Bristol Life - Issue 339

ISSUE 339 / SEPTEMBER 2023 / £3

ISSUE 339 / SEPTEMBER 2023 / FIRE UP THE BARBIE. NO, NOT THAT BARBIE

WHAT’S SUP?

ISN’T IT TIME YOU GAVE PADDLEBOARDING A GO?

PRINT’S NOT DEAD THE FASHION TREND THAT’S NEVER GONE AWAY

THEY’RE SORRY, THEY HAVEN’T A CLUE KATHY AND STELLA AT BRISTOL OLD VIC

FIESTA, FOREVER

THE VERY BEST BALLOON PICS

GET IT WHILE IT’S HOT! COME ON BARBIE, LET’S GO PARTY: GRILLS TO THRILL FROM BANK BRISTOL * LOOK, THE SUN’S BOUND TO SHOW ITS FACE AT SOME TIME…

EDITOR’S LETTER

S

38

Fire up the barbie

...no, not that Barbie, obviously; she’d melt. We’re talking hot BBQ grill action here, with the guys at BANK Bristol; and yes, since you ask, any resemblance between the montage above and the poster for The Bear is purely intentional

o, how many s ha e you managed to re u th s summer eah, us too t’s hard enough gett ng them coa s to ght when ts dry, ne er m nd dur ng r e dr e ut w th our character st c, o yanna ke sunny o t m sm, we’re ho d ng out or better days n ate ugust and e tember who knows, maybe e en an nd an summer and to th s end we’ e worked w th r sto to create the er ect east cooked o er re nd hey, t does cont nue to chuck t down, no drama those rec es w kee er ect y we unt ne t year ua y weather de endent, but a so w th a he u y ong she e, s our eature on add eboard ng ow many t mes ha e you sat on a O terrace, s ng an ero wh e d y watch ng the guys float by er thought, Oh, that ooks dead easy, cou d do that e , you robab y cou d, and a new gu de to the sub ect may ust o er the ns rat on you need to book yourse n or a sess on eak ng o the weather, wh ch t’s actua y not ad sab e to do n a maga ne w th a week ong r nt t me, because a t’s o ten a ery d erent meteoro og ca story by the t me the mag comes out and b rank y t can be a b t bor ng we cou dn’t et th s month go by w thout g ng b g thanks to r sto a oon esta e’ e se dom seen such changeab e and challenging conditions, and yet they gave us two mass ascents, two n ght g ows and more or ess cont nua on s te enterta nment check out some o the hotos on age t’s a mass e eat o organ sat on, w th huge costs, but the organ sers ha e a ways wanted to kee t ree to do so they need our su ort hey’ e aunched a donat on scheme on the r webs te see www br sto ba oon esta co uk e’re on the cus o autumn now, and you know what that means abso ute r ches awa t us at r sto ’s arts enues e’ e k cked o the new season w th an nter ew w th ront arb rom Kathy and Stella Solve Murder!, wh ch comes to r sto O d c tra ng a Murder! c ouds o d nburgh r nge g ory he show’s about true cr me they’re obsessed w th murder t’s s ck er erse and tw sted, you know that we ust can’t res st t, they s ng can’t th nk o a better ne to go out on, so et’s ea e t r ght there

DERI ROBINS Bristol Life editor Follow us on

@BristolLifeMag;

@BristolLifeMag

www.mediaclash.co.uk I BRISTOL LIFE I 3

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Issue 339 / September 2023 ON THE COVER A BBQ feast from BANK Bristol – feature page 38

GREAT OUTDOORS

12 PADDLEBOARDING The only way is SUP

ARTS

17 ART PAGE Come back and stay for good this time,

12

18 24 28 33

Paul Young!

WHAT’S ON Four pages bursting with arts and events THEATRE They’re obsessed with murder . . .

BRISTOL HEROES Simply the fests BOOKS Don’t miss this trio of late-summer releases

FOOD & DRINK

36 RESTAURANT The Welsh invasion of Regent Street

continues apace

38 RECIPES Fire up the ken. Sorry, we mean the barbie 43 FOOD AND DRINK NEWS Openings, closings and

tasty bites

49 CAFÉ SOCIETY Club class

SHOPPING

50 ED’S CHOICE Leopard is basically a neutral 52 FASHION The summertime blues

43

NETWORK

63 BUSINESS News, views, clubs and awards

PROPERTY

78 SHOWCASE A Sneyd Park classic

REGULARS

6 SPOTLIGHT 11 BRIZZOGRAM 82 BRISTOL LIVES Julz Davis

Editor Deri Robins deri.robins@mediaclash.co.uk Senior art editor Andrew Richmond Cover design Trevor Gilham Contributors Colin Moody, Stan Cullimore, Storysmith Books, Marianne Cantelo Commercial manager Neil Snow neil.snow@mediaclash.co.uk Business development manager Craig Wallberg craig.wallberg@mediaclash.co.uk Business development manager Jake Horwood jake.horwood@mediaclash.co.uk Production/distribution manager Kirstie Howe kirstie.howe@mediaclash.co.uk Chief executive Jane Ingham jane.ingham@mediaclash.co.uk Chief executive Greg Ingham greg.ingham@mediaclash.co.uk Bristol Life MediaClash, Carriage Court, 22 Circus Mews, Bath, BA1 2PW 01225 475800; www.mediaclash.co.uk @The MediaClash © All rights reserved. May not be reproduced without written permission of MediaClash.

We’re a West Country-based publisher, creative agency and event organiser Magazines Our portfolio of regional magazines celebrates the best of local living: Bath and Bristol. Agency From the design and build of websites to digital marketing and creating company magazines, we can help. Events We create, market, promote and operate a wide variety of events both for MediaClash and our clients Contact: info@mediaclash.co.uk

www.mediaclash.co.uk I BRISTOL LIFE I 5

SPOTLIGHT Community

THE BIG SING Nancy Medina’s directorial debut at Bristol Old Vic will be Tarell Alvin McCraney’s Choir Boy (12 October-11 November); the story of a black, queer student leading a gospel choir at an elite all-boys prep school in America.

To tie in with the production, Nancy is inviting Bristol to join in a free community choir day on 1 October. BOV hopes to blow the 18th-century theatre’s venerable roof o w th a strong choir, who will perform songs from the show at the end of the daylong event.

Led by Choir Boy’s musical director, Femi Temowo, the day will include guest performances by local choirs, workshops led by local voice specialists, and presentations by national experts. The Big Sing is completely free to attend for people of all ages who have some experience of choirs or individual singing. d you know n r sto there are current y o er active choirs, from barbershop to blues – a huge number for a city of this size.

PARKS AND RECREATION We’re long-time admirers of the @boysinbristol instagram account, run

by Karol and Krystian; check out their lovely pics if you’re not following already.

The boys have recently launched a crowdfunder called The Bristol Parks Project, which aims to create an online platform featuring detailed sub-pages for each park, nature reserve and community garden in Bristol.

“These pages will showcase highquality images, videos, and information about the un ue eatures, flora, and fauna of each location,” say the boys.

“The project intends to encourage local residents to explore these natural

spaces within the city, rather than seeking nature elsewhere.

“The platform also highlights various charitable groups associated with these parks, promoting their activities and initiatives to a wider audience.”

The project has gained recognition for its captivating images that evoke a sense of nostalgia for Bristol, and Karol and ryst an an to o er ree hotogra hy workshops in the parks to connect people with nature and enhance their creative skills. All photographs taken will be available for free use.

For more www.bristolparks.co.uk

© PHOTO BY ORGANISER JUL Z DAVIS

Find out more or reserve your spot: www.bristololdvic.org.uk/whats-on/the-big-sing

Crowdfunder

Bristol Bus Boycott

REMEMBER THEIR NAMES A new piece of street art has been created at the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft on Jamaica treet, to honour the th ann ersary o the Bristol Bus Boycott.

The new art is part of a month-long takeover which commemorates the 1963 boycott – a reaction to the Bristol Omnibus Company’s

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refusal to hire black workers. The protest ers sted unt the bus rm conceded, ead ng to the groundbreaking Race Relations Act 1965 which set out to combat discrimination.

The volunteer-painted mural, based on a design by Bristol artist Oshii with drawings by artist Kya B, depicts pioneers such as Guy

Bailey, Roy Hackett, Paul Stephenson, Audley Evans, Owen Henry, and Prince Brown. It was un e ed under the hea y nfluence o reggae and rum,” according to the organisers, on 11 August – Jamaican Independence Day. For more: www.curiosityunltd.com

SPOTLIGHT

FIESTA, FOREVER The weather was particularly challenging this year, but did that stop Bristol Balloon Fiesta from putting on an incredible show? We refer you to the face of the dog below…

@aishling_jana

@alexfiddian

@bristolballoon

@mjballooning

@paddyo.11

@g_cabrera_photo

@aaronpjsims

@darren_ridgway

@matthewpriceartist

@jespionne_avec_mon_petit_oeil

@mariography85

@matts_world_01

www.mediaclash.co.uk I BRISTOL LIFE I 11

THE ONLY WAY IS SUP

We’ve all seen them, gliding with swan-like serenity up and down the harbour. But have you ever wondered what it was like to have a go on a stand-up paddle board?

A new book on the subject, covering some of the most beautiful spots in the South West, may just provide the extra push you needed to give it a go…

I

GREAT OUTDOORS

n Paddle Boarding: South West England, author Lisa Drewe takes you along meandering estuaries to seductive wild swimming spots and picnics on silver sands. However, the book isn’t merely an album of gorgeous images; it’s also a manual, providing all the practical information you’ll need for paddle boarding, canoeing and kayaking.

The sport, we’re told, is easy to learn, the kit is a ordab e, and because many boards are nflatab e they’re easily transported. Oh, and it’s good for you.

“We intuitively know that we feel better in ‘blue spaces’, and the science behind the mental and hys ca bene ts o be ng c ose to water s becom ng c ear, wr tes sa “A new term, ‘blue health’, has been coined and Wallace J Nicholls, a Californian surfer and marine biologist, sums it up perfectly when he suggests that being on, under, or beside water results in a “mildly meditative state characterised by calm, peacefulness, unity, and a sense o genera ha ness and sat s act on’ Little wonder, then, that paddle boarding has become so popular, with more and more people headed out onto the water.

“Watch ring-like patterns form as heavy raindrops hit the water, or the light dancing across a river’s surface; breathe in the ozone of the ocean, the sweet smell of river water, and enjoy the fresh taste of s r ng ed akes, cont nues sa he sound o a add e d ng beneath the water’s surface, the emptying of tidal creeks heralded by the cries of wading birds looking for their next meal, the gentle song of r ers flow ng on the r eterna ourney to the ocean these sensory e er ences ncrease our b ue hea th’, and a are be o ed by add ers The book begins at the tip of Cornwall, moseys through Devon, into Somerset and Wiltshire and back down to Dorset, stopping en route in Bristol and the surrounding areas. Below are a few excerpts – lightly edited for Bristol readers, who’ll know a lot of the local info already.

CLEVEDON MARINE LAKE

Historic Clevedon Marine Lake, possibly the world’s largest tidal n n ty oo , s re reshed by seawater rom the r sto hanne e ery spring tide. Perfect for families, beginners, and those looking to improve paddling skills, the lake is an accessible oasis along an otherwise Views for days; Clevedon Marine Lake extremely challenging coastline of fast currents, huge tidal ranges and vast mudbanks on anything other than higher tides.

O c a y estab shed n 1929, Clevedon Lake is a regular training ground for long-distance swimmers as well as recreational swimmers, paddle boarders, and kayakers. It once had a timber clubhouse, high diving boards, and bathing huts, but there are now no changing facilities other than toilets and cold showers, so bring a robe or large towel.

With views stretching from Clevedon across to the Severn Bridge and the coastline of South Wales, the lake and nearby pier have frequently been used as a ocat on n and m roduct ons nc ud ng Broadchurch, Sanditon, and Never Let me Go. Starting Point: Clevedon Marine Lake, Old Church Road Hire & lessons: Kayak and SUP lessons at www.clevedonmarinelake.co.uk Good to know: Avoid the seawall at high tide on spring tides, when the lake is overtopped by the Bristol Channel; check dates and times of ‘top overs’ at the website above.

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PORTISHEAD MARINA

The seawater dock and sparkling marina is surrounded by modern buildings and places to eat. Although the space dedicated to recreational paddling at the southern end of the marina is small, it’s a great spot for families and those wishing to hone their paddling skills.

Further exploration is possible under the guidance of Portishead SUP, who coordinate with Portishead Marina to ensure safe and controlled access at t mes when m n ma boat tra c s passing through the sea-lock gates.

The lock was built in the 1860s as a deep-water alternative to the much shallower Bristol Harbour. It was originally used by large ships carrying coal to Portishead’s power stations servicing the local iron- and steelworks. After closure in the early 1990s, the site was redeveloped into a modern marina and is usually jammed with boats of every type, including the occasional tall ship.

On each side of the marina, where two power stations and a chemical plant once stood, are modern housing developments, including one area beyond the lock modelled on the orn sh sh ng age o o erro, com ete w th narrow streets and multicoloured façades.

Starting point: Parish Wharf, Portishead Marina Lessons and tours: Portishead SUP; www.portisheadsup.co.uk Good to know: Buoyancy aids are mandatory.

