by Lewis MacLean The tragic story of an entire refugee family drowning in the British channel last month might’ve hit me harder, more than most. This is because I probably met them. Back in August I spent a few weeks volunteering for Care4Calais working with refugees and I recognise...
Opinion Pieces
Reader’s letter: Southampton City of Culture – a call to arms
Since moving to Southampton as a fine art student in 1995 I’ve always felt the city had enormous potential. Now as the director of a growing arts charity (aspace), which over the last 20 years has reimagined lost buildings in Southampton with art and heritage, I am thrilled to...
Reader’s letter: why isn’t the media calling Priti Patel right wing?
Dear Editor, With the many media reports about the Priti Patel’s bullying inquiry, I have seen no reference to her being right wing. Compare this to ANY reporting of Jeremy Corbyn by the media: ‘left wing’, ‘hard left’, even ‘far left’. His supporters are always ‘left wingers’. Laura Kuenssberg...
Experience: Cancer in a time of covid
by anonymous. There is a very thin line that holds the fabric of our lives together. Things can change at any minute. These are my reflections from the perspective of going through the journey alongside a person with cancer. The Second World War broke out on 3rd September in...
Opinion: Looking back on the eleventh hour of the eleventh month.
by Roger Townsend. We are living through one of the most extraordinary and unsettling years of our lifetime and as we are now around that almost mystical time of the ‘eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month’ it is perhaps appropriate to look back at some...
Opinion: School meals, no such thing as a free lunch?
by Martin Brisland. Marcus Rashford turns 23 later this week. A talented England and Manchester United footballer now earning very well but who grew up relying on free school meals. In the last few months he has caught the public mood and even received an MBE. Ensuring disadvantaged children...
Opinion: the greening of Southampton
by Martin Brisland. Southampton is quite literally a green park city. Thanks to Victorian foresight, it has the second highest acreage of green city spaces in England with its well maintained central parks, Greenways and 365 acre Common. We are also going green through initiatives such as Zedify, an...
Opinion: from shielding to shop floor – going back to work
by a Southampton worker. A Southampton worker shares their experiences of returning to work following shielding due to the coronavirus pandemic. They have chosen to remain anonymous for fear of repercussions from their employer. They have been shielding and don’t feel safe at work but fear speaking out could...
Opinion: my experience of a Calais refugee camp
by Lewis MacLean. Immigration is a contentious issue for some and wishy-washy for others. In reality, things never change for the refugees themselves. After years of the press reporting on desperate immigrants losing their lives when attempting to cross the Mediterranean, the English Channel is now the focus. The...
Opinion: Trans rights and women’s rights: have we been asking the wrong questions?
by Dr Ash Brockwell. As a transmasculine academic, I’ve found it painful and frustrating to read the discussions – both in the mainstream media and on social media – that represent ‘trans rights’ as incompatible with ‘women’s rights’. Nowhere has this been more clearly illustrated than in a recent...