By Darren Grayer. Photo courtesy of Simon Ward. Heartworms may well sound like a band name, but it is essentially the solo project of singer/songwriter Jojo Orme. Hailing from Cheltenham, she has been confronted by sexist attitudes and racism on her (so far) short journey in the music industry....
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Opinion: Is the English GCSE really fit for purpose?
By Laura McCarthy. Every year, we see a fifth of students failing their core GCSEs in Maths and English. Out of those resitting English last year, only 21% received a grade 4 (equivalent to a C). This is even less than the previous year, where 26% received a passing...
Campaigners and charities urge Hampshire County Council to halt cuts to bus pass for disabled and older people
Community campaigners, disability rights groups, and local charities have come together to oppose planned cuts to Hampshire County Council’s Concessionary Travel Scheme. These cuts would restrict the ability for disabled and older persons’ bus pass holders to travel at key times. The proposed cuts, coming into effect on the...
Preview: Spitfire Girls, Mayflower Studios, Southampton
Spitfire Girls, a new play by Katherine Senior, will premiere at Mayflower Studios from Thursday 20 to Saturday 22 March 2025. Marking the 80th Anniversary year of the end of World War II, the production has been developed with support from the National Theatre Generate Programme. Directed by Seán...
October Books to hold Valentine’s poetry fundraiser
Southampton’s only community-owned bookshop makes an urgent appeal for support this Valentine’s: October Books Poetry Fundraiser. Amid the chaos of everyday life, creating and nurturing creative, safe spaces in our city has never been more essential. This Valentine’s weekend, make a meaningful impact by joining Southampton’s October Books for...
Hat Fair returns for 2025
Hat Fair – the UK’s longest running festival of Outdoor Arts – is back for another summer, this year on Saturday 5 July. The festival – run by arts and education charity, Play to the Crowd – takes place in Winchester city centre and which celebrated its fiftieth birthday...
Book review: The Bright Sword – Lev Grossman
By Christopher Taylor. Restoring Arthurian Romance in the Twenty-First Century The overwhelming majority of Arthurian fiction since T.H. White’s defining The Once and Future King (published in 1958) has sought to redefine Arthur in the context of the 4th-6th century: from Sutcliffe’s Sword at Sunset in the 60s, Zimmer-Bradley’s...
Review: Pride and Prejudice* (*Sort Of), Chichester Festival Theatre
By Graham Hiley. If Jane Austen were alive today, Pride and Prejudice* (*Sort Of) is exactly what she might have written – without as many swear words! Or jokes. Or songs. While the Hampshire author’s original version remains a work of literary genius, the satirical musical (at Chichester’s Festival...
Southampton’s Caity Baser releases new single, Watch That Girl (She’s Gonna Say It)
Image by Finn Waring. Southampton’s Caity Baser has released her brand new single, ‘Watch That Girl (She’s Gonna Say It)’, out now via Capitol Records UK. The song signals a bold new direction for the 22-year-old BRIT Award-nominated singer, both in terms of sound and lyric. Co-written and...
Review: Ghost The Musical, Mayflower Theatre, Southampton
By Martin Brisland. Having loved the movie the musical is based on; would this production be what I’ve hungered for? The Oscar-winning movie from 1990 with Demi Moore, the late Patrick Swayze and Whoopi Goldberg, was the highest grossing film of 1990 and won an Oscar for screenwriter Bruce...