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© PORTISHEAD SUP

GREAT OUTDOORS

ABOVE: Portishead SUP coordinates times with the marina to avoid busy boat traffic BELOW AND OPPOSITE PAGE, TOP: From Keynsham to Swineford OPPOSITE: Saltford Shallows to The Boathouse

“You may hear the odd roar from the Avon Valley Adventure and Wildlife Park, where a herd of animatronic dinosaurs roam”

BRISTOL FLOATING HARBOUR

ch ed way to see the h gh ghts o r sto harbours de, w th o t ona e curs ons a ong the eeder waterways aunch at the a t c har s way and e ore to your heart’s content gh ghts nc ude nder a ard, the o d hydrau c um ng stat on most y st o en, des te the re and the number o h stor c boats moored outs de hed, nc ud ng, at ar ous t mes, the steam tug ay ower, motor tug John King, and a re ca o e orer ohn abot’s sh The Matthew. he ewe n the crown s, o course, sambard ngdom rune ’s ocean ner ss Great Britain no matter how o ten you’ e ga ed u on t rom the shore, you’ get a un ue ers ect e o th s h stor c cra t rom the water o e tend the tr , the r sto arbour cence a ows you to cont nue u stream on the er on as ar as anham ock Starting point: he ottage and ng, a t c har For lessons, hire and tours:

r sto www.supbristol.com

Good to know: he harbour can be busy

w th boat tra c a ways ass to the r starboard r ght s de unbooked sw mm ng n the harbour not erm tted eash and su tab e buoyancy a d mandatory m n mum o two eo e at n ght and use o wh te ghts mandatory a o d c n ty o unct on ock and nder a ard

KEYNSHAM TO SWINEFORD

rom a rust c r ers de nn, o ow a w de r er a ey through o en country, ast h stor c boatyards and a w d e ark to a o e y sw mm ng s ot and a easant ub o aunch, wa k towards the ock

Keeper pub and turn left just before walking over the old bridge. After a short wa k, nd the ontoon on the r ght on a sma s ur o the r er Avon. Paddle left around the edge of Port Avon Waterside Marina into the ma n r er, and cont nue u stream, ast a ne o co our u barges, w th o en e ds and the o d bu d ngs o hoen oatyard on the r ght he ne t stretch o r er s ery eace u , w th gent y flow ng water and mature o erhang ng trees, a though you may hear the odd roar rom the on a ey d enture and d e ark, where a herd o an matron c d nosaurs roam eace s soon restored, as o en e ds, hedgerows, and mature trees ne the banks ust be ore the aduct, wh ch now carr es the r sto and ath a way ath, sto o at the tton cn c area or a d or re reshments, cont nue towards w ne ord and e t the r er where you see a arge outflow e on the r ght and sma and ng area on the e t mb the bank, turn r ght, and wa k across the e ds a short way to reach the wan nn ternat e y, cont nue on the r er a short d stance to e ore w ne ord ock where n the th century, the water owered m was used or co er ro ng, and ater c oth mak ng eturn the same way and en oy ost add e ood and dr nk at the character u ock ee er nn, once used as a guard ost dur ng the ng sh ar Starting Point: ear ock ee er nn, orta on ar na, eynsham Good to know: w nds can b ow a ong the r er a ey, so check cond t ons be ore you ea e add e on y on norma r er cond t ons a o d the r er a ter h gh ra n a due to ast flow Other oca routes nc ude a t ord to the oathouse, ath and heddar Paddle Boarding South West England – 100 places to SUP, Canoe or Kayak by Lisa Drewe costs £18.99 from www.wildthingspublishing.com

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THE ARTS S N A P S H O T S O F B R I S T O L’ S C U LT U R A L L I F E

O

O

ame s a ck e m stress ust ask b ue eyed sou ster au oung ter mak ng t b g as a so o art st w th h s debut a bum No Parlez, and h t s ng es Wherever I Lay My Hat, Love of the Common People and Come Back and Stay, au was orced to ut h s career on ho d a ter bad y stra n ng h s oca cords e ra ed su c ent y to s ng the o en ng nes o and d’s Do They Know It’s Christmas? st goosebum ra s ng, a ter a these years n he recorded h s a t me b ggest h t, Every Time You Go Away au was e entua y dro ed rom h s contract w th ony n the ear y s n he ormed the e e nfluenced grou os acam nos, w th whom he cont nues to tour and record h s year, mark ng the th ann ersary o No Parlez, au has re eased h s memo rs, Take a Piece of Me with You, a ong w th new a bum Behind the Lens a so the name o h s current tour es te h s ongo ng career and success, most eo e assoc ate the sound o au oung w th the s, when h s star was at ts en th, so brace yourse or nosta g a o er oad at edgra e th s e tember when au w be s ng ng a h s h ts and ta k ng about h s career we’ be there, ha r resh y ge ed and the s ee es o our w de shou dered ackets ro ed rm y u to the e bows Paul Young: Behind the Lens, Redgrave Theatre, 8 September; tickets £31.25; www.redgravetheatre.com

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Arlo Parks – or Anaïs Oluwatoyin Estelle Marinho, a she likes to be known on formal occasions – is heading to Forwards

WHAT’S August - 25 ON 25September 2023 EXHIBITIONS Until 28 August

SUMMER EXHIBITION The Royal Photographic Society’s selection of work submitted by members of varying experience and skill levels; at RPS, rps.org

Until 30 August

FOUND CITIES, LOST OBJECTS: WOMEN IN THE CITY Curated by Turner prizewinner Lubaina Himid, this Arts Council Collection exhibition explores modern city life from a female perspective, from safety and navigation to belonging and power. At RWA; rwa.org.uk

Until 1 September

RENAISSANCE PAINT JAM Top local street artists take inspiration from Bristol’s 650th anniversary to transform store fronts on Park Street, Queen’s Road and The Triangle; bristolcitycentrebid.co.uk

Until 8 September

RENE MATIC: A GIRL FOR THE LIVING ROOM An intimate portrait of Bristol writer and performer Travis Alabanza; at MPF; martinparrfoundation.org

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Until 10 September

MAKING THE CITY HOME Exhibition of textiles showcasing the visual stories of women who have made Bristol their home; At RWA; rwa.org.uk THE CAVE ART OF LASCAUX Step back 21,000 years in time and visit the Stone Age cave art of Lascaux in immersive 3D, at Bristol Museum & Art Gallery; bristolmuseums.org.uk

exhibition curated by art collective u dsou cont nues to ght u Propyard; propyard.co.uk

Until 1 October

THREADS: BREATHING STORIES INTO MATERIALS Major new exhibition featuring 21 contemporary international artists and makers, who use textiles as their chosen medium, at rno n arnolfini.org.uk

EXCEPT THIS TIME NOTHING RETURNS FROM THE ASHES new m comm ss on by smaa Jama, developed in collaboration with artist and costume designer Gouled Ahmed. Shot in Addis baba, the m o ows ghost y, glitchy presences haunting a city; at Spike Island, spikeisland.org.uk

Until 29 October

HARMONYCRUMB A new commission by Flo Brooks exploring trans and gendernonconforming histories through painting and assemblage; at Spike Island, spikeisland.org.uk

BRISTOL 650 TRAIL otta nd them a a new tra to celebrate 650 years of Bristol history, through objects on display at M Shed; bristolmuseums.org.uk

Until 30 September

BEYOND SUBMERGENCE he wor d rst , s t mmers e

STITCHING TOGETHER Beautiful textile creations and stories of women across the city, celebrating the joy of making through the shared language of sew ng at rno n ga ery arnolfini.org.uk

Until 1 December

BRISTOL PHOTOGRAPHS Jem Southam’s classic midcentury photos show at Society Café; rrbphotobooks.com

9 September-5 November

DESIGN ICONS: MADE IN BRISTOL Eclectic exhibition at Ken Stradling ce ebrat ng r sto through e iconic stories, from animation to timberframing; stradlingcollection.org

SHOWS

Until 27 August

SHREK THE MUSICAL The friendly green guy with the horns returns to delight kids of all ages at Bristol Hippodrome; atgtickets.com

29 August-2 September

BLOOD BROTHERS Willy Russell’s musical tale of twins who, separated at birth, grow up on opposite sides of the tracks, only to meet again w th, as they say, ate u conse uences’ at Bristol Hippodrome; atgtickets.com

31 August-2 September

ORPHEUS AND EURYDICE A cast of 100 take you on an epic journey into the underbelly of Bristol and beyond. With the fragility of the human heart at its core, expect stories of joy, pain and temptation, oh, and karaoke; at Bristol Old Vic; bristololdvic.org.uk

WHAT’S ON leading you through a powerful story of food, family and tradition; at The Wardrobe; thewardrobetheatre.com

12-16 September

BACON n unfl nch ng, une ected y humorous ook at mascu n ty, se ua ty and ower, through the dizzying lens of youth, at Bristol Old c bristololdvic.org.uk

13-30 September

KATHY & STELLA SOLVE A MURDER! See page 24; at BOV,bristololdvic.org.uk

5-9 September

BITTER LEMONS In the pressurised worlds of football and nance, two women car e the r own ath an e os e debut ay tack ng the ressures on women’s bodies, at BOV; bristololdvic.org.uk

6-9 September

BROTHERS ACROSS THE DECADES toryte er om arshman reca s his youth in Weston-super-Mare 30 years ago: the seaside town, the characters that surrounded h m and the de astat ng e ect o t Wardrobe; thewardrobetheatre.com

7-8 September

FANBOY o e hate etter to o cu ture and nostalgia, as Joe Sellmanea a e ores our re at onsh to our past and future selves, and why his generation is so obsessed w th ts ch dhood at tobaccofactorytheatres.com

9 September

MY THERAPIST GHOSTED ME un ua ed, unsubstant ated but u ront and honest ad ce from Vogue Williams and Joanne c a y on the rob ems the r thera sts cou dn’t u te hand e, at Bristol Hippodrome; atgtickets.com

11-16 September

GREATEST DAYS on ght cou d be the greatest n ght of your life: the sort-of Take That ang r mus ca the band s ne er ment oned by name but t’s a tac t tr bute u o the r tunes comes to Bristol Hippodrome; atgtickets.com

12-14 September FROM TOP: Beyond Submergence, twinkling on until 30 September; Health and safety will be coming for you, Jon Udry; 99 problems, and the pitch is one: Bitter Lemons

EATING MYSELF e a warm r sto b en en d s to e a uarte as she re ares you a traditional Peruvian soup while

14 September

PAUL ZERDIN: PUPPET MAN The former winner of America’s Got Talent brings his muppety alter-egos to Redgrave; redgravetheatre.com

20-21 September

EMPTY ORCHESTRA dance show that e ores the pains and pleasures of karaoke, from Lewys Holt; at Wardrobe, thewardrobetheatre.com

20 September-8 October

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY Musical based on the 1970s film, so probably more Gene Wilder than messrs Depp or Chalamet; at Bristol Hippodrome; atgtickets.com

21 September-14 October

LITTLE BROWN A failed night out, a musical, a show about heartbreak and queerness, with original songs: a coming-ofage story examining a friendship between two Black women on diverging paths of self-love and acceptance; at BOV, bristololdvic.org.uk

24 September

THE LOST CABARET Now presumably found again, as the w d rambunct ous n ght o a ternat e comedy and games returns to Wardrobe; thewardrobetheatre.com

COMEDY

Ongoing

CLOSER EACH DAY The world’s longest-running m ro sed comedy soa cont nues to bubble amusingly away at The Wardrobe; thewardrobetheatre.com

2 September

THE ANTICS JOKE SHOW Ft. Gavin Osborn, Up The Antics present their killer format of comedy

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WHAT’S ON TOP: Travis and Rene in Mia’s studio, at MPF BOTTOM: Seas the day at Ocean Film Fest

variety with the best local stand-up talent, improvised comedy, at Wardrobe; thewardrobetheatre.com

3 September

FRANKIE BOYLE: LAP OF SHAME The beardy controversial one is at Hippodrome. Buy a ticket, because by the time he arrives the currency will be worthless and you and your neighbours part of a struggling militia that could probably use a few laughs. atgtickets.com

6 September

MICHAEL MCINTYRE: MAGNIFICENT We’ll allow him the hubristic show title, because he invariably packs out Bristol Hippodrome whenever he’s in town; atgtickets.com JORDAN GRAY: IS IT A BIRD? The UK’s premier transgender comedian returns to take on babies, boobies, bigots and Batman in this blistering music and comedy show at TFT; tobaccofactorytheatres.com

7 September

HELI LAUGHS Mike Wozniak, Stuart Goldsmith, Dani Johns and Julia Stenton are all at BOV, raising funds through LOLs for Great Western Air Ambulance; bristololdvic.org.uk

10 September

JON UDRY’S VARIETY BUNGALOW A cabaret night of circus, comedy and all things unusual from the winner of British Young Juggler of the Year; Wardrobe, thewardrobetheatre.com

23 September

DARREN HARRIOTT: ROADMAN “ The new show will have stories from when I was a fat kid, to my life in gangs and being a security guard, so touring at lovely theatres will be a dream compared to stopping shoplifters at Primark and guarding a Xmas tree in Birmingham city centre,” says Darren. Redgrave; redgravetheatre.com

24 September

JASON BYRNE: IRONIC BIONIC MAN The accident-prone, generally unfortunate gobshite is now halfman, half-machine, and he’s being painfully hilarious about it all at Redgrave; redgravetheatre.com

MUSIC 26 August

OLD CITY SOUNDS Created by BCCBID, the one-day music event will take over Old City in a celebration of the city’s songful soul; bristolcitycentrebid.co.uk

7 September

JP COOPER The Manc singer-songwriter brings his brand of soul music touched with alt rock, tropical house and pop, built on his values of positivity, empathy and soul, to Trinity; trinitybristol.org.uk 65 DAYS OF STATIC he e d’s e ectron c ost rock pioneers celebrate their mucho ed th a bum Wild Light, by performing it in full; Trinity; trinitybristol.org.uk

15-16 September

8 September

17 September

19 September

BOORISH TRUMPSON An interactive interrogation of power and those who wield it from Lecoq-trained clown Claire Parrya. Boorish is a power-grabbing rehearsal conductor who will stop at nothing to gain ultimate control over the orchestra. Oh yes; and you are the orchestra. Wardrobe, thewardrobetheatre.com BRIDGET CHRISTIE: WHO AM I? Menopause LOLs with a confused, furious, sweaty lady who is annoyed by everything, at BOV bristololdvic.org.uk

PAUL YOUNG: BEHIND THE LENS He was Young in the ’80s (weren’t we a , when he rst wowed us with debut album No Parlez. Now Paul’s a bit older, he’s back on the road to promote his autobiography Take a Piece of Me with You. It’s coming to Redgrave; so are we, are you? redgravetheatre.com THE SCHMOOZENBERGS Conjuring up the mood of 1930s ar s, used w th fla ours o astern uro e and a bera s r nk ng of high-energy folk, at Wardrobe; thewardrobetheatre.com

20 I BRISTOL LIFE I www.mediaclash.co.uk

WHAT’S ON 23 September

FESTIVALS

BRISTOL SEA SHANTY FESTIVAL The best sea shanty crews, groups and choirs perform around Harbourside; if you’re still in any doubt about what, precisely, the Wellerman brought, this should sort it out. bristolshantyfestival.co.uk

Ongoing

BRISTOL FILM FESTIVAL The year-round fest with the something-for-everyone remit; bristolfilmfestival.com

Until 3 September

UNICORN FEST The public art trail ft. a herd of unicorns prancing across the city, painted by Bristol artists. We had the full herd in our July issue; bet you wish you’d hung on to a copy now; theunicornfest.co.uk FROM TOP: Zadie’s back with a new novel

MIDDLE: Renaissance man Andrew Burns Colwill

BOTTOM: Currently annoyed about absolutely everything: Bridget Christie

OTHER Ongoing

1 September

FORWARDS Two days of music and discussion up on the Downs, aimed at creating positive change; the line-up includes Erykah Badu, Aphex Twin, Bonoba, Ezra Collective, Primal Scream, Arlo Parks and Gabriels. forwardsbristol.co.uk

2-3 September

DOGFEST Four legs good, as the weekend of canine fun and games returns to Ashton Court; dogfest.co.uk

Until 16 September

BRISTOL’S SUMMER FILM TAKEOVER Explore the city through a d erent ens w th th s ongo ng takeover from Bristol’s UNESCO City of Film; bristolcityoffilm.co.uk

26-27 August

EAST BRISTOL BREWERY TRAIL Seven East Bristol breweries open up their taproom bars; with street food, live music and DJs; eastbristolbrewerytrail.com

8-10 September

WINGFEST The ‘Grillstock, but make it chicken wings’ returns to Lloyd’s Amphitheatre with the usual heady mixture of competitions, classes and fowl play; wingfest.co.uk

2-3 September

VEGAN FAYRE Stalls, caterers, talks, cookery demos, kids activities and music at this little slice of plant-based heaven up at St Jude’s; vegfest.co.uk

9 September

BRISTOL COFFEE FESTIVAL or ca e ne add cts e erywhere, from home brewers to pro baristas.

