South Bristol Voice, May 2017

southbristolvoice May 2017 No. 24

www.southbristolvoice.co.uk

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LOCAL NEWS FOR LOCAL PEOPLE

FREE EVERY MONTH in Totterdown, Knowle and Windmill Hill

• Has Jubilee pool been saved from axe or not?

Page 3 • Arena car park is still on cards Page 6

Let the eggs roll on THE UK’s steepest street, Vale Street in Totterdown, continued its tradition of an Easter Sunday egg rolling competition, with huge support from locals and lots of media cameras.

STORY: Page 22

• Target South Bristol: How Nazis took aim at our former airport Pages 23-27 • Elections: Now we have two Pages 18-19 • MONEY OFF Ride to work via Slide Page 28 • Butterflies need our help Pages 38-39

We’re truly local & proudly independent… www.oceanhome.co.uk

IN

May 2017

southbristolvoice

2 Paul Breeden Editor & publisher 07811 766072 paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk Ruth Drury Sales executive 07590 527664 sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk Editorial team: Beccy Golding, Alex Morss & The Wicked Witch.

Deliveries: Greg Champion

Intro ELECTION FEVER THE General Election called for June 8 is bad timing – for us at the Voice at least. We’ve just had enough time to squeeze it in the current edition.

But we had to go to press before most of the candidates had been announced. That means we feature more news about the Labour and Green parties, who have revealed who’s standing, than the others.

We thought it was better to give you what news we had, rather than ignore the election altogether. The June edition – out from May 25 – will feature all the candidates.

Meanwhile the election for a metro mayor for the West

You can find South Bristol Voice on Facebook and Twitter facebook.com/ southbristolvoice Twitter: @sbristolvoice Co. no. 09522608 | VAT no. 211 0801 76

Next month’s deadline for editorial and advertising is May 22nd of England is almost upon us.

Polling day is May 4. You may not see the point in another layer of bureaucracy; you may wonder what good this new authority will do.

Like it or not, Weca (the West of England Combined Authority) will be spending £1 billion of our money over the next 30 years.

Whoever the new mayor is, he or she will have real power over where thousands of new homes are built.

They will have a big say in whether there will be a new road around the south of Bristol, new links to the airport, more Metrobus routes or better rail services.

Who do you want in charge of all that? Better to have your say, even if it’s to keep out a party you don’t like.

motaman Serving the people of Bristol and North Somerset for over 30 years

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n BRIEFLY n KNOWLE is to get a new tree, sponsored by the Broadwalk shopping centre and planted outside its entrance. Centre manager Tim Moloney, is arranging the planting with Bristol city council. Thanks to the council spending freeze, few trees are being planted in the city, except for those that are being sponsored. To see where trees are available for sponsorship, visit • bristol.gov.uk/museums-parkssports-culture/treebristolplanting-trees-in-bristol n BRISTOL’S links with the global film industry are the subject when Knowle and Totterdown Local History Society meet at Redcatch community centre, Redcatch Road, Knowle, on Friday May 12. Alan Freke’s story is called Frankie Goes To Hollywood and starts at 7.30pm.

• knowleandtotterdownhistory. org.uk n LAST month the Voice said the Shakespeare pub in Totterdown was on Oxford Street. It’s not, of course – it’s on Henry Street. Our

apologies. There’s a story about the Shakespeare on page 10. n A NEW way to keep active for the over 50s starts on Thursday April 27 – walking netball.

Sessions are from 11-11.55am at Hengrove Leisure Centre, Hengrove Promenade, BS14 0DE. Beginners welcome. Details from 0117 939 1672. n THE PLANNING application for a four-bedroom house alongside the Gothic Mansion at 100 Redcatch Road, Knowle, outlined in the March issue of the Voice, has been withdrawn. n SNOOKER legends Steve Davis and Barry Hearn will share stories from their sporting careers at an event at Ashton Gate stadium on June 1 in aid of Jessie May, the hospice-at-home service for terminally ill children in Bristol and the West of England. Bath rugby star Mark Regan will also take part. There will be an auction for sports memorabilia.

• http://www.jessiemay.org.uk/ eveningwith/

How do I get in touch with ...

My MP? Karin Smyth MP Labour, Bristol South. Email: karin.smyth.mp@parliament.uk Post: Karin Smyth MP, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA Phone: 0117 953 3575 In person: Surgeries on Friday May 12 and 26. Please call 0117 9533575 for information and for an appointment.

My councillor?

Christopher Davies Lib Dem, Knowle Post: Brunel House, St George’s Road, Bristol BS1 5UY Email: Cllr.Christopher.Davies@ bristol.gov.uk

Gary Hopkins Lib Dem, Knowle (Lib Dem leader) Email: Cllr.Gary.Hopkins@bristol.gov.uk Phone: 0117 985 1491 or 07977 512159 Lucy Whittle Labour, Windmill Hill Post: Brunel House, St George’s Road, Bristol BS1 5UY Phone: 07392 108805 Email: Cllr.Lucy.Whittle@bristol.gov.uk Jon Wellington Labour, Windmill Hill Post: Brunel House, St George’s Road, Bristol BS1 5UY Phone: 07392 108804 Email: Cllr.Jon.Wellington@bristol.gov.uk

Up

USEFUL NUMBERS Bristol City Council www.bristol.gov.uk 0117 922 2000 Waste, roads 0117 922 2100 Pest control and dog wardens 0117 922 2500 Council tax 0117 922 2900 Housing benefit 0117 922 2300 Social services 0117 922 2900

HURRY ALONG TO

EDITOR’S NOTE: South Bristol Voice is independent. We cannot take responsibility for content or accuracy of adverts, and it is advertisers’ responsibility to conform to all relevant legislation.

Feedback is welcomed: call editor Paul Breeden on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk.

All stories and pictures are copyright of South Bristol Voice and may not be reproduced without permission in this or any other plane of the multiverse.

South Bristol Voice Ltd | 18 Lilymead Avenue, Bristol BS4 2BX

94-96 Bedminster Parade, Bedminster, BS3 4HL

www.motaman.co.uk

Tel: 0117 9666142 sales@motaman.co.uk

Police Inquiries 101 Emergency 999 Fire

Emergency 999 Inquiries 0117 926 2061 NEIGHBOURHOOD FORUMS NOTE: These meetings are on hold due to council cutbacks.

To advertise, contact sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk or Ruth on 07590 527664

May 2017

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n NEWS

Shops go up for sale as others close, but don’t panic IT’S ALL change for a number of South Bristol businesses which have announced they’re closing or are up for sale.

Gaines Deli at 172 Wells Road, Totterdown, which has grown from a greengrocer to become a grocer and deli and has recently rebranded, is on the market.

Owner Jason Gaines wants to return to his first passion of teaching and playing music.

With wife Debbie, he first opened in a smaller shop further up Wells Road in 2010, later taking over the premises of whole food shop Organique.

Debbie said: “We have loved building this wonderful

community shop and we love the fact that so many of you support us and love what we do. We are really hopeful that someone local with a passion for food will take the shop on, as the last thing we want is for the shop to close.”

The Duchess of Totterdown tea room in Wells Road closed at the end of March when owner Leo Townsend hung up her apron to find new challenges.

Bardsley physiotherapy clinic which has been at 360 Wells Road since 1986 has also closed, after owners Chris and Carmel Bardsley retired. They attempted to sell the premises as a clinic, but received no interest

and instead were granted planning permission to turn the ground floor back into a house.

In Bedminster, one of the few remaining car accessory shops in Bristol is closing. Motaman in Bedminster Parade was once part of a chain of five shops owned by Yousouf Ramlugon.

Motaman was born in 1985 from the ashes of the failed Motorists Discount Centre (MDC).

“The market has completely changed,” said Mr Ramlugon, who came to study in Bristol from Mauritius in the 1970s. He was area manager for MDC in Bristol, and he bought the Bedminster shop from the receiver.

Is Jubilee pool safe from threat of closure or not?

THE MAJOR obstacle which threatens the future of Knowle’s Jubilee swimming pool appears to have been removed – but the council will not say whether it can remain open.

Cllr Gary Hopkins says that Parkwood Leisure, the company which runs the pool on behalf of the council, has agreed to operate it without subsidy.

This means that the council can save the £62,000 which it contributes to the pool’s running costs each year – in theory making its future secure.

But the council has not confirmed that to the Voice, saying instead that negotiations with Parkwood – which also runs the larger Hengrove leisure centre – are continuing.

Cllr Hopkins was putting questions about the pool to Bristol mayor, Marvin Rees, as the Voice went to press on April 24.

He challenged Mr Rees to confirm that the pool can be saved. “Continued uncertainty is damaging for the pool. Why then, do we not have a clear statement from Bristol city council that the facility will continue?” he asked at mayoral question time.

Cllr Hopkins and his Lib-Dem colleague, Cllr Chris Davies, have been working with the Save Jubilee Pool campaign. The campaign has gathered 5,400 signatures on a petition since the

Future in doubt: Jubilee pool closure threat was announced in January, ensuring the the pool’s future will be debated at a full council meeting in May or June.

The attention paid to the pool – which some Knowle residents have admitted they were unaware of – has led to an increase in customers, both for the pool and its mini-gym.

Many prefer the pool to the larger, more modern Hengrove facility. For some it is easier to get to, others prefer it because the water is warmer – Hengrove is kept cool because it is used for competitions.

With many galas taking place at Hengrove, other swimmers are sometimes forced to use Jubilee – one reason why Parkwood is willing to keep it open.

The council has told the Voice

that its intention is only to save money by removing the pool’s subsidy – not to close it.

However, official papers have at times given another message.

An equalities impact assessment appeared to justify closure by saying disabled access is poor because there is no car park.

Cllr Hopkins asked the mayor to apologise for the equality study, which he said was “outrageous”. The disability access is not perfect but is good for a building of the age, he said.

“Some of the points would have been valid if the choice was this building or a new one on the site. As the choice is this one or a several mile journey, then disabled as well as others would be disadvantaged by the closure,” he said.

The Voice asked Parkwood Leisure for a comment but was unable to obtain one at the time of going to press.

The council told the Voice: “We have met with the operator of the Jubilee pool to discuss next steps. Following the decision to withdraw the council’s subsidy for running the pool once the contract comes to an end in September 2017, we will be continuing to work closely with the leisure operator over the coming months to see how this can be achieved so that the pool is open but with no subsidy.”

“In those days, people did their own repairs and spent money on improving the interior comfort of their cars and the outside appearance.

“These days, you almost need a computing degree to work on a car engine.”

The store has planning permission for nine flats upstairs but the ground floor is expected to remain a shop.

There seems no reason to think, though, that South Bristol retailers are suffering a recession.

When MP Karin Smyth visited several Wells Road businesses recently, traders told her trade was good.

Do we want bike stores on the street?

A bike hangar in Windmill Hill RESIDENTS in Somerset Road, Knowle, are to be consulted to see if they want bike hangars installed as a secure place to secure cycles.

Bristol city council has government funding to install the metal bike hangars, which are 2.5m long – occupying about the same size as a car.

Two applications for bike hangars came from separate sets of residents in Somerset Road – which has almost 200 homes.

The idea hasn’t met with unanimous support – though several cyclists are keen, and other residents are neutral, others have complained they weren’t consulted.

Both six-cycle hangars are currently earmarked for near the central portion of the road, about 10 houses apart.

No planning permission is needed for a bike hangar, but the council has promised to consult residents more widely.

Cllr Chris Davies said he had asked council officials to consult all the residents in the road.

Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

May 2017

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n NEWS

Cleve House celebrates 80th anniversary with a party CLEVE House, the private school and nursery in Wells Road, Knowle, is celebrating its 80th anniversary, and is inviting former pupils and parents to join the celebrations.

The school has been at 254 Wells Road since 1948 but it’s believed to have moved several times during the war years.

Several ex-pupils remember the school being at a house in Kinsale Road during the Second World War, when the head teacher was a Miss HH Gregory.

“I remember some happy times there,” one wartime ex-pupil wrote to the school, “learning to write neatly using music-type sheets, and learning

our tables in rote fashion from large posters hanging around the room. We were expected to help with the wiping-up after lunch.”

Cleve House has only had four principals since it was founded in 1937.

The current head, Craig Wardle, took over in 2015 from David and Elaine Lawson, who owned it from 1987.

The school is holding an Open Afternoon and Tea Party on Friday June 16 from 2-3.30pm.

If you’d like to attend call 0117 977 7218.

There will be a longer story about the history of Cleve House in the next edition of the Voice.

• clevehouseschool.com

Babes welcome

combines dance, martial arts and holistic movement (including yoga). It’s on Wednesdays, 1011am, £6 drop-in – no need to book – at Victoria Park Baptist Church, Sylvia Avenue.

A KNOWLE mum is launching a new dance-fitness class for mums, with babies welcome to attend. Helen Drane’s Nia group

CLEVE HOUSE SCHOOL & LITTLE CLEVE NURSERY

For boys and girls aged 2-11 years www.clevehouseschool.co.uk

LEARNING IS AN ADVENTURE AT CLEVE HOUSE Come and see us at 254 Wells Road, Bristol BS4 2PN

0117 9777 218

Days gone by: Pupils at Cleve House from a prospectus of the 1970s

Children in care as mum arrested for suspected dealing A WOMAN suspected of dealing drugs with her two young children in the car was arrested as police continue an anti-drugs clampdown in South Bristol.

The 27-year-old from Bishopsworth was arrested after her car was stopped on Queen’s Road. A total of 26 £20 deal bags of cannabis were seized, as well as cash and two mobile phones.

Arrangements were made for her two children to be cared for.

Meanwhile, police discovered an outbuilding behind a house in Crossways Road, Knowle, which appeared to be a purpose-built cannabis factory.

A father and son aged 52 and 20 were arrested on suspicion of production of cannabis after a search warrant was used at the property.

A police spokesperson said: “We discovered an outbuilding at the back of the house which appeared to have been purposely built to grow cannabis. We seized over 80 plants in various stages of growth, along with bags of dried cannabis ready to be sold.”

Both men are on bail.

More information, received via Crimestoppers, led police to search a property in Kinsale

WATCH US GROW AT CLEVE HOUSE!

Road in Whitchurch on April 2, where they discovered around 500 cannabis plants, worth over half a million pounds. Hartcliffe beat manager PC Richard Jeffery said: “The cannabis factory discovered in Whitchurch was a sophisticated set-up and is increasingly common in residential areas like this. Thanks to information provided through Crimestoppers we were able stop hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of illegal drugs getting on to the streets and, importantly, make the dodgy wiring safe, which posed a serious fire risk, putting families in neighbouring properties at risk.”

Officers also seized 43 mature cannabis plants from another grow on Tanorth Road in Whitchurch. A suspect is being interviewed.

Numerous other arrests have been made and vehicles seized in recent weeks in South Bristol.

Anyone with information about suspected drug dealing can call police on 101 – or 999 if a crime is in progress.

Calls to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 are anonymous: callers won’t be asked their name and cannot be traced.

To advertise, contact sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk or Ruth on 07590 527664

May 2017

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5

n NEWS

No secondary for Knowle, but Oasis is allowed to open two new academies BRISTOL Grammar School will not be allowed to open a new secondary school in Knowle, the Department for Education (DfE) has decided.

Instead, the predicted need for secondary places in South Bristol will be met by two schools from the Oasis academy chain.

Oasis, a London-based Christian organisation, will open one school next to its John Williams academy in Hengrove.

Known as Oasis South Bristol, it will be run separately from John Williams and will have six forms when it opens in September 2019, with an eventual total of 900 pupils.

The other Oasis school will be in the Temple Quarter area and will eventually be Bristol’s biggest school, with 1,700 pupils.

It will open in September 2018 and reach full capacity in 2022.

It’s not clear exactly where Oasis Temple Quarter will be, but as it will serve central and east Bristol, it’s expected to be nearer Barton Hill than Temple Meads.

Bristol Grammar School’s bid to open a 1,000-place, non-

selective secondary school in Knowle was unsuccessful.

The grammar school plan, unveiled at a public meeting at Redcatch community centre last September, appeared to be supported by those present.

There were worries about finding a site, however. Grammar school head Rod MacKinnon had suggested The Park centre in Daventry Road. This used to be home to the Merrywood Boys secondary school until it closed in 2000, but it is now home to more than two dozen community groups, and there would be protests if they had to leave.

Knowle councillor Chris Davies said: “Both Cllr Gary Hopkins and I welcome a new secondary school in South Bristol, but it was disappointing to learn it was not in Knowle, as expected.

“We have campaigned for a secondary school in Knowle for the past 20 years, since the disastrous closure by Labour of both Merrywood boys and girls schools.”

The news signals the DfE’s preference for large academy

trusts to run schools. St Mary Redcliffe primary school is being forced to join an academy trust after a “failing” Ofsted report last term.

• Victoria Park primary school in St John’s Lane is in consultation with staff and parents over becoming part of the trust which runs Bristol Cathedral school.

Governors are thought to favour a link; the Cathedral school has a good academic record and could share facilities.

IT’S NOT THE END BRISTOL Grammar school head Rod MacKinnon told the Voice the school was very disappointed not be allowed to work in Knowle.

The plan to open a new secondary won a lot of support in South Bristol, he said, and the school will be seeking more feedback from the DfE in the hope that it can find another way to work in the state education sector.

©Copyright Prior to commencement of works on the site, the contractor should check all dimensions on the drawings and check against actual site dimensions, and report and discrepancies immediately to the Architect.

Written dimensions are to take precedence over scaled dimensions.

Homes plan for car sales site A SECONDHAND car lot on Bedminster Road is proposed to be turned into a block of 32 flats.

