Bread products reportedly left on some mornings by the slope to Riverside Park and the river near Cobden Bridge are creating a "difficult challenge" for dog walkers and their pets. They could also be a health risk for birds and an invitation to rats, according to claims made on our Facebook page – read more – and 'like' our page – here.

Advertising feature: The Junction Inn on Priory Road, St Denys is a Greene King Local Hero Beer House – only one of 13 throughout the country, and now with a new look, new furnishings and great regular events including live music, karaoke, quizzes and much more…
Beer festival 20 - 23 June - see main article

The Ascension Centre's Summer Fayre takes place on Saturday, June 22 from 10am until 1.30pm at Thorold Road. More details on our calendar here.

Two beer festivals take place at St Denys pubs in June, offering the chance to sample brews not usually available on the pumps.

All sorts of bike activities take place in Southampton from 15 - 23 June, many starting from the Hawthorns Centre on the Common. The week culminates in Sky Ride Southampton - a mass participation cycling event taking place across the city on a traffic free route. Timetable here. Pic under CC2 by Patrick Goossens

St Denys Youth Club opens on Friday, June 21 at St Denys Community Centre from 6.30-8pm for those of secondary school age. Table tennis, art, Wii, sports, and the opportunity to spend time with friends are on offer. £1 per week.

Students from the University of Southampton have designed a six-foot long cyber rhino as part of Marwell Wildlife’s Go! Rhinos campaign, which will see a spectacular trail of colourful and creative sculptures in the streets and parks of Southampton this summer.

Detectives are appealing for information from anyone who saw two men who robbed and slashed a man in a block of flats in Meggeson Avenue.

Advertising feature:Porstwood Cycles, at 3 St Denys Rd, offers a range of Freego Electric Bikes, famous names in non-electric bikes such as Raleigh and Falcon, children's bikes, a maintenance and repair service for electric and non-electric bikes, plus a full range of accessories. And the shop now offers students 10% discount on all servicing, repairs and accessories on production of student ID. Read on to find out about our special electric bike sale...

Caroline Dunsmore, left, who bought the Food to Suit sandwich shop six months ago, is now re-launching the business as 'The Summit' with Chilean chef Gonzalo, bringing tapas to the Triangle two evenings a week.

Joshua Oliver, who went to Bitterne Park School before moving to Barton Peveril in Eastleigh, has received an unconditional offer of a degree course place at Aberystwyth University to study Drama or Film & Television. Unconditional offers are usually reserved for students who have already achieved the required grades in their exams.

We don't push our community 'newsletters' through letterboxes. We publish them online. And every month thousands of people choose to visit. Our updated 'Advertise' page explains the options for connecting with our audience. And if you need to know more, call 023 8001 8612 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

A micro pub – 'The Butcher's Hook Ale House' – could pop up at Manor Farm Road (formerly Tiger Lily's florist). Micro pubs "use vacant local retail spaces to create a vibrant social hub for the community whilst helping to bring extra trade to the surrounding businesses".
Read more comment on our Facebook page

The council is currently offering discounted composers and food digesters – and says it's introducing a glass collection service later this year.

Some Triangle traders say if customers won't come to them, they'll adopt an old fashioned approach and deliver, to compete with nearby supermarkets. Hear Gary Wright, left, explain – on another quiet lunchtime at the Triangle.

This reconditioned open-top bus was on display at Riverside Park on Saturday (June 2), courtesy of Southampton & District Transport Heritage Trust, to help publicise Friends of Riverside Park's regular litter pic. Looking at SDTHT's site, it looks like this model. Read more for a bigger picture.

 Updated Fancy a visit to Bitterne Park - or thinking about moving to the area? Perhaps you already live here and are interested to find out more. We hope this work in progress offers a few pointers!

Mary Long, who was eighty when we talked to her, has lived in Bitterne Park for most of her life — and loves it. Hear how her father bought their house for £500 cash, about shopping at the Triangle, where she used to play, and why she wasn’t allowed to go to what is now Sandringham Road (but did anyway!).

Thurman Rye has closed its Triangle branch, and Carringtons is "in the process of coming away from the office". Nonetheless Bitterne Park remains a highly sought-after area of Southampton, with property sales remaining buoyant. We spoke to Carringtons, Thurman Rye and Enfields to find out more – and heard how the estate agency business is changing.