Tickets £16, so it’s not exactly a case of freebie and the bean.

At Beacon, bristolcoffeefestival.co.uk

7 September

ZADIE SMITH A major feather in Gloucester oad ooks’s ca as terary g ant ad e heads to ctor a ooms to chat about her rst no e n seven years; it’s called The Fraud; gloucesterroadbooks.com

15-17 September

BRISTOL OPEN DOORS Your biennial chance to peep behind closed doors and discover the city’s hidden treasures. bristolopendoors.org.uk

16 September

21 September

OCEAN FILM FESTIVAL A new collection of the world’s most ncred b e ocean ms at edgra e, redgravetheatre.com

22-23 September

BRISTOL TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE WALK unday wa k ng tours o er ng a history of Bristol as a port, how it came to participate in the slave trade, and Colston’s divisive legacy; bristoltours.co.uk

BRISTOL CRAFT BREW FESTIVAL Not to be confused with Bristol Craft Beer Fest, though with similar aims; at cool new venue Document in St Jude’s; yuup.co

SO LONG SUMMER bbey e d ret rement homes are holding an open-day afternoon at bbey e d ouse on estbury oad n en ea e abbeyfield-bristol.co.uk

25 September8 October

SUSTAINABLE FASHION WEEK The return of the pioneering grassroots sew and sews with the sustainable remit; sustainablefashionweek.uk

www.mediaclash.co.uk I BRISTOL LIFE I 23

PARTNERS IN CRIME They’ve got no motives. No suspects. They don’t know anything! Can Kathy & Stella crack the case and become global podcast superstars before the killer strikes again?

While still building in time for plenty of musical numbers? Head to Bristol Old Vic this September to find out...

Words by Deri Robins

© MIHAEL A BODLOVIC

H

THEATRE

aving practically invented its own genre, musical-comedy-whodunnit mashup Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder! is headed to Bristol Old Vic next month.

It comes trailing clouds of Edinburgh Fringe glory in its wake, along with a string of four-and five-star reviews and post-show vox-pops with delighted audience members; including Phoebe Waller-Bridge, no less, who described it as “the most brilliantly joyful, dark and twisted glorious night I’ve had in ages”. Maybe no surprise there; Kathy & Stella is brought to you by Fleabag producer Francesca Moody.

As Kathy and Stella explain in one of their big musical numbers, the show is about true crime. ”We’re obsessed with murder; if it’s sick, perverse and twisted, you know that we just can’t resist it,” they sing, in quippy, quotable lyrics that vaguely remind us of the great Buffy musical episode Once More with Feeling (there is no greater compliment).

Their fictional crime podcast is broadcast from Kathy’s mum’s garage, “with crackers and cheese and a bottle of pinot on the side”. It offers “the perfect marriage of boozy jokes, cheeky banter and in-depth chat about homicide” – but what happens when Kathy and Stella find themselves caught up in the real-life murder of their favourite crime writer?

Bronté Barbé, who plays Kathy to Rebekah Hinds’s Stella, gives us a clue.

“It’s the perfect marriage of boozy jokes, cheeky banter and in-depth chat about homicide”

Bristol Life: What‘s the show about, then?

Bronté Barbé: It’s about two best friends from Hull who... actually, I’m going to copy and paste from the website, here you go: “BFFs Kathy and Stella host Hull’s least successful true crime podcast. When their favourite author is killed, they are thrust into a thrilling whodunnit of their own! Can they crack the case (and become global podcast superstars) before the killer strikes again…?”

BL: The show was a sold-out hit at Edinburgh last year – why do you think it was so loved?

BB: I think there’s a bit of something for everyone in there.

Someone said to me yesterday, “You can enjoy it if you’re really stupid, and you can enjoy it if you’re really clever”. It’s properly funny, and a lot of the twists genuinely take you by surprise. The characters really resonate with people, even with a lot of it being really camp and stylised; and that’s down to good writing.

BL: What’s the best thing anyone has said about it?

BB: “You’re all gay icons!”

BL: What’s the worst thing anyone has said?

BB: “It feels like it’s been made by a bunch of Scooby Doo fans with ADHD.” BL: How closely are Kathy and Stella modelled on your and Rebekah’s personalities?

BB: Well, it was written by Jon Brittain and Matthew Floyd Jones before we came on board, so technically not at all. But it was

www.mediaclash.co.uk I BRISTOL LIFE I 25

THEATRE

BL: Have you tweaked the show in any way since 2022?

BB: There were five new songs when we came back to it this year, and lots of development within the scenes. Sadly we’ve had to cut 20 minutes from this Edinburgh run, but it’s all going back in for Bristol. So even if you’ve seen it at the Fringe, feel free to follow us to Bristol Old Vic. You won’t be disappointed!

“You can enjoy the show

if you’re really stupid, and you can enjoy it if you’re really clever”

BL: Tell us about the tunes BB: The music is really the extra character in the show. It’s the star, in my opinion. It’s so slick and so wonderfully orchestrated. Every song by Matthew Floyd Jones is an absolute earworm. But they all serve the story and punctuate the comedy. I’m a stickler for clever lyrics, and sometimes lyrics in new musicals make my eyes roll into the back of

“The music is really the extra character in the show...”

my head. Not here, thankfully. There’s a real mix of musical genres, which makes it a joy to perform because the different styles really inform the narrative.

BL: Without wanting to get too serious, is there a message behind the show – about fandom, for example?

BB: I wouldn’t say there’s a message, so much as it poses questions about people’s relationships to true crime. But also our relationships to stories that we tell about ourselves, our friendships, the narratives that we fit around things, to try to make sense of the world.

BL: How different is performing at the Fringe to doing a show at BOV? BB: In Edinburgh there are 12 people getting dressed in a shipping container.

Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder! plays Bristol Old Vic 13-30 September; www.bristololdvic.org.uk

© MIHAEL A BODLOVIC

strange how much it seemed to slot into place. After we did the first read-through it almost felt like it had been written with us in mind. But it absolutely hadn’t!

FEST FOR LIFE

While fires raged across southern Europe, the Bristol festival season was wet, wet, wet. But did that stop us? It did not . . .

Words and pics by Colin Moody

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2

B

BRISTOL HEROES

ristol. City of music, food, love and anarchy.

And there have to be places, events, where all these energies, in allegiance with each other, instersect. And they are called festivals.

We don’t do them like other people want us to. We have our own recipe.

So let’s dance and splash our way through summer, and into our glorious futures together.

1

Hero number one, Wilkinson: headliner at Siren. Another champion ste s u to fl , n an arms around strangers um est nd the beats and the bass were tera y on re

2

’m sorry te e, ust don’t th nk we’ e got anyth ng n common any more…” ou d be any recreated ng sh ub n a e d n the m dd e o the valleys. But this is Valley Fest.

3

“I wonder what PSI those Pirelli tyres are…” said the bikers at the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta. ’Cos there is always a niche within a niche at our festivals.

3

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I don’t know if he wants to get out, and the guy on the wharf is making him stay, or if he wants to get out and he’s about to be helped, or if it’s a bit of both blended with a whole harbour’s worth of chaos. To say the sky opened for the annual cardboard boat race wou d be to underse t nd as they raced to an mag ned n sh ne, somewhere beyond the bro ng tem est, you can ust make out that th s is a pure Bristol moment of the highest ranking.

Harbour Festival, the city’s festival. If it had a heart, it would be the harbour, and here we come every year to feed and feel the beat.

5

Wettest July on record, surely; it is according to everyone I meet. h e the rest o uro e bakes, we k ck o our shoes and ee summer squirting up through our toes.

Doesn’t matter which festival this is. You might be able to work it out if you asses the mud to straw to water ratio expressed here.

But long before the mud began to turn from its liquid state into its more scous, oh my god, my boot has gone, t’s gone, the mud ust took it when I tried to walk forwards, mate,” state, this one guy was already past nirvana; he didn’t need shoes any more. He was connected with the universe, and it felt good.

4

“If Bristol had a heart, it would be the harbour, and here we come every year to feed and feel the beat”

5 www.mediaclash.co.uk I BRISTOL LIFE I 29

BRISTOL HEROES

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Paint Jam. Somewhere near the city centre, half a dozen artists turning walls into wonder. Just a moment here: you can see their work all over this city, but I wanted to take a moment to appreciate this clan. Dab, splash and spraying our city into a cultural wonderland.

7

On a good day, you could sit down in a café at the end of the summer and say, Bristol had some great festivals this year.

On a better day, you’d get flashbacks to when you and your mates went fully in, twisting in bass and joy to a higher state of consciousness that can no more be expressed in a photograph than we mortals can ever expect to understand the inner workings of this wild evolving universe.

So to those who dare to go higher, to the crews who turn up and show out every year, this photo is for you. You hero; you absolute legend that you always knew you could be.

8

I was in the pit at Siren festival, and this guy leans over the wall and taps me on the shoulder. Not wanting to be rude, I lean in to what he has to say, plucking out the ear plug on the way.

“That’s DJ Marky up there, mate, so you’d better take a good picture.”

Well Marky was feeling us, and feeling it that day. It’s not up to me to judge, but that fella: if you are reading this article, is that ok?

9 10

And in case you forget about what makes us so special as a city, the press launch for the Balloon Fiesta shows how green is our valley.

Two points.

Bridge and balloons.

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

30 I BRISTOL LIFE I www.mediaclash.co.uk

“While the rest of Europe bakes, we kick off our shoes and feel summer squirting up through our toes” 8

9A

9B

EMILY & DAN ROSS STORYSMITH BOOKS

relayed by the titular Glutton himself from his hospital bed to the unsuspecting Sister Perpetué - think Amadeus meets Sayaka Murata written with surgical, exacting attention to detail. And if you like the sound of that, you might also be interested to know that the author will be joining us in-store on September 25th to tell us all about it!

Brace yourself for the deluge of new autumnal releases – but don’t be in so much of a hurry that you miss this little lot

A

s we piece together this issue’s column, you nd us n the publishing calendar’s most maligned and forgotten annual slump - the summer holidays. With everything so irretrievably geared towards the culmination of the year (we will not be using the ‘C’ word until at least November), the book world takes a little holiday at the end of the summer in anticipation of a deeply congested autumn launch season, and it can mean certain latesummer titles don’t get a fair shake.

With that in mind, we have cherrypicked three unfailing bangers to see you through until autumn.

A.K. Blakemore – The Glutton A couple of years ago it seemed every book club in Bristol was reading and obsessing over A.K. Blakemore’s award-winning debut novel The Manningtree Witches, and we were o course no d erent So the news that Blakemore was back with another act of ornately inventive historical re-imagining was met with huge excitement here - all the more because this time she is tackling the equally compelling and repulsive true-ish story of Tarare, the Glutton of Lyon, AKA The Bottomless Man, whose legendary capacity for ingesting anything placed in front of him turns him into a wretched legend.

The prose is stunning and the chewy subject matter is irresistible,

The Love of Singular Men – Victor Heringer (trans. James Young) This is such a beautiful, powerful novel about the burning joys of rst o e, and overwhelming grief that lasts a lifetime. Camilo, embittered by age and frustrated by his limited freedom, is reflect ng on his childhood in 1970s Rio de Janeiro, an intense and passionate time in which he both discovered and trag ca y ost h s rst o e The novel thrums with heat and vibrancy and violence, and the possibility of revenge hovers hauntingly over the narrative. The voice is assertive and delightfully unique - social observations are particularly entertaining, as are the rich depictions of his school classmates which ‘serve as a mould for every human being on the planet.’ he message that o e s fleet ng becomes doubly poignant in the knowledge that Heringer passed away just before his 30th birthday.

Pleasure Beach – Helen Palmer This book is an absolute feast - full to the brim with swirling prose, etymological wordplay, literary references, 90s music references, and playful wit to spare. Inspired

by Joyce’s Ulysses and the Homeric epic The Odyssey (don’t worry, you don’t need to read either of them as homework!), Pleasure Beach spans across one day in Blackpool, 1999.

Palmer’s experimental style follows the queer love story of Rachel and Olga, and a third interlocutor, Treesa, whose interconnecting accounts, minds, and voices create a polyphonic texture and chorus-like hum to the text. The prose itself is rich with sensory imagery, chip grease, sea air, and a mesmerising musical soundscape. It’s a truly delightful and whirlwind read.

When summer (such as it is) subsides, we’re going to be turning our attention to a very important milestone - Storysmith’s 5th birthday! We’re keeping plans under wraps for now, but rest assured that the end of October will be an exciting time to visit the bookshop. Which is a very non-coy way of saying that we’re having a party, and you’re all invited! Keep an eye on your inbox…

“The prose itself is rich with sensory imagery, chip grease, sea air, and a mesmerising musical soundscape”

Visit Storysmith Books at 36 North Street, Bedminster www.storysmithbooks.com www.mediaclash.co.uk I BRISTOL LIFE I 33

THE CLIFTON This former Regent Street boozer has been busily keeping up with the Joneses . . .

Words by Deri Robins

I

RESTAURANT

’m not sure whether you’ve noticed this, but Regent Street cancelled the mains and ordered it twice; pillowy within, toasty and is slowly being taken over by the Welsh. It all began in 2018, chewy without, tangled with cloud-soft ewes curd, tomatoes, and – a bit when the Morgan family opened tapas joint Bar 44 at number of a current fave with chefs, this – the seashore herb agretti, which has the r rst restaurant outs de the r nc a ty ow, a texture similar to samphire but tastes like spinach. The dish was much presumably having bidden its time to avoid suspicion, a second more than the sum of its parts, yet simple enough to delude me into Trojan horse has stealthily crossed the Severn and moved into th nk ng cou d u t o at home ’ et you know how that one goes former boozer The Clifton at number 16.

