There’s a warmth to Dolly’s Tea Room on Stoke Road that goes beyond the smell of fresh tea and coffee and homemade cakes. It’s in the conversations happening across the mismatched vintage tables. It’s in the hugs exchanged between regulars. It’s in the way the...

When you walk into My First Steps on Lee‑on‑the‑Solent High Street, you’re greeted not just by soft organic cottons and beautifully crafted wooden toys, but by the warmth of owner Jan Coupe, whose entire life has been shaped by one thing: people. “I’ve always been a...

When Sunrise Chimney Sweeps was announced as Best Independent Business at the March 2026 awards, the room erupted, but no one looked more stunned than its owner, Neil Jarrett, who still describes himself as “just the chimney sweep who pops in for an hour a year.” Four...

At first glance, it’s a simple set-up. A coffee van by the ferry terminal, early morning steam rising into the sea air, commuters grabbing a cup before the day begins. But spend five minutes with Chris Delin from The Daily Grind Coffee Van, and you realise this isn’t...

Re5 Customs: Restoring memories, one pair of trainers at a time Walk down Stoke Road and you’ll spot it instantly: a shop that feels part‑workshop, part‑museum, part‑nostalgia trip. The walls are lined with rare vintage trainers and there is a faint scent of leather...

For Andy Pringle, helping people start and grow their own businesses isn’t just a job, it’s a passion that has been decades in the making. Now a business adviser with IncuHive, commissioned by the council to deliver its Digital Peninsula Business Support Programme,...

Portchester resident Helen Ruff is preparing to launch a new series of artisan markets at the picturesque Royal Clarence Yard, but her impact on the local creative scene is already clear. Through networking events, and her locally focused lifestyle magazine, Flo’s...

If you spend any time around Gosport, chances are you’ve heard the name Les Heyhoe. And if you haven’t yet, you probably will soon. Les Hehoe lives in Elson, and for more than five decades he has been quietly, and sometimes very loudly, raising money for charities....

Gosport has produced its fair share of characters, but few have shaped its modern story quite like entrepreneur, publisher and volunteer coxswain James Baggott. CEO of the Baize Group and founder of multiple award-winning businesses, James has built a national media...

If you wander down Stoke Road, past the cafés and the colourful independents, you’ll eventually stumble upon a little hub of music, laughter, and the unmistakable crackle of a record needle dropping. That’s A Slice of Vinyl, the forever home of Emma and Kieron Howes,...