Latest news with #Hastings
Telegraph
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Telegraph
Watch: Australia ‘legend' bowls worst over you may ever see
Spectators at Leicester's Grace Road witnessed one of the most bizarre overs ever in cricket when Australia's John Hastings bowled 12 wides and a no-ball as his side slumped to a 10-wicket defeat by Pakistan in a World Championship of Legends match. After an Australian side featuring Shaun Marsh and Chris Lynnwere bowled out for just 74 in 11.5 overs – spinner Saeed Ajmal taking six wickets for 16 runs – Pakistan raced to 55 without loss when Hastings was handed the ball in the eighth over by captain Brett Lee. Then the mayhem began. The 39-year-old pace bowler, who appeared in one Test for his country, but played in 29 one-day internationals, started the nightmare over with five consecutive wides. He sent down two legal balls before following up with a no-ball when he overstepped, another wide, one leg bye, another wide, two legal deliveries and five further wides as the extras handed Pakistan victory. The Pakistan openers stood in almost disbelief as one wide followed another. Sharjeel Khan eventually finished with 32 runs off 23 balls and Sohaib Maqsood totalled 28 runs from 26 as Pakistan Champions reached the victory target in just 7.5 overs. It was a chastening experience for 6ft 6in Hastings, who is nicknamed The Duke and was the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year in 2010. He was contracted to play for Durham in the 2016 English County Championship season and in the same year won the Big Smash for the longest six in the Big Bash competition. He retired from Test and ODI cricket in 2017. The result helped Pakistan maintain their unbeaten run in the tournament and coast into the knockout stages. Australia are already through to the playoffs but cannot afford another shambolic performance.
The Sun
10 hours ago
- The Sun
The abandoned miniature railway that was once a much-loved family attraction, reopens to the public
AN abandoned miniature railway has reopened to the public for the first time in seven years. With the kids now off school for six weeks, it can be tricky to think of an endless list of activities to keep them entertained. 5 5 5 Many holiday camps and kids clubs can be extremely expensive, so for any parents looking for a budget day out the Basildon Miniature Railway at Wat Tyler Country Park offers a perfect solution. The beloved attraction finally opened its doors again last weekend, after months of renovation. First opened way back in 1988, the miniature train fell into disrepair in the 21st century and became overgrown with bushes and weeds. It closed down in 2019, but thanks to the help of locals and train enthusiasts, the quaint attraction is now back up and running, with visitors able to ride the train around the large country park, for just £4. A spokesperson for Basildon Miniature Railway said: "After a successful weekend of providing trips with members of the public riding the train for the first time in 7 years, we are pleased to announce we are open for business. "Thank you to a great team of volunteers, Hastings Miniature Railway, and Ropley Miniature Railway for helping to make this happen." Dan Radcliffe, a member of the Hastings Miniature Railway group, added: "Over the past year, we have been working with Basildon Miniature Railway to help bring this much-loved railway back into operation after seven years of closure. "The new operator and his team have worked tirelessly repairing the rails, stations, and crossing points, clearing back years of foliage, etc, and yesterday was finally the day that showed all of this hard work had been worth it." "We at Hastings have assisted along the way, giving advice, building the new road crossing, and supplying new coaches and our own Cornish pixie. "Ropley miniature railway has recently been assisted by lending them another familiar locomotive - RVM built Hasty. English seaside town to transform abandoned beach shelters into new attraction "This has been a fantastic project to have been involved in, and we take our hats off to Dan and his team at Basildon in bringing back to life a railway that had been feared may never reopen." The tiny railway track was originally just 1200 yards long and in 2012 was extended towards the park's northern entrance, making the new track one kilometre long. It takes roughly 20 minutes to take a trip on the miniature railway, which is one of the longest in Essex. The train is open on weekends, and during school holidays, from April until the end of September. THE summer holidays are here, but entertaining the kids need not cost a fortune. Here, we reveal where you can get free and cheap meals for your little ones during the 'endless' summer