Advertising feature: Carpet Gallery, at 126 Macnaghten Road SO18 1GH (right opposite Bitterne railway station), is the largest independent carpet store in Southampton, offering two massive floors of choice – and great prices all year round.

Police have issued this e-fit of a man they say they need to identify in connection with a serious sexual assault on a 15-year-old girl that took place in Sandringham Road in April.  

Council supports credit unions

Southampton’s ‘co-operative’ City Council wants to make the city a ‘Credit Union Zone’ by supporting Southampton’s two credit unions, which are community-owned and run financial organisations that let their members save and take out low-cost loans.

Around 45 Bitterne Park School students will pay a visit to Sainsbury's Portswood in June to learn more about fair trade, and sample fairly-traded products.

Here's a tranquil scene, taken on May 22 – one of the first summery evenings at Riverside Park. There was still a bit of a nip in the air, mind! 'Read more' for the big pic...

Conservative Bitterne Park ward councillor Ivan White has been sworn in as the city's new mayor. Mayoral duties range from chairing council meetings to hosting events and engagements. For interesting background and history to the role of mayor and a list of Southampton mayors from the 13th century to date, take a look at this city council web page.

The Daily Echo reports on the 'devastation' of Bitterne Park Secondary School head Susan Trigger, after the school again missed out on funding for a rebuild. And there's a follow-up piece which goes 'behind the scenes' at the school.

Southampton City Council has announced 'changes' (reductions) to library opening hours from May 13 on its website. 'Read more' to see revised Cobbett Road Library hours.

Previously: Partial reprieve for Cobbett Road Library hours | Audio: What does the future hold for libraries?

If you’re on Facebook, then why not pay a visit to our Facebook page?  You can also share your pics of the area and chat to other bitterne-parkers. See you there!

Avenue Badminton Club, which meets on Thursday evenings at Richard Taunton’s College, is on the lookout for new members. More info here.

Spring is now well underway and with it comes a buzzing in the hedgerows: it's an emerging bee. But bees, and other pollinating insects, have suffered from dramatic declines in populations, and the search is on to locate the cause – writes Rose Nicole.

Thanks to Bitterne Park Parish for sending us the following piece introducing Reverend Andy Smith (left), in their own words.

Tesco has been granted a licence to sell alcohol from 6am until 11pm for its new Witts Hill 'Express' store, which is due to open on May 7. 'Read more' to hear our audio of reaction from Tesco, and the community which had opposed the move, and to read a meeting report.

Police say Southampton crime figures show an overall drop. This report is in their own words:

Bitterne Parkers prone to punctuality will be pleased to hear that the Triangle clock is operational again – although reports suggest it is running a few minutes slow.

Free two-day courses to help you explore the potential of being your own boss take place at the Ropewalk Centre, SO14 1DJ in April, May and June.

As previously reported, the education authority is considering an ‘all-through primary school’ for Bitterne Park, rather than the current arrangement of separate infant and junior schools – and is now consulting over the issue. If the idea goes ahead Bitterne Park’s primary school could open as soon as September.

The council is introducing new charges for residents who want their garden waste removed and recycled.

Spread the word about your community events using our calendar: just log into the site and click here to add events, classes, gigs and more. Hot tip: if you haven't created an account with the site you'll need to register first.
Please note that we now request you consider making a very small donation towards site running costs for certain commercial events. More info, and donate, here.

Bitterne & Bitterne Park Sure Start Community Development Worker Amy Brear writes about the Sure Start programme, and explains what’s on offer locally to give children aged 0-5 the best start in life.

On National Libraries Day, we chatted with the cabinet member responsible for libraries, a Bitterne Park ward councillor and the chair of Friends of Cobbett Road Library about the future of local libraries like Cobbett Road.
Pic: Cllr Warwick Payne, by Ann MacGillivray

Using some of the significant space previously used by department store Tyrrell and Green above the former Old Fat Cat – now the Frog & Parrot – pub in Above Bar for much needed community art space is currently being mooted.
Image of Tyrell & Green under CC by Steve9091

Peta Paget (nee Haynes) who is looking for long lost family members in the Bitterne area, emails from Australia.

From a modernisation of Dickens' Curiosity Shop, set in a vintage record store, to the award-winning London favourite The 39 Steps, in which four actors take on 139 parts in 100 minutes, we preview the upcoming Nuffield season.