Southend-on-Sea News Stories

Today, the 25th of March 2011, sees the launch of the Nintendo 3DS – The first 3D gaming device that doesn’t need silly glasses to get that 3D effect. Southenders – It pays to shop around! One of our team wanted to get their hands on the 3DS on the day of launch (as he’s a [...]

Into milkshakes? Southend’s about to get its very own ShakeAway Milkshake bar. Southend Shakeaway opens in the Victoria Shopping Centre on Saturday 19th March 2011 at 1pm and we’re told that they’ll be giving away the first 50 milkshakes free. The ShakeAway chain was established in 1999 and sells over 150 flavours of Milkshakes and [...]

Shoppers at Waitrose in the Southend area will no doubt know that each month, three charities are picked, and the store makes a donation based on shoppers votes. At the end of each shop, you’re given a green token to drop into one of the three charity boxes. For the month of March 2011, the [...]

The 2011 Southend Airshow will not be held this May Bank Holiday as expected. As part of cost-cutting measures, this year’s airshow won’t run over the May Bank Holiday Sunday and Monday normal, but instead will take place on Saturday 28th May and Sunday 29th May 2011. One of the reasons cited of moving the [...]

It seems that Southend-on-Sea will once again be bidding to change status from a town to a city. As part of the celebrations for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee in 2012, towns around the UK are bidding for city status, and Southend’s thrown its hat into the ring for consideration. There are just 66 cities in [...]

Well done to the guys and girls at Odeon Southend, and thanks for a lovely night… of queuing. Valentine’s night is notoriously busy for cinemas, and the premiere of the Simon Pegg / Nick Frost comedy “Paul”  just happened to fall on the same night. So, on a predictably busy night, some bright spark elected [...]

It’s the year of the Rabbit, and Southend is celebrating today. All day today, Saturday the 5th of February 2011, there are a number of activities taking place to celebrate the Chinese New Year. The day’s events kicked off at 11am with a short speech by the Mayor of Southend, then an impressive display of [...]

It seems that high street coffee chain Costa Coffee is set to appear on Leigh Broadway, despite local opposition. According to a report in the Echo, the coffee company’s plans to take over the amusement arcade at 37 The Broadway, Leigh-on-Sea are set to be approved, as no complaints have been received from neighbouring properties. [...]

Thanks to those who made the trip to the end of Southend Pier today, to see the Sarfend Visitors Book placed in the safe custody of the team at the RNLI Gift Shop. The idea for a Sarfend Visitors book came from  ex-pat Brian Mendes, who now lives in Ontario, Canada. Brian is a regular [...]

A quick reminder that the Sarfend Visitor’s Book Signing Event takes place tomorrow, Thursday the 18th of November 2010. We’d like to encourage all of our site visitors and forum regulars to visit Southend Pier, where The Worshipful the Mayor of Southend-on-Sea, Councillor Ann Holland will be signing the Sarfend Visitors Book at 1pm. We’ll [...]

The local community news website, Longpier.com, has announced that it will close today. In a final post, Goodbye to Longpier, the site’s owner James Harrod cites a lack of local sponsorship and problems with engagement of a  fellow journalist, as the prime reasons for the decision to close the Southend website. With so few local [...]

It’s firework season, and we’re down at Southend seafront blogging live from Southend Council’s Festival of Fireworks. 8pm tonight, Saturday the 30th of October, saw the start of the free fireworks display, with fireworks launched from a barge moored just to the East of Southend Pier. Attached is a pic, live from the top level [...]

Southend Borough Council’s “Creating a Better Southend” survey is coming to an end. If you care about what happens in Southend-on-Sea, you have until Sunday 31st October 2010 to have your say. Planning is underway for the 2011/12 budget, and with Government departments being forced to make tough cutbacks, there could be tough decisions ahead. [...]

This Thursday, the 28th, sees the grand opening of the relaunched Mecca Bingo, Southend. The new-look Mecca Southend Club, located on the Greyhound Retail Park has undergone a £1.5million refurb, and offers a bar, cafe, amusements, and of course, the chance to win with the magic bingo balls. There’s a re-launch party from 5.30pm on [...]

Now there’s a headline and a half… Just what are we talking about? A Halloween addition to the social sat nav application called Waze. If you drive in and around Southend-on-Sea and own a smartphone, give Waze a try. You’ll be helping to complete a map of Southend, as well as share real-time road travel [...]