Words: Merlin Betts. Images: SGH The morning of Thursday 28 August we went to the Hastings Borough Council (HBC) offices, hoping to catch the housing department after their weekly meeting. Three of us were with Thomas, a homeless man who the council are fighting in court. As I joined the group, another person responding to…
Writing: Merlin Betts. Image: Archie Lauchlan. Walking the border of Gaza… well, a similar length anyway. The Stade to the De La Warr is about 9km, not far off the length of the Gaza Strip’s southern border with Egypt. Gaza’s longer border is 51km – that’s basically from here to Brighton. I made this the…
Merlin Betts The dish, the legend: instant noodles and a tin of baked beans. I like to imagine the origin of this meal being as momentous as… curry sauce and spring rolls making it into the chip shop. But! as far as I know, it started with a friend of a friend’s parents chucking something…
Merlin Betts News in brief involves a Hex journalist summarising the news displayed in another local media outlet for that week or fortnight. The summaries will likely include personal comments and additional research not present in the original article. If you don’t like that, well, you were warned. Last week’s news in brief was covering…
Merlin Betts This week it feels like reminders of the obvious. Roadworks go on well past their timeframe. The pier might get slightly less noisy – maybe. Ill-conceived housing schemes push onward under Labour’s national encouragement. Southern Water embarrasses itself, and Helena Dollimore quotes facts and figures according to her latest sealed instructions from Labour…
Merlin Betts Sandrock Bends, an ancient woodland and wildlife corridor to Sussex Weald, is being considered for housing by a private developer. Campaign group Save Sandrock Bends (SSB) say that the terrain and water infrastructure cannot cope with the removal of plants and building of houses, with their foundations and sewage needs. They suggest that…
Merlin Betts Hey reader. I’ve gone a bit rogue here and written you a 4,000 word article. I realise in this day and age that makes it less appealing to read. I’ll probably break down parts of it into other shorter articles, but in the meantime this is my best attempt at a proper overview…
Words: Merlin Betts, Photos: @sonskaphotographystudio Cold winter sun in the town centre, the occasional ray of light and heat caught by a winter jacket, or touching a frosty face. It’s a Saturday, and among the steady flow of shoppers, drinkers and cafe enthusiasts, people are stopping to read freshly printed copies of Hex, wet paste…
Merlin Betts Second night in the Piero Lounge. Now the confirmed refuge for any wary (or weary) stranger when dusk falls grey and harsh over Nuneaton – if that stranger is sober and needs to charge multiple electrical devices. Doubtful that it’ll last with so few covers on Friday and Saturday night, but the place…
Merlin Betts Hastings Housing Alliance has been formed to start fixing our local housing crisis from the ground up. But let’s not forget the lesson to be learned here: who can we trust to look after our housing, guaranteeing fair prices and good maintenance? Ourselves! Pictured above: 4 December launch day at the Observer Building,…