South Bristol Voice October 2022

Bus services are saved!

VITAL bus services used by thousands of passengers in Bristol are set to be saved.

Bus services run by Bristol Community Transport were cancelled on September 2 after the operator decided to stop running them at short notice.

But after intensive talks, the West of England Authority, led by Metro Mayor Dan Norris, has found another company, The Big Lemon, which has agreed to run four of the buses and final talks are now taking place with the Traffic Commissioner.

This will mean the 505 (Long Ashton Park and Ride to Southmead), 506 (Broadmead to Southmead), 515 (Imperial Park to Stockwood) and 516 (Broad Walk to Hengrove Park) will recommence, which is likely to happen later this month.

Mr Norris also announced another operator has agreed to take over the running of the 52 route, another former Bristol Community Transport service, with Transpora running the 52 starting with immediate effect. The m1 has already been saved by Firstbus and the 511 and 512 by Eurotaxis.

Mr Norris said: “As soon as the bad news came through that Bristol Community Transport was cutting all its buses, the West of England Authority I lead got down to work to try to find a solution. There was always money on the table, and I promised we would leave no stone unturned. I am delighted these efforts have paid off for the 505, 506, 515 and 516 as well as 52, 511 and m1 services: this is a really, really positive step forward”.

Contacts

Ruth Drury Sales Director 07590 527664 sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk

Jane Williams Editor news@southbristolvoice.co.uk

COMPLAINTS

Despite our best efforts, we sometimes get things wrong. We always try to resolve issues informally at first but we also have a formal complaints procedure. If you have a complaint about anything in the South Bristol Voice, contact the Editor using the details below. We aspire to follow the the Code of Conduct of the NUJ (National Union of Journalists), nuj.org.uk/about/nuj-code

Further details of the complaints process can be found on our website (below) or can be obtained by contacting the Editor by email: sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk or by post: 111 Broadfield Rd, Knowle, Bristol BS4 2UX or by phone: 07590527664 southbristolvoice.co.uk/complaints-procedure

All stories and pictures are ©South Bristol Voice (unless otherwise stated) and may not be reproduced without permission.

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HOW DO I GET IN TOUCH WITH ...

My MP? Karin Smyth MP

By email: karin.smyth.mp@ parliament.uk

By post: Karin Smyth MP, House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA

By phone: 0117 953 3575

In person: Call the above number for an appointment

My councillor?

Post: (all councillors) City Hall, College Green, Bristol BS1 5TR. Tessa Fitzjohn Green, Bedminster

By phone: 07584182801 By email: Cllr.Tessa.Fitzjohn@bristol.gov.uk

Mark Bradshaw Labour, Bedminster. By email: Cllr.mark. bradshaw@bristol.gov.uk

By phone: 0117 353 3160

Tony Dyer Green, Southville

By phone: 07584182862 By email:

USEFUL NUMBERS

Bristol City Council www.bristol.gov.uk 0117 922 2000 Waste, roads 0117 922 2100 Pests, dog wardens 0117 922 2500 Council tax 0117 922 2900

Follow

Cllr.Tony.Dyer@bristol.gov.uk

Christine Townsend Green, Southville By phone: 07584183843 By email: Cllr.Christine.Townsend@bristol. gov.uk

Christopher Davies Knowle Community Party. Email: Cllr. Christopher.Davies@bristol.gov.uk Phone: 07826917714

Gary Hopkins Knowle Community Party. Email: Cllr.Gary.Hopkins@bristol.gov.uk

Phone: 07977 512159

Ed Plowden Green, Windmill Hill Phone: 07584184577 By email: Cllr.Ed.Plowden@bristol.gov.uk

Lisa Stone Green, Windmill Hill

Phone: 07584186535

By email: Cllr.Lisa.Stone@bristol.gov.uk

Housing benefit 0117 922 2300

Social services 0117 922 2900

Police Inquiries 101 Emergency 999

Emma Vincent and Lisa Pearson

Council blunder angers businesses

By Adam Postans, Local Democracy Reporter

FURIOUS shopkeepers have blasted Bristol City Council after bungling workmen painted double yellow lines outside a shopping parade by mistake after nine months of roadworks.

Council contractors were putting the finishing touches to a £1.7million project to reconstruct St Peters Rise, next to Headley Park.

But instead of reinstalling the parking bays that were there before the roadworks started last December, traders at the Bishopsworth end of the road watched in horror as apparent new restrictions were painted on the road stopping customers from pulling in.

The local authority has admitted that this was done in error and contractors ETM were back on site to burn off the yellow lines.

It comes just weeks after traders vented their frustration about the time it was taking to complete the works, which should have finished in May but suffered three months of delays, for which the council apologised.

Dave John, 64, who has run his self-named butchers for 20 years, said the yellow lines blunder was “just another nail in our coffin” following years of lost trade from covid and then the overrunning roadworks.

He said: “Before the work we had three bays for cars outside our shops but these were replaced with doubleyellow lines.

They have completely messed this up. It is incompetence.

“The whole thing has been long, drawn-out and disruptive. This sort of thing has to be stopped. The council and its contractors need to be more efficient.

“We are small businesses. I had no money from the Government during Covid, and when we do ask for help, everyone goes against us.

“It is like two steps forward and one step back all the time. This would not happen in Clifton, but it does in south Bristol. I am so frustrated. The people of Headley Park have been absolutely shafted.”

Dave said the contractors turned up to remove the lines on Thursday morning and that

StPhilip’s

Now

care in environment

one of them had told him that the council had given them the wrong instructions.

He said they were burning off the paint only, rather than digging up the new road surface, and reinstalling the parking spaces but that the yellow lines would probably still be visible as a result, which he said was not good enough.

Bishopsworth Tory Cllr Richard Eddy, who lives nearby, accused the council of making a “stupid mistake”. He said: “If the council wishes to implement single or double yellow lines, there have to be several rounds of advertised public consultation and an expensive traffic regulation order applied for.

“This can take years and clearly this didn’t happen in

this ludicrous case. Clearly, bureaucracy has gone mad here and no-parking lines have been marked outside these shops on busy St Peters Rise, a key shopping parade.

“Not only has the council subjected these shopkeepers to delayed months of resurfacing work, which naturally impacted their customer trade, but now it seems determined to destroy their remaining business by a bureaucratic bungle.”

A city council spokesperson said that the lines were a contractor error and that it had sent them back to fix it on Wednesday, although this did not happen until the following morning.

They declined to make anmy further comment.

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All families are welcome to attend our Stay & Play sessions, held twice a week

Dave John stands next to the double yellow lines that were painted by mistake in St Peters Rise.

Photo: Bristol Live

By Adam Postans, Local Democracy Reporter

CONTROVERSIAL plans for more than 200 homes in blocks up to 11 storeys high near Temple Meads are set to be refused.

Bristol city councillors are being advised to reject the proposals for 221 flats, along with shops, cafes and public space, at the former Bart Ingredients factory on the corner of York Road and St Luke’s Road in Bedminster.

A report by planning officers says the application by Donard Homes, which is the first to come forward in the Mead Street regeneration area where the local authority has earmarked a new neighbourhood with 1,500 homes, says the design and living environment would be “poor”.

More than 5,000 people have now signed a petition set up by Totterdown Residents Environmental and Social Action group (TRESA) against “inappropriate” proposed tower blocks that would block the escarpment’s panorama at Pylle Hill.

Plans for Mead Street regeneration set to be refused

amending the designs last month to reduce the number of homes from 244 to 221, of which 30 per cent would be affordable, and lower one block by a storey to include a dormer level.

The committee report said: “It is not considered that a good quality scheme is proposed that would successfully deliver on the overall aspirations for the area. Officers acknowledge that the scheme will deliver identifiable benefits but have concluded that these will not outweigh the level of harm.

These include the Bart Ingredients redevelopment at the western end of the Mead Street area, which comprises two 11-storey buildings and a third

that is seven floors high, and a separate scheme for 900 homes including a 22-storey high-rise next to the railway line near Bath Road.

Both applications have been submitted despite the council’s hopes to coordinate the approach to regenerating 5.6 hectares of land from the Bath Bridge roundabout to the Banana Bridge and between the River Avon and the railway, whose principles were approved by cabinet last month.

The report to the planning committee says about 350 objections have been received to Donard’s plans, including concerns that they would look like a “concrete canyon, and would be soulless and an eyesore”.

This is despite the developer

“The site would be the first in the Mead Street Development Brief area to come forward. As the area’s frontrunner, design excellence should be achieved that should set the standard for other sites in the area.

“Overall, it is considered that the quality of the living accommodation on this site would be compromised. The high proportion of single aspect flats would have limited outlook due to the height and proximity of the blocks within the scheme. Light levels within the properties would be limited, and they have increased energy demands placed on them due to the need to use electric lights and in some cases rely on mechanical ventilation. The height on the St Luke’s Road elevation is excessive, even in the revised form.”

It said that occupiers would have a “poor living environment” and that the design quality was also poor.

How the proposed development at the former Bart Ingredients factory in Bedminster would look. Image: Donard Homes

Arnos Vale Cemetery is top of the plots

SOUTH Bristol’s beautiful Arnos Vale Cemetery has been ranked as the fourth best cemetery in the whole of the UK, according to Trip Advisor reviews from the site’s many visitors.

With more than 12,000 historic cemeteries and graveyards around the UK, to come fourth is quite some achievement. But, as anyone who is already familiar with the site will confirm, this is no great surprise: the area is outstanding!

This news comes as the result of a Legal & General survey into TripAdvisor rankings to uncover the most loved cemeteries across the UK for your next day out. Things that visitors particularly loved about the cemetery include that it is a rich heritage site, with the chapels and gate lodges appearing on the UK’s register of places of special architectural merit. The cemetery also boasts a vibrant history and many scenic locations, meaning it has been used for everything from

weddings to film and TV shoots.

When Arnos Vale opened in 1839, Queen Victoria was new to the throne. Arnos Vale was planned to be a garden cemetery, inspired by the PèreLachaise in Paris and, later, London’s Kensal Green. By then, Bristol’s old parish graveyards were overcrowded and a health

hazard. So the Bristol General Cemetery Company was set up to provide a stylish yet spacious alternative.

It bought land in the outlying and picturesque village of Brislington. Putting forward plans for a cemetery that would be filled with sunlight, fresh air, trees and shrubs, with its

architecture and landscaping designed to echo classical Greece.

Despite the attention to style and beauty, at root Arnos Vale Cemetery was a private enterprise solution to a public health problem – part of the great Victorian movement to modernise Britain’s cities by equipping them with clean water supplies, efficient sewerage systems and many other services we now take for granted.

Appropriately, the first person buried at Arnos Vale was Mary Breillat, who was the wife of the man who had brought gas streetlighting to Bristol.

Many well-respected people have since been buried at the South Bristol site, including the social reformer Mary Carpenter, activist Carmen Beckford MBE, printing tycoon Elisha Smith Robinson, philanthropist George Müller and Indian reformer Rajah Rammohun Roy.

Arnos Vale Cemetery is a much-loved green space

South Bristol Rivers Project

By Ben Barker

BS3 Wildlife Group is happy to announce that it has secured £10,000 for its rivers projects. Half of this comes from the Bristol Avon Catchment Partnership and half from Quartet CF. The money will allow us to undertake activities in both the Malago/Pigeonhouse valley and Colliters Brook.

The project has two main aspects. We will be commissioning the Bristol Avon Rivers Trust (BART) to undertake a scientific survey of both rivers. They will be looking at things like pollution levels and existing wildlife. Their reports, due in April, will also suggest next steps for making these corridors more wildlife friendly.

The second aspect of the projects is focused on local residents. Many are already involved with support groups like Kingfisher and the Friends of Colliters Brook. Some of these groups help out by organising walks along the rivers; noting and photographing wildlife and,

not very often, climbing into the stream to remove shopping trollies and other detritus. We want to build up these groups and involve more people. We want, at least, to make people more aware of the rivers as they are currently very neglected.

