The Bristol Magazine September 2018

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THE

Issue 171

I

september 2018

MAGAZINE

THEBRISTOLMAG.CO.UK

£3.95 where sold

OPPORTUNITY KNOCKS Forgotten places, major arts venue developments, innovative local design: explore every corner of the city in September

T H E C I T Y ’ S B I G G E S T M O N T H LY G U I D E T O L I V I N G I N B R I S T O L

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Robinsons Print Factory (image by Chris Wilkins photography)

28

Image courtesy of Max Mara AW18

Owen Morgan, sherry expert and co-founder of Bar 44

Contents

TRAVEL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80

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14

Top activities for the month to come

CITYIST

24

September 2018

REGULARS ZEITGEIST

50

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16

Slow down the pace while scoping out Scilly’s subtropical archipelago

FOOD & DRINK NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Meet local pioneer of organic Liz Haughton and catch up on Bristol goings-on

Tasty tidings from our local eateries and producers

BARTLEBY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20

Try creative tapas and get an education in chic sherries at Bar 44

...Is preparing for the young to fly the nest

YOUTH & EDUCATION

REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

BRISTOL UPDATES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54

ONE TO ONE

Bite-sized business and community news from across the city

HEALTH & BEAUTY NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

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58

A chat with Horrible Histories’ illustrator Martin Brown

Snippets from the sector

FAMILY DIARY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60

THE CULTURE

Fun, informative seasonal activities to get involved in

ARTS VENUES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Bristol’s theatre and music scene has had various major funding injections of late; check out the big changes on the horizon

ARCHITECTURE

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HOT TOPIC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Heard of Scroll-Free September yet? Yep, we’re really at that stage

THE ARTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 24

Don’t underestimate drama’s influence on adult life, say Bristol schools

Bristol Open Doors is unlocking hidden parts of the city once more, and introducing a new strand based around its local designers

EDUCATION NEWS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68

WHAT’S ON & HAPPENINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

HABITAT

News from local centres of learning

A cross-section of the city’s wide and varied events scene

EXHIBITIONS

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44

THE GREAT OUTDOORS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

What’s on at our local galleries this month?

Andrew Swift walks along the water from Highbridge to Weston

FEATURES

WILD BRISTOL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Kingfishers are keeping busy on Bristol’s rivers this month

FASHION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 The wild side of AW18 trends and the print that keeps on giving

TEXTILES

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Elly West’s tips for good garden design in a small city space

30

We meet local fashion designer-artist Amber Hards and peruse her creative sartorial collections

MUSIC

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40

HISTORY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 As we approach the 300th anniversary of Bristolian Blackbeard’s death, read up on the city’s seafaring history and its other notable characters

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PROPERTY

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A look at local living spaces converted from old chapels and churches

Darryl W Bullock suggests a permanent memorial in the city for Bedminster boy and pop pianist Russ Conway

10 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

GARDENING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

ON THE COVER

What with several of Bristol’s major arts venues getting a revamp, and Bristol Open Doors taking place this month, there’s plenty to explore. Lead image (centre) of St Nicholas Market vaults by Frances Gard; Robinsons Print Factory image by Chris Wilkins

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Beautiful St George’s is among the arts venues that have had a funding boost – the new elements are to be unveiled very soon

THIS MONTH WE’LL BE...

Polishing off...

...Swoon Gelato’s vegan pistachio sorbetto by the tubload, no doubt. It notched up three stars at the Great Taste Awards and with good reason – we found it to be super-light, creamy and ambrosial despite being dairy-free

from the

Checking out...

EDITOR

© Paul Trevor

W

hen one door closes, another opens, they say, and it’s true of Bristol – whether you’re talking the ever-changing restaurant scene or the myriad opportunities the city offers the enterprising, the creative and almost everyone in between. September in particular sees plenty of doors opening or reopening in a literal sense – with major arts venue developments being unveiled and the Architecture Centre’s annual weekend offering a rare glimpse of heritage spaces and forgotten places. See p22 for more on the change of scenery at St George’s following its £6.3million extension project, and at Bristol Old Vic which relaunches its front of house on 24 September after a two-year, £13.5million facelift. On p24, meet the architecture practices welcoming in visitors during Bristol Open Doors, to learn about what goes into the local placemaking process and designing our everyday living, working and leisure environments.

You can certainly get your fill of history this issue too; on p40 where Darryl W Bullock suggests a permanent city memorial for Bedminster boy and pop pianist Russ Conway; then with Stephen Roberts’ findings on Bristol’s famous sea-faring folk (p52) and Jessica Hope’s chat with Horrible Histories’ illustrator Martin Brown (p58).

Whether or not you know your PX from your fino, on p50 we strongly recommend a trip to Clifton’s brand new Bar 44 be added to the agenda – get yourself some top tapas and an education in the many delicious uses of sherry (it just got sexy, by all accounts).

We haven’t reached Halloween yet, but there’s somewhat scary news on p62 – in that our increasingly social media-dominated daily lives, and the mental health issues that are arising in some young people as a result, have prompted a national campaign encouraging us to spend less time on our smartphones. Georgette McCready reports after talking to two local support charities about Scroll-Free September.

The Bristol youth theme continues with our education special – looking at the positive impact of drama and theatre-making on kids and the crucial skills the subject helps develop for adult life. A handful of the city’s schools have their say on p64.

Elsewhere, find means of escape on p80 – we slow things down on the subtropical island chain of Scilly – see divine converted church properties (p96) or perhaps get your AW18 fashion fix (p28 – 31). Will leave you to dig in...

AMANDA NICHOLLS EDITOR

@thebristolmag

12 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

thebristolmag.co.uk

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@thebristolmag

...Photographer Paul Trevor’s ‘In Your Face’ exhibition, starting from 26 September at the Martin Parr Foundation.

A series of spontaneous close-ups made on the streets of London between 1997 and 1992, the show contrasts Brick Lane’s street market scene with the City’s money market a mile away

Getting into... ...Great British Bake-Off mode with a welltimed series of cookery classes coming to the city. London’s Bake With A Legend organises lessons led by former GBBO stars and its first Bristol masterclass (£99pp), on pastry, is on 29 September – hosted by 2013 semi-finalist Beca LynePirkis at The Square Food Foundation

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ZEITGEIST

There’ll be wine bottle customisation at Harvey Nicks’ 10th birthday party

fab things to do in SEPTEMBER

Jon Craig Photography

GOLDEN HOUR If you’re missing the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta (we sure are!) then look to local cider makers Thatchers for a hot air balloon flight with a difference. The brewery has teamed up with First Flight to offer private trips across the South West for two or three people.

After taking in the spectacular views of the West Country from high above, you can come back down to earth and be greeted with a tasty treat – a hamper full of goodies such as Thatchers’ sparkling Family Reserve, Wyke’s vintage cheese and rosemary biscuits. We’d be more than happy to substitute a champagne flight with a chilled glass of the appley stuff waiting for us... The perfect push-the-boat-out gift for a true cider lover. The three-hour experience costs £250 per person.

HARVEY’S HOOPLA Bristol’s Harvey Nichols is celebrating its 10th birthday this month, with the range of events to include a foodie reunion focusing on renowned chefs who cut their teeth in the Second Floor Restaurant. The alumni will be returning to cook a course each at a celebratory banquet on Tuesday 25 September, 7pm (£50 per person). Or you can get your party hats on for the store’s weekend birthday shindig on 29 and 30 September, where there will be DJs, live demos, wine bottle customisation by Bristol street artists Inkie, Cheba and Jody plus complimentary mini cocktails, a gift with purchases, and beauty treatments.

• firstflight.co.uk; thatcherscider.co.uk

PUT THE BOOM-BOOM INTO YOUR HEART...

Enjoy a tribute to George Michael at Bristol Hippodrome

• harveynichols.com/store/bristol

Pay homage to late global superstar George Michael by heading to Bristol Hippodrome on Saturday 15 September, 7.30pm, for Fastlove – a new production celebrating music which inspired generations. From Wham classics, to fan favourites like Freedom, Faith, and Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me, this show will transport you from the ‘80s up to the noughties with George Michael’s iconic music. Tickets from £23.25.

• atgtickets.com/bristol

FUNNY BONES

NEW LEASE OF LIFE

Bristol-born Russell Howard heads up a stellar line-up of comedians who have come together to raise funds for Bristol’s official city-centre hospital charity Above & Beyond for two very special live comedy shows.

Tickling your funny bones will also be Jon Richardson, Joel Dommett, Stuart Goldsmith, Laura Lexx, Andy Askins and Mark Olver (MC). All profits will go towards vital funding for local city centre hospitals. Takes place on Sunday 30 September, 2.30pm and 7.30pm, Bristol Hippodrome, tickets from £34.55.

After an extensive two-year redevelopment, Europe’s oldest continuously working theatre – Bristol Old Vic – is starting a new chapter in its history when it throws open brand new doors on Monday 24 September, following a multi-million pound transformation. This autumn sees big changes to other cultural hubs around Bristol too, including Tobacco Factory Theatres and St George’s Bristol opening new extensions, as well as plenty of developments happening at Colston Hall.

Turn to page 22 to find out more about the changes to theatres and music venues around the city.

• aboveandbeyond.org.uk; atgtickets.com/bristol

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Bristol Old Vic will share its new look this month

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THE CITY THE BUZZ

BRISTOL

Poet, rapper and Bristol resident Solomon O.B is well known to Bristol audiences and speaks openly about mental health issues

Did you know it’s Organic September? Liz Haughton, of Spike Island Café and Folk House Café, tells us more about it, and herself I was born in Yorkshire, but moved a lot. I came to Bristol with my small son in 1995 to be near family who had kids the same age.

Festival for good Local festival The Downs Bristol (taking place on 1 September) has partnered with The Big Issue to help tackle some of the issues facing UK society today – including homelessness, Brexit, the effect of technology on mental health and gender equality in the music industry.

To complement the music line-up, led by Noel Gallagher’s High-Flying Birds and Paul Weller, The Information Area is providing an area to engage with current political and social debates, through thought-provoking talks, panel debates and discussions. Keynote guest speakers include political comedy stars Shappi Khorsandi, Matt Winning and Harriet Kemsley, Anastasia Dedyukhina, Femi Oluwole and Solomon O.B. The Big Issue was chosen to link up with The Downs Bristol due to its shared values and the desire to ensure that music, creativity and social gatherings are environments where people can get together to discuss issues and turn ideas into positive action. The initiative includes a dedicated enrichment programme starting with Big Issue vendors on site at the event selling collaborative festival programmes, and developing into a long-term process to train some of society’s most vulnerable people to learn the skills that could enable them to work at festivals in the future.

“This great partnership really illustrates how festivals are changing,” said Paul McNamee, editor of The Big Issue. “Punters want to feel they are doing good as well as enjoying themselves. The Downs Bristol is leading by example. It raises funds for charities, sets up internships with music schools, prioritises local and independent traders and provides a platform for grassroots community, social and political organisations. The Big Issue, as a social business anchored in positive social change, backs this. It’s the start of something mighty and we’re delighted to be part of it.”

• thedownsbristol.com

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Good food is in the family... Square Food Foundation [run by Liz’s brother Barney] is a cookery school, community kitchen and charity based in Knowle West and doing some incredible work in food education. The Better Food Company [founded by brother Phil] is a Bristol institution people trust, knowing they can buy food that comes from a good place, plus lovely treats like soaps, kitchen knick-knacks and wine from a refill station. Their cafés in Wapping Wharf, St Werburghs and Whiteladies Road have all been awarded four OSH stars [see below].

Soil Association’s Organic Served Here award is brilliant. It’s a legal requirement that any organic product has to be certified organic to ensure it meets a set of standards – the retailer you buy it from also has to be.

However, restaurants and cafés are different as they don’t need any form of certification to sell organic food and drink. Soil Association’s OSH logo proves commitment to a set level of organic, so customers can trust that it really is. Spike Island Café and the Folk House Café qualified for three out of five stars which means 50-75% of ingredients used are certified organic and we are really proud of that.

A lot more people have woken up to the fact that growing food organically is the best way to sustain the soil and therefore the food security of the future. There is still a feeling that it is elitist, but less so, and because of things like the OSH scheme it has become more accessible to more people.

This Organic September our menus highlight the fantastic organic harvest this area has to offer. We’re also signing up to the Organic September Menu Challenge. Any restaurant or café can join by changing one thing to organic like eggs or milk, or by featuring an organic menu option. We are asking customers to take photos for social media and use the hashtag #organicseptember.

I’m reading Frost In May by Antonia White (a Virago reprint – gorgeous cover) about a young girl starting at a Catholic boarding school. It brings back memories although none as extreme as in this book! Also Aperitif by Kate Hawkins; a romping history of the aperitif with great recipes. Funny too.

When it comes to Bristol foodie heroes...

Well, I have to say my Bristol brothers, don’t I? I do actually admire them both hugely – Phil for his tenacity in the face of huge odds to make the Better Food Company a leader in independent organic retailing. Barney for his endless energy and passion for food education, be it with individuals who have never cooked before, school children, team building groups, sex workers to help bring some simple humanity into their lives or new, budding young chefs – he never stops.

Jenny Chandler for making pulses glamorous. Kate Hawkins and Connemara Coombes of Bell’s Diner and Bellita – need I say more? Artist Abigail Reed (Jamaica Street Studios) and Ad Infinitum Theatre Co – tackling some very zeitgeisty issues, head on, with style and humour.

Transport in this city: MetroBus won’t go nearly far enough, literally and metaphorically. And the arena should definitely be built in the centre – being able to walk to that kind of venue from almost anywhere in Bristol would be insanely good and really help cement the centre as a proper, cross-class cultural hub.

I love Bar Buvette – perfectly perfect and French in every way and yet on Baldwin Street, bang in the middle of town. Also Dela in Easton – fabulous food and cocktails.

I’m hoping Ad Infinitum will bring their show No Kids to Bristol soon. I’m definitely going to the Square Food Foundation cookery demo and dinner pop-up on 21 September – Autumn Edition: Barcelona – at Spike Island. n

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THE CITY

Like the sound of Wallace and Gromit, Scratch & Sniff Cinema-style?

BRISTAGRAM

Image courtesy of Aardman Animations Ltd

Some of our favourite recent snaps taken by folk around the city! Tag your Bristol pics using #thebristolmag

Not you r Fiesta vist average Balloon a from @ chill1983

A cinematic September The UK’s leading internationally recognised short film, animation and virtual reality festival, Encounters, returns from 25 – 30 September with Watershed acting as its hub. With sci-fi, comedy, horror and family themes galore, anyone with a festival pass will have the chance to gorge on all sorts of movies.

Thousands of submissions were received – whittled down by the Encounters team to 400 pieces of work to be screened across the festival. The various ways films can make us laugh will be demonstrated across two of the nights – you can head to the ‘Group Therapy’ event for eight light-hearted shorts, or ‘From the Sublime to the Ridiculous’ to explore the absurd and perverse through 12 films.

Horror is always a hugely popular part of Encounters so ‘Late Lounge: Fright Night’ will feature 14 spine-tingling shorts from across the world, taking its audience on a journey of psychological thrillers, zombies and chilling fantasies, while fans of Italian horror should enjoy a series of six short films followed by three-parter Black Sabbath, created by legend of the genre Mario Bava.

Meanwhile Scratch & Sniff Cinema presents Wallace and Gromit: Curse of the Were-Rabbit for audiences to immerse their senses in. Each will be given a card containing weird and wonderful smells linked to scenes in the film – think giant vegetables, ‘Anti-Pesto’, Stinking Bishop and more...

Ticket holders can also enjoy a unique outdoor screening in one of Bristol’s quirkiest performance spaces – Boiling Wells Amphitheatre in St Werburghs – which will be the setting for an immersive screening of Arcadia thanks to Compass Presents. Appreciate the wild gardens of Boiling Wells and all the secrets they contain before taking a seat for the experimental film which explores our relationship with the land we live on, with a soundtrack written by Portishead’s Adrian Utley and Goldfrapp’s Will Gregory.

on bike ballo The motor of heads ty en pl ed turn hy) aphotograp (@joaomai

@arcyart’s ne w piece is a be autiful sight to beho ld

Clevedon Pier featuring @lz.bristol

• encounters-festival.org.uk

Extra cargo The waterfront hub of shops, restaurants and cafés commonly known as Cargo at Wapping Wharf looks set to be expanded if new plans get the go-ahead.

Developer Umberslade has submitted plans for two new units made up of further shipping containers with expansive terraces. “It’s fantastic to see how popular Wapping Wharf has become and we are thrilled that the people of Bristol have embraced this new quarter and the eclectic range of businesses that call it home,” said Stuart Hatton, director at Umberslade. “We’ve decided to expand to meet huge demand from businesses keen to become a part of this flourishing dockside community and we’ve have already had strong interest in these proposed units. However, we are still keen to hear from anyone who feels they can bring something exciting and complementary to the area.”

• enquiries@umberslade.co.uk

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One of our fave sho ts from @bristolballo on

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B R I S TOL MAGAZINE

FLYING THE NEST

Y

ou may remember that last month we pondered the likelihood of the school holidays bringing plummeting temperatures and an ever-increasing likelihood of rain. Well, said holidays arrived and we set off, heading west into Wales; the temperature falling steadily as we travelled, until we arrived at St Davids to find the traditional cool, breezy weather holding sway. The rain did at least hold off for a few days, and when it arrived there was a new activity to enjoy: bathroom birdwatching.

If this sounds a bit Carry on Camping let me reassure you: the birds in question were a family of swallows comprising mother, father and four fledglings. These youngsters barely fit in the mud nest constructed years ago among the beams, and with their wide-open mouths they resembled a quartet of overweight tenors performing on an undersized stage. All day they begged for the moths and spiders brought by their tireless parents, and at night they turned round, stuck their tails out of the nest, and went to sleep.

Towards the end of the week they began to venture from the nest and make bold aerial dashes to a pipe against the far wall, the parents fussing and fretting lest they lose control and crash into the wall. We campers were not considered a threat – our goggling, upturned faces having been part of the scenery for as long as any swallow could remember – but with their work almost done you can understand their concern that nothing should go amiss at the last minute.

All of this had a certain poignancy for a particular set of human parents, whose own largest fledgling is about to venture forth into the world. Like those adult swallows we’ve been feeding and worrying needlessly about Ms B for as long as we can remember, and now she’s ready to take wing, albeit in a slightly different manner to the young swallows. They will simply take to the skies and head south, free as… birds. There will be no need for them to stop off at the avian equivalent of IKEA. Never having been one of the world’s great shoppers I must confess that I’m probably not the best person to discuss the merits of the great Swedish furniture emporium, and when the subject of a pre-university visit came up I tried hard not to grumble about the pampering of the young. In my day – I try very hard not to opine – we went to university with a few clothes and a cheerful “See you at Christmas!”

Those were the last days of student grants, and you were supposed to go off as independent, state-funded citizens and get on with it. I recall hitchhiking back to college with nothing but a backpack.

Now there’s an entire industry devoted to squeezing as much stuff as possible into a student’s bedroom. Rugs! Lamps! Matching sets of dishes and wine glasses! Milk frothers! What happened to drinking instant coffee from a chipped brown mug, with Leonard Cohen on the stereo?

Actually, now I think about it, maybe I didn’t travel quite as light as I like to remember. Take that stereo for instance. It would be hard to imagine a music-playing device further removed from an iPhone, since one person could barely carry it and you had to go through doors sideways. And then there were the records. I wouldn’t go anywhere without those plus, of course, my favourite books…

And – this is getting embarrassing – my cheeseplant. It had a name which I’ve forgotten (almost certainly Fred) and over the three years it lived with me in various student rooms it didn’t grow at all. In fact it shrank and yellowed and eventually perished, but in the meantime it must have been transported back and forth, presumably by my long-suffering parents, who may well have stopped at Sainsbury’s on the way. So I suppose there’s nothing for it… IKEA here we come! ■ 20 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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Contact us: Editor Tel: Email:

Amanda Nicholls 0117 974 2800 amanda@thebristolmagazine.co.uk

Assistant Editor Email:

Jessica Hope jessica@thebristolmagazine.co.uk

Health & Beauty Editor Email:

Crystal Rose crystal@thebristolmagazine.co.uk

Publisher Email:

Steve Miklos steve@thebristolmagazine.co.uk

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Jeff Osborne production@thebristolmagazine.co.uk

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For advertising enquiries please contact us on: 0117 974 2800 Email: sales@thebristolmagazine.co.uk Financial Director Email:

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The Bristol Magazine is published by MC Publishing Ltd. An independent publisher.

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BRIST OL MAGAZINE Bristol and Exeter House, Lower Approach, Temple Meads, Bristol BS1 6QS Telephone: 0117 974 2800 www.thebristolmagazine.co.uk © MC Publishing Ltd 2018 Disclaimer: Whilst every reasonable care is taken with all material submitted to The Bristol Magazine, the publisher cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to such material. Opinions expressed in articles are strictly those of the authors. This publication is copyright and may not be reproduced in any form either in part or whole without written permission from the publishers.

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9 Calton Court, Westbury on Trym, Bristol, BS9 3DF www.kempsjewellers.com • 0117 950 5090

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CULTURE

Photography by Chris Reynolds

CULTURE SHOCK: Clockwise from top left, Bristol Old Vic’s historic auditorium; a peek at the new extension at St George’s Bristol; the new glass-fronted atrium at Bristol Old Vic; an artist impression of Colston Hall’s new concert hall, opening in 2020; award-winning folk musician Karine Polwart will be performing at St George’s Bristol this season; and awardwinning, all-female, contemporary circus show No Show will be the first production to take place in the new Spielman Theatre at Tobacco Factory Theatres

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CULTURE

A CHANGE OF SCENERY With extensive refurbishments, multi-million pound developments and exciting programmes of events, there are big changes on the horizon for Bristol’s theatre and music scene this autumn. Jessica Hope finds out more

efore Dame Judi Dench practised her lines backstage at Bristol Old Vic, or The Beatles jammed in front of crowds of screaming fans at Colston Hall, Bristol had long been a centre for culture and entertainment. For centuries audiences have streamed into the city for top quality theatre and music, to watch the likes of David Garrick and Jeremy Irons tread the boards of the city’s illustrious theatres, or swoon over Michael Bublé’s smooth tones, and air-guitar to Jimi Hendrix live on stage.

Now a number of Bristol’s cultural hotspots are undergoing significant changes, some of which will be revealed this autumn – just in time for when the cold evenings set in and we go in search of some after-dark entertainment. Here we reveal some of the exciting developments and programmes of events we can look forward to…

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to enjoy a drink or a bite to eat before performances.

As well as continuing its reputation for staging the likes of renowned classic, folk and jazz artists, St George’s will be inviting more speakers and welcoming Bristol resident Julian Baggini as its philosopher-inresidence throughout the programme for conversations with musicians and audiences. The season opener kicks off on 6 September featuring former BBC Young Musicians of the Year Nicola Benedetti and Laura Van Der Heijden, and this season’s highlights include St George’s inaugural Bristol Keyboard Festival (30 October – 7 November), and award-winning folk musician Karine Polwart (1 November). There is also now the chance to find out more about the history of St George’s with its free exhibition ‘Our Story’, which explores its transition from Georgian church to spectacular music venue.

Bristol Old Vic

Tobacco Factory Theatres

Once described by Peter O’Toole as “the loveliest theatre in the world,” the renowned Bristol Old Vic will swing open its doors on 24 September following a two-year £13.5million redevelopment. The scaffolding will be stripped away on the historic cobbled King Street to unveil a brand-new glass-fronted atrium showcasing a recently uncovered original theatre wall. A new studio space will provide the opportunity for more intimate performances, while what was the former foyer and box office – the Grade I listed Coopers’ Hall – has been reconfigured to its Georgian origins, creating more public space.

The theatre’s new 1766 Bar & Kitchen means that visitors will be able to enjoy seasonal menus all day and into the evening, making Bristol Old Vic a more social spot for locals and visitors.

From November, BOV will also become a heritage attraction, celebrating the theatre’s 252-year history with exhibitions, interactive experiences, workshops and tours, and re-telling its extraordinary stories. There’ll also be the chance to see the 18th-century thunder run – the wooden trough sloping above the stage, which iron weights were once rolled down to simulate the sound of thunder over the auditorium.

Before all that, the autumn season begins on 8 September with the first stage adaption of Joe Simpson’s best-selling memoir Touching the Void. Adding a bit of the Bard to the mix, Shakespeare’s comedy of mischief and blurred genders – Twelfth Night – takes on a ’60s Summer of Love style from 16 October. Continuing the theatre’s ‘Year of Change’ theme, there will be a workshop performance of the debut play – The Meaning of Zong – by Hamilton’s Olivier Award winner Giles Terera on 11 October, which examines the massacre aboard the slave ship Zong in 1781 and how this influenced the growing abolition movement in the UK at the time. The play will then be fully staged in 2019. Bringing a touch of “Bah humbug!” to BOV, this year’s festive production is an enchanting new adaptation of Charles Dickens’ timeless tale, A Christmas Carol.

The bustling Southville hotspot is undergoing a £1.5million building project this year, completely transforming the theatre with the creation of the multi-purpose Spielman Theatre. For TFTs, which opens the new theatre in October, it means a base for its annual work with 3,000 children and young people, and 367 more performances a year, increasing visitor numbers by an estimated 30,000 people.

Performers will benefit from improved backstage facilities including new dressing rooms, and additional technical capabilities to support two performance spaces under one roof. For visitors, a refurbished and extended bar area and open feel to the front-of-house spaces will create a more welcoming environment in which to socialise.

The autumn season will launch with Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory’s powerful rendition of Henry V on 12 September, before an in-house production of Jonathan Harvey’s Beautiful Thing begins on 11 October. Directed by TFTs’ Mike Tweddle, it offers an honest depiction of life and love on a council estate in the early ’90s. The venue ends the year on a high as the Factory Theatre will be transformed into a giant adventure playground to tell the charmingly irreverent story of The Borrowers, based on the much-loved novel by Mary Norton, from 29 November.

St George’s Bristol Having been used as a church in a past life, St George’s has been a hub for fine music since the 1970s. Now, following an ambitious £6.3million extension project, the building is relaunching this month as a creative space for music, words, events and heritage. A pavilion-style extension to the side of the 19th-century church has been erected, creating multi-purpose spaces for more performances, education workshops and private events. The extension also features a new cafébar which will be open all day and evening, meaning there’s more space

Colston Hall The mission to turn Colston Hall into a world-class music venue and one of the country’s best arts and learning facilities is now underway after securing approval for the £48.8million development. Having not been updated since the 1950s, the main hall will get a much-needed new lease of life by way of an upgrade and extensive refurbishment.

The hall’s renovations will increase audiences by 30 per cent, and create 50 more jobs, as well as generate £20.6million annually for the UK economy, £12.7million of which could go into Bristol.

The historic cellars will be opened up for the first time in 150 years to create an intimate performance space, as well as a state-of-the-art education suite which will allow 30,000 children per year to use the classroom space and technology lab. It will also be the base for the National Centre for Inclusive Excellence, providing children with special education needs and disabilities more opportunities in music.

Colston Hall will reopen in 2020 under a new name, but in the meantime it is continuing a live performance programme – ‘Colston Hall Presents’ – using the centre’s foyer and other venues around the city and beyond to provide audiences with new and established music.

Check out the full programme online. n THEBRISTOLMAG.CO.UK

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THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE 23

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URBAN ENVIRONMENT

THROUGH THE KEYHOLE Right, then. Who wants to be an architect? This month sees your chance to grill three practices getting involved in a new strand of the Bristol Open Doors programme

This year, not only can you unlock the city and get behind the usuallyclosed doors of some of its most interesting buildings, but meet those responsible for designing our everyday urban environment

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or over 20 years, Bristol Open Doors – taking place this year from 14–16 September – has been unlocking the city for one weekend annually. Offering the chance to see the buildings and spaces that make Bristol special has always been the festival’s raison d’etre: but what about the people who create those buildings?

