southbristolvoice
April 2022 No. 76
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We Sell and Let Property Like Yours
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INSIDE Western harbour row Page 7
Dock trains steam up 150 years
Wicked Witch of Knowle Page 11
Bristol Harbour Railway was formally opened on 11 March 1872 by Lady Mayoress, Mrs Elizabeth Hare and was used to transport goods arriving by ship including coal, esparto grass, wood and meat, as well as alcoholic beverages such as sherry and Guinness. A great deal of goods traffic was moved on the railway throughout its working life including vital war supplies during both world wars. More on page 20
The working class princess Page 14 Letters Page 22
Redcatch Park phone mast latest Page 28 Sport Page 30 What's On this month Page 32-35
Budget finally approved with Council tax up by 2.33% By Adam Postans, Local Democracy Reporter:. Council tax will rise by 2.99 per cent in Bristol after the city council passed its budget at the second attempt. But the pact agreed in advance between Labour mayor Marvin Rees’s administration and opposition Conservatives, which ensured the financial plans for the next 12 months and beyond had enough votes, was blasted as an
“unholy alliance” and an antidemocratic “stitch-up”. It means the local authority’s portion of council tax will rise by £55.20 to £1,901.22 for an average Band D property and by £42.93 to £1,478.72 for Band B households, which are the most numerous in the city. Adding on the much smaller increases for Avon & Somerset Police and Avon Fire Authority, total
bills landing on Band D doormats from April 1 will be £2,230.37 and for Band B £1,734.74. Full council, which met on Wednesday (March 2), first had to decide on the budget as amended at the previous meeting last month when members voted in favour of five of the nine sets of proposed opposition changes – four by the Continued on page 3
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Ruth Drury Sales director 07590 527664 sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk Harry Mottram News Editor news@southbristolvoice.co.uk
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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.
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:
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
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
Housing benefit 0117 922 2300 Social services 0117 922 2900 Police Inquiries 101 Emergency 999
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n NEWS
Approved at second attempt with abstentions and recriminations Continued from page 1 Greens and one by Knowle Community Party, but none of the Conservatives’. But because the mayor had not accepted all these, it required a two-thirds majority to succeed and the Labour and Tory councillors’ votes ensured it fell by 33-27. Mr Rees’s alternative budget, which included some of the Greens’ wish list such as residents’ parking schemes and protecting free parking, along with Conservative requests to repair Kingsweston Iron Bridge and reduce bulky waste collection charges, among others, was then approved after another debate. Members voted in favour by 34-8 with 18 abstentions, as some Greens, along with both Knowle Community councillors, opposed it, while other Greens and the Lib Dems abstained. Bristol’s mayor told the meeting he had three options following the previous attempt to pass the budget – accept all the amendments, which he said he couldn’t because of
where the cuts were going to come from to pay for them; resubmit his original, unaltered budget, which would have been “unnecessarily adversarial”; or find a compromise, which he had done. Cllr Heather Mack, leader of the main opposition Greens, said the
revised budget had some positives but it excluded several of her group’s suggestions which full council had approved last time, including reopening public toilets. She said: “It is fundamentally wrong to make deep cuts to services like those in this budget while also adding millions to the council’s reserves.” Green Cllr Martin Fodor said the Conservative-Labour agreement was an “unholy alliance”, adding: “This isn’t a cross party budget, it’s a backroom deal budget where a Labour-Tory coalition seeks to bypass the actual representation across the city.” Lib Dem group leader Cllr Jos Clark accused the mayor of putting his interests above the city’s by cutting a deal that was “stitched up behind the scenes, not in the public gaze”. She said: “The mayor chose to speak to the Tory party rather than seek consensus. “The budget as passed has reintroduced measures that full council voted against – achieving in private what they failed to in public.” Knowle Community Cllr Gary Hopkins told the meeting that Conservative and Labour members were performing “somersaults” by voting the opposite way to a fortnight earlier. Conservative group leader Cllr Mark Weston said: “The budget isn’t perfect but this is a time for pragmatism and responsible, grown-up politics.” Mr Rees told members: “This is a budget for homes, a budget for inclusion and a budget for decarbonisation. We are
unapologetically ambitious.” He said afterwards: “I’m pleased that councillors recognised that we incorporated cross-party proposals and voted across party lines to support this budget. “There were, in total, 17 revisions to the budget initially put forward – these were sensible, well-reasoned spending proposals and I was happy to incorporate them into the budget. “This budget is first and foremost a housing budget and includes £1.8billion worth of investment for Bristol’s council homes, which will see us build 2,000 council homes by 2028, spend £80million on making homes more energy efficient and provide funding for council tenants to upgrade their bathrooms. “This budget passing means we can maintain the council tax reduction scheme at the 100 per cent rate, meaning 38,000 families don’t have to pay any council tax, and double the Local Crisis Prevention Fund – giving emergency grants to people in need of financial support. “Frontline services and community assets such as schools, libraries, and children’s services remain protected and invested in, despite continued austerity. “I am immensely proud of this budget and the fact we have managed to bridge the savings gap while protecting the city’s worst-off and investing huge sums of money in council homes.” The previous full council meeting of Bristol City Council, on February 15, ended when Mr Rees exercised his right to take five days to reconsider the budget following the successful amendments.
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Growing up in that environment I struggled to have a normal childhood. I always felt like drugs came first and I wasn’t enough for my parents to stop.
By reporting, you can help families affected by drugs get the support they need A child could be depending on you To report concerns about drugs anonymously, call independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or report online www.crimestoppers-uk.org Police can intervene and help
How
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n NEWS
Letter from the Police Reducing the harm caused by drugs and safeguarding vulnerable children in South Bristol You may have started to notice our posters around South Bristol and on buses, which focus on the harm drugs cause to individuals and communities. Our work involves helping people who are vulnerable, including children who are impacted by drug use and supply. We recently carried out a warrant at an address in Hartcliffe following information that the property was linked to the cultivation of drugs. We uncovered a cannabis grow with an approximate street value of £30K in the loft of this property which was being serviced by an unsafe electrical supply that could have been a fire risk. A family with three young children were also living here and it was apparent they were struggling with daily household tasks. They have since been referred for support and safeguarding. A forty four year-old man has been charged with production of cannabis and is due to attend court. We understand that some people may not want to report their concerns because they are worried about getting a neighbour or friend into trouble, but this isn’t necessarily the case. Our approach is one of support without judgement. Ultimately we want to keep people safe. If you have concerns about a neighbour, particularly where you suspect children may be living in unsafe or unsuitable conditions, please do report to the police. Either directly by calling 101 or online at www. avonandsomerset.police.uk/report. You can also report anonymously to Crimestoppers via their website or by calling 0800 555 111. A child could be depending on you. Inspector Stephanie McKenna
Central Library: The Council have announced plans for a major update of the Central Library. In a statement they said: "Following a successful bid to create an event and exhibition space, and to modernise study spaces, Bristol Libraries service will receive £117,650 of Arts Council England funding to update the facilities of the reading room in the historic Grade I listed library on Deanery Road. "The two floors of the reading room will be transformed to meet the needs of twenty-first century library users and to welcome more community groups, city partners and external event organisers to use the space. "Among the work to be carried out is the refurbishment of the listed study tables, adding energy efficient lighting and sockets for charging laptops and devices, which will create 96 modern and accessible study spaces. The adjacent marble exhibition corridor will also be upgraded to include secure display units, hanging displays and interactive touch
display screens. "Visitors to the library will be able to easily access items from the extensive local history collections on new interactive display screens, bringing Bristol’s story to life in a more accessible way than ever before." Councillor Ellie King, Cabinet Member with responsibility for libraries, said: “It is fantastic news that Bristol Libraries service has been successful in its bid for this improvement fund from the Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), administered by Arts Council England." The funding will help deliver suggestions proposed during a citywide community engagement process with residents and library staff which was carried out in 2019. Ideas proposed then included holding more events such as performances and evening shows, different uses for the buildings on closed days and out of hours, as well as increased opportunities for community groups to use the Central Library.
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Get ready for Bristol’s Clean Air Zone
Summer 2022
Bristol is introducing a Clean Air Zone to reduce harmful pollution. Older and more polluting vehicles will be charged to enter the zone. Check your vehicle online and find out how we can help you prepare for the zone.
bristol.gov.uk/cleanairzone
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n NEWS
Row breaks out over Western Harbour plans with 'nothing to scrutinise' say councillors By Adam Postans, Local Democracy Reporter. Frustrated councillors expecting to examine fresh proposals to revamp the Cumberland Basin were presented with “nothing to scrutinise” but “kids’ drawings”. They had hoped to hear detailed results from early engagement with the public, along with new plans for the area that Bristol City Council now calls Western Harbour, at a council meeting on Monday (February 28). But despite the imminent launch of a six-week consultation on Thursday, March 10, growth and regeneration scrutiny commission members were given a short report and shown 15 slides mostly of photographs from the series of “visioning days” held in the autumn when the local authority went back to the drawing board after losing residents’ trust over its intentions. The slideshow also included a “vision” for the future Western Harbour comprising four guiding “principles” but no detail and a few sentences “distilled” from the feedback at the events called listening labs and creative workshops, which involved actors and activities including plasticine modelling. Baffled councillors criticised the lack of information to get their teeth into about the vision, which proclaims that “as a gateway and connection point, the area will be both edge and centre”. They expressed fear that the consultation would be a meaningless “tick-box
exercise”. They also pointed out the four principles going back out to consultation – ‘Be a distinctive gateway to Bristol’, ‘Support a thriving community’, ‘Build on its tradition of innovation’, and ‘Embrace freedom and nature’ – could apply to anywhere in the city, so everyone would agree with them anyway. Officers pleaded with members to “bear with” them and said the timing was unfortunate because while there would be some more detail published by March 10, it wasn’t ready in time to present at the meeting. They said the four “emerging themes” were only very high level principles at this stage and that a masterplanning phase lasting 12 to 18 months would begin in the summer to come up with details like how many new houses and changes to the ageing network of roads and flyovers. Green Cllr Emma Edwards said: “No one is criticising the public engagement or the way that was done through arts. That was great. “But from a position of scrutiny we haven’t got anything to scrutinise. “We haven’t seen what people have said. We’re seeing photographs of kids’ drawings which is lovely but we can’t really scrutinise kids’ drawings. “It’s the lack of data that we can’t really do much with at this stage.” Conservative group leader Cllr
One of the slides shown to Bristol City Council\'s growth & regeneration scrutiny commission on Monday, February 28, which showed the \"vision\" for Western Harbour
Top is an aerial image of Cumberland Basin from Google Earth. Below: One of the slides shown to Bristol City Council's growth & regeneration scrutiny commission on Monday, February 28, which showed kids' drawings and collages during Mark Weston said: “You’re definitely consulting on incredibly high principles, and I get it. However, I’m not sure how you can consult on four points, like ‘Are you for or against a gateway to Bristol?’ “There are no details to consult on. ‘Are you for or against embracing freedom and nature?’ I’m an ‘evil Tory’ and even I’m in favour of those things. “I just don’t know how you can consult on that without there being more detail.” Labour Cllr Tim Rippington said: “I feel your pain, Mark, because I’ve seen so many consultations in this city where the questions are things like ‘Do you think we should have a greener, cleaner city? Yes or no?’. “I do fear this will be another of those and wonder whether it’s going to be a meaningful consultation or just a tick-box exercise. This is a failure in general of the way we consult in this city.” Executive director of growth
and regeneration Stephen Peacock told members: “This is the delivery of exactly what we said we were going to do which was the vision piece, not the masterplan. “So it’s not spectacular, it’s not some lightning-and-thunder moment, because what we tried to do was draw on a broad base of all Bristolians to come up with what they thought this place could be. “This isn’t the council giving a view, it’s the people giving a view which we are amplifying and sharing with Bristolians. “It is a modest but useful starting point to the next bit which is where we fill in those four headings, such as what does a ‘gateway’ really mean. “A masterplan where these things are discussed is the next stage, which people will be really excited by.” Cabinet is expected to consider the results of the upcoming consultation in June and agree a procurement and funding strategy.
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NEWS IN BRIEF Shark book: Playworker, Melanie Ruth, has been working with primary school children from Ashton Gate Out of School Care and Ashley Down After School Club to create an eco-book by children for children, with contributions from local environmental champions. Mel said: “I’d really like the children’s voices to be heard. Their work is delightfully illustrated, charmingly misspelt and they are an inspiration to work with. They all have something to say about what’s happening to our planet and how we can help.’’ The book, No More Baby Sharks! (pictured) is a selection of the work being published by Bristol-based publisher Tangent Books to coincide with the M-Shed’s exhibition: Think Global, Act Bristol. Scheduled for June, the children’s work will also be part of the exhibition. Richard Jones, Tangent Books said: “This is an unusual and historical documentation of our times’’. He is behind this unique local book, but being a small independent publisher, Mel needs
to raise £5,000 for it to be printed. She has set up a Go Fund Me page, which within the first month has already raised a fifth of the amount needed. She said: “People’s generosity has been overwhelming, but we still have a long way to go to raise the money to cover the cost of printing. It would be wonderful to make this project happen and have the book ready in time for the M-Shed’s exhibition, which looks at what we can all do locally to make the world a better place.” Even though not everyone is able to be part of the book, there are plans to create a platform where all the contributions can be seen, once the exhibition has ended. To find out more, go to: https:// gofund.me/be69e17d Tea for Two: A cafe has celebrated a year in business at 245 Redcatch
Road in Knowle. Samantha Vile opened Tea for Two at Gifts for You during the Covid crisis but managed to survive and is looking forward to better times. The cafe serves teas, coffees and soft drinks as well as toasties , jacket potatoes, soup, sandwiches, rolls, quiche, salads and cakes. The business also has a party room for hire which also features activity days for children during the school holidays. Plus there are the gifts on sale of hampers, bath bombs, bath salts, candles, wax melts, carpet dust, room sprays, handmade cards, gift wrap and local honey. Greens: Bristol Greens Community Interest Company deliver baskets of local, organic produce (either grown by the company or local farms, to homes in Knowle, Totterdown, Windmill Hill and Bedminster. As well as fruit and veg they also include foraged produce and a bunch of flowers each week. At the same time, they donate a lot of food to a local food bank. All surplus produce that they grow gets donated, and they also take food donations from their customers in their empty baskets,
that they leave out for them each week. See the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ bristolgreeensbasketscheme They use only home compostable packaging and all the produce that they buy in is organic. In a statement they said: "We grow all the produce in an allotment in Brislington and a walled garden in the Forest of Dean, but we are currently bidding on the council owned old Let's Grow site in Knowle West, and would love to take on that land and get it fully productive. "
Eliza is the Head Grower and Head Gardener for Bristol Greens
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Agatha Christie fan Molly's new books
A young fan of Agatha Christie has been given dozens of books by Ruth Drury who wanted to pass on her collection of crime novels to someone who would appreciate them. Molly,12, has just started at senior school and is dyslexic. Her Mum explains that she wondered at one point if Molly would ever manage to read well, let alone come to a point in her life where she could enjoy it. But Molly has surprised them all and is now a prolific reader, rarely without a book by her side. She was introduced to Agatha only last month and has already spent all of her pocket money on the author's books. Her Mum was worried the collection would cost her a small fortune and so posted on local socials. Ruth came to the rescue with more books than Molly could ever have imagined. And the loveliest part of all was that Ruth wanted a contribution to Ukraine, rather than any remuneration for herself, so both Molly and her parents have pledged money and Molly's newly decorated room now has its very own Agatha Christie shelf (or two!)
