Poetry
STAR POems: HMS New Zealand
I tell my children you are here because in 1913 a Maori chief gave the captain of HMS New Zealand a piupiu, a skirt made from flax. A ceremonial gift with the prophecy [… read more ]
World War I
News
The Futility of War: Peter Jackson’s They Shall Not Grow Old
JS Adams commends a new film that is at once a technically ingenious tribute to those who fought in World War I and a moving critique of their mistreatment in both the trenches and in [… read more ]
Poetry
Star POems: The Sweetness of Clay
By Amanda Garrie We used to stand on street corners watching old men, fit for the slag heap, wondering if that were it: destined for the pit. We’d smoke our shag, curse everything and spit. [… read more ]
Memoir
A Casualty of the Great War?
S&C Contributing Editor John Oke Bartlett revisits a family mystery of war, trauma and Christmases past. Nana didn’t talk much about life with her first husband Victor Nash. According to my parents’ marriage certificate, Victor had [… read more ]
History
The Extraordinary People of Portsmouth: Mary Goodchild
In her latest profile of everyday yet remarkable Portsmouthians, S&C Contributing Editor Christine Lawrence meets a 103-year-old lady who recalls Zeppelins, D-Day and the Great Depression. Maud Mary Goodchild, known as Mary to her friends, [… read more ]
Politics
War is Failure: An Interview with a Veteran for Peace Part I
Veterans for Peace (VfP) is a group of ex-military personnel committed to raising awareness about the human, social and economic costs of war. It is opposed to the use of war by any nation to achieve [… read more ]
Politics
Could Brexit Get Even Worse?
JS Adams fears that the Brexit fallout could threaten our civil liberties, our economic relationship with the rest of the world and even peace and stability across Europe. I have no evidence that Brexit could trigger another [… read more ]
History
Tim Backhouse: Portsmouth’s Own Historian
Tim Backhouse was a tireless chronicler of Portsmouth history until his untimely death last summer. Before S&C begins a season sharing his wonderfully unique work, Tim’s friend John Sadden offers this heartfelt tribute to the man and his achievements. [… read more ]
Culture
Remembering Gallipoli: exhibition at the National Museum of the Royal Navy
Dianna Djokey and Fiona Smythe from the National Museum of the Royal Navy in Portsmouth and Ahmet Baştürk join DJ Ritu on the A World in London radio series in a special broadcast on the [… read more ]