Bishopston Voice January 2023

tread the

THE 100-year-old Ashley Down Oak has been saved – to the delight of local campaigners.

Experts have carried out underground work to reduce the risk of the tree’s roots damaging a neighbouring house.

And Bristol City Council’s tree and woodland manager has confirmed that the authority no longer needs to fell the tree or carry out drastic reduction of branches by “pollarding”.

The 100-year-old tree is on the corner of Stoney Lane and Ashley Down Road, in the grounds of Down View estate. It was due to be chopped down because of fears it would cause subsidence under a house nearby that is owned by the council.

Save the Ashley Down Oak (Stado)

The Ashley Down Oak and, left, protesters in the tree in 2021

campaigners climbed the tree in protest and occupied it in 2021 to stop the council felling it. Now groundwork company Geobear has Turn to Page 3

Petition bid to protect library

Remembering the

Petition demand to save Central Library

A PETITION has been launched urging Bristol City Council to lift the threat to the Central Library.

Mayor Marvin Rees is considering moving the service and selling off the Grade 1 listed building on College Green. It’s part of a package including cuts to other library services across the city to try to save £1.4 million as the council looks to make massive savings.

A plan to relocate the library and reduce other services in 2018 was ditched after an outcry. Now Bristol’s Liberal Democrats have started the petition against the latest proposed cuts.

Lib Dem Councillor for Hotwells & Harbourside Alex Hartley said: “I’m so disappointed that once again the Mayor is targeting services in Hotwells & Harbourside. The Central Library is a renowned and listed library in the centre of Bristol, that has been here for 116 years. I will do everything I can to fight this closure, and I hope local residents will join me in this fight by signing our petition.

Former MP for Bristol West, Stephen Williams, said: “It’s hard to imagine Bristol without this superb facility. Selling it off for a less appropriate use and relocating it to a worse location and almost certainly downgraded size would be a travesty. The Mayor has got a fight on his hands if he thinks he can get away with this act of cultural vandalism.”

Parks, transport and care homes could also face major budget savings next year, according to a consultation asking how the council should try to balance its books. Council tax is likely to go up next April, adding further pressure on people struggling with the cost of living.

Mr Rees said: “Councils are underfunded and the government shows no partnership with city leaders to design services and places that support people in this financial crisis. As a result, we have to balance a substantial shortfall in our funding and we must make

the council smaller, do less and focus on our priorities, while making yet further efficiencies.”

Draft proposals for the council’s finances from April will be put forward this before

Useful numbers

Bristol City Council 0117 922 2000 Citizens Advice Bureau 0844 499 4718 Police www.avonandsomersetpolice.uk General enquiries: 101 Emergency: 999 Fire www.avonfire.gov.uk General enquiries: 0117 926 2061

Complaints

councillors sign off the final budget in February.

A link to the petition can be found at bristollibdems.org/ save_central_library

Emergency: 999 NHS Health Call 111

Well Aware (health and social care information) www.wellaware.org.uk Freephone: 0808 808 5252 We are Bristol helpline Freephone 0800 694 0184 Mon-Fri 8.30am-5pm Weekends 10am-2pm

Former MP Stephen Williams and Councillor Alex Hartley outside the library

We need to do

all we can to look after these green giants'

From Page 1 carried out stabilising work injecting polymers into the ground to prevent the roots growing under the house.

Geobear spokesman Aleister Willis said historically where tree roots undermine a house and subsidence is feared, the offending tree is usually removed.

He said: “In this case, the tree does not need to be removed as our geopolymer compacts the soils beneath the property. Essentially this means there is no moisture in the soil, so the tree roots will not migrate into the area any longer. Ultimately this means the trees stay and the property can be stabilised. It's basically a win for all parties.”

Stado received an email, which has been shown to The Voice, in which the council’s tree and woodland manager Andy Bryce says: “The works suggest that we no longer need to undertake the drastic and ongoing crown reduction works to the tree.

“In order to assess the impact of the remedial work though, we have asked for continued level monitoring of the property. A

key stage for us is to monitor damage recovery over the drier hotter summer months.”

Local resident and Stado spokesperson Torin Menzies said they hoped the ground work would now end the threat to the tree.

“Stado welcomes this resolution for all involved; however, in light of subsidence mitigation options like this one being available, we are dismayed that Bristol City Council ever made a decision to fell the Ashley Down Oak - local communities should not need to resort to direct action in order to prevent such unnecessary and unwise tree removal.”

Treasurer of the Bristol Tree Forum Prof John Tarlton said he hoped this solution could be used for other trees in the city.

He said: “Mature trees such as the Ashley Down Oak are not only beautiful Bristol landmarks, they also act as carbon sinks, reduce air and noise pollution and provide crucial cooling to city streets as our summers get ever hotter, and dangerous heat waves get more frequent. We need to do all we can to look after these green giants.”

Lunar

Lunar Optical has now been providing the local area with Ocular Health advice and care for 10 years so we wanted to take this opportunity to thank our patients.

Thank you very much for supporting us and our local independent Opticians, we very much look forward to the next 10 years and can’t wait to see what those years bring us.

'

Save the Ashley Down Oak campaigners in 2021

Photos: Stado

Passengers call for action over buses

FIRST Bus should be stripped of its right to run its “egregiously poor” service in Bristol, furious passengers told councillors.

Residents who rely on buses voiced their anger at a meeting of the West of England Combined Authority (Weca), which is responsible for strategic transport, and urged drastic action to solve the crisis.

It comes as the company announced the “temporary” cancellation of 1,450 bus journeys a week across the city, until at least April, because of a desperate shortage of drivers to meet its own timetables.

Bristol West Labour MP Thangam Debbonaire described the cancellations to more than a dozen routes as “the apparent collapse of Bristol’s public transport system”, while passengers spoke of the devastating impact on an already crumbling network.

In response, First said it

was “extremely sorry” for the problems and said the changes would make services more

reliable in the meantime.

Speaking at Weca audit committee public forum on

Thursday, November 17, Joe Aldous said: “Every morning I have to walk five miles to work because the three buses that are supposedly meant to operate to get me in for 9am never run.

“This is a central road that runs from north Bristol to the centre – it’s not a rural hideaway, though that’d be no excuse, even if it was.”

He told Weca: “You are enabling First Bus in killing the city. It’s time for First to ship out.”

Another passenger, James Campbell, said in a statement to the committee: “First Group’s bus services are egregiously poor and Weca must take action urgently.

“I see the only option available as cancelling First Group’s contract with its respective councils or with Weca and bringing buses back into public ownership, where profits are ploughed back into the

A third, Katherine Anthony, said the lack of decent public transport in Bristol was “shocking”. She said she would be forced to buy a car because of the stress of her daily sixmile journey from her home in Whitchurch to Redland.

Committee member Bristol Lib Dem Cllr Sarah Classick said: “First Bus and the bus system in the city are truly appalling and something needs to be done urgently.”

B&NES Lib Dem Cllr Winston Duguid, who chairs Weca overview & scrutiny commission, told the meeting: “It is a desperate situation.

“What you’ve articulated is that it’s affecting thousands of people, and it’s very powerful.”

Bristol Labour Cllr Brenda Massey said: “Something else that has impacted on residents has been changes to routes which cut off my constituents from doctors’ surgeries, and these are older people who

depend on these.”

A First West of England spokesperson said: “We are extremely sorry for the problems customers are experiencing with our services as a result of the ongoing shortage of drivers.

“In early October we implemented service changes designed to balance customer demand with available resource to deliver reliable services for our customers.

“Continuing driver shortages are also making it difficult to operate all journeys in our current timetables. Consequently, we have just removed some journeys across several services on a temporary basis.”

The full list of cancellations is here: https://tinyurl.com/ ynpxyxbf

By Adam Postans, Local Democracy Reporting Service

n LETTER

ARE you waiting for a bus? Or is there no bus to wait for? The Metro Mayor, Dan Norris, has no money. He says he can’t subsidise unprofitable routes. First can’t get enough drivers. People earn more driving lorries.

But there is an answer. Mayor Norris and North Somerset Council plan to spend £152 million re-opening the Portishead railway line. Yet a dedicated bus route would provide a better service. This would cost about £20m. That leaves about £130m to spend on the missing buses.

It's quite simple. Lay tarmac on the 3.5km of disused railway between Portishead and the M5 junction19 (Gordano services). Buses can run up the M5 until Avonmouth, Junction 18. Bus priority measures are already in place on the Portway for the Portway park and ride. At the Cumberland basin they join the Metrobus priority measures to go along Cumberland Road to Temple Meads. Of course the buses don't have to go to Temple Meads. They can use the Metrobus routes to provide a service wherever needed in Bristol.

The planning has cost £21m and taken 21 years, without moving a single passenger. A train may have been a good idea 21 years ago. Times change. £310m has been spent on Greater Bristol Bus Network and Metrobus since then. The project has developed its own momentum. No one wants to question it now.

Nearly all 236 trains will be almost empty. A couple in morning and evening rush hours will be well used. But projected passenger figures show 88% of seats empty. After 15 years 84% of seats will still be unused. Reinstating the trains will increase greenhouse gases by 1000 tonnes per annum. What is the point of running nearly empty trains doing 2 mpg, especially in a climate emergency? A bus doing11 mpg makes more sense. A more convenient service, less CO2, and £130m for more buses.

So while you're waiting for that bus take out your smartphone and email Dan Norris, Mayor@westofengland-ca.gov.uk Tell him to stop playing with trains and fix your bus service. You could also email your councillor. https://democracy.bristol.gov.uk/mgFindMember.aspx

Any questions? Email barrycash@uwclub.net

Barry Cash, Bishopston

Government forks out £11.5m to ease Bristol bed-blocking crisis

HEALTHCARE services have received £11.5 million to try to crack a hospital bed-blocking winter crisis in the Bristol region.