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To advertise, contact sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk or Ruth on 07590 527664
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In witch the dog rules
W
henever I get up from the chair in the evening Scrappy Little Dog will rush to the back door and look at me with pleading eyes. Every time, I’ll say to her “Okay, but no woofing. Promise me?” She gazes up, unblinking brown puddles of sincerity. I waggle a warning finger and crack open the door, she shoots out, flying over the high steps and disappears into the darkness, barking. I sigh, slip on my shoes and reach for the torch peering after her, sweeping the garden with the bright beam. And there it is, Batman’s emblem. No, I don’t have a special ‘come rescue me spotlight’ but I do have a dog who has Batman’s call sign on her backside. It shines out of the darkness just like in the film, except this beacon doesn’t bring me a superhero. Oh no. This beacon wiggles off into the prickliest
THE WICKED WITCH OF KNOWLE
them raising a quizzical eyebrow. That dog is the boss of us. I went on holiday before Covid and left Himself in charge. They would get up in the morning and have a cup of tea together. Himself would go to work and on his return take her for a walk. One evening they ventured over to Chew Valley Lake, stopping for an ice-cream at the café enjoying the tranquillity and last of the sunshine.
corner forcing me to fight through the roses to grab her, my hair ripping on thorns, shoes slipping on slugs and cusses hissing through tight lips. We fall back through the door where Scrappy, knowing I’m cross, scampers up to Himself and leaps onto his lap. They both watch me collapse in my chair, bits of twigs caught in my curly mop and mud smeared down my jeans. Himself stroking her like the baddy from James Bond, both of
A couple appeared with two impressive German Shepherds. Scrappy hates Germans. She went for them, a tiny black ball of rage, bouncing on the end of her lead. The Germans stalked past not even glancing at her, like a couple of super models.
I took Scrappy to Ashton Court recently. She ran off which was a bit odd. I lost sight of her then spotted a dark form running at speed towards another dog far away. I shouted her name loudly and whistled shrilly, tripped over a stone, recovered, started to panic. She was happily trotting off with the other dog’s family and about to disappear out of sight. I screamed her name in my high pitched doggy voice. People turned and stared. Scrappy’s head popped out from some long grass next to me. I’d been calling the wrong dog. Get a dog. It’s fun.
The owners, equally beautiful, looked pityingly at Scrappy and Himself (both had ice-cream dotted on their beards). Himself scooped Scrappy up, tucked her struggling body under his arm and lopped back to the car, muttering.
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KARIN SMYTH, MP for Bristol South
T
Bristol's proud history of welcoming refugees
he scenes we are seeing daily from across Ukraine are ones we had hoped were confined to the history books, relics of an era when wars were waged against a peaceful neighbour for nothing more than territorial expansion. Alongside people across Bristol and beyond, I stand in solidarity with Ukrainians and against Vladamir Putin’s ruthlessly applied jackboot of oppression. Parliament also remains rightly united against this act of aggression - and the atrocities unfolding by the hour. These atrocities, committed by Russia with a calculated cruelty that we have seen before in Crimea and Syria, are now being investigated by several countries, with the UN General Assembly voting to condemn Russia’s actions on a scale never seen before. As telling as the massed votes to condemn Russia were some of those who abstained from doing so, instead of opposing; it would seem that the blatant barbarity on display in Ukraine is
too much even for Russian allies like China. But above everything, my thoughts have kept returning to the Ukrainian people, millions of whom have been forced to flee into neighbouring countries. Children continue to be disproportionately affected, with hundreds of thousands of young people seeking refuge in neighbouring countries and many more internally displaced as
indiscriminate shelling and air strikes intensify. The humanitarian needs of the people of Ukraine are critical, and we must do all we can to allow them safe passage to safer countries, including the UK, and send funds to charities working hard in Ukraine to get essential resources to those within the country and on the borders. Bristol has a proud reputation for being a welcoming city for refugees and asylum seekers and in 2010 Bristol was officially recognised as a City of Sanctuary. Bristol City of Sanctuary is part of a pan-UK network that aims to make our country a welcoming place of safety, proud to offer sanctuary to all who need it. They do so much fantastic work in our communities to make sure Bristol upholds it’s tradition of being a welcoming and inclusive city. As the crisis in Ukraine deppens, and more people are forced to seek safety in other countries, it is more important than ever that we do what we can
n HOME CARE & FUNDING
New Year, New Home Improvements WITH the new year comes new opportunities, and it’s a good time to start thinking about plans for the year ahead. If you’re a homeowner, you’ll know that the need for home repairs doesn’t go away, and that maintaining your home comes with a considerable investment in both time and money. With the increasing costs of materials and contractors catching up on a backlog of work, the planning stage of your home repairs project may well take longer than ever. At least the financing of your repairs or renovation project should be eased with a loan scheme funded by Bristol City Council to support homeowners across the city. If you are looking at making essential home repairs such as replacing your roof, updating your plumbing or electrics, or improving the energy efficiency of your home, the loan scheme may be what you have been looking for. Lendology CIC are the Social Enterprise lender working in partnership with the council for over 15 years. Their friendly team will discuss your finance requirements and household circumstances, and can support a wide range of homeowners, including those who are self-employed, in receipt of benefits,
to support people in need of sanctuary and present ourselves as a welcoming and safe destination. I know how much generosity Bristolians have shown to refugees and those fleeing persecution down the years, and know they will continue doing so throughout this current crisis. It is crucial that we remain united against the jackboot of tyranny and continue to show solidarity with the people of Ukraine. Labour stands shoulder to shoulder with our NATO allies, and will continue to do all we can to ensure laws are enacted at home to support our Ukrainian friends and punish Putin’s aggression. If any constituents would like to support people in Ukraine, I would encourage donations for the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC), who distribute funds to DEC charities and local partners in Ukraine and neighbouring countries to provide food, water, shelter and medical assistance to those in need. Tom Jackson, Commercial Lead
We Care & Repair
5 Hide Market, Waterloo Road, Bristol BS2 0BH 0300 323 0700 www.wecr.org.uk info@wecr.org.uk Ellie Lister Service Delivery Manager
Lendology
www.lendology.org.uk, loans@lendology.org.uk, and 01823 461099
or retired. As an additional incentive, Bristol City Council is currently offering successful loan applicants up to £1,000 towards the cost of qualifying works*. With the scheme, you can choose your own contractor to provide quotes, or engage the support of We Care Home Improvements. A recent Bristol homeowner who benefited from the loan scheme said “I can’t sing Lendology praises enough, they went above and beyond. Very knowledgeable and
professional.” To find out more about a home improvement loan, call Lendology on 01823 461099, email loans@lendology.org.uk or visit www.lendology.org.uk For more information on the services provided by We Care Home Improvements, call 0300 323 0700 or visit www.wecr.org.uk * For qualifying works as determined by Bristol City Council. £1,000 loan reduction for works £2,000 or over, 50% for works under £2,000. This is a financial promotion approved by Lendology CIC. Lendology CIC is a trading name of Wessex Resolutions C.I.C.: a community interest company limited by guarantee, registered in England, company number 4512225. Registered address: Heatherton Park Studios, Bradford on Tone, Taunton TA4 1EU. Wessex Resolutions C.I.C is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (675263) for credit regulated activities.
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April 2022
southbristolvoice Advertising Feature
New Beginnings in Withywood
Age UK Bristol run the New Beginnings day centre in Withywood for people living with dementia Monday-Friday. New Beginnings offers a cooked lunchtime meal, varied social activities and a host of dedicated staff and volunteers to support visitors throughout the day, providing respite for carers. Transportation can also be provided for attendees. “I am really looking forward to my next visit, I enjoy spending time in the New Beginnings garden, it helps me to focus on other things. I am not much of a talker but I do enjoy listening.” - Attendee The centre follows strict health and safety requirements with regards to covid. If you know someone who would enjoy attending, please contact newbeginnings@ageukbristol.org.uk or ring 0117 987 8406 to discuss individual needs and costs for private paying visitors.
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April 2022
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n LOCAL HISTORY
The working class girl who turned society on its head By Harry Mottram. Tucked away off North Street in Bedminster, is Hebron Road Burial Ground, a small oasis of greenery complete with numerous graves dating from the mid-19th century to the early 20th. Overlooked by the Hebron Chapel there are few monuments and not too many gravestones suggesting many more unmarked graves are located there. Lying somewhere in the graveyard is the unmarked grave of Princess Caraboo who rocked Georgian society by turning the social order of the time upside down. Well, for a time she did, as eventually the truth about the mysterious appearance of the exotic Royal in Almondsbury in 1817 was revealed when her description and picture, were published in a Bristol newspaper. A boarding house owner recognised her as Mary Wilcocks, the impoverished daughter of a Devonshire cobbler. The game was up and once she was confronted to
her real identity, she admitted it had all been a hoax. That is only part of the story as for a few weeks she was believed by the gullible local gentry in the form of the Worralls of the South Gloucestershire village who she was taken to by the villagers mystified by her apparent inability to understand or speak English. She had been found wandering through the village clutching a cloth bag of scant possessions unable to speak English but instead spoke an unknown language. The idea of pretending to be something she wasn’t, was a way to gain attention and possibly a meal as Mary was a pauper. As one of a vast number of Britain’s poor who had to fend for themselves - Mary with no formal education had a gift for mimicry, a fine memory and a love of the theatrical, plus her beauty, she lived off her wits. Writing for the BBC Brian Haughton takes up the story:
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Princess Caraboo
“Thinking she was a foreign beggar the villagers took her to Mr Overton, the overseer of the local poorhouse, who, mystified by language and dress decided to take her to Knole Park, the home of Samuel Worrall, the county Magistrate. The Worralls sent the girl, in the company of two of their servants, to stay the night in the village pub. At the inn she noticed a print of a pineapple on the wall and pointed to it excitedly, pronouncing ‘Anana’, and demonstrating that it was a fruit of her homeland.” The story might have ended there had it not been for the mystery of her language. One of the Worrells' servants was Greek, and he couldn’t understand her. The Worralls tried French, Spanish and German words but failed to raise a glimmer of recognition. Seeing her chance and concerned she was to be sent to a poor house as a foreign beggar Mary began to talk in an invented language. By chance there was a Portuguese sailor in the village and he claimed to understand her. Was he in with Mary on the ruse? We’ll never know but the sailor said she was from an island in the Far East and was indeed royalty and was called Princess Caraboo. This changed everything. Mary was instantly seen as someone who transcended the class system. Her story of having been captured by pirates and jumping overboard and swimming to the shoreline in the Severn Estuary suddenly seemed possible. No longer a pauper destined for the poor house or to be charged with vagrancy she was seen as an exotic celebrity for the Worralls and their neighbours to show off. Dressing her in new clothes and given the status of a society princess the Worralls were soon the centre of what in 1817 passed for a media storm. She was taken to Bristol and Bath as a guest of society parties and held up as a novelty for her eccentric dress and behaviour. Newspapers wrote about Princess Caraboo’s every foible and appearance. Her desire to sleep on the floor, her ability with a bow and arrow and her extraordinary escape to England
by swimming for hours in the sea. That is until the Bristol landlady Mrs Neale exposed her and the game was up. Or was it? Initially she was humiliated but soon the press had a new story: that of a working-class girl who had duped the supposedly educated and worldly wise Worralls and their set. Mary had made a laughing-stock out of the rigid social structure of the time. However, it didn’t help her socially – keen to be rid of her Mrs Worrall paid for her to take a passage to the United States. There she was seen as the woman who had made fools of the English gentry and she began her new role as a minor celebrity dressed as Princess Caraboo telling her story at theatres and village halls. She returned to England in 1824 where she continued her new life entertaining audiences in London, Bristol and Bath, but the novelty soon faded and eventually she was married to Richard Baker (not the former BBC newsreader!) and gave birth to a daughter called Mary Ann in Bristol. Following the death of her husband she earned money by selling medical aids (including leeches) – a business her daughter continued. Mary died in 1864 and was buried in an unmarked grave in Bedminster’s Hebron Burial Ground. A fake princess yes, but in an age when the poor had few chances to escape their lot and for women in particular with no education or family wealth the choices were grim. Begging, prostitution, in service as a servant or the grind of work in the new factories springing up. Clearly Mary was naturally bright and perhaps in another age would have been an actress, a model or even a star of a virtual reality show on TV. But for the early 19th century she was someone who showed up the sham of a rigid class system and the evils of a world without a welfare state, an NHS or free state education. For more on the story there’s a comprehensive account and biopic of the affair in Jennifer Raison and Michael Goldie’s book The Servant Girl Princess Caraboo, plus The Curious Tale of Princess Caraboo, a historical novel by Catherin Johnson, published in 2015. And there’s a fanciful 1994 film version in which Mary falls in with a reporter called Gutch who rescues her once her cover is blown and they set off for America for a new life. The stage has seen a musical of Mary’s life which ran at London’s Finborough Theatre in 2016 to positive reviews. Clearly, if Mary had been alive today, she wouldn’t have ended up selling leeches in Bedminster but would have been a fixture on every chat show on TV.
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April 2022
Advertising Feature
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Sniff out Brunel's ss Great Britain this spring With Easter holidays just around the corner, we're looking forward to the fragrance of freshly cut grass and sprouting flowers as spring gets into full swing. However, life aboard the SS Great Britain did not smell quite as sweet. In fact, some of the odours of a nineteenth century passenger ship would be enough to send you overboard. Brunel's SS Great Britain, the 'world's smelliest museum', already includes hundreds of sights, sounds and smells. However, this Easter, they're inviting visitors to rate the smells and help them
choose new ones! Some of the new smells under consideration include the rich scents of dark chocolate and brandy, the homely aroma of roast beef, and the pong of boiled cabbage. Be sure to follow Brunel's SS Great Britain on social media for a look behindthe-scenes as they prepare for the holidays and book your tickets on their website to join in the fun. ssgreatbritain.org/easter
Get ready to experience hundreds of sights, sounds and smells at Brunel’s SS Great Britain, with brand new scents to discover on board this Easter. Plan your voyage at ssgreatbritain.org/easter
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April 2022
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n HOME CARE & FUNDING
Tom Jackson, Commercial Lead
Improve your Energy Performance Certificate to help slash your energy costs We’re all feeling the squeeze on our finances as the rate of inflation and living costs go up and energy prices continue to soar. Ofcom’s increase to the energy price cap will double household energy bills and push some households into fuel poverty. Now is the time to take action to improve our homes to save money. At Lendology CIC, we’re here to support homeowners to improve their homes. If you’re a homeowner, you’ll know that the need to maintain your home doesn’t go away and can often be costly. But don’t worry, you don’t need to have savings to be able to make these essential repairs. We work in partnership with Bristol City Council to provide accessible funds to a range of homeowners including those who are selfemployed, in receipt of benefits, or retired. Since 2005, we’ve lent over £3 million to homeowners across the city to fund home repairs and improvements and our holistic and flexible approach means that people make our decisions, not credit scores. A recent Bristol homeowner who benefited from the loan scheme said “Go ahead and apply! Lendology really takes care of their customers with reasonable lending rates that gives you peace of mind.” By improving your home, you can look to
We Care & Repair
5 Hide Market, Waterloo Road, Bristol BS2 0BH 0300 323 0700 www.wecr.org.uk info@wecr.org.uk Ellie Lister Service Delivery Manager
Lendology
www.lendology.org.uk, loans@lendology.org.uk, and 01823 461099
reduce your carbon emissions and potentially save money on your energy bills. You can find out how efficient your home is rated by looking at the energy performance certificate most commonly known as an EPC. The EPC is based on a home inspection and measures your property’s C02 emissions to calculate how efficient it is. The scale goes from A-G, with A being the most efficient and G the least. One way to lower your bills and increase your energy rating is to ensure your home is well insulated or install new low-carbon technologies. Your EPC will include recommendations to increase your
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energy rating and lower your bills. For energy advice, please contact local energy advice organisations such as the Centre for Sustainable Energy. To apply for a home improvement loan, call Lendology on 01823 461099, email loans@ lendology.org.uk or visit www.lendology.org. uk For more information on the services provided by We Care Home Improvements, call 0300 323 0700 or visit www.wecr.org.uk * For qualifying works as determined by Bristol City Council, you may be entitled to a a £1,000 loan reduction for works costing £2,000 or over, or 50% contribution for works under £2,000. This is a financial promotion approved by Lendology CIC. Lendology CIC is a trading name of Wessex Resolutions C.I.C.: a community interest company limited by guarantee, registered in England, company number 4512225. Registered address: Heatherton Park Studios, Bradford on Tone, Taunton TA4 1EU. Wessex Resolutions C.I.C is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (675263) for credit regulated activities.
