BV 34 Final

‘Mick’s’ key-cutting service has

opened on schedule on Monday of

this week, in London Road. Mick

not only cuts keys, but sells watch

batteries and a wide selection of

handbags. Despite the rain, by

lunchtime on his first day, Mick had

had a steady stream of customers

through his door.

Did Mick know that there are now

three shops which cut keys in

Bohemia? “Yes, but mine is the

only one where you would know

that - everyone can see the keys

through the window. Hastings

Locksmiths looks like it just sells

safes, and Bohemia Lighting looks

like it only sells lights,” said Mick.

Mick’s. Opposite Buchanan

Gardens, London Road.

ST PETER’S ROAD

House ‘sold’No 34, St Peter’s Road, has been

‘sold’, subject to contract. The buyer

is in ‘no hurry’ to take possession,

which is handy, as sellers, Brian and

Jacky Scales haven’t yet found a new

place to live - they’ve made an offer,

two offers, in fact, on a bungalow, but

no agreement has yet been reached

about the price. “If necessary, we’ll

move into rented accommodation,

until we find a place, as we do really

want to move,” said Jacky. The figure

agreed for no. 34 is believed to be

close to the asking price of £285,000.

Rush Witt & Wilson , 442443 E-

mail: [email protected]

Children returning to Christchurch

School next month are in for a sur-

prise. Latest addition to the play-

ground facilities at the Church of

England Primary school in

Woodland Vale Road, is a new play

area bounded by a wall of giant

coloured pencils. Earlier this week,

painters from the firm ‘Sector UK’

of Hove were putting the final

touches to the fence and the rub-

berised area it encloses.

Sector UK of Hove, fencing serv-

ices - domestic security and eques-

trian. 01273 500588. 130 Vale

Avenue Patcham, BN1 8YF.

Bohemia Village VoiceNo. 34. Saturday 26 August 2006. Your free local newsletter - anything and everything to do with Bohemia

‘For Sale’ signs appeared on

Monday of this week on the

three town houses being built in

Spring Street. Nos. 1, 2, and 3

or ‘Spring Villas’ as we must

get used to calling them, in

Spring Street off Tower Road

are being marketed by Abbey

Gate of Battle.

The properties are described in

estate agent-ese as “A new

development of three town

houses in a quiet backwater

near to the heart of St Leonards.

The properties are due for com-

pletion in the autumn of 2006 and

comprise: living room/dining room;

kitchen; cloakroom; two first floor

bedrooms; bathroom; master bed-

room with en suite shower room;

courtyard gardens; gas central heat-

ing.”

The asking prices for each property

is £159,950.

Abbey Gate Property, 12 - 13 High

Street, Battle, Sussex, TN32 0AE.

Tel: 01424 772477. Fax: 01424

775327. E-mail: mail@abbey-

gate.co.uk

POST OFFICE

No buyers for Post OfficeThe premises formerly used as

our Post Office in Bohemia

Road are still for sale - at

£170,000. They are described

by agents Rush, Witt & Wilson

as “A mixed commercial, resi-

dential investment opportunity

comprising a lock-up shop and

a three bedroom maisonette sit-

uated in a good secondary loca-

tion.” The sizes of the bed-

rooms are stated as 12'6 x 12'3,

12'4 x 10'6 and 9'2 x 5'4. The

reception room is 18'1 x 12'9.

All that is left of the Post

Office is the red paint and the

lonely pillar box. The premises

were used for a few months by

John of Furniture Corner earli-

er this year.