The cash, split between the new local health authority Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG) Integrated Care Board (ICB) and the three local councils, is from a £500 million Department of Health and Social Care emergency pot to get medically fit patients out of hospital.

Bosses are now deciding how best to use the money, which is aimed at easing pressure on hospital wards clogged up with too many patients who are well enough to leave, but cannot be discharged because there is often no place available for them to be looked after in the community.

The “adult social care discharge fund” aims to speed up the process of getting people into the most appropriate setting, as well as relieving the knock-on effects of packed A&Es and long ambulance queues.

It can be used to pay for more adult social care staff during the current crisis and other

ways of freeing up hospital beds, such as homecare and a programme called “discharge to assess” where patients continue to have their care and assessment out of hospital.

BNSSG ICB chief executive Shane Devlin told a meeting of the board that many of its longer-term priorities had been suspended until April, with all focus now on getting as many people out of hospital safely when they have ‘no criteria to reside’ – also known as bed-blocking.

He said: “The major objective in winter is about keeping people safe, particularly with regard to ‘no criteria to reside’.

“No matter which way we cut this, the most important thing for winter is can we get ‘flow’ and can we assure ourselves that people who don’t need to be in hospital aren’t in hospital because we know that causes a massive amount of harm, not only to people in bed, both cognitively and physically, but also in flow with regard to ambulances.”

Mr Devlin told the meeting on Thursday, December 1, that BNSSG had received a

“very high proportion” of the £500million emergency funding “given the challenge that we face”.

“If we are to get patients from a hospital to a community environment, we have to build trust – trust in the clinicians in the hospital that our systems are good, trust in the community that will be receiving patients,” he said.

“Our biggest risk is we’re trying to do this at speed, when we do not have a longer period of building trust between organisations and between clinicians.”

A report to the board said the ICB had been allocated £8.3million, Bristol City Council £1.7million, South Gloucestershire Council £780,000 and North Somerset Council £770,000 for its social care departments, with all money pooled.

By Adam Postans, Local Democracy Reporting Service

Clean Air Zone could go if pollution falls, says Mayor

BRISTOL’S new Clean Air Zone could be scrapped if pollution falls below certain levels, according to the mayor, Marvin Rees.

The Clean Air Zone (CAZ) was brought in on Monday, November 28 after lengthy delays. The scheme sees drivers of particularly polluting vehicles charged to enter an area around the city centre, but some have suggested it could be expanded to a wider area in future.

Mr Rees said Bristol City Council was legally forced to introduce the CAZ after environmental campaigners Client Earth took legal action against the government for high levels of air pollution in many cities.

During a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, December 6, the mayor said: “I have been asked about the future of the CAZ recently, and asked if there’s going to be an expansion. The answer from

me is certainly no. I’m not going to expand the CAZ to the whole city.

“As soon as it does deliver compliant air in the shortest possible time, it’s possible that it won’t be needed any more at all. But whatever future there is with the CAZ or any other measures to manage vehicles moving around

Loft Boarding & Insulation

the city, that would be up to any future commission.”

So far, about four in five vehicles entering the zone have been compliant and weren’t charged, the mayor said.

Opposition to the new scheme has seen thousands petition to scrap the CAZ completely, with a legal challenge also being prepared.

Mr Rees said: “It’s important to recognise the purpose of the CAZ, which is about improving air quality through cleaner vehicles and behaviour change. It’s a public health intervention, not a transport intervention, in light of its relation to clean air.

“It didn’t just drop out of the air, it wasn’t thought up in a back room of the council — our air standards across the UK didn’t meet EU standards. Client Earth legally challenged the government over their lack of action.

“The government then

rolled down responsibility to local government across the major cities with a legal requirement to have compliant air in the shortest possible time. We then entered a period of negotiation with the government, repeatedly making the points that Clean Air Zones are blunt instruments, could have negative consequences for some people, for households, businesses and our public sector partners such as the hospital.

“Now it has been launched, there are some concerns being raised by some quarters. I would say two things. The debate about the nature of CAZ was three years ago. For those groups that so vociferously advocated for CAZ in the first instance, it would be good to stay in the public debate about this. Some groups have been quite absent as the conversation has gone on.”

By Alex Seabrook, Local Democracy Reporting Service

Bristol: a city of nearly 300 ethnicities

THE population of Bristol has grown by over 10 percent in the last decade according to figures from the latest census.

The number of people calling the city home has risen by over 44,000 to 472,500. This is higher than the overall increase for England and Wales (6.6 percent), where the population grew by nearly 3.5 million to 59,597,500.

The city is now made up of more than 287 ethnic groups, with almost 19 percent of the population born outside of the UK. There are more than 90 languages spoken throughout the city, and more than 45 religions represented, although more than half (51 percent) of people do not consider themselves to be religious. This is the third highest proportion out of all local authorities in England.

The census – which took place last year – is undertaken by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) every 10 years and gives a snapshot of all the people and households in England and Wales. Census Day was on 21 March 2021.

Mayor Marvin Rees said: “We are very proud to have such a diverse city with almost 300 ethnic identities represented, and as a City of Sanctuary we remain committed to offering a warm welcome and a place of safety for anyone who needs it.

“There is still plenty that

we will continue to do and we remain committed to building a city of hope and ambition, where everyone is welcome and able to thrive."

Other key facts from the latest census include:

Bristol has a relatively young population with more children than people over 65.

The median age of people living in Bristol is 32.4 (compared to 40.3 in England

and Wales). There are 191,600 households in the city, up by 4.9 percent (8,900 homes) since 2011. 26.7 percent of households have dependent children (51,100). Almost 9,500 veterans make up 2.4 percent of the population over 16.

The census asks questions about individuals, their households and home. In doing so, it helps to build a detailed snapshot of our society.

Information from the census helps the government and local authorities to plan and fund local services, such as education, healthcare and roads.

ONS are publishing the data in batches because there is so much information. The aim is to publish the main data within two years of the census date. When new data becomes available, it will be published on Bristol City Council’s Census Dashboard

Bristol Clean Air Zone

July, 2014 E: news@bishopstonvoice.co.uk

HELEN Brewer of AMD Solicitors considers the impact of the introduction of the Bristol Clean Air Zone (“the Zone”) on Monday 28 November 2022, and considers whether landlords and tenants alike should be worried about whether this could have a negative impact on property prices in and around the Zone.

Bristol City Councils website here: https://www.bristol.gov.uk/ residents/streets-travel/bristolscaz/view-a-map

bishopston bishopstonvoice voice

Advertising Feature

The gift that pays for itself

In 2020 emission levels across the UK were at record highs due to increased traffic volumes and in particular diesel vehicles on our roads. In an attempt to tackle this issue, the government introduced a new Environment Act 2021 which gave the Secretary of State the power to set legally binding, longerterm, environmental targets lasting at least 15 years, across a variety of areas relating to the environment.

will be. However a Will can be worded to provide that a gift of 10 % of the value of your estate at that time is given to a charity or charities of your choice. The effect of this will be that the rate of Inheritance Tax payable on the whole estate is reduced from 40 % to 36 %.

Now the big question many landlords and tenants may have is whether this will have an impact on property values and market rents where properties are located within the Zone. There is a concern amongst tenants located in Bristol City Centre that the introduction of the Zone coupled with the pedestrianisation of roads such as Princess Victoria Street in Clifton Village will have a negative impact on footfall and drive people away from these areas.

By Shelley Faulkner, solicitor with AMD Solicitors

Due to Bristol's poor air quality, it was included as one of the cities that would be required to meet these targets. In order to ensure compliance with these new regulations, Bristol City Council developed the Zone which came into effect on 28 November 2022. The Zone will cover most of the city centre including Park Street, Brandon Hill and St Andrews Road. The Zone’s boundary is available on

WHILE most of us support number of charities in our lifetime, it is perhaps not surprising that a smaller number choose to remember a charity in their Will. Clearly the priority for most is to provide for a surviving spouse or children, or to ensure that the family wealth can be passed on to benefit the next generation.

However, government policy is clearly to encourage giving to charity, and a recent development in the law is intended to promote gifts to charity being made by Will. This change may also, on occasion, serve to save Inheritance Tax, or even to create a gift which literally pays for itself.

Reduced rate of Inheritance Tax

Where somebody dies after 6 April 2012 the rate of Inheritance Tax applied to the estate can be reduced from 40 % to 36 % (in other words by 10 %), provided that at least 10 % of the estate passes to charity.

Clearly it is not possible to determine in advance exactly what value the assets you leave by Will will have on your death for Inheritance Tax purposes, or what 10 % of the total value

In same circumstances, it has been calculated that this reduction in the tax bill can serve to leave the estate, even after payment of the gift to charity, with a value as high as if the gift had not been made. Thus the gift can in some cases quite literally pay for itself.

Even where a Will has not been prepared in these terms, it may be possible to take advantage of this tax break. If the beneficiaries of the estate agree, it is possible to effectively amend the terms of a Will within two years of the date of death. A ‘Deed of Variation’ can be drawn up which sets out the family members’ agreed arrangements

Following COVID-19 and the effect this has had on the high street tenants, there has been a move towards agreeing turnover rents in new leases, so if there are any future periods of closure, tenants are paying rent based on money coming in rather than a fixed sum. However, commercial landlords should be especially aware of the effect this might have if their lease contains a turnover rent provision because if footfall to areas within the Zone reduced, then this may be passed on to the landlord with a rent reduction. Not only this but as

for the distribution of the estate, and the estate can then be divided as if the Will had been made in these terms. A Deed of Variation could therefore provide that 10 % of the estate is to pass to a chosen charity or charities, making the estate as a whole eligible for the reduced rate of Inheritance Tax.

