May day in Hastings 2018

This was supposed to be posted last week however my laptop is currently going through the black screen of death and will only work when plugged into a tv, so this makes writing at the moment very difficult until fixed.

As you probably guessed I spent my bank holiday in Hastings. I have never experienced the May day festival before, but it was such an amazing experience I definitely want to do it again.

If you are wondering what is “May day festival” then I am here to help. In Hastings there is a May day tradition called “Jack the Green” which involves a conical wicker or wooden framework decorated with foliage worn by an individual that is accompanied by musicians (you can see pictures below).

There are dancers, musicians and individuals painted in green and some that will walk around and paint your nose in the green paint. The procession then ends on the West Hill (in Hastings) where Jack is “slain” to “release the spirit of the summer”.

It is also said to be lucky if one of the leaves falls off and you pick it up!

A picture of Jack the green from May day parade in Hastings in a crowd of people.

It was interesting seeing everyone celebrating a day with such passion and happiness. For once I felt completely at ease and everyone was cheering and having a great time. What an atmosphere to be around (not to mention the drinking everyone was doing).

A woman wearing a flowery headband posing with her hands on either side of her face in a flowery playsuit.

Not to mention I bought a cute flowery headband and my god I did not realise that I could enjoy wearing a headband so much. I did not want to take it off, it just made me so happy (its the little things right?).

A crowd of thousands of bikes near Hastings beach in the carpark.

I also did not fully realise how many bikes could be in one place at once. It was absolute madness. But I also realised how much I want to be on a bike…

A person dressed up as a massive crow during the May day parade in Hastings in the crowd of people

Hastings is a wonderful place and has been a massive part of my life for so long. The views are amazing, the people are friendly and lovely and everything just seems peaceful to me when im in Hastings (it might be the beach and the fact I live in a city so everything is noisy all the time haha). Nothing beats sitting on the beach, eating some chips drinking some cider and just enjoying life.