Bristol Life – Issue 385 by MediaClash

Cinema RESTORATION DRAMAS

It’s all about the anniversaries this issue, and we couldn’t leave out Cinema Rediscovered, the movie buff’s favourite festival of newlyrestored and revival-worthy films. It’s rolling out an ambitious 10th birthday edit between 22-26 July, with 70-plus events, including over 50 screenings, many never shown in Britain before, let alone Bristol, along with the usual clatter of guests talks, panels, walks, film-themed workshops and a BFI archive exhibition.

Heritage ABOUT A BOAT

And now, a storm in a teacup.

Accustomed to feeling smug about all those endless ‘Bristol is the coolest place to live in the whole world’ lists, we were shocked to learn from The Telegraph that it is, in fact, “the most annoying city in Britain”.

A lot of things about Bristol seem to displease writer Sean Thomas, but chief among them is the non-controversy surrounding the ss Great Britain. Claiming that Bristol has “a problem with the words ‘Great Britain’”, Sean announces a “reported move to soften or ‘contextualise’ the name of Isambard

In a UK première, director Edgar Wright videointroduces the 4K restoration of Mario Bava’s pop-art masterpiece Danger: Diabolik (1968); there’s a trio of events marking Aardman’s 50th anniversary; a tribute to British director John Boorman, and a ‘Rogue Hollywood’ strand revealing the dark side of 1970s America, including Elaine May’s Mikey and Nicky, Paul Schrader’s Hardcore; Scorsese’s Taxi Driver, and Diane Keaton in Looking for Mr Goodbar. New restorations and first-chance-to-see-in-theUK screenings include the world première of John Schlesinger’s Billy Liar (1963); Claude Chabrol’s thriller Le Boucher (1970); a reconstruction of Erich von Stroheim’s doomed 1929 silent Queen Kelly, with revelations about its jawdropping backstory; Arundhati Roy’s debut screenplay In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones, and two films illustrating why Steve Buscemi is a legend of indie US cinema, in the unlikely scenario that you needed proof. For more www.watershed.co.uk

Kingdom Brunel’s astonishing Victorian steamship, in the interests of ‘greater inclusivity’” – a statement guaranteed to bring on mass apoplexy among Middle Englanders.

The Guardian, which should have known better, did no better, stating that “the names of both ship and engineer are being ditched and the site is to be renamed as Bristol Dockyards”.

In fact, the name of the ship remains entirely unchanged; you can still see it quite clearly on its bow. Bristol Dockyards is the new name for the larger site, which includes two museums and the waterfront itself, offering a broader cultural campus encompassing the Great Western and Albion dockyards. The idea is to shift the focus slightly

away from Brunel and on to the experience of the ordinary people who travelled aboard the steamship. It’s hardly wokedom gone mad.

The rebrand comes ahead of the reopening of the new state-of-theart museum on 18 July; future plans include conservation work and re-establishing the Albion dock as a working yard for maritime skills training opportunities, all working up to the 60th anniversary of the ssGB ’s return to Bristol from the Falkland Islands in 2030.

But back to Sean, and his disaffection with this city. He’s offended by Bristol’s steep hills. He dislikes the architecture, and the “earnest murals” (that’ll be the world-famous street art), and reckons having a Green council “evinces an air of moral superiority”.

“And don’t get me on to the statue-topplers”, he says.

Will you tell him about the Colston Hall name change, or will we? www.bristoldockyards.org

above: The 1960s on a stick: Billy Liar returns in a new restoration (right) Bond in a gimp suit? No, it’s cult masterpiece Danger: Diabolik!

It was still called the ss Great Britain last time we checked

Don’t call it South Bristol’s answer to the Gloucester Road. Definitely don’t call it Bedmo.

Instead, turn up with an open and curious mind, because over the past decade BS3 has turned into one of the most vibrant corners of the city, while still retaining its distinctive oldschool charm and community vibe

Words by Deri Robins

It wouldn’t be Upfest without a fresh bread-related pun by Inkie at Parsons

Let’s kick off with a fun fact: Bedminster is older than Bristol itself. Once a small part of Somerset, its origins are thought to be Roman, centred around what’s now East and West Street. Probably looked a bit different back then.

Fast-forward to the 1800s, when the area bloomed during the Industrial Revolution: steel, coal, glue, leather, paint, glass, and of course tobacco, brought work and a huge population spike to the neighbourhood.

Eventually, all the pits, factories and tanneries closed down. The Tobacco Factory stands as a proud reminder of South Bristol’s industrial history, but inside the redbrick building it’s arts, leisure and food that hold sway today instead of industry.

More radical changes have taken place over the last decade. It’s true that many folk bristle at the idea of gentrification, and not everyone thrills to the klaxon call of a new artisan baker firing up (to be honest, as long as Mark’s Bread is still going strong we’re willing to embrace the sourdough). Meanwhile, those who haven’t paid the area much attention for a while may have outdated notions of how things go down south of the river.

From already-up-and-come Southville* at the ‘top bit’ (actual boundary never satisfactorily defined) to grungier but arguably more authentic East Street at the other, it’s the successful balance between old-school and cool-for-school that makes this area special, along with its strong sense of community and a laidback vibe. To quote one local, “From the top of North Street down to the bottom of East Street, you can find, or do, pretty much anything you like”.

There is, of course a fresh, persuasive reason to visit this summer – Upfest has just completed its biennial stint, and the walls are alive with vibrant new murals – but there are a lot of other excellent things to stick around for when you’re over there, too. Our top tip? Come on a Sunday morning when the Tobacco Factory market is in full flow.

* Named the second-best place to live in the South West by The Sunday Times. The locals would probably query that ‘second’ bit.

COME FOR THE SHOPPING

Bedminster’s high streets offer a hugely diverse variety of shopping. Foodies love it here; sandwiched between the lifestyle emporiums and galleries you’ll find one of the finest concentrations of produce shops in the city, from greengrocers Ashton Fruit Shop and Hugo’s to butchers Kelvin’s and Rare, local baking legend Mark’s Bread, and seafood at Bristol Fish, selling day-boat catches from the

“It’s the successful balance between oldschool and cool-for- school which makes this area special”

south coast. Pop in and eat an oyster at the counter: “They can be opened eight a minute, though don’t hold me to that”, says Sam.

There’s BS3’s very own Willy Wonka, Zara Northcott with her handmade chocolates; turophile heaven at North Street Cheese; vegan junk food at VX Bristol – oh, and has anyone heard of a little place called Clark’s Pies? Last but not least, there’s local institution East Street Fruit Market. The legendary singing Darren, the erstwhile ‘Voice of Bedminster’ may have called it a day, but it’s still a family-run affair.

Alongside the food shops (and, admittedly, a phenomenal number of ‘vape shops’) you’ll also find the following:

Bristol General Store, 56-58 North Street

Much-loved store packed with chic, ethical treats, from Arcs London bags to Chimi eyewear, Service Works and Found tops, Evermore and Maison Louis Marie candles, FKAH skincare, etc.

East Street Emporium, 126 East Street

Indoor market with an eclectic mix of products ranging from pet supplies to preloved clothes and trainers, plants, and all things vintage.

Independent Design Collective, 76 North Street

Handcrafted gifts made by artists who live and work in Bristol.

Lion Stores, 219 North Street

Bedminster may be boujier than it once was, but hardware store Lion Stores remains an old-school lodestar. Owner Derek Knapman is a font of all DIY (and local) knowledge. “We’ve stayed true to the open-all-hours type of shop; the last of the dinosaurs in a changing landscape,” he says, lyrically.

SOMETHING OLD

Love a bit of vintage? You won’t struggle for finds in BS3.

The sign above the door at Dear Old Thing (107 West Street) reads ‘huge showroom inside’. This is an understatement. Time, space and furniture folds in on itself at this store, and once you’ve stepped in you’ll never think about flatpack furniture again. Patina at 61 North Street has an eclectic mix of high-quality vintage fits from the 1930s-’90s for men and women, and Revival Market at 45 East Street stocks clothing, homewares and trinkets. jewellery, crockery and glassware, with baskets full of old photos and postcards. There are vintage stalls within East Street Emporium at 126 East Street, too.

Mon Pote, 217a North Street

Top Scandinavian interior brands such as House Doctor, Hubsch, Bloomingville, HK Living and Broste Copenhagen, and a lovely line in affordable jewellery, much of it created by local makers.

Storysmith, 236 North Street

A firm favourite with us, not just because it’s everything a local indie bookstore should be, but because Emily and Dan are esteemed columnists in this very magazine.

Toyville, 9 North Street

Indie toy and game shop; very much a family affair, with scion of the family Xander on hand to personally vet each product.

Trylla, 8 North Street

As well as selling all manner of items from clothing to toys and ceramics, Trylla’s owner Alice also hosts regular pottery classes.

Zero Green, 80 North Street

Bristol’s first zero waste shop; bring your own containers, fill them with loose products, weigh them and pay at the till. Eco heroes.

Upfest, 198 North Street

Not just a festival, also a gallery. Through hosting Europe’s biggest street-art bash, organisers Steve and Emma Hayles have helped to revolutionise Bristol’s art reputation and ensure that world-class murals continue to adorn the walls of BS3. Come along and see what the 2026 festival has left behind.

clockwise from top left: Don’t miss the Tobacco Factory Sunday market; three of the Seven Sisters murals –come on down to see the other four; on the corner of East Street and Dalby Avenue, Tozer’s sign welcomes you to South Bristol; need we caption this?

COME FOR SOME OF THE BEST FOOD IN THE CITY

Here are just some of our favourites. Bombil, 31 East Street

The newest branch of the estimable Raja Munuswamy empire (Nutmeg, Nadu etc), and the biggest; as you might guess from the name, the menu takes its inspiration from authentic Bombay cuisine.

COR, 81 North Street

We love COR. We loved it when it opened, and a recent visit confirmed that standards are still sky-high. Mark Chapman’s Mediterranean small plates are a delight, the staff are lovely and the cocktails on point –and in summer the big windows open to the street, so it’s practically al fresco.

El Rincón, 298 North Street

People come for the authentic Spanish food

– you’d expect nothing less, with a Valencian in the kitchen – but they stay for the great company, smiling service and, if you go on the right day, live music.

above: COR, beloved by all and possessor of a Bib Gourmand; below: Pegs and Mary at Sonny’s Stores –the kind of neighbourhood restaurant everyone wants

DELIS

BS3 is also well-served by specialist delis. There’s Dio’s at Hugo’s, 71 North Street, whose sandwiches are legendary; eco-conscious Southville Deli at 262 North Street and 36 East Street (check their instagram page for the product of the week); and East St Deli (also a café) at 95 East Street.

The Malago, 220 North Street

Friendly, independent, brother-and-sister-run bar and restaurant serving modern British cuisine with an European influence.

Other, 32 Cannon Street

Fresh from his stint at Casamia during its ‘weird gig with food’ era, young chef Zak Hitchman opened his first joint in 2024 with partner Emma, and promptly won a Michelin Bib Gourmand. The décor is a cheerful orange, the vibe casual, the top-notch food eclectic and surprising.

Sonny Stores, 47 Raleigh Road

A family-run affair with invested staff and a neighbourhood vibe on tucked-away Raleigh Road. Chef-proprietor Pegs worked at River Café for four years, and his fresh, seasonal Mediterranean cooking has a strong nod to The Caf’s Italian style.

Souk Kitchen, 277 North Street

The foods of the Eastern Med, North Africa and in fact much of the ex-Ottoman Empire, one signature dish being the weekend shakshouka brunch.

Uncle Pho, 240 North Street

Formerly Uncle Wah’s dumplings, now a noodle bar specialising in authentic Vietnamese pho, fragrant noodle soups, and street food.

Yafo, 238 North Street

Named after the old part of Tel Aviv, Yafo has a tasty offering paired with local craft beer, gin and wines. There’s an authentic shuk menu, gyros, vegan burgers, street fries and small plates; old Middle Eastern hands will be conversant with the likes of matbucha, malawach and lachmagine, others may need to covertly Google.

“COR’s big windows open to the street, so it’s practically al fresco”

COME TO DRINK

Responsibly, ideally.

BBF Tap Room, 291 North Street

The tap room of Bristol Beer Factory delivers proper pub magic at the top of North Street. With five hand pulls, eight keg lines and fridges full of cans there’s always a new beer to try, and the brewery is just around the corner, so you won’t find a fresher pint; there’s a shop too. The staff love nothing better than to answer your beer-related questions and pour you a taster.

The Coronation, 18 Dean Lane

Hang with the Bedminster locals in The Corrie; Monday night is pub quiz night, with free grub for players. This place is still Old Bedminster, with a few mad touches including the fish tank behind the bar and a Space Invaders gaming table.

The Dark Horse (formerly Ropewalk), 5 Nelson Parade

Classic rustic-with-a-twist wood-panelled pub serving real ale and hearty fare; rooftop terrace, disco lounge, and a ‘famously good pub quiz’ on every other Tuesday

KASK, 51 North Street

“Say no to shit wine’ is the cheerful mantra of North Street’s very own bodega – a wine shop and bar serving sustainable, organic, vegan, sometimes natural, sometimes biodynamic, always mind-expanding wines. They’re selfstyled ‘Bristol’s favourite wine bar’ and we’re not arguing.