An important part of this aspect of the project is to work with community organisations

Attached are two maps showing the two rivers, nearby communities and community organisations that are already working with us.

that are, for example, promoting healthy activities. Going for a walk and picnic in the countryside is recognised as helpful in reducing stress, but why should people not do that close to home in an improved environment rather than 20 or 30 miles away?

Once we get to April, we will have a clearer idea about next steps. One certainty is that it

will take several years and lots of community action before we have turned these neglected and sometimes sad stretches of river into valuable and wildlife friendly community assets.

For more information about these two projects, contact the BS3 Wildlife Group at mywildbedminster@virginmedia. com

WILL & PROBATE ADVICE

Free Legal Stock Take meeting

Wills Service - Now open in Whitchurch

Nowadays we all have so much admin to sort out at home and it is easy for things to get out of date.

Local experts Simpson Solicitors offer our readers a FREE (no obligation) review meeting to take stock.

Local award-winning law firm Simpson Solicitors open their new branch in Whitchurch on 1st August. They specialise in Wills and Powers of Attorney and can be found at 93 East Dundry Road, Whitchurch, BS14 0NL.

The Free Review is centred on making sure your legal affairs are in order – so that those you care about are protected if you were to die unexpectedly. This includes:

Summer is the time where families and friends tend to get together, whether travelling together to go on holiday abroad or for a UK holiday or visiting relatives. However, before you set off you really should make sure you have up to date wills - just in case something goes wrong.

✓ A legal validity check that any existing Will or Powers of Attorney are signed in accordance with the complex rules that apply.

John Baden-Daintree, the solicitor who runs Simpson Solicitors in the South West says: “It is great to now have an office in South Bristol, as I think it is so important to be able

✓ HM Land Registry home and property search to check they are owned in the way you think and that this will not cause problems.

✓ Recording what you own

(property, bank accounts, investments, online accounts, life insurance) and how it can be accessed if you weren’t here.

✓ Offering to arrange independent financial advice where that might help protect your savings.

to offer a face-to-face service for our clients. Our award-winning service will help you get the right legal protection in place of Wills and Powers of Attorney. At a FREE meeting we will take as long as you need as we guide you through your options for your Will – all for a clear fixed price”.

✓ Advice on how to protect those you leave behind – as family relations may have changed over the years, altering who you want to benefit. Adding provision for new additions such as children grandchildren or step-children. With advice on Guardians for children under 18.

Legal advisor, Sigrid Grind continues: “I can’t wait to start seeing clients at our new Whitchurch Office. Plus our special Summer Offer means that if you have been putting off taking legal advice on a Will or Powers of Attorney – now is the right time to get sorted. I will explain everything in plain English. I will then oversee the signing process so that your documents are legally valid.”

✓ Tax and care home fee rules review – covering recent changes with advice so your family don’t receive an avoidable tax or care home bill.

✓ Advising on modern Powers of Attorney – decide who you trust to be able to help you make decisions, pay bills, or sign for you if an accident or illness meant you could not do this yourself.

Being a fully regulated and insured law firm, Simpsons gives you that extra piece of mind that the work is being done, with clear fixed prices and free document storage.

Don’t leave it to chance. Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney are how you make sure your wishes are followed if you suffered serious injury (and could not make decisions on your own) or if you died.

✓ Free secure storage service offered for your legal documents and the information you might want your family to be able to access.

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If getting to us is difficult, our FREE Home Visit service covers South Bristol including: Ashton, Bedminster, Hengrove, Keynsham, Knowle, Queen Charlton, Stockwood, Whitchurch, Windmill Hill and Withywood.

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DISCOUNT SUMMER 2022 Call Simpson's friendly team on 0117 202 2722 or email message@simpsonslawuk.com to book your FREE, no obligation review meeting. When booking mention DISCOUNT SUMMER 2022 and they will give you 20% off their already competitive prices for Wills, Additional Trust Protection and Lasting Powers of Attorney. This is a limited offer and to qualify you do need to quote DISCOUNT SUMMER 2022 when booking and your review meeting must take place before 31

BRISTOL-based law firm Barcan+Kirby, which has an office on North Street, recently opened its Community Fund for its second year, inviting local organisations and businesses that benefit the communities surrounding their offices to apply for financial support.

The firm received a record number of applications for support and a panel of individuals from across the firm reviewed all of the submissions and carefully considered who should receive the funding.

The organisations chosen include the Friends of Greville Smyth Park who will use the money to set up a Junior parkrun event as soon as they are able. Junior parkrun is a free 2k event for children aged 4-14 to encourage young people to get outside, keep fit and have fun.

Children can walk or run on their own, or be accompanied round the course by a parent or guardian.

Children can also volunteer in a wide range of roles, including leading the energetic junior parkrun warm-up.

Law firm helps to fund a new junior parkrun event

He adds: “There is lots of enthusiasm for the project. We have some hardwork to do in September, but all being well we’d like to be up and running in 2022.”

Chris Whale from Friends of Greville Smyth (FRoGS) is the event director for the nearby Windmill Hill Junior parkrun and and will also be leading the team in running the Greville Smyth event. He tells South Bristol Voice: “FRoGS have now secured the funding required

to move on with the proposed Junior parkrun. We need to complete all the relevant risk assessment, confirm the core team and get approval for the course. Some amendments might need to happen while we wait for some repairs to some sections of the path.”

Lucy Harttrup, Head of Marketing at Barcan+Kirby, said: “We received an overwhelming number of applications from organisations in the BS3 area which is a testament to the community here. Our judges had to make a very tough decision but eventually decided on supporting Greville Smyth parkrun. We understand how important access to sport is for young people and parkrun offer an amazing experience which is inclusive and accessible for all. Many of our staff not only work but also live in the area and we are all very excited to see how this project develops.”

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The nearby Windmill Hill Junior parkrun at Victoria Park has been an enormous success since it started in 2015. Photo: Rich Kenington

By Adam Postans, Local Democracy Reporter

A CONTROVERSIAL deal that will see offices, a hotel, conference centre and hundreds of homes built at Temple Island has been completed.

Bristol City Council has finalised agreements with Legal & General (L&G), and the massive redevelopment on land formerly earmarked for an arena can go ahead.

L&G has agreed to invest £350million to transform the disused site near Temple Meads by building two “major Grade A” office blocks, 550 apartments and a 345-room hotel and conference centre.

In return the local authority will spend £32million getting the derelict plot ready, including sorting contamination issues, before leasing Temple Island to the asset management firm for 250 years.

The council will also guarantee L&G rent on the office space for 40 years, an offer deemed “necessary” by mayor Marvin Rees to secure the investment.

A notice published this month on the authority’s website said executive director of growth and regeneration Stephen Peacock had now made the final decision to “enter into conditional disposal” of the land to L&G on a long lease.

It said Mr Rees’s Labour cabinet approved the proposals in February 2020 “to enable the delivery of a landmark mixeduse development on the site including homes, employment space, office space and a hotel and conference centre”.

Members authorised officers to finalise the terms and “conclude all necessary legal agreements between the parties”, which has now been done.

The decision notice said: “The agreement contains various conditions which would have to be satisfied for the lease to be granted.

Temple Island deal is now finalised despite concerns

“Phase 1 consists of residential buildings and Grade A office space and Phase 2 consists of a hotel and conference centre and further homes and office space.

“The council agreed to carry out certain remediation and enabling works as necessary for development of Temple Island.

“The legal agreements have now been finalised and I have authorised exchange and completion.

“The terms of the agreement have been concluded and reviewed and are a reasonable and legally sound commercial arrangement which has been

negotiated between experienced teams each with the benefit of support from national firms of valuers.

“The final terms do not depart from the heads of terms previously reported to cabinet in a way that adversely affects the risk profile for the council.

“The economic benefits of the proposed arrangements significantly outweigh the public cost.

“The proposed arrangements comply with Public Contract Regulations, state aid/public subsidy requirements and meet the council’s best value obligations.”

Four years ago, the city mayor abandoned council plans for a major concert venue at the site then known as Arena Island and moved the project to Brabazon Hangars in Filton.

In 2021, Mr Rees said that over 25 years the city would get about £850million of gross added value, compared to about £300million from an arena, and that the L&G plans would generate about three times the number of jobs.

Temple Island is part of the wider Temple Quarter and St Philips regeneration to create 22,000 jobs and up to 10,000 homes.

Legal & General’s vision for Temple Island

energy grants

high streets

Bristol Lib Dems are demanding that the Government rescues thousands of small local businesses in Bristol from soaring energy bills, warning that lack of action could see the area’s high streets turning into “ghost towns.”

Since businesses are not covered by the Ofgem energy price cap many are expecting to see their bills skyrocket by 400% in the coming months.

The Liberal Democrat rescue package would offer grants up to £50,000 to help small businesses cope, giving them a lifeline to keep their doors open. The plans would benefit 9,897 small and medium-sized businesses in Bristol, from family-owned high street shops to hairdressers.

This would include the 740 cafes, restaurants, pubs and other hospitality businesses in

the constituency.

Under the proposed Liberal Democrat scheme, small businesses would be able to apply for Government grants covering 80% of the increase in their energy bills for one year, up to a maximum of £50,000. Nationally the proposals would help 1.4 million small businesses across the UK.

The party is also calling on the new Prime Minister Liz Truss to immediately introduce measures to support families and businesses with spiralling energy costs.

The scheme would cost an estimated £10 billion and could be met by reversing the Conservatives’ planned tax cuts for big banks, which are seeing their profits grow with rising interest rates. That would include cancelling the Government’s cut

to the Bank Surcharge that is due to take effect in April 2023 and restoring the Bank Levy to 2015 levels, raising £10.6 billion over the next four years.

Councillor Andrew Brown, Deputy Leader of the Bristol Lib Dem Council Group, and the party’s Parliamentary Spokesperson for Bristol South, said: “Bristol’s local high streets risk being devastated by spiralling energy costs and turned into ghost towns, but the Conservatives don’t seem to get it or even care.

“Local shops, cafes and restaurants that survived through the Coronavirus pandemic, could now be taken down by soaring energy costs and forced to close their doors unless the Government steps up urgently.

“We need an energy bailout

now to save our high streets, rescue small businesses, and keep prices down for local families. We’ve known this hike was coming for months and the Government has done nothing.

“We cannot waste more time. The new Conservative Prime Minister must act immediately to protect families and small businesses in Bristol.”

Andrew Brown

Tech philanthropist to invest in Bristol

By Alex Seabrook, Local Democracy Reporting Service

A TECH philanthropist is coming to invest in Bristol after reportedly watching the mayor’s Ted talk in Canada.

Bristol mayor Marvin Rees gave a 14-minute lecture on climate change in April at the prestigious Ted conference in Vancouver. Earlier this summer, environmental campaigners criticised his decision as “ironic” to travel so far, given the topic of the short talk.

Mr Rees has revealed that a philanthropist is planning to travel to Bristol and invest in the city’s community groups “off the back of” his Ted talk. He added it’s “not always easy” to see direct benefits of Bristol City Council’s ambitious international strategy, but this was one.

He said: “My Ted talk in Vancouver led to a number of live contacts, not least a tech philanthropist who will be in Bristol in the coming weeks with a commitment to working with

three UK cities, meeting with our community organisations with a commitment to putting real finance into their social innovation.

“With our international work it’s not always easy to show direct benefits, because some of it’s about creating conditions in which good things are more likely to happen. Who would have known a tech philanthropist would say ‘well actually off the back of [the Ted talk] I’m going to come to Bristol and put money into your voluntary communitycentred organisations’. It’s about being present and creating conditions—and hopefully good stuff will happen.”