This change in the law is clearly very good news both for charities, and potentially for some estates as well. However the detail of the application can be complex. For example, the estate is divided into different ‘components’ depending on how the property will pass to the beneficiaries, in order to calculate whether the 10 % test has been met. Taking specialist advice on the implications for your particular circumstances is therefore essential.

the economy continues to struggle there is a concern that businesses may start to fail and tenants will look to either surrender their lease early or look to assign the remainder of the term to another business.

of attorney and all private client issues, contact Shelley Faulkner, Florence Pearce and the other members of the team on 0117 9621205, email probate@ amdsolicitors.com or call in at 15 The Mall Clifton, or 100 Henleaze Road Henleaze.

The good news is that the consensus amongst industry experts seems be a no. Looking at property prices when the LEZ came into effect in London in 2008 a comparison to prices inside the area to outside did not show a major

AMD’s team of experienced private client solicitors and practitioners includes full

difference in valuation.

If you are a struggling tenant or a Landlord who has just been approached by your tenant looking to assign their lease contact either Helen Brewer or another member of the commercial property team on 0117 9735647 or info@ amdsolicitors.com as soon as possible as there may be unwanted consequences of delaying seeking advice.

AMD Solicitors takes pride in sponsoring local, Bristol based charities and this year is very pleased to be supporting the Bristol branch of the Alzheimer’s Society, the local branch of this national charity which works to improve the quality of life of people affected by dementia in Great Britain. For full details of our fundraising activities visit our website www.amdsolicitors.com.

Copyright AMD Solicitors

IVF age limit reduced from 40 to 39

FERTILITY treatment will be extended to single women on the NHS in Bristol while transgender people are also included for the first time – but the upper age limit is coming down to pay for it.

At present only straight or gay couples are eligible for the service, which “discriminates” against some groups by excluding them unfairly, a health authority meeting was told.

Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire (BNSSG) Integrated Care Board (ICB) approved a new fertility policy on Thursday, December 1, after hearing the existing one was open to legal challenge under the Equality Act.

It includes lowering the maximum age for prospective mothers from 40 to 39.

People undergoing cancer treatment can currently have their eggs or sperm frozen but others whose NHS treatment

will have an adverse or irreversible impact on their ability to conceive will now be included, including patients having surgery on a second ovary or testes and transgender people on the transition pathway.

Other changes include reducing the number of independently funded cycles of intrauterine insemination (IUI) – a fertility treatment where sperm is inserted directly into the womb – to demonstrate infertility from 10 to six to ease the financial burden on those being treated.

The new policy will also support people with diagnosed therapy-resistant psychosexual issues that prevent them from having children without assistance and will continue to offer individuals one fresh and one frozen cycle of IVF.

Board members heard the decision to reduce the female upper age limit was based on

John Wills House

Outstanding care in Westbury-on-Trym

Respite

evidence about the much lower effectiveness of treatment for women over 40.

Men aged up to 54 will still be eligible under the changes, which come into force on April 1.

The new policy follows a review launched in March 2021 that gained the views of 438 people and organisations.

Three common themes highlighted in the feedback were to widen the scope of people who can access reproductive cells preservation, to increase the number of cycles of IVF from one to three and that the length of time a person has not conceived should be considered more important than their relationship status.

BNSSG ICB’s Bristol chief nursing officer Rosi Shepherd said: “The proposals aim to provide better equity of access for local people – which was important feedback we heard

during the consultation – while staying within our limited resources.”

A report to the board said: “There is a risk that if the proposed policies are not adopted, the ICB will remain open to legal challenges under the Equality Act. The current commissioning policy for fertility assessment & treatment discriminates against single people, transgender people and those with a health issue that will prevent them conceiving.

“The rationale for lowering the upper age limit is backed by evidence and has been deemed a rational and legal position.”

Data from 2019 shows successful live births resulted from 19 per cent of women aged 38 and 39 who underwent IVF, compared with 11 per cent aged 40 to 42.

By Adam Postans, Local Democracy Reporting Service

Nursing l Dementia l Short term l

YOU’VE probably heard or read somewhere that singing is good for you; that’s absolutely true, and singing in a group is one of the best things you could do in 2023 to boost your emotional and physical wellbeing. But if you think you can’t sing, or haven’t sung since school, you may well think there’s no way you could be in a choir. However, not all choirs are the same! At the (ironically titled and welcoming!) Stepford Singers, you’ll find that with a skilled, supportive teacher, and others singing around you, you can relax, enjoy yourself, sing better (and laugh more!) than you expected. No auditions and no need to be able to read music as all the songs are taught by ear, so anyone can give it a go - could that be you this year? For more info, email fran@naturalvoice.net

Shop Local for 2023!

GLOS RD Central traders would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported them this year. We loved hosting our Christmas Street Party, using our wide pavements to spill out with Christmas goodies and give space to local charities and choirs too. Its always a pleasure to see all our regular customers, friends and neighbours, give out mulled wine and generally getting into the festive vibe. Its wonderful that Refutrees have used our section as a base for selling their Christmas trees to help refugees through Aid Box Community and we hope to see them again next year.

Last month the North Bristol Art Trail was a huge success. Not only did art lovers enjoy seeing local artists in their homes but they were also able to meet them in the Room 212 Studio and Artigo's exhibition area. We really are the arty part of Gloucester Road! Most of our shops will open between Christmas and New Year so if you're visiting friends and family there's still a chance to buy locally made art and gifts.

We're all facing a tricky time in 2023 and everyone is watching their bank balances. However we know that you'll do your best to shop local and keep your favourite shops and businesses going through these difficult times. See you in the New Year!

To keep up to date with Glos Rd Central news follow us on Facebook.

All hail the Wassail at community orchard

JUICE mulling pans at Horfield Organic Community Orchard (HOCO) are being scrubbed up after a three-year wait for the Wassail.

‘Waes hail’ is an Anglo Saxon greeting meaning good health or good fortune. Apples, for eating and cidering, were a huge part of the local food economy up until the mid-20th century. Traditions of gatherings to wake up the trees were celebrated wherever orchards grew.

The HOCO event takes place on Saturday 14 January, 2-4pm.

Shannon Smith, one of the organisers said: “It’s 25 years since HOCO took root on some abandoned plots on the margins of the Golden Hill allotment site.

“The HOCO Wassail includes traditional elements like dipping branches in cider, offering toast and honey to the guardian spirits of the orchard, and making a big noise to wake up the trees from their slumbers. It’s become an amazing mid-winter community celebration with hundreds of people. We look forward to welcoming everyone, and will have plenty of mulled juice and homemade cake for sale.”

HOCO is also open to new members in the New Year. The group has ambitious plans to

ensure the orchard is sustained for the next 25 years. These include projects to improve access to water, and funding a part-time co-ordinator role. Growing the number of supporting Friends members will help make them happen.

If you are interested in becoming an active member of HOCO, then get in touch for information about this year’s Orchard Learning courses. “It’s only when we start caring for fruit trees that we find out how much we need to learn,” says Shannon. “Climate chaos makes this even more clear, and active members enjoy plenty of opportunities for hands-on problem solving!”

To find the orchard (nearest postcode BS7 8JP) - Walk down the lane beside 22 Kings Drive (between Bishop Road & Kellaway Avenue), turn left and it’s the first gate on the right or take the lane beside 134 Longmead Avenue (BS7 8QQ) until you come to the last gate on the left.

Contact HOCO c/o the website to sign up for up-to-date information: www.communityorchard.org.uk

Phone: 0117 373 1587

n EDUCATION n ADVERTISING FEATURE

Try something new in 2023 and become an inspiration for girls & young women

Girlguiding introduces girls and young women to a world of new opportunities and challenges. As volunteers, we help them to realise their full potential and share some unforgettable moments along the way.

By volunteering with us, you can help girls build their confidence, have adventures, learn new skills and have loads of fun – no matter your experience, your background or how much time you have spare.

Becoming a role model doesn't need a full-time commitment – we need volunteers in all sorts of roles. So, if you want to help behind the scenes, at special events or get involved every week, there’s loads of ways to inspire girls with GirlguidingBSG.

Register your interest today by visiting https://www.girlguiding.org.uk/ get-involved/become-a-volunteer/register-your-interest/ We’d love for you to join us!

Shower power!

MORE than 90 students at Redmaids’ High School took to the stage for their three-night run of the classic, Singin’ in the Rain.

Conceived as a musical movie in 1952 starring Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds, Singin’ in the Rain tells the story of a 1920s film company making the transition from silent movies to “talkies” .

The school’s all-female cast from Years 8-13 encapsulated the personalities of their characters perfectly. The leads were supported by their ensemble cast; filling minor roles, creating crowd scenes and coming together for spectacular choreography. The production was choreographed by Angelina and Olivia, who also took on the lead role of Don. The cast were supported by the 20-strong orchestra.

For the show’s titular song, there was rain. Real rain. It streamed down on Don and washed away everything but the here and now for the audience. Blue washlight reflected in the water, adding to the magic in a Disney-like effect. The rain had a reprise at the end of Act 2 as well, bouncing off the fluorescent yellow mackintoshes of the entire cast.

The final curtain call was met with cheers and a standing ovation. For Olivia, credited by her fellow performers as the lead both on and off stage – encouraging, determined and inspirational – this was her final show: she will leave Redmaids’ High after her A Levels in July to begin her career at drama school in September. Head, Paul Dwyer said: “Hours of planning and preparation by staff and students went into making the show an absolute triumph. We have been bowled over by kind words and praise for Singin’ in the Rain. It has been a true showcase of the talents of our students, and the hard work and support from staff.”

to Badminton

BADMINTON School Drama

Team performed the musical ‘The Wizard of Oz.

