This is the big one: Seafood & Sounds and the Military Tattoo both land this weekend, so Poole town centre and Poole Stadium are going to be busy places to be. We've got the full lowdown on what's on, where and when for both.

There's plenty else going on too: an application has been lodged to demolish the Haven Hotel at Sandbanks, Cabinet has backed the sale of part of Upton Park Farm, and BCP Council is facing an eyebrow raising £27 million overspend this year. On a brighter note, you’ll find out about a much loved but little known Poole jazz night that has been shortlisted for a national award and your chance to become a Mace Bearer!

As always, there's this week's local history trivia question to test your knowledge, and a beautiful Art Deco property that’s definitely worth a look.

Dive in and enjoy!

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Poole's biggest food and music weekend is here. We gave it the full write-up a couple of weeks ago, so this is the short version: what is on, where it is, and when to turn up.

Seafood and Sounds runs across Poole town centre on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September, and it is free to attend.

Saturday 12 September

●        11am, opening parade. Sets off from Slug and Lettuce and winds through the Old Town's cobbled streets down to Poole Quay.

●        Brownsea Island Community Open Day. The National Trust is giving around 900 people free access to the island, with a festival information point near Greenslade's Kiosk over the weekend.

●        1pm and 3pm, Scaplen's Court. Scaplen’s Community Players. Celebrate History: sea shanties, storytelling and performances drawn from Poole's seafaring past. Repeated on Sunday.

Sunday 13 September

●        St James' Church. Free interactive music workshops run by the Absolute Music Trust, open to complete beginners as well as experienced musicians.

●        1pm and 3pm, Scaplen's Court. Scaplen’s Community Players. Celebrate History, as Saturday.

Both days

●        Music, nine stages. Around 40 live sets a day across venues including the Fish Shambles, the Poole Arms, the Sea Music Sculpture and St James' Church.

●        Traders, more than 60. Spread across Sarum Street, Paradise Street, the Fortuna boat, Nusara Courtyard, St James' Church, Old Orchard and Falkland Square, selling local produce, artisan food and handmade gifts.

●        Seafood on the Quay. Stalls serving fresh local seafood alongside festival staples like paella.

●        Cookery demonstrations, the Dolphin. Local chefs running live demos inside the shopping centre, which is also this year's headline sponsor.

●        Families. The free Oyster Trail around the Old Town, and circus skills workshops in Falkland Square.

Full programme and timings at seafoodandsounds.co.uk, and printed programmes should be around town by now.

An application has been submitted to knock down the Haven Hotel at the tip of Sandbanks. Not to replace it with something. Just to knock it down.

The application covers the 116 bedroom hotel, its pool and spa wing and the neighbouring Haven Business Centre. The ferry shop, cafe and public toilets sit outside the site and would stay.

The surprising part is what the council can do about it. Because neither building is listed or in a conservation area, demolition is already permitted development, and the right to demolish does not depend on anything being approved to replace it. BCP Council can have views on how the building comes down and how the site is left. It cannot refuse on the grounds that people want to keep the hotel.

The plan afterwards is a levelled, hoarded site awaiting a redevelopment nobody has yet proposed. The application form gives an expected start of October 2027.

For many locally the sting is the history. Marconi lived and worked at the Haven from 1898, running his wireless telegraph company from it for nearly three decades. We covered that story in full here all the way back in issue No. 8!.

None of that history though gives the building any protection. The application can be found here.

The Upton Park Farm decision we previewed last week has been taken.

Cabinet met on Wednesday 2 September and unanimously backed the plans. But Cabinet has not made the final call: it has recommended the proposals to full Council, so there is still a stage to go.

What Cabinet supported is selling part of the land to fund the buy-out of the farm tenancy, which ended in April, and handing the Director of Finance authority to settle the terms and prices. It also approved £489,900 for additional Suitable Alternative Natural Greenspace, which is open space created specifically to draw walkers away from protected heathland. In practice, more space for people and less pressure on Upton Heath.

The council says the sale is needed to fund the tenancy purchase, and that the rest of the land will be kept as open space while growing revenue for Upton Country Park.

Direction of travel: part sold, the rest kept. The detail is still to come.

BCP Council is forecasting a £27 million overspend this year, a figure its own report calls unprecedented and a significant threat to its financial sustainability.

The pressure is where you would expect. Children's Services is £11.8 million over, Adult Social Care £8.3 million, both driven by rising demand and placement costs. Of a £14.1 million savings target, only £9.6 million looks likely to be delivered.

Are you after an Art Deco property with lots of original features? This is for you: 👉 View the property

There is a good chance you have never heard of SoundCellar, and that is rather the point.

For more than 16 years, three volunteers have been quietly bringing some of the best musicians in the UK, and a fair few from overseas, to Poole. Now the not-for-profit they run has been shortlisted for Jazz Venue of the Year at the 2026 Parliamentary Jazz Awards, up against four other venues, two of which are in London.

