Knitters Needed! For a Knit and Natter event at the NMRN Portsmouth to help a project for the Royal Navy Royal Marines Children’s Fund.

The sound of clacking knitting needles and chatter will fill the air of the National Museum of the Royal Navy on Tuesday 28^th May as volunteers knit cute little dolls. They will be helping the Royal Navy Royal Marines Children’s Fund to knit the dolls for a new project to help naval families affected by OSR.

The Knit and Natter takes place on Tuesday 28^th May, 2pm to 4pm. Entry into the event is free and patterns and wool be provided, just bring your own knitting needles! In order to ensure we have enough refreshments for all the volunteers, please register your intention to come with Zeenat Turner, zeenat@starfishdesign.co.uk or call 023 9242 8176.

The Royal Navy & Royal Marines Children’s Fund (RN&RMCF), the only charity dedicated to supporting children whose parents work for the Naval Services, is looking for knitters to volunteer their time and their spare wool to create small dolls for the charity.

As part of a sensitive new 2013 initiative called ‘Knit the Family’ the charity is focusing on the importance of knitting families back together when one of the parents returns from active military service.  Central to the initiative will be a support handbook aimed at providing practical help and guidance for the family in helping to overcome the effects of OSR (operational stress reaction)*.

Volunteers across the UK and even Europe have already been busily knitting pairs of parent and children dolls holding hands to symbolise knitting the family back together using patterns kindly donated by Fiona Goble, best-selling author of books such as: ‘Knit your own Royal Wedding’!

Monique Bateman, Director of RN&RMCF says:  “People are always incredibly generous towards our charity because everyone recognises the sadness, especially for children, caused by disharmony in the home.  Returning service personnel have much to contend with as do their families and what we are trying to achieve is a more seamless reintegration into family life.   The little dolls are rich in symbolism and we desperately need volunteers to click their needles for us”

If you are unable to attend the event and would still like to show your support by knitting a doll or two, full details including the pattern can be found on RN&RMCF website: http://www.rnrmchildrensfund.org.uk

New Portsmouth Football Club Chairman Iain McInnes who helped mastermind the club takeover

The moment that many fans of Portsmouth Football Club have been waiting for is nearly here.

As part of the UK’s biggest community football club, fans who opted to buy shares in the Pompey Supporters Trust bid, will be in the unique position of being able to say they own a small piece of their beloved football club.

Fans will also have a say in the running of Portsmouth Football Club and regular shareholder meetings will be organised for the fans to have an input in the running of the historic club.

Hampshire Solicitors Verisona, who helped mastermind the takeover of the club, will begin to issue fans shares over coming weeks.

The Pompey Supporters Trust have gone to great lengths to ensure the shares are something fans of Portsmouth Football Club can be proud of.

PST Board Member, Dan Fearnley said: ”Because we want the certificate to be something that takes pride of place over mantelpieces not just on the south coast but world-wide, we will take some time to make sure we get the design as best we can.”

As shareholder’s of Portsmouth Football Club, members will also become lifetime members of the ‘Pompey Supporters
Trust’.

As well as working on the task of issuing shares and printing certificates the team behind the Pompey Supporters Trust have been designing specially designed commemorative pin badges for shareholders.

The Trust will also be defining the details of the shareholder discount scheme to cover new season tickets at the club for it’s members.

Dan Fearnley went on to say: “The Team issuing the shares will be asking fans to confirm the name to be issued on the share
certificates. We will also be letting fans know the dates of a pre-season shareholder meeting that we have planned over the next couple of weeks.”

Today marked the end of this historic ships life as HMS Ark Royal, once pride of the Royal Navy fleet, headed for Turkey to be scrapped.

Crowds gathered along Old Portsmouth seafront and the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour to watch the warship depart for the final time. Several onlookers chose to wear black armbands to mark the occasion.

Ark Royal will go to the same yard in Turkey that took its sister ship Invincible, as part of an overall £2.9m deal.

Former captain of the ship, Sir Alan Massey, said: “In many ways it’s a very sad day, this is such a famous ship. When you are captain of a ship like Ark Royal it fills you with a great deal of pride and I, amongst others, will be very sad to see her gone forever”.

The scrapping of Ark Royal has been highly criticized since the decision as many campaigners had tried to keep the ship in the UK for future generations to enjoy.

Totnes Conservative MP Dr Sarah Wollaston, who had tried to bring the ship to Torbay as part of a diving school project, was disappointed by the scrapping.