Students reflected on the production. One said: “Through Wizard of Oz, I accomplished my very first experience of participating in a school production and it is undoubtedly one of the highlights of my school year. Personally, aside from having the opportunity to portray a character on stage, the most memorable moment was seeing my friends perform on stage. The principals especially, shone with enthusiasm and seeing their passion during their performance also brought joy to me"

Foodbank Donation Drive

The school spent three weeks collecting items for the North Bristol Foodbank. Pupils chose from a Christmas ‘shopping list’ with each House being tasked with collecting the most donations to go towards points for the House Challenge Cup.

Christmas Bazaar

On Saturday 3 December the school held its annual Christmas Bazaar, raising money for St Peter’s Hospice. There were stalls from local independent businesses, an Arctic Grotto with Santa, festive food and refreshments and the Badminton School choir performing carols. Over 1000 people attended.

Christmas artwork

Art student Angel’s (Upper Sixth) design was chosen for the school's Christmas card. Angel’s artwork was also submitted to the UK Boarding Schools' Association Christmas Artwork Competition and she won! Her illustration of a Badminton squirrel clutching an acorn on a snowy tree branch, will be seen by many more people.

Twelve-year-old Jina, a pupil in Year 8 at Badminton, has been selected to join the elite U18s Severn Stars Netball Super League Nova Academy based in Worcester.

Jina moved to the UK at the age of 10 with no knowledge of netball, which makes her achievement even more remarkable.

n EDUCATION

A BOOK based on the experiences of children in Bristol and entitled If Racism Vanished for a Day has been launched.

It draws on research with pupils from three schools and aims to raise awareness as well as offer advice to teachers and parents on how to discuss racism and its impact on the wellbeing and mental health of young people.

The children, who were aged 10 and 11 and in their last year of primary during the UWE Bristol study, said: “We made this book because racism is not OK, and we want people to understand the way it affects us. Our book is about what it would be like if racism vanished for a day, and we hope that reading it will help people think about how they can change what they do. Racism is a really big deal. It shouldn’t have existed in the first place.”

Some of the youngsters, who are now at secondary school attended launch events and signed copies of the book, which features their drawings and thoughts. Among them were

Book captures children’s experiences of racism

Researchers said it had been the first funded project of its kind to actually ask children’s experiences of racism rather than just assuming them. The team found that children experience racism in multiple contexts and with multiple groups - at home, when out and about, and in school. They experience racism from within their family, between friends, and from strangers and known adults.

Lead researcher Dr Verity Jones, Associate Professor at UWE Bristol, said: “For many teachers and educators, racism may feel like a highly politically charged area of debate and one that they feel uncomfortable or unsure of how to approach. We hope this book, which provides accompanying teachers notes and questions for children to discuss, will bridge a gap in reading material currently available.”

The impact of racism on younger children’s mental

health and wellbeing has been consistently overlooked in research in the UK, according to the UWE Bristol academics.

The researchers initially heard from 80 children who took part in a workshop led by artist Luci Gorell Barnes. This was followed by focus groups with over 40 children and interviews with their teachers.

The study highlighted that many children are deeply affected by institutional racism as depicted by the media, and found there is an urgent need for schools to develop greater racial literacy. It also recognised that racism is complicated and is experienced in different ways.

The project was funded by the mental health research network Emerging Minds.

The If Racism Vanished for a Day book is available in print from respectprojectbristol. org or as an e-book at https:// issuu.com/uwebristol/docs/ if_racism_vanished_for_a_day

Sade, Mariam, Anaya and Julia, now students at Fairfield High School and formerly pupils at

May Park Primary School.

Students stage demo over equality concerns

DOZENS of pupils at Redland Green School left their lessons to join a protest aimed at highlighting their views about racism and other equality issues.

The demo happened on December 5, beginning during the morning break. The school said in a statement that the peaceful protest took place on the Astroturf and the school site and that “students remained supervised and safe at all times”.

“The fire alarm was triggered, and all students, including those protesting, quickly followed the evacuation protocol. All students were back in classrooms as usual by 12.05, and for the rest of the day. None of the exams currently taking place at the school were disrupted,” the statement said.

“Some classroom doors were closed during the protest so that learning wasn’t disturbed. An inaccurate report suggested that considerable damage was caused in the school, which was incorrect; however a bin was knocked over as students moved through the school.”

RGS said it was committed to equality, diversity and inclusion; pupils were encouraged to express themselves, and difference was celebrated throughout the school year. It has a number of student EDI groups which have been organising

of activities to widen students’ cultural knowledge and awareness.

Headteacher Ben Houghton said: “It is important that the voices of our pupils are not only heard, but also listened to, especially as EDI is one of our primary focusses for this year, and which will be externally audited next year.”

Following the protest, the school will continue to engage students, staff, families, and the community in its efforts to provide

excellent opportunities for every student, he added.

Nick Lewis, interim chief executive of Gatehouse Green Learning Trust, which runs RGS, said: “At GGLT we pride ourselves on providing an education to prepare young people for life in modern Britain. This means that we commit to educating students to oppose discrimination, which is an anathema to British Values but rather positively work for a better, more equal society”.

60 years on, Bill's still no snow angel

Barbara talks to north Bristol’s Just William about the Big Freeze of 1963

At the time of writing, north Bristol has woken up to our first snows of 2023, a light dusting of a couple of inches or so, delighting all of us who love to see the pristine white streets glowing in bright winter sunshine. A solitary walker is picking his way gingerly down our hilly road testing out each step for hidden icy bits.

The first snows remind me of my own childlike wonder at what

occurred during a much more dramatic spring, that of 1963. The frost and snow started to come across on Christmas Eve, 1962, and by Boxing Day much of England and Wales was covered in snowdrifts up to six metres deep. And it didn’t just melt away like today’s sprinkling - it lasted a full eight weeks until early March, with the thermometer plummeting down to -22 degrees, one of the coldest winters on record.

As an eight-year-old, I remember that we lived in a

bungalow with a big, open front porch. On Boxing Day, My dad opened the front door and we all gasped. All we could see right up to the ceiling was a vertical wall of packed snow with the impression of the front door stamped into it. We all gasped - it was like tearing down the fourth wall in a theatre, that moment where some famous actor like Patrick Stewart jumps down from the stage and comes to sit next to you in the audience. I couldn’t believe that we could not walk out of our own front door and we all started to claw at the wall

of snow until my mum told us to desist because of the pool of water collecting on the front room floor,

As the ‘naughtiest kid in the street,’ I knew my neighbour Bill Wickens would have some good stories about his winter of ‘63. He was born in the same north Bristol house where he lives now and was also eight when the Big Freeze hit. Like me, he saw a wall of snow as a wonderful opportunity for mischief.

As we set up the photo for this article, Bill seemed to be dressed in his boyhood balaclava and had already rolled himself a six inch snowball. That’s the sort of guy he is! This superannuated mischiefmaker looked every inch the same Just William character who terrorised the teachers at Bishop Road Primary School.

“I loved every minute of it. Every day was fun and it went on so long,” says Bill. “I took lid off mum’s top-loading washing machine and it became a toboggan. We slid down the whole street, trying not to crash into Gloucester Road.” At

that time, few families owned cars and gangs of overexcited young boys and girls ruled the streets.

The cars that did try to get off the main road were soon in trouble.“We earned so much money pushing cars up the streets. We’d get them unstuck and the driver would throw a handful of coins out the window and we’d all dive for the pennies.”

“It was premeditated evil,” says Bill, rubbing his hands with glee. You’d roll a few snowballs and stack them somewhere in your front garden and then bombard anyone who ventured outside. We’d get the skipping rope across the whole road and give hell to anyone who got in our way.”

Naughty Bill and his pals at Bishop Road School made the adults lives a misery, with one boy disconnecting the brakes of the Head’s car. Bill used to get caned for regularly for not doing his homework and for rushing into the girls changing rooms to see if they were in their gym pants. When they were not in detention they were climbing on the roof of

St Michael and All Angels Church on Gloucester Road: “Throwing crackers down the chimney or in the general direction of the Girl Guides.”

But his biggest mistake during the Big Freeze was when Bill tried to distress one of his six siblings by putting a stone into a snowball. He launched it at his sister, missed, and broke the front window of the house. “It was a weekend and my dad was livid ‘cos he couldn’t get anyone to mend it for what seemed like weeks.”

After his illustrious schooldays, Bill became a factory worker, then a labourer, a bricklayer and later had his own building firm. In 1987 he went full time as a musician and made a living out of music, playing as many as 250 gigs a year in pubs and clubs in Bristol, the south west and abroad. He still plays and kept our street entertained during lockdown with his brand of music and mayhem. “My sort of show has been called caveman karaoke,” says Bill. I wonder why that might be?

Age UK Bristol is recruiting!

WE’RE looking for caring Support Workers to join our Home Support service. Experience of working with older people or in the care sector is not essential, it's more important that you enjoy working with people, have an empowering attitude and are reliable.

Our staff support people to be as independent as possible; they are kind and take proactive steps to enrich lives.

This role supports people over 50 to remain independent at home for longer. This could include light household tasks, sorting paperwork and organising bills with the older person, preparing light meals together and companionship, either for those living alone or for when a family carer goes out. This role does not involve providing personal care.

If you’d like to find out more about working with us, please visit our website www.ageukbristol.org.uk, email homesupport@ ageukbristol.org.uk or ring 0117 987 8399 for an informal chat.

n NEWS FROM OUR MP

Exposing dodgy PPE contracts and government waste of taxpayers’ money

Last month I spoke in Parliament about the billions of pounds of taxpayers' money wasted on unusable personal protective equipment (PPE) during the Covid pandemic.

