RICHARD SWANN ART

One of the few things making the East Hill almost worth the schlep are the Exmoor ponies cropping the grass on the slopes by the radar station.  If you reduce the scenery of the Hastings County Park to a few marks hinting at two paths crossing, a bit of fence, and one of those sideways bushes you get on unsheltered hills by the sea, it forms an adequate background to something more interesting.

(If you’re seeing a horse with a very thin neck look again, there’s another bit of mane there that’s blending into the tree behind which is unfortunate but at one stage it looked like someone had drawn a line round it with a marker pen and at another stage it was actually purple so it could be worse).

There for environmental reasons rather than decoration, they like the scrubby grass fighting its way up through the unpromising soil and apparently it’s good for every one if it gets nibbled.  But sadly they’re going.  Maybe it’s a bit restricted for them, there’s not really anywhere to gallop unless you want to go over a cliff or headbutt the radar station or mash yourself into a fence.  We’re left with some Belted Galloway cattle, rotund, minimalist pianos, a flat a tone and a sharp, so hopefully they’ll step up to the mark and start arranging themselves more artistically instead of lying on the floor digesting stuff which is all they seem to do at the moment.