Developer Johnston Land has applied to build the flats – 29 of two-bedroom and three one-bed homes – on the triangular plot between Bedminster Road and Highbury Road, close to Marksbury Road library.

The site was a petrol station until 2006, since when it has been a secondhand car lot, under various owners. Originally the

Sharp angle: The bold design proposal was for 24 flats, but the number has been increased to provide more two-bedroom homes, which the developer says are in demand in the area.

There would be 22 parking spaces, mainly underneath the building. The flats would accommodate up to 98 people.

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PROPERTY MAINTENANCE INTERIOR & EXTERIOR PAINTING FENCING • PATIOS • LANDSCAPING LOG STORES • GUTTERING • FASCIAS ELECTRICS • DOORS • PLUMBING • SKIRTING BOARDS

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Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

May 2017

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6

n NEWS Diesel plan that won’t go away THE LONDON firm which has twice been refused planning permission to site 48 diesel generators in St Philip’s Marsh has appealed against the refusal.

Plutus Energy said the generators will run for a maximum of 200 hours a year to generate electricity when demand on the National Grid is very high.

Objectors from Rade Bristol (Residents Against Dirty Energy) last year challenged Plutus’s figures on pollution levels.

The site is within 200m of St Philip’s Marsh nursery school, whose head, Simon Holmes, said the development would have an unacceptable impact on health and wellbeing of children.

Rade said the number of residents who would be affected by noise and pollution was larger than Plutus admitted. New developments are planned along Bath Road, including at Paintworks, close to the site.

A new secondary school is also planned for the area (see page 5).

Objections can be made to the Planning Inspectorate using reference 3167991: • gov.uk/government/organisations/ planning-inspectorate

Our winner CONGRATULATIONS to the lucky winner of our very popular competition to win a meal at A cappella restaurant in Wells Road – Charlotte Owen of Lower Knowle.

Arena review will take till autumn MAYOR Marvin Rees has repeated his commitment to build an arena next to Temple Meads station – and revived the idea of a 500-space car park alongside it.

Mr Rees has taken personal charge of the arena project after a cabinet reshuffle. “There is a sense of urgency around this. We want an arena, we are the largest city left without an arena, and that is not ideal,” he told the council’s cabinet on April 4.

“But in terms of the challenges we face financially, we have to make sure it stacks up,” he said.

The council is looking at the possibility of making the 12,000 seat venue smaller or cheaper.

Residents will have to wait until the autumn for the results of a “value for money” review to recommend the options.

It will also become clear in the autumn whether the council can persuade its one remaining contractor, Buckingham Group, to build the arena for close to its £91 million budget.

The arena is years behind schedule and now can’t open before autumn 2020.

A year of negotiations with the preferred contractor, Bouygues UK, ended in January without agreement and the council was left with just one of its list of five possible developers – Buckingham. The firm may be

allowed to start some work on Arena Island which will save time later, such as site levelling, piling tests and fencing.

But the council is in “a very poor negotiating position,” said Gary Hopkins, Lib-Dem party leader and councillor for Knowle.

Downgrading the design or the size looks unlikely to solve the problem because it would take time, and costs are rising rapidly. “We could finish up with a poorer design with little or no saving,” said Cllr Hopkins.

Building a car park at 1-9 Bath Road makes sense, he said. The spaces should be priced at a premium and pre-booked to minimise traffic and to provide funds to subsidise public transport, he suggested.

The cabinet report holds out little prospect of the car park making a profit – though the council told the Voice this will not be clear until the autumn.

Meanwhile the extra traffic brought to the car park makes the case for alterations to the Three Lamps junction “unanswerable”, said Cllr Hopkins. Other risks to the project are identified in a report to the cabinet.

Downgrading the facilities at the arena, or making it smaller to save money would mean a new planning application – and a new building contract. It would make the arena less attractive to big

CAR PARK IS BACK THE REVIEW will consider whether the council should spend £500,000 on an eightstorey, 500-space car park on the Kwik-Fit site at 1-9 Bath Road.

Previous mayor George Ferguson was not keen on the multi-storey. But the plan has resurfaced because most of Arena Island is being sold to the University of Bristol as part of its £300m new campus. This means another site must be found for the 200 parking spaces which were promised to the arena operator.

An extra 300 spaces could be provided at Bath Road, but they probably won’t be for arena visitors. It is thought the council would need to maximise income on these spaces in order to pay for the car park within 20 years.

Building the car park will still allow room for the Bath Road promenade – a wide footpath and cycleway from Temple Meads. But the Promenade is not funded, or planned in detail. acts, and it would reduce the income at the venue. It might also make the operator, US firm Live Nation, walk away from its deal to run the arena.

The council will still have to underwrite up to £8m in possible business rate rises which Live Nation is not prepared to pay.

There are also risks attached to the deal with the university.

Both Arena Island and the former Royal Mail sorting office site next to Temple Meads need clearance and possible decontamination. The council may receive less for the land than the £16m it has predicted.

ASK A VET: Why should I neuter my pet?

N

EUTERING is the term for the removal of the reproductive organs in cats, dogs and rabbits and is widely regarded as a routine procedure.

The most obvious reasons to neuter your pet are to eliminate the risk of unwanted pregnancies and reduce inappropriate sexual behaviour, but there are lots of health benefits too.

Here are the top five reasons to neuter your pet: 1. Spaying your female pet will stop her from coming into season and prevents unwanted and expensive pregnancies.

2. Neutering can greatly reduce testosterone-driven behaviour in males, such as spraying or scent marking and straying from home.

3. Neutering your pet can help to prevent many life-threatening cancers and womb infections.

4. Neutering helps fight pet over-population which otherwise could lead to animals being euthanised or becoming strays.

5. Rabbits reproduce much faster than dogs and cats and from a much earlier age. Unspayed female rabbits also have a 95 per cent chance of developing uterine cancer before the age of four.

Surgical developments have meant that female spays can now be done via keyhole surgery.

Keyhole spays are safer and less invasive; your pet will have much smaller wounds, less post-operative pain and discomfort, and a much quicker recovery. Highcroft was one of the first practices in the UK to perform spays by keyhole surgery, putting us at the forefront of this pioneering surgical development.

Overall, neutering can lead to a longer and better quality of life for your beloved companion. Book your pet in to be neutered before

Nic Walton MRCVS Clinical Director at Highcroft Veterinary Hospital, Whitchurch June 30 and you will receive 20 per cent off. Contact Highcroft Veterinary Hospital on 01275 832410 to find out more.

To advertise, contact sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk or Ruth on 07590 527664

May 2017

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7

n NEWS

Call for Bristol to ban advertising hoardings – especially digital ones DO YOU think advertising billboards help brighten up the streets of South Bristol? Or do you find them a blight on the cityscape?

Campaigners are starting a conversation about outdoor advertising in the hope that the number of billboards can be reduced – especially in community shopping areas such as North Street, Southville.

“Outdoor advertising is unique in that there’s a lack of consent,” said Ashton resident Nicola Round, who started the Adblock Bristol campaign. “If I look at Facebook or open a magazine, I might be annoyed at the advertising, but I have essentially opted in to it.

“In North Street the majority of billboards are for cars, which raises a question about our status as a Green Capital city – there are no messages around green lifestyles. We have a huge problem with air quality in Bristol so why are we being sold cars?

“It’s largely from multinational corporations which bring no benefit to Bristol at all.

“You might have McDonald’s with a big billboard that’s in your face and in front of your children, yet a marvellous café down the road cannot do that.”

Nicola would like to see the city freed of outdoor advertising – Sao Paulo in Brazil and Grenoble in France are two cities which imposed their own bans.

Southville Green councillor

PLANNERS are turning down most of the applications for digital hoardings. Cllr Steve Clarke said Bristol had refused permission for 12 digital advertisement screens, while approving five and partly approving four more.

Recent refusals include two large panels planned for Bath Road, Totterdown, on the vacant former car lot nearly opposite Totterdown bridge. Planners said they would be “incongruous” near the mature trees on the riverbank

and Arnos Vale cemetery.

Five residents objected to the plan, along with community group Tresa and Bristol Civic Society.

Also refused was a display next to the railway bridge on St John’s Lane, Bedminster. The Civic Society said it would distract drivers, but it was refused because it would be highly visible to residents on the other side of St John’s Lane and in Clinton Avenue. In February another digital hoarding on Bedminster Down Road was turned down near the Miners Arms pub – this time because it was thought it would distract drivers.

Steve Clarke also wants to see Bristol ban hoardings, especially digital ones. “I don’t think people will realise how bad they are until they are put in – they are basically screens showing 20-second videos,” he said. They will distract drivers, he believes.

“Sweden decided they are dangerous and banned them completely.

“All over the world they are getting rid of them, from Auckland to Hawaii. They are also a terrible waste of energy – each one has 10,000 LED lamps and they use 25 times as much energy as an average home.”

In 2015, the Green party tried to persuade Bristol council, under former mayor George Ferguson, to outlaw digital hoardings. They lost, because Mr Ferguson argued for the

revenue the screens will bring the council.

Cllr Clarke addressed a packed Adblock meeting held at Hamilton House in Stokes Croft on April 13. In St Werburgh’s,

campaigners have succeeded in reducing the number of hoardings from 13 to six. Some didn’t have planning permission.

Adblock Bristol is on Twitter: •@AdblockBristol

No change: Some of the Bath Road billboards which won’t be made into digital signs

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Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

May 2017

southbristolvoice

8

n NEWS Cooking for all in the Square Food kitchen KNOWLE’S award-winning Square Food kitchen at The Park centre in Daventry Road is gearing up for a busy summer.

Adults with learning disabilities or mental health issues can take their first steps in the kitchen at a sociable group called Cooking Connections.

It’s for over-19s, especially those who have never cooked for themselves before. The focus is on cooking delicious food from scratch. It’s free of charge, on Mondays from 1.30-3.30pm, from May 8 until July 17.

For those who’ve attended

Kitchens are for everyone: learning to cook in the Square Food kitchen at The Park centre Cooking Connections, there’s another group called Next Steps, where people can extend their kitchen skills and maybe try some work experience in a café.

Sessions are on Wednesdays from 12-3pm on May 3 and 17, and 12-1pm on May 24.

For older adults there is a lunch club – a £5 community meal for over-55s (though

anyone is welcome), cooked by one of Square Food’s longest standing groups of students, the Back in the Kitchen class.

On the last Monday of every month, the class cooks a hot, two-course lunch at the Square Food Kitchen at 11.45am.

Square Food’s director is chef Barny Haughton, who founded some of Bristol’s best-known

restaurants – Rocinantes, Quartier Vert and Bordeaux Quay. He was voted BBC Radio 4’s BBC Local Food Hero in April 2016 for his work in setting up Square Food.

Barny said: “We’re gearing up for another busy summer and looking forward to welcoming new students to Square Food.

There’s a course here to suit every age and ability. We all know that eating well is good for our health. At Square Food, we want to provide children and adults with the skills, knowledge and most importantly the confidence they need to actually do it!”

There are cookery classes for all ages including children. To find out more call 0117 904 6679 or email info@ squarefoodfoundation.co.uk • squarefoodfoundation.co.uk

Parks: More charges, and car boot sales Pet cemetery is among the ideas to save £4m OFFICIALS in charge of Bristol’s parks are looking at all kinds of options to save money – from selling spring water to opening flashy mini-golf courses.

The council says many ideas will not be pursued. But the need for savings, and for generating income, is desperate if it is to achieve its aim of slashing the parks budget to zero by 2019-20.

Commercial sponsorship, advertising opportunities and events such as car boot sales are being considered. Parking fees

could rise at Ashton Court, and may be introduced at other parks.

A Go Ape treetop adventure course could be brought in at Ashton Court, and the council is also talking to mini-golf brand Putt in the Park.

A council spokesperson said: “While some [options] may sound unusual or far-fetched, we don’t want to limit our thinking in the face of such a huge financial challenge.

“In all likelihood, only a small handful of these ideas will actually be turned into more formal proposals for public consultation where appropriate.”

The proposal to bottle water from a borehole at Blaise Court is “unlikely” due to environmental

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A Putt in the Park course in Acton, London, where a round costs £8 considerations, the council said.

Susan Davies, chair of the Friends of Redcatch Park in Knowle, said charges for parking there would be hugely unpopular.

The council had a plan for repairing the pot-holed car park, she said, but then “stole” the money, which had been earmarked from the sale of land

for housing at Salcombe Road.

“Parks staff have been given an impossible task of maximising income to bring in £4 million of savings and a nil budget,” she said.

If the council will not pay for weekly safety inspections, all playgrounds will have to close.

“Parents would be devastated. It is the only free outdoor healthy play many get,” she said.

• More income could be raised at South Bristol crematorium in Bridgwater Road. The council is considering more burials there, including woodland burials.

It is also looking for a new cemetery site in the south of the city. A pet cemetery is also on the cards. But no new sites have been identified, the council said.

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To advertise, contact sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk or Ruth on 07590 527664

May 2017

southbristolvoice

9

n NEWS

Rainbow Centre open again in link with London charity Knowle centre for bereaved children finds new backer THE RAINBOW Centre, the Knowle charity which helps children and adults cope with bereavement and life-threatening illnesses, has linked up with a larger London charity to enable it to expand its services.

The charity, which has been based at a house in Lilymead Avenue for more than 30 years, had run into financial problems and had to stop accepting new clients for three months while a legal deal was agreed with its new partner in the capital, Grief Encounter.

This led to rumours that the Rainbow Centre had closed or was not accepting donations.

Trish Appleton-Fox, the long-term manager of the Rainbow Centre, told the Voice that the centre now shares some of its admin and back-office work with the London charity. The charity’s former trustees have been replaced by three trustees from outside Bristol, though the Rainbow is in the process of recruiting at least one local trustee.

The centre’s work in offering one-to-one help for children affected by death or lifethreatening illness will continue, Trish said.

Now the Rainbow is also

The Rainbow Centre offers therapy and support to children affected by bereavement offering group support, which is something already done by Grief Encounter.

“We have had feedback that children can feel isolated at school because they may feel that they are the only one that has lost a parent,” said Trish.

“So it can be helpful for kids to meet up with others and find out that they are not the only ones affected. It can also help the adults in the family to start finding support.”

The group sessions and the one-to-one support are run by the Rainbow Centre’s trained therapists. As well as counselling, children can try art and music therapy.

The centre is also introducing family days out – the first one was to the Playspace play facility in St Philip’s.

One in 29 children in the UK will lose a parent by the time they reach 16 years old – equal to one in every classroom. Previously

the Rainbow Centre was able to support two per cent of the bereaved children in the area, but working with Grief Encounter will mean that professional support can be available to more children, and their families, in Bristol.

• rainbowcentre.org.uk

Eddie strolls home after 12 weeks missing MISSING cat Eddie has returned to his home in Glena Avenue, Knowle, after a mysterious 12 weeks away.

Owner Cerian Selwyn said the whole family had been worried when Eddie disappeared on January 20, but he walked in late one night shortly after her daughter returned home.

“He was very hungry and thirsty and in need of much loving,” she said. She thanked the many people who helped look for Eddie and reported sightings.

Cerian thinks he may have become lost the other side of Wells Road after bad weather in January, but eventually found his way home when he picked up her daughter’s scent.

“I would recommend people with missing cats walk the local streets over and over to leave scent clues for them,” she said.

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Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

May 2017

southbristolvoice

10

n NEWS Police search for missing car after man dies POLICE are asking for the public’s help to find a car belonging to a man who died in South Bristol at the end of last month.

The body of a 65-year-old man from Cheltenham was found at a property in York Road, Bedminster, on March 29.

The man’s death is being treated as unexplained but police do not believe it was suspicious.

However, his car cannot be found despite searches of the local area.

The vehicle is a black Vauxhall Zafira, registration FD16 XCP and contains items belonging to the man’s wife, including a walking frame.

If you have seen this car or know where it might be, call Bristol Investigations on 101 and give the reference number 5217069362.

Public get a chance to see latest plans for cycleway

A PUBLIC meeting has been announced to discuss the latest proposals to run a cycleway through Victoria Park.

It’s at St Michael’s Church in Vivian Street, Windmill Hill, on Monday May 15 at 7.15pm. (The date is subject to confirmation – check the VPAG website, below.)

Council officials are expected to outline plans for a compromise route which has been discussed with members of Forward Together, a community group.

Forward Together grew out of the wave of protest against plans for a 4.7m wide “cycle superhighway” through the park, which attracted more than 600 objections and led to the proposal being withdrawn in January.

Objectors said the wide route would encourage cyclists to ride

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fast and would cause conflict with other park users.

There were also protests that widening several park gateways to allow for disabled access could allow motorbikes into the park.

Now a compromise route has been suggested along existing paths, widened where necessary to 3m, with some short deviations around trees.

However, requests to light the route with lamps in low-level bollards have not been agreed.

The council wants to install 4.5m lampposts, which some feel could deter the bats who use the park.

Forward Together asked for a survey of the impact of lights on

BRIDGE OF SIGHS

HOPES that the bottleneck of the St Luke’s Road underpass could be tackled with a cycle lane, with vehicles managed by traffic lights, appear to be a way off. Improved lighting under the bridge is on the cards within the next year but no other moves appear imminent.

bats. But the council is unwilling, as time is short if the £2.3 million Filwood Quietway is to be completed by next March, when government funding will expire.

The council wants to hold public consultation during May and submit a planning application for the Victoria Park part of the route in June.

Meanwhile, volunteers at the Northern Slopes Initiative (NSI) also hope to persuade the council to move the Quietway route.

The NSI has suggested a route from Kenmare Road through the Slopes and around Cavan Walk, along the lane near Kingswear.