All enquiries, please contact Rush Witt & Wilson - Hastings on 01424

442443 E-mail: [email protected]

Post Office earlier this week

Three town houses in ‘quiet backwater’ on sale at £160,000 ea.SPRING STREET

Mick’s rainy day openingNEW BUSINESS

Giant pencils to keep kids inCHRISTCHURCH SCHOOL

A painter puts the final touches to Christchurch School’s novelty fence

Spring Villas town houses - new development in Spring Street

St Peter’s Road property - ‘sold’

Under each name were written the

biggest sum that could be borrowed,

in view of that person’s state of for-

tune; the times at which he was in

funds; and the hours of meals, with

notes on the sort of meal usually

provided. Besides this table,

Schaunard had a little file of

accounts, kept in perfect order, in

which he noted , to the smallest

detail, the sums lent him. He did not

wish to encumber himself beyond a

certain figure, which was still at the

end of the pen of a Norman uncle to

whom he was heir. As soon as he

owed an individual twenty francs,

Schaunard closed his account and

settled it in a lump, even if this

meant borrowing from people to

whom he owed less. In this fashion,

he always maintained a certain cred-

it, which he called his ‘floating

debt’. And since it was known that

he always paid back as soon as his

personal resources allowed, people

were willing to oblige him when

they could.

On this occasion, then, ever since

leaving his room at eleven in the

morning, Schaunard had been trying

to assemble the necessary seventy-

five francs. But he had

collected altogether

only one solitary crown

- the result of the united

efforts of the letters M,

V and R on his famous

list. The rest of the

alphabet, owing rent

like himself, had been

entirely unable to

oblige.

At six o’clock a vio-

lent appetite rang the

dinner-bell in his stom-

ach. He happened to be at the

Barrière du Maine, where the letter

U lived; so he went up to visit the

letter U, where he kept a napkin

ring, whenever there were any nap-

kins.

“Where do you wish to go, sir?”

asked the janitor, stopping him in the

passage.

“To Monsieur U.”

“He’s not in.”

“Is madame U in?”

“She’s not in, either.

They told me to tell a

friend of theirs, who’d be

visiting them this

evening, that they were

dining out. In fact, if it’s

you they were expecting,

here’s the address they

left.” The janitor showed

Schaunard a scrap of

paper, on which his friend

U had written:

Gone to dine with

Schaunard, Rue --, No --. Come and

join us.

“The farcical tricks of coinci-

dence!” Schaunard reflected, as he

went away. He remembered that he

was within a few yards of a little

pot-house where he had once or

twice eaten at no great cost, and

directed his steps to this establish-

ment, which is on the Chaussée du

Maine and whose name, Mother

Cadet’s, is well known in Low

Bohemia. It is an eating-and-drink-

ing house, whose regular customers

are carters from the Route

d’Orleans, women singers from

Montparnasse and male stars from

the Bobino music hall. In the

warmer months, art students from

the numerous studios round the

Luxembourg, unpublished men-of-

letters and hacks employed by mys-

terious periodicals come in droves to

Mother Cadet’s, which is famous for

its rabbit-stew, its genuine chou-

croute and a watery white wine with

a flavour of musket-flints.

[To be continued …] [Vie de Bohème by Henry Mürger, avivid portrait of the ‘Bohemian’ life ofthe artistic quarter of Paris in the nine-teenth century was originally published(by Michel Lévy) in 1851. The extractabove is taken from a translation byNorman Cameron, published by HamishHamilton. The illustration is by DodiMasterman.]

Bohemia Village Voice No. 34. Saturday 26 August 2006. Page 2 Page 2

A dream marriage in an Indianpalace - in Bohemia

Be different - get mar-

ried - in an Indian palace

- without leaving

Bohemia. The ‘palace’

is the Durbar Hall at

Hastings Museum

which is now a licensed

venue for civic marriage

ceremonies. Originally

built as the centre piece

of an Indian palace for

the Indian & Colonial

Exhibition of 1886, the

building is on two floors

with a lantern roof.

The Museum is currently closed for

refurbishment and will, hopefully,

reopen in May 2007. Although the

hire fee has yet to be confirmed, it

will probably be in the region of

£225-250. The hirer is required to

complete a booking form, which can

be obtained by contacting the muse-

um.

The Durbar Hall is used for cere-

monies and seats approximately 60

people. It is carved in Hindu &

Muslim style in teak & deodar cedar.

Weddings are held on the ground

floor where there is seating for up to

70 people. Access to the Durbar Hall

is via the main entrance to the

Hastings Museum & through the

Long Gallery where historic paint-

ings of the town are on display.