At the time of writing, Labour has just pushed through a vote to force the government to publish documents surrounding the £200 million given to a company linked to Tory Baroness Michelle Mone. She pushed the contract through the 'VIP fast lane', even though the company didn’t even exist at the time. Incredibly, she seems to have benefited by £29 million.

This seems to be just one of many examples of corruption surrounding the government's handling of the pandemic. Ministers flushed billions down the drain on gloves, gowns and goggles that were overpriced, unusable or undelivered.

Even worse, we’re all still picking up the daily tab for overseas storage of PPE deemed unfit for use. Several of you have written to me about this and I can assure you, we’re not letting go of this scandal. It’s our money and we want it back.

Demanding a better bus service

Many of you have written to me about your frustration with Bristol's bus services. With Bristol City Centre now a designated Clean Air Zone, our city needs affordable, well-connected and frequent public transport. I was concerned to hear that First Bus will be temporarily cancelling over 1,450 routes due to a shortage of bus drivers, including many services running down Gloucester Road.

When this was announced, I demanded an urgent meeting with First West of England's Managing Director. I was pleased to learn that First Bus have recently seen an uptick in driver

applications. We also discussed government support for the struggling transport sector, something I will take further with my Shadow Transport colleagues.

Climate solutions in our communities

In December I visited a community wind turbine project in Bristol, as part of a Parliamentary study programme into renewable energy. It was fascinating to learn how a community group is building England's tallest wind turbine in Avonmouth.

The current energy price crisis is yet another reason we need to invest more in renewable energy. While the government is opening new coal mines (seriously?), community groups and individuals are taking forward the solutions to climate change. But we also need the government to step up. Labour plans to invest £28 billion a year into solutions like wind turbines, solar power

Thangam Debbonaire writes for the Voice

and insulating homes. ***

I hope you had a restful break over Christmas. I look forward to seeing many of you over the course of 2023.

Happy New Year!

£424m for clean energy in Bristol: 1,000 new jobs

A NEW Year brings the chance to reflect and also look to the future, and to wish South Bristol Voice readers a very Happy New Year.

As we look into 2023 and beyond, we think about the challenges we face now – not least the cost of living, energy, and climate crises – and in the future. In December, at our cabinet meeting, we took a giant leap forward on tackling all three thanks to our City Leap clean energy programme.

Decarbonising Bristol by 2030 is likely to be one of the most challenging infrastructure overhauls in the history of our city. We have secured an initial investment of £424 million from partners Ameresco and Vattenfall, creating 1,000 new jobs and cutting 140,000 tonnes of carbon emissions over the next five years.

City Leap will play an essential role in this, it’s an ambitious energy project that will accelerate investment in our city, moving

Bristol forward on our journey to net zero. The scale of investment that is needed to make our city carbon neutral and climate resilient will likely total at least £10 billion. We need to transform the way we generate, distribute, store and use energy at scale across our whole city.

The council has invested nearly £100 million in decarbonisation projects over the last five years, which includes completing the construction of Castle Park Energy Centre that houses England’s largest water source heat pump. However, we need to rapidly increase the scale and pace of low carbon delivery to be able to meet our targets. Our City Leap Energy Partnership with Ameresco Limited and Vattenfall Heat UK will secure a twenty-year framework to enable over £1 billion of international investment into low carbon energy infrastructure such as solar PV, wind generation, zero carbon heat

networks, smart energy systems, and other energy efficiency measures.

In the first five years, the City Leap Energy Partnership’s contribution to carbon neutrality will include: installing over 182mw of zero carbon energy generation, expanding Bristol’s Heat Network, installing solar panels and low carbon heating at local schools and in the council’s social housing, boosting council and community owned renewable-energy projects across our city, and offering decarbonisation support to schools and hospitals.

Reducing carbon emissions and tackling the climate emergency is a huge challenge for everybody, but through our City Leap Energy Partnership, we’ve secured the funding, knowledge, and resources to accelerate our progress. Collaborative action will usher a period of extraordinary innovation, investment, and growth – helping

The Mayor’s View

to make the just transition to net zero and securing Bristol’s reputation as a leading clean energy city for many years to come.

City Leap is a big deal for Bristol – it’s the most ambitious and exciting energy project that we have embarked on to accelerate clean energy investment and is a big step towards decarbonising our whole city and on our journey to net zero.

Each month Bristol mayor Marvin Rees shares his views with Bishopston Voice

MBST: Arthritis & Pain Management

Christmas festival success

Henleaze Christmas Festival once again packed in the crowds with its stalls, selling a mix of goods from knitted teddy bears to festive food, and a variety of entertainment including choirs, bands and demonstrations of Pilates and flower arranging.

“We were delighted with the huge numbers of people who came to enjoy the fun. It is always a wonderful way to set off the festive season,” said festival coordinator Jane Emery.

Festival goers were kept entertained with a record number of entertainers performing at three different venues, the Bradbury Hall, the outside Arena in Waterford Road and at St Peter's Church in The Drive where there was also, for the first time, a designated disabled car park.

This year Cardigan Road was designated an exclusive children's area, making more room for the hundreds of children, and the adults looking after them, to enjoy the rides. “It was a huge success,” said Jane.

Among the attractions in Cardigan Road was a Santa's Grotto where Father Christmas was doing brisk business.

Every year the festival raises money for local charities through a prize draw and this year they are: the Aid Box Community, Bristol North West Foodbank, Dexter's

Odyssey and Home-Start Bristol.

With this year's festival completed, plans are already being made for the next one.

“It is a year-long process and requires a lot of work and planning. We are always looking for new volunteers to help make it happen,” said Jane Emery.

Anyone who would like to volunteer can contact Jane at: mikeandjane.emery@ blueyonder.co.uk.

YOUR COUNCILLORS

In Redland this month...

New Year message

We’d like to wish all our readers and residents a happy holiday and a peaceful new year. These are eventful times and we’d like to pay tribute to all the people working to look after us and each other in the city. As always we’re glad to support residents of the ward and if there’s any way we can help advise or signpost residents to get help in the council do get in touch. There might be delays during the holiday period but there’s also plenty of help and information on the council website and ways to report most problems eg https:// www.bristol.gov.uk/residents/streetstravel/report-a-street-issue

Seasonal recycling changes

Look out for the notice about seasonal changes to recycling and waste services and opening times for the city Household Waste Recycling Centres. Each bank holiday adds a day to the usual collection schedule and in January garden waste collections will be replaced by christmas tree recycling collections. The timetable as well as plenty of tips for waste reduction and recycling with the 2023 collection calendar is here: bristolwastecompany.co.uk/festive

Community Partnership

There’s an online community meeting on January 12 from 7-8.30pm. This covers the three

wards of Bishopston & Ashley Down, Cotham, and Redland and acts as our community forum. The agenda will cover the local plan, the council budget being set in February, and news on the council’s move in 2024 to a multiparty committee-run system [after the elected city Mayor no longer exists]. Community groups are also welcome to ask for a chance to talk about their work. You can register via email to: info@bcrcp.org.uk

Ghost buses

Like many others we can be affected by the ghost buses that appear to be approaching a bus stop only to vanish off the information display. These are timetabled services not actually running. Martin pressed the Mayor to lobby for more accurate information to be fed into the display system to reduce the frustrations for users. Most city buses are purely commercial. To develop a long term solution we’re supporting a petition to call on the regional West of England Metro Mayor to take control of buses by setting up a franchise system. This is on the web at: www.tinyurl. com/wecabuses . While many cancellations are due to skilled driver shortages we also want to see the city’s bus service run for local people so that routes, times, and fares can be set not left to purely commercial decisions.

In Bishopston this month...

Ashley Down Tree saved!

We recently had some good news that the Holm Oak Tree on Ashley Down Road, has been saved! Tree specialists have found a way to deal with the roots of the tree by injecting a type of resin around them, which will stop them from damaging local properties, but without the need of cutting them, or the canopy. We were delighted to work with local tree campaigners on saving this beautiful tree and share their joy that a solution has been found.

Safe walking routes for Fairfield High School

Concerned parents have been in touch regarding the safety of pupils walking from the Ashley Down area of the ward to school, especially since the days have got darker and the pavements have been flooded. Cllr Fitzgibbon used to be a pupil here and understands

that this has been a problem for a while. We will be working with the Lockleaze Councillors, the Council and the school to find solutions to this issue.

Speed watch continues

One of the issues we are asked about most in the ward is how we can tackle speeding. While there is no one simple solution, we have been working closely with local police on the matter. Community officers have continued to be out and about on Downend Road and Sommerville Road over the winter with ‘speed guns’ trying to catch offenders and put others off. Residents can also get involved by setting up their own community speed watch days by emailing community.speedwatch@ avonsomerset.police.uk

Supporting Unison

There has been a lot of work at

Grim council budget news

Recent meetings have revealed the grim prospects for the future council budget, which will be set in February. The law requires a balanced revenue budget and with ever escalating costs and pressures on services it looks likely that most areas of the council wil face significant cuts. Energy, staff, and inflation costs are rising and government funds have fallen significantly. Council Tax and Business Rates only cover a proportion of the spending on our public services. Cuts could affect social care, parks, libraries and probably all other services. At the same time the way capital spending is allocated gets decided and we’re concerned how both major and smaller, local projects – like the long delayed Cranbrook Road crossing - take extremely long times to get delivered.

