Fiction
A Sliver of Life
By Sue Shipp We’d just sat down from our labours when Old Roy appeared on the grass path running between the allotments, eating a nectarine, the other hand hidden behind his back. He slopped along [… read more ]
Climate change
Fiction
After the Storm
by ‘SC’ All Souls’ Day, approaching dusk. Park regulars nodded greetings as their dogs sniffed around each other. Claire would probably have recognised some of them, perhaps on smiling, chatting or patting terms. Maybe even [… read more ]
Social Issues
It’s Not (Always) Expensive Being Green in Pompey
Emma Murphy, co-editor of Portsmouth Green Party’s Shades of Green blog, shares the challenges and opportunities of combining environmentally-friendly living with a tight budget. You may not know this about me, but I am really, [… read more ]
Social Issues
The Climate Emergency: What Could Be Done If We All Worked Together?
Zoë Ingram, student at Havant and South Downs College, asks why young people seem more concerned with the climate emergency. Climate change can be a widely overshadowed issue when it comes to election coverage, but [… read more ]
Editorials
GE2019: A Meditative Approach to the Election
Community reporter and founder of Pens of the Earth, Helen Salsbury, shares the benefits of meditation during the current local election campaign. I learnt a long time ago that I am not a political activist. [… read more ]
News
GE2019: Close-Up on Penny Mordaunt’s Voting Record, Part II
Ahead of the general election, Paris Ali-Pilling and Sarah Cheverton take a critical look at MP for Portsmouth North, Penny Mordaunt’s voting record across a range of issues since her election in 2010, using the [… read more ]
Fiction
Pens of the Earth: Portsmouth 2030
By Chris Walsh ‘It would have to happen to me, wouldn’t it?’ she sighed, plonking her smartphone on the table, its display cracked completely. ‘Vicki, careful!’ replied her mother. ‘You’ll scratch the varnish!’ ‘It’s Victoria, [… read more ]
Fiction
Pens of the Earth: The Future of Fashion
By Linda L. Hillborne Jacinta flicked through the clothes rail in the unconventional little boutique, which stood on the corner of Osborne Road in Southsea. A memory blinked across her mind. ‘Make do and mend,’ [… read more ]
Editorials
Small Steps and Big Problems: Why Southampton Airport Should Not Expand
Southampton Airport recently submitted to Eastleigh Council plans to expand the airport to accommodate double the amount of passenger numbers over the next 5 – 10 years. Local writer and activist Joseph Aylmer explains why [… read more ]
Fiction
Pens of the Earth: 2028 Conversation
By Clare Seek I’m Chloe, I’m 11 years old and I’ve always lived in Portsmouth. I hadn’t realised so much had changed in my neighbourhood in the past 10 years until I started researching a [… read more ]