Your Man’s grilled mushrooms were a palpable umami hit, the bosky Bar 44 has become one of our favourite haunts in the city; could fellow ’shrooms topped with salty shavings of Somerset pecorino and, in the amorgan tes arah and om atts ones u o a s m ar tr ck t m dd e, a b g at sun o a con t egg yo k, r ch, go den and buttery as t seemed hopeful; they’d arrived with impressive previous in the form of a broke unctuously over the dish. stab e that nc uded the auded eathcock n ard and che n sted he arger ates most y meat d shes, one sh were rm y n c ass c Hare & Hounds up in Aberthin. gastropub territory, and guaranteed not to frighten the horses; you could Despite their serious ambitions for the kitchen, Sarah and Tom are bring the plainest of eaters here. A massive crown of grilled Devon duck keen to ensure he ton rema ns a oca ub or oca eo e he rst was pinkly tender, accompanied by a simple dish of buttered hispi and room you enter is the bar, although the whole place has had such a smart duck-fat roasties; we really couldn’t fault it, though were utterly defeated makeover you’d be forgiven for thinking this was the dining room. You by its size. Major props to the lovely waiter, who didn’t need to be asked can, in fact, order from a short menu here; we’ve earmarked a particularly be ore bund ng the na knock ngs nto a conta ner or us to take home inviting looking high-backed settle near the window, where we plan to sup s we hadn’t n shed u our duck we robab y shou dn’t ha e been ale and slurp oysters and make like a Georgian. allowed to order pudding, but nobody raised The dining room is at the back, divided from an eyebrow when we did. A creamy dish of DINING DETAILS the bar by an open kitchen where you can perch set butterm k, a rmer, more sens b e ng sh The Clifton, 16 Regent Street; 0117 431 2002 up and annoy Chef. This is often my favourite cous n o the fl rt er anna cotta, was to ed www.thecliftonbristol.com way to dine, but we didn’t quite trust ourselves with hazelnut granola and luscious peach, Opening hours The kitchen is open Wed 6-9.30pm; with The Clifton’s counter stools, which are while a cherry pavlova paired boozy fruit and Thurs-Sat midday-2.30pm, 6-9.30pm; Sunday backless and look perilously slippery, so we chocolate perfectly with a meringue that was midday-4pm chose a table with proper chairs instead. From crisp, chewy and marshmallowy in all the right Prices Medium plates £8-£17; mains £24-£40; puds this vantage point we surveyed the room: newly places. £6-£10 decorated in cream and heritage-green, the paint The term ‘gastropub’ is bandied about Veggie Some starters, no mains when we visited so resh you can sme t, set o by g ass endant rather indiscriminately these days, with a lot lights and cool black-and-white retro-style prints. Drinks Proper beers, impressive wine list o cha ns ng str ed back rooms w th Service Friendly and invested The smart, airy, understated decor turns out mismatched wooden chairs and blackboard to be a good match for the stylish Modern British Atmosphere Local, laidback menus as a smokescreen to hide the fact that the menu, which should please just about everyone food is pretty average. The Clifton, however, a art rom the egans, who w a e and a o the r bar stoo s when they s a de n te cut abo e, more than earn ng ts gastro re or ts es y the many o a d shes on o er he d d t me at t ohn’s restaurant imaginative yet unshouty cooking, carefully sourced ingredients and in London, and his enthusiasm for all things nose-to-tail has clearly stuck. thoughtful wine list. The service is lovely too, striking the sweet spot The menu’s also slightly unusual in that it’s broken down not into between e c ent and re a ed e sure y enough to make you ee you’re starters and mains, or even small plates, but medium-sized plates that ha ng a n ce, unrushed n ght out but not so s ow that you nd yourse get more substantial, and mostly pricier, the further you go down the list, anxiously refreshing the Ringo app. along with big ones which you could conceivably share. We chose one Croeso, then, to the Watts-Joneses! In the 9th and 11th centuries, a each from the former and one from the latter, although with the invariable number o u ty e sh r nces tr ed and a ed to n ade ng and we’re hindsight that haunts us whenever we leave any restaurant, however ook ng hard at you, ru udd a ywe yn nstead o charg ng o er the good the meal might have been, we ended up wishing we’d ordered two border brandishing spears, they should have arrived bearing tureens of medium small plates each instead. crispy pigs cheek with fennel and chicory, bobby beans and courgettes, Dining at the apogee of Bristol’s apology for a summer, we’d arrived and o heart skewers they had, who knows e m ght a be s eak ng cold, damp and craving comfort food. My gnocchi was so good I nearly Cymraeg, though obviously in posh BS8 accents, in Clifton today.

www.mediaclash.co.uk I BRISTOL LIFE I 37

May have overdone it with the BBQ lighters there, Jack . . .

GET IT WHILE IT’S HOT With the help of BANK’s head chef Jack Briggs-Horan, we’re making the most of the last summer days by firing up the barbie. No, not that Barbie.

RECIPES Summer’s not over until you’ve thrown a BBQ feast for your friends and family, and there’s nobody better to show you how its done than Jack Briggs-Horan, head chef of BANK Bristol.

Check out Jack’s top BBQ tips over the page, then try your hand at these three spectacular recipes. All dishes serve four people.

CORNISH MACKEREL

Ingredients: 2 bunches of spring onions 50 g root ginger 4 cloves of smoked garlic 2 tbsp soy sauce 3 tbsp sherry vinegar Mild olive oil Caster sugar Salt 3 tbsp creamed horseradish 100 g crème fraîche 4 mackerel fillets (bones removed) 150 g peas 2 handfuls pea shoots 100 g bacon or pancetta (cubed and fried until crispy) *Chef says: Smoking is optional, but it’s just a case of using some wood or smoking chips on a fire and letting the ingredients get smoky – like grilling, but with smoke as opposed to fire

Method 1. Grill the spring onions on a barbecue until slightly soft and blackened, keeping the green parts off the fire to maintain their colour. Shave the ginger and smoke it. * 2. Roughly chop the green parts of the onion and place them in a bowl. Put the charred whites, smoked ginger, and garlic in a food processor and pulse into a medium-coarse paste. Add the soy sauce, vinegar, and a little oil, working it into a loose dressing. Fold in the chopped greens and season with sugar and salt. The dressing should be smoky, tangy, sweet, and slightly fiery.

3. Mix horseradish and crème fraîche together and season according to your preference for spiciness. I like mine very hot, to the point that it feels you may have a nosebleed.

4. Char the peas a little by placing them in a sieve directly in the coals, then add them to a salad bowl with pea shoots, crispy bacon, and a few spoons of the spring onion dressing. Don’t hesitate to use a generous amount of dressing, and allow pea shoots to wilt slightly.

5. Season the mackerel fillets with salt and oil, then grill them skinside down until golden and blistered.

6. Spoon the crème fraîche on a plate, place the cooked mackerel on top, cover with the salad, and serve.

NB The spring onion dressing can be used in various other dishes, and it pairs well with noodles or rice with crispy pork belly

www.mediaclash.co.uk I BRISTOL LIFE I 39

RECIPES COURGETTES AND AJO BLANCO Ingredients 350g blanched almonds 5 cloves smoked* garlic 45 g chardonnay vinegar 90 g olive oil 250 g iced water 2 lemons 1 tsp Dijon mustard 2 tbsp smoked sea salt 4 large yellow courgettes Mint leaves 100 g crushed toasted almonds (smoked almonds work even better) Schichimi togarashi (try to find it at Waitrose, or look for a good selection at Asian supermarkets) Yuzu oil (or lemon, or fruity olive oil) *See page 39

1. To make the ajo blanco: in a blender, combine the blanched almonds, three cloves of smoked garlic, chardonnay vinegar, olive oil, iced water and salt. Blend the mixture until you achieve a smooth paste. Avoid leaving it in the blender for too long, as it may split when it warms. Place the ajo blanco in the fridge to firm up.

2. Cut lemons in half and grill them until slightly blackened. Purée the burnt zest with two cloves of smoked garlic, the juice of the lemons, and the Dijon mustard. Emulsify some olive oil into the mixture and season with salt. The dressing should have a tangy and smoky flavour.

3. Cut some courgettes in half, rub them with salt and oil, and reserve one courgette for ribbons. Grill the courgettes until slightly blackened but still firm. Allow them to cool slightly.

4. Use a peeler or mandolin to shave the courgettes into ribbons.

Toss the ribbons in a bowl with some mint leaves, crushed almonds, togarashi, and lemon dressing.

5. Spread the ajo blanco on a plate and top it with warm grilled courgettes. Cover everything with the ribbon salad. Garnish with more mint, almonds, togarashi, and yuzu oil. Serve.

DUCK, BEETROOT, AND RAS EL HANOUT Ingredients 200 ml vegetable oil 1-2 dried chipotles 2 oranges 1 kg beetroot (boiled in salted water, then cooled and peeled) 4 duck breasts (trimmed and seasoned; keep trimmings) 2 tomatoes 3 shallots 2 tsp ras el hanout 100 ml port 500 ml duck stock 4 sweet potatoes 600g pickled cherries Purple leaves to garnish, eg amaranth

3. Take the trimmings from the duck breasts and put them in a hot saucepan with diced shallots. Cook at high heat to caramelise, then add tomatoes and cook until dark red. Add a little oil if it starts to dry, then toast the ras el hangout for a few seconds. Deglaze the pan with a big glug of port.

4. Pour the duck stock over and simmer for 30-40 minutes, skimming the top of the sauce. When it’s suitably rich and sticky, pass it through a sieve and add the juice of the oranges. Season with salt and sugar.

5. Prick the sweet potatoes with a fork, oil the skin, and season with salt. Hot smoke them until crispy and cooked through.

6. On a medium heat barbecue, grill the duck skin-side down to render the fat. Grill wedges of beetroot and cut the sweet potatoes so you can colour the insides slightly.

Duck Preparation 1. Heat vegetable oil until very hot. Place the dried chipotle in a jug blender with the orange peel, then pour the hot oil over the top.

Watch out for spitting and steam. Purée the mixture for two minutes, then pass it through a fine sieve lined with muslin. Let it cool.

7. On a warm plate, make a puddle of the warm beetroot purée.

Arrange the grilled beetroot, sweet potato, and sliced duck breast on top. Sprinkle pickled cherries over the dish and plate with the duck sauce. Drizzle with the orange and chipotle oil and garnish with purple leaves such as amaranth.

2. Smoke half of the beetroot, then purée with water, olive oil, and salt. It should be bright pinky-purple with a sweet smokiness. Set aside.

BANK Bristol, 107, Wells Road; www.bankbristol.com

8 HOT TIPS

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Plan ahead and have everything cut, seasoned, and marinated in advance.

Utilise different tools like sieves and baskets directly in the coals to create super-hot grills.

3

You can grill and smoke at the same time by placing longer-cooking food on a shelf above the grilling shelf.

tiny smokers, or protect the foods you cook.

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Cook extra for tomorrow! If you’ve started a fire for tonight’s dinner, grill Try cooking everything on the grill. You a few vegetables for tomorrow’s meals to can use the coals as a stove by placing enjoy the barbecue throughout the week. your pans directly in the fire, which is You can also smoke items like cream, salt, great for preparing dishes like chilis and and oils to use over the coming weeks. stews.

Set up a little kitchen next to the grill Get creative with foil, using it to create with a table and chopping board. This different sections on the grill, make way, you’ll have everything you need

4

nearby, reducing the need for back-andforth trips and allowing you to keep an eye on the grilling.

Don’t forget puddings! Grilling fruits and nuts can add an interesting layer to desserts.

www.mediaclash.co.uk I BRISTOL LIFE I 41

FOOD & DRINK A TA S T E O F B R I S T O L’ S F O O D S C E N E

TAKE FIVE

RICCARDO DAMIANI Riccardo’s Italian restaurant La Panza first opened on Park Row, moving in 2021 to one of the city’s most historic buildings: the former home of 18thcentury poet Thomas Chatterton, on Redcliffe Way

R

ccardo has been work ng n the ndustry or o er years, both n h s home country o ta y and here n the

What was the idea behind La Panza? o create an n orma , a dback d n ng e er ence w th home y ood, w th the same be as an ta an trattor a he a m w th my restaurant has a ways been to br ng the fla ours and e er ence rom my home town n ta y to the s end a ot o t me research ng d shes and w nes attent on to deta s a r or ty Tell us about the venue . . . e got ery ucky to end u n th s enue,

surrounded by a green area where we can grow flowers and herbs e’re not too ar rom the harbours de, so we themed the restaurant w th she s, sh ng nets and other d cor that dro e o er rom my hometown ncona, a ort on the dr at c hat, and the sound o the be s rom t ary edc e church, trans orts you to a sma town ta an restaurant Sum up the vibe... retty, co our u and cosy s ace, w th brant ay sts and r end y sta er ect or casua d n ng or a romant c cand e t date What’s the al fresco deal? he outdoor s ace s surrounded by a br ck

wa ed n garden a ro er summer suntra , w th a b g hea y duty mar uee or r ate art es o u to eo e, o er ng ra n and w nd co erage What’s on the menu? great se ect on o ta an ns red sma ates, nc ud ng tem ura coated resh ca amar , aranc n , atters and seasona sa ads s we as a ar ety o ma ns, we a so ser e ndu gent desserts such as stach o t ram su and es resso a ogato d shes are resh y cooked n house, eatur ng our o u ar ocacc a and astas Give us a recommendation...

One o our best se ers s the gnocch a rag d’ natra, wh ch s s ow y cooked o er e ght hours e o er a g uten ree o t on too he gnocch s such a c ass c n my hometown, where gamey d shes and sea ood are art o the e eryday d et For more: www.lapanzabristol.co.uk

www.mediaclash.co.uk I BRISTOL LIFE I 43

Reach the best in the west Affluent, active and influential and just a call away

Bristol Life team 01225 475800

HOT PLATES

Ben, Simon, Jude, Hannah, Pete and Josh. We admire the optimism of Pete’s white apron

Joe and Jayde coming at you

SO SOUS ME Ever fancied working side by side in the kitchen with Bristol’s most exciting chefs? Even better: what if it was all for charity? urn ng the dea o the trad t ona ban uet on its head, Josh Eggleton and Team Love’s CIC Team Canteen are curating an Antian uet at shton ate on October to ra se cash or r sto oca ood und a ro ect run by volunteers who care about food, community, susta nab ty and mak ng a d erence Bristol’s business community is encouraged to buy tickets for their team, or to donate to local charities, while their CEs get to work in

the kitchen or serve the guests as a member of the ront o house crew Around 700 guests will be invited to the nt an uet, nc ud ng emergency ser ces, charity workers, and others who rarely have the o ortun ty to attend such gather ngs our hosts or the n ght w be ro er r sto legends Jayde Adams and Joe Sims, currently co-starring in uby peaking on art o a tasty line-up of comedy, music and other enterta nment eatur ng r sto ’s nest ta ents, nc ud ng the n s b e rcus Meanwhile, shouting ‘backs!’ in the kitchen will be top Bristol chefs Josh Eggleton of the ony, eter anche g es as o aco a as

and asa, and en ar ey o anch s ude Kereama of reat ritish enu fame will join the line-up, along with celeb chef Simon Rimmer of Channel 4’s unday runch astry che annah ate y w a so be art o the team he nt an uet takes ace on October To get involved, buy a table for your team or the charity of your choice, visit: www.antiban uet.co.uk

Holly, Tom and Josh (again)

PONY ON THE BOX Two more news snippets from Planet Eggleton.

Firstly, The Pony Chew Valley has just been showcased in an episode of new BBC series The Hidden World of Hospitality, in which presenter/chef Tom Kerridge talks about the redevelopment of the restaurant and its challenges; the episode aired on 17 August on BBC Two. Meanwhile, in the kitchens of the Kensington Arms in Redland, head chef Oscar Davies has moved the menu away from classic gastropubbery into more of a chophouse and grill style, with a wood/coal fire grill in Steph and Oscar the kitchen. Josh and Holly are stepping back from the day-today running of the Kenny, leaving it in the capable hands Oscar and general manager Steph. www.theponychewvalley.co.uk; www.thekensingtonarms.co.uk

DOUBLE SHOT If you spot more than the average number of hyped-up folk bouncing about the city on 9 September, blame t on the return o the r sto o ee Festival, which returns to Bristol Beacon with lots of new additions and surprises u ts ca e nated s ee e ou can, or example, immerse yourself in the new reen o ee age e ore o er ngs rom o er e h b tors d e nto un ue and thought ro ok ng co ee ta ks, and embark on a co ee tra ad enture Meanwhile, over at its Bristol roastery, tract o ee w be host ng g oba com et t on he ar sta eague “It’s exciting to be the only UK host for an event which showcases the speciality co ee ndustry’s comm tment to

community,” said Extract’s MD, Duncan enda “It’s going to be an unforgettable event, br ng ng together co ee enthus asts and industry professionals for a celebration o co ee cu ture e ha e an ama ng line-up of partners joining us for the event…[including] phenomenal burgers from Danny’s Burgers, cocktails from Beyond The Bean, Oatly and Toddy, some o r sto ’s best beer rom er rue, and much more Extract is also hoping to make The ar sta eague the o c a a ter arty o the o ee est a mmm ca e ne, cocktails and beer: what could possibly go wrong? www.bristolcoffeefestival.co.uk

www.mediaclash.co.uk I BRISTOL LIFE I 45

HOT PLATES

CLOSING TIME Bristol Life generally likes to accentuate the positives, but the ongoing problems in hospitality can’t be glossed over. The latest casualty is the multiaward-winning Rosemarino, one of Clifton’s best-loved restaurants, famed for its Italian-inspired cuisine and legendary brunches. ter wonder u years, we ha e made the d cu t dec s on to c ose the doors at our beloved neighbourhood restaurant permanently,” say co-owners Sam Fryer and Mirco Bertoldi.

