Ellen Cheshire

Seeing Northern Ballet's production of Gentleman Jack at Sadler's Wells Theatre and visiting Queer Britain, the National LGBTQ+ Museum both went onto the bucket list the moment I heard about them. With the ballet only having a limited run at Sadler’s Wells, I took a day off work and nipped up to London for the Thursday matinee. The two felt like an obvious pairing: matinee in Angel, then a bus down to King’s Cross afterwards. Thematically and geographically connected. The onl

I first drew this up in January 2022, as the world was emerging from the long shadow of lockdowns. I realised how easy it is to take experiences for granted, and I didn’t want to keep putting things off “for another time.” So, I began a bucket list - part wish list, part reminder - and since then I’ve been adding to it and crossing things off as I go. It’s a mix of theatre, film, concerts, museums, places and the occasional wild card. Some items are big dreams, others are mor

Oh, Vienna The music is weaving Haunting notes, pizzicato strings, the rhythm is calling This means [far from] nothing to me Without a fixed itinerary between the two Eurovision shows (read more here on why I was in Vienna) I decided simply to wander. Occasionally, when my feet objected, I jumped on a tram, which glide through the city with a calm efficiency that somehow feels entirely in keeping with the architecture around them. And what architecture. For a bit of fun I hav

On the bucket list: attending the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 live. I didn't make it to the Grand Final, but in some ways what I did do turned out to be something even more fascinating: the afternoon dress rehearsals for the first and second semi-finals in Vienna in May 2026. Enough of the atmosphere and spectacle to feel part of the event, but also enough distance to see how the whole extraordinary machine actually works. Opening video package from the first Semi Final And

Alongside my freelance writing about theatre, film and literature, my role as Fundraising and Development Manager at Chichester Cathedral gives me the chance to tell stories that are just as rich in history and creativity. Whether it’s celebrating the music that fills the Cathedral’s spaces or sharing the craft and care behind preserving its heritage, my work is about connecting people to the heart of this extraordinary place - and showing why we need support to keep its musi

What I’ve so liked about my bucket list is that many of the items are achievable if I put my mind to it, rather than continually returning to favourite places. It was a day about heading further afield once again, incorporating the new while reflecting on how places shift, evolve over time and, comfortingly, sometimes stay the same. I began on the 123 bus towards Ilford, a route that once felt routine from North London round to the east, a regular journey in the 1970s and 80s

Bognor Picturedrome (screen 1) Nestled innocently within my main bucket list are four entries that could each stand as their own separate quests. Since they all share a similar goal - exploring the UK and Ireland through their cinematic venues - I’ve combined them here for convenience. These are: visiting the other six cinemas in the small chain that my local Bognor Picturedrome belongs to; ticking off all independent cinemas in Sussex; seeing films or concerts at venues wit

I had only ever seen A House for Essex once before — glimpsed from the path across the marshes at Wrabness, its striking tiled exterior rising like something between a chapel, a fairytale house and a monument. Even from a distance it felt extraordinary. So the chance to stay there felt like an essential bucket-list must-do. And in March 2026, that item was ticked off. Created by artist Grayson Perry with FAT Architecture for Living Architecture, the building is conceived as

A recent day in Kingston upon Thames made for a perfect cultural double bill. The morning began at Kingston Museum to see the Eadweard Muybridge collection . Muybridge, born in Kingston, was a pioneer of motion photography, and the museum holds an impressive selection of his work. Seeing the original handpainted glass and of galloping his horses and gaining an insight into the man and hisprocess was fascinating – the very beginnings of what would become cinema. Worth poppin

Up in London to stay with a friend and catch a couple of shows, I managed to bookend the weekend with some of my bucket list must-sees. On Friday, I battled the chilly wind and rain at the tail end of Storm Goretti to reach Bermondsey and tick off London’s only dedicated LGBTQ+ cinema, The Arzner , tucked into Bermondsey Square. I was in the area for theatre later, but arrived rather buffeted and windswept at this incredibly stylish independent cinema of around 50 seats, comp

E.F. Benson (1867-1940) made Sussex his home at a pivotal point in his life. In 1918, after years of travel, writing and public service, he settled in the ancient town of Rye, at Lamb House. He remained there until his death in 1940, and it was during these Sussex years that he produced some of his most enduring work. Rye offered Benson a place of continuity and containment, a town shaped by history and habit, where daily life unfolded on a human scale. Born in 1867, Benson c

Last Christmas I asked for experiences rather than things and added an Art Fund National Art Pass to my list. I was delighted when my mum gave it to me, and it quickly became more than just a gift - it changed how I explored, planned and thought about art. Over 2025 I used the pass to see 12 exhibitions at 10 venues. The full ticket value came to £159.50. I actually spent £65. That is a saving of £96.25, comfortably more than the cost of the pass itself at £63.25. What follo

There are bucket lists and then there are bucket lists . The kind that take you from the cathedral square of Wells to the quietly cinematic streets of Crouch End in pursuit of ice cream wrappers and impeccable comic timing. We are, slowly and with great reverence, ticking off the filming locations of the Cornetto Trilogy — first the Somerset serenity of Hot Fuzz , now the North London zombie lanes of Shaun of the Dead — armed with cameras, over-specific knowledge and my Exce

Some places have been quietly glowing on my bucket list for years, waiting for the right moment. A day in Walthamstow and Hackney gave me a chance to finally tick a few off - each one with its own distinct character, yet all threaded together by art, craft and imagination. The William Morris Gallery had long been near the top of my list and stepping inside felt like stepping into a carefully crafted world. The rooms are full of fabric samples, sketches, printing blocks and

Milne in 1922 By Emil Otto Hoppé - Shadowland, September 1922 (page 62), Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=58472213 On Christmas Eve in 1925, the first Winnie-the-Pooh story, The Wrong Bees , was published in the London Evening News. In celebration of this 100th anniversary, this latest blog in the Writers in Sussex series explores the Sussex landscape that inspired A.A. Milne’s beloved stories and the enduring magic of Ashdown Forest. Ashdown Fo

Camden Town might be more readily associated with live music than movies, but after Nigel Smith gave this tour a very enthusiastic plug at the end of his tour of the Carlton Cinema on the Essex Road, I booked immediately. Partly because I’m a sucker for a good cinema story… and partly because the Odeon Camden is due to close soon. The chance to explore its history before the lights go down felt too good to miss. As ever with Nigel’s walks, this was far more than a list of for

With Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein in cinemas now, ahead of its Netflix release, it seemed like a good time to write up my visit earlier this year to Bath, seeking out locations with a Mary Shelley connection. There aren’t as many as for Jane Austen, but they’re worth the search. I whiled away hours in the fascinating Mary Shelley’s House of Frankenstein , which brings the novel’s enduring visual power and legacy vividly to life. Mary Shelley spent a pivotal period in Ba

Patrick Hamilton c. 1930 Patrick Hamilton’s The West Pier (1952) captures a very different side of Sussex from the pastoral warmth of...

Former Carlton Cinema, now Gracepoint church It’s been 828 days since I joined Nigel Smith’s Islington’s Big Screens walking tour back...

Bucket list item checked! Prospect Cottage Visiting Prospect Cottage has long been on my bucket list, and finally standing there, in front of Derek Jarman’s black-tarred cottage with its golden windown frames and wild shingle garden, felt quietly profound. The place holds a presence that’s hard to describe—at once fragile and defiant, personal yet universal. It’s a home, but it’s also a work of art, a manifesto written into the landscape. The tour itself was made unforgetta