The work of architects has a profound impact on our urban environment, affecting the lives of everyone, every day, but rarely do we have the chance to engage with the architects themselves.

During Bristol Open Doors this September, three of the city’s leading architecture practices – Stride Treglown, Purcell and Ferguson Mann – are inviting Bristolians into their offices to find out about how the architectural process works. This forms part of a new festival strand, in partnership with the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), that highlights new projects in the city and the architects who are designing them. It comes at a time when city spaces are in more demand than ever and projects to reimagine old buildings and create new ones have been joining our cityscape thick and fast.

We sat down with the firms, all of which occupy renovated historic buildings and specialise in restoration and re-use, to find out more about their involvement in the festival and to give their two cents on Bristol’s architectural future.

6 King Street by Ferguson Mann Architects Kasia Jemiol of Stride Treglown

Clifford Martin, partner, Purcell Office: The Old Police Station, Bedminster Why did you get involved in Bristol Open Doors?

Purcell is actively engaged with the local community and particularly the Bedminster BID, so is keen to support the local interest in the Old Police Station. In addition to our own building, which we share with Preconstruct, we have also been involved in a number of other festival venues: Arnos Vale, Clifton Cathedral, Clifton Suspension Bridge, The General, The New Room/John Wesley’s Chapel, St Mary Redcliffe and St Bernadette’s.

The Old Police Station – what were the lessons learned?

With an imaginative solution, the repurposing of old buildings is something that is readily achievable and gives them a prolonged life while respecting and retaining the heritage elements for future generations to enjoy.

What is the future of design in Bristol?

The sense of community in Bristol is very strong and the people of Bristol are engaged and opinionated and this can be seen in the developments which take place in the city. The architects who navigate the spaces do so with appropriate architecture, derived from need and from community consultation. There is real opportunity for the reuse and extension of historic fabric to invigorate old buildings within the community with new uses, which is reflected in our work at St Mary Redcliffe and Clifton Tolls.

David Caird, director, Ferguson Mann Office: 6 King Street

The jazzy Old Police Station cells

Why be involved in Bristol Open Doors?

Our office has an interesting history that can only be fully understood by coming inside: the outside of a building so often contradicts what lies within. We have always supported Bristol Open Doors – it opens the eyes of all sorts of people to the richness of our built environment and opening our building is a great way to practically contribute to the widening of this knowledge.

What did you learn from 6 King Street?

Adapting 6 King Street for our own use was a modest project, yet we really enjoyed gently turning this small, sensitive interior into a practical, modern design studio by adding new components to talk of the period in which we live yet leave the original fabric clearly legible.

It is a joy to work in!

What do you feel is the future of design in this city?

The next major focus of inner city development in Bristol will be

Ú

Promenade House

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URBAN ENVIRONMENT

St Phillips Basin as the doors open to this area of post-industrial land: this includes the city’s plans for Redcliffe Way, the new masterplan for Temple Meads Station and the University of Bristol’s new enterprise campus. The city is bringing forward a masterplan for the basin and land is being exchanged on sites along Feeder Road. Watch this space!

For us at Ferguson Mann, we are excited about the forthcoming completion of our major Lakeshore development at Hartcliffe for Urban Splash. Phase 2, which will deliver 136 apartments with the addition of the new Copper Building, is due to complete in June 2019.

We love the Robinson Print Factory

Kasia Jemiol, interior designer, Stride Treglown Office: Promenade House, Clifton Why did you want to get involved with Bristol Open Doors?

We are fortunate enough to occupy a distinguished building, where we’ve just completed a top-to-toe refurbishment, that is often photographed by visitors to Clifton. We’re sure it’s not just architects and historians who would like to see what it’s like inside! We are also pleased to be offering tours of two of our other projects – Paintworks and the refurbished Victoria Methodist Church. Bristol Open Doors gives us a great platform to explain the role of an architect to anyone with an interest: not just what we do, but why we do it.

Tell us a little about your work on Promenade House Refurbishing Promenade House was a great challenge: we wanted to create a modern, flexible workplace for our staff while preserving and enhancing unique period features – all while keeping the office operational during the work. In a building full of architects and designers, we could have been subject to a lot of criticism. Happily, though, the project has received a lot of positive feedback from both staff and visitors.

Check out the programme and head to the building you find most intriguing

How do you feel about the future of design in Bristol?

The tall buildings agenda rages on, almost keeping pace with the arena debate, while whispers of an underground metro system take shape.

While all of these are progressive and can be positive for our city’s future, it’s important they are designed holistically and integrate into the fabric of Bristol’s built environment. Rather than just being done to turn a profit, we need to understand how new development can be delivered to benefit people’s wellbeing, enhance natural assets, reflect our identity and successfully contribute to shaping future places.

This year, Bristol Open Doors boasts over 100 buildings tours, site visits and family excursions; so put the date in the diary, pick up a programme and plan your weekend of exploration. ■

• See the full line-up at bristolopendoors.org.uk Arup is also hosting a talk on designing cities that allow children to thrive

You can also get up close and personal with favourite landmarks (pic by Chris Wilkins)

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What does it mean to make a great place?

To be successful, developments need more than just architecturally beautiful buildings: they need to be vibrant places that enrich the fabric of the city. In partnership with engineering firm Arup, Bristol Open Doors is also featuring a number of venues and experiences that consider how Bristol can create positive developments ideally suited to live, work and play.

Arup is leading the placemaking agenda by hosting ‘Designing for Urban Childhoods’, a topical talk on designing cities that allow children from all backgrounds to thrive. They explore the importance of considering the young as the city rapidly develops.

A similar event driven by creating communities and integrating young people in the fabric of the city will see representatives from the University of Bristol discuss their new home at Temple Quarter Enterprise Campus. Showing us how it’s done, the festival also hosts two site tours of the hugely successful redevelopment projects of Paintworks and Wapping Wharf, both of which have put people at the heart of their schemes and saw that to make a vibrant, liveable community, a mixed-use approach was required. Proving placemaking can be, and is most successfully, done through grassroot projects the festival will open artist-led sites of Hamilton House, The Island and Malago Berry Maze, showcasing successful repurposing of disused spaces for communal needs. This month, discover the people and places that led to Bristol being voted Britain’s ‘best place to live’.

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FASHION

SAFARI STYLE Take a look at the wild side of AW18 trends and the print that keeps on giving...

Lead image courtesy of Max Mara AW18; feature collated by Crystal Rose

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FASHION

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inding itself back in vogue time and again, the animal print remains a closet staple for good reason. Like the perfect pair of chic shades, your killer set of heels or a slick sweep of red lipstick, it can quickly transform an outfit into a powerhouse piece. And the pattern is making an especially big comeback this season.

Want to trace the history of the trend?

Start with the 1920s. Actress Marian Nixon helped make it a symbol of A-lister glam when she sashayed down Hollywood Boulevard wearing a leopard-print coat; her actual pet leopard slinking along beside her.

Since then the likes of Joan Crawford, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Jayne Mansfield, Kate Moss and Alexa Chung have all woven the wildcat into the wardrobe. But really its symbolism goes as back as far as ancient Egypt, when animal markings were inscribed onto everyday items, and to the early tribal leaders who wore skins to portray power, so it has always been used to show boldness and confidence to fine effect.

Fast-forward to today and, love it or hate it, the classic look has become one of the most versatile and updatable; flooding the AW18 catwalks, with the bravest cranking things up a notch via models clad head-totoe in the style. Leading the way this time round, Victoria Beckham showcased a leopard-print coat in chenille jacquard – based on an old Venetian upholstery fabric – during her autumn show in New York. Tom Ford, Calvin Klein, Michael Kors and Diane Von Furstenberg are also among those unleashing the big-cat thing – moderation is no longer advised and multiple clashing prints are wholeheartedly encouraged – and we must say, we are in the ‘love’ camp too.

History is repeating itself in the most elegant way, so dig out your best-loved pieces or invest in a few new ones – you’ll hardly regret it, it’s the statement style that keeps giving. From faux fur coats to cuffed leather gloves, here we’ve rounded up a few items set to hit the rails this season. Go get in touch with your wild side... ■

Leather leopard bag, £28 very.co.uk

Neckerchief, £5.99 bershka.com

Studio by Preen coat, £99 debenhams.com

Alexa faux fur jacket by Stand, £340 harveynichols.com

Shirt dress from Somerset by Alice Temperley, £99 johnlewis.com

Gianvito Rossi calf-hair pumps, £650

Idele leather faux fur cuff gloves, £45

harveynichols.com

dunelondon.com Witley faux leopard bag, £239 radley-london.com THEBRISTOLMAG.CO.UK

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FASHION

NOVEL KNITS Meet local designer-artist (and florist) Amber Hards, who can usually be found stitching something out of the ordinary for her creative sartorial collections

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e first saw her work on the catwalk at Kings Weston House earlier this year and were struck by how creative knitwear could get. Having graduated from UWE and earned an innovation award from the Craft Council, Amber Hards is one to watch. We met her at Bristol Textile Quarter on Barton Road, where she teaches locals to machine knit...

Tell us a little about the latest collection...

I was inspired by the work of minimalist artist Agnes Martin – I loved how peaceful, hopeful and optimistic her work was. The colours seemed to glow through the painting and the repetition of lines and grids is something that works really well with knit. I also loved the work of classicism painter John William Godward – the women wear huge draped pieces made from, essentially, a piece of square fabric and I liked how this shape distorted around the body. I wanted to create clothes that were easy and elegant to wear.

I looked into different yarns, combining lycras with mohairs, lambswools with silks, and created fabrics that look simple from afar, but on closer inspection are quite intricate. There are so many ways to create and manipulate lines in fabrics. I added lycra so that they bunched up, or knitted ribs for texture.

Why did you choose to pursue fashion and textiles in Bristol?

I moved just over 11 years ago to study an art foundation and then a fashion/textile design degree. I also worked at Tobacco Factory Theatres while I studied and became part of a huge network of creative friends that made Bristol my home. I never wanted to live in London – the lifestyle has never appealed to me – but I love visiting for exhibitions and have lots of friends there. I love the quality of life I have here and love that Bristol doesn’t take itself too seriously. I’m surrounded by creatives from all sorts of different fields.

What’s great about Bristol Textile Quarter?

I love that it is a space specifically for textiles – it is so wonderful to see that industry being supported with access to machinery and other designers. It’s a lovely space to teach in and really reminds me of my uni days – seeing lots of inspiring work all around a room.

What tends to inspire your designs?

Often I’m inspired by nature, art and new, exciting yarns. I love seeing all the texture, pattern and shapes in nature and like to look at recognisable things such as jellyfish or flamingos and then present them in unlikely and surprising ways. I exhaust all the options, contrast yarns and ideas and end up creating hundreds of samples of fabrics. I try to think about making something new or different and that helps drive my design process forward.

What’s the ethos of your brand?

There are two levels to the label I’m working on. With the clothing I want to push forward the concept of knitwear and offer more exciting fabrics, yarns and ideas with a knit fabric. With the accessories that I create, I want to make timeless, beautiful pieces that last through the years. I design and make everything in my home studio so quality is a huge part of what I do.

Why do you think there isn’t much of a high-fashion scene here?

I think logistics is the main reason. A lot of the press, buyers, stylists and photographers from this country and beyond are based in London so naturally that becomes the hub for the industry.

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Would you like that to change?

I don’t think anywhere will rival London for high fashion and it is a great place filled with creativity. But I would love to see more highend fashion around Bristol – seeing people pushing ideas and fashion as an art form is something I’m very interested in. There are a lot more designers around the country now that are making their home the base for their career and with social media it is much easier to do this.

What have been your career highlights so far?

I’ve had lots of little moments, including being chosen for the gala show at Graduate Fashion Week and having my collection shown in Shanghai. It’s always a huge achievement to finish and show a collection and I try to make the most of that. I created a jumper for Queen’s waxwork at Madame Tussauds – that was bizarre and fun.

Why did you choose to specialise in knit?

I love that I can create everything from a cone of yarn. It really means that you are present for every step of the design and creative process.

First you experiment with yarns and techniques, then develop these into fabrics, knit them up and then they get made into clothes.

Although it is often a lengthy process, it is so satisfying seeing the finished product. I’m also a huge fan of texture and knitwear is wonderful for experimenting with this. It has great scope for pattern, creating interesting silhouettes and, basically, it is limitless. There are also some amazing knitwear designers who have been pushing knitwear forward and making it so exciting. Helen Lawrence, Matty Bovan and Mark Fast are just brilliant.

Any interesting collaborations in the pipeline for you?

I’ll be working with a couple of photographers in the coming months to put together a new shoot with this collection and am being featured in a book about makers in Bristol which is super exciting. I’ll be designing another collection over the next few months and then will be preparing for the 10th Made in Bristol fairs at Christmas.

Tell us about your knit workshops...

I started teaching after I left my full-time floristry job a couple of years ago (during wedding season I still work as a freelance florist). It started with teaching a friend to use these old domestic machines; then I realised that I really loved teaching. They are beginners’ machine knitting workshops; you come for one or two days, learn all the basics, and then are able to go home and start following your own interests. I love showing the huge variety of fabrics you can create with different techniques and how exciting machine knitting can be.

It’s often an eye opener, as commonly machine knitting is thought of as the ‘quick fix’, when actually it takes time and patience to master and, depending on the techniques you are using, can be just as slow as hand knit. I love seeing people interpret techniques differently. I teach them from my home studio and there’s plenty of one-on-one time.

Do your textiles and floristry ever cross over or inspire each other?

Not directly but, looking deeper, I’ve found that it has helped me work with colour and texture. I think there will definitely be a collection of florals soon; there is so much inspiration there for texture, form, pattern. Who knows? Maybe I will find a way to knit with flowers! ■ • amberhards.co.uk

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FASHION

Elegant, draped womenswear from the ‘Loving Love’ collection shown at Kingsweston House earlier this year (image by Ania Shrimpton)

Ensemble from the ‘Saturn Rings’ collection Can you believe this is knitwear? Delicate ‘Jellyfish Blooms’ on the catwalk

Amber experiments with lycra and knitted ribs for texture (image by Ania Shrimpton)

From her earlier ‘Surface’ collection

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LOCAL | EVENTS

WHAT’S ON IN SEPTEMBER Falconry at Wiltshire Game and Country Fair

Pocket Fluff’s circus theatre One Lump or Two

Country singer Catherine McGrath at Thekla

films in both of Flicks’ specially made cinemas including shorts, documentaries and feature films. Expect classic names such as Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Douglas Fairbanks, Lillian Gish, Mary Pickford, and Gloria Swanson on the big screen. Free admission; southwestsilents.com

Riff Raff Choir Weekdays, 7.30-9.30pm, various locations around Bristol Join this mixed pop and rock choir at rehearsals in Southville, Clifton, Bishopston, Fishponds and Redland on weekdays – see website for details. All voice parts are taught by ear. Everyone welcome; no auditions.

Booking essential. £80 for 10-week term.

Interested in joining? The choir is holding a taster workshop on Thursday 13 September, 7.30pm. Register your interest online; riffraffchoir.co.uk

The ELO Experience Sunday 2 September, 7.30pm, Bristol Hippodrome Celebrating the music of Jeff Lynne and The Electric Light Orchestra, join the The ELO Experience for a tribute night of great hits including Mr Blue Sky, 10538 Overture and Don’t Bring Me Down. Tickets from £23; atgtickets.com/bristol

The Raff Pack Fortnightly Sundays, 7.30-9.30pm, upstairs at The Lansdown, Clifton Road, Clifton The Raff Pack is a male voice choir singing pop, rock, folk, barbershop, shanties and more – looking for new members. Fortnightly Sunday evening rehearsals. Everyone welcome, no auditions; theraffpack.co.uk

Jon Boden and Sacconi Quartet Friday 7 September, 7.30pm, St George’s Bristol Jon Boden, ex-frontman of folk-giants Bellowhead, joins with the Sacconi Quartet for a reprise of Elvis Costello’s 1993 collaboration with the Brodsky Quartet.

Described in Rolling Stone magazine at the time as “alternately biting and rueful, evoking the sardonic humor and bleak beauty of Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht”, The Juliet Letters is a striking sequence of dramatic ballads that reflect on love, betrayal and death. Tickets: £5-£20; stgeorgesbristol.co.uk

Bee and Pollination Festival Saturday 1 – Sunday 2 September, 10am – 5pm, University of Bristol Botanic Garden, Stoke Park Road Find out how you can help bees and other vital pollinators from exhibitors such as the Bristol Beekeepers Association, Mad Apple Cider, and the Bumblebee Conservation Trust.

Talks will range from beekeeping techniques and the workings of a live hive, to research projects about urban pollinators. You can also weave willow sculptures. £5.50/free for consessions; bristol.ac.uk/botanic-garden

Touching the Void Saturday 8 September – Saturday 6 October, times vary, Bristol Old Vic What happens when you look death squarely in the face and how do you find the strength to crawl back towards life? Joe Simpson’s best-selling 1988 memoir Touching the Void, international bestseller and BAFTA-winning film sensation, charts his struggle for survival on the perilous Siula Grande mountain in the

SWS Silent Film Open Day Saturday 1 September, 12–6.30pm, 20th Century Flicks, Christmas Steps South West Silents returns with a very special day celebrating all things silent cinema and music. Screening a wide selection of silent 32 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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Peruvian Andes. The heart of the story is Simpson’s mental battle as he teeters on the very brink of death and despair in a crevasse from which he can’t possibly climb to safety.

14+. £7.50-£35.50; bristololdvic.org.uk The The Sunday 9 September, gates 6pm, Ashton Gate Stadium In the final show of the open-air music Skyline Series, English post-punk band The The will be taking to the stage. Plus there will be music from Mercury Prize-nominated Field Music. £45; skyline-series.com Jurassic Park in Concert Monday 10 September, 7.30pm, Bristol Hippodrome It’s the film that started one of the most successful franchises in cinema history, and now you can enjoy Jurassic Park on the big screen once again, but this time with its famous soundtrack played live by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. Presented by Colston Hall, this epic science fiction thriller will be shown in HD, and tells the story of what happens when an island amusement park filled with dinosaurs experiences a power issue, rendering its security safeguards useless.

Tickets from £28.75; atgtickets.com/bristol Diary of a Lost Girl Friday 14 September, 8pm, Cube Cinema, Dove Street South A masterpiece of the German silent era, Diary of a Lost Girl was the second and final collaboration of actress Louise Brooks and director G.W. Pabst in 1929. Brooks plays Thymian Henning, a young woman raped by an employee at her father’s pharmacy. After Thymian gives birth to his child and rejects her family’s expectations of marriage, the baby is taken away from her, and Thymian

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LOCAL | EVENTS

Violinist Nicola Benedetti at St George’s Bristol

EDITOR’S PICK...

BENEDETTI, VAN DER HEIJDEN & CHAUHAN THURSDAY 6 SEPTEMBER, 7.30PM, ST GEORGE’S BRISTOL

St George’s season opener will mark the 40th anniversary year of the BBC Young Musician competition with the appearance of two previous winners – violinist Nicola Benedetti and Laura van der Heijden on cello. With a programme featuring Mendelssohn’s Notturno from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Haydn’s Concerto, with rising star conductor Alpesh Chauhan and the Bristol Ensemble, this will be a musical night to remember. Tickets: £5-£40; stgeorgesbristol.co.uk

enters a purgatorial reform school that seems less an institute of learning than a conduit for fulfilling the headmistress’s sadistic fantasies.

With live music from Jonny Best. £8/£7; southwestsilents.com Julian Baggini: The Philosophical Times Saturday 15 September, 11am, St George’s Bristol Join Bristol resident and acclaimed philosopher Julian Baggini as he becomes St George’s philosopher-in-residence, giving monthly looks into the philosophy behind the headlines. Taking his cue from the weekend papers, he’ll be unpacking the often underexplored philosophical issues tied up with the big issues of the day, right from discussions on

war and peace, to sporting triumph and disaster. £6, includes coffee; stgeorgesbristol.co.uk

also feature live music from local Bristol bands, comedy, poetry readings and original films depicting the work of the charity. Free; bit.ly/2MJd2m1

Expressions: Opening Minds art exhibition Saturday 15 – Sunday 16 September, 10am – 7pm, Paintworks event space, Bath Road Social care provider Milestones Trust is hosting an arts festival inspired by nature and the environment, bringing together the creative talents and original artworks.

‘Opening Minds’ will showcase the artistic work of people with mental health needs and learning disabilities in the South West. Key exhibits include Halfway to the Sun, a cascading plastic installation created from recycling old plastic bottles. The weekend will

Catherine McGrath Monday 17 September, doors 7pm, Thekla, East Mud Dock Proving not all country artists come from America, Catherine McGrath is an Irish singer and songwriter whose music blends freshfaced pop music with influences straight from Nashville. Her style was informed by contemporary pop as well as the updated country sounds of artists such as Taylor Swift, Kacey Musgraves, and Maddie & Tae. 14+. £12; theklabristol.co.uk Continued on page 34

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Photography by Geraint Lewis

Touching the Void at Bristol Old Vic

A yoga weekend at The Orchard Retreat

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Tuesday 18 – Saturday 22 September, times vary, Bristol Hippodrome See Bristol’s own multi award-winning production company, BLOC Productions, as they take on this musical adventure.

Audiences should find Chitty Chitty Bang Bang truly scrumptious as eccentric inventor Caractacus Potts sets about restoring an old race car with the help of his children. They discover the car has magical properties, but trouble occurs when the evil Baron desires the magic car for himself. Filled with amazing stage spectacle, this is a high-flying, fun-forall-the-family adventure. Tickets from £22.90; blocproductions.co.uk Jane Austen’s Persuasion: A Musical Drama Wednesday 19 September, 7.30pm and Thursday 20 September, 3pm, The Mission Theatre, Corn Street, Bath Chamber Opera Tours will be bringing its original musical adaptation to Bath’s Jane Austen Festival in commemoration of the 200th anniversary of the publication of Persuasion. This popular production has toured the UK and North America and features music from Jane Austen’s manuscripts, fully staged with chamber orchestra, beautiful Regency costumes, projected scenery, and world-champion Irish dancers. Tickets: £18; missiontheatre.co.uk

Get away for the weekend to the awardwinning yurt and cottage site, The Orchard Retreat, where guests can totally relax among the beautiful setting of 15 acres of meadows, wood, orchard and lawn. With a Hatha yoga teacher that can cater for all abilities, a meditation session, plus home-cooked meals by a local caterer, these are all the ingredients you need for a weekend of unwinding. Yurts and private rooms available, weekend from £335 per person. Tel: 01363 866058; theorchardretreat.co.uk

Production’s latest offering of spellbinding circus theatre. Join these two lumps as they explore the special relationship between two intertwined souls. Through a series of beautiful moments interspersed with brilliant comedy, the duo utilises breathtaking hand-tohand acrobatics, object manipulation and sublime characterisation to tell the story of a deeply connected pair. Set to a moving bespoke score, this is a must-see. A free street theatre event for all ages; theatreorchard.org.uk

Christian Blackshaw and Soloists of the Berliner Philharmoniker Friday 21 September, 7.30pm, St George’s Bristol As an emerging pianist, Christian Blackshaw attracted the admiration of Clifford Curzon, no less, for his interpretation of the two composers the great master was most celebrated for, Mozart and Schubert. This concert allows us to hear Blackshaw in both, and with the highest calibre partners from the Berlin Philharmonic. Tickets: £5-£38; stgeorgesbristol.co.uk

English National Baroque Ensemble: 20th Anniversary Concert Saturday 22 September, 7.30pm, St George’s Bristol Performing music by J S Bach, William Boyce, Corelli, Handel and Vivaldi, the renowned English National Baroque Ensemble returns to St George’s Bristol for its 20th anniversary concert, performing the great concertos of the Golden Age of Baroque. £16/£14; stgeorgesbristol.co.uk

Planetarium Nights Thursday 20 and 27 September, times vary, We The Curious The popular series of night-time planetarium shows continues with a mix of Summer Stargazing, Exploring the Solar System and Exploring the Galaxy, all in impressive 3D. Also a chance to grab a drink and explore the Space Gallery. 16+. £7.50/£8.50; wethecurious.org

Wiltshire Game and Country Fair Saturday 22 – Sunday 23 September, 10am – 6pm, Bowood House With a blend of family and countryside entertainment, exciting displays, and kids activities, there’s lots to do during this family day out. Children can learn how to fish or fly a bird of prey, meet historical re-enactors, and create pottery. Or learn how to use a rifle in the unique inflatable Daisy Range for young shooters. Plus there will be craft stalls, cooking demos, food halls, clay shooting, archery, horseboarding and angling. Don’t miss the Waggy Tails Fun Dog Show, which is open to any breed, as is the Chase the Bunny Competition. Admission: £4-£12.50; wiltshiregameandcountryfair.co.uk

Autumn Yoga Retreat Friday 21 – Sunday 23 September, The Orchard Retreat, East Forde Farm, Cheriton Fitzpaine, Devon

One Lump or Two Saturday 22 September, 2pm and 3.30pm, Queen’s Square, Clevedon One Lump or Two is Pocket Fluff

Dara O Briain: Voice Of Reason Friday 28 and Saturday 29 September, 8pm, Bristol Hippodrome Dara is most famous for his time as host on Mock The Week, Stargazing Live, Robot Wars and Dave’s Go8Bit. Watch as one of the most recognisable faces in comedy on British TV returns to work as a world-class stand-up.

Having toured around the UK since February, Dara will be bringing his supersonic wit and provocative observations to Bristol – so expect a little audience interaction along the way.

Tickets from £27.15; atgtickets.com/bristol Curzon Comedy Night Friday 28 September, 8pm, Curzon Cinema and Arts, Old Church Road, Clevedon Live stand-up comedy is back at Clevedon’s Curzon with a stonking, laugh-out-loud lineup of some of the best comedians on the circuit. Compere for the evening is awardwinning, quick witted Sally-Anne Hayward.

The first set is from Michael Fabbri.

With a dark and honest approach to life’s Continued on page 36

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Dara O Briain at Bristol Hippodrome

Photography by Mike Massaro

The Ligeti Quartet at We The Curious

Handel & MacMillan: Exultate Singers Sunday 30 September, 7.30pm, St George’s Bristol Exultate Singers – joined by a professional chamber orchestra to perform James MacMillan’s iconic work Seven Last Words From The Cross, together with Handel’s exuberant Dixit Dominus, conducted by David Ogden. Tickets £15-£24; stgeorgesbristol.co.uk

more touchy subjects, Michael manages to slip between controversial topics and light-hearted silliness to make for a refreshingly eclectic and brilliantly funny act. Runner up in the 2013 prestigious Leicester Mercury comedian of the year competition, Mark Simmons will also be performing, as well as Eddy Brimson, one of the UK’s most in-demand headline acts. 16+. £12/£10; curzon.org.uk Hillside Studios Open Day Saturday 29 – Sunday 30 September, 11am–4pm, Hillside Studios, Berwick Lane, Compton Greenfield The artists at Hillside Studios are opening up the doors to their workshops, where there will be lots of original artwork for sale from these established local creatives. Get an insight into the courses on offer including printmaking with Jacqui Watkins, stone with Rosie Musgrave, ceramics with Liz Vidal and glass with Bridget Birse. Book your your workshops for the winter in pottery, jewellery, printmaking and much more. Vouchers will also be available to buy; hillsidestudios.space

PLANNING AHEAD The Planets 2018 (3D) Monday 1 October, 6–8pm, We The Curious Holst’s The Planets was first performed 100 years ago. But what would it sound like if created today? Inspired by modern astronomy and music, the Ligeti Quartet performs eight new planetary works spanning contemporary classical, electronica and jazz, created especially for planetariums. The wonderful sounds accompany live 3D visuals in an astronomical journey into new music. 12+. £14.95/£12.95; wethecurious.org

WOW: Weekend of Wonders Saturday 29 September, 12–5pm, The Italian Gardens, Weston-super-Mare A fiesta of outdoor arts and circus brings the Italian Gardens to life. Be captivated by Southpaw’s Carousel – a visually spectacular tale of a fairground afterhours, whistle up your inner animal with Mufti Games’ One Kid and his Dog, gasp at the acrobatics of Joli Vyann, or march to Ramshackilicious’ Band at the End of the World. Plus much more in a day of thrills, spills and surprises by the sea.