“The past few years have thrown some major curveballs at the industry we o e, and the re ent ess nanc a ressures ha e made t ncreas ng y d cu t or us to susta n our sma bus ness es te our best e orts, we are no onger able to continue serving you in the way we envisioned.”

News also just in: The Hobgoblin pub on the Gloucester Road has also closed, with the owners announcing their decision “to move on”. Sad times. www.rosemarino.co.uk

IN A GLASS, DARKLY

RESTORATION DRAMA Spoke & Stringer and Restore are collaborating on a new venue on the site of the former Cowbee – yes, another closure – on Park Street. oke tr nger ha e ong comb ned reta , s ec ca y merchandise relating to outdoor sports and adventure, with hospitality under one roof. The new hub with Restore is designed along similar lines, selling premium brands such as YETI, Florence Marine, and Ciele Athletics.

The hub will also host community events and workshops, with estore’s h gh ua ty ood and dr nk, nc ud ng bar sta co ee www.spokeandstringer.com; www.restore.cafe

What is it with Hyde & Co and the occult? Is there something we should know? They’ve already gone all mystical, magical and twisted over at The Raven, and now their love for the dark side has n trated the r or g na s eakeasy bar, yde o, w th a new, innovative drinks list inspired by paranormal science, cu t sc shows and terature The 18 new cocktails took over six Enjoy the Northern Lights from the months to create; the menu, designed comfort of your own banquette by former Hyde & Co bartender Gareth Aldridge, incorporates puzzles, codes and mysteries to unlock on every page, with interactive garnishes such as psychic cards, Rorschach tests and planchette boards.

Each drink has been crafted to look as good as it tastes; for example, in the Northern Lights [right] the inside of the glass is painted with edible green and purple paints to mimic the phenomenon in the night sky.

Co-owner Nathan Lee says they’ve tied the menu in with “a new look and feel for the venue and the brand itself, which has modernised the aesthetic, whilst still staying true to the sleek, classy vibes we’re known for.”

More at www.hydeand.co www.mediaclash.co.uk I BRISTOL LIFE I 47

CAFÉ SOCIETY STAN CULLIMORE

Club class

What this excuse for a Bristol summer calls for is a nice hot cup of joe…

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hen life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

So the saying goes. Seems everyone knows it. Though, to my way of thinking, with a bit more thought and attention, you could make lemon curd instead, which is far more exotic. Or even lemon jelly, if that’s your thing. Both excellent choices of lemon-based edibles. Either way, the main takeaway here is, when life throws dodginess your way, you should probably try to do your best with it. Whatever it is.

fine selection of cakey bakes ictrola record deck playing vinyl s what could be better than soft sounds and sweet treats?”

Talking of which, I’ve got a question for your consideration.

What do you do when you’ve booked a day’s sailing down on the docks, put on your sun cream, packed a picnic and then the weather re uses to ay ba he wind doesn’t blow, the sun doesn’t shine and the whole shebang seems like a complete waste of time. Sigh. Not exactly lemonlevel bitter, but pretty close.

Would have been very easy at this point to pack up, go home and grumble about the state of the world. But, dear reader, but. That is not what happened. Nothing like. Instead, I went for the lemon curd option, metaphorically speaking.

Which brings me neatly to th s ssue’s co ee sho , or rather, co ee conta ner, o cho ce ’m ta k ng about he o ee ub A tasty little enterprise down on the dockside, just past the rowing club, before you get to the dry dock. Right next to Banksy’s Girl with a Pierced Eardrum. he co ee out et s a modest concern, a small black shipping container, plus a few benches out front, for patrons to sit and sip in comfort. Must admit, I’ve walked past it dozens of times and never paid much attention.

Not quite sure why. Just never did.

But on this particular day, in this particular mood, it seemed like the perfect spot for a stop.

You see, the picnic I’d packed had most things you need for a satisfying sandwich break. Very nice it was too, sitting nibbling on a bench overlooking the water.

There were sandwiches, obviously. Banana, naturally. h ed flask o ta water Absolutely. Trouble is, after sna ng the sarn es and b t ng the banana, I quickly realised that on a less-than-sunny day, chilled water just wasn’t going to cut it.

Which is why I wandered over to the o ee ub and ordered a most delicious Americano. It was de n te y the r ght cho ce o venue. And beverage.

First impressions were excellent. Fine selection of cakey bakes, Victrola record deck playing vinyl LPs. What could be better than soft sounds and sweet treats e urns out, the sta were even better. A couple of friendly souls, full of smiles and happiness, made ordering a hot drink feel like one of the better things that had happened in the day. Which is always nice.

So if you are ever in that part of town, I would highly recommend giving them a whirl. And if you haven’t got a picnic, they do some m ghty ne ook ng sausage ro s Clubtastic!

Former Housemartins guitarist Stan is now a journalist and travel writer @stancullimore on instagram

www.mediaclash.co.uk I BRISTOL LIFE I 49

MESSY WEEKEND 'DOWNEY' TORTOISE GLASSES, £85 From Cooshti’s recent collab with cool Danish brand Messy Weekend. Like its namesake, the Downey is a bit of a charmer From Cooshti, 57 Park Street www.cooshti.com

BORN TO BE WILD Animal print isn’t ‘back’. Animal print never went away . . .

ANGEL & ROCKET BABY MABEL BODYSUIT AND HAT, £8 (REDUCED FROM £16) There’s only one thing cuter than a baby, and that’s a baby in an animalprint combo From John Lewis The Mall at Cribbs Causeway www.johnlewis.com

STINE GOYA KIANA JACKET, £182 (REDUCED FROM £260) Cropped button-up jacket with wide sleeves and a metallic animal print, made from recycled polyester BLOWFISH MALIBU From Grace & Mabel, MABEL B SANDALS, 32 The Mall £35 (FROM £49) www.graceandmabel.com A timeless must-have you

can wear all day long, thanks to the comfy cushioned sole From ffice Cabot Circus www.office.co.ul

MARA LEOPARD HOOP EARRINGS, £25 Mara Studio is run by Miranda, a Bristol-based jewellery maker and macram e ert her w d y popular leopard earrings are as lightweight as they’re pretty From Mon Pote 217a North Street www.monpote.co.uk

50 I BRISTOL LIFE I www.mediaclash.co.uk

PIECES GLINDA SUNDRESS, £19.60 (FROM £28) Lightweight, cool and floaty can be worn w th or without its straps From Fox + Feather 41 Gloucester Road www.foxandfeather.co.uk

MARKET SMILEY® TIGER PLUSH BASKETBALL, £69.99 Yep, it’s a basketball in the form of a cuddly, plushy pillow. We can’t think why, but we also can’t think why not From Cooshti 57 Park Street www.cooshti.com

ED’S CHOICE FIONA WALKER MINI LEOPARD HEAD, £39.95 Not a fan of things with antlers, but want to introduce a touch of the wild to your walls? This boiled wool leopard head could be just the quirky ticket From Maze Clothing 26-28 The Mall www.mazeclothing.co.uk ALICE TEMPERLEY x ROMO VELVET CUSHION, £180 ce rm y be e es that eo ard print counts as a neutra, and Alice knows what’s what From Temperley x Romo, available from Bracey Interiors, SJP, Sofa Magic and Sofa Library www.romo.com

JONATHAN ADLER TIGER VALET TRAY, £75 Trés, tray chic: New York designer Jonathan Adler has updated the classic leather valet tray in posh porcelain, with bold emerald hues and a tiger rug design From Harvey Nichols 27 Philadelphia Street www.harveynichols.com

FAYE ANIMAL PRINT SARONG, £45 When you’re sunning yourself in the garden and suddenly have to be in a Zoom call From Mint Velvet, Regent Street www.mintvelvet.co.uk

TT HANDPICKED CYCLING SHORTS, £18 If you’re going to be cycling up the Croft with your derrière in the air, you may as well clad it in something interesting From That Thing 45-47 Stokes Croft www.thatthing.co

DOTTY SNAKE PRINT PUMPS, £99 Crafted from butter-soft snakeskin-print leather, these ballet pumps are a nod to chic Parisian dressing From Mint Velvet Regent Street www.mintvelvet.co.uk

DESMOND & DEMPSEY RAYAS PYJAMA SET, £135 You’ll want to wear these cotton PJs all day. And frankly, my dear, why shouldn't you?

From Harvey Nichols 27 Philadelphia Street www.harveynichols.com

SORUKA 'CLAIRE' BAG, £40 Handmade in India from 100% recycled suede by art sans rom eather o cuts each ece s un ue, characterful and tells the story of its creation From Frankly Store, Unit 5, Cargo; www.frankly.store www.mediaclash.co.uk I BRISTOL LIFE I 51

SUMMERTIME BLUES

Dress for the summer you want, not the summer you might be getting …

Words by Marianne Cantelo

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hen you picture a perfect summer, what do you see? Is it endless white sands and turquoise seas; green e ds w th poppies waving; the scent of bracken, heather and sparkling waterfalls? Terracotta tiles, whitewashed walls, blue and green cupolas and the cheerful colours of parasols shading tables?

Working from home in the middle of summer, that kind of idyll seems a long way far away. Comfort is often prioritised over style and we feel licensed to wear either very little, just chucking on something decorous for a

Zoom, or things with very little aesthetic merit. though fle b e work ng has o ened our eyes to the work/life balance, there was something to be said for ‘getting ready’ for work and leaving the house.

In the last 10 years, the lines between ‘work wear’ and ‘après-work wear’ have eroded for the better. It feels as if there’s an opportunity to embrace the possibilities of dressing without the constraints of boring corporate clothing, but also without the sloppiness

of ‘pret-a-pyjama’. Feeling motivated to dress in a way that is inspiring, not just ‘practical’, can nfluence mood, ro ect greater con dence and boost creativity. By taking this idea, and choos ng c othes that reflect the beauty o our longed-for holiday destinations, instead of waiting for an escape that might not come, perhaps we’ll enjoy living more in the ‘magical’ than settling for ‘meh’?

How about selecting a day dress that matches the sea at Santorini, creating the illusion o reflect ons n the water w th earr ngs or necklaces in mother-of-pearl, silver or lucite?

Or a crisp, linen blouse in an azure that evokes the Riviera, lifting a simple pair of white tailored trousers as fresh as the froth of the waves? Already feeling the heat without the need for the Med, how about a cobalt blue swirling skirt that nods to cooler Baltic waters, matched with a Heidi-esque embroidered blouse, evoking fresh breezes on Swiss Alps?

Are you more inclined to be nostalgic than glamorous? There’s something to be said for some whimsical, HE Bates-style, English holiday dressing. Try tiered dresses with plenty of room for any breeze that might e st, br ng ng you b essed re e g r shness’ tempered with oversized sunglasses and chunky gladiator sandals.

Or the lightest of blouses, with smocking to keep the fabric away from your skin, matched with oversized linen dungarees for some picturesque ‘work on the land’. Whether you’re a a ark n or a ar ette, ook or floaty flora A-line skirts, balanced with neat, shortsleeved shirts, working perfectly with 1950sstyle wedges, Mary Janes or wellies. All the above, of course, to be paired with a large basket bag or ho d ng a your cut flowers, oetry ed notebooks, or wonky, unders ed home grown carrots . . .

Marianne Cantelo is business development project manager for Dorothy House Hospice Care.

The charity has 25 high street shops across the region, including Keynsham, selling pre-loved items, which provide a large part of its income; it also has an online shop.

For more: www.dorothyhouse.org.uk Dress from Dorothy House Photographer: Egle Vasi; www.eglevasi.com MUA: Chantelle Moody Model: Tash Kings Styling: Eleanor Tasker and Marianne Cantelo

FASHION

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SHOPPING LIST

1. Denim utility jumpsuit, £65 (reduced from £129), Mint Velvet, 44 Regent Street; www.mintvelvet.co.uk 2. Weekend Maxmara glass and resin necklace, £84 (reduced from £120), Grace & Mabel, 32 The Mall; www.graceandmabel.co.uk 3. Flared zip-up midi dress, £89, Cos, 8 Quakers Fiars; www.cos.com 4. Selected Femme halter neck, £27.50 (reduced from £55), Maze, 26-28 The Mall; www.mazeclothing.co.uk 5. Hofmann Copenhagen Elena Dress, £185.50 (from £265), Grace & Mabel, 32 The Mall; www.graceandmabel.co.uk 6. Big Metal Cressida beaded earrings, £14, Fox + Feather, 41 Gloucester Road; www.foxandfeather.co.uk 7. Christian Louboutin wedges, £735, Harvey Nichols, 27 Philadelphia Street; www.harveynichols.com 8. Colour-block sunglasses, £28, Oliver Bonas, 21 Philadelphia Street; www.oliverbonas.com 9. Small Retwist Hobo bag, £1,195, Mulberry, John Lewis, The Mall at Cribbs Causeway; www.mulberry.com 10. Garment-dyed lightweight denim jacket, £195, Toast, 7 Bartlett Street, Bath; www.toa.st

www.mediaclash.co.uk I BRISTOL LIFE I 53

MEET THE

AGENCY

They’re the campaign-builders, the event-promoters, the brand-creators, the marketing gurus and the digital ninjas – but which one is the perfect partner for your business?

SPONSORED CONTENT TOBY FARROW

BEN LOWNDES

What sets you apart from other agencies?

I’m pretty sure we’re the only agency in the UK cofounded by an acclaimed scriptwriter, so when we say we’re storytellers, that means something to our clients.

For us, words are the basis of everything – they provide meaning and depth to our visual development work.

What sets you apart from other agencies?

We are experts in our clients’ industries, having worked in them for decades in some cases. This has helped us to work on some very high-profile projects in the South West, which we’re very proud of. We’re also an uncomplicated, straight-talking bunch, who get people.

Clients never get marketing speak or fluff from us.

HIDE THE SHARK hello@hidetheshark.com; www.hidetheshark.com

What do you find most rewarding about your role?

Gaining trust and developing a personal relationship with our clients. The getting-to-know-you aspects of our contracts are enjoyable, but once we understand the inside out and have developed a shorthand, things can start moving. The benefits we bring to a business, from the intangible such as internal confidence, to the positive effect on the bottom line that having a connected brand brings, become much more apparent.

