by Sally Churchward. THE owners of a small Hampshire business are suffering a torrent of abusive calls, messages and reviews after irate social media users have mistaken them for a company in San Francisco. A video of the British CEO of San Francisco tech company Solid8, Michael Lofthouse, has...
Opinion: Don’t underestimate the power and value of theatre
Freelance costume supervisor and maker Aly Fielden, from Southampton, shares the letter she sent to Oliver Dowden, the culture secretary, chancellor Rishi Sunak and Southampton Test MP Alan Whitehead. She wrote the letter ahead of last night’s announcement of a £1.57bn emergency support package to help protect the future...
Opinion: Southampton’s creative community will leave lockdown loud and proud
On Thursday, Nuffield Southampton Theatres closed, having gone into administration in May, with a suitable buyer unable to be found. But Liam Gifford, the theatre group’s youth director, believes there is still a great deal of hope for culture in the city as he celebrates recent artistic collaborations and...
Charity behind Theatre Royal Winchester and Hat Fair needs £225,000 to survive
by Sally Churchward. The arts and education charity, Play to the Crowd which runs Theatre Royal Winchester, Hat Fair and Playmakers, has today announced that it needs to raise £225,000 by the end of September in order to survive beyond the Covid crisis. The news comes the day after...
Southampton protest against transphobia
A protest against transphobia will be held on Saturday 18th July from 12:00pm – 15:00pm in Guildhall Square, Southampton. This is part of a day of national action against transphobia taking part across the UK. On 14th June 2020, the Sunday Times reported that, despite 70% of responses to...
Southampton: a tale of two universities
by Martin Brisland. Southampton is one of a handful of places with two universities; the University of Southampton and Solent University. They attract about 40,000 full and part time students including many from abroad, making us a truly cosmopolitan city. This has a major positive economic impact. Solent has...
Not Being Busy (from the diary of a neurotic woman)
by a neurotic woman. I have spent most of my life being a very busy person. During my professional life as a teacher, I always had projects lined up, often redecorating a room in my house, to see me through the school holidays. Weekends tended to be filled with...
Nick Mabey – writer
I often describe myself as a father, partner or brother and sometimes a coach, teacher or mentor. I rarely say I am a writer even though I do write a lot, personally and professionally. Most of my writing is self-published and so In Common is a new experience for...
Chris Moorhouse – photographer
I’ve worked in photography for about twenty five years. My influences include Asadour Guzelian, Brian Harris, Jane Bown and Eamonn McCabe, as well as my English teachers at school, Mr Jenkins and Mr Purcell, both of whom encouraged a love of story-telling. It’s probably fair to say that the internet...
Book review: The Illustrated Child by Polly Crosby
reviewed by Frances Churchward. This book is the story of a young girl, Romilly, who lives in a ramshackle house with her father. Before moving to this house Romilly, from the age of four, and her father led a nomadic life, at one point as part of a travelling...