Free; theatreorchard.org.uk

The Luna Cinema Friday 5 – Sunday 7 October, doors 6pm, film 7.30pm, Ashton Court Mansion Pack a picnic, snuggle under a blanket and watch your favourite film under the stars at The Luna Cinema’s open air screenings. On Friday, the smash hit The Greatest Showman will be on the big screen, with ’80s musical favourite Dirty Dancing on the Saturday, before the classic Top Gun kicks off on Sunday. £10-£15; thelunacinema.com Maya Youssef Tuesday 9 October, 8pm, St George’s Bristol Syrian instrument qanun with cello and percussion. Bristol debut for the virtuoso of the Syrian 78-stringed plucked zither, Maya grew up in her native Syria influenced by a range of music from Arabic classical to jazz and fusion. She has performed at BBC Proms, Womad and with Africa Express and The Orchestra of Syrian Musicians. A memorable evening awaits. £16; stgeorgesbristol.co.uk

Antique Vintage & Collectables Fair Sunday 30 September, 10am–3.30pm, Ashton Court Mansion Set about exploring some 40 stalls inside the Georgian lounges and grand music hall of Ashton Court Mansion. Find fine jewellery, plus china, furniture, memorabilia, pictures, retro items, vintage, clothing, as well as lots more on show. Do make time to stop in at the café serving cream teas too. £2 entry, under 16s will go free.

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Opera in a Box: A Foreign Field Wednesday 10 – Saturday 13 October, 7.30pm, The Redgrave Theatre Bristol-based Opera in a Box revives local composer Eric Wetherell’s A Foreign Field to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War. This lyrical opera tells the story of three soldiers who find love and betrayal when caught behind enemy lines. With The Archers’ John Telfer as director, Ben England as musical director and an 11-piece orchestra, this centres around Robert, a British soldier, and Claire, a French villager who quickly fall in love, much to the horror of her family and the whole village. £15; operainabox.com The Craft4Crafters Show Thursday 18 – Saturday 20 October, 10am – 5pm, Bath and West Showground, Shepton Mallet Having run large craft and textiles shows in the South West for more than 18 years, The Craft4Crafters Show has more than 100 of the finest craft suppliers on display, as well as more than 70 workshops and demonstrations.

Explore the quilt and textile exhibition, with over 100 quilt and textile displays – lots of local quilt groups will be present including Bath Quilters and South West Quilters. The BrisWool Woollen City will also be exhibited.

Restaurants, cafés and free parking available. £8/£9, £2 off advance tickets, under 16s free; craft4crafters.co.uk Frankenstein: Red Rope Theatre Company Friday 2 – Sunday 11 November, 7pm (plus 9pm Fri – Sun), Anglican Chapel, Arnos Vale Cemetery, Bath Road Hear a tale that’s been told for over 200 years.

A story of creation, rejection, love and disaster. Adapted by award-winning writer Matt Grinter from the chilling gothic novel by Mary Shelley, and presented by Red Rope Theatre. In an attempt to defy death, Frankenstein creates a creature, a monster that is both childlike in its innocence but repulsive in its form. The horror-stricken Frankenstein drives out the bewildered monster into an unforgiving world where it is met with cruelty and pain wherever it goes. 16+. £12/£14; arnosvale.org.uk; redropetheatre.co.uk n

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The hitmaker lived on Dean Lane as a toddler and had an easy, sincere way that audiences warmed to and which made him a fixture on light entertainment TV and radio shows

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BRISTOL’S FIRST POPSTAR Darryl W Bullock gives Bedminster boy and self-taught ivory-tinkler Russ Conway his due and suggests a permanent memorial in the city

W

henever we talk of famous Bristolians, Cary Grant is usually the first name to trip off the tongue, followed quickly by one of the amazing musicians the city has nurtured in recent years. One name that rarely comes up is that of Russ Conway – yet the Southville-born pianist was one of the biggest stars of the ’50s and ’60s, with more hit singles to his name than Tricky, Roni Size or Massive Attack.

At a time when Winifred Atwell (Trinidadian boogie-woogie and ragtime pianist) and music hall’s Mrs Mills were big stars, Bristol’s own piano-playing virtuoso was the biggest of them all, with 20 chart hits between 1957 and 1963. Frequently referred to as Britain’s Liberace, Russ was also forced to hide the truth about his private life during a period when being open about his sexuality could have ruined him.

Russ was born Trevor Herbert Stanford at 71 Coronation Road, Southville on 2 September 1925. The youngest of three brothers, Terry (as he was known) and the family moved just around the corner to Dean Lane when he was a toddler. His father, Herbert – a confectionery salesman – was awarded the George Medal for bravery during the bombing raid on Bristol in November 1940; his mother, Pataranella, was a concert pianist.

As a youngster, Terry won a scholarship to All Saints Choir School in Clifton. When he was just 10 years old, he won the top prize for his vocal solo at the Bristol Eisteddfod. But young Terry had a difficult relationship with his loving but overbearing mother. He happily accompanied her to the Bristol Hippodrome to see pianist Charlie Kunz, but he was less happy when, at 13, he was cast in the school play as Maid Marian. His mother made him a dress and hired a blonde wig and, according to legend, she made him put on his costume and marched him through the streets of Bristol, on to a bus and into a photographer’s studio to have his picture taken.

She died the following year, and young Terry took it badly. He began to get into trouble and, on his 15th birthday, was sent to Borstal after stealing money from his employers – a firm of solicitors. Luckily his incarceration was not wasted, as he used the time to improve his piano playing. He would always claim that he had only ever taken one piano lesson, when he was just four years old, and that the only other experience he had was watching the church organist. In fact, Terry used to break in to churches in his early teens, not to steal from them or vandalise the buildings, but to practice organ playing.

Joining the Royal Navy during the Second World War, in August 1945 he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal while a signalman in a minesweeping flotilla off the coast of Greece. After the war he joined the Merchant Navy, but he was discharged in 1948 on health grounds: a recurring issue with a stomach ulcer, exacerbated by his heavy drinking.

Terry’s talent was first spotted, while he was playing in a Soho club, by choreographer Irving Davies and his friend Norman Newell. Davies immediately offered him a job as his rehearsal pianist, and shortly after Newell signed him to EMI’s Columbia label, where he spent the next few years honing his craft, writing songs and providing piano accompaniment for other artists on their roster. Newell also landed him

a job with Chappell, one of the country’s largest music publishers, where Terry learned about arranging, publishing and promotion.

“Suddenly,” he revealed in one of his final interviews, “After nearly 30 years of messing around the world, getting drunk, playing in pubs and clubs, I find myself slap-bang in the middle of show business.”

Along with Newell he wrote the music for the Frankie Howerd musical Mr Venus, a flop that closed after a fortnight; the pair had better luck writing pop songs for artists including Danny Williams and Lita Roza.

Newell gave Trevor Stanford a new name and, as Russ Conway, he recorded his first solo single: Party Pops reached number 24 in the charts in 1957. His fifth and sixth singles, the self-composed instrumentals Side Saddle and Roulette, both went to number one.

Audiences warmed to his easy, sincere style and Russ quickly became a fixture on light entertainment TV and radio shows. He appeared at the London Palladium on several occasions and became a regular on The Billy Cotton Band Show, one of TV’s most popular variety programmes, which Russ admitted was “one of the luckiest breaks I’ve ever had, in or out of the business.” He made records with Dorothy Squires, Alma Cogan and Gracie Fields. He toured South Africa, visited America and met Elvis Presley. In 1959 he appeared as the guest on the popular TV show This Is Your Life, and several of his friends from Bristol were there to help celebrate his success. Sadly, the producers forgot to invite his brothers. “The first we heard about it was when we called at our local in Bristol just after the programme had been on,” a disgruntled Philip Stanford told the Daily Mirror.

In 1960 Russ released his seventh album, My Concerto For You, and revealed to Roy Plomley, the presenter of Desert Island Discs, that he wanted to expand the piece “in to a full scale concerto… perform it in Bristol and call it The Bristol Concerto.”

Whenever Russ was on tour he would always make time to play Bristol, and over the years he gave many concerts at both the Hippodrome and Colston Hall. Sadly, his career was blighted by ill health; not long after he became a star he seriously damaged his hand – a major handicap for a man who earned his living playing piano – and had to take several months off to recuperate. In 1963 he had a nervous breakdown, and in December 1965 he was blindsided by the first of two strokes. A drinker and a heavy smoker, his lifestyle brought him close to bankruptcy and, even though he was told by doctors to rest, he was forced to continue working. In 1969 he suffered another breakdown, but the following year he attempted to restart his career, signing with Chapter One records for his first album of new material since 1966.

After he was diagnosed with stomach cancer in the late 1980s, he set up the Russ Conway Cancer Fund with Bristol-based writer and theatre director Richard Hope-Hawkins; the first major fundraising concert for the charity took place at Bristol Hippodrome. Even after his diagnosis he kept working, returning to Bristol to film the HTV television special The Russ Conway Story. In 1992 he was awarded the Lord Mayor of Bristol Medal for his charity work, and in 1994 he appeared in the French and Saunders Christmas Special, playing in their spoof of the hit film The Piano. The following year Russ performed at a dinner to mark the anniversary of VE day at Bristol’s Council House (now City Hall).

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Although he did not come out during his lifetime, in interviews he occasionally touched on his private life. “It doesn’t surprise me that people question my sexuality,” he told the Daily Mail. “I question it myself. I haven’t the faintest idea what it is.” He later admitted to The Independent that “I’ve tried everything there is to try, just in case I might be missing something.”

Russ and Norman Newell were frequent visitors to several of London’s underground gay bars, including Soho’s Golden Guitar Club, part-owned by Billy Fury’s manager Larry Parnes, but during his heyday it would have been impossible for the family favourite to be open about his sexuality. As comedy writer Barry Cryer said: “In those days it would have been career suicide.” Newspapers instead talked about his blighted love life: a WREN who was posted to a different ship, a girl from South London that left him, and Hazel, who died after a minor operation while he was on tour.

Russ Conway died in Eastbourne on 16 November 2000, just two weeks after his last public performance. He was 76. His final wish was to have his funeral handled by Thomas Davis, the family firm whose chapel of rest was just yards from the home he grew up in. His funeral service was held at St Mary Redcliffe church; his friend Richard HopeHawkins gave the eulogy and Elton John, whose own piano-playing style had been influenced by Conway, sent a wreath. The service was followed by a cremation at South Bristol Crematorium and a tribute concert staged at Colston Hall the following year raised £11,000 for St Peter’s Hospice.

Today a blue plaque marks the house on Dean Lane where Trevor Stanford spent his formative years. If we can have Cary Grant striding through Millennium Square, surely we can have a statue of Russ Conway, sitting at a piano: a permanent memorial to Bristol’s first international pop star. ■ Russ spent lots of time at the Hippodrome and Colston Hall and would always make time to play in Bristol even when his music career took off

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EXHIBITIONS

STATE OF THE ART Texture, 15 September – 12 October, Lime Tree Gallery Presenting three very exciting artists whose works are very much in contrast, yet often rely on texture and reworking the surface as an important part of their creative process.

One of the leading Welsh contemporary artists, Vivienne Williams was elected RCA in 2017 – a just reward for her beautiful, contemplative paintings which involve layer upon layer of reworked colour and texture.

Henry Jabbour, originally from Lebanon and now resident in Cambridge, focuses on the human figure and on the emotive qualities of body gesture, colour and mark-making. His training at Leith School of Art in Edinburgh and a masters from New York Academy of Art backs up his instinctive feel for the vulnerability and fragility of his subject matter.

Thirdly, see the work of Edinburgh artist and fine young talent Rose Strang. She refers mainly to the landscapes of her native land, seeking to communicate her response to her beautiful but often bleak subject matter. Her ‘Iona’ series, painted for this exhibition includes fresh, vigorous work.

Nostalgic Voices 2 by Henry Jabbour

• limetreegallery.com

Autumn exhibition, Clifton Contemporary Art, 15 September – 6 October

Hana by Carl Melegari

From September, Clifton Contemporary Art will be showing a diverse mix of work by both new and regular gallery artists. Exquisitely observed and executed coastal scenes by Chris Rigby, plus primal, energetic land and seascapes from Jack Davis, and Carl Melegari’s textured, enigmatic human forms will be joined by a fresh collection from Bristol jeweller Anthony Feiler, whose individual handmade pieces feature gold, silver, semi-precious stones and beachcombed pebbles.

• cliftoncontemporaryart.co.uk

Thirteen, Hours Gallery, 21, 22 & 29 September This exhibition of new paintings by Bristol portrait artist Varosha is based on ‘Number 13’ – a house that was done up, undone, redone, unravelled again and then put back together again. Ultimately though, 13 is an exhibition about home, so much more than just a house. It’s about the place you live, the life you live and the people in your life. The exhibition will be taking place at Hours in 10 Colston Yard, with the preview night on Friday 21 September (6pm – 9pm). It’s also open on Saturday 22 and Saturday 29 September (11am – 4pm) and by appointment until 9 October.

• varosha.co.uk

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Commission a portrait in oils Robert Highton 07939 224598; rhighton@mail.com; robhightonart.com

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EXHIBITIONS See art by people that Milestones Trust works with

Opening Minds, Paintworks, 15 & 16 September Social care provider Milestones Trust is hosting an arts festival inspired by nature and the environment, bringing together the creative talents and original artworks of those supported by the charity. ‘Opening Minds’, taking place from 10am – 7pm, will showcase the artistic work of people with mental health needs and learning disabilities in the South West. Key exhibits include a cascading plastic installation created from recycling old bottles and a multi-sensory installation which uses sound and light to explore the natural environment. Entertainment includes live music from local Bristol bands, plus comedy from Mark Olver, Steve Day and Juliette Butler, watercolour painting, sculpture making and textiles, fine art and spoken word workshops, poetry readings and films depicting the work of the charity.

• milestonestrust.org.uk

Fab Four, Bocabar, 10 September – 4 November

Indian Summer, Room 212, 1 – 28 September Room 212 is optimistic that the balmy weather will continue into September, with their arts theme of ‘Indian Summer’. Expect rich colours, with artwork featuring exotic animals and birds. One artist contributing is Safa Aslam, a teacher from Bishop Road School and regular Room 212 Women of Colour by Safa Aslam print maker and artist. Safa’s Women of Colour print was inspired by Rupi Kaur’s poem Milk and Honey. Sharing a connection with many women who embody eastern and western heritage, she felt moved to create a print containing a small glimpse of the many different narratives a woman can hold within herself; celebrating and respecting the sacrifices, responsibilities and duties of many women of eastern heritage. See also Toni Burrows’ amazing mosaics and all manner of tigers, peacocks and elephants. Whether or not the sun continues to shine, be sure of a warm reception at this Gloucester Road independent gallery.

• room212.co.uk

A surreal mix from Bristol creatives such as Andrew Burns Colwill, best known for his accomplished walls and shop fronts at Upfest.

Here he offers environmental themes and political commentary on the UK and America.

Julian Quaye’s anthropomorphic characters have a web of stories behind them; in this show he combines his rich allegorical world with tropes from Celtic, Egyptian and other mythologies. See also surrealist painter Thomas Dowdeswell’s American series discussing power, the threat to traditional values, prejudice and inequality – developed as a way to digest the uncertainties of the past years and the re-rise of the right. Pop surrealist Jimmer Willmott – who takes 1950s imagery and gives it a distorted, sugar-coated twist – will be showing Girl with the Smurf Tattoo and two new originals including Popping Sweets with the King. His take on Elvis questions the idolatry of a character who has a dwindling relevance to a millennial audience.

• the-kane.gallery

● Coming up next month... West Bristol Arts Trail, various locations, 13 & 14 October The West Bristol Arts Trail showcases over 100 artists living and working in Clifton, Clifton Wood, Redland and Hotwells. During this weekend over 50 homes, studios and public spaces will be open to the public as part of the trail. There is a public preview on 12 October at the Avon Gorge Hotel (5.30pm – 7.30pm) with an official opening by the Lord Mayor at 6pm. All are welcome and no invitation is needed; just come along. Taking part are fine artists, photographers, See work by ceramicists, print makers and sculptors – enjoy the chance to meet them in their studios, talk to them Amy Hutchings about their work and buy directly from them. as well as scores of other artists with differing styles during West Bristol Arts Trail

• westbristolarts.com

● Briswool, 18 – 20 October, Bath & West Showground Exhibited at the Craft4Crafters Show this year, along with over 100 of the finest craft suppliers and more than 70 workshops, demos and make-and-takes each day, will be the BrisWool Woollen City. The three-dimensional crocheted model of Bristol – a riot of colour and texture with reproductions of famous city landmarks – took more than three years to create, with over 250 volunteers. New exhibits include a three-metre woolly crocodile and gorgeous gulls.

• craftingthecity.org

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Green Sea, North Beach (Isle of Iona)

Holding a Bunch

Still Life with Blue Egg

TEXTURE: Sept 15 - Oct 12 Rose Strang Henry Jabbour Vivienne Williams RCA Lime Tree Gallery, 84 Hotwell Road, Bristol BS8 4UB

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TASTY TIDBITS FROM THE CITY’S RESTAURANTS, CHEFS AND PRODUCERS London Cocktail Club looks like it speaks our language...

CAPITAL IDEA London Cocktail Club, the group founded by renowned bartender JJ Goodman and James 'Hoppy' Hopkins, has launched its first venue outside of London, on the Clifton Triangle.

The opening fulfils an ambition that goes back to 2009, when Bristol played host to the BBC’s The Restaurant. After 10 weeks of filming in and around the city, JJ and Hoppy beat off their rivals (with a Blackcurrant Fizz, despite it being a food competition) and came home with investment from judges Raymond Blanc and Sarah Willingham. They also left with the goal of one day opening an LCC where it all began.

Each LCC has its own theme, while maintaining its same jubilant atmosphere and offering – LCC Bristol positions itself as “a twisted ode to Neverland at night, with a deviant Peter Panesque after-party vibe”. The idea is that guests find themselves entering an overgrown enchanted garden – complete with secret wardrobe and curious ticking crocodile to keep a beady eye on imbibers – and tasting all sorts of extravagant elixirs.

"After lucking out in Bristol back in the day, we’re beyond excited to be returning to the city to share the love with the crew, old friends and new!” says JJ.

LIP-SMACKING LINE-UP Bristol Craft Beer Festival is bringing together a host of local food heroes for its 2018 edition, from 14 – 16 September. Asado, For Mice and Men, The Little Taquero and Eatchu will each be serving up tasty morsels for craft beer fans in Lloyds Amphitheatre – the festival’s new home for this year.

Asado has become one of Bristol’s best burger joints since it opening in 2017, serving up stacked burgers cooked over a wood-fired Argentinean asado. For Mice and Men is Bristol’s grilled cheese specialist – think deliciously gooey, Stateside-style, build-your-own sandwiches – Do try an while The Little Taquero offers Asado authentic Mexican street food, creation! including even grasshopper tacos!

Meanwhile, Bristol’s go-to gyoza spot Eatchu will be attending with the likes of their pork, garlic and chive gyoza and spinach and tofu creations – for visitors to chow down on before supping on the finest city brews.

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WHO WANTS TO BE A CHEF? Bristol’s School of Food is hosting an open day on 3 September at Root (10am – 3pm) for potential recruits. The Bristol-based initiative is aimed at young people looking to break into the industry as well as those already working in restaurants, hotels and other food businesses.

Launched in April, it is the brainchild of local chefs Josh Eggleton and Adrian Kirikmaa, who joined forces with Weston College, St Katherine’s School and Ashton Gate Stadium to design a vocational programme giving talented young chefs access to high quality kitchens and industry experts.

The 12-month course includes the Commis Chef Standard Intermediate Apprenticeship and work-based training. The contemporary curriculum covers everything from food preparation and nutrition, to chef and knife skills, stock taking and the financial aspects of working in a kitchen. Apprentices are mentored by a professional chef and have access to state-ofthe-art facilities and masterclasses at Ashton Gate Stadium from chefs including Root’s Rob Howell and George Livesey of Bulrush.

• school-of-food.co.uk

• bristolcraftbeerfestival.co.uk

48 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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The Clifton Club, founded in 1818, continues to be Bristol’s most exclusive Private Members Club. Overlooking the Mall Gardens in Clifton Village, the magnificent, historic club building radiates comfort, luxury and charm. Idyllic private event spaces suitable for weddings, functions and corporate events make The Clifton Club the perfect choice of venue, whatever your occasion.

Exclusive Private Members Club Extensive Social Events Calendar Bespoke Wedding Service Dedicated Meetings and Functions Team Fine Dining Experience For Membership, Event or Wedding Enquiries, please do not hesitate to get in touch We offer you a range of delicious wines produced from healthy grapes grown on vines sustainably farmed by passionate wine makers. Our wines are organic, biodynamic, natural and authentic.

FREE DELIVERY IN BRISTOL • WWW.NFIZZ.CO.UK

Tel: 0117 9745039 Email: enquiries@thecliftonclub.co.uk

@cliftonclub

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RESTAURANT REVIEW GARDENING

Diners have raved about the chicken croquetas, created just for Bristol

We ordered the cabrales and the sweet leek and pea tortilla

BAR 44 Whether or not you know your PX from your fino, you’ll find plenty to fortify here, says Amanda Nicholls

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ny self-respecting restaurant these days needs itself an ethos. At this one, just opened on Clifton’s Regent Street after successes in Cardiff, Cowbridge and Penarth, it seems to be... sherry.

Okay there is more to it than that – the sibling team behind this elegant eatery have woven in several strands of Spanish culture – but their passion for the trendy tipple (no, it’s sexy, argues the neon sign above the bar) permeates every element of Bar 44.

Certainly a more seductive take on the retro sherry trifle was a cocktail version created by the resident mixologists – with Brockmans gin, Micaela cream sherry, raspberry, vanilla and flaked almond. When you are a fervent frequenter of bars, it gets harder to be excited by a drinks list but 44’s had us dithering over everything from rhubarb and custard pornstar martinis to apple and elderflower sangria; anxious of contracting FOMO should we make a duff choice.

The look is contemporary but takes inspiration from the old Spanish styles. The tiled pillars were the subject of admiration while we perched at the bar, as was the sizeable red wine store (naturally) and the private dining rooms when we had a peek into the old bank vaults below – gorgeous and (good news) opening this month. Commissioned to create Iberia-inspired wall art for the venue was Bristol-based artist Andi Rivas who hails from southern Spain; and even the cava has a Gaudí print wrapped around the bottle. Cage lighting and sherry casks complete the cosmopolitan-meets-old-Cadiz concept.

Set right up with the red berry sangria – red wine, raspberry, orange and rum – nibbles were in order. While all around us seemed to be having the jamón (de rigeur) and very happy with the choice, it was delicious, 18-month-cured manchego with caramel notes for these two turophiles in the corner.

Our well-informed waiter (ex-Bells Diner) recommended the cabrales – a whipped blue cheese, light as air, with walnut, apple, sherry and two giant ears of chicory leaf. With that we paired buttery 50 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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sweet leek and pea tortilla and then the smoky, crispy mullet with pisto. Both the fish and the finely chopped Spanish ratatouille were ideal with the white wine suggested in place of our usual sauvignon – Ondas Del Alma, Monterrei Godello. Rounded, balanced with fresh peach and floral notes, dear God – we decided – we liked Godello.

Over the course of the evening, the roast chicken croquetas with smoked morcilla and peas were managing to carve themselves a cracking reputation via social media reportage, and we agreed with all the favourable raving. Rich in taste without being garlicky or oily – the herby morcilla dehydrated to deliver a differing texture to the standard black pud – the dish was created just for the Bristol branch and showed the thought put into each eatery to illustrate that multiple restaurants needn’t necessarily equate to chain mentality.

It was dessert though, that was, by far and away, the victor. Not so much the vegan pistachio olive oil cake with flat peach – decent but ever so slightly let down by the peach thyme ice cream it was plated up with (next time it’ll be the mango, sherry and chocky trifle to be sure).

But we need to talk about the PX espresso martini ice cream. We’d heard how good the homemade ices at Bar 44 were (fino citrus sorbet, orange curd yoghurt sorbet) still we didn’t expect the quality and character of this one. Enhanced by the sherry-caffeine combo it was laced with, it was absolutely divine, with a thick, creamy mouthfeel that made us wonder if marshmallow had been melted into it – and left us flying the flag for fortified wine too.

Sherry may be a big part of Bar 44 but if you’re not quite a convert yet, there’s still reason to visit whatever your penchant – with a proper vegan menu also on offer plus very reasonable ‘express’ lunches and even creative Spanish alternatives to the Sunday roast. ¡Salud! n

• bar44.co.uk

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the delicious guide the best places in Bristol to eat, drink and enjoy

The Delicious Guide to Bristol featuring all our fave eateries and foodie treateries is available online at our website www.thebristolmag.co.uk THE

BR I S T O L MAGAZINE

Follow us on Twitter @thebristolmag

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THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE 51

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Image: Bristol Record Office; Wikicommons

HISTORY

Bristol’s harbour, with St Stephen's Church, St Augustine the Less Church and Bristol Cathedral

PIRATES & PRIVATEERS

Colourful and very creative;

As we approach the 300th anniversary of Bristolian buccaneer Blackbeard’s death, Stephen Roberts looks that’s the name of his game at the city’s seafaring history and its other notable characters

‘S

hiver me timbers.’ ‘Pieces-of-eight.’ ‘Ahoy there me hearties!’ ‘Yo, ho, ho and a bottle of rum!’ Did anyone ever really speak like this, or are these exclamations only found in the pages of piratical novels, or at fancy dress parties? I rocked up in Bristol, intent on finding out more about pirates and privateers.

Piracy on the high seas was illegal. There’s no two ways about it.

Privateering, on the other hand, had a veneer of legitimacy. This was perfectly legal, provided the ship’s captain had a ‘letter of marque’ from his government, permitting him to attack and steal from merchant ships belonging to specified countries (most likely those their country was warring with). A percentage of the ship’s bounty was handed over and everyone was happy (except for the ship that had been violated).

I had come in search of Blackbeard, the city’s most notorious pirate, who perished 300 years ago, on 22 November 1718. Edward Teach (or Thatch, as he was also known) was presumed to have been born to a well-to-do family in the Redcliffe area of Bristol – England’s then second-city – in c1680. By 1706, he was a bog-standard sailor based in Jamaica, but come 1717, when he captured the slave ship Queen Anne’s Revenge, off Martinique, he was a full-blown pirate, who would number four ships and 400 crew in his entourage. The Royal Navy had just 10 ships patrolling the American coast, so could do little to apprehend Blackbeard, who captured 23 other ships.

The nickname is self-explanatory. To add to his persona, Blackbeard took to stuffing smoking fuses in his hair (endangering his ‘thatch’ in the process one presumes). He must have cut a frightening figure, 52 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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which, of course, was the intention. Adversaries cowered, as did his own crew, as Blackbeard dispatched the odd one with a firearm, just to maintain discipline. All good things come to an end, though, and Blackbeard was finally cornered off the North Carolina coast, allegedly falling victim to an assortment of guns and swords. Few mariners would have shed a tear, but the ladies did apparently, for he’d been married 14 times and sired 40 children. One does wonder how he had the time.

