Ellen Cheshire

I first drew up this bucket list in January 2022, as the world was emerging from the long shadow of lockdowns. It was a useful reminder that there were plenty of things I wanted to see, do and experience, and that “another time” has a habit of never quite arriving. So the list began: part wish list, part reminder, and very much a work in progress. Since then, I’ve been adding to it, crossing things off and occasionally discovering something new that really ought to be on ther

For the past few years, I’ve given myself some sort of annual cultural challenge, partly to give the year a bit of shape and partly to make sure I don’t just keep doing the things I already know I like. In 2024, I went back to 1984, revisiting as much as I could of what I had seen at the theatre and cinema that year. In 2025, it was Sondheim, with live productions alongside a rather large trawl through his favourite films. And in 2026, I went Gothic, taking the theme into the

My work sits at the intersection of cultural history and practice. Alongside my freelance writing about theatre, film and literature, my role as Fundraising and Development Manager at Chichester Cathedral gives me the opportunity to explore history, creativity and place from a different perspective, while helping to support the people, projects and traditions that keep a cultural organisation alive. Whether I’m telling the story of the music that fills the Cathedral’s spaces,

Having visited Jane Austen's house in Chawton and followed her footsteps around Bath, as I was in Southampton to catch a matinee at the Mayflower, I decided it was time to add Southampton to my Austen travels. Austen lived in Southampton from 1806 to 1809 (between Bath and Chawton) following the death of her father. She moved there with her mother, sister Cassandra and their friend Martha Lloyd, joining her brother Frank and his wife Mary, who were already living in the city.

Mary Shelley never actually lived in Bournemouth. This was something I discovered while planning a little Shelley pilgrimage around Bournemouth, Boscombe and Christchurch. It seemed slightly odd, therefore, to be setting off to find Mary Shelley in a place where she never lived. But there is a surprisingly strong Shelley connection here, particularly once you start looking beyond Mary herself and at what happened to her family after her death. My visit was part of a weekend c

While I was in Christchurch in September 2026, my Airbnb host pointed me in the direction of Chaplin's Bar and Modern Times restaurant in Boscombe. Obviously, once they'd told me about the place, and even given me their tote bag, I had to take a closer look. It was well worth a visit, and I took rather a lot of photos. So enjoy this little GIF, which is still only a fraction of its delights. It also got me thinking that I might have accidentally started another sidequest. I'v

My second trip to Dirt in the Gate's Grindfest, a horror and genre festival at Christchurch's Regent Centre, and once again the programme managed to combine cult favourites, strange discoveries and films that probably don't get nearly enough chances to be seen on the big screen. This year I went for ten films across three days, mixing rewatches with first-time discoveries, a couple of classic Gothic literary reworkings, a mystery screening and a lost BBC horror. There were va

There is something special about encountering cinema history in person. From early experiments with photography and motion studies, to the development of projection technology, national cinemas and the stories behind the screen, film museums and permanent exhibitions offer a chance to experience cinema history beyond the films themselves. Over the years I have visited a number of fascinating collections, from local exhibitions celebrating cinema pioneers to internationally re

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 with cinema organs (from the Cinem

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

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

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

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