Members want to minimise the route through the Slopes, which they feel would disrupt the calm of the green space and lead to potential conflict with pedestrians, children and pets, especially on steep sections.

• northern-slopes-initiative.co.uk • vpag.org.uk • travelwest.info/projects/cycleambition-fund/bristol/filwoodquietway

Shakey is set to reopen TOTTERDOWN’S much-loved Shakespeare pub is about to reopen – and its long history with the local community will be respected, its new tenants have promised.

The Shakespeare in Henry Street has been leased from Enterprise Inns by the team behind the Rose of Denmark in Hotwells.

As the Voice went to press, builders were still busy installing a new kitchen, but it’s hoped the new pub will open on April 28.

New manager Josh Lewis, who will be managing the pub, promised that local characters such as legendary landlord Mad Ernie will be commemorated.

There was some upset on Facebook when it emerged that a mural to much-misssed regular Bulky had been painted over.

However, Josh is planning a wall full of history, to include a picture of Bulky and a memorial to Mad Ernie – real name Vernon Somers. Ernie was landlord in

New look: The Shakespeare the 1980s and 90s, with his wife, known as Sane Joan, and was famous for DJing random music, from Elvis to the Wurzels.

The new-look Shakespeare will have a brighter look but will retain the old layout, and the garden. The aim is to make it somewhere for the whole community, said Josh. There will be regular music nights, probably with some low-key reggae on Sundays.

Food will include “bread bowls” – bread from Totterdown’s popular Baked bakery, filled with stews, curries and other options, along with pub fare such as ploughmans.

To advertise, contact sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk or Ruth on 07590 527664

May 2017

southbristolvoice

11

n NEWS

Mums make plan for flexible childcare IT’S A chicken and egg situation for too many parents. They need to work to provide for their children. But they can’t work because they can’t find childcare – or afford to pay for it.

Now two South Bristol mums are trying to close that gap with an idea they call Caboodle – providing affordable childcare for freelance workers who might need care at short notice.

The big idea is that Caboodle will also be a workspace – so parents won’t have to travel to work after leaving their child.

They won’t be far away if their

child needs them – and they will be surrounded by a community of other working parents.

It’s the brainchild of working mums Eleanor Christmas and Isobel Kearney. Both from Southville, they realised that they were both finding it difficult to work as much as they would like.

A quick survey of others who attend the Freelance Mum group at Windmill Hill City Farm got more than 70 responses.

“A lot of people are struggling to get their business off the ground,” said Eleanor. “Some of them are having to turn down

work because they cannot get childcare, or they aren’t able to accept projects at short notice.

“Plus there’s a shortage of childcare generally, and the good settings have waiting lists.”

The pair see Caboodle as a place where people can rent desk space, while elsewhere in the building, qualified nursery workers are looking after their children. They want a place which will accept children at short notice, and not demand a commitment to regular times.

It could also become a community that offers support in

parenting, as well as a network of freelance workers, perhaps with mentoring and training as well.

Eleanor and Isabel are talking to possible venues across South Bristol. They hope to get grants to pay for start-up costs, and maybe charge a membership fee.

They aim to be running pop-up events by September, while looking for a long-term venue.

If you’d like to find out more about Caboodle, or you can offer support to the project, especially in managing the childcare, email i.k.s.kearney@gmail.com or eleanor.freeman@live.co.uk.

Think again, builder told Tower plan for riverside DEVELOPERS proposing a block of nine flats on a prominent site in Totterdown have been asked to go back to the drawing board by planners.

Bath-based builder Crossman had asked for permission for a three-storey block on the corner of Goolden Street and Bathwell Road.

But the nearest houses on Bathwell Road are all two storey, and the council’s city design team says the new design will be overbearing.

“It is considered the scheme represents an inappropriate design which will appear incongruous in the street scene and fails to appropriately respond to the local character, and opportunities presented by the site,” says the report.

“It is recommended the application be withdrawn to

allow further design work, including a reduction in height, or failing that be refused on design grounds.”

The plan drew 74 objections, including from community group Tresa, where members are delighted that their detailed criticisms appear to have won attention.

“A big thank you to everyone who made time to comment,” said Tresa member Linn Waite.

Ms Waite found a graphic artist to illustrate how the iconic view of Holy Nativity church would be blocked by the flats.

Crossman is not obliged to withdraw the plan, but it seems unlikely to be approved in its current form.

The firm’s 2015 plan, which had the flats covered by coloured panels, was criticised as ugly by neighbours, and was withdrawn.

COMMUNITY group Tresa has responded to proposals by a London developer, Hadley, to put a high-rise block of up to 12 storeys on the former petrol station site next to Totterdown bridge.

Hadley invited Tresa and members of the public to a consultation event at Paintworks on March 29.

No drawings of the proposed development were on view, but the maximum proposed is 145 homes in four buildings – a tower of 12 storeys next to the bridge, with three buildings of seven or eight storeys alongside.

Tresa, the Totterdown community group, suggested a maximum height of nine storeys – two of which would be beneath the level of Bath Road.

The group expressed worries about parking – about 70 spaces

are expected – and increased congestion from vehicles turning onto Bath Road.

Along with many Arnos Vale residents, Tresa is worried about increased pressure on public services from the hundreds of new homes proposed at Paintworks, at a site next to Majestic Wines, and proposals expected for the ITV studios and Arnos Manor hotel.

Hadley said it would listen to public comments before making a planning application.

It said it wanted to make a public walkway along the river, linked to Paintworks, and preserve wildlife areas.

Tresa urged for a maximum of affordable housing, and welcomed the idea of live/work units, which have been popular at Paintworks.

• hadleypropertygroup.com

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May 2017

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n NEWS A walk through Holiday fun A FREE family fund afternoon is coming to Knowle West on the Knowle history May 1 bank holiday as part of a GUIDED walks are on offer to those who want to explore Knowle and its history.

Knowle library at Broadwalk shopping centre will host a display of old prints and photographs on Saturday May 6 from 11am. The walks start at 11.30am, with three versions to suit all energies.

The short walk goes from the library to Arnos Vale cemetery and park, and along the New Cut to Temple Meads.

The medium walk goes to Redcatch Park, Perretts Park and Victoria Park to Temple Meads.

The long walk goes from Perretts Park to Northern Slopes, Malago Greenway, Victoria Park and back to Temple Meads.

Find more details by emailing jesscott@blueyonder.co.uk, or visit Knowle library.

Get your trowels out, it’s BS4 garden time THE BS4 Good Gardens competition is back for a third year and it’s better than ever, with great prizes and competitions for adults and children.

Around 50 streets are participating including many new ones, with lots of new help coming in from all over BS4.

The top prize for adults is a meal worth £30 at The Knowle.

City dweller: A fox photographed in Ashton Vale by reader Steve Brain

mass community event organised by churchgoers across Bristol.

The Noise is an annual event which last year brought together 900 volunteers. They spend the morning on community projects such as litter picking, clearing gardens and parks, and painting fences in 11 areas across the city.

At 2.30pm it’s time for the fun event in Filwood Park, behind Filwood Green business park, with face painting, crafts, a café and a talent show.

• thenoise.org.uk

Calling all fans of urban wildlife

Head confirmed

ANY Voice readers who live in the BS3 area might like to look online at our Bedminster edition, where we’re giving full details of an exciting competition for schools. With Bedminster

PETER Knight is named as head of Oasis Academy, Brislington, where he has been interim principal since May 2015. Oasis said he led “a series of changes that transformed the culture.”

Children can get free sessions at Freedog trampoline centre in Mead Street, Totterdown.

Organiser Ruth Drury (who happens to be the Voice’s sales executive too) said: “We’ve had lots of interest this year, with new streets taking part and some brand new sponsors as well as loyal regular ones.”

The format is simple. Each street has a local judge who will pick out the most outstanding front garden in June or July, to be put forward for the overall competition. But it’s not all about winning – lots of interesting gardens will be rewarded with a window sticker.

Children have their own competition this year, called Plant a Pair. Ruth said: ”We’d like any child to plant something in an old pair of shoes – wellies,

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estate agent Besley Hill, we’re sponsoring visits by wildlife experts to BS3 schools. Adults can also win prizes with photos of BS3 wildlife like the one above.

• issuu.com/southbristolvoice Congratulations!

This year’s child contest: Plant a Pair of any kind of footwear adults shoes or kids shoes and leave them their You have beenby awarded a front door.

BS4 Good Garden Award “Don’t forget to2017 keep watering them and watch them grow, helped along by the cheesy smells in the shoes!”

Judges will be looking out for the best children’s plantings, and the winners will receive a Freedog prize! First prize is a £20 Freedog voucher, second prize a £10 voucher and third prize a £5 voucher.

This year’s sponsors are:

Birchwood Medical Practice, Brislington WI, Bris-Graphics, Floriography, Gardenology, AZ Services, Griffin Electrical, Vision Garden Design, Nick White Landscaping, JAC Landscape Solutions, The Knowle, Owen IT Solutions, South Bristol Voice, Matthews estate agents, Whitehall Garden Centre and Fit Flooring Company.

• Facebook: BS4 Good Gardens

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May 2017

southbristolvoice

13

n NEWS

Rollo says it has deal to buy more of Bedminster Green DEVELOPER Rollo Homes – already embroiled in a row with residents over plans to build 10 storeys of flats at Bedminster Green – says it has a deal to buy another major part of the site.

Paul O’Brien, owner of Rollo, told the Voice just before we went to press that he had exchanged contracts on part of Plot 4 on the Green. This is an area near Stafford Street on the East Street side of Malago Road.

Mr O’Brien has an agreement to buy part of the plot, which is split between several owners.

Rollo Homes has previously been accused of failing to consult residents and not wanting to contribute to the community facilities envisioned in the Framework plan for the whole of the Green, drawn up by another developer, Urbis.

But Mr O’Brien insisted Rollo does want to respect the Framework vision. He said he is talking to a local GP practice about building a new surgery.

However, Urbis has already proposed a doctors’ surgery elsewhere on the Green.

Similarly, Urbis has spoken of plans to build a district energy centre to provide heat and power for 2,000 homes in Bedminster and Windmill Hill, while Rollo has got in first with a planning application for its own energy centre on part of Plot 1.

It is hard to see how developers can be allowed to build similar schemes in competition. All the

Criticised: The Rollo plan for flats on Plot 1, which may have to be amended to allow for a possible future bus lane developers working in the area are due to meet, at the council’s invitation, in the next few weeks.

Mr O’Brien said: “We are going to have a meeting with all the stakeholders to work out exactly what everyone requires.”

The firms are understood to include Rollo; Urbis; Longharbour, which is developing St Catherine’s Place; and City & Country, which is building flats in the old tobacco offices in Bedminster Parade.

Rollo’s planning application for 217 flats on Plot 1 – the old Pring & St Hill site – has drawn almost 225 objections.

The council insists it wants to keep open the option of building a bus lane along the edge of Plot 1, and Rollo is in talks about redrawing the plans. But this should only mean a delay of weeks, Mr O’Brien told the Voice.

It’s unclear what Rollo’s purchase of part of Plot 4 will mean for the wider Green plans.

Under the Urbis vision, the whole of Plot 4 was earmarked for up to 550 homes and an underground car park with 170 spaces.

Urbis is focusing on Plot 5, the largest site on the Green, which includes the station (see panel).

Meanwhile Rollo’s energy centre plan has drawn 14 objections. Critics say it is large and ugly, with a 31m chimney dominating the skyline.

One resident of St John’s Road said: “The exhaust flue looks huge and will dominate this mainly residential landscape.”

Neil Sellers, for BS3 Planning Group, said Rollo’s drawings were “poor”. The Rollo plant also produces less power than the rival plan by Urbis, he said.

BS3 Planning also opposes the piecemeal development of Bedminster Green. Like other local groups, and MP Karin Smyth, it wants the area to be considered as a whole.

RESIDENTS OBJECT TO 17-STOREY BLOCK DEVELOPER Urbis, which lost a bidding war to buy the Pring & St Hill site to Rollo Homes, is pressing ahead with its own vision for the other four sites on Bedminster Green, which could see up to 800 homes.

It expects to submit its own pre-application for an energy centre shortly.

It has been holding monthly meetings with local groups such as BS3 Planning and WHaM, the Windmill Hill planning group.

Urbis has made a preapplication proposal for Plot 5 – the central area of the Green which will include a rebuilt railway station plus a doctors’ surgery, about 100 student flats, and 250 other homes – of which 30 per cent (about 75) would be affordable. There would be about 150 two-bedroom flats and 100 of one bedroom.

Urbis is in talks with another builder, Generator, about developing Plot 5, but neither Urbis nor the council – which owns the plot – will accept any developer which will not meet the social homes threshold.

WHaM’s chair Howard Purse welcomed the affordable homes, but said residents could not accept the scale of the buildings proposed – up to 17 storeys.

“The height is completely unacceptable,” said Mr Purse.

“This area is predominantly three or four storeys.”

Other developments in the vicinity are much lower, he said, such as Wapping Wharf, which is mainly five storeys, or the Redrow site at Bedminster Road, which is up to three storeys.

Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

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May 2017

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n NEWS

Free help for over-55s to get online ARE YOU over 55? Would you like to take advantage of some of things that computers allow us to do, but don’t know how?

New, free computer courses run by Age UK aim to talk older people through the new world of computing, allowing them to use email, shop online and use websites with confidence.

Two volunteers will work with a small group, giving one-to-one tutoring when possible.

They will help over-55s learn the basics, and accomplish their ambitions – which might be to set up Skype phone calls to enjoy

free overseas calls with family and friends, upload photos, pay bills and more.

The courses are on Tuesdays at the Withywood Centre, Queens Road BS13 8QA. Morning sessions are from 10am-12noon and in the afternoon from 2-4pm.

Courses have been running in central Bristol for some time but this is the first time they have been run in the south of the city.

They are free, but to book a place please call 0117 929 7537, email admin@ageukbristol.org. uk or visit • ageukbristol.org.uk

Free: Lottery-funded computer sessions are run by Age UK

Library on fire after break-in THREE fire engines raced to the former Knowle library in Redcatch Road, Knowle, on April 18 after children are believed to have broken in and started a fire.

No one was in the building when fire crews arrived about 3pm. The blaze was quickly put out with only superficial damage.

Smoke was seen rising through the roof of the building where lead has been removed.

The old library belongs to property company Frogmore, which aims to redevelop it.

Pedal power can help you feel better IF YOU’RE going through stress, anxiety, depression – or any other condition that affects your wellbeing – help is at hand with a new way to help you feel better – through cycling.

The Bike Minded project supports people who’d like to give cycling a try, with regular rides starting this summer in Knowle. The group can also help with low-cost bikes, free one-to-one training, and help in learning bike maintenance.

Bike Minded says all its participants so far report cycling had a positive impact on their mental wellbeing; 85 per cent feel healthier and 79 per cent say they now socialise more.

“As a disabled adult and long-time user of mental health services it’s been really empowering to get an affordable bike, go on rides, meet other

course so I can do repairs. It has been very beneficial for my health and wellbeing,” said Ryan (name changed).

The group will be part of a Cycling Activity Day on Saturday June 10 at the Bristol Family Cycling Centre in Bamfield, Hengrove, from 10am-4pm.

There will be free cycling taster sessions for people of all ages and abilities.

The centre has a range of cycles for people with various disabilities. It also runs bike maintenance sessions, can help

find cheap bikes, and more.

Bike Minded organiser Viv Maginnis said: “A bike is such a simple invention, but can do so much! Riding my bike changed my life – it has given me confidence, helped improve my fitness (I’ve never been a sporty person!) and my passion for cycling has even lead me to get a job where I get to promote all the benefits of a bike.”

To find out more, call 0117 353 4583, email bikeminded@ lifecycleuk.org.uk or visit • Lifecycleuk.org.uk/wellbeing

Ride on: Cycling for all abilities people and get some exercise. It’s built my confidence...I am using my bike to get around town and I’ve signed up for a maintenance

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May 2017

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17

n NEWS

Berry maze is taking root as cash floods in PLANS for a berry maze to transform a neglected piece of open space near the River Malago, between Marksbury Road and Parson Street, are taking off.

Organiser Raluca McKett, who has been leading efforts to clean up Brixham Road open space, said that well over half the £3,500 needed to get the project off the ground has been pledged.

The idea is to plant a maze of soft fruit bushes, from raspberries to strawberries, loganberries and white berries, in the shape of a maze, with benches and raised planters.

“If only a month ago the berry maze was just a lovely idea, it

Winner: A part of Harry’s vision now seems to have developed into a fully-fledged project!” she said.

The idea led to a competition at Parson Street primary school, where pupil Harry Wood, 9, drew the winning design and helped win publicity for the project.

Raluca said: “Thanks to the wonderful support of the local press and the amazing enthusiasm of the residents and volunteers high and low across Bristol, the maze, which will be planted in November, instead of a field of weeds, is very close to

becoming a reality.”

Within three weeks, donations were piling up from local people, many of them pledging anonymously. They were joined by developer Redrow, which is building homes nearby in Bedminster Road, and local businesses such as Bedminster’s Ivory Flowers. More than £1,000 was raised before the Greggs Foundation, the charitable arm of high street baker Greggs, awarded a grant of £1,739.

It means that the project has raised around 70 per cent of the amount needed in less than a month. But there is still £1,000 to be raised, and if the total is not met, none of the money that’s been pledged so far can be used.

To back the project, visit • spacehive.com/the-berry-maze The maze has also attracted a pool of almost 90 volunteers.