The Mayor made the comments during a cabinet meeting in early September when the council chiefs approved a refreshed international strategy. The ambitious plans will see Bristol “influence the United Nations” and contribute to global conversations, according to the mayor, as well as attract foreign investors to

pay for huge projects tackling climate change.

One key example of this is Ameresco and Vattenfall, companies from the USA and Sweden, investing hundreds of millions into Bristol’s City Leap project. This project will see several major public works to cut the city’s greenhouse gas emissions, including the new district heat networks.

Mr Rees added: “From the twinning associations in 1947, to today’s activities delivering our climate and ecological emergency programme, Bristol’s global relationships and reputation have continued to grow. It’s more important than ever that cities connect, collaborate and change the context within which they have to operate.

“It’s the way we can deliver for the citizens within our city boundaries, but it’s actually in the absence or the underwhelming leadership offered by national governments on critical issues such as climate

and migration so that it’s fallen on the shoulders of cities to step into that leadership vacuum.

“We cannot turn our back on those networks and forums through which we will raise our voice on these critical issues. Being in these forums has led to globally significant pieces of work. The number of requests we now have to contribute to national and international conversations on issues ranging from climate to ecology to migration is a testament to the quality of the work and leadership the [council’s international team] has shown.”

Trustpilot

Emma Vincent and Lisa Pearson

Sona Pilates with Leanne Copley

The trees know how to do it

IN TIMES of overwhelm, the thing that goes first is just that which we should make priority. Our sleep, food choices, Peloton bikes and relaxing hobbies are pushed aside. So as the seasons change and we begin slowing down from summers to-ing and fro-ing, we can focus again on that which we need for whole-body health.

October brings spiced lattes, Halloween and shorter days. We layer up against the cold, and summer activities get switched out for the indoors and getting cosy. ‘The trees are about to show us how lovely it is to let things go’ (unknown) so before you set this seasons ‘should’s’, consider that you can let go of habits that served you in the summer and establish new patterns and intentions for autumn. Welcoming this shift, we can embrace new food choices, movement habits and even thought processes.

In Pilates, we tune in and take note of what the body is asking for on that day, in that moment, aware of the larger goals but also aware some days we have to let them go. Try Pilates from the comfort of your home this autumn with our online classes or Sona TV. www.sonapilates.com

A truly Latin experience at Casa-Latina

IT’S been a long time coming for this new face that is Casa-Latina.

Bristol and particularly south Bristol has a large and mostly not so seen Latin society although present all over town.

Many of whom have already been sharing their traditions of dance, music and food in the diverse cultural tapestry that makes Bristol shine as it does.

Casa-Latina was born from the dreams of connecting both Anglo and Latin cultures present here in Bristol wanting to offer not only a bridge but a meeting place for both to better mingle.

Their love for food and entertaining added to this city’s thriving small and local business ideals, helped Casa-Latina establish itself about a year back doing all sorts of pop-up events and showcasing their food in many independent markets across the West Country.

Their work has been so well received that not long ago they expanded their kitchen and setup to, from this Friday, cater for all of us through Uber Eats and Deliveroo and very soon through their web page too.

So if you fancy a truly authentic Latin American food experience beyond the usual tacos and the like, make sure to give these new kids on the block a try and see what you think.

Tuesday

Sarah -

Wednesday

Sarah - 07979

Dr of the nervous system

WHAT do you think of when you think of a chiropractor? Most people think of clicking and popping the spine and helping people with back and neck issues. We quite often get called Doctors of the Spine. And while this is true, there’s a deeper truth. It is true we work predominantly with the spine, but we are actually working with the thing the spine protects. And that’s your nervous system. So essentially, we are actually Doctors of the Nervous System. Your nervous system is the most important system in your body. You can patch up your heart and even be put on mechanical hearts or have them replaced. Machines can even keep you breathing artificially. But the moment your nervous system stops working you stop working! Life is expressed through your nervous system. It’s your thoughts, it’s what moves your body and controls all your organs, it’s what regulates you and heals you.

So, although chiropractors work with the spine they are actually working

on your nervous system. That could be un-trapping a nerve for example. There’s also a deeper picture emerging as research continues to explore the power of the Chiropractic Adjustment. Not only does the adjustment help the nerves in the area being adjusted, it also stimulates and resets the brain. And it’s the effect that the adjustment has on the brain that has the most dramatic effects.

Through the adjustments the brain balances and starts to talk to the body more clearly. The communication between the brain and body improves. And great things come from that. It’s this reason so many people report other improvements beyond just pain relief. Their energy is better, they sleep better, they’ve seen improvements in their digestion, their mood is better etc.

So remember, chiropractic resets your nervous system and improves the communication between the brain and body. And a balanced brain and body heals better, regulates better, functions better and most importantly, feels better.

Charles Herbert Kasa Chiro Telephone: 0117 370 2680 www.kasachiro.com

Essential gas work in Knowle

WALES & West Utilities has completed essential work to upgrade part of the gas network in Knowle.

The work, which started in February, was essential to keep the gas flowing safely to heat and power local homes and businesses and prepare the local gas network for the future. Wales & West Utilities worked closely with Bristol City Council to plan the work which involved traffic management in the Talbot Road area.

Wales & West Utilities’ Simon Lee managed this gas pipe upgrade work and said: “We’re happy to have finished this upgrade work on time and want to thank everyone who lives and works in the area for bearing with us while we completed this essential work.

“While most of the gas network is underground and out of sight, it plays a central role in the daily lives of people across Knowle. Whether it’s heating your home, making the family dinner or having a hot bath, we understand how important it is for your gas supply to be safe and reliable and there when you need it.”

He added: “This work was essential to keep the gas flowing to local homes and businesses today, and to make sure the gas network is ready to transport hydrogen and biomethane, so we can all play our part in a green future.”

If you smell gas, or suspect the presence of carbon monoxide, call them on 0800 111 999 straight away, and an engineer will be there to help at any time of day.

ADVICE FROM A PHARMACIST with Ade Williams

Book for the Autumn Covid booster jab now

BOOK your live-saving Autumn Covid vaccine booster jab today, along with your annual winter flu jab.

The Community Clinic at the Bedminster Methodist Church on British Road has enabled us to provide care with lots of empathy and kindness, adapting our approach to cater for the most vulnerable, those scared of needles and a broad age group starting from 5 and going up to 102 years!

Who will get an autumn Covid booster?

Covid vaccine doses will be offered to:

• adults aged 50 and over

• people aged five to 49 with health conditions which put them at higher risk - including pregnant women

• care home staff

• frontline health and social care workers

• carers aged 16 to 49

• household contacts of people with weakened immune systems

People will also be offered new vaccine types that tackle both the original Covid virus and the recent Omicron variant. This will ensure that our immune system can better cope with new variants that we know will keep emerging. The vaccination programme has helped to provide us protection and cherished freedoms that, especially as we go into the winter months, we want to safeguard.

With over 126 million COVID-19 vaccines administered in the UK since the rollout, our work providing over 60,000 in South Bristol supports the strong evidence of safety which

stacks up alongside efficacy.

Our 5-minute vaccination appointment now also includes an offer of the NHS flu vaccine alongside the COVID booster for those who are eligible.

The NHS flu vaccine is offered free to people aged 65 years and over

• aged 50-64 years (starting from October 15)

• with long-term health conditions including heart disease, diabetes, breathing problems like asthma

• that is immunocompromised, and all their household contacts

• pregnant

• in long-stay residential care, including hospice who carer for an older or disabled person

With ambulance delays and the NHS backlog providing the worrying backdrop for the winter cost of living pressures, Bedminster Pharmacy is more determined to protect everyone in our South Bristol Community this winter.

Book your Covid jab online or call NHS 119. We will also offer a Walk-in Flu Clinic in the pharmacy if you don’t want it alongside or qualify for a Covid jab.

Bedminster’s nightmare building site

By Alex Seabrook, Local Democracy Reporter

Neighbours living next to a nightmare building site in Bedminster have claimed Bristol City Council is “turning a blind eye” to their complaints.

Residents of Brendon Road and Mascot Road have faced months of builders making their lives a misery, with frequent foul language, damaging trees and garden walls, leaving the street muddy and slippery, and even throwing stones at each other and damaging parked cars.

Yet despite several residents complaining many times to the council, little action appears to have been taken by enforcement officers, whose jobs are to prevent problems like these. Local councillors also questioned the “lackadaisical attitude” within the planning department.

Responding to the concerns, the property developer who owns the site is appointing a new project manager, and both have promised to address all the issues

and repair relations with the local community.

A council spokesman declined to answer if enforcement officers were investigating the site or taking any action, but said officers “closely monitor all development sites”.

Speaking at a development control committee, Councillor Ed Plowden said: “For over a year, multiple residents have been complaining about the poor practices and lack of respect for neighbours. Finally after six months, the planning enforcement team paid a visit, wrote a letter, issued a notice — and have done nothing significant since. This seems only to have encouraged the poor behaviour of the contractors, who have been working as early as 6am and as late as 10pm, and right through bank holiday weekends.

“Children have been exposed to foul language and there is a general culture of disrespect and aggressive responses to anyone who raises issues. The

management of the site is so poor that a battle on the street between staff and management broke out with rocks being thrown, risking neighbours’ cars, and the manager driving his vehicle at the workers who were demanding their pay.”

Four houses are under construction on the building site at the end of Brendon Road. Before the construction started, the site had been left vacant for several years, and was previously used as a builders’ yard.

Peter Wall, a 76-year-old retiree, lives on Brendon Road next to the entrance of the construction site.

He said he has faced builders parking in front of his driveway; dust blowing into his house and garden without warning and covering laundry hanging up outside; mud piled up against his garden wall; threats; and builders getting fast food delivered to his house.

He said: “Everything was covered in dust, and we had to change our bedsheets as our

COMMUNITY TAKE OVER

JUBILEE POOL & GYM

The FRIENDS OF JUBILEE POOL (FoJP) are still on course to take Jubilee Pool into community ownership on the 30th September.

Although at the time of writing, we find ourselves in a really difficult place, where rising energy prices have forced a change of plan and consequently a plea for new support.

SO, WHATS BEEN HAPPENING?

Up until mid-August, we were working with a new operator, that would run Jubilee on our behalf. The new operator withdrew when the utility supply crisis suggested that an additional cost of between £120,000 - £330,000pa would be needed, making it clear that they were unable to move forward with that risk.

So after very quick and intense discussions, the existing operator Parkwood have offered us a lifeline by remaining in post for another 6 months under their existing utility tariff. As well as keeping the pool open, Parkwood have offered their support to help us shape Jubilee for the future.

While we have funds in place to see us through the first three months of the contract, we will need YOUR help to cover costs while the utility crisis continues.

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

1. USE THE POOL AND GYM

bed was covered in dust. We didn’t get any warning. They were supposed to let us know if there were any problems on the road, but we’ve never been told anything. There’s supposed to be contact details on the gate, but that’s never happened. They started delivering their meals here. It’s been 13 deliveries, so far. A chap came once and wanted to deliver bricks here.

“I feel the council has been to blame. This is terrible what’s going on here. We understand they’re very busy and shortstaffed, but with the amount of complaints that have been made, and if you get a case like this, then surely it’s time to investigate. Nobody has done anything, they just ignore everything that has been said.”

Bristol City Council declined to answer whether enforcement officers were investigating the building site or taking any action. A council spokesperson said: “All development sites are closely monitored by planning enforcement officers”.

Visit using pay-as-you-go or keep your membership going, or if not a member please join up. Membership is £24.99 per month.

2. MAKE A REGULAR DONATION

Through our online Local Giving page via the QR code or web address below.

3. MAKE A ONE OFF DONATION

Again through our Local Giving page here: localgiving.org/charity/friends-of-jubilee-pool-bristol/

4. SUPPORT OUR FUNDRAISERS

Keep an eye open for any fundraisers that you can get involved in, or come along and have some fun.

