In Conversation with Romilly Morgan at October Books

Southampton’s independent radical bookshop, October books, will be celebrating Independent Bookshop Week later this month with a special event. On June 17th, they will will be joined by Brazen Books founder Romilly Morgan for a discussion around independent booksellers and fiction in translation. BRAZEN has just published Japanese bestseller...

Opinion: Resisting the Rwanda Act

By Manthan Pathak. It’s a Monday morning like any other for most of us, but not for everyone. Outside Portswood police station dozens of men and women seeking refuge queue to ‘report’, a regular commitment they must make if they have claimed asylum. For many, they know that every...

Local businesses enjoy Backstage Breakfast

Play to the Crowd, the arts and education charity that runs Theatre Royal Winchester, Hat Fair and Playmakers, welcomed businesses from across Winchester to a Backstage Breakfast to mark the launch of this year’s Hat Fair – the UK’s longest running festival of Outdoor Arts, which this summer will...

Reader’s letter: can you help make TriFest happen?

By Paul Jenks – TriFest coordinator. TriFest is a free festival (run by volunteers) held on Riverside Park, next to Bitterne Park Triangle (TriFest) in Southampton. This year’s festival is on Saturday 27th July and it will be our 5th year. We’ve got a bit of everything. We have...

Preview: The Magic of Terry Pratchett, Theatre Royal Winchester

Devoted readers of Sir Terry Pratchett’s fantastical novels are invited to a celebratory evening exploring his life and work when The Magic of Terry Pratchett comes to Theatre Royal Winchester on Saturday 15 June. Terry Pratchett was the author of over fifty bestselling books including The Colour of Magic...

Pride Month starts today

By Mabel Wellman. Today marks the start of Pride month across the world. Cities and towns internationally will be having LGBTQIA+ Pride events, some of which will be for celebrating the entire community, whereas some other events such as Trans Pride and UK Black Pride will be to give...

June Southampton gig guide

By Vicky Greer. Main image: Paloma Faith by Rhona Murphy.  What a great month May was for gigs! Kicking off with the wonderous Wanderlust Festival, where up-and-coming talents from around the country descended on Southampton to take over our favourite independent venues, followed by a month of exciting shows...

Learn to make plant-based puddings at October Books

You don’t have to be vegan to enjoy plant-based food, especially when it’s delicious desserts! Find out how to create your own tasty ‘afters’ at October Books’ ‘We can learn to… make vegan and plant-based desserts. On Saturday 8th June, 11am – 12.30pm, join Lucy Parr, Cordon Bleu trained...