Opportunities for photography are

superb & the grounds outside the

Museum can also be used. There is

parking for approximately 30 cars

outside the building & further space

in nearby Cambridge & Falaise

roads. Music is provided by the hir-

ers. The museum is unable to offer

toast or reception facilities. All book-

ings are handled by Jennifer Handley

who meets with the hirers to discuss

the availability of dates, their

requirements and arrange a final

meeting to discuss their plans for the

'big day'.

If you require any additional

information, please contact Jen

Handley, Museum Administrative

Officer, Hastings Museum and Art

Gallery, John's Place, Bohemia

Road, Hastings, TN34 1ET. Tel: +44

(0)1424 451152. Fax: +44 (0)1424

451133. Website: www.hmag.org.uk

Direct line to Jen: 01424 781166.

The magnificent Durbar Hall - on hire forweddings

HASTINGS MUSEUM

Newell post lost - and Ballbounces in to take overH o r n t y e

Park's general

manager, Rob

Newell and

his assistant

have gone,

and it seems

they won’t be

m i s s e d .

Acting man-

ager John

Ball (picured)

said "We are

hoping to

replace them

as soon as

p o s s i b l e .

Final inter-

views on

Thursday of

this week, so hopefully we'll make a

decision then.” John was clearly not

impressed with either of the departed

staff. "As far as the general manager,

Rob Newell is concerned, he's gone.

He left about the end of July. He did-

n't do what he was asked to do. He

spent too much time on the schools'

project and nothing else. He tried to

develop that side of it and has

allowed the whole business just to

implode. And now I'm trying to get it

back again. He never controlled his

assistant, who should have been

entering everything onto the system."

What is John doing? "Everything's in

such a mess. The invoices haven't

been sent out for two and a half

months. There's

nothing on the

computer sys-

tem. Now it's a

matter of trying

to get everything

on the system,

get the invoices

out, get the cred-

itors sorted out,

and try to find

out where we

are. I've got to

sort every

invoice from

every company

to make sure it's

on the system.

Has John got

any help? "Kate,

the night time bar supervisor, who

does the accounts for a firm in

Bexhill, has kindly agreed to come in

of an evening to help out."

Isn’t John supposed to be working

part-time? "I've been coming back,

to try to move things along, and that's

been going alright." John has worked

160 hours in the last three weeks, and

he was only supposed to have been

doing 15 hours a week. "My wife is

not very impressed," says John, with

a wry smile. "I'm also covering for

Ami (Ami Wallis, receptionist)

who's in Cyprus for two weeks."

Horntye Park 01424 716666. John

Ball, general manager.

HORNTYE PARK

Vie de Bohème - how the Bohemian Club was formed (Part 13 of 24)

SERIAL

Acting manager John Ball, busy sort-ing out invoices on Tuesday


Attempted burglaryThere was an attempted burglary on

Thursday the 17th August between

9:50pm and 10:20pm. A window

was broken at a premises in Upper

Clarence Road , Bohemia, and an

attempt was made to gain entry.

If anyone was in this area and

heard or saw anything suspicious

please can they contact Sussex

Police on 08456 070 999 or anony-

mously on Crimestoppers 0800 555

111. Please quote reference number

SH1/9867/06.

Concerned by the sight of our

unswept streets, Local Councillor

Vivienne Bond has been asking the

Council when our back streets will

see a cleaner.

On Tuesday of this week, Vivienne

contacted Richard Homewood at

Hastings Borough Council to

protest: “Once again I feel I must ask

when the back streets of Bohemia

will see a street cleaner? I have been

at home for the last 4 weeks and

every time the rubbish is collected

some of the bags split. The men do

pick up what they can quickly but

the streets really do now need a good

sweep.

I go out and clear up the mess in my

street but we cannot expect the gen-

eral public to do this. Bohemia Road

is reported to me as being cleaned

most days by a machine but as I

drive along it I am aware that there is

litter all over the place. Can I possi-

bly meet or have the name of the

Supervisor for this area so as I can

get some reassurances about what is

happening in the Gensing ward?”

The next day, Richard Homewood

replied, revealing that, so concerned

is he about the problem, he’s been

photographing the evidence.

