History
Saved by the Rats: Stories of a POW Part I
In the 1980s, Gareth Rees advertised for a good personal story in The News. A man rang him and said he’d been a prisoner of the Japanese in World War II. When Gareth went to [… read more ]
Abuse
Politics
War is Failure: An Interview with a Veteran for Peace Part I
Veterans for Peace (VfP) is a group of ex-military personnel committed to raising awareness about the human, social and economic costs of war. It is opposed to the use of war by any nation to achieve [… read more ]
Social Issues
Where are my Human Rights? Mental Illness and Solent NHS Trust
A month ago, local resident Charlotte Farhan wrote an open letter to the NHS and Adult Mental Health Services asking for help with her ongoing acute mental health issues. She’s still waiting for it to [… read more ]
Social Issues
Portsmouth Equine Strangles Causes Social Media Stampede
The placid world of horse owning doesn’t usually find itself in the eye of an abusive social media storm. But Portsmouth equestrian Alice Lawrence’s experience was particularly unusual… Strangles. Maybe we should change the name. [… read more ]
News
After Brock Turner, When Should We Talk To Our Sons About Rape?
Local writer and blogger Maddie Wallace explains why the recent case of Brock Turner prompted her to talk to her sons about consensual sex and rape. In a week that has seen the internet afire [… read more ]
Social Issues
I Was Attacked For Being Disabled
Paige Tabone was brutally attacked in a Portsmouth nightclub simply for being disabled. Here she makes a passionate plea for changes to the law, police procedure and public attitudes. Many scenarios go through your head [… read more ]
Fiction
Portsmouth Writers’ Season: Roz Ryszka-Onions
In our continuing season showcasing Portsmouth’s literary talent, we present a snippet from Roz Ryszka-Onions’ latest novel When Love Dies (available here in full). After unhinged and power-hungry data broker Val posts revenge porn photos of his [… read more ]
Poetry
Common Rape
By Donna Jones You smacked me, Attacked me And ripped my clothes off. You bit me, Unzipped me And broke my womb. You are my be-friender, First boyfriend; My dodgy ‘uncle’, Shadow [… read more ]
Culture
Fifty Shades of Dismay
Following the news that the latest book in the Fifty Shades of Grey sequence topped the UK best-seller list for 2015, Siobhan Coleman takes a fresh look at the novel that kicked the phenomenon off… and [… read more ]
Culture
Book Review: Heartless Too by Janella
Christine Lawrence journeys to North End and discovers a compelling and powerful autobiography from local author, Steven George. It’s a wet January morning, I’m sat in Café Nut in North End, planning to write about [… read more ]