by Sally Churchward. “It’s not fair” – it’s one of the first things children learn, the concept of justice, the right to it and a huge sense of wrongdoing if everything is not equitable. Equality before the law is one of the cornerstones of our society: the firm belief...
Features
Photos: Southampton Allstars lineup at the 1865, Music in the City
by MIke Daish. I missed the fun on Saturday of this years Music in the City but made sure I got out on Sunday to make it to the 1865 in Brunswick Square. I was not disappointed, as the music was top class and such a great variety of...
Greg Gilbert – artist, poet, musician and ‘butterfly collector’. A tribute to a life filled with art, music, wonder and love
by Sally Churchward. Artist, poet, musician, father, husband, son and friend, Greg Gilbert died from cancer on Thursday. As a local journalist, Sally Churchward followed his career – from being the lead singer of Southampton indie band Delays through his being an emerging and then celebrated artist and poet,...
International Brigade Memorial Trust’s AGM to be held in Southampton, remembering those fought fascism in Spain
The 2021 AGM of the International Brigade Memorial Trust (IBMT) is being held in Southampton over the weekend 8th-10th October 2021. The AGM is a chance to remember the bravery of the men and women from Southampton and across Hampshire who volunteered to fight fascism in Spain as part...
Trans, queer punk rockers Hunting Hearts on street safety, stereotypes and structural oppression
During Pride month, Devin Valentine, Lucy Rose and Beck Lombardi, from queer, trans punk rock Southampton band Hunting Hearts talk about gender, perception and safety with In Common’s Sally Churchward. Sally: Quite rightly, there’s been a lot of talk about street safety lately, particularly women’s safety, following the tragic...
Parenting a child with autism: lots of days I cry because I don’t understand him and feel that I’ve failed him
by Sally Churchward. A Southampton mother shares the difficulties she experiences in getting the support for her autistic son that he needs. Judgements – Laura Jones* has had enough of them. “To judge me as a parent is easier and quicker than giving my son the help he needs,”...
Opinion: Kill the Bill – joining Southampton’s protest against the controversial bill
by Charlie Hislop. Kill the Bill! Kill the Bill! That was the cry when 400 or so people assembled in Southampton’s Guildhall Square on Good Friday to protest the Government’s Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill. In front of a crowd of mainly young people, a succession of speakers highlighted the wide-ranging measures in...
Opinion: Women don’t feel safe
by Emma Louise Harris. Last week was vile for women. Bookended by what should be two celebratory days; International Women’s day on Monday and Mother’s Day on Sunday, yet filled with horror. On Monday, Labour MP Jess Phillips read out a list of the 118 names of women who...
Experience: life as a single parent during covid
by Sarah Groszewski I became a single mother in August 2019, when I moved nearly 100 miles away from the life I’d built in London over the past 12 years, to start again in Southampton, when my marriage ended. The main thing that struck me was how much easier...
Campaign launched for single parent equality after research shows lockdown discriminatory
As children return to school this week, Ministers are facing calls to make being a single parent a protected characteristic under the Equality Act after a survey shows the pandemic restrictions heightened single parents’ experience of discrimination. In the UK today, a quarter of families are headed by a...