Star & Crescent – News for and by the people of Portsmouth

Pompey Politics Podcast: Winners and Grinners Special

21st May 2019

The third episode of Portsmouth’s favourite party-political podcast – hosted by Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris and Simon Sansbury – sees our hosts welcome three guests: Dave Ashmore (Liberal Democrats), Cal Corkery (Labour), and Scott Payter-Harris (Conservative). [… read more ]

Pompey Politics Podcast: The Evening After The Morning After The Election The Day Before

16th May 2019

Simon Sansbury got to bed in ‘the wee small hours’ following the declaration of the final vote of the local elections on 2nd May 2019, and Ian ‘Tiny’ Morris was up at the crack of [… read more ]

No Taxation without Representation: European Elections and the Right to Vote

14th May 2019

Veronika Wagner, local resident and candidate in the recent local elections representing the NHA Party in Cosham, shares her concerns about the short amount of time given to residents to organize postal and proxy voting [… read more ]

Local Charity Signs Pledge to Reject Funding from Tommy Robinson

22nd May 2019

The CEO of Portsmouth-based charity Aurora New Dawn has signed an open letter from academics, activists and charities working to end sexual abuse, rejecting funding offered by Tommy Robinson as part of his European Election [... read more ]
Big Lunch Community Walk Comes to Portsmouth

20th May 2019

A group of walkers from The Eden Project’s Big Lunch are visiting a local housing association and the John Pounds Centre today, as part of 17 day walk to celebrate community projects across the UK. [... read more ]

But Can He Write? Ben Shapiro, US TV and Dubious Propaganda

21st May 2019

Last week, the American ‘alt-right’ commentator Ben Shapiro apologised for his poor performance in an interview with the BBC’s Andrew Neil. ‘@afneil DESTROYS Ben Shapiro!’ he tweeted, ‘Broke my own rule, wasn’t properly prepared.’ But before [… read more ]

STAR POems: HMS New Zealand

17th May 2019

I tell my children you are here because in 1913 a Maori chief gave the captain of HMS New Zealand a piupiu, a skirt made from flax. A ceremonial gift with the prophecy [… read more ]

Exhibition Celebrates More Than a Century of Local Artists

14th May 2019

Local resident and artist Irene Strange reports on the 110th annual exhibition of the Portsmouth and Hampshire Art Society, at Portsmouth Anglican Cathedral, 27th July – 7th August. The Portsmouth & Hampshire Art Society was [… read more ]

Review: The Railway Children at Groundlings Theatre

24th April 2019

Purbrook resident Rosalie Cuthbert reviews the Groundlings Theatre production of E. Nesbit’s famous novel. How did you spend your Easter Sunday afternoon? It was a beautiful sunny day but I decided to escape the heat [… read more ]

MysteryFest 2019: Fun, Facts and Frolics in Crime Fiction

23rd April 2019

MysteryFest 2019, the key crime and mystery literature event of this year’s Portsmouth Bookfest – in collaboration with Mystery People – took place at Portsmouth Central Library on Saturday 9 March. S&C contributor Julia Davey reports. [… read more ]

Authority, Dexterity and Drama: Echoes of Home with the BSO

16th April 2019

Community reporter, Paul Valentine, reviews the recent Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) performance, Echoes of Home, conducted by Jamie Phillips and starring pianist Denis Kozhukhin. The concert comprised performances of Smetana – Vltava (Ma Vlast), Tchaikovsky – [… read more ]