Dr Wollaston said: “Bringing it to Torbay would have given us a tremendous boost for the local economy.

“I’m very, very, very disappointed to hear this decision, and I’ll be asking some questions as to why it has been taken.”

The scrapped ships have made way for the MOD’s new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier’s with HMS Queen Elizabeth expected to begin sea trials in 2017 with an initial operational capability in 2020; the decision whether to operate HMS Prince of Wales will not be taken until 2015.

Much of the new super carriers construction work has been carried out in Portsmouth and then transported up to Rosyth earlier this year. The completed ship will also be based in Portsmouth.

I always seem to be saying how time seems to moving faster and faster just lately, and this couldn’t be more true as McFly are on this run of shows in celebration of a decade (A whole TEN years!) since they formed the band.

Although this anniversary barely seems possible, they have amassed a HUGE Seven Number One Singles, Five Top 10 Albums and sales of more than 10 million in that decade, which goes to show that boy bands aren’t always a fast forgotten flash in the pan.

Named the ‘Memory Lane’ Tour in support of their latest, and believe it or not 3rd Greatest Hits Album, the boys have managed to sell out every venue, including the tour finale´ at Wembley Arena this weekend.

Supported by very young fresh-faced ‘The Vamps’, tipped to be the boyband sensation of tomorrow. Playing a range of covers from One Directions ’Little Things’ to 90s classic ’Oh Cecilia’ they were all met with audible screams and wails from the mass of teenage girls that had collected infront of the barrier.  However on the whole it was an really diverse audience in age and gender, which could be a sign of the boys extra-curricular activites in TV shows such as: I’m A Celeb & Strictly Come Dancing with Dougie and Harry winning their respective show.

The whole evening was compared by cheesy, yet comical MC ‘Mr Antastic’ who did a sterling job in riling the crowd up for the main attraction of the evening.
Starting with the lights down low, the boys opened with an acapella of ‘Memory Lane’ before winding up to a climax where the curtain dropped, revealing the mighty stage-set and they burst into light and popular hit ’That Girl’.

Following this into a set entirely of crowd-pleasing hits, they did exactly what it said on the tin; providing the packed crowd with a run down of a decade full of pop-tastic hits and memories of a band that a majority of the crowd have grown up alongisde.
Starting in 2003 as a follow-up to the ‘Busted’ hype, those crazy teenagers have grown up in the public eye; including us every step along the way, from the McFly on the wall TV series to Tom’s famed Wedding Speech from last year which is a youtube must-see.  Replacing their once baggy jeans and t-shirts with suits and ties the boys were dressed for the occasion and on a mission to thrill the crowd.

I think what sets these boys apart from other boy bands is its all real. There’s no manufacture, they play their own instruments, sing their own songs and they all genuinely still get-on 10 years down the line. Its like hanging out with your big-brother and his mates. You’ve watched them grow up and might not see them all the time, but there still always familiar to you.

I think I can speak for everyone in Portsmouth, in saying that it was one of the most epic and outright fun shows I’ve been to in a longtime. Even if you weren’t lucky enough to get a ticket; the boys were only in town pretty much a year ago and have no signs of fading yet, so I’d bank on another tour in the near future which I urge you to get to.

Lets hope the boys stay clear of the boy-band trend and are still providing us with magic memories in another 10 years time eh?

Portsmouth Football Club officially revealed their new kit for the 2013/2014 season today on-board HMS Warrior at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

The new kit, supplied by Sondico Professional will be available to all via the clubs official e-shop here with a 7 to 14 day delivery time-scale.

The bespoke kit features some fan detailing that the city can be proud of including the logo of fan group ‘Pompeys12thMan’, which has been raising funds in the past few months to ensure its logo has pride of place on the shirt and the slogan ‘In Pompey We Trust’ across the lower back area of the shirt.

Players past and present joined the celebrations including Dan Butler, Colin Sullivan, Dave Reid (son of Duggie Reid), Keith Blackburn, and Ray Crawford. Also joining the players on-board the Warrior were representatives from Club sponsors Jobsite & Covers and recently appointed permanent manager Guy Whittingham.

Fan Engagement Manager at Fratton Park Micah Hall said: ‘We are sure fans will love the new shirt which will reflect the best traditions of our rich heritage.”

Adult shirts will be on sale at £34.99, junior shirts at £24.99 and infant shirts at £19.99.

The 2013/2014 season will begin on 3 August 2013 for Portsmouth, now in League 2.