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n NEWS Installation - Repair - Services
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By Local Democracy Reporter Adam Postans: The Government is on the cusp of approving a £95million bid to kickstart the huge Temple Quarter revamp, council chiefs believe. Hopes are high that funding is finally on the way to unlock one of the biggest city centre regeneration projects in Europe just weeks after Bristol mayor Marvin Rees accused Downing Street of broken promises when it was apparently left off a list of Levelling Up schemes. But senior City Hall officers told a recent council meeting that an announcement now seems imminent and that advanced talks with Whitehall had reached the stage of agreeing terms for the major deal. West of England metro mayor Dan Norris says he is also optimistic that the money will be secured soon following a “very productive” meeting with Network Rail chairman Sir Peter Hendy in Bristol. The project would begin with a redevelopment of Temple Meads station, followed by a series of other big plans for nearby derelict land, including student halls, offices and a conference centre at Temple Island where former mayor George Ferguson had earmarked an arena. Temple Quarter, the first half of the multi-billion-pound, 25-year revamp for up to 10,000 homes and 22,000 jobs, will also have a new University of Bristol campus and a transport hub, while the second phase will regenerate a larger area at neighbouring St Philip’s Marsh. When the Government’s Levelling Up white paper was published at the start of February, it came with no new money but the intention that investment was spent effectively in the right areas. Mr Rees voiced frustration and disappointment that the £94.7million request to fund key infrastructure to transform the area around Temple
Meads had still not materialised despite receiving personal assurances from people in Downing Street that it was an “absolute banker of a scheme” and would be announced at the same time. But fast-forward four weeks and Bristol City Council’s growth & regeneration scrutiny commission was told on Monday, February 28, that the white paper was encouraging after all. Director of economy of place John Smith told councillors: “The funding bid for the £94.7million was approved by Homes England over a year ago now and we have been awaiting government approval of the scheme. “The white paper seems to prioritise exactly this type of development which is shovel ready, so we are very much hoping the finalisation of that approval will be with us very shortly. “In the meantime we have been provided with £2.2million interim money by the West of England Combined Authority (Weca). That has allowed us to continue various elements of the work.” Labour Cllr Tim Rippington said: “We have been talking about this £94.7miliion bid for over a year now and there has been a lot of confidence for quite a long time that we would get that money. Yet here we are, we still haven’t got it. Is there a plan B if that is not forthcoming or is it just a case of when?” Executive director of growth & regeneration Stephen Peacock replied: “We are obviously not in control of the decision. There is always another way but that would very much not even be a plan B at this point because, of all of the regional schemes, this is so far developed and so well-suited to investment in a regeneration project that it’s worth continuing as we are. “It is close but we are not the decision-maker. We have had a great reception from everybody who has looked at this. It has got all the hallmarks of a fantastic, public-private, nationally significant project.”
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April 2022
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Details correct at time of going to print, terms and conditions apply, visit www.redrow.co.uk for full details. Images are indicative only.
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April 2022
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A celebration in May of the magnificent organ at St Aldhelm's Church that survived German bombs Hand pumped organ. In 1919 the Church of England changed the way parish churches were administered. With the passing in to law of the Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919, Church Councils came in to existence, taking over most of the responsibilities of the ‘Vestry Committees’, and the Synod House of Laity was formed. Thus ‘lay’ people (in other words every one except for the Clergy) were given more responsibility for local church governance and more influence at a national level. The law also stipulated that there should be women as well as men on the Church Councils. All very interesting, but what might this have to do with a new pipe organ at St Aldhelm’s? The establishing of the new Church Council at St Aldhelm’s happened at the ‘Meeting of Electors’ on 15th April 1920. The first parish councillors, five women and 15 men, were elected into office. Once this business had been concluded Mr Underdown, an Alderman of the City and for one year during the Second World War Lord Mayor of Bristol, proposed that ‘the time was now opportune for united effort towards securing a new organ worthy of the Parish Church and that the Church Council be authorised to proceed forthwith’. At the first Church Council meeting a sub-committee was formed, including Mr Underdown and the Vicar, Rev Godwin. This sub-committee met on June 24th and agreed to approach Mr Morgan, organist of St Mary Redcliffe Church, for advice on the specification for the proposed instrument. Over the next two years Ralph Morgan prepared the specification,
St Philip’s St Philip’s Marsh Nursery School Marsh Nursery School
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recommending a three manual design; examined the tenders of the builders who quoted, advising that the job be given to J G Haskins, a Bristol based organ builder; and then oversaw the building and installation work. To complete his involvement he played the instrument at the Dedication Service on Sunday 30th April 1922 in the presence of the Lord Bishop of Bristol and the next evening, May 1st, played an organ recital. The programme for this event has survived. The Sub-committee minutes reveal that electricity was not available in Chessel Street in 1922, the nearest available supply being in North Street, so the organ had to be hand pumped. An electric motor and blower were installed some years later, when 3-phase electricity became available. The organ case was designed by the architect A R Gough FRIBA, whose name also appears on plans for the completion of the church building dated 1912 with W V Gough. It is known that William Venn Gough, also FRIBA, designed St Aldhelm’s Church (in 1898) along with many other late Victorian buildings in Bristol, most prominently the Cabot Tower on Brandon Hill. He died in 1918. W V and A R could have been father and son. If anyone knows for sure the writer would be interested. St Aldhelm’s survived the Second World War although it was a close shave as on Good Friday 1941, during the biggest air raid on Bristol an incendiary bomb landed on the roof over the transept that contains the organ. Only the quick thinking of the Air Raid Wardens based at the church who extinguished the flames with stirrup pumps and buckets of water saved the building
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A new pipe organ for St Aldhelm’s, Chessel Street installed in May 1922 from sharing the fate of St Francis’, St Paul’s and St John’s, all of which were destroyed by fire that night. The same air raid also caused the destruction of the workshops of J G Haskins along with all their records. They only ever built one other three manual organ which no longer exists. It is known that the firm was formed by former employees of the more well known Bristol builder W G Vowles. The tonal similarity with some of Vowles instruments suggests that Haskins may have used the same pipe makers that Vowles did. Some repairs were needed following the war but no rebuilding has been done, so the instrument is at it was played by Ralph Morgan in 1922. To mark the occasion of
its centenary the present Director of Music at St Mary Redcliffe has agreed to give a recital on Saturday 7th May at 3pm in which he will play most of the pieces included in the original programme, which pieces he feels exploit very well the tonal and dynamic range of the instrument. The programme will last about one hour. There will be a retiring collection. Should anyone reading this be interested in attending the recital they would be most welcome. As you know if you live nearby there is not much car parking to be had around the church, so if you can walk you may well save yourself some trouble. Ian Chesters St Aldhelm's church warden
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April 2022
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n THIS MONTH'S COLUMN IS KINDLY SPONSORED BY CLEVERLY BUILDERS www.cleverleybuilders.co.uk
n NEWS IN BRIEF
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Earl Grey or Builders? It has led to family arguments, marital bust-ups and even war. How to make a perfect cuppa has exercised the minds of the great, the good and countless maiden aunts since the leaf-based beverage was first sipped in England in the 17th century. George Orwell identified the reason in his essay on the subject in 1942. The author of 1984 said there were 11 rules – but only two were universally agreed and a further four were highly controversial. Nobody appears to agree on any of the main steps in making a perfect cup of cha, char, te, tai, herbata or tea. Ask anyone you know and they all have their own idiosyncracies and often family traditions. I’ve known people to throw away a cup of tea in front of the person who has made it and then declare they’ll make it themselves. It’s one of the most insulting things you can do. To start with there’s what variety of tea? My late husband (who would declare several times a day that he was dying for a cup of Greyer’s as he called it) would only drink Earl Grey – and sadly it was the reason for his untimely exit from life’s fragile existence. He was run over crossing the road to a café in London where he knew they served Earl Grey. Personally I only drink builder’s – as I call it. Strong, Assam, with milk and with four or sometimes five sugars. Next is it a tea bag or loose leaf? I never use tea bags – although the quality has improved and I admit you can get a decent cuppa from tea bags – as long as the tea is good quality. Almost all cafes and tea rooms serve tea in tea bags – dropped into a small pot and provide you with all the necessities such as milk and sugar allowing you to serve yourself. So, having established the tea you want, you must decide on the temperature of the hot water. Boiling or 80C? Call me old fashioned but boiling soft water is best – and the tea pot should be warmed first – very important. Pour in the boiling water straight into the pot and allow it to stand for two minutes and twelve seconds. If you use leaves then one rounded teaspoon per person and a half for the pot. It guarantees a second cup – as
is testified by Lewis Carroll in Alice in Wonderland: “Take some more tea,” the March Hare said to Alice, very earnestly. “I’ve had nothing yet,” Alice replied in an offended tone, “so I can’t take more.” “You mean you can’t take less,” said the Hatter: “it’s very easy to take more than nothing.” If there’s not a drought then always boil fresh water (even George Orwell agrees with that one) Dr Andrew Stapley of Loughborough University said: “Use freshly drawn water that has not previously been boiled. Previously boiled water will have lost some of its dissolved oxygen which is important to bring out the tea flavour.” So there. One rule given by George Orwell which must be challenged is: “After making the tea, one should stir it, or better, give the pot a good shake, afterwards allowing the leaves to settle.” Shake a tea pot? Give it a wiggle maybe – but don’t stir – leave nature to take its course. I never pour in the tea first – always the milk. And yes, porcelain is best – but for years I use an old battered enamel mug for my so-called gardening cups – served in the shrubbery – and it tasted just as good. Although the author of Animal Farm begs to differ. He said: “One should drink out of a good breakfast cup — that is, the cylindrical type of cup, not the flat, shallow type. The breakfast cup holds more, and with the other kind one’s tea is always half cold before one has well started on it.” Aunt Agatha So just to recap: instructions for the perfect cup of tea for two 1 Warm the pot 2 Put in two teaspoons of tea and one for the pot 3 Allow to brew for two minutes and 12 seconds 4 Add tea and milk to taste to your cup 5 Pour in the tea 6 Stir the tea and drink
150 years: The steam engines on Bristol's docks have been shunting up and down for 150 years. Bristol Harbour Railway was formally opened on 11 March 1872 by Lady Mayoress, Mrs Elizabeth Hare and was used to transport goods arriving by ship including coal, esparto grass, wood and meat, as well as alcoholic beverages such as sherry and Guinness. A great deal of goods traffic was moved on the railway throughout its working life including vital war supplies during both world wars. The railway began at Temple Meads before proceeding through a tunnel under St Mary Redcliffe churchyard, over a steam-powered lifting bridge outside the Ostrich pub on Bathurst Basin and onto Princes Wharf. Later it was extended onto Wapping Wharf to where the SS Great Britain is docked today. Ray Barnett, Head of Collections and Archives at M Shed said: “After a century as a goods railway, Bristol Harbour Railway was handed over to the museum and has run as a heritage railway ever since. It’s an important part of the city’s history and has become a staple attraction on the harbourside. The staff at M Shed, along with a vital team of dedicated volunteers, work tirelessly to keep the railway running and care for the two steam locomotives, Henbury and Portbury.” Train rides will resume at M Shed from the Easter holidays. A full list of dates will be available at bristolmuseums.org.uk from April. Musical at the Redgrave Theatre: From April 27-30 April the Bristol Musical Theatre will perform the musical comedy The Wedding Singer. The community musical theatre group based in South Bristol will perform the catchy, American musical based on the 1998 Hollywood film version that featured Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. Bristol Musical Theatre is a community-based organisation and has to raise cash through performances
to keep going. The show runs from Wednesday to Saturday nightly at 7:30pm weekday evenings and 2:30pm and 7:30pm on Saturday. Ukraine pets appeal: A Bristol group have appealed to animal lovers to help pets in Ukraine. Due to people fleeing from the war, companion animals are being abandoned. Local shelters are already at full capacity and struggling to provide shelter, food and treatment for so many of them. To donate food of a high meat content of dry and/or wet food mainly for cats and dogs but also for other pets, take to Trojan Fitness in Liberty Lane, or the Emporium Pet Shop in East Street more info at the Facebook site Bristol for Pets in Ukraine. All donated stuff will go straight to the Ukrainian and Polish shelters near the border. Trams not tubes: Bristol Green Party councillors have called on the Mayor to consider a system of trams instead of his favoured underground system. Last month Green Cllr Emma Edwards submitted a motion to full council calling for a £5million Weca feasibility study. Previously the mayor Marvin Rees promoted the idea of a tube network putting the idea of a mass transit system into his manifesto. Councillors have backed the idea in principle which would include some tunnels. Tram systems are common in Europe and also feature in several British cities including Sheffield and Edinburgh. Bristol used to have trams with the first one opened in 1875 although it was the German airforce who ended their operation in 1941 when the city was bombed knocking out the tram's generating centre. Editor Harry Mottram: This is the last issue of South Bristol Voice that I have edited having helped out when the last editor left. A new editor takes on the position for the May issue. I will return to editing the Bath Voice newspaper but it has been a joy to immerse myself in the lives of Bristolians. Thank you.
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n LETTERS Joint letter from Green Councillors: As the Councillors elected to represent Bedminster and Southville Wards, we welcome the amendment to the Budget providing funding for new controlled parking measures. There is growing pressure in our Wards resulting from commuter parking and additional vehicles owned or used by people in new residential developments, subdivision of houses and visitors to Ashton Gate, now and, in greater numbers, if Ashton Gate is expanded further. Public opinion in support of controlled parking in the area has shifted and as Councillors, we have a responsibility to support our residents. Indeed, the Administration appeared to recognise this pressure and local support during the May 2021 Council and Mayoral election when a pledge was made to bring forward resident’s parking measures in the area. Previously, we have commissioned independent research on local attitudes and specific highway safety concerns, such as emergency access. The Council has done some informal consultation but this has not progressed towards implementing a scheme. We now need to have clarity about the steps, evidence and timeframe required to move forward to complete the Southville RPS area (as it borders Bedminster Ward) and introduce a new Bedminster (West) RPS. We need to make a start on the initial shaping of this work leading to formal consultation and implementation. We now need officers to meet with us to agree what is required to address the problems faced by our residents and move forward with proposals to improve our local environment. Cllr Tony Dyer Cllr Christine Townsend Cllr Tessa Fitzjohn Cllr Mark Bradshaw Join the choir: The Knowle Community Gospel Choir (pictured), part of the Bristol choir Gospel Generation Community Choir (GGCC for short!). We meet fortnightly on Monday evenings from 7.30-9.00pm at St Barnabas Church on Daventry Road. We are a very friendly group who enjoy the challenges of learning gospel songs in three part harmony. We always say the main aim of the choir is to have fun and if we make a
challenge have met additional challenges such as preventing wildfires spreading, snow and ice and dealing with hungry foxes. Matthew Woodville Bedminster Down School
The last three homes on the hill. Picture: The Bristol Cable great sound along the way that’s a bonus! As it happens, we do always sound great and love to perform what we have learned at concerts, street parties, community festivals and more. Now if you’re thinking, ‘I can’t sing’, then we say ‘let us help you find your voice’. We firmly believe that everyone has a voice, they don’t always know how to access it. If you’re scared of other people hearing your voice, the great thing about a choir is it’s all about the group sound, not the individual. We never make people do solos but do offer the chance to members if they want. If you’re thinking ‘but isn’t gospel just for people who believe in God’ to sing? We would say ‘no it’s not’! We have a lot of people in our choir who wouldn’t say they have any faith but they love the fact that gospel songs are songs of joy and hope, often with really uplifting melodies/harmonies. So if you do decide to come along, what can you expect? When you arrive someone will welcome you and help guide you to the best place to sit, depending on what you might sing, you may well decide you want to change what you sing and that’s totally fine! We always start the rehearsal with some vocal warm ups, they’re fun, easy to pick up and help get us ready to sing. We don’t use any words or music when learning songs, we teach them all by ear. This means no-one is excluded and although it takes longer to learn this way, you will find you are less likely to forget the songs. Sometimes we use my keyboard to accompany but most
of the time it’s just voices. We do produce learning tracks for all the songs so members can rehearse in their own time. Then at the end of each term we have a chance to perform! We either host our own concerts or get invited to sing at other events. It’s always such a highlight for members to hear themselves singing wonderfully and having an audience to cheer them on. We hope we have said enough to convince you to give it a try! To find out when our rehearsals are email me, Emma gospelgen@googlemail. com or visit our website www.ggcc. org.uk. Emma Smallwood Wild camping: Bedminster Down School is taking an entire year group for wild camping and trekking in one of Britain’s most isolated spots to help them recover from disruption to their education and prepare for their examination years. Bedminster Down School has re-launched ‘Challenge 24’ this winter to help 200 students in Year 9 (aged 13 and 14) build resilience and confidence as well as their physical, intellectual, spiritual, social and moral development. Leaving on a Thursday morning and returning Friday afternoon pupils develop and test their camp craft, problem solving, communication skills and team-work. The opportunity is offered at no cost to families with the school providing tents, boots, rucksacks, sleeping bags, waterproof clothing and even food. In former years pupils on the
The road that was never built: The Road Project was held at Wells Road Street Gallery last month to remind residents of a terrible tragedy that affected communities in South Bristol. In the late 1960s an Outer City Ring Road was proposed which was to cut through Bristol from the M32 in the north, through Easton and St Phillips and then, via a major transport interchange on the Wells Road, plough on through Victoria Park, to Bedminster and Cumberland Basin and beyond. In Totterdown, by 1972, 600 homes, had been reduced to rubble, including the bustling and popular High Street from the Three Lamps up to the YMCA building (now The Bank restaurant and bar). About 3500 people were displaced ready for a road that was never built. Since then Totterdown has become a reborn neighbourhood with an influx of new businesses, shops and redeveloped housing bringing families and residents who appreciate it’s arty vibe and mix of the old and new. 2022 is the 50th anniversary of the destruction of the lower Wells Road High St. An exhibition was held last month at the Wells Road Street Gallery showing images of the old High Street and memories of old residents of the area. There was also specially made work from students at Hillcrest Primary School that reimagined the lost Edwardian shops of the High Street. Following on from our first tours in November 2018, The Road Project presented a new twilight tour that recreated the old High St with street projections around Totterdown. In partnership with The Welcome Back Fund, Bristol City Council and the European Development Fund the Road Project teamed up with businesses along the Wells Road and in Oxford Street (the Totterdown one!) to present a street exhibition of images of the old High Street and memories of old residents of the area. Starting at Tescos in Oxford St, the tour wound its way up to Zone A on Wells Road, telling the story of the shops and the families and individuals that lived and worked there. The tour used a specially adapted child’s buggy to create an exciting portable projection experience. Thanks to the grant, we have a new, more powerful projector to light up the old walls of Totterdown! Jeremy Routledge
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April 2022
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New Deli opening 30th March From the team behind The Park Bakery, The Park Deli is a specialised grocery shop selling a range of high quality foods from fresh fruit and veg, to preserves and store cupboard items, to beers, wines and spirits, to cured meats and cheeses.