One of Blackbeard’s gang was pirate Israel Hands, also quite possibly from Bristol. Now, this is interesting, for he provides a link to the most famous of all swashbuckling novels, Treasure Island (1883), written by Robert Louis Stevenson. There is an Israel Hands in the novel, the coxswain of the Hispaniola, who is shot dead by cabin-boy Jim Hawkins, in self-defence. We know Stevenson visited Bristol – he’s said to have frequented The Hole in the Wall inn, off Queen Street, which has a spy-hole for spotting the dreaded press-gangs. Did this inspire the Spy-glass, the Bristol inn where Long John Silver was to be found?

Blackbeard wasn’t the only famous pirate with links to Bristol.

Welshman Bartholomew Roberts (1682-1722) was originally in the Merchant Navy and sailed from Bristol on slave ships before he became the most successful pirate in history, capturing well over 400 ships, and made Blackbeard look like a part-timer. Piracy didn’t pay in the end, however, as Roberts fell to a broadside from Royal Navy ship HMS Swallow off the coast of West-Central Africa.

Bristol’s vital role in this story is easily explained. During the reign of Charles II, Bristol was England’s second-city, after London, with a

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HISTORY

supposedly replete with secret smuggling tunnels and the odd ghost.

Robert Louis Stevenson also knew a good yarn when he saw it. His character Ben Gunn is another castaway, and again, based on Selkirk.

The first landlord of the Llandoger was called Hawkins and perhaps that was why R.L. named his cabin-boy Jim Hawkins. It is also suggested the pub was the inspiration for the Admiral Benbow inn, Jim’s home in Treasure Island. It’s even said that Blackbeard himself quenched his thirst in The Llandoger Trow. As for the name Admiral Benbow, look no further than Admiral John Benbow, a 17th-century naval officer and privateer, who sailed from Bristol. It seems Stevenson picked up much material here. Blackbeard, meanwhile, is also alleged to have frequented the Hatchet Inn in Frogmore Street, which dates to 1606 and was reputedly the go-to boozer for self-respecting pirates.

There’s a story, perhaps apocryphal, that Blackbeard himself supplied the ale, while claims the door is covered in human skin – albeit covered in black paint today – are enough to put you off your pint.

Now, where did I leave my cutlass? ■

Dramatic personae • William Penn (1621-70), admiral, born in Bristol, father of founder of Pennsylvania • John Benbow (1653-1702), Royal Navy officer, who sailed from Bristol, inspired Admiral Benbow • Daniel Defoe (1660-1731), author of Robinson Crusoe, who met Alexander Selkirk in Bristol • Alexander Selkirk (1676-1721), marooned, rescued by Woodes Rogers, inspired Crusoe • Woodes Rogers (c1679-1732), sea captain and privateer, rescuer of Selkirk, enemy of piracy • Edward Teach or Thatch, aka Blackbeard (c1680-1718), infamous Bristolian pirate • Bartholomew Roberts (1682-1722), prolific pirate, who’d sailed from Bristol on slave ships • Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-94), Scottish author of Treasure Island, who visited Bristol

What to see and where • Queen Square – plaque for Woodes Rogers on Georgian House. Custom House where taxes and duties were collected from ships • The Grove, Queen Square – The Hole in the Wall pub • King Street – The Llandoger Trow where Selkirk and Defoe met • Millennium Promenade – reputedly Blackbeard’s house is here • Bristol Cathedral – silver candlesticks seized by Woodes Rogers from the Spanish in 1717 • St Mary Redcliffe – memorial to Sir William Penn • Harbourside – where there were departures (slave traders with Bristol-made rum) and arrivals (pirates with booty) • Frogmore Street – Hatchet Inn, the alleged go-to for drinking

Blackbeard’s nemesis, Governor Woodes Rogers, was also from the city

Image: National Maritime Museum; Wikicommons

Image from The Pirates by Douglas Botting – Time-Life Books 1978; Wikicommons

population of some 20,000. The rise of Britain’s American colonies (with a profitable tobacco trade) in the 17th century, then the expansion of the slave trade in the 18th century, made Bristol a flourishing harbour and, for a while, this country’s leading slave port.

For more than a century, around 20 slave ships a year departed Bristol, accounting for one-fifth of the trade in Britain.

Walking around modern Bristol, one is never far from its seafaring past. In the church of St Mary Redcliffe is a memorial to William Penn (1621-70), a Royal Navy officer, who was born in the city. His son, another William Penn, became the founder of Pennsylvania. Bristol’s first bank meanwhile, the Old Bank in Broad Street, opened in 1750.

Two of its founding partners, Isaac Elton, and the flamboyantly named Onecipherous Tyndall, had interests in the African and Caribbean trades (in Bristol, many early bank founders and directors had links to the slave trade).

It wasn’t all slavery though. Bristol was a vibrant port trading with Ireland, France, Spain, Portugal and the Barbary Coast (North Africa), while trade with North America and the Caribbean thrived during the Commonwealth (1649-60). If you could travel back and observe, you’d see plenty of woollen cloth being exported, plus coal, lead and animal hides, with some of the fine things in life (wine and olive oil), plus grain, slate and timber coming in.

Another thing you might notice was the war on piracy. While Blackbeard was a Bristolian, so was his nemesis, Governor Woodes Rogers – a navigator and privateer, born in the city in 1679, who later lived in Queen Square (today there’s a blue plaque on his house).

Having circumnavigated the globe (1708-11) on a privateering expedition against the Spanish, he became General and Governor of the Bahamas, which he undertook to suppress piracy. Blackbeard rejected Woodes Rogers’ offer of a king’s pardon and ultimately paid with his life. Also, in Queen Square is the Custom House, where taxes and duties were collected on ships entering the harbour. Pirates would have had no truck with that.

It was during his circumnavigation that Woodes Rogers rescued Alexander Selkirk (1676-1721) from Juan Fernandez Island (off the Chilean coast), where he’d been a castaway for five years, and conveyed him back to Bristol. A Scottish sailor, Selkirk had apparently quarrelled with his captain, and been marooned, at his own request.

When he pitched up in Bristol he had tales to tell and a ready audience.

One listener was Daniel Defoe, who later wrote Robinson Crusoe, based on Selkirk’s story. The two men met in Bristol’s oldest pub, The Llandoger Trow – one of the city’s last timber-built structures,

Blackbeard, believed to have been born in Redcliffe

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BRISTOL UPDATES

BITE-SIZED BUSINESS AND COMMUNITY NEWS FROM ACROSS THE CITY Bristol is the only UK city up for the award – good work!

IN THE RUNNING

CONGRATS IN ORDER

GO EXTERMINATE!

A Bristol based firm has been recognised at a national awards event that celebrates family businesses.

Almeda Facilities Ltd won ‘Best Business to Work For’ and ‘Family Business of the Year’ in the South West at the National Family Business Awards. It offers a total facilities and property management solution and has an extensive list of clients that includes English Heritage, Triodos Bank, UWE and Arnolfini.

“We have worked tirelessly to create a business where people can build a career and work in an environment that places emphasis on health and wellbeing,” said managing director Brady George.

“Almeda is ahead of the curve in that respect and it’s particularly rewarding to have won this award – we have a talented team here and everybody has played a part in making this achievement possible.”

Brady became managing director in 2015, taking over from his father Gary, who set up the business in 2007. The company employs over 60 people and is headquartered in Keynsham.

Entertainment company Escape Hunt has signed a five-year exclusive licence agreement with BBC Studios to create Doctor Who-themed UK escape rooms.

The first will open in December to follow the autumn launch of the new television series. The intention is to roll out the themed rooms across the country over the next three years.

The company believes using branded content in its escape rooms broadens its appeal both to the public and to corporate clients and will help to drive footfall and brand awareness. Escape Hunt has developed a range of industry-leading themed escape rooms for the UK roll-out which commenced this spring and has been delighted by the customer reaction, with 98% five-star TripAdvisor reviews having been received.

“We are thrilled to be partnering with BBC Studios,” said CEO Richard Harpham. “Doctor Who represents the very best in British action adventure and has a loyal and dedicated fanbase that spans all generations. We look forward to bringing the show to life for all fans in its first ever live escape game experience.”

• almeda.co.uk

• escapehunt.com

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Bristol has been shortlisted for European Capital of Innovation 2018 – the only city to represent the UK and in the running alongside Aarhus, Antwerp, Athens, Gothenburg, Hamburg, Leuven, Lisbon, Madrid, Toulouse, Umeå and Vienna.

Finalists will present their innovation strategies at the ‘iCapital Stories’ session in Brussels on 10 October. The winner – the European Capital of Innovation 2018 – will then be announced at the web summit in Lisbon on 6 November by Carlos Moedas, commissioner for research, science and innovation.

The award is an annual cash prize awarded to the European city that is best able to demonstrate its ability to harness innovation to improve the lives of its citizens. It must contribute to open and dynamic innovation ecosystems, involve citizens in governance and decision-making, and use innovation to improve resilience and sustainability. Cities are judged on how they implement innovative solutions – completed or ongoing – to societal challenges.

Each will have to show how they have created the conditions for innovation by experimenting with different concepts, processes, tools, and governance models as a test-bed for innovation; engaging citizens in the process and ensuring the uptake of their ideas; expanding the city's attractiveness to become a role model for other cities; and empowering citizens by bringing concrete and measurable added value through the implementation of innovative practices.

There’s a €1million prize for the city eventually named European Innovation Capital of the year and €100,000 for each of the five runner-up cities.

Applications are judged by a panel of independent experts from across Europe – fingers crossed, Bristol!

• ec.europa.eu

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AMD Solicitors Discuss The Recent Pimlico Plumbers Case

SUPREME COURT RULING CONFIRMS SELFEMPLOYED PLUMBER WAS A WORKER

A

The Supreme Court recently delivered its ruling on the Pimlico Plumbers case, a case which has attracted media attention in recent years, regarding workers' rights.

The Supreme Court has held that a plumber who, despite his contract labelling him as an independent contractor of Pimlico Plumbers (PP), was, in fact, a ‘worker’ therefore entitling him to various employment rights such as holiday pay and protection from unlawful deductions from wages.

FACTS OF THE CASE PP engaged Mr Smith between 2005 and 2011 but his position was terminated approximately four months after Mr Smith suffered a heart attack as he was unable to work the hours he was contracted to do. His termination led Mr Smith to issue proceedings in the employment tribunal claiming entitlement to a number of employment rights.

DECISION The court had to determine Mr Smith’s employment status. Despite finding that Mr Smith was registered for VAT, submitted invoices to PP, filed tax returns on the basis that he was self-employed, and was under no obligation to accept work, the Supreme Court upheld the judgment of the employment tribunal that he was a worker. Significant factors in its decision included: • While Mr Smith had the right to substitute work in his contract, the court regarded this right as so insignificant as to not be worthy of recognition.

Although Mr Smith could swap work, the substitute had to be a plumber of PP and was bound to PP by an identical suite of heavy obligations.

• PP exercised a great degree of control over Mr Smith which is inconsistent with being truly ‘self-employed’. The court highlighted that Mr Smith had to drive a PP branded van (which had a tracker in it), wear a PP uniform and carry an identity card. He was also subject to restrictive covenants which prevented him from being a plumber for three months following termination.

REFLECTIONS Although this is a Supreme Court decision, it does not provide much further legal clarity in determining employment status. As is often the case in worker status claims, the decision is highly fact-specific and each case will ultimately have to be decided on its facts.

Nevertheless, it does highlight the continued importance of contractual terms seen in the context of the reality of the parties’ working practices.

Worker status is also a hot topic so this decision is likely to be of concern for “gig economy” employers.

Our experienced employment team at AMD solicitors are always delighted to hear from Companies or Employees regarding changes to employment laws. To speak to our Employment Solicitors in Bristol and to find out more call 0117 923 5562 or email Chris Brown or Liz Highams. © AMD Solicitors

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GORY-FYING HISTORY Martin Brown has got up close and personal with some of the past’s most notorious characters during his career. Jessica Hope catches up with the Horrible Histories illustrator and cartoonist

D

id you know that shaving a live chicken’s bottom and strapping it to a swelling bubo was considered a cure for the Plague in the Middle Ages? Or that after the Battle of Waterloo, people would pull the teeth out of the corpses of fallen soldiers and sell them? Pretty gruesome, eh? Well these are just the kinds of facts that have been filling young people’s heads for the past 25 years thanks to Horrible Histories – the bestselling history book series for children.

Recognised for its honest, engaging and funny take on times gone by, it has grown into a phenomenon, selling more than 30 million copies in 38 languages worldwide, as well as being turned into a multi awardwinning television series and sell-out stage show – now there are even plans for a film about Roman Britain hitting the big screen next year.

...Henry VIII looks fabulous because of the way he actually looked. I didn’t have to do much to that. He did it all himself...

Behind the weird and wonderful tales are a dynamic duo; author Terry Deary and illustrator Martin Brown. Having worked together since 1993, the pair have brought the stories of the Rotten Romans, Gorgeous Georgians and Vile Victorians to life, inspiring children (and many adults, it is freely admitted) to take an interest in and engage with the past.

They will soon be appearing at Bath Children’s Literature Festival (28 September – 7 October) which Martin says is his “favourite book festival in the world”. While they’re fine-tuning their plans for the event, it definitely won’t be one for fans to miss. “Terry very rarely does events, so this is the only opportunity to see him,” says Martin.

“He’ll talk, he might have his guitar. It is going to be entertaining, and if there isn’t singing along I will be very surprised.”

After publishing more than 80 titles, and working for a brand that has produced the longest running children’s stage show in London’s West End, plus seven television series, Martin admits that he is still

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amazed by Horrible Histories’ success, after all this time.

“I remember the first time I did the Bath Children’s Literature Festival, I looked out at the stage and realised that 600 people had paid to see me, which is remarkable. You’re staring down the hall at these massive chandeliers, and you wonder how you’ve made it here.”

Despite being part of one of the biggest children’s book series on the planet, Martin still gets starstruck meeting other authors and illustrators in the publishing world. “I go into the green room at festivals and there are all these people that I want to go and hear speak live,” he says. “Who wouldn’t want to hear Cressida Cowell talk about dragons? These people aren’t just friends and colleagues, they’re heroes of mine.”

Martin has witnessed an enormous change in children’s print industry in recent decades. “The industry as a whole has more influence than people really think,” he says. “Whenever the New Year’s Honours list comes out, I always flick through it knowing full well that hardly any children’s book people will be on there. These people are doing extraordinary stuff that really is changing young people’s lives, and influencing kids for the better.

“It’s an industry that this country does particularly well, and I think it goes completely under the radar, which is a pity because it is beyond world class,” he adds.

Born in Melbourne, Australia, in 1959, Martin grew up with artistic parents. “For my amusement, I would doodle for hours and hours. I guess it was practice,” he says. “But it was cartooning which was my thing. My heroes, growing up, were editorial cartoonists like Johnny Hart, Bill Watterson, and Calvin and Hobbes, which is the finest cartoon strip ever produced.”

After leaving school, Martin briefly became an art teacher before getting a job as a stagehand at television company ABC Studios. With some money saved up, he decided to go travelling with the intention of returning to Australia, but instead, in 1983, Martin ended up in London. “I got a job at The London Graphic Centre and all of a sudden at my finger tips weren’t only the finest art materials, but also the names of every publisher, magazine, agency and advertising mob in London. So if I was ever going to be a cartoonist, then that was it.”

Martin spent six months knocking on every door

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around the capital that he could, hoping to get into the industry. With some work at Reader’s Digest and a greeting’s card company under his belt, he learned how to hone his skills as a cartoonist and how to deliver a joke on the page to catch the reader’s eye.

One day Martin came across children’s book publisher Scholastic and the rest, as they say, is history. “I walked in the door, and walked out with a job. But it was definitely a right place at the right time kind of moment,” he admits.

After working with author Peter Corey on a series of Coping With… books, the publishers teamed him up with author Terry Deary for a project that would later become Horrible Histories.

To coincide with the Key Stage Two curriculum, while making these time periods much more interesting for readers, Martin and Terry first produced the Awesome Egyptians and Terrible Tudors. These publications quickly caught the attention of young readers for their humorous yet frank interpretation of history. While so many children’s history books tend to glorify the winners of the past, Horrible Histories reflects on what it was like for every member of society when wars raged and harvests failed.

…The poor sods who had to cope with it all, like the Norman invasion and the English Civil War, were the ordinary everyday families...

“Some of my favourite characters are the peasants. We’re so used to these A-list celebrity heroes of history, whether they’re goodies or baddies, the kings and queens. But the poor sods who had to cope with it all, like the Norman invasion and the English Civil War, were the ordinary everyday families. These people who had to grow a crop, make a living, raise a family, and they did that all while this history was happening around them,” he says.

In order to recreate the lives of past civilisations in cartoon form, Terry provides Martin with a manuscript of each book with pointers on where illustrations and cartoon strips are needed: “Terry is such a great writer, he feeds you the perfect material to work with. History itself is fascinating, but the way he writes it makes it much more fun.”

And depicting the characters of the past isn’t always as difficult as you might think. “The thing about non-fiction is that it has the best stories – the material is so good. Henry VIII looks fabulous in the books because of the way he actually looked. I didn’t have to do much to that, he did it himself.”

Children’s book illustrations they may be, but there is still an important element of historical accuracy to Martin’s work. “A lot of cartoonists would try with a knight, for example, to draw them in a generic suit of armour. But what I like about Horrible Histories is that you can be quite specific.

So if I was drawing a knight from 1350, I would do a suit of armour from 1350 – but it’s still a cartoon. A Norman-style knight would wear different kit,” he says.

While Martin and Terry have been working together for 25 years, it is surprising to find out that the pair rarely see each other as Martin lives in Dorset, whereas Terry is based in County Durham.

“We just understand one another. It’s been good fortune to be paired up with him. We make a brilliant team, but have hardly been together,” Martin says.

As well as helping to popularise history for children with its use of satire and fun facts, Horrible Histories’ appeal also stems from addressing difficult subjects that can be missed out from the school curriculum.

Although Martin admits that there can be challenges in creating humour about events

You can come down to reality with a rat, says Martin – who uses his peasant and rodent illustrations to offer a more balanced perspective on the past

that have happened in recent history.

“We make jokes about Henry VIII knocking off two of his wives’ heads, but that is a monstrous thing to do. There are echoes of Isis there, so it is the distance in time that allows you some artistic license.

But the closer it gets to modern times, then the harder it is to poke fun at. Whether that is the carnage of the First or Second World War, and the wilful slaughter that happened – that slaughter certainly happened before the wars, such as the religious persecution of the 17th century – but somehow that is so far away, that it doesn’t hurt so much anymore.

“You can say some very serious things with cartoons,” continues Martin. “You can’t make a joke about the trenches or about being gassed, but you can take a non-funny editorial cartoon to talk about the cruelty.

And you have to be mindful that these books are for kids – for eight to 12 year olds, but I know that kids who are younger and older read them and love them.

You’ve got to be careful. You can show cruelty, but you can’t be gratuitous, even though history is full of it.”

In order to reflect on more serious events in history, Martin uses illustrations to explain the situations to children, or to add light relief.

“You can use a rat or peasants as observers for the pay off, to either deflect some of the horror, or to prick some of the pomposity. They’re great commentators when kings and queens are dealing with great matters of state. You can come down to reality with a rat.”

Away from a school curriculum where some may argue that there is an emphasis on remembering dates and prominent figures of state, Horrible Histories discusses the past from a different angle. “The books are educational, but not preachy. You might learn about a date along the way, and there are timelines in all of the books, but that’s not the story we are telling.”

And with these books having been produced for a quarter of a century, many original Horrible Histories readers are now passing down their favourites to their children. “The fact that readers have got fond memories of them is great, still after all this time,” says Martin. “When people in their mid-30s come up to you at events and say ‘I grew up on your books!’ it’s really, really nice to hear.”

Horrible Histories has stood the test of time, providing young people with a bigger picture of the past and encouraging an interest in history for the past 25 years.

And long may it continue. n • Martin appears at Bath Children’s Literature Festival on 29 September; bathfestivals.org.uk THEBRISTOLMAG.CO.UK

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EVENTS | FOR KIDS

FAMILY DIARY Things to do with the little ones in Bristol this month

Expect both Tubby custard and Teletubby bye-byes...

Big Hugs – Teletubbies Live Wednesday 12 and 13 September, times vary Bristol Hippodrome

Image: Dan Tsantilis

Celebrating 20 years since they hit the small screen, Ninetiesborn children’s TV creations the Teletubbies are starring in their first-ever live theatre show created especially for little ones.

Join Tinky Winky, Dipsy, Laa-Laa and Po in a production full of love, laughter and music as they explore the magical world of Teletubbyland, complete with the Tubby phone, Noo-Noo the vacuum cleaner and Sun Baby. With opportunities to join in throughout the show, there will also be brand new songs by BAFTA award-winning composer Mani Svavarsson. The show is produced by Fiery Light, with creator and director of the Peppa Pig Live shows, Richard Lewis, having adapted the television series for the stage. See full-sized Teletubbies come to life in this show featuring plenty of bright colours, puppetry, movement, songs and actions.

• atgtickets.co.uk/bristol

Top pick... three – eight. Tickets £8; thewardrobetheatre.com

DON’T MISS...

Go Aloft! Climb The Rigging Throughout September, SS Great Britain Could you have sailed the seven seas? Step into the shoes of a Victorian sailor and climb the main-mast of the SS Great Britain, ascending to over 25m above ground level.

Height and weight restrictions apply. Free for under 18s; £10 for adults; ssgreatbritain.org

Mayflower Trips Saturday 1 and 2 September, 30-minute trips, M Shed Explore the harbour aboard the world’s oldest steam tug, built in Bristol in 1861. The Mayflower went to work on the ship canal between Sharpness and Gloucester and managed a working life of over 100 years. She then spent spent 15 years narrowly avoiding the scrap yard before she came back to her birthplace in 1981. Tickets available on board; adults £6, child/concessions £4; bristolmuseums.org.uk/m-shed

Scribble and Sketch Saturday 1 September, 10.30am – 12.30pm, Royal West of England Academy, Queen’s Road Enjoy a free morning of fun and informal art and drawing activities inspired by the current exhibitions. Designed for children and grownups to take part in together, this session is all about getting creative in a friendly and relaxed environment. Suitable for all ages; children must be supervised; rwa.org.uk

Not All Classrooms Have Four Walls Saturday 8 September, 9am – 11am, Clifton College Parents and children can join together at Clifton College for a fun-filled morning of hands-on activities in the woodland. Make a mess in the mud kitchen, build a secret den, toast marshmallows on the fire and breathe in the fresh air. Free entry; cliftoncollege.com/forestschool

The Pixies’ Scarf Saturday 1 and 2 September, 11am and 2pm, The Wardrobe Theatre, Old Market Go on a magical adventure set in the wet, craggy lands of Dartmoor. Presented by Soap Soup Theatre and inspired by the tale of The Pixies’ Scarf by Alison Utterly, this show sees Dicky Bundle discover a treasure and open a door that leads to a beautiful, fragile world; the world of The Wee Folk. Suitable for ages 60 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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Meet a Mermaid Saturday 15 and 16 September, 10am – 5pm, Avon Valley Railway Meet a real-life mermaid, hear her tales of life beneath the waves and have your photo taken with her. Note: the resident siren is taking a

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break from the water so won’t be swimming in the displays. Admission fees apply; bristolaquarium.co.uk Teddy Bears Picnic Saturday 15 and 16 September, Avon Valley Railway Children can bring their teddy bears and travel for free on this fun-filled day. Enjoy a family teddy trail around the station, take part in craft activities onboard the trains, watch Punch and Judy shows, have your face painted (over threes only) and be amazed by the balloon modeller. Tickets: adults £8, concessions £7 and under fives go free. Ages five – 14 will also travel free if they bring their teddy bear; avonvalleyrailway.org TYNTEtots: Jack and The Beanstalk Wednesday 19 and 20 September, 10am and 1pm, Tyntesfield Walk through the Tyntesfield gardens and hear the classic story of Jack and the Beanstalk. Be a giant and climb a beanstalk, plant your own magic bean and see what it’s like to be Jack. Adults £3 or free if a National Trust member. Children £7; nationaltrust.org.uk/tyntesfield Toddler Takeover: Fantastic Feast Friday 21 September, 10am – 5pm, We The Curious Enjoy a Friday full of foodie fun and roll up your sleeves to get stuck into an activity-

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EVENTS | FOR KIDS

Go aloft at SS Great Britain

The Pixies’ Scarf at The Wardrobe Theatre

packed day. Explore and transform food textures in the pop-up restaurant, create and eat a fruit and vegetable salad in the kitchen and then join Ursa and Leo for Mud, Slugs and Scarecrows storytime. Suitable for ages five and under; wethecurious.org Adventure Bureau Sunday 23 September, 2pm, The Wardrobe Theatre, Old Market Enjoy an interactive storytelling show presented by Katie Storer and Simon Panrucker as they embark on a special trip from the Adventure Bureau – the ancient organisation whose job it is to create all the adventures. With the help of your ideas,

is free with admission; wwt.org.uk

they’ll weave a totally improvised story complete with improvised soundtracks and songs. Recommended for ages three – eight.

Tickets £7, ages three and under go free; thewardrobetheatre.com

Clowns: The Eggs-hibition Saturday 29 September – 6 January, Bristol Museum and Art Gallery Step into their gigantic shoes and tumble into the wonderful world of clowns. Explore what makes a great clown at this exhibition featuring stunning costume, fascinating archives and intriguing clown eggs. Each egg is a record of a clown’s own unique identity, preserving the un-written rule that no clown should copy another’s look. The perfect place to try out circus skills and clown-around in costume; bristolmuseums.org.uk/bristolmuseum-and-art-gallery n

Giant Lego Brick Animal Trail Until Sunday 23 September, Slimbridge Inspired by species from across the WWT sites, walk a trail featuring life-size animal characters. Meet a few new kids on the block – Sam the short-eared owl, Walter the water vole and Skye the stork – as they join the gang. Don’t miss Flavia the flamingo and Lottie the otter too. Suitable for all ages. Trail

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HOT TOPIC

TIME FOR A DIGITAL DETOX? September’s national campaign urging us all to spend less time on our phones has been prompted by widespread mental health issues among young people. Georgette McCready talks to two support charities about what can be done to help

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he internet, created to bring humans closer together and to improve our communication with each other, has thrown up an unfortunate side effect – a rise in the number of people suffering from mental health issues as a result of their online lives. British comedian Russell Kane has publicly, and bravely, spoken recently about receiving counselling to tackle his addiction to social media. He said his compulsive behaviour was affecting his life and likened the lure and addictive nature of social media platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook to the drug cocaine.

Cases such as these are not rare – so great is our addiction to digital technology that the Royal Society for Public Health has felt it necessary to launch a campaign called Scroll-Free September which is advising us to take a break from social media for the 30 days of September. Even if we feel unable to refrain for an entire month the Society invites us to consider and ration the number of times we check our phones each day. For some professionals, that call to wean ourselves away our phones comes far too late after the genie has left the bottle.

Jan Robertson is the chief executive and founder of the charity Focus Counselling. “We have been talking about this issue for the past five years,” she says. “It’s only been in the last academic year that schools have really started to tackle this problem. And it really is a widespread problem.”

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So, beyond spending too much time peering into their screens, what harm is using social media doing to our 11 to 18-year-olds, I ask Jan? “It’s causing massive amounts of anxiety. We’re dealing with many cases of young people suffering from it. It blights their lives and can lead to panic attacks, depression, self-harm – a whole range of issues.”