He said “I can personally concur

with your views. I regularly use the

Bohemia area every morning and

lunchtime. I have got into the habit

of routinely photographing problems

with torn open sacks, litter etc. in the

area and yesterday I sent in five

reports to the refuse and recycling

line which were passed on to the

contractor. Today I have followed up

three of these where the level of

response has been unsatisfactory,

particularly in relation to clearing up

spillages after collecting refuse

which is specifically mentioned in

the new contract.”

On Thursday, Vivienne says: “I am

about to put the flags out. There are

two men in my street clearing up the

rubbish , how's that for a response. I

trust they are doing all of the area.”

Richard Homewood, Executive

Director, Environment & Safety,

HBC, 01424 783200. � Vivienne

Bond, Lib Dem Councillor for

Gensing Ward. 01424 781035.

RON BEAUCHAMP

Art show in preparationAn art exhibition is being put togeth-

er for Ron

Beauchamp, who

died five years ago,

aged 70 in St

Leonards. Ron had

moved down from

London just three

years previously and

left a number of

paintings, photo-

graphs and drawings

which are only now

being collected, sort-

ed and catalogued

ready for the exhibi-

tion. The show is

expected to take place

in the autumn, at 79,

Bohemia Road and will run for

seven days. A full colour catalogue

will be available at

the exhibition.

The coloured pas-

tel picture, shown

above, is titled

‘Hic!’ and is dated

March 1989, size

42 by 30cm. All

the paintings will

be available for

sale, and all profits

will go to one of

Ron’s favourite cat

charities.

John Humphries

01424 446759.

Coloured pastel work by thelate Ron Beauchamp

STREET LITTER

When will the back streetssee a street cleaner?

Long term Bohemia resident, Vic

Chalcraft, 80, of Aldborough Road,

asks “What’s the Bohemia Village

Voice for? What’s it achieve? Who

gets to read it? Only people on the

internet.” In answer, publisher and

editor John Humphries replies:

“The Bohemia Village Voice is a

local newsletter, containing local

news about the people, businesses ,

organisations and events of

Bohemia. It is not trying to compete

with the Hastings Observer, but is

attempting to be a useful and inter-

esting aspect of life in this part of

town. I am very keen to see the peo-

ple behind the stories to have their

say and to appear as real people, not

just names. These are early days, and

the format of the newsletter hasn’t

yet had time to settle down. It is still

evolving.”

“What has it achieved?” Vic asks.

“I’d like to think that the stories cov-

ered so far, do have an interest for

people living in Bohemia. It’s nice to

know what’s going on in one’s local-

ity, and I think the Voice carries sto-

ries which wouldn’t be covered by

the Observer for instance.”

And who gets to read it? “Well, it

has to be said that not many people

at present. The current circulation is

less than 100, including the printed

version. I am looking at ways of

increasing the readership, and the

obvious way is to print off copies

and deliver them directly to people’s

homes.

At present, I am trying to find people

who would be prepared to deliver

copies in their street or area. Once

we have a respectable circulation, it

should be easier to obtain advertis-

ing. And with advertising revenue,

the whole project becomes a more

realistic venture.”

Do you have views about

Bohemia Village Voice? We’d love

to hear. Contact details: page 4.

BOHEMIA VILLAGE VOICE

CHRISTCHURCH SCHOOL

Vic asks “What’s it for?”

School floodsAfter heavy rains on Thursday

morning and afternoon, the play-

ground at Christchurch School in

Woodland Vale Road, Bohemia,

became flooded. The low lying play

area looked more like a shallow lake

than a playground. What a shame the

school children are on holiday -

they’d have found a hundred ways of

enjoying the water.

Christchurch School, Woodland

Vale Road. Tel. 01424 422953.

Christchurch School playground is flooded on Thursday this week

[From a ‘Hastings Observer, February

1966, article entitled ‘Bohemia For Gipsy

Teas And Syllabub’, which explores the

possibilities of how Bohemia got its

name.]

