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  • [ 23rd October 2026 ] Out of the City of Culture, In With Portsmouth 100 Culture
  • [ 14th October 2026 ] Portsmouth Library Event to Explore Giving Democratic Power to Communities Politics
  • [ 14th October 2026 ] Planetbuilding Blues: Gosport Time Machine Culture
  • [ 24th September 2026 ] Planetbuilding Blues: A Letter to My Dead Parents Events
  • [ 24th September 2026 ] Local Authors to Launch New Novels at the Portsmouth Guildhall Culture
HomeJanet Ayers

Janet Ayers

Culture

Holmes Fest 2024: A Portsmouth Creative Extravaganza

7th November 2024

Does Holmes Fest ring any bells? Some of you might recall the successful festival from pre-pandemic days, when local writer Matt Wingett launched a celebration of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his most famous character, [… read more ]

Culture

Tongues & Grooves Portsmouth #WritingChallenge4

6th May 2020

Maggie Sawkins, who leads local poetry and creative group Tongues & Grooves has unleashed a local #writingchallenge and they kindly let us publish the responses. This week’s challenge was – in Paul Klee’s words – to [… read more ]

Events

Don’t Miss Portsmouth’s International Women’s Day Celebrations, 6-10 March

2nd March 2018

Portsmouth is celebrating International Women’s Day with a week of events around the city. Get the dates in your diary, get your tickets and get involved! Tuesday 6th March, 7:30pm, FREE, Eldon Building, Winston Churchill [… read more ]

Events

Holmes Fest 2017 Celebrates Conan Doyle in Portsmouth

20th June 2017

Portsmouth’s very first Holmes Fest is coming up on 28th June, celebrating the world’s most famous consulting detective, Sherlock Holmes, his creator, Arthur Conan Doyle, and their relationship to the city. Holmes Fest host and [… read more ]

News

How a Portsmouth Pepper Went Viral and Became ‘The Trump Pepper’

30th May 2017

Leader of Southsea Community Choir and Natural Voice Practitioner, Janet Ayers, never expected a Facebook joke to go viral last December. In this S&C exclusive, Janet writes about how ‘The Trump Pepper’ is still making [… read more ]

Reviews

Diving into the Wreck: ‘How Easy It Is To Slip Into Addiction’

31st May 2016

Portsmouth writer and Star and Crescent regular Will Sutton reports on Diving into the Wreck, a moving performance on addiction and recovery by poet Maggie Sawkins and director Mark C. Hewitt, funded by the Big [… read more ]

Latest News

Culture

Out of the City of Culture, In With Portsmouth 100

23rd October 2026

Portsmouth may have missed out on making the shortlist for the UK City of Culture, but there’s also good news: from this Monday the city will be celebrating 100 years of history. Veteran journalist Peter [… read more ]

Events

Planetbuilding Blues: A Letter to My Dead Parents

24th September 2026

Writer and planetary modeller David Angus recalls recent global and personal events in a letter to his dead parents, from anti-vaxxers to flying a Spitfire. By now Jill Mole should be with you and Arthur [… read more ]

News

Portsmouth Union Branch Calls on University to Address Pension Inequality

10th September 2026

The Portsmouth branch of the UCU (University and College Union) has passed a motion calling on the management of the University of Portsmouth (UoP) to address pension inequality. The Branch contends that UoP has been [… read more ]

News

Portsmouth Constituents Urge Stephen Morgan to Protest Oil Drilling and Support Fair Energy Transition

21st August 2026

Portsmouth constituents have sent a clear message to their MP Stephen Morgan demanding urgent action to help bring our energy bills down and increase energy security for our communities. The UK government is set to [… read more ]

News

Green Open Homes Week: How Portsmouth Residents are Taking on the Energy Crisis

26th June 2026

Energy prices are a growing concern – but for some, getting ahead of the crisis has paid off. Local residents have been opening their doors to Nicholas Sebley of Portsmouth Climate Action to reveal how they [… read more ]

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