holidays. ASDA CAFE: Nip into an Asda cafe to feed the kids after the weekly shop. Under-16s get a hot or cold meal for £1 at any time of day. Little ones are covered, too. Kids under 18 months get a free Ella's baby food pouch with any purchase. BEEFEATER: This family-friendly pub chain makes mornings a breeze. Two kids under 16 eat for free with the purchase of an adult breakfast for £10.99. It's available from 6.30am to 10.30am midweek and 7am to 11am at weekends. BELLA ITALIA: Book a table and order an adult meal at the Italian eatery for kids aged two to 11 to get three courses and a drink for £1. Offer valid between 4pm and 6pm on Sundays to Wednesdays. On Thursdays, kids eat free all day when an adult meal is ordered from the a la carte menu. DUNELM: Make homeware shopping a fun day out. Dunelm's Pausa Cafes are offering free kids' meals for every £4 spent on their food or drink. Available all day, every day. BILL'S: Dine in at a Bill's restaurant to get up to two free kids' meals (normally £6.95 each) with an adult meal. Valid weekdays only until August 30. IKEA: Make it a food day at the Swedish home store. On every day except Fridays, enjoy a pit stop at their famous cafe from 11am to get a kids' pasta or mac and cheese dish for 95p. Other mini meals are available for £1.50. PIZZA EXPRESS: Kids up to age ten can get a free three-course Piccolo meal including dough balls, pizza or pasta and dessert with every adult meal purchased. The offer runs every day until August 11. TESCO: Pop to the supermarket cafe from Monday to Friday until August 30 for free kids' meals when an adult buys any item in the cafe. You must have a Clubcard to redeem the offer. THE RANGE: Kids under 16 get one free meal per adult main purchased at The Range cafes. Options include sandwiches, a cooked breakfast and fish and chips. All kids' meals come with a piece of fruit and a drink. Daniel Harrison, who volunteered with the railway back in the 1980s, was given a contract to renovate it, after the previous owner's death. 'I used to go down there with my parents on Sunday day trips", he said. "We got talking to the owner and I volunteered my time. "I was quite young at the time, about 12.' Despite the success of the renovation, Daniel admitted that it hasn't all been plain sailing. "The biggest challenge has been the railroad crossing; if you take any railway regardless of gauge across a road it's fraught with difficulties like complying with certain standards, being safe to operate, and it was a particular challenge." 5 5
BBC News
14 hours ago
- General
- BBC News
'Financially devastated' 18 months after St Leonards landslip
Residents in Hastings say they have been financially "devastated" by a landslip that has left them unable to live in their homes for almost 18 landslide happened in February 2024 in Old Roar Gill, damaging the gardens of nearby Ralitsa Hiteva, who owns one of the affected homes, said the local authority was not doing enough to Borough Council said it was seeking to resolve the matter, which was being handled by its insurers, and was unable to provide any further comment. The landslip led to part of Dr Hiteva's garden and swimming pool falling into a ravine behind her of her garden are now covered by white tarpaulin to help protect from further slippages."We're in exactly the same situation we were when the landslide happened," she said. "Eighteen months on nothing much has changed, we cannot live in our property. "It's hard to imagine that we would be able to safely go back." Dr Hiteva is now renting a property in Bexhill with her partner, a Ukrainian refugee and her two still has to pay her mortgage on the St Leonards property, as well as pay for experts and October, the council also voted to ask residents to help fund investigation works."It's not just the financial impact, the devastation has pretty much touched every aspect of our live," she added. 'Psychological trauma' Hastings Borough Council said it knew the number of landslips was the site of another on St Leonard's seafront in November 2023, a group of neighbours have formed a Community Interest Company to use the expertise of locals to work on the and co-ordinator Ben Ramsden believes they are "working with what the reality is"."We need to fix the cliff," he said. "It's created an unknown psychological trauma for all of the residents because we don't know what's going to happen next."The council hasn't got the money to fix the cliff, we have the skills in our community…so by working with the council, the MPs, with our community, we can fix the cliff." Hastings Borough Council said it was "grateful to the residents for the time and effort they have put into this process and are keen to continue to push this work forward to benefit all residents of Hastings".
