Poetry
Earth Poem
By Helen Salsbury Bats flittering in a twilight sky. A deer, holding still on an empty lane, as with quiet cycle wheels, I draw closer. Birds I’ve never seen before, on a [… read more ]
Helen Salsbury
Fiction
Socks
By Helen Salsbury ‘This Christmas,’ his daughter Keira said, ‘we want to get you something special. Not just socks.’ Outside, blood-red leaves were gathering in the concrete corners of the courtyard, swept off early in [… read more ]
News
Community Orchards: Planting Trees and Inspirational People
Inspired by the many fabulous environmental initiatives taking place in Portsmouth, Pens of the Earth was set up to encourage writers to celebrate existing projects, and to imagine what might be. This week Helen Salsbury digs [… 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 ]
Fiction
Pens of the Earth: Walk of Shame
By Helen Salsbury Day 1 That first day, he’s still half asleep. It’s raining, and he plods from lamppost to lamppost – nicotine light and dirty grey pavements – as fast as his banjaxed knee [… read more ]
Social Issues
Pens of the Earth: Streets for People
At Pens of the Earth’s launch night Helen Salsbury talked about rethinking the way our streets are used, and not just assuming they should exist for motorised traffic. Reclaiming streets for people can have an [… read more ]
Social Issues
Pens of the Earth: Trees and the City
November sees the start of tree planting season, and the culmination of the Woodland Trust’s ‘Big Climate Fightback’ campaign which encourages everyone to pledge to plant a tree. But what might this mean in Portsmouth? [… read more ]
Social Issues
Portsmouth’s GoodGym: ‘It’s More Than Good’
Katie Carew-Robinson, trainer for Portsmouth GoodGym, talks to Star and Crescent reporter Helen Salsbury about a charity and fitness club which allows Pompey residents to get fit while helping the local community. Edited by Beth [… read more ]
News
One in a Million: My Experiences on the ‘Put It to the People’ March
S&C Community Reporter Helen Salsbury reports on how it felt to be one in a million (or so) on the ‘Put It to the People’ march that took place in London on March 23rd, 2019. [… read more ]
Social Issues
‘Excluded from the Welfare State’: An Interview with Friends Without Borders, Pt II
In the second of a two-part interview, Helen Salsbury talks with Michael Woolley, the Chair of Friends Without Borders (FWB), a Portsmouth-based charity providing support and advice to asylum seekers. I wanted to know more about [… read more ]