Planning delays and Local Plan

There have been lengthy delays to dealing with planning applications in the city and it’s affected our ward too, plus small and major applications. When decisions are not made in time a government inspector can be asked to take over. Meanwhile the city needs a more up to date local plan with new and updated policies to help guide decisions in the future. You can have your say over the revised

City Hall recently scrutinising the budget and staff cuts that are happening because of them. One area of major concern is cuts to transport staff, and their relocation to The West of England Combined Authority. We have grave concerns that these cuts and relocations will delay delivery of key transport projects in the ward. Emma went to meet with the Unison members of the councils making statements against these cuts, at City Hall in December. Emma also met with WECA Mayor Dan Norris in December to discuss the importance of delivering future transport projects, but especially around bus services, active travel and more Low Traffic Neighbourhoods.

Green Mondays

This January we are hosting a series of ‘Green Mondays’, Monday

local plan via the council’s www. ask.bristol.gov.uk pages.

St Christopher's site

Revised plans for the old St Christopher’s school site on the edge of our ward have been tabled. We’ll be having a close look at these and are happy to advise residents who want to have their say. There have been concerns of the height and density of development and traffic implications. We’ll look closely at the proposed changes for the planned retirement community.

Looking after Redland Green Fi and Martin organised Green Party volunteers to help make an end of season litter pick on the Green. We were then both glad to help the Redland Green Community Group with their annual bulb planting in December. A lot of leaf mould was also cleared from paths to keep these safe and tidy. If you're keen to help the community group with tree planting and other projects do sign up via: https://sites.google.com/site/ redlandgreencommunity/home

Contacts:

Cllr.fi.hance@bristol.gov.uk. Cllr.martin.fodor@bristol.gov.uk Fi: 0117 3534720. Martin 0788 4736101 Facebook.com/cllrmartin.fodor or /cllrfi.hance

evenings where you can come and get involved in the local work we are doing! If you have ever thought about volunteering for the Green Party, this would be the perfect opportunity. We are kicking off on Monday January 16 with a upcycling fashion evening, where you can learn how to upcycle unwanted clothes; on the 23rd we will be out in the ward collecting for the Family Food Action Network foodbank; and on the 30th we will be door-knocking, followed by dinner. If you would like to find out more, or get involved, then email info@bristolgreenparty.org.uk

Contacts:

Cllr.EmmaEdwards@bristol.gov.uk Cllr.LilyFitzgibbon@bristol.gov.uk

Facebook: @ EmmaEdwardsLilyFitzGibbon

My simple New Year’s resolutions

IT’S that time of year.

Waistlines expanded. Bank balances reduced. Christmas trimmings coming down. And people are looking to the future and setting their New Year’s resolutions.

So, what are mine? Well, they’re simple, really - taking Angel, my cocker spaniel, for more walks - even when it’s chilly - and putting our brilliant West of England even more firmly on the national and global map, and ensuring our region thrives.

Hmm, that politician pledge sounds a bit vague, you may say! How are you going to measure that? My response is simple: look at all the progress we’ve made already.

I am proud of everything we’ve achieved - together - in 2022: reducing bus fares; launching the region’s first-ever Good Employment Charter - now supporting over 6,500 workers and counting; supporting buzzing bees through brand-new grants; investing £12 million in the new Bottle Yard Studios, now open for business; unblocking the Temple Quarter scheme to refresh Temple Meads and the surrounding area; investing in green hydrogen at the

Bristol and Bath Science Park; winning record levels of cash from government, like the £105 million I secured to begin to improve our buses and start the long road to deliver a public transport network our region can be really proud of.

For me, the New Year also is a chance to reflect on the year ahead politically, like ensuring government understands and learns from the pressures facing working people, with taxes, inflation and energy bills all going up and up.

With local people hungry to see decisions made in their areas, I’ll continue to call for London-style devolution, to ensure I have the powers to make our region even better.

But fundamentally, New Year is a time for hope. And in the West of England, we have much to be hopeful about.

Every day as your Metro Mayor, I’m inspired by the people I meet. The ambition and confidence of our young people; the brilliance of our businesses; the potential of our amazing towns and villages, and our two truly great cities.

But this is also a time of year when we resolve to do better.

So my promise this year to you is to continue to be the strong champion for our region, from backing our world-class creative industries to our amazing local shops - by the way, for those of you looking for a resolution, I urge you all to please ‘Love Local’, as there are so many brilliant places to explore in our great region.

So, whether it’s doing Dry January or throwing yourself full-throttle into (finally) taking up that hobby, I wish you and your friends and family the happiest of Januaries as we enter into 2023. Good luck!

Metro Mayor Dan Norris writes for the Voice

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from VWV

Award-winning expert legal advice for you and your family.

Whether your New Year's resolution is to review your old Will, to make a Will for the very first time, to move house in 2023, or to finally put in place Lasting Powers of Attorney - we would be delighted to welcome you to our Henleaze office to assist with a full range of Private Client, Property and Commercial Services.

for

WINTER has set in and the vines have gone dormant and dropped their leaves. We’re still spending most of our time removing the old, damaged polythene weed control and adding a thick layer of mulch to feed the soil. It’s a rather monotonous task but you become very familiar with the flora and fauna under the vines; hundreds of worms, small spiders, ground beetles and the slugs they feed upon and even the odd hibernating bumblebee or toad!

From the surface the grass looks completely devoid of life but as soon as you start scratching about you realise all the creatures are there just waiting for warmer weather.

Look out for our rosé in a new food and wine bar called Picole in Wapping Wharf. It’s run by the lovely team behind TARE restaurant which also happens to be in Wapping Wharf. Another new opening selling our wine is

just south of Bristol in Wells and is run by chef Rob Howell. RootWells is the sister restaurant to Root-Bristol and promises to be amazing. Please tell your friends and support these brave new ventures!

It’s been a year since our

to taste

crowdfunder finished. If you bought a reward but think you haven’t heard anything do get in touch as we’ve realised a few emails ended up in SPAM folders rather than being read by the recipient intended. We’re still in the process of trying to secure

rose

some land but hope to have some good news about this soon. Sorry it’s taking so long –we will get there - please get in touch if you have any questions.

In the winery, our 2021 sparkling red and white wines should have finished fermenting by spring so we plan to start disgorging and bringing them a step closer to release. For the first time ever we have added a ‘vineyard tour’ option to our website shop. You can now book to come and see us every Friday afternoon next September. This is a great time of year to see the vineyard at its best before the harvest.

hello@dunleavyvineyards.co.uk www.dunleavyvineyards.co.uk

@DYvineyards (twitter)

dunleavy vineyards Facebook & Instagram)

Kellaway Pharmacy is here for you this winter

ONE thing that frustrates everyone is the hassle of navigating through the NHS to get the care needed quickly at the right place.

Community pharmacy is part of the NHS and will play a key part again this winter. Systems that were been strained before Covid are now experiencing extreme pressure. The toll on the health and wellbeing of everyone in the NHS is now at breaking point.

The first thing to note is that nothing pains NHS professionals: pharmacists, nurses, GPs, all clinical and admin colleagues, than knowing people cannot reach us for the help we desperately want to provide. Therefore, we all work well beyond our contracts: late working our everyday norm. This forms part of the basis of ongoing industrial disputes. We regularly call patients after hours to discuss their care, just after the nurse or GP gets off the phone. It is undoubtedly not more dedication,

but better solutions are needed. So how can we help each other this Winter? Starting the journey right is critical. Order any repeat medications at least SEVEN days before you need them. You can use the NHS App, your GP or Pharmacy processes. Consider using your local pharmacy rather than online services, which, when they fail, your local comes to the rescue. Always remember if you fail to support local providers, you will only lose them. If you run out of medicines, don’t panic; speak with your local pharmacy. Emergency medicine supply may be possible. 650,000 visits to A&E and over 18 million GP

consultations every year could ideally happen in Community Pharmacy. The NHS is now better linked up; if you contact NHS111 or a GP, you may get a formal referral to a Community Pharmacy with your clinical details shared. Why? Pharmacists are trained clinicians and experts at identifying the right treatment choice for you and your loved ones. In Bristol, our local NHS is committed to making the most of this broad expertise by allowing pharmacists to issue prescriptiononly medicines for certain conditions. Patients can access this care in Kellaway Pharmacy for:

• UTIs – Females aged 16-64

• Sore throat

• Impetigo and other mild skin conditions, including on the face

• Chloramphenicol drops and ointment for children with eye infections aged from 31 days

• Emergency Hormonal Contraception

We will consider the safest and best options for you, which may not always require medicines. Reach us on 0117 9246579

Congrats to Kellaway's Ola Padonu who has recently been crowned the Best Trainee Pharmacist in the UK!

