Golden Times January 2017

with
MIKE RAXWORTHY
After the Christmas and New Year celebrations,
parties and concerts, it’s going to be a quiet
January. It’s been hard to get in listings from most
venues as our copy date is a bit earlier this time due
to the Christmas break.
An interesting event coming up at St Mary in the
Castle on Hastings Seafront is a Film and Concert
to raise money to refurbish The Cyril and Lillian
Lifeboat, with the first Hastings lifeboat ever to have
an engine (More information in the piece below).
Known as The Ghost of Dunkirk, it made many return
journeys to Dunkirk saving an estimated 2,800 allied
servicemen. I asked Stevie Stone of Jiggery Pokery
to write a song about the boat, and with film maker
Sean Taberer I’ve made a 10 minute film about it’s
interesting story.
MIKE RAXWORTHY
The Premier of our short film and subsequent concert
is on Friday 20th of January 2017, and features the
excellent 3 piece Jiggery Pokery, Festival band
with
The Salts, Harmony One, Now and Then and the R X
MIKE Shantymen. RAXWORTHY
Tickets are £8.50 in advance from
Hastings Tourist Information Centre on the seafront or
£10 on the door. Doors open at 7pm.
The Harp in Devonshire Road, Bexhill is well worth a
visit. They are starting putting on bands on the last
Saturday of each month. January 28th they have
G ru n dy. I know these guys and they are probably
one of the oldest, or rather longest established,
bands from Hastings - they’ve been going since the
sixties so expect a night of great sixties and seventies
classics!
In the same road as The Harp you’ll find No48, who
host a wide range of entertainment and events to
suit all tastes. Most live music nights include a choice
of meal so it makes a good evening out, especially if
it’s for a special occasion.
On Friday Jan 27th I’d really recommend Sa m m y
Lou Hallam. Although she’s a ‘backing track’ act
she’s got a great voice and has chosen a fabulous
selection of Soul and Tamla Motown hits. Tickets
£8.75.
Also recommended are The Deep Sea Drivers on Fri
10th February. Proper pro band with a great groove
and a whole host of soul....not a backing track in
sight!! Tickets £8.75.
Also look out for Tom Fitzpatrick on Thursday 16th
March - he’s a class act! Tickets £15 with a meal
February in Hastings Old Town is very special. Fat
Tuesday is the one not to miss! It’s the Hastings
version of Mardi Gras and has grown over the last 4
years into a mega night of live music with just about
every bar and pub in town presenting at least 5 live
acts during the night. A whole host of musicians can
be seen rushing from one bar to the other to do a 20
minute stint. All venues are free entry.
It all ends in the after party at The Brass Monkey in
Havlock Road which does have an entry price....
tickets for this are available either at The Albion or at
Substance in Robertson Street.
"The Ghost of Dunkirk" returns home, 85 years old and tired.
Local residents, Dee-Day White and Tush Hamilton,
with finance provided by Skinners Sheds, have brought
The Cyril and Lillian Bishop lifeboat back to Hastings
to be restored. The boat has had a distinguished and
fascinating history, making it worthy of preservation.
The Cyril and Lillian Bishop
lifeboat, first arrived in Hastings
from the boat builders, J Samuel
White & Co of Cowes, Isle of Wight
in April 1931. She was crewed
by Will Curtis, Frank Martin, Fred
Doughty and now with her new
35hp petrol engine she needed a
mechanic, Bill Hilder.
During her service to Hastings in
the 30’s she saved 34 lives, but she is best known by her
well-earned nickname ‘The Ghost of Dunkirk’ when in
late May 1940 the Dunkirk evacuation needed shallow
draught vessels to make their way to Dover. The RNLI
was asked to send as many lifeboats as possible and
coxswain George Moon quickly called a crew together
consisting of Will Martin, Bodger Barton, Jumbo White,
Bill Hilder and finally Freddie Button.
On arrival at Dover George Moon tells us that all the
lifeboats were commandeered by the Royal Navy and
he and the rest of the crew travelled back to Hastings
by train. She went on to save an average of 850 British
and French servicemen per day and made several
journeys back and forth across the channel. It was
said that she appeared like a ghost amongst the smoke
and mist during the evacuations.
After doing her duty at Dunkirk the
boat was hosed out to remove the
vast quantities of sand from her
decks and a hole was found in her
bow, sand in her fore locker and
her mast head light was also full
of sand. Two bullet holes were
also found.
The story of the Cyril and
Lillian Bishop in her RNLI mode
continued until 1950 when the new Hastings Lifeboat,
the MTC arrived in Hastings. Then, like a ghost, she
disappeared into obscurity until 2015, when Dee-
Day and Tush transported the lost-lady back home to
Hastings.
Now she’s back, she needs a lot of attention, and
money, to restore her to her former glorious self!
If you'd like to help, you can contact 07812 077008 or
07546 461302 for more information or visit :
www.facebook.com/cyrillilian.bishop
24
Find us online at www.goldentimes.co.uk