Sorry to spoil your Friday mood, but we need to talk about that Daily Telegraph article.
Yes, the one published last week that was, let’s put it mildly, ungenerous about Southampton’s appeal to visitors and described our city as a ‘minor player’ with ‘limited cultural offerings’.
This can’t go unanswered. On behalf of my fellow Sotonians, I’ve written to the Daily Telegraph and invited them to spend some time in the city with me as my guest.
I hope that I can look forward to helping them to get to know our city better and see that there is more – much more – than meets the eye. You can read the full letter below. And I’ll let you know if they choose to take up the challenge!
Sir,
Chris Moss’ candid and entertaining verdicts on destinations at home and abroad are usually worth heeding. But when it comes to his view of my home city of Southampton, he’s got it very wrong indeed (‘Britain’s 20 biggest cities, ranked from worst to best’, Wednesday 16 January).
I hope that Chris will accept my invitation to spend time in Southampton with me as my guest. He’ll see that when you step away from the cruise terminal, you’ll find a city steeped in history and culture, with medieval walls and vaults that survived the Luftwaffe’s bombardment, and museums that celebrate our world-shaping maritime connections. Not to mention our newly refurbished city centre art gallery with a collection boasting 5,300 works from the Renaissance to the present day.
And of course, as you’d expect from a city that gave us a MasterChef winner, we’d have no problem finding somewhere to grab a mouthwatering bite to eat at one of our fantastic independent cafes or restaurants. From Mexico to Mauritius, we’ve got you covered.
While he’s in town, a quick stop-off at the Mayflower Theatre would be in order to see why its plays, musicals, operas, comedies and more draw in audiences from across the south coast.
On behalf of my fellow Sotonians, I hope I can look forward to helping Chris get to know our city a little better and see that there is more – much more – to Southampton than meets the eye.
Darren Paffey
Member of Parliament for Southampton Itchen