5. JOIN THE TEAM

Once we have the keys to Jubilee we will be looking for volunteers. Could you spare a few hours a week to work on reception? Maybe cleaning, maintenance, or decorating is more your thing? We also need help with events and fundraising. Please get in touch via social media or email

eat:Bedminster Festival to spotlight local businesses on East Street this October

On October 1, more than 50 food and drink stalls will showcase the very best they have to offer at eat:Festival, which will be transforming East Street into a local hospitality market named eat:Bedminster.

Designed to spotlight leading local hospitality businesses, eat:Bedminster will see the road closure of East Street between 10am and 4pm on the day, allowing for a variety of stalls to take over the area in a food and drink celebration.

This is the culmination of a busy summer season, with 12 eat:Festivals having taken place throughout the West Country in towns such as Clevedon, Teignmouth and Lyme Regis. eat:Festivals is a not-for-profit

social enterprise, which hosts one-day hospitality festivals across the West Country, with the aim of connecting communities with the local producers and productive landscape surrounding them. The festivals are low-cost for traders to attend, with all the profit raised throughout the day being plugged straight back into local businesses.

This year’s eat:Bedminster festival is also backed by Bedminster Business Improvement District (BID) to connect the Bristol community together in a celebration of local food and drink.

Simon Dicken, Chair of Bedminster BID, stated that:

“eat:Bedminster is a great opportunity in Autumn to head out and support local traders and explore all the new businesses

that have opened in the area over summer. East Street is jam-packed with inspirational entrepreneurs and this event will see the street come alive with independent traders with foods from every corner of the world.”

Visitors can expect to encounter local hospitality like they never have before, by sampling and purchasing the best food and drink on offer from the area they call home, as well as meeting the makers behind the businesses on their doorstep. From farmer’s market favourites such as beer, cheese and baked goods, the festival will also shine a light on local street food vendors, continental charcuterie providers and award-winning patisseries.

Live music, strolling

entertainment and buskers will provide a cheery backdrop to browsing the stalls on offer, as pockets of street-entertainment will be dotted throughout the vibrant market.

While recognising that fresh, local produce is integral to the strength and health of our communities, eat:Festivals also acknowledges the importance of inclusivity within food and drink. The Festival will cater for all dietary requirements, including vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free, so that no one misses out on the food and drink fun. Low and no-alcohol options will also be available on the day.

Stalls which cater for those with allergies and dietary requirements include: keto-diet and gluten-

free friendly doughnuts provided by Kinetic Kitchen, whose HQ is situated in Ubley, at the west end of Chew Valley, Veg Life and Gluten Free Picnic.

Bristol-based food and drinks stalls who will be showcasing the best of their produce include: Diggity Doughnuts, whose tantalising sourdough doughnuts can be found on Nelson Street in Bristol City Centre, The Incredible Brewing Co, Ceylon and Beyond, King Fin, Gingerbeard Preserves, Soy Ahoy, Creamberry Artisan and Dark Matters.

Farmer’s market favourites, such as locally brewed cider, will be on offer too, such as Secret Orchard’s cider from Taunton, Pier and Lighthouse Gin by The Clevedon Distillery and Harry’s Cider from Langport, Somerset. Paired with a range of mouth-watering continental meats from Somerset Charcuterie and a selection of Bath Soft Cheese Company’s best, these locally brewed drinks are sure to go down a treat.

eat:Bedminster will also be fully accessible for all to attend. The East Street market layout will ensure that buggies, pushchairs and wheelchair users can easily move through the outdoor space. The

whole family is welcome to come along too, as the festival is not only dog-friendly but free to attend.

Bev Milner Simonds, Director and Founder of eat:Festivals, said: “The partnership with Bedminster

BID has given us the opportunity to create a new event for the area - showcasing the bricks and mortar businesses that are here all year round and adding some tasty complimentary producers, makers

and entertainment.

Bedminster is so unique –offering us fresh opportunities for making local connections, discovering new producers and creating new habits.”

the place for you…

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Bottle Yard Studio is truly one of a kind

THE Bottle Yard Studios’ new premium facility TBY2, opening this Autumn on Whitchurch Lane, will be powered by the biggest community-owned solar rooftop array in the West of England and one of the biggest of its kind in the UK.

Laura Aviles, Senior Film Manager (Bristol City Council), who oversees The Bottle Yard Studios, says: “Our new TBY2 facility has been designed and built with sustainability in mind at every stage, with premium insulation throughout and a sophisticated building management system to ensure

optimal energy conservation. We’re hugely proud that the exterior of the building is being put to such valuable use, hosting a community-owned PV array of this size which will generate a huge amount of clean energy to power the site, with surplus energy benefitting the city of Bristol.”

Councillor Kye Dudd, Cabinet Member for Climate, Ecology, Waste and Energy, says: “The Bottle Yard’s new TBY2 facility and what it can offer to Bristol is immense. It’s not just the growth in film and TV production for the city, but it’s the commitment

Updated plans for the Redcatch Quarter

FOLLOWING consultation, an application seeking outline planning permission for the new Redcatch Quarter has been submitted to Bristol City Council.

Planning permission is being sought for the proposals which will see the dated Broadwalk Shopping Centre reimagined into a walkable, vibrant new shopping and leisure destination that celebrates South Bristol, right in the heart of Knowle.

The proposed Redcatch Quarter will provide a neighbourhood destination complete with a community hub, including a new library and community café, a dedicated restaurant area overlooking the park, flexible commercial and retail space, essential services such as a local supermarket, dentist and pharmacy, urgently needed new homes and the only neighbourhood cinema in South Bristol, plus a reimagined pedestrian high street with planted green areas and pocket parks.

Francis Hilton, project manager, said: “We want to thank everyone who participated in the consultation as your feedback has been instrumental in the progression of the proposals. Following valuable discussions with local people, it’s clear that we are all united in wanting a thriving, sustainable community asset that will deliver for Knowle for years to come. Local input has led to the introduction of the cinema, wider and more attractive pedestrian areas, a reduction in massing and redistribution of buildings, and better integration with the park. Making the Outline Application is just a point on the journey and we look forward to continuing to work with the community post-submission to contribute to the revitalisation of South Bristol.”

The Redcatch Quarter will be a Net-Zero Carbon ready community investment in excess of £150m. It will embody an entirely electric approach making use of heat pumps and solar panels as well as green roofs completely covered with vegetation planted over a waterproofing membrane.

If successful, the outline planning application, will set the parameters for a series of more detailed planning applications (known as Reserved Matters Applications) which will provide the final design and layout of individual parts of the scheme.

to help deliver Bristol’s 2030 carbon neutral ambition and the community and partnership working that underpins it. I look

forward to visiting TBY2 when it opens later this year and seeing firsthand the collection of energy efficient measures operating.”

We do talk about Bruno

By Bristol Animal Rescue Centre

Bruno arrived here as a stray puppy, having been found alone just before Christmas. As soon as he arrived, we knew something wasn’t right with this 10-month-old English bulldog. It became clear he had a serious infestation of demodex mites, which had caused him to lose his fur and have very itchy, inflamed skin.

“Bruno’s skin was in dire condition when he arrived and he was, understandably grouchy and in pain,” explained Jodie Hayward, Animal Home Manager at Bristol Animal Rescue Centre.

Bruno was given regular medicated baths to soothe his skin condition, and our team worked hard to care for him and gain his trust.

“The transformation we saw in Bruno once his skin started to improve was amazing. He became much more playful and cuddly, it was like a weight had been lifted from him, and he was finally able to be the cheerful dog he was meant to be,” she added.

Bruno was adopted after 81 days in our care, by a family who live on a small holding farm. The family had previously adopted another bulldog with us, Dorothy, so Bruno was in good company.

He’s now a happy, playful dog who is very much loved – and it’s thanks to our supporters that we are able to give dogs like Bruno a second chance at a happy life.

Litter pick in Ashton Vale

ASHTON Vale Together is a small voluntary community group which meets four times a year, in addition to doing monthly litter picks around the Ashton Vale area.

The group’s next litter pick will be on Thursday, October 13, when they will meet at 10am at the community garden near the railway bridge on Ashton Drive.

Litter pickers and rubbish bags will be provided, and please wear gloves. All are welcome to join the group.

The Patchwork Community Gardening Group is holding its annual Apple Day on Saturday, October 8, between 11am2.30pm at the orchard on Dean Lane, which is next to the Tap and Barrel pub.

The group has its own apple pressing equipment and would love everyone to get involved in making fresh juice. It’s fun for all ages and everyone is welcome. If you have spare apples, please bring them along, but it doesn’t matter if you don’t. There are lots of parts to the process which you can help with – cutting up apples, ‘scumbling’ them into smaller pieces and then pressing them to extract the juice.

It’s a free event and you can try some of the delicious juice that is made. There will be cakes for sale and live music.

Patchwork is a group of Bedminster locals who meet

regularly to turn neglected patches of land into community gardens. The orchard on Dean Lane was planted in November

2015. New members are always welcome and no gardening experience is necessary to be a part of the fun day.

Home visits or online appointments are available.

952

The Clean Air Zone is coming to Bedminster soon

Bristol’s Clean Air Zone will start operating on Monday 28 November. The zone will help improve air quality by reducing harmful levels of air pollution caused by traffic, and make sure everyone benefits from a healthy and natural environment.

While the zone largely covers the city centre, it does also extend into some of Bedminster, including the Cumberland Road area and towards the edge of Ashton Court. The full map can be viewed on the council’s website at https://www.bristol.gov.uk/residents/streetstravel/bristols-caz/view-a-map

The daily charge for the Clean Air Zone will depend on the type of vehicle you have, and range from £9 per day for a privately-owned petrol-fuelled car, rising to £100 a day for buses and coaches. Charges will apply 24 hours a day, and seven days a week.

Bristol Mayor Marvin Rees says: “We have a moral, environmental and legal responsibility to make Bristol’s air cleaner. Our city is already benefitting from positive changes, including improvements to bus infrastructure, walking routes and cycle paths. Now, the Clean Air Zone will reduce air pollution, support people and businesses to upgrade their vehicles and help us become a healthier, more sustainable and inclusive city.”

More than 71% of vehicles travelling into Bristol already meet the zone’s emission standards. Only older and more polluting vehicles will be charged. In the coming years, this percentage should increase even more as more people take advantage of the available financial support to switch to a cleaner vehicle or a different mode of transport.

Road traffic, particularly diesel engines, is a major source of air pollution in cities. Air pollution affects everyone in Bristol, especially in the most polluted areas of the city. The council has a legal and moral duty to reduce pollution in the shortest possible time. The government has directed Bristol and other cities to do this by introducing a Clean Air Zone. Bristol’s Clean Air Zone will come into operation on Monday 28 November 2022. No vehicle is banned from driving in the zone, but the most polluting vehicles will have to pay a daily charge to travel within the area. The zone will also encourage more people to switch to alternative ways of travelling, such as public transport, walking and cycling. The majority of vehicles that travel in Brist

Bristol City Council is introducing the Clean Air Zone in response to the Government setting legal limits for pollution. A major source of air pollution in cities is road traffic, particularly diesel engines. Air pollution affects everyone in Bristol, especially children, older people, and people with heart, breathing and underlying health conditions.

A Clean Air Zone aims to reduce public exposure to nitrogen dioxide through restrictions on the highest polluting vehicles, encouraging the use of cleaner vehicles, and encouraging people to walk, cycle or use public transport.

Celebrating the gift of water

THE annual Pipe Walk, organised by St Mary Redcliffe Church, returns to South Bristol on Saturday, October 22. The walk celebrates the medieval pipe that was given to Redcliffe by the Lord Robert de Berkeley. The walk is free to attend but people are asked to visit the church’s website in advance to book their place.