Products will be sourced trying to tick as many of the following boxes as possible: ✓ Suppliers based in South West England or Wales ✓ Supplied in sustainable and ethical packaging (this includes how goods are packaged as they are delivered to us – not just the packaging that you see on the shelves) ✓ Special and innovative producers
www.facebook.com/ theparkdeli
Find us: 108 St John’s Lane, BS3 5AJ
Instagram @theparkdeli22 Got a story for South Bristol Voice? Email news@southbristolvoice.co.uk
23
April 2022
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MARVIN REES, Mayor of Bristol
Voting for the right system for running Bristol
O
n 5 May, Bristolians will go to the polls. We’ll be given the choice between keeping an elected mayor, or removing the position and dishing its powers up between cross-party committees of councillors. This choice can be boiled down to a simple question: do you want to elect your city’s leader, or do you want councillors to nominate one of themselves to lead the council day by day? With a mayor, your vote decides the political direction of the city. You elect the mayor, can re-elect them if you’re happy with them, or give them the sack if you’re not. Under a committee system, the only people with the power to choose and remove the decision makers would be councillors. Without a mayor, no one would be accountable to the city as a whole. In contrast, a mayor means there’s someone ultimately accountable to all the council’s decisions and, crucially, someone accountable to the public. Being able to vote out the council’s leadership every four years is an essential check on the council – don’t give up this power. I want to be clear: the referendum isn’t about me - I’m not seeking re-election in 2024. It’s about what’s best for Bristol.
The 2020s are going to be crucial decade for our city. We’re facing climate and housing crises; the Council needs to have a laser-like focus on tackling them. This wouldn’t be possible under a committee system, where councillors would have to work cross-party to make even the most minor of decisions. Such weak governance arrangements would lead to councillors shirking responsibility for tough decisions, blaming everyone but themselves for bad ones, and ambitious policies being watered down until they’re acceptable to everyone. We can’t risk this decade being defined by
deadlock, indecision, and infighting within the Council. Nor can the Council afford to navel-gaze; it needs to be focussed on the product, not the process – it needs the political direction and high profile a mayor brings. An elected mayor means the city has a clear political focus. Someone voted in on clear pledges, someone to represent the city as a whole, and someone to stand up for Bristol on the national and international stage. The Government has already stated it prefers dealing with elected Mayors, meaning it gives us a competitive edge over other cities for funding opportunities, which are lifelines for councils during continued austerity. It’s also worth remembering that the committee system isn’t a new idea, but a tried, tested, and failed one. All Councils in the UK used it up until the 90s, when it was abolished for being opaque, cumbersome, and unaccountable. As the rest of the world and all major cities adopt the mayoral system, let’s not turn back the clock and focus on ourselves – let’s look to the future, look outwards, and keep the system that’s helped Bristol to champion itself throughout the past decade.
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Ukrainian hosts appeal
Serving hot coffee and paninis in down town Bedminster Meet Serheii and his Enjoy food and drink pod often to be seen in St John's Lane. Seheii is a Ukrainian as you can tell from the colours of blue and yellow - inspired by the colours of the national flag of the European nation fighting the invasion by Russia.
We may not be able to go and help Ukraine in its hour of need but we can donate to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) with cash that will buy items in Poland and neighbouring nations for the refugees. Or buy a coffee and a panini from Serheii and make one Ukrainian very happy.
Statement from the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain Ukrainians all over the world are deeply shocked that President Putin has unleashed the forces of war against Ukraine. We call on all Ukraine’s friends to take the strongest immediate action. Now is the time to isolate Russia completely - diplomatically, culturally, and in sport on an international scale, and block all Russian access to financial and economic markets and cut off the funding that allows Putin to act with impunity. The maximum sanctions packages promised must now be introduced without delay. Ukraine must be given full military and economic support
immediately. We are witnessing a crime against Ukraine, against peace in the whole of Europe and against democracy. A pariah state has commenced a destructive war in which thousands will die and millions will suffer. We will feel the effects of Putin’s actions here in the United Kingdom and across the globe. The reaction of the United Nations and governments across the world needs to be united not only to condemn the invasion of Ukraine but also with decisive action to protect Ukraine and the international order.
By Adam Postans, Local Democrary Reporter: Residents in Bristol are being urged to come forward to host Ukrainian refugees in their homes. City mayor Marvin Rees announced a call for people to become sponsors of those fleeing the conflict under a new government-backed scheme, Homes for Ukraine. He told a full council meeting of Bristol City Council last month it would cover Ukrainians and their immediate relatives, including those with no family ties in Britain. Mr Rees said sponsors must provide accommodation for at least six months and were eligible for an optional £350 monthly “thank-you payment” for up to a year. “We are inviting Bristol residents who have friends and family in Ukraine who they would like to sponsor to come to Bristol to get in touch with our resettlement team,” he said. Those who come under the scheme will be able to live and work in the UK for up to three years and access benefits, healthcare, employment and other support. “In the first phase, people will need to have a named person who they wish to sponsor. There is no cap on places. "In terms of local authority resourcing we will be receiving £10,500 per person with an additional top-up for child education. “There will be security checks of hosts and safeguarding which local authorities are responsible for. We are awaiting further details about the scheme. “We also welcome any individuals or organisations who can offer practical support in neighbourhoods to get in touch, particularly those with Ukrainian, Russian or Polish language skills to
help us coordinate, support and welcome new residents arriving in the city.” The mayor said Bristol was a proud City of Sanctuary with a long track record. “As a city council we have resettled 380 people from the Middle East and North Africa before Covid,” he said. “Since April 2021 we have resettled 30 people through the UK Resettlement Scheme and we will resettle another six families before the end of April. “The families include people with high medical needs and people who were persecuted because they are from a minority ethnic or religious group in their home country. “Since the Afghan crisis in summer 2021 we have supported 303 Afghans in temporary accommodation in Bristol and have provided move-on settled accommodation and private rented sector housing to 105 Afghans. “We know that Bristolians have stepped up to these appeals in the past and will respond to this one too. “Our whole ethos and our values in the city mean that we will be a city of hope and a home to those needing hope and a home.” Mr Rees said more than 100,000 people nationally had offered to become a sponsor under the Homes for Ukraine scheme in the first 24 hours of the Government launching its website on Monday (March 14), which is where people should register: https:// homesforukraine.campaign.gov.uk/ He also asked residents who want to become sponsors and people or organisations that can help in other ways to email the council at bristolrefugeeteam@ bristol.gov.uk
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April 2022
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ADVICE FROM A PHARMACIST
Is Covid over?
W
ith the end of free universal NHS lateral flow tests, mandatory self-isolation and other public health measures, coupled with warmer weather, it does feel like the much longed-for COVID freedom has arrived but has it really? Case numbers rose as restrictions were lifted at the end of February, while daily death figures remain low. This is due to the successful rollout of the vaccination programme; Bedminster Pharmacy is very proud to be part of this. The spring booster programme starting now offers a fourth dose to the most vulnerable, including the 75 years and over and all immunosuppressed people aged 12 years and above. Everyone can still access their first, second, or booster dose, while all children aged 5 to 11 are also now offered a dose. While the vaccination programme is
with Ade Williams
Ade Williams of Bedminster Pharmacy discusses how pharmacies can help people with a variety of health conditions, and ease pressure on the NHS the cornerstone of the government strategy, with much debate about rolling back some of the other things, you and I are being asked to use our common sense – Do the Right Thing for Everyone. Most people do not like mask-wearing, but it protects, especially the most vulnerable in our society. Health care settings continue to request this. You do not know if the person standing in front of you is receiving treatment for cancer or has a child or close relative who is. Consider the same in crowded places like supermarkets? Alcohol hand gels – yes, that mantra, hand, face, and space. It has become a ritual, and you most likely still have access
to supplies; keep using them, please and cut the spread. While testing may not be free anymore, data shows a significant surge in demand before the free provision ended and if now at an affordable cost – taking a test before meeting up with people is a small price. Use up any stockpiles before they expire. Our relief at the freedoms we have gained is always tempered with a memory of the trauma before. Bedminster Pharmacy continues to be part of the vaccination programme onsite in the Pharmacy and at the Bedminster Methodist Church. You can book ahead on the NHS Bookings website or use our Walk-in Clinic. We look forward to talking more about how to manage minor health ailments and reminding you that our Bristol Travel Clinic service – 0800 772 3575 offers guaranteed Lowest Prices in the City.
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April 2022
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Residents ( And Dogs) Against the Mast - Gather in the compound footprint of the EE H3G Mast proposed for Redcatch Park Knowle.
Campaign to a stop phone mast in Redcatch Park gets woof power The campaign group Residents Against The Mast who are fighting against a plan to install a phone mast in Redcatch Park in Bristol have taken their fight to council chamber. They presented their case last month asking councillors for their support to prevent EE and Hutchinson 3G seeking to place
the mast and its surrounding fence in the park with a compound 14 metres by 8 metres with a high fence or wall around it. Due to the legislation the telecommunications companies have a much easier path to gaining planning consent than previously, which ties the hands of the Council to some extent. Detractors have pointed out
most people have a mobile phone and need good reception and masts do not harm health. The campaigners accept this but say the mast is being planned for the wrong place as the proposal is for a 24.16m tall mast, the base of which will be sited within an 8m x 14m compound. The compound will be surrounded by concrete
panels, faced with timber fencing, 2.5m high thus taking up a large part of a small park. Thousands of residents have signed an online petition and the council has received hundreds of letters of objection. To find out more about the campaign visit https://www. residentsagainstthemast.com/
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n REVIEWS
The Lion King played at Bristol Hippodrome The Lion King, Bristol Hippodrome, Review by Ruth Drury Based on and inspired by the 1994 animated musical drama about the story of Simba, a young lion, who has to succeed his father Mufusa in a battle of survival of the fittest in East Africa. Adapting the story to the stage meant imaginative costumes to symbolise the various animals and it was added to by the music of Musical by Irene Mecchi and Roger Allers. Directed by Julie Taymor, with choreography by Garth Fagan, stage designs by Richard Hudson the story was brought to life with a large cast with Jaydon Eastman playing (young Simba) and Lauren Simpe-Asante playing (young Nala) From start to finish, this beautiful show had the audience captivated. With both the well known classics plus the additional musical numbers, the cast performed their story with energy, quality voices, wonderful choreography and imaginative costumes by Michael Curry and Michael Ward. Every inch of the stage was well thought out with living plants and grasslands, adding to the overall effect of drawing the audience in. We particularly loved the scenes where Simba is with Rafiki remembering his father. The glowing moonlight was beautiful and very mesmerising with Donald Holder’s lighting. Strong voices from every member of the cast made the whole musical score enjoyable without being overpowering in volume, and as often is the way -
the comical characters Timon and Puumba stole the show with their great partnership and witty lines. The hyenas were fantastically evil and made a great impression on the audience with the depth of their nastiness paired with the evil Scar. Theatre Review: The Last Days of Judas Iscariot. The Station, Bristol Irreverent, funny, cerebral and gripping – The Last Days of Judas Iscariot is not for the faint hearted. The drama challenges many of the Christianity’s core values such as this theological conundrum: reconciling God’s infinite unconditional love with the idea of unforgiving eternal damnation. Set in a secular abstract purgatory courtroom in the style and language of late 20th century New York, the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School production is a refreshingly lively and entertaining take on Stephen Adly Guirgis’s 2005 play. In a traverse setting at Bristol’s Central Youth Hub in Silver Street at The Station the audience is asked does Judas Iscariot deserve the title of the world’s worst traitor? Lawyers on both sides of the arguments put forward their evidence and star witnesses as a battle of wits takes place as insults fly and accusations are made. The drama features dance and much movement The case to dismiss the charge is brought forward by Cunningham, a smooth-talking lawyer on top of her brief played brilliantly by Evie Hargreaves. Against her is Alexander Uzoka played by an animated and enjoyably chaotic lawyer Usuf El-
Fayoumy complete with burnt feet and torn suit since he’s on leave from down below. The case is presided over by old beyond his years corrupt Judge Littlefield (Tom Atkinson) helped by the comically enthusiastic bailiff brought to life by JosephineFransilja Brookman as the case flips backwards and forwards through Judas’ life in search of damning or redeeming evidence. It is hard to pick fault with director Nik Partridge’s production since all aspects were so creative and attention grabbing from the acting to the lighting, sound, music, costumes and movement. For an audience a three-hour play is a challenge despite an interval – but that’s down to the playwright’s script – and there are plenty of plays of this length including Hamlet and Long Day’s Journey into Night. The ensemble cast also included dance and mime sequences which enhanced the drama with several actors playing more than one role. Yazmin Kayani’s flirtatious Mother Teresa and her more humble Loretta was a joy as was Max Guest as Caiaphas the Elder and Matthais of Galilee who makes friends with Judas. And speaking of the titular character Ajani Cabey’s portrayal of Iscariot was breath-taking in its complexity. From the child of a poor family with his prized spinning top, to sulking victim and guilt-stricken drunk and psychologically damaged follower his was an outstanding performance. Victoria Hoyle as Mary Magdalene, Saint Thomas, Henrietta Iscariot and Sister Glenna had her work cut out with so many roles and
accents to master, as did Chiara Lari as Pontius Pilate, Gloria and Saint Peter – demonstrating the range of the cast who all seek professional acting careers in the future. A note of praise for voice coach Sue Cowen. Simon the Zealot (Joshua Hurley) seemed to have stepped out of the set of The Godfather as he was questioned by Cunningham over his three years with Jesus in an entertaining exchange – and the Messiah himself was given a quiet dignity by Joe Usher in a telling final scene preceded by an anecdote which placed Iscariot’s guilt or innocent verdict in context by Patrick McAndrew as an average man caught out by one night of drink. Pontius Pilate in the doc The star role and one which he excelled at in the play was that of Satan played by Alex Cook. They say the Devil has all the best songs – well in this play he has all the best lines outsmarting and out witting Cunningham and turning the tables on his distractors. Creepy, rude and deliciously evil – no pantomime baddie – but a template for evil itself. Open minded Christians and anyone studying theology will find the show of interest, but I suspect those of a devout belief may balk as some of the language and portrayal of the characters – but it is a play and not a biblical text. So much to enjoy – and so long to enjoy it – with a standing ovation at the end from an almost full house. Another triumph for the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and an advert for The Station as a central Bristol theatre venue. Harry Mottram
The Last Days of Judas Iscariot played The Station in Bristol
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Your local councillors Gary Hopkins & Chris Davies
Lisa Stone & Ed Plowden Green councillors Windmill Hill
W
e have entered another very difficult time for many people. Here in Bristol, with the cost-of-living crisis and across Europe. From barely crawling out of Covid, we have slipped into watching a war involving our neighbours in Ukraine. The people of Ukraine are bravely taking a battering from an unstable dictator Mr Putin and as a city of sanctuary, I would hope that Bristol and her citizens will be helping in any way they can. If you can help by taking a refugee into your home, please follow the link: Homes for Ukraine – Homes for Ukraine – Local Sponsorship Scheme for Ukraine (campaign.gov.uk) The Green Party will be supporting the Major to lobby the home secretary Priti Patel into finally realising that her
Nationality and Borders bill, is the hostile environment we really do not need or want. However, we have worked hard on making sure that the Mayor really does help all refugees who are fleeing from brutality, because the right to seek asylum is a universal right. It is deeply unfair of the UK government and EU to treat asylum seekers from Ukraine differently to those from countries such as Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq. Cllr Ed Plowden and Cllr Lisa Stone support refugees from all parts of the world regardless of race or creed. If you can, please lobby you MP to reject the Nationality and Borders Bill because this bill will lead to greater poverty and homelessness in Bristol and will undermine people’s ability to rebuild their lives.
