We exclusively report that Quinton Green, who is regularly lauded by local dignitaries for his anti-violence work, has been in prison on at least two occasions for violence against women.

Northampton Saints ready for rugby's final Friday Night Lights of the season and a farewell to George Furbank

I've been mulling over whether to start off by talking about how Friday night's semi final is George Furbank's last game at the Gardens. I'm not usually superstitious, but I made a big ol' fuss about Furbs before the European Cup Final in Cardiff and things didn't quite go to plan. But there's no doubt in the players and coaches' minds that their game is going to be positively influenced by their departing Captain's last run-out at the Cinch FG, as Furbank, Dowson, Hutch, Coles and Dowson discussed at Monday's presser.

I love a foxglove. But I've never bought one. There are currently about 40 in flower in my urban patch and I've given away about 20 more. They've just self seeded EVERYWHERE. At first I though I'd dig them up in early spring, and they would just fill a few gaps, but with the hot weather they've taken over a little, and I'm already planning what to do to stop them taking over next year.

There was robust debate over a glass of pop following press night of Royal & Derngate's latest Made in Northampton play, on whether you had to have had kids to truly 'get' it. Two of my fellow audience members, without offspring, of course recognised the scenarios portrayed about a group of Bristol parents forced together every weekend by the birthday parties of their various pre-school and primary-age children.

My reference point for 2.22 a Ghost Story, currently running at Northampton's Royal and Derngate, came purely from Lily Allen's title track on her brilliantly brutal album West End Girl. James Bye, Shvorne Marks, Natalie Casey and Grant Kilburn are Sam, Jenny, Lauren and Ben in 2.22 A ghost storyAll photos copyright: Helen Murray www.helenmurrayphotos.com I'd read about how she'd been cast in the original London version - much to her duplicitous actor partner's annoyance - and had gone on to win awards; perhaps acting as frazzled and frightened new mum Jenny wasn't too much of a stretch.

Council leaders have found themselves hamstrung by social care costs, but party sources hope they will have the lowest average tax rises of any party

A small antidote to a rainy Sunday afternoon in the run up to Christmas was spent in the warm and cosy, phone-free stalls of the Royal Theatre, surrounded by pre-school and primary children. Faye Lord is Mog - all photos by Manuel Harlan OK, so add in a repetitively screechy cat noise, and some singing, and this might not sound so relaxing, especially if you've done your duty in bringing up small children (mine are now all 17 years and over).

Panto has come a long way since I started reviewing back in the 1990s. No more shonky sets and wonky donkeys, it's all rather stylish on stage at the Royal and Derngate this Christmas. Just remember to take your coat if you're in the stalls...more of that later on. Georgia Brierley-Smith as Tink - all photography by Pamela Raith The old-style curtain has gone and an apparently hi-tech 'scrim', a sort of translucent screen that you can project effects onto, makes for a stunning flying-through-the-stars effect for Peter and Not-Wendy.

BBC director-general Tim Davie and chair Samir Shah answer questions from the Culture, Media and Sport Committee after multiple scandals, including allegations against Gregg Wallace and a livestream o...

Special report: Uniserve was paid £1.4bn for Covid contracts that included supply of £178.5m in never-used equipment

Northampton's St Andrew's Healthcare is at risk of closure, as it announces beloved Workbridge will close

We're very lucky here in Northampton - with autumn nearly upon us there's so much good stuff going on we shouldn't just settle in on the sofa every night. Case in point - go and see some live theatre. A brand new production of Hugh Whitemore’s acclaimed play Breaking the Code, opens at Northampton’s Royal & Derngate has opened, running from Thursday 11 to Saturday 27 September, before touring.

As a new BBC documentary airs about the Jesus Army in Northampton, we look at how embedded the church and its followers became in the society of Northamptonshire for decades WHEN we moved house in 2003, me heavily pregnant with our third son, we met the neighbours living in a huge converted dentists’ surgery next door. There were lots of them living there, from children to pensioners, all living in a communal house with an enormous, well-tended garden.

If you don’t know the Bureau of Investigative Journalism, you’re missing some of the best investigations into corruption and social inequality in the UK. At a time when clicks and fast …

So he's back. George Furbank, Northampton's quiet but deadly full-back is starting for Saints in the European final against Bordeaux Bègles today (May 24). As coach, car and trainloads of Saints fans will be excitedly making their way to the Principality Stadium, or various enterprising pubs and clubs in Northampton showing the game, the team will be focussing, resetting the determination and resilience which has seen them see off all comers on their path to the final.

Small teams, focused content, and tech-forward thinking drive profitability where legacy media struggles

Equality Trust says billionaires getting ‘ludicrously’ richer, with top two now wealthier than whole of 1990 rich list

"It's been madly busy since the win," says a smiling sales assistant at the Saints Shop at Cinch Franklins Gardens stadium. "I think because we didn't open until the Wednesday after the Leinster game, people wanted to get ready for the final straight away." And it feels like half the town will be at the 74,000 capacity Principality Stadium in Cardiff on May 24 dressed in the club's green, black and gold - tickets were like hens' teeth as supporters flocked to the site's Investec Champions Cup…

I’m just going to say it – regardless of whether you see yourself as a theatre goer, you should try and see Tambo and Bones at Northampton’s Royal and Derngate before it moves on …

I'm just going to say it - regardless of whether you see yourself as a theatre goer, you should try and see Tambo and Bones at Northampton's Royal and Derngate before it moves on to big cities on tour. It's funny, jaw-dropping and provocative with a superbly talented cast and crew and unlike anything you're likely to have seen before. Watching (to the end, more of that later) is stressful and challenging but utterly necessary.

The world’s greatest superpower just humiliated a wartime ally in public

Tambo and Bones are stuck in a minstrel show. It’s hard to know what’s real when you’re stuck in a minstrel show. Their escape plan: get out, get rich, get even. One of the most talked-about cultural events of 2023, Tambo & Bones is an exhilarating, darkly comic and provocative satire on capitalism and Black performance, that explores the commodification of the Black experience through the mediums of minstrelsy, hip-hop and afro-futurism.

A brand-new play by award-winning playwright Jane Upton opens in Northampton as part of the theatre’s Made in Northampton season. Looking at the struggles of a young playwright hijacked by motherhood, (the) Woman previews at Royal & Derngate from Thursday 13 to Saturday 15 February before embarking on a national tour. When a successful playwright swaps long writing sessions for snatched moments of peace, and wild nights out for evenings in with a breast-pump, she’s left wondering how she’s supposed to continue being a successful artist, wife, and friend while everything she knew has changed.