The Pipe Walk starts with a coffee at St Barnabas Church, Daventry Road, Knowle at 9.45am, before the walk begins at 10am. The finishing point will be St Mary Redcliffe Church, with more coffee to revive you after your exertions.

Every year the priest, churchwardens and people of St Mary Redcliffe walk the route of an ancient conduit given to the parish by Lord Robert de Berkeley in 1190 and give thanks for the gift of fresh water. The historic event asserts the church’s right of way along the 2,514 metre (2,750 yard) route of an 824-year-old pipeline linking it with an ancient fresh water spring in Knowle.

The conduit dates to 1190 when Robert de Berkeley, Lord of the Manor of Bedminster, granted the right to lay a pipe from the Ruge Well at the top of Knowle Hill through south Bristol to the churchyard of St Mary Redcliffe.

The Pipe Walk route covers just under two miles from the spring near St Barnabas Church in Daventry Road through Lower Knowle and Bedminster to Redcliffe Hill. It takes in Victoria Park where first-time Pipe Walkers traditionally are ‘bumped’ on one of several old stone markers indicating the route. Also in the park is a labyrinth constructed by Wessex Water in 1984 at the point where the pipe is crossed by a twentieth-century foul water interceptor.

The pipe ends just inside the church gate on Redcliffe Hill where a Latin inscription commemorates Lord Robert de Berkeley’s philanthropy to the city of Bristol.

Do you want to work in theatre?

Working in the arts is very rewarding but not necessarily in the monetary sense! At a time of financial hardship, worry and continuous art cuts some might say this is not the time to look for a job in the precarious world of theatre.

But on the other hand, no jobs are

The Theatre and Entertainment Luvver

guaranteed and creativity is still so impressively high in Bristol, where there is a strong enthusiastic entrepreneurial spirit alive. Also, whatever else disappears people will always need and want to be entertained, so perhaps this is just the time to join this exciting industry. But what could you do?

There is a huge range of jobs in the theatre industry, whether you want to work on the stage, behind it, in marketing, costumes, design or front of house - the list is endless. The theatre world needs a diverse range of people bringing their different perspectives and skills.

Some jobs require specific training, which you might be able to gain at college, drama school or apprenticeship - some skills are more suited to learning on the job or through experience but all involve working hard,

commitment and lots and lots of passion!

Talk to everyone you can about the theatre! See as much theatre as you can. Get involved in any productions or events happening locally.

Working in front of house might be the theatre career you want, but even if it’s not, it’s a great way to watch free shows, meet the teams working at the theatre, and discover more about what roles might interest you and how to get involved. Volunteering is a great way to gain experience and get your foot in the door.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do, give it a go, try it out and don’t stop dreaming.

Over the next few months, I’ll be chatting to people working within the arts in Bristol to share their knowledge and insight of the Bristol arts scene.

Jacqui Ham

Storytale is back

AFTER two years of Storytale Festival being digital only, they are delighted to return to in-person events. Join them for Chapter 4 of Storytale, which will take place from Friday 21-Sunday 23 October.

There will be 15 events over the three days, from Alice in Wonderland inspired drama fun with Acting Out, to dreaming up your own fantastical creature with local author Katharine Orton, along with a sprinkling of spells, stars and adventure.

Accessible and affordable with lots of free events including inspiring storytelling and interactive craft sessions, there’ll be something for everyone.

Colourful Minds will open the festival on Friday 21 October with a creative story and craft event for pre-schoolers at The Bristol

Go to the ball with Cinderella

Beacon. Later that day there will be a drop in session in the Tobacco Factory’s snug, giving children the opportunity to design their own book cover with the help of Curious Universe.

Saturday 22 is jam-packed with science-themed Curious Stories for Curious Children at the Clifton Suspension Bridge Visitor Centre, inspiring underwater adventure

with YA author Lou Abercrombie at Stanfords, out-of-this-world planet making with Bristol illustrator Lauren Tobia, while children’s author Alex Cotter will encourage kids to create a spooky house story during a workshop filled with spine-tingling spookiness at Bookhaus.

Storytale have a couple of online events aimed at teens

Jiear as the Fairy Godmother. Joining them in the title role is Lauren Hampton as Cinderella and Daniel Norford as Dandini.

Join Cinders as she goes from rags to riches, outwits her very wicked sisters and meets her dashing Prince Charming.

Packed with all the traditional pantomime ingredients, Cinderella features laugh-out-loud comedy, stunning scenery, beautiful costumes and plenty of boos and hisses along the way.

and adults. Kicking off on Friday evening at 8pm is Pathways Into Publishing with South West Young Publishers for anyone interested in working in the industry, while on Sunday afternoon at 4pm they have spoken word wizardry via Zoom with the fabulous performance poet and storyteller, Megan Chapman.

Festival highlights will include writer and zoologist Justin Anderson entertaining kids and adults alike with his latest book Narwhal: The Artic Unicorn in an interactive event at Windmill Hill City Farm, Story Cube Adventures for the whole family at Bristol Central Library and finally, in conjunction with Bridges for Communities, author and humanitarian Elika Ansari will close the festival with Refugee Voices, a special evening event for adults and older teens featuring live music, a meal and a moving and eye-opening talk.

The full programme of events, more information and details about how to book can be found at www.storytalefestival.com

A MAGICAL star cast has been announced with the judge everyone loves to hate, Craig Revel Horwood, starring as the Wicked Stepmother in this year’s Bristol Hippodrome family pantomime Cinderella, which will be running throughout December.

Joining the fab-u-lous Craig Revel Horwood will be Bristol panto favourite Andy Ford as Buttons marking his tenth pantomime appearance at the Bristol Hippodrome alongside popular musical theatre and cabaret artist Alison

The clock is ticking, so don’t miss your chance to see the Fairy Godmother of all pantos at the Bristol Hippodrome. Book your tickets today – you shall go to the ball this Christmas!

Tickets for Cinderella (Friday, December 2 – Saturday, December 31) are on sale from Bristol Hippodrome on 0333 009 6690 or https:// www.atgtickets.com/shows/cinderella/bristolhippodrome/

Theatre, comedy and so much more for all the family

1 October, Tobacco Factory, Elf Lyons. Comedy IT-girl Elf Lyons floats around the UK with her new horrifying comedy show inspired by Stephen King. Part Mad Clown comedy spectacle, part Hammer Horror – in Raven, Elf becomes your own personal Pennywise as she merges horror techniques with old school storytelling to make you laugh and shiver in equal measure.

Get a glass of Red Rum, bring your pal Tony and laugh with Elf forever and ever. It will be a Misery if you can’t come.

2 October, Tobacco Factory, An Evening with Brian Blessed. Join the legendary Brian Blessed in Bristol this October as he returns to one of his favourite cities for an intimate night of entertainment.

‘An Evening with Brian Blessed’ will combine anecdotes from his illustrious acting career with tales of his adventuring and time in Nepal. Everything about Brian is larger than life, so expect a brilliant evening witnessing first hand Brian’s booming operatic voice, learning of his achievements, his dreams and his ability to inspire.

4 October, Bedminster Library, ‘Mining in Bedminster and the Dean Lane Pit Disaster.’ Part of South Bristol History Festival. Many of those who crowd the streets of Bedminster during Upfest or for the Winter Lantern Parade are oblivious that they are actually deep in mining country. Above ground, there are no surviving reminders of that history except a single noticeboard in Dame Emily Park. But below lies a deep mine shaft that was the scene of a pit explosion that cost several lives, one of hundreds of deaths during Bedminster’s mining history. Tony Dyer will explore the tragedy that took place at the end of the nineteenth century and the wider history of the Bedminster coal mines.

6 October, Southville Centre, ‘Girls, Wives, Factory Lives, Working at Churchman’s’. Part

advertise,

of South Bristol History Festival. If you Google ‘Bristol Churchmans’, the Bristol factory is absent. Anna Pollert explores Churchmans as ‘what lay on the other side of this silence among a group of women workers within the walls of one, small, ‘ordinary’ factory: young girls, mothers, housewives – a group so often dismissed as ‘conservative’, ‘apathetic’ or ‘backward’. Anna’s research uncovered a complex of voices, living with and against capitalism and the men around them.

8 October, Tobacco Factory, Helen Bauer. 2019’s Best Newcomer nominee and your favourite self-aware stand-up returns with an hour about selfconfidence, self-esteem and selfcare. It’s the year of ‘the self’ and Helen is trying to be the change she wants you to see. As seen on Live at The Apollo and star of ITV2, BBC Three, ITV2, Comedy Central and Radio 4.

11 October, Bedminster Library, ‘The Gas Girls: A Hidden History of World War One’. Part of South Bristol History Festival. Christine Townsend examines the exposure of a piece of lost Bristolian history that has international repercussions to this day. acta’s research helped to publicise the top secret production of mustard gas in Avonmouth factories during World War One, and the lives of the women who carried out this dangerous work.

12 October, Bristol St George’s, Beth Orton. New tour dates supporting her new album ‘Weather Alive, billed as an intricately crafted, fragile jewel and a record that both harnesses and is fuelled by candid emotion. Beth’s

raw vocal does much of the work here, underpinning the light and shade of a song heavy of heart and melody. It’s all sewn together with a deftness of touch and a sleight of hand. Subtle but breathless. It’s a highlight of a record that introduces another space and sound previously untouched by this singular British artist, and a career spanning almost three decades.

13 October, Tobacco Factory, ‘Nicotiana Britannica: Tobacco and Forced Labour’. Part of South Bristol History Festival. Roger Ball will outline the symbiotic relationship between the colonisation of the Americas in the 17th Century and the production of tobacco as a commodity. The talk will consider the economic mechanisms that encouraged the expansion of landholdings and the introduction of forced labour, leading to the domination of chattel slavery based upon the use of enslaved West Africans. Will Simpson tells the story of the illicit tobacco cultivation of the Cotswolds. In the early 17th Century, a group of West Country smallholders decided to experiment by growing tobacco themselves. Hear how over the

Friday October 14 1.10-1.50pm

Lunchtime Live St Francis’ Church, Ashton Gate BS3 1JP, near the Tobacco Factory.

The Newland Ensemble play works including Vivaldi’s Autumn from The Four Seasons. Admission £5 (£3 concs). Tea and coffee available before the performance. www.lunchtimelive.co.uk

course of 80 years a cat and mouse game developed, with the British state making repeated attempts to shut down the nascent Cotswold tobacco agronomy and thus defend the imperial model of using slave-labour to farm tobacco in the American colonies.

13 October, Hen & Chicken, Rob Newman. Fresh from his BBC Radio 4 series ‘Rob Newman On Air’, the award-winning comedian’s new show is a stand-up epic that goes from cave paintings to car-free cities to ask: Who are we? Where are we going? And how do spiders fly? Rob Newman tells a story of how dancing in step saved prehistoric humans and how new scientific discoveries may help us take the right steps to a life after oil.

13 October-12 November, Bristol Old Vic, ‘Hamlet’. Hamlet’s father is dead. His mother has remarried. He is alone with his thoughts. Then, he speaks. Haunted by grief, and with his world spinning violently out of control, Hamlet has to make some decisions: forget or remember; live or die. Rising star Billy Howle (The Serpent; MotherFatherSon;

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‘There’s a Rang-Tan in My Bedroom, and Other Stories’

On Chesil Beach) returns to Bristol Old Vic to play the title role. This visceral new production directed by John Haidar (Richard III) excavates the dark subconscious of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy.

13-15 October, Bristol Old Vic, ‘For A Palestinian’. Join Bilal as he ventures through the orange groves of Jaffa, Rome’s piazzas, and the Duty-Free aisles of Luton Airport, piecing together this untold story, and asking what it means to be a Palestinian in the West.WoLab presents the ‘astonishingly powerful’ For A Palestinian, performed by Bilal Hasna, star of upcoming Disney+ series Extraordinary, and directed by Aaron Kilercioglu.

