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See the Saints out on a high - team travels to Gloucester for final game of the season as youngsters get a run out

The moment George Furbank hit the deck in Cardiff after that ‘rugby incident’ last weekend, I felt a pang of guilt. High up in our seats, in the Gods of the Principality, it looked bad – and even worse on the playback when we got back home, in the dead of night. It’s not quite the curse of the commentator – but highlighting his return in a headline and then seeing him hit with yet another bit of…

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Even mighty Northampton from a tiny Oak Apple did grow...

Happy Oak Apple Day fellow Northamptonians, the Mayor has been on top of All Saints Church hanging an oak wreath round the statue of Charles II. Just like Punxsutawney, USA, is famous for Groundhog Day – immortalised in the film of the same name featuring a weather-predicting groundhog called Punxsutawney Phil – Northampton is not famous for Oak Apple Day because I bet they don’t even know we do…

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Review: Laughter and tears on Valentine's night as (the) Woman uncovers messy truths of motherhood

I enjoyed this and I might be seen as a tough demographic nut to crack for this show...

It was St Valentine’s night, 32 years and four children after our relationship’s first St Valentine’s night, and we were at Northampton’s Royal & Derngate for a preview performance of (the) Woman by Jane Upton. I know there are people out there who will have a wry smile to themselves about what that says about the way things work between me and My One True Love, and as we settled into our seats…

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Gothic Revival is asking Northampton if we know who we really are

Now that I think about it, even the address of the exhibition has a Gothic aftertaste: the Vulcan Works on Angel Square. When things just fall into place like that… I’m not a superstitious person, or a religious person but sometimes you get the impression that occasionally great unseen templates line up and the cold light of some universal truth can shine through. Welcome to Gothic Revival by…

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Mitchell relishing the build-up to the East Midlands derby

Northampton Saints scrum-half Alex Mitchell says he would like to bring his World Cup success back to the club ahead of “one of the biggest games of the season”.  Saints travel to Leicester Tigers in the East-Midlands derby this weekend as they make their early push into the top 4 of the Gallagher Premiership, writes James Logan.  The men in green, black, and gold will travel to their local…

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Full list of winners at Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards

The annual reveal of where to find the good stuff in Northamptonshire has taken place at the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drink Awards. The judges have spent a year investigating restaurants, chefs and products from all over the county and the full list of medal winners is below. Scroll down for a report on the ceremony from the organisers. Artisan Local Drink of the Year, sponsored by J…

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Moving and powerful theatre for our troubled times. Review: I, Daniel Blake at Royal and Derngate, Northampton.

By Karin Johnstone “I am not a client, a customer, nor a service user. I am not a shirker, a scrounger, a beggar, nor a thief. I’m not a National Insurance Number or blip on a screen. I paid my dues, never a penny short, and proud to do so.” So states the eponymous Daniel Blake. Kathy and Daisy, played by Bryony Corrigan and Jodie Wild – All photography by Pamela Raith Seven years have passed…

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Book fair at Northampton Museum celebrates local writers

Calling all bibliophiles. Northampton Museum and Art Gallery is pleased to be hosting their first ever book fair! On Saturday 4th November, Northampton Museum and Art Gallery will be hosting its first ever Book Fair to the public. This will be a free event for visitors and will give them the opportunity to meet local authors, find out more about their books and perhaps pick up their next…

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More finalists revealed for the Weetabix Food and Drink Awards

As Autumn starts to show its face it means the Weetabix Northamptonshire Food and Drinks Awards are on the final countdown to the Awards Dinner and revealing more category finalists.  This time it’s the turn of Healthy Food and Wellbeing, One to Watch, F&B Achiever, and Food & Drink College Student of the Year! The Food & Drink College Student of the Year Award is aimed at students aged between…

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How Northampton Bike Park will be celebrating a year of being open

It’s not dignified. I’m 55 and I’ve gone over the handlebars of a bike twice in the past year. Fortunately I roll like an 80kg medicine ball and didn’t land far from the track on either occasion. Somehow my injuries were only skin deep, more importantly my bike was fine and if I’m honest, I’ve got no-one but myself to blame. One incident was a simple error of judgment in terms of when to keep…

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Four finalists announced for the Booker Young Chef of the Year

They wanted to find the best young chefs in Northamptonshire so they had a cook off...

‘Booker Young Chef of the Year’ is one of 18 categories in this year’s Weetabix Northamptonshire Food & Drink Awards. Sponsored by the ever supportive Booker, with an aim to encourage young talent and help to shine a light on the up and coming stalwarts of the kitchen.This year’s finalists, all under 25 years old, initially sold their potential on paper by describing their signature…

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'Big Aunty' got the Talawa

Alexia McIntosh, Keiren Hamilton-Amos, and Corey Campbell as Marcus (Credit: Nicola Young Photography) For me, the only issue with The Belgrade’s Big Aunty is that audiences never get to see Big Aunty AKA Vivienne Mavis Taylor. She is the title character who we get to know beyond the grave. With numerous people talking about her death, we then begin to understand her life. Of Jamaica, she was a…

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SOLD: Kuumba Nia Arts tells the story of Mary Prince

Source: Facebook (Kuumba Nia Arts) Born into enslavement on the Caribbean island of Bermuda in 1785, Mary Prince was the first woman to present an anti-slavery petition to Parliament. She also testified at two libel cases following the publication of her autobiography The History of Mary Prince (published in 1831). In its first year, it sold out three times. Mary Prince, after escaping…

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Richard III: Anti-racist Shakespeare, or the casting of our discontent?

Joseph Kloska, Adjoa Andoh and Liz Kettle in Richard III (Photograph: Manuel Harlan) In Britain and America today, there is a culture in media criticism (an industry that is largely white) that still does not see Black-lead creative projects as relatable. Stories that are not “Black stories” but simply stories that feature Black people in many ways are not seen as “human” because our stories are…

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Obscured by quiche and coronation chicken? This must be Tory Glasto

“Just because they give you a seat at the table, doesn’t mean they want you to speak at the table” – Suhaiymah Manzoor-Khan, Postcolonial Banter Was the Coronation Simply Imperialist Tea on the Lawn? Introduction As Britain lies in the wake of a triage of royal propaganda since last summer – the Queen’s Jubilee in June, The Funeral in September, and more recently the Coronation of Charles and…

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Sometimes the way they talk about Saints is pure snobbery

Twenty minutes into Saints home victory over Saracens, just after Moon and Ludlam had crossed the line to score and perhaps three more scoring chances were lost to butterfingers, BT Sport had a touchline chat with one of the visiting coaches. He was asked to reflect on how well his side were controlling the game. To be fair, he did seem a bit wrongfooted by the question. A lot of Sarries’ most…

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The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel welcomes you in Northampton this May

Tickets on sale for #Bestexoticmarigoldhotel which comes to #Northampton in May

The hugely popular adaptation of Deborah Moggach’s story of pensioners seeking a new life in India comes to Royal & Derngate with a star-studded cast. Based on the Sunday Times bestseller which inspired one of this century’s most treasured films, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel comes to Northampton’s Royal & Derngate this spring, from Tuesday May 9 to Saturday 13, with a cast including Paul…