by Catherine Collins. Additional reporting by Sally Churchward. One of the biggest festivals in the south returned this weekend for a three day music extravaganza, with some of the industry’s most exciting names taking to the stages (26-28 August). This year, the organisers put some of the biggest acts...
Features
Hampshire’s International Brigaders remembered in new book
by Alan Lloyd. Southampton author Alan Lloyd shares the background and some of the findings in his new book, Hampshire Heroes, which celebrates International Brigaders who fought in the Spanish Civil War with connections to Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Fifteen years ago, I bought a copy of...
New items added to Southampton music archive Stick it in Your Ear
By Phil Tyler of SIIYE. Southampton’s Stick it in Your Ear music archive has added three new items to its online archives. You can read all about Stick it in Your Ear, which started out more than 40 years ago as a small local tape label with accompanying free...
Southampton City of Culture 2025 – what next for the city having missed out?
On May 31st, Southampton’s dreams of becoming City of Culture 2025 were dashed, when it was announced that the award was going to Bradford. However, for the first time, all three runners up, including Southampton, are being awarded a grant of £125,000 by the Department of Culture, Media and...
Photography for mental health
by Mike Daish. I struggle from time to time with my state of mind and can get quite down and isolate myself . With the isolation and low mood comes a lack of exercise; I stop simply getting outside for a bit of fresh air. Recently I have started...
Southampton’s first People’s Pride Party in the Park exceeds expectations
Words: Martin Brisland. Pictures: Mike Daish. Additional pictures: Hannah Barber. The People’s Pride Party in the Park in Southampton on the 11th and 12th June was a total success. (Read about the event’s origins here). The sun was shining for this fully inclusive event, the atmosphere was brilliant and...
New project exploring lesbian experiences of community in Southampton seeks participants
by Dr Elizabeth Reed. Researchers at the University of Southampton are currently recruiting participants for a project exploring lesbian people’s experience of community in the city, through the pandemic. Southampton’s City of Culture bid celebrated our diverse communities and cultures and set out a plan to make our city...
Southampton missed out on being crowned City of Culture 2025 but the city still dares to dream big
by Sally Churchward. Hopes of Southampton becoming City of Culture 2025 were dashed last night, when Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Nadine Dorries announced that Bradford had won the title. Southampton, and fellow runners up Durham and Wrexham, didn’t leave empty-handed though as, for the...
Satvir Kaur on her journey from inner city shop girl to the new leader of Southampton City Council
Words by Sally Churchward. Pictures by Chris Moorhouse. Following the local elections on May 5, 2022, the Labour Party took control of Southampton City Council. Satvir Kaur, the council’s new leader, reflects on her journey from Southampton’s inner city to being in charge of her home city, becoming the...
The arrival of Basque refugee children to Southampton 85 years ago was remembered at a ceremony at the weekend
by Martin Brisland. “Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child” – this 19th Century spiritual song has had many versions, notably by Paul Robeson in the 1920s. It was sung by him at a 1930s charity fundraising concert for the Basque children at the Albert Hall. The song was...