Local Bristol (formerly North Street Standard), 11-13 North Street

Not into traditional pubs? The Local obviously purveys local brews, and bar grub such as burgers, pizzas and small plates, along with breakfast and brunch in an industrialchic NYC space. Pints five quid on Tuesdays.

The Masonic, 110 North Street

Old-school pub with proper Bristol bar staff.

A pint of bitter or Thatcher’s Gold, and a cheese and onion roll, darts, pool and skittles: no better way to spend an evening.

Spirited, 196 North Street

The bar and shop can be found among the Six Sisters row on North Street, below Sophie Long’s bee mural. The name’s a clue: it specialises in spirits, with a particular focus on whisky; there’s always a new and rare drink to try in the bar, and they hold regular events and tastings.

The Spotted Cow, 139 North Street

The BS3 gastropub game is strong, and this 200-year-old pub is a major factor, with its unusually large beer garden and (some do say) the best Sunday roast in Bristol.

WHAT WOULD MAKE BEDMINSTER EVEN BETTER?

“Can it improve? Maybe a beach?” –Dave Smeaton, The Spotted Cow

“Personally I’d love a local independent cinema and a shoe shop, but that’s me just being picky” – Steve Hayles, Upfest

The Steam Crane, 4-6 North Street

Indie freehouse named after the Fairbairn steam crane – the world’s only surviving example is on Harbourside. Plenty more fascinating facts where that came from, including the story of a tiger who once killed a man in the bar.

CAFÉ SOCIETY

Here are just a few local favourites; expect queues out of the door at weekends as BS3 folk queue up for their sourdough and croilinders.

Albatross Café, 60 North Street

Café with top-notch brews and locally baked cakes in a divinely cool and pretty interior, attractively dripping with foliage. The iced matcha and vanilla cold foam is the coffee topping you need in a heatwave.

Burra, 223 North Street

Antipodean-themed café with a healthy sustainable offering, founded by former Bristol Bears players Jake Heenan and Luke Morahan. Tim Tams and Vegemite here!

Bristol Loaf, 96 Bedminster Parade

If confirmation were needed that East Street was on the up, it came with the opening of the Loaf’s second branch. Along with breads, pastries, cakes and savouries to go, the ambitious café offers seasonal and fresh Scandi-inspired brunch and lunch menus with a focus on plant-based dishes and ferments, showcasing all the local produce you can also buy in store. Now serving: Detroit and New York pizzas by the slice, and soft serve icecream with monthly rotating flavours.

Café Grounded, 66-68 Bedminster Parade

Vibrant community spot with local sourcing at the menu’s heart, and the work of local artists on the walls.

“What could improve Bedminster? Maybe a beach?”

above: Bristol Beer Factory tap room

below: BS3’s favourite gastropub

Sweven, 12 North Street

The tranquil, minimalist. Nordic-style room is an insta-vision, the focus is community-based and the team is passionate about delivering high grade coffees; that’s probably why it’s made it into the list of the World’s 100 Best Coffee Shops (UK), which praised its expertly prepared filter coffees (such as their carbonic maceration pourovers).

Peggy’s, 234 North Street

The café formerly known as Tincan (what is it with Bedminster renaming its venues?) began with a small fleet of festival trucks before opening in Southville. Owner Jessie recently rechristened it after her nan. Along with the matcha and turmeric lattes, frappés, smoothies and so on there’s a brunch menu which should please absolutely everybody.

WHERE THERE’S A WILLS

Sir Frank Wills’s Tobacco Factory on the corner of Raleigh Road was saved from demolition 25 years ago and repurposed as a creative and social hub. There are two theatres, and a café bar that’s all things to all people, from morning coffee to allveggie brunches and sharing plates and flatbreads.

The Sunday Market (10am-2.30pm) is a buzzing local hangout with around 60 stalls selling locally made goods – and check out Food Truck Fridays on the first Friday of the month (6-10pm), for street food, DJs and tap takeovers. www.tobaccofactory.com

FARM LIFE

Up at Philip Street, set in 4.5 acres of green space, you’ll find every Bedminster family’s favourite day trip: the 4.5 acres of green space of Windmill City Farm with its award-winning café, play areas, working farmyard with cows, pigs, sheep and ducks, picnic areas and farm shop – an improbable rural oasis in the centre of the city. Check the website for the lively calendar of events. www.windmillhillcityfarm.org.uk

The site is also the home of Migrateful cookery school, created to help refugees and migrants integrate into society through their shared love for food; come along and learn directly from the

WHERE WILL IT ALL END?

Southville is known as the posh bit of BS3. But where does Bedminster end and Southville begin?

“There is no exact line, but I believe Southville is the area bounded by Coronation Road/The Cut, North Street and Dean Lane, which is hugely expanded on by estate agents when selling houses. Bedminster generally lies to the south and east of that. The Tobacco Factory lies at the meeting point of Ashton, Southville and Bedminster. Greater Bedminster seems to take in the whole lot!” –George Ferguson, Tobacco Factory

“If you find out the answer to this question, could you let us know? We’ve always wondered!” –Elle, The Ashville

accomplished home cooks, in a wide range of cuisines from Afghanistan, Sudan, Trinidad and Tobago, Egypt, Turkey, Sri Lanka, Kurdistan, Somalia etc. www.migrateful.org,

WANT MORE INFO?

If you really want to get under the skin of BS3, sign up for Show of Strength’s excellent walking tour, Blood & Butchery in Bedminster Expect to hear of grave robbers and body snatchers, concrete coffins and hanging judges, the missing millions from Britain’s biggest robbery, Brinks Mat, and a lot more.

www.showofstrength.org.uk

“Controversial. I prefer to sit on the fence and use the term Greater Bedminster, so everyone is happy” –Steve Hayles, Upfest

“We’ve all worked and lived here long enough to know not to get into that debate” – The creative team at Tobacco Factory Theatres

“We’ve all lived here long enough to know not to get into the Southville debate”

Bristol Loaf opened on East Street in 2020. The anti-gentrification set threw up their hands in horror while local coffee-and-cake aficionados quietly rejoiced

UPFEST

Founded in 2008, Bristol’s Urban Art Festival is the biggest and most respected of its kind in Europe, with hundreds of local, national and international artists turning BS3 into one huge outdoor gallery. It runs every two years, and this was one of them; now is the ideal time to pop down to check out this year’s set while the paint’s still fresh. This one here, on the prime-site of the Tobacco Factory wall, is Friend or Foe by Miss Birdy. www.upfest.co.uk

STREET LIFE

ASK A LOCAL

DAVE SMEATON, The Spotted Cow

What makes Bedminster special is its independent spirit, from butchers to record shops and of course the pubs and bars. Upfest is a fantastic event, all the new pieces painted each year bring yet more colour and character to the area.

Favourite places to eat and drink include COR, a brilliant restaurant just down the road; I also like brunch and coffee in Burra. For shopping, as a record collector, Friendly Records is my go-to spot.

Not a lot of people know that The Spotted Cow was once owned by a notorious gangster in the 1980’s (look it up!) www.thespottedcowbristol.com

STEVE AND EMMA HAYLES, UPFEST

What makes Bedminster special is the people, the paint and the pints.

There have been huge changes over the past 25 years, from the injection of colour and culture to the introduction of sourdough, but dig around and you can still find pockets of tradition, such as Clark’s Pies, which go back generations.

Favourite places to eat and drink: Yafo, our go-to lunch option for their halloumi wraps, and Mangosteen for evening eatingout does some of the best Thai in the South West. Drinking out, wherever it starts more often than not it ends in The Spotted Cow.

Not a lot of people know that there’s a Banksy in Bedminster that’s not on any of the official Banksy maps. Sadly we can’t remember where… www.upfest.co.uk

CHARLIE TAYLOR, KASK Wine

Bedminster feels like a microcosm of Bristol: proudly independent; a mix of people whose families have lived here for years and others new to the city; packed with brilliant shops, cafés, pubs, bars and galleries run by people who genuinely care; and creativity everywhere you look, not least thanks to Upfest. You’ve also got some big green spaces, and on match days the whole area comes even more alive as fans head to Ashton Gate. It’s definitely evolved, and continues to do so but from my perspective it’s changed without losing its soul and still feels very welcoming and down-to-earth. The good news is that residents are still choosing local independents rather than big chains, which means businesses and residents are intrinsically entwined.

From a bar and pub perspective, you’ve only got to look at the annual Bedminster Beer Trail to see the huge range on offer but also the community spirit between the businesses. KASK is involved – while we love wine we also love beer!

A tip: Every year I do all my Christmas shopping by walking from one end of East

above: Upfest gaffer Steve Hayles; below: KASK’s Charlie Taylor dreams of his next ‘work’ trip to foreign terroirs

Street to the far end of North Street, and usually get it done within three hours. No need for Amazon when you’ve got this kind of choice on your doorstep.

Not a lot of people know that one of the best fry ups you’ll ever have is at the Sunshine Café on East Street. Also, that we have a garden at the back of KASK that many people still don’t know exists. www.kaskwine.co.uk

SHEILA HANNON, Show of Strength Theatre Company

Bedminster is very old indeed: older than Bristol, and full of fascinating people, places and stories. Bedminster’s in the Domesday Book with a mill (‘Mill Lane’ is still there). It’s changed hugely, and perhaps the biggest change – I have been here a long time, mind! – is that when I arrived there was nowhere–that’s right nowhere – to eat in the evening. Cafés did a ‘hot lunch’ and shut at 4pm at the latest. When Al’s Tikka Grill opened in1994 we couldn’t believe our luck!

It’s cultural offering has changed as much as its dining scene. Ian Storror kicked it all off with Jazz at the Albert and we followed, opening the theatre at the Hen & Chicken in 1989 and then the Tobacco Factory in 1998. Now look at it – Upfest, galleries, venues, music, comedy – transformational!

Favourite places to eat, drink and shop: Fabulous pizza at the Hen & Chicken, and outside the Malago in the summer. Conscious Health & Home on North Street have really nice stuff – try the zinc and calendula cream!

Wyatt & Ackerman’s website says, ‘All Your Stationery Essentials’, and they’re right. And there’s always something tempting in the window at Tamrakar. www.showofstrength.org.uk

DAN AND EMILY ROSS, Storysmith Books

Bedminster changes a lot, but it also stays the same. New businesses and new people get folded into the mix and the character of the area only gets stronger. I [Dan]got my regular haircut at Peter’s the other day and he told me that he and Derek from Lion Stores are the longest-serving traders on the street (both of them have notched up over half a century). It’s hard to imagine the area without them. They, and so many of our regular customers, are holding on to an indefinable character which we hope we’re sort-of absorbing along the way.

We host authors from all over the world, and we hear so often from them that Bedminster feels so lively and unusual compared to where you might normally find a bookshop. Favourite places to eat, drink and shop include Sonny Stores for dinner, Albatross for

coffee and donuts, The Coronation for a pint; Friendly Records for records.

Not a lot of people know that Mahmoud, the cat from La Mediterranean, once marked his territory in our stock room. www.storysmithbooks.com

SIMONE RAVEN DOUGALL, Migrateful cookery school

Bedminster has a really independent, creative spirit. Migrateful runs cookery classes led by refugee and asylum seekers, and Bedminster feels like the perfect home for what we do. There’s a real sense that people support local businesses and each other, which gives the area such a welcoming feel.

A few years ago there was a concern that Bedminster would lose its character through gentrification, but I think the opposite has happened. It’s evolved into a great mix of old and new. It’s always been an area where people shop locally – vegetables from the greengrocers, meat from the butchers – and now more independent businesses have brought fresh energy without losing the authenticity that Bedminster is known for.

A perfect Friday after work starts with a session at The Orchard Sauna on Windmill Hill City Farm, followed by a freshly brewed pint at the Farm Tap. From there, I’d either grab some dinner from whichever street food truck is there that week, or wander round the corner to Bombil for a really good curry in lovely surroundings.

One of my favourite recent additions is Willway Yard, a collection of shipping containers tucked just behind Bedminster Parade. You’ll find everything from birthday cards and gifts to vintage clothes, wine and original artwork. I think you can have your hair cut, nails done and a massage there too!

Not a lot of people know that Sonny Stores has a little kitchen hatch where they sell the most incredible filled milk buns and homemade ice cream. They only make a limited number each day, so get there early. n www.migrateful.org

above: Migrateful: can cook, will cook; below: Emily and Dan Ross of Storysmith, Bristol Life’s literary aces in the hole

Cracking Exhibition Gromit: 50 Years of Aardman in Bristol is the must-see event of the summer. Here’s a behind-thescenes look at a show that takes a, well, behind-the-scenes look . . .

Words by Deri Robins

he timing of this exhibition isn’t random. Aardman Animations is 50 years old this year, and it’s created a landmark event at M Shed to mark its half-century.

It’s a must-see cultural moment which pays due tribute to the studio’s deep-rooted connection to Bristol: a joyful and nostalgic celebration which honours the animation studio’s 50 years of legacy, from humble beginnings in this city to becoming a multi-award-winning global powerhouse.

