RETIRED MARTIN GOES SHOPPING IN HASTINGS

October 2026. Hastings. East Sussex.

The six hour trek down from Sheffield to Rye Harbour continued on Monday with a check-in on Dad and his former next door neighbour (and cousin*) Mick, who’s just joined him in the care home. I was keen to see if they’d recognise each other after two years apart, but apparently not; Dad doesn’t recognise me these days.

I’d collected Mrs RM’s new glasses from All Eyes spectacle manufacturer up the A14 in Over, but it was my own glasses that collapsed irreparably somewhere near Maidstone Services on the drive to the coast.

Luckily I had sunglasses to hand, but as sunshine here becomes a distant memory it was pretty essential to get a new pair.

Mrs RM seemed keen to join me on a shopping expedition, but my male readers will know a man shops best who shops alone, so I sneaked out to the bus stop while she was enjoying the coffee and marmalade on toast I bring her as part of our marriage contract.

That Rye Harbour artwork shows the whale that swallowed a swimmer just off Camber Sands, the inspiration for the Whalefall documentary I could have watched at Hastings Odeon.

Your exit from Hastings Station is greeted by a swarm of 6th formers heading to East Sussex College, and in the Seadog across the road the staff are all aware of the importance of age verification.

Sadly, no-one asks me to show my ID card (CAMRA gold one), and the trade at this newish craft and noodle bar is rather older than the legal drinking age.

Blokes with lap tops, loud women with relationship issues “I said…you’re a f*****g idiot”, older folk enjoying pork larb, which is better than it sounds.

One of the best Thai meals I’ve had, expertly matched with a schooner (ugh) of murky Beak Parade. Suddenly I regretted bringing Mrs RM, but she’d have made me buy clothes and I did that in 2024.

The soundtrack is a bit sixth-form, in a good way. The Cure, Blondie, Siouxsie & the Banshees, and this long forgotten US Sisters of Mercy soundalike;

Perhaps the Seadog, with one hidden hand pumps (Marble Bitter today) won’t challenge the Old Town pubs for a GBG place, but I like it a lot.

You could spend an hour in the Gents just trying to read the stickers. But I wouldn’t if I were you.

*Though in the Fens everyone is your cousin

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Published by retiredmartin

Retired NHS, doing long walks around UK and the world to record the great bits. Focused on Good Beer Guide pubs and live music.

14 thoughts on “RETIRED MARTIN GOES SHOPPING IN HASTINGS”

    1. As he gets closer to late middle age, I’m convinced Martin is slowly becoming the reincarnation of Mark E. Smith, but with a bewildering ever changing cast of pub visitors instead of musicians . Mrs RM is, naturally, his equivalent to Brix, whilst BRAPA is Marc Riley.

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  4. Shopping in Hastings will certainly not ruin you. There’s hardly anything to buy. The Seadog is the best pub in the town centre, though the competition isn’t tough. When I’m feeling adventurous, I drop by the Clarence before noon – it’s always rammed, but I’m never quite sure if all the men in there have just arrived or if they’ve been in since the day before.

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    2. The Clarence is amazing. When I called in there earlier this year I felt as though I had intruded on a private party. I seemed to be the only person who didn’t know everyone else.

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  6. I love The Seadog and think it is one of the best pubs in Hastings. A perfect place to escape the shopping for a bit, or to wait for a train, or to just stop off before heading to the fancier bits of Hastings. It is suitably lived-in without being grotty and the food is all I want from pub food – delicious but not too heavy. An absolute gem.

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  7. I sat on that drop down seat thing at the Seadog a few years ago -I was drinking sambucca (don’t ask ) which led to me getting a cheer & a thumbs up from other drinkers outside.We’d had a good day ! Tend to stay over in Hastings these days as we can’t be bothered with the train which takes an age & we still have a long walk /taxi back in Maidstone. Age catching up with us a bit .Pauline

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    1. I missed that drop down seat, like a static swing, till you mentioned it, Pauline.

      Staying over in Hastings always a good idea. We’re staying in Rye Harbour but last bus back from Rye Station is daftly early.

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  8. Martin & Pauline, I missed the opportunity of visiting Hastings’s Seadog back in the summer, when it was the final pub of the day on a CAMRA organised pub-crawl of Hastings. I was flagging by then, and discretion definitely ended up being the best part of valour.

    The pub will certainly feature on my next visit to the town.

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