Focus Counselling sees more than 100 clients of all ages per week and many of them are suffering from low self-esteem and from a range of anxiety-related symptoms. Jan says a typical case of social media bullying might begin with a teenager posting an innocent bikini-clad holiday photo on Snapchat to share with friends. But, once in the hands of someone else with malevolent intent, that image can be manipulated and distributed in such a way that the original subject feels exposed and belittled. “Cyber bullying is rife and deeply unpleasant,” Jan says. “They will attack everything about you, from your hair and the way you dress, to your parents and the way you talk. And we can’t simply suggest that someone turns their phone off and ignore it, it’s much more invidious than that.”

She explained that users of social media – regardless of age or which platform they’re using – get a buzz of endorphin for every like, follow or share. It is a very human response to crave validation from others.

We all want to be popular and liked. The problem is when that becomes addictive or when people on these platforms use abusive or inappropriate behaviour. It is also common for people try and show that they are living idyllic, happy lives through carefully posed images,

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HOT TOPIC

Scroll-Free September encourages us to take a break from, ration and reduce, or at least consider our use of social media, for 30 days

media to meet social needs that are now difficult to meet in the real world, taking social media away may not be the most useful approach, as these sites and tools give young people a chance to interact and stay in touch. That being said, different online tools, like parental controls, are important in filtering out potentially explicit content, or limiting a young person’s access to social networking to a certain number of hours a day.

Q: Are local schools doing anything to tackle this issue?

A: OTR works with many Bristol schools and the approaches differ.

Our wellbeing practitioners go into schools to give information and support on a wide number of subjects important to young people – including social media, sleep hygiene and managing difficult feelings and transitions. Social media can bring many useful things to a young person’s life, including the ability to stay in touch with school/university friends as well as encounter a wider bandwidth of difference, like young people from other countries and backgrounds.

Social networking brings with it costs and benefits. For sure, its addictive nature is a concern, from my perspective, and this demands networking platforms take a more responsible approach, which they seem to be doing recently, but more needs to be done.

which creates unrealistic expectations of life and what it actually is, for those viewing their posts.

We asked John McGuire, a therapist with Bristol-based charity Off the Record, for his experience of helping young people in this area.

Q: Is it fair to say that you have seen a rise in recent years of cases of anxiety in young people, directly caused by their use of social media?

A: I think we need to be cautious about measuring the impact of social networking on young people, and certainly more research is required.

OTR now reaches and supports more young people than ever before, and social media is certainly a big part of many of those young people’s lives, but distress and anxieties are often complex and can’t be attributed solely to one aspect of their lives.

Q: Would the problems arising from social media be because of its addictive nature, its unrealistic expectations or cyber bullying?

A: I think social media raises many new avenues for young people to navigate. Certainly there is lots of evidence to indicate the potentially addictive nature of social networking – a study from Harvard University showed that self-disclosure online fires up a part of the brain that also lights up when taking an addictive substance, like cocaine. In terms of unrealistic expectations, social media replicates the same dynamics that advertising and marketing have done for many decades now, though with social networking this now extends much further into the home space. Cyber-bullying has been shown to be harmful, though again more research is required, as some suggests it is not as harmful as we may think. OTR is interested in another avenue which isn’t regularly explored – how social media is often used as a substitute for meeting a young person’s social interaction needs which may be denied them in the real world with the breakdown of local communities. Whereas before, during my childhood, I would play with kids down the local field, now kids the same age are playing with each other online via online gaming and social media. The impact of this remains to be seen.

Q: Aside from seeking help and counselling, do you have any advice on how to minimise the impact of social media?

A: I think we need to be cautious. If young people are using social

Jan Robertson and her team of counsellors believe that Instagram and Snapchat, being image-based platforms, are potentially the most damaging for young people’s self image and esteem. Jan, who has many years of experience and is a parent herself, also believes that television shows which show young men and women with improbably perfect figures and faces also engender feelings of inadequacy in their followers. “The cult of celebrity can be very damaging for young people, trying to match up to a so-called perfect life,” she observes. “It is worth bearing in mind that every post we put on the internet leaves an indelible footprint that others will be able to trace, so be wary of posting anything which might come back to haunt you. As a general rule,” says Jan, “keep it light when it comes to your virtual life.”

Focus Counselling is working with schools in the South West to teach children as young as 11 how to be savvy about the internet.

They will also be working with teachers to help them cope with the issues arising from social media habits. Currently most schools find it impractical to separate students from their phones during the school day, but instead allow them free use at break times.

• Off the Record in Bristol offers mental health and support for 11 to 25-year-olds in Bristol and South Gloucestershire. Its website is a good place to start when seeking help: otrbristol.org.uk. You can get in touch with Focus Counselling on 01225 330096, or visit focusbath.com SIGNS A YOUNG PERSON IS BEING NEGATIVELY AFFECTED BY SOCIAL MEDIA • They become withdrawn • They need their phone with them all the time • They behave out of character, perhaps opting out of meals or avoiding seeing friends HOW CAN PARENTS/CARERS HELP? • Set a good example. Don’t spend all your time looking at your own phone.

• Insist the whole family leave their phones in the kitchen overnight to prevent online bullying intruding into sleep time.

• Leave it as long as you can before you give in to demands to have social media accounts or a phone of their own.

• Make family meals a regular occurrence, so people can talk to each other. Nobody need have their phone with them while they’re eating.

• Learn how social media works. It’s not going to go away, so start your own Instagram or Facebook account. Like any tool, it can be useful. It’s also a useful way of showing your child that you understand a little of how their world works.

• Encourage your family to use WhatsApp. It’s free, it’s private and you can form your own family or friendship groups.

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EDUCATION

At Badminton drama is seen as an important tool that teaches students to be tolerant of those around them

Redmaids’ is fortunate to have a number of performance spaces within its campus

Thespian scenes at Clifton College

Clifton High School’s excellent recent production of Les Misérables was testament to the ambition and dedication of cast and staff

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EDUCATION

DRAMATIC EFFECT Don’t underestimate the power of the arts and their impact on adult life, say Bristol schools

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uts to the creative arts are always controversial – it’s widely agreed that these subjects can help develop self-confidence, discipline and imagination; stimulate creativity in problem solving and challenging perceptions or worldviews; and promote communication, cooperation, social awareness and empathy. Some studies have even shown a correlation between academic achievement and involvement in subjects such as drama; perhaps the emotional outlet it can offer allows for improved focus day to day. With many viewing theatre-making and the arts as an integral educational component that preps kids for the outside world, there is the worry that lack of funding will close off such areas and make them elitist once more.

“It is a challenging time for arts subjects within many schools – STEM subjects are increasingly selected for further study while, nationally, GCSE entries for the arts have dropped by 34% since 2010,” says Rhian Orzel, head of drama at Clifton College. “We recognise that drama and the arts are critical in ensuring that students receive a wellrounded education that develops them as individuals and academics. It provides opportunities for exploration, creation and expression which help pupils develop the ‘soft skills’ desired by many industries.

“Facilities such as The Redgrave Theatre, Joseph Cooper Music School and a dedicated dance studio really allow drama to flourish at Clifton. Drama students develop skills in areas such as public speaking, presentation, communication and collaborative working; all highly sought after transferable skills that will support them through university and in their working lives.”

Redmaids’ High School is fortunate to have a number of performance spaces within its campus, including the recently unveiled Redland Hall, opened last September by former Redmaid, author, anthropologist and TV presenter Professor Alice Roberts. Equipped with a flexible seating and staging system, plus a full lighting and sound system, it’s even being booked by professional orchestras and ensembles.

This summer a group of students were taken to the Edinburgh Fringe with a production of Carol Ann Duffy’s lyrical adaptation of the Grimm

Tales – choreographed, stage-managed and co-directed by the girls themselves to give them experience in making and presenting theatre in a real-world context. As arts education dwindles in some schools, the girls’ Crook and Ivy group has aimed to show what can be achieved by talented young women when they are given support and a platform.

“Drama is absolutely fundamental to the emotional and psychological growth of every person and we forget that at our peril,” says Sarah McCormack, head of drama at Redmaids’. “All our systems of thought, our social structures and systems of government derive, in part, from the origins of theatre – from the understanding that we can engage directly and fully with the experiences of others and so create a world in which everyone has the right to be understood, to be heard.

...When our communication is increasingly dominated by the solipsism of social media, it is important to retain a space where we articulate our links with each other...

“If we take drama out of schools, we are eating away at the foundations of the very means by which we understand who we are. In these days when our communication is increasingly dominated by the solipsism of social media, it is all the more important to retain a space in our education system where we articulate our links with each other.”

As Sarah passionately explains, drama in school teaches history and culture; helps develop important life skills, coherence of thought and moral awareness; encourages social interaction and helps students understand who they are and what really matters to them.

“In addition to productions in Redland Hall, we have strong links

Ú

QEH students in Macbeth. To think that drama in schools is simply preparing students for a career in the industry is to misunderstand its purpose, says Pip Hockenhull at QEH

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Facilities such as The Redgrave Theatre, Joseph Cooper Music School and a dedicated dance studio allow drama to flourish at Clifton College

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EDUCATION

Drama is fundamental to emotional and psychological growth says Sarah McCormack at Redmaids’. If we take it out of schools, we are eating away at the foundations of the very means by which we understand who we are

a child. Drama is all about make-believe, but principally, it is about making children believe in themselves.”

Clifton High School uses drama to inspire pupils beyond the curriculum, encouraging them to reach their potential and achieve individual ambitions (‘realising individual brilliance’ is the school’s tagline, to celebrate each child for who they are). “Our most recent productions of Sweeney Todd and Les Misérables have been a testament to the ambition and dedication of cast members and staff,” they told us.

“Working together toward a shared goal develops a real sense of community and can offer an excellent opportunity for new arrivals to become quickly integrated.”

...It provides opportunities for exploration, creation and expression which helps develop the ‘soft skills’ desired by many industries...

with the Bristol Speech and Drama Festival, Tobacco Factory Theatres and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where we regularly perform. We also run regular theatre trips to inspire a love of quality drama and performance. Because, if nothing else, helping students to engage ‘in the world within’ is one of the greatest educational gifts we can offer.”

The subject is given great emphasis at The Downs School too, where head of drama Margaret Hobbs takes great pleasure in watching student capabilities broaden and develop. “They gain important life skills that are not just essential for the stage but for their future lives,” she says. “Drama is used as a tool in all areas of the curriculum; to bring the subject to life and give balance to a well-rounded education.

As well as having fun, children learn to control their nerves and cooperate. They develop the skills to stay focussed and improve their speed of thought and imagination. This awakening of each individual’s talents makes my job a real joy. Our children develop a love of performing together, from the nativity play in Reception, to the annual plays for each year group, and finally writing and performing their own Year Eight revue.”

...All our systems of thought, social structures and systems of government derive, in part, from the origins of theatre...

“Drama is a unifying force,” agrees Jennifer Walker, director of drama at Bristol Grammar School. “It doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t care about your gender, class, ethnicity, confidence, knowledge or even performing ability. One thing I always tell my younger classes is that drama is a social subject. It, quite literally, forces you to interact with people; to speak and to have a discussion, to play, to work together, to provoke, to mediate, to understand and to consider how to communicate with people on every level.

“Schools build a culture around drama. We forge a bond, a togetherness, from productions. We work together as a company to put on a show – the experience of doing that, of feeling like you belong and you made a difference and told someone a story, can be life-altering for 66 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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At Badminton, which counts actresses Phyllida Law and Rosamund Pike among its alumnae, drama is regarded by the likes of Lucy Griffith, assistant director of studies (liberal and creative arts), and Jennifer Rose, head of drama, as an important tool that allows students to work as a team and learn to be tolerant of those around them. “Year Seven recently collaborated to produce a musical in a week, performed to the school and to parents,” they told us. “It’s a challenge, lots of fun and serves to cement the year group in its identity, making a firm foundation for learning and for supporting each other in the years to come. Drama can be brought into all subjects and allow students to be more expressive in their work, creating learners who think outside the box.

We encourage the use of drama within the classroom through the idea of ‘learning by doing’.

“Last year our history students enacted the story of the 1,000-year history of Westbury Parish Church. Humans are driven by a need to be creative and drama is an important way to channel this energy. Every year individual students leave Badminton to pursue careers in the subject – students such as Polina Kalina who, having first visited Tobacco Factory Theatres as a Year Nine student, returned as the guest director for a sensational, bold production of Romeo and Juliet in 2015.”

Pip Hockenhull, director of drama at Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital school, shares the view. “By placing themselves in some else’s shoes, by exploring other lives, places and times, students can experience profound understanding. The collaborative nature of creating drama, challenges and pushes students to learn about their own strengths.

“Only a small number of students will go into acting as a profession.

To think that drama in schools is simply preparing students for a career in the industry is to misunderstand its purpose. Creating drama in groups, performing to others and sharing the same space is a wonderful, life-affirming thing for them to experience. The arts are how we make sense of the world and we cannot let these subjects be marginalised.” ■ Drama is all about make-believe but principally it is about making children believe in themselves, says Jennifer Walker at BGS

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Bristol Grammar School welcomes new headmaster “BGS provides a very similar education to the one I had at The Manchester Grammar School, one that I really enjoyed and got a lot from. I’m delighted to be the Headmaster of a school I really respect, and where the students have such an impressive range of opportunities. That’s what I’m passionate about and that’s why I’m here.”

He’s also looking forward to life in Bristol, a place he knows well as his wife grew up here. Whenever people hear that I’m going to work in Bristol, their first reaction is ‘Wow, Bristol is such a great place to live.’

Bristol has its own vibe, its own self-confidence, a real sense of history and place.”

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ristol Grammar School is delighted to be welcoming new Headmaster, Jaideep Barot, to the school this September.

Mr Barot joins BGS from Marlborough College where he was a Deputy Head, and he succeeds Rod MacKinnon who retired in August after ten years as Headmaster at BGS. Asked what attracted him to Bristol Grammar School, Mr Barot said: “It’s one of the best schools in the country. It’s as simple as that.

And what are his ambitions for Bristol Grammar School?

“I know I’m coming to an outstanding school that adds great value to the very happy and successful young people coming out of it. So it’s a watching brief at first: I’ll talk to the students, staff, parents and alumni to see what works well and what, perhaps, we could improve, and then we can decide what we need to do. I’m certainly not coming here with a big plan to change everything from the off.

“The most important thing is that the children are happy and look forward to school, feeling that it’s a place where they can be themselves. Unless we get that right, then trying to help them to achieve top grades or sporting honours or accolades for dramatic performance or the like, just isn’t going to work. If we can crack that, then we’ve done our job.”

To find out more about life at Bristol Grammar School, visit the school on its Open Evening on Friday 5 October from 4–8pm.

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A life-changing Indian summer A

group of 26 intrepid students from Haberdashers’ Monmouth Schools broadened their horizons and embarked upon a month long expedition to India during the summer.

Accompanied by five members of staff, the teenagers from Monmouth School for Boys and Monmouth School for Girls leapt at the exciting opportunity to explore a new land and culture.

During the trip, students immersed themselves in a community project in Kais where they painted walls, completed murals and donated teaching materials to local schools.

The group also demonstrated outstanding teamwork and resilience in a once-in-a-lifetime trek in the foothills north of Manali in the Indian Himalayas.

Overcoming physical and mental challenges during the trip was character-building and humbling for pupils, who returned to Monmouth with an exciting new outlook on life.

“Working together and supporting each other was a key element throughout the trip,” said Gerry Stentiford, Head of Geography at Monmouth School for Boys.

“The trek, more than any other part of the expedition, brought the students together. Being wet for a week made the physical challenge of the trek become a mental challenge.”

Teamwork was needed from the start because the teenagers were given responsibility for their money and decisions over the places to eat and to stay.

“The expedition was unique, challenging and hard,” said Mr Stentiford. “It was not a holiday but definitely a once-in-a-lifetime trip.”

Students enjoyed a once-in-a-lifetime trek in the foothills north of Manali in the Indian Himalayas.

“The students will remember the hustle and bustle of Delhi and the Taj Mahal, the mountain pass at 4,300 metres, and the friendliness of the Indian people.”

For more information on the Open Days taking place on 5th & 6th October, please go to www.habsmonmouth.org, call 01600 710433 for Monmouth School for Boys, 01600 711104 for Monmouth School for Girls, or 01600 713970 for Monmouth Schools Pre-Prep & Nursery. *The schools have an established bus route covering the Thornbury area.

Wealth of opportunities at Clifton Sixth Form

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he Sixth Form at Clifton College is a dynamic and stimulating environment in which to live and study. The College community brings together girls and boys, day pupils and boarders, religious faiths and nationalities. The school week is balanced between lessons, sport, drama, outdoor pursuits, community work and a vast range of clubs and societies.

The College is located in the heart of Clifton and students benefit from all that the vibrant city of Bristol has to offer. A range of trips are also available to Sixth Form students; previous trips have ranged from canoeing in Sweden and hockey in Canada to drama trips to New York and a geography trip to Madagascar.

Academic excellence Teachers encourage intellectual risk taking and create an environment where students are free to question, free to discover and free to succeed.

Academic results are strong and each student is encouraged and supported to aspire to achieve the highest standards of which he or she is capable. Individual passions and talents, both academic and extracurricular, are fostered at the College and this is balanced with a powerful community ethos and a culture of high all-round expectation.

Around 85% of students get a place at their chosen university and students go on to a wide range of institutions, from Oxbridge and other Russell Group universities to the Royal Academy of Music and the Central School of Speech and Drama.

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Fantastic facilities The historic buildings at Clifton College provide an inspirational backdrop for learning with an enviable mix of modern facilities and traditional 19th century architecture. Facilities include the Percival Library, a beautiful Grade II listed building which houses more than 15,000 books, as well as the Joseph Cooper Music School and the Redgrave Theatre.

The school’s impressive sports facilities total 90 acres, providing students with international standard indoor and outdoor sports facilities including a water-based hockey pitch, 3G rugby pitch, indoor tennis/netball centre, dance studios and numerous hard court, grass and AstroTurf pitches.

• We are holding a Sixth Form Open Day on 10th October. For more information contact the Admissions Team on 0117 405 8417.

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EDUCATION NEWS UPDATES FROM THE CITY’S SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES

GAME ON

The new course will help keep Bristol at the cutting edge of the gaming industry

...AND NOW TO THE SPORT

YOUNG CUBS RECRUITED

The University of the West of England has invested £4.5million in the development of a new state-of-the-art sports complex.

Due to be completed in October, the facility at Hillside Gardens will provide pitches for football, rugby, lacrosse, American football and ultimate frisbee.

Located adjacent to the M32 motorway and minutes from UWE’s Frenchay campus, the development will include two floodlit artificial pitches meeting FIFA and World Rugby standards, a grass football pitch, undercover seating for spectators, pitch-side dugouts, changing rooms and a car park. The facility will be available for businesses and organisations in the local community to hire.

“Working with Verde Recreo, we are excited to be developing our new facilities,” said Alex Isaac, head of sport. “They will provide high specification pitches just minutes from campus giving some of our UWE Bristol sport teams a new home. With teams, players and supporters able to be together at one venue, we are hoping to create a great atmosphere and improved experience.”

North Bristol’s first outdoor nursery has extended its age intake and opening hours due to overwhelming demand.

Little Foxes Forest School aims to immerse children in nature, using the forest and surrounding Bristol countryside as its classroom rather than the traditional indoor teaching setting.

The pre-school has been looking after three and four-year-old children since opening in January 2018, and already has a three-year waiting list.

From November, Little Foxes will start taking two and three-year-olds and is expecting to double its total intake as a result. The nursery will also be open from 8am-5.30pm during term-time.

Founded and run by primary school teachers with over 25 years’ combined experience, it teaches the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum using the outdoor environment. Children learn denbuilding, foraging, outdoor cooking, woodwork and mud painting, using tents and trees for shelter when needed.

• uwe.ac.uk

• littlefoxesforestschool.com

ONWARDS AND UPWARDS A group of talented Bristol students took their first steps towards becoming the next generation of city leaders recently. Fifteen sixth form students from local communities graduated from the City Leadership Programme, a talent pipeline launched in 2012 by Marvin Rees. The CLP invests in high-ability, high-aspiration sixth form students from challenging backgrounds, with the aim of nurturing leadership potential and accelerating personal growth.

Led by local entrepreneurs and community leaders Sherrie EugeneHart and Dr Simon Newitt, the summer course is built around personal reading, academic enrichment, networking, exposure and

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Leading post-16 education provider, boomsatsuma, has announced the launch of its Games VR and VFX diploma, which starts this month in central Bristol at the Engine Shed.

As a hub of creative technology, this will be a fitting home for the new course, which promises to use industrystandard hardware and software, with an experienced team of professionals, to deliver bespoke training.

“We’re incredibly excited,” said boomsatsuma’s creative director Mark Curtis. “It’s a path we’ve wanted to take for some time and with the Engine Shed being the high-tech digital creative hub of the South West, there couldn’t be a better place to host it. There is a whole world of creative roles associated with the gaming industry now and the demand will only grow, particularly in the world of VR. We want to ensure that our training results in fuelling the next generation of creatives and we hope, to this end, that Bristol can continue to emerge as a key player in the gaming industry.”

At the helm of the course is Greg Jamieson, whose background in teaching VR and games development puts boomsatsuma at the cutting edge of digital arts education.

“The course really is a stand-out offering for young people here in Bristol,” added executive director, Stuart Wood. “From games theory to 3D modelling, audio production and even website and app design, the course will provide rigorous training while ensuring the opportunity to be creative remains at the core.”

• boomsatsuma.com

skill development, with workshops and engagement with city leaders and inspirational local champions. The course also aims to develop confidence in those who have come from backgrounds where their abilities are not always recognised or supported. “We’re fortunate in Bristol to be surrounded by young and eager talent,” said Marvin.

“Sadly the futures of many of these young people are not as bright as they should be, owing to their disadvantaged backgrounds. Seeing this latest group undertake the challenging and inspiring course reminds me how important it is to continue to open doors to young people.”

Interested in sponsoring the programme for 2019? Contact Ellie Milone in the mayor’s office at mayor@bristol.gov.uk.

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• Co-educational day school for pupils aged 5-13 with

dyslexia and other specific learning/language difficulties.

• Located in Wiltshire between Bath and Chippenham.

CReSTeD approved.

• Fully qualified specialist teachers with maximum class size of eight - reducing to one-to-one as required.

Call 01225 743 566 or visit www.CalderHouseSchool.co.uk

THEBRISTOLMAG.CO.UK

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BADMINTON SCHOOL

Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, BS9 3BA Tel: 0117 905 5271 Website: www.badmintonschool.co.uk Email: admissions@badmintonschool.co.uk Autumn term: 8 September - 13 December 2018 Spring term: 5 January - 23 March 2019 Summer term: 17 April - 4 July 2019 Age of pupils: 3 - 18 years Number of pupils: 460

BRISTOL GRAMMAR SCHOOL

CLIFTON COLLEGE

University Road, Bristol, BS8 1SR Tel: 0117 973 6006 www.bristolgrammarschool.co.uk website@bgs.bristol.sch.uk

32 College Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 3JH Tel: 0117 405 8417 Web: www.cliftoncollege.com Email: info@cliftoncollege.com

Reception Open Morning: Tuesday 25 September, 9.30am-11.30am Open Evening: Friday 5 October, 4.00pm-8.00pm (until 6.00pm for BGS Juniors) Junior School Open Morning: Tuesday 9 October, 9.30am-11.30am Sixth Form Information Evening: Tuesday 6 November, 5.00pm-7.15pm Autumn term: 5 September - 14 December 2018 Spring term: 8 January - 5 April 2019 Summer term: 25 April - 4 July 2019 Age of pupils: 4 - 18 Number of pupils: 1,300 approx.

Autumn term: 5 September - 13 December 2018 Spring term: 8 January - 28 March 2019 Summer term: 23 April - 4 July 2019 Age of pupils: 2 - 18 years Number of pupils: 1,217 (Preparatory School, ages 2-13, 504; Upper School, ages 13-18, 713)

Day fees: £3,250 – £5,475. Boarding fees per term: £7,280 - £12,525. Nursery Sessional Fees: £27 per session

Day fees: £2,825 - £4,870 per term

Religious denomination: Non-denominational

From their first lesson aged four, to eighteen and looking ahead to university and the wider world, at BGS we support each child on their educational journey. Inspiring a love of learning and with a huge range of opportunities in and out of the classroom, every child can flourish here.

Religious denomination: Non-denominational

The curriculum: The emphasis at Badminton is on a holistic education, not narrowly academic, and both the curriculum and the timetable are constructed to create a balance between academic achievement, personal development, life skills and other enterprising activity.

The curriculum: The Infant curriculum covers all the requirements of the National Curriculum.

Lessons are linked in to a topic-based curriculum, which allows the children to explore a particular area while linking the subjects into a topic. In the Junior School children enjoy a breadth of education that stretches far beyond the National Curriculum. In the Senior School and Sixth Form students enjoy choice and opportunity. They can discover their strengths through a wide range of optional subjects, within a curriculum that encourages them to realise their potential, explore their ideas and take their learning as far as they can go. From September 2018 students in the Sixth Form can choose to study either the IB Diploma or ‘A’ levels.

The curriculum is supported by an extensive cocurricular programme that includes activities such as Photography, Samba Band, Cookery, various sports and many more.

Extra curricular activities: Our enrichment programme is extremely important in the overall development of the girls in our care, as it provides opportunities to pursue wider interests and to contribute to the community. There are many activities on offer and they range from clubs with an academic bias such as Model United Nations, Ancient Greek and Science Research to those that allow the girls to pursue creative interests, such as Leiths School of Cookery, Art and Drama.

Music is also an important part of School life, with nearly 80% of girls learning at least one instrument during their time at Badminton.

Pastoral care: The size of the campus and community at Badminton gives a homely and vibrant feel to the School. This, coupled with excellent pastoral care, leaves no scope for anonymity, but rather lends itself to strong mutually supportive relationships between girls as well as between girls and staff. At Badminton, we wish every girl to feel happy and confident about her school life. We work to ensure a well ordered and supportive environment where we ask the girls to take responsibility for themselves and others. This gives them opportunities to face challenge and build resilience.

Headmaster: Mr J M Barot Scholarships and bursaries: Scholarships: A wide range of scholarships including Academic, Creative and Performing Arts, and Sport are available for entry into Year 7 and Year 9. Scholarships are also available for entry into Lower Sixth.

Bursaries Families with a low or limited income can apply for a means-tested bursary through our Schools’ Assisted Places Scheme.

Name of Principal: Mrs Rebecca Tear Outstanding characteristics: While Badminton retains a nationally outstanding academic record, the community gives girls a chance to develop an understanding of the viewpoints of others and to think about contributing to the world around them. Girls leave Badminton ready to face the changing and challenging wider world and, when they do, they take with them a strong network of lifelong friends developed through a wealth of shared experiences.

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Visit us: Come and discover for yourself what makes BGS such an exciting and enjoyable place to learn, make friends, and begin life’s adventure.

For further information or to arrange a visit, please contact Hollie Matthews in the Admissions Office on 0117 933 9885.

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Day fees: Nursery and Pre-Preparatory pupils from £1,950 Preparatory School day pupils from £4,410 Upper School day pupils from £8,100 Flexi Boarding and Boarding packages available.

Religious denomination: Christian foundation welcoming all faiths with a long-standing tradition of welcoming Jewish pupils through the Polack’s House Educational Trust.

The curriculum: Clifton College offers an outstanding all-round education. The College is equally strong in STEM, Literature, Languages and the Arts. In 2017, 76% of A Level grades and 92% of GCSE grades were A*-B. 85% of students have won a place at their chosen university, including places at two American universities (Duke and Boston), Oxford, Cambridge and the Royal Academy of Music.

Extra curricular activities: The Music, art and drama play a large part in the life of the school, as do sport, outdoor pursuits, Clifton in the Community and the Combined Cadet Force.