Knowle Community Party Councillors for Knowle
A
n energetic campaign produced a well supported petition that with another 2000 signatures will match the 51 bus protest and the save jubilee pool (twice) It should have been unnecessary . Immediately after the attempt on the park by phone mast agents Waldons was known about Chris put on the record questions to the Mayor describing the plan as completely unacceptable and pointing out alternatives. The Mayors reply amounted to “nothing can be done.” Waldons are claiming that they have an emergency and therefore are attempting to invoke an emergency clause in the national telecoms bill which would mean they do not require planning permission for a temporary site. This we believe to be invalid for 2 reasons .1 that they failed to act quickly to get a replacement site when they knew they were losing the mast at the Friendship/Tesco and 2 that there are alternatives they have not followed up. We got Broadwalk owners to
Tony Dyer & Christine Townsend Green councillors Southville
Mark Bradshaw Labour councillor Bedminster
T
he publication of research into the impact of 20mph limits in Bristol has prompted the most recent wave of comments about the scheme. In Bristol, successive council administrations have pressed ahead with phased 20mph implementation, starting with the Liberal Democrats in 2011. Evidence that people, especially children, in disadvantaged communities, were up to six times more likely to suffer injury (or worse) by being hit by a speeding vehicle than those from more affluent areas. Also, that people involved in a collision at 20mph are more likely to survive without serious injury or death, despite the trauma and potential for some injury compared with 30mph and above. So, it was both an issue of equality and survivability. There is a similarity here with air
pollution and the greater exposure to toxic air experienced by populations in poorer areas. Naturally, not everyone is in love with 20mph and some say that traffic doesn’t actually move any faster. We know that isn’t true. Speeding cars and vans are commonplace on neighbourhood streets, not just arterial roads. Sadly, this is often close to schools and on narrow residential roads and that is why the early pilots (phased implementation was a good policy) focused on school localities. As with any new scheme on this scale, not everything gets sorted first time round and the government's insistence of installing large numbers of expensive 20mph signs gave ready ammunition to those opposed to the policy.
volunteer their roof but Waldons are not keen as this would require more work than commandeering the park.Waldons are spinning a very different version of what they were told by Broadwalk than we have a record of. They have failed to follow this or other alternatives up and of course they were under the impression that the council were going to roll over. Whether this or other sites is their ideal is not the point.They have alternatives. We were able to advise the petitioners how to work the full council meeting so as well as four speeches there were over 100 written statements. Unlike some statements to council on other campaigns across the city these were of high quality and got the message across that residents had helped to build this park over years to what it is now and would not stand for vandalism. We now have an indication that the council are listening to the evidence and will challenge the requisition demand. Pity it has taken 2 months and a lot of effort.
T
he council’s budget was set recently and Green Party Cllrs managed to get an amendment passed to invest in new RPZ areas and increase the number of officers enforcing parking regulations. Tony and I are now working with Mark and Tessa (the Bedminster ward Cllrs) to finally bring the much requested extensions and introductions of new RPZ areas across this part of South Bristol. School Place Allocations It’s that time of year again when families across the city are trying to negotiate the school place system in order to secure a place for their child at a desired primary or secondary school. Christine has particular expertise in this area and welcomes contacts from families who may wish to discuss their options or prepare for the appeal process, please email or
leave a voice mail/text. Traffic news East St is OPEN With Malago Road now one-way, traders on East Street are experiencing a drop off in footfall – we encourage all residents to support our local high street during this difficult time and shop local. Independent businesses in particular need our support more than ever. Upcoming Mayoral Referendum May 2022 sees 10 years since Bristol voted to have a directly elected Mayor and the council recently voted to ask the question again of residents across the city now we have all had the opportunity to see the impact of that decision. The referendum will take place on May 5th and we would encourage all residents to engage with the discussions to ensure the decision made is from a position of being informed.
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n SPORTS NEWS IN BRIEF
n THIS MONTH'S SPORT IS KINDLY SPONSORED BY CLEVERLEY BUILDERS www.cleverleybuilders.co.uk
cleverleybuildersltd.co.uk
Some of the Gloucestershire Women's Cricket Team
Bristol City FC: The Robins are unlikely to gain promotion this season lying well down the Sky Bet Championship table. They have three home games this month with Peterborough on the 9th, Sheffield United on the 18th and Hull City on the 30th. Away days are AFC Bournemouth on April the 2nd, Stoke City on the 15th April and Derby County on April 23rd. Their last game of the season is also away with a game against Huddersfield Town on Saturday May 7th at 12.30pm. That brings the curtain down on a 'survival' season in the Championship with hopes once again turning to next season's campaign and how the squad may be strengthened in the summer.
Bristol City Women Footballers: The club play at the Robins High Performance Centre at Failand. The first team play in the FA Women's Championship and currently lie in mid table with a chance of a late run at the leaders with home fixtures in April on the 3rd against Liverpool at 3pm, and London City Lionessess on the 24th. No away games in April but their last match is away with a long drive to Sunderland on Saturday, May 1st. Bristol Rovers FC: The Gas play their football in League Two at the Memorial Stadium off Gloucester Road - the former home of Bristol Rugby. They have fixtures this month at home: Bradford City on April 2nd, Salford City on the 15th, and Forest Green Rovers on the
SUMME 2021
S ARE D AY T R I P
• Weymouth Sun 8th Aug • The 4 B’s Tour of The
• Seaton & Sidmouth
• Barry Island or Porthcawl
• Warwick & Stratford upon Avon Tue 20th July
• Paignton Zoo Tues 27th July • Torquay or Paignton (your choice) and Paignton Zoo (coach only) Tue 27th July
Football League Division One where they are in fine form with eyes on promotion. If that happens then it would be the Region’s Premier Division, then the National League South, the Championship and finally to the top flight - so some way yet to catch up with their rivals south of the river. Bristol Rugby Men: The Bristol Bears play in the Gallagher Premiership and have had mixed results but despite their position there is no relegation this year. This month away days are Northampton Saints on April 2nd and then Sale on the 9th in the Heineken Champions Cup with another away Continued
B A C K!
• Moreton-in-Marsh (Market
Tue 13th July
23rd, with their final match of the season also at home against Scunthorpe United on May 7th. Away days are Tranmere Rovers on the 9th, Port Vale on the18th and Rochdale on the 30th. Bristol Rovers Women’s FC: The current Bristol City Women’s football team emerged from yes - Bristol Rovers women’s footballers - back in 2005. The team changed into Bristol Academy and finally Bristol City Women in 2019 meaning for several years the Rovers' female side didn’t exist until it was reformed in 2019. The Gas Girls are now in their third season - moving out of the Gloucestershire league and into the South West Regional Women’s
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n SPORTS NEWS Continued game in the premiership on April 30th against Leicester. They are at Ashton Gate for home games against Sale in the cup on the 14th and Gloucester on April 22nd in the premiership. Bristol Rugby Women: The team play at The Bears High Performance Centre, Beggar Bush Lane, Bristol, BS8 3TF. For details visit https:// www.bristolbearsrugby.com/ teams/bristol-bears-women/ Fixtures this month are on the 2nd when they are at home against DMP Durham sharks in the Allianz Cup with a home game on May 7th against Harlequins and their final match is away to Exeter on May 14th. Hockey: Firebrands Hockey Club is the home of hockey in Bristol. Since 1947 the club has not only been hugely successful on a national and local level with a number of teams including the indoor women's team The Vixens. The Vixens also have an outdoor team who play on a Sunday. The First Team male Firebrands L1 face off against Cardiff and Met A on April 10th at home with a home game against Truro on the 24th and an away game against Bath on the 17th. Broad Plain Rugby Club: the first
team play in the Gloucester Second Division South. The second XV play in the Wadworth 6X Bristol & District Second Division. The teams train on Tuesdays and Thursdays at 7pm. New players always welcome - and remember: Up The Plain! The 1st XV play Old Bristolians at home on the 2nd and are away to Old Colstonians on the 9th of April. Follow them on Facebook - pride of Bedminster. Rugby in Bristol: there are several long established clubs in the city including Dings Crusaders, Old Redcliffians and North Bristol. To find a club to play for visit https:// www.englandrugby.com/ find-rugby. American Football: The Bristol Aztecs American Football team are based in Filton. The Aztecs welcome new players for their senior and junior teams. For details see their Facebook page or visit www.sgscol.ac.uk/americanfootball Gloucestershire Cricket men: the team's Pre-Season run ends on April 2nd with a home game against Exeter University. The season proper begins with four day games in the County Championship on April 7th away at
Northampton. Their first home game is on April 14th with a game against Yorkshire. Gloucestershire Cricket women: the team play in the ECB Women's 50 over County Cup and T20 competitions. For more on the team visit https://www.facebook. com/Gloswomenscrick Cricket: Bedminster Cricket Club is based in the heart of South Bristol and is one of the premier clubs in the South West. And although the season is now over until next spring it's worth reminding everyone of this successful and friendly cricket club. They offer both senior and youth cricket with five Saturday senior teams, with the first XI in the West of England Premier League Division, right down to the C XI in the Bristol & District League Division 13, we can truly offer cricket for all. The youth section has been one of the most successful in the area over the last five years, with three County champions and countless local trophies. The club states: "We can offer a fun, competitive and safe environment for young players of ages from five to 18 to learn and
improve their cricket skills. "We are always welcoming new players to the club as well as those who want to enjoy the social side and contribute off the field." "Women are also very much at the heart of the club reflecting the success of the national team in internationals screened on TV." The club said: "After a successful first season of ladies cricket in 2019, Bedminster Belles are continuing to grow." Cricket in Bristol: Other teams in the city include Bishopston CC, Stoke Bishop CC, Knowle CC and Brislington CC. To find a club to play for locally see https://www. ecb.co.uk/play/find-a-club/ Tennis: South Bristol is blessed with a number of tennis clubs. These include the Greville Smyth Park Tennis Club, Knowle Lawn Tennis Club, Victoria Park Tennis Club and the David Lloyd Centre in Ashton. Ice Hockey: The Bristol Pitbulls take on Oxford at the Planet Ice Rink at Cribbs Causeway on April 2 in the NIHL South Division 1 on April 2. They are at home again on April 9 when they play Milton Keynes. Away days include Invicta on April 3, and Streatham on April 10.
Chris Boardman named Active Travel England commissioner The chairman of Sport England Chris Boardman will lead the government’s cycling and walking executive agency after he was confirmed as the interim commissioner of the newly formed Active Travel England. First announced in 2020, as part of the government’s £2 billion Gear Change plan for a cycling and walking revolution, Active Travel England (ATE) launched today. It will be responsible for driving up the standards of cycling and walking infrastructure and managing the national active travel budget – awarding funding for projects that improve both health and air quality. Having already delivered the first phase of Manchester’s cycling and walking public transport system, The Bee Network, Chris will now be closely involved in the recruitment of the ATE chief executive and management team. “The positive effects of high levels of cycling and walking are clearly visible in pockets around the country where people have been
given easy and safe alternatives to driving,” said the Barcelona 1992 Olympic gold medallist – who’s been appointed on an interim basis while the Department for Transport conduct a full and open competition for the permanent role. “Perhaps most important of all, though, it makes for better places to live while helping both the NHS and our mission to decarbonise.
“The time has come to build on those pockets of best practice and enable the whole nation to travel easily and safely around their neighbourhoods without feeling compelled to rely on cars. I’m honoured to be asked to lead on this and help deliver the ambitious vision laid out in the government’s Gear Change strategy and other local transport policies.
“This will be a legacy we will proud to leave for our children and for future generations. It’s time to make it a reality; it’s time for a quiet revolution.” ATE’s remit will see them be a statutory consultee on major planning applications, to ensure the largest new developments properly cater for pedestrians and cyclists.
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WHAT'S ON
Opera and a monster calls at the theatre
Sun 27 Mar. Bristol Redgrave Theatre. Slapstick Festival. Tim Vine, Lee Mack and Andy Day on Paddington. See Theatre Luvver. Mon28 Mar-Sat 2 Apr. Bath Mission Theatre. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Next Stage Theatre Company stage Edward Albee’s 1962 play made famous in the film version with Elizabeth Taylor as Martha, Richard Burton as George as the couple’s troubles spill out. Tue 29 Mar-Sat 2 Apr. Bristol Alama Theatre. Bombshells. Six monologues made famous by Caroline O'Connor, exposing women balancing their inner and outer lives with humour and often desperate cunning. Tue 29 Mar-Sat 2 Apr. Bristol Old Vic Weston Theatre. Sorry You're a Winner. A new play from Samuel Bailey about two very different school friends. Tue 29 Mar-Fri 1 Apr. Bristol Hippodrome. Welsh National Opera. Different operas each day. Pre-performance talk available. Jenufa on Tue 29th is by the Czech composer based on the play by Preissova about the tangled relationships in a village concerning inheritance and romance; Don Giovanni, on the 30th March and the 1st of April concerns the arrogant aristocrat and his eventual comeuppance, followed by Puccini's Madam Butterfly on Sat 2nd April which concerns a tragic love story set in Japan. Wed 30 Mar-2 Sat Apr. Bristol Redgrave Theatre. HMS Pinafore and The Zoo. Bristol's Gilbert and Sullivan Society stage two comic operas. HMS Pinafore is a wonderful send up of the pomposity of those high up in the Royal Navy in Victorian society and the class system championing love
Curvy Girl Yoga Classes Mondays 6.30-7.30pm The Elephant House BS3 1BG.
