Long Reads
At this Ipswich café, careers begin with conversation
Chloe used to stay in bed all day with no energy. Now she trains new staff and works four days a week at an Ipswich café where people thrive.
Long Reads
Thirteen years of Daring, Jazzy and Versatile: The indie boutique defying the odds
In 2012, Mandy Errington spotted something missing on Ipswich's high street – a boutique that offered truly individual, inspiring fashion. Rather than wait for someone else to fill the gap, she decided to do it herself, launching DJV Boutique.
Long Reads
Flying against the odds: The accidental landlords who risked it all to save their pub
Sarah Battistetti works eighteen-hour days with no time off, has faced online abuse and personal attacks, and admits the pressure nearly destroyed her marriage. But in just over a year, she and husband Giulio turned "one of Ipswich's most troubled pubs" back into a thriving family venue.
Long Reads
Full circle: The talented Ipswich artist exhibiting alongside the masters she studied
The moment Lily Hammond chose art over academia, she set herself on a path that would see her work lighting up the town centre and hanging alongside some of the biggest names in art at Christchurch Mansion. We share her journey.
Long Reads
Discover the Dove Street art studio making people powerful
If you’re crafty or creative, or have a young person in your life who is, you’ll be delighted to discover that a new community arts studio has opened right in the centre of town.
Long Reads
Alkemy: The brothers turning Suffolk's sugar beet into spiced gold
When brothers Rob and Will returned to Suffolk, having lost everything they'd spent years building in Swaziland, they could have been forgiven for playing it safe. Instead, they doubled down and created the UK's first aged sugar beet spirit.
Long Reads
Behind the scenes at DanceEast – Ipswich’s national dance house
Unpacking the purpose-built space, unseen work and everyday welcome behind the nationally-acclaimed dance house on Ipswich’s waterfront.
Long Reads
How Suffolk Pride built a year-round community from a one-day event
Faced with the exhausting cycle of fundraising all year for one expensive day, Suffolk Pride organisers asked a simple question: what if we spread that impact across 12 months instead? The answer has transformed Pride in Suffolk.
Long Reads
The African American airmen who found freedom in Suffolk's pubs
In the smoky pubs of 1960s Ipswich, a young American airman stationed at RAF Bentwaters was discovering he could sing – really sing. His name was Geno Washington, and his voice would soon captivate audiences across Britain.
Long Reads
On The Huh and loving it: From the Alps to St Peters Street
It was during a ski season in the French Alps that Richard Podd discovered his calling – but it would take 20 years and a return to his Ipswich roots before he could fully embrace it.
Long Reads
Making space: How youth-led culture is changing Ipswich
Whilst Westminster debates youth engagement and councils struggle with consultation fatigue, something different is happening in Ipswich. Here, young people aren't waiting for formal invitations to civic life—they're creating their own spaces, literally and figuratively, through community action.
Long Reads
Ten years on in Ipswich: A nostalgic meander down memory lane
After moving away in March 2023, Town columnist Barbara Norrey swaps Portman Road for Norwich Road as she returns to her former stomping ground to see how it's changed over the years.