SouthseaScene

In association with AccuWeather, The Royal Meteorological Society's 'Weather Photographer of the Year 2021' competition launches today (29 April 2021). It is free to enter and open to everyone. Whether you climb mountains, chase storms, scour coastlines or sit in your back garden capturing the beauty of the weather around you, the judges want to see your pictures.   The Royal Meteorological Society (RMetS) is once again calling on photographers of all ages and abilities to enter its annual photography competition,  ‘Weather Photographer of the Year 2021’  and ‘Young Weather Photographer of the Year 2021’, in association with  AccuWeather .  Last year this popular competition attracted over 7,700 photos, seen by millions of people across the world.   New for this year, the sixth year of the competition, there is also a mobile phone category. The judges want to encourage entries from anyone with a passion for the environment and photography to enter on a level playing field.

A new study suggests that shoppers may be fearful of returning to large enclosed shopping centres when lockdown restrictions ease on 12 April to allow non-essential retail to open. Researchers from the Universities of Portsmouth and Edinburgh in the UK, Saint Xavier University in the United States and the Universidad Externado de Colombia in Bogota, Colombia found that shoppers experience higher levels of stress, lower levels of excitement, and greater difficulty focusing on a shopping task when in the presence of large crowds of other shoppers. Since the Covid-19 outbreak, people have been required to avoid crowded spaces, maintain social distancing in retail stores and shop alone when possible, and to avoid touching public surfaces. These ‘new normal’ behaviours work against enclosed shopping centres in terms of being attractive destinations for shoppers. However, they could be a boost for smaller, independent shops where there are not so many people. Study co-author Dr Jason S

The Guildhall Trust is delighted to announce that with effect from 1st April 2021, the multi-award-winning Urban Vocal Group (UVG) will be joining the Trust with the aim of increasing opportunities for young people to engage in singing and music-making, to develop transferable skills and to nurture positive health and wellbeing. Having been based in Portsmouth Guildhall (which is run by the charitable The Guildhall Trust) for the past seven years, UVG has developed a strong partnership with the Trust which has a shared vision around its work, particularly with those from disadvantaged areas and backgrounds. Since forming in 2008, UVG has provided over 18,000 free opportunities across a range of activities including its weekly singing groups, gigs, recordings and performances (including at Victorious Festival) to training, masterclasses, songwriting, mentoring and artist development.   The Guildhall Trust’s rich programme of ‘Get Involved’ workshops, activities, groups and courses