Portsmouth City Council has highlighted the many different walks on offer in the city, including the free Healthy Walks and Guided Tours run by the council itself.

Michael Bell, a keen member of Healthy Walks, said: “The doctor told me to go out and lose some weight. I went out of the surgery, down to the seafront and started walking and I haven’t stopped since. I lost four stone and I feel great. I walk 10 or 15 miles every day. I’ve done all the council’s healthy walks. Without them I wouldn’t have got into walking the way I have.”

Walking is an easy step to improve your health and wellbeing, and can also help to improve your bank balance if you choose to ditch your usual commute and start walking to work/school instead. Here are some of the upcoming guided walks throughout Portsmouth.

Spice Island Arts Trail

On Sunday 23rd June 2013 from 11:00am to 4:00pm in Old Portsmouth, Portsmouth Festivities will be running an arts trail. The Spice Island Arts Trail will be a unique opportunity for local artists, both experienced professionals or non-professional novices, to showcase their work to the public in the historical setting of Old Portsmouth.

The event will be free for members of the public, who will be provided with a map to help them follow a route through the arts trail. Sketch points and art demonstrations along the trail will add an aspect of interactivity which will intrigue adults and children alike.

Authors of Southsea: 19th May

A guided walk following in the footsteps of Dickens, Wells, Doyle, and Kipling, starting at 2:30pm at the City Museum, with tickets priced at £3 and accompanying children welcomed along for free.

Southsea Common: 16th May

A walk of many themes across Southsea Common, following stories of smuggling, the history of monuments, Fitzclarence’s grand esplanade scheme, and the battle of Southsea. The walk starts at the Holiday Inn and ends at the Queen Hotel, and starts at 2:30pm. Tickets are £3 for adults or £1 for Leisure Card holders, with accompanying children welcomed along for free. Tickets can be bought from the D-Day Museum or the City Museum on the day or in advance.

Southsea Treasure Hunt: 27th May

Come and test your local historical knowledge and have some fun in a treasure hunt along the Southsea seafront, and meet the guide at the Visitor Information Centre in the D-Day Museum to collect your clues! Tickets are £3 per family, with a small prize for all completed answer sheets. Starts at 2:30pm.

Coronation Walk: 2nd June

In celebration of the Queen’s Coronation, there’ll be a walk from The Hard to Portsmouth Guildhall to hear about the stories behind her countless visits to Portsmouth and the events she commemorated in the city. £3 for adults, with accompanying children welcomed along for free. Tickets must be bought from the D-Day Museum on the day or in advance. Starts at 2:30pm.

D-Day Walk: 9th June

A very special walk in commemoration of D-Day, starting at 2:30pm from the D-Day Museum. Tickets are £3 for adults, with accompanying children welcomed along for free. Tickets can be bought on the day or in advance from the museum.

Portsmouth Festivities has teamed up with the Wedgewood Rooms, Wave 105, and The News to launch a new regional songwriting competition, dubbed The Singer and The Song.

The competition seeks to uncover the region’s greatest young singer-songwriter. Bands or solo artists aged from 17 to 25 who are unsigned and live in Portsmouth or the surrounding areas are invited to enter, and an expert panel of judges, including music industry professionals, will then select eight finalists to perform at Southsea’s premier music venue — the Wedgewood Rooms — on 23rd June.

The winner will receive a package of prizes to help support and develop their profile, including a day in a professional recording studio with a producer from DFA Records and Universal Music, the opportunity to record and mix two songs, a professional photoshoot with Blitz Photography in Gosport, and a play of their song on air on Wave 105.

They’ll also have the chance to perform at The News’ We Can Do It Awards and The Guide awards, as well as a trophy to proudly display their victory.

Entrants must have at least three tracks of their own material and be available to perform at the Wedgewood Rooms Live Final on Sunday 23rd June. To enter, musicians must upload a song to YouTube and email the link, along with their name, address, age, and a daytime contact number to the features department of The News here.

Friday 17th May is the final day for entries. Submissions after midnight tonight will not be considered. Be sure to check out the full programme of Portsmouth Festivities events here, and follow the Portsmouth Festivities on Twitter here.

The event will be the official revealing of  the clubs new home kit for the 2013-14 season. Club manager Guy Whittingham and three current first team players – Jed Wallace, Adam Webster and Dan Butler will be attending the event.

The bespoke kit has been designed by Sondico Professional, who will be the club’s kit supplier for the next five years after a deal signed two weeks ago and features some fan detailing that the city can be proud of including the logo of fan group ‘Pompeys12thMan’, which has been raising funds in the past few months to ensure its logo has pride of place on the shirt.