And there are hopes that it might become part of the citywide Bristol Open Doors Day in September. To find out more, email malagocommunity@gmail. com or visit • Facebook: TheBerryMaze2017

Cabaret comes to Knowle AN EVENING of sophisticated entertainment is promised when Entertaining Local Knowle presents A Night of Cabaret on Saturday May 13.

Among the acts at Redcatch community centre are Angie Belcher, a finalist at Best UK Female Comedy Newcomers.

There’s more comedy from Miserable Malcom, while El Diabolo brings a range of circus acts and testosterone.

Marko Jay promises knife juggling and the odd insult, while Fakir Darren lies on nails and “smashes crockery on his rockery”.

Soul singer Ella Candela brings some disco classics.

Knowle is unlikely to know what hit it. Tickets are on sale now from Broadwalk News, at £7, which includes a homemade soup supper (spicy carrot or bacon and lentil with bread and cheese. Bring your own alchohol.

• elknowle.wixsite.com/elknowle

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May 2017

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18

n NEWS

Election catches most parties with no candidate yet THE SURPRISE announcement of a general election on June 8 has caught most of the parties on the hop, without candidates in place.

In Bristol South, sitting Labour MP Karin Smyth remains her party’s candidate, and the obvious frontrunner.

The Green party has selected Tony Dyer as its candidate – he stood in 2015, coming fourth behind Labour, Conservative, and UKIP. The other major parties have yet to select candidates. Dr Mark Wright, the Lib Dem challenger last time, told the Voice he would

not stand: he is father to a newborn child and doesn’t want to disrupt his family.

The Conservatives, UKIP and the Lib Dems are expected to take a few days to pick their candidates – though all should be known by early May. An early declarer for Bristol South is John Langley. He is a former porn film producer and stood as an independent for Bristol mayor in 2016, and as a UKIP candidate for the 2015 council elections.

He told the Bristol Post he was standing to challenge Labour’s record on building

THE GENERAL ELECTION

THE ODDS Bristol South, 2017 Labour Conservative Liberal Democrat UKIP Green

VOTING IN 2015

4/11 2/1 25/1 33/1 50/1

Source: PaddyPower.com homes. Mayor Marvin Rees has not met his promise to build 2,000 homes a year, he said.

Ms Smyth holds Bristol South with a majority of 7,000. The seat has been Labour since 1935; from 1987 to 2015 it was held by Dawn Primarolo.

Baroness Primarolo is now in the House of Lords and was a long-serving Treasury minister under Gordon Brown, then deputy speaker of the House of Commons from 2010.

In the Labour landslide of 1997, the party took 60 per cent of the vote in Bristol South. That was down to 38 per cent in 2010

Labour Karin Smyth 19,505 38.4% Conservative Isobel Grant 12,377 24.3% UKIP Steve Wood 8,381 16.5% Green Tony Dyer 5,861 11.5% Liberal Democrat Mark Wright 4,416 8.7% TUSC Tom Baldwin 302 0.6% and 2015 under a growing challenge from the Liberal Democrats, Greens and UKIP. But it is the Conservatives who have been Labour’s most consistent opponent in Bristol South. Karin Smyth told the Voice that she sees the Tories as her chief opponents.

A video interview with Ms Smyth will be on the South Bristol Voice website, and we’ll add interviews with the other candidates as soon as we can.

Tom Baldwin has stood for the TUSC (Trade Union and Socialist Coalition) in Bristol South since 2010.

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May 2017

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19

n NEWS

WEST OF ENGLAND MAYORAL ELECTION

Too close to call, but how many will vote?

THE ELECTION for the first mayor to have powers over the West of England is neck and neck between the Liberal Democrat and Conservative candidates, according to the bookies.

Ladbrokes has the Lib Dem, Stephen Williams, at 11/10, the same odds as it is offering on Tim Bowles, the Tory.

Lesley Mansell, the Labour candidate, trails at 8/1, down from 6/1 earlier in the campaign.

However, an online poll for the Bristol Post had Ms Mansell only narrowly behind Mr Bowles.

In a sample of 2,500 Post readers, 14.4 per cent made Mr Bowles their first choice, followed by 14.2 per cent for Ms Mansell.

Mr Williams was supported by 11 per cent of readers. Fewer than 10 per cent opted for the Green, UKIP and Independent candidates, in that order.

The Post sample may not be be representative, though. Labour traditionally has more support in Bristol than it does in South Gloucestershire and Bath & North East Somerset, the other areas in the new West of England Combined Authority (Weca).

The poll also found that 43 per cent of readers do not intend to vote on May 4.

There is an extra twist to the voting process, though. As in last year’s Bristol mayoral election, voters get a second choice.

If a candidate gets more than 50 per cent of first preference votes, they win. If not, second preferences are counted.

In the Post poll, the Greens led the second-choice votes, followed by Labour, Lib Dem, Conservative, UKIP and Independent.

WHAT HAVE THEY PROMISED?

This is a snapshot. You can read more from the candidates in the last edition of the Voice at issuu.com/ southbristolvoice and extensive coverage at bristolpost.co.uk/all-about/politics Tim Bowles Conservative Experience: business and district councillor.

• Protect green spaces, prioritise urban regeneration, develop disused and brownfield sites.

• New rail stations and services.

• Improve junctions and traffic lights on South Bristol Link.

• Prevent flooding on Scotland Lane, which links A4-Stockwood.

• Invest in skills, infrastructure.

Darren Hall Green Experience: engineer, RAF officer, environmental consultant.

• Make new homes more energy efficient and more affordable.

• Ethical lettings policy.

• Equal priority for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers.

• Clean air zones in Bristol and Bath.

• Diversify and decarbonise to make Bristol-Bath world-leading smart city.

John Savage Independent Experience: business and NHS management.

• A super-tram linking the city centre to Cribbs Causeway, UWE, Bath and Bristol airport.

• Stop corporations letting development land lie idle.

• Wants to bring Channel 4 HQ to West of England.

• Build more modular homes.

• Get more power from Westminster.

Aaron Foot UKIP Experience: dairy farmer, parish councillor, candidate for PCC in 2016.

• End war on motorists and integrate transport network so bus, train and road work together.

• Protect Green Belt, prime agricultural land and natural wildlife habitats.

• Create a direct democracy platform in first 100 days in office.

Lesley Mansell Labour Experience: trade union negotiation, NHS management, parish councillor.

• Build 4,000 homes a year, 1,200 affordable.

• Help small firms chase late payments and obtain finance.

• Free transport for 16-19 year-olds.

• Action against rogue landlords.

• Maintain business and cultural links abroad after Brexit.

Stephen Williams Lib Dem Experience: MP and government minister.

• Scrap Severn Bridge tolls.

• Improve rural broadband and make Bristol and Bath hi-tech and creative centre.

• Tidal power in Severn estuary.

• Low rent start-up space for tech businesses and social enterprises.

• Zone land for high-density homes, for sale and affordable rent.

THE ODDS

Stephen Williams Lib Dem Tim Bowles Conservative Lesley Mansell Labour John Savage Independent Darren Hall Green Aaron Foot UKIP

11/10 11/10 8/1 12/1 66/1 100/1

Source: Ladbrokes.com

THE COST

• The metro mayor’s pay is £62,000 – less than an MP (£75,000), less than Bristol mayor Marvin Rees (£66,000) and other English metro majors (Liverpool’s gets £79,000).

It’s not known where Weca, the new authority, will be based. Its budget is £31 million a year.

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May 2017

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20

n WEDDING GUIDE   Advertisement feature

INVITATION

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May 2017

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21

n NEWS

Magic mural to play by CHILDREN at Oasis Marksbury Road primary school have been watching a work of art take shape before their eyes – and now it’s part of their playground.

South Bristol artist Olly Gage, well known for murals including those in Redcatch Park, devised his own story for the 100ft scene, using elements from the local area, nature, fantasy – and even fitting in the school’s four rules.

“We wanted something that was going to make the space look great but also something that was

meaningful to school life,” said deputy head Clare Robinson.

Olly has included local landmarks – such as Holy Nativity church in Wells Road – and colourful terraced houses.

It took Olly five days to paint it all. While he was working the children were watching avidly from the other side of the playground with the constant refrain: “What are you painting?”

A longer version of this story is online.

• southbristolvoice.co.uk

Aim High: Artist Olly Gage and some of the Marksbury Road children

National awards for Bristol archers Families invited to try out tennis AN ARNOS Vale woman has been given a national award for her work making news about archery accessible to the sport’s many disabled followers. Sheena McCullagh is web master and archery coach at Golden Phoenix Archers, the disabled archery group allied to Bristol Bowmen.

The two Bristol clubs – which shoot indoors at The Park centre,

Knowle – won Club Website of the Year at the annual Archery GB awards.

Sheena also won a bronze plaquette and a signed Rio 2016 Paralympic shirt. She spends up to 40 hours a month making each issue of Archery UK magazine accessible to visually impaired members.

• bristolanddisabledarchers.org.uk

BRISTOL is one of 15 cities that have been selected as a European City of Sport – and one South Bristol tennis club is playing its part. Knowle Lawn Tennis club is offering trial memberships for a whole family for £40.

The aim is to get families to try tennis to see if they like it – either as a family activity or for individual family members.

Facilities include: •4 floodlit courts; • Clubhouse with disabled access (also available for private hire); • LTA coach • Big TV screen and licensed bar

Membership lasts six weeks and includes one free group coaching session for each family member.

Members can use the courts during the day and also during Club Play sessions.

The offer is open from May 6 to September 16, and if any of the family join the club, £40 will be deducted from their subscription.

• knowlelawntennis.net

Watch out for the Great British Tennis Weekend, July 23-24 A chance for all the family to try tennis – racquets and balls provided.

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For more information contact Margaret Griffin on 0117 977 7800 or kltcmembershipsec@gmail.com Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

May 2017

southbristolvoice

22

n NEWS Egging us on

More than just another charity shop

Park victor: Isaac Cole-Burrows, 9 IF YOU live on a hill, throw eggs down it – that seems to be our motto. Easter Sunday saw scores of eggs hard-boiled and tossed downhill – both in Perretts Park, one of the steepest parks in the city, and Vale Street, recognised as Britain’s steepest street.

Vale Street has been welcoming egg throwers young and old since the traditon was started in the mid 1990s.

Perretts has only been doing the same for a few years. But both had big attendances this year. More online at: • southbristolvoice.co.uk

THE MELTING Pot shop on Wells Road, Totterdown, is to close in the autumn after five years of showing how charitable notions can mix with business.

The shop was opened by Rev Matt Norris, with the aim of being a business that wasn’t all about profit and loss.

Since opening in 2011 the Melting Pot has provided training and job opportunities as well as diverting profits to worthwhile local causes.

“I got to thinking that in a shop there’s a real network of community,” said Matt, minister of the Church of the Nazarene in Broad Walk, Knowle. “People come and go, you build relationships as well as careers.

It’s not all about profit and loss.”

The Melting Point became a

The smiling face of business: Matt Norris, right, with Melting Pot volunteers Jill and Phyllis

popular fixture on Wells Road.

Generous locals have donated not just cast-offs but some big-name fashion items that have netted several hundred pounds.

But though the stock came as gifts, the shop has been run as a business, paying a commercial rent and providing real-life work for several employees who have gone on to full-time roles, in shops or elsewhere.

Profits have been distributed as grants to projects such as the Bristol Women’s Workshop, the Rainbow Centre in Lilymead Avenue, and others.

Over the years the project has broken even, though Matt says to ask how much money it has made is the wrong question. “The question should be, who have you helped this week,” he said.

“The profit is in the people.”

But the venture has absorbed a lot of time and effort, and Matt feels it’s time to bring it to an end while it’s still doing good.

Doors will close in September, with plans for a celebration and a big sale in late August. “It’s been brilliant,” said Matt. “It really has been well supported.”

• meltingpotbristol.co.uk

PLAY LAWN GREEN BOWLS AT KNOWLE BOWLS CLUB With summer almost here, why not keep active and make new friends using our superb green, club facilities and year-round social programme.

Beginners or experienced bowlers of all ages are welcome.

Why not have a try and see how much fun you get? Free coaching and use of equipment.

Please contact either of the secretaries:

Ladies Sandra Broome 01179 407929 Men Bill Broome 01179 776913 We are opposite Broadwalk shopping centre.

Knowle Bowls Club, The Green, Knowle BS4 2QN

To advertise, contact sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk or Ruth on 07590 527664

May 2017

southbristolvoice

n HISTORY Living next to Hitler’s prime target in the Bristol suburbs

B

ARRY Fox grew up in the thick of it. Like everyone else who was born in South Bristol during the Second World War, he may have been little aware of the global conflict, but it was going on all around him.

And though he didn’t know it, he was living next door to one of the most important locations in Britain – the first Bristol airport.

Why was it so vital, and how do we know? Well, it was important to Hitler – as our picture (right) shows, the Luftwaffe went to the trouble of photographing it. The Whitchurch Flugplatz, as it was referred to, had a long runway of more than 900 feet, and as such it was of strategic importance.

But there was another reason: Whitchurch was Britain’s back door to the world. It was one of very few civilian airports to operate during the war, and the only one with flights to Ireland and Portugal. The Irish route via

There’s little left to see now of the first international airport in Bristol – or its role in the Second World War

THE HENGROVE POEMS Barry Fox, who has lived in Canada since 1969, visited his father Bill in Hengrove in May 2000. Wanting to hold on to his father’s memories, particularly about the war, he tape recorded their conversations.

Transcribing them, he said, “I saw descriptions of small events whose drama I had never recognised.” He wrote 32 poems in all, mostly in Bill Fox’s voice. You can read them at • www.acadiau.ca/~bfox/ poemlist.htm#young

He’d been up the early hours of the morning Going across to the moors Getting water cress. Now water cress Was another thing where people could get, What shall we say, the wrong thing.

He knew what water cress was.

It would be wild.

Bedminster before the War There was a man came round Bedminster Sunday lunchtime. My mother always Referred to him as Dirty Jack.

And all the neighbours, because he looked Filthy dirty.

Shannon led to the United States, a hazardous journey open only to VIPs. Winston Churchill himself is said to have used Whitchurch as a stopping-off point on his wartime visits to President Roosevelt.

T

he Fox family moved to Petherton Gardens, on the edge of the aerodrome, at the outbreak of war. Barry’s parents, Bill and Marjorie, had been living with his grandparents in Broad Walk, Knowle, when they heard of a bungalow to rent.

You could have a great big lot from Dirty Jack.

Mother and the neighbours would wash it -Salt and all that on there, lovely!

Now that was a green, you see; That’s what you lived off of.

Hygiene then was a different thing.

So you had to watch what you were eating.

Now if you buy it, It’s all processed.

And they ask a lot more money.

23

The first Bristol airport

Grounded: Baby Barry and his father, Bill, just home from a shift at the aircraft factory before a night of duty with the Knowle Home Guard Bill was from Bedminster – he was brought up in Myrtle Street and then Hall Street, while Marj had lived in Stanbury Road, Windmill Hill.

Baby Barry was not born until 1942. As a child after the war, he was at first puzzled by the strange landscape around him. Just off Petherton Gardens was an enormous hole in the ground, a bomb crater which at least one local boy used as a swimming pool. Indeed, the damage from bombs could be seen all over the area, from Wells Road across the airport and through Knowle Park, houses were destroyed and craters remained.

Another target was the sevenacre site of the John Hall paint factory, just off Hengrove Lane.

And who were the gang of exotic-looking workmen who were marched to and from the farmland which then bordered the airport? They were Italians – at first prisoners of war made to work the land, later reclassified as “displaced persons” or refugees. Displaced persons were not so exciting as POWs, the young Barry decided.

T

he fortunes of the Fox family were tied to the aircraft industry, just as the survival of Britain itself depended for a time on the aircraft which defended it.

Barry’s father, Bill, was a tool specialist at BAC – the Bristol

Aircraft Company at Patchway.

Bill tried twice to join the armed services, but he was refused – a skilled aircraft worker was too important to send to the front line.

And in fact he was almost as much at risk as any soldier. The BAC works were a prime target for the Luftwaffe. On September 25, 1940, 58 German bombers carpet-bombed the vast factory.

There were no RAF fighters to be seen, and Bristol’s anti-aircraft defences were poor.

In a raid lasting just 45 seconds, the bombs killed 72 people in the factories and 58 in the surrounding area. More than 300 were severely injured, and 19 Continued overleaf

Target: The Luftwaffe’s aerial reconnaisance picture of the airport at Whitchurch.

OVERLEAF: The map, marked with fatal bomb sites

Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

24

n HISTORY

southbristolvoice

Guarding the airport against Nazi paratroops

Continued from page 23 more died later. The factory workers had mostly taken cover, but the high explosive bombs penetrated six of their air raid shelters, creating horrific scenes.

But it was a lesson Bristol learned quickly. The Luftwaffe returned two days later, but this time the anti-aircraft guns were ready. A squadron of Hawker Hurricane fighter planes had been rapidly stationed at Filton, and they scrambled, dispersing the German bombers before they could reach their target.

Bristol’s two airfields remained targets for the Luftwaffe, and planes were destroyed at Whitchurch by bombs. Barry’s father and his colleagues were instructed not to rely on the air raid shelters.

“Until further notice it is suggested that on leaving the vicinity of the Works buildings, employees should disperse over surrounding fields and take all available cover in hedges and ditches,” read the air raid instructions to BAC employees.

There was no escape from war work once Bill got home. He wasn’t allowed to become a soldier, but like everyone else who could hold a rifle, he was expected to join the Home Guard. The part-time soldiers of Dad’s Army included teenagers and pensioners, but they might so easily have been on the frontline. The nation lived in fear of German paratroops, who had been behind the lightning takeover of the Netherlands and would find Bristol’s airport an easy target. Bill and his colleagues in the 10th Battalion Glos (City Of Bristol) Home Guard were charged with guarding the perimeter of the airfield, and often their shift would last all night.