The wide range of activities available provide opportunities to develop leadership skills, to take on responsibility, and to broaden interests.

Pastoral care: The school provides a real sense of community, both to its pupils and their families.

Pupils form friendships that last a lifetime, with many opportunities in the years after school to network and join together again through the Old Cliftonian Society. The house system is at the centre of the Clifton College community; it provides a strong support network for pupils while inter-house competitions offer a fun way for pupils to compete across a variety of talents from the House Play Festival to inter-house debating.

Name of Head: Dr Tim Greene MA DPhil Outstanding characteristics: Clifton College is a traditional British public school with inspirational teaching, first-class inclusive sport, diverse cocurricular activities, exceptional pastoral care and an outstanding environment. It aims to inspire each child to seize learning and opportunity and realise their full potential through an eagerness to embrace life with passion, integrity and resilience, and to make a positive difference to the lives of others. Recent high achievers include GB hockey player Lily Owsley who won gold at the Rio Olympics; internationally recognised violinist Julia Hwang who released her first album this year; and Matt Welsh, Nick Freeman, Tom Hargan and Carwyn Penny who have signed with professional rugby clubs on leaving the College.

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CLIFTON HIGH SCHOOL

THE DOWNS SCHOOL

College Road, Clifton, Bristol, BS8 3JD Tel: 0117 973 0201 www.cliftonhigh.bristol.sch.uk admissions@cliftonhigh.bristol.sch.uk Autumn term: 5 September - 14 December 2018 Spring term: 8 January - 8 April 2019 Summer term: 30 April - 9 July 2019 Age of pupils: 3 - 18 years Number of pupils: 600 Day fees: £3455 - £4995 per term Religious denomination: Non-denominational The curriculum: Clifton High School is a leading independent, selective 3-18 coeducational school. The only school in Bristol to operate the Diamond Edge Model of education, in Years 7-9 boys and girls are taught separately in the core subjects of Mathematics, English and the Sciences, coming together in other subjects and of course socially.

Extra curricular activities: Clifton High is outstanding in its provision of enrichment opportunities from EYFS to Sixth Form, with over 100 extra-curricular clubs on offer each week. Alongside these, be it EYFS Forest School, junior children participating in the Shakespeare Schools festival or Enterprise Shop, or senior pupil’s involvement with the Scholars’ Forum or Podium for the School’s academic and sports scholars, there is much on offer to enrich pupil experience.

The School also partners with Bristol Henleaze Performance Swimming Club and University of Bristol tennis coaches to offer elite coaching right across the school. Heavily subscribed, the School’s bronze Duke of Edinburgh’s award has the highest success rate in the south west, with its most ambitious students going on to complete the gold award alongside their A level commitments. World Challenge offers further opportunity, alongside a vast range of educational visits both home and abroad, to facilitate pupils’ personal development.

Pastoral care: The School is recognised for its enabling environment and an emphasis on pupils and their personal development. The School aims to equip pupils with the necessary skills to succeed in twenty-first century society, cultivating resilience, a global perspective and self-belief. From the ‘key person’ system in the EYFS to thriving peer support arrangements, pupils are encouraged to take risks in the pursuit of their ambitions with the committed support of their class teachers, tutor and peers throughout their journey at Clifton High.

Name of Principal: Dr Alison M Neill, Head of School. Mr Manolis Psarros, Senior Assistant Head. Dr Mark Caddy, Deputy Head of School.

Dr Helen Pascoe, Deputy Head of School Outstanding characteristics: A meaningful education is much more than simply achieving the highest grades. Realising Individual Brilliance is the School’s tagline and indeed every child is encouraged to ‘Be Ambitious’ to reach their full potential, leaving Clifton High with the perfect balance of academic and personal achievements.

Wraxall Bristol BS48 1PF Tel: 01275 852008 Web: www.thedownsschool.co.uk Email: office@thedownsschool.co.uk Autumn term: 5 September - 14 December 2018 Spring term: 9 January - 27 March 2019 Summer term: 24 April - 5 July 2019 Day fees: Reception/Year 1: £3,615 per term Year 2: £4,055 per term Year 3: £4,435 per term Years 4 to 8: £5,475 per term Religious denomination: C of E The curriculum: The Downs is one of the few truly independent 13+ Prep Schools in the South West.

The 13+ Common Entrance syllabus is central to the academic curriculum which includes the traditional subjects, two modern languages and the theory of music. In the Pre-Prep School, Maths and English are the central focus, the young children beginning their learning through play.

Extra curricular activities: The school provides a broad all round education, genuinely inclusive of each child. The standard of all sports is exceptional (six internationals in six different sports in recent years) but there is a team for every child.

There is enormous interest and activity in the Performing and Creative Arts: seven choirs, 80% play an instrument, 140 attend Speech and Drama lessons, 9 productions a year, 160 attend dance lessons. There is also an extensive range of clubs, all Prep school children camp every year and regular trips are taken abroad.

Pastoral care: The essence of the school is to really know and understand the children – their wellbeing is central to our thoughts.

Matrons, tutors, form teachers and pupils themselves play an integral role in the process of providing outstanding pastoral care, supporting each child as they negotiate the inevitable social, emotional and academic challenges associated with modern life.

Name of Principal: M A Gunn MA (Ed), PGCE, IAPS. Outstanding characteristics: Our pupils are outstanding; they are highly motivated and experience considerable all round success. They nevertheless demonstrate humility and unaffected good manners; confidence in contrast to arrogance is applauded at The Downs. The stunning rural estate is unique in the area and essentially used to best effect. The entire community that is The Downs School is particularly close and happy in support of one another. Over the last decade almost every child has passed the 13+ entry requirements into the school of their first choice, over 60% with scholarship.

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MONMOUTH SCHOOL FOR BOYS MONMOUTH SCHOOL FOR GIRLS

Almshouse Street, Monmouth NP25 3XP Tel: 01600 710433 Website: www.habsmonmouth.org Open Morning: 5 and 6 October 2018 Sixth Form Taster Day and Information Evening: 7 November 2018 Autumn term: 6 September - 12 December 2018 Spring term: 3 January - 29 March 2019 Summer term: 23 April - 5 July 2019 Age of pupils: 7 - 18 years Number of pupils: 650 Day fees: £3,697 - £5,272 Boarding fees (per term): £6,760 - £10,687 Religious denomination: Anglican The curriculum: The Monmouth School for Boys curriculum is based on the National Curriculum but is not constrained by it. We introduce pupils to a wide range of subjects in their early years at the school and they usually go on to take 9 or 10 subjects at GCSE. Around 25 A level courses are offered in the Sixth Form.

In addition to their A level studies, boys have the opportunity to pursue a variety of enrichment and supplementary courses.

Extra curricular activities: We offer a wide and varied co-curricular programme. All boys are encouraged to take full advantage of lunchtime and after school activities and clubs. They develop confidence and make friends through chess, karate, reading, choir and many other activities.

Pastoral care: Each pupil is allocated to a tutor who is drawn from the academic staff. Both tutor and housemaster are able to get to know each boy well over a period of years and provide experienced and sympathetic guidance throughout his school career. We ensure all pupils gain the utmost from their time at Monmouth, not only in the classroom, but through all the other experiences that the school has to offer.

Name of Head: Dr Andrew Daniel BSc, Med, PhD, PGCE Outstanding characteristics: With a strong emphasis on academic success (65% of Sixth Formers go on to Russell Group universities), sport, the arts, music and CCF help shape the boys. Founded in 1614, endowment income ensures outstanding facilities and highly competitive fees. Scholarships and bursaries mean that one in five pupils receives financial support. Our new co-educational teaching in the Sixth Form with Monmouth School for Girls enables us to offer around 25 A level subjects and many joint activities.

Hereford Road, Monmouth NP25 5XT Tel: 01600 711104 Website: www.habsmonmouth.org Open Morning: 5 and 6 October 2018 Sixth Form Taster Day and Information Evening: 7 November 2018 Autumn term: 6 September - 12 December 2018 Spring term: 3 January - 29 March 2019 Summer term: 23 April - 5 July 2019 Age of pupils: 7 - 18 years Number of pupils: 625 Day fees: £3,697 - £4,926 Boarding fees (per term): £6,760 - £10,687 Religious denomination: Anglican The curriculum: We offer a wide range of subjects in Years 7, 8 and 9 to stimulate academic and personal development. We take care to ensure that no girl closes off the choice of a whole range of subjects for GCSE and A level.

Extra curricular activities: There is a wealth of lunchtime and after school opportunities which gives every girl a balance between work and play, helps develop some fantastic skills and truly enriches their learning.

Pastoral care: We aim to create a caring and supportive environment both in and out of the classroom, helping each pupil to feel valued as an individual. Our pastoral philosophy is to develop resilience, confidence and skills which take the girls through later life, while offering each pupil bespoke care.

Name of Acting Head: Mr Tom Arrand MA Oxon PCCE Cantab Outstanding characteristics: Access to superb educational opportunities engages, enriches and inspires pupils. Sport, music, drama and art supplement academic achievement.

Endowment income provides outstanding facilities and competitive fees. Scholarships and bursaries mean one in five pupils receives financial support. Our new co-educational teaching in the Sixth Form with Monmouth School for Boys enables us to offer around 25 A level subjects and many joint activities.

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QEH

REDMAIDS’ HIGH SCHOOL

Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital (QEH), Berkeley Place, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1JX Tel: 0117 930 3040 www.qehbristol.co.uk

Redmaids’ High School Westbury Road, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol, BS9 3AW Tel: Senior School & Sixth Form 0117 962 2641; Junior School 0117 962 9451; admissions@redmaidshigh.co.uk junioradmissions@redmaidshigh.co.uk

Autumn term: 4 September - 14 December 2018 Spring term: 8 January - 5 April 2019 Summer term: 29 April - 5 July 2019 Age of pupils: 7 - 18 years Number of pupils: 729

Autumn term: 4 September to 14 December 2018 Spring term: 8 January to 5 April 2019 Summer term: 30 April to 5 July 2019 Age of pupils: Girls aged 7 to 18 Number of pupils: 750

Day fees: Juniors: £3,218 per term (£9,654 per annum) including pre and after school supervision until 5pm. Seniors: £4,802 per term (£14,406 per annum). Fees include text and exercise books, and essential education trips but do not include public examination fees or lunches.

Religious denomination: Church of England, embracing all faiths The curriculum: The curriculum is broad but also offers the chance to study subjects in depth. The school expects pupils to work hard, believing a good education is a voyage of discovery to be enjoyed. Pupils are stretched but not stressed.

Extra curricular activities: QEH prides itself on the range of activities it provides, reflecting the wide interests of students and the commitment of the staff. Variety is key and all pupils should find activities that interest them. QEH is also committed to outdoor pursuits, with around 150 pupils taking part in Duke of Edinburgh awards scheme, many attaining Gold Award.

Pastoral care: Pastoral care is second to none.

Pupils need to feel happy and safe and, at QEH, they are free to enjoy their learning, exploring new opportunities with confidence.

People often comment on how self-assured and well-mannered our pupils are. Their friendly spirit and good behaviour are partly the result of unobtrusive but strong pastoral care.

Name of Principal: Mr Stephen Holliday, MA (Cantab) Outstanding characteristics: QEH is recognised for its outstanding academic record and the friendliness and confidence of our pupils is notable. The school is not socially exclusive, having a good mix of people.

Girls are also able to take advantage of the outstanding education offered at QEH, by joining the co-educational Sixth Form.

Fees: Years 3 - 6: £3,270 per term; Years 7 - 13: £4,810 per term The curriculum: Redmaids’ High provides the best opportunities in Bristol and beyond for academically able girls who aspire to achieve their full personal, social and academic potential. Its formation through the merger of Red Maids’ and Redland High schools has created a stronger school with outstanding facilities, high quality teaching and an exceptional range of subjects and qualifications.

In the Junior School, the girls enjoy a broad and rich curriculum, engaging enthusiastically in activities and achieving excellent results in national music, speech and drama exams. In the Senior School and Sixth Form, a wide choice of subjects is available through GCSE, A Levels and the IB Diploma.

Extra curricular activities: In the Junior and Senior Schools, an extensive programme of clubs and societies offer important personal development opportunities, discovery of new talents, hobbies and interests.

Pastoral care: This is regarded to be of the utmost importance throughout all year groups. Small classes are an important feature of Redmaids’ High.

In the Senior School, students are supported by a head and assistant head of year, form tutors and assistant tutors.

Name of Principal: Mrs Isabel Tobias BA Hons Outstanding characteristics: Redmaids’ High was the first International Baccalaureate (IB) World School in Bristol, winning accreditation in 2008.

Ten years on, it has guided its Sixth Form students to world-beating IB Diploma results, alongside its established and successful A Level programme. Its small, family friendly Junior School provides the perfect new start for girls rising up into Year 3. The spacious Sixth Form offers independent learning and relaxation space, and girls from many local schools join at this point to benefit from the excellent opportunities. Bursaries and scholarships are awarded to girls from all backgrounds joining at Year 7 and above. Redland Hall, opened in Sept 2017, is a busy and modern hub at the heart of the school, and is fast becoming a popular venue for concerts and other shows.

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SIDCOT SCHOOL

THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE’s GOOD SCHOOLS GUIDE

Oakridge Lane, Winscombe, North Somerset, BS25 1PD Tel: 01934 843102 www.sidcot.org.uk

OPEN DAY DIARY

Autumn term: 5 September - 13 December 2018 Spring term: 8 January - 5 April 2019 Summer term: 24 April - 5 July 2019 Age of pupils: 3 - 18 years Number of pupils: 600

September Dates Badminton School

Day fees: from £2,620 (Reception) to £5,880 (Year 13) per term. Nursery £22.10 per session

www.badmintonschool.co.uk Tel: 0117 905 5271 Sixth Form Open Evening – Friday 28 Sept.

6.00pm – 8.00pm

Religious denomination: Non-denominational The curriculum: We provide a creative and stretching education that inspires children to want to learn. To achieve this, our curriculum is shaped to meet government requirements without an exam obsessed and prescriptive syllabus.

Our curriculum and teaching methods are designed to foster students’ intellectual curiosity and creativity. We want to educate our students, rather than simply train them to pass tests.

Throughout their time at Sidcot, students develop the self-motivation to enable them to take responsibility for their own learning.

It’s no surprise that these personal qualities go together with academic excellence. Our results have been consistently excellent with average points per candidate always significantly higher than the world average scores.

Bristol Grammar School www.bristolgrammarschool.co.uk Tel: 0117 933 9885 Reception Open Morning – Tuesday 25 Sept.

From 9.30am

Clifton College www.cliftoncollege.com Tel: 0117 405 8417 Pre-Prep and Prep School Open Day – Saturday 22 Sept.

Clifton High School www.cliftonhigh.bristol.sch.uk Tel: 0117 933 9087 Senior School and Sixth Form Open Evening – Thursday 20 Sept.

Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital School www.qehbristol.co.uk Tel: 0117 930 3040 Open Morning – Saturday 13 Oct. 10.00am – 12.00pm

www.cliftonhigh.bristol.sch.uk Tel: 0117 933 9087 Whole School Open Morning – Saturday 20 Oct.

The Downs Preparatory School www.thedownsschool.co.uk Tel: 01275 852008 Open Day – Friday 5 Oct. 9.30am – 2.30pm

Monmouth School for Boys www.habsmonmouth.org Tel: 01600 710433 Open Afternoon – Friday 5 Oct. 2.00pm – 4.00pm Open Morning – Saturday 6 Oct. 9.30am – 12.30pm

Monmouth School for Girls Redmaids’ High School www.redmaidshigh.co.uk Tel: 0117 962 2641 Senior School Open Event – Saturday 29 Sept.

www.sidcot.org.uk Tel: 01934 845236 Open Morning – Friday 28 Sept.

9.15am – 12.00pm

Stonar

Pastoral care: The Quaker value of equality is evident in the open and friendly relationships between staff and students, and between students of all ages. It’s often remarked that our students are extremely supportive of each other, making newcomers, students, teachers and visitors quickly feel at home.

www.stonarschool.com Tel: 01225 701740 Open Morning – Saturday 22 Sept.

October Dates

Name of Headmaster: Iain Kilpatrick

Badminton School

Outstanding characteristics: - International Baccalaureate diploma Sidcot offers its Sixth Form the choice of both the IB and A levels. The ethos of the IB, with its broad curriculum and emphasis on study skills, community service and internationalism fits well with our Quaker values.

SEPTEMBER 2018

www.cliftoncollege.com Tel: 0117 405 8417 Upper School Open Day – Saturday 6 Oct. Sixth Form Open Day – Wednesday 10 Oct.

Clifton High School

Sidcot School

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www.bristolgrammarschool.co.uk Tel: 0117 933 9885 Lower Sixth Form Open Evening – Friday 5 Oct. 4.00pm – 8.00pm Junior School Open Morning – Tuesday 9 Oct. 9.30am – 11.30am

Clifton College

Extra curricular activities: At Sidcot we’re lucky in having an excellent rural location and top class facilities for sport, arts, crafts and environmental studies. The P.A.S.S. programme (Programme of Activities for Sidcot School) is based on the key Quaker values of integrity, stewardship, selfreflection, adventure and community. This range of co-curricular activities is embedded in the timetable for every year group, throughout the year. Year 9, for example, focus on self-reflection and practical life skills, first-aid, sewing, car maintenance and money management. Whereas Year 11 visit elderly people, run primary school after-school clubs and work with people with disabilities.

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Bristol Grammar School

www.badmintonschool.co.uk Tel: 0117 905 5271 Open Morning – Saturday 6 Oct. 9.00am – 1.00pm

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www.habsmonmouth.org Tel: 01600 711104 Open Morning – Friday 5 Oct. 9.30am – 12.00pm Open Afternoon – Saturday 6 Oct. 2.00pm – 4.00pm

Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital School www.qehbristol.co.uk Tel: 0117 930 3040 Open Morning – Saturday 13 Oct. 10.00am – 12.00pm

Redmaids’ High School www.redmaidshigh.co.uk Tel: 0117 962 2641 Junior School Open Event – Tuesday 2 Oct. Senior School Open Event – Tuesday 16 Oct. Sixth Form Open Event – Thursday 18 Oct.

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TRAVEL

Get mindful among Tresco’s gorgeous Abbey Gardens

Ancient Star Castle Hotel is so-called because of its eight-pointed shape

You can barely believe these turquoise lagoons can be found off the British coast

The sub-tropical climate gives rise to all sorts of exotic plant varieties

Scilly sunsets are something else...

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TRAVEL

ISLANDS IN THE (GULF) STREAM Amanda Nicholls slows down the pace while scoping out the subtropical archipelago of Scilly

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ake me to a place where there are no people and no cars, my Old Man said when I asked him where he would like to go for his first holiday in donkey’s years. With the moon too much of a reach and just over budget, a rower friend recommended Scilly – the island chain of somewhat warmer climes 28 miles off the Cornish coast – as the closest we’d get to that sort of seclusion in the South West. “Take seasickness tablets for the crossing,” she warned, “but you’ll love it.”

As it turned out, the three-hour ride over from Penzance on the Scillonian III passenger ferry – passing futuristic-looking flyboarders and the famous open-air Minnack Theatre perched on the rocky granite cliffs – was millpond-smooth and as pleasurable it could have been. (Put it down to a surprisingly long and paradisiacal spell of British weather and plenty of porpoise-spotting from the ship.) As of May this year you can fly to St Mary’s with Island Helicopters too, from Land’s End (from £215 return), or get the Skybus from there (a 15-minute flight) or, alternatively, Newquay and Exeter airports. Whichever mode you choose, you’ll arrive on Scilly soil car-free. That’s the way the residents like it; there are few motors on the roads so it’s great for fleeing the rat race, the city traffic and the sound of angry tooting. Especially once you start island-hopping to the less developed parts of the archipelago.

We spotted the billowing flag of Star Castle Hotel – the 16th-century fortress you’ll be wanting to stay in if you’re basing yourself on the largest of the five inhabited isles – the minute we began to approach St Mary’s dock and float serenely through pristine teal and turquoise waters. On the fortified Garrison Hill to the west of Hugh Town – with a moat, dungeon and canons that once defended mainland Britain – it takes its name from its eight-pointed shape and has an indoor heated pool, free tennis and golf as well as its own vineyard where you can have yourself a lovely lobster lunch. The Star’s enviable sweeping sea views alone are worth the steep climb from the town (don’t worry, the hotel will collect you and your luggage from the ferry).

As for the coastlines, they’re ridiculously idyllic; when we alighted from day-tripper boat the Meridian to the second-biggest isle of Tresco we discovered a deserted beach with sands in a shade that, if up to Farrow & Ball, might have been called Almost Antigua. Glistening shards of diamond seem to make up the soft dunes, from which sprout exotic flora and Jurassic-looking vegetation; ancient ferns as far as the eye can see. The balmy, Gulf Stream-enhanced microclimate gives rise to the many interesting plant species; usually found in Brazil or Burma they wouldn’t stand a chance on the Cornish mainland but can be seen all over Scilly. Most visitors choose to examine them from within the beautiful 17-acre Abbey Gardens, built around the ruins of a Benedictine monastery and now neighbouring the helipads (there were no cars at all to be seen during our time on this island).

Tresco’s the kind of place where homemade fudge, aeoniums and jewellery made by the local kids are sold on cottage garden walls, and fresh veg is left out on wooden carts next to an honesty box. On a warm day, we’d recommend refreshing with an apple cider sorbet packed with big pieces of fresh fruit at The New Inn. “Isn’t there an Arthur Ransome book set in Scilly? There should be,” we mused as we chanced upon Cromwell’s Castle during a coastal ramble – the round artillery tower,

standing on a rocky promontory between Bryher and Tresco, is one of the last surviving Cromwellian fortifications in Britain. “All these treasures in places you wouldn’t expect,” said Dad, strolling in the hot sun and starting to look like a lovely old raisin.

Back on St Mary’s, have lunch at Juliet’s Garden – the fresh mackerel paté is the smoothest and the fruity scones are the chunkiest. Just beware the ever-flourishing avian community (Scilly’s isolated location means few mammals, no snakes, and no worries for the winged) if you’re dining alfresco. Tiny, tame birds, by the troop, will try their luck and attempt to muscle in for a lunch date; lightly hopping about like skimmed stones, eyeing up leftover lumps of jam and giving themselves clotted cream moustaches while bright butterflies flirt and flutter by.

The sound of planes regularly soaring overhead does put you in mind of St Mary’s wartime history and strategic significance – it was a Royalist stronghold during the English Civil War and also found itself on the frontline when submarine warfare came into play during the First World War. As does strolling the ramparts outside Star Castle, past King Charles’ battery, of an evening (note: Scilly sunsets are something else).

Given that you can’t take your car over on the Scillonian, this is a destination conducive to plenty of sunny cider drinking – or maybe a drop of local moonshine if that be your preference. Not much of a boozer? Dibble & Grub, which enjoys a pretty prime beach-facing position, also does a mean milkshake (try the Elvis: peanut butter, banana, honey and almond milk) as well as fresh and very tasty tapas.

In the evenings we ate at The Dining Room – the original officers’ mess at Star Castle – on the likes of asparagus, wild mushroom and spinach casserole with breaded duck egg; and local John Dory with samphire, lobster, saffron potatoes and roast peppers. Best was the soft wild bass and dressed local crab with lemon gel, accompanied by Featherdrop sauvignon with notes of gooseberry. This was closely followed by beautifully caramelised banana mille feuille.

The three other main islands (we won’t count the 140 uninhabited in the collection) all have charms aplenty too. You might choose to head to the smallest of them, rugged baby Bryher (population: just around 80) where the roads are little more than tracks; St Agnes where you’ll find Bronze Age archaeology and, beyond, nothing but ocean until North America; or St Martin’s which is home to some of the best beaches in the world. The whole place is something of an adventure playground with everything from watersports – kayaking to hidden coves, snorkelling with seals, the Scilly Swim Challenge, international gig racing – and foodie fun at the Taste of Scilly festival in September to the Tresco Triathlon, the big Christmas street party and the famous, slightly surreal Low Tide Experience where you can walk across from Tresco to Bryher. Do make time to go play... ■

• Fly from Exeter, Newquay and Land’s End airports from £140 return. From spring through to late autumn, the Scillonian lll sails up to seven days a week between Penzance and St. Mary’s from £90 return; visit islesofscilly-travel.co.uk for more or follow on Instagram @islesofscillytravel and Twitter @IOSTravel THEBRISTOLMAG.CO.UK

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HEALTH & BEAUTY WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE LOCAL SPHERE?

THE NEXT GABRIELLE INSTALMENT

HEARD THE WORD?

Having launched its floral ‘Gabrielle Chanel’ fragrance in 2017, Chanel has released three new ‘Gabrielle’ products evoking a chapter in the story of Gabrielle Chanel just as the likes of Coco and No.5 have done.

The Gabrielle collection is all about conveying the French fashion designer’s full personality; her untamable temperament, loving soul and courageously bold attitude, and its expansion marks the one-year anniversary of the brand’s latest liquid gold. This month (7 September) see a foaming shower gel, moisturising body lotion and delicate deodorant of the floral perfume hit the shelves – to be used on their own or combined for a stronger, bolder presence.

The Gossip Nail Bar has just set up new digs in one of the trendiest parts of town.

The cruelty-free vegan salon now has its own shop in Old Market, offering freehand nail art in latest trends. From cute manis to epic gels, the choice is all yours...

• Body lotion £48, shower gel £42 and spray deodorant £38; chanel.com

FIND YOUR FIRM

WELL HELLO, HARSPA Bristol Harbour Hotel and Spa has just introduced its new product range: HarSPA. Using naturally sourced marine elements and botanicals it’s all about immersing the mind and body in purity and calm. From super-soothing eye patches and contour serum to cleansing milk and a radiant exfoliator, your skin has everything it needs to stay supple and keep you zen. Be sure to book in for a treatment too; the specialised massages and body scrubs are pretty exquisite too.

• thegossipnailbar.co.uk

This month, Sisley has released its Sisleÿa L’Intégral Anti-Âge Firming Concentrated Serum. Focusing on providing an unprecedented firming effect by awakening elastin production and restoring tension back to the skin, it aims to reduce any visible signs of ageing.

• 30ml £350; sisley-paris.co.uk

• bristol.spa@harbourhotels.co.uk

GOING TO GREAT LENGTHS Park Street salon McQueens and qualified extensionist Emma Choremi have made it to the finals in the Great Lengths Trophy Category at this year’s GL Awards. Some of the most notable names in the UK hair industry joined forces on the judging panel to determine who made the cut. Taking place on 16 September at the Royal Armouries in Leeds, this celebration will be all about the crowned winners, finalists and ethos of the Great Lengths brand and its growing family of over 1,500 certified salons and stylists across the UK. Good luck team!

• mcqueenshairbristol.co.uk

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BOOBIPEDIA.COM Beauty giant Avon has teamed up with Coppafeel and recently announced the launch of their first ever digital breast cancer education tool. The first e-learning tool for a UK breast cancer charity, it’s all about giving women access to a ‘boobipedia’ of information about the risks, signs and symptoms.

• coppafeel.org

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ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

Find out more about natural health at CNM’s Open Day on 15th September (College of Naturopathic Medicine) Get inspiring natural health tips to help you achieve your health goals. You can also find out more about studying with CNM if you are interested in a career in natural health.

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he ‘naturopathic’ approach to health taught at CNM (College of Naturopathic Medicine), is founded on ancient principles which are more relevant than ever in today’s health-challenged society:

Saturday 15th September 2018 10.00am – 5.30pm CNM Bristol Open Day 10.00am The Importance of Holistic Dentistry - Dr. R Zac Cox BDS Learn how your oral health is connected to your overall health and wellbeing.