16 October, Arnos Vale Cemetery, Pocket Opera. Pocket Opera are back at Arnos Vale for another afternoon of top-class entertainment. Pat Leighton, Helen Roberts and Martin Le Poidevin, accompanied by Kathy Gibbs, return with another fantastic afternoon of music. In the first half we’ll be exploring songs which mention birds - from many different countries and many different times; from the West End to folk songs to classical. Then in the second half we’ll have the Pocket Opera itself: arias and ensembles imagining a dinner party in which the greatest opera composer got together.

18-22 October, Tobacco Factory, ‘Beautiful Evil Things’. What if there was another take on the Trojan War, an untold breathtaking adventure you had never heard before? Enter Medusa. She was there. Monstrous gorgon? Snakes for hair? A turn-to-stone glare? Perhaps. But she was there – as a bodiless head strapped to the shield of a goddess. Her foreveropen-eyes saw it all: Epic combat. Mighty swords. Giant horsesculptures filled with men. But as the war raged on, Medusa’s petrifying gaze focused on three extraordinary women who might just hold the key to her ultimate hope.

27 October, Redgrave Theatre, Isy Suttie. Ever since she can remember, Isy Suttie has been searching for ways to make her life more exciting: ouija boards, exploring derelict houses and jumping off things for a bet. She often meets others who share the same love of pushing the boundaries: the Welsh taxi driver who found a mischievous way of brightening up his day, and a

neighbour who created a network of tunnels beneath his house just for the fun of it. Now, things have changed: she’s got children of her own and a partner who detests surprises. In her return to live stand-up, she asks whether it’s enough to try and find that buzz on mum’s weekends away or on family walks in the woods, and quite why she continues to hunt for it at all costs.

27-29 October, Tobacco Factory. ‘There’s a Rang-Tan in My Bedroom, and Other Stories’. Imagine waking up to find a turtle bathing in your bathtub, an orangutan bouncing on your bed and a jaguar creeping through your kitchen! But how did they all get here? And why on earth are they all so far from home? Join us for a magical mix of puppetry and music as we discover more about our animal friends and what we can do to help – because no one is too small to make a difference.‘There’s a Rang-Tan in my Bedroom & Other Stories’ is aimed at ages 5-11.

30 October, Tobacco Factory, Mark Thomas. Expect creative fun from one of our oldest surviving alternative comics. Taking down politicians. Mucking about. New ideas and finding hope. This award-winning comedian (is there any other type?) asks how did we get here? What are we going to do about it? Who’s up for a sing song? After lockdowns and isolation this show is about the simple act of being in a room together and toppling international capitalism.

Until 12 November, Bristol Hippodrome, ‘Beauty and the Beast’. This beloved ‘tale as old as time’ has been brought to life on

stage like never before, with all the charm and elegance audiences expect from Belle and her Beast. 25 years after its Olivier Awardwinning West End debut, members of the original creative team have reunited on this new production featuring all of the spellbinding songs of Alan Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice including ‘Belle’, ‘Gaston’, ‘Be Our Guest’ and, of course, ‘Beauty and the Beast’.

Selected dates until 17 December, Bristol Old Vic, The People’s Tour. Inspired by the people, performers and players who have walked the boards through Bristol Old Vic’s two-anda-half-century tenure, learn more about the world-class theatre and the productions that made history. The People’s Tour combines myth, fact and Bristolian folklore, as experienced tour guides expertly weave past and present into a thrilling and informative experience. The perfect morning for anyone with an interest in 18th–21st century theatre and the people behind Bristol Old Vic’s rich history. Spaces regularly included on the tour include: the new foyer; the Georgian auditorium, stage, gallery and pit passages; the Linbury Paintshop; the Weston Studio and Coopers’ Hall.

St Michael & All Angels and St Francis’s churches are holding a joint pre-Christmas Craft Market on Saturday November 12 at St Francis Church, North Street BS3 2AN. This will run from 10am until 3pm. Everyone is warmly invited to join us.

If you are an artist or crafter and would like to sell your work, please email Smaaanews@gmail.com

It is £15 for a slot, which includes hire of a standard table for the event.

Sellers keep all profits made. Come along and pick up hand crafted items for yourself or for Christmas gifts. Refreshments will also be available.

Elf Lyons

n NEWS FROM BRISTOL SOUTH MP KARIN SMYTH

KARIN Smyth, MP for Bristol South, has called on the newly selected Prime Minister, Liz Truss, to act now on the cost of living crisis as time is already running out for businesses and families across south Bristol.

The election of Liz Truss MP to the position of Leader of the UK Conservative Party means that she now becomes Prime Minister. She secured the lowest share of the vote of the 172,437 Conservative Party members in the history of the Tory Party with circa 57% of the vote. This means Liz Truss MP went into the leadership election with fewer Conservative MP endorsing her and the fewest number of Tory members supporting her in the

position of Prime Minister.

Liz Truss MP, marks the fourth Conservative Prime Minister of the country in the last 12 years. During this time wages have been at record lows and inequality has spiralled out of control alongside child poverty.

From October 1, the new energy price cap will come into force at £3,549 per year for dual fuel customers. Businesses do not have an energy price cap and some businesses are already declaring that they will have to cease trading. Predictions, which have been accurate for every price cap since so far, estimate that the cap in January 2023 could reach in excess of £6,000.

During the Conservative

leadership election, Liz Truss MP’s only offer was tax cuts and a spending squeeze on the public sector workers. Neither of which help tackle the cost of living crisis.

Karin Smyth said: “The Conservative Party has wasted the summer talking to themselves about unaffordable policies, niche pet projects and how much they can’t stand their own colleagues. This time could have been used to roll-out Labour’s energy price freeze to protect household budgets.

“I’m setting a challenge to the new Prime Minister to act now and follow Labour’s lead. She mustn’t stray away from our fully-costed plan as anything less

would see our already fragile economy tipped over the edge.

“Speculation is rife that the new Prime Minister will seek to implement her own version of Labour’s policy. When you delve into the details it becomes clear she wants to secure a buy-nowpay-later scheme. This will just increase people’s bills in the future: putting the burden on households instead of the broad shoulders of the gas and oil producing giants. This will be unacceptable to everyone.”

n NEWS FROM LOCAL COUNCILLORS

WE are as dismayed and disappointed as the many people who have contacted us that the development of the Bart Spice site on Mead Street will be going ahead. At the planning committee, the expert planning and transport officers were recommending that the 11-storey application be refused, but councillors from the Conservative and Labour parties voted them through.

This is despite the petition with 5,000 signatures to save the Totterdown escarpment and over 300 objections to the application; the fire safety concerns which will mean significant redesign; the poor light levels, so even in the middle of the day many flats will need to have their lights on; the fact that the proposal is ‘hyper-dense’.

One of the Labour councillors appeared not to have even read the committee paperwork

It is true that the development

will provide much needed affordable housing, and the overall site needs redevelopment.

But we need to make sure that we are building quality housing that promotes health and wellbeing, and make sure that the environmental standards are high, both for the climate crisis but also for the affordability of the energy bills for the future inhabitants.

One of the key problems is that the overall framework for the area (‘the Development Brief’) did not say anything about the height of buildings and failed to encourage developers to work together to create a future neighbourhood that works across the individual plots of land. Two more frameworks are being developed, for the Whitehouse Lane area and for the whole of the Temple Quarter.

Make sure you have your say when they are out for consultation.

AS mentioned in last month’s edition, Bristol City Council has successfully bid for £750k of Safer Streets funding from the government. Some of this funding is earmarked for the East Street/ Dame Emily Park area, and is intended to improve the safety of public spaces focusing on antisocial behaviour, crime and the safety of women and girls at night.

We will be meeting with council officers during October to discuss how this money can be most effectively utilised. Further discussions will also need to include consultation with the community, especially those most affected by crimes of this nature.

Another batch of funding available is up to £260k of Community Resilience Funding that is available for the most deprived part of our ward – which is the east of the ward, again including the East Street area and

down to York Road. Action Greater Bedminster will also be involved in helping to identify how best we invest this money, which again will involve working with local groups.

By now residents will be all too familiar with the ongoing problems of road works and diversions linked to the Bedminster Green development and the closure of Gaol Ferry Bridge. We continue to work with the council to try and reduce the impact on local residents and businesses alike.

Meanwhile, we await further planning proposals for Bedminster Green and, just outside our ward, the Ashton Gate Sporting Quarter, both of which may come to planning committee either in October or later this year.

WE have an excellent group of voluntary groups in Knowle and we are celebrating 20 years of the Friends of Redcatch Park. Originally set up with Chris as chairman, it got into full stride after a couple of years and helped transform the park.

Help came from the Redcatch Centre and Fun Day events, and physical improvements flowed and continued for many years. Some of the stalwarts retired a few years back and the attention switched to the excellent Redcatch Community Garden (which has marked its fifth anniversary).

The great community effort to repel the phone mast in the park reminded people of what had been built (Knowle has a very high public rating for its parks) and the Friends group is reinvigorating,

and building relationships with not only the Centre and the Garden but also The Park Football Club (which has marked its tenth anniversary).

Practically everything that makes Redcatch what it is has come from local effort, and the highly disappointing response of the council parks department is being highlighted as they seek to rewrite The Parks and Green Spaces Strategy. While this provided a framework for improvement from 2008, there has, over recent years, been a failure to honour previous promises made to our community on service and improvement funds.

We push for improvement and congratulate Arnos Vale Cemetery on its Green Flag status. A Knowle gem of which many residents are unaware.

AT this time, I’ve been reflecting on the life of the late Queen and her contribution to the UK and globally. Many people in Bedminster are mourning her passing at the age of 96.

Many of us have never lived during the reign of another monarch until now. Whatever your view on the monarchy, the Queen’s 70 years of dedicated service is an exemplar. I have signed the Book of Condolence at Bristol City Hall and represented Bedminster at the Proclamation of the new King, Charles III, on September 11, which was attended by a sizeable crowd, together with other councillors from across the political spectrum.

We are seeing great uncertainty, not only with the recent changes to the Head of State and Government, but also in the economy. The latest

support for energy consumers will establish an upper level for bills (depending on use, of course) over the next two years. This follows Labour’s call for a reduction in the proposed energy cap, which was clearly unaffordable for most people.

However, what is missing is any effort to claw back the costs of this support from energy companies, who are raking in massive profits, due to the rise in energy bills and the standing charges.

Also, the Treasury is doing rather well from the higher-thanexpected duties on fuel and energy. This is all unfair, especially for people on lower incomes with a disproportionate amount spent on rent and energy. Also, help for business, including SMEs is limited.

Gary Hopkins and Chris Davies Knowle Community Party councillors for Knowle

n MESSAGE FROM AVON & SOMERSET PCC

Queen’s passing is a huge personal loss to many

OUR great nation was shaken to its very core following the death of Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II.

I recognise that, of course, there are varying views on the monarchy but no one can deny the Queen’s positive contribution through her support to a vast number of charities, shining a light on the hard work of numerous organisations who make a difference to people’s lives.

Her Majesty the Queen has lived by her oath to spend every day of her life in service to her people. As an inspirational leader, she has been a great example to us all and nobody could have done more to serve this country and the Commonwealth.

I know many of our communities felt a huge personal

loss when the sad news of her death was announced on September 8.

For most, she is all we have ever known and, after speaking to colleagues, officers and residents, I think most people were surprised at the intensity of their grief.

The week between the announcement of the Queen’s passing and her funeral was a very sombre and solemn time and, over those ten days, I was determined to visit as many police stations as possible. So many of our police officers’ working life is born out of duty to the Crown and I know that they felt this loss acutely.

I have sworn allegiance to the Queen twice: firstly when I was Scout at the age of 11 and then,

as a young soldier of 19, I swore allegiance to the Queen and her family, to protect this country. Similarly, our police officers also swear an oath to the Queen and her death has had a huge impact on them.