So, what’s on show? There are behind-the-scenes looks at the creative process which brought Wallace and Gromit, Shaun, Morph and a bunch of escapee chickens to life, through storyboards, sketches and rarely-seen models and sets. There are archive photos, information about the studio’s (newly knighted!) founders, and its top directors, who name their favourite villains. You can laugh all over again at the puns, and discover the secrets of stop-motion claymation magic. You can even get up close to their Oscars. Obviously, you’ll want to know what’s in the gift shop. There’s a wide range of fabulous Aardmanobilia available, including a chance to pick up a penguin: the 50th anniversary limited edition Feathers McGraw metal water bottle, to be precise, with its silicone lid echoing Feather’s rubber glove-hat disguise, which hides a diamond underneath (not a real one).

Tony Dyer, leader of Bristol City Council hopes the show will inspire future generations. “Access to arts and culture is vital for a thriving, inclusive city like Bristol”, he said. “Aardman’s story is a shining example of what imagination can achieve, and I hope this celebration inspires young people across Bristol to unlock their own creative potential and see that the arts are for everyone.”

And here’s Ngaio Harding-Hill of Aardman. “2026 is such an important year for [us] and the anniversary would never have been complete without a celebration in our home city. The programme of experiences will be a real highlight celebrating the importance of Bristol, its people and creative connection to the studio over the last 50 years.”

Can’t wait for Aardman’s new movie, Shaun the Sheep: The Beast of Mossy Bottom this autumn? The exhibition should hold you over for now. And once you’ve seen it (or before, they’re not fussed) head up to Bristol Museum and see if you can find all the little art installations and treasures they’ve hidden among the cabinets. Make it an Aardman summer.

Cracking Exhibition, Gromit! 50 Years of Aardman in Bristol runs until 13 September at M Shed; www.bristolmuseums.org.uk

All Aardman life is here, from Creature Comforts to a certain inventor and his dog

Top-quality puns ahoy

WHAT’S ON

EXHIBITIONS

Until 22 July

UWE BRISTOL: MA DEGREE SHOW

The graduating students from the MA fine art and MA design communication courses show us their very best work,at Spike Island; spikeisland.org.uk

Until 26 July OUT OF MANY

The Diverse Artists Network, the Bristol-based development agency behind DIASPORA! festival shows a vibrant collection from regional creatives, from poetry and paintings to illustration and moving images. Arnolfini; diverseartistsnetwork.com

Until 9 August

DANCE OUT

The RWA’s show of paintings, drawings and film celebrating dance as an everyday human activity, both solitary and social. The gallery will shapeshift during the exhibition, hosting a series of evening dance and dance-related events. rwa.org.uk

Until 30 August FOLLY

The tradition of folly building began in Britain’s stately homes several hundred years ago.; the

tradition also persists in the urge to undertake an idiosyncratic project for its own sake, flying in the face of logic and common sense or utility. Contemporary artists explore the theme at RWA; rwa.org.uk

Until 6 September

SOPHIE GREEN: TANGERINE DREAMS

British documentary photographer Sophie presents a vivid exploration of the communities, subcultures and social gatherings that shape contemporary Britain. How very MPF; martinparrfoundation.org

NANCY LUPO: SEVERAL CHICKENS LATER

Nancy often describes her work as being held together through a thin thread of narrative which she explores through writing that she publishes as zines. An epic drama of regular things, dreams and distortions are intertwined, through sculpture, video, writing, sound, drawing, painting, performance and architecturally specific installation. Spike Island; spikeisland.org.uk

TOHÉ COMMARET: MIJITAS

The first exhibition in the UK by Franco-Chilean artist Tohé, featuring two new commissions, Rosa and Can You Hear Me? –

enigmatic short films which move between documentary and fiction, approaching social realities through magical realism. Spike Island; spikeisland.org.uk

Until 13 September CRACKING EXHIBITION, GROMIT!

See page 22; bristolmuseums.org.uk

Until 27 September

JONATHAN BALDOCK: HELD

Rooted in traditional craft techniques, myth and folklore, Jonathan’s work is imbued with a tactile familiarity. Filled with humour, his works cross multiple platforms, including sculpture, installation and performance; Arnolfini; arnolfini.org.uk

THE LOST PAINTINGS: A PRELUDE TO RETURN

In 1947, Palestinian-Lebanese artist Maroun Tomb was preparing to open a new exhibition in Haifa, but the show was lost amid subsequent wars. Now contemporary 53 Palestinian artists offer their own response; at Bristol Museum, bristolmuseums.org.uk

POLLY BRADEN: AGAINST THE TIDE

Documentary photographer Polly

explores the effects of coastal poverty in collaboration with young people from some of the most deprived places across England and Wales. Arnolfini; arnolfini.org.uk

Until 27 June 2027

MARTIN PARR: LACOCK

Martin’s final commission shows at the Fox Talbot gallery;’ see page 30. nationaltrust.org.uk

SHOWS

Until 18 July

THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW

Jason Donovan’s back in town, this time as Dr Frank-n-Furter. Dig out the fishnets and lippie, lads and let’s do the Time Warp again; at Hippodrome, atgtickets.com

BLACK IS THE COLOUR OF MY VOICE

Inspired by the life of Nina Simone, Apphia Campbell’s play follows a singer’s career from a young piano prodigy destined for a life serving the church, to a renowned jazz vocalist at the forefront of the civil rights movement. At BOV; bristololdvic.org.uk

Until 8 August

NOTTING HELL

Finding true love is going to take a lot of sacrifice: human sacrifice.

You talkin’ to him? Robert de Niro’s waiting at Cinema Rediscovered

‘The greatest love story in the Underworld’ returns to Wardrobe; thewardrobetheatre.com

21 July-1 August

MISS SAIGON

The Heat is on in Saigon during the last days of the Vietnam War, as Kim follows her American Dream. Hippodrome, atgtickets.com

26 July

WHY DIDN’T I GET MARRIED

Written and directed by Alan Charles, a comedy shining a bold and LOLworthy spotlight on the shortage of men within the Black majority church; at Redgrave, redgravetheatre.com

30 July

TOUCHED

Devon’s Pilots Thumb Theatre, known for its edgy, socially charged shows, bring a thought-provoking play about how we touch one another’s lives, from the biggest events to the smallest moments; Alma Tav; almatavernandtheatre.co.uk

30 July-1 September (selected dates)

BADGERS

A folk tale about folk tales, the art of letting go, and the ethics of true crime: a shape-shifting, mercurial new show from the team behind Outlier BOV, bristololdvic.org.uk

4-8 August

WAITRESS

It’s the 10th anniversary tour of the warm-hearted musical about Jenna, a waitress and expert pie-maker who dreams of some happiness in her life; at Hippodrome, atgtickets.com

11-15 August

THE BODYGUARD

Two West End stars take on the challenge of capturing the magic of Whitney and Kev in the musical of the show; Hippodrome, atgtickets.com

COMEDY & CABARET

Ongoing

CLOSER EACH DAY

The world’s longest-running improvised comedy soap continues to froth away amusingly at The Wardrobe; thewardrobetheatre.com

BRISTOL IMPROV THEATRE

For the full programme, see improvtheatre.co.uk

THE GAFFE

Stand-up LOLs from some of the sharpest, funniest comedians on the circuit; thegaffecomedyclub.com

20 July

PIERRE NOVELLIE & KATE DOLAN

Edinburgh previews. Observational nerd comedy from Pierre before bedtime; come and see, it might be years before he wakes up. Katie brings the rapid-fire, high-energy, off-kilter absurdism as she unspools the idea that in 2026 being a fish in the river might be nicer than a woman on land. Wardrobe; thewardrobetheatre.com

24-26 July

SIMON AMSTELL: I LOVE IT HERE

At a friend’s beach house near LA Simon finally finds peace. But when an invitation arrives from the man who first ignited his teenage desire, that fragile calm is thrown into chaos; at BOV, bristololdvic.org.uk

25 July

MICHELLE WOLF: BEST JOB IN THE WORLD

Primetime Emmy nominee Michelle has established herself as one of the most influential voices in the comedy landscape; find out why at Bristol Beacon, bristolbeacon.org

26 July

ANDREW DOHERTY & JONATHAN OLDFIELD

More Edinburgh previews, as creator and heartthrob Andrew returns with a new comedy-horrorrevenge-slasher-spooktacular. And Jonathan? The OED describes a corpse as (1) a body or (2) spoiling a performance by laughing. He’ll be using both definitions in his debut show, at The Wardrobe; thewardrobetheatre.com

30 July

LAUGHING MATTERS

Comedy big-hitters including Bridget Christie, Elis James, Rose Matafeo, Mark Thomas, Priya Hall, Athena Kugblenu and Daniel Kitson assemble at Beacon in aid of SWEDA, a local charity supporting people affected by eating disorders. bristolbeacon.org

2 August

HARRIET DYER & JOE SUTHERLAND

Edinburgh tryout: known for her wild imagination, offbeat storytelling

top: Hospital Records, back at Siren; middle: Life’s got chaotic again for Simon; bottom: Indie spirit at Feast On

and unstoppable sense of fun, Harriet brings a whole batch of fresh ideas; meanwhile Joe’s cooking up his latest spectacle of razor-sharp jokes, unapologetic glamour and a level of attitude that should probably require planning permission. At The Wardrobe; thewardrobetheatre.com

MUSIC

FESTIVALS, FAIRS

& PARTIES

BRISTOL FILM FESTIVAL

The hard-to-categorise year-round fest continues. We have a question, though: why is Casablanca screening at Avery’s and not at Rick’s? Just saying. bristolfilmfestival.com

18 July

RUM & REGGAE FESTIVAL

Celebrating Bristol’s reggae roots, a day of sunshine (to be confirmed) and good island vibes. David Rodigan, The Skints, General Levy and Don Letts are among those bringing the beats at Prospect. theprospectbuilding.com

22-26 July

CINEMA REDISCOVERED

It’s the 10th anniversary of Watershed’s annual celebration of the power of cinema, including new restorations and a chance to see lesser-known cinematic voices and film on film; see also page 9. watershed.co.uk

23-26 July

FEAST ON

Back on the Downs to showcase Bristol’s best independent chefs, producers and street-food traders. Anyone who’s anyone from the local food scene will be cooking: COR, Ragu, Pasture, Bianchis, Gurt Wings, Spiny Lobster; all your faves. feaston.co.uk

30 July-2 August VALLEY FEST

The best-tasting fest in the West returns after its year off with a long weekend of music, wellbeing experiences and locally sourced street food, all set against the idyllic backdrop of Chew Valley Lake. The line-up brings together a typically eclectic high-energy mix from Friendly Fires to Big Special, The Herbaliser Band and Cast joined by Doreen Doreen, The Beat, Fisherman’s Friends and House Gospel Choir; valleyfest.co.uk

7-9 August

BRISTOL BALLOON FIESTA

If all goes to plan, and by ‘all’ we’re obviously referring to the weather, over 100 hot-air balloons will rise en masse at dawn and dusk on all three days. If it doesn’t, there’s still plenty of balloon-themed fun to be had at the Ashton Court arena, and after dark on Friday and Saturday there are the Nightglows, when the pilots fire up the burners for a magical display of glowing balloons set to music by BBC Radio Bristol. More on page 60. bristolballoonfiesta.co.uk

15 August

CIDER SALON

Head to Trinity to try dozens of fine ciders and perries, while learning directly from the makers and meeting other enthusiasts and experts. cidersalon.co.uk n

left: Magical music of Miyazaki; right: Craig and Charlie are still prepared to get their step count up for you

VILLAGE PEOPLE

Martin Parr‘s New Brighton exhibition may have finished at Paintworks, but there’s more to enjoy by the late master at the Henry Fox Talbot gallery in Lacock

Words by Ursula Cole

Martin Parr was one of the great chroniclers of our times. All human life was there, in his photos: seaside holidays, festivals, tourism, shopping, eating and public rituals, all captured with his distinctive, humorous, sharp yet affectionate eye for modern habits and excess.

Given Martin’s evident enthusiasm for British village fairs, it feels appropriate that his final commission should be the collection he shot at Lacock. The National Trust has just opened a new exhibition of the work, which you can now see at the Fox Talbot Museum.

Lacock occupies a special place in Parr history. The Wiltshire village has a long association with photography, through the pioneering 19th‑century experiments of Henry Fox Talbot at the Abbey; it was also here in the 1980s that Martin further developed his signature documentary style, turning his lens on everyday life to reveal its quirks, rituals and small dramas.

“Lacock occupies a special place in Parr history”

In 2025 Martin returned to Lacock. Once again, he immersed himself in the rhythms of the village, photographing its residents, celebrations and quiet corners, reminding us, in a time of rapid social and political change, that ordinary life still matters, and deserves to be seen – the bunting and the brass bands, the flower arrangements and the homemade cakes, the improvised scarecrows and small acts of neighbourliness. The result is a deeply human portrait of a community.

“Martin knew that modern photography began at Lacock, and it was important to him that this remarkable place should feature in his archive”, says curator Dr Andy Cochrane.