CGY is designed exclusively for women who are size 16 or more www.curvygirlyoga.co.uk
Knowle WI We meet on the first Wednesday each month at Knowle Methodist Church, BS4 2EP from 2-4pm. We are a very friendly group and everyone is welcome. Come and join us! Tel: 07956 554714 over social status. The Zoo is a oneact comic opera, by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by B. C. Stephenson, writing under the pen name of Bolton Rowe and is a comedy of errors between two couples. Sat 2 Apr. Bath Abbey. A Jubilee Celebration with Mr Handel. Bath Minerva Choir with three Coronation Anthems, including Zadok the Priest, his celebrated Hallelujah Chorus and the epic final chorus from Messiah, plus a selection of his most ravishing solo arias for female voice. Bristol Baroque provide stylish accompaniment, and two extraordinary soloists. Celebration of the Queen’s Jubilee. Fri 1-Sat 2 Apr. Bristol Tobacco Factory. Jon Ronson: Things Fell Apart. Jon wanted to understand how things fell apart, and so he went back in time to find the origin stories, the pebbles thrown in the pond creating the ripples – but he had no idea how unexpected and spellbinding those tales would be. Expect stories old and new, a special guest and a live Q+A. Sat 2 Apr – Sat 7 May. Bristol Old Vic Theatre. The Meaning of Zong. Two hundred years ago, Olaudah Equiano read the harrowing reports of a massacre aboard the slave ship Zong, where 132 Africans were thrown overboard. Joining forces with anti-slavery campaigner Granville Sharp to publicly condemn these actions, he helped set in motion events which led to the abolition movement in the UK. Giles Terera’s play is a story of our time, celebrating the power of the
The Indecent Musings of Miss Doncaster 2007 is on at the Alma Tavern Theatre Feelgood Fitness is a local, friendly, small pilates and wellness YOGA CLASSES studio in Knowle. We offer all Kate: 07967 623 392 ranges of pilates from beginners to kate@yogawithkaty.co.uk intermediate, postnatal, pregnancy, Instagram: @katylou_fox barre fusion, low impact, reformer Caroline: 07570 507 494 and large equipment, private sessions and massage. To book go caroline@carolinereidyoga.com to www.feelgoodfitness.org/book Instagram: @carolinereidyoga now 07804 239070 human spirit against adversity, and the journey of our past to understand our place in the world. Performed by an ensemble cast, it serves as an inspiration for how individual and collective action can drive unimaginable change. Sun 3 Apr. Trinity Centre. Bakar. A melting pot of indie, rap, rock, and punk, Bakar's music bridges the gap between genres. Drawing influence from Madlib and Foals, his projects illustrate a mastery in creating fresh beats and disrupting genre stereotypes. Sun 3 Apr. Bristol Film Festival:
Dance Fit A high energy dance workout in the dark. Thursday’s 8-9pm at Windmill Hill Community Centre, BS3 4LS. Booking essential. Tel: 07800 597718. Also on MoveGB.
Some Like It Hot at Clifton Observatory. Classic comedy with Jack Lemon, Tony Curtis and Marylyn Monroe. Sun 3 Apr. Early Birds and Bacon Butties Walk with with Avon Gorge & Downs Wildlife Project. Join bird expert Michael Johnson for an early morning walk whilst learning how to identify birds on the Downs. Tue 5 Apr. Bristol Alma Tavern Theatre. Yes! Yes! UCS! A new musical play by Neil Gore celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Upper Clyde Shipbuilders’ “Work-In” of 1971-2. Thu 7 Apr. Bristol Alma Tavern Theatre. I, AmDram. A story of return, reconciliation and rehearsals with mum. Step-ballchanging between suburb and city, I, AmDram minds the gap between the identities we assert and the worlds we leave. Thu 7-Fri 8. Circomedia. Dreams of the Small Gods. A captivating live performance about the triple Continued on page 33
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WHAT'S ON Bristol Redcatch Club. Folk singers on 9th April 2022 are Antoine and Owena. 7.4510.30pm. Redcatch Community Centre, Redcatch Road, Knowle, BS4 2EP. Antoine & Owena create their own original blend of folk music that provides a feast for the ears, the heart and the feet. Together they combine the interpretive folk violin styles of Owena Archer, with the folk-rock guitar and bouzouki rhythms of Antoine Architeuthis to create an eclectic mix of original and traditional material inspired by history, tragedy, love and hope.. See: redcatchclub. vistaprintdigital.com Continued from page 32 nature of woman; as animal, as human and as goddess or spirit being. Fri 8 Apr. Haunted and Hidden Bristol Walking Tour. Starts at College Green. Fun 90 min walk that combines haunted buildings, TV locations and Bristol trivia. Also Friday's in April. Fri 8-Sat 16 Apr. Bristol Tobacco Factory. The Owl and the Pussycat. Edward Lear's poem is brought to life in the famous journey in a pea green boat in which they took some honey and plenty of money wrapped up in a five pound note. Sat 9 Apr. Bristol Alma Tavern Theatre. Tropicana. Hailed as the future of queer comedy cabaret and storming the UK circuit, Tropicana will be the most engaging LGBTQIA+ act of the year. Sat 9 Apr. Bristol Tobacco Factory. Beyond Face. An evening showcasing fresh new early-stage work from some of the most exciting global majority artists based in Bristol and the wider South-West. Expect new writing, spoken word, dance, comedy and much more, come along and be among the first to Wednesdays Essentrics low-impact, therapeutic fitness class for men & women. Kingswood Sports Pavilion BA1 9BJ, 8.45-9.45am. Contact Catherine 07980 595440 Facebook: essentricswithcatherine
watch and shape this work. Plus a performance of Beyond Face’s pop-up production “All One Way.” Sun 10 Apr. Bristol Redgrave Theatre. Clive Anderson: Me, Myself and Macbeth. The host Bedminster Judo Judo classes for children and adults aged 6+. Learn the Olympic martial art of judo for fitness, confidence, self-defense and fun. Family orientated club. FREE trial session. Day/times: Tuesday evenings: 7.00pm to 8.00pm juniors aged 6 to 13 years; 7.00pm to 8.30pm youth and adults aged 14+ Venue: Ashton Vale Community Centre, Risdale Road, Ashton Vale, BS3 2QY Contact: Bedminsterjudo@gmail. com; 07538 280512; bedminsterjudokwai.co.uk of Whose Line Is It Anyway, Loose Ends and Talks Back takes to the road with his much-anticipated first ever solo tour, in a one-man show guaranteed to be funnier than Shakespeare's greatest tragedy. Mon 11 Apr - Sat 16 Apr. Bristol Hippodrome. Anything Goes. Comedy musical with Kerry Ellis as Reno Sweeney and Denis Lawson. Joining them on board is Simon Callow as Elisha Whitney and Bonnie Langford as Evangeline Harcourt. The story is set aboard a luxury cruise liner. Tue 12 Apr. Bristol Alma Tavern Theatre. My Soulmate's Husbands' Soulmate. A Erin and Adrian are happily married when Johan arrives on their doorstep. He is Erin's soulmate. Neither Adrian or Erin know quite what to do with him. Tue 12 Apr. Comedy Loft. The Naval Volunteer, King Street. A fun stand-up comedy night with a variety of experienced and hilarious acts where there's always something for everyone. Free. Also on 26 Apr.
Bristol South Taekwando Tuesday and Thursday 18:00 to 19:00hrs St. Paul’s Church Coronation Road Bedminster BS3 1AS Tel: 07951 456407 Email: Bristolsouthtkd@hotmail.com
Bristol Folk Festival features KATE RUSBY - credit Andy Snaith
Rising Sun Singers Community Choir Mondays 2-3pm St Michael and All Angel's Church, Windmill Hill, BS3 4 LW. Bookings: risingsunsingers@ gmail.com Info: facebook.com/ risingsunsingers Tue-Sat. 12-16 Apr. Bath Theatre Royal. Private Peaceful. Michael Morpurgo’s story of Tommo and his experiences of the First War as he awaits the dawn. Adapted by Simon Reade. Wed 13-Sat 16 Apr. Bristol Old Vic Theatre. Vixen. An original story by Matt Grinter about a young girl who is turning into a
fox. But what about her dad and the Raincoat Man? Soon she will have to choose who her pack really is. Wed 13 – Sat 23 Apr. Bristol Old Vic Theatre. A Monster Calls. Patrick Ness' piercing novel is brought vividly to life by director Sally Cookson. Thirteen-year-old Conor and his Continued on page 34 Nightingale Valley Community Choir: No experience necessary, no need to read music. Come and join our friendly choir and learn to sing better than you ever knew you could. St Cuthbert's Church, Sandy Park Rd BS4 3PG. Every Monday 7.30-9pm. Taster session free then £7 each week or £70 for 11 weeks. Contact: Anya Szreter szreter.afm@ icloud.com
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WHAT'S ON Continued from page 33
Folks & Bairns Parent and Baby Choir: Mondays 11.30am-12.30pm St Michael and All Angel's Church, Windmill Hill, BS3 4 LW. Bookings: folksandbairns@ gmail.com Info: folksandbairns.com mum have managed just fine since his dad moved. But now his mum is sick and not getting any better. His grandmother won’t stop interfering and the kids at school won’t look him in the eye. Then, one night, Conor is woken by something at his window. A monster has come walking. This adaptation is suitable for adults and children aged 10+. Fri 15 Apr. Bristol Alma Tavern Theatre. Everything I Didn't Say. A funny, touching and visceral piece, this ‘subtle sucker-punch of a show’ (4*s List) seeks to change perceptions of emotional abuse and what a victim can look like. Tue 19-Wed 20 Apr. Bristol Tobacco Factory. The Munch Mission. Full of mystery, nods to film noir and a broad streak of quirky comedy, The Munch Mission is a playable family theatre show from awardwinning theatre company Brave Bold Drama. Tue 19 – Sun 24 Apr. Bristol Old Vic Theatre. Zog and the Flying Doctors. Based on Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler’s bestselling sequel, Freckle Productions (Zog, Stick Man, Tiddler & Other Terrific South Bristol Yoga The Elephant House, 1 Dean Street, BS3 1BG. Tue 6-6.50pm Beginners yoga. 7-8pm Hatha flow. Wed 6.30-7.45pm Pregnancy. Friday 9.30-10.30am Hatha flow. My website is www.southbristolyoga.co.uk The price for all but pregnancy is £10 drop in, £50 for six consecutive classes, and you can book with MoveGB. Pregnancy is £13 drop in and £60 for six consecutive classes. I'm an advanced yoga teacher and I've been teaching since 2005 and have over 400hrs of teacher training. Instagram: yogawithraggs Phone: 07977134607
My teaching style is flowing, warming up gently and keeping the balance between effort and rest, and always with a ten minute nourishing deep relaxation to end the class. I'm all about inclusion and adapting poses to suite all. Everyone is welcome!
Arnos Vocale: For singers who love classical vocal music, great jazz standards and beautiful international folksongs all in 4-part arrangements and above. Some a Capella, some accompanied. Experience of choral singing and reasonable sight-reading ability preferable but come for a free trial session where we can all see if it’s a fit! £8 each week thereafter. Knowle Methodist church hall, entrance in Redcatch Road BS4 2EP every Tuesday 7-9pm. Contact Anya Szreter szreter. afm@icloud.com Tales, Tabby McTat) bring the creative team behind Zog, Emma Kilbey and Joe Stilgoe, back together for this truly modern take on the classic fairy tale. Wed 20 Apr. Bristol Alma Tavern Theatre. The Endling. In this pertinent, thoughtful, offbeat performance, Strange Futures ask some difficult questions, without blaming. How can we stop viewing ourselves as separate from the rest of the living world? Should we, perhaps, be choosing to move towards a human Endling? Thu 21 Apr. Bristol Alma Tavern Theatre. Testament of Yootha. A Caroline Burns Cooke brings to life the glamorous sitcom legend Yootha Joyce. Caroline brings her whole story, from her birth on Wandsworth Common, through Yootha’s fantastic theatrical and sitcom career (and all the personal stuff alongside) to her death and alcoholism at the age of 53. Sat 23 Apr. Redcatch Community Centre. Art Exhibition. Free entry to a show with a collection of paintings, drawings and mcuh more. Sat 23 Apr. St Thomas The Martyr Church Thomas Lane, Bristol. Ben Hur. Based on the classic 19th Century novel by Lew Wallace, Ben Hur is a meticulously crafted stage drama, packed with drama, action, and hope, set across the 1st Century Roman Empire. Sat 23 Apr. Bristol Alma Tavern Theatre. Blood, Glorious Blood! From the first historical reference
Theatre and entertainment luvver
Top picks April from Jacqui Ham of Acting Out theatre group at the Southville Centre in Bristol By Jacqui Ham, Acting Out pring has sprung and there is no time for fooling around when there is top class entertainment to be experienced! Let’s see what treats are in store: Bish Bosh Bash: The Improvised Game Show. A brilliant introduction for anyone who has not watched improv before – expect fast paced games, gags, and seamless interweaving of your suggestions into their scenes! Friday 1st April https://improvtheatre.co.uk/ event/the-bish-bosh-bash/?wcs_ timestamp=1648843200 The gorgeous children’s theatre company Hammerpuzzle are at the Tobacco Factory with their new adaption of Edward Lear’s The Owl and The Pussy Cat for 3- 7 years. Join them on their beautiful pea green boat 10-15th April https:// tobaccofactorytheatres.com/shows/ the-owl-and-the-pussycat/ Watch out for the custard pies and be careful not to get locked in the cage! Tiswas are reuniting at St Georges Bristol on the 16th April – a unique opportunity to see Chris Tarrant, Bob Carolgees, Sally James and John Gorman discussing this
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treasured children’s favourite from the 70’s https://www.stgeorgesbristol. co.uk/whats-on/tiswas-thereunion/ Sally Cookson’s A Monster Calls is back at the Bristol Old Vic 13- 23rd April (pictured). A fantastic Easter treat for older kids and adults, mesmerising and heartwarming, but adults take your tissues! Get ready to paint the town and all that Jazz - The very sexy Chicago is in Bristol with a stellar cast including the incredible Russell Watson 25th – 30th April Book now https://www.atgtickets. com/shows/chicago/bristolhippodrome/ Definitely all as good as a Chocolate Egg! Top pick: A Monster Calls Bristol Old Vic 13- 23rd April
My Wild Child Wild play sessions for toddlers in your local green space! Meet at the entrance to Bommie (next to 105 Wedmore Vale) BS3 5JB Every Wednesday during term time 10am-11.30am For parents and carers with children under five
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WHAT'S ON Continued to a menstrual product in Ancient Greece, to vulva care tips with social media influencer Adriana Mole. Humour and history collide in this taboo-busting multimedia performance, celebrating menstruation. Be guided through a history of menstrual products, teen diary extracts, spoken word, musical mash-up cabaret, character comedy and movie clips! Sun 24 Apr. Bristol Tobacco Factory. Matt Forde: Clowns to the Left of Me, Jokers to the Right. We have contacted all existing ticket holders for the original dates with details of how to transfer their bookings. There are wallies everywhere and half of them are running the country. The other half are trying to. Matt Forde (Spitting Image, Have I Got News For You, The Last Leg, The Royal Variety Performance) lashes out right, left and centre. And chucks in some funny voices. Mon 25 Apr - Sat 30 Apr. Bristol Hippodrome. Chicago. Set amidst the razzle-dazzle decadence of the 1920s, Chicago the musical is the story of Roxie Hart, a housewife and nightclub dancer who murders her on-the-side lover after he threatens to walk out on her. Desperate to avoid conviction, she dupes the public, the media and her rival cellmate, Velma Kelly, by hiring Chicago’s slickest criminal lawyer to transform her malicious crime into a barrage of sensational headlines, the likes of which might just as easily be ripped from today's tabloids. Wed 27-Sat 30 Apr. Bristol Redgrave Theatre.The Wedding Singer. Bristol Musical Theatre stage the comedy musical. Wed 27-Thu 28 Apr. Bristol Tobacco Factory. Yours Sincerely. Will Jackson has written 300 letters reconnecting with old friends and ex-boyfriends to run-ins with the marketing department at John Lewis, stamp collecting has never looked so sexy. Thu 28 Apr. Bristol Alma Tavern Theatre. The Indecent Musings of Miss Doncaster 2007. Annabel York's one woman show includes a banging soundtrack, stand-up comedy and dance. Life hasn’t quite turned out the way she thought it would when she accepted her sash and crown in Trilogy nightclub back in 2007. Fri 29 Apr. Bristol Alma Tavern Theatre. The First Broadcast: The Battle for the Beeb in 1922. A one-man play written and
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performed by Paul Kerensa who has written for TV the shows Miranda, Not Going Out and TFI Friday. Fri 29 Apr. Bristol Alma Tavern Theatre. Instant Wit! The Best in Improvised Comedy. There'll be sketches, songs and general silliness - and all of it based around audience suggestions. And if you're too shy to shout anything out? Well don't worry, you'll have the chance to write things down in the interval. We're the ones who'll look daft, not you! Fri 29 Apr-Sun 1 May. Bristol Folk Festival. The festival is headlined by Kate Rusby, O’Hooley & Tidow, Jon Boden and Kitty Macfarlane with an exceptional bill of artists across the weekend. Opening on Friday Night at Clifton Cathedral, St George’s Bristol forms the heart of the festival over the rest of the weekend, whilst Bristol Folk House also hosts ceilidhs and upbeat sets. Sat 30 Apr-Sun 1 May. Bristol Docks. 525 Anniversary Weekend Harbour Trips with The Matthew. As well as morning harbour trips, The Matthew (pictured) will be bringing you a taste of Tudor Bristol with music, activities and guests. Sat 7 May. St Aldhelm's Church The Chessel Street church is to mark the 100th birthday of the pipe organ. To mark this occasion they have arranged for Andrew Kirk, who is Director of Music at St Mary Redcliffe to come and play a recital in which he will repeat many of the pieces performed 100 years ago by one of his predecessors at St Mary Redcliffe
Sunday - Thursday
Validuntil until31st 30th April 2021 2022 Valid October
Opening hours: 5.30pm - 11pm every day A takeaway menu is available for collection and a 10% discount is offered on this service. Full licensed and air conditioned
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n ADVERTISING FEATURE
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The Spinal Column "Are you going to crack my spine like the videos online?” We see a lot of patients who have never seen a Chiropractor before but have watched plenty of ‘cracking’ videos online. They can be addictive, like people obsess over ‘pimple popping’ - not my cup of tea personally. The reactions to them are very split. We have those that can’t wait for their first adjustment, occasionally some who have no symptoms and are just there to check it out for themselves. Then there are those that have a fear about it but are there as they’re in pain and are willing to try anything. So what is that popping noise? Let’s start with what it’s not! It’s not bones rubbing together, it’s not unnatural and it’s definitely not anything breaking. The popping noise is actually an air bubble, or vacuum. Your joints are filled with fluid in a sack. As we move a stuck joint, with a quick adjustment, a space opens up space between the joints. This space then closes and makes a
popping noise. It’s similar to the noise made when you open champagne or a fizzy drink. So, more importantly, does it hurt? Honestly, it shouldn’t. A skilfully delivered adjustment does not hurt and actually feels great. Naturally, if your joint is inflamed and in a lot of pain, any movement can be a little sore. So despite some being put off by the videos, there’s a big difference between seeing someone else having it done and receiving an adjustment. Initial fears quite quickly disappear and the feel good of the adjustment replaces it. So why not give it a try. Our patients and research will tell you it’s the best for a lot of symptoms - back and neck pain, headaches and sciatica, improving mobility and getting back doing what you really want to do. And who knows, you may just love that feeling. Charles Herbert The Chiropractic Centre in Bristol Telephone: 0117 9741 501 www.thechirocentre.co.uk
What causes back pain? This Back Awareness Month we are looking at what causes back pain? The answer is simple. Stress! Certain things might jump to your mind when you think of stress, however there are many different types of stress. Let’s break them down into the 3 main types. Physical Stress This is all about how you look after your body physically. Poor posture and bad lifting techniques are obvious culprits. Lack of exercise and stretching, repetitive movements, accidents and falls, carrying your kids - the list goes on. The biggest piece of advice I have for this type of stress is, keep movement varied and frequent. There are ideal postures we should adopt, however the worst position is the one you spent most of your time in. If you’ve been working from home during the pandemic then the amount you need to move, compared to commuting and walking around an office, is dramatically reduced. Try and move each joint in your body through its full range of movement at least twice per day. Emotional Stress We are all affected by this one but rarely do people link it to back pain. The truth is, worrying about a deadline, running around after your kids, making ends meet, having a never ending to
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do list all affect you physically and cause pain. A classic example, how many times have you heard someone say they’ve had a stressful day at work and now they have a headache? Although not an obvious cause, emotional stress probably causes or is involved in 80-90% of the patients we see! What can you do? There’s a huge amount of advice about stress management available. What my patients find most helpful are taking time for yourself (‘me’ time), doing a daily gratitude journal, walks in nature and meditation. Different things work for different people, but it’s important to find what works for you. Chemical Stress This is probably the least obvious one. It’s our environment and what we put into our body. We all know ‘we are what we eat’ and it’s true. Our cells are changing constantly, millions of cells per minute. So if you put crap in, you get crap out. A simple one to solve, eat clean home cooked food that’s as close as possible to how nature provides it (more raw, less processed). If you have any questions about managing your back pain, please feel free to get in contact on 01179741501. We would love to help you get back on track.