DISTINCTIVE COMMUNICATIONS 07387 140 782; www.distinctivecomms.co.uk

What do you find most rewarding about your role?

Making a positive difference. Our campaigns support business growth, unlock major investment and create thousands of jobs and homes. It’s incredibly satisfying to hear these stories and know that your team has had a role in them.

Toby Farrow

Why should a business utilise your services?

We find that clients have two reasons for working with us: to build awareness and trust in their work or support their growth ambitions. We help them by getting to the heart of their story and telling it in human, relatable ways.

Why should a business utilise your services?

We bring the personal touch. Keeping our client base selective enables us to pick exciting projects and work with people we are passionate about helping. Longterm relationships allow future thinking and a proactive approach that is appreciated and rewarding.

What is your favourite thing about Bristol?

It’s a shape-shifting city, constantly evolving and exploring exciting spaces – a bit like us!

ANNA BALL

VILLAGE DESIGN AND CREATIVE MARKETING LTD 0117 910 6050; www.villagedesign.co.uk What sets you apart from other agencies?

Village Design has been established for more than 40 years and offers all the services of a traditional agency combined with creative digital solutions, films and social media.

What services do you offer clients?

We specialise in branding, design, websites, digital solutions, films & animations and social media. Our projects range from two-year multi-channel marketing campaigns to one-off company rebrand projects and creation of social media content.

Why should a business utilise your services?

We are passionate, experienced and knowledgeable designers who have the capacity to take on any project. We are a big enough team to deal with large workloads but small enough so the people you meet are the people that clients will deal with on a day-today basis.

Where do you see the business in five years?

Our vision is to continue offering exceptional value for our existing clients, while also diversifying our portfolio by expanding into new sectors and offering our expert services to new industries and clients.

What bespoke services do you offer clients?

Strategic public relations, content creation and stakeholder engagement.

Ben Lowndes

Where do you see the business in five years?

We’ve had a very successful first year... Watch this space.

How has the pandemic changed the way that you work?

As a collaborative, creative business we thrive on teamwork and ideation making our office-based setup invaluable. However, we now recognise that a work-life balance is important so have introduced the option for staff to work from home once a week, ensuring adaptability while maintaining an efficient, succinct service to our clients.

What do you find most rewarding about your role?

As the client services director, I am involved in all projects and no two days are the same. One minute we’re brainstorming names and creating a brand identity for a new housing development, and the next we are working through a spreadsheet of assets for one of our FMCG clients or creating a new website.

It is creative, diverse and fast-paced!

www.mediaclash.co.uk I BRISTOL LIFE I 55

SPONSORED CONTENT ANDREA BRISTOL

WILLIAM GLOSSOP & LIAM DIXON

ADMIRE PR 07887997922 www.admire-pr.com

What sets you apart from other agencies?

We are very focused on the reputations of our clients and will do all we can to build and protect those reputations. As the famous line by Will Rogers goes, “It takes a lifetime to build a reputation, but you can lose it in a minute”. It is proven that companies with a positive reputation are more profitable and are able to attract and retain talented staff.

MAGIC NUMBER 0117 3258959; www.wearemagicnumber.com

Please explain what your agency does for your clients?

We create connections between brands and major events, festivals, and pop-ups. Our end-to-end services cover partnership design, contract negotiation, activation planning, asset production, event execution, and even storage. This leaves our clients free to focus on their core business, confident that we’re tirelessly championing their interests.

Andrea Bristol

What sets you apart from other agencies?

Harnessing our robust data insights, we strategically position our brands within the perfect events to engage their target consumers effectively. This data-driven approach also enables us to negotiate prime partnership arrangements. Backed by our exceptional in-house design, production, and event management teams, we guarantee the flawless execution of each campaign, maintaining the highest standards of quality throughout.

What do you find most rewarding about your role?

I always say we are the backing singers to our clients, in the background to support and promote them.

There is literally nothing better than to see our clients’ names in the press. After 18 years the feeling does not diminish.

Where do you see the business in five years?

I am really ambitious and want to grow the business to be able to support more clients as well as to act as a springboard for new talent coming into the PR industry. I am building an agency that is a rewarding place to work and I am proud of each and every one of our staff. I’d love to be able to give more people the chance to work with us.

NICOLA TYLER

HAPPY HOUR PRODUCTIONS 0117 929 9797 www.happyhourproductions.co.uk Why should a business use Happy Hour?

We’re the place to go for TV ads and video.

Clients don’t need to venture to London for a toptier advertising agency. We’re creative, insightful, brilliant at production, and it’s fun for clients at the same time – we’re not called Happy Hour for nothing!

What sets you apart from other agencies?

We’re specialists in TV and video advertising offering strategy, creative and production all under one roof. It’s rare to have an agency with such a solid blend of both advertising and production expertise. We’re proudly independent, ranked in the UK’s top 40 creative agencies by Campaign.

What’s most rewarding about being MD? So many things! Watching brands grow due to our work, our long-standing client relationships, problem solving with the team, the thrill of a pitch win, and enjoying the incredible culture we’ve built here.

What bespoke services do you offer?

TV ads, all types of video, animation, radio, podcasts, digital ads, social content, TV admin and distribution.

56 I BRISTOL LIFE I www.mediaclash.co.uk

Liam Dixon

Will Glossop

What is your favourite thing about Bristol?

Known as a creative hub, Bristol boasts the highest concentration of event professionals in the UK, who are consistently pushing the boundaries of the event landscape.

As a Bristol agency, we take immense pride in being part of this city’s vibrant culture and thriving community.

Are you expanding your offerings in 2023?

We’re launching ‘TV Essentials’, helping first-time advertisers get on air with a quality advert, at a cost-effective price, from an agency with bags of experience. And we’re launching a podcast service from our new in-house studio.

Where do you see the business in five years?

Continuing to lead in TV and video nationally by embracing tech advances and introducing clients to new possibilities.

There are so many exciting developments in virtual production and AI-led moving image that I’m sure we’ll be creating content in ways that haven’t even been invented yet!

Is there anything else you want to tell us?

We turn 20 in September, so a huge thank you to all the Bristol crew, creatives and partners who’ve played a part in our journey so far.

SPONSORED CONTENT

on projects we love working on, supported by a team who love what they do.

What is the most challenging brief you have faced?

Working on a data-collection app delivered in 30 countries and in over 25 languages. Complex?

Yes. Insanely rewarding?

Absolutely.

What do you find most rewarding about your role?

I love building relationships and putting order into chaos. I am always looking for ways to improve our customer’s experience by implementing process, systems and communications that really work for them.

MODULAR DIGITAL 0117 325 8050; www.thisismodular.co.uk

Why should a business utilise your services?

We help organisations wanting to grow and expand, embrace digitalisation to deliver their vision.

What sets you apart from other agencies?

We’re the least ‘fees-focused’ agency you will ever meet. We’re here to build a portfolio of clients we love working with,

What bespoke services do you offer clients?

Strategic experience design. We don’t just build websites or apps. We look at an

EMMA MILLINGTON

RIKKI PAYNE

What is your favourite thing about Bristol?

Its disruptive spirit.

Where do you see the business in five years’ time?

Who knows? I heard the future is unwritten!

Are you looking to expand your offerings in 2023?

No. We’ll continue to help marketing and communications teams embrace strategic experience design to get closer to their customers.

PLASTER CREATIVE COMMUNICATIONS 0117 953 0320; www.weareplaster.com What sets you apart from other agencies?

The unmatched talent of the team goes without saying, and the diversity of our client base is special. I lead the culture team – which sees us lead on the comms for Bristol’s hero events including the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta, Love Saves The Day, Bristol Sounds and the Bristol Harbour Festival, to name a few. We also have a tech division, which works with huge clients in the tech world including Microsoft and Zoom – and a community division where our work with Bristol Nights and its campaigns for the city’s nighttime economy, including the Safety of Women at Night and the drink spiking campaign, has influenced policy in Downing Street.

What sets you apart from other agencies?

It’s all about the people and the passion. We have a small but perfectly formed team of strategic thinkers, brilliant creatives, and exceptional client managers, all passionate about bringing the wow-factor to your brand.

Rikki Payne

Why should a business utilise your services?

We know that many start-up brands are launched on a shoestring, and when budgets are tight, packaging design is often created out of necessity rather than crafted with love. It takes creative knowledge, experience and insight to make sure a design stands out, so if you’re ready for your product to be noticed on a whole new level, we’ll help give your products the platform to shine.

What is your favourite thing about Bristol?

‘Championing Creativity’ is one of our values, and the Bristol street art scene absolutely embodies this. We’ve captured that spirit in our studio with a graffiti wall painted by one of the Upfest artists.

How has the pandemic changed the way you work?

Now, more than ever we’re driven by our own vision. To help maturing organisations, charities, NGOs and SMEs and start- ups tap into technology to get closer to their customers. Organisations making a big impact on a global or local scale, sometimes both.

NATALIE JOHNSON

EPISODE TWO CREATIVE 0117 933 9400 www.episodetwo.co.uk

What do you find most rewarding about your role?

I love collaborating directly with brand founders, whose passion for their brand and products is contagious, and where our expertise can really make a difference to how their brand is seen by consumers and retail buyers.

organisation’s vision, brand and customer needs to craft deeper, more engaged customer experiences that radically increase customer engagement, satisfaction, advocacy and brand loyalty.

What bespoke services do you offer clients?

Bespoke is the word. We can be full service – so we can take a new business and develop their brand identity, build their website, launch their socials, write their awards entries, media releases, features…but we advise what we believe is needed to ensure that what they pay for is providing strong return on investment. Sometimes we go off piste and just do what needs to be done – for example, earlier this year we ordered and painted mini remote-control motorhomes and hand delivered them to Chris Moyles and Chris Evans. True story.

Natalie Johnson

What do you find most rewarding about your role?

Seeing the events that we pour our heart and soul into come to life and seeing the joy that live music and performance brings. It’s a total cliché but they’re the moments of joy that make it all worthwhile. www.mediaclash.co.uk I BRISTOL LIFE I 57

SPONSORED CONTENT KELLY PEPWORTH

GEORGIE UPTON

What sets you apart from other agencies?

As the largest agency in the South West, we pride ourselves on our impressive client portfolio delivering award-winning work nationally and internationally for exciting brands and businesses such as BRITA, Revlon, Haven Holidays and Barclaycard.

We are in a unique position to offer a 50:50 specialism in engaging both businesses and consumers which means a richer, more integrated approach to creativity, news generation and campaign activity.

But it’s our people that truly set us apart. The calibre of our work and long-standing client relationships is a testament to the talent of our 40-strong team. The ambition, bravery, passion, creativity and determination I see from the team every day is something I am incredibly proud of.

We care passionately that what we do makes a difference. We refuse to do PR for PR’s sake. Only in really understanding our clients’ businesses and markets are we able to move the dial and create impact through the power of PR; changing the way people think, feel and act. Combining business brains and creative muscle, we create brilliant, shareable, authentic content and experiences across multiple channels helping clients build brands, manage reputations and grow their businesses.

What sets you apart from other agencies?

I would say that we don’t stand still – gaining Bcorp accreditation, blurring marketing channels for the biggest benefit, pushing the right boundaries with our creative ideas.

SPEED COMMUNICATIONS 07725 423 187 www.speedcommunications.com

CATHERINE FRANKPITT STRIKE COMMUNICATIONS 0117 905 8811 www.strikecommunications.co.uk

What sets you apart from other agencies?

We have a core focus working on campaigns, culture and causes. We bring a combination of strategy and creativity to every project to make sure we create communications that are authentic and compelling and cut through the noise.

What is the most challenging brief you have faced?

The most challenging but also one of the most rewarding was being involved in the name change of Colston Hall to remove the perceived association with the slave trader. It was a hugely significant project to be part of that garnered attention from all over the world, and saw other organisations following the music charity’s lead.

What do you find most rewarding about your role?

Knowing that we’ve added genuine value to our clients’ organisations. Many of them are charities so it’s especially rewarding to help them achieve their objectives.

Why should a business utilise your services?

We can make sure a business is getting the most out of their communications, by providing them with the right strategy, tactics, messaging

WILD CARD 07377 424854 www.wildcard.co.uk

Kelly Pepworth

What is the most challenging brief you have faced?

A couple of years ago, we were approached by a well-known hand sanitiser brand to turn around a huge stunt to celebrate the end of lockdown restrictions – but with only 2 weeks to pull it off. We succeeded thanks to a clever idea and incredible organisational skills. The brand is now a very valued client.

What do you find most rewarding about your role?

Having happy staff and happy clients is really what drives me. And the thrill of seeing a well executed campaign land brilliantly with media never goes away.

Georgie Upton

Why should a business utilise your services?

Because we can genuinely make a difference to their business. When done well, PR can drive huge impact – whether that’s keeping our hotel clients at 100% capacity throughout the year, or launching new food brands to market and helping them grow.

and tools. Our strategic approach and honest recommendations will help get them where they want to be.

What is your favourite thing about Bristol?

It does things its own way. It is bubbling with creativity, fresh ideas and talent. Just walking around this city sparks inspiration.

Where do you see the business in five years?

Still loving what we’re doing, supporting clients who are doing positive things in the world. We really care about playing a role in tackling inequalities, so we want to be working with even more organisations who are in that space.

Are you looking to expand your offerings in 2023?

We’ve focused on steady growth since the start, while keeping our team and costs as lean as we can so that we remain affordable to the clients that we like to work with. So we are planning more of the same this year.

www.mediaclash.co.uk I BRISTOL LIFE I 59

NETWORK

TRUE STORY

THE CITY’S HOTTEST BUSINESS NEWS

WE TALK TO THE SPEEDY FOLK REVOLUTIONISING BROADBAND

BUSINESS CLUB

STIMULATING CHAT OVER A NETWORK LUNCH

SCENE IN BRISTOL

LATER, DATA

PIP STOCKFORD OF SUSTAINIT SOLUTIONS

PRECIOUS CARGO

THE LAUNCH OF THE BRISTOL PROPERTY AWARDS

WAPPING WHARF NORTH: TAKE TWO

GET YOUR MOTOR RUNNING

NEWS, AWARDS AND ACCOLADES

THE FUTURE OF DRIVING

THE STORIES MAKING THE NEWS

NETWORK L-R: Greg Ingham, Dr Joseph Karthauser and Melanie Hunter

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY GEORGIA MCGOVERN © PHOTO BY BET T Y BHANDARI

“IT GIVES US A CHANCE TO BE THE CUSTOMER CHAMPION” MELANIE HUNTER YELL Truespeed

building a brand, it’s like creating a new friendship – you’ve got to have a bit of trust, but you’ve also got to engage. By working with communities and football clubs [as well connecting more than 100 hundred community hubs and schools in the South West, Truespeed has sponsored many local sports teams, including Bath City Football Club, Glastonbury’s Tor Rugby Club, and Keynsham Cricket Club], we also get to hear the voice of the customer, and learn from that eedback rst hand

UP TO SPEED

F

Dr Josef Karthauser and Melanie Hunter Yell of Truespeed reveal how their company is turning the world of broadband upside down

irst there came the printing press around 15th century – making mass communication and the sharing of ideas commonplace.