“What we did not foresee is that this project would end up being his last major commission. That it was focused on the place where photography began, poetically closes the circle. Collaborating with him was a joy, and his focus on Lacock last year was his gift to us all.” n

Lacock by Martin Parr is open at the Fox Talbot Museum at Lacock Abbey and will run for a year, ending on 27 June 2027 For more: www.martinparrfoundation.org | www.nationaltrust.org.uk

above and opposite: All shots of Martin Parr at Lacock: credit National Trust /Andy Cochrane; All other pics by Martin Parr: opposite page, top right: Flower Show, Lacock 2025; bottom: the Vicar, Si Dunn, Lacock 2025 middle left: Scarecrow Festival, Lacock 2025

DISCOVER BRISTOL’S COURSES & CLASSES

Find classes, workshops and activities to develop skills, explore interests and meet new people.

BRISTOL FOLK HOUSE

40A PARK STREET, BRISTOL, BS1 5JG

TEL: 0117 926 2987

WWW.BRISTOLFOLKHOUSE.CO.UK

The Bristol Folk House is an adult education centre providing a variety of part-time daytime and evening courses and weekend workshops for over-18s. We provide a welcoming environment in which to explore your creativity and learn new skills in arts, crafts, languages, pottery, music, dance, writing and wellbeing. Our onsite café/bar serves fantastic vegetarian food, drinks and cake and is a cosy space to get together before and after classes, and we have an exciting program of live folk music, ceilidhs, comedy nights and talks at weekends. Concessions are available for students, NHS workers, over-65s and those on benefits.

BRISTOL POTTERY WORKSHOPS

14 WALTON STREET, EASTON, BRISTOL, BS5 0JG

TEL: 07954995127; BRISTOLPOTTERYWORKSHOPS.CO.UK

Whether you’re looking to try something new, develop a creative hobby or simply unwind, Bristol Pottery Workshops offers a welcoming space to get hands-on with clay. Based in Easton, the studio runs a wide range of small-group classes and workshops for complete beginners through to more experienced potters. Our experienced staff include highly trained potters and artists. From one-off wheel-throwing sessions and hand-building workshops to longer courses that build skills over time, every class is designed to be relaxed, supportive and enjoyable. Gift vouchers are also available, making a memorable present for creative friends and family.

BRISTOL OLD VIC THEATRE SCHOOL

1-3 DOWNSIDE ROAD, CLIFTON, BRISTOL, BS8 2XF

TEL: 0117 973 3535

WWW.OLDVIC.AC.UK/COURSE-FINDER

Ready to unleash your creative spark? Whether you’re looking to step into the spotlight or master the magic behind the scenes, Bristol Old Vic Theatre School offers a spectacular range of short courses for all ages. Dive into world-class training right here in the city, from acting, performance design and puppet making to film-making and vibrant summer holiday bootcamps. Led by industry pros, these hands-on workshops are perfect for absolute beginners and seasoned creatives alike. Have a go at something completely new this season. Discover your potential and explore the full line-up on our website today!

CREATIVE SPACE

39 HIGH STREET, STAPLE HILL, BRISTOL, BS16 5HD

TEL: 0117 427 0907

WWW.CREATIVESPACEBRISTOL.CO.UK

Creative Space a friendly studio in Bristol offering daytime, evening and weekend creative workshops & courses for adults, kids and teens. Learn skills in upholstery, stained glass, sewing, jewellery, painting, pottery, weaving, crochet, printmaking, creative writing and much more. All of our tutors are welcoming, experienced and working professionals in their field. Our customdesigned 30m2 space is also available to hire for craft workshops and private events. So if you’re looking to learn a new creative skill or improve one you already have, then join one of our exciting and inspiring classes! Sign up to our mailing list for monthly updates.

LOVELY BRUSHLY

TEL: 07778236819

WWW.LOVELYBRUSHLY.CO.UK; @LOVELYBRUSHLY

Looking for a creative night out in Bristol? Lovely Brushly’s public Sip & Paint events offer a relaxed, welcoming space to unwind, connect and create. Each session is beautifully guided, step by step, by a friendly artist, making it easy for complete beginners and budding creatives alike to enjoy the experience with confidence. Hosted in some of Bristol’s most stylish venues, our events are perfect for date nights, catch-ups, celebrations or simply trying something new. Choose your sip, settle in, and enjoy an evening of creativity, conversation and fun – leaving not only with your own finished painting, but a memorable experience to match.

THE BRISTOL SCHOOL OF DANCING

THE STUDIO, LANSDOWN ROAD, CLIFTON, BRISTOL, BS8 3AB. TEL: 0117 9737932

WWW.THEBRISTOLSCHOOLOFDANCING.CO.UK

The Bristol School of Dancing was founded in 1947 and will celebrate its 80th birthday next year. As the leading dance school in the South West, it takes great pride in having had the privilege of teaching generations of children from Bristol and North Somerset over many decades. While the school is well-established, offering consistent and excellent training, it remains forward-thinking in its approach to dance education. The dedicated and friendly teaching staff is a source of great pride, ensuring that pupils benefit not only from strong technical instruction but also from a supportive and nurturing environment.

POLYMER CLAY JEWELLERY WORKSHOPS

TEL: 07384843283; WWW.HICCUPSTORE.COM

Ever wanted to learn a new craft? Polymer Clay Jewellery Workshops are the perfect place to start. Enjoy a relaxed, beginner-friendly session creating your own unique jewellery, held mainly in local Bristol breweries. They’re the perfect excuse to unwind, get creative, and enjoy a couple of hours catching up with friends; or come along solo and meet new people. No experience is needed; simply book a ticket and come along ready to create your very own jewellery.

Led by Daisy, the maker behind Hiccup (@hiccup.uk), who has years of experience designing intricate polymer clay jewellery, each workshop is guided step by step, making it easy for complete beginners to get started. Follow @polymer_clay_ workshops on Instagram to stay up to date with upcoming workshop dates.

ZED ALLEY CLAYHOUSE

1 HOST STREET, BS1 5BU

WWW.ZEDALLEYCLAYHOUSE.COM

Pottery classes in central Bristol for all skill levels, from 12-week courses to fun half-day taster sessions, all taught by local professional ceramicists. This peaceful, airy studio is a complete escape from the hustle and bustle of daily life.

Here’s what last year’s students had to say:

“Beautiful, calming studio in the heart of the city” “Amazing course - teachers are brilliant” “Cannot recommend this studio enough”

LINES OF BEAUTY

Because beauty, actually, is all around, if you care to look for it

Words and pics by Colin Moody

T5 3 2 4

here are a couple of streams of working when it comes to street photography that I enjoy oscillating between. One is of pure documentation, of how things are, what the street and the people who pass through it are doing at any given moment in the universe – so think candid shots of people at bus stops and the like. It’s important to document like this, so we know what vibe these places had.

The second is interventionist. If I see something, or more usually someone, who is clearly saying something or repping some universal truth that must be known I will run after them and ask for a photo, and every now and then you can get a shot that’s a bit of both.

1

So here’s Birdman, who I saw passing The Cottage pub as he demonstrated his impressive wingspan.

Instantly womp! Out went the wings. The ever-so-slightly-bored people outside the pub now have a new hero. Purists may argue that the couple obscured by the wing makes the shot messy, but it’s balanced out by the weight of bodies all around. And I’d rather look at his impressive beak than the heavy crane gentrifying away in the background.

The Cottage has always been a social pub, a collection of water lovers and locals and tourists. But every documentarian knows that cranes building flats is gonna change the flow here, so we need images like this to remember that once we were Birdman. And long may the punters pour into the pub.

2

Beauty is everywhere, right? It was sad to lose David Hockney, always a hero of mine. Where some just see trees and a dusty roadway he saw colour, life, animated existence.

So on the day he died I shot this. A landscape of stars and deep-blue contemplation out of a smashed mirror on the flagstones. It doesn’t really matter what it was originally, you can find beauty in the act of taking photographs. Here I just used the iPhone with flash. And I wondered, what if this was printed huge? And hung next to Hockney, or Van G? Because those great artists could see how we see, and they could put that down in paint. There’s a kind of music to it.

“I’d rather look at Birdman’s impressive beak than the heavy crane gentrifying away in the background”

“Surely the world goes to hell if we don’t love ourselves. Get our own oxygen mask on first before attempting to save anyone else”

So here’s a challenge. Show me beauty in something that most would not say is beautiful and I will come and give you a signed print. Free. On the house. @colinmoodyphotography for the entries please.

Female beauty. And in the form of the doll. With big eyes, plenty of make-up and lots and lots of hair. Now marked down and competing for your attention in a charity shop with price tags tied tight around their necks.

Is the one on the right saying, don’t pick her, pick me?

Perhaps not a very pleasant idea around beauty here, but if tragedy can be the flipside of the coin to comedy, can there be something ugly just on the other side of whatever beauty this is?

Toilet cubicle in a queer-friendly space. Posters of men and women are placed, defaced, ripped and stickers are added, ideas of a body are commented on. And the message before you flush is to love your damn self. Surely the world goes to hell if we don’t love ourselves. Get our own oxygen mask on first before attempting to save anyone else.

Sparkly hero tries to fly over Bristol harbour using scrapstore leftovers while children use leaf blowers to keep her in the air, and at the same time sending a strong message about an end to pointless war and misogyny. And the beauty is all of this. The world tells you that seven leaf blowers cannot physically produce enough air flow to make her fly, but you try anyway. Sure, she fell 30ft straight down into the water at Birdman, but it was beautiful.

Indian classical dancers Nritya Tales in their groove at the abandoned church in Castle Park.

The beauty here is also a spiritual one. Sharing food, walking one step at a time towards enlightenment. Behind them a movable shrine where offerings are made, blessed and later food shared while music plays. And on the same spot the previous week were hate and placards. New energy that may fill the papers, but this energy fills your heart. Feels more ancient, enduring. I believe they performed Odissi at the lotus feet of Lord Jagannath on the occasion of Rathyatra. Beautiful.

7Beezer at Photographique on North Street.

He photographed the Bristol scene when he was a teenager, got to the front and got stuck in. I was literally just passing by the door, and he was getting some prints sorted of Carnival back in the day. There’s a beauty to this portrait of the artist and the printer taking a second out of discussions about sizes and so forth to just be in the portrait. I framed all those photos behind his head, ’cos he was prolific and always full of ideas of what to shoot. We don’t take enough time to show respect to people who make history still sing for us like Beezer’s pics do.

8The London Inn pub is a bastion of long, happy-hour, decently priced beer, and people leaving it blending perfectly with the boombox youth on the hottest day of the year is a beautiful sight.

There may not be many proper boozers left, but people cannot live by Aperol spritz alone. May the ecosystems of this crucial junction remain hectic for generations to come.

Colin Moody: content creation, online images Twitter @moodycolin; Instagram @colinmoodyphotography www.colinmoodyphotography.wordpress.com

EMILY & DAN ROSS STORYSMITH BOOKS

Life-affirming, yet weird ? We’d expect nothing less from our favourite booksellers

This month we present to you a trio of life-affirming but completely weird novels, each one a glorious experiment and testament to the power of trying something new. One of the joys of our job is to experience these experiments constantly: it can be so invigorating to see what a barmy conceptual innovation might do to ‘the novel’ as a genre, and we find that it tends to be those outlier authors who stick in the mind at the end of each reading year, those who bravely try to wedge a garden fork into the bicycle spokes of fiction. In the case of this issue’s column, we hope you’ll be minded to try something featuring sentient

parasitic worms, a theatrical structure or, y’know, the end of civilisation as we know it…

The Oldest Bitch Alive by Morgan Day

In which the relatively simple concept of ‘dog gets worms’ is turned into a wonderfully contemplative journey through the cosmos. Our bookseller Tasha had never truly considered the meaning of life from a French Bulldog’s perspective, but now it is the only means by which she philosophises, thanks to Morgan Day’s brilliantly exquisite debut.

On the outskirts of a small American town, Gelsomina is the much-adored, much-regimented pet bound to the confines of

her home, a glass structure that renders all notions of privacy non-existent. Her days are defined by routine and mundanity, any transgressions quelled by verbal reprimands.

Yet this all changes when Gelsomina unknowingly ingests a glob of parasitic worms from the garden pond. Two of the worms survive, and soon begin to explore the dog’s lumpen body, lamenting their choice in host and unsure of their destiny in this new world. Meanwhile, as Gelsomina weakens, a new consciousness emerges, and she meditates on a life of forced domestication.

Helen of Nowhere by Makenna Goodman

Our bookseller Holly was totally engrossed by the innovations of this book, which is structured like a play in six acts.

We’re introduced to ‘Man’, a professor who’s been let go from his position at the university for his outdated views and altercations with his female colleagues, and subsequently been left by his wife. He is charmed by a realtor, selling a house in the countryside, along with the promise of a more ‘natural’, ‘asocial’ existence, apart from the society that has ultimately cast him out.

But, as the novel continues, it makes a mockery of this transcendentalism, of the simple distinction between nature and the city. Part socratic dialogue, part fever-dream, part architectural manifesto, this is a playful fairytale for the modern day.

Earth 7 by Deb Olin Unferth

We absolutely inhaled a proof of Earth 7 a couple of months ago, and as such can confirm that it is a beautifully unusual sci-fi epic that encompasses grief, microbiology, human hybridity, sand, failed terraforming, and the aching decline of the human race.