And Superintendent Pharmacist Ade Williams, who was recently invited to Buckingham Palace to collect his MBE for services to the NHS

Hunger Makes Me A Modern Girl

by Carrie Brownstein Review by Bob Deacon of Bishopston Library

CARRIE Brownstein is the songwriter and guitarist of the band Slater-Kinney who formed in 1994 in Seattle, USA. Carrie grew up in Redmond, in the suburbs of Seattle, the home of Microsoft. Her mother left the family home, when Carrie was fourteen, seeking a cure for an eating disorder which had reduced her weight to six stone. Her father was a corporate lawyer, who was often away from home for weeks at a time, travelling to China, Russia and Australia for his work. At school, she was a quiet child, too nervous to speak up in class. She discovers a lifetime love for music when she sees Madonna in concert in Seattle and purchases her first guitar at the age of 15, with a school friend showing her how to play chords. She forms a band called Excuse 17 with college friends Becca Albee and C J Phillips, and aged

18 moves to Olympia where she finds a new family of outlaws, queers and provocative punks. She finances her way through college with a number of low paid, unsatisfying jobs including delivering readymade meals to office parks and telemarketing. Excuse 17 often played at gigs with the band Heavens to Betsy whose singer was Corin Tucker. Carrie and Corin gel immediately and they form Slater-Kinney as a side project from their respective bands. When Excuse 17 and Heavens to Betsy both disband, Carrie & Corin recruit Janet Weiss as a drummer and Slater-Kinney become a band in their own right. Carrie chronicles the hardships of the early days of the band, when they were lucky to get paid 350 dollars a show,

and would end up sleeping in strangers houses or in the van next to their equipment. At the end of each performance, the band would politely ask for a place to stay for the night, and borrow shampoo, toothpaste and towels in the morning. The band get their big break, opening for Pearl Jam on their nationwide tour. They employ a new booking agent and manager and sign to a new record label, going on to enjoy success for the next ten years, when they decide to break up having returned from a worldwide tour broken, depressed and exhausted. Carrie places her guitar and amp in her spare room and works as a volunteer at an animal shelter, adopting two cats and two cats in the process. The book ends with the band reforming after six years apart. This is a revealing, funny, candid and intimate memoir with music providing the writer with escape from a turbulent family life and the means by which she finds her true self. For this book

Opening Hours

Monday (1pm-7pm) Tuesday (closed) Wednesday (11am-5pm) Thursday (11am-5pm) Friday (11am-5pm) Saturday (11am-5pm) Sunday (closed)

10 January

THE ARTS SOCIETY BRISTOl lecture on "Understanding the Influence of Indian Jewellery" is at 8pm at Redmaids' High BS9 3AW on 10 January. We welcome new members and guests. For more information on our lectures, given by specialists in their own field, see our website www.theartssocietybristol.org.uk

REGULAR EVENTS Monday

n REDLAND WIND BAND has vacancies for some woodwind, brass and percussion players. This friendly group meets 7.30-9.30pm at Redland Church Hall, Redland Green. Contact via email on redlandwindband@gmail.com

n TAI CHI & QI GONG. Weekly beginners / improvers classes with Tai Chi Body and Mind. These classes are for your physical and mental health and wellbeing –there is no fighting. In Person: Mondays, Fairfield High School, Alfoxton Rd. 7.30 – 8.30pm. Online: Tuesdays 6.30 – 7.30pm. Contact: Claire - Claire@taichibodyandmind. co.uk (07769 857672).

n DICKENS SOCIETY. 7pm, at Leonard Hall, Henleaze URC, Waterford Rd, Bristol BS9 4BT. Talks, costumed readings, book club and social events. New members welcome. See www.dickenssociety.org.uk or phone Roma on 0117 9279875 for further details.

n PLAY BOWLS at Canford Park in a friendly, social atmosphere. Qualified coaches and equipment provided. Contact: Les on 07305695579

n WESTBURY AND CLIFTON AREA DISCUSSION GROUP are a merry band of retired people who meet at Westbury on Trym Baptist Church every Monday morning (0945) and like to challenge

ourselves with topical debate on what’s happening in the world - near and far. We exist out of pure interest and to enjoy varied and entertaining conversations/ discussions to help keep our older minds working a little bit faster and a little bit healthier. If you would like to join us and help to solve some of today's challenging issues whilst enjoying good company, tea, and chocolate biscuits - please contact James Ball 01454 415165 or Ian Viney 0117 9501628. We would very much like to hear from you.

n BRISTOL COMMUNITY GAMELAN play the music of Java at Cotham School from 6.30-8.30. We play by numbers – only 1-6, without the 4 ! So no auditions, no need to read music. If you fancy a different musical experience, contact us via email on keithripley27@gmail.com

Tuesday

n THE ARTS SOCIETY BRISTOL LECTURE welcomes new members. Our lectures, given by specialists in their own field, take place on the second Tuesday of the month from September to May at 8pm at Redmaids' High BS9 3AW and by internet. For more information on our lectures and other activities visit our website www.theartssociety-bristol.org.uk

n BRISTOL HARMONY WEST GALLERY CHOIR AND BAND are now rehearsing regularly again. We are looking for new members SATB as well as string, reed and wind instrumentalists. We sing and play lively church and village music from the 18th century. We meet at St Edyth’s Church Hall in Sea Mills on the 1st and 3rd Tuesday of each month. No auditions but ability to read music is helpful. Ring Fritjof on 0117 924 3440 or see www. bristolharmony.wordpress.com. Please contact before attending so we can have music ready.

n POETRY UNLIMITED – poetry circle meet on the First Tuesday of every month between 11am - 12 midday. Room 1, Horfield Baptist Church, 279 Gloucester Rd, Bishopston, Bristol, BS7 8NY. Entrance is at the back of the church on Brynland Ave (opposite no.39). Please enter down the right hand alley way through the side door; the room is the first on the right. £2.00 donation towards the cost of the room. Bring a couple of poems to share, other poets or your own. Contact Dee: wetwo@ gentlyblown.co.uk Web: www. poetryunlimitedbristol.weebly.com n COMPANION VOICES BRISTOL is recruiting new members We are a 'threshold choir' actively looking for new people to join us. We meet in Easton on the 3rd Tuesday of the month from 7 to 9 pm to learn soothing and uplifting songs by ear and build skills in sensitivity/compassion/ loving presence to sing at the bedsides of people nearing the end of life. To join or support us in this work, contact Valerie on bristol@companionvoices. org. Visit www.facebook.com/ CompanionVoicesBristol and www. companionvoices.org.

Wednesday

n BRISTOL SCRABBLE CLUB meets every Wednesday evening at 7pm until 10pm at Filton Community Centre, Elm Park, Filton BS34 7PS. New members welcome- first visit free so come along and give us a try. For further information contact Sheila on 01179570792 or 07435316458 or email shinett@blueyonder.co.uk

n HEALING SESSIONS run by accredited healers take place 2 til 3.30pm at Westbury Park Spiritualist Church, Cairns Road BS6 7TH. Just turn up, or for info contact Marian Bishop 0117 9771629 or visit www. westburyparkspiritualistchurch.org

n BRISTOL VOICES COMMUNITY CHOIR welcomes new members at any time. We meet at 7.30pm in St Werburghs Primary School during term time. See www.bristolvoices. org.uk for details.

Thursday

n HEALING FOR WELLBEING Feel more relaxed, peaceful, calmer. Drop-in 3.00 - 4.15 pm at Redland Meeting House, 126 Hampton Road, BS6 6JE. Donation basis. Supported by members of The Healing Trust. Contact: Selina 0117 9466434 or selinanewton@yahoo. co.uk.

n BISHOPSTON COMMUNITY CHOIR Meet on Thursday evenings, 7.30pm to 9.00pm at St Michael's and All Angels

Church on Gloucester Road. Everyone welcome, no audition necessary. Contact us via email on bishoproadchoir@gmail.com

n HENLEAZE LADIES’ CHOIR Come and join us as we fill St Peter’s Church Hall in Henleaze with a diverse selection of music. We are a friendly choir and meet on Thursday afternoons in term time from 1.45 to 3.45. There are no auditions, and the ability to read music is not necessary. For more information contact Jean on 01179 624466 or Jane on 07752 332278

n LOCAL CHOIR ACTIVELY RECRUITING NEW MEMBERS. We meet at Stoke Bishop CE Primary School, BS9 1BW on Thursday, 7.45 - 9.15pm. We are a well-established mixed choir performing both sacred and secular music. See our website www.henburysingers. org or contact the secretary at secretary@henburysingers.org.

n HIGHBURY BADMINTON

CLUB: Pete Stables 0117 950 1524 or www.pete4458.wixsite.com/ highburybadminton Thurs 7:30pm mid September to End April, Westbury-on-Trym Village Hall

n OPEN DEVELOPMENT CIRCLE

For those interested in developing their spiritual awareness and mediumistic ability. 7.15 for 7.30pm start at Westbury Park Spiritualist Church, Cairns Road BS6 7TH. Just turn up, or for info contact Marian Bishop 0117 9771629 or visit www. westburyparkspiritualistchurch.org

n BRISTOL MALE VOICE CHOIR are recruiting new members. 7pm - 9.15pm, St Andrew's Methodist Church, Elm Park, Filton, BS34 7PS. A varied repertoire, no audition. No need to read music - our regular practices will get you in shape to sing at our regular concerts and enjoy the social vibe. www.bristolmvc. org.uk email secretary@ bristolmvc.org.uk Telephone 07764447699.

n ENJOY SCOTTISH DANCING at St. Monica’s Oatley Hall, Cote Lane, BS9 3UN on Thursdays 7.30 – 10.00 p.m. £6.00 per session. Have fun, make friends, keep fit. Phone Trish 0788 052 8925/www. rscdsbristol.info

Friday

n CALLIGRAPHERS wanted to join us at St Edyth’s Church Hall, Sea Mills, on Fridays 1000-1200. We are a long established self-led group who would welcome new members. Come and meet us on Friday or call Peter at 0117 329 4516.

With Dawn Lawrence

Recently we had occasion to show a couple of naturalists from Sweden around our fair city. Of course, they were only interested in one thing and so, on a brilliant November day, they scrambled about with us among the rocky crags and brambly slopes of one of the best wildlife sites in Britain, delighted to see even the dead flowerheads and dying leaves. Many of the wild inhabitants of Bristol are common but nonetheless fascinating species and I hope that over the years I have helped you to notice some of them. But it is easy to forget that the Avon Gorge is something else entirely: it supports a unique assemblage of plants found nowhere else in the world.

