Petit Fours
(9 October, 2025)
🧢 This week’s ‘Top Pick’ @WeightmanPR: Ceramics take centre stage
Stoke-on-Trent is marking its centenary year with a series of major events celebrating its world-famous ceramics heritage. From rare, oriental ceramics to the historic role of Middleport, they showcase the designs, traditions and global influence that shave helped shape the city. Building on recently achieving World Craft City status, and ambitions to become a UNESCO Creative City, these celebrations will explore the industry that gave the region its name - The Potteries - and helped secure city status in 1925. At the Spode Museum, Willow Pattern Ceramics and Stories of ‘Other’ explores the cultural history of the iconic willow pattern, featuring loans from regional museums and private collections. Between now, and 29 March 2026, visitors can also see performances by ceramic master artisans from China and Stoke-on-Trent. In addition, the city’s flagship Potteries Museum & Art Gallery will expand its renowned ceramics collection thanks to a partnership with the University of Staffordshire. The museum will display the Thornhill collection, a set of rare oriental ceramics gifted to the university in 1944, for the first time since the 1980s.Re-Form Heritage, meanwhile, will host open days, activities and workshops showcasing city’s ceramics heritage from their flagship heritage building, Middleport Pottery. And in amongst all of this, the UK’s largest ceramics event the 2025 British Ceramics Biennial is set to continue through to 19 October.
🧢 Derby prepares for a movie monster mash
Following the success of the previous all night movie marathons, Derby QUAD has announced that ‘Dead & Breakfast’ will be returning alongside a new addition ‘The Hunger Games - All Night Movie Marathon’ on Saturday 25October. Movie marathons have become a staple of the QUAD arts centre programming over the years, with Dead & Breakfast, a horror film overnight marathon, celebrating its 16th anniversary in 2025. This year, the marathon will operate under the theme ‘The Monster Mash’ featuring: From Dusk Til Dawn (18), A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 3(18), Tremors (15), Poltergiest (15) and Return Of The Living Dead (15). For those who prefer action films, The Hunger Games (12A) - All Night Movie Marathon will take audiences to Panem to experience: The Hunger Games(12A), The Hunger Games - Catching Fire (12A), The Hunger Games - Mockingjay Part 1 (12A), and The Hunger Games - Mockingjay Part 2 (12A). So it’s another night of no sleep, and horror during a monster mash of ghosts, vampires, slashers, zombies and giant prehistoric earthworms. Tickets for either movie marathon are £31 (including £1 transaction fee) and are available now via the QUAD website or in person at the Box Office located on the second floor.
🧢 The “Feast-ive” Traditions in The French Ardennes
Red turkeys, white puddings and red sugar sweets are just some of the famous festive flavours of The French Ardennes. In Rethel, there’s a festive dish available every day of the year, thanks to its white sausages. But it’s a local delicacy that also finds a very special place on the table at Christmas-time. “Boudin blanc de Rethel” enjoys protected geographical indication status (in much the same way as the UK’s Melton Mowbray pork pie, for example). The red turkey is a hardy breed. Introduced to the Ardennes, it found its way onto the table of Charles IX for the celebration of his wedding with Elisabeth of Austria, at the basilica of Mézières on 26 November 1570. One of the sweetest Christmas traditions of the whole of France, meanwhile, has been passed down from generation to generation in the Ardennes: red sugar sweets. Now a symbol of the Ardennes’ culinary heritage, the coloured and flavoured sugar is poured by hand into traditional moulds, representing animals, characters and objects. Today, one of the places that still helps to keep this tradition alive is Maison Simon in Bogny-sur-Meuse. And this artisan confectioner is this year also marking its 100th anniversary. “Joyeux Noël”!
🧢 Read all about it
The 10th Derby Book Festival is scheduled to take place in the city centre from 13 to 16 November - with interviews, discussions as well as local author talks in libraries. Amongst the many highlights of the Autumn edition of the festival are appearances by Paul Morley, author of Far Above the World: The Time and Space of David Bowie; Sir Tony Robinson, author of The Lone Wolf; Paula Byrne, author of Six Weeks by the Sea: The Summer Jane Austen Fell in Love; and Iain Dale, author of Margaret Thatcher. There are also a number of special children’s events. Both Digital ,and Festival, passes are now available.