“It can be so invigorating to see what a barmy conceptual innovation might do to the novel as a genre”

The house, previously owned by the mysterious and enigmatic Helen, comes to represent a site of total self-transformation and transcendental meditation.

A love story at the sharp end of a potential species extinction, it concerns Dylan, a grumpy, genius loner who flees her barely-parenting mother, and Melanie, a bartender who might technically be a robot. At its heart, it’s a story of busted fellowships both familial and romantic, crossing the divide between the silent depths of the ocean to the unknowable and unforgiving expanse of the desert, and the tenuous life-giving cables that hold it all together. We’ve been fans of Deb Olin Unferth’s work since her delightfully rampaging chicken-heavy novel Barn 8 – Earth 7 is every bit its equal, maybe even a mite more ingenious, a remarkable package of huge ideas delivered under cover of literature.

Visit Storysmith at 36 North Street, Bedminster; www.storysmithbooks.com

Brother and sister act: Holly and Josh in the Pony gardens

PONY TALES

The village pub and restaurant formerly known as the Pony & Trap, now named The Pony Chew Valley, is 20 years old. There’s a lot to talk about, then

Words by Deri Robins

Let’s begin at the beginning. Siblings Josh and Holly Eggleton opened their first pub and restaurant, the Pony & Trap in Chew Magna, in 2006. . .

Actually, we need to track a bit further back than that. Let’s rewind to a time when the 15-year-old Josh gained his earliest industry experience, behind the counter of a Bristol fish-and-chip shop. From there, he moved through various local pub and restaurant kitchens, honing his skills through apprenticeships. A Gordon Ramsay scholarship took him abroad for work experience, including a stint in Chanterelle in New York and The French Laundry in California; if you listen to the first episode of his podcast (page 44) you’ll hear how he wandered the streets of the Big Apple, knocking on doors in his chef’s whites, like Anthony Bourdain crossed with Carmy in The Bear, but with a broad South Bristol accent.

He could have worked anywhere after that – he wasn’t short of offers – but he wanted a place of his own. Backed by his family, and with Holly in front of house, he took over the The Pony & Trap in Chew Magna. A few years later he won the Michelin star they held for ten years, until they decided to rebrand as the Pony Chew Valley.

Today they have six more restaurants: three branches of plant-based Root, two of upmarket fish-and-chippie Salt & Malt, and Redland pubrestaurant The Kensington Arms; they also co-own a brewery, Bristol Beer Factory. Josh is the busiest and best-known figure on the local food scene today; I guess you could call him a celebrity chef, but he won’t thank me for saying so. He’s been on Great British Menu, twice. He’s also been the moving force behind numerous festivals, from the yurt-tastic Eat Drink Bristol Fashions to the ongoing Seafood Festival and FŌDA. Community is a prime concern; I don’t have enough room here to cover

THE BIG INTERVIEW

everything the Pony group does for local charities, whether fostering young people’s hospitality skills or running numerous initiatives tackling food inequality.

Recently Josh has become the first patron of community kitchen and school Square Food Foundation; he’s also launched the Pony Farm Bus, a free educational resource for communities and schools, driving awareness and understanding of how food is grown.

There’s always something new going on, including his new podcast Centre of the Universe, in which he plays the straight guy to Jayde Adams (to be fair, everyone’s a straight guy to Jayde) as they set out to prove that Bristol is, in fact, the beating heart of the cosmos. It makes for hugely entertaining listening,

I motor over on a hot June afternoon to find out how he and Holly are marking the Pony’s 20th anniversary. Set along Moorledge Road in the heart of Chew Magna, the building’s whitewashed façade has barely changed in decades; it looks straight out of central casting for your archetypal 19th-century West County pub, all low ceilings, exposed beams and snugs. Now, though, after a recent renovation, a curved wooden staircase takes you down to a new glass-walled dining room which opens to the terrace and gardens, with – a major USP – green fields stretching for miles beyond. Amusingly, when Josh first started at the Pony he was so heads-down in the kitchen that he didn’t notice the view for two years.

He takes me on a tour of the gardens, harvesting a tomato here, snipping some marjoram there. Later, these turn up on my plate. He shows me a new pergola, destined to host summertime feasts; a field he hopes to acquire for regenerative farming. He’s mulling over a natural swimming pool. He’s planning, always planning:

the long-term vision for The Pony is a foundation based on community, food and sustainability. All the various ventures feed into one another; hospitality is tough right now, but profits in some areas help to finance others.

Tour over, Holly joins us to talk about the 20th anniversary, which also celebrates the pub-restaurant’s reincarnation as The Pony Chew Valley.

Deri: Yes, about the name: why did you change it?

Josh: We were closed for three years, two due to Covid and the third while we were rebuilding. I felt we needed a new name, but one that maintained the heritage.

Holly: You wanted to get rid of The Pony altogether.

Josh: I did. Yeah, no Pony at all.

Holly: I put my foot down. He was looking at old English names and I let him run through the emotions, then I said let’s just call it The Pony, because that’s what we’ve always called it, and so have the locals.

Josh: The Pony & Trap was a pub name, and we still have those vibes, but we’re more than that. We’ve got the cookery school upstairs, we’ve got the gardens, we do corporate events, we’re a community centre as well. It was about taking all the old good stuff, but also evolving.

Deri: You weren’t bothered about losing the Michelin?

Josh: It was nice to have, of course, but it was never an aspiration. It doesn’t keep me up at night, I’m more likely to be thinking about the positive effects we can have on society. A star is good for business, but it’s also a double-edged sword, you know? People assume we’re expensive. I’d argue we’re the cheapest Michelin restaurant in the country. You could always walk through the door and say, any chance of a cheese sandwich?

’Course there is – everyone’s welcome.

Deri: I believe the first Pony cookbook is in the pipeline?

above: Early days; below: The new dining room; opposite Everyone is welcome to explore the gardens

WINNER, WINNER

Josh and Holly have never been in it for the accolades, but they keep getting them anyway. This week The Caterer's 'This is Hospitality' campaign created a special award to acknowledge the way they engage with the community, changing people's lives and brining about positive change.

"The Pony is not simply a place to eat", said the judges. "It operates as a community hub, [with] free workshops, education and events around sustainable food and nutrition, welcoming local schools, charities and grassroot groups."

Josh: Yeah, it’s out in September. It’s turned into a bit of a bible. It catalogues 20 years of the Pony, with about 300 recipes. It’s not a vanity project, it’s not 150 recipes of beautiful food, but almost like a like a Beeton’s guide, broken down into stocks and chutneys and sauces etc; and then you’ve got your full dishes, like how to make a faggot or cook a ham. It’s a very foundational book that people can use anywhere: at home, to teach chefs, or in the restaurants. It leans into what we’re doing in the cookery school; hopefully it’ll stand the test of time.

Deri: And you’re publishing it yourself?

Josh: I went through the route of talking to publishers, and me being me, classic, I didn’t like it. I need to be in control myself. There were a few things that were thrown in there, like, “Oh, we’ll own your recipes at the end, you’ll have to ask us to use them”. I was like, no way. So we’re doing it ourselves.

Holly: We’ve also got the Pony Perry, a collaboration with our neighbours Becky and Sam at Wilding, who have one of the oldest orchards in the UK.

What’s interesting is just linking all those things together. So this year, at FŌDA festival, one of our talks is focused on agroforestry, Yeo Valley are going to come and talk about their projects, then Sam will come and talk about the orchards.

Tell us about the special anniversary menu.

We’ve already introduced a few favourite dishes from the past 20 years, working up to a full legacy menu running from September until Christmas.

A wedding recently requested the pigeon from the legacy list – with the Pony Perry as the arrival drink . . .

We also have an anniversary mug. That’s my old dog Winslow [points at the Springer in the design], and that’s the cockerel we reared. The dog killed the cockerel. We gave up on livestock, now we just grow vegetables. We have the guest series as well, where chefs will come and cook at the school – Tommy Banks, say, or Jude Kereama. I’ll interview them, people can buy a class and make the dish along with them, and we’ll film it; it’ll be a bit of a Saturday kitchen-type thing.

We’re diverse, we can be corporate, we can do events, weddings, birthdays – basically, at The Pony, we can be anything you want us to be.

F DA

The ‘Festival of Food Ideas’ returns for a second year at Arnolfini between 26-27 September.

Tackling some of the big issues around food today, from health to regenerative farming and education, F DA will bring together industry professionals, experts and grassroots organisations to share ideas and inspiration through talks, workshops and exhibitions, with the Producer Village along the waterfront. Can’t make it? They’ll be recording all the action, with the launch of two YouTube channels. Oh, and if you want to know what F DA means in Portuguese, listen to episode one of Centre of the Universe www.fodafestival.com

The Pony Farm Bus, a free educational resource, will be parked up at the festival

RESTAURANT

DINING AT THE PONY

I’ve come in for the £60 menu, which is a set meal in price alone, the selection being as extensive as any à la carte. I’m dining on my own, which feels natural and easy in the friendly dining room, not to mention being far more conducive to actually appreciating the food. It also gives me time to peruse the restaurant’s new quarterly newspaper, The Pony Paper, which is actually rather good.

The menu is the Pony garden on a plate, from the homemade chive oil in a hot chicken tea, made creamy with crème fraiche and served in a charmingly wobbly cup, to a simple plate of radish with salad cream laced with Wilding cider and lovage salt. The latter is beautifully set off by a speckled plate from Casamia (Josh was at school with Jonray and Pete Sanchez Iglesias); I take its photo, and contemplate hanging it on my wall.

A slice of bouncy focaccia made with rapeseed oil and rosemary is sticky, oily and crunchy in all the right places, topped with juicy grated tomato – I could eat this all day, every day. It comes prettily strewn with petals and leaves from the nasturtiums we’d moseyed past just an hour earlier.

Fillets of Cornish mackerel, lightly cured and torched, sit alongside dollops of taramasalata topped with fermented gooseberries, in a wonderful vinaigrette made with pink elderflower from the garden. In case you’ve still missed the field-to-fork practice, it’s followed by an exquisitely pretty scatter of salad leaves with Homewood ewe’s cheese. It's not just the ingredients that are hyper-local; the wooden bowl it comes in is whittled from wood from a eucalyptus tree from the Pony grounds.

“The dishes are the gardenPony on a plate”

Next, marvellous things have been done to Landrace pork. The collar has a slight aniseedy hit after being cured in fennel salt, a cheek comes braised with a bit of Marmite, but best of all is the jowl, a cut growing in popularity as an alternative to pork belly, being fantastically fatty and well-marbled, and as tender as that sounds. It’s perfect with a glass of Pony Perry; I'm furious that I haven’t had the foresight to bring a designated driver, and so am obliged to eke my half-pint out.

A vanilla custard slice sandwiches cream and Cheddar strawberries between laminated puff pastry; it must have taken ages to make but which slips down in seconds.

As I prepare to drag myself away I hear a diner at the next table engaging Josh Eggleton in conversation.

“Are you the chef?” he asks.

“I’m one of them”, replies the Boss.

It doesn’t even come over as false modesty. That’s the Pony vibe in a nutshell. n

The Pony Chew Valley, Moorledge Road, Chew Magna www.theponychewvalley.co.uk

There are local hospitality legends; and then there’s Bianchis.

The Bristol-Italian famiglia has become so much a part of the food scene that it’s quite surprising to remember that we only became aware of them ten years ago, when chef Ben Harvey and his cousin Dom Borel launched their first restaurant, Pasta Loco. It was an instant success, thanks to the winning formula of Ben in the kitchen and Dom out front, charming guests with his famously warm welcome and menus printed with a personalised ‘ciao’ to each group of diners.

As they celebrate a decade in the Bristol hospitality biz the family is celebrating in a number of ways. On 26 July, for example, they’re taking over their flagship trattoria, Bianchis on York Road, for a fundraising feast of 12 courses, each one taken from a chapter of their culinary history (there’s a rumour that a certain famous carbonara may reappear, with a twist). They’ve also just launched Studio Bianchi Bristol, a creative hub using food and media to support charities through fundraising events, building skills, creating opportunities and strengthening communities across Bristol.

I’m keen to grab Dom for a chat, but that’s not as easy as it sounds. I feel like the Mother Superior chasing Maria in A Sound of Music: how do you catch a cloud and pin it down? Eventually I corner him at Pazzo during a rare lull between the lunch and dinner service.

Deri: Let’s throw it right back. How did Pasta Loco first come about?

Dom: Ben had a kind of vision. He’d recently moved from London back to Bristol; he’d had his two little twins and he wanted to be surrounded by family. He had a

opposite: Ben, Josie, Joe, Rachel, Dom and Magda above: Opening a new place is always a hands-on family effort

yearning to open his own restaurant, with me in mind, after running small little pop ups in St Werburghs, in Cafe Mulino at the Wild Goose Space.

I’d just finished a nine-year stint in Sydney, working in restaurants, hotels, bars and pubs and I really missed Bristol. So we had many Skype sessions, he said he’d found a place on Cotham Hill, so I decided to come back.