Bill could see the family home from the airfield – but he would still have to march up Red Lion Hill to the Home Guard HQ in Broad Walk (where the Church of the Nazarene is now) before being allowed to go home.

In the war Bristol was a darkened city: all lights were out to avoid guiding enemy aircraft.

Continued on page 26

TARGET SOUTH BRISTOL The Luftwaffe’s aerial photo of Bristol airport, taken in 1940 Amended to show fatal bombings

May 2017

The first Bristol airport

The German markings A, B, C refer to A: Flugplatz Airfield, 800 x 860m • 3 hangars • Administrative and outbuildings (just visible inside the bottom corner of the airfield perimeter) B: Peilanage Radio masts • 7 transmission masts • Operations building C: Flakstellung Anti-aircraft guns

17

4 5

13

6

9

18 19 20 21

AIRFIELD

The Happy Landings pub sign by artist Dave Fisher in 1985 – does anyone have a picture of the earlier sign?

PIcture courtesy Mike Dowsing

To advertise, contact sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk or Ruth on 07590 527664

22

southbristolvoice

n HISTORY

16 1 3 2

Fatalities from German bombing raids 1940-41 Knowle and Hengrove Many other bombs fell in the area – only fatalities are recorded on this map. The large numbers below refer to the numbers in red on the map; the addresses in bold are where the bombings occurred.

WELLS RO AD

November 24-25 1940 14 7

15

8 10

AIRPORT ROAD 11

æ

3

May 2017

THE HAPPY LANDINGS

12

TON HER

ENS

D

GAR

PET

1

18 Marston Road Martin Thomas, 56; 13 Marston Road Annie Cooper, 55; George Dunstan, 63, air raid warden, of 13 Beaconsfield Road; William Hazell, 35, air raid warden, of 18 Leighton Road; 15 Marston Road Gladys Harper, 42, ambulance driver, of 17 Marston Road; Dorothy Rookes, 41; Gordon Rookes, 14; Norman Rookes, 10; Sydney Rookes, Royal Marines (the Rookes were husband, wife and two sons).

At Redcatch Road George Burt, 39, air raid warden, of 293 Wells Road; at Wells Road Gresham Fine, age unknown, of 501 Wells Road; William Tippin, 68, of 277 Wells Road.

23 Hengrove Road Bodwen Francis, 42.

Salcombe Road shelter (at Broad Walk and Salcombe) Mavis Price, 15, of 85 Salcombe Road.

14 Newquay Road Albert Osborne, 57; 13 Newquay Road Charles Poole, 77; 15 Newquay Road Ellen Thomas, 27, of 40 Wedmore Vale, Bedminster.

92 Minehead Road Leonard Chilcott, 14.

19 Queenshill Road Mavis Bryer, 11, of 19 Somerdale Avenue, Knowle.

77 Kingshill Road Henry Drewett, 62.

143 Broadfield Road Ethel Davis, 59; Ellena Geddes, 29; Frederick Geddes, 32.

1 Springleaze Maria Greddy, 55; William Greddy, 54.

4 Hengrove Avenue Charles Moody, 25, air raid warden; Amelia Stephens, 45; 6 Hengrove Avenue Edna Nunney, 21; Jack Nunney, 26; 8 Hengrove Avenue Annie Popham, 32; William George Popham, 39, Home Guard; William Popham, 5; Margaret Williams, 18.

24 Hengrove Avenue Pamela Efford, 19 months; Sheila Efford, 5.

2 3 4 5

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

December 6-7, 1940 Picture reproduced under licence from Alamy.com

13

43 Crossways Road John Jacobs, 12.

25

The first Bristol airport

14 15

11 Queensdale Crescent Arthur Baker, 40.

29 Kingshill Road Annie Randall, 57; George Randall, 57; Dorothy Randall, 28; 42 Kingshill Road Percival Weaver, 37; Roy Weaver, 15.

April 11-12 1941

16

17 Beaconsfield Road Dennis Green, 26, Aircraftsman, RAF; Edith Green, 26; Patricia Green, 5; (husband, wife and daughter).

66 Stockwood Crescent Robert Flower, 14; 70 Stockwood Crescent Ernest Cockram, 37, fire guard; Alfred Simmons, 63, of 136 St Peter’s Rise, Headley Park.

Ilminster Avenue Amy Molton, 30, and Keith Molton, 4, both of 29 Short Street, St Philip’s Marsh; Vera Tooze, 14, daughter of Amy Molton; Ilminster Avenue shelter Emily Belcher, 56, and George Belcher, 56, both of 80 Ilminster Avenue; Thomas Bright, 62, and Thomas Bright, 39, (son), both of 192 Ilminster Avenue.

132 Salcombe Road John Bull, 14; John Davis, 56, firewatcher, of 141 Salcombe Road; 141 Salcombe Road Patricia Brennan, 17.

24 Throgmorton Road Edward Dursley, 33, fire guard, of 29 Throgmorton Road.

86 Willinton Road James Chilcott, 65; Mary Chilcott, 71; 86 Willinton Road Esther Wilkins, 44; Gladys Wilkins, 7.

38 Willinton Road Samuel Jones, 41, fire guard, of 34 Willinton Road.

• Names complied by Barry Fox from data by John Penny at fishponds. org.uk

17 18

19 20 21 22

HAPPY LANDINGS and other questions

THE Happy Landings pub, built by Bristol brewery Georges in the 1930s and named for the airport, was on the corner of Hengrove Lane and Wells Road. It was put up for sale in 2010 and is now 11 flats. Barry remembers the sign outside bearing a grey, civilian plane, and would love to see a photo of it.

He’s also keen to find out where the air raid shelter was on Ilminster Avenue, where four people died on the night on April 11, 1941, and how three members of the Molton family were killed on the street and not at an address. Anyone with answers – or with war memories of your own – can write to the Voice at the

Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

n HISTORY

May 2017

southbristolvoice

26

The first Bristol airport

Guarding the airport against Nazi paratroops Continued from page 24 The airport was vast and full of hazards, like barbed wire. So Bill drew his own map, showing the runways and the trenches. It was probably strictly forbidden – but luckily it didn’t fall into enemy hands.

Everyone was needed in the Home Guard, even one man who wasn’t properly fit. Bill said: “We used to run up hills with guns and all our equipment, training really seriously. And he collapsed and died.”

Bill turned out to be an asset to the 10th battalion: he was a crack shot. Ammunition was short, but the Home Guard were allowed to practise with .22 rifles.

These fired bullets less than 6mm across, more suited for hunting rabbits than military use.

Bill scored 99 out of 100, making him the best Home Guard shot in Bristol, and winning the battalion a silver cup. His name was never engraved on it, though: a wartime precaution. And he dreaded that his shooting skills, might see him forced to become a sniper, he told his son later.

It’s a reminder that even in the middle of war, when plenty of people had died from bombing in the streets around the Fox bungalow, many still did not want to take a life.

S

o what was so special about Bristol Airport? We’ll tell its full story another time, but it was founded in 1929, when the city corporation paid £15,500 for 298 acres of farmland on the edge of the city, between Knowle and Whitchurch, to construct a municipal airport.

Filton was already a thriving centre of aircraft production, but its runway was too busy for passenger flights. Hence Bristol airport – often referred to as Whitchurch, including by the Luftwaffe – became one of only three council-owned airports in the UK, the others being Croydon (the first London airport) and Heston (close to what is now Heathrow).

At first the access was from Whitchurch Lane but later a new

Crack shot: Lance Corporal Fox – actually, he was still a private here – with his battallion’s Bristol trophy, won thanks to his sharp shooting road was built from Wells Road.

Airport Road led directly into the complex of hangars and airport buildings, stopping just after the junction with Creswick Road.

(The hangars were where the Hengrove Leisure Park is today with its cinema and, a sole nod to site’s history, a pub called the Wessex Flyer.)

The 1930s saw great enthusiasm for flying, which was as much a pastime for the rich as a serious means of transport. The Whitchurch site was run by the private Wessex Aeroplane Club and much of the activity was pleasure flights for groups such as Clifton rugby club.

The first routes offered were short hops to Cardiff, Torquay and Teignmouth. In 1930, the first year of operations, just over 900 passengers used the airport.

By 1939 this had grown to only 4,000 a year – compare that to the 450,000 passengers who used the current Bristol airport at Lulsgate in February 2017 alone.

Flying was a very niche activity in the 1930s, then. As the reliability of aircraft improved

An Anderson shelter, like the one the Foxes had in their garden

(though they still crashed quite a lot), Bristol gained routes to Plymouth, Birmingham, London, Southampton and Liverpool.

Exotic foreign destinations included Paris Le Bourget and Shannon, Ireland.

But the approach of war gave Bristol a new importance. In 1938 a flying school was set up to train volunteer pilots for the RAF. The Wessex Aeroplane Club was also helping form a Civil Air Guard for what was seen as the inevitable conflict to come.

Soon after the outbreak of war, in August 1939, Bristol airport was requisitioned by the government. But though it was used by all types of military aircraft throughout the war, it remained a civil airport too – at times the only one in the country.

In conditions of great secrecy, regular flights were continued to countries that remained neutral – from Bristol to Lisbon in Portugal and to Foynes, the Irish seaplane base where flying boats left for the USA. When the Netherlands was overrun by Germany early in the war, its national airline KLM had a modern fleet of Douglas DC-3s – the Dakota, one of the most rugged and numerous aircraft ever produced. Six of the planes were kept from the Nazis and flew the Lisbon run from Whitchurch on behalf of BOAC – the British Overseas Airways Corporation, newly formed from the former British Airways and Imperial Airways companies.

Imperial and British Airways had moved 59 of their own airliners to Whitchurch in a

well-planned move that took just two days in September 1939.

The North Atlantic route was the only air link to America, which from 1941 was Britain’s most important ally. But the Lisbon route was more intriguing, being a backdoor route into enemy territory.

Portugal was infested by spies of both sides – not least because it bordered fascist Spain, where the dictator Franco stayed out of the war. It was vital to Britain that Spain continued to sit on the sidelines. Did flights from Bristol help in this effort? And was the film star Leslie Howard a secret cog in the machine? Our panel (right) explores this fascinating episode in Bristol’s war.

Only the most important business figures and VIPs were allowed to use the international routes through Bristol. They included Bob Hope, Bing Crosby, Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands and Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of the US president.

W

hitchurch was never home to squadrons of bombers or fighter planes, but it flew almost every type of aircraft as a delivery depot for Air Transport Auxiliary No 2 Ferry Pool. This ferried planes made in the West Country to the bases where they were needed. These included Blenheims, Beaufighters and Beauforts built by the Bristol Aeroplane Company at Filton, Hurricanes made by Gloster at Brockworth, Gloucestershire, and Whirlwinds and Spitfires produced by Westland at Yeovil.

By 1941, five large new hangars had been built on the north side of the airport. The old runway was dwarfed by a new one 3,048 feet long, running east-west and allowing safe operation of any military aircraft – including the top secret Gloster Meteor, the first operational jet.

Yet in 1944, in a sign of times to come, BOAC moved its flights to Bournemouth, where there was an even longer runway.

After the warommercial flights were scarce. Flying clubs continued to use the airport, but it wasn’t until 1953 that Cambrian Airways, part of BEA, began flying a handful of domestic and French routes.

Morton Air Services also flew to the Channel Islands, the Isle of Wight and the Isle of Man. But as

To advertise, contact sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk or Ruth on 07590 527664

May 2017

n HISTORY

southbristolvoice

27

The first Bristol airport

FILM STAR OR SPY? LESLIE Howard was one of cinema’s top names in the 1930s. A star of Gone with the Wind in 1939, he returned to Britain the same year, playing roles helpful to the war effort, including a Spitfire pilot in First of the Few (1942).

On June 1, 1943, he boarded BOAC Flight 777 at Lisbon. A regular service had been operating from Bristol to Lisbon, well away from the war zone, on DC-3 aircraft chartered by BOAC from the remnants of the Dutch airline KLM. The DC-3s ware also used by the military, and BOAC planes had occasionally been chased by the Germans. None, however, had been shot down. Until June 1, when eight long-range Junkers 88 fighters sighted the airliner 800 miles west of Bordeaux and shot it down. All 13 on board were killed.

The Luftwaffe pilots were said to be angry that they hadn’t been told there was an airliner in the vicinity.

But was it a deliberate target?

Many theories were proposed.

Leslie Howard was well-known as a patriot who’d left Hollywood to return to the UK. Had he been in Spain trying to persuade the fascist leader, Franco, to stay out of the war? Howard had links to the regime via a former girlfriend. Or housing estates grew up in what, before the war, had been open farmland, it became clear that the airport couldn’t be expanded further. The city elders looked at Filton again, and decided it was too busy, and too close to the city. They purchased RAF Lulsgate Bottom for £55,000, ignoring those who said it was too often fogbound. The days of Whitchurch – or Hengrove – as an international destination ended in 1957 with the closure of the airport.

B

arry Fox grew up in Petherton Gardens, attending the infant school in Petherton Road, where his mother was a dinner lady.

For a small boy in his first year at school, it was as if the war hadn’t ended.

“Sometimes in the playground we’d look up at echelons of aeroplanes droning overhead, wondering if they were going to drop bombs on us. The noise filled our heads. We stood looking up mesmerised every time. No one told us the war was

Passengers board a BOAC flight at Bristol in about 1941. This plane, a DH Albatross, crash landed at Shannon, Ireland, in 1943.

Another Albatross was destroyed in an air raid on Whitchurch in 1940.

Above, Leslie Howard was Howard killed because the Germans thought his death would demoralise Britain?

Perhaps the Luftwaffe’s real target was Winston Churchill. The wartime prime minister was in North Africa at the time, and it was claimed German agents had uncovered his intended flight path from Gibraltar. Det Insp Walter Thompson, Churchill’s bodyguard, wrote later that Churchill often seemed clairvoyant about his safety, and had switched his departure to the next day.

A CIA agent, Joseph B Smith,

later claimed that Leslie Howard himself knew of the German intention to shoot down Flight 777 – but he sacrificed himself for the war effort so as not to endanger British intelligence sources.

Churchill believed the DC-3 was destroyed because the Nazis thought he was on board – even though the flight was in daylight and unprotected. “The brutality of the Germans was matched only by the stupidity of their agents,” he wrote in his memoirs.

Others said Churchill was nothing to do with the incident.

Ron Howard, Leslie Howard’s son, believed his father was the real target for the Nazis. In one of his films, Howard had ridiculed Josef Goebbels, the notoriously prickly Nazi propaganda minister. Did Goebbels order the Junkers squadron to destroy Flight 777?

The fighters were operating outside of their normal area.

The latest biography of Leslie Howard by Estel Eforgan concluded the incident was a genuine mistake by the Luftwaffe in the fog of war. A definitive judgement, however, is probably impossible.

over, ever. It was exciting and frightening.”

The school had an air raid shelter, but its purpose was obscure and frightening, and Barry was too scared to play in it.

Later Barry overcame his fear of air raid shelters to make a den

in the one in his back garden. “I remember as a little boy trying to dry cabbage leaves in it – away from my parents’ prying eyes – to make cigars. My Aunty Kath worked in the cigar shop at Wills so I knew about the superiority of cigars and felt that I had a special

right to make them for myself!” he said.

Bill Fox’s silver cup for being the best shot in Bristol sat on the family sideboard. It was never engraved, but the sideboard had its own story. A bomb that exploded in the field behind the house blew a piece of shrapnel through the ceiling and into the top – the Fox family was taking shelter in the church hall up the road at the time. The sideboard was mended, by a Mr Carpenter.

Barry later went to Tyning junior school in Hengrove, then Bristol Grammar School. He became a teacher, working in South Yorkshire until he emigrated to Nova Scotia, Canada, in 1969. After retiring as a schoolteacher, he carried on teaching part-time at a university. He’s now compiling his family memories and photographs in the hope that his grandchildren – and others – will understand how different times were when he was growing up.

The Voice is very grateful to Barry for sharing his recollections – and his poems.

Young Drunk Pilots at the City Ground Young pilots, young lads 18, 19 years of age.

I remember going, (Of course the football went on in the war.

They had football teams.

The City and all the others, Things were still going on then.)

I remember going down to the City ground And they weren’t too far away.

It was Third Division South I used to go down there And a couple of these young lads.

I knew one of them, At Queen Elizabeth, The ones who wore the yellow stockings In their school uniform.

I remember him because he lived Up by Bert Cochrane.

Him and a couple of others, They only looked boys.

I mean I was a man up to them To look at.

Drunk.

They were going into the City ground.

Whether any of them knew anything about football, They just carried on.

These were the pilots.

Yes, never came back.

No. Shame really.

I mean that’s, that was what they were doing.

They were going in it, Fighting mad, sort of.

But there, some of them did come back.

Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

May 2017

southbristolvoice

28

n NEWS A half price ride to work for all our readers THERE’S a new way to get to work for many South Bristolians, and the Voice is offering readers half-price fares for a week.

The new service is called Slide, a business which hopes to tempt commuters out of their cars with a service that’s more comfortable and convenient than a bus.

Slide now picks up commuters from all over BS4, from Knowle to Brislington and Totterdown. It already serves Bedminster and Southville.

Users get an app, which will guide them to their nearest virtual stop, no more than five minutes’ walk, where they will be picked up by a minibus. They will be dropped near their workplace in the city centre – usually not more than two minutes’ walk from their destination.

Fares range from £4 to £7 – about half that of a taxi and a

little more than a bus fare, but with more flexible routes and comfortable, air-conditioned vehicles with free wi-fi. Slide also offers real-time updates through the app, so users can know when they’re going to be picked up.