Nominations come from musicians and others across the music industry, so being on the list at all is a genuine mark of respect from the people who actually play these rooms. There is a nice local footnote too: Poole MP Neil Duncan-Jordan sits on the parliamentary panel that decides the winner. The team will find out at the awards ceremony in London on 13 October.

SoundCellar spent its first ten years at the Blue Boar in the town centre, was forced to move after lockdown, and has been running from the upstairs room at The Grasshopper on Bournemouth Road since 2022. It also collaborates with Lighthouse four or five times a year.

Founder John Ferguson is fairly clear that the word "jazz" puts people off unnecessarily, and that what SoundCellar actually books is contemporary, mostly young musicians playing their own compositions, a good deal of it drawn from the London scene that the national papers have been writing about for years.

The autumn season starts this Thursday. The Tom Barford Quintet play The Grasshopper, 139 to 141 Bournemouth Road, on Thursday 10 September at 7.30pm, with prize-winning saxophonist Tom Barford bringing a new all-star band. Tickets are £17.50, £10 for NUS card holders, and free for under 18s.
It does seem a bit odd that a Poole venue can be in the running for a national award and still fly this far under the radar. Worth putting right, and Thursday is as good a place as any to start.

Find out more and book at soundcellar.org.

If you have ever fancied trying printmaking or watercolour but assumed you needed to be good at it first, this is for you.

Create with Katie: Pop Up takes over Gather in the Dolphin Centre from Wednesday 23 to Friday 25 September, with six workshops plus a drop in Open Studio. The Open Studio needs no booking and no experience: turn up, try collage, watercolour, ink, pastels or acrylics, with artists on hand if you want guidance. It is aimed at adults and older young people.

Behind it is Poole artist and illustrator Katie Munro, who has taught art and photography for more than 13 years. Her line is that people should be able to experiment without the pressure of getting everything right.

The workshops

●        Wed 23, 12pm to 2pm: Watercolour Techniques, Creatures of the Sea and Sky.

●        Wed 23, 6pm to 8pm: Botanical Lino Printing.

●        Thu 24, 2pm to 4pm: Collage Landscapes.

●        Thu 24, 6pm to 8pm: Acrylic Inspirations.

●        Fri 25, 10am to 12pm: Ink and Bleach Mandalas.

●        Fri 25, 3pm to 6pm: Zine making with Robyn and Amy from Zine Cuisine.

Author John le Carré, real name David Cornwell, was born in Poole. His grandfather even served as Mayor of Poole in 1929, making his connection to the town all the more special.

With seafood very much on the menu this weekend, here's a fishy piece of Poole Quay trivia.

Poole Town Council is recruiting, and the two roles on offer could hardly be more different.

The first is a Business Support Coordinator, and if you like variety this is your kind of job. One day you are helping arrange a civic event for the Mayor, the next you are deep in allotment waiting lists. It pays £30,023 to £32,046 for 37 hours a week, hybrid with at least three days in the office, and comes with the Local Government Pension Scheme. They are keen to hear from people with transferable skills, so previous council experience is a bonus rather than a must. Applications close at noon on Wednesday 17 September.

The second is rather more unusual. The council wants volunteer Mace Bearers.

A symbol of civic authority, maces are carried ahead of the Mayor at Mayor Making, Remembrance Sunday and civic processions. Poole is one of only fifteen towns and cities in England and Wales that still appoints a civic Sheriff, so you would be continuing a long standing traditional role.

No experience needed. There is a £250 annual honorarium, travel expenses, training, and yes, you help polish the regalia.

Go to the Poole Town Council website for full details

Get this one in the diary now, because it is not the sort of thing that comes to Upton very often.

On Saturday 3 and Sunday 4 October, the Upstairs Gallery at Upton Country Park will be given over to Raw Wall Collective, bringing together the work of more than 30 artists from across the UK for a single weekend.

What makes it interesting is the mix. Rather than sticking to one style, the exhibition puts contemporary art, fine art, street art, graffiti, pop art, illustration and sculpture side by side, and hangs work by artists just starting out next to names that are already established.

You can browse, meet the artists and buy original work, and it is all set in one of Poole's nicest spots for a walk afterwards, which is not the worst way to spend an October Saturday.

The exhibition runs from 10am to 4pm on both days at the Upstairs Gallery, Upton Country Park. For updates and artist details, follow Raw Wall Collective on social media at the.raw.wall.collective.

Massed bands, pipes and drums, a parachute team and, weather permitting, a Battle of Britain Memorial Flight flypast.

The Poole Military Tattoo, billed as Salute to the Services, is at Poole Stadium on Saturday 12 September. There are two performances: a matinee starting at 1pm and an evening Sundowner at 7pm.

It is a salute to everyone in uniform rather than the armed forces alone, so the police, fire, ambulance, NHS, coastguard, RNLI and cadets all feature alongside the bands. Local performers include the Bournemouth Youth Marching Band, the Bovington Military Wives Choir and the Ringwood Pipe Band.