Fan Engagement Manager at Fratton Park Micah Hall said: ‘We are sure fans will love the new shirt which will reflect the best traditions of our rich heritage. We have been delighted to the response of fans to our piece-by-piece jigsaw on the official site.’

The reception at Tiger Tiger, Gunwharf Quays will take place at 2.30pm. Fans are welcome to arrive from 2pm and there will be a bar open.

The players will be modelling the kit and they will also take part in a question and answer session.

The trust are now working hard to get the club shops open once more as a matter of urgency and start bringing in more vital funds to the club with the arrival of the 2013/2014 kit.

Kit will be competitively priced with new CEO Mark Catlin commenting to say “It’s a fantastic start to the deal to say, hand on heart, that we believe we have the cheapest shirts in English football and hope to see as many kids as possible in the south-east wearing them.”

Adult shirts will be on sale at £34.99, junior shirts at £24.99 and infant shirts at £19.99.

For many years bands from all over Hampshire and the UK have performed in-front of strong crowds at these popular free family concerts.

So here is your free music line-up for the 2013 summer season. Timings are 1pm to 4pm on all events unless specified and the larger final weekend celebration on Castle Field, Southsea will be 6pm to 9.30pm including spectacular fireworks finale.

ENJOY!

Sunday 2^nd June – 1950’s / Rock ‘n’ Roll

The Jive Aces supported by Stardust

Sunday 9^th June – Contemporary & Original Indie

New Desert Blues supported by Kassassin Street, Murdoch and The Planes

Sunday 16^th June – 1980’s

80’s Revolution supported by Luke Ferre

Sunday 23rd June – Blues

Marcus Malone Band supported by Brass Knuckles Blues Band

Sunday 30^th June – Disco / Funk

Freestyle Funk Collective supported by Le Freak

Sunday 7^th July – 1960s

The Mods supported by Mojo Dollar

Sunday 14^th July – Latin

Son Guarachando supported by Latin Groove

Sunday 21^st July – Electro Swing

Beats & Swing presents Kitten and the Hip supported by The PETEBOX, Captain Flatcap and Trix & Mayhem

Sunday 28^th July – Jazz

The Pedigree Jazz Band supported by The Claire Phoenix Band with The Chris Walker Swingtet

Sunday 4^th August – Country & Western

The Cash Collection supported by Plain Loco

Sunday 11^th August – Folk

Retrospective Soundtrack Players supported by Day of the Rabblement and Electric Eden

Sunday 18^th August – Reggae

The Majestic supported by The Hotsteppers, Mighty Z Allstars plus DJs and MCs

The Last weekend of the Banstand on Castle Field:

Saturday 24^th August – 1940s afternoon tea dance, 1-4pm

The Three Belles and Pete Western Swing Band

Saturday 24^th August – Evening of Classical Music, 6-9pm

The Bossard Quartet and The Victory Brass Band

Sunday 25^th August – Closing event fireworks spectacular!, 6-9.30pm

Songs in the Key of Stevie featuring The Band of Wonder supported by Hairforce 5

For several years now travellers to or from Portsmouth Harbour and the Hard Interchange in Hampshire by train, bus, or ferry, will have noticed the word ‘Smile’ up in lights. The simple art instalment by S. Mark Gubb in association with Aspex explores the ideas of responsibility, influence, control, and personal change. Trav’ller In The Dark was influenced by Googie architecture which originated in the late 1940s in southern California. Read more about the piece on the Aspex site here.

Time has taken its toll on the public instalment, with some of the bulbs in the piece having blown out. But now, vital work has been undertaken by the manufacturers MDM Props, with faulty lights being replaced with the latest LED technology which includes long-lasting low-maintenance bulbs.

Gareth Colwell, Communications Manager at Aspex, said: “Since Trav’ller In The Dark was installed in 2011, it has been admired by the thousands of commuters and tourists that pass through the Portsmouth Harbour area every week. We are pleased that the work being carried out now will see the installation looking at its best for many years to come.”

S. Mark Gubb lives and works in Cardiff. He was born in Romsey, Hampshire, and now works across a range of media incorporation sculpture, video, sound, and performance. The subjects for his work are drawn from the social and political culture he grew up in, and his work evokes an equal fascination with things he finds so great and so terrible about the world we live in.

Aspex Portsmouth is currently home to Charlie Tweed’s i am algorithm art exhibition.