 09, 2018 11:29 pm

There is a Polish food shop opposite the old Halfords, a Chinese shop already on the Halfords side. If the foreigners want to invade Queens Road and turn it into an exotic enclave full of strange and interesting food stores (like some streets in Soho and Earls Court), I would be entirely happy. Anything to improve the run-down, dismal look of Queens Road until quite recently - it's rather better currently.

I'll be one of the first to explore some of the strange foods on offer - I love Peking Duck, piles of bean shoots etc. Sometime I will buy an appropriate pan and practise some Chinese cuisine - but I need to find a good Chinese cookery book first, so that I know Wok's Wok ..

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seahermit
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Re: Queens Road - Revisited

Postby seahermit » Tue Jan 09, 2018 11:33 pm

P.S

There's a new Irish fast-food place opened up further down the street. You go past the Turkish takeaway, beyond the Indian takeaway, just past the Chinese takeaway and you come to the Irish bring-it-back ..

(Courtesy of Arthur Askey)

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Richard
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Re: Queens Road - Revisited

Postby Richard » Wed Jan 10, 2018 5:34 pm

I've never tried 'Peking Duck' Piles - they say the Chines will eat anything!
Yes! it would be good to see the equivalent of the London mix of ethnic food and culture, this makes for a more vibrant street scene.
I would draw the line at Opium Dens, however!
:)


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