The Independent
a day ago
- The Independent
Smugglers' adventures: All the fun of the fair (and fresh air) at the seaside in Hastings
Is it possible to cope as a single parent in charge of three children for an entire weekend? And, what's more – to actually have fun while doing it? This was the challenge I set myself when I decided to take my eight-year-old son, my 13-year-old daughter and her best friend, who's also 13, away to the seaside. We decided to escape London's sticky heatwave for somewhere with a sea breeze and plenty of cold water to cool off in. Hastings, which I'd never been to before, seemed the perfect choice. Not only is there an ancient castle for the history buffs (that's me), there's penny arcades, a funfair, an aquarium and the crowning glory: a smugglers' adventure – that's dark caves carved out of rock with actual ghosts (apparently). Talk about spooky! Setting sail We were due to 'set sail' (metaphorically) from Charing Cross station at 10.15am – on 'a proper train' as my son described it, staring back at the cramped London Underground we'd just left behind. He was right to be pleased: once we were moving, Hastings-bound – with 15 packets of crisps, seven orange juices, what felt like 500 bags of sweets and my Family & Friends Railcard all displayed proudly on the train table like an artwork – the journey to the coast became part of the adventure. Where else can you spot world-famous landmarks from the comfort of your train seat? We saw the London Eye, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, the Thames and Southwark Cathedral before anyone had even munched their way through a single snack. RDG HASTINGS ONE Carousel with one slide shown at a time. Use the Previous and Next buttons to navigate between slides. Image 1 of 4 The girls settled into watching a movie on their iPads, my son was playing a game and I actually read a book – the last time I'd read a book was probably before I had the children. In fact, this journey was so revelatory that I don't think I will ever drive again. It's all about taking trains, now. I was so relaxed, it felt like being on a spa day. Where else can you spot world-famous landmarks from the comfort of your seat? We saw the London Eye, Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, the Thames and Southwark Cathedral before anyone had munched a single snack. Just an hour-and-a-half later, we arrived in Hastings and navigated our way to our guesthouse: Ruby's Rooms – an arty space just 10 minutes from the town centre. We had the entire ground floor sea-view apartment, with a continental breakfast included, free Wi-Fi and just a 30-second walk to the beach. What a win. Sea life We'd been in the apartment for five minutes, when the kids started whining about having to get into the sea IMMEDIATELY. Beach towels borrowed from Kate at Ruby's Rooms, we headed for the shore, where the children did something utterly unthinkable: they got straight in the sea. It takes me at least an hour to work up the nerve but they were straight in and under. Unbelievable. Once they were out and I could stop anxiously hovering in the shallows worrying about them, I laid my towel on the pebbles and closed my eyes, feeling like I was in Marbella. Hot sun, salt in the air, the girls making silly TikTok videos and my son burying himself in rocks. Everything was dreamy. Even better, was getting an ice cream from one of the many artisanal ice cream shops along the parade. Black treacle flavour with a black charcoal waffle cone? My goth heart was sated! The kids scoffed a weird combo of pistachio, peppermint and bubblegum ice-cream as we tackled an incredibly steep hill on the way to the 'Smugglers' Adventure. They were enjoying themselves so much – I didn't hear a single moan from them. RDG HASTINGS TWO Carousel with one slide shown at a time. Use the Previous and Next buttons to navigate between slides. Once we we got to Smugglers' Adventure however, there was plenty of moaning. It was all ghostly though – so much that my son wrapped himself around my leg like a baby koala as soon as the eerie voice of Hairy Jack – a smuggler from the past, doubling as our tour guide ghost – boomed through the dark caverns. We had a lot of fun attempting to hoist an anchor and shouting 'boo!' at the waxworks. I laid my towel on the pebbles and closed my eyes, feeling like I was in Marbella. Hot sun, salt in the air, the girls making silly TikTok videos and my son burying himself in rocks. Everything was dreamy. Ahoy! It was time for pizza! I'd read about the 'best pizza in Hastings' online – and despite fierce competition, opted for Monellis sourdough gourmet pizza on George Street – and boy, was it worth it – if a little spicy! After another ice-cream for the walk home to cool our mouths down, we fell into the penny arcades, where we spent far too much money trying to win a dinosaur toy on the 2p slot machines. Historical Hastings The next morning, it was off to a castle to learn about history – I ignored the laments of, 'Do we have to?' And won them round by telling them about the Battle of Hastings in 1066, which I still remember even though I'm ancient. 10/10 for Mum. They got even more enthusiastic when I reminded them that according to the Bayeux Tapestry, King Harold was killed at the Battle of Hastings by being shot in the eye with an arrow. Grisly. If there's one thing I'm learning about my children, this weekend, is that they are weird, wonderful – and grisly. So, off we headed up the very steep hill, into the castle entrance, and straight into the dungeons. RDG HASTINGS THREE Carousel with one slide shown at a time. Use the Previous and Next buttons to navigate between slides. Image 1 of 4 They were a welcome break from the heat (that steep hill in 28-degree heat, carrying everyone's bags wasn't pleasant). I considered asking the man behind the counter if he would lock the kids up in the dungeons for a couple of hours, but sadly he looked too busy. Shame. Instead, we did what everyone should do when looking at the ruins of an ancient castle – cartwheels – as well as a comedy 'jump shot' through an archway; and marvelled at the genuinely stunning panoramic views. We could see right out across the bay; we could see people sailing, swimming – we could even see France, right there on the horizon, through the haze. C'est magnifique. It would be all too easy to lose track of time, but thankfully, I had a FitBit which told me we'd already done 26,000 steps (that would be the steep hill) – and our feet were aching, so we decided to grab the super-cute funicular railway lift back down the cliff to the old town. It was built in 1902, I told them. 'Was that when you were born?' my son said. Thank you, thank you… We did what everyone should do when looking at the ruins of an ancient castle – cartwheels – as well as a comedy 'jump shot' through an archway; and marvelled at the stunning panoramic views. We were really going for it now, trying to fit everything in during our final precious hours, so we made a pit-stop at the aquarium to see some cool sharks, wandered along the seafront where we discovered a truly gigantic anchor, had an incredible fish and chips meal at Maggie's and still had time for another ice-cream and a spot of shopping, before it was time to get the train home. We slumped tired but happy into our seats, knowing we could relax after all the action. What did I learn? Children are the best travel companions – funny, frank, eye-wateringly honest when something is going well… and when it isn't. They don't fake anything – when they're having fun, you know about it – and those are the sweetest moments of all. And as a bonus, Hairy Jack and the dungeons have given me great reasons to make them do their homework… Enjoy great value British adventures by train From stunning nature and the great outdoors, to culture, cuisine and incredible scenery, there's no doubt Britain has it all in spades, and these unmissable adventures are just a simple, enjoyable train ride away. So there's never been a better time to start planning some Great British getaways, from day trips to weekends away or a longer staycation. With Railcard, whether you're travelling solo or with a friend, on a couples weekend or off on holiday with the family, you can save on all sorts of train journeys around Great Britain. Railcard helps you save a third off rail travel and for just £35 for the year, it pays for itself in no time. With 9 different Railcards available, find the one for you at So make this your year to get out, experience and explore everything on your doorstep and enjoy truly great value getaways.