Miss Mary Redmayne, of 34, Marine

Court, St Leonards, has written, “If there

is one thoroughfare in Hastings which

fascinates me, it is Bohemia Road. Was it,

I wonder, named after the former king-

dom of Bohemia, famous for its crystal

chandeliers, delicately coloured table

glass, and snow-storm letter weights, or in

honour of Princess Anne, daughter of

King Charles IV of Bohemia, who came

to England in 1383 to marry King

Richard II? I should be very pleased if any

of your readers could answer this ques-

tion.”

Inquiry at the Hastings Museum brought

the view that neither suggestion was real-

ly likely as Hastings had no real link with

either. Mr J. Mainwaring Baines, the

curator, writes:

“The first thing one does in trying to find

the origin of a placename, is to try to find

the earliest mentions of it, and also to trace

the different spellings, for this may some-

times provide a valuable clue. The best

known reference to Bohemia is in the first

Hastings Guide, published by John Stell

in 1794, for the benefit of visitors that

HISTORY OF BOHEMIA

Gipsy teas and syllabub (part 1 of 5)


Bet Bet BetDear Sir,

In response to Councillor Bond’s let-

ter in the last edition, I would like to

point out that despite her objection

on 'moral grounds' to the opening of

Bet Bet Bet 24/7 which was voiced

at the Hastings Planning Board

meeting on February 1, the fact is

that when Councillor Bond made her

presentation to the board outlining

the reasons for her concerns, she

stated 'I know there is nothing I can

do to stop this application on plan-

ning grounds, but I thought I had to

say something'!

It was the frivolous nature of her

objection that I took issue with,

which served no purpose other than

to delay the commencement of our

refurbishment, cost us a great deal

of money and ensure that we missed

the Cheltenham Festival which is

THE biggest race meeting of the

year.

To take the moral high ground with

any business that wishes to invest in

the area is ridiculously short-sighted,

or maybe Councillor Bond would

prefer to see a whole string of board-

ed up empty shops.

I agree that in an ideal world

Bohemia Road would be full of

shops that sell fish, meat, green gro-

cery and a Post Office, but this is

only going to happen if new invest-

ment regenerates the area. Maybe

Councillor Bond should channel her

energy into raising new investment

rather than hindering businesses that

are intent on moving into the area.

It would also help if in future she

could research applications thor-

oughly before raising objections, as

she was under the impression that

this business was owned by people

from outside Hastings (it isn’t, our

planning application was made by

our development team in Liv-

erpool), and that Aldridge &

Trillwood was a long standing local

business (owned and run from East

Grinstead) !

Rob Prior

Bet Bet Bet 24/7. Bohemia Road

Puzzle CornerQ. Who do you imagine this fine

looking famous local gent to be?

Answer next week. No clues - it’s

too easy.

Answer to last week’s puzzle: The two beautiful stained glass win-

dows, featured last week and shown

below, are to be found in the porch

at St Peter’s Church.

Letters

Grapevine

Bohemia Village VoiceEdited and published by John

Humphries at 33, St Peter’s

Road, Bohemia Village,

Sussex, England, TN37 6JQ. Telephone:

01424 446759. Mobile: 07891 634377.

E-mail: [email protected]

Proof reader: Valentine Torrington.

Items for inclusion: please send to the

editor. To begin receiving this newslet-

ter: please send an e-mail to John

Humphries with the message “Please

subscribe me to Bohemia Village

Voice.” To cease receiving this newslet-

ter: please send an e-mail to John

Humphries, with the message “Please

unsubscribe me from Bohemia Village

Voice.” Circulation figures for August 5

issue: e-mail version: 63, printed ver-

sion: 7, total circulation: 70. First pub-

lished in May 2006. © 2006 John

Humphries.

Next issue: Saturday 2 September

2006. Please note that the deadline for

all items for inclusion, is 5:00pm

Thursday 31 August.

Blackberry pieDear Sir,

I was very pleased to see that you

had drawn readers' attention to the

free crop of blackberries. You men-

tioned blackberry pies, but, in my

opinion they are invariably better as

part of blackberry and apple pies.