I want to take a moment to thank and recognise the police officers, police staff and PCSOs across Avon and Somerset and the country for their work to help facilitate the numerous memorial events, proclamation ceremonies and the funeral of the Queen itself; their work and support has kept the public safe while they paid their respects.

I deeply share the sorrow that our united nation continues to feel at the passing of our Commander in Chief.

In many of our lifetimes, we

will never see a monarch reign for the length Queen Elizabeth II did, and to do so with grace, generosity and selflessness is astonishing.

Things will never be the same again but, having known King Charles III for over 30 years, I know he too will be a respected and dedicated monarch.

Let your little monsters run wild this Halloween at Wild Place Project

us at Wild Place this half term to explore our spooktacular Halloween

From Friday 21 October to Sunday 6 November grab a Halloween activity trail leaflet to guide you around our site. Can you find all of the

Explore the wild wood at Webb’s Brake, which will be transformed with Children who come dressed in their favourite Halloween costume, or bring a carved pumpkin to add to our trail, will receive a 20% discounted entry by using the voucher code: WILD20. Plus everyone who completes

There’s so much to discover at our 50-acre site (the equivalent of 25 football pitches). Be amazed as you travel through the award-winning Bear Wood with brown bears, lynxes, wolves and wolverines living in the natural surroundings these species would have done in England thousands of years ago. And in the walled garden, from South Africa, there is the everpopular colony of meerkats and a family of dik-diks, some of the smallest

In the space of a few hundred yards, your little ones can see giraffes from Cameroon, lemurs from Madagascar and gelada baboons from Ethiopia. You can even get up close and personal with our lemurs in our

This half term is also the perfect time to explore 50 acres of beautiful, autumnal outdoor space as our woodlands and the glorious Tower

Don’t miss our fascinatingly fun animal feeds and talks throughout the day (see the website and information board at the Wild Place entrance for details). And why not grab a coffee and enjoy a moment’s rest, whilst your children burn off some energy at our indoor and outdoor play areas dotted around the site! There’s so much to do at Wild Place Project this half term!

Every visit helps support Bristol Zoological Society’s conservation work

With Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Shelford

n NEWS FROM THE METRO MAYOR

Queen Elizabeth II - a life well lived

THE passing of anyone in their 90s, even in this new golden age of medicine, can hardly be considered a surprise.

But it was nevertheless shocking to hear those words out loud. The Queen is dead; long live the King.

She was a month older than Marilyn Monroe, three years older than Martin Luther King and 14 years older than John Lennon. She was older than Lego, air conditioning and the creation of the greatest pop group the world has ever known.

It felt like the Queen was always there; a fixture in the nation, as certain as the sun rising and setting each day.

Even as the world changed around her, as those figures from an unreachable past I’ve just mentioned succumbed to that one certainty in life, she remained.

But she changed with the times too. Even the most diehard republicans would have to admire her for her almost Beatle and Bowie-like ability to adapt and reinvent - to move, and excel, in a changing world.

While her longevity was impressive, her sense of duty was extraordinary - a life of im peccable service and conduct, carried out with

dignity and decorum.

Like during the first covid lockdown, when she gave a stirring tutorial in leadership for all politicians. Sporting her usual pearls and gazing steadily at the camera, she gave hope and calm where there was neither when she said those immortal words, echoing Battle of Britain and World War Two spirit: “We will meet again.”

The Queen’s sense of duty was perhaps illus trated best by her conduct during the securing of the Northern Ireland peace process.

This most terrible of conflicts had cost many thousands of lives on both sides - including a member of the Queen’s own family.

To see her shake hands with the head of the IRA, as peace was finally secured, was a momen tous event - showing why peace is so hard to obtain, and the character and personal sacrifices needed to make it happen.

So the grief for so many West of Englanders - for so many of you reading this column - is real and palpable, deep and heartfelt.

Many are in mourning, not just for a genu inely remarkable monarch but for a constant in all our lives - a reassuring and calming presence for so many, at home and across the globe.

The country the Queen came to symbolise

Metro Mayor Dan Norris writes for the Voice

by the lottery of birth is bigger than any one individual or institution. As one era ends, so another begins.

We face so many challenges, both as a na tion, and in our brilliant West of England.

Let us all then remember and live by the values which the Queen cherished, and which made her reign so special: duty, fidelity, and service to others.

If we not only remember these values, but also do our best to live by them, the Queen’s influence will live on well beyond her passing, to make us an even better nation and region.

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n LOCAL HISTORY

In which John cooks up a storm

I SEEM to have written a lot about sport in the RAF which helped to make service life bearable, but there was the other side of the coin covering on duty periods, which I suppose the authorities judged to be more important. My work as a Clerk Personnel in the Orderly Room was very boring and I still do not know what all the shuffling of paper achieved. This situation went on for about six months, when out of the blue I was offered a change. The new job would normally have been performed by Progress Clerks with an establishment of one NCO and one airman.

But as our unit did not have anyone trained in this field, I was ordered to fill the post and a WAAF sergeant was the NCO nominally in charge. I say nominally because she had no clerical experience at all; her position was that she took control of all the needs and requirements of the WAAFs on

the unit. This consisted of four permanent staff plus ten or so trainee cooks.

This sergeant was a career woman who was in her very late 30s or even her 40s. She had been in the WAAF from her teens and was a born and bred Cockney, proud of the fact that she was from Poplar. She acknowledged she knew nothing about clerical work and was even slightly frightened of all the paperwork that the RAF thrived on. She was therefore very happy to leave the office work to me and gave me a free hand and support.

So although I was doing the work of a Corporal, I was not able to be promoted to that rank as there was a Sergeant nominally in that position. I was however given a perk to partly make up. This was that I moved into the single room at the entrance to the accommodation hut; a facility normally afforded only to NCOs. This meant being that I not only had a room to myself with my own radio and control of the lights out, but I was excused Monday nights ‘bull cleaning sessions and Tuesdays inspection. I also avoided the occasional kit inspections. Although I could have used the extra wage of a Corporal, I did have quite a lot of freedom.

different. It was not manned by military police but by a Warrant Officer and two Corporal Drill Instructors. Their main interest was the discipline and parade marching of the trainees. The permanent staff were mostly ignored by them unless one of us stepped seriously out of line. The permanent staff came into contact with our Guard Room mainly to pick up weekend or leave passes and reporting back on return. I have spoken to many ex-national servicemen from all three services and I am sure that our life at No 2 School of Cookery was the cushiest of all.

As a lodger unit of the main camp, we were not called upon to do any guard drills. We did get involved as Fire Pickets (which entailed an all-night duty turning out once every hour to walk around the unit huts to ensure that nothing was on fire, plus waking the Duty Cooks at 6am so that they had the cooking ranges fired up for breakfast). I think this duty came up only twice in my 21-month stay.

I was called upon to attend three parades on the main patrol ground.

The first was to mark the death of King George VI and the others were Armistice Day parades. Even then our unit was hidden at the very back of the square so that our sloppy drill and marching was not apparent to the dignitaries on the podium at the front. We were not subjected to any of the silly tasks that you hear about such as whitewashing coal or cutting large areas of grass with scissors.

The only unusual occurrence we were involved in was an exercise when a large platoon from the army was going to attack the camp and we were called upon to defend it. Our position was as usual at the remotest of sites just inside the perimeter fence in a dried up stream bed behind a hawthorn hedge. We lay there with rifles trained from midday until the exercise was completed about 5pm and saw nothing. As it happened it was a lovely sunny summer’s day. Quite relaxing.

John’s wonderful recollections are sure to jog the memories of some of our readers. We would love to hear similar tales and see photos from the period. Please email these to news@southbristolvoice.co.uk or post them to us South Bristol Voice, 111 Broadfield Road, Knowle, Bristol BS4 2UX. All items will be safely returned to the sender. We would really love to hear from you!

Our office consisted of one room equipped with the usual desks and a number of filing cabinets. Perhaps the most important fixture was the coke burning stove which, from September to April, provided a regular supply of tea and buttered toast. The office was situated in the same building as, but behind, the unit Guard Room. The Guard Room in all main camps is a place regarded with apprehension by servicemen as it is the position from which punishments (jankers) are administered and is manned by service police, whose purpose in life is to observe and instil correctness of uniform, smartness and all the minutiae of service etiquette. It is a place where all comings and goings are registered.

Our unit Guard Room was very

John Fletcher in the 1950s

We continue our serialisation of Memories of Bristol Boyhood by Knowle resident John Fletcher, and this month he talks about his time in the School of Cookery.

beloved butcher

AT the corner property of 57 North Street, Southville, you can still clearly see the Victorian tiling that reads ‘A D Collard’ outside the former butchers’ shop which was run in its prime by Bedminster-born Louise Collard and her husband Aldred.

However, the letters ‘AD Collard’ are actually for Aldred’s father, Aldred Daw Collard, who had opened the shop in the 1850s. As was customary in the time before refrigeration, carcasses were displayed outside the property both for freshness and to entice potential customers. At one time, there were four butcher shops run by the Collard family in Bristol, with the other three being in Clifton, Old Market and Redcliffe Hill.

Louise and Aldred, who lived above the shop, had taken over the running of the Collard family business following their marriage in the mid 1890s.

Louise became a well-known and “strongwilled” local figure who had grown-up in the trade because her parents, Mr and Mrs Woodhall, had run a butchers shop around the corner on East Street.

Louise continued to work at the North Street shop until the 1960s when she was well into her 90s.

She was easily recognisable for always wearing her hair twisted up into a coil on the top of her head and securing it in place with tortoiseshell combs. She always wore a starched white coat but, in winter, added a black fur cape to keep herself warm.

There remained a Collard butchers shop at 57 North Street for more than 130 years, until the business closed in the late 1980s when Louise and Aldred’s son Alfred Henry Collard retired (the couple also had three daughters: Mercy, Audrey and Amy).

However, having since seen a number of years as a bric-a-brac shop, the building is currently the Friendly Records Bar.

Many original Victorian features have been restored in the interior of the property, as well as the glazed tiles and stained glass

windows depicting cows and sheep.

And another thing… Aldred Daw Collard, who started the business, was known as both ‘the worst poet in Bristol’ and ‘the poet butcher of Bristol’.

The small and badly weathered gargoyle and sign for ‘Poet’s Corner, 1882’ which can be seen opposite the shop on 57 North Street was a tender nod to his talents by his customers.

Aldred was known for writing meatthemed poetry of a poor quality. Despite being bad, his poetry was popular and Aldred donated the profits of his pamphlets to the General Hospital. One poem was entitled ‘The Redcliffe and Bedminster Christmas Meat Show of 1885’ and namechecked all of the 26 butcher shops between North Street and Redcliffe Hill.

This is an extract from ‘The Women Who Built Bristol: Volume Two’ by Jane Duffus. Books are available for £13 direct from the author (who is happy to sign copies) via her website: www.janeduffus.com

n LOCAL HISTORY

Hark the Herald sings again

YET another bedraggled newspaper has emerged from a recycling bin at Glenside Hospital Museum. And what a piece of history, as Britain enters the latest phase of Conservative government.

The moth-eaten copy of the Daily Herald, is dated 1 February 1950. Once a very popular national newspaper which grew out of an industrial dispute back in 1912, its lead story was headlined ‘YOU LOSE IF TORIES WIN; TUC puts election issues to workers.’

There were 8 million trade union members in those days, and the 1950 General Election was only weeks away. Despite the achievements of Attlee’s postwar government ushering in the welfare state, Labour’s majority of 145 was about to be reduced to a mere 5. In less than two years a snap election would put Tory Winston Churchill back in power with an overall majority of 17.

A youthful Harold Wilson, then President of the Board of Trade later to become a Labour Prime Minister, was out on the stump warning ‘A vote for the Tories is a vote given for dearer food’.

