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  • [ 3rd December 2025 ] Portsmouth City of Culture: Could the Dream Come True? Culture
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HomeMargaret Jennings

Margaret Jennings

Poetry

Poem: Mr and Mrs Portsmouth (after Mr and Mrs Scotland are Dead by Kathleen Jamie)

3rd April 2022

By Margaret Jennings   Mr and Mrs Portsmouth are kirtled by the sea proud of their ironclad links to Nelson and Victory, Looking down on their sister, Gosport. Dismissive of the Scummers.   Mr and [… read more ]

Fiction

The Empty Road

27th November 2020

By Margaret Jennings Madie dressed in slouchy trousers and an old tee shirt. No work today. No work for an unknown amount of her future and she was determined to stay healthy. A walk with [… read more ]

Fiction

Bun Penny

13th November 2020

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 ]

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 ]

Culture

Portsmouth BookFest 2020: ‘An Evening of Poetry’

25th February 2020

To celebrate this year’s Portsmouth BookFest 2020, S&C Contributor Amanda Garrie writes about her experience of going to one of the events, ‘An Evening of Poetry’. T’Articulation took themselves to 113 Art House Coffee on Monday 17th [… read more ]

Social Issues

A Pompey Fat Chav Bites Back

5th April 2017

Portsmouth writer Margaret Jennings offers some home truths on class, obesity and body image. Let’s look at my qualifications. 16 and a half stone, five foot seven inches and a BMI of 33.5. Obese – [… read more ]

Poetry

STAR POems: Bramble

22nd July 2016

(Blackberry brambles can be stripped of their thorns and used to fashion baskets and other useful artefacts).   The first man clips off her thorns one by one, turns her placid and tractable, cuts her [… read more ]

Latest News

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Culture

Portsmouth City of Culture: Could the Dream Come True?

3rd December 2025

It could be the biggest boost Portsmouth has ever had – but don’t speak too soon, writes veteran journalist Peter Gruner. Look what happened to nearby Southampton. However, let’s all hope for the best and [… read more ]

News

Portsmouth North MP Speaks Out on Challenges Facing Men

24th November 2025

Portsmouth North MP Amanda Martin celebrated the ‘boys and men’ of her family during a passionate debate in the House of Commons about the struggles of today’s males. Veteran journalist Peter Gruner reports. Former local [… read more ]

News

Portsmouth UCU Branch Challenges Justification for University ‘Reset’ and Redundancies

14th November 2025

The Portsmouth branch of the UCU (University and College Union) has passed a motion questioning the arguments made in this recent article published in the Telegraph. The article claims that last year’s ‘Academic Reset’ at [… read more ]

News

UCU Branch Calls on the University of Portsmouth to Condemn Far-Right Attacks

13th November 2025

The Portsmouth branch of the UCU (University and College Union) has voted to call on the University of Portsmouth (UoP) to make a public statement about the recent incidents of hate and violence that have [… read more ]

News

Families in Portsmouth to Join National SEND Awareness Event at Guildhall

31st October 2025

On Monday 3rd November 2025, families will gather outside Portsmouth City Council’s Civic Offices in Guildhall Square from 10:30 am to 1 pm as part of the national Every Pair Tells a Story movement.   [… read more ]

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