• Prevention is better than cure.

• Our bodies have an in-built capacity to selfcorrect, such as when a wound heals or a bone mends, but we need to provide the right conditions to stimulate the process.

• Illness starts when ‘toxicity’ or ‘deficiency’ interrupts our self-correction mechanism.

• Contributing factors to ill health may be physical, mental or emotional.

• Without identifying and addressing the causes of ill health, problems can recur.

• Simply suppressing symptoms can cause other problems.

• Naturopaths view each person holistically, not as a set of symptoms.

• Each person is unique and will respond in different ways. One size does not fit all.

• Therapies should do no harm.

• Health should mean abundant vitality rather than just the absence of symptoms.

• A Naturopath is an educator, empowering people to take responsibility for their own health.

11.30am CNM Training Concept - Linda Sims Learn how to become a successful natural health practitioner by training with CNM.

1.30pm Eating with Food Intolerances - Helen Adams Discover practical solutions for beating food allergies, intolerances and sensitivities.

3.00pm Natural Beauty Solutions - Cat Flanagan Unmask the hidden chemicals in your beauty regime.

4.30pm Eat for Your Body Type - Atiya Khan Discover the holistic principles of Naturopathic Nutrition.

Tickets: £10 Venue: CNM Bristol, BS32 4LB. Book on line at www.naturopathy-uk.com

Attend a FREE Open Evening to find out about part time training with CNM Bristol for a career as a Naturopathic Nutritionist or Naturopathic Acupuncturist.

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5th September at 7pm.

Please book online at:

www.naturopathy-uk.com 01342 410 505 CNM (College of Naturopathic Medicine) is the UK’s leading training provider in a range of natural therapies, including Naturopathic Nutrition, Herbal Medicine, Acupuncture, Homeopathy, Naturopathy, and Natural Chef and Vegan Natural Chef training. Colleges across the UK and Ireland.

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Thinking of advertising your business

Our 2018 media pa ck can be viewed online

FOR A COPY OF OUR 2018 MEDIA PACK EITHER VISIT THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE WEBSITE THEBRISTOLMAG.CO.UK OR CONTACT US ON 0117 974 2800 EMAIL: SALES@THEBRISTOLMAGAZINE.CO.UK

Experts in Sports Injury and Exercise Medicine Some of the leading consultants in the field, each with their own impressive sports track record, are available for consultation at Bristol’s fully integrated Nuffield Health Sports Injury Service. The eight strong sports injury team of consultant physicians and surgeons, at The Chesterfield, treats both recreational and elite sports people across a range of sports.

Just back from the European Championships in Glasgow as the Chief Medical Officer for British Swimming, Dr Guy Evans is a Sport & Exercise Medicine Consultant and the Lead Doctor at Bath Rugby. In July, he completed Ironman Austria, achieving a time of 9 hours and 41 minutes and has previously raced as a GB age-group athlete at three World Championships. He has also played high level rugby, football, cricket and hockey.

Dr Evans explains, “I chose this specialty as I have always been interested in understanding the way the body functions during exercise and activity and how we can support performance by optimising health.

There is good evidence to suggest that being fit and healthy in the lead up to surgery improves recovery time, improves outcomes and reduces complication rates following surgery. Physiotherapy is key to a timely return to sport and work.”

The first formally recognised specialist in sports and exercise medicine in the UK is Dr Stuart Miller, currently the Chief Medical Officer for the British Paralympic Team. At London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, he was lead sports doctor, looking after the needs of athletes from all over the world. Dr Miller has always been very active in sports as a competitive swimmer and an endurance runner, he also played university rugby and football, now keeping himself fit with endurance walking, cycling, swimming and tennis.

Dr Miller explains about his work, “My focus on sport and exercise

Guy Evans completing Ironman Austria 2018, a triathlon which attracts 3000 athletes

medicine means that I see a huge variety of problems, from tendon problems, bone stress fractures and other overuse injuries, muscle and joint injuries. Diagnosis and planning management is so important to a successful outcome, particularly in complex areas such as groin pain.

Bio-mechanical analysis, diagnostic ultrasound and therapeutic injections are critical sports medicine techniques.”

To find out more please ring 0117 906 4870 or nuffieldhealth.com/hospitals/bristol/sports-exercise-medicine Nuffield Health Bristol Hospital The Chesterfield, 3 Clifton Hill, Clifton, Bristol BS8 1BN

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WILD BRISTOL

HALCYON DAYS Kingfishers are being kept busy on Bristol’s rivers this month but they’re not always easy to observe, says Pete Dommett

September is an active time for kingfishers; they are fiercely territorial and spend early autumn establishing their patch for the winter (image by Richard Scantlebury)

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very birdwatcher has a bogey bird: a species that, for some reason and despite their best efforts, has somehow managed to elude them. Until recently, mine was the kingfisher. You’d think it’d be simple to see Britain’s most brightly-coloured bird, wouldn’t you? And, in some ways, it is – I had seen them many times, but only ever for the briefest of moments. Getting a good, long, lingering look at this feathered jewel can be decidedly more difficult.

Kingfishers are usually doing one of two things. They’re either sitting very still on a branch above the water, where that aquamarine and burnt orange plumage blends in remarkably well against a riverbank backdrop and makes them easy to miss, or they’re flying low and fast across its surface like a neon tracer bullet, so that often all you’re offered is a frustratingly fleeting glimpse.

To watch a kingfisher, head to Eastville Park. Go early in the morning if you can, before the joggers and the dog-walkers are out in abundance, and listen for the distinctive, shrill, peeping call that confirms there’s one about. Look around the lake, especially the leafy fringes of the little islands, for a tiny pixel of electric blue (they’re surprisingly small birds – barely bigger than a sparrow). Or take a slow stroll up the River Frome, scanning ahead and checking low, overhanging boughs for the same – kingfishers, especially inexperienced juveniles, may spend lengthy spells hunting from the same perch. If you do spot one, creep up quietly for a really close-up encounter.

Alternatively, wait for them to come to you. I was finally granted a more leisurely audience with a kingfisher at Colston Weir in September of last year. As I paused there for a while on a walk along the river, a bird suddenly appeared from nowhere to land on the top 86 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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of a wooden post sticking up from the water. It stayed for so long – and allowed me such extravagant views – that I felt obliged to back away and move on, having had more than my fair share of this gorgeous creature.

September is an active time for kingfishers. They’re fiercely territorial and, in early autumn, birds are aggressively establishing whose patch is going to be whose for the winter. After spending the summer breeding, adult pairs drive out any youngsters that are still hanging around the home – along with any other interlopers – before dividing their stretch of the river between them and splitting up to fend for themselves.

Kingfishers suffer severely during the coldest months: prolonged spells of icy weather, when rivers and streams freeze over, prevent them from hunting and can cause the UK’s population (which is thought to be around 5,000 pairs) to crash. Fortunately, their prolific breeding ability (kingfishers can have up to three broods a year with six or seven chicks in each) means they usually bounce back relatively quickly.

The Ancient Greeks called the common kingfisher the Halcyon (after the goddess Alcyone). They believed the birds built a floating nest of fish bones and had the power to calm the wind and waves for 14 days while they sat on the eggs. Today, a sighting of a kingfisher is said by some to be followed by a fortnight of guaranteed tranquillity.

I’m off on holiday for two weeks soon (to Cornwall rather than Corfu), so I’d better bag myself another kingfisher before I go.

Halcyon days indeed. ■ • Find out more about the wildlife of Eastville Park at eastvillepark.org.uk

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COASTING ALONG It’s now possible to walk along the water from Highbridge to Weston-super-Mare. Andrew Swift has more...

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t is hardly surprising that coastal walking is so popular. With the sea on one hand and the land on the other, you have the best of both worlds and, while few of us may have tackled the whole of the South West Coast Path, many of us, I suspect, will have fond memories of walking some of its more dramatic sections.

Unfortunately, the only stretch of Somerset’s coastline included in its 630-mile route is that west of Minehead. Until recently, anyone brave enough to press on along the coast east of Minehead was faced with a series of discontinuous footpaths and long detours inland.

The good news is that this is changing, and changing fast. Natural England has set itself the daunting task of completing a 2,700-mile continuous path around the whole of England’s coastline by 2020 and, as part of that project, you will for the first time be able to follow a waymarked path from Minehead to Aust.

Much of it is already complete, and the latest section – the Brean Down Way – has opened up a new range of opportunities, making it possible for the first time to walk – or cycle – along the coast from Highbridge, via Burnham on Sea and Brean, to Weston-super-Mare.

Although this 12-mile walk may lack the drama of the more vertiginous stretches of the South West Coast Path, much of it follows the shining sands of Brean – one of the South West’s finest beaches – as well as marshland and estuaries rich in bird life. There is also – for walkers only – the option of visiting a ruined church on the edge of a cliff and an observatory housed in an old windmill.

It is also a walk for all seasons, as the sands provide a firm surface for strolling and cycling throughout the year – worth bearing in mind when paths through woods and fields turn to quagmires.

Like all coastal walks, it is linear rather than circular, although this problem is easily solved by catching a train to Highbridge – with an hourly service from Bristol – and returning from Weston-super-Mare.

Directions • Arriving at Highbridge from Bristol, cross the footbridge, head out of the station and continue along the road. At a roundabout, carry straight on along Tyler Way and, when the road ends, continue along Lakeside Track (ST 317473), following signs for Cycle Route 33.

• After 300m, turn left, following a sign for Burnham on Sea Estuary and follow a stony track past ponds once used as saltings. Old craft lie beached on the banks of the River Brue; beyond looms Hinckley Point, backed by the Quantock and Brendon Hills, with the misty fastnesses of Exmoor in the distance. Further downstream lie yachts at their moorings and halyards slapping against their masts; the cries of oystercatchers, curlews and cormorants echo across the marshes.

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• Then, as the estuary winds to meet the Bristol Channel, mud gives way to sand. Continuing along the sea wall, diminutive Steart Island comes into view. Ahead, far off, are Steep Holm and Flat Holm. As you approach Burnham, you can see, beyond the town, two lighthouses – low lighthouse, shining white on the sands, and high lighthouse, now decommissioned, a little way inland.

• Unlike many resorts, Burnham retains a quirky period charm, with Britain’s shortest pier, old streets running back from the sea front, and rows of guest houses, including one – the Round Tower – built around another former lighthouse.

• At the end of the sea wall, follow a sign for the England Coast Path to the beach (ST303497), which you will be following north for the next four miles. As the buildings end and the dunes begin, you pass the lighthouse on the sands, built in 1832, with the lightness and delicacy of a Georgian gazebo, but with strength to withstand the force of the channel tides.

• As the beach curves round a headland, Brean Down comes into view ahead. Two and a half miles after leaving Burnham you will – if the tide is out – spot the shattered timbers of the SS Nornen, driven onto the sands by a south-westerly gale in 1897 (ST287530).

• A little further on, solitude and limitless horizons are compromised as you come to part of the beach used as a car park. This, though, is an excellent excuse to divert into Berrow Dunes, a Site of Special Scientific Interest, and a strange hidden world whose labyrinth of sandy trails, weaving between stands of sea buckthorn, richly rewards exploration.

• After returning to the beach and leaving the parking area behind, carry on for around a mile and a quarter until you come to a row of short posts across the beach with a sign for Cycle Route 33 pointing inland (ST295562). Follow it into the dunes, continue along a path and, when you come to a road, cross and head along a path beside Weston Road.

• Continue along the path as it curves away from the road and, after Diamond Farm, veers off through a caravan park. As you leave the last of the caravans behind, an extraordinary structure known as the Great Bird Screen of Brean heralds the approach to a bridge over the River Axe. • Once across the river, you come to a caravan-free zone. Carry on along the path as it curves through the marshes, until, after 1100m, it emerges into an open space by the entrance to Weston Sewage Treatment Works (ST314570). From here, cyclists need to continue along Route 33, but walkers can opt for a more interesting route, which involves going through the metal gate ahead, turning left

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THE GREAT OUTDOORS

through a kissing gate, heading up steps onto a sea defence wall and turning right. This is a permissive path through Wessex Water’s Bleadon Levels Nature Reserve, which after 900m leads into Avon Wildlife Trust’s Walborough Nature Reserve.

• After entering Walborough Reserve, carry on towards the tower you can see ahead, following the track as it drops down to a gate with rudimentary stiles on either side (ST316579). After negotiating one of them (or carrying on to a kissing gate a little further along), head straight ahead uphill.

• Soon the tower – a windmill converted to an observatory – comes into view again. Head towards it and, having admired the view from its battlements, continue towards the half-ruined church on the edge of a cliff. Dating from the 12th century and said to have been built on the site of a Roman temple, it was abandoned when a new church was built in a more convenient location in 1844. Now largely roofless, it has some intriguing carvings and a curious three-headed gargoyle, as well as superb views from the cliff edge.

• A gate on the north side of the churchyard leads down a steep path to Uphill village. Turn left along the road, which after 700m leads onto Weston Sands (ST312588). Head north along the beach, continue along the sea front as you approach the town centre and, just before the Big Wheel, bear right and follow signs for the railway station. ■

Sea buckthorn on Berrow Dunes

• breandownway.uk

At a glance...

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Length: 12 miles

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Time: 6 hours

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Level of challenge: Straightforward, although with one tricky stile on the optional diversion

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Map: OS Explorer 153

The lighthouse on the sands

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GARDENING City gardening is important environmentally, providing corridors for nature and helping to absorb carbon emissions

SMALL BUT PERFECTLY FORMED Elly West has plenty of tips for good garden design in a limited city space

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ost of my adult years have been spent in London, where any kind of garden is a luxury. And even here in Bristol, a typical city garden is rarely going to be large. But while gardening in built-up areas brings many challenges – the most common being how to maximise the available space – it also creates opportunities to make a beautiful haven of calm away from the hustle and bustle of urban living.

City gardening is extremely important from an environmental perspective as well, providing corridors for nature and helping to absorb those carbon emissions. And there’s a real opportunity, in a small space, to get it right and create something that’s extremely manageable and useable as an outdoor room. Most gardens evolve over time and without an overall plan, but in a small space it’s perhaps even more important to focus on a strong initial design, to create a green oasis that will bring hours of pleasure.

When I’m designing small spaces, I see the same issues frustrating garden owners time and time again. Lack of privacy is probably the most common, also traffic noise, and shade cast by neighbouring properties or trees in other gardens. There is often nothing to ‘discover’ and the garden can all be seen at once.

Here are my tips for good garden design in a small space...

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Think about the hard landscaping. This is what will give your garden structure and backbone and includes paving, raised beds and any fences or walls. It’s worth paying as much as you can afford on getting this right and choosing the best materials, especially if you’re only covering a small area. Less is often more, so keep things simple for a more cohesive look, and avoid mixing too many different colours and materials.

Improve your boundaries. If privacy is an issue, raise the boundaries with trellis, then grow plants against them. Aim to lose the edges of your garden with clever planting. It will bring the garden in but will actually make it feel bigger, as you won’t be able to see where it finishes. Bold planting also keeps your field of vision within the garden.

Add height. A pergola can make a seating area feel more private and provides extra vertical surfaces for growing plants as well. Consider adding a roof made of spaced slats of cedar or similar, which will let light through while creating a private and secluded space.

Hide any eyesores. In a small space it becomes even more important to tuck away anything that’s not adding to your view. All gardens need the practical stuff – storage, recycling and so on. But bins can be put out of sight in a store, preferably with a green roof planted with sedums, and turned into an attractive feature. A shed may just need a lick of paint and some trellis fixed to it, along with a climber or two.

Choose hard-working plants. Plants need to work harder in a small space, so choose them for texture and year-round appeal. Do they look good as they fade? Do they offer any winter colour or structure? You might prefer a restricted colour palette such as green and white, to avoid the border looking too ‘busy’ and make it more restful on the eye.

Ditch the lawn. In a small space, a lawn can be more trouble than it is worth. Pathways leading through planting to unseen areas beyond can be more enticing and interesting than a flat rectangle of grass the size of a postage stamp.

One Bristol-based couple who have definitely got it right when it

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comes to gardening in a small space are Rachel and Chris Wilkins, who live in a Victorian terrace in Montpelier. Their garden was among the finalists in the BBC Gardeners’ World ‘Every Space Counts’ competition to find the best tiny garden, and was featured on the programme in May. Entering their 25-square-metre plot in the height of summer is like stepping into a slice of tropical paradise, with lush planting crammed into every conceivable corner. Everything looks like it’s thriving. A large banana plant dominates, its huge leaves glowing in tones of red and orange backlit by the sun. Both architects by trade, Rachel and Chris have created this urban sanctuary in less than two years, after completing extensive building work on the house.

“When we moved here, the garden was narrow and skinny with no sun,” explains Chris. “We knocked down an extension and built another, changing the shape of the garden from a long north-facing rectangle, with no light, to a more open square.”

Knocking down the extension also meant they had hundreds of bricks they could reclaim and use to pave the space. The resulting brick paths Rachel and Chris Wilkins’ garden was a finalist in the ‘Every Space Counts’ competition

and raised beds have a rustic appeal, creating strong lines and angles, softened with exuberant planting.

Although the space is a fairly typical city garden, surrounded by houses on all sides, it does not feel at all overlooked, partly because of the tall fences topped with horizontal slatted cedar, but mainly because all the attention is drawn into the garden, which has pathways, a seating area, storage shed (cleverly hiding the water butt), a potting area on top of a wood store, and plants-a-plenty. Pots are everywhere, allowing Chris and Rachel to provide plants with specific growing conditions and their preferred soil type.

The garden is divided into two distinct areas in terms of its planting.

The area nearest one side of the house is stuffed with shade-loving ferns, hostas, acanthus and astrantias, while further away from the house the planting is more tropical, with the large banana plant, plus cannas, dahlias, protea, banksea and euphorbias – not to mention herbs and pots of edibles – squeezed in around the seating area. “We cram plants in and if they don’t survive the cramming we take them out,” laughs Rachel. ■

PLANT OF THE MONTH Inspired by Chris and Rachel’s beautiful jungly garden, this month’s focus is the banana, the toughest of which is probably Musa basjoo.

Grown for its ornamental foliage, rather than its fruits, this banana is well suited to small courtyard gardens as it likes warmth and shelter.

Although this variety is fairly hardy and can be left in situ over winter, it’s best to wrap it in some horticultural fleece before the first hard frosts. In colder gardens you could grow it in a pot and bring it under cover for the winter months in a greenhouse or conservatory. Plants can reach 3-4m in height and are great for creating drama and a focal point with their huge, architectural leaves. In winter, cut off all the leaves just above the top of the stem, sloping the cut away from the stem so the water runs off it, then wrap it up until spring time, when new leaves will start to emerge.

• ellyswellies.co.uk

Elly’s Wellies

Garden Designs

Turning your ideas into beautiful spaces Elly’s Wellies Garden Designs will help you maximise the potential of your outdoor space and tailor it to your individual needs. Whether you are looking for a complete garden redesign, or just need advice on what to plant in a border, Elly’s Wellies will be happy to help.

For a free initial consultation, contact Elly West

www.ellyswellies.co.uk ellyswellies@gmail.com 07788 640934 THEBRISTOLMAG.CO.UK

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SEPTEMBER 2018

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THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE 93

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INTERIORS | PROMOTION GARDENING

We’re into those Prentice Windsor cabinets painted in Farrow & Ball ‘Pigeon’ – that 1940s restored Aga is a bit of alright too

WITH THE GRAIN Having fallen in love with a modern country kitchen in Mangotsfield, Carine Butcher finds out how the look was achieved

A

s soon as you step through the door, you know you’re entering a special space. Now transformed into a country kitchen with dramatic high beam ceilings, it’s an old grain store in Siston, Mangotsfield I find myself in, with plenty of room plus some nifty modern gadgetry subtly added in.

Originally, the kitchen space was part of grain stores which also housed cattle carts and it has become part of a mammoth project to renovate the entire house into a modern country home while keeping some of its old charm. Liza, the owner, knew exactly the look she wanted. She had the vision, passion and ideas to achieve a light, airy kitchen with those amazing wooden beams helping to make it feel open and fresh. Liza worked closely with Gardiner Haskins’ kitchen designer Alec Yull who has been designing kitchens there for nearly two decades.

The exposed, uneven, original stone walls, combined with traditional country shaker-style units, give character to this gorgeous fitted kitchen, with the Prentice Windsor cabinets painted in Farrow & Ball ‘Pigeon’.

Skilled carpentry from Gardiner Haskins’ kitchen installer ensured a perfect fit for the tricky wall spaces.

With lots of interior design experience herself, Liza knew the colours she wanted and wouldn’t do anything different. She matched the flooring to the green-grey cupboards and the orange-gold in the granite worktops too. The granite worktops were harder to source, so Alec recommended going to Basingstoke to see them in the showroom in situ.

Once Liza saw the worktop she could easily imagine it in the kitchen and knew it would be the right choice. The lines and colours of the granite appear textured but are actually smooth to touch. You can’t help but reach out and trace your finger along the grain.

A 1940s cream Aga was lovingly restored for the project and works very well, contrasting with the deep shade of the traditional shaker style 94 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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No 171

and keeping the vast room warm through the colder months. Cosy underfloor heating adds more warmth to the room, making it extra snug, while the original farmhouse sink has also been restored to its former glory.

Storage was another requirement on Liza’s wish list and Gardiner Haskins’ kitchen delivers plenty of that. There are deep drawers for pots and pans, a huge pantry with handy chalkboards on the inside for shopping lists and plenty of shoe storage by the back door to keep clutter at bay. An especially lovely touch is the drawer rack for red wine, just above floor level so that it stays at room temperature (with some help from the underfloor heating).

There’s a space for everything in this thoughtfully planned and well fitted kitchen, with special attention given to Liza’s requirements plus a few other modern tech features to make guests go “ooh” and “ahh”. A mini sink installed on the kitchen island has boiling water to hand – literally on tap, with no need to boil a kettle. The Neff extractor fan rises up from the back of the kitchen island hob like a control panel in a spaceship – a favourite feature that makes for a great talking point when entertaining guests.

Liza talks excitedly about Alec as a brilliant designer and Paul, the installer, as “a gem” – both pay incredible attention to detail, she says.

The kitchen furniture was hand-carved to fit the tricky curves of the walls and Alec project managed the entire process, giving Liza one easy point of contact to keep her updated.

To my mind, the room has the wow factor not just because of the huge space but the way Liza has worked with Alec and Paul to pull together a unique fitted kitchen in a class of its own. Bravo... ■ • For help with your own project, visit gardinerhaskins.co.uk

Kitchens.qxp_Layout 2 20/08/2018 12:03 Page 2

INTERIORS | PROMOTION

TRY BEFORE YOU RENT!

RECEIVE A FREE LUXURY GIFT BASKET When you join us for a trial period in Redland or Henleaze

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SEPTEMBER 2018 | THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE 95

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PROPERTY

Oakfield Court in Clifton has been popular with owner occupiers and investors alike

The Cloisters is a Victorian church converted into seven houses (image from Pete Reeves)

We are big fans of this kitchen in the Kersteman quarter

Apartment 15, Oakfield Court – just look at that light!

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PROPERTY

DIVINE LIVING They’re few and far between, says Serena Ralston, but wouldn’t it be a dream to live in one of the beautiful old churches being transformed into residential properties?

C

hapel conversions can make for divine living spaces indeed.

Original features often include thick stone walls, beautiful stonemasonry and intricate woodwork that are rarely seen in other Bristol homes. And if you are aspiring to a spectacular view, where better than from a church spire apartment?

“When tastefully converted, a church conversion can offer modern and original living in a period building, with distinctive architectural features, that is established in its location,” says Charles Zorab of Richard Harding Estate Agents. Letting agent Pete Reeves agrees. Not only does he own a rental apartment in the Kersteman Quarter, a converted chapel in Redland, but he also owns and lives in a house across the road in The Cloisters, a large Victorian church converted into seven houses. Pete and his family were among the first residents to move into the Cranbrook Road property 11 years ago.

“What we love is that our home is completely unique,” he says.

“It has amazing space – two of the rooms are 20 by 30ft with ceilings 30ft in height – and we enjoy stained glass, stone columns and carved cherubs.”

Only two properties have been sold on since The Cloisters first launched and it’s popular with film crews too – Reeves’ home was a location for the E4 TV series Crazyhead.

Bristol experienced a boom in church-building in the late Victorian and Edwardian periods as its population grew rapidly. Consequently, many of the local converted churches and chapels date from this period and their build quality is high.

According to the Church of England’s website, around 20 church buildings are closed for worship each year. Although there are currently none in Bristol on its ‘disposal’ list, former churches and chapels in the city are already making great homes. A couple of conversions (read on) are currently on the market. However, these properties are rare and so get snapped up quickly.

Richard Pedlar of Bristol-based Richard Pedlar Architects, and member of the Bristol Civic Society, thinks that converting a church to residential use should be a last resort: “Churches are focal public buildings and one of the only building types that have survived in their original use through many hundreds of years.”

If possible, churches and chapels should be kept in public community use. But if not, these buildings can be sensitively converted into highquality homes.

Richard points out that early Greek and Roman houses adopted similar forms and layouts to churches. Central spaces that would have been naves in a church were opened up, becoming courtyards with pools and fountains – ideal for warm climates. A reception area offered the entrance into the courtyard with rooms around the edge. Today, the best conversions respect and work with both the constraints and attractions of church buildings.

“Churches are often substantial and solid buildings that have been there for many years,” says David Beddoe, of Bristol agents and auctioneers Morgan Beddoe. “They make good conversions into homes.”

David Beddoe handled the sale of the Old Tabernacle in Bedminster in May. The 1920s building, which was being used for offices, has planning permission for residential use and was bought by a developer.

Richard says: “Smaller non-conformist chapels convert well for domestic use if the open spatial form is respected. Galleries and mezzanine floors can avoid the intrusion of a floor across the whole plan and the inevitable division of windows with the give-away domestic clutter and curtains draped against gothic or modern triangular windows.”

Bristol-based Brownfield Green is one of the most established church conversion specialists in the UK and it developed the Kersteman Quarter. “A successful church conversion reimagines the building to work as a home or homes,” says director Kezia Fawcett. “This means a variety of spaces – from large, open-plan areas to more intimate ‘cosy’ rooms. We keep as many original features as we can, while still making sure that it works well as a modern house, and doesn’t feel like living in a church.”

Brownfield Green tries to create houses first, and flats second, in its church conversions because houses work more effectively, with the church split vertically rather than horizontally.

Good conversions strive to retain original features such as stained glass, roof trusses and stone pillars. “The features are usually repeated all the way through the building which means every house can contain historic features,” continues Kezia.

“Sometimes we also create features that enhance the existing building such as glazed screens (instead of walls) to allow an unobstructed view.”

Robin Engley, associate at estate agents Knight Frank, points out that most developers in Bristol will use high-end materials for finishes in church conversions, especially in areas such as Clifton where this is the buyer’s expectation.

Challenges Churches are complicated buildings to convert and create significant challenges from planning, building regulations and structural issues. It is essential to have an experienced architect who can handle the project creatively. Church buildings are usually large, open spaces with huge floor-to-ceiling features. Windows are often high up, relatively small and also tall and thin, so views out can be difficult. This influences where internal floors can be added.

Gardens and outside space are often limited; Brownfield Green tries to create outdoor space for every home it creates by cutting away some of the roof areas to create roof terraces, for example.

Pete tells us his home in The Cloisters was cold and expensive to heat when the family moved in. But an Aga has proved to be the solution, heating the property very effectively.

In Robin’s view, buyers should be prepared to compromise on the drawbacks and go into the purchase with an eye on the features they might get in a church that they wouldn’t get in a modern house such as high ceilings, stone arches and stained glass.