The event is in aid of the Royal British Legion. Tickets are £37 adults, £27 veterans and over 65s, £20 children, booked online in advance. Stadium parking is £3.50 per car, though it is a short walk from both the bus and railway stations.

Coasts in Mind: A Lifetime of Change, Poole Museum, 10am to 5pm

An exhibition exploring 100 years of change in Poole Harbour through the pictures, objects and stories of the people who live here.

Life in Full Colour: The Art of Jason Wilsher-Mills, Poole Museum, 10am to 5pm

A bold, playful exhibition exploring Jason Wilsher-Mills' experience of disability and his love of popular culture. Running daily.

Light and Movement, Lighthouse Poole

An exhibition of work by local artist Mike Jeffries, exploring light and movement. Runs until Saturday 26 September.

Poole Men's Shed Display, Dolphin Shopping Centre, Sunday 13 to Sunday 20 September

A display finding out what the Poole Men's Shed group get up to, with examples of their work and information on how to join.

Bike Nights on Poole Quay, The Quay, Poole, 5.30pm to 9pm

A weekly bike meet on Poole Quay, with food and drink from the harbourside eateries and pubs.

Craftaholics Makers Market, Dolphin Shopping Centre, 10am to 3pm

A market of local craft makers and independent stalls in the shopping centre.

Live Music: David Mein, Bermuda Triangle Pub, 8.30pm to 10.30pm

Live music performance at the pub.

Saint Etienne, St Peter's, Poole, 7pm

Live music performance at St Peter's Church.

Tom Barford Quintet, The Grasshopper, 139 Bournemouth Road, Poole, 7.30pm

A SoundCellar gig, the first of their autumn season. Prize winning saxophonist Tom Barford brings a new all star band to Poole. Tickets £17.50, £10 for NUS, under 18s free.

More details here

Richard Thompson with Zara Phillips, Lighthouse Poole, 7.30pm

Live gig from folk rock guitarist and songwriter Richard Thompson, with Zara Phillips.

Poole Symphonic Proms 2026, Lighthouse Poole, 7.30pm

Poole Symphonic Concert Band perform an evening of popular classical and modern music, including selections from film scores and West End musicals, finishing with Last Night of the Proms arrangements. This show has sold out.

Opa Rosa, Lighthouse Poole, 8pm

Live gig from Opa Rosa.

Live Music: Cutting Edge, Bermuda Triangle Pub, 9pm to 11pm

Live band performance at the pub.

DJ Set: DJ Garphie, Bermuda Triangle Pub, 9pm to 1am

Electronic music in the upstairs club room.

Seafood and Sounds 2026, Poole Old Town, High Street and Poole Quay, from 11am

Poole's town wide festival of seafood, live music and heritage returns for a second year, continuing into Sunday. The weekend opens with a parade from Slug and Lettuce through the Old Town to Poole Quay at 11am, followed by more than 60 independent traders, around 40 live music acts a day across nine performance spaces, seafood stalls along the Quay, cookery demonstrations inside the Dolphin Centre, and free family activities including the Oyster Trail and circus skills workshops at Falkland Square. Meet the Cast, Celebrate History performances run at Scaplen's Court at 1pm and 3pm on both days. Free to attend.

Full programme here

Poole Military Tattoo, Salute to the Services, Poole Stadium, 1pm and 7pm

A one day event with two performances, bringing together marching bands, pipes and drums, a parachute drop (weather permitting), the Military Wives Choir, Scottish dancers and local cadet units, in aid of the Royal British Legion, Lewis-Manning Hospice Care and SSAFA. Early booking recommended.

Book tickets here

Rave On, Lighthouse Poole, 7.45pm

A tribute show celebrating the music of the 1950s and 60s.

The Coastal Comedy Show with Bob Mills, Lighthouse Poole, doors 7.15pm, show 8pm

A comedy triple bill headlined by Bob Mills, with support from Andy Field and Joe Jacobs, hosted by Adrienne Coles.

Live Music: Life In The Past Lane, Bermuda Triangle Pub, 9pm to 11pm

Live band performance at the pub.

DJ Set: Leo NXT, Bermuda Triangle Pub, 9pm to 1am

Electronic music in the upstairs club room.

Seafood and Sounds 2026, Poole Old Town, High Street and Poole Quay

Second and final day of the festival, see Saturday 12 September for details. The Absolute Music Trust also run free interactive music workshops at St James' Church today, open to complete beginners and experienced musicians alike.

Live Music: Zoe Schwarz Bluez Party, Bermuda Triangle Pub, 2pm to 4pm

Sunday afternoon live music session.

James B Partridge, Primary School Bangers, Lighthouse Poole, 7.30pm

A family friendly singalong show of primary school favourites from children's musician James B Partridge.

Healthy Walks in the Country Park, Upton Country Park, 1pm to 2pm

A free weekly guided walk starting from the Welcome Centre, suitable for all abilities.

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