Poetry
Two Gardens
By Richard Williams How many mornings slid one into another, under the pergola of a lockdown garden, a mug of black coffee as shadows swung by, waiting for the page to turn. A book [… read more ]
Lockdown
Poetry
The Rainbow on the Wall
By Linda Hilborne Lying back on the sofa. It was so exhausting to be ill without that extra worry: will I get pneumonia next week? Millions of other people painfully processing that same fear. [… read more ]
Culture
This Must Be the Place: The Unexpected Intruder
Writer and music blogger Doug Hamilton was born and raised in America, moved to Canada in the early 2000s, and relocated again with his British-born spouse to Portsmouth. In the latest part of his series exploring [… read more ]
Poetry
Crisis
By Diana Ashman Pandemic, a crisis planet lockdown, no autonomy or freedom of choice, people frown, authorities put rules into place, isolation, social distancing, life slows to a pace. As the weeks pass by, [… read more ]
Memoir
It Started With a Timid Message
Charlotte Comley considers the mental health implications of lockdown. The supermarket shelves were empty and people were selling toilet rolls on Amazon. And then, on the 23 March 2020, Boris Johnson told the country that [… read more ]
News
Working with Vulnerable Women from Minority Communities During Covid-19
In part one of a three part interview Dianna Djokey interviews community development worker and person of colour Shipa Ahmed Khan about how the pandemic has impacted on her work supporting vulnerable women from minority [… read more ]
Culture
Something for the Weekend: The Virtual Interview (My Pets Took Over)
This week Ian Morris describes his first virtual interview for a job, but it doesn’t go quite to plan when his pets get involved. ‘Can you tell us about a time…’ the classic opener to [… read more ]
Fiction
Bun Penny
By Margaret Jennings When I was a child, my mother gave me a bun penny and told me that whenever I found myself in trouble I should ask Queen Victoria what to do and she [… read more ]
Poetry
Lockdown Journey
By Sue Cornell We venture onto half known pavements. Our legs carry us, our feet accelerate and brake on unfamiliar territory several streets from home. Approaching fellow travellers we nod, smile apology and cross the [… read more ]
Poetry
VE Day
By Liz Kay At Number Nine Mary is humming, twisting bunting. Her fuzzing hands wave to Number Ten where Charlie and Steve are leaving for their daily cycle. On Thursday evening, they had forgotten [… read more ]