The new areas have been added after a vote by potential users.

Already much of north and central Bristol is covered.

Voice readers who would like to try Slide for the first time can get half price fares for a week.

Just download the Slide app and enter the code VOICE50.* Slide is part of a French group called RATP Dev, which runs bus services in London as well as public transport across Paris. * Code is limited to 10 trips per passenger. Valid from May 1 to May 26, 2017.

• slidebristol.com

Tall order: These bus drivers from Hengrove aim to climb the three highest mountains in the UK in 24 hours

Peak fares for bus drivers AN INTREPID group of bus drivers from the First West of England depot in Hengrove aim to conquer Britain’s three tallest mountains in 24 hours.

They’ll be scaling Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon on July 1 to raise money for Help for Heroes, the charity for ex-services veterans.

The clock starts at 6am and the team aim to be at the summit of Ben Nevis at 11am. They will then have to travel over 250 miles by 5pm, and get up and down Scafell Pike by 9.20pm. Then it’s

another 200 miles to Snowdon, climbing through the night.

They will have to average at least 2mph going up and 3mph coming down – all the while carrying their supplies.

Former soldier Dan Perrett, who is leading the challenge, said: “A few of us used to be in the army, so there’s experience of demanding training exercises that will prepare us well. But there’s also many that haven’t done anything like this before!”

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LETTERS Send letters to paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk or to 18 Lilymead Ave, BS4 2BX Park woodland should be saved I AM concerned to learn, reading South Bristol Voice, about the plans of Steve Griffiths, organiser of the proposed Redcatch community fruit farm, to be sited on the disused former bowling green, who intends to open up Redcatch’s “secret garden”.

This fenced-off strip of wooded land provides the perfect and only part of Redcatch Park where foxes, squirrels, birds and other wildlife can live and breed in a secure refuge, away from the interference of people. Indeed on the park’s nature noticeboard, this animal haven is listed as “a wildlife corridor and protected area”.

Sadly, around the world, major wildlife habitats are being opened up and destroyed for commercial interests – making a fast buck. I hope wiser minds will keep this mini-wildlife reserve

and refuge for them to live and breed in peace, and speak up for those who do not have a voice.

Gerald Gannaway, Knowle

Council is the weakest link BRISTOL is now the most popular city to live in, according to a national newspaper. It’s also the worst for traffic outside London.

We have lots of positives that outweigh the negatives.

The weakest link: poor management in the council; no direction and lack of credible political experience.

Solution: put council into special measures or legal framework equivalent and make all employees and councillors have new contracts of service.

Any member of the council to be prosecuted for gross misconduct. Discuss?

Andrew Forsey, Knowle

POLICE REPORT Don’t risk it and go the wrong way – you’ll be on camera ...

I

T’S BEEN great to see the sun shining over recent weeks - it certainly makes for more enjoyable foot patrols!

Last month, a temporary camera was installed at the junction of Headley Lane and Vale Lane, in response to concerns from local businesses and residents about vehicles driving up Vale Lane against oncoming traffic. Be warned that if you dangerously ignore a N o Entry sign to jump queuing traffic on Hartcliffe Way, you will now be captured on CCTV and could be fined £50.

I know it is frustrating when you’re sat in a queue and see other drivers selfishly putting others at risk merely to cut in ahead of you. But driving the wrong way down a one-way street is clearly dangerous, even more so when you add in the

The Broadwalk needs a Costa ON READING the South Bristol Voice about Costa at Broadwalk – I could not believe that it has been turned down because of delivery issues! Have the planning officers not logged that Miss Millie’s and the pub Charlie’s have deliveries every week?

Costa would be a great breath of fresh air to the much-needed Broadwalk area.

OM, Knowle

Rubbish service NOW that the weather is better, we see bins overflowing with rubbish in parks and on streets.

The council has asked people to take their rubbish home. Of course they should; but the council must ensure enough collections to avoid this health hazard.

PS, Totterdown

A SOUTH Bristol IT firm called Byteback has equipped more than 2,500 households with ultra-cheap computers.

Its side project, Bristol Computer Reuse, takes unwanted computers from Bristol city council and other organisations, and refurbishes them.

“Instead of surplus machines ending up in landfill or overseas, we take them away to be refurbished and then make sure they are ready to be used by new owners. The scheme is supported

by Bristol city council and through it, it is possible to apply for refurbished computers from as little as £50”, said co-founder Nathon Hawke.

The firm is based at Brewery Court off North Street in Bedminster.

If you think Bristol Computer Reuse can benefit you or someone in your family, call 0117 370 6456 or email info@ bristolcomputerreuse.org • bristolcomputerreuse.org

With Sgt Caroline Crane Broadbury Road police station

O

speed people are then driving at to try and get up the road before someone comes the other way.

It’s got to stop. When the roadworks first started, we had officers down at the junction, but we obviously can’t permanently police it in person. Hopefully, word will get around and the camera itself will act as a deterrent.

O

ver recent months, we’ve had reports of cold callers selling over-priced products, rogue traders taking money for half-completed jobs and distraction burglars conning their way into homes. In May, Rogue Trader Week will highlight the impact this has on their victims and what you can do to prevent it.

Follow these top tips to keep you and your neighbours safe from rogue traders: • Who are they? Check they have ID and give their company a call to confirm; • No details, no deal. If they don’t have any company details or offer to work for cash then remember it’s OK to say no; • Don’t speak to them alone.

Genuine callers won’t mind

Cheap way to get connected

Stay safe: Read our guide to dealing with doorstep callers coming back on another day when you’re not alone; • Keep your house safe. If you have a safety chain fitted, always attach the chain before opening the door to strangers.

• Say hello to your neighbour, have a chat with them about the tradespeople they use or even offer to be with them when a tradesperson next calls.

Our message to the community is that it’s OK to say no! Remember you can always follow what the team are up to on Twitter @ASPBristolSouth

ur work to reduce the harm caused by drugs in South Bristol continues, with regular operations and warrants carried out, based on specific information from local people. At the end of March, a father and son aged 52 and 20 were arrested on suspicion of production of cannabis following a warrant at a property in Crossways Road in Knowle.

We discovered an outbuilding at the back of the house which appeared to have been purposely built to grow cannabis. We seized over 80 plants here in various stages of growth, along with bags of dried cannabis ready to be sold. Both men have been bailed while we carry out further enquiries.

We cannot do this vital work without your help, so please, please, tell us what you know. If you are not comfortable reporting to the police, then contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

They never ask for your name or trace your call and offer rewards of up to £1000 for information which leads to an arrest and charge. Until next time, Sergeant Caroline Crane

Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

May 2017

southbristolvoice

30

n FEATURES

Wills, Trusts + Probate

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Do I need a Lasting Power of Attorney?

Anna Molter, Associate Solicitor at Barcan+Kirby, explains the benefits of planning for the future now.

What is a Lasting Power of Attorney?

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) enables you to appoint someone to act on your behalf should you lose the mental or physical ability to make your own decisions. It can also give this person specific instructions on important matters such as selling your house or arranging your care.

How do I make an LPA? Like a Will, an LPA is made with the help of a solicitor.

There are two kinds of LPA – one for Health and Care Decisions, and another for Financial Decisions.

The nature of an LPA is to be flexible according to your needs, so you can choose how much control to give your attorney when you draw yours up.

Why should I get an LPA? Making an LPA is arguably as important as writing your Will. In the same way that a Will appoints executors to handle your affairs after you pass away, a Lasting Power of Attorney appoints an attorney to make decisions on your behalf while you’re still alive if you can’t do so yourself.

When should I make one?

The short answer is “now”. An LPA can only be made while you have mental capacity.

What if I don’t have one?

With no LPA, if you lose mental capacity in the future then your family would have to apply to the Court of Protection to be appointed as your deputy. This would give them some control over your affairs.

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May 2017

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31

RSPCA UPDATE

From Bristol Dogs & Cats Home

Your chance to find out what goes on behind the scenes

T

HERE is a buzz of excitement around Bristol RSPCA at the moment.

That’s because, once again, it’s time for our Open Doors and Dogs Home Tours event! This year it takes place on Sunday May 21 from 10.30am-3pm.

This year’s event will be bigger and better than ever before. You will be able to go behind the scenes at our clinic, talk with our vets and nurses to gain a unique insight into the vital work they do, and get the chance to try some hands-on activities.

You will also be able to sign up for a tour of our Dogs and Cats Home, led by members of our team. Not only will you be able to see parts of the home not normally on show to the public, you will also be in great company

Open Doors Day is our show-off time

as our staff will be able to answer any questions that you might have and tell you first-hand stories about working at the home.

Last, but by no means least, we will have a range of stalls, games and refreshments for you to enjoy. Come on down for a chance to win one of our star raffle prizes, treat yourself to a tasty cake or two, learn more about our work, and meet some of our animal residents. For more

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Chester enjoys some spring sunshine.

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May 2017

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32

n NEWS In witch I lose the will ...

I

HAVE lots of children and have been through the dreaded search for schools many times.

With Eldest we were keen, and made him take entrance tests, visited every school in Bristol and studied league tables. All a complete waste of time as he ended up going to the local comp.

The next two followed in his footsteps. They survived, despite having me as a parent. I remember going to a very important meeting.

Of course I was very late having come straight from the gym. Me and Uni Girl fought past the heavy curtains and made our way to the

Who is she?

THE We don’t WICKED know – she WITCH hides in her great big cloak

OF KNOWLE

middle of the main hall, the tense atmosphere broken by the squeak, squeak, squeak of my trainers with every agonising step. We sat down and Uni Girl looked around. Panic filled her face. We were in the wrong meeting. Up we got and I squeaked my way back out.

By the time Evil had to choose a secondary school I was worn down with the whole education process.

We half-heartedly had a look at the usual suspects but ended up

ticking the box for where all her mini evil mates were going.

She did not get in. Quite a shock. That school, oversubscribed, really? Lots of tears and tantrums. I had to Appeal. I paid for advice, turned up early, sat at the front fully prepared with lots of carefully worded questions. When asked why I had not put down a nearby wellperforming Catholic school I replied “Oh no. Far too Goddy.” The panel looked at me oddly. Queen panellist peered over her glasses: “Too gaudy?”

“No,” I spluttered, “Too Goddy, you know, too many sacrificed Jesus Christs pinned to the walls, judging me.” Amazingly Evil got her place – it was a bit too easy.

She turned up on her first day to find 17 established teachers had

left to go to another school that was failing (you get more money to teach at a failing school). Her newly-qualified maths teacher lasted three weeks before going sick, never to be seen again. At primary school she had aspirations to be a midwife. Now she wants to be a make-up artist. “You will still need to do well in science,” I told her, “learning where your eyebrows should be is very important.” She raised one, perfectly-sculptured brow and stalked off.

But it is not all doom. Evil has pretty much perfected a new language over the last two years.

She called me from our paper round the other day. “I ‘ant got a papeeer for number thir-ee seveeern.”

Textbook Bristolian. I am so proud.

Down on the Farm News from Windmill Hill City Farm, Philip Street, Bedminster

New babes in the hood The last couple of months have seen the arrival of 10 ducklings, 12 lambs, and eight goat kids – all born (or hatched) down on the farm. They are all still at the especially-cute stage, as their many visitors will attest.

Café The new café opens at the end of May. The new premises will be large, light and airy with a picture-postcard view of the farmyard promised, and a new

larger toddler play area outside.

Inside there will be a new farm shop, stocked with locallyproduced goodies as well as the farm’s own meat, eggs, salad, herbs and veggies.

There will be twice as many indoor seats as before, and a much larger counter, so service will be faster and the range of cakes and savoury ‘to-go’ treats bigger. The space will also be available for evening hire.

The café will be able to offer more volunteering placements, use more seasonal farm produce and return more profits to the farm’s community projects.

Wild Outdoors Day An event celebrating nature and the great outdoors is scheduled for Saturday May 13, 11am-5pm.

The annual Wild Outdoors Day offers forest skills, nature crafts, outdoor games, and local food

New arrival: One of the goat kids and drink. Outdoors fun includes campfire cooking, spoon carving, flower crafts, magic potionmaking and even a dog show.

There will be live music in the farmyard, a Texan-style BBQ and burgers from Farmer Tim - vegan street food also available. Entry is £3 for adults, free for children.

The day is about encouraging people to spend more time in

nature and to show that you don’t have to go far to do this.

The city farm is only 10 mins walk from the city centre and is set in five acres of land that was re-claimed by local people as a green community space.

New tenants The building by the former adventure playground has new tenants. Nacoa – the National Association for Children of Alcoholics – offers advice, support and information to children of alcoholics, whatever their age. (Helpline number: 0800 358 3456.) The charity, which has been going for 26 years, moved to the farm in February.

Steve Sayers, chief executive of Windmill Hill City Farm, said: “We are delighted to welcome Nacoa to the farm.”

• windmillhillcityfarm.org.uk

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n YOUR MP

KARIN SMYTH Labour MP for Bristol South

Every school in South Bristol is about to see its budget reduced

A

S LOCAL MP I receive contact from people I represent about a range of issues. Concerns about cuts to funding received by our local schools have been prominent in my inbox recently.

The Government is changing the way it calculates the amount provided to schools – describing the new mechanisms as fair funding. While nobody can argue against fairness, these measures will actually cause almost every school in England to lose cash. It seems the new formula is simply going to redistribute a sum of money that is inadequate to support our schools.

Every school in the Bristol South constituency will lose out from funding changes. Some weeks ago I wrote to all local headteachers asking for information about how they believe the cuts will impact on pupil

learning in their own school. Of course the precise effect varies depending on how governors and heads choose to allocate limited resources, but it’s clear that losing £1.9 million in cuts across the city, with a £1.8m cut in the education services grant and a reduction in special needs funding too, can only harm the prospects of our young people.

South Bristol’s children and young people

deserve better. As a member of the House of Commons public accounts committee I recently took part in an inquiry into the financial sustainability of our schools. Our report, published towards the end of March, concluded school standards are at real risk as a result of these cuts.

The actions schools take in response to funding cuts are likely to increase teachers’ workload, with implications for recruitment and retention, and crucially, putting at risk the quality of education.

We also found that education ministers don’t seem to have a plan to monitor in real-time how schools are making savings and the impact of these savings. Ofsted inspections and exam results are good measures but they are, by definition, time-lagged. The worry is that we won’t know the full impact of cuts on children’s educational outcomes until 2021 when new GCSE results come through. And that’s far too late for children and young people in school now.

I know from my regular visits to South Bristol schools that staff and governors will do their very best in difficult circumstances, with many going above and beyond to provide the best possible start for our children.

What do you think? As ever, don’t hesitate to let me have your views. (Contacts, p2)

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n PLANNING APPLICATIONS 469 Wells Road, Knowle BS14 9AG Conversion from dwelling house to three flats with the addition of two storeys.

Pending decision Land north-west of Bellevue Terrace, Totterdown Ash tree: Light pruning and clean out; remove any dead branches overhanging adjacent properties.

Pending consideration 6 Woodbridge Road BS4 2EU Single storey rear extension. Pending consideration 37 Brendon Road BS3 4PJ Roof dormer and loft conversion.

Pending consideration 59 Cotswold Road BS3 4NX Two roof extensions to rear, with two rear windows, two front roof lights and removal of chimney.

Pending consideration 34 Marksbury Road BS3 5JU Side and rear ground floor, single storey extension. Pending consideration 156 Bath Road Totterdown BS4 3EF Change of use from C3 to C4 HMO. Pending consideration 6 Ponsford Road BS4 2UP Single storey rear extension to extend beyond rear by 4.3m, of maximum height 3.5m with eaves 2.8m high. Pending consideration 16 Leighton Road, Knowle BS4 2LL Conversion of loft space to bedroom with front and rear dormers. Pending consideration Fowlers of Bristol, 2-12 Bath Road, Totterdown BS4 3DR Two storey motorcycle store (use class B8). Granted subject to conditions 4 Springleaze Bristol BS4 2TT Demolition of small rear extension and erection of new single storey extension to provide bedroom and wet room for 2 disabled people. Pending consideration 13 Haverstock Road, Knowle BS4 2DA Single storey rear extension to extend beyond the rear wall by 5.2m, of maximum height 3.7m with eaves 2.5m high. Granted

35 Knowle, Totterdown, Windmill Hill

360 Wells Road, Knowle BS4 2QL Details in relation to condition 2 (Further details cycle) and 3 (Further details of refuse and recycling) of planning permission 16/06709/F: change of ground floor (use class D1) to residential (use class C3) to form single dwelling house with first floor (use class C3). Granted

permission 15/06146/F (Erection of a dwellinghouse to be attached to the side of 3 Cemetery Road). Condition 2 Granted, Condition 3 Refused

378 Wells Road, Knowle BS4 2QR Conversion from doctors surgery (Use class D1) to six flats. Two storey side extension and two storey/single storey rear extension and external alterations, off-street vehicle parking, refuse store and cycle store. Withdrawn

68 Hill Avenue BS3 4SU Loft conversion with rear dormer.

Pending consideration

13 Lilymead Avenue BS4 2BY Single storey rear extension to extend beyond the rear by 5.85m, of maximum height 3.95m with eaves 2.5m high.

Granted 37 Kensal Road BS3 4QU Loft conversion with rear flat roof dormer. Granted 3 St Whyte’s Road BS4 1RX Two storey side extension.