The apples should be Bramley,

coarsely chopped and combined with

the blackberries in about an equal

quantity, with plenty of sugar and

given a thick shortcrust pastry lid,

brushed with milk or egg and sprin-

kled with sugar.

Peter WinderManningtree, Essex.

Apple DumpDear Sir,

The following recipe for Apple

Dump(ling?) is a 19th. century one

from Fairford in Gloucestershire,

and is taken from Gloucestershire &

Avon Life, Februrary 1978.

To make a good pudding,

take heed to your cousin

Take two penn'orth of eggs

when a shilling a dozen

And of the same fruit

which Eve had once chosen,

Well pared and well chopped,

at least half a dozen.

Six ounces of bread,

give your uncle the crust,

The crumbs must be grated

as small as the dust.

Four ounces of sugar

won't make it too sweet,

Some spice, also nutmeg,

will make it complete,

Six ounces of currants

from stones you must sort,

Least they break up your teeth

and spoil all the sport,

Take four ounces of suet

well chopped it must be,

The mixture now ready,

quite good you will see.

Three hours let it boil

without hurry or flutter,

Then serve it upwith sugar and butter.

Shelagh Davy

Clarence Road

[Anyone want to try this one?]

SH Tackle

Fishing tackle shop ‘SH Tackle’ has

a photograph of the outside of the

shop taken in 1902 and it is said to

show ‘an almost identical’ shop front

to that existing today. Owner Bert is

reported to claim that even a piece of

corrugated cardboard above the door

is still there.

79, Bohemia Road

Internal work at this property pro-

gresses on schedule. A new partition,

indoor loo, and plumbing and elec-

trical work is being undertaken at the

shop which housed Hastings

Locksmiths for many years.

Builders, Dovetails Construction of

St Leonards are expected to finish

work on the listed building early

next month.

Newgate Road

Numbers 35 and 37 Newgate Road

have applied to put up garages at the

end of their properties with access

from Aldborough Road! Right oppo-

site a certain Councillor’s house: it is

another issue Vivienne Bond will

have to get involved with. She says

“It could be the beginning of a war

around here as we will lose parking

space to the houses that we pay rates

for in our road.”

were coming in increasing numbers to try

the sea-bathing and other delights of this

comparatively new found seaside resort.

Among other attractions, the author men-

tioned possible walks and expeditions in

the district, and wrote: ‘The road to

Hollington Corner, as it is called, lies over

the white rock to the right, when you enter

a pleasant lane, and pass by a farmhouse

on the right called Bohemia, occupied by

Mr Foster, and famous for plenty of fine

cream; on which account it is much fre-

quented in the summer by tea and syl-

labub (see note below) parties.’ ” [To

be continued ...]

Syllabub was a popular dessert in seven-

teenth, eighteenth and early nineteenth cen-

tury England. It was popular for celebra-

tions, special occasions and holidays due to

its festive appearance.

Many original recipes survive with various

modes of preparation. Generally Syllabub

was made with a mixture of whipped cream,

whipped egg whites, white wine, sugar,

lemon juice and zest of lemon.

The quantity of white wine added would

determine the consistency qualifying

whether the mixture would be a creamy

dessert or a popular punch. White wine

could be substituted with apple cider or other

alcoholic beverages.

One could always detect the drinker of the

beverage by the thick white mustache left

behind. The following modern adaptation

will make a Syllabub Dessert Parfait. For a

punch add more wine until you have

achieved the desired consistency.

Ingredients: 2 cups of whipped cream,

½ cup of white sugar, 1/8 cup of white wine,

1/8 cup of freshly-squeezed lemon juice and

zest of lemon, grated nutmeg, sprig of mint,

lemon slice.

Method:Whip cream until thick in a chilled

bowl. When the cream begins to thicken,

add the sugar, white wine, lemon juice and

zest of lemon. Continue to whip until thick.

Chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Spoon the mixture into footed parfait glass-

es and garnish with a sprig of mint, a slice of

lemon and a sprinkle of grated nutmeg.

Serves ten.

Gipsy teas and syllabub (from page 3)

Who is this chap?

Documents

BV 34 Final