Ben and I, along with our dads, Mike Harvey and Carlos Borel, started building the restaurant. We felt pasta was underrated; no one was really representing it apart from the chains. We wanted to show people what pasta in our households looked like, and that was it: we were basically extending our dining rooms to Bristol.

Deri: What was the Bristol food scene like back then?

Dom: It was slightly disjointed, and I’d been an outsider for nine years. But what we did do was set up secret Sunday sessions with Josh [Eggleton, Pony Group], Pete (Sanchez Iglesias, Casamia], George [Livesey, Bulrush], Jamie [Randall, Adelina Yard] and a bunch of others. In Sydney I’d started doing guerrilla dining, bringing likeminded chefs together, cooking wherever, on whatever, with whatever, so we helped Bristol tie up the scene a little bit. We became a community; there were originally around nine of us, and now there are 360 people on a WhatsApp group called Bristol Food Community: all independent operators, owners, managers, and so on.

Deri: What was it like, setting up for the first time?

Dom: It was wild. We were running around like idiots, paintbrushes in hand, sledgehammers, standing on nails, falling over, and our dads laughing at us.

Deri: After Loco’s success you steadily began to expand, opening new restaurants – how did you achieve that?

Dom: Basically it was down to the size of our family; everything that we’ve got to offer is just different arms

FOOD AND DRINK

“We were just rocking and rolling, doing what we love, peoplegetting fat and drunk”

of our family. For instance, when we opened Pasta Ripiena, it was Joe [Harvey, Ben’s brother]’s detailed finesse in contrast with Ben’s cooking methods; Ben threw parmesan and butter into a pan from across the room, Joe was more refined (Ben will tell me off for saying that); it was Joe’s own expression of how he liked to cook.

And then Magda [restaurant manager, now engaged to Dom] came on the scene, and Ruth [events manager, wife of Joe]. Then Josie [financial director, Ben’s wife!] quit her teaching job to come and save us, because Ben and I were useless when it came to back-of-house and business sense, absolutely useless. We were just rocking and rolling, doing what we love, getting people fat and drunk.

Now that it’s our 10-year anniversary we’ve looked back at the 12 companies we’ve operated. Sometimes we forget all that we’ve done: Pizza Bianchi, Team Canteen, Cheers Drive, setting up a couple of bakeries, food deliveries in lockdown, cooking for the homeless – you know, it’s been an insane journey.

Deri: And what are you most proud of?

Dom: Ben and I have had some really hard times, especially when it came to lockdown. It was a scary time. But I’m really proud of what the business did. We pivoted straight into looking after those who needed help, using all the resources we had. We didn’t spare any energy, we just nosedived into it. And then we created Breaking Bread, employing 100 people, keeping 100 suppliers going.

Deri: And how’s it going now?

Dom: Ben and I struggled last year; the world is a dark place, and to be honest, the way the restaurant industry is treated is disgusting; it feels like we’re being persecuted for bringing joy and pleasure to people. We are the most taxed industry, in this country, and in Europe.

DR: Tell us about what you’ve learned along the way

DB: Hah! I thought we were doing a feature, not a book.

Each restaurant has a different offering – that’s Bianchis’ on the left, Pasta Ripiena’s on the right – but all are flavoured with the family’s Italian heritage

But basically it’s this: keep an open mind, and don’t lose faith in what you love. Sometimes I feel like an idiot for loving this so much, because obviously the reward is dwindling, but we get rewarded with the friendships that we make and the pleasure that we bring.

Deri: How has it been to work with family throughout?

Dom: It’s been the best thing in the world. There’s no bullshit, there’s no bravado. Everyone knows each other inside out. We know what we’re great at, we know the pros and the cons of each other. Ben and I were born in 1983 and we grew up side by side. We’ve got it tattooed on us. We’ve travelled the world together. We are inseparable when it comes to our spirits.

Deri: Tell us about the special 10-year menu at Bianchis.

Dom: When we closed Pasta Loco we got hundreds of

COOKIN’ COUSINS

Dom Borel and Ben Harvey grew up together in St Werburghs. They now have four restaurants; after Pasta Loco in 2016 (now closed) they opened Ripiena on St Stephen’s Street, run by Ben’s brother Joe, with a daily-changing menu of stuffed pasta; Cotto Wine Bar & Kitchen right next door, serving seasonal small plates and a “proper good wine list”; flagship trattoria Bianchis in Montpelier; and Italian-led, Bristolinfluenced Pazzo on Whiteladies Road.

“Working with family is the best thing in the world. There’s no bullshit, no bravado”

During lockdown they collaborated with the Pony group and Team Love to create the award-winning Breaking Bread on the Downs, serving quality food while observing social distancing; the project kept staff and producers in work while the world closed down. From Team Canteen to Cheers Drive, the Anti-Banquets and their latest initiative Studio Bianchi, the group has always been a strong supporter of the local community and charity scene. www.bianchisgroup.co.uk @bianchisgroup

messages, with the outpouring of emotion and memories from people’s lives, and what it meant to have, like, one of Ben’s massive pasta dishes, and my cheeky service, with a mean soundtrack to it; we’ve had some amazingly loyal people who have kept us going. So, the menu is a little trip down memory lane. Also now that Ben’s focused on Studio Bianchi, it’s great to get him back in the kitchen; it’s good for his spirit and his creativity and his hunger again to get back in there to relive it with Konrad [Jaworski, head development chef] and all of us.

Deri: Tell us more about Studio Bianchi.

Dom: Over the last 10 years we’ve been doing so many different random charity community projects, whether it’s big walks, donating a pound on a bill here and there; it’s just been untamed and spontaneous and untracked, and there were points in our history where we thought we’re probably giving away more money than we’re making, so with all this in mind, we feel that we’ve got ourselves in a place where we can actually do something that’s a bit more tangible, transparent, especially with Ben’s soul and his heart and his mind and his feelings.

This is where he wants to go; to try and heal the world in a more kind of organised way. We’re looking at those people around us in the Bristol community who need some support, that we can offer, so it’s kind of help around the food.

Deri: What’s next for Bianchi’s?

Dom: To survive, to help people, and try to help the country turn a corner when it comes to hospitality –because people won’t know what they’ll miss until it’s gone. n

DAN O’REGAN BANK BRISTOL & LAPIN

What does Dan like to do when he’s not working? Have a guess . . .

Ilive in pursuit of pleasure. Not superyachts or shiny sports cars. The everyday jolts that loosen my shoulders and quiet my mind. A glass of cold wine in the afternoon when I really should be at my desk. The snap of a green bean. Bread that yields between my fingers. These are the things I search for, and I have learned that the cleanest route to them is at a table.

I didn’t always know how to find them. At school, I was hopeless. At university I drifted, scraping through on bluff alone. A year after I graduated, a friend sent me a photo from campus, and I didn’t even recognise the place. Whole years had passed me by without really being in them.

Things shifted when I found work that gripped me. Work is a form of pleasure, if you allow it. Now, I own restaurants. People ask what I do for fun. I’m tempted to say work, but what they’re really asking is what I do when I’m not working. The answer hasn’t really changed. I go to restaurants. I keep a list that never stops growing. Cities, corners, counters. I revel in the chase.

A table at seven. A bar seat at nine. A lunch that blurs into early evening. I love walking into a dining room and taking it in like a deep sip. The lighting, the weight of the chairs, the room’s first note. Light on wood. Glass between my fingers. A server who makes sure I’m well looked after. The aperitif before the aperitif. Menus undo me. I linger, ponder, circle back. Do I want

“That’s the bargain between diner and restaurant. Not calories for cash, but joy for the taking”

the rabbit or the bream? Ahh, perhaps both. We’ll share. Here, greed is a virtue.

I like rooms that feel set to succeed through the small things you sense rather than see. If the place has it, intoxication arrives fast. A low buzz of voices, a cork easing free, the smell of butter catching in the pan. The first shock of salt and fat across the tongue. For two hours, time loosens. You’re nowhere else.

I’m a hedonist. I always have been, and now, I sell hedonism. Food and drink are the conduit. The real thing we deal is fun. What I want is to lift people out of their day and send them back lighter. If you leave fuller, but not lighter, we have failed.

I know this first as a diner, then as a restaurateur. The places that linger aren’t the sharpest with their plates, or the flashiest with technique. They’re the rooms that leave me feeling welcome, indulged, unwound, restored.

A counter where the fish hits flame and the cook grins at the sizzle. A room where the wine is cold and the plates pile up like paperbacks. The night in east Bristol when the pork made me laugh at my own greed. None of it was

precious, yet it was all precise. I carry these places around because they remind me what my job really is. Not to astonish for a moment, then fade, but to hold a person’s attention long enough that they forget themselves, and to send them back into the world a shade brighter. That’s the bargain between diner and restaurant. Not calories for cash, but joy for the taking. Step inside and, for a little while, the city tilts in your favour. When it works, it’s the best drug in town. Night air on your face, crumpled napkins scattered across the table. The walk home a touch slower than usual because you’re not ready to let it go.

I chase pleasure like some people chase status or safety. I’ve built my days so I can take it and give it. At Bank and Lapin, I deal in delight. The food and drink are merely the vehicle. The trade is in how you feel when you stand up from the table; warmer, looser, more alive. n

Dan is the co-owner of restaurants BANK and Lapin

BANK Bristol, 107 Wells Road www.bankbristol.com Lapin, Cargo 2, Museum Street www.lapinbristol.co.uk

CHARLIE TAYLOR KASK WINE

Let Charlie take you on a journey. Actually, make that an Odyssey...

There are few stories as ambitious as The Odyssey. Ten years. Hundreds of miles. Gods, monsters, shipwrecks, giant whirlpools, a Cyclops with an unhealthy interest in eating sailors, and one very determined man trying to get home after the Trojan War. With Christopher Nolan’s film coming out this month, we thought following the journey’s route would make a good wine tasting.

The problem is that Homer wasn’t writing with Google Maps in mind. Troy existed. Ithaca exists to this day. But once Odysseus sails beyond the familiar world, things become murkier. Most classicists believe Homer deliberately blurred reality with myth, placing the fantastical episodes somewhere around the then distant and mysterious western Mediterranean. To an ancient Greek audience, these weren’t places you could point to on a map.

Add three thousand years of changing coastlines, erosion and shifting civilisations, and trying to recreate the journey bottle by bottle becomes something of a fool’s errand. So instead of attempting every mile of Odysseus’ voyage, we’ll be hosting a tasting inspired by some of the story’s key moments and themes, beginning where

a flock of sheep.

everything began: Troy.

In the past we’ve stocked a Turkish wine made barely twenty kilometres from the archaeological site itself, which would’ve been perfect. Sadly we can’t get our hands on it anymore, so it’s an excuse to pour one of our favourite finds of the year: Karapapas Palaiochori from Ktima Apostolidi in Kavala, Macedonia. Originally known as Papazkarasi, the Karapapas grape has Turkish routes – a reminder that wine, like history, has never respected modern borders. OK, Kavala is some way from Canakkale (where we believe Troy once stood), but ancient sailors hugged the coastline wherever possible, so it’s not impossible Homer imagined Odysseus passing this stretch on his long voyage west.

“We’ll begin wherebegan:everything Troy”

We could look for a wine so concentrated it required diluting with twenty parts of water. But we’d rather serve Funky Mavrud by Georgiev & Milkov, a Bulgarian Pet Nat bursting with raspberries, strawberries, citrus and fresh herbs. Made in the Thracian Valley it’s bright, refreshing and just the sort of bottle you want to drink on a warm Bristol evening. It probably wouldn’t knock out a Cyclops, though.

After leaving the ruined city, Odysseus raids the Thracian coastal town of Ismarus, leaving with litres and litres of wine, a reward for defending a priest of Apollo. That wine later becomes one of the greatest tactical decisions in literature. Trapped inside the cave of Polyphemus the Cyclops, Odysseus gets the giant magnificently drunk before blinding him and escaping beneath

Speaking of which, many historians place Polyphemus somewhere off the eastern coast of Sicily. Sicily is one of Europe’s most exciting wine regions, thanks to volcanic soils that produce wines packed with freshness, energy and character. If we’re going to stop anywhere on this imaginary voyage, Sicily is an easy choice. What’s not so easy is deciding which Sicilian wine to choose. A tough dilemma, but not as tough as one Odysseus had to make...

Separating Sicily from modernday Calabria is the Strait of Messina, On one side lurked Scylla. On the other, Charybdis. Sail too close to one and lose six men. Sail too close to the other and risk losing the entire ship. Odysseus chooses Scylla, so it seems only right for us to pick a wine from that side of the strait: a Calabrian white. This too is an adventure. We’ve never tried

Cataldo Calabretta’s Ansonica Bianco before. But having seen it described as “An expression of the Ionian Sea”, it feels like a fitting, if slightly dark, choice to accompany the story of six sailors lost at sea. And so to our finale. Originally we’d planned to include a bottle from Corsica, inspired by Circe and her enchanted island. We also looked long and hard for a wine from Ithaca*. But there was one wine we simply couldn’t leave out. Long before stainless-steel tanks, temperature-controlled fermentation and glass bottles, wine travelled the Mediterranean in clay amphorae.