Granted 16 Oxford Street, Totterdown BS3 4RQ Appeal against enforcement notice for canopy/porch to front of dwelling. Refused 2 Ravenhill Avenue BS3 5DU Single storey side extension. Granted subject to conditions 16 Tennis Road BS4 2HG Single storey rear extension and associated works. Granted subject to conditions 34 St Martins Road BS4 2NG Two storey side and single storey rear extension. Granted subject to conditions 248 Wells Road Knowle BS4 2PN Approve details in relation to condition 2 (Sustainability) of permission 14/04393/F (Conversion from dental surgery and one self-contained flat to six flats and associated external alterations). Granted 3 Cemetery Road, Totterdown BS4 3DE Approve details in relation to conditions 2 (Construction management plan) and 3 (Contamination) of

2 Ravenhill Avenue BS3 5DU Hip to gable roof extension, rear dormer roof extension; new roof light. Pending decision

257 Redcatch Road BS4 2HJ Two storey side extension and single storey rear extension.

Pending consideration 2 St Agnes Walk BS4 2DL Demolition of conservatory and replacement with single storey rear extension. Pending consideration Flat 3, 97 Somerset Road BS4 2HX Rear roof extension.

Pending consideration 10 Hill Avenue BS3 4SH Single storey rear extension and amendment to bathroom window.

Pending consideration 239 Redcatch Road BS4 2HQ Single storey rear extension to extend beyond the rear by 3.87m, of maximum height 3.95m with eaves 2.8m high. Pending consideration 5 Greenleaze, Knowle BS4 2TJ Two storey rear extension.

Pending consideration 30 Gerrard Close BS4 1UH Erection of two storey 2-bed house. Pending consideration 404 Wells Road, Knowle BS14 9AA Side roof extensions and hip to gable end rear alteration to roof. Pending consideration 134 Broadfield Road BS4 2UZ Erection of two storey house attached to No. 134 Broadfield Road, with parking.

Refused

179 St John’s Lane BS3 5AG Dormer in front roof slope.

Refused 316-318 Wells Road, Knowle BS4 2QG Internally illuminated fascia sign, externally illuminated projecting sign. Granted 32 Creswicke Road BS4 1UD Two storey side extension.

Refused 36 Beckington Road BS3 5EB Hip to gable and rear dormer roof extension at loft level. Granted 36 Beckington Road BS3 5EB Single storey rear and side extension. Granted subject to conditions 36 Brecknock Road BS4 2DD Single storey rear extension.

Refused 47 William Street, Totterdown BS3 4TY Conversion of house into two self-contained flats. Granted subject to conditions 3 Holmesdale Road BS3 4QL Single storey rear extension to extend beyond the rear by 3.5m, of maximum height 3.8m with eaves 2.8m high. Pending consideration 18 Nutgrove Avenue BS3 4QE Single storey rear extension. Pending consideration 26 Eldon Terrace BS3 4NZ Approval of details: Condition 6 (Contaminated Land) relating to permission 15/03320/F: Construction of 2-bedroom house on land to rear of 26 Eldon Terrace. Pending consideration 11 Bideford Crescent BS4 1HQ Proposed two storey side extension and single storey rear extension. Granted subject to conditions

Ground floor flat, 177 St John’s Lane BS3 5AG Single storey rear extension. Granted subject to conditions

Knowle West Children’s Centre, Leinster Avenue BS4 1NN Extension and refurbishment of children’s centre. Granted subject to conditions

22 Ravenhill Avenue BS3 5DU Rear extension to lower ground floor and ground floor.

Withdrawn

• The status of these applications may have changed since we went to press. Check for updates at planningonline.bristol.gov.uk

Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

May 2017

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36

n YOUR COUNCILLORS

T

HE prime minister has announced the general election for June 8 and of course it is very difficult Gary for opposition Hopkins parties to refuse Lib Dem the invitation, Knowle even though some of them are secretly dismayed.

But what is the real reason for calling the election now, especially as Mrs May had been so adamant that an election was unnecessary? Your view may affect the way you vote.

1 The official reason is to bring unity to more clearly reflect the national view in Parliament.

2 The Labour Party is in a mess with a very unpopular leader.

This may not last.

3 The reality of Brexit has not yet hit Parliament or the people and a big majority is needed to withstand public anger in 2019.

4 The Government is preparing compromises on Brexit which may have many Ukip voters

Knowle

leaving the Tories again.

5 The Tories need to have the election before the Liberal Democrat revival gets really dangerous to them.

6 Following police and Electoral Commission inquiries, the Crown Prosecution Service is preparing 30+ cases from 2015 against Tory MPs and agents, and some could have been disqualified from office for electoral fraud. The general election reduces the danger.

7 Public services are in serious danger of collapse.

You decide what are the real reason(s) and also what you think the important issues are.

The public may decide they are very different issues than the ones the parties want to debate.

Whatever your view, we have a regional election on May 4 that will certainly have a big effect. If you are one of the majority who do not see the need for another mayor then please face up to the reality that we are getting one, and try to ensure it is someone who knows what they are doing.

Use your vote.

B

Y THE time you read this article, a whole list of mad ideas will have been put in front Chris of a Bristol city Davies council scrutiny Lib Dem commission (on Knowle April 24) to answer the impossible question of how you run a parks service for the city with no net budget to spend.

The mayor has also agreed a slashing of library budgets and has effectively abolished local decision-making in wards and neighbourhood partnerships.

He has still not agreed to the Jubilee pool in Knowle remaining open, despite the operators agreeing to work without subsidy.

Central government is proposing to legislate to prevent some of the charges that are already made for park use.

So with the council struggling and failing to balance the budget, and ever more of what money

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One possible answer is a parish council.

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They are not, though, without problems and disadvantages.

They have to be voted for and experience has shown that in the poorest, most deprived areas they are not popular.

They do have a cost to run them but this is small as the councillors do not get paid and most of the work is done by local volunteers.

The danger is also that it lets the main council off the hook.

So would you be in favour of paying around £20 a household to protect our local parks, libraries and sports facilities?

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n YOUR COUNCILLORS

T

HE Bristol arena project again faces delays as the mayor and cabinet agreed Jon last month to Wellington commission a Labour value-for-money Windmill Hill review based on the escalating costs of the project in its current form, after the previous building contractor and the council could not agree on a price.

I have said many times that I am keen to see the arena built in Bristol, and I still think the Arena Island site is suitable as it will encourage more people to walk, cycle or take public transport to the venue. However, this cannot be at any cost. It is important that the project comes in on budget, and I hope that an agreement can be made quickly to build the arena in a way that delivers value to people in Bristol.

However, as ward councillors

Windmill Hill

we remain most concerned about transport and traffic problems, and we are working with the mayor to put a plan in place well before it is built. In the recent cabinet reshuffle, the Mayor took on personal responsibility for the arena and we will ensure your views are heard.

The sale of the sorting office site to the University of Bristol means a car park will have to be resited. The suggestion of using the Kwik-Fit site on Bath Road was criticised in the past as this will increase congestion on one of the city’s busiest roads. The arena will require a complete overhaul of the local transport network. While work is under way on the Temple Meads area, Bath Bridge is due an overhaul including a widening of the cycling and pedestrian space, and a review of the Three Lamps junction. We also urgently need to improve access from St Luke’s Road, and consider the implications of introducing parking controls in the streets likely to be most affected.

T

37

How to contact your councillor: p2

HE system for managing small pots of money throughout the neighbourhood Lucy is changing and Whittle unfortunately Labour we are losing the Windmill Hill support of some fantastic local council officers.

This is the result of Conservative government cuts which have forced the council to make savings across the city.

Though saddened by the loss of funding, I am determined that we should make the most of the situation. It could even be an opportunity to make funding more accessible to people who don’t normally feel engaged with local community decision-making.

Our neighbourhood partnership was made up of Knowle, Windmill Hill and Filwood. We met four times a year and historically have got on very well. We negotiated money for projects across all three

wards. Each ward also held meetings called neighbourhood forums, which allowed local people to discuss their concerns and priorities with councillors, council officers and local police.

But we now have a period of transition, a chance to shape the future of our communities’ engagement in local politics.

What would we like to see instead of the neighbourhood forums? What kind of engagement do we want: meetings, social gatherings, local events? We have a small amount of money to organise events throughout the year; what we do, and how often, is up to us. At the core of these events will be a formal way to record our constituents’ wishes that will inform our priorities and local spending.

To make it work we need more local people to help shape the future of our community decision making, so please come to the next meeting on May 25 at Victoria Park Baptist Church on Sylvia Avenue at 7pm.

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Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

’s

May 2017

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38

n FEATURES

The hunt is on for Painted Ladies and Once they werre a comon sight, even in our cities. Will you help tackle South Bristol’s butterfly crisis, asks Alex Morss?

W

HO stole all the caterpillars? Whether it’s the wriggly-wiggly sort, crunching, munching, very hungry ones or less-famous varieties that help us explain and spell metamorphosis, we can’t do childhood without caterpillars.

They help teach us about the natural world, and we may never forget the thrill of finding, drawing, growing, observing and releasing them. Yet these days we can barely find any beautiful

Have you seen us? Small Heath, left, and Small Copper butterflies. adult butterflies on a walk in our local Bristol green spaces. Trust me, I’ve tried. And now it’s been confirmed by Butterfly Conservation, which wants your help. To investigate the issue, I’ve been pacing up and down BS3 in my naturalist’s hat, attempting to tick off the

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PICTURES: John Murray, Butterfly Conservation

prettiest train-spotter list you’ll ever encounter – using the stunningly-illustrated Guide to the Butterflies of Britain, published by the Field Studies Council. It’s guaranteed to get you hooked on looking for all 59 species. Incredible pleasure for a mere £3.

On a good day in South Bristol, I might see Cabbage White, Comma, Speckled Wood, Small Tortoiseshell or Red Admiral. Brimstone, occasionally. What happened to Holly Blue, Small Copper, Peacock, Painted Lady, Orange Tip, Marbled White and other lost friends?

A decade ago I spent several months checking for Bristol’s lost Grayling butterfly on its last recorded local site – Troopers Hill. Nothing. I keep telling everyone that I am not seeing as many butterflies any more. Now new data from Butterfly Conservation confirms that populations of many species have indeed crashed dreadfully, most seriously in Bristol and other urban areas, with overall urban butterfly species falling by 69 per cent, compared to 20 years ago.

The worst affected are the

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IF YOU live in BS3, you can take part in My Wild Bedminster, a project supported by the South Bristol Voice, to make children and adults more aware of what they can do to improve the natural habitats around them.

All the schools in BS3 have been invited to take part, by submitting artwork or photos for a competition and an exhibition.

Small Copper and Small Heath species – down 75 and 78 per cent. Katie Callaghan, regional media officer at Butterfly Conservation, said: “The Small Heath has always been much more of a common sight in Bristol. It looks as though the Small Copper has suffered a greater decline in the city, to the point where both would be a fairly rare sight to see there these days.”

Dr Emily Dennis, Butterfly Conservation’s lead researcher, based at the University of Kent, said: “Practically all butterflies we assessed were found to be struggling in urban areas, most likely due to the combined effects of habitat loss, climate changes and the intensification of land use.” The study found most urban butterflies are emerging on average two days earlier and are on the wing for longer than the same species living in rural areas, and had longer flight periods – thought to be caused by the urban heat island effect.

The data draws on the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme (UKBMS) which has used records submitted by the public since 1976 to monitor butterflies This work is sponsored by Besley Hill estate agents, Bedminster.

Adults can send in their photos of wildlife in BS3 for publication in the Voice – the best one wins a £10 prize each month! Remember, the pictures can be of any kind of wildlife, but must be taken this month, in the BS3 area. No professional photographers. Send your entries to paul@ southbristolvoice.co.uk

To advertise, contact sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk or Ruth on 07590 527664

May 2017

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39

n FEATURES

other lost friends of the butterfly world

Needs careful handling: A hawk moth.

PICTURE: Rob Skinner

across the UK. Anyone can join the project.

Butterfly Conservation wants to know about your sightings in South Bristol, so if you’ve ever had the remotest curiosity for beautiful butterflies, now is the time to pursue it, and help.

Butterflies are an easy wildlife group for a beginner naturalist to get to grips with. No special kit or technical training is needed. All it takes is a leisurely stroll somewhere green and wonderful, always on a perfect, sunny day.

The charity is also launching its Munching Caterpillars Goes to Town project in South Bristolthis summer, to teach children about butterflies and moths and how to help pollinating insects to thrive.

Butterfly Conservation’s education officer, Kate Merry, said: “This is the first time a project like this has come to Bristol and we hope to show children just how important butterflies and moths are, and

what children can do to help them. We will be encouraging wildlife right in to their school grounds, showing them that you don’t need to be near the countryside or have a garden to experience wildlife.”

Local school children will be rearing caterpillars in classrooms, planting nectar-rich flowers, making video diaries and getting advice on making school grounds more caterpillar and butterfly friendly. The project has the world’s first pop-up ‘caterpillar café’, to tour events around the city, promoting the use of pot plants on balconies or pollinating plants in window boxes.

Kate added: “The caterpillar café looks like an old-fashioned ice-cream cart, but instead of children choosing their favourite flavour, on the menu will be nectar-rich flowers and caterpillar food plants, and in place of cones, we will have plant pots and compost!” I’ve always

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

gardening/nectarbutterfly.html 5. Check out butterfly recording apps for smart phones, or get free identification help by posting photos on iSpot: • ispotnature.org 6. Share your photos and drawings of butterflies with South Bristol Voice. Submit them to: paul@ southbristolvoice.co.uk 7. Buy the £3 butterfly guide mentioned above: • field-studies-council.org/ publications/pubs/butterfliesidentification-chart.asp

1. Record butterflies for Butterfly Conservation: • ceh.ac.uk/our-science/projects/ uk-butterfly-monitoring-scheme 2. Tolerate caterpillars. Ditch the pesticides and designate ‘weedy’ patches for them in your garden.

3. Introduce caterpillar food plants, eg ivy, holly, nettles, wild strawberry, creeping cinquefoil, long grasses and bird’s-foot trefoil.

4. Add nectar-rich flowers for adult butterflies: • sussex-butterflies.org.uk/

Fascinating: Another view of a hawk moth felt that butterflies trigger emotions in people. They give us a sense that magic is in the air, with stunning dance rituals, extraordinary sparkle dust

PICTURE: Kate Merry

courtship, wing pattern trickery and amazing tenacity, as they dive-bomb their eggs through tiny gaps in my brassica nets. I miss seeing them more often.

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May 2017

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40

Bristol’s Largest Indoor n HISTORY The story of William Herapath Window and Door Showroom is Open at Crystal Clear

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To advertise, contact sales@southbristolvoice.co.uk or Ruth on 07590 527664

May 2017

southbristolvoice

n FEATURES

L

AURIE Burn is a confirmed fan of the countryside – cities are not his thing.

So when, in 2006, the Baptist minister was in the process of finding a new church and he saw Totterdown on a list, he thought, “That sounds like a village.”

But, as his regional minister said, “Totterdown is quite like a village …” To cut a long story short, Laurie and his wife Karen are about to hand back the keys to Totterdown Baptist Church (known as TBC), after almost 11 years in which they’ve not only grown the number of worshippers, they’ve also made it a central part of the community.

The church is not only home to the thriving Sydenham Road Under Fives nursery, but to the church’s own toddler group. It has fitness groups, a youth club, a Girls’ Brigade, tango classes and meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous and Food Addicts Anonymous.

Then there’s the popular Saltcellar folk club every month, and scores of other events from community meetings to the annual Front Room art trail.

The church itself has grown from 40 members to more than 70, while Sunday services attract more than 100, swelled by a rising number of families.

All told, Laurie reckons there are 30,000 visits to the Wells Road church every year. Which shows how valuable churches still are, to the religious and non-religious alike. And what a tragedy it would have been if, during a period of decline in the 1980s, the church had been sold off for housing.

Laurie didn’t want a church that turned people away. Why would people come to TBC? “I think there must be a friendly and a genuine welcome,” he said.

“The bad news is that we all need a saviour, but the good news is that there is one.

“We have a gospel message to proclaim and we are not ashamed to talk about it. But we do that with respect.”

Laurie was one of many community leaders who turned out to support Totterdown’s Muslims when the Jamia mosque was attacked in January 2016.

Supporting a multicultural community doesn’t dilute his church’s teaching, he believes.

He’s a frequent visitor to Hillcrest and other local schools – in fact he was a teacher himself until 1993, when he felt a calling to the ministry. He jokes that he’s

41

Leaving Totterdown for a smaller village: Laurie and Karen Burn

Laurie’s leaving a legacy in the park and in the church had three “ologies” – geology, which he was studying at university when he met Karen; technology, which he taught; and theology, acquired later in life.

Anyone living near Perretts Park, off Sylvia Avenue, will have noticed a marked improvement in the last 10 years. That’s in no small part down to Laurie.

“The park lies on my way to the church and so I used to walk through it. I saw the borders were very downtrodden, the benches were a horrible green and rotting, and the maintenance of the beds was pretty poor,” said Laurie. Groups of youths also hung around in the evenings.

He called a meeting at the church, and found there was plenty of support, from worshippers and others for a group to improve the park.

Copp, the Community of

Perretts Park, was chaired by Laurie from 2006 to 2012.

There are now new benches, old benches are regular repaired, and there are frequent litter-picks.

The National Lottery helped pay for a colourful mosaic sundial, and Laurie commissioned local artist Emily Ketteringham to etch a plaque of the park’s amazing view. With the support of former councillor Mark Bailey, £250,000 was spent on a new playground and path. Anti-social behaviour is now rare, and the downtrodden borders have been replanted, augmented by raised beds used by the community.

There’s now an annual tradition of carols in the park in the week before Christmas, organised by Churches Together In Knowle and Totterdown – always popular as long it’s not raining. Laurie’s voice has also

been heard at Copp’s summer picnics in the park.

