So on 30th April, next week, Portsmouth will submit a bid to be the UK City of Culture 2017. This is a joint bid with Southampton. The writers of the bid, poet Sam Cox and writer Sarah Cheverton, have been busy asking various people about what they think culture is and how we can make 2017 a fantastic 'year of the culture' in Portsmouth. I think in the last couple of years Portsmouth has been gaining momentum in asserting itself to be a big player in the UK when it comes to tourism. Portsmouth, and with this I do mean Southsea and its wider surrounding area, has been slowly putting itself on the map of culture. For a number of years Portsmouth has hosted the hugely successful Portsmouth Festivities and Music in the Round, an international chamber music series. Portsmouth people have also been busy celebrating our literary heritage. From Dickens to Conan-Doyle, Kippling and countless others. We have a lively literary community in Portsmouth and last World Book Night saw a ...