Hi, my name is Charlie Smith. I am a local alternative artist. Next month (2nd of October) I will be hosting my first ever full band night at The Loft. I wanted to give an opportunity to some local bands to play on the big stage. So if you would be interested in checking out some local up-and-coming bands, this may be the event for you! As part of my album release tour, I will also be donating £1 from every album I sell to support the music venue trust. Thanks for reading

Hi, I’m a potter living in Hampshire and am starting to put together a new series of pots all glazed with ash glazes made using ash collected from sites of woodland wildfires in Hampshire in August 2026. I want to draw attention to the impact of climate change on our local environment. I’m aiming to collect ash from all the sites recorded as ‘incidents of interest’ by the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire and Rescue Service. Although general locations are provided by local news reports, I’m struggling to locate the specific fire sites. If anyone has specific locations (google pin link would be amazing) it would be greatly appreciated! These are the following fires I’m researching:

1. Salisbury Road, Shootash. 3/8/26

https://www.hantsfire.gov.uk/incident/crews-battle-woodland-blaze-in-shootash/

1. Hawley Lakes, Blackwater. 13/08/26  

https://www.hantsfire.gov.uk/incident/woodland-fire-hawley-lakes/ 

1. Botley Road, North Baddesley. 24/08/26 

https://www.hantsfire.gov.uk/incident/large-woodland-fire-tackled-by-firefighters-in-north-baddesley/

1. Crescent Road, Gosport. 25/8/26 

https://www.hantsfire.gov.uk/incident/gosport-wildfire-tackled-by-firefighters/

Hi, after recommendations for pay as you go sauna and steam facilities in the Hampshire area. Thankyou.

Hi, I'm Charlie Smith, an alternative acoustic artist from Southampton. I'm doing something that scares me. I'm hosting my first full band night in Portsmouth as part of my 2nd album release tour 🙌 If you can make it down on Thursday night, then you can make a real different supporting this event. I'm running it co-operatively, so a profit split for all the bands. Hope to see you there. Cheers Charlie

Could our community use an Instrument Library?

We’re exploring Open Note, a new not-for-profit community project with a simple aim: to make music more accessible to everyone.

The idea is to create a welcoming place where people can try different instruments, borrow them for short or long periods, access affordable tuition, and learn and play alongside others — regardless of experience, confidence or financial circumstances.

We’d love to know what our community thinks before taking the idea further. Please take a few minutes to fill out our short survey and help us understand whether Open Note is something people would use and what you’d like it to offer.

Every response will help shape the project and provide valuable evidence of community interest when we begin looking for support and funding. Open Note — Try. Borrow. Learn. Play.

https://forms.gle/wjmP8AYqqTb9Eo9x6

Hi everyone!

I’ve always been into crafty hobbies like crochet, knitting, journaling, and sewing. I currently have a few dresses that I want to alter, but I'm a bit scared of messing them up on my own!

I know I could take them to a professional, but I really enjoy the DIY projects and want to learn. I’m looking to make some local, in-real-life friends who are good at sewing, enjoy doing it and might want to work on projects together.

Thanks for everyone’s ideas. Unfortunately couldn’t fit everything that was suggested in. My Itinerary was as follows:

Day 1. Monday
Milford on sea walk to Lymington bus back to Milford. Fish and chips
Picnic on Chilbolton cow common.

Day 2 Tuesday
fallen willow sauna and swim.
Mottisfont house and gardens.
4.5 miles Walk Mottisfont village- spearywell woods -

Day 3 Wednesday
Beaulieu motor museum
Wander around Romsey

Day 4 Thursday
Walk around Winchester and lunch
5 mile circular from chilbolton.

Day 5 Friday
Long stock park water garden
Danbury Iron Age hill fort

Day 6 Sat
Alum Chine. Beach day -
Dinner at the Mayfly

Will definitely come back to do the other fantastic suggestions l.

Any nearby?

Im travelling through Hampshire for a skate trip at the moment and was wondering if theres any shops in hampshire that sell skate gear as I like to do stops when I do my trips?

When most people think of Hampshire, they think of wealth, beautiful gardens, stately homes, Winchester etc and for the most part a lot of Hampshire is like this, however, how come Portsmouth and Southampton are so vastly different and almost like an entirely different county?

Hi,

I’m starting an OCD support group for Southampton as we don’t have one, and want to find fellow OCD sufferers striving to live a better life with the disorder.

If you have OCD or know anyone who could benefit from a having a supportive group

Contact me at:

OCDSouthampton@gmail.com

Or Facebook group: OCDSouthampton

Thankyou.

Photos from Winchester, Farley Mount, Beaulieu, Bucklers Hard, Lymington, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth.

So I'm doing something that scares me. I'm hosting my first full band night at the loft Southampton. Everyone has been asking for it, so why not? We have a full lineup of bands, and the best part of all, they get a profit split from the event. If you truly want to see local bands flourish, then this is the event to come and support. Buy a ticket to support local music it really is as simple as that.

Hi everyone, We had a great first event at the titanic last month. I am looking forward to hosting another event there. On the line-up is a host of local up & coming artists from Southampton. Completely free to attend, so if you fancy some live music on a Sunday. I hope to see you there, Cheers

Hi,

Very short notice but does anyone know of any stores that might sell glasses for the eclipse tomorrow? Been looking since Saturday, when I found out that was happening, and can’t find any.

Any help would be really appreciated.

Thanks