Sciatica | Low Back Pain | Neck Pain | Headaches | Sports Injuries
What’s pain stopping you from doing right now? You want to get back to being you. To living your life the way you want to. Free to move. Free from pain and discomfort. Call us today to book your full Chiropractic Consultation including digital x-rays (if clinically indicated)
Usually £125, today only £20 Quote ‘Bristol Voice’ to make the most of this great offer 217b North Street BS3 1JJ (upstairs above Mon Pote) 0117 370 2680 www.kasachiro.com
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n REVIEWS The White Heart Inn, The Alma, Review by Joe Williams The comedy-horror of The White Heart Inn – a collaboration between Apricity Theatre, Black Dog Productions and Dumb Blonde Theatre – played to an almost full Alma Tavern Theatre last night (Thursday 24 February). The production quickly and credibly establishes the drab, stuffy and yet somehow cosy atmosphere of a dilapidated B&B reception, which forms the backdrop for the entire play, with the owners lurking on stage as the audience arrives, fussing over their antiquated computer and doily placements. It is also then very successful at transitioning this ambiance to one of foreboding and claustrophobia as guests arrive seeking shelter from the storm raging outside – and the hostelry’s sinister backstory is gradually revealed through the interplay between the visitors’ cheerfulness and the increasingly disconcerting behaviour of their hosts. There are touches of the BBC series, Ghosts, Mike Flanagan’s work on The Haunting for Netflix and even Sean of the Dead in the juxtaposition of the progressively minded, young, flippant and, in the eyes of the inn’s owners, debauched guests alongside both the religious zealousness of the hoteliers and the stiff conventions of an oldfashioned scary story. There is a certainly a shared sense of fun at rattling through the usual horror tropes; flickering lights; off-stage banging; failing tech; rattling chains; a group of strangers thrown together and forced to work reluctantly as a team – but who are repeatedly foiled by utterly unfathomable decisions by members to wander off alone on errands despite the threat of terrifying miseries that seem to be closing in upon them. Several good gags succeed in drawing laughter, but there are also moments that are genuinely unsettling, helped with convincingly deployed, sound, lighting and gore. The characters unmistakably represent established dramatic types: the drunk; the conflicted henchman; the naïve spiritualist; but the actors largely avoid relying merely on stereotype, anchored by a nuanced performance by Saili Katebe as Otis. Matilda Dickinson and Russell Eccelston both also produce some deft moments of ominousness and depth, whilst Stan Elliott adeptly punctuates the gradual descent into hellishness with an dextrous, comedic performance. The intimacy of the Alma as ever leaves its own mark on
proceedings, with the cast adapting well to its compact layout and the audience experiencing the murderous violence at very close quarters as it unfolds. Pride and Prejudice, The Mount Without. It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a church converted into an arts centre and in possession of a magnificent interior, must be in want of a play. And so it was that The Bristol Old Vic Theatre School’s production of Pride and Prejudice, adapted for the stage by Simon Reade from Jane Austen’s novel was performed in the chilly confines of The Mount Without. For those familiar with Bristol, the Mount Without is the former church of St Michael on the Mount Without – badly damaged by fire in 2016 – now transformed into an arts and performance space complete with a spacious bar in the crypt. Located on the impossibly steep St Michael’s Hill, the arts space and its surrounds are one of the city’s hidden secret spaces – with many steps, views and an almost gravity defying building that was once the place of worship for residents who lived up on the hill. Pride and Prejudice is a novel thick with dialogue, furnished with large houses, expansive English countryside and a bewilderingly large number of characters. It is also one to the best novels ever written with at its heart the witty and impossible not to love Elizabeth Bennet and her opposite number and love interest the proud and aloof Darcy. To deconstruct the narrative with its complex subplots and English landscapes, villages, parsonages and ball rooms is not a task for the feint hearted but in Simon Reade’s script the novel is boiled down to its basic stock. Coupled with Jenny Stephens’ direction this production takes the core of the story and mixes it with some of the emotion and home truths of Jane Austen’s novel. No marching soldiers, no horses and carriages and no stately homes. Instead, the cast use basic props and furniture and add the one ingredient essential for the story: youthful energy. Played in the round this is a must for all fans of Jane Austen. True to the spirit of the novel the stories of the relationships of Elizabeth and Darcy, Jane and Bingley, Mr Collins and Charlotte, Mr and Mrs Bennet, and Mr Wickham and Lydia are played out with occasional narratives related by members of the cast to complete the story. Fast, fabulous and full of wit and humour – this is a production that hits all the right notes in their Empire line gowns and riding breaches. Eve Pereira
as the main protagonist is everything Elizabeth Bennet should be: articulate, determined, independent and truthful – but also vulnerable and at times at a loss to know how the story will end. Darcy played by good looking Shivam Pallana could have done with a hot water bottle in the arctic performance space to warm him up but by the end his austere persona began to smoulder in the final snog with Elizabeth. But then Darcy is supposed to be a stiff. An ensemble cast was at its most effective in the enjoyable dance and ball scenes and when the animated Bennet sisters raced around the space, pinching and giggling, flirting and shouting – as all teenage sisters do. Jane Bennet (Rhea Norwood) was suitable vulnerable, attractive and kind, finding the good in everybody’s character. And the other sisters were also a delight: Kitty played by Camilla Aiko was the embodiment of an Empire silhouette and mischievous sibling, Tanvi Virmani as sullen faced Mary maintained the anti-dote to frivolity throughout, and Lydia Bennet – the free spirit of the family – was played with a wonderful naughtiness by Carlie Diamond. The novel is full of great characters – none more so than Mrs Bennet – the mother obsessed by marrying her daughters to wealthy young men. Rebecca Hyde enjoyed her role as the scatty matriarch delivering some of her one-liners with perfect comic timing. Aided and abetted by a rather young looking Mr Bennet in Bill Caple who at least had the body language of the elderly father of five and dwindling income. The interior of the Mount Without Mr Collins played by Josh Penrose gave a stand-out performance as the obsequious and self-important clergyman and champion of his patron Catherine De Bourgh – playing the conceited suitor to the Bennet sisters with a top hat full of pomposity. And his patron and Darcy’s aunt and owner of Rosings Park was given
a mix of Charlie’s Aunt, Lady Bracknell and Alec Guiness’ Lady Agatha D’Ascoyne from Kind Hearts and Coronets. One word: brilliant. Taylor Uttley played the unreconstructed authoritarian aristocrat straight – not for laughs or as a send-up – but as the outrageously entitled widow who famously clashes with Elizabeth Bennet in one of the novel’s and this production’s great scenes. Anna-Sophia Tutton in her maroon gown as the voice of reason as Mrs Gardner was consummate in her role, as was at the other end of the character spectrum Tom Mordell as the dodgy Mr Wickham – full of deviousness and a cocky selfassurance. Pragmatist Charlotte (Ruby Ward) who marries Mr Collins gave a strong performance as Elizabeth’s friend – we just know she gets the better of the priggish clergyman – and Joe Edgar as the amiable and handsome Mr Bingley cut the right tone as the man the sisters all wanted to dance with. The Mount Without has a high ceiling which is fine for music, a large performance space ideal for dance – but for theatre the acoustics can be an issue as voices can be lost – but the voice coaches did their job in Pride and Prejudice as the diction and projection allowed for almost every line to be clearly heard. One of the qualities of this production was the constant movement and choreography. Not just in the dance sequences but in the conversations set in drawing rooms and parlours. In what could be a static drama since so much is dialogue – of probing and questioning – giving momentum to each scene was essential – as was the seamless flowing from one scene to another. The director and her assistants in Aaron Finnegan and Sofia Gallucci and movement director Jonathan Howell added so much to make this production an outstanding success. Harry Mottram
Pride and Prejudice at The Mount Without.
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Photos by Craig Fuller
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n NEWS FROM THE METRO MAYOR
Warm words won’t fix the cost-of-living crisis EVERY month it seems to be getting worse. Gas and electric bills are up and for everyone who uses heating oil, that’s off the scale too. It’s rocketed 116 per cent. I expect you, like me, are looking at your smart meter thinking it didn’t used to be like that a few months ago – and as for petrol… Every month we also hear the Chancellor commenting. He is normally saying how he understands that life is tough for working families and pensioners. Really? Because as March turns to April and the cost of living crisis bites, and everything from the price of a stamp goes up, the Government has chosen this moment to deliberately introduce a series of measures that will make this crisis much, much worse. They say April is the cruellest month, and this spring the Chancellor will again force up taxes, painfully whacking up National Insurance contributions. He’s chosen a tax on workers’ income, not any of the other options
like buying and selling property portfolios or stocks and shares. Yet it’s not all doom and gloom on the economic front. There are plenty of great job vacancies in the region – many with good pay and prospects. One project I was excited to launch recently was aimed at West of England jobseekers in our burgeoning hospitality sector. Jobs Connect was commissioned by the West of England Combined Authority that I lead, and built by Bath-based software company Cognisess. It will connect local people to jobs with top hospitality and tourism employers in the region. Jobs Connect is a bit like a dating agency for jobs. Job seekers and businesses upload their profiles and the website plays matchmaker. Individuals can do personality tests to figure out their compatibility, and there are top tips to make sure you put your best side forward
Is your child short sighted? Did you know you can do things to help?
Metro Mayor
Dan Norris
writes for the Voice and stand out from the crowd. In the forthcoming months I hope to expand this scheme as well as launch more skills support and set up a good employers’ charter. We can’t change Government policy – well not until the next General Election – nor can we change food prices locally. But we can make sure more people can get better paid jobs and opportunities. Warm words won’t solve the cost-of-living crisis, but it’s vital we make sure people in our region have the skills and opportunities to weather this storm.
“One day I’ll explore the Amazon” Slow their short-sightedness not their ambition
At Lynne Fernandes Optometrists, we offer a programme which is clinically proven to slow down short-sightedness progression in children by 59% on average.1† This reduces your child’s dependency on glasses, can provide thinner lenses, and decreases the likelihood of certain eye health conditions later in life. We are passionate about this opportunity to protect children’s future eye health. Our myopia management clinics are backed with evidence and research, so you can be reassured that you and your child will have the best care.
182a Wells Rd, Knowle, Bristol BS4 2AL bristol@lynnefernandes.co.uk 0117 977 6330
Call the practice to book an assessment or visit our website www.lynnefernandes.co.uk/questions-about-myopia to find out more.