Chicago Tribune
2 days ago
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Officials eye fall opening of Fort Frankfort conversion
Fun, excitement and, yes, even a few scraped knees are in store in the coming months for younger residents in Frankfort. The facelift of the Fort Frankfort playground in Commissioners Park, 22108 S. 80th Ave., began in December and Park District officials hope a majority of the work will be completed by Labor Day, Sept. 1. An official opening for the playground is in limbo. The near-$2 million project received $1.7 million of state money courtesy of state Sen. Michael Hastings, who is anxious to see the project completed. 'It is a place where memories are made, scraped knees happen and imaginations run wild,' Hastings said in a statement. 'Fort Frankfort is shaping up to be just that.' Frankfort Park District Executive Director Gina Hassett said Fort Frankfort was a community-built project in 1999. Much of it was made of wood and scorching summers and bitter-cold winters took its toll on it. The old playground was torn down and the new one will be inclusive with a main play area plus standalone pieces including a musical play ensemble. There will be two shelters, an entry plaza with a custom wood arch, traditional and modern swings, play art, a sensory garden, perimeter fencing with plantings, a freestanding spinner, a freestanding climber and a shade tree. 'This will be a 98% inclusive playground,' Hassett said. 'We will have ramps to go up to the play equipment. It will be inclusive for all abilities, so we are super excited about that.' One of the shelters is already built. Many of the standalone areas have been complete. The entranceway and main play area will get the most attention in August. Between 75-125 community members helped build the original playground in 1999, using private financing. It was completed Oct. 17 that year. Even younger residents contributed to the cause as they voted on the name of the playground. 'It was built by Frankfort residents and it remains a special place for members of the community,' Hassett said. 'It's multigenerational at this point.' But a few decades ago, it was cheaper to build a playground. Not so much now. 'My worry was when the playground was nearing its end of life, would we go back to the residents and have a fundraising campaign?' Hassett said. 'Back then, I think the playground equipment cost about $200,000. Now it's in the millions.' So the state Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity grant facilitated by Hastings was huge for a Park District that Hassett said is underfunded compared to others in the area. A splash pad near the fort has been open during the construction this summer. The Park District received $350,000 in 2022 to upgrade the splash pad and that got the ball rolling on several Commissioners Park projects. Hassett said the village has received $1.6 million to expand a bike and pedestrian trail and connect it with Commissioners Park. Hassett said the park is figuratively on its own island and this is a good way to connect it to the rest of the village. Frankfort Mayor Keith Ogle in May said it will be an important link for residents on the south side of the village to be able to bike or walk to the historic downtown area. Ogle is hoping the new trail will be complete next summer. Meanwhile, more big things regarding Commissioners Park and some of the other parks in Frankfort are on the horizon. The Park District will host a Back to School Bash from 6 to 8 p.m. on Aug. 14 at Commissioners Park and Hastings is expected to deliver news at the event of more than $5 million of grant money for various park projects. Details on the projects have not been released. For now, Hastings is focusing on Fort Frankfort. 'We are building something pretty special here in Frankfort and across the south suburbs,' he said. 'It's more than bricks and lumber. It is about giving our kids a place to grow up proud of where they are from.' He also gave kudos to some of the workers from Countryside-based Schwartz Excavating for 'sweating in the summer, putting in the work and doing it right. You guys are the real deal.'