It could be argued the dissemination of knowledge stayed pretty much the same way until the arrival of the internet. Suddenly, and not that long ago, information was not just being shared instantaneously and directly into people’s homes, but we were able to control, create and interact with that information. It has become so integral to our lives it now lies at the core of everything we do, from leisure to work, from essential life admin to a social tool to keep us connected.

The right to connection Those of us living with broadband take it for granted – so much so, one bu er, one ree e o a screen, one day of disconnection, and we’re all having meltdowns. And yet there are many in the South West who have very limited or no access at all to broadband. Fortunately, we have local company, Truespeed, which is dedicated to redressing this imbalance, spelling out that they “believe that everyone has the right to a broadband connect on that works

And how will they achieve this? By actually building new networks: “a brand new, state o the art, u bre broadband network across the South West, to provide the fastest, most re ab e broadband there s A true misson At a recent Network Lunch held in Bath at the Royal Crescent Hotel and Spa, Truespeed’s technical advisor, Dr Josef Karthauser, and the company’s director of marketing, Melanie Hunter Yell, were interviewed by MediaClash’s CEO Greg Ingham to share the remarkable story of Truespeed’s founding and its mission.

Josef, known as Joe, who is also a key contributor to the OpenSource software movement who share source code with the public, enabling free copying, modifying and redistribution, and who has a PhD in Theoretical Physics, co-founded the company in 2014 with Evan Weinberg, which he describes as a com et on o h s dream art o his inspiration was as a young boy, h s am y not be ng ab e to a ord the expense of the telephone bills that came with dial up modems. Whilst at university in the early 1990s he helped work on an internet service provider with one of his lecturers.

Ultra-fast full fibre networks It was with Evan that Joe then worked on his vision to deliver ultra-fast full bre networks or the d g ta age w th packages for everyone, especially focusing on those hard to reach areas, wh st a so o er ng ree connect ty for schools and village halls – the end goal being about making a positive d erence to eo e’s es ter initially working for nothing whilst looking for investors for funding or near y months, na y the idea began to become a reality, and now, in its seventh year of business, Truespeed employs 263 people. The network has doubled in size this year, and has so far invested almost £134m into areas across the South West.

Community spirit Melanie, who joined Truespeed in 2022, is now responsible for helping share and promote the value, identity and ethos of the company by spearheading the strategic direction of its marketing and sales. Previously having worked on international and national brands, including O2 and Microsoft, Mel initially found focussing on just a hyper local area to be quite challenging. “However, we’re really, really lucky that the South West has such great communities that have open minds. When you’re

Creative freedom And what does the future look like for Truespeed? Looking very long term, Joe admits that there is the chance the brand itself could morph once the infrastructure is complete. “It’s a vehicle that’s going to live for a certain amount of time and then becomes something else.

We’re not going to be one of those businesses that gets handed down to the children, they run it and it lives forever. That is sad as a founder, but t s ne tab e However, in the meantime, whilst there are still rural communities to be connected, Truespeed will endeavour to keep going. As Mel says, “We’ve got so much creative freedom to learn, and grow with our customers, that’s incredibly exciting. It gives us a chance to be the customer cham on For more: www.truespeed.com| www.mediaclash.co.uk

The Bristol Life and Bath Life Network events offer an opportunity to hear inspiring speakers over a fine lunch.

The next Bristol event, held at Harbour Hotel, is with Laura Aviles of The Bottle Yard Studios: the largest film & TV studio in the West of England www.eventbrite.co.uk

www.mediaclash.co.uk I BRISTOL LIFE I 65

NEVER MISS AN ISSUE 17 ISSUES FOR

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Never miss an issue of Bristol Life – get your own copy posted to you on the Friday the magazine comes out Get yours for £45 for UK subscriptions (17 issues)

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NETWORK

“WE ARE AGNOSTIC ACROSS THE NON-FINANCIAL DATA SPACE” PIP STOCKFORD Sustainit

JOURNEY TO THE JOB

PIP STOCKFORD

The CEO of SUSTAINIT explains how she went from a fashion degree to taking over the family biz

P

ip is the second-generation owner and CEO of Sustainit – a Bristol based sustainability data consultancy which supports organisations all over the globe to accelerate their sustainability agenda. Over the years they’ve worked w th e eryone rom m cro start u s to househo d brand names and mu t nat ona cong omerates Please tell us a little about the career path that led you to Sustainit I’ve grown up alongside Sustainit, wh ch was ounded by my mum Charlie in 2006, and have always had an interest in strategy and business de e o ment stud ed ash on med a and market ng at rts n ers ty ymouth, and a ter graduat ng, bu t my ort o o work ng n a ar ety o large household brands such as Costa, Dyson and Renault as well as local creative agencies before joining the am y bus ness n

How has your role developed within the company?

Initially supporting on a sixmonth contract to ro out the new market ng and sa es strategy, a ong w th a much needed brand re resh, mo ed nto a bus ness de e o ment ro e was ass onate about creating strategy, and growing the business and our ser ce o er ng, as we as reta n ng the brand and s on my mum had originally started in 2006. n , m d andem c, made the transition to MD and then, n , o ow ng my mum’s o c a ret rement, took on u responsibility for the business and ga ned my os t on as O Can you give examples of the areas of data you work with?

We are agnostic across the nonnanc a data s ace e work w th data co er ng en ronmenta , hea th and safety, risk, supply chain, social and go ernance metr cs

Tell us a little about your work with Redcliffe and Temple Bid This was a great project run by our principal sustainability consultant Julia, and one we’re particularly proud of as it won us a Green Apple go d award edc e and em e BID knew they needed to start their sustainability journey, but weren’t sure how to begin, so we worked with them to sha e a comm tment around sustainability which would tie in with their wider strategy. It involved workshops and lots of one-on-one work w th the team to get t r ght, and you can read the r u comm tment by going to their website and to their themes’ sect on Sustainit is female owned and led – is this a particular point of pride? bso ute y ’m so roud to be a second-generation owner but also to carry on the women owned s on my mum set out when she started the business. The business was

ormed at a t me when there was a ack o women re resentat es n the sustainability, data and tech world, and women weren’t as common n the boardroom e’re a so ound ng signatories on the Bristol-based Motherboard charter, which works to de er s gn cant ong term m act or work ng mums or new mums returning to work. That said, we have a d erse team, and strong y be e e n a eo e rst a roach, and one o my core a ues s to em ower my team n e eryth ng they do Our bus ness a m s to ns re eo e to build their careers in sustainability, data and tech, regardless of gender, age and experience, which we current y do through mentor ng, work experience and internships.

How has the business grown since its beginnings?

The business has changed a lot since it began in 2006; we have a rollercoaster history and have been successful in ducking and diving through anything thrown our way.

O er the ast years we’ e a so focused on innovation and building our voice in industry. and are proud that the Sustainit and Stockford names are w de y recogn sed nce becom ng O, ’ e been de e o ng an ama ng team o consu tants and trans orm ng our technical and data services, and we can support our clients on anything rom user su ort on the r data management so tware to system o t m sat on, carbon account ng and a ue cha n ana ys s or co es Excitingly. last year was a pivotal growth o nt or the com any where we achieved a 44% growth and doub ed our team s e, and ’m rea y looking forward to seeing what we can ach e e mo ng orward For more www.sustainitsolutions.com

www.mediaclash.co.uk I BRISTOL LIFE I 67

t: 0117 279 0980 | m: 07956 846307 e: simon@bristolcityroofing.co.uk

www. bristolcityroofing.co.uk

NETWORK Craig Pettit

Neil Snow, Adam Kershaw and Tamara Toothill

EARLY ONE MORNING Look at that view! Wonder how many of the guests at the Bristol Property Awards launch at Clifton Observatory, held on a sunny morning earlier this summer, were scanning the horizon for development opporunities?

Photos by Jon Craig Instagram @joncraig_photos

Steve Noble and Otto Avent

Paul Guest and Sarah Waller

Tom Coyte and Thomas Buckely

Guests, guesting

Hope they haven’t spotted a typo: Sally Dyer, Danielle Shennan, Natalie Atkinson and Jake Horwood

www.mediaclash.co.uk I BRISTOL LIFE I 69

NETWORK

PRECIOUS CARGO

D

ue to its highly visible waterfront spot, right across from the city centre, few developments have attracted more public scrutiny than Umberslade’s Wapping Wharf North. ow, o ow ng consu tat ons, new ans or the na stage in the area’s regeneration have been submitted.

Umberslade say that this last part of the Wapping Wharf jigsaw will enhance Bristol’s dockside neighbourhood, secure the future of the CARGO independent businesses and create a go-to leisure destination on the city docks.

It will also provide sustainable new homes, shops, restaurants, takeaways and workspaces, together with generous landscaped public spaces, and more natural habitat for wildlife to improve biodiversity. he ro osa s ha e been s gn cant y re sed o ow ng two years of consultation with Wapping Wharf traders, local residents, stakeholders, advisory bodies and the wider public. eedback dent ed the need to reta n the s ec a character o CARGO, discussion about the height of some of the buildings, and questions about how the landscaping would be delivered and maintained, all of which have been carefully considered and addressed by the design team.

KEY CHANGES INCLUDE: • The double-height restaurant on the top of the landmark building has been removed, as well as restaurants from upper levels, lowering the building and giving it a more slender appearance.

• An open-air publicly-accessible rooftop shipping container restaurant and viewing terrace has been introduced on the s th floor, o er ng e ans e ews across the harbours de he O bu d ng has been redes gned to reflect the character of the existing shipping containers, with covered walkways and external staircases.

70 I BRISTOL LIFE I www.mediaclash.co.uk

FROM TOP: The central tower, now shorter, slimmer and generally less looming; restaurant terraces from above; the double-height hall

• The interior of CARGO Hall has been re-designed with shipping container cladding, a brighter colour scheme and individual pods which businesses can tailor to their own needs.

• One storey has been removed from block 3, behind M Shed • Four three-bedroom homes for social rent have been created w th n the a ordab e hous ng • The greenery on the facades of the residential buildings has been re des gned n ne w th new go ernment re safety regulations.

“We have listened very carefully to the feedback from all parties and worked over a considerable period of time to ensure we respond and make changes where possible, whilst maintaining the overall integrity of the design and our vision or these na hases o a ng har , sa d tuart atton, MD of Umberslade.

“We’ve sat down with practically all the traders at CARGO to understand how they want to develop their businesses within the new building, to make sure it really meets their individual needs. We have agreed with most of them exactly where they would be located, and although they understand that major development like this takes time, they’re very excited about the prospect of moving into a permanent home where they can flour sh “Our ambition with Wapping Wharf North is to take the development of the neighbourhood we’ve created here to a whole new level, and create a place in which people can live, work, shop, exercise and socialise. At the same time, we want to build on the harbourside’s reputation as a leisure destination by creating something fresh and exciting that will draw people to the area, with more green public spaces for them to en oy when they get here More in our next issue; www.wappingwharfnorth.co.uk

NETWORK

PLASTIC FANTASTIC In our previous issue, we brought news that Bristol m cro ast c tech rm atter had won the ardware ward n the recent es ow we hear the rm has just raised $10m in Series A funding, with participation from investors tied to Leonardo DiCaprio and Ashton Kutcher. atter, ounded n , ocuses on m cro trat on or circularity and sustainability, aiming to combat microplastic pollution at its source. S2G Ventures, Builders Vision’s investment team, and Ashton Kutcher and Guy Oseary’s SOUNDwaves led the funding, joined by Consumer ClimateTech fund Regeneration.VC and Katapult Ocean.

The investment will facilitate scaling of Matter’s m cro ast c trat on tech and acce erate ts roduct roadmap for commercial and industrial microplastic capture, repurposing them from sewage sludge to fertilizer or incineration. The company’s partners laud its contributions to ocean and planet health.. www.matter.industries

Semi-gratuitous photos of Leo and Ashton

MINDING THE GAP The West of England Combined Authority has launched a £2m fund to address skills gaps in the region, benefiting businesses and individuals. The programme offers training in areas such as retrofitting and electric vehicle mechanics to support the region’s transition to a net-zero future. Employers and training providers can apply

for cash grants to offer training schemes in high-demand areas.

Additionally, the fund aims to help the long-term unemployed re-enter the workforce and assist young people pursuing careers in sectors with significant job vacancies. Applications close on 11 September. www.westofengland-ca.gov.uk

GATEWAY TO THE WEST Bristol Airport fairly regards itself as the gateway to the outh est a condu t to the area’s r ch o er ngs in culture, history, and entertainment.

To further promote the region, Visit West has unveiled a 136 ft mural at the airport showcasing family-friendly attractions and events in Bristol and Bath. The artwork, in partnership with the airport and Eye Airports, aims to inspire the 8.5m passengers visiting the region this year. www.bristolairport.co.uk

AWARDS AND ANNIVERSARIES Congrats to Studio 74 on Whiteladies Road, awarded Best Art Space in the National Muddy Stilettos Awards – quite the accolade for a gallery which only opened last October. The Muddy Awards are all about celebrating and supporting the most creative, exciting local businesses, and Studio 74’s win perfectly e em es r sto ’s nd e scene www.studio74contemporaryart.com Another tasty milestone for Aqua, which last month celebrated the 25th anniversary of its Welsh Back restaurant; this time it’s the turn of their Portishead branch, which is about to notch up a decade; www.aqua-restaurant.com

BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE Following the opening of its third venue in Honiton, Bristol’s fast-growing café/bar and restaurant group Loungers has its sights set on a nationwide expansion for its roadside concept, Brightside. The company aims to evoke nostalgia for childhood road trips, transporting visitors back in time with interiors inspired by the 1970s and ’80s, caravan aesthetics and classic road-trip movies coupled with value-formoney and wholesome food. www.brightside.co.uk

REASONS TO BE CHEERFUL Results of a new survey reveal that businesses in the South West are experiencing a higher resurgence in confidence than other UK regions. The region, along with the West Midlands, is one of only two areas to show an increase in optimism.

The findings, from Lloyds Bank Commercial Banking’s latest Business Barometer, reveal that while national confidence levels rose by five points to 34%, companies in the South West displayed a remarkable 47%.

Top growth targets for the region include sustainability, team investment and product/service evolution. Firms are also more optimistic about recruitment, despite wage inflation and skill shortages. www.lloydsbank.com

Studio 74, bringing glamour to art collecting www.mediaclash.co.uk I BRISTOL LIFE I 71

NETWORK

MAIN PIC: Aston Martin V12 Vantage

TOP, LEFT TO RIGHT: Porsche 911; Audi RS3

GET YOUR MOTOR RUNNING What’s the future of motoring? How green are electric cars, really? And how can we be more eco-conscious with our driving? We spoke to the team at IMOLA OF BRISTOL, a beacon of excellence in the used car industry with a reputation for specialist knowledge

W

ith a steadfast commitment to excellence and an extensive stock list of high-quality vehicles, Imola stands out as the go-to used-car dealer in the Bristol area.

“As a specialist used-car dealer, we take pride in the exceptional quality of our vehicles,” they say. “With an extensive range of modern cars and used vehicles, our stock list is a treasure trove for automotive enthusiasts seeking quality used cars. From renowned luxury brands to popular ma nstream manu acturers, we o er a d erse selection that caters to all preferences and budgets.

