Hastings was up next. I must admit the thought of playing my home town filled me with the worst nerves i’ve encountered for some time. For some reason playing in front of people you know well is worse for me than playing to a room full of people you don’t know so well. Funny eh?
We pulled up to my Mum and Dad’s place for a lovely lunch accompanied by 50’s classiscs on the radio, my Mum showed off her encyclopedic knowledge of rock n’ roll music and we were all amazed by her flawless rib, sausage and salad meal combo. What a cook! After dinner we headed down to the beach for a spot of swimming. Lorna went in, the rest of us looked on in wonder. It was icy cold and the waves were rolling in.
Lorna braves the cold and waves
Half frozen, we jumped back in the Landrover and went back to my Mum’s to record the tale of my Great Grandfathers bum tattoos form the source… It was lots of fun and after more tea and bread pudding we had run out of time. We headed over to the Old Town to check in to a B&B called The Medieval Lodge which was built in 1489. The guest house is located near The Stag on All Saints Street which in itself is a sight to behold with ancient houses jumbled together on a very narrow road.
After a quick lie down, we headed to The Stag for some food and to set up our stuff. The amazing landlord, Alan greeted us and fed us with the best meal we’ve had in a pub all trip! Saturday night in Hastings is usually a raucaous affair so we had every hope the night would turn into a massive party and we were right. A lot of my old friends and family showed up which was amazing to see (Thanks all!) and with regulars also in attendance, the place was packed out. We launched into the set and soon had the crowd singing along at the top of their voices. It was a classic gig and we all had a great time.
At the end of the night after an extended and unplanned shanty session featuring songs from locals and Skinnies alike, we got one of our new friends, Rob to record us a message for tomorrow night –
Bring on The Enterprise.