Singathon 2010 « Hastings Sierra Leone Friendship Link

It was almost an African sun that shone on this year’s Singathon and contributed to the party atmosphere. Amber Rudd MP managed to get the BBC’s excellent Paul Siegert along to open proceedings. Paul reminded us that he had been a young reporter on the Hastings Observer, and assured us that the Observer is the best local newspaper in the country! He gave a brief account of the background to the link between the two Hastings, and the suffering inflicted on Sierra Leone and on Hastings Village by a decade of civil war.

The entertainment was varied, from home-grown talent like Gizmo, Sambalanco, South East Stars and the eye-poppingly energetic This Time Around to the authentic West African rythms of King Mascoe and his dancers. Those who came for more traditional choral music were very pleased with the performances of Soundwaves and the new Big Choir, both singing under Roger Wilcock’s expert baton, and everyone was charmed by singer-guitarist Christophe Phillips, who sent the audience home in a mellow frame of mind.

The stage acts were punctuated by a number of interviews with people actively working with and for Hastings Village. Rose Pelling described the remarkable link that Christ Church School has with Kankaylay Islamic School. Kankaylay’s self-build new school now has a roof on, thanks to funds raised by the children at Christ Church. Kevin Boorman spoke movingly of what he saw when a small delegation went out on a Government funded visit to see how our local authority could support local government in the area around Hastings SL. The Sierra Leonean High Commissioner in London, Mr Edward Turay, brought greetings from the President of Sierra Leone and his government’s thanks for the help that Hastings & St Leonards has given over the years. During the afternoon, Mr Turay and his wife met our Mayor, Cllr Kim Forward, Cllrs Jeremy Birch and Peter Pragnell, Roy Mawford and Kevin Boorman of the Borough Council, the Link’s patron Michael Foster, and many of the Link’s supporters. Meanwhile, ex-pat Sierra Leoneans and Hastings families picnicked on the grass in the glorious sunshine and enjoyed the entertainment inside and outside the big marquee. The Link is very grateful to the Beer Festival Committee and its volunteers for making the facilities available, and to all those who came along and enabled the Link to raise another £1620 towards the regeneration work in Hastings Village. The next event is the inter-schools 7-a-side tournament at Filsham Valley School on Friday 16th July at 1.30pm. See you there!