Fiction
FIRE AND BLOOD
By Wendy Metcalfe This morning will be my last meeting with Arthur. Arthur isn’t a man. I’ve had enough of them to last me a lifetime. Arthur is a tree. He’s a young, slender oak, [… read more ]
Portsmouth Guildhall
Culture
‘A Travelling Whiskey Circus’: Whiskey Festival Comes to Portsmouth
Catherine Jackson, organiser of annual festival The Whiskey Affair, tells us why she and team are bringing the festival back to Pompey for a third year. We return to the city for our third year [… read more ]
Culture
Review: ‘Outstanding’ Czech Mates with the BSO
Paul Valentine reviews the recent performance of Czech Mates by the BSO, conducted by Kiril Karabits, piano by Sunwook Kim, and Amyn Merchant, Leader. The performance comprised Suk Scherzo, Fantastique and Dvorak’s Piano Concerto and Symphony [… read more ]
Culture
Authority, Dexterity and Drama: Echoes of Home with the BSO
Community reporter, Paul Valentine, reviews the recent Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) performance, Echoes of Home, conducted by Jamie Phillips and starring pianist Denis Kozhukhin. The concert comprised performances of Smetana – Vltava (Ma Vlast), Tchaikovsky – [… read more ]
Culture
Review: BSO Exceeds All Expectation
Community reporter, Paul Valentine, reviews the recent Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) performance, Spirit of England, conducted by David Hill. I was looking forward to this concert, not so much for the programme – I lost touch with [… read more ]
Reviews
Review: BSO Strings Drive a Hairpin Bend at 100mph
Community reporter, Paul Valentine, reviews the recent Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) performance, Superhuman Strauss, and is far from disappointed Well here we are at the Guildhall in Portsmouth again. Tonight, I am full of expectancy; there [… read more ]
Culture
Review: Oozing Mastery – ‘Natural Beauty’ with the BSO
Community reporter, Paul Valentine, reviews the recent Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) performance, Natural Beauty, at Portsmouth Guildhall on 8th February 2019, conducted by Michael Seal, and violin by Ning Feng. Full disclosure, nothing grabbed me about this programme. [… read more ]
Culture
Review: The ‘Wonderful Richness’ of the BSO Continues
Community reporter, Paul Valentine, reviews the recent Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) performance, Smooth Classics II, at Portsmouth Guildhall on 16th November 2018, conducted by Marta Gardolińska. As someone who wants to find messages and story [… read more ]
Culture
Review: A Triumphant Return to Pompey for the BSO
Community reporter, Paul Valentine, reviews the recent Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) performance, Beethoven Five, at the opening concert of their returning programme at the Guildhall. All is marketing these days, but not in terms of [… read more ]
Fiction
The Queen Victoria Statue Whisperer
Alfred Drury’s impressive statue of Queen Victoria has graced Portsmouth Guildhall Square since 1903. But a student from the University of Portsmouth claims that the statue recently told him it is unhappy in its current [… read more ]