However the front page is dominated by a huge cartoon celebrating the arrival at the Herald of ‘Low’. Widely regarded as the top satirist of his day, David Low was to be knighted in 1983.

The election features throughout the paper, Bristol less so, but a reader from Knowle, F. Ewins, contributed ‘MAKE IT GENERAL EJECTION - OF TORIES’ to the ‘Reader’s Slogans’ column.

In the Classified Ads, Newman Industries, then a major employer in Yate, was looking for Draughtsmen.

The electric engine factory itself had been a target of the Luftwaffe. In other good news for Bristol the government was promising generous long-term state aid for the remodelling of areas ‘blighted’ by the wartime blitz.

Bristol got its biggest mention at the foot of the Sports Page, with predictions for winners at its greyhound stadiums. Who knows now if Noisy Paddy won the 7:36 at Knowle, or Coloured Schoolboy II won the 9:06? At Eastville, Keepers

Smack was scheduled to win the 8pm, with Timely Conqueror to triumph at 8:15, and Khan Dhu to take the 9pm from Cappagh Casanova.

The headline of the top of the page says it all: ‘CROWD YAWN AS ROBERTO PROIETTI BEATS BILLY THOMPSON: Slow hand-clap for crude boxing’.

’Racing pigeons to get more corn’ explained that members of the National Homing Union could now get 56lb of maple and dun peas from New Zealand and Tasmania each month. The increase from a 21lb ration foretold a bumper breeding season.

The only woman on the entire page is tucked away in a tiny filler at the foot of the sixth column: ‘Miss Gem Hoahing won the women’s singles title in the Western India lawn tennis championship in Bombay’.

She played at Wimbledon 19 times, reaching the fourth round twice. At 4’9” ‘The Mighty Atom’ was the shortest person to play in the tournament.

Elsewhere Fashion Editor Marjorie Proops reported from Paris about hats. Best known in her later role as agony aunt at the Daily Mirror, ‘Dear Marge’ was famed for her campaigning work around issues of sex and sexuality.

The only, showbiz story is the 21st birthday of ‘promising young film star’ Jean Simmons, who had made her name playing Estella in David Lean’s ‘Great Expectations’. Although surrounded by 19 cameramen, and posing with a variety of screen stars, the only picture shows Jean cutting her 7 foot, star-shaped cake watched by J Arthur Rank to whom she was under contract.

Elsewhere a classic ‘triumph over tragedy’ story tells of 7-year old ‘miracle child’ Janet Warren, born with two dislocated hips but rehabilitated at Great Ormond Street Hospital and now able to dance, run and ride a bike.

After a ‘3-hour tussle in icy sea’, two sick men had been rescued by plane from Britain’s most southerly base in the Antarctic, where they had spent a three year stint on a scientific mission.

And how’s this for new technology? ’Ring up for news’ advises a tiny News In Brief (NIB) at the foot of the front page. ‘Switzerland inaugurates tomorrow a system by which telephone subscribers dial three numbers and get latest news.’

But, according to the paper’s American correspondent Arthur Webb ‘The art of striptease is on its last legs, victim of television and the Bikini two-piece bathing suit.’

Hard to believe this stalwart voice of the labour movement was relaunched after its closure in 1964 - as The Sun.

* The Glenside Museum is open 101pm on Wednesday mornings and 10-4pm on Saturdays www.glensidemuseum.org.uk

Mike Jempson has been delving into the museum’s wastepaper bins and finds an absolutely classic story for our readers

Jean Simmons cuts her cake

The nation’s Agony Aunt

Councillors respond

WE are responding to the inventive and abusive letter printed last month from Mark Hayward on behalf of the objectors to the Broadwalk development. Obviously the development is vital to Knowle. The planning application has been made and will be worked on by us and planning officers before it goes in front of an all party panel of councillors for decision. There will either be a green light for new shops, flats, cinema/theatre etc, or we will be left with an increasingly derelict 50 year old shopping centre that is being abandoned by shops and shoppers alike.

Every development has to be financially viable to get built and Broadwalk is particularly challenged, as planning officers have confirmed, because many millions will have to be spent preparing the ground before any profitable building can start. The

objectors’ line that they want development but not just this one is bogus, as they opposed the plan three years ago that got unanimous planning approval and they have no alternative then or now.

When we opposed the mayor’s closure plan for Jubilee we had an alternative of community

management. If this rescue plan is turned down there will not be a large gang of unicorns with £150m tucked away to ride to the rescue. We recognise that with every new development there will be aspects that not everyone likes, but inventing issues and making up stories is no way to treat this vital issue.

We understand the big picture and detail very well and that is why some descend to political abuse. The arrogance of comparing themselves with the excellent campaign against the mast, that we were happy to help and support, defies description.

Note from the Editor:

At South Bristol Voice, we are pleased to publish almost any reader letters that we receive, but please be sure to include your name and address. If you would rather these details were not printed, please let us know. However, we are unable to consider letters received anonymously for publication.

Letters can be sent to news@ southbristolvoice.co.uk. Thank you!

Bursary

Councillors Gary Hopkins and Chris Davies, Knowle Community Party

View of Redcatch Quarter, part of the Boardwalk redevelopment

Are you wildlife friendly or wildlife hostile?

By Ben Barker, Secretary, BS3 Wildlife Group

THERE has been a steep decline in numbers and species of wildlife in Bristol. Gardeners have a key role in moving the city from wildlife hostile to wildlife friendly.

Front, back and community gardens are vital to making Bristol more wildlife friendly for three main reasons.

Firstly, if you add the gardens together they make up a large area, probably more than all Bristol’s parks together. Secondly, they are of high wildlife quality.

Recently, UWE undertook a survey of

Azure

different types of land across the UK. They looked at gardens, parks, nature reserves, car parks, road verges and more asking, “on average, what range of plants and animals lived in a square yard?” Gardens were well ahead with more native plants, insects and other creatures. Of course, some gardens are more productive than others and one of the BS3 Wildlife Group’s aims is to encourage local gardeners to be even more productive.

The third advantage for gardens is that they can help animals move about in search of food, shelter and mates. Gardens are next to each other whereas bigger spaces are often isolated. Birds move around easily, but it’s not so for frogs and hedgehogs. The BS3 Hedgehog Project (bs3.hedgehog.project@gmail.com) is already looking at this by encouraging people to make small holes in their fences so that

hedgehogs (and other creatures) can move from garden to garden to park.

If you would like to know more about the BS3 Wildlife Group and similar organisations, contact us at mywildbedminster@virginmedia.com

In witch I don’t sail away into the sunset

WE have a static caravan by the sea. Some friends have just bought a van on our site. This was nice/annoying. We bought a van to get away from everyone. Also, their van is top of the range. Nicer than ours. I was pleased for them. I was. These friends also treated themselves to some kayaks. This last purchase made Himself jealous. He dragged me into his wanting.

“Look at this,” he cried, eyes sparkling with boyish excitement as he flicked through his ipad “a

duo kayak. Let’s go test drive one.” He patted my knee “it’s something we can do together”. I narrowed my eyes. I do not do boats or things that bob about. But he wore me down and I begrudgingly made the booking to try one out.

It was a nice drive out to Poole, the sun was shining and all was good despite a slight hiccup when my satnav directed us into the middle of a caravan park – cross words were had. We eventually found some water and a hut surrounded by sports paraphernalia; three tanned bored surfer dudes eyed us with little

interest. We checked in and one of the dudes threw life jackets at us. Extra large for me, which I thought was rude but then struggled to do the zip up. Damn it.

We dragged the two-seater kayak down to the slip where a gaggle of tourists watched curiously over dripping icecreams. We got in without mishap and paddled away. I say paddled, we actually pedalled. These kayaks are not your normal paddle operated number. Oh no. It has pedals for your feet, with fins under the boat that propel you along. It’s nice and easy, no accidental splashing yourself in the face. We glided around one of the largest harbours in the world and it was fine. Surfer dude who accompanied us did a good job selling its features and we pedalled back to shore.

Himself was buzzing, he loved it. I tried to replicate his enthusiasm but failed. It was not for me.

We once spent a family weekend kayaking down the river Wye. We wild camped in a farmer’s field, after we’d set up the tent a horrible rancid odour drifted

across. In the river, next to our tent, a dead sheep was snagged on a branch. It had been there a while, rotting away. We went to bed early, heads under sleeping bags. The second day was hard work, the scenery was the same, high banks and bushes. I got bored and grouchy. No, kayaking is not for me.

Luckily, they didn’t have a duo model in stock so I happily persuaded him to buy a kayak for one. Phew.

The day of the maiden voyage was gorgeous. The sea was flat and glassy. He launched perfectly and peddled off into the sunrise with his fishing gear. He looked cool and everyone was happy.

Six hours later and he pedalled back. The beach was busy. I watched him, little feet pumping away, speeding along the shore. I noticed that I was not the only one watching. A

ll the menfolk sitting on that beach sat up like meerkats observing his progress in awe and wonder. Then one wise guy piped up “I think it’s a pedalo but where’s the swan’s head?”

I did giggle, I did.

New media suite for youth club

LOCAL charity Young Bristol has unveiled its new media suite thanks to a generous donation from Bristol-based recruitment company SR2 (Socially Responsible Recruitment).

Young Bristol is one of Bristol’s leading youth charities, providing critical out-of-school opportunities for children and young people in communities across the city. The charity offers a variety of community-based youth services, including their eight community youth clubs, which have been serving Bristol’s communities and families for generations.

Charities across Bristol are hugely reliant on the support of local donors, fundraisers and corporate partners to ensure that they can continue to make a greater impact, and it is the support of local businesses such as recruitment company SR2, that Young Bristol can continue to change the lives of the young people they work with.

The ‘SR2 Media Suite’ which has been named after the local business to recognise their incredible support, will inspire young people through the use of media activities, supporting them with CV writing, homework guidance and accessing future employment opportunities, as well as helping the young people who access the Youth Club to explore the tech industry as a career option; something that is important to SR2 and their beliefs. The media suite which is fully equipped with work stations, computers, a projector and podcasting equipment, will also look to host music activities and workshops.

Chris Sheard, CEO of SR2 said, “It has been an absolute honour to work with Young Bristol over the last 18 months and I couldn’t be prouder of the partnership we have formed. Lee and his team work tirelessly to support these children with their personal development and self-belief making them feel valued and part of something. It really is incredible to see.”

Lee Williams, Chief Executive of Young Bristol added, “SR2 have gone above and beyond to support Bristol’s children and young people over the last two years. From addressing food poverty at our Clubs, to volunteering over 102 hours at our community venues and funding the new SR2 Media Suite – it is inspiring to see their dedication and commitment to supporting local causes and making a real difference.”

Major £15m plan to expand places for pupils

A MAJOR investment of £15 million will see 204 extra places for pupils with special educational needs in Bristol.

Demand for special needs places in Bristol is rapidly rising, and the city has faced several problems with its special educational needs and disability (SEND) provision. Mayor Marvin Rees said the new investment will help meet this growing demand.

Mr Rees said: “We all want children to have the best opportunities in life, no matter their background. That’s why we’re supporting the opening of new schools and expanding existing ones, to make sure we meet the growing demand for school places.”

The investment forms the second phase of a major upgrade of SEND provision in Bristol. The first phase is creating 142 specialist places by February next year, including a new £8.5-million building for the Elmfield School for Deaf Children, due to open by Easter.

Elsewhere, two new high schools will open next year, as demand is also rising for mainstream places. Both will be run by the Oasis Academy, and initially be in temporary accommodation, before moving to newly constructed buildings.

The Daventry Road school will open in temporary accommodation in Hengrove next September. It will then move to a planned new building on Daventry Road in Knowle from September 2024. The new Temple Quarter school will open on Spring Street in Bedminster, before moving to Silverthorne Lane in 2025.

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