In Focus Podcasts

Articulate, immaculately dressed, ambitious and with a laser like focus on where he wants to be! Daniel Robinson is a Hastings lad, a former Filsham Valley pupil he had spent his time since leaving education building his career, treading a well worn path. But last year he decided to change direction and gave up his job and took off for four months to travel in Latin America. Now he’s home he’s got a business to build and a social media following that’s growing by the day. https://www.thetiesupply.co.uk/ https://www.hastingsinfocus.co.uk/2019/10/26/adventurer-dan-didnt-dare-to-dream-he-dared-to-conquer-the-world-well-part-of-it/

'Someone else can tell you your fat but all it does is make you a bit depressed,' says Rob Cooke who this year found the motivation to shed five stones and plans to keep on slimming down. Rob has overhauled his lifestyle and the way he eats and he quite literally got on his bike to feel fitter and healthier while at the same time raising money for a cause close to his heart, prostate cancer, which claimed his father's life just over two years ago. Rob's self notivation is inspiring and makes a great listen. AND if you want to donate to his cause then just follow the link below.https://www.justgiving.com/page/robert-cooke-1704101648022?utm_medium=fundraising&utm_content=page%2Frobert-cooke-1704101648022&utm_source=copyLink&utm_campaign=pfp-share

Ross Drury has never backed away from a challenge and his new challenge, along with business partner Dan Hutton, is to turn the Stade Hall in to the coolest village hall of all time, to create what he describes as a significant cultural building in the centre of town, hosting everything from pilates to opera and theatre via craft fairs and anything else local people choose to use it for - it's a blank canvass he says.On leaving university all Ross wanted to do was pursue a career in theatre but always brutally honest about the range of his talents, he says he's a terrible actor which is why he chose to direct, "if I wanted to be involved in good theatre I had to stop acting" he says. Just out of university when the financial crisis hit he struggled to make his projects work and says on many occasions he was one mistake away from being homeless.In this interview Ross talks with brutal honesty about his successes and his failures, about the need to be objective about your own work and says quite bluntly that as far as his career is concerned, at nearly 40 he has still not achieved what he set out to do.If you want to book The Stade hall or find out more about its potential go to https://stadehall.com/

In 2018 structural problems spelled the end for St Leonards Parish Church which now stands abandoned on the St Leonards seafront. In this episode we take a look at its history.To see phtotgraphs of the interior of the church visit https://www.hastingsinfocus.co.uk/2021/10/26/the-sad-history-of-st-leonards-parish-church/ Or to find out more about the Science on Sea project follow this link https://www.hastingsinfocus.co.uk/2020/08/11/science-on-sea/

Just three years ago there were no Greens on Hastings Borough Council, now there are 12, they've become the biggest group and have taken on the task of running a minority administration. Julia Hilton was the first Green councillor on HBC, elected in Old Hastings in a landslide in 2021, she's also a County Councillor and now she is leader of the borough council. We spoke to her about what local people can expect from a Green run local authority.

Did Aleister Crowley really curse Hastings? If you live here is it really impossible to move away and stay away? The story of Crowley and is curse is a fscinating one.

Last time we spoke to Lotti Conway we asked: "How would you cope if all your memories were erased overnight?" Lotti had a massive seizure in April 2020 that left her in hospital, scared and alone as she couldn't remember where she was or why she was there. Doctors diagnosed Autoimmune encephalitis and when we met her journey along the road to recovery had begun, with no one quite sure where the destination was going to be. Eighteen months later we've been back to talk to Lotti and mum Kate to find out how the journey along that road has been going and in this interview you'll hear how they are both coming to terms with the fact that Lotti's condition is not going to get any better and her short term memory problems are something they are having to come to deal with as a part of every day life. The pair admit there have been a lot of tears, but as you will hear there's a lot of laughter and humour too, that helps them get through their darker moment. Hear her first interview by following this link... https://on.soundcloud.com/bmipw Photograph by Georgie Piper