Despite all our advances in technology, some winemakers still embrace these ancient methods.

Kamara Winery’s Amphora Orange is a modern-day delight, using age-old techniques including fermenting and ageing in clay amphorae. Fittingly, Kamara translates as ‘arch’, symbolising the bridge between past and present at the heart of the winery’s philosophy.

Planning on a trip to the cinema to see the film? Pop in to KASK or KASK² after for a debrief and a small taste of the journey.

* OK, not quite as long as Odysseus took heading home to Ithaca, but we haven’t got ten years. The tasting’s in a few weeks.

Visit KASK Wine at 51 North Street and KASK² at 243 Cheltenham Road 07522 198081; www.kaskwine.co.uk

CREATIVITY CONNECTIONS COMMUNITY

INDUSTRY LEADING HEALTHCARE, CLOSER TO HOME

A Grade-II Georgian villa on Clifton Hill is an unlikely setting for one of the most advanced pieces of orthopaedic technology in the South West, but that is exactly what NUFFIELD HEALTH BRISTOL HOSPITAL offers behind the elegant frontage of Clifton Court

The hospital has been part of life in Clifton Village for over 50 years, and a £20 million investment in 2013 paired the restored building with a modern 30-bed in-patient ward, three digital operating theatres, and a state-ofthe-art radiology department.

O rthopaedic surgeons use the Mako® robotic arm system to perform knee and hip replacements at the hospital with a level of precision that was not possible just a few years ago.

Nuffield Health is currently the only private healthcare provider in Bristol offering the Mako® robotic arm-assisted technology for joint replacements. Prior to surgery, a CT scan is taken to accurately plan the implant’s exact position in advance. The robotic arm then guides the surgeon through the procedure along the patient’s individualised plan.

Higher accuracy in bone preparation and implant placement can mean shorter hospital stays, quicker recovery, decreased pain and fewer complications after surgery. Robotic arm-assisted surgery is not suitable for every patient, and the consultant will always advise

on the best route for each case.

Recovery is treated as part of the procedure, with post-surgery physiotherapy included in the price of treatment.

Nuffield Health is the largest provider of physiotherapy in the UK outside the NHS, and that scale is felt in the depth of the rehabilitation programme offered to jointreplacement patients in Bristol.

K nee and hip surgery sit within a wider hospital that handles spinal surgery, foot and ankle surgery, eye care, gynaecology, cosmetic surgery, weight management, and more. Last month, the busy radiology department saw the installation of brand-new MRI and CT scanners, which utilise the very latest imaging technology.

A rapid-access private GP service is also available, offering 30-minute appointments within 24 hours, with onward referral to specialists where required. Furthermore, as the official medical partner of Bristol Bears Rugby, Nuffield Health Bristol Hospital is your perfect teammate in treating sports-related issues and injuries.

Cost is often the first question for selffunding patients, and the hospital answers

it through the Nuffield Health Promise: a single all-inclusive price with no hidden costs, no time limit on aftercare, and a pledge to match any comparable price elsewhere. For those who would rather spread payments, 0% interest options are available up to 24 months (terms and conditions apply). Private medical insurance and NHS referral routes are also accepted.

For a city the size of Bristol, having a robotic joint replacement service on its doorstep matters. It shortens journeys, removes a layer of disruption from an already significant operation, and keeps recovery close to home

RISE AND INFLATION

EYES ON THE SKIES: LET THE ANNUAL GAME OF CHANCE BEGIN

Words by Ursula Cole

Photos by Paul Box

There are clear signs that summer’s arrived in Bristol.

Sunbathers turning an angry shade of red in Castle Park.

Paddleboarders reclaiming the harbour. Somebody confidently wearing shorts in temperatures that would barely qualify as spring anywhere else. And of course there’s the big one: spotting a hot-air balloon drifting serenely across the skyline, and realising that Bristol International Balloon Fiesta season is upon us again.

The Fiesta is back at Ashton Court between 7-9 August for its 48th year, transforming one of the city’s most beautiful green spaces into a giant open-air celebration of flight, colour and community. Free to attend, loved by generations of Bristolians, it’s still one of the biggest ballooning events in Europe, and somehow still manages to capture the same sense of childlike wonder year after year.

Over 120 balloons will gather on the launch field this year. Forget the World Cup; teams from across the globe include Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Mexico and the USA, turning the estate into a temporary international village of pilots, crews and colourful canopies, all waiting to find out whether the weather will cooperate as Bristol’s most famous annual game of chance begins.

As every Fiesta veteran knows, ballooning is always at the mercy of the skies. Unlike music festivals, where the headline act (usually) appears at a specified time, the Fiesta asks visitors to embrace a little uncertainty. Will the wind behave? Will conditions allow take-off? Nobody knows for sure until the moment arrives. When they do fly, though, there’s nothing quite like it. The scheduled mass ascents at 6am and 6pm remain the heart of

the event, and the sight of the balloons inflating simultaneously before rising gracefully above Ashton Court is one of Bristol’s defining summer experiences.

The Fiesta’s greatest strength has always been its ability to combine tradition with reinvention, and this year’s programme continues that approach with many returning and expanded attractions. In The Clouds, one of last year’s standouts, is back: an immersive installation which invites visitors inside a cold-inflated balloon envelope, surrounding them with

“Everyone’s preparing for the moment when the skies cooperate and Bristol’s most famous annual game of chance begins”

sound, light and film, to tell the story of Bristol’s remarkable ballooning heritage.

For anyone who’s ever watched a balloon float off into the distance and wondered where it will eventually land, Flight Control has the answer with a interactive tracking experience that follows every balloon flight from launch to landing. Visitors can monitor journeys on a giant screen beside the main arena, or online.

However, the Fiesta has never been solely about what happens in the air. Food has become increasingly important, and few partnerships feel more Bristolian than its collaboration with the fire-based cooks of Pasture, who are

bringing back the onsite restaurant overlooking the arena. Serving produce sourced from its nearby Long Ashton farm, the team will once again showcase its commitment to provenance, sustainability and flavour.

Art also takes centre stage this year. Emily Powell, known for her vivid use of colour and emotionally rich work, will bring her distinctive vision in the highest painting ever created.

New for 2026, the Fiesta Family Zone provides a dedicated space packed with free activities from some of the South West’s bestloved attractions, including Longleat, Wookey Hole, Cheddar Gorge, Puxton Park and The Grand Pier, offering hands-on experiences and entertainment; the The Pony Farm Bus will also park up to offer interactive workshops designed to help children understand where food comes from, through engaging and practical activities. Meanwhile, over at the Family Stage area, the Brizzle Kicks stage has a non-stop programme designed to keep kids smiling.

The Friday and Saturday evening Nightglows are always among the most anticipated moments of the entire weekend, as dozens of tethered balloons light up in carefully choreographed sequences set to a soundtrack produced by BBC Radio Bristol.

Nearly half a century after it first launched, the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta continues to embody the spirit of the city itself: creative, welcoming, a little unpredictable and always looking skywards. Head to Ashton Court, look up and join Bristol’s favourite summer tradition.

Just don’t forget to wave wildly when the balloons drift overhead. It’s only polite. n

Bristol Balloon Fiesta takes place at Ashton Court between 7-9 August; www.bristolballoonfiesta.co.uk

SOMETHING BLUE

One of this summer’s hottest hues, cobalt is the bold, electric alternative to pastels and neutrals

IB LAURSEN SALT OR PEPPER MILL, £16.99

Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful; but ideally go for both From Mon Pote, 217a North Street www.monpote.co.uk

LF MARKEY MASON COTTON DRILL TROUSERS, £150

A stylish alternative to your balloon-leg denims, with a very forgiving, high-pleated waist. From Maze Clothing 26-28 The Mall www.mazeclothing.co.uk

Y2K VINTAGE PLEATED SKIRT (XS), £10

Look, it’s never too late to try out

SIDELINE WISP DRESS, £189

With lovely pleat details and a drawcord at the waist, so it can be worn cinched or loose

From Maze Clothing 26-28 The Mall www.mazeclothing.co.uk

with plain tops or bottoms if you’re too shy-shy

Your festival essential, handmade to order by the Bristol company. Strong, durable and made to last From That Thing, 45-47 Stokes Croft; www.thatthing.co

From Mint Velvet 44 Regent Street www.mintvelvet.com

JW ANDERSON CANVAS BAG

£300 (FROM £600)

Big enough to carry everything you need: your laptop, an inner handbag, an entire change of clothing, the dog . . . From Harvey Nichols 27 Philadelphia Street www.harveynichols.com

LULU COPENHAGEN LOVE KNOT RING, £35

Handmade and handpainted, the delicate knot symbolises connection, commitment, and care. In enamel over brass From Grace & Mablel 32 The Mall www.graceandmabel.co.uk

STUDIO.12 SUNGLASSES, £135

With a butterfly frame, available in JF’s signature wide range: polarised lenses, prescription lenses, and a choice of 10 lens colours From Jimmy Fairly, 90 Park Street; www.jimmyfairly.com

ULTIMATE COTTON T-SHIRT, £35

AU MAISON PORTABLE LAMP, £33

Cordless little mushroomshaped glass lamp to illuminate any corner; all you need are three AAA batteries and let there be light! From Mon Pote 217a North Street www.monpote.co.uk

Elevated basics should be the bedrock of your summer wardrobe From Mint Velvet 44 Regent Street www.mintvelvet.com

WHIPSTITCH WAFFLE SWIMSUIT, £55

We can easily picture Grace Kelly, Rita Hayworth or Ava Gardner in this retroinspired little number From Mint Velvet 44 Regent Street www.mintvelvet.com

ENTRECONF 2026

This year’s EntreConf felt slightly less online-oriented than recent outings, perhaps something of a relief: we can all get behind the appeal of good coffee, or the dream of flying across the rooftops like the Jetsons, after all; the latest tech app, not so much.

“Entrepreneurs get to define what success means to them,” said host Greg Ingham, and listening to people building more traditional, physical stuff felt strangely reassuring.

Here are a few highlights from a packed couple of days.

DAY ONE:

“it’s only instant”, hard-nosed selling-up advice, and a dream of flying

is literally a man who wants to fly without wings, and has made it possible to do so – he’s surprisingly grounded, and happy to share his many setbacks. “When it comes to flight, what happens when you take our natural capabilities, then augment them with thrust?” he says. For Richard, a dynamic and engaging speaker, running a company is a thrilling challenge, but not to be taken lightly. “It’s like watching a war film, but not knowing whether we won in the end or not,” he says. “At times it can be desperately miserable. Am I going to get into an irrecoverable amount of trouble? And am I going to hurt myself or anyone else in the process? If there’s a serious risk of either, my advice would be to try doing something else instead.”

By Paul Marland

There were six keynote speakers this year, two on the first day and four on the second. First up was Richard Browning of Gravity Industries, who’s invented an actual working jetpack device, which thrills and petrifies in equal measure. His presentation was – no lie – perhaps the most jaw-droppingly memorable the Conference has ever seen. For an absolute Icarus dreamer – this

Then, in the afternoon, Helena Hills of coffee company TrueStart –their point of difference is that they major in posh instant coffee – was as engaging and energetic as ever, her commitment to doing good while growing big having an intrinsically Bristol feel. “We’ve gone from scrappy start up to huge scale,” she says. “It helps that people care more than ever, and rightly so, about what

they put into their bodies.”

Interspersed between the major talks, each EntreConf offers assorted expert panels and presentations, plus think pieces called Provocations, and this year – perhaps inevitably – we got two on A.I.: while Ric Hill of custom software developer Ghyston encouraged us to “think differently”, the always lively Nathan Baranowski of Digital Wonderlab was delightfully blunt. There was much this year on how to finance your business too. Graham MacVoy of Wake the Tiger, the immersive ‘amazement park’ at St Philip’s Marsh, talked the gigantic challenges of opening a second site in London, while Iain Lownes of S&W advised on mergers, buy-outs, et al.

Just before many of us departed for The Granary for the EntreConf Summer Dinner, together with a talk by Christian Samuel of Roots Allotments (of Tuckers Meadow and Avon Views in Bath, and Leigh Woods in Bristol, fame), there was just time for Bath Rugby legend Olly Barkley and fellow ex-pro Ed Jackson to take us through the creation of Vapoura Rum, their

high end tipple intended more for the bars at Babington House than the local ’spoons. Yum yum!

DAY TWO: making hospitality look effortless, muddy-handed honesty, and the women come to the fore

The second day seemed to have a slightly different focus, taking things away from the financial. There were more keynote speakers, for a start: first up, the charismatic tour-de-force that is Maxine Laceby of Absolute Collagen, a market leader in one of the fastest growing beauty sectors. “Four hundred years ago they’d dip you in the pond and drown you as a white witch,” she says of female entrepreneurs, who she feels are still woefully underestimated. “But business is not actually difficult, and I’ve proved it. I launched a formula into the market that did not exist, and how? I picked up the phone and spoke to people. If you’ve the courage to ask for help, it’s there for you.”

Female visionaries always make a strong showing at EntreConf, and alongside Maxine, the likes of Chloë Luxton of Bramley, the botanical bath and body product

outfit, and Amber Probyn of Peequal – yes, the female urinals people, cutting out the loo queuing at festivals – were particularly prominent on the second day.