75 Gloucester Road, Bristol BS7 8AS bristolgr@lynnefernandes.co.uk 0117 942 6843
† Over 3 years, compared to a single vision 1 day lens. 1. Chamberlain P, et al. Optom Vis Sci. 2019;96:556–567
124a High Street, Nailsea BS48 1AH nailsea@lynnefernandes.co.uk 01275 854946
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INICALLY CL
PRO EN V
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Spit and polish for the young John as he faces up to life in the services during the 1950s
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We continue our serialisation of Memories of a Bristol Boyhood by Knowle resident John Fletcher as he continues his National Service. The story so far: after growing up in Bristol and taken his first job he gets his papers to serve his country - but the services are something of a surprise starting with the accommodation in the barracks.
ach iron sprung bed base was covered by three square ‘biscuits’ for the mattress, and three blankets and two sheets covered the bedding. Every morning each sheet and blanket was folded in a certain square way, with one blanket folded long ways and wrapped around the outside. The overall effect looked something like a large liquorice allsorts. Each Monday evening was ‘bull’ night when jobs were allocated to each man to ensure that the hut was presented in tip top sparkling condition for the C.O.’s inspection each Tuesday morning. If any hut failed to meet the highest standard of cleanliness then the whole cleaning process was repeated on the Tuesday evening. An even more daunting inspection, a kit inspection, occurred every other week during training. For this inspection all kit had to be laid out in accordance
with a supplied photograph. Every item had to be folded precisely with the service number visible and placed in the identical position as that shown in the photo. If the inspecting C.O. thought that a kit was either not displayed correctly, or was dirty, the N.C.O. would just tip up the bed and scatter everything across the floor. The unfortunate owner of the kit would then have to go through the whole sequence again for a second inspection on the following day. The second inspection was not as bad because the comradeship of the others in the hut ensured that enough helping hands produced a perfect layout for the next day. The first week started at quite a hectic pace; we marched or doubled everywhere. Day began at 6.00 am when the hut tannoy played some rousing music. Immediately the hut door would open and the Duty N.C.O. would appear and run his baton
National Service recruits being led to the Guards’ depot in Surrey, 1953. Photograph: Popperfoto.com
along the iron heads of each bed, shouting, “Wakey, wakey, get your feet on the floor. Anyone still in bed when I return in two minutes will be on fatigues for two hours this evening”. Even the fittest and most sporting of us found the outdoor life spent mostly marching or running exhausting. In the evenings when we were ‘blancoing’ our webbing (belts, packs etc.), shining our brasses and polishing our boots, it was a common sight to see many of us sitting on our bed with a boot in one hand, polish and duster in the other, and to be fast asleep. Some light relief was provided by a series of lectures held in the camp cinema. These were things like Padre’s Hour, educational talks and health and hygiene. During these times it was common practice to see heads slump one after another as tiredness overcame each airman. The Padre and other speakers were quite used to this situation and did not attempt to wake the offenders or report them for their inattention. With all the exercise, food became a fixation and three main meals were provided in the dining hall, and a morning break in the Naafi canteen was a feature. The main meals were basic, wholesome and not particularly well cooked but not a scrap was wasted. The Naafi breaks had to be paid for, so strict budgeting was required. For the first six months service, a national serviceman was paid 28 shillings (£1.40) per week less stoppages; the net amount was 25 shillings (£1.25). From this I made an allowance to my mother of 10 shillings (50p) leaving me the princely sum of 15 shillings (75p) to pay for my Naafi breaks plus the purchase of shoe polish, Brasso and Blanco.
After the evening meal we were marched back to our billets but before being dismissed we had the distribution of the day’s mail. We gathered round the N.C.O. with his sack of letters awaiting our name and number to be called. It was at this time I was very thankful I had Gill as a girlfriend as she would write two or three letters a week which, besides giving me a humorous report on the activities at home and of my friends at youth club, elevated me to the number of ‘alpha males’ who received letters in slightly scented pastel shaded envelopes with the mark S.W.A.L.K. on the back (sealed with a loving kiss). This separated us from the mummy’s boys who only received standard envelopes from home. Alpha male indeed! More recollections next time.
John Fletcher in the 1950s
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 to news@ southbristolvoice.co.uk or post to South Bristol Voice, 111 Broadfield Rd Knowle Bristol B42UX. All items will be safely returned
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ENTERPRISE PROGRAMME
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Are you based in South Bristol, aged 18-30 and have a business idea? Come and access our FREE business support. Mentoring Workshops Tailored business support Funding available (grants and loans) More information about our Enterprise programme can be found on our website. SIGN UP OR FIND OUT MORE Google 'Prince’s Trust Enterprise programme’ Or email: enquiries.sw@princes-trust.org.uk Supported by:
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April 2022
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n NEWS IN BRIEF Northern slopes: Bristol City Council has given itself permission to build 34 new homes on part of the northern slopes green space between Bedminster and Knowle West despite 14 letters of objection. The planned development off Kingswear Road is on land part of which had homes on that were removed in 2018. The road also is used by van and caravan dwellers. The council said: " “This site has been subject to extensive preapplication advice, both on the current scheme and previous submissions in 2017. The site forms 1 of 3 grouped allocated sites in the Knowle area and is the final site to come forward for development. The site is located at the top of the northern slopes and enjoys panoramic views back across the city. This location also means the site is visually prominent and constrained by significant topographic conditions." The Mayor Marvin Rees has consistently said he wants to build more homes in the city as there are around 16,000 people on the housing list. South Bristol Voice understands all the homes will be affordable with many up for rent and as council houses. Bristol Airport: The long running saga
over the proposed expansion of Bristol Airport has taken another turn. Following the Inspectorate's decision to overturn the initial halt to the plans the campaign group Bristol Airport Action Network (BAAN) is reported to have issued papers to the High Court for a Statutory Appeal under the Town & Country Planning Act 1990. Meanwhile North Somerset Council has decided against taking legal action to fight the ruling. Bristol Airport wants to increase the number of passengers with a larger terminal a multi-storey car park and improved bus routes. The airport's expansion plans were given the go-ahead last month when the planning inspectorate overturned a decision by North Somerset Council to reject the proposal. South Bristol Voice understands that some campaigners wish to see the airport closed in the long run although this seems unlikely as the airport employs more than 5,000 workers with up to 10,000 more jobs dependent on the airport. The airport is thought to believe with improvements it could take well over twelve million passengers a year in the long term with under nine
million now. Covid caused the numbers to drop to around two million. Mayoral referendum: Bristol will go to the polls in May to decide whether to scrap the mayoral system and return to the cross party committee system. The current Labour Mayor Marvin Rees was re-elected last May and will stand down in May 2024 having served two terms. He replaced the Independent George Ferguson in 2016 who was the first incumbent of the new system of elected mayors. The mayor has faced criticism from the opposition Liberal Democrats and the Green Party for being too powerful and dictatorial. His supporters say he is getting things done when for too long issues have remained unresolved such as building new homes. Last year the Liberal Democrat leader in the Council Jos Clark put forward a motion to hold a referendum on changing the mayoral system back to a cross-party cabinet system so as to be more accountable to a wider selection of voters. The criticism in the past was this system led to continual compromises and that politicians blocked other plans by the other
parties for the sake of it. Not surprisingly the Mayor did not agree with the decision to hold a referendum this May following the vote. The Council is currently made up of 24 Labour members, 24 Green Party Members, 14 Conservatives, 6 Liberal Democrats and 2 former Lib Dems now in the Knowle Community Party. In the last Mayoral election Marvin Rees had 59,276 votes against Sandy Hore-Ruthven of the Green Party who received 45,663 votes. This result gave Marvin Rees a mandate as he saw it to push through projects as Mayor. The unusual thing is that the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats who would normally be the main opposition in conventional politics have been overtaken by the Greens - normally seen as a minority group. The Metro Mayor or Mayor for the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) the former Labour MP Dan Norris, said he wanted the role to stay. He was supported in his view by the 24 strong Bristol Labour Group who are against the change and because elections are expensive. The referendum will be held on Thursday 5th May.
Rebirth of the city farm on the edge of Bristol Head down to Hartcliffe City farm on a Tuesday or Thursday and you’ll find volunteers sporting high-vis vests digging, painting, building and planting in a collective effort to get the City Farm ready to welcome visitors. Back in March 2020, Windmill Hill City Farm and Heart of BS13 were chosen by Bristol City Council as the preferred organisations to take on the Hartcliffe City Farm site. The long-term aim is to make it into a thriving hub of community activity - a place for leisure, learning, training, jobs and childcare. Down the line, the farm will boast market gardens producing fresh fruit and veg and beautiful flowers. They’ll be animals to visit, there for educational and therapeutic purposes and food production. A food trailer or café will serve tasty dishes, as much as possible made from food produced at the farm. Volunteers, both those simply wanting to get involved and those on supported placements will benefit from helping to grow flowers and veg or caring for the animals. They’ll be crucial in the running of a working city farm that benefits
the whole community. These things we’re sure of, but there are plenty of additional facilities and services that may come to the farm. It’ll be a while before the site gets to this point – there’s a lot of fundraising and practical work still to be done. On the ground however, things are starting to take shape. Local volunteers have been helping get the site ready for opening, repairing and building animal paddocks, creating paths, digging vegetable and flower beds, plus a whole lot of weeding! The farm is looking for more local volunteers to help get the site ready for opening. You don’t need any experience, just the ability to be physically active for a few hours and a willingness to get stuck in and work as a team.
Work continues at the farm
Volunteer sessions run on Tuesdays and Thursdays – no commitment necessary, just come along when you can. If you can’t come along yourself, please spread the word! To find out more about volunteering at Hartcliffe City Farm, or the project in general, visit www.hartcliffecityfarm. org.uk or find us on Facebook and Instagram.
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From Bristol to Hollywood: a brief history of Cary Grant By Harry Mottram. Stylish, masculine and immaculately turned out, Cary Grant was the epitome of the debonair male. Or so he became, because as a schoolboy in 1910 at Bishop Road Primary School in Bishopston a fellow classmate referred to him as a ‘scruffy little boy’ and one of his teachers complained he was always ‘making and noise and wouldn’t do his homework.’ Ironic when in the 1938 movie Bringing Up Baby he played the mild mannered and quietly spoken paleontologist David Huxley who was far from that scruffy Bristol schoolboy. But by then Archibald Alec Leach had honed his image as the man about town, or as his biographer Graham McCann noted the Bishopston boy had become the ‘epitome of masculine glamour’. When he entered the world of film Archibald wanted a new glamourous name and settled on Cary Grant as it sounded more American. He was to go on to star in a string of box office hits and classic movies with several rated by critics as some of the all-time greats. I give you Hitchcock’s thriller North By Northwest (1959), To Catch a Thief (1955), Notorious (1949), Suspicion (1941) and Bringing up Baby (1938). We all have our favourites, mine being Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) and Charade (1963) alongside Audrey
A poster for the movie North by Northwest
Hepburn, which some critics called ‘the best Hitchcock film Hitchcock never made.’ But it all started in 1904 at 15 Hughenden Road, Horfield, where he was born, but his upbringing was less than ideal. Archibald was the only surviving son of Elsie Maria and Elias James Leach, a tailor’s presser, who had his wife committed into Glenside mental hospital while later telling young Archie she had died. When he discovered his mother was still alive years later, he returned to bring her out of hospital to support her final years at a house in Linden Road in Westbury Park where she lived until her death in 1973 aged 96. By then his alcoholic dad had married again and had created a new family leaving Archibald psychologically damaged by his early life. As a child his dad took him to the Bristol Hippodrome to see the annual pantomime and that was the moment his life changed. It’s fair to say he was transfixed. Star struck. He managed to get an evening job as a messenger and gofer at the theatre bunking off Fairfield Grammar School regularly to help out and as time went by, he was helping with the lighting and befriending The Penders who had an acrobatic comedy show. He was expelled from Fairfield and joined the Penders at the age of 15 and so his stage life began. After touring the UK the Penders travelled to America where Archibald’s skills widened into acting and in particular comedy.
Cary Grant in Horfield in the 1970s pictured by Alan Griffee After they returned to England he stayed on forming his own comedy troupe and working as a paid escort for wealthy women making the most of his good looks and English accent. A series of jobs, roles and comedy shows followed as the now Cary Grant began to create the suave persona complete with his mid-Atlantic accent that was to serve him so well. After appearing in a number of short films in New York he gained attention from Paramount in 1931 and was signed up with a salary of $450 a week – a fortune at the time. The rest as we know is history as he moved up the star system to eventually become one the best paid actors of all time and able to pick and choose roles including turning down the James Bond film Dr No in 1961 as he only wanted to do one movie as 007. His films were box office while he was equally famous off the screen for his private life marrying five times and fathering just one child Jennifer in 1966 with Dyan Cannon, who he claimed was his ‘best production.’
He returned to Bristol regularly to visit his mother and to see the old city from where he had sprung. Cary Grant died in 1986 aged 82 after taking ill at the Adler Theatre in Davenport, Iowa, USA, suffering a stroke. Despite being taken to hospital he died a few hours later. Since his death there have been festivals in Bristol to celebrate his life and films, books and documentaries and a statue in Bristol’s Millennium square. Whether he returned to Bishop Road to see his old school to see if his desk was still there, we’re not sure, but he was photographed outside his childhood home in Horfield by Alan Grifee and famously at the Clifton Gorge. We’ll leave the last word to Archibald Leach on his screen persona and famous good looks: “Everyone wants to be Cary Grant. Even I want to be Cary Grant. I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be until finally I became that person.”
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southbristolvoice ADVERTISING FEATURE
Credit union bites back against loan sharks in the South West Throughout the pandemic, many people have become less financially resilient and in the wake of the increased rates of inflation and energy bill crisis, this trajectory is expected to continue. In a recent statement from the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, they suggested the cost of living crisis will lead to increased loan sharks and illegitimate doorstep energy sellers. Those feeling the pinch may look for money away from trusted sources for a temporary solution. However, all money lenders need to be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA); if they are not and they aren’t someone you know, they could be a loan shark. In the UK alone, the last reported figure found that 310,000 people were in debt to illegitimate lenders according to the Illegal Money Lending Team (IMLT) and this may have risen in the face of economic hardship since the pandemic began.
Spotting the signs
memory, it provides loan sharks with more collateral to hold against their victims. If you are unsure whether a payment transaction is legitimate, check the FCA’s register to find out whether the lender is authorised https://register.fca.org.uk/. If they are not listed, avoid borrowing from them and ensure they do not enter your home.
Reporting illegal money lending
Stop Loan Sharks’ recent winter newsletter details the story of a terrified dad who borrowed £2,000 from someone posing as a work colleague to help him fund a family holiday in Southeast Loan sharks often approach people as friendly, trustworthy Asia. The loan shark was initially friendly and to keep up with figures and so it can be difficult to initially recognise the payments of £200 per month, the father borrowed another warning signs. They typically won’t give you any proof of payments before entering an agreement, or confirmation about £4,000 from the colleague, meaning that he ended up further in debt. The loan shark became more aggressive when he the total money you will need to repay. As a result, they can struggled to make repayments, even threatening the victim’s raise the debt and interest or add additional amounts without children and turning up at his doorstep. He eventually called your permission. Citizen’s Advice for help and the IMLT launched an investigation, To reclaim their payments, they can resort to illegal measures leading to the arrest of the loan shark. such as intimidation, threats and, in some instances, violence. This includes taking possessions for security such as passports If you have fallen victim to a loan shark or have spotted the and bank cards or using blackmail such as threatening to tell the signs that the transaction does not look legitimate, you can victim’s friends, family, employers and even the police. report it to England’s IMLT, who can prosecute illegal lenders If you’ve borrowed money from a loan shark, the most and help to support victims. Since its inception in 2004, they important things to remember are that you’ve not done have supported more than 30,000 people and written off over anything illegal and you won’t get in trouble with the police. £87 million worth of illegal debt. Their services go beyond It’s illegal to lend money without a licence, but it’s not illegal to investigating and prosecuting loan sharks, extending to borrow money from a loan shark. education around the issues and problems that loan sharks can In this digital age, spotting the signs can be harder as loan cause. sharks have moved their methods online, giving them access To report an illegal money lender, call the 24/7 helpline on to a wider audience than ever before. In fact, one in ten people 0300 555 2222 or visit www.stoploansharks.co.uk. Live Chat met a loan shark using social media platforms such as Snapchat, is available on the website between 9am and 5pm, Monday Whatsapp and Facebook or via dating websites according to to Friday. If you have been threatened by a loan shark and are IMLT’s 2020 victim statistics report. With more sensitive worried about your safety, it is recommended that you call the information being shared online than at any point in living police.
A safe and trusted way to borrow
In light of the current economic situation, credit unions are stepping up to the plate by offering FCA recognised finance, in an ethical and low-cost way. Here in South West England, Great Western Credit Union (GWCU) currently has over 20,000 members and is a financially sympathetic community-based option, steering people away from the debt cycle. With their low-cost finance, the credit union actively helps people to save in comparison to high street banks, whilst providing a carefully calculated amount of lending so that repayments are genuinely affordable. GWCU has teamed up with IMLT to raise more awareness of schemes and their new dedicated loan shark page offers resources to learn more about how to identify high-cost lenders to stop this activity from arising further. The credit union is helping people to make informed choices about the lending options available to them and as a reward for establishing good money habits, new members will receive a savings boost of £25. For full details about the savings boost, including eligibility, please visit https://greatwesterncu.org/financial-wellbeing
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CJ Hole Southville invite you to accept our offer of a free sales or lettings valuation. To arrange an appointment, please telephone the office or call in personally. If you have instructed another agent on a sole agency and/or sole selling rights basis, the terms of those instructions must be considered to avoid a possible liability to pay two commissions.
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