Whether you’re in the market for a sleek saloon, a versatile SUV or a powerful sports car, our dealership has the perfect vehicle to match your desires.

“Our dealership is not just a place to buy vehicles; it’s a haven for automotive enthusiasts who appreciate the allure of quality used cars.”

What’s the most exciting car you currently have to sell?

Our most e c t ng o er ng current y s the ston Martin V12 Vantage. Its sleek, timeless design, blistering speed, and the resonant growl from the 6-litre V12 engine create an exhilarating driving

72 I BRISTOL LIFE I www.mediaclash.co.uk

experience that’s second to none. Its powerful performance, combined with an air of elegance, makes it a standout choice for those seeking the ultimate driving thrill.

What do you think is the future of motoring – where will we be in 10 years’ time?

The future of motoring will undoubtedly see a surge n e ectr c and autonomous eh c es n e to years, we’ll witness widespread adoption of electric cars, advanced driver-assistance systems, and possibly even some level of self-driving capabilities. Imola is committed to staying at the forefront of these trends, ensuring our customers have access to the latest innovations in the automotive industry.

How can you be a more environmentally conscious driver (even if you don’t have £80k to spend)? en you’re not s urg ng on an k eh c e, there are several ways to be environmentally conscious. Opt for regular vehicle maintenance to kee your car runn ng e c ent y, comb ne tr s to reduce mileage, and practice smooth acceleration and braking. Carpooling, using public transport, or cyc ng or short d stances can a so s gn cant y reduce your carbon footprint.

Are electric cars genuinely green – considering how much they cost to make, how short their active life is, where the electricity that actually powers them comes from, etc? ectr c cars o er a more eco r end y alternative to traditional combustion engines, emitting fewer pollutants and producing lower operational noise. While the manufacturing process and battery disposal have environmental considerations, the overall lifecycle emissions of electric cars tend to be lower, especially when charged with renewable energy sources like solar or wind power. As renewable energy becomes more widespread, the green credentials of electric cars will continue to improve.

Imola of Bristol, Hambrook Business Park For more www.imola.uk.com

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RIGHT: 2023 Bristol Life Awards Platinum winner, Wake the Tiger

NETWORK

DATES FOR THE DIARY

13 September PROPERTY LAW ROADSHOW Hosted by St John’s Real Estate team, at St John’s Chambers www.eventbrite.co.uk 14 September: INTROBIZ EXPO BRISTOL A day packed with new connections, business exposure, keynote talks, and informative seminars, at Aerospace Bristol www.introbiz.co.uk 28 September ENTRECONF AWARDS Celebrating entrepreneurial success across the region, at Bristol Museum www.entreconf.com 11 October THE BUSINESS GROWTH SHOW The UK’s largest Business B2B Growth Exhibition & Conference Road Show (trade only), at Future Inn www.allevents.in 11-13 October: BLUE EARTH SUMMIT Connect, share and be inspired by a 5,000+ community who share the vision that there is a new way of doing business that’s better for people and planet; at The Wave www.blueearthsummit.com 24 November: BRISTOL PROPERTY AWARDS See right; www. bristolpropertyawards.com

THE BEST OF BRISTOL

T

There’s no reason why you – yes, you! – shouldn’t become a Bristol Life Award winner

his is not the time for modesty. The Bristol Life Awards invites – no, encourages! – you to shout about how amazing your business is: what makes it great, the unparalleled wonderfulness of your team, and the standout moments from the previous year.

Nominations open in December – that sounds a ong way o , but n act t’s ust a matter o weeks (scary thought); so why not make a start on your entry now, leaving plenty of time to hone the details so that it grabs the attent on o our udges Anyone can win one of the hugely prestigious Awards; they’re or e eryone, rom the coo est nd e to the argest corporate. They celebrate the whole of the city: all sectors, all types, from commercial to charity and civic; from new companies to long-established local treasures.

The Property Awards 2023

HOW TO ENTER t’s ree kee an eye on these ages to nd out when nom nat ons o en, choose the category that ts your bus ness, and out the here’s a handy age on the webs te o er ng to t s to make your nom nat on stand out SPONSOR THE AWARDS Independent chef-led contract caterer Cleverchefs is the new Bristol Life Awards headline sponsor for 2024, and other s onsorsh o ortun t es are go ng ast o nd out more, please contact neil.snow@mediaclash.co.uk.

GET TICKETS The Bristol Life Awards takes place at Ashton Gate Stadium on 27 March 2024; dates for 2024 ticket release will be announced later this year.

For more: www.bristollifeawards.co.uk

IF YOU BUILD IT...

MediaClash launched the Bristol Property Awards 2023 on 20 July at Clifton Observatory – see how it all went down on page 69.

Nominations are now open, with categories including Commercial and Residential Agent, Consultancy, Developer, Employer, Financial, Legal and Interior Designer and many more.

Contact liam.jones@mediaclash.co.uk for queries, or to send your nomination directly; entries can also be submitted via the website.

Nominations should cover the period of July 2022-June 2023. The grand reveal of the 2023 finalists will take place on 11 October.

Sponsorships are available: 13 sponsors are already on board, including Hampshire Trust Bank as headline sponsor and Lambert Smith Hampton as Winner of Winners sponsor.

Contact neil.snow@mediaclash.co.uk for more details.

The Bristol Property Awards will be held on 24 November 2023 at Ashton Gate Stadium. www.bristolpropertyawards.co.uk

Offices in: Henleaze, Whiteladies Road Clifton Village, Shirehampton 0117 962 1205 www.amdsolicitors.com

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BUYING A HOME?

Do you know who is responsible for the building’s insurance after exchange of contracts? Laura Wilkinson Solicitor from AMD SOLICITORS explains...

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n a conveyancing transaction there are two key stages. The first is known as exchange of contracts and the second is completion. Contracts are exchanged once the buyer and their solicitors are satisfied as to the property’s title, its physical condition and that necessary purchase funds are available. At exchange of contracts a 10% deposit is usually payable by the buyer and a legally binding contract comes into existence meaning that neither party can legally withdraw from the deal without incurring severe financial penalties. Completion takes place on the date agreed in the contract and on that date the buyer is entitled to have possession of the property and the seller must vacate it.

Buildings insurance Under common law, the responsibility for the risk of damage or destruction of the property passes to the buyer on exchange of contracts unless the contract provides otherwise. The seller has no obligation to insure the property after exchange of contracts except in certain circumstances, eg where the property is leasehold and insured by the management company or freeholder or the contract provides the responsibility will remain with the seller.

The buyer is therefore responsible for insuring the property from exchange of contracts. It can often come as a surprise for a buyer to learn that they must insure the property before they can even move in!

The property may be in an area classified as being at a raised risk of flooding or it may have a history of subsidence or be an unusual construction, which may require further consideration from the insurer before they agree to insure it. The buyer should therefore make enquiries at an early stage to ensure that building insurance can be obtained for the property.

What if I am taking out a mortgage?

If you are taking out a mortgage on the property, you can agree with the lender that they will arrange the property insurance for you. However, if you are insuring the property yourself the lender will inform you of the sum you should insure it for.

Know the position A prudent buyer should make enquiries as to whether they will need to insure the property they are buying well in advance of exchange of contracts to avoid causing unnecessary lastminute delays.

Whether you are purchasing or selling a property, it is important that you understand the conveyancing process as well as your liabilities and responsibilities. AMD Solicitors Residential Property Service can advise you on these matters and will proactively support you to ensure your transaction is as stress-free and cost-effective as possible. If you would like any further information please call the team on 0117 9735647, email info@amdsolicitors.com or visit one of our four Bristol offices.

100 Henleaze Road, Henleaze BS9 4JZ 15 The Mall, Clifton BS8 4DS 139 Whiteladies Road, Clifton BS8 2PL 2 Station Road, Shirehampton BS11 9TT

www.mediaclash.co.uk I BRISTOL LIFE I 77

PROPERTY

LEAZE OF LIFE

Can anything beat a classic Sneyd Park home, just minutes away from The Downs?

Words by Ursula Cole

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he ’Leaze corner of Sneyd Park has an unmistakeable style. The classic, capacious brownstone Victorian homes that line the wide roads are immensely striking, with their contrasting cream quoins, gables, bays and delightful, heterogeneous carved detail.

Even so, the architecture, however appealing, still ays second dd e to the ocat on, because these roads – Rockleaze, Downleaze, Rockleaaze Avenue etc – have the inestimable advantage of being minutes away from The Downs: the historic 400-acre grassy oasis separating Sneyd Park from Clifton.

One of the very best examples of the breed, number 7 Rockleaze Avenue, comes with all the desirable 19th-century bells and whistles, enhanced within by an immaculate neutral décor. Get your Original Features otters’ u de ready, and re are to t ck o trad t ona

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PROPERTY

HOUSE NUMBERS Price: OIEO £2m Receptions: 3 Bedrooms: 6 Bathrooms: 4 Where? Sneyd Park Anything else? Unsuually large garden with office Savills, 20, The Mall Clifton Village; 0117 933 5800 www.savills.co.uk

sash w ndows, shutters, ornate corn ces, re aces and str ed wooden doors ts rooms are s ac ous and numerous, ts ayout ersat e, w th the otent a o a se conta ned two bedroomed flat at ground floor e e s read o er the to two floors n the ma n house a one are three b g rece t on rooms, our bedrooms and three bathrooms et’s take the tour rom the ront door, w th ts sta ned g ass eaded ght, you enter the est bu e w th ts rt ou eau w ndow rom the arge rece t on ha beyond, a sta rcase made br ght by a antern ght r ses to the u er floor ga er ed and ng the ma n rooms are on the ground floor wh e eorg an houses ha e the r charms, you can’t beat the c ass c ctor an home when t comes to sens b e ayouts and s ac ous ng s ace ere, the or g na rooms on each s de o the ha make u two huge o en an s aces n trad t ona sty e, the draw ng room nterconnects w th the w thdraw ng room there’s a s uare bay w th n the ormer, a ong w th ornate re ace and ce ng mou d ngs, wh e the w thdraw ng room has a cture w ndow to the ront cross the ha way, a ar ey ones k tchen o ens to the d n ng room, whose re ace houses a woodburn ng sto e

“In the unusually large back garden, mature trees create the feel of a miniature park ” rom the k tchen, doub e doors ead out to a wrought ron ba ustraded ba cony w th ste s to the retty, unusua y arge back garden, where mature trees create the ee o a m n ature ark there’s a sunny terrace and a cur ed, andsca ed awn, wh e beckon ng you down to the end o the garden, ha h dden by greenery, s a se arate o ce that ract ca y demands you work rom home onest y, w th the owns on hand or da y e erc se, and the co ee sho s o ton or a morn ng ca e ne h t, t rea y wou d be a cr me not to c ass c r sto home rad at ng d gn ty, mmacu ate y decorated n a so t a ette that mere y re u res you to mo e n and make t your own

www.mediaclash.co.uk I BRISTOL LIFE I 81

BRISTOL LIVES

“The boycott defeated the colour bar on the same day Martin Luther King gave his ‘I Have a Dream’ speech” Other activities planned

nc ude t ary edc e Church ringing its bells for three hours to say ‘thank you’.

Avon and Somerset Police will launch their public competition to name a horse after one of the pioneers, and on the big screen in Millennium Square, We The Curious will screen several short ms on the boycott On 30 Aug, a civic ceremony

JULZ DAVIS

Julz is the ’disruptor in chief’ of Curiosity UnLtd – an award-winning, Bristol-based think-and-do tank for changemakers and activists

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s a Brizzle boy, I describe myself as a proud Knowle West Indian who specialises in disrupting the status quo,” says Julz. “I intentionally co-create and agitate good trouble with likeminded people who care about positive change, social justice and racial equity.”

From Banksy and Massive Attack to toppling Colston’s

statue, St Pauls Carnival and the Bristol Bus Boycott, we proudly call Bristol – a city of radical cultural changemakers – our home. But while Bristol is one of the UK’s wealthiest cities, today it’s also the UK’s 7th most unequal city for people of colour. This racial inequality is what inspired the birth of Curiosity UnLtd. Through positive activism, direct action and co-creation, our mission is to transform Bristol into the very best UK city for people of colour to live, work and play in.

In honour of the boycott’s legacy, Curiosity UnLtd

has launched The Big Bristol Bus Boycott Takeover – an ambitious citywide season of 60 events co-created with changemakers he rst event went live on Jamaican Independence Day this month, with a giant pop-up mural on Jamaica Street [see page 6]; part of the free community-inspired exhibition The Struggle Continues, which runs until 28 August.

On 28 August, the actual anniversary of the colour bar

being lifted by Bristol Omnibus, people can contribute to the Big Thank You on social media. Simply answer, ‘What would you like to say to thank the pioneers of the Bristol Bus Boycott?’ You can write it, draw it, snap it, then post it and tag #RaceForPower #BristolBusBoycott and @Curiosity_UnLtd. And remember to get creative.

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at t ary edc e hurch will unveil the four new panes of the stained-glass windows featuring Jesus as a Bristol Bus Boycott protester. The boycott leaders will be presented with a personalised thank you card.

And as part of the ceremony, First Bus will unveil a new commemorative double-decker bus wrapped with livery featuring the winning design from its #DriveForChange initiative.

I live in St George, on one of

the best streets in Bristol with lush neighbours. The gorgeous St George Park is my garden; my k ds o e t e e m nutes from the Kings Head pub, which has a banging Caribbean menu.

There’s also the Beehive, a gem of a community hub.

A few minutes down the road, next to the Red Lion Pub, there’s an incredible wildstyle replica gra t ece o e the araway Tree and the Orchard Café on Church Road, and for a bit of a messy night out you can stumble home from, I suggest either The Stillage on Church Road or the Plough in Easton.

For my 50th, my wife and daughters took me on a boat

trip to Beeses Teas. I must be getting old, because I absolutely loved it!

As a DJ of 25+ years, I’m a diehard vinyl collector, so my nerdy super-power is being that guy who spends hours on his knees thumbing through crappy vinyl collections in car boot sales and char ty sho s to nd that one e c sonic gem that brings joy when I drop it in my set.

My most regrettable habit is drinking too much strong black co ee wh e u ng ate n ghters to get ahead of my workload for the Big Bristol Bus Boycott Takeover. It’s a long, long list and I’m just getting started…

To see the evolving program of events or to become one of the 60 changemakers, take a 60-second survey: visit www.CuriosityUnLtd.com, or email julz@CuriosityUnLtd.com

THE BRISTOL BUS BOYCOTT

Inspired by the actions of Rosa Parks, the 1963 Bristol Bus Boycott was led by Paul Stephenson, Roy Hackett, Audley Evans, Owen Henry, and Prince Brown. When the Bristol Omnibus company and TGWU rejected Guy Bailey for a job because of his skin colour, Bristol stood up and marched for equal rights and justice.

Supported by Bristol’s black, brown and white communities, the boycott defeated the colour bar on the same day Martin Luther King gave his ‘I have a Dream’ speech. Only Bristol can say that when Rosa Parks sat down, the city stood up and defeated the colour bar on the same day.

With the support of Tony Benn, this victory is credited with helping to create the Race Relations Act of 1965: the UK’s first-ever anti-racist legislation.

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