Music is more than an enthusiasm for Laurie: he’s recorded a CD, Guitar Rags and God’s Riches, which includes a song, God In the Park, inspired

by Perretts. A related passion is making guitars, a hobby which started when he realised if he wanted a guitar of quality he would have to make it himself.

It’s a complex procedure demanding great patience which most amateur craftspeople would not attempt, but since 1978 Laurie has made 15 guitars, and is on his 16th, made of yew from Westonbirt arboretum. Luckily he doesn’t feel the need to keep them all – “if I have one that I really like, that’s enough,” he says – the current favourite is made of black walnut, taken from a tree planted by Queen Victoria in Kew Gardens. Wood that’s good enough for guitars is rare, and highly-prized.

Laurie’s passion for folk music saw him revive the church’s basement as the venue for the monthly Saltcellar Folk Club. It started slowly in 2011 but now has many fans – more than 100 people turned up to see award-nominated band Ninebarrow in March. It’s hoped the club is another legacy that will live on after Laurie has left.

He and Karen left TBC at Easter, making a return to the countryside for a part-time role at a church in Fivehead, near Taunton. It will allow Laurie to spend more time making guitars, and seeing his adult daughters Kate and Helen, who both have connections nearby.

Whoever succeeds Laurie – and that’s down to the congregation, as Baptists choose their own ministers – will have a hard act to follow.

Guitar man: Laurie with one of his hand-crafted creations

Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

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n WHAT’S ON The message of Bob Marley AN EVENING celebrating the genius and the politics of reggae’s biggest star, Bob Marley, takes place at Totterdown’s Thunderbolt on May 13.

Author Brian Richardson will talk about his book, Bob Marley: Roots, Reggae and Revolution.

There will be film of Marley and a reggae disco as well as Jamaican food.

It all starts at 7.30pm and tickets are £7 and £5; proceeds go to London socialist bookshop Bookmarks.

Hundreds of artists line the streets for you THERE’s almost too much talent to take in at this year’s Southbank Arts Trail, held across scores of venues in Southville, Bedminster and Ashton on May 13 and 14, from 11am-6pm. More than 150 artists will cram venues including the Tobacco Factory and the Southbank Club as well as over 25 artists’ houses. New venues include the Steam Crane, Ashton Gatehouse, El Rincon, Factory 8 and Trika Yoga. As

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Live performance: Artist Stephen Quick at the Tobacco Factory last year well as old favourites like Wonky House automata, high- end contemporary craft at 33 Upton Road, a carefully-selected array of artists at 40 Mount Pleasant Terrace, live painting from Stephen Quick at the Tobacco Factory and a feast of art, craft and workshops at the Southville Centre, there will be new-comers Bristol Stitchery at St Francis’

Church, Trika Yoga offering taster sessions, Unit 10 art collective taking over Factory 8 (Upton Road), new performance from Brave Bold Drama at Margot May’s Tea Rooms and intimate back garden concerts at 8 Hamilton Road.

To find out more, pick up a map from venues or download it: • southbankbristolarts.co.uk.

A marvellous musical ragbag

bass and drums (in style, not in musicianship, which is grand).

To look at, Totterdown duo Steepways (there are more band members, but only two tonight) are a bit oddball – a street busker and a matinee idol with cravat and swept-back hair. Their music somehow combines heartilystrummed guitar-songs meeting 1950s-esque crooning.

When Bath-based Newton Country step on stage, something magical happens. Front woman Roisin’s voice has a range from airy and ethereal to raw, with a perfect country-twang. There is musicianship oozing out of all three – with bass and harmonies from Oliver and lead guitarist Joe stepping front-of-stage for his solos. They might have namedropped that they recently did a session for Whispering Bob Harris, but who could blame them? He could probably see that this band are on the way up. Beccy Golding

REVIEW Newton Country & others, Thunderbolt, Totterdown I ONLY caught the last couple of pretty, thoughtful tunes from singer-songwriter Douglas Joshua. The final song built to a good powerful crescendo. A great debut performance.

Red Ray & the Reprobates are a six-piece who fill the stage with their energy. The banjo player looked pleased as punch, twice, after performing a solo, and the mouth-organist got a round of applause when changing his E harmonica to a G. Fun, charming, a little shambolic, and make you grin with their hill-billy vibes.

The Duncan Stagg Trio’s tight-jawed frontman plays his songs with intensity. His band are the perfect foil – lazy, laidback

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n WHAT’S ON From April 27 n Tartuffe Tobacco Factory theatre. A radical new treatment of the classic Moliere play by the Shakespeare at the Tobacco Factory team. A credulous government minister is duped into surrendering his family’s wealth – and very nearly his wife and daughter – to one of drama’s greatest conmen. Until May 6; tickets from £16.

• tobaccofactorytheatres.com n Gas Girls Acta community theatre, Gladstone Street, Bedminster. The untold story of the women who made mustard gas in Bristol during the First World War. 7pm, £4. Until April 29; then Rondo theatre, Bath, on May 5, and Trinity Arts Centre, Bristol on May 19.

• acta-bristol.com Sunday April 30 n Tidy up Totterdown Litter pick with members of Tresa, Totterdown’s social and environmental group. Starts at 11am at School Road Park, continuing down Wells Road, via Zone A and the embankment by Barrington Court, finishing at Zone N, outside the gym, about noon. Equipment such as litter pickers and gloves is provided.

• tresa.org.uk n Kate Dimbleby presentes Songbirds Tobacco Factory theatre. Kate is known for her tributes to artists such as Peggy Lee; this show is about “the voices around us and the voices in our heads”, including sounds and people recorded from the streets of Bristol to the forests of Canada. £10, 4pm & 7.30pm.

• tobaccofactorytheatres.com Thursday May 4 n Star Wars: The Force Awakens Outdoor screening, Arnos Vale cemetery. 8pm, £11.

Bring a cushion, chair or blanket, but not food: Kate’s Kitchen will offer hot dogs, burgers, popcorn and cakes, and Lucille’s ice cream van will be open. Showing on May 5: The Goonies.

• arnosvale.org.uk/events Friday May 5 n Hannah & The Heartbreak The Thunderbolt, Bath Road, Totterdown. After being discovered on Amazing Radio, Hannah & The Heartbreak have won more airplay on BBC Radio 2 and 6 Music. 7.30pm; £5.

• thethunderbolt.net Saturday May 6 n Ewan McLennan Saltcellar Folk Club, Totterdown Baptist Church, Wells Road. Entrance to

A masterpiece, but just too overpowering

Not about the plot: Madam Butterfly marries a teenage girl to a soldier

REVIEW Madam Butterfly, Welsh National Opera, Hippodrome I HAVEN’T been to an opera before. I admit I had pre-conceptions but, as with every review I do, I aimed to approach it with an open heart. So I tried, I really did. At the end of the performance a plummy voice behind me said, “Of course it’s not about the plot,” so perhaps I should put aside my discomfort with the whole story – an adult American soldier marries a 15-yearold Japanese geisha girl in order to bed her, then leaves her for a ‘real’ marriage back in the US. I know opera is a tradition so perhaps I should ignore the almost all-Caucasian cast playing oriental, and the grown-up women cast as teenagers.

And I know singing everything is not real-life so maybe I should not be bothered by the hammy acting and confusing direction. The lyrics are in

Italian, so I suppose I should be thankful there were ‘sur-titles’, it’s just a shame they were so high up that you could either read the words or watch the action but not both. And I did follow the story, so maybe it doesn’t matter that the translation seemed clunky.

I could tell the singing was pitch-perfect and wonderful, unfortunately some of it was over-powered by the orchestra, who played magnificently. Sometimes I could see two or three people were singing, probably in harmony, but I couldn’t hear it.

What I did expect, though, was some beauty. I

thought I might forgive everything because of the spine-tingling gorgeousness of voice and music. But I just couldn’t find anything to hook into.

I recognised the air made famous (to me) by punkimpresario Malcolm McLaren’s 1984 operafusion album, but other than that I couldn’t discern any tunes, refrains, melodies or airs. I suppose it’s a grower.

In summary – I Just Don’t Get It. But don’t let that put you off – if you’ve never been I encourage you to try it. It isn’t for me but opera might be for you.

Beccy Golding

the Saltcellar is off Cemetery Road. Ewan is a troubadour, balladeer and storyteller in the old style. Plus floor singers. £5; tea and cakes on sale; bring your own alcohol.

• saltcellarfolk.org.uk n Alun Cochrane & Co Stand Up For The Weekend, Comedy Box at the Hen & Chicken, North Street, Southville.

Alun Cochrane is familiar from BBC Two’s Never Mind The Buzzcocks and Mock The Week.

Doors 7.45pm; £13 advance, £15 on the door.

• thecomedybox.co.uk Sunday May 7 n Vintage Furniture Flea Paintworks, Bath Road, Totterdown. Furniture and homewares from the 1950s onwards. Earlybird entry 10.30-11am £3, after 11am £2, children under 12 free.

• play.paintworksbristol.co.uk Monday May 8 n Photography Project Club

Arnos Vale Cemetery, with Ian Coombs, looking at the cemetery’s wonderful wildlife and other photographic subjects.

No dogs; bring a tripod. Mondays from 10am-12noon. £5 fee donated to the cemetery.

• arnosvale.org.uk/events n Victoria Park Action Group Monthly meeting to discuss matters relating to Victoria Park, including upcoming events, any issues that have arisen and ongoing projects, like creating the play areas, wildlife areas, mending benches and more. 7.30-9pm.

• vpag.org.uk n Bridget Christie: Because You Demanded It Comedy Box at the Tobacco Factory. Until May 10. “If you didn’t want to leave the EU, or you did, but now don’t, then this is absolutely the show for you. If you did want to leave the EU, and still do, then you will still find it funny, but for different reasons, as you witness

the liberal female comedian’s exasperated and despairing meltdown.” £16.50, 8pm.

• tobaccofactorytheatres.com Thursday May 11 n The Marked Tobacco Factory theatre. After sell-out success at Edinburgh Fringe 2016, Theatre Témoin’s The Marked visits Bristol on its tour of the UK’s homeless hotspots. Masks, puppetry and physical theatre outline a haunting, world inspired by real-life stories of homelessness. Shows at 8pm, 2pm on Saturday. £13.

• tobaccofactorytheatres.com Friday May 12 n Arnos Vale After Hours Arnos Vale cemetery, Bath Road.

Explore the ethereal beauty of Bristol’s Necropolis. Bring a torch. Also on May 18 and May 26, 7.30-9pm. £9.

• arnosvale.org.uk/events Shawn Smith The Tunnels, Temple Meads. Four of Shawn Continued overleaf

PICTURE: Jeremy Abrahams

Got a story or any other inquiry? Call Paul on 07811 766072 or email paul@southbristolvoice.co.uk

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n WHAT’S ON Bessie’s life in blues brought back to life REVIEW Empress of the Blues: A Tribute to Bessie Smith; Thunderbolt, Totterdown SOME performers deserve to be known by more than their work. Bessie Smith won fame as Empress of the Blues in the 1920s, but there was more to her life than money and fame.

She died in 1937, but 80 years on a good-sized crowd were held rapt at the Thunderbolt as Dave Merrick narrated her story, from a ragged upbringing in the American South, with the help of original recordings.

Bessie shot to fame because her unique vocal style could cut through the limitations of 1920s recording technology.

But it was the live performances the Totterdown audience were waiting for, and Natalie Davis on vocals with Dave on guitar and Brendan Whitmore on saxophone did not disappoint.

Renditions of I Need A Little Sugar in My Bowl and ‘Tain’t Nobody’s Business If I Do made the magic of Bessie shine, from the slow-paced blues of the 1920s to the synchopated swing era of the 30s – showcased by a fascinating and stillexciting film clip from St Louis Blues of 1929.

Often it’s the details that fascinate as much as the music, because the blues is the story of the black struggle, and life informed Bessie’s art. She earned a fortune and travelled in her own railway carriage, but she faced violence and oppression. She won over white audiences, but could only play to them in segregated venues.

On tonight’s evidence, maybe the music could be spread more evenly through the story. But the show had the audience rapt. Paul Breeden

Continued from page 45 Smith’s songs featured in The Sopranos and he’s been called one of the best vocalists of all time by Mojo magazine. 7.30pm, £14.

• thetunnelsbristol.co.uk Saturday May 13 n Wild outdoors day Windmill Hill City Farm, Philip Street, Bedminster. A great day out at the farm with nature activities, outdoor cooking, foraging, wood cutting, music, bar, street food. 11-5pm; £3 adults, children free.

• windmillhillcityfarm,.org.uk n Deafinitely Theatre Acta community theatre, Gladstone Street, Bedminster. Free drama workshop aimed at deaf and hearing young people aged 14-25.

• acta-bristol.com Sunday May 14 n Spring Flowers Tour Arnos Vale cemetery, 2-3.30pm.

Ecologist Mary will take you on a journey around the beautiful spring flowers that bloom in this Site of Conservation Interest. £5.

• arnosvale.org.uk/events

Brimful of Asha: On a world tour after several extended runs Tuesday May 16 n A Brimful of Asha Tobacco Factory theatre. When Ravi takes a trip to India his parents decide it is time to introduce him to potential brides; but Ravi is not keen. Until May 20. On May 18 there’s a post-show discussion; tickets £5 for 14-25 year-olds include the evening show.

• tobaccofactorytheatres.com Wednesday May 17 n Pamper Night Zion Bristol, Bishopsworth Road, 6.309.30pm. Women-only treatments include reiki, Indian head massage, hot stones, hand massage, acupressure and more.

Treatments from £5. Entry £2.50 includes glass of bubbly.

• zionbristol.co.uk n James Acaster: The Trelogy Comedy Box at the Hen &

Chicken, North Street, Southville.

The first of three solo shows from the multiple Edinburgh Comedy Award nominee. This show, Recognise, is from 2014; followed

by Represent on May 18 and Reset on May 19. All sold out, but check for returns.

• thecomedybox.co.uk Friday May 19 n Little Cooks Windmill Hill City Farm, Philip Street, Bedminster. Monthly cooking classes with songs and crafts for preschoolers and their carers, with Holly Redfern. Email hollynredfern@gmail.com • windmillhillcityfarm,.org.uk n Natty Daps The ska party band at the Thunderbolt, Bath Road, Totterdown. 7.30pm, £5.

• thethunderbolt.net n Dap Disco Zion Bristol, Bishopsworth Road. A night of indie tunes, with covers band SMaLL plus DJ Marky. Bar and food from RibStreet Takeaway.

Over 18s only. 7.30pm, £5.

• zionbristol.co.uk Saturday May 20 n May Fair Bedminster Methodist Church, British Road, Bedminster, 11am-2pm. Stalls include plants, perfumery, bric a brac, cakes, books, bits and bobs, raffle, and more. Refreshments for sale. n A Play in a Day Tobacco Factory theatre. With the director of A Brimful of Asha (see May 16), devise a play that will be performed to family and friends at the end of the day. No experience necessary. Includes a ticket to watch A Brimful of Asha in the evening. 13-19 years £25, 10.30am-6pm with performance at 7pm. Also for 8-12 year-olds; same time and price.

• tobaccofactorytheatres.com Sunday May 21 n Julie Byrne SouthBank Club, Dean Lane, Southville.

American wanderer Julie Byrne’s second record Not Even Happiness “vividly archives what would have otherwise been lost to the road – bustling roadside diners, the aching weariness of change.” £9, 7pm.

• southbankclub.webs.com n Vintage Home Show Paintworks, Bath Road, Totterdown. With 30 specialist dealers in items from the 1950s-1970s, from teak sideboards to industrial lighting.

Earlybird entry 10.30-11am £4, £2.50 after, children free.

• vintagehomeshow.co.uk Tuesday May 23 n Let’s Make Art Windmill Hill City Farm, Philip Street, Bedminster. Start of weekly sessions in the new farm café.

Pre-school art & storytelling for children 2+, 10.30-11.30am. No booking required.

• windmillhillcityfarm,.org.uk

It's My Life: Homegrown drama n It’s My Life Acta theatre, Gladstone Street, Bedminster.

Zahra wants to be a model, Yasmin just wants to be herself … what’s so wrong with that? A new show from parents at Hannah More primary school. Also on May 24. Tickets £3, 7pm.

• acta-bristol.com Thursday May 25 n The Dead Romantics + Alien Stash Tin + Narda Narda Presented by the BCFM Sunday Rockshow at the Thunderbolt, Bath Road, Totterdown. 7.30-11.30pm, £3.

• thethunderbolt.net Monday May 29 n Bristol Walk Fest family farm trails Windmill Hill City Farm, Philip Street, Bedminster.

Behind the scenes of the animal pens on a child-friendly walk, 10.30-11.30am. Also on May 31 from 10-11am. £2 per child.

• windmillhillcityfarm,.org.uk Tuesday May 30 n Lego Days Zion Bristol, Bishopsworth Road, 10am-noon, also on May 31. Holiday fun with prizes, all Lego supplied. Please arrive on time; £2 per child, café.

• zionbristol.co.uk n The Keeper of Souls Acta community theatre, Gladstone Street, Bedminster. Also on May 31. A thrill-a-minute chiller from Who Cares Youth Theatre. For ages 6+; tickets £2, 7pm.

• acta-bristol.com Wednesday May 31 n Squidge The Thunderbolt, Bath Road, Totterdown. “Formed in Bath in 2015, Squidge want to be at the forefront of the recent resurgence of alternative rock.

Magnetic vocals, colossal guitars, introspective lyrics.” 7.3011.30pm, £5.

• thethunderbolt.net

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