A little later on came the pioneering, and extraordinarily open and candid, Guy SinghWatson of Riverford – purveyors of fine organic fruit and veg boxes – who insisted that he’s actually not pioneering at all, and instead just copied (and at their insistence, too!) what his neighbours were already doing. “The organic industry is incredibly supportive,” he told us, “and particularly of new entrants. But to do well, you have to take the time to understand where your product fits into people’s lives. You can’t just be blindly arrogant: that’s the death knell, and I think we slipped into it at times at Riverford.”

After lunch, Alex Reilly of Loungers, which started on North Street but now operates over 300 Lounge café-bars, Cosy Club restaurants and Brightside roadside dining operations (think a cooler Little Chef). “What I love about hospitality is that it’s like producing theatre,” he says. “Each service is the same, yes, but with different

“BUSINESS IS NOT ACTUALLY DIFFICULT, AND I’VE PROVED IT”

pitfalls. I still get the same rush I always did when we find a great site in a new town and think, wow, this would be amazing as a Lounge or a Cosy. That’s my fix, and keeps me hungry for more.”

All told, this was an EntreConf that seemed to show a bigger-thanusual commitment to the idea that – though entrepreneurs have so much in common – we’re all doing things for different reasons, and the level of success that makes each of us happy will be as individual as we are. “I was reminded again why I value stepping outside the everyday and deliberately making space for new conversations and perspectives,” said one attendee. “But sometimes the greatest value isn’t found in the formal sessions at all. It’s in the conversations over coffee, the unexpected introductions, the shared experiences and those moments where one idea sparks another.”

For more on all things EntreConf, go to: entreconf.com

For photos of the two days go to page 69

opposite: Greg Ingham; below from left: Richard Browning; Helena Hills; Maxine Laceby and Guy Singh-Watson

IN THE ROOM WHERE IT HAPPENS

Photos by Narrated Frames; www.narratedframes.com

SPACE TO WORK

When coming into work is about more than just desks and chairs

This is Square Works, the award winning workspace and private members club that’s home to some of Bristol’s most exciting new businesses.

Square Works is unique.

Combining Georgian architecture with modern interiors, it’s created an inspiring work environment filled with natural light and beautiful spaces. The beautiful rooms are spread across three characterful town houses on leafy Berkeley Square – perfectly situated to walk into the city centre or enjoy all that Clifton has to offer.

Square Works has a wide range of membership options available to suit every business or individual, whatever stage you’re at. Three thoughtfully designed hot-desking zones provide the perfect spaces for freelancers and remote workers to enjoy the human collaboration and connection often missed when working solely from home. The carefully curated dedicated desks offer a place to lay down your business roots as you look

to grow, while the serviced offices are perfect for businesses needing space without long-term commitment.

With the option to personalise your membership to suit you and your business, Square Works offers complete flexibility. Members enjoy access to a range of high-end facilities, including an on-site fitness suite and six kitchens around the building. Every detail is carefully considered and designed with members in mind, right down to the different types of coffee in each machine.

Square Works knows that coming into work is about more than just desks and chairs, which is why, uniquely in Bristol, it grants its community membership to an exclusive private members’ club, The Square Club. Established in 1990 as Bristol’s first private members’ club for creatives, the club is now vibrant and established, with a network of over 1500 creatives, professionals and entrepreneurs. The Square Club is also home to the award-winning Square Kitchen restaurant, the Lower

Deck cocktail bar and a fully heated outdoor garden.

An extensive events calendar offers members ample opportunity to entertain, network and relax, from seasonal soirées to business development seminars. Furthermore, as part of the Sonato Alliance, members have access to over 45 of the highest quality members’ clubs around the world at no extra cost.

All of this and more is why Bristol’s most exciting new businesses are choosing Square Works. From microprocessors to marketing experts, humanitarian aid to coffee suppliers, its members are putting Bristol on the map.

We asked one member – Anthony Laing, the CEO of Duality Quantum Photonic – what made him choose Square Works. “I came along and was really blown away by the environment here, the activity, the community”, he says. “An office became free, and as soon as I looked at it, I wanted it!”.

Another aspect mentioned by many of the members is captured by Sophie Patchett from Office Pantry.

“It’s the friendly faces you’re greeted with by the Square Works team every day”, says Sophie. “Everyone’s always up for a conversation – it really makes coming into the office a pleasure.”

It’s the strong sense of community

that sets Square Works apart; from the welcome members enjoy every morning, to the lively members’ parties that continue into the night, it encourage connections beyond the traditional work environment.

And you don’t need to be a member to experience what Square Works has to offer. With seven high-tech meeting rooms and two conference spaces on site, it’s the perfect space to bring people together. All of the meeting rooms are equipped with video conferencing systems, Panasonic HD TVs and complimentary refreshments, with the option to have top-quality food from the Square Kitchen delivered right to your desk.

Its range of open events are designed to bring together the wider Bristol community. Regular wellbeing sessions include pilates and breathwork classes, while workshops, networking and Business Builders Live offer business owners a space to connect, learn and grow.

Square Works is more than just a workspace; it’s a community ready to collaborate and inspire, and it’s excited to welcome you.

For more information or to book a tour, contact us today at 0117 322 6635 or hello@squareworksbristol.com

RICHMOND PARK ROAD

Georgian elegance meets contemporary design in this beautiful

Clifton home

Words by Ursula Cole

When we first launched a magazine for Bristol back in 2004, rightly or wrongly, we called it Clifton Life. In our defence, we were mainly a property-focused publication back then, and no area of the city possessed lovelier residences than Clifton, its elegant terraces curving in haughty grandeur around the heart of the Village and down to the city centre.

This distinguished Grade-II town house on Richmond Park Road is precisely the sort of home which beguiled us when naming our new magazine. Rich in character and architectural integrity, it offers four floors of classic Georgian proportions, which blend effortlessly with thoughtfully designed contemporary living spaces – notably a spectacular open-plan lower-ground floor that now forms the vibrant heart of the home.

It’s likely to be love at first sight. Built from Bath stone, mellowed over the centuries into a biscuity gold, the front of the house displays typically lovely Georgian details. It doesn’t reveal its charms all at once, though, being partly shielded from casual gaze by the mature planting in the front garden.

If you’re still unconvinced, stepping inside will seal the deal. The much-desired original features abound, from the gracious proportions of the rooms to the tall sash windows with their working shutters and period fireplaces. Natural light cascades through the house, boosted by a central lantern light, enhancing the home’s sense of openness, while the reception hall with its mahogany hand-turned handrail sets a refined tone for the entire home.

The sitting room, which has a full-height bay window with working shutters and a period fireplace housing a living-flame gas fire, is a beautifully balanced space. A second reception room is currently used as a larger-than-usual home office, with an intimate study next to it; both have tranquil views over the back garden.

The biggest surprise lies on the floor below. In a triumph of modern design, an expansive, open-plan family living space has been created. With underheated poured resin flooring, it’s been arranged into zones for cooking, dining and relaxing, including the Ben Argent kitchen – a true social hub with a large central island, breakfast bar, excellent prep surfaces and top-name appliances from the

likes of Gaggenau, Barazza and Miele.

The dining area ends in a serene garden nook, with black Crittall-style windows opening to a sunken patio.

Less glamorously, perhaps, but very usefully, a utility room, cloakroom and vaulted store complete this floor. Five large bedrooms, a family bathroom and shower room fill the top two storeys.

A pathway leads from the side of the house to the beautifully landscaped back garden. It’s a proper outdoor sanctuary, with the sunken patio being ideal for al fresco dining, straight from the kitchen; a secluded seating terrace at the far end of the garden offers a peaceful retreat attracting morning sun, while magnolia, jasmine, wisteria, ferns, cordylines, bamboo screening and mature apple trees are already established.

Heard that parking in Clifton is a nightmare? Well, it can be, but this home has the rare luxury of off-street parking for two vehicles behind a gated entry – a considerable bonus, and one often missing in period city homes.

“From the moment I walked through the door, this house just felt special”, said Savills agent Richard Brooks, who has seen a lot of remarkable homes in his time. “The blend of heritage and contemporary design is exactly what I love, and the garden and rare parking space make it feel like a truly exceptional home.”

HOUSE NUMBERS

Where?

Richmond Park Road, Clifton

Guide price: £1.95m

Receptions: 31ft open-plan dining/kitchen area, sitting room, office, study

Bedrooms: 5

Bath/shower rooms: 2

Outside: Mature front garden, beautifully landscaped back garden with sunken patio; off-street parking

Call my agent: Savills Clifton, 0117 933 5800 www.savills.co.uk

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

High Street, Thornbury TO LET - £50,000 PAX

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Fully let, mixed use investment opportunity on a fantastic retail pitch and popular location on Gloucester Road. Comprising three retail units, three residential flats, a four-bedroom HMO plus MOT/car repair garage with yard.

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831 sq ft (77.2 sq m)

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Mariner House, Prince St TO LET – From £20 psf + 1,200 – 2,400sq ft (111-223sq m)

Located just five minutes from Wapping Wharf and Bristol’s vibrant Cargo district, one floor is finished to Cat A standard, providing a high quality blank canvas, while the other is fully fitted on a plug-and-play basis for immediate occupation.

Barrs Court Road, BS30 FOR SALE – £795,000 exc

8,554 sq ft (794.67 sq m)

A freehold site of circa 0.55 acres, comprising an office building, two industrial buildings and further storage buildings. To suit owner occupier, developer, or investor.

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BRISTOL LIVES

LAURA DIA

After wowing us on the Bristol Rising stage at the 2024 Harbour Festival, the Bristolborn, Nigerian-Irish singer has graduated to the Main Stage this year

I’m so grateful –but it also feels right”, says Laura about playing the Main Stage. “I love Bristol, and it’s done so much for my growth as an artist. I hope to represent Bristol wherever I go, and being put on the Main Stage feels like a huge co-sign; a reminder that I am moving, and faster than I think!”

I always wanted a chance to play at Bristol Harbour Festival again. I loved playing on the Bristol Rising stage. It was just me, some tracks and my guitar at the time. That was a ‘one day’ thing in my mind, but the fact that this has happened

now is a challenge for my selfbelief. It’s crazy; a once-shyer version of myself had no clue what she’d be able to do two years down the line.

Bristol has been so enriching to my creativity, particularly at a time where I felt I was lacking that kind of nurturing. I really feel the support of my hometown. My family has lived in South Bristol since I was 13, so I’m also really glad to show what can come out of BS4 – somewhere that some people may think doesn’t have a lot going on.

I’m quite eclectic as a person and an artist. My music leans

“Bristol

can back a cause or keep tradition alive like no other city”

into R&B, pop, alternative sounds and Afro sounds, all encased in an ethereal vibe. My top inspirations are Florence + The Machine and Beyoncé, and although a mesh between those two artists is hard to imagine, that is where I sit! If you’re coming, expect dancey moments, vulnerable moments and big vocal moments; sounds that are both nostalgic and modern.

There are a few things I’m really excited about performing! There’s music I’ve released this year but never performed before, unreleased music that will be heard for the first time on stage, and though I hardly ever perform other people’s music I’m paying homage to some iconic artists in my genre. Definitely ones people will love to sing along to!

One ‘pinch-me’ moment was recently having my single played on national radio – BBC 1Xtra with CassKidd. It’s a show I love listening to so I really felt like the things I imagined were becoming real. Performance-wise, playing Glastonbury was also huge for me; just being there felt magic. I feel Bristol Harbour Festival this year might top it, though.

Glastonbury is iconic, but Forwards Festival is really special to me. I’ve performed there twice, and it just feels so Bristol. It has a bit of everything. Everyone is lovely and on good vibes. I also really loved Boomtown, it feels like a bit of a fever dream but in a fun way!

What I’d say to aspiring local musicians hoping to follow a similar path from grassroots stages to the Main Stage, is get involved with your community. It’s full of people who just want to

help each other. Also, be aware of all the organisations that are here to help you. I am so grateful to Big Team, Bristol Beacon and Saffron, who have been so key to my development, and do so much for musicians and creatives in Bristol and the South West. However, before any of this you need to believe in yourself; it’s the only way you’ll show up in any of these spaces with the freedom to share your personal light. It’s that light that’ll take you where you need to go.

My favourite things about Bristol? The first thing is that community is so strongly valued. Living in other places, it was a thing I hadn’t realised I’d miss so much. Bristol can back a cause or keep tradition alive like no other city. Second, the diversity: on levels of aesthetic choices, culture, creativity, all the things. It gives you the sense that you are free to be whatever that is for you. Last but not least, the fact that older Bristolians call everyone “my lover”. I think everyone should do that, it’d probably make the world a little nicer.

What does the rest of 2026 have in store for me? More and more music! My releases this year are gearing up to an EP project, which will also be part of a larger two-side/two-part project. I’m really focused on world-building right now, I want audiences to be introduced to what my essence is as an artist beyond the music. I am telling a story, and I want that experience to be as immersive as possible. Next month I will be releasing a song I’ll debut at Harbour Festival – and then autumn is the time to look out for the full story…

www.lauradia.com www.bristolharbourfestival.co.uk