Maintenance Church buildings are generally robust and durable. More recent conversions will be subject to scrutiny from building inspectors, development financers and surveyors. Warranty surveyors, who give the green light on a ‘10-year new home warranty’ required of new conversions or new builds, also inspect the property while it is developed. Consequently, buyers should have a reasonable amount of peace of mind.

Routine maintenance will ensure minimal ongoing cost. To avoid issues, interventions in the building should be kept to a minimum, with refined detailing. Large windows and lofty roofs should be insulated.

Despite the challenges, if you are looking for a unique living experience, church and chapel conversions are hard to beat. As Zorab says: “They can offer a wonderful opportunity to live in a property that does not conform to the rest of the market.”

Turn the page for more on some of Bristol’s divine homes...

Ú

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THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE 97

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PROPERTY This page: More scenes from The Cloisters (images courtesy of Pete Reeves)

Oakfield Court, Oakfield Road, Clifton A sensitive conversion of a Victorian church into 16 one, two and threebedroom apartments. Existing period features sit alongside contemporary interiors to create a stylish finish. Popular with owner occupiers and investors alike, Oakfield Court was offered for sale in phases. In the second phase of five made available, all sold in 24 hours. A four-storey, one-bedroom apartment within the church spire, 16 Oakfield Court, is on the market with Richard Harding at ÂŁ265,000.

Chandos, Woodfield Road, Redland A Victorian church in the French gothic style, converted into several apartments, the Chandos development is located on the doorstep of Chandos Road with its wealth of eateries, including the award-winning Wilsons restaurant. A two double bedroom maisonette was sold in March through Richard Harding.

Kersteman Quarter, Redland Developed by Brownfield Green, the Kersteman Quarter in Redland consists of five homes, including two houses with gardens, in a converted Victorian chapel.

The chapel was originally built in 1899 and the congregation apparently planned to build a larger church immediately next door. The larger church was never built, leaving unusually large grounds. All the homes have original features which work well with contemporary finishes. Building on its experience of converting historic buildings, Brownfield Green is now concentrating on renovating existing houses.

The Cloisters, Cranbrook Road Across the road from the Kersteman Quarter, this impressive conversion of the Victorian Trinity Church offers seven houses.

St. Nicholas Court, Church Road, Bishopsworth A former United Reform Church converted into seven properties, including a bungalow with private garden (on the market with Ocean; offers over ÂŁ235,000) and apartments.

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THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE 99

Knight Frank PIF DPS.qxp_Layout 2 24/08/2018 14:49 Page 1

BRISTOL PROPERTY | IN FOCUS

R

adnor Road is a quiet and sought after residential road running parallel to Henleaze Road, giving excellent access to shops and local amenities. White Lodge is a beautifully presented 1920’s detached family home with strong emphasis on the lovely outlook across its own mature gardens. The light filled ground floor has a welcoming entrance hall with oak flooring leading to all the principal rooms.

There are three reception rooms; the dining room has a Chinese slate floor and deep square bay window overlooking the front gardens, the sitting room has a newly installed wood burning stove and French doors opening onto the rear garden and the family room, which also has garden access, gives additional space for everyone to relax and unwind.

The light and spacious kitchen and utility room, cloakroom and under stair storage complete the accommodation on the ground floor.

Upstairs there are four well-proportioned bedrooms, the master having a generous en suite shower room. The remaining bedrooms are served by a family bathroom and additional wc. The house is approached by a secure driveway with electric gates.

The driveway and integral double garage provide parking for several vehicles. The gardens have been beautifully planted and maintained to create an element of privacy as well as enjoy the sunny westerly orientation.

White Lodge is the classic ‘forever home’ and is the perfect place for a family to put down roots.

Full details and an appointment to view are with agents Knight Frank of Clifton.

Knight Frank, Regent House, 27A Regent Street, Clifton, Bristol. Tel: 0117 317 1999

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WHITE LODGE RADNOR ROAD HENLEAZE • Four bedroom family home • 3 receptions • 2 bathrooms plus 2 cloakrooms • Light filled spacious accommodation • Garden views • Detached with integral double garage

Guide Price: £ 1,050,000

Knight Frank PIF DPS.qxp_Layout 2 24/08/2018 14:48 Page 2

BRISTOL PROPERTY | IN FOCUS

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MAXIMISE THE VALUE OF YOUR LAND AND PROPERTY

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IF YOU OWN A DETACHED CARE HOME, HOTEL OR PUBLIC HOUSE, or a parcel of land with potential We have clients actively seeking new opportunities, with or without planning permission We offer a completely confidential service, with over 20 years experience of delivering residential projects, tailor made to suit your individual circumstances

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B R I S T OL MAGAZINE

The General fp.qxp_Layout 1 21/08/2018 11:09 Page 1

Bristol & Clifton’s premier Commercial Property Agents Keep up-to-date with our latest news, deals, testimonials and market comment at our website: www.burstoncook.co.uk

(0117) 934 9977

6 MARSH STREET

CLIFTON VILLAGE

• Excellent A3 restaurant opportunity

• Prime retail / office unit • Separate courtyard office suite

• May suit other uses

• To let together or individually

• New lease • Rent on application

OFFICES TO LET

COLLEGE GREEN AREA – BS1

• Newminster House BS1

• Modern GF offices • Open plan +6 car spaces

• Suites of 662 sq ft, 1,712 sq ft & 2,953 sq ft

• 2,482 sq ft

• HIGH QUALITY SPACE

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HARVEYS CELLARS DENMARK STREET, BS1

• Superb HQ offices

• An iconic restaurant / bar

• 1,890 sq ft • 2 car spaces

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• New lease – Rent on application

• Excellent location Only £24,000 pax

BS1 OFFICES

NEW STUDIO OFFICES

• High quality refurb

• Located in BS5

• 2,500 – 3,600 sq ft

• High quality refurb

• 4 car spaces • New lease

• Adjoining the new Proctor Stevenson HQ

• Rent on application

• New lease

GOLDEN BOTTLE PUB – BS7

HIGH STREET – WESTBURY ON TRYM

• A4 Public House use

• Large retail unit (formerly McColls)

• 900 sq m + flat

Julian Cook FRICS

Jayne Rixon MRICS

Burston Cook September.indd 1

Charlie Kershaw MRICS

• C 1,830 sq ft

• New flexible lease

• Popular retail area

• Great opportunity

• New lease – rent on application

Finola Ingham MRICS

Tom Coyte MRICS

Holly Boulton BSc(Hons)

• Sales / Lettings • Acquisitions • Valuations • Landlord & tenant • Auction Sales

• Rent reviews • Property Management • Investment Sales / Purchase • Development & Planning • Dilapidations Advice

20/08/2018 15:20

Bristol & Clifton’s premier Commercial Property Agents Keep up-to-date with our latest news, deals, testimonials and market comment at our website: www.burstoncook.co.uk

(0117) 934 9977

11 BERKELEY SQUARE, BS8

FREEHOLD INVESTMENT FOR SALE

• Prime office unit

• Fully let shop + 3 x one bed flats

• 671 sq ft

• Prime letting location

• To be refurbished

• Price on application

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UNIT 4 BROOK OFFICE PARK, EMERSONS GREEN BS16

CLIFTON DOWN STATION – WHITELADIES ROAD BS8

• Open plan office suite • 3,752 sq ft – 21 car spaces • High quality – comfort cooled • New flexible lease

• Retail unit to let • Prime busy position • 710 sq ft • Rent on application FOR SALE ARMSTRONG COURT, YATE

OFFICE UNITS FOR SALE

• Business unit

• Waterfront studio style office space

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• Fully fitted as offices • Price on application

• Each unit c 1,450 sq ft

STUDIO / OFFICE SPACE BS14 9BZ

FREEHOLD FOR SALE UNIT 501 CENTRAL PARK, BS14 9BZ

• 3,486 sq ft + parking

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10A OLD STREET, CLEVEDON

LINK HOUSE, BS15 • High quality offices

• 1,062 sq ft

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Julian Cook FRICS

Jayne Rixon MRICS

Burston Cook September.indd 2

Charlie Kershaw MRICS

Finola Ingham MRICS

Tom Coyte MRICS

Holly Boulton BSc(Hons)

• Sales / Lettings • Acquisitions • Valuations • Landlord & tenant • Auction Sales

• Rent reviews • Property Management • Investment Sales / Purchase • Development & Planning • Dilapidations Advice

21/08/2018 13:52

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PROPERTY NEWS

BITE-SIZED UPDATES FROM ACROSS THE CITY’S BOOMING SECTOR The beautiful hospital building back in the day

ON THE WING

WIN WIN SITUATION A Bristol City Council housing development won a prestigious building award recently, recognising it for quality design and construction.

Suffolk Close in Brentry picked up ‘Best Social or Affordable New Housing Development’ at the Local Authority Building Control Building Excellence Awards 2018 – beating Challender Court in Henbury and Deansmead Court in Lawrence Weston in the category.

The development at Suffolk Close was built on a former garage site which was cleared and developed to provide three two-bedroom bungalows with private rear gardens, off-street parking and landscaped communal areas at the front.

The homes were designed to meet the Passivhaus building standards which aims to reduce energy usage, during construction and once occupied, by adopting a ‘fabric first’ approach that provides excellent thermal insulation.

This results in extremely energy efficient properties which see household utility bills dramatically reduced.

The houses are part of the New Build Housing Programme which began regenerating brownfield sites in 2014.

• bristol.gov.uk/newcouncilhomes

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MOVING TO MANGOTSFIELD? Work is underway to create new threestorey, three and four-bedroom homes on the site of Mangotsfield’s former Church of England Primary School on the junction of Richmond Road and St James Street.

The area north-east of Bristol – mentioned in the Domesday Book as ‘Manegodesfelle’ – is popular with commuters keen for a city home location with a village feel.

The scheme has been designed by Yate housebuilder Cotswold Homes to echo the external appearance of the old villas in Richmond Road and as a homage to the previous school building.

Head of sales and marketing Terri HayesPugh expects the firm’s no-hidden-extras policy will play a key role in attracting buyers at Richmond Grove, as the development has been named. The homes will have Juliet balconies, open-plan kitchen-dining with French windows opening onto ready-turfed gardens with external water taps, plus Smeg appliances, semi-pedestal basins and vinyl flooring.

A marketing suite opens at Richmond Grove this month for would-be buyers to inspect plans and make off-plan reservations using Help-to-Buy if need be.

• cotswoldhomes.co.uk

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No 171

Heritage expert City & Country has unveiled new apartments in the King Edward VII Wing at The General.

A significant part of the original hospital, it is the last to be restored at the award-winning development.

Designed by George Oatley, the renowned Bristolian architect responsible for the Wills Building, the wing was built in 1912 as an addition to the original hospital. Oatley carried out extensive redesigns and extensions for the hospital between 1886 and 1930.

At the time the King Edward VII Wing introduced a very different style to the hospital’s original Italianate buildings that were designed in 1853. It was built using more modern materials of ferrousconcrete and brought a much lighter feel to the site. The wing featured classical detailing in Bath stone and attractive Doric and Ionic curved terraces which remain today.

The wing, now being restored and converted, stands next to The Iron Foundry, the award-winning new apartment building. A glazed atrium has been added to the rooftop of the wing, creating a collection of contemporary homes with panoramic 180-degree Bristol views.

The apartments overlooking the river feature semi-circular living spaces with open-plan kitchen, dining and living rooms. Apartments in the first sales release from the King Edward VII Wing are priced from £345,000 to £750,000; those priced up to £600,000 are available with Help to Buy.

• cityandcountry.co.uk

What the restored wing should look like when it is totally finished

Knight Frank Redcliffe Parade.qxp_Layout 1 20/08/2018 11:52 Page 1

Clifton

Andrewsonline.co.uk

Church Road Abbotts Leigh BS8 £625,000

A 3 bedroom 1920s semi-detached property in desirable Church Road in Abbots Leigh, North Somerset, overlooking open countryside, yet only 1.8 miles from Clifton. This property has the significant benefit of a large side garden fronting Church Road but currently protected from the road by a line of trees. It may offer potential for development/side extension, subject to being able to obtain the necessary consents.

Energy Efficiency Rating: F

0117 405 7659 clifton@andrewsonline.co.uk

To view more properties and other services available visit Andrewsonline.co.uk

Keynsham Andrewsonline.co.uk

Orwell Drive, Keynsham BS31 £415,000

011 7986 9000

Andrews September.indd 1

Situated just 0.3 miles from the highly regarded Wellsway school is this double bay fronted three/four bedroom home with garage and driveway parking. Off the entrance hall is a spacious lounge/diner with a cosy log burner.

An opening leads through into the kitchen with access to the enclosed rear garden.

Energy Efficiency Rating: D

keynsham@andrewsonline.co.uk

To view more properties and other services available visit Andrewsonline.co.uk

20/08/2018 11:53

Harbourside Andrewsonline.co.uk

Invicta, Harbourside A stunning three bedroom, two bathroom waterfront apartment located in the highly regarded Invicta development. Presented in exceptional condition throughout, this 90 square metre property benefits from one BS1 £750,000

0117 911 4749

of the finest views Bristol has to offer.

Energy Efficiency Rating: B

harbourside@andrewsonline.co.uk

To view more properties and other services available visit Andrewsonline.co.uk

Downend

Andrewsonline.co.uk

Frenchay Village BS16 OIRO: £745,000

0117 911 3519

Andrews September.indd 2

A quite exceptional and highly practical four double bedroom family home, previously used as a school, tucked away at the foot of this ‘leafy’ valley in a very pretty location immediately overlooking the Frome Valley and yet offering ideal access to the A4174 Ring Road (just 1.1 miles away).

Energy Efficiency Rating: E

downend@andrewsonline.co.uk

To view more properties and other services available visit Andrewsonline.co.uk

20/08/2018 11:53

Andrews Advertorial fp 2.qxp_Layout 1 20/08/2018 11:49 Page 1

ADVERTORIAL FEATURE

The best of country and town living at Chewton Court W oodstock Homes build a select number of exclusive new homes each year, so they can deliver superior properties without compromising on quality.

As one of the leading homebuilders in the South West and South Wales for well-designed and appointed homes they take a great care in the overall design and construction, from initial plans to final working techniques.

Andrews Land & New Homes have been chosen as the appointed agent as they share the same core values of delivering high standards ensuring your move is as smooth as possible.

Chewton Court is a fine example of Woodstock Homes delivering a high-end, quality product. In the 18th century it was very much the done thing to build a romantic folly on one’s estate. Now, enjoying the view of the historic Owl Tower, next to the delightful River Chew and the classical lines of Chewton Place House, will be just one of the pleasures of life at Chewton Court.

Through the passing seasons, nature is our most welcome companion.

Here, deep within the river valley and down a long and winding private driveway, Chewton Place House is a hidden Georgian gem.

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Set midway between Bath and Bristol, Chewton Court offers a gated, country residence that is just minutes away from all the cultural, social and business life of these distinguished cities.

There, two of the nation’s oldest working theatres rub shoulders with a rich choice of world cuisine, internationally recognised schools and universities, renowned museums, and no end of shops to browse around to your heart’s content at Bristol’s Cabot Circus or Bath’s array of boutique shops.

Meanwhile, more day-to-day requirements can be met, nearby Waitrose approximately 1.4 miles away, while bustling Keynsham is a wonderful, helpful neighbour.

A superb property set in an even more wonderful location ideal for someone looking for country life with the accessibility to amenities and transport links.

For more information or to arrange a viewing, please contact Andrews Land and New Homes on 0117 946 1799 or email: Bristol&bath@andrewsonline.co.uk

Rupert Oliver FP September.qxp_Layout 1 20/08/2018 11:43 Page 1

Clifton, Bristol | Guide Price ÂŁ1,395,000 An exceptional three storey Grade II Listed Regency townhouse, with a delightful south facing rear garden, two gated off-street parking spaces and circa 3178 sq. ft of versatile family accommodation.

Lovingly restored and refurbished over the last six years | South facing city garden | Two gated off-street parking spaces | Superb period features | Harvey Jones fitted kitchen with AGA | Three reception rooms | Four bedrooms | Three bathrooms | Utility room & two cloakrooms | EPC: Exempt | Possibility of self-contained accommodation (STC) Circa 3178 sq. ft (295.2 sq. m)

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BRISTOL PROPERTY | IN FOCUS

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umber 19 Hanbury Road is a very handsome and beautifully renovated Victorian family home. In keeping with the period, the principal rooms are generously proportioned and there are all the architectural features you could wish for including shuttered sash windows, fireplaces, ornate plasterwork and original tiled flooring.

The house is semi-detached and offers around 3,900 sq ft of accommodation over four floors. The layout is extremely flexible, in that the basement rooms can double as an informal flat, home office, bedrooms or reception rooms. In brief the accommodation comprises: Ground floor: Porch, impressive reception hall with butler’s pantry, sitting room, study/snug, kitchen/breakfast and family room leading through to dining room. Basement: Inner hallway, reception room, bedroom, utility room/kitchenette, shower room/wc. First floor: Master bedroom with en suite bath room, 3 further bedrooms one with en suite shower room, family bathroom. Second floor: Bedroom and large attic. The house sits back behind a neat front garden and to the rear there is a carefully designed ‘parterre’ style garden with an abundance of planting, terraced and courtyard areas. There is a useful bike shed, greenhouse, external electric car charging point as well as two off street parking spaces. This is a lovingly maintained, welcoming family home with enormous appeal.

Contact agents Richard Harding for full details and to arrange and appointment to view.

Richard Harding. 124 Whiteladies Road, Bristol BS8 2RP. Tel: 0117 946 6690

112 THE BRISTOL MAGAZINE

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SEPTEMBER 2018

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NO¯ 171

19 HANBURY ROAD, CLIFTON, BRISTOL • 6 Bedrooms • 4 Reception rooms • 4 Bath/shower rooms • Gardens and parking Guide price: £1,450,000 - £1,600,000

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ANdrews New Home - Sheep Fields FP.qxp_Layout 1 20/08/2018 11:50 Page 1

ELMLEA AVENUE, STOKE BISHOP Rare to the market is this beautiful and characterful four bedroom 1930’s detached family home with delightful front and rear gardens and benefitting from off-street parking. EPC - F

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2

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Guide Price £950,000

LAWRENCE GROVE, HENLEAZE Offered with no chain and filled with character throughout, this detached circa 1930’s family home is positioned within the popular Lawrence Grove. The property boasts a 24m level garden with private outlook to rear and spacious driveway. EPC - E 4

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Guide Price £835,000

CJ Hole September.indd 1

20/08/2018 11:42

Clifton t: 0117 923 8238 (sales) t: 0117 946 6588 (lettings) clifton@cjhole.co.uk

www.cjhole.com September. And here’s autumn again. After a long hot summer -bamschool starts, university students arrive,and most of us are back at our desks. The certainty of the calendar it seems isn’t matched by our weather or indeed our economy. In what should have been the quietest two months of our year (July- August) we have been selling and letting like crazy. We’re told the London market has flat-lined and yes admittedly, Bristol residential sales are down, but there is good demand. Not only that, property is still selling, especially if priced

sensibly and you have a decent agent batting for you. The rental market continues to grow, despite Buy to Let concerns, and again there is constant tenant demand. So it’s difficult to judge what will happen in the coming months. Brexit looms large and interest rates have risen. That said, here on the ground, I’m hopeful that in Bristol, if you’re looking to sell or let your property this autumn, you won’t have a problem. And if you’re thinking about it, give us a call...

Howard Davis MD Clifton

REDLAND

REDLAND

GUIDE PRICE £1,000,000

SOLD SSTC £425,000

A substantial 5 bedroom family home offers a generous entrance hall, 3 reception rooms, kitchen/breakfast room, 2 bathrooms, cloakroom, basement area, integral garage, driveway and a southerly facing rear garden. The house requires modernising and does retain a great deal of its original charm and character throughout. EPC TBC

An impressive and beautifully presented three bedroom apartment occupying the entire first floor of this fine Victorian building. This large character building comprises of just four apartments with a lovely communal hallway and communal front gravelled garden area. EPC E

HARBOURSIDE

CLIFTON

GUIDE PRICE £815,000

A charming 4 double bedroom Georgian home, well presented throughout and offers a light and versatile interior with views towards the harbour and surrounding area. Externally there is an attractive courtyard garden to the rear with a garage situated in a nearby block. EPC D

SOLD SSTC £445,000

A generously proportioned 2 bedroom, hall floor apartment with a tandem garage in Clifton. Offering a spacious lounge/diner with triple sash bay window, high ceilings and period mouldings, kitchen, a utility room, master bedroom with en-suite shower room, second bedroom, an internal study, plus a family bathroom. EPC E

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CJ Hole Clifton September.indd 1

20/08/2018 11:41

REDLAND GUIDE PRICE £650,000

STOKE BISHOP GUIDE PRICE £550,000

A most impressive 3 bedroom home offers an individually designed and thoughtfully arranged interior which was worthy of an extensive feature in The Daily Telegraph.

This unique two story detached house with upper mezzanine level, complete with integral garage has been designed and built by the current owner. EPC C

A 1930’s 3 bedroom semi-detached family home offers: a driveway plus a detached garage, a spacious main hallway, two reception rooms and a separate kitchen breakfast room with access to the beautifully lawned rear garden. EPC E

HARBOURSIDE GUIDE PRICE £460,000

CITY CENTRE GUIDE PRICE £365,000

A first floor 2 double bedroom apartment has splendid views across the harbour from the front decked balcony, offering a large open plan lounge/diner and kitchen, a master bedroom with an en-suite, it also comes complete with a private garage with power, light and an up and over door. EPC B

A modern 2 bedroom apartment with beautiful views over the harbour, offers a light and spacious living area, open plan kitchen/dining space, a master bedroom with an en-suite, the second bedroom features a built-in wardrobe with overhead storage, a contemporary bathroom and parking available. EPC B

CLIFTON GUIDE PRICE £340,000

CITY CENTRE GUIDE PRICE £295,000

This fine Victorian building offers a spacious 2 double bedroom, first floor apartment with a communal entrance, generous lounge and a modern kitchen diner. This property falls within the Residents Parking Zone. EPC D

A beautifully presented 2 double bedroom contemporary apartment, with an open plan kitchen lounge, a spacious ‘Jack & Jill’ style bath + shower room, plus a large communal garden area. EPC B

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CJ Hole Clifton September.indd 2

20/08/2018 11:41

Clifton £400,000

Clifton Office 0117 946 6007

Two bedroom maisonette A grand 2 double bedroom hall and first floor maisonette with private walk out balcony, situated on St Paul’s Road, Clifton, ideally positioned for Whiteladies Road, Clifton Village and the Clifton Triangle. Local amenities include: Sainsbury’s, Waitrose, the Clifton Lido, Racks. EPC - D

oceanhome.co.uk

Ocean September.indd 1

Westbury-on-Trym Office 0117 962 1973

Brentry £399,995

Three bedroom bungalow A substantial, welcoming and much cherished detached bungalow in the corner of the much sought after Parkers Close in Brentry, the property has been in the same ownership since it was built back in 1988 and has been extended to the rear/side. Parkers Close offers ease of access to nearby shops.

20/08/2018 11:40

Redland £500,000

Two bedroom garden flat An extremely attractive double fronted hall floor garden flat in a hugely sought after area of Redland with hotspots such as Whiteladies Road, Gloucester Road and the Downs all within walking distance. EPC - TBC

Westbury-on-Trym £300,000 Two bedroom house

‘Chock Cottage’ is perched at the top of Chock Lane. The cottage is arranged over 3 floors, providing a surprisingly spacious interior, including a cellar. Situated just 5 minutes walk from the Westburyon-Trym C of E Academy School, as well as being a short stroll to local shops and restaurants within the village. EPC - E

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Richard Harding September.qxp_Layout 6 20/08/2018 11:38 Page 1

Richard Harding Chartered Surveyors • Estate Agents • Auctioneers • Valuers

CLIFTON

guide price range £1,250,000 - £1,295,000

In a coveted location close to the Downs & St John's Primary School. A quietly impressive large 5/6 bedroom Victorian period semi-detached family house (circa 3,500 sq. ft.) with a charming south-westerly aspect walled rear garden & off street parking space with generous civilised flexible accommodation over four floors including a versatile basement with the option of a 1 bedroom flat rental income facility.

Accommodation: porch, reception hall, cloaks/wc, sitting room thro' to study/snug, dining/family room thro’ to kitchen, basement utility room & store room, 5 upper floor bedrooms with 3 'bathrooms' (1 en-suite), basement flat currently arranged as reception room, kitchen, bedroom & bathroom.

A handsome residence in a prime location with a lovely atmosphere enhanced by many period features including numerous fireplaces and some fine ceiling mouldings & sash windows with working shutters. EPC: E

Professional, Reliable, Successful

0117 946 6690 www.richardharding.co.uk 124 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 2RP

Richard Harding September.qxp_Layout 6 20/08/2018 11:39 Page 2

Richard Harding Chartered Surveyors • Estate Agents • Auctioneers • Valuers

A spacious, bright & individual 4 bedroom detached family residence circa 1700 sq.ft. in a sylvan setting opposite and overlooking the green oasis of Leigh Woods national nature reserve, with o/s parking for 3 cars, a garage & gardens surrounding the property. With the Ashton Court Estate parkland & woods also nearby, idyllic walks, mountain bike trails & dog walking country are on the doorstep. PP granted for side extension & double garage (ref. 16/p/1189/f - N. Somerset Council). EPC: C

LEIGH WOODS

guide £799,950

A substantial, bay-fronted three storey Victorian period townhouse circa 2,750 sq.ft., offering versatile 4/6 double bedroom, 3/5 reception room accommodation in a much sought after Redland location with well-stocked rear garden. Adaptable rooms - potential for a self-contained lower floor if required (subject to obtaining all necessary consents) which could be put to so many uses. EPC: E

REDLAND

Professional, Reliable, Successful

guide £865,000

0117 946 6690 www.richardharding.co.uk 124 Whiteladies Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 2RP

Bristol’s Independent Estate Agents

Henleaze £585,000

Clifton £450,000

A charming 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom family house set in a highly desirable spot within 300m of Henleaze infants school and within the 2017 entry area for Redland Green school. EPC - D

Stylish first floor 3 bedroom apartment set in an attractive building within a few minutes of Whiteladies Road. The flat also has an allocated parking space.

No onward chain. EPC - D

Clifton £360,000

Westbury Park £355,000

A wonderful, newly refurbished 2nd floor apartment located in this sought after crescent moments from Clifton Village. Buyers can simply move in and put their feet up.

A sizeable 2 double bedroom first floor flat with parking space and south west facing balcony! Attractively presented throughout this spacious flat is offered with no onward chain. EPC - D

TEL: 0117 974 1741 61 Apsley Road, Clifton, Bristol BS8 2SW

Leese & Nagle September.indd 1

sales@leeseandnagle.co.uk

24/08/2018 17:26

www.leeseandnagle.co.uk

Westbury on Trym

Guide Price £750,000

A fabulous 1930’s semi-detached family home situated in Stoke Bishop. The property is deceptively spacious being over 2400ft including the garage and arranged over three floors. EPC - D

NEW INSTRUCTION

Stoke Bishop Guide Price £739,500

Westbury on Trym Guide Price £610,000

Sneyd Park Guide Price £450,000

A fine example of a detached modern townhouse set in a popular road in Coombe Dingle. The house is arranged over three floors with five bedrooms. EPC - C

A very well presented 4 bedroom semi detached house located on a quiet cul-de-sac in a prime Westbury on Trym location. EPC - D

A 1960’s built town house situated within the popular Pitch and Pay Park development, only a few minutes walk from Durdham Downs. EPC - D

TEL: 0117 962 2299 125 Stoke Lane, Westbury-on-Trym, Bristol BS9 3RW

Leese & Nagle September.indd 2

wot@leeseandnagle.co.uk

24/08/2018 13:04

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