The Gorge cuts through Carboniferous limestone and limestone is always full of fascinating species, but our Gorge is extra special. The “famous cliffs of St Vincent” were mentioned in “Botanical Travels” by Thomas Johnson in 1634 and yet he was a latecomer - honewort was discovered in 1562 by William

Turner, another botanical tourist. Two plants, Bristol rock-cress and Bristol onion, occur in Britain only here, perched on rocky ledges where the goats now amble. Half a dozen threatened plant species can also be found together with around 15 nationally scarce species and around 500 species of plants altogether (compare to around 1,600 species in the whole of the Bristol/Avon area). Some are tiny –Turner’s honewort is so small that it is pollinated by ants. But some are quite spectacular – tall royal blue spires of spiked speedwell and the

hot pink flowers of bloody crane’sbill grow on the slopes around the Observatory. The Gorge has also produced two trees which grow nowhere else in the world – the Bristol whitebeam and Wilmott’s whitebeam – along with two other whitebeams in the threatened category.

The view from the Peregrine watch point at the edge of the Downs is gorgeous (couldn’t resist), even in winter, and our Swedish friends appreciated the drama of the limestone scenery. But in

summer you can peer through the fencing and the view is framed in pink pyramidal orchids, yellow rockrose and maroon drumstick heads of salad burnet. This wireclad view seemed particularly poignant as we gazed at it during the Covid lockdowns.

When I came to university in the 1980s an ancient and eccentric but forward-thinking botanist, Dr Frost, still took some sheep to the Downs once a year to maintain commoners’ grazing rights: most of the wildlife interest requires sunny conditions and trees and shrubs have overwhelmed huge areas since grazing ceased in the mid 20th century. Sadly he didn’t live to see the goats that have now been introduced to the Gully, but I am sure he is there in spirit, watching with huge satisfaction their great white heads tearing up the ivy and nibbling the bramble – creating, as they go, new patches of grassland, revealing rocky ledges and helping to sustain our unique and fascinating Avon Gorge Flora. And I haven’t even mentioned the birds, moths, butterflies…

From Homes fit for Heroes to council flats

– and when prefabs appeared in Henleaze

by Harry Mottram

IF you go down to Badocks Wood in Henleaze and head up towards the Southmead Round Barrow you may notice small patches of a tarmac surface within the grass that surrounds it. For once this area of greenery and woodland was a busy housing estate of pre-fabricated homes put up to house those who lost their homes in the war. Until as late as the 1990s the estate road at Southmead Gardens was still shown on the A-to-Z maps, and the road was still complete with a bus stop despite the complete disappearance of the homes.

Pre-fabs were initiated by Winston Churchill in March 1944, under the Housing (Temporary Accommodation) Act after thousands of people in London and elsewhere were left homeless due to Blitz and later V1 rocket attacks. Most were made out of a reinforced concrete panels, set within a steel or aluminium frame (with the metals often taken from scrap wartime aircraft). There were a number of designs with one constructed by the Bristol Aeroplane Company at Filton known as the AIROH design. The name stood for the Aircraft Industries Research Organisation on Housing – not the snappiest of titles but with 675-square-foot and a fitted kitchen table, inside toilet and a bathroom they were very popular as instant homes. They could be put up in just hours and cost around £1,600. By the late 1940s more than 150,000 had been built across the UK with around 2,700 in Bristol with the largest number in Ashton Vale.

The idea was they would last 10 years when the occupants would either buy or rent another home or move into a council house or flat. However, because many people loved their pre-fabs thousands of the homes outlasted their use-by date and were still lived in more than half a century later. In 2014 the council finally replaced the last remaining pre-fabs with council houses which closed a chapter in their history – or so it was thought. Because once again pre-fabs – now called ‘micro homes’ –are being built in the city. Tiny

numbers have been planned for large back gardens in Knowle West – usually for the siblings of the owners of the main house – and with 16,000 people on the housing list it’s one small solution to the housing crisis. The bulk of the new homes, with some owned by the council, will be in high rise blocks with many going up in Bedminster over the next couple of years.

Under the 1919 Addison Act, the first council houses were built in the phrase of ‘homes fit for heroes’ following the horrors of the First World War when some homes were destroyed by German bombs but there was a consensus that returning troops should move into new homes.

In Bristol these were sometimes known at the early parlour semis which featured an extra room on the ground floor making them popular with tenants since parlours were seen a status symbol – the best room where guests could be entertained. Around 2,000 were built in Bristol by the architect Benjamin Wakefield. Usually semi-detached, they also had three bedrooms and included bay windows at the front and had generous sized gardens. Nonparlour versions were smaller with only a kitchen and living room downstairs while there were also

short council terraced houses with several homes joined in a terrace usually without a parlour which kept costs down. Today even a home like this in the general Henleaze and Horfield areas can fetch around £350,000 or more –when they would have originally been rented out by the council for a few pounds a month.

In 1945 there was a renewed campaign to build more council houses with thousands more constructed across Bristol while the post war city saw new estates in Southmead, Hartcliffe, Kingswood and Sea Mills grow up plus council flats appearing in Ashton and

The lost road of the prefabs near Badocks Wood Image: Google

Lawrence Hill.

Under the Conservative administration of the 1980s tenants had the right to buy which saw the decline in the numbers of homes owned by the council. It was followed by a period when no council homes were built in the city – although now in the 21st century it has come full circle with a huge programme of construction under way mostly south of the river.

There is an excellent booklet written by Tony Forbes and Eugene Byrne called Homes For Heroes 100, available in local libraries, which illustrates the history of council homes in the city.

One of the last Bristol pre-fabs Image: BBC

An imposing semi-detached home set up and back from the road in the sought after residential area of St Andrews. Belmont Road is a prime position, given St Andrews Park, Gloucester Road and popular local primary and secondary schools are all within a short walk.

Of particular note here is the additional access into the ground floor level - giving the option to use this level independently from the main body of the property.

This home has been lived in by the current owner for many years and enjoys a wide range of retained original features that sit alongside fresh modern decor.

The accommodation to the hall floor comprises an entrance vestibule followed by a large and welcoming central hallway. The front reception room has a bay window inset with sliding sash windows over looking the front garden. The attractive fireplace is a focal point of the room as are detailed ceiling cornice, a ceiling rose and a picture rail which add to the character of this principal reception. The smart fitted kitchen is also found at the front. The rear of the property has two further reception rooms, the larger of the two opening out via french doors to the good sized and beautifully maintained rear garden. A great layout as it stands, but for those wanting a more open plan design, the rear of the ground floor offers huge potential to knock through and extend - creating a very large area.

Stairs rise to the first floor - where a handy WC is found on the way up. A central landing opens into four double bedrooms and the family bathroom. The master bedroom at the front has a three arched sash windows, adding again to the character but also filling the room with natural light and offering far reaching roof top views.

Externally the property benefits from ample side access and generous front and rear gardensfeaturing mature planting and well stocked borders.

IF you’re looking for things to do to alleviate the winter evening gloom, look no further - Chandos Window Wanderland returns for its eighth year on January 28 and 29.

It’s a family- friendly free event, where residents are invited to light and decorate their windows, gardens, cars, vans ... During light-up times (6-9pm), everyone is invited to wrap up warmly and enjoy a wander round the streets in the Chandos Road BS6 area, to hunt out and admire the varied, fun and inspiring displays.

The locations are marked on our Chandos event Window Wanderland map, available online at https://www.windowwanderland. com/event/chandos-bristol-2023

This year’s theme is animals but even that is optional. Displays can be wildly creative or very simple. Strings of lights, pictures in the windows, garden displays, favourite toys or books on the window shelf, even a home disco, karaoke session or live theatreanything goes, as long as its family friendly , and of course, the more

Window Wanderland's memorial to Mark

participants, the merrier. We’d love to have whole streets lit up with fairy lights!

The idea for Window Wanderland started in Bishopston over nine years ago, and has now cascaded out round the country and indeed, round the world. During the wander, it’s fun to share your favourite window sightings with fellow wanderers, and bump into neighbourhood friends.

Taking part is free but we encourage those who are putting up displays to sign-up on the Window Wanderland site so that their location gets on the map

and their efforts can be seen. And there’s no charge for wandering round, though you might like to keep a bit of change handy for refreshments at a local store or hostelry.

This year, Chandos Neighbourhood Association has an online giving page in memory of our local landlord, Mark Farrell, who passed away this autumn. Mark opened his micropub Chums in Chandos Road in 2016 with the aim of creating a welcoming friendly space for a drink and chat with friends, excellent music sessions and quiz nights.

Mark more than succeeded in his aim - Chums became a much loved community hub and its closure has left a huge gap in our neighbourhood. Mark was always generous with his time & skills to help with all our local community events including Window Wanderland, and we all miss him greatly. If you’ve enjoyed our Window Wanderland and wish to donate, please go to https:// www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ chandosna All donations will go to the RNLI, Mark’s chosen charity.

Fiona McVey

Birds on your doorstep - the Blackcap

BLACKCAPS are common Spring visitors breeding in woodlands, parks and, if you are lucky, larger gardens.

They have a lovely song but can be hard to see as they prefer dense cover. These birds will now be wintering in southern Europe or Africa. However, some breeding Blackcaps from northern Europe choose to winter here rather than joining their fellows in warmer climes.

They can be a common sight in your garden, taking advantage of your feeders. You might get several birds together when they arrive in November but they will spread out with males vigorously defending ‘their’ feeder from other birds. The females have a rusty brown cap and are less assertive.

In late Winter you might be lucky to hear the males warming up their song but just when you think they might linger and breed they disappear back across the North Sea. Keep some binoculars handy and look out for leg rings.

A Bishopston resident spotted one that was fitted with a tracker. A

licensed ringer tried, and failed, to catch the bird with a mist net in the garden.

The tiny tracker must be recovered to read the data. Next time perhaps!

Alastair Fraser Bristol Ornithological Club Avonbirding.blogspot.com

Blackcap (Keith Williams)

Blackcap(Keith Williams)