By Catherine Collins When Vivienne Gilbert had to give up work due to Fibromyalgia, she wasn’t quite ready to ‘do nothing’, and now she has set up a not-for-profit shop to help support an African village. Kookies Crafts, based in Woolston in Southampton, provides a venue for local crafters...
Southampton International Boat Show is back
Now in its 54th year Britain’s largest festival of boats is back and bigger than ever. Southampton International Boat Show returns from Friday 15 to Sunday 24 September 2023, with something for everyone interested in life on the water. And, this year’s event promises to be show stopping, helping everybody...
One month to go until Buckinghamshire’s biggest festival, PennFest, returns
It’s now just one month until Buckinghamshire’s biggest music festival, PennFest, returns with its most impressive line-up yet – and tickets are selling fast! The two-day festival with optional camping is held in picturesque countryside near the village of Penn Street – just 26 miles from central London, and...
Review: Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story, Mayflower Theatre, 20 June 2023
By Joy McKay Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story was one of the very first ‘Jukebox Musicals’ premiering in 1989. It is part biopic, part gig and 100% celebration of the incredible and tragically short career of the Incongruously bespectacled Rock ‘n’ Roll legend Buddy Holly. After six years the...
Preview: The Ocean at the End of the Lane, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
The National Theatre’s critically acclaimed adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane visits Mayflower Theatre from Tuesday 4 to Saturday 8 July. Returning to his childhood home, a man finds himself standing beside the pond of the old Sussex farmhouse where he used to...
Preview: Dragons and Mythical Beasts, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
Dragons and Mythical Beasts, the award-winning family show that brings mythical creatures to life on stage using spectacular puppetry, will be at Mayflower Theatre on Saturday 1 July. Enter into a magical world of myths and legends as Dragons and Mythical Beasts unveils a myriad of dark secrets. Come...
New waterside restaurant, The Lightship, to open in The Solent
A high-end experience restaurant, The Lightship – which will honour the nautical heritage of The Solent, is set to open on Friday 30 June. With an idyllic position at Haslar Marina on the English waters, the highly anticipated drinking and dining delight will transform Portsmouth’s historic 1940’s ex-Trinity House lightvessel to offer...
Tickets selling fast for Let’s Rock Southampton
Tickets for Let’s Rock: The Retro Festival are selling fast as the popular ‘80s retro event prepares to transform Southampton Common into sea of neon on Saturday 8 July. Thousands of revellers will descend on the city to dust off their dancing shoes and enjoy a day of gloriously...
Winchester Hat Fair announces 2023 line-up
Image: Gobbledegook Theatre Company Hat Fair, the UK’s longest running festival of Outdoor Arts, is ready to take over Winchester’s city streets and green spacesagain – with bold street theatre, music, dance, circus, and more, from Friday 30 June to Saturday 1 July. This summer, Hat Fair features the...
Review: The King and I, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton, 13 June 2023
By Catherine Collins I remember singing along whilst watching the film, The King and I, on the TV as a child, so I was excited to be in the audience when it opened at Mayflower Theatre tonight